Set 7 - Shanks 23
Title: Take My Hand
Theme: #2 second chance
Claim: Shanks
(Words:) 3,555
Rating: K+
Warnings: None
Disclaimer(s): I do not own One Piece, obviously
A red-haired youth ducked into an alleyway and grinned in triumph as the Marines thundered past his hiding place. Idiots. Did they really think that they could capture Red-Haired Shanks? Ha, not so easy! His epithet may have been recently earned, but he had been a pirate for much longer and knew well enough how to slip away from Marines.
Quick, labored breathing of someone who had also entered the narrow alley almost made him jump straight out of his skin. He spun around with a hand on his sword, ready to fight the lucky (or unlucky) Marine who had discovered his position.
Only to find that it wasn’t a Marine after all.
Shanks stared in surprise at the little girl who had also sought refuge in the dark alleyway. The child couldn’t be much older than ten, with straight black hair and large eyes. Shanks opened his mouth to ask her why she was running but was cut off by the sound of another group of Marines stampeding past.
“She’s just a child! She couldn’t have gotten far! Find her!” the leader of the group yelled.
“Yes, sir!”
Like the previous group, they completely neglected to even glance into the alleyway.
Once the men had left, Shanks raised an eyebrow at the girl. “So… Why are they chasing you?”
The young girl bit her lower lip unhappily, not answering. Shanks sighed at the silence but didn’t pressure her, instead peeking out of their hiding place. “Hey, the coast is clear. Why don’t you come with me? I won’t let the Marines find you.”
The girl looked at him with wide eyes, caught off guard by his offer. After a moment, however, she shook her head.
Shanks was disappointed. “No? Too bad. Well, I’ll be going, then.” He took another look out of the alley, only to meet eyes with a surprised Marine officer. The Marine’s gaze took in Shanks’ red hair and straw hat, and then fell to the little girl by Shanks’ side. His eyes widened. “I… I found them! Both of them!” he yelled.
“Shit!” Shanks cursed as a large group of Marines appeared out of nowhere and thundered towards them. Shanks quickly wrapped an arm around the girl’s waist and hoisted her onto one shoulder. The girl only had time to let out a small gasp at the manhandling before he started sprinting away from their pursuers.
“Sorry about that!” he said to the girl he was carrying sheepishly, before taking a turn that would bring him in the direction of the sea. He hoped the Marines hadn’t discovered where the Red Force had been docked. It would be so troublesome to have to find out where the crew had relocated the ship. Thankfully, it was exactly where he had left it.
“Set sail!” Shanks yelled as he rushed up the gangplank. “Marines are coming!”
The crew jumped into action, withdrawing the gangplank once he had reached the deck, and unfurling the sails. The navigator called out instructions which were quickly completed. The ship left the shore with admirable speed, and Shanks watched with glee as the Marines who had arrived at the beach soon became mere blue and white blobs in the distance.
“Everyone on board, Benn?” Shanks called out to his first mate, who he located a distance away on the deck. Benn gave the affirmative, but started walking towards Shanks with a frown on his face.
“Please tell me you didn’t have to resort to taking hostage to escape.” Benn’s expression was disapproving as he looked at the little girl sitting with her arms wrapped around her legs.
Shanks waved off his worries, pouting slightly at the accusation. “No, no, what do you think I am, a kidnapper? The Marines were after her too. I couldn’t just leave her there after they discovered us, now could I?” Shanks turned towards the girl and smiled kindly at her when she looked afraid. “Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you. I’m Shanks, nice to meet you.” Shanks extended a hand.
The girl took it rather hesitantly. Then, reassured by his smile, she smiled a bit as well. “R-Robin.”
Back on the island, a Marine reported to headquarters through a Den Den Mushi. “I apologize, sir, we were unable to capture the target. However, we do have a lead. It is to be believed that Nico Robin has escaped aboard the ship of Red Haired Shanks.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Have you found out why the Marines are after her?” Shanks looked at Benn with a serious expression later that night in the privacy of the captain’s quarters.
Benn nodded and handed Shanks a bounty poster. The girl in the picture was unmistakably the girl he had brought onboard. “It was in one of the recent newspapers. Demon Child Nico Robin, bounty 77 million beri. The Marines claim that she sunk six Buster Call ships when she was eight.”
Shanks stared at him incredulously. “A little girl did that? How is it even possible? She looks as if she couldn’t hurt a flea!”
Benn shrugged. “That’s what the information says, and appearances can be deceiving. But you also know better than I that the Marines have lied before to save face.”
