A/N: Hey guys! I was going to post this yesterday, but the site was being stupid and not letting me, sorry!
Finally, we see our first major enemy character, and Harry's first major vision, and the pirate crew's landing at Windmill village :)
Chapter Twenty-One
Marines, Pirates, and Civilians
Harry gazed out across the ocean. It was early morning and the wind was blowing steadily, which was good since Shanks had finally decided to try docking at one of the smaller islands in the vicinity and wanted to arrive before night so as not to terrify the residents with images of being murdered in their sleep.
Of course, being able to see the pirate ship approach was sure to cause just as much panic.
Harry snorted as he absentmindedly tossed the ghost fruit pit up and down in his hand. Shanks would probably charm them within minutes of setting foot on the pier.
He leaned against the railing, staring at his new object of interest. The wind that whipped Harry's hair and robes around didn't affect the pit one bit, which was to be expected since it was a ghost after all. What was strange was that Harry's hand in its living state could catch and toss it about.
Especially since he couldn't touch the Straw Hat ghost – as he had started to refer to the boy – when he tried to play a game of living/ghost tag with him.
It was odd and Harry had a few theories as to why it might be with no way of confirming any.
The most likely reason was probably simply because he was the one responsible for the fruit pit's current state. Maybe his Devil fruit power recognized it as still part of Harry. The Straw Hat ghost emphasizes "mind over matter" quite often, though never in those words. With that in mind, a lot of things beyond just a ghost's strange physical abilities could be explained.
When a ghost dies they still wear clothes and accessories which all act the same way as expected on living humans, such as falling downwards as if they were affected by gravity. In that case, anything Harry brings into ghost state with him would act the way he expects it to, hence why the fruit didn't just sink through the floor when he left it there. When the Straw Hat ghost threw the pit at his head, he must have instinctively expected it to hit him and bounce off his head, so it did.
What Harry really wanted to know though was the potential this ability had for storing and hiding objects or weapons. If he made his wand ghostly and left it like that, no one could ever unarm him, and since it was all a matter of belief, he could potentially use his own body as storage which would certainly be dramatic and fun but also awe-inspiring to future opponents. Unfortunately, there was the matter of how much time it would take to shift back into ghost state and then take items with him back into the living state.
Gah, Harry shook his head, I'll figure it out. With enough practice, maybe I can make the shift between states instantaneous and then none of this will be a problem.
With this decision made, Harry replaced the ghost pit into his robe pocket and shoved himself off the railing he was leaning against when suddenly he lost control of his limbs as his mind was forcibly dragged into a vision.
A dark room. It is nighttime as the small windows twinkle with a smattering of stars. In one corner, a small light glows as a single man with his head bowed down is scribbling what looks to be a report.
A knock echoes across the room.
"Enter," the man calls out, still writing on the sheets of paper.
"Sir!" replies the young man who opens the door, his hand raised in salute and his posture stiff. From the hallway, artificial light floods the front half of the room, revealing a rug with a simplistic design of a lightly clouded sky fading into the deeper blue of the ocean.
"At ease," the officer, for he is apparently of higher rank than the visitor, offers without raising his eyes from his writing.
"Thank you sir. Sir, Petty Officer Gyro is done interrogating the pirate captain taken into custody earlier today."
"I see," the officer hums, setting his fountain pen down to shuffle through his papers. A fresh sheet is found and placed on top of the pile. The pen is taken up once more and poised about the paper. "Report."
"Sir. The pirate is Zoldeo of Seven Ships with a bounty of 5 million. All his crew and ships are accounted for but nothing of value has been found in his possession."
SNAP.
The marine pauses in his report, eyeing the broken pen nervously as the ink trickled between his officer's fingers.
After a moment, the officer puts down the broken pieces and calmly wipes his fingers with a handkerchief. For the first time he raises his head to actually face the man giving the report. The flickering candlelight reveals large bags under small but strikingly blue eyes, deeply set on a thin, sallow face with sharp cheekbones and thin lips.
"Continue."
"Hai" the marine bites out, licking his lips nervously. "The pirate claims he was attacked and pillaged by Red-Haired Shanks whom he saw enter the Blue from the direction of the Calm Belt. He wasn't conscious to see in which direction the ship departed."
