A/N Okay, I should have mentioned this last chapter, but this fic is gonna have multiple POVs, in order to give more perspectives. So have a POV shift! Oh, and a huge shout out to ChibiFoxAI for helping me out with this chapter. Get used to seeing her name from here on out, by the way, so read on, everyone!
UPDATE: Through the power of icongenerators, I have managed to make quite a few icons of Mako, so you guys have an idea of how she at least looks. Check my profile for the links to the icons.
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Red-Haired Shanks had hoped that the four-month-old in his care wouldn't have caused him any trouble, as he was still in the midst of sleeping away a massive hangover. Unfortunately, the baby decided now was a good time as any to cry and woke him up rather abruptly, to the point where he nearly sat up. Fortunately, he remembered that he had a baby laying on top of his chest, so he managed to stop himself before he sat up.
With his heart pounding within his chest, Shanks looked at the crying white-haired baby girl. He had no idea why she was crying. It was so sudden—and she sounded so terrified…this wasn't like her!
"What's wrong with Mako?!" Shanks wasn't that surprised to see Yasopp barge into the room not long after Mako had started crying. After all, Yasopp was a father—he had the most experience out of everyone in Shanks's crew with infants. He was also the one everyone depended on the most whenever Mako started crying. And, had it not been for Yasopp, Mako would have continued being nameless.
After all, no one had been prepared to find a pregnant stowaway on the ship, four months ago. They were especially not prepared when said stowaway suddenly went into labor, which was induced from the stress of being caught. Shanks and the others were only lucky that they were not that far off from land when they had found her. Otherwise, caring for the newborn baby would have been much more difficult than it already was—and that was with the access they had for the baby products she needed, as her mother had died shortly after giving birth.
Really, of all the luck they had…and now, Mako would never have a chance to know the woman who had risked everything to escape from the life she had left behind. Mako's mother was one incredible woman, living the last several months of her life on the run, while pregnant with Mako. It wasn't every day that Shanks came across a person who was capable of stowing away on Marine ships without getting caught. It really says a lot about the Marines when pirates are more capable than they are at discovering stowaways on their ship…
Shanks was not looking forward to the day Mako asked him about her mother. Of course, that was assuming she stuck around long enough with the Red Hair Pirates to ask—which, honestly, could happen. After all, Shanks was a man of his word and when he promised that woman he would keep her daughter safe, then he was going to do just that.
The problem with that, however, was that Shanks wasn't expecting Mako to be half-human, because, as it turned out, her father was a mako shark fishman. Now it wasn't that Shanks had anything against fishmen (the same went for his crew), it was more that he was concerned over how Mako was going to be treated around others.
For now, Shanks's main concern was getting Mako to stop crying. Her cries were not making his headache get any better…
"Maybe if you didn't drink so much…" Yasopp muttered as he tried his best to calm Mako.
"Just make her stop crying…" Shanks wasn't in the mood to deal with Yasopp's hypocrisy—he and the others were in no position to talk. Unlike them, at least Shanks had no regrets doing what he did last night—massive headache be damned.
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When Mako didn't stop crying three days later, Shanks was starting to grow concerned (and irritated because Mako now slept in his room). The only time Mako stopped crying was when she was being bottle-fed or passed out from exhaustion. It was really nerve-wracking and Shanks wondered if this was what fatherhood felt like it, because Yasopp seemed to be the only one on the ship that didn't feel like punching anyone who tried talking to them.
Mako used to be so well behaved…just what happened, is what Shanks couldn't figure out. Shanks honestly missed seeing her act like a little shit, laughing whenever something amusing happened. And yet, when Shanks didn't wake up to Mako's cries the next morning, he almost had a panic attack until he realized that Mako was back to her usual, laughing self. She certainly seemed amused to see the bags under his eyes…
"You're a little shit, you know that?" Shanks said as he held Mako up in front of himself. She just looked at him for a moment and laughed. Shanks doubted that she was even able to understand him, but nonetheless, he was glad she stopped crying…and for the first time in three days, Shanks smiled.
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When Yasopp found out that Mako was half-fishman, he was almost concerned that whatever knowledge he had on babies wouldn't apply to her. Fortunately, for everyone, Mako's development wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Aside from the tiny dorsal fin on her back and her skin coloration, Mako was like any other human baby. Though, that could change as she got older, but for now, Yasopp was just glad to have something that reminded him quite fondly of the child he left behind in Syrup Village.
