Hi! Thanks for the support! My updates are really sporadic, so please don't count on them being this close together normally.
I've always been curious about why someone as powerful as Shanks ended up in Windmill Village for a year (I don't think he was a Yonkou at that point or Garp would have dropped everything to head back). It's mentioned at some point that they went there for the Devil Fruit, but a minor paramicia doesn't sound like a real reason for a big name pirate like Shanks to spend a year in the weakest sea. Also, by the time we see Shanks, he and Luffy are friends. Here's a thought on how their meeting could have happened. I hope you enjoy and would love to hear alternate ideas!
Shanks hopped off the ship and glanced around the picturesque little village while his crew dropped anchor. He gazed over the place; windmills spun steadily between carefully tended fields and people had obviously been going about their business prior to Red Dawn's arrival. Now, they were cowering back from the Red Dawn, and ushering their children inside, apparently unused to pirates. Which he supposed made sense. That baby sea king in the bay would be enough to keep away weak pirates, and strong ones would target the wealthier docks of Goa Kingdom.
Goa Kingdom was famed for being the most beautiful kingdom in the East Blue and Benn had convinced him that it would be the perfect place for them to recover from their recent defeat. Shanks wasn't the only one still nursing injuries, and reluctantly acknowledging that it wasn't just his crew that needed time to find their feet again after that debacle, he had agreed to his first mate's suggestion. The place reeked of peace, though, and Shanks had no idea how Benn thought they would last a week in the village, far less a year. Sure they had been soundly defeated, but didn't that mean they just needed to get back up and try again? If not, maybe Shanks could convince Benn to find a different island for him to recuperate on? A more interesting one? He watched as one man approached.
"We don't want any trouble here." He said frankly. "This town is under the protection of Vice-Admiral Garp, so it's best if you move along." Shanks' eyebrows shot up and he felt interest stir in him for the first time since he had given the order to run.
"What business does that old geezer have here?" He asked curiously.
"I'm sure I couldn't say," the man replied, making Shank's esteem for him rise.
"Who might you be, friend?"
"I'm Mayor Woop Slap." Shanks wanted to immediately slap the parent responsible for naming their child that, but at this point it was probably too late. Strangely enough, the man didn't seem to mind the name.
"We just want a place to set anchor for a while," hopefully a short while, Shanks assured the man as his crew gathered around him. "We're not looking for trouble."
"Pirates are always trouble," the man complained resignedly, making the men chuckle.
"I'm not sure that all pirates are always trouble," Yassop offered cheerfully, "but our captain certainly is."
"I haven't even stepped foot in the town and you're already giving them a bad impression of me," Shanks complained as his men laughed. It was hard to pretend to be ok, but he was the captain, so he kept his smile up.
"The captain's definitely trouble," Lucky Roo agreed, "but not for you."
"Point us to the bar and we'll be out of your hair," Shanks assured the mayor, ignoring his men, which only increased their amusement.
"Party's Bar is down Main Street, on the right, you can't miss it." Shanks waited as the man held his gaze. "Makino's a good girl, I hope you don't give her any trouble."
"I'll keep that in mind," Shanks commented, leading the men to the bar. It was a quaint little place, and suited the town perfectly in Shanks' opinion. He almost growled at Benn for insisting they come here, but that could wait until he got some alcohol in him.
"Hello," a pretty green haired girl greeted. Shanks bet in a little place like this she had a lot of admirers. She was clearly nervous, but her voice was steady. Maybe it was having Garp around, but there were some surprisingly strong characters in this little backwater. "What can I get for you, gentlemen?" Shanks tossed his head back, laughing.
"Not sure when someone last called me gentleman, little miss," he commented as his men laughed with him. "My name's Shanks. My men and I are here for some rest and rum." She smiled more warmly at him and the tension in her shoulders eased. She turned to get their rum when there was a commotion at the door and Shanks sensed an attack.
"Stay away from Makino!" A voice called out, charging straight towards Shanks. Instinctively, he let slip some of his conqueror's haki as he turned to face the threat.
