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Sea water filled your mouth as you tried desperately to stay above the waves. It wasn't storming, but the ocean in the grand line was always active and dangerous. Your clothes were dragging you down and your arms started to go weak. You took a last desperate gulp of air before sinking below the surface. You watched as the surface grew further and further away, the light dimming as you continued to sink. Your lungs burned and your chest ached. The last thing you saw was a dark figure diving into the water before your vision went dark.
"Come on... there you go." Consciousness came back to you jarringly. You were rolled onto your side as you coughed up water. Your throat burned and your eyes watered as you shook with the force of your coughing. A warm hand rubbed between your shoulder blades as you coughed up the rest of the water. "Well done!"
You looked towards the voice, arms shaking as you pushed yourself up. Red hair filled your vision. You had to blink a few times before the man's face came into focus. The first thing you noticed was the missing arm, and then it was the red hair. His face only confirmed your fears. Shanks. 'Pirate.' You looked towards the mast and saw the Jolly Roger. The Red Hair Pirates. You were on the Red Force. With pirates.
Shock kept you immobile, thoughts scattered as you looked around in a daze. The ship's doctor came to check you over before giving Shanks the all clear. For the life of you, you couldn't catch what they were saying. The water must have been stuck in your ears because it sounded like you were still underwater.
'Pirates. I'm on a ship with pirates.'
"What were you doing out in the water?" Shanks' voice snapped you back to the present, and it was like lightning had struck you. You bared your teeth in a snarl, and you reached for the dagger still strapped to your belt. You lunged at him, fury burning in your eyes.
You watched as surprise filled his eyes before glee filled his face. He caught you easily, even down an arm. You were still weak and shaking from nearly drowning. You growled at him, and he held you like someone would a feral cat. His laugh was loud and boisterous as he looked at you and your knife.
He laughed like you hadn't just tried to gut him. "Let go of me, you filthy pirate! Let me go, or throw me back into the water." You yelled at him, face burning as he continued to laugh.
"Oh, but you're so much fun! Now tell me, how did you end up in the middle of the ocean? There are no ships in sight."
You kicked out, trying to get him to let go, but you couldn't reach him. "Pirates like you." You spat, enraged tears filling your eyes. "Pirates attacked me and threw me out of my own boat. They took everything! And now I have nothing and no boat."
The two of you stared each other down. It was in that silence that you noticed the whole crew was watching. Shanks' gaze grew assessing, looking at you contemplatively before he was dragging you to his quarters. You squirmed and protested, yelling at him to put you down.
The door closed behind you, and you barely had a moment to take in the dimmer lighting and the captain's quarters before he was crushing you against his chest. You'd dropped your knife at some point, but it didn't matter, because you were frozen.
You tried to push against him, hands clawing at Shank's shirt. "Let me go! What're you doing?!" You yelled. He had a strong hold on you, his one arm holding you close. "Shhh..."
Your struggles stopped as you stared over his shoulder. The frustration and rage boiled over before simmering. All of the hate you held seemed to dissolve as he shushed you and held you tight. 'Is he hugging me?'
It felt like forever had passed before you were finally relaxing in his hold. Tears spilled from your eyes and down your cheeks as you grieved the loss of your home. A soft sniffle was signaled that you were recovering from your distress before Shanks was pulling away to look at you properly. "There, that's better, hm?"
You nodded, rubbing the tears away in embarrassment. You can't believe that you'd broken down like that. Especially in a pirate's arms. Especially Shanks'.
Shanks had left you alone in his cabin. "I'll let you pull yourself together, and then you can meet my crew! I think it's time for a party! To celebrate a new crewmate!" You didn't know if he'd hit his head at some point. Maybe he'd been dropped as a baby. (Roger did actually drop him and Buggy a couple of times when they were younger, but it was fine, right?)
You could hear the sound of the crew partying. There was loud cheering and music as they began to drink. You'd yelled at Shanks as he left the cabin. There was no way in hell you were going to join his crew!
But that thought was gone, and a small smile grew on your face. You looked around Shanks' room and pocketed a few shiny trinkets before opening the cabin door.
The cheering reached a new level as you were revealed. An arm hooked over your shoulder. It was Shanks. He was laughing, his tankard of beer tipping over, spilling onto the deck. His cheeks were red from the booze, but you could tell he was having the time of his life.
"Welcome your new crew mate, men!"
"Welcome to the crew!"
Everyone laughed and sang together. Shanks kept you close, careful to make sure that you weren't trampled by the overexcited crewmembers.
He leaned over to whisper in your ear. It was barely loud enough to hear over the noise. "Don't worry, I've got you..."