Why won't the chapter title register the period?! It stays on 55 instead of 5.5!

Edit: Great. Now that looks weird. Better than 55 though.

Ah, finally got my boxes to my room, it's a nightmare when you have 10 boxes at the mail room across town and you don't have a car. Or friends (with cars).

I hope this placement doesn't confuse people but I thought it'd be the most logical. I'll put a note about it at the beginning of chapter 9 just to be safe, though.

For new people confused by this note, this chapter was submitted after chapter 9.

So… this was a scene I cut from chapter 5 because I had that section written from the villagers' POV and I didn't want to break it. I wrote the whole scene out anyway, figuring I'd post it as an extra later on. It's largely inspired by Miss Mungoe's last chapter of Heed the Siren's Call. It's great, go read it!

Deleted Scene Chapter 5.5

But there was trouble brewing on the Grand Line and Red-Hair had responsibilities out. there too. News like a new Emperor and a renewed crowd of blood thirsty pirates in circulation.

He and Makino were often caught arguing in hushed voices, the more her stomach grew. To the crew's knowledge, he never won once. From the little they heard it seemed like he wanted her to leave with him when he left, but she was consistently adamant about staying for some reason.

He stayed for the birth, and came up with increasingly feeble excuses to prolong their stay. His crew never objected though, ever since Makino gave the news they half-expected him to announce his retirement, so it was Makino herself that dragged him by the ear to their ship one day and threw him at Beckman, infant still firmly held in her other arm.

"Take this fool and ship off, tie him to the mast if you have to."

Beckman smiled and hooked one arm under his captain's to keep him from falling completely. "Yes, ma'am."

"Benn! You'd rather listen to Makino than me?!" Shanks exclaimed in a scandalized tone.

The first mate stared down at him blankly, but just tightened his hold on him and looked back to Makino. "I'll keep an eye on him." He promised.

"Please do." She replied.

Shanks groaned dramatically and suddently went limp, dragging Beckman down a bit.

"Shit-! Captain! How old are you?!" He gritted around his cigarette in irritation, still keeping his hold on his arm.

"Does it matter?! You all don't listen to me anyway." He muttered against the dock boards. Beckman just covered his face with his free hand and sighed.

Makino then knelt down towards the captain and fixed him with a flat look until he met her eyes.

"I don't wanna go." He whined plaintively at her. "Don't make me go."

This was too much for her and she burst out in laughter. And laughed. And laughed. She continued for so long that the crew came around to see what was happening with curious looks. Beckman had let go of his captain and took the infant from his mother, Shanks sat up to look at her with a mix of surprise and annoyance. But he waited. Finally she laughed, and cried, herself out and sat beside him, wiping her face with the captain's overcoat sleeve.

"Are you done?"

"Oh, my dear." She stared at him with watery eyes. "I'll miss you. But you have to go."

"I don't have to do anything!" He frowned. "What's the point of being a pirate if I can't do what I like, when I like?"

She sighed. "But you aren't just any pirate, Captain. You've built yourself into a balance that's about to be broken. You can't neglect in any longer or the seas will fall into further chaos." Shanks just pouted but she continued. "And it will only be a matter of time before it reaches here."

That got his attention and his eyes widened. "All the more reason for you-"

But she just shook her head. "I'm not meant for a life on the seas. I need to stay here and wait for my boys to come home. I'd just be a distraction out there."

"I'm strong enough to protect you. Both of you."

"Then you're strong enough to let us go."

The waves lapping against the dock was the only sound now.

Shanks lowered his head.

Makino, Beckman, and the watching crew waited.

After a few moments of thought he looked up at the town. It had sheltered them for over a year. Had it really been that long? He realized.

He looked behind him, out to sea, then back at the town. He could feel the tightness of it. The restrictiveness. He remembered the claustrophobic feeling he would get when they docked on an island for too long. The itching need to return to the wide expanse of the sea. But, oddly, that hadn't ever happened here. Had he realized that the first time they came here? Well, that stay had been much longer too but he had just attributed it to a need for vacation and an interesting brat with a little temper. He looked at Makino.

Perhaps there was more to it, even then.

He took her hand and pressed it to his lips. "As long as you two are safe, anywhere you are is home to me." He murmured against her skin.

And, when he looked up, he was rewarded with Makino's blushing face.

I hope you liked it!

In my mind Shanks is one of those characters that can go from extremely childish to serious in a heartbeat. Much like Luffy.