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The Sea was freedom itself. Every once in a while, a human was born with the same free spirit. A human who valued it above all else. The freedom to live as they wanted, to protect who they loved, to go wherever they pleased. She loved these people. She wanted to meet them, wanted to hold them in her depths, alongside her forever. Centuries ago, one was called Joy Boy. He died outside her reach. Decades ago, a man named Roger was born. He too died too far from her shores, buried in earth rather than Sea.
She thought she would have to wait centuries more. She thought she would be alone for several hundred more years, watching her children play at freedom and miss it by miles. But then, only five years after she lost Roger, a boy named Luffy was born.
Not this time, she decided. This time, he would be hers, even if it meant taking him before his time should end. The boy was already freedom, even if he did not have time to use it.
When he was old enough to venture into her waters and splash in her waves, she called out to him. Her children were all drawn to her, eventually, and a boy who would live for freedom would never be able to resist. He ventured farther out. A woman called to him from the shore, telling him to stay close, telling him to be careful, but the moment he could no longer reach her floors he was falling under. He splashed and flailed, but she did not let him up. The woman came for him almost immediately, pulling him away and out of reach. The Sea let him go, for now. There would be other chances. The boy would never learn to swim, she wouldn't let him, and she covered so much of the world that it was only a matter of time.
Luffy loved the sea. He'd been in the sky, when Gramps tied him to all those balloons. He'd been in the forest, when Gramps left him there. He spent most of his time on the ground in Foosha village. But he'd never been on the sea.
He wanted to though. He wanted to sail out with every ship that docked in their harbor and he wanted to feel her breeze on his face and he wanted to swim in her waters.
The sailors all called the sea "she," and they'd been out there, so they probably knew better than him. The villagers called the sea "it" and spoke of her like any other object in the village. But the sea has always called to Luffy and he felt like she was more than human, not less.
When Makino finally agreed to let him go, while she watched, he could hardly contain his excitement. She didn't really like the ocean much, Luffy knew. She was one of the people who thought the sea was just there. But she'd put on a swimsuit, even though she covered it in a dress, and promised to teach him a little.
When they were closer to the beach, Luffy couldn't help but run ahead. Makino called after him to be careful and to wait for her, but she didn't sound like she really expected him to listen, so he figured it was fine.
He kicked off his flip-flops and ran into the water. He wiggled his toes in the wet sand as the ocean lapped at his ankles. It was kinda cold and it smelled a little salty and Luffy felt giddy. He moved forward again until the water was up to his waist.
He could see little fish swimming around between the waves.
He really was going to wait for Makino before wading in deeper. He was. But he couldn't help it. That same something was calling to him still, louder than ever, and he wanted to listen. It was louder than Makino was on the shore.
The water climbed higher the further in he went, all the way up to his chin, and it felt good, it felt right. But on the next step, the water was past his head and the sand had disappeared from underneath his feet. He clawed at the sea and kicked like Makino had told him to, but it wasn’t working. He couldn’t see anymore, like something was covering his eyes, but there was nothing there besides the salt stinging at them. His chest was starting to hurt too, from holding his breath for so long. His head felt light.
And then there were hands on him, pulling him up, and he could breathe again. Makino was there. She was patting at his face and holding him to her chest. “Are you okay, Luffy?” she was asking. “Luffy, just breathe. It’s okay, honey, I’m here.”
He couldn’t stop coughing until after they were back on the beach. He fisted his hands in the sand, hacking up what felt like the entire ocean while Makino rubbed at his back soothingly. She was whispering comforts, but Luffy wasn’t listening. When he could finally breathe again and it was only a little shaky, he turned and looked back at the sea behind him.
Makino moved to block it from view. “Shh, Luffy, it’s okay. I’m right here. You’re not going back in.”
It was at those words, finally, that Luffy began to cry. Makino hushed him and scooped him up into her arms. She began making her way back to the bar, clutching him to her chest just a little bit too tightly. The whole time, though, all Luffy did was stare at the sea as she took him away from her. He couldn’t stop crying, either. Makino thought it was because he was scared, and he was a bit, but it wasn’t why he was crying. It wasn’t because it hurt to breathe or because his eyes still stung or because he’d almost died. You’re not going back in, she’d said.
The sea had nearly taken his life, but he wasn’t angry at her. He wanted to go back. He couldn’t imagine never going into the sea again. He didn’t want to imagine it. But then Makino turned a corner and he couldn’t see the beach anymore. He tucked his face into her shoulder, and he cried.
By the time Luffy was seven, he had mostly accepted that he wasn’t allowed to wander into the sea past his ankles. Not unless someone was ready to get him back out, anyway. Makino made him promise not to.
He wished he could. He usually didn't have much else to do besides sit on the beach and watch the waves. But at least while Shanks and his crew were on the island, he had something to take his mind off of it. They weren't working like Makino did or busy like most of the townspeople and they liked him, unlike the few other kids in Foosha. They were great! Luffy loved them a lot.
Luffy was always so happy when they came back, even though he hated when they left again.
Shanks was his friend. It was nice, having friends. Sometimes, him or Benn would sit on the beach and watch the waves with Luffy. He still wasn't allowed in though. Shanks tried to goad him, sometimes. Luffy wanted so badly to listen, but he didn't want to worry Makino. She'd made him promise not to go in, so Luffy couldn't.
He thought about telling Makino Shanks kept asking, but decided against it. Makino was scary, and he didn't want her to chase Shanks away for good. Benn always yelled at him for it anyway. So Luffy kept his promise and kept out of the sea, even though it called to something deep within him.