"Usopp's only two years older than Mako." Yasopp could only wonder how Banchina and Usopp were getting along, without him, as he watched Shanks finally live up to the nickname that was given to him by the crew.
That nickname just so happened to be "Papa" and it was a nickname Shanks denounced. However, as Mako started to show more favoritism towards him, Shanks was having more and more difficulty denouncing the nickname when Yasopp was there to comment on his caretaking skills.
"You'd definitely make a great father!" Yasopp grinned as he patted Shanks on the back.
Shanks's silence was enough for Yasopp to know that the redhead was not amused with his comment.
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At five months old, Shanks wonders if something is wrong with Mako when the first thing he wakes up to is her repetitive babbling. Yasopp is quick to reassure Shanks that it was perfectly normal for Mako to do that. And yet, as the days went by, Shanks felt as though Mako was deliberately annoying him when he caught her watching his reactions to her constant babbling.
"I'm onto you, Mako," Shanks told Mako as she stared at him through the bars of the crib they had recently bought her. Thanks to her constant use of her newfound mobility, Mako had tipped over her bassinet when she was rolling around and almost fell onto the floor. Thankfully, Shanks had been around to catch Mako, though it became apparent that an upgrade from the bassinet was much needed.
Shanks couldn't help but snort at the thought of his crewmembers going shopping for a crib. He wondered what people thought whenever they saw the others buying baby products for Mako…
"Aha!" And there goes Mako, rolling around in her crib again…
"At least you won't be able to tip this over, huh, Mako?" Shanks grinned at Mako, who suddenly stopped rolling and started staring at him with those big pink eyes of hers. It was almost unnerving, but Shanks wasn't bothered. He just wanted to know what brought the sudden staring from her. "Mako?"
Mako blinked, almost as if she was responding to her name. This caused Shanks to blink back in response and soon, the two were just staring at each other. A few seconds passed and Mako suddenly blew a bubble, which prompted Shanks to laugh.
"Dahahahaha!" As much as Mako got on his nerves, Shanks couldn't help but find her amusing.
"Ahahaha!" And it seems as though Mako was attempting to mimic his laughter.
"You're adorable, you know that?" Shanks said as he picked up Mako.
Mako just laughed.
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Shanks thought it was rather adorable that Mako was starting to crawl…then she looked at him with those pink eyes of hers and suddenly shouted, "Papa!"
The top half of Shank's face turned blue from mortification as the rest of his crew suddenly barged into his room, as if to confirm if what they had heard was in fact Mako saying her first word. When Mako repeated the word again, all eyes were on Shanks as he tried to explain himself (and denounce whatever came out of Mako's mouth). However, all that came out of Shanks's mouth was an incoherent string of words.
"Papa!" By now, Shanks had given up completely, because it seemed as though Mako wasn't going to change her mind. To her, he was now her father.
"Just so you know…I'm blaming you guys." Because Shanks knew for a fact, that Mako did not learn the word "papa" from him, but from his crew. She was more observant than she appeared…
"Whatever you say…Papa…" Even Beckman seemed to be in a somewhat humorous mood as he handed baby Mako over to Shanks.
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By the time Mako had turned seven months old, Shanks had grown used to being called, "Papa." He had also grown used to being pelted with pureed food that Mako didn't like, which always turned out to be vegetables (she at least liked fruit, so she was eating something). She was more interested in the food on his plate, but Shanks knew better than to let her try eating some of his food.
"At least wait until you have some teeth!" Shanks said before getting a handful of pureed carrot thrown in his face.
Splat!
"Ahahaha!" Mako certainly seemed to be enjoying herself…
At least she avoided aiming at his straw hat…she always did, now that Shanks thought about it. Not that he was complaining—Shanks really appreciated that Mako never threw any of her food at his hat. He also appreciated that Mako's food throwing was a phase, as she eventually grew bored of it after a few more days of repeating the same action. That still didn't mean she liked the food she was eating, based on the face she was making, but Shanks was just happy she was eating.
He was also happy his crew gave him privacy whenever he fed Mako…
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Shanks never once considered the fact Mako could crawl was something he should worry about…until the day she nearly crawled off the ship when they were at a port. Shanks was only glad that everyone else was currently drinking to their hearts' content at a nearby tavern, otherwise, Yasopp would have teared him a new one.