“That’s true,” Shanks acknowledged, thinking of how the Marines had boasted to have captured the Pirate King when the truth was that he had turned himself in. He looked pensively again at the bounty poster. “But if the information is indeed a lie, the question now is, why do they want her so badly?”
“My guess is as good as yours.”
Undiscovered, an ear attached to the bottom of the desk vanished into a soundless flutter of petals.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Robin!” Shanks greeted the girl with a bright smile. “Good morning! Did you sleep well?”
Faced with the enthusiastic greeting, Robin tentatively smiled back. “Yes, thank you,” she replied bashfully.
“Come now, no need to be so formal!” the red-haired young man said cheerfully. “Relax, we’re not scary people. Old Benn here may look all grim, but he’s a nice person, really. Come, Benn, smile more! You’re intimidating the poor girl.”
“It’s probably you that’s the problem, Captain. I daresay she thinks you’re not quite sane.”
Shanks pouted. “I would have you know that the children generally like me very much.”
“And little wonder, considering that you’re have a maturity level of a five year old,” Benn deadpanned.
A girlish giggle interrupted their banter. The pair looked over at Robin, who had her hands clapped over his mouth to prevent more laughter from emerging. She looked apprehensively at them, as if worried that they would be angry. She jumped when Shanks burst out laughing.
“Dahahaha!” Shanks ruffled the girl’s hair affectionately. “You should laugh more. Don’t be all moody like old Benn over there.” Shanks sent her a cheeky wink, tilting his head at the first mate. Benn just rolled his eyes as the girl giggled again, more openly this time.
“Hey, yer cute when ya laugh. Ya should laugh more. Dereshishishi!”
“Laugh, and laugh more! We laugh every day, don’t we, men?” Shanks grinned at the crew, who cheered in agreement.
“Why?” Robin couldn’t help but ask.
“Why? Because we’re happy! Life is too short to be spent on unhappy stuff, so we make sure that we enjoy every moment!”
“Yer laff when yer havin’ fun. Dat means, if ya keep laffin’, ya’ll have mo’ fun.”
“Dahahahaha! That makes sense, right? So let’s party, everyone!” The cheers were even louder this time as the crew enthusiastically complied with their captain’s order.
Watching them, Robin laughed. For the first time since the Ohara incident where she lost everything she held dear, she laughed, a true laugh from her heart. Not forced, not a mask to hide behind.
A large hand reached out to gently wipe away the tears that had unknowingly rolled down her cheeks. Through misty eyes, Robin saw a tender smile and black eyes that looked at her understandingly. Her hands wiped away the remaining moisture from her eyes and she gave Benn a bright, albeit watery, smile. The first mate stood and ruffled her hair the same way his captain had just before.
Shanks ran over and pulled her by the hand into the center of the party. The pirates sang and danced, the captain twirled her around maniacally and the first mate watched their antics with an indulgent smile. And Robin laughed. Just laughed and laughed and laughed.
“Dereshishishi!”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Why are you a pirate?”
Shanks smiled. “Hmm, how should I answer that? Maybe it’ll be better to show you. Come here, Robin.”
Curious, she approached where he was leaning against the railing. He brought over a nearby barrel for her to sit on so that she could see over the wooden railing better. “Look out there. What do you see?”
Robin looked out at blue expanse of water, rather confused. “The sea.”
“That right. Do you see any islands, or other ships?”
Robin squinted, but the horizon was empty. It was just the same masses of blue all around. “Nope.”
“That’s why I’m a pirate.” When Robin looked at him for clarification, Shanks continued. “The sea is huge, so huge that we can sail for days without seeing an island or another vessel. There’s endless adventure, endless beauty to be found. I’m a pirate because pirates are free. Civilians are mostly land-bound, Marines are bound by rules. But as pirates, we have the entire ocean to explore without restriction, sailing the seas wherever we fancy. We’re free.”
Shanks took off his straw hat, holding it in his hand to look at it nostalgically. “The man who gave me this hat was one of the greatest men who have ever lived. He was a pirate, and it was him who taught me what it truly meant to be free. He was free, more so than anyone else. I want to live like that.”
Placing his hat back on his red hair, he turned to grin at Robin. “And that’s why I’m a pirate.”
A strong gust of wind suddenly swept by them, knocking that precious hat off his head. Shanks gasped and grabbed at it, missing by a hairsbreadth.
