You opened your eyes and found yourself in the same room you woke up in. Next to you is Zoro sleeping soundly?
You chuckled. [My, my. It seems I made him worry. Should I wake him up??]
You patted his head as your fingers ruffle through his hair strands. Zoro woke up and saw you awake. He even noticed that you were patting his head which made him blush very hard.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you" You smiled close-eyed.
"Y-you should've woken me up, stupid" Zoro muttered. "A-anyway, how are you feeling right now?? You fainted on your ship" he asked.
"Yea, I'm okay now. I'm probably just exhausted from the tournament" you rubbed the back of your neck gently.
"About that...." he turned around, not sure what to say.
You raised a brow in confusion. Zoro grabbed the newspaper and gave it to you. You gently took it from his grasp and looked at the headlines on the front page. Your eyes widened at what you just read.
"News about the tournament already spread that fast??" I asked. He nodded. You just can't believe it. [I'm sure Luffy and Ace knew about me already...]
You smiled at the thought of the little rascals whom you grew up with before you left for your journey. That thought was interrupted when Zoro asks. "W-when will you be leaving??"
"Hmm, in about 2 days, I guess. Why do you ask??" you know that Zoro will miss you for leaving but wondered why he's asking that. Zoro then looks you in the eyes with firm determination.
"When I saw you fight with that man, I decided that I want to be World's Greatest Swordsman by beating him, and challenging you again when I grow up!!" he said. You smirked at him and said, "If so, then I look forward to it, little mochi"
_____________________________________________________
2 days later, you bid your farewells to the dojo but Zoro was nowhere to be found. You sighed that he didn't come to say goodbye. You were just a few meters away when you heard a faint voice. You turned around to see Zoro running.
"(First name)!!" Zoro shouted. "Sorry, Im late!! It took me hours to get here"
You sweatdropped. Right, you forgot about his sense of direction . . .
"It's okay. It's nice of you to see me off. Just don't get lost, okay?" you smiled.
"W-What are you talking about?! I won't get lost!!" Zoro yelled as he blushed in embarrassment.
You chuckled as the little Mochi is now nothing more than a speck as the distance grew. Now your journey continues.
_________________________________________________________
1 year later~
You don't remember your birthday so you just assume the day you woke up is your birthday. Today was the day before so you decided to drink for maybe the first time in your life until you drop.
You were waiting for your order when you heard loud noises coming from behind. You turned around to see a man with red hair and 3 diagonal scars across his right eye, wearing a black coat over his white shirt.
The people in the bar all whispered among themselves as they looked at the newcomers. They looked scared while you looked unfazed by it.
You both stared at each other for a few moments. That description sounded familiar but you can't put your finger on who so you brushed it off as your drink arrived.
"What's a beauty like you doing in a place like this?" You turned to see the red-haired man sitting beside you, grinning.
You smirked. "My, my. What's it got to do with you?" you asked.
"Hey, don't be like that. Care to share??" he grinned.
"Now that's just rude. Aren't you supposed to introduce yourself to me first??" you asked. The man laughed loudly.
"Hahaha!! You got some spunk. Well, my name is Shanks" he smiled sheepishly.
Your eyes widened. [Shanks?? The one that Luffy told me about?? Wow, what are the odds??]
You grinned. "So, you must be Shanks. The man whom Luffy told me about" you said as Shanks's eyes widened.
"You know Luffy??" he asked.
"Yes, I do. We grew up together before I set out to sea" you replied.
The people behind him who seems to be his crew were shocked at this new information. Shanks started to burst out laughing and wiped off the tear in his eye.
"What a turn of events!! I never thought we would meet each other like this!!"
"Neither do I. I've heard that you made a bet with Luffy using your arm for his dream to be the Pirate King" you smiled.
"You bet I did. Now that I've introduced myself, mind introducing yourself to me??" he smiled as he moved in closer to you.
"(First name)" you said as you drank your drink.
"(First name). That was a beautiful name. I gotta say, I'm kinda jealous that Luffy gets to have you to himself" he said then pouted.
You chuckled. You brought his head closer to you as you whispered, "You seemed as if you were jealous of Luffy"
That caught Shanks off guard and he quickly retracted his head back.
"Me? Jealous? Pfft, why would I be?"
You raised a brow unamused. Shanks rubbed the back of his neck.
"Tell me more about that little monkey whom you gave your straw hat" you smiled.
Shanks's eyes brightened and started telling you stories about when he first met Luffy and all the things you don't know about him.
At night~
Shanks and the crew became drunk and well, passed out while you were still standing. You surprisingly have a good alcohol tolerance so you're currently holding Shanks on your shoulder while drinking another cup.
"(First Name). For a goddess-like beauty like you to wander alone, come join my crew~" Shanks mumbled. You chuckled. He may be drunk but there's a chance that he might be serious. You ruffled his hair as he went back to sleep.
"Forgive me for the mess they made, Mr. Bartender. We might be staying here for the night" you apologized to the bartender who is cleaning up the bar.
