Scopper scowled and pulled the ratty hat low over his face as he was jostled again from behind, hiding his face and prominent features from prying eyes. The bar was loud, too loud for his taste and only brought back pain-filled memories of days when it was his crew, the ocean waves and the laughter of his Captain that was all he could hear.
He was exhausted, barely even stopping since Roger's death, since Baterilla and the disappearance of Shanks. He had looked everywhere on the Grand Line and the Blues, only to find nothing. None of the others had seen him, there wasn't even a whisper of a word about a boy with red hair, eerily familiar to that Cabin Boy of Roger's.
He was worried, they all were, it had been two years and some change since anyone heard or saw him.
Gaban was the only one left of the three, the left hand of Gol D. Roger, since Rayleigh's soul broke the day news of Rouge had died, all of his Captain's plans laid on his shoulders now, something he didn't mind. No, not just him… Buggy too… Buggy who Rayleigh left, just walked into the sea and never looked back.
It took Gaban four months to find the bastard, dry him out, and scold him for leaving Buggy all alone, for breaking the promise he had sworn to Roger. If Gaban had to beat him down and tie him to a tree even to listen? Well, no one but them knows.
Their entire crew was in mourning, and they were a crew still, separated and in hiding, but still family. The Roger Pirates may have disbanded in theory, but in reality, they were very much together still, just carrying out their Captains' last orders of them all.
He grunted once more as he turned and caught the hand that was going for his money, grip tightening slowly as he stared down the thief. He was in no mood for games, not anymore, not tonight. It had been years, years since his Captain's death, since news of Rouge and Oden… he just wanted to drink in peace and remember his family. Even if drinking in peace involved him suffering this loud annoying bar in the middle of fucking bumfuck nowhere of an island in North Blue.
"Sorry, sorry!" The man cried out, trying and failing to get his arm free. The struggles only grew when Gaban stared down at him darker, forcing the man to his knees and stilling half the bar completely.
It was then that he heard it, the familiar laughter that he had thought to be long gone, swallowed up by the sea and taken by fate like all the others. His hand let the thief go, eyes snapping over to the other corner to see a flash of red and straw.
His breath hitched as the crowd parted enough for him to see Shanks, older and drunk, he's only seventeen who gave him alcohol, fleecing the table of their berri at poker. Gaban wanted to run, to pull his nephew into his arms and demand where he had been, demand to know how he was and just smother him in a hug, chastise him for cheating at cards so carelessly.
Oh, Gaban knew the kid was cheating. One, because they taught him to and Two, he could clearly see Shanks' eyes glowing dark red under the brim of the old straw hat, indicating Haki. He waited and watched as his nephew won hand after hand, his hand clenched tight and body tensing as one of the men finally snapped and accused him of cheating.
He was half out of his chair till another man, younger and taller, grasped the wrist of the bastard that held Shanks up by his collar tightly, his silver eyes glinting hard as steel while his other hand rested on the butt of a rifle. "I suggest you let go of my Captain and leave if you know what's good for you."
"Oh ye, and wot ye gonna do bout it if I don't!?" The man sneered and tried to yank himself free, only to jerk and gasp as the dark-haired man clenched his hand even more, in a mimic of what Gaban had done to the thief mere moments before.
The grin that pulled at his lips had Gaban raising his brows, he leaned back and watched with a pleased grin as the man, without hesitation, swung up the rifle and brought it down hard on the man's arm, shattering it with a single blow. He was impressed, who was this kid that Red had found?
The bar went silent once again and in a blink, several men from the idiots' crew rushed forward with angry snarls. Gaban watched as Red's crew member decimated them easily enough, ducking and dodging, delivering vicious blows with the rifle and leaving them all a drooling mess on the floor.
It wasn't until the door slammed open, several Marines flooding in that the hairs on the back of Gaban's neck rose, a wave of haki washing over him like a tidal wave of rage. It snapped and snarled like a starved and cornered beast, vicious and cold, so unlike the happy child they raised on the Oro. What had happened to Red after he left Loguetown? What monstrosities did he suffer away from their protection to change him so?
Gaban remained in the slumped position like everyone around him while watching Shanks brush off his clothes and smile. It wasn't a pleasant smile, it was a broken twisted thing that sat wrong on his youthful face, making him seem older than he was. It was his eyes though that had Gaban deciding to follow them as they walked out the door, glowing red with Haki much like his captains but cold, oh so cold.
He was out the door in a flash, sticking to the edges of the buildings as he followed the two through the streets, his haki suppressed to barely a whisper. It may be night time but he was still a Roger Pirate, still hunted and he wouldn't risk Red's safety. What he wasn't expecting, was for the very kid who beat down an entire crew singlehandedly to pin him to the wall with ease and even spotting him.