Mako seemed about ready to cry, somewhat shaken up by the fall she almost had…but then she noticed how Shanks was reacting and started laughing. All that Shanks could even do was just sigh and smile. Surely, Mako wouldn't get any worse than this by the time she turned nine-months-old…
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He was wrong.
So very, very wrong…
If Shanks thought Mako was troublesome enough at eight months, her crawling having improved immensely since she was six months old, then he certainly had no idea what to think of a nine-month-old Mako, who had taken her crawling skills to the next level. She was moving at a pace faster than Shanks was comfortable with—especially since he had a tendency to lose her. Not that he was going to admit that, of course, as he didn't need Yasopp getting on his case for it.
Keeping Mako away from the ale became a part of Shanks's caretaking routine. And things only got worse when Mako turned ten-months-old, because she started teething. The crying—it didn't want to stop. And Mako—she just kept biting on everything.
Once when Shanks wasn't paying attention, Mako ended up biting his leg with the surprisingly sharp teeth that were erupting rather painfully from her gums. She was probably still mad at him for pulling her away from the leg of a table she had been chewing on. Teeth marks were showing up everywhere on the ship at a startling rate, with indents becoming deeper and deeper with each passing day.
It didn't take a genius to figure out that Mako's fishman origins were to blame for this. Anything that Yasopp knew about babies was obsolete, as he, like the others, was not prepared for this development in Mako. They were only lucky the crying lasted for only a week…but the biting continued. And anyone who managed to piss off Mako got bitten, as Shanks had learned quite quickly.
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It was close to Mako's first birthday that the Red Hair Pirates received a surprise visitor in the form of Dracule Mihawk. Now Shanks wasn't that surprised to see the serious-faced swordsman. In fact, he was actually wondering why it took Mihawk this long to arrive—they were overdue for a duel, anyways. Though, Shanks wasn't exactly in any current state for a duel at the moment, as he had an eleven-month-old baby to find—of course, no one needed to know that.
Especially not Yasopp—oh, most definitely not, Shanks was a good father!
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Shanks needed a moment to think when he realized he had referred to himself as a father. It seemed as though the words of his crew and Mako were finally having an effect on him. With that in mind and an approaching Mihawk whose footsteps were drawing nearer and nearer with each steps, Shanks decided to play innocent in hopes that no one else notices that he had no idea where the hell Mako was.
"Hawk-Eyes—what brings you to the West Blue?" Stalling for time with a casual conversation—a classic!
Mihawk stared at Shanks, who just smiled. "You know very well why I am here."
"Right!" Shanks laughed nervously. "Before that, how about we take the time to catch up? I mean, it's been ages, Hawk-Eyes!"
Technically, it's been more than a year, but Shanks wasn't going into specifics. He just wanted Mihawk to take the bait and sit down with him for a drink. The more time that passed, the higher the chances were that Mako would pop up—she usually did whenever she wanted something from Shanks. Knowing how much closer it was to her usual lunchtime, she was bound to show up soon.
All Shanks had to do was kill some time until then. Hopefully, Mihawk was in a mood to socialize.
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Fortunately, Mihawk was. Having set his sword down against the wall, Mihawk sat down in the chair on the other side opposite to where Shanks now sat. One drink turned into three, and soon, the others were joining in as lunch was served, but Mako had yet to pop out.
"Where are you, you little shit?" Shanks kept a close eye for any signs for the teething little terror while everyone else was eating.
"Is something the matter?" Mihawk was observant as always.
Shanks forced a smile as he tried to avoid catching Yasopp's attention. "Not really—hey, so how was your trip to the West Blue?"
"Uneventful." A man of a few words, that Mihawk was—not exactly what Shanks was hoping for, but at least he was talking.
Shanks was about ready to try and pry some information from Mihawk when he noticed a very familiar baby girl crawling towards Mihawk's sword. Now Shanks knew how Mihawk felt about his sword and to see an eleven-month-old baby crawling towards it, with no hesitance whatsoever…it wasn't that shocking for Shanks to suddenly yell, "STOP!"
Soon, all eyes were on him and Shanks found himself being stared at Mihawk, who had this look on his face that said, "What is wrong with you?"