Without thinking, she sprouted an arm from the railing to catch the escaping straw hat. The hand caught hold of the brim neatly, and she turned back to come face to face with the stunned expressions of the captain and the nearby crew members who had caught sight of the action.
Ah.
She bit her lower lips, looking at the wooden floor in shame. She had done it again. Would they reject her? Call her a monster, like the villagers of Ohara had?
“Hey, that’s really cool, Robin!” someone cried out. Several voices chorused in agreement.
She looked up, disbelieving. There hadn’t been any disgust in those voices, no accusation, no jeering.
Shanks walked over to were her disembodied arm was still clutching his straw hat. He took the hat from her grasp and watched in fascination as the limb vanished in a flurry of petals. Jamming the hat back on his head, he grinned at her. “What devil fruit did you eat?”
“…Hana Hana no Mi.” To demonstrate, she produced several more waving arms on the railing.
“Wow, that’s pretty awesome. Thanks for saving my hat, Robin.”
“You’re not afraid of me?” As far as she had seen, none of the crew had weird abilities like she did. She was different, an outcast. She sprouted a hand on his shoulder and playfully plucked the hat off his head again, replacing it immediately.
But rather than recoiling in disgust as she expected, Shanks just shrugged. “Why would I be? I’ve seen many other Devil Fruit users on the Grand Line. I once sailed with this boy who could split his body into little parts and float around. It was really crazy, but useful enough in a fight, I suppose.”
“I’ve been to da Grand Line, and I’ve seen amazing Devil Fruit users. Actually, I envy you. Dereshishi! It looks so convenient, Dereshishishi!”
This man was so much like Saul. Good, kind Saul who she had befriended and trusted. Perhaps, just perhaps, she could trust Shanks as well.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Land-ho!” the man on watch yelled. Immediately there was a flurry of moment on the deck.
“We’re going to shore?” Robin looked at the island they were approaching curiously. That was fast, considering that they had just left the last island two days ago.
“We need to get supplies, since we couldn’t really stock up in the last island, with those blasted Marines everywhere,” Shanks explained.
“Oh…” Robin looked at the island again.
Shanks came to lean against the railing beside Robin. “Hey, Robin, I know that we would put you down on the next island, but… do you want to stay instead?”
Robin’s head whipped towards the red-haired captain, surprise written all over her face. Was he really asking her to stay? She stayed silent, not daring to hope that it could be true.
“The crew’s gotten really fond of you, especially Benn. That guy may look gruff, but he’s a total softie at heart. And it’s not just them. I also want you to stay, Robin. We’ll protect you from the Marines. It’s not like we’re on good relations with them anyway, we’re pirates after all. So, how about it?”
She had been rejected so many times for what she was, or else betrayed for personal gain. But here was a man who knew of her bounty and devil fruit powers, and was still offering to protect her. He was offering her a place that she could belong to. On his ship, in his crew.
“I understand if you don’t want to, I won’t force you, of course, but I want you to know that we all want you to become our nakama.”
“Can I really?” her voice was still somewhat disbelieving, her eyes hopeful.
Shanks smiled. “Of course! I’ll take that as a yes, then!” He ran to the middle of the deck. “Hey, everyone! Robin agreed to stay!”
As the crew roared their approval of her decision, Robin finally felt safe again for the first time in two years.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Robin didn’t follow the company of men who set off to the town to get supplies. A good half of crew had gone, including Shanks and Benn, presumably to be more efficient by splitting up to get different goods. It wouldn’t do to linger and risk discovery by Marines, after all. Enough men had been left behind to guard the ship, nevertheless. She knew that they were actually tasked with guarding her as well.
Staring over the railing at the bustling port, Robin wished that the group would return faster. She had a bad feeling about this situation.
When she finally spotted the bright red hair of the captain and the tall figure of the first mate moving towards the ship, she let out a sigh of relief. But one moment later, her heart constricted. Because behind the pirates, she saw a swarm of blue and white charging down the street.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Okashira!” a crew member walking near the back cried out suddenly. “We have a problem!”
Turning to look at the man, Shanks spotted a large swarm of Marine soldiers heading their way from behind.
“Red Hair! Hand over Nico Robin! We know you have her!” the leader of the group, a Marine captain, yelled out.
Robin would be safe as long as she stayed on the ship, Shanks knew. The men had sworn to protect her with their lives. The sweet little girl had wormed her way into their weather-beaten old hearts. They wouldn’t let any harm come to her.
