One Piece: Shanks' Little Jasmine

Chapter 34 A Promise Intertwined by Fate

The jasmine in the garden blooms season after season. The wind sways in the air, carrying away the chill of the melting winter snow. The sunlight is as warm as a soft veil, and the shadows of the trees are torn into mottled glass on the ground. In a daze, a beam of soft orange light touches my fingertips and warms my pupils.

Near the port of Windmill Village, a huge ship appeared. The skull and crossbones flag on the main pole was very simple, with a red-scarred skull carrying two swords on its back. The bow of the ship was a huge red dragon head, which was completely different from the small pirate ships of the past.

After delivering Garp to the port, Luffy, who had climbed a tree to avoid Garp's lecture, looked at the pirate ship that was about to dock with a look of confusion in his eyes.

"That's... a pirate ship?"

As if drawn by some special attraction, Luffy held his breath and quickly ran to the port. The pirate ship was incredibly huge and imposing. Luffy frowned and stared at the pirate ship, just as his eyes met those of the red-haired and white-haired girl on board.

Are you pirates?

Hearing Luffy's question, the red-and-white-haired girl smiled and said, "Yes, do you have a problem with that? If you do, just say it and let Shanks' daughter, Benuta, hear it."

Luffy kept frowning, his mind a jumble of thoughts. Seeing that Luffy hadn't spoken for a while, and looking at his expression, Uta frowned in displeasure. "What, do you want to fight?"

"Don't do that, Uta, we're not here to fight."

A deep, magnetic voice came from the deck. A red-haired man wearing a straw hat walked slowly from the deck to the edge of the ship. The man had three very conspicuous scars on his left eye, but he did not look scary. His voice was tinged with a faint smile.

"This village has a very troublesome sheriff."

Who are you?

Luffy looked at the red-haired man, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes. He felt a strange sense of familiarity with the man in front of him, as if he were... like his older sister.

"My name is Shanks, and I am the captain of this ship."

Shanks' voice was gentle, and his gaze towards Luffy was kind and friendly, quite different from the pirates Luffy had imagined. Luffy clenched his fist, shaking off the strange thoughts in his mind. How could this pirate be like his sister? He must be hallucinating.

“If you dare to do anything strange, I won’t let you off easily.”

"Humph."

Uta turned his head away, ignoring the little kid who looked even younger than himself. Shanks' lips curled into a gentle smile.

"Pfft~"

At that moment, a pink furball popped out from Shanks' shoulder, sniffing left and right. Shanks noticed the furball's unusual appearance.

"What's wrong, Sweetie?"

"Pfft~"

As if sensing something, Sweetie excitedly flapped her wings and flew towards Windmill Village. Seeing Sweetie like this, Shanks' eyes flashed with surprise and disbelief. He flipped over and hurriedly jumped off the ship, chasing after Sweetie as she ran into the village.

"Shanks, Sweetie! Where are you going?"

Seeing Shanks' anxious look, Uta stood up from the edge of the boat and ran off the boat while shouting. Hearing Uta's shouts, the people on the boat also noticed that their captain had run straight into the village. Why was he in such a hurry to drink? It's not even night yet.

A look of understanding flashed in Beckman's eyes, a slight smile played on his lips, he took a deep drag of his cigarette and exhaled a smoke ring, then looked up at the azure sky. It seemed his captain had finally found the treasure he had been searching for, the one that belonged only to him.

Luffy also noticed the sweet fruit, tilting his head with a confused look in his eyes. Isn't that rice flower? Why is it on the ship? And when did the rice flower get dyed? How come he didn't know? Wait, that direction... Luffy seemed to realize something and suddenly looked in the direction Shanks had run.

"Oh no, sister!"

In an instant, the villagers saw Sweetie and Shanks running past, and two little guys chasing after them but unable to catch up at all, a rather funny scene.

Shanks chased the sweet fruit through the village and onto the mountain path. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, dappling the dancing dust like sprites dancing to a quiet melody. Shanks' heart pounded faster and faster. His treasure, his one and only treasure, it must be him, he had finally found it.

