A/N: I want to start off by saying "Thank you" to the lovely comments I've already gotten. You guys are too sweet, honestly! I'm so glad You guys liked the first chapter! I'm gonna try my damned hardest to see this through to the end. I'm keeping a little list of plans for future chapters to keep myself on track and everything!

Without further ado, here's chapter two! Heh, that rhymed!

Chapter Two:

The Day Started Well

Grace let out a content sigh. Her hand was at her hip, resting right on top of her holstered pistol. She finally got it back. She'd been without it for far too long, in her opinion. Sure, she understood why Vice Admiral Garp confiscated it, but she thought it could have been returned sooner. Some of the others seemed to have some misgivings about it being returned to her. Warren, in particular, had had been among those to vocalize his concerns.

"I don't feel good about this, sir."

Vice Admiral Garp turned to him. "Why is that, soldier?" His mouth was full. He was munching on a doughnut. "She's a good shot."

"I've a cap in my locker with a bullet hole in it that says otherwise."

Grace grimaced. "You still have it?"

"I kept it ta prove you're a fuckin' loose cannon. A couple inches off, and it woulda been my head with a hole in it!"

She lowered her head, scratching the back of her neck. She remembered that day. It was a stressful one. There were pirates holed up in a tavern, armed with guns. She'd been arguing with another marine on how to deal with the situation, gesturing wildly with her pistol in hand. She got frustrated and unthinkingly squeezed the trigger and, well...She didn't hurt anybody, but everyone thought it would be best to remove the weapon from her possession until further notice. "I apologized, didn't I? I've learned my lesson. It won't happen again."

"See? It's fine!" Garp patted Grace on the back. "Don't worry so much!"

Warren wasn't exactly enthusiastic about it. He took to wearing that cap every day after Grace got her pistol. Any time he thought she was getting too worked up while holding the weapon, he would point at his cap, right at the bullet hole in the visor. She would roll her eyes and tuck it away with exaggerated motions. It did kind of remind her to keep her cool though.

The couple of weeks that followed were fairly quiet. They consisted mostly of target practice for Grace. It started with regular targets that got progressively smaller. Then she started shooting glass beer bottles balanced on the railing of the ship, generously donated by whomever indulged in the stuff. Somebody nailed a doughnut to the wall, and she shot it right through the hole without the bullet hitting the pastry at all. Garp praised her skill and then ate said pastry. At some point, somebody suggested she shoot fruit off of people's heads. "Fuck that." said Warren. Other people volunteered. Grace shot every apple, orange and kiwi without incident. She looked at Warren and stuck her tongue out. He flipped her off.

Then came the day when she watched the infamous "Crimsonblade" Davis being loaded onto the marine ship, restrained by heavy shackles and head hanging low with defeat. This scumbag of a pirate had wreaked havoc upon the innocent for far too long. He was known for being cruel and sadistic. He hurt people for his own entertainment. And he's finally been captured, thanks to me. Grace thought with surge of satisfaction.

She knew she shouldn't let it go to her head, but this was the first big arrest that she had a major part in. This man was big and strong, and he was absolutely deadly with his bloodstained sword. None of the marines were hurt too badly, thankfully, but it was beginning to look like he would gain the upper hand when Grace steeled herself and pointed her pistol at him. Her hands had been shaking slightly, worried she'd miss and hit somebody else, but she did it. She fired a bullet right into Crimsonblade's sword-wielding hand and helped save the day.

A hand fell heavily on her shoulder, shaking her from her reverie. "Good work, Everett!" Vice Admiral Garp said cheerily. "Keep that up and you might find a promotion headed your way!"

"Ehe, thank you, but I'm just doing my job..." she replied, somewhat bashful. Though she'd be lying if she said she didn't appreciate the kind words. "I don't really need any promotion or anything." It was truth. Her rank didn't matter in the long run as long as she was bring down bad guys. Her goal in life wouldn't change, regardless of where she stood in the marine hierarchy. However, it would be nice to be the one giving orders instead of taking them...

A flash of red caught her attention from the corner of her eye. A spark of irritation momentarily overshadowed her good mood as she scanned the group of onlookers for any trace what she had seen. Her annoyance ebbed, though, when she didn't see any hint of that person. It must have been a bird or a butterfly or something... Grace thought. She brushed off the minor distraction as nothing important.

She was just about ready to board the ship when someone shouted. "Vice Admiral Garp!" The man in question turned and nodded at his subordinate. "The Roger Pirates have been spotted!"

"No kidding?!" Garp was clearly very enthused by the news. "Where are they?"

