One Piece: To Warm the Body and the Heart

One Piece © Oda

Blizzard © Me

Summary- During his training on Rusukaina, Luffy decides to leave his best friend a present, just to help him keep warm during the snowy season…and perhaps to let him know what he's thinking about him.

Rusukaina.

An island in the Calm Belt with 48 seasons every year. The island was once home to a civilization, but now, wild animals roam these lands. Right now, it is cold and rather breezy, so it meant that it might snow soon.

In the middle of the jungle, two men are sitting in the plush green grass, cross-legged with eyes closed, as if in meditation.

"Concentrate, Luffy."

"Right. Concentrate. Think, think, think, think-"

WHAK!

"OUCH!" An eighteen-year-old Luffy cried as he was painfully struck on the top of his skull by Rayleigh's staff.

"No, Luffy," Rayleigh said. "Not think. Feel. Observation Haki is about your sense of hearing and touch. Sense the vibrations around you."

Luffy nodded in understanding before he closed his eyes again. He took a deep breath, and then let it out.

Suddenly, he heard something. Something like a soft rumbling noise, but it started getting louder.

"Hey!" Luffy said. "Rayleigh! I think I can feel one!"

"No, Luffy, that's just your stomach growling," Rayleigh said.

Luffy looked down at his stomach, which is growling quite loudly. He wrapped his arms around his belly and chuckled sheepishly.

Rayleigh couldn't help but laugh.

"Can't really train on an empty stomach," he said. "I think we can take a break from training for lunch."

"Yeah, lunch!" Luffy cheered.

XXX

CHOMP! MUNCH! MUNCH! GULP! SMACK! Luffy chomped on a huge slab of meat from an elephant that he and Rayleigh had brought down, earlier.

It's been one year since Luffy had begun his training with Rayleigh. So far, he had mastered Armaments Haki and Conqueror's Haki, but he still had Observation Haki to work on. Still, Rayleigh was impressed that the young man had mastered the other two forms so quickly. It wouldn't surprise him if Luffy managed to master the last one so soon, as well.

URRRRRRRRRRPP! Luffy let out a monstrous belch that reverberated throughout the jungle, so much so, that it sent any birds nearby flying away.

"Scuse me," said Luffy as he patted his engorged belly. "Whew! I'm stuffed!"

Rayleigh chuckled.

"Thanks for the food, Rayleigh," said Luffy.

"My pleasure, Luffy," Rayleigh replied.

Suddenly, Luffy sees something starting to slowly fall from the sky. It was white, it was small, and it melted the moment it fell on his nose.

"Huh," Rayleigh said. "Well, what do you know? It must be the snowy season, already."

Luffy, whose bloated stomach had slimmed down, sat up and watched the snow fall, and as he did, he suddenly felt very saddened. He heaved a sigh as he hugged his knees to his chest.

Rayleigh noticed this, and then put his hand on the young man's shoulder.

"You're thinking about Blizzard, again, aren't you?" he asked, plain and simple.

Luffy nodded in response.

"Luffy," Rayleigh said. "I know it's hard and you can't help but miss Blizzard-"

"It's not just Blizzard," Luffy interrupted. "It's my whole crew. I know I did the right thing, but Rayleigh…it's hard knowing I have to wait another year until I can see them, again."

"Well, at least you know that at least one of them is not too far away," Rayleigh said.

"Even if Blizzard is on the island," Luffy began, "I know I'm not allowed to see him."

Rayleigh sighed and patted Luffy's back.

"Now, now," he said. "Let's not spend this time being all melancholy. After you've rested, we'll continue training."

As Rayleigh stood up, Luffy spotted something dangling out of his coat. It looked like it was a piece of cloth with red-and-white candy cane stripes.

"Hey, Rayleigh!" Luffy called to his mentor as he was walking away. "What's that? A big candy cane?"