At any rate, Shanks wasn’t planning to let any Marines get anywhere near his ship.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
She shot into her room. Hands sprouted around the small space, picking up the little that she had and bundling them together. She clutched her meager baggage to her chest and cast one final look at the room where she had for a short while felt safe again.
Her vision blurred. A hand sprouted to wipe the moisture away, but the tears kept on coming. She bit her lip, willing herself to stop crying. She had to do this. Because of her, Shanks and his crew had been cornered by Marines. It was all her fault. She was bad luck to anyone who harbored her. She had to leave, for their sake as well as her own. A small voice in her head suggested that Shanks was strong enough to protect her, but she pushed away the traitorous thought. She couldn’t take the risk.
Keeping to the shadows, as she had learnt to do too well over the past two years, she crept off the ship. She saw the Red Hair Pirates and Marines facing each other at the dock. A crowd was beginning to form, drawn by the drama unfolding. She easily slipped into the masses, unnoticed by either side.
“Red Hair!” the Marine captain yelled. “We have a proposal for you! Hand over Nico Robin and we’ll let you go without a fight!”
Robin started running, didn’t wait for Shanks’ reply. She knew that she couldn’t take it if he betrayed her, couldn’t bear to hear rejection from the man that she almost let herself trust. Part of her wanted to stay and believe in him. But she didn’t dare to stay, because she didn’t want to take the chance of being proven wrong. Even if it meant that she would be giving up the opportunity to be proven right.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The Marine captain looked so sure that the pirates would comply with their suggestion. So it was natural that he didn’t expect Shanks to do what he did.
Shanks laughed in his face. “Like hell I would do that,” he returned, smirking. He felt his crew move into battle positions behind him.
The Marines tensed, visibly worried. Red Hair had made quite a name for himself as a skilled swordsman, and the strength of his crew was no joke either, if reports were to be believed.
“These guys are small fry. We need to settle this before they get reinforcements from the base,” Shanks told his crew in a low voice so that the Marines wouldn’t hear.
“Roger that, Captain.” Benn smirked. “It’ll take less than a minute.”
The rest of the crew grinned maniacally at their first mate’s words. And that sealed the poor Marines’ fate.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Robin!!!” Shanks called, running around the ship. “Robin!!!” He checked every room, every corner. He checked the little room that had been hers for the short time she had sailed with them, but it was empty. “Robin…” Returning to the deck without the small form of the girl in sight, his steps slowed to a stop. He had expected this, but it still hurt.
The tap of footsteps behind him alerted him to someone’s approach. But it wasn’t Robin. The footsteps were too heavy to belong to the girl.
“She’s gone,” Shanks told Benn dejectedly.
Benn didn’t say anything, silently showing his understanding. He, too, was disappointed that Robin had left. All of the crew had grown rather attached to the little girl over the past few days.
Shanks went over the railing and leant against it, gazing outwards.
“Why couldn’t you have trusted us a bit more, Robin?” Shanks said sadly, looking out at the wide sea.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Hey, Shanks, I think you should see this.”
Benn tossed the newspaper he had picked up in town to Shanks. The captain caught it, yawned, and blinked blearily at the headlines. A second later, he had shot upright and was scanning the article eagerly.
“Dahahaha! Looks like Luffy’s stirring up a good deal of trouble! Enies Lobby of all places! The kid’s got guts.” He grinned as he continued reading. “Straw Hat Pirates recently invaded Enies Lobby… Deliberately shot World Government flag as a symbol of rebellion… Whoa, that’s heavy stuff. Always so reckless, our Luffy. Hmm? It has been revealed that the Straw Hats attacked Enies Lobby in order to rescue crewmate Nico…Robin…” His voice trailed off, wonderment in his face. He looked up quickly to see Benn smiling.
“I wonder how she’s doing,” Benn said, knowing that he was echoing what Shanks was thinking.
Shanks looked at the article again to make sure his eyes hadn’t deceived him. The words popped out at him, clear and unmistakable. He pulled out the small stack of bounty posters from within the paper. No doubt about it, there she was, her updated poster grouped together with the freshly issued bounties of the other Straw Hats. Robin was now a member of Luffy’s crew. A grin split his face.
“I hope she’s happy.” Shanks let the papers fall onto his chair as he got up to lean against the railing. He looked out at the sea, unconsciously similar to the night after she had left without a word. But this time, he smiled.
“You can trust Luffy, Robin. He’ll protect you.” He thought of the shy young girl he had met, and the beautiful, strong woman she had become. He gazed out the blue sea, knowing that she was out there sailing with the boy he had placed his hopes on.
