Random Shanks fic
Jul. 23rd, 2005 06:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dethoratsTitle: Memoir of a Red Haired Pirate
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1787
Note: Speculations about Akagamis - at this time we didn't know exactly when/how Shanks and Buggy had been crew with Gol D. Roger so that section is not matching with canon.
Shanks had set out to sea at the tender age of six. He’d snuck aboard a merchant vessel, hiding successfully for three whole days in one of the store rooms. By that time it had been too late to put him ashore. The ship was bound for another island clear across West Blue and its strict deadline didn’t allow time to drop a stowaway off at another island. Shanks was, the angry merchant decided, too young to throw overboard or cast out in a rowboat. So he’d become a cabin boy for the vessel’s captain. The merchant may have owned the ship, but he certainly didn’t know how to sail it. Shanks learned a lot from the gruff, hard-drinking man who took him in. But above all, he learned that when he got his own ship, no one would be his boss. He alone would make all the decisions.
When Shanks turned ten, he left his first real home to join up with a band of pirates. They’d been uncertain about taking on a boy so young, but Shanks had proven his worth: First by scampering up the rigging faster than even the cook’s pet monkey and later by neatly stealing the captain’s pocket watch. He fit in well with the rough group of men, picking up both the sword and a bottle of rum for the very first time. A year to the day after he’d become a member of the crew, the captain took on another lad. Buggy was only two years older than him, but at thirteen he found Shanks’ eleven years to be not enough. Teasing the strange looking teen was the best way to pass the time besides hitting a bottle, and Shanks developed a strange, antagonistic relationship with the other boy.
One day they claimed a great treasure from another pirate crew. The devil’s fruit was a chancy thing and the captain wasn’t exactly sure what to do with it. Buggy, that rascal, had made the decision for him. Shanks still didn’t know exactly what had happened to make his friend eat the fruit or why he was so mad afterwards. All he knew was that Buggy had left, raving something about revenge. By that time Shanks was sixteen and getting stronger all the time. His skill with the sword was unmatched on his ship and the captain looked to him to lead the crew whenever it came time to attack another vessel. The first mate, a thin weaselly man whom Shanks had never liked, began to pick on him. The captain clearly favored Shanks and the man did not want to lose his position to someone he regarded as a stupid, naïve teenager.
At last they came to blows, the first mate having tried to stab him in the back during a melee with a group of marines. Shanks had no proof beyond the wound that ran parallel to one of his ribs, but he knew who had done it. He called the man out in front of everyone, was prepared to fight to the death if need be, but the captain stopped them. Sorrowfully he’d told Shanks that he was no longer welcome on the ship if he couldn’t provide proof of his accusation. It was too bad, Shanks had thought later, that the first mate’s smirk of triumph didn’t count. He’d left at the next port with his portion of the booty and a companion in the form of one other pirate.
Lucky Roux had joined some time after Buggy had left. Shanks had never been able to figure out exactly how old he was nor how much he weighed. Lucky Roux was a mean shot and ate more than anyone Shanks had ever met. He laughed at every single one of Shanks’ jokes and that had been enough to endear him to the red-haired teen. Together they were a formidable force, having proved it on more than one occasion by taking down entire taverns by themselves. Roux had faith in Shanks’ seldom-voiced dream of becoming a captain himself and sailing the seas as a different kind of pirate.
They had just enough money to buy a small, sleek ship. Shanks dubbed her The Wyvern after the winged dragon figurehead and spent a week looking for a crew before setting back out with Roux and three others. By this time, Shanks was no longer in West Blue. His former captain had risked them all on the Grand Line, but only long enough to enter into South Blue. The three weeks of weird weather and stranger creatures had been the best time of Shanks’ life and he was eager to get back. But even he knew the Grand Line wasn’t something to be trifled with. The glowing-eyed swordsman he’d faced on one island had nearly cost him his life (and earned him a great lay) and that was nothing on the giant sea monsters that tried to eat the ship. What he needed was a little more experience, a few more crew members, and money to buy enough booze to tide him over for more that a week.
