Shiki has ambushed Roger, Shanks and Buggy, and took Shanks hostage. Rouge, who had been going to meet up with the three, obviously takes offence to this.

(Pirate AU)

"Shanks!" Buggy screamed.

The Golden Lion had taken him high up into the air, smirking nastily down at them. Captain Roger looked absolutely livid, and raised his sword, but Shiki held Shanks out in front of him. Shanks who stilled, cursing when Shiki shook him about roughly in the air.

"Don't you dare hurt him, Shiki!" Roger snarled.

"Maybe having a dead apprentice will finally get you to take me seriously, Roger!" Shiki mocked. "So how should I kill him? Stab him? Shoot him? Or simply drop him?"

Buggy could feel the absolute terror echoing through Shanks, especially when Shiki let him go, Shanks began to drop, and Captain's Roger's sheer anger was broken through by fear. Shiki caught Shanks in an instant, and held him up once more.

But Buggy could feel something else though, a spike of rage coming from the cliff side behind Shiki. Captain Roger's glower deepened.

"Don't be a fool, Shiki! You of all people know the old pirate rules. You don't touch the apprentices!"

"You also take advantage of what you can, Roger!" Shiki smirked. "And your little apprentices are your biggest weak spot."

Out of the trees on the cliff side across from them a blur came sprinting out. They leapt into the sky, and Shiki whirled round, slashing downwards with his sword.

Buggy froze. He saw the splatter of blood as Rouge twisted round, Shanks hugged tight to her chest. She booted Shiki in the face just as they began to fall.

"Rouge! Shanks!" Captain Roger yelled.

.::.

"Stay back, Roger!" Rouge spat.

She concentrated her energy into her sword and swung. A slash raced up, crashing into Shiki who cursed. Rouge ignored him, and stabbed her haki coated sword into the cliff side. She and Shanks slid down far, but finally her sword caught into the wall and they hung in place.

"That would have been a long drop." Rouge grimaced. "Shanks, wrap your arms around my neck."

"Y-Yeah!" Shanks said shakily, hugging her tightly.

But he flinched, pulling a hand away as Rouge held back a wince. It was sticky with blood.

"You're bleeding." Shanks paled.

"I'm fine," Rouge grunted.

Shiki would pay for it later, and that was if Roger didn't get to him first. Speaking of which, Roger was tackling Shiki out of the sky, back on to the ground with a snarl. His haki was roaring, full of fury, but Buggy's was full of terror, and she hoped the youngster would stay back and out of the way.

She made the slow climb back up. It was a pain trying to drag her sword back out, and the blood made things slippery. Shanks was right against her chest, head buried in the crook of her neck.

"Rouge-san, it's a lot of blood," Shanks whispered.

Rouge grunted.

Shiki had gotten a good blow on her. It wouldn't kill her, but it would be a pain in the ass to recover from. Especially if she kept bleeding out. Rouge ignored Shanks, and hurried her ass up.

When she got closer she grabbed Shanks and launched him over the cliff's ledge. Buggy let out a strangled yelp, his haki fluttering anxiously. Rouge pulled herself up the rest of the way, panting.

Her back was on fire.

Rouge tensed. Poison. The bastard's swords were poisonous.

She heard her name being yelled. It was a painful scream, one full of terror and anger, just as everything swayed and went black.

I've got a new story about Rouge and Ace up called 'The Portgas Clan', it follows most of the canon storyline, but they are apart of the Portgas Clan who are a powerful witch family, and are wanted alive.