"N-no, it's okay, Miss. I'm sure the boss won't mind" the bartender replied.
You smiled at him as his face turned red. You asked him if there is a spare room for tonight, and he showed you to the room upstairs as you carried the sleepy Shanks there.
After you put Shanks onto the bed, you were about to sleep on the floor when you suddenly felt a grip on your wrist. You turned around to see Shanks semi-awake.
"Can you stay??" He pouted. You chuckled to find that cute as you lay down on the other side of the bed next to him.
He wrapped his arm around your waist as he hugged you closer. You chuckled as you made yourself comfortable on the bed.
_____________________________________________________
The next morning~
Shanks's POV
I woke up and felt something soft and squishy on my head. I thought it was a pillow till I saw (First Name) in front of me, sleeping peacefully.
Shit!! What is this position?! My face turned red. I tried to get off of the bed without waking her up but her eyes slowly opened and now things become awkward...
Uhm, now what??
Your POV
You saw Shanks's face become red as his hair and you smirked.
"Morning, sleepyhead. Have enough sleep and hangover??" You said.
You saw the nosebleed on his nose as you heard the door slam open. Both of you turned to see it is one of Shanks's crewmates now known as Lucky Roux.
The silence was in the air for a few seconds when he slammed the door back. "I'm sorry for interrupting. You can do your own business"
Things have become complicated. You slowly sat on the bed in an upright position as Shanks moved out of the way, still having a nosebleed.
"Hey, (First Name). Is it just me or have you suddenly grown taller than me??" He asked. He already wiped the blood off his nose.
You turned to him with a confused gaze. "What are you talking about? It was the same as last night"
"Oh"
He's still sober, isn't he?
"Then what about your teeth?" he asked.
"I knew them beforehand" you replied.
Yea, you already knew that back at Dawn Island when Sabo . . .
You shook those thoughts away. You shouldn't be thinking about that. You got up from the bed and walked over to the mirror but as you were about to take off your clothes, you turned to Shanks who is still in the room.
"Aren't you supposed to leave or do you want me to help you leave?" you inquired.
Shanks got the message and sheepishly grinned as he left the room to let you change in peace. You took off your old clothes and looked at your gills that resembles a shark and your sharp teeth similar to that.
You didn't know that you had those when you first woke up so now you know that you're not human which you thought explains your inhumane strength but there's always a possibility that you trained so much in your early years to the point that your strength is on par with the Fishmen.
After admiring your fishy characteristics for a while, you started changing into your new clothes.
Once you finished changing, you grabbed your stuff and left the room as you walked down the stairs, you heard snickers and laughs to see Shanks's crew making fun of him due to a misunderstanding from earlier.
"Did you enjoy it, you dirty bastard??"
"It must've been a fun experience"
"Shut up. It's not what it looks like"
As they finally noticed you, you could see them wiggling their eyebrows except for his first mate who is just amused. You rolled your eyes and snorted.
"You're dealing with your own shit. Don't drag me into it. I'm not gonna help you"
________________________________________________
After Sabo died, you started to train your form to get stronger as well as get used to the new changes in the following year.
1) You can breathe underwater like any normal fish
2) You tried to determine whether you have water powers but it seems you don't have any
3) You have strong scales on your body when you shift at will.
4) When underwater, your tail will be formed. You can still shift at will while on land
5) Obviously, you can swim very well and fast
6) When you accidentally got a piece of meat stuck in between your teeth, you tried to pull it away but they came off as they got stuck on the meat while you grew the new one back in your mouth, scaring the bandits away while Luffy's eyes brightened.
While walking along the harbor, you found Shanks and his crew on their pirate ship. When Shanks saw you, he waved at you with a cheery grin.
"(First Name)!! Over here!!" he shouted.
You went to Shanks's ship and the next thing happening is Shanks suddenly hugged you around your torso. You chuckled and hugged him back.
"What's this about?? Suddenly hugging me all of a sudden" you asked, chuckling.
He looked up and said, "You know, I am serious when I said I want you to join my crew"
You smiled. "Sorry, Shanks but I don't plan on being a pirate"
He laughed. "Hey, don't say that. Who knows?? You might end up with a bounty on your head"
"That's true. I don't want the Marines on my back" you said, laughing while looking out to sea.
"So how was it, sailing out on sea while being free??" He asked.
"I say it's refreshing" you replied as you smiled. You turned to him and asked, "So when will you be leaving??"
"Why, do you miss me already??" Shanks chuckled.
You turned to him. "Hmm. Maybe, I do"
You picked Shanks up and gave him a peck on the cheek as you put him down. His crew saw it and gasped at the situation. They don't even know how to react to this. Shanks was shocked as you left his ship.
He snapped out of it and ran to you. "Hey, what was that for??" he shouted.
You turned around and grinned widely.
"Do you think I would leave without saying goodbye? Well, this isn't goodbye. This was simply 'see you later"