"I see." The officer carefully lifts up the paper he had been using to take notes on the report and folds it neatly before tossing it into the trash. Then he pulls open a drawer and picks around for another writing utensil. Finding another fountain pen, he bends over again and restarts his original report.
"You are dismissed."
"Hai, Warrant Officer Blue."
The door closes, shutting out the light and leaving the room dark but for the single candle and twinkling stars.
For a period of time it seemed the officer was going to continue writing his report and ignore what he had been told when, halfway through a word, the pen falls from his limp fingers and the man leans back to gaze out the window.
"Red Hair," he whispers to the emptiness. "I wonder if you have any idea of what you've just done. Keh, probably not. Likely, you saw it as just another plunder. But it matters not. I now have the perfect reason to try my hand against a Grand Line pirate."
Harry stumbled, managing to catch himself before he fell to the ground. He blinked rapidly a few times, his mind trying to make sense of the new information.
It took only a few minutes for Harry to realize that things were about to get a bit more dangerous.
It took only a few seconds for Harry to remember that a vision was hardly the only reason to believe his life onboard the ship of a Yonkou would get a bit more dangerous.
It took even less time for Harry to cringe as he wondered how the Potter Luck would react to being on a pirate ship being pursued by the marines in a completely different world.
"Land ho!" cried a pirate Harry didn't yet know very well.
"Guess we'll wrap up early, today," Greg offered. He and Harry were doing their daily afternoon physical training. After teaching Harry some basic blocks, dodging, and how to throw a proper punch, they'd moved on to building speed, stamina, and physical strength. Greg apparently agreed with Spaz's earlier diagnosis of Harry being a speed type fighter and they often would end a training session with Greg as the attacker and testing to see just how long Harry could dodge his kicks and punches without leaving the general area or climbing any higher than a barrel.
"Sure," Harry agreed, eager to see just how Shanks planned to ingratiate the crew with the islanders.
Spaz was already bouncing up and down in anticipation.
"Harry, Harryharryharry we're here! I wonder what it's like! It looks kinda small and I don't really see a lotta houses so it might be like that village in West Blue but that's okay 'cause it had some good food and sake and the people were pretty nice too, yes sirree, weren't they?"
Harry hummed noncommittally. They were rather friendly to Harry and Spaz, but Harry couldn't help but remember his flashing visions of how they treated Robin like a freak when she was just a child.
"Well," Harry finally replied, "Shanks mentioned that the place is a small port town like the one in West Blue, so there's bound to be a tavern there." Harry smirked. "Knowing Shanks, that's likely the first place we'll end up."
"Kid! Boy!" Speak of the devil.
Harry turned around and saw Shanks on the other side of the ship standing in a row boat that had been brought on deck from the storage holds.
"Wanna come?"
Spaz jumped at the chance. "Oh, oh, can we? Yes, please, I'm coming!" In the blink of an eye he was bouncing lightly next to the rowboat, waiting for it to be lowered into the water.
Harry followed after at a much more human pace with a teasing grin. "What's the matter Shanks, afraid the civilians will try and blow the big bad pirate out of the water if you don't bring along some mediators?"
"Dahahah! Just you watch, Kid! I'll have the crew drinking sake by this sunset!"
"That I've got to see," Harry announced, arriving to stand next to Spaz.
The rowboat was carefully lowered into the water and Spaz, Harry, and Beckman joined Shanks in the small vessel climbing down the rope ladder along the side of the ship. With lighthearted teasing from the crew left behind of planning mutiny in the captain's absence, the four men departed with Spaz and Harry rowing, Beckman giving Harry pointers, and Shanks standing at the head like Washington crossing the Delaware. Not that anyone but Harry would get the reference.
The port was completely empty of vessels, which was a bit strange. It was still summer in East Blue and some merchant business was to be expected at a small port town. As the men climbed ashore and the boat was tied to the dock, Harry took a good look around. The few houses in view from their position were boarded up and the streets deserted. Likely someone saw the pirate flag and alerted the townspeople to hide.
"You there," Shanks spoke up, talking up to a tree. "Mind telling us where we can find a tavern?"