"The report says that they're anchored in the alcove on the northern beach!"

"Right, don't let them escape!"

For a second, Grace was exacted at the prospect of facing the Pirate King. But then she remembered. That red thing earlier... Instead of rushing to the ship like a couple of her fellow marines, she narrowed her eyes and scanned what she could see of the town. Her blood was already beginning to boil and she hadn't even laid eyes on that straw-hat clad bastard.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and vaguely recognized his voice as Warren's. "Hey, are you comin' or—"

"That guy's here!" Grace growled. "They must be here for supplies or whatever." She looked at the other marine. "I'm going after him! That red haired bastard!"

"...The one that schooled you with the apples? How d'you know he's—" Grace stopped listening and took off into town. Just before she was out of earshot, she heard the man behind her mutter, "Ooookay. Guess we're stayin' here, lads. Let's go."

Shanks peered out cautiously from his little hiding spot between the barn and the big tree that shaded a good portion of the pasture. He looked past the cows at the marine girl currently scanning her surroundings in search of him. She was alone because her buddies had spotted Buggy and gone after him since he was making such a big scene. He remembered their last encounter, and almost wanted to start up another little game of tag. He did have an oddly good time even though she was trying to strip away his freedom. However, this time she was carrying something much more deadly than just a sword, and it made Shanks more than a little reluctant to step out into the open.

He ducked back behind the barn when the marine glanced in his direction. He didn't hear any footsteps running toward him, so he assumed he had escaped her notice for now. The cows, on the other hand, were a different story. They noticed him and a couple ambled over to investigate the suspicious boy hanging around their pen.

Shanks flinched when they 'mooed' and tried to wave them away. "Shoo! Get out of here! You're gonna blow my cover!" he hissed. It was too late, though. Only a second later, he saw the marine round the corner of the pen. Her expression changed from anticipation to anger when her eyes zeroed in on him.

"You!" she growled. "I knew that was you I saw!" Shanks saw her reach for the pistol holstered at her hip, but he hopped the fence into the cows pasture and made a dash for the barn before she could properly take it out. "Get back here!" He heard a thud on the grass and knew she hopped the fence after him.

He made it through the doorway and haphazardly yanked the door shut. He didn't have time to lock it, of course, but it bought precious extra seconds to climb the ladder up to the loft. He hauled himself up and rolled out of sight just in time to hear a loud bang. When he looked up, he saw the tiny hole where the bullet had hit the ceiling. Yikes. He pushed himself to his knees.

"Get down here, Red Hair!"

"Ah, no, sweetheart. I really think I'm better off staying up here..." the pirate replied. He looked around for an escape plan, and the only way out that he could see was the window. He scurried over to it and looked out. It was awfully long way down, but he couldn't really stay here, either. The creaking of the wooden ladder made the choice for him. He hoisted himself over the edge of the windowsill and caught a glimpse of brilliantly white hair before dropping down to the ground below. He was running almost as soon as his feet touched the ground, towards the village, towards more buildings he could use for cover because he knew that marine would be right behind him.

Shanks chanced a look over his shoulder when he got to a part of the village that had a few more people bustling around. He saw the marine girl aim at him with her gun and then hesitate before looking frustrated and then putting it back in its holster. It seemed like she didn't want to risk harming any bystanders with it, so Shanks decided to use that to his advantage.

Grace growled to herself as she fought to stay on her prey's tail. She couldn't use her pistol. Shanks kept ducking and weaving through areas inhabited by villagers. And he's doing it on purpose... Grace gritted her teeth at the thought. This was why she couldn't stand pirates. They all exploited the innocent in order to preserve their own self. That kind of selfishness really got under her skin.

Luckily, her target appeared to be getting tired because he ran towards a pond and ducked behind a tree. She slowed to a stop, breathing heavily. They had been running for a while. "You don't have anywhere to go, pirate." she stated as she took out her pistol. "And there aren't any stupid apples to aid in your escape this time either."

She heard him chuckle. "What, you didn't like them?" he asked in between breaths. "Well, what kind of fruit do you like? I'll try to use those next time."

Oh, not this silly banter again... Last time he started talking like that, he got away. Rather than answer, Grace tried to tiptoe around the tree enough to grab him, but he noticed her and sidestepped away to put the same distance between them. This is like last time all over again! She was more an a little annoyed by his little game. "Quit being such a coward and fight me properly!"

"But I don't wanna fight you, gorgeous!" the redhead peered around the tree trunk with a dashing smile before disappearing again when she lifted her gun. "I wouldn't want to risk hurting that pretty face of yours. I'd much rather admire it. From afar preferably."

