When The Sun Came Up (i Was Looking At You)

DEAR FANFICTION WRITERS

Thanks for existing

Actually that no punctuation plot hole ooc wattpad fanfic written by that 12 year old will ALWAYS be better than character ai. And I love that 12 year old btw

Green with Envy

Adashino x reader x Ginko (can be read as platonic or romantic)

Oh dear half-child, how do you feel? Does your sharp teeth scare away mortals with softer features? Is your too-human face too unlike that of your spirit friends? Oh if only you knew how loved you were.

Yokai and humans.

They were both different.

       Though you spent a fair amount of time among the yokai, intrinsically familiar with the customs of a world that laid parallel to the human world, the daily company you kept cemented you deeply into the world of mortals. So long spent among them made you maintain a constant front, dulling down yourself to appear palatable. Thus, it wasn’t hard to forget that you were not fully human.

But then there’d be inevitable moments that remind you of what you were and what you weren’t. Claws not fit to be on a normal person that would leave scratches on Adashino’s precious dark wood doorways. A stamina level surpassing even that of Ginko, the ever-wandering man asking to take a break long before the effects of traveling hit you. But nothing reminded you of your otherness as much as watching Adashino and Ginko interact with others.

Sometimes you loved to punish yourself by forcing yourself to watch things as they unfold.

(Because that was what you did, ever since you were a kid.)

(Watch. All you knew was how to watch)

(Even as your family house went up in smoke and flames and your mother died protecting your father in front of you, all her Yokai glory forever stained by dirt and blood.)

(Even as your father perished, too, at the hands of the village he called his own when trying to get her body back.)

Your throat itched with the sensation of phantom smoke and screaming and you knew that today would be a bad day. A day without words as they would stay locked up tight in your throat no matter how much you tried. Bad days like these used to be common, back when wounds were fresher. But since the arrival of two humans in your life, they’d become few and far in between.

(Few but not gone. And today was going to be one of them.)

The sounds of brass bells being rung and cheers rising up from the streets drew your attention from the dark musings of your thoughts and outwards. From your viewpoint up in the trees and surrounded by their foliage, you had a bird’s eye view of the bustling town market from where you sat. A small festival, that’s what it was. A child had just won a prize for successfully scooping up a turtle with his net. Now the parents cheered as the vendor gave the child a sewn turtle animal. Your gaze stayed locked on the idyllic scene, of a precious family moment.

Oh, how you envied them.

If anybody were to look up at your hiding spot at the moment, they would have seen the golden gleam of slit-like eyes and a dark, blurry shadow among the leaves and nothing more. The weak illusion spell that you managed to cast ensured that they couldn’t see you, despite being so near to others. Festivals like these were rare, the village too small to host frequent ones so when they happened it was a special treat. Both you and Ginko had traveled back for this occasion to be able to help out the townsfolks and enjoy it too. But as the days approached it only got busier and busier. You, when not helping out with the village these past few days, had taken up the mantle of talking to the local forest Yokai. A few liked to mingle among humans during this time, taking in the sights and sounds, and a few appreciated the warnings of more frequent traffic occurring in their zones and it was your job to let them know. 

On the other hand, Adashino, being the doctor and honorary member of the village council, was pulled in all sorts of directions. Budgeting, setup, deliveries form the incoming boats. Even now, he was off helping oversee any problems and keep the peace. And Ginko—

Ginko was passing right in front of your line of sight, deep in conversation with Io.

Ah, Io, the girl who swam with the Suiko. The girl who was saved by the collective efforts of the village. You remembered seeking out the Yokai remedies in the forest to help reverse the effects. A kind, kind girl. Sometimes a bit too selfless, but always eager to help. She had felt indebted to you all, even though all of you had seeked no payment except for her good health and happiness. Despite Ginko’s insistence that he didn't want to take anything from her, she still stopped by Adashino’s to occasionally drop off catches of fish when she had some to spare.

