Hey! It's a-me. Okay, so you might not recognize me or know who I am, but I was once AerithBlack and years ago, I wrote a little fic called "Casting Off", which was a Naruto+One Piece Crossover. In that fic, I posted a little ficlet of a project I'd only posted on AO3 but never finished.

Four years, a few fandoms and a pandemic later, I decided to revisit that fic with a new penname. (Please feel free to contact my OG penname to confirm this.)

Why the new penname? Tbh, I wanted to start fresh and that Penname is attached to a lot of content that I don't feel connected to anymore. I was writing a lot of stuff during a time when I was ignorant about MANY things and I kinda just. Want to leave that in the void lol

But I always wanted to come back and explore this ship, and the dynamic it can take, and I wanted to write it in a Modern AU, so. Here we are, haha!

(Fun fact: Did you know this story is also on AO3? I haven't updated it in a while, but I'm slowly working on updating it and getting back to what I wanted this fic to become. You should check it out!)

I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters from either One Piece or Naruto, and I don't profit from this story.

Denial

Hinata quickly learns that, once Luffy has called you a friend, you simply can't say no.

She tries, of course, for almost two weeks. If they happen to walk into the same room (which is only one class, thankfully), she walks to the furthest seat away from him. If he ever tries to get her attention, she pulls out a book or looks away, easily ignoring him. She's even blocked him on Facebook, and any other social media site he manages to find her on.

And, of course, Luffy doesn't care. Despite everything, he continues to greet Hinata with a smile, even a hug, if she lets him get close enough. He's even managed to add (and re-add) his number on her cell when she's not looking.

And the interesting thing is, he doesn't ignore her like most people do, even in a crowded room.

"Hey, Hinata! Wanna go catch a movie?"

"What was that thing we had to read for Kurenai's class?"

"Dude, have your eyes always been that color? Because that's really, really cool!"

Hinata never knows what to say. She's personally wary of his reaching out in general, not only because of his reputation, but because, well—she's been burned before. (There's a reason she has so few friends.)

Even if she said the worst things to reject a person though, it still wouldn't matter. Luffy would still grin at her and remain as tenacious as a boulder in a stream.

And you wanna know the worst part?

Sometimes, when she's caught listening to Luffy ramble about All Blue (and the friends he has there) and seeing him smile at her for practically no good reason, Hinata wants to smile back.

The Party

(Warning: Implied Mature Content)

Despite herself, there comes moments where Hinata does end up hanging out with Luffy and even talking to him—like now.

It's a rather warm Saturday night at Ino's house, her backyard specifically. Teenagers are dancing, drinking, swimming in the pool, and just generally in a partying mood. Since it's still September (almost the last week) and summer doesn't feel like leaving any time soon, it's still common for pool parties to still be announced and attended. And, since Ino is very much a September baby, she doesn't think twice before having an explosive seventeenth birthday party that weekend.

Normally, Hinata wouldn't go, but Ino has become a close friend over the past year or so. She'd feel terrible if she missed out on the girl's birthday.

She just wishes that there weren't so many people. And that she had chosen another bathing suit to wear—

"Whoa, is that what she's been hiding under those clothes? Damn."

"Hey, Hina-chan, wanna have a drink with us? We can really show you how to party."

"Figures she would wear something like that," Sakura scoffs to her own group of friends, flipping her hair. "She is friends with Ino-whore, after all."

Naruto spits out his drink and gapes at her with wide blue. "Sakura-chan! She's right there," he hisses.

Green eyes dim with something like guilt before Sakura closes them with resolve. She then shrugs and shoots a glare at Hinata's back. "So what? Let the little slut-in-training hear!"

Hinata cringes and covers up her ample chest with her arms. The purple bikini she's wearing isn't small enough to reveal everything, but it's enough to make her curves pop and gather the attention that she really doesn't want. The compliments on their own don't bother her, but Hinata doesn't like how almost everyone is suddenly looking at her; their stares make her feel slimy.

