I stared down at the snow covered ground, my stomach doing summer-salts. And it wasn't from the ocean. I lightly tugged on my ears and let out a small whine. I heard Shanks step up behind me and felt his warm hand on the small of my back. He leaned down and murmured that I should just take the plunge. Easy for him to say. Shanks is strong and can easily take care of both himself and others, despite being just a human. He didn't have a debilitating fear of loosing everything precious to him because he couldn't protect anything.

But that wasn't true. I could protect in my human-form. Yes, I fought mainly with my fangs and claws, but I was proficient with a staff. More than proficient with my daggers. And I knew that I could kick some serious ass with my sword. I reached over my shoulder and lightly touched the hilt of my katana. A gift from Captain, it was one of my most prized possessions. Scared that the Marines would take it and never give it back, I had left it behind with Shanks. So it had been a decade since I had last seen it, but its presence was still a comfort.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, dropping my hand from the sword as I did. I can do this, I told myself. No problem. The twins could take care of themselves, and we had one of the strongest men in the world on our side. They'll be just fine. I nodded to myself and sharply pinched my thigh. The sharp prick of my claws jerked me into motion and I started walking down the gangplank. By the time my feet hit the snow-covered ground, I was totally, utterly human. For the second time in my entire life, I had willingly left my hybrid-form to be human.

I hadn't realized that I was shaking until Shanks stepped up next to me and grabbed my hand. He pulled my trembling fingers up to his mouth and gave them a soft kiss. It was the same thing he had done a decade ago when I had decided to place my full trust in his hands. The memories of the last time made the blood rush to my face and I hastily tried to pull my hand out of his grasp. Shanks' smile twisted slightly and I couldn't tell if it was coy or sardonic. His grip changed so that our fingers were laced before he spoke.

"Come now, Kitten," he purred, leaning down so that his mouth brushed the shell of my human ear. "We're lovers, right? So that means I can show you as much affection as I want to." I opened my mouth to protest, but my words were swallowed by Shanks when he pressed a light kiss against my lips. "Not only do you have to accept it, Kitten, but you have to reciprocate it."

I scowled up at the pirate before softly kissing his cheek. I jerked my bag higher onto my shoulder before I started walking towards my sons. Stepping on Shanks' foot was an accident, of course. There was no way I would be so petty as to deliberately stomp on it as hard as I could just because he decided that it would be fun to tease me. Such actions were not befitting of a Marine Officer of my rank and reputation. Even if it was satisfying as hell. With Sora and Eli running ahead of and the limping pirate next to me, we walked towards the nearest town.

Despite the snow that was gently falling from the sky, there was a considerable amount of people out and about. They all appeared to be friendly, waving and merrily chatting with one another. They smiled when the twins ran into the town before looking behind for their parents. I could tell that they looked at me first, as the smiles became a little more knowing. But then the citizens, one by one, caught sight of Red-Haired Shanks. And those smiles fell from every face, more than one person suddenly had skin that matched the color of the snow around them, and I do believe I saw one lady faint.

Now, I was used to the first two reactions. Even when I went somewhere with my sons, people would recognize me as the Benineko, as one of the most violent and deadly Marines. But the sight of me has never made someone out-right faint. I was chagrined, to say the least, that this giant puppy of a man standing next to me could elicit such a reaction. But I was surprised by the deep pride I felt welling in my chest. Damn straight, you should faint, lady. This man can kick some serious ass without even breaking a sweat.

I stumbled slightly as the thought ran through my mind. I was no longer in a position to feel pride in how people regarded Shanks. I mentally slapped my inner Hell Cat as we followed the twins into a building. The little bitch needed to shut up and go back to sleep. Instantly, the warm, rich smells of food washed over me, making my stomach growl. Leave it to my children to go directly to the first restaurant they find. I glanced up at Shanks to see the same amusement I felt mirrored in his dark eyes.

We started to walk over to the table Sora and Eli were at, but a wiry man stepped into our path. "Excuse me, but you are not welcome here," he said in a nasily voice, perfectly suited to his pinched eyes and upturned nose. He looked like a pig, which only made my hunger grow.