“Let’s meet again.”
Theme: #2 second chance
Claim: Shanks
(Words:) 3,555
Rating: K+
Warnings: None
Disclaimer(s): I do not own One Piece, obviously
A red-haired youth ducked into an alleyway and grinned in triumph as the Marines thundered past his hiding place. Idiots. Did they really think that they could capture Red-Haired Shanks? Ha, not so easy! His epithet may have been recently earned, but he had been a pirate for much longer and knew well enough how to slip away from Marines.
Quick, labored breathing of someone who had also entered the narrow alley almost made him jump straight out of his skin. He spun around with a hand on his sword, ready to fight the lucky (or unlucky) Marine who had discovered his position.
Only to find that it wasn’t a Marine after all.
Shanks stared in surprise at the little girl who had also sought refuge in the dark alleyway. The child couldn’t be much older than ten, with straight black hair and large eyes. Shanks opened his mouth to ask her why she was running but was cut off by the sound of another group of Marines stampeding past.
“She’s just a child! She couldn’t have gotten far! Find her!” the leader of the group yelled.
“Yes, sir!”
Like the previous group, they completely neglected to even glance into the alleyway.
Once the men had left, Shanks raised an eyebrow at the girl. “So… Why are they chasing you?”
The young girl bit her lower lip unhappily, not answering. Shanks sighed at the silence but didn’t pressure her, instead peeking out of their hiding place. “Hey, the coast is clear. Why don’t you come with me? I won’t let the Marines find you.”
The girl looked at him with wide eyes, caught off guard by his offer. After a moment, however, she shook her head.
Shanks was disappointed. “No? Too bad. Well, I’ll be going, then.” He took another look out of the alley, only to meet eyes with a surprised Marine officer. The Marine’s gaze took in Shanks’ red hair and straw hat, and then fell to the little girl by Shanks’ side. His eyes widened. “I… I found them! Both of them!” he yelled.
“Shit!” Shanks cursed as a large group of Marines appeared out of nowhere and thundered towards them. Shanks quickly wrapped an arm around the girl’s waist and hoisted her onto one shoulder. The girl only had time to let out a small gasp at the manhandling before he started sprinting away from their pursuers.
“Sorry about that!” he said to the girl he was carrying sheepishly, before taking a turn that would bring him in the direction of the sea. He hoped the Marines hadn’t discovered where the Red Force had been docked. It would be so troublesome to have to find out where the crew had relocated the ship. Thankfully, it was exactly where he had left it.
“Set sail!” Shanks yelled as he rushed up the gangplank. “Marines are coming!”
The crew jumped into action, withdrawing the gangplank once he had reached the deck, and unfurling the sails. The navigator called out instructions which were quickly completed. The ship left the shore with admirable speed, and Shanks watched with glee as the Marines who had arrived at the beach soon became mere blue and white blobs in the distance.
“Everyone on board, Benn?” Shanks called out to his first mate, who he located a distance away on the deck. Benn gave the affirmative, but started walking towards Shanks with a frown on his face.
“Please tell me you didn’t have to resort to taking hostage to escape.” Benn’s expression was disapproving as he looked at the little girl sitting with her arms wrapped around her legs.
Shanks waved off his worries, pouting slightly at the accusation. “No, no, what do you think I am, a kidnapper? The Marines were after her too. I couldn’t just leave her there after they discovered us, now could I?” Shanks turned towards the girl and smiled kindly at her when she looked afraid. “Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you. I’m Shanks, nice to meet you.” Shanks extended a hand.
The girl took it rather hesitantly. Then, reassured by his smile, she smiled a bit as well. “R-Robin.”
Back on the island, a Marine reported to headquarters through a Den Den Mushi. “I apologize, sir, we were unable to capture the target. However, we do have a lead. It is to be believed that Nico Robin has escaped aboard the ship of Red Haired Shanks.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Have you found out why the Marines are after her?” Shanks looked at Benn with a serious expression later that night in the privacy of the captain’s quarters.
Benn nodded and handed Shanks a bounty poster. The girl in the picture was unmistakably the girl he had brought onboard. “It was in one of the recent newspapers. Demon Child Nico Robin, bounty 77 million beri. The Marines claim that she sunk six Buster Call ships when she was eight.”
Shanks stared at him incredulously. “A little girl did that? How is it even possible? She looks as if she couldn’t hurt a flea!”
Benn shrugged. “That’s what the information says, and appearances can be deceiving. But you also know better than I that the Marines have lied before to save face.”
