-x-

Luffy – Six Years Old

-x-

The first time Shanks had met Monkey D. Luffy, the child had been shoving his way through the crowd.

It had strike him as odd; It was obvious even to a thick-headed man like him that most of the children had been evacuate to a different section of the village for safety, but there he was, a small child amongst the many villagers who crowded the docks like a barricade for the village. Although…It appeared that the boy's presence was neither desired nor anticipated by any of the villagers.

"Kora, Luffy!" One villager cried out as he tried to wrap his arms around the boy.

'Luffy' easily ducked, avoiding the two arms that were flung at him and proceeded to leap over the next set of arms which lunged at him.

"Luffy, what are you doing?!"

"Go back to your house, damn it! Do you want to get hurt?!"

A series of similar cries followed.

The boy only grinned and easily dodged the villagers.

Shanks was admittedly surprised by the child's agility. Given his age and his too small size, one would have expected the boy to be clumsier and slow, but that was not so. Behind him, his crew made amazed noises at the back of their throats and admired the show.

It did not even take a minute for the boy to get to the front of the crowd.

The child had cropped raven locks and wide onyx eyes, no surprise there, and was dressed in a simple red singlet and blue pants. He was shorter than the average six-year old and surprisingly, he was a bit more chubby than one might expect, given the way he easily swerved around with seeming lightness.

The boy looked up. Shanks gulped, realizing he had been staring for a second too long and was all too ready to look away when the boy's lips twitched up into a wide, toothy grin.

"Yo!" The boy greeted happily.

"Eh…eh?" Shanks was taken aback.

"Makino said that pirates have arrived here, so I came to see them! Ossan, are you here to see those pirates as well?" The boy tilted his head with adorable innocence.

Shanks remained silent, pursuing his lips. Does the boy not realize he is said pirate?"

"LUFFY! You little pesky brat!" A fist came flying down onto the boy's head.

"ITAI!" Luffy yelled, tears welling up in his eyes. Swivelling around in anger, the boy clutched his new bump and exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing, baka Woop Slap?!"

'Woop Slap' was a weird name, Shanks thought. But glancing at the culprit, the redhead decided that this Woop Slap must be the mayor, or the village leader of some sort. He was the representative of the villagers afterall.

"More importantly, why are you here?!" Woop Slap yelled.

"Like I said, I came to see the pirates!" Luffy replied with similar vigour.

"Can't you see that we are negotiating with the pirates right now?! Don't interrupt us in the middle of such a critical matter and go back, you little brat!" Woop Slap lectured.

"What pirates?! I only see a pirate ship and…" Luffy blinked, the situation finally settling in his head. "Oh…Oooh."

Shanks blinked when the kid turned to him, not the slightest hint of fear in his eyes. The kid sure has balls, he would admit.

"Ossan, you're a pirate?" He asked.

'TOO BLUNT!' The villagers' expressions appear to say.

A few snickers behind him told Shanks exactly what his crew thought of the kid.

Amused, the redhead grinned at the child in response and rested his palm on the child's head, ignoring the several looks of panic from the villagers. Slowly, he threw his head back in laughter.

"DAHAHAHA! Kid, you're really amusing! Aren't you the least afraid of me?" He asked.

"Nope." Luffy replied in all earnest.

"Why not?" Shanks questioned, intrigued.

"Because." Luffy paused to create suspense and grinned suddenly. "I want to be a pirate too, that's why!"

Eh? Shanks blinked, stunned. Behind, he could feel his crew buzzing with both amusement and curiosity.

It was comprehensible why they would be so piqued by this odd little child. While this is indeed East Blue, the sea which the weakest security which has the most crimes running amok, this island is Dawn Island, an area located near to the Marine Base and more importantly, the origins of the marine Hero Garp. Logically, most of the children should be brought up wanting to be a rich noble, a marine, if not, a rogue mountain bandit.

It made no sense that the boy would want to be a pirate, of all things. Pirates were not prospective careers for those in East Blue, especially since those who came from East Blue can rarely ever compete with those from the other Blues or even Grand Line on the same scale.

"Again with that, Luffy?!" Woop Slap slapped the boy's head again. "Honestly, who was it that gave you that absurd idea? You are going to become a righteous marine, a M-A-R-I-N-E!"

"SHUDDAP! I'm gonna be a pirate, and that's that!" The boy shouted. Well, at least he's passionate.

"Speaking back to an adult, you…" The village leader turned so red Shanks thought he could see fumes coming out of the man's head.

Shanks could only smile widely in the midst of all these, throwing his head back in yet another laughter which drew many eyes to him.

"In any case, you're really an interesting kid, kid!"

-x-

Chapter 2: Shanks

-x-

"So, how was it?" Standing by his shipwright, Shanks folded his muscular arms and smiled cheerfully, listening to the crashing of the waves.

Even without his Observational Haki, the redhead could clearly sense the presence of a certain little boy hiding behind the coconut tree nearby. As it was, after one day of wandering the village and celebrating with a good pint of alcohol, Shanks has mostly resigned himself to having his personal little stalker following him to everywhere and anywhere.

Trying to ignore the raven locks poking out from the tree, his shipwright shook his head with a sigh and looked over their ship for the seventeenth time that night.

"It's no good. Those useless marines have certainly come up with a good weapon this time round. As it is, the ship's suffered too many damages. It'd take some time to come up with a better design that's more resistant to those freakish cannons of theirs too." The shipwright rolled up the blueprint and slapped a palm over his face. "It'll take at least two months to fix this even with everyone's help."

"Well, take a chill pill." Shanks suggested, shrugging with a casual smile. "Take your time to fix things. It's not like rushing it will help make our future voyages any safer."

"With the Marine Base so close to this island, we have to rush." The shipwright dragged his hand down his face.

"It's not like we can't handle five or ten marine ships." Shanks grinned when the shipwright waved his hands in exasperation. "You should sleep. It'd help you think clearer when you wake up."

"But-!" The man sighed. He really is sighing too much for a man of his age.

"You're not much help now anyways. See? You've been hitting that piece of wood for ten minutes already." Shanks pointed out. The man jumped, surprised at his own actions and dropped the hammer. "Go to sleep."

"I – You're – Captain, I-"

Shanks rolled his eyes.

"I will chalk those words up to captain's orders if I have to, you know?"

