Chapter Text
Reader pov
You ran into a dark alley in the night, narrowly avoiding another group of men attempting to capture you.
You had not even done anything to justify it, aside from existing and catching the eye of some high-ranked well-connected underworld asshole during the dance show you had participated in. You were not even one of the main dancers, only a background one since you were only a part-time member of the troupe to devote a decent part of your time working at the main restaurant in town.
But apparently some hot-shot had been in the room and decided he wanted you to become his next lover, whether you wanted it or not.
Hence you running away in the very revealing oriental black glimmering costume you had put on for the show, along with a lot of gold jewels all over your body and the lightest pair of sandals you had managed to put on before fleeing.
Unfortunately, it seemed the man was determined to the point of sending a bunch of henchmen after you, and when you barely just managed to avoid being seen again, you resolved yourself to play your last card.
You activated your Devil Fruit, and the noise drew the attention of one of the men.
"Over here, I heard something !"
Two more people came, and you stared at them without moving, your body ready to run or hide if they connected the dots.
And then the three men groaned.
"Damn it, it's just a cat. Keep looking, she can't be far !"
They turned around and you sighed in relief.
You usually never showed your Devil Fruit to anyone, mostly because while it was a Zoan and you liked it very much, its fully transformed appearance was not human-sized like most other Zoans. Instead, you turned into a regular-sized maine coon cat with long vibrant red fur echoing your human hair.
But this transformation would only buy you so much time, and so you started to make your way toward the nearby harbour with a specific idea in mind. You were going to sneak aboard a ship in your cat form, then leave once you had managed to get some safe rest for the night. Hopefully, by then, the asshole would have renounced and you would be free to go back to your life.
You quickly spotted a massive ship that looked perfect for your plan. The only thing you could say for sure about it was that it was not a Marine vessel, and the ropes tying it to the harbour were thick enough for you to confidently step on them until you reached an opening.
As you heard shouts coming from the street, you took your decision and jumped on the nearest rope, quickly trotting on it while thanking your excellent feline balance and enhanced agility, then crawled into the small opening leading to the lower deck. Once inside, you carefully followed your instincts and your nose to lead you toward a pile of crates and barrels that you were fairly confident contained food, and possibly alcohol. Then, you picked a spot on the crate furthest from the door, and curled yourself on it between the wooden wall and the barrel next to it, with your head resting on your fluffy tail.
This would do for a night, especially when you were exhausted after both the intense dance show and the running from your would-be abductors. You closed your eyes and felt yourself relax, confident in the fact that your feline senses would inform you of any potential danger.
The gentle rocking of the ship soon lulled you to sleep, and you let go with the knowledge that you were safe.
-o-oOo-o-
Shanks pov
They left the island with the morning tide, and Shanks was enjoying once more the delightful feeling of being back at sea.
Everything was just as the Emperor liked it. The sky was blue with a few white puffy clouds, the wind was blowing gently in the perfect direction to sail his ship, the waves were splashing happily on the hull, everyone in his crew was going about their usual business and tasks, truly another perfect day.
And then a commotion from the inside of his ship caught his attention.
It seemed there were shouts, most notably Lucky yelling about catching something, and Shanks turned his gaze curiously toward the ajar door leading to deck, just like everyone else outside.
Then a flash of red burst out like the devil was after it, making Shanks blink and then widen his eyes when he realised what all the fuss was about.
A cat was running on deck and even jumped on the railing, only to meow in a completely panicked way once he noticed the waves under it. Lucky arrived on deck, followed by several other crewmembers, all of them looking around like they were in pursuit.
"THERE !" Rockstar shouted while pointing at the railing where the cat was still staring at the sea in shock.
"What the fuck," Beckman deadpanned next to Shanks.
The Emperor grinned, and then burst out laughing at the chaotic scuffle half his crew went into in order to capture their unexpected stowaway.
"Oi Bonk, take the helm," Shanks ordered with a grin.
By the time he walked down the few steps to join the main deck, Gab had managed to grab the cat by the collar, and said cat was meowing like a completely terrified little creature.
"Come on lads," Shanks chuckled as he made his way through the small crowd, "don't be so-"
And then he stopped.
Because that fluffy furball was not just the cutest cat the Emperor had ever seen, but his long and beautiful fur was almost the same red as his hair.
Shanks fell in love in the span of a single heartbeat.
"Oh I'm keeping you forever," the Emperor cooed and walked closer. "You're perfect."
"Captain no," Beck groaned tiredly from behind him.
"Captain yes," Shanks grinned harder without taking his eyes from the pretty cat who was staring at him with beautiful golden eyes. "Look at him, he's adorable ! And we match !"
"Boss, that's a female," Hongo deadpanned, and right, with the way Gab was holding the little fluffball, it was pretty obvious she lacked masculine genitals.
"Even better," the red-head swooned and extended his arm toward her. "Welcome to your new home, cutie, from now on you're part of my crew. Come on lads, let's have a party to celebrate the new member of the Red-Haired Pirates !"
The cat meowed again, but when Shanks tried to take her from Gab, she managed to weasle away from both their grasp and ran until she was against the railing and looking at everyone. Shanks laughed and stepped to crouch in front of his new favourite lady to extend his hand again.
"Don't worry girl, you're safe here. No one in my crew would be mean to such a cute puss," he grinned confidently and even winked.
She still eyed him with nothing short of absolute distrust, and barely moved her neck to sniff his hand from afar before running away again to another part of the deck.
"Damn, first time I see a lady running away from you so fast," Yasopp snickered.