Hinata hugs herself tighter and quickens her pace away from the crowd. Once she gets to Ino's house, she slides the back door open and enters. When she finds that no one else seems to be around, she smiles and sighs.

Now, all I have to do is get my clothes, she thinks. Then everything will be fine.

With this in mind, Hinata begins walking out of the living room and towards the stairs—only to pause, bristling a little.

She takes a few steps back and looks into the kitchen, where Luffy is shoving every piece of food (mostly meat) that he can find in the fridge. Her eyes widen.

"L-Luffy-san?"

Luffy pauses in his eating and looks over with a smile. "Hey, Hinata! I didn't know you were at this party."

"Same." Hinata clears her throat and rubs her arm, suddenly feeling more self-conscious. "I-I didn't think you were friends with Ino-chan..."

"Oh, I'm not," he says, going back to the open fridge. "I wasn't even invited, really! But Naruto insisted I go—then he ditched me as soon as the pink haired girl arrived. Not that I expected any different, really," he adds with a shrug.

"...You and him aren't friends?"

"Well, hm." After getting a huge bucket of chicken in his arms, Luffy closes the fridge and leans on it, his mouth screwed in thought. "He's okay, at least most of the time. Hilarious, even. I can definitely see us being friends, when he gets his head out of his ass, of course. Or at least stop hanging around Uchiha—him, I really don't like."

Hinata blinks. This is the first time Luffy has said outright that he doesn't like someone. Sure, no one has really gotten close to him, but he certainly doesn't seem to be close to hating anyone, even those who talk about him.

"Why's that?" She asks, curious.

Luffy frowns, and then shrugs at Hinata. "I don't know. The guy just seems to reek entitled asshole. Reminds me of this one douche I beat up back home...only less ugly. Maybe," he adds with a snicker.

Hinata feels her mouth twitch, but she keeps it set as a straight line on her face. Her hand tightens around her arm.

After a few moments of silence and watching him start eating, she decides to ask, "Does Ino-chan even know you're here?"

Luffy barely swallows the chicken leg in his mouth before answering. "When she saw me, she didn't really seem to care, so," he shrugs and grins. "All the more for me! Heheheheh."

"She's here?" Hinata (and a lot of other people) has been wondering where she's been all this time. After all, it is her party.

"Yep. Went upstairs a while ago."

Hinata smiles and heads for the stairs. Now she can get her clothes and talk a bit with Ino—a win, win, really.

Luffy watches as she walks away, his expression blank. He feels he should be remembering something, but he can't—his mouth drops open and his eyes widen with something akin to horror.

"H-hold on, Hinata!" He scrambles after her (still holding the chicken, of course). "You don't wanna go up there—"

But Hinata is already on the landing and hearing faint sounds coming from Ino's bedroom. She narrows her eyes and slowly approaches the door. When she's close enough, she's able to properly hear the sounds—in particular, Ino's voice.

"—Right there, baby, yeah, yeah...!"

OH MY GOD.

Bright red, Hinata backs away from the door and then practically runs down the stairs. When she sees Luffy there, she notices him biting his lip, trying not to smile.

"S-she's...Ino-chan is..." She can't finish the sentence, still incredibly embarrassed.

Luffy shrugs. "Well, it is her birthday."

"Y-y-yeah, I know, but...w-w-who?!"

Just as he starts to answer, Hinata puts up her hands and shakes her head furiously. "Never mind, I don't wanna know!"

Raising an eyebrow, Luffy allows himself to chuckle. "Okay."

Not knowing what else to do, Hinata puts her face in her hands and continues shaking her head. Images...must get images out of head. NOW. Oh god, they won't go away WHY...

"...So, wanna sit down or something?" Luffy nods back towards the kitchen. "There's more food over there if you want. Don't touch the ribs though, I already claimed them. Well, sort of. There was this guy's name written on the container, but it smudged when I rubbed it, so his loss. But there's some cake or something in there, if you like it, I mean."

Hinata lifts her head and stares at him for a few long moments.

And then:

"Okay."