"Your little fibs aren't gonna get you anywhere, pirate." Grace said, irritation lacing her voice.

"Fibs? No no no, I'm being honest! You really are cute, you know. Hasn't anyone ever told you that?"

Her face heated. She gnashed her teethe. "How would you know?! You can't see me when you run like a coward all the damn time!" Grace was almost shouting defensively. .

"Hm...You make a good point." Grace didn't like his tone. It sounded like trouble. "Maybe I should come out and get a better look, huh?"

"Wha—" She couldn't even get a word out before the redhead darted out from behind the tree and snatched both of her wrists in his hands. She immediately began struggling while the pirate desperately tried to hold her hands up in the air where she couldn't shoot him. "Let go of me, you bastard!" She kicked at his legs, or at least tried to.

But that didn't work out in her favor.

Shanks took the opportunity to catch her foot between his calves and used his weight to shove forward. They toppled over together and tumbled into the pond, getting soaked in the process.

When Grace sat up and spit murky water from her mouth, she felt a finger tilt her chin up. Shanks was only a few inches away, on his hands and knees, straddling her legs. His eyes darted around her face, appraising. Then a grin formed on his face. "I was right. You are gorgeous!"

Grace sat there with a dumbfounded expression on her face for half a second, and then started blushing when his words registered. "Wha—Shut the hell up!" She yelled, irritated, and roughly shoved him off. She ignored his snickering as they both stood up and tightened her grip on her pistol. She pointed it at the pirate. "Now you're gonna get it!"

Click.

Nothing happened.

Grace looked at her gun, disbelieving. She gritted her teeth and she felt like she was going to explode.

"The gunpowder—"

"Don't."

Shank's mouth snapped shut, whatever he was about to say dying on his tongue. Grace knew very well that the gunpowder was wet. And that it was why it didn't fire properly. She dropped the pistol, letting it fall into the was water with a splash.

"Right, so...I'm just gonna...you know. Go." He halfheartedly pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. And then he was off like lighting, but Grace was hot on his heels.

Shanks barreled through a bush and bolted right down to water, fully aware of the marine right behind him. He swore he could practically feel her breath on his neck. He crashed to the waves of the sea and immediately started paddling before he even noticed that Buggy wasn't too far off rowing the dinghy they had used to get to shore in the first place. "Buggy! Wait up!" he called.

At the sound of his name, Buggy looked over and his eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "Don't bring that bitch over here!" he shouted. He started rowing faster.

Shanks chanced a look over his shoulder, and sure enough the marine girl had followed him right into the water with murder in her pretty blue eyes. He swam faster. "Just let me get in the boat!" Somehow he managed to catch up with Buggy (Man, did he know to row a boat or what?) and climbed in. He grabbed the other set of oars and started desperately rowing right along with him "C'mon, faster!" he said, a sort of nervous laughter bubbling out of him.

"The hell are you laughing at, huh?!" Buggy yelled. Shanks didn't answer. He just wanted to put as much distance between himself an the marine girl as possible. He didn't relax until he saw her give up with an angry swat to the water and turn back

When they made it back to the ship, which had dared to wait for them while holding off Garp and his fleet, Shanks was exhausted. Someone asked him if he was okay when he flopped onto his back on the deck. "I think I saw my life flash before my eyes..." He sat up and looked towards the shore, towards the tiny figure standing on the beach and thought he could hear her screaming his name in the wind.

When Grace got back to the docks, she found her ship was damaged. She overheard someone saying they'd have to stay there and repair it before they could go anywhere. Well, that was fine. She stomped aboard the ship, soaking wet. She ignored anyone who asked what happened or what was wrong. She went straight to the berth—or sleeping quarters—and located her locker. She dug through it, found her stopwatch, and then stormed back outside. She saw Warren talking to somebody on the dock. She chucked the stopwatch at him as she jumped in the water.

"Ack—What the—"

"Time me."

"...What."

"I'm gonna swim to that buoy and back." She pointed to an anchored float. It was just about the same distance she swam after Shanks before she had to give up. "Time me."

"...I take it that guy out-swam you..." he stated.

She gritted her teeth. "Time. Me."

There was a silent pause, and then a resigned sigh. She didn't look to what expression he had. Her eyes were glued to the buoy. "Fine. Ready?" She nodded. "Go." She pushed off the dock and started swimming.

A/N: And that concludes today's installment of the misadventures of Gracie and Shanks! Stay tuned for more!