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Ocean Blue

Summary:

Life is boring, but thankfully, fiction is here to help you escape it. Truth be told, you had never expected the saying to be literal.

Oh well. One way or another, you've been sent into the world of One Piece, with really cool powers, and you even get to live in a relatively safe part of the New World. What more could a girl ask for ?

Apparently, the answer to that is meeting an Emperor and trying to change the future to keep all your favourite characters alive.

Notes:

Hello lovelies ! <3
I'm back with more ShanksXReader, but this time, we dive into canon to fix things.

Warnings :
1, I use Y/N but there will be a lot of nicknames to avoid using it too much.
2, I use second person for Reader's pov but third for other characters' pov.
3, the events happening in Red are not canon here so Uta doesn't exist.
4, there will be similarities with Rom1312's fic because it *literally* inspired me to write this one, and yes I told her about it (hi Rom <3) but I promise it's not the same story.

 

Without further ado, enjoy ! :D

Chapter 1: A Whole New World

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

You woke up, ate a quick breakfast, exchanged your pajamas for a pair of black jeans and a light blue shirt, brushed your teeth, grabbed your bag, and got out of your appartment.

The autumn sky was clouded, reflecting your mood as a car ran a red light before you could even think of crossing the street. Probably someone worried about being late for something.

You arrived at your job, clocked in, did your hours, then came back to your appartment with no other plan than preparing a meal and getting enough sleep to get through the next day.

Was your life dull ?

Yes, absolutely.

But it was not like you had many options to change it. Your parents had suggested meeting new people, but the last time you had tried to get back into the dating game… well, you were reminded that every man on this planet was awfully lame compared to the anime characters you were a fan of.

After feeding yourself and giving your two plants their bi-weekly watering, you showered, put on your pajamas, grabbed your phone and went to bed with the intention to find a nice fanfiction to read before you slept.

As you started checking the most recent ones published on your favourite fandom, you felt a weird headache settle in your skull, but you ignored it and clicked on a promising title.

Still, you were feeling tired.

So tired.

-o-oOo-o-

You woke up again, but this time, something felt off.

The last thing you could remember was collapsing on your pillow while reading yet another One Piece fix-it fanfiction. Maybe you were still dreaming ? That would explain why you could hear the sound of waves and feel the salty breeze of the ocean on your skin.

You opened your eyes with a groan, and immediately froze. Either you were in a very, very vivid dream, or something was seriously wrong.

You were laying on a huge flat rock at the end of a pier, with what looked like a massive but abandoned lighthouse right in front of you and a lot of threatening grey clouds in the sky. You pushed on your hands to sit and look around you, and were faced with the blue immensity of the sea, along with impressive cliffs on either side of where the pier joined the land.

Your first reaction, absurdly, was to wonder who had been stupid or crazy enough to build a lighthouse in a place that could only lead ships to wreck against the cliffs. Surely that was against regulations, no one in their right mind would have ever granted a permit for that.

A wave crashed on a lower rock, splashing some water on you, and that was when you finally noticed that what you were wearing was most definitely not your comfy pajamas, or anything that you owned, for that matter.

It was a long blue skirt, splitting at mid-tigh level on either side of your legs to leave one long band of cloth at the front and revealing the pretty but clearly sturdy sparta-like sandals laced on your feet. The skirt stopped a little low on your hips, revealing more skin than you were used to since the top you were wearing appeared to be some sort of cropped tank top with a V neckline. The only thing that was still yours was your necklace, a small blue medallion with a silver celtic triskel on it, hanging on a silver chain.

"What on earth…" you started muttering, but then the wind picked up and your hair flew in your face, making you grumble about it until you actually looked at the locks in your hands, and then you frantically brought as much as you could in front of your eyes.

It was blue. And wavy. And long.

Holy mother of plot twists, what was going on !?

"Okay, breathe, breathe, it's fine," you told yourself, trying not to hyperventilate. You were in a place you did not know, wearing clothes that were not yours, and your hair had changed to become blue and long and wavy. You pinched yourself and immediately winced.

Not dreaming.

You stood up on the rock and looked around you again. As far as you could tell, the place was pretty much deserted.

"Well at least it's not raining," you huffed with a little smile.

A drop of water chose this precise moment to fall from the sky and land on your forehead.

-o-oOo-o-

The old lighthouse was unlocked, and you got inside without trouble. At least it would provide some sort of shelter from the storm starting to rage outside. Hopefully, it might also contain some information about where you were.

The first floor had clearly seen one too many floods, there was nothing to salvage that you could see, everything was covered in moss or on its way to be, with dirt everywhere and broken pieces of furniture on the ground.

You walked up the stairs and took a quick look at the various floors, telling yourself you would do a more thorough tour of the place later. For now, water, food, and ideally something you could sleep on were your main priorities.

Then you arrived at the last floor, and your jaw dropped. The entirety of the walls was made of windows, giving you an all-around view of the currently angry sea and the cliffs behind you. Only four pillars, each marked with a cardinal point, were supporting the structure and interrupting the window circle.

The view was breathtaking, and you got closer to a window, wondering what kind of miracle technique the crafter had used that had the glass still holding on to this day without so much as a crack.

Despite the lack of light and the increasingly darkening sky outside, you could still make out the presence of a bed, a desk, a couch, and other smaller pieces of furniture.

Lightning stroke the sea suddenly, soon followed by the deafening sound of thunder, but the split-second had been enough to make you notice the papers haphazardly thrown on the desk, and you walked closer to take a look.

What you found there, while covered in dust, was a bunch of what looked like… bounty posters ?

Another bout of lightning tore the sky, illuminating the documents just long enough for you to read the first one and identify the man in the picture.

Wanted – Akagami no Shanks

"You're kidding me," you whispered, feeling faint and clutching the desk to keep you from faltering. "I'm in One Piece ?"

-o-oOo-o-

One month later, you came back to the lighthouse using the hidden path along the cliff, a basket full of groceries on your left arm. It was low tide, so you had no problem using the pier to walk to the lighthouse that was now your home.

After the initial shock of having been transferred, reincarnated, somethinged into what you had so far believed to only be a fictional universe, you had quickly found your marks.

As you put the groceries away, you smiled at your now cleaner, comfier lighthouse. When the people had first seen you arrive in their little town, they had been surprised and more than a little apprehensive.

But as your grandmother always said, manners will get you everywhere. After introducing yourself politely and bowing to the mayor with respect, the townspeople seemed to realise you were not a threat to their community and became much friendlier. That was how you learned that you were in the New World, and this island in particular was situated in the Red-Haired Pirates' territory.

It seemed the previous town leader had been the one to build the lighthouse. The man had been using it to lure ships in order to steal their riches and sell whoever survived as slaves. It had worked for almost two decades, until the day Akagami and his crew arrived, around four years ago. The villagers told you how they killed the man, freed the slaves – some of which were still living here – and put the island under the Emperor's protection.

You could not say you were surprised by that information, it definitely sounded like something the red-haired man you knew from the show would do.

The townspeople had assumed you had survived a shipwreck, and you did nothing to correct that assumption. They very kindly offered you a place to stay in the village, but you declined and stated that you would be perfectly happy staying in the lighthouse, no matter how far away it was from town.

You finished putting away your groceries, and walked back down the stairs to get to the ground floor – now bare of anything, but clean – and then through the door, that one of the villagers had helped you repair so it would actually lock.

The reason you opted to stay away from the village, aside from purely prefering to live by yourself, was because it was the safest way for you to practice without anyone realising what you could do.

You jumped from one rock to another, until you were almost at sea level.

"Okay," you breathed, and raised your arms in front of you. "Feel the water," you murmured to yourself, and started making slow movements.

At your command, the water started following your directions, rolling against the current, taking various shapes and floating above the sea in small ribbons. At the flick of your wrist, you even managed to create a perfectly round bubble levitating in front of you.

You did not have the slighest idea how you had obtained the ability to manipulate water – not ice, snow, or steam, you had tried and failed miserably – but you knew how invaluable such a skill was in a world like One Piece.

You also knew that if the World Government caught wind of it, you would be locked in Impel Down or in a laboratory for the rest of your life faster than you could say Cipher Pol.

Ergo, past the initial shock of the discovery – you were never telling anyone how exactly you had found out about that talent, nope, never – you had decided to train and experiment with it. This unplanned skill had the added bonus of allowing you to dive safely to explore the numerous sunken ships in the area and bring back everything of value.

You could then go in town and exchange them for money, food, or even clothes, since you prefered having more than just one outfit you would have to wash all the time. Although you had become very fond of your surprisingly comfortable slitted skirt, crop top, and sandals. It was a combination that let you free to move easily and – against all logic – was particularly practical when you went diving.

The first time you had showed up in town with a small chest full of jewellery and explained where you had found it, however, the villagers – especially Dei, the innkeeper – had warned you and told you to be very careful, as the cliffs were dangerous to swim close to. You had smiled and promised to be cautious, which seemed to be enough for them.

All in all, you had no more complaints about your life.

 

Notes:

I hope you liked this first taste !
Now buckle up everyone, because this fic is entirely written and all chapters are ready, soooo... this story will be updated DAILY.

See you tomorrow and take care <3

Chapter 2: Ocean Blue, Meet Fiery Red

Notes:

Hello lovelies and thanks for the warm welcome ^^
Also, in a completely selfish way, happy birthday to me XD I'm going to consider this chapter as a gift from me to me, Kuzco style x)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Six months passed.

To your complete bewilderment, you were happier now than you had been in years.

You had your own cozy place to live in, you could spend your days exploring the sea and shipwrecks as you improved your water manipulation abilities, you even had time to exercise and were now in the best shape you had ever been, and the people from the village were welcoming without being imposing.

To top it off, you were living in the territory of the one Emperor that you knew would not die any time soon, and that meant you could leave Luffy to his adventures without risking an attack from Blackbeard. Not that you were particularly ecstatic at the idea of letting so many tragedies happen, but for one thing, you were terrified of the consequences should you attempt to change the timeline, and for another, you didn't have the slightest idea of how you could even go about preventing them.

It was not as if you could just snail Whitebeard to tell him hey buddy, you got a traitor in your crew, his name's Teach, you should really unalive him before he betrays you, buh-bye !

You snorted at the thought, and made your way into town on Friday evening for your usual social time at the pub. The first month, Dei had made you promise to come in town at least once a week so he knew you were still alive, and as time went by, it had turned into a ritualised Friday drinking time.

You pushed the door, and immediately noticed the pub was louder and more crowded than usual. However, your attention was already on the counter and the blond man behind it, who waved at you with a big smile.

"Y/N !" Dei yelled as if he did not already have your attention.

"Hey Dei," you replied as you made your way to sit on a stool, then crossed your legs and put one elbow on the counter.

"The usual ?"

"Why do you even feel the need to ask ?" you smirked ironically, and he snorted before catching a bottle of the town's local moonshine from the top shelf.

"One day I'll crack your secret," Dei told you, and flipped his long ponytail back over his shoulder as he put the bottle and a glass in front of you. "No one should be allowed to be your size and able to drink an entire town under the table."

Your smirk widened. Water manipulation was really a wonderful skill to possess, and it had not taken you long to experiment about its healing applications… or in this case, help your metabolism burn the alcohol faster and allow you to basically choose how drunk you wished to be. And it was just as useful to make the next day's hangover disappear as well. Truly, best power ever, ten out of ten, you highly recommended.

"Maybe you're just a bunch of lightweights," you teased him.

Dei snorted again as he poured another round of beers for one of the tables behind you, leaving Shelly, the waitress, to bring it when he was done.

"So," he said and bent toward you with a huge grin, and you noticed the atmosphere in the room got a lot quieter, most of the townspeople already knowing what was coming and eavesdroping shamelessly, "when are you finally going to agree to go on a date with me ?"

You rolled your eyes good-heartedly. The first time he had made the offer, you had been in a pretty bad mood and answered rather harshly. Apparently, your sarcasm had been the talk of the town for the rest of the day, and even after you apologised for your words, Dei had brushed it off and stated that he expected a rebuttal at least as creative the next time he would ask.

And somehow, it had turned into a little tradition. Every Friday evening, Dei would ask you out on a date, and every time, you would turn him down in a creative way. He had assured you a while ago that he was not interested in dating you anymore, but the habit was just too fun to break.

You grinned back, downed half your glass of moonshine in one go as you enjoyed its faint raspberry aroma, then put it back on the counter with a fake pensive frown.

"Either when Kaido stops being a psychopathic pile of shit, when Big Mom develops an aversion to sugar, when Whitebeard finally changes his name to Whitemustache," you listed slowly, not noticing how Dei had paled, "or when Akagami swears off booze and sex."

A huge roar of laughter erupted from a table behind you at that, and it seemed to break the tension that had been building. Dei relaxed, going as far as chuckling while he left your part of the counter to prepare another round of ales.

"Damn Y/N, you're really ruthless," the blond man told you with a fake brokenhearted expression. "What about my ego ?"

"You could always stop asking," you countered easily, and took another gulp of your drink. You felt the slight buzz starting to manifest, and discreetly put two fingers against the inside of your wrist to use your powers and keep the effects of the alcohol under control. Usually, you would not mind relaxing and letting yourself go a little past dizzy, but with how packed the pub seemed to be tonight, you had a feeling you better stay clear-headed.

So many men in the pub could only mean one or several ships had docked, and both pirates and regular sailors tended to try their luck with any woman they could see when they were on land. At that point, you already knew by heart what most of them would say to you, and had gained an extensive knowledge of pick-up lines. Not that any had ever worked since you did not do one-night-stands, but you had a strict policy of never resenting someone for shooting their shot.

Although you had had to physically enforce your no more than a few times already, since there were always assholes who felt entitled to your attentions and could not accept that you were not interested.

Just as you finished your glass and refilled it, a man inserted himself on your right, putting his elbow on the counter, and you already knew where this was going. A quick glance in his direction revealed short brown hair, a very forgettable face and an unmistakable pirate attire. You refrained from rolling your eyes at his lecherous grin.

"Hey doll, what's a pretty thing like you doing in a place like that ?"

You almost bashed your head on the counter. That had to be one of the lamest pick-up lines to exist and you had lost count of the amount of times you had heard it since you arrived in this world.

"Look," you sighed, and turned toward the man, who seemed to completely fail to take the hint at your disinterested expression and deadpan voice, "I'd rather not waste my time or yours, so I'm going to answer all your questions at once, okay ?"

"Huh ?" He said, looking confused.

"Drinking. No I'm not interested. Yes I'm sure. Yes I realise what I'm missing out on. No I don't need you to show me what a real man can do. Again, yes I'm sure. No I won't change my mind. Again, yes I'm sure," you listed, then turned back to your glass, noting how Dei's shoulders were shaking as he was desperately trying to hold back a laugh. "So now that we're clear, you can go try your luck elsewhere and leave me and my drink alone."

The man – pirate ? – sputtered, then turned an interesting shade of angry red and clenched his fist.

"Listen you little bitch, I'm doing you a favour and asking nicely-"

"And I'm doing you a favour by telling you right now to not lose your time on something that won't happen," you cut him off, then took a sip of your drink and exchanged a discreet glance with Dei, who nodded briefly. You had an inkling this one was not going to take your no for what it was.

"Don't talk back to me !" the man exclaimed as he slammed his fist on the counter, attracting everyone's attention in the pub in the process. "Do you know who I am !?" he added with his other hand reaching for the pistol at his side.

"No, and to be honest, I don't care," you replied calmly, and shifted your position so you were almost standing, ready to knock him out with a well-placed strike of your hand if you had to.

"You fucking slut-"

"Do you realise how illogical it is to call slut a woman who just refused to have sex with you ?" you cut him off again, and watched him get even more worked up at your calm demeanour.

"I'll-"

"Look pal," Dei intervened, glaring at the pirate as he got closer to you. "I'm gonna need you to get out of my pub."

The pirate made to get his pistol, but the second it was out of his holster, you felt a dark aura flood the pub and the man fell to his knees, panting harshly. His eyes darted to a part of the room and widened as his face lost all colour. The next moment, he scrambled to his feet before running toward the exit like the devil was after him.

There were a few seconds of silence before chatter started anew. You sat back down on your stool, then turned to Dei with a frown.

"What was that ?" you asked him, and saw the bartender's jaw clench.

"Well you see, th- oh shit," he paled all of a sudden.

"Dei ?" you called as you saw the blond man hurry away to the furthest end of the counter and turn his back to you.

You blinked, confused by his strange demeanor, but a second later you heard the stool on your right be moved and someone sitting on it.

"Never thought I'd meet a woman wearing blue so beautifully that she'd put the Sea to shame," a voice rumbled from whatever man had sat beside you, and you felt the annoyance build up.

You turned toward the newcomer with the firm intention to reject him.

"Seriously, did you not hear what I-"

Your next words got caught in your throat as soon as you saw who was the man currently staring at you with a seductive grin. Black cloak, white shirt, frankly ugly grey-brown pants, three parallel scars over his left eye, only one arm, and deep crimson hair.

The man hitting on you was Akagami no Shanks.

"Oh fuck me," you cursed in a mutter, and effectively bashed your head on the counter.

That earned you what you could only guess was an even bigger grin as you heard the reply. "Well if you're offering, I'm happy to take you up on that, sweetheart."

You lifted your head to glare at him, ignoring the way your heart was beating wildly in your chest with everything his presence could mean. At least that explained the aura you had felt earlier and why the other pirate had run away like a man possessed.

"I don't do one-night-stands," you replied, and tried to ignore the little voice in your heart currently yelling about a chance to fix everything before it could happen.

"We'll just have to spend more than one night together then. Lucky you, I was planning to stay a few more days," the Emperor countered cheekily, never losing his grin, but you were not really listening.

You looked at the red-haired man, evaluating everything you knew about him, trying to decide whether or not to take a leap of faith and tell him about the future that was coming and how to prevent it. You had no idea how long you stared at him or what face you were making, but at some point, his grin lessened and he shifted on his stool, then put his arm on the counter like he had no idea what to do with it.

Meanwhile, you were still battling between your options, and trying to figure out everything that you would need to adjust and do in the event you decided to challenge Fate.

"Erm, sweetheart ?"

Your eyes snapped to his, and you remembered this was a man who had lost his arm to save a kid. And that said kid would have to see his brother die protecting him, before his other brother could ever get the chance to recover his memories. You remembered Whitebeard would die, leaving all his sons orphans again, only for them to be hunted by Blackbeard.

Oh, who were you kidding, your decision had been made the second you had understood which universe you were in.

Screw the timeline.

You looked the Emperor in the eyes, deadly serious, and saw him sit a little straighter all of a sudden.

"Are you really fine with Luffy becoming the next Pirate King ?" you whispered just loud enough for him to hear you.

The atmosphere of the pub changed drastically, tension invading every nook and cranny of the room as the Emperor's eyes widened and then hardened, his hand going to the pommel of his sword.

"I am," he whispered just as seriously. "How do you know about that ?"

You relaxed immediately at his admission and smiled. The next second, you turned to your glass and downed its content, before resealing the bottle and taking it in your hand.

"Dei, put that on my tab," you asked, then stood up from your stool and glanced at the Emperor who was now staring at you with a mix of confusion and wariness. "Come on, Akagami, it's one hell of a long story and I'd like to get some sleep before the sun is up. Don't get your hopes up, sex is still off the table."

 

Notes:

See you tomorrow for the next update !

Chapter 3: Not Your Usual Friday

Notes:

Warning : pov change !

Everytime a pov changes in this fic, there will be a -o-oOo-o- if it happens within the chapter, and the name will be in bold before the rest of the text.

Chapter Text

Beckman pov

Beckman considered himself to be a reasonable man. As Shanks' first mate, he had to be or they would all be dead a hundred times over before breakfast.

After years of sailing alongside his Captain, Beckman had pretty much seen it all, and done most of it. Not much could phase him after being subjected to Shanks' brand of crazy for so long.

So coming back to an island they had freed from some tyranic dumbass a few years ago, spending time at the pubs, restocking, and overall enjoying being on land again for a few days, meant Beckman was not worried about anything unusual happening. They would drink the local pubs dry, Shanks would flirt with every pretty girl on sight, Lucky Roux would eat as much food as he could, Hongo would pester them about vaccines, Yasopp would find a recluded spot to practice his shooting, really, a regular day in the life of the Red-Haired Pirates.

So when they arrived to the pub managed by a blond guy with his hair in a long ponytail who seemed to remember them, they were met with the usual wariness, until the party was finally in full swing and everyone relaxed.

Shanks was flirting shamelessly with the waitress, who was blushing but still managed to tell him she already had a boyfriend. At some point, Beckman decided he would get his beer faster if he just went to the counter.

"Sorry Shelly's a little, ah, busy," the blond guy apologised with a sigh.

"Don't worry, I know my Captain," Beckman huffed, taking a drag of his cigarette. "Can't see a pretty girl and not flirt."

As a tankard was put in front of him, Beckman noticed the bartender was now grimacing.

"Yeah, uh, about that, do you guys plan to come back tomorrow ?"

The grey-haired man raised an eyebrow. "Sure do. Is that gonna be a problem ?"

"No no, of course not !" the blond guy immediately replied, his kitchen towel flying around as he moved his hands frantically and hurried to explain himself. "It's just that, erm, a friend of mine comes every Friday evening, and she's… well, she's the hottest woman I've ever met, you see ?"

Beckman took another drag, guessing where things were going, and decided to let the guy say his piece.

"Look, what I'm saying is that everytime she's here, people try to hit on her. Especially sailors. But she's never shown any interest in anyone and she can be a bit, uh, firm, in her rejections. If you see what I mean. And I don't want her to be in trouble because your Captain was a little too insistent," the blond guy finished in a mutter, looking half terrified, half embarrassed.

A snort escaped Beckman, but he had to admit the guy had guts to basically ask an Emperor to not go after someone. Of course, Shanks could have trouble taking the hint when he had a few good ales in him, but he would never force himself on a woman or hurt her just because she was not interested. Seas, if that gal could talk back to the red-haired idiot Beckman called Captain, he would probably pay her next drinks just for the fun of it.

"Don't worry 'bout your friend," Beckman said as he took his tankard. "He can take a no."

The relief was obvious on the bartender's face, and Beckman went back to his crew's table, wondering what that woman looked like. It was not the first time he had heard the hottest woman I've ever met description, and the grey-haired man wondered where she would rank on that list.

"Hey, Beck ! Where've you been ?" Shanks asked with a wide grin after sending one more wink at the waitress who was working a table on the other side of the pub.

"Gettin' my beer since you keep bothering the waitress. Heard something interestin' from the bartender though, apparently there's a real hottie coming here every Friday night."

"Oh ?" his Captain said, immediately invested in the conversation. Yeah, of course the mention of a hot girl had him paying attention. Beckman snorted and took a gulp of his ale. "Tell me more ?" Shanks insisted.

"Gal's supposed to reject everyone who tries to hit on her. The bartender's worried she'll be in trouble when she rejects you too."

Beckman could see the second Shanks took it as a challenge, just with the way his eyes sparkled and a wide grin appeared on his face.

"Ha ! Guess I'll just have to convince her to make an exception ! But for now let's drink !"

Beckman shook his head fondly, but still raised his tankard with the others as they toasted to whatever dumb shit Shanks had probably just made up.

-o-oOo-o-

They arrived at the pub the next day to find it already pretty packed, to the point their group had to settle for a table in the back of the room. Of course, Shanks insisted to have the seat with the clearest view of the door.

At some point, the waitress from the past day came to bring their first round.

"Hey, is it always that busy ?" Yasopp asked her, confused by the stark difference with the previous night.

"Well," the waitress – Shelly, wasn't it ? – explained, "with you and the other ship that docked today, there's more people than usual, but Fridays are always more busy since that's when Y/N comes."

"Y/N ?" Shanks perked up at the name.

"Oh yes, she only arrived about half a year ago after a shipwreck, you wouldn't have seen her before," Shelly said and put her tray under her arm. "She's got to be one of the most beautiful women in the New World," she added with a smile and a light blush, then went back to the counter.

Beckman could almost see Shanks vibrating with excitement like a puppy on cocaine, and the rest of their table was now speculating about the mysterious woman.

"Do you think she'll be there soon ?" Hongo asked.

"Dibs," Shanks immediately said with a predatory grin, which had everyone groaning.

"For all you know, she's not into red-heads, Captain," Yasopp smirked.

"For all we know, she's not into anyone," Beckman reminded his Captain and crew after taking a long gulp of his ale.

Shanks immediately started protesting and claiming that everyone was into him, period, and the grey-haired man tuned it out to observe the rest of the room. Most people were from the town, but there was another pirate crew who seemed to not have noticed them yet. Which meant they were either stupid or unobservants, ergo, not a threat.

It took a few more rounds and the atmosphere getting more and more filled with laughs and chatter before the door opened again, and a woman stepped inside.

Beckman's cigarette fell from his lips, Shanks choked on his drink, Limejuice whispered fucking seas under his breath, and everyone in the pub seemed to stare at her as she paused for a second.

Long wavy blue hair falling like a waterfall on her shoulders and back, bright eyes, the toned shape of someone who spends a lot of time outside, a blue top revealing just enough cleavage to attract attention to a necklace, and a long blue skirt with splits high enough to show a lot of skin.

But more than that, there was a magnetism about her, something Beckman knew he usually only felt when he was looking at the majesty of the sea when they were in the middle of it, no land on sight.

"Seas have mercy," Hongo whispered. "She's-"

"Mine," Shanks interrupted, and Beckman turned his head just in time to witness the heavy desire in his Captain's eyes.

"Y/N !" the bartender called, and she smiled at him as she walked – who walked with that amount of grace, it was like watching a mermaid moving underwater – to the counter while the conversations picked up again in the pub.

She sat crossed-legged on a stool and started chatting with the bartender, looking at ease and yet somehow attracting attention like a damn siren. Beckman felt his eyes widen when the bartender picked a full bottle of top shelf moonshine and put it in front of her with a glass.

Yasopp whistled impressively. "Damn, looks like the lady can drink."

Beckman chanced a quick glance at his Captain and sure enough, Shanks was drooling and eating her up with his eyes. The grey-haired man then looked at Hongo and mouthed five minutes to the doctor, who grinned, looked at Shanks, and mouthed three minutes. Beckman nodded, loser would buy the next round.

Suddenly the noise quieted enough for everyone to hear the exchange between the bartender and the woman. The blond-haired guy was bent over the counter, smiling brightly.

"So when are you finally going to agree to go on a date with me ?" he asked, and Beckman's eyebrows went up. If the guy was after that woman, it would explain why he did not want Shanks to hit on her.

Still, she lookd like she had been expecting the question, or even like she was taking it seriously, so maybe there was something more friendly going on. But when she spoke, her voice was clear enough in the quiet to be heard in the entire pub.

"Either when Kaido stops being a psychopathic pile of shit," she started confidently, and Beckman saw several jaws drop at the casualness with which she insulted a fucking Emperor.

"When Big Mom develops an aversion to sugar," she continued, and Gab snorted. Once again, Beckman could relate, and brought his tankard to his mouth.

"When Whitebeard finally changes his name to Whitemustache," she kept going, making Beckman almost spit his ale. Seas, that woman was insane but he would pay a lot to see her tell that to the man himself.

However, there was only one Emperor missing from the list and Shanks was now grinning like a madman, waiting to see what he would get.

"Or when Akagami swears off booze and sex," she finished.

Their table erupted in laughter. Beckman had to slam his tankard back on the table as he laughed wildly. He could not help it and clearly neither could Shanks or anyone else at their table, as they were all head thrown back or hands hitting the table. Fuck, that was hilarious and just perfect. Beckman was definitely adopting this way to say never from now on.

"Fucking seas, I like her already !" Limejuice stated after a minute, when they were all finally getting their breathing under control.

"Me too but damn, that was savage," Hongo said, wiping a tear with his sleeve.

"Blondie seems to have gotten over it quickly," Gab noticed. "I don't think he was really serious about it."

"Beck, move aside, I'm gonna talk to her," Shanks grinned, but suddenly frowned and glared in direction of the counter.

Beckman turned his head just in time to see a member of the other pirate crew walk confidently to the counter and flaunt himself at the woman's right, oggling her with a lecherous grin.

"Looks like you'll have to wait for your turn, Captain," Beckman stated and lit up a new cigarette. "Guess we're gonna see what happens when someone really hits on her."

The guy tried a line, probably a bad one according to the complete absence of reaction from the woman, until she turned to him, said something that had the guy looking confused, and then everyone quieted again to eavesdrop and her voice was loud enough for all to hear.

"Drinking," she deadpaned, then continued to make a list of answers. "No I'm not interested. Yes I'm sure. Yes I realise what I'm missing out on. No I don't need you to show me what a real man can do. Again, yes I'm sure. No I won't change my mind. Again, yes I'm sure. So now that we're clear, you can go try your luck elsewhere and leave me and my drink alone."

Hongo, Gab, Limejuice, and even Yasopp winced. Beckman's eyebrows were high on his forehead and Shanks looked more and more like a goner with every word she pronounced.

"That was a freakin' slaughter," Beckman muttered.

"Yeah," his Captain sighed dreamily. "And fucking hot."

But then the guy seemed to take it the wrong way and started raising his voice. Beckman listened to the conversation – more like the man attempting to insult her and her countering with blows that almost made Beckman feel like he was witnessing a murder – but then the guy reached for his pistol.

By the time the bartender intervened, Beckman had a hand on his rifle and Yasopp was reaching for his gun. The second the guy got the weapon out of his holster, however, Shanks flooded the pub with his Haki. It was mostly directed at the piece of shit who thought threatening a woman was fine, but still spread enough for most people to catch on to his presence.

The woman's shoulders tensed as the guy felt to his knees, looking around frantically until his eyes found their table. Then he seemed to realise who he was going to piss off by attacking her, and scattered away like a fucking coward. As soon as he was out of the door, Shanks stood up, ran his hand through his hair and grinned.

"Watch and learn, lads."

Beckman sighed loudly and took a swig of ale, then grinned and turned to Hongo. "Closer to five minutes. Next round's on you."

The doctor tsked but did not protest further, and they all shamelessly started to watch whether their Captain would succeed where everyone else had clearly failed.

At first, Beckman grinned. With the way she had just bashed her head on the counter, it seemed she had recognised Shanks and was still not very interested. But then the strangest thing happened.

"Is she just… staring him down ?" Yasopp asked incredulously.

"Nah, Captain wouldn't shut up if she was just staring at him in silence. She must be speaking to him," Gab surmised, and emptied his tankard.

"Not sure, she's really not moving at all," Limejuice noticed.

Almost two minutes passed with no change at all, and then Hongo grinned. "He's fidgeting. Captain's nervous !"

"No fucking way, there's still a woman out there who can make him nervous ?" Lucky Roux laughed. "We need to recruit her. Just the blackmail material we'd get out of it would make it worth it."

"Wait," Beckman said suddenly and sat straighter on his chair. "Something's wrong."

The grey-haired man felt the sudden change in his gut a second before it actually happened. The woman bent to whisper something to Shanks, who went rigid and lost all playfulness at once.

"What the fuck," Yasopp deadpaned when Shanks' hand went to the pommel of his sword, and Beckman was inclined to agree. What in All Blue had that gal said to his Captain to have him ready to kill ?

Yet she seemed to relax just as quickly, which was enough to give all of them – Shanks included, apparently – whiplash, and called for the bartender as she recapped the bottle of moonshine in front of her, her voice carrying through the pub.

"Dei, put that on my tab. Come on, Akagami, it's one hell of a long story and I'd like to get some sleep before the sun is up. Don't get your hopes up, sex is still off the table."

She then left with the same grace she had come in, as if she had not downed half a bottle of moonshine, and did not even look back as she all but ordered an Emperor to follow her.

Which he did. With no hesitation.

Beckman felt his cigarette fall from his dropped jaw for the second time in a single evening.

What the fuck.

"I'm too sober for that," the first mate of the Red-Haired Pirates stated. "Someone get the next round and something to eat."

"Shouldn't we go after them ? You know, just in case ?" Limejuice asked.

"He'll be fine. Worst case scenario he'll be frustrated he didn't get into her pants."

"Skirt," Hongo corrected.

"Same difference."

"A hundred berries he manages to bed her," Yasopp grinned.

"You're on," Beckman replied with a snort. "That gal's not the type to make an exception."

Everyone placed their bets, but as usual, Beckman felt pretty confident he would get to brag about being right one more time. There was something special about that woman.

Chapter 4: Prove It

Chapter Text

Y/N pov

Barely five minutes after you walked out of the inn, the Emperor started talking.

"Sooo where are we going, sweetheart ?"

"My place," you answered.

"Oh, so when you said sex was off the table, you meant you prefer a bed ?" he teased you and you smiled despite yourself at his easy-going nature.

"Nice try. But believe me, you want to be sitting somewhere comfortable for what I plan to tell you, and I'd rather be in a familiar place when I bare my soul," you said, then looked at him to convey you were serious.

And damn, you knew he was supposed to be the epitome of tall and handsome, but that was seriously unfair. Hair just shy of hiding his eyes off his face, a wide and muscular frame no kind of clothing could fully hide, confidence radiating from every pore of his body… that man truly was sex on legs. At least you had the night on your side. Even for the usual clear skies of summer islands, the shadows would make it harder for him to realise the effect he had on you.

Now that the shock of meeting one of your all-time favourite characters had passed, and your decision made about screwing the timeline, you could not deny Shanks was very, very attractive. Truly, if there was one man who could challenge your disdain for sex without feelings, it was that one.

"Oh so you're a love at first sight kind of gal," the red-haired man grinned with a wink, and you blinked dispassionately as you kept walking.

At least you were almost out of the town's limits.

"Erm, sweetheart, I thought you said you were taking me to your place ?"

You could not help it, you turned to him and grinned widely.

"I am."

"We're almost out of town and it starts to feel a lot like you're trying to set a trap, honey."

You laughed at that, wild and free, harder than you had in months, possibly years, to the point you had to stop walking and clench your stomach.

"Oh seas," you hiccuped as you tried to keep the tears at bay, "don't make me laugh like that," you added, almost wheezing as you tried to regain your breath.

"I love your laugh," you heard from above you, and looked just in time to see the Emperor smiling at you.

"Thanks," you breathed out, then fanned yourself for a moment until you ultimately regained some sort of composure. You started walking again, your hand reaching for your necklace in a familiar gesture. "And for the record, I'm nowhere near crazy, stupid, or suicidal enough to try and trap someone like you."

"Someone like me, hmm ? What do you mean by that ?" he purred and you felt an arm reaching for your waist that you batted away immediately, putting more distance between the two of you.

Dear seas, stars, and moon, you could not deal with physical displays of affection. You could scarcely remember the last time someone had hugged you, and the slightest contact tended to have your skin buzzing and reacting with hypersensitivity these days.

"I mean someone who could knock me unconscious in half a second flat with the Haki that got them the title of Emperor, or divine departure me into oblivion."

"And here I was thinking you meant my dashing charms would make you succomb to me as soon as I begged for your mercy," Shanks replied suggestively.

"Keep dreaming, Akagami," you snorted, trying your hardest to not picture him begging you. You were not even into that. Supposedly.

"So where are we going ?"

"The lighthouse."

"Huh ?"

"That's where I live."

"Wait. The place the old asshole used to lure ships to the cliffs ?"

"The very one."

"You live there."

"Yep."

"What the fuck. Why ?"

You chuckled at his flabbergasted tone.

"It's far away from town so no one bothers me, I get all the peace and space I want, and it has the best view available on this island," you explained.

"I'm only agreeing with the last one because you're living there and I can't imagine a finer sight."

"Do you ever stop flirting ?"

"Do you ever stop breathing ?"

You chuckled. "Touché. Well, since we still have a bit of a way to go, how about you tell me some of your adventures ?"

"Or you could tell me how you know about Luffy and his dream of being the next Pirate King," he replied with an easy-going voice.

All good cheer left you at once.

"I'll tell you," you whispered. "When we're there. But not before."

There was a second of silence.

"Well there's the first time I went to Elbaf and-"

You perked up and gave him a beaming smile.

Come on, you were a One Piece fangirl, how could you not be over the moon at the idea of getting to hear more of Shanks' adventures ?

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks pov

Shanks was confused.

And horny.

But mostly confused.

Though horny was a very, very close second.

That woman was driving him mad with desire one moment, getting him crazy suspicious the next, and not giving him any answers aside from sex is off the table – a shame – and wait till we're at my place – frustrating to hell and back.

The very second she had walked into the pub, Shanks had thought the Goddess of the Sea had graced him with her presence. That wavy blue hair, those clothes floating with her in perfect harmony, the flowing grace with which she moved, the feeling of restrained power emanating from her in waves, that aura of calm wilderness, the beauty and danger all wrapped in one bewitching woman had him hooked at first glance.

Her voice and sharp wit had him drooling in a second, and despite the obvious irony in her oh fuck me, it had taken all of his self-restraint not to devour her right then and there.

But then she had mentioned Luffy becoming the next Pirate King, and it was like an ice shower on his arousal. Until she relaxed and all feeling of threat had left her attitude. Shanks was at a loss, and left with no other choice than to follow her in hope he would get some answers.

And if he played his cards right, maybe sex.

"Careful," she said and hold out her hand to him as she guided him through the cliff's pathway.

Could Shanks simply jump all the way down ? Yes.

Did he say so ? Hell no.

Her hand was soft and the slight shiver she had at the contact led him to believe she may not be as indifferent to him as she pretended. Shanks grinned and watched how attentive she was as she guided him to the bottom of the cliff. Seas, that was downright adorable. No way a woman so caring was secretly planning his doom. And even if she was, it would definitely be a way to go Shanks was fine with.

Of course, getting down meant she let go of his hand, and they walked along the pier in comfortable silence for a grand total of thirty seconds, until Shanks noticed a cute mannerism.

"Why are you moving your hand in circles ? Are you trying to get the tide away from us ?" he joked, and her steps faltered an instant before she clutched her necklace with her other hand.

"Sorry. It's… a habit," she mumbled, and wow, nope, not happening, Shanks was not going to witness this enthralling creature feel awkward around him, not on his watch.

"It's cute. You know, I've never seen a symbol quite like the one on your necklace, it looks almost as unique as you."

She froze entirely this time, her expression one of unease, and Shanks almost punched himself. Clearly the subject was a sensitive one and he had opted for the worst possible timing to ask about it. Time to fix things.

"Didn't mean to pry, if yo-"

"It's the last thing I have from my family," she whispered with her head down, her hand still clutching the medallion. "My only reminder of them."

Well, fuck.

Way to kill the mood.

And he was supposed to be the world's smoothest motherfucker.

"Sorry you lost them."

"Thank you," she murmured.

The silence got awfully awkward, until she coughed and let go of her necklace to let her hand drop at her side.

"Actually, the symbol is called a triskel and it represents the concepts of balance and harmony," she explained out the blue. "The three spirals are a representation of movement and its role in both life and death, it's an ancient way to deny the limited  vision of the dual dichotomy of good and evil."

Shanks' head turned so fast to her he was amazed he did not get whiplash. What the fuck.

"I found this necklace when I was on a vacation with my parents, it caught my eyes in a shop and the old lady explained the things it meant," she huffed ironically, but there was no denying how sad her smile was. "I was just a kid at the time. I found it pretty and soothing to look at. It's not really worth that much, just a half-decent piece of jewellery tourists will buy during a trip, but it… called to me, somehow. And my parents bought it for me. Now it's the one thing I have left to remember them."

Oh fuck. When she had said she was going to bare her soul to him, Shanks had not been expecting that. And no, he was not going back down memory lane to remember all the times Roger and Rayleigh had gone out of their way to make sure he and Buggy were happy and cared for on the Oro Jackson.

Nope.

Not one bit.

Thankfully, they arrived at the lighthouse's door.

"So anyway," she stated with an enthusiasm so fake Shanks had to refrain from telling her to stop pretending, "welcome to my humble abode," she anounced with a chuckle and opened the door.

At first, Shanks thought nothing had changed much from the vague memories he had of the building, but when they made it to the top floor, his jaw dropped.

He remembered the way the lighthouse had looked when an asshole ran the place. He was pretty sure the furniture was the same, the windows looking out on the sea were the same, hell, almost nothing had changed !

Yet there was something fundamentally different about it. A feeling of life, of peace, of coziness to it.

"Make yourself at home," Y/N said as she went to get two glasses and put them on the coffee table in front of the sofa, which was now facing the sea instead of the cliffs.

And damn, even without any light on, the ethereal light of the stars and moon reflected on the sea was more than enough to see clearly, turning the entire windowed room in some silvery-shaded out-of-this-world place. Like entering the lair of a water deity, which Shanks was seriously starting to consider possible with the way Y/N's blue-covered silhouette seemed to move around like she was underwater.

She sat beside him on the couch, poured each of them a glass of moonshine, and waited until they had both taken a sip to talk.

"So. How familiar are you with the concepts of reincarnation and transmigration ?"

And wasn't that one hell of a way to start a conversation.

-o-oOOo-o-

Reader pov

The Emperor blinked at you.

You sighed.

"Okay, not familiar at all, that's not gonna help but I can work with it," you muttered and braced yourself. "Long story short, both of those concepts have to do with being reborn or transferred into another place but with the memories of your past life. So far so good ?"

The Emperor took a sip and nodded slowly. You closed your eyes, and went for it, the feeling of your necklace in your hand anchoring you in the present.

"To put it simply… I'm not from this world. And yes, I know it sounds crazy. But I just woke up one day in front of this lighthouse. The townspeople think I survived a shipwreck, but that's not true. I went to bed one night in my world, then woke up here and I don't know why or how."

There was a heavy silence for about two seconds, then Shanks raised an eyebrow and downed half his glass in one go.

"Okay, let's say I believe you. How do you know about Luffy ?"

You winced.

"Well, that's the thing. In the world I'm from, this place, this universe, the charact- I mean you and mutliple other people… you're a story. A fiction. A tale I loved and that was not finished by the time I appeared here, but it means I know a lot of things, both past and future."

"Prove it, sweetheart."

"Excuse me ?" you spluttered.

"You claim to know more about this world than you're supposed to. Prove it. What do you know about me ?"

You stared at the red-haired man who was looking at you with a lazy smirk, daring you to surprise him. Your jaw clenched as you realised he did not believe you. He was merely humouring a woman he clearly thought was deranged.

You put your drink on the coffee table, turned to face the sea instead of him, sat cross-legged on the couch and plastered the most serene, composed expression you could muster on your face. You took a deep breath, then focused your attention on the way the moonlight was reflected on the dark waves, and the soothing push and pull of the tide.

He wanted to play hard ?

You could play hard.

"You started your career on the Oro Jackson as a cabin boy, under the late Pirate King, who found you in a chest while you were just a baby. Talking about him, Gol D Roger was sick, an incurable disease, to the point not even Crocus could heal him and he ultimately decided to turn himself in to the only Marine he ever saw as an equal, Monkey D Garp. But as he did so, he entrusted Garp with the life of the child he knew Portgas D Rouge was bearing at the time. Garp accepted and put said kid on some backwater island in East Blue, where he later put his own grandson, Monkey D Luffy, and left them both to the tender care of Dadan, a mountain bandit."

You paused to get a sip and snorted. "Spoiler alert, they got awesome survival skills out of it but terrible manners outside of what Makino taught them, and no education whatsoever. The only reason they even know how to read is because of the third kid who composed their trio of chaotic brothers, Sabo, a nobles' child who ran away because he hated the life he was born into and loved his found brothers more than anything."

You kept your eyes on the beautiful grey-blue sea outside, finding peace in its calm behaviour and the starlit sky. It helped you to ignore the presence of the man who could kill you in five seconds or less on the other side of your couch.

"You know, I've always thought you had an inkling as to who Ace truly was when he met you on that winter island to thank you for saving his baby brother. I mean, if anything screams "I'm Roger's child !" it's going to be protecting the people you care for to hell and back and then dive head first into a crazy adventure, right ? Well, that and an untamable mop of black hair, I suppose."

You did not even wait for a reply and kept going.

"Anyway, what else do I know about you… I suppose there's your very close friendship, almost brotherhood link to Buggy and the way he accused you of tricking him into eating a devil fruit, even though it was an accident, but that's probably a little too well-known… Hmmm, let me think, the fact that you never went to Laugh Tale because Buggy was sick and you stayed on the Oro Jackson to look after him ?"

You frowned, trying to remember as many things as you could. Unfortunately, there was not much known about Shanks in the manga or anime. Your last scraps of knowledge were going to have to be enough.

"I know the scars on your eye were left by Marshall D Teach at some point between Roger's death and you meeting Luffy, to which you gave Roger's strawhat before you left East Blue, by the way. I know you lost your arm to a sea monster to save Luffy's life, an action that you usually downplay by saying you took a gambling on the next generation, especially since Luffy ate that very special devil fruit that will make him the next Joyboy. I think the words you used back then when the mountain bandit was about to injure Luffy were you can spill a drink on me and I'll let it slide, but don't you ever threaten my friends."

You paused to think of anything more to say, until the sound of glass crashing broke your focus and your eyes snapped to Shanks, whose hand was now dripping with blood and alcohol. The Emperor was looking at you as if you had just told him the sky and sea had traded places.

 

Chapter 5: Spend The Night

Notes:

Hello lovelies, here is your daily reminder to stay hydrated <3
Also, enjoy this chapter x)

Chapter Text

Shanks pov

Shanks was staring at the young woman suddenly fretting over him with his eyes wide and his heart beating faster than it had in years.

When she talked about being brought here with her past life's memories and this world being a legend from another world she had left in her sleep one night, he had scoffed it out but gotten ready to hear some nice imaginary tale anyway. Good alcohol, nice view of the sea, comfortable seat and a pretty girl to look at, Shanks was not asking for much more when it came to a good time.

But then she started talking.

And talking.

And revealing things no one outside of his crew should know.

Scratch that, that no one outside of Roger's crew should know.

Fuck, that no one at all should know.

Hearing his own words thrown back at him was the last straw and he lost control of himself for a second, crashing the glass he was holding. When Shanks really came back to the present, Y/N was cleaning his hand with a wet cloth and getting the last shards of glass out of his skin with deliberate care.

"You're back with me ?" she asked when his wrist jerked minutely.

"Can't blame me for spacing out after dropping all that on me, sweetheart," Shanks chuckled.

"Serves you right for challenging me," she retorted, but her soft smile showed she was just messing with him. "Do you believe me now ?"

Shanks smiled at her as she finished cleaning his hand, all the while muttering about not needing stitches, until she ultimately wrapped it into a clean and dry cloth. He kind of wanted to kiss that little frown away and engulf her in a hug to never let her go. The red-head was already missing the feeling of her hands on his.

"Yeah, I believe you," he admitted as she put the stuff on the desk and went back to sit beside him on the couch. "Congrats, sweetheart, your story's the craziest true one I've ever heard," Shanks told her with a wink.

She turned to him, an amused grin on her very pretty lips and an arm on the backrest. "I'll take that as a compliment. Do you feel ready to hear the rest ?"

"Lay it on me, babe," the Emperor said while laying back with a little wiggle of his eyebrows, which made her chuckle.

She looked even more mesmerizing when she was smiling or laughing. Like the waves on a clear night, when Shanks felt like he was blessed with the Sea's good mood.

"So, like I said, I know both past and future events pertaining to Luffy and his adventures, since he was the one the story focused on," she explained, then breathed deeply and looked at the sea, almost bracing herself for her next words. "The reason I'm telling you about it is because I want to change some major events and I need your help for that."

Shanks frowned. "You want to prevent Luffy from finding the One Piece ? Wait, he does find it, right ?"

She turned her eyes back to him, wide and shocked, and shook her hands frantically as she answered, making her hair move like the waves below the lighthouse.

"Oh seas and stars no, I'm all for Luffy becoming the next Pirate King ! And the story wasn't finished when I arrived here, but there was never a doubt that he was going to find it eventually. That's not what I want to change, on the contrary, I want to help."

The Emperor relaxed immediately, that sounded more like something he could get behind. He knew Luffy had it in him to become the next bright star of piracy.

"Okay, so what do you want to change ?"

She started fidgeting with her medallion again and bit her lower lip, almost unconsciously, but Shanks' attention zeroed in on the gesture. Fuck, what he would give to be the one doing it. With the moonlight painting her blue colours and flawless skin with a silvery sheen, she was a sight to behold. Like a treasure of the sea who was just waiting to be uncovered, and as a pirate first and foremost, Shanks really wanted to be the one getting his hand on said treasure.

"In the original timeline," she finally whispered, her somber voice getting the Emperor's mind out of the gutter he was falling into, "a member of Whitebeard's crew betrays him and kills a division commander. Ace goes after the traitor, but is captured after a fight since the devil fruit the traitor ate makes him too powerful for that hothead to handle alone. The traitor turns Ace in to the Marines in exchange for Warlord status, which allows him to go and recruit more psychopaths for his crew in the lowest level of Impel Down."

Shanks was listening intently, not missing a word, and grimaced as she painted a rather gloomy future. He already had an inkling about what would happen next, knowing how protective Old Man Newgate was of his sons.

"The Marines find out Ace is Roger's son and plan a public execution. To put it plainly, it ends up in an all-out war between almost all the Marines' forces, the Warlords, Whitebeard and his allies, and Luffy who somehow managed to infiltrate Impel Down but was too late to free Ace and escaped with a bunch of other prisoners instead – including Buggy now that I think of it," she said with a small, amused smile.

Shanks smiled as well. Buggy was not exactly the best fighter out there, but he could bullshit his way out of a situation better than anyone the Emperor had ever met.

"Ultimately though, Akainu kills Whitebeard and then Ace, who dies in Luffy's arms. You arrive too late to save them but in time to stop the fighting and ensure an unconscious and heavily injured Luffy can get away."

The red-haired man's smile vanished in a second. Shit. That was bad. Shanks could not help but notice the pained expression on Y/N's face. It was obvious how those deaths had impacted her, grief was written all over her features.

Slowly, just in case she would not welcome it, Shanks put his hand on hers, and squeezed it lightly with a reassuring smile when she did not push him away.

"Well, none of that has happened yet, alright ? And from what you say, all we need to do is identify the traitor on Whitebeard's crew and expose him to avoid everything. See ? Piece of cake."

She blinked at him, then let out a small laugh and squeezed his hand back.

"Actually, I already know the traitor's identity, and I think I know how to make him reveal himself. The real difficulty will lay in how to handle the consequences of preventing all that," she explained with a tired smile.

"What do you mean ?" Shanks asked, tilting his head on the side, and she chuckled again, which was well on its way to become one of Shanks' favourite sounds in the world.

"Well, for example, if the war doesn't happen and Luffy isn't severely traumatised, he and his crew will still need to take a two years break to train, otherwise they won't be ready to face the New World. There are a few other events like that that will have to be provoked."

Oh, yeah, that made sense. Shanks nodded, and kept holding her hand on the couch, which she seemed to be fine with. Her skin was soft, tantalizingly so.

"So, which member of Whitebeard's crew am I killing for you, sweetheart ?" the Emperor asked with a wink, but to his surprise, her expression froze at the question, like she did not know how to answer him or was gauging what his reaction would be. Ultimately, though, her expression hardened and Shanks got a feeling he was not going to like her next words.

"Marshall D Teach," she spat with her jaw clenched and hatred burning in her eyes.

Shanks' hand immediately stopped the small circles he had been tracing on her skin. So that piece of shit had somehow found a way to stoop even lower than before. On top of joining another Emperor's crew after their fight in order to avoid repercussions, Teach now planned to betray one of the few good men left from Roger's era.

"Please stay calm ?" Y/N asked in a suddenly worried voice, and Shanks forced himself to breathe deeply and smile at her.

"All good, sweetheart. Wasn't expecting that name, that's all."

"Sorry, I know it's a lot to take in."

"That's usually my line," Shanks grinned, delighted to have an opportunity to change the subject.

It took her a second to realise what he meant, but after that, she took her hand out of his and facepalmed.

"You're impossible," she muttered.

"And you're irresistible, which clearly means we were made for each other."

"Don't think I won't kick you in the dick just because you're an Emperor, Akagami."

"You know, most people are too scared of an Emperor to even talk to them, much less threaten them," Shanks grinned.

"I literally come from another world with knowledge of the past and future, do you really think I'm in the same category as most people ?" she asked ironically, and stood up to stretch her arms above her head, showing a delightful amount of skin in the process that had Shanks close to drooling.

"Didn't say it was a bad thing, sweetheart."

She only hummed at that, and turned to look in the cliffs' direction, a frown marring her beautiful face once more as she seemed to take the sight in.

"Something wrong ?" Shanks asked.

"The tide is high," she sighed. "Makes it more dangerous to walk the pier, especially at night. I'm wondering whether I should send you all the way back to your ship nonetheless or trust you enough to let you sleep on the couch."

"Well, if we both sleep in your bed, the problem's solv-"

"I suppose a strong and powerful pirate such as yourself will be perfectly fine with just a few slipping rocks, then," she cut him off with a sweet smile that was more threatening than anything.

Shanks immediately backpedaled and raised his hand in front of him, temporarily setting aside the delightful stroke to his ego her words had induced.

"Couch is fine, you have my word I'll keep my hand to myself unless you ask me otherwise."

"Good. I'll go grab a blanket and pillow for you, try not to do anything stupid until I'm back," she smirked and left the room, her hair and skirt billowing behind her.

Shanks fell back on the couch and roamed his hand on his face, feeling somewhere between impressed and aroused. Seas, what a woman.

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

The rays of the sun fell on your face and you grumbled as you tried to keep your eyes closed and go back to Morpheus' kingdom. You acknowledged defeat a few minutes later, and blinked your eyes open before stretching your limbs. You could feel the faint effects of the previous night's drinks in your head and put a hand on your stomach, easily willing your power to work its magic and make it disappear. Once it was done, you sighed contentedly.

Then you remembered you had a guest sleeping on your couch and it was like a bucket of ice water was thrown on your cozy happiness at the idea of a lazy morning.

Holy shit, you had all but threatened an Emperor multiple times in a single evening and lived.

You had made Akagami no Shanks sleep on your couch.

Maybe that in itself could be enough for you to become something of an urban legend in this world.

You pushed the sheets aside and grabbed your clothes quickly, checking how Shanks was doing before you reached the stairs, and immediately blushed beet red. His arm was thrown over his face, but the blanket you had given him last night was only covering below his hips, revealing a tanned and sculpted chest you really would not mind being pressed agai-

You mentally slapped yourself. Bad brain. Not going there.

With the way you had bossed him around and basically imposed your knowledge and decisions to change the future on him, it was a miracle he had not just killed you once you were done talking. Either that or he found you hot enough to want to fuck you before ending your life.

Actually, that was more likely. Your knowledge made you a living weakness for him, and you knew Shanks was someone who would do everything in his power to protect his crew and friends. Chances were high he would try to keep you close to him until your usefulness ran out, after which… well, you might survive a bit longer if he thought you were hot enough to pursue you, but that meant you would be as good as dead the second you gave in to his charms.

Well, the joke would be on him. Sex without feelings had always been unappealing to you, the idea of sharing physical intimacy without emotional intimacy made you uncomfortable at best, and repulsed you at worst. You knew most people were fine with it, which was, well, good for them, but it simply was not for you. So ha, take that, mister one-night-stand ! And if it came to a worst case scenario, you could always throw yourself into the sea to disappear discreetly and let him believe you had drowned.

You walked down the stairs to the floor you dedicated to – among other things – your laundry space, and made a quick use of your power to clean, rinse, and dry your clothes. Once changed, you tied your hair in a high ponytail and made your way back up as you thought about what to cook for breakfast, something quick and easy but still enough to feed a grown man.

In the end, you opted for bacon and eggs, adding toast and sliced fruits. The latter was mostly for you, but you prepared a little more just in case your red-haired guest would appreciate some vitamins. As you put the fruits in a bowl, you wondered whether or not you should be thankful to the person who had designed the lighthouse to make it autonomous and fully functional. Having access to electricity, a shower, and basic kitchen equipement was quite the luxury when you were so far away from civilisation.

You were turning the bacon when you heard steps, and you glanced behind you just in time to see a very sleepy-looking Emperor making his way to you in nothing but his underwear, showcasing his god-like body with lazy confidence. You snapped your attention back to the pan, trying desperately to calm the frantic beating of your heart and fighting back the blush creeping up your cheeks.

"Good morning," you greeted him while keeping your eyes firmly on your cooking. "How did you sleep ?"

You heard the footsteps stop altogether for a second, and you wondered if he had just been acting on instinct so far.

"Uh, good, I think ?" he answered in a voice just a little roughed up from sleep that had, frankly, no business sounding as attractive as it did. Still, the uncertainty and almost questionning way he put his answer had you chuckling.

"Bathroom's on the floor just below, if you need it. I'll be done with breakfast in a few minutes, scrambled eggs good for you ?"

"Uh. Yeah. I'll. Yeah."

This time, his obvious floundering worried you a bit and you lowered the fire under the pan to look at him, eyes resolutely staying on his face.

"Are you alright ?" you asked in concern.

It took a couple seconds, but Shanks ultimately blinked and addressed you a bright smile that was a bit too wide to be honest. "Yep, totally good sweetheart."

You raised an eyebrow, then rolled your eyes and turned back to your cooking. Whatever he was hiding, it was not your problem as long as it did not threaten your life. You heard him walk down the stairs and went back to your bacon and eggs, hoping the Emperor would have the decency to get dressed before you started eating.

 

 

Shanks came up as you finished putting the food on the coffee table, looking much more awake and thankfully wearing his pants and shirt.

"I hope you're good with eating here," you smiled.

"Oh no," the Emperor mock complained as he plopped himself down on the couch, "eating in front of the sea with a beauty by my side, how shall I ever recover ?"

You sent him a mischievous look, then executed a curtsy and bowed your head as you spoke.

"My sincerest apologies, your imperial majesty, I will endeavour to not let such an appalling situation happen again."

When you looked back up at Shanks, he was staring at you with wide eyes, but it only lasted a second before he threw his head back in a fit of laughter. You let a small laugh escape your lips as well and sat down, grabbing your plate and a fork to start eating.

When Shanks finally recovered, he wiped away tears from his face and then put his own plate on his legs.

"You're something else, sweetheart, you know that ?"

You just smiled and kept eating, watching the sea as you grabbed the notebook and pen you had brought as well to start taking notes.

"Holy shit that's good !" the Emperor exclaimed suddenly and you turned to him with a question in your eyes, noticing he had already eaten half his plate. "I mean, not that I thought it would taste bad, but well, erm-"

"I learned how to cook during my first year living away from my parents' place," you intervened before he could dig his own grave any further. "It's really one of those skills that always come in handy, you know, no matter what you do with your life. And not to brag, but I can bake some mean chocolate chip cookies," you added with a smirk.

"A bold claim to make in front of someone who's been sailing all over the world and tasting everything it has to offer," Shanks smirked right back.

You stared at him for a moment, then squinted suspiciously.

"I can't decide if that was a pretty good comeback or a really shrewd innuendo."

The Emperor grinned widely, then grabbed some toast and stopped to look at the bowl of fruits, almost glaring at it like it might contain a trap. You were confused about it for a second, until a tidbit of information came back to your mind and you chuckled.

"Don't worry, there aren't any blueberries in it."

His eyes snapped to you in surprise. "How did you- oh fuck, that's another one of those things you just know from your previous life, right ?"

"Eeyup," you said, popping the p. "Get used to it."

"I'm starting to think there's no such thing as getting used to you, sweetheart."

You rolled your eyes and kept eating your breakfast, adding half the bowl of sliced fruits to your now empty plate to have something to snack on as you kept writing on the notebook.

"What are you writing ?"

"The things you'll need to remember for the future and the key points you will probably need to use in order to convince Whitebeard," you answered absentmindedly, not noticing how the man stopped moving for a second.

Chapter 6: Meet The Crew

Notes:

Hello lovelies <3
I'm not surprised at all so many of view had Shanks' immediate reaction to the end chapter right XD

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Shanks pov

Shanks frowned in confusion at her casual statement.

"Why would I need that ?"

Y/N raised her head in surprise, which confused him further in turn.

"Oh, erm, I just assumed you might not remember everything I told you last night, and writing the plan I thought to use against Teach so you-"

"No I mean, you're coming with us to speak to Whitebeard," he cut her off to explain his confusion plainly, "so what's the point in writing it ?"

The pen fell from her hand at the same second her eyes went wide.

"What are you talking about ? I'm not coming with you !"

"Of course you are !" Shanks huffed.

Seriously, where had she gotten the idea that he would leave a gorgeous all-knowing goddess out of this mission. Or his sight, for that matter. With all the secrets she knew, there was no way he was taking the risk of another pirate crew – or worse, the Marines or World Governement – getting their hands on her. Though maybe he was better off using another argument than the possibility of torture to justify why he was going to bring her on the Red Force no matter what.

"You're the one who knows the stuff," he reminded her instead.

"Which is why I'm writing it down for you," she countered just as quickly as she waved her notebook in front of her.

"Sweetheart, do you really think a notebook will convince Whitebeard ?" Shanks snorted.

"No, that'll be your job, mister Emperor. I'm perfectly happy to give you the keys to the future and stay here."

Shanks raised an eyebrow and smirked. Oh, what a poor choice of words.

"Are you ?"

"What do you mean ? Of course I am," she huffed.

"You truly expect me to believe that a woman who lives as close to the sea as she can, eats all her meals in front of the sea, and knows enough about a legend of adventures on the sea to remember that I hate blueberries, is happy just withering away on an island where she clearly doesn't fit in ?"

"Excuse me ? I-"

"Sweetheart, you may be able to lie to yourself, but you can't lie to me. Not about that," Shanks murmured, getting his plate off his legs and closing the distance between him and her, just enough to fluster her. "A woman like you won't be satisfied with staying on the shore for much longer. What's even here for you ? Friday nights at the pub with countless idiots hitting on you ? A lighthouse where you don't dare to light a flame after sunset ? People you keep at arm's lenght because you're scared to let them know who you truly are ?"

"I, I-" she stuttered, unable to look away from his eyes, and Shanks knew he had her hooked.

"You feel the Sea calling you to her, don't you ? You want to know the thrill of feeling fully alive in the middle of a storm and the absolute peace of a glassy sea under the stars. The dangers you never saw coming from the dephts and the indescriptible beauty you never knew could even exist. Face it, sweetheart, you yearn for the sea as much as I do."

Shanks was certain he had her, yet she managed to surprise him as she tore her gaze away from him and looked toward the sea.

"I… I do," she admitted softly as she closed her eyes, like the very admission was painful to her. "But I don't think you realise how scary it is for me."

"Scary ?" Shanks blinked, thoroughly taken aback, then almost cowered under her sudden glare.

"I am a single woman with a decent looking appearance," she stated in what was probably the understatement of the century, "in possession of, among other things, knowledge that people would kill and torture for."

"Among other things ?" Shanks immediately perked up at the idea that she had more hidden surprises for him to discover. "And you know I'll protect you from anything and everything, right ?"

She stared at him for a minute with the same expression she had had at the pub, the one that left Shanks feeling like she was looking at his very soul and judging whether he was worthy or not. He had passed the test the first time, and he definitely counted on it to pass the second as well. Surely he had proved himself worthy of her trust by now.

"I have three conditions," she finally stated.

Shanks beamed and motioned her to state her terms.

"One. I am only coming along for this single mission. Once Teach is dead and the consequences are dealt with, you bring me back here."

"Sure thing," the red-head agreed easily. He was fairly confident the journey would give him more than enough time to convince her to stay on his ship for longer than that. And even if she did not change her mind, well, Shanks would simply have to include this island in the list of their regular stops from now on.

"Two. I get to vet what you tell your crew about the knowledge I possess."

"No problem," the Emperor nodded. As long as she was fine with Beck knowing almost everything and his officers having the main gist of it, they would be good.

"Three. The second I feel harrassed on your ship, I'm throwing myself overboard."

Shanks opened his mouth to agree on reflex, then shut it when his mind actually processed the words.

What.

"What ?"

"You heard me," she said, arms crossed over her chest and steel in her voice. "I will be the only woman on a ship full of men for weeks on end. That requires a level of trust you don't seem to fully grasp, so I'm telling you my third condition is that if there is so much as a hint of sexual harrassment toward me, I will throw myself overboard."

Shanks felt a rather unpleasant mixture of shame and fear fill his heart. Shame for not realising what she obviously had been through for the simple fact of being an attractive woman. Fear at the idea that she was determined to choose immediate death rather than risk being abused.

"Counter-offer," Shanks replied seriously. "At the first hint of sexual harrassment, you come to me and trust me to deal the appropriate punishment. I don't want anyone feeling unsafe on my ship, and if you know me half as well as you pretend, you know that's something I don't compromise on."

Her right hand went to her necklace as she thought his offer over, and the red-head could only stare at her with baited breath. After a few seconds that felt way too long, though, she sighed and looked back at him.

"Deal."

"Woohoo !" Shanks exclaimed cheerfully, standing up and raising his arm in victory. "Awesome ! Grab your stuff, sweetheart, we're leaving with the tide !"

"Wait what ?" she exclaimed incredulously. "I thought you were planning to stay for a few more days !"

"Change of plans ! Come on, I need to introduce you to the lads !"

She stared at him with her jaw dropped for a few seconds in complete silence, while Shanks kept staring at her with a beaming smile. Then she ultimately laughed and stood up from the couch.

"I don't know what I was expecting," she chuckled. "Give me half an hour here, a stop in town to warn Dei, and I'll be good to go."

-o-oOo-o-

Beckman pov

Beckman was out on deck pretty early on, and so was most of the crew, all of them pretending to be busy with checking things that had been taken care of the day prior.

"Still think Captain didn't manage to get into her pants, First Mate ?" Gab asked him with a fake innocence that was almost insulting.

"Skirt," Hongo corrected just to be a little shit.

"Just because he's not back yet doesn't mean he bagged her," Beckman stated calmly. Just as he knew his Captain, he knew an iron will when he saw one, and that woman had something in her. A kind of restrained power he had rarely seen in all his years at sea, something too intense to bend or break in the span of a single evening.

 

 

It was around midmorning when they heard the unmistakable voice of Shanks coming from the docks.

"-lshit, no one your size can drink that much and not pass out !"

It was quickly followed by a feminine voice, much calmer, with a touch of smugness to it.

"Look, it's not my fault no one can keep up with me."

No fucking way.

"Oh you're on, sweetheart, next party we're going to see how much of this is all talk."

Beckman watched a gorgeous blue-haired woman walk on deck with the grace of an angel and a travel bag on her shoulder, casually challenging his Captain to a drinking contest and grinning with a mischievous spark in her eyes.

"Bring it on, Akagami, but don't blame me when you wake up with the mother of all hangovers the next day."

"Captain," Beckman interrupted with a stern glare, to which Shanks answered with the specific beaming smile that meant he had done something stupid and was equally stupidly proud of it.

"Beck ! Meet Y/N, she's gonna sail with us for a while !"

The grey-haired man felt a headache forming the second the words were out, and he turned his gaze to the stunning woman who hold his eyes, with what seemed to be a mixture of amusement and compassion.

"Pleasure to meet you. Benn Beckman, correct ?"

"That'd be right, miss," he replied with a nod.

"Just Y/N, please. Before I forget," she smiled, her hand now on her hip with the other still holding her bag, "you have my undying respect and admiration for dealing with that crazy dumbass for as long as you've been."

Beckman raised an eyebrow while Shanks immediately protested, but Y/N was still looking at him with that amused-yet-serious gaze.

"With that being said," she stated, then cleared her throat in a display meant to attract everyone's attention, as if there was a single pair of eyes on deck who was not already on her, "I did not sleep with your Captain, nor do I intend to. Now, I believe there was an officers-only meeting we were supposed to hold before we leave ?"

Beckman grinned, and motioned her to follow him to Shanks' office – that he almost never used – while making sure all the officers were coming as well. Maybe having her on board was not such a bad idea.

 

 

Fifteen minutes later, Beckman was already taking it back.

"So you're telling us that you're from another world, where our world is a story, that you know what's goin' to happen, and that you want to change it to avoid a tragedy."

"That would be correct."

"And you plan to do it by killing some guy after revealing he's going to betray Whitebeard, but you won't tell us who it is or how you plan to do it aside from talking to Old Man Newgates in person."

"Also correct."

"And for some reason, Captain is hellbent on vouching for you because there is apparently a bunch of stuff you know that no one should know, but you won't tell us what that stuff is."

"Still correct."

"Are you fucking kidding me ?"

"Believe me, I wish I were."

Beckman stared at the woman facing him from the other side of the room. Shanks was sitting at his desk for once, and had stated that he was leaving her in charge of the meeting, with only senior officers in the room.

Half of which looked incredulous, while the other half looked like they wished they had snacks to observe what had quickly devolved into a back-and-forth between their first mate and Y/N. The girl was smart, Beckman had to give her that. Her story was hard to believe, granted, but not impossible. Weirder things had happened on the seas, though not a lot. That transmigration stuff had to be in the top three.

What truly bothered Beckman, however, was the certainty that in spite of all she had been willing to admit about her origins and knowledge, he could not shake the certainty that she was still hiding something from them. It was not even about the secrets that she openly admitted knowing but were not hers to reveal, that was something everyone in the room could understand and respect.

Beckman's guts were telling him it was something about her that she really, really did not want them to know. The way she had to fidget with her necklace was a nervous tell the grey-haired man had clocked in the first time she did it.

"Look," she sighed tiredly, apparently just as done with the discussion as Beckman felt. "You don't believe or trust me, fine. What do you guys have to lose ? If I'm wrong, Whitebeard will know beforehand that I'm not part of your crew so he can just kill me without starting a war between him and you. But if I'm-"

"Wait what !?" Shanks jumped out of his chair, expressing the shock all of them felt at her casual dismissal of her potential death.

She blinked and looked at him, the very picture of confusion, like she genuinely did not understand what the problem was with her statement.

"Well, let's be honest," she explained with a dismissive shrug. "I'm going to tell Whitebeard one of the men he thinks of as a son never saw him as his Pops and will betray him by killing a division commander. No matter how I phrase it, he's gonna be doubtful at best, and pissed off at worst. So as long as you make it clear that I'm not a Red-Haired Pirate but just a random nobody who wanted to talk to him, he can kill me with no repercussions, and you guys can just brush it off by saying I made a few convincing lucky guesses and then go on your merry wa-"

"That's not how it works," Beckman cut her off before Shanks could say something stupid. "But I think I'm startin' to see the kind of gal you are."

She frowned and tilted her head in confusion, which sent her hair cascading on her arm and probably should not look as cute as it did. Then her eyes widened in understanding and she chuckled.

"I guess I phrased it poorly. Rest assured that I plan to do everything in my power to survive this encounter, I have a few aces up my sleeve to use with Whitebeard anyway," she smirked. "I just wanted you to know that I'm trying to think through as many outcomes as possible to make sure you guys won't get in trouble because of me."

Beckman stared at the woman for a moment, then roamed a hand on his face with a sigh. Looked like they were doing this. Shanks was already far too invested in this girl to just let it go, anyway.

"Fine," the grey-haired man admitted reluctantly. "I'll trust you and Captain know what you're doing."

The obvious relief she felt and the grateful smile she displayed were almost immediately replaced by a quick look around the room, and for whatever reason, her expression turned knowing.

"So are we at the point where one of you finds a pretext to get me out of the room and we all pretend you're not going to talk about me to make the real decision ?" she asked with an amused smile.

Yasopp snorted, Hongo hid a smirk behind his hand, Lucky did not even bother to hide his laugh and even Snake snickered.

"Sweetheart," Shanks protested while doing a very poor job of hiding his glee, "we would never !"

"Right," she retorted with irony lacing her voice, then walked toward the door. "I'll be on deck when you're done."

As soon as the door closed behind her, the entire office erupted in laughter, Beckman included.

"Seas, where'd you find a girl like her, Captain ?" Bonk asked between two fits of laughter.

"Who cares, I'm never letting her go," Shanks grinned widely.

"So she's crew ?" Yasopp asked and leaned against the wall. "Why didn't you lead with that ?"

Beckman turned a stern gaze on his Captain and saw the very moment Shanks made his so-I-did-something-stupid-but-don't-be-mad-at-me face. Which, subsequently, meant Beckman stared him down with an accusing look.

"What did you tell her, exactly ?"

"Look, it's not my fault, I just had to find a way to convince her to get on board and her conditions aren't even that-"

"Conditions ?" Beckman repeated, raising an eyebrow.

Shanks slumped on his desk with a groan, clearly trying to get out of it by pouting.

"She only sails with us for this one mission and we get her back to her island afterwards," he begrudgingly mumbled after a minute.

"So you want to use her time on board to convince her to stay forever," Hongo translated with a knowing smirk.

"What are her other conditions ?" Yasopp asked, looking curious.

"She gets to vet who knows about what she knows," Shanks said as he put his chin on his hand, and everyone in the room nodded in understanding. If even half of what she had hinted at knowing was true, it was better to limit who was aware of her knowledge, mostly for her own safety.

But then Shanks made a face and his eyes hardened.

"And she told me she would throw herself overboard the second a member of my crew harrassed her."

The so far relaxed atmosphere turned into a shocked tension, like an ice bucket had been thrown on everyone in the room and froze them all in their tracks.

"Wait. Herself ?" Gab repeated as he visibly paled at the clear implication.

"I negotiated that she'd come to me instead so I could deal the appropriate punishment. And even then, she only agreed because of what she knew of me from her previous world."

"Fucking seas, what did that world put her through ?" Limejuice muttered.

Shanks' jaw clenched, and Beckman felt his own clenched fists echo the murderous intent of his Captain. With the scene they had witnessed in the pub and the blasé attitude she had handled it with, there was one answer none of them wanted to be true but most likely was. A lot of men did not accept a no for what it was, no matter which world they lived in. Still, after a few tense moments, their Captain took a deep breath and smiled.

"I expect all of you to make her feel safe and welcome on the Red Force, alright lads ?"

Notes:

Take care, and see you tomorrow for the next chapter <3

Chapter 7: My What Now

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Reader pov

Your travel bag was set against the wooden railing you were sitting on, one leg crossed on it and the other falling freely on the inside of the ship, your hands behind your back as your eyes took in the beauty of the sea under a bright summer morning. The horizon line almost disappeared into the water, the waves were gently rocking the ship and you let the barest hint of your power brush them, just to feel their soothing push-and-pull movement.

With the sun caressing your skin and the unique scent of the ocean breeze, you were feeling a bit like a cat ready to curl on itself and nap in a relaxing environment.

The meeting had gone better than you had expected. Not that you had believed they would all trust you on sight or simply take Shanks' word for it, but his officers had seemed open-minded enough to somewhat contemplate the possibility that you were saying the truth. That was already more than you had dared hope for. With some luck, they would gradually come to the realisation that you truly had no ill will toward them, and maybe even come to accept your temporary presence among them. It would only last a few weeks, after all, a few months at most.

"Y/N !" Shanks' voice called and you turned your head in time to see him walk toward you, some of his officers trailing behind him. You jumped back on deck, kind of mourning your perfect spot.

"So, what's the verdict ?" you asked with a smile.

"Hope you're ready to sail into the sunset with me, sweetheart," the Emperor told you with a wink.

"Well, I'm here, am I not ? Even if I clash with the colour theme," you chuckled.

"Excuse you, red and blue go perfectly well together. If anything, you look like the Sea has blessed my ship with the presence of her most beautiful daughter," Shanks smirked, all roguish charm on.

You rolled your eyes good-heartedly, not taking his flirting to heart and trying your damnedest to ignore the spark of anxiety you felt at the comparison. Your ability to manipulate water was the only thing you intended to keep secret the entire time you were going to spend on this mission. There was still a fifty-fifty chance they would look at you like you were a monster, a freak of nature, and a threat to eliminate as soon as they found out.

"Anyway," Shanks continued, "I'm just going to let everyone know you'll be coming with us and then I'll show you to your cabin, good for you ?"

You stared at him in surprise for a minute. Truth be told, you had not expected him to have a private space ready for you so quickly, if at all. Then you winked and did a little hand salute with two fingers.

"Aye Captain."

Shanks froze and you wondered whether your joke was out of turn, but then he closed the distance between you until his face was right above yours – you had forgotten how tall he was for a minute.

"Careful, sweetheart," he whispered with a heated gaze. "You're playing with fire here."

A million puns about being the walking equivalent of a fire extinguisher crossed your mind, but you opted instead to avoid his gaze. Just in case, you even stepped aside to put some distance back between the two of you.

"Sorry, I thought it was funny."

There was a second of silence, then Shanks sighed and ran his hand through his hair with a grin. "No harm done. But talking about rank, I know you're not part of my crew but if I issue an order related to sailing or fighting while we're at sea, you'll have to follow it."

"Of course," you nodded, then raised a hand to the back of your neck in an awkward gesture. "But, erm, now might be a great time to tell you I know absolutely nothing about sailing or how a ship operates."

"Figured as much, don't worry about it. I just need to know you'll trust me to keep you safe."

Oh, the irony. Once out at sea, you were automatically the safest person in the world outside of Fishmen, and possibly one of the most dangerous to boot. Still, it was sweet of Shanks to worry about your safety.

"I do, actually," you told him with a smile, and he beamed at you like an overgrown puppy.

"Everyone here, Captain !" Beckman called from the center of the deck, and you immediately noticed several pairs of eyes widening as they took your presence in. There probably had not been many women on that ship, not for longer than a night at least.

"Hey lads, I'm sure you all noticed we've got a lady aboard," Shanks smiled brightly, then put his hand on his sword and his voice took a more commanding tone. "This is Y/N. She's going to sail with us for a while, and you will treat her with respect. I don't want a single incident that will make her feel like this ship is not a safe place for her. Understood ?"

"Aye Captain !" a chorus immediately answered him, some members looking nervous after his order.

"Good. Then prepare for sailing, we're leaving with the tide."

Another round of agreement answered him, and everyone went back to their post as you stared wide-eyed at the red-haired pirate. You had not expected such a display of power from him, no matter how much you had stressed you did not want to face harrassment. Well at least now, you were pretty confident you would not have to deal with any out-of-line attitudes. Aside from Shanks' own brand of flirting, of course, but you could just ignore his attentions since you knew he did not mean anything by it.

While everyone was starting to prepare for departure, Shanks showed you to what would be your very own private space on the Red Force for the next weeks. He led you to a small room with a single bed, a chair against the opposing wall, and a small chest at the feet of the bed.

"I know it's not what you had in your-"

"It's fine," you cut Shanks off before he could finish. And truly, it was fine to you. Especially since there was a small round window currently open, giving you some light and a direct access to the sea below. "Thanks for freeing a space for me last minute."

"No problem sweetheart."

Silence stretched awkwardly for a few seconds, then the red-haired man stretched his hand, offering you the object he was holding in it.

"Thought you'd feel safer with the key. No one will be able to enter without your permission."

You chuckled, then took the small object and tried to ignore the shiver you felt when your fingers brushed the calloused skin of his palm.

"I appreciate the attention. Even if we both know at least a third of the people on this ship could break the door down in seconds if they wanted to."

"Which will only happen if I have a reason to believe your life's in danger and you don't answer or open, sweetheart," Shanks countered lightly, but you nodded nonetheless at the valid point.

"Fair enough. Well, I'm going to unpack and then I'll probably go back on deck."

Shanks' eyes almost bulged out of his face. "Are you seriously just dismissing me ?"

"Eeyup," you smiled brightly. "Give a girl some privacy with her stuff, your imperial majesty."

He laughed and took a few steps back before making an exagerated bow.

"I'll leave you to your private girl time, then," he smirked.

You blushed beet red as you realised the suggestive way Shanks had turned your words into, and he left with a wink.

You closed the door behind this impossible man, and took a deep breath. Weeks of sailing with him was going to be hell on your libido, you could feel it in your bones. Or rather, in your lower regions. Stupid sexy pirate with his stupid sexy voice and stupid beautiful eyes and stupid perfect abs and-

You slapped both hands lightly on your cheeks to get your mind out of the gutter. Not going there. Not with a Casanova who was only into casual sex.

You emptied the content of your travel bag on your bed, then put the bag itself at the bottom of the chest, and organised your stuff above it. To get a feel of what kind of practice you would be able to do in the privacy of your room, you opened the window and tried to connect your power to the water below.

You smiled as the waves immediatly splashed a little harder under your will. You called a small amount of seawater to you and started playing with shapes and increasingly complex commands to work on your precision.  Soon, your fingers were moving quickly as you tried to create a rotating galaxy pattern with as many singled droplets as you could.

-o-oOo-o-

You only realised you had gotten distracted when there was a knock on your door and you almost broke your control of the water, quickly sending it back through the window.

You went to the door and opened it to see a black-haired young man, practically a teenager, waiting for you on the other side.

"Hi miss Y/N, we're about to leave and Captain said-"

"Oh crap, I lost track of time," you realised, then smiled at the boy. "Thanks, and you can just call me Y/N."

The young man's jaw dropped, then he abruptly turned tail and led you to the deck in awkward silence, even if you noticed the tip of his ears was red. You refrained an amused chuckle, he probably had not had much experience with women yet.

You arrived on deck just in time to watch a flurry of activity as sails were deployed and people were running all around, pulling ropes and doing... stuff. Careful not to disturb anyone, you leaned on the wall beside the door you had walked through.

After a few minutes of observing everything and everyone around you, as chaotic as it looked like, you could start to discern an order to it all, a form of harmony between the various tasks executed. Shanks and Beckman were in the middle of it all, issuing orders with the kind of easy confidence only experience could give, and you tilted your head curiously, observing the sailors buzzing all around.

Soon enough, the ship left port, and you spared one last glance at the island you had appeared on a little over half a year ago. There was a weird feeling in your gut telling you that you would not get back to it anytime soon, if at all.

Once you could discern a calmer atmosphere on board and everything seemed in place for the actual travel, you walked to the railing and put both hands on it. In front of you laid the blue immensity of the sea, glittering under the sun and almost calling you to her.

A wild smile stretched your face as you felt the currents moving around the ship, the waves breaking on its hull, and it was like the usual humming of your power became a pulsing rythm beating in time with your heart.

Like a melody to welcome you home.

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks pov

Shanks was pretty much in heaven. Or as close to it as he could get without having sex.

Y/N had agreed to come on his ship, his closest friends had more or less accepted her story, he was back at sea, and on his way to both kill someone he hated and save people he liked.

Of course, more than half his crew was still starry-eyed at the goddess of a woman who had joined them, but she barely even seemed to notice or be bothered by it. And frankly, Shanks could not blame the lads trying to impress her with the smoothness of the manœuvre they pulled as they left the island. Even after spending his life roaming the seas and meeting more than his fair share of beautiful women, this one stood apart.

Like right now. She was simply standing by the railing, hands on it, her hair gently floating behind her, but she was almost glowing as she watched the sea with the wild intensity of someone who had just realised this was where they belonged.

"You're drooling," Beck snorted next to him.

"Am not," Shanks replied very maturely, then checked his lips with his thumb, just in case.

His first mate only raised a very doubtful eyebrow.

"Come on, look at her, what am I supposed to do ?" Shanks protested, but Beckman just shrugged.

"You're the one who brought her on board, Captain, you tell me."

Oh now that was just cheating, and the Emperor pouted.

"Don't you have something better to do, like calling Marco to organise a meeting ?" the red-head asked.

Before Beckman could reply, however, Hongo walked on deck with a determined expression and walked straight to where Y/N was standing. Shanks winced, guessing what was coming, and silently wished her luck. He hated medical check-ups.

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

You were happily immerged in the feeling of the sea around the ship when someone coughed on your left, startling you out of your thoughts and leaving you blinking at the sudden change of focus.

"Sorry, I think I got lost at sea for a minute," you apologised with a smile to Hongo, who smirked at your words as if he knew the feeling. Come to think of it, most of the people on board probably did. "How can I help you ?" you asked politely.

"By being less of a crybaby than Captain about doing a medical check-up," the doctor replied without missing a beat, and you laughed at his retort.

"Sure," you chuckled as your hilarity slowly calmed down. "Lead the way."

Hongo seemed surprised by your easy agreement, as if he had expected he would need to physically drag you to the infirmary. A few minutes later, you were sitting on a bed with your hands on your lap as the doctor finished setting up what he needed.

"Okay, let's get started," he said as he clicked a pen and looked at the clipboard in his hand. "If anything makes you uncomfortable-"

"Physical contact," you answered immediately, and smiled sheepishly at his startled expression. "I haven't really… had any in months, maybe years, so I tend to be really sensitive to it."

The pen and clipboard fell on the floor.

"Please tell me you're kidding," the doctor almost begged you, his hands comically emtpy and a horrified expression on his face at at your admission. You put your arms around yourself, feeling self-conscious.

"Look, I've been living away from town the entire time I've been on the island, and the closest person I had there was Dei, whom I never even hugged," you mumbled awkwardly, not looking at the blond man. "And before the island, well, I was living alone, away from my family, and whenever I saw my friends, there weren't much reasons to get tactile with each other. And my last relationship ended like two years ago, almost three now."

You kept your eyes on your lap, thinking back to the moments Shanks' hand had been touching yours the previous night, and how nice it had felt. Especially since he had not pushed for more than that despite his reputation.

"You-" Hongo whispered before stopping himself, looking heartbroken for some reason. "Okay, no problem, I'll try to avoid direct contact as much as I can."

"Thanks," you replied with a small smile.

He picked up his pen and clipboard, then started your check-up. Thankfully, Hongo proceeded with quick efficiency, and you relaxed progressively at his professionalism.

"Almost done," he stated half an hour later. "You're in perfect health, I just need to know where you're at in terms of vaccines and contraception."

You gave him a deadpan stare. "Take a wild guess."

"Fair enough," he nodded in understanding. "I can give you a shot with the main vaccines you need that'll last about three years, and another one for contraception and std's that'll last a year, but I'd recommand taking the next shot in eleven months just to be on the safe side."

"Wait what ? This world has a shot for both birth control and std's !? Like, something that works on both genders !? And they last a year !?" you exclaimed in shock, your jaw dropping at the news.

"Uh, of course," Hongo replied, looking stunned by your outburst. "Yours doesn't ?"

"Nope. Where I'm from, it's either pills to take daily for women that only work for contraception, not std's, or condoms for men to wear that work for both. Well, there are other options too," you amended, "but those are the most common ones."

"What the fuck is wrong with your world's scientists ?" the doctor muttered incredulously. "Seas, it's not like the formula is complicated."

You grimaced and that was apparently enough for Hongo to facepalm. Yet, that might have been the best news you had learned about this world since you had appeared in it, so clearly, it was a no-brainer.

"Well, I'll take the shots now if it's possible, please," you said and offered your right arm.

Hongo huffed a laugh and took two vials and syringes out of a drawer.

"Got to say, you're the best patient I've had in this infirmary in a while," he admitted as he gave you the first one and you barely twitched, mostly when he took your arm to stabilize his aim.

"Who's the worst ?" you asked curiously.

"Captain," Hongo retorted without a blink as he prepared the second syringe. "Just getting him in here after a fight is a trial, and don't get me started on the shots. Whines and complains like you wouldn't believe. If he weren't hellbent on never getting a one-night-stand pregnant by accident, I swear he'd try to get out of the contraceptive one."

You blinked. Yep, that checked out with what you knew and had seen of Shanks so far. Hongo gave you the second shot, then applied a bandaid where the syringes had punctured the skin, and started putting his equipment away.

"There, all done," he stated.

"Thank you," you smiled gratefully as you rubbed your thumb on the bandaid. It was nice to have a few less things to worry about, especially since you were not all that confident in your power's abilities to deal with things like diseases or contraception.

Then the doctor sat on a chair in front of you, and you felt confused since he had just said you were done.

"Now we just need to discuss what to do about your touch deprivation."

You blinked. "My what now ?"

"Touch deprivation," the blond man repeated, and proceeded to explain. "From severe lack to complete absence of touch for an extended period of time that can lead to depression, low self-esteem, trust issues, anxiety, and a few other things."

Your jaw dropped. No, surely that did not apply to you just because you had not had physical contact in a few months… years, whatever.

"But I'm fine ?" you tried to say and only got it out like a question.

Hongo gave you a look and you immediately dropped your gaze to your lap, your right hand raising up to fidget nervously with your necklace. You heard the doctor sigh, then he talked again with a gentle voice.

"Listen, I'm not gonna tell you to go and hug half the crew right away," he said and you shuddered at the mere idea. "But if you can think of even just one person on board that you feel more comfortable being around, that would be a great start. I'll even explain the situation with you if you want, then you can start with small but regular touches that you initiate and control. The plan will be to gradually build your tolerance back up over time."

You made a face at the doctor's words. The only person you felt remotely close to comfortable enough for that was Shanks, and you were not sure if it was a good idea to have him as your partner in this particular situation. A part of you was still worried he would try to push for more, and with the fact that he was both a Captain and an Emperor, that kind of small but regular touches would undoubtedly make the rest of the crew talk.

"Try to think about it," Hongo told you kindly, seemingly unaware of your internal struggle. "Talk to us all today, see if anyone makes you feel more at ease than the others, and let me know by tomorrow if you have someone in mind. The sooner you start, the better."

You nodded, still fidgeting with your necklace, and he stood up with a reassuring smile.

"Come on, let's get back on deck before Lucky eats our share of lunch."

 

Notes:

Let's be serious for half a second : touch deprivation is no joke and can really lead to what I listed in this chapter. If you're in this situation or know someone in this situation, please be careful, kind, and remember you are loved or remind the person in question that you love them.
Take care and see you tomorrow <3

Chapter 8: Just Hold Me

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Shanks pov

To his great surprise, Shanks watched his crew's doctor and Y/N walk back on deck only half an hour after leaving. Hongo appeared to be a bit concerned as he glanced her way, and she was pensive, a frown on her pretty features.

Shanks immediately worried about what it could mean. Hongo was never concerned like that, either he knew what was wrong and fixed it, or he did not and searched – and sometimes yelled at someone for a while – until he found what was wrong and fixed it.

"Hey Doc !" the Emperor smiled as he made his way to them. "Hope you didn't go too hard on our lovely guest ?"

The blue-haired woman blinked, then tilted her head in confusion, which had no right whatsoever to look so adorable.

"Actually," Hongo smirked smugly, "Y/N has been the best patient I've had to deal with in years. She answered all my questions honestly, didn't make a fuss, and even thanked me after getting her shots. Some people here could really learn a thing or two from her."

"Excuse you, I'm a delight to take care of !" Shanks immediately protested at the completely unfair accusation. Shots did not count, he did not like the way syringes stung. And the taste of cold medecine was simply awful. And he knew he could just sleep off most cuts and bruises. And those herbal creams smelled weird so it was totally normal to not want them on his skin. And bandages itched like hell.

"Says the man who calls sake healing water," Y/N intervened with a smirk, and Shanks turned to her with a shit-eating grin.

"That's because it is !"

"Then what do you call rum ?" she asked challengingly as she sat at the nearest table put on deck.

"Fun water, obviously," Shanks replied as he sat next to her.

"What about beer ?"

"Sparkling water."

"And actual water ?"

"Why would I ever ask for that ?"

She laughed at his reply, head back and everything, and Shanks had to rest his head on his hand as he stared at her happiness. And at the way her back arched slightly and how it showed off her cleavage. That was a very nice-looking pair of breasts he would absolutely love to get his hand on. Or mouth, he was not picky.

The red-head barely noticed it when Hongo and Beckman sat with them and put down a plate full of sandwiches, along with four tankards. But she did, and that was apparently enough to bring her back from her laugh, a bright smile on her very kissable lips.

"Thanks guys," she told Beck and Hongo, who just waved her off and started eating.

"Since you've been cleared by Doc," Beckman started when he was mid-way through his sandwich, "there's something we need to talk about."

Shanks noticed how her carefree expression immediately turned apprehensive, yet she still nodded cautiously.

"Do you know how to fight ?" his first mate asked and Shanks made a face. Mostly because he did not like the implication that he would not be able to protect her. He was one of the strongest men in the world, damn it, why did everyone always seem to forget it ?

"Depends on your definition of fighting," she begrudgingly conceded. "I can defend myself well enough, but I've never really learned how to fight."

"Then we'll start this afternoon. Hand-to-hand first, then we'll see-"

"She can't practice hand-to-hand," Hongo cut off sternly, using his sandwich as a pointer in Beck's direction. "Doctor's orders."

Beckman looked at him with both eyebrows up, and Shanks felt his jaw go slack, then he closed it, swallowed his bite, and turned to the woman who was now tenser than a coiled spring.

"Wait what ? Sweetheart, what didn't you tell me something was wrong ?"

She clenched her jaw, then put her sandwich back on the table and sighed loudly as her gaze dropped to her lap, avoiding all three of them.

"Touch deprivation," she muttered awkwardly. "I've gone years with basically no physical contact and that means it's a bit… triggering for me now."

Shanks' mind went blank. No physical contact in years ? He could not fathom going an entire day without hugs ! Wait, did that mean going years without sex too ? With how hot she was ? And then his memories kicked in and he felt even more confused.

"But you were fine holding my hand last night ?"

She blushed beet red, and both Hongo and Beckman stared at her in surprise.

"Because you feel safe," she mumbled after a while, looking adorably embarrassed, and Shanks had not felt an ego boost like that in quite some time.

On Shanks' right, Hongo let out a painful sigh and gulped a large amount of his beer.

"Okay, guess that's one problem solved. Captain, you're going to make sure Y/N initiates touches with you at least five times a day. Y/N, start with hand holding if that's what you're comfortable with for now, and if that goes well, brush your arm against his, lean against him, whatever feels natural to you. Captain, if you're somehow uncomfortable with anything she wants to-"

"Not gonna happen," Shanks cut him off cheerfully.

"Yeah, thought so," his Doctor smirked. "Main thing is, you let her initiate, you let her decide what she wants to do, you let her control how long it lasts, and you make sure she remembers to do it regularly."

"Best prescription I've ever been given," Shanks grinned happily.

On his left, the gorgeous woman he now had to hold hands with – and hopefully soon hug and maybe more – several times a day, everyday, for the foreseeable future, bashed her head on the table, somehow avoiding her half-eaten sandwich and tankard in the process. Which was impressive.

Then she sat straight again and turned a concerned gaze to him.

"I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want or put you in an uncomfortable position," she told him seriously.

"Sweetheart, you know I'm physically affectionate, right ?"

She huffed, then smirked. "I know you're enough of a hugger that even Mihawk lets your hugs happen without complaints."

Holy shit.

"Wait, how do you know that ?" Beckman asked, and she gave him a blank stare.

"What part of I know the past, present, future, and the biggest players of this world did you not get ?" she snorted, and took her sandwich again. "Of course I know Shanks and Mihawk are long-time friends and rivals, hell, both of them were in the crowd at Roger's execution !"

And that was another tidbit of information no one else was supposed to know, but that realisation was clearly in the background of Shanks' mind as he felt his dick twitch when his name came out of her pretty lips for the first time.

"They're also both constantly in the top three of the story's hottest DILFs, but that's beside the point."

Both Hongo and Beckman spat their beer which she somehow avoided being covered in, and Shanks howled in laughter.

