Betaread by stanleyman.

Chapter 4

"Lu-chan, that's a bad idea."

Luffy didn't acknowledge the warning from her new friend, but her brow did furrow in that stubborn 'I'm-gonna-do-it-anyway' way as she observed Mihawk on the other side of the beach.

The sun was dipping closer to the horizon and several bonfires dotted the beach. The air tasted heavenly from enough delicious meat roasting to feed the whole crew and then some. Laughter and songs filled the air, creating a festive mood that lifted the spirits and made everybody want to move, dance, and sing.

The Red-Hair Pirates were too busy partying to notice their smallest guest missing from all the fun.

Mijay huffed as she was so blatantly ignored. Her gaze flicked to where the young fruit user was staring. Upon seeing her brother exchanging sake cups with Shanks, her golden orbs flashed with longing and her chest tightened. She immediately smothered those feelings. They were alive and Mijay was, well, dead. She had already resigned to stay a bystander, helpless to do anything but watch forever, and had learned to live with that.

Mijay glanced down at Luffy.

Until this girl came.

Didn't change the fact that this was still a bad idea.

"Lu-cha–"

One look from Luffy and Mijay felt her jaw clamping up mid-word. There was so much tenacity, so much force, so much power in those black eyes that it left the ghost girl speechless. Briefly, she wondered if this was a side effect of her unique Devil Fruit – neither she nor Rodger knew much about it – or Luffy's innate potential.

"He needs to know," Luffy declared with absolute finality.

"I agree with Mijay, Luffy," Roger said, looking and sounding serious for a change. "Mihawk is not like my boy Shanks, he's a stuck-up snob. He won't believe you."

Mijay gave the man a dirty look, but then shook her head and sighed in defeat. "…As much as I don't want to agree with the old guy, he has a point."

The youngest girl scrunched her brow. "Sno– Snot?"

Both spirits blinked. The second her words registered in their minds, Roger doubled with laughter and Mijay snorted but managed to stifle her own fit of chuckles.

Luffy glanced up at Roger, then Mijay, and finally back at Mihawk in the distance, nibbling her lower lip. "But…" she trailed off, hesitating, before crying out desperately, "But for some reason, I feel really sad because he doesn't know!"

The ghost girl's eyes widened while Roger's narrowed into a contemplative frown.

At that moment, Shanks stood and strolled off, laughing loudly at a disapproving glower his fellow swordsman sent after him. Mihawk was left sitting alone under the trees at the edge of the forest, further away from the entire party racket.

"Ah! My chance!" Luffy chirped happily, bolting towards the man before his ghost friends could so as much as utter a word.

"Ne, old man, can you feel it too?" Mijay asked after a moment of watching the little raven sprinting through the sand. "This strong pull towards her."

"Yes," the Pirate King replied. "We're nothing but bare souls, held upon this world only by our wishes and regrets. It seems that Luffy naturally attracts wandering spirits like us and instinctively absorbs the residue of their will. She's still a child and doesn't understand that all those emotions are not her own."

"What a dangerous Devil Fruit," Mijay muttered. "It's fine with us. I just want my brother to know that I'm watching over him and you want to find your kid, but what if she meets a ghost who wants to kill someone or worse and channels their evil urges into her?"

Roger didn't answer because the result of such an encounter was obvious.

Possessing the living being was impossible – the owner's soul instantly expelled the foreign entity from its mortal shell. In normal circumstances influencing them was also unattainable – humans simply didn't have the capacity to even be aware of ghosts' existence. Luffy… was different though. While she couldn't be possessed by malevolent spirits, they still could push their twisted intentions into her mind the moment they realized it was possible.

The accursed Devil Fruit indeed.

Luffy felt anxious. It was one thing to approach this man while surrounded by the Red-Haired Pirates – she trusted them explicitly – but a completely different thing to come to talk with him while there was no one else around.

She could always tell when the person wasn't that fond of her. It wasn't like Mihawk disliked her entirely. The little raven met her share of that kind of people, some adults but mostly other kids, to recognize the difference. He just didn't seem to care about her at all. And he was intimidating.

But if her new friends were right, he could get angry. Absentmindedly, Luffy rubbed her neck. She had experienced such anger once from the man who came to work for her dad. He had the ghosts of his wife and daughter following him, and when she conveyed their last words of love to him, the man had lost his mind. He suddenly attacked, crying in grief and howling in outrage not to lie, and almost strangled her. Good thing that Cyrus heard the ruckus and came to check.

