Pretty Fish People (The Luffy Effect)

The Worry

Shanks relaxes, finally back in his own bed. Hongo had gotten tired of his complaining, and after a few days, let him go from the infirmary. The Red Force is setting sail to leave Dawn Island tomorrow, and Luffy hadn't changed his mind. Neither had the two siren teens. Of course, the ship isn't leaving permanently, they'll be sticking around the East Blue for a while longer, they'll just be leaving Dawn while Garp is hanging around. The man rolls onto his side, closing his eyes and thinking about the eventful visit.

Shanks likes the island and the people, but he especially likes the Party Bar, and the green-haired barmaid, Makino. She's very pretty, he's noticed, kind and friendly too. He's sure they're friends, it makes him feel a bit less bad about drinking the place dry.

Luffy is a whole other thing, he and Shanks get along like a house on fire. The kid is brash, stubborn and blunt, always making big claims and saying exactly what he's feeling. But he's good. He's honest and kind, not lying for his own benefit and wouldn't dream of letting someone be talked down to when he's around.

He's very small, and much too scrawny for the amount Shanks has seen him eat, but that does not mean in any way that the boy is delicate or fragile. That boy is a tough cookie, even before he ate that Devil Fruit. He'd come to the bar with scrapes and bruises, sometimes he'd be soaked in water, but he always came in with a smile, not reacting or even noticing his injuries until someone points it out.

He knows, he's known for a while, that if the kid decides he doesn't actually want to come with him he wouldn't be able to laugh it off. He'd be hurt, and he'd go into a slump, but he wouldn't put it past the kid or get upset. It's not his right to take a kid from their parents unless they really want to, he's not that kind of pirate.

If he decides that the Red Force will make it a point to visit the island every once and a while, he thinks the crew might agree with him.

Shanks thinks about the other two as well, Ace and Sabo. They both clearly love Luffy, and Luffy loves them just as much. It isn't the first time he's seen something like it happen, he glances at his precious straw hat. Still, the three all adore each other, maybe a bit clingy, the way the blonde looks at Luffy makes Shanks believe the teen would kill anyone that looked at the boy wrong, and then himself if Luffy asked politely.

He thinks that, like he wouldn't do it himself. He just about did, too. He glances down at the remainder of his arm, he'd definitely do it again. He doesn't know if he'd be able to handle watching Luffy come that close to death right in front of him again. Then the boy asks about him? Even though the boy had just gotten kidnapped and almost killed?

He thinks about the trio. He doesn't know the teens well, but he can clearly see that they'd go with Luffy anywhere. If Luffy does actually want to sail with him and the crew, he'll have to get to know them better. He can do that, he thinks, drifting off to sleep.

[][][][][]

Shanks stands on the dock, watching his crew load supply crates onto the ship. It's the day they leave Dawn Island, and he has yet to see Luffy, Sabo or Ace. He's getting antsy, but he hides it by talking to the crew, asking if they have everything and making last second decisions. Just as the last few crates are being loaded up, Sabo pops his head out of the water.

"Is your offer still open?" He asks, peering at Shanks warily. As if the man would tell him it was a joke.

"Only if you want it," Shanks says, wondering why only the blonde was here.

Sabo sighs in relief, "Good," he says, then goes back under. Shanks furrows his brows, confused about the interaction. Luffy chooses that moment to show up, quickly running to the red-haired man and grabbing the black cloak he's wearing.

"Ace!" He yells, and Shanks notices that the boy is crying. The man kneels down, resting a hand on the boy's head, "What happened? What's wrong?" He frets. Did something happen to Ace? Luffy falls forward, grabbing Shanks and sobbing out, "Ace is hurt! Really hurt!"

Shanks pales, now even more worried, and Sabo resurfaces with Ace, dragging the freckled teen to the shore. The siren is in bad condition, a big chunk of flesh is missing from his side, the wound bleeding messily and staining the sand below him. His hands are bloodstained, but there isn't a sign of injury on them.

Ace is pale and unconscious, and Shanks is moving before he even registers it, kneeling by the teen's side. Sabo is watching his movements, face carefully masked, but Shanks can see the overflowing worry in the teen's eyes. The man almost moves to pick up Ace, but he remembers he's missing an arm, and he can't comfortably or safely hold the siren with just one arm.

Loudly, panicked, he calls out to his crew, "Someone help! NOW!" and doesn't think too hard about how Luffy is hiding in his coat, seeking comfort from the pirate captain.

Yasopp is closest, and quickly answers his call, jogging over to the four and blanching at the sight, "What happened?!" he asks, brows furrowed in worry. He's waiting for his Captain to give him orders, but he looks as if he knows why help was called.

"Pick him up! Take him to the infirmary!" Shanks barks, in lieu of an answer. He doesn't know what happened, but he's not gonna ask while the siren bleeds out in the sand. Thankfully, the sniper doesn't press, quickly following the order and carefully scooping up the freckled teen.

Time passes in a flurry, and Shanks finds himself in the infirmary, sitting on a bench with Sabo and Luffy, watching Hongo do his work on Ace. Shanks is bouncing a knee in worry, shaking Luffy who's resting in his lap, face pressed against his neck. The boy is too stressed to sleep, instead listening to everything and observing. Sabo's tail is curled up under him, and while he outwardly looks calm, you'd have to be blind to not see his fidgeting. Sabo's worried, so stressed he could cry, actually. But he isn't, his body won't let him.

Shanks feels a migraine building up behind his eyes, so he closes them to relieve the tension. The boys don't deserve this stress, what had even happened? Nevermind, he doesn't need to know. He's just glad his crew were still out on the dock when they were, even happier they hadn't been ready to leave. He doesn't think his consciousness would let this go if he left the boys behind while they dealt with this.

He fidgets, hesitating, before he cards a hand through Sabo's hair. The siren flinches, looking nervously at the red-haired man. Shanks' heart pinches, "What happened?" he gently asks. He doesn't want to sound accusing, the boy is already stressed.

Sabo wrings his hands together, "We were swimming around with Luffy watching," he began, avoiding eye contact, "And Ace said he felt something swim by him, so he went under to go catch it thinking it was a fish," he swallows a sob, "A few minutes passed, and he didn't come back up, so I got worried and went to find him," he pauses, glancing at Ace's prone form, "I didn't see him immediately, but the water was turning red, so I knew something was wrong." He finished. He looked at Shanks.

The man's brow was furrowed in concern, what could've caused this? It couldn't have been a Seaking, Ace wouldn't be here if it was. Luffy shifts, "I want Ace to be okay," he softly demanded. Sabo trilled, voice strangled. Shanks opened his arm, an invitation. Sabo leans against him, unsure, and Shanks gently wraps him and Luffy in a hug.

Ace will be okay, he thinks, he trusts his crew.