⚠️Uhhhhhh brief mention of sexual assault, child abuse and trafficking⚠️ nothing major but yea
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[𝕊ℤℕ 𝟘: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕖𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤]-[StrawH0e]
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Shanks and his crew were on their way to a little island in the East Blue. It was called Foosha Village. Home to a small knit bunch of villagers. Granted it would take them about a year to get there.
The Red-Haired Pirates liked to stop their every once in a while just to hang out. Not only was the atmosphere pleasant and the food was good; the crew became fond of a little boy. The kid always declared he'd become a pirate just like them. They entertained it but never encouraged it. They knew what this life entailed.
"Aye Cap! We you gotta see this!" Yasopp yelled from the birds nest. He was on look out duty.
Shanks and the others looked towards where he pointed. It wasn't the craziest thing they've seen but it was insane. What looked to be a Celestial Dragon ship was being ravaged. Giant tentacles were tearing the massive ship apart. Screams of terrors echoed amongst the vast sea. Their cries for forgiveness fell upon death ears as no one saved the rich.
"I bet that would taste real good with some marinara sauce." Lucky Roo drooled over the giant creature. The crew looked at him with a blank face. He was the only one that could think of food while watching others get murdered.
"So Cap, whatcha wanna do?" Beckman asked the man while drawing from his cigarette. Causally blowing the smoke into air.
"Eh not our problem. Let's-" Shanks was cut off by an ear piercing screech. Their ears rung as they couldn't make out heads from tail. A giant whirlpool formed where the tentacles were. Devouring the Nobel ship in a blink of the eye. Then like it never happened, the natural disaster vanished.
The crew wasted no time. The tentacles had disappeared with the phenomenon. Unsure of what was happening, they set sail to leave. As the crew busied themselves with captains orders, Yasopp kept look out.
The deadbeat father stared at the ocean. He squinted his eyes as he thought he could see something. Using his observation haki to get a better look. His eyes widened at the distressing sight.
"Captain there's a kid in the water! Looks like it's going to get eaten by Sea Kings!" Yasopp yelled, jumping out of the birds nest. He had the lower members ready a dingy for him.
"What?" Shanks said alarmed. Obviously the kid had something to do with the scene earlier but what. He wasn't a saint but he couldn't let a kid get eaten by monsters if he was around.
Yasopp, Beckman and Shanks loaded the dingy. Quickly getting to the child in need. There were 2 Sea Kings. They circled ominously around the child who had about half its body in the water and the other on a wooden plank. It seemed to be incapacitated. It's long dark black hair covering its face. They could only tell it was a child because of its size.
"Hey kid! If you can hear me, don't worry. We came to help." Shanks brandish his sword, ready to kill the creatures. The kids finger twitched slightly. A low hum leaving its body. The Sea Kings looked at them then dived down. Leaving the area all together.
"What the hell is going on?" Beckman lowered his gun slightly. Something was off about all this but he couldn't figure out what. They stayed on guard for a second. Preparing for the creatures to come back. But they never did.
"Alright, let's get this kid." Shanks scratched his head confused. The other two grunted in compliance. They reached over to grab the wooden plank. Bringing it closer to them. Shanks grabbed the small child's arms.
Lifting the dark skin kid up out the water he almost dropped it. The young kid wasn't human. They recognized its lower body to be that of a Mermaids. Its tail was a beautiful pearl white. Perfectly contrasting the kids dark brown skin tone. The sun light made its scales look that of blue, purple and pink hues. Its fins were see thru and seemed delicate.
But other than all of that, it was covered in wounds and blood. A tight shackle was cuffed at the tip of its tail. A chain hung down its back, signifying its neck was cuffed also.
Shanks pulled the child into the boat. Laying them on its back, he pushed the long, dark coils out its face. His eyes winded when he saw the pretty little girl. Her top half was covered by a white tube top. Her eyes were closed as she breathed shallowly. It seemed that whatever happened, they avoided damaging her face. His blood boiled trying not to imagine whatever horrid thing they did to the young girl.