Luffy never saw that man again, alive or otherwise.

So, yeah, she knew that it could blow up into her face, she wasn't dumb. She was a raven! And ravens were cool and smart and powerful and brave and–

"What do you want?"

Startled out of her thoughts, Luffy looked up. Mihawk was staring down at her, golden eyes cold and distant, the usual scowl forming those funny frownies in his brow. She wrung her hands, all of her previous confidence oozing out of her like air from a deflated balloon.

"If you don't want anything, go away," the man rumbled, already turning away.

"I wanted…" Luffy started hesitantly. She took a deep breath and then let the words tumble out. "I wanted to say that Jay-chan is here with you and she's looking after you and she loves you and she cares about you very much and she's–"

Her nervous babble was interrupted by the swordsman's dismissive, "Who is this person you speak of?"

The girl blinked. "Jay-chan," she repeated. "You know, your sister?"

Mihawk's golden eyes snapped back to her, sharp and intimidating. "How do you know about her?" he demanded. After a split second, he shot a murderous glare towards the laughing redhead. "Shanks…"

"J-Jay-chan– Jay-chan is here," Luffy stated meekly. "Well, not here, she's over there," she quickly corrected herself by pointing at the spot where she had left two ghosts standing. However, they were gone now. Confusion fluttered across her features. "Huh? Where did they go?"

"Enough of your lies," Mihawk said coldly, his terrifying gaze drilling into the girl. The latter felt even smaller than she actually was. "I don't know why Shanks told you about her, but she's dead and cannot be here." He let out a quiet scathing scoff and turned away, again dismissing the little raven's whole existence. "Such nonsense."

"But–"

"Go away."

Luffy's hands balled into tight fists. Her fear slowly dissolved, replaced by hurt and anger. Jay-chan was her friend and Luffy knew exactly how she'd feel once she heard about this. "Jay-chan is here!" she screamed, defiant tears stinging her eyes. "And she's watching over you! You stupid, stuuuupid, stuuuuuuuuuuupid bird-ossan!" Then the girl pivoted on her heel and stormed off.

Mihawk watched her small form disappear into the shadowy forest, face awash with indifference.

"Dahahahaha! Did I just hear the kid calling you stupid three times?"

The swordsman turned to look at the approaching pirate captain and his expression darkened. "Why did you tell some random brat about Mijay, Shanks?"

"Huh?" The redhead blinked dumbly at him. "What are you talking about?" He scratched his head, looking genuinely confused. "I never told Luffy about Mi–" His eyes suddenly widened as the true meaning of those words finally sunk in. "Did Luffy say that Mijay was here?!" he demanded, facepalming a second later. "Well, of course! That makes sense. How else would she know?"

"What are you saying?"

"You stuuuuupid bird-ossan!" Shanks shouted all of a sudden straight into the other swordsman's face.

Mihawk's eye twitched. "Do you wish to die a premature death?" he asked in a dangerously low voice.

The redhead simply grinned at him, brushing his threat like it was nothing. "Luffy has a Devil Fruit that allows her to see and talk with ghosts," he explained, turning towards the direction where the little raven had fled. "Let's go find her."

"See and talk with ghosts?" the man repeated, still trying to wrap his mind around this piece of information."

"Yep," Shanks confirmed. "Come on, let's go," he insisted with urgency. "That little menace is a trouble magnet and if something happens to the brat, her father will have my head."

A smirk toyed with the corner of Mihawk's mouth as he heaved himself up. "Oh?"

"Believe me," Shanks grimaced, "it's better not to piss Luffy's daddy off."

"Stupid bird-ossan… Stupid Shanks… Stupid everyone…" Luffy muttered vehemently under her breath as she trudged through the forest. Tears were still slowly falling down her flushed cheeks and she angrily wiped them away.

"Does that mean I'm stupid too?"

The girl stopped in her trek and turned towards Mijay who offered her a sad smile. The sight of that made Luffy even more upset. Her tears doubled. "S-Sorry, Jay-chan…" she sniffled. "He– he didn't listen."

"Oh, Lu-chan," the ghost said quietly. "It's fine, you know? You told him about me and it's more than I could have hoped before meeting you. So, everything is alright. Cheer up, okay?"

Luffy brushed her arm across her running nose. Mijay was lying. It wasn't alright, she could tell. How, though, the little raven wasn't quite certain herself. "Your brother is a jerk…" she mumbled.

