Author's Note: Hey guys! This here is a rewritten version of a story that I started a very long time ago. This is actually the second time I've decided to rewrite it, and I feel bad for starting it over instead of just finishing what's already done. I just don't like the format I used for the old version and thought it might be better to just do it from the beginning. So here it is! Let's hope I actually finish it this time, yeah? Haha..ha. I know, bad joke, sorry.

Chapter One:

First Meeting

Grace was almost lightheaded with anticipation. Her heart was pounding, her palms were sweaty, and she had a hard time focusing on her commanding officer. Her attention was trained on the ocean, where the rest of the fleet was engaged in battle against a most worthy adversary. She could just make out the red sails of the Oro Jackson just beyond the marine battleships. The infamous Gold Roger was there. The Pirate King himself. Grace fidgeted where she stood. She wanted to be there, to see the Roger Pirates in person, to see them fall before her mighty blade. She could see it now; Everett D. Grace hailed as a hero who brought the Pirate King's tyranny to and end. Praised for her bravery and fortitude, inspiring future generations to follow the path of justice.

Grace blinked away the fantasy. It wouldn't happen like that, probably. If anything the headlines would laud Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp for his perseverance. She might get an honorable mention, if she was lucky.

The butt of a rifle sharply jabbed her in the ribs, accompanied by a hissed, "Quit bouncin', lass!" Her head snapped towards the officer beside her and she promptly realized that she was, in fact, bouncing on the balls of her feet. She stilled sheepishly and turned her head forward in time to catch the end of the briefing given by the commander of this ship.

"—must capture them swiftly! Are we clear?!"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

Right. There were Roger Pirates in town. They had to find them. That was why Grace was in a port town instead of with the rest of the fleet. Well, that and she was only fourteen. Garp wasn't quite ready to let her face the big fish yet. She jogged down the ramp with the other soldiers and into town.

The group split up to cover more ground. Grace took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She had to be smart about this. She had to stay calm. She couldn't let her excitement get the better of her. Not again. She gripped the hilt of her sword tightly.

Grace kept her eyes peeled, scanning the crowd. Searching for anyone that looked unsavory. Occasionally civilians would recognize her uniform and point her in the direction they last saw a suspicious face. After maybe twenty minutes of looking and listening to tips, she spotted a pair of boys who fit the profile of who she was looking for.

The one with red hair and the straw hat was rather unassuming—early to mid teens, kind of lanky, plain clothes. The other one stood out just a bit with his red nose and more colorful outfit. Someone really should have spotted him before then. Either the marines weren't paying enough attention or he was just lucky. They couldn't have been much older than she was. I could take them...

Grace flexed the hand on the hilt of her sword and crept towards them, ducking into an alley where she wouldn't be seen while she went over her options.

"Buggy, shhh!" The redhead risked a peek around the think wooden pole he was ducked behind. It didn't offer much cover, but the marines talking to the shop employees across the street hadn't noticed him yet, so it was good enough for the time being.

"Why are there so many of them around here?!" His clownish friend just barely managed to keep his voice down.

"I don't know," He turned back to his friend and put a hand on his shoulder, hoping it would slow the panicky babbling spewing from his mouth. "But if they see us, we're gonna be in trouble!"

"This is all your fault, Shanks! You and your stupid red hair stand out too much!" His friend whispered harshly.

Shanks, turned his head and blinked at the other boy with blue hair and bright red nose. "You think so...?" he asked. He didn't point out any hypocrisy. The last thing he needed was Buggy getting all loud and angry. Especially since he just spotted a trio of marines round the corner down the road. He clicked his tongue and looked around for an escape route. Before Buggy could go on placing all the blame on him, he pointed towards the alley not too far off. "C'mon, we can give them the slip by going that way." He cast one last look at the marines, making sure they weren't looking, and then briskly walked towards the gap between buildings with Buggy right behind him.

The unmistakable sound of a metal blade sliding out of a sheath made Shanks stop in his tracks at the mouth of the alley. He pursed his lips and went a little cross-eyed to look at the sharp end of the blade hovering mere inches from his nose. "Oh, uh..." Shanks raise his eyes to the one holding the sword and tried to smile. The girl standing opposite him was frowning. She was about his age with long white hair tied back into a pony tail. She was wearing a marine cap that shadowed her dark blue eyes. "Hi there!" he said cheerily. He was aware of Buggy tensing behind him, probably about ready to yell obscenities. "Do you think you could put that away?"