"Head back to the ship." Shanks mumbled wrapping the little girl in his jacket. She was obviously cold. He wrapped her up snuggly and held her to his body. The men doing what they were told, rowed back to their awaiting ship.
"She's all cleaned up Cap. I dressed her wounds and got her chains off. There won't be any scarring. And there lucky doesn't seem to be any signs of sexual abuse." Hongo reported to the silent man. They were waiting on the deck for the ships doctor to report that the girl was ok. Everyone let out a sigh of relief at the last part.
"Good work Hongo." Shanks smiled lightly standing up. He headed into the medic room to check on the little girl. The rest of the crew returned to duty for now.
Shanks sat on a chair near the bed. He took his StrawHat off his head. Running a hand thru his hair he sighed. Who would do this to child? Was it because she was a Mermaid? He knew about the stigma around Mermaids. They were a desired creature because of their beauty. Actually- what was a Mermaid doing all the way out here?
He looked at the little girl again. If you looked closely, her dark skin was littered with freckles. She had a small button nose and full lips. Her hair was long and curly as it was sprawled around her. She was most likely a very beautiful little girl. She was definitely going to be a beauty in the future. Not that he would look at a kid in that type of way.
"n-no.." The little girl stuttered in her sleep. Her brows furrowed together as she started to stir. Shanks sat up when he heard her speak softly. The little girl kept mumbling but whatever she was dreaming about seemed to be serious. Tears fell from her eyes as her breathing picked up.
"NO!" She yelled as she thrashed around. Shanks wasn't sure what to do. Her body sat up suddenly. The little girls eyes shot open. Beautiful stormy gray eyes stared at him. They were sacred and looking around frantically.
The child's eyes were blurry as she stared at the red haired man. She was scared and confused. Last thing she remembered was that terrible ship. Those people were holding her down for some reason. It was unbearably hot in the table she was strapped to. Something in her broke and she had blacked out. Now she was here, staring at a stranger.
"W-who are you? Where am I?" The little girl asked with tears threatening to fall. She scrunched her body up trying to look smaller.
"Hey it's ok, I promise I'm not trying to hurt you. My names is Shanks and this is my ship. We thought you were in trouble so we rescued you." Shanks said slowly. He noticed her flinch when he moved slightly. He kept that in mind but it didn't make him any less angry.
"Rescue me?" She asked timidly. Her eyes perking up at the words. Did this man save her from the bad people?
"Yes, we saw some giant tentacles destroy a ship. After that you were drifting in the water so we came to help you." Shanks smiled softly to the girl. She tilted her head to the side. He couldn't help finding the action adorable. The child thought for a second. She then thought of something
"WHERE'S ESME?" She yelled and looked around. Ultimately forgetting about whatever fear she had earlier.
"Esme?" Shanks asked confused. Was it another child? A guardian maybe?
Before his question could be answered, a tapping sound came from a cracked port hole. They looked in that direction and saw so a little orange tentacle waving. In crawled a cute and small orange octopus. It makes its way over to the little girl and climbed to her body.
"Esme you're ok!" The child smiled happily and hugged her friend. Esme's tentacles patted her head as if responding to her. Shanks watched silently as the little girl spoke happily to her aquatic friend. Before she remembered the man being there.
"Oh! Mister, this is Esme! She's my best friend." The little girl held the octopus towards the man. The creature looked at him with large shiny black eyes. She waved her tentacle as a greeting. He chuckled and waved back.
"Hey kid, what's your name and do you know how old you are?" Shanks finally asked her. She had a lot going on so he was waiting until she felt better.
"My name? My names Naomi! Oh and I'm six!" She smiled brightly remembering her name. Or at least that's what Esme called her so it had to be right. Truth was she didn't remember much. Her memory before being abducted was blurry. Shanks was surprised once again.
The two spoke for a while. Shank learning that she couldn't remember how she got abducted. She wasn't even sure how long she was on that ship. What she was certain of was that she wasn't a Mermaid. She seemed to be very offended what he asked if she was from the Mermaid Kingdom. Not that she could remember where she was from.