Mijay laughed at that. "He sure is sometimes," she agreed with a grin. "But, hey, Shanks is here and he's aware of your powers, right?" She paused, waiting for the younger girl to confirm it with a nod, and then continued her gentle coaxing, "So, let's do it like this: you tell him about me and ask to notify that jackass brother of mine. What do you think?"

Luffy didn't reply right away. She took a few seconds to think, at the same time absentmindedly cleaning her face from the remaining tears. Finally, she reached a decision and opened her mouth to say it out loud–

"What do we have here?"

Both girls startled at the gruff voice. Soon three men emerged from the shadows, all greasy hair and dirty clothes.

"Look, mates, it's a lil' princess, hehehe," the same one cackled, his chapped lips stretching into a smile with a few teeth missing. "Whatcha doin' here, girlie?"

Luffy felt the hair stand up on the back of her neck when the man riveted his beady eyes on her. It reminded strongly of the dead guy from the cliff and that wasn't an experience she wished to repeat. Slowly backing off, she muttered, "I– I need to go."

"Tell them that you're not alone," Mijay advised, her golden gaze quickly assessing the three men. They didn't look like decent hunters or innocent passersby. Poachers most likely, she surmised.

"I'm not alone," Luffy repeated hastily. "Shanks is looking for me."

"Oh?" the guy drawled. His eyes briefly flickered to one of his companions before settling back on the kid. "We can help you find yer way back. It's not safe for a lil' missy like yerself to be wandering around here at night."

Mijay watched one poacher creeping subtly forward and realized that he was trying to get behind her friend. "Lu-chan!" she exclaimed in alarm. "Run!"

Luffy didn't question the ghost's command and immediately bolted. However, she wasn't fast enough. A hand grabbed her by her hair and yanked her back.

A cry of pain pierced the silent forest.

The man backhanded her with an aggressive order, "Shut your trap!"

The hit was so strong that it made Luffy dizzy. Onyx eyes welled with tears. It hurt so much!

The poacher gripped the girl's thin arm, sweaty hand pressing hard enough to leave a bruise."Aniki, what if there really is someone looking for her?" one guy asked, shooting nervous glances at his surroundings.

"Then we take our prey and move away from here, you dumbass!"

Mijay panicked. What was she supposed to do?! "Use your claws!" she screamed. "And then fly away from here!"

Luffy bit her lip. Black wings spread out and she lashed out with her leg as Cyrus had taught her. Her sharp talons easily ripped through the material of the man's pants and across his skin, drawing blood.

"Aaah!" he screamed, both his hands automatically moving to the wound.

The moment she was free, Luffy pushed herself off of the ground. Before she could ascend high enough to be safe, a heavy net was thrown on top of her, entangling her wings. She plummeted back down like a stone and hit the ground with a shocking force that left her wheezing.

"Goddamn!" the injured man cursed. "What kind of freak is that?!"

His companion squatted next to the captured child, eyeing her shivering form while frowning thoughtfully. "Some kind of bird Zoan," he said, a malicious grin splitting his face in two. "We're gonna be rich, Aniki!"

"Hehehehe," the boss laughed, petting the girl's black wing. It twitched but Luffy couldn't pull it away. "Such a precious lil' birdie," he chuckled. "Much better than those Paradise Birds we were hunting for the past few months."

Luffy looked up and fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. "Shanks…"

The man sneered. "Okay, let's move out!" he exclaimed, and was about to grab the net when he felt a light touch to his shoulder. A naked blade slowly appeared in his sight, sliding past his wrinkled shirt to hover uncomfortably close to his exposed throat.

"And where do you think you're going?" a voice spoke from behind, cold and deadly.

The man gulped, furiously trying to think up a reply, when a second blade – this time much bigger and completely black – appeared on his other shoulder, and his weakened knees almost gave out from its weight.

"Step away from the girl," the second voice ordered softly, equally dangerous. The other two poachers obeyed without a single protest.

"You two are finally here!" Mijay yelled, kicking her good-for-nothing brother's leg. Her attack phased through it as always. "I swear if you would have shown up a minute later I would have turned into an evil spirit and haunted your collective asses till the day you die!"

Of course, only one person heard her in the end. The ghost girl just huffed, irritated.

"Shanks!" this time Luffy called louder.