“That’s true,” Shanks acknowledged, thinking of how the Marines had boasted to have captured the Pirate King when the truth was that he had turned himself in. He looked pensively again at the bounty poster. “But if the information is indeed a lie, the question now is, why do they want her so badly?”
“My guess is as good as yours.”
Undiscovered, an ear attached to the bottom of the desk vanished into a soundless flutter of petals.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Robin!” Shanks greeted the girl with a bright smile. “Good morning! Did you sleep well?”
Faced with the enthusiastic greeting, Robin tentatively smiled back. “Yes, thank you,” she replied bashfully.
“Come now, no need to be so formal!” the red-haired young man said cheerfully. “Relax, we’re not scary people. Old Benn here may look all grim, but he’s a nice person, really. Come, Benn, smile more! You’re intimidating the poor girl.”
“It’s probably you that’s the problem, Captain. I daresay she thinks you’re not quite sane.”
Shanks pouted. “I would have you know that the children generally like me very much.”
“And little wonder, considering that you’re have a maturity level of a five year old,” Benn deadpanned.
A girlish giggle interrupted their banter. The pair looked over at Robin, who had her hands clapped over his mouth to prevent more laughter from emerging. She looked apprehensively at them, as if worried that they would be angry. She jumped when Shanks burst out laughing.
“Dahahaha!” Shanks ruffled the girl’s hair affectionately. “You should laugh more. Don’t be all moody like old Benn over there.” Shanks sent her a cheeky wink, tilting his head at the first mate. Benn just rolled his eyes as the girl giggled again, more openly this time.
“Hey, yer cute when ya laugh. Ya should laugh more. Dereshishishi!”
“Laugh, and laugh more! We laugh every day, don’t we, men?” Shanks grinned at the crew, who cheered in agreement.
“Why?” Robin couldn’t help but ask.
“Why? Because we’re happy! Life is too short to be spent on unhappy stuff, so we make sure that we enjoy every moment!”
“Yer laff when yer havin’ fun. Dat means, if ya keep laffin’, ya’ll have mo’ fun.”
“Dahahahaha! That makes sense, right? So let’s party, everyone!” The cheers were even louder this time as the crew enthusiastically complied with their captain’s order.
Watching them, Robin laughed. For the first time since the Ohara incident where she lost everything she held dear, she laughed, a true laugh from her heart. Not forced, not a mask to hide behind.
A large hand reached out to gently wipe away the tears that had unknowingly rolled down her cheeks. Through misty eyes, Robin saw a tender smile and black eyes that looked at her understandingly. Her hands wiped away the remaining moisture from her eyes and she gave Benn a bright, albeit watery, smile. The first mate stood and ruffled her hair the same way his captain had just before.
Shanks ran over and pulled her by the hand into the center of the party. The pirates sang and danced, the captain twirled her around maniacally and the first mate watched their antics with an indulgent smile. And Robin laughed. Just laughed and laughed and laughed.
“Dereshishishi!”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Why are you a pirate?”
Shanks smiled. “Hmm, how should I answer that? Maybe it’ll be better to show you. Come here, Robin.”
Curious, she approached where he was leaning against the railing. He brought over a nearby barrel for her to sit on so that she could see over the wooden railing better. “Look out there. What do you see?”
Robin looked out at blue expanse of water, rather confused. “The sea.”
“That right. Do you see any islands, or other ships?”
Robin squinted, but the horizon was empty. It was just the same masses of blue all around. “Nope.”
“That’s why I’m a pirate.” When Robin looked at him for clarification, Shanks continued. “The sea is huge, so huge that we can sail for days without seeing an island or another vessel. There’s endless adventure, endless beauty to be found. I’m a pirate because pirates are free. Civilians are mostly land-bound, Marines are bound by rules. But as pirates, we have the entire ocean to explore without restriction, sailing the seas wherever we fancy. We’re free.”
Shanks took off his straw hat, holding it in his hand to look at it nostalgically. “The man who gave me this hat was one of the greatest men who have ever lived. He was a pirate, and it was him who taught me what it truly meant to be free. He was free, more so than anyone else. I want to live like that.”
Placing his hat back on his red hair, he turned to grin at Robin. “And that’s why I’m a pirate.”
A strong gust of wind suddenly swept by them, knocking that precious hat off his head. Shanks gasped and grabbed at it, missing by a hairsbreadth.
Without thinking, she sprouted an arm from the railing to catch the escaping straw hat. The hand caught hold of the brim neatly, and she turned back to come face to face with the stunned expressions of the captain and the nearby crew members who had caught sight of the action.
