I, Dollar1 disclaim the ownership of One Piece
Fuschia Moon
Shanks tipped his hat back while leaning against his throne of rum barrels, his trademark black cloak wrapped around him like a sheet of nori to a sushi. His first mate Ben Beckman sat next to him smoking whatever it was he always smoked, and silently thinking of whatever it was he always thought.
In other words, it was a pretty boring day.
Of course it wasn't always like that. It's just that today's raid hadn't been a spectacular one. It seems that the marine ship they had intercepted hours ago contained mostly laundry and uniforms instead of the usual rum and weapons. The uniforms wouldn't sell well since practically anyone could get one these days by knocking out unsuspected marines and stripping them. If it was an admiral's uniform however, the matter would have been entirely different but I digress.
After the unusual raid took place, Shanks had relayed to the crew his intentions of finding a base to "hang around and make preparations" before making their second trip into the Grand line.
While most of the Red Hair pirates inwardly questioned as to why Shanks wanted to go in the Grand line again, Ben was one that was not surprised. Shanks simply could not abide the rules of living in a peaceful area. And even if Shanks tried or forced himself to, Ben knew that Shanks would waste himself away through it, whether by alcoholic drinks or something else.
After Shanks had completed his ahem "pirate apprenticeship" at 17, Shanks had rushed off to the Grand Line after getting his own crew. As soon as Shanks came in, he became a big hit, knocking pirate ships left and right, pranking Marines, provoking duels with Mihawk, and other fun things pirates like. By the time Shanks had chosen to leave, he knew that one day he would be going back again. Because it called for him…and he liked it.
Now, speaking of things that pirates like: most of Shank's crew are on the deck drinking the rest of the rum in celebration of the Red Hair Pirates' victory over the marine ship.
Lucky Roux one of Shank's main crew members was on the bowsprit of the ship (lord only knows how he got there) silenced the crew by raising his drumstick.
And silence he got.
Lucky coughed and said in a booming voice, "Hey guys! Since this is our 100th victory against insignificant –slash- nameless pirate crews, I think we deserve a speech from our dear ol' Cap'n Shanks!"
Repeated shouts of "SPEECH!" were heard as Shanks unopened his 5th bottle of rum/sake/vermouth/drink with alcoholic content. Upon lifting it to his lips, he found himself being carried by a sea of hands towards the bow.
"Now now, whatt's this!" he yelled as his crew hoisted him on to the bow, almost throwing him off the ship. The bottle of rum however, was not so lucky as it was flung pitilessly into the ocean where it bobbed away (and ended up in the clutches of some mermen).
"SPEECH, SPEECH!" yelled the crew members once again, this time pumping their fists in unison.
Shanks rubbed the back of his head, and stared out at the crew blankly with their raised fists, "Erm, what am I supposed to say? This is routine. And plus, the ship didn't have any treasure. She was just a ship delivering some laundry to some putrid marines. Heh, but even with clean uniforms, they still stink."
Crickets chirped. Actually, since that's not possible at sea, lets revise that statement: seagulls squawked.
"Well um…" Shanks piped up after ten minutes of awkward silence except for the seagulls, "So…this was our 100th ship eh?"
"YEH!" whooped the crew. They paused, waiting for more.
…Only to find more silence awaiting them.
After five more minutes: "Er…keep up the good work, don't drink too much, and um…yeh, just do what you normally do." And with that, Shanks jumped off the bow, the crew parting to let him through harboring expressions of unease mixed with awe and a touch of fear.
Shanks stopped midway and looked around quizzically, "What? I'm a pirate captain, not a bloody marine orator! If you want entertainment, ask Lucky to dance!" And walking in a way that fanned out his cloak behind him, Shanks weaved around the crew finding his way up the crow's nest.
Cheers of "CAP'N SHANKS!" and a few of "DANCE LUCKY!" ensued.
"Well, moving on…" cut in Lucky who was most uneager to dance. He stood there above the rowdy crew, hiding his face with his drumstick to bide time while looking left and right for escape routes when luckily, something caught his attention, "Hey, isn't that land?"
"Yep, sure looks like it!" cried Yassopp popping next to Lucky. "LAND-HO ON THE STARBOARD SIDE!"
In reaction to the shouting the crew resumed their duties in preparing the ship for docking, rolling up the sails and readying the anchor to throw overboard.
"Dock her on the little harbor, over near the lamps," said Shanks swiftly appearing out of nowhere, next to the navigator.
As the ship neared the farthest dock in the little harbor, most of the crew gathered on the starboard side in order to get a good look at the town that had been spotted. Small lamps decorated each dock, each swaying from the wind. Collectively, the lamps' soft glow outlined the town not too far behind. Hanging on a large post, was a sign that read Fuschia Village. The town itself, didn't strike the crew as magnificent, but at the same time it looked friendly enough to set foot in.