He spent a lot of time with them in Makino’s bar too. Shanks and his crew liked to drink a lot and Luffy liked Makino, so it was great for everyone. Makino usually fed Luffy too, when he was there. Makino’s cooking was always delicious.
When he drank, Shanks would tell Luffy stories. He would talk about sailing the seas and about islands so cool and so weird that Luffy would have thought Shanks was messing with him again if Benn hadn’t backed him up. Shanks was a pirate, and pirates sailed the sea which meant pirates were the strongest people in the world. People even Marines like Gramps couldn’t catch. With each new story, Luffy’s heart swelled with longing.
Pirates sounded so free.
Shanks was telling him an extra cool story about islands made of food when someone walked into the bar and interrupted him. Well, Shanks kept talking actually, but Luffy looked over.
“So this is what pirates look like, huh?” the man sneered. “This is the first time I’ve seen any. They look pretty dumb to me. They’d have to be to think they’re tough for roaming out on the sea,” Luffy straightened with a frown. “We are bandits. We’re not here to cause any trouble, we just wanna buy ten barrels of sake.” Him and his crew looked like the kinds of customers who did cause trouble and give Makino problems though. And the bandit wanted a drink. It made sense, that was why people usually came to Party’s Bar, but Shanks and everyone had already drank it all. Makino had chided them for it as she handed over the last bottle.
Shanks trailed off when he realized Luffy had stopped paying attention. He looked over to the bandit as well once Makino started answering the bandit. Luffy thought Shanks might have been paying attention to him the whole time, even if he hadn’t seemed like it.
“I’m so sorry,” Makino said. Luffy could tell she was worried. “We’re out of sake.”
“Oh?” the bandit said. His voice sounded different. Kind of scary. “That’s strange. If you’re out, then what are they drinking?” he asked with a dismissive nod to Shanks and his crew. Luffy decided he didn’t like this guy. “Is it water?”
“It’s sake,” Makino said warily, “but that’s all we have.”
“Ah,” Shanks cut in, lightening the tension in Makino’s shoulders. “Looks like we drank the place dry. Sorry about that. Here, if you don’t mind, you can take the last bottle.” Luffy relaxed. Shanks was here, so it would be fine.
Luffy startled and fell back off his stool when the bandit smashed the bottle over Shanks’s head.
“Just who do you think I am?” the bandit asked, low and angry. “Don’t take me so lightly. One bottle is not enough!”
“Oh no,” Shanks said, frowning and looking down. “Now the floor is all wet.”
Luffy stared at him. Why wasn’t he getting mad or beating the bandit up? Luffy knew he could.
The bandit’s eyebrow twitched. He pulled a piece of paper out of his jacket and held it out to Shanks. Luffy squinted and sounded out the letters at the bottom of the wanted poster. Higuma.
“See this?” Higuma asked. “My head is worth eight million beri! I’m one of the prime fugitives here, and I’ve killed fifty-six people, you cocky bastard. Now that you know who I am, don’t mess with us again.” Shanks hadn’t even messed with him this time. That was Luffy’s problem. “After all, mountain bandits and sea pirates don’t mingle very well.”
Luffy glared hard at the bandit guy. He knew he’d just seen his name, but it wasn’t worth remembering, so he didn’t. Luffy startled and looked down when he heard a clicking sound. Instead of punching the asshole, Shanks was stooped down and cleaning up his mess.
“Sorry about that Makino,” Shanks said, sounding unbothered even though his hat was still dripping. “Do you have a mop?” Luffy didn’t mind that Shanks was helping Makino. Luffy liked that he wanted to help, but couldn’t he do it after he got rid of this guy? Luffy’s brows twitched and he looked around for something to distract himself. Even if he didn’t like how he was going about it so far, this was still Shanks’s fight. Luffy had to keep his mouth shut. His eyes caught on a chest sitting on the bar. He reached inside and pulled out some sort of dessert.
“Ah, it’s alright!” Makino said, darting nervous glances between Shanks and the bandit guy. “I’ll clean it up…”
Makino flinched when the bandit swept his sword across the bar, shattering most of it and sending the rest to the ground. Luffy took a big bite of the weird purple fruit to keep himself from talking. “Since it seems like you really enjoy cleaning,” the bandit sneered again, “now you can enjoy it some more.” He turned away from where Shanks sat on the ground, even more soaked than before with bits of glass and plates scattered across him. Luffy shoved the rest of it into his mouth even though it tasted gross. “Later, you bunch of chickens,” he said with a dismissive wave of his hands. His crew laughed as they left.
Makino rushed to Shanks’s side. “Are you alright, Captain?” she asked. Her hands hovered over him uncertainly. “Did you get hurt?”
Shanks took her hands gently and offered a reassuring smile. “No, I’m fine,” he said.
Makino relaxed, and Shanks let out a breath. His smile shifted into a grin. Barely a second later, the bar filled with laughter.
“Our captain sure looked silly,” Roo laughed.
“He fixed you up good, Captain,” Yasopp said, snorting with the force of his laughter.
And in the middle, laughing louder than any of them, was Shanks.
Luffy stood on his stool and jumped down, fists balled tightly. He was shaking, he was so angry. “What the hell was that!” Luffy yelled.
The pirates faced Luffy, looking surprised.
“Why are you laughing!”
“Woah, Anchor,” Shanks said, holding his hands up, like he was trying to calm Luffy down. He still had that stupid smile on his face. “I know how you feel—”
Luffy cut him off because if he knew, then it wouldn’t have happened. “No! Why didn’t you fight him? Aren’t you ashamed? So what if they have more people?”
