Chapter Text
When most people looked at Akagami no Shanks when he left Dawn Island, they would say that he had lost a lot. His treasured hat, the devil fruit he had acquired, a year of time, and even his arm. What most people didn’t know was how much Shanks gained on that sleepy little island. He had gained a hope for the future, a promise, and above all a son .
Shanks stood at the docks, a crying little rubber boy wrapped in his only remaining arm, Shanks’ fath– captains- straw hat perched on his little head.
“Now Anchor, Luffy , I need you to look at me,” Shanks said, crouching to put himself at Luffy’s eye level.
Luffy looked up, quieting his sniffles, he knew how important it was when Shanks used his actual name.
“Now Anchor, I know how your little brain works, so I want to make this very clear,” Luffy couldn’t hold back the wet giggle as Shanks tapped his nose. “This promise does not mean that we can’t see each other, I’m too selfish to go that long without seeing my kid after all.” Luffy giggled again at the possessiveness in Shanks teasing tone. “Now, I’ve left my Den-Den number with Makino, I’ll call as often as I can and I’ll come back to see you again. It may not be very soon, but I promise you Anchor, I am not leaving you.”
Shanks barely managed to keep his footing as Luffy launched himself at the pirate. Luffy wrapped his arms around Shanks neck, Shanks hand on the back of the boys neck to hold him close.
“I love you,” Shanks murmured.
“I love you too, Shanks.”
They stayed there for another moment before Luffy let go. He backed up, wiped his tears away and stood up proudly. “When you come back I’ll be so much stronger! I’ll prove it to you!”
Shanks smiled and ruffled Luffy’s hair, “I know you will, Anchor. We’ll see each other again before you know it.”
And so they left. The crew of the Red Force yelling and waving at the people who had gathered to see them off, but most of them only had eyes for the little ball of sunshine waving with all his might, straw hat falling into his eyes.
Shanks sighed and slumped against the railing one they were out of sight. He didn’t even budge when Beckman came up beside him.
“It’s better this way, Chief, the seas are too dangerous for a kid,” Beckman stated.
“Why does it sound like you’re trying to convince yourself as much as you’re trying to convince me, Beck” Shanks said with a sigh.
“Because he is,” Lucky said from not too far off, “we all are, honestly.”
Shanks just sighed and slouched further, resting his cheek on the railing. Even the Red Force seemed like she was fighting going out to sea.
“We’ll be back,” Shanks said, “at least once more before he sets out on his own.” With that, Shanks stood up to his full height. He took a deep breath and steadied himself. He was on the sea again, the one place he thought truly had his heart, but now he knew. He was leaving his heart in the safe hands of a little rubber boy on a little sleepy island. He would be back, not to take it back, no, he could never take his love away from him, but he would be back. But the sea called his name, like it called every member of his crew, like it called his son, and they would all answer that call gladly.
0808
Shanks called as often as he could, once a week to start with, then longer stretches once Garp, fucking Garp , took Luffy up into the mountains, then the calls stretched to about once a month. He got to hear about his adventures in the jungle though, stories about his new friend Ace, who really didn’t seem like much of a friend, and then Sabo when the other boy joined. He heard too late about Porchemy, and didn’t that just fill Shanks with anger and pride. Anger that someone would dare touch what was his , but pride that Luffy stood firm to protect the people his son claimed as his own. But it did lead to a talk about how to protect oneself and that there was a line between loyalty and stupidity. Luffy’s answer nearly broke Shanks' heart though.
I’d rather hurt than be alone, Shanks. I don’t like being alone.
It took every ounce of Shanks self control, as well as Beckman’s stern look, to not order the ship to be turned around.
But then he got to hear about Luffy’s brothers. The boys that became Shanks by association. He got to talk to the boys a few times, Sabo sounding so polite, yet with a steel undertone and wit beyond his age. Ace had a sharp tongue and a temper to match, but Shanks could tell that they were fierce, and they were his, whether they knew it yet or not.
Shanks ended the call the same way every time, with a promise from both of them to stay safe and an ‘I love you.’
There were always a few teasing remarks from the crew after every call, light hearted ribbing about how much of a dad the yonko was, but they were all wrapped around that little rubber finger, none of them could wait until the day they would go back.
0808
Shanks wasn’t sure what it was, but something had him on edge. There hadn’t been any Marine ships around lately, no new rookies had come trying for a challenge and the weather seemed clear. There was nothing on the sea that should have had him so agitated, and yet.
Shanks caught himself looking eastwards more than usual, not just him, most of the crew had spent the day looking over their shoulders, watching the ocean at their backs.
Shanks had talked to Luffy last week, it wasn’t a great talk, but not all of them were. He had seemed distracted, quieter than normal. All he would say when asked was that there was something going on with Sabo, but he couldn’t talk about it. Shanks knew there wasn’t much he could do about it, so he just did his best to comfort his kid and tell him about his journey. Maybe that was what had him so uneasy?
By mid-day Shanks couldn’t handle it anymore. He looked towards Beckman, sharing a look across the ship. After this many years together they could read each other easily, not to mention when Shanks reached out his Haki, he could feel the same unease coming from his first mate. Beckman nodded and Shanks turned to the crew.