The poacher broke into cold sweat. "W-w-we were just passing by, friends!" he stammered out, showing a wobbly smile. "We found her like th–"

"I don't believe you," the red-haired pirate cut him off. He lowered his weapon and walked past him towards the girl, glaring the other two down until they completely cowered down in sheer terror under his murderous gaze. Shanks crouched down, laying his sword on the ground, and smiled warmly. "Hey, Luffy. Sorry we're late."

Luffy shook her head, but couldn't say more than, "Shanks…"

"Alright, let's get you out of this thing," Shanks said as he started to carefully disentangle her from the net. Once she was free, he put a hand under her chin and glowered at the darkening bruise on her puffy face. His brown eyes snapped up at the two poachers when he heard them shifting in their position. "Don't. Move," he demanded in an alarmingly slow tone.

Both guys froze, hoping beyond hope to blend in with nature and be overlooked in the end.

Shanks' eyes softened considerably as he looked back at the girl. "Hey, don't cry," he said soothingly, wiping her tears away with his thumb. "You're a very brave canary, remember?"

"Not a canary…" Luffy retorted promptly. "A raven."

The redhead chuckled, "A very brave raven." He ruffled her hair with his free hand as he stood up, his gesture of comfort wholeheartedly welcomed this time. "Mihawk, can you bring Luffy back to the camp?"

The other swordsman stared at him, then glanced back at the three ruffians. His lips quirked up into a smirk. "Very well," he conceded, retreating Yoru to its place on his back.

At that moment Mijay beckoned Luffy closer, a wicked grin plastered across her face. "If you want revenge for what he did to you, Lu-chan, do as I say, okay?"

Pale blue eyes sparkled in awe as the raven listened to her ghost friend's instructions. "Will that really work?" she asked after the latter finished.

Mijay flashed her thumbs-up and winked. "Guaranteed!"

Shanks turned his attention back to his young charge when he heard the rustle of feathers. He let out a rather unmanly yelp when Luffy shot past him, flying at full speed. Once she was near her attacker, she flipped nimbly in the air and smashed both her outstretched legs straight into his crotch.

Garbled shrieks left the man's throat, face white as a sheet and beaded with sweat. He doubled over and fell on his knees, his hands covering his family jewels and tears springing into his eyes.

One of his friends outright fainted, leaving the other one mumbling apology after apology and praying for mercy.

Shanks cringed and drew a sharp breath with one of his eyes closed to avoid looking at the painful scene as much as possible. Even Mihawk seemed kind of disturbed by what he'd just witnessed.

"It worked!" Luffy cheered, fist-pumping the air. "Jay-chan, it worked!"

Mijay huffed. "I told you," she replied smugly. "Now, remember: stomp on their feet!"

"Stomp on their feet!"

"Crack their nose!"

"Crack their nose!"

"And crush their balls!"

"Crush their balls!" Luffy repeated dutifully before bursting into merry laughter. "Stomp on their feet! Crack their nose! Crush their balls!"

Mijay nodded along, pleased by the progress of her little pupil.

Shanks facepalmed. "Oh my god, Mijay…"

"Don't teach her such unnecessary things, sister," Mihawk agreed with a sigh.

"What are you saying?!" the ghost girl fumed, putting her hands on her hips and cocking her chin up. "She needs a way to protect herself from the perverts!" And then her eyes widened, the realization that her brother acknowledged her existence hitting her like a punch in the guts.

"Jay-chan says that it's to protect myself from the perverts!" Luffy conveyed her words to the living before scratching her head. "What's a pervert?"

"Someone who you don't want anywhere near you," Shanks grumbled.

"That's very unladylike, Mijay."

Mijay's jaw dropped. "I can't believe you're still saying that!" she cried out. "Little brother, you suck! Big time!"

The swordsman, of course, couldn't hear her. He turned to leave so quickly that no one noticed the small grin lingering on his lips. "Come on, little monkey, we're going back to the camp."

"I'm not a monkey, I'm a raven!" Luffy declared loudly out of habit. After a moment, she blinked and rubbed the back of her head, looking sheepish. "Actually, I am Monkey, shishishishi." She glanced at Shanks. After receiving a shooing gesture from the redhead, she scrambled to catch up with the older man. "Wait for me, bird-ossan!"

"It's Mihawk," he uttered curtly as soon as she fell in step with him.

"Hawk-ossan!"

Irritated golden eyes flicked down just to see a blinding toothy grin. The man scowled. "…Whatever."

Later that night, Shanks found Mihawk on his ship, leaning against the railing and watching the moonlight dancing across the dark surface of the sea.