From between the branches swung a small boy who nimbly jumped down and looked at Shanks with undisguised wonder.
"Are you guys pirates?"
"Yep," Shanks grinned, "scared?"
The boy shook his head so fast it was blur of black hair. "No way! I'm strong!" he stated with the usual confidence of young boys. "Also, Grandpa hates pirates, shishishi" he added, laughing and with a sense of finality that made it quite clear he thought anything his grandfather disapproved of was OK in his book.
"Dahahaha, most people do."
"Luffy!" came a worried cry. From behind a building came a young woman in a dress and apron and a handkerchief to keep her hair back. She quickly snatched the boy, Luffy, up and held him close as she crouched in front of Shanks, clearly fearful of his intentions.
"What do you want with our town?"
"Ms. Makino, they just want to find a tavern. You should bring them to your place! I bet they'd love your cooking. I do, and speaking of food, I'm hungry!"
The woman, Makino, seemed torn between answering Luffy and keeping an eye on the dangerous characters before her. Instead, Shanks spoke up to try and reassure her.
"Luffy's right. I'm Shanks, by the way, and this is my first mate Beckman. We're pirates exploring East Blue and were hoping we could dock here for a bit, maybe enjoy some food and sake," he explained, shaking a pouch of gold coins to emphasize his honest intentions.
Makino looked wary, but certainly more willing to talk things out a bit. She looked down at Luffy who was pouting a bit at being ignored and whispered, "Luffy, why don't you go ahead to the bar and wait for me there."
"But Ms. Makino, I want to talk to the pirates!"
"You can talk to them at Partys, alright? Now run along." With a sigh, the boy obeyed and left.
Makino turned back to Shanks with a determined expression on her face.
"Why did you come here? Windmill Village is hardly the richest town of East Blue, or even Goa Kingdom."
"I like small towns," Shanks replied, tilting his hat back to look at the clear skies. "Small towns are friendly and serve the best food and sake. Oops," he started, reaching a hand out to Harry and pulling him aside. Beckman stepped towards the other direction at the same time and Spaz, well, he was exploring the tree Luffy had just vacated and wasn't paying much attention to the conversation.
"Careful Kid," said Shanks, before stepping himself aside as well just as a gunshot rang out.
A middle aged man approached with a pistol in his shaking hands.
"Makino, move away from them," he yelled out.
"Mayor Wool Slap!" Makino exclaimed, her gaze darting desperately between Shanks and the Mayor, afraid of the pirates' reaction to the sudden attack.
"Mayor, huh?" Shanks said, "Great! So you'd be the person to talk to about docking here, right?"
"We don't appreciate pirates coming to take over our village," the mayor responded, glaring from behind his round glasses.
"No one said anything about taking over," Shanks protests.
Beckman cuts in. "How about we talk this over a drink?"
Whether it was because Makino put a hand on his shoulder or because of Shanks and Beckman's words or rather, as Harry was more inclined to believe, he felt there was no better option in the face of such dangerous enemies – Beckman had his trademark oversized rifle resting on his shoulders and his usual cigarette between his teeth – Mayor Wool Slap huffed and put his pistol down and followed Makino who smiled and gestured towards the road ahead. Harry pulled Spaz out of the tree and followed along.
"Shanks!" came a voice as soon as the door to the bar swung open, revealing Luffy sitting on a stool in front of the counter, legs swinging and arms waving in excitement.
"Hey there, Luffy!" Shanks waved back, walking over to sit next to his fan.
Makino walked behind the counter and fetched a bottle of sake and cups as the Mayor, Beckman, Harry, and Spaz joined the pirate captain on stools in front of the counter.
"So," Makino started with a cheerful smile since the Mayor was busy watching the Shanks with suspicion as he entertained the wide-eyed young boy with tales of pirating.
"Shanks is your captain?" she asked, placing a shot glass in front of each man and pouring a shot of sake for them.
"He's my captain," Beckman cleared up with a nod of thanks as he picked up the glass. "We're the Red Hair Pirates. These two here are Potter Harry and Spaz. We picked them up in West Blue and they're basically just tagging along for the adventures."
