Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Redhaired Shanks!” A familiar shrilled voice calls out. 

Shanks can’t help but smile and stroll over to the Red Force’s railing to see the small boy. 

“He’s still at it,” Benn joins him, greeting Luffy.

“He’s been more persistent lately, too,” Shanks adds. He’s been noticing it more now. Luffy doesn’t like him. That much is evident. The poor kid stalks him everywhere he goes, and Shanks — with Yasopp, breathing down his neck—forces distance between them, quite literally. 

Raising a brow, Shanks leaps from the ship, landing with a thud on the dock. The aged planks groan beneath his sandals. He strides forward, the texture shifts from the soft squeaking of wood to the crumble of dirt. It feels nice. He misses land, although he’ll never admit it.

Shanks siezes the hilt of his saber, the blade still sheathed, yet drawn and pointing to the boy.

Luffy inhales sharply, holding onto his own improvised weapon: a fairly sizeable stick that’s way too heavy for him. 

Poor thing can’t even lift it above his hips.

For a second, neither move, already aware of what’s going to happen. From the corner of his eye, he sees his crew lining up to watch them. Some of them cheer Luffy on, not him, rude. The man stands still, poised and waiting, giving the boy the same respect he does Mihawk. Luffy’s gaze is steady, practically blaring where he’s going to strike. The kid should stick to hand-to-hand combat; he was best at that. 

Luffy lunges forward, driving a large, poor form swing with all of his body weight and momentum. Shanks evades and swings the sheathed saber against the boy’s bare thigh. Bad day to wear shorts. 

The crack of the impact is loud enough to make half of the watching Red Haired Pirates hiss or cringe. 

Almost instantly, Luffy yelps, startled, loud and frantic. He falls to the ground, grabbing his leg.

Shanks smirks. It’s always a little amusing how fast their duels end and how Luffy never seems to learn anything from them.

“Booo,” Limejuice yells from the Red Force’s deck. “That was too hard! Go easy on him.”

“You come fight him then!” Shanks says, fastening the saber back onto his hip.

“Ain’t mine to fight,” Limejuice grimaces, and Shanks glares at him.

Hongo lowers the ship’s plank, the heavy timber groans against the railing before falling into place with a loud thud. “You hurt him.”

Shanks watches as his ship’s doctor squats next to Luffy, who’s being dramatic and groveling on the floor.

“Let me see, Luffy.”

“No!” Luffy whines, sniffling quietly. 

“You crying?” Shanks leans down, bending to hear the kid properly.

“No!” Luffy darts his head to the man. “It doesn’t hurt!”

First of all, that’s not what Shanks asked, “Pffft, stand up then.”

Luffy frowns and forces himself to get onto his feet. He glares at Shanks. “See!”

Shanks looks at Hongo, and Hongo, ever so the enabler, simply pokes where Shanks hit, and Luffy immediately tumbles to the floor. 

Laughing, Shanks gestures for the crew to get off board, “Best out of forty?”

One by one, his crew disembark, and they’re not as bogged down by returning to the island. Not after he and Luffy had started this tradition (he’ll call it that). Luffy challenges him, and under the condition that he wins, the Redhaired Pirates will turn away and sail off into the horizon. Truth be told, he agreed to it out of pure boredom. 

Luffy wipes a tear with the back of his hand. The boy sits still, letting Hongo apply some kind of ointment to the back of his leg and bandage it up. A bit dramatic. He didn’t hit Luffy that hard. 

“So you were crying,” Shanks taunts him, a little too proud of himself.

“It’s sweat!” Luffy barks out, pinching his face into a frown as Hongo tightens the bandage. 

“I don’t think eyeballs do that, kid.”

“You’re being mean,” Yasopp says from behind him. 

“I’m trying to tell him crying is ok,” Shanks lies quickly. 

“Do it better,” Yasopp narrows his eyes and walks off, still watching Shanks.

“Why’s he trynna be a dad all a sudden?” Shanks murmurs, and Hongo looks gobsmacked.

“What?” Yasopp yells from afar. 

“Winds awful loud lately!” Shanks yells back, smiling innocently from ear to ear.

Luffy doesn’t say a single word. He just stands up and starts walking –limping– away. It’s sad. Shanks sighs and glances at Hongo, who just thins his lips and grimaces. Maybe he did hit the kid too hard.

“Hey, Luffy,” Shanks calls out.

The boy turns, his expression is sad, with big watery eyes and a quivering frown. God, he’s like a kicked puppy.

It’s enough to make Shanks feel like complete shit.

“You eat today?”

“I want meat,” Luffy says in a soft and defeated voice. “Not the cheap stuff you bought me last time!”

Shit, Shanks makes an effort to look away when Hongo glares at him. 

“I want the one Makino makes really good!” 

“Okay,” Shanks clears his throat. 

“And beer,” Luffy adds.

“Don’t push it.”

“You want me to bring the chest with us?” Hongo points back to the ship.

“I got it,” Shanks nods and gestures for him to go with the others.

Luffy watches the other man leave, and Shanks strolls back onto the ship. The pirate heaves a metal railing, high, then disappears beneath the deck and into the ship’s lower compartment. Luffy wobbles closer, trying to look where Shanks could have gone. He pauses at the ship’s plank. His grandpa told him to never get on a pirate’s ship. It’s dangerous, and pirates are bad people, criminals, horrible men who do no good things. 

Swallowing, Luffy steps onto the plank, then the deck, and soon, each step carries him further into the vastness of the ship. He’s wandering towards the helms, the mast, and haylards. The ship is enormous, a lot bigger than he expected it to be. He roams towards the front of the ship and climbs on the ledge, trying to see the dragon on the hull.

“What are you doing?” Shanks climbs up from the ship’s lower compartment. He sets a small chest on the deck before properly closing the metal railing.

“This is cool!” Luffy beams, 

“You need to ask permission before you board a pirate’s vessel,” Shanks walks over to him and looks over to the hull. “Neat, right?”

“Why?” Luffy looks up at him. 

“No one wants a stowaway.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s like someone living in your house without your permission.”

“Oh,” Luffy understands. 

Shanks goes to get the chest, then beckons Luffy over. 

“What’s in there?”

“My greatest treasure,” Shanks hoards it closer. “It’s all mine!”

“I don’t want it,” Luffy makes a face, and Shanks makes one back. “You probably stole it.”

“You know me so well,” Shanks fists the back of Luffy's shirt and picks him up. 

“Hey! Hey! Let me go!”

“I wanna get to Makino’s today,” Shanks says, ignoring the small bony fists hitting his outer thigh. “You’re slow anyway.”

It’s been two years since the incident. Yes, he’s calling it the incident, mistake. He doesn’t know what to call it anymore. It’s gone beyond an inside joke. The crew stopped making fun of him in Foosha village because of the awkward conversation that would follow. No rational person would believe Shanks slept with an older version of Luffy. They’d personally call the Navy, or worse, Garp.

Monkey D. Luffy.

Monkey D. Garp.

He has the worst fucking luck.

Not only is he looking for Ace, but he’s now stuck with Garp’s grandson, and from what Shanks can tell, Luffy lives alone. No adults are supervising him. He lives in the small house that Makino helps maintain. Poor woman feeds and clothes him. He asked Luffy if he knew an Ace, and the boy looked dumbfounded and then went on about how he’d love to have a brother, but he’s alone.

Luffy got all mopey after that conversation. Yasopp lectured him for making the kid sad.

He’s a pretty lonely kid. 

Foosha Village has no children Luffy’s age. It’s mostly populated by elderly people and married expecting couples or oddballs like Makino, pretty single people who are wasting their time in the countryside. 

