Missing

Characters: OC. Rating: K+. Warnings: OC PoV

She had watched over them since their parents had died, seven years ago, in a pirate raid caused by the Pirate King's execution and the resulting Great Age of Pirates. They were troublesome children, angry at the world and eager to show it as they fought anyone and everyone that provoked them. She came to love them and see them as her own children regardless, patching their wounds after yet another fight and listening to them brag about their victories. They won more than they lost, a small mercy despite her wishing they wouldn't fight at all.

By the time her two ice storms hit their teens, their losses had dwindled until she never heard of one. While she had hoped that meant they would stop trying to fight everything that came their way, it was a hope in vain. The boys had grown more and more arrogant, and she began to fear for their future.

Her fears grew to fruition, one day when the boys were fourteen and fifteen, respectively. They came back one night, the older supporting the younger, both limping and so banged up she felt her heart stutter for a moment.

"What happened to you?" she demanded, all but running to them, medical supplies in hand, as the older helped the younger collapse onto the couch before slumping alongside him.

That they didn't protest when she stripped them of their hats before treating their wounds startled and concerned her. They had long since decided that they didn't need 'mothering' and wrapped their own injuries when they got them. There was a far off look in the elder's eyes, and when she removed the younger's shades she realised he had the same look. Fearing concussions, she treated the bruises on their heads first, desperately trying to coax reactions. To her relief, they gave her satisfactory ones, although she continued to keep an eye on them as she treated the rest of their numerous wounds. Once done, she heated some broth and pressed the warm bowls into their hands. They ate obediently before stumbling off to their bedroom.

When they didn't emerge for breakfast the next morning, she hurried to their room, knocking gently at the door. When there was no response, her heart quickened as she rapped again, harder, panicking that she'd been wrong to leave them alone – maybe they had had concussion after all. With still no answer, she called out a warning before pushing the door open.

They weren't there. She ran to the front door to find their boots and hats were also missing. Worried – it would be just like them to go and challenge whoever beat them the day before, and she'd heard that Marines were pursuing a dangerous pirate crew in the area – she slipped her own boots and coat on and went searching.

A fresh layer of snow had fallen since their departure, the virgin snow concealing all traces of their footprints. Unable to pick up the trail, she began to ask around. No-one had seen them. There were some mutterings of some kid with a spotted hat, and warnings about a young polar bear, but nothing about her own charges. Soon she had half the village helping her look, despite the boys' violent reputation, while the other half were all on look out.

They never found them.

Thirteen years later, there was a frantic knocking on her door. It was one of the boys – now a man with a wife and child of his own – that had often got into scraps with her two (always to his defeat). He was clutching a newspaper in his hand.

"Look!" he exclaimed, thrusting it at her. Two bounty posters fluttered down onto the threshold, face down, and she absently knelt to pick them up as she looked at the newspaper. The headline declared that the Straw Hat and Heart Pirates had taken down the Yonkou Kaido. She'd heard of both crews, but failed to understand the urgency of the story. While the defeat of a Yonkou was news, in their small island in North Blue it would barely affect them.

Then she saw the accompanying picture and froze. It was a battle scene, the two infamous captains Strawhat Luffy and Trafalgar Law taking the majority of the focus with their crews in the background. One wore a very familiar hat, only a different colour bobble any change at all. By him, back to back, was another man and while the hat was different, the hair and shades were heart-achingly familiar.

Then she remembered the two posters in her hand and hesitantly looked down, turning them over before collapsing to her knees, her body wracked with sobs.

Heart Pirate Penguin: 175 million beris

Heart Pirate Shachi: 175 million beris

"They're alive!" she sniffled, clutching the posters to her chest in relief. The man in front of her gave his own watery smile.

"They're alive."

Okay so maybe I should have put the characters as Penguin and Shachi but I didn't want to make it blatant (not that it probably wasn't anyway). This is almost entirely shameless headcanon regarding their past, because aside from that one teasing SBS we know nothing and Oda doesn't seem to plan to tell us any more any time soon. So here's the headcanon/theory I came up with. I don't want to make this A/N too long, but I'm happy to elaborate if I'm asked (either in a reply or in a later drabble). As for their bounties, at Saboady they don't have any (the 'thirteen bounty heads' are the Straw Hats, Kid, Killer, Law and Bepo), but I refuse to believe that they won't have one after this arc. The number is pretty random.

Thanks for reading!
Tsari