Shanks

"That is not a coincidence, Ben." Shanks waited until the woman was far enough away before speaking. His haki sparked almost visibly through the air.

"I doubt any other CP agents would defect like he did," his first mate agreed. "But that doesn't mean it didn't happen with someone else."

Shanks caught a flash of white and saw the woman disappear behind a building; just behind the houses, a large white and brown building loomed. Probably the barn. Turning back to Ben, he shook his head. "This is the second village that was attacked, and while that was odd, it doesn't mean it was connected to the first report." But his voice fell flat. An ex-CP agent, and one of his islands? It was too much of a coincidence.

Ben said nothing, but Shanks could tell he thought it was too.

"Get the crew set up for the night. I'll check on Hongo." He also wanted to speak to that woman again, make sure there was nothing else she heard. He somehow doubted it, but this was bothering him too much now.

Stepping past the houses, he looked around to see the path was longer than he thought. It wound around large painted stones; the designs were crude but cute. Smiling to himself, he made his way slowly towards the expansive building up ahead.

He noted the fields, and the few remaining livestock that were scattered from the mountain meadow to the beach, as well as broken fences and trampled crops. Whoever the attackers were, they had done a lot of damage. But still…nothing appeared to be taken. Strange. And infuriating. As he approached the barn, he spotted a corral for horses, and a mule was racing around inside, dodging someone trying to catch it. A few sheep crossed his path but quickly shambled out of the way.

The barn was not as packed as he would've expected. As he stepped inside, he noticed maybe two dozen people. Kids yelled as they raced around, and he stopped short as two crossed in front of him just inside the door. At least they didn't seem injured. Most of the villagers were talking in hushed voices, sitting on or around large piles of hay and freshly cut grass. In a few stalls near the end of the barn, he noticed a horse and her colt, as well as a black and white cow.

It took him a few minutes to spot Hongo, however. He was sitting on the ground, talking to a man that must've been the villages healer. His arm was crudely splinted, but Shanks recognized the tight binding as fresh.

"Did you need something, captain?" Footsteps sounded to the left and he turned to see the woman from before approaching. Still clutching her staff, she had loosely bound her hair back and the cut on her forehead had been wiped clean.

"I just wanted to check on the villagers, and asked if you had heard anything else." He led her over to the edge of the barn, away from people. "And apologize for earlier. I noticed you were affected by my haki and wanted you to know that was not on purpose." No, not on purpose. Just him not wanting to think about what she had said and what it could mean and not paying attention.

Visibly relaxing, she sat down on a bale of hay. "It's alright. I'm sure if it had been on purpose, you would've done it far sooner." She gave a short, nervous laugh and smoothed down her shirt, which was already covered in hay dust. "But that's all I heard. Two guys were talking near stall where I was trying to hide, and when I heard they say they were getting paid to not steal anything, I just found it odd. But just after they mentioned CP, they saw me and I had to defend myself."

Shanks glanced at the cut on her forehead and sat down next to her. "For pirates who were foolish enough to attack one of my territories, they would have to be pretty strong. Escaping with only a small cut is impressive."

She shrugged. "I grew up with five older brothers in the village inland. Between them and growing up on a mountainside, I had to be strong and able to handle myself. Besides, they weren't that strong." When he raised his eyebrow at her, she shrugged. "They were paid goons, nothing like your crew. And they were acting nervous."

Shanks couldn't help but laugh. Of course they were, and they should've been. "We're staying here tonight, but leaving tomorrow. I doubt they'll come back, but the villagers will be safe while we're here." And since they probably didn't find whatever they were looking for here, they may not attack here again, he thought.

"Delro will be pleased to hear that." She glanced over at the large man speaking to Hongo currently. She suddenly turned back, and smiled. "I can't believe I forgot to introduce myself. Kiyozara, but everyone calls me Kiyo."

"I'm glad you were able to give us some information, Kiyo." Shanks admired her attitude. Despite being near him, and after she had been affected by his haki, she didn't seem afraid like most people would have been.

"Boss, I'll be staying with the villagers tonight." He turned as Hongo appeared. "I heard you tell Kiyo about staying until tomorrow, and I want to make sure their healer can handle them."

Shanks stood and glanced around. "That's a good idea. It doesn't like they were hurt too bad, but I saw his arm. Come back to the ship in the morning. We'll leave after noon."

"I'll come help keep the kids busy." Kiyo said, standing. "My head doesn't hurt, and you won't be able to handle anyone with them running underfoot." Giving Shanks a smile, she walked off as Hongo returned to the healer.

