Warning: There is some sexual harassment in this chapter which and amounts mostly to catcalls and leering. Nothing is described specifically. Also, a very vague conversation about sexual assault/violence. I don't think it'll be too triggering, and that is by no means what the story is about, but I wanted to leave a warning just in case.

Please Enjoy!

The first time Zoro sees Monkey D. Lucy, the sky is a hard, clear blue and the earth is packed dense beneath his feet. His skin is cracked and burned from the relentless sun and cloudless days without rain, and his shoulders burn with strain. He is half starved, having gone three weeks without food, and it has been two days since they've given him water.

Then this girl shows up, and she's one of the most unimpressive people that Zoro has ever seen. She's short, and thin as a rail. She could pass for a boy if she really wanted to, especially with the scar under her eye, but the way she's dressed and the angle of her jaw and brow line make her obviously female. Her dark hair looks unbrushed and wild, sweeping around just above her chin. Her straw hat clearly hasn't protected her well from the sun, since there's a splattering of freckles across her nose and cheekbones. It makes her large dark eyes look deeper.

He would guess her to be about fifteen, maybe younger, but the way she's dressed and the way she carries herself push her age up. She's wearing short denim shorts that hug her hips a little too maturely and lowly for a girl of fifteen, and she wears a red plaid shirt that shows off her midriff with the way it's tied in a knot underneath her small breasts. Between her attire and the confident way she sticks her thumbs in her front pockets and leans back in her sandals, she has to be closer to his age, maybe a bit younger. No fifteen-year-old girl that Zoro has ever seen looks quite that confident in her own skin, especially when she isn't particularly voluptuous.

The first thing she says to him is "are you really that strong?"

Honestly, that's just insulting. It's not like Zoro let himself get tied to a post for no reason.

The second thing she says is "join my crew."

Zoro is pretty sure at this point that he's hallucinating, that the heat has finally gotten to him. But he still has enough energy to attempt self-preservation, and as such he flat out refuses—the girl might be a hallucination but he can still sense the crazy coming off her from miles away.

She doesn't take no for an answer and ultimately blackmails a yes out of him.

Well, kind of. Zoro somehow knows, deep down, that if he didn't want to travel with her, if he didn't want to be one of her nakama, then she wouldn't stop him from leaving, oath or not. She'd probably find a way to release him of his vow, actually. Equally, he knows that she understands what an oath means to him—that he can't break one and still live.

Weirdly, that knowledge makes him less inclined to leave than almost anything else might have.

He still threatens to kill her if she gets in the way of his dream. She is almost bizarrely okay with that.

"World's Greatest Swordsman? Well that's only fitting for the Pirate King!"

She's the only person he's met with dreams bigger and more impossible than his own. Maybe that's why he's so content to call her "Captain" that first time, right after she helps free him from his tormentors. Her belief in her own dream makes his feel more tangible—so much so that he can taste it.

Monkey D. Lucy is five and effectively an orphan when she first meets Shanks.

Maybe it was predictable, but she only meets him because Makino, who unofficially assumed responsibility for the irrepressible child, tries to put a dress on her. Lucy ran screaming from the back room of the bar and ran straight into Shanks.

Lucy blinks up, up, up at the red-haired man. They stare at each other for a few seconds. Lucy likes him instantly because he has a cool scar, and that must mean he's strong!

Hey! Maybe he would protect her from Makino, the hag!

Lucy sticks one accusatory finger out at the flustered bartender, and says seriously, "She's trying to kill me."

Makino gasps, probably offended. "Lucy."

The man doesn't break eye contact with Lucy. "How?"

Makino is too poised to scowl, but Lucy thinks she probably wants to. "I was not—"

"She tried to make me wear a dress." Lucy intones with all the seriousness the crime deserves. "With lace. And bows."

A murmur of stifled laughter rings the bar. Lucy scowls at the other patrons before returning her gaze to the red-haired man, reluctantly hopeful. He hadn't laughed, so maybe he understands how awful dresses are?

"And you don't want to wear a dress?" He asks instead.

Lucy pouts. Clearly he doesn't understand. "I want to be a pirate! Pirates don't wear dresses!"

The man's expression twists up in a wide grin. "Well that's true. I don't know any pirates that wear dresses. Some wear skirts though."

But that sounded like—! "Do you know many pirates?"

The red-haired man winks. "Kid we are pirates."

Lucy gasps, completely blown away. "Really? What's your name? Are you the captain? Can I be a pirate on your crew? You won't make me wear a dress, right?"

The man laughs, a broad grin on his face. "I'm Shanks, and I'm the captain. Maybe when you're older. Like Makino-san's age. And I don't care if you wear a dress or not, so long as you're wearing clothes."

Lucy nearly cries.