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

You spent the next two days finding your marks on the Red Force.

Thanks to Hongo's intervention, you could bail out of training sessions, which was a relief. You truly could not see yourself explaining that your self-defense relied on water manipulation, up to and including using a person's blood against them as long as you had direct skin contact.

Especially since you now spent most of your time holding Shanks' hand while staying on deck, either sitting at a table, walking around, or laying on the railing while he looked at the sea and told you about his adventures or asked about your world.

He was definitely exceeding the five times a day Hongo had suggested, stating that the more often you hold hands, the better it was for you, and that he took the well-being of the people on his ship very seriously. It was stupidly adorable and you loved it. Especially since he never pushed for more. At most, he would start drawing circles on the back of your hand as he talked, or swing it as he went with you to check on one thing or another.

Things were going well and you were, indeed, starting to feel more comfortable touching him and overall living with the Red-Haired Pirates. Which was probably why you had not expected that on the third night on the Red Force, you would wake up from a violent nightmare.

What it was about, you could not remember.

You only realised it had been a dream once you felt the sheets clutched in your hands, your ragged breathing, and the thin layer of cold sweat coating your skin. You could still remember flashes of pain, feelings of despair, and failing over and over again.

Unable to stand it, and despite dawn being nowhere near, you threw on the first clothes you grabbed from your chest and walked on deck barefoot to watch the sea under the nightsky, which was barely starting to get clearer on the horizon.

You jumped to sit on the railing, both your legs hanging on the sea's side. You felt a profound need to feel the water all around you, to lose yourself in the raw immensity of the sea, to immerge yourself in its existence, until your conscience was entirely absorbed by the element you could control with a thought in your head and a flick of your fingers. Anything to get you out of the excruciating despair of that nighmare.

Your eyes glazed over as you lost yourself to the water, not even noticing how your body slowly started rocking to the rythm of the current.

 

 

"…"

There was a discordance in your harmony.

"… !"

A familiar discordance, however.

"Y/N !"

You blinked and turned your head in time to see Shanks' face, and dazedly admired the way the morning sun made his hair glow like fire.

Wait, morning sun ?

"Y/N, do you hear me ?"

You hummed something non-committal, only then noticing he was holding your hand, and smiled tiredly.

"Sweetheart, can you get back on deck for me ?"

You frowned, mind still foggy. He seemed worried, why was he worried ? The sea was your domain, you could let yourself fall and create a bubble of air around you, or a water jet to send you back on the ship, or even just glide among the waves for a while.

But you did not like seeing Shanks unhappy. He was supposed to be happy.

So you smiled again, and let yourself fall backward, only to be stopped by an arm suddenly placing itself against your back.

"Y/N, talk to me, what's happening to you ?"

So sweet of him to worry.

So nice to be against him.

So safe.

You rolled to curl yourself against his firm chest, going lax as you finally felt like you could let go of the sea's protection around your mind because this place against him was just as safe.

"Had nightm're," you mumbled in a whisper, then closed your eyes. "Stay w'th me ?"

"Yeah, of course, as long as you ne-"

You were out before you could hear the end.

-o-oOo-o-

Beckman pov

Beckman woke up feeling ready to face a new day, and was proven wrong very quickly.

As soon as he walked on deck, he noticed an agitation that had no reason to exist so early if they were not under attack. The grey-haired man lit up his first cigarette of the day and got ready to ask what the fuck was going on when one of the youngest crewmates came to him looking close to panicked.

"Please do something sir ! She's going to fall overboard !"

And that was enough to kickstart Beckman's reflexes, looking all around him and quickly spotting a familiar cascade of blue hair on the railing.

Shit.

"Wake up the Captain. I don't care what it takes, get his ass on deck now !" he ordered, and the kid almost ran to Shanks' quarters.

"Everyone stand back," Beckman commanded as he came closer to the woman sitting on the verge of the wooden railing.

Her legs were hanging on the sea's side, her hands too, her body was rocking with every movement of the ship and it was nothing short of a miracle that she had not fallen overboard yet.

"Y/N ?" Beckman asked cautiously.

No answer.

"Can you get back on deck ?"

Still no answer.

Then Beckman realised the way she kept rocking with the tide was too inarticulated to belong to someone who was conscious.

With Hongo's blunt reminders that any touch she was not initiating could trigger a fight-or-flight reaction, attempting to grab her was way too risky. An unconscious person falling into the sea was pretty much the worst case scenario, and Beckman was not going to be the one telling Shanks the girl he was clearly crushing on had drowned.

"Oi, Beck ! It's too early t-"

"You need to get her back on deck," Beckman cut him off and saw the second Shanks realised Y/N was one harsh wave away to fall off the ship. "She doesn't answer me, I think she's unconscious or sleepwalkin', but she might respond to you."

His Captain's face lost a few colours and he closed the distance between him and the woman in a flash.

"Everyone stay back," Beckman ordered. "Give them some space."

"What's going on ?" Yasopp and Lucky arrived, and the grey-haired man only jerked his chin in the direction of the spots of red and blue hair.

"What is she doing ?" Lucky asked worriedly as he engulfed a pancake.

"Best guess is sleepwalking for now," Beckman answered, and took a drag of his cigarette as he kept watching his Captain.

Shanks had managed to take her left hand in his and was apparently trying to talk to her, probably calling her name.

"Shit, she's not gonna jump, right ?"

"Don't think so. She seems to have been here a while."

Suddenly she made a weird jerking motion, and her head turned toward Shanks, who seemed to start breathing again. Then a few moments later, she fell backward, only avoiding crashing down thanks to Shanks' reflexes. A second later, she rolled and curled herself against him like a cat, and it seemed like they exchanged a couple more words before she went completely lax.

Shanks lowered her until her legs glided on the deck, and then sat against the railing, his arm holding her protectively against his chest and making her all but sit in his lap. He looked both relieved, worried, and ready to kill anyone who would come close to her.

Not the best combination to approach him and start asking questions, but as first mate, Beckman knew that was in the job description. So he walked to them, crouched when he got within five feet, and kept his voice low.

"She okay ?"

"Said she had a nightmare and asked me to stay with her," Shanks answered, tightening his hold around her shoulder while she was clutching his shirt, her face pressed against his chest.

Beckman nodded in understanding. "Want me to get a blanket ?"

"Yeah, her legs are frozen."

Which was when Beckman noticed that instead of her usual top and skirt combo, she was wearing a t-shirt big enough to fall off her shoulder and a pair of shorts.

"Be right back."

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

You woke up feeling warm, and happily curled against something firm yet very comfortable. You snuggled a bit against your impromptu pillow, earning a weird rumbling motion from it.

That was not something a regular pillow was supposed to do.

You tried to will yourself awake and stretched your body in the process, somehow falling gently backward against a weird-feeling mattress. After a big yawn, you rubbed your eyes and finally opened them, blinking at the sudden light.

"Slept well, sweetheart ?"

The voice startled you and you suddenly realised you were in Shanks' lap, using the Emperor's body as a pillow, and you jerked away from him, tangling yourself in the blanket covering your legs in the process.

"What the- what happened ? Why am I on deck ? Why are yo-"

"Easy there, sweetheart, everything's alright," Shanks told you with a soft voice and even softer eyes. "You had a nightmare and asked me to stay with you, remember ?"

You frowned, then tried to remember what had happened, and winced when it came back to you. Shit. You had almost gone overboard to just lose yourself in your power, trusting the Sea to take care of your body while your consciousness was in the background.

And that realisation kickstarted a terrifying possibility. What if you lost control of your powers one day ? What if you lost consciousness again and only became a living weapon bending water to her will to destroy everything and everyone ? No devil fruit user would stand a chance against that kind of power, but maybe-

"Please promise me something," you asked Shanks suddenly, taking his hand in both of yours and clutching it against your chest.

"Uh, sure, yeah, what do yo-"

"If I lose control and become too dangerous one day, you'll stop me, right ? I don't care how, you can kill me if you have to, but please, promise me you'll stop me."

The red-head looked stunned at your unexpected plea, but you really needed to hear it. Between his Haki, him not being a devil fruit user, and his swordskills, Shanks might the only man you knew for sure could stop you no matter what. Though at the moment, he looked more like a flabbergasted man having trouble to understand what was happening.

"What the fuck are you talking about ?"

"Please just promise me you'll do it," you begged.

"Fine, I promise I'll stop you if you need to be stopped one day, whatever that means."

All the tension left your body at once, and you let go of his hand to throw yourself at him in a hug, encircling as much of his wide frame as you could with your arms.

"Thank you," you murmured against his pecs while he put his arm on your back, squeezing you tight against him. "And thank you for keeping me safe."

"Anytime, sweetheart."

You stayed like this for a moment, until you heard his stomach rumble and you chuckled.

"Let's get some food in you, shall we ?" you said as you disentangled yourself from him and you both stood up.

"Well, now that you mention it, you look like the perfect snack," he grinned and winked at you, which had you rolling your eyes and slapping his shoulder lightly.

"Don't make fun of me or I'll never hug you again."

"But you have to !" Shanks immediately protested, taking your hand in a now familiar gesture before you could walk away with the blanket thrown over your shoulder. "Doctor's orders, remember ? And I need hugs too ! What if I become touch deprived because you don't hug me enough ?"

"You can always ask your First Mate for more hugs," you retorted with a grin.

"But yours are better !"

"I'll make sure to tell him that."

"Joke's on you, he's going to agree."

Notes:

Quick explanation that I couldn't put into the chapter : the nightmare is caused in part by the overwhelming amount of touches right after touch deprivation, and in part by the fact that when you carry too much tension (like hiding secret powers from a bunch of extra observant pirates, and being the sole bearer of the knowledge who can either save or doom the world, for example) it can leads to bad sleep and nightmares when you start relaxing a bit.
So that's why the nightmare stroke when it wasn't expected and was a pretty violent one ^^'

Take care and see you tomorrow <3

Chapter 9: Marines And Cookies

Notes:

WARNING
There is mention of an attempted r*pe in this chapter. Nothing actually happens, but the intent is clear.

For those of you who might be triggered by this subject and don't want to risk it, skip when you see -o- and text in italics. I'll put a safe summary of this part in the end notes so you can check the main info and decide whether you want to try or not.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Sengoku pov

The Fleet Admiral was in his office, going over the reports of the latest marine ships burned down by Firefist Ace – and that brainless commodore was going to get quite an earful for thinking he could take on one of Whitebeard's top commanders with no back-up – when a cadet burst into his office.

"A report of unusual activity from Akagami, Sir !"

Sengoku took it right away with a frown.

"Thank you. Dismissed."

The young man left as quickly as he had appeared, and Sengoku opened the report, his eyes widening as he read through it.

What in the Seas was Akagami doing ?

Garp chose that moment to barge in, rice cakes in hand and barking a laugh.

"Hey Senny ! Guess who's gonna find his desk encased in jello ! Bahahaha !"

Sengoku sighed, and mentally prepared himself to free fifteen minutes the next morning for an impromptu meeting with Sakazuki to hear the Admiral request disciplinary action against Garp. Again.

"I'll deal with your pranks later, take a look at that."

"Eh ? What's up Senny ?"

Sengoku clenched his jaw. "It appears Akagami has kidnapped a woman."

Garp's mood immediately turned furious.

"What !?"

Sengoku put the photos on display. They all dated from the same morning, and pictured a young woman with long blue hair sitting barefoot on the edge of the Emperor's ship's railing, her face utterly void of emotion. One picture in particular showed a man with Akagami's distinct hair, forcing her to fall back on his arm, and on the last picture, she was clearly unconscious against him. It was nothing short of a miracle their scouts had not been spotted and killed as they took the pictures, which showed how distracted the Emperor's crew must have been by her action.

"That fucking brat ! He's never done that before !" Garp yelled and punched the desk, causing the wood to fracture.

"Which is cause for concern," Sengoku confirmed. The woman was a beauty, certainly, but Akagami was known to spend his time on land with beautiful women, and not once had he brought one on his ship for more than a night. And if that one had been contemplating throwing herself into the sea to escape, which she clearly appeared to have been doing, it did not paint a nice picture.

"I can go-"

"No," the Fleet Admiral cut off. Even his best friend would not be enough against an Emperor and his crew. "We're going to have to handle that subtly. Get Cipher Pol on it, see if they have some high-ranked agents they can dispatch quickly."

"A grab and run ? Not our style, Senny," Garp pouted.

"But our best shot at getting her out of an Emperor's grasp safely," Sengoku countered. Their mission was to protect civilians first and foremost, after all. "Hopefully whatever agents Cipher Pol can assign to this mission will manage to get her the next time Akagami makes port."

Garp grumbled and shoved another rice cake in his mouth, but did not object outright. That was their best strategy for now and he knew it.

"Who is she, anyway ?" Garp asked. "That lousy report didn't even mention her name, I thought our scouts knew better than to leave basic info out."

"How would I know ?" Sengoku replied, massaging his temples.

"Eh, 's fine, just put Cipher Pol on it, it's their job !"

A smart suggestion from Garp, look at that. But it was true, the intelligence department was more likely to find out who she was and why an Emperor had abducted her. Sengoku took one of the pictures again, and examined it closely. Between the unusual blue hair and her undeniably beautiful looks, it should not be too hard to find her identity and history. Women like that tended to attract attention wherever they went.

"By the way, you're banned from the kitchens and pantries for a week."

"EEEEEEEEH !?" Garp exclaimed, falling out of his chair.

"That's your punishment for putting Akainu's stuff in jello."

"But Sennyyyyyyyy !"

-o-oOo-o-

Reader's pov

You had been sailing with the Red-Haired Pirates for a week now, and you could confidently say that aside from the frustration at having to hide your water manipulating abilities, it was by far the best experience of your life.

The crew was funny and respectful, you were surrounded by the sea at all time, and Shanks gave the best hugs. In spite of his constant flirting, he never let his hand wander further than platonic gestures. To add to the relaxing aspect of the journey, they did not ask you to participate in any task – more like Shanks had stated that you were assisting him in his Captain's duties and apparently that meant staying close to him all day – so you were mostly just enjoying a cruise with happy go-lucky pirates.

Best life ever.

One peaceful afternoon, you were in Shanks' office with him and Beckman, the former pretending to do paperwork and the latter actually completing it. You were on a chair with your legs resting on Shanks' lap as you read one of Hongo's medical treaties. A bit boring, but you knew the anatomical part would be immensely helpful for the medical aspect of your water manipulation powers.

Then the bell rang outside, with someone screaming.

"Red alert !"

The two men jumped on their feet, getting you up in the process, and quickly walked out of the office. Once on deck, Yasopp immediately came to Shanks.

"They're coming from the West, only one ship, not a jolly roger I know. Definitely rookies."

You looked in the aforementioned direction, and quickly spotted a ship sailing toward your position with cannons firing already, despite not reaching their target due to the distance.

"Can you describe their jolly roger to me ?" you asked worriedly as you tried and failed to get a good look at it. Shanks had confirmed to you that as far as he knew, Luffy had not set sail yet, so it was highly unlikely to be Kidd – the ship did not look like the Victoria Punk anyway – but you would rather not take risks.

"Blue skull with two crossed white bones on each side," Yasopp answered, and you relaxed instantly.

"Someone you know, sweetheart ?" Shanks asked, visibly noticing the relief in your expression.

"Nope," you replied cheerfully. "Which means they don't matter in the grand scheme of things, and I have no reason to interfere or ask you to spare them."

All three men looked at you in surprise, and you rolled your eyes.

"Did you guys seriously thought I didn't realise you were killers just because I've never seen you actually kill people ? Come on now. Watching you spill blood today won't change the way I look at you."

"Sweetheart, you really don't have to watch this," Shanks said softly while taking your hand in his, but your eyes hardened at his words.

"What, you think I'll faint like a frail little flower if I see you kill someone ?" you snorted, and took your hand back. "Do you truly believe that I have never killed a man before ?"

-o-

flashback

It had been another night at the pub, drinking, chatting with Dei, rejecting several men who handled it with more or less grace, the usual. You were making your way back to your lighthouse under the pale light of the stars, enjoying the fresh air of the night and the calm it provided.

Then a hand grabbed your wrist and you were slammed against a wall, one of the men you had rejected earlier pressing a dagger on your throat.

"You slutty bitch," he slurred, but his eyes were clear enough to assure you he was not doing anything he would regret come morning. "You shoulda said yes when I asked nicely."

You knew what he meant and for half a second, panic took over. Then you realised he was still holding your wrist, and that you could feel the blood pulsing inside him.

Where there was life, there was water.

He licked his lips in a disgusting display, and you did not wait to see what he would do next. You focused on the blood in his body, and forced it to stop flowing its natural way in order to send it rushing all back to his heart. Unable to sustain the assault, the organ overfilled and you felt it burst inside the man's chest.

Before your would-be rapist could realise what had happened, he stumbled back, let go of his weapon, and coughed a single splatter of blood before falling limp on the ground. You remained frozen against the wall, barely comprehending what you had done and what would have happened if you had not been sent into this world with the power you had.

You ended up vomitting in the same alley he had grabbed you in, then ran all the way to your lighthouse and buried yourself under your comforter for an entire day, your body shaking for hours on end as your mind processed the shock.

After that, you started practicing feeling the flow of blood in your own body, occasionally making it to go faster or slower, noting the effects it had on you, then upped the challenge to your organs and how you could make them accelerate their actions to some extent, but you did not dare try to move them in your body for fear of hurting yourself.

The next three men who tried to force themselves on you barely got the time to utter a threat before their heart exploded.

End flashback

-o-

"Do you truly believe that I have never killed a man before ?"

The entire ship seemed to freeze in shock for a second, as everyone stopped in their tracks at your question to stare at you before hurrying to prepare themselves for the fight. But your gaze remained firmly on Shanks.

The Emperor was looking at you like he was seeing you for the first time. You walked closer to him, anger burning in your eyes, and used your index to poke his chest.

"Well newsflash, Akagami, the last men who thought of me as an easy prey died in a pool of their own blood."

Shanks' pupils darkened at your words and he swallowed audibly.

"So, are we good ?" you asked him with a too-sweet smile.

"Better than good," the Emperor grinned back, suddenly looking just as dangerous as you felt. "Move aside lads. You get a show today."

You felt confused at that, but watched as everyone relaxed and some members of the crew even whooped in joy. Shanks took your hand in his and led you to the railing, where you had a good view of the ship getting nearer to the Red Force with every passing second.

"You're sure you won't regret this, sweetheart ? Last chance to back out before I unleash the monster."

You raised an eyebrow in challenge, and smirked. "Impress me and I'll bake you cookies afterwards."

Shanks' eyebrows shot up, then he roared in laughter at your offer.

"In that case, babe, get ready to be amazed."

He jumped on the railing and unsheathed his sword, the pressure in the air suddenly becoming heavy to the point you had to lean more of yourself on the railing for support.

Then he jumped in the air and your eyes widened.

"Didn't know Captain could skywalk ?" Beckman asked on your right, a cigarette in his mouth.

"No," you admitted. "I mean, it was hinted at, but I didn't get to- oh wow."

Your jaw went slack at the incredible display of power going on.

Shanks had envelopped himself in a cloud of dark red lightnings, and was now concentrating it in his sword as he got closer to the enemy ship. Damn, was he really about to use Divine Departure ? No, surely that was too much for just-

His sword slashed the air in a wide arc, and you swore the very reality trembled at the power exerted. The entire ship was cut in half and almost exploded, wood and people flying among burning debris and falling into the sea as screams filled the air. You felt the blast of the move come back to you like a fierce burst of wind a second later and it sent your hair flying behind you.

Then Shanks made his way back to the Red Force among the cheers and laughs of his crew, leaving the wrecked remains of his challengers behind without so much as a backward glance. He landed right behind you, and you had a hard time moving to face him without revealing your knees had been turned to jelly.

Knowing he was absurdly strong and powerful was one thing.

Watching him make a show of destroying an entire ship and crew in seconds for you was another entirely.

Seas, have mercy on my heart.

Unfortunately, you were still very much slacked-jaw and had probably stars in your eyes as he sheathed his sword back and winked at you knowingly with a confident grin. Neither of those helped your treacherous heart to calm down in the slightest.

"Wow," you ended up saying, and his grin widened.

"I take it you're impressed, sweetheart ?"

"Uh-huh," you mumbled, still trying to get your brain out of the gutter it was slowly but surely falling in.

He walked closer to you, and raised his hand to put a strand of blue hair behind your ear, barely grazing your skin as he did so.

"Then I believe I'm due a reward, don't you think ?" Shanks whispered just above your face.

You did not know if he was really still vibrating with power and adrenaline or if it was just your heart beating so hard you were about to pass out, but you knew you were blushing hard under his intense gaze.

You closed your eyes and breathed deeply, repeating yourself to not fall for the Casanova unless you wanted to end up with a broken heart. You opened them again and smiled as you took a step back, your blush and flustered state a little more under control.

"Well, I did make a promise and I'm not one to go back on my word."

Shanks seemed surprised by your sudden change of attitude, but a beaming smile quickly found its way to his lips.

"I finally get to try those special cookies of yours, then ?"

"Yes," you chuckled, then turned to the resident cook. "Lucky, you're fine if I use the kitchen for a while ?"

"Of course ! Can I get cookies too ?"

"Hey no, they're mine !" Shanks pouted right away, and you rolled your eyes. How that man could go from a big bad wolf to an overgrown puppy in five seconds, not only had you no idea, but you probably should not find it as endearing as you did.

"I can bake a few batches at a time, don't worry. It won't take too long."

You started walking in direction of the kitchen, and felt Shanks' hand grab yours right away. You turned a dubious look to him, only to be faced with his innocent expression.

"I'm going to need both hands to bake."

"You're not baking right now," Shanks replied with a happy grin.

"Fine. But you're not allowed to bother me when I'm cooking."

"When do I ever bother you, sweetheart ?"

"Do you want the list in chronological or alphabetical order ?"

"Now you're just being mean !"

-o-oOo-o-

Beckman pov

Beckman watched his Captain disappear inside with Y/N, the two of them holding hands and bantering with smiles on their faces.

"He's hooked," Snake deadpaned.

"He was hooked when she walked in that pub," Hongo corrected. "Now he's whipped. It's almost embarrassing to watch."

"A hundred berries she hasn't realised he's a goner," Bonk offered.

"Two hundred berries she knows but he hasn't realised it," Yasopp countered.

Lucky laughed around his meat.

"How can you say that when he just showed off to impress her ?"

Beckman took a long drag of his cigarette and smirked knowingly. The way Shanks had radiated desire when Y/N had confirmed she had killed before had been intense. And for her to openly challenge him to show off after that ? There was not much more she could have done to get his Captain's blood boiling with lust.

And the way she had watched him tear that ship to shreds told Beckman all he needed to know about her own lust for him. She was obvioulsy as attracted to Shanks as he was to her, but it was just as obvious that something was holding her back from expressing it. Beckman's money was on her touch issues and her certainty that Shanks was only interested in her body rather than falling heart, mind, and soul for her.

Could he dissipate that misunderstanding with a lenghty conversation with his Captain ? Probably.

But then they would all be without a damn good drama and betting pool.

"Five hundred berries they're both oblivious to Captain's feelings," Beckman anounced confidently.

 

 

They came back on deck less than an hour later, Y/N with a plate almost overflowing with cookies, and Shanks trailing after her like a lovesick puppy. It was both completely ridiculous and frankly amusing to see how that woman – her hair now pulled up in a high ponytail – failed to notice the effect she had on him.

She put the plate on a table, which Shanks immediately sat at with a look that dared anyone to try and take even a single cookie from him.

"Okay, there should be enough for everyone," she smiled and sat beside Shanks. "You can dig in, they're still warm but you shouldn't burn yourself."

Shanks immediately popped one into his mouth with a playful smile, then his eyes rolled to the back of his head and a porn-worthy moan escaped him.

Okay, so either he was exaggerating to flatter her or this was one damn good cookie. Beckman made his way to the table as she picked one as well, and grabbed a cookie before Shanks could come back from his high and go all possessive on the plate.

"Chocolate chips ?" the grey-haired man asked, and Y/N nodded with a smile as she enjoyed her own little snack.

Beckman took one bite and his eyes widened as he let out a pleased hum. The inside was warm and just shy of deliciously gooey, the chocolate chips melted the second they touched his tongue, and it had just enough texture to keep some chewiness without being crunchy.

The grey-haired man eyed the rest of the plate just as Shanks seemed to come back to earth after his outworldly experience, and they hold each other's eyes for a minute.

Then his Captain put his hand on his sword and Beckman took his rifle out of his sash.

"Mine," Shanks stated in his I'm-the-Captain-and-this-is-an-order voice.

"I'm taking a few," Beckman declared just as seriously.

"Come on guys, it's just cookies, you can share !" Y/N chuckled. "Does anyone else want to try one ?" she asked around with a bright smile.

 

 

Ten minutes later, the Red-Haired Pirates were fighting all over the deck in what would later be known as The Cookie Incident.

Lucky Roux cried when Y/N refused to share her secret recipee with him.

Shanks was in seventh heaven when she decreeted he deserved to have the last one.

And Beckman considered asking her to join their crew permanently before the end of their mission.

Those were damn good cookies.

Notes:

The scene between -o- is a flashback of a drunk man catching Reader by the wrist one night back on the island, and she uses the point of contact to make his blood rush to his heart and make it go plop inside his ribcage before he can do anything more than threaten her. The murder is a pretty traumatic event so she spends an entire day processing it in the safety of her lighthouse, and then practices blood control on herself to be able to do it again if someone else tries to hurt her in the future.

Take care and remember I love you all <3 see you tomorrow !

Chapter 10: Rescue Mission

Notes:

Hello lovelies <3
Hope you like them badass ;)

Chapter Text

Reader pov

The first island you were going to stop at on your way to Whitebeard's territory was an autumn one, according to what Shanks told you. Apparently, the Red-Haired Pirates had docked there a few times over the past years and people were mostly used to their presence. The Emperor told you about pumpkin fields and hot springs – offering with wiggling eyebrows to try the latter together, which you declined – and informed you they would only stop there for one day in order to restock.

You were pretty excited to visit an island with a different permanent climate than the one you had known so far. A little before you docked, however, Shanks squeezed your hand to have your attention.

"I know you want to explore, but I can't have you going alone when you're not officially a member of my crew. Bonk wanted to check a few stores for maps, you can go with him while I'm stuck here overseeing everything but don't wander on your own, okay ?" he asked you with his trademark smile, but you could see his concern was serious.

"Sure," you answered with a goodhearted shrug. "I don't fancy being attacked either and I trust your judgement."

He beamed at you and you chuckled, then hugged him tightly. You enjoyed the warmth his firm body radiated against yours for a few moments, noting happily how easier it was becoming for you to do that without feeling overwhelmed.

"I'll leave you to your Captain duties, then," you smiled as you let go of him.

"You know," Shanks said with a wink, "I think I perform my duties better like that, you should keep hugging me until we dock."

"Keep dreaming, Akagami," you laughed, and made your way back inside.

 

 

Less than an hour later, you were wearing your usual blue skirt and top since the afternoon weather was not that chilly, and felt ready to go back on land with Bonk and his monkey. As soon as you put foot on the island, however, you missed the safe feeling of the Sea surrounding you. The bald man seemed to notice your unease and tried to reassure you.

"It's always a little challenging to find your balance back after spending a while at sea, we can wait until you're good to go."

His monkey even jumped down from his shoulders and went to pat your left foot reassuringly, which made you smile. The fierce little animal tended to act tough but was actually very attentive and a real cutie if you showed him a little attention… and sneaked him some fruit every now and then.

You smiled and shook your head. "Thanks, but I was just a little disoriented for a second. It's fine."

"You sure ? We don't mind waiting."

"Really," you chuckled and started walking.

"Well in that case, follow me," Bonk smiled brightly, his monkey jumping back on him.

You walked for a while around the brown, red, and orange coloured town, stoping at a couple stores for log poses and maps, until Bonk led you to what seemed to be a library and your eyes lit up.

You had barely set foot in the building when a librarian came to you and bowed respectfully. She asked Bonk if he wanted to see the new maps she had aquired since the last time he had come, before looking at you with a mix of curiosity and nervousness.

"You wouldn't happen to have a novel section, by any chance ?" you asked the old woman with an excited voice.

"Of course, miss, right over there," she smiled at your enthusiasm as she pointed to the opposite part of the building where the maps and treaties were, and you turned to Bonk with a wide grin.

"Do you mind if I check what they have ?"

"Just don't get out of here without me or Captain will skin me alive," the man huffed goodheartedly. "Monster can stay with you."

"Oh please, it's a library," you chuckled. "The worst thing that could happen is me refusing to leave the aisle of romance novels."

Bonk laughed at that, and after a last reminder about coming to him when you were done, he left for the map room with his monkey while you powerwalked to the novel section.

You immediately found yourself at home, and endeavoured to check what kind of fiction the people in the world of One Piece could write. The romance aisle in particular had you curious, if only to take your mind off of tall, strong, handsome red-haired pirates roaming the sea. Not that you were swooning over Shanks or anything, of course, but a little distraction would be welcome.

You were in the middle of checking a promising summary when someone adressed you.

"Excuse me miss, may I be of help ?"

You turned your head to see a blond man wearing a black suit that tugged at your memories of the show, but since his face was completely unknown to you, you only smiled politely.

"Thank you, but I'm fine. Just looking around."

"I must insist, miss, you seem to be in need of help."

You frowned at his insistance. That was bordering on being rude.

"I assure you I'm completely fine," you stated firmly.

The man clenched his jaw, then snapped his finger and four other silhouettes in equally black suits appeared in the room, startling you into dropping the book you were holding. Your eyes widened when you finally understood who they were. You may not know these faces, but you knew who they worked for.

All Cipher Pol agents save for CP-0 ones had to wear those black suits.

Your sudden fear must have been written all over your face because the only woman of the group, with white hair in a braid, came closer to you with her hand extended.

"Don't be afraid, miss, we're here to take you to safety."

What the fuck.

"What are you talking about ?" you asked in complete confusion.

"We know you're held against your will by the Red-Haired Pirates," the blond one explained. "Come with us and you'll be safe."

Again, what the fuck.

You could only blink incredulously. How on earth did they know about your presence on the Red Force and why in all Four Blues did they think you were held against your will ? Seas, you could probably bend the entire crew to your will with the promise of cookies at that point, and you were pretty sure Shanks would sink an entire fleet for you if it got him cuddles.

"She's too shocked to react," one of the men snorted arrogantly. "Just grab her and let's get out of here."

"Wait-"

Before you could say another word, the blond one grabbed you by the wrist – which would have triggered your fight-or-flight response two weeks ago, it looked like Hongo's solution was really working – and two blinks later, you were dropped on a roof like a bag of potatoes.

"Boss, we have her," the blond one said into a den-den mushi.

"Good, bring her to the ship."

"That's not happening," you warned them as you stood up. "I don't know what is going on, but I'm going nowhere with you."

The one who had snapped earlier turned to you with a disdainful glare that immediately set you on edge and kind of made you want to kick him in the dick.

"Look doll, we're CP-8 and here to save you, so stop being a bitch and just do as you're told."

Oh now he had done it.

"CP-8, hmm ?" you smiled, taking a more relaxed stance. Anything under CP-9, you were pretty confident you could manage. Especially with the element of surprise. "Then please tell your boss that I haven't been abducted. I'm travelling with the Red-Haired Pirates out of my own volition. I may not be a pirate, but I'm certainly not in need of rescue."

"Tarki, was that her ? What the fuck is going on ?" the man on the other side of the snail asked angrily.

"That was her, boss," the blond one – Tarki, apparently – confirmed through gritted teeth. "Do we bring her in anyway ?"

"Of course you do ! Can you imagine the amount of information she must have ? Get her here at once, use force if you have to !"

"Yes boss."

Gatcha.

You looked at the five individuals whose faces you did not recognise, meaning they had no major impact on the future, and decided to be civilised enough to give them an out.

"Look, just so we're clear, I have nothing against you personally and if you leave now, there won't be any repercussions," you offered.

They exchanged surprised looks, then either chuckled condescendingly or outright laughed at you.

"Oh that's adorable, no wonder Akagami's been keeping such a pretty little plaything."

One of the men and the woman each grabbed one of your wrists, and you let it happen, your polite smile entirely gone and replaced by a cold expression.

"I'll have you know that Shanks is a very respectful man," you stated calmly.

Two hearts exploded under the pressure of a body's worth of blood rushing back to it.

"He never pushes for more than I'm ready to give," you added as the bodies fell on either side of you.

You swiftly moved your arms in an arc and the blood they coughed created a whip, which you used to bring one more man close enough to you to put two fingers on his throat, making his heart explode as well before the first bodies finished falling.

"And even if he's a flirt," you said as you used the same method on the fourth agent who seemed too shocked to react in time, your fingers barely grazing his wrist before his heart burst as well and he collapsed too.

"He never."

The blond man finally realised what was happening and reached for his sword. Your hands made a quick half-circle motion, and he couldn't even grab his weapon before blood-made cuffs ensnared his forearms and threw him at your feet with a single downward flick of your wrist.

"Ever."

You used the rest of the blood to create a high-speed rotating circle, and with a small move of your pointing finger, brought it one inch away from the blond's throat.

"Called me his plaything," you snarled.

Your finger made a swift movement to the left and the blood followed your command, the speed with which it was turning cutting the man's throat with the same efficiency a blade would have had. He garbled a few incoherent sounds before his last breath left him.

You let the blood flood back on the ground and grimaced at the gruesome sight of five corpses surrounding you, four with blood around their mouth and the fifth one having his throat slit. Yep, time to go back to the library and pretend nothing had happened. As you made your way down the roof through the fire escape, you checked twice that your clothes had no blood on it. It would make for a very awkward conversation.

Thankfully, you managed to sneak back discreetly inside the library and go back to the novel section without anyone noticing you. You smiled as you found the romance novel you had dropped on the floor in the same spot you had left it in. You went back to the summary, then quickly immerged yourself into the story.

 

 

"So you really haven't moved at all in two hours," Bonk's laughing voice startled you at some point, and you turned to him with an embarrassed chuckle.

"What can I say ? I'm a big fan of love stories."

"You should tell that to Captain."

"Really ? Didn't think that was his thing," you admitted while putting the book back on the shelf you had picked it from. Erotism and adventure, sure, but somehow you had a hard time picturing Shanks enjoying romance.

You heard the bald man mumble something that finished with …either, but decided no to push. A person's taste could change over time, after all. Maybe you could ask Shanks if he liked fairytales, and exchange your favourite ones.

You left the library, and noticed from the corner of your eyes the stunned expression of the old woman as she watched you walk away. Well, at least now you knew who had ratted your presence out to Cipher Pol.

Nevertheless, you came back to the Red Force in high spirits, just in time to see Shanks all but run to you with a big smile and his hair glowing like embers in the warm lights of the late afternoon.

"I was starting to get worried, sweetheart," he said as he took your hand and intermingled your fingers.

"In my defense, books," you declared solemnly while trying to keep your amused smile at bay.

"She spent two hours reading romance novels," Bonk announced loudly, which meant that everyone in a five-mile radius had probably heard him.

You groaned and let your head fall against Shanks' chest, who was not even trying to hold back his laugh.

"Romance novels, eh ? What, I'm not good enough for you anymore ?"

And how easy it would be to tell him he was good enough, and that it was that precise fact that scared you. Barely two weeks into the journey, and your heart was already tempted to present itself on a silver platter for Shanks to play with as he pleased.

Clearly, this mission could not end soon enough. You had to get away from this charming, kind, strong, respectful, playful man before you gave in to his seductive ways and woke up the next morning with a sore body and a broken heart.

You were saved from actually answering by Yasopp, who walked back on the ship from the docks with a worried expression.

"Captain, we have a problem."

Shanks immediately let go of your hand to curl his arm protectively over your back, pressing you more against his strong body, which did nothing to help your pining heart.

"What's wrong ?" the Emperor asked in his I-mean-business voice.

"Five CP-8 agents have been found dead on the library's rooftop half an hour ago," the sniper said in a clipped voice. "No one knows who took them down, but word is spreading that four of them died because the killer made their heart explode from the inside, and the last one had his throat slit open. And there's three Marine ships making their way to us from the other side of the island."

Woopsie.

"Beck, we're done restocking ?"

"Aye Captain."

"Then we're leaving now."

"The tide won't make it easy," Beck told him matter-of-factly.

"I don't care," Shanks replied as he hold you tighter. "Make sure everyone is on board and then we're out."

"Aye Captain."

Unease and guilt flooded you, and you raised your head, only to be faced with Shanks's determined expression watching over the harbour.

"I'm sure it's not that bad, you don't have t-"

"Anyone who can take down five CP-8 agents like that without leaving a trace is at least at Vice-Admiral level," the red-head cut you off. "And I'd rather not have the Marines on our tail when you're with us."

You bit your lip. As flattering as it was to hear that you were that strong from an expert on the matter, you did not want to lie to Shanks. Unfortunately, the idea of revealing your particular talent to him, and the horror he might look at you with, had you feeling too nauseous to get the words out.

"Okay," you whispered against his pecs.

"I promised I'd keep you safe, sweetheart," he told you softly in a way that was obviously meant to reassure you, but only succeeded in making you feel even more guilty. "And I don't break my promises."

You breathed deeply, wishing you could repay his honesty with yours.

"I know," you said, then put both hands on the Emperor's chest and gently separated yourself from him. "I think it's better if I go to my room for now. I'll come back when we're at sea."

"As you wish," he told you with a playful wink.

Don't think of Princess Bride, don't think of Princess Bride, don't think of Princess Bride.

He could not know those words were the equivalent of I love you in a popular movie from your world. And he certainly did not mean it like that anyway. So you smiled, went back to your room, locked the door, and opened the window. You were responsible for this mess with Cipher Pol and the Marines, and that meant the least you could do was helping Shanks and his crew out of it.

You connected your will to the waves, and took over their rythm with your power until you were the one controlling the entire current of the harbour. You kept its natural rythm for the time being, and waited for the Red Force to move to give her the little boost she would need to leave the island smoothly.

You sat crossed-legged on your bed, eyes closed, hands on your knees, utterly focused on your control and the gentle rumble of the water outside.

The instant you felt the ship moving, you started acting. Nothing too obvious, only the waves going in the sense of the hull and a subtle current helping the Red Force toward the safety of the high sea. Your arms were making slow push and pull motions over your lap, gently moving the water the way you wanted to.

You kept going for fifteen minutes, until you were sure the ship was far enough from the island, and only then released your hold on the water. You took a deep breath and let yourself fall back on your bed, feeling a tad tired. Subtle manipulation of huge amounts of water was not your forte. Big and quick actions like creating a water spinning jet or a massive wave, sure. Small and precise movements like moving blood inside a body, no problem. But what you had just done ?

That had been new, exhausting, and there was a bit of a headache settling in your skull. You closed your eyes and focused on a slow and deep breathing to ease it, and opted to let yourself rest for a while. You were just going to relax on your bed for a couple minutes and wait for your light headache to leave before going back on deck.

Chapter 11: Part Of Your World

Notes:

Hello lovelies <3
We've made it to a fourth of this story and frankly I'm a bit (a lot) flabbergasted at all the enthusiasm for it Oo
Thank you all so so much !

Chapter Text

Shanks pov

Shanks would like it to be known that he was not overreacting.

Leaving the island early was a calculated move that had nothing to do with the fact that Y/N had been one hair away from a high-level killer for an extended period of time that very afternoon.

Nothing at all.

"Everyone's here," Beckman told him about ten minutes after she had gone back to her cabin.

"Then we leave now."

Beckman sighed, but still nodded. "Aye Captain."

Shanks did not say anything about the disapproval in his first mate's voice. Leaving mid-tide was going to be a difficult manœuvre, but his crew had pulled off harder shit in worst conditions.

 

 

"I don't understand," Bonk kept repeating, looking stunned while his monkey was perched on his shoulders and patting his head. "We shouldn't have made it out of port so easily. It's like the Sea itself was helping us."

His confounded conclusion was confirming Shanks and Beck's impression. Things had gone too smoothly to be normal.

"Well, we're out and everything went fine," Shanks eventually shrugged, then turned his attention to more pressing matters. "Hey, has anyone seen Y/N ? She said she'd come back on deck once we're at sea."

Beckman snorted. "So you're not even tryin' to pretend you're not wrapped around her finger anymore ?"

"Excuse you ?" Shanks sputtered. "I have her wrapped around my finger, not the other way around."

"She's only being cuddly with you because Doc told her to, you know," Yasopp intervened, and his smile suggested he was aware that he was being a little shit without Shanks being able to do anything about it.

"Oh, we're finally talking about Captain's crush on Y/N ?" Limejuice laughed. "It's about time !"

"I don't have a crush !" Shanks vehemently denied the ridiculous idea and scoffed. "She's just a smoking hot girl who's kind and funny and cute and loves the sea and teases me and has a nice laugh and bakes dope ass cookies and gives amazing hugs and that I'd burn the world for and- oh fuck I have a crush on her," he realised suddenly and paled.

Oh fuck.

Oh great fucking seas.

Shanks fell on his ass, dumbstruck by the realisation that he had a crush on someone, more specifically on the beautiful, challenging, all-knowing goddess he was taking to Whitebeard so she could save two of his sons.

The roaring laughter of his crew did not help him in the slightest.

Shanks had a crush on Y/N and he was stuck in the roles of random guy helping her heal her touch deprivation and only person she could ask for help to change the future. So making a move on her would either make him an asshole abusing his position, or… an asshole abusing his position.

"I'm screwed," he whined and let himself fall back on deck entirely, uncaring that he was laying down like an idiot.

The laughter only intensified, and truly, Shanks was not getting any help or compassion here. He remembered hearing once that the other Emperors were actually respected by their crew. Must be nice.

"Erm, what is going on ?" a lovely voice asked with a mix of curiosity and amusement, and Shanks pushed himself back up in a second to throw himself toward the blue-haired deity gracing his sight with her presence.

"Everyone's being mean to me !" he complained.

"Well, that's not very nice," she said while trying to hold back her own laugh, eyes sparkling with amusement.

Had she always looked this breathtaking when the colours of the sunset made her look like the incarnation of the Sea with red lights turning her blue hair into the most enthralling shades of purple and gold lights making her skin glow like she was the most precious treasure to ever exist ?

Now that he thought about it, yeah, yeah she had.

Shanks was just an idiot who had not seen sooner how much she belonged on his ship, and how much more he wanted of her than a few tumbles in the sheets or a couple of adventures on the sea.

He was so screwed.

"Well," she said with a smile, "if you're still not bored by my past, I may have an idea to take your mind off the meanness. Do you like fairytales ?"

Did Shanks like fairytales ? Eh, he was a pirate, and every pirate worth their salt liked a good story.

Did he want to hear fairytales from another world, told by the woman he would give the One Piece to if only she asked ? Duh.

"As long as you're the one telling them, sweetheart," the red-head answered with a wink, and she chuckled happily.

"Then come on," she said as she took his hand and guided him to a table. "Romantic stories require a romantic atmosphere, and nothing better than a sunset on the sea to set the right mood."

Yep, Shanks was positively, definitely, unfathomably screwed.

-o-oOo-o-

Sengoku pov

Sengoku had warned all three Admirals at the beginning of their monthly meeting that he was expecting an important report any time soon, and might need to interrupt said meeting for it.

So when Garp slammed the door open, a file in one hand, a pack of rice crackers in the other, and a half-gleeful, half-baffled expression on his face, Sengoku had a feeling he already knew what the disruption was about.

"Oi Senny, guess what ? It's getting weird !"

"Hello Garp," Borsalino said in his usual slow voice, but it was obvious his interest was piqued.

Sakazuki and Kuzan both stayed silent, the first because he was glaring at the Vice-Admiral, and the second because he was pretending to nap on the couch with his mask down on his eyes.

"Look at that !" Garp said as he slammed the file on the desk and completely ignored the other people in the room.

Sengoku sighed and opened the file. Five minutes later, he raised his head back to give his old friend an incredulous look.

"Is this a joke ?"

"Nope, bahahaha !"

"So you're telling me this woman was not abducted but is just travelling with an Emperor's crew ? And Akagami's protecting her to the point of sending her on land with a bodyguard who can kill five CP-8 agents in a few minutes without leaving a single trace behind ? And Cipher Pol couldn't even uncover her name !?" Sengoku asked frustratingly, standing up from his desk at the end.

"Oooh, this sounds interesting," Borsalino said with a spark of amusement behind his glasses.

"Tch," Sakazuki scoffed and crossed his arms with a condescending look. "She's obviously some random whore Akagami picked up at a bar and isn't bored of yet. Nothing interesting in that."

"He's never done that before," Sengoku reminded his strictest admiral, who only huffed.

"Why don't we have a name ?" Kuzan yawned from the couch. "Cipher Pol should have found it by now."

Sengoku groaned and put a hand on his face, feeling suddenly very tired, and Garp laughed again as he engulfed the last of his rice crackers.

"The director of CP-8 says the only information she gave before his agents were murdered were the fact that she wasn't a pirate, that she was willingly travelling with Akagami's crew, and that she wasn't in need of rescue," the Fleet Admiral replied, pushing the report and photos further on his desk. "Aside from that, it's like she popped into existence one day on their ship. The director of CP-8 mentioned at the end of the report that he was going to dig further, but he's not very optimistic."

Borsalino was the only one to come closer, and his eyes widened when they landed on the picture of a woman with long blue hair wearing a rather revealing slitted skirt and a V-neck crop top, walking in a street with a smile on her face and a hand replacing her hair behind her ear.

He whistled appreciatively, and that seemed to be enough for Kuzan to push his sleeping mask back up on his forehead and Sakazuki to come inspect the file too.

"My my my, she's quite the beauty," Borsalino commented, and according to the way Sakazuki's eyebrows shot up for half a second when he saw the picture, he agreed.

"Say what you want about Akagami, but that brat's got good taste, bahahaha !" Garp laughed with his head thrown back, clearly finding the whole thing hilarious.

Sengoku felt a headache settling comfortably in his skull. Of course, as soon as it was clear that she was not held against her will, Garp would go back to his careless attitude. Nevermind the absolute clusterfuck this woman was quickly proving herself to be. Actually, knowing his best friend, Sengoku was pretty sure Garp was only finding good entertainment value in the situation.

Kuzan approached as well and even he made an appreciative hum when he saw the photo. Then he shrugged.

"There are no laws against travelling with pirates," he stated in his usual bored voice. "If she doesn't commit crimes, there is no reason to get involved."

"I agree," Sakazuki said through gritted teeth like the statement cost him, which it probably did. "We have more important matters to handle than Akagami's latest conquest."

"Indeed. I think we can leave it to Cipher Pol," Borsalino concluded.

In retrospective, Sengoku would later realise that having all three Admirals agree so easily on the matter should have been the most blatant hint that things were going to blow up in their faces.

-o-oOo-o-

Beckman pov

They sailed for a few days straight toward Whitebeard's territory after the early departure from the island, and Beckman was almost starting to feel bad for his Captain. Keyword being almost. His interest had been pretty hard to miss before – Shanks had always been the kind to wear his heart on his sleeve – but now that he was aware of it, his open adoration of Y/N had become comically obvious.

What made it both painful to watch and hilarious, however, was that the only person on board who remained completely oblivious to his feelings was the blue-haired woman herself. How she was missing the hearts in Shanks' eyes whenever she did… pretty much anything, actually, Beckman had no idea.

Seas, he was tempted to ask her to trick Shanks into actually doing his share of paperwork for once. One smile from her and his Captain would probably run to his office in a flash. Unfortunately, everyone had agreed not to intervene under penalty of being kicked out of the betting pool. Beckman had won the first round, and he was firmly determined to win the second too.

In the meantime, they were getting closer to their rendez-vous point, and as such, he decided to call Marco to confirm the Moby Dick was on her way as well.

Purupurupuru.

Gatcha.

"Marco-yoi."

"Beckman here, you guys close ?"

"Yeah, but we're waiting for a division to come back from a mission-yoi. You'll have to cross the border, Pops said he's fine with it since it's so urgent ?" the Phoenix ended his statement like a question, clearly fishing for information.

"Can't say more, Captain's orders," Beckman replied with a drag of his cigarette, then decided to throw him a bone, if only to prepare the other crew for what was going to happen once they reached the Moby Dick. "But don't be too surprised when you see a lady walk on deck with him."

The snail's eyes widened, and Beckman refrained a smug smirk. Even with a warning, meeting Y/N for the first time was sure to leave at least a few of the proud commanders slack-jawed. She just had that thing about her. Seas, half the crew was still blushing when she looked them in the eyes.

"Akagami's bringing a lady to a Yonkos' meeting-yoi ?" Marco asked in a rather incredulous voice.

"He's got a good reason to," Beckman confirmed. There, that should be enough to intrigue them without saying too much.

"Serious talk, then ?"

"From what I understand, yes."

"I'll let Pops know-yoi."

Beckman ended the call and went back on deck, where Y/N was retelling yet another fairytale from her world to Shanks over a drink.

Shanks was listening with rapt attention, and it was pretty obvious that everyone  around them was blatantly eavesdropping to hear her story as well. The grey-haired man did not blame them, he had found himself completely captivated by the tale she had told the previous night. A story in a desert kingdom with a thief, a princess, a genie, a flying carpet, and a magic cave with riches beyond imagination.

The one she was finishing now was about a mermaid falling in love with a human prince and trading her voice for legs in order to go on land.

"… but then dawn came to reveal the prince sleeping on the shore, and Ariel kept watching him from a rock immerged in the water. She was waiting for Eric to wake up and go back to his palace, where he would be safe. He belonged to a place she couldn't go, and while her heart was full of longing, she did not regret loving him for even a second," Y/N was recounting, her voice tainted by the melancholy the scene depicted.

"That's not fair," Gab mumbled from his spot against the railing. Beckman snorted and put himself beside him to hear the end.

"What Ariel didn't know, however, was that behind her, hidden between the waves, her father and Sebastian were watching the young princess stare hopefully at the human prince. King Triton sighed, and turned to the crab. She really does love him, doesn't she, Sebastian ? he asked."

"Took him long enough," Lucky said while munching on his meat.

"Well, it's like I always say, your Majesty, Sebastian answered. Children got to be free to live their own life."

"Pretty sure that's not what he was saying three days ago," Shanks snickered, then made a zipping motion with his hand when Y/N gave him a slightly reproachful look.

And if that was not a proof that he was completely whipped, Beckman did not know what was. The people who had ever managed to make Shanks shut up with nothing more than a raised eyebrow could be counted on a single hand.

"Triton turned to his trusted advisor with a highly dubious look. You always say that ? he asked, and Sebastian smiled awkwardly in hope it would get him out of such an obvious lie," she said with a knowing smile, and Shanks grinned in a way that clearly meant he was stupidly proud to have anticipated the retort.

"But the King sighed again, sadness in his eyes, before turning a fond look toward his beloved daughter. Then I guess there's just one problem left, he said, which prompted Sebastian to look at him and ask and what's that, your majesty ?" she said, then paused to take a sip of her drink, clearly enjoying leaving everyone waiting with baited breath for the rest of the story.

"How much I'm going to miss her, Triton answered. He then put his trident into the water in direction of his daughter, and ordered the magic to turn her tail into a pair of legs."

"Wait really ?"

"He could do that from the start !?"

"Oh thank the Seas !"

She chuckled at the sudden exclamations coming from all around her, and motioned for everyone to quiet so she could finish.

"Ariel looked at her father in surprise, happiness radiating from her, and Triton nodded approvingly. She then walked to the shore in a shimmering dress, just as Eric woke up. As soon as he saw the woman he loved walk toward him, the prince jumped to take her in his arms and they exchanged the true love's kiss they had both been yearning for."

Shanks almost melted on the table at her words, and Beckman was practically sure he heard a collective aww coming from the entire ship. They really needed to ask her to join the crew.

"A few days later, Ariel and Eric got married on a ship, so their union could be celebrated by the people of both land and sea. Their marriage was blessed by Triton, and their honeymoon spent on the ocean, both of them acknowledging they were finally part of each other's world. And then they lived happily ever after. The end," she finished with a little bow and a chuckle as everyone applauded her.

"That was beautiful," Shanks told her with the sappiest smile to ever exist, his head resting on his hand. "Can you tell another one ?"

She laughed, then finished her tankard and put it back on the table.

"Aren't you sick of fairytales by now ?"

"Nope, you've done it, I'm addicted. So, one more ? Pretty please ?" his Captain asked with puppy eyes.

"Maybe tomorrow," she conceded, and the way Shanks pouted would definitely have had the World Government rethink their stance on the danger he represented.

"Actually," Beckman intervened before Shanks could attempt to use his persuasion skills and miserably fail to change her mind, "we're getting close to the Moby Dick, and there's a deserted island on our way. We can stop there for the night."

Shanks immediately perked up. "Awesome ! Then let's throw a party !"

"What are we celebrating ?" Y/N asked curiously as she flicked her hair back over her shoulder.

"You," Shanks replied without missing a beat.

"That sounds like an excuse," she said dubiously.

"Well it's also been too long since we threw a big party."

"And," Beckman smirked in challenge as he sat at their table, "some of us are still curious about your alcohol tolerance. Rumour has it you've never lost a drinking contest."

A mischievous gleam appeared in her eyes, and her grin became predatory in a way that had Shanks visibly shift on his seat to accomodate his lustful reaction to it.

"Then I hope you're ready to go down, gentlemen."

"Oh I absolutely a-"

Beckman slammed his Captain's head on the table before he could finish his sentence.

Chapter 12: Meet The Hawk

Notes:

Hello lovelies <3
This chapter is brought to you by the power of *sparkle effect* insomnia *sparkle effect* and seemingly all of you wanting to see a certain kind of scene after the last chapter x)

Chapter Text

Reader pov

You woke up the next morning feeling a fair bit more hungover than you were used to. You had read about the Red-Haired Pirates' legendary parties, of course, but damn, those guys could really go all night drinking and playing drinking games and singing pirate songs.

Without your powers, you would definitely have passed out before midnight.

As things were, however, you had hold your own and ultimately drunk even Shanks and Beckman under the table, giggling at the astoundished look on Hongo's face, who had been designated to judge your contest.

"How !?" the doctor had spluttered incredulously as Shanks had finally slumped on the make-shift table set on the beach and started snoring, while you had slammed your empty tankard on said table. Beckman had already been laying on the sand for the past half hour, dead to the world.

You had smiled innocently at Hongo and stood up, only rocking a little on your feet. Even with accelerating your metabolism and drinking water regularly, the insane rhythm had left you feeling way closer to drunk than dizzy.

"Told ya I was und'featable," you had slurred, then yawned and stretched your arms above your head. The movement had made you lose your balance for a second, and you had needed a couple steps back to regain it with a little laugh. "But I think I should probly go t'sleep too. And drink w'ter."

"Yeah, no shit. I don't know how you're still standing after what you downed tonight."

"It's a seeeeecret," you had giggled.

The point was, you were more hungover than you were used to being, and a bit too dehydrated to make yourself feel better through your usual trick. So with a groan to dislodge the unpleasant feeling of something having crawled and died in your throat during the night, you sat on your improvised bed on the beach. You took a brief moment to thank whatever deity had made the sun rise on the other side of the island, then proceeded to go back to the ship in order to get some water and take a much-needed shower. And brush your teeth. And probably wash your clothes too.

That sounded like a solid plan.

An hour later, you were back on the beach, feeling refreshed and ready to be a little shit. You observed all the pirates still asleep in various uncomfortable-looking positions, some among them having clearly awoken at some point in the night to throw up, and took a deep breath.

"RISE AND SHINE, BOYS !" you yelled cheerfully.

Half of them jerked awake and the other half groaned in pain at the sudden noise. Still, after a couple minutes, almost all eyes were on you, and you smiled brightly.

"Come on, it's a beautiful day !" you kept going merrily. "Wouldn't want to waste it, right ?"

Shanks was blinking at you like he failed to understand what was happening, and Beckman stared in your direction for a full minute before letting himself fall back on the sand.

"I give up," he groaned with an arm thrown over his eyes. "You ain't human."

You chuckled, and turned to Shanks who was still slumped on the table but was currently attempting to somehow sit straight, while looking in your direction like you could not possibly be real.

"Knew you were a freakin' goddess," the Emperor ultimately declared with a dopey smile.

"Wait, you're not hungover at all ?" Yasopp asked incredulously as he rubbed his neck and forehead.

"Not one bit," you replied with glee.

"What's your trick and how can I learn it ?" the sniper begged you.

"That's for me to know and for you guys to be jealous of," you chuckled with a wink, and even put a hand on your hip for good measure.

"Believe me, I'm jealous," Snake muttered from his spot against a rock. Yeah, that must have left him with one hell of a sore neck.

"Try to wake up and drink some water, okay ?" you advised the pirates. "I'll get breakfast ready in the meantime."

"Cookies ?" Shanks asked at once with hope sparkling in his eyes, and a pleading expression on his face.

"If you want," you replied with a smile.

"YES !" several voices answered as one, and you laughed at their reaction.

"I'll make more than last time, it's going to take longer but it should give you guys enough time to get fully awake," you said, then turned around and grabbed a hair tie from the thin belt on top of your skirt to pull your hair in the high ponytail you preferred wearing when you were cooking.

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks pov

Shanks' head was painfully throbbing under the effects of one of the most brutal hangovers he had felt in years, but he still watched Y/N walk back to his ship. Her skirt was flowing with each sway of her hips as she tied her hair up in a sexy ponytail.

"I think I'm in love," he smiled blissfully, earning a groan from wherever his first mate was lying down.

"Yeah, we noticed," Hongo deadpaned while massaging his temples. "Ugh, didn't think I'd see the day someone would outdrink you and live."

"Wait, y'mean she won ?" Beck asked incredulously, and Shanks hummed in confirmation. "Fuck, and she's not even hungover," Beck muttered. "How can she not be hungover after drinkin' you under the table ?"

"Told ya, she's a goddess," the red-head sighed dreamily.

"I'm startin' to believe it," his second mumbled.

 

 

They were all still finishing waking up and getting somewhat clean – except for Shanks, who was still trying to fight off the headache and light nausea in a more comfortable chair – when a familiar voice echoed near them.

"This is an unusual place for a man of your stature."

The Emperor felt himself grin, and raised his head to greet his best friend.

"Hey Mimi ! Been a while ! I'm a wee bit too hungover for a duel, though."

"I am not here to fight you," Hawkeyes replied in his why-did-I-even-bother-to-come voice. "I recently ran into someone that might be of interest to you. A boy you mentioned long ago," Mihawk explained as he got a bounty poster out of his coat.

Yasopp took the piece of paper and unfolded it, revealing a grinning face and a straw hat, which had Shanks jumping from his chair with a wide smile.

"Luffy !" he grinned happily at the boy's sunny face. Not that he doubted Y/N's claims, but having a concrete proof in front of him made it suddenly more real. Damn, the little boy from East Blue had grown up so much.

"No way," Lucky laughed. "It's Luffy !?"

"He really did it, eh ?" Yasopp grinned.

"He's a pirate… and a captain," Beckman noted with a smirk.

Shanks grabbed the poster and turned to the rest of his crew.

"Bring out the reserve booze boys ! This is cause for celebration !"

"Thought you were hungover," Hawkeyes reminded him.

"Oh come on, drink with us !" Shanks laughed. "It's not everyday tha-"

"Cookies are ready !" a cheerful voice interrupted him.

Shanks turned just in time to watch Y/N walk down from his ship with a huge platter of cookies in her arms, her blue hair loose again and her skirt floating in the breeze to reveal her mouth-watering legs with each step she took.

In the next second, Shanks had pocketed the poster and drawn out his sword, just in time before Lucky, Yasopp, and Beckman got their guns out, and everyone else had their weapons ready as well.

"Mine," Shanks stated, and prepared himself to use his Haki if he had to.

"Sorry Captain," Beckman shrugged. "But I will fight you for her cookies."

From the corner of his eye, Shanks saw the second Mihawk noticed Y/N, the way his eyes widened and his jaw dropped for a fraction of a second before he composed himself. Then she seemed to notice the Warlord's presence as well and her own eyes went wide, before a huge smile split her face.

"Seas and stars, are you who I think you are ?" she asked excitedly as she stepped on the sand, and walked straight to Hawkeyes.

Wait.

"Dracule Mihawk," Hawkeyes introduced himself with a nod, and her smile somehow got brighter.

"Y/N," she offered back, "It's a pleasure to meet the World's Greatest Swordsman," she added and shifted the platter in her arms to extand a hand to him.

Shanks' eyes almost bulged out of his skull.

What !?

Since when was she comfortable enough to initiate physical contact with someone else than him ? That she was meeting for the first time, to boot !

Hawkeyes took her hand but instead of shaking it, he brought it to his lips to kiss her knuckles.

"The pleasure is all mine, miss Y/N. Please, call me Mihawk."

Oh, that smooth fucker.

She blinked, then blushed and coughed as she got her hand back before composing herself and smiling mischievously.

"Would you see that, a pirate with the manners of a gentleman."

"A rare sight on the sea, I am aware," Mihawk replied with the barest hint of a smile, eyes purely on the beauty talking to him.

Yep, that was it, Shanks was jealous.

"Rare indeed," she chuckled. "Say, would you like a cookie ?"

"NO !" Shanks' entire crew – up to and including himself – screamed at once, but she only rolled her eyes.

"Come on guys, stop being dramatic ! It's cookies, for seas' sake, not the One Piece !"

"Might as well be," Lucky objected.

Unfortunately, Mihawk was intrigued, and even more unfortunately, Shanks had to watch his best friend accept a cookie and take a bite.

One second later, Yoru was in his hand.

"It appears your reaction was more proportionate than I believed it to be."

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous," Y/N suddenly stated, her smile nowhere to be seen and a frown on her face.

Not good.

"You can either share like civilised people," she warned them all in a stern voice, "or I'm going back to my room and eating all of them on my own. And if you think I'm bluffing, remember what happened last night."

Shanks gulped audibly. Yeah, in hindsight, trying to call her bluff on the amount of alcohol she could drink before she would pass out or give up had not been his most stellar idea so far. And if she was serious about eating the entire platter, which she seemed to be…

Shanks sheathed his sword and raised his hand in front of him, acknowledging defeat. It was better to have a few cookies than none at all. Everyone else soon followed his example with mumbled apologies.

"Good. Now I'm going to bring this to the table, each of you is going to take up to ten cookies, no more, and no one will steal someone else's cookies. Understood ?"

The rest of his crew and Mihawk answered positively and she smiled again, effectively putting the platter on the table. A few minutes later, the platter was empty and they were all moaning in pure sugary bliss.

"What is your price for this recipe ?" Mihawk asked Y/N, whose side he had yet to leave, and Shanks was trying very hard to pretend he had no problem whatsoever with the fact that his favourite sword buddy was attempting to charm his girl. Well. Soon-to-be girl. Hopefully.

"I'm afraid it's not up for any kind of trade," she replied with a smile, and finished the cookie she was holding between her thumb and index, leaving only one in her hand.

"A pity. Should you ever change your mind, my castle-"

"Won't be happening, Mimi," Shanks intervened with a smug smile, and linked his fingers with Y/N's free hand, who looked at him questioningly before she rolled her eyes fondly and squeezed his hand, clearly misunderstanding his action. Seas, just watching her being so utterly adorable made Shanks feel less hungover than before.

"Yes, you can have my last one," she chuckled and offered him the little treat, which Shanks happily bit directly from her hand while maintaining eye contact, making her blush beet red in the process.

Take that, Hawkeyes.

Mihawk's eyes widened for a second, then he shook his head goodheartedly and crossed his arms on his chest.

"I seem to have misundertood the nature of your relationship, please accept my apologies."

"What do you mean misunder-" she started confusedly with a tilt of her head, but Shanks quickly cut her off.

"Guess why Mimi came all the way here, sweetheart !" he smiled brightly, perfectly content to let his best friend believe they were already together. Although Hawkeyes' accusing gaze meant he had probably noticed her confusion and had only been fooled for a second.

Y/N sent Shanks a dubious look that clearly meant we'll-talk-about-this-later, but thankfully went along.

"I just assumed you two hadn't seen each other in a while and wanted to catch up ?" she offered.

"While that may be true," Hawkeyes admitted, "I also had a more specific reason. I believe said reason is still in Shanks' pocket."

She turned her head to him with open curiosity and Shanks begrudgingly let go of her hand to take the crumpled poster and give it to her. To his surprise, however, her face became whiter than a sheet when she saw Luffy's smiling face.

"Already ?" she whispered, her voice shaking. "When did you meet him ? How long ago ?" the blue-haired woman asked Hawkeyes urgently.

"Maybe a couple weeks," Mihawk answered, clearly surprised by her reaction.

"Shit," she cursed, still pale, then turned away from them and ran to the rest of the crew.

"Beckman !" she called, and the anxiety in her voice had everyone on edge in seconds. "You were in contact with Marco yesterday, right ?"

"Yes," Beck answered, frowning at her obvious concern.

"Did he say anything about the other division commanders ? One of them missing ?"

Beck's eyebrows reached his hairline, but he answered anyway.

"Said one was almost back from a mission and that's why we can go into their territory instead of staying at the border to wait for them."

She gasped and her hands started shaking in what looked a hell like the start of a panic attack. Shanks was by her side before he even realised he was moving, and put his hand on Y/N's shoulder to steady her.

"Easy sweetheart, breathe, what's going on ?"

"It's happening," she whispered, her voice barely audible enough for him to hear and her face devoid of colour. "The thing I want to prevent. I think it's happening now."

Oh fuck.

Shanks immediately lost all the easy cheer he had felt since waking up. He straightened up with a serious expression on his face and looked at his crew. Rarely before had he been so relieved they all knew him enough to realise in a second when he was putting on his Emperor face.

"Bring everything back on the ship and get ready to leave, lads !" he ordered and everyone instantly started to move, no questions asked. "We need to meet with the Moby as soon as possible !"

"I hope it's not too late," Y/N whispered, with a hand clutching her necklace and her gaze focused on the beach below her feet. Her eyes appeared to be both lost in the grains of sand and somehow impossibly far away from where – or maybe when – they were. "Seas, please don't let it be too late."

Shanks moved until he could face her, and cautiously moved his hand from her shoulder to under her chin. Then he slowly used his fingers to make her raise her head and look him in the eyes.

"Hey, sweetheart, stay with me, okay ? It's going to be fine. We'll be there on time to stop that asshole, alright ? Just stay calm and focus on the present."

She blinked a couple times as if she was having a hard time coming back to the actual moment, then nodded decisively.

"Yeah, you're right," she said and squared her shoulders, then took a deep breath, her eyes burning with a fire he had not seen so far. "I'm going to help the others."

"That's my girl," Shanks smiled, and felt relieved when she sent him a slightly reproachful look before walking away to grab some of the stuff they had brought on shore. At least this time they were lucky enough to have the Sea on their side, since the high tide was almost there. It meant they would be able to depart pretty much as soon as all the stuff was brought back on board.

In the middle of the organised chaos that was the Red-Haired Pirates getting ready to leave an island in a hurry, Mihawk calmly walked next to Shanks while he was making sure everything and everyone was brought back on his ship.

"Is there an emergency I should know about ?" his best friend asked in his neutral-but-you-know-I'll-kill-whoever-you-need-me-to voice.

"None that I can't deal with," the Emperor replied.

"She appeared to be pretty worried."

"She's got a good reason to be."

Hawkeyes remained silent for a moment, but Shanks felt his scrutinizing gaze on him nonetheless. The red-head knew his best friend, after all, so he could tell when Mihawk was puzzled by something.

"You genuinely care for her," Mihawk finally stated, and the hint of surprise in his voice would probably have been offensive if Shanks was not keenly aware of his well-deserved reputation.

Instead, he turned to his best friend with a beaming smile.

"I'd burn the world for her if she asked me to."

"Does she know it ?"

"Uh."

Hawkeyes sighed.

It felt very judgemental.

Chapter 13: Finally There

Notes:

Attention everyone, you get a little spice in this chapter. Not enough for me to put a warning in case some people are uncomfortable with it, but... something happens O:)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Reader pov

You were under the impression that the clear moonlight and absolute calm of the chilly night were mocking you.

Everyone except the night shifts had gone to sleep two hours ago, but you were still on deck, elbows on the railing, making little movements with your wrists to enhance the Red Force's speed the tiniest bit in the hope it would make you reach the Moby Dick faster.

Was it useless ? Possibly.

But there was a stone in your stomach.

You could not stop the negative loop your mind was lost in, thinking of all the ways you could be too late, and all you could have done better if only you had not been so selfish. This world was so much more than a fiction to you now, and you no longer had the luxury to detach yourself from the people that used to be two-dimensioned characters.

The idea that Thatch might die because you failed to prevent Teach's betrayal was making you nauseous.

A stronger bust of wind blew from the sea and you shuddered.

Then a cloak was put on your soulders, and Shanks leaned on the railing on your right, his elbow on the wood as well as he angled his body toward you. His hair was flying lightly around his face and even his half-buttoned white shirt was floating a bit under the night breeze.

"Can't sleep ?" he asked knowingly.

You shook your head and stopped moving your hands, releasing your control of the water.

"I'm terrified. There's a very strong chance we're too late, and if we are, I-"

"You don't know that we are, sweetheart," the Emperor cut you off in a soft but firm voice. "And you're going to need rest either way."

You huffed, and pulled his black cloak a little tighter around you, enjoying the way it had retained his body warmth and that mix of sea-salt, sake, and steel scent that truly was Shanks.

"I can already tell you the only thing I'll get if I close my eyes is nightmares," you told him with your gaze focused on the dark line where sky met sea.

From the corner of your eyes, you could see Shanks watching you, almost as if he was contemplating something.

"Then stay with me tonight."

Your head snapped toward him, and you opened your mouth to tell him this was a very poor timing to proposition you, but he beat you to it.

"Not for sex, I can tell you're not in the mood for that," he explained with a small grin. "Just sleeping. I'll fend off any nightmare coming your way."

You blinked incredulously.

"I'm pretty sure even you can't literally fight nightmares."

"You're just saying that because it's never been done," Shanks replied with a cheeky wink. "But seriously, not being alone might help, and I know for a fact that I'm a great cuddler."

You turned your gaze back to the ocean and bit your lower lip, your fingers going back to your necklace.

On one hand, he was right. Not being alone might keep the nightmares at bay, and if you were to wake up anyway because of a bad dream, Shanks' presence was associated to safety in your mind by now. Having him next to you would definitely feel reassuring enough to go back to sleep.

On the other hand, though… no matter how much you trusted him to not abuse the situation – and he had proved time and time again that he would respect any boundary you set – the intimacy required to sleep with someone scared you a bit. Doubly so when said someone had been stealing a little piece of your heart every day since you had met him.

"Have you ever slept with someone platonically ?" you asked curiously.

"Sweetheart, I've spent my entire life at sea. Of course I've already shared a bed with people I didn't fuck," Shanks replied with an amused smile. "As long as you don't get mad if you wake up with my morning wood against your ass, there shouldn't be a problem."

You could not refrain a laugh at his blunt admission. At least he was honest about that part.

"Then I think I'm going to take you up on that offer."

Shanks' eyes went wide. "Wait, really ?"

"Well, you're right about needing the rest, and I always feel safer with you around," you admitted readily, and pulled his cloak off your shoulders to hand it back to him. "So yeah. I just need to get my pajamas first."

The Emperor took his cloak from your hand, still looking like he had a hard time believing you had actually agreed.

"I'll be in your quarters in a minute," you told him with a smile. "And thank you."

"My pleasure, sweetheart."

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks pov

Shanks had half a mind calling himself the greatest moron in existence. The biggest fool to ever roam the seas was a solid second option. Here he was, in his bed, with the woman he loved sleeping soundly beside him in a loose tank top and soft cotton shorts, and he was trying every trick in the book to will his hard-on away, to no avail so far.

In his defense, he was laying on his back, and Y/N had plastered herself against his left side like a damn koala. Her head was right above his heart, her breasts fully against his chest with only a thin cotton barrier preventing her nipples from grazing his skin, and she had one leg over his, which meant her pussy was pressed directly on his thigh with only her little shorts separating them.

To think he had rubbed one off before going out to make his offer, just on the off-chance she would accept.

She jerked minutely and Shanks stopped breathing, but she relaxed with a quiet hum right after. Then her left arm glided all over his chest and ensnared him in a hug, leaving shivers everywhere her hand had caressed his skin.

Shanks took a deep breath, stared blankly at the ceiling, and attempted to think of things that would disgust him enough to make his dick go down.

Paperwork. Celestial Dragons. Teach. Blueberries.

A little moan escaped her lips and she pressed herself tighter against him for a second before exhaling and going back to her previous level of cuddling.

Shanks put his arm over his eyes and groaned. This was going to be a long night.

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

You woke up feeling deliciously warm and cozy, and kept your eyes closed for a little longer to enjoy the feeling of the firm chest against your back and the arm curled possessively around your waist.

Wait.

Your eyes shot open and you tensed for a second before the events of the previous night came back to you and you relaxed. Looked like Shanks had been right on all accounts, you had slept well and he was a great cuddler. You could feel his stubble against your neck and his soft, regular breath grazing your skin.

A foolish part of your treacherous mind brought up how nice it would be to wake up like this every morning. You gave a mental slap to said foolish part, and attempted to free yourself from Shanks' hold without waking him up.

Which proved to be a very bad idea when you realised there was something hard and long pressed against your ass, and trying to shimmy your way out of his encompassing hug mostly meant friction against his dick. And wow. You gulped and did not even attempt to fight the blush creeping up your face. It seemed the fanfictions had been right about him being rather well-endowed.

You took a deep breath and tried to ignore the pulsing want between your thighs, along with all the other signals your body was sending to tell you it was definitely on board with getting more heat from that man.

Deep breaths. You were just laying in bed with an almost naked man you were extremely attracted to and half-way in love with but had decided to keep at arm's length for very good reasons. You were just having a hard time remembering what those reasons were when his hand was spreading warmth against your belly and holding you like he never wanted to let you go.

You brought your right hand down from the pillow and put it above his, drawing little circles on his skin.

"Shanks ?" you called softly as you tried to turn against him so you could see his face.

The Emperor grumbled and shifted a bit against you before kissing your neck in his sleep, and if you were not beet red before, you were now.

"Time to wake up," you said a little louder.

That only earned you a protesting groan and being brought even closer to him than before, somehow.

Well, time to bypass subtlety, then.

You turned fully in his grasp until you were facing him – don't think about his hard dick pressing on your pussy, don't think about his chiseled sun-kissed chest against your perked nipples, blame the sudden lust and sensitivity on touch deprivation, everything is fine – and put a hand on his face, caressing his jawline and cheek.

"Shanks," you called in your normal voice. "I know you like hugs, but we're on a schedule today."

"F've m're m'n'tes," the red-head grumbled and buried his head in your neck, littering it with sleepy little kisses.

Shit, that was cute. And it felt good. Like each kiss was igniting a fire under your skin wherever his lips touched you. Maybe you could-

Nope. Bad brain.

"Shanks," you said more firmly, and put your hand in his hair with the intention to pull him back. A fool-proof plan to wake him up and get him away from your neck.

Except for the fact that Shanks moaned when you pulled his hair, traced his tongue on the length of your throat while his hand travelled all the way down your spine in a fast and sensual caress, then grabbed your ass and pressed you hard against his dick.

Oh dear seas and stars.

"SHANKS !" you almost shrieked, and that seemed to finally be enough to wake him up fully and make him realise who he was with and what he was doing.

"Oh shit," the Emperor said as he opened his eyes, immediately releasing you and pushing himself away from you. "Fuck, shit, didn't mean t-"

"I know, you were asleep," you said as you turned to sit on the other side of the bed, not facing him, your entire face burning up. "It's fine."

"You sure ?" he asked cautiously, sounding unusually concerned.

"Yeah. I should've guessed you had a hair-pulling kink anyway, that one's on me," you tried to joke to defuse the atmosphere, but then you heard choking behind you and turned back just in time to see the Emperor coughing in his fist.

He recovered quickly and you stared at each other for a few increasingly tense moments.

"So… do we pretend this never happened ?" Shanks offered awkwardly.

"It's probably for the best," you agreed, ignoring the way your core clenched at the very tempting what-might-have-been had you said anything else.

A knock on the door made you jump, quickly followed by Beckman's voice.

"Captain, we got the Moby in sight, we'll be with them in twenty minutes tops, get your ass outta bed !"

"I'm awake !" Shanks replied.

"Then get up !"

Nothing else came after that, and you were once again left in awkward silence, barely looking at each other.

"Oh, fuck it," Shanks grumbled, then scuttled closer to you and put his hand on yours. "I'm sorry I touched you without your consent. You know I'd never force you into anything you don't want, right ? Next time you can kick me in the balls if that's what it takes to get me out of it. "

Weirdly so, his apology completely dissipated the embarrassed atmosphere between the two of you and you felt yourself smiling.

"Thank you, I really appreciate that. But I'd rather not resort to such drastic methods," you chuckled, then got out of bed and grabbed your clothes, trying hard to not oggle the very erotic sight that was Shanks laying half-naked in a bed. "And thank you for fending off my nightmares."

"Anytime, sweetheart," Shanks grinned as you opened the door.

-o-oOo-o-

You walked on deck in the lights of the early morning, hair loose, wearing your usual blue skirt and top attire, and took in the insanely massive sight that was the Moby Dick while fidgeting with your necklace. Even the Red Force seemed small when compared to this behemoth of a ship.

"Ready ?" Shanks asked as he walked next to you.

"Absolutely not," you replied honestly. "Let's go before I throw up."

"Relax, sweetheart, it'll be fine," the Emperor said and briefly squeezed your hand while a bridge was put in place between the two ships. "I'll be with you the whole time."

"I just hope we're not too late," you whispered as someone yelled Secured ! from the other side.

Without another word, Shanks and you made your way up to the Moby Dick and you tried to mentally prepare yourself to meet people whom you had seen die on screen. Whitebeard. Ace. Izou. Thatch.

Marco condemned to outlive his family over and over again.

The other commanders hunted by Blackbeard after the Paramount War.

Right before you stepped on the Moby's deck, you took a deep breath and squared your shoulders, barely a second before Shanks' Haki started manifesting in powerful waves all around him, making the wood crack and people fall left and right.

Which meant either you were getting used to his god-like power or he was being deliberately considerate and sparing you the brunt of it. In all honesty, you had to admit the second option was much more likely. Still, you were here for a peaceful talk and that kind of agressive display was not going to help you make your case.

You put a hand on Shanks' arm, and he glanced at you in surprise. You gave him a small pleading smile and your best impression of puppy eyes. To your surprise, his Haki receded right away.

You then turned your head toward your host, and your eyes widened. You had known, objectively speaking, that Whitebeard was really, really tall. But you hadn't anticipated to feel so dwarfed by his half-giant stature and impressive aura that no amount of IV's could diminish.

It was a miracle your steps did not falter as you got closer to where he sat. Strangely, his eyes seemed to be on you instead of Shanks. You hold his intense and intrigued gaze for about two seconds before averting your eyes. You focused instead on the people around him, hoping to see all the faces you knew from the anime.

Marco. Your eyes softened with sympathy and compassion. The caring and powerful Phoenix had lost so much.

Izou. The freedom of Wano should never have been at the cost of his life.

Many faces you knew but could not associate a name to. They deserved better than to die at the hands of Teach while trying to protect Whitebeard's territory.

A face with freckles and a mop of unruly black hair.

Ace.

You had to take in a sharp breath at the vision of Luffy's beloved older brother standing in front of you and being alive. Tears were close but you forced yourself to get a grip on your emotions.

Your gaze kept roaming the crowd for one more face who had not had much screen time, but was so important to the timeline.

Thatch's trademark pompadour was nowhere to be seen.

Shanks came to a stop and you stopped walking as well by pure mimetism, before scanning the faces around Whitebeard one more time, feeling a little paler every time you failed to see the cook among them.

"Brat. Wha-"

"Where's Thatch ?" you asked urgently, uncaring that you had interrupted a man who could earthquake you into the Grand Line with a snap of his fingers.

"Probably still sleeping," Izou replied cautiously. "He came back late last night and-"

Your blood ran cold at those words. There was no way the Whitebeard's Pirates' chef would just happen to sleep in through an Emperors' meeting when all the other commanders where on deck.

"No," you cut him off, your voice shaking with fear. "No no no no no NO !"

You turned toward the various faces while pointing fingers, uncaring of how crazy you might look.

"Izou, Marco, go to his room ! Ace, with me, we're checking the kitchens ! Everyone else, search the places he could be ! Showers, training room, medbay, anywhere he's susceptible to go ! We might still be in time to save him !"

 There was a second where no one moved and you felt fear momentarily take control of your power to roar through your veins.

"GET MOVING !" you screamed, and the massive ship rocked suddenly.

"Po-"

"You heard her, sons !" Whitebeard ordered, and you could have cried in relief when the old Emperor picked up on the emergency. "Find your brother at once !"

Everyone jumped into action and you ran toward Ace who barely waited for you before rushing inside the ship.

"The fuck is going on !?" he yelled as you were both running through corridors.

"Too long to explain !" you yelled back as he made you go through another sudden turn, almost running into the wall in the process.

"Then give me the short version !"

"Later !"

Then Ace bursted into what could only be described as a restaurant-worthy professional kitchen with a dozen people freezing at your sudden entrance.

You scanned the area in a heartbeat and noticed two doors on a wall.

"Check the left one !" you told Ace as you rushed to the one on the right.

"You better have a damn good reason to boss me around !" the young man shouted, but still did as you said and at the moment, that was the best you could ask for.

You twirled and jumped your way to the right door, avoiding the cooks staring at you like you were possessed, and finally slammed it opened.

It was a pantry.

And the body of Whitebeard's fourth commander was laying on the wooden floor with a knife in his back. Your horrified scream was probably loud enough to be heard from the Red Force. You kneeled next to him half a second before Ace burst into the room.

"THATCH !" he shouted.

You put your hand on the poor man's neck in a desperate move and froze.

A pulse.

There was a pulse.

Awfully weak and slow, but it was there.

"He's still alive," you breathed incredulously.

"WHO DI-"

"HE'S STILL ALIVE !" you yelled over Ace's furious voice, stopping him at once as shock took over his features. "GET MARCO HERE !"

"Wait you mea-"

"NOW !" you roared, and felt the ship rock again under the strenght of your power.

The flame devil fruit user left in a flash and you breathed deeply, collecting yourself and forcing your mind to concentrate on the task at hand.

Pulse meant life.

Where there was life, there was water.

You lowered both hands around the knife, put your fingers as close to the wound as possible, and touched the skin under his ripped shirt. Your power reached out for the blood still moving through the man's body. The flow was way too slow to keep him alive for much longer, but there was still enough blood for you to manipulate.

Lucky him.

Until Marco arrived, you would ensure the remaining blood in his body would circulate through his system. Until the Phoenix could save Thatch, you would step in for his heart.

Screw the timeline.

This man was going to live.

You bowed the blood inside Thatch's body to your will, and forced it to keep doing its job no matter how little of it was left.

 

 

Blue flames burst into your vision less than two minutes later.

"Major blood loss, left lung punctured," you listed as the Phoenix envelopped his brother's body within its wings without pushing you away. "It's a miracle he's still alive."

The blue and golden flames engulfed Thatch's body for a short moment, during which the knife was removed. Had you not been functioning on sheer adrenaline and complete focus at the moment, you might have been able to really appreciate the mesmerising beauty of the mythical Devil Fruit in action, but as it was, you only watched carefully how it healed the injury left by the knife.

"He needs a perfusion-yoi," Marco said curtly.

"Then get him one !" you snapped.

A second later, both the Phoenix and the body were gone, and you were left kneeling alone inside of the Moby Dick's pantry, staring blankly at your bloodied hands.

"Fuck," you whispered, your entire body shaking.

"Hey," someone said by the door and your head snapped toward them. "You, uh, wanna wash your hands before we go back on deck ?"

Huh, looked like there were tears in your eyes and that was why you had no idea who was talking to you behind that blurry mess.

"Yes please," you answered nonetheless and tried to get up, only to fail miserably.

"I got you."

"Thanks," you said as someone put an arm under your elbow to help you stand and you did not so much as flinch.

Huh.

So Hongo truly was onto something with that get-used-to-it-progressively  approach.

Notes:

I'm adding a belated note, while I don't precise who is helping her at the end, you can all rest assured that it is not Teach x)

Chapter 14: Screw The Timeline (Again)

Notes:

Enjoy an impromptu second chapter today ! <3
(just so there's no doubt in anyone's mind, the next chapter will be updated tomorrow at the usual time)

And just so we're clear, the Marco pov is very much a gift for Rom1312. Enjoy your Phoenix time, my dear ;)

Chapter Text

Marco pov

Akagami asking for a meeting with Whitebeard outside of their usual arrangements was close to unheard of, so when Beckman called to set up one, everyone on the Moby Dick was rightfully on edge. Especially with Pops' health deteriorating.

Then it got weirder when a couple days before the meeting, Beckman called again and told Marco a woman was going to join Akagami and be part of the discussion. Of course, Pop's reaction to that had been a roaring fit of laughter and setting a betting pool about Akagami's girlfriend.

But Marco was his First Mate, and that meant he had to be the suspicious one. There was no way Akagami would ask for a meeting out of the blue and then just happen to bring a random woman with him. Something was up.

So when the Red Force showed up merely an hour after dawn, Marco made sure all division commanders were awake and on deck aside from Thatch, who had just come back from his mission the previous night and deserved to get some rest. As soon as the bridge was secured between the two ships, Marco perched himself on the railing, ready to intervene and fly to protect Pops if he needed to.

Akagami walked on deck, his Haki overpowering everything as it made even seasoned crewmates fall unconscious, and Marco tensed. This was not a courtesy visit, Akagami was on edge and ready to fight.

But then the woman who had been rendered almost invisible by Akagami's stronger-than-usual show of force touched his arm. The Emperor looked at her, and his Haki immediately receded until even a Grand Line rookie could handle it.

What the fuck.

Everyone on deck – even Pops, Marco would bet his next load of paperwork on it – started to stare wide-eyed at the woman who could get an Emperor to drop his guard with a single touch.

With Akagami's Haki not commanding the attention anymore, they all finally noticed her presence, and Marco noticed from the corner of his eyes several jaws dropping as his brothers truly took her in. Great Seas, Thatch was going to be pissed to have missed this.

Wavy blue hair flowing behind her like waves in the wind, a two-slits skirt revealing her legs from the thighs, a crop top showing just enough cleavage to get any sailor on their knees for more… Marco was one second away from drooling and well aware his brothers were not faring much better. There was something about that woman that compelled them all to look at her.

But then she crossed his gaze, and his inner Phoenix felt like wailing in sadness. The pained sympathy and compassion in her eyes were too much for the mythical bird in him to handle for some reason.

She kept looking around, her expressive eyes sometimes stopping on one of them for a little longer. However, the more she looked, the more obvious her distress became, and it took a moment before Marco realised the reason behind her strange behaviour.

She was searching for a specific face among them and could not find it.

The Phoenix suddenly had a bad feeling about this meeting.

 

 

"GET MOVING !" she screamed at the same time a powerful wave made the Moby rock harder than usual.

"Po-" Marco turned to Whitebeard, but he seemed to have already made his mind about what the priority was.

"You heard her, sons ! Find your brother at once !" Pops ordered, and they all burst into action.

Marco did not even have to exchange a look with Izou to know they were both rushing to Thatch's cabin.

"Do you know what's going on with that woman ?" his brother asked when they arrived in the corridor hosting the Commanders' private quarters.

"No but we can ask her after we find Thatch-yoi," Marco replied.

"She said we might still be in time to save him," Izou insisted. "You don't think something could have happened ?"

"He wasn't injured last night-yoi," Marco replied as they stopped in front of Thatch's door to find it locked.

"Thatch !" Marco called and banged on the wood a few times. A few seconds went on without a single sound coming from inside.

"Wait," Izou said and got a key out of his kimono, which had Marco raising an eyebrow and smirking despite the urgency. He had suspected for a while that Izou and Thatch had started hooking up.

The door was opened quickly and a single glance inside was all they needed to realise it was empty, but most importantly, the small chest containing the Devil Fruit Thatch had come back with was open and its content nowhere to be seen.

Izou paled visibly despite his make-up, and Marco's bad feeling intensified when his heightened senses picked up the sound of a scream coming from another part of the Moby, possibly the kitchens.

"What's goi-"

Another powerful wave rocked the ship, interrupting Izou's sentence, but Marco's instincts were still stuck on the scream coming from the kitchens.

The place where the woman and Ace had gone looking for Thatch.

Shit.

Marco burst back out of the room and half-transformed in the corridor to fly as fast as he could to the kitchens, everyone jumping out of his way as soon as they saw the bright blue flames of his wings.

He almost flew into Ace at the last turn and immediately stopped. His dearest brother was two shades too white and clearly panicked.

"Marco !" Ace yelled with his eyes wide and looking terrified. "Thatch's been stabbed in the pantry ! I mean in the back, but in the pantry !"

"Is he-"

"She said he's alive and to get you !"

Marco did not wait for more and burst into Thatch's domain, flying over the cooking stations and landing half-inside the pantry where the blue-haired woman was kneeling beside his brother's body, her hands on the skin around a dagger and a focused look on her face.

"Major blood loss, left lung punctured. It's a miracle he's still alive," she listed as Marco immediately engulfed his brother's silhouette in blue and golden flames. He removed the dagger, and let his healing fire do the job of repairing Thatch's lung and only leave a faint scar where he had been stabbed.

But he could not create blood out of nowhere and his brother did not have much left in him, even if what remained was clearly doing an admirable job at circulating through his body.

"He needs a perfusion-yoi," Marco almost cursed and his feet turned into talons.

"Then get him one !" she snapped.

Marco was out of the pantry by the next second, in the medbay by the next minute, and had his brother under perfusion as fast as he could without rushing medical procedures. As soon as the IV was in, the doctor threw a blanket over Thatch and raised his legs higher to ensure the blood would go to his heart and brain first.

It had been the closest call they had had in years, but after a few more minutes where Thatch's vitals and breathing progressively became stable, Marco allowed himself to relax. His brother was going to pull through.

Now they just needed to know what in the Sea had happened.

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks pov

Things had gone to shit a lot quicker than Shanks had anticipated. And the unexpected whims of the sea had not helped calm the tension the slightest bit. The first rocking wave had certainly been powerful enough to be felt by everyone on both ships – and possibly dislodge the bridge between them – and the second had come only a couple minutes after Y/N and the commanders had gone off to find the missing guy.

And damn, it had taken a lot out of Shanks to not run after her as she disappeared inside another Emperor's ship.

Now he was left waiting on deck with Old Man Newgate, who was on edge at the idea of losing one of his sons, and clearly suspicious of both Shanks himself and the woman he had brought on his ship. And all that before eight in the morning. Seas, he needed a drink.

"So, how've you been ?" Shanks smiled brightly after a few more seconds spent in complete silence.

Whitebeard huffed. "Cut the crap, brat. What is going on ?"

"Oh you know. Women," the red-head replied with a grin and wiggling eyebrows.

Whitebeard's mustache twitched – maybe Shanks should ask him about the beard and mustache thing, now that he thought of it – but he seemed to understand that no information would be given without her being there.

Then all the commanders minus Ace and Marco came back on deck in a hurry, and Shanks did not like that Y/N was not among them. If she came back from her panic-driven rush with so much as a hair out of place, there would be very unpleasant consequences for the responsible.

"Pops !" the guy in kimono called, and Whitebeard turned his attention to him. "Someone stole the Devil Fruit Thatch found on his mission !"

Well, that was bad news.

Then Ace walked back on deck followed by a cascade of blue hair Shanks would recognise anywhere, and the Emperor felt himself relax a tiny bit. Y/N made a beeline toward him and her slightly-red-from-tears eyes had Shanks opening his arm to her immediately. She all but threw herself at him, hands sneaking under his cloak and hugging him fiercely as she hid her head against his chest. Seas, the feeling of her soft skin and nice curves against him would never get old.

Shanks carefully slipped his hand under her hair and started making soothing circles on her back. She was clearly shaken by whatever had happened, which meant that at the moment, his priority was to reassure her and ensure she felt safe.

"You okay, sweetheart ?" he whispered against her hair, barely resisting the urge to kiss it.

"Almost too late," she murmured back, then took a deep breath. "I was almost too late."

Then Ace – and damn, having confirmed that this one was Shanks' former captain's son had been something too – proceeded to explain what had happened.

"Pops, someone stabbed Thatch in the pantry ! In the back !"

The air on board became very still, then Old Man Newgate's furious Haki flooded the deck and Shanks immediately responded in kind to protect the woman in his arm.

"He's alive !" Ace added, defusing the worst of it. "Marco's taken him to the medbay after I found him with uuuh… you, I mean, uh, miss ?"

Oh right, there had not been time for introductions yet.

"My apologies," she stated in a clear voice as she left his embrace with another deep breath. She then turned to face the Whitebeard Pirates proudly, chin raised high and looking as graceful as an angel. Seas, what a woman. "My name is Y/N, and while the circumstances are less than ideal, it's an honour to meet you," she said with a respectful bow.

Now wait a damn minute.

"How come you didn't greet me like that the first time we met ?" Shanks complained with a pout.

She turned a very unimpressed look on him.

"Because the first thing you said to me was a pick-up line."

"It was a good one !" Shanks protested.

"Just because it wasn't the worst I heard that evening doesn't mean it was a good one," she huffed, but a spark of amusement was back in her eyes.

"Now that you mention it, what did that guy tell you anyway ? You know, the one you slaughtered with words before I swept you off your feet ?" Shanks asked curiously, he had meant to ask but kept forgetting about it.

"What's a pretty thing like you doing in a place like this, or something close," she quoted with a long-suffering sigh.

"Wow, that's lame," Shanks winced.

"I know right ?" she confirmed while placing herself back at his right.

"Thatch is out of danger-yoi," Marco suddenly announced, getting Shanks' mind somewhat back on track. He had not really paid attention to Newgate and his commanders after she had taken the spotlight.

"Really ?" Y/N beamed as the morning sun added a sparkling effect around her silhouette. Or maybe it was just the natural way she glowed when she was happy, Shanks had a hard time telling the difference. "That's wonderful ! I was so scared we'd be too late !"

Then Whitebeard hit the deck with his naginata and everyone shut up to look at him. Shanks noticed the way the old man was looking at his girl and put a hand on the pommel of his sword.

"While we are grateful for your intervention, child, I believe now is the time to explain how you knew that my son was going to be attacked."

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

Ah, yes, a very good question indeed. You had told Shanks the whole truth and his officers the main gist of it, but you really did not want too many people knowing about your origins and knowledge. And water powers, but you were hoping to keep that last one a secret from everyone for as long as you could.

"I understand your concern," you answered nonetheless in a placating voice. In the same moment, you felt Shanks getting ready to fight beside you, and damn, that protectiveness was doing things to your heart.

You took a deep breath, and opted for an answer that was as close to the truth as it could get without outright revealing everything.