The shipwright stared at him with exhausted eyes and sighed, dragging himself back to the village's inns, where the other pirates have put their reservations and were settling down for the night.

Sighing softly, Shanks turned to the boy in bemusement.

"Oi, shouldn't little kids be sleeping in their beds and letting their mommas tuck them in now?" Shanks teased.

Almost instantaneously, the boy came flying out from behind the tree, waving a fist in indignity.

"I'm not a kid!" He shouted, mad.

"Are you?" Shanks drawled, grinning.

"I'm not!" Luffy shouted again.

"So you're not." Shanks went along with what the kid said and shrugged, sitting on a big rock. "Are you sure you don't want to go running back home now? I would bet that your family's getting worried right about now."

"Hmph! As if Gramps would be worried for me." Luffy huffed, dropping on his butt and folding his arms. "All he ever cares about is the marines, marines…For the marines, he even left me on this island by myself."

Shanks blinked at the contempt in the boy's tone and frowned.

"Well, have you ever considered that your Grandfather may think of the marines as his second family?" The pirate lectured. "It's harder than you think, you know? Leaving behind your family in favour of your dreams…You have to love your dreams a lot in order to do that."

"…Like being a pirate?" Luffy peeked at him out of the corner of his eyes.

"Like being a pirate." Shanks agreed, smiling softly.

Though, he hated encouraging the kid to become a pirate. Even though Shanks have never once regretted coming to sea and meeting his nakama, there were just those times when he wondered…What would he have done should he never have stepped onto Roger's ship? Would he have had a better future? It was in those dark moments that he would ponder about the hardships of a pirate's life and frown.

Combing a hand through his hair, Shanks caught the boy's attention and smiled.

"Why don't you become a marine instead?" Shanks said. "That way, you would get to understand why your grandfather loved his job so much and still be able to set sail to the sea."

"YADDA (Don't wanna)!" The boy shouted so loudly Shanks thought the whole town would be awakened. Lowering his voice, Luffy huffed. "You really don't understand, do you, Ossan?"

"What do I not understand?" Shanks was seriously confused.

"To be a marine is like being a hero." Luffy said with adorable solemnity. "To be a hero, you have to protect everyone, even the bad guys, but to be a pirate, you can protect anyone you like. I only want to protect the people I like!"

"That's…" Shanks deadpanned. "That's quite childish, actually."

"Shut up!" Luffy answered, irked.

"More importantly, kid…" Shanks trailed off. "Don't you have someone else taking care of you? You said your Gramps is with the marines, so that means someone who is not your family is taking charge of you now, right?"

Luffy nodded, looking down almost guiltily. Shanks sighed.

"I bet that person is worried sick right about now. Perhaps, he or she would even be combing through the entire village just to find you…And perhaps, because of that, he or she will be nabbed by a bandit…or even perhaps, he or she may fall into the ocean and die by a seaking…" Shank smirked when the kid went pale with fear.

"N-Nao-onee-chan isn't so weak!" Luffy argued weakly.

"Who knows? Anything can happen to anyone with luck." Shanks smiled.

His amusement turned to horror when tears started welling up in the boy's eyes and Luffy began quivering in fear for his guardian. Shanks was a flirt, yes. He was used to breaking the hearts of women on different islands and he was desensitised to their tears. That said, it did not provide him with a resistance to the tears of children.

"O-Oi, I'm just kidding, okay? I doubt anything will happen to this…N-Nao? Nothing will happen to her, kay?" Shanks paused when the tears continued and he slammed his face into his hands. Shanks whimpered. "Stop crying…please…"

With his hands covering his eyes, Shanks did not notice when a leaf floated down to Luffy's lap. Surprised, the boy gingerly picked it up and turned it over, reading the words that were written on it in ink.

…

'Dear Luffy-kun,

This is Nao-onee-chan. I assure you that nothing shall befall upon me, so please do not worry. I am following your tracks currently, and I wish not for Red-Haired Shanks to notice my presence. Please pretend that I am not here and get away from the man hurriedly.

Signed, Fujioka Nao'

…

Smiling to himself, Luffy glanced at the man and burst out laughing at his distress. Surprised, Shanks' head turned up so quickly he thought he heard a cracking sound.

"I got you!" Luffy shouted, wiping away his tears. "As if I would cry for real! Nao-onee-chan ate a devil fruit, so she won't be defeated so easily!"

"Wha…" Shanks was left gawping for several seconds before realization dawned upon him and he smiled. "You tricked me!"

Luffy stuck out his tongue at the man and whooped his butt for a good measure.

"Little brat." Shanks murmured. The redhead was taken aback by the fondness that was in his voice and contemplated for a moment before realizing the reason. 'This boy…He's so much like me when I was young that it's almost scary.'

Letting the boy celebrate for a few more minutes, Shanks stood up and dusted his pants, extending a hand towards Luffy.

"What're you doing?" Luffy stared up at him with curious eyes.

"Bringing you home." Shanks grinned. "I bet your guardian would like a good explanation for your lateness. 'Sides…It's only right that someone ensure your safety when you return. I heard there's a lot of mountain bandits in this area."

Shanks blinked when he noticed Luffy getting nervous.

"It's fine, Shanks. I'm a warrior, so I can go home by myself!" Luffy harrumphed, but not nearly convincing enough to make the redhead stop worrying.

"Right. But you're still not an adult, so I better come along." Shanks trailed off, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Hey! I'm an adult!" Luffy said, offended.

"You're only an adult when you're old enough to love booze." Shanks deadpanned.

"Booze is…bitter…" Luffy wrinkled his nose. "No way I can love that, even when I'm older."

"Then you're never becoming an adult."

"Hey!" Luffy continued arguing, so lost in their conversation that he never realized that Shanks had diverted the topic in another direction.

Smiling slightly at his success, Shanks wondered at the back of his mind about why Luffy was so adverse to the idea of him visiting his house.

…

He hid his surprise with the skills of a master liar (or so he thought, because Luffy is just really all too oblivious), much to his distress.

"Bye bye, Shanks!" Luffy waved as he ran into the house.

"See ya, kid, take care of yourself." Shanks fake a large grin, retaining it until the moment the door closed and he was out of the kid's sight.

Shanks frowned.

Staring at the house with narrowed eyes, the redhead could see the many details which Luffy had overlooked or thought was normal.