“Building Snake, set a course for Foosha, fastest one you can,” Shank hollered.
It showed the feelings of the whole crew as the order was followed silently. There were no cheers at heading back, no teasing jabs about Shanks being a doting father, just the sound of pulling ropes as the Red Force turned around. Shanks jumped onto the figurehead, watching the waters and praying to whatever god that would listen that he had heeded whatever warning the sea was giving him in time.
0808
As soon as Dawn came into view, the entire crew went from unease to near panic. Dawn was on fire. All they could see was smoke and the stench of burnt trash, along with burnt flesh, was overwhelming even from this distance.
“Beckman, Hongo, Yassop, Roux, with me! The rest of you get the ship docked and wait for orders!” Shanks yelled. He leaped into one of the rowboats, knowing this could get them in faster. He went as far as to cut the lines holding the small boat up, too impatient to wait to be lowered gently.
The group rowed in silence, as fast as they could, tension thick in the air.
As soon as they were close enough Shanks flung himself off the boat and onto the docks. He tried not to panic, not even as the smoke and the smells got worse. He tried to move at a normal pace to the Party Bar, but by the feelings he was getting from his observation Haki, he wasn’t quite successful.
When he got to the bar the sliver of hope he had that everything would be just fine was dashed like the waves on the shore. The bar was empty, Makino was the only inhabitant and when her head jerked up and the door opening, Shanks could see tears in her eyes.
“Makino,” Shanks breathed, “what is going on?”
Shanks felt the breath get knocked out of his chest as the small woman crashed into him with a cry, something in the back of his mind said that either she gave Luffy that trait, or his little Anchor was a trend setter, he shook the thought away for another time.
“Shanks! It’s horrible! They’re burning the Gray Terminal and everyone inside! The boys, they play there so often and I can’t get ahold of Dadan!” Makino sobbed into the pirates chest and Shanks had to stop himself from freezing.
Shanks forced the wave of panic down. “Hey, Makino, I’m sure everything is fine. I bet the boys are out hiding in the jungle and giving the bandits a hard time, that’s why they’re not answering. I’ll go check on them, you’ll see.” Shanks vaguely remembered Miss Rogue taking a similar tone when Blue got taken, the same forced levity, telling him the Captain was out looking for his brother and there was nothing to worry about.
Makino nodded and stepped back, her brave face showing that while she didn’t totally believe him, she trusted him. He really hoped this trust wasn’t misplaced.
0808
Shanks wasn’t entirely sure how he ended up in Hightown, he wasn’t sure if he was looking for the gate that he knew was there or if it was just fate, all he knew was that he stretched his Will and started moving. His surroundings blurred as he moved, completely focused on finding his son until a voice broke through.
“ACE! LUFFY! YOU HAVE TO LET THEM OUT!”
“Hey! Stay away from the lock!”
Shanks knew that voice, had spoken with him several times, this was Sabo.
Shanks came around the corner in time to see some masked guards toss the small blond boy away. Shanks said a prayer to the Seas that he was fast enough to grab his son, Luffy had claimed the boy meaning that he was Shanks as well, out of the air to hold him to his chest.
“Shanks?” Sabo whispered, awe in his weak voice.
“I’m here, Sabs, don’t worry,” Shanks said, gently setting Sabo down. “Now, I don’t know who you think you are, but no one hurts my kids and gets away with it.”
“Shanks, wait,” Sabo cried, hurling himself at the pirates legs. And oh the way these guards trembled realizing who was in front of them brought great joy to the blood-thirsty part of his soul. “Ace and Luffy are in the Terminal, I know it! You have to help them!”
That froze Shanks. His head snapped towards the raging inferno and he forced his Will out. Forced his Haki to find his sons. After a moment of focus he found Luffy, hurt and scared, but alive.
“Okay Sabo, I need you to do something for me, okay?” Shanks crouched down to meet Sabo’s eyes and waited for the boy to nod. “You know where Makino’s is, right?” another nod. “Go to Makino’s, tell Hongo to patch you up and to be ready for us.”
“But–” Sabo started to protest.
“Sabo, I promise you I will get them, okay? Luffy told you how seriously I take promises right? Well I promise I will get them. Now go.”
In the time it took for Shanks to have that small conversation and watch the boy run off towards the bar, the guards had run off. Unfortunately for Shanks, but probably for the better.
He cleared the wall separating him from his remaining two kids in a single jump, all concentration on the flickering Voice of his Anchor.
Shanks' panic increased tenfold when he finally got within sight of the boys. One was being held by a man so much larger than him, screaming and thrashing, while Luffy, because Shanks would be able to recognize that boy anywhere, was writing on the ground, a sword held over his little body.
Shanks opened his mouth, he had to say or do something, anything , but before he could something else happened.
“Don’t. Touch. Luffy!!” and Shanks could feel the boys will .
It was young, inexperienced, barely enough to make Shanks wobble, yet strong enough that most of the thugs holding them dropped instantly. Only the one Shanks assumed to be the leader was left standing, but even he had a slight tremble in his frame. (Shanks didn’t notice how familiar the Voice felt, his only focus on the two boys now in slightly less danger.)