I scowled at the man, but Shanks spoke before I could. "What do you mean?" he asked in a mild voice, his hand lightly squeezing mine. "If you don't serve pirates, we're happy to go elsewhere."

Mr. Pig's scowl deepened and I had to swallow the growl that tried to escape my throat. "What I mean, sir," he said, twisting the word into an insult, "is that you are not welcome on this island."

"What d—"

"Are you sure?" Shanks interrupted me, tugging on my hand to try and get me to step behind him. Yeah, fat chance in hell, old man. "Because last I checked, this is a free island."

Mr. Pig's lips thinned to the point that they turned white. "Technically, you are correct," he scoffed. "But we are still in Emperor Kaido's territory. As an enemy of his, you are not welcome."

"Then it's a good thing we have permission, yah?" I snapped, unable to keep quiet any longer. Mr. Pig just turned his condescending glare on me, so I added, "You can ask him, if you'd like. We'll wait."

"That is not necessary, ma'am," he said after a long pause. "You are allowed on this island, along with your children. He is not."

My lip lifted into a snarl before I could stop it. "I'd sooner cut my arm off before I leave Shanks behind," I snapped, dropping Shanks' hand to get in Mr. Pig's face. "Now get Kaido on the Snail before I call him myself."

Any condescension fell off of Mr. Pig's face to be quickly replaced by fear. He snapped at a near-by waiter to grab a Transponder Snail and call a 'Master Jack'. I frowned, but just crossed my arms over my chest as I waited. Shanks stepped up behind me, resting his hand on my hip and pressed his lips to the crown of my head. I leaned back into him as the pale and sweating waiter approached with a blue Transponder Snail. The Snail had the same face as Mr. Pig, which I found very amusing, as it only highlighted just how pig-like the man looked. But any humor I found in the situation was pushed to the back of my mind as a voice came on, demanding to know why we needed to talk to Jack-Sama.

"Master Sheepshead," Mr. Pig said, his voice shaking slightly. "We have Red-Haired Shanks here, saying that he has permission to visit the island."

Sheepshead asked what the hell that had to do with Jack-Sama. Mr. Pig explained that he was told to contact someone about it, and that he had called Jack, as he was in charge of the island. The Snail started to snarl and Sheepshead said, "Don't bother us with this shit! Of course Red-Hair doesn't have permission to go there!"

"Sheepshead," I said quietly. "Put Jack on. Now."

The Snail's eyes turned and looked at me. "Who the hell are you, ordering me around?" Sheepshead snapped.

"Dammit, Sheepshead, put Jack on or I. Will. Eat. You!"

The Snail started to sweat and was silent for a long moment. Finally, Sheepshead spoke, trying (and failing) to put menace behind his words. "Fine, Mistress Elle. But the moment you get snippy with Jack-Sama, the conversation is over! Got it?"

After I agreed, there was a long silence before a deeper, gruffer voice snapped, "What?"

"Jack, it's Elle." He was silent, which I took as confirmation that he knew who I was. "I need you to tell these asswipes that Shanks has permission to be here." Another long silence, just the Snail narrowing his eyes at me. I sighed and added, "If you don't, we're going to have to call and bother Kaido again."

"Don't address him so familiarly," Jack snapped, repeating the words he had told me countless times. I grinned when the Snail sighed and Jack said to the smug-looking Mr. Pig, "Elle is a—friend," he spit the word like a curse, "of Emperor Kaido's. She has recently suffered a major familial loss, so Kaido has agreed to let her relax there with children and her...lover, Red-Hair Shanks."

I had to fight to keep my face neutral. I hadn't actually told Kaido why I needed to be on that particular island, but he did know who my brothers were. I bragged about them enough I would be surprised if someone didn't know Luffy and Ace were my brothers. If Kaido had chosen to believe that I needed to spend some quality family time with my sons and Shanks because of Ace's death, so be it. As it matched the story we had already come up with, I felt no need to correct Jack. I found myself thanking my lucky stars, though, that we didn't have to suddenly change why we were there.

