Chapter 3

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"Gaal! Get your lazy ass here!"

The sun had begun its descent when the crew gathered in the dining hall for dinner. The tables were filled with men offering themselves a small drink to start their evening and others refraining from consuming alcohol by stuffing their faces with the chef's spaghetti.

The young man roamed his eyes around the room looking for the source of the voice he had identified as Yassop. Indeed, in a secluded corner, the sniper beckoned him to join his table where was installed Tenshi and Benn, but also the Captain.

At the sight of his superior, Gaal's legs imposed a much slower pace to give him time to build the courage for this confrontation. He wasn't afraid of his captain, but to say he wasn't intimidating would be a lie.

And when he said intimidating, he wasn't referring to an average level like when Tenshi caught him avoiding his chores or even when Benn was looking down on him. No, his captain was different. Shanks was different.

He was a tall man, well-built, and easily recognizable with his red hair. On his face resided a triple set of vertically parallel, linear scars. Known to be a funny guy, his occasional moments of pure seriousness were the ones when Gaal just wished to disappear.

It was just too much for him to handle: the aura he gives off in these moments was unbearable. Gaal had witnessed the expansion of his aura only once, during their visit to the Whitebeard pirates, but it was enough for him to understand that if he wanted to survive, not annoying his captain was a top priority.

Approaching the table, the boy was suddenly too much aware of his last mistake however he also knew he couldn't escape, he had to face him. It was his mistake and he should take responsibility. Taking a deep breath, he finally decided to look up. An action, he quickly regretted: staring right back at him was his captain with an unreadable look.

"I'm sorry Captain. I know I should have been more careful with the girl and that-" Gaal blurted out, though he quickly stopped when Shanks slammed his fist on the table.

The captain lowered his head and put his fist in front of his mouth trying to hide what Gaal could only guess as annoyance.

"pffff"

Failing to suppress his amusement, Shanks let out a roar of laughter. The table followed. They were all howling with laughter in front of a dumbfounded Gaal who could only stare at the table with a nervous smile.

"You should have seen your face" mocked Yasopp "You looked like you were about to die"

Even Benn and Tenshi were trying to suppress their chuckle with the latter remarking "I told you to stop overthinking"

Finally able to control his laugh, Shanks wiped away a tear "Sorry Gaal, it's just so fun to tease you" taking a deep breath to calm down, he continued "I heard you got knocked out by a little civilian, it was a perfect opportunity to scare you a little bit."

The nervous smile still frozen on his face, Gaal attempted a laugh only to end up with a cough.

"Come sit with us," invited Shanks, pushing a plate towards the coughing boy.

"So I am not dying today?" he whispered towards his mentor.

"Not from his hands at least" responded Tenshi, "But more seriously Gaal, you should start to loosen up. What happened today wasn't even a mistake, you are just weak"

"Am I supposed to feel better?" he scoffed as he took a seat. And to avoid any other confrontation, he immediately shoved the spaghetti in his mouth.

"So she put down Gaal and Luke. Impressive" noted the red haired-man.

"I can't fight back patients, it's against the rules."

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