"To make it simple, I have particular origins that I don't wish to talk about," you explained, then steeled yourself and went for it. "But those origins are the reason I learned there was a traitor among the Whitebeard Pirates, and-"

"WHAT !?"

"Bullshit !"

"How fucking dare you !"

"No one here would betray Pops !"

A powerful wave of Haki flooded the deck and with a quick look on your left, you saw that Shanks had pushed the tip of his sword out of his sheath with his thumb. You paled and immediately placed yourself in front of him to put both hands on his face and attempt to calm him down.

"Shanks, stop ! We knew they'd have a hard time believing me ! Please don't start a fight when I'm trying to help them !"

The Emperor's jaw clenched, but after a few seconds, he put his sword back in its sheath and his power went back down to intense-but-bearable. You sighed in relief and smiled at him. "Thank you."

Shanks' eyes kept a hard glow as he gently pulled your hands off his face and walked past you to adress Whitebeard directly.

"I won't be convinced a second time."

Oh seas and stars, he was threatening another Emperor just because of the commanders' understandable reactions to the bomb you had dropped on them. Your face lost all the colour it had managed to regain and you felt your knees ready to give up, power of the Sea be damned.

But Whitebeard only nodded to Shanks with a knowing smirk.

"Stay calm, my sons," he ordered, "and let's hear what Y/N has to say."

You took a deep breath and went back to Shanks' side, only then noticing that your right hand had reached for your necklace again, and you made yourself drop it. Confident, you needed to look confident or they would not believe you.

"Like I said, I learned there was a traitor in your crew and that he would kill one of the commanders. The two main reasons he even joined in the first place was to be protected from a, erm, very powerful person he managed to badly piss off," you exposed while trying your best not to look at Shanks during this tidbit, "and because he thought it was his best chance to get his hands on a particular Devil Fruit. He never thought of this crew as his family, I'm sorry."

You noticed Izou looked especially pale at your explanation, and several commanders cursed under their breath.

"I didn't know what to do with this knowledge for a while, but then I met Shanks and somehow managed to convince him that I wasn't crazy," this time you did look at him with a smile, noting that he glanced at you with a small smile as well despite the seriousness in his eyes. "And get your minds out of the gutter, there was no sex involved," you added with a frown when you noticed some of the commanders were now watching you with a smirk.

Still, they were listening with rapt attention to your story, Whitebeard and Marco most of all.

"Bottom line is, Shanks agreed to set up a meeting so I could tell you what I knew before it would happen. But I failed to properly evaluate the time we had. We were too late to prevent the traitor from stealing the Devil Fruit, and almost too late to save Thatch. For this, I offer you my sincerest apologies."

You bowed deeply, guilt creating a lump in your throat.

"Hey sweetheart, get back up, you don't need to bow to them after saving their crewmate," Shanks said with his hand on your shoulder as he slowly got you standing straight again. "If anything, they should be bowing to you."

"The brat is right, child," Whitebeard declared and respectfully bowed his head to you for a short moment, which had your jaw dropping in shock. "Wherever you come from and however you came in possession of these informations, you saved my son. For this, you have my thanks."

All commanders bowed to you more or less deeply, and you felt very much light-headed at the display.

"Do you know the identity of the traitor-yoi ?" Marco asked.

Your eyes hardened and your fists clenched at your side. You were ready to bet that walking piece of shit must have left the Moby Dick before Shanks arrived.

"I do," you nodded, and almost spat the name. "Marshall D Teach."

"WHAT !?" Ace roared and erupted in flames. "He asked me for permission to leave at dawn !"

At the same time you cursed yourself for not staying outside last night and enhance the Red Force's speed enough to arrive earlier, you noticed the furious expression on Ace's face. Shit, you had a feeling you knew what was coming next.

"I'm going after him," the flame user declared with hatred and determination burning in his eyes. "He was in my division, his betrayal is on me."

And there it was. You really would have preferred to be wrong.

"My son, Teach's betrayal is on him and him only," Whitebeard told him sternly. "And thanks to Y/N, your brother lives."

"I won't let him dirty your name, Pops !" Ace yelled back, and you realised in that instant that nothing anyone would say was going to change his mind. "He can't be too far from the Moby, I'm leaving now !"

In a flash, you saw the future speedrun before your eyes, the tragedies you had tried to prevent unfolding once again no matter your efforts to prevent them. Images of lava, of tears, of blood, of death, of a small piece of paper burning before Luffy could catch it.

You came back to the here and now a few seconds later, just in time to realise all the commanders were talking over each other to convince Ace to stay, or at least wait until Thatch's recovery, to no avail.

Which meant it was time for you to make another stupid decision and screw the timeline some more.

"I have to kill him!" Ace yelled. "And I'm a navigator, I can go alone !"

"You won't be going alone," you announced loud and clear, shocking everyone into silence as they turned to you, but your gaze was exclusively on Ace. "I'm coming with you."

The silence that followed for the next seconds was so absolute you could have heard a pin drop on the deck.

Then Shanks spoke, voice hard and Haki darkening the air around him.

"No. I'm not sending you after Teach."

You turned toward him and met his imposing aura and determined glare with just as much determination and fierceness.

"Last I checked, you were not my Captain. You don't get to tell me what I can or can't do."

You heard a collective intake of breath as Shanks turned as well until the two of you were face-to-face.

"I promised to protect you," the red-head reminded you. "That implies not letting you go on a mission that will get you killed !"

"Again," you replied, and connected your power to the sea surrounding the ships, letting its might fill you like a tidal wave ready to be unleashed, "I was not asking for permission."

"Sweetheart, don't make this difficult."

Another wave made the ship rock abruptly when anger flooded you at his tone. Make things difficult ? You had given up your one chance at an easy life the second you had decided to trust him with the truth. You knew what you were getting into. And you knew that you would not let Ace get captured and killed this time around.

"Then what will convince you to let me go along ?" you asked sarcastically with a sickly-sweet smile. "Aside from the fact, of course, that my presence could save Ace's life, that as a narcoleptic Devil Fruit user it will be safer for him to travel with someone who can swim, and obviously this tiny little detail of me knowing exactly what Devil Fruit Teach ate and what it allows him to do."

"I'm not letting you leave when you can't defend yourself," Shanks retorted, his tone final.

You glared at him for a minute.

Pondered your options.

Then took your decision.

"Ace," you called as you turned away from Shanks, "how much time do you need before you're ready to go ?"

The freckled young man stared at you seemingly half in awe and half terrified.

"Uh, thirty minutes maybe ?"

"Good, I only need five."

You walked past Shanks without looking at him, your gaze focused on the bridge between the two ships. "Shanks, we're going back on the Red Force. There's something I need to show you. We'll see if you still stand by those words after that."

Chapter 15: And Now You Know

Notes:

Hello lovelies <3
Warning, it's gonna get hot *wiggling eyebrows*

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Shanks pov

Shanks spared one moment to glare at Ace before he followed Y/N back on the Red Force. The Emperor was already thinking about ways to ensure the kid would stay with Whitebeard. He had a few arguments ready to use as soon as he would be done making his self-sacrificing angel of a girl renounce to that madness.

And Shanks did not often say something was too crazy to be done.

But letting her go after Teach definitely crossed the line. Ace was strong, worthy of his position of second division commander, but he would not win against Teach – and according to what Y/N had told him the night they met, she knew it too – so adding someone to protect on top of that was basically turning a bad idea into a suicide mission.

Shanks could not stand the idea of losing her because of that bastard.

"Already ba-" Beckman tried to ask.

"I need to speak with Shanks alone," Y/N stated in a firm voice, an impressive aura surrounding her that was entirely different from Haki but felt just as dangerous. "I don't want a single disturbance until we're done."

His First Mate looked at him with both eyebrows up, clearly shocked by her unusual pissed-off expression and the anger radiating from her.

"We'll be in my quarters, Beck," Shanks told him with a clipped smile. "Shouldn't take long."

"Your funeral," Beckman shrugged and lit up a cigarette.

How supportive.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Shanks leaned against it and did not even try to keep up a smile. It was better to let her see from the start that he was serious about this.

"You know there's nothing you can do or say that will convince me to let you go, right ?"

She did not even acknowledge his words as she walked to a window, opened it, and only then turned to him.

"Come here and tell me what you see," Y/N told him, and damn, in other circumstances, that commanding voice would have had Shanks' blood rush to his dick in seconds.

It still kind of did, if he was being honest.

"What, the sea ? I know what it looks like, sweetheart."

The glare his reply elicited shut him up immediately. She had only ever looked genuinely angry at him once before, when she had told everyone she had already killed to defend herself, and it had not lasted long. But that brief experience did not compare to the dark determination she displayed now, and Shanks really, really did not like the way it made him feel.

"Very well. I wanted to soften the blow, but you asked for it."

"Huh ? What do yo- fucking seas !" Shanks yelled in shock.

With one sharp movement of her right arm, water had crawled inside his quarters through the window and started levitating around her like a liquid ribbon.

Then she snapped her fingers and the ribbon exploded in what had to be hundreds of droplets flashing everywhere around them, until they all stopped at the same time and remained perfectly still for several seconds. It looked like someone had taken a picture of rain falling inside his quarters.

"Do you understand now ?" she asked him as she called all the droplets back to her with a sharp move of her hand, merging them all in a perfectly round sphere she then flattened into a circle that started turning at dangerous speed.

Like, would-probably-cut-through-stone speed.

Great fucking seas.

There was not much left in this world that could still surprise Shanks. But this ? This undoubtedly made the list.

"You can control water ?" the Emperor managed to ask in shocked awe.

"Correct," she confirmed as she kept doing so, making the amount she commanded take various incredibly detailed shapes like it was nothing to her, like a fully bloomed rose or a three-masted ship.

Fuck, Shanks knew that not even Logia users could achieve this level of mastery over their element without decades of practice, if at all. Then a sudden realisation flashed through his mind.

"Wait, the weird rocking waves we felt on the Moby earlier ?"

"That was me."

Shanks' jaw dropped even further.

"How much can you control at the same time !?"

"Let's say that getting the Red Force out of the harbour the other day while making it look natural was an interesting challenge."

"You're the reason we managed to leave so easily !?"

She adressed him a hard look, then threw the water outside again with a sharp flick of her wrist. That casual display of power had Shanks' knees suddenly feeling a bit weak, and his dick jerked in his pants.

"Yes. And that's not even close to everything I can do. It's not just seawater that I bend to my will, it's all kinds of water. Do you understand what that means ?"

"Uh-"

"Clean water. Sewers. Rain. Rivers," she listed. "As long as there is water nearby, I have as many weapons at my disposal as I can think of, all ready to move at the barest flick of my finger."

She walked toward him, eyes burning into his, hair floating like a sea-made halo behind her, and Shanks gulped. Fuck, watching her going full predator was turning him on like nothing had before. He had no idea how she had not noticed the bulge in his pants.

"And you want to know the best part ?" she whispered when she was just an arm's length away from him.

There was more ? Oh fuck, Shanks could already feel the precum ruining his underwear with what she was showing now. He was not sure he could handle more without cumming on the spot.

"Anything that contains enough water is fair game to me. Including blood."

"Blood ? Wait, but that means-" he tried to ask and was cut off when she suddenly took his hand, two fingers caressing the inside of his wrist in a way that had him bite his lips to stop a moan.

"All I need to control the blood in a person's body is a single point of contact between my skin and theirs," she kept mumuring in a low voice. "Then I can do anything I wish. Like keeping it moving to save a man's life."

Her eyes dived into his, dark and powerful and full of barely tamed wilderness.

"Or having it rush back to his heart and make it explode inside his chest."

Fuck, Shanks was going to cum into his pants, just from a few whispered words and two fingers drawing circles on the inside of his wrist in a sensual move that could fucking kill him.

Yet not all brain functions had entirely left him for his dick, and his eyes widened in sudden understanding when her words really registered.

"The CP-8 agents-"

"Tried to kidnapp me and had to deal with the rather… painful realisation that I wasn't your pretty little plaything," she completed with a smile that was alarmingly close to threatening.

And that Shanks was trying very hard to not kiss senseless as the words your pretty little plaything left her lips.

"So do you get it now ?" she asked him, her voice kept low and dangerous. "I'm the closest thing this world has to a monster under the bed and I haven't found the limits of my powers yet."

Fuuuuuuck.

Shanks swallowed audibly, then turned his hand to grab hers, and pulled her harshly toward him so her entire body would be pressed against his.

He could see the second she realised how hard he was, her jaw dropping in obvious shock before she put her free hand on his chest, right above his heart, and stared at him in complete bewilderment.

"You… you're supposed to be scared of me," she whispered. "What- how can- I don't understand, you-"

"First thing I thought when I saw you walk in that pub was that the Goddess of the Sea had come in," Shanks recalled as his hand caressed its way up her arm slowly, relishing the shivers that went through her as he explored her soft skin. "You just proved me right, sweetheart."

His fingers grazed her shoulder, caressed her throat and finally rested at the back of her neck as her breathing shortened.

"If you don't want to kiss me, now's the time to say so," Shanks murmured heatedly.

Instead of answering, she closed the distance between them and crashed her lips against his, which had Shanks almost cum on the spot. He wasted no time in devouring her like she was the only way to quench his thirst. Her hands caressed their way up his chest, soft fingers roaming hungrily under his shirt and making him groan at the sensation.

Shanks bit her lower lip and she moaned, making his cock twitch at the lustful sound, and he wasted no time deepening the kiss. His tongue played with hers expertly until she completely gave in to his dominance and her arms wrapped themselves around his neck.

Fuck, he was getting addicted to her taste. Shanks' hand traveled down her back as he kept kissing her like a starved man, and she arched into his touch with a wanton moan, pressing herself further against his crotch and driving him wild with desire.

Shanks grabed her perfect ass for a second, earning a gasp he stole before it could get past her soft lips, then went for her skirt until his fingers reached the slit and took a hold of her thigh. He lifted it suddenly, making her almost fall against him and creating more friction between their covered cores.

The unexpected movement had her moan again and her head fell backwards in obvious pleasure, offering a delightful expanse of skin that Shanks immediately went to lavish in kisses and bites.

"Sh-Shaaaanks…" she called to him in a half-moaned whine that had the red-head's eyes close to roll back into his head.

"Fuck babe," he groaned against her throat. "Love the way you say my name."

He bit a little harder on her skin and she jerked against him with her loudest moan so far, her clothed pussy now rubbing against his hard-on with a frenzy.

"That's it sweetheart, keep going against my dick, take what you need," he encouraged her while following the supple skin of her cleavage and peppering it in love bites and kisses until he reached the top of her breast. "So fucking gorgeous," he rumbled as she kept going against him, the friction on his dick getting him closer to his own climax fast.

"Shanks," she panted, "I, I, I'm clo- mmmh !" she moaned when he freed her breast with a sharp move of his chin and started licking her nipple, the little bud perking immediately under his ministration.

"Cum all over me, babe," Shanks told her as his grasp on her thigh turned bruising. "Show me how good it feels to give yourself to me," he ordered right before sucking her nipple, and it seemed to be all she needed to let go as she screamed his name and spasmed against his body. She grabbed his hair in her orgasm, which sparked a sudden jolt of pleasure strong enough to send Shanks over the edge as well, and he came with her name on his lips.

They were both panting for a few moments, then Shanks released her thigh, and they both glided to the floor. Shanks' back was against the door and Y/N was slumped against his torso and between his legs.

Then Shanks burst out laughing.

"I can't believe you made me cum in my pants !" he admitted between two bouts of blissed-out laughter, and even had to wipe a tear from his face. "Haven't done that since I was a teenager."

"I can't believe your first reaction to my powers was getting horny," she huffed incredulously. "I was lowkey threatening you at the end, for seas' sake !"

"And that was the biggest turn-on to ever turn me on, sweetheart," Shanks purred as he put his lips back on the soft skin of her throat.

"You're completely insane, you know that ?" she chuckled.

"Seems to me like you're into it."

She opened her mouth for a retort, then closed it. "Touché," she grumbled.

They stayed close to each other few more moments, just enjoying the afterglow. Then she sighed and hid her face into his neck. The next second, she had pressed a soft kiss against Shanks' skin in a gesture sweet enough to melt his heart.

"You know I'm still leaving, right ?" she murmured.

Shanks' arm tightened around her waist.

"I don't want you to."

She put a hand on his chest and used it to leverage herself so she could look at him again. Her bewitching eyes and kiss-swollen lips looked somewhere between sad and confused, maybe both. Shanks did not like it one bit. That beautiful face was meant to smile.

"I have to go. It's the only way to change the future without fucking up the timeline too much. Besides, it's not like you have any real use for me anymore," she smiled dejectedly.

What the fuck.

"What are you talking about, sweetheart ? Not the future part, I get that even if I don't like it."

"Well, the only reason you took me on board was this meeting, right ? And well, your, erm, desire to have me," she said and avoided his gaze by looking at the hand resting on his pecs. "Now that both things have happened, there's no-"

"Wait a minute," Shanks cut her off incredulously, and brought his hand under her chin to make her look back into his eyes. "Are you telling me that all this time you thought the only thing I wanted from you was sex ?"

She tilted her head in what was now clearly more confusion than sadness.

"Well, yes. You don't do relationships."

"And you don't do sex without feelings," Shanks countered easily, since this was a good way to make her understand they could both make exceptions to their usual rules. To his surprise, however, she froze and then closed her eyes for a brief moment, as if she needed to gather herself.

"I don't," she replied seriously, looking him right in the eyes, which had the red-head frowning.

But they had just-

Then it clicked.

Oh.

Oh.

Shanks felt the biggest grin split his face.

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

You watched Shanks grin like you had just given him the moon for a couple more seconds, but you were still feeling pretty vulnerable after putting your heart in his palm.

"Shanks ?" you asked nervously.

"Yes, love ?" he replied and you shuddered at the endearment.

"Don't use that word. Not unless you mean it," you warned him, trying desperately to keep your hopeful heart under control.

"As you wish… love."

Oh now that was just fucking unfair.

You let your head fall into his neck with a groan at what had to be either the worst or best confession you could ever have imagined, and he laughed happily.

"You know," the Emperor told you as he started playing with your hair and pressed a kiss on your head, "I think you're the only person on this ship who hasn't noticed I've been head over heels for you for a while now."

"How on earth was I supposed to notice ?" you protested, and almost melted under the sweet gestures of affection. "It's not like you were acting any different from when we first met."

Shanks snorted at that, but kept his gentle ministrations.

"Tell that to the lads. They've been making fun of me since I realised I had a crush on you and I'm pretty sure they've started at least two betting pools about us."

"They what !?" you exclaimed.

"I think Beck won the first one," Shanks added cheerfully.

"I'm going to throw them all overboard and keep their clothes wet for a week," you grumbled.

"You can do that ?" Shanks asked you in what looked like sheer awe.

You chuckled, and moved your head to kiss him briefly on the lips, then made sure your eyes were diving into his as you spoke.

"I can do so much more than that."

You pulled yourself back on your knees, ignoring the pout Shanks gave you, and waved your hand in the direction of his bed. The water in the pitcher near his bed – something he had gotten for you last night, and fine, maybe you should have paid more attention to his thoughtfulness sooner – raised to your command and fell onto two clean cuts of fabric, which you then brought back to you using the water soaking them.

"Might want to clean yourself before we get out," you told Shanks with a wink.

The dreamy and admiring look on his face had you blushing lightly.

"I fucking love your powers," Shanks stated as he opened his trousers before taking the cloth out of the air.

You gulped and avoided looking at his dick, opting instead to stand up an turn around – your legs were not wobbling, thank you very much – to quickly readjust and clean your top, skirt, panties, and the mess left under those.

"Aw, why so shy now, sweetheart ?" Shanks asked you with a playful note in his voice, then discarded his clothes further away in his quarters and walked past you in all his naked glory, leaving you to stare at his ass and back muscles.

"Uh," you answered smartly.

"See something you like ?" the red-head grinned as he got clean clothes out of a wardrobe.

"More like someone," you replied without thinking.

Maybe you could ask him if he was in the mood for another round or several.

Then you remembered the situation and slapped yourself mentally, again.

Bad brain.

"I, uh, I need to pack," you coughed awkwardly and turned toward the door before Shanks could seduce you any further. "I'll see you on deck in five minutes."

You were out and breathing deeply a second later, then powerwalked to your room with the firm intention of not getting distracted again. Even by absolute giddiness, complete bewilderment, heavy arousal, the endorphine high you were still on after your orgasm, or images of a naked, strong, handsome pirate charming you into his bed.

It still took you a bit longer than the promised five minutes to pack a small bag with the necessities for the journey ahead of you.

Still, you walked back on deck feeling more relaxed and confident in yourself that you had ever felt before. Shanks knew about your secret, and instead of being scared, angry, or outright trying to kill you, he had been… aroused. And then complimented it. Seas and stars, what a man. A crazy man, but one you kind of wanted to never leave. And who hopefully would be on board with the idea of entering a monogamous relationship with you after you came back from what was going to be a weeks-long – if not months-long – journey away from him.

What seemed like every member of the crew was on deck when you walked out, and obviously pestering Shanks for answers – at least, the officers were – until they saw you. Then their attention shifted to the small but unmistakable travel bag thrown over your shoulder.

"Hey guys," you smiled warmly as you walked to take Shanks' hand in your free one and leaned against his arm. "Looks like this is goodbye. Thank you all for these past weeks together, I've really had a blast sailing with you."

"Wait, you're leaving ?" Yasopp asked, looking flabbergasted.

"Ace won't listen to reason and he needs someone to watch over him in this crazy hunt. I'm the best suited for the job," you explained briefly.

A very dubious crowd stared back at you as you said those words, in what felt like the most judgmental silence in the history of silences, but then Shanks grinned.

"Come on lads, do you really think I'd let her leave my ship if I didn't think she could handle herself ?"

"You're fine with that, Captain ?" Bonk asked with his jaw dropped so low that his monkey started playing with it.

Shanks sighed, but squeezed your hand and looked at you with such raw, blatant affection that you wondered how blind you must have been before to not understand his interest in you went further than simple lust.

"Even an Emperor bows to the will of a Goddess," he smiled and then winked at you, and you had to fight a blush.

"I'll come back to you as fast as I can," you promised softly, and went up on your toes to give him a soft kiss on the lips.

The gesture made him smile wider, but the entirety of the crew went utterly silent for a few seconds.

Then Beckman grinned around his cigarette.

"Pay up, lads."

You turned to Shanks' First Mate with a glare, which he shrugged off and made a quick head motion toward all the men who were pulling out money with grumbles and protests.

"Took you long enough," the grey-haired man told you as he collected his winnings.

"I hope you realise there will be consequences to bets put on my love life," you warned him with a serene but slightly threatening expression. Shanks grinned next to you, wide and full of mischief, which seemed to put a dent in Beckman's lazy confidence.

"What's that supposed to mean ?"

"Well you sea, Y/N-" Shanks started gleefully, but you cut him off.

"I'd rather keep what I showed you earlier strictly private for now, love," you interrupted Shanks with a serious look.

You did not think you could describe what happened next in any other way that Shanks melting on the spot at the endearment. He looked at you with a very sappy smile and adoring expression, and seemed ready to swing you in his arm to kiss you senseless. You sighed fondly, then smiled as well and started walking with his hand still in yours.

"Come on, let's go back to the Moby before Ace does something stupid like trying to actually leave alone."

Notes:

Take care and I'll see you tomorrow <3

Chapter 16: Let The Hunt Begin

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Reader pov

You waited until you were both on the bridge to awkwardly bring up the subject you had been thinking of earlier.

"So, erm, would you like to… try a relationship with me ? When I get back, I mean."

Shanks blinked at you in confusion.

"I kind of thought we were in one now ?"

Oh seas, his confused puppy face was adorable. Still, you pushed further and explained your reasoning.

"I'm going to be away for weeks, possibly months. I know I can't do open relationships, and it wouldn't be fair of me to ask you to wait when I know you have a pretty high sex drive," you mumbled the last part while fighting a blush.

Shanks' jaw went slack.

"You'd be fine with me fucking around until you come back !?"

"Well I wouldn't exactly be thrilled about it," you grimaced. "But I wouldn't hold it against you as long as we're not in a, well, official relationship. If that makes sense to you ?"

"Not really," the Emperor admitted with a sheepish smile, "but if that makes you more comfortable, I'll roll with it. We can start an official relationship when you're back."

You walked on the Moby Dick's deck with a smile on your face and Shanks' hand held tightly in yours.

"I would love that."

It did not take long until you were facing Whitebeard once again, his commanders all watching Shanks and you with obvious caution and more than a little apprehension.

"I take it you found an agreement ?" Whitebeard asked with a knowing smirk.

"We have," you replied with a smile.

"Yep," Shanks confirmed with a bright grin. "I'm good with Y/N going along to babysit your kid."

"Hey !" Ace protested. "I don't need a babysitter !"

All the commanders looked at him dubiously, which made him pout. "I'm not that bad," he grumbled.

You chuckled, then adressed Whitebeard directly.

"You have my word that I will do everything in my power to keep your son safe and bring him back to you, sir."

The old Emperor arched an eyebrow, but nodded anyway.

"I will hold you to that promise, child."

You nodded as well, then turned to Ace and grinned.

"Ready to go after that piece of shit ?"

"More than ready," he grinned back and walked to the railing. "Come on, let's go kick some ass !"

 You made to follow him when Shanks' hand stopped you and turned you around.

"You're forgetting something," the red-head smirked.

You tilted your head in confusion.

"I left the key in your quarters and I'm pretty sure I have everything I need for the journey," you told him and shrugged the shoulder holding your bag for good measure. "What could I have possibly forgotten ?"

"This," Shanks said as he pulled a piece of paper out of somewhere, and put it into your hand. You frowned, then noticed how the small piece of paper with a capital S written on it started moving toward him, and your eyes widened.

"Wait, is that-"

"My Vivre Card," he confirmed with a smile as gasps echoed all around you. "To make sure you'll always find your way to me."

"I- I don't know what to say," you fumbled at the amazing gift he had just given you. You knew how precious those were, and one that led to an Emperor !? People would kill for that.

"Just promise me you'll come back," Shanks asked you softly, then put his hand on your cheek and you closed your eyes at the warm touch.

You opened them again and put the hand not holding his Vivre Card on his heart.

"I promise," you whispered with all the conviction you could muster.

Shanks lowered his head jut as you tilted yours for a brief but intense kiss, a press of lips full of longing that you almost did not want to stop.

He went away first and looked at you with an adoring gaze for a second, before his usual grin replaced it and he let go of you entirely.

"Now you can leave," Shanks stated cheekily, and you chuckled.

"Keep an eye out for me in the papers," you told him with a wink as you walked away to join Ace at the railing.

"Your first bounty better be off the charts, sweetheart !" he called after you and you laughed wildly.

Ace was waiting for you, still looking at you like you were a weird but shiny puzzle he had no idea how to solve, and offered you his hand to hold.

You took it, and adressed him your most evil smirk.

"Let the hunt begin," you declared just before you both jumped on the Striker.

-o-oOo-o-

Sengoku pov

Sengoku was peacefully reading reports about the various Marine ships sailing were they were supposed to sail when Kuzan walked into his office and closed the door behind him.

Kuzan never walked into his office out of his own free will.

He had done it once on his first day as Admiral and walked out with a mission.

He had never done it again.

"I heard interesting news," he stated slowly, about two seconds before Garp slammed his office's door open.

"Senny, guess what !"

Obviously, the noise attracted Sakazuki.

"What is going on that is so crucial it has to disturb the entire Headquarters !?"

And of course, Borsalino would just happen to stride by and pop in for the tea he always seemed to sniff from miles away.

"My, what is happening here ?"

Sengoku sighed heavily, then motioned for all of them to come in and for Kuzan to explain whatever disaster he was here for. The Admiral put a file on his desk, already open.

"Akagami and Whitebeard met very early in the morning, two days ago, and separated about an hour after."

Sakazuki's eyebrow twitched, and Sengoku frowned in open worry. It was pretty rare for Emperors to meet more than once a year, and even rarer for Akagami to even be awake so early in the day. The pictures showed the Red Force near the Moby Dick at a time where the sun could not have been up for more than an hour.

Which meant that whatever the two Yonkos had talked about, it had been a particularly urgent matter.

"This might be cause for concern," the Fleet Admiral admitted as he stroke his chin pensively. "Let's try to see if we can find the reason they me-"

Garp barked a laugh while he was still wolfing the rice crackers he had pulled out from Sea knew where.

"Akagami's girlfriend dumped him for one of Whitebeard's commanders, bahahahaha !"

Sengoku blinked, and noticed that Kuzan had yet to pull his sleeping mask on his eyes, which said something about his level of interest.

"Are you sure of that ?" Sengoku asked as he started massaging his temples.

"Just received a report saying she was spotted on Ace's raft ! BAHAHAHAHA that kid stole the girl of an Emperor !" Garp howled in laughter and almost fell on a chair, letting the file he was holding drop on the floor as tears fell from his eyes.

Meanwhile Sengoku was starting to contemplate the merits of early retirement.

"Pirates are scum of the earth, they don't let go of the things they steal !" Sakazuki declared with a punch on the wall, leaving a scorched mark behind. "Akagami would not have let his whore escape him for another pirate without killing them both !"

"She only said she was travelling with Akagami's crew," Kuzan corrected with a yawn as he picked the scattered pictures on the ground. "Maybe she wasn't sleeping with him."

"That still doesn't explain why she was spotted with Firefist Ace so soon after the Emperors met," Sengoku stated, then started to think about it in reverse.

Maybe the Emperors had met because that woman had something to do with Whitebeard's second division commander, something much more serious than a simple romantic quarrel. As absurd as it sounded at first, Sengoku felt in his guts that he had put his finger on something. The timing was too suspicious.

First a woman nobody had ever heard of seemed to pop into existence on Akagami's ship, then she proved to be under extremely strong protection from the Emperor, only a few days before he met with Whitebeard, and shortly after that meeting, she was spotted with one of Newgate's commanders.

No matter how he looked at it, that woman was the key.

Sengoku observed the blurry pictures – they had probably been taken from an island – of Firefist's raft moving quickly on the waves. There was a woman with blue hair and equally blue clothes sitting at the front of the little boat, looking perfectly at ease in spite of the limited space she disposed of. Despite the poor quality of the photo due to the distance and speed, there was no doubt it was the same woman that had been seen travelling with Akagami for the past couple of weeks.

And they still did not have so much as a name to put on her face.

A cadet knocked on the open door, with yet another file stamped urgent in his hands.

"Report from Cipher Pol, sir !"

Sengoku perked up. Maybe this was what he needed to finally make sense of all this.

"Thank you cadet. Dismissed."

"Yes sir !" the young man said as he handed him the file and all but ran away.

"D'you think it's her ?" Garp asked as he seemed to finally recover from his previous laughter.

"Taking so long to get information on a vulgar whore is a disgrace to Cipher Pol," Sakazuki stated with obvious disdain, and Sengoku was reminded once again that he really needed to make the Admiral schedule an appointment with a therapist to address his anger issues and hopefully get his mindset to mellow a bit.

"It's about her," Sengoku said as he opened the file and was immediately faced with the picture taken in a street a few days prior. "Name, Y/N," he read out loud. "Date and place of birth, unknown. Life prior events next described, unknown. Arrived on Delka island less than a year ago after a shipwreck, lived in an abandoned lighthouse away from town until Akagami's ship docked. All interrogated witnesses confirmed she never mentioned any family or took a single lover, local or sailor, but she got Akagami to talk to her alone for a night, and left on his ship the next morning."

Complete silence followed his words for a few more moments, then they all realised there was no more information coming.

"How could those incompetent fools fail to find her origins ?" Sakazuki shouted, figuratively and literally fuming as he did so.

"Do you think she could be a ghost ?" Borsalino asked curiously with a tilt of his head.

"As long as she doesn't commit a crime," Kuzan yawned.

"BAHAHAHA ! It's getting even weirder !" Garp laughed loudly.

Sengoku pinched the bridge of his nose, and tried very hard not to think of a nice retirement on a quiet little island with his goat.

-o-oOo-o-

Ace pov

Ace waited until the Moby Dick was out of sight to stop his flames and unfold the Striker's sail. There had not been any more weird rocking waves, so he relaxed a bit and turned his attention to the woman who was intently watching the sea while maintaining perfect balance at the front of his raft.

"Soooo… you and Shanks, eh ?" Ace grinned.

She turned her head and gave him an amused smile.

"What about it ?"

"Didn't think he was the type to, you know, fall in love," Ace laughed.

"Truth be told, neither did I," she chuckled, and damn, she really was super pretty when she did that. "I just couldn't imagine that he would want more than sex with me."

"How did you realise he wanted more, then ?" Ace asked curiously, his hand on the mast. He clearly did not blame her, he had met Shanks himself before joining Pops' crew and the Emperor was definitely a short-flings-only kind of guy. Seas, if he had not seen Shanks going all protective on her earlier, then coming back looking besotted to the point of giving her his Vivre Card, Ace would not have believed it. He was still not completely convinced he had not hallucinated the entire morning so far.

Her smile turned shyer, almost vulnerable, but undoubtedly full of love as she looked at the sea again, her back to him as she spoke.

"I opened up to him about something that… well, frankly, that anyone in their right mind would call me a monster for as soon as they learned about it. Nevermind that it's not something I've had any say in," she chuckled derisively.

Ace felt the words stab his heart like a dagger and he swallowed harshly. Fuck, that was a feeling he knew far too well. He looked away from her and let his hat hide his eyes.

"But then," she continued fondly, "when I was readying myself to see him get angry or even scared of me, that amazing, wonderful, insane dumbass turned out to be aroused."

Ace choked on nothing at that and looked back up at her in shock, just in time to see her shake her head incredulously and then look his way.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it either !" she confirmed when she saw his dumbstruck expression. "He didn't look at me like I was a monster for so much as a single second, and even said that he loved that part of me," she chuckled. "Long story short, it made him open up to me about his feelings, and well. Here we are. Though to be honest, I still have a hard time believing he knows everything about me and loves me anyway."

And wasn't that something Ace kept wondering about Pops as well. Seas, he was still terrified at the idea that his brothers might find out who his father was and tell him he did not deserve to live, or kick him out of the crew.

Ace kept staring at the blue-haired woman whose gaze was lost in the waves, and wondered what she would answer to the question he had asked a million times in the past.

"Hey," Ace asked with a lump in his throat, "can I ask you a random question ?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"You know about the Pirate King ?"

"Gol D Roger ?" she asked without looking back at him. "Of course. Shanks doesn't speak about his former Captain often, but I've heard a few stories."

Wait.

WHAT !?

"EEEEEH !? Shanks was in Roger's crew !?" Ace yelled and felt his flames act up under the unexpected revelation.

"You didn't know ?" she seemed just as surprised and turned her head again, eyes wide. "With Whitebeard having faced Roger back then, I thought you'd have heard stories by now."

"You- he- what the fuck !?" Ace spluttered.

"I mean, Shanks was a cabin boy at the time, but yeah, he was on the Oro Jackson," she confirmed. "He could probably tell you more about his time with the Pirate King if you'd like."

Fuck, that was way too much information at once. Ace did not even want to hear more about Roger. But with how calm she seemed about it, the flame Devil Fruit user could not help but feel a spark of hope that he could ask and her answer would be different from the one he had heard thousands of times.

"What if… what if Roger had a kid ?"

She seemed to ponder it for a moment, one finger tapping her chin, and Ace hold his breath while trying to brace himself for the inevitable.

"Well, I'd be sorry his kid had to grow up without a dad who would definitely have loved them till the end of the Sea," she ultimately answered. "If anything, I'd hope his kid would stay alive for as long as they could, even just as a massive fuck you to the Marines and Government. But other than that, well, that kid would be their own person, you know ? It'd be stupid to judge them for the identity of their sperm donor," she smiled brightly. "So I guess I'd just wish them the best in life."

Fuck, Ace was going to cry. Where had she been his entire childhood.

"Most people think that kid should die."

"Most people are ignorant dipshits who can go fuck themselves," she replied without missing a beat.

Ace burst out laughing at the matter-of-fact tone she had answered with, then raised his hat again and smiled at her. She was smiling back at him, looking happy and absolutely confident in her answer. Ace suddenly felt much better about the way this journey was going to go.

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

You had thought that you would be able to just tag along with Ace as he did most of the search, even with only very vague memories of his adventure.

After all, it was just a matter of following him, letting him do his thing, and making sure he did not drown or fall asleep at a wrong place or time, nothing complicated, right ?

Wrong.

Ace was chaos incarnate.

Trying to keep up with him was like trying to catch a wisp with your bare hands.

Between the restaurants he ate at and left without paying, the poor doctor he kicked before realising he was not Blackbeard, falling in the river and almost drowning, then deciding to infiltrate a fucking Marine base to deliver a god damn letter, you were feeling ready to bring him back to Whitebeard by the scruff of the neck and ask that he be grounded for the next year.

But then, he finally found actual, good intel about Teach, and you left for the destination the man had last been seen in.

"You ever been to Alabasta ?" Ace asked while you were happily sunbathing in the last lights of the day with one hand in the water.

"Nope, I've never even been out of the New World before this trip," you answered honestly, trying to hide your excitement at the idea of meeting Luffy and his early crew.

"You're gonna love it. It's almost as hot as me," the freckled man laughed.

"Har, har, very funny, firefly."

"It's firefist !"

"That's what I said," you grinned. "Say, do you mind if we stay a bit longer there even if we don't find Blackbeard ?"

"Eh, not really, why ?"

"I want to get a bottle of cactus liquor for Shanks."

Ace snorted.

"I still can't believe you've been buying a bottle in every island we've been to."

You had to admit it was not the most practical things to carry around, but sue you, you wanted your red-head Emperor to know he had been on your mind at every step of your journey.

"I'll have you know that it's a perfecly respectable gift to bring back from a travel," you told Ace with a fake haughty attitude while trying to hold back your amused smile. "And I've yet to see you find something you're going to bring back to Marco."

The freckled man blushed hard at your words and grumbled before putting his hat lower on his face to hide his embarrassed reaction.

"I never should have told you about that."

"You never should have challenged me to a drinking contest," you corrected with a smirk. Ace's crush on Marco had been a really cute revelation, even if the freckled man had been completely plastered when he had admitted his feelings. "I told you I could drink even Shanks under the table."

"Must've been what made him fall in love," Ace snickered.

"Well I can also bake pretty damn good chocolate chip cookies, I know a great deal of fairytales, and I'm not afraid to tell him off when he's being an idiot," you listed, then tilted your head with a hand on your chin, and conceded the point. "But the alcohol part might have been what sealed the deal, I'll have to ask him about it when I get back."

"You could have stayed with him."

"You could have stayed with your family and your crush," you countered.

"It's different !"

"It's really not," you chuckled. "Plus I was already planning to go after Teach no matter what."

"Because of those weird things you know thanks to your weird origins you don't want to talk about ?" Ace asked you, clearly expecting the same answer he always got whenever the subject came up.

"Correct," you confirmed. "Sorry I can't tell you more."

"Eh, it's fine," the freckled man shrugged goodheartedly as he leaned against the mast. "You saved Thatch, you're helping me track Blackbeard, and Shanks loves you. That's good enough for me. Plus Pops always says we're all children of the Sea and who we are now matters more than where we're from."

You smiled but did not reply, opting instead to let the conversation end on those wise words and the fiery colours of the sunset.

Notes:

This chapter was brought to you by the Ace Needs All The Hugs Committee x)
See you tomorrow <3

Chapter 17: You Have A Friend In Me

Notes:

Hello lovelies <3
Have a nice weekend !

Chapter Text

Reader pov

Two minutes.

Two god damned freaking minutes.

You took your eyes off that hothead for two bloody minutes in order to buy alcohol, and he found a way to disappear and wreck havoc.

Granted, Smoker was there for Luffy, and it had to be a good thing that Ace had gone to help his baby brother, if only to reassure you the story was more or less on track.

But still.

You used the distraction Ace was creating by destroying the Billions float – and you could tell that show-off was absolutely flexing in front of his little brother's crew – to discreetly use your power and sit on the railing of the Going Merry, legs toward the sea.

Then tried not to freak out in utter fangirl glee.

YOU WERE ON THE GOING MERRY WITH LUFFY AND HIS EARLY CREW !!

Okay, calm, cool, collected, you were totally chill.

Holy shit that was the real straw hat on Luffy's head.

And that was actually Luffy !

Dear seas, stars and moon, you could probably die on the spot and be happy anyway.

You barely got the time to compose yourself before Ace made his way back to the Merry, looking very proud of himself. While Luffy and his nakamas – and Vivi – were in awe of him, you decided now was as good a time as any to make your presence known.

"You could at least have told me you were wandering off !" you called to Ace with a slightly reproachful tone.

"Sorry Y/N," he grinned as he brought his Striker closer to the Merry, obviously not sorry at all. "I had to get my baby brother out of trouble !"

You sighed, then moved your legs inside the ship while remaining seated on the railing to face the Mugiwaras, who were now staring at you.

Three, two, one…

"EEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHH !?"

You smiled brightly.

"What a lovely Mellorine !" Sanji exclaimed and pirouetted his way in your direction with hearts in his eyes and the start of a nosebleed, right as Ace jumped to squat on the railing by your side. "Mademoiselle, your beauty belongs to legends and I shall-"

"I wouldn't try to flirt with that woman if I were you," Ace warned him with a knowing grin.

"Eh ? What d'you mean nii-san ?" Luffy asked with his head tilted to the side and his brows furrowed in obvious confusion.

"Hello Luffy, I've heard quite a lot about you," you said before Ace could answer. You were very proud to say that your voice was perfectly steady, not shaking at all as you met the protagonist of one of the greatest adventure stories of all time. Holy seas that was so freaking cool. "It's a pleasure to meet the future pirate king."

You knew you had said the right thing when a million-watt smile shone your way and damn, you should have brought sunglasses.

"I like you !" Luffy exclaimed. "Do you want to be my nakama ?"

Part of you wanted to faint on the spot and accept the offer just for the sheer awesomeness that joining the Mugiwaras would be. However, a much bigger part of you was thinking of Shanks, the timeline, and all the way-too-insane shit Luffy was going to get into.

"No, but thanks for the offer," you declined politely.

"Careful little brother," Ace smirked at Luffy's pouting expression. "That's Shanks' girlfriend you're trying to recruit."

"EEEEEEEH ?" the rest of the crew and Vivi screamed while Luffy looked at you with a somehow bigger smile, if that was at all possible.

"You know Shanks !?" he yelled and almost started jumping all around in excitement.

"That I do," you chuckled, absolutely charmed by that adorable cinnamon roll of a kid. To think this was the boy who would go against monsters like Doflamingo or even Kaido and win. Right now, you kind of wanted to pinch his cheeks and feed him cookies. "Do you want me to pass on a message ?"

"Nope ! But when we meet again, I'll be strong enough to kick his butt because I'm a Captain now and I'm gonna become even stronger than him !"

Yep, that was definitely Luffy.

Still, the next second, Ace had punched him into the other side of the ship and they started an all-out brawl.

"BAKA ! Shanks is an Emperor ! He's in the same league as Whitebeard ! You can't kick his ass !"

"I can kick everyone's ass !"

"You can't even win a fight against me !"

"I totally can !"

You watched the brothers fight with a fond sigh for a couple seconds, then turned your head to the other persons aboard. They looked uncertain about their captain and Whitebeard's second division commander wrestling on deck.

"Don't worry," you reassured them, "they haven't seen each other in a while, it's perfectly normal for them. My name is Y/N, it's a pleasure to meet you all. Thank you for joining Luffy on his crazy journey and taking care of him. Princess Vivi, it's a pleasure as well."

"Nice to meet you too, miss Y/N," they all answered with a bow of their head, even if the princess seemed surprised that you recognised her. They were so polite, so cute and so scaringly young. None of them were yet the powerhouse they were destined to become, but you could tell that with time, the right training, and experience, they would be.

"Would you like to hear the advice of someone from the New World ?" you offered, which had Nami gasping before she clasped her hands together.

"Of course, we're grateful for any free advice !"

"Be open-minded to the unexpected. To the crazy, even. But keep your own limits in mind. The line between confidence and arrogance is thin, and could cost you your life. I think one of you already learned this the hard way," you said and looked at Zoro.

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean ?" he asked you with a gruff voice.

"Don't talk to a lady that way, moss-head !" Sanji berated him, but before Zoro could reply in kind and there would be two brawls going on at the same time, you intervened.

"I have met Mihawk," you said seriously, and the swordsman's eyes widened before he nodded in solemn understanding.

"Y-y-you are tr-truly d-dating an E-E-Emperor ?" Usopp asked, his legs shaking as he appeared to be utterly scared of you.

You smiled at him. Oh, how this coward of a sniper was going to grow in the years to come.

"You're Yasopp's son, aren't you ?" you deflected.

Usopp fell on his ass, now looking half terrified and half in shocked awe.

"You know my dad !?" he burst out in complete incredulity.

"Your DAD !!??" the rest of them exclaimed.

"I do, he's part of Shanks' crew," you confirmed. "Want me to pass on a message to him as well ? I'll happily punch him in the face for leaving his son and wife behind and never even sending so much as a single letter, if that's what you want."

You kind of hoped Usopp would ask you to. It had been very tempting the entire time you had been on the Red Force, no matter how much you appreciated Yasopp. To your surprise, however, the frail teenager clenched his fist and glared at the deck.

"No. I'm going to become a brave warrior of the sea and the best sniper in the world ! Better than even him !" he claimed with fire in his eyes, then immediately shrank back on himself. "But uh don't tell him that please, I don't wanna die !"

You burst out laughing at the dual reaction that was so typical of Usopp.

"No problem," you replied, and wiped a tear with your finger. "Now, there's one last little piece of advice I need to tell you, and I want all of you to listen to me very carefully, okay ?"

"Of course," Nami answered. Sanji was still twirling around and assuring that he would listen to an angel like you until the end of the world, Chopper nodded vigourously, and Zoro grunted. Vivi was attentive as well, but she seemed to understand this was for the Mugiwaras rather than for her.

At least you could count on Nami to remember the thing. She was the only sensible one for now.

"When you get to Saboady, go to Shakky's Rip-Off pub and ask for Rayleigh to be the one to coat your ship. Even if it takes two years."

Complete silence followed your sentence.

"Uh," Nami said, and started looking at you like she was not sure anymore whether you were a sane person or not.

You chuckled. "Don't worry, it'll make sense to you when you'll get there. No matter what happens, remember that you will always find a friend and an ally in me."

"Thank you so much miss nice lady !" Chopper said with stars in his eyes.

Seas, you wanted to hug that cutie pie so badly.

"No problem, little reindeer. Oh and Princess Vivi ?" you added and turned to her. "Don't ever doubt how amazing you are. Blue-haired girls for the win," you told her with a wink and a knowing smile. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have an idiot to get back on track. If one of you could be a dear and help me separate them… ?"

"On it," Nami sighed.

The two of you walked to the brothers still brawling on the deck, and in a matter of seconds, each of you was holding one by the ear.

"If you're done here," you told Ace.

"We've got things to do !" Nami yelled.

"So say goodbye," you stated.

"You'll see your brother later !" she added with a punch. Probably an unconsciously Haki-infused one given Luffy's reaction to it.

Both brothers fell on their knees and mumbled apologies before giving each other a big hug.

"I'm keeping all your bounty posters, Lu !" Ace said, always the proud big brother.

"Aceeeee !" Luffy cried with tears running down his cheeks. "I'm gonna miss youuuuuu !"

You sighed. Such dramatic dumbasses. But you would make sure they would see each other again, and not at the Paramount War. That particular event would not happen if you had something to say about it.

"Great, now come on Ace, your brother is on a schedule."

"Exactly !" Nami said. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Y/N."

"The pleasure was all mine, Nami, I assure you," you replied. "Until we meet again, everyone !" you said with a wink as you and Ace jumped over the railing to get back on the Striker.

"Bye Luffy, kick ass and have fun !" Ace shouted from the raft.

A series of goodbyes and waving hands followed your departure, and you smiled as you watched the Merry disappear from view. Seas, what an encounter. And you had even managed to play it cool !

Then Ace started waxing poetry about his baby brother being all grown up with a real bounty and being a Captain and so on for the next three hours of travelling. You let him blabber away with a smile. He deserved to gush, and to be fair, you were still pretty star-struck yourself after meeting the near-mythical crew.

Then you took a quick nap on the Striker and woke up to it attached to a ship you did not recognise from this particular angle, not so close at least. You sighed, and discreetly used water to get on board while pretending to use the rope.

And then, you were greeted with a sight you probably should have expected.

Ace was snoring on deck with food in his hand – which was not really surprising – and a man with blue hair, cross-bone make-up, and a round red nose was shrieking about not ever, under any circumstances, kill a member of Whitebeard's crew.

You felt a bright smile stretch your lips.

"Seas and stars, Buggy is that you !?" you exclaimed, feeling ecstatic at the idea of meeting another emblematic character of One Piece so soon after Luffy and his crew.

Everyone on board turned to you, and you watched the clown's eyes bulge out of their sockets.

"EEEEEEEHHHHH !? WHO ARE YOU !!!??"

"Oh that's Y/N, she's my friend," Ace said as he woke up and started munching back on his meat right away.

"My apologies for coming on board uninvited," you said with a polite bow. "It's a pleasure to finally meet someone Shanks holds in such high esteem."

Were you overdoing it just for shits and giggles ? Yes. Was it worth it a hundred times over just for the reaction it earned you ? Also yes.

"Oh it's perfectly fine, no need to be so formal," the clown started to reply with a blush, then your words seemed to actually register and he jumped back while cutting himself in six or seven pieces. "EEEEEEEEH !? You know Shanks !!?"

"Oh yeah, he's her boyfriend," Ace answered in your stead, and you rolled your eyes. You had tried and failed to make him understand that Shanks and you were technically not in a relationship yet about a thousand times by now.

"Well, as pleasant as it is to meet you, I'm afraid we can't stay long. Ace and I are on a mission for our respective Emperors, you know how it goes," you explained with a smile, and even flicked your hair back over your shoulder with a dismissive movement of your wrist for good measure.

The clown instantly came near you, nailing the appearance of a close friend without actually touching you and smiling wildly while being obviously panicking.

"What's going on ? Shanks doesn't date !" he whispered-shrieked through his teeth.

You fished the Vivre Card from the hidden pocket inside your crop-top, something you had sewn for the sole purpose of keeping this precious little treasure safe.

"He does with me," you replied as the moving paper with an S started moving on your hand.

"Eeeeeeeeeehhhhhhh ?" Buggy managed to panic-scream in a whisper, eyes wide as he took in what was in your palm and the significance of having it in your possession.

You could not help it, you laughed at his obvious panic, then put the Vivre Card back in its safe place.

"Ace, let's get going," you said in a cheerful voice. "We shouldn't abuse Buggy's hospitality."

"Oh yeah, that's not polite. Thanks for the food !" the division commander said with a formal bow.

"No no, it was no trouble, have a flashy journey !" the clown wished you while sweating bullets.

"Would you like me to pass on a message to Shanks?" you offered, feeling mischievous. "Even if it's to tell him he's an asshole for not contacting you in years."

"EEEEEEEEEHHHHHH !!!???"

"Got it, I'll let him know you're doing fine," you laughed as you jumped back on the Striker with Ace.

"So who was that guy ?" Ace asked while he was using his flames to sail away from the ship.

"Oh, just an old friend of Shanks, don't worry about it," you grinned widely.

Three seconds later, Ace was back to gushing about his baby brother, and you let him go on for as long as he wanted.

-o-oOo-o-

Meanwhile, somewhere in the New World.

"I can't believe I forgot to give her a den-den mushi."

"I know."

"I miss her stories."

"I know."

"I miss her cookies."

"I know."

"I miss her hugs."

"Captain, I swear-"

"I miss heeeeeeeer ! Beck, make her come back faster !!"

-o-oOo-o-

As far as you could remember, Ace was not supposed to find and fight Blackbeard until after Enies Lobby happened. So you kept reading the newspapers everyday to check on Luffy's progress, but lowered your guard anyway, knowing you had time before you needed to intervene.

When Ace told you, only three weeks after your brief stop in Alabasta, that he had found several leads to Blackbeard and thought it would be better if you split up to get more intel, you did not think much of it and agreed.

When he failed to show up at the inn you had agreed on as a rendez-vous point on the day you had fixed, you were willing to believe he had lost himself in yet another side quest, so you went to bed without thinking much of it. When there was no news whatsoever by midday, you started worrying. When he did not show up in the evening, you were so worried you were unsure you would be able to even sleep.

Then you woke up the next morning and the newspaper's headline had your heart missing several beats and a stone dropping in your stomach.

 

Marshall D Teach captures Firefist Ace and is granted Warlord status

 

That dumbass had sent you away to go fight Teach on his own.

That.

Absolute.

IDIOT.

You closed your eyes and took several deep breaths to calm yourself.

Then, you plastered a wobbling smile on your face and got up from your chair, forgetting your barely touched breakfast as you did so.

"Excuse me," you asked the innkeeper with a small voice. "I was wondering whether you could tell me which direction Impel Down was from here ?'

The person behind the counter, an old man looking scandalised at your request, started opening his mouth, but you took your most pleading, defenseless expression and cut him off.

"My little brother did something truly stupid that I tried to talk him out of, but…" you brought your hands to your face and pretended to sob. "He did it anyway !" you hiccuped. "I just want a chance to see him one more time, even if it means throwing myself in the way of the Marines. Please, I just want to see my brother again before he's… before he's…," you sobbed, your shoulders moving like you were crying uncontrollably.

"Oh goodness me, oh please miss I'm so sorry, with that dreadful pirate caught yesterday we're all a little on edge here," the man confounded himself in excuses and handed you a tissue. "There, dry your tears deary, of course I'll tell you, even the Marines understand family bonds, don't worry, they're not monsters."

"Th- thank you sir," you said with shaking lips and desperate eyes. "I just want a chance to at least say goodbye."

"Family is family, deary, I'm sure if you ask the Marines for a chance to talk to your brother before he's locked up they'll understand. Lord, it might be enough to set him on the right path again !"

"You truly think so ?" you sniffed pathetically.

"Of course my dear !" he assured you, then pulled a map out of somewhere under the counter. "Look, we are here, and Impel Down is there, so if you manage to get on the docks at some point here, then-"

You stopped listening, only looking at the area between where you were at the moment, the thankfully close town were Ace was currently detained, and the most secured prison in the world. You kept pretending to listen to the man for a moment, while instead you were planning everything you needed to interrupt the no doubt heavily guarded convoy that would transport Ace to Impel Down, months before he was supposed to.

"But don't worry deary, you have a few days before they move anyone !" the innkeeper finished, and you frowned in confusion.

"What do you mean ?"

"Well, all new Warlords need to receive a special privateering commission from an Admiral !" he exclaimed, and it took everything you had in you to not blow your cover at that news. "So the Marines are going to send an Admiral to give that Marshall D Teach official Warlord status, and the Admiral will probably supervise the ship transfering Firefist to Impel Down. If you play your cards right, you might have a day or two to speak to your brother before he's sent to prison !"

"Oh thank you so, so much sir," you said to the innkeeper. "That means more to me than you know."

"Oh don't mention it deary, like I said, family is important."

"You're right sir," you nodded before leaving, hours before the man would realise you had not paid for the room you had occupied for the past two days. You were on a bit of a rush, and his comment about Ace had not endeared him to you in the slightest.

Oh well, you had left the room as close to clean as you could. With the kind of clients they had, it basically meant they could rent it again right away. And probably would.

Meanwhile, you wondered which Admiral would be sent to handle this situation. Aokiji was the only one out of the three that you really did not want to fight. Partly because he was one of the few Marines you actually respected and liked, and partly because his Devil Fruit made him a rather bad match for your powers.

Kizaru was someone you were on the fence about. His Devil Fruit would make him tricky to fight, but you could damn well ensure everyone but him would end up under the waves in seconds. Then you could just pick up Ace and leave without the Admiral being able to do anything about it.

However.

If it was Akainu.

Well.

Shanks had told you he expected your first bounty to be off the charts, and it would not do to disappoint him, after all. A dangerous smirk appeared on your lips, and you started walking in the direction of the next town as a plan started to form in your head.

The hunt was still on.

Chapter 18: Get In The Water

Notes:

Hello lovelies !

You know what ? It's the weekend, I'm three glasses of wine in, currently binging Epic The Musical, fucking loving it, and it means you get an early chapter because BY POSEIDON WHY NOT !!

Chapter Text

Shanks pov

Shanks was drinking sake with Beckman when his First Mate received the newspaper, which meant the Emperor had a front row seat for the very colourful array of curses his second let out at the front page.

"What happened ? C'me on Beck, what's going on in the world today ?"

"Blackbeard captured Ace and gave him to the Marines, they're makin' him a Warlord."

Shanks straightened immediately. That was the exact scenario his wonderful girlfriend had told him about that night in the lighthouse.

"What about Y/N ? What happened to her ?" the Emperor asked and tried to steal the paper away from his second, who stood up and walked away from him to dodge his attempts.

Beck scanned the entire article quickly, and clenched his jaw.

"They don't talk about her. It looks like it was a one versus one kind of fight and Firefist lost."

Shanks relaxed instantly, and after a couple seconds spent thinking about it, he had to admit that it made more sense like this. If his adorable goddess had been involved in the fight, Teach would probably be dead. The weird part of the news was that she had not been involved in the fight, especially with how adamant she had been from the start about saving Ace and killing Blackbeard.

"He must have ditched Y/N to go fight Teach on his own," Hongo suggested.

Shanks contemplated the possibility for a moment, then grinned. It was a plausible explanation, but in that case, it could only mean one thing about his lovely girlfriend.

"She must be so pissed," the Emperor laughed at the deep shit Blackbeard and the Marines had just thrown themselves into. He would almost pity them. Almost. And Ace was going to get one hell of a lecture after she got him out.

"You ain't worried, Captain ?" Snake asked.

"About her ? Nah," Shanks grinned widely and slammed his hand on the table. "Get ready to see her bounty poster soon, lads !"

"She's going to have to free Ace and face Blackbeard alone now, and you know the Marines are going to send at least an Admiral for the transport," Limejuice stated worriedly.

Shanks snorted. Sengoku could send half the Marine forces if he wanted. With the power and level of mastery his beautiful girlfriend possessed, the fight would turn into a slaughter the second she caught them at sea. Aokiji might give her a hard time, and Kizaru might be able to make it out alive if he used his Devil Fruit to escape, but that was about it.

"How about we place bets on how high her bounty will be ?" the Emperor asked instead.

The rest of his crew stared at him in disbelief.

"Hope you know what you're doing, Captain," Beck sighed and sat back, opening the newspaper to start reading the rest of it. "But if she can pull off freeing Ace and defeatin' Teach, I'd say they'll probably give her around a hundred million berries."

"That's too high for a first bounty," Yasopp countered immediately. "I say fifty millions, tops."

"Busting out a prisoner from under an Admiral's nose and defeating a Warlord is not a rookie's usual first splash," Snake disagreed. "I think a hundred and fifty millions is more likely."

Everyone else kept putting numbers between fifty and two hundred millions, and Shanks' grin kept getting wider. Oh, as soon as her bounty poster was out and her powers revealed to the world, he was so going to brag about how amazing his goddess was. The only thing keeping him from gushing about her water manipulation abilities so far had been the promise he had made to keep it a secret.

"What about you, Captain ?" Gab asked him when they were all done placing their bets. "How much do you think she'll get ?"

"At least a billion berries," Shanks replied confidently.

"Captain, we know you're in love," Hongo groaned, "but that's ridiculous."

"Eh, let him lose his money, Doc," Lucky laughed, and wrote Shanks' bet on the board.

"You really think Sengoku will give her a bounty on par with yours ?" Beck asked him dubiously from behind the newspapers.

"Well if he's smart, it'll be higher than mine. And then I'll be the first Captain to not have the highest bounty of his crew !" Shanks burst out laughing.

"You realise she's not a member of the Red-Haired Pirates, right ?" his First Mate retorted without looking up.

"What are you talking about ? Of course she is !"

"You didn't forget to recruit her before she left, then ?"

Shanks opened his mouth to reply, closed it, then frowned and thought about it for a minute before the reality dawned on him.

"Shit I forgot to ask her to join my crew !"

Everyone on deck roared up with laughter and Shanks bashed his head on the table.

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

You looked at your reflection in a window and smiled. On the off-chance that Teach would know you had been travelling with Ace – and before him, with Shanks – you had opted for a disguise. Or, well, more like a change of appearance that would make it harder to identify you at first glance. Instead of your trademark skirt and top, you were now wearing a pair of black jeans with a white tank top, and your hair was in a braid falling over your right shoulder.

You were so damn happy to have brought such a distinct change of clothes with you. And to have kept both your travel bag and the one containing your gifts for Shanks with you, instead of leaving them on the Striker like Ace had suggested before you parted ways.

You had been roaming the town for the past couple hours now, pretending to be a tourist and chatting with the various shopkeepers. Thankfully, gossip was a universal subject of interest, and it did not take you long to gather all the information you needed.

A concerned Marine had even taken it upon himself to reassure you by giving you the exact date, time, and amount of ships that would be leaving for Impel Down with Admiral Akainu himself to supervise the transfer of the terrifying criminal that was Firefist Ace.

You had thanked him for soothing your worries, and left before he could try something stupid like asking you out for a drink.

And thanks to an old lady you had helped with her groceries, you had even learned where Blackbeard and his crew would be tonight. Apparently, the neighbour of the uncle of her third grandson's new girlfriend worked in a pub that had cherry pie on the menu, and he had seen a group of very not-respectable-looking men come back the past two nights in a row. She had blabbered absolutely everything to you, from the name of the pub to detailed descriptions of the five men, as well as the time they had come and left the previous days, even how many pies they had eaten.

Really, old people were the best informants.

You spent the rest of the day leisurely walking around town, getting lunch – and thanking your past self for having left your island with the money you had gained from the shipwrecks – and finding a place where you would be able to hide your bags before doing what you needed to do.

As the sun finally set, you made a show of looking around for a place to eat, and walked in the general area of the pub the old lady had mentioned until you saw five men making their way down the street and walking inside.

The five original members of Blackbeard's crew. Van Augur, Burgess, Laffitte, Doc Q, and of course, Teach himself. Seeing them laughing and talking ignited an inferno of hatred in you. Just knowing what they had done and what they would do if left alive almost made you want to kill them right then and there.

Still, you took a deep breath, then a few more, and resisted the very tempting idea. With your targets in sight, you finally got yourself something to eat, and started to wait patiently in the bar facing the one they were in. You were not sure exactly how long you would have to wait until they called it a night and leave the pub, but you knew that was your only option. You were not arrogant enough to believe you could take on all five of them on land in a regular fight, nor did you want to risk innocent civilians' safety.

It was probably past midnight when they finally left the pub. Inebriated or not, they were talking so loudly – especially Burgess – that you had no trouble following them from afar.

You were not sure yet what would be the best way to proceed, but you knew you would have to be extremely quick if you wanted to take them out before they could land a hit on you. All five of them possessed extremely powerful devil fruits and rather deadly fight skills, after all, and you still had a hothead to rescue the next day.

But then they made a turn in direction of the harbour, and you grinned. Well, if they were so kind as to move the party to your playground, who were you to dismiss such an opportunity ?

As soon as they made it to their ship, you connected your power to the gentle waves of the port.

To any onlooker – not that there were any right now, clearly – you were a random wanderer taking a night stride and looking at the ships. But what you were actually doing was progressively cover the entire hull of Blackbeard's ship with a thick layer of seawater. When you were confident the amount you had at your disposal was going to be enough, you made your way to where their ship was docked.

"Excuse me, gentlemen, could you please help me out ?" you called politely.

There was a shuffle on the deck, then five silhouettes appeared against the railing, one of them whistling appreciatively at your appearance in a way that made it very, very difficult to maintain your smile.

"What's a pretty thing like you doing alone at night ?" Laffitte asked you and seriously, he had to realise how lame that sounded.

"I got lost on the way back to my inn," you said and brought your hand up to play with your braid in what could pass for awkwardness, but was actually you commanding the water to start flooding the deck behind the men while you distracted them. "The bartender of the pub I was in wrote me instructions on a napkin, but the night is a little too dark to read, so if I could borrow a light for a minute… ?" you finished your sentence like a question.

"Zehahaha why don't you just come aboard, pretty thing ? You can spend the night here," Teach offered with a lecherous smile.

"I couldn't possibly impose myself on you like that," you protested while putting both hands in front of you. You could feel the water silently pooling on the wood behind their feet, and it was just enough to give you the strength to refrain from throwing up at the implied offer.

"Of course you can ! Come on, you'll have a great time !" Burgess barked.

Seawater was flooding the entire deck now, on top of covering the railing they were leaning on. You had made sure it was stopping just shy of their line of sight or before it touched them, and since they were all too busy staring at you to notice anything amiss, it seemed your trap was set.

You smirked.

"Oh, I will. But you won't."

Both your hands flicked at the same time and the five men – plus the horse – did not even get the time to gasp before they were caught in spheres of seawater, neutralizing their powers and weakening them to the point where they could only float numbly and hold on to their consciousness.

You gracefully crossed the plank they had yet to disband for the night and walked on deck with a sickly-sweet smile. You had been invited, after all. Your fingers moved so all six spheres would be turning around you in an elegant but soon-to-be macabre circle. Then you freed the men's eyes from the water so they would be able to watch their demise, but not able to use their powers.

"I don't think you realise how much you fucked up," you stated lightly, then walked to Doc Q's horse and immerged your hand into the water.

Your index touched the animal who coughed blood and went limp. You released the horse from the water and it fell on the deck, obviously dead.

"You see, handing over my dear friend Ace to the Marines annoyed me tremendously."

Your voice was calm and poised as you touched the doctor himself, and his heart exploded. His body fell on the deck as well, and you flicked the water back in the harbour.

"Planning to kill this crazy cinnamon roll that is Luffy did you no favour either."

Laffitte visibly panicked when the water prison he was in floated closer to you, but he could not do anything as your finger touched his hand and all the blood rushed to his heart, killing him too. The vicious sheriff fell on the floor like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

"Obviously, ransacking those kingdoms and towns was a surefire way to upset me as well."

You brought Van Augur closer to you next as you kept the circle moving, and he seemed surprisingly resigned to his fate. You did not bother with theatrics and touched his hand for barely a second, just enough to ensure his heart would not be able to pump so much as a single drop of blood in his body anymore. His glasses broke when his face hit the deck.

"And attempting to kill Thatch was a despicable action, even if I thankfully happened to be in time to save his life."

Your voice was still composed as you watched Burgess try to use his usual strength to escape, yet miserably fail to move so much as a finger. You grazed his arm, and he joined the other corpses in the now almost complete circle of dead pirates.

You finally got to Blackbeard. The man appeared to be close to drowning and was staring at you with both hatred and terror in his eyes.

"Still, most of that could be corrected in time, or will be corrected soon."

You walked calmly to him, voice steady and hatred burning in your eyes with barely repressed fury, your smile nowhere to be seen.

"But what you did to Shanks' face cannot be undone, and I will not let you harm the man I love any further."

Understanding dawned on the floating piece of shit, and you watched with dark satisfaction how shock replaced the mixture of fear and anger in his gaze.

"You pissed off the wrong girl, asshole."

With a sharp move of your wrist, Teach was brought closer to you. While you had no desire to touch this walking trashcan of a man, you needed to be absolutely sure he would not be able to come back from this.

You placed your entire hand on his chest, and bended his blood to your will to make it burst through every organ in his body, one after the other. The expression of pain on Teach's face was strangely satisfying. Especially when he tried to scream, only to realise the water suddenly invading his throat would prevent a single sound from leaving his mouth.

You finished with his heart, making sure that it would be entirely and utterly destroyed as it exploded inside his ribcage. You kept your hand in contact with the skin for a few more seconds after Blackbeard's eyes glazed over, and only removed it once you were certain no pulse would ever beat again in this empty chest.

Then you let his body trash on board, the skin on his belly jiggling weirdly since all organs under it had been reduced to mush.

The waves rocking the ship under the moonlight and the night breeze blowing between the masts were now the only sounds accompanying your breathing. You turned on yourself in a full circle to admire your handiwork, and suddenly felt a bit light-headed when the realisation hit you.

You had killed Blackbeard.

You had just single-handedly killed Blackbeard and his crew.

Holy seas, stars and moon.

How badass was that !?

A possibly slightly manic grin took hold of your face, and you felt like laughing at the face of the universe. The only thing preventing you from doing so was your certainty that you still needed to keep your power somewhat secret until Ace was free.

However, you also wanted the Marines to be able to link those deaths to you once you would come out of the power closet. Or pirate closet ? You shrugged to yourself, and decided to ask Shanks' opinion on the best expression to use here.

So you called back some water to you and drilled a few words in the center of the circle of corpses for the Marines to find. Once satisfied with your message, you jumped in the harbour and disappeared into the night.

-o-oOo-o-

Beckman pov

The next day's newspaper had Beckman losing his grasp on his cigarette. The grey-haired man read the headline twice before he slammed it on the table and stared at his hungover Captain.

"You knew," Beckman stated in a tone that clearly meant Shanks better give him an explanation and fast.

"Gonna have to be more specific, Beck," Shanks groaned from where he was slumped on the table, not looking up.

"Blackbeard was killed with his crew last night."

"Really !?" Shanks perked up with a beaming smile, hungover seemingly forgotten. "Awesome ! Let's throw a party !"

"Look at the fuckin' papers, Captain."

"Huh ?"

Yasopp and Lucky came closer and looked at both the headline and pictures illustrating it.

"Fucking seas," Yasopp cursed with wide eyes.

"Looks like Y/N won't have to face Teach in the end, that's good !" Lucky added with a big smile, and by then everyone was on deck.

Shanks angled his head to look at the newspapers, and as soon as he saw both the headline and the picture, he started grinning like a madman.

"That's my girl," he laughed proudly. "Told you she was pissed !"

"WHAT !?" everyone but Beckman yelled in shock.

The First Mate of the Red-Haired Pirates was still glaring at his swooning moron of a Captain, who seemed to have forgotten to tell him a thing or two about the woman they had sailed with for weeks.

"Come on lads, we're throwing a party !"

"Wait a minute Captain, you're saying Y/N did that !?" Limejuice asked with a baffled expression.

"But it says their heart literally exploded inside their chest ! It's like what happened to those CP-8 agents from- oh shit, does it mean that was her too back then !?" Bonk gaped as he read the story.

Hongo took the newspapers from him and paled as he speed-read the article.

"They say Blackbeard's organs were all destroyed to the point of being an unrecognizable mush of blood and flesh when they tried to do an autopsy."

"How many times do I need to tell you she was pissed ?" Shanks started pouting like they were being unreasonnable for not just accepting she was pissed as a perfectly valid explanation. He took one more look at the first page, turned pensive for a second, then a knowing grin stretched his face. "Actually, I think she still is."

And Beckman had to admit the message left to the Marines tended to indicate the killer of the Blackbeards' pirates was still in a pretty pissed-off mood indeed. The newspaper had blurred the corpses, but the words carved on the wood inside the circle of dead bodies were clear for everyone to read.

 

Release Ace or you're next

 

Beckman sighed again, and tried to get his Captain back on track.

"You knew she could do that."

"Oh yeah, she can kill someone in like a second as long as she has skin-on-skin contact," Shanks answered with a sappy grin, like this was a wonderful thing to be able to do. Well, knowing his Captain, he probably thought it was. Beckman would readily admit it was damn impressive.

"SHE WHAT NOW !?" Gab screamed.

"The fuck kind of Devil Fruit is that ?" Yasopp asked with wide eyes.

"Wait wait wait, so every time you two were holding hands and all, she could have killed you ?" Limejuice said suddenly, which made more than a few crewmates pale as they were hit by the sudden realisation of how dangerous the woman they had welcomed aboard truly was.

"Yeah," Shanks sighed dreamily, his chin resting in his hand. "Ain't it hot ?"

"Captain," Beckman intervened in the vague hope to get him to take it seriously. "What the fuck did she show you to convince you to let her go, exactly ?"

"Can't tell you."

"Why ?"

"She asked me not to," Shanks shrugged, then laughed. "She wanted to keep an ace up her sleeve ! Got it ?"

They all groaned at his pun, and Beckman tiredly roamed a hand on his face before lighting up another cigarette. He was not paid enough for this.

"So the girl who knows about a thousand fairytales and bakes amazing chocolate chip cookies can kill people with a touch. Didn't see that one coming," Hongo admitted with a raised eyebrow, then smirked. "Pretty sure the Marines must be panicking right now."

"Well the guy they just appointed as Warlord got offed and they have no idea who did it or how it was done, just that whoever did it is threatening them next," Gab laughed. "It's a damn hard blow to their pride !"

"Like I said," Shanks grinned, "let's throw a party !"

And well, Beckman knew what kind of Captain he had agreed to follow, after all. He sighed, took a drag from his cigarette, and shook his head with a fondly exasperated smile. He really should not be surprised by the fact that Shanks had fallen for a hot girl who could kill him if she wanted to.

He still did not think that unexpected skill of hers was worth a billion berries, but he might re-evaluate his bet anyway.

Chapter 19: Ruthlessness

Notes:

Hello lovelies <3
Yes the title is another Epic The Musical reference, and a *subtle* hint about what happens in this chapter x)

Chapter Text

Reader pov

You spent the next day familiarising yourself with the waters between the island Ace was kept prisoner in and Impel Down, learning the currents and deciding on the best spot to attack the Marine ships.

You eventually opted for an area where a warm current and a cold one were meeting, only thirty minutes away – for you at least – from a deserted island where you hid your bags. By your estimation, it should be far enough from the fight to allow you to go all out without risking something like accidentally sending a tsunami on it.

-o-oOo-o-

You were gently floating in the waves, peacefully extending your consciousness to the widest area you could, when you finally felt a discordance in the natural rhythm of the Sea.

Five ships were approaching your position.

You flattened the water around you into a more comfortable zone to stand up, dried yourself, and made sure you were right in the ships' path. There was a massive one at the forefront with two smaller ones flanking it on each side. You were fairly confident Ace and Akainu would be on the big one at the center, with a bunch of Marines but no other prisoner. Knowing Akainu's pride, he would have refused to lead a convoy transferring even a single more threat than the one and only dreadful pirate that was Firefist Ace, Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.

You crossed your arms under your breasts, a serene and confident expression on your face. Even with your blue hair, blue top and blue skirt, they were bound to notice you at some point. You waited a few minutes, then decided to make sure they would stop their course.

Your lifted your right leg and kicked the water under you, sending a shockwave through the sea to brutally rock all five ships and slow them down. You smirked at the panic that seemed to take over, and all the white figures suddenly running around on the decks, until someone seemed to point in your direction.

You walked calmly to the main ship, the sea obeying your command to keep you above the waves, and only stopped when you could hear the voices coming from the main vessel. You assumed it meant they would hear you too.

"I would like to speak to Admiral Lavasshole !" you stated in a loud and clear voice.

About a minute later, a fuming piece of shit was looking down on you from over the railing.

"YOU !"

"Me," you confirmed with calm confidence, your arms still crossed on your chest. "I gave you a warning, and now is your chance to release Ace. Give me my friend back, and no harm will come to you or the men under your command."

"You're the one who killed Blackbeard !?"

"I absolutely am and have no regret whatsoever about it," you smiled cheerfully.

"Surrender at once, filthy pirate whore !"

You rolled your eyes at the very unimaginative slur and ridiculous order. Seriously, had he not heard you state your terms ?

"My name is Y/N, not filthy pirate whore. Seas, I'm not even part of a pirate crew, I'm just on good terms with a few of them !" you complained. Were you still insecure about it because despite gifting you his Vivre Card, Shanks had not offered you a place in his crew ? Maybe, but now was not the time to dive into that kind of details.

"You are all scum of the earth who will be exterminated until your species has been forgotten by History ! Now surrender or die !" Akainu commanded, clearly lost in his bullshit black-and-white vision of justice.

"Last warning," you stated with a serious expression. "Release Ace or die with your men."

"To all units, kill that woman ! Fire at will !"

"So you have chosen death," you whispered with an amused huff.

Before the first round of bullets was even fired, you let the sea swallow you in a bubble that assured you enough oxygen, and powered yourself deep under the first small ship on the left. Then you started turning on yourself, using the warm and cold currents to create in seconds what was basically an underwater tornado. You waited for its rotation and strength to be powerful enough to push it toward the surface in one go, with you in its center.

The ship's hull was pulverised.

You were now high in the air, and spread your arms wide to dispatch most of the column into thousands of small water bullets. Then with one decisive arc of your right arm, you threw them at full speed toward the main ship, earning more screams in seconds.

Then you glided back to the sea on the remaining water like you were surfing, hair billowing behind you, and used the momentum to create a wave rocking the second smaller ship to make it fall on the side. The masts were immediately broken by the brutal impact with the sea. You made a circling motion with your arms, which pulled the water around the ship until the pressure exerted cracked the hull and ensured it would sink within the next minutes.

Two down.

You dived under water, propulsed yourself under the main ship in an instant, and created a small water jet to shoot yourself high up above the third ship.

You made a pushing down motion with both your arms, and the sea under the Marine vessel suddenly fell on itself like a hole had been digged in the water. The ship went under sea level right away, and one harsh arc movement of your arm had the waves flooding back above it, the natural pressure and filling of water ensuring the ship would not surface again.

You then called a huge wave to you so you could surf on it and take care of your fourth target.

"WAIT !" you heard someone yell, and a glimpse of ash-blond hair and smoke had you freezing right before your next strike.

"I surrender," Smoker said, and even put a knee down, his staff placed on the deck before him. "Please, spare my men. There is no need for further bloodshed."

You hesitated for a second, but everything you knew about that man told you he deserved to live. As gruff as he was, Smoker cared for the people under his command and put protection of the civilians above punishment for the pirates.

Still, you did not lower your guard. Your arms were positioned in a half-crossed stance in front of you, water flowing between them and around you as your sandals touched the deck. In a couple of steps, you were in front of the kneeling Marine.

"The respect I have for you is the only reason you will leave this battlefield alive, Captain Smoker," you told him sternly. "Do not make me regret this decision."

You could see the mix of bafflement and relief on the man's face at your words. You chuckled at his flabbergasted expression while water kept flowing around you.

"Steer your ship away from here," you advised him as your arms went back to your sides, keeping control on the waves around the ship and the water ribbons surrounding your figure. "I might give a shit about not hurting bystanders, but Admiral Lavasshole sure as hell doesn't."

The cigars in Smoker's mouth seemed to wobble for a second, but then fierce determination replaced the shock in his gaze and he nodded.

"Tashigi ! Get us outta here !" he shouted to the woman behind him.

"Yes Smoker-san !"

You made a circling motion with your arms and jumped in the wave it had called, using it to pull Smoker's ship further away from the main one. In the same manœuvre, you pulled a massive amount of water in swirling tendrils around you and landed on the deck of the biggest ship.

The next second, a wave of magma was thrown at you and you blocked it with seawater, throwing the result overboard in the same movement.

"DIE YOU MONSTER !" Akainu yelled, his entire body turning to magma.

"YOU'RE HURTING YOUR OWN MEN !" you screamed back with a horrified expression.

You could see at least three Marines crying and howling in pain because their legs had been burnt to the point of disintegration by Sakazuki's attack. Fuck, you knew he did not care about his subordinates' lives, but that was sickening.

"IF THEY'RE TOO WEAK TO FIGHT THEY'RE USELESS !"

Another wave of magma was sent your way and you dodged it by jumping on the railing, then called the might of the Sea to you. A giant wall of seawater answered your command and rose behind you as you spread your arms wide open and glared at the Admiral with all the hatred and disgust you felt for him.

"No one," you stated with steel in your voice, "is useless."

Your arms went down harshly and the entire deck was flooded with water, throwing most Marines on it overboard in the brutality of the attack. Akainu jumped on a higher position, somehow avoiding the brunt of it.

"I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD, YOU FREAK OF NATURE !"

You smirked as condescendingly as you could, finding your inner calm again despite the headache steadily creeping its pounding way into your head.

"You don't understand, do you ? This is my turf. You lost this battle the second you chose to fight me at sea."

"I WILL KILL THE ABOMINATION YOU ARE !"

Another wave of lava was thrown your way, that you partially dodged by running on the deck and partially blocked with water following the movement of your arm. There truly was no reasoning with that man.

Well.

You had said you would go all out if needed.

Time to prove it.

You jumped back on the railing, and started moving your arms in circles above your head, slowly creating a mighty sphere of water to surround and trap the entire ship.

The sky was soon blocked from view, and the few Marines remaining on deck were on their knees, crying and begging for their life, but you did not have time to focus on them.

There was nowhere left for Sakazuki to escape.

The Admiral fired magma shots in your direction, but you simply jumped back and hid yourself into the water as you progressively shrinked the size of the sphere, catching random soldiers inside it and propelling them back into the sea just as quickly.

When Sakazuki finally seemed to realise that no amount of burning his own ship or throwing magma at you would work, he still found a way to be a piece of shit.

"ANOTHER WILL RISE IN MY PLACE TO BRING JUSTICE ! A MONSTER LIKE YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN KILLED AT BIRTH !"

You clenched your jaw and closed the water around him, turning the proudest, strictest, shittiest Admiral into the same powerless man Teach had been the night prior. You made sure to keep eye contact when you replied.

"The only monster here is you."

You extended your hand inside the sphere and your middle finger touched Akainu's throat.

The flow of blood in his body surrendered to your control.

And as soon as you commanded it, rushed to his heart.

The organ burst from inside.

You flicked the water back to the sea as the Admiral's lifeless body fell on deck. With a move of your hand, new tendrils of water surrounded you and you prepared yourself to explore the inside of the ship until you found Ace.

Hopefully it would not take too long, your headache was turning into a real migraine and you still needed to reach the island afterwards.

-o-oOo-o-

Ace pov

Ace had fucked up.

He knew it, and had resigned himself to face the consequences.

Y/N would probably be mad at him for sending her away while he was going to fight Teach, but he had to do it. She was kind, she was funny, she was beautiful inside and out, she was in love and loved back, she was the big sister he never knew he needed in his life but would die for now that he knew what it felt like to have.

So going down but making sure she would be alright and able to go back to Shanks ?

Yeah, that was okay.

Not great, but okay.

Ace was fine with okay.

He was put in sea prism handcuffs, then placed in a cell on a ship to be sent to Impel Down. As the hours went by, Ace became certain the Marines had not realised who his father was yet. Small mercies. Pops was going to be so pissed though, Ace thought with a snort.

"Stop smiling, pirate," a voice commanded him. "You will never see the light of day again."

Would you look at that, they had even sent the worst Admiral to guard him during his transfer.

"Now tell me where is the woman who was with you," Akainu asked in his holier-than-thou voice.

"No idea what you're talking about," Ace replied without even looking at him.

Akainu slammed his fist on the bars of the cells, and wow, he was cranky.

"Akagami's whore that you stole from him ! Blue hair, named Y/N. Where is she now ? What is her goal ?"

Ace could not help it, he burst out laughing. The idea that Y/N would be anyone's whore was just plain stupid. Seas, she had talked back to Shanks without a care in the world that she was challenging an Emperor, and convinced him to change his mind in half an hour ! Not to mention that Ace's own crush was definitely not female last he checked, fuck you very much.

"Why, you wanna ask her out or something ?" Ace asked with a smirk.

"You filthy-"

Then the ship rocked so hard Ace was thrown against a wall, and just as they both regained their balance a minute later, a Marine came running in with a close to panicked look on his face.

"Sir, there's a woman on our path asking to talk to you !"

"Get her pathetic boat out of my way !" Akainu spat.

"Sir, she has no boat !"

What ?

"What !?"

Huh, seemed there was something Ace could agree on with Akainu. Would wonders never cease.

"She's- she's just standing on the sea, sir !"

"Description ?"

"Uh, blue hair, blue top, blue skirt, and-"

"Why didn't you say it was Y/N !?"

"Uh, I-"

"Spare me the details of your incompetence !" Akainu growled and stormed out of the cell block, the Marine right behind him.

Ace felt a stone fall in his stomach. He had done everything he could to keep her out of danger and now she had come for him ? Why ? Even if he died, his life was not worth hers.

But then another powerful wave rocked the ship and Ace had to focus on not being thrown against the bars. Heh, looked like the weird currents from that day on the Moby Dick were back. Maybe Y/N attracted powerful waves when she was worried or angry. The idea made Ace snicker, before he truly thought about it and paled.

Wait.

Wait a minute.

What if she did !?

Maybe that was why Shanks had suddenly been fine with her coming along ?

Ace shook his head, that was obviously a stupid idea. If there was someone out there who could control the Sea outside of Fishmen, they would be-

I opened up to him about something that… well, frankly, that anyone in their right mind would call me a monster for as soon as they learned about it. Nevermind that it's not something I've had any say in.

Great fucking seas.

Ace's eyes bulged out of his skull and he felt ready to pass out.

There was no way that was what she had been talking about, right ?

Sounds of fighting started echoing from above, and Ace went still, waiting to see what would happen.

There were a lot of screams.

Then at some point, the door burst open and a Marine was projected on the other side of the corridor by what looked like a whip made of water.

"Ace !" Y/N's voice called.

"Over here !" he yelled back instinctively, but by the Sea, Ace was not prepared for the sight suddenly appearing in front of him.

Water was floating all around her like weird protective tentacles or whips or… things, Ace was not sure. Her hair was billowing behind her and her hands were half-crossed in front of her chest. She looked like a fucking goddess ready to kill anyone in her path, like the Sea itself had taken human form.

Ace's jaw was still on the floor when he saw her pull two keys out of seas knew where. She opened the door to his cell and walked up to him, smiling brightly.

"Good to see you in one piece, Ace."

"Uh. You. Water ?" he asked while gaping like a goldfish.

"Yeah," she smiled sheepishly as she uncuffed him, liquid ribbons still swirling around her. "I know it's scary but-"

"It's so fucking awesome !" Ace exclaimed and started gesturing all around as soon as his hands were free, little flames bursting out of him as his excitement took over. Holy fucking seas his sister could control water ! Coolest big sis ever !

The flabbergasted look she gave him was hilarious, though.

"You're not scared ?" she asked him incredulously, and Ace burst out laughing.

"Are you kidding !? That's fucking amazing !"

The beaming and relieved smile she gave him was just as beautiful as she was. Then her expression turned angry and before Ace could realise what was happening, she had smacked him on the head and drenched him from head to toe in seawater.

"What were you thinking, dumbass !? Going after Teach alone ? Why do you think I came with you in the first place !?" she asked him with both hands on her hips, looking really pissed.

Ace gulped and tried to think of something that would get him out of the uncomfortable position he was in. When he had said he was resigned to face the consequences of having fucked up, that was very much not what he had in mind.

Then there was a loud crack and boom, the ship tumbled until they were both projected on the wall, and the water she was manipulating splashed all around them.

"Damn it. We should probably leave now, I think that might be a sea king," she grimaced. "Guess the blood in the water attracted it."

"Blood in the water ? The fuck did you do to spill enough blood to attract a sea king !?" Ace exclaimed incredulously.

"I had to make a bit of a mess out there," she replied with a dismissive shrug, then took his hand. "Come on, let's get out."

"Wait, how are we going to leave ?" Ace asked as they started running and jumping their way out of the clearly sinking ship. "They took the Striker and-"

"You're with someone who can control water and you're worried about how to travel at sea ?" she asked him with irony lacing her voice and a raised eyebrow.

Right. Good point.

"Then let's go !" Ace exclaimed, and she chuckled.

 

 

"WHAT THE FUCK !?"

"Told you I had to make a bit of a mess."

"THERE ARE THREE SHIPS DESTROYED AND SINKING AROUND THE ONE WE'RE ON !"

"I know, I let the fourth one leave."

"AND WHY IS AKAINU SLEEPING ON DECK !?"

"Oh, Admiral Lavasshole isn't sleeping, he's dead."

"YOU KILLED AN ADMIRAL !?"

"He was being a real piece of shit."

"HOW THE FUCK !?"

"Can you stop screaming for a minute ? I have a headache and I still need to deal with that sea king."

 

Chapter 20: Emergency At The Headquarters

Notes:

Hello lovelies <3
Just so you know, this chapter starts right before the attack of the convoy happening in the previous chapter.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Sengoku pov

The video call came in when Sengoku was reviewing disturbing information about Portgas D Ace, but the identity of the caller immediately set the Fleet Admiral on edge and made him put the file down on his desk.

Smoker was a good element, but while his heart was in the right place, his harshness had cost him several opportunities of promotion and even had him very close to getting fired for insubordination. The Captain was known to be especially rude to his hierarchy when he thought it was deserved, which was pretty much every time he addressed his superiors from what Sengoku had heard.

So him calling Headquarters for an emergency could only mean something really worrying was happening.

Kuzan and Garp were already in the video conference room when Sengoku arrived, and Borsalino came in not even ten seconds later. Momonga, Tsuru and Dalmatian were also here for some reason, as well as a liaison from Cipher Pol.

"This is Fleet Admiral Sengoku, what is going on ?" Sengoku asked as soon as he picked the den-den mushi, and prepared himself to watch his blood pressure attempt to reach a new high.

"Fleet Admiral, this is Captain Smoker," his voice said through the snail, and just the proper use of rank from the notoriously gruff Captain was enough to let Sengoku know something bad was heading their way. "I think you need to see this."

The screen was showing the convoy transfering Firefist Ace to Impel Down, but right in the path of the ships, a blue-haired woman was standing on the water.

Not on a boat, not on a plank, not on anything but a suspiciously flat circle of water in the middle of the sea.

"Record this," Sengoku ordered to the other people in the room. "And get me visual from the other ships as well."

"Yes sir," Dalmatian replied, and a few moments later, there were five projections showing the woman casually standing on the waves from five slightly different angles.

"How is she doing that ?" Tsuru mumbled from her seat. "Not even Fishmen can just stand on water the way she does."

Sengoku's bad feeling about that woman intensified. Then she appeared to kick the water, right before a particularly hard wave made all five ships rock, and the Fleet Admiral felt in his guts that the timing between those two things was a little too perfect to be a pure coincidence. He quickly discarded the possibility of it being anything else than a coincidence, though, since there was simply no other plausible explanation.

"Fucking-" Smoker cursed as he clearly struggled to keep his balance while the projections moved for a few seconds. "Anyway Sir, if you know what that woman's deal is, I'd like a heads-up," he demanded harshly.

"That woman's name is Y/N, she's just a civilian, but she was spotted travelling with Akagami and then Firefist," the Cipher Pol liaison replied in a stern voice. "She is an unknown variable, but not a threat as far as we know."

"We have a call from Akainu's ship," Momonga informed them.

"Put it through, we're going t- what on earth ?" Sengoku interrupted himself as the woman started casually walking on the sea like she was taking a stroll on the street, and stopped right before the main ship. The call connected a second before she appeared to take a deep breath.

"I would like to speak to Admiral Lavasshole !"

Complete silence reigned for a fleeting instant in the meeting room, then Garp burst out laughing, tears falling from his eyes as he clenched his stomach.

"BAHAHAHAHAHA DID YOU HEAR THAT SENNY !?"

"Yes I did, stop laughing !"

"BAHAHAHAHA I CAN'T IT'S PERFECT !!"

And of course, Borsalino was pouting like he was trying to conceal a smirk while Kuzan was not even bothering to hide his own amused version of a lazy smile. And the Vice-Admirals were all avoiding Sengoku's gaze with a hand covering their mouth. The Fleet Admiral silently resigned himself to hearing the derogative nickname for the foreseeable future.

Not that it was not a pretty good pun, but, well. Still a lack of respect to a Marine Admiral. Sakazuki appeared on deck soon after, looking more furious than usual, and engaged a conversation with the woman.

It did not go well.

The second she confirmed she had been the one to kill Blackbeard, the atmosphere in the conference room changed and Sengoku turned to the Cipher Pol liaison.

"Can you compare the cause of death to the agents lost during her attempted extraction ?"

"Already done, our forensics have reported on the similarities after last night's autopsies," the agent replied uneasily as he showed a file on the desk before him, which explained what he had been doing here with the Vice-Admirals before the call. "She was crueller on Marshall D Teach and one of our agents only had his throat slit, but the other bodies' injuries are identical. She likely used the same method."

Damn it. However she had done it, that woman was capable of killing CP-8 agents and Warlord-level groups by herself so quickly and efficiently that she had to admit it for them to find the culprit. And Sakazuki was insulting her right after she had offered a peaceful solution, which was not good. Any Marine Officer with the amount of experience Sakazuki had should know that no one made that kind of offer without being arrogant to the point of stupidity, or powerful to the point of being actually generous for even offering.

And from the eloquent way she spoke, right to her ability to kill without leaving a trace, not to mention the complete absence of information about her life before meeting Akagami, there was no doubt this woman was not stupid.

"My name is Y/N, not filthy pirate whore. Seas, I'm not even part of a pirate crew, I'm just on good terms with a few of them !"

"Wait, she's not a member of either Akagami or Whitebeard's crew by now ?" Dalmatian asked with a baffled expression.

"You are all scum of the earth who will be exterminated until your species has been forgotten by History ! Now surrender or die !" Sakazuki screamed, clearly incensed, and Sengoku clenched his jaw. That was the worst approach he could have taken with that kind of opponent.

"Last warning. Release Ace or die with your men."

Sengoku had a really hard time admitting to himself that he respected her determination to offer a last chance to back out of the incoming battle. That was the kind of attitude he liked to see in Marines. They were supposed to protect first, punish second. If only she had been on their side, Sengoku knew this woman would have climbed the ranks fast and become a great element.

"To all units, kill that woman ! Fire at will !"

She said something too low to be heard through the snail, but thankfully her face was visible enough for Tsuru to read her lips.

"She said so you have chosen death," the old Vice-Admiral translated.

"What does i- fucking seas !" Momonga cursed.

The woman suddenly disappeared into the sea.

Sengoku paled.

"Oi oi, what is she doing ?" Kuzan asked, and he was almost frowning.

"She seems to have gone down," Borsalino observed slowly, his eyes slightly widened.

"Oi Senny, what is going on !?"

Sengoku gripped the edge of the nearest desk to avoid faltering. The only explanation he could think of was the most terrifying threat for the world since Gol D Roger.

Then a tornado of water blew off one of the ships on Sakazuki's right, and the woman reappeared on top of it. She moved her arms quickly just as the tornado disbanded in an incredible amount of droplets, that dashed to the remaining ships like bullets when her left hand arced toward them. The next instant, she had moved her arms again and was surfing on a wave that capsized the second ship to the point of breaking the masts on impact and then crushed the hull in a matter of seconds.

When she disappeared into the water again after that, all standing people in the meeting room either fell on a chair or on the floor in shock. They were down to three projections by now, and Sengoku was feeling ready to pass out.

"WHAT THE FUCK !?" Smoker screamed through the den-den mushi. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US WE WERE FACING THE FUCKING GODDESS OF THE SEA !?"

"RETREAT !" Sengoku yelled immediately, jumping out of his chair as years of having to take quick decisions came into play. "TO ALL UNITS, RETREAT AT ONCE !"