Laughing nervously, Shanks forced a smile and quickly added, "You gotta tell us more than just that!"
Mihawk just continued to stare and Mako seemed to have ignored Shanks as she placed a chubby little hand on the swordsman's sword. Alarms were blaring within Shanks's head by now.
"You can't just STOP by without telling us how you got here." Shanks hoped that Mako got the message—she didn't and Mihawk was most definitely questioning him right now. "GO…on—c'mon!"
Mihawk stared at Shanks for a few more seconds before shifting his yellow eyes onto the mug of ale he was drinking, almost as if he was wondering if something was in the ale they were drinking.
The rest of the Red Hair Pirates wondered that too…and then they noticed Mako had toppled over Mihawk's sword. By now, everyone was staring wide-eyed and agape at Mako, who didn't seem to have a care in the world as she looked over Mihawk's sword. Mihawk almost turned around, but everyone was quick to yell, "DON'T!"
Mihawk blinked at this. "Pardon?"
"How about another drink?" Lucky Roo was quick to suggest.
When it became apparent that Mihawk's mug was still somewhat full, Shanks grabbed it and threw the contents out, inwardly mourning the loss of good ale (he would have drunken it, but he still wasn't allowed to drink) before pouring Mihawk another drink. At this point in time, Mihawk knew there was something up with the Red Hair Pirates and their captain. And when a look of horror suddenly crossed their faces, Mihawk finally turned around and saw what appeared to be a white-haired baby girl, with a rather strange skin coloration, chewing on the hilt of his sword.
"Mako!" Shanks finally got out of his seat and ran up to go fetch Mako, who continued to chew on Mihawk's sword.
By the time Mihawk was given back his sword, there were teeth marks on the hilt. Shanks was almost worried that Mihawk was pissed off—the fact that the swordsman rarely ever showed his emotions was what scared Shanks the most. Because no one could ever tell what was on Mihawk's mind.
Mihawk continued to stare at Shanks, who was currently getting his hand bitten by Mako (did her teeth get sharper, or was it just him?). Seconds passed, which soon turned to minutes, and Mihawk stayed silent, his stare still fixated on Shanks and Mako. After a total of five minutes, Mihawk finally spoke.
"You…procreated?" The words that came out of Mihawk's mouth completely mortified Shanks.
Mako did not help at all when she suddenly exclaimed, "Papa!"
"You stop that—right now!" Shanks pointed a finger at Mako, only to have it bitten by her. She seemed to be in a better mood, because she was mostly nibbling on it. It was uncomfortable, but not painful as it could have been.
Things only got worse when Mihawk started to laugh—yes, he laughed. "Wahahahahaha!"
Shanks almost thought it was the end of the world, because Mihawk rarely ever laughed. Even Mako seemed to understand that, based on her terrified expression—she must have finally realized the consequences of her actions when it came to chewing on Mihawk's sword.
"I can explain, Hawk-Eyes!" was all Shanks could even say.
And upon hearing that, Mihawk stopped laughing. "I assumed you would."
"Hawk!" Mako suddenly exclaimed as she pointed at Mihawk.
Shanks blinked a few times before snorting and bursting into a fit of laughter. "Dahahahaha!"
"Ahahaha!" Mako laughed.
Mihawk just stared at the two while the rest of the Red Hair Pirates decided to take their leave.
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"A stowaway?" Mihawk repeated.
"Yeah." Shanks let out a puff of air as he recalled the memories he wished he didn't have. Meanwhile with Mako, she was currently stealing the food off his plate, taking a particular interest in his fish.
"How long ago was this?" Mihawk asked.
"Well, Mako's turning one soon…so it's been year," Shanks explained. "To think that her mother was able to stowaway on Marine ships without getting caught—that woman sure had guts."
Crunch. Munch.
"Mako—don't eat the bones!" Shanks stared agape at Mako as she suddenly swallowed the food in her mouth, almost in defiance. "You little—ugh…It must be nice doing whatever you want to do, huh?"
"Buh…" Mako just said before pushing Shanks's empty plate towards him, almost as if she was asking for more food.
Mihawk arched a brow at this. "Quite the handful, isn't she?"
"You should have seen her last month…" Those days without sleep because she wouldn't stop crying…Shanks was glad they were over. "This is nothing—Mako, that's his food."