After lowering the anchor at the designated port, the crew silently filed out over the ship's ladder and onto the creaking planks of the dock, Shanks in the lead.
"All we need are food provisions right now, so we'll go to the nearest bar right now and restock. Any objections?"
"No sir!" everyone else whispered loudly. It was custom for the Red Hair pirates to enter towns silently, as they didn't like to create unnecessary ruckus among towns they visited.
After five minutes of treading down the docks, the Red Hair pirates finally encountered the first bar. The name above read "Partys Bar" and it looked rather new. Of course, it is almost, always the case, when a bar is situated out in the front. Why, you ask? Because usually, these bars attracted the main brunt of the fierce traveling pirates and bandits while the older bars in the back suited the peaceful townspeople and other old-timers. Once ten years have passed, if the bar is still standing then it has passed initiation and can take a place among the older bars.
As the crew entered through the tavern doors, they were greeted with sight of people that were already there, mostly of the sketchy and slobbish vermin types. Probably bandits as they didn't smell of sea-salt. One was particularly leering at a woman who was furiously mopping tables, unaware of her assaulter. From what everyone knew, she was probably the barmaid. She was most likely in distress as some of her hair had fallen out of place and she looked like she was on the verge of crying.
"M-m-m-may, I help you?" she asked, as the pervy bandit reached out to grab her from behind.
"Ah yes, I'd like food and 10 barrels of rum!" Shanks piped up behind her, while kicking the bandit into oblivion. The bandit's friends of course, began to rise from their seats in response until Lucky Roux and some other crewmembers pushed them back down.
"Um, alright…please, seat yourselves if its no trouble." Makino replied with a straight face oblivious to all that had just happened. All the bandits sitting in the back stood in protest, they were not about to give up their seats to the new folk without a fight. Especially with what happened to their friend back there. "That Red Headed thug just got lucky, that's all." was what they all thought.
Swords and guns were drawn in a flash causing Makino gasp. The bandits had their mind set on killing Shanks, but Ben intercepted them with his long rifle. "Tell you what," Shanks said stepping out from behind Ben, "let's take this outside. I don't want the lady to have to clean up another mess."
One of the more unruly bandits responded, "The only mess here is gonna be you guys!" But before he could react, Shanks had sent a swift kick, knocking the unfortunate bandit cleanly through the swinging doors of the bar.
"Hey, I didn't know you have good aim!" exclaimed Yassop, excitedly waving his pistol.
"Ergh, that was actually just a lucky kick, aha…" Shanks sheepishly adjusting his straw hat. "But as for the rest of you," he said to the other bandits, "you won't be lucky for long, if you hang around here much longer."
As soon as he said that, the bandits muttered some incoherent curses before slowly lowering their weapons. Ben made a flicking gesture with his gun signaling them to get out, so they wouldn't get hurt.
The bandits ran out in groups of three. A couple had the audacity to get a good look at the ones who humiliated them, causing some of the crew to twitch. However, once the bandits left, everyone just laughed off the incident and collapsed onto the nearest seat.
Awhile later, when everyone was sitting and had received their food, Shanks casually twirled a spoon around his fingers and faced Makino, who was still glum at this point.
"Why the long face, miss? Those vermin aren't going to bother you any longer."
The barmaid Makino coughed and looked down, "Ah it wasn't that that was bothering me, but thank you for not causing trouble. You see, a friend of mine went to visit her sick mother in the Grand Line, so she left her two children in my care. They're usually really good kids that come back at supper, but I haven't seen them come back at all today."
Checking to make sure Shanks was still listening (in which he was), Makino paused before continuing, "I was going to go look for them, but with all the…you know, 'impatient' customers, I couldn't get out to find them. And just as I was about to clean up, well, you guys showed up— "
"Thay No Mo!" yelled Shanks, shoveling the rest of the food into his mouth and swallowing, "I'll go look for the tykes. It's the least I can do for your kind hospitality. Plus, I need to explore this town anyways!"
Ben turned his head away after hearing it and took a drag of his cigarette. To him it was all normal, Shanks always blindly offered to help people without knowing what was in store for him. Whether it was a good or bad trait, Ben couldn't judge, but hey, the woman—Makino was it? She had offered them food and drink after her closing hours, so the least they could do was look for her kids.
"Oh thank you so much!" Makino cried wiping her eyes on her apron, "Please accept the barrels of rum on the house."
Shanks patted her head, "No no, I can't do that, you just sit back and don't let the crew bother ya. In fact, they'll clean up after themselves, ain't that right boys?"