Shanks took a deep breath. Like Luffy was the one who didn’t get it. He knelt down in front of Luffy, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. “Luffy, it’s just a bottle of sake. There’s nothing to get worked up about.”
Luffy shook him off and stumbled backward away from the bar. “The Sea is proud,” Luffy said, voice shaking, “so why aren’t you? That guy doesn’t know anything about her, but you’ve survived years on her waters, you’ve worked with and fought her, and he doesn’t know shit about it. He’s looking down on the Sea, and you just let him.”
Shanks blinked at him, mouth open. Luffy shook his head harshly and turned on his heel, wiping at frustrated tears as he ran out of the bar.
“Anchor!” Shanks called from behind him, still sounding confused. Luffy didn’t go back though. He ran and ran and ran and, like always, he found himself back at the water’s edge. Luffy panted as he stared across the ocean. He breathed in time with the waves and his heart swelled with the tides. He felt so many different things he could hardly stand it.
Shanks always told Luffy that he couldn’t go with them, but the excuse Luffy hated most was when they said he didn’t understand the power of the Sea. But he did. Luffy had always understood. That power thrummed in his veins and sang to him even from the forests when Gramps left him there. Luffy always knew where the Sea was, and he always made his way back to her. Gramps had started leaving Luffy deeper and deeper in the jungle since he always wound up on the beach before the week was out.
Luffy understood the Sea, he had since he was born. She’d always felt familiar to him, even though he couldn’t swim in her waters. Somehow, Luffy thought they were the same. He didn’t know in what way, but he knew it was true. Something felt different now, but Luffy wasn’t sure what that was either. He would eventually. And, he thought, maybe Shanks was the one who didn’t understand them.
Balling his fists, Luffy grew frustrated again. When he ran this time, it was toward the forest. He stopped just at its edge, as far as he could go from the shore without it starting to hurt. His bones still ached faintly, but he was so angry still that he didn’t even care.
He sat by the trees for hours and hours, until the sun began to set, and when he finally came back, Shanks and the others were gone. It hurt and it ate at him, and the gaping maw in Luffy that longed for the Sea grew a little bit wider.
The mountain bandits came back before Shanks did.
Luffy sat and kicked his feet at the bar while Makino worked. He’d felt tougher lately, even since Shanks left. Things that made him cry before didn’t even hurt anymore. The Sea seemed different too. She would churn in upset when he sat on her beaches instead of calming. But still she reached out for him, so he tried not to worry about it too much. Tried. Without Shanks and the others there, there was nothing to keep his mind off of it.
“They’ve been away for a while now,” Makino offered. She’d been worrying about him. “Do you feel lonely, Luffy?”
Yes. Always. “Nope,” Luffy said. “I haven’t forgiven him yet. I overestimated Shanks. I thought he was a real pirate. Free, one with the Sea herself.”
“Really?” Makino asked with forced cheer. “I always thought that people who could laugh it off after getting picked on were pretty brave.”
Luffy shook his head and looked at her for a moment. She seemed to freeze in place. Luffy wasn’t even sure she was breathing. People got like that sometimes. He wasn’t sure why.
When Luffy turned away and stared down at the bar again, he heard her let out a big breath. “It isn’t that,” he said quietly.
Makino didn’t answer him. She knew what he meant. He talked to her about the Sea more than anyone—Luffy was sure she understood at least a bit by now.
They sat in silence, Makino wiping down the bar with a rag, and only looked up when the doors swung open, banging into the wall.
The bandit wandered into Makino’s bar like he belonged there. He asked for booze, and before Makino could comply, his gaze zeroed in on Luffy. The man smiled, but it didn’t look nice. He turned back to Makino, took the bottle out of her hand, and sat at the bar two stools away from Luffy.
“Looks like those so-called pirates are gone,” the man said, sneering. He wasn’t looking at Luffy, but he still thought the words were directed at him. “They were all talk. I bet now that they’ve headed back out to sea, they’ll be dead in a week.”
Luffy’s lip raised in a snarl. The bandit looked over from the corner of his eye and gave a smarmy grin.
“Bunch of losers and cowards,” the bandit continued. “They don’t have a territory to look after. They take it easy out on the water, running and hiding whenever they see a hint of any enemies.” Luffy stood.
Just because Shanks wouldn’t defend himself, just because he wouldn’t defend the Sea, that didn’t mean Luffy was going to sit and listen to this puny mountain bandit talk bad about his friends. He wouldn’t. This guy didn’t understand the Sea, he didn’t understand anything. He was a fool, and Luffy had no problem letting him know if it got the guy to shut up.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Luffy said, still on his stool. He kept his eyes fixed on the bar, fists clenched white. “You don’t know shit about Shanks, or about Pirates, or about the Sea.”
The bandit laughed, and his crew joined in.
“Is that so, kid?” he asked. “You think you know more than me?”
Luffy turned and met his gaze head-on. Just like Makino, the bandit went absolutely still. Luffy was sure he stopped breathing. “Yes,” Luffy said eventually. “I do. You’re all idiots for looking down on the Sea and those who can sail on her.”
A loud sound came from the back of the bar and Luffy spun to see another bandit holding up a chair leg, sharp and jagged where he’d broken it off from the rest of the chair now lying on the ground.