But it was too late, the woman had emerged again, high in the sky, and with one pushing motion from her arms, the sea fell into itself to swallow a third ship in seconds like it was a mere snack, and another projection disappeared. She called another wave to her will and aimed for the last escorting ship.

"WAIT !" Smoker screamed.

For some reason, she seemed to stop her movement before looking in the Captain's direction, like she was hesitating about whether or not to unleash her next strike. Smoker put his staff before him and bent on one knee, surprising everyone in the meeting room once more.

"I surrender," Smoker told her, looking at the deck under him. "Please, spare my men. There is no need for further bloodshed."

Amazingly, the woman did not attack. And while water was still flowing around her, her arms crossed high and low in a defensive gesture in front of her, she lowered herself to walk on the deck. The recording den-den mushi on Smoker's ship was a tad unsteady, but her confident expression was still clear for all to see.

"The respect I have for you is the only reason you will leave this battlefield alive, Captain Smoker. Do not make me regret this decision."

Smoker's incredulity at her words was obvious, but her next sentence was what truly threw Sengoku off.

"Steer your ship away from here," she said after an amused chuckle. "I might give a shit about not hurting bystanders, but Admiral Lavasshole sure as hell doesn't."

The amount of information contained in this single sentence was going to have the entire World Government going crazy for weeks. The implied statement that a world-class criminal showed more respect to war laws than an Admiral was going to provoke a tsunami of questions, most of which would not look well on the Marines.

"Tashigi ! Get us outta here !" Smoker ordered right after she left on a wave for the main ship.

"Yes Smoker-san !"

"Fucking-"

A powerful wave sent Smoker's ship further away, clearly the doing of the woman.

"Headquarters, do you see this ?" Smoker's voice asked again.

On the main ship, Y/N was now facing off Sakazuki with seemingly no real difficulty, as she brushed the magma sent her way off to the sea with nothing more than a flick of her hand.

"DIE YOU MONSTER !" the Admiral screamed, clearly enraged.

"YOU'RE HURTING YOUR OWN MEN !" she screamed back, looking horrified by that fact.

"IF THEY'RE TOO WEAK TO FIGHT THEY'RE USELESS !"

That statement seemed to send her into a fury. The woman jumped on the railing and an insanely high wall of seawater followed her command before flooding the ship's deck brutally, wiping out Marines left and right without a care in the world.

"I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD, YOU FREAK OF NATURE !"

Her expression turned smug to the point of condescension, like Sakazuki was nothing more than a bug on her path.

"You don't understand, do you ? This is my turf. You lost this battle the second you chose to fight me at sea."

At that point, Sengoku was amazed the snails on Sakazuki's ship were still alive and in capacity to keep transmitting.

"I WILL KILL THE ABOMINATION YOU ARE !"

Less than a minute later, the projection from Smoker's side showed the entire ship being hidden under a humongous water sphere, probably big enough to surround a small village. They lost both visual and sound from Sakazuki's ship as the sphere closed in toward where the woman and Admiral were last spotted.

"What in the fucking seas is going on," Smoker's voice echoed fainly through the remaining den-den mushi.

The sphere cracked the wood on the ship but kept becoming smaller and smaller. Marines were thrown out at sea as they were caught in it, until even the woman appeared again. The screen showed Sakazuki being trapped in the remaining amount of seawater, unable to move and barely conscious as the snail from Smoker's ship zoomed as much as it could.

Then the woman's hand reached for Sakazuki, who spat blood right after her finger touched him, and the Admiral's lifeless body fell on the deck as she flicked the water overboard. More water came around her as she made her way inside the vessel, no doubt to retrieve Firefist.

The meeting room was utterly silent.

"Sir, there's a sea king heading toward their position. What are your orders ?" Smoker's barely steady voice asked through the den-den mushi.

"Sail to the nearest base and stay there until further instructions," Sengoku mumbled in a daze.

"Yes sir."

Gatcha

Both sound and vision disappeared, and Sengoku was not sure how he was still conscious. An entire minute went by in complete silence, all the people in the room slowly coming back from the shock of what they had just witnessed.

"What do we do now ?" Dalmatian ultimately asked, sounding lost and even a bit afraid.

"We have to take her out," the liaison for Cipher Pol stated weakly.

"She controls the Sea, and probably just water in general if she can make hearts explode with a single touch," Tsuru retorted, her head held low in her hands over the table. "We can't just take her out."

"She also killed a Warlord and his crew," Garp added in one of his rare moments of seriousness, then clenched his jaw and slammed his fist on the nearest desk in clear frustration. "But she played by the rules, damn it ! She gave Akainu an out before fighting ! And she let Smoker go when he surrendered !"

"What an incredible woman," Borsalino murmured.

"She is unlike any threat we have faced before," Kuzan stated plainly.

Sengoku took his glasses off and roamed both hands on his face. This was the biggest disaster the Marines had experienced in decades. No doubt the press was going to rain hell on them for it, and the Council of Elders was going to ask for answers he simply did not have.

"We need to put a bounty on her," Sengoku ultimately decreeted.

"It's going to blow the record of all first bounties being attributed so far," the Cipher Pol liaison warned them with worry.

"We're talking about a woman who controls the Sea and killed an Admiral in minutes !" Dalmatian yelled and almost flipped a table. "It better fucking blow all records !"

"Especially when she has no clear allegiance," Momonga added grimly. "And if she ever pledges her loyalty to a crew, we will have to re-eavaluate their bounties as well. She's not the kind of woman who will follow any random pirate."

All of this was true, but Sengoku still felt like they had suffered a blow like never before. This was definitely one of the worst days in Marine History.

"She is a threat of Emperor level," the Fleet Admiral admitted with a tired sigh. "Take into account that two of them seem to be on good terms with her. Submit the final edit to me before public release."

-o-oOo-o-

Whitebeard pov

"GREAT FUCKING SEAS WHAT !?"

Whitebeard raised an eyebrow when Izou, arguably one of his most composed children, burst out in incredulous screeching after he received the newspaper.

"What is it, son ?"

"She- the- Aka- Pops look at this !"

Marco took the newspaper from him, then paused and paled for a second as he stopped mid-step, which was enough to get Whitebeard worried. Then his first son showed him the front page and a bounty poster, and the Emperor's eyebrows reached his hairline before he erupted in laughter.

"GURARARARARA ! Looks like we won't have to rescue your brother !"

-o-oOo-o-

Zoro pov

An inhuman shriek shook off the deck and Zoro got ready to fight, right until Nami pulled a bounty poster out of the newspaper to show it to everyone.

"IS THAT THE WOMAN WE MET IN ALABASTA !?" she screamed.

"YES IT IS NAMI-SWAAAAAAAAN !" the dumb ero-cook replied.

Zoro grunted, then sheathed his swords, looked at the bounty poster, and smirked. It seemed this Y/N was the real deal, then. Good to know she liked Luffy and had promised to be an ally.

"Shanks' girlfriend is so cool !" Luffy laughed. "Let's eat meat to celebrate !"

Eh, as long as there was sake with it, Zoro was all in.

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks pov

Shanks stole the newspaper as soon as it arrived, and with a single look at the front page, he burst into laughter. Oh, his adorable Y/N had truly outdone herself. He let the pages fall to pick the bounty poster – and damn, she looked good on it – in order to smash it into his First Mate's face.

"Beck, look at my girlfriend !"

His second put a hand on his face to push him away, then actually looked at the poster and his cigarette fell from his lips with the most flabbergasted expression Shanks had ever seen on him.

"What the fuck !?"

Shanks' laughter went on again, until he had to hit the table with his fist at the sight of Beck's astoundished face. The rest of his crew progressively came around with similar floored expressions and shocked curses as they saw the news, and every one of them sent Shanks in a new fit. He could not help it, everyone's bulging eyes and incredulous screams were just too fucking hilarious.

"Let's throw a party !" The Emperor exclaimed as soon as he recovered from his hilarity. "And give me her poster, lads, that's mine !"

"Captain what the fuck-"

But Shanks had managed to get his hand on his gorgeous and deadly girlfriend's picture again and his entire focus was dedicated to it.

"Damn, I didn't think she could become even hotter than before but look at how sexy she is !" the Emperor swooned with a dopey grin. "She looks like she's going to kill the idiot who dared to take that picture. Can you believe she actually killed an Admiral ? Do you think she did it because I told her I wanted her first bounty to be off the charts ? Because that'd be the most romantic shit I've ever seen," Shanks felt ready to melt at the idea that she might have gone that far to impress him.

"Captain-"

"Oh damn do you know what that means !? It means she's going to be back soon !" Shanks realised with a beaming smile. "I'm finally getting my beautiful girlfriend back, lads !"

"Captain-"

"I just knew she'd take the world by storm !" Shanks laughed happily at his own pun, and kept staring adoringly at the amazing gal he had somehow managed to snatch before anyone else could. Seas, he was one lucky bastard.

"CAPTAIN !"

Shanks blinked at his First Mate's yell and raised his head just in time to watch the completely stunned expressions of his crew.

"Yeah ?"

"What the fuck !?"

Shanks grinned smugly and turned a knowing look to the board with the bounty bets.

"Told you she was a Goddess."

Notes:

I wish you all a nice week, and I'll see you tomorrow for the next chapter !
Take care <3

Chapter 21: Time To Go Home

Chapter Text

Reader pov

You woke up with a pounding headache and groaned.

"Ugh, I definitely overdid it," you mumbled.

"Yeah but it was fucking amazing," Ace's voice said from your right.

You sat up slowly and massaged your temples in the hope it would make the pain go away. Then you opened your eyes a little wider and saw that you were in a meadow. The flame Devil Fruit user was roasting some kind of huge animal over an open firepit, and he smiled brightly at you from his spot.

After getting Ace out on deck, you had jumped on the sea king – a white otter-faced behemoth of a beast that still somehow looked kind of cute – and used your powers to stop his blood flow for a few seconds. Truth be told, you had felt like you had claimed too many lives already, and this was just an animal looking for food. One look in his huge golden eyes and you could not resolve yourself to kill him too. So you had only paralysed him in the hope he would understand you were more dangerous than him, and leave you and Ace alone.

The sea king had indeed stopped moving under your attack, then had gone back just under the surface near the sinking Marine ship and had kept staring at you with what you would have called fascination in a human gaze. Since he had made no move to attack after you had jumped in the water with a nervous Ace – the Devil Fruit user's uneasiness at being surrounded by his biggest weakness had been obvious –, you had just started surfing on the waves while holding Ace's hand to reassure him he would be fine.

However, you had had to admit that your migraine had started to make it increasingly harder to focus on both the direction, the currents, maintaining Ace and you above the surface, and keeping an eye out for any kind of potential threat in the area. After only a minute, you had felt a massive presence behind you, and had stopped to turn around and watch in surprise the white sea king following you at a small distance, his massive dorsal fin breaking the surface as he moved under the water. He had kept looking at you with this fascinated sparkle in his eyes, and you had felt a weird sort of connection fall into place with him in this moment.

It had taken a couple more minutes of soothing a flabbergasted Ace before you settled on the sea king's back to make the rest of the short journey. The big white otter-faced fish did not seem to mind in the slightest to be used as a mode of transportation, and since it had meant you only had to use your powers to guide him, you had definitely not complained.

You had made it to the island without any incident in less time that you had initially planned, and had left the sea king's back when there had no longer been enough water for him to swim comfortably. Ace and you had made the rest of the way on a wave of your calling, but as soon as you had reached the beach, you had passed out from the pain attempting to crack your skull open.

Ace had clearly handled the rest, fortunately, and you thanked the stars for his survival skills. As you took a deep breath to settle your still-pounding skull, you noticed the sky was turning pink, which meant sunset was near and you had slept through the entire afternoon.

"Thanks for handling everything while I was out," you told Ace with a tired smile. "I don't think I'm going to be of much help until tomorrow."

Ace snorted at your words and handed you a piece of meat on a bone.

"Not much help, she says, right after killing an Admiral to bust me out," he teased you as you both started eating.

"I offered him a chance to surrender and he attacked me, what else was I supposed to do ?" you smiled right back, and bit into the meat that was surprisingly well cooked. Clearly, Ace had more expertise in that kind of cooking than you had given him credit for. Now that you thought about it, it was kind of surprising that you had not found yourselves in a position where you needed to hunt and cook your meals any sooner in your journey.

The freckled man pretended to nod wisely at your words, then you exchanged a look and started laughting, which had the pain coming back in your skull and made you wince instantly.

"Damn headache," you muttered with a grimace, then went back to your food, and you both ate in silence for a few moments. "I hope it'll go away after a good night's rest," you ultimately sighed once you were done with your meal.

"Eh, we can stay here a couple more days until you get better," Ace offered as he picked another morsel, and wait, how had he already eaten half the beast by himself while you were eating your portion ? You had not even seen him move ! "And when we find Teach again, you'll be-"

"Oh, he's dead," you replied casually while stretching your arms above your head, bone discarded on the pile near the firepit.

"WHAT !?" Ace spat, projecting bits of meat everywhere.

"I took care of him and his crew before the Marine convoy left the island. By the way, don't think I'm no longer mad at you for going after him on your own," you added with a glare.

Ace cowered under your gaze.

"Sorry nee-san."

You froze at the specific term he had just used and stared at him in shock.

Meanwhile Ace paled when he realised what words had just escaped him, and started to frantically shake his hands in front of him, which was pretty comical given the half-eaten chunk of meat he was still holding.

"Forget it ! I- uh- I didn't mean- you don't have to- obviously you're not-"

However, once the shock left you, all you could feel was an overwhelming wave of happiness and affection washing over your heart. You sat a little straighter on the ground and offered Ace a warm smile.

"I would be honoured to be your sister. If I'm being honest, I've started to think of you as a sibling too," you chuckled.

"Really ?" Ace gaped incredulously, right before a beaming smile split his face.

"Well, a chaotic hothead of a little brother with the self-preservation instincts of a suicidal mouse in a room full of cats, but yes," you teased him, then layed back down on the grass.

"Hey !" he pouted. "I'm not that bad !"

"You left to fight Blackbeard on your own rather than talk to me about it."

"That's different," Ace grumbled with all the grace of a four-year-old. "I didn't know you could do all that !"

"Still not an excuse, and I'm asking Whitebeard to ground you when we get back to the Moby Dick," you informed him with a yawn.

"You can't do tha- wait, does that mean you're joining Pops' crew !?" your newly-found brother asked you excitedly.

"No, it means I plan to make sure you're safe and sound with your family before I go back to wherever the Red-Haired Pirates are."

"Oh yeah, I forgot your boyfriend for a minute," Ace sighed dejectedly.

You chuckled, then yawned again. The sun had completely set by then, and the night was falling quickly. Despite having slept the entire afternoon, you were still feeling pretty tired and your headache had barely abated.

"Think I'm gonna fall asleep again," you mumbled. "D'you think-"

"I'll keep watch, nee-san, don't worry and just rest."

"Thanks," you said, then closed your eyes and promptly fell asleep.

-o-oOo-o-

The next day, your headache had thankfully disappeared and you were feeling much better. After a quick discussion, Ace and you decided to follow his log pose to the next island, where you would see what information had gotten out after the fight. Only after learning what you might have to deal with on your way back, would the two of you start the journey to the New World. Although this time, you told Ace about your intention to make a quick stop at Saboady to see someone.

You were pretty sure Rayleigh was supposed to be absent at the time, but you wanted to at least meet Shakky and explain to her why it was crucial that her husband agreed to train Luffy. If you could ensure all the Mugiwaras would get their two-year training before entering the New World, things should be fine. Of course, with Blackbeard and Akainu dead, the story would not be perfectly identical, but the main events should still happen. Hopefully.

Worst case scenario, you would help Luffy and his friends kick some ass.

 

 

You arrived on the small island through the harbour, standing on top of a wave with Ace at your side after leaving the sea king – who seemed weirdly determined to keep following you everywhere you went – and stepped on the docks just in time to watch people run away from you with screams of fear.

You sighed, and the hand that was not holding your bags went up to grab your medallion in a comforting gesture. You knew those kinds of reactions would happen as soon as you revealed your powers to the world, but it still hurt to see people being terrified of your mere existence.

"Y/N ! Look, there's a wall with bounty posters, I'm sure we'll find yours !" Ace grabbed your hand enthusiastically and all but dragged you to the place he had been pointing to.

The way he took your hand without the slightest hesitation, despite knowing your touch could kill a man in a second, warmed your heart and made your guilt and fear disappear like shadows under the midday sun. Your adopted little brother truly had a heart of gold, and you promised yourself right then and there to always do everything you could to protect him from the horrors of this world.

As you got closer to the board, you noticed that there were indeed several copies of the same poster representing you when you had walked on Smoker's ship. Your hair was floating above your shoulders, your arms open in front of you in a half-crossing gesture with water flowing between your hands, but your face was still clear enough since the picture had been taken slightly from below. Your expression was confident and determined, and there was a huge wave moving behind you.

Admittedly, you looked pretty badass.

But then you noticed the epithet and bounty in itself, and your jaw dropped.

 

Goddess of the Sea Y/N

2,840,000,000

 

"What the fuck !!?" you screamed while Ace was already taking one of the posters off the wall and putting it in his pocket.

"Congratulations sis !" the freckled man beamed like it was good news before engulfing you in a warm hug. "I'm sure it's the highest first bounty ever !"

You could tell your knees were a little weak. How in all Four Blues had you ended with that amount !? Sure, you had single-handedly killed a group of CP-8 agents and a Warlord with his crew and an Admiral with a few Marine battleships and you could control water, but-

Well. Actually, it kind of made sense that you would receive a really high first bounty. But still ! That was disproportionate ! You were pretty sure Shanks was only at one billion at the moment, and he was way more powerful than you. Putting you at almost three was, in your humble opinion, frankly excessive.

"I think I need a drink," you mumbled numbly.

"Good idea ! We need to celebrate ! Oh and we still have to exchange sake to become-" Ace started snoring mid-sentence and fell on you.

You caught him in your arms with the kind of use conferred by habit, and gently lowered him on the ground until his back was against the wall to ensure he would not hurt his neck. Then you put your bags on the floor and sat down as well, calling some water from the harbour to pass the time until he would wake up.

"-siblings !" Ace exclaimed suddenly as he woke up. "Huh, did I fell asleep ?"

"Yep," you replied, then discarded the water kittens you had created and stood up. "Come on, firefly, let's try to find a place to eat where people won't pass out when we walk in."

"It's firefist !"

"That's what I said, firefly."

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks pov

Shanks finished his tankard and looked around him, enjoying the loud and cheerful atmosphere of the pub. The only thing missing in this pretty great evening was his amazing, beautiful, adorable, unfortunately-still-not-there girlfriend.

"Do you think she'll be back soon ?" he asked Beck.

His second gave him a blank stare.

"You know she's on her way, Captain."

Which was true, but it had already been three days since Whitebeard had snailed to confirm she had brought Ace back to the Moby Dick safe and sound. Old Man Newgate had added something about owing Y/N a debt, and that Shanks was lucky to have seduced that woman before he could adopt her.

Which meant she had probably done something a little more extraordinary than usual during her brief stop.

"Can you stop pining for a minute, Captain ?" Yasopp groaned.

"Yeah, you haven't even flirted with another girl since she left !" Lucky added.

"Even though she told you she was fine with it," Hongo reminded him.

Shanks pouted. It was not like he had been doing it on purpose, especially when she had given him express permission to fuck around until she came back. It was just that after Y/N, all the other women he had met, no matter when, or where, or how drunk he had been, had looked… dull. Boring. Borderline unattractive.

And while he clearly missed having sex, the idea of a one-night-stand with a random girl, without the passion and love he had felt with his gorgeous Goddess, held very, very little appeal to him. It was not just sex he wanted, it was sex with her, and that was a bit complicated to obtain when she was on the other side of the world. The Emperor was also pretty confident he would end up calling her name when he climaxed no matter who he was with, anyway. He certainly did everytime he jerked off.

"You try to have a Goddess in your bed and then go back to regular women," Shanks grumbled.

"More like a Goddess in your heart," Beckman corrected like the smug bastard he was after taking a drag of his cigarette.

"Yeah, that too," the red-head agreed readily. "But seriously, she's- wait."

The door opened to let someone in, and while Shanks could only catch sight of a flash of blue, the panicked reactions of the people inside the pub were impossible to miss.

"Fucking seas !"

"Wait that's-"

"Get Akagami !"

"Run away she's-"

"Is she here for a fight !?"

Every single man on sight seemed to either cower in fear or run for cover at the new arrival. Shanks' crew had their hands on their weapons in a heartbeat, but the Emperor stood up, a hopeful smile on his face.

The crowd parted as the person who had entered walked further inside, until the hints of blue turned into a cascade of hair, a long skirt, and a top covering a woman Shanks had been having wet dreams about for months on end.

The Emperor barely noticed his crew relaxing their stances, or the way they badly hid their smirks as he hurried to get up in order to make his way to his stunning girlfriend.

But then a guy placed himself on Y/N's path to give her a very obvious once-over, and Shanks' eyebrows shot to his hairline. Was that kid truly attempting to put himself in the way of a three-billion-berries woman in the hope she would notice him ?

"So you're the Goddess of the Sea, right ? Must be why I'm drowning in your eyes, doll."

Looked like he was. By then, the entire pub had gone silent, and everyone seemed to wait with baited breath for her reaction.

"Nice try, but I'm into men," Y/N's voice deadpaned. "Not boys."

Several winces echoed around them, and Shanks could not have stopped his laugh if he tried to.

"Step aside, kiddo, I'll show you how it's done," he grinned, and the guy turned to face him, paled, then ran away with his tail between his legs.

Shanks could finally see his beloved Goddess for the first time in months, and damn, she looked even more beautiful than he remembered. The calm confidence she was now displaying was really adding to her allure, like she was finally comfortable showing the world who she truly was.

Shanks smirked.

"So, what's a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this ?"

Her expression went from a happy smile to a blank stare in a second, and then fell into clear annoyance.

"Really ?" she asked him.

Shanks smiled.

"That's the first thing you say to me ?"

His smile widened.

"The lamest, stupidest, worst pick-up line in existence !?"

Her little frown and the way she put her hands on her hips made her look so pretty.

"Stop smiling like that, I'm trying to be mad at you !"

Shanks closed the distance between them in two steps and curled his arm around her waist to bring her gorgeous body against his before she could protest anymore, provoking shocked gasps all around them.

"I missed you too, sweetheart," he told her softly, and all the annoyance left her face as she clearly melted in his embrace.

Fuck, the way her supple skin and soft curves pressed on his body was already getting him hard. And with the way her mouth opened for a reply,  then closed, and her eyes went down for a second before going up with a teasing smile, she had noticed.

"So," she replied and even wiggled her eyebrows for good measure. "Is that your sword or are you just really happy to see me ?"

Seas, Shanks fucking loved that woman.

In a swift movement, he lifted her until she was bent over his shoulder, and her surprised squeak had the Emperor chuckling, his crew cheering, and the rest of the pub seemingly shocked into perpetual silence.

"Shanks, put me down !"

"No can do, sweetheart. And ordering your Captain around is ground for punishment, you know ?"

She stopped talking for a moment, obviously stunned by his words for some reason.

"Last I checked, you weren't my Captain," she said cautiously, as if Shanks could possibly have changed his mind on the subject.

"Oh yeah, forgot to ask," he admitted lightly. "So, you're joining my crew, right ?"

"Why do you think I came back ?"

"Not an answer, sweetheart."

"You're the worst."

"But you still love me ?"

"Yes. To both."

Shanks' grin was wide enough to make him feel like he was going to keep smiling for the rest of his life. The half-terrified looks of the crowd around them were pretty hilarious too. Really, it was as if they had never seen a Goddess let herself be taken away in a fireman carry by an Emperor after agreeing to join his crew.

Chapter 22: Steamy Night

Notes:

Warning : if you're not comfortable with sex scenes, skip the entire chapter x)

Chapter Text

Reader pov

Shanks' decision to literally carry you all the way back to his quarters kind of had you feeling ready to swoon. Sue you, that display of strength was turning your knees to jelly despite his atrocious choice of words to greet you with.

Unsurprisingly, he just let you fall on his bed seconds after he kicked the door close, and you propped yourself on your elbows to look at him with just a hint of teasing.

"So what are your orders, Captain ?" you asked him mischievously.

The way his eyes darkened had a shiver running down your spine in anticipation.

"Strip."

Your breath caught and you swallowed. Still, you sat on the bed and unclasped your necklace first, putting it on the nightstand. Shanks' surprised expression told you all you needed to know about his understanding of the gesture.

Then you slowly pulled your top above your head, and discarded it somewhere on the floor. Your sandals were next, then the belt on your skirt. You pulled yourself on your knees to push the blue garnment low on your hips with your thumbs, then shimmied out of it, watching Shanks' hungry expression all along. The obvious bulge in his pants while you kneeled on his bed in your underwear had you feeling both aroused to no end, and just a bit self-conscious.

"I said strip," he repeated with a pointed look at your undergarnments.

You unclasped your bra behind your back and let it fall, freeing your breasts as you discarded it. Your panties followed, and soon you were sitting naked on Shanks' bed, the Emperor all but devouring you with his eyes and palming his erection above his pants.

Then he smirked.

"Good girl. Now get me out of mine too, will you ?"

And fuck if that commanding attitude wasn't turning you on badly. You could feel the inside of your thighs getting wetter by the second. You walked up to him, took his cloak off his broad shoulders and let it fall behind him.

Your fingers slowly traced their way on his torso until you reached the first closed button of his shirt, never breaking eye contact. The tension was leaving you close to shaking with desire and Shanks' knowing smirk as you undressed him did nothing to help.

When his shirt was out of the way as well, you could not help but roam your hands on his sculpted chest and tanned skin. Before you could kiss it, however, Shanks' hand lifted your chin with a finger.

"You're not done yet, sweetheart."

His lips were so close that you had to bite yours in order not to kiss him right away.

"Sorry Captain," you murmured.

The sharp breath Shanks took was obvious enough for you to realise this was really doing it for him. You slowly lowered your hands on his torso until you reached his pants, and caressed his skin until you could open them and push them down as far as you could without having to kneel. They fell around his ankles and a second later, he had freed himself from both pants and sandals, leaving him in his underwear.

Damn it, you were feeling so stupidly aroused and he had not even touched you yet. You put your hands on either side of his hips and pulled his underwear down a little quicker than you had done the rest of his clothes, freeing his erection and making you gulp at the sight of it. You were not sure you could take that without breaking in two.

"All good there, sweetheart ?" Shanks asked you as he pushed you back toward the bed with his hand on your hip.

"Uh, it's, you're," you mumbled and could feel yourself flush embarrassingly. "You're pretty, well, imposing and I haven't done anything in a while, so…"

Shanks grinned wider, all doubts gone, just as your knees reached the bed and you let yourself fall and sit on the sheets.

"Oh, I'll get you ready for me, babe, don't worry."

He bent down to kiss you deeply, his hand still on your hip as the feeling of his lips on yours had you moaning, which he immediately used to push his tongue in your mouth and drive you crazy with lust. The way his tongue had to completely overpower you and make any thought impossible to process was completely unfair, but you lost yourself in pleasure without even realising it.

By the time he released your mouth, he had pulled you close to the edge of the bed and you were blinking dazedly, your arms somehow having ended up around his back while you were kissing.

Then Shanks spread your thighs and kneeled between them, which made you blush madly. His head stopped just before reaching your core to kiss the inside of your thigh and you shuddered at the warm contact of his lips on your skin. You let yourself fall back so your elbows would support you and you would be able to see him.

Meanwhile the Emperor smirked and put his hand firmly on your hip, keeping you exactly where he wanted as he took in the sight between your legs.

"So wet for me already, sweetheart, I'm flattered."

"Shanks, y-mmmmhh !" you moaned as his tongue pressed against your pussy in one long drag, right up to your clit where he flicked it up sharply, and your head went back with a gasp at the electric sensation.

"Shh," he told you, "let me taste you properly."

You did not even have the time to answer before he went back to exploring your pussy with his tongue, and you were left a panting mess in seconds. Shanks licked his way between your folds like he wanted to drink all your juices and not lose a single drop of it, his tongue doing devilish tricks and teasing your core at impredictible moments without entering you.

"Sha-aaanks please," you moaned after what felt both like a minute and an eternity of that treatment, your thighs shaking under his sensual ministrations.

He hummed against your slit, and your hips attempted to jerk under the sudden onslaught of pleasure only to be blocked by his hand. "Please what, sweetheart ?" he teased you, and then gave a little lick to your clit which had you gasp.

"More !" you asked him, the heat and tension pooling in your belly and getting closer and closer to the point where it would snap.

"More what ?" Shanks insisted with a smirk, his chin glistening with your wetness. He then dragged his tongue slowly between your folds, pressing more than before against your entrance in a way that had you moaning desperately. "More of this ?" he asked.

But as soon as you opened your mouth to attempt an answer, he started to flick his tongue on your clit in precise little licks that sent jolts of pleasure through your body, enough to have your back arch in a scream and the knot in your core close to unfold. "Or more of this ?"

"I- I- Shaaaanks !" you keened as he started to focus on your clit with unpredictable dexterity, and you had to clench the sheets with your hands as he toyed expertly with your desire.

A decisive series of licks and sucking took you by surprise and your orgasm surged brutally, a burst of pleasure igniting your entire body that had you scream his name while your hips jerked uncontrollably against his hand.

Even then Shanks kept going, and only slowed down to lick your pleasure at the source to guide you through the entirety of your climax. Then with one last long drag of his tongue, he finally relented and let his head rest on your thigh.

You were breathing heavily, still coming down from your high as you were spread on his bed.

"Fuck that was good," you managed to say as you pushed yourself on your elbows again, your body both spent and yet aching for more.

"I know," Shanks grinned smugly from his place between your legs, and licked his lips. "One of these days I'm going to see how many times I can make you cum on my tongue, but tonight…"

His words had your cunt clench with desire, which he seemed to notice and smirked at, before dragging his tongue over your slit once more, this time pushing harder against your entrance, stopping just shy of actually getting inside before retreating in a tantalizing promise.

"Tonight, I want to feel that sweet pussy around my cock, so let's make sure you're ready for it, shall we ?" he asked with a predatory grin, and you could only nod frantically.

His tongue flicked on your clit again, sending a sudden jolt of pleasure through you, and his grip on your hip tightened minutely.

"I asked you a question, sweetheart."

"Yes !" you replied immediately. "Please get me ready for you, Captain," you added as quickly as you could, and his muffled groan against your core reverberated enough through you to pry a wanton moan out of your lips.

His tongue was immediately back between your folds, and this time he immediately pushed forward to breach your entrance. His entire face was plastered against your pussy and he started thrusting in and out of you unpredictably, fucking you with his tongue while all you could do was pant and moan as your sensitive body started working its way back to a new high.

Then he started humming as he pushed his tongue into you, and you put your right hand in his hair to push him somehow further against you as your eyes rolled, your hips attempting to jerk against his sinful mouth despite his hand blocking your body. Your grip in his hair had him groaning in pleasure and intensified the vibrations, making you keen hopelessly and call his name again.

You barely felt his hand leaving your hip to reach your core, but you whined when his tongue left your pussy.

"Shh, it's okay babe, I got you," Shanks said a second before his finger entered you slowly and you clenched around the intrusion. Your hands left his hair to grab the sheets on either side of your head, desperately attempting to anchor yourself.

"So fucking tight," your Emperor cursed, his voice heavy with lust as his finger kept exploring your inner walls gently. The way he was pushing and pulling until your wetness make his finger almost slide through you left you with a burning need for more.

Before you could voice your desire, however, a second finger joined the first. Carefully at the beginning, since your core clenched against the bigger intrusion, then more decisively as you relaxed and progressively coated what felt like his entire hand with the proof of your arousal.

"So fucking wet, I'm gonna slide into that nice little pussy so easily," Shanks said, for you or himself, you could not tell, but the words still had you clenching around his fingers anyway.

"You like that, sweetheart ? You want my cock inside you ?" he asked and started scissoring his fingers, stretching you wider to prepare you for the much bigger challenge you were starting to feel ready to beg for if he did not put it in you soon. Then he started sucking your clit earnestly, driving you crazy in a matter of seconds.

"YES !" you screamed as he pushed a third finger inside you, stretching you even further and massaging your walls as he went  for all the sensitive points you did not even know you had. "Sha-haaa, fuck I want your cock, just put it in me now," you begged, almost sobbing under the onslaught of pleasure that was still not enough to bring you to climax.

"Just a little more, sweetheart," the red-head told you, even though you could feel his eyes dark with lust staring hungrily at you from where he was still kneeling between your thighs. "I need you to be nice and ready for me, so just relax, okay babe ?"

"I- oh fuck I'm- I'm-" you panted as you felt another orgasm creeping up on you, making your body shiver with anticipation.

"Go on, cum on my fingers like the good girl I know you are," he ordered you and crooked his fingers inside you in a decisive move, pressing into a spot he had only brushed so far, and it sent you over the edge again. Your second orgasm rushed through you like a tidal wave, leaving you tensing and whimpering on the bed as his fingers resumed a slow in and out motion, gently helping you make the most of it.

You were still dazed and a bit out of it when his fingers left your core to grab your hips and push you further on the bed. Shanks slid against you, his chest against your back in a way that had the two of you as close to each other as possible. The full body contact right after cumming for the second time sent a shudder through you.

Shanks pulled your hair away gently with his chin, then put his hand on your belly and his mouth on your neck, his dripping hard-on pressed against your ass.

"You remember that morning, sweetheart ?" he whispered against your ear before pressing a kiss on your sensitive skin.

"Yes- couldn't forget ab- mmmh," you stopped with a moan as he started biting the same spot gently, teasing you rather than really trying to leave a mark.

"Because I've been thinking about it for months," he purred against your ear, and lowered his hand to your cunt, parting your folds easily and groaning at how wet you were. Then he lifted your leg and his erection slid between your thigh, rubbing against your pussy and teasing you with little thrusts.

"Shanks, please," you begged him.

"Such a good girl for your Captain," he teased you and your eyes nearly rolled.

He guided his dick aggainst your entrance, and pressed slowly in. Both your hands grasped the pillow while you gasped at the intrusion, already feeling stretched just with the tip.

"Breathe, love, you're doing amazing," Shanks whispered against your ear, and put his entire hand on your pussy, encouraging you to grind on his palm. The friction was just too good to resist and you started jerking your hips in small movements, taking a little more of his cock inside you with every push.

"That's it, keep going, take me all the way in," Shanks groaned into your neck. "Fuck babe, you're clenching me like a vice."

"Feel soo- fuck !" you panted, "so full, yo- mmmh !"

His dick was stretching you in a way his fingers had only hinted at, but it was so slow that the mix of burn and pleasure was driving you mad. He was being so careful with you, so gentle. Yet an increasingly big part of you did not want careful, did not want patient and gentle, just wanted to be fucked so thoroughly you would never forget it.

"Shanks, seas, just fuck me !" you asked and clenched around his cock, attempting to take it all the way in with your next roll of hips.

Your Emperor sucked in a harsh breath and stopped moving. His fingers restrained you as he moved his hand to your hips and plastered you against his hard chest to prevent you from doing it again.

"Babe, you need to stop doing that or-"

"Please," you were close to sobbing with frustration, "claim me, fuck me, ruin me for everyone else, I need you now !"

There was a second of silence, then the grip Shanks had on your hip turned bruising.

"Fuck it," he cursed, and thrusted the rest of his cock inside you in one powerwul strike.

You screamed at the sudden intrusion and absolute fullness stretching you to the limit between pain and pleasure, your walls fluttering in an attempt to clench around the dick splitting you in half. It was as if every nerve in your body had been ignited to turn you into a complete mess of desire and pleasure and you loved it.

"You want it rough, I'll give it to you rough," Shanks grunted, and bottomed almost all the way out just to thrust back all the way in harshly, making you scream again at the sudden onslaught. He did it again a second later, setting a punishing pace and pummeling into you from behind while all you could do was arch your back, clutch the sheets, and moan incoherently in pleasure.

"Shaaann- oh fuck- yessss- mmhhh !"

"Such a tight ! Fucking ! Pussy !" Shanks groaned and interjected with powerful thrusts of his hips, his nails digging into your skin as he claimed your body for himself. His cock was splitting you with every thrust, filling you up and then leaving you empty, only to come back with ferocious intensity and you were pretty sure you were drooling on the pillow.

Then his hand moved to keep you plastered against him by clutching your belly instead, leaving his fingers free to play with your clit, sending jolts of electric pleasure through you on top of the brutal fucking he was punishing you with, and you whined.

"Cum on my cock," Shanks ordered you, not even out of breath. "Go on babe, cum all over me, show me how good it feels."

Your eyes rolled back into your head at his commanding voice, and with one particularly harsh thrust coupled with a press on your clit, the knot unravelled and you came hard for the third time.

"SHAAAAAANNNNKS !"

You did not get so much as a second of reprieve as your Emperor kept fucking you through your orgasm, until you started crying from the overstimulation.

"Shhh," he said as he kissed your neck, barely even slowing down, "you can take more, right sweetheart ?"

"I- I don't kno-ooooh, 's too- too much," you panted.

"Just give me one more," he grunted, and you choked on air as his fingers started playing again with your clit, his index circling it with evil precision. "Just one more, love, I know you can do it."

His cock was back to splitting you in two with hard thrusts making you feel so full you had no idea how you had spent so long without it. You were barely back from your climax, and gasped when his arm left your clit to roam all over your belly and breasts. Shanks started pinching your nipples and rolling them between his fingers, sending a new kind of stimuli through you that left you shaking against his chest.

"Shanks please !" you cried, not even sure what you were begging him for at that point.

"Wanna fill you up," he panted in your neck and your eyes rolled back in your head at the words. "Babe, can I-"

"Yes ! Yes please !" you begged him. "Cum in me !"

His thrusts stopped for the barest instant in obvious surprise at the desperate need in your voice. Then he slammed his cock right into your cervix, nearly pushing you over the bridge despite your certainty you could not cum anymore, and you gasped in pleasure.

"Gonna fill that nice little pussy," Shanks as he pummeled into you with more abandon than before, nailing your sweet spot with every thrust. "You hear me ? I'm gonna fill you so full of my cum you'll be dripping with it," he said against your neck.

His words coupled to the brutal pounding he was subjecting you to were enough to send you over the edge a fourth time. You spasmed against him with a scream of his name while his thrusts became more urgent, until he slammed into you one last time as he called your name, and you felt his cum paint your insides while your walls clenched in absolute bliss, milking his dick for all it was worth.

Shanks remained balls deep into you for a while, the two of you panting harshly on the bed as you came back from your climax. You were almost shivering from the overstimulation that had made you see stars too many times in a row. He kept you firmly against him for a while, the intensity of your orgasm slowly giving way to a more tender intimacy.

When your body stopped shaking and your brain finally managed to reboot, you put a hand on your stomach, just to see if you could feel his seed into you. Despite your blissed-out mind still dazed with pleasure, you retained enough control on your power to somewhat feel where his cum was in your womb, which made you shudder in delight.

Fuck, you did not even know you had that kink until three minutes ago and now a part of your mind already wanted to feel him blow his load into you again.

Shanks withdrew from you when his dick softened, and you gasped at the loss. He immediately soothed you by peppering your neck with kisses.

"Shh, it's alright sweetheart, you did so well," he told you and gently pulled you on your back beside him, his hand coming to rest casually on your belly. The little circles he started drawing on your skin made you wonder for a second, and you turned a surprise gaze on him.

"You have a breeding kink ?" you asked bluntly, completely taken aback at the idea.

His hand froze mid-movement, and he sighed with a crooked smile.

"Yeah, well, kind of ? But it's a bit more than that," Shanks admitted, then fell on his back beside you. You gave him a puzzled look but his gaze was firmly avoiding yours, even though there was still a smile on his lips.

"Been nothing but a kink so far, 'cause I'll never stop being a pirate and that kind of life doesn't really allow to settle down for the whole family thing," he explained, then turned his head toward you with such raw longing you almost looked away. "But you keep rocking my world upside down and I… fuck, I want kids with you. I want to fill you up until there's no way you're leaving this room without my baby in you. I want to see you pregnant with my child, I want to see your belly getting round and know it's my fucking kid you're carrying."

Somehow, those words had your pussy clench and your mind was suddenly filled with images of little ones running on the Red Force. You had not wanted children back in your world, not with the upcoming climate apocalypse, the financial crisis, the lack of a partner, and so on, but here…

The idea of having children with Shanks, of raising them at sea, of telling them fairytales and teaching them how to read the waves, of watching Shanks play with them and teach them about Haki, and knowing the two of you were strong enough to protect them from virtually anything ?

You bit your lips, already knowing the answer.

"Didn't mean to dump it on you so soon, sweetheart," Shanks told you gently, almost as an apology.

You turned your head to look at the ceiling rather than at him, hands loosely joined above your head on the pillow with your hair fanned around your face. You were not sure you would be able to keep your voice steady if you looked at him while you replied.

"I'd like two," you stated softly after a moment of silence.

"What ?"

"Pretty close in age, so they'll be able to play together since they'll have to spend their childhood on a ship full of adults," you kept going. "I have about eight months left before my next contraceptive shot, I think it's enough to see how our relationship works out, but after tha- ah !" you squeaked suddenly as you were abruptly thrown on Shanks' body.

His arm hold your ass above his hips while you put both hands on his pecs to raise up your head and look at his face. Your Emperor was staring at you in pure awe, his eyes shining with incredulous joy and hope.

"You're serious ?" Shanks asked you with barely refrained excitement and a beaming smile. "You want kids with me ?"

You could feel his dick twitch with interest between your legs and were stunned at the idea that he may be ready for another round so soon. Still, you smiled fondly and pushed a few sweaty locks of red hair away from his forehead.

"Well, not right now, but yes. I wouldn't joke about something like that," you replied in a soft voice.

Shanks moved his hand to the back of your neck to pull you down and kiss you deeply, almost devouring you with his lips alone, a passion and desire stronger than you were expecting or even feeling ready for, yet succombed to in an instant.

"Every time I think you can't surprise me anymore," Shanks chuckled dreamily against your lips. "You up for another round, love ?"

"You can't possibly-" you started before feeling his dick harden between your legs and your jaw dropped. "What kind of stamina do you have ?" you asked in a flabbergasted voice.

Your red-head grinned widely and brought his hand back on your ass to make you grind against his cock, sending jolts of pleasure and arousal toward you as you felt his cum drip off of you in the movement. Fuck, four orgasms and you could still feel your interest flaring up again.

"Want to find out ?" Shanks asked you with a devilish grin.

You hummed in pleasure as he brought himself back up to fully erect again against your pussy, and chuckled breathlessly.

"I'm not gonna be able to walk tomorrow, am I ?"

"Sweetheart, we have months of lost time to make up for and you just told me you're into realising what's both a dream of mine and my biggest kink. Unless you tell me to stop, I'm going to fuck you until I can't get it up or you pass out."

"I think," you corrected without actually thinking as his words made your walls flutter and the pleasure slowly started building again as you kept being moved on his cock, "that I could probably, mh- make blood rush to your dick if I wanted, so the first option might be, ah- irrelevant."

The hold on your ass tightened and Shanks straightened up until he was sitting and you were on his lap, legs spread on either side of him. You barely got the time to be surprised by the change in position, your hands flying to his back and his hair in pure reflex, before you noticed his eyes burning with desire and his pupils blown out with lust.

"We're definitely going to test that tonight, sweetheart. Now be a good girl and hop on my cock," he ordered you, and you freed your right hand to wrap it around his member to give it a few pumps before lining yourself above it.

You looked at him through half-lidded eyes and smirked.

"Anything for my Captain," you purred against his lips and lowered yourself on him.

Chapter 23: Welcome Aboard

Chapter Text

Beckman pov

Through a unanimous agreement, everyone had stayed at the pub until it closed – even later than that after a stern look at the bartender – and gotten more drunk than usual. Just in case. Beckman knew his Captain well enough to know there would be no falling asleep early tonight.

"Think we gooda go back to th' ship now ?" Yasopp asked, barely able to walk straight.

"Yeaaaaaah Capt'n can't last that long," Limejuice snickered.

Beckman snorted, his brain a bit foggy from the alcohol. It had to be at least three in the morning, and even Shanks had limits when it came to sex. Very loose limits, admittedly, but still. No matter how horny he was after three months without Y/N, they would definitely be asleep or cuddling by now.

They all managed to get back on deck without any of them falling into the harbour, which was very good news because Beckman had not been looking forward to fishing Lucky out of the sea.

"Well," Hongo yawned, "'night every-"

A scream of Shanks' name ending in a downright pornographic moan froze them all in their tracks. Beckman locked eyes with Yasopp, who looked just as shocked as he felt.

"No fucking way," Snake cursed when his jaw left the floor.

"It's been hours, they can't STILL be going at it !?" Gab exclaimed in despair.

A resounding FUCK in their Captain's voice echoed from his quarters, a sound they had all – unfortunately – heard more times than they could count.

"How !? Even for him, that's fuckin' impossible !" Hongo complained.

But a tidbit of information came back to the forefront of Beckman's mind despite the booze-induced fog, and he facepalmed.

"Blood. She can control blood with touch," he groaned. "Can make it go where she wants."

All eyes turned to him in shock.

"Y'think she usin' her powers on his dick !?" Yasopp asked incredulously and turned a little green at the idea.

"That'd prob'ly turn him on 'nyway," Lucky barked in a laugh, clearly too drunk to even care anymore.

Another sound of obvious pleasure filled the air and Beckman tiredly roamed a hand on his face.

"We still got those earbuds from that loud-noise island we visited last year, I think," he grumbled. "I'm takin' a pair for the night."

"Yeah I think we're all gettin' one," Limejuice said with an almost scared expression as he looked briefly in the direction of Shanks' quarters.

Beckman sighed and prepared himself for a stern conversation with his Captain and the woman he had set his heart on, who for some seasforsaken reason appeared to love him back, and the amount of sleep the rest of the crew required in order to be functional.

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks pov

Shanks woke up feeling sticky, sweaty, completely spent, and blissfully happy.

He kept his eyes closed a couple more minutes, just enjoying the way his body felt after what had to have been one of the absolute best – and definitely the longest –night of sex he had ever had in his life.

The red-head eventually opened his eyes, and after a couple blinks, his sight adjusted to the light filtered by curtains to make out Y/N's passed-out body beside him. Her head was turned toward him with her lips slightly open, and her hair was spread on the pillow like waves on the sea. The sheets were barely covering her above the breasts and she was looking as serene and peaceful as an angel, a stark difference from the sinful demon of lust she had been last night.

Not that Shanks had been much better. The thrill of having such a powerful woman willingly submit to him, of watching her come undone on his tongue, his fingers, his cock, of hearing her beg for more pleasure… Damn, the memories alone were nearly enough to get him hard again. Nearly, because even Shanks had limits, and after she had used her powers on him to keep him hard three rounds in a row – and hadn't that been a weird but fucking hot experience – even he could admit he was in need of a break.

The Emperor pushed himself on the side and started caressing her wavy hair, earning a pleased little hum in the process, which made him grin smugly at the idea that he could please her even in her sleep. Said grin quickly turned into a very sappy smile as he suddenly remembered their conversation about children.

Shanks had never believed he would get that kind of opportunity. He might love kids, but being a pirate, one of his level to boot, meant he simply could not take the risk without painting a giant target on both his children and the woman who would carry them. Spending time with Luffy and any kid he would meet on his travels was as good as the Emperor thought he would ever get.

And then a blue-haired goddess had barged into his life like a tidal wave and carved herself a place in his heart like she had always belonged there. Somehow, he had found a woman who was kind and caring and smart and funny, wonderful beyond belief, loving beyond reason, and powerful enough to bend the Sea to her will. And since all that clearly was not enough, she wanted children too.

"Mmmh… Shanks ?" Y/N mumbled sleepily, eyes trying to blink open.

"Morning, sweetheart," he said softly. "How do you feel ?"

"Sore. Sweaty. Tired," she grumbled adorably, then grabbed him and snuggled her way against his chest, clearly asking for cuddles. Shanks chuckled and slipped his hand under the sheet to caress her back, then kissed the top of her head. Seas, that tender affection and sweet intimacy was something he had been yearning for since she had left, at least as much as the sex.

"Want a shower ?" he offered after some time.

"Bold of you to assume I can walk," she muttered, already a little more awake according to the irony lacing her voice.

"I'll carry you to the bathroom."

"Pretty sure you'll have to carry me for the rest of the day," she admitted begrudgingly with the visible tip of her ears tainted red.

Shanks grinned. He had absolutely no objection to this.

-o-oOo-o-

An hour later, Shanks walked on deck with Y/N hold against him and a beaming smile on his lips. She had her legs wrapped around his waist and her hands around his neck, so that Shanks only needed to put his hand on her ass to support her. For some reason, she was hiding her head against his torso and muttering about embarrassment and lack of dignity.

The obvious advantage of this type of carry was that Shanks could just sit down wherever he wanted and she would be seated as well. A few whistles greeted them and Shanks laughed good-heartedly as he picked a table and sat down.

"You can stop hiding, babe, I think the lads saw you," he laughed.

"Why did I even bother to bring you gifts," she muttered against his skin, and Shanks' jaw dropped.

"You what !?"

That seemed to be enough to get her to stop hiding her head in his neck and look at him, even if her cheeks were still dusted with a delicate shade of pink.

"I picked a bottle of the local liquor in every island we stopped at. I wanted you to know you were on my mind at every step of my journey," she admitted with a cute little smile like this was no big deal to her. "They're in the bag I left in your quarters before going to the pub, we can look through it together later if you want ?"

Great fucking seas, what had Shanks ever done in his life to deserve that woman.

"That's the most romantic thing anyone's ever done for me," he told her with a dreamy smile. He was pretty sure he looked like the sappiest idiot to ever exist and could not be arsed to give a single shit about it.

"You know Captain's already whipped, right ?" Lucky laughed as he walked past them. "You didn't have to go all out, Y/N !"

"I just wanted to," she shrugged, then looked at him with soft eyes and an even softer smile.

"I love you," Shanks declared with an adoring expression at the woman in his lap.

She blushed beet red and caressed his face with her hands, gently bringing their faces together for a kiss.

"I love you too," she whispered back after their lips separated, their foreheads touching as she looked into his eyes with a loving gaze Shanks was ready to let himself drown into for the rest of his life.

There could have been an explosion going off around them and Shanks would not have noticed. He was floating in a bubble of pure happiness and nothing was ever going to make him leave it.

"Sorry to interrupt the moment," Beck declared as he sat on the other side of the table, "but we need to talk about a thing or two."

And the bubble was broken, leaving Shanks to send a mild glare at his second. Doubly so when Y/N left his lap to cautiously put herself in the seat to his right.

"Sweetheart, what are you doing ?" the red-head protested.

"I have a feeling it's going to be a pretty important conversation and I would rather not hurt my neck," she explained in a very reasonable voice that did nothing to prevent Shanks from pouting.

"First things first, the two of you need to turn the volume down a notch when you're havin' sex," Beck declared sternly. "Some of us here would like to sleep."

Shanks grinned, absolutely not regretting anything that had happened the previous night, but apparently his lovely lady had a different reaction to the news.

"Of course," Y/N agreed with a mortified expression that Shanks truly did not see the need for. "I'm sorry I didn't, erm, think of that but, uh-"

"I would've been offended if you thought of my crew when you were riding my dick, babe."

She bashed her head on the table and Beck sighed with a long-suffering look. Shanks genuinely failed to see what the problem was with his completely reasonable objection, and he grinned happily.

"Pushing that aside," his First Mate stated resignedly after a moment, "we all need to know more about those powers of yours. You're part of this crew now and it means you get a role on it."

"Hey ! Don't boss my girlfriend around, she just got back !" Shanks protested.

"Actually I think it's a good point," Y/N said as she sat back straighter with a little wince of discomfort that had Shanks feeling slightly guilty. He may have gone a teeny tiny bit overboard during the night. "If you're fine with going over it now ?"

"Go ahead."

By then, all Shanks' officers and a good part of the overall crew were listening with open curiosity. Shanks prepared himself to see them go crazy when faced with all the amazing stuff his girlfriend could do.

"I can control water. It includes seawater, clean water, and all liquids that have enough water in their composition, although my control over those varies depending on the amount of water they contain and how familiar I am with them," she explained. "Unfortunately, my powers don't work on ice, snow, or steam. When it comes to blood, or any kind of water-based liquid inside another living being, I need to touch said living being to be able to use my powers. There are both offensive and medical applications to that, but my top-two favourites remain making hearts explode for the offensive part, and healing my hangovers for the medical part."

"THAT'S HOW YOU DID IT !?" Yasopp screamed.

Shanks looked at his girlfriend in absolute wonder.

"Babe," he crooned. "My love, my Goddess, my-"

"No," she retorted without even looking at him.

"You don't even know what I was going to ask !"

"I will not be healing all your hangovers from now on."

Okay, so she did know what he was going to ask.

"What kind of medical applications do your powers have ?" Hongo asked, obviously very interested.

"Well, there are a lot of things I haven't tested yet so keep in mind that what I'm about to mention are just the ones I have tried successfully, okay ?" she replied with an embarrassed chuckle. "I can diagnose various blood-related conditions or organ malfunctions, healing those on a few occasions by accelerating a cleaning process or controling blood to get rid of the problem from the inside, and keep someone alive by stepping in for their heart when there's not enough blood left in their body. And of course, I can ensure the regular cuts and other bloody kinds of injuries remain clean of infections and stop bleeding," she listed like she was casually talking about her favourite colours.

Meanwhile everyone was looking at her with slacked jaws or raised eyebrows.

"Dibs," Hongo declared when she was done. "Y/N, congratulations, you're working with me now."

"Now wait a minute Doc," Shanks protested. "You ca-"

"Clean water ?" Beckman cut them both off.

"Rain, rivers, springs, anything really, and I can separate things like sand or gravel from it. Poisoned or polluted waters, I don't have experience with so I can't say whether I would be able to clean them or not," she shrugged. "I can also feel the presence of water nearby when I'm on land if I focus."

"Seawater ?" Beck finally asked, and she grinned.

"Now we're talking," she said confidently, and Shanks wanted to kiss that confidence from her lips. She looked so sexy when she was in her element like that. "Same control I have over clean water, but I can also feel the various currents around me and redirect them to some extent. I can create water tornados, giant waves, whirlpools, make the sea fall on itself around a ship, that kind of things. I haven't tried to stop a natural tornado or tsunami yet, but I think depending on their size and the distance I have before they reach their target, I should be able to do it."

"Wow," someone said, and Shanks had no idea who but he was inclined to agree anyway.

"Of course, with smaller amounts, I can create water whips, bullets, cuffs, really anything I can think of. Or put my opponents in water spheres, it's very efficient against Devil Fruit users," her smile turned a bit more dangerous and Shanks had a feeling Teach and his crew had been subjected to that particular technique. Damn, he regretted missing out on that, he was ready to bet she had looked fucking amazing.

"Downsides or weaknesses ?" Beckman finally asked, his eyebrows raised high but otherwise clearly the most composed member of Shanks' crew so far.

She grimaced.

"One of each," she admitted as she stared at the table, and Shanks took her hand in his to give her an supporting squeeze.

"If I use my powers too much over a short period of time, I get headaches. Depending on how complicated the task is or how much water I control at once, it can evolve into a migraine and eventually make me pass out for several hours," she admitted and tightened her hold on his hand. "It happened after I freed Ace. I had to go all out during that fight and it took more out of me than I had anticipated. We barely managed to get to the island I had planned to use as a temporary stop before I fainted. I was lucky Ace was here to keep me safe for the next twelve hours or so, because I don't think I would've been able to defend myself had a threat come our way."

Shanks took a deep breath, and refused to imagine everything that could have happened to his beautiful girlfriend while she was left in such a vulnerable state. She was currently safe and sound with him, and at the moment, nothing else mattered.

"Well it won't happen anymore, you got an entire crew to fight with you now !" Gab stated with a big smile, and several approving exclamations resounded after that.

She smiled back and relaxed a bit.

"I'm assuming that was the downside, so what's the weakness ?" Beckman asked.

She glanced in Shanks' direction, then sighed heavily.

"I can't use Haki. Any of the three types. Believe me, I've tried, and an expert even attempted to teach me on the way back, and I just… can't," she replied softly, looking embarrassed after this admission.

"Hey, it's okay babe, I got that part covered for you anyway," Shanks grinned, and the amused chuckle it earned him made it worth it.

She leaned against him, eyes closed, and smiled. She seemed so much more relaxed now that everything was out in the open, and Shanks was really happy she felt comfortable enough to tell them all about this huge part of who she was.

"So now we got two absurdly strong powerhouses on board," Limejuice summed up with a smile. "Nice."

"Oh please," she chuckled, "Shanks can kick my ass in three seconds flat, if that."

"Only in a regular fight, love," Shanks countered. After all, while he would probably win in a direct confrontation, her abilities ensured she could kill him pretty much everytime they held hands, hugged, kissed, had sex, or did anything that involved physical contact. Which meant pretty much all the time for the rest of their lives, if Shanks had any say in it.

"That's all I need to know," Y/N declared firmly, looking him in the eyes. "Believe it or not, but the certainty that you can kill me is very reassuring."

Shanks' eyebrows shot up. He had not been expecting that kind of declaration, but damn if it did not sound romantic as all hell.

"Talk about a match made in heaven," Hongo snickered. "They can kill each other in seconds and neither of them think it's scary. Y/N thinks it's reassuring, and Captain thinks it's hot," he explained when he noticed the questioning looks it got him.

There was a collective round of laughter at that, and Shanks brought his girlfriend closer to him, which made her wince again.

"Careful babe," she whispered.

"Sorry sweetheart," the red-head chuckled, then smirked. "You know, I think it'd be better if you just came back to sit on my lap."

She stared at him disapprovingly for a moment, then sighed and smiled.

"Fine."

The next moment, Shanks had brought her on him again and put her back against his chest, his arm around her waist, and she was even kind enough to pull her hair to the side so he would not have it in his face. Shanks smiled fondly as he put his chin on her shoulder and kissed her cheek, his girlfriend was so caring and attentive.

"So, with all that being said, what's going to be my job on board ?" she asked curiously.

"I'd like to remind everyone that I called dibs," Hongo stated with his hand raised.

"No way," Bonk countered instantly. "Identifying water currents and controlling them at will ? She'll be working with me."

"Lads, that's my lovely lady you're talking about," Shanks protested. "She's gonna stay with me."

"I could divide my time and work with the two of you ?" she offered as if Shanks had not just disagreed with that, and the red-head started grumbling about not getting any respect on his own ship.

"Stop pouting, love," she said as she turned her head to kiss his cheek in what was an unfairly sweet bribe as far as Shanks was concerned. "You know I respect you as my Captain. But if I'm to be a member of your crew, I need to pull my weight around and not just as a fighter. Hongo and Bonk are right, anyway, their areas are where my skills will be the most useful."

"You could just do paperwork with me ?" the Emperor suggested hopefully, to which she raised a very dubious eyebrow.

"You mean I would do it for you because you got bored in three minutes, and have to deal with you being bored and attempting to distract me the entire time it would take me to complete it ?"

"Wow, she really knows you, Captain !" Lucky laughed around his meat.

Beckman just smirked knowingly, and really, Shanks would like to have a little more support within his own crew.

Chapter 24: Storytelling Time

Notes:

Hello lovelies <3
This chapter's rythm is a little different, but I really saw no other way to make it work ^^'

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Reader pov

You spent the rest of the day in Shanks' lap, retelling your adventures with Ace to the crew you were now an official part of – and how freaking cool was that !? – around a few beers and snacks.

-o-o-o-

"Wait, Ace tried to sneak into a Marine base !?"

"Yes, and he didn't last half a day before blowing his cover."

"How ?"

"He ate half the banquet reserved to the officers by himself and punched a guy who had badmouthed Whitebeard in front of him. You know, totally not suspicious things to do."

-o-o-o-

"You met Luffy ?" Shanks beamed.

"Crazy cinnamon roll of a kid," you confirmed. "He said the next time he meets you, he'll be strong enough to kick your butt."

That one had everyone roaring in laughter.

"Oh and Yasopp, your son's on Luffy's crew."

"Wait really ? How's he doing ?" the sniper asked excitedly.

"Still a long way to go but he's got a hell of potential. He plans to become a brave warrior of the sea and a better shot than you, but you didn't hear that from me," you added with a wink.

Yasopp laughed again at your words. "Can't wait to see that !"

-o-o-o-

"No way, you ran into Buggy too !?" Shanks exclaimed with a bright smile.

"Yeah, he seemed to be doing fine. Wouldn't believe that you could date someone seriously, though."

"Can't blame him," Beckman snorted. "No one here had bet on Captain staying away from women until you came back."

"Wait," you turned to Shanks in shock. "You didn't… ? But I told you I was-"

"They weren't you," Shanks cut you off with a shrug like that explained everything, and your heart melted all over again.

-o-o-o-

"So you found out Ace was captured through the papers ?"

"Yes, and let me tell you I was pissed."

Shanks laughed wildly.

"That's what I kept telling everyone !"

-o-o-o-

"Even the number of pies they had eaten !?"

"Five more minutes and I think that granny would have given me their blood types," you chuckled. "The amount of information old people can gather is terrifying."

"Still better than a Marine trying to reassure you," Shanks muttered right before planting a possessive kiss on your cheek. "What a dumbass."

"Aww, are you jealous ?" you teased him.

"Absolutely not !"

-o-o-o-

"So after telling him he had pissed off the wrong girl, I killed him. The only downside was that I had to touch his skin for that, which, ew. But it was pretty cathartic to make Teach's organs explode one by one and finish with his heart," you recounted with a dark glint in your eyes and a satisfied smile.

"You're ruthless, love," Shanks smirked with a heated gaze.

"Only with people who make my shit list," you admitted with a shrug. "Is that a problem ?"

"Nah, it's pretty hot that you went all vengeful goddess on my enemy."

-o-o-o-

"Then I asked to speak to Admiral Lavasshole and-"

"Wait wait wait, you called Akainu Admiral Lavasshole ?"

Another round of laughter echoed all around the deck, several people hitting a table with their fist or holding themselves with tears in their eyes as they rolled on deck.

"Of course, it suits him much better. I wasn't going to associate your colour to him, anyway," you huffed haughtily as you flipped your hair over your shoulder.

"Have I mentioned that I fucking love you ?" Shanks asked you with a sappy grin.

You just kissed your Emperor deeply in answer.

-o-o-o-

"Wow, so you just let him go ?"

"Smoker is one of the few Marines I actually respect, so yes, when he surrendered and asked me to spare not himself, but the people under his command, I let him go."

"That's weirdly gracious of you," Hongo remarked.

"What can I say, I have a weird moral code."

-o-o-o-

"You did what with that sea king ?" Shanks asked in disbelief.

"I let him eat all the Marines out in the sea, then jumped on him and made his blood stop for a few seconds," you repeated. "I thought he'd be scared of me and leave, but instead he just cowed and started to follow Ace and I while we were going to the island, so we jumped on his back and I guided him with the currents until we got there. I was sure he'd go away after we left him to go on land, but, well…"

"What happened after that ?" Lucky asked curiously.

"He waited for us to leave the island, then kept following us as we left, so I thought we might as well travel on him. I kept a bubble of air around Ace and I when we were underwater and left him off-shore when we were getting too close to an island, but otherwise he kept his back at surface level and seemed really happy to eat everyone who tried to attack us. And let me tell you, there was an insane amount of idiots who tried to get in our path after my bounty poster was released," you said with an eyeroll.

"And where is that sea king now ?" Beckman sighed as he pinched his nose, probably anticipating your reply.

"Oh, probably roaming somewhere around this island, he seemed pretty reluctant to leave my side so I've decided to just let him follow me wherever I go. I named him Ketchup, by the way," you smiled brightly.

"You tamed a sea king and you named it Ketchup !?" Hongo seemed close to bash his head on the nearest surface.

"Yeah, the blood in the water when he eats made me think of those people who eat their fries in a really messy way and spill ketchup everywhere. I thought it was fitting."

"It's absolutely perfect and you're fucking amazing, sweetheart," Shanks burst out laughing behind your back right before kissing your neck.

"Uh, no offense, but how do you know that sea king is a he ?" Bonk asked you weakly.

"I asked him, duh," you replied because frankly, Ketchup's answer to your polite questions about how he wanted to be addressed had been perfectly clear. He had happily rolled on himself when you had asked for his opinion about his newfound name, and done it again when you had asked about his gender and gotten to the male option.

"Why did I ever think you'd be less crazy than Captain," Beckman whispered tiredly with a hand covering his eyes.

-o-o-o-

"You met Dark King Rayleigh !?"

"Yep, I didn't think he would be in Saboady, but it turned out he had come back early for some reason so we got a chance to talk with him. He and Shakky were really kind to us, they even retold old stories from when they were still active pirates, it was great."

"He was the one who tried to teach you Haki ?" Shanks guessed.

"Yeah, and we came to the same conclusion about the fact that either nature was preventing it in order to balance my powers, or there was something about my origins that means I simply can't use it since, you know, it doesn't exist where I'm from. Oh, and before I forget, Rayleigh told me he expected you to call him soon."

You could swear those few words made Shanks freeze and pale drastically.

"Uh, did he say why ?"

"I think he mentioned something about needing to catch up ?"

You thought you heard a muttered fuck against your hair, but opted to ignore it. Rayleigh and Shanks had their own kind of relationship that you assumed was pretty close to a father-son one, and you planned to stay out of it. If only for the sake of your sanity.

-o-o-o-

"Of course I told Whitebeard to ground Ace ! With how reckless he's been during our journey, that's the very least I could ask for."

"Please tell me he agreed," Shanks begged you while shaking with laughter.

"Oh, he did. Ace is forbidden to leave the Moby for the next three months, he's on bathroom duties for the next two weeks, and at least half the commanders punched him at some point for being an idiot."

"Sounds about right," Beckman hummed with a nod.

"I got the time to be properly introduced to everyone too, it was great. I had a lot of fun watching Ace go all protective little brother everytime one of them tried to flirt with me," you giggled at the hilarious memory.

"BROTHER !?"

"FLIRTING !?"

"Did I forget to mention it ? Ace and I made it official that we had become siblings before going back to the New World," you smiled warmly. "And it was really adorable to watch him tell every member of his crew that since you're an Emperor and he's still not convinced you deserve me, then none of them will ever get close to good enough. I think Thatch cried at some point during his speech," you recalled with a chuckle.

"Damn right they're not good enough for you," Shanks grumbled as he possessively tightened his hold on your waist.

-o-o-o-

"So after that, I offered to see if my powers could help with Whitebeard's medical condition before leaving, since what I can do is pretty different from what Marco can do."

"You just casually offered to heal an Emperor !?" Yasopp asked in disbelief.

"Wait, he knew the second you touched him he could die, right ?" Lucky asked and even stopped eating for a second.

"Oh, absolutely," you replied with a nod. "But-"

"But since you saved one of his sons and revealed your powers to the world in order to rescue another that you then adopted as a younger brother, he was confident you wouldn't kill him," Beckman explained in your stead with a long drag of his cigarette.

"Yep. Anyway, I told him there was no guarantee I would be able to do anything, but that I was willing to try if he wanted to give it a shot. He accepted, and his problem turned out to be much simpler than I had anticipated."

"What did he have ?" Hongo asked curiously. "If you're not bound by patient confidentiality, of course."

"I'm not," you replied. "He had multiple blood clots in his main arteries. The worst one had started to get close to a heart valve, which is why he needed more oxygen circulating in his body. With the equipment they had on the Moby, it was basically impossible to detect, and since it's not an injury per se, Marco's powers were useless."

"But since you focus on blood, it had to be the equivalent of a giant neon sign as soon as you touched him," the doctor completed, and you nodded with a bright smile.

"Exactly ! After the diagnosis and at Whitebeard's request, Marco and I decided to do a combined intervention to get rid of the clots in his body. Basically, I manipulated Whitebeard's blood from the inside of an artery to dislodge the clot, then Marco made an incision where I showed him so I could get it out of his body, and he used his flames right after to heal the incision. Then we went on to the next one, until all the blood clots were gone," you explained as plainly as you could. "The entire procedure lasted a couple hours and I was in dire need of a nap afterwards, but the surgery was a success."

"So that's why Old Man Newgate said he owed you a debt," Shanks hummed, and you could feel his smug grin against your skin. "I'm surprised he didn't try to snatch you in his crew."

"Oh he tried as soon as he woke up after the surgery," you corrected with a little laugh. "I declined, obviously, but he told me that after everything I've done for him and his family, he was going to consider me an honourary member anyway. And he added that if you ever break my heart, he'll break your neck."

-o-o-o-

By the time you were done retelling everything that had happened, it was late afternoon and you were feeling a bit tired again. When you yawned and curled a bit more against Shanks' chest, it seemed to be interpreted by everyone as a sign to give the two of you a bit more space.

"I'm really happy to be back," you mumbled as you turned on your Emperor's lap so you would be able to join your hands behind his neck and hug him. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, sweetheart," Shanks replied and kissed your hair, his hand drawing soothing circles on your back. "Good thing you won't need to leave again."

-o-oOo-o-

Rayleigh pov

In all his years of living, Rayleigh had encountered many a person who could be described as uncommon. Less so since he had retired and opted for a more recluse life, but there still was the occasional surprise.

The newly dubbed Goddess of the Sea had certainly made that list. She had been the whole reason he had come back to Sabaody sooner than planned, if only to see what Shakky had managed to gather on this woman who had surged from seemingly nowhere and taken the world by storm.

Rayleigh had not expected to walk into his wife's pub to see Shakky in great conversation with said Goddess of the Sea and Whitebeard's second division commander, a small smile on her lips and a fond sparkle in her eyes. Just this first impression had reassured the old pirate about the kind of girl this Y/N was. Shakky was an excellent judge of character.

Ten minutes later, Rayleigh found himself retelling a few of his adventures on the Oro Jackson to two young people who were listening with rapt intensity and almost had stars in their eyes.

Thirty minutes later, Ace revealed he was Roger's son, which Rayleigh probably should not have been so surprised by given how much the kid took after his late best friend and Rouge.

An hour later – after Ace had been done crying and getting hugged by the young woman who had apparently adopted him as a little brother – they moved on to the topic of Ace's younger brother Luffy. The few cautious glances and nervous tells Y/N displayed during a good part of that conversation led Rayleigh to believe there was more about that kid than what Ace was telling them.

Three hours later, when Ace was sleeping on a chair like his life depended on it, Y/N put all cards on the table in front of him and Shakky. How she came from another world with knowledge of the past and future, what she had done to avoid a tragedy, and what still needed to be done to avoid dire consequences.

Four hours later, Rayleigh gave her his word that he would give this Monkey D Luffy an honest chance, and train the boy if he proved himself worthy. The grateful smile he received from the blue-haired girl could probably have made the moon jealous.

Four hours and five minutes later, however, Ace had woken up and Rayleigh learned that his favourite protégé, the little cabin boy he had watched over incessantly on Roger's ship, the brat who was as close to a son to him as he would ever get, had captured the heart of what was possibly the most powerful woman on the Sea and did not so much as snail to inform him of his relationship.

So the next day, Rayleigh gave both kids a few pointers about Haki – Y/N's inability to use it was a bit concerning, but there was nothing to do about it – and a message for Shanks before he let them go back to the New World.

On a sea king's back, no less.

-o-oOo-o-

A little under two weeks later, a familiar den-den mushi finally rang when Rayleigh was reading the newspapers, and the old pirate grinned.

Gatcha.

"Rayleigh."

"Hey Ray !" Shanks' enthusiastic voice replied, but Rayleigh could hear the nervousness under the cheer. "How're you doing ?"

"Getting older," Rayleigh replied with dry humour.

That earned him a laugh that contained a little less nervousness.

"So, Y/N told me you wanted me to call ? To, uh, catch up ?" Shanks asked when he was done laughing, and the nervousness was back.

"Ah, yes. Lovely girl, that one," Rayleigh said in a neutral tone.

"Yeah," his brat sighed dreamily in a way Rayleigh had never heard before. Looked like his kid truly was in love with more than just the Sea. Well, technically, he had gone for the closest there was to the Sea taking human form. "She's fucking amazing."

"Indeed."

There was a pretty awkward silence for a moment on Shanks' part, and Rayleigh would be lying if he said he did not enjoy it. All the time and titles in the world would never change the fact that this brat would always be… well, Rayleigh's brat.

"So, uh, what's up on your side ?"

"I had to meet a certain lovely girl in person to learn she was my future daugther-in-law."

The snail spluttered for a few seconds, and Rayleigh grinned.

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT !" Shanks screamed, the snail's face taking an interesting shade of red.

"Isn't it ?" the old pirate teased him.

"I'm not- she's not- we're not getting married ! I mean I love her and I wanna be with her for the rest of my life, but-"

Rayleigh shook his head in fond amusement, and his voice took on a touch of reproach. Seriously, he had raised his brat better than that.

"You better call me for the wedding, son. And when you finally give me grandkids, I expect to be informed before they come into the world."

"RAY !"

Rayleigh ended the call and laughed happily, then exchanged a loving look with Shakky, who was chuckling as well. He had not had that much fun in ages.

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

You watched Shanks come back from his call with Rayleigh, looking somewhere between mortified – an emotion you had not believed Shanks could even feel anymore – and pouting like a five-year-old.

"So, how did it go ?" you asked him from your sunset-watching spot on the railing, and slowly turned so your legs would be back inside the ship.

Instead of answering, Shanks walked straight to you until he could place himself between your legs and engulf you in a hug, his head hidden against your breasts. He then started grumbling about unfairness and Rayleigh being mean to him.

You chuckled and ran a hand through his hair, disentangling the soft red locks gently and scratching his scalp a little. Shanks instantly melted against you, so you kept going for a few more minutes.

"Feeling better ?"

"Getting there," he hummed dazedly. "Don't stop."

"That's usually my line," you replied mischievously, and instantly regretted it when Shanks raised his head with a heated gaze and a dangerous grin.

"Actually, your line last night was please Shanks, I'm close !" he moaned in your ear, and you blushed hard.

Shanks grinned and kissed your neck, then started peppering little kisses all along your jaw until he found your lips and gave you a languorous kiss that you happily reciprocated.

You kept making out lazily for a while, the calm sensuality of it making you feel both at peace and like butterflies had invaded your stomach. When you eventually stopped, you kept looking at Shanks in the lights of the sunset, and put a hand on his face to caress his cheek, feeling his light stubble grazing your skin. He closed his eyes and leaned into your palm, looking happy and content with the situation.

Then, of course, he had to start talking again.

"So, you up for a repeat performance tonight ?"

Your smile dropped at the same time your hand did, and you facepalmed with a heavy sigh.

"Shanks, I love you, but there is no way I can go again tonight. I'm up for cuddles, and that's it."

"I love cuddles, you got a deal !" he replied with a happy smile.

You looked back up at him incredulously, then huffed a laugh. What a crazy man you had set your heart on. And what a crazy fool you were for not regretting it.

Notes:

Take care and I'll see you tomorrow <3

Chapter 25: Life On The Red Force

Notes:

Hello lovelies <3

Someone *pointed look at a certain bean* made very convincing kitty eyes and reasonable arguments about me being a sadistic author who enjoyed tormenting them too much. Therefore, please enjoy another double update x)

Chapter Text

Sengoku pov

A few weeks after the event, Sengoku was still dealing with the consequences of losing an Admiral and issuing an unprecedentedly high first bounty about an insanely dangerous woman whose moral compass was close to incomprehensible. His most difficult task so far had been to find an adequate replacement to Sakazuki. As much as it pained him to admit it, the only Vice-Admiral who was strong enough to be promoted to the position was Garp.

And Garp had made his opinion on the matter very clear over the years.

So Sengoku had decided to go for a less conventional solution. Recruiting a civilian who had the power to back up the rank, and would only need to be trained in the more bureaucratic aspects of Marine organisation, was his best bet for now. Two candidates were clearly on top of the list in terms of raw power and potential, but Sengoku was waiting for the interview phase to begin in order to pass his judgement.

Sakazuki had been the tragic proof and reminder that raw power was simply not enough. The right mindset was just as important. So many lives could have been spared that day if Akainu's pride and unyielding vision of justice had not prevented him from making better choices.

A young Marine clearly out of breath suddenly burst into his office.

"Sir, urgent report from the New World about the Goddess of the Sea!"

Sengoku barely waited to have the file in hand to open it.

"Dismissed, cadet."

What the file contained was something the Fleet Admiral wished he could say he had not seen coming, but was unfortunately one of the possibilities he had braced himself for. Several pictures showed Y/N and Akagami walking hand in hand in a small town, laughing or smiling at each other. On a few of them, they were even kissing. The last one in particular almost looked like they had posed for it.

The rest of the report explained that the scout who had taken the pictures had been spotted early on, but that neither pirate had seemed to mind his presence. At some point, the Emperor had asked him to come forward and make sure he had a good angle as they kissed again, and even asked for a copy afterwards.

Y/N had confirmed their relationship, and the fact that she had officially joined the Red-Haired Pirates. Akagami seemed to have made a joke about his dashing charms ensuring Whitebeard could not steal his girlfriend with a sneaky adoption, and then they had been on their way.

Sengoku took his glasses off and tiredly ran a hand on his face. He could already tell this picture was going to end up on the front page of the next day's newspaper, probably with a headline like Power Couple Of The Century, knowing Morgan's penchant for theatrics.

While this was not the worst-case scenario, it was still a pretty bad one. By joining an Emperor's crew, Y/N had made herself almost impossible to attack on land. By recruiting the Goddess of the Sea, Akagami had made himself almost invulnerable at sea. And the two of them starting a relationship meant any attempt to kill one would likely send the other into a protective fury.

Sengoku picked the den-den mushi on his desk and called his secretary.

Gatcha.

"Sir ?"

"Schedule an emergency meeting with the Admirals and Vice-Admirals currently in Headquarters this afternoon. Make sure the responsible for Emperor's crews of the bounty department will attend as well."

"Yes Sir."

Sengoku put his glasses back on his nose and looked once more at the resumes on his desk. With such news, appointing a new Admiral had become more crucial than ever.

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks pov

As far as Shanks was concerned, the weeks after Y/N's return were the closest he had ever been to have all his dreams come true at the same time. Being a pirate ? Check. Having fun with his awesome crew ? Check. Throwing a party as often as he could ? Check. Sailing the sea and kicking any ass coming his way ? Check and check. Amazing sex ? Hell of a check. Spending his days and nights with the woman he loved ? He did not even know he had that one until it happened, but damn, check.

It was just like when she had spent those first few weeks with them after leaving Delka island, except that now Y/N had completely embraced the pirate life and fit in his crew – and his bed – like she was always meant to be there.

Like right now, when she was sparring on deck against Limejuice and more than holding her own so far. Shanks would argue that it was only taking that long for her to win because she was not using her water-based weapons, but apparently that was the whole point of it. Her first training sessions had consisted of her literally wiping the floor with absolutely all of them – and the way everyone's clothes stayed wet for much longer than they should was definitely her payback for the betting pools – except Shanks himself. And even his victory had only been due to the fact that he had used his Haki to knock her out faster than she had been able to summon the Sea to her.

When it had been established that she was as close to undefeatable as she could get with water nearby, Beck had decided to assess her fighting style when she could not rely on water around her. Shanks was pretty sure it was actually motivated by his First Mate's hope to find a plausible excuse to no longer be thrown overboard or drenched from head to toe by their newest member.

But by the seas, her sparring sessions had become one hell of a treat after that change. Y/N had quickly proved that she only needed one touch to get a win. She had apparently been working on a technique that paralysed her opponents instead of killing them, and it was damn efficient.

Other than that, since she could not use Armament or Observation Haki, her style relied mainly on dodging and making lightning-fast movements to reach for her adversary's skin. It was surprisingly elegant, almost as if she was only dancing. A deadly dance, granted, but still.

Limejuice was using his staff to keep her at a distance and it had been working for a few spars so far. But when she suddenly feinted a jump on the left, only to drop on her knees and catch his ankle, he fell on deck like a sack of potatoes. She checked his wrist briefly to ensure he was fine, then pushed herself up in a fluid and graceful movement, flicking her hair back over her shoulders as she did so.

Shanks felt his dick twitch with interest. Watching his girlfriend kick ass like the queen she was had become one hell of a turn on.

"Two minutes," Beck stated with an approving nod and a drag of his cigarette. "You're improvin'."

"Thanks," she smiled brightly, then grabbed a towel and called some water on it to wash the thin layer of sweat off her face and arms, and Shanks watched hungrily how a few drops fell on her cleavage. "I wasn't sure the feint would work."

"It won't always work," Beck confirmed. "Make sure you have an out in case it doesn't."

"Will do," she smiled, then stretched her arms above her head, and damn, that was a lot of skin her movement was revealing. And knowing what was under those sexy blue clothes did nothing to diminish Shanks' lust.

"Hey babe, what do you say you and I go practice some hand-to-hand together ?" the Emperor asked with a wink.

The reproachful look she sent him was really undermined by the way her pupils dilated at his offer. She bit her lower lips in clear hesitation, but before she could answer, Bonk and his monkey jumped between them.

"Wait, we're about to enter a shifting zone and I need Y/N's help to adjust our course !"

Damn it. What was it with everyone on board trying to cockblock him ?

"I'm on it," she nodded toward the navigator.

Still, she walked toward Shanks and plastered her body against his before giving him a quick kiss on the lips, soft and featherlight and wickedly tantalizing.

"I'll make it up to you tonight," she whispered after drawing back, nevermind that Shanks' hand had landed on her lower back and was making sure she could feel his interest.

"You better keep that promise, sweetheart," Shanks replied with a smirk even though he knew she would. And that it would be very enjoyable for both of them.

With a peck on his cheek and a wink, she twirled out of his grasp and hopped her way to the railing, only turning her head back toward the deck for a moment once she had jumped on it.

"How far ahead do you want me to check ?" she asked Bonk, her expression back to focused in a way that was unfairly hot in Shanks' opinion.

"Five clicks, ten if you can. Try to look out for any current strong enough to deviate us," Bonk answered.

"You got it," she nodded with a confident smile.

She raised her right arm and a wave came at deck level, allowing her to step on it and surf her way down. A second later, her speed increased and she dashed forward, getting ahead of the Red Force like a cheetah leaving a hedgehog behind. When she was far enough, she suddenly just disappeared under the waves, and Shanks' breath caught like the first time he had seen it happened.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to see her do that," Yasopp deadpaned from Shanks' right, a tankard in his hand.

"You and me both," Limejuice mumbled as he massaged his skull. "And you're lucky you don't have to spar with her anymore, I swear her paralysis thing is taking years off my life."

"It doesn't and you know it, stop being a baby," Hongo snorted.

Shanks grinned at that, then noticed a huge shadow under the water heading in the direction Y/N had taken.

"Looks like Ketchup is going with her," Lucky noted as he munched on his meat.

"Still can't believe your girl tamed a freakin' sea king," Beck sighed.

The Emperor only grinned wider. Meeting Ketchup had been a really fun experience. They had encountered the cute white otter-faced sea king when they had left the island Y/N had joined them at. Ketchup had acted pretty threateningly at first, but Y/N had walked forward and basically talked him into not attacking them. And then, when it looked like the sea king was still on the fence about trying to eat the Red Force, she had turned to Shanks and asked him to use his Haki on Ketchup so he would understand they were too dangerous to attack.

It had worked splendidly and Shanks even got the chance to go ride the big creature with Y/N for a while, both above and under the water. And riding a sea king's back under the waves while being protected by a bubble of air and not have a single droplet on him when they got back on deck had been pretty incredible, even by New World standards.

Shanks really had the best girlfriend.

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

Months passed in what you could only describe as complete happiness. Or maybe it was just the honeymoon phase that was still ongoing with Shanks, you were not really sure. But you got to spend all your time at Sea, with the man you loved and a crew whose members were your friends by now, you could improve your powers and fighting abilities better than ever before and kick ass on a regular basis, and you even managed to follow Luffy's adventures through the newspapers.

You might have had a little disagreement with Shanks about Luffy's bounty posters, but that was neither here nor there. Long story short, he had used his authority as Captain, and you had retaliated with blueberry-chocolate chip cookies.

Shanks' horrified expression had sent the rest of the crew in a fit of laughter that had lasted several minutes, and the Emperor had suddenly found himself much more open to negotiations.

Life was good.

-o-oOo-o-

"Red alert !"

You were jolted out of your thoughts by the yell and ringing of the bell while you were assisting Hongo in his inventory of the medbay. The two of you exchanged a look and immediately went on deck.

Shanks and Beckman were already there, and Yasopp was looking at the three ships heading toward your position through his scope. You walked to Shanks' side, taking his hand in a familiar gesture as he observed the sea as well. The sky was covered in grey clouds in a way that you knew meant rain was imminent, and the waves were also greyer and more agitated than usual. Not storm-level yet, thankfully, just the Sea feeling a little whimsical.

"What do we have here ?" Shanks asked casually, mingling your fingers after a quick glance and smile in your direction.

"Jok The Fox Kraham, and a few friends he made in the New World, apparently," Yasopp answered. "He's standing on the prow with a sword in each hand and screaming things along the lines of rising to glory and stepping on your corpse. I'd say he's probably not here for the happy hour."

Shanks snorted, then turned to another member of the crew.

"Gab, do we have something on that guy ?"

"I think his bounty's around five hundred millions berries," Gab answered easily. "Several devil fruit users in his crew, mostly Zoans, a few with their own bounties."

You observed the three ships for a moment, the way they were closing in, and suddenly felt a drop of water falling on your arm.

You grinned.

"Want me to take care of it, Captain ?" you asked and even batted your eyes at your lover for good measure.

Beckman huffed, but there was a small grin on his face as he answered before Shanks could.

"We can't loot a sinkin' ship, Y/N."

"With all due respect, First Mate," you replied with a touch of smugness, "I absolutely can loot a sinking ship. But I was thinking of keeping them afloat for now, and just deal with the people on board."

Beckman nodded goodheartedly and lit a cigarette despite the rain starting to fall, conceding your point.

"If you want so badly to make a show for me, sweetheart, all you have to do is say it," Shanks smirked and his hand traveled to your waist and then your hips, his fingers playing with the limit between your skin and your skirt.

You met his lustful gaze and smiled.

"Well, you got to show off early on during my first weeks on board. But I haven't had a good occasion to show you what I can do since I came back."

"You mean aside from deep-thro-"

You put both hands on his mouth before he could finish, and blushed at his words. His total lack of shame was still making you awfully embarrassed on a regular basis, which unfortunately seemed to make for prime entertainment for everyone else given the snickers you could hear around you. Ruffians, the lot of them.

Shanks' eyes were full of mirth at your actions, and his hand went to get yours out of his face. He took you to the railing, grinning despite the rain, and kissed you deeply for a few moments until you felt a little dazed.

"Impress me, babe," he whispered one hair away from your lips, and his eyes held the promise of a very lustful kind of reward if you managed to do so.

You winked, and made a little salute with your hand.

"Aye Captain."

-o-oOo-o-

Beckman pov

Beckman watched his Captain and Y/N being lost in each other for a moment, and shook his head fondly. Those two were so in love it was near impossible to guess whether their next display of affection was going to be bold enough to border on foreplay, or so disgustingly sweet they would give Beckman cavities just by witnessing it.

Still, Y/N took a couple steps backward, tilted her head toward the sky and the falling rain, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

Then she suddenly spread her arms, and the rain stopped falling, droplets of water just stopping where they were at and turning the deck into a pretty surreal place. She directed her left hand toward the ships coming their way, and all the drops gathered to create a path above the sea. She took one step on it, and let herself be carried away, the water leaving with her at the precise movements of her wrists, and the rain started falling on the Red Force again.

"So freaking cool," a few crewmembers mumbled in awe.

Beckman joined everyone else to lean on the railing and enjoy the show.

"Why d'you think she stopped in front of them ?" Limejuice asked curiously.

"She's probably giving them a chance to surrender, you know how she is," Shanks smiled as he watched his girlfriend float on a wave at prow level.

It was true that she had an interesting moral compass, pretty close to Shanks' own in the way that both of them preferred to give their opponents a chance to leave with their lives. Unfortunately for said opponents, most tended to see it as an insult instead of the genuine offer it was.

Although to be fair, anyone who thought they could take on Shanks or Y/N without an army had to be either very arrogant or very dumb, which rarely led to smart decisions.

"Looks like Kraham took the wrong option," Yasopp smirked.

And indeed, Y/N had dashed down to disappear under the sea.

"Five," Shanks counted with a chuckle, "four, three, two, on-"

He did not get to say zero before three massive columns of water surged from the waves, each the size of a small tornado and moving so fast that all three ships capsized brutally, probably making most pirates aboard lose their balance.

"Fucking Seas !" Bonk cursed with his monkey crushing his shoulders in shock, both of them gaping. "She never did that before !"

"Well she told us she could," Hongo reminded them somewhat calmly even though his eyes were wide, "but seeing it for real… damn, that's something else."

The columns turned down mid-air, and violently crashed on the decks as screams filled the air and men were sent flying overboard with no chance to hold onto anything secured enough to keep them on their ship.

"That's a quick way to clean a deck," Lucky laughed.

Beckman huffed a small laugh at the comment, but his eyes remained on the blue-haired woman who had now surrounded herself with water whips. She was meticulously catching and throwing overboard anyone who had survived her first attack, one ship after the other.

"Hey, why's the water turning re- nevermind," Gab started asking and interrupted himself when the large and white dorsal fin of Ketchup broke the surface of the waves between two ships. It seemed the sea king had decided to join the fun and enjoy an impromptu feeding time.

Y/N finished her cleaning process in a matter of minutes, spent a few more moments under the water – probably to make sure her oversized pet had gotten everyone – and then glided on the waves with the three ships trailing after her like ducklings. With one last water jet raising at a flick of her hand, she jumped in the air and gracefully landed back on deck behind them, barely a hair out of place and perfectly dry.

She was looking at Shanks with a confident smile, however, and Beckman did not even need to see his Captain to know Shanks was two seconds away to fuck her right then and there.

"So, did you enjoy the show ?" she asked knowingly with a hand on her hip.

Beckman chanced a glance at his Captain, and sure enough, he was drooling.

"More than enjoyed, sweetheart," Shanks admitted and licked his lips as he started walking toward her.

The First Mate of the Red-Haired Pirates watched his Captain lead his girlfriend inside, and resigned himself to handle the looting part. Not that it would be very complicated, even in the rain. They just had three crewless ships to look through and pick what they wanted from.

Having the Goddess of the Sea on the crew was definitely making piracy easier.

Chapter 26: Shovel Talk

Notes:

Hello lovelies <3

Rom, that chapter's for you, enjoy more Whitebeard Pirates screentime ;)

Chapter Text

Shanks pov

The day after Y/N's mouth-watering demonstration of power – and the night Shanks had spent with his head between her thighs as a proper reward – the nice weather was back and they were all partying on deck for no other reason than celebrating her first singly-handled victory since she had become crew.

More precisely, his beloved, amazing, wonderful girlfriend had offered to make them try a new type of drinking game based on all the fairytales she had told so far. Everyone would write a list of things they thought would happen in the new story she was about to tell, and every time one happened, they had to drink. And if someone completed their list, everyone else would have to empty their tankard entirely.

Best of both worlds, truly.

"… and when Rapunzel stopped singing, the glow in her hair disappeared. Eugene took a look at his hand, only to see his injury was healed, like it had never even existed."

"One person heals another, that's one more point for me !" Hongo interrupted, and Y/N sighed in mock annoyance but drank anyway.

By the end of the fairytale, only four of them had completed their list – Shanks included, and yes he was proud – and they were all asking her for another one.

"Come on babe, just one more ?" Shanks purred to the woman in his lap with a smirk, knowing the words were going to make her think of the very different circumstances in which he usually said them. He was rewarded with a light blush, and a disapproving look that no longer had the slightest effect on him.

"At this rate I'll be out of stories by the end of the year," she mock complained.

"Wait, year ?" Yasopp repeated with bulging eyes. "How many fairytales do you know exactly ?"

Y/N blinked for a minute, seemed to think about it, and ultimately shrugged before readjusting her position in a way that rubbed deliciously against Shanks' crotch.

"I'm not sure, I never counted."

"I think we can round it up to a lot," Shanks laughed and kissed her cheek.

"Well at least one of you will be able to tell stories to your kids," Hongo snorted.

Beckman and half the crew choked on their rum, and Shanks grinned. Y/N had asked him to wait until they would actually start trying for children to tell everyone about it. Since he would rather not do anything suceptible to provoke a repeat of the blueberry cookies, Shanks had agreed, but it was fun to see the others bringing it up as a joke. Although he took offense with that particular statement.

"Excuse you, I know plenty of stories !" the red-head protested.

"At least half of those aren't for kids, Captain," Beckman countered immediately.

Okay, that might be a somewhat perhaps close to valid argument.

"Well I'll just have to tell them how their mom fell desperately in love with me at first sight, then," Shanks grinned, and completely ignored the raised eyebrow his girlfriend gave him. Every good story deserved to be a tiny bit embellished, after all.

"More like how you desperately fell in lust with their mom at first sight," Yasopp corrected with a snicker.

"That'll be for when they're teenagers," Shanks replied cheerfully without missing a beat.

"Can we stop talking about Captain's hypothetical kids ?" Limejuice asked with a grimace. "No offense, but that's a kind of chaos I'm still too sober to even imagine."

Shanks was about to reply that his children were going to be absolutely perfect and the epitome of little angels since their mom was a goddess, but a den-den mushi ringing somewhere on the ship stopped him, and everyone started searching where the noise was coming from.

Purupurupuru.

Purupurupuru.

Purupurupuru.

"Found it !" Bonk took the snail from his monkey and replied to the call. "Bonk Punch."

"Hey, it's Ace, can I speak to my sister ?" the snail asked with the beaming smile and excited voice of Whitebeard's second division commander.

Shanks was not surprised to see his girlfriend light up and stand to pick up the den-den mushi, just a bit disappointed that she was not in his lap anymore. Oh well, she would come back once she was done with the call.

"Hey firefly," she immediately greeted and everyone snickered or made an amused face at the cute nickname.

"It's firefist, nee-san !"

"That's what I said," she dismissed lightly. "What's up, little brother ?"

"Guess what !?"

"You better not have left on your own for another suicidal adventure or I swear on the Sea, this time I will bring you back by the scruff of the neck and make sure you're grounded for the next year."

Shanks blinked. He had only heard a couple of discussions between Roger's son and Y/N so far, but this was the first time her older sister mode was so obviously activated.

"I promised I'd call you before leaving if it happens again !" Ace protested.

"Is it what this call is about then ?" she sighed, and Shanks dearly hoped it was not, because he really did not want to deal with his girlfriend being away from him for another three months.

"Nope ! Marco asked me out !" Ace exclaimed with excited hearts coming out of the snail's eyes. "I can't believe you were right ! And I even told him about you-know-what in case, you know, he'd change his mind, and he said he didn't care at all and that all that mattered to him was if I wanted to date him or not ! So I got a boyfriend now !"