Your eyes tracked the pair as they stopped in front of a stall, Ginko helping Io lift up a case of ice. The slick surface of stray ice under his feet made him slip, almost sending him tumbling down, case and all. His limbs flailed for a moment before he steadied himself. The sight of the usually composed man flustered made Io and some of the locals break into well-natured laughter. Ginko ducked his head, rubbing the nape of his neck in embarrassment as he chuckled.

An ugly feeling flared within your chest at the joyous scene, the longing for closeness making your chest ache. On a normal day, you would’ve been down there already, flitting among the stalls and indulging in the treats. But the work the last few days had forced you to expend more magic than you realized. It didn’t hit you how bad it was until this morning when you nearly ripped a crate apart after getting spooked. Thankfully, only Adashino noticed before you quickly excused yourself to slink away before you could hurt anybody. Even now, as you had dropped the exhausting human mirage in favor of the much easier hiding spell, it still made you twitchy and tired.

Such was your hand deal in life, not enough Yokai blood to wield magic extensively like your brethren but with just enough in you to irreversibly put you apart from all mortal men.

The sounds of goodbyes rose up and you watched Ginko and Io depart back to where they came from. Your feet itched to hop down and pursue them, to join the streams of people moving through the village.

But you were tired.

Tired tired tired.

***

Sometimes, Adashino regretted stepping into such an influential position in the village. Despite there being the officials and the elders who made the major decisions, many of them relied on him for aid. Especially with big events such as these when all he wanted was to spend some time in his archives and organize his collections with Ginko, listening to you chattering their ears off with your tales. 

Don’t get him wrong, he loved where he was now, and if given the chance, he would have done it all over again. He loved being able to contribute his knowledge to the people and help them with everything he could. But he just wished they didn’t make him out to be such an important figure. He was just a humble doctor who liked to collect the unusual, after all.

Well–compared to you and Ginko, he wasn’t exactly humble. But he tried to live an honest life. A life that his parents would be proud of too. It was why he moved out to this village in the first place.

(A desperate fisherman coming to the family apothecary. The village was just beginning to pop up then and was hoping to be able to have a physician who could manage the sickness that had fallen over the town)

His mother had encouraged him to go. Sent him off with a small fortune in his hands left behind by his father. She had reassured him she’d be alright. His father’s time as the most successful physician in their town ensured that landed the family with good graces and good fortune, covering for his wife and two sons even after his death.

(Even now, she continued to send parcels, bigger than before ever since he started mentioning two other individuals in his mail.)

But the responsibilities heaped upon him made it impossible to seek you out after he saw what occurred that morning. It happened so quickly, not even the roughhousing boys who crashed into you realized it, but for a second Adashino’s sharper eyes caught the flicker in your appearance as it slipped to reveal snapping teeth and slitted eyes. He saw the way the crate in your hands began to splinter but as soon as it happened you had shut everything down under tight lock and key, expression freezing over like ice over a winter pond. Nobody noticed as you finished, laughing a laugh with no joy in it towards a joke before you slipped away.

Nobody except him.

And he wasn’t able to grasp a moment with you before you slipped away like mist through his fingers.

A voice called out for him and Adashino cursed his altruistic nature, wishing he had his tobacco pipe in hand. “Coming!”

“....ut it here, Ginko. Thank you for your help, I don’t what I’d have done without you.”

“Anytime.”

The familiar tenor made Adashino stop in his tracks, heading whipping back to seek out its owner. Seeing the white mop of hair, the doctor quickly adverted his course and headed straight for the Mushishi. He skidded to a stop in front of him, monocle nearly falling off. “Ginko! There you are. Please tell me you have a moment.”

Ginko tilted his head, blinking slowly through the haze of his cigarette smoke. “Sure do.”

“Okay good, good. Have you seen–” His eyes flitted to the left as he thought he saw you, uttering your name. “–anywhere?”

“Can’t say I have. Why? Dodging responsibilities?”

Adashino shook his head, worry surging back to the forefront of his mind. Why were you not there? Usually, you’d be among the streets already; if not, Ginko should’ve spotted you in the crowd. But to not see hide nor hair of you this entire time? 

It must have shown on his face because Ginko stepped forward. “Is something wrong?”