"Mister I'm hungry." Naomi pouted at the man. She hadn't eaten in forever. Esme would sneak her some fish but it was hard. Someone was always watching her.
"You can call me Shanks ya know." The red haired male laughed. He picked the little girl up along with her friend and his hat. Making sure to be carful with her wounded tail. It should also be noted that he had threw his shirt on her. It was way too big but it was better than the cloth she was wearing.
The group walked out the medic room and headed to the mess hall. The crew were curious when they saw their captain carrying the little girl and what seemed to be an octopus. Like the nosy bunch they were, they followed after.
Naomi was shy under their gazes. It honestly scared her as the large group of men peered at her. Whenever she made eye contact with someone, they would wave. She'd give a small wave back before burying her head in Shanks neck. Light chuckles would follow after.
"Lucky! Whatcha got cookin?" Shanks asked kicking the door open. The men filled the room and found seats. The smell of food in the air causing everyone to drool.
"I got a feast for us tonight Captain!" Lucky Roo hollered coming out the kitchen. He carted in heaps of food. Lower members brining in more carts. Shanks laughed joyously while taking a seat. Sitting the little girl down next to him. His top officers sitting around him as usual.
Naomi once again shrunk into Shanks side. This time Esme could been seen with her tentacles balled like fist. She was moving them in a circular motion like was getting ready to fight. The men chuckled finding it too cute. They wouldn't think it was cute if they knew the truth about earlier.
"Ah! You brought me ingredients for calamari?!" Lucky Roo smiled finally being able to sit down. Naomi sat up straight and hugged a frightened Esme.
"ESME IS NOT FOOD!" The little girl yelled with a glare. Her pretty eyes reddened with tears. She was scared but she'd fight these barbaric men off if she had to. The other men pushed the hungry man and mocked him for making a little girl cry.
"Alright settle down. No one's gonna eat Esme. I promise." Shanks laughed and gave Lucky Roo a hard glare. He placed his hand on the girls head to console her. She calmed down at his touch.
It was surprising to the crew to see the powerful man so gentle. Even with the little boy at their favorite village, he was never so carful. It was probably because this kid was a little girl. She also went thru something the little boy never could imagine. Being a slave or about to be sold into slavery.
After saying his piece the group started eating. It was usually a free for all but they were considerate enough to leave food for the Naomi. Who despite being hungry, wasn't eating.
"Hey kid, aren't you gonna eat?" Yasopp asked her while sliding over a plate of pasta. They had put all types of food in-front of her but she sat still. She looked up at him with low eyes. The light she had earlier seemed to be dimmed.
"H-how many scales do you want for it?" The 6 year old stuttered while lifting her shirt. She was picking at the scales on her tail that had recently grew back.
The mess hall was silent. What did she just ask?
"What?" Limejuice asked surprised. Why would they........
"I can give you 5 scales of a noodle. But make it fast please. It really hurts." She said with tears in her eyes. She was costumed to having to exchange her scales or other things for a single ingredient of food. When she couldn't take the pain she'd go without food.
"Eat. We don't want your scales or anything from you. So eat all that you want without worrying." Shanks glared down at his beer. He tried to contain his anger so it didn't seem like he was mad at her. But damn did he want to kill someone.
"R-really?!" Naomi looked at him with shock.
"Really kid. All this is for you. We will never ask for anything in return." Beckman smiled at her lightly. She smiled wildly as Esme wiped the tears off her face with one tentacle and passed her a chicken leg with the other. Naomi took it gratefully.
"Thank you so much." She bowed her head before devouring the meat. She ate quickly as she was really starving. Downing plate after plate. The silent hall watched with amusement. One by one they handed her different foods to try. She them all happily.
The atmosphere turned back joyous as they ate. They even told the little girl stories about their adventures. She looked at them with awe. She didn't know what Pirates were but these guys made them seem so cool.
Naomi was having so much fun with them.