"Oh?" Makino questioned, refilling Beckman's glass. "I didn't know pirate ships let people who aren't pirates themselves on board the ship."
Harry grinned. "Well, I think Shanks wouldn't mind if we decided to join his crew, but Spaz and I aren't too comfortable at the idea of becoming pirates just yet."
"Hmph," the mayor finally interjected. "There's nothing about being a pirate to be proud of. You're better off staying as you are."
"Perhaps."
"So, what is it exactly your pirate crew wants with us?" the mayor directed at Beckman.
"For now we'd just like to have a place to dock for the night, maybe stock up on a few supplies. If possible, it'd be great if we could figure out some way of making this place a temporary headquarters, no longer than a year. It's been a long time since our last trip to East Blue and we'd like a place to come back to after expeditions to relax and store our findings. We'll pay for any food or sake we consume while here, of course, and a fee for storage space. What do you think?"
The mayor sipped his drink slowly as he thought it over.
"Neh," Spaz spoke up, bored by the proceedings. "Why are the docks empty?"
"Hmm," Makino hummed, "we did used to be a port town, but a few months ago a sea king settled by our coast land."
"A sea king!" Spaz gaped, "how? Why?"
"Actually, I'm surprised it didn't bother you. We aren't sure just why it's here or how it got here, but it certainly has quite a nasty temper. We think it's probably territorial and so it drives off just about every ship that comes too close to the shore."
"I could chase it off for you," Shanks offered.
"Wow!" Luffy exclaimed. "You can take on a sea king?"
"Sure! No problem, I've got a few sea king friends and enemies of my own in the Calm Belt," Shanks grinned.
"That's very kind of you, but no thank you," she said, shaking her head. "The last boat that docked at our port had its rudder torn to pieces. At this point, none of our usual trading customers will come back even if you did drive it away. It was a bit of a bother for some time, but the village is adapting to be self-sustaining now and the sea king drove off two pirate attacks for us so its presence isn't without its benefits," Makino concluded with a smile.
"I imagine such a drastic change wasn't easy," Harry commented. Trade was the basis of port towns. To suddenly have to produce everything needed on their own could easily cripple a community under certain circumstances."
"We aren't completely blocked off. Small deliveries like seed packets can be ordered from Goa by Mail Coo, though, of course, we can't trade for them, we can only pay in Beli," Makino explained, her brow furrowed as she mentioned Beli. The town was probably tight on cash.
The mayor sighed and put his empty glass on the counter, his expression upset with the reminder of his town's situation. "We don't want any trouble."
But we do need the money was the unspoken statement hanging in the air.
"Of course," Beckman acquiesced amicably. "It wouldn't be a very good base for us either if your village ends up being attacked because of our presence here."
"No longer than a year," he grunted. "Makino," he nodded before leaving the bar.
"So you guys are staying?" asked Luffy, his eyes sparkling.
"Yep! This place is our new headquarters," Shanks exclaimed with a hearty pat on the boy's shoulder, "you'll meet the rest of my crew this evening."
"Awesome!"
Shanks gave Harry a smirk and a saucy wink to which Harry rolled his eyes. Honestly, Beckman did half the work.
A/N: Yeah, the last part was a little awkward to write but I'm hopeful that it's believable as well as canon compliant as far as can be gleaned from the limited knowledge given about Luffy's hometown and Shanks' actions while there.
Replying to reviewers without accounts:
marc: Thanks :)
r: I'm glad! I hope you have no problems following without getting alerts.
GhostofDVDS: Sorry, no slash between Harry and Shanks. I have no plans for any slash in this story beyond some future innuendos involving Okamas. However, I do have a darker version of this story in planning where there will be angst, torture, an initially Super Harry, and possibly slash with Shanks in exchange for a much (very much) looser attachment to the canon One Piece world. If you (or anyone else) are interested, let me know and I'll see if I can kick start that into existence in the next few weeks.
jboat: At the moment, the ghost is a, uh, secret... (one that so far I am not "in the know" of either .) But hey, so far every owner of that Straw Hat that we know of is a grinner, so I thought it fit well. Thanks for the review :)
325 reviews as of today, 3/21/11
Thanks everyone :)