"And why, pray tell, would I do that?" The marine girl asked. Her eyebrows knitted together and Shanks saw something dangerous glimmering in her lapis blue eyes. He swallowed. "You two are pirates, aren't you? You're with the Pirate King."

"Damn it, this is the last time I listen to you, Shanks!" Buggy whispered haughtily. "Now Rayleigh-san is gonna chew us out!"

"Now's not the time, Buggy!" Shanks murmured quickly.

"So you are with Roger's crew!" Her tone was icy. She took a step forward, forcing Shanks to step back lest the blade slice his nose off.

"Hey, now...We weren't doing anything wrong, were we?" Shanks lifted his hands up. "We're just here to pick up some stuff is all...We were even gonna pay for it." Maybe he could diffuse the situation. Probably not, but he tried anyway.

"Like that makes up whatever other horrible things you do! You're surrounded, pirate! Just give up!" She spoke loudly enough to catch the attention of her comrades nearby. They drew their swords and advanced upon them.

"Argh, I'm getting out of here!" Buggy bolted down the street, and Shanks cursed before following. They slipped through a gap in the ranks and made a mad dash for freedom. So much for not causing a scene.

Grace growled in frustration when her prey slipped into the more crowded part of the shopping district. She couldn't see which way they disappeared to. She turned her head this way and to catch a glimpse of either of those pirates. She heard one of her fellow officers speak. "You guys go get back up! She and I will keep an eye on them!" The others nodded and ran back for help.

Grace hopped onto a crate and scanned the crowd for a second before pointing towards the flash of red and blue. "There!" The both of them chased after their targets until they ran in different directions. She looked at the other officer. "You go after the clown, and I'll keep my eyes on the other one, got it?" He nodded and then they went their separate ways.

Now, where did you go... Grace looked around wildly. He couldn't have gotten away that easily. This area he ran to was less crowded so there's no way she would have lost him. She froze when she spotted what looked like the top of a straw hat, partially hidden behind a large barrel filled with apples. "Aha!" She jogged over and the red haired pirate stood up, apparently aware his hiding spot wasn't very good. Grace tried to step around the barrel, but the redhead matched her step for step, effectively staying on the other side no matter what. "Red Hair..." she hissed.

He cleared his throat. "Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot." Shanks said. His eyes were shifty, not so subtly looking at his surroundings. He was looking for a way out.

"Oh, I don't think we did. It was a pretty standard start, if you as me." She replied. She tried again to get around the barrel, but the pirate just evaded her again. "You're prolonging the inevitable, Red Hair!"

"Listen! Can't we just chat for a little while—"

"No."

"—and catch our breath? I mean we've both been running a bunch today, and I clearly can't get away from you... So why not take a little break with me, huh?" He flashed a smile and leaned against the barrel with one arm. "I won't try to go anywhere, I promise."

"You expect me to believe you?" Grace said indignantly and Shanks' smile fell. "I'm not an idiot! You're just trying to distract me!"

"I just wanna catch my breath is all...It's too hot to be running all over the place like this." He made a show of taking off his hat and fanning himself with it.

"Oh don't worry! You can rest all you want after I arrest you. And I'll even put you in a nice cold cell where the heat won't get to you." Grace made another lunge to get around the barrel, but he dodged again when she tried to grab him.

"Ha! Two birds with one stone, huh?" Shanks replied. He could see that she was getting more irritated by the second, but he pretended not to notice."You drive a hard bargain..." he tapped his chin thoughtfully. "But that seems like permanent solution to a temporary problem, so I'm gonna have to pass on that, angel. Sorry." Grace's frown deepened at the pet-name, but that didn't seem to deter the boy. "Look, doll," he leaned a little closer with both hands gripping edge of the barrel tightly, "As fun as this has been, I ,uh, really have to get going, so... See ya later!" He used all his strength to tip over the heavy barrel, sending its contents cascading out of it and onto the street.

