~Grace~

I hate pirates. I've hated them for as long as I can remember. Barbaric simpletons who only care for themselves. They'll say or do anything they have to in order to get their way with little regard for how it affects the innocent bystanders who are unfortunate enough to get involved. The beasts...

I'm only fourteen, but in one year I made it all the way from being a lowly apprentice to becoming a part of Vice Admiral Garp's crew. As proud as I am of my progress, there's just one little thing that gets my blood boiling. Every time we come close to catching Gold Roger, the Pirate King himself, he always gets away. And Garp is never perturbed by it! The constant defeat frustrates me to no end, but all he can say is, "Don't worry, Grace! We'll get him next time!" You say that every time, you old geezer! And we still make no progress! Sigh...

Anyway, I should stop dwelling on past failures. Today is a new day. And with it came another chance to capture the Pirate King.

However, I'm not very happy about the current set up. Every time we catch up with Roger, Garp usually makes me stay on the ship. Today he didn't, and I was excited at first, but I was soon disappointed when he wouldn't let me take up arms against the higher bounty members of Roger's crew. Instead he made me go after these two boys who aren't much older than myself. I suppose it makes sense. After all, if I can't catch these two, then how could I ever hope to catch, say, Silvers Rayleigh?

"Damn those two..." I panted. I cease my running and slow to a stop. I can hear the battle between the Vice Admiral and the Pirate King, but instead of wishing I could take part in it, I look for any trace of my current prey. They sure were good at running...

"Oi, you're not done already, are you?"

I whirl around to face the source of that stupid, cheeky redhead. When I see the idiotic grin on his face, I feel my rage building. As soon as I started after him and the clown, he's been taunting me. Why is he treating this like a game? I lift my sword and point the blade at him. "You won't be smiling when I arrest you, Red Hair!"

"Oh, you're gonna arrest me, huh?" I can see mirth dancing in his eyes as he smiled at me. "But you're just a girl..."

That does it. I hate it when men focus only on gender during any given situation. It gives me the impression that they think it makes me less of a person, the fact that I'm a girl. And for that I feel the need to punish them.

The blade of my sword was gliding through the air even before the pirate before the pirate could even register it was moving. His eyes went wide, all trace of gaiety gone as a small cut appears on his cheek. Finally , it looks like he understands my serious intent. Truthfully I had planned on slicing open his throat, but I unfortunately I hadn't closed enough distance to do so.

An apprehensive smile forms on my prey's face as he steps back. "Did I say something bad?" I merely step forward, not bothering with a response. I'm sure he can sense the darkness of my mood. He has just enough brains to realize speaking won't get him anywhere, so he turns and takes off.

I take on in pursuit, hot on his heels.

~Shanks~

Yikes...Maybe I went a little too far with the teasing. But it's so much fun! The way this young marine got flustered and irritated was just...cute. Its so easy to push her buttons, and to watch her get all riled up sure is something. She has a lot of spirit, and I like that. Even if that spirit is somewhat violent. It's my own fault I guess, for getting under her skin.

I round a corner and spot my crew-mate Buggy. He saw me, and the girl that was chasing both of use previously. "Oi, don't bring her over here!" he shouted. It's too late though. I can't turn back, so I can only hope that he can forgive me for bringing him into the chase again. "Shanks you bastard!" he yells at me as he starts to run.

I smile sheepishly. "Sorry!"

The two of us run for a few minutes, with Buggy shouting insults at out pursuer. I don't think that will help us any, but if it makes him feel better... Suddenly my friend looks back and then starts running faster. "She's gaining on us!"

Before I can start sprinting any faster, I feel something yank on the back of my shirt. "Ack! Buggy!" I call as I stumble and fall.

"You're on you're own, Shanks!" my friend calls back as he puts more distance between us. I don't take it personally, since he's always been that way.

The next thing I know, I'm lying on my back with a blade pressed against my neck. I look up and see the marine seated on my chest, glaring down at me with annoyance and hatred in her eyes. I understand being annoyed by my teasing, but hatred? It can't all be aimed at me personally, I know that much.

Her eyes flash with resolve, and she doesn't even bother brush aside the strands of hair that had come loose from her pigtails. I see her tense slightly, her grip on her sword tightening. She really does mean to kill me! I have to think fast! Let's see...The only way I'm gonna get out of this is to through off her concentration somehow. Well, she is a girl...I think I can work with that.

"Say...You're really cute, ya know that?" I relied on the hope that she hasn't had many suitors on account of her being so young, a little younger than me even. My plan works. I see her resolve waver, replaced by shock and sudden flush of embarrassment that colored her cheeks. I take advantage of her hesitation and shove her off me. She drops her sword, and I snatch it up so she can't use it anymore. I flash her grin as she sits up, and then I turn and take off.

"H-hey!" the girl scrabbled to her feet and hounded after me.

I take a sharp turn, finding myself in a crowded street market. I murmur apologies to people run into and knock down, looking back once in a while to see the marine still on my tail. I needed to get away some how, and I can only use what's available. I shove my elbow against a harmless fruit-stand as I run past it, knocking it down and sending various fruits across the street.

I don't risk glancing back; I just keep running until I make it to the beach. I can see Buggy rowing a dinghy towards the ship, and without a second though, I plunge into the chilly water. I swim as fast as I can to the small vessel, and when I climb inside, I'm panting because of the effort.

"Damn you Red Hair!"

I look back to the shore and see the marine girl appear on the beach. She runs into the water, and for a moment it seems like she might actually swim after us, but she stops. She breathed heavily from her sprinting, and her face is still flushed. I smile. I guess she's still embarrassed about my compliment. How cute...I hadn't lied when I said it. I assume she'll grow up to be quite a stunning beauty. I don't know how old she is, but she's already beginning to fill out quite nicely. However she was so serious. I have the desire to make her smile. It seems like she spends all her time working instead of having fun.

"Ouch!" A sudden pain blossoms on my forehead as a stone hits me.

"Get back here, you damn pirate!" the marine shouts from the beach. She throws another stone. I dodge it this time, but it hits Buggy instead.

"Ow! You bitch!" he growls.

"Row faster, Buggy!" I say. I don't want to be hit with anymore rocks. That girl has good aim. And a good arm.

"What does it look like I'm doing, dumb-ass!?"

"Just you wait, Red Hair! I'll kill you! I swear it!" The marine grabs my attention again. "You hear me!?"

I find her seriousness amusing, and I laugh.

"What are you laughing about?" Buggy asks, incredulous. I shake my head and don't bother to reply. I know he won't understand.

~Grace~

I take deep breaths to calm myself. I'm such an idiot! How can I fall for such a lame and obvious lie!? Those damn pirates really will say anything to get out of a bind... I kick a pebble on the beach. The heat in my cheeks won't go away, and I don't understand why. So what if he called me cute? I don't care about being cute or ugly or anything! I just want to hunt pirates! So why does this affect me so much?

I sigh and look to the harbor where the marine ships were stationed. It looks like they were all rendered useless, with holes blasted in them. I guess we won't be able to pursue the Pirate King at the moment. I sullenly start to make my way back to where I think Vice Admiral Garp and the others might be. I'm disappointed by my failure, but I also see it as a reason to focus harder. Next time won't be the same.

"Beware, you redheaded fool. You'll rue the day you crossed my path..." I murmur.