(A/N Hey guys! A little things to know about; I'm only around episode 300 of One Piece just after Luffy rescued Robin from Enies Lobby but Franky hasn't joined their crew yet. So in this fanfic the Straw Hats ship will still be the Going Merry and I apologize if some if the info is wrong, comment and I'll try to fix it haha, hope you enjoy!)
Disclaimer- I don't own One Piece ^~^
The Red Haired pirates topped most when it came to partying. We celebrated over the smallest occasions, be it we defeated another band of pirates or a large catch of fish, if it seemed worth it why not?
It was a muggy evening in the New World, the Red Haired pirates ship was brightly lit, music blasting from it. On the deck crew members danced to the beat holding a mug filled with beer with one hand and food in the other. The reason for this party was a Sea King had been caught and slain. With it being served as the supplement for supper we had more than enough for a party, one that'd probably last until morning. Leaning against a railing observing his crew with a jolly smile was Shanks. The man had been the one to catch the Sea King and declare this occasion. A good idea it had been.
"Cap'n you coming to join the party?" His eyes flittered over to a voice but it was lost in the dancing men.
In answer he lifted his mug said, "I'm good over here!" His smile slightly faded as he moved his eyes back to the ocean, waiting for that bird to come. Lately he'd been uneasy. He had a feeling something was happening in the Grand Line, the place where Anchor had been causing trouble. A smirk grew on his face as he remember Luffy's new bounty of 300,000,000 Belis after saving one of his crewmates from Enies Lobby. You're keeping true to your word aren't you? One day, I believe that you might actually become Pirate King. I hope I'm around to see it. A squawk from above interrupted his thoughts.
"Hey Captain!" Lucky Roo shouted out between taking bites of meat, "Newspaper's here."
"Thanks! Let me see it!" The plump man threw it carelessly, even with his bad throw it still managed to be going in his direction. He caught it above his head and brought it down slowly, unsure if the hunch he had would be revealed in the paper. With a shake of his head he unraveled the string wrapped around it and smoothed the paper out. THE WORLD ECONOMIC JOURNAL was in bold letters across the top. Shanks' eyes were glued to the bold print for a few moments before he looked down...and almost teared the paper in half.
"Captain?" Beckman called out noticing his sudden mood change. Shanks didn't answer. He was too focused on the paper in front of him. It had to be a lie, just had to be. There was no way Luffy would die before achieving his dream! With both furious and shocked eyes he skimmed over the paper, looking for any flaws,
Monkey D. Luffy attacked a Marineford along with other infamous pirates hoping to rescue his brother, Portgas D. Ace, from execution. While fleeing Monkey was punched in the back by Admiral Akainu losing his life, sadly Portgas escaped without a trace with the help from a unknown man. Newly announced Shichibukai Blackbeard made an appearance and aided in the fight, Whitebeard who had come to save Portgas also was taken down by him and killed. The war ended a day after Monkey was killed and currently all pirates are being rounded up. This includes former Shichibukai Jinbe and Crocodile, along with a member of the Revolutionary Army Emporio Ivankov. This battle has been labeled as the Battle of the Best.
His mind was still processing it. The kid who he saved a few years back, the kid who he inspired to become the King of the Pirates, now that he thought about it if he never met Luffy he might be doing what that old man Garp had planned for him. But then he'd be a marine, watching helplessly as the kid who he grew up with got executed before his eyes. Shanks hands tightened around the paper and he turned around, resting his head on the railing. Right now so many emotions were building up inside him. Anger, sadness, regret. He felt regret because he had heard of something concerning Ace's chase after Blackbeard. It was a few days ago, the news mentioned they caught a member of Whitebeard's crew, he thought it was nothing but it turned out it was the famous Fire Fist Ace. He'd warned Whitebeard to stop Ace from what he was doing, the old man hadn't listened and now Ace had a too close to death encounter and Whitebeard was dead altogether. And Luffy...Shanks squeezed his eyes shut, I haven't felt this conflicted in a while.
Without him noticing it, the beautiful sounds of music had ceased. The sounds of laughter faded. Behind him his crew watched warily unsure if he was suddenly seasick or if he sensed an enemy approaching. "Captain." Beckman said in a firm tone. Shanks stood, his dazed eyes finding the swordsman who eyed him with a confused look. "What's wrong?'
Shanks rubbed his eyes and without a word handed Beckman the crumpled newspaper. It took a few seconds for the man to smooth the paper out but when he did a small gasp escaped his lips, "He's dead?" Murmurs spread throughout his crew, he could tell they were unease. After all, who was this person who could make both him and Beckman lose their composure? From his left Yasopp walked silently in and straight to Beckman eager to see. The sniper took the newspaper from the man's slack hands and read the paragraph that so far had the two men shocked.
