"Uhhhhhhhh.... Stupid gramps..."

"Just hold still a minute."

"Ow! Nee-chan that hurts!"

"If you stopped squirming it wouldn't!"

"Oi!"

"Luffy!"

"Baka!!!"

"Who are you calling baka!? FIST OF LOVE!"

"ITAIIIII!!!!!"

It was just another normal sunny day upon the peaceful little land known as Dawn Island; As it were every day, the villagers were all bustling about doing their normal businesses. The baker's opened up their door's, allowing the lovely smell of freshly baked goods to waft out and lure customers in with their delicious scents. The general store owner's brought display's out from their stores with deals to catch the wandering eyes of roaming civilian's and visitors to their little town. Normal villagers rushed around doing various chores and activities that normally consisted of their typical daily lives, cleaning and organizing and prepping for whatever it was that was planned for the evening. Fishermen moved to and fro from the docks, bringing in the catch they had acquired earlier in the morning, either putting them on display near their boats, selling them to the general stores, or prepping them for their own meals for the day and selling what they did not need.

On this particular day, a small boy known as Monkey D Luffy was resting upon a raggedly makeshift tree house as he nursed a large bump on his head courteous of his grandfathers "Fist of Love". Alongside the bump was a smaller one given by his fraternal twin sister, Monkey D Shiki, who sat next to him with bandages in her arms and an irritated expression due to his constant whining and squirming. While he had short dark hair and eyes, his sister had wiled untamed black hair that was mostly kept back in a low ponytail and her eyes were a caramel brown instead of being like his dark brown almost black ones.

He squirmed some more, ignoring the glare from his sibling who kept trying to nurse his wounds despite making one of her own from her irritation. "Ugh... why does grandpa's punches always hurt so much?" Luffy continued to complain as he rubbed at the bump, wincing before swatting away Shiki's hands. "I'm not gonna be some stupid navy soldier."

"Well, he thinks we will be." Shiki muttered as she finally was able to put a bandage on both of his bumps. It had been quite some time since their grandfather had left them on that island in the care of a barmaid named Makino. Shiki liked her though, she was very kind and sweet to them and took very good care of them, she seemed to genuinely worry about their overall health. When the two weren't learning from Makino in her free time, they were exploring the village and the area surrounding it to discover every nook and cranny! Though they both agreed to stick clear of the forest. "I don't want to be a marine either... Hey! Let's just get out of this village when we get older! Grandpa can't do anything about it 'cause we'll be adults, so he won't have a choice but to respect out decision."

Luffy paused and looked at his sibling for a moment before a large grin formed on his face. "Yeah! We're gonna get out of this village and do something big!"

"Ya!" Shiki giggled before both of them stood and began to descend from the tree, using the branches to climb down, much like actual monkey's. It was as they were going down that Luffy spotted something and stopped their climb down with wide eye's.

"Hey, wait! Look. It's a ship."

At his exclamation, Shiki made her way to the branch he was on, scrunching up her face in confusion before looking to the direction her brother was looking. As she spotted the sails of the incoming ship, her eye's widened when she saw the designs of a jolly roger and dread filled her. "I-It's a pirate ship!"

"Come on!" Luffy spoke before he continued to the ground, once his feet touched the earth below, he took off in a sprint towards the docks with determination filling him.

"Wait Luffy!" Shiki fell to the ground right after him, chasing behind him as close as possible.

They ran through the outskirts of the village before entering it, weaving between people when they reached the busier parts, ducking under things being carried and ignoring shouts to 'watch it' before stumbling down some stairs and unto the docks. Luffy panted to catch his breath for just a moment when they were close enough before turning with a hard glare at the ship and Shiki skid to a halt just behind him, latching onto his shoulder as her heart raced.

"It really is pirates." She whispered as she eyed the flag of the ship that grew ever closer. Her heart began pounding harder as her mind filled with the horrible stories grandfather told them about pirates.

Her overactive imagination flared to life as she feared they would attack the people, what could they want in their town? Where was grandpa when you needed him?! But something within her stirred at the familiar looking jolly roger, it was as if she'd seen it before, but she knew she hadn't ever seen a real pirates ship so why was this one so familiar? The skull with three slashes seemed like it was boring into her very soul and the familiarity only grew and the name 'Red hair' popped in her mind.

"OI!" Luffy's shout startled her into attention, and she watched as the ship began docking, making Shiki's breath hitch in surprise at his shout.

"Nii-san what are you doing?!" She whisper/hissed, gripping his shoulder just a little tighter. They had no idea who these pirates were or if they were hostile! Tho with Grandpa's stories, every pirate was hostel and no good. She didn't want to anger them in fear of them hurting the towns people.