To begin with, why was it that this particular cottage was located so far away from the village and more towards the rural area? Glancing around, Shanks could see the feral animals camouflaged in the forest, their menacing eyes staring at him in an infuriated manner. These animals had clearly been trained such that they would not attack the owners of the house, either through fear or out of simple reverence for their master. Had Shanks not used his Conqueror's Haki, those animals would have lunged for Shanks and battled him.

Next detail: A lot of the trees in this area were new, as if they were planted to replace fallen trees after a battle. There was also a simple trap several hundred kilometres away, at the start of the rural settlement, which was supposed to alarm the house's occupants when someone passes through the border. Luffy had said it was a doorbell, but Shanks could only smile dryly. The so called 'doorbell' was made of seastone. He highly doubted Luffy's words.

All these were too extreme, even for a marine, albeit, a sane marine (which was rare to find). Idly, Shanks toyed with the idea that Luffy is Garp's child – he had seen that insane, donut-loving, nut of a marine – and shook off the idea.

It can't be. He had only seen Garp a few months ago on Grand Line. He doubted Garp would be such a devoted marine and bad guardian that he would leave a child for several months alone.

But then…Who is it? Who is this 'Nao' person?

Shanks grinned to himself as he walked away from the house, looking like a cat who had just found a nice toy to play with. He just found something to occupy his time in this two to three month span.

Heh.

-x-

Contrary to popular belief, the Red-Haired Pirates were not stupid.

…Well, they do behave stupid, and they certainly have lost quite a number of brain cells on their way to New World, and they are loony, but…They're not stupid. Especially not Red-Haired Shanks, that, he was willing to defend against.

It was mostly frustrating for the past three months, what with the lack of information he had gathered about Luffy and his seemingly non-existent guardian. Shanks was no detective, but he knew better to be upfront about sensitive things such as the identity of Luffy, the identity of Luffy's guardian, and more importantly, what the hell the villagers seem to be hiding from him.

He could still recall all those frustrating conversations he had with the villagers.

…

"Makino." The bartender jumped at the sound of her name. Even after a week here, it appears that the locals still had not gotten used to their presence.

Smiling hesitantly, the beautiful green-haired woman Luffy was so enamoured with swivelled around, wiping her hand on an apron and coming towards him. Her brown eyes flickered to his drunken crew behind him, ensuring that they weren't ordering anything now, and back, focusing on the only pirate here who didn't seem to be gulping down booze.

"What may I do for you, sir?" She asked calmly.

"You can stop it with all the 'sir' thing already, Makino." Shanks grinned warmly at her. "Just call me Shanks already. And don't give me all that customer bullshit."

"But…" Makino flushed, and noticing his honest, not leery at all look, she smiled shyly. "Okay. S-Shanks-kun."

"Good girl." Shanks praised, earning yet another blush. Smiling up at the woman, he prepared himself and asked. "May I ask you something, Makino?"

"You already did, Shanks-kun." The woman retorted amiably.

Snorting, the pirate rolled his eyes and smiled.

"May I ask you another question then?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Could you tell me about Luffy?" He asked, keeping his question casual enough to not elicit suspicions.

"Eh?" Makino's brown eyes widened. She took a step back, suddenly too wary of the pirate sitting before her, and Shanks could only watch this with a surprised and analyzing eye. The bartender's tone turned defensive, borderline protective. "About Luffy?"

"Yup." Shanks tried to pretend to be oblivious.

"I…I'm sorry, sir," Makino reverted back to her old way of speaking, and Shanks suddenly felt a line being drawn between the both of them. "But I'm afraid Luffy's backgrounds and secrets are not mine to say. Please do not ask Luffy either. Tricking a child is an obnoxious behaviour."

Shanks' smile fell when the woman turned around, murmuring softly under her breath.

"I am really sorry, Shanks-kun, but I cannot betray Luffy. If you really have to know, please ask the mayor. I can't tell you anymore." She said so softly it was barely a whisper.

"Wait!" Shanks raised his voice as the woman was about to walk away.

Warily, Makino turned to look at him.

"If you can't tell me about Luffy…Can you at least tell me about Nao?" He offered her a hesitant grin.

To his surprise, the woman's face flickered from recognization and back to confusion. Makino tilted her head, placing a hand to her face in puzzlement and slight concern.

"That is what I want to know, Shanks-kun." She said softly.

"You don't know about Nao?" Shanks furrowed his brows, trying to think amidst all the shock he has. He scrutinized Makino's features for signs of lies. "Luffy said that Nao is his guardian. You can't possibly not know about his guardian?"

"I'm afraid I do not," Makino said sadly.

Shanks stared in confusion as Makino turned her head to the sides and behind herself, as if in search of something or someone, before she leaned in towards him and cupped her mouth as if divulging a secret.

"Luffy said that this…Nao is always watching him and the people around him. I don't know if she is here or not…But this is just to make sure that she doesn't hear us." She whispered.

"So…How is it you have not met Nao?" Shanks whispered back.

"I don't know all the details…But in any case, all I can tell you is that according to Luffy, Nao has appeared about one and a half years ago. She just appeared…out of nowhere…And according to Luffy, she constantly kept track of Luffy, taking care of his welfare, just like the sister she said she would be to him. The oddest thing is, whenever the villagers tried to visit Luffy's house to find Nao, they would find no one inside the house. Occasionally, however, when the villagers visited, they would hear the sounds of a girl and Luffy laughing together, even though when they barge in, there would always only be Luffy there." Makino said, inhaling after her long report.

Shanks could feel his amber eyes widening and his mouth hanging open. He got the gist of Makino's words.

This Nao…Is almost like a ghost.

…Interesting.

"There are a lot of rumours flying around about Nao, Shanks-kun." Makino offered a smile. "Personally, I think she is an imaginary friend that Luffy thought up – who is an opposite of everything Luffy is. It would explain his sudden improvement in education, his need to be clean, and his sudden love for vegetables as well."

"But that wouldn't explain the laughter, would it?" Shanks grinned back.

"Indeed, it wouldn't." Makino giggled. "But in any case, whoever Nao may be, real or not real, I appreciate her presence around Luffy."

"Why? Weren't you his mother figure before Nao came around?" Shanks asked, his wide eyes adorably confused.

"Luffy's grandfather forbid him from imposing too much on me." Makino smiled sadly. "I also had to look after my bar. There wasn't any way I could devote enough time to make sure Luffy is doing well, and he can't possibly spend most of his day at a bar."