Shanks was ready to celebrate the good news – not that he truly cared about Whitebeard's commanders' drama, but love was love and he was all for people being happy – when he noticed that his girlfriend had gone completely still, her face serene and composed in an expression that sent a shiver down his spine and not in the horny way.

More in the oh fuck run for cover way.

That was the face she had made right before asking with a dangerously sweet voice who wanted cookies, then disappearing in the kitchen, only to come back with a platter full of the world's most heavenly treat corrupted by the worst fruit to ever exist.

She had also made that face when a Marine had managed to land a near-fatal injury on a member of the crew while screaming about demons consorting with a Sea Witch. The next second, she had sent everyone back on the Red Force with water whips. Instants after that, she had surrounded the battleship in a gigantic sphere of seawater that had slowly shrinked and invaded every nook and cranny of the vessel to drown everyone in her path.

In other words, that specific expression was one Shanks had learned to fear.

Though if he was completely honest, he still found it pretty arousing anyway. In his defense, his goddess of a girlfriend standing on the verge of unleashing her wrath was one of the sexiest things Shanks had ever seen.

"Is that so," she replied slowly, her voice poised and perfectly articulate and more than a little terrifying.

"Yeah, I'm so happy ! And I wanted to tell you since, you know, it's a lot because of all you told me that I've started thinking I had a chance and all," the snail laughed almost embarrassingly.

"I'm very happy for you, Ace. Can you just give me a minute ? I need to ask something to Shanks, I'll be right back."

"No problem sis !"

She covered the snail's transmission abilities with her free hand and turned to Shanks, who gulped nervously. He was pretty sure Yasopp was sweating bullets, while Lucky was trying his best to disappear into thin air, and even Beck was avoiding her gaze.

"My love ?" she asked him sweetly.

"Err, yes sweetheart ?" Shanks tried with a smile that was totally confident and not scared at all, thank you very much.

"Do you mind if I make a quick run to the Moby Dick ? It appears I have a shovel talk to give," she said with a dangerous spark in her eyes and a way-too-sweet smile.

Shanks' mood made a complete turn-over to land firmly on horny-as-fuck when he realised the Goddess of the Sea was planning to threaten someone else in all her protective glory. No way in hell was he going to miss out on that kind of show.

"Fuck I wanna see that," the Emperor blurted out as his brain-to-mouth filter disappeared and his pants tightened. Y/N's eyebrows rose for a second, then she chuckled adorably and the aura of danger around her almost disappeared.

"Works for me," she smiled, then turned to the den-den mushi again. "Hey, Ace ?"

"Right here !"

"Can you let Whitebeard know we'll make a quick courtesy visit soon ?"

"You're coming by !?" the snail yelled excitedly, and wow, the kid really had no idea what kind of danger he had just unleashed on his boyfriend. "Awesome ! I'll tell everyone, see you soon !"

"See you soon, firefly, and please, send my regards to Marco."

"Will do, bye sis !"

Gatcha.

There was a second of silence after the end of the call, and then Shanks burst out laughing.

"Marco's going to freak the fuck out, you know that ?"

"Oh, I'm counting on it," Y/N smiled smugly as she flipped her hair over her shoulders. "Come on, if he can't handle a few threats from me, he definitely won't be able to handle Ace's chaos. I just want to make sure my little brother's heart is in good hands."

She made her way back to his lap and sneaked a hand under his shirt in a very sensual move. Shanks smirked at his sexy and deadly lady, then brought his tankard to his lips only to realise he had finished his rum earlier.

"Sweetheart, can you be the adorable, wonderful goddess that you are and get me a refill ?" Shanks asked with a bright smile and a hint of puppy eyes.

She chuckled, then looked around to spot a bottle. With one flick of her wrist, the content flew out of it and right into Shanks' tankard in what was his second favourite use of her powers. His all-time favourite still belonged to their bedroom activities.

"So, I believe everyone wanted another story," she said happily as she picked her own drink with a smile. "I don't think I've told you the legend of the lost kingdom of Atlantis yet, have I ?"

-o-oOo-o-

Marco pov

Marco felt a shudder run through him for no particular reason and frowned. That was not something he was supposed to experience with his devil fruit. Still, it had only been a passing thing, and the doctor easily shrugged it off to keep reading Whitebeard's latest medical check-up.

What Y/N had accomplished was nothing short of a miracle. Pops seemed to feel a decade younger since the surgery they had done to remove the blood clots in his arteries. The procedure had been a masterful display of skill on her part, a definite proof that her powers could save lives as easily as it could claim them, and a unique medical prowess that Marco still felt honoured to have been a part of.

Whitebeard did not even need the IVs anymore, and clearly did not struggle as much as he used to – no matter how hard he had tried to hide it back then, Marco had noticed. Truly, between that, saving Thatch's life, rescuing Ace, and killing Teach, their crew owed the Goddess of the Sea a debt that would never be repaid no matter what they did.

Not to mention she had been the one to give Ace enough self-confidence for him to start opening up to Marco, to the point where the Phoenix had finally believed he could make a move and his interest might be both reciprocated and accepted. Which it had been. Marco smiled as he memory of Ace's adorably confused expression and then completely baffled face when he had confessed his feelings.

Talking about his boyfriend, Ace burst out on deck looking extra excited.

"Pops !" he yelled and came close to them, engulfing Marco in a hug as he stopped, which the Phoenix let happen and reciprocated with a kiss on Ace's temple.

"What is it, son ?" Pops asked, clearly in a good mood today.

Although Pops had been in a pretty good mood for months now, aside from the occasional grumble about red-haired brats stealing daughters away.

"Y/N and Shanks are coming to say hi !"

Marco's eyebrows shot up and a feeling of dread crept into him. No, surely he was wrong or had misheard. His own boyfriend would not have condemned him to certain doom like that, right ?

"Wait-yoi, did they say why they-" the Phoenix tried to ask.

"I just snailed nee-san to tell her we were dating and she said they'd be on their way ! Oh, she also said to give you her regards or something ?" Ace said with a bright smile.

Marco felt himself pale and his clipboard snapped in half under his sudden stress grip.

"GURARARARARARA !" Pops burst out laughing, and even slapped his hand on his knee. "Good luck, son !"

"Eh ? What do you mean, Pops ?" Marco's wonderful but clearly dumb boyfriend asked with a tilt of his head.

"He means your sister is going to kill me-yoi," Marco mumbled resignedly. Well, he had had a pretty great life so far. Maybe he would be really lucky and she would grant him a swift death.

"Ace," Izou explained calmly as he tried – and failed, that traitor – to hide a smirk, while Haruta was rolling on the floor and laughing himself to tears, "Your sister obviously plans to give Marco a shovel talk. Coming from the Goddess of the Sea, and a woman who didn't hesitate to kill an Admiral to rescue you, that can be a little… well, intimidating."

Ace's eyes bulged out of their sockets in shock while everyone else on deck kept laughing as the news spread, and Marco idly wondered if it was already too late to plan his funeral. Or if there would even be something left of him to organise a ceremony.

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

In your humble opinion, your shovel talk had been well within the limits of what could be considered reasonnable. Granted, leaving Shanks and a few other members of the crew walk on the Moby's deck without you but with snacks might have sent a different message. But you only surrounded both ships in a gigantic water sphere for a couple minutes, after all. And fine, maybe you had gone a tiny bit overboard with the dramatic entrance when you appeared out of a water wall with your hair and skirt billowing behind you as you asked to have a word with Marco.

But you had brought the Phoenix back from underwater completely unharmed. Admittedly, you had removed the sphere and disappeared with him in the depths of the sea inside a bubble of air for a few moments, just long enough to have a little chat while Ketchup kept circling around the two of you, which may have been a teeny tiny bit stressful for the Devil Fruit user. Marco might possibly have ended up traumatised and scared of you for life, but he was still able to stand when you brought him back on deck.

Ergo, reasonnable.

You had even nodded solemnly at Ace and told him you approved of Marco as his partner, which had led to your hothead of a brother whooping in joy and hugging you tightly before jumping on his boyfriend to kiss him senseless.

You had left them at their happiness with a smile of your own, and tried not to get too flustered when Shanks had come behind you with his arm around your waist to whisper in your ear how hot he thought you were and all the things he wanted to do to you right now.

Thankfully, you had managed to convince your horny Emperor to wait a bit. You had then exchanged a few words with Whitebeard about his health and well-being, and chatted amicably with some of the other commanders for a little while. Mostly, you had assured everyone that you were doing great, were very happy on the Red Force, and did not mind in the slightest that Shanks' bounty had been raised above yours. He clearly deserved it, anyway.

All in all, it had been a good family reunion as far as you were concerned.

-o-oOo-o-

Another couple months passed, and you kept following Luffy's adventures in the papers. You were more than relieved to see things seemed to follow the original timeline despite the significant changes you had brought into the world. To your surprise, Rayleigh even called you a couple times to let you know he had been in contact with Dragon and been more or less informed of his intentions to have Kuma send Luffy and his crew on various islands to improve their skills before they entered the New World.

He also asked to talk to Shanks for a few minutes everytime, and your boyfriend kept coming back from his private chats with his father figure either pouting, contemplative, a bit frustrated, or – one memorable time – nervous. He never told you why and you never asked, despite the curiosity eating at you. You figured that it was something between the two of them and that Shanks would tell you if or when he wanted.

Although one evening after one of those calls, when you were tired and just feeling like cuddling, you still tried to carefully broach the subject.

"Look, I know it's just between you and Rayleigh and I don't mean to pry, but if you want to talk about it, I'm here, okay ?" you told Shanks softly as you snuggled up against him.

Your boyfriend grimaced, then roamed his hand on his face with a groan.

"Ray's just being annoying."

"So he's being a dad and you don't know how to handle it," you translated with a chuckle. "Got it."

"He's not my dad !" Shanks protested, then paused and grumbled. "I mean, he is, but it's different. He just keeps mentioning stuff."

"Stuff you don't want to do ?" you guessed, and raised a hand to stroke his hair gently before kissing his cheek. "Because you can just tell him you don't want to do it and I'm sure he'll understand."

Your Emperor closed his eyes and hummed a moment, just enjoying the cuddles, and then brought the sheets up on you two and gave you a brief kiss on the lips.

"I'm not sure, it's just that it seems a bit… useless. I don't really see how it'll change anything," Shanks said in a pretty cryptic way as you yawned and pushed yourself back on your pillow. "I haven't made up my mind about it yet."

"Then just tell him that," you mumbled tiredly. "It's your decision, anyway."

"Guess it is. Goodnight, sweetheart," your lover said as he gave you a fond look.

"'night, love," you whispered and closed your eyes, letting sleep take you away.

Chapter 27: Sibling In Danger

Notes:

Hello lovelies <3
Someone asked for a full description of Ketchup, so I'll be putting in the end notes for everyone who might be curious ^^

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Shanks pov

Shanks woke up one morning to the awful sound of his First Mate banging on the door.

"Captain ! Y/N ! You got a call, get up !"

Shanks groaned and hid his face in his pillow for a moment. Maybe he would be lucky and Beckman would just go away to tell whoever was calling at whatever ungodly hour it was to fuck off and try again later.

Beside him, Y/N seemed to be in a pretty similar mood as her face scrunched up in a grumpy frown that was still adorable, but clearly meant she was annoyed. She had more willpower than him, though, since she turned and got out of bed. Shanks greatly admired her determination. And her ass.

"Someone better be dying," she grumbled as she stretched and covered her gorgeous naked body in clothes, a shame in Shanks' opinion. Still, he turned on his back just in time for her to give him a quick kiss and a soft smile. "You can stay in bed if you want, love, I'll see what it is and be right back."

Shanks considered taking her up on that offer, but no matter how much he melted at his girlfriend's sweet wonderfulness, he had a feeling Beck would not have called the two of them if only one was enough to handle whatever was going on.

"Let's just deal with it," the red-head stretched, then smirked at the unashamed way Y/N was oggling his body. "We'll go back to bed afterwards," he added with a wink.

"With pleasure," she replied and bit her lip as she gave him a very obvious once-over. Seas, Shanks loved how bold she was in private. It made her shyness in public all the more amusing.

Somehow, they managed to get out of their quarters without fumbling back in the sheets for a quick round, and Shanks would like it to be aknowledged as a tangible proof of his incredible self-control.

They arrived on deck just in time for Beck to give them a small white den-den mushi Shanks had not used in a while.

"Shanks," he announced.

"Something has happened," Dragon replied in his usual serious voice.

"Come on, don't get your panties in a twist," Shanks yawned. "Why are you calling so early ?"

"My Chief of Staff has been captured and the World Government plans to make a public execution at Marineford in a few days."

Before Shanks could do anything more than blink incredulously, his girlfriend gasped in shock and her face lost all colours. It was the same reaction she had made when she had seen Luffy's bounty poster, and the Emperor suddenly got a very bad feeling about what was going on. She then grasped her necklace and started muttering too low and fast for Shanks to grasp more than a few words.

"… ook Ace's place… ybe fate… Luffy… pel Down… eed to go…"

Fuck, he did not like where this was heading. The last time Y/N had been this worried about something, she had ended up not only being right, but also leaving on a stupidly long journey away from him.

"Akagami," Dragon called him, which reminded Shanks he had been so absorbed by his girlfriend's reaction that he had forgotten to answer. "I cannot let it happen. Sabo has been sent to Impel Down already and-"

"Y/N speaking, has it made the news yet ?" she interrupted, her face now determined in a way that told Shanks all he needed to know about the fact that his girlfriend had already made her decision.

"Yes it has, as of this morning."

"And has Kuma already sent Luffy and his crew to their training islands ?"

"Two days ago, I assume Rayleigh told you ?"

"Yes, but the point is that Sabo is Luffy and Ace's long-lost brother that they believed had died in the explosion you rescued him from in East Blue ten years ago. Do you understand what that means ?" she asked seriously.

Wait, what !?

Shanks put the snail on the nearest flat surface and turned to his girlfriend in shock.

"Luffy has another brother !?"

"Yes, I told you about it the night we met," she said with a small amused smile and right, she might have mentioned something along those lines. Although with everything she had thrown at him that night and how long it had been since then, Shanks was not surprised a detail or two had slipped from his mind. "But that's not what's important right now."

"I agree, although I'm curious to know how you came in possession of this information and how certain you are of their bond," Dragon replied in his suspicious-and-grumpy-but-still-serious voice.

"Long story for another day. The point is, Luffy is going to do something crazy as soon as he realises his brother is alive and about to be executed, and I don't think Ace will be much-"

Gab suddenly ran to them with another den-den mushi.

"Whitebeard's calling !"

"-better… damn it, I think I know what this one is about," Y/N sighed and motioned Gab to hand her the snail, while Shanks was left watching her with wide eyes as she clearly took charge of the situation. Damn, she was hot when she took command like that. The red-head picked Dragon's snail back up in his hand while his girlfriend went to talk with Old Man Newgate.

"So, why did you call me anyway ?"

There was a very audible sigh coming from the snail.

"I wanted to know if you were willing to add your firepower to the RA in case an all-out war breaks out against the Marines, but if Sabo's brothers bring their chaos into my plan, I'm no longer certain what will happen," Dragon admitted and it sounded a lot like it hurt his pride to get the words out.

"Eh, from what I can see, my girl's gonna join them," Shanks replied with a lazy grin. "I wouldn't bother to plan anything."

"Your- the Goddess of the Sea is going to get involved !?"

Shanks looked at the determined expression Y/N was making as she talked to Whitebeard – and probably Ace – a little further away. With the way she was frowning, Shanks could already tell she was preparing herself to go fuck shit up.

"Yeah, I don't think you need to worry. Even if Luffy and Ace don't get your guy out, she'll take care of it before they reach Marineford," the Emperor shrugged casually.

"And you're fine with a member of your crew playing a role in a strictly Revolutionary Army and Marines conflict ?"

Shanks burst into laughter at the question. That had to be one of the most absurd he had heard in a while.

"You've clearly never met her if you think I get any say in what she does !" the Emperor managed to reply after a while, and even had to put the snail down again to wipe a tear from his face.

"You're her Captain."

"Just means I'll give her a fancy permission to go give Sengoku a few more grey hair," Shanks replied cheerfully. On those matters, he trusted his amazing girlfriend's judgement, anyway. If she said she needed to go for the sake of Luffy and the future, then she would go and that was that. "Hey, wanna bet on-"

"I will take her involvment into account."

Gatcha.

The den-den mushi went silent and Shanks pouted. Dragon was always so rude, it was as if he did not enjoy their chats. Still, the Emperor turned his attention back to his beautiful Y/N who was wrapping up her discussion as well.

"I'll wait for you at the gates and keep them open, just make sure whoever you're getting out with don't attack Ketchup or I won't be able to guarantee their safety. Understood ?"

"Yep, thanks nee-san, you're the best !"

"Don't get killed, firefly."

The snail laughed, then Marco's voice came back instead.

"I'll make sure he stays alive-yoi."

"Thank you. See you there, guys !"

And she ended the conversation before sighing tiredly. Then Shanks watched his lovely girlfriend turn to him with a genuinely sad and apologetic expression.

"I'm sorry, I really thought this wouldn't happen and I know you don't want me to leave, but I can't-"

Shanks walked the distance between them and engulfed her in a hug, his hand gently stroking her hair. She seemed surprised for a moment, but quickly relaxed against him.

"It's fine, sweetheart. You do what you need to do. Just don't take three months to come back to me this time," Shanks grinned.

She huffed a laugh against his chest, then raised her head and looked at him with so much love in her eyes that Shanks felt a little overwhelmed.

"What did I ever do to deserve you ?" she whispered with a hint of incredulity in her voice.

"As amazing as I clearly am, I'm pretty sure it's the other way around," the red-head replied with a wink.

She kept looking at him with an impossibly tender smile and loving gaze for a moment, then brought both hands on his face and went on her toes to kiss him. Shanks met her half-way and made sure to savour the softness of her lips properly before he let her go. Even then, he kept their foreheads touching for a little longer.

"We'll be heading to Sabaody," he told her. "You can meet us there when you're done."

"Last one at Shakky's pub buys the other a drink ?" she asked mischievously, and Shanks grinned.

"You got yourself a deal, sweetheart."

Fifteen minutes and another searing kiss later, she had jumped into the water with a small travel bag and called her sea king. Shanks kept watching the cloudy horizon well after he stopped being able to distinguish her silhouette on Ketchup's white back.

"So, Sabaody ?" Beckman came to ask him at some point.

Shanks only hummed in answer.

"It'd be easier to stay in the New World. Wouldn't make much of a difference in terms of time," his First Mate stated plainly, and Shanks smiled.

"Yeah, but I need to see Rayleigh. Hey, do you think Hawkeyes can make it there in time if I call him now ?"

Beck raised an eyebrow, then looked at him with a suspicion Shanks thought was frankly unwarranted.

"What do you plan to do, Captain ?"

The Emperor grinned, and kept looking at the horizon.

"Follow Ray's advice."

-o-oOo-o-

Ace pov

While Ace had planned to leave alone as soon as he had seen the news – and fuck, he could not believe Sabo had been alive all this time and had not come back ! – he was glad Marco was coming with him and Y/N had promised to join them at Impel Down. With his boyfriend and his sister to help him, Ace was sure they would get his brother out.

Nevermind that no one had ever busted a prisoner out of Impel Down before.

"You could still let Y/N rescue him when he's moved-yoi," Marco said as he was flying them to the prison.

"She's already done too much for me !" Ace protested. "I didn't even want to ask for her help, I just planned to tell her and go."

"You really thought your overprotective sister was going to just sit by when you try to infiltrate Impel Down-yoi ? Or that I would have let you go alone ?" his boyfriend asked him with a heavy dose of sarcasm. "Or that Pops wouln't sail the Moby closer to Paradise in case you get caught again-yoi ?"

Ace pouted. He kind of had hoped that they would. Not that he was unhappy, because he was clearly more confident about this mission now that they were by his side and Pops was making a preventive move, but well. He could handle himself.

"We're just getting in and out anyway, what's complicated about it ?" Ace grumbled against the pretty blue flames on Marco's neck.

"We need to stay undercover until we get to your brother-yoi. And then until we manage to get him out. Through all six levels of the most secured prison in the world-yoi," Marco repeated for what felt like the thousandth time.

"Yeah yeah I know, I still don't see how that's complicated !"

His boyfriend did not even reply that time, and only kept flying. Ace decided to take it as the agreement it clearly was not.

-o-oOo-o-

"LUFFY !?"

"ACE !!"

Ace jumped over a tree and ignored the bladed leaves that did nothing to his flaming body.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE !?" Ace yelled at his little brother.

"I'M GONNA SAVE SABO !"

Ace finally reached his baby brother on the edge of a huge hole in the ground and hugged him fiercely.

"You're an idiot ! I'm going to rescue him ! You stay here !"

"You stay here !" Luffy retorted like a baby.

"Both of you shut up !" Marco groaned as he joined them. "I can't believe you already blew our cover-yoi."

"Eh ? Who are you ? Don't tell me what to do !"

Ace beamed, and jumped back to his boyfriend to ensnare him in a loving koala hug.

"Luffy, meet my boyfriend ! Marco, that's my little brother !"

Luffy immediately smiled, all hostility forgotten, but that was also when Ace noticed a guy with blue hair and a weird red nose wearing a prisoner's uniform – and who looked ready to shit his pants – standing behind his little brother.

"Hey, who're you ?" Ace asked, ready to firefist the guy into the nearest tree if he was a threat.

"Oh that's my friend Buggy ! He's showing me the way to level four !"

"WE'RE NOT FRIENDS !"

"Ah, that's great-yoi," Marco nodded. "A guide will be useful."

"LEAVE ME OUT OF THIS !"

"Let's go save Sabo together !" Luffy yelled happily as he extended his arms around all of them and jumped in the hole.

"NOOOOOOOOOO !"

-o-oOo-o-

Ace thought the second level of Impel Down was pretty fun. Or maybe this was just because he was fighting weird creatures with two of his favourite persons in the world – and the blue-haired guy who kept shrieking in the background – and he could see how much his baby brother had improved.

Luffy even destroyed a monitor room and Marco was relieved about it for some reason that Ace failed to understand, but he figured it was a good thing anyway. Marco was the responsible one, if he said something was good, it probably was. Then they met a guy Luffy knew that was named Mr. 3, or Galdino, Ace was not really sure and it did not really matter to him anyway. The guy decided to stick with them, which was fine by Ace as long as he did not get in their way.

Then they fought some more people who might be important according to what Marco, Buggy – who Ace had apparently already met with Y/N during their journey together, how fun was that ? – and Galdino said, but neither he or Luffy gave a damn about as long as they stood between them and their brother.

Then it got hot.

Like, hot.

Like, Ace could admit it was getting hot, hot.

And then they met a guy wearing weird make-up who was forcing other guys to do ballet, seemed to know Luffy, and wanted to meet the Queen of Okama Land who was rumoured to be kept in a lower level.

Ace kind of liked that one already.

"So you wanna free that Ivawhatever ?" Luffy asked.

"YEEEEEES LUFFFFFFYYYYYYY-SWAAAAAAAAANNNN," the guy answered as he pirouetted. "They are in level five ! I will come with you if only for the honour to meet Emporio Ivankooooooov !"

Marco sighed tiredly again, and Ace could really not figure out why. Allies were always a good thing, and when it came to epic escape plans, the more the merrier !

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

You managed to get to the famous gates surrounding Impel Down without any problem, mostly thanks to Ketchup who seemed to know the area well enough to bring you there. You felt confused about it for a grand total of two minutes, then you realised how many fishes were brought against the concrete walls by the currents, and the wonderful dinner they represented for your massive otter-faced friend.

At least your sea king would be well-fed before you would need to keep the gates open for your brother, his brothers, his boyfriend, his friends, and their impromptu acquaintances.

Come to think of it, you may need to simplify that found family tree or at least write it down somewhere, it was becoming really chaotic.

You shook your head to get yourself back on track. Boa Hancock should be out with her escort any time soon, if Luffy had followed his original plan, so you just had to keep waiting. When the walls opened, you grinned underwater. You silently encouraged Ketchup with currents – and a few fishes as an enticing bribe – to position himself between the Gates of Justice, and prevent them from closing.

Thankfully, he did so in a matter of moments since the position created a whirlpool attracting a feast the sea king had rarely experienced. You chuckled in your bubble of air, enjoying Ketchup's sheer happiness at the situation. The sea king did not even seem to notice the pressure put on either side of him by the massive walls, which reassured you. You did not want your adorable friend to be in pain for the sake of your plan, after all.

Once you were certain the Gates would not close as long as your sea king was blocking them, you swam to the side of the Marine ship. Thankfully, the Snake Princess was alone on the railing, still looking longingly through the gates, so you just pushed yourself above the waves and called her name. The Kuja Empress noticed your presence immediately and her eyes widened.

"YOU-"

"I'm here to help Luffy escape," you told her with a smile, and the impossibly beautiful woman immediately turned blushing and bashful.

"Lu-Luffy-"

"Yeah, I plan to help him go back to Amazon Lily once he's done with his business in Impel Down, so when you're back to your ship, could you just stay in the area for a little while ? It will be easier than take him all the way back to your island."

"Of course," Hancock whispered as discreetly as she could, which was… not very discreet. "Anything for Luffy-sama."

"Then stay around, I'll bring him as soon as he's out. Oh, and from one queen of the sea to another… keep kicking ass, Hancock !" you said with a wink, and only managed to see her surprised but pleased expression for a second before you disappeared back under the waves.

This part of your mission accomplished, you went back to Ketchup in order to convince him to stay between the two parts of the Gates, at least until your little brother and his brothers, boyfriend, and found friends would be out. Which might take a while. But you had promised Ace you would do it, and so far, Ketchup did not seem to mind staying exactly where he was, so everything was fine.

Hopefully it would stay fine until everyone got out of Impel Down.

-o-oOo-o-

Sabo pov

Sabo was waiting patiently for the guards to take him away from his cell.

If he had calculated things carefully – and he knew he had – he had a window to disappear around level five when he would be transfered. That should give him the opportunity to join Iva and the other hidden revolutionaries who were waiting for Dragon's call to come back to the surface.

It was not ideal, but it would get him out of the execution the World Government had planned for him. And out of the absurd extraction plot Boa Hancock had talked about when she had come, something about a long lost brother Sabo had never heard of and that sounded a lot like a conspiracy about his lost memories to make him talk.

The point remained, Sabo was waiting, and elaborating as many plans as he could think of, then contingency plans for those plans, and then contingency plans for his contingency plans. Just in case. Being so high-ranked in the Revolutionary Army had taught him there was no such thing as being too prepared.

Three plans and two contingency plans for each later, Sabo heard a weird sound in the corridor, and he frowned. It sounded like the walls were almost vibrating. Three seconds later, the ceiling crumbled in a mess of stones and silhouettes screaming more or less coherently.

"SAAAAAABOOOOOOOOO !!!"

Sabo felt confused at the sight of the teenager yelling his name.

Then he truly saw him. Along with a guy who had flames coming out of his arms and was yelling his name as well.

The veil on his lost memories tugged painfully, like something was trying to rip it off brutally.

"Stop screaming," he muttered as he put his hands on his head, "you guys are going to-"

Two untamable mops of black hair.

"Draw-"

An impossibly bright smile that meant happiness no matter the circumstances.

"The-"

Determination and loyalty wrapped into a freckled face that always had his back.

"Guar-"

Brothers.

The veil teared up and a tidal wave brutally washed upon Sabo's mind, bringing thousands of memories back in a second.

Notes:

Ketchup is a fully grown Sea King, which means he's huge (around 200 metres) but he's still relatively young. He's entirely covered in white scales that provide extra protection in case he encounters an opponent, with the exception of bright golden eyes and snout, and the long whiskers on either side of said snout.
He has the general looks of an otter (including cute little ears on either side of his head) but a long dorsal fin along his back and his tail ends with the kind of fins you see on mermaids. His legs are also a bit shorter than they would be on a regular otter, and his paws are more webbed, almost closer to the kind you would see on a duck, to make for better swimming.

Personality-wise, Ketchup is playful, curious, and likes snacks and travels. Like all sea kings, he does not hesitate to attack those he perceives as enemies or preys. However, he took an instant liking and respect to Reader, to the point of following her and ultimately deciding to be loyal to her when she proved to be a powerful creature of the Sea able to even bring prey to her without needing to hunt.
He thinks of her as a protector and a friend of the Sea, and his respect only grew when he met her Chosen Mate and he proved to be more powerful than Ketchup too.

As an unofficial member of the Red-Haired Pirates and their even less official battle-cleaner, he is living his best life and loves to fight and explore the sea with his Human (Reader) and her Mate and friends.

Take care and I'll see you tomorrow ! <3

Chapter 28: The Great Escape

Notes:

Hello lovelies <3
I wish you all a good week !

Chapter Text

Marco pov

Marco watched his boyfriend's brother pass out in his cell from what seemed to be shock, and groaned. This was not his area of expertise. He knew how to deal with it, granted, but it still was not his specialty, and he could guess what was going to happen in the next sec-

"Marco, do something !"

Yeah, that.

The doctor stayed calm and came closer to the cell door. He should consider himself lucky Y/N had warned him the guy was amnesiac and the shock of seeing his brothers again might trigger his memories in a rather violent way. Marco could not say he was surprised by the fainting after several years' worth of memories had come to him back at once, especially when the man was not expecting something like that.

How Y/N knew all this was another question, but the Phoenix did not feel like asking her about it. Not after everything she had done for his family, and certainly not after her shovel talk. He would rather not take the risk of crossing that woman, ever.

Marco got closer to the cell and checked the lock for a second. Unfortunately, it was reinforced with seastone. It seemed all cells and cuffs below level Five were, something that was rather unsurprising since a considerable portion of the most dangerous people in there also happened to be Devil Fruit users.

"Galdino, can you open this-yoi ?" he asked, and the man quickly produced a key with his wax, which Marco had to admit was a rather useful trick.

Marco barely got the time to take one step inside the cell before Ace, Luffy, and even Ivankov ran to the side of the unconscious blond guy.

"Sabo !" the okama called. "They are friends, you don't have to prete-"

"We're his brothers !" Ace cut him off.

"He needs meat !" Luffy declared after looking at the guy for two seconds.

Marco sighed, again. This was going to be a hassle. To think they still needed to get out.

-o-oOo-o-

Ace pov

So their escape might have become a bit more chaotic than what Marco had planned. But it was also much more awesome, in Ace's opinion. They had freed a bunch of people, including a former Warlord Luffy did not like but Ivankov said he knew how to deal with in case he tried something, Jinbei who had just been imprisoned after refusing to create a Fishman Legion against Y/N, and now they were all fighting their way out together with Ivankov holding Sabo in a princess carry.

If his brother could just wake up, it would be perfect. Marco had explained he had probably remembered everything at once and that it would take a while before his he came back to consciousness. Ace was still pissed that Sabo had not contacted him and Luffy in years, but he might get a pass if it was because he had forgotten everything. Maybe. After a good punch in the face.

They had just reached the first level back and gotten rid of the poison guy when Sabo finally woke up.

"Ace ! Luffy !"

"SABO !" Ace and Luffy yelled at once and stopped fighting to go crush him in a hug. More specifically, Ace took his brother in his arms and Luffy went all boa constrictor around them, crying loudly in happiness like the big baby he was.

"Can't believe I had forgotten you two," Sabo laughed as he hugged them back, and yeah, he was not crying, Ace was not crying, they were not going to celebrate their reunion with tears, Luffy was crying enough for all three of them anyway. They were just sniffling a bit because of the smoke.

"We mourned you, asshole !" Ace reproached him.

"Well I kinda almost died," Sabo snorted, then blinked as an explosion went off near them. "Wait, what the fuck are you two doing in Impel Down ?"

"We came to rescue you !" Luffy beamed.

"YOU WHAT !?" Sabo exclaimed, then turned around and noticed the guy in pink leotard. "Iva, what is happening ?"

"We're escaping Impel Down, Sabo-kun !"

"This is crazy ! Even if we get out of the prison, the Gates of Justice won't open and we'll be trapped anyway," Sabo protested loudly.

Ace grinned. Oh, he was so going to use that chance to show off how awesome his nee-san was.

"Don't worry about that, my sister's on it."

"Your sister !? Since when do you have a sister !?" Sabo screamed.

Luffy disentangled himself with a beaming smile.

"You have a sister !? So she's my sister too ? We all have a sister now !?"

A salve of bullets came their way, but a wall of blue flames intercepted those before they reached them, and Marco smirked in a way that did things to Ace's dick. Damn, his boyfriend was hot.

"Not that I'm not happy your brother's back with us-yoi, but we still have to get out."

Right.

Ace would have time to make introductions later anyway.

-o-oOo-o-

Crocodile pov

While he had not planned to escape this way, Crocodile had never been one to pass up a golden opportunity when one presented itself to him. Fighting alongside Mugiwara was less than ideal, but the amount of allies the boy had gathered made him the best option the former Warlord had at his current disposal.

It did not mean he enjoyed their association, but as long as it got him out of this wretched place, Crocodile would tolerate it.

The only point bothering him was the Gates of Justice and how exactly they planned to go through them, since those walls could only be opened from the inside of Impel Down and from what Crocodile could tell, they were not planning to leave anyone behind. However, for some reason, Whitebeard's commanders seemed persuaded there would not be any trouble on that side.

When they finally walked out in the sun, Crocodile took the time to breathe in deeply. It had been too long since he had seen the sky and tasted some fresh air.

"Damn it, the ships have left already," the blond guy who stayed with Firefist and Mugiwara swore. "How are we-"

"I'll bring one back-yoi. Jinbei, you're with me ?"

"Of course," the Fishman replied, and both he and the Phoenix left in the direction of one of the Marine ships that were staying at good distance.

Well, that was one problem solved pretty easily.

"OI MUGIWARA !" Buggy shrieked, which he had not stopped doing since the beginning of their escape and was starting to get annoying. "How do you plan to pass the gates !?"

"Eh ? On the ship they're bringing back, why ?" the kid replied as Buggy started crying in despair, and Crocodile raised an eyebrow.

"Shit I almost forgot," Firefist said suddenly. "OI EVERYONE, LISTEN TO ME !"

Of course, all prisoners turned to him in reverent silence. Crocodile huffed, waiting to see what the hothead commanding Whitebeard's second division had to say that was so important.

"Don't attack Ketchup, okay ?"

Crocodile blinked slowly. That was… not what he had been expecting. The blond guy seemed to think so as well, since he smacked Firefist on the back of his head.

"What are you talking about, dumbass ? Who's Ketchup ?"

"Oh right, forgot you guys don't know him, Ketchup is my sister's sea king, he's big, white, and he kind of looks like an otter !" Firefist replied with a big smile, and Crocodile felt his eyes widen minutely at the amount of information contained in this single sentence. Portgas D Ace had a sister, which could either mean a female member of Whitebeard's crew, a biological sibling, or another found sibling like Mugiwara and the blond guy. And whoever she was, that woman had the power to control a sea king, as well as the humour or poor taste to name it Ketchup.

Intriguing.

Crocodile ignored the shocked expressions and screams explosing behind him after the unexpected explanation. He focused his attention on the ship coming back to their position for a few moments, then adressed Whitebeard's second division commander directly.

"You are counting on this woman to open the Gates ?"

"Oh yeah, she said she'd keep it open for when we're out," Firefist replied with a wide grin. "It's just really important to not attack Ketchup."

"And you are confident this… Ketchup," Crocodile said the name with obvious disdain, "will not attack us first ?"

The guy snorted, like the undignified ruffian he was, and only then replied.

"Totally sure. I've travelled on his back, he's cool."

Crocodile did not have the opportunity to fish for more information before Mugiwara jumped on Firefist's back with an excited expression and demanded to hear more about his adventures. The former Warlord tsked and focused back on the ship coming their way. Whitebeard's first commander landed back in front of them mere seconds before it docked.

"Everyone on board-yoi, I'd rather not stay any longer than we need to," he declared.

Crocodile used his sand to materialise himself by the railing on the prow, and was quickly joined by Mr 1. Unfortunately, the trio of loud brothers, along with Marco, Ivankov, and Buggy, seemed to have a similar preference in spots and the former Warlord was subjected to their incessant noise again. Jinbei was the only presence he might have tolerated, if only because he was on the quieter side, but his former colleague was busy manning the ship.

They quickly made their way to the Gates, who appeared to be, indeed, open, and Crocodile felt his stern expression relax the tiniest bit. It seemed Firefist's sister had accomplished her part, no matter how improbable that was.

"Look at all those Marine ships !" one of the prisonners yelled and started crying at the sight between them and the open Gates. "We'll never get past them !"

Crocodile huffed. That was clearly an idiot from level One, if he thought a dozen of Marine ships would be enough to stop him. The same could be said for at least four or five other people on board.

"Looks like we're not done fighting," the blond guy stated seriously.

Crocodile prepared himself to turn into sand and destroy at least some of their opponents in one swift go. However, he stopped in his tracks just before moving when the waves under the Marine vessels started trembling.

Right in the middle of the ships, a tornado of water suddenly surged from the sea, breaking the two closest to it in an instant. The former Warlord barely got the time to blink before the tornado started moving on to the other ships, either breaking their hulls, sending them crashing into each other, or rocking them until they fell on the side and broke their masts.

"We need to avoid that !" Ivankov yelled. "Jinbei, yo-"

"It's okay, that's my sister !" Firefist whooped in joy. "GO NEE-SAN !"

Crocodile was stunned silent. Either Firefist had lost his mind, or the tornado was controlled by the woman he called his sister. The former Warlord was unsure which option was the most concerning.

"Wait, there's only one woman out there who can control water like that," the blond guy stated as he paled, and Crocodile frowned. It seemed he had missed a few crucial events during his months in Impel Down. "Ace, are you telling me your sister is the Goddess of the Sea !?"

"EEEEEEEHHHHHH !??" a shocked scream echoed throughout their ship from almost all the prisoners. "It's not a rumour !? She exists !?"

"Of course she exists-yoi," Marco replied with a lazy smirk.

"And she's the best big sister ever!" Firefist exclaimed smugly.

"That's so cool !" Mugiwara exulted as he kept watching the tornado destroy the last of the ships with stars in his eyes.

Crocodile was still pondering about what he had heard when the tornado disappeared back into the sea, and two waves surged instead to push the debris and sinking ships out of their way. The next moment, a current increased their speed and they passed the Gates much quicker than Crocodile had expected them to.

Less than a minute later, the Gates of Justice started to close behind them, and the massive dorsal fin of a white sea king appeared on their right, which had everyone screaming until the beast's back broke the surface of the water, revealing a woman standing on top of it. With a casual flick of her hand, she called a wave to her and surfed her way to the railing of the ship, where she landed gracefully.

Crocodile stared at her for a few moments, noting the blue waves of her hair, the matching blue of her top and slitted skirt, the serene smile on her face, the power and magnetism emanating from her, and understood at once how she had gained her epithet.

What an intriguing woman, indeed.

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

You stepped on the ship with a smile, and felt glad your constant training during the past months meant you barely felt any kind of headache, despite using a couple of major techniques on top of staying hidden for hours. So sue you, your powers were awesome and you had wanted to impress the people you suspected to be on board.

"Nee-san !" Ace yelled as you jumped down on deck, and engulfed you in a warm hug that you happily reciprocated with a laugh.

"It's good to see you, firefly."

"Firefist !"

"That's what I said," you grinned, then turned slightly to Marco with a knowing look. "Thank you for keeping him safe."

"As if I'd let my boyfriend get injured on my watch-yoi," the doctor smirked.

"You're so cool !" someone exclaimed on your right, and you turned your head just in time to see a starry-eyed Luffy.

You disentangled yourself from Ace just in time to ruffle Luffy's hair, since his straw hat was on his back for once, which made him laugh and smile even wider if such a thing was possible. Damn, you had just received Luffy's approval. As far as you were concerned, that was the highest form of validation this world had to offer.

"I'm happy to see you again, Luffy. Told you you would always find a friend and an ally in me," you said with a wink, and he laughed again.

"Wait, nee-san, you have to meet Sabo !" Ace exclaimed, and put his hands on your shoulders to make you turn toward a blond young man with a scar on his face that you immediately recognised.

"Ah, the smart one of the trio," you smirked and ignored Ace and Luffy's indignant protests. "Nice to meet you. Try not to get caught again, alright ?"

"Uh, I'll do my best," Sabo replied, looking a little dazed. "Thank you for helping us."

"Don't mention it," you dismissed with a smile and a little wave of your hand. "It was the least I could do."

Sabo blinked, clearly a bit confused about how he could reply to that, and you grinned before your eyes landed on someone with purple hair wearing a pink leotard, and your smile widened.

"Emporio Ivankov ?" you asked excitedly.

"Myself !" the Okama Queen replied with a smile as well. "I thought your existence was a rumour !"

"I imagine it's a bit hard to get fresh news in Impel Down," you nodded with a chuckle. "But I can assure you I'm as real as they come, it's a pleasure to meet you !"

"Likewise ! You look fabulously in tune with yourself, you know ?"

"That's a great compliment coming from you," you smiled brightly.

Before the conversation could continue, however, a shriek you recognised instantly came from your left, and your smile took a mischievous edge.

"Buggy ?" you asked as you turned to face the clown. "It's been so long ! How have you been since last time ?"

"YOU- HOW- EEEEEEHHHH !??" he shrieked some more, then seemed to realise all the ex-prisoners were looking at him in awe, and coughed before taking a much more confident pose. "I mean, as if I'd let a prison diminish my flashiness ! Of course I knew you would come to assist us in our grand escape !"

"Of course," you said as you tried to refrain a laugh. "I'm glad to see you're doing well."

"I'm the Great Captain Buggy, it takes more than a pathetic prison and a few Marines to stop m-EEEEEEEEEEH !"

A hand on his shoulder turned the rest of Buggy's sentence in a shriek, and you eyed the newcomer in surprise. With everyone on board, you had almost forgotten Crocodile was supposed to be there too.

"If I may interrupt. Sir Crocodile," the man introduced himself, and you nodded with a polite bow of your head.

"Y/N," you offered in exchange. Despite the Alabasta debacle and his many more-than-a-little-dubious dealings, you held the man in a certain esteem. "I have heard quite a few things about you."

He raised an eyebrow, and his posture changed discretely.

"It is unfortunate that I cannot say the same. Information does not circulate very well in the sixth level of Impel Down, and as such, I was unaware of your existence until today. I must admit you are a most intriguing woman."

"I'll take that as a compliment," you replied with a smirk.

"You should. It is rare for people to impress me so fast," he told you with a subtle once-over, and you realised what was happening about half a second before Ace intervened.

"Oi oi, don't flirt with my sister !" your brother said with a frown on his face as he walked to your right.

You saw a flicker of annoyance in Crocodile's eyes.

"I don't believe you have any say in this, Firefist. Miss Y/N is-"

"Spoken for-yoi," Marco cut him off with a lazy smirk and took his boyfriend's hand in his. "And more than capable to say so herself, right Ace ?"

Ace pouted, which had you chuckling.

"Don't worry, I think it's cute that you came to defend me like that," you told your brother, then turned to Crocodile. "But I am, indeed, in a happily committed relationship already."

The former Warlord looked you up and down again, and raised a dubious eyebrow.

"And yet you are here alone. Does the fool you somehow deemed worthy of your heart not realise the danger of letting a treasure such as you away from him ? Or does he not care enough to accompany you ?"

Your smile disappeared instantly, your eyes hardened, and you saw several people step away from you at your sudden change of attitude. As you prepared yourself to reply in kind, however, Buggy jumped forward to put himself between you and Crocodile. His hands were separated from his wrists and moving frantically in front of him.

"Wait wait wait Y/N, he didn't mean that ! He doesn't know who your boyfriend is ! Don't get mad !" the clown yelled as he obviously started sweating bullets, and you looked at him, then at Crocodile, who was still raising an eyebrow.

"Her boyfriend is the Emperor of the Sea Akagami no Shanks," Sabo intervened seriously, which elicited a new wave of shocked screams. "So I'd think twice before insulting a Yonko in front of a woman who's worth three billion berries and can kill you with a single touch."

You turned toward the revolutionary with a small amused smile.

"Someone's done his homework," you said, which had the young man bring a hand to his neck in an embarrassed gesture.

"We needed to know what kind of woman would kill an Admiral to rescue a pirate," he explained bashfully. "Especially when no one had ever heard of you before."

"Fair enough," you chuckled, then turned toward Buggy and Crocodile, only to notice the latter was now looking at you with what appeared to be renewed respect and a bit of apprehension. "I happen to be a tad… protective of the people I love."

"So it would seem," the former Warlord admitted.

"And for the record, I'm here alone because travelling on Ketchup's back to get through the Calm Belt was the only way to get here on time, not because Shanks doesn't care," you smiled threateningly.

Crocodile nodded silently, but Buggy snorted.

"If that bastard gave up his fuck'em and leav'em ways for you, he clearly cares. I can't believe he didn't even snail me," the clown muttered, seemingly not noticing the way many former inmates were looking at him in shock and reverent awe.

"Well, if it's any consolation, he hadn't snailed Rayleigh either," you reassured Buggy. "Ray seemed pretty surprised to learn about our relationship when I met him."

"You met Ray !? How's he doing ?" Buggy asked you excitedly.

"Pretty well, from what I know. But I think Luffy was the one who saw him the most recently, right Luffy ?"

"Eh ? Oh, Rayleigh, yeah, he's cool !" Luffy smiled brightly. "Hey, do you guys have meat ? I'm hungry !"

That made several people laugh, until one serious voice intervened.

"My apologies, but we need to decide on a course now that we are off the Marines Private Route."

You turned to the massive Fishman wearing traditional clothes and beamed.

"Jinbei !? Oh my goodness it's such an honour to meet you !" you declared and walked toward him in order to bow in greeting.

You straightened back up just in time to see the ex-Warlord's astoundished look at your words, but he quickly gathered himself and bowed to you just as deeply.

"The honour is mine, Y/N-sama. The Goddess of the Sea is highly regarded among Fishmen."

You felt stunned at the reply. That was a very flattering thing to hear, and it made you regret not having visited Fish-Man Island on either of your travels. In your defense, it was not an inevitable point of passage since you had made two out of three journeys on Ketchup with no need to stop there.

"Just Y/N, please. And don't take this the wrong way, but I thought my existence would be a little more, erm, frowned upon by Fishmen and Merfolk. You know, with me being a human, and how cruel a lot of humans have been, and still are, to those who are different from them," you explained awkwardly. "But I would love to learn more about Fishmen's culture."

Somehow, this seemed to surprise Jinbei even further, but then he smiled widely and you noticed what looked like approval and respect in his gaze.

"We should all stop at Fish-Man island before going back to the New World !" Ace exclaimed happily.

"It wouldn't hurt to show ourselves there to check how things are going-yoi," Marco nodded. "Just to remind everyone that it's under Pops' protection."

"I guess it would be nice to finally take the time to visit," you admitted with a smile. "Shanks said he'd wait in Sabaody, I'm sure I can convince him to spend a few days playing tourists under the sea."

"I would be honoured to be your guide," Jinbei smiled as well.

Your little group kept chatting about organisation for a few more minutes, until you agreed on a plan.

"Okay," you summed up. "So, Ace, Marco, Jinbei, and I will head for Saboady with Ketchup. We'll drop Luffy with Hancock on the way, and everyone else can use the ship to go wherever you need or want to. Are we good ?"

There was a resounding yes coming from everyone who had heard you, even Luffy and Ace who were eating and probably had not even listened to a word you said. You were hoping to get the chance to speak with Luffy before you dropped him with Hancock. You really had to make him understand he and his crew needed intensive training before going to the New World. Sabo and Dragon could probably find a way to let the rest of the Mugiwaras know they would regroup in two years instead of three days once Luffy was sold on the idea.

Aside from that, things were still more or less on track with the timeline so far, albeit with a little more chaos and a lot less tragedies. You were fine with that outcome, but part of you was starting to wonder about some sort of Fate or Destiny being involved in this world.

After all, Thatch had still been stabbed, Ace had still left on an adventure to find Blackbeard and fought him, Luffy's brother had still been imprisoned right after he had reached Sabaody, he had still infiltrated and escaped Impel Down with other future key players… No matter how many things you had changed, some events had happened anyway.

Oh well. If there was some measure of inevitability in this world, it would make your job of keeping things more or less on track much easier.

You picked the den-den mushi Shanks had given you before you left – which he had bashfully admitted having forgotten the first time – and jumped on Ketchup's back to call your Emperor and let him know how you were doing.

"Shanks," you heard after only a couple rings, which made you smile.

"Hey love, we're out and everyone is safe."

"Already ? Damn sweetheart, we aren't even at Sabaody yet," Shanks laughed.

"Well, you can't put the word impossible in front of Luffy and not expect absolute chaos," you chuckled.

"Good point. Hey, did he get out with a bunch of people like you said he would ?"

"Yep, they managed to get Sabo, Jinbei, Buggy, Crocodile, Ivankov and a little over two hundred prisoners, give or take. Which makes me think, would you be fine with spending a few days on Fish-Man Island before we go back to the New World ? Jinbei has offered to show me around, and I'm curious."

"Fine by me, sweetheart, it's been a while since I've been there anyway," the snail replied with the roguish grin you knew and loved.

Chapter 29: Journey To Sabaody

Chapter Text

Buggy pov

Buggy was not nervous. Not one bit. Nope. Everything was absolutely peachy.

He just needed to keep pretending he was as powerful as all the other ex-prisoners seemed to believe he was and all would go well. He glanced at Y/N, who was happily chatting with a den-den mushi on her freaking sea king, and then around him again. Buggy tried not to sweat too heavily when he found the calculating glare of Crocodile on him and immediately avoided his gaze.

Damn it, he had only intervened to save his own life ! If the Goddess of the Sea had unleashed her power on the ship, they would all have drowned ! Well, maybe not Ace and a few other people she clearly protected, but no matter how friendly she acted toward him, Buggy was not sure he would have been included in that list.

So he had tried to save his own skin, and for some reason, Crocodile seemed to be confused by his action. Or angry. It was a bit hard to tell with his resting haughty bitch face. But everyone else was looking at Buggy like he was amazing, and well, he was not going to miss an opportunity to gain a loyal mass of followers.

Then Y/N jumped back on deck with the den-den mushi in her hand, and walked toward him with a smile. Buggy's eyes bulged out and he tried his flashy best to look super chill as a three billion berries woman casually made her way to him.

"Hey Buggy, if you got a minute, Shanks wants to talk with you," she told him.

Buggy blinked. Then looked at the snail. Then at the woman. Then at the snail again. Then he carefully looked at her hand. He had heard the revolutionary's warning about her being able to kill a man in a second with the touch of a single finger, but if Buggy wanted to maintain his current standing and reputation, he had to show he was not afraid of her power.

Even though he really, really was.

So he took the den-den mushi from her with completely fake assurance, grazed her skin for an instant, and hid a deep relieved breath when nothing happened.

"Buggy !" he announced after Y/N was called by Sabo and Ivankov on the other side of the ship.

"Hey, been a while !" Shanks' annoying voice replied cheerfully. "So you're coming to Sabaody with my lovely lady and the others, right ?"

"EEEHHHH !? No, absolutely not !" Buggy screeched. No way he was getting so close to Marie Joie right after finally getting out of Impel Down.

"Come on, you can even bring someone with you !" Shanks laughed.

Buggy frowned in suspicious confusion. What the hell was that bastard planning to trick him with now ?

"Why the fuck would I need to bring someone with me, asshole ?"

"Can't tell you, but you're coming, right ? Rayleigh will be there too, come on, we haven't seen each other in years !"

Buggy hesitated. As much as he did not care for Shanks – and he did not, not when that golden child was such an arrogant asshole who was way too lucky and had everything handed to him even if he maybe sometimes had a few decent moments – Buggy kind of wanted to see Rayleigh again. The old man was quite the recluse now and there had not been a lot of opportunities to talk to him in the past few years.

Damn it, he was going to go, wasn't he ?

"I suppose I could grace you with my presence," he snorted as haughtily as he could. "But only if you tell me why you want me there."

"Nah, you're shit at keeping secrets," the den-den mushi laughed loudly.

"Excuse you, I'm the best secret keeper to ever exist ! You're the one who can't keep his mouth shut !"

"Wasn't me who spilled about the sake after one look of Crocus," Shanks's voice snickered like the smug asshole he was.

"We were kids, it doesn't count !" Buggy shrieked. And Crocus was scary, anyway. It was with him that Buggy had learned to always show respect to doctors out at sea.

"So, you're taking someone with you or not ?" the snail asked, obviously ignoring his statement.

"Yes he is," Crocodile intervened, and Buggy blinked incoherently for a second, then opened his mouth to protest and immediately closed it when he saw the glare the ex-Warlord sent him. Damn it, Crocodile had eavesdropped on his conversation and was going to use him to get more information on Shanks and Y/N.

Buggy felt a bit like crying in despair.

"Cool, I'll see you guys there !" the den-den mushi replied cheerfully.

"Indeed," Crocodile replied. "I assume you wish to speak to Y/N again ?"

"Yep, I need to tell my wonderful girlfriend you're coming too !"

Crocodile used his sand to bring the little den-den mushi back to where Y/N was talking with the revolutionaries, and stared at Buggy for a long, scary moment.

"I was unaware you had such connections, clown."

Play it cool, play it cool, Buggy desperately needed to play it cool.

"I didn't want to overshadow anyone with my flashy amazingness, you know ?"

That earned him a raised eyebrow, and Buggy gulped. Thankfully, Y/N walked back to them with a smile and her conversation with Shanks apparently finished.

"So you two are coming with us to Sabaody ?"

Crocodile nodded.

"Akagami seemed pretty insistent about Buggy's presence."

"Yeah, you know what the bastard has planned ? He was talking about secrets and wouldn't even tell me what it was !" Buggy protested.

She shook her head with a fond and amused smile.

"No idea. I know Rayleigh talked to him a few times about some stuff that Shanks was still unsure to do or not during the past months, but he never told me what it was. Don't worry though, I'm sure he hasn't planned anything too stupid," she reassured them.

"How can you be sure about that !?" Buggy exclaimed, because whoever claimed to know Shanks knew he enjoyed doing stupid crazy shit and put everyone in trouble. But then Y/N's smile took a dangerous edge and the clown felt a shiver of pure fear run through his spine.

"Because the last time he did something stupid enough to upset me, he dearly regretted it."

Oh shit, Buggy did not want to know what she had done to his brother friend annoying acquaintance to make him regret anything.

"What did you do ?" Crocodile asked, because clearly he was insane. Or looking for a way to find and exploit an Emperor's weakness, that was a possibility.

"I baked blueberry-chocolate chip cookies."

Buggy blinked. Then he burst out laughing, tears rolling on his cheeks as his body cut itself in his hysteric hilarity. Oh, what a perfect revenge that was ! How he wished he could have witnessed Shanks' horrified expression ! This was the most wonderful retaliation this bastard had ever had to deal with !

"Shanks loves my chocolate chip cookies, but he hates blueberries more than any other ingredient," she explained to an obviously confused Crocodile while Buggy was rolling on the deck in several pieces under the strength of his laughter. "So I adapted my recipe and implied that I would only ever bake this version from now on if he didn't reconsider his decision. We quickly found a compromise after that," she smiled innocently.

"You !" Buggy stated between two fits of laughter as he brought himself back together and put both hands on her shoulders, forgetting about her powers for a moment. "You are the most amazing woman I've ever met !"

"Why thank you," she chuckled. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to round everyone up so we can leave soon. Can I let the two of you supervise everyone else and organise your subordinates ?"

"Of course !" Buggy replied and struk a flashy pose with a confident smile.

Crocodile merely nodded, then turned his gaze to Buggy again, with his suspicious or maybe confused or maybe angry way to look at him, it was still hard to tell.

Hopefully he would stop watching Buggy like that before they reached Sabaody. There was only so much stress the clown could handle, and travelling on a sea king was going to be scary enough already.

Oh shit.

He was going to travel on a sea king.

Buggy tried very hard to hide the fact that he was about to pass out as the realisation dawned on him.

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

A couple days after leaving Luffy with Hancock, you received a letter with a picture, and grinned when you saw the crossed 3D above the 2Y on the young pirate's arm while he was arm-wrestling his brother. The letter was from Sabo and confirmed they had sent a copy to every member of Luffy's crew so they would get the message. How he had managed to make the letter reach you when you were travelling on Ketchup's back, you had no idea, but you opted not to question it.

That was one major issue solved, and that was the most important thing in the end.

Even on the off-chance that the government or the Marines got their hands on a picture, they were unlikely to understand its meaning, which meant the timeline was still on track. Except for the fact that this time, Rayleigh had not gone straight away to Amazon Lily, but you brushed it off and assumed the old pirate wanted to spend some time with Shanks and Buggy before leaving to start Luffy's training.

In the meantime, you had a lot of fun travelling with Ace, Marco, Buggy, Crocodile, and Jinbei. Mostly, you and Jinbei kept exchanging a lot of amused glances everytime Ketchup went underwater and the four Devil Fruit users tried to hide their nervousness more or less successfully. You also got to talk a lot about currents and the way your powers differed from what Fishmen and Merfolk could do, which was really interesting. It ended up with both you and Jinbei exchanging tips on water manipulation and him even showing you a few basic Fishmen Karate moves so you could try to include them in your fighting style.

Basically, the journey to Sabaody was a blast.

Shanks snailed to let you know he had arrived the day before you reached the archipelago, and confirmed that he would be waiting for you at Shakky's pub.

You arrived in Sabaody one afternoon, as discreetly as you could, which was actually pretty discreet since Jinbei and you made sure your group would get out of the water in a secluded area as close to Grove Thirteen as possible.

Once you were on the island, you could only hope that you would manage to reach the pub without either Ace or Buggy finding a way to put you all into trouble. Thankfully, Marco and Crocodile seemed to be on the same page as you, and kept a very close eye on the two troublemakers all along.

By some miracle, you arrived at Shakky's bar without creating an incident, and you were almost worried a catastrophe would befall you the second you opened the door.

Instead, the six of you walked in just in time to watch Rayleigh hold Shanks in a headlock and ruffle his hair, while the Emperor protested and complained about not being a kid anymore, and the rest of the Red-Haired Pirates were laughing themselves to tears at the scene.

"Everything alright, love ?" you chuckled.

Shanks immediately stopped struggling to look at you with a beaming smile and Rayleigh let him go the next second with a chuckle of his own. Your Emperor ran to you and put his arm around your waist to spin you around for a moment with a happy laugh. He then kissed you hungrily right as he put you back on the ground. You kissed him back just as passionately, completely forgetting your audience when he pushed past your lips to deepen the kiss and make you melt under his desire.

Only the lack of oxygen got the two away from each other, and you were both panting as you remained pressed against him, your arms having found their way around his neck at some point.

"I missed you," you smiled.

Shanks grinned and kissed you again, a little less urgently this time but just as hungry and sensual, the way he knew would set you on fire like nothing else. He was not playing fair at all and when he finally let you go, his knowing smirk confirmed he had done it on purpose.

"How much did you miss me, exactly ?" he asked like the smug pirate he was.

You made a subtle roll with your hips against his crotch, and smiled innocently at his sharp intake of breath.

"I'd say about as much as you missed me, Captain," you replied mischievously, and enjoyed the way his pupils dilated.

Oh, you were definitely in for it when the two of you would be alone, and you were not going to regret it in the slightest.

"Can you two not fuck in front of us ?" Beckman sighed.

You blinked and turned your head to the grey-haired man, just in time to also notice Rayleigh and Shakky's very amused gazes and everyone else's resigned expressions.

"Right, sorry," you chuckled, and slowly took a step back but intermingled your fingers with Shanks in a familiar gesture. "Hi everyone, it's good to be back ! Rayleigh, Shakky, I'm happy to see you again."

"Likewise, Y/N," Rayleigh smirked, then sent a knowing look in Shanks' direction.

"Your first drink's on the house," Shakky told you with a wink at your befuddled expression – you were not sure anyone had ever been offered a drink on the house in this pub – and pulled a bottle from the bar with a glass. "I heard you made quite the impression on Hancock and the girls."

"What can I say ? With so few women on the Sea, we girls need to have each other's back," you laughed, which had the former Kuja Empress nodding approvingly with a smile of her own.

"Mmh, I like to have you on your back," Shanks whispered in your ear before peppering kisses on your neck, which had you blushing. Damn his stupid sexy innuendos that felt like promises most of the time.

"Are they always like this ?" you heard Jinbei ask cautiously behind you.

"Yes," half your crew replied instantly.

"Well it's worse now because they've been appart for a while. Consider yourself lucky it lasted a couple weeks and not several months this time," Hongo snorted.

You addressed a half-hearted glare at the doctor, but did not deny his statement. He was right, after all. Before Shanks could reply with something that clearly was not going to be innocent, Buggy stepped forward to greet Rayleigh – and ignore Shanks as he did so – who smiled warmly at the sight of his other former cabin boy.

"RAYYYYY !" the clown screamed happily as he opened his arms, then closed them, cut himself in several pieces, reassembled himself, and ultimately looked like he had no idea what to do aside from sniffling loudly. Rayleigh chuckled and ruffled the long blue hair of the crying pirate.

"Good to see you too, Buggy."

-o-oOo-o-

Fifteen minutes later, the five men were retelling the events in Impel Down while everyone was drinking happily. More accurately, Ace and Buggy were trying to outtalk each other, and Marco, Jinbei, and occasionally Crocodile corrected them. You were on Shanks' lap, enjoying your free drink and the evening.

And maybe you were using the situation to rile your Emperor up a bit when he could not do anything about it, since he obviously wanted to hear the part where you intervened. The little bites he dropped on your neck and the few threats he whispered in your ear about what he would do to you if you did not stop did nothing to deter you. You already knew your first night back together would be a long one.

The sun had barely set when the storytellers ultimately got to the moment where you had appeared.

"Keep in mind that almost everyone coming from Impel Down had either never heard of the Goddess of the Sea, or thought her existence was just a rumour-yoi," Marco reminded everyone with a lazy smirk.

"That's true !" Buggy yelled, a red hue on his cheeks due to the alcohol he had absorbed so far. "So we're all like, on that stolen Marine ship, watching aaaaall those other ships between us and the Gates, and then BAM !" he exclaimed and hit the table with his palm. "There's that big flashy water tornado coming outta seas know where and destroying everything in its path !"

"It was rather unexpected," Crocodile admitted, a glass of whiskey in his hand. "Especially since no one had seen fit to inform us beforehand."

"Hey !" Ace protested and pointed his glass at the Former Warlord. "I remembered to tell everyone to not attack Ketchup ! That was important !"

"It was, and you did well," you smiled and Ace grinned proudly at your praise. Truth be told, you had not thought he would actually remember it and had mostly counted on Marco to relay the instruction, so you were genuinely a bit impressed.

"There's one thing I don't get, how did you open the Gates of Justice in the first place ?" Yasopp asked you curiously.

"I caught the moment where Hancock and her Marine escort left, and then I just guided Ketchup between the Gates. Turns out the currents and natural whirlpools in the area attract a lot of fishes and he spent the next hours enjoying one hell of a feast," you chuckled as you let yourself lean back against Shanks' muscular chest. "And once he was settled, well. Even the Gates of Justice can't rival the strength and sheer mass of a sea king."

"Few things can," Jinbei agreed solemnly.

"But other than that, I simply took care of the Marines with a tornado, used a double wave to push the debris away when I was done, and created a current to help the ship go through the Gates as fast as possible. Then it was just a matter of getting Ketchup out of his snacking spot, and go on deck for reunions and introductions," you summed up with a smile.

"Come on nee-san, it was fucking amazing !" Ace protested. "You're making it sound lame !"

"Yeah !" Buggy approved your brother's complaint with a frown. "That tornado was huge ! And then- then you got out of the water on a fucking sea king ! Like some freakin' goddess or something ! That was super scary !"

Marco raised an eyebrow.

"You think that was scary-yoi ?" the Phoenix asked sarcastically. "Imagine being given a shovel talk underwater when her power is the only thing preventing the sea to reach you, and that sea king is making circles around you-yoi."

Shanks and a good part of the Red-Haired Pirates snickered at the memories, Rayleigh and Shakky looked very amused, and you batted your eyes innocently. However, Buggy, Crocodile, and Jinbei looked at Marco in more or less obvious fear and respect.

"And you survived !?" Buggy shrieked.

"Yep !" Ace laughed and gave his boyfriend a big smooch on the cheek. "He even got nee-san's approval and all !"

Marco glanced at you minutely, and huffed a laugh.

"Yeah, still don't know how I did that-yoi," he admitted. "But I get why most people were ready to shit their pants when Y/N walked on deck. Especially after that entrance-yoi."

"You showed great mastery of your water manipulation abilities," Jinbei confirmed. "Our escape couldn't have happened without your help."

"You certainly proved yourself worthy of your moniker," Crocodile added carefully as he took a sip of his whiskey.

You nodded gratefully to both compliments, and raised your glass as a thank you just before Shanks kissed your cheek.

"Yeah, my girlfriend's fucking amazing and I'm the luckiest bastard out there," he grinned happily.

"Yes ! And it's unfair ! It's always for you !" Buggy cried-yelled accusingly. "Always the goul- uh- golden child who… getsitallinthe-" his sentence was interrupted as he fell on the table and started snoring.

You raised an eyebrow just as Shanks snorted.

"Lightweight," you both stated at the same time, then turned to each other in surprise, and giggled before exchanging a kiss and emptying your respective glass.

Chapter 30: Under The Moonlight

Chapter Text

Shanks pov

As much as he wanted to take his girlfriend to their quarters and ravish her for the rest of the night, Shanks refrained. They stayed in Shakky's pub a little longer, until he caught a meaningful look from Rayleigh.

And damn, his old man still knew how to make his opinion heard without saying a word. So Shanks finished his overpriced drink – even if he suspected that Shakky actually gave them a discount on her usual prices – and put his hand on Y/N's leg.

"Hey babe ?"

She hummed curiously in answer as she turned to face him.

"Want to go to Sabaody Park while we're here ?"

His blue-haired goddess blinked incredulously a couple times.

"I'm pretty sure the two of us going there will create a commotion," she countered.

"You can use a disguise," Shakky smiled from behind the counter. "I have a few things you can borrow to go incognito."

Y/N bit her lips and started fidgeting with her necklace, clearly tempted but still unsure about it. Shanks kissed her cheek to reassure her.

"Come on sweetheart, it'll be fun !"

-o-oOo-o-

One hour later, they were at the park in borrowed clothes and black wigs that felt a bit weird, but since hair colour was a very distinctive feature for each of them, it was pretty much unavoidable if they wanted to stay under the radar.

Although Shanks thought his girlfriend looked pretty gorgeous in that black and purple dress. According to the way she had eyed him appreciatively, he figured she liked the sight of him in a purple shirt and black jeans too. Maybe they could keep those and have a little fun with it once they were done with the amusement park.

Then Shanks caught a glance of the low cut on the back of the dress and felt his arousal flare up at the sight. Who was he kidding, those clothes were never going to survive the night.

He looked around him for a moment before his gaze came back to his beautiful girlfriend. The lights and attractions surrounding him were pretty, but Y/N's sparkling eyes and excited expression were by far the most mesmerising sight of the night.

"You've been here before ?" she asked with a smile.

"A couple times, years ago," Shanks hummed.

"Do you have a favourite ride, then ?" Y/N asked curiously, and Shanks smirked before giving her a very slow once-over.

"Sure do," he replied with a wink, and was delighted to see her blush.

"You're impossible," she mumbled. "I meant an attraction you'd like to do first."

Shanks kept smirking, until she realised – pretty quickly, to be fair – that her phrasing was not any better in terms of innuendo. She smacked his shoulder and Shanks laughed.

"We can start with the haunted house, it's pretty fun."

She froze in the middle of the path, and looked supremely awkward for a moment. Shanks frowned in confusion, then understood what was happening and grinned widely.

"Oh ? Are you scared ?"

"Depends," she mumbled and avoided his gaze.

"I promise to protect you from all the ghosts and zombies we see in there," Shanks chuckled.

She squinted at him suspiciously, then frowned, and ultimately groaned in defeat.

"It's not the ghosts and zombies I'm afraid of."

"But there is something ?" Shanks pressed as they started walking again.

"You're going to make fun of me."

Well, he might. Depending on what it was. But Shanks kind of liked the idea of his strong and powerful partner being scared of something he could easily protect her from.

"I promise I'll try not to," he replied instead, an honest compromise if anyone asked him.

"Fine," she mumbled. "Spiders."

Shanks blinked incredulously.

"Spiders ?" he repeated.

"If even one of those eight-legged horrors comes near me, I can't guarantee I won't blow our cover and destroy a wall to get away from it," she grimaced.

"Come on, it can't be that bad ?" Shanks retorted with a confident grin.

"How do you think I found out I had powers in the first place ?" she countered, then slapped her free hand on her mouth.

Shanks stared at her in complete silence for about three seconds.

In his defense, he really, really tried not to laugh.

But the idea of a cute Y/N suddenly screaming in fear because of a spider and controlling water for the first time to get it away from her was just too hilarious for Shanks to win this battle, and he burst into laugher in the middle of the amusement park.

"Stop mocking me," she grumbled, her cheeks red in embarrassment.

"Sorry babe," Shanks hiccuped between two fits as he gave up her hand to hold his stomach. "But it's just-" and he went back laughing again, the scene was simply too amazing to let it go.

In the end, when Shanks finally recovered and was done wiping the tears from his eyes – and promising a pouting Y/N he would never breathe a word of it to anyone – they made their way to the haunted house, where Shanks asked whether there were spiders involved.

"No, a lot of people have a real phobia of arachnids," the teenager at the counter replied with the bored expression of someone who had answered that question a million times before. "There's been too many accidents over the years, so it's been made it a spider-free zone."

"Oh thank the Sea," Y/N breathed in relief.

They made their way in the dark house while following the path, and Shanks felt very amused at all the props put in place to spook people. His grin widened when he felt his girlfriend get closer to him.

"Scared, love ?"

"A bit," she admitted honestly. "Horror's never really been my thing."

"Don't worry, I'll protect you from all the monsters hiding in the dark," Shanks whispered playfully in her ear.

"I'm counting on it," she chuckled, then startled when a combination of noise, light, and a moving doll happened on her right.

She remained glued to Shanks' side for the rest of their time in the haunted house, only fully relaxing once they were out. The Emperor considered it a win, and found it absolutely adorable that a woman who had earned a bounty in the billions of berries – over three after her participation to the escape of Impel Down, they still needed to celebrate that – along with the well-deserved moniker of Goddess of the Sea, could be scared of something as simple as a few props and tricks in the dark.

She vehemently refused to go on the teacup ride, under the fallacious pretext that Shanks would try to make it turn stupidly fast and cause both of them to feel nauseous.

Which, granted, he had planned to do, because that was the fun thing about this ride, but Shanks still pouted about it. Instead, they bought a few skewers to snack on as they walked and tried their luck and aim at the more simple stands. It was fun, it was easy, they were having a great time and despite not looking exactly like her usual self in that disguise, Shanks loved the way Y/N glowed in happiness.

"Look," she argued at some point after giving her latest prize to a little girl who ran to show it to her parents with stars in her eyes, "all I'm saying is that plush toys are great for kids, but I have no use for them and I prefer cuddling with you anyway."

"And all I'm hearing is that our kids will have plushies," Shanks grinned.

"Talking about kids, how did you convince Hongo to not give you your next contraceptive shot ?" she asked curiously.

"Told him there was no use since I'm only sleeping with you and your shot is still working," Shanks replied, and carefully omitted the calculated retreats he had had to do in order to avoid being stabbed by a syringe, or the boring and way too numerous lectures about safety and health issues the doctor had given him.

Still, Shanks had been the most stubborn out of them in the end, especially since he had an actually valid argument for once.

"Only for the next three months," Y/N nuanced, and Shanks's eyes zeroed in the way she absentmindedly placed a hand on her stomach. Seas, he could not wait to see her pregnant. And meet their child to see which of them they would take more after.

"Which means we only have three months left to practice making babies," the Emperor smirked, and came behind her to put his arm around her waist and his hand above hers on her belly. "We better train as much as we can to make sure we're on point when we actually start," he whispered suggestively in her ear.

"We're in public, love," she protested after a sharp intake of breath.

Shanks grinned.

"Oh, so right now would be fine as long as we find somewhere private ?" he teased her with a light kiss on her neck.

"You-"

"Joking, sweetheart. Hey, how about we try the Ferris Wheel and then leave ?" Shanks suggested as he twirled his girlfriend so she would face him.

"Sounds great," she smiled despite the obvious desire burning in her eyes.

Served her right for riling him up earlier.

They got in line for the Ferris Wheel, and Shanks grinned when he noticed a flash of white hair nearby as they got into the booth. The wheel steadily brought them up in the air, right until they where at the highest point with the best view of the sea and archipelago.

"The view is amazing," Y/N whispered with her gaze fixed on the horizon. "It almost reminds me of-"

The next moment, there was a metallic creak resonating through the whole structure and they stopped moving altogether, barely a second before all the lights of the amusement park went out. Shanks watched his girlfriend startle and look around them in concern. Then he smiled innocently.

"Well, would you look at that. Just you and I, high up with an amazing view of the sea and sky, and the moon as our only light."

She turned to him with a suspicious expression, but obviously relaxed at his words.

"If I didn't know any better, I might think you planned this accident to re-create the night we spent at the lighthouse when we first met," she accused him in a tone that was more amused than anything.

"And what if I did ?" Shanks said and removed his annoying wig as he stood up from his seat.

"I would find it very romantic," she smiled and removed her wig as well, then let it fall on the side and turned to the sea with a soft look in her eyes, her blue hair cascading again under the moonlight.

Shanks took a few more seconds to really look at her, if only to make sure this was an image he would remember for the rest of his life. Then he got a little box out of his pocket and popped it open as he went down on one knee.

His movement caught her eyes enough to have her turn to him again, and Shanks could see the second where she realised with a shocked gasp what he was doing.

"Marry me ?" Shanks asked her with a smile.

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

You stared at the sight in front of you with wide eyes and your jaw dropped in absolute shock. Out of all the things you had expected when the Ferris Wheel had stopped and the lights had gone out, a proposal had not even made the list.

And yet Shanks was down on one knee in the booth after he had gone out of his way to recreate the atmosphere of the night you had met, with a box containing a ring in his hand, and had just asked you to marry him.

Holy seas, stars and moon.

You might actually faint.

Instead, you felt a huge smile threatening to split your face in two, and a wet chuckle push his way through your throat along with happy tears starting to roll on your cheeks. You brought your hands to wipe them off and only look at your Emperor with a smile.

"Of course I'll marry you," you chuckled as you put your hands on his, just around the box.

Shanks smiled widely and got up to press a soft kiss on your lips, just a brush that was more of a feather touch than anything else. But the second you attempted to chase him, his smile turned into a smirk.

"Don't start anything you don't plan to finish, love."

You could only gape and stare at him, then chuckled goodheartedly and took a step back, taking the box with you.

"You're a tease, you know that ?"

"Says the woman who basically gave me a lap dance at the pub."

You blushed hard and coughed to hide your embarrassment. Admittedly, he was not wrong. Still, you felt a dire need to change the subject, and your eyes fell on the ring inside the box. From what you could see in the moonlight, it was an elegant gold ring with what looked like a small red gemstone embedded in it. It was simple and perfect and you loved it.

"I assume your ring has a blue one ?"

Shanks' smile softened.

"You wear my colours and I'll wear yours. A piece of each other's heart, for the world to see," he told you and brought his hand to your medallion. "I picked another chain in case you didn't want to add it to this one."

It took you a second to understand what he meant but then you felt like melting at the very thoughtful attention. It made more sense to wear your rings on a necklace, if only to keep them safer when you were fighting.

"One for each world sounds fitting," you replied with a smile.

You watched Shanks grin, then his eyes flash red for an instant and he pouted before taking his black wig on the seat.

"The light is coming back," he told you as he put it back on.

You hurried to put your own disguise on as well, and managed to hide your blue hair as best as you could right before the amusement park came back to life and the booth started moving again.

"I can't believe you turned off the entire park's lights just to make it perfect," you chuckled as your booth was slowly brought back down.

"Well, I also thought you'd prefer something private rather than a big public proposal with everyone watching. Didn't want you to say yes because of the social pressure," Shanks joked lightheartedly, but his obvious consideration turned your heart into a poodle of sappy goo.

"I love you."

Your Emperor turned to you with a surprised expression, but quickly turned on the roguish charm and winked.

"Well I sure hope so or the wedding's gonna get awkward real fast, darling."

You stared at him in judgmental silence for a moment, but ended up chuckling anyway. Damn that idiot and his stupid sense of humour that you only enjoyed because you were clearly just as much of an idiot.

Then you finally realised something and pieces clicked in your mind.

"Wait a minute, is this why you asked Buggy to come here with someone else ?"

The Emperor only grinned wider and you facepalmed. Of course your foolish fiancé – you ignored the butterflies in your stomach at the word – had planned to propose and hold the wedding right away. Granted, you were not opposed to the idea of a simple wedding, but you would at least like to wear a nice dress and make sure everyone that mattered to you was present.

Because while you had never wanted a boring and insufferably long ceremony with three-piece suits, a frilly and unpractical white dress making you look like a meringue, or never-ending speeches that would bore everyone to tears… you still wanted to feel pretty and have all your loved ones with you.

And in this world, it meant your adopted brother and the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates, since the rest of your friends and Shanks' family were already here and Luffy or Sabo were a bit too busy spreading chaos everywhere. And even without taking into account how far away the Moby Dick might be at the moment, you were fairly confident a wedding involving two Emperor's crews in Sabaody was bound to end in a fight with the Marines. Which, granted, would make for an epic pirate wedding, but was still not something you wanted for your pirate wedding.

"So when are we getting married, exactly ?" you asked Shanks to gauge how far ahead he had planned.

"Mimi arrives tomorrow, but once he's here we can just go ahead and get it done," Shanks shrugged, then turned to you with a hint of concern in his eyes. "I mean, unless you want something more traditional with all the decorum ?"

So he had not really planned for anything, and you smile goodheartedly at the unsurprising answer. Then an idea struck you. You started fumbling with your medallion for a moment as you thought it over, then looked at your fiancé with a knowing grin and watched him look back at you with open curiosity.

"Actually, I have three requests."

"Go ahead," Shanks smiled warmly.

"First, I'd like to get married in Fish-Man island, somewhere Ketchup will be able to see us."

The Emperor's eyes went wide for an instant, but then he grinned widely.

"I like that. Deal."

"Second, I want to invite Whitebeard and his crew."

Shanks immediately started pouting.

"Do we have to ?" he asked you in a grumble. "He tried to steal you away from me !"

"He's the closest I have to a father figure in this world, and he made me a part of his family even if he couldn't count me as a member of his crew," you reminded Shanks softly. "I can't imagine him not being there on my wedding day."

You saw the second Shanks' protests crumbled and he sighed heavily, before looking at you with a warm gaze.

"Fine, if it's important to you, he can be there."

"Thank you," you said and kissed his cheek.

"What's the last thing ?" Shanks asked as you both walked out of the booth and back on the path, hand in hand, the box with the ring safely in your free hand since your dress did not have pockets.

"I'd like Jinbei to officiate the ceremony," you stated as you made your way toward the exit of the amusement park.

"Oh, sure," Shanks readily agreed, then turned to look at you. "I thought you'd want Old Man Newgate to do it."

"No, there's something else I want to ask him."

"Then why Jinbei ?" the Emperor asked you curiously. "I mean, nothing against him, he's a great guy, but there are a bunch of other people here who'd probably agree if you asked them."

"Well, Ace is my little brother and I bet he has no idea what he's even supposed to say at a wedding, Marco is still a bit afraid of me and he will have to handle Ace anyway, Shakky is technically no longer a Captain, Crocodile is not someone I appreciate enough to ask for that kind of favour, Rayleigh is not a Captain, Buggy would either cry or shriek all along, and Mihawk isn't a Captain either," you listed with an amused smile. "Jinbei is composed and collected, he's a Captain, someone I respect and appreciate, and I'm confident he will not just improvise some nonsense."

Shanks blinked several times, then laughed at your explanation.

"When you put it like that," he admitted with a big smile after a few more chuckles. "We can ask him tomorrow when we tell everyone."

"What do you mean, tomorrow when we tell everyone ?" you repeated confusedly with a tilt of your head. "You haven't told them why you wanted to come here ?"

"Of course not !" Shanks huffed like it was obvious, then grimaced and amended his statement. "Well Rayleigh and Shakky know, obviously, and I told Mimi because he said he wouldn't come if I didn't give him a good reason, but that's it."

"Why ?" you asked with a flabbergasted expression. With how open Shanks was with his emotions and intentions, you could not fathom why he would keep from his crew – or his First Mate, at least – the fact that he had made them come all the way to Sabaody for your wedding.

"Well, you know, a pair of rings and a few words aren't going to really change anything between us, right ?" Shanks admitted sheepishly. "I wasn't sure you'd even want to get married, so…"

So he had told no one to make sure you would not face any kind of disappointment or pressure in case you said no, you realised. Shanks clearly did not care about the concept of marriage, he was not the kind of man who needed a fancy ceremony or a shiny piece of jewellery to commit himself to you, so it likely did not matter much to him whether you got married or not as long as you stayed together. Hell, you were planning to have children in the near future, and as far as you were concerned, creating and raising another human being was a much more concrete form of commitment to each other.

But the same way he had ensured your answer to his proposal would be given without any kind of pressure, Shanks had ensured you would not face any negative repercussions no matter what answer you ended up giving him.

Seas and stars, what a man.

Chapter 31: Join Us At Fish-Man Island

Chapter Text

Mihawk pov

Mihawk still had a hard time believing his infamous womanizer of a best friend was getting married. Truly, if he had not witnessed the events on that deserted island several months ago with his own eyes, he would genuinely have thought Shanks was trying to set up some kind of elaborated prank.

As things were, however, the World's Greatest Swordsman knew his rival well enough to believe him this time. While the desire burning in Shanks' eyes for the blue-haired woman he was travelling with had been nothing Mihawk had not seen a thousand times before, the protectiveness and affection he had displayed had thrown the Warlord off. Whoever that woman was, she had managed the impossible feat of capturing his best friend's heart, and at the time, she did not even appear to have realised it yet.

Learning a couple months later of the incredible power she wielded had both surprised Hawkeyes and made perfect sense with who Shanks was at his core. His reckless best friend was definitely the type to have fallen for a woman possessing a power on par with his own.

Mihawk could still remember vividly the emergency Warlord meeting Sengoku had summoned. The room had been utterly silent as they all watched the recorded fight between the newly dubbed Goddess of the Sea and the late – but not missed – Admiral Akainu. If one could even call a fight what had clearly been a bloodbath.

The Fleet Admiral had asked for any information on Y/N they might possess as soon as the recording had ended. Mihawk had elected to ignore this demand, even if he had been tempted to inform Sengoku of her baking skills or the fact that she had an Emperor of the Sea wrapped around her finger. The amusement following such a reveal would definitely not have been worth the onslaught of questions, however, and as such, the swordsman had refrained from speaking.

After a silence of several seconds, the Fleet Admiral had warned them all that as much as the Marines and World Government wanted this loose canon dead, they had established that confronting her at sea was simply suicidal. They were to kill or capture her on land, but immediately retreat if they met her at sea.

One quick glance exchanged with Hancock, and the haughty but pleased smile on her lips had confirmed to Mihawk that the Kuja Empress had no intention of making an enemy out of such a powerful woman. He had addressed her a small smirk of his own and enjoyed their silent understanding of the situation. They both planned to befriend Y/N if given the chance, regardless of their Warlord status or the Marines' wishes.

Most of their colleagues had appeared to be adequatly worried, and not particularly inclined to face the Goddess of the Sea no matter the battlefield. Even Doflamingo had seemed anxious after the demonstration of what Hawkeyes suspected to only be part of her skillset. On the other side of the table, Jinbei had looked thoroughly impressed by her skills and morals, which meant whatever favour Sengoku had obviously planned to ask of him was unlikely to be met with a positive answer.

Mihawk had asked for a copy of the recorded fight after the meeting. Knowing Shanks, his best friend would appreciate the view of the woman he loved showing off her power in such a masterful way. In fact, Hawkeyes was confident the next time they would met, the red-head would try just about any kind of bribe to get his hand on this footage.

As Mihawk made his way to Sabaody, the barest hint of a smile found a way to the corner of his lips. He had not thought at the time that he would bring it as a wedding gift, but when Shanks had snailed to inform him of his intention to propose, the swordsman could not think of a better present to the future newlyweds. No matter Perona's claims about what true romance was, and how right she usually was about the subject. In this specific instance, Mihawk knew better.

He arrived in the archipelago in the early afternoon, and easily made his way to Shakky's pub where he knew he would find Shanks and whoever else was invited to the ceremony. Assuming Y/N had accepted the Emperor's proposal, of course, which Mihawk had little doubt about.

He opened the door of the Rip-Off bar just in time to watch Jinbei bow deeply to an obviously confused Y/N, while Shanks was laughing happily, Buggy was somehow shrieking and sobbing at the same time, Crocodile had dropped his cigar in shock, Marco was trying to restrain a flaming and screaming Firefist Ace, Beckman was collecting money from at least half the Red-Haired Pirates, Rayleigh was grinning like a madman, and Shakky was chuckling.

Mihawk had half a mind turning around and pretending he had never been there.

-o-oOo-o-

Jinbei pov

To say Jinbei felt deeply honoured would be an understatement.

Meeting the Goddess of the Sea in person, someone who possessed an even stronger connection to water than Fishmen and Merfolk, someone who had saved numerous members of the Whitebeard Pirates for no other reason than the fact it had been within her powers, had been an honour in itself already.

But the immediate admiration she had bestowed upon him, the respect she had shown, her genuine and even humble curiosity about his culture, had truly stunned Jinbei.

While he had hoped she would not be as prejudiced as most humans were when he had first learned of her existence, the Warlord had opted to remain cautious until he could actually meet her. And then of course, as the First Son of the Sea, an expert in Fishman Karate, and one of the strongest Fishmen all around, Jinbei was fairly confident he was one of the best judges to assess a person's skills when it came to water manipulation.

Yet, he had been astoundished when faced with her sheer power and level of mastery during her fight against Akainu. The morals she had abided by during their confrontation had comforted Jinbei in his decision to back her up if push came to shove. He had asked for his crew and King Neptune's opinions on the matter after the meeting, just in case, and all reactions had been unanimous. As soon as the news of her existence had come out, the Goddess of the Sea had been respected, admired, and borderline worshipped on Fish-Man Island.

 So when the Marines and World Government had asked Jinbei to create a special Fishman Legion to take down the Goddess of the Sea, he had outright refused. Even without meeting her, Jinbei knew he would never fight a woman who had done so much to help the people protecting his island, much less lead fellow Fishmen in that futile crusade. Even if it meant losing his status as a Warlord and spend the rest of his days in Impel Down.

 But then, the hurricane that was Mugiwara no Luffy had turned his world upside down and given a new meaning to his life, a hope of freedom and simple happiness instead of constant worry. Ace and Marco had approved of this insane boy and hinted at others trusting him to become the shining star of a new era of piracy.

Jinbei had still been thinking about his chance at another life in another crew when they had finally left the prison. And then, only minutes later, he had witnessed the Goddess of the Sea's prowess with his own eyes, and had been left speechless once more.

Once they had been out of the Gates and the rumour that she had tamed a sea king had unequivocally been confirmed as true, Jinbei had taken a moment to compose himself before introducing himself, and had been stunned again when she had bowed to him in obvious respect. While her personality was vastly different from Luffy's blunt honesty and easy trust, her open mind and fierce protectiveness of those she cared for were no less impressive. Jinbei's opinion of the Goddess of the Sea had been confirmed that very moment.

This was a woman worth respecting, worth admiring, and dared Jinbei say it, worth befriending.

However, and with all the respect Jinbei held for Akagami, he had had a hard time picturing the red-haired Emperor and the Goddess of the Sea in a relationship. From what he knew and had seen of Akagami, the man was not the type to keep a single partner for long, and did not even appear to take anything seriously aside from the safety of his crew – and even that was only when an emergency arose.

The Goddess of the Sea, on the other side, clearly loved deeply and felt every emotion with the might of a storm. Try as he might, the former Warlord could not picture them in a harmonious relationship, and had even wondered anxiously if the Emperor was as serious in his commitment to Y/N as she believed him to be.

This assumption had made Jinbei feel quite ashamed of his prejudices when they had arrived at Sabaody. The love Y/N and Akagami shared had flooded the room the very second they had been reunited. The following hours had been more than enough to make Jinbei realise – between a few corrections in Ace and Buggy's retelling of their escape – that the two powerful humans were actually the most compatible couple he had seen since King Neptune and Queen Otohime.

After they had left for the amusement park on what was clearly a private date, Jinbei had caught Marco's eyes, and the Phoenix had smirked.

"They really put the power in power couple-yoi," he had stated, and Jinbei had laughed good-heartedly.

"They certainly make a fine match," the Fishman had agreed.

Y/N and Akagami had not come back to the pub after their date, which had not surprised the members of their crew in the slightest.

But it was the next day that brought the most unexpected news of all.

The couple reappeared in the pub in the early afternoon, with the radiant glow of absolute happiness surrounding them. Y/N walked straight to Jinbei with a bright smile, and the former Warlord would not have guessed her next words in a million years.

"Jinbei, would you do us the honour of being the one to officiate our wedding ?" she had asked him.

The pub was frozen silent for a second, during which Jinbei felt his jaw drop in shock.

"Wait what ?" Ace asked as if he doubted he had heard the last sentence correctly.

"I asked my lovely sweetheart to marry me and she said yes," Akagami replied with a proud grin and a kiss on Y/N's cheek, his arm around her waist.

Chaos unfolded after that, but all Jinbei could do was stand up and bow deeply to express his gratitude at the honour bestowed upon him.

-o-oOo-o-

Izou pov

When Ace and Marco had left for their impossible rescue mission, Izou had not been surprised by Pops' decision to sail the Moby Dick near the Grand Line and be ready to act if anything went wrong. As a matter of fact, Izou was fairly confident the only reason he had let them leave without any reinforcements was the fact that Y/N was included in their plan.

Still, everyone had only relaxed after hearing of their success.

The Moby had kept sailing toward Fish-Man Island anyway, to make it easier for Ace and Marco to come back and get an occasion to see Y/N again. The Goddess of the Sea may be a member of the Red-Haired Pirates, but Pops definitely thought of her as his daughter and there was not a single member of their crew who would not jump at the slightest chance to repay everything she had done for them.

And so here they were all, leisurely enjoying a sunny day on deck, when Marco snailed Pops directly.

"Whitebeard."

"Pops, there's been a change of plan-yoi," Marco declared bluntly with lingering incredulity.

Concern ran through everyone who had heard him, and even Pops tensed.

"What is the problem, son ?"

"Well it's not really a problem, just- Ace stop screaming-yoi ! It's not the end of the world !"

Ace's yelling could be heard in the background and everyone's concern went up a notch, but another voice came up before Pops could reply.

"I'll take it from here, go get him," Y/N stated with what was definitely amusement. "Sorry about that, Ace is still processing the news."

Everyone instantly relaxed. At this point, it was pretty much an unofficial rule that if the Goddess of the Sea was around, things were fine.

"It's good to hear from you, my child," Pops said with a smile. "Though I would like to know what happened to send your brother in such a tantrum."

"Well… actually, it has to do with the change of plans Marco has mentioned, though it's more like a favour I have to ask. I know it's a bit last-minute, but do you think you can come to Fish-Man Island ?" she asked with what almost sounded like awkwardness.

Pops' eyebrows went up in surprise and he stroke his chin pensively for a moment, but Izou knew what his answer would be the second she used the word favour. There was no way Pops was going to deny her anything, and in all honesty, going to Fish-Man Island barely counted as a favour.

"It's going to take a few days for the Moby Dick to be prepared for the journey, but it should be doable," Pops replied after a few seconds. "I assume you wouldn't ask without a good reason ?"

Izou raised an eyebrow and he could see all the other commanders on deck smirking or hiding a laugh at the very obvious attempt to get more information.

"I… yes. Well, you see, the thing is-"

"We're getting married !" Akagami's voice interrupted cheerfully. "And my beautiful fiancée wants you to be there for the wedding, so hurry up ! And bring booze !"

"YOU CAN'T MARRY MY SISTER ! YOU'RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR HER !!" Ace's screams echoed in the background.

"Ace, stop screaming, I'm getting married and you better change your attitude or I'll have to ask someone else to be my best man," Y/N's voice retorted calmly.

"LIKE HELL I- wait I'm your best man ?"

"Of course you are, firefly. Now if you don't mind, I still have a conversation to finish. Love, that goes for you too, I just need a few more minutes and then I'll be back with you."

Izou felt his jaw go slack at the news, and only succeeded in blinking himself back to reality when she somehow managed to get the situation on her side back under control. Even Pops looked stunned on his chair.

"You're marrying the brat ?" Pops asked again.

"Yes, he proposed last night, it was very romantic," she replied with a giggle. "And it would mean a lot to me if you could be there for our wedding."

"We'll be there," Pops instantly confirmed with a warm smile. "I wouldn't let someone else officiate your wedding, anyway."

"Actually I asked Jinbei to do that part," she corrected.

Izou paled when he saw the way his Emperor's smile disappeared in clear offense, and Goddess of the Sea or not, he hoped she realised the mistake she had just made.

"Because you've adopted me as your daughter, even if I'm not a member of your crew, so… I was kind of hoping you would agree to walk me down the aisle."

The tension dissipated immediately and they all breathed again when Pops went from offended to beaming with pride in an instant.

"Of course, my child."

"Really !? Oh thank you !" the den-den mushi exclaimed happily. "And, erm, actually, if I can ask for one more thing ?"

"Go on," Pops replied, clearly amused by now.

"Can you ask Izou if he'd be willing to come early and help me choose a dress ? I could use another opinion on top of Shakky's and he's got the best fashion sense out of everyone I know," she asked in an embarrassed voice.

Izou felt stunned for the second time in a row, but it was very quickly replaced by absolute smugness. Even more so when all his brothers turned jealous glares in his direction. Pops laughed loudly at her request and barely glanced at him for more than a second before he lowered the den-den mushi enough for Izou to reply after taking a few steps.

"I would be honoured to assist you," Izou said proudly.

"Awesome ! Thank you, I'll come with Ketchup to bring you down there."

Izou's smug mood dimmed a little when he realised agreeing to go early meant he would make the journey on a sea king. No matter how loyal the beast was to Y/N, it was still a terrifying sight to behold.

On the other side, though, he would be able to brag about it later on top of helping her choose her wedding dress.

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

You remembered the journey to Fish-Man Island being described as perilous in both the manga and anime. However, it hardly applied to the ship of an Emperor escorted by a sea king and two experts in water manipulation. Jinbei and you had opted to stay out of the ship, partly for more efficient protection in case something happened, and partly because both of you were clearly more used to make the journey like this.

