Author's Note:

Happy New Year!!!
I wish you all a safe, happy, and healthy 2024.
Thank you for allowing me to be a small part of your year.

Love always,
Ash.xx

.・。.・゜・.・・゜・。.

The waves at sea were calm today, aside from the usual dip or two, resulting from the changing currents and the ship being anchored.

As the ship rocks due to the passing waves, the boxes and barrels within the cargo hold shift. A small box falls off of the larger box it's perched on and clatters against the wooden frame of the ship before rolling across the floor.

Amari groans as the box thumps the back of her head and begins to stir. She pushes herself up from her laid position on the wooden beams and rubs the back of her head. She notices the long jacket draped over her body and furrows her eyebrows as her eyes dart around the dark room.

The sound of voices on the other side of the small door catches her attention and she quietly creeps over to press her ear against it.

"I'm just trying to understand our angle here. I mean, she doesn't look like the pirate type and I doubt she has any experience at sea." One voice speaks.

"There doesn't always need to be an angle, Beckman. Our Captain is just a good man." A different voice argues, giving the previous voice a name.

"Maybe she's a hostage! Some type of leverage?" A new voice guesses with excitement in their voice.

"No way, when has the Captain ever taken any hostages?" The second voice speaks again.

"Whatever he's planning, it better be worth us skipping out on Mizuhana's foretold riches." The first voice, belonging to Beckman, huffs.

The sound of footsteps causes the voices to hush. "Now, what are you boys on about?" The new voice asks. "Surely I've been a better example as to how we treat newcomers." The silence remains as the sound of footsteps approaches the door to the cargo hold. There's a gentle knock on the door, causing Amari's heart to race, before the man speaks again. "If you feel rested enough, we'd love for you to join us on the deck."

Amari blinks her eyes as the previous conversation she'd eavesdropped on plays in her mind. She's obviously been kidnapped, but for what purpose? As far as she knows, all of her people have been slaughtered so there's nobody left to pay any ransom.

A few moments go by with no movement as Amari's head spins. Should she stay in this dark room? Should she open the door? What good will staying here do for her, it's not like they're unaware of her presence on board. Hesitantly, she cracks the door open as she pulls it towards her. The light from the setting sun blinds her as it illuminates the revealed room. She squints as her eyes adjust to the light and meets the eyes of the red-haired man that she'd tried to fight on Mizuhana. Her eyes then travel to the three men gathered behind the red-haired one and concludes that they're the ones she was listening to moments ago.

"Lucky Roux should be finished preparing dinner soon." The red-haired man speaks up, earning the girl's attention. The larger man in green and white stripes straightens his posture at the red-head's words. He must be Lucky Roux. "In the mean time, if you'd like to wash up, I can show you the way."

Amari suddenly becomes aware of her hair which is matted to her forehead along with the stench of smoke as well as the dried blood and soot coating her skin. She holds her arms close to her body as she offers a nod to the man, who smiles softly in return and leads her to the washroom. She looks over the edge of the boat, towards the ocean, and her eyes widen. There's not a single strip of land in sight.

"I'll inform the crew not to disturb you. Take all the time you need." The red-haired man says before leaving Amari on her own.

She looks around the small washroom, life at sea being foreign to her, and does her best to operate the utilities. There's three wooden stalls with curtains, one being a shower and the other two housing toilets. Amari runs the hot water and allows it to sting her skin as it melts the stains off of her body. The water looks as if its black as it runs down the drain and Amari closes her eyes as the events on Mizuhana replay in her mind. The sound of screams, her father being murdered, her own blood being spilled as she took hits from the celestial dragons; the memories bring tears to her eyes as the hot water turns cold and causes her body to go numb. The girl doesn't even flinch at the change in water temperature, already emotionally numb to everything around her. Turning the shower off, Amari pokes her head out from behind the curtain. She sees that a change of clothes is left where her tattered kimono was and quickly grabs the garments.