Luffy kicks and screams the entire walk to Makino’s. By now, almost all the villagers know him personally. He’s been dubbed the pirate Garp’s grandson is trynna beat, but never does. It’s a long-winded name. Finally arriving at the tavern, Shanks sets Luffy down, gently. He did hit his thigh hard, but not hard enough to make Luffy stop kicking.

The boy straightens up and immediately folds in on himself. 

Shanks catches him by the collar before he can face plant. He lifts Luffy by the waist and walks to the bar. He sits the boy down on a stool, “Makino.”

“Yeah,” she nods and then looks at Luffy. “Is that where you’ve been?”

Luffy sucks in his bottom lip and frowns, looking away.

“Can I have meat, the good kind?” Shanks tilts his head towards Luffy.

“With cactus leaves!” Luffy adds happily.

She looks at Shanks, and the man nods. 

“How are you doing, little guy?” Limejuice strolls over from a table and settles between the two.

“Oka—”

“No, no,” Limejuice hushes him gently. “I was talking to my cap’n.”

“I’m alright,” Shanks scoffs.

“And you big man?” 

“I’m great!” Luffy beams, smiling from ear to ear. “Shanks bought me meat with cactus!”

For a kid who says he hates pirates, he’s pretty friendly with all of them.

“Cactus?” Limejuice frowns, invested.

“It’s not that—”

“Shhh,” Limejuice darts his head to Shanks. “The baby is speaking.”

“I’m not a baby,” Luffy scowls, and Shanks can hear Limejuice hold back an ‘awe.’ Shanks shakes his head as Luffy explains why he likes cactus leaves, and that was one thing he didn’t expect. Not the leaves, but Limejuice liking Luffy. He hated him two years ago, but now, he spoils him rotten.

It’s no wonder Luffy waits for them at the docks. 

“Did Shanks buy you a beer yet?” Limejuice motions to the bar.

“Nope!” Luffy chirps.

Shanks laughs under his breath. 

Lucky walks over and places a pint of fizzy yellowish liquid in front of the boy. 

“We saved you one, Lu!” Lucky smiles.

“Thanks,” Luffy takes a big chug and. . . 

“It’s apple juice!” He whines loudly. 

Both men giggle amongst themselves, and Shanks can’t help but laugh at how innocent and easily tricked Luffy is.

“Shut up! Shanks!” The boy barks at him.

“I didn’t do anything!” Shanks holds up his hands.

“Did you guys order me any? Makino’s in the back cooking.”

“Yeah,” Roo points to his table, and Shanks gives him a look. “It’s the last one.”

“We kinda wiped the place clean.” Limejuice grimaces. 

“Aw,” Shanks play whines and swirls the alcohol around before drinking. “Already?”

“You’re all a bunch of drunks!” Luffy sticks his tongue out at Shanks. 

“Guilty!” Lucky chimes. 

“No good pirates!” Luffy clicked his tongue. He doesn’t like drunk old men, they’re loud and too happy and—

“You’d make a great pirate, Luffy.” Hongo joins, choosing to sit next to the boy.

Shanks can’t help but notice Luffy’s eyes grow brighter but it’s quickly smothered.

“Never!” Luffy says confidently. 

Shanks hums to himself. When he first met the rubberman, he was a pirate and a damn good one at that. That Luffy, Shanks gulps down the liquor. He misses that pirate. He was ambitious; his dream was really blinding. He doesn’t see any of that in this kid. There’s not a single glimpse of that spirit in him. It’s a shame, and what’s worse, Shanks finds himself missing him, not this Luffy but the young man he met.

“Really?” Hongo laughs. “You’re crazy enough to challenge Shanks! Any man with that spirit would be a fantastic pirate!”

“You’re brave,” Benn adds from the adjacent table. And dumb, he doesn’t say that part out loud. Benn looks at the boy closely; that’s something he’s noticed. The young man they met on the island was both brave and dumb. He guesses that the trait is deeply ingrained in Luffy. “No sane pirate has the balls to challenge Shanks.”

“That’s because all pirates are cowards!” Luffy turns to Benn. “I’m not a coward!”

“See, you got a pirate’s spirit!” Hongo laughs, and the boy frowns at him.

“No!” Luffy growls, glancing at Shanks to see his reaction.

“The sea is so wide and deep. You can go to any island and seek adventure!” Hongo tries to convince him.

“Nothing is greater than freedom!” Yasopp yells happily, raising his glass high.

Luffy inhales sharply, eyes still wandering back to the red-haired man beside him.

Shanks doesn’t react.

“Why don’t you come along?” Hongo offers, and Shanks darts his head and gives the medic a death glare.

“What?” Luffy says, eyes getting big with excitement.

“Yeah,” Hongo smiles.

“It wouldn’t be a big deal,” Benn hums. Luffy is meant to be a pirate. He and the rest of the crew are aware of that. Shanks more than anyone. Shanks didn’t discuss that night in detail, nor did Benn want to hear it, but from what his captain divulged, Luffy deeply yearns for freedom and adventure. He doesn’t know why Shanks is stifling it. “Right, cap’n?”

“Don’t give him these dumb ideas, guys,” Shanks says, unimpressed. 

“I can fight!” Luffy interjects. “I’m not afraid! Benn said I was brave!”

“Can’t,” Shanks says in a monotone, still horribly unimpressed. “I don’t carry deadweight.”

“What’s that?” Luffy tilts his head.

“Not being able to swim is a pirate's greatest weakness,” Shanks sneers. “It’s a prerequisite to be on my ship.”

“A what!”

“It means you need to learn before you board,” Hongo whispers in Luffy’s ear.

An onslaught of protests bellowed across the bar: 

“Boo! No fair, cap’n!”

“Let the kid join for the one time!”

“Stop being an ass!”

“Loosen up, he already hates you.”

“It’s not a big deal!”

“Fine,” Shanks says, turning his stool to his crew. “If you want him this badly, then decide who he’ll be replacing.”

The bar goes quiet, then the Redhaired pirates act as though nothing had happened. Shanks smirks and then turns back. 

Luffy looks around. Guess he’s not going, huh?

Hongo stands up and walks towards Shanks and whispers something in the man’s ear. Luffy can’t hear it, and he wishes he didn’t care, but he does. 

Luffy just looks at Shanks, eyes big and pleading.

The older man doesn’t even look at him. 

“Ready!” Makino beams, carrying Luffy’s plate and setting it down in front of the boy. “Just how you like it!”

“Whoa!” Luffy nearly jumps out of his seat.

While Luffy eats —inhales— the food, Makino scoots over to Shanks, “Thank you for getting him the plate.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Shanks nods and ignores the look in the woman’s eyes. It’s a real shame he learned his lesson about sleeping with cute people. He glances at Luffy and shudders at the memory. He doesn’t regret it per se, but every time he sees the kid, he feels disgusted. 

The bar’s doors slam open harshly, leaving the bar winded and quiet. 

Luffy turns instantly, worried. 

“So this is what pirates look like?” A tall, black haired man says, sneering as he looks around. “This is the first time I've seen pirates. They look pretty dumb.”

As the black haired man walks in, a horde of men follow.

Bandits, Luffy thinks,  while still eating his food. He looks at Shanks, and the man has his back turned, not giving a single care about them.

The bandit walks across the bar and right next to Shanks, “We’re not here to cause trouble. We just want to buy ten barrels of liquor.”

Makino’s taken aback. She glances at Shanks, half-heartedly expecting him to do something. “I’m sorry, but we’re all out of liquor.”

