Protectors

One shot request: KitKat24687

Rayla pulled another arrow from her quiver. Loading it in her bow, she pulled back the string, coated the arrow with her armament haki, aimed, and fired it at an enemy pirate. A dull thump on the man's head sent him crashing to the ground. She exhaled, glad that her specially made, by herself, arrows were working well. Loading another arrow she looked around. The Straw Hats were busy with other pirates.

Blood from both crews had splattered the ground. The other pirate crew out numbered them, by about a couple thousand, but with Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro they were being wiped out rather quickly. Her eyes drifted to Robin. A bit of the credit had to go to her as well. The archeologist had taken out over a hundred by herself with her devil fruit powers. The rest wasn't doing so badly either. She, herself, on the other hand, wasn't use to fighting like they were. And she only had long range fighting abilities. Still, she did what she could to take out as many pirates as she could.

Movement caught her eye. She turned but not soon enough. Her quiver was ripped from her body.

"You're a real pain in the butt, girly," the man said while tossing her arrows over the cliff and into the ocean.

"Hey! It took me forever to make those!" Rayla lunged at him. She slammed into his chest with her shoulder, sending him over the cliff as well. "Jerk!"

Rayla turned back around. A pirate was heading towards Luffy with his sword out, ready to kill their captain. Luffy didn't notice. He was too busy fighting other pirates in front of him. Her heart leaped into her throat. She dashed forward. Just as the pirate was about to slice Luffy in half, she jumped in front of him. The sword sliced through her clothes and skin. Hot blood dripped from the stinging opening.

"Huh?" Rayla heard Luffy's voice before her knees gave out on her.

"Stupid move," the pirate said. He pulled back his sword again and swung.

"Rayla!" Luffy jumped in front of her. Arm coated in haki he blocked the sword then punched the man. The man went flying several feet away from them. Luffy whipped around and knelt down next to her. "Rayla!"

"I'm fine," Rayla said. "Just a cut."

"That's not just a cut! Chopper! Rayla's hurt!" Luffy called out.

"Coming!" Chopper knocked out five more pirates before rushing over to Rayla and Luffy. He eyed the bloody wound. "We need to get you back to the ship." He wrapped a temporary bandage around her body then looked over at the rest of the crew. The enemy had finally been defeated. "At least the fighting's over."

"Rayla! What happened?!" Nami asked as the others ran over.

"Just a scratch," Rayla said.

"It doesn't look like a scratch to me," Usopp said.

"Let's go." Chopper pulled Rayla into his human arms and they all headed for the ship. They all followed their doctor to the back of the ship. He stepped inside of the door. "You all stay out here."

They reluctantly stayed in place. Luffy gripped his fists hard.

"What's wrong, Luffy?" Usopp asked.

"This didn't have to happen," Luffy said through gritted teeth.

"What are you talking about? We get hurt all the time," Nami said. "We're pirates after all."

"This isn't right! She jumped in to stop me from getting hit!" Luffy said.

"Yeah. And you'd do the same for her," Usopp said.

"It's not the same though!" Luffy said. "I'm the captain. I'm supposed to protect her!"

"It's exactly the same," Zoro said.

"No it's not!" Luffy turned and stomped away.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Usopp asked.

"To my seat!" Luffy said before disappearing around the corner.

"That idiot." Nami huffed. "His feelings for her have him so confused."

"Maybe someone should talk to him about it," Usopp said.

"I don't think that would do any good," Franky said.

"Luffy most likely won't understand us if we try and explain things to him," Brook said. "I say we leave him alone and let things work out on its own."

"Brook has a point. Besides, Luffy's too upset to listen to us right now." Sanji walked off. "I'm going to make us something to eat."

…

"How bad is it?" Rayla asked. Her eyes fell to the part of the scar she could see. With her shirt now off she could see the whole thing ran from just under her left breast to her right hip.

"Bad enough you need stitches. I can't get the bleeding to stop," Chopper said. "I'm going to have to put you to sleep now so it don't hurt as much. Don't worry. It won't be long."

"It'll be fine," Rayla said.

Chopper nodded. "Lay down."