"She can have it," Mihawk said as he pushed his plate towards Mako, who immediately snatched it up and started eating. "So tell me about her mother—you seem to be leaving some things out."
Shanks had been hoping Mihawk wouldn't noticed—he should have known better. "Some things are better left unsaid, but…I might as well tell you."
It seemed only fair for Mihawk to know about the ordeals Mako's mother experienced prior to ending up on the Red Hair Pirates' ship.
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By the time Shanks was done talking, Mihawk looked disgusted…and Mako was fast asleep on the table, blissfully unaware of what had been said. Shanks honestly wouldn't have it any other way. Mako was better off not knowing what happened…at least, that's how Shanks felt.
"They're treated like livestock—she said they were planning on selling Mako when she was born!" Shanks still couldn't believe that. Considering how Mako has been acting as of lately—she wouldn't have survived the lifestyle her mother had.
Mihawk stared at Shanks for a full minute before saying, "You really do care for her."
Shanks blinked a few times before focusing his attention on Mako as she continued to sleep peacefully. "Yeah, I guess I do…"
As much of a little shit she has been, Mako really grew on Shanks…not that he was going to outright admit it. He had enough teasing from his crewmates. Then again, from the way he had been acting around Mako as of lately, nothing had to be said.
"I'm just digging myself a deeper grave…" Shanks sighed as he picked up Mako off the table. "Can you give me a minute, Hawk-Eyes?"
Mihawk nodded his head. "Proceed."
It was shortly after Shanks had put Mako back into her crib that he and Mihawk finally had their duel. Of course, that was a story for another day that Shanks most likely would tell Mako as soon as she could actually understand him.
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Come Mako's first birthday, everyone, other than Shanks, made the birthday girl a cake. It wasn't the best-looking cake they had ever made, but Mako seemed to be enjoying it. Of course, when Shanks got too close to Mako, he ended up getting cake stuffed into his mouth.
"Ahahaha!" And there went Mako, laughing as usual, as she clapped her hands ecstatically.
Shanks stared at Mako for a good minute while the rest of his crew started laughing as well. After swallowing the cake in his mouth, he grabbed a handful of cake and stuffed it into Mako's mouth—payback, of sorts. Though, he instantly regretted it once he remembered that Mako had sharp teeth that were most likely going to sink into the palm of his hand. And yet, when the pain didn't come, Shanks was confused. Mako was a vindictive little shit when she wanted to be…and she was letting him off the hook.
"Mako?" Shanks looked questioningly at Mako.
Mako chewed a few times before swallowing hard. She then smiled, showing off incomplete rows of sharp, triangular-shaped teeth that fitted together perfectly like puzzle pieces. Without any warning, she suddenly said, "Love you!"
Shanks blinked a few times, feeling his face heat up as all eyes focused on him. He never expected this and yet…he wasn't bothered by it. Honestly, he was touched.
"Are you crying?"
"Not a word of this leaves this room, otherwise I'm marooning you on an island, Beckman."
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A/N And that was year one of growing up Mako—and yes, her name is Mako! Oh, and just a heads up, that part where Mako has a moment with Shanks where she just stares at him before blowing a bubble—that was the first time she realized that that was her name.
If anyone's wondering about Mako's skin coloration, just look up a shortfin mako shark, take its coloration and apply it to Mako—basically, a metallic blue back with a white front, with the colors connecting in the face area (upper half of face is blue while the bottom is white).
UPDATE: Through the power of icongenerators, I have managed to make quite a few icons of Mako, so you guys have an idea of how she at least looks. Check my profile for the links to the icons.
And for the anonymous reviewer worried that Arlong was Mako's father—he isn't, rest-assured. They're in the West Blue, anyways, so I doubt Arlong would be anywhere in that region. So yeah, Mako is half-fishman and you have Dellinger to blame for this, otherwise, Mako would have never come to be. You win this round, Donquixote Pirates! DX
So yeah…you see the summary of this fic? Mako wasn't kidding when she said she's been lucky so far. And really, she has been lucky, compared to the life she would have had, had it not been for her mother. I won't go delve into it just yet, but I will leave snippets in for you guys to figure it out. I like it when readers speculate. :3
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this, by the way—especially if you took the time to review! ^^ I always appreciate it, so thank you guys! Thank you so much!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because I sure did! So until next time, everyone! KD out! XD