"But," Jack continued, pulling me from my thoughts. "If the rest of the Red-Hair Pirates show up, you are to contact me immediately. Or if the M—"

"That's enough, Lunch-Dono," I said abruptly, cutting the Mammoth-Man off. I heard Jack growl at me, the usual reaction when I called him by that nickname. I heard Sheepshead shout about that being the end of our conversation before the Snail said, Ca-lick, and went to sleep. You could always count on Sheepshead to get his feathers ruffled when someone insulted his captain. And that had just saved us from having our cover blown. I smiled sweetly at the shocked Mr. Pig and said, "As you heard, we are welcome here."

I grabbed Shanks' hand and smiled up at him, ignoring his raised eyebrows. I lead us across the restaurant to the table where my twins were sitting, their eyes wide. Sora and Eli knew better than to question what had happened, but I suspected that they had some idea. It was hard to miss Sheepshead's yelling, so even if they hadn't heard the entire conversation, they could have easily guessed what was going on. I smiled and winked at the boys as I slid into the chair across from Sora. Shanks sat in the chair next to me, across from Eli, and casually slung his arm across the back of my chair.

I stiffened, but his words from earlier echoed in my mind. So I shifted my chair until I was close enough to cuddle with Shanks. My heart was racing and I could hardly concentrate enough to focus on the menu the shaking waitress placed in front of me. I ordered the first meat-based dish I saw and quickly handed the menu back. But that left me with nothing but the feeling of Shanks' arm around me. I felt like a teenager who had finally gotten the attention of her crush, my heart racing and my stomach flipping.

Over my twenty-six years of existence, I have come across several men that I found attractive. I have been intimate with a man on several occasions, even had children, so I was by no means a virgin. But for all my body cared, I had been thrown back in time ten years. No other man had affected me the way Shanks had when I was younger; not before and not in the years after. Yes, I had felt aroused in the years since. But never like this, never so hyper-aware of his every movement, every breath. All of my senses were lit on fire. Goosebumps popped up where Shanks was lazily rubbing his finger along my arm. I felt my skin heat where his breath brushed against my ear.

What is wrong with me? I had been this close—closer, even—to Shanks earlier during this trip, but I hadn't been so affected by him. Shanks said my name, the single syllable rolling off of his tongue and down my spine, leaving a path of fire in its wake. I glanced up at the pirate and found myself falling into the dark depths of his eyes. His gaze drifted down from mine, landing on my lips. And suddenly every nerve in my body was focused on them. They felt swollen, just aching for Shanks to press his lips to mine. My tongue slipped out, moistening them in anticipation. Shanks started to lean down, his breath brushing against the wet skin and making it all the more sensitive. I started to tilt my head and close my eyes, waiting...waitin—

I pushed Shanks away, my head shooting towards the door of the restaurant. And the men I saw walk through the door made me groan. I buried my face in my hands and muttered, "Oh, shit."

A group of imposing-looking men had just entered the restaurant. If I hadn't been so distracted by Shanks, I would have felt them with my haki the moment they had landed on the island. I didn't usually use my Perception Haki on crowded islands like this unless I absolutely needed to, as the constant barrage of information gave me a massive migraine. Due to the sensitive nature of my current mission, I was making a small exception. Years ago, I had figured out how to keep my haki open to receive information on certain people. Usually I used it to keep track of the boys when they went off on their own. Today, I had been using it to detect anyone who could possibly blow our cover. But the idiotic man next to me had distracted me and I hadn't sensed potentially the most dangerous variable that we could have ever encountered.

All of the men who walked inside appeared relatively young, my age give or take. The first man, obviously the leader of the group, was tall. And I think he styled his maroon-colored hair into those spikes to try and add to his already impressive height. His long, black fur coat was trimmed in a color more purple than maroon and resting on his shoulders. Despite the cold weather, he didn't have a shirt on underneath, though he did have a bandolier holding a pistol and short sword crossing his chest. He had a blue sash tied across his waist, with a leather belt over it. His pants were weird-looking, black with yellow circles. The goggles resting at his hair line, black nails, dark lips, and lack of eyebrows all added to his dark look.

Directly behind Spiky was a slightly shorter man. His hair was as long as mine, but blond and more spiky than wavy. His face was covered completely by a plain blue and white striped mask, which had holes all along the front. His black shirt was covered in white spots and buttoned at his hips, revealing a slice of his tanned chest. A red sash was holding up his weirdly fringed pants. Behind Mask-Chan were even more odd-looking men, including a dark-haired guy wearing weird mesh lingerie and a pale blue-haired Voodoo doll come to life.

Yes, the Kid Pirates were a weird bunch, especially when compared to the civilians around them. Hell, even compared to the other Supernovas, they were an odd bunch. I had met them a little over a month ago, back on Sabaody Archipelago. They had intrigued me then, especially the captain and the one who appeared to be his first mate. Like Luffy's crew, the Kid Pirates were the only other crew containing two of the Supernovas, a group of eleven strong rookie pirates. But what had really caught my interest was the fact that the captain, Eustass 'Captain' Kid, had a bounty higher than Luffy's. I wanted to know if he had the strength to back up his bounty, like my brother did, or if it was so high only because of his complete disregard of civilian casualties. I did not, however, want to find out while I was working. The Kid Pirates had other plans, though.

As the men started striding across the restaurant, moving directly towards us, I was starting to lean towards the latter option. Captain Kid walked right up to our table and kicked it, upsetting the table. Giving us a crazy grin, he said, "I heard a rumor that Red-Hair Shanks would be on this island, but I must say I am surprised to find you're actually here."

The little bastard was trying to pick a fight with Shanks. I guess that answers my question. His bounty was definitely because of his disregard of civilian casualties. But we did not have time for Shanks to take care of a little rookie who was getting too big for his britches. I took a deep breath and reached into my pocket. My hand closed around a round piece of metal, only slightly smaller than my palm. I pulled it out and, very calmly... Threw it right into Little Bastard's face. The pocket-watch smacked right into his pointy nose and the pirate glared down at me.

"Sorry, boy," I said sweetly, catching the watch after it bounced off his nose and slid it back into my pocket. "Shanks is busy right now, so your challenge is going to have to wait."

Little Bastard leaned down and snarled into my face, "And why does some little hussy think she can decide who Red-Hair does and does not fight?" The skin between his eyes furrowed, so I think he scowled. But I wasn't sure, due to his lack of eyebrows. Does he, like, shave them off or something? "Do I know you?" He leaned even closer, his sharp nose almost brushing mine. "You kinda look like that Mar—"

"Sora, Eli—now!" I snapped, interrupting Little Bastard.

Next thing I knew, Sora and Eli both had one hand on my arm. Their other hands were tightly laced together. Looking around, it seemed like every one had stopped moving. Looking closer, I could see that time had stopped. There, a man's face was screwed up mid-sneeze. By the wall was a scared waitress, her tray of food half-tipped over. Mr. Pig was standing by the door, his finger poised to push another button on the Transponder Snail. The Time-Time Fruit that my sons had eaten was really incredible, as stopping time was just one of the many powers that came with it. But I knew that they could only keep time stopped for so long, and that time shorted with every person they 'woke' from the freeze.

I told the twins to wake up Little Bastard and Mask-Chan, mentally calculating how long we had. Three people meant we didn't even have five minutes before the twins would have to un-freeze time, so I intended to make good use of it. Right as the twins touched Little Bastard, I grabbed the front of his bandolier and threw him down onto the table he had toppled. I heard Mask-Chan gasp as Little Bastard cursed, but I held out my hand to stop Mask-Chan from moving. I walked up to Little Bastard and scowled down at him. I could feel my skirt moving by my knees and knew that I had shifted back intto my hybrid-form.

I kicked Little Bastard in the chest, pushing him back down when he tried to get up. I placed my foot at the base of his throat and said, "I told you, Shanks was busy right now. You can challenge him until you're blue in the face—once I am done with him. Until then, don't even think about it."

Little Bastard grinned up at me and grabbed my calf, right above the top of my boot. "I knew I recognized you, Benineko," he said, not even trying to stand up. "Is this your punishment for Marineford? They send you to take out Red-Hair?"

I crossed my shaking arms over my chest, deepening my scowl. "No," I snapped. "I just wanted a nice vacation with my family. It would be bad if the world found out that the Benineko had children with the Emperor Red-Hair Shanks, so we are keeping it secret.'

Little Bastard's gaze shot over to the twins before looking over at the frozen Shanks. Shanks' eyes were wide, but I could see the amusement in them, and his arm was still draped over the chair I had been sitting in. "They really are his kids, huh," Little Bastard mumbled to himself. He turned his smirk back up at me and added, "What're you gonna give us to keep quiet about this? And to not challenge Red-Hair?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Who said this was an option?" I heard Mask-Chan let out a small curse behind me and I laughed. "I am ordering you. If you don't," I said, raising my voice to be heard over his denile, "I will rip off your balls and shove them so far down your throat you'll be shitting them out."

Little Bastard paled, but kept his scowl. "You're bluffing."

I grinned down at him and hauled him back to his feet. "Do you really wanna find out?" I purred as I sat back down.

Between one blink and the next, time started again. The man's sneeze was muffled by the crash of dishes, which made Mr. Pig jump and miss-dial. Little Bastard glance around, looking confused, before he glared down at me. He snarled that our business wasn't finished and quickly stalked out of the restaurant, his bewildered crew following him. I could feel Shanks' gaze burning holes in the side of my head, so I glanced up at him. Shanks raised his eyebrows in a silent question. I grinned and tossed him a wink before turning to our apologizing waitress, leaving Shanks to puzzle over what had just happened.

Shanks followed Elle and the boys out of the restaurant, still trying to figure out what had happened. He had been enjoying the effect he was having on Elle when Shanks had sensed a couple of strong men approaching. At the same time, Elle had groaned out a curse and covered her face. When a group of young men had entered, Shanks could tell by the look on Elle's face that she was not happy. The men had gone straight to their table and kicked it over. Shank had wanted to echo Elle's groan, as he suddenly had realized that the men were pirates who wanted to challenge him.

It happened often, pirates trying to challenge him, especially after he became one of the Four Emperors. Most of the time Shanks was able to talk them out of the challenge, but the look that was in these pirates' eyes told Shanks that that would not be the case. So he had started to pull his arm off of Elle's shoulder and thinking about how best to deal with these boys. Shanks had been just as surprised as the other pirates when Elle had thrown a pocket-watch at the leader's face. When Elle had shut down the challenge before it could happen, Shanks couldn't help but feel a little happy that she wanted to spend time with him. Logically, Shanks knew that she only needed him to help find Brutus, but he felt happy nonetheless.

But that happiness had vanished the moment he saw recognition spark behind the pirate's dark eyes. He knew who Elle was, despite her disguise. In that instant, Shanks had decided that he didn't like the boy, even as Elle yelled at her boys. Shanks had seen Sora and Eli hold hands, but an instant later, the pirate was standing several feet away from where he had been. He gave Elle a wary look before declaring that he wasn't done and left. Elle had only smiled and winked at Shanks when he had tried to ask what had happened. Shanks figured that the twins had used the same trick they had a few days before to take down Ben. But he hadn't known they could stop time for other people.

Shanks shook his head and hurried to catch up to his family, slipping slightly on the snow. The pig-like manager of the restaurant had kindly told them that there was a house just outside of town that they could stay in. Usually, it was for Jack and his crew when they came to the island, so it was kept in perfect order. After the fiasco that had just happened, Shanks knew that no inn on the island would rent to them, so he had genuinely thanked the manager. The man had even been kind enough to give them detailed directions on how to get to the house.

Shanks caught up to Elle and tried to take her hand again. The woman didn't notice and kept her hands securely in her pockets. Shanks let out a small chuckle. Despite being a cat built for winter, the Cat-Woman hated being cold. They had only been out in the snow for a few minutes, and Shanks could already see Elle shivering. Her skin was also pale, except where her cheeks, nose, and tips of her ears were bright red. Shanks wrapped his arm around Elle's waist and pulled her close to his side, sliding his cape over her shoulders.

The position they were in made it easy for Shanks to move Elle out of the path of a singing blade. Elle snarled and reached over her shoulder for her sword, turning to face their attacker as Shanks grabbed his own sword. It was the blond man from earlier, the one with the strange mask. Even though Shanks couldn't see his face, he knew that the other man was frowning in confusion at them. Behind blondie came the rest of his crew, led by the red-head from before. The eyebrow-less man gave Elle a wide smirk and held his arms out wide.

"My, my, Benineko," he said snidely. "I didn't think we would meet again so soon."

Elle scowled, but sheathed her blade. "Don't call me that," she snapped.

The pirate grinned and glanced over Elle's shoulder at Shanks. "What, does Baby-Daddy not know you're a Marine?" he asked.

"Don't be stupid," Elle growled. "Of course Shanks knows. Now shut up and get the hell outta my way."

The pirate grinned wider and held out his hand. For some reason, Shanks could feel his sword start to wiggle in his grip. He heard a rattling that stopped when Elle wrapped her hand around the hilt of her sword. "Don't be so hasty, Elle." The pirate's forehead wrinkled, like he was raising his eyebrows. "I can call you that, right? Since you don't want me to use your other name."

Elle started to say that she didn't care, but the masked man interrupted her. "Wait," he said, voice slightly muffled. "Weren't your kids here just a second ago? Where'd they go?"

"Look up," Elle said blandly, pointing at the tree above the pirates' heads. Shanks followed her finger and saw Sora and Eli perched in the tree, blades drawn. "They moved there the instant you attacked us."

Shanks had to give Elle some credit, she had taught her children well. Shanks hadn't even noticed that the twins had disappeared the moment there was danger. Knowing Elle, it was probably a common occurrence to be randomly attacked. Seeing that their children knew to get out of the way and let Elle handle the enemies eased some of the tension building in Shanks' neck. The fact that Elle had willingly pointed out the location of her sons to these pirates further eased his tension. Elle would never put her children in danger by showing them to enemies. So Shanks quietly slid his sword back into its sheath, knowing that Elle had everything covered.

The pirates in front of them were staring in wonder as the twins also sheathed their blades before easily jumping out of the tall tree. Eli and Sora quickly ran away from the pirates to their mother's side, each one stepping just behind her thighs. Elle lightly brushed the hair away from their faces before turning her attention back to the pirates. She calmly asked what they were doing, but there was a clear undertone of annoyance in her words.

The captain ignored her words, frowning and crossing his arms over his chest as he spoke. "You look really different, Elle."

Shanks glanced down to see what the other pirate was talking about. Elle really did look different, now that he was paying attention. To Shanks, she had always been, and always would be, his kitten. No matter what she looked like, Shanks didn't care, so he hadn't immediately noticed the differences between her human- and hybrid-forms. Now that they were pointed out to him, Shanks took a moment to carefully study the woman before him.

Obviously, Elle no longer had cat ears or a tail, but the most noticeable difference was the color of Elle's hair. When she was little—hell, a decade ago—Elle's hair had always been a snowy white, the same color as Sora's. When in her hybrid- or cat-forms, that trend obviously held true. But now, Elle's hair appeared to be more of a white-blonde color. Her chin and nose had both softened slightly, making her sharp, cat-like face appear more human. Elle's eyes, which were usually a bright, almost glowing yellow, had muted to more of an amber brown. Looking down at her hands, Shanks could see that her nails were no longer long, sharp claws. They were still the gray-black color of Sea Prism Stone, but were now short ovals, ending just past her fingers.

Taken separately, the changes would appear more drastic. But when put together, Elle just looked—well, frankly, she just appeared to be a soft human woman. Elle seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Shanks, as she raised one eyebrow and snapped, "Yeah, no shit. I'm not in one of my cat forms."

