We got back home in the early morning hours of Day 11, as I was calling it. — one day before the estimated date of departure. We had to force my dad out of bed to stitch me up. He cursed under his breath as he did so, probably wondering what I could have possibly done to get injuries like that. He kept eyeing Luffy as if he was wondering if he was the culprit. Luffy didn't even notice — he was too fixated on me. After what felt like an eternity of simply imagining Luffy to keep myself calm, his actual presence was overwhelming. I could feel my heart hammering in my chest, and anytime his eyes met mine, I swear I started levitating a little. The pressure in my chest refused to yield, and all I wanted was to be closer to him. Instead, I sighed at my ever-wary father.
"Dad, I need to tell you something."
"Yes?" He said softly, sewing another stitch on my leg. It was a deep wound, which forced him to do layers of stitches instead of just one row.
"I'm going to be leaving tomorrow. For good."
"Oh? In a good way or bad way?"
"I'll be happy." I said plainly. I really didn't want to have to expand too much on that, so I decided to keep it simple. The more ignorant he was, the safer he'd be.
"And what if your not? Happy, I mean."
"I have no doubt in my mind." I said, glancing over at Luffy, who continued to stare intensely at me. I blushed a little, which caught his attention. He straightened up a little and grinned at me, making me break out into a smile. My dad looked between the both of us and chuckled.
"At least you are sure about it."
"More sure than I've ever been in my life."
He huffed a little through his nose and then tapped my leg. "All set. Do you mind at least telling me what happened?"
"It's better that you don't know." I said with a straight face. His eyes flit back to Luffy, as if asking a question. "No. He is the only reason I didn't get hurt worse. Like I said. It's better you don't know."
My father relaxed a little. Luffy was still none the wiser, watching me intently and most likely not listening to a single word we said.
"Well, I really think you should get a ct scan just in case, but since your ride home was more than 24 hours and you didn't puke or deteriorate, I'd say you're probably fine to go to bed. You're gonna have one nasty headache."
"I already do." I said, grinning. My dad rolled his eyes at me before patting me on the shoulder and standing up to leave.
"And you." He said, stopping at Luffy. Luffy tore his eyes away from me to look at my dad. He stood up, serious as could be. It was weird, seeing the height difference between the two. My dad was a tall 6'2" tall, while Luffy stood at a 5'9", yet somehow, in that moment, Luffy looked just as tall. "You better take care of her. Make her happy. Whatever trouble she got herself in... just.... Protect her."
Luffy smiled his sunshine smile at him, taking him aback. "You got it!"
My dad patted him on the shoulder, giving him a small grin and walked out of the door. Luffy turned to me and sighed. His eyes locked onto the wound on my face and he frowned.
"I'm ok Luffy! I promise!" I said, waving him off.
"You're just so much more... fragile than I am, Misaki."
"Everybody is more fragile than you, Lu." I retorted, shaking my head at him. I regretted doing it. It felt like something was knocking around in my head.
Luffy came over and sat on the bed. He pulled me into his lap, my back pressed against his chest, and rested his chin on my shoulder. I loved when he held me like that. It just... fit. I could feel his heart hammering against my back as he kissed me on the cheek. I could feel my eyes beginning to flutter shut. It had been so long since I was allowed to rest. I hoped that it wouldn't be ruined with any nightmares from the trauma I was forced to endure. But being safe and sound in Luffy's arms gave me the confidence I needed to let my eyelids become heavy and droop shut.
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Luffy smiled as he felt Misaki's body relax into him. A soft snore could be heard filling the room. He closed his eyes, leaning back against the mound of pillows behind him. He liked holding her like this. It felt like he could protect her from the entire world.
He thought back to the first time he had ever held her like that. It was after she had been shot, and she asked him to help her shower. She was so tired and fragile that day. Like now. Except this time, it was clear to him that she was far more emotionally spent than physically.
She still hadn't told him exactly what she had been through, but he knew whatever it was, it was horrible. Pure exhaustion seemingly haunted her eyes. That and some other emotion, which he couldn't quite understand. He hoped that whatever it was, she could get a good night's sleep and put it behind her.
Misaki lolled her head back before turning over in his arms. She snuggled into his chest and sighed before continuing to snore. He hugged her tighter, taking a deep breath as he did.
He thought about how she didn't even know how many days it had been. He wondered just how much she had been through in those two days, and thought about how much he wanted to kill that asshole. He wasn't even sure. For all he knew, he was dead. Misaki did say humans were more fragile here. He grit his teeth, knowing that meant she was more fragile too.
He thought this world was supposed to be safer, but the last few days proved that Misaki was safer with him, in his world. At the very least, he had his whole crew to stand by him. Here, it was just him. Granted, he took out an entire base with ease. But it wasn't like he was going to stay here. He didn't know what he would do if Misaki decided to stay here instead. He would be so overwhelmed with worry...
Luckily, he knew she hadn't changed her mind. The worry he would have would be nonexistent. She told her dad she was leaving too, not just her mom. That was enough for him to relax a little.
Suddenly, the door creaked open. Luffy's grip on Misaki tightened as he watched the door. Fortunately, it was just Momma J. She put her finger up to her lips, indicating she didn't want to wake Misaki.
"Hey Lu, I gotta talk to you." She whispered.