Meanwhile, on the lower deck of the ship, the red-haired pirate crew feasts together thanks to the skills of their chef, Lucky Roux. The banter between the crew members resembles that of brothers and is only silenced when the sound of the wooden door leading up to the deck from the cabin creaks open. All heads turn to face the girl as she walks towards the group of men. Rather than her kimono, the girl is wearing a white button-up that's long enough to be a mini-dress for her, complemented by a strip of red fabric tied around her waist and her black boots along with the necklace that her father had given her. The man with long, blond dreads and a headband reading 'Yassop' looks at the girl with wide eyes while the man with long, black hair tied back into a ponytail watches her with judgement in his eyes and the rest of the crew watches her curiously. The overwhelming silence causes the red-haired captain to turn towards the girl and a smile creeps across his face.

Amari meets the eyes of the red-haired man and makes her way towards him, the men parting like the red sea as she walks. "I have questions." She states boldly, speaking her first words since she's been abducted by the pirates.

"I have answers." The red-head replies. Amari's eyes wander to the men around them and the red-head stifles a laugh. "The crew won't bite. They're as on-edge about all of this as you are." He points. "Besides, anything you need to say to me can be said in front of my crew." He pats the seat beside him.

Amari inhales deeply before taking the seat and facing the red-head. "Who are you?" She asks the simple question first.

Gasps sound throughout the crowd of men and the red-haired man smiles. "You don't know who he is?" The one with the dreads asks.

"He's one of the greatest pirate captains to have ever lived." Another man speaks. "And we're his fearsome crew, the red-haired pirates."

"Red-haired pirates?" Amari asks. "But only two of you have red hair."

This causes the red-headed captain to burst into laughter. His crew, who usually joins him in his fanfare, watches the girl wearily. 

"It doesn't surprise me that you're not aware of us." The red-haired man speaks between laughs. "Mizuhana is a very secluded and individualistic island. There's not much interaction with the outside world."

Amari focuses her attention to the man as he speaks, all other eyes on her.

"My name is Shanks, I'm the captain of the red-haired pirates." He introduces himself. "This is my crew. This is my first mate: Benn Beckman, the crew's chef: Lucky Roux, our sniper: Yassop, musicians: Bonk Punch and Monster, navigator: Building Snake, crew doctor: Hongo, and our other members: Limejuice, Gab, and Rockstar." He introduces the crew one by one.

"And what business do a bunch of pirates have with Mizuhana that they would kidnap one of it's inhabitants?" She questions.

Shanks raises an eyebrow in amusement. "Who said we kidnapped you?"

Amari glances over at the three men that were talking outside of the cargo hold earlier that day.

"Miss..."

"Kiyoko." The girl realizes that none of them know her name and introduces herself. "Amari Kiyoko."

"Miss Kiyoko." Shanks continues his previous thought. "It was my understanding that the island of Mizuhana came under attack while we were already there. When we found you at the edge of the forest, you seemed scared and desperate for help. I decided to offer that help to you by taking you off of that island and allowing you to rehabilitate yourself at your own pace."

Amari furrows her eyebrows. "You took me against my will, that's not helping." She points. "What were you doing on Mizuhana in the first place? We've never had visitors before and on the same day we're attacked you happen to show up on some sort of treasure hunt?"

Beckman's grip on his rifle tightens as the girl's tone becomes accusatory. Shanks notices this and glances at Beckman, who then places his rifle back in its holster.

"There are rumors traveling through both the Red Line and the Grand Line of an ancient treasure bidding on Mizuhana." Shanks explains. "It took us a while to get here from the West Blue but once we did, and realized that the island was under attack, we abandoned our adventure and decided to get out of there."

Amari hums, trying to decide whether or not she believes his story. She feels the judgemental glares of the crew and turns to face them.

"What made a bunch of pirates save one girl and not the rest of the village that was under attack?" Amari questions.

"We're not the type to go around picking fights." The one introduced as Lucky Roux states.

"Yeah, we just like to have fun." Yassop adds.

"But we protect our friends, no matter the cost." Beckman states almost threateningly.

"Well, I don't even know any of you. I'm not your friend." Amari points.

"So are you our enemy?" Beckman questions the girl, his hand resting on his rifle.

Amari raises an eyebrow at the man. "Do you want me to be?"

Benn clenches his jaw at the girl's disrespectful attitude and how ungrateful she is that Shanks saved her. "Maybe we should drop you back on that hellhole of an island that we found you on."

"I'd much rather be there than with a bunch of lousy pirates." She crosses her arms over her chest.

"We can make that happen." Benn growls, standing over the short woman in an effort to intimidate her.