Shanks seems to notice because suddenly he's frowning in concern. Makino steps forward, courteous as ever. "Er, Shanks-san? I don't think her grandfather would be too happy about that. He wants Lu-chan to be a Marine."

Shanks turns to the bartender, eyebrows raised. "Hmm? And who's her grandfather?"

"Monkey D. Garp, Marine Vice Admiral."

Shanks lets out a whistle. Lucy is suddenly afraid he's going to take back what he said, about joining his crew. "And your name is, kid?"

Lucy stands to her full height, chin raised proudly as she glares up at the pirate. "Monkey D. Lucy!"

The pirate smirks down at her and lifts her up to the barstool next to him. "Well far be it from me to tell Monkey D. Lucy what to do." He sends Lucy a wink. "In fact, far be it from anyone."

Lucy is shocked silent, so she just stares.

Lucy has never met her father. Gramps didn't answer her when she asked about him. And even though she loves Gramps, and knows Gramps loves her, he's gone too much to effectively act as a parent.

Shanks is already the steadiest father-figure in her life by the time she flings her arms around his waist.

Shanks is leaving. Shanks is the only person who Lucy really, truly believes cares for her, and he's leaving. For good this time.

In a way she'd be almost disappointed if he wasn't—she likes the idea that he'll be exploring and adventuring—but…

"Take me with you, Shanks!"

She's crying, she can't help it—Shanks is…Shanks is Shanks.

The man's eyes are warm with cheer, but Lucy knows, on some level, that he's not going to suddenly say she can come. "Oh come now, Lucy. We've talked about this! You can be a pirate when you can drink like a pirate."

Lucy bites her lip trying to keep the tears at bay. Shanks wears a long dark coat that hides his missing arm but she can still tell it's not there.

And he lost it for her.

She sniffs. "Is…is this about your arm? And…the fruit?"

Shanks takes a step toward her, places a large calloused hand on her head. "Not at all, Lu-chan."

Lucy's blubbering now, and she's embarrassed but mostly sad. "I—are you sure?"

Shanks ruffles her hair. "Hm. Pretty sure." He squints at her. "Hey, stop crying now. Pirates don't cry, you know."

"Shut up! You cried yesterday! Over beer!"

Shanks chuckles, and then Lucy is laughing too, but then she remembers they'll probably never laugh like this again, or at least not for a long time, and before she knows what she's doing she has her arms wrapped around Shanks' waist and she's getting his shirt wet. "I—I'll miss you, Shanks!"

Shanks just sighs, and rubs her back. "I bet you will." His smile grows a bit sharper. "But you know, Lu-chan, that's the life of a pirate. You say goodbye to everyone except your nakama."

Lucy steps back, and she's serious when she says, "I want to be a pirate."

Shank's smile turns into a smirk. "Like you can be a pirate, crybaby."

Lucy scowls and shoves him away. "I'm gonna be Queen of the Pirates!"

Shanks coughs. "I—what?"

"I'm going to be Pirate Queen! And my crew will be way cooler than yours!"

Shanks stares at her. Lucy wonders if she said anything bad.

There's something odd in his eyes when he asks, "…why?"

Lucy glares up at him, determined, angry that he's mocking her. "Because the Pirate Queen is free!"

Shanks—and his whole crew, but mostly Shanks—love telling stories about the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. Lucy has been fascinated by the man ever since Shanks started telling her about him, and to a girl furiously trying to escape the bonds and restrictions placed around her, the title of "freest person alive" sounds pretty tempting.

Plus…she wants Shanks to look at her with the same respect she feels for him.

Shanks still hasn't said anything though, so maybe she said something wrong?

"You got a problem with that?!"

Lucy isn't sure she cares if he thinks she shouldn't be Pirate Queen. She's going to be anyway, so there.

"…Don't you mean King?"

Lucy frowns at Shanks, who's fiddling with his hat. "Baka. I'm a girl. Girls are Queens, not Kings."

Shanks snorts a laugh. "That doesn't matter. Not to the One Piece." Shanks flips his straw hat off of his head. "Pirate King is a title. It doesn't matter who claims it."

Lucy glares. This all seems pretty ridiculous anyway. "Fine then! I'll be Pirate King! Just you watch!"

Something warm and dry settles on Lucy's head. She looks up, and sees the curved brim of Shanks' straw hat.

"Now that's a loan, you hear?" Shanks tells her. "I'm expecting you to give it back once you're Pirate King."

Lucy takes the hat off of her head and stares with reverence. "I will!"

And to her surprise, Shanks draws her in for one more one-armed hug. Lucy is careful of his hat, because she won't break it so soon after receiving it, or ever, but she leans in eagerly for the hug.

"Come see me when you're a great pirate, okay, Lucy? I want that hat back."

Lucy nods into his vest, still shedding tears, and lets go.

