Soliloquy of the Broken Soul

Red and Black

So here Shanks was, three and a half years layers, still looking. 

"Caapptttiiaann!!!!"

"Alright, alright I'm coming!" He shouted back up, standing and walking out of his quarters to the deck.

He walked gracefully over to Lucky, who was holding the mail hostage and ignored the look of his concerned crew mates.

Mail. He could handle that. Yeah.

"Give me that," Shanks said brashly, but with no real bite. He couldn't yell at his crew even if he wanted to.

He shifted through the letters and stopped on a thick white one with the Whitebeard insignia garnishing the cover.

He quirked a brow, wondering what his fellow warlord was messaging him about. It was almost always the other way around.

"Hmm."

"What's that, Cap?" Yassop pried, trying to peer over his shoulder.

Shanks batted him away with the letters, focusing back on the one on top.

The crew quieted.

He passed the rest of the mail back to Lucky, shoving it into his hands as he carefully unsealed the letter.

Two pieces of paper fell out, each one folded to fit the envelope.

Okay, weird.

He undid the first one, and began to read.

"Shanks,

Hiiiiiiii!!! It's Luffy!!!"

Shanks froze. He didn't know what Whitebeard was pulling. He didn't like what Whitebeard was pulling.

He was going to kill that man if he ever saw him.

Yet, because deep down he hoped, he read on.

"Marco is writing this because he and Sabo say Ace and I are illiterate, but I don't know what that means.

We are sending letters to everyone so they know we are okay! I thought Makino might be worried and then I remembered you and Dadan and I had to tell you all! 

I don't really know how long it's been, a long time I think. The nurse lady here says that's because I have something called Psychosis. Marco says I'm saying it wrong but I don't think that's true.

Anyway, I think physco whatever is dumb so it can just jump ship!

Me and Ace and Sabo got rescued by the Whitebeard Pirates when they raided the ship we were on a little bit ago. I don't know when. But Marco is pretty cool and so is Whitebeard!! I can't join their crew of course because no way am I gonna follow orders I'm gonna be captain! King of the pirates!

Sabo says that saying stuff like that makes him happy, but I'm not sure why.

Oh yeah!!! Ace and Sabo are my brothers! I don't think you got to meet them ;-; I hope you get to. I love them a lot, they saved me too. They didn't leave me alone.

They always keep their promises."

The ink began to get thicker, as it seemed the pen stopped more frequently.

"Shanks, I'm sorry for giving up. I didn't think I'd be able to be the King in the big box. But now there's no way I'll ever give up!! I can do anything!! Screw that lil voice in my head!

Well that's all! I hope we meet soon!

The future King of Pirates,

 Monkey D. Luffy"