Rayla laid back on the bed.

Before long Chopper had her out like a light. He stitched up her wounds, wiped the blood off her skin, and pulled a blanket over her before going back outside to tell everyone she was fine.

…

"You idiot!" Luffy screamed. "Why did you do that?!"

"To protect you," Rayla said. She leaned tiredly against the wall. It didn't take long for Luffy to come see her when Chopper said she could have visitors.

"I can do that myself! You got hurt!" Luffy said.

"Of course I got hurt." Rayla frowned. "I don't really understand why you're making such a big deal about this. You do it all the time."

"I'm the captain!" Luffy said. "I'm supposed to protect my crew!"

"You're being an idiot!" Rayla pushed herself to her feet, her body ached with pain despite the pain killers Chopper had given her. But she didn't care. Time and time again she watched Luffy fight for their safety, and almost died a few times. Why couldn't he understand why she did it for him this time? It wasn't like the others hadn't done it before. Zoro almost died once back on Thriller Bark. Sure she hadn't joined the crew until long after that, but she heard the story.

"You don't understand! We're in the New World! It's dangerous out here! And it's my job to protect you!" Luffy said.

"I know we're in the New World! I grew up here after all!" Rayla said. "And if you are in trouble then I'm going to protect you! So stop being so stubborn!"

Luffy gripped his fists so tightly a white sheen casted over them.

Rayla stepped back. His eyes were practically burning with twin infernos. Maybe she went a bit too far. "Luffy…" Before she could finish, Luffy turned and ran out of the room. "Luffy!"

"You okay?" Sanji asked coming in after Luffy had ran out.

"Fine."

"Then why are you crying?"

Rayla looked at him before reaching for her cheek. Brushing her fingers over her skin she found that she was indeed crying.

"You know, you really just need to tell him how you feel," Sanji said handing over the plate of food and cup of water.

Heat rushed to Rayla's face. She took her meal and sat back down. Her eyes locked down on her food. "Wh-what do you mean? He knows that I like him."

Sanji chuckled. "It's cute how you try and lie to us about how you really feel. If you can't be honest with us then at least be honest with yourself."

"I…I can't," Rayla said.

Sanji sighed. "You're too stubborn for your own good. And you're too reserved for your own good. You've almost been with us for about a year and we don't know anything about your family."

"There's nothing to share." Rayla shifted on the bed. "My family is just like any other family on this planet."

"If they were just another family then you wouldn't dismiss them like you do," Sanji said.

"What are you talking about?" Rayla asked.

"I can tell you don't have a good relationship with your family," Sanji said. "I know how that feels."

Rayla shifted again.

"And you might be surprised to find that Luffy feels the same way you do," Sanji said.

Rayla snorted. "I highly doubt that."

"Talk to him." Sanji turned and left Rayla with her thoughts.

And her thoughts kept running through her head. For the rest of the day and into the night, Rayla thought about her feelings towards Luffy and about their fight.

Unable to sleep Rayla pulled herself off the bed. She knew that Chopper wasn't going to be happy with her moving so soon, but she had to. Sitting inside of this room was driving her nuts. She needed to be out in the salty air and walking to properly order her thoughts. Picking up her sandals, she headed out the door and managed to sneak by Usopp and Franky, who were keeping look out. Her body winced in protest as she worked her way down the ladder. Slipping on her sandals, she walked along the beach that was now free of beaten pirates. The enemy must have taken off some time after she had been taken back to the ship.

Her walk continued until she spotted a familiar straw hat. Rayla's heart jumped. He was sitting on a cliff, over looking the ocean, with his arms wrapped around his knees. Sanji's words came rushing back to her. She knew he was right. She was going to have to talk to Luffy at some point in time. With a deep slow breath she forced herself over to her captain and crush. "Luffy?"

"What are you doing here? You should be resting," Luffy said.

Rayla winced. His voice wasn't cheery like normal. He was still upset with her. With a sigh she sat down beside him. "Luffy, we need to talk."

Luffy didn't reply.

Rayla tried to order her scrambled thoughts. Now that she was here she had no idea where to start.

"Why?" Luffy asked.