"I'll win her over, it's just a matter of time," Shanks laughed good-heartedly. "She'll fall for my charms eventually, it's destiny !"
"You're just saying that because she's got red fur," Snake retorted.
"As long as she doesn't sneak into the kitchen," Lucky laughed. "Might even be good to have a mouser around !"
"See ?" Shanks smiled wildly. "We already found her a job aboard !"
"You think she'll get along with Monster ?" Bonk asked from the upper helm.
"Of course ! Now excuse me gentlemen, I have the prettiest puss to conquer !" the Emperor grinned, fully determined to use his Haki to find his cute little cat lady again and cajole her into loving him.
Shanks' day had started perfectly, and somehow it had gotten even better.
-o-oOo-o-
Reader pov
Two days passed.
Two days of constant fear and running away at the first sight of any pirate you spotted.
You could not believe you had been unlucky enough to not just unknowingly sneak aboard an Emperor's ship, but not have managed to leave before they set sail and left the harbour on top of that.
And now who knew how long it would take until they reached another island and give you an opportunity to escape.
Your only saving grace so far was how they seemed genuinely convinced that you were a regular cat instead of a Zoan Devil Fruit user. Which meant you could not take the risk of turning back into your human form for as long as you would be at sea. You did not want to find out what would happen if they realised you were a woman, especially since the clothes you were wearing were… well, a rather revealing dancer's costume.
But after two days of constant stress, you were beyond thirsty and hungry, to the point trying to hide or run away from them any longer might kill you from sheer exhaustion. Especially since you could not bring yourself to eat rats. Uncooked meat or fish, you had no problem with, but you drew the line at flea-infested rodents.
But maybe you could use said rodents as a peace offering.
Although there was a chance that was just your cat instincts saying that if you brought them a gift, then maybe they would give you something back.
So you used the last of your energy to hunt down a couple rats, and took their corpses in your fangs to then trot to the kitchen. You were pretty sure the cook was working there at the moment, and would hopefully be willing to give you something to eat or at least some water.
You were so focused on your objective that you missed the many pirates watching and following you. Once you were in front of the kitchen – not inside since you were not about to bring dead rats in there, that was a bacterial hazard – you dropped your preys on the floor and meowed a few times as pitifully as you could.
The cook soon came in your line of sight with his usual smile and meat in hand, and when he saw you, he seemed to stop moving for a second, before he laughed loudly.
"That for me ?"
You meowed again and even used a paw to push the rats toward him.
"Mighty good job you did, kitty," the huge man commented with a wide smile. "Wait here, I'll get something for you."
Your ears perked up in hope and you stayed where you were. Less than a minute later, the cook came back with two small bowls in his hands, and put them on the floor before stepping back. You cautiously took a few steps forward, sniffed the content, then your eyes widened and your stomach growled.
You quickly positioned yourself in front of the first one and lapped at the milk with gusto, enjoying the nutritious liquid even more after days without water. Then after a while, you licked your mouth and moved to the second bowl, where you could see and smell little morsels of cold cooked chicken.
In a matter of minutes, you had cleaned both bowls and even licked around your mouth to ensure you had every little bit of flavour. You sat back on your bottom and meowed what you hoped would be understood as a grateful thank you.
"You're really cute," the cook laughed. "Come back when you're hungry, I'll give you snacks."
He crouched toward you, and even if you were pretty sure he would actually just take the bowls, you did not want to risk letting him catch you. So you stepped back and turned away, only to be faced by a little group of pirates who looked like they were either cooing at you or staring at the cook in jealousy.
You chose to ignore their strange demeanour, and ran away to one of your hiding spots. Just as you passed the door, you heard shouts about cheating, bribing, and unfair methods.
Two more days passed, during which you kept bringing dead rats in front of the kitchen and the cook kept feeding you in exchange. You had heard a few more discussions between the huge man and the rest of the crew, and you were almost sure to have seen the Emperor himself pout like a five-year-old.
Which clearly threw you off.
You had always thought a man as powerful as Akagami no Shanks, with such a terrifying reputation as demon on a battlefield, would be more… well, emperor-ish. Scarier. Stern and imposing. Above mere mortals' emotions.
Definitely not the kind of man to pout like an unhappy toddler because he could not pet a cat.
But you still felt far too vulnerable when he was around, and so everytime you smelled his distinctive scent getting nearer, you ran away to another part of the ship. Not that you were acting very differently with the rest of the pirate crew, but you were definitely more tense around the red-head.
So when you set paw on deck one afternoon, you carefully checked whether the red-haired man was around before deciding if it was worth risking it. When you could not see or smell him anywhere, you stepped forward, and ignored the attention of most men to instead focus on your objective.
An extremely enticing patch of sunlight on a chair, with just a tiny bit of shadow thanks to the sails and table, perfect for a nap. You were half-way there when you finally realised who was already sitting at the table and froze.
Benn Beckman, the first mate of the Red-Haired Pirates, rumoured to be able to take down an entire army on his own.
You could usually avoid him easily since the smell of cigarette was particularly repulsive to your nostrils in cat form, but for once, he was not smoking.
And the chair next to his really looked like an amazing napping spot.
So you slowly made your way there, stopping regularly to gauge his reaction, until you were next to the free chair and he glanced briefly toward you from his newspapers. However, he did not say a word, and so you decided to take the risk and jump on the chair.
The fearsome pirate did not move.
You relaxed and curled on yourself before closing your eyes for a delightful nap under the afternoon sun, and thus missed the smug grin of the grey-haired man.