"You know that you can talk with her through Luffy," the redhead told him as he put three sakazuki cups and a sake bottle on the railing and mirrored his friend's position.

"No need," the older man answered. "She already told me everything I need to know."

Shanks grinned. He opened the bottle. "Remember this?" he asked, filling the cups to the brim.

Mihawk let out a soft scoff. "As I said, sometimes even I regret my life decisions," he quipped with a smirk.

"Pff," the pirate captain huffed. "Lucky for you, Mijay can't actually kick your ass anymore."

That caused the swordsman's lips to twitch into a frown and he shot an indignant glare at his friend.

Shanks' exuberant laughter echoed into the night. He picked up one of the sakazuki cups and raised it to the sky "To our little tigress!"

Mihawk snorted. "To Mijay." He lifted his own cup.

They clanged all three cups together and gulped their drinks down.

Unbeknown to them, the person they were toasting to stood beside them, unshed tears glistening in her fiery eyes. She lifted her empty hand up and whispered, "To my best friend and my beloved little brother."

-three days later, late evening-

Luffy pouted. Yesterday, her new friend left with her brother. It was fun spending time with Shanks and the rest of the pirates, but she was starting to miss Roger and his stories. It had been a while since he showed up.

Ghosts sometimes did disappear for a period of time. Luffy had noticed this, so she wasn't really worried.

Now, the crew sat scattered around several bonfires that dotted the beach, enjoying their meal. It wasn't the party per se, but it wasn't a quiet dinner either. Luffy was seated on the fallen tree trunk, tucked safely between Shanks and Benn, and pouting because everyone was choosing to drink instead of recalling their adventures.

She loved hearing about their adventures!

"Luffy, cheer up," Lucky Roo said to their smallest guest, offering her a plate full of nicely roasted, sweet-smelling pieces of meat. "Here, I prepared this especially for you."

"Really?!" Luffy beamed at him. "Thanks!"

"Dahahahaha!" Shanks burst out laughing. "You're such a child!"

"Shut up, stupid Shanks!" the girl outright growled at him around a mouthful of meat. "Or I'm going to tell the guys a story about you, the clown, the chicken, and the tomatoes."

Shanks' eyes widened and he instantly spluttered in denial, "That didn't happen!"

"Oh?" Benn chimed in, an amused smile curled on his lips. "What kind of story?"

"Well, Moustache-ossan told me that this one time Shanks an–" A hand suddenly covered her mouth. "–mhmmmhm… Mmmhh!?"

"Aww, come on, Captain, let her tell the story!" the nearby pirates chorused together.

"No!" Shanks hissed at them. Good thing that his cheeks were already flushed red from all the alcohol he had drunk at this point. "That didn't happen. Period!"

He glowered at Luffy who was staring back at him, mischief written all over her adorable face. The man sighed, dropping his hand down from her mouth which was curled into a wicked smirk. He lifted his straw hat and raked his fingers through his red locks. "Roger is really mean. Why did he even tell you that story?" He was definitely sulking now.

"Shishishishi." Luffy proceeded to eat her food. "It was a very funny story."

"No, it wasn't!" Shanks protested. "Also," he turned to his crew and pointed his finger at them to drive his point, "it absolutely didn't happen!"

"You keep telling yourself that."

Benn chuckled as his captain glared at the little menace. "You're no match for her," he pointed out.

"Bah!" Shanks continued to sulk. He found a bottle of sake and brought it to his lips to take a good swig. God knew he really needed it after being picked by his dead captain yet again! Suddenly, he noticed a bulky shadowy silhouette, looming behind his crewmates just outside the lighted area. His eyes bulged out and he spat all his sake out from a surprise. It definitely wasn't there a second ago!

Luffy seemed to notice the figure too because her smile's amplitude cranked up past a million. "Dad!" she exclaimed, putting her plate down and instantaneously shooting from her position towards the stranger.

The latter stepped closer, the light of the fire illuminating only the lower half of his face and exposing a crooked grin. He met his daughter with his arms wide open.

Benn puffed a cloud of smoke and said, "I guess now we know where Luffy's tendency to do heart-stopping tricks came from."

Shanks swiped a sleeve across his face, grumbling, "Yeah, no kidding." He stood up, quickly giving his men a signal that it wasn't hostile, and approached the father and the daughter duo.

"One more time I express my gratitude for taking care of my daughter," Dragon said. "I'll never forget this debt to you."