"What? That's impossible! Anchor and Whitebeard are dead?" Yasopp exclaimed. Shanks winced hearing it out loud.
The murmurs grew louder, the crew members whom had been here to remember Luffy stood in shock. Others still couldn't process how a powerful guy like Whitebeard was taken down. Lucky Roo slowly approached, meat halfway in his mouth, and he asked, "Read the full thing out loud will ya?"
Yasopp blinked a few times before gulping and bringing the paper up, "Monkey D. Luffy…" Shanks tuned the rest out for he already knew what it said.
"No way!" Somebody shouted when Yasopp was done, "They captured that Ace dude?"
"And I bet that sneaky bastard Blackbeard had something to do with the whole thing!" Lucky Roo added. Ripples of agreement spread throughout the crew.
"And that Akainu guy, he's the one who killed Anchor right?" An angered voice spoke up from his crew. Shanks shut his eyes for a second, thinking over what to say, before opening them and facing his men.
"Men, I understand you're angry, as am I. But, we'd be going to war with the World Government if we decided to get revenge. The Yonko aren't allied the the Government like the Shichibukai are, if we go out of line they won't hesitate in bringing in their Admirals and wiping us out."
"So you're afraid to get revenge for a friend because of some stupid Government?!" A small voice called out in the crowd.
His eyes hardened and he searched the crowd for the one who said it but everyone had gone silent. Shanks head tilted to the side, his eyes glaring at the deck and he shouted, "That's not why!" His crew shifted the slightest back, aware of his anger. "I'm not afraid, that's practically calling me a coward. And let me tell you, I am many things but a coward is not one of them. Take my first reason to thought but listen to this; Luffy had a crew, as expected. I've known the boy for many years but for many of them I haven't been there, I feel it wouldn't be right if I was the one to avenge him. His crew shared adventures with him and made memories that only they know. They're nakama to Luffy, I can only imagine how they feel now," He muttered that part. "If anyone's going to avenge him it should be his crew." Shanks finished.
"Ah, I see what you mean." Beckman said after a moment while scratching his chin.
"It's been what? Three days since this happened?" He asked to no one in particular.
"Yeah about that," Yasopp replied.
A small smile grew on his face, "I have an idea where we're heading next boys." His crew gave him questioning looks, "I wanna pay a visit to the Straw Hats and I have feeling I know where they are." Weak cheers were given, sad smiles were worn, and he himself retreated to the Captain's Quarters to drink away his sorrows for he knew he wouldn't see that smile again. If he ever did, it would only be in dreams and on faded wanted posters.
Nami's POV
On an unknown island in the second half of the Grand Line, a ship was docked. It was badly damaged, all though you could tell whoever's it was they cared for it deeply, pouring hard work into the repairs. The sail was tied to the leaning mast, but the tattered flag blew proudly in the wind revealing the mark of the Straw Hat pirates.
It'd been almost a week. When she first heard the news she was shocked, so shocked she almost passed out. But then the papers came, the paparazzi were all over this. The famous and uprising Monkey D. Luffy son of Dragon had been killed on the battlefield while protecting his brother, Ace. Well of course it'd been labeled he was fleeing from the fight, those damn marines. Nami sat on the grass in front of two gravestones. Like other members of the crew she took this hard, currently everyone was on the island but they were distant. Zoro mostly spent his time training, day and night. Pushing his body to the limit with crazy challenges. He didn't bother to eat, only to sleep. Sanji busied himself with cooking, the man didn't give food specifically to her or Robin anymore-not that she minded, if you wanted food you'd have to find him. Robin almost never left the shore, if Nami ever took walks she could spot the black-haired woman sitting high upon rocks her nose buried in a book. She hadn't seen him but she assumed Usopp was on the Going Merry with Chopper. Her heart clenched as she remembered the last time she saw that reindeer, he wouldn't stop crying. Nami had stopped crying long ago for she had no more tears to shed but Chopper had been bawling this whole time, she hoped that being around Usopp would cheer him up a bit but the sniper was just as distraught as Chopper. She herself never left her spot in front of Luffy's grave. Sometimes-it was probably her mind playing tricks-, she could swear she'd hear a voice, it'd say;
What's everyone doing? Come'on! Let's go on another adventure!
Nami bit her lip and cast a dark glance at the earth. She'd never hear the voice again. As much as it pains her to admit it, her captain, Luffy, is dead. Nami sighed, bringing a hand to her eyes and furiously rubbing them. I need sleep…"Nami!" Nami's eyes widened and she flipped around towards the path that led down to the shore. Robin was there her cheeks ablaze,
Nami stood sensing something was wrong and walking to the woman, "Robin! What's wrong?" The archaeologist didn't answer for a minute as she caught her breath before she breathed out,
"Pirates...the flag…" Robin flipped her head up eyes wide, "It's the Red Hair pirates!"
