Tensura Pirates Adventres! - Interlude

Shanks's Premonition

"Hey Shanks, do those special monsters exist for real?" A sweet, innocent voice asked, shaking her little legs to and fro. "Or did the story you told me just fiction?" Her curious gaze shifted toward a tall man wearing a dark hood. 

"Well..." he gently removed his hood and faced towards her. His scar, a shade of dark crimson stared at her like a dormant beast wary of some distant disaster. 

"Are you okay?" The little girl asked. Suddenly, his grim expression turned to a smile. The girl jumped down the hedge and walked towards him.

"Ah, sorry about that," said Shanks apologetically. "I almost got carried away." He bent down and picked up the girl in his arms. "You didn't get scared, right?" 

"A little," the girl replied hesitantly, then lost her gaze on the distant horizon. "It's beautiful. No matter how many times I see it, the sunset on this island always mesmerizes me."

"Yeah." 

"Does it still hurt?" she said, gently rubbing her fingers on the three lines on his face, the mark that had etched deeply in his soul. 

"A little," replied Shanks with a smile. "But it's nothing you need to worry about." 

"Why... you don't need to fake a smile with me." The girl jumped down from his arms and walked away. "I am not a little girl who always needs to be cheered."

"Is that so?" said Shanks, quietly following the girl. "And what makes you-"

"You think I haven't noticed?" asked the girl, a subtly heaviness mingled in her voice. "You have changed, Shanks, ever since you returned..." 

Hearing that, a shadow fell on his heart. His feet suddenly seemed too heavy to move. 'Sometimes children are too perceptive, aren't they?' 

"Ever since you returned from your last journey, you haven't had a genuine smile, not even once!" Her throat felt heavy and tears started welling up in her eyes. "You think I am too weak? Tell me, just what was it you saw that drained all your smiles and happiness and made your decades-old scar hurt again!"

A ghastly silence engulfed the area. The air around them seemed to get denser and heavier with each passing moment, almost making it impossible to breathe for any onlookers. For what seemed like an eternity, neither of them moved or said a word.

"Alright..." said Shanks, finally breaking the tension.

"Yay!"

"But on one condition." 

"Wha-"

"You are not to breathe a single word of what I am about to tell you to anyone, no matter the cost." 

"... Fine. Just tell me already!" said the girl jumping with impatience. 

"Well then, you remember the story I told you last time?" 

"You mean the kingdom and the monsters right? Yeah, I remember every word of it," she said, puffing her chest. "Wait, don't tell me that story..." 

"Yeah, there is more to it. Listen here, and listen well. Once upon a time, there was a very prosperous kingdom..." 

The girl took in every single word with a keenness as deep as the ocean. With each line, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped further. Never in her dreams had she imagined that the happy story she had been told would have such an astonishing turn to it. 

Each second passed like a day, each minute a year. 

"So, do you get it now?" asked Shanks, putting an end to the emotional rollercoaster of a journey. The girl simply sat there, without blinking, seemingly staring into nothingness. "Are you okay, Rin?" said Shanks, gently slapping her face. 

"Y-yeah," she replied, a stream of tears flowing down her eyes. "I feel like I have aged a few decades."

Shanks smiled at her gently and patted her head. "Now that I have told you everything, are you fully satisfied?" 

"I - I don't know..." she said, fidgeting with her hands. "I need some time to collect my thoughts." 

"Fair enough. I suppose we will discuss it some other time." 

"Wait, about the monsters you mentioned, there were three of them, right? Each one capable of destroying the world on its own?" 

"Yeah."

"And these monsters are different from the Ancient Weapons, each of which again have the power to destroy the world." 

"Yeah, that's right," replied Shanks. "Don't forget you are not supposed to so much as breathe a single word about it when I am not around." 

"But listen here, it doesn't make sense. I get the part about the ancient weapons, but the monsters that you speak of, weren't they all killed a long time ago?" 

"Yeah, every single one of them died in that war." 

"And you say they can't be reborn? Then..." 

Shanks took a deep breath and looked at her. 

"Something doesn't make sense. Are you sure you told me everything?" 

"Yeah."

"You aren't lying to me?" 

"No." 

"Are you-" 

"Captain, we are ready to leave!" Suddenly a loud voice interrupted their conversation. 

"Yeah, I will be there in a minute, Benn." 

"You are leaving already? To where?"

"Oh, just a little trip to the sky. I have a few things I need to talk about to those geezers," he said with a smile.

"Sheesh. Is it about-" 

"That's enough for today, Rin."

"Fine..." said Rin, brushing her eyebrows. "I will let you off the hook for now. But the next time you return, you will have to explain everything." 

"Alright. Now go to sleep. It's already too late." 

With that, he walked away leaving the little girl to herself. 

"So, you finally told her everything captain?" asked Lucky, chomping on a piece of meat. 

"Yeah." 

"Haha, first Luffy and now her. Is babysitting your secret hobby or something?" 

"Well, let's just say I like to bet on the younger generation." 

The talks went on as usual, but Shanks's mind had wandered off in another direction. 

'Ex-warlord and the current fifth emperor... if we would have fought one-on-one in Marineford I am fairly certain I would have won. But what was that feeling? Ever since I saw you the scar given to me by Teach has started to hurt again. 

Rimuru.... just who are you? Where do you fit in the equations? No matter how hard I try, I can't find any link between you, the void century, and the prophecy. Everything surrounding you is a mystery. Are you a friend or an enemy? Hahaha, I have a premonition that day is going to arrive much sooner than we thought. This is going to be fun. I should move up my schedule a bit.'

Author's note: Just wrote it on a whim. Hope you enjoy it.

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