One Piece Prompts- Storms

One Piece Prompts: Storms

 It was a dark and stormy night in the New World. Nothing too out of the ordinary, just a regular thunderstorm with the occasional lightning bolts. On the Thousand Sunny, the Straw Hats are curled up in their beds, trying to ride out the storm and sleep peacefully. Only Usopp and Sanji were awake, keeping watch in case things got too rough, thus they would wake Nami so they could sail to calmer waters.

 “Some storm, huh?” Sanji asked as he looked out the window.

 “Yeah,” Usopp replied, “but the only thing louder than the thunder is Luffy’s snoring.”

 Sanji couldn’t help snickering at this.

 As the Straw Hats slept, however…one of their youngest members was wide awake, trembling in bed: one Monkey D. Aika, who hid under the covers as she trembled with fright. Nearby, Kumi snored softly as she lied curled up in her bed, the sound of the thunder in the clouds going on completely unheard to her ears. Aika whimpered as she grabbed a pillow and covered her own ears, trying to drown out the sound of the thunder. At first, it seemed to work…for about 5 seconds.

 BABOOM!! The thunder crashed, causing Aika to gasp in fright before she grabbed her wolf plush, Timber and hugged him as tight as she could. Despite this, the child refused to scream, no matter how badly she wanted to. After all, she was a pirate, now, and the last time she checked, pirates were not afraid of thunderstorms.

 Besides, what would Luffy say if he ever found out? He’d probably tease her forever and never let her live it down.

 That’s why, more than anything, she refuse to start crying…no matter how scared she was.

 “I’ll just…try and fall asleep,” Aika whispered to herself. “It’ll be over soon…so I’ll just wait it out…and fall asleep.”

 With that, she slowly started to shut her eyes, but just when she was about to drift off into slumber…BABOOOOOOOM!!! A particularly loud thunderclap jolts her awake, and without warning, she sits up and lets out a shrill, blood-curdling scream that could wake the dead…but instead, it only woke up the Straw Hats.

 “Good heavens!!” cried Brook as he sat up, startled by Aika’s scream.

 “What the hell was that?!” Franky questioned as he sat up, too.

 “I didn’t do it!!” Blizzard yelped as he jumped to his paws, Chopper clinging to his scarf.

 “Was that Aika?!” the reindeer asked.

 Zoro and Robin gasped as they sat up, as well.

 “Jeez, what was that?!” the swordsman asked.

 “That came from Aika’s room, didn’t it?” asked Robin, concerned.

 Naturally, Luffy and Nami woke up, as well. The former, not even taking a moment to ask what was going on, just grabbed his cardigan and ran out the door, putting it on as he rushed to Aika’s room.

 “Aika?!” he asked as he opened it…only to see an empty bed with rumpled sheets and Kumi, looking under the bed frame before she looked up at Luffy, who got down on his knees and looked under the bed himself. Sure enough, there she was: his younger half-sister, in her Wolf Form, her tail curled up in between her legs…and bawling her eyes out.

 “…Oh, Aika,” Luffy said as he reached his arms and gently pulled her out from underneath the mattress. “You okay, Little Wolf?”

 “…I’m sorry, Big Brother…!” Aika whimpered. “The storm…it was so scary…!”

 “Aww, I know,” Luffy said, rocking back and forth as he held her. “It’s gonna be okay.”

 “Is everything all right?” Robin asked as she came in, followed by Nami and the others.

 “What’s wrong with the squirt?” Zoro asked.

 “Aika got frightened by the storm,” Luffy answered. “You guys go back to sleep, I got this.”

 “You sure?” Franky asked.

 “Yeah, I got it,” Luffy assured.

 “Okay, but we’re here if you need us,” Sanji spoke up before they all headed back to bed, or watch duty in Sanji and Usopp’s case.

 “You should’ve told us you were scared, you know,” Luffy said.

 “…How can I be a pirate,” Aika began, “if I’m afraid of a thunderstorm?”

 Luffy sighed as he gently pet the wolf girl’s head.

 “You were afraid I’d laugh at you, huh?” he inquired, causing her to nod in reply. “Don’t be sillier than you already are…I’m your big brother. I’m supposed to comfort you and tell you everything’s gonna be okay.”

 “So you’re not mad?” Aika asked, sniffling as she looked up at him. “Really?”

 “Of course I’m not mad,” Luffy answered. “In fact…I understand more than you think I do. I used to be afraid of thunder and lightning, too, when I was little.”