"Anytime." Shanks grinned. "It wasn't a problem at all."

"An unknown ship is quickly approaching!"

Everyone looked towards the sea in a response to the lookout's warning shout, instantly alert and ready.

"That's our ship," Dragon informed.

"Not the enemy!" Shanks hollered to his crew and they all relaxed.

"Are we leaving already?" Luffy asked, unable to fully hide the disappointment in her voice.

"The ship took damage," her father said, watching said ship prepare to drop an anchor right next to the pirate vessel. "An emergency repair will take at least a day."

"YEAH!"

"Oh, it's good to see our little princess happy and healthy."

Luffy whipped her head towards the direction of the new voice. "Cyrus!" she cheered, swiftly transforming into her fruit's half form and flying to hug the man.

The blond managed to suppress a painful wince when she slammed into his chest. Apparently, it wasn't enough, because in the next second a look of concern etched itself onto Luffy's features. "You alright, Cyrus?"

"Just a graze. Nothing to worry your pretty head about," the man replied, cracking a small smirk and reaching to ruffle her hair. Just as he expected, the girl puffed her cheeks, expressing the highest level of indignation, and wriggled out of his arms to avoid the embarrassing gesture of affection.

She grabbed his other hand and tugged him to follow with a demanding, "Come with me." Luffy dragged him along towards her previous spot on the fallen tree. "I'll give you my meat."

Cyrus raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's rare."

"Shishishishi. Lucky Roo made it especially for me! It's super yummy!"

"Luffy is sharing her meat!" Shanks cried out in disbelief.

"Shut up, stupid Shanks!"

"We definitely have to celebrate that!"

"WHOOOOOOA!" the crew roared. "TIME TO PARTY!"

Dragon pinched the bridge of his nose.

Urgh. Pirates.

-one day later, morning-

"Moustache-ossan!" Luffy exclaimed joyfully, pushing herself off of the ship's railing. Such a carefree action elicited a bunch of terrified gasps and shrieks all around. She ignored them all with practiced ease, transformed while in free-fall, flapping her wings just before slamming into the ground, and landed gracefully on her two bird-like feet. "Here you are!"

"Here I am," the ghost replied, grinning. "It seems I appeared just in time."

"Are you coming with me?" the girl asked in a voice that did nothing to hide her hope. When she got a positive answer, her grin flared to a dangerous level and she fist-pumped the air.

"Roger's coming with you?" Shanks inquired as he stopped in front of the kid.

"Yep! We're gonna find his son!"

The man grinned. "Happy to hear that." They stared at each other. "So, that's it, our cute little canary."

"I'm not a canary, I'm the raven!" As always Luffy's temper erupted like a live volcano. "And I'm not cute! One day, I'm gonna be strong! Stronger than you! Stronger than everyone! And I'll become the Pirate King, you'll see!"

The declaration was delivered with absolute confidence and the undeniable finality that only a special few people in the world could ever hope to exhibit.

"Oh?" Shanks uttered. "Say, Luffy, how's Roger reacting to your dream of becoming the Pirate King?"

The girl furrowed her brow at an unexpected question, then glanced at the empty spot next to her. "He's showing me a double thumbs-up." She paused. "And says that I'll make a fine Pirate King."

The redhead's smile took an enigmatic edge as he reached for his straw hat. "Then…" he took it off, "…he won't be against me doing this," and put it on the little raven's head. "It was Roger's hat before he gave it to me and now I'm giving it to you. Take good care of it." Luffy pushed her new hat up so that she could fix her wide eyes on him and Shanks sent her a wink. "Make us all proud by becoming the Pirate King."

Luffy's wings suddenly fluttered and her lips quivered, her dark lashes now heavy with tears.

"Dahahahaha! And here I thought that you're a very brave canar–"

An unmerciful stomp on his feet and a furious, "Raven!" interrupted him. While Shanks jumped around on one leg, cursing ungrateful brats under his breath, Luffy held her straw hat in place and flew back up to the ship, latching onto the wooden railing with her talons. She quickly rubbed her face to get rid of the tears and then turned around, a bright grin firmly back in place. "Bye, guys!" she exclaimed, waving at the rest of the Red-Hair Pirates that gathered behind their captain. "It was fun! Thanks!"

The pirates happily returned her goodbyes. "Bye, Luffy!"

"Don't injure your wings, lassie!"

"And don't fall into the sea!"

"Eat your vegetables!"