It's the last time she hugs Shanks for a long, long time.

"Makino?"

"Hmm, Lucy?"

"Where're my mommy and daddy?"

Lucy watches Makino fumble the glass in her hand, reads the shock in her eyes, and feels guilty. Maybe she wasn't supposed to ask about that…?

It's been six months since Shanks left for good and Lucy…well, Lucy is lonely.

Lucy's always been good at making friends, but it seems like she's only really good at making friends with people older than her. Kids her age don't like her much, and when they find out she can stretch they start calling her weird names. Lucy doesn't hit them because she's trying to be like Shanks, but it's hard. Especially when she's alone all the time.

She misses Shanks and his crew. She's taken to wearing his hat all the time now, just to remember she really does have friends. Friends who think she'll be Pirate King!

"I…I'm not sure, Lucy. Perhaps you can ask your grandfather next time he's here?"

Lucy frowns down at her hands. "When's Gramps coming next?"

"I'm…not sure, Lucy."

Lucy shoves her dinner away. Ever since she ate the Gum Gum Fruit, she's been really hungry, all the time. Today she just…doesn't feel like eating.

Loneliness, Lucy decides, is a bad feeling. She doesn't like it. Being a pirate is going to be hard, if it means leaving people all the time.

But, she thinks, and the thought makes her smile, Shanks said she never has to say goodbye to her crew! They will follow her on all her adventures, and they will be great friends and they'll be a way better crew than Shanks's crew, because they'll be hers. And she'll make sure none of them are ever lonely.

They'll be nakama. And she'll never leave any of them alone. Ever.

Maybe in return they'll stay with her as well.

People keep leaving Lucy.

She's not sure why that is.

First her parents. Then Gramps, who occasionally shows up but not regularly enough to make Lucy feel secure. Shanks came, shook up her entire life, and left. Then Sabo…well, he didn't leave willingly. And then, a year ago, Ace.

The only person in her life who's always been constantly, persistently, tirelessly there for her is Makino. Lucy loves Makino with a rare sort of ferocity, despite their frequent disagreements over Lucy's less-than-ladylike behavior.

Lucy isn't mad at Ace for leaving—they agreed a long time ago that they would set out on their respective seventeenth birthdays to pursue their dreams—but she does miss him. It's been…a long, somewhat painful year without him. She hopes he's happy. That he's doing well.

Maybe that he misses her a little.

Not enough to come home! Just enough that he thinks about her sometimes.

She just…doesn't want Ace to forget about her.

Lucy is fifteen and strolling through Foosha village on an errand for Dadan, when she first notices.

For a while she can't figure out why all her senses are itching at her. She's just minding her own business. The shopkeeper who sells the tar Dadan needs is friendly enough. Lucy looks around, and then she sees a man in his forties staring at her.

Or, more accurately, panning slowly up and down her legs.

For a second Lucy doesn't know what he's looking at, or what the weird expression on his face means.

Then he licks his lips and Lucy realizes that he's—he's ogling her, fantasizing about something to do with her. Lucy sends a punch flying in his direction before she even registers winding up for one.

Retroactively, disgust fills her, and she quickly makes her way out of Foosha so she can process what just happened.

That man…that man was in his forties. Lucy is fifteen! Lucy isn't particularly experienced in these things but that…that makes her feel weird. Uncomfortable. Used.

What would have happened if Lucy hadn't punched him? Would he have tried propositioning her? Would he have…expected her to be interested in him? Why would she be interested in him? He was so much older! Shouldn't he be pursuing women his own age?

After a few minutes, Lucy calms down. Or at least, she calms down enough to carry the tar back to Dadan.

It was probably a one-time thing, Lucy reasons. After all, it isn't like there are that many crusty men in Foosha who would want to…do that, with Lucy.

It was not a one-time thing.

Apparently, one day she somehow tipped the scale between child and adult in terms of physicality. The more lecherous men on the island took this as a carte blanche to start propositioning her, calling out to her in the street, and generally trying to make Lucy feel about as disrespected as possible. Lucy responds by slamming heads through walls, dunking people in water troughs, and generally causing mayhem until she realizes that some of them get off on her reaction.

Lucy stops reacting after that, even though it makes her bite through her own lips, on occasion.

Lucy doesn't see what all the fuss is about. She lives in a forest, so she dresses accordingly—in denim shorts that are easy to fight in, and a red shirt she ties under her bust so it doesn't catch and rip on wayward trees. She's got such small breasts that she only sometimes wears a bra, and she doesn't have a very round behind, like she's heard men in Makino's bar rave about. She's slender in frame, a muscular, toned body, and short-cropped hair that terminates around her mouth. Lucy really can't understand why she's suddenly drawing so much attention. Especially since these are the same people who laugh whenever she declares herself the future Pirate King.