Amari, however, is not threatened. Instead she glares up at the tall man and her armament slowly covers her balled fists.

"Alright, that's enough." Shanks stands from his seat, deciding that this tension has grown enough. "Amari, you are not a prisoner or a hostage on this ship. If you desire to be returned to Mizuhana we will gladly go so." He states. "However, should you decide to stay, I have a spot for you on my crew."

"What?!" Benn and Amari shout simultaneously.

"Captain, you can't be serious." Beckman speaks to Shanks, trying to reason with the red-haired man.

Amari narrows her eyes at the pirate captain, who rather than acknowledge the questions from his crewmates stares directly into her questioning eyes.

"Take as much time as you need to sort this out." Shanks says to Amari. "And I am serious, Beckman." He then turns to face his first mate. "It would do both of you some good if you at least tried to get along in the meantime."

Beckman scoffs, turning his back towards the girl to walk away. Amari rolls her eyes at the man's childish behavior. She looks back to where Shanks was standing but sees that he's gone. The rest of the crew members keep their distance from the strange girl, especially after seeing how Beckman reacted.

Amari turns away from the crew and walks to the upper deck of the ship before sitting on a short barrel near the rails. She feels like she's in some twisted nightmare that she can't wake up from. As she considers her options, she realizes that there may be nothing to go home to. She's just not sure yet whether that's better than staying with this seemingly shady group of pirates.

As the sun disappears and the pirates turn in for the night, Amari finds herself graced with the presence of another.

"Looking at this sky never gets old." The familiar voice speaks. Shanks leans against the railing beside her and hands her a small glass similar to his own. She looks down at the glass in his hand and he chuckles. "It's just sake."

Amari hesitantly accepts the drink and watches as he drinks his before drinking her own.

"Be frank with me, Captain." Amari speaks, setting down her empty glass.

"Please, just call me Shanks." He says, setting his glass down as well.

Amari nods in acknowledgement of his request before continuing with her question. "Why me?" She asks, earning a raised eyebrow. "Why did you decide to save me? Why did you offer me a spot on your crew?"

Shanks inhales and pulls another barrel over to take a seat beside her. "Honestly, I don't fully know." He states. "There's something about you, some sort of aura surrounding you. I just felt like it was the right thing to do." He admits.

Amari watches as the man looks down. She studies his facial expression as he speaks.

"When I saw you on Mizuhana, I had a small vision into the future. Usually I can control my observation haki, but this time it came without warning or provocation." He begins. "I saw destruction, an island set ablaze in wild flames, and you alone in the middle of it. You looked so hopeless, so broken." He shakes his head slightly. "Something inside of me made me feel that I needed to help you." He looks up to meet her eyes. "I did the only thing I thought that I could to get you out of there. I never meant for you to feel abducted or held hostage."

Amari's eyes soften as the captains vulnerable demeanor, but she quickly closes herself off. "I am perfectly capable of caring for myself. I'm not some damsel in distress that's waiting to be saved."

Shanks smirks. "Oh, that I know. Your haki has not gone unnoticed by me." He notes. "Though your emotions seem to get the better of you."

Amari furrows her eyebrows. "How dare you? You know nothing about me."

Shanks laughs at her defensive behavior. "I didn't mean it in a bad way, I just figured someone your age would have more control over their haki."

"My age?" Amari raises her eyebrows. "And what age would that be?"

Shanks shrugs. "Probably not much younger than me, and I'm only twenty-one."

Amari huffs. A twenty-one year old pirate captain? Sounds like a rough childhood. "Eighteen." She states. "I'm eighteen, but I've only been training for the past two years."

Shanks hums. "Well maybe if you decide to stick around, I could give you some advice on that." He offers, standing from his seat on the barrel. "By the way, that shirt looks much better on you than it does on me." He winks before walking away, leaving Amari to hide her growing blush from the stars above.

Wait. Why was she blushing? He kidnapped you, Amari she reminds herself, he's a pirate, he is not a good person. She shrugs her thoughts away as she stands from her spot and shows herself to the cabin of the ship, where the men are all sleeping. Not thrilled about sleeping around a bunch of strange men, she decides to sleep in the cargo hold again for the night. It's not the best arrangement but it's more comfortable for her than the cabin, which is all that matters.