"Stay away from perverts!"

"And boys! Stay away from boys!"

"Stay safe!"

Their shouts continued until they finally chorused together, "Come visit us again!"

The sails of the ship that the girl was on unfolded at that moment, the wind starting swiftly carrying it away.

Luffy laughed. "I will!" Glancing at Shanks for the last time, she caught him smiling at her, his smile full of warmth and fondness. Her throat tightened again and she waved vigorously at him. "Thanks for saving my life, Shanks!" After a moment, she added, "Roger says that he's very proud of you and gives you his last order: take care of yourself, brat!"

That line caught Shanks completely off guard. It felt like someone stole the air from his lungs, emotions welling inside his chest and threatening to burst it open. He observed the revolutionaries' ship pulling off the coastal waters and into an open sea and he could perfectly picture the towering figure in the long red coat standing on its deck, that unwavering gaze and vicious grin fixed towards the faraway horizon.

"Thanks, Captain, I will."

The sea breeze sheltered his whisper in its embrace and carried it into the distance.

Next morning Dragon, Cyrus, and Luffy were having the breakfast together in the small dining room, separated from the rest of the crew.

"Ne, Dad?"

Dragon was reaching for his coffee when his daughter called, so he lowered his newspaper and glanced at her. Luffy broke into a huge grin, biting a fork between her teeth, and he hesitated to grip the handle of the cup.

He had a bad feeling about this.

None of that showed on his face or in his voice as he forwent his coffee and instead asked, "What is it, Luffy?"

The girl giggled, eyes bright with exhilarated excitement, and Dragon felt his hair standing on end. "Jay-chan said it's great to be a big sister! So, Dad, can I get a little brother too?" she chirped happily. "Or, or two! Two would be sooooo cool! I want two! Pleeeeeease?"

Cyrus snorted into his glass of water. Water got into his nose and he started coughing. "Sorry," he muttered once he got it under control. He wiped his mouth with a napkin, successfully covering his amused grin from prying eyes.

Not that anyone in the room was looking at him. Luffy continued to stare at her father, gaze unblinking, expression open and innocent, and Dragon gawked back at her, his mind sputtering to a complete halt.

Good thing he didn't pick up that coffee to drink.

"Impossible," the man finally replied.

"Eeeeeh? But whyyyy?"

"Your mother had already died."

Luffy scrunched her face, struggling to understand her father's reasoning. "What does Mom have anything to do with me getting a little brother?" she asked slowly, clearly confused. "Can't you just give me one by yourself?"

Cyrus couldn't hold out any longer and began snickering behind his palm.

Despite his face being as calm as ever, Dragon's mind was one big mess. Hundreds of plans and tactics how to properly handle this situation were created and discarded in a space of a few breaths. Honestly, planning an all-out assault on the World Government would be a much easier task than deciding how to properly give his baby daughter the Talk.

He wondered if he should use the method Garp used on him. The moment that thought crossed his mind, Dragon could almost hear his wife shouting bloody murder at him from the great beyond.

No. Definitely not an option. But that left him with no concrete strategy.

The minutes ticked by. One, two...

"Dad?"

Abruptly, the man stood up. Luffy and Cyrus blinked wearily, startled. "Need to go," Dragon said coolly, his face a perfectly constructed mask of aloofness. "Navigator called me earlier." He swiftly moved to exit the room. If his posture was a bit stiff, no one noticed. "Cyrus is going to explain everything you want, Luffy."

Luffy brightened up, but the blond's jaw hit the table. "Eeeeeeeeeh?! Dragon-san?!" he exclaimed in alarm, watching his boss opening the door. "Dragon–" The door closed with a click, leaving only two of them in the room. "–san..?"

Cyrus' head spun.

Did his leader–

Did his leader just–

Did his leader just beat a hasty retreat from telling his daughter how babies are made?! And did he also just dump that responsibility on him?! Just like that?!

"Why can't Dad just give me a little brother? Why does he need Mom for that?" Luffy repeated her questions, focusing all of her attention at Cyrus now, those black eyes boring into him with all the force and eagerness a child her age could muster.

"Uhhh…" was his very eloquent reply.

Cyrus would have rather helped Dragon plan an all-out assault on the World Government than explain to an almost 8-year-old girl the intricacy of the birds and the bees.

He was so screwed.

This was definitely way above his pay grade, dammit!

A/N

Go, Cyrus! You can do it! Law's future love (sex) life depends on you! xD