Despite the responsibilities weighing down his shoulders, he grabbed the man’s arm and began dragging him to the side. “Come on give me a moment and I’ll explain to you. Can you do me a favor?”

***

Ginko was troubled.

The worried look on Adashino’s face as he left the doctor to resume his responsibilities stuck with the white-haired man as he set off to take a lap around the town, looking for you. Now that the doctor brought up his concerns about you, Ginko couldn’t help but re-analyze the entire day so far, recalling a very distinct lack of your sharp laughter and crimson kimono that you loved to wear for festivals. The entire time he attributed your absence to you being busy helping Adashino but when the doctor had asked him if he had seen you it threw him for a loop. And then the short explanation that entailed, Adashino’s concerns about your appearance–which you usually kept under lock and key–nearly being shown in the middle of the market.

So there he was, trying to seek out a flighty little half-spirit like the way he seeked out Mushi. It reminded him of the first time he met you when you both were younger and less experienced in life. It was a Mushi report that turned out to be a Yokai, one that you were also in the region to deal with, and he had accidentally tracked you down instead of the actual issue. Luckily, you were agreeable enough to aid him in finding the Yokai, and your help was crucial in asking it to move out from the river the village used. The rest was history.

Through the length of time that the three of you have known each other, there were things that were shared among you three that no outsiders knew. Moments reserved only for each other and no one else. You had seen him at his worst and he had seen you at yours and thus he was adept at spotting when you were running yourself ragged.

Usually.

Ginko muttered a curse under his breath as he thought about you in the past few days. The ozone smell of your magic fluctuating wildly when you three spent time with each other at home, how your appetite had waned despite it usually increasing when you used a lot of powers, the way you were tenser around open fires lately. But because of the work occupying you all, he had missed all the signs.

His feet picked up the pace as he scanned the area around him. He knew you were smart and capable enough to care for yourself but he didn’t want you to spend your time alone with your thoughts.

(And Adashino would have his sorry hide if Ginko didn’t find you before the end of today.)

An inquiry from a local made him stop as they roped him into a conversation and he tried his best to entertain it without drawing it on for too long. Thankfully his practice in patience paid off and they soon excused themself to send him on his way. Pulling a cigarette out, he lit it up and inhaled the calming smoke. While the festival was entertaining, he couldn’t wait until it was over so he could actually spend some time with you and Adashino beyond hurried conversations as you guys carried stuff past each other on the street.

(Though he lamented that he’d have to leave very soon after the festival, lest he attracts any unsavory Mushi close to people he held so dear.)

With a sigh, the man took another drag and moved on. 

Now… If he was his sneaky little fox spirit, where would he hide?

***

The sun had shifted to shine directly on your face in the time you woke up from your daze and now your skin felt flushed and tacky. Hot and feverish with heat. Despite your state, you still managed to pick up the sounds of a throat clearing at the base of your tree. You shifted, an eye peering down through the fringes of your hair.

“You’ve been here the whole time?” Ginko asked, hands tucked in his pocket and face upturned to smile at you in his small, signature smile. “How long have you been up there, huh? ‘Shino’s been searching around for you.”

You didn’t answer–couldn’t answer as words refuse to give way–but a deliberate shift making the leaves around you rustle was enough of an answer for the man as he let out a good-natured sigh, stepping up to under where you were sitting and extending his arms out to beckon you.

Ginko called your nickname, short and sweet as it fell from his mouth, arms beckoning you. “C’mere. Let’s go back before it gets dark and Adashino decides to lock us in his shed. I’ll catch you.”

There was hesitation in your actions as you began to untuck from the ball that you’d curled up into, but the endless patience in Ginko’s face and his calm demeanor reassured you. As one leg dangled over the branch, you peered down at him with tired eyes.

“As scrawny as I may seem, I’m stronger than I look. I won’t drop you. Don’t you trust me?”

You did.

Gravity swept you down toward him as you pushed off, clenching your eyes shut in anticipation. Lithe arms caught you with a grunt and you let out a quiet wheeze at the impact. Miraculously, the man didn’t topple under the weight and force of your landing. You clambered off him, ready to head back but the moment your feet touched the ground the consequences of perching in a tree the whole day caught up to you. Ginko saw you toppling and quickly went to support you. 