"Hmm?" Rayleigh hummed, questioningly before he looked down at the thing hanging out of his cane. "Oh! No, Luffy. It's not a candy cane." He pulled whatever it is out, and revealed that it was a long, red-and-white striped wool scarf.

"Oh," Luffy said. "It's just a scarf."

"Shakky gave it to me before I left Sabaody," Rayleigh explained. "She said I might need it, but I don't know why. I'm not even cold." He turned to face Luffy.

"How about you, Luffy?" he asked. "You want it?"

"Nope," Luffy answered.

"Oh, well," Rayleigh said. "I might as well throw this thing away."

"Wait, Rayleigh!"

Rayleigh turned to face Luffy, again.

"I may not need that scarf and you may not need it," said Luffy, "but I think I know someone who might!"

Rayleigh grinned.

XXX

After much walking, Luffy and Rayleigh had reached a pond somewhere in the Southeast of the island.

"Why'd we come all the way here, Luffy?" asked Rayleigh.

"Just hang on a minute, Rayleigh," said Luffy.

Rayleigh crossed his arms in waiting. Luffy knelt down and placed his hand on the ground. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then exhaled.

In his head, he saw a white wolf-looking dog, about the size of a Great Dane, with cherry blossom pink eyes and two scars- one on the right side of his nose and the other on his left shoulder- approaching the pond and beginning to lap up the water with his tongue.

Luffy opened his eyes, grinning confidently, before he turned to Rayleigh.

"Blizzard comes down here everyday for a drink water!" he said.

Rayleigh smiled at Luffy.

"Good work, Luffy," he praised. "I think you're starting to get the hang of your Observation Haki."

Luffy grinned and chuckled.

"Blizzard sure has gotten big, it looks like," he said. "He's about as tall as me, now!"

"So," said Rayleigh, "shall we leave it for him?"

Luffy eyed the scarf in Rayleigh's hands as it was being handed to him. He took the piece of clothing and rubbed it on himself.

"That way, he'll know it's from me," said Luffy.

"Good idea, Luffy," said Rayleigh.

And so, after wrapping the scarf around a nearby rock, mentor and pupil took their leave, and not long after they did, someone else entered the area.

Blizzard, thirsty after a long morning of doing battle with the local tigers, had come to his pond to get a nice drink. However, as the snow began to fall, he began to feel rather cold, even with his thick coat of fur.

As Blizzard approached the pond, his nose caught the familiar scent of…meat and old straw.

Luffy? the wolf-dog thought.

Sniff! Sniff! Blizzard sniffed the air, trying to find the source of the scent, and that's when he found it: the scarf that Luffy had left for him.

A scarf? Blizzard thought. Luffy…did you leave this for me so I wouldn't get cold?

Touched by his master's act of good will, Blizzard took the scarf off the rock and wrapped it around his neck with is paws. It was quite difficult to do so without thumbs, but he got the job done.

With the scarf now securely tied on, Blizzard got his drink of water, and then headed off back into the jungle, his neck…and his heart feeling much warmer than before.

XXX

That night, Luffy had finished his training for the day, and is now ready to settle down at the base camp and get a good night's rest for tomorrow.

"I wonder if Blizzard got that scarf," Luffy wondered.

"Who knows?" Rayleigh asked with a smirk. "You'll see in about another year."

"Yeah," Luffy agreed.

"For now, get some rest, Luffy," said Rayleigh. "A man needs his rest."

Luffy nodded in agreement before he went to lie down on his spot, but as he did…

AWWOOOOOOOOOO~! A long, eerie howl was made.

Luffy and Rayleigh looked up, but they didn't need to see the owner of that howl to know who it belonged to.

"Goodnight, Blizzard," Luffy said with a smile. "See you in a year, buddy. I miss you."

Rayleigh's smile also grew a bit wider as he chortled in his throat.

With a yawn, Luffy soon fell asleep, and somewhere in the jungle, a white wolf-dog with a red-and-white striped scarf as doing the same.

THE END…

A one shot to explain how Blizzard got his new scarf after the timeskip.

Review, please!