A/N: The following chapter is Patreon Exclusive! (Not anymore I guess)
Childhood (1)
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Shanks POV
"Come to Mama."
The voice rang out warm and gentle, and when I turned my head, I saw her—tall, red-haired, and beautiful in the way only a tired woman who smiled despite the pain could be. Her red hair caught the sunlight like fire, and her sky-blue eyes softened when they met mine.
I crawled clumsily toward her on shaky little limbs and leapt into her arms, heart fluttering at her familiar warmth.
I could feel the cuts and bruises on her hands calloused, rough, overworked hands that trembled when she held me, but never once dropped me.
My mother. Sara.
A woman who gave everything and received nothing.
She smiled like the world hadn't crushed her. Like the bruises on her arms were flower petals and not the consequence of toil and exhaustion.
I buried my face in her neck, inhaling the scent of worn cotton and firewood. That scent was home.
But truth be told—
I didn't want to live.
Not like this. Not when she had to suffer because of me.
'Why would God put me here?' I thought. 'Why make such a sweet, pure-hearted woman bear the burden of raising a reincarnated man?'
It wasn't fair.
I was someone who had lived a full life already. A warrior. A fighter. Someone who'd battled in cages and rings, cheered on by drunken crowds. And now? I was a baby again. A child once more—but this time with knowledge, guilt, and shame too vast for such a small body.
Sara deserved more.
A better child. A husband who stayed. A peaceful life with warmth, not struggle.
She deserved to sleep through the night, not fall unconscious from exhaustion.
But all she got was me.
"I wuv you, Mama," I said, forcing the words out with childish innocence, pretending to stumble over the syllables like a normal baby would. That was all I could do right now—play the role. Pretend to be a child. Pretend I didn't remember everything.
Her eyes watered instantly.
"Awww, my cutie..." she whispered, cradling me tightly. She rocked me back and forth, humming a lullaby with a cracked voice. I think it was something her mother once sang to her.
Yesterday had been my first birthday. Today was her only real day off in months. The village's market square, the inn, the tavern, the firewood depot—they all knew her name, because she worked at every single one, rotating shifts, trading labor for coin.
She never complained. Not once. But her eyes sometimes looked distant. Tired. Lonely.
We lived in a small, underdeveloped village near the edge of Fiore's western borders. Our house was little more than a worn shack. It creaked with every breeze, and the roof leaked whenever it rained. There was a single bed and a tiny hearth. Most of the time, Sara made sure I slept on the bed while she curled up on a pile of folded sacks near the fire.
Our neighbors were kind enough, but poor too. The village hadn't seen a proper mage in over a decade, and magic here was more of a rumor than a resource. The only way they knew about the Mage was because of the nearby town the Villagers went to work.
Among them my mother was one. I had seen her cry many times because she thought she could not
The roads were rough and rarely patrolled. Bandits were a whisper on everyone's lips. Monsters from the woods occasionally wandered too close.
And yet, she smiled. Every damn day.
'I'll grow up fast,' I whispered in my mind. 'I'll work. I'll fight. I'll use whatever this [System] gives me, whatever talents I have—just to give you the life you deserve.'
Because I had seen this woman starve so I could eat. I had watched her sew my torn clothes by candlelight with blistered fingers. I had seen her stare out the window when she thought I was asleep her shoulders shaking silently.
Sara deserved silk and laughter. She deserved to wear a dress not patched at the knees. She deserved to live, not survive.
My mother was a goddess in peasant clothes.
As she tucked me into the old blanket and kissed my forehead, I silently made a vow not as a baby, but as a man. As a fighter.
No matter what it took… I would become strong. Strong enough to give her the life she deserved.
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A/N: this is my initial chapter like one of the first chapters I wrote and is a EXTRA Chapter but decided to drop here aswell.
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