You were maintaining a vast bubble of air on Ketchup's back, your sea king happily diving in the dark fathoms, when Jinbei suddenly came closer and joined you.

"The currents are stronger than usual, but nothing impossible to handle," he announced before you could start worrying.

You nodded in understanding, and kept an eye on the Red Force where Shanks was currently talking to Beckman and Rayleigh about something. You smiled and your hand reached for your medallion, wondering what it would feel like to have a ring resting above it.

"It'll be fine. They know what they're doing," you replied instead. Worst case scenario, Ketchup and you would intervene before things could get truly dangerous.

The former Warlord nodded and sat beside you in silence. It was only after a couple more minutes that he spoke again.

"I would like to thank you for the honour you granted me."

You turned your head in surprise.

"What do you mean ?"

"Fishmen are still disregarded by most humans, and even in Fish-Man Island, the distinction between Merfolk and Fishmen can be discriminatory," the former Warlord explained with his fists clenched and a frown. "The fact that you asked me to officiate the wedding of an Emperor and the Goddess of the Sea carries a great significance, and will help further my fight for equality between Fishmen, Merfolk, and humans."

You looked at the imposant Fishman for a moment, quite surprised by his unexpected explanation, then smiled.

"I'm glad it'll help your cause, but to be completely honest, I asked you to do it because I genuinely believe you are the best suited for the role. I mean," you added with a conspiratory look, "can you imagine Ace trying to officiate my wedding ?"

Jinbei laughed goodheartedly at your remark, clearly picturing the chaotic disaster such a situation would entail. You kept exchanging pleasant conversation until Fish-Man Island came into view. Then Jinbei left Ketchup's back to prepare for the Red Force's arrival, and you made your way around the beautiful underwater kingdom to get Izou, waving playfully at everyone you saw inside the bright sphere.

-o-oOo-o-

Jinbei pov

Jinbei stood proudly as the vows and rings were exchanged, and took in the sight of what had to be the wedding of the decade. Two Emperor's crews and their guests were gathered in one of the vast areas at the limit of the main sphere, with a white sea king watching from the other side of the protective barrier. The decorations exclusively consisted of the natural coloured lights of the island's flora glowing against the dark waters outside, giving the wedding a sense of intimacy despite the huge amount of people attending.

As per the groom and bride's request, Jinbei had kept the ceremony in itself short, since it would immediately followed by a party. Both Akagami and Y/N had dressed up, but their wedding clothes still reflected their usual attire. Truth be told, neither of them seemed to care about anything but each other, at that point, but Jinbei expected it and finished his speech with the solemnity the event deserved.

"Then by the powers vested in me as Captain of the Sun Pirates, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss," he declared and barely got the time to say the last word before they did exactly that.

Jinbei chuckled and looked at some of the guests closest to him. Ace and Buggy were sobbing loudly, Whitebeard was discreetly wiping a tear, Marco was smiling, Beckman was grinning, Rayleigh seemed to glow with pride, Hawkeyes looked as happy as he would allow his expression to show it, Crocodile had a lazy smirk, and everyone else was applauding or shouting in joy.

"Now let's party !" Akagami exclaimed when he and Y/N stopped kissing.

Jinbei was quickly given a tankard, and joined the laughter and merryness with great cheer. What a happy day indeed.

-o-oOo-o-

Beckman pov

Out of all the parties they had ever thrown, this one might be the biggest and craziest Beckman had seen. Just the fact that two Emperor's crews were gathered made its proportions pretty insane, but damn if they were not having fun. Beckman certainly did, and Shanks kept grinning like the sappiest fool in the world everytime he got to remind someone that Y/N was his wife, which was approximately every five seconds.

And then Hawkeyes joined them.

"I suppose now is as good a time as any for a wedding gift," he stated.

"Aww Mimi, you didn't have to !" Shanks laughed happily.

"Then I suppose I can just keep the footage of your wife's fight against Akainu," the Warlord retorted with a smug smirk.

Shanks' expression changed immediately and even Beckman felt intrigued. Rumours had gone wild after that fight and Y/N herself had never delved into the details of what exactly had happened, aside from sinking four ships, letting one go, and killing the Admiral.

"Wait wait wait no give me that ! Mimi I take it back I absolutely want your wedding gift !" Shanks jumped toward the Warlord.

Meanwhile, Y/N was hiding her face in her hands and grumbling about not needing to make such a big deal out of it.

"Wait you got a record of that fight ?" one of Whitebeard's commanders exclaimed. "OI EVERYONE ! WE CAN WATCH THE GODDESS OF THE SEA AGAINST AKAINU !"

There was a second of silence, quickly followed by a roaring cheer, and in a matter of minutes, everything was ready to watch the fight. Beckman poured himself a tankard and got ready to enjoy the usual demonstration of her powers. After all, the Red-Haired Pirates already knew what the Goddess of the Sea looked like in action.

 

 

Fifteen minutes later, Beckman felt shocked to his bones. That had not been Y/N's standard fight. That had been a furious deity ruthlessly slaughtering her enemies. He noticed several people having dropped their tankard or food during the projection, and his own hold on his drink was a bit unsteady.

Great fucking Seas.

No one said anything for a second after the end of the footage, but then Shanks threw Y/N over his shoulder and started walking in the direction of what Beckman would bet was their shared quarters.

"Sorry everyone," he sang while not sounding sorry in the slightest, "I'm going to have sex with my hot and deadly wife. Have fun !"

"Sorry everyone," she mimicked with a grin as she let herself be manhandled, "my horny husband thinks I'm hot when I kick ass."

"Like you're any better, sweetheart," Shanks snorted.

"Never said I was, love," Y/N chuckled.

There were a few more moments of silence, then Rayleigh and Whitebeard burst into laughter, and the party started anew.

Chapter 32: Wedding Night

Notes:

This chapter was absolutely not part of my initial draft, but SOMEONE *pointed look at Rom1312* posted a certain chapter recently that got my brain demanding that I wrote more Shanks smut.

Warning : Sex. That's it that's the warning. Don't like it, skip the chapter. Bit of power play (literally and figuratively) and orgasm denial.
Enjoy ;)

Chapter Text

Reader pov

This time, you were not surprised when Shanks decided to carry you all the way to your quarters, and you let it happen with a smile. Though as soon as he closed the door behind him, you made sure to straighten over his shoulder before he could just throw you on his bed and have his way with you.

He let you glide down against his body, and as soon as your feet touched the ground, he went to kiss you.

You put a finger on his lips, and grinned at his stunned look.

"So, watching me kick ass makes you all hot and bothered, mmh ?" you murmured.

"You know it does," Shanks grumbled as soon as your finger left his lips, and he tried to kiss you again, only for you to stop him with a hand on his heart as you took a step back.

"Babe, what are yo-"

You caressed his skin with your fingers until only the tip of your index was touching his throat, and you could feel him gulp in anticipation.

"I wonder what exactly does it for you. Is it just the idea that I can kill a man so easily ?" you asked almost nonchalantly and watched his pupils dilate with lust. "Or is it the idea of me dominating a situation so completely ?" you asked in a more sensual voice.

Shanks moaned at your words, and you smiled knowingly. You had not brought that kind of power play in the bedroom so far, mostly because you loved when he was in control, but tonight… you wanted to see what happened when you took command. From the lustful expression on his face and the very obvious bulge in his pants, you could tell your husband was very much on board with the idea.

"Both," he replied like he did not even need to think about it. "You're so fucking sexy when you're ruthless and I love it."

You smirked, not surprised by his admission, and used the tip of your finger to direct him toward the bed as he talked.

"Usual safeword ?" you asked him with a more serious look, because even if this was a reversal of your usual roles, it did not mean safety and consent were no longer important.

"Doubt I'm gonna need it, but sure," Shanks grinned.

You raised an eyebrow at the obvious challenge. Then you removed your finger from his throat, and flicked it toward the pitcher of water on the nightstand to have the water twirling around him. You took another step back while one of your arms crossed under your breasts, holding the other at the elbow with your hand beside your face.

"Well then, since having a ruthless goddess in your bed turns you on…"

You snapped your fingers and the water permeated his clothes immediately, to the point where you could easily remove them from his body without even needing to touch him. Shanks was standing naked in a matter of seconds and looking ready to either cum or devour you on the spot.

"… let's have some fun with that," you finished with a predatory grin.

"Fuck yes babe, that's the hottest thing you've ever-"

"Kneel," you ordered.

Shanks dropped to his knees immediately and your eyebrows raised minutely in surprise. You had not expected your Emperor of a husband to submit to you so readily. You walked to him, and bent slightly to look him in the eyes while your fingers grazed his cheek, your thumb tracing his stubble and the rest of your hand slowly caressing his jawline.

"So eager to please," you hummed.

"Anything for my wife," he replied cheekily.

You kept your expression neutral, but used the featherlight touch on his skin to take control of his blood. All it took was a thought to make his blood engorge his dick just a little more than before and Shanks gasped before moaning loudly.

"Oh fuuuuuck yes do that again sweetheart," he panted.

You released the control you had on his blood and your fingers left his skin immediately.

"No no no no come back do that again I-"

"You want me to use my power ?" you asked him sweetly.

"Yes !" Shanks replied instantly with a needy look.

"Then beg for it."

You could see the second his pride as an Emperor flared up in his eyes, and you smirked. You knew it was going to take a little more than that to get him to really submit to you.

"My love," he tried to negotiate through the obvious battle between his pride and his arousal, "my beloved wife, my beautiful goddess, I'm already on my knees for you."

You put two fingers back under his chin and watched his face light up as he expected the pleasure to come back, and waited a few seconds with a serene grin, until he realised you were not going to give him what he wanted.

"You are, and I like the view," you admitted, then bent just enough to give him a fleeting kiss on the lips before taking a few steps away from him so you could lean against the wardrobe.

"In fact, I like it a lot," you said with a knowing grin as you reached for the snap buttons at the back of your dress, "Don't move."

You unclasped them and let the top of your dress fall to reveal you bare breasts, since you had not bothered with a bra under it. Shanks watched avidly at the expanse of skin suddenly exposed, barely aborting a movement to stand back up.

You put both hands behind your neck, and made a slow motion to bring them down your chest, making sure to perfectly frame the picture of your boobs and how the air of the quarters were making your nipples perk. Then you lowered your fingers even more, until you reached the fabric of your dress. You caressed it slowly as you kept going lower, and only stopped when you found the slits reminiscing of your usual skirt.

"Babe," Shanks tried again with a seductive but clearly strained look, "my love, my-"

"Beg," you interrupted him with a confident smirk.

Shanks groaned but did not move from his kneeling spot in front of the bed. You could see his dick glistening with precum from the teasing you were putting him through, and you decided to go a little further.

You put both hands on your bare thighs and pulled the fabric up as you glided your fingers under the dress to reach your panties, still keeping them out of view for the time being. Your intentions were painfully clear and you could see the immediate effect it had on your husband.

"Don't," Shanks asked you, and the pleading note in his voice told you he had to be close to giving in to your demand. "Don't make me just watch," he added with his eyes burning with desire. "Not tonight."

You smiled and brought your left hand back on your belly and then your chest, which had your husband sigh in relief, before you brought it back on your breast in a feather-light caress that barely warmed your skin. Your head lilted slightly backward in pleasure, which was when Shanks' gaze went back to your right hand still hidden under your dress with your fingers now very obviously hidden between your legs.

"No no no no no don't- I want to- I need- babe don't-"

"You know," you said with a pleased exhale as you caressed your folds through your underwear, "I chose those panties with you in mind… and now they're already ruined because the sight of my handsome and powerful husband on his knees for me gets me very, ver- mmh, wet," you informed him with a little moan as you put a little more pressure on your next caress to give yourself a little relief.

Shanks looked close to desperate by now, panting as he could only stare at you pleasuring yourself, and you decided to go for the kill as desire kept pooling between your legs. You brought both arms up above your head, leaned a little more against the wardrobe, and used the water from earlier to slowly undress yourself, ending up with the part covering your thighs. It ultimately fell as well, exposing the lacy red panties you had chosen, how damp they were, and the fact that they were so wet you could make them move on their own against your pussy in a very sensual caress.

Shanks let out a garbled gasp and his hand fell on the floor to steady him.

"Please !" he finally begged. "Love please, please touch me, please let me touch you, please use your powers, fuck, please use me if you want but fucking please don't force me to just watch you cum !"

A satisfied hum escaped your lips when those sweet, sweet words were finally out in the open, then you straightened and walked to your Emperor with a smile. You put one hand in his hair and tugged lightly, earning a long moan from him as you did. Your hand then left his hair to caress his neck, until your fingers settled under his chin once more, and you tilted his head to make him look you in the eyes.

"Get on the bed."

Shanks nearly scrambled with how fast he moved to obey you. Soon he was sitting on the sheets, but you pushed his torso to make him lay down, which he did instantly, and you smiled approvingly.

You stayed up beside the bed, only wearing the red panties that Shanks was still staring at hungrily, and let your fingers graze his torso as you took control of his blood again.

"Now, isn't it better when you just give me what I want ?" you asked as you made a fraction of his blood leave his dick, then go back to it, in a way that stimulated his pleasure better than a handjob and that you knew drove him absolutely crazy.

"Yes, yes- oh fuck ngh, keep going that's so freaking- no no no why did you stop ?" Shanks whined when you took your hand off his skin again.

"Did you already forget ? If you want my power, you have to beg for it."

"Please," he begged you again, this time immediately, and damn, it looked like once he had given up, he was really going to let his pride go entirely. And that was way hotter than you had expected it to be. "Please use your power on my dick."

You smiled, put your left hand on the bed to steady yourself, bent until you could give him a slow and languid kiss. In this position, your breasts were touching his chest in a tantalizing grazing of your nipples, and he brought his hand on your ass. You pulled back from the kiss right as you put your right index and middle finger directly on his dick, and repeated your previous blood manipulation. This time, however, it was in time with the caress of your fingers on his cock to add to the stimuli.

"Oh yes, yes, please don't stop, just- oooh shit just like that, oh fuck that's so good, you're so good, mmhh yesss babe, so good to me, so fucking perfect please keep going," he started moaning and panting as you increased the intensity and speed of your ministrations and tried to ignore the wetness pooling between your thighs at the insanely hot sight below you.

"Babe gonna cum, fuck, I'm gonna- NO !"

You stopped the blood in his dick a few seconds before his orgasm could unfold, making him curse and tense on the bed as his breathing became even harsher and he looked at you with a pleading look.

"Babe please, please I love you, please just let me-"

"Shhh, you'll get to cum, my love," you soothed him with a kiss on his cheek and a hand gently roaming in his hair. "I promise. But before that, you're going to get those off me," you told him with a gesture toward your panties.

His hand grabbed the lacy garnment with urgency but the Emperor immediately groaned when he realised how wet they were.

"Fuck, you get off having me at your mercy ?" he asked you with what could have passed for accusation, but you knew was actually arousal and possibly smugness.

"Of course," you confirmed and stepped out of your panties and onto the bed. Instead of going above his hips, though, you positioned your legs on either side of his torso. "How could I not when I have you begging under me ?" you asked with a smirk as you moved even higher, until you were kneeling above Shanks' head and he could see how aroused you were.

"My strong and powerful Emperor," you said as you ran a hand through his hair, and watched him all but drool at both the praise, the possessive tone of your voice, and the sight of your dripping pussy right above his mouth. "The only man I'll ever yield to," you added in a purr and watched his eyes roll to the back of his head. "My beloved husband," you continued seductively as his hand reached for your ass in a clear plea to finally sit on his face. "And the father of my future children," you murmured as you finally lowered yourself on him.

Shanks moaned loudly at the last one and immediately started devouring you like a man possessed, like every second he was not lapping at your cunt and making you ride his face was going to kill him, like he was starved and your pussy was his first meal in days.

You gasped and grabbed the headboard for support. His tongue seemed to be everywhere at once, exploring your folds, teasing your clit, and pleasuring you in that masterful way of his. Your other hand was still firmly gripping his hair and pulling everytime he did something that stimulated you just right, which seemed to be every other second with how lost he was in lust and desire.

"Ooooh fuck yes, yesssss," you hissed when his tongue started to fuck you in earnest and you rolled your hips on his face, relishing on the pleasure you were taking from him. The friction of his stubble on the inside of your thigh encouraged you to roll harder, and his lustful moans and groans only added to the hotness. "Fuck you're so good with your tongue," you panted as you felt your climax approach fast.

His arm left your ass to go caress your hip, your waist, your belly, your breasts, exploring every inch of skin he could reach and igniting a fire in its path. You moaned and your head fell backward, which was when you got a glance of his hips rocking in rythm with the devilish movements of his tongue and his dick oozing precum.

You grinned despite your orgasm getting closer as your husband's deviousness in bed. You knew Shanks could cum untouched just from eating you out, and with the teasing you had put him through before, he was definitely going to.

Unless, of course…

You reached for his blood again despite the fog of lust clouding your brain, and started stroking his cock without touching it. He groaned louder between your legs, the vibrations sending you even closer to your high. A particularly needy moan that escaped you had him licking your pussy and sucking on your clit with a frenzy that you knew was going to make you see stars within the next seconds if he kept it up.

Just before you were going to lose control, you blocked his climax again. His frustrated whine coupled to a last roll of your hips stroking your clit just right sent you into the throws of your orgasm with a long moan of his name.

He kept his mouth open for you to ride your high as long as you wanted, but as soon as you gathered your bearings and moved, you saw the raw want and borderline painful desire in his gaze.

"Please, just let me cum," he begged you. "Babe I need it, please," he continued, his voice sounding a little more desperate with each word.

You smiled, slowly moved on the bed until your bodies aligned, and let him grab his red and rock-hard cock for you so you would just have to lower yourself, nothing more to do on your part.

"You've been doing so well, my love," you praised him and kissed him deeply, nevermind the glistening mess of your juices on his mouth. Your tongue reached for his immediately, and he obliged you with gusto. You lowered your hips the tiniest bit over his, just enough to align the very tip of his dick with your pussy, and Shanks gasped.

You let go of his mouth with a loving smile, then moved your head to kiss his neck and stopped just below his ear.

"But I think you can take one more," you whispered with an evil smirk.

"Wha- FUCK !" Shanks screamed when you lowered your hips and took the entirety of his cock inside you in one swift move. You moaned at the instant stretch that you absolutely loved, your walls fluttering around his cock as they adapted to the sudden intrusion. His hand had instantly left his grasp on his dick to reach for your ass and block your body where it was, completely plastered against his.

Your Emperor was panting, his eyes at the back of his skull as the onslaught of sensations following his cock being sucked in your wet and pulsing cunt washed over him. You could tell it had brought him to the verge of his climax once again. You grinned against his neck, enjoying the feeling of his hot and hard member in you, and gave him a grand total of four seconds of relief.

Then you clenched around his dick and Shanks cursed again, his breathing harsh and a thin layer of sweat on his brow as he tried to stay in control of his body.

"Fuck babe you're divine, you feel amazing, so fucking good around me, so wet and soft and tight and perfect, I love you so much, wanna spend the rest of my life in bed with you," he started babbling incoherently.

Your mouth left his neck to start kissing his jaw, then you clenched your inner walls again, which shut him up with a gasp as his whole body tensed under the effort to not cum immediately. Because as much as he wanted to cum, you knew that now that he was inside you, Shanks wanted to properly fuck you before he did.

"Babe, babe please I'm never going to last if you keep doing that," he panted pleadingly.

You planted both hands on his pecs to look at him from above, smiled as innocently as you could with his dick buried balls deep in you, and looked your husband straight in the eyes.

"I know."

You clenched again, and coupled it to your blood trick to drive him completely wild, which worked instantly and drew the loudest moans and sounds of pleasure you had heard from him so far.

"Fuck that's so good, you're incredible, never felt anything like tha- oh yesssss, fuck it, gonna fill you up, gonna cum, gonna- NO !" he shouted when you denied him for the third time.

Shanks' head fell back on the pillow and his hand went to hide his eyes the next second, a sob escaping him soon after.

"Babe, love, please, I'm begging you" he pleaded you again, his body shaking with want. "Please, let me cum," he repeated with a pained voice.

You removed his hand from his face, moved your thumb to wipe the couple of tears having rolled from the corner of his eyes, and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips.

"Shanks, listen to me," you whispered against his lips. "You've been so, so good to me, so I'm going to make you cum now. And if you can stay completely still all along, until the very end of your climax, you get to take me however you want, how many times you want, for the rest of the night."

You heard the Emperor's sharp intake of breath right before he stared at you with shock, hope, and an insane amount of lust.

"However I want, how many times I want ?" he repeated.

"Mh-hm," you confirmed with a nod as your fingers slowly put more pressure on his pecs to straighten up and your legs moved on either side of his hips to get into a cowgirl position. "If you can stay still until you reach the end of your climax. Arm on the bed, no touching, no moving, no kissing, just watching me ride you until you fill me up. Show me that iron will of yours, Emperor, and I'll be yours to command for the rest of the night."

Shanks gulped, but you saw the switch operating in his eyes and the way he clearly steeled himself in spite of the oversensitivity flowing through his veins. He laid his arm on the side, palm spread on the sheet, and took a deep breath.

"Bring it, Goddess."

You smirked, gave him one last languourous kiss on the lips, and settled yourself comfortably on his hips. You knew your man, how expressive he was, how he always showed his emotions and acted on his desires. There was no way he would manage to win this challenge, not with how riled up he already was and how you planned to bring him to his climax.

You enjoyed the delicious feel of his dick inside you for a moment as you closed your eyes, then you opened them again and raised your hips as slowly as you could. You made sure Shanks would feel every inch of his cock leaving your pussy, until just the tip of his member remained inside you. You looked your husband straight in the eyes, gave the most playfully evil smirk you could, and lowered yourself back just as slowly, making sure to clench around him as you did so. You only stopped when he was balls deep inside you again, and went back up, still agonisingly slowly.

Shanks was sweating, you could see his hand struggling to remain flat on the sheet instead of clutching it in a fist, his abs were flexing with every breath he took, and you could hear his shaky inhales as he tried not to lose control and just take you.

"I'm gonna- oh fuuu- fucking wreck you, sweetheart," Shanks warned you with a voice tensed with want that only made you clench harder against him and had him snap his mouth shut with a muffled curse.

You kept your slow pace, enjoying the way his dick kept twitching inside you at every movement, and how each pass and go was bringing him just that little bit closer to his climax. You were certain he was going to lose control any time soon now.

"I would expect, mmh, nothing less from my husband," you retorted with a pleased sigh as you kept torturing him in a way you could tell he absolutely loved.

The word made his cock jerk while it was half-way inside you, and you smiled michievously. After all, you were starting to feel impatient as well, no matter how much you enjoyed this soft love-making you had imposed on him.

"You like that ? Me reminding you that we're married ?"

"Fuck yes," Shanks replied instantly.

You could tell he was getting close, and a part of you began worrying that he might actually manage to win that insane challenge you had teased him with. You brought your right hand closer to his neck to toy with the golden ring he was now wearing around his neck.

"Good, because I love it. I love that I can tell everyone you're my husband," you whispered as his breathing turned ragged, and you could swear he was about to lose his mind, you just needed to push him a little more.

You let his ring fall back on his skin, only to take yours in hand. Your hips slowly raised once more, and you watched your Emperor's eyes, blown out with lust, focus on the way you brought the little piece of jewellery to your lips to kiss it.

"And I love that I can tell everyone that I'm your wife," you stated possessively and slammed your hips back on his.

Shanks yelled a series of curses with your name thrown into it as he climaxed violently. His whole body tensed as his cock shot ropes after ropes of cum into your pussy, until you were pretty sure you were going to burst from it and the intense orgasm he had clearly just experienced.

You remained were you where as your Emperor finished to ride his high, your jaw slack as you realised he had, impossibly so, managed to stay completely still until the end.

Holy seas, stars and moon.

You were figuratively and literally fucked.

Shanks' eyes opened as he took one last deep trembling breath, and his gaze focused on you with the heat of a thousand suns. His grin was near feral as he took your stunned expression in.

"My turn," he said in a voice so dangerously low and heavy with lust that it send a shudder down your spine.

That was all the warning you had before he moved faster than you could comprehend, and in a few seconds, you were on all four with a rock-hard dick buried deep inside you again, and Shanks' back plastered above your own, his mouth right against your ear and his hand holding your hip.

"Brace yourself, my darling wife," he told you with a lustful grin in his voice. "Because I'm going to fucking ruin you."

You barely got the time to gasp before he straightened up behind you, pulled almost all the way out in a second, and instantly started to pound into you at a brutal pace.

"Oh fu-"

Shanks did not even let you recover as he fucked you fast and hard, not even pausing for a second as his dick kept slamming into you like there was no tomorrow, stretching and punishing your pussy mercilessly. His cock was pouding into all your sweet spots at a speed and strength that instantly turned you into a drooling mess, his hand was holding you so roughly that you were definitely going to have bruises, and the sheer hotness of this unleashed sex god claiming your body as his was enough to send you into a second orgasm in no time.

"Cumming again so soon, my love ?" he teased you as you screamed your pleasure, and did not even pause or slow down when you started whining, just continued rutting your pussy like he could care less about giving you a reprieve. "When you kept denying me ?"

"I- mmhh Shan-Shanks please !" you called him as you felt like all your nerves were on fire.

"However I want, how many times I want," he repeated your early words with obvious delight, his insane and brutal rythm not faltering once. "And that means I'm going to keep fucking you until you're so full of my cum," he warned you with a groan, "you'll get pregnant even with that shot in your system."

Your eyes rolled into your skull and you moaned loudly as your walls fluttered against his cock, despite the overstimulation you were still feeling. Fuck you loved his dirty talk and his breeding kink.

"Want that," you managed to pant semi-coherently as he was railing you into the bed. "Please !"

"Course you want that," Shanks told you with a particularly hard couple of thrust aimed directly at your cervix. "My wife wants me to get her pregnant on- fuck, on our wedding night, don't you babe ?"

"Yessssss !" you said as his hand slipped into your legs and started playing with your clit, and you arched your back in instant pleasure.

"And since we're playing with power tonight…" his voice turned smug, and you felt the air turn heavy with his Haki, making you gasp.

"Cum for me," he ordered you with all the might of a Conqueror.

You screamed his name as he ripped another climax from you, pleasure washing through your body like a tidal wave you had no chance to stop. You fell head first on the cushions as his own orgasm followed, and he slammed his hips to yours to ensure every burst of cum would end deep in your womb.

You panted harshly in your position, and heard a satisfied hum behind you, quickly followed by his hand running up your spine and making you shiver in the process. His arm slipped under you and spread between your breasts to effortlessly bring you up against his muscular chest, no matter how unsteady you felt.

"You should know better than to challenge me in the bedroom, sweetheart," your husband chuckled as he peppered a few kisses on your neck, his fingers finding your nipples and playing with them to make you jerk uncontrollably against him at the new stimulation so soon after your high. "Now, I believe a certain goddess has promised to be mine to command for the rest of the night, mmh ? Then here's your first order, my lovely wife. Get me hard again inside your sweet pussy, but only use your wetness and my cum."

Your head rolled back on his shoulder, but you reached for your power and followed his demand anyway.

As you quickly brought your husband back to fully erect inside you, he turned his head just enough so that you could exchange a long, messy kiss full of love and desire.

After all, that was what a wedding night was for.

Chapter 33: Breaking News

Notes:

Hello again lovelies <3

Sooo I know I have a few readers who aren't into the spicy stuff. And since I still want them to have a chapter they can enjoy everyday... double update ! :D
Also you may have noticed I added a few tags ;)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Reader pov

You remained on Fish-Man Island a few more days before leaving for the New World. Granted, you spent most of those in your shared quarters with Shanks, since your husband – damn, the thought still had you giggling – and you had missed each other. And as you had innocently notified your Emperor before the ceremony, it would not do to not consumate your union on your wedding night or miss out on your honeymoon, after all. Not that he had needed any reminder after watching the video of your fight against Akainu.

On a very related note, however, Shanks' stamina and insatiable desire were probably going to send you to an early grave. An acceptable way to go, in your humble opinion, but you would still like to spend a few more years in this incredible world.

It was during one of your rare moments outside with everyone, when you were enjoing another feast with both crews, that the first departures were announced.

Mihawk stated he had people to attend to on Kuraigana, and you asked him to say hello to Zoro and Perona for you. The Warlord seemed surprised by your knowledge of their identities, but agreed nonetheless. He seemed to forget any question he might have had as soon as he received a bag of chocolate chip cookies you had baked for him and his guests.

Then Buggy and Crocodile left as well, since each of them had a crew to go back to, and you wished them luck, alongside with a bag of your chocolate chip cookies too. Buggy tried and failed to punch Shanks before he left, and Crocodile kept looking at everyone with a calculating look, Buggy more than anyone else.

Rayleigh was next, stating he had a student to train, and promised to pass on your greetings to Luffy. As a way to thank him for everything he had done for you, you gave him a – considerably bigger – bag of chocolate chips cookies as well, to share with Luffy when he would see him.

For some reason, Shanks seemed to believe you were going to either create an all-out war with your recipe as the prize, or unite all pirates under a cookie flag, and begged you to not bake any for Whitebeard and his crew.

While you thought it was a rather silly request, your husband could be extremely convincing when he wanted to and you ended up agreeing.

There would always be other occasions to bake cookies for the rest of your family, after all.

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks pov

The few days spent on Fish-Man island were pretty great. Shanks especially enjoyed watching how happy his wife – damn, Y/N was his wife, Rayleigh had been right, the thought alone was incredible – was at each new discovery. It was also pretty amusing to see her being confused by her insane popularity among Fishmen and Merfolk.

They even got to share a meal with king Neptune, who seemed to be a rather chill guy who mostly cared about his kids and his kingdom, and was happy to have them as his guests. Shanks did not miss the admiring and longing looks the princes kept sending Y/N, and while it was understandable, the Emperor still made sure to kiss his wife deeply and leave her dazed for everyone to see during the dinner.

He was not above being petty to show the Goddess of the Sea had chosen him as her partner.

On the other side, Jinbei had been very enthusiastic about showing them the island and its many unique buildings or sceneries. Apparently, the fact that he had been the one to officiate their wedding was a huge political deal. Shanks did not really care for it, but both Jinbei and Y/N seemed happy about the repercussions it had, so Shanks simply smiled happily whenever it was brought up.

He also had to admit, watching his blue-haired goddess play with baby merpeople and create little animals out of water to make them laugh was enough to make him melt. Strangely, it also made Ace hide his face under his hat, which prompted Marco to briefly explain that Shanks' young brother-in-law would have given anything to meet someone like Y/N when he was a kid.

At some point, several mermaids tried to approach Shanks, coyly telling him it was no wonder he had managed to catch the attention of the Goddess of the Sea. The Emperor laughed and turned the cute creatures away before going back to his wife.

"Sorry ladies, you're about a year too late," Shanks winked, and showed off his own golden ring with a bright blue sapphire, the little jewel hanging around his neck on a silver chain. "I'm off the market."

Their pouty faces would have worked on him before he had met Y/N – truth be told, he would not have refused their advances at the time – but now, as beautiful as mermaids could be, their charms held no power over him. His heart had been stolen by the Sea long ago, and whatever space had remained in his chest had been filled by a woman who was literally out of this world.

They left the island with what seemed like half the population's well-wishes, and more than a few kids looking in awe at the Goddess of the Sea diving straight into the water and joining her white otter-faced sea king.

Jinbei stayed in the island, where his crew had happily welcomed him – and thanked Y/N for helping their Captain escape Impel Down, seriously, the amount of friends Shanks' wife was making in Fish-Man island was becoming ridiculous – but Old Man Newgate and his crew left at the same time, and agreed to go their own way once they would be at the surface again.

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

You made sure to hug Ace tightly before he and Marco left with the Moby Dick, and even hugged the Phoenix too as you thanked him for keeping your little brother safe and happy. You could tell Marco was surprised, but he reciprocated anyway and thanked you for not killing him, which made everyone laugh.

Then the Red Force made her way to the waters Shanks usually sailed in, and you felt like you could finally breathe in relief.

"Everything alright, babe ?" your Emperor asked as he came behind you while you were looking at the blue immensity of the sea.

You smiled and leaned into his wide frame with a content sigh.

"Yeah, it's just… it just dawned on me that things should be fine for the next two years or so. I can finally relax for a while and not worry about saving people, killing assholes, running somewhere to avoid a tragedy, or keeping the timeline as intact as possible," you admitted.

You felt Shanks chuckle behind you, his lips leaving little kisses on your neck and working their way to your cheek until you turned your head to kiss him properly. His arm sneaked possessively around your waist and you covered his hand with yours as your lips sensually moved against each others. When you ended the kiss, he pecked your lips one last time and smiled.

"You make it sound like being a pirate and sailing the most dangerous waters in the world are a walk in the park, love," Shanks grinned.

"And you make it sound like I didn't know what I was signing up for when I agreed to marry you," you countered easily.

"You mean you didn't say yes just for the sex ?" your husband asked in mock surprise.

"Even you couldn't have made me say yes just for the sex," you chuckled.

"Mmh, looks like I haven't been trying hard enough, then," the Emperor said as his hand slided lower and started playing with the hem of your skirt. "How about we find a quiet place to see how long it takes me to change your mind ?" he whispered against your ear, and you felt your core clench in anticipation.

Damn, at this point you were starting to wonder if you had somehow been pavloved into getting aroused everytime Shanks spoke to you like that. Or touched you with the obvious intent of sexual intimacy. Or looked at you with burning desire in his eyes. Or a lot of things your husband did, actually.

So you turned your head a little more in his direction to meet his gaze with a touch of mischief. Your hand raised to caress his jaw, feeling his light stubble against your palm.

"Is that an order, Captain ?" you murmured teasingly.

Shanks' pupils darkened immediately with a heavy dose of lust. It seemed you were not the only one to have been pavloved to react with horniness at some specific words or actions.

"It is now," Shanks replied, and in one swift movement, he lifted you by the waist to hold you in a fireman carry and bring you inside the ship, completely ignoring the whistles and laughs of the rest of the crew.

You only sighed and attempted to convince yourself you were not blushing at the absurdly hot manhandling. Damn yourself and your stupid horny brain for swooning at his show of strength.

-o-oOo-o-

Weeks went by, and you could confidently say that you were living your best life. Although it still floored you that there still were some people trying to challenge the Red-Haired Pirates when it was pretty obvious how unbalanced the odds were.

When you had shared your baffled opinion on the subject, everyone had shrugged and Beckman had simply stated that arrogance made people do a lot of stupid things. Case in point, Shanks pretending he could walk straight on the railing when he was drunk out of his mind during the last party, and falling overboard after only two steps.

Granted, you had brought him back in a second and pulled the water out of his clothes a moment later, so it had not been anything truly worrisome. It still illustrated Beckman's point well enough and you had nodded in solemn understanding, ignoring your Captain's protests at the same time.

And then, the next day, you found yourself back in the infirmary with Hongo for your routine work with the doctor, expecting to do the usual inventory and preventive preparations since no one had been injured or sick for the past two days.

Instead, you realised pretty quickly it was an ambush, and that your friend had planned to talk to you about a topic that was a little more sensitive than the amount of bandages left in stock.

"Look," Hongo stated after he closed the door and leaned against it so you would not be able to run away from the conversation, "you need to either take your next contraceptive shot now, or convince Captain to take his, preferably both. He's been off for months and you're getting close to a year."

You felt a bit like a deer caught in headlights at the blunt demand. Although you had expected this particular discussion to come up at some point, you had also hoped you would have a little more time to prepare yourself for it. Especially since you did not want the entire crew to learn you and Shanks were planning on having children yet.

Unfortunately, Hongo zeroed in on your nervous reaction right away and frowned at your unusual behaviour. When it came to health measures, you were arguably the most reasonable member of the crew aside from Hongo himself.

"It's just another shot, nothing to worry about," the doctor reassured you. "I mean, even if there's a chance the effects of the last one will last a little longer than a year, there's still a higher risk for you to become preg-"

Hongo stopped himself as you looked away, but you still managed to notice the way his eyes went wide in sudden understanding. So much for keeping it secret, it seemed. You took a deep breath, steeled your nerves, and went for it.

"Yeah, we're counting on it," you admitted with an awkward smile.

The Red-Haired Pirates' doctor took a deep breath, then fell more than sat on a chair, and roamed both hands on his face. He remained silent for a few more seconds, then raised his head to look at you seriously.

"You and Captain want to have kids now ?"

"We talked about it and we agreed now's the best time for it," you replied with a small smile and a hand on your belly. "But I don't want everyone to know yet."

"Sailing on a pirate ship while being pregnant will be pretty dangerous," Hongo stated matter-of-factly. "And it won't be the safest place for a baby either."

"Still less dangerous than staying alone on an island without you guys around as extra protection," you countered easily. "I'm safer and stronger at sea."

Hongo made a face at that, but he had to concede your point, so he only sighed loudly before huffing a laugh.

"Should have known it was just a matter of time," the doctor muttered to himself. "You're going for it now because the next two years are going to be chaos-free, right ?"

You nodded as your hand rose to fidget with your medallion and then your ring.

"As chaos-free as it can ever get for people in our line of work," you replied with a chuckle. "I just don't want everyone to know just yet, they'd just become overprotective for no reason."

"No shit," Hongo snorted. "Guess I'm going to stock up on pregnancy tests and treaties at our next stop. But if you really want the rest of the crew to stay unaware, you better have a damn good excuse ready for why you're going to stop drinking," the doctor smirked.

"I'll figure something out," you grumbled with a grimace.

"Good luck with that," Hongo laughed.

Truth be told, you were not expecting this particular change to go unnoticed for more than a couple days, a week at most. With your luck, the guys would even start another betting pool about it.

-o-oOo-o-

Two months later, you stared at the little stick in your hand in shock, just before a bright smile threatened to split your face in two. Positive. Your free hand immediately went on your belly, despite the fact that there was nothing indicating the presence of a little being inside – for now at least.

You closed your eyes, breathed deeply, and focused your power on this specific area of your body. You made sure to only use the perception part of your abilities, and not interfere in any way with what was inside you. It took a little longer than usual with how careful you moved your consciousness around your different organs, and how small the change you were looking for was, but you finally managed to find it. A teeny, tiny thing growing inside you, protectively surrounded by your womb, but already pulsing with life.

The full realisation came to you in waves. You were pregnant. Seas and stars, there was a baby growing inside you. An incredulous chuckle escaped you as you thought to yourself how quickly it had happened, you had expected to have to wait several months before you and Shanks would succeed, not mere weeks.

Now, all you needed to do was deciding how to break the news to your husband. It would have to be a little special, something just for the two of you before you told the rest of the crew.

Not that everyone would be truly surprised, Hongo already knew what Shanks and you were aiming for, and you were pretty sure Beckman had realised you had started to avoid him everytime he was smoking. There was a good chance Lucky Roux had noticed the sudden increase of apple juice in the kitchen stocks as well, even if you tried your best to be discreet or use your powers when you refilled multiple tankards at once, to make sure no one saw what bottle you were drinking from.

To be fair, with how observant the whole crew was, keeping a secret among the Red-Haired Pirates was pretty much a lost cause. You were still stubbornly giving it your best shot, though, something that Shanks seemed to find hilarious. You had a bet going on with him about how many people had correctly guessed what you were up to.

You looked one last time at the positive test, still feeling giddy and a bit overwhelmed, and schooled your expression into your usual smile before exiting the bathroom.

You had plans to make and some tests to do.

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks pov

When Y/N informed him she planned to try something new with her powers that night, Shanks did not think much of it. She regularly had new ideas she wanted to try out, or someone in the crew suggested something she had not thought of before, and she would almost always give it a shot.

The Emperor still joined her at the stern when the sun had set and everyone was partying on deck. The Red Force was almost motionless on a glassy sea, which he knew could either be necessary or hinder whatever she had in mind, and he was curious which it would be this time.

"So, what are you trying tonight ?" he asked with a grin.

She turned to him with a smile, and kissed him before facing the sea once more.

"I'm trying to use water to manipulate bioluminescent plankton and see if I can turn it into a viable way to communicate silently at night. Can you tell me if you recognise the shapes I make ?"

"Sure," Shanks agreed readily.

There was a sparkle in her eyes, but before he could think about what it meant, the water below them started glowing an ethereal shade of light blue and Shanks focused on it.

"Okay, that's a circle," the red-head described as the water obeyed his wife's command and turned the plankton into a pretty show of lights. "That's a ship. That's… me ?" he asked as the silhouette of a man with one arm slowly appeared on the waves.

She smiled and nodded approvingly, and a few moments later, a second silhouette formed beside his own.

"That's you," Shanks guessed easily with a grin when the lights took the shape of a long-haired woman. The amount of details Y/N was managing to create was impressive.

But then a third, much smaller silhouette appeared between the two of them, and Shanks' eyes went wide with shock and hope. Was she truly telling him what he thought she was telling him ? His head turned to the blue-haired woman at his side, who was smiling brightly.

"You're… ?"

"Yes."

Shanks' gaze fell on her belly, and he put his hand on her skin with much more caution than he usually did.

"We're having a baby," he stated incredulously as a wide grin found its way to his lips.

"Well I'm the one stuck with it for the next months, but yes," she chuckled.

Shanks laughed brightly, and hugged his wife fiercely against him. Her arms circled him with just as much passion, and the Emperor felt like he was going to burst with happiness as the realisation started to sink in. Fuck, he was going to be a dad.

"Thank you," he murmured against her skin.

She only nuzzled closer to him, and they remained like that for a moment. Then Shanks grinned wider and kissed her passionately. When he had to let her go due to the lack of oxygen, he took her by the hand to bring her back to the deck.

"Come on ! We have to tell everyone ! And celebrate !"

"I still can't drink alcohol, you know ?"

"Oh right, forgot about that. You can party with apple juice !" Shanks laughed brightly.

"Not like I have a choice," she chuckled, but squeezed his hand and followed him anyway.

Notes:

Take care and I'll see you tomorrow for the usual chapter ! <3

Chapter 34: Protective

Notes:

Hello lovelies <3

BEFORE YOU READ GO LOOK AT KETCHUP !! :D
https://www.tumblr.com/feeenheks14/768521097665708032/ketchup

Huge thank you to FeeEnHeks for drawing this adorable fanart <3

Chapter Text

Beckman pov

The news of his Captain and Y/N expecting a baby did not exactly surprise Beckman – he had won the betting pool about it, after all – but he still had a hard time realising it was already happening. He had had suspicions that they wanted to have children at some point, since it was obvious both of them loved kids, but having it confirmed so soon was something else. Shanks had been smiling pretty much non-stop since they had broken the news to everyone, and the couple's radiant happiness always tended to put the entire crew in a good mood.

There had been one tense moment though, when Beckman – along with Limejuice and Gab – had suggested it would be safer for both Y/N and the child to stay hidden in one of their territories for a few years. The Goddess of the Sea had unequivocally debunked every single argument they had made, until everyone was forced to admit it was in fact safer for her and the baby to stay on the Red Force.

At least, she had agreed to stay out of all their fights as long as she was pregnant. Small mercies. With how unusually dangerous the waves rocking the ship had started to look when Y/N had truly started to get annoyed during their first argument, Beckman had not been looking forward to a second confrontation.

Not that any of them was planning to ever let a potential enemy come close enough to harm her while she was with child, but it was the principle of the thing.

Beckman observed Shanks and Y/N talk about something – although given her facial expressions, Shanks was probably spit-balling absurd naming ideas for their baby – and made sure to stay on the other side of the ship while he enjoyed his cigarette. A couple minutes later, Hongo walked to him with a long-suffering expression, and the grey-haired man raised an eyebrow in question.

"Good news, I'm done reading everything I could find on pregnancy," the doctor started.

"And the bad news ?" Beckman asked with a frown.

"I'll need someone else with a solid medical background to assist me when she gets close to term. Too many things can go wrong too quickly during childbirth," Hongo stated bluntly.

Beckman took a long drag as he pondered about the doctor's unspoken request. That specific need might prove to be a problem. Trained medical professionals were rare on the sea, and those who could be trusted for something as important as delivering the child of the Goddess of the Sea and Akagami no Shanks were even rarer.

"You got someone in mind ?" he asked in the end, because Hongo would never have come to him without a list of potential candidates.

"Captain's not going to like it," the doctor admitted.

"Who ?"

"Marco."

"Ah."

"Yeah."

The two men chanced a look at where their Captain was laying with his head in Y/N's lap, who had recently started to show a little belly. It was still pretty discreet, since she was only around three months, but it seemed to drive Shanks crazy with lust and protectiveness.

Even if the Whitebeards considered the Goddess of the Sea as close to a member of their family as she could get while being in another Emperor's crew, even with the debt they owed her, even with her personal good relationship with Marco, there was no telling how Shanks would react at the idea.

However, Beckman was ready to take a wild guess and assume the suggestion of letting Whitebeard's right-hand man assist Hongo during the birth of his child was unlikely to go well. Hell, Beckman himself was not a hundred percent comfortable with the idea, and he could tell that Hongo was not particularly thrilled by it either.

"I thought I'd talk to Y/N alone about it," Hongo said after a few minutes of silence. "She's probably the only one who'll be able to convince Captain to agree to it."

Beckman nodded approvingly. That was the wisest course of action. Worst case scenario, Shanks would react badly and they would all have blueberry-chocolate chip cookies to eat until he changed his mind.

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

You were entering your fifth month of pregnancy and to your great relief, the nausea was finally receding. You still had to deal with the occasional hormonal rollercoaster turning you into an oversensitive mess from time to time, but that was an acceptable price to pay in your opinion. You had also gained a craving for smoothies, which was a little strange but since it was healthy enough for both yourself and the baby, everyone just rolled with it.

The only person unhappy with it was Shanks, who grimaced everytime you drank one with blueberries, and grumbled about not being able to kiss you as long as you tasted like the worst fruit in the world. Other than that, things were going great.

Except, of course, for the nagging feeling that you had forgotten something important that was supposed to happen during the two years gap. But no matter what you did, you simply could not remember what it was.

"It's just so damn frustrating," you complained from your spot on a rock, your feet immerged in the water. "I know it's going to happen, and I know it's crucial to the timeline, but everytime I get close to remembering what it is, it's like the thought vanishes from my mind !"

"Relax, sweetheart, I'm sure it'll come back to you at some point," Shanks smiled beside you.

The Red-Haired Pirates had stopped at an island that was part of a scarcely populated archipelago for a few days, making it something of a camp base for a little while. It was mostly covered in forest that reminded you a bit of the documentaries on tropical jungles you had watched back in your world, but it still felt different. The weather was not as humid, for one, and there were much weirder species in both the flora and the fauna.

"I don't know, it's really weird. It gives me the same feeling I've had when I learned Sabo had been sent to Impel Down in Ace's place. It's like there is something at play to ensure some events will happen no matter what," you sighed, and briefly fidgeted with both your medallion and your ring.

"Then you'll recognise it when it happens, and we'll deal with it," Shanks shrugged, and you leaned more against him.

"I still don't like it," you grumbled. "I'm supposed to know that stuff."

"Hey, don't stress yourself like that, it's bad for the baby," your Emperor chuckled as he put his hand around your waist and over your belly.

"The baby is fine," you huffed, but smiled anyway as you felt a little kick against your skin, and according to the bright grin of your husband, he had felt it too. It wasn't the first time your child had moved, but it was still a pretty incredible feeling.

"See ? They're all worked up because you're getting upset over nothing," Shanks told you smugly, then kissed your neck and made his way up to your ear to whisper his next words. "I can think of a way or two to help you relax."

"Only one or two ?" you grinned as you tilted your head to give him more access, and let your free hand wander on his leg.

"Mh-hm, one or two dozens," he corrected and you felt his smile against your skin as he spoke.

You chuckled, then turned your head to kiss your husband properly. The two of you had opted to go on a little walk together, ultimately finding your way to a beautiful waterfall and a small creak under it, perfect to have a nice and intimate little date away from everyone.

The second your lips left Shanks', you let yourself glide into the water and removed the purple dress you had taken to wearing in order to accomodate your new curves. Your underwear quickly followed and ended on the rock you previously sat on, and you smiled teasingly at the red-head who was clearly appreciating the view.

"You coming ?" you asked him innocently.

"Right with you, sweetheart," Shanks grinned as he joined you into the water, his own clothes discarded almost as fast as yours and offering you a perfect view of his sculpted and tanned body.

You really had snatched one hell of a hot man.

You playfully used your powers to propulse yourself to the cascade, and created a little dome to go behind the waterfall without ending up with your hair soaking wet. Shanks followed you quickly but clearly did not care as he grinned while water fell all over his figure.

"Playing hide and seek, babe ?"

"Hardly," you laughed as he reversed your positions and leaned against the rock with his hand on your left hip, both your bodies covered in water up to mid-chest.

You used your new position to kiss him languidly, one hand on his shoulder and the other sneaking between his legs to wrap around his dick. He groaned against your lips as you started stroking his member slowly, his own hand leaving your hip to grab your ass.

It did not take long to bring Shanks to full mast – it never did, that man's horniness was out of this world – and he helped you get a little higher in the water so you could align yourself and glide on his cock.

"Fuck that's good," Shanks moaned as you slowly impaled yourself on his dick. "Keep going, babe, don't stop."

"Wasn't planning to," you mumbled in a pleasure-induced daze as your walls adjusted to the intrusion. The cool water around you made your muscles clench lightly and Shanks groaned.

"Do that again," he asked you right before lowering his head and taking your left nipple in his mouth to suck it. The jolt of pleasure on your sensitive bud made you tense and clench again in reflex around his member.

You put both hand on his shoulders, and used the anchor it gave you to start moving up and down on him while he kept his mouth busy on your breasts. His hand was gripping your ass and adjusting the rhythm of your bouncing on him, the water rippling around you as the waterfall drowned the sound of your lovemaking.

The position you were in made your belly rub against his abs with every movement, and you could tell it was driving your husband absolutely crazy with the half-mumbled words of praise and the groans that escaped him as he abused your sensitive nipples.

When you felt yourself getting close to your orgasm, you lowered a hand between your legs to press on your clit, which had you clenching again and panting harshly as your head fell on his shoulder.

"Shanks," you tried to warn him, "I'm-"

"Not gonna last long if you keep that up," he cut you off, or completed your sentence, you were not sure.

His hand kept moving you up and down on his cock as if you barely weighted more than a feather despite being five months pregnant, and your nails dig into his back under the assault of sensations. It only took a couple more thrusts of his dick in time with a decisive flick of your fingers over your clit for your climax to hit you, Shanks following you almost immediately.

You fell against his warm body, feeling spent, full, and blissfully content.

"Been too long since we had sex in the water," you mumbled with a smile against his neck.

"Pretty sure we had sex in the shower last morning," Shanks replied as he squeezed your ass, and you could hear the grin in his voice.

"That's different," you protested as you tried to snuggle up closer to him and his body warmth despite your belly making it difficult. "It's not wild water."

You felt more than heard your husband's laugh at your choice of words.

"Wild water ?"

"Shut up, you know what I mean," you grumbled against his skin.

"If you want me to shut up, you know how to make me," Shanks replied teasingly and gave a little thrust with his hips, since he had yet to pull out of you.

You lifted your head to give him a slightly amused look as you felt his dick hardening again inside your pussy.

"Are you sure you didn't eat a devil fruit making you perpetually horny ?"

"Babe, sweetheart, my wonderful goddess of a wife, the day I eat something that makes me uncontrollably horny, believe me, you'll notice," he grinned wildly and gave you a fleeting kiss on the lips.

You kissed him back and smiled, then guided his hand above your bulging stomach.

"Try to wait until after our baby's born for that, okay ?"

Shanks' smile softened immediately as his gaze fell onto your belly, and he started drawing little circles on your skin. You knew it still felt pretty surreal to him as well, the idea of getting to be a parent despite the life he had chosen. There had been more than a few mornings were you had woken up with his hand spread protectively on your belly, and his gaze on you with an expression full of soft incredulity.

"I'll do my best," Shanks promised you, and you wondered for a second if he was only talking about the silly possibility of a horny devil fruit, or if there was something more serious in his words.

-o-oOo-o-

You came back to the camp as the sun began to paint the sky in pinks and oranges, with a few scattered clouds making the start of the sunset even more colourful than it usually was.

"Nice walk ?" Hongo asked the two of you with a knowing smirk. "Hope you didn't do anything too strenuous."

You smiled innocently and Shanks grinned as he replied a completely unconvincing of course not Doc, and you knew no one was buying it. However, since it meant they would be able to sleep tonight without hearing Shanks and you going at it until late – your husband always took it as a personal challenge when you tried to stay more quiet in bed – you also knew no one was going to call you out on the lie.

There was a barbecue already smoking on the beach, several bottles had been opened, and all in all, it appeared like this would be one more happy party for your crew to end the day. Well, a party with apple juice or a smoothie for you, but still.

"I'm going to check on Ketchup quickly," you told everyone as you walked to the shore. "I'll be right back."

You had noticed with time that your white mastodon of a sea king strongly disliked when you spent too much time on land without visiting him. Even less so since you had become pregnant, which had confirmed your suspicions about these animals being much smarter than everyone gave them credit for.

Ketchup's new protectiveness of you and your future child had been made extremely obvious early on, when he had brutally destroyed a Marine ship that had made the mistake of opening fire on the Red Force. After that, no one among your crew worried about you going alone to meet your pet for a quick check-in, or at the very least, no one voiced it.

To be fair, it might also have had to do with the one time Shanks had attempted to forbid you to go because he could not make sure you were safe. You had burst into tears at his words, mainly because the idea of not being allowed to dive in the Sea had suddenly combined itself with one of the hormonal swings you were not yet used to. The disappointed stares of absolutely every single member of the crew and your miserable expression had been enough to make Shanks apologise to you immediately.

After a lengthy discussion, you had found a suitable compromise, consisting of you being allowed to go as long as you stayed at the surface if you were alone, or went with someone else if you planned to go under it.

As soon as you put a foot on the small waves washing on the sand, you used your power to propulse yourself torward the sea. You made sure to remain above the water where everyone could see you, your purple dress flying around your knees as you made your way further. Once you were confident the waters where deep enough for a sea king to swim comfortably, you started sending little pulses around you in a regular rhythm that you had taught Ketchup to respond to.

Soon enough, a huge shadow appeared underwater, and a familiar dorsal fin broke the waves mere seconds later.

"Hey Ketchup," you smiled as the white, otter-like face of the sea king became visible right under your feet. You sent a rocking vibration in the water so that it would feel like you were petting his entire body. "How's my favourite fish in the sea ?"

A small series of clicks and bubble-like sounds answered you, sounding content but a tad frustrated. Probably. You still had trouble understanding Ketchup's most complex emotions. Anger, fear, happiness, hunger, playfulness, those you could identify in a heartbeat, but the more subtle ones were still a bit more difficult to decipher.

"Yeah I know, I don't spend a lot of time in the sea these days, but that's because we're staying on land for a while. I think Shanks' worried about the risks of a storm and how dangerous it could be for the baby," you explained with a roll of your eyes. "I swear sometimes they all forget the fact that I literally control water and wouldn't die even if I fell overboard."

An offended series of bloops and clicks answered you, and you laughed as you sent another series of underwater waves to soothe him.

"Yes yes, I know, even if for some reason I couldn't save myself, you wouldn't let me drown either."

You swore the sea king nodded at your words, with even a touch of pride or maybe smugness that you strongly suspected he had learned from Shanks. Seas, if both your husband and your sea king started conspiring against you, there would be no place left in the world where you could get a break from the overprotectiveness.

"Anyway, I should probably go back before they start worrying. You go get dinner too, okay ? I don't want you starving to death because you force yourself to stay too close to the archipelago," you smiled as you gently put your hand on the dorsal fin, the scaly texture as familiar to you as the wood on the Red Force's railing by now.

Ketchup made another series of clicks and bloops, and this time it sounded happier, his otter face almost looking like it was smiling. You guessed he was satisfied with making sure you were alright, and excited to go hunting.

"Have fun !" you wished him as he made a playful turn on himself and disappeared back in the deep waters of the sea.

You stayed where you were for a little longer, just extending your consciousness to the waves as far as you could, finding peace in the soothing and familiar rhythm of the Sea.

Right as you were turning to go back to the island, however, you felt something off at the further edge of the zone you were linking your mind to, and froze mid-movement. You frowned, then directed your attention on the disturbance you had identified. Maybe another sea king was already controlling the area and wanted to see who was the intruder in his territory, it would not be the first time it had happened.

Ketchup had taken a definite liking to Shanks when your husband had killed a sea king who was trying to challenge him while you sailed through its territory.

But as you focused, you quickly realised it was not a sea king. It was smaller, and not one thing, but three distincts elements, most likely ships, getting around the island as if they were looking for something or someone in particular. And suddenly, the important thing about the timeline that you could not remember snapped back into your mind with all the unpleasant effect of a rubber band.

"Oh shit," you cursed, then propulsed yourself at full speed back to the beach, the waves parting before you to create a clear path. Your left hand instinctively covered your belly to protect the baby inside it, no matter how far away the incoming threat still was. Damn it, how in all Four Blues could you have forgotten that !?

Chapter 35: Red-Haired Encounter

Chapter Text

Shanks pov

Shanks kept his eyes on Y/N's far-away silhouette as she checked on her sea king, and barely spared a glance at his First Mate when he handed him a tankard.

"Yasopp and Snake are keepin' watch, you don't have to stare at the horizon until she comes back," Beck informed him bluntly. "Even if something happens, you know Ketchup will protect her. I swear he's gotten almost as bad as you."

Shanks grinned. Watching his wife's oversized pet sink a Marine ship with the absolute ferocity of a vengeful beast had been a show they had all enjoyed once the surprise had passed. Even Y/N had been taken aback by the unexpected action at first, since Ketchup usually waited until their enemies fell into the water to make his presence known. It had taken a long conversation under the sea for Y/N to ultimately and embarrassingly explain to everyone that the otter-faced sea king could tell she was pregnant, and was determined to protect her unborn offspring.

But it did not mean Shanks was going to take any risk when it came to the love of his life, especially when she was carrying his child and was therefore much more vulnerable than her usual close-to-undefeatableness-at-sea.

"Just want to make sure everything's alright," Shanks replied before taking a gulp of his ale, and ignored the snorted overprotective sap of his First Mate.

The white dorsal fin disappeared after a few minutes, and Y/N remained where she was for a little longer, her purple dress and blue hair floating above the waves and playing with the warm lights of the setting sun.

Shanks felt more fondness than concern at the sight. She had explained to him once that she enjoyed to simply immerge her consciousness into the peaceful rhythm of the Sea. He was not sure to really get what she meant by that, but from what he understood, it was similar to Observation Haki in the sense that she could feel everything that happened in the water in a vast area around her. Apparently, she found the innate pulse of the Sea soothing, the way a familiar lullaby would be for a child.

So when she started to turn away, the Emperor expected her to come back to the beach with the same leisurely ease she had left. But something about the way she stopped mid-turn for almost a full minute made him frown.

"Something's wrong," Shanks stated, and immediately started to worry. "Yasopp ! What's going on ?"

"Not sure," the sniper replied as he looked through his scope. "She's frowning, I think it's the face she makes when she notices something weird in the water. She's probably trying to identify what it is."

"Another sea king ?" Lucky asked with a big smile. "We could do with more meat !"

But when she started to glide on the sea toward them, it was at a speed Shanks knew was the fastest she would allow herself to go without making it dangerous for their baby.

"I don't think it's just another sea king, lads," Shanks said and put his tankard back on a table before making his way to the shore.

Y/N was back in a matter of seconds with a concerned but determined look Shanks recognised instantly, and he immediately opened his arm for her to get closer to him. It seemed whatever event she could not remember before was happening now, and judging by her expression, it was not something she was happy about.

"Good news, Ketchup is doing well," she started with a forced smile and a hand curling protectively over her belly as she leaned deeply into the hug Shanks was happy to provide.

By then, his whole crew was listening attentively, most of them with a hand on their weapons.

"Bad news," she continued, "we have visitors, and they're definitely not here for the happy hour. Three ships, each Captain is one of this year's supernovas."

Shanks nodded, already preparing himself to deal with the incoming threat swiftly. An alliance of powerful young rookies was one of the last things he wanted to see near his pregnant partner.

"Worse news," Y/N added with an apologetic expression, "they have to stay alive."

Well, shit.

That certainly complicated things.

"You sure about that ?" Beckman asked her.

When she nodded, Shanks noticed it was not so much Y/N who answered, than the Goddess of the Sea. This was the absolute certainty of a woman who knew enough about the future to decide what needed to be modified or left untouched in order to ensure the best outcome for those she loved.

"Unfortunately yes. It's vital to ensure those three Captains and as much of their crew as possible remain alive. Not necessarily whole," she added with a quick but meaningful glance to Shanks' missing arm, "but alive and in capacity to participate in fights in the future."

"How long do we have until they arrive ?" Shanks asked, and watched his wife close her eyes and focus as she mumbled a few unintelligible words that sounded like calculations.

"Long enough for me to get the Red Force where you want her to be, they're sailing around the island and coming from the north side," she replied after a moment.

"You stay here, non-negotiable," the Emperor commanded.

Y/N clenched her fists for a few second, then sighed and her shoulders dropped in defeat. Shanks hid a relieved breath at her easy acceptance of his order. Now was not the time for long negotiations about his decisions regarding her safety.

"I can send you to high waters with a current while staying on the beach," she offered, and the Emperor nodded instantly in agreement of her offer. That was an acceptable compromise.

"Who are we fighting ?" Beck asked, and right, that was a good question that Shanks probably should have thought of.

"Basil Hawkins, he's a Paramecia Devil Fruit user made of straw and uses voodoo dolls to make other people take the hits in his place so don't attack him directly, just remove the straw dolls from him without hurting them if you can, I think he can only carry ten at the same time before he's out," she listed. "Scratchmen Apoo, Paramecia as well, he uses sounds to make long-range attacks based on vibrations, you'll be fine as long as you cover your ears or just make sure you can't hear him. And Eustass Kidd, Paramecia too, he controls metals and magnetic forces and he's one hell of a mechanic, so be careful around him. I'd recommend using seastone bullets on all three of them, they're not used to fighting without the powers of their Devil Fruits. Their crews are still pretty new to the New World, so they'll probably panic if their Captains are left vulnerables early on in a battle."

Shanks blinked at the detailed description of all three super rookies and what was basically the easiest and fastest way to defeat each of them. Damn, he had forgotten how impressive his wife's knowledge could be. To think that was only what she could tell them on the fly, just minutes after remembering what was going to happen.

Shanks smiled at the amazing woman leaning against him for comfort. He had really lucked out when it came to love.

"Honestly," she said as she roamed her right hand through her hair, "I'd prefer to deal with this myself since all three of them are Devil Fruit users, but…" she trailed with a tired sigh. "I promised to stay away from battlefields as long as I'm pregnant, and I won't put the baby at risk. You'll have to kick their asses without me," she added with a forced smile.

"It'll be fine, sweetheart," Shanks told her with a reassuring grin and a kiss on her wavy hair. "You heard Y/N, lads, I want everyone on board and ready to fight !" he ordered to his crew.

"Aye Captain !"

Shanks used the few seconds of following chaos to hug his goddess tightly, who still looked frustrated to hell and back and more than a little worried.

"Hey, sweetheart, look at me. It's going to be alright," he told her gently with his hand caressing her cheek. Shanks was not sure whether she was under a mood swing or genuinely upset, but he could see the tears barely held back in her eyes and he absolutely hated it.

"I know, I trust you, it's just that… I should have remembered sooner. Seas, I should be with you instead of staying behind !" she protested.

"You are with me," Shanks reminded her with a smile as he took her hand and brought it to the ring hanging around his neck. "And I'll be back before you know it."

Her gaze followed his lead to his wedding ring, and a small smile found its way to her lips before she raised her head to look him in the eyes again.

"I love you," she murmured.

"I love you too, sweetheart," Shanks replied and kissed her fiercely.

He still hated the fear and pain in her expression as he made his way to the Red Force on a wave of her making. The need to protect both her and their unborn child from the upcoming threat was the only thing keeping him from going back to the island when she sent his ship to the high sea with a powerful current.

They arrived in high waters right when three ships appeared from the north side of the island, just as Y/N had predicted, each of them flying a pirate flag belonging to one of the supernovas she had described.

"It's still scary how she just knows these things," Bonk muttered behind him, probably to his monkey.

Shanks let his Haki flare up an instant, just enough to get his crew's attention.

"Let's make it a quick fight, lads, shall we ? I'd hate to keep my lady waiting."

A round of cheer answered him, and the red-head focused his attention on the three ships coming their way. Those rookies had been smart enough to form an alliance before going against an Emperor, he would give them that much.

But it was still not going to be enough to make him fall.

-o-oOo-o-

Beckman and Yasopp's seastone bullets found their targets less than five seconds into the fight, depriving all three Captains of their main weapons, and Shanks smirked. His crew was fucking awesome.

They were still technically outnumbered, but in terms of raw skill and experience, the scale was heavily tipped in the Red-Haired Pirates' favour. Even without the Goddess of the Sea, and even with the handicap of leaving as many as their opponents alive as they could, it became quickly obvious which crew was going to come out on top. Shanks had not even bothered to draw his sword yet, and only sent a powerful wave of Conqueror's Haki that had taken care of about two-thirds of their assaillants.

The Emperor jumped on the ship at the center of the little formation who was bold enough to challenge him, with Beckman and Yasopp by his side. He was almost immediately met by a man wearing a white and blue mask wielding two short swords, who jumped protectively in front of who Shanks assumed to be his Captain. The Emperor ignored him and met the injured Captain's gaze instead.

"You're no match for me, kid," he warned the rookie. "Leave while you can."

"The fuck I will !" the sweating red-hair snarled back with one knee down and a hand covering the bullet wound on his right shoulder. "I ain't some fucking coward !"

Just Shanks' luck, he had stumbled upon the arrogant one. Probably the one who had instigated the alliance in the first place, if the Emperor was to hazard a guess. He seemed a little too agressive and wild to follow someone else's plan.

"Why aren't you fighting for real, you fucking bastard ! Bring all you have, I'll still kill you !" the rookie kept screaming in delusional fury as he digged into his flesh in hopes he would reach the seastone bullet buried in his shoulder. Shanks did not even bother to refrain from rolling his eyes as he took a couple steps forward. Seas, did he have to love his wife and trust her unconditionally to believe this barking hothead needed to be left alive.

"And where's that fucking Sea Witch !? I'll kill her too ! I'll kill all of you !"

Shanks stopped moving.

-o-oOo-o-

Beckman pov

Beckman followed his Captain on the ship leading the attack, only sparing a quick glance left and right to check the repartition of the other officers on the two battlefronts. Two on each side, flanked by other members of the crew, and the rest remaining on the Red Force in case one of their opponents somehow managed to make it to their ship alive.

Good.

They should be able to wrap it up pretty quickly and go back to the island before the sun had crossed the horizon.

Beckman let Yasopp fire his guns to incapacitate the pirates in his sight, and simply knocked out the ones coming his way with the blunt edge of his rifle. The ones who had not fallen unconscious to Shanks' Conqueror Haki, that was. His Captain was facing the rookies' Captain, another red-head who seemed to have one hell of a mouth on him, as well as some serious anger issues.

"And where's that fucking Sea Witch !? I'll kill her too ! I'll kill all of you !"

Shanks froze in his tracks for half a second, and the pressure around him dropped when his Haki started manifesting violently. There was a brief moment of absolute silence that Beckman knew meant his Captain was about to strike. It was just enough for the grey-haired man to share a quick alarmed glance with Yasopp, whose wide eyes conveyed the exact same thought going through Beckman's mind at the moment.

That idiot did NOT just say that.

Under normal circumstances, Shanks – and all of them, really – would just laugh at such a ridiculous claim. Seas, under normal circumstances, Y/N would be with them and wiping the floor with that rookie's ass before he could even finish his sentence.

But these were not normal circumstances.

And even the most arrogant fool in the world should know better than to threaten the woman sharing the life of Akagami no Shanks while she was pregnant with their child.

In the blink of an eye, Shanks drew his sword and slashed the air. The rookie's left arm was cut off at the biceps, and Beckman's Captain had the point of his blade on the guy's throat before the sectioned member even touched the deck.

The blond one in a mask tried to move, but Beckman pointed his now armed rifle on him and shook his head in a clear warning. The guy proved to be at least somewhat smarter than his rabid Captain and remained rooted to his spot before slowly lowering his weapons.

"The only reason I'm taking your arm instead of your head," Shanks declared with an uncharacteristically dark voice, "is because my wife asked me to spare your life."

The rookie seemed to finally understand how much he had fucked up, and fell on his ass. Beckman gave him maybe five more seconds of shock before the pain started to register. It was enough for Shanks to sheath his sword and turn away to get back to the Red Force.

Beckman and Yasopp waited a couple more seconds to start walking backward as well, just in case one of the rookies would try something stupid. Or well, stupider than attacking them.

"Word of advice, guys," Yasopp told them with a smirk that contained more threat than warmth, "get the fuck away from our territory. You won't get lucky twice."

"LUCKY !?" one of the rookies screamed as he rushed to the red-head, who was clenching his jaw to avoid screaming in pain. "He- you- Captain's arm is gone ! And our ship- and everyone's injuries-"

Beckman huffed at that, and let the hint of a lazy grin stretch a corner of his lips as he casually put his rifle over his shoulder.

"Y/N could've sunk those ships and fed you all to her sea king before you even realised she was onto you. She ain't known as the Goddess of the Sea for nothing."

All the pirates still conscious enough to hear him turned whiter than ghosts, and even their suicidal dumbass of a leader seemed to take the hint. The fights on the other two ships seemed to be over too, since Beckman's Observation Haki could tell him the rest of his crew was back on the Red Force. Shanks was still waiting for them on the railing, though. He always made it a point to be the last one to leave a battle.

With a last glance at the sorry array of scared rookies in front of him, Beckman motioned for Yasopp to get going. As soon as their feet touched the Red Force's deck, Shanks joined them.

There was a chaotic flutter of activity on the three ships in front of them as the various crews tried to get as far away from them as fast as they could. With the amount of unconscious or injured members on each board, it was not very fast.

Shanks kept his eyes on the ship at the center, his hand still resting on the pommel of his sword. Beckman would bet his next share of loot that his Captain was waiting for the slightest excuse to turn the supernova into Ketchup's next snack.

However, as soon as the ships started putting some distance between them and the Red Force, Bonk pointed to the area where Y/N was supposed to wait for them on.

"Hey, look, is that… ?"

Beckman turned his head just in time to see the little silhouette in a purple dress walk into the sea and put both hands in the water. A few moments later, a massive shockwave rippled through the sea in their direction. Or rather, in their former challengers' direction.

The wave quickly gained momentum, and when it finally reached the three damaged ships, it pushed them far and fast away toward the horizon, without so much as grazing the Red Force.

"Very kind of Y/N to help them leave," Snake deadpaned as they heard the panicked screams fade in the distance.

Shanks kept watching in silence until they all but disappeared from his sight with the last lights of the sunset. Only then did his hand release the grip it had on his sword.

"Let's go back, lads."

-o-oOo-o-

Beckman – along with everyone else – noticed how their Captain clung a little more than usual to his wife during the rest of the evening, but no one made so much as a single comment about it.

Not for the first time, Beckman wondered what would happen when someone inevitably tried to attack their kid after they were born. He would almost pity the unfortunate soul who would be stupid enough to try.

Almost.

Chapter 36: Joyful News

Notes:

Hello lovelies <3

There's going to be a time skip in this chapter, it'll be indicated though.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Whitebeard pov

Edward Newgates was a powerful man, and he loved his children dearly. Those were the two things everyone knew about him.

So of course, when the brat who had stolen his wonderful daughter away called to borrow his first son for a couple weeks, he said no.

And of course, when the same brat explained it was to have another medical expert present when Y/N would give birth to their child, he said yes.

Then of course, the old Emperor did the only reasonable thing to do and sailed the Moby Dick to the island Shanks and Y/N were staying for the last weeks of her pregnancy.

Edward Newgates was a powerful man, he loved his children dearly, and he was not going to miss the birth of his first grandchild.

-o-oOo-o-

Rayleigh pov

Luffy's progress was good enough for Rayleigh to leave him to fend for himself for a month or two on the island, if only to hone the techniques Rayleigh had more or less beaten into him so far.

Or rather, it was the excuse he had given to the kid before making his way to the New World in time to assist to the birth of his grandchild. He had even managed to get to the right island a few days ahead of time, and provide Y/N with advice received from the many women of the Kuja tribe who had given birth before.

The best part was still watching how Shanks turned green at his vivid descriptions, while both his wife, his crew's doctor, and Marco who had somehow gotten roped into helping, were discussing it with crude objectivity.

When Y/N's water broke, Rayleigh was the one to carry her to the room the doctors had prepared to this effect. The Dark King took a definitely smug pleasure into pushing everyone – aside from Shanks and the doctors – outside of the house. Rayleigh then leaned on the side of the door alongside Beckman, and made sure to grin threateningly at every single pirate who was coming too close, which was enough to send them running pretty quickly.

It almost reminded him of the good old days with Roger.

There even was the silent but palpable tension with Newgates, although the reason behind their disagreement was quite different from what it used to be twenty years ago. And the Dark King fully intended to make it clear that Shanks and Y/N's baby was his grandchild.

-o-oOo-o-

Ace pov

Ace was so nervous he could not control his flames anymore, and had been since Rayleigh and Beckman had forced everyone to wait outside of the house where his sister was in the process of pushing an entire baby out of her body.

What if something went wrong ?

What if she died like his mother had ?

What if-

Someone smacked him on the head, and Ace turned a glare on Thatch, who did not look sorry in the slightest.

"She'll be fine. Your sister is one hell of a fighter, and Marco's with her. He will never let her die on his watch."

Ace grumbled a few incomprehensible words, sat on the ground for a grand total of six seconds, jumped back up, and started pacing again.

-o-oOo-o-

Beckman pov

Beckman was positive he had never seen his Captain as utterly terrified as he had been when Y/N's water broke while they were taking a short morning walk on the beach. It had taken both Hongo, Marco, and Rayleigh to assure him it was perfectly normal and they had time before the baby would arrive.

The doctors had commanded absolutely everyone who was not Y/N or Shanks to go outside, with the very strict instruction to not let anyone in until they said so.

Beckman had needed to drag a completely panicked Firefist Ace out of the house before he set something on fire. He had then leaned on the side of the door with the Dark King, while glaring at anyone who came too close.

The grey-haired man still used his Observation Haki to try and keep some sort of track of what was happening inside, though. And damn if he did not have a whole new respect for the Goddess of the Sea after several hours of what sounded like increasingly painful contractions.

The simple fact that she had not triggered a tsunami with how strong her emotions were was a testament to her self-control.

-o-oOo-o-

Marco pov

Marco was both a pirate and a doctor, meaning that not only was he used to blood, he had seen more than his fair share of gruesome injuries and nausea-inducing diseases throughout the years.

But never before, in his entire career at sea, had he had the dubious pleasure to witness childbirth.

And now he was assisting the Red-Haired Pirates' doctor during the delivery of Akagami and Y/N's child, with only a couple weeks to prepare himself and mere days to discuss the procedure with Hongo.

"Heartbeats are still in the safe range-yoi," he stated after checking both the baby and Y/N's monitors again.

"Good," the other doctor replied. "Y/N, the baby's in position, you're gonna have to start pushing soon, okay ?"

The blue-haired woman was panting, with a thin layer of sweat covering her face, but still managed to nod and breathe a brief okay.

"Marco, keep an eye on any kind of tearing in the pelvis area and tell me if something bad happens."

"On it-yoi."

Marco felt his blue flames come as close to the surface as he could let them, ready to activate his healing powers at the first sign of danger for the mother or the baby.

He dearly hoped he would not need it.

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks pov

Shanks was worried beyond his mind, and almost grateful for the crushing grip Y/N held on his hand. He had even needed to use Armament Haki on his fingers a couple of times when the contractions got especially painful, or she might have broken his knuckles.

Not that he would have blamed her if she did, the amount of pain she was in clearly went beyond anything he had experienced himself so far. Losing his arm had only lasted a brief moment, and the pain had abated quickly thanks to Hongo's treatment.

But it had been almost nine hours since his wife's water broke, the pain only seemed to get worse with time, and the Emperor could not do a damn thing to help his blue-haired goddess aside from letting her crush his hand and telling her she was doing amazing.

So yes, Shanks was bloody fucking terrified.

"Breathe, and… push !" Hongo said again, guiding Y/N who grimaced but followed the instruction every time. "You're almost there, I can see the head."

"Fucking hell ! How fucking longer is this going to fucking take !?" Y/N screamed.

"Just a few more times, sweetheart, you're doing great," Shanks told her, then tried not to wince under the furious glare she sent him.

"Push !" Hongo told her again, which made her close her eyes and clench her jaw before she could reply.

But then another cry happened, a high-pitched one coming from the other side of the bed, and Shanks' jaw dropped as Hongo made a few quick movements and Marco handed him a white cloth.

Before Shanks's brain could even comprehend what had just happened, Hongo had cut the umbilical cord, cleaned the blood off the baby, and put a small bundle on Y/N's chest.

"Congratulations, it's a girl," the doctor told them.

Shanks stared in absolute awe at the little being whose minuscule hand was spread on Y/N's skin. His daughter's tiny face was scrunched up, she was still bubbling little sounds with her eyes closed and there was a tuft of red hair on her head.

"She's perfect," Shanks heard himself say with the most incredulously happy voice.

Y/N's relieved smile and obvious awe matched his own, and despite the sweat, the exhaustion, the stress and pain and various bodily fluids lost during the past nine hours, Shanks found her just as beautiful as ever. He sat carefully on the bed and bended to get closer to his wife and daughter, just in time to see the latter blink her eyes open and stare at him in obvious curiosity.

The second her eyes met his, Shanks felt a tidal wave of love wash over him and take hold of his heart. Fuck, he had just met his daughter, and he could already tell he would go to the end of the world for her.

"She's got my hair and your eyes," the Emperor grinned wildly, and put a finger on his baby's cheek to very cautiously caress her skin.

"A part of both worlds," Y/N chuckled breathlessly.

-o-oOo-o-

Hongo pov

Hongo was glad he had taken the time to explain the different steps of childbirth to Y/N before the end of her pregnancy. Otherwise, he most definitely would have faced the wrath of the Goddess of the Sea when he told her she still needed to expulse the placenta after the baby was born.

He suspected her to have used her powers to get it over with faster, but since he valued his life, the doctor did not comment on it. Instead, he finished cleaning up, let Marco use his healing flames to give some relief to Y/N's exhausted body, and then ushered the Phoenix outside to give the new parents a little privacy.

The second they walked out of the door, they were met with hundreds of expecting and anxious expressions from both crews, and Hongo sighed.

"Everything went well, Y/N and the baby are fine," he said before someone would start screaming questions at him. Unfortunately, it did not exactly helped.

"Thank the Seas !"

"Is it a boy or a girl ?"

"What's their name ?"

"Can I go in !?"

Hongo groaned, and almost felt thankful when Marco stepped up to answer the storm of questions in his stead.

"Shut up-yoi !"

Or maybe not. Hongo rolled his eyes and sighed tiredly as he roamed a hand on his face. Nine hours of medical supervision and assistance would do that to anyone. Thankfully, the Dark King spoke up with the same dangerously lazy grin he always seemed to wear.

"It's been a long day for Y/N. Everyone is going to stay outside until the parents give the okay," Rayleigh stated with his arms crossed on his chest.

"But-"

"Boys !" Whitebeard intervened with a booming voice. "Give Y/N and Akagami some time alone with their child. This moment belongs to them."

Hongo exchanged a quick look with Beckman who was still leaning against the door, and his First Mate shrugged. The doctor snorted, and sat down beside him. He doubted anything would happen inside that would require his help, but just in case, he was going to stay close.

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

You were exhausted beyond reason, feeling sweaty and gross, and ready to swear the remnants of pain were forever carved in your bones and muscles despite Marco's healing. But you were also holding your daughter against your chest, her wrinkled little body curled on your skin as she blinked and observed the world around her for the first time, and this was the most magical thing you had ever witnessed in your entire life.

Shanks was still sitting next to you, looking completely bewitched by your baby girl.

"She's amazing. You're amazing," he mumbled seemingly without thinking, and you huffed a tired laugh at his obvious wonder.

"That she is," you smiled softly, then adjusted your hold so you could free a hand and caress your daughter's hair. "I can't believe I spent nine months carrying her just for her to take after you."

"Hey, maybe she got your powers, you don't know," Shanks replied with a happy grin.

"Seas and stars, I hope not," you said and barely repressed a terrified shiver at the thought. A baby was chaotic enough as it was, you did not want to deal with one who could manipulate water on top of it. Not until she had learned to express her needs with words, at least.

Still, you called a little water from a glass nearby, and made bubbles turn above your daughter's head. Her eyes widened and a series of happy sounds escaped her as she looked fascinated for a few moments, right before she yawned and fell asleep on you, her little hand spread on your skin.

"I would die for her," your husband declared matter-of-factly.

"I would kill for her," you added serenely.

"That goes without saying," Shanks grinned beside you.

"True," you conceded, then yawned as well and blinked tiredly. "I think I need a nap."

Shanks smiled and kissed you softly, right before leaving a featherlight kiss on your daughter's forehead as well. His hand brushed your hair gently and the relaxing motion sent you to sleep in less than a minute.

-o-oOo-o-

Sengoku pov

All three Admirals – including the recently appointed Issho – were in Sengoku's office for their monthly briefing when a cadet burst into the room. The Fleet Admiral sighed heavily, but motioned for the panicked young man to hand him whatever file he had been sent to transfer.

"You've received a letter from Akagami and the Goddess of the Sea, Sir !"

Sengoku blinked. That was new.

"Do Emperors usually send letters to the Marine Headquarters ?" Issho asked curiously.

"No," Sengoku replied with a frown as he took the enveloppe. "We have a few ways to contact them, but they are rarely used."

"A trap ?" Borsalino asked with mild interest and a tilt of his head.

"Not Akagami's style," Kuzan replied right before he yawned from his spot on the sofa.

This was something Sengoku agreed on, and one of the reasons he was thinking of Aokiji as his successor when he would finally retire. While he might look lazy, the man had brains, and his devotion to Justice was as powerful as it was quiet. Many people underestimated the Blue Pheasant when they met him, but Sengoku had yet to meet one who did not change their mind when faced with Kuzan's determination to protect those in need.

So he opened the unassuming white enveloppe, found a folded sheet of paper inside, and unfolded it cautiously.

-o-oOo-o-

Kuzan pov

Kuzan kept watching the letter in Sengoku's hand with an attention most people would not believe him capable of. While he genuinely did not believe Akagami would trap a letter, he would not put a silly and potentially dangerous prank past the man. Not even the Goddess of the Sea could tame the childish spirit of that particular pirate – not that she was likely to even try, if Kuzan's information about the couple was accurate.

Sengoku unfolded a piece of paper, blinked, crumpled part of it in what seemed to be an uncontrollable grip reflex, then took a deep breath.

Interesting.

"What is it ?" Borsalino asked, his curiosity clearly awakened by the reaction.

The Fleet Admiral turned the letter for them to see.

"Akagami and Y/N's announcement of their daughter's birth," Sengoku stated for Issho's benefit.

Kuzan pulled his sleep mask completely up his face. As far as pirate news went, this was a rather joyful one. Maybe a tad concerning too, since both parents were extremely powerful and it was likely their daughter would inherit some mix of their abilities, but there was no doubt in the Admiral's mind that this little girl would be loved to hell and back.

"They sent you a personal letter to tell you about their child's birth ?" Issho asked with what sounded like a reasonable amount of disbelief and maybe some amusement.

"They're threatening to destroy the world if we try to harm her in any way," Sengoku sighed, and flattened the piece of paper on his desk.

Kuzan hummed in a non-commited way, but stood up from his spot to get a closer look to the letter. That sounded like a common new parents statement, the only difference with most new parents being that those two were actually able to back up such a claim.

The Admiral walked to the desk, until he could see for himself the letter and the picture it contained. The Emperor and the Goddess were smiling, and there was a small bundle between them, the only visible part being a scrunched little face with bright eyes and a tuft of red hair on top of her head.

The child did look rather adorable.

"They sound like loving and protective parents," Issho stated with a fond expression. "Children shouldn't be burdened with their parents' faults, anyway. What is the little one's name ?"

Kuzan speed-read the letter, which mostly contained an assortment of overwhelming joy, childish teasing, world-ending threats, and classic birth announcement measurements, until he found the information.

"What a peculiar name," Borsalino noticed, echoing Kuzan's own thoughts.

"Indeed," the Blue Pheasant confirmed. "I haven't heard it before."

Sengoku sighed, but turned to Issho anyway to answer his question.

"They named their daughter Ariel."

-o-oOo-o-

 

ONE YEAR LATER

 

-o-oOo-o-

Rayleigh pov

Rayleigh watched his son play with his granddaughter on the beach, and smiled warmly at the sight. Shanks was showing the same amazed enthusiasm for the babbling toddler making sand patties that he had shown for about anything new when he was a kid himself.

Beside him, Rayleigh's daughter-in-law was smiling fondly as well.

"Thanks for coming again," she said, her hand resting on her round belly. "Shanks' been much more relaxed since you got here."

"Wouldn't miss the birth of my second grandchild," Rayleigh smirked knowingly. "Especially when you're stopping at two."

The sarcastic raised eyebrow he received in response only made him smirk wider. Truth be told, Rayleigh was already amazed Y/N had been willing to put herself in a vulnerable state a second time after the birth of her daughter. Although vulnerable might be a strong word for a woman wielding the kind of power she did. The two kidnapping attempts on her when rumour had spread she was pregnant again had ended in bloodbaths, only one of which had been Shanks' doing.

In an amusing twist of fate, the report on both battles in the newspapers had been a good boost of motivation for Luffy's training. Seeing how powerful people were in the New World seemed to increase the kid's resolve to get stronger like nothing else. The Dark King smiled fondly as he thought of the boy who had left Sabaody with his crew almost three months ago, and had already started to spread chaos everywhere he went.

"So," Rayleigh continued with a sip of his beer, "any chance I can convince you to let me know the name or gender ?"

"None," Y/N smiled innocently. "You'll know when the baby arrives and that's it."

"You're lucky Shakky told me not to upset a pregnant woman."

The blue-haired woman laughed at his words, which immediately attracted Shanks and Ariel's attention. The little girl made grabby hand toward her mother, and like the completely whipped dad he was, Shanks took her in his arm and brought his daughter to his wife.

"Hey there, princess," Y/N smiled with a hand roaming through the one-year-old's crimson hair as she giggled.

"Mama !" the little girl beamed.

Rayleigh stood up from his chair to let the little family have their moment, and walked to Beckman. Shanks' second in command was smoking at a respectable distance from the pregnant woman and the toddler babbling incoherently, with a few comprehensible words thrown here and there.

"You ready for another one ?" Rayleigh asked, and his son's First Mate snorted.

"We weren't ready for the first one," he replied with a tired drag of his cigarette, and Rayleigh chuckled.

"Seems to me like Ariel is doing fine."

"When she's not giving everyone a heart attack, yeah, she's great."

The Dark King kept watching his granddaughter, who was now putting her hands on Y/N's round belly with curious awe in her eyes. She seemed to be puzzled by it and not really understanding she would have a sibling soon, but her confusion was nothing short of adorable.

Ace suddenly sprung on them, almost bouncing with curiosity.

"Hey Rayleigh, did she tell you-"

"No," the Dark King replied amusedly. "Your sister's tight-lipped about the gender and the name they chose."

"Damn it," the freckled young man grumbled, then pouted with the exact same expression Roger used to have when he could not get his way. "I thought she might tell you."

"Don't know what you were expecting, they told no one for Ariel," Beckman shrugged.

"Hongo knows !" Ace protested.

"Doc only learned about the gender, and he knows better than to spill," Beckman smirked. "But if you want to ask Y/N about it again, be my guest."

The kid gulped and shook his head immediately, which seemed like a wise reaction. Taking the risk of upsetting the Goddess of the Sea when she was so close to term was a bet Rayleigh would not recommend taking. Not even Shanks was willing to risk doing something that might piss off his wife while she was in that state.

Though the brat seemed reluctant to do anything susceptible to piss her off at any given time, from what the old pirate had heard. There were snickered tales of retaliations consisting of baking blueberry cookies and withholding fairytale endings going around. Rayleigh had to admire the deviousness of the revenge. The creativity behind those actions had cemented his certainty that Y/N was a fine match for his son.

But it was a still a bit frustrating when it meant he would have to wait to get information about his second grandchild.

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks pov

As far as Shanks was concerned, watching his wife give birth for the second time was just as scary as it had been the first time, no matter how faster it went.

"Breathe, and… push !" Hongo repeated for what seemed to be the hundredth time.

"Fucking hell !" Y/N cursed through gritted teeth as she did, then panted heavily. "I'm never doing this again after today."

"It's the last time, promise," Shanks reassured her, and smiled nervously when she turned a furious glare on him.

"You better take your fucking shot from now on or I-"

"Push !" Hongo interrupted.

Shanks was very grateful to his Doctor for interrupting what would definitely have been a very real and very scary threat. Even if it meant his hand was crushed by his wonderful, slightly terrifying, way-braver-than-him wife.

"The baby's crowning, you're almost there," Marco stated, blue flames coming off his hands.

"Thank the Seas," Y/N panted, then her expression turned painful as she pushed again.

And no matter what, Shanks genuinely did not want to see her in that amount of pain ever again. Seas, the simple fact that she had agreed to go through childbirth a second time was something the Emperor would forever be grateful for. And a clear reminder that every woman who had ever gone through that was worthy of the utmost respect.

In what somehow both felt like forever and no time at all, Y/N let out a scream of pain, who was immediately followed by a second ear-piercing cry coming from between her legs.

Even with a first experience, Shanks felt kind of numb on the moment, and it took him several instants to realise their child was born.

"Congratulations, it's a healthy baby boy," Hongo smiled, and the Emperor barely got the time to blink before the little being was put on his wife's chest.

Y/N was still panting, but she managed to direct a tired smile to their son.

"Looks like you took after the two of us," she murmured, which was when Shanks eventually got out of his shocked slack-jawed state and noticed the purple hair on the baby's head.

"Wow," he managed to say, and bended above the small baby boy just in time to realise he had immediately gone to sleep after his cry. A huge smile split his face at the peaceful face of his son. Another tidal wave of love washed over him, along with the absolute certainty there was nothing he would not do to keep this little wonder safe and happy. "He's perfect."

"Just like his sister," Y/N chuckled tiredly.

-o-oOo-o-

Beckman pov

When Hongo and Marco walked out of the house, only to confirm both the mother and the baby were fine, Beckman allowed himself to relax.

Then both doctors told Rayleigh to go inside with Ariel, who had spent the past hours being babysat by the Dark King, much to Whitebeard's visible displeasure. Ace had managed to play with the red-haired little girl for a few minutes when the old retired pirate had taken a bathroom break, but other than him, no one had been allowed to approach his granddaughter.

The way the bright-eyed one-year-old had to wrap everyone around her finger with a smile and a few babbling words was equally hilarious and terrifying, in Beckman's opinion. He kind of dreaded a second bundle of chaotic joy who would no doubt also use an insane amount of cuteness to get away with absolutely everything.

The First Mate of the Red-Haired Pirates knew they could already count themselves lucky that Ariel had not accidentally used Haki or manifested any kind of water manipulation ability so far.

-o-oOo-o-

Out of everything Beckman had prepared himself for when Y/N and Shanks had announced they were expecting a second child months ago, he had not anticipated the sight that appeared out of the house a few minutes later.

One did not often see the Dark King wiping tears of joy under his glasses, or smiling with that amount of happiness. The old pirate took a deep breath and looked at the two Emperors' crews who were watching him with baited breath, then chuckled incredulously.

"They allowed me to share the news with everyone."

Beckman moved a little closer, and smirked knowingly when Ace jumped on the porch with the vibrating excitement of a hyped puppy.

"It's a boy," the old man stated, which was received with as much cheer as the news of a girl had been a little over a year before. "And they named him Ray."

Beckman dropped his cigarette in shock. Damn. He had not seen that one coming.  With the way Whitebeard crushed the barrel of sake in his hand and glared at the now smug-as-hell Dark King, Beckman was ready to bet he had not seen it coming either.

Well, as long as the two old legends fought it out away from the house currently sheltering his Captain's family, the grey-haired man decided it was very much not his problem.

He had parents to congratulate and a party to throw, after all.

Notes:

Have a nice week and I'll see you tomorrow for the next chapter !

Chapter 37: Siblings In Dressrosa

Chapter Text

Sabo pov

Sabo was positively livid. Granted, the fake beard and gladiator helmet he was wearing were hiding his expression so no one could tell, but he was beyond furious anyway.

Learning that Doflamingo had gotten his hand on Akainu's former Devil Fruit had been worrisome, enough so that Dragon had agreed to let Sabo be the one leading the team handling the situation. As such, Sabo had gone to Dressrosa for a very official Revolutionary Army mission. His role in the team was to retrieve the powerful Logia Devil Fruit before someone more dangerous could get it.

The fact that Luffy would definitely be there might have played a part in both Sabo's request and Dragon's agreement, but neither of them had mentioned it out loud. Sabo had planned to do a simple grab and run, nothing more.

But then Doflamingo had crossed a line.

Sabo had expected the Warlord to bait Luffy into entering the tournament somehow, but he had not expected the Celestial Dragon to stoop so low as to bring their sister into it.

"The winner of the Colosseum Games will be granted the only Devil Fruit powerful enough to kill the Goddess of the Sea, the Magu Magu no Mi !"

It was a lie, obviously, and a shitty one at that since Y/N had killed Akainu and walked out of the fight without a single burn. But Luffy had bought into it immediately and entered the Corrida Colosseum, and Sabo was furious at the bullshit slander thrown at his older sister.

Furious enough to decide that he would not let anyone else than him eat the Devil Fruit that had contributed to give his nee-san the legendary status she held on the sea. Doflamingo might fancy himself a puppeteer playing with everyone's strings, but Sabo had brought the scissors.

No one attacked his siblings without suffering the consequences.

-o-oOo-o-

Issho pov

The fight was finally over, and Issho sat down on a broken bench after apologising to the king and issuing the necessary orders regarding the medical back-up to be provided to the citizens of Dressrosa. For now, there was nothing more he could do to ensure the safety and protection of the numerous civilians left injured or homeless.

He was musing about what actions he should take regarding Mugiwara and the Surgeon of Death, when a bright spot of colour coming his way made him lift his head. Blind as he might be, the peaceful kindness emanating from the person walking toward him was shining like a lighthouse in the sea of stress, pain, and sadness Issho was feeling from everyone around him.

"Would you care for some tea ?" a feminine voice asked him politely.

"Gladly," he replied, and was agreeably surprised when a teacup was carefully put into his hand.