Shaking his head, Shanks headed back towards the village. It really had been impressive, he reflected, that she stood up against attacking pirates stupid enough to attack here.

Hurrying back down the path, he barely gave any attention to the animals crossing it or the painted stones. Joining the rest of the crew on the beach, the tension thickened as he approached. Yassop stepped forward. "Ben told us what the woman said. Boss, are you sure they weren't talking about—"

"No. I don't know." Shanks cut him off. "But we need to let the other ships under our flag know the other islands could be targeted."

Limejuice exchanged a look with Gap. "Do you think they would?"

"Yes." Shanks wasn't entirely sure why he was so sure, but he had a feeling they would. "They've already attacked this island twice now. It stands to reason they'll try again here or another one other nearby." If they attacked here once, that would've been bad enough. But two coastal villages on the same island? That was odd.

"But who's stupid enough to attack a Yonko's territories?" One of the newer members called out, echoing his recent thoughts.

"Someone with a death wish." Yassop muttered.

The crew chuckled and Shanks tried not to grin. "We're staying here until tomorrow, and we'll leave at noon. They have injured and their healer isn't fit enough to treat them right now." The crew scattered around the beach as he waved a dismissal.

Yassop stayed, as well as did the rest of the senior officers. "You don't think CP is trying to find him, do you?"

Shanks glanced at the ship, then sighed. "No. Osa's Wanted poster stopped circulating a year after… after he died. I'm sure they know what happened to him, even if they don't know exactly when." It would've been hard to avoid or miss the angry clouded leopard-man that protected the crew so aggressively when they encountered an enemy, so with him gone, it should've been obvious.

"Boss, you don't think it has anything to do with the box he had, do you?" Ben's unexpected question caught him by surprise, yet he appeared unaffected by Shanks' glare. "I'm just asking. We don't know what he had in it. Only that he disappeared for a few days in Sabaody, comes back almost half dead, then stays at Shakky's for days before he arrived at the ship carrying it and acting nervous."

Shanks didn't want to think about that. It wasn't his injuries that had worried Shanks, but the paranoid he had until they arrived at Fishman Island. And how for two weeks, he hadn't even let Shanks speak to him. It hadn't been until Rayleigh showed up that Osa would even talk to anyone.

Shanks gave a mental snort at the fact that his former captain's crewmate had been the one to get Osa to listen to anyone. And Rayleigh never explained how he did, either.

"I don't know, since I never opened it," he finally stated.

Limejuice raised an eyebrow. "Why not? After he was gone, you could have." The crew had always been respectful of a dead person's belongings, but Shanks knew he had a point. And it wasn't like Osa was a stranger, though the crew, aside from Ben and Hongo, had no idea of their actual relationship before his death.

He shook his head. "No. He told me to never open it. I have no idea what his intentions were with it, but he explained nothing except to keep it hidden." He had been terrified when he asked Shanks to hide it, enough to risk staying with for one night despite the crew being aboard.

Ignoring their skeptical looks, he gazed at the rest of the crew along the beach. "We need to tell the other crews about this now. Before there's a chance of another attack, even if it never comes. While they didn't hurt anyone unnecessarily, this wasn't a normal raid."

"What about the black flag though?" Roux asked.

Shanks glanced at his ship's flag, lazily waving at the top of the mast. "That's why I'm worried they'll be another attack on our islands. Whoever they were, they didn't want us tracking them."

And if it were Kaido or Big Mom, which he doubted, they knew it would start a war between two or even three of the Yonko's. And he didn't even want to consider it might be Blackbeard, but Shanks knew this wasn't his style. But a black flag? Whoever was behind this had to be powerful.

Shanks couldn't help but feel a pang of unease. Someone powerful enough to antagonize a Yonko…that was not a pleasant thought.

Kiyo

The pirates were chatting easily amongst themselves and didn't notice Kiyo walking up to Shanks until she was right in front of him, staff in hand, and a bag over her shoulder.

Gripping her staff tightly, she looked at him. She was a little surprised to see him look so bothered. Of course he is, because someone was foolish enough to attack one of his islands, she reminded herself. But that didn't explain the almost haunted look in his eyes as he turned to her.

"Coming to see us off?" Although his voice sounded friendly, Kiyo sensed that something was seriously amiss, beyond her initial expectations. He looked curious, but even that couldn't hide what she had seen a moment ago.

"I want to come with you." The pirates stopped and a hush fell over the beach. There was an undercurrent of both amusement and curiosity, but she ignored it. She just kept her eyes on Shanks.

Ben, his rifle on his shoulder, shook his head. "While it's the boss's decision, we don't take any passengers." He had another cigarette and she briefly wondered if he always smoked.

Shanks cocked his head at her. "Why would you want to come with us?"

"Pirates attacked my home, one of your islands, and I don't want to sit here waiting to find out if they want to come back or not," she stated. "There's no telling if you would ever stop here again and I know some villagers are worried about them attacking again." She had spent all night thinking about this after hearing him say he was leaving him today, then talked with Delro.

Shanks exchanged a look with Ben, who shrugged, and gave her a small smirk. "You realize you may never come back here, right?" Humoring her, but she could see he was seriously considering it.

The thought hadn't crossed her mind, but she knew how to call the transponder snail of the center village at least. "I'm fine with that, if it means getting answers."

Shanks, as well as most of the crew nearby, started laughing. Finally he shook his head, though he was grinning. "Alright. But if you come with us, you'll have to work with the crew."

Kiyo shrugged. "Fine with me."

Shanks motioned to one man, who wore a hat with a skull on it. "Limejuice here will show you aboard while we wait for Hongo." He turned back to Ben as the other man stepped up to her.

Kiyo followed him up the gangplank, but paused on deck briefly to glance around, before catching up with him at a doorway leading under the quarterdeck. The ship looked bigger once aboard, but she wouldn't let this daunt her.

"You'll stay in the crew's quarters, but no one will bother you," he told her, pointing at a doorway just to the right. "I'm giving you a heads up now though, this won't be a pleasant experience."

"Neither is defending a herd of sheep from wolves at night," she retorted. She glanced down the stairs.

He snorted and she looked to see him smirking. "Wolves aren't like pirates though. And whoever we'll be chasing won't hesitate to fight back once we catch them."

"Then teach me to fight." She tapped her staff against the wall. "If they're worse than wolves, then show me how to fight people."

Limejuice shook his head with a laugh. "I can see why the Boss didn't say no to you coming aboard. But sure. Starting tomorrow, I can teach you how to use that better than just whacking a few overgrown dogs." She followed him as he pointed out the head, the mess where the crew ate, and the storage room where all their extra supplies were. The surgeon's deck, a room to the left of the captain's cabin, was closed. And Shanks' cabin door was shut tight.

Despite appearing interested, she gripped her staff tight while she followed him. What was she getting herself into? Yes, these men were the crew of a Yonko, and one dealing with depression, she thought, but even they seemed unnerved by all this.

She jerked herself back to attention when Limejuice said, "No one would blame you if you left the ship right now, you know." The sun was high now, the sky bright; she hadn't noticed they were back outside.

Kiyo raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm serious." He met her gaze easily. "I can tell what you're thinking. Whoever attacked is more dangerous than we expected, from what little we now know. And until we know exactly who we're dealing with, we have no idea how bad this might get."

"I understand that," she said coolly. "But I was serious about wanting to find the answers myself. I don't know pirates that well overall, just a few big names, but enough to know what they did was strange." Kaido, Big Mom, Trafalgar Law, Captain Kidd, Monkey D. Luffy. Names that had been appearing more often in the last few years.

He watched her silently.

"When I heard they were paid not to steal, I knew these weren't normal pirates." She glanced up at the flag. "I know the Red-Haired pirates don't do that, not in villages at least, but they weren't part of this fleet."

Limejuice glanced over as some of the crew began boarding. "You have a point. They weren't us, and they weren't part of the fleets of the other three Yonko's. But that makes them worse." He looked out over the waves. "And that's why no one would blame you for leaving. You aren't a pirate, and we're finding something that may be just as bad or worse than us?"

Kiyo saw Shanks stop several feet away, watching them.

"If you really want to get answers, then no one will stop you from coming with us since Boss agreed. I just want to make sure you understand before it's too late for you to go back." Limejuice leaned against the mast as some of the crew stopped and watched them. He wasn't patronizing her, but she could tell he was hiding how much this all was bugging them.

Kiyo glanced around but shook her head. "I don't care how bad they are. I want to make sure my home is safe. And if it means facing something that even a Yonko isn't sure of, then that's fine with me." Shanks smirked at her.

The crew all laughed, but Kiyo knew they weren't being mean. She followed some of them below to the mess, but her grip never released on her staff. She meant what she said, but that didn't mean she wasn't afraid.

She was terrified, but she had told Limejuice the truth. The kids she hadn't told Shanks about but knew Hongo had seen flashed through her head. The thick cast, the crutches he would use forever. She couldn't let something like that happen again.

Kiyo was no fighter, aside from protecting sheep, but she had to keep her home safe. Even if it meant never seeing it again.