Whumptober 2022
Summary: Whumptober 2022: Day Four: Hidden Injury. Five times Shanks hid an injury and the one time that he realized he didn't have too. Roger Pirate Era.
Author's Note: Hey everyone and welcome back to Whumptober 2022! So, I've kind of decided that I'm going to take it easy. I've been getting burnt out a lot recently, and so I'm taking a step back to keep myself from doing so. I hope you enjoy! On with the fic!
Warnings: Injury, Blood and Injury, Physical Injuries
Whumptober 2022: Day Four: Hidden Injury
One
If there was one thing that Shanks was positive about, it was that Roger turned into an overprotective, overbearing Papa Bear if he was injured. He also noticed that it was only with him. Any time as he had so much as a scratch, Roger would immediately be on him about it.
Because of his age, most of them tended to always go easy on him. Whenever it was training or just fooling around. They treated him like he was delicate. Not that he would ever admit that all they would have to do punch him and he could probably die.
This night, they had encountered a group of Marines and Shanks had tried his best to stay out of the way, but he had been shoved to the ground by one of the Marines. As he hit the dirt, he grimaced, biting back the scream that wanted to escape his throat. His shoulder had erupted into pain as he tried to breathe through the pain. He had to use his uninjured arm to push himself completely off of the ground. Before he could even look back, the Marine who had shoved him wasn't exactly breathing anymore.
He blinked, seeing Roger in front of his vision within seconds. "Shanks, are you okay?!" Roger quickly exclaimed. Shanks nodded, eyes wide as he looked between Roger and the fallen Marine. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, Captain." Shanks muttered, ignoring the pain blistering through his shoulder.
It was just a bit of shoulder pain from hitting the ground. He would be fine.
In the time following, it became apparent that Shanks' shoulder was a bit more injured that he had thought. He could barely move it now. Each time that he tried, pain would shoot down his side and back. If there was one thing he knew, he wasn't going to be saying anything to anyone about it.
He did not want to be smothered by Roger again. Also, Roger never showed pain himself, so why couldn't he do the same?
"Are you sure, you're okay?" Roger questioned him a few days following the incident.
Shanks placed a smile on his face and nodded. "Of course, Captain." What he didn't expect was Roger to start slapping him on the same shoulder. Shanks grimaced, biting down on his lip.
"Alright, if you say so!" Roger exclaimed; a cheeky grin plastered on his face as he continued to give soft pats to his injured shoulder. Still, Shanks refused to let the pain show on his face.
Shanks really wanted to scream, tell Roger to quit what he was doing because he was only making it worse. That was until Roger started rubbing circles into his shoulder. He paused, almost melting into it as his Captain's hand continued to move over the injured area.
Roger didn't say a word to him, just saying, "I'm just glad you're okay."
X
Two
He was eight when he met Buggy for the first time. A young, orphan boy who lived on the Grand Line. Shanks knew almost immediately that Roger would end up extending an invitation for Buggy to join their crew. To become an apprentice just like Shanks was. It was pretty obvious from the second that they met.
Shanks had almost immediately latched himself onto Buggy. It wasn't often that he got to interact with kids his own age. He was always surrounded by pirates. It was a nice change.
The more time that they spent on the island, the closer that the two of them got. Shanks got to learn more about what Buggy was like. One thing he had noticed immediately was his almost insane want for money, but at the same time, it wasn't unreasonable. Growing up as an orphan and having to live off of the scraps of others. He would probably be wanting money all the time too. Hell, the first day they met, Buggy had successfully pick pocketed him, and he hadn't noticed until he returned to the Oro Jackson to find that the money was gone.
Buggy liked to show him the different places on the island. Though, this time, it didn't work out exactly how he would have thought. He found himself tripping over a branch and rolling down a hill. He grimaced as he sat up, the pain shooting through his ankle.
Well, this one wasn't going to be easy to hide.
Buggy was screaming at him. Asking him if he was okay, and that he was stupid for falling both in one sentence. It made a smile come to his face as he moved to put weight on his ankle. Grunting as the pain shot up it. It wasn't completely unbearable, but he could manage.
Buggy came rushing down the hill, skidding to a halt next to him with a scream of, "You moron! I told you to watch where you were going!"
Shanks laughed slightly, forcing himself up. Managing to keep the smile on his face despite wanting to wince from the pain that immediately went through him. "It was just a fall, I'm fine."
"How are you allowed to carry a sword?!" Buggy shouted, "You're going to stab yourself one day." He huffed, crossing his arms as he tsked and looked away. "Dumbass."
