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You had no doubt Luffy had seen enough of hospitals in the past weeks to last him a lifetime. The recovery process was slow enough as it was, it was even slower when he didn’t want to be here. When he couldn’t bear to be here after all that had happened.
As the nurse assigned to his ward, you had watched over the young man since he’d been admitted. You had seen him be rushed to the emergency room, barely clinging to life, and come out again—alive against all odds. You’d monitored him while he slept as his body recovered from the shock of the car accident and the subsequent ten-hour surgery, a sleep doctors said he might never wake up from. You’d watched him wake two weeks later, as if he’d merely been napping, and immediately ask to see his brother.
And you’d watched him break when they told him his brother, Ace, had been dead on arrival to the hospital.
1. Denial
He didn’t believe it at first. How could he? One second, Ace had been alive and warm and smiling right there beside him. And the next he was gone, torn away like an expired month on a calendar.
He had pinched himself again and again trying to wake himself up. It was far easier to just believe that it was all just a dream. Only once he was black and blue, and drowsy from the sedative the doctor had given him did he finally give up the notion. His anguished cries stayed with you long after unconsciousness had finally claimed him once again.
2. Anger
His confusion and pain all too soon turned to rage. It fuelled his strength where his muscles had failed him and soon he was able to stand through pure determination alone. He had only one thing on his mind.
“I need to see him.”
“Luffy, he’s gone.”
“No!” His face was contorted in pain and he swayed on his feet, but still he fought you with every ounce of strength he could muster. “Take me to him! I need to see for myself!”
“Luffy—!”
“LET ME SEE ACE.”
“He’s dead, Luffy!” You heard your voice crack but remained firm. “The funeral was yesterday. He’s gone.”
His legs gave out and he fell to his knees. You caught him before he could hit the ground but his weight only dragged you down with him and you held him close, feeling him struggle weakly against your hold as you both cried, kneeling together on the sterile linoleum floor. You stayed there with your arms around him until the orderlies came to take him away and ushered him back into the arms of on unconsciousness where he could forget, just for a little while, that his whole world wasn’t collapsing around him.
That day left you shaken. It was something you had come in contact with a lot in your time at the hospital. It was something you just had to get used to. But no matter how prepared you thought you were, there were always still those cases that hit you harder than you ever expected.
From that day forward, you made it your mission to see Luffy smiling again.
3. Bargaining
“Do you know how to make paper cranes?”
His odd question didn’t faze you. You were used to him asking the strangest things. “I’ve made them before. I’d have to refresh my memory though. Why?”
“Could you teach me?” His tone was urgent.
“Sure, if you like. I can bring in some paper in the morning.”
Then there it was—a smile. Small and fleeting, but sincere. And suddenly you realised you would do anything to see that smile return for good.
“Thanks, [Name], you’re the best!”
The next day you sat with him cross-legged on the floor, a low table between you. You took a stack of square paper from your bag and fanned it out across the surface, watching Luffy’s eyes widen in anticipation.
“So, why the sudden urge to learn origami?”
“Nami once told me this story about how if you make a thousand paper cranes, you can make a wish.”
You’d heard much of Nami, among others. Zoro, Sanji, Robin, Usopp—his friends. When you had asked him why his friends hadn’t come to visit him, he grew distant.
“They’re far away from here,” he had said then and refused to say any more. You never tried to press the subject.
“What are you going to wish for?”
“I want to bring Ace back.”
You felt the pang in your heart. His voice was so sincere, so full of hope. But… “Luffy… it’s just a story. You can’t bring him back.”
“I KNOW THAT, [NAME]!” His sudden outburst startled you. He seemed to realise, casting his eyes downward in guilt. “I just… I need to pretend I can, just for a little while, okay?”
And suddenly you understood. You understood how utterly powerless Luffy must had felt, how wracked with guilt and regret. He hadn’t been able to save Ace, but if he could suspend his disbelief for long enough, maybe it would feel like he had done something—anything— even if it was just folding paper into cranes. Maybe he could finally stop blaming himself.
“Okay,” you said, reaching for a piece of paper off the pile and beginning to fold.
“Okay?” he repeated, somewhat stunned.
“It’s my duty to see you recover. I’ll support you in anything you think might help with that.”
He sat back, thinking for a moment, before reaching for his own sheet and turning his eyes to your hands. The two of you sat together in silence, the rustling of paper the only sound between you.
4. Depression
Some days were easier than others. Some days Luffy’s concentration wandered and he’d fall into a deep depression. On those days, you made sure you went out and bought extra paper on your lunch breaks, paper with bright colours and crazy, geometric patterns—anything you thought could even bring the hint of a smile to his face.
But there were some days when the darkness was too much for even him to cast off. You sat with him, folding cranes as usual, but he seemed distant, his fingers fumbling over the steps you had taught him. It wasn’t long before he grew frustrated and crumpled the half-finished crane in his fist. He threw it aside, tears already streaming down his face.
“Why am I even doing this. It’s pointless.”
And your heart broke all over again. You rushed to his side and gathered him up in your arms. “Don’t say that. Don’t ever say that.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“I just… I miss him so much, you know?”
“I know.”
“Does it ever stop? The pain?”
“No,” you admitted. “But you’ll grow stronger and learn to bear it. You just need time.”
He sniffled and pulled away, wiping the tears from his cheeks stubbornly. “Then I’ll get stronger,” he growled. “I’ll make a thousand cranes and wish to get stronger.”
You smiled. “You already are stronger. You’ve been getting stronger every day.”
“You think so?” he choked.
“I do. Paper cranes be damned.”
He chuckled at that and you held the sound close to your heart.
5. Acceptance
“Luffy, someone’s here to see you.”
You chuckled at the puzzled look on his face. In all his weeks at the hospital, not once had he had a single visitor. That was all about to change. You opened the door wider and watched the look of confusion turn to awe, and then to elation as a wide smile split his face.
“Zoro! Nami! Everyone!”
And as his friends crowded around him, he caught your eye over their shoulders. You nodded, answering his unasked question. You’d tracked his friends to the furthest corners of the globe to bring them all here today. It hadn't been easy, but it had all been worth it just to see him smile again.
I’ll be okay now, his eyes seemed to tell you. Thanks to you.