Luffy was still watching the improvised weapon and the bandit holding it when he felt a tight grip on his arm. He yelped on instinct before realizing it didn’t really hurt. He scrunched his brows together, but he didn’t stop fighting and kicking and yelling. He grabbed onto the main bandit guy’s arm to try and free himself as he was dragged out of the bar. The dirt and the rough wood scraped at Luffy’s skin and tore it open in patches. Tears started forming, but Luffy forced them back. He focused on escaping. When he somehow bent far enough to try and bite the hand, he was flung to the ground outside the bar before he could.
One of the bandits kicked Luffy harshly in the ribs. It pushed the air from his lungs, but still didn’t hurt. That was weird. Luffy knew that should have cracked them, since that was what happened when Gramps accidentally threw him into a tree. It should have, but it didn’t. The bandit with the chair leg whacked him in the head with it. The rest of the bandits joined in, circled around Luffy and raining down kicks and stomps and all sorts of blows, and it was scary, but none of them hurt.
Luffy didn’t want to be scared, and he didn’t want to seem scared. So he forced his mouth up into a smile, even if it didn’t feel right. “That doesn’t hurt,” he said, voice raised.
The bandits paused, seeming to believe him, or to notice it was true. They looked at each other for a bit and Luffy’s smile turned more genuine. It fell when they turned back to him with their own smiles, though. Theirs were scary.
“Guess we’ll have to find a way to make it hurt, hm?” their stupid leader growled, stomping forward, grabbing Luffy by the hair and yanking him up. Luffy squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the pain to finally come. Only, Luffy stayed on the ground. He blinked his eyes open. The first thing he saw were the bandits’ wide, scared gazes. Luffy tried to look around for something that could have scared them, but all he saw were more frightened people. Something was wrong. Luffy turned back to the leader who was looking vaguely green. Finally, Luffy realized that he was at eye level with him.
Luffy looked down and saw his body still on the ground, pinned down by the boot of one of the other bandits. His neck, however, was stretched way farther than it should have been able to go.
The bandit moved his foot, and Luffy’s body snapped up to meet his head. The leader bandit startled and dropped him. Luffy scrambled to get back, but there was no moving away from his own body.
“W— What happened? What was that?” Luffy asked, breathing too quickly. No one answered.
Luffy glanced around at all the villagers, but none of them were moving. But the bandits were. Luffy saw the leader shake himself and plaster another smarmy grin onto his face. “Well, now,” he said, walking slowly toward Luffy. “What have we here? You didn’t tell us you were some sort of freak, kid.”
I’m not, Luffy wanted to say. The words wouldn’t come. He wasn’t even sure they were true anymore.
He reached down and grabbed Luffy by the cheek. Luffy tried to swing at him, but his cheek stretched and then the bandit was out of reach. Luffy was lifted into the air by his stretched skin, dangling and swaying when he tried to throw another punch. “You’d probably even fetch a nice price in the markets in High Town,” the bandit said.
Luffy thrashed a little harder. Luffy wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but he had an idea, and he didn’t like it. Gramps always kept him away from Goa and told him to steer clear. Gramps left him in the jungle, and that place was scary and dangerous and lonely, so Goa must be really bad. Luffy didn’t want to find out.
The murmuring crowd around them parted suddenly as Makino and the mayor pushed through.
“Please!” the mayor called. “Let the child go!” He fell to his knees and pressed his forehead to the ground. Luffy’s throat burned. This was all his fault. “I don’t know what Luffy did, and I don’t want to argue with you, but I am willing to pay. So, please, let him go.”
The bandit laughed. “As usual, it’s the elders who know the way the world works. Still, I doubt anyone in this pisspoor village has more than what we’d get from sellin’ him.” The bandit moved his hand about and Luffy swung with the movement. Like he was being used to emphasize the words. “‘Sides, the kid pisses me off. I don’t really want to let him go. So if you don’t stay out of it, old man, my crew here will shut you up.” Luffy could hear the sound of wood meeting flesh. The chair leg, he figured, hitting against a bandit’s hand in warning.
He couldn’t let them hurt the mayor or Makino or anyone else. If it was Luffy they were mad at and they weren’t going to let him go anyway…
He reached for the bandit’s arm, straining until his arm stretched past where it should be able to. Luffy pushed back the nausea he felt at the sight of it and instead grabbed hold of the bandit. His arm snapped back to its normal length, pulling him up. The bandit startled, but he couldn’t get away when they were still holding onto each other. Luffy leaned up, opened his mouth wide, and bit down on the bandit’s hand as hard as he could. The man yelped and let go of his cheek, waving around wildly and trying to shake Luffy off. He kept his jaw clamped down as long as he could before getting launched and crashing to the ground a few feet away.
Even that didn’t hurt.
The bandit stalked back over to him, growling. Luffy tried to sit up, but he froze in place when the bandit leveled a gun at his head. He swallowed heavily, eyes trained on the barrel.
“You better fall in line, kid,” the bandit said. He cocked his pistol. “If you become more trouble than you’re worth, we’ll cut our losses real quick.”
Luffy’s breathing picked up and his eyes started to sting. He didn’t want to die, and he didn’t want to go with the bandits, and he didn’t want to beg them to let him go either. He didn’t know what to do. He missed Shanks.
“And what have we here?” a voice called. A familiar voice. The tears welled up again.
“Shanks,” Luffy called, voice small and cracking.
Shanks hummed and moved closer, his crew at his back with their hands on their weapons. Some were already drawn. “You know, I was wondering why no one came to welcome us into port—especially you, Luffy. Guess this is why.” He shot Luffy a quick, reassuring smile before focusing on the bandit again, face serious.