"Are you guys' Pirates?!" He continued, unbothered by his sister's nervousness. Shiki had always had issues with anxiety and other things he couldn't remember, but he had to let these guys know not to mess with them! "If you're pirates, then go away!"

There was silence that answered them at first, until a red-haired man wearing a straw hat came to the rail's, a scar decorating the left side of his face. He wore a white button up shirt that was almost all the way unbuttoned, brown pants tied by a red sash and two swords hung at his hip while a black cape lay over his shoulders and trailed down his back. "I didn't know there was a tough sheriff and his deputy in this village." The man spoke with an amused expression, his voice filled with mirth while taking in the sight of the two children on the docks. His voice seemed light and teasing but it only made the children freeze up more.

"Who are you?" Shiki demanded after gathering her courage, but still remained hidden behind her brother as she gripped his arm once more in nervousness. She'd heard so many stories from Grandfather about pirates and their brutality, it honestly made her nervous for what they wanted and if they'd hurt anyone in town.

"I'm Shanks, captain of this ship." The man now known as Shanks replied, leaning on the rail's as if completely unbothered by them.

"If you make any trouble for us, I'll make you pay for it!" Luffy stated with a raised fist, even going so far as to puff out his chest to seem more intimidating.

"That so?" The red head gave an amused smile and Shiki doubted they could do anything to this man. Especially if he was a captain and captains always had crews behind them so obviously, they'd be outnumbered and overpowered.

Her hands shook as she glared at him, trying to be brave with her brother. "Yeah!" She spoke up, only to blush in embarrassment when her words came out as a scared squeak.

She felt like a tiny mouse trying to bait a cat...

She flinched when she felt a presence push on her.

No, not a cat.

Her senses pinged within her in a frantic way, this man was way more than just a cat. He was a Lion with the amount of power she could feel within him! She'd always had a good tell on people's strengths and his was suffocating her. It pressed against her, wrapping her in a choking grasp that filled her heart with terror. The presence was overwhelming, something she hadn't ever felt before and it screamed 'power' to her. Was this what a real pirate felt like? Her hands began to shake as her heart raced faster and faster.

Shanks narrowed his eyes at the two children in thought as he observed them. The little boy stood brave faced, utterly clueless it seemed to the danger's a pirate brought. The girl however, he hummed in thought while his crew prepared to dock, the girl was not so clueless. His sharp eye's locked onto her form, her bravado was in vain as he could see her tiny body trembling in terror. Her eyes were a lot different than a normal child's, he mused. While they held caution and fear in them, they also held some sort of knowing. A hidden intelligence that wanted to be let loose.

She was clearly petrified but tried to keep a brave face for her brother.

Wary, like prey when faced with a predator.

Not that he'd hurt them of course! Though, there was something about this girl. Ah, it didn't matter, what did matter was the fact that they were all out of booze and he was in desperate need! He'd gone all morning without a drop and that was just TOO much for him to handle! With that thought, he gestured for his crew to continue what they were doing despite their amusement at the two children. He turned his attention back to the girl again when he felt her continue to stare at him, looking for a second as if she knew him.

Shiki felt herself frown under his calculating gaze, flinching back when more pirates began to appear behind the red headed captain. They all looked scary to her, despite something within her telling her not to be afraid of them. That despite the power that wafted off of them, they wouldn't hurt them. IT all felt so familiar to her yet different at the same time almost as if she knew them but obviously, they'd never met before! So, how could she know them? Did she know them from the 'before'? But that wasn't possible either because... well because she didn't know! She just knew that it wasn't from the 'before'. The captain's aura was scary to her, even though her instincts told her he was safe.

The two children watched in silence when the pirates ship finally came to a stop, anchoring at their dock while the crew began to file out one by one. One after the other, they passed the tense children, some giving them amused looks while others simply ignoring their presence all together. The red-haired captain was the last to get off of the ship, eye's watching the children, and the closer he got to them the more tense Shiki became. Her heart thundered in her chest, ear's ringing louder and louder effectively cutting out any and all noise around her. His powerful presence felt like it was crushing her the closer he got. She couldn't hear Luffy asking her what was wrong as she began to hyperventilate. She didn't notice the other pirates pausing to look back at them in curiosity. The seagulls could no longer be heard, nor the sounds of the village chatter in the distance.

No, all she could hear was the beating of her heart and the ringing sound that only grew ever louder and louder the closer the pirate got to them. It wasn't until he walked past them, his cloak brushing her as he passed, when everything just... stopped all together.

Sound.

Vision.

Smell.

It was ALL gone and Shiki found her world tilting on its axis before spinning hazardously. Then her vision began to darken as she fell to the floor, gasping for air. Luffy, in panic at the sudden collapse of his sister, began shouting for her to wake up and ask if she was okay. The shout caught Shank's attention as he turned to see the boy shaking his now unresponsive sibling.