"What?" Rayla looked at him.

"Why did you do that?" His eyes remained out on the water.

"Because you were in danger."

"It was stupid. You got hurt."

"Yeah, well, that's the life we've chosen."

"Well, you didn't have to chose to get hurt," Luffy grumble.

Rayla ran her fingers through her black hair. "You can be so frustrating for being almost twenty years old."

"So can you," Luffy said. "And you're only a year younger than me."

"What do you mean by that?" Rayla asked.

"I don't know." Luffy's tense facial expression lightened up in the moonlight. It was replaced with a more confused look.

Rayla blinked. Confusion wasn't a look she was use to on his face. Normally that expression came when someone was trying to explain something complicated to him. Curious, she asked, "Luffy, will you look at me?"
"No." Luffy turned away from her.

Rayla blinked. Was Sanji right? Did Luffy like her the same way she liked him? Heart pounding in her heart, she said, "I like you, Luffy."

"I know," Luffy said. "I like you too. You're my friend."

"You don't understand, Luffy." Rayla shook her head. "I don't just like you as a friend."

"Hm?" Luffy finally turned back to her.

"I mean I don't just like you as a friend or just as our captain," Rayla said. "I like you more than that. I have a crush on you."

"A crush? You mean like Sanji likes women?" Luffy asked.

"Something like that," Rayla said. Unable to look at him she pick at her fingernails. "The truth is…I'm scared of telling people how I really feel about them, especially you."

"Why?"

"Because…people are always leaving me," Rayla said.

"Leaving you? Who left you?" Luffy scooted closer to her.
"My parents." Rayla twitched, trying hard not to pull away from him. The heat from his body blocked the cool wind coming off the ocean. "They never paid much attention to me when they were around. No matter what I did or said it was like I wasn't even there. Then one day I woke up to their packed bags sitting next to the front door. They told me they were leaving the island and never coming back."

"They did that to you?" Luffy asked.

Rayla nodded. "They said I was old enough to take care of myself. Well, I think they expected a lot from an eight year old child."

"What did you do?"

"I stayed home." Rayla pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them, resting her chin on her knees. "Well, for a while anyway. I knew I wouldn't be able to take care of myself. So I headed to my sister's who lived on the other side of the island. She took care of me for a while, but then she got married. And once again I found myself alone. She left with her new husband to live on another island where his family lived. For a while she tried to get him to take me with them, but he refused. She chose him and left." Tears pooled in her eyes. "And that's how it's always been. I learned how to take care of myself. I even taught myself how to use a bow and arrows since no matter who I meet they always left me. That's why I don't let you and the others get close to me. I know some day you'll all leave me behind. I didn't mean to develop feelings for you."

"What?! Don't be stupid! I'd never leave you behind!" Luffy said.

Rayla blinked at him. Did he notice he said that he would never leave her? "You?"

"I mean the crew too." A tint of pink dusted across his cheeks. "They would never leave you either."

Awkward silence fell between them for several minutes. Then Luffy's finger brushed against hers. She stole a glance, finding they were both sitting with their knees against their chests and arms wrapped around them. Luffy didn't appear to notice his finger brushing against hers. Nor did he notice he continued to rub his finger over hers. And his pink blush brightened to red. Maybe he did know what he was doing. Maybe he didn't want to pull away. She said nothing. She wanted this moment to last forever.

"Rayla," Luffy said. "I'm sorry I got angry with you before."

"It's okay, Luffy," Rayla said.

"I was just worried. I got so angry when I saw you bleeding like that." Luffy's voice fell into a whisper. "I'm not sure why but it hurt a lot to see you hurt. I was…am confused."

"It's okay. I know how you feel," Rayla said. Slowly, she extended her fingers to slip between his. Luffy's fingers seemed to automatically wrap around hers. His skin was rough from living in the jungle as a child and from all the fighting he did as a pirate, but his touch was gentle and comforting.

"I like holding your hand." Luffy grinned.

"I like it too." Rayla smiled, thinking about how Sanji was right. A few minutes passed before Luffy's head found it's way to her shoulder. She glanced at him, finding he had fallen asleep.