She looked down with a soft smile.

"While I am saddened, I am also happy that Luffy now has someone to look after him. Nevermind that Nao may be imaginary or someone bad."

…

Okay, so his conversation with Makino was not all that frustrating and was surprising productive. But when added on to the rest of the conversations he had with the villagers – who either became scared and ran away or turned scarily protective of Luffy, chasing him around village for several times – its productiveness barely made up for the long time he had spent on this mystery. They were all so tight lipped about Luffy that it's maddening.

Shanks was still sulking at the ship's deck when Benn approached him.

"Still pouting over the Luffy mystery?" The first mate of Red-Haired Pirates questioned, a cigar hanging from his mouth.

"You are just as intrigued as I am." Shanks pointed out.

"I am." Benn's beady eyes glinted. "A kid whose surname is hidden, who wants to be a pirate…His guardian who seems to either be invisible or seriously good at hiding…A kingdom which draws a clear distinction between the higher and lower classes…A village that is one of the rare boundaries between good and bad…"

"…Benn, I order you to tell me what you know." Shanks halted when he realized his friend's eyes were glinting with mirth. He added in shock. "You know the truth."

"I'm not the one with the highest IQ on this ship for nothing." Benn shrugged. Grinning, the raven-haired man drawled lazily. "I figured it out entirely by accident though. Never expected to find her there."

"Tell me~" Shanks whined, pulling out his puppy eyes.

"Nope." Benn grinned lazily. "If I do, it wouldn't be fun for you now, would it?"

Shanks stared at him for a good measure and slowly begin to grin as well.

"It certainly wouldn't." He agreed.

"Either ways…I figured that you would need more time to solve this puzzle, so I told the crew that we'd be using this village as our base." Benn took a puff of his cigar as Shanks laughed.

"Dahahaha! You really do understand me, Benn!" Shanks chuckled.

"You need more time to convince Luffy about the woes of being a pirate anyways." Benn smirked. "That is…If the crew hadn't already corrupted his mind with all the merits of being a pirate."

Shanks smirked back.

"Hey, I'm not your charismatic captain for nothing."

"Let's see what your so-called charisma can do against the kid's bullheadedness."

-x-

Luffy – Seven Years Old

-x-

Nao despised Red-Haired Shanks, that was one thing for sure.

Already, it has been at least ten months since the redhead first arrived on the island and befriended her Luffy. Of course, it was brilliant considering the fact that Luffy had needed someone to quell his loneliness and just her wasn't sufficient. Overtime though, the presence of Red-Haired Shanks caused her relationship with Luffy to be jeopardized, ultimately because she had to hide at every turn around the wall, reducing the time she could spend with Luffy.

Of course, she had thoroughly investigated the irritati- no, amiable gentleman, utilizing her ties to the Revolutionary Army and even sent weekly reports on the useless bum – ah, she meant, adventurous free young man. To her indignity, the man had researched thoroughly on her as well, trying to obtain any clues of her existence and trying to stay beside Luffy around the clock just to catch a glimpse of her.

His obsession was disconcerting, uncomfortable, ludicrous, and most importantly, it was invading her privacy and time, messing up her entire schedule.

Nao could barely refrain the urge to reveal herself to stop this disturbing stalking tendencies of the redhead.

"EXCUSE ME!"

The words made her thoughts grind to a halt.

Lifting her head from outside the window, Nao's face darkened when her aquamarine eyes landed on the mountain bandits at Makino's bar's doors…or half of it, at least. The other half of the door had been kicked out of its hinges. The pirates have been spending a great percentage of their time over at this bar, she noticed, partially due to their captain's fondness of Makino.

"Hehe…So this is what pirates look like, huh? This is the first time I've seen pirates. They seem pretty dumb to me." The mountain bandit insulted not so discretely.

Even though she knew they were unable to see her obscured face, Nao couldn't help but smile sweeter than usual. As the man approached her dear, dear Luffy, her smile widened and her aura darkened to what Luffy loves to call 'Level Red', the level where big grown men would usually run away at. The man slammed a hand down to the table, lifting another to stroke his short, ugly beard.

"We are bandits. We're not here to cause trouble. We just want to buy 10 barrels of sake." The bandit said in what was supposed to be smooth way.

Arrogance shall be the death of these fools, Nao thought with a bright smile. Not only have they never seen pirates, they do not even recognize the Red-Haired Pirates. They must be from Gray Terminal, Nao surmised, because only the inhabitants there were uneducated and do not read the papers.

Nao passed off the rest of the conversation as unimportant, having already deemed the bandits as no threats and simply focused on Shanks. If there was one threat there, it would be Red-Haired Shanks.

Nao was just the slightest surprised when Shanks allowed the bandit to shatter the sake bottle, splashing the drink over his face.

"Oh no, now the floor is all wet." The pirate said in fake worry. Nao could tell that he was secretly mocking the other man for his need to intimidate.

"See this?" The bandit lifted a wanted poster. "My head worth eight million beri. I am one of the prime fugitives here. And I've killed 58 people before, you cocky bastard."

This was beyond pathetic.

Hidden away from sight, Nao took off her large floppy sunhat and examined the brown ribbon and brown fabric flowers which were made by Dragon. Ironically, Nao was pretty sure that as the Revolutionary Army, they had fatally wounded more marines than any bandit or pirate can possibly kill.

It was better to put them out of commission than to kill, they have always believed, because they cannot don't attack, but they also wouldn't want to become like the World Nobles. Yet another irony was that fatal wounds were considered more precarious than death on the sea.

"Now that you know who I am, don't mess with me anymore. Afterall, mountain bandits and sea pirates do not get along pretty well." The bandit said.

The sound of clinking glass could be heard.

"Sorry about that, Makino…Do you have a mop?" Nao decided that her impression of the pirate has lifted just the slightest at his decision to not fight.

"Ah…it's alright! I'll clean it up!"

Nao turned her head to watch when the bandit drew his sword and brought it down on Shanks' plate. How childish, she thought, putting on her hat again. Insolent fool.

"Well, it seems you enjoy cleaning. Now you can enjoy it even more." The bandit harrumphed. "Hmph. Later, you bunch of chickens."

The bandit left.

Almost immediately, laughter erupted and the pirates mocked jokingly at their captain. Makino rushed forward in needless worry for the redhead.