Shanks grinned, tilting his head as he muttered out, "Awe, you do care."
"Let's go before you accidentally kill yourself out here." Buggy grumbled, reaching out and grabbing his hand. Shanks stumbled over his feet, letting out a slight whine of pain from the pressure that he had to place on his foot. Buggy looked back at him for a second, "Are you sure, you're okay?"
Shanks nodded. "Of course, I am! You're here with me!" He could have cackled from the flush that came to Buggy's face. Getting slightly used to the pain, he fell in step with Buggy as he dropped his hand. He was able to mask his pain pretty easily, uncaring that it continued to shoot up his leg.
He was definitely telling Roger that Buggy had to come with them. He wouldn't take no for an answer.
X
Three
It almost seemed like Buggy became a sort of jinx for him, as his next injury had been an accidental self-inflicted knife wound. Buggy had been brought onto the ship, by much pleading on Shanks' part – even though he was sure Roger just wanted to hear him beg for Buggy to come – and it almost seemed like the chaos followed with the two of them. They were practically inseparable.
Shanks had to thank everything that he was wearing a black shirt. His sandal had broken as they were training together and Shanks and slipped, cutting his hip on his blade by accident. It wasn't deep by any means, but enough that he was in fact bleeding. Just bandaging it would be enough. He had also noticed that he didn't even flinch when the pain struck.
All he did was get back up, letting everyone know he was fine. Rayleigh had called for them to take a break, and Shanks had immediately taken off. Rushing to get the wound bandaged. He had shut the door behind him quickly, not wanting anyone to see him lift up his shirt to reveal a bloody side to him.
He sighed, going straight for the small dresser where they kept some bandages. He had snuck in a towel and some water with him. Making sure to clean up the area before he was bandaging it. It wasn't the first time he had to dress a wound, and definitely wouldn't be the last.
Just as he lowered his shirt and got everything put away, a knock on the door startled him. Making him rush to make sure everything was hidden. Rayleigh opened up the door, smiling softly at him for a second. "You good?" He questioned.
Shanks nodded, "Absolutely, Ray-san."
"You took kind of a hard fall out there." Rayleigh stated, his gaze narrowing as if he didn't believe Shanks. His back at been turned to them when it happened, so the only one who might have seen it would have been Rayleigh. "Are you sure anything else didn't happen?"
Shanks smiled, folding his hands behind his back with a tilt of his head. Trying to appear as innocent as possible. "Nothing else happened. I promise, Ray-san."
Rayleigh looked at him for a second before relenting and motioning towards the door. "Lunch is ready, let's go."
Shanks grinned, almost giving a sigh of relief as he moved to walk out the door. He was sure Rayleigh didn't believe him, but it at least looked like the man wasn't going to continue a line of questioning on him.
He just didn't want to worry anyone. It wasn't severe, easy enough to care for, and it didn't even really hurt. It was no biggie to him.
X
Four
At this point, he was sure he was cursed when it came to getting injured. As the time passed, he stopped really feeling the pain from injuries. Only some of them being bad enough that he might actually have a reaction too it.
During a fight against the Whitebeard Pirates, he had accidentally smacked his head into a rock. Feeling the blistering pain that followed almost immediately. At first, he thought it was just pain from an impact, but it was the effects that followed. As they departed, Shanks had found himself forcing himself to make sure that he was walking straight from the dizziness that had overcome him.
As a party had erupted among the two pirate crews, Shanks had gone off, the noise alone starting to affect his head. He had decided to take it easy for the entire night. Not to show any signs that he had gotten injured.
He just didn't want anyone to worry about him.
He sighed as he heard the door to his room open, seeing Gaban came into the room. A gentle smile on his face. "You alright?"
Shanks hummed, trying not to show the fact that he was starting to feel nauseated on his face. "Yeah. Just tired."
Gaban made a sound like he didn't believe him, muttering for a second that Shanks couldn't catch. "If you say so. Come out when you're ready." With that, Gaban had turned around, heading for the door again. "I might not have seen everything, but you can always tell me if something happened."
"Nothing did." Shanks growled. He was being so snippy. He knew he was. That alone would let the others know that something was up. He sighed, muttering out, "Sorry, I didn't mean—"
"It's fine, Shanks. Get some rest." Gaban cut him off, giving him one last smile before he was leaving.