“Oh,” the bandit looks at Shanks. “Is it water?”

“It’s not.” Shanks still doesn’t look at him.

“I’m really sorry, we’ll have more later this week. I can always call the ships to see when it’ll arrive,” Makino says hurriedly, realising Shanks isn’t in any mood to help the situation out.

“Sorry about that, Makino,” Shanks realises, then addresses the pirate, and god damn is this bastard ugly. “Looks like we finished all the booze. Here, have mine. It’s good, plus I don’t make a habit of backwashing.”

Luffy can hear Benn chuckle, and he doesn’t understand why.

The bandit takes offense to this and quickly knocks the drink from Shanks’ hand. It spills all over the pirate and on Luffy. 

It smells so bad, Luffy wipes his face. 

“Just who do you think I am?” The bandit says bitterly. “Don’t take me lightly. I don’t take leftovers.”

Shanks pinches his shirt, “Now you’ve gone and made a mess.”

“See this?” the bandit scoffs and unpockets a wanted poster. “My head is worth eight million Berri. I’m a dangerous man. I’ve killed 56 people before you, cocky bastard. Watch your tone.”

Ignoring him, Shanks takes the cleaning rag from the counter, gets down, and begins wiping up the liquor. “Real sorry about this, Makino, this dude’s not big on sharing.”

“Pirates and bandits don’t mix,” the bandit unsheathes his sword and swipes across the bar, swiping cups and the dishes Makino had made off the countertop and onto the floor. It startles Makino and Luffy, but Shanks just ducks and covers his hat.

“Since you enjoy cleaning so much,” the bandit smirks. 

Shanks doesn’t move, and Luffy can’t see the man’s face. He’s hiding behind the brim of his hat.

“Pathetic,” the bandit sheathes his sword and clicks his tongue before walking back out of the bar. “What a bunch of cowards.”

Makino hops over the bar and immediately kneels beside Shanks, “Are you alright!? Did you get hurt?!”

“No, I’m fine,” Shanks raises a hand, stopping her from touching him because he’s sure she’d pat him all over. This woman is smitten after all. Without intending to, Shanks snorts, and then his laugh grows louder until he erupts. “Eight million, can y’all believe that?!”

“He fixed you up real good!” Lucky barks out laughing.

“In the East Blue!” Yasopp slaps his knees and shakes his head. “Called US pathetic.”

Luffy watches as the Redhaired pirates all laugh, and he can’t explain why, but it angers him. . .  so much.

“Why didn’t you fight back?” Luffy says, quietly.

Shanks turns to him, “Hmm?”

“WHY DIDN’T YOU FIGHT HIM!?”

“Didn’t wanna,” Shanks responds, unbothered. 

“You SHOULD! HE CALLED YOU PATHETIC, HE MADE FUN  OF YOU, HE MADE YOU LOOK STUPID!”

“And?” 

Luffy inhales.

“Look, I know how you feel, but it’s just some random bandit,” Shanks says, fixing his hat and smiling. 

“YOU DON’T GET IT! IF HE’S SOME RANDOM BANDIT, WHY DIDN’T HE JUST BEAT YOU! YOU’RE A COWARD, AND IF I CAN’T BEAT A COWARD THEN I’M NO BETTER THAN A PIRATE! I DON’T LIKE PIRATES! I HATE THEM! YOU’RE A COWARD!”

“I guess strength follows the transitive property,” Shanks shrugs and begins picking up the glass up off the floor. He raises his palm up to stop Makino.  “Don’t worry, Makino, I got it.”

“You’re stupid!” Luffy screams, his sharp voice cuts through the bar.

“Come on, Lu’” Shanks sighs at the boy’s blatant protest.

Huffing, Luffy hops off the stool, and before he can march away, Shanks grabs his arm and pulls him back.  

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Shanks pats his arms and kneels in front of him.  In protest, Luffy refuses to make eye contact. “You can’t expect me to be that bothered by spilled liquor, much less a nobody.”

“Let me go!” Luffy tugs away and gears up to yell: “You’re stupid and weak!”

The boy runs across the bar and through the door. 

Yasopp gets up, probably to console the kid.

“Leave him,” Shanks says, staring at the double doors swinging. He’s half-heartedly expecting Luffy to storm back in to yell one final insult, but he doesn’t. He’s really upset.

Damn. 

“I forgot how volatile he is,” Benn adds. Luffy doesn’t usually go off like that. Only when pushed, and Shanks pushes him too much and too often. It’s actually the first time Benn has seen him actually get mad at something that was done to Shanks. 

“He’ll get over it,” Shanks says. He always does.

At the docks. . . 

Luffy’s arm hurts. 

A rock hits the hull of the RedForce, hitting the dragon right in its eye. The timber groans on impact. Luffy does it again, getting to throw another stone, a large one, a small one, and if he had the strength, he’d throw a boulder at the damn ship.  

“Stupid!” Luffy yells as he tries to throw another stone. “Owwwwwww.”

The boy fumbles down, his leg hurts, and now his arm too.  This sucks! He can’t even take his anger out properly. 

He fists the stone in his hand, “Shanks! Stupid!” 

Groaning, Luffy flops onto the floor.  He wants to cry, and he doesn’t know why. He thought Shanks was cool. Luffy wipes away a tear and then. . .

He gets an idea.

“What about this?” Makino places a small wooden chest on the bar top.

Shanks perks up and looks inside of it, yep. The fruit is still there. “Thanks, Makino.”

“It fell when the bandit swiped at the table.”

“Why’re you so mean to Luffy?” Hongo asks, and it instantly draws Shanks' attention.

“I’m not mean,” Shanks fans his shirt, trying to make the liquor dry quicker. 

“You could at least pretend to give a shit,” Hongo scratches the back of his head. 

“You’d act the same if you were in my position.”

“He’s a child.”

“He’ll get over it.”

“He was a pirate when we first met him.”

“I’m sure he’ll still be one.” 

Hongo just stares at him, “He looks up to you.”

“He shouldn’t.”

“Cut him some slack,” Benn adds. “He is still feeling guilty.”

“You couldn’t have known,” Hongo glances over at Makino and makes the conversation as vague as possible to avoid awkwardness. “Put it behind you, already.”

“I’ve tried,” Shanks shrugs. “Can’t.”

Hongo sighs.

“He looks the same,” Shanks clicks his tongue. “But younger.”

“Yeah,” Hongo can’t argue with that. He actually doesn’t know how he would have reacted if he found out the guy he slept with on a random time-altering island would show up as a child. It’s not the same Luffy, sure. He remembers Shanks being mortified. “All I’m saying is you could be nicer to him.”

“Then, I’m telling you, Luffy will get over it.”

From behind them, the crew grows louder and draws their attention. 

“I’d win,” Yasopp drunkenly yells in spite of being a hair's width away from Lucky.

“Nah,” Lucky yells back. “You ain’t nothing but skin and bone!”

“Let me show your big ass then.”

“Not inside, please,” Makino raises her voice, and surprisingly, it’s enough for both men to march outside. The rest of the crew follows. Shanks and Hongo exchange glances and then rush to catch up.

“Ten thousand on Lucky,” Limejuice calls, standing on Lucky’s side. 

“What happened?” Shanks says, looking at Benn for better context. 

“Yasopp thinks he can wrestle Lucky.”

“Twenty thousand on Lucky!” Shanks yells.

Luffy can hear the Redhaired pirates’ cheering and arguing at the front of the tavern. They’re all there, even Shanks. He peeks around the corner of a building. Lucky and Yasopp are fighting. He thinks, it doesn’t look like much of any kind of fighting he’s seen. It kinda looks like hugging and pushing. They look dumb.