"Shanks," Benn murmured, pulling him back to the reality of the little bar and it's occupants. It was only then that he realized how tiny the threat was. A little boy stood there, a stick clutched too tightly in his hands, making Shanks cringe. He couldn't believe he'd just tried to harm a kid, even if the kid had attacked him first. Shanks glanced around to confirm the he had used haki - the little bar maid was down and a few of his men were struggling - before turning his eyes back to the unassuming little boy. The boy's round eyes darted around before spotting the fainted bar maid. "What did you do to her?!" He shouted, trying to beat Shanks with the stick. Shanks' eyes widened as he dropped down to disarm the little assailant.
"Easy there," he murmured. "She's ok."
"But, but," the boy said and his eyes filled up with tears. Shanks didn't even know the boy's name, but he knew that if that kicked puppy face was weaponized it could take down tougher pirates than him.
"Can you tell me your name, fierce little one?"
"Luffy," the boy sniffled, glancing between the girl and Shanks. "And don't treat me like a kid!"
"Luffy," Shanks repeated, hoping that talking would help the boy calm down, because kids really weren't his thing, but this one was interesting.
"Monkey D. Luffy," the boy introduced and Shanks fought not to let his shock show.
"You related to Vice-Admiral Garp?"
"You know Gramps?" The boy asked tilting his head in curiosity. Before Shanks could reply, the boy continued. "He's away a lot and he when he comes here he's always trying to train me! He told me if I couldn't swim by the time he came back he'd feed me to the Lord of the Coast!" Shanks wondered what sort of lord would want to eat a kid before realizing that was probably what the locals called their little sea king. The kid seemed more outraged than scared, and if Shanks wasn't familiar with Garp he might have doubted the sincerity of the threat. As it was, he wondered how Garp's kid had survived long enough to have a kid of his own.
"So are you going to be a Marine like your Grandpa?" Luffy stared at him like he'd gone crazy.
"No way! I'm going to be a pirate!"
"Oh?" Shanks questioned, hiding a smile because he knew that attitude had to be driving Garp mad. Some of his men chuckled behind him. "Why's that?"
"Pirates are free!" The boy exclaimed, a smile shinning on his face. Shanks felt his breath catch looking at the boy. "I want to be freer than anyone." The longing in his eyes didn't suit his age. "You hurt Makino," the boy accused, apparently just remembering how they met.
"I'm sorry," Shanks replied seriously. "I'm a little dangerous when I'm stressed, that's why we're here to relax." Having met Luffy, all his plans about leaving Goa Kingdom were discarded. This child was someone to watch.
"You didn't mean to?" Luffy asked.
"No, I didn't," Shanks assured the boy. Shanks felt weighed by that gaze in a way that was both foreign and familiar. Words caught in his throat because how was it possible?
"Ok!" He said, smiling, "but make sure you apologize to Makino!"
"I will," Shanks agreed readily. Thankful that the bar maid appeared to be stirring, Shanks directed the boy's attention back to her. He needed a minute to compose himself as nostalgia and hope crashed into him in waves. He reached up and took off his hat to fiddle with. "Look, she's waking up."
"Makino!" The boy exclaimed, bouncing over to her. He sure seemed to have a lot of energy all of a sudden.
"Luffy," she murmured smiling softly at the boy.
"Are you ok, Makino? Do you need some meat?" He asked. She looked warmly at Luffy. Shanks thought she was too young to be Luffy's mother, but it was clear there was a strong bond there. The thought of Garp's underage grandson spending enough time in a bar for that to happen made Shanks smile and helped steady him.
"Yes," she assured him. "I'm not sure what happened," her eyes flicked to Shanks before settling on Luffy again.
"It's a mystery!" Luffy proclaimed, which saved Shanks the trouble of explaining. "Shanks promised not to do it again, so it's ok!" Luffy informed her with a bright, familiar grin.
"I do owe you an apology," Shanks admitted, strolling over to join the pair at the bar. "I hope you don't mind if I join you here."
"I heard you're a pirate!" The boy exclaimed. It wasn't a question, but Shanks answered anyway.
"That's right. Why?"
"Tell me stories!" The boy demanded, standing on his stool to face Shanks. The crew began laughing at the exuberant boy and Shanks felt something in him settle. In time he would return and confront Kaido. For now, he had a story to tell a little brat.