"Ahhhhahaha! Our captain looked so silly!" Lucky Roo, she recognized, held his belly in laughter.

"He fixed you up good, captain!"

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Shanks threw his head back in laughter as well.

"WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?!" Luffy screamed.

Surprised, Nao leaned forward in anticipation.

"That was disgraceful! Why didn't you fight him?! So what if they have more men?! Who laughs after getting picked on?! You're not a man, and you're not a pirate either!" Luffy screamed.

Shanks appeared contemplative for several seconds – looking like the intelligent gentleman that Nao just knew her overly obsessed stalker was – before he gave a small grin.

"Look, I know how you feel." Shanks touched his own strawhat in reminiscent, and Nao was reminded that according to the reports, the hat was worn by Gold Roger. "But it's just a bottle of sake. There's no need to get so worked up over that."

Silently, Nao nodded her agreement as well.

Her dear temperamental Luffy was being blowing the situation out of the top just the slightest.

"But…" Luffy's voice suddenly dropped to a low tone and his shoulders shook in his anger. "But! Haven't you ever considered that if you get hurt…The people who care about you would be hurt as well?!"

Nao was surprised that her own teachings was brought into this. Silently, she decided that she must have a talk with her dear boy after this.

Shanks looked similarly stunned before he recovered his bearings.

"Oh come on. Don't go, Luffy…" He reached out to pull on Luffy's hand with a smile.

"I don't want to see you again, Coward!" Luffy seethed.

Nao felt her breath catching in her throat when Luffy's arm…stretched, extending past the length which it was supposed to be by two times…three…four…

"EHHHHH?!" The exclamation echoed through the bar. Every pair of eyes had flown to the boy's unnatural long hand, bulging out comically.

"Huh?" Luffy himself didn't seem to notice it.

…She was either too stressed out by Red-Haired Shanks's stalking to imagine this, or Luffy has really eaten a devil fruit some time during the chaos, Nao decided.

"His arm…It's stretching…?!" Shanks seemed more distressed than she was. "That's…!"

"No way…You…" Yasopp and several others echoed.

"What's happening?! ARGH!" Luffy shouted in fright.

"IT'S GONE!" Lucky Roo announced, checking on a small treasure chest.

"WHAT?!" The pirates exclaimed.

"The devil fruit we took from the enemy is gone!" Lucky shouted. Grabbing a sketchbook, he was quick to sketch the image of the fruit and showed it to the boy. "Luffy, did you eat this…?!"

"…Well, yea, isn't that dessert…! It tastes pretty bad though…"

Nao could feel her smile turning more exhausted and she slumped, turning away from the window to hold her head in worry.

Like any other devil fruit user, she would understand the drawbacks to their ability. Not only are they unable to swim, even taking a bath would become troublesome, simply because they are just that weak to water of all kinds. If possible, she never wanted Luffy to eat a devil fruit.

"That's the fruit of Rubber!" She could hear Shanks screaming. "It's one of the devil fruits, one of the rarest treasures on the sea! Whoever eats it will turn into a rubber man and never be able to swim!"

"WHAAAAAAT?! YOU'RE KIDDING, RIGHT?!" Luffy cried.

"You idiooooot!" Shanks screamed in frustration.

Well, at the very least, they should appreciate the fact that they know what Luffy's ability is…And the fact that it was way before she had decided on a bath for Luffy. If they hadn't been aware of it, Luffy would probably have drowned in the bathtub.

She blinked when a head stuck out of the opened window.

"Oi, Nao, if you're there that is." Benn looked into the far distance, as if he was unaware of her presence right below him.

Translation: The other pirates still do not know that you have been here all along, and play along if you want to keep your identity hidden.

"I think you'd probably want to meet me in a bit in order to talk about your kid's abilities. Rubber Rubber Fruit is like any other paramecia, but considering your ability is…Different, compared to Rubber Rubber Fruit. You might want some information regarding the previous known users of history and such." The raven haired man grinned. "You can decide the location and time."

Nao hid a soft smile at the intelligent man she has grown fond of and picking up a leaf, she pulled out her ink and wrote her letter.

…

Dear Benn,

Thank you for deciding to allocate me some of your time to divulge this information. The place will be the usual. As for the time, since you will be setting off tomorrow…Please meet me after you have returned from your next voyage, perhaps, one in the noon. As much as I love to have an intelligent conversation with you, I would have to spend today to calm down Luffy-kun and have a talk with him.

Signed,

Fujioka Nao

…

Benned smiled and pocketed the leaf. He mustn't allow others to find it afterall.

"Roger."

-x-

"Are you angry, Luffy-kun?" Nao smiled, sipping demurely at her tea.

Watching the boy who sat at the other end of the table, Nao could feel herself at peace. It had been so long since they were able to sit together like this, uninterrupted by a) the villagers b) Red-Haired Shanks c) d) and all following letters) Red-Haired Shanks.

Just remembering the man sent her emotional state into disarray.

"I am." Luffy pouted, another thing he has almost grown out of. Ever since the appearance of Shanks – who was mostly desensitized to 'The Pout' – The boy rarely ever pouted anymore, mostly trying to use his anger to cow the pirates into submission. Nao missed the show of childishness.

"Luffy-kun, I watched the scene this afternoon," Nao smiled gently. "You used my words to retort against Shanks-kun, didn't you?"

"T-That's because it was annoying…" Luffy started saying, only to be interrupted.

"That said, you only said those words because you were irked, but not 'hurt', didn't you?" Nao tilted her head and hid her smile behind the cup

"I…Well, it's Shanks' fault for letting people beat him into the ground!" Luffy said defensively. Judging by Luffy's expression, her words were right on the target and he was starting to think about it.

Nao sat down her cup, lips pursuing into something that was neither a smile nor a frown.

"Luffy-kun, what you wanted was for Shanks-kun to beat the bandit into the ground because you admire him as an idol. Most people admire idols because when their stars succeed, their personal pride, too, is lifted." She stated factually. "You were angered by Shanks-kun because he did not succeed. You were angered for personal reasons, not because you were worried about his wellbeing."

"I…Why are you being so mean, Nao-onee-chan?!" Luffy retorted, looking horribly lost and confused.

"It is because you used my words in the wrong context, Luffy-kun." Nao said softly. Tilting her head, she stood up and calmly walked away with a few words left for her dear child. "Please contemplate and think about what you have done."

Luffy sat there for two whole hours, staring at the table in thought.

