Shanks smiled down at the box in his hands. It had taken a few years, lots of haggling, and multiple fights with the marines, but he'd finally found a Cameko Den Den Mushi for Makino. She'd told him once that she was sad there was no way for her to capture the time she had with Luffy to save before he grew up and became a pirate. So after his crew had left Dawn Island, Shanks had made it his mission to find an elusive Cameko for her to record pictures of Luffy.
Luffy would probably be leaving to become a pirate in a few years, but at least now she could have a few pictures of him before he did. He wanted to be the one to give it to her, but he'd been under quite a bit of marine scrutiny lately after his last party with the Whitebeard Pirates. If he'd known he'd find the Cameko soon after, he would have held off riling up the marines. As it was, he was going to have to call in a favor to get someone to deliver the present for him.
He'd already tried Mihawk, but the guy had blown him off before he'd even heard the request. He could send one of his crew, but he didn't want to risk the chance of them being followed of caught. He could get it on a merchant ship, but there were no guarantees it'd make it there before Luffy left – if it made it there at all. It wasn't as though there were a lot of merchants traveling between the East Blue and the Grand Line.
That left one person Shanks could count on to sail under the marine's radar to get the present to Makino.
Rayleigh yawned as he sailed towards Dawn Island. He'd originally been against delivering Shank's gift, but the brat had gotten Shakky on his side. She'd confiscated all his alcohol and refused to give it back until he'd agreed. So now he was stuck as a delivery man.
At the very least he figured he'd be able to meet the kid Shanks was always going on about – the one he'd left Rodgers had with and given his arm to save. Rayleigh would have to see for himself if the kid deserved to keep the hat and had been worth saving.
Stretching out in his small boat, he figured there were worse ways to spend a month than being out at sea. He had to admit he'd missed it. He loved Shakky, and would never sail under another captain, but he missed the feeling of being out on the open sea. Maybe once he was done playing delivery man he'd revisit some of the islands from his days as Rodger's first mate. He was sure Shakky wouldn't mind. He might even be able to convince her to go with him once he got back. Sort of a small vacation from running the bar.
He trailed off on that thought when he caught the stench of ash and burnt flesh. He sat up and frowned at the island in the distance. Double checking his heading, Rayleigh wondered if he'd be able to deliver the gift, or if he'd have to return it to Shanks along with some bad news. The closer he got the island, the more he believed it'd be the latter. He could see smoke still rising from the village, meaning whatever had happened had been recent.
Taking out an ore and paddling the rest of the way to shore, he took just enough time to haul his boat to shore so it wouldn't drift off before running towards the village. If it was recent, there might be some survivors. Maybe even the woman Shank's had gotten the gift for.
All thoughts of finding survivors left his head when he saw the destruction. When he noticed the dried magma, he knew there was nobody left alive. If Akainu was behind the destruction, he wouldn't have left until he'd made sure everyone was dead.
That left Rayleigh with the question as to why Akainu had been there in the first place. From what Shanks had said, Windmill Village was a peaceful little town that didn't get many visitors except a few merchants. There would have been no reason for the admiral to destroy it. Especially since Shanks had told him the island was under Garp's protection. So what had happened?
Rayleigh used his Observation Haki to search for anyone still alive, on the off chance he was wrong and Akainu had missed someone. There was nobody in the town, and there were no animals anywhere nearby in the forest. He frowned when something caught his attention down at the beach a few miles from the harbor. It was faint, and he could barely feel it, but it was a presence. Someone was still alive. Barely. Even as he ran Rayleigh could feel it starting to slip away little by little.
Sliding onto the sand where the presence was, Rayleigh's eyes zeroed in on a small form lying half on the sand, half in the ocean. They were on their stomach, head turned away, and hands cuffed behind their back. Their clothing was torn and the sand beneath them was dyed red with blood. Rayleigh's eyes widened at the sight of an old, worn straw hat lying against their back, held there by a string around the neck.
Telling Shanks the woman he was crushing on had died was one thing. Telling him the child he utterly adored and always sang praises about had died…that would break the man in a way Rayleigh wasn't sure he'd fully recover from.
Running forward, he fell to his knees beside the boy and grimaced at the seastone cuffs. Regular cuffs were one thing, but seastone cuffs were harder than diamond. Even if he used Haki he wouldn't be able to break them. He had lockpicks on him, a habit he'd never dropped after retiring from a life of piracy, and he could coat them in Haki to keep them from breaking, but the boy needed a doctor. Rayleigh knew first aid, but with the amount of blood on the sand, and with how fast the kid was slipping, first aid wouldn't be enough.
"One thing at a time," Rayleigh muttered to himself, pulling the kid all the way onto the sand and out of reach of the water. He brought out his lockpicks and quickly coated the ones in his hands with Haki before getting to work on the cuffs. It took him longer than he liked, but once he heard the cuffs click open, he tossed them away and quickly turned the kid over.
Seeing the mess of burnt flesh that was the kid's chest, he tore off his own shirt before pressing it against the wound. The boy – Luffy, Shanks had called him – let out a groan of pain. Rayleigh smiled without humor. "Sorry kid, but if I let you die that brat will never forgive me. Now come on. I need you to stay alive until I can get you to a doctor."
He didn't give Luffy any time to respond, sweeping him up and running towards the large cluster of people he could feel across the island. He took the most direct route through the forest, using his Conquerors Haki to keep any animals from attacking. He didn't have time to fight them off. He could feel Luffy slipping as he neared what appeared to be a dump. "Come on kid, stay with me. You aren't gonna die before you even become a pirate, are you? Didn't you make a promise with Shanks?"
