COAST - Luffy x Reader

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

Here we go... Time to start Water 7!

Quick introductory chapter just to show some of the initial thoughts/building on some character relationships. Water 7/Enies Lobby are the largest arcs we've undertaken so far, so there's going to be lots of jumping around (at least for the first few chapters).

Hope you guys are ready!! This is so exciting ;)))

Happy reading! <3333

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Low Battery.

20% battery remaining.

The little gray box darkening the phone screen stared back at my illuminated face, mocking me with its presence. Over the few months spent here, I'd somehow failed to remember the key factor of these modern devices – That they ran on a limited supply of battery power, and I didn't have a charger to replenish it... Not that there was any electricity around to do so, anyways. Dread sinks the pit of my stomach, a never ending sinkhole of swallowed up emotion.

With a sigh, I stamped my thumb over the Low Power Mode option given, hoping that the last ditch effort might delay the inevitable. The notification disappears, and the battery turns yellow – A barely there sliver of color in the corner of the cracked phone screen.

As the brightness dims, warm tones washing over my screen's background (a picture of the crew, one of the first one's we'd taken together the night I'd shown the girls how the device worked), I click the power button for the object to enter sleep mode. When it died, would they be disappointed?

Probably. They all loved my cell phone, for one reason or another. It had been one of my first major contributions to the crew's enjoyment.

Dropping my forehead to the black screen, I can't help the low whine that muffles from the back of my throat, the throes of disappointment taking hold. There was something irrefutably upsetting about the day finally arriving – the one where I was at risk of losing my only connection to the world I used to live in – even if there weren't many fond memories involved. I was reluctant to let go of that piece of myself forever, to completely lose the old parts of myself that still lingered... And yet, maybe that was for the best? To leave it all behind, I mean.

What about the new memories, then? The one on my phone screen – the videos and photos taken on behalf of my friends and crewmates – the songs that they enjoyed listening to during the celebration of a newly completed journey – Did I want to leave those behind, too?

Solemnly, I flip the phone so that it's face lies flat against the bed, rising to my feet and neglecting to store the object away. I was too upset to bother with it now, regardless of the inevitability. If I used it sparingly, would I be able to make the most of the rest of its shortened lifespan? Was that feasible? Or was it better to just leave it be? To let it rot in the confines of my drawers, only occasionally seeing the light of day?

This was too much to think about right now. I was already worried about myself in other more detrimental ways, and it wouldn't be good to continue adding to the list (even if it was beyond my control). Still, I wanted to be able to get it off my mind one way or another, and a resolution would be my best bet.

The back of my palm slides against the sheets, scooping Ivory up by his chest as he purrs, sluggishly awakening from his contented nap. With a heaviness in my footsteps, I trudge to the door, wondering if there might be an unseen solution to this; One that I couldn't come up with on my own.

I find my target in the kitchen after a brief run-in with the rambunctious trio on the deck, sitting with her head buried in a book, as it always was.

Robin sits with a subtle smile splayed, flipping the pages of a familiar-looking book as she listens to the amusing conversation taking place between the love-struck Cook and the impatient Navigator. I realize it's the story that highlights the rainbow mist, one that we've discussed time and time again during our hypothetical chats. Her light-blue eyes never stray, even as Nami nearly knocks aside the coffee mug on the table, the potential-disaster thwarted as a tan hand sprouts on the table and catches it with near pinpoint accuracy.