“Don’t think you can make it back to Adashino’s, huh?”

You pursed your lips, shaking your head. To your surprise, Ginko began pulling away from you. There was a moment of panic as you thought he was leaving you before he crouched down in front of you.

“Up you go.”

A moment passed as you stared at him in confusion. Ginko glanced back at you as he raised an eyebrow after seeing you still standing there.

“Come on. You’re really gonna walk all the way home and up the hill?”

That question helped you make up your mind. Quickly, you clambered up, locking your arms around his shoulders and he grabbed the underside of your thighs.

“You’ll be my medicine cabinet for today,” Ginko said as he stood up. “A bigger, livelier one.”

You gently pat him on top of his head, messing with the hair there.

“I’ll drop you if you don’t stop that,” Ginkgo warned, jostling you jokingly.

A small amused huff escaped you at that, knowing full well that he wouldn't do that, and resting your chin on his shoulder. The walk back was peaceful, with Ginko pointing out a few of the harmless Mushi floating around and remarking on some of the Yokai visitors he saw arrive today.

(Some of them, he told you, asked after your wellbeing.)

With his presence came the feeling of your soul settling down, your skin feeling more right on your body. You weren’t like them, but that didn’t matter. There was still a place for you in their world and them in yours.

“this character is a heartless villain they’d never love you or ur oc” “this character doesn’t do romance” “this—“

LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER

WRONG! you or your oc is the exception

What am i doing here i dont even work at this mcdonalds

Sygna parade!

Alt version!

Ok first, I need to scream:

I LOVE THE SYGNA SUITS

THE FRILLS!! THE FASHION!! THE NOD TO OLD FASHIONED TRAIN CONDUCTOR SUITS FROM 1800’S!!THE ELECTRIC LANTERNS ARE SO CLEVER!!

POKEMAS EMBRACED THE YELLOW AND PURPLE WE LOVE TO ASSOCIATE THEM WITH AND IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY!!

THE BOOTS! THE FLOWER SLEEVES! THE BLACK COLLAR SHIRT ON EMMET! THE STRIPED TIGHTS!

*ahem*

The designs fast drew my mind into marching bands so I went for this idea first ahah! At some point I watched a ton of marching band videos, they cheered me up with the exciting and very complex perfomances and the players enthusiam was so catchy!! Also watching the 1st person POVs of i.e. the trumpet and drum players are super fun ahaha! Combined with the striking costumes all this directly reminded me of submas, and now it’s a thing!!!

Petrichor (Alpha Luffy x GN Beta Reader)

This is an apology OS for being too horny on main (I'm not sorry). It moves a little fast but this is kind of how Luffy recruited the rest of the crew, so I thought it fit.

SFW, ~3.7k, OS, Luffy x GN Reader

TW: none, Luffy does a smooch <3

~

“You smell like dirt,” an Alpha said, standing in front of your face. He was wearing a straw hat and an open red shirt and staring at you intently. He and a friend were standing in front of your beachfront stall after strolling down the boardwalk. His friend was a Beta like you, wearing overalls and a bandanna on his head. You thought you recognized him from somewhere but you weren’t sure exactly where. Based on what he’d told you, you weren’t sure you wanted to know him, either.

“That’s rude,” you stated, already turning away from him. You were working so you couldn’t rip him a new one but you wanted to. Some Alphas made it a hobby to be assholes to Betas, maybe this guy was like that. Maybe he was bored, maybe he was a dick, maybe it was the hot weather - you didn’t care why he was being nasty. It was a slow day at the kite store, the dead, stagnant air not helping sales along the beach in the slightest. You worked along the boardwalk, trying to sell kites to kids and their parents for a fun day time activity. Sometimes you did kite flying competitions if there was money as a prize but mostly you liked to make your hourly and spend time on your own hobbies.

“Nah, it’s my favorite smell. Dirt after the rain. You smell like the forest after a big morning rain clears the clouds,” he said, taking a big whiff near you and giving you a bright smile. You were a little weirded out - you were a Beta and it was known that Betas didn’t have strong scents. No one had ever commented on your scent before, much less to say that they liked it. One time when you were a kid a friend came over and said your house smelled like soup, but you didn’t think that counted.