Saying Shanks's name seemed to be the right motivator, as Rayleigh felt the kid start fighting. He couldn't help but grin. The boy was stubborn, if nothing else.
He ignored the guards at the gate, knocking them out with a burst of Conquerors Haki before running to the nearest person. "I need a doctor." The man stared up at him with wide eyes, looking from him to the guards and back again. Rayleigh didn't have time for this. Shoving the man against the building behind him, he demanded, "Tell me where I can find a doctor. Now." He put just enough Conquerors Haki behind his words to make the man tremble, but not enough to knock him out. Once a shaky finger was pointed in the right direction, Rayleigh dropped him and ran off.
He kept a close eye out for any buildings that looked to have a doctor, breaking down the door once he saw one rather than take the time to open it. The woman inside jumped and whirled around. She looked ready to yell at him before her eyes caught sight of Luffy in his arms. Mouth snapping shut, she dropped what she held and ran to open a door in the back. "Bring him in and set him on the table." Rayleigh was glad she was the type to act first and ask questions later.
He quickly laid Luffy on the table and kept pressure on the wound until the woman all but shoved him out of the way and got to work. Rayleigh kept out of her way, but close enough to help if she needed it. He didn't move as she worked, not wanting to be a distraction. He kept focus on Luffy, silently willing the boy to make it through. He was honestly surprised that Luffy was still holding on. With a hole in his chest, seastone cuffs on his wrists, and lying half in the ocean, anyone else would have been dead long ago.
He was cut off from his musings when the doctor yelled at him to fetch more water and then 'get his ass over here and be useful if he wanted the kid to live'. After that, things passed in a blur. He was sure Luffy was going to die a few times, but whether by his will to stay alive or the doctor's expertise, the boy was still clinging to life as the woman finished wrapping him in bandages. When she was satisfied with her work and that the machines helping the boy stay alive were still in place, she turned to Rayleigh.
"He's gonna stay here until he's stable, but once he's off the machines and not about to die you two are out of here so I have room for other patients. The only time I want to see either of you back here after that is for checkups."
Rayleigh nodded with a raised eyebrow. "You get that many patients he can't even stay until he's fully healed?"
The woman scowled. "You haven't been on the island that long." It wasn't a question. "Those bastards up in High Town sometimes get the bright idea to kill off as many of us down here as they can so their city can stay 'clean'. Sometimes it's a few idiots who try and break in there to see what it's like or steal from the stuck up nobles, but about seven or so years ago they burned the dump you see outside and killed anyone still alive afterwards. Tried to do it again recently until their plans were cancelled."
Rayleigh frowned. "What do you mean their plans were cancelled?"
The doctor snorted. "There was supposed to be another visit from one of those Celestial Dragons, but for whatever reason they decided not to come." Rayleigh had a feeling he knew why. It would explain why Akainu was on the island as well as those seastone cuffs. The Celestial Dragon had shown up at Windmill Village. Anyone who wasn't dead had probably been taken as slaves. He wondered if the woman was still alive. If so, maybe he could give the brat a heads up and he could be her knight in shining armor and save her from a life of slavery.
For now though, he'd wait until the kid woke up before he left. Better to get as much information as he could before letting the brat know what happened here.
Blinking when a piece of paper was slammed onto the table in front of him, he looked back up at the doctor. "Your fee for the kid's treatment and for the door you broke. If you don't have it, then I don't care how you get it, but I want it before I kick you two out."
Rayleigh's lips tugged up in an easy smile. "What happens if I don't pay?"
The doctor folded her arms. "Then I take everything you do have, and you work for me without pay until your debt is settled. You skip out, you and the boy can forget about getting treatment here again. Doesn't matter how bad you're hurt – I have other patients who can and will pay."
"Most doctors I've met never turn away a patient."
She wasn't swayed. "I'm the only doctor for everyone on this island except those bastards up in High Town and that tiny village on the other side. I learned the hard way I can't treat everyone, and those who skip out on the bill once always do so again."
Rayleigh didn't argue. "You'll have your money by the time we're gone." She nodded once before turning and heading back to the front. Glancing back at Luffy, he stretched his arms above his head. "Well kid, looks like I need to go find some generous donors to help us out. Maybe some of those High Town bastards will have a change of heart."
Three weeks after he'd brought Luffy to the doctors, Rayleigh was standing to the side as the kid finished the last of the empty graves he'd dug. Standing up, Luffy gently placed his hand on the large rock he'd put up as the gravestone – the names of all those he knew were dead written on with paint he'd salvaged from one of the ruined buildings. "I'm sorry. I was too weak to save you." Luffy took the straw hat from where it was resting nearby and placed it on top of the empty grave, burying the rim to keep it from blowing away.
"I need you to watch over this for me. I'm not strong enough to wear it yet, but I'm going to train as hard as I can and get stronger, and stronger, and stronger, and stronger until I can protect the people I care about. I promise."
Rayleigh couldn't help but smile. He'd have to call Shakky later and let her know he wouldn't be home for a while.
So Luffy lived, and is getting his 2 year training early. I don't think I'm going to go through everything in this AU - at least not in a lot of detail. We'll see though. I honestly started this with one specific scene in mind, and I have no idea where I'm going after that. So we'll see where this story goes. Let me know what you thought.