A captain at 19, Shanks was considered a long shot for the old pirate’s contest. But he’d won the treasure map fair and square. Having to share it with a dog like Habaland had sucked, but he was determined the gold would be his. Somehow along the way he managed to pick up a snot nosed kid and a sullen marine drop out who also happened to be one of the smartest people in South Blue and held four separate graduate degrees. The race to find Morse’s treasure, the treasure of the ancient Parshelm empire had spanned all of that quadrant of ocean. Three times he fought it out with Habaland, the slick bastard escaping every time. Finally, on a tiny bizarre island at the border of the Calm Belt, they’d ended up at the finish line.
Beyond some trouble with the carnivorous purple sloths that had somehow migrated there from the Grand Line, the whole experience went well. Turned out the treasure was actually an ancient temple designed to enhance mediation techniques. Turned out Habaland was even more of a bastard than he’d thought. Turned out his sullen genius had a wicked way with his giant gun. Turned out he didn’t actually care too much about not getting any gold. So he’d left the kid on the island to learn and took the grumpy guy with him.
As was slowly revealed over the course of their treasure map quest, Ben knew how to sail well enough and he took easily to being a pirate. Exploring the Grand Line, learning about its mysterious history was Ben’s dream and Shanks found it meshed well with his own desires. It was a slow process, punctuated by fighting and sulking and many adventures, but by the time Shanks turned twenty-one, he had found himself both a first mate and a permanent bed partner.
A brief team-up with Mihawk had resulted in more money than even Shanks could blow on booze in a year and he’d bought himself a new ship. This one was enormous, and he gradually collected a ragged looking crew to sail her. They were all scruffy, hard-drinking bastards, and they all had hearts that were a little tarnished. But with polish or the right cause, and his crew was golden. They made a name for themselves, so much so that the Navy took interest. Taking down two of the Navy's finest, admiral-led fleets brought an invitation to join the Seven Seas, but Shanks wasn’t that kind of pirate. He had other goals, none of which involved working for the corrupt World Government. To get rid of the heat, he’d ventured into East Blue.
At twenty-seven, Shanks was in his prime. He had the respect of his fellow pirates, a great crew, a great bar to hang out in, great sex, and a great pastime spent teasing one of the local children. Luffy was all wide eyes and childish mouth, but there was something about the kid that reminded Shanks of himself. So when Luffy got into trouble defending his reputation, Shanks immediately went to his rescue. It didn’t matter that Luffy had eaten his own hard won devil’s fruit. A friend was in trouble and Shanks was just that kind of pirate. He hadn’t expected to lose his arm, but it was worth it to save the kid. Still, he’d become too attached, had too much invested in that little village and he’d sailed away minus a limb and his hat but having gained a promise that would someday mean more than he could know.
He spent the next ten years back on the Grand Line, generally causing trouble for the marines or pirates who went too far. He drank as much as he wanted, drove Ben to distraction, failed to get Mihawk into another duel, ended up in several threesomes with his first mate and the swordsman, gathered a lot of treasure, and basically bided his time. He knew the World Government was up to something. Mihawk acted as his inside man, confirming certain rumors that Shanks heard as he went about his business. He watched as Crocodile moved to consolidate his position while the World Government did nothing. He watched as White Beard grew stronger and stronger but still never approached One Piece. He watched as Luffy’s older brother made his way onto the scene, spreading his grin and talents like wildfire. He watched and listened and kept his men ready for the signal he was sure to come.
One day when Shanks was thirty-seven and enjoying a brief vacation on a summer island, Mihawk brought him some interesting news. Monkey D. Luffy had fulfilled his first promise, had become a pirate. And he was Shanks’ kind of pirate. He knew what that bounty and that wide grin meant. He knew all about Arlong Park and the Navy’s failure to act. It was as if Luffy’s coming was the spark to all the built up tinder. Events moved fast. The World Government actively began searching for him again, and he was forced to destroy another fleet. Hiding out on a winter island, hearing about the activity in Alabasta and of the World Government’s desperate search for Nico Robin and the ancient weapons, he knew the time had come to make his move.
Shanks, pirate captain and man of the sea for thirty-one years, popped the cork on a bottle of very expensive wine he’d taken from the ship of a man who dealt in human trading, and celebrated the fact that his life was finally about to get interesting.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1787
Note: Speculations about Akagamis - at this time we didn't know exactly when/how Shanks and Buggy had been crew with Gol D. Roger so that section is not matching with canon.
