Gun

Characters: Heart Pirates. Rating: K+. Warnings: None.

The Polar Tang had to be the only pirate ship in existence that didn't boast a single cannon. Of course, a large reason for that was that it spent most of its time submerged, and gunpowder and water mixed about as well as a devil fruit user and water. That is to say, water made it totally useless.

That didn't mean that the crew themselves couldn't use guns, of course. Being kept nice and safe and dry within the metal shell meant that guns were as viable a weapon for the Heart Pirates as they were for any other pirate crew. And yet, for the longest time not a single member owned so much as a single pistol. Odd, especially in a cutthroat world where any and all weapons could and should be taken advantage of to keep themselves alive.

Guns were banned in the Heart Pirate crew.

It was a rule as old as time. Most members didn't even know the reason why; all they knew was that not a single one of them used a gun, and those who looked as if they might be invited to join the crew based on their aptitude were never offered the flag if their main weapon was a gun (Jean Bart had managed to make himself an exception, but on captain's orders the gun stayed locked away unless its use was justifiably required; Zou had been one such case). It had become a way of life to them, although none of them could say they missed gunpowder. It stank, was a nuisance to look after, and was far too volatile.

Guns meant marines, or an enemy crew. It didn't escape the crew's notice that when their captain made the call to propose an alliance, he did it with a crew that used minimal gunpowder – barring the cannons on the ship itself, one of which was cola powered, of all things, only the cyborg used anything remotely resembling guns and that was a dubious connection at best.

There was no reassurance to be gained from the gleaming muzzle of a gun.

What was never stated, although in time the crew came to suspect, was that guns were banned because the captain hated them. The why was something that only speculation could tell, and speculation on a nakama's secrets (that is, anything not explicitly revealed) was heavily frowned upon and severely punished.

What less people came to consider was that Law was not the only member of their crew with a sincere hatred of the weapons. Few noticed the glare Penguin or Shachi reserved specially for someone with a gun in their hands (the hats and shades probably helped), particularly other pirate crews. Bepo's flinches at the sound of a shot had tamed over the years until his own trauma faded away to nothing.

When the Heart Pirates had formed, thirteen years ago, it had been comprised of four children, all traumatised in their own way by a gun. The young captain, first hounded by guns when his home burnt and later shattered by the death of his surrogate guardian by the same weapon; the fighters, who bore scars of the bullets they survived, but their parents did not; the navigator, hunted in a case of mistaken identity.

Now adults, leading a crew into the heart of the New World, they had begrudgingly learnt that there were times when a gun was the only way out, a responsibility taken up by their newest crewmate, who was most familiar with the things and least set in the Heart Pirates' original views.

Still, the sound of a gun could never bring them comfort.

I realised recently that only Jean Bart has ever been seen with a gun in the crew. Coupled with Law's past trauma (and his comment about lead bullets in Dressrosa), and my headcanon past for Penguin and Shachi, I figured it's (currently) realistic to assume there's a reason behind it.

Thanks for reading!
Tsari