"...It's not that I'm bothered by her having sex with probably a random guy. In fact, the only concern I have is that she's protecting herself properly—which she no doubt is, because she's not, well, stupid. It's just...it's just so weird! Like, I can't even...and I..."

"It makes you feel uncomfortable. Like you're a viceroy and stuff."

"I think the word you're looking for is 'voyeur'."

Luffy looks up from his meat and tilts his head. "Isn't that what I said?"

Hinata bites back her smile. He actually looks kind of— "No."

"Ah...well, either way, I get it. It's like when Ace brought girls over whenever I was still home. Weird as hell, that was," he shudders at the memory.

"...Ace?" He's never mentioned him before...

He beams. "My older brother! He used to get a lot of girlfriends. Some nice, but a lot of them weird." Luffy chuckles, "There was this one chick he had, who was just a mess. Like, she manages to attract and get with all sorts of guys, but she's always hung up over her first—who was apparently an asshole...but a lovable one? Eh, I dunno. Hmm, what was her name? Kagura? Kaguya?" He scratches the back of his head, and then he shrugs. "Eh, I can't remember. Didn't last that long anyway."

"I didn't know you had a brother," Hinata says.

"I have two! But Sabo," Luffy pauses, his expression dimming a little. "I don't really know where he is."

She blinks, and then frowns. "Is...is he okay?"

"I think so? He disappeared, like, six months ago. But he managed to send me a present on my birthday, so I know he isn't dead or anything like that." He focuses on a spot on the wall, his straw hat shadowing his eyes—and then Luffy looks back at Hinata with a smile. "He was always the smartest out of the three of us, so he'll be okay! I just hope Gramps will be there to tell him we've moved, heh."

He keeps on smiling, but there's something a bit off about it now, like Luffy is holding something back. Hinata wonders if there's something more to this story.

A chill runs through her, and she's suddenly aware of just how little she's wearing. Hinata flushes and quickly covers her chest, rubbing her hands on her arms.

Luffy blinks. "You cold?"

"Y-yeah," she says. "That's why I was trying to get to Ino's room. That's where all my clothes are."

"Ah. Wait, why not go outside then?"

Hinata flushes more and shifts her gaze. "...Too many people."

"Oh." Luffy nods, though he doesn't really understand. He looks down at his red sleeveless hoodie and a light bulb goes off in his head. He quickly pulls down the zipper and shrugs it off. "Here! It's not that warm, but it should be big enough to cover you."

She blushes. "O-oh, no! I couldn't...I mean...!" Does he not know what this could imply?

"Sure, you could! I'm telling you to. We're friends, right?"

"B-but, won't you be cold?"

He grins. "Nah, I'll be fine! I'm hot blooded anyway. So, go ahead."

...I guess he doesn't. Huh. She bites her lip. Could it really do much harm, then?

Still a little shaky about the idea, Hinata takes the hoodie from Luffy and puts it on her. Because Luffy is a head taller than her, it manages to cover almost down to her knees. Hinata finds herself smiling; though it's someone else's clothing, it's rather comfortable. She looks over to thank Luffy, only to pause and really look at him.

He blinks at the intense look in her eyes and tilts his head. "What's up?"

"...Your scar. How...?" Hinata blushes, realizing how rude she is. "A-ah, sorry! I didn't mean to—"

But Luffy is smiling and waves it off. "Don't worry about it!" Laughing a little, he glances at his chest, where a raised, violent X-shaped scar rests. "It does look a little nasty, doesn't it?"

"It looks painful."

"Oh, it hurt like a bitch! More than, actually. So much that I forgot it, that's how bad it was. It's pretty healed up now, though," he adds quickly, seeing her eyes widen with worry.

"B-but how...?" Hinata couldn't help being curious.

"Car crash."

Hinata looks at him, and sees Luffy with that smile again. That smile that seems to hide some secrets, but wants to reveal them as well. For some reason, she finds that she wants to know—but not now. She looks out to where the party is.

"Do you wanna go out there? There's more food, and some d-dancing." Hinata flushes. "N-not that I'm promising to dance or anything, but it could be fun!"

Luffy grins wider. "Sure!"