Then, he weaves his way behind the buildings, actively avoiding the main street until he’s behind Makino’s bar. He pauses at the back door. Makino usually leaves it open. When they first met, he snuck in this way. She caught him eating food and promptly had him help her with chores as payment. She’s been a constant pillar in his life ever since. 

He nudges the door, and yes! It’s open!

Sneaking around, Luffy moves from corner to corner. Makino doesn’t look to be here, maybe she's at the bar area. Luffy peers his head out from the back, and she’s not there. He looks further and she’s near the entrance, also watching both men fight. Nice! 

Quickly, Luffy searches the bar. 

His heart beats rapidly. He’s so nervous. He’s stolen before but never something this important. He. . . 

“Huh?” Luffy stares at it.

 It’s a fruit? Is that food? It doesn’t look edible. An odd purple fruit stares back at him. It has swirls adorning its skin, and it’s almost prickly to the touch. Luffy holds it close and quickly, he unpockets a large rock and places it into the chest. He glances back at the men and Makino one last time before sneaking away.

Near the mountains. . .

Huffing, Luffy sits at the base of a tree and looks at the fruit in his hands. 

Why would Shanks even say this was his greatest treasure? It’s just some fruit. It doesn’t even look good.

Bringing it up to his nose, Luffy takes a long, drawn-out sniff. It smells like nothing. 

Maybe it’s Shanks’ favorite.

And, and—and Shanks is mean to him! He doesn’t care about anything Luffy says, he is always mean and makes him feel stupid and little and he’s a coward! He doesn’t like pirates anyways! Luffy bites into it—

“Bleugh,” Luffy belches almost immediately. “Gross!” 

He swallows it down without chewing it because the more he chews, the worse the flavor gets. He wipes his mouth and throws the fruit into the bushes. There! Now he’s sure Shanks will never find it, and even if he does, he bit it!

He feels better now. 

On the mountain. . .

“I thought ‘em pirates would at least put up a fight,” a bandit says.

“I did too,” another responds. “Guess the boss was right, they are cowards.”

“Higuma,” a bandit calls out. “There's another town about 20 minutes away.”

The black haired bandit turns. He nods and gestures to his men. 

The mountainside is calm. From the look of it there doesn't seem to be any travelers, and there shouldn't be. The barmaid said there wouldn't be any until later this week.” 

“Bandits!” Luffy screams at the top of his lungs. 

“It’s the pirate’s brat,” Higuma pinches his brows together and then glances from where the kid came from. He’s alone. This child must be demented. 

“I told you!” Yasopp cheers, lifting his arms in the air. 

Lucky’s laying down on the floor, defeated and winded. Shit, how did he let that happen? 

Next to him, Benn jams his elbow into Shanks’ chest and extends his palm out. Cursing under his breath, Shanks hands the man Berry. The rest of the Redhaired pirates line up, all giving Benn more money. 

“Come on, Lucky!” Limejuice groans, ten thousand Berri poorer. 

“You cost me!” Shanks squats next to him and scowls.

Back on the mountains. . . 

“DAMN IT!” Luffy yells, lunging forward towards Higuma. 

Before the boy can reach him, the bandit kicks Luffy square in the chest, knocking all the air out of him and sending him skidding across the dirt.

“What did you say your name was again, kid?” 

“Monkey D. Luffy,” He grits his teeth and sits upright. 

“Monkey,” Higuma says. “Do us both a favor and stop. I don’t make it a habit of killing children.”

“I’m a man!” Luffy huffs out, balling his hands into a fist and standing in the man’s way. 

“All this for your pirate friends, huh?”

“They’re not my friends!” 

“Then you’re more stupid than I thought.”

“Shut up and fight me!”

“I’m tired of this.” Higuma moves forward, blocking one of Luffy’s punches and landing a blow on Luffy’s temple. 

He grabs Luffy’s arm, and the limb stretches.

All the bandits, Luffy included, gasp, all too stunned to move. 

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Higuma smiles. “You ate of those cursed fruit, didn’t you, kid?”

Back at the tavern. . . 

“You didn’t bet, right?” Benn leans over the bar counter. 

“No,” Makino admits. Even if she did have spare Berri she won’t gamble it away.

“Here,” Benn slides his earnings to her.

“I can’t possibly take that.”

“I insist. It’s for taking care of us.” 

“You all pay for everything as it is,” Makino says, not daring to touch the money.

“If you don’t take it, it’ll get snatched up by someone else,” Benn moves it closer to the woman. “I will be leaving it here.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything.”

“OOooooooOOooh,” Lucky hollers behind his palm, kicking his feet under the table.

“Bennnnnnnnnnnnn,” Shanks joins Lucky, giggling behind his palm, too. 

“Could have used the money for your first date,” Limejuice chuckles, only egging Shanks and Lucky more. 

“Shut it,” Benn sighs. He’s just trying to do something nice. They really did cause Makino unnecessary stress today, but they always do that.

“Will you be leaving today?” Makino hesitantly takes the Berry and tucks them into her apron. 

“Shanks,” Benn turns to his captain.

“Yep!” Shanks yells from across the bar.

“We leaving?”

“Yep!”

“You heard him,” Benn gives Makino a tired look.

“I’ll miss you guys,” she smiles warmly. “I’m sure Luffy will too.”

“Don’t worry about him,” Benn finds himself comforting her. “Shanks is Shanks, and it’s about time Luffy realizes not every adult is kind. He’ll get used to it. I’d wager the kid will come back. He always does.”

“Is he still challenging Shanks at the docks?”

“Like it’s the first time.”

“He never learns!” Makino sighs, remembering the first time Luffy came to her with bruises. She panicked and rushed to treat him, and when she asked, she was horrified when he told her Shanks did it, and even more so when Shanks didn’t even deny it. She remembers what Shanks said to her so clearly. “He said he wanted to fight me like a man, so I hit him like one.”

She truly doesn’t understand this machismo thing.

“You’re worried,” Benn spots.

“Yeah,” She admits. Luffy usually goes to the mountains to cry; she knows that much. It’s his favorite spot to hide. She doesn’t know why she's thinking about the first time she found him there. It was after Garp told him he’d be leaving permanently. Luffy watched his grandpa’s ship disappear into the horizon. The villagers tried to console him but he ran. The entire village spent the better half of a day looking for him. 

Makino found him. He was sleeping underneath a tree at the edge of the mountains. It was evident he had been crying. He probably cried himself to sleep. She ended up carrying him back to his home and stayed with him for a whole week until Luffy felt comfortable with his grandpa being gone. 

She still couldn’t believe Garp would leave Luffy alone in a house. He’s just a boy, not a man; in spite of all that Luffy says, he is a child.

He needs to be taken care of like one.

“You should go talk to him,” Benn interrupts her thinking.

“But,” she glances around, and sure, it’s only the red-haired pirates in her tavern. 

“It’ll be fine,” Benn assures.  

“Thank you.” She hurriedly takes off her apron and goes to the back, stuffing the Berry in the safest place she knows, and goes off to look for Luffy.

“When we leaving?” Yasopp yawns.

“Soon,” Shanks leans back. They’ve already spent considerable time looking for Roger’s son. He hasn’t quite given up completely.  But his hopes are dwindling. They’ll just try the adjacent island, maybe there. . .

“This is still about the destined boy?” Yasopp bellows. He can’t believe Shanks is still looking for this kid. He doesn’t care if it’s Roger’s son at this point. Any kid with a heart of gold will do. 

“Yep,” Shanks smiles. 