Shanks had set out to sea at the tender age of six. He’d snuck aboard a merchant vessel, hiding successfully for three whole days in one of the store rooms. By that time it had been too late to put him ashore. The ship was bound for another island clear across West Blue and its strict deadline didn’t allow time to drop a stowaway off at another island. Shanks was, the angry merchant decided, too young to throw overboard or cast out in a rowboat. So he’d become a cabin boy for the vessel’s captain. The merchant may have owned the ship, but he certainly didn’t know how to sail it. Shanks learned a lot from the gruff, hard-drinking man who took him in. But above all, he learned that when he got his own ship, no one would be his boss. He alone would make all the decisions.
When Shanks turned ten, he left his first real home to join up with a band of pirates. They’d been uncertain about taking on a boy so young, but Shanks had proven his worth: First by scampering up the rigging faster than even the cook’s pet monkey and later by neatly stealing the captain’s pocket watch. He fit in well with the rough group of men, picking up both the sword and a bottle of rum for the very first time. A year to the day after he’d become a member of the crew, the captain took on another lad. Buggy was only two years older than him, but at thirteen he found Shanks’ eleven years to be not enough. Teasing the strange looking teen was the best way to pass the time besides hitting a bottle, and Shanks developed a strange, antagonistic relationship with the other boy.
One day they claimed a great treasure from another pirate crew. The devil’s fruit was a chancy thing and the captain wasn’t exactly sure what to do with it. Buggy, that rascal, had made the decision for him. Shanks still didn’t know exactly what had happened to make his friend eat the fruit or why he was so mad afterwards. All he knew was that Buggy had left, raving something about revenge. By that time Shanks was sixteen and getting stronger all the time. His skill with the sword was unmatched on his ship and the captain looked to him to lead the crew whenever it came time to attack another vessel. The first mate, a thin weaselly man whom Shanks had never liked, began to pick on him. The captain clearly favored Shanks and the man did not want to lose his position to someone he regarded as a stupid, naïve teenager.
At last they came to blows, the first mate having tried to stab him in the back during a melee with a group of marines. Shanks had no proof beyond the wound that ran parallel to one of his ribs, but he knew who had done it. He called the man out in front of everyone, was prepared to fight to the death if need be, but the captain stopped them. Sorrowfully he’d told Shanks that he was no longer welcome on the ship if he couldn’t provide proof of his accusation. It was too bad, Shanks had thought later, that the first mate’s smirk of triumph didn’t count. He’d left at the next port with his portion of the booty and a companion in the form of one other pirate.
Lucky Roux had joined some time after Buggy had left. Shanks had never been able to figure out exactly how old he was nor how much he weighed. Lucky Roux was a mean shot and ate more than anyone Shanks had ever met. He laughed at every single one of Shanks’ jokes and that had been enough to endear him to the red-haired teen. Together they were a formidable force, having proved it on more than one occasion by taking down entire taverns by themselves. Roux had faith in Shanks’ seldom-voiced dream of becoming a captain himself and sailing the seas as a different kind of pirate.
They had just enough money to buy a small, sleek ship. Shanks dubbed her The Wyvern after the winged dragon figurehead and spent a week looking for a crew before setting back out with Roux and three others. By this time, Shanks was no longer in West Blue. His former captain had risked them all on the Grand Line, but only long enough to enter into South Blue. The three weeks of weird weather and stranger creatures had been the best time of Shanks’ life and he was eager to get back. But even he knew the Grand Line wasn’t something to be trifled with. The glowing-eyed swordsman he’d faced on one island had nearly cost him his life (and earned him a great lay) and that was nothing on the giant sea monsters that tried to eat the ship. What he needed was a little more experience, a few more crew members, and money to buy enough booze to tide him over for more that a week.
A captain at 19, Shanks was considered a long shot for the old pirate’s contest. But he’d won the treasure map fair and square. Having to share it with a dog like Habaland had sucked, but he was determined the gold would be his. Somehow along the way he managed to pick up a snot nosed kid and a sullen marine drop out who also happened to be one of the smartest people in South Blue and held four separate graduate degrees. The race to find Morse’s treasure, the treasure of the ancient Parshelm empire had spanned all of that quadrant of ocean. Three times he fought it out with Habaland, the slick bastard escaping every time. Finally, on a tiny bizarre island at the border of the Calm Belt, they’d ended up at the finish line.