The first sip was taken in silence, enough so to let the Admiral hear the woman sit next to him. The tea was warm without being scalding, and its jasmine flavour was well-balanced between delicate and powerful. An interesting choice.

"You are not a Dressrosa citizen," Issho guessed after a minute.

"What gave it away ?" the woman replied with a smile in her voice.

"Your emotions do not match those of someone whose homeland was just destroyed," Issho explained. "Or whose family might be injured or lost."

"I wouldn't know about that last part, two of my younger siblings are here and I left my husband in charge of our children for a few days. Seas know what kind of chaos I will come back to," she said with fond exasperation.

Still, Issho felt the pure love radiating from her at the mention of her family. In spite of her light joke about the matter, this was a woman who cared deeply for her siblings, her husband, and her children.

"Then why did you come to see me if your siblings are here and your husband and children are waiting for you ?" the blind man asked curiously.

"Why indeed," she murmured and took a sip, her aura losing some of her easy friendliness to be replaced by a more solemn colour.

"You seem to be quite the secretive woman," Issho added when she did not offer further information.

"Depends on who you ask," she replied easily, some playfulness back in her voice and aura. "But really, I only came here to check on my little brothers and their friends. I never planned to stay long."

"I assume your siblings and their friends survived the fight between pirates, then."

"That they did," she confirmed. "But more importantly, I've been impressed by your determination to protect civilians above all else. If you don't mind me saying so, I think you make a much better Admiral than Sakazuki ever did."

There was something about the way she said the word civilians, and the short but unmistakable spike of hatred as she pronounced his predecessor's name, that made Issho wonder if the woman he was amicably chatting with was perhaps more than a kind-hearted tourist visiting Dressrosa at the wrong time.

"I appreciate your compliment," the Admiral replied nonetheless, then finished his tea and put the empty cup next to him on the bench. "You seem to have a strong opinion on what makes a good Marine."

"You could say that," she admitted after a contemplating hum. "But I like to think of my opinion as nuanced, when it comes to Marines. Or pirates, for that matter. I met monsters and honourable people alike on both sides, after all, so it's really-"

Issho felt the surge of terror around them right before he heard the unmistakable noises of guns being armed and swords being drawned.

"STAND DOWN AND SURRENDER !" Maynard screamed, though his voice hold a tremor that put Issho on guard.

Whoever could put so much fear in so many men in such a short amount of time had to be a threat of considerable level, and his hand reached for his swordstick.

"Ah, it looks like this is my cue to leave," the woman declared nonchalantly, and the soft rustling of clothes along with the sound of steps indicated that she had stood up. "Thank you for the lovely chat, I hope we won't have to face each other on a battlefield."

Issho felt with surprise her aura turn to calm confidence. In spite of all the weapons which more and more appeared to be pointed in her direction, he sensed no form of fear or hostility whatsoever from her.

"ADMIRAL FUJITORA, THIS IS GODDESS OF THE SEA Y/N !" Maynard screamed again. "WE HAVE TO ARREST HER WHILE SHE'S ON LAND !"

Issho stood up at the concerning information, but did not draw his sword yet. The brief flicker of annoyance he felt from the kind and polite woman who was apparently one of the most feared criminals in the world confused the Admiral, however, and he waited to hear her reply.

"Bold of you to assume you have the upper hand just because we're on land. Also, and I cannot stress this enough, I'm not here to fight but I will defend myself if you attack first."

Well, that certainly made for an easy decision.

"Hold your weapons," Issho ordered, and turned his head in what he believed was the woman's direction.

"Sir ! She's a criminal and-"

"Do you intend to cause harm to the people of this island ?" the Admiral asked.

"Not at all. As I said, I merely came to check on my brothers and their friends," she replied without a single moment of hesitation.

Issho nodded in understanding. This settled it. He sensed no animosity or malice from her, and her reply was coherent with what little he had gotten to learn about her personality during their short conversation. As far as he could tell, she appeared to be every bit the woman he had been briefed about behind closed doors. A person of considerable power, whose actions were almost impossible to predict, but also one who kept her word, was protective of those she loved, and despised causing pain to innocent bystanders.

"In this case, I wish you a safe return to your family. Thank you for the tea, Y/N."

"Goodbye, Issho. May the Sea be kind to you."

A few minutes later, her peaceful aura had left his area of perception, and Issho sat back on the bench. He fumbled a little until he managed to take hold of the empty teacup she had offered him. What an interesting day this had been.

Although the Fleet Admiral might think differently when he would learn of the various pirate-related events. Or the fact that the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army had eaten such a powerful Devil Fruit, thus turning him into a much more dangerous individual. Issho put the teacup back on the bench, and took a dice out of his pocket.

"Three or above, I call Headquarters now to inform them of the Goddess of the Sea's presence in Dressrosa. Two or lower, I leave it for the official report," he decided, then let the dice fall and waited for his assistant to tell him the result.

 "It's a one, Sir."

Issho smiled, and handed his palm to get his dice back. It seemed kind-hearted pirates had luck by their side, these days.

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

You waited outside of Kyros' house, leaning against a wall, until Sabo was done telling his story to the members of Luffy's crew. Because of course Luffy had forgotten to tell his crew about his other siblings and Sabo had to get all of them up to date about it. You heard a couple of shocked exclamations when it came to you and how Luffy was technically an uncle – you knew Sabo had kept the family picture you had sent him after Ray's birth – and smiled.

When the door finally opened and Sabo walked out, you waited until he made a few steps on the path back to the city and the other revolutionaries to join his side.

"Nice stunt you pulled in the arena, lava boy."

Sabo jumped and turned, then recognised you and smiled widely.

"Y/N !"

"Hey little brother," you smiled as well, and opened your arms when he went for a hug. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Yeah, me too," the blond laughed. "When did you get here ?"

"Early enough to see my little brothers kick some major ass," you smiled. "I'm not surprised you didn't need my help in the end."

Sabo blinked, and you grinned when you saw the pieces click in his mind.

"Wait, you came to Dressrosa just in case we'd need back-up ?" he asked you incredulously.

Your grin widened, which made the number two of the Revolutionary Army pout and cross his arms in a petulant way that you found absolutely hilarious.

"We don't need a baby-sitter, nee-san ! Well, Luffy does, but I don't !"

"I know you can handle yourself, Sabo," you acknowledged with a hand on his arm. "That's why I didn't intervene. But you and Lu are still my brothers and I would never forgive myself if something happened to you that I could have prevented."

Your little brother grumbled a moment but seemed to accept your answer nonetheless. You both kept walking in comfortable silence for a moment.

"You're not staying to see Luffy ?" he asked you at some point.

"Nah, he's got his crew to look after him, and I still have something to do in the area before going back to the Red Force," you answered, and felt the spy in Sabo raise his head.

"Family kind of something or Goddess of the Sea kind of something ?" he asked curiously.

"Making sure a pink feathery asshole won't make it to Impel Down alive kind of something," you replied serenely.

Sabo whistled, thought about it, then nodded. You were not surprised at his lack of opposition to your project, not after what Doflamingo had done to Luffy and the people of Dressrosa.

"I heard Sengoku will be the one escorting him there, since he's a Celestial Dragon," your ever-informed brother told you. "You want some back-up ?"

"I came with Ketchup," you reassured him. "It'll be fine."

Sabo nodded again, and you both stopped when the path you were on split into two directions, one leading to the city, and the second leading to the shore. You exchanged one more hug with your brother, and smiled mischievously.

"Say hi to your girlfriend for me ?"

You saw Sabo blush and hide his face under his hat.

"It's not like that, nee-san," he grumbled.

"Mh-hm," you teased him with a wide grin, "sure it's not. Well then, say hi to Koala for me ?"

"Will do," he agreed, clearly happy that you were not pushing the matter further. "Give a hug to Ariel and Ray for me ?"

"Of course," you smiled. "Be careful, little brother."

"You too, nee-san."

-o-oOo-o-

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOUR SISTER WAS HERE !?"

"Wait Koala, she was only making a quick stop, yo-"

"I COULD HAVE MET THE MOST AMAZING WOMAN IN THE WORLD !?"

"Well uh she says to tell you hi and-"

"AND YOU DIDN'T THINK TO CALL ME SO I COULD SAY IT BACK !?"

"… I mean I could probably snail her now if you want ?"

"YOU'RE AN IDIOT !"

-o-oOo-o-

Sengoku pov

The events in Dressrosa had been a nightmare.

Sengoku was sitting in the office reserved to his personal use on the battleship bringing Donquixote Doflamingo to Impel Down, and he felt like he was drowning in paperwork from the absolute chaos of the previous days. While he could not fault Issho for his actions, at least not from a moral point of view, it had still triggered a mediatic shitstorm Sengoku now had to deal with.

The Fleet Admiral clenched his jaw as he kept going through all the crimes Doflamingo had committed as King and Warlord, not just against the people of Dressrosa but so many others as well. Cipher Pol agents, Marines, Pirates, civilians, the list went on and on, to the point where it would have meant a death sentence for anybody else.

But he was born a Celestial Dragon, which meant the Council of Elders had turned a blind eye to his dealings before, and had commanded Sengoku to keep him alive now. A long sigh escaped the Fleet Admiral. This was not the kind of Justice he had sworn to abide by and defend with his life.

He was more and more thinking of retiring, and leaving Kuzan in charge of the future of the Marines. The world was changing, and if their institution did not adapt, they would be left in the dust.

Sengoku took another file in hand, but he barely had the time to read the first paragraph before a cadet slammed his office's door open with a bang and a panicked expression.

"SIR YOU NEED TO COME ON DECK !" the young man screamed in absolute terror.

"Calm down, cadet, what is-"

"IT'S THE GODDESS OF THE SEA, SIR ! SHE'S HERE !"

Sengoku paled.

He made his way on deck as fast as he could, only to watch the blue-haired woman casually sitting on top of a wave right in front of the prow. The white dorsal fin of her sea king was circling around the battleship, and every Marine on sight was begging on their knees for her mercy. While he did not like the sight of his subordinates surrendering so fast, Sengoku understood their reaction. She had caught them at Sea, which meant she was the one holding all the power at the moment.

The Fleet Admiral could only hope she was in a good enough mood to spare as many people as he would be able to negotiate the life of.

"Goddess of the Sea," he greeted her and made his way to the railing.

"Fleet Admiral," she replied in kind with a polite nod of head. "I was hoping I could have a moment of your time. Privately."

Sengoku felt a spark of hope. It seemed she was willing to talk rather than planning to slaughter everyone on sight.

"Everyone off deck, now," he commanded, and all Marines immediately ran inside.

They both remained silent until their surroundings were deserted, and when it was only the two of them, she made her way closer in order to sit on the railing.

"Thank you. Now, let's not waste your time or mine, I have a family to go back to and you have an organisation to run," she stated almost amicably. "I want Doflamingo."

Sengoku clenched his fists. He had had a feeling she was here to do what she had done with Firefist, but given the morals she had displayed so far, he had hoped to be wrong.

"I must ask you to reconsider. I cannot let this man run free after-"

"You misunderstood me, Fleet Admiral," she interrupted him with a smile that was much more dangerous than it was polite. "I'm not here to set him free. I'm here to take his life."

Sengoku blinked, but quickly adjusted the strategies that had started to form in his mind.

"Only his life ?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes. Let's be honest here, you and I both know that piece of shit should have been sentenced to death for what he's done," she stated bluntly. "The only reason he hasn't is because of those crappy nobles who fancy themselves superior for no valid reason. I'm merely here to do what you aren't allowed to."

The Fleet Admiral spent a couple of seconds staring at the woman casually insulting the Celestial Dragons and openly denying their right to rule the world. He hated to admit part of him agreed with her statement.

"You understand that I cannot let you do that," he replied cautiously.

She raised an eyebrow and a playful smirk stretched her lips.

"Even if I bribed you ?"

"There is nothing you could bribe me with," the Fleet Admiral replied confidently.

"Not even the name of the little boy Roscinante sacrificed his life to protect ?"

Sengoku's world crumbled in front of him.

He took a step back in shock and his hand shot to the railing in order to steady himself.

"You're bluffing," he retorted faintly.

"I know he was a son to you, and for what it's worth after so many years, I'm sorry. He was a good man," she offered gently with a soft and pained expression.

"How do you- how can you know that ?"

"Do you want that name ?" she asked instead.

Sengoku understood the bargain at once. He could either have the answer to a question that had plagued him for years, or get a slight chance of learning how she knew it. As a Marine, his duty demanded that he learned more about such a dangerous criminal and the origins of her knowledge. But for once in his life, he could not bring himself to put his duty first. Not when her offer could be his only chance to find his grandson.

"Yes please," he replied.

She smiled, as if he had taken what she esteemed to be the right decision.

"Bit of context first, if you don't mind, and it's not going to be pretty," she said, and motioned for him to sit down, which Sengoku did, then tried to brace himself for whatever was to come. "That little boy is the only survivor of the Flevance Kingdom, though he was plagued by Amber Lead Syndrome as well when he escaped. As you can imagine, the annihilation of his country and family was a traumatic event, and he was both furious at the world at large, and aware he would not live much longer. As such, he ended up in Donquixote Doflamingo's crew."

Sengoku put his hand above his eyes. That explained both so much and so little. So much about what had drawn Roscinante to that child, why he had all but abandoned his undercover mission to find a cure for him, but so little about who this boy could be now, what kind of man he had grown to be – or if he had even survived.

"Roscinante ultimately found a cure, in a way," she continued. "He found a Devil Fruit allowing its user to cure almost anything, and managed to steal it, but the operation was too dangerous. He ended up being killed by his brother after his cover was blown by a Marine actually working undercover for Doflamingo – that guy is dead now, don't worry about it – a few minutes after ensuring the little boy would eat that fruit and get a chance to live."

Sengoku wiped the tears pooling at the corners of his eyes. That was even worse than what he had dared to imagine. That poor child. Sengoku had lost a son in Roscinante, but this boy had clearly lost a father for the second time.

"I'm telling you all this so you'll understand where he comes from, but he would rather not have his personal story known worldwide and I'm counting on you to respect that," she warned him.

"I understand. Where is he now ?"

"His name is Trafalgar D Water Law," she dropped like a bomb. "Also known as the Surgeon of Death, user of the Ope Ope no Mi, and Captain of the Heart Pirates, which contrarily to popular belief is not a narcissistic reference to his abilities-"

"But an homage to Roscinante, whose code name in the Donquixote family was Corazon," Sengoku completed mechanically.

Seas, his long-lost grandson was a pirate. And the instigator of the alliance to make Doflamingo fall. While a small part of the high-ranked Marine in him reminded him that it could very much be a lie, a much bigger part pointed out how much sense that made, and the fact that the Goddess of the Sea had no need to lie to him about this to obtain what she wanted.

"I can't arrange a meeting for obvious reasons, but I could try to arrange a call if you'd like," she offered while Sengoku was still processing the information, and he looked at the blue-haired woman in shock for a few seconds.

"Why are you doing this ?"

"Because he needs it as much as you do," she smiled gently.

Sengoku found himself staring at the most dangerous woman on the sea for a second, then huffed a stunned and slightly watery laugh. He picked a pen and piece of paper in one of his pockets, and quikly wrote a few things on it before handing it to her.

"This is my personal number. I'll be grateful if you can get him to call me."

"I'll see what I can do," she nodded as she took the paper. "Now, about Doflamingo…"

"I can't let you kill him and justify it with a bribe," Sengoku sighed. "And the rules dictate that I must fight you to protect a prisoner under my jurisdiction."

The blue-haired woman tilted her head on the side with a pensive expression.

"What if I threatened to sink this ship and feed everyone on it to Ketchup ?" she suggested, and if Sengoku had not been made aware of the silly name she had given to her sea king, the words would have confused him. "That would justify negotiations, and even if he was born a Celestial Dragon, no one could fault you for trying to save as many lives as possible when it's either his life or his and everyone else's."

Sengoku looked incredulously at the Goddess of the Sea casually giving him a perfect excuse to carry on a justice the system he was enforcing had tried to prevent.

"That… would work, I suppose."

"Well then, Fleet Admiral, here are my terms. Let me kill Doflamingo, and I give you my word that no one else on this ship will die. If you refuse, I will sink this ship and kill everyone on board."

Sengoku sighed amusedly despite himself, and stood up.

"As the highest authority on this ship, I accept your terms."

"I'm so glad we could reach an agreement," she replied with a knowing smile as she jumped on deck. "By all means, lead the way."

-o-oOo-o-

A few minutes later, Sengoku watched the Goddess of the Sea leave on her sea king. He could feel the admiring gaze of all his subordinates on him, who seemed persuaded he had pulled off a miracle to save them all. The Fleet Admiral already knew he would leave out of his report that not only had he witnessed the last moments of Donquixote Doflamingo, he had also ignored the Celestial Dragon's last order to stop the woman before she could make his heart explode.

Chapter 38: Welcome Home

Notes:

Hello lovelies <3

Warning, smut in the second half of the chapter ;)

Chapter Text

Reader pov

You jumped on the Red Force's deck, and were instantly handed a crying baby boy who calmed down as soon as he was placed into your arms.

"Shh, it's okay Ray, Mom's here, everything's fine," you murmured softly to your son, and carefully wiped the tears on his face.

A couple of sniffles later, he had yawned and closed his eyes. You smiled and gently kissed his forehead. No doubt your little prince had exhausted himself crying. You rocked him in your arms for a moment, eventually noticing the relieved looks of the rest of the crew. However, you also noticed two red-heads missing from the tired-looking crowd.

"Where are Shanks and Ariel ?" you asked with a hint of worry.

"Taking a nap in your quarters to make time go faster until you're back," Beckman replied while massaging his temples. "The kids have been cryin' a lot since you left."

You winced. You knew that leaving for several days in a row when your children were so young would be rough on them. No matter how soothingly you told them that it would not last long and you would be back as quickly as you could, your voice could only convey so much information since words were still hard to understand for their young minds. Unfortunately, Dressrosa was depending on too many specific events to leave it to chance, and you knew it was vital to have this arc under control.

You had been lucky with Punk Hazard, since an experiment going south had awoken a dormant volcano, and by the time Aokiji had arrived, the climate of the island had already been permanently disrupted. The island had ended with the dual landscape it was supposed to have in the original timeline, but you were not willing to leave everything to Fate when it came to Doflamingo. Even less so after Sabo had snailed to inform you the next Colosseum Games' prize was going to be Akainu's Magu Magu no Mi.

So you had left with Ketchup, and felt like three quarters of your heart had stayed on the Red Force as you did so. You hugged your baby boy a little tighter against you for a minute, then smiled reassuredly to your First Mate.

"Sorry about that, I had to make sure things would proceed without a hitch. Everything went well, though. I shouldn't have to leave again for a few weeks, maybe even months," you summed up and noticed how several crewmembers thanked the Sea and looked insanely relieved at the news. Granted, it was breaking your heart a bit to let the tragedy of Zou happen, but you knew how vital it was to let this arc unfold as naturally as it could. No matter how much you wanted to take Jack's life for all the horrors he had done and would do.

"Yeah, looks like Luffy and his friends kicked some major ass," Beckman replied, which pulled you out of your somber thoughts and back to the Red Force. "Didn't see you in the papers about the battle, though," your First Mate added like a question, and you shook your head.

"They didn't need my help in the end. I just made sure they were all okay and left. Well, after I took a few minutes to chat with the new Admiral," you remembered with a fond expression.

Fujitora had been as calm and concerned with civilians' safety and protection as you had hoped he would be, which had greatly assuaged your worries. Of course, on the other hand, that now made two out of three Admirals you really did not want to have to fight, which was not ideal in case the Marines decided to launch a major assault on your Emperor. Hopefully, it would not come to that.

"You fucking what ?" Limejuice asked you incredulously.

"He seems to be a kind man, very concerned with civilians' safety and doing right by them," you confirmed with an innocent smile, perfectly conscious that you were being a little shit. "We shared a cup of tea before I left, he was even nice enough to order his men to let me go without starting a fight. I think he didn't want to cause more bloodshed."

You barely got the time to grin at the completely done-with-this-shit expression most of your friends were making before a door opened, and your husband walked on deck with your daughter clinging to him like a baby koala.

"Sweetheart ! You're back !" Shanks smiled brightly.

"Mama !" your daughter exclaimed happily.

In the next second, the four of you were sharing a family hug, your Emperor and you carefully making sure your kids would not be crushed between you.

"How was Dressrosa ?" Shanks asked you after you all sat at a table.

"Pretty intense, but all went well. Luffy kicked Doflamingo's ass, Law got some closure with his past, Sabo ate the Magu Magu no Mi, I had a little chat with Issho, and then I left," you said as you adjusted your hold on your son and gave your daughter a big smooch on the cheek, which had her giggling.

"Issho ?" Shanks asked with a curious look.

"Admiral Fujitora. Nice man, good at his job, we parted in pretty good terms when he realised neither of us wanted to start a fight in a half-destroyed city full of injured people," you repeated, and watched your husband pout.

"What is it with Marines trying to seduce you ?"

You snorted very inelegantly at the remark.

"As if. We shared a cup of tea and landed on mutual respect, that's all. Anyway, he plans to spearhead a campaign to abolish the Warlord system, you might want to give Mihawk a head's up about it."

"He what !?" Gab exclaimed, then shut up when Ray whined in his sleep and everyone glared at him for almost waking up the little boy.

"Well, between what Crocodile did in Alabasta and what Doflamingo did in Dressrosa, he's got pretty good arguments against giving pirates a government pass to do any and all kinds of horrors in exchange of some sort of alliance they don't always honour," you developped while softly rocking Ray in your arms to ensure he would remain asleep. "I think he'll bring it up at the next Reverie, and with two kings backing him up plus the public rallying behind the motion… he's got a good chance of success."

"You think it'll mean more fights for us ?" Beckman asked you seriously.

You thought about it for a moment, then made an uncertain expression.

"Truth be told, I'm not sure. It will be a major rearrangement of the world's current power balance, however, so it's likely to stir things up until a new equilibrium is found."

"Guess we'll just have to be a little more on our guard for the months to come, lads," Shanks shrugged good-heartedly. "Nothing we haven't faced before."

Most people nodded, but then Hongo spoke up.

"Now that this is settled, Y/N, you're not allowed to leave again for so long. Doctor's orders. I'm not dealing with Ray's cries for you eight days in a row ever again."

"Make it Captain's orders too," Shanks smirked.

"Mama leaf ?" Ariel asked with big sad eyes, and you immediately put a hand on her cheek to reassure her.

"No no no my princess, Mom's not leaving. Mom's staying."

"Thanks the Sea, we're gonna get some sleep again," Bonk yawned.

"Oh come on, it can't have been that bad ?" you laughed.

A unanimous crowd looked at you with a mix of exhaustion and fear in their eyes.

Yeah, maybe it was for the best that you avoided leaving for so long again. Hopefully the next events would go smoothly as well, and any intervention you would have to make would be quick. Thinking about interventions suddenly reminded you of the offer you had made, however, and you snapped your fingers.

"Oh, before I forget, can someone get me a den-den mushi ? I promised Sengoku I'd try to arrange a call for him," you asked and used your free hand to get the paper with the Fleet Admiral's private number out of one of your hidden pockets.

Shanks blinked incredulously for a grand total of two seconds.

"Babe, sweetheart, my amazing and beautiful goddess of a wife, I love you, but what the fuck ?" your husband asked you with wide eyes.

"I told him I'd try to arrange a call with his long-lost grandson if he let me kill Doflamingo without making a fuss," you hummed. "I still threatened him so he'd have something more acceptable to put on his report, obviously. You know how it goes."

"The Fleet Admiral has a grandson !?" Yasopp exclaimed.

"That he does, and it's going to give him a few more things to talk about with Garp," you replied with an amused smile. "Don't worry about it, they just both need some closure and maybe a chance to talk through some stuff. Maybe create some sort of family bond despite being on opposite sides of the law."

"So that's why your bounty did not rise much," Beckman nodded in understanding. "I thought the jump was a bit low for killin' an ex-Celestial Dragon Warlord and threatening the Fleet Admiral, but if Sengoku actually owes you that kind of debt, it makes sense."

"Oh, I didn't get a chance to see my new bounty, where do I stand now ?" you asked curiously.

"Three and a half billion berries," Hongo answered. "Captain's still at four."

"Nice," you grinned appreciatively.

Then Bonk's monkey brought you a den-den mushi, and you thanked him with a smile before standing up, Ray still sleeping soundly against your chest. Snailing your youngest brother to tell him Law had to call his grandfather was undoubtedly a private kind of call, after all, and it was likely to take a while with how distracted Luffy could get.

-o-oOo-o-

You put Ray back in his crib for the night, checked swiftly on Ariel's starfish sleeping form on her own set of sheets, and stretched before you went back to join your husband in bed.

"I missed you," you told him as you pulled yourself against his warm body.

"Hmm, same here." Shanks replied with a grin and immediately set to capture your lips in a sensual kiss.

You melted under the sweet and tantalizing gesture, then let out a little gasp when you felt his fingers caress your thigh and glide under your shorts.

"Shanks," you warned him as you broke the kiss, feeling both aroused and in the unfortunate position of having to be the reasonable one, "remember what we said about sex when the kids are in the room ?"

"No idea what you're talking about, I'm just kissing you," he grinned like the smug and tempting pirate he was.

"You- ugh," you groaned, then pulled the sheets off and walked to the door of the shower stall.

"Something the matter, babe ?" your husband asked, still grinning.

You turned in his direction and stared at him for a grand total of three seconds, just enough to realise he was being a little shit on purpose despite knowing exactly what you were doing. So you bit your lower lip while maintaining eye contact, and started to slowly pull down the straps of your tank top. Shanks' eyes followed the motion with a hunger you knew well.

"Just thought we could keep our little tradition of you railing me senseless everytime I come back from a journey. Of course, if you're not up for it, I can-"

Shanks was out of the bed by the next second. In two steps, he had joined you and was holding your ass. You automatically crossed your legs around his hips, and chuckled as you opened the door as quickly as you could.

"Thought you'd never ask," the red-head laughed against your neck as he brought you to the shower stall and kicked the the door close behind you. "You've kept me waiting way too long, sweetheart."

"Less talking, more fucking," you smirked, and felt Shanks' erection jerk against your clothed pussy at the commanding words.

"Someone's feeling bossy tonight," he replied teasingly against your skin, and started to lavish it in bites and kisses that had you panting with desire in no time.

In a swift move, you left his hold, reversed your positions, and pushed your husband against the wall. His eyebrows shot up in surprise for a second, but then he noticed your mischievous grin and his gaze turned interested. When you dropped on your knees, you saw his interest turn heated.

"Are you complaining, Captain ?" you teased as you pushed his underwear down his legs.

"Fuck no," he replied as he put his hand on your head and started stroking your hair.

"Good."

You made sure to keep eye contact when you wrapped your fingers around the base of his cock, then applied your tongue as low as you could and slowly licked your way up his shaft, ending with a little flick on the head. The movement had him swallow a grunt, and you watched a bead of precum roll in response to the very obvious promise you were making.

"Don't make too much noise or I'll stop," you challenged your husband and he immediately groaned.

"Come on babe, you're- oh yes just like that," he cut himself off in a moan as you wrapped your lips around the top of his cock and slowly covered it in saliva to ease the coming movements of your head.

You started applying more pressure with your tongue on the sensitive vein right under the head, then slowly began to take more of his shaft into your mouth. The hand that was not holding the base of his cock caressed his leg, then you put it on his hip as a reminder not to move.

"Fuck I missed your mouth," Shanks groaned as you bobbed your head to take more of his cock between your lips. His hand tightened the grip on your hair, but the second another, louder moan escaped his lips, you pulled out completely.

"Wait wait no babe- ugh," your husband protested, but you put both hand on his hips and ignored the light pressure on your head. You smirked and watched him bite his lips for a second as he let his head fall against the wall with a chuckle and a grin. "You're a fucking tease."

"And you like it. Remember, be quiet," you reminded him happily, then went back to caress his thighs and wrap your lips against his cock once again. This time, you started using one of your hand to pump the lower half of his dick in rythm with your head bobbing up and down.

The muffled groans and barely refrained moans went straight to your core, and you felt your pussy start to clench at the sounds of pleasure echoing in the bathroom. When you felt Shanks was getting close to lose control over his voice, you used the hand that was still caressing his hip to get between his legs and start massaging his balls. The reaction was instantaneous.

"Oh yes fuck keep doing that I'm go- no no no don't !" you pulled back again, and even shook your head in mock disappointment.

"Really, it's like you're not even trying to stay quiet, my love."

The black and hungry gaze staring back at you almost made you give up on your game, but you hold on to your resolve. You would pay for it later, no doubt about that, but for now, you were the one in command. And you knew Shanks loved relishing control to you as much as he liked taking the reins, anyway.

"Sweetheart ?"

"Yes dear ?" you smiled and batted your eyes innocently.

"Please get your wonderful mouth back on my dick," he asked you with a tense smile, and his breathing shorter than usual.

You smirked, and did exactly that. This time, you went back deep on his cock straight away as you took hold of his shaft, and hummed to add some vibrations to his pleasure at the same time you used your power to stimulate the blood inside his shaft.

You heard a choked gasp, and then muffled pants, with a few sounds escaping your lover's lips here and there, and even a few moans he failed to contain as you bobbed your head further and faster on his dick. Then you relaxed your throat, and took his entire member in your mouth in the next go. That move forced him to bring his hand to his mouth in a hurry and bite his fist to avoid making any sound that would make you stop. His muffled groan of unbriddled pleasure made your own arousal sore and wetness pool between your legs.

Still, you could feel his harsh breathing and the way his abs kept tensing. You stayed there for a couple seconds, to give him time to adjust to the sensations, and then swallowed around his cock, which elicited a muffled moan of pure bliss. He even put his hand back on your head.

"Again. Please, fucking do that again," Shanks begged in between pants.

Instead of doing it immediately, you hummed around his dick, and his grip on your hair tightened while he clenched his jaw. And then, you swallowed again, which seemed to bring your husband to the brink of his climax.

"Babe pleas- oh fuck yes !" he moaned as you started going up and down on him, taking him to the back of your throat with every movement, and you even had to put both hands on his hips to prevent him from moving and trying to fuck your mouth.

"Yes yes yes go on, fuck I'm close, please babe, can I-"

You did not even let him finish his question, knowing what permission he was asking for, and only deep-throated him again, humming and swallowing at the same time you gave his blood the most subtle encouragment, which was enough to send him over the edge.

"FUCK !"

You felt the hot strings of his cum shoot down your throat, and swallowed once more to both prolong his orgasm and make sure you would not choke on it. Once you were sure he was done painting your throat in white, you slowly pulled out, and stood up with a small satisfied smile. The tiles of the bathroom stall were not the most comfortable place to kneel on, but damn if the pleasure of blowing Shanks did not make up for it.

According to the way your husband was panting and looking at you like a starving man, he definitely agreed with it. Before you could do anything more than teasingly wipe your lips with your thumb, he grabbed the hem of your shorts and brought you against him to kiss you deeply, pushing past your lips to dive inside your mouth and make you moan.

You had been surprised the first time, but Shanks had just told you he loved tasting the two of you in a kiss, and since you had no objection – truth be told, the way he had phrased it made it sound much more erotic than you had ever thought such a filthy thing could be – kissing after giving or receiving oral had become a staple of your sex life.

By the time you felt dazed by the kiss, Shanks had pulled your shorts down your legs and was tugging at your tank top.

"Get that off and turn around," he told you, and while you did get your top off, you adressed him a teasing smile before you put both hands against the wall and arched your back to give him a nice view of your ass.

"Who's feeling bossy now ?" you grinned, then gasped when you felt deft fingers glide between your legs and press on your clit, just as his strong chest was plastered against your back, spreading warmth on your skin.

"And you like it. Remember, be quiet," Shanks whispered against your ear, using your previous words against you with his stubble lightly scratching your neck and a grin obvious in his voice.

"Oh now that's fucking unfa-mmmh," you moaned as his index and middle fingers parted your folds and pushed into you, his palm pressing against your clit as his dick already started to harden again against your ass.

"You knew what you were getting into when you pulled that stunt, sweetheart."

You closed your eyes in anticipated bliss while a shiver ran down your spine at the delicious threat. Seas, the things that man did to you.

Chapter 39: Melted Ice

Chapter Text

Reader pov

It was only a couple weeks later that the news about the end of the Warlord's system came around, before the next Reverie even happened, along with the news of Sengoku's retirement. To your great relief, Aokiji was given the position of Fleet Admiral in his stead, that he would take after two months of progressive transition. You were not sure what it would mean for Wano, but since the new head of the Marine forces was not a sociopathic asshole this time around, you counted it as a positive.

You were glad to have warned Mihawk and Hancock about the upcoming news, though. This way, both had had the time to make whatever preparations they needed in order to anticipate an agressive move of the Marines. You had pondered whether to warn Buggy as well, but ultimately refrained. You had a feeling the clown would try to run away if given an early warning, and the Cross Guild might not happen if he did.

You were also curious to see whether or not the Marines would give him the title of Emperor, once Big Mom and Kaido would be defeated in Wano. Should they do it, you were definitely going to pester Shanks until he agreed to organise a meeting with the clown, if only for the sheer absurdity of it.

Especially since Buggy had not met your children yet, which was something that would have to be corrected at some point. Mihawk had not had the opportunity to come by either since Ray had been born, and he had only seen Ariel once. You wanted Shanks' best friend and his brother to have some sort of connection with their niece and nephew, after all, and an Emperor's meeting would be the perfect occasion for a family reunion.

It might also end up as the most chaotic Emperors' meeting to ever happen, but you just knew it would be worth it.

-o-oOo-o-

Aokiji pov

Kuzan was peacefully riding his bicycle in waters no Marine in their right mind would ever dare to sail. Granted, some of the most ambitious Captains or Commodores did it nonetheless, persuaded they would succeed in their quest and come back to Headquarters in glory.

Kuzan had yet to see one come back at all.

Out of the Four Emperors, Akagami was both the most approachable and the most dangerous. Even Kuzan's former mentor Garp was categorical when it came to the man. You could talk with Akagami no Shanks, but not even the devil would come to your help if you invoked his wrath.

And out of all the dangers roaming through the New World, none was more feared than the Goddess of the Sea. She was said to be as unpredictable as the Sea itself, sometimes kind and giving, sometimes ruthless and taking. Her encounters with Sakazuki and Issho had reflected this duality, and even Sengoku – after surviving an encounter of his own with her – had unequivocally told him to never, under any circumstances, provoke her into a fight.

Which was why, after rumours had started circulating about the creation of an organisation called the Cross Guild, whose founding members were said to have met during their wedding, Kuzan had decided to take a risk and meet the power couple in person before he would have to take Sengoku's position. Of course, he had had to use the few vacation days he was allowed to take, in order to avoid his still-technically-superior officer having a stroke when he would learn about his plans.

The paperwork alone would have been way too tiresome anyway.

So he used his personal network to learn where the Red Force would be, and made his way to the area.

The ship came into his line of sight only a few days into his travel, and Kuzan started riding in its direction. He had barely made any progress before a sea king broke the waves between him and the ship, and the Admiral had to use Ice Age to stop the beast.

It was only after ensuring the massive animal was frozen that Kuzan realised it kind of looked like a cute white otter with golden eyes, which meant it had to be the Goddess of the Sea's famously tamed sea king.

Kuzan sighed as he stood on the glacier he had created, his right hand still holding his bicycle. That was bound to make a bad first impression, and he already dreaded how much talk it was going to take to undo it. If she was even willing to talk with him after he had frozen her pet.

Less than a minute later, when Kuzan was still pondering about releasing the sea king from his ice prison to avoid the aggressivity of its owner, a silhouette surfed her way to him from the Red Force. She ultimately stepped on his glacier with a slightly annoyed expression.

The Admiral stepped into a defensive stance to freeze any water she would send his way, and got ready to use even the smallest interval in their fight to tell that woman he only wanted to talk to her.

Blue hair, blue top, blue slitted skirt, two necklaces showing a medallion and a wedding ring, a magnetism and beauty making it impossible to look away from her, there was no doubt Kuzan was finally facing the Goddess of the Sea, and he was ready for it.

"Can you free Ketchup from the ice ? It's going to take me forever to unfreeze him and he hates the cold. I promise I'll tell him to leave you be if you do."

Kuzan stared at the woman for a grand total of three seconds.

"You are not threatening me," he noticed out loud.

She blinked in obvious surprise and confusion.

"Erm, no ? I'm asking politely, you know, like civilised people do ?"

Kuzan felt just as surprised and confused by her easy-going demeanour. Though at the same time, her reaction comforted him in his intuition that she was not the horrifying monster most Marines only dared to talk about in hushed whispers. So he undid his freezing spell, and watched the otter-faced sea king roar at him for a second. Then the Goddess of the Sea put herself between them, her back to Kuzan in a position of vulnerability that left the Admiral stunned.

"Ketchup, no ! Not that one. Yes, I know he attacked you first. Yes, I'm aware. No, you can't eat him. No, not even just a bit. Yes, I know he's dangerous. Don't give me that look, you know it only works on Shanks. Oh please, you got a snack one hour ago."

Kuzan blinked at the dialogue, but waited patiently the few more minutes it took it took for her to ultimately convince her oversized pet. The sea king begrudgingly dived under the waves and seemed to swim his way back to the Red Force. The blue-haired woman then turned toward him again, with a curious expression and a hand on her right hip.

"So, what brings you here ?"

Kuzan watched her for a moment, then brought a hand to his hair and sighed tiredly.

"I don't get you."

"Oh, so it's going to be that kind of talk. Do you want to come aboard and have a drink ?" she asked with an amused smile.

As a Marine Admiral, consorting with criminals was unthinkable. Being seen with pirates would be the greatest disgrace imaginable. Being seen drinking with them might even end his carreer. It would be a scandal beyond what Sengoku had confessed had truly happened between him and Y/N before she killed Doflamingo, and how she held her promise to put him in touch with his long-lost grandson, which had been the last straw convincing his superior officer to retire.

All of this meant there only was one answer he could give her.

"Do you have rum ?" Kuzan asked her.

The most feared woman on the Sea chuckled in the most adorable way he had ever seen, and asked mischievously whether he wanted it neat or on the rock.

Kuzan had half a mind asking whether she had ever though about divorce.

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks pov

Shanks was fine.

He was.

He totally was.

Even if his gorgeous wife had invited an Admiral to have a drink on his ship, and given everyone a look meaning they had to behave while the two of them shared a private talk on the stern. The Emperor had at least ensured Ariel and Ray were staying in their quarters under Bonk and Limejuice's careful watch while Aokiji was on his ship.

But his lovely lady and the Admiral had been talking for half an hour already, Aokiji had burst into tears once, she had smiled warmly all along like her interlocutor was a frightened kitten instead of one of the most powerful men in the New World, and Shanks was very much glaring at the Marine who looked like he was two seconds away from trying to seduce his wife.

They ultimately joined everyone again, Y/N with her usual confident grace, while Aokiji looked as if he had been through the most brutal enlightenment of his life. She twirled her way to him until she was resting against his chest with his arm around her waist, and Shanks peppered her neck in kisses in his usual possessive affectionate way. He then made sure to claim his wife's delicious lips for a long, deep, obviously sensual moment before he let his goddess go, panting and dazed and close to moaning.

"Everything good, babe ?" he whispered against her skin.

"Ye- erm, yes, love," she confirmed, clearly a bit out of breath and lightly blushing, which had Shanks smirking smugly. "We reached an understanding. Right ?"

"We have," Aokiji confirmed with an expression that still looked a tad too admiring for Shanks' liking. "If your claims prove to be true."

There was a second of tense silence, then his wife chuckled breathlessly, and the tension dissipated at once.

"Only one way for you to find out. Either way, it was nice to finally meet you," she said gently as she got out of Shanks' protective loving embrace, and extended her hand.

Time stopped for a second on the Red Force. Her implied offer was a test of faith few would dare to take, especially with the wide-spread knowledge of her blood-bending abilities.

Aokiji looked at her hand for a second, then sighed with a small knowing smile and placed his own in it. Nothing happened as they shared a handshake.

"We could have met sooner," he told her with what Shanks knew was clear longing in his eyes.

"I don't think we would have been a good match," Y/N chuckled. "But I wish you a safe travel, Kuzan."

A few moments later, when the Blue Pheasant was riding his bicycle in a direction Shanks was not sure of, he turned to Y/N with an accusing look.

"My love, my goddess, my unparalleled deity of a wife, did you just seduce another fucking Marine Admiral into not attacking us !?

"Don't be ridiculous, love."

"Then did you just put another Fleet Admiral in your debt !?"

"Oh please, it was nothing that dramatic. I merely told him his best friend was alive and where to find him, that's all. I'm hoping it'll be enough to make him put his morals above the World Government's pressure, maybe even motivate him to reform the Marine system when he takes Sengoku's place for good."

"YOU WHAT !?"

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

You were playing with your daughter, mostly letting her try to name animals and then creating them out of water, when Beckman and Shanks came near you two. Your husband knelt with a smile and booped your daughter's nose.

"Hey there princess, how about you go play with Hongo for a moment ? Uncle Beck and Dad need to talk about boring adult stuff with Mom," he added with an exaggerated pout.

Ariel frowned, seemed to think hard about it – even though she could not understand everything yet – then nodded decisively and started crawling toward Hongo, only to be caught by a tiger made of water when you flicked your fingers. Your daughter's happy laugh echoed around the deck as the liquid animal put her in the doctor's arms.

The man sent a suffering look your way when the water drenched him, to which you only raised an eyebrow challengingly. You knew he had been the one to suggest guessing who would be the next high-ranked Marine to fall for you as the theme of the latest betting pool.

"What's going on ?" you asked as soon as your red-haired little girl was adequately distracted by whatever Hongo had come up with.

"Big Mom's making an alliance with the Germa 66," Beckman told you with what you knew was his serious face. "The wedding to seal it is in a couple weeks and-"

"Oh, that," you relaxed immediately. "Don't worry, it's not going to happen."

Your husband blinked, then laughed loudly and pulled you in a hug and then a searing kiss.

"I don't even know why I'm still surprised that you know all this stuff," he teased you gently, then the three of you went to his office after one last check on Ariel. Ray was thankfully napping in his crib like a peaceful little angel for the moment, so you were not too concerned about him for the next minutes. That boy certainly enjoyed his naps when you were sailing, to the point where it had you wondering whether he might have inherited your faculty to feel the natural pulse of the Sea and its soothing rhythm.

Shanks claimed your son mostly realised when his goddess of a Mom was missing from said rhythm, and thus felt unbalanced until you came back to calm him, but you were fairly confident he was exaggerating.

"Anything we need to worry about ?" Beckman asked you once you were alone in the Captain's office.

You pensively tapped your chin with your index for a minute, trying to remember if the Red-Haired Pirates had been involved in that event. As far as your memories went, it was not the case, but you still opted to give them a summary of what was supposed to happen. It was always better to be a little too prepared, just in case.

"Not that I know of. Big Mom plans to betray the Vinsmoke family during the ceremony, but Luffy's going to crash it before the assassination can happen. Judge will call the alliance off once he understands he's been played, and Big Mom won't get her hands on the Germa 66's technology. Also, Luffy's going to eat the wedding cake and bring his usual chaos to Whole Cake Island, but his crew will leave before Big Mom can fight him."

Beckman blinked incredulously, and Shanks laughed.

"Of course he's going to do that," your husband said with a bright grin. "What brings him into the old hag's territory ?"

"Well, the Vinsmoke heir supposed to marry into the Charlotte family is Luffy's cook who was pretty much kidnapped on Zou, so he went to take him back," you shrugged.

"How did he even end up with one of the Vinsmoke heirs as his cook ?" Beckman asked with a raised eyebrow and a small amused grin.

"Eh, it's a long story," you replied and pushed yourself on the desk with your legs crossed. "But to make it short, the kid ran away from the Germa base, got adopted by a pirate who doubled as a chef, grew up learning to both cook and kick ass, and got forcefully included in Luffy's crew three hours after meeting him. You know, Luffy's standard recruitment process," you ended with a mischievous smile.

"Sounds about right," the Emperor nodded solemnly, but with a very amused grin on his face that reminded you of Shanks' own less-than-conventional recruitment methods. "So they wreck havoc in Big Mom's territory and the alliance doesn't happen. Anything else ?"

"Well…" you said with an apologetic face that both men immediately understood the meaning of.

"You're going to intervene in that mess," Beckman groaned with a hand roaming through his hair in a gesture you were pretty sure he had learned from you. Or you had learned from him. When it came to dealing with Shanks' antics, both were equally plausible.

"Yeah," you agreed in defeat.

"Do you have to ?" Shanks asked you with a pout. "You said that Dressrosa went perfectly well without you ! I'm sure everything will be the same in Totto Land even if you don't show up."

Your face turned somber at his words.

"I know. That's why I have to go."

Both Shanks and Beckman picked up on your sudden mood change, and the only thing that it could mean.

"Someone will die if you don't go," Beckman translated, and you nodded.

"I can't let it happen. I just can't," you said and clenched your fists, looking at the floor. "Not when I can stop it easily."

There were a few seconds of silence, then Shanks' shoulders slumped and he groaned in defeat.

"Fine. But make it quick, and don't let the old hag snatch you," your husband requested. "She's still sending marriage proposals for Ariel and Ray on top of asking you to divorce me and marry one of her sons instead," he grumbled.

"As if that would ever happen," you laughed lightly. "I'll only make sure everyone is fine and escape without trouble."

"And then you'll come back home to the Red Force and never leave again ?" Shanks asked you in a voice filled with hope.

Your awkward and a tad forced smile was all he needed to see in order to groan even louder and hug you with his head hidden between your breasts.

"What comes after that to keep you away from me ?" he whined between your boobs, and you started caressing his hair in a familiar gesture.

"Well technically, I will have time to come back to you before the next big event happens. But I'll probably have to call Whitebeard too about that one," you sighed.

You were not looking forward to telling your father figure you needed to borrow two of his sons to go kick Kaido and Big Mom's ass. Actually, it might even add up to three. You were definitely going to have to be there, if only to make sure Izou stayed alive this time, and Ace was definitely going to insist to come as well. Your hothead of a little brother would never stay behind when both his baby brother, his boyfriend, his brother, and his older sister were participating in the fight to free the country he had already travelled to once.

Seas, that particular arc was going to be a fucking mess.

"Hey, sweetheart, you alright ?" Shanks asked softly while drawing little circles on your back, which was when you realised you had started fidgeting with your ring.

"Yeah, sorry," you sighed. "I promise I'll explain as soon as I come back from the Whole Cake Island debacle. We'll have to act pretty quickly after that, though, and there are a lot of different factors in place compared to the timeline I know, so I can't guarantee everything will go smoothly. I mean, worst case scenario, it could get really bad, but with my knowledge I think I can still make sure tha-"

"Babe, sweetheart, breathe," Shanks stopped you with an amused smile. "Don't forget who you are and who you're sailing with. There's not much that can stop the two of us combined. Well, aside from Ariel and Ray throwing a tantrum at the same time, but that's something no one in this world or yours can handle," he joked.

You stared dubiously at him for a moment, but you had to admit his confidence was reassuring.

"I guess we'll see," you reluctantly sighed. "I'm just worried about a million different things at once. And we're getting closer to the end of what I know about the events that are supposed to happen. That's… that's scarier than I thought it would be," you admitted and let yourself be hugged by your husband.

"You mean you're finally going to be free to live your own life without holding the weight of the world and the future on your shoulders," Shanks corrected with a smile as he brought his hand to your hair and started massaging your scalp. "I think that's pretty great."

"Of course you'd think that," you huffed but melted nonetheless.

"Sweetheart, I'm all for enjoying each day as it comes and not worry too much about the future. I've just been waiting for you to catch up," your husband laughed.

Beckman adressed you a lazy grin, but nodded in approval anyway. You sighed again, but mustered a smile nonetheless. You would worry about the great unknown later. For now, you had another dance to do with Fate, and you were not going to mess it up.

-o-oOo-o-

You came back on deck a few minutes later, Shanks' hand in yours in a reassuring hold and Beckman looking anticipatingly tired by your absence and what it meant about your children's reaction to it.

Which was probably why your eyes were immediately caught by your daughter, who was now in Limejuice's arms and looking curiously at his staff. As far as the crewmembers' weapons went, that one was something you were not too worried putting in your children's hands.

Ariel suddenly noticed you and Shanks walking back into her line of sight and beamed. With her wide smiles and crimson hair, it was pretty obvious how much she took after her father. Shanks certainly looked ready to melt at the sight, and abandoned your hand to go take his baby girl in his arm. The next second, he had given her a big smooch on the cheek and she was laughing brightly as she moved her little arms and legs.

"Oh come on Y/N !" Hongo protested suddenly.

Everyone turned to the doctor, who was now sporting a very obvious damp spot on his clothes, and you blinked.

"You already drenched me earlier," he grumbled accusingly. "It's supposed to be only one time by betting pool."

"That… that wasn't me," you replied in befuddled confusion. "I mean the water tiger from earlier was me, obviously, but I didn't do anything right now."

"So the water just came out of the bucket by itself ?" the doctor retorted with a sarcastic snort.

There was a second of silence, then Ariel's happy giggles echoed again and your head snapped to your daughter in shock.

No way.

In two steps, you had joined your husband to look at your baby girl, and tried to keep your expression as calm and loving as possible as you met her gaze.

"Hey princess, look at that," you told her, and called some seawater to you to form a simple sphere between you and her.

"Bibby !" Ariel exclaimed.

"Yes, it's a very big bubble," Shanks confirmed.

You caught a tankard on the nearest table, emptied its content into the sea, and slowly let the water sphere fall into it.

"Can you get the water out of there for me, Ariel ?"

Your daughter's little face scrunched in focus for a few moments, then she made grabby hands toward the water, and it suddenly burst out of the tankard in a jet that went straight for Shanks' face. Ariel immediately laughed again, looking very happy with herself, and you were torn between laughing as well at Shanks' slightly offended expression, and fainting on the spot.

"My daughter can manipulate water," you chuckled incredulously. "Okay. Okay, this is fine. You did well, princess, I'm super proud of you," you told your baby girl with a smile that you hoped was enough to hide your bafflement.

"Wait that wasn't you ?" Shanks exclaimed in shock with water still dripping from his face and hair.

"Nope, all her," you confirmed. "I guess she watched me drench you all since she was born and decided it would be fun to do it too, isn't it right, Ariel ?"

Your little princess just kept giggling proudly, her crimson hair moving to hide her eyes before you gently pushed it away from her face.

"Oh shit," Yasopp cursed faintly. "We're screwed."

Given the fact that your daughter had manifested her powers only a few days before you would need to leave her again, that sounded like a reasonable conclusion to draw.

Chapter 40: Sweet Hearts

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Reader pov

You had to be extremely persuasive to convince Ketchup to not force his way through the underwater barrier around Big Mom's territory. Your protective friend was very unhappy at the prospect of letting you go alone, but you still managed to convince him.

Once he agreed to just patrol the area and eat every fish he could see as a snack instead, you made your way forward, and grinned when almost all ships above you seemed to head into the same direction. It meant you only had to go that way as well to get to the Sunny, and by extension, your baby brother and a certain Mink who was not going to die if you had anything to say about it.

In a matter of minutes, Luffy's ship was on sight, and you relaxed slightly. You were not too late, everything was fine, you just needed to stay underwater until it was time for you to act.

Obviously, the second you relaxed, the Sunny was engulfed in candy and Big Mom's laugh was echoing so loudly that you could hear it from under the waves.

"Oh fuck no," you cursed, and instantly burst into action.

You propulsed yourself further down underwater, then turned on yourself to create a spinning water jet that you kept contained, thus increasing its strength like a coiled spring. When you were satisfied with its power, you released your hold and accompanied the water up to the surface, where you directed the equivalent of a giant garden hose's burst toward the Emperor.

Big Mom was hit square in the stomach by your attack and thrown a good long way back into her territory with a garbled scream, which had you smiling in vicious satisfaction. So sue you, you were petty and fully intent on making clear that you were the most powerful woman of the New World.

You used the remaining driving force of your water jet to create a tidal wave flooding the beach faster than anyone standing on it could hope to escape. As soon as you had everyone submerged by seawater, you turned the wave into one massive sphere floating above the sand and reached for Pedro's explosive belt.

The next instant, you had sent it flying as high as you could, and hid back into the protective barrier that was your sphere to be safe from the massive explosion. Then you breathed a heavily relieved sigh.

That had been a close one.

You took a close look around you and suddenly remembered that a lot of people caught in your power were Devil Fruit users.

Woopsie.

You quickly brought bubbles of air inside your sphere and manipulated the water to send each of them to a different person, so they would be able to breathe until you decided what to do next. You also may or may not have waited a little longer to give Perospero his own small oxygen reprieve, but that was neither here nor there.

Though you noticed with interest that the Sunny was now free of his candy, which meant the effects of a Logia Devil Fruit disappeared instantly when their user was submerged in seawater. You smiled and waved your hand toward the Mugiwaras before gently sending them back on their ship, with the obvious exception of Luffy.

Your youngest brother was beaming at you with stars in his eyes and you chuckled.

With a flick of your wrist, you created a bigger space filled with air inside of your sphere and brought both him and Pedro inside it, holding all three of you on top of the improvised water floor as you dried them quickly.

"Hello Lu- ooof !" you started and immediately found yourself with your arms full of a very enthusiastic boa constrictor.

"NEE-SAN ! You're so cool !"

You hugged him back with a happy laugh, but waited until you could get free from his encompassing hug to reply. However, that was also when you noticed a wide-eyed and stunned jaguar Mink staring at you.

"The Goddess of the Sea," he mumbled in shock, and you smiled.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Pedro, even if I don't approve of your suicidal attempt against Perospero. You're lucky I got here in time," you reproached him.

"It was the only way to-"

"Nee-san, I want cookies !" Luffy interrupted and looked like he was going to start drooling.

"Didn't you just eat a giant wedding cake ?" you replied with a raised eyebrow.

"So what ? I want cookies !"

"You can just ask Sanji to bake you some, I'm sure-"

"But yours are the best !" Luffy pouted petulantly, and damn that was flattering to hear.

"I'll see if I can bake a batch before I leave, but right now, I'm afraid we have more pressing matters on our hands," you conceded and brought the three Charlotte siblings closer to your little group, though you kept them encased in seawater save for the little bubble allowing them to breathe.

Brulee was looking at you with unadultered terror, Perospero was sweating candy bullets and badly hiding it, but Katakuri's eyes kept flashing red. You were ready to bet he was using his future sight to find a way to free his siblings from the water prison you were keeping them in.

"Just kill them all," Pedro growled.

"No," you replied in a non-negotiable voice.

"But you can-"

"Luffy needs to fight Katakuri to learn the ultimate form of Observation Haki."

"EEEEHHHHH !? There's a special Observation Haki !?" your baby brother exclaimed incredulously.

"Yes," you replied with a smile. "It allows you to see a few moments into the future, but it requires an insane amount of focus."

"That's so cool ! I wanna learn that !"

"Then you have to fight Katakuri. He's a master of it, and I warn you, this will be your most difficult fight so far. Especially since he will be fighting for his family. Do you think you have what it takes to beat him ?" you challenged your little brother, already knowing what his answer would be.

Luffy's grin turned serious in his unique way to smile determinedly, and he hit his fists against each other.

"I'm gonna be King of the Pirates ! I can't let anyone defeat me !"

"That's the spirit. Pedro, I'm going to send you to the Sunny, tell them to use a Coup de Burst to get out of here," you commanded.

The Mink watched you for a moment, then looked at the three people trapped in sea water, then at Luffy, and finally at you again with an accusing gaze.

"You are sentencing your own brother to d-" he growled.

"Don't you dare imply that I would send any of my brothers to the death," you cut him off with a dark look. "If I didn't think he could do it, I would kill those three right then and there."

"It's fine Pedro, I can beat him !" Luffy grinned. "And I'll get cookies after that, right ?"

You sighed goodheartedly and ruffled your baby brother's unruly black hair with a fond smile.

"I told you, I'll see if I have time to bake some before I leave. I'm not going to make you a promise I'm not sure to hold."

Your baby brother pouted but begrudgingly accepted your terms, and Pedro stared at the two of you for a moment before he ultimately bowed his head.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Goddess."

You only nodded, and sent him to the Sunny with a flick of your wrist.

"Now, before your fight, there's something else I need to do," you informed Luffy. "I'm going to use sand to hide them from view for a moment when I talk to them, but I promise everything will be fine."

Luffy only laughed his happy shishishi and grinned widely.

"It's okay, I trust you nee-san !"

You smiled warmly and opened your arms, which he took as the hugging invitation it was. You hold your baby brother tightly against you, and reminded yourself that he could do it. He would do it. You were not sending your youngest sibling to die by letting him fight Big Mom's strongest son.

With one last breath, you let him go, then used the water touching the beach to bring sand into your sphere. The small grains spread and quickly created a barrier both thick enough to hide what was inside from view, yet thin enough to let the light in.

You closed it behind you, and floated closer to Katakuri.

-o-oOo-o-

Katakuri pov

Katakuri had not felt so utterly vulnerable in decades. All his training, all the time spent honing his skills, all the efforts he had made to become the picture of invicinbility, the rock all his siblings could anchor themselves to, had been rendered useless by a single attack.

Worse than his own weakness, he had been powerless to protect his siblings.

Once again, Brulee was hurt because of him.

It was as if all his work had been for nothing.

But at the same time, Katakuri knew the might of the power wielded by the Goddess of the Sea and the danger it represented to all Devil Fruit users. His mother had been furious when her relationship with Akagami and then their wedding had made the news. Mama had wanted her to become part of the family. She had even said that Y/N would marry a Sweet Commander to ensure she would bear the strongest babies.

She had not said it out loud, but Katakuri knew his mother would have asked him to marry her. Because he was the strongest.

He watched her talk to Mugiwara and show him the open affection only an older sibling could give, watched her obvious fondness as they hugged and she ruffled his hair. Yet that loving attitude was happening at the same time she was holding him and his siblings under her absolute control, keeping them only one thought away from death.

This impossible combination of kindness and ruthlessness merged into one woman made Katakuri wonder for a fleeting second whether their marriage would have worked. He crushed the question in an instant since it was a moot point, and not only did he have to find a way to save Brulee and Perospero, no one could love a face like his.

She sent the Mink away, and no matter how far ahead into the future he looked, Katakuri still failed to see death. But he saw the ship leave without Mugiwara and a thin sand sphere hiding all four of them from view while letting the light come in. When it actually happened, he felt himself admiring her incredible mastery over her element.

She almost twirled in the water as she gracefully made her way to them, her skirt and hair billowing around her in a way that truly made her look like she Sea Goddess she had been adequately named. Katakuri felt quite ashamed of himself for thinking it was the most beautiful sight he had ever witnessed.

This was a married woman, after all.

She made her way closer to him in particular, up until they were face-to-face despite their height difference, and connected the bubble of air around his head to the one around hers.

"I'm sorry we have to meet under such circumstances," she apologised politely. "But I thought you deserved to know that I have the utmost respect for you."

Katakuri forced himself to remain impassive despite her words, and asked for the only thing worth letting go of his pride.

"Spare my sister."

To his surprise, she looked shocked at his request.

"Did you just- seas and stars I- you can't possibly-" she stuttered, then took a deep breath and composed herself. "There seems to be a misunderstanding. I'm not going to kill anyone. Well, I'm going to kick your brother's ass because he's been downright awful to some people I care for, but he'll live to tell the tale. And I would never hurt Brulee or you, not unless I had no other options."

Katakuri blinked incredulously, his emotions too strong to fully hide them behind his usual impassive mask and making him lose his grip on his ability to use his future sight.

"Why ?"

"Because the fight between you and my little brother has to happen. I am merely asking you to show as much honour in your battle against him as you do in everything else in life. Please," she asked softly.

Katakuri felt his jaw drop under his scarf, and he stared at the incomprehensible woman floating in front of him. They were enemies, she could kill him with a flick of her finger, and yet she was pleading for an honourable attitude during a fight against a younger sibling she clearly loved deeply.

"I always fight with honour," he replied, because he could not think of another response to give her.

Her smile became a little warmer, and she came closer. From the corner of his eyes, Katakuri could see Brulee and Perospero's incredulous looks at their exchange, even if they could not hear what was said.

But then her hand reached for his scarf, and Katakuri froze. He was powerless to stop her from looking at his face if she wanted to, but he hoped with all his might that she would not. He could not even bring himself to use his future sight to watch what her reaction would be if she did.

"There is one more thing I need to tell you," she said with a voice that was gentle, too gentle, like she was talking to a frightened kitten, and Katakuri both hated it and felt grateful for it. Her hand touched the top of his scarf, right in front of his horrible mouth, and stayed there. "Your difference does not make you a monster. It does not make you unlovable. You deserve love, you deserve kindness, you deserve affection, and whoever thinks otherwise is wrong," she stated in a kind but firm voice.

Katakuri was stunned, and had to remind himself that she did not know what he looked like under his scarf. If she knew, she would never-

Her hand pushed his scarf down, and Katakuri closed his eyes, readying himself for the horrified scream.

It did not come.

Instead, a small, soft, and warm hand touched the scar on his left cheek with deliberate care.

Katakuri opened his eyes, and was immediately faced with the same gentle smile she had showed so far.

"I stand by my words," she told him kindly, before her smile took a more amused lilt. "And for the record, I think your fangs are pretty cute."

Katakuri was floored. No one had ever seen his mouth and reacted like that. Even his own mother and siblings had been uncomfortable and suggested he hid his face.

But that woman-

She-

"Just so you know, my brother will definitely think you look really cool if you show him," Y/N added with a conspiratory wink. "We have a pretty open mind when it comes to differences in the family."

She carefully put his scarf back up before floating away, leaving Katakuri feeling like his entire worldview had been shattered and reshaped in the span of a single conversation.

With a wave of her hand, the sand went back to the beach – had she summoned it just to protect his secret ? – and then he was thrown with Brulee and Mugiwara into the Mirror World, all of them completely dry, while the Goddess of the Sea and Perospero remained on the beach.

Katakuri stood up immediately and faced Mugiwara.

"Brulee, leave us."

"But nii-san !"

"Now."

His sister disappeared in one of her mirrors, looking worried, but Katakuri kept his gaze firmly on his opponent.

"So you're the guy my nee-san says I have to beat to get stronger," Mugiwara grinned.

Katakuri watched his determined expression for a moment, and was surprised to find echoes of the boy's sister in his confidence. Neither of them had faltered in front of him, not for a second. They were both perfectly serene in their certainty, to the point where one might even mistake it for knowledge.

Katakuri blocked the wistful images of what a life with such a kind, beautiful, powerful woman could have been if only he had been the one lucky enough to marry her.

Instead, he focused his entire will on the fight to come. He had promised an honourable battle, and he would hold his word.

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

You looked away from the mirror you had sent Luffy and his opponent through, and took a deep breath. You had to believe Luffy would reiterate his feat in there, and in the meantime, you had someone else to focus on, as well as limited time to do so.

You turned to Perospero with a smile that held none of the warmth it had when you were looking at Katakuri and trying to give his self-esteem a very much needed boost. The Logia user was still in a small sphere of seawater after you had disbanded the huge one, with only his face free from your element of choice.

"So," you stated calmly. "Where were we ?"

"You spared us-perorin," the man said with an amount of smugness you took an immediate dislike to.

"Wrong," you replied with your smile disappearing entirely at his arrogance. "I spared Brulee, and I asked Katakuri to fight honourably against my brother."

"Then your brother is dead-perorin !"

You stared at the eldest Charlotte child in silence for a moment. He was a Devil Fruit user currently trapped in a sphere of seawater, his position in the Charlotte family meant he had to know how easily you could kill him, and he was still trying to antagonize you.

"You know, it either takes a lot of guts or a serious lack of braincells to provoke me when I have you at my mercy," you informed him. "Or maybe you're thinking you can buy yourself enough time until Big Mom comes back in the hopes that she will defeat me ?" you smirked knowingly, and watched his confidence falter for a second.

"You can't beat Mama. No one can-perorin."

"Oh please," you scoffed with an eyeroll, and flicked your hair over your shoulder for good measure. "If I wanted to kill her, I would've done so earlier when she came close enough to the Sea for me to attack her. But I'm not here for that, not today at least. As a matter of fact, the only reason I'm still here is because while I promised Katakuri I would spare your life…"

You sent the water sphere high up in the air, then made it crash back on the sand, hard and fast enough to ensure one hell of a painful hit on the weakened Devil Fruit user. The seawater immediately engulfed him back and you sent him crashing again on the nearest rocks, then brought his bleeding and injured body back in front of you.

You waited for his eyes to open again before slowly putting your hand inside the water, until your index touched his throat and you saw him panic at the very real threat the contact meant.

"… I never said I would let you live without a reminder to not provoke me again," you smirked.

You took control of the blood in his body, but instead of making it rush to his heart, you focused your power on his right arm, just below his shoulder. You brought the entire blood in his arm into that single point but forced the blood vessels to keep it in, until there was enough pressure. Then, in the span of a second, you turned it into a hair-thin, high-speed rotating circle.

Perospero's arm was sectioned in a matter of seconds.

When it was done, you left him howling in pain on the beach and went back to the safety of the Sea.

-o-oOo-o-

You faced one of the last unshattered mirrors in Totto Land, feeling impossibly relieved. Everything had happened more or less as it should have. Pekoms had ultimately decided to help his former friend to protect the Mugiwaras, and Jinbei had officially joined Luffy's crew. It looked like your friend had given some thought about Luffy's offer in Impel Down, and your own advice to consider said offer seriously.

Jinbei's former crew, who had accompanied him to Big Mom's territory, had left with Praline after the fight. The hammered-shark mermaid had been both shocked and elated to meet you, to the point where she had almost instantly agreed to your offer to find freedom from her oppressive mother in another crew. It seemed she felt the same way Lola and Chiffon did when it came to Big Mom, which you probably should not have been so surprised by.

From what you had seen when you had introduced her to the rest of the Sun Pirates, she also seemed to be more than a little interested in Aladdin. Jinbei's former First Mate, now new Captain of the crew, had not appeared to be opposed to said interest in the slightest. It seemed some couples truly were fated to happen no matter what.

Though before their wedding would happen – and they better send you an invitation since you had been the one to introduce them to each other – you had a few more things to do, the current one being why you were standing in front of a mirror.

"Brulee, let me in," you called in a clear voice.

Less than a minute later, the long face of the woman appeared on the other side, her eyes full of tears.

"They all know and it's your fault ! My nii-san is… He's…"

"My powers have healing applications," you told her gently. "I can help him."

"Why !? You'll just- nii-san ?" she said as she turned her head inside the Mirror World. "But she's- yes nii-san."

She went out of the mirror and made you step inside, where you saw the defeated form of Katakuri laying on the ground. You came closer to him without a word and put down the water pouch you had preemptively filled with clean water.

The huge man, his face no longer covered by his scarf, turned his head to look at you.

"Why ?" he asked.

Instead of answering directly, you controlled the water to make it cover his body in a thin layer to clean his wounds. At the same time, you put both hands on his torso and started to make his injuries stop bleeding.

"Because I know what it's like to bear the role of the invicinble older sibling the younger ones can always rely on," you ultimately replied. "And I know what it's like to be called a monster."

You kept working in silence for a moment under the careful watch of Brulee, who had started to look at you differently after your words.

At some point, Katakuri showed a little smile.

"You were right."

"About ?"

"Your brother. He said my mouth was super cool."

You smiled as well. You knew what kind of sunshine boy your baby brother was, after all.

"Told you," you still replied with a little teasing in your voice. "Luffy's something else."

"So are you."

You nodded silently in graceful acceptance of his compliment and focused on your healing, until you reached the maximum of what your powers would allow you to do. Then you stood up, nodded at Katakuri, and looked at Brulee.

"I've done everything I can, the rest will take time and appropriate medical care to heal," you declared.

The tall woman replied a small thank you and accompanied you to one of the few mirrors who were still intact. Just before crossing it, you turned your head to Katakuri.

"Being on different crews doesn't mean we can't be friends, you know ? I have a bi-monthly call with Marco to complain about our respective siblings being absolute dumbasses, you can join in if you'd like."

You chuckled at his astoundished expression, and turned only to see Brulee looking equally stunned. Just after you crossed the mirror, she passed her head outside and seemed to hesitate before talking.

"Mama wanted him to be the one marrying you when you joined the family," she told you in a mumble, and your eyebrows shot up in surprise. Big Mom had not mentioned that in the divorce-demands-slash-marriage-offers she had sent you. "I… I think you would have been happy together."

"Maybe," you conceded, because there was no denying Katakuri was one hell of a family man and you could see him as a great husband and father. "But even if I hadn't fallen madly in love with Shanks, I can tell you I would never have bowed to Big Mom. And your brother is devoted to his family first and foremost, you can't have him without the rest of the Charlottes. So don't bother with what if's, because we would not have worked out for reasons that have nothing to do with how great he is as a person, and I'm very happily married as it is."

Brulee's shoulders slumped in defeat, but you could see she understood your reasoning. She went back into the Mirror World without any more words said, and you walked toward the nearest beach.

It was time for you to go back to your own family.

-o-oOo-o-

"SANJI ! I want cookies !"

"Give me a minute, Luffy."

"But I already finished my sister's cookies and I want more !"

"… your… your sister's cookies ? The Goddess of the Sea's legendary chocolate chip cookies !?"

"Yeah she left a bag on my bed !"

"AND YOU DIDN'T THINK TO GIVE ME ONE SO I COULD TRY TO REPLICATE THE RECIPE !???"

"I'M NOT SHARING NEE-SAN'S COOKIES !!"

Notes:

Look, I love Katakuri and that mochi man really, really deserves more emotional support. So, he gets it. Because it's my fic and I play favourites if I want x)

Take care and see you tomorrow !

Chapter 41: The Calm Before The Storm

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Reader pov

The morning after you came back, you felt most eyes on you as soon as you walked on deck. You exchanged a look with your Emperor in a silent conversation, and nodded to each other in understanding.

So instead of bringing your children to the safe area they had on deck when the weather was nice enough to allow it, Shanks and you took them with you to a table. Thankfully, Ariel and Ray were busy playing hugging their plushies and did not seem to mind the change of routine. You made sure they each had a good grip on their favourite one, if only to ensure you could have a serious adult talk without worrying about either of your kids getting bored or in trouble.

And hopefully without needing to prevent your daughter from splashing someone. Funnily enough, she had yet to use her newfound powers to splash you, and seemed to prefer showing you her attempts at making bubbles. You thought it was absolutely adorable, and everyone else had qualified it as the height of unfairness. It was apparently as great a betrayal as Ray always calming down when he was in your arms, but being impossible to soothe when you were away.

But for now, they had their plushies to focus on, so you were not too worried about an impromptu splashing. Unsurprisingly, Ariel was most fond of the red griffin plushie, and Ray almost never let go of the white otter one. Both stuffed animals had been Whitebeard's idea of a gift after you had told him you approved of plushies as suitable toys for your kids.

Your father figure had sounded very smug when you had snailed to thank him for the gift and inform him of how much his grandchildren loved the two stuffed animals. You were pretty sure he was keeping on him the picture of both kids napping while they cuddled their respective plushie, and had sent a copy of it to Rayleigh.

Still, Shanks and you sat at the table, and faced the people who were waiting for you to start the conversation. Over the years, the entire crew had come to understand you possessed a certain amount of knowledge regarding the future, and since the upcoming event was the last you knew of, you did not bother to make it a meeting restricted to senior officers.

"Okay, the wedding didn't happen, Luffy and his crew have left Totto Land, and Big Mom is givin' chase. That follows what you were expecting, right ?" Beckman asked, and you nodded in confirmation.

"It does, but it also means the real chaos starts now."

"Wait, come again ?" Yasopp asked incredulously. "You mean everything that happened so far wasn't chaotic by your standards ?"

You huffed a brief laugh, but your smile did not reach your eyes, and everyone noticed it. Even Shanks, while arboring his usual grin, was looking at you with a quiet kind of focus that meant he knew you would not appreciate distractions right now.

"Not compared to what we avoided and what is coming," you confirmed. "Luffy and his crew, and by extension Big Mom and whichever of her kids are with her now, are heading to Wano."

The seriousness spread through the crew instantly, and Shanks himself straightened a bit in his seat as he realised what that meant. Your husband may be an easy-going, happy-go-lucky goofball most of the time, but he was not an idiot.

"He's gonna fight Kaido," the Emperor chuckled incredulously.

"Actually it's more complicated than that," you corrected. "Kaido and Big Mom are going to form an alliance, partly against the Mugiwaras and their allies, but mostly to join forces in order to go after the One Piece."

"They WHAT !?" Lucky exclaimed and spat his meat in the process.

"On the other side," you continued as if you had not been interrupted, "Luffy is going to either create or strengthen his own alliances with the Minks, the Heart Pirates, the Kidd Pirates, and the Wano Resistance that aims to overthrow Orochi and put Kozuki Momonosuke back on the shogun throne."

"So that's why you asked us to spare that guy back then," Beckman noticed as he lit up a cigarette.

You nodded, unsurprised that he had connected the dots so quickly despite the event having happened around two years ago.

"Well, that's going to be a mess for sure," Snake deadpaned.

"Oh, I wasn't done," you smiled knowingly, which had a few people's eyes widening. "See, there are a few other important players there as well, like X Drake, Scratchmen Apoo, Basil Hawkins, and a few CP-0 agents on a government mission, all of which with various objectives, which means loyalties will change during the main confrontation."

"I'm not sure mess is enough to define that kind of clusterfuck," Hongo mumbled as he started massaging his temples.

"Erm, I still wasn't done," you continued with an apologetic expression, and you felt concerned gazes staring incredulously in your direction. Shanks and Beckman were the only ones looking more focused than alarmed, at this point. "You see, with Oden's Red Scabbards realising that now is their chance to take Wano back, there is one more key player that is inevitably going to get involved, and it's Izou. And by extension, at least several other commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates, and probably Whitebeard himself. And of course, while not certain, it's still possible that Kuzan will send Marine troupes as well."

There were a few seconds of absolute silence, which you used to push a nervous smile on your face.

"And all those people are going to go head-to-head during the one night of the year almost all of Kaido's forces are gathered on the island of Onigashima for the Fire Festival, which means the only way to ensure everyone who needs to stay alive will stay alive-"

"Is for you to be there too," Shanks completed almost instinctively, which did not surprise you. After all, overseeing the unfolding of major events to save people had been your thing since you had set foot on the Red Force.

"Yeah."

The silence on deck was deafening, and almost everyone looked a little pale. As carefree as the Red-Haired Pirates were, especially for an Emperor's crew, even they could tell this was going to be a world-changing event, with a high possibility of death no matter how cautious or prepared everyone was.

"So we have an all-out war between three Emperors comin' up, in a country the World Government has no authority to intervene but might anyway, with a bunch of loose canons not even you can guarantee will act the way they're supposed to, and you want to go there to supervise it all," Beckman summed up after a very long drag of his cigarette.

"That's pretty much it," you admitted reluctantly. You glanced at your son making bubbles with his saliva against his otter plushie in your arms, then at your daughter happily crushing her griffin in a hug on Shanks' lap. "It's the last major event I know of since my knowledge doesn't go much further than that, but it's also the most crucial. And with everything I've changed so far, I can't just stand aside and hope for the best. I have to be there."

Beckman nodded in understanding, as did most of the crew. Ultimately, however, everyone turned to Shanks. Your husband was looking at you with an unreadable expression, something that did not happen very often these days and subsequently worried you a bit.

"So what do we do, Captain ?" Bonk asked, his monkey perched on his shoulder.

Shanks remained quiet for a couple seconds, glanced briefly at your children, smiled softly at their sheer cuteness, then raised his head. He looked straight at you with determination written all over his face, and your back straightened on instinct. Whatever decision he had made, you had a feeling this was not something you would be able to change his mind about.

"We're going to join the party."

Your face fell, but before you could even start to think of a way to talk him out of it, your Emperor started issuing orders.

"Yasopp, call Marco. See if Whitebeard plans to allow his commanders to go alone or if he's going to sail his whole crew to Wano."

"Sure thing, Captain," the sniper replied immediately.

"Gab and Hongo, gather what you can on Kaido's current forces and who Big Mom's travelling with."

"You got it, boss," the two men nodded in concert.

"Beck, contact Dragon, see if he's heard anything about Marines making a move on Wano."

"Aye Captain," his First Mate said after he put off his cigarette.

"Bonk, plan our course to Wano, I want us on the way as soon as possible."

"On it boss !" the man stated with a thumb's up and his monkey cheering on his shoulder.

"Y/N ?"

You clenched your jaw, but took a deep breath to steady yourself. Right now, this was not your husband asking something of you, but your Captain issuing an order. You had vowed years ago to trust him with your safety, and if need be, with the safety of your children. You reminded yourself that he had vowed the same to you before answering.

"Yes ?"

"Call Rayleigh and tell him he just won a couple weeks of babysitting Ariel and Ray. Pick him up with Ketchup, come back to the Red Force, and bring all three of them to Dorry and Brogy on Elbaf. Tell Ketchup to stay there too and then make your way to Wano so you can join us in the fight."

Your eyes widened, but relief washed over you so fast that you were sure everyone had noticed the instant change in your expression. The Red-Haired Pirates had been to Elbaf only once since the birth of Ariel, and there had been talks about stopping by again soon now that Ray was born, so the two Giants could meet him as well.

Dorry and Brogy had showed great respect to you – both as Shanks's partner and as a powerful warrior in your own right – and had been absolutely besotted by your daughter. Between them, Ketchup, and Rayleigh to play the role of protectors, Ariel and Ray would be as safe and loved as possible without being on the Red Force. That was a decision you would whole-heartedly support and Shanks knew it.

"Consider it done, Captain," you replied with a nod.

Shanks winked at you, then turned to the rest of the crew.

"You got your orders, lads !"

"AYE CAPTAIN !"

You smiled, then ignored the organised chaos unfolding on the ship to kiss your husband fiercely without disrupting either of your children.

"Thank you," you murmured against his lips.

"Not that I don't like it when you thank me, but what did I do to deserve it this time ?" Shanks asked you with a grin.

"Thank you for reminding me what a great man the father of my children is," you developped as you sat once again with Ray hold tight against your chest.

The Emperor chuckled, then bent down to kiss you softly, in a way that was more affectionate than lustful.

"Got to live up to how awesome their mother is, that's all."

You smiled, then both of you stood up and started walking toward your children's playground. You put both sleepy little angels down for a nap, making sure they still had their plushies with them. Shanks' hand grabbed yours for a brief but reassuring squeeze, and you smiled at their adorable sleeping forms.

"I hate that we're going to send them away for weeks," you whispered softly.

"I'm not bringing our kids in an all-out war between the Four Emperors," Shanks declared, then smirked. "Not until they're fifteen, at least."

You gave him a mild glare and a slap on the shoulder, and he smirked wider.

"Keep an eye on them, I'll go call Rayleigh," you told him, then shook your head fondly at the sappy expression Shanks made when he crouched to watch your children sleep like the absolutely besotted dad he was.

By the time you grabbed the den-den mushi, your mind was running a million thoughts a minute. It seemed the various changes you had forced on the timeline were finally coming to a head, and you could feel the tension running through your veins like adrenaline.

Maybe this would be the time you bit more than you could chew and you would fail to save everyone. Maybe this time, not even Fate would ensure things would go the way they were supposed to. Maybe this was the final confrontation you had forced on the future after killing Blackbeard so early. Maybe things were finally getting out of what you could control.

Purupurupuru

You heard the little gatcha, and then a voice you knew well came out of the snail's mouth.

"Rayleigh."

"Hey, it's Y/N," you announced and tried to keep the concern away from your voice. "Say, do you have anything planned for the next weeks ?"

-o-oOo-o-

Rayleigh pov

As Elbaf came into view, Rayleigh took the time to observe Y/N and how she was attempting to hide her worries at the idea of leaving her children. The Dark King did not blame her, separation anxiety was hard to deal with and the battle she was heading to afterwards would be the most dangerous the world had seen in quite some time. Even with her powers and knowledge, there was no telling who would come back from it and who would fall.

Shanks had been an absolute mess when time had come for him to say goodbye to Ariel and Ray, and with good reason. After all, it would be the first time the brat would be away from his children since the day they were born. Such a trial was bound to be hell on the loving and doting father he had become. Rayleigh felt all the more honoured that out of everyone both parents knew, he had been the one deemed worthy of keeping the little ones safe while the adults were fighting. Well, him, two Giant pirate Captains, and a very protective sea king.

Ketchup stopped as close to the island as he could get, and made a sound that had Ariel laughing and gliding happily on his head until she ended in the water. The little girl then splashed herself back on the sea king's nearby open webbed paw with a small water jet, to the beast's clear delight. Even knowing what her mother was capable of did not stop Rayleigh from feeling amazed at the sight of his granddaughter, who was now cheerfully playing with one of the deadliest predators in the world.

The blue-haired woman smiled, then called a wave to bring all four of them and the chest with the baby supplies to the dry land. More specifically, she took them up to the cliff where the huge silhouettes of Dorry and Brogy were waiting.

As soon as they touched the ground, both Giants crouched to get a good sight of the baby boy sleeping soundly in Y/N's arms, and the little girl who was now clinging to Rayleigh.

"Dorry, Brogy," the woman greeted them with a smile and a respectful nod of her head. "I'd like to introduce you to my son, Ray."

"Such a tiny little warrior !" Brogy exclaimed with a big smile.

"He has the looks of a future conqueror !" Dorry added with just as big a grin.

Rayleigh laughed, and it drew the attention of the two co-captains to him and the little girl watching everything around her with wide eyes.

"Dark King," they said together with respect, to which Rayleigh nodded respectfully as well. It had been a while since he had met his son's friends, but bonds forged in honour were not ones to be forgotten.

"Is that little Ariel !?" Dorry asked with wonder in his voice. "She has already grown so much !"

"She is well on her way to become a fierce fighting queen !" Brogy added in a laugh.

The red-haired girl blinked as her jaw dropped, then smiled brightly with stars in her eyes and pointed toward the Giants with one hand.

"Mama ! Bibby !"

"Yes my princess, they are very big men. This is Dorry, and this is Brogy. You met them when you were just Ray's age," Y/N explained patiently with a soft smile. "You're going to stay with them and Grandpa Rayleigh for a couple weeks. Can you behave for them ?"

The little girl was still gaping like a fish and staring at the two Giants, much to Rayleigh's fond amusement. The wonder in the eyes of a child discovering the world was one of the purest things to ever exist. And in those particular children, he would make sure to protect it for as long as he could.

"Don't worry about us," Rayleigh told his daughter-in-law. "We'll handle the kids."

Dorry extended a hand, and Ariel all but jumped on his open palm, looking impossibly tiny but very excited by this new adventure. Despite her growing distress, Y/N kissed her sleeping son on the head, right on his purple hair, and handed him to Rayleigh.

The retired pirate took the precious little bundle with the care it deserved, and watched as the most powerful woman in the world turned to hug her daughter fiercely before kissing her forehead as well. Y/N brushed the red hair of the little girl away from her eyes as she put her back on the Giant's palm, and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Listen to me, Ariel. I'm going to leave to join Dad, but we'll come back as fast as we can for you and your brother. Whatever happens, remember that Mom and Dad love you two more than the Sea," she said softly.

"Mom leaf ?" Ariel asked with big sad eyes. "Dad leaf ?"

"We'll be back, my princess. I promise."

Rayleigh watched as his daughter-in-law took a few steps back, and Dorry raised his hand up to his face to distract the little girl. Y/N took a deep, trembling breath, and turned away from the sight of a Giant Pirate Captain playing with her daughter. She turned her head toward Brogy, who looked back at her with a solemn gaze.

"Keep them safe until we're back. Please."

"On my honour," Brogy replied and placed his fist on his chest. "No harm will come to them."

The blue-haired woman nodded briefly, then turned to Rayleigh himself, who gave her a reassuring smile.

"Go. We'll be fine."

She glanced at her son, then started walking to the edge of the cliff.

"Thank you again," she said as she turned her head.

"That's what grandparents are for," Rayleigh grinned. "I'm going to spoil them rotten while they're here."

The smile she offered him at those words contained a little less pain and a lot more determination, which Rayleigh took as a win. The Goddess of the Sea looked one last time at her son and daughter, just like Shanks had done a few days prior, then steeled her expression and jumped toward the sea.

A wave came to reach her mid-jump, and in a matter of seconds, she had surfed her way down to the waters where Ketchup was still waiting for her. The white otter-faced sea king immediately rose above the waves, and after what seemed to be a heated argument, he started patrolling the area of Elbaf where Ariel and Ray were going to stay.

It was a good thing Y/N's unusual pet had been introduced to all Giants the last time Shanks' crew had come to the island, otherwise the rule of no attacking the white otter-faced sea king would have taken a lot longer to explain. As soon as she was done giving the order, though, Y/N left in direction of Wano. The white trace left behind her showed she had set a pace that had to be at least three to four times faster than the one they had used to come, and Rayleigh chuckled.

The movement made the little boy in his arm stir up for a second, before he went back to sleep with a bubbly yawn, and the Dark King smiled knowingly at his grandson.

"Your parents are one hell of a couple, you know ?"

Rayleigh would almost pity Kaido and Linlin. Putting Shanks and Y/N in a position where they had to send their children away, even for their own safety and a limited time, meant there was no hell they would not raise in order to come back to them as fast as they could.

And Newgate could brag all he wanted about those plushies, Rayleigh was still the one who got to watch over Ariel and Ray in the end.

-o-oOo-o-

Beckman pov

Beckman looked at the plans spread on the table between his Captain and Old Man Newgate, and knew the conclusion they could draw from those was a very simple, very obvious one.

Things were not looking good.

The Moby Dick was too massive to use the waterfall without taking significant damage in the process, and the Red Force would be immediately identified by the spies posted all around the countries' points of entrance. Big Mom was already in the country, along with her first son, and Marco had flown Izou and Ace inside just a few days ago to get a read of the kind of minefield they would step in. They had not sent word since then.

There was no news from Y/N either, but that was expected. Everyone in the crew had agreed it was better not to take the risk of the World Government getting wind of the kids being away – no matter how well protected – for a considerable length of time. Unfortunately, it also meant Shanks had been on edge since Y/N had left with Ariel and Ray, and would probably stay this way until his wife returned to the Red Force.

And given how tense Whitebeard was with three of his sons in enemy territory with no news coming out, it was frankly nothing short of a miracle that he and Shanks had not clashed so far.

"Pops !" Rakuyo called suddenly. "Namur's back !"

"Tell your brother to join us," Whitebeard replied without looking up from the maps they had managed to gather so far, most of which were probably outdated since they had been given by Oden.

The Fishman commander made his way to the meeting room a few minutes later, and his gloomy expression put everyone even more on edge than before.

"Bad news," he immediately announced. "The rest of Big Mom's fleet is on its way to Wano. They'll arrive in time for the night of the Fire Festival."

Beckman tsked, and crushed his cigarette on the nearest ashtray. Things had not looked good before, but now they were definitely looking bad. Y/N had only given them the vaguest outlines of what was supposed to happen, and had insisted that not even she could guarantee things would unfold as they were supposed to. With everything she had changed and the various repercussions it had had so far, Beckman was inclined to trust the caution she was treading with.

But she was still the one with the most information on what was happening on top of that waterfall outside of the people currently in Wano, so without her presence, taking any decision was a huge risk. Not to mention she was one of the strongest hitters on their side, especially with how much Kaido and Big Mom's crews relied on Devil Fruit users.

"So we have one more day to decide on a course of action," Yasopp summed up while cleaning his guns for the twelfth time since they had arrived in Wano's waters and hidden into the fog surrounding the island.

Shanks was still unusually quiet, and Beckman refrained from sighing. What they really needed right now was for the Goddess of the Sea to come back, both for their alliance, for the battle to come, and for everyone's morale.

Notes:

Buckle up everyone, Wano's coming up !
Take care <3

Chapter 42: Murder On The Dancefloor

Chapter Text

Shanks pov

Shanks was having trouble focusing on the plan they were trying to come up with. Partly because elaborating complex strategies was more Beck's forte than his own – there was a reason he was his First Mate – but mostly because his mind kept wandering to a wonderful blue-haired woman, a red-haired little girl with a bright smile, and a purple-haired baby boy who loved to nap.

The Emperor felt the absence of his family like a bleeding hole in his chest. He had no doubt they had made it to Elbaf safely, both Y/N and Rayleigh were powerhouses in their own right and Ketchup was insanely protective of what he perceived as his humans, but the absence of communication was grating.

And the bad news that kept accumulating were not helping his mood either. At this rate, Luffy might actually have to face Kaido alone. As much as the little kid from East Blue had grown up and improved, and as powerful as his Devil Fruit had the potential to be, that still felt like too much weight and pressure to put on his shoulders.

Whitebeard's commander was explaining something about Big Mom's fleet, and Shanks willed himself back into the conversation.

"-eet Commanders are there too, I'm not sure if they've completely recovered from the wedding though."

Before anyone could reply anything, however, the door of the meeting room all but slammed open to reveal Y/N walking in with determination written all over her beautiful features.

Shanks' head snapped up and he felt like he could finally breathe for the first time in days. She had bags under her eyes and there was even some water dripping from her clothes – which given her usual impeccably dry appearance, showed how far she must have pushed herself to join them in time – but she was there.

Shanks made two steps in his wife's direction and she all but flew to press herself against him in a warm embrace, the two of them breathing deeply as they hugged and finally released some of the accumulated tension.

"The kids ?" the Emperor asked against the wavy blue hair he knew and loved.

"Safe and sound with their babysitters, and either getting awfully spoiled or driving everyone crazy. Possibly both," she answered with a tired smile in her voice.

The confirmation gave Shanks the calming boost he needed to put his mind back in the game. Still, the visible exhaustion in his wife's expression worried him, and when she all but let herself fall on the nearest chair, he decided that no matter what they needed to plan for the assault, she was going to rest as soon as possible. He would make it an order if he had to.

"Hello everyone, sorry for the lack of proper greetings but I've got bad news," she stated after roaming a hand through her hair. "In coming here, I saw-"

"Big Mom's fleet, we know," one of the mustached commander cut her off.

She froze and her eyes went wide.

"What ?"

"Big Mom's fleet is on its way to Wano," Whitebeard confirmed. "They should arrive for the Fire Festival."

"Oh fuck," she sighed longly. "They weren't supposed to be part of that. No, what I saw was a Marine fleet. Kizaru's leading it, with at least a few Vice-Admirals under his command. I managed to overhear a conversation, they're here to fight all pirate ships they come across, Emperors included. I'm not sure what angle Kuzan is aiming for right now, but the timing couldn't be worse."

The tension across the room reached a new high at her words, and several people cursed. Then Whitebeard hit the table with his fist, bringing back some form of silence in the process, and looked at Y/N directly. Over the years, she had ultimately put the old man in the confidence of her origins and knowledge, which he had vowed to keep secret even from his sons. To all the commanders, knowing stuff other people did not know was simply another thing she did and that was that.

"Marco is already in the country with Ace and Izou. Mugiwara and his allies are up there too, but no news are coming out. You're the one with the most knowledge here, do you have any suggestions ?"

"She just got here," Shanks countered with a glare when he realised Old Man Newgate was going to ignore his wife's exhausted state. "Sweetheart, you look like you really need a nap. We can deal with everything else later."

Y/N bit her lips, observed the map, then sighed heavily.

"I'll be fine. It's better to decide on a course of action now, anyway. Just give me a minute to come up with a strategy."

"A minute ?" another commander blurted out incredulously. "You think you can come up with a solution to this clusterfuck in a minute !?"

Before Shanks could get pissed at the implied insult or Whitebeard could tell his son to shut up, the Goddess of the Sea stood up from her chair, tall and proud, slammed both hands flat on the table, and looked the guy straight in the eyes.

"Yes."

The frosty chill sent by this single word almost made Shanks shiver. Although in his case, it was mostly due to the sheer hotness of her absolute confidence. Seas, he would never get enough of his amazing wife showing why she deserved every bit of admiration and respect when she took command.

With the rest of the room shocked into silence, Y/N turned her gaze back down to the maps and started fidgeting with her ring and medallion, a few mumbles escaping her pretty lips from time to time.

"… balanced… -edro… -artition, but… full moo…"

The red-haired Emperor was not sure how much time exactly had passed when she stopped fidgeting and closed her eyes with a pained expression. However, he was certain that for one, she had a solid plan, and for two, no one was going to like it. Then she opened her eyes and turned to him.

"How much do you trust me ?"

"With my life," Shanks replied without even needing to think about it.

She smiled gratefully, then turned to Whitebeard.

"Same question."

"Same answer, my child."

The Goddess of the Sea took a deep breath, released it slowly, then squared her shoulders and exposed her plan.

"Both of you will stay here on the Moby Dick and the Red Force with everyone else who is currently on board, to make sure neither Big Mom's fleet nor the Marines will make it to Wano. I will go up the waterfall and assist our allies in the raid on Onigashima."

"What !?"

"Have you lost your mind !?"

"No fucking way !"

"Pops, say something !"

Shanks' mind blanked for a second, then he released enough of his Haki to ensure everyone would shut the fuck up for a moment. Once every single person in the room save for Newgate and Y/N was busy trying not to fall on their knees, he turned to his wife, who had a sad but determined expression on her face.

"Why ?" he asked her, and hoped whatever answer she had would be one he could counter.

"Because I know they can do it on their own. My presence is to ensure they will all survive. But there are two considerable forces making their way toward our position, and the two of you will have your work cut out by ensuring they won't make it to the other battlefield," she explained. "Also, I'm the only one who can get up this waterfall without being spotted, and against two Emperors and a crew who all rely heavily on Devil Fruit users, my powers will be the most useful."

Damn it all to the end of the Sea, her arguments made sense. Shanks looked at the love of his life for a few more moments, then roamed his hand on his face in a tired gesture. Fuck, why did it feel like his role was always to watch her dive into dangerous situations on her own despite the power he wielded himself.

"You can leave when you've gotten some sleep and a meal, not before," he ultimately stated. "And I don't care what you have to do up there, you will come back to me alive."

She smiled, a paler, smaller, more exhausted version of her usual brightness, but the relief in her eyes was shining like stars on a moonless night.

"Always, Captain," she replied softly, and put her hand in his.

There was a moment of silence, during which Shanks released his control of the room, then another commander broke it.

"Pops ?"

Shanks turned to Whitebeard and raised an eyebrow, daring the old man to go against Y/N's plan. Newgate's face remained unreadable for a few seconds, then his shoulders henched with a heavy sigh.

"Are you truly certain they can defeat Linlin and Kaido without our help ?"

"Yes. And should anything go wrong, or well, worse than it's going to be, I'll be there to help," the Goddess of the Sea replied with absolute certainty.

"Then I trust your judgement," the old Emperor nodded solemnly. "We'll follow your plan, my child. Sons, pass the word around. We'll be staying here to face the enemies that are coming."

"Aye Pops !"

Shanks briefly nodded, then felt his wife's body lean a bit more on his, a testament to how tired she was.