Silver eyes glinted like solid mercury, much like Roger's when one of his boys were hurt. Gaban was even more impressed, what had Red done to earn such loyalty?
"Why are you following us?" He uttered low, northern accent thick, familiar to his ears but he could not recall how.
Gaban raised his hands, a smile pulling at his lips as his eyes flickered to Shanks who was watching with a narrowed piercing gaze, braced against a wall. "I wanted to speak with Shanks."
This was the wrong thing to say apparently as he felt the butt of the rifle press further and harsher into his throat. There was strength behind it, controlled, very controlled and Gaban couldn't be more pleased. His nephew found a good one, who was he in the crew? Gaban didn't know but he didn't care. His grin grew as he let his haki drift back for Shanks to sense as the wind blew his ratty hat off his head.
"Beck," Shanks uttered and in a blink the pressure was gone from Gaban's throat and Beck was back at Shanks' side. "It's okay, he won't hurt me."
Beck never took his eyes off Gaban though, good.
"You had us worried Red," Gaban stated as he stood to his full height, adjusting his glasses as he did.
"Well if Blue and I weren't just abandoned in Loguetown by all we classed as family, then you wouldn't have been," Shanks replied coldly.
Gaban frowned and stepped forward, brushing off the jab of the rifle as he grasped Shanks by the arm, forcing the kid to look at him. Gaban was fine stepping back before, letting the kid protect Shanks but this wasn't a playful time, this needed to be addressed.
"Ray and Doc were on Loguetown, getting ready ships to take you and Blue. By the time Ray recovered from feeling Captain's voice vanish and rushed to find you and Blue, Blue was a mess and you were gone." Gaban stated firmly, all teasing manner vanishing. He wasn't just Gaban here, he was Scooper the left hand of Gol D. Roger.
Shanks jolted back like he was struck, red eyes widening and losing the spark of Haki. "Wh-What?"
"Ray swore to Captain that he wouldn't abandon you boys in his grief, he was taking you to the island where Captain arranged for you to lay low and be safe till you both were ready to sail," Gaban explained further, is this what Rayleigh felt like when he explained everything to Blue? Though Gaban wasn't going to spill everything, he was going to say enough to make sure and drill it in that Shanks was loved and wanted, that he wasn't abandoned.
"He… he came back for us?" Shanks asked brokenly, voice cracking.
"He never left kid," Gaban stated firmly. "We've been looking for you for the last two years. Every single one of us in every sea, Blue hasn't left the East hoping you'd turn up."
Shanks choked back a sob, hand coming up to clutch at the straw hat as he staggered back into Beck. Gaban watched as the man wrapped him up in a protective hold, eyes still dark and piercing only to soften as he looked briefly down at Shanks and oh…
"We can't discuss more here, is your ship close?" Gaban stated as he reached down and picked up his hat once more, shoving it firmly on his head as he slumped.
Shanks nodded, pulled himself free from Beck's hold and staggered back down the street towards the docks. Gaban froze for a moment as he took in the boat that Shanks and Beck jumped onto, a little sloop of a ship that had been modified into a houseboat, it was a punch to Gaban's stomach.
It looked so very much like the sloop Rayleigh and Roger had when they recruited him, even down to the colour and set-up. But Shanks wouldn't know about 'Silver Skies' because by then they had the Oro and Silver Skies was given a sea burial some long years before.
"Uncle?" Shanks' voice called, knocking him from his thoughts.
"Coming kid, sorry, may I board?" He asked because though he was family, he was still a Roger Pirate and this was Shanks' ship. Code must be kept, no matter who it was.
Shanks blinked and gave a smile, this one familiar to Gaban, it was his nephew's pleased smile. "Granted."
His boots hit the deck a moment later with a solid thump, the ship rocking with the force of his weight. A test, so to speak. The ship was sturdy but they would need to upgrade soon, would need to repair a few places or it would refuse to carry them any further, but Gaban could feel how loved it was.
"In here." Shanks gestured to the cabin, giving Gaban a knowing look.
The left hand of Gol D. Roger ducked into the small space, taking off his cap and shaking his wild black hair free from the confines of his cloak as he sat cross-legged in the only space big enough for him.
"Beck, meet Scopper Gaban, the best quartermaster in all the seas and my uncle of sorts. Gaban, meet Benn Beckman, my first mate." Shanks introduced sending a jolt of shock up Gaban's spine.
Benn? Was this the man that Shanks would marry? Would take his name and adopt the boy that Roger had told them all about? He would have to make a few calls, but he was going to do that anyway, he needed to tell everyone that Red was alive but now he would have to tell them that it's started. Shanks had found Benn and it was only a matter of time till he found Luffy.
"Pleasure to meet you, Beckman," Gaban stated with a nod. "I'm glad to know that Red here has a competent first mate, he's wiley."
"Uncail!" Shanks exclaimed offended drawing a booming laugh from Gaban, it had been a long while since he heard that term in Vallyian.
"You know it's true Red, plus it is uncle and not of sorts. I didn't change your diapers and feed you warm milk, teach you to rob your fathers blind just to be 'sort of' anything." Gaban remarked, pointing at his nephew.
Shanks grimaced at the scold. "Sorry uncle, it's… After…"
"I know kid, we're sorry, so fucking sorry for what happened. This was not what Roger wanted, we spent many nights planning so you and Blue would be safe, loved, and cared for." Gaban explained softly, eyes flicking to Beckman who straightened, eyes wide.
Did he not know who Shanks was? Who he sailed under? Did Beckman not know that his captain was Gol-Silvers Shanks, son of the Dark King and the Pirate King? Did Gaban just put his nephew in even more danger? Yes, he had seen this man beat a whole crew to save his captain, nearly broke Gaban's collarbone for merely following them but he wasn't sure how strong that loyalty was. The berri reward for any member of the Roger Pirates was enough to retire and make a turncoat.
"They… they were really looking for me?" Shanks whispered hunching in.
"Kid, we're family, just because we disbanded doesn't mean that we stopped being that. I can give you a list of all their den dens and locations if you wish to speak and see them. Even Blue, he'll be glad to hear from you." Gaban finished gently, he knew how bad their fight was, how much regret Blue had for saying what he did to make Shanks leave.
Shanks tensed at the mention of his brother once more. "That's a lie, Buggy renounced our kinship, screamed I wasn't his brother and blamed me for the devil fruit accident again. I doubt he wants to see or speak with me, but thank you Gaban."
He knew when to pick his battles and this was one of those times to let things go.
Nodding, Gaban leant back, his eyes pinning Beckman down. "Is this going to be a problem? Him being who he is or…?"
Beckman scowled at the man without backing down, earning another point in his favour. "No, I already knew, he told me the day after he won me in a poker game."
"I'm sorry, Red did what now?" Gaban asked with a slack jaw, whipping his gaze towards Red who was blushing brilliantly bright, the same colour as his hair. "Shanks?"
The laugh that escaped from Beckman was loud and bright, transforming his face completely into something pleasant and oh, now he could see why Shanks picked this man and Gaban was going to leave that observation to himself, why spoil Rayleigh's surprise when they saw each other next.
"This bumbling idiot of a kid I had seen around town and the docks looking for a crew walks into the bar I was in, trying to fleece these scrappers I was playing out of all their berri to buy my next week's worth of smokes and booze and got absolutely robbed." Beckman started with a grin. "He was bad, lost near all the coin he had on him."
Gaban raised his brows and leant forward. "Really? That's unlike you Red, what happened next?"
"I felt bad for the kid, he was beggin' to earn it all back, one more round, just one and he kept egging me on. In the end, I relented, and told him that if he somehow managed to win the next hand, not only would I give him the entire pot but I'd join his crew too." Beckman explained as he lit up a smoke, giving a fond look towards Shanks. "He then grinned and proceeded to wipe the table with me, the little sneak."
"And you joined him anyway even though he tricked you?" Gaban asked with raised brows.
"Of course, he won, there were no rules against cheating considering I was." Beckman chuckled. "I was impressed, it had been a long time since someone got the better of me. Though, I was surprised to find I was the only one so far. That detail made me nearly walk right off back home, but I gave it a week and in that week I learnt that he was an idiot and would end up killed if I didn't stay."
Gaban opened and closed his mouth a few times as he tried to process that. "What happened?"
"The better question to ask is what didn't happen." Beckman chuckled as he began to gather a few pieces of cutlery and rations. "The first day he got pickpocketed, nearly. Second was a bar fight that he didn't even start but got blamed for, third, he fell off the docks and tangled himself into the netting."
Gaban could tell there was more to the tale than that, something darker as he saw Shanks shoot Beckman a look and a shake of his head. He ignored it but oh did it break his heart, he knew okay, he knew what one did in tough times to survive and… Shaking his head Gaban turned to the table before him, noting four plates. "Four?"
"Ah, our ship's doctor, he won't be back until later," Shanks replied with a shrug, but Gaban could see the tenseness in them. "Had to go and stock up on supplies for our next voyage, Hantham was the only place we could get em."
"You have a doctor? Good, Crocus will be pleased to hear it." Gaban chuckled relieved.
Shanks relaxed as he realised that no further questions about how he was before Beck found him or being called out on stopping Beck telling the real reason of why he decided to stay. He turned to look at his Uncle properly, he looked the same, though exhausted, brittle around the edges, there was even some grey starting to show at his temples. "Why are you in the North, I had thought you would have gone back to Shimotsuki Village."
Gaban sighed at that, how could he tell the kid that his home was no longer his birth island? That it was the salt-encrusted, worn wood of the Oro and the raging New World seas? How could he tell the kid that he's still carrying out his Captain's last orders? "I was visiting Ganryu near Swallow, stopped here on my way to see Yui, he's back in the New World, then down to see Doringo and Spencer in the west."
"Yui went back to the New World?" Shanks asked surprised.
"Of course, he was from there, he returned to Applenine," Gaban stated, he was sure that the kids knew where the crew came from but then again Yui was with the Roger Pirates for a few years before Shanks was rescued on God Valley. "Best Hard Apple Cider you'll find is there, plus you know how strong Yui made his moonshine, he had planned to help one of his old childhood friends farm."
"Is he safe there?" Shanks asked after a moment, worry clear on his face now. "They're still hunting for the Roger Pirates, even after Captain's deal."
Gaban raised his brows at that, only the senior officers knew about Roger making a deal, the inner circle so to speak. Gaban and Rayleigh were pretty sure that the boys were also oblivious to Captain's failing health but it seemed they were wrong. "How'd you know?"
"Captain told me, I asked him after you returned from Laugh Tale," Shanks murmured while looking away. "I knew he was sick, his Haki was… I just knew, and I asked. A deal to 'keep all my treasures safe' is what he said."
"Aye that was the deal, but we all know how trustworthy the Marines are." Gaban snorted with an eye roll. "Some of us will be hunted more than the others, Rayleigh and I specifically, the others mildly, and you and Blue should be fine. If not, you know what we taught you."
Shanks threw his head back and laughed, wild and free. "Haki first and questions never."
Gaban chuckled, louder than before once he caught Beckman's face of utter confusion. It seemed that Shanks had not told Beck yet what Haki was, or if he had, didn't tell him about Conquerors. This little shit. Gaban felt for Beckman then, because Shanks was so much like Roger in attitude, even if in reality he was a mini Rayleigh. Benn was going to have a hard time reining in Shanks and Gaban was glad that for once, it wasn't him.
The spent the next few hours swapping stories and eating a meal till the ship's doctor made his way back, Gaban was surprised to hear the slight Flevish accent hidden poorly under a Kuen accent. But Gaban didn't live this long without knowing when to point things out or ignore it and this was one of those times.
Soon enough it was time for Gaban to leave, he had been here longer than he intended. Standing he pulled Shanks into a hug, stopping the kid mid rant and pulled the tankard of ale from his hand, passing it to Beckman with a pointed look.
"I need to go kid, here take these," Gaban stated as he reached into his coat and pulled out his vivre card book with all the den den numbers of the crew. "I know where I'm going, you need it more than I. Make sure to stay in contact, alright Red?"
"Are you sure you cannot stay longer Uncle?" Shanks asked voice muffled within Gaban's chest.
Ruffling his hair he pulled Red back, staring at him intently. "I've been here too long Red, I'm still getting actively hunted and the scene at the bar would have drawn too much attention, you should be sailing off too."
Shanks sighed as he followed Gaban back out onto the deck, the larger man turning to look at Shanks once more, eyes trailing up to the flag that was now flapping in the wind. Something nudged at him as he saw it, especially the dark red marks over the eyes of the Jolly Roger. The wind roared through the rigging, snapping the flag and for a brief moment, Gaban could hear his captain once again. "Be careful who you trust out here Red, there's a storm coming."
Shanks stared at Gaban as he stood on the side, gaze cast towards the skies, wind whipping around him. He could feel the omen in those words, could feel a power ripple over him before vanishing just as quickly, taking Gaban in its wake and leaving him wondering, gaze turning up to what spooked his uncle only to see his newly made Jolly Roger and nothing else.
But Shanks would take the warning for what it was, his hands curling around the book in his hand and turned to the direction Gaban's voice drifted, letting the wind take his voice towards him. "See you soon Uncle, thank you."
I have no impulse control T_T People were supposed to tell me no and they told me yes... *looks at all of you in my server* So this is the last pre-written chapter I have for RE... Now there should be a week or two wait for the next one!
*cackles* Look at all the hidden HC's! Let's see how many you spot.
UNTIL NEXT TIME!
P.s don't forget to join the server! You get sneak peeks!