For anyone who doesn't know, "sweet flag grass" is a type of grass. It's quite long for grass and has scented leaves, usually in clumps I believe. But I don't think they can grow up to your waist… but this is a One Piece island, so who cares~? And now that my botany lesson is complete, you may read :)

As Luffy ran, the sky grew darker and more and more foreboding, and although the little boy would never admit it, he was petrified. Even though the overhang of trees was thick in the woods, it wasn't stopping much rain coming through, the drops falling like bullets; they swiftly rolled down the branches and crashed through the leaves onto the quickly softening ground below.

Lighting stuck and Luffy's head turned upwards, trying to make out the sky through the thick leaves. But it was no use; he couldn't keep his eyes open because of the amount of rain falling. Luffy slipped a few times in his sandals, his feet soaking wet, and with mud splashing against his legs and heels as he ran through puddles. His entire body was drenched, the downpour being so heavy his clothes were a useless defence against the wet and he shivered.

He should have been back in the village by now, safe and sound in Partys Bar; Makino would fuss over him and grab a hand cloth as a make-shift towel from the bars' metal hand rail that ran along the inside of the counter, and he would try and stop her from drying him, insisting that he could do it by himself as she would hastily tell him off, telling him never to go out again during a storm, how he was going to get a cold.

But Luffy wasn't with Makino. He wasn't being told to look better care of himself. He was stuck in the eye of a storm. And although Luffy was familiar with the forest, having spent a great deal of his free time there, it looked different at night; it was darker and frightening now. A great crack of gold lit up the sky, momentarily creating shadows and faces in a second and disappearing in the next. Luffy gasped as he saw eyes and mouths in the holes of trees and tripped over a root, but stood up again almost immediately as another flash flitted across the sky.

He looked down at his feet as he surged through the trees, not wanting to see what was around him. By now, he was well and truly lost, but he knew that if it was light he would easily be able to find his way home. He lifted his head, deciding that he needed to be able to see clearly to escape from the woods, but it was already too dark.

Suddenly, he crashed into something hard that sent him crashing backwards and he closed his eyes and put his arms out in front of him to help break his fall, but was surprised when he found that he was not falling anymore and, opening his eyes slowly, he realised that he was being held.

'Kid, you okay?' someone said, but it was too dark to see the man who was clutching the boy tightly who was now knelt on the ground.

Luffy nodded nervously before realising that whoever was there wouldn't be able to see him. 'Y-yeah.' He answered shakily.

He heard a sigh of relief and was surprised when he found himself being lifted upwards, 'Don't worry, kid, I gotcha,' the voice said. It was soft and kind and although Luffy was being called a child, he found he did not mind; it seemed reassuring as if the man was someone he could trust, and he buried his head into the man's drenched clothes, believing almost immediately that the stranger would take care of him now. Feeling around the strangers' neck, Luffy gripped it tightly. The tears that had grouped together in his eyes began to roll down his cheeks and Luffy shifted as he tried to stop them, his breathing heavier than usual.

'Hey there…' the man carrying him cooed, 'Don't be scared. No harm will come of you; you can relax now.'

And Luffy calmed slightly, his breathing becoming steadier as he choked back tears. He wound himself tight as he allowed the man to carry him easier, tucking his legs in but still keeping a firm grip around the man's neck.

And the man started to walk, cautiously as first but then faster. He was worried about the kid and didn't want to scare him. 'What irresponsible parents,' he thought angrily to himself, 'Letting their kid run around in a storm like that…' and his grip tightened around the boy, breaking into a run as he headed for shelter.

After a while, the man stopped running, slowing to a jog and then to a walk, 'Hey kid,' he said softly, 'You're gonna need to let go of me for a minute, so we can go inside.'

He felt the boy nod and carefully the man let him stand on his own. The boy had not let go of him until he was safely on the ground so the stranger took the boy's hand in his own, 'You'll like this,' he said, trying his best to sound excited so the boy would feel safe, 'We're about to enter a hideout. Only two people know about it, as far as I know, and you're about to be the third.'

And the man started walking, gently pulling the boy along with him. Luffy felt tired, the excitement having drenched his strength away and he wobbled tiredly every few steps.

'You need to be careful here; we're about to go through some very long grass. It's so long, it reaches up over my waist!' Luffy could hear the smile through the voice and he looked up once again to try and make his helper out but found he was still shrouded in darkness. The only think he could make out was a hat on his head, which hid the rest of his face in shadow.

Luffy did not like walking through the grass; he had always hated being wet and this was damp and slimy. He put a hand out as he walked through, attempting to cover his face, but was only slapped by the wet stems as they fell against him.

After a while, Luffy felt the man next to him stop, 'Okay. Here, you need to get on all fours.'

Luffy didn't even ask; he was feeling weary and wanted to sleep. Vaguely he wondered whether he was dreaming, or whether this was actually even happening.

'This might be hard,' the man said, 'You're gonna need to let go of my hand so we can get through. But you should be able to know where I'm going, shouldn't you?'

The boy wasn't really listening, too weary to care for anything other than warmth and he nodded his head. Of course, the man couldn't see him but he took his silence as a "yes". Then both dropped to all fours and started crawling through the sweet flag grass. Luffy squeaked as a blade hit his eye but he kept on going, and soon, the man stopped again.

'This is where we enter the hideout,' he said, 'You go in first, so I can keep an eye on you. Don't worry, it's not far.' And he crawled out the way for the boy to hesitatingly advance. Luffy squinted, trying to make out the "hideout" and opened them again as he started to make out the small mouth of a cave. He hesitated only for a moment before nervously crawling forward.

He flinched slightly as he felt the cold earth under his hands, the shelter from the cave having left the whole place dry, and he gasped as he soon found himself in a round, underground cellar. In the middle of it was a square hole in the floor where a beam of light was coming from, and moving closer, he gaped as he saw that a ladder sticking out of it. He looked round and noticed what appeared to be the ex-cover of the hole made of rusting metal; its latch had been blown off.

He turned his head round as he heard a shuffling noise behind him and stared in horror as he recognised the straw hat appearing from where he had just came.

'Phew,' came the man's voice, still soft as he kept his head down. Then, looking up, he too recognised the boy he had met just earlier that day.

The two gaped at each other, neither believing their eyes.

'It's you!' Luffy breathed, too shocked to say anything else.

The red-head stared at him before his face broke into a grin, 'Well hey there, kid! We meet again!'

Wow this one was short… I hope it didn't get confusing when I described the faces and trees and such in the forest…
I'm not entirely sure when the next one will be up, but I'm working my hardest to get these out!
Please tell me what you think; I love hearing what you have to say and it makes me want to write more for you!