“It’s the pirates again… What’re you doing back here? Find another spill to mop up?” the bandit jeered. “Fuck off before we have to open fire, you cowards.” Shanks shrugged his shoulders and stopped, looking back at Luffy again. The leader laughed. “See, brat? Your so-called friends are just pathetic, exactly as I said.” Luffy snarled. Liars. “You’re coming with us.”
Shanks’s eyes darted to the bleeding bite mark on the bandit’s hand, and he grinned. “You sure about that? Doesn’t seem like you can handle our Anchor. He’s a real spitfire, ain’t he?”
The bandit sneered, something spiteful and cruel in his eyes. “He won’t be our problem for much longer. Freaks sell fast.”
Shanks’s expression turned furious. Dark. Luffy knew Shanks was a powerful pirate. Of course he did. But this was the first time Shanks had seemed… scary. Shanks was his friend and Luffy trusted him. He knew Shanks would never hurt him. Luffy didn’t feel afraid—he felt protected. But seeing him like this was still weird. Wrong, almost. The bandits seemed to sense it too.
Their weapons set aim on Shanks and his crew, but the leader’s stayed on Luffy.
“Those aren’t toys, you know,” Shanks said. “If you draw your weapon, you better be prepared to put your life on the line.”
The bandit leader laughed again, but it sounded different. Afraid.
Luffy flinched when a gunshot rang out, but he didn’t feel any impact. One of the bandits fell to the ground, Lucky Roo behind him with his pistol still smoking. He took a bite of the turkey leg in his mouth. Luffy’s mouth watered, momentarily distracted.
The bandits cursed. Some of them took a step back and looked around for more of Shanks’s men.
“You bastards,” one said, voice shaking. “That was dirty!”
Benn chuckled. “‘Dirty?’ Don’t make us laugh. Did you think we were saints or something? The people standing before you are pirates.”
“Shut up!” another bandit yelled. “This ain’t any of your business!”
“You can spill beer or sake on me,” Shanks said, voice quiet and menacing. “You can even spit on me. But I don’t care what reasons you have. I won’t forgive anyone who messes with my friends.”
Friends. Luffy was his friend. “Shanks,” he said again, voice wet.
“‘Won’t forgive me?’” the bandit said, trying to laugh. His hand was shaking, finger brushing the trigger. “A bunch of pirates who float on a ship all day want to challenge us?” Luffy’s anger surged back to the surface. This guy didn’t know anything. “We’ll destroy you.” He sounded anything but confident. Still, his crew rushed forward with a cry.
“Go to hell!” one yelled.
Luffy watched as Benn rolled his eyes and stepped forward. He said something to Shanks, too quiet for Luffy to hear over the clamor of yelling and stomping boots. There was a hissing sound from right above Luffy, and then the fight was hidden in clouds of smoke.
A hand pressed against Luffy’s mouth. He jerked and reached up to pull it away, but the bandit glared at him and pressed harder. He grabbed Luffy and held him tightly to his chest and he made a break for the shore. Luffy clawed at the arm and hand but they didn’t budge. The bandit threw him face-first into a small fishing boat and untied it quickly, pushing away from the dock. Just as Luffy pushed himself up, the bandit pressed a foot against his back and kept his face buried in the small sack sitting at the front of the skiff.
Luffy struggled to breathe, but the bandit kept him there as they moved farther out to sea. The boat rocked beneath them gently at first, almost cheerful, but it grew stronger as they moved away from the shore. It jolted hard enough to dislodge the bandit’s boot from Luffy’s back, and he popped up with a gasp. That wasn’t normal, he knew.
The bandit looked scared. Like he could sense it too. He was looking over the sides nervously as water splashed over them, the waves growing larger every minute. “What the fuck,” he whispered. He whipped around to face Luffy. “Is this you?” he asked. Luffy’s eyes went wide, and he shook his head—How could this be him?—but the bandit didn’t care. He grabbed Luffy by the back of his shirt and lifted him over the edge of the boat. He struggled, but just like the other times, it did nothing. “You can’t bring me down with you, you little monster,” he snarled.
He let go.
Luffy yelled out, and a wave crashed against the boat as he fell. Almost like the water surged up to meet him.
The Sea watched from the shore and began to stir when she saw her boy in danger. In danger and on land. Away from her.
She began to roil when a weapon was leveled at him, pushing farther onto the land and past her normal shores. Still, he was beyond her grasp.
One of her sailors though—the one who had befriended her boy, the one who had sailed with the previous freedom that had been lost to her—he came to help. To stop it. To save her boy, for now, and her breezes whispered, “Thank you.” She’d always liked that one. Even if she could not have her boy today, so long as he was living, she could take him eventually.
Smoke covered the scene, and true hope flared. The bandit who had nearly taken her boy from her was now bringing him to her waters. Rowing him out over her depths, closer to them than he had been in years.
She reached for him, desperate now that he was so close. Her waters crashed into the vessel as she tried to knock it over or pull him in. Suddenly, as if he could understand her plea, or perhaps simply as a sacrifice of sorts, he tossed her boy over the side.
And the sea rejoiced. She stretched up to catch him in her arms. She sang and danced and held him up because finally. Finally, he was hers. He’d eaten one of the Fruits, but she forgave him. She would forgive him anything because he was Freedom, and he was hers. She would drag him into her depths regardless.