Grace back pedaled in an attempt to avoid the sudden onslaught of apples, but the round fruits predictable rolled under her feet and she ended up slipping right onto her backside. She ignored the pain she felt upon hitting the concrete and stood up again. However, when she tried to pursue the retreating form of the red haired pirate, she only ended up slipping on more apples.

Her face grew hot with shame when she looked up to see that she had lost site of him. I can't believe he got the better of me like this... Grace lowered her head, her bangs falling to cover her eyes. She punched the ground, savoring the sting when her fist hit concrete. She wouldn't be able to chase him down. He would be gone by the time she maneuvered through the apple minefield. She stood up, scowling as she dusted off her clothes, and then picked up an apple. You win this round, you redheaded fool.

Shanks was panting by the time he reached the alcove where he and his crew-mates had landed earlier. It looked like most of them had already left. He looked behind him, one last check to make sure he had had actually lost that marine girl. There was no sign of her, so Shanks took his time catching his breath on his way to where Buggy standing in the water next to their dinghy.

"There you are!" he shouted. "Hurry it up will you!? I was about ready to leave without you!"

Shanks let out a breathy laugh. "Sorry, Buggy. Thanks for waiting." He helped push the boat further out into the water and then climbed in after his friend. "So, what are we gonna tell the captain?" he asked. They were supposed to help restock the food stores on the ship, but here they were with nothing.

"Hell if I know! This is all your fault, so you tell him." Buggy replied. He picked up the oars and started rowing.

"Yeah, yeah..." It went quiet for a moment. Then, something hit him square in the jaw. "Ouch!" Shanks rubbed the sore spot and looked down at the shiny red apple that fell in his lap. Bewildered, he looked up and scanned the shore.

There, standing on the beach with an armful of apples, was the marine girl that had given him so much trouble. Another fruit hit him in the head. Another one came after that, but it hit Buggy instead. "Ow! What a bitch! Just leave already!" he shouted.

Shanks laughed and caught the next one that came his way. He took a deep breath and shouted, "Thanks for the apples, darling!" He was rewarded with an apple hitting him in the head. "Jeez..." That girl has a good arm...

"You won't get away next time ya red haired bastard!"

Shanks smiled to himself, but the sound of cannon fire caught his attention. He turned in his seat to a fleet of marine ships pursuing the Oro Jackson. Yikes. He picked up the other set of oars to help Buggy row. They needed to get to the ship before it passed by. They rowed as as fast as they could, to the point where their muscles ached. They were greeted with a helping hand from a crewmate, there to pull them aboard.

Shanks gathered up the apples and carefully boarded the ship without dropping them. "So." He looked up at the source of the voice. Rayleigh-san. "You brought back...five apples."

He looked down at his meager haul, then back up. "Yep."

"That's it?"

"Well—" Something landed on the deck with a thud. Those within earshot of it looked down and saw...

An apple.

"Make that six." Shanks put his armful on the deck, ignoring them when they rolled. He leaned over the edge of the ship, hand shading his eyes as he looked at the far off shore. He could just barely make her out, along with a couple of other marines. He turned back to Rayleigh, pointing his thumb in her direction. "Man, she has a really good arm!"

"Um...Everett...?"

She didn't turn around. She threw the last apple she had and watched it sail well out of sight. She hoped it reached the ship. Maybe it would hit that damned redhead. Or maybe it would hit Roger. That would be something.

"Everett, we gotta get back to the ship."

She slowly turned towards the little band of marines that came looking for her. A couple looked vaguely amused, but tried for pokerfaces and avoided eye contact when she looked at them. She didn't blame them. How else could they react to the futility of throwing fruit at a pirate ship? The one talking to her was the same guy that jabbed her earlier. Warren was his name. He was kinda tall and broad, with short blond hair and dark brown eyes. "Y'know, if I had a gun, I could've caught them." she said.

"Yeah, well, you know why you don't get one. Now get a move on, lass, they're gonna leave us behind."

Grace huffed and stomped off muttering, "That was an accident. Months ago."

A/N: So, that was the first chapter of the new, improved version of "An Unlikely Pair"! Please, please, please let me know what you think and if I should continue it this way!