Shanks groaned, annoyed from how he reacted towards his nakama. He was careful as he leaned back, settling against his bed as he pulled off his hat. He knew he couldn't go to sleep yet, but he could at least rest a bit more.
He knew that it was stupid to constantly be hiding his injuries like this. That he should tell them. They had people on the ship who knew medicine. They had a Doctor. He knew they would take care of him, but there was that feeling that came to the pit of his stomach. He didn't want them to worry about him. He didn't want them to see him failing at what he was learning from them. That their time and dedication to him wasn't going to waste.
Besides, Roger never showed weakness. Why should he?
X
Five
Was it a curse? Was he just clumsy? He didn't know. He just knew that this was driving him insane at this point. It wasn't easy to hide injuries from the Roger Pirates. They were like bloodhounds for knowing if something was wrong. Shanks had gotten even better at wearing a poker face. Not showing pain at all. At this point, it had gotten so good that even minimal injuries he couldn't really feel. His last big injury had been the concussion he had gotten in the fight with the Whitebeard Pirates.
This time, they had gotten into a problem on an island where both Shanks and Buggy had found themselves fighting against a group of bandits that decided to jump them. Buggy was able to get them to back off, every much with the help of his Devil Fruit to scare them off, as Shanks had felt himself being thrown over a hillside and his chest was slamming into a tree. It had completely knocked the air out of him, and the pain had exploded through his chest.
All he could do was lay there for a moment. He hadn't felt this much pain in so long that he almost forgot what it felt like. He could hear the commotion stopping as Buggy turned, rushing down the hill towards him. "What have I told you about falling down hills, bastard?!"
Shanks laughed, his breath hitching for a second from the wave of pain. Either he really just bruised up his ribcage or a few of them were either fractured or broken. They were getting faster with their journey. He didn't want to risk slowing them down now. He pushed down the pain, deciding to ignore it as he pushed himself up. "I'm good. Just a tumble." He was actually proud of how well he hid his pain within his voice, placing a smile on his face as Buggy got to him grumbling.
He was definitely going to hear about this later.
As the days past, the pain was terrible, but he was able to manage it. Bruising splotched over his skin, covering the normally tanned skin in black, blue, and purple. He had decided to take some bandages from the infirmary, keeping his chest wrapped to give some more stability. He switched from over the head shirts to button ups for the time being, keeping them buttoned up almost all the way too his neck.
He didn't get any questions, probably because of Buggy being the only witness. If they noticed anything, they didn't say anything to him, and he was thankful for it. He would just nurse his injury and get himself back to full health in no time.
He could keep the smile on his face and continue to show how strong he was. A little bit of pain didn't matter to him.
X
Plus One
It had taken the sixth injury for Shanks to realize something that was very important when it came to the life of piracy. At least, what he would need to know to stand in the shoes of a Captain. Shanks had found himself in the same old position again where he was face to face with an injury. This time, he knew it was not going to be an easy one to hide. He had grown so accustomed to hiding his injuries that as he looked at this one, he felt the panic going through him.
They had been facing off with a group of Marines, and one had caught him in the thigh with a knife. The blade was still sticking in his leg, but he had managed to take the Marine down by using Haki. Haki that he didn't mean to activate. It had just happened in the heat of the moment and the Marine had fallen unconscious next to him. He sat down on the ground. Grimacing as he reached for the blade. Pausing for a second to remember that taking out a blade was not a good idea. That keeping it in was keeping him from losing blood. This was not one that he could hide without trouble.
He groaned, laying back in the dirt as he covered his eyes with his forearm, biting down on his lip for a moment. How could he be so weak that he allowed this to happen? He had felt it coming. Seen it coming. Yet, it still hit him. He had watched Roger for years. Trying to emulate how he was. How he saw a Captain. How he believed a Captain should be. He never saw the pain on Roger's face if he was injured. Almost as if he didn't feel them.
How could he fail so bad at this?
He had been working so hard to show how strong he was.
Now, he was going to have to tell his nakama that he had gotten injured. That he had failed in a fight bad enough that someone managed to hurt him.
He didn't want them to see him like this. Roger would freak. Probably – not probably, most definitely – willing to kill the Marine that hurt him. He didn't feel much of the pain, but he was already woozy from the blood loss that he already suffered. It would only get worse if he pulled out the blade. He could hear his name being called but he had ignored it. If he called out to them, they would know.
He failed his Captain.
He had failed all the training he had been given.