But then she sensed the sailor approaching, and her tune changed. She called up her beast, the one who watched over her boy and sat in wait to bring him into her embrace. She had him take the bandit first, who nearly killed her boy on land. His attempt at placating sacrifice did not excuse what he’d nearly done to him. To her. As her beast lunged, maw agape, it destroyed the boat and ensured her boy would stay with her. No escape.
The sailor could come later. She wanted her boy now. The beast rose up and hovered above her boy, poised to strike. It moved, and so did the sailor. He moved to protect her boy. To save him. And, for but a split second, the Sea faltered. Her beast quailed before the man and the life of the boy it had watched grow, and it took only an arm.
The Sea regained her wits quickly, pulling at her boy and drawing him back to her, but it did not work. Her beast was chased off easily, and she watched as her boy left her waters in tears.
Luffy couldn’t stop crying even after they got back to the shore. Shanks’s crew swarmed them immediately, shouting for their captain. They only parted to let Hongo through. Luffy still had his face pressed into Shanks’ shirt, held up by his only arm.
“I’m fine,” Luffy said, shaking his head. His voice scraped against his throat. “I dunno why, but it didn’t hurt. Just help Shanks. Please.”
They exchanged glances, but even if he hadn’t stopped the tears, Luffy had his face set in determination. Hongo focused on Shanks.
To his surprise though, Benn came and scooped him up instead of following Shanks and Hongo onto the Red Force. At Benn’s nod, Yasopp trailed behind instead. Roo went to, a moment later. The rest of the Red-Haired pirates scattered—either headed for the bar, the ship, or just into the town. Only Benn stayed.
“What didn’t hurt, Anchor?” Benn asked. Luffy squinted at him, but Yasopp only laughed. “It’s not a trick question, kid. I just need to know what happened so we can be sure you’re okay.”
“I’m fine,” Luffy repeated, sniffling. How could they be worried about him? Why did they even care, after he’d gotten Shanks hurt?
Benn’s face softened, like he could tell what Luffy was thinking. He’d always been good at that. “This wasn’t your fault, Anchor. None of it. And when Hongo stops fussing and set him free, the Captain’ll tell you the same.”
That was even worse. Because Luffy knew Benn was right. Shanks wouldn’t be mad at him. But he should be. Luffy should say it. He should tell Benn and Shanks and everyone else that he wasn’t worth it. But he wouldn’t. Luffy was selfish, and he didn’t want to lose the only friends he had. Shanks and his crew were the only people that hadn’t left him, and he didn’t want that to change. He nodded.
Benn returned it, even though he didn’t look like he believed him. Something past Luffy’s shoulder caught his attention, though, and Benn raised an eyebrow at whatever it was, letting the matter go. Luffy turned to look too, and he saw Roo coming back toward them. Luffy’s breath caught, and he scanned for Shanks behind him, but Roo was alone. His brow furrowed. Hadn’t he gone to watch over Shanks?
“Roo,” Benn said, “how’s the captain?”
Roo shrugged. “Yasopp’s with ‘em,” he said, taking a bit of one of the hunks of meat he was carrying. Luffy’s stomach rumbled as he eyes them. Roo didn’t usually have two. He must’ve been really hungry.
One of the delicious-looking legs was pushed into Luffy’s face. His mouth watered and hung open, drooling just slightly. His hands twitched to grab it, but he managed to hold back. He’d seen what Roo did to people who tried to take his food.
Roo waved it in his face, and Luffy wiped his mouth and tore his eyes away to frown up at him. He didn’t have to be mean about it. But Roo was grinning at him. Benn looked surprised.
“Aren’t ya hungry, Anchor?” he asked, still waving it tauntingly. And here I thought I was bein’ generous. If you don’t want it though…”
Luffy swiped it immediately and took a big bite. He was so hungry. He swallowed quickly and took another.
Benn chuckled, patting his back. “Careful, Luffy. Don’t choke.” Luffy nodded and took another bite, opening his mouth wider and wider and wider until he could fit the rest of it in at once and slurp it right off the bone, swallowing it whole. Luffy licked his lips and hummed. Asking Roo may be pushing it, but he could probably get a snack from Makino.
He looked up to say thank you, ‘cause Makino always said he was supposed to and also ‘cause saying thank you usually encouraged people to give him more food later on. He paused though, mouth still open. Benn and Roo were staring at him, stock-still. Luffy titled his head. “What’s wrong? I didn’t choke.”
Benn’s mouth thinned into a hard line. He looked more serious than Luffy had ever seen him, and his eyes darted back to the ship for a moment. “Roo, why don’t you go and check on him for real for me? I’ll take Anchor out for a bite. Come and get us when Hongo is allowing visitors.”
Roo nodded, and Luffy cheered at the promise of more food. His stomach was growling again, so he started dragging Benn after him into the village. Maybe he’d even take Luffy out into the jungle and help him hunt down something big. With enough glances toward the treeline and back at Benn, he managed to earn a sigh and a fond smile. Benn ruffled his hair as he turned away from Makino’s and toward the mountain path.
They managed to find a deer pretty quickly. Luffy jumped out at it and it nearly got away, but Benn took it down easily with a single, loud bang.
He had to keep slapping Luffy’s hands away when he tried to grab a few bites before it was cooked. Luffy wasn’t mad though. Benn let him eat almost the entire thing, looking worried when Luffy just didn’t stop. Finally, when it was picked clean, Luffy laid back with a sigh. It felt like it’d been forever since he was full. Asking Makino for more than thirds always felt like too much. He knew Gramps didn’t give her much money or anything, and she didn’t get a lot of customers besides Shanks’s crew and a few regulars.
