safe space | One Piece

Luffy

Luffy's eyes stung with the effort it took to open them. He was met with a blinding flash of light, the glow of it dimming the more he blankly squinted at it. Beneath him, the grass was sharp and dug into his back. Coughing, Luffy heaved and gasped, twisting to hold himself up as he tried to gain footing in his new location.

He had a second to recall the memories of what happened before he was swiftly thrust into the air by the nape of his shirt. Groggily, Luffy stared down at the massive figure in front of him. Being held like a kitten, dangling in the air was familiar to Luffy. A sense of deja vu washed over him, as he gazed down at a noticeably younger Monkey D. Garp. Luffy's grandfather.

"What the..." Garp mumbled, moving Luffy so that he could inspect him like one would with a newspaper. "You look like Luffy, but you're not Luffy," Garp concluded, dropping the teenager to the ground in a fit of agitation.

Luffy coughed, not quite feeling like himself, as he shakily stood to his feet, his sandals digging into the ground. "Gramps?" Luffy muttered, fists clenching and unclenching as he attempted to gather his bearings. Mind still fogged, his hands unconsciously sought out the straw hat atop his head, finding it still sat snugly upon his tangled mop of black hair.

Garp was staring at him, his head cocked in wonder as he pondered the situation. Luffy could sympathize. "What did you do now, Brat?" Garp questioned, one bushy eyebrow raised in alarm. Clad in jorts, similar to Luffy's and an orange and red Hawaiian shirt, he looked ridiculous. And like he was on vacation. The last time Luffy had heard, Garp hadn't been on vacation since Ace's death. The wrinkles that adorned Garp's face were lesser than the amount he had when Luffy had last seen him. Something wasn't adding up. Luffy shrugged it off.

Luffy tilted his head, unknowingly copying his grandfather as he spoke. "I was fighting a Devil Fruit user, then..." Luffy shrugged, "I guess I got teleported here." Luffy regarded the clearing they were in, hesitant. It was vast, with trees surrounding them like a cage, their trunks grand and thick. Luffy had seen similar trees before, all the way back on Dawn Island. Of course, he couldn't be there, though, as he was in the New World. "Wherever, here, is."

Garp was huffing, boots slapping against the ground as he began to pace. "Here is Dawn Island, Brat." Luffy's eyes widened comically as he stared at his grandfather. His knees buckled under the weight of the revelation. The Marine was too busy to acknowledge his grandson's crisis on the ground. Luffy was on Dawn Island. To reach his crew he would have to travel the East Blue, navigate Reverse Mountain and spend months traveling Paradise. Only to attempt to cross through Fishman Island, once more. He would have to sail the New World, again. All without his crew by his side. The thought of again was daunting.

Luffy began panicking, pulling at the loose strands of hair that fell in waves along his face. "Gramps," Luffy called, the beating of his heart increasing the more he remained a mess of limbs on the ground. His grandfather did not hear him.

Many thoughts began to overwhelm Luffy, like dark clouds they encompassed him and weighed him down. His crew was somewhere in the New World. This was the first time he had seen his grandfather since Ace's death. He was on Dawn Island. The last time he had been here, Ace had still been alive. Short breaths escaped Luffy's lips, huffing and puffing he grasped at the grass. The sharp emerald blades stabbed at his skin but it didn't cut. It didn't bring Luffy back from his panic.

Garp's pacing slowed to a stop. He stared down at Luffy with a twist to his eyebrows, hands clenching and unclenching repeatedly. He sighed in resignation of his situation. "Hey, Kid," this was his grandson, even if he was a bit older. Still the same brat, judging from the scar along his left eye and the straw hat. "Stop wheezing, we got to figure out how to get you back to your own time."