"Let's get you to bed, sweetheart," he whispered against her ear.

The yawn that answered him was the last tell he needed to have confirmation of her exhaustion.

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

You woke up in bed, feeling a tad disoriented, but well-rested. Seas, you had needed the sleep. You yawned as you stretched, and blinked when you saw Shanks laying next to you. His fond gaze showed he had been awake for some time already.

"Morning," you murmured with a sleepy but happy smile.

"Afternoon, actually. How do you feel, babe ?"

You made a quick assessment of your body and overall state of health, only to come to the conclusion that you were feeling well. Although there was one tiny detail that might be remedied before you had to leave your husband – again – to go kick some asses – again – and protect a bunch of reckless dumbasses – again – on a crazy mission. Again.

You put a hand on his chest, and sowly caressed the tanned skin, bringing your fingers lower and lower, tracing all the little scars that were proof of everything Shanks had faced and survived. When your hand disappeared under the covers, you realised with delight that he had forgone any kind of clothes.

"Like I'm in dire need of my husband," you smiled mischievously. "Think you can help me with that ?"

The amused and smug grin you were faced with was all the answer you needed.

"Your touch deprivation coming back, sweetheart ?" he asked with his hand landing on your ass.

Your fingers caressed his hardening member, and you were rewarded by the darkening of his pupils.

"Always when I'm away from you for too long," you whispered just before your lips touched.

-o-oOo-o-

An hour and a shower later, you were on deck to eat a meal that Lucky Roux had assured would fill you up without preventing you from fighting efficiently. With how long the man had cooked for the Red-Haired Pirates, you were well-aware of his expertise in this particular area by then. Still, it was heartwarming to see how every member of your crew was checking on you before you left.

When you could feel both the Marines and Big Mom's fleet getting closer, you walked to the side of the ship and kissed your Emperor deeply.

"Don't do anything stupid," you murmured as your foreheads touched, your eyes still closed after the kiss.

"Don't take too long up there or I'll join you when I'm done," Shanks grinned.

You smiled, then slowly distanced yourself from your husband, and hopped on the railing.

"Bye everyone, I'll see you soon !"

You jumped into the water, and let the currents lead you to the waterfall while trying to ignore the pinch in your heart at the idea to leave your husband and friends to fight wihtout you. Really, screw the timeline, Fate, Destiny, and all that shit. You hated having to part from them, no matter how good the reason. This better be the last time it happened.

The waves suddenly started moving vertically around the bubble of air you had created around you, and you blinked. So that was the famous gravity-defying waterfall. The current was incredibly strong, so you just let yourself go along with the flow, but the sensation of going up was a tad unsettling. Water was not supposed to act like this.

You huffed a laugh when you realised you were thinking about logic in the world of One Piece. That particular ship had sailed a long time ago.

You kept yourself entertained during the quick journey by watching all the confused fishes around you. The poor creatures seemed completely dumbfounded by the very unusual adventure that was happening to them.

Then you finally made it to the top of the waterfall, and carefully scanned the area before putting your head out of the water. As you had thought, there was nothing around you, and the sun was setting below the horizon. You pushed yourself above the waves, and fished your brothers' Vivre Cards out of one of your secret pockets. A quick glance at the little pieces of paper gave you a direction to follow, and you got ready to insert yourself into the scenario once again.

-o-oOo-o-

The Vivre Cards took you straight to Onigashima, which made you frown. It seemed the raid had started earlier than you remembered, which meant chaos was likely in full swing already. You took the time to curse before you entered the castle with a massive wave following you, and made sure to drown all paper-eyed creatures you came across.

Let those CP-0 agents realise who had joined the chat.

Now, you needed to make sure all the Mugiwaras would stay alive, that Ace and Izou would not do something stupid enough to get themselves killed, that the remaining members of the Red Scabbers and Momonosuke would survive, that the Minks would not die, that Law and Kidd would manage to kill Big Mom, that Queen's shitty chemicals would not unalive too many samurais, that Zoro would make it through the first roof fight in good enough shape to fight King afterwards, and that Luffy would awake Nika.

All of this in an island and castle you barely remembered the layout of and would soon leave the sea – something you had purposefully omitted to mention to Shanks or he never would have let you go alone – thus depriving you of your main advantage.

Piece of cake.

-o-oOo-o-

Queen pov

Everything was going well enough. Queen's new Ice Oni virus was doing its job splendidly, even if that damn Phoenix had managed to delay it somehow with his flames. Now Queen just had to fire row after row of bullets and arrows while they were all incapacitated, and the fight would be over soon. Even if Apoo died, there would not be time for anyone to recreate the antidote and all the infected would just die fighting to get their hands on the only dose or turn into demons.

If that was not perfect entertainment, Queen didn't know what was.

"Zoom zoom zoom zoom-" he sang with his special victory dance.

Then a wave of water surged from the supposedly closed doors of the Live Scene, catching Apoo in its misdt and taking all samurais and Gifters along for the ride. Queen stopped in his tracks. He was sure Jinbei had left for another part of the castle, and there was no one else in that weak-ass grooveless alliance who had the power to control water, much less in this quantity and so far away from the sea.

In fact, as far as he knew, there was only one person who could.

"Chopper ! The antidote !" a voice exclaimed on the battlefield.

The All-Star'eyes followed the sound until he found a blue-haired beauty who landed gracefully beside the little tanuki and two Minks wearing lab coats, her blue skirt billowing around her legs while water surrounded her protectively. There was only one woman in the world who matched that description, and Queen suddenly felt a vibing amount of unease at the idea that the Goddess of the Sea had joined the alliance against Kaido.

-o-oOo-o-

Zoro pov

Zoro was drenched, then dried, and then literally floored as he landed near Chopper and a blue-haired woman he was pretty sure he had met before. It quickly clicked into his mind that she was Luffy's sister, the one who could control water and baked the best cookies he had ever eaten – he still held a grudge toward Hawkeyes for giving him just one cookie when he had come back from her wedding.

Watching her give the antidote to Chopper certainly comforted her status as an ally. The water bubble she was trapping the shitty musician in did not hurt either.

"Drake !" she shouted to the dumb dino. "Help the yakuzas protect Chopper and his friends while they make the antidote !"

The stupid Marine that Zoro still did not trust nodded immediately, and put himself into a defensive position. Zoro did not like it, but Luffy had said the guy was now in the alliance and he hated the musician too, so the swordsman opted to give him a pass for the time being.

"Marco, take Zoro up there, Luffy and the others are going to need his help to face Kaido and Big Mom !" the woman kept going.

"You got it-yoi," the blue bird replied, and Zoro tsked.

"Don't tell me what to do, woman," he grumbled with a frown, but jumped on the blue bird's back anyway. Helping his Captain made sense, and it was the only reason he was following her suggestion. In a weird kind of reaction, she merely grinned at him, and watched them go up while staying on the floor.

"Who are you !?" Zoro heard one of the samurais downside yell, but was soon distracted by the enemies flying and blocking their way.

Damn it, he did not have time for both the black bird and the stupid bigger dino if he was to reach Luffy on the roof.

"I got this-yoi," Marco told him, then turned his head toward the floor. "Oi Y/N ! Can you take one ?"

"Sure thing !" she replied.

The next second, a giant wave threw the big dinosaur against a wall, and the blue bird blocked the black bird's attack.

"Get ready to jump-yoi," Marco told him.

"Eh ?"

Zoro barely got the time to blink before he was sent flying upward.

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

You watched Luffy's First Mate fly through the roof with a small chuckle, and called back your water to keep it around you. The nearby sphere surrounding Apoo was now partially tainted red from the asshole's blood, and you did not regret that murder for a single second. That guy had grated on your nerves since his first appearance in Sabaody when you were watching the anime.

You nodded satisfyingly to yourself, then turned your head just in time to see a little old man with flower tatoos – whom you immediately assumed to be Hyogoro – watching you with confusion and an admittedly understandable amount of concern. And a katana pointed toward you in a defensive position, too.

"Who are you ?" he repeated.

"My name is Y/N, I'm Luffy's older sister," you replied with a smile. "Although I'm afraid longer introductions will have to wait, I still have other people to check on."

"Thanks for giving us the antidote miss nice lady !" Chopper piped up from where he was working.

You smiled at the cutie pie and jumped on a wave you summoned with a flick of your wrist.

"No problem. I trust you to heal everyone here, doctor !"

"Who- who are you calling doctor, baka !" the little reindeer replied with a blush. "I'm not flattered at all !"

You left the Live Floor with a laugh, then focused on your next stop and prayed to the Sea that you were on time.

-o-oOo-o-

Kin'emon pov

While his body hurt, it was nothing next to the shame thrown upon his pride. After all this time, all these months of preparation, Kin'emon had been forced to leave the fight against Kaido to Luffy-dono. The samurai would have gladly given his life to defeat the monster who had dealt so much harm to Oden and Wano, but it seemed this fate was not his to bestow.

The other remaining members of the Red Scabbards were not fairing much better than him, which at least meant they could all claim to have done everything in their power before leaving the fight to their allies.

"We have to go back," Inuarashi stated with iron in his voice and fire in his eyes. "I won't let our friends fight our battle alone."

Kin'emon nodded with determination and made to stand up.

"You are right ! We'll do everything to get Wano back from Kaido and Orochi ! Let's rejoin the fight !"

But just as they all slowly got up, the door of the treasure room opened up, revealing a man who Kin'emon had thought dead for what was both two decades and only a few months.

"O- Oden-sama !"

"It has been too long, my friends, hahaha !" their lord laughed and started walking toward them.

Kin'emon felt tears of happiness run on his face at his lord being alive, but before he could embrace him, Ashura put himself in-between.

"Wake up ! Oden died twenty years ago ! This is a fake ! A drawing of Kanjuro !"

Shock rippled through the room, and Kin'emon watched in horror as the voice of his long-lost friend turned into one belonging to a traitor.

"Always the quick thinker, Ashura," Kanjuro's voice stated from Oden's mouth.

"How are you still alive, traitor !?" Kiku yelled with pain lacing her voice.

"Wouldn't the better question be how are you still alive, and for how long ?" the drawing asked with a sinister laugh. "This picture will blow you all to bits when it self-destructs !"

"I waited twenty years to see Wano free," Ashura stated with what sounded like peaceful irony. "I'm fine with not seeing its dawn but making sure it'll happen !"

Kin'emon barely understood what was happening before his friend launched himself at the fake Oden…

… only to be immediately repelled by a wave of water, which then wrapped itself around the drawing and dissolved the ink in a matter of seconds. When the water retreated, it revealed a blue-haired woman wearing equally blue clothes, whose expression was one of vicious satisfaction.

"Now that was a close one," she declared. "Sorry I'm late, this place was harder to find than I thought it'd be."

There was a second of silence, during which Kin'emon wondered who was this woman he had never seen in his life and what she was doing here, but then Izou spoke up.

"Y/N !?"

"Good to see you, Izou," she replied while the water came back to swirl around her in graceful ribbons. "I'm afraid Whitebeard and Shanks are busy blocking the people trying to get inside Wano, so it's just me coming as reinforcement for the raid."

To Kin'emon and the other Scabbards' growing confusion, Izou huffed a laugh, then stood up and smiled.

"Just the Goddess of the Sea will be more than enough, I think."

"The Goddess of the Sea !?" Kin'emon exclaimed incredulously. Was that woman a deity who had come down from the heavens to solve mere mortals' troubles ? It would explain the power she wielded on water, which appeared to be even greater than the one Jinbei-dono had used to save them earlier.

"The moniker the Marines gave me when I became a pirate," she explained with a flick of her hair and an amused smile. "Anyway, you guys know what to do from here, right ? I have reckless idiots I need to check on."

"We've got this," Izou replied as he stepped forward, and put a hand on her shoulder in a familiar gesture Kin'emon could tell was not given lightly. "Thank you for coming to our help again."

"You should be used to it by now," she replied with a wink. "I have to go, we'll catch up later !"

And just like that, she jumped on the water and left on a wave, leaving Kin'emon's jaw dropped on the floor.

"Nii-san, who is she ?" Kiku asked in absolute awe.

Izou turned to them all, and smiled with so much renewed determination and hope that they all straightened their posture with warrior's pride again.

"She's the sign that the tides have turned in our favour."

Chapter 43: One Fight At A Time

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Law pov

Luffy-ya was barely conscious on the roof, Zoro-ya had just collapsed after his insanely powerful attack on Kaido, and Law knew with absolute certainty that if he did not act right this instant to protect them, they were dead. The stupid mechanic and his First Mate were busy distracting Big Mom in the skies, but Kaido alone was absurdly powerful.

However, as he rushed to his allies, Law watched the Emperor cast another Raimei Hakke too fast for them to dodge or even have the time to create a Room.

The next thing Law knew, after the split-second where he could do nothing but watch the attack unfold, was that he was suddenly drowned in water and propulsed to another part of the roof with Zoro-ya and Luffy-ya. The seawater made him feel weak and vulnerable, a sensation he hated immediately. But as fast as the wave had submerged him, it dropped him flat on the ground. To add to the weirdness, Law realised he was completely dry, which made no sense whatsoever.

Then a woman's voice echoed in front of him, although all Law could see at the moment – since he was still coughing and gathering his bearings – was a pair of sandals and what looked like blue fabric floating around those.

"You shouldn't underestimate the Worst Generation," she stated with a casual confidence that had no place on this battlefield, as far as Law was concerned.

There was a second of silence, then Kaido laughed.

"WORORORORO ! Finally a worthy opponent ! This is getting better !"

"Don't flatter yourself, I'm not here for you," the same feminine voice retorted.

Law watched from the ground, amazed, as Luffy-ya jumped back on his feet with a dangerous grin on his face.

"So I can use Conqueror's Haki in my attacks, huh ? Thanks for the tips !"

"Fool," Kaido huffed. "Only the mightiest can master it."

"Again," the woman said, but this time Law heard the smirk in her voice, "you shouldn't underestimate the Worst Generation. Luffy, you got it here ?"

"Yeah, you can bring them inside right ?"

"Of course. Have fun !" she replied lightly, like Kaido's defeat was as obvious as the sun rising every morning.

"Bye, nee-san !"

Law managed to get back up just as his reckless ally said the words, and his eyes widened when he finally realised who was their impromptu savior, that even an Emperor acknowledged as a worthy opponent. The surgeon had no idea when the Goddess of the Sea had reached Wano, much less Onigashima, but such a powerful woman entering the battlefield certainly changed a lot of things.

Of course, by the time he finished realising this, he was taken in by another wave and brought back inside the castle, though this time she kept everyone's head out of the water.

"Trafalgar Law, I presume ?" the blue-haired woman asked with a smile as he got up from the wooden floor, once again perfectly dry no matter how little sense that made. "Pleasure to finally meet you in person."

Law felt a bit like someone had dropped a warehouse's worth of bricks on him. He nodded anyway as soon as he noticed Zoro-ya laying on the floor, with an imprisoned Zeus still close to them, but then the last instants on the roof came back to him.

"Why did you let Luffy-ya fight Kaido alone ?" he accused her.

"Because he doesn't need my help to win," she replied with a casual shrug.

"You can't know that for sure," Law countered, flabbergasted at her serene certainty that such a stubborn, kind-hearted, reckless fool could defeat a psychopathic Emperor on his own.

The woman who had earned the moniker of a deity raised an eyebrow, and Law was suddenly reminded that he was facing someone who had received a first bounty of almost three billion berries after killing an Admiral and a Warlord's crew by herself. She had also participated in the great escape from Impel Down, had tamed a sea king, had killed Doflamingo, rumour had it she had the entire Whitebeard crew in her debt, and it was said she had only ever lost a fight to the Emperor she was married to.

"Are you sure you want to bet against me ?" she asked in what sounded a lot like a challenge.

Law was thankfully saved from answering by the sudden apparition of Sanji-ya and Ace-ya as they took a turn from another corridor.

"NEE-SAN !"

"Y/N-SWAAAAAAN !"

The blue-haired woman quickly found herself with an armful of Luffy-ya's older brother, and they both laughed as they hugged each other fiercely.

"When did you get here ?" Whitebeard's second division commander asked her with the overjoyed enthusiasm of a hyped puppy, a bright smile on his face.

"In time to lend a hand," the Goddess of the Sea replied with a grin, then turned serious. "Talking about that, Law, give Sanji a run-up of Zoro's injuries then go to the second floor to join Kidd, that arrogant idiot won't be able to kill Big Mom on his own. Sanji, Kin'emon and Kiku have Momonosuke so I need you to bring Zoro to Chopper on the Live Floor, Queen is still there and you're best suited to deal with him. Ace, go to the Skull Dome, Yamato's trying to distract the guards with a doll of Momonosuke there and that enthusiastic fool will need your help. In the meantime, I'll go make sure Momonosuke is safe."

Law blinked, but his quick mind connected the dots fast enough to realise how sound Y/N-ya's strategy and repartition of their forces was. His respect for the woman went up a notch as he realised she had come up with a brilliant plan in mere seconds. It was almost like she knew how to deal the cards to create the best outcome.

Suddenly, her reputation as an invincible deity made a lot more sense. Law felt weirdly humbled in front of someone who was a virtual stranger, an emotion he strongly disliked and had not felt since he had snailed Sengoku after Dressrosa… on her request, now that he remembered it.

Great seas, that woman was the reason he had learned about his somewhat embarrassing grand-father figure and found someone willing to talk about Cora-san.

Law's head was spinning a bit at the unexpected onslaught of realisations.

"You got it nee-san !"

"As you wish, my beautiful Mellorine !"

Law sighed, but nodded anyway. As much as he hated being told what to do by someone he had met five minutes ago, he had to admit that following the lead of Luffy-ya's sister was the best option at the moment.

"That plan is acceptable. Listen Sanji-ya, here's what you need to tell Chopper-ya."

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

You had barely managed to block Kaido's attack in time to prevent him from impaling Kin'emon on Kiku's sword, but still had to stay after the Emperor's departure to ensure the two heavily injured samurais would survive the encounter.

"Y/N-sama, leave us here ! Momonosuke-sama and Shinobu-"

"Will make it out," you cut Izou's sister off as you stabilised her blood flow and accelerated the healing to avoid internal bleeding and the awful complications it would entail. "Have faith in them. They're not alone, and right now, your lives are on the line."

"Y/N-sama," Kin'emon tried from where he was no longer bleeding on the floor, although he still looked awfully pale. "This fight is more important than our lives ! Wano-"

"Will need more than an eight-year-old shogun to build itself back up after Kaido and Orochi are defeated," you interrupted again. "No to mention Momonosuke would be devastated if he learned that you died for him, did you even think of that ?"

The guilty silence that followed made you sigh, and you finished bandaging the two samurais quickly. Truly, what was it with self-sacrificing idiots these days. You silently thanked the stars to have given you plenty of practice with the Red-Haired Pirates when it came to dealing with that kind of stubborn foolishness.

Then you heard Kaido's laugh coming from outside in a way indicating he was flying back up on the roof, which meant – if your assumptions were correct, which they had been so far – that he was going to fight Ace and Yamato while Luffy recovered on Wano's ground. This meant Sanji must be in the Live Floor and fighting Queen, with hopefully Chopper being able to heal Zoro without having to use the Minks' special regenerative cure.

At least you could count on Jinbei, Franky, Brook, and Robin to deal with their own fights without having to intervene. Usopp and Nami would likely be fine as well, those two could be incredibly resourceful when their lives were on the line. From what you could tell, Pedro was helping Inuarashi against Jack, so you were not too worried about needing to intervene on this side. Ashura had gone with Nekomamushi to help Carrot and Wanda against Perospero, so things should be fine there as well.

"Stay here until you're well enough to walk or until a doctor arrives, understood ? I don't want you to reopen your injuries, and Seas know I have enough on my plate to deal with your martyr tendancies on top of it," you declared with your patented Mom voice, which so far had worked on everyone, Beckman included.

"Yes Y/N-sama," the two samurais mumbled guiltily, which made you refrain an amused smile.

Now, to your next checkpoint.

-o-oOo-o-

Killer pov

After the freaky magician redirected the blow on the doll and told Killer to consider carefully whose life was tied to it, the blond pirate's eyes widened under his mask. The walking scarecrow was acting like this doll was some sort of ace up his sleeve and the swordsman did not like it in the slightest.

"Unless you don't care about your Captain's life, of course," Hawkins stated with an air of bored superiority.

Killer froze, even as the failed Devil Fruit in his body prevented him from feeling real fear or even apprehension anymore.

Feelings or no feelings, that revelation was bad news.

"Oh ? Are you hesitating now ?" the magician asked as he launched another attack, and Killer dodged.

Damn it, he needed to find a way to fight back without hurting Kidd. His Captain was facing Big Mom right now and could not afford any more injuries. Killer's grip on his blades tightened, even as he dodged and blocked more attacks from the sadistic magician without retaliating.

And then suddenly, while Killer was trying to come up with an idea that might work despite the odds, a wave flooded the corridor and trapped the other supernova. The water stopped an inch before the swordsman, leaving an impresssion of wetness on his skin that only lasted a second. The next instant, the water retreated and revealed a levitating sphere containing his opponent, who was now reduced to a powerless man floating in a transparent ball.

And then a woman Killer only knew from her bounty posters slowly walked to them, an expression of mild disdain on her beautiful features, and ribbons of water floating around her.

"I have to say, the fact that you take pleasure in such sadistic techniques is one of the major reasons I am going to take your life," the Goddess of the Sea stated calmly as her hand reached for the inside of the sphere, her eyes never leaving Hawkins. "Of course, going after my husband two years ago did you no favour either. Just so you know, Apoo is already dead, and the only reason I will spare Kidd again is because he needs to help Law in the fight against Big Mom."

Killer's mind was reeling at the terrifying statement delivered with almost casual ease. The sheer aura surrounding the blue-haired woman standing a few steps from him was something the blond pirate remembered from when he had faced Akagami. This was someone so powerful that you could only feel helpless in front of them, and grateful if they decided to let you leave with your life.

Her hand touched Hawkins' wrist, and the next moment, the man Killer had been struggling against coughed blood. The water then stopped keeping him aboveground and he fell dead on the floor.

Killer stared at the woman, who looked as fine as if she had only been taking a stroll on the street instead of killing a powerful pirate, and wondered what kind of monster in human skin she was.

"I believe you have a Captain to join, don't you ?" she asked him with an amused smile.

"What about you ?" Killer blurted before he could think about it, but thankfully, she did not appear to be offended by his question.

"If you're referring to my next move, I have other people to rescue. If you were literally asking after my Captain's well-being, he's currently fighting alongside Whitebeard to ensure neither the Marines nor the rest of Big Mom's crew will make it to Wano," she answered calmly, but Killer noticed the undercurrent of concern at the last part.

Which made sense, since she was married to her Captain and they were fighting on different battlefronts with no mean of communication until the battles were over. Seas, Killer had barely managed to not lose his shit at the idea of staying behind to protect his best friend's back from Hawkins, and his Captain was in the same castle, not half a country away.

"Good luck," he managed to tell her before running to his next fight.

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks pov

Shanks started wondering how many ships Aokiji had sent to Wano, exactly. Old Man Newgate was dealing with the old hag's fleet not too far from their position, and he seemed to have his hands full as well. At least they had decided early on who would fight who based on careful evaluation of the various parameters involved.

They had shrugged and flipped a coin.

Point remained, the Red-Haired Pirates had been fighting and sinking Marine ships for what felt like way too long already, and they kept coming anyway. Beck and Yasopp were focusing on Kizaru, who seemed to enjoy his game of hide and seek while being suitably afraid of their possibly-seastone bullets.

The Logia user had pouted upon learning Y/N was not here, then complained about being the only Admiral to not have met the beautiful Goddess of the Sea, and really, Shanks would appreciate it if high-ranked Marines could stop trying to hit on his wife.

The rest of Shanks' crew was dealing with the various soldiers pouring in. His officers were handling most of the Captains, and Shanks himself was taking care of the Commodores and Vice-Admirals on their respective ships. It had been a while since he had crossed swords with Momonga, and the man was looking as combative as ever.

"Got to say, I didn't think Wano was such a popular destination," Shanks joked as he parried a blow aiming for his chest. "Seas, I wish someone had told me about it sooner, I'd have made it a family vacation."

"We won't let this country exchange a tyrant for another !" the Vice-Admiral retorted.

Shanks laughed wildly at the absurd accusation.

"Being a tyrant isn't really my brand, y'know ? Way too much work."

"Then let us through so we can free this country once and for all !"

"Yeah, not happening," Shanks replied as he dealt a stronger blow, followed by a kick in the knee, both attacks finding their targets and putting the Vice-Admiral on the floor. "There are other people doing exactly that right now, and I'm pretty sure they won't be happy to see you barging in."

"Who-"

A shattering boom echoed from the skies, just before all clouds suddenly cleared to let the full moon shine, and Shanks blinked in surprise before a proud grin stretched his lips at the residual Haki he could feel pouring from the top of the waterfall. Looked like Luffy truly was fighting Kaido and matching him blow for blow.

Before he could fully rejoice at the news, though, a shirtless green-haired guy with a chest tatoo and a Vice-Admiral overcoat landed beside Momonga.

"Where's the Sea Witch ?" he asked angrily. "I'm here for her and only her."

Shanks took an immediate dislike to the man. Whoever insulted his beloved wife with that much hatred in their voice started with an immediate malus in his books. The Emperor reaffirmed the hold on his sword and his grin took a harder edge.

"Sorry, she's already taken," Shanks replied with a light cheer that failed to reach his eyes. "We even got matching rings and all. But I'll tell her you joined the list of her discarded suitors."

"I'm here to avenge the greatest Marine to ever live and kill the bitch who murdered Admiral Akainu, not fuck her !" the guy spat with fury.

Shanks' grin disappeared, but he understood immediately what kind of guy he was facing. With a quick surge of Observation Haki giving him a glimpse of the future, he cut the root sent his way before it could touch him and drain his body from all the water it contained.

Now that was an ability Shanks wanted nowhere near the love of his life.

"You realise that's my wife and the mother of my children you're calling a bitch, right ?" Shanks asked before slashing the air to cut off the Vice-Admiral's leg.

As he suspected, the guy turned it to plant and regrew it just as quickly. On the deck, Momonga was holding his bleeding flank and looking disapprovingly at his colleague. Shanks noted the fact with interest, it seemed the pissy grass-boy was not too popular within his own side.

"She's a fucking monster who killed the only man with the right vision of absolute justice in this world !" the guy retorted as he tried to send even more plant-based attacks.

Keyword, tried. Shanks easily cut all of the greenery thrown his way, and noticed how the man was reaching behind himself to catch other Marines with his Devil Fruit and drain them dry.

"Don't attack our troupes, Aramaki !" Momonga commanded as he realised that fact as well with incensed horror.

"Who cares, they're dying to kill pirates, it's a noble death !"

"You sound like the kind of guy my wife wouldn't ask me to spare," Shanks huffed, and coated his sword in Haki. "You know, watching Lavasshole injure his own men was one of the things that pissed her off the most."

"Don't you dare insult his memory !" the guy yelled and sent even more trees in his direction. "I will be the guardian of Sakazuki's legacy and kill the Sea Witch ! I'll take his place as Admiral and erase pirates fro-"

"I'm going to stop you there," Shanks interrupted the annoying monologue.

The Emperor slashed the air, breaking the attack thrown his way and sending the Vice-Admiral crashing against the railing. He then ramped up his Conqueror's Haki to ensure every Marine on the ship save for the two top officers would lose consciousness, and the green-haired guy would remain paralysed under his power. As the Vice-Admiral prostrated himself in pain against the railing, Shanks walked to him, sword still drawn.

"I'll have you know that my amazing and adorable wife is fucking badass. She'd wipe the floor with you in three seconds, five tops. The only reason she might not be able to do it," Shanks added with a darker look and his smile nowhere to be seen, "is because I'd kill you the moment you insulted her in front of me."

Without waiting for a response, the red-haired Emperor coated his blade in Haki and cut the guy's head clean. Blood splattered all over the white paint of the railing, and Shanks lazily cleaned his sword on the Marine's overcoat before sheathing it back. Momonga looked shocked, but not too pained at the loss of his colleague, which was not surprising with how bullheaded and unpleasant he had been.

Not to mention stupid enough to threaten Y/N in front of Shanks. Seriously, everyone knew that was an immediate death sentence.

Shanks turned fully to Momonga with an exaggerated look of disappointment.

"That's the kind of guy who can climb up the Marine ranks these days ?"

"He was one of the most powerful recruits from the World Military Draft," Momonga replied begrudgingly, still holding his bleeding flank. "I heard the World Nobles put pressure on the higher-ups to make him a Vice-Admiral at the very least."

Shanks hummed in understanding. That explained why Aokiji had sent the guy here. He would either have to get over his bullshit ideology or die after doing something stupid, both options solving the problems he raised without making the new Fleet Admiral work for it. The Emperor grinned at the injured man, who was still staring at him wearily.

"Tell Aokiji he's welcome for the weeding."

-o-oOo-o-

Kidd pov

That fucking old hag was starting to piss Kidd off. And Trafalgar's arrogant attitude was not helping. As if Kidd needed his help to kill a big bitchy grandma who was clearly past her expiration date.

He blocked her next attack with a metallic shield, and smirked when he saw his First Mate barge into the room, a bit roughed up but obviously still able to fight. Ha, of course that fucking low-cost magician could not defeat his second in command.

"Oi Killer ! You done with the depressed wizard ?"

His First Mate jumped next to him, but Kidd knew his body language well enough to read the uncertainty in his posture and he did not like it one bit.

"I got help. Kidd, the Goddess of the Sea is here and she killed Hawkins and Apoo," Killer replied, which had the Captain blink incredulously.

"What the fuck !?"

"She's Luffy-ya's sister," Trafalgar intervened as he appeared to their right. "She has been protecting members of our alliance everywhere in Onigashima."

Now wait a damn fucking minute.

"How do you know that !?"

"I met Y/N-ya earlier, she's the one who told me you couldn't win this fight alone," the fucking idiot stated smugly in a way that really grated on Kidd's nerves.

Before he got the chance to reply and curse the dumbass Captain for not telling him about it sooner, the old hag sent another attack their way.

"You younglings are really too arrogants if you think you can afford to look away !"

"Shut up old hag !" Kidd yelled back and dodged the blow at the last second, before turning back to his First Mate. "Where the fuck is she now !?"

"Who are you brats talking about ?" Big Mom asked.

Kidd tched and focused on the fight again. Kill the old hag first, get more information on the Sea Witch later. If only to curse her for killing the bastards who had betrayed him before he could kill them himself.

 

 

Fifteen minutes later, Kidd was clenching his teeth and panting on the ground as he watched the Emperor boost herself with eating a year of her life with her Devil Fruit and turning herself in a freaky disco show.

The sight was not pretty, and with how fucking exhausted Trafalgar looked beside him, Kidd was starting to admit the possibility that maybe this fight was going to be harder than he had planned. He was still going to win, of course, but it was going to take a bit longer than he had thought.

"What is it, little brats ? Can't fight anymore ?" the old hag laughed. "Too bad, I'm going to teach you to show some respect to your elders !"

Kidd barely got to hear the pleas of his and Trafalgar's crews before the giant living sword-hat started to slash toward them.

Damn it, he just needed two minutes-

Seawater crashed into him and he was sent flying further into the room, but right as he started to panic, the water left him to lay on the ground and started levitating above the battlefield like some weird sorcery shit.

"Are you okay ?" a woman's voice asked.

"The fuck do yo-"

"Yes, thank you Y/N-ya," Trafalgar replied first from where he had managed to stay standing, the bastard.

Kidd's eyes went wide and he jumped back on his feet, exhaustion be damned, just in time for a sight that left him speechless. A blue-haired woman he had only seen on bounty posters was standing between them and Big Mom, head turned toward him and Trafalgar, a hand resting on her hip, with water ribbons flying all around her like some Sea Goddess or something.

Fuck, that chick was fucking gorgeous. Kidd brushed off blood from his lips and grinned at her, fully planning to get that babe into his bed. Or into the nearest closet. Surprisingly, she barely gave him a cursory glance and went back to ignore him in a way few women had ever dared to do.

"Oh-ho ?" Big Mom floated closer, a wide and delighted but clearly deranged smile on her disgusting lips. "What do we have here, Prometheus ?"

"Looks like it's the Goddess of the Sea, Mama !"

"I'd say it's a pleasure to finally meet you, but I think we both know that would be a lie," the blue-haired beauty declared with a confident smile.

"Mamamama !" the old hag laughed. "You are far too precious to kill, dearie ! I'll have you divorce that brat and marry my son to make more children with your powers for my family ! And I will finally eat your cookies !"

The seawater stilled for a second around the woman, whose smile disappeared, and damn but that murderous intent was fucking doing it for Kidd. That was his kind of woman.

"I will never divorce the wonderful, handsome, amazing man I'm married to, nor abandon our two beautiful and perfect children, much less to become some glorified baby and cookie factory for you. Your offer is ridiculous at best, and insulting at worst," she stated with a chilling threat in her voice. "You're lucky I'm only making a brief stop here."

Wait what ?

"Y/N-ya, we need your help !" Trafalgar protested.

Water flowed around her and she started surfing away, and only turned her head to smile at that stupid dumbass doctor and still not look at Kidd.

"No you don't," she affirmed. "You are perfectly able to kill her without my help."

"Tch, damn right I am," Kidd grinned defiantly, which she ignored – again – and left. He grinned anyway at the challenge, then looked back at the old hag that was definitely going to die soon. He would have time to win over that sexy chick later, when he would gloriously walk out of this fight as the first man to have killed one of the Four Emperors.

Notes:

Quick note to warn you : chapter 47 might be posted on Saturday instead of Friday because I'm going to be extra busy ^^'

Have a nice week and take care ! <3

Chapter 44: End Of The War

Notes:

Did I edit this one to make sure the chapter 44 would have precisely 4444 words ? Yes, yes I did.

Chapter Text

Ace pov

Things were going a bit crazy since he had seen his sister. First Ace had joined Yamato and kicked ass, then they had bought time for Luffy by fighting Kaido – Ace was still surprised he had survived that – then a pink dragon had shown up with Luffy on his back, then he had helped Yamato motivate the dragon who was actually the eight-year-old kid supposed to be the next shogun to keep Onigashima flying, then they had learn about some huge-ass fireball kami drawn by a shitty traitor to make Onigashima explode, and he had joined Yamato again to try and stop the thing from reaching the armory.

And then, since all that was not weird enough, they had stumbled upon a dino guy who had changed sides because of Luffy and was luring one of the Numbers away, but the giant thing decided it liked Yamato and followed him instead, then some members of Luffy's crew fell into his hair, then they all stumbled upon Izou who looked really roughed up, and then they were stopped by two CP-0 guys who wanted the girl from Luffy's crew.

Thankfully, the huge fireball kami chose that moment to fall through the ceiling, which meant Ace and Izou were separated from Yamato and the others, and left with the CP-0 agents in the corridor.

Ace exchanged one look with his brother, and that was enough to confirm their plan.

"We have no qualm with the Whitebeard Pirates," one of the white-suited guys said. "Let us through and you will live."

"No. We will not let you capture our allies," Izou declared proudly and took out his guns.

"Yeah, if you want her, you have to go through us," Ace added and coated his fists in his signature flames.

"We can't lose time here," the other masked guy said to the first one. "Nico Robin is our priority."

Ace through a wave of flames in the agents' direction – a technique he had developped after watching his sister do the same with water – and Izou used it to fire his guns in their direction so the bullets would be hidden by the flames. The agents jumped and dodged most of the attack, but they seemed to get the hint that they would not get past them easily.

Two versus two it was, then. Even with how tired Ace was after fighting Kaido and the bad shape Izou was in, that was doable. Marco would kill him if he died, anyway.

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

As much as you did not want to admit it, the constant use of your powers was taking a toll on you. Not to mention the constant running and surfing everywhere to get to the places where people might need your help to either survive, get some time to rest, or receive some advice. The headache was pulsing against your skull, but you clenched your teeth and pushed past it.

You only had one more mandatory stop before the end of the fight, if your memories were not failing you, which they had not so far. You needed to assist Izou against the CP-0 agents and ensure he would live. Just this, then you could rest until Raizo released the seawater from Zou so Jinbei and you could extinguish the fire.

The amount of water you currently had at your disposal was much smaller than before, given that you had needed to use quite a lot of it to quench the flames you came across in your path. It was making you more vulnerable, but you could not ignore the lives of the samurais trapped by the fire and leave them to die with no way out of the inferno.

Thankfully, it seemed your existence and your status as Luffy's sister – and therefore an ally – had spread extremely quickly through the alliance, and no one questioned your presence or help.

Among the crackling of the wood, you suddenly heard Ace's voice yelling the name of his signature attack, as well as gunshots, and your expression turned both relieved and worried. If your little brother was with Izou, it could either mean they would support each other and get the upper hand… or that Fate was trying to correct its course and they would both die here.

You ran in the corridor and arrived in the back of the CP-0 agents. You instantly created several water whips to grab their arms or legs and send them crashing against the walls. Unfortunately, only one of them got caught as he was dodging one of Izou's bullets, the other did some convoluted acrobatics to put himself out of your attack range.

"You don't mind if I join the party, do you ?" you asked with a smile and a relaxed confidence you were far from actually feeling.

Damn it, this better be a quick fight, this headache and the heat around you were starting to affect both your focus and your balance, and that was not a good thing against highly-trained assassins.

"We have no quarrel with the Red-Haired Pir-"

"I wasn't talking to you," you interrupted the agent who was looking at you cautiously and clearly realising this was not a two versus two fight anymore.

"You're always welcome to join the fun," Izou replied with a smile despite his obvious exhaustion.

"Yeah, we've never fought together before !" Ace added with a wide grin.

The agent with the green mask you had thrown against a wall stood up and jumped to his colleague, both their masks still in place. The next second, each of them rushed to a side of the fight, and you could only thank your intensive training on the Red Force for dodging the attack at the last second.

You retaliated with tendrils of water going to him and hiding the fact that you were trying to reach for one of the few places revealing skin, but your opponent managed to dodge as well, and you both took a couple steps away from each other, clearly assessing the other's threat level.

In your case, a second was enough to realise the man was faster than you, lightly injured – unfortunately not enough to make him slip up or lose blood – leaving very few openings in his stance, and had clearly mastered the Rokushiki. On your side, the amount of water you had at your disposal was evaporating by the second, you were battling a migraine, and while you were uninjured, you were exhausted.

On paper, you were fucked.

"You're Guernika, correct ?" you asked in the hope of creating a distraction.

The man did not show an ounce of surprise, but attacked you again with superhuman speed, forcing you to protect yourself with a sphere of water spinning fast enough to at least deviate his course before he could injure you.

The man jumped away from you again, which you exploited to send a salve of water bullets toward him. He kicked the air to dispatch them and create an air blade, which you had to jump on the side to avoid. However, the attack still managed to graze the skin of your left arm and created a superficial wound. A line of blood started dripping on your skin, but you did not bother stopping it.

Surprisingly, that made the agent stop in his track for a full second.

"Impossible," he murmured, his voice containing a hint of astoundishment. "All high-ranked members of an Emperor's crew know to protect themselves with Armament Haki to block that kind of attack."

You froze as well, but did not manage to school your facial expression fast enough to hide your fear at the realisation that your opponent had uncovered the one weakness kept secret by you and your crew.

He then tried another direct attack, that you once again dodged and protected yourself from with spinning water to deviate his course. You did not have enough water anymore to create a full sphere around him, and without knowing whether or not he was a Devil Fruit user, you could not risk a technique that would leave you vulnerable in the scarce hope that you could drown him faster than he could free himself.

When he jumped back again this time, you heard the urgency in his voice as he adressed his colleague.

"Maha, the Goddess of the Sea can't use Haki and she's running out of water, keep the Whitebeards busy and I will be able to kill her !"

"WHAT !?" you heard Ace yell. "The fuck are you talking about !? Of course my sister can use Haki !"

Izou's voice followed less than a second later.

"Of course she can, she's one of the most powerful pirates in the New World !"

You could tell both of them were expecting you to confirm their claims and deny the – admittedly absurd-sounding – declaration. But you only clenched your jaw, tried to will yourself to push through despite the throbbing in your head, and took a defensive stance with the remaining water circling closer around you.

"Nee… Nee-san ? You can use Haki, right ?" Ace asked with fear lacing his voice as the truth dawned on him.

"Focus on your own fight and don't worry about me," you replied decisively.

That was as good as a confession and everyone in the corridor knew it. You could almost feel the confidence of your opponent bursting through the roof. While it might be justified given the situation, it still pissed you off. And the fact that you were out of options to get out of this fight unscathed did not help your mood either.

You spent the next two minutes dodging and parring with water as best you could, earning several more cuts and failing to inflict a single injury on your opponent, with the heat and the pounding in your head pushing you to the very limits of your resistance.

If Ace and Izou did not manage to win their own fight very soon, you were screwed. You might as well let Guernika stab you and-

In a flash, a stupid, insane, dangerous, and possibly slightly suicidal idea came to you. Within the next blink, you also realised this plan was arguably your only option to – perhaps, with a lot of luck – win this fight. You took a deep breath, and with a flourish, made a show of sending all your remaining water on the flames around you, barely extinguishing some of them and turning yourself into an easy target.

Still, you stood up proudly, with as serene an expression as you could muster despite your exhaustion, the cuts, and the soot littering your skin and clothes, and spread your arms wide on either side of you. Hopefully, the smoke and noise of the burning castle would prevent Ace and Izou from realising what you were doing.

"If I must die, let it be on my terms."

Your opponent straightened, and slowly nodded his head in what you tiredly recognised as a gesture of respect.

"Your bravery in front of death is remarkable."

You closed your eyes, and forced every braincell who was not exhausted beyond reason to focus on the small drops of water holding up in the air before they would evaporate. There was not much left, but it still should be enough for what you planned to do. You would only have one shot at this.

Guernika ran to you, unaware that you were directing the water of your previous attacks – and his own sweat permeating his clothes – to his right sleeve. The agent raised his arm to use Shigan on you, but the second he started the movement, you opened your eyes and used all the remaining water in the area to force his wrist to lower his aim as he struck, his finger ending up in your stomach instead of your heart.

"Wha-"

Pain exploded in your abdomen as organs were stabbed, but you still grabbed his wrist with both hands, allowing you to reach the skin in the tiny space between his sleeve and his glove. You instantly connected your power to the blood in his body, the action more than familiar to you after years of practice, and made his heart explode in his chest.

Guernika realised he had fallen into your trap a fraction of second to late, and you smiled tiredly as he faltered, scarcely believing through the pain wrecking your body that your insane idea had worked.

"I can't die today," you smiled through a cough. "I promised my family I'd come back to them."

The man fell on the floor, one more dead body in a bloody war, and you put a hand on the bullet-like injury bleeding on the side of your abdomen. Your brain felt fuzzy, your focus unsteady, and you realised after a fump noise that you had fallen to your knees, your body finally giving up after pushing way past its limits.

Your eyes closed and you fell on the floor as the last of the adrenaline faded away. Through the exhaustion and overwhelming pain, you still managed a small, amused smile as one funny and possibly delirious realisation hit your mind.

Shanks was going to be so freaking mad at you.

-o-oOo-o-

Marco pov

Ace's baby brother had done it. Marco could not fathom how, or even what had happened on the roof, exactly, but Mugiwara no Luffy had defeated Kaido.

And through some sort of second miracle, the eight-year-old kid turned dragon had managed to land Onigashima without killing them all.

And since that was obviously not enough, Luffy's allies had somehow killed Big Mom, while Zoro and Sanji had defeated King and Queen.

And on top of that, Pops had snailed to inform Marco that he and Akagami had finished dealing with the fleets sent to Wano, and were on their way to join them.

At that point, Marco only needed to hear from his boyfriend and his brother to consider the end of the war as one huge pile of miracles. Although from all the talking he was hearing from the patients being brought to the makeshift hospital hastily set up on the Live Floor, a good deal of those miracles were due to the Goddess of the Sea.

It appeared the unspoken rule of Y/N's presence meaning everything was fine had once again been proven true.

While exhausted himself despite his regenerative powers, Marco was still working with all the other doctors and people possessing any kind of medical knowledge to try and treat as many patients as possible. Chopper and Trafalgar Law, despite being barely able to stand up after their fights, were there as well and mostly focusing on the members of their own crews.

Although with the admiring looks and discreet glances the Surgeon of Death was regularly sending toward the unconscious Captain of the Mugiwaras, Marco was wondering if there was something running a little deeper than a simple alliance for the stern-looking surgeon. He might have to warn the man about the kind of shovel talk a relationship with Y/N's sibling entailed.

That brief feeling of amusement vanished when doors slammed open to reveal a banged up Ace, followed closely by an even worse looking Izou, both of them having panic written all over their face and tears running on their cheeks.

"MARCO !! HELP !"

The Phoenix was up before he could fully see them, but as soon as he recognised the unconscious and bleeding woman in his boyfriend's arms, he paled. Next thing he knew, Marco was flying above the makeshift beds to get to the Goddess of the Sea, and praying to any and all deities who might listen that he was not too late to save her.

-o-oOo-o-

Law pov

The Surgeon of Death was completely exhausted, but there were still too many patients in need of his help to give in to sleep, so he ignored the strain on his mind and body with the ease conferred by habit. One did not become a pirate Captain and doctor while battling insomnia without developping a few tricks, after all.

Although between each new patient, Law sent a glance toward the part of the Live Floor where both the Mugiwaras and their closest allies were either resting or being treated. Luffy-ya and Sanji-ya were sleeping soundly by now, and Chopper-ya was confident they only needed a lot of rest followed by a hearty meal when they would wake up, which Law doubted would happen anytime sooner than several days at least.

On the other hand, Zoro-ya and Y/N-ya were undergoing healing procedures and their prognosis was still uncertain. From what he had seen, however, Law could affirm each of them was a force of nature who possessed more than their fair share of will to live and reasons to pull through. Whether it would be enough to actually save them, unfortunately, remained to be seen.

Law had witnessed enough unfair tragedies in his life to know better than to cling to more than cautious hope. Marco-ya and Chopper-ya were the best doctors he had ever met aside from himself, however, so with them putting their entire focus and expertise to the task, there was nothing Law could do to help. No matter how it grated on his pride to not be allowed to repay his debt to the woman who had put him in contact with the only other person Cora-san had considered family, and saved his life twice in the span of a single night.

So Law kept healing all the injured samurais sent his way – while Kidd had slumped somewhere else in Onigashima to sleep, the ass – and kept watching the two most important patients in the room regularly.

As the surgeon watched Luffy-ya's brother being a mess of tears and bandages next to his unconscious siblings, Marco-ya's words as he explained why he would be the one healing the Goddess of the Sea came back to the forefront of his mind again.

You're not the only one with several lifedebts to Y/N-yoi. My family owes her too much for me to fail her now. If that's still not enough for you, keep one thing in mind-yoi. Being the one responsible of her now also means being the one handling the consequences. And believe me when I say that if she dies-yoi, there is no telling what Akagami will do.

Law knew they were married and had children, but the Phoenix's words hinted at a kind of love rarely encountered on the Sea. The kind that moved mountains, that endured anything, and that if taken away, would end with the survivor burning the world in his grief. He glanced minutely in Luffy-ya's direction and amended his previous thought. Maybe not that rare.

Thankfully, the two remaining Emperors were still a good distance away and unlikely to arrive any time soon, which should give enough time for Y/N-ya's state to become somewhat stable.

At least, Law hoped so. He was not in capacity to fight a third Emperor tonight.

-o-oOo-o-

Nami pov

Nami woke up before the sun rose and immediately made her way back to the rudimentary hospital set up in what was left of Onigashima's Live Floor. She may not be at her best at the moment, but she was still feeling better rested and she had basic knowledge and experience in medical procedures, which she assumed would still be needed by then. Especially with most of the doctors having either pulled an all-nighter or being currently running on less than three hours of sleep.

Plus, she needed to check on her Captain and crewmates' well-being.

As soon as she walked in the partially destroyed but well-organised Live Floor, she noticed Robin, Jinbei, and Brook sitting against a wall on the far end of the massive room. She joined them, and did not even need to ask before Robin gave her a summary of everyone's status, with Chopper visibly taking a power-nap on her lap.

"Luffy and Sanji are fine, they just need a lot of sleep. Zoro's fate was uncertain for a good part of the night, but he will pull through. The rest of the crew is safe. Kin'emon and the others are out of the woods as well, but Kiku lost her arm in the battle," the archaeologist said with a sad look in her eyes. "Luffy's brother is fine, just a little worse for wear."

Nami listened attentively, but did not miss how her friend avoided a very obvious name belonging to a blue-haired woman who was either sleeping or unconscious in the makeshift bed beside Zoro's. There was a snoring Firefist Ace laying next to her on the ground, and the head of Whitebeard's first division commander was slumped on the sheets with his fingers on her wrist, meaning he had probably fallen asleep monitoring her heartbeat.

"And Y/N-" Robin ultimately said, then cut herself off when Chopper moved in his sleep, and Jinbei picked up.

"Perfored stomach, internal bleeding, smoke inhalation, shallow cuts all over her skin, and high fever due to exhaustion after pushing her body and mind beyond what they could endure, according to Marco's diagnosis and what he knows of her powers. He managed to get her out of the danger zone around four hours ago," the Fishman stated with his arms crossed on his chest and heavy concern in his eyes. Nami was not surprised by his strong reaction, since Jinbei had been the one to officiate the wedding of Luffy's sister and obviously considered her a dear friend. "There is no telling when she will wake up," he ultimately admitted.

"Or if she will wake up," Robin corrected, voicing up the part their new helmsman had clearly avoided saying out loud.

"She will wake up. She has to," Nami retorted with absolute certainty as she clenched her fists, the image of Y/N's two children waiting for their mom to come back imposing itself in her mind. She noticed just a tad too late the pained expression flashing on Robin's face. That was when Nami remembered guiltily how Robin knew just as well as she did what it was like to grow up without a mother you loved deeply.

"I certainly hope she will, I didn't get to ask her to show me her panties yo-ho-ho-ho !" Brook joked with a cheer that Nami could tell was a little forced for the sake of lightening the atmosphere.

From the corner of her eyes, Nami noticed Law making his way to them, looking both exhausted and like he had slept his usual two hours per night.

"Nami-ya," he greeted her with a nod, which the navigator imitated. "Do you need medical assistance ?"

"No, I came to see if I could help. I know basic medical care," Nami offered, and she even meant it as a service free of charge for once. Or for a very small fee, maybe.

Her Captain's ally – and if Nami's intuition was right, Luffy's soon-to-be boyfriend as well – did not smile, but there was obvious relief in his eyes.

"Then come with me, I'll show you wher-"

The main doors of the room slammed open in a violent blast of power and noise thundering through the Live Floor, immediately followed by a mighty wave of Conqueror's Haki. Nami shrieked in fear, and jumped to hide behind Jinbei who had stood up immediately and was now taking a protective stance. A quick glance around her showed that all over the medical bay, every person currently awake was just as shocked as she was.

The blinding rays of the rising sun shining through the entrance revealed a tall man wearing a cloak. Even from the other side of the room, Nami felt a shiver of fear run down her spine at the frightening sight. In a split second, she realised that was not a man they could defeat. Not with the manpower they had at the moment and all the injured people in the room.

"Fuck," Law cursed next to her.

Chopper, Marco, and Ace all blinked their eyes open a fraction of second before a second blast of Conqueror's Haki made most of the fragile castle tremble around them, and people started to fall unconscious everywhere. Nami herself felt the crushing pressure on her body and mind, and it took a lot out of her to not put a knee on the ground while still hiding behind Jinbei's back. She was wondering who was the terrifying stranger barging in a hospital like a demon on the warpath when a furious voice roared through the destroyed Onigashima.

"WHERE IS MY WIFE !?"

The next second, Law had encompassed the entire medical bay in the blue light of his Room.

"Shambles !"

The scary man suddenly appeared in the place of some medical equipment right next to them, without so much as blinking after what Nami knew was a rather disorienting effect. The red hair of the man she belatedly recognised as Akagami no Shanks moved around his face until his eyes found the makeshift bed where Y/N was laying unconscious, with a sheet covering most of her body and a damp cloth on her forehead. Nami watched in shock how fast the Emperor's furious expression fell and turned whiter than a ghost, devastation suddenly written all over his face.

"Y/N ?" he whispered and kneeled next to her to take her hand in his, while Ace and Marco stepped aside for the Emperor without a word. "My love, please, can you wake up for me ?"

The vision of such a powerful man using a voice so soft, so loving and scared right after he had looked ready to destroy everything and everyone in his path, gave Nami a bit of a whiplash. As she watched the increasing despair of a man failing to reach out to the person he loved the most, she could not help the impression that she was intruding in something extremely private. She discreetly pulled on Jinbei's sleeve, then motioned her crewmates to walk away and leave the doctors deal with the arrival of Y/N's husband.

After the demonstration of what she suspected to not even be the full force of his power, the navigator found herself hoping more than ever that her earlier statement would prove to be right. The Goddess of the Sea had to wake up, if only for the sake of the world. Nami did not want to see what that man would do out of grief if his wife did not survive.

Chapter 45: God Games

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Beckman pov

It had been three days since the end of the battle, and Shanks was becoming more of a despaired mess with every passing hour. For once, Beckman did not shake him out of it and merely ensured his Captain was drinking some water, eating something regularly, and getting whatever rest he could when he passed out with Y/N's hand held tightly in his own.

Along with Luffy and a few other key players still sleeping off their injuries, she had been transferred to the palace where security was easier to put in place. With a very few stern words to the newly appointed shogun, Beckman had stated there was no way anyone but the Red-Haired Pirates would ensure the safety of the Goddess of the Sea. It did not matter how many lives she had saved that night or how much of a hero she was to the Red Scabbards or the people of Wano, she was a member of their crew first and foremost.

And as such, she would receive one hell of a lecture from her First Mate when she woke up. Mostly for reckless behaviour, but also for worrying everyone else to bits. Ace was barely holding up better than Shanks with both his younger brother and his older sister in such a bad shape after the battle, but at least Marco was helping him.

Their other brother was apparently on a top-secret mission for the Revolutionary Army at the moment. Dragon was still in contact with him, though, and had very sternly demanded to be made aware of any evolution so his Chief of Staff would be able to focus on said mission instead of worrying for his siblings. And while Izou had the rest of the Whitebeards and his merry samurai-ninja band to keep him busy, it was obvious the guilt was eating at him.

Both Izou and Ace had confessed they had learned about Y/N's inability to use Haki during the fight, but had been unable to help her due to their injured state at the beginning of the battle and the skill of their own opponent. Both had sworn to never breathe a word of it to anyone – which probably meant only Marco and Whitebeard would hear about it – and cried a lot as they retold the end of the fight.

Apparently, Y/N had pretended to accept her death, then used water that she had hidden in the air to lower what would have been a killing blow and turn it into a non-fatal attack instead. By doing so, she had managed to trick the CP-0 agent into getting close enough for her to touch his skin and kill him.

Beckman had been impressed. Reluctantly impressed, granted, but impressed nonetheless. Coming up with such a clever strategy – as insane and risky as it was – in the exhausted, weakened, injured state she was at that point only proved how resourceful the Goddess of the Sea was. Now if she could wake up so Beckman could both congratulate her and scold her for being protective of others to the point of self-sacrificial stupidity, he would appreciate it.

Shanks was spending hours just talking to the love of his life, mostly telling her bad jokes, begging her to wake up, and listing everything he still wanted to do with her. Beckman had only talked once to the woman he considered a friend, and maybe as close to a sister-in-law as he would ever get, during one of the rare moments where his Captain was sleeping. He had asked her to wake up, for everyone who loved her and needed her in their life.

He had not mentioned Ariel and Ray, because the idea of those two little bundles of starlight not seeing their mother again was simply unthinkable.

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

You found yourself floating in the nightsky, way above the dark and peaceful waves of an unending sea under a bright moonlight, and felt a bit confused about where you were and what was happening. The last thing you remembered was falling unconscious after killing that CP-0 agent, somewhere in a burning Onigashima while the battle for Wano's freedom kept going.

"You get used to the view," someone said behind you.

You startled in your floating state and turned around, just to feel your jaw go slack at the impossible sight. The former Pirate King was grinning at you widely, looking way too happy with the situation. If anything, Gol D Roger seemed to have a blast watching your increasingly flabbergasted expression.

"What the fuck !?" you finally managed to exclaim in incredulous shock.

A booming laugh answered you, full of joy and life and light and power under the moonlight, and Roger put his hands on his hips as he looked at you proudly.

"You know, I thought I was crazy, but damn ! You brought crazy to the next level ! I didn't think you'd go that far for our deal, but hell if that wasn't awesome."

"A deal ?" you asked, completely astoundished. "When did we make a deal ? This is the first time I meet you ! Wait, am I dead ?" you asked, suddenly worried as you realised this was a very good explanation for what was going on here.

"Not this time, though you're on the brink," the pirate shrugged, still grinning. "And we met when you died in your world and I managed to grab your soul before it left for good. Not that I would've missed my chance, not after how long I'd already had to wait to find someone who'd finally meet all the conditions for the transfer."

Your head started spinning at the mindshattering information dropped on you, and your inability to sit anywhere did not help at all.

"I… died ?" you mumbled numbly.

"Sure did. Something in your brain or heart, not sure what it was but you just keeled over in your bed. Almost quicker than my beheading," Roger laughed again, then his eyes softened and he came closer to put both hands on your shoulders. "But most importantly, you died with your mind stuck on this world and ways to fix what I couldn't."

You blinked, your own mind still reeling at the absolute bomb that Roger had thrown at you like it was no big deal. Though that was one mistery solved, you supposed half-hysterically. And it also solved the issue of whether or not you might go back to your world one day. Shit, you had died. From a problem you did not even know you had. Still, Roger's other words finally managed to be processed by your brain and you looked at his smiling face and big mustache with a confused frown.

"Fix what you couldn't ? Wait, you mean-"

"A life for a life. I'd send you alive in my world with your cause of death healed, and in exchange, you'd save my son from his fate," Rogers confirmed with a nod as he gave you some space back. "Granted, I didn't think you'd adopt him as your own brother or start a love story with another one of my boys while you were at it, but I ain't complaining !" he added with a laugh.

"Holy shit," you whispered, feeling very much lightheaded.

"You really don't remember ?" the Pirate King asked you curiously.

"Not a thing," you replied honestly, your gaze still down on the dark waves below you as you tried to gather the shattered remnants of your reality. "Did you give me that power too ?"

Rogers grinned, and he twirled his mustache proudly.

"I wasn't going to send you unarmed in the New World, you'd have died again before you could save Ace," he stated like it was obvious. "You're the one who suggested waterbending. 'Twas a bit tricky to do, but we managed to merge your soul with the essence of the Sea on the condition that you'd renounce to Haki, since all things need to be balanced, yada yada. Doesn't apply to your kiddos though, I wouldn't be surprised if at least one of them was born with Conqueror's Haki on top of your powers. That boy of yours definitely looks like he's got the will for it," he laughed happily. "Point is, we found a solution and tadaaa ! Everyone got their happy end !"

His carefree view of such a world-changing act reminded you of both Shanks and Luffy so much that you could only chuckle incredulously at it. What a crazy man.

"How come you have so much power even after your death ?" you asked instead.

"Eh, what can I say," he shrugged, but this time the Pirate King was awfully smug and clearly not bothering to hide it. "Turns out so many people thinking of me as an invincible legend gave me actual otherworldly powers. Rouge was a bit mad at me when we met again in the afterlife, though," Roger grimaced and massaged his jaw unconsciously, which made you snicker.

The conversation paused after that, as you had closed your eyes to slowly process everything you had just been told. After some time, you finally felt calm again, and actually pretty relieved to finally have answers about the questions that had plagued you since you had arrived in this world. Though you decided not to dwell too long on the news that both of your children had apparently inherited your powers to some extent and would be able to use Haki to boot.

Instead, you looked at the sea and nightsky surrounding you, then turned back to the Pirate King.

"So what happens to me now ?" you asked him.

"Up to you," Roger smiled again, though his expression was softer this time. "You held your end of the deal, what happens after that is no longer my business."

"Cool. Then I want to wake up and go back to my family," you deadpaned.

As soon as you said the words, a painful headache began to pound through your skull, and the waves and moon started to blur around you. The last thing you heard was a happy laugh and a warm voice shouting bon voyage!

-o-oOo-o-

You came to consciousness the same way someone would get out of a giant ball pit. Slowly, uncomfortably, and a bit unsure of your bearings and physical integrity. Your sense of hearing came back first, allowing you to hear some kind of noise. That noise progressively turned into incoherent mumbles, then into words spoken by a voice that you instinctively knew belonged to someone familiar and safe.

"-ease, please love, I'm begging you, please let me be right and wake up, my Haki has never been wrong before and I don't know what I'll do if I'm hallucinatin-"

Opening your eyes was still too much at the moment, but you had reclaimed enough control over your body to weakly squeeze the hand you could feel in yours, which made the voice stop and gasp with hope.

"You… you just moved, right ? I didn't make that up ?"

A barely-there huff escaped you, and you felt the corners of your lips pull up maybe a couple millimeters on each side at the silly question. Your eyelids painstakingly rose the tiniest bit above your eyes, allowing you to see… a blurred mass of colours for the time being, but the red part was unmistakable.

With a few more seconds and no small amount of sheer stubborness, you managed to fully open your eyes and focus your gaze on your husband sitting at your bedside. There were tears running down his face, but a bright relieved smile was lighting up his expression. You mustered a small, tired smile too as you noticed his particularly unkept appearance.

"Hey," you whispered, almost inaudibly with how parched you were and how tired you still felt.

Shanks let out an incredulous chuckle through his tears, but he still looked as impossibly happy as if he had just witnessed a miracle. He brought your hand to his face and kissed it before pressing it against his cheek. With some effort, you managed to make a couple little movement to caress his skin wetted by tears, and felt his stubble under your fingers.

"Hey yourself, sweetheart."

-o-oOo-o-

It took two more days before you were allowed to get out of bed, during which Marco used his flames to make sure every remaining injury on your body was fully healed, Chopper gave you what felt like an entire greenhouse's worth of herbal teas and medicine, Law insisted to use his Devil Fruit to personally check on all your vital organs, and Hongo forbade you to use your powers for an entire week until he could be absolutely sure your mind had recovered from the overload you had put it through.

You tried to reassure the four doctors there was no reason to go so hard on you, especially when you could monitor yourself, and were immediately faced with four similar inflexible looks. And Shanks' worried-beyond-his-mind puppy eyes did not help in the slightest, so you eventually caved and agreed to follow every single recommendation from the health specialists.

You also got visits from your whole crew – with one hell of a scolding from Beckman – as well as all the Red Scabbards, Whitebeard and his commanders – with another lecture about reckless behaviour from your father figure – followed by all the currently awake Mugiwaras, and a few other people like Pedro and Hyogoro who wanted to express their gratitude for your help in the raid.

Shanks adamantly refused to leave your side, and frankly, you did not want him to. After being so close to death, you wanted nothing more than to be close to your family. Which was why, as soon as you were cleared by the doctors, Shanks and you told everyone that you would not stay for the celebrations.

"We need to go back to our children," you explained calmly to end all protests in the palace's banquet hall, during the dinner when you had made the announcement that you were leaving. "It's the first time Ariel and Ray have been away from us both and they're still very young."

"And it's not time yet for me to see Luffy," Shanks added with a shrug and a knowing smile. "But mostly, it's been way too long since I've hugged my little angels."

The different protests begrudgingly died after that, and the Red-Haired Pirates started the preparations for the journey.

-o-oOo-o-

The day before you left, Sanji and Zoro woke up, which was sooner than you had expected, but you felt happy about the news nonetheless. It could only mean Luffy would wake up pretty soon as well, and since Whitebeard planned to stay a bit longer in Wano than Shanks did, it meant your brothers would get to spend some time with each other while Sabo was busy wrecking havoc in the current Reverie.

Being the older sister of three absolute menaces definitely came with more things to think about than you had anticipated.

And talking about things that you had not anticipated, there was the current situation.

Which was the sight of Sanji on his knees in front of you, forehead against the floor. In the middle of the dining hall. A dining hall currently filled with the Red-Haired Pirates crew, at least half the Whitebeard Pirates crew, most of the Heart and Kidd Pirates as well, the Red Scabbards, and basically most of the influential people actually present in the country.

"Please grant me the honour of your chocolate chip cookie recipe, Y/N-sama !"

There was complete silence in the entire room of the palace for several seconds, then you heard Thatch's laughter and watched Shanks smirk from the corner of your eyes.

"That recipe is secret for a reason, kid. No one but a Goddess can know it !" Thatch told him.

"That's right," your husband confirmed smugly with a kiss on your cheek. "My lovely wife has never found anyone else worthy to learn it."

"I know how sacred this recipe is," Sanji said with his face still on the ground. "And I swear to never share it with another chef if the Goddess of the Sea were to grant me this honour, but I must beg you, as the chef of the future Pirate King, to let me know the secret of it, for I would never be worthy of my title otherwise !"

Your eyebrows went up as exclamations and protests rose everywhere in the hall. Truth be told, you had never thought chocolate chip cookies might cause such an uproar when you had first baked them as a reward for Shanks showing off his power. Yet, it seemed to have somehow become a big deal over the years. And Sanji's claim to be the chef ot the future Pirate King when two Emperors were in the room was both extremely bold and the sign that he was really desperate about it. If you were to hazard a guess, your baby brother had probably bugged him a lot to have cookies since he had come back from his training with Rayleigh.

In the middle of the chaos, you raised a hand in a sharp move.

The entire hall went silent and waited for you to talk.

"I heard you managed to replicate and improve a wedding cake prepared for a Charlotte wedding, without even tasting it," you said in a clear voice. "Is it true ?"

"Yes," Sanji replied, still looking to the ground, and you smirked.

"Then how about a test ?" you offered mischievously.

"What do you have in mind, sweetheart ?" Shanks asked you, sounding puzzled.

"What kind of test ?" Sanji asked seriously without looking up, which was starting to become a bit ridiculous.

"I'll bake a batch of my chocolate chip cookies, and you will have exactly one of them," you stated, and watched as Sanji finally raised his head in incredulous hope. "After eating it, you'll write what you think is the recipe, and I will tell you whether or not you are correct. Should you be wrong, I will not tell you what your mistakes were," you warned him. "That is my only offer. Do you accept it ?"

"YES ! Thank you Y/N-swan, I am beyond grateful for this opportunity."

You nodded gracefully, and turned your head to look in the young shogun's direction.

"Momonosuke, do you mind if I use the palace's kitchen for a moment ?"

"Not at all, Y/N-sama," the young shogun replied in a baffled voice.

You grinned, and turned around to give a deep kiss to your still confused-looking husband.

"You can come and watch," you whispered against his lips, knowing he always ended up way too distracted by you to pay attention to what you were doing, much to the rest of the crew's chagrin.

"Hell yes," Shanks smirked. "Hey, can we-"

"No fucking on the kitchen counter when I'm baking."

"Awww come on babe !"

"I'll keep three just for you if you behave."

"Five."

"Four."

"Deal."

-o-oOo-o-

You watched as Sanji ate your cookie, fainted like his soul had left his body and ascended straight to heaven, then jumped back on his feet and started writing furiously. Truth be told, you were trying your best to remain impassive at the impossibly silly sight. You were pretty sure not even a filler episode would have dared to pull such a stunt.

And yet, Sanji was here in front of you, trying to crack your chocolate chip cookie recipe. To be fair, you had no doubt that if there was one person who could get it right, it was him, and according to the begrudgingly hopeful look in Zoro's eye, you could tell he counted on that as well. On the other side, you could see Thatch glaring at Sanji and you had to bite your lips to avoid snickering. You knew Thatch was still trying to replicate your recipe, but he had not been successful so far and according to both your brother and your father figure, it was driving him insane.

Since you had only baked a small batch this time, you had had to be careful in the repartition of the cookies, and ultimately decided to simply play favourites. So Shanks was happily eating his share, Whitebeard was as well and looking supremely smug as he did, Ace had already engulfed his own and was now trying to convince you to bake more, and everyone else was either giving them jealous looks or watching the blond chef with open curiosity.

Sanji stopped writing, read his analyse a second time, took a deep breathe, then folded the result and handed it to you. You unfolded the sheet of paper – making sure no one else could read it as you did so – and started reading, your eyebrows raising a little more at each line.

"Well," you ultimately stated in complete and absolute silence while all eyes were on you. "I'm impressed."

"Y- you mean-" Sanji mumbled incredulously.

You smiled and folded the sheet of paper again before handing it back to him.

"You know what the conditions are to give it to another chef," you told him with a wink and a knowing look. The young cook instantly bowed so low his head pretty much hit the ground as he confounded himself in words of honoured gratitude and promises to be worthy of your secret recipe.

"WAIT HE GOT IT RIGHT !?" Thatch screeched.

You smiled brightly, twirled your way back against your husband's chest, chuckled at his equally stunned expression, and smiled cheerfully.

"Eeyup !"

Chaos erupted in the dining hall, and you laughed happily.

Notes:

Bet you all didn't see Roger coming, did you ? :p

Chapter 46: Divine Departure

Chapter Text

Rayleigh pov

"Dark King ! Little Ray is crying again ! What do we do !?"

"Give him to me, Brogy, I've got this."

"He… he calmed down… What kind of sorcery did you do ?"

"The trick is to make him think he's still at Sea with all the people he loves. That's why I took clothes from his parents' closet before we left."

"How did you know to do that ?"

"Shanks used to make the exact same kind of tantrums when he was a baby. Roger and I had to figure out a trick to calm the brat quickly or the lack of sleep would have driven the entire crew insane."

"But you couldn't know it would work on little Ray !?"

"I had a feeling it would. Like father like son, and this one is the spitting image of his dad."

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

 The Red Force left the country with great pomp, several thousands of well-wishes, and a promise to come back with your children one day. None of the Emperor-defeating supernovas came to bid you goodbye, but you were not surprised by that. Kidd was about as social as a rabid chihuahua on a good day, Luffy was still unconscious, and Law was worrying about him and badly hiding it.

In fact, Law's concern for your baby brother had reached a point where you had started wondering whether you would need to make another shovel talk soon. Since he travelled in a submarine, you were fairly confident Ketchup's presence alone would make for a nice little warning, but a reminder of the powers you wielded would probably not go amiss.

And you had a feeling you better also start working on one for Koala, since Sabo had been suspiciously evasive on the subject the last time you had talked to him. But that could wait for a later date, when your brothers would snail to tell you the news themselves… or when Ace would snitch on them. Whichever came first.

And so you left, thankfully using the calm way. Shanks had gotten a mischievous spark in his eyes at the idea that he could make the Red Force jump down the waterfall, but you calmly informed him that if he tried to do that, you would jump overboard and make your way to Elbaf on your own.

-o-oOo-o-

Marco pov

"We need to talk-yoi."

"What about, Marco-ya ?"

"A kind of trial you're not ready for-yoi. One I've been through."

"What are you talking about ?"

"You're going to ask Luffy to date you when he wakes up-yoi."

"Even if I were, what's it to you ?"

"He's the youngest sibling of the Goddess of the Sea. I'm the only man to have ever gone through her shovel talk-yoi."

"… I'm listening."

-o-oOo-o-

Reader pov

To your great amusement, everyone on board kept being careful and checking regularly on you, as if the proof that you were not invincible and could actually be badly hurt during a fight had just dawned on them all. Which was why you had suggested to get back to your usual sparring sessions once everyone on board would get the okay from Hongo.

You were facing the sea with both elbows on the railing and Shanks hugging you from behind on the second day of the trip, when your husband kissed your neck and squeezed your body against his torso, a classic move of his to ask for your attention.

"I can hear you thinking, sweetheart, what's going on in that pretty head of yours ?"

You huffed and rolled your eyes, even if he could not see it, then breathed deeply and sighed, trying to let the tension leave you with it.

"It's done. Everything I knew would happen, everything I tried to prevent, the future I fought to avoid, the people I wanted to protect… it's all done now. I'm still trying to process the fact that whatever comes next is a mystery to me," you admitted softly, and curled yourself a little more against Shanks' reassuring presence.

"My beautiful, wonderful, amazing wife, the future is supposed to be a mystery. That's what makes it exciting," your husband replied with a smile in his voice. "The adventure, the risk, the unknown, that's what makes life worth living."

You turned to face Shanks, just in time to see his carefree, happy smile, and kissed him deeply for a moment, simply savouring the taste of his lips and the serene desire you held for each other. Maybe it was time for you to let go of the fixing role you had assigned yourself – and unknowingly been assigned by Roger – and just live. Seas knew raising two waterbending and possibly Haki-wielding children with an Emperor and his crew on a pirate ship was going to keep you on your toes enough as it was.

"You know, maybe you're right," you whispered pensively as you opened your eyes and let go of your man's dangerously addictive lips. "I'll just have to get used to not have a next thing to do hanging over my head anymore. I suppose I'll simply need to learn to trust my instincts and your decisions when it comes to what the future has in store for us."

"That's the spirit, love," Shanks smiled and kissed your cheek. "Now let's get our kids back before Rayleigh completely spoils them rotten like the world's most whipped grandfather he definitely is, and then we'll sail wherever we want, no obligations or timeline to worry about. Just us, the Sea, and new horizons to explore."

"Sounds perfect," you smiled brightly, and turned to face the sea again, feeling like a weight had finally left your shoulders.

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks pov

In the end, they stayed on Elbaf longer than they had initially planned, mostly because Dorry and Brogy had somehow managed to contact the rest of his allies. Every pirate crew sailing under his flag had come in haste at the idea they would finally meet his children, and for some of them, his wife.

Admittedly, Shanks did not meet his allies very often. In his defense, he did not really see the need to do so unless there was an emergency, and the past years had kept him pretty busy. Point remained, Elbaf was supposed to be a quick stop, but as soon as his allies managed to start chatting with the Goddess of the Sea and gush over their children, the Emperor knew they would have to prolong their stay to at least a week or two.

But he also had to admit the pause and carefree parties were damn welcome after the Wano battle, if only because they had missed the celebrations and the Fire Festival altogether. Shanks was already thinking about going there again in a few years, when Ariel and Ray would be old enough to make some memories and really appreciate the festivities. And also so they could watch their goddess of a mother being revered like a hero and a borderline actual deity in the country, that promised to be fun.

In the meantime, Shanks was enjoying a – perfectly proportioned, thank you very much – cup of sake in one of the island's pubs, and thinking back on what Rayleigh had told him before the old man left for Sabaody.

They're just as full of life as you were, but they clearly missed their parents. By the way, you owe me for the babysitting. Make sure to be in Sabaody for their birthdays, Shakky wants to meet them too and it'll be nice to enjoy some family time together.

As soon as they had arrived, Shanks had run to his son and daughter and hugged them tightly, not letting go for several minutes until he finally felt whole again with both his wife and his children close to him. Those little faces full of happiness and wonder who looked so much like their amazing mom and so much like him and so much like their own person at the same time filled him with an amount of joy and love so vast, Shanks was sure he was bound to bust at some point.

The next days, Y/N and him had made a point to stay with Ariel and Ray as much as they could, doing all sorts of activities together and reassuring their precious babies that they were back and – as far as Shanks was concerned – never leaving them again.

His baby girl had been smiling and babbling even more than usual, which Shanks absolutely loved and took an incredible pleasure in translating. His beloved wife doubted most of his translations, but he could not care less. Ariel was a ray of sunshine who deserved all the love and attention, and Shanks fully intended to give it to her.

And fine, maybe his sweet little princess was a bit too mischievous with her water manipulations abilities, but Shanks really failed to see why that was a problem. If anything, it meant he had to plan a meeting with everyone they knew, preferably Mimi, Buggy – who had been given the title of Emperor after Wano alongside Luffy, it seemed Aokiji had a sense of humour in the end – and Old Man Newgate. The look on their faces when his darling baby girl would splash them with water would be absolutely priceless, especially since her adorable laugh meant none of them would be able to bring themselves to reprimand her afterwards.

On the other hand, Ray had apparently been very agitated the entire time he was away from them both, a bit like he had been when his Mom had left a few days for Dressrosa. Though Rayleigh had assured everyone it was not that hard to calm him down when you used the right trick, which had made Y/N laugh a lot and had the rest of the crew – Shanks included – both incredibly jealous and insanely impressed.

But now that they were both back and spending all their time together, Shanks' adorable purple-haired baby boy had been napping and observing everything around him in calm wonder. To be fair, it was pretty obvious his son may take a teeny tiny little bit more after his mother. At least, that was what everyone kept saying, for what his beautiful wife qualified as understandable reasons and what Shanks thought was pure slander on his name.

Really, it was as if being an Emperor was no longer enough to get the bare minimum of respect around here.

As things were, however, Shanks and his crew had finally decided to set sail again, which meant Dorry and Brogy had insisted to spend some time with Ariel and Ray before they left. It was truly heartwarming to watch both of his Giant friends melt at the sight of his tiny babies… and a bit hilarious when they panicked because something happened – like losing a toy – and neither Dorry nor Brogy knew how to handle it without outright panicking.

Talking about children, there was another one currently chatting his ear off before their scheduled departure.

"Come on, I've been training a lot !" the little Giant girl kept whining as if it would make Shanks change his mind. "I've gained a lot of muscle !"

"Won't happen, kid," Beckman huffed with a shrug and a goodhearted smile. "We don't take children on board."

"Ariel and Ray-"

"Don't participate in fights," Yasopp countered.

"And they're sailing with us because no one tells the Goddess of the Sea to settle on land with her children and wait for sailors to come back a few times a year," Limejuice added.

"Not that some people didn't try," Bonk snickered with a look at Hongo.

"That was my professional opinion as a doctor and she made very reasonnable counter arguments," Hongo retorted instantly.

Shanks listened to his crewmembers bickering lightheartedly with each other while he kept drinking his sake, enjoying the moment and waiting for his wonderful wife to come back. As if she had heard his thoughts, Y/N walked in the pub with a bright smile.

"Ketchup's mood is back to happy," she announced cheerfully. "I think he's excited to start traveling again."

A second later, she had plopped herself in his lap, batting her eyes innocently at the raised eyebrow Shanks addressed her when she purposefully positioned herself in a way that would complicate his drinking. Especially since he simply had to put his arm around her waist and his hand on the delicious amount of skin revealed by the slit in her skirt.

"Babe, unless you plan to send this sake directly into my mouth, I'm afraid you're going to have to move."

She smiled knowingly at him, then made a small quantity of alcohol raise from the cup with a flick of her finger. However, instead of sending it to his mouth, she raised it to her face and drank it. Before Shanks could protest at the shameless thievery, she inclined her head and he smirked, having an inkling what his wife had in mind.

And indeed, as soon as their mouths connected, he felt the alcohol flow from her lips, the taste of her mouth mixing with that of the sake and turning a simple drink in something much more enjoyable. When Shanks was done thoroughly exploring her mouth for every trace of his drink – and definitely not for the pleasure of an extended make-out session – he let her go with his tongue tracing her bottom lip as a last warning that he would not let her keep a single drop.

"Is this way to send it into your mouth acceptable, Captain ?" she smirked seductively.

Had Shanks ever mentioned how much he fucking loved his wife ?

"I can live with that method," the Emperor grinned.

"Keep it for the bedroom !" Gab shouted with a laugh.

Y/N rolled her eyes, but got out of his lap anyway to take the seat beside him. Truth be told, Shanks had accidentally spilled more than a few drinks on both of them over the years as an excuse to shed some layers, or to lick it off her skin. Although it had been a while since he had last brought drinks in their bedroom activities, now that he thought about it.

"BOSS !"

Shanks ignored the call of one of his allies' crewmembers and opted instead to empty his cup. With Ketchup ready to go and Y/N back, it was time for them to leave Elbaf with the tide.

"It's the Kidd Pirates ! They're closing in on the island !"

Next to him, Y/N's smile disappeared and her expression turned a shade darker, but Shanks was not done with his cup.

"Boss, what do we do !? They say they want to fight !"

Shanks finished his sake, and put the cup back on the table as he pretended not to notice the quick looks exchanged by the various members of his crew. Then he stood up, and all of them walked out of the pub with him. The Emperor had barely made two steps outside before Dorry and Brogy lowered their hands near him and his wife, Ariel and Ray smiling like a thousand suns on their palms.

Ariel clung to him immediately and started babbling happily about clouds, birds, the sky, and flowers, in her approximative and adorable language. Shanks secured his arm around her little body with an ease he had acquired through practice, and only spared a quick glance toward Y/N. Unsurprisingly, her arms were already full with Ray, who was making suspiciously big bubbles with his saliva. Between that and how much he seemed to love the Sea, Shanks was expecting his son to manifest some kind of water manipulation ability even sooner than his daughter had.

At least, Shanks had bet on it happening before Ray's first birthday, and he knew Beck's own money was not far from that.

"Do you want us to deal with them, brother ?" Dorry asked with a big smile.

The Emperor kept walking in direction of his ship, but his decision was made. He was not going to let this barking shithead hinder Luffy in the run for the One Piece, but he would still give him one last generous chance to get the hell away from his family.

"Ask them if they really want to fight us now. If this is the right time to make that bet. They can either leave their poneglyphs behind, or face the consequences of challenging us."

"You got it, brother !" Brogy replied with enthusiasm.

His friends left for whichever side of Elbaf the ex-rookies were coming from. Shanks continued on his way with his crew behind him and his darling wife by his side, their children clinging to them as they got ready for a nap after all the tiring goodbye activities with the Giants. No one even asked him about his decision, but after a couple minutes, Y/N sighed.

"You know Kidd won't back down from a fight, much less when doing so would mean giving you his copies of the Road Poneglyphs ?"

"You want me to spare him again ?" Shanks asked instead as he adjusted Ariel's head in his neck to ensure she would breathe easily even as she fell asleep.

"Love, honey, my wonderful Emperor of a husband," his wife replied with a smile cold enough to rival Aokiji's Devil Fruit, "he slaughtered countless civilians just because they laughed at his ambitions, he attempted to kill you two years ago, and when I saved his life in Wano when he was facing Big Mom, he looked at me like I was a piece of meat that should feel honoured he found me appetizing."

Shanks' head snapped to the love of his life with shocked fury.

"He fucking WHAT !?"

Ariel whined briefly at his outburst and the Emperor immediately changed his voice to adopt a more soothing tone.

"Sorry princess, go back to sleep, everything's alright. Dad is just really really mad at a piece of trash."

Several snickers echoed behind him but Shanks ignored them. He could tell he was not the only one feeling furious after hearing this arrogant rookie had dared to blatantly disrespect a goddess he owed his life to twice.

"What I am saying," Y/N declared with a poised calm Shanks knew all too well was only a carefully disguised way to express her own anger in order to avoid waking up their son, "is that as far as I am concerned, he has outlived his usefulness and I have no reason whatsoever to keep enabling his behaviour."

Shanks smirked at the implied yet obvious threat his wife was making with that statement. As much as he loved her soft and gentle side, the Emperor could never get enough of the thrill he felt every time he got to witness the absolute ruthlessness she was capable of. The same way people saw him drunk and forgot he could bring them down with a look, many saw her cute water kittens and forgot she could kill them with a touch.

No matter how much that rookie had grown in two years, no matter the experience he had acquired, no matter the awakening of his Devil Fruit, he had managed to get both an Emperor and the Goddess of the Sea on his bad side. Worse, he had done so without realising his only saving grace so far had been Y/N's selfless determination to protect the future of those she loved.

"Been a while since the two of you handled a fight together," Beck hummed knowingly, a smirk in his voice.

"I'll make popcorn !" Lucky immediately declared, which made everyone laugh.

"Come on lads, maybe they'll do the smart thing and leave," Shanks grinned.

-o-oOo-o-

A bright pink light bursts from the rookie's ship in a devastating ray of death.

The laser destroys everything in a matter of seconds, it breaks and burns things and people alike.

None of his allies manages to escape, the brutal power of the weapon kills them and crushes their ships almost instantly.

There is a small gap between two ships.

It's enough for the weapon to reach a tiny area near the Red Force.

His wife and children are playing in the water there.

The laser catches her unaware because she cannot use Haki.

By the time she turns around it's too late.

Ariel and Ray are killed by a laser destroying their fragile bodies before she understands what is happening.

She stares at their dead children, unable to comprehend the sight in front of her.

A horrified scream of pain escapes her, a sound worse than anything he has ever heard.

Her eyes turn entirely blue and her body jerks violently before it falls limp into the sea.

Within the next second, a water sphere engulfs her.

Ariel and Ray's lifeless silhouettes are trapped inside it .

At her broken mind's command, the waves rise in a fury no man has ever seen.

She is no longer human.

She is a vessel for the wrath of the Sea and nothing can stop her grieving rage.

Nothing but him.

Nothing but his promise to kill her if she lost control.

Chapter 47: Sunset On The Sea

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Reader pov

Shanks suddenly gasped in horror on the Red Force, loud enough for you to hear him despite playing with Ariel and Ray a few waves away from the ship. Your eyes snapped to the railing in time to see your husband turn a terrified gaze toward the Victoria Punk.

In the blink of an eye, you understood he had seen something terrible happening in the immediate future, and instantly burst into action. Within the next second, you created a water jet to bring your children and yourself back on board. You immediately put Ray in Yasopp's arms and sent Ariel to Shanks' First Mate.

"Beckman, Yasopp, protect the kids !" you ordered just as Shanks was running to the helm.

"Y/N, get the fleet away from here !" your Emperor commanded urgently as he turned the Red Force toward the Victoria Punk. "Dorry, Brogy, get ready !"

You did not even wait to hear the answer from the two Giant Captains and jumped over the railing to dive back into the water. Once low enough under the various ships, you started to turn on yourself to create a whirlpool strong enough to send Shanks' allies away from Kidd's range.

The magnetic forces working against you created a little more resistance than you were used to, but since Kidd had to divide his power between that and the massive canon you had caught a glimpse of, his magnetic field did not stand a chance against your own powers. Not when you were fighting in your own turf. Shanks' allies were pushed away from Kidd's ship in seconds, leaving a clear path between the Red Force and the Victoria Punk.

You felt and saw Shanks' red and black cloud of Conqueror's Haki fly at amazing speed over the waves, and as you made your way to the surface again, you could swear for a second that it took the form of a griffin, something you had never seen before.

During the fraction of a second where Shanks found himself straight in front of Kidd's cannon, your heart missed a beat in fear.

But then Shanks' sword slashed the air, and all hell broke lose as he unleashed the raw power of Divine Departure on Kidd. The two masts of the Victoria Punk were instantly cut and broken, all windows burst in thousands of glass shards, the wood cracked until it gave up to the pressure of your husband's Conqueror Haki, munitions exploded everywhere, and several massive fires broke out in the next second.

Shanks landed on the destroyed ship, his sword still drawn, and you refused to stand by for even one more second.

Four columns of water surged from the waves all around the Victoria Punk, and crashed on what remained of its structure, only sparing your Emperor as seawater extinguished the fires and sent the crew flying against whatever debris laid around everywhere. A fifth water column propulsed you high in the air, and you landed gracefully by your husband's side, with water tendrils levitating behind you. A brief glance was enough to let you see that Shanks' face was darkened by an amount of hatred you had never witnessed on him.

Your Emperor did not say a word as you both made your way inside the ship, and you did not speak either. He sheathed his sword when he saw Kidd laying unconscious and bleeding, though, and you took it as the sign the enemy was defeated.

Members of Kidd's crew ran at you with pleas to spare their Captain, and even presented you with their copies of the Road Poneglyphs, but Shanks and you remained silent. From the corner of your eyes, you noticed Killer's broken mask and his long blond hair spilled on the ground near his Captain. You felt a shimmer of pity at his unmoving form. He had not given you a bad impression during your brief encounter in Wano, but he had still given his loyalty to the wrong Captain. And in a world of piracy, following the wrong person was a death sentence.

"Please spare our Captain," some crewmembers kept begging with more urgency and less coherency. "You got our Poneglyphs, now just let us live ! Please Y/N, you helped us before !"

Your own usual smile was nowhere to be seen, and their repeated calls of your name instead of your title – a liberty you had certainly never given to anyone sailing under Kidd's flag – did not help their case in the slightest. This whole crew had performed atrocities on civilians all over South Blue, the Grand Line, and the New World. Yet they still had been given more second chances than most, and they only seemed to have realised too late that it was not destiny or skill that had saved them so far.

Despite your repeated mercy for the sake of the future, despite your husband's generous offer to leave with their lives when he had no reason to even give them that much, they had still chosen to challenge the Red-Haired Pirates a second time. And they would have attacked your crew and allies with something so atrocious that Shanks' clearly enraged Haki kept flooding the air in furious waves around him, putting the entire crew on their knees and making them suffocate between their teary pleas.

You had granted them your help twice.

There would not be a third time.

"Kill him."

Shanks' command took you by surprise, but you remained impassive. You knew your husband. He would never give you an order if he did not think it was necessary.

And you also knew him well enough to understand the specific tone of voice he had employed meant he wanted you to kill Kidd both painfully and without touching him.

So your did not even raise your hand to send the seawater behind you rushing toward Kidd's body, and ignored his crew's desperate pleas. A small sphere surrounded the arrogant Captain and made the red-head's body float above the wooden floor. You watched the macabre spectacle for a moment, noting with a dash of interest that Shanks' attack had left him so broken that he was not even conscious enough to react to your water prison. For a flashing instant, you were suddenly reminded of Blackbeard's terrified and furious expression as you were about to end his life.

You commanded seawater to invade Kidd's mouth until it filled his lungs, then reached his veins, flooded his blood flow, and rushed until you found his heart to make it burst through the pressure.

Kidd choked as he drowned, until the water turned red with his blood after his heart exploded. You still commanded the water to slit his throat from the inside, just in case he would somehow not have been killed by your previous attacks. When it was clear there was no way he could possibly have survived all of this, you called all the seawater back to you and sent it back amongst the waves, still not moving a finger as you did so.

You were left technically unprotected, but the furious aura of your husband ensured no one in their right mind would attempt to attack you. Even if they were desperate or foolish enough to try, you knew he would react before you even had to use your powers and call the sea back to you.

A few seconds of stunned silence followed your actions.

Then, the silhouette of the Red Force appeared beside the Victoria Punk, her vibrant colours and proud allure a sharp contrast to the destroyed vessel.

"Oi Boss ! Y/N ! Over here !" Gab shouted with a grin.

Without even needing to look at each other, you knew to take Shanks' offered hand as you walked to the broken railing of the Victoria Punk, jumped on it, then called a wave to bring you both back to your ship. The Red Force quickly distanced herself, and right as you noticed Ketchup's white dorsal fin breaking the water not far away from your position, the unmistakable laughs of Dorry and Brogy echoed from the mainland.

Their two huge silhouettes appeared ready to strike when you turned around, and soon enough, their weapons clashed in a thundering noise to throw a combined attack splitting up the Victoria Punk in two clean halves, sending both ship, cargo, and crew alike into the sea.

Ketchup's fin disappeared as he dived under the Red Force, and you watched his shadow head straight for his next snack. Just in case, you focused on the water anyway in order to make sure there would be no survivor to lauch themselves in some desperate vendetta. When you were sure of it, you allowed yourself to finally relax. A few seconds later, Ketchup's dorsal fin broke the waves again next to the ship, his white scales glowing under the red lights of the sunset.

"What did you see ?" you softly asked Shanks, whose jaw was still clenched. His fingers were holding your tightly and his eyes remained firmly set on the horizon.

It took a moment for your husband to respond, and he first looked at Beckman, who was listening to Ariel's enthusiastic babbling, then Yasopp, who was trying to convince Ray to play with his plushie rather than pull on his dreadlocks.

"He killed them. You lost control," your Emperor ultimately replied in a broken whisper.

You paled and felt your next breath leave you in a terrified but nearly silent gasp. You tightened your hold on his hand in pure reflex as your eyes instantly went to Ariel and Ray to reassure yourself they were safe. You did not need to hear more to understand what Shanks had meant by that. Without the power of his Observation Haki, your children would have been killed by Kidd's attack, leaving you so broken by their deaths that you would have lost control of your powers and turned into a monster only Shanks could hope to defeat.

Which meant that in a matter of seconds, your husband would have both lost his children and been forced to kill his wife.

You could not think of a worst fate to endure.

"Thank you for including me in the fight and letting me kill him," you whispered after a moment, and leaned against Shanks' arm.

The two of you remained like this for a moment, taking in the sunset turning the sky and sea into a wide colour palette composed of reds, oranges, pinks, and gold. The last warmth of the day bathed everyone aboard, as well as Ketchup's glistening back, in Shanks' signature colours. The wind in the sails and the enthusiastic voices of your crew filled up the air, with the occasional laugh from your children.

It slowly managed to bring Shanks and you back to the present, until you both found your calm again. Beckman and Yasopp brought your children back to their playground at some point – probably when their own Haki assured them your emotions were back under control – and you turned your gaze to watch your son and daughter play happily together. That soft, safe, and innocent sight was the last thing you needed.

Despite the tragedy you had barely managed to avoid, you felt like you had never been so at peace, and idly wondered if there was not something to be said for the calm that came after the storm.

Then Shanks moved in order to hug you, and you followed his lead. A few moments later, his chest was on your back and his arm was around your waist, his hand still holding yours, and you let your head fall back to rest against your husband's strong body.

"Whatever brought you to this world," Shanks murmured as he buried his face in your hair, "I hope it never takes you back."

"Don't worry, love," you reassured your husband softly. "I couldn't go back to my world even if I wanted to. Which I don't, by the way."

"Wait, what ?"

"Oh right, with everything that happened after I woke up, I forgot to tell you," you realised with a little laugh. "I met Roger when I was unconscious, turns out he became some sort of god after his death, if you can believe it. Anyway, he's the one who brought me here in order to save Ace, and he told me that since I died in my world and completed my part of our deal in his, I'm free to stay here and do what I want."

-o-oOo-o-

Rayleigh pov

In Sabaody, Rayleigh frowned suddenly. He could have sworn he had just heard the faint echo of Shanks' incredulous "WHAT !?" from across the world.

"Everything alright ?" Shakky asked him from behind the counter.

Rayleigh hummed with a brief nod.

"Thought I heard something for a second."

As he went back to his newspaper, the Dark King heard another faint echo of a familiar sound, and he smiled. Over two decades had passed since he had last heard it, yet he still remembered Roger's laugh like his best friend had never left his side.

-o-oOo-o-

THE END

-o-oOo-o-

Notes:

Before you leave, go see the awesome endcard drawn by FeeEnHeks ! :D (and if anyone knows how to put images directly inside Ao3 chapters, please let me know in the comments ^^')

https://www.tumblr.com/feeenheks14/769675973315706880/ocean-blues-endcard-ocean-blue-ao3

I hope you enjoyed reading this crazy adventure as much as I enjoyed writing it <3

Edit : also go look at this gorgeous fanart of Y/N drawn by J_Wilson !!

https://dioic1.tumblr.com/post/787721385401368577/never-thought-id-meet-a-woman-wearing-blue-so

Series this work belongs to: