The boy, Eli, let out an excited squeal as Shanks scooped him off of the ground. He grinned widely at Shanks, the expression reminding the pirate of a certain kitten. He felt his grin before he was aware he was smiling, and Shanks turned to see if Elle had noticed them playing.

Shanks had gotten her harness after he had left her in a stunned silence. When he had first sent her away, Shanks had envisioned the next time he would be able to buckle her up in it. Elle had always had a hard time working it, and so had to have someone help her into it. Unfortunately, her harness required two hands to work. So Shanks had reluctantly handed the device over to his vice-captain and watched quietly as Ben had led the girl away. Shanks had looked after them for a moment before two small boys headbutted his stomach, bringing him into the game they had been playing with his crew.

Shanks had turned to face the cat-girl just in time to see Ben stand up from where he had been crouching in front of Elle. When the expression on his vice-captain's face had changed, Shanks softly set Eli down. His normally stoic second had gone from his rough glare to a softer scowl. A familiar scowl that Shanks had only seen when Ben had found a woman he wanted. And, for some reason, Shanks did not like Ben looking at Elle like that.

Shanks heard Elle speak, her voice sounding almost panicked, but didn't quite catch what she was saying. He watched as her tail quickly wrapped around her body and her ears lay flat against her head. Even from this distance, Shanks could see that her face was bright red. So he walked over to her, reaching Elle's side right after she crouched down and tried to curl up. Shanks recognized the position and figured she must be embarrassed about something.

"Come now, Kitten," Shanks teased, crouching down next to her. "It can't be that bad."

"There are children present!" she squeaked, turning to hide her face in her knees. Before that could happen, though, she looked up with a small gasp. Shanks had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at the expression on her face.

"Nothing they haven't seen before."

When Elle turned to glare at him, there was silver lining her golden eyes. "But it is something few others have!" she hissed, the fur on her tail standing on end.

Shanks frowned at her. What could be embarrassing her so much? Elle turned her face away from him, a pout on her lips and a pretty pink staining her cheeks. Deciding that he needed to see what the fuss was about, Shanks grabbed the back of her neck. Like a true cat, that was her weak point. Ever since she was little, if you held Elle by the scruff of her neck, she went totally limp. So Shanks picked her up and hauled her to her feet. Elle let out an outraged shriek and turned to start yelling at Shanks as soon as he put her down. But he couldn't have cared less about what she was saying as he took in the sight of her.

Last night, Shanks had noticed that Elle looked different from the last time he had seen her. For one, her hair now fell to her waist, where she had always kept it shorter than his. He had noted that she finally had some womanly curves and that the baby fat from her cheeks had disappeared. But he hadn't thought she had changed too much. Looking at her now, though, Shanks could see just how much she had truly changed in the decade they had been apart.

The harness tightly hugged her body, drawing attention to not only her narrow waist, but her impressive new—ahem—assets. With the way she looked, it was almost like she was tied up and all but begging for him to do whatever he wanted to her. The soft blush on her cheeks and the fang nervously chewing her lip did nothing but fan the flame that was kindling inside of Shanks. He was once again glad that his shorts were baggy.

Elle quickly turned away from Shanks and her shoulder's drooped. Her ears moved forwards, but still remained flat against her head and her tail was absolutely motionless. He could see her cheeks turn bright red and realized why she was so embarrassed. So he quickly undid his cape and draped it over her shoulders. Shanks resisted the urge to brush her hair out of her face and turned to board his ship. He heard Elle follow after him, her footsteps almost silent.

As soon as they were on the ship, all color vanished from Elle's face. Shanks opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but the cat-woman quickly pushed past him and all but threw herself over the railing. Shanks walked over and pulled her hair out of the way of her vomit, wishing he could do more for her. When she was done, Elle glanced back up at him, tears once again lining her eyes. Shanks remembered that there was something that he could do for her. When she was younger, sleeping had been the only way for Elle to avoid the worst of her sea sickness.

Shanks gave Elle a small smile and placed his hand on her shoulder before asking if she wanted him to knock her unconscious for the worst of it. The sound she made and the look of absolute relief hit him squarely bellow the belt and it was all Shanks could do to squeeze the pressure points that would knock her out. Elle fell forwards into his arm and he quickly threw her body over his shoulder. Shanks was aware of the sharp glares of her sons as he walked up to the forecastle. Shanks carefully placed Elle down before he sat down next to her, letting her use his lap as a pillow.

Elle crouched on the pier, holding her breath as her stomach started to settle. The man standing above her was chuckling, but the most Elle could do was glare up at him. She debated vomiting on his shoes just to be spiteful, but decided against it when her stomach finally stopped rolling. Wiping the sweat off of her face with her loose shirt, Elle stood up and faced the large man.

And he was really was a big man, standing several heads taller than Elle. His hair was cut close to his head, the white color matching that of his neatly trimmed beard. He was wearing a plain black suit with a white shirt underneath, and looked like a pleasant man if you discounted the scar that ringed his left eye. Elle remembered the Marine from when she had been part of the Roger Pirates and couldn't help the scowl that spread across her face. No, she did not like Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp, and she could not understand why Shanks had freely handed her over to him.