“So whatcha doin’?” the Alpha asked you, his big eyes staring at you over the counter.

“Working?” you replied, more of a question than a statement. 

“Is it fun?” he continued, now reaching for a kite’s tail with his fingers. Was this Alpha for real? Was he teasing you?

“No? That’s why it’s called work and not ‘fun-time,” you replied, hoping your coworker wouldn’t overhear you. Not that it would be a surprise, you didn’t think your boss could require you to have fun on the job. Still, customer service was always number one (or whatever).

“I don’t like working. I tried it once at a restaurant with Sanji and it was terrible,” he stated, sticking out his tongue like he’d tasted something bitter. You laughed despite his seriousness. What the hell was he talking about?

“Yeah, I get it. But gotta make money, right?”

“We just find treasure, it’s easier that way,” he said, his arms extending like rubber to touch the top of a kite high up on the wall. Ah! That was where you recognized him from. You had liked his charming smile on his wanted poster, he looked more like he was on a camping trip than a wanted man from his countenance.

“You’re Monkey D. Luffy, the pirate,” you stated, watching as his friend smacked his hands from touching the kite too much. 

“Yeah, that’s me! I like your kites,” Luffy said, continuing to touch the most expensive piece in the store. It was a replica of the Oro Jackson but in kite form, it would sail through the skies beautifully when the weather was right. And with your devil fruit power, you could make the weather right whenever you wanted. You ate the Wind Wind Fruit, giving you the ability to control, and turn into, the wind. You tried not to use it much in public since you didn’t want to be forcibly taken as someone’s private bellows or used by the Marines to propel their warships.

“Ah, thanks. I make most of the complex ones here,” you replied. There were regular kites, dragons, birds, boxes, diamonds, the regular kind that kids and adults like to buy but you made the one of a kind kites in the shop. You'd made replicas of a lot of famous pirate ships - you made the Oro Jackson, Moby Dick, Red Force, Queen Mama Chanter, Victoria Punk, Polar Tang, the Numancia Flamingo, a whole bunch of Marine ships and a few others belonging to up and coming pirates. When you were hired at the store you didn’t have much to do when it wasn't busy so you started making them to pass time. They brought people to the store and since you understood the wind so well it wasn’t that difficult for you to make them.

“I think I actually made your old ship,” you said, picking yourself off your forearms from leaning over the counter.

“Whaaaaa - really?! You make these?!” Luffy exclaimed, his hands on his cheeks in shock. The pirate with him was now paying attention to you after looking at some of the kite string for sale.

“Yeah, the ‘Going Merry,’ right?” you asked, looking through the inventory behind the small counter.

“Merry!” the other pirate sobbed as you brought out the kite, reaching over the counter to hold it. Whatever, that one wasn’t worth much anymore as the Strawhats had a new ship made by Franky. 

“You can have it, no one’s gonna buy that,” you said, offering the pirates their own kite.

“WHOA REALLY?! USOPP DID YOU HEAR THAT?” Luffy asked, his mouth hanging open. 

“How do I fly it? There’s lot of strings and attachments. And wait, why won’t anyone buy it? The Merry was a great ship!” Usopp accused, pointing a finger at you.

“Eh, it’s nothing to do with the ship -customers are fickle. They’ll want a model of your current ship now that you’ve got a new one. Besides, people don’t usually buy my kites, they’re for show and competitions. They’re too expensive for people to mess around with,” you explained. Usopp was holding the Merry kite like it was spun from glass.

“I can show you how to fly it, I’m gonna be on my lunch break in a few minutes anyway,” you offered. From everything you’d ever heard, the Strawhat pirates were a small and rather nice bunch. They didn’t steal people or money from islands and you hadn’t heard of them killing anyone either. Besides, so few people cared about your kites or asked how to fly them it would be fun to finally teach someone the right way to do it. And if there was any trouble, you’d be able to whisk yourself away no matter how strong they were.