When Nao returned, she found Luffy falling asleep on the table. Sighing softly, the girl heaved Luffy onto her small ten-year old back (though she looks more like a nine year old), smiling fondly at the weight which was much heavier than she remembered him being last time round.

"Luffy-kun, you are becoming too big for me to carry." She pointed out teasingly.

The boy snored softly in response.

-x-

What happened on that one day shall remain forever etched to her mind, reminding her endlessly of her failure to take care of her dear child.

The visit from those same bandits Shanks had mocked had been unexpected. The absence of the pirates was something she was already aware about, yet, she had neglected to be there for her Luffy. Nao knew she might be needed over at the bar, yet she had become complacent in her duties. She had been at the market, purchasing their dinner, and eagerly awaiting the arrival of Benn Beckman when disaster struck.

As Nao had been making her way up to the same cliff where Dragon had departed, the bandits had barged into Makino's bar. As she had been smiling darkly at the warrior monkeys, Luffy had charged against the bandits. As she was diddling, Luffy had been beaten, tortured, and suffering.

As they said, hindsight was 20/20 indeed.

Nao looked up as Benn arrived, a lazy grin on his long face as always.

"Yo." The man lifted a hand in greeting. "It's been a while, Nao-chama."

"It is a pleasure as well, Benn-kun. May I ask why you are copying Shanks-kun's honorific for me?" To anyone else, she would have seemed happy, but Benn knew better and could sense her aura darkening in warning.

"My captain respects you, so it's only right for me to respect you as well." Benn smirked at her annoyance.

"Shanks-kun does not revere me with that honorific. He uses it on a daily basis and emphasizes it intentionally so as to taunt me to reveal myself." Nao stated, feeling a vein pop on the side of her face at the mention of the irritating redhead. "And unfortunately, it seems that it is working all too effectively."

"Well, anyway…Don't you have to look after Luffy?" Benn scratched his head absent-mindedly.

"I should, but as it is, if I do not gather this information…I am afraid Luffy-kun's devil fruit powers shall pose more of a threat to himself than anyone else ever could." Nao reasoned. "Besides, he is safe-"

BANG!

They tensed by instincts, rising to their feet at once.

That…was clearly the sound of a gun going off, and it appears to have come from the village, by the sound of it.

"You said that too fast." Benn groaned.

"I must agree." Nao nodded.

Benn retracted his drawn sword back into the sheath, sighing at the lack of danger surrounding them and instead, looked towards the wary girl.

"It's not any of us, that much I can tell you." Benn defended.

"I trust you, so please do not worry." Aquamarine eyes narrowed. Nao's lips pinched together in worry, fingers unconsciously curling tightly. "But the question is…If it is not you, who else can it be?"

-x-

"Get lost."

It took no more than these two words and two good glares before the pathetic, albeit fat and probably very delicious, sea king was off swimming into the sea.

Shanks dropped the menacing look the moment the fish was gone, lighting up his entire face with a large face-splitting grin. His amber eyes looked down, twinkling in amusement at the quivering, tearing boy before him.

"Thanks, Luffy. Makino told me about everything." He beamed, even as the boy sniffled. "Thanks for sticking up for us!"

Another sniff.

It was ironic, he thought, that being the one who lost his arm, he ought to be the one crying instead of this child. But somehow, as Shanks gazed at Luffy's face, he could only think about how relieved he was that Luffy was not hurt and how Luffy was entirely worth giving away his arm.

He wondered where Nao had been. He wondered why the girl had not defended Luffy. For a moment, he felt a surge of anger, but it quickly dissipated when he realized Nao (based on Luffy's stories) was a devil fruit user and was unlikely to be able to save Luffy even if she was here.

Well, at least, he was able to save Luffy.

Looking at the still sniffling boy, Shanks snorted and grinned.

"Oh, come on. Boys don't cry." He cheered. Luffy really was too much of a crybaby.

"But…! Shanks…!" Much to his dread, Luffy's wide eyes welled up with even more tears, which overflowed. "Your arm…!"

He was lost, really. Shanks could feel the numbness of his arm gradually being replaced by overwhelming pain, and if that wasn't enough, the tinge in his heart upon seeing Luffy crying so heart-wrenchingly made everything worse.

"It's just an arm…" Shanks spoke his thoughts out without even thinking. "It's nothing…As long as you're alive…"

Luffy only cried harder.

Shanks didn't know how long had passed until the gears in his head begun turning again. It was cold, and most importantly, if they don't get back to land soon, the both of them will get a cold and Shanks will probably die of excessive blood lost.

"Luffy…Come on…" The redhead murmured weakly.

He was just trying to swim back to shore with Luffy when a large wave came, pushing them closer to the docks, and closer…and closer…

It took a moment to realize that the wave was unnatural.

Shanks blinked when his amber eyes caught sight of a tiny girl standing by Benn, her hands outstretched as though she was the one controlling the wave. Both were panting heavily, as though having ran a long distance.

She was a really tiny thing, probably eight or nine, judging by her appearance. With long wavy brown hair framing her small face and half of her face obscured by a floppy sunhat with brown ribbons and her familiarity with Benn, Shanks realized with a jolt that this must be the mysterious Nao he has been chasing after all this while.

The waves carried them both to the shore before it subsided and the ocean was left at peace once more.

At once, Shanks was bombarded with many yells and shouts of worry from his newly arrived crew, all their words incomprehensible. Throughout all this, Shanks could only think about how Luffy was safely pressed into his arms and how he was slowly taken away…Wait. What?

"Luffy…!" He tried to extend his left hand without thinking, only to be reminded painfully that he no longer had a left hand.

Instead, Shanks focused his amber eyes and tried to see beyond the pitch black darkness which was threatening to take him away.

At first, there was the hot shine of the sun. Then, it was obstructed by soft chocolate brown, the wheat colour of a sunhat, and aquamarine.

Shanks blinked when he realized it was the girl before.

Without really knowing it, he slumped back into the sand, relaxing under her stare. His eyes focused on the calm aquamarine orbs which peered at him worriedly, blinking once more when he realized that that one shade of aquamarine was actually made out of many different shades of blue blending in together, just like the ocean.

"…Beautiful eyes…" He murmured softly.

The girl blinked, her blurry lips twisting upwards into a gentle smile and Shanks grinned back as well, moments before his vision faded into black.

