Otherworldly || One Piece Fanfiction

IV | Red Haired Shanks

"Be strong enough to stand alone , smart enough to know when you need help, and brave enough to ask for it; because sometimes asking for help is the bravest move you can make. You don't have to go alone."

_-_-_

"You seem very deep in thought," The smooth voice of a man pulled Aella out of her thoughts. She jolted into a sitting position in alarm, hand already reaching for Yorukaze while she turned around to face the person who invaded her space.

In front of her was a one-armed man in his thirties with crimson-red hair and a triple set of parallel scars over his left eye. The pirate was just under two meters tall and was wearing a white, half-buttoned up shirt, loose brown pants that stopped under his knees and a long, sleeveless black cape. He had a bottle of booze in his hand and a saber strapped to his hip.

Needless to say, Aella immediately recognized the guy-- Who wouldn't, really? Any normal fangirl would; not that any of those are completely normal, mind you, but you get the image. Her mind was going crazy at the fact that Red Haired Shanks was standing in front of her, talking to her, though she kept a cool exterior without letting any emotion slip past. A perfect mask, carefully crafted to keep herself from getting hurt. 

Even I gotta admit that this guy's hot, even hotter in person, but he's too old for me. Aella hummed affirmatively, letting go of her sword as she didn't feel any malicious intent from the Emperor as she turned back to face the ocean again. "I was."

She expected him to ask what she was thinking about or something along those lines, but all Shanks did was sit down beside her, an appropriate distance away as to not invade her personal space. "The view here is nice, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's pretty calming."

"What's your name?"

Aella didn't find any harm in telling him that, but decided to tease him a bit, "Now, now. Isn't it rude to ask someone for their name before introducing yourself first?"

Shanks grinned, letting out a laugh, "You're right. I'm Shanks,"

"Aella. So what's a big shot pirate like yourself doing on this island?" A small smile appeared on the young woman's lips as she watched a seagull catch a fish and fly away with it.

"Oh~ You know I'm a pirate yet you didn't run away, screaming? Or tried to take me down? I doubt those famed swords of yours are just for show," There was a mischievous gleam in his eyes and he moved himself to face her, studying her body language.

Aella shrugged, "I can tell you don't have bad intentions, and I'm smart enough to recognize the difference in power between us; while I like to think that I'm a decent fighter, I'd still end up dead in a second if I were to fight you."

The man laughed again, "You're observant. What are you doing on this island, Aella-chan?"

Said female raised an eyebrow, "You never answered my question, but to answer yours, I'm kinda stuck here."

"Stuck?"

"I have no means of getting off; no idea how to build a boat and sail away, or how long it'd take to reach the next island."

Shanks tilted his head, looking at her in interest, "How did you even get here? The currents around these waters aren't easy to navigate, considering we're in the New World, and the island itself is somewhat hard to find."

Aella perked up at the piece of information; she finally knew which part of this crazy world she was in, before frowning. She didn't know how to answer his question, and she suspected that he would be able to see through her if she tried to lie. "I... I kinda woke up here a bit over three weeks ago."