Haah... I can't wait for Christmas. My teachers are driving me insane right now, and I can hardly write to ease my mind a little between homework and sleep. But Christmas will come and then I don't have to worry about school for two whole weeks! -celebrates-

Anyway, on with this new story. I think there was a disclaimer in the first chapter, ne? If there are any words crammed together in the text, please try to ignore them, I can't do anything about them, unfortunately ...

A simple question
By KuroKame

"Ne… Shanks?"

The captain of the Red-hair pirate clan barely stifled a sigh when he turned to face the big-eyed boy to his right. He had been answering strange questions all morning, just like every morning when they visited this particular town, and even his usually infinite patience was starting to run out. Still, he grinned cheerfully as he met the questioning look in the boy's eyes.

"Yeah, Luffy," he said, reaching out the grab a few pieces of fried bacon from the boy's plate. "What is it?"

Luffy frowned when some of his bacon disappeared, but he didn't protest. He put down his knife and fork on the counter and gave Shanks what had to be the sternest look the captain had ever seen.

"When you're a pirate, you kill people, don't you?"

It sounded like such a simple question, but it made every single person in the tavern turn around to look their way.

Shanks looked at Luffy for a brief moment. The boy had come in through the door to the tavern only a few minutes after the pirates had settled down to eat their breakfast, like he always did every morning when the crew was in town, and ever since Makino had placed his first breakfast plate on the counter, Luffy had been asking questions about the life of pirates and how strong one had to be to become a pirate. However, Shanks hadn't been prepared to hear this particular question. Luffy hadn't even turned seven yet, and Shanks had to admit that he had thought that the boy was too young to think of that. But now he had been proven wrong, and was facing a troublesome dilemma. Should he tell Luffy the truth or just make something up like he had done the whole morning?

No, making things up in a matter like this was out of the question. Even if Shanks told Luffy that he'd never become a pirate every single day, the captain knew that the boy would go out to sea one day or another, no matter what he said or did, and he simply couldn't bring himself to lie about something that all pirates would have to face sooner or later.

"Well," he began, now reaching for his still half full pint of rum. "I'm not going to lie to you, Luffy… Pirates do kill each other out at sea, but there's always a choice when it comes to killing. Either you choose to do it, or you choose not to do it. Get it?"

"So all pirates don't kill people?" Luffy asked slowly while staring blankly at the empty winebottles on the shelves behind the counter for a moment. Then, he turned back to look at Shanks. "Have you ever killed anyone, Shanks? I mean, like, really killed someone until they were dead for real?"

Shanks could hear the faint clink as Makino nearly dropped a newly washed plate a few meters away. He looked at Luffy while wondering where the boy's sudden interest in death had come from. Behind him, somewhere in the room, he could hear Ben's voice as the first mate calmly asked someone - probably Yasopp and Lucky Lou, judging by the sound of it - to kindly shut up before he--

"Shanks!" Luffy had been repeating his name at least four times, each time with a little more force, until he found it necessary to tug at the pirate's sleeve to get his attention.

"Huh?" Shanks blinked once, twice, and even a third time before he remembered what they had been talking about. "Oh, sorry, Luffy. I was just thinking. So, you want to know if I've ever killed anyone, do you?"

"Uh-huh." Luffy nodded so swiftly that Shanks almost waited for the boy's neck to snap.

"… Sure, I've killed a few people," Shanks said carefully, casting a glance at Makino, who was watching them both warily. "We all have, but only when it was the only way to save our own lives." He flicked his hand towards his crew, who had settled down around one of the larger tables to play a very noisy game of poker.

"You see…" he continued, looking at Luffy through the curtains of red hair that stuck our from under the brim of his weatherworn straw hat. "Not everyone fears death, and therefore they aren't going to hesitate to fight until they die, if it means that they can protect something that is precious to them. Some of these people have seen so many horrible things in their lives, so death would be like going to bed one night and just not wake up the next morning. Others… well… some just don't care if they die or not, while others are just too stupid to fear death."

When Shanks had stopped talking, he looked at Luffy, who sat quiet and picked at what was left of his third helping of bacon and eggs while looking very thoughtful. Shanks wondered silently if the boy had understood what he had been trying to say or not.

"So… pirates kill people, but some pirates only kill people when they choose to do it…" Luffy grasped at a tuft of his black hair and screwed up his face in a very strange grimace as he apparently strained his mind to get things right. "And… some pirates don't kill people if they don't have to, because…"

His face suddenly brightened, and he dunked one fist against the palm of his other hand. "… Because there are things thatare worse than death! Right, Shanks?"

Shanks grinned and ruffled Luffy's already tousled hair.

"You got it."

Luffy pulled away from Shanks' rough gesture of affection, but he still beamed at the pirate captain before he went back to eat up the rest of his breakfast.

"When I become a pirate, I'mma not gowna kill people," he mumbled while stuffing the last of his now cold fried eggs into his mouth, chewing twice and then swallowing. "I'm gonna kick their ass and send them flying instead."

For once in his life, Shanks didn't reply. He propped his elbow against the counter and leaned his head against his hand while listening to Luffy's future grand adventure. What could the future really have in store for such a boy, who clearly belonged in the group of people who feared very little in life? Now that was not a simple question.

Hmm... I write a lot of storieswith Luffy... I wonder why. Then again, he's fun to write, even though I think I tend to make him seem a little bit too stupid sometimes. Ah well... I really should write something that actually would fit the 'inbetweeners'-theme sometime, eh?

Sulia Shincho - Ha ha, now that reminds me... I saw Batman Forever a few weeks ago, and towards the final battle, Robin says "Holy rusted metal, Batman!", because the island they landed on is made from rusted metal that has a lot of holes in it... Just something I thought of when I read 'Holy Sonnet Number 9, Batman'...
A lot of exclamation points? You mean like 'omglykmeat!1one!1eighteen!' or something like that?I've always thought that one is enough. Maybe two if the writer needs to emphasize what is being said. But other than that, I just find it annoying, so I try not to use too many of them.n-n;
But Zoro in a wet white T-shirt is okay, then? I actually tried writing that story from only Luffy's POV, but it didn't work out. It turned out really dull and very confusing even for me. I'm glad you liked it:D

Melinda-chan - Thank you.I'm glad you could read the stories even if you hadn't reached that far in the originalstory-line.