The Red Hair pirates?! But wait, didn't Luffy mention he got his hat from somebody in that crew? Nami froze, but shook her head dismissing the thought because it'd be too painful to bring that up at the moment. "Could you use your powers to let everyone else know? I'll head down to the shore to see what they're doing!" Nami asked as she bent down to grab her Clima-Tact staff. She started to run down the path when one of Robin's Devil Fruit arms grabbed her,
"Be careful Nami! Don't let them spot you! That Red Hair is one of the Yonko!" Yonko? She gulped, giving Robin a firm nodded, as she did the hand dissipated leaving the scent of flowers.
"I'll see you soon!" She called out, before heading further down the path and disappearing from Robin's sight.
Nami arrived a few minutes later on the shore. Immediately she spotted an unfamiliar ship, it had a red dragon figure-head and a viking-like appeal to it. The flag was a skull with two swords crisscrossing behind it, and three lines going across the right eye. Spotting a rock she dove behind it for cover. Nami shifted uneasily in her spot, so that's one of the famous Yonko's ship. I wonder what he's doing here. The ship had already docked but nobody had come onto land, but she saw she thought that too soon as a rope ladder was thrown over and four men came into sight on the dock. As they descended the ship they didn't use the ladder, they merely jumped off and did a perfect landing. The first was a fat man who held two large pieces of meat in both hands, one half-eaten. The second was a paleish man who had slick black hair tied back, he wore two swords on his waist, if anyone should fight that guy it should be Zoro. The third was a man with dread-like blonde hair, strapped to his back was what looked like a gun? She couldn't tell. And lastly, a serious looking red-haired man she assumed was the captain. As the man landed a seemingly invisible shock wave was sent out. As it hit her it made her woozy, Nami held her head and glared at the man. Whoever he is, he's powerful. I don't know if we can defeat him. No, we can and will. This is Luffy's resting place and I won't let anyone disturb it.
"Nami! Hey we're here to help!" She froze at the voice. Even with all that happened that idiot swordsman still couldn't learn when it's the right time to speak. She turned her eyebrow twitching in agitation to see the rest of her crew, for the most part of it they looked well.
"Zoro shut it! Can't you see I'm hid-"
"You must be the Straw Hats," A calm voice cut her off. She stiffened, her mind running through a million of lies that could potentially get them out of here without being killed. Normally Usopp would do that but it was one of her specialties as well. With one in mind she turned to face the men who had given her their full attention.
"Ahaha you must be thinking of someone else, we're just residents on the island, if you're looking for the Straw Hats I'm afraid they-"
"Hey no lies now. You're Nami the "Cat Burglar," bounty of 16,000,000. Roronoa Zoro with a bounty of 120,000,000. Usopp "Sogeking," bounty of 30,000,000. "Black Leg" Sanji, bounty of 77,000,000. Tony Tony Chopper with a bounty of 50. And Nico Robin with a bounty of 80,000,000." The captain said slyly while pointing to each of them. A cold feeling began to spread within her, is he here to collect our bounties now that we're in a "vulnerable" state with no captain?
"Fine then," Zoro stepped forward, slightly unsheathing a sword, "Just answer me this, why are you here?"
In answer to this the swordsman on the opposing crew rested a hand on his sword's hilt and the captain said, "Don't worry, we're not here to fight. Only to pay our respects." Her grip on her staff faltered.
"Pay your...respects?" Usopp questioned.
The captain nodded running a hand through his hair, "As you might already know, my name is Shanks. I'm the captain of this crew. When Luffy was a kid I saved him from a Sea King and gave him that hat he used to carry around." As Shanks spoke Nami detected a hidden, but trace of sadness.
"I see." Zoro said his voice skeptical but he fully sheathed his sword again. "Sorry for your, loss."
A member of Shanks crew grunted in thanks. Shanks looked past the crew and towards the hill in the distance, "Now, shall we visit the graves?" The graves. Those words still stung her. Nami offered a fake smile and gestured towards the pathway that led there,
"Of course, this way."
Shanks nodded and stepped forward to begin walking. For some reason her legs locked up, as the man passed she began to feel dizzy again. Nami stumbled but regained her balance. As her vision focused she saw that her other friends were having similar reactions. Usopp was on his knees, Sanji was holding his head, Robin swayed the slightest, and more symptoms. "What's wrong guys?!" Chopper exclaimed.