The moment Shanks emerged from the woods, the dazzling sunlight made him close his eyes uncomfortably. When he opened them again, he saw a field of snow-white jasmine and bright red hibiscus. A pink-haired girl leaned against a swing in the flower field with her eyes closed. Her smooth hair cascaded down her back, making her look as ethereal as a fairy born from the flowers, but her figure was so slender that it seemed as if she would disappear at any moment.

Sweet Fruit pounced on Rice Flower beside her. Sensing the familiar scent, Rice Flower also woke up, excitedly circling around Sweet Fruit, flapping its wings wildly, sending countless petals flying. Hearing Rice Flower's excited voice, Mo Ke frowned slightly, slowly waking up, her soft eyes lifting upwards. When her hazy gaze fell upon the red-haired figure in front of her, her heart skipped a beat.

The sunlight gently fell on the two of them. Mo Ke didn't speak. The twenty-seven-year-old man overlapped with the boy in her memory. The man's features were sharp and distinct, with a sense of mature vicissitude. His handsome eyebrows and eyes were still the outline in her memory. Mo Ke had imagined the scene of their reunion countless times, and imagined what the boy would look like when he grew up. But at this moment, Mo Ke felt as if she was already trapped in a dream and did not want to wake up.

The warm breeze of early spring carried countless petals into the sky, dazzling the two of them. Mo Ke laughed and then cried, her eyes filled with glistening tears, like drops of water falling into the water and creating ripples.

Moko trembled as she reached out to the man before her, her slender fingers involuntarily curling slightly, as if afraid of shattering this incredibly real dream. Shanks had never seen Moko so broken before. He stepped forward and tightly grasped Moko's hand.

Shanks held Moko's hand to his face, his deep eyes looking at her with a mixture of heartache and tenderness. Shanks' voice was hoarse, his overflowing longing surging and restrained.

"I'm here, Moko-chan, I've found you."

The familiar voice, the familiar temperature—all of this told Moko that this was not a dream. Moko choked up, unable to speak for a long time. Her fingertips gently caressed Shanks' face, her voice filled with helplessness, which made Shanks' heart clench.

"Why is it taking so long... It's too slow, Shanks... It's too slow..."

Tears streamed down his face uncontrollably, and even breathing became incredibly difficult. Shanks' heart was breaking. He held Moko tightly in his arms, repeatedly apologizing. It was all his fault; he had been too slow, making his little Moko wait for so long. Why hadn't he found this place sooner? How terrified and desperate his little Moko must have been all these years alone? How had his little Moko endured it all? Shanks dared not think about it. Just seeing Moko's slender and frail figure made his heart ache to the point of suffocation.

Moko's inner wounds had never healed. The high wall she had built in her heart over the years crumbled completely the moment she saw Shanks. Her pent-up grievances and fears were released at this moment. The man in front of her was the only person she could rely on among her remaining family members. He was one of the few people she could unconditionally trust from childhood to adulthood. In front of Shanks, she no longer needed to hide herself or pretend to be strong. Only in front of Shanks could she truly become the vulnerable and timid person she was.

The wait wouldn't be long, and the promise made would surely be fulfilled. Since Roger's death, Shanks had been constantly training himself, transforming from a lone individual into a pirate crew. During this time, Shanks never gave up searching for Moko, but Roger had hidden her too well, erasing all traces of her, leaving Shanks with no clues whatsoever. Moko's identity was also so special that Shanks dared not conduct a large-scale search. In the end, he could only choose the most rudimentary method: searching island by island. He traversed one island after another where there was news of Moko, but still found nothing. His disappointment accumulated time and time again, and he even prepared for the worst. But thankfully, thankfully he didn't give up. He found her. He hadn't lost his little Moko, his one and only treasure.