Benn kept looking at him while he ate, but he hadn’t said anything. When he finally opened his mouth, they heard something rustling behind them. They turned to see Roo picking his way through the bushes and trees.
Luffy jumped to his feet. Did that mean…?
“Roo,” Benn greeted stiffly. He had to be worried too. “Hongo give the all clear?”
“Close enough,” he answered. “Told me to come and fetch you both. Said he’d be done by the time we got back.”
Benn nodded and pushed to his feet. Luffy did the same. The walk back to the Red Force was quiet.
Luffy couldn’t decide between shuffling his feet and sprinting ahead. He kept speeding up at random and slowing down again when he bumped into Roo. It felt like forever before the docks were in sight, and Luffy started running. He needed to see Shanks.
His flip flops smacked against the rickety wood of the doc and he didn’t even stop to say hi to everyone on the deck for once. He just went right to the medbay.
Luffy rushed into the room, but he froze just inside the doorway. Shanks was sitting up on the bed, a cup of water sitting beside him on the nightstand. There was a reddened bandage wrapped all the way around his shoulder. There wasn’t anything underneath it. And Luffy had known, he hadn’t forgotten or anything, but seeing it again stopped him in his tracks. How had he just been sitting and eating and doing nothing while Shanks was in here? Luffy had even taken his First Mate away from him. Guilt thrummed a steady beat in the center of his chest, and he felt sick with it.
“Anchor!” Shanks called, bright and cheerful and smiling. His face turned a bit mischievous before adding, “Hey, do you think you could sneak me a bottle of sake? Hongo’s hovering and won’t bring me anything but water or let me leave.”
Luffy bit his lip and balled his fists. “Shanks,” he started, but he didn’t know what to say next. Only one thing came to mind. “‘M sorry.” It didn’t feel like enough. “I’m so sorry. You got hurt, and it was because of me, and your arm, and—” Shanks laughed. He laughed, like it was no big deal. Like it didn’t even hurt. Like it wasn’t all Luffy’s fault. “It’s just an arm, Anchor. I’ve got another one.” Luffy sobbed and pressed his fists against his eyes, trying to stop the stupid tears. Shanks wasn’t crying, so Luffy shouldn’t get to either. He felt a hand on his head. It ruffled his hair, and then pulled him forward so he could cling to Shanks’s shirt again. “You’re my friend, Luffy. You mean a lot more to me than one stupid arm. I’m just glad you’re safe.”
There was a knock on the door, but Luffy didn’t lift his head.
“Captain,” Benn’s voice called quietly. Shanks hummed in response. “Luffy said it didn’t hurt when the bandits beat him.” The arm holding Luffy tightened slightly before Shanks leaned back to meet his eye.
“Yeah, Anchor?” he asked, smile tight. “Playing tough? Let’s get you to Hongo, anyway—even the toughest pirates get hurt sometimes, you know?”
The words made nausea roil in Luffy’s stomach. As if he could ever think otherwise now. “I’m really fine,” he said.
Shanks frowned and opened his mouth, but Benn cut him off. “Captain,” he said again, firmer this time, “he said he stretched. ” Shanks tensed, and Luffy’s shoulders hunched. Would Shanks call him a freak too?
He shifted Luffy out of his hold and onto the bed, and Luffy’s stomach sank. But Shanks didn’t leave. He kneeled in front of him, face serious and hand on Luffy’s shoulder. “Luffy,” he said, voice grave, “this is very important. I need you to tell me the truth. We had a purple fruit in a chest last time we were here. When it went missing, we thought someone had taken it when we weren’t paying attention, but… Luffy, did you eat it?”
Luffy’s mouth went dry. He swallowed. “That… wasn’t dessert?” he asked. Shanks looked down with a curse. Luffy was starting to feel scared. “Was it poison? It tasted bad, but—”
“No,” Shanks said, looking at him again and clearly trying to look reassuring, “no it wasn’t poison. Luffy, what you ate was called a Devil Fruit.”
Luffy hadn’t heard of those before. His brow furrowed, but the fear receded somewhat. “And they make you stretch?” he asked. Did that mean others could too?
Shanks made a face and tilted his head to either side for a second. “Not quite,” he said. “It’s— Every fruit is different. There are three kinds, and the one you have is a paramecia.” Luffy made a face. He was never going to remember that. Shanks snorted, looking a bit less serious for a moment. “That part doesn’t matter, I guess. What matters is that it’s the Gum Gum fruit. It turned you into a Rubber Man, and it gives you the ability to stretch.”
“And keeps you from feeling blunt force, apparently,” Benn chimed in. Luffy didn’t know what that meant either. “Like punches and kicks,” he explained.
“And falling?” Luffy asked.
Shanks narrowed his eyes. “Why do you ask?”
“They threw me around a lot and that didn’t hurt either. Just when they dragged me.”
The hand on his shoulder clenched for a moment before loosening. Shanks gave him an apologetic look, but it hadn’t hurt. “I’m sorry, Anchor,” he said. “We should have looked after it better— I should’ve. Hell, I don’t even know why we brought it ashore. And you should never have gotten hurt on our behalf.” Luffy opened his mouth, but Shanks shook his head. “We heard you were defending us, yeah?” He smiled again, but it was smaller. Softer. “Thanks for looking after us, Anchor. But you shouldn’t have had to, and I’m sorry you got hurt because of us.”
Luffy offered a little smile in return. He hadn’t been hurt, not really. That was the point. But Shanks was probably tired and his arm was gone, so Luffy decided to let it go for now. Just this once.