“Closest island’s a day away,” Hongo adds. “If we leave now, we’ll have plenty of daylight to look.”

“God dammit,” Yasopp whines.

“Then let's leave now!” Shanks stands up and looks at Benn, gesturing for him to take the chest on the counter. 

“Aye aye, captain.”

“Stop!” Luffy cries. Multiple hands pull and probe at him, grabbing his skin and pinching it until it stretches far. It hurts, it really hurts. Some bandits gather around him, taking turns feeling the texture of rubber on human flesh. Luffy swats at them, but one bandit grabs his wrist, stands up, and pulls the limb. 

“I wonder if rubber flesh bleeds,” the bandit holding Luffy’s wrist, unsheathes a pocket knife and goes to cut him.

“Stop,” Higuma says. “We can’t damage him too badly.”

“Huh?”

“Why?”

“If we sell him to some noble men, we could get some Berry,” the man smirks, and Luffy hates how it looks.

“Those noblemen are sickos,” another bandit says. “They’ll love you, kid.”

Liffy glares at him, confused and angered. There’s no way he’s getting sold to anyone!

“Give him,” Higuma tries to grab Luffy by the shirt, but the boy takes the opportunity to bite the man’s hand. 

“Fuck!’ Higuma screams, he retracts his hand and kicks Luffy in the stomach, causing Luffy to wretch up spit. Once the pain subsides, Higuma kicks him again and again. “Piece of shit!”

“I thought you said not to damage him.”

Higuma just glares at his bandits. 

On the ground, Luffy can’t help but laugh. He doesn’t know why he does it; maybe it’s the pain making him lightheaded. 

“What’s so funny?” Higuma steps on the boy’s head.

“You sound like a girl when you scream.”

“You brat,” Higuma lurches forward, grabbing Luffy by the back of his shirt and pulling him up. “Come on, I’ll show you why eating a devil fruit is a pirate’s worst nightmare.”

Luffy doesn’t have any strength left; all he can do is thrash, but even that earns him a knee to the stomach. 

“Stop moving around.”

The mountainside is calm. Makino treks through the bushes and finally stops at the tree that Luffy usually escapes to.

He’s not here.

She looks around, trying to find any sign of the boy.

She looks in the bushes, and the only thing she finds is a purple fruit. It’s bitten into, and it looks unappealing. She’s never known Luffy to throw food away; it must have been especially bad.

“Where could he be?”

Sighing, she decides to go a little further into the mountain. Maybe Luffy went deeper. She remembers telling him to follow the path and the dangers of getting lost. 

She makes her way through the shrubs and starts following a path. There’s nothing of note, just a bunch of footprints. They’re fairly big, it’s men. A whole lot of them, too. It’s probably the bandits from the bar. Dread pools in her stomach.

“Don’t tell me,” she jogs forward. Small footprints appear several feet in front of the crowd. Then, in the space separating them, there appears to be a struggle. “Dammit, Luffy.”

Following the trail, she ends up staring into the forest. She doesn’t know why they suddenly decided to go there. The ocean is closer that way, she thinks. Worried, she follows. . . 

Back in the village. . .

Makino slams into the door, stumbling forward and almost hitting the ground. “Chief! Hurry! Something—”

The village chief is sitting at his table, transponder snail in front of him as he sips tea.

“Who is that!?” Makino yells.

“Makino?” A familiar voice calls back.

She stomps forward, slapping her hands on the table. “Garp!”

On the HQ-O3, Garp strolls over to the cannonball rack. His vision doesn’t stray from a familiar ship just a little over the horizon. Damned redhead. He keeps sniffing around his home island. He has no doubt the sleazeball is looking for Roger’s kid. In one hand, he holds the transponder snail and the other a cannonball, “Are you still serving those pirate scum?”

“Where are you? Are you near the island?” Makino grabs the snail and holds it close to her mouth, screaming into it. 

The chef looks shocked. This must be serious. Makino looks exhausted. 

“Stop being rude to your elders!” Garp yells back.

“Luffy’s in danger!” She shrieks into the transponder.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Garp closes one of his eyes and aims for the Redhead’s ship. This outta teach the maniac to stay out of his home terf. 

“Garp!” Makino pleads. “He’s been kidnapped by bandits!”

Garp pauses.

“Dadan?”

“No! A man I’ve never seen before. He took Luffy! I don’t think they’re going to let him go, Garp!” 

Garp lowers the cannonball. Dammit, Luffy. “Where did you see them last?”

On the shore. . .

Higuma strides across the sand, still holding Luffy and forcing him along. He turns back to his men and announces proudly, “The sea rejects all who oppose it. The devil fruit is against nature itself; everyone who eats one of the fruit loses their ability to swim.”

“Liar!” Luffy yells, struggling more and more the closer Higuma brings them to the ocean.

“No, you’ll see.”  He steps into the water and waits until he’s shin-deep. 

He throws Luffy into the shallow end of the water.

“Boss,” a bandit says. “I thought we were selling him.”

“I changed my mind,” Higuma smiles as he watches bubbles come to the surface.

In the water, Luffy struggles. All of his strength is gone; he can’t move. He can’t swim, not that he ever could, but now he can’t even move. It feels like he’s been shackled to a large object and is sinking. He can’t even float, and he knows how to float. Benn taught him how to do that. He can’t. He accidentally gulps and releases the air stored in his lungs. He's gonna die! 

His eyes hurt, they burn, and his throat burns, and his body hurts, his stomach hurts from the kicking, and everywhere it all hurts. 

Suddenly, Higamu pulls him out of the water, and Luffy gasps, spitting and finally getting movement back.

“How was it?” Higuma smirks. “Can you move down there?”

“Let me go!” Luffy cries, sniffling. He can’t tell if he’s actually crying or if it’s seawater. 

Higuma groans and then dunks him back into the sea. 

Luffy gargles water.

The man repeats this until Luffy stops crying, “Answer me.”

“I can’t, I can’t swim.” Luffy bites back tears. 

“Attaboy,” Higuma smiles.

“Boss,” a bandit says, eyes wide and focused on the horizon.

“What??”

“There’s a ship.”

Higuma turns just in time to see a small black ball getting closer and closer, “MOVE—” 

The cannon ball slams into the shallow water with a thunderous impact. The surface erupts into a splash, sending sheets of water everywhere. For a moment, it was calm. But as Higuma quickly makes his way out of the water, dragging Luffy with him,  a barrage of cannon balls crash into the shore, causing all the bandits to scatter. 

As they strike the beach, the ground quakes, plumes of sand and dust break into the sky, making the air thick.  The sand doesn’t splash; instead, it bursts into jagged sprays, showering everyone with grit. Higuma runs back into the forest, and before he can sigh, more cannon balls rip through the trees, snapping branches and exploding. 

“Fuck!” Higuma has no other choice; he runs deeper into the forest. Fuck, why would Marines attack them from out of nowhere? Shit! He grips onto Luffy, deciding to kill the brat later. Could they have recognized him? Are they coming for his bounty!? 

If he runs far enough, he should be out of range of the ship.

Back on the HQ-O3. . .

“We’ll be there shortly,” Bogard says, watching Garp climb onto the ship’s railing. 

Rolling up his sleeves, Garp turns back and gives him a look, “Can’t wait that long.” 

“I see,” Bogard nods, understanding it. This is his grandson after all. “Should we wait here?”

“No, get closer.” Garp points to the shore. “I won’t take long.”

In the forest. . .

The cannonballs stopped flying. 

Higuma’s breath comes in quick, labored bursts. He tosses Luffy to the ground and rests his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. 