When Shanks landed down after his final jump, he landed between the boys and the one lone threatening figure, his back to the thug.
“Oh, boys,” he sighed in relief, “I’m so glad I got to you in time.”
Ace, because it had to be Ace, took half a step to stand protectively over Luffy’s still prone form. Shanks was impressed, not only by how protective this boy was over his little brother, but that he was still standing after what had to be his first use of Conquerors Haki.
“Shanks?” Luffy whimpered, eyes cracking open.
“I’m here, kiddo,” Shanks said, he saw Ace drop his stance, weariness flooding his little frame.
Shanks heard a shuffle of steps and before Ace could say what he had opened his mouth to warn him about, Shanks had locked his eyes onto the thug. He could barely contain his own Haki as he looked at the pathetic excuse for a man.
“ I will deal with you in a moment,” Shanks snarled. He could tell the thug barely managed to avoid falling to his knees at the overwhelming fear that gripped him.
Shanks crouched down once more, these kids were just so damn small, and smiled.
“Ace, what you just did there was very special, you did a great job protecting Anchor,” Shanks smiled and swore he saw Ace’s eyes get a little watery, but that may have just been the heat. “Now, how about I get you both over to Makino’s, huh? She was very worried, and I have the crew there waiting for you, Anchor. Sabo is even on his way there.”
“Sabo?! But he–”
“Anchor, I promise I will listen to whatever is going on between you three when you are safe , right now all you need to know is that Sabo is safe and on his way to Makino’s. He was worried about you both too,” Shanks was worried about how much blood was flowing from the gash on his forehead, and he could tell by looking at them both that they had been in this fire for far too long.
“Shanks, I appreciate everything you’ve done for Luffy. Please take him to Makino, but I can’t leave until I’ve dealt with this fucker,” Ace snarled, he picked up a pipe that Shanks hadn’t noticed and started stalking to the man still on the ground.
Shanks held up his arm, stopping him. Ace turned his snarl to the red-haired pirate, but stopped when he saw the burning look in his eyes.
0808
Ace wasn’t used to adults standing up for him, people trying to protect him, so when this strange red-haired man dropped, seemingly from out of the sky, Ace was wary. Then this man, Shanks, praised him , he told Ace that he had done a good job, even though it was his fault Luffy was hurt. And then when Ace tried to finish the job, this man stopped him. Ace was confused and frustrated and tired and hurt , but when he looked into Shanks’ eyes, he felt like he was understood.
“Shanks, Bluejam, he actually set the fires. He hurt Luffy and he made Sabo go back to his family ,” Ace spat the word, trying to make Shanks understand. “He can’t just go .”
“Ace, I’ll be honest. I have no idea what you have been through up to this point, but I’m sure there haven’t been a lot of adults around to help you. I am here now,” Shanks eyes burned in a way Ace had never seen before. “Let me be very clear to you,” Shanks voice rose, Ace knew Bluejam could hear him now. “Luffy is my son, and he has claimed you and Sabo, which makes you mine . And no one gets away with hurting what is mine , you understand?”
Usually the possessiveness would piss Ace off. He wasn’t a thing, he was a person and he was free . But Ace could tell, he could tell that the way this man said it, he wasn’t claiming him as the nobles claimed their money or their things. He wasn’t claiming them like Sabo’s father claimed him. No, when Shanks said ‘mine,’ he said it like Ace said his treasure was his . Like how he said his brothers were his . Like Ace was precious to him.
So Ace nodded and he moved to bundle Luffy to his chest, Luffy who was hurt and bleeding. He positioned his little brother in a way that he couldn’t see the violence about to happen, if Shanks was anything like him, then that fire in his eyes said this wasn’t going to be pretty, but Ace had to see.
Ace watched Shanks walk up to Bluejam, watched Bluejam finally fall to his knees and shake in fear as the yonko got nearer.
“Does it make you feel better to pick on children? Make you feel more like a man? More like a pirate ?” Ace could just barely make out Shanks' words over the sounds of the fire and Bluejam’s pleas for mercy.
Shanks drew his sword and almost faster than Ace could follow had it stabbed down through Bluejam’s leg.
Bluejam screamed .
Ace watched as Shanks withdrew his sword and raised his foot, kicking the other pirate onto his back. Shanks leaned over, the roar of the fire too loud to hear his voice and the red hair too thick of a curtain for Ace to tell what he said, but it was clear by the look on Bluejam’s face that he said something. Shanks stabbed his sword through Bluejam’s shoulder, just a quick harsh jab, before sheathing it and stalking back towards the boys.
“How is Luffy?”
“I think he’s unconscious,” Ace responded, Luffy didn’t stir, proving him right.
Shanks scowled, “Not a good thing, but probably for the best at this moment. He won’t survive the fire, I made sure of it, and that is a more brutal death than I would have time for anyways. Now come one, you’ve both been here far too long.”
Shanks easily gathered Luffy and Ace in his arm, Ace had a brief thought of wonder at how strong Shanks would be if he had both arms, and started running. It only took a moment, between the strong arm around him and the steady heartbeat at his ear telling him he was safe , before he passed out as well.