The pirate waved her words off before pointing at Elle. "No, that's not it," he said gruffly. "You've lost weight."

Shanks was confused, as Elle had always been skinny. Earlier, he had noticed that she seemed especially so, but it hadn't concerned him. Shanks had just assumed that Elle always looked like that. But seeing the way her face lost all color and she took a step back, Shanks knew that the Cat-Woman really had lost weight. Elle started to say something, but her voice shook. She had to swallow once before she was able to ask the pirate why he thought she had lost weight.

"Your boobs are smaller," he said instantly, digging his pinky finger in his ear. "They were quiet a bit bigger on Sabaody."

The world around Shanks started to spin and he slowly looked down at the woman in front of him. Elle's face had flushed again and she was studiously ignoring his gaze. "He's seen your breasts?" Shanks murmured, unable to keep his irritation out of his voice.

Elle glanced up at him, but didn't quite meet his gaze. "No, he did not!" she said, her voice starting to sound a little shrill. "Do you think I go around just showing any guy my tits?"

Shanks ignored the other pirate as he started to laugh. "You had no problem showing me." And that Warlord.

He hadn't said the last sentence out loud, but he knew Elle got the gist of what he had implied when she flinched slightly. "You're different," she muttered.

Shanks had leaned down closer to her so that he could hear her, close enough that their cheeks brushed. Shanks could feel the heat radiating off of her face, even after she had shifted farther away from him. He was suddenly reminded of how she had been reacting in the restaurant. And earlier, during their snowball fight. The Warlord's words echoed in Shanks' mind, You can fight her or fuck her. Elle was acting a lot like she had ten years ago, when she had been close to loosing control of her forms. When she got like this, Shanks would usually spar with her, if they couldn't find an enemy to clash with. But Shanks now knew of a different way to calm her down. And it was looking very attractive.

"Kitten," he said abruptly. "Do you trust these kids?" Elle gave him a confused look, as if she was asking why the hell he thought that. Shanks laughed and amended, "Do you trust that the boys would be safe with these pirates if I were to need some alone time with you?"

Elle glanced over at the pirates, who were now all frowning and grumbling at Shanks. After a long moment, Elle finally said, "I guess so. And I know that if I extended my threat from earlier to cover watching over the twins, they'll protect them."

The pirate captain laughed and stalked closer to Elle and Shanks. "You seem pretty confident," he said, his smile harsh. "Do you really think your bluff will protect your children?"

Elle let out an abrupt laugh and turned to face Shanks. "He thinks I bluffed," she said in a mock-whisper.

Shanks leaned back, a light smile on his face. "And what did you threaten him with, Kitten?" he asked mildly.

The other pirate scowled and snapped, "Elle, here, said she would rip my balls off and shove them down my throat." Shanks burst out laughing, almost doubling over. When he had slowed to mild chuckles, the pirate added, "Absurd, I know."

"Oh, that's not why I'm laughing," Shanks said with a grin. "I just thought she would have grown out of that little phase. It was Elle's favorite method of killing men when she was younger."

The pirate paled and took a step back as Elle grinned. "It's not an execution any more, Shanks," she stated. "I figured out a way to use haki to cauterize the wound before they bleed to death. So now it only has a 30% mortality rate, and 20% of that is because they choked."

"Y-You can't be serious!" one of the pirates shouted, with the captain adding, "There's no way that is true!"

Elle gave the man a deadpan stare as she answered. "It's actually a very bloody procedure. And if you do it to enough men, you get covered in blood." Elle suddenly grinned, a manic glint in her eyes. "They don't call me the Benineko because it sounds cute."

A/N: This is probably the longest chapter I have posted in ASN. Things are finally starting to heat up! Ya-hoo! I decided to put Captain Kid in here because I really like him, and I feel like he can really help the story progress. As always, if I made any of the characters a little too OOC, please tell me!

Also, this is the last chapter that will be rated 'T'. As of the next chapter, I am going to be changing the rating to 'M'. Like I just said, things are finally going to get a little hot'n'heavy!

I hope you guys loved this chapter, too!

~Shini