Beyond some trouble with the carnivorous purple sloths that had somehow migrated there from the Grand Line, the whole experience went well. Turned out the treasure was actually an ancient temple designed to enhance mediation techniques. Turned out Habaland was even more of a bastard than he’d thought. Turned out his sullen genius had a wicked way with his giant gun. Turned out he didn’t actually care too much about not getting any gold. So he’d left the kid on the island to learn and took the grumpy guy with him.
As was slowly revealed over the course of their treasure map quest, Ben knew how to sail well enough and he took easily to being a pirate. Exploring the Grand Line, learning about its mysterious history was Ben’s dream and Shanks found it meshed well with his own desires. It was a slow process, punctuated by fighting and sulking and many adventures, but by the time Shanks turned twenty-one, he had found himself both a first mate and a permanent bed partner.
A brief team-up with Mihawk had resulted in more money than even Shanks could blow on booze in a year and he’d bought himself a new ship. This one was enormous, and he gradually collected a ragged looking crew to sail her. They were all scruffy, hard-drinking bastards, and they all had hearts that were a little tarnished. But with polish or the right cause, and his crew was golden. They made a name for themselves, so much so that the Navy took interest. Taking down two of the Navy's finest, admiral-led fleets brought an invitation to join the Seven Seas, but Shanks wasn’t that kind of pirate. He had other goals, none of which involved working for the corrupt World Government. To get rid of the heat, he’d ventured into East Blue.
At twenty-seven, Shanks was in his prime. He had the respect of his fellow pirates, a great crew, a great bar to hang out in, great sex, and a great pastime spent teasing one of the local children. Luffy was all wide eyes and childish mouth, but there was something about the kid that reminded Shanks of himself. So when Luffy got into trouble defending his reputation, Shanks immediately went to his rescue. It didn’t matter that Luffy had eaten his own hard won devil’s fruit. A friend was in trouble and Shanks was just that kind of pirate. He hadn’t expected to lose his arm, but it was worth it to save the kid. Still, he’d become too attached, had too much invested in that little village and he’d sailed away minus a limb and his hat but having gained a promise that would someday mean more than he could know.
He spent the next ten years back on the Grand Line, generally causing trouble for the marines or pirates who went too far. He drank as much as he wanted, drove Ben to distraction, failed to get Mihawk into another duel, ended up in several threesomes with his first mate and the swordsman, gathered a lot of treasure, and basically bided his time. He knew the World Government was up to something. Mihawk acted as his inside man, confirming certain rumors that Shanks heard as he went about his business. He watched as Crocodile moved to consolidate his position while the World Government did nothing. He watched as White Beard grew stronger and stronger but still never approached One Piece. He watched as Luffy’s older brother made his way onto the scene, spreading his grin and talents like wildfire. He watched and listened and kept his men ready for the signal he was sure to come.
One day when Shanks was thirty-seven and enjoying a brief vacation on a summer island, Mihawk brought him some interesting news. Monkey D. Luffy had fulfilled his first promise, had become a pirate. And he was Shanks’ kind of pirate. He knew what that bounty and that wide grin meant. He knew all about Arlong Park and the Navy’s failure to act. It was as if Luffy’s coming was the spark to all the built up tinder. Events moved fast. The World Government actively began searching for him again, and he was forced to destroy another fleet. Hiding out on a winter island, hearing about the activity in Alabasta and of the World Government’s desperate search for Nico Robin and the ancient weapons, he knew the time had come to make his move.
Shanks, pirate captain and man of the sea for thirty-one years, popped the cork on a bottle of very expensive wine he’d taken from the ship of a man who dealt in human trading, and celebrated the fact that his life was finally about to get interesting.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-07-24 12:18 am (UTC)Turned out his sullen genius had a wicked way with his giant gun. *giggle*
And to your Drabble/Fic Requests post, how are you at AUs? Because I would love to see something written for this pic. And as you are the foremost expert on all things involving Ben and Shanks...
no subject
Date: 2005-07-24 03:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-25 02:30 pm (UTC)