Ah.
She bit her lower lips, looking at the wooden floor in shame. She had done it again. Would they reject her? Call her a monster, like the villagers of Ohara had?
“Hey, that’s really cool, Robin!” someone cried out. Several voices chorused in agreement.
She looked up, disbelieving. There hadn’t been any disgust in those voices, no accusation, no jeering.
Shanks walked over to were her disembodied arm was still clutching his straw hat. He took the hat from her grasp and watched in fascination as the limb vanished in a flurry of petals. Jamming the hat back on his head, he grinned at her. “What devil fruit did you eat?”
“…Hana Hana no Mi.” To demonstrate, she produced several more waving arms on the railing.
“Wow, that’s pretty awesome. Thanks for saving my hat, Robin.”
“You’re not afraid of me?” As far as she had seen, none of the crew had weird abilities like she did. She was different, an outcast. She sprouted a hand on his shoulder and playfully plucked the hat off his head again, replacing it immediately.
But rather than recoiling in disgust as she expected, Shanks just shrugged. “Why would I be? I’ve seen many other Devil Fruit users on the Grand Line. I once sailed with this boy who could split his body into little parts and float around. It was really crazy, but useful enough in a fight, I suppose.”
“I’ve been to da Grand Line, and I’ve seen amazing Devil Fruit users. Actually, I envy you. Dereshishi! It looks so convenient, Dereshishishi!”
This man was so much like Saul. Good, kind Saul who she had befriended and trusted. Perhaps, just perhaps, she could trust Shanks as well.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Land-ho!” the man on watch yelled. Immediately there was a flurry of moment on the deck.
“We’re going to shore?” Robin looked at the island they were approaching curiously. That was fast, considering that they had just left the last island two days ago.
“We need to get supplies, since we couldn’t really stock up in the last island, with those blasted Marines everywhere,” Shanks explained.
“Oh…” Robin looked at the island again.
Shanks came to lean against the railing beside Robin. “Hey, Robin, I know that we would put you down on the next island, but… do you want to stay instead?”
Robin’s head whipped towards the red-haired captain, surprise written all over her face. Was he really asking her to stay? She stayed silent, not daring to hope that it could be true.
“The crew’s gotten really fond of you, especially Benn. That guy may look gruff, but he’s a total softie at heart. And it’s not just them. I also want you to stay, Robin. We’ll protect you from the Marines. It’s not like we’re on good relations with them anyway, we’re pirates after all. So, how about it?”
She had been rejected so many times for what she was, or else betrayed for personal gain. But here was a man who knew of her bounty and devil fruit powers, and was still offering to protect her. He was offering her a place that she could belong to. On his ship, in his crew.
“I understand if you don’t want to, I won’t force you, of course, but I want you to know that we all want you to become our nakama.”
“Can I really?” her voice was still somewhat disbelieving, her eyes hopeful.
Shanks smiled. “Of course! I’ll take that as a yes, then!” He ran to the middle of the deck. “Hey, everyone! Robin agreed to stay!”
As the crew roared their approval of her decision, Robin finally felt safe again for the first time in two years.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Robin didn’t follow the company of men who set off to the town to get supplies. A good half of crew had gone, including Shanks and Benn, presumably to be more efficient by splitting up to get different goods. It wouldn’t do to linger and risk discovery by Marines, after all. Enough men had been left behind to guard the ship, nevertheless. She knew that they were actually tasked with guarding her as well.
Staring over the railing at the bustling port, Robin wished that the group would return faster. She had a bad feeling about this situation.
When she finally spotted the bright red hair of the captain and the tall figure of the first mate moving towards the ship, she let out a sigh of relief. But one moment later, her heart constricted. Because behind the pirates, she saw a swarm of blue and white charging down the street.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Okashira!” a crew member walking near the back cried out suddenly. “We have a problem!”
Turning to look at the man, Shanks spotted a large swarm of Marine soldiers heading their way from behind.
“Red Hair! Hand over Nico Robin! We know you have her!” the leader of the group, a Marine captain, yelled out.
Robin would be safe as long as she stayed on the ship, Shanks knew. The men had sworn to protect her with their lives. The sweet little girl had wormed her way into their weather-beaten old hearts. They wouldn’t let any harm come to her.
At any rate, Shanks wasn’t planning to let any Marines get anywhere near his ship.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
She shot into her room. Hands sprouted around the small space, picking up the little that she had and bundling them together. She clutched her meager baggage to her chest and cast one final look at the room where she had for a short while felt safe again.