“How? There’s no wind today,” Luffy mused, his head tilted to the side like a dog. He really was cute, you thought. He was exactly your type - cute, sweet, strong, and funny. If he wasn’t going to be leaving soon you would have tried to shoot your shot, even if he was an Alpha. A lot of Alphas would fuck around with Betas until someone better showed up and as much as you didn’t like to think of yourself as a second rate option, that was the way things were.

“I’m sure it will be picking up soon,” you replied enigmatically. 

“Hey Anna, I’m going to lunch. Be back later,” you yelled at your coworker, who was staring at a telesnail.

“Yeah,” she replied, not even sparing you a glance. Whatever, you’d done your due diligence. Taking the kite back from Usopp, you folded it quickly and put it under your arm.

“Come on, let’s go to the cliffs, there’s more wind there,” you explained, beckoning to Usopp and Luffy. Luffy’s face broke into a wide grin as he linked his arm in your own. You’d never been so close to an Alpha before, he smelled like salt and sunshine and a hint of meat.

“Let’s go!” he yelled, pumping his fist in the air. It felt like the air was charged with excitement, like fun was bubbling up from the ether.

It was a little awkward to walk linked arm in arm with an Alpha so you kept your face down. As you passed all the other shops on the boardwalk, you noticed Omegas preening and pushing their breasts forward to get the attention of the Alpha. It wasn’t their fault, Alphas and Omegas were more beholden to their biology than Betas. They were going to want him and he was going to want them, even if just for a night. Even you as a Beta could tell he was incredibly strong so you were sure they were being pushed by their pheromones to present for him.

“You can look if you want,” you muttered to Luffy. He looked around at the other stalls with confusion.

“Are there other kite stores? Do they have the Merry too?” He asked with a frown.

“What? No, there's no other kite stores. The Omegas, you know, you can look. I uh….I'm sure you want to,” you mumbled.

“Do they make fancy kites too?”

“No - wha- no, only I make unique kites on the island. But they're, yanno, Omegas. And you're an unclaimed Alpha. So like, I get it. You can go talk to them or sniff them or whatever.” Your ego would take a hit but you did it to yourself - you knew how the world worked and it wasn’t his fault if you forgot your place.

“I don't wanna talk to them. I wanna keep talking to you. Besides, none of them smell as good as you do. They smell like flowers ‘n food but none of em smell like dirt,” he said with sincerity. You were a little taken aback, no Alpha gave up talking to Omegas for a Beta, no matter what kind of kites they made. Still, you steeled your heart for the inevitable time when you'd be left on the side of the road for an Omega. It was bound to happen, you had to keep reminding yourself. 

Taking the craggly path up to the cliffs, you and Luffy and Usopp chatted, mostly about kites and kite design. They were more interested than you expected, but you enjoyed the conversation anyway. Reaching the summit, the wind has picked up a little bit not much.

“Are we gonna have enough wind to fly this thing? It's pretty heavy,” mused Usopp.

“I think it'll work out,” you replied, already creating a stronger gust of wind. You tried to do it inconspicuously, like the wind had just picked up on its own. The kite fluttered in the wind as the waves below crashed into the rocky cliffs. It was a beautiful day, you could see for miles out into the ocean. 

“Oh hey, isn’t that your new ship? The 1,000 Sunny?” you asked, squinting into the distance. With the huge lion’s head on the mast it was instantly recognizable. The design would make a good kite too, you thought.

“Yeah! HI SUNNY!” Luffy yelled, waving his arms wildly at the inanimate ship in the distance. He was a little strange but you found him charming. You'd met plenty of alpha-holes but no one ever like him before.

“So how does this work? I see the main string but how do you -?” Usopp questioned, motioning for you to hand him the kite. Snapping out of your thoughts about the Alpha, you focused back on Usopp. 

“Right, uh. Ok. So, it's different from other, simpler kites, you need to use both hands and control the other strings with your fingers and even with your feet if you want to waggle the ship in the air,” you began to explain, unfolding the kite in your hands. You explained by flying the kite and illustrating in real time. Usopp was a quick study, he understood fairly easily what he had to do to get the kite to fly. And you were subtly giving the exact kinds of breezes that would make the kite soar with ease.