 Aika’s eyes went wide.

 “You were afraid?” she asked. “But…but you’re gonna be the King of the Pirates, one day!”

 “Just because I’m gonna be King of the Pirates doesn’t mean I can’t be afraid,” Luffy answered. “Sometimes, when it was stormy outside, I couldn’t sleep at night because I was so scared of the thunder and lightning. It was so loud and scary…”

 “So…how’d you get through it?” Aika asked.

 “Yeah, Luffy,” Kumi spoke up. “How’d you do it?”

 “Well,” Luffy began, “I had my brothers with me.”

 Aika gasped upon hearing that.

 “Big Brother Ace and Big Brother Sabo?” she asked.

 “Yeah,” Luffy smiled. “They helped me a lot.”

Flashback

 A 7-year-old Luffy sat on his futon, shivering frightfully as he wrapped his blanket around himself, staring outside to see the pouring rain and hearing the howling wind. BABOOM!! FWASH!! Thunder crashed and lightning cracked the sky, causing the rubber boy to yelp in fear before he ducked down, covering his head as he tried his hardest not to cry…even though tears were already escaping from his eyes.

 “Luffy…”

 Luffy gasped as he heard 10-year-old Ace grumbling as he sat up and glared.

 “Will you shut up and go to sleep, already?” asked Ace. “You’ve been yelling for an hour, now!”

 “But Ace,” Luffy sniffled, “it…it’s so scary…!”

 “Suck it up and deal with it,” Ace said in his usual callous tone. “It’s not the end of the world. Just wait it out and go to sleep already.”

 “But Ace…!” Luffy whined.

 “Look,” Ace started, “don’t you think it’s pretty stupid of you to be afraid when you know that Sabo and I are right here with you?”

 “…Huh?” muttered Luffy, blinking at him in confusion.

 “I think what Ace is trying to say,” Sabo began as he sat up, “is that you shouldn’t be scared, Luffy…as long as you’ve got us. We promise, we’ll keep you safe…okay?”

 A pause…but then Luffy smiled and nodded his head.

 “Okay!” he chirped, causing Sabo to smile before ruffling his hair, as if in a comforting manner.

 “Good,” he said.

 “Now shut up and go to sleep, will ya?” Ace asked as he lied back down.

 “Love you, too, Ace!” Luffy spoke, causing his brother to roll his eyes…but he smiled, nonetheless. Sabo chuckled as he lied back down, as well, followed by Luffy, who grinned from ear-to-ear before he finally fell asleep as the storm rolled on outside.

Flashback end

 “As long as I had my brothers,” Luffy said, “I felt brave enough to face anything…and what’s more, I’ve got Nami, Zoro, and everybody else to get me through my problems…and what’s more, I’ve got you now, too, Aika.”

 Aika smiled, her tail wagging, as did Kumi.

 “So you shouldn’t have to be afraid to tell anyone,” Luffy said. “Even if you’re scared, you should remember you’re not alone…you got me and Nami and everyone else.”

 “And Big Brother Sabo and Big Sis Koala, too?” Aika asked.

 “Yeah, even them,” Luffy nodded.

 “…Thank you, Big Brother,” Aika said as she returned to her human form and hugged her older half-brother, who returned her embrace.

 “You wanna sleep with me and Nami, tonight?” Luffy asked.

 “Can Kumi come?” Aika asked.

 “Sure!” Luffy answered as he gathered the Akita puppy into his arms.

***Short timeskip brought to you by Ryo Kurokiba’s bandanna (Food Wars reference)***

 “Is everything okay, now?” Nami asked as Luffy came in with Aika and Kumi in his arms.

 “Yep!” Luffy replied as he got in bed with the two half-pints. “All taken care of!”

 Aika giggled as Nami brought her into her arms.

 “Oh, sweetie,” the navigator said. “Did the storm really scare you?”

 “Yeah,” Aika answered, “but Big Brother made it all better!”

 “I do what I can,” Luffy added with a bit of a cocky smirk, causing Nami to playfully nudge him.

 Kumi yawned as she curled up at the foot of the bed while Aika lied in between the captain and navigator.

 “Goodnight, Big Brother,” Aika said. “Goodnight, Big Sis Nami. I love you.”

 “We love you, too, Aika,” Nami whispered as she kissed Aika’s forehead.

 “Sweet dreams, Little Sis,” Luffy added as he and Nami embraced the little girl, who smiled as she began to finally fall asleep…the storm still raging outside, unheard.

THE END