Chapter Text
Luffy doesn't know when he started wearing them. He always had, and might always do.
It's not like he never tried. Makino made sure that he tried other shoes. But in the end, everything else made him feel too restrained, suffocated.
He likes his flip-flops. They are in straw, like his hat, and the insole tickle his feet when he walks. It's like walking on soft grass, and when he steps out of them, the ground feel foreign, the sole of his feet like pads, cushioning his step. With them, he can breathe.
Ace and Sabo tried to wear them too one day, to make him happy. They didn't like it and came back to their shoes one day later. Flip-flops are not the best shoes to run in the forest, or to fight, that's what they said. He didn't blame them at the time, and will never do in fact. They still tried and it was enough to him.
His flip-flop will always be his best ally, he is sure of that.
One day, Makino told him that she was the one who made them. She said it when his flip-flops where starting to feel too small, too restrained. It was the first time that he saw her make them. It fascinated him. So, she taught him.
The first flip-flops that he made were shabby, with straw poking everywhere. When he saw the result, Ace refused to even try them. So, he kept trying, getting better and better with time, until they were good. Not as good as Makino's, but good enough to be used.
He asked her at a time why the straps of his flip-flops where not just in a Y. The added strap was strange, though he liked it. It made them unique, his.
She smiled at his question, her gaze softening even more than what he thought possible.
"You kept losing them, when you were a baby. You were already so full of life, but they never followed you. So I altered them, so that they can always follow you in your adventures." She patted his head, and his stomach burned in a pleasant warmth.
They were his flip-flops, only his. They were made for him, so that they could survive everything that he might do. And that, that was the best thing ever possible.