Shanks let his hand drop next to him. Thinking back to all the bigger injuries he managed to hide. His strained shoulder. Sprained ankle. An accidental slash to his side. A concussion. Bruised ribs. There were many other smaller injuries between them. Some of them that the others had seen and flocked around him. Almost babying him even if they were minor and he didn't even feel the pain. He didn't want that. Not now. He refused to show pain. He wouldn't.
He could hear the call of his name getting louder as he felt the panic hit again. He pulled off his hat, stumbling to his feet. Making it appear as if his hat had been knocked off in the fight. He couldn't really walk on his leg with the knife in it. It hurt too much to even put pressure on it. He was keeping himself balanced mostly out of sheer willpower to do so. Keeping all his weight shifted to one side. He used his hat to shield the view of the knife from the others, sheathing his sword back, and placing a smile on his face.
He had noticed almost immediately the knowing look that was on Roger's face. That look alone was making Shanks crack away at the seams. "Hey, Captain—"
"You got injured again."
Again.
"Cap—"
Roger smiled at him, giving him a soft look as he started forward, dropping down to his knees right in front of Shanks. Looking him directly in the eye. "Shanks, it's okay to show your pain. Pain is not a weakness." Shanks felt the air catch in his throat. His eyes widening as he completely froze. Roger reached down, taking his hat out of his hand before Shanks could even react, moving to place it back on his head. Eyeing the wound on his leg. "That's pretty bad, Shanks. I'm impressed that you managed to stand and look like nothing happened." It almost almost wrong that tears started to pool in his eyes. "We've all know when you've been hiding these injuries. You didn't want us to know, but it was pretty easy to tell. When you leave on these seas for as long as we have, you start to notice the signs. You didn't want to worry anyone, right? That it would somehow make you look weak in our eyes?"
How was Roger managing to get all the information correct? Everything that he had been thinking or feeling as of lately. "You… knew?"
Roger hummed, nodding as he did so. "I raised you from a baby. You learn to watch out for your own."
Shanks gritted his teeth, balling his fists as Roger stood up, already scooping him off of the ground. Being cautious of his injury. Shanks let the frown come to his face. Not only did Roger know of the injury, but he was also babying him. The pout on his face must have alerted Roger because the Captain immediately started to chuckle. "Captain!" Shanks exclaimed, "Stop treating me like I'm a baby!"
Roger continued to chuckle, and Shanks completely froze as he saw the look in Roger's eyes. "I wasn't thinking that at all." He paused for a second, looking ahead of him, "I keep thinking about how much you've grown. You care about others, but at the same time… there is still room for you to grow. Even if you get hurt… relying on your nakama, makes you a Captain. A crew cannot work without each piece of the puzzle coming together." Shanks didn't know what to say to him, but what he was saying completely held onto his attention as Roger made his way back towards the others. "For you, you think a Captain must be strong. Show no weakness. However, it's the opposite, Shanks. A Captain who can show their weakness to their nakama… will gain the biggest strength. You know your greatest weakness, Shanks?"
Shanks actually didn't know the answer. How would Roger know what his greatest weakness was? Especially if he didn't know it himself? "No?"
Roger smiled again, "Your weakness is hiding your pain. Hiding your injuries from others. When a nakama is injured, the others need to know to be able to balance out that change. It's not a weakness to show others when you've been hurt. If you've been hurt rather by your own hand or by others. You put yourself and others at risk if they are unaware of an injury. You wouldn't be at full strength, so your nakama knowing… allows them to back you up when you need them." He explained, "When you learn to trust others with knowing about your injuries, you'll fully grow into someone who will one day be a Captain in his own right."
Shanks never fully understood it until now. It was all hitting him full force as he thought back to his injuries. How in times following it, the others would pick up for him and help him out. Even if he didn't ask for it. If he still said he could go on like normal. He hadn't seen it. They had known the entire time.
"I'm—"
"Don't apologize, Shanks." Roger interjected, "I sometimes do the same, but our nakama just know. It's just how we are. We know when something is wrong with one of our own, and we are there to help them when they need it." He stopped speaking long enough to flash Shanks another smile, "So, let me help you this time. That injury will have you at a disadvantage, but since we know, we can back you up."
Shanks felt the smile tug onto his lips, curling a bit closer to his Captain.
Maybe, it was his greatest weakness.
But he would use it as a strength. He already had a high pain tolerance. He could fight through the pain, but he would use that to be able to help protect his nakama. Instead of hiding, he would use it as a way to work with the others. He could see what Roger was trying to tell him.
And he had been blind to it all along.