-x-

10th June

Dear Dragon,

I am relieved to hear that the Revolutionary Army has been faring well! Ever since Newscoo reported that the marines managed to catch a few of you, I have been worrying endlessly for you, pondering upon what I could do for you.

Recently, Red-Haired Shanks has rescued Luffy-kun from the wrath of a sea king. I am still unsure as to how it happened, but according to rumours, it would appear that some mountain bandits attacked Luffy-kun during my absence, and our gallant, brave Luffy-kun, as always, resisted. It ended with the Red-Haired Pirates having to intrude, even though one of the bandit ended up escaping into the sea with our dear child and ended up putting Luffy-kun's life at the mercy of a sea king. Shanks-kun had then cut in, giving up an arm in favour of Luffy-kun's life. Now, I certainly owe him a lot more favours than I can possibly repay.

Before all else, Dragon-kun, I have to offer my apologies once again. Not once, but twice now, has Luffy-kun suffered because of my carelessness. I have always considered myself to be a good parent…But this incident clearly shows that I was wrong. I would understand if you want me to return to Headquarters and leave Luffy-kun. I have failed both you and Luffy-kun terribly.

Please let me know your decision in your next letter soon.

Signed,

Fujioka Nao

-x-

16th June

Dear Nao,

Nao, just stay there and look after the little brat. And stop apologizing so many times already; It's a miracle that Luffy has only gotten into life-threatening incidents only twice in the two years you've been there. When I was seven, I've already nearly died more times than I can count, and that was with Garp as my Dad. You would definitely be much better than Garp in all areas as a parent.

By the way, it's not just you who owe Red-Haired Shanks a favour, but us, isn't it? As Luffy's parent, I have my own fair share of responsibilities, and this is certainly one of them. If you ever need help to repay that Cherry Headed Bastard, send a letter to me and I'd be on my way.

Dragon

-x-

Thereafter, Shanks never saw the girl again.

While he nursed back to full health by the village all too eagerly, bombarded by many cheerful greetings and thanks from the villagers almost every morning, he could never catch sight of a girl with soft brown hair, a floppy sunhat, and soothing aquamarine eyes anywhere.

Subconsciously, he even doubted if he had truly seen Nao, but his crewmates confirmed that yes, they had seen the girl, and yes, the girl had indeed rescued Luffy and him.

But why then…Would the girl not see him?

Shanks was sitting in his hospital room, lying in his hospital bed, and deadpanning at his hospital food like he had for the last three hours when Luffy had thrown his hospital door opened and threw his hands up in a un-hospital scream.

"SHANKS! I heard you can move okay already?!" He yelled.

"SHHH!" The other patients shushed the boy.

"Luffy, this is a hospital, you know?" He added for the other patients' sake.

"Oh. Sorry!" Luffy shouted at the other patients.

"SHHHH!" They shushed again.

"Anyways…" Shanks smiled in amusement when the boy scaled the tall hospital bed and plopped himself onto the soft fluffy bed casually. Luffy looked up at him with wide curious eyes. "Makino said that you wanted to ask something about me. What is it?"

Shanks took three seconds to process the question before he recalled what the green-haired bartender had said.

"I'm afraid Luffy's backgrounds and secrets are not mine to say. Please do not ask Luffy either. Tricking a child is an obnoxious behaviour." Makino had answered the last time he asked with suspicion in her eyes.

Slowly, a grin spread over Shanks' face. If this wasn't a sign that Makino was trusting him, then he wouldn't know what else it is.

"Makino said she trusts you." The added words from Benn, who had followed after Luffy, only served to confirm his suspicion. The raven-haired first mate grinned at the wide smile that was painting his captain's features. "Happy, taicho (captain)?"

"Very!" Shanks replied joyfully. Ten months of waiting was so worth this!

Like a child preparing himself for a bedtime story, Shanks bounced in his bed for several times before he folded his legs, leaning in towards a confused and curious Luffy.

"Well, first off…Luffy, can you tell who your guardian is?" Shanks asked.

Luffy blinked, eyes narrowing as though thinking hard before he replied.

"A guardian is something like family or the people taking care of you, right?" Luffy asked slowly, smiling when Shanks nodded his confirmation. "My guardians are Gramps and Nao-onee-chan!"

Shanks breathed and thought. If Nao is the one guardian whom the villagers are too willing to reveal, it would mean that either Luffy's grandfather or Luffy himself is the secret which the villagers keep hiding so protectively. And both of these two would definitely be related to each other, so he could just tackle one of them.

"Then...Who is your grandfather, Luffy?" Shanks asked slowly, amber eyes flickering to his first mate to see the glint of approval in them. He was on the right track.

"Eh? You don't know?" Luffy blinked, pouting adorably. "It's Monkey D. Garp."

Amber eyes popped out.

"G-G-Garp…?" Shanks freaked out. "YOUR GRANDFATHER IS THAT GARP?! The marine Hero GARP?!"

"Yup." Luffy nodded. "Why are you so shocked?"

"Y-Y-You don't know? Garp is…! He is…!" Shanks grasped his head.

"Don't think too much about it." Benn said sympathetically. "I don't."

"B-But…The fact that Garp has the ability to procreate…" Shanks shuddered. "…And the fact that there is a woman who loves him…The world must be coming to an end." He realized in astonishment.

"I know."

"Adults are weird." Luffy dug his nose with his pinkie.

Needless to say, Shanks decided that it was better off not to ask too many questions.

-x-

"You're really leaving this time?" Luffy asked.

"Yep. We've stayed here long enough. It's about time we move on." Shanks noticed the emotional glint in the boy's eyes and grinned. "Are you upset?"

"Yea…But I won't force you to take me with you anymore." Luffy smiled. "I will become a pirate myself!"

"Heh…I wouldn't take you even if you begged me." Shanks stuck out his tongue, revelling in the moment of childishness. It was a white lie, but it wouldn't hurt anyone, right? "You don't have what it takes to become a pirate!"

"Yes, I do!" Luffy growled, shouting loudly for the world to hear. "One day, I'll find myself a crew that is as strong as yours! And then I'll find the world's largest and greatest treasure! AND BECOME THE KING OF PIRATES!"

The rest of the crew smirked at the boy they had all grown fond of. They all knew that even though they had only spent a short proportion of their lives here, they will always remember the boy and treat him as the nakama he had grown to become.