"Ah don't worry about it, it's just Shanks." 'Just' Shanks? Is he attacking? With the glare she sent over her shoulder the swordsman who spoke seemed to get what she was thinking and offered a smile. "No we're not attacking. Think of it as a powerful aura. The weak ones who can't stand it will pass out while the strong willed will be left awake." I've heard something similar to that before. Thankfully the further Shanks got the better everyone seemed to be. Nami gave Shanks' back a glare and huffed, pushing on her knee to help steady herself then started after the man. But making sure to keep a good distance.
The way up was silent, Shanks' crew had stayed behind. When they arrived a sudden wind blew. Nami squinted her eyes to see through her whipping hair. She noticed Shanks' cape had been blown back, her eyes widened. The man was missing an arm. She shivered at the thought of how he lost it but decided not to ask. The graves were decorated differently, she smiled sadly as she looked at Luffy's; the boy had a bottle of sake and fresh meat. His straw hat balanced on a wooden pole in front, gently blowing up and down with the gusts of wind. Whitebeard's had a lot of sake. The former Yonko's coat was draped on the gravestone. Both graves had an arrangement of colorful flowers. The Straw Hat crew watched as Shanks slowly walked up to Whitebeard's grave and stood there for a moment. It seemed like he was having a secret conversation with the dead as he stared at the engraved name on the headstone. A few moments later the pirate stepped to the side to be in front of Luffy's grave. This seemed to make Shanks more sad than he already was-even though he was an expert at hiding his emotions. Nami watched as Shanks hesitantly laid a hand on the famous straw hat, rubbing his thumb along the top before bringing his hand back to the side. Since she was the closest to the man she-probably-maybe only heard this. Shanks barely moved his lips but he muttered something that made her heart drop,
"You know, I was always thinking of how I was never gonna be around to see you become Pirate King, with Blackbeard seemingly after my head and all. But I never thought you'd be the one to go first Anchor. I'm sorry you couldn't keep your promise, but hopefully we'll meet on the other side."
She hung her head hearing this. The crew and Shanks stood in silence for a few more seconds until Shanks flipped around meeting everyone's gaze one by one. "Thanks Straw Hats. I'll be leaving now." As the red-haired man walked past and down the hill, the crew didn't follow but looked at each other.
"Did you guys hear what he said?" Sanji asked quietly.
Her eyes widened and she exclaimed, "So I wasn't the only one!"
Chopper looked over his shoulder at the retreating figure of Shanks, "Yeah...he seems really upset."
Zoro scoffed, "Of course he would be! He's known Luffy since he was a kid, and from what he said Luffy promised him something. It must've been important."
"Well let's see them off." Robin said as she began to walk forward. Everyone nodded and they arrived back at the shore just to see the Red Hair pirates boarding their ship.
Seeing them Shanks turned around and leaned against the railing calling out, "So, are you guys heading back out to sea or heading your separate ways?!" Nami gulped. That was a thing no one had really talked about yet. When Luffy was still alive they were pursuing the One Piece to help him become the King of the Pirates. But now…
Zoro suddenly stepped forward, "I don't know about anyone else but, I'm going back out to sea and finding the One Piece! I will fulfill my captain's dream!" She and the rest of crew stared at the swordsman. Is this what Zoro really wants?
Shanks raised an eyebrow but he wore a small grin. Next to her Robin walked towards Zoro and stood beside him wearing a determined expression, "I will too!"
Next was Sanji, the cook's head was bowed as he lit a cigarette, "Why not?"
Chopper took five small steps forward and cried out in a small voice, "I'm coming!"
Usopp gripped his slingshot and raised it into the air, "Count me in!"
She smiled for the first time in a while and walked forward to join everyone, "It's another adventure then!" The crew went quiet as they took in what laid ahead. But, no matter how hard the challenge they would overcome it.
Shanks stood back up and looked down at the crew. "Luffy had good nakama...I look forward to hearing about you, Straw Hats!" The Yonko shouted out with a wave before turning around and heading out of sight.
"What now?" Usopp asked slowly.
She grinned, "Isn't it obvious? We prepare. Get stronger. And then, we head out to the New World and look for the One Piece!"
"Yeah!" The Straw Hats cheered and pumped their fists into the air. Nami straightened her back and faced the hill on which Luffy's grave lay. Don't worry too much Luffy. We'll be back soon and with the One Piece!
"It's a wonder why Usopp didn't recognize you," Shanks commented as he downed a cup of alcohol.
Yasopp gave the captain a large smile, "It was, but did you see? My boy has become strong! Now I have even more to brag about!"
Shanks chuckled and nodded as he refilled the cup. "Indeed he has…"