Garp glanced down at Elle and let out a loud laugh. "You can stop glaring at me, brat," he said with a wide grin. "It's not going to change what Sengoku, Red-Hair, and I decided."

No, glaring wouldn't help. It had already been decided that Elle was no longer a pirate. Now she was to be a Marine, fighting against the only life she had known. Elle softly rubbed the small bump of her stomach. If it wasn't for that, she wouldn't be in this predicament. She wasn't even sure she wanted the damn kid, so why was it being held over her head like this?! Glaring couldn't change what had already happened and what was going to happen, but it helped her feel better. So Elle would glare as much as she damn well wanted to.

"Why are we here?" Elle mumbled in response, turning to stare at the ocean behind her. She was searching for a ship she knew would never appear on the horizon."I thought you were going to train me."

Garp shoved one of his hands in his pocket and placed the other on Elle's shoulder. She tried to shrug it off, but he just held on tighter. He used that hand to start steering her as he answered, "I will. But before we can start, you need to have your baby. And until we know that you will be loyal to us, Sengoku asked me to test you."

"Test me how?" Elle asked in a deadpan, staring blankly at the people they passed. One woman with dark hair tied back in a bandanna gave them a nervous smile. Something about the way she smelled irked Elle, so she snarled in return. Garp gave her a rough shove forwards before Elle could do anything else.

"How willing you will be to become a Marine." Garp was now leading them into a dense forest. "You said you're not sure you want this kid," he continued quietly. She had said that when the weird Goat-Man had laid down his ultimatum. "I want to show you how wonderful kids can be, so I'm going to leave you with my grandsons."

"How will that make me love my own kid?"

Garp grinned widely at her as they came up to a small house. "Considering your past," he said with a laugh, "you'll have a soft spot for these two brats. And if you don't come to love these kids, you wont like any kid. Dadan!"

Elle jumped at his sudden yell and flinched again when a large, ginger-haired woman burst out of the house. "What is it, ya bastard?" the woman shouted, glaring at Garp. She took one look at Elle before returning her scowl to the Vice-Admiral. "I ain't gonna take care of another one of your brats! Ace and Luffy are already more than I can handle!"

Elle was already tuning out the shouting match going on between the two large humans. She was instead watching a tiny man come out of the house. He looked like he would be fun to chase, like he would be surprisingly fast and agile. Elle's stomach growled and she felt drool at the corner of her mouth. The ship-ride over had been too short for her to get acclimated, so she hadn't eaten in several days. And that little man was looking mighty tasty. As if he could read her thoughts, he paled and quickly ran back inside. Before Elle could chase after him, though, he was back with a piece of paper clutched tightly in his hands.

"B-B-B-Booosssss!" he shouted in a high-pitched, nasily voice, catching the Ginger-haired woman's attention. "T-This isn't no ordinary brat! It's the Hell Spawn!"

The small man handed the woman the paper he was holding, which Elle assumed was her wanted poster. The woman glanced at the paper, then at Elle, several times before her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her skull. "There is no way in hell I am taking in a wanted pirate, Garp!" she shouted, throwing the paper onto the ground in disgust. It made a surprisingly large impact."You really expect me to take in the Hell Spawn, when I damn well know his reputation?!"

Elle couldn't help her reaction; she had the same one every time someone mistook her gender. She felt all the hair on her body stand on end as she hissed at the Ginger. Over Garp's loud laughter, Elle snarled at the woman, "I am a girl!"

Gingy just looked her up and down before crossing her arms over her large chest. "Are you sure about that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Elle glanced down at herself. She was wearing an old shirt of Shanks' that was much too large for her. She had it loosely tucked into a pair of baggy shorts that were tied at her waist with a red sash, both more hand-me-downs from Shanks (she preferred clothing that smelled like him instead of new). Her boots came up to her ankles, tied slackly so that she could easily kick them off. Yeah, she could understand why she was mistaken for a boy; all of her clothing hid any curves she had. Elle also kept her hair cut shorter than Shanks', so that it wouldn't get in the way if she found herself fighting. And Elle knew that she certainly didn't act like a girl. But she couldn't be at fault for that! She had been raised by men! She had had very little female interaction, especially in the last decade.

Garp's hand shaking her shoulder pulled Elle out of her thoughts. "Elle, here," he said to the woman, again steering Elle as they walked closer, "is no longer a pirate." She scowled at Garp's words, but said nothing to dispute it. It was true, after all. "She's made a deal with the World Government, becoming a Marine in exchange for her life."

"Is that so," the large woman replied sardonically. "I don't see how that affects her comin' to live with us. If she's now a Marine, shouldn't she stay with you, Vice-Admiral Garp?" The way the woman said the Marine's title made Elle like her just a tiny bit more than she had previously.

"That's the thing, Dadan. She can't train because of her medical condition." Both Elle and Gingy frowned at Garp. Seeing the women's confused looks, Garp added, "Elle's pregnant. Can't train her in such a delicate state."

"I'm not delicate," Elle growled, ignoring the shock of the people standing in front of her. She crossed her arms over her chest, her frown deepening at the discomfort and pain in her breasts that the action caused. "I can still fight."

Garp abruptly smacked Elle on the back of her head, sending her flying forwards. "You idiot brat!" he shouted. "You are not in the right set of mind to make decisions like that!"

"Says who?" she snarled, holding the back of her head. She glared up at Garp from her crouch, baring her teeth. "I can do whatever the hell I want!"

"Not anymore, you can't!" Garp squatted down in front of Elle and shoved his finger in her chest. "Whether you like it or not doesn't change the fact that you are now a Marine. And, as a Marine, I am your superior. So you are not to question me if I tell you to jump, unless it's to ask how high!"

Elle clicked her tongue and turned away from the Marine. She stared into the forest, frowning when she saw a boy come sauntering out of it. He had wavy dark hair that framed his face, dark, scowling eyes, and a huge forehead. Across his cheeks were freckles, which only lessened the effect of his frown. He had what seemed to be a lead pipe thrown over his shoulder. The boy glared at everyone before he spoke in a surprisingly deep voice.

"Who's this, old man?"

Garp turned from glaring at Elle to grinning at the boy. "This here's Elle!" he said loudly, clapping his hand on her shoulder. "Elle, say hello to one of my grandsons!"

Elle opened her mouth just in time for the wind to shift, blowing the boy's scent straight into her face. The familiarity of it hit her like a punch to the gut. It couldn't be true. No one alive was supposed to smell like that. Elle stood on shaky legs and quickly approached the boy. He glared at her warily, but didn't seem alarmed by her. Well, that is, until she leaned down and pressed her face against the top of his head. Elle grabbed his arms so that the boy couldn't attack her and breathed deep his scent. It was true; the scent brought back bittersweet memories of the single year she spent as a normal girl.

Elle couldn't help the little mewl she let out as she released the boy. "Ace," she breathed, almost too quiet for anybody to hear.

Garp let out a loud laugh and walked over to the two of them. "I see you figured out who he is," he said proudly.

Elle gave Garp a level stare. "Captain said you would take him in," she said slowly. "He put such blind faith in you, his enemy, but I couldn't understand why. I didn't really think you would protect my little brother."

"Little bro—" Ace started to say, but cut himself off. His scowl deepened as took several steps back. "Are you saying you're that man's son too?"

Elle snarled, "Daughter. I'm his adopted daughter."

Ace snorted. "I don't care if you're his son or daughter or whatever," he said vehemently. "He's not my father, and you're not my brother."

Elle rocked back on her heels and crossed her arms over her knees. She placed her head on her arms and stared intently at Ace. "It doesn't matter if you claim the Captain isn't your father," she said simply. "You still have his blood running through your veins."

Ace scowled even deeper, if that was even possible, but didn't say anything. Garp laughed at their encounter before he turned back to Gingy. "Hey, Dadan! Where's Luffy?" he asked her in his loud voice.

"He was with Ace, last I saw him."

Everyone turned to the boy, who just shrugged. "I haven't seen him all day." He was lying—Elle could smell it on him—but she didn't know why.

"If this Luffy-kid is actually related to you," Elle added, "then I can smell him comin'."

Not two seconds later, another little boy come out from the forest. He was covered in scratches and bruises, despite appearing even younger than Ace. His black hair was short and messy, not unlike her own. He had a wide smile and a small scar under his left eye. When the boy caught sight of everybody, he gave a wide grin and reached behind him. He opened his mouth and said something, but Elle couldn't hear anything above the rushing in her ears. The boy was putting a straw hat with a red band on. A very familiar straw hat. One she had last seen on his head as he turned his back on Elle.

"That hat...," Elle said, cutting off whatever Garp was saying.

"Oh, this?" The boy's grin widened and he fondly pushed the hat down on his head. "Shanks gave me this to hold on to until I become a great pirate!"

Elle snarled and launched herself at the boy. She tightly grabbed his arms, growling with her ears pressed flat against her head. "Liar! You're lying!" she cried. "Shanks would never give that hat to some brat!"

She felt her claws grow, pressing against the boy's arms. He instantly sagged in her grasp, bringing a grim smile to Elle's face. This kid was a Devil Fruit user. That meant it would be easy for her to tear him apart piece by piece and not have him fight back. Elle opened her mouth, revealing her lengthening fangs, and went in to start ripping into his flesh. She never made it, though. A rough hand grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her off of the boy. She was thrown into a tree and was promptly surrounded by black.

A/N: Another flashback! I think I will be doing a lot of flashbacks, as I feel that they help you guys understand Elle the way I do. Explain her motives and mind better. So look forwards to those! I might not post for a while again, but I hope the three chapters I posted today tide you over until I do. As always, enjoy, lovelies!

~Shini