Makino begs her, tearfully, to wear something, anything more conservative. "No one shows that much skin here!" She cries. "Please, Lucy, you'll get hurt."

"I'm not gonna change for them," Lucy sniffs, disgusted. "They win if I do that. They should stop looking at me like they do. They're the ones in the wrong, not me."

For the first time in her life, Makino grabs Lucy by the shoulders and shakes her.

It's the most violent thing Lucy has ever seen Makino do, and even though it's downright gentle compared to the beatings Lucy and Ace gave each other, it shocks Lucy to her core.

Makino is crying, trembling, and she gets right in Lucy's face. "Please. Please." She whispers. "I don't want to change you. I don't want anyone to change you. And you're right, they're wrong, but some things can't be changed, even though they're wrong. And that's why…" She sniffs. "That's why I'm begging you, Lucy, please, please don't tempt them into doing something that might change you. Please."

"Makino…" Lucy whispers. For the first time, Lucy wonders why Makino chose to stay single, why she never seems interested in pursuing a relationship or any sort of marriage proposal. Lucy knows Makino has had offers. Lucy always assumed she never liked the men associated—maybe that she didn't like men at all.

But now a different conclusion is drawing itself in Lucy's brain, and fury stokes in her chest.

"I'm sorry Makino, I won't do what you're asking."

Makino's expression fractures, and Lucy feels fury consume her. Who would dare? Who would do that to anyone, sure, but especially to such a kind person as Makino?

The answer of course, is a someone who didn't think of Makino as a person at all.

"Lucy—!"

"—I understand what you're saying," Lucy tells her seriously. Makino's eyes widen in pain. "And I'd rather someone came after me than anyone else, because Makino?" The bartender who acted as Lucy's mother-figure and partial older-sister out of the kindness of her heart, even when Lucy was being stubborn and unreasonable, stares back at her, eyes wide. "I would make them pay."

Makino seems frozen for a long moment, studying Lucy, and then tears fall fresh down her cheeks. "Promise me," she breathes. Lucy waits. "Promise me you won't get hurt like that."

Lucy nods, because if there's one thing Lucy can do and do well, it's fight. "I promise."

Makino cries, and Lucy hugs her until she stops.

It takes a while.

It's not long after Lucy's talk with Makino that one man tries something.

Lucy makes an effort not to remember details about him. He shouldn't hold that much sway over her. He shouldn't have even one of her brain-cells to himself.

He doesn't get very far—just grabs Lucy's shoulder—but he whispers something in her ear that makes his intentions perfectly clear.

Lucy thinks of Makino, of what would happen if another girl, a girl whose older brother hadn't sparred with her every day of their childhoods with no holds barred, and Lucy makes an example of him.

The catcalls and stares mostly cease after that, and when Lucy defends another girl one night, she gets a truly depressing number of thank-you cards on her next trip into Foosha. Lucy decides to start teaching all the women in town how to throw a punch, and no one is ballsy enough to disagree with her choices.

When Lucy sets out to sea on her seventeenth birthday, it's like breathing for the first time.

Oh, she thinks, so this is freedom.

And as waves break against the hull of her tiny boat and the wind pulls at Shanks' hat, all Lucy can do is breathe it in, wild grin on her face and think I want more.

A/N

I didn't include any ASL scenes because all of that happens in almost the exact same way regardless of Lucy's gender. I could have written a bit about the boys being reluctant to fight her, which inevitably ends with Lucy proving herself by doing monstrously dangerous tasks, at which point they agree to fight her seriously for her own safety, but I felt that would take too long. So.

I, uh, actually wasn't planning for sexual assault/harassment to play such a big part in this chapter. The whole issue of men leering at Lucy back in her hometown was going to be resolved in about ten lines. The thing is, I'm tired of people treating it as an endearing character trait in anime, so...this happened. Sexual harassment does not feel good. End of story.

I know Luffy and Shanks' farewell had a bit of a different tone to it in canon but...Lucy's seven. Shanks is her steadiest father-figure. She lost him his arm. She's going to be a bit emotional. And Shanks is hopefully enough of a tool to children to satisfy your Shanks characterization needs. For the record, I think Oda's version with Luffy is absolutely adorable.

If Lucy and Makino seem closer here than in canon...well they are. There are just some things a girl's gotta talk to another girl about, and Dadan doesn't seem very maternal.

This fic is like 50% written and, yes, will go through the whole series. It was originally going to be a massive one-shot with scenes exclusively from Zoro's POV. Then it was going to be two related one-shots, one from Zoro's POV and one from Lucy's. Then I wrote a few extra scenes that just...it wouldn't have made sense to make them separate stories since I have them reacting according to how I wrote those scenes. So now it's a full-on chapter fic. Oh well?

Tell me what you think, especially if you like the format (or hate it, I want to hear that too.).