Her vision blurred. A hand sprouted to wipe the moisture away, but the tears kept on coming. She bit her lip, willing herself to stop crying. She had to do this. Because of her, Shanks and his crew had been cornered by Marines. It was all her fault. She was bad luck to anyone who harbored her. She had to leave, for their sake as well as her own. A small voice in her head suggested that Shanks was strong enough to protect her, but she pushed away the traitorous thought. She couldn’t take the risk.
Keeping to the shadows, as she had learnt to do too well over the past two years, she crept off the ship. She saw the Red Hair Pirates and Marines facing each other at the dock. A crowd was beginning to form, drawn by the drama unfolding. She easily slipped into the masses, unnoticed by either side.
“Red Hair!” the Marine captain yelled. “We have a proposal for you! Hand over Nico Robin and we’ll let you go without a fight!”
Robin started running, didn’t wait for Shanks’ reply. She knew that she couldn’t take it if he betrayed her, couldn’t bear to hear rejection from the man that she almost let herself trust. Part of her wanted to stay and believe in him. But she didn’t dare to stay, because she didn’t want to take the chance of being proven wrong. Even if it meant that she would be giving up the opportunity to be proven right.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The Marine captain looked so sure that the pirates would comply with their suggestion. So it was natural that he didn’t expect Shanks to do what he did.
Shanks laughed in his face. “Like hell I would do that,” he returned, smirking. He felt his crew move into battle positions behind him.
The Marines tensed, visibly worried. Red Hair had made quite a name for himself as a skilled swordsman, and the strength of his crew was no joke either, if reports were to be believed.
“These guys are small fry. We need to settle this before they get reinforcements from the base,” Shanks told his crew in a low voice so that the Marines wouldn’t hear.
“Roger that, Captain.” Benn smirked. “It’ll take less than a minute.”
The rest of the crew grinned maniacally at their first mate’s words. And that sealed the poor Marines’ fate.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Robin!!!” Shanks called, running around the ship. “Robin!!!” He checked every room, every corner. He checked the little room that had been hers for the short time she had sailed with them, but it was empty. “Robin…” Returning to the deck without the small form of the girl in sight, his steps slowed to a stop. He had expected this, but it still hurt.
The tap of footsteps behind him alerted him to someone’s approach. But it wasn’t Robin. The footsteps were too heavy to belong to the girl.
“She’s gone,” Shanks told Benn dejectedly.
Benn didn’t say anything, silently showing his understanding. He, too, was disappointed that Robin had left. All of the crew had grown rather attached to the little girl over the past few days.
Shanks went over the railing and leant against it, gazing outwards.
“Why couldn’t you have trusted us a bit more, Robin?” Shanks said sadly, looking out at the wide sea.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Hey, Shanks, I think you should see this.”
Benn tossed the newspaper he had picked up in town to Shanks. The captain caught it, yawned, and blinked blearily at the headlines. A second later, he had shot upright and was scanning the article eagerly.
“Dahahaha! Looks like Luffy’s stirring up a good deal of trouble! Enies Lobby of all places! The kid’s got guts.” He grinned as he continued reading. “Straw Hat Pirates recently invaded Enies Lobby… Deliberately shot World Government flag as a symbol of rebellion… Whoa, that’s heavy stuff. Always so reckless, our Luffy. Hmm? It has been revealed that the Straw Hats attacked Enies Lobby in order to rescue crewmate Nico…Robin…” His voice trailed off, wonderment in his face. He looked up quickly to see Benn smiling.
“I wonder how she’s doing,” Benn said, knowing that he was echoing what Shanks was thinking.
Shanks looked at the article again to make sure his eyes hadn’t deceived him. The words popped out at him, clear and unmistakable. He pulled out the small stack of bounty posters from within the paper. No doubt about it, there she was, her updated poster grouped together with the freshly issued bounties of the other Straw Hats. Robin was now a member of Luffy’s crew. A grin split his face.
“I hope she’s happy.” Shanks let the papers fall onto his chair as he got up to lean against the railing. He looked out at the sea, unconsciously similar to the night after she had left without a word. But this time, he smiled.
“You can trust Luffy, Robin. He’ll protect you.” He thought of the shy young girl he had met, and the beautiful, strong woman she had become. He gazed out the blue sea, knowing that she was out there sailing with the boy he had placed his hopes on.
“Let’s meet again.”