Chapter Text
Luffy woke up with a gasp. His heart was beating fast and he could feel beads of sweat running down his forehead. He tried to take calming breaths but it felt like he couldn’t breathe. He could feel a rising panic that only got worse when he saw the scattered comic books on the ground. Sora, Brave Warrior of the Sea, a North Blue comic that he remembered reading as a kid. His gramps would often bring him gifts from around the Blues, bought during his travels with the marines. It couldn’t be, he thought. Why, why was he back in his old room?? The room he grew up in Foosha Village? Could it be? Was Toka actually real? She wasn’t just a dream?
He remembered being huddled against his brother Sabo and Torao when the mysterious blue-haired lady appeared before the group. She spoke of fate, a broken promise, and time travel. He remembered hearing Zoro scoff at that, accusing her of being one of Kaido’s subordinates, a new sick form of torture the Beast had devised. But Marco vouched for her and that was enough to quiet any suspicions. Sabo stared intently, not quite believing her but not dismissing her outright. Luffy was just tired and cuddled closer to Traffy who was paying close attention like Sabo. With her awakened devil fruit powers, she discovered she could go back in time. She received a vision and traveled to their time so she could send them back. It was all so confusing but he understood enough that he would be able to see his nakama again. So when the strange woman gave them a choice, he took it like a starving man. They all did, though there was a small part of him that thought it all a dream. But seeing his old room again, Luffy began to wonder if Momo’s mom had really sent them to the past. All of these thoughts were racing through Luffy’s head and he desperately tried to remember what Sabo told him to do in these situations. He closed his eyes and focused on the sounds around him. He could hear the hum of the fan, the cicadas outside his window and an owl in the distance. He took another breath and this time it came easier. After a few minutes he opened his eyes and looked once more around his room. He noticed his dirty clothes in the corner, the broken toys scattered around and a cup of water next to his bed that Makino had probably placed there at some point. He wiggled his toes and lifted his arms and looked at the palms of his hands. He froze. It took longer than it should but he jumped up and out of bed, running to the bathroom mirror.
He was small again. He touched the scar underneath his eye but it was no longer there. All the scars were gone. He tried stretching his cheeks but he couldn’t. And when he tried reaching for the mirror, his arms were too short, he barely reached the top of the sink. So he jumped up and slammed his head into the mirror. He deserved to feel the pain. After a while, he slumped down to the floor and passed out. That’s how Makino found him the following morning.