It was unclear how long it took for Moko's crying to gradually subside, but the tear tracks on her face were clearly visible. Her vulnerable appearance even made Shanks hold his breath. Shanks carried Moko back to the swing, and the large, warm cloak wrapped tightly around her. The familiar scent made Moko feel especially at ease.

"Shanks."

"I'm here."

"Shanks."

"I'm here, Moko-chan."

……

Moko called Shanks' name over and over again, repeatedly trying to confirm with Shanks that this was reality, and not a dream that would suddenly wake her up as usual.

Shanks patiently responded to Moko again and again, tightening his grip on her, showing her that this was not a dream, that he had really come, that he had really found her.

"I'm not dreaming, am I? You won't disappear like a dream, will you?"

"No, I won't disappear. I won't leave Moko-chan's side again."

Shanks reached out and hugged Moko, pulling her closer to his chest. His restless heart gradually calmed down, and Moko snuggled closer to Shanks, listening to his familiar heartbeat. Now she was finally free from fear and no longer had to bear everything alone. Her support had returned.

Moko looked up at Shanks, gently tracing the outline of his face with her hand. She stopped when she touched the scar on his left eye, her eyes filled with deep heartache.

"Does it hurt?"

Shanks took Moko's hand, kissed her palm, and said with tender, dreamy eyes, "It doesn't hurt."

How could it not hurt? How could a deep, bone-revealing scar on the eye not hurt? Shanks is now tall and strong, but his body is covered with scars of all sizes. These years must have been very difficult for Shanks. Thinking of this, Momo couldn't help but want to cry.

Shanks gently wiped away Moko's tears with a mixture of helplessness and affection. His calloused fingertips tickled Moko's face, and his voice was filled with playful teasing.

"Has my Moko-chan turned into a crybaby?"

"It's all your fault."

Moko buried her head in Shanks's arms, her voice muffled, trying not to let Shanks see her crying. Shanks smiled and nuzzled Moko's head with his chin.

"Hmm, it was my fault. How about I be punished by spending the rest of my life by staying by Moko-chan's side?"

Shanks whispered in Moko's ear, and when Moko looked up, she met Shanks' deep, serious eyes, which held an emotion she had never seen before.

From the moment Shanks found Moko, he considered her his own. As a child, he didn't understand what this feeling was, until he lost Moko. During the time he couldn't find Moko, he finally understood that he had unknowingly fallen in love with Moko, with his little Moko, his little Moko who belonged only to him, and who would belong to him even in death.

Is this a new commitment?

Moko gently touched Shanks' face, a gentle smile playing on her lips. She wasn't an innocent child; she could see the love in Shanks' eyes. From their first meeting to growing up, she and Shanks had made countless promises. Unconsciously, they had already become one with each other. It was precisely because of this that Moko firmly believed that no matter how far apart they were, they would definitely return to each other's side, and they would never lose each other.

"Yes, a new promise, a promise for a lifetime. Now, in the future, and forever, I want to stay with Moko-chan forever."

Shanks's hands, with their distinct knuckles, easily enveloped Moko's. The earnestness in his tone filled Moko's face with happiness, and her orange-pink eyes, veiled by a thin mist, once again shone with a dazzling brilliance, captivating and mesmerizing.

After Roger and Rouge left, Moko fell ill with a disease that even healing powers could not cure. Roger, who had always been carefree and unrestrained, left Moko a prescription called love in his final moments. The torment of the illness would last for a very long time, and the time to cure it was unknown, but with the love of her family, Moko would surely recover.

"From now on, I will hold Moko-chan's hand tightly and never leave her side. I will always be with Moko-chan. No matter where Moko-chan is, I will find her. Moko-chan will always be mine."

Shanks lowered his head and gently touched the tip of Moko's nose with his own, his eyes tender and firm. His little Moko, his only lover who was more than life itself, even more than life itself, he was willing to give his life to protect her. No matter what difficulties they encountered, he would always stay by Moko's side until the end of his life and the annihilation of his soul.

Moko smiled brightly, like the warm and bright spring sunshine in April, "Yes, I will always belong to Shanks, always."