A/N: Sorry about all the redos/rewrites. XD;; I'm really trying hard to be a better writer so I have to keep going over stuff. You'll just have to put up with it. D

Note to Jacinta (I would have just replied to you but you were "anonymous". XD): Thank you! And yeah, I actually have about 11 chapters written or at least rough-drafted. But I keep going over and over the chapters and finding awkward crap I think I need to change in them. XD I'm also going by advice from friends. . Don't worry, those chaps'll all be posted again someday! :

Background: This story is set when Shanks is 26 and Benn is 27 (just a guess. o.0 I mean I'd assume he's older, but really, who knows.) So what I'm trying to say here is: Shanks still has two arms. :) Oh, and Melia and Bara are both 19. :D

(--)

"Oi, Beckman, I got a job for ya." Shanks grinned a little at his first mate, who looked over and cocked his head questioningly.

Pulling out a wanted poster, Shanks showed him the picture on it. "I want you to find this girl and bring her back here. I'll send a couple other men out too to help you. She should be in the town area or the harbor of the next island we dock at.

"Oh, and Beckman..." Shanks paused for a moment. "How do I say this...I don't really expect her to come with you voluntarily. Know what I mean?"

Benn Beckman nodded. "Surprisingly, yes." He took the wanted poster announcing the incrimination of Melia "The Deathflower" to study it, memorizing what the girl looked like. She looked nothing like what her Navy-given alias suggested. She appeared to be young and innocent, in her early twenties or perhaps late teens. Her jet-black, glossy hair was balanced evenly in two pigtails which were curled into barrel curls paralleled around a delicate and feminine face. She wore a sweet, exotic flower in her hair, a flower the same color as her eyes...what the color was exactly, it was hard to say; her eyes were a bit strange either way...their pupils were very small so it almost looked like she had none, which made her look...well, almost soul-less.

Benn nodded again, feeling he had her looks pretty well memorized. "When will we be docking at the island?" he inquired of Shanks.

Shanks calculated a bit. "I think only a couple hours," he replied. "Oh, and as for backup, you can take those two new rookies with you."

Benn looked at him, a little puzzled. "Backup? I think I can handle a young girl pretty well on my own."

Shanks raised an eyebrow and smirked at Benn's unfortunate wording. "That's a little too much information, so I'll just take your word for it," he quipped. Benn just rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean. Was there something the wanted poster forgot to mention?"

Shanks snorted. "No, no...I just mean to cover more ground. You can look in one area of the town and they can check the other. Whoever finds her first can bring her back. And yes, I realize you'll find her first, but I just wanna see how they handle the job, at least."

Beckman frowned for a moment. "...fine; but I'm only doing this because you asked, not for them." He said, then paused for a moment. "Why exactly do you want this girl here, Captain? If you don't mind me asking..."

The captain grinned distractedly and downed half a bottle of whiskey before answering. "She's my little sister, that's why. Well, half-sister. We have the same father. It's been years since I've seen her and I just thought I'd better take advantage of being on the same island as her."

"...I see." Benn leaned back in his chair a bit then looked back at Shanks. "Then, why won't she 'come with me voluntarily'?"

Shanks laughed a little nervously. "She might if she remembered ever meeting me, but I doubt she does. She was only four at the time; and even if she did remember me and you went up to her and said, 'Hi, your big brother Red-Haired Shanks sent me, now follow me so I can take you to him,' the smart thing for her to do would be to run screaming to the police. ...And that reminds me, as soon as you and her and those rookies are back on the ship, we're setting sail again."

"Ah. Well, whatever you think's best, she's...your sister," Benn said a little cynically. Now that he knew what to look for, he grabbed the poster again and re-examined it. She DID have a little in common with Shanks as far as family resemblance went. There was something about her jaw line and expression that suggested sudden bursts of spirited, genuine laughter. Or maybe in a girl's case, giggling.

"Stop looking at my little sister like that." Shanks snatched the poster from him and sniggered. "You can handle girls all you want for all I care, except for this one," he stipulated, patting the poster as if it were alive.

Benn shook his head at him. "I was just trying to see if she looked similar to you. You two look nothing alike. And that's not a compliment." Benn closed his eyes, smirking a little, ignoring Shanks' heartbroken sobs.