“There is one more thing about Devil Fruits, Luffy,” Benn said, eyeing Shanks. Luffy cocked his head to the side, looking between them. Did he have other powers too? That would be cool.
Shanks’s expression turned hesitant. “The sea hates Devil fruits, and it rejects those who eat them. You won’t ever be able to swim again, and you’ll feel weak whenever you’re touched by seawater.”
Luffy’s breath caught in his throat. What? That couldn’t be right.
But then he thought about that weird feeling that had settled in his bones when he ate the fruit and hadn’t left since. About the odd twist that accompanied the pull of the sea—familiar and new at the same time.
Luffy’s eyes felt hot and they were stinging and he was sick of crying today, but he couldn’t help it. Not when Shanks told him he could never swim again. He wanted to scream and sob and bury his head in the sand. But I’ve never gotten to, he wanted to say. It wasn’t fair. Why couldn’t he go even though everything in him wanted to so desperately?
His legs throbbed just then, and he glanced down at them. Right.
“Shanks?” he started quietly. He hadn’t talked about this in a long time, but maybe… “Does— Does the sea pull you down? When you have a fruit?” Shanks looked confused, so Luffy pushed on. “Just… I could feel it. Like something was grabbing onto me. Trying to drag me down. Like she was trying to drag me down.”
Shanks laughed and ruffled his hair and said, "That's what happens when you eat a devil fruit, Luffy! The sea makes you tired and you can't swim!" Luffy huffed and pouted and yelled at him.
He wanted to tell him that it was not the first time he’d felt it, that even when he sat in the sand, the lapping waves felt like they were reaching for him.
He didn’t. Shanks was probably right anyway. Makino had said he was imagining it too, after all.
Luffy spent as much time with Shanks as he could for the next few days. It was easy, since Hongo barely let Shanks out of the medbay. Everyone took turns trying to teach Luffy how to use his powers, but he wasn’t very good at it yet. He was half sure they were messing him up on purpose, after a while. They kept laughing when he messed up. Any time Luffy bounced near the edge of the deck, though, they were quick to catch him and snatch him back over.
No one protested when Luffy started sleeping over on the Red Force every night, but he didn’t actually get much sleep. In the quiet moments of the days, Luffy would find his eyes drifting to the sea, and he would only look away when someone called for his attention again. AT night, there was no one to pull him away. Luffy would lean against the banisters and stare at the dark waves for hours.
Luffy was pretty sure he would always love the sea. He wondered if she really hated him now, and his heart ached at the thought.
As nice as it was being around so many people all the time, Luffy knew it couldn’t last. A week and a half after he lost his arm, Hongo deemed Shanks fit enough to travel. Three days after that, they were preparing to set sail. Luffy was pretty sure they only waited that long because of him.
It was different this time. He could tell. He could see it in the guilty glances and in how much they were buying in town and how full their stocks were. So when Shanks kneeled down and put his hand on Luffy’s shoulder, an apology or a goodbye or whatever on his lips, Luffy cut him off. “Are you going for the one piece?” he asked.
Shanks blinked at him. “Yeah, Anchor. We are.”
Luffy hummed. “Okay,” he said.
Shanks’s brows crinkled together. “‘Okay?’” he asked. “That’s it? That means we won’t be coming back, Luffy… You know that right?”
He got why Shanks was confused. Luffy was normally really upset and anxious when they left, but it was different this time. They weren’t just making a loop of the East Blue this time. He was sad. He would miss his friends, and he hated being alone, hated it more than anything, but— “You guys are pirates. You need to be free.”
For a moment, they all just stared at Luffy, but then Yasopp let out a sharp bark of laughter and everyone else followed suit right after. Luffy smiled at them. He wasn’t quite done yet.
“‘Sides, I don’t wanna go with you guys anymore.”
Shanks raised an eyebrow, still grinning. “Oh?” he asked.
“Yep,” Luffy said, nodding firmly. “I’m gonna make my own crew, better and stronger than even yours. And when I have them, we’re going to be the ones to find the one piece.” Shanks’s smile had dimmed, taking in what Luffy was saying instead of making fun of him. Luffy met his gaze firmly because he meant these words, and he needed Shanks to know that. “I’m the man who will be King of the Pirates. The freest one on the sea.”
For a long moment, Shanks just stared at him. Luffy held his gaze, refusing to back down or show weakness. Then, finally, Shanks laughed again. Luffy tensed, ready to yell because he wasn’t joking, but Shanks sobered quickly enough.
“‘Freest man on the sea,’ huh?” he asked. He sounded kind of fond. Kind of sad too. Luffy watched him raise his arm up and pull his hat from his head. He watched as Shanks moved it over Luffy’s head and felt him set it down. Shanks hadn’t moved fast at all, but Luffy still felt surprised by it. “I think I’d like to see that, Anchor. How about you hold onto that for me and give it back when you become a great pirate?”
Luffy smiled, bright and wide and wet-eyed. When the tears started falling, he tilted his head down and tugged on the worn brim to cover them up. “Yeah,” he said, trying to keep his voice even. “It’s a promise.”
Luffy stood on the docks and watched the Red Force until it disappeared beyond the horizon. He held Shanks’s treasure in his hands and twisted the brim through them idly. Shanks could carry his promise until Luffy could set sail on his own, so Luffy could carry his hat until he fulfilled it. It was a good promise, he thought.
His scrapes had mostly healed, and the bruises on his legs barely hurt anymore. They were almost gone by now, anyway. The bruises barely even looked like handprints anymore.