Luffy still doesn’t have the strength to move, but he’ll die trying. 

He starts crawling, trying to put some distance between the two. 

Higuma notices and immediately steps on Luffy’s back. He squats down and grabs the back of the boy’s neck, pinning him to the ground. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Let go of me!” Luffy grumbles out.

“Can’t do that, kid.” 

“Why!?” Luffy feels himself get teary-eyed.

“You wronged me, boy.”

“What’d he do?” A deeper voice says, and Higuma tenses, darting his head around. A tall, broad man walks towards them. He’s wearing a Marine’s uniform. Is that an admiral? 

“Stay back!” Higuma quickly unsheathes his sword and stabs the ground next to Luffy’s neck. He brings the blade close enough to cut him.

“Who do you think you are?” Garp doesn’t care about the blade. He knows the man wouldn’t kill him. The damned bandit is shaking shitless. “Threatening my family?”

Higuma’s eyes widen, and he looks at Luffy, but before he can look at Garp, he’s flung across the forest. Pain radiates through his body, starting at his face, and was he punched? His body flails through the forest like a rag doll until he collides with a large tree trunk. 

Garp huffs. Damned vermin couldn’t even withstand a punch. He looks down and sees his grandson lying on the floor.

Sighing, Garp kneels down and tries scooping Luffy up into his arms, but the boy’s body bends, unnaturally, as a cat would, but a human shouldn’t. “WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU!?”

Luffy bursts into tears, “GRANDPA!!!”

With the help of Garp, Luffy sits upright and grips his grandpa’s shoulders. The older man slowly brings him close and stands up. He moves Luffy back, taking a good, long look at him. The poor boy is covered in bruises, dirt, and smells of seawater.

“Ihhh Ihhh Ihhh, he trihh tohhh drowhh dowhh” Luffy hiccupes between sobs. He’s completely incoherent, and Garp doesn’t have the heart to tell him to toughen up. 

“It’s okay,” Garp holds him closer. “Grandpa’s here. You’re safe.”

Luffy sniffles and buries his face in Garp’s neck and finally says something comprehensible: “I WUHHHS SO SCARED!

“I know, I know,” Garp pats his back. If Luffy weren’t here, he’d probably kill the bandit nice and slow. He holds back a curse. “You’re safe now, Luffy.”

“HE  TRIED— UHHH HE-HHAAAAAAAAAAAAA,” Luffy starts bawling again.” DROWAHHHHHHHH”

“Okay, okay, calm down,” Garp’s ears are starting to hurt. He starts walking towards the shore, still carrying Luffy. He stopped coddling the boy a long time ago, but there are times when the rule is broken. This is one of them. “You can tell me all that happened, once I’ve got you all patched up, alright, Luffy?”

Chapter Text

In the East Blue. . .

They left Foosha village a day ago. Yawning, Shanks steps out of his cabin and stretches his arms, letting the cool sea breeze wake him up. The sun is just beginning to rise, casting a beautiful gradient of blue and purple across the sky. Walking back into his cabin, he gets his treasure and places it on one of the tables on the deck.

Shanks prepares for the day, brushing his teeth in the common area, greeting Lucky in the kitchen, picking up a pre-breakfast snack, and waking the rest of his men with a yell.

Before he knows it, the sun’s fully out. He’s still sleepy, though. 

Strolling over to the table, Shanks opens the chest, checking on the devil fruit.

He blinks, then rubs his eyes.

He closes the chest.

He opens the chest.

He closes it again.

Then opens it again.

He rubs his eyes again.

He opens it.

Then closes it.

Then repeats all the previous steps three times.

“Ay, that’s enough, Yasopp,” Shanks announces loudly. “You can put it back.”

“Huh?” The man in question ambles over, trying to see what his captain’s going on about. “What back?”

“The fruit,” Shanks stares blankly, assessing whether the sniper was serious. Shanks gives him a dumbfounded look.

“I ain’t take it,” Yasopp stares at the rock in the chest. He didn’t do that. He doubts anyone on the crew would do it. They all know how important this is to Shanks. 

“Stop messing with me,” Shanks chuckles nervously, panicking internally.

And, his eyes widen when Yasopp doesn’t laugh back.

“EVERYONE,” Shanks screams, alerting his men on the deck. He turns to Yasopp. “Gather the men.”

“What?” Lucky yells back. It’s too early for all this hollering. He’s barely plated breakfast.

“THE DEVIL FRUIT IS MISSING!!!!” Shanks screeches. His panic breaks through the surface and quickly spreads amongst his crew.

“WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT,” all the Redhaired pirates scream in unison. 

11 Years Later

Marineford, in Paradise. . .

“Where the hell is my grandson??” Garp yells, fuming and stomping through the halls. 

“Vice Admiral,” a private straightens up, saluting the older man. He watches scared as his fellow marines scatter, leaping into adjacent rooms and out of windows. Garp marches towards him with a murderous look.

Shaking, the marine exhales. 

Garp grabs the private by the collar, lifts him into the air, gets real close to his face, “Have you seen Luffy!?”

“nO, sIR,” the private squeaks out. 

“Aaaahhhhhh,” Garp grunts, tossing the marine aside and continuing to stomp his way through the hall. “Once I find that son of a gun, he’s gonna pay!!!”

Near the docks. . .

Marineford is a large, crescent-shaped island, well-suited to defending its civilian population and headquarters. It offers a strategic advantage if someone is ever stupid enough to challenge the Marines on their home turf. Unfortunately, the island’s shape doesn’t allow Luffy to commandeer a vessel. 

“Commander,”  A skittish officer hesitantly says.

“What?” Luffy says, tapping his foot on the deck. He’s already losing his patience with this guy.

“I don’t— I can’t, we need direct permission from a Vice Admiral to set sail,”

“Huh?” Luffy pivots and stomps towards the man. “I said, set sail! It’s an order!”

“I’m so sorry!” The officer claps his hands into a prayer in front of him. “I can’t do that!”

The rest of the Marine crew watch with bated breath as Luffy reacts. The rubber man inhales, then strides toward the anchor. With a swift and effortless motion, he pulls on the rope, and the anchor flies out of the ocean and into Luffy’s hand. The battleship swayed from the momentum.

“Set sail!” Luffy announces.

The Marines don’t budge.

“Whoever defies me, I’ll tie to this anchor and throw you overboard,” Luffy says darkly.

The officer turns pale. He’s going to lose his job! This isn’t fair! It’s not his fault Vice Admiral Garp has a crazy grandson. He just got this position, too! Hesitantly, the officer commands, “You heard him.”

The Marine crew scrambles to set the ship into motion.

“Where are we going?” The officer sniffles, already fully prepared to resign. 

“The New World,” Luffy says, fixing the anchor onto the ship’s side. 

“What!?”

Luffy just holds up the anchor’s rope.

“Yes, sir!” The Officer just salutes. “I was just wondering how we’re going to get clearance to go through the gates!”

Luffy pauses. Oh, yeah. He forgot. He thinks for a moment.

“You’ll think of something!” Luffy smiles, swinging the anchor’s rope threateningly. 

“Yes, sir!” The officer says through teary eyes. If the Marines don’t kill him, Commander Luffy will!

At the top of the fort. . .

“Where is Luffy?” Garp grips onto the collar of a pink-haired chore boy.

“I don’t know! I don’t know!” The boy babbles, waving his hands around.

From the corner of his eye, Garp watches as one of the docked battleships departs. He pinches his brows together. All the Vice Admirals were called to attend a full-day meeting. He lets go of the whimpering boy and strides over to one of the balconies overlooking the city. That’s HQ-O4. 