“See? You’re a natural,” you said to Usopp. He flushed a little but otherwise kept concentrating on keeping the Merry in the sky. You used your power to make the ship bob in the air, mimicking its motions on the water.

“Like I said, you guys can keep it. I’ll make another one of the Sunny sometime,” you said, about ready to put a cap on this experience. It was silly and cute and you’d fantasize over the Alpha that got away but ultimately it was time to get going back to work and back to reality.

“Too bad we’re not kites,” Luffy said wistfully, watching the kite soar in the sky. 

“What do you mean?” you asked, interested again. 

“Well, maybe I could sail like that,” Luffy started to say while rubbing his chin.

“DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!” Usopp said, bonking Luffy on the head. Betas didn’t usually strike at Alphas and live but you were starting to realize there wasn’t anything usual about Luffy.

“I mean….we could,” you started, kicking a rock off the cliff in front of you. “I do happen to have a paraglider that I built up here -”

“YES!” Luffy yelled with a huge smile.

“ABSOLUTELY NOT!” Usopp said, crossing his arms in front of his torso in the shape of an X.

“But it needs two people by weight and the two of you wouldn’t know how to maneuver it together -”

“I have a severe case of paraglider-itis,” Usopp said quickly, backing away from the cliff. “You guys can do what you want but I’m going to stay on land….uh, I think I hear Franky calling my name,” he stammered, already running along the path back to town with the Merry kite tucked safely under his arm.

“Let’s do it!!” Luffy yelled, letting his hat hang off his neck. You were starting to get excited too - no one else had ever wanted to be your second, saying it was too dangerous or that you’d fall to your deaths off the cliffs. You strongly suspected you wouldn’t, you were fairly sure your paraglider would work. And if not, well, you could turn into the wind and you’d be fine. Luffy seemed durable, he would probably make it out alive as well. 

“Heeheehee, OK! I’ll go get it, stay here!” you said as the wind turned stronger with you0r excitement. You tried to calm down but were too happy to finally have someone else to test your paraglider with. 

About twenty minutes later, you’d gotten the paraglider up and ready to go. You’d strapped yourself into it

“So, it’s a giant kite?” Luffy asked as you handed him his harness.

“More or less,” you said, shrugging. “Do you want me to explain how it works?” you asked Luffy, who was struggling with the straps.

“Nah. I don’t really care,” he said, still stuck in the straps. He groaned and tried again before throwing the whole thing down.

“Can’t we just use my body for this? I don’t wanna wear that thing. Feels too tight,” he complained, kicking the harness with a sandaled foot.

“Use your body…?”

And so, with a surprisingly little amount of convincing from Luffy, you’d detached from your paraglider. He’d made his body into roughly the same shape as the sail and was holding you in his arms and had his legs looped around you for good measure.

“If you drop me, I’ll kill you,” you said, giving him the harshest glare you could. You wouldn’t die if he dropped you but he didn’t know that. 

“Stop talking and let’s go,” he whined, getting impatient.

“Alright, I’m gonna run and jump off the cliff, OK? And the wind will do the rest. Here! We! Go!” you yelled as you ran as fast as you could off the cliff. Using your fruit, you caused an updraft to pick up Luffy so you soared through the air. Your laughter was ringing through the cliffs towards the sea as you enjoyed the ride. You’d been flying for a little while in your Logia form but it was more fun to stay in your physical body for rides like this. Luffy was laughing too, the two of you whooping and cheering when you made the wind take him higher or push him faster. 

All too soon, you were headed towards the deck of the Sunny. With your power you could have probably kept Luffy in the air longer but it had to look kind of natural to ensure you didn’t arouse suspicion. You wanted to land gracefully on the deck and braced your legs for a landing but Luffy snapped back to his regular form earlier than you anticipated, making the two of you tumble one on top of each other until you hit the main mast of the ship. You groaned as the wood from the deck bit into your side but it was Luffy who took most of the hit from the fall.