"Aye Cap'n!" droned the crew. Actually, none of the crew would have complied if Shanks hadn't been the captain (well duh) and tapping his rather sharp and pointy sword against the table. After all, if you put Shanks together with a couple bottles of rum and several pointy objects, the result was never pretty for the opposing parties.
Stepping out the front door Shanks called out, "Beckman, I'm leaving you in charge! When you're done get the crew to carry the supplies on the ships. I won't be back long hopefully."
Ben and the crew silently counted at least five minutes before the captain was seen shuffling back through the bar entrance. Giving the crew a face that clearly suggested that "When you're telling your kids about out adventures, please leave this part out…or else." Shanks turned to Makino (who had hid her face underneath a handkerchief to stifle her laughter) and smiled, "So what do the little blokes look like?"
Makino lowered the handkerchief thoughtfully, "Ah, their names are Ace and Luffy. They're brothers ages nine and six, Ace is the older one. Oh dear, I don't have pictures but they sort of look like this." Taking a pen and pad Makino scribbled out something before handing it to Shanks.
Upon looking at the paper, Shanks inwardly blanched. On the piece of paper was etched two of the most unrealistic figures he had ever seen. Stick figures to be more precise. The first one was the taller of the two and depicted a creature with black hair and a splash of dots across the lumpy looking head symbolizing a pox? Acne? Who knows? But moving on, the other figure was simply a monkey with a scribbled out tail, covered with a giant square (which Shanks assumed to be clothes).
Trying hard not to scrunch up his "suave for a pirate" facial features in frustration, Shanks muttered his thanks and backtracked out the door.
"Ok boys, I think he's out of range now!" Yassopp yelled randomly, looking out the window.
On cue everyone laughed.
"Haw haw, didya see how he'd left wifout knowin' what 'em tykes looked like?" shouted a random crew member banging his glass on the table.
"Haha! Yeh, and what was up with his face? He looked like he ate a bucket of beans or something!" yelled the random girl of the crew.
Even Ben couldn't help but smile. Shanks was most amusing this way.
Suddenly, without warning, the laughter ceased. Even Lucky Roux put down his drumstick. Curious as to what had stopped all the laughing Ben peered around Lucky's body just in time to see Shanks walk in again.
"Almost, forgot my hat." he explained, only to be met by blank stares of his crew, "Hey, what's wrong with you all?"
Indeed, it was quite a sight as most of the crew had stuffed food in their maw to muffle the laughter. A couple were already on the verge of choking even. Shanks just shrugged his shoulders, put on his hat, and walked out. As he distanced himself from the bar, Shanks heard the laughter levels in the bar rise again. Pulling down his hat he smirked, "Ah, let 'em have their fun."
Making his way around the streets, Shanks spent about an hour or two wandering before silently cursing himself for not bringing a navigator along. The illuminated houses along the paths, although marked with street signs, all looked the same to him, limiting his searching even further. Asking for directions was out of the question as mothers had already ushered children inside upon seeing him. Of course he didn't blame them being a pirate and all, but a little guidance would have been nice.
Rounding the corner at a beige house that he had sworn to see five times already, Shanks finally decided to retrace his steps back to Party's and start over. Judging by the dark sky and the position of the moon, it was probably midnight by now. Maybe if he ran, he would reach the bar in no time, provided that he didn't have make any detours.
Cursing under his breath, Shanks broke into a swift jog to the end of the street. If he could just find the edge of town, he could just make a huge circle to the docks and to the bar. However, his insides felt a pang of guilt as he thought of how everyone would react when he came back empty-handed.
"Crap, but I can't just come back without the kids. Makino would probably burst out crying. And she'd probably retract her statement of giving us free rum. Aw, think damnit, what would Yassopp think in this situation?" After all, Yassopp was the one who had the most experience with kids in his crew.
Shanks's mind conveyed his thoughts into a chibi version of Yassopp as he slowed his jog into a stop.
The mini Yassopp scratched his head with his chibi pistol, "What would I do in this situation?"
There was a pause before the mini Yassopp suddenly firing his pistol into the air, his expression morphing into one of utter repulsiveness, "NOTHING! Because MY SON Usopp would never do such a thing!"
Shanks cracked his knuckles and slumped in frustration, as the mini Yasopp vanished. He had unfortunately become hungry again, and on top of that, Yassopp's would be advice wasn't getting him anywhere. But no matter. The small mission he was sent had somehow stirred up some kind of flame in him that was lost when he had left the Grand Line years ago. And hell, if wasn't able to find those two kids, what made him think that the Grand Line would let him re-enter?
"I'm gonna find me those buggers if it's the last thing I do! Navigator or no!"
So, turning his heels Shanks sprinted off into the direction full of jumbled streets and alleyways, his cloak lashing out from a new set of winds coming from the east.