Garp climbs onto the ledge and takes off,  making his way towards the docks.

On HQ–O4. . .

“Excuse me, Commander!” A private approaches Luffy, saluting him out of fear. “Why exactly are we going to the New World!?”

“To capture a pirate,” Luffy purses his lips and focuses on the bay. There’s no one of importance here. All the Vice Admirals are cooped up in a room, getting lectured. He’s sure his grandpa didn’t see him sneak away. The old man basically tied him to a chair just to keep him there for the entire meeting! Luffy glances at the port. No one—good, he sighs in relief.

“If I may ask?” The Officer interjects, sweating bullets. “Under whose orders should I tell the gatekeeper we’re under?”

Luffy blinks. He didn’t think this through.

“Sengoku,” Luffy lies, looking away and puckering his lips. 

This guy's a horrible liar! The Officer goes pale and whines.

“Who are we capturing?” The private asks, genuinely curious as to why his Marine career will be short-lived.

Before Luffy can respond, the battleship sways violently. He steadies himself as he watches his grandfather land on the deck, visibly furious. The Marine crew yells in chaos; some fall, while others grip the ship's railing or slide across the deck. Water splashes onto the wooden floor from Garp's forceful boarding.

“Luffy!” Garp yells, balling his hands into fists and walking over to the young man. “I told you to stay put!”

“I told you, I didn’t want to!” Luffy tenses,

“You talking back?!” 

“I am!” Luffy admits, stupidly. 

“Have I taught you no manners?!” Garp lunges forward, tilting the ship off kilter as he throws a punch. Luffy blocks it and tries sneaking in a kick, but his grandpa grabs his leg and throws him across the deck.

Marines fumble for security and safety.

“Please spare the ship!” The officer cries, holding on for dear life.

Luffy stands up, wobbling with the ship until he finds stable footing. 

“We’re going back inside, and you’re going to listen to me,” Garp says loudly, at his wits' end.

“I’m not going anywhere!” Luffy widens his stance, fully on the defensive. It’s too risky to attack; he’s on the ocean, and Garp would let him drown a little just to teach him a lesson.

“When did you become so disrespectful!?!?!” 

From atop Marineford. . .

Sighing, Senogoku rubbed a weary hand across his face. He was hosting a meeting with the Vice Admirals to discuss the usual operations of some pirates and how they could potentially restrict their movements. As expected, Garp brought in Garp Number Two, tying him to a chair and sitting beside the rubberman.

It was only a matter of time before Lufy escaped. 

It’s not like Garp was watching him; the man fell asleep mid-meeting.

It’s one thing for Garp to interrupt the meeting by bringing his grandson along; it’s another to completely hijack it. He, along with every summoned Vice Admiral, gathers on the balcony to watch the two Monkey men fight.

“Why does the kid want to leave anyway?” Vice Admiral Tsuru says, arms crossed in front of her, and watching as HQ-O4 sways from side to side. She can see some Marines being flung overboard.

“That’s my ship,” Vice Admiral Comil says, defeatedly.

Sengoku would say he doesn’t have the faintest idea why they're fighting, but he knows full well why. 

With a final clash, Sengoku can sense the exact moment Monkey. D. Luffy passes out and is thrown overboard.

“Alright, everyone.” He claps, gathering all the Vice Admirals' attention. “Back into the conference room. We had our show, back to work.”

The men and women grumble, groaning and dreading going back. He’s not going to lie and say that he’d rather be hosting a meeting than watching Garp beat common sense in his own flesh and blood. 

This is the fifth time Luffy’s tried commandeering a vessel. 

It’s got to stop.

A large, strong hand emerges from the ocean and grasps onto the dock. Garp groans as he throws his grandson on the pier and then pulls himself up. 

He wrings the bottom of his shirt out, cursing under his breath. The rubber idiot just had to go and get knocked into the sea. 

Luffy is lying awkwardly on the wooden floor, out cold. Garp still has some semblance of human decency. He kneels down, checking the boy’s pulse and breathing. He’s fine. Garp chuckles.

“Hey!” Garp barks at some chore boys cleaning up the pier. “Go get some sea prism cuff! Don’t make them a low grade! This bastard will break ‘em!”

The choreboys nod and scramble away.

“Vice Admiral Garp,” A lieutenant approaches. “Sengoku summoned you.”

“Huh?” Garp says, taking off his shirt and wringing it out. 

“The fleet admiral summoned you,” the lieutenant repeated.

“I heard you the first time, boy.” Garp glares at Luffy’s limp body. “Tell him I’m not going.”

“But sir!”

“See that Commander right there,” Garp gestures to Luffy.  “See to it that the rubber bastard gets behind bars.”

“But th-that’s a Commander!” the lieutenant stutters.

The chore boys return and hand Garp the cuffs. The older man kneels beside Luffy. He flips the boy over onto his back and binds his wrists together.

“And I’m a Vice Admiral!” Garp points to his chest with his thumb. “I’m giving you an order.”

In Garp’s quarters.

Garp takes out another uniform. Damned brat just had to fall overboard. Sighing, Garp begins changing. His shoes are ruined now, too. 

There’s a knock at the door.

“Leave!” He yells loud enough for the person outside to hear. He’s not opening the door for anyone, especially half-naked.

The door clicks open, and Garp frowns. He locked it.

Sengoku walks through and hands a chore boy a key. It’s that wimpy pink-haired recruit.

“You’re dismissed,” Sengoku addresses the boy, then closes the door behind him.

“We can’t tolerate this kind of behavior, Garp,” Sengolu feels like he’s repeating himself for the umpteenth time.

“I know,” Garp grumbles. “You try talking sense into him. He’s like a brick wall.”   

“It must run in the family,” Sengoku sighs, completely exasperated. “I can’t keep them at bay if he behaves like this.”

Pausing, Garp closes his eyes and inhales deeply. Damn, “Do they still want him?”

“Yes.”

"I’ll be damned if my grandson serves those stuck-up, privileged scumbags!" Garp exclaimed, his emotions running high. "This is unreasonable! He’s barely a commander; he’s nowhere near any admiral position, and those knight titles are reserved for half-breed bastards!"          

“I know,” Sengoku admits, tempering down his own feelings about the situation. 

“Tell them ‘No!’ Again!” Garp slips into a new shirt and pants.

“I have!” 

“Tell them again!” He turns sharply and marches to the man. 

“Garp,” Sengoku warns. “I can’t make a case for an insubordinate Marine.”

“Try!” 

“Listen,” Sengoku starts firmly. “Let’s go back to the conference room and discuss this later. I’ll give you and your grandson all my attention.”

“Screw your meeting!” Garp puts on his pair of slippers and then slams the door shut.

Luffy’s starting to be a real pain in his ass. 

In the jail cell. . .

Luffy sits at the corner, glaring at the pirates surrounding him. There are about ten of them crammed in this small cell. Garp must have thrown him in here before he came to. Dammit, and he was so close to leaving the headquarters. That was the closest he’s ever gotten. If only the geezer wasn’t breathing down his neck 24/7.

Struggling against the sea prism cuffs, Luffy huffs and settles until he feels comfortable. As comfortable as someone could feel with his hands tied behind his back.

“Ain’t you Garp’s boy?” A pirate says from across the cell. He’s beaten and bruised with several tattoos running up his face and down his neck.

“I’m Monkey D. Luffy,” He says, already frustrated at being caged, “I’m no one’s ‘boy.’”

“No, no.” The tattooed pirate insists. “You Garp’s boy!”

Luffy feels a vein pop on his forehead.