The sun was starting to set. The Red Haired Pirates were out on the deck enjoying the breeze. Naomi who had warmed up to the crew sat in a little kitty pool of sea water. They were asking her all sorts of questions. She didn't know much but Esme seemed to know everything.
"What are you thinking about Cap?" Hongi asked the man that leaned against a railing. They watched as the little girl laughed with the crew. She also seemed to be able to manipulate the water. According to Esme, it was her special power. It was weak at the moment because she was still recovering.
"A lot really. Mainly, what are we going to do with her?" Shanks sighed taking a swig of his beer. She didn't seem to know where she lived before. Nor was she aware of if she had a family. Esme surprisingly didn't have any information. Or she wasn't willing to say anything.
"Well considering she's a Fishmen, we can take her back to Fishman Island. Giving her to the Marines or anyone else would be too dangerous." Hongo suggested after thinking for a while. Granted the little girl claimed she wasn't a Mermaid. She made it painfully clear after scolding them for an hour.
"Ive thought about it but I have a nagging feeling that we can't do that. I'm not sure why but I trust my gut." He waved the suggestion off. Maybe he was reading too much into but Fishman Island wasn't her home.
"Well what should we do?"
"I'm not sure yet."
They looked back towards the girl. She happily swished her beautiful tail in the pool. Her long black hair was messily pulled up into a ponytail by Yasopp. Her oversized shirt was drenched but she didn't seem to mind. Esme was swimming around the pool absentmindedly.
When Naomi looked up she made eye contact with Shanks. Her round gray eyes lit up. She waved happily to him. He chuckled and waved back. His heart warming at seeing her so carefree.
Hongo eyed him from the side and smiled to himself. It was easy to imagine what would happen with the kid.
The little girl stared to get sleepy after hours of fun with the crew. She kept nodding off in the pool. The crew snickered as she kept trying to convince people she was awake.
Shanks scooped her up from the pool. Esme of course latching onto the little sea creature. He left to his sleeping quarters as his men cleaned up for the night. He got her changed into a new shirt. Laying her down in his bed to rest.
As he was getting up to leave the room, something held his fingers. He looked down to see Naomi latched onto him. Her drowsy eyes were lined with tears. His heart ached at the sight.
"P-please stay." She mumbled just barely above a whisper.
"Ok." He responded lightly. She let go of his hand. He grabbed some sweats and a t-shirt from his closet. Changing quickly before getting on top of the bed next to her.
Naomi snuggled up next to him. She found the man comforting. Maybe she was too comfortable. Because Shanks chocked at her words.
"Goodnight Daddy." She whispered softly, drifting back to sleep. She remembered Esme telling her that a father was a strong man that took care of you and protected you. He didn't have to be blood related to be a father. And all day, that's what Shanks did.
Shanks was stunned to say the less. He had just met the kid today. Was she confused or was it a mistake? But he couldn't lie to himself, being called Dad felt nice. With his life style, having a kid wasn't hard. But being there was.
He looked down at her sleeping figure. She snored lightly as her nose twitched. He smiled as he brushed a stray hair out her face. Call him crazy but......... he thinks he might want to keep her. How hard can raising a daughter be? He was a Yonko for crying out loud.
"Goodnight Naomi, my sweet girl." He whispered and placed a kiss on her temple. He got under the covers and pulled her into his side. Drifting off to sleep himself.
Esme watched from the side. She was seated in a bowl of seawater. Her large black eyes looked at the pair. A sparkle in the depths of her gaze. She stretched her tentacle out towards them.
A hard point grew at the end of it. She pricked the man's finger. A drop of dark red blood pooled at the end. Esme took that speck of blood. She rubbed it on Naomi's lower lip. Unconsciously, the little girl licked her lips. The man's blood entering her system. Her veins glowed for a second before it disappeared.
Esme looked satisfied with her work. She settled back down and closed her eyes. Drifting off into a peaceful sleep.
When I edited this it felt rushed but oh well🥹 anyways yea here we are. Can this be considered a slow burn? Most likely. If you ever watched Ponyo, the blood scene is the same concept.