"Oh! So you want to be bigger than us, huh?" Shanks grinned.

A small, tiny boy stood before Shanks, puffing up his chest with much pride. For a moment there, Shanks saw himself in the boy, and he wondered if this was indeed what Gold Roger had initially thought when he joined the Pirate King's crew:

A new generation which rises up to overtake the last generation.

Shanks grinned as he made a decision, reaching up for the precious sunhat which he inherited from his dear captain.

"Well then…"

To anyone else, it would have been just a sunhat, but it was more than that: It was the memoirs of the dreams which were passed down the generations, a sign of faith from each predecessor who passes it down, and a promise for the ones who inherit it. Luffy may not want it, but…

"This hat…is my gift to you." Shanks plopped the hat on his boy's head. "This is my favourite hat, you know?"

Tears came streaking down Luffy's face for unfathomable reasons. Shanks grinned as he straightened himself and walked away.

"When you become a great pirate in the future, return that hat to me."

Each step he took towards the ship, he was reminded of the day he had left his own hometown to become a pirate; It just shows how much of a home this village has become to him. Somehow, before he had known it, Luffy had become something like a little brother to him and he took pride in the fact.

"That kid's gonna become big in the future." Benn stated as his captain stepped onto the ship.

"I know." Shanks smiled. "Because he reminds me of my early years."

"By the way…" Benn added, making the redhead stop in his steps out of curiosity. Benn smirked, handing a letter from his coat to Shanks. "I passed the letter to Nao. Her response was this."

"Thank you." Shanks smirked back as well. He inhaled deeply, turning to see the rest of his crew step up onto the ship.

"PULL UP THE ANCHOR! SET SAIL!"

-x-

31st July

Dear Nao,

I heard from Benn that you loved letters – even though that was how you got found by Benn – so I decided, 'Why not? Let's just do it the way she loves, so that this mysterious young lady I've been pursuing blindly for a while now would hopefully reply!'

Yup, okay. Sorry. It's really a bit hard to talk to someone I don't even know, or have seen for that matter. We've only ever met once, and even then, that was when I had one foot in my grave. So…I will just talk to you as if you are the person I've been imagining for a while now.

Well, first off, I want to say…It's not your fault. Based on Makino and Luffy's descriptions, you seem like a very responsible person so I'm guessing you're blaming yourself for allowing such a thing to happen. But really? It's not your fault. Nobody expects you to follow Luffy around 24 hours around the clock like you've been doing, and we all need a break – especially when we're around Luffy. Moreover, since you're a devil fruit user, I doubt you could have saved Luffy even if you were there!

…Okay, I take that back. Benn told me that your devil fruit was the Borrow-Borrow Fruit? And you borrowed the fishmen's water manipulation ability to carry us back? Smart of you. But Benn, get off my damned paper already. I may have lost a hand, but I still have my writing hand so I don't need your help! And drop it with that smug smirk of yours! Okay, he's gone. Thank Roger.

Either ways, you've done your best, so that's enough. Don't sweat it anymore. Even without a hand, the almighty me is still the best, so don't worry about it anymore.

Hm…I think that's all, but…Oh, one more thing!

I heard from Luffy that you claimed the older sister position not ten minutes after you met him, so that means that other positions are still available, right?! I officially stake my claim on Luffy's older brother position – I'm only twenty-seven, I'm not that old and definitely too young at heart to be daddy dearest – so put a label on the unofficial family charts and reserve a place for me! Don't let others steal the position when I'm gone! They can be mommy and papa, but just not the older brother!

That's all, younger sister, take care of Luffy while I'm gone, kay?

Shanks

-x-

2nd August

Dear Shanks,

Thank you for choosing to communicate with me in a method I prefer. It is surprisingly considerate of you. My opinion of you has certainly changed quite a lot since the first day you arrived:

In the beginning, I thought that you were an oblivious, obnoxious, and needlessly rambunctious drunkard of a captain. (With each word Shanks read, he felt an arrow shot through his heart and he turned into stone.) Now, I consider you as one of the many intelligent men I have met and became fond of. Your ability to gather information put you in one of the smarter ranks, although even now, I still wonder why you prefer to put up such a drunk, happy façade. You remind me very much of Luffy-kun's blood father, although I am not allowed to divulge his identity to you.

I appreciate your kind words of how this is not caused by my complacency. Still, I doubt I would ever be able to clear my guilt of having allowed harm to Luffy-kun and you. Please allow me a chance to redeem myself: Along with this letter is a list of islands you could visit to replace your hand. I understand that it may not be sufficient, but at least, do consider them.

I shall notify Luffy-kun of you adopting him as your younger brother. Words cannot show my appreciation for your acceptance, because other pirates and children (Hm? Why did she mention children?) often shun Luffy-kun for his lineage. It is a sad story, but your presence this past year has made Luffy-kun happier than he has ever been.

Should you ever need a favour, please do not hesitate to consult me.

Signed,

Your younger sister (Shanks could barely read the words seeing how they were scratched out thereafter very vigorously. Shanks laughed when he figured what they said, and Benn shook his head with a smile)

Fujioka Nao

-x-

A/N: Sigh…I rewrote this ten times in total, and each time, the plot is entirely different. I hope you guys love this, because initially, I was thinking of the different ways I should go about it to make Nao's relationship with Shanks something like a love-hate relationship. Sidenote: I didn't focus so much on Luffy-Shanks because you guys already know about those things and it would be boring not only for me, but for you as well. So, I did the above things instead.

Thanks to all those who favourite, followed, and reviewed! I wasn't sure if this idea would be accepted (I thought the schooling part last chapter was pushing the lines a bit), but unexpectedly, quite a lot of people did like it.

Replies to reviews:

ApatheticGamer: I hope you liked this chapter!

Dragonlily22: Thanks for supporting me so much as always. Regarding the other stories, it would take some time before I can update, since I'm always writing 8000+ words for each chapter, so I apologize for making you wait so long

the-person-over-the-rainbow: I'm glad you loved their relationship! I've always been kind of good at pulling off the fluff and stuff, although to me, I don't really understand why people liked it so much. Please tell you how you felt about Nao's relationship with Shanks!

Sharing Corner: This is a corner catering specially to ideas which my audience, YOU, in other words, may have! For the next chapter and future chapters, I shall be posting this question to my dear, special viewers:

How would you like Nao's relationship with Ace and Sabo be?