“Ow, that didn’t go as planned -”

“We can practice so that next time we won’t crash -” Luffy interrupted, excited as ever. Luffy was laying on top of you smiling as you laid on your back. Now that you were up close and personal, you could smell his delicious scent and had the urge to wrap your arms around his neck to pull him closer. Instead you tried to dislodge him from on top of you by pushing him off. But Luffy was a lot heavier than he looked and you weren’t able to move him an inch.

“I wanna kiss you,” Luffy said, apropos of nothing. You blinked.

“You don’t mean that,” you replied, unsure of how to leave with your pride still intact.

“I do. I’ve never wanted to kiss anyone before but I wanna try it with you,” he continued, now resting his head on your chest.

“I think you should find someone better for that,” you said, trying to wiggle away. Luffy looked at you seriously for the first time since you’d met, the intensity making you shiver.

“There’s no one better. No one else knows how to fly me like a kite,” he said, like that made complete sense.

“Yeah but you're an Alpha and I'm just a Beta. It doesn't - you'll change your mind you'll see,” you said with a little more sadness in your voice than you anticipated

“I told you. I don’t care about some Omega somewhere. I wanna kiss you,” Luffy said, staring into your eyes. You blushed, it sounded exactly like the lines in the romance novels you indulged in secretly, the ones where Alphas forewent their designations in favor of love with a Beta. Even though they were popular reads, you’d never heard of it actually happening in real life.

“I wanna know if you taste like dirt too,” he said, his hands now holding you by your face. 

“Uh-? Is that your favorite flavor?” This was by far the strangest prelude to a kiss that you’d ever had but then again, watching a man fly down the cliffs using his own body wasn’t something you saw before either.

“Shishishishi, how'd you know? Good dirt is hard to find,” he laughed into your face. He leaned in so close you could practically feel his eyelashes on your cheek. What the hell, you thought.  You closed the gap for a small kiss, hesitant in case you misread his cues. His eyebrows hiked but after a moment he kissed you back. There wasn’t any tongue and he didn’t open his mouth, but he laughed into yours which made your heart skip a beat. A light wind blew his messy hair out of his face as he pulled away, pushing himself up to his elbows.

“That was great! Come with me and join my crew and we can keep kissing. You’re already on the ship, why not?” Luffy exclaimed, hauling you off the ground and into a bear hug. You didn’t quite follow his reasoning but it was flattering to hear it all the same.

“I don’t think you need a kite maker for a pirate crew,” you said dryly, noting the various elements of their ship from your slightly higher vantage point. Adding a tangerine grove to the deck of a kite would make an interesting challenge. 

“But I like the kites! And besides, you control the wind. That’s really useful,” he stated. Your emotions went into overdrive - how did he know? Was he going to keep you on the ship to power their sails? You knew you shouldn’t have trusted a wanted pirate, especially not an Alpha who pretended to be so nice to someone like you to ensnare you.

“N-no, that’s not true -” you stated as the wind started whipping the two of you, nearly taking the straw hat off his head. 

“Yes it is. The wind changes with your emotions, you need more practice. But you can practice with me,” he replied, crossing his arms with a smile. You bit your lip, your cover was blown. You could deny it but the fact that the wind was increasing moment by moment wasn’t helping your case. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. It kind of worked, the wind dying back down to a pleasant breeze.

“Besides, I wanna keep kissing you and tasting your dirt. That’s another good reason for you to come along with us,” he said with no shame whatsoever. 

“And what if I wanted to leave?” you said, still unsure about the whirlwind of events unfolding before you. Luffy pouted.

“If you wanna leave and be a master kite maker I won’t stop you from achieving your dream. But I’d be sad. I want you here with me,” he whined at you. You laughed and kissed his cheek.

“No tellin’ where the wind might blow. So, sure why not? But can I at least go get some of my stuff before we take off?”

Im really enjoying the scanlation of "the summer hikaru died" specifically cause thats a mother fucker who gets an american southern dialect. To often translaters remove dialect instead of adapting em.

"maybe it aint never was so black an white" <- horribly improper grammer. Exactly how my whole family speaks.

They own autumn 🍂🍁

What fanfic writers say vs what they mean. Btw.