“You know, Garp put me in ‘ere,” the pirate begins monologuing. Something something about hating Garp, getting payback, stolen treasure, hope and dreams about finding the One Piece, and honestly, Luffy stopped listening halfway through.

The pirate moves forward, trying to kick Luffy in the stomach, but before he can, Luffy blocks with his feet.

“I don’t care if you hate my grandpa,” Luffy kicks back and knocks the pirate off balance. “Go bother him.”

He sends the pirate flying across the cell.

“Oi, oi!” Another scrawny pirate panics. “Ain’t he in sea prism! Guard! Guard! There’s a maniac in here!”

A marine rushes over and looks at the tattooed pirate. He passed out on impact. 

“Commander, please be reasonable! These are prisoners!” The guard pleads.

“That's a marine!” The scrawny pirate yelps. “Why is he in here with us!?!”

“What grade are those cuffs?” Another guard says worried sick because Luffy is standing, although wobbly. “Those might not be strong enough.”

“Don’t worry, boys,” Garp’s voice calms the guards. “I’ll take him off your hands.”

“Vice Admiral Garp!” Both guards straighten up. One immediately reaches for his belt, gets the keys, unlocks the cell door, and lets Garp step through.

“No fucking way,” the scrawny pirate gawks.

“Can you walk like that?” Garp raises an eyebrow. This damn boy has gotten used to being in sea prism. Any Devil Fruit user would be laid out on the floor, struggling against its effects, but not Luffy. The young man has been cuffed so many times that it seems he’s built up a small tolerance.

Not against the sea.

She still rejects him.

“Yeah,” Luffy mustered up, feeling light-headed and weak.

“Good,” Garp cocks his head, signalling Luffy to follow him. 

Garp parades a bound Luffy through the halls of Marineford, passing recruits, officers, and vice admirals alike. The rubberman trails behind his grandfather until they reach Garp’s office.

“Get in,” his grandpa says without looking at him.

Waving his hand, Garp reprimands the gawking Marines, “Pick those jaws off the floor and get back to work!”

Inside, Luffy lets himself collapse, his face hitting the cold floor. Damn, he still can’t entirely fight off the effects of the sea prism. He doubts he ever will. He feels completely drained of strength, convinced that he was only able to walk alongside Garp out of sheer will or spite.

“You’re one tough bastard, you know that,” Garp laughs and picks up Luffy and plops him down on a chair. 

Luffy only groans. 

Garp pulls the chair tucked under his desk closer and positions it directly in front of Luffy’s chair, making it so they are both sitting across from one another. Oh no, he wants to have a serious talk. Luffy dreads those!

“What’s wrong with you?” Garp sits down.

“I want to find him,” Luffy says again. They’ve already been through this four times. 

“No,” Garp pinches the bridge of his nose. “Why are you risking everything you’ve worked for for this?”

Luffy thins his lips. He doesn’t feel guilt. It’s the furthest thing from it.

“He’s not worth risking your career, your way of life, the roof over your head!” Garp gestures broadly.

“I want to find him.”

“And do what?”

Luffy remains silent.

“Ace isn’t going to suddenly change his mind! He decided to be a pirate a long time ago!”

“I can talk to him!”

“And tell him what? Think Luffy! Think! What could you possibly say to him!? Why? You think turning up will change his mind! He’s one of Whitebeard's Commanders!!”

“He’s alone!” 

“He’s still dangerous!” Garp raises his voice. 

“So am I!” Luffy combats, matching the older man’s tone. “I’m strong! Stronger than him!”

“You don’t know that!”

“I can bring him in! If he doesn’t listen, then I can beat sense into him!”

“Like I beat sense into you,” Garp says low, defeated, and sighing. 

“I’ll bring him in, force him to be a marine!” Luffy adds, hopeful and terribly naive. “He’s chasing down Blackbeard, he’s alone, and I just need a ship. I don’t need a crew.”

“How,” Garp runs a hand down his face. “How will you navigate? Hmm?”

“I’ll find a way,” Luffy defends.

“How will you helm the ship? I’ve seen you steer. You do a shit job.”

Luffy grits his teeth. He definitely needs a crew. Dammit!

“I need to find him.”

“You don’t need to do anything,” Garp says, sternly. “You need to stop. You want to find Ace because you’re selfish and arrogant and naive, and the Navy won’t tolerate that! I have Sengoku breathing down my neck because of you!”

“I’ll leave the Marines! If that's what it—!” 

“No!” Garp quickly stops him. He already had his son throw his life away.”I can’t let you ruin your life!”

Luffy’s frustration builds in his chest, causing tears to well up in his eyes. 

“Luffy,” Garp says softly. “We are family. You are the most important person in my life. I can not lose you.”

“Ace is my brother,” Luffy frowns. “I want to be with my brother.”

Garp doesn’t have anything to say to that.

“Tell me again,” Garp inhales sharply, beyond tired of the subject. “Tell me your plan.”

“Will you let me go?”

“No,” Garp laughs, slapping his knee at the ridiculous demand.

Luffy grumbles a curse under his breath.

“What did you say, brat!?” Garp whacks one of Luffy’s thighs.

“I was going to steal a ship, go to the New World, and find Ace or Blackbeard,” Luffy confesses.

“Okay,” Garp nods, slowly. It’s by far the most stupid plan he’s ever heard. “I can work with that.”

“I can go?”

“I said no!”

“Stop siking me out!” Luffy barks. 

“This is what we’re going to say,” Garp holds up a finger in front of Luffy. “You’re hysterical and tried hijacking the battleship to go back to the East Blue because you miss your adoptive mother, Dadan.”

Luffy stares at him, “I’m not saying that.”

“Dammit, Luffy!” Garp stands up and hits Luffy square on the head. “I’m trying to help you here!” 

“I don’t want help!” Luffy hisses at the pain. His head is gonna bruise! He’s defenseless. This isn’t fair!

“You don’t want anything that’s good for you!” 

“Are you going to let me go?” Luffy peers up at Garp.

“Hell no!” Garp shouts, loud and exasperated. “I’m taking you back to that jail cell until you pick the straight and narrow path.”

Immediately, Luffy throws himself to the ground and tries to move away.

“Struggling will only make it worse,” Garp grabs Luffy by the waist and throws him over his shoulder. He strolls toward the door and parades Luffy back to the jail. Still, the Marines told to go back to work watched as the two Monkey men bicker back and forth, mostly Luffy hooting and hollering.

Once he arrives in the jail area, the guard readily opens the cell gate, and Garp tosses Luffy inside.

The tattooed and scrawny pirate flinches and stares.

“Limit his food,” Garp tells the guards. 

“What!” Luffy protests, violently thrashing until he’s standing up and butting his head against the bars.

Garp lifts a brow and gestures for the guard to reopen the cell door, again. 

“And bring me a higher sea prism grade,” Garp moves inside the cell and looms over a very nervous Luffy.

Koby peeks over and gulps. He has just been assigned to clean up after the prisoners. Anxiously, he watches Commander Luffy grovel on the floor. The pirates in the cell huddle in the corner opposite the rubber man, clearly terrified of him. Every time Luffy moves, the pirates seem to shift in response.

“What are you waiting for?” A man’s voice says behind him.

Koby flinches. 

“Go! Go clean!” The guard points at his station. 

“Of course, sorry, sir!” Koby bows and quickly moves, pushing his cleaning cart into the jail area and far from the cell. He gathers supplies and starts with the bathroom. 

Luffy glares at him, hawkishly stalking his every movement. It gives Koby full-body chills.

 And yep—yeah, the rumors about Luffy being scary are true!