A/N: I'm so sorry I took so long with this chapter. I've been so focused on finishing my other story that I kinda lost interest in this one. But my other story is almost done and I'll be able to focus all my attention on this story.

Makino makes Devlin rest in bed for an entire week before letting the hyperactive blonde girl run amok again. During this week, Ace and Shanks visit Dev everyday, Luffy visits every other day, while Sabo visits her when he can. Dev passes the time, when she doesn't have any visitors, by making a necklace for Shanks. The necklace is made of strong, thick twine and with Makino's guidance Dev manages to braid a few red, white, and black beads in the twine as decorations. She then twists a piece of wire to wrap around the crystal that she gave to Shanks. She bends one end of the wire into a hoop then slides the twine through the hoop.

Once she's done, she gives the necklace to Shanks. After making small alterations to the wire so that the Devil's Diamond will fit better, the red-headed pirate captain slips it over his head. The necklace is long enough so that Shanks can hide the jewel under his shirt. "Thank ye, lass. I'll wear it everyday."

This makes Dev so happy that she begins jumping up and down on the bed, shouting about how she's going to be a Red Haired Pirate. All of Dev's shouting brings Makino and Ace running into the room. Makino sees the little girl bouncing all over the place and sighs. "Devlin! I told you to rest!"

Ace marches over to the bed, climbs onto it, and starts to fight with the blonde girl. "Makino said that you've got to rest and that's what you're gonna do, Dev. Even if I have to knock you out to do it!" Makino makes a deadpan face at the two children while Shanks bursts out laughing at their antics.

Finally after a week of being forced to stay in bed, Makino let's hurricane Devlin loose once again. And almost immediately, she gets in trouble for pulling a prank on the mayor.

Currently, Dev is on board the Red Force with the Red Haired Pirates and Luffy. Luffy is standing on top of the dragon head figurehead while Dev is standing beside Shanks on the deck. "Oi! What are ye doing, Luffy?" Shanks shouts up to the young boy.

Luffy holds up a knife, "I've had it with you guys!!! Now you'll have to take me seriously!! This is how tough I am!!"

"Dahahaha! Get it over with! Whatever it is!" Shanks yells back, waving his left arm in the air.

"What's that pup up to now?" One of Shanks' newest crew members, Shiro, asks from beside Shanks and Devlin.

"Something stupid, I'm sure." Dev walks closer to the figurehead then yells, "Luffy! Get down from there! That's my spot!"

Suddenly, Luffy stabs himself just below his left eye with the knife. The pirates are all taken by surprise, but Dev immediately starts to climb up the neck of the figurehead. "Luffy you frickin moron!" Dev yells over Luffy's pain filled cries.

"Ye idiot! What'd ye do that fer?!" Shanks shouts up at the boy.

Dev makes it to the dragon's head where Luffy is clutching his bleeding cheek. "YEOWWWW!" he yells in pain.

Dev walks over to Luffy, "Let me see, Lu." He moves his hands away from his wound so that she can see how bad it is. "Hmm, you're definitely going to need stitches. Here," she pulls her blue shirt off over her head then presses it against the wound. "Now hold my shirt against your wound until we can get down and have Lucky Roo take a look at it."

"Okay," Luffy replies, his crying reduced to sniffling.

"You go first," Dev tells him. He nods his head at her before sliding down to the deck of the Red Force where Lucky Roo is waiting for him.

Dev slides down after Luffy, unable to stop herself from letting out a loud, "Wheee!" As soon as her feet hit the deck, she takes off running to where Shanks is standing with Lucky Roo, examining Luffy's wound. "Is he going to be okay?"

Shanks turns to her and raises an eyebrow at her state of dress. "He's goin' ta be fine. What happened ta yer shirt, lass?"

"I gave it to Luffy to help stop the bleeding."

Shanks smiles at her before ruffling her hair and teasing her, "Good thing ye don't have any breasts yet." Dev pouts and her face turns red in embarrassment. "Now, while Luffy is gettin' stitched up, why don't we go get ya a new shirt?"

They walk together to Party's Bar while Shanks tells Dev about how he got the scars over his eye. As soon as the two enter the nearly empty bar, Makino spots them and rushes over to them. "Devlin! Why are you running around shirtless...again?!"

"Again? How often do ye run around naked, lass?" Shanks asks the girl, amused.

"I like running around naked," is Dev's honest answer. "It makes Ace's face turn bright red, which is very funny."

Shanks laughs while Makino sighs in exasperation. "You can't be running around without any clothes on anymore, Devlin. You're becoming a young woman and your body will soon start to show it."

Dev sticks her tongue out, "When I'm a pirate I'm gonna run around naked all I want!"

Shanks chuckles, "That would be a bad idea, luv. Out at sea men sometimes go months without seein' a woman. So a naked woman runnin' around on deck would only be askin' fer trouble."

"Only if they could catch me."

"Dahahahaha!" Shanks bursts out laughing as Makino leads Dev upstairs to find her a spare shirt. Luckily, Makino keeps several around for both Dev and Luffy.

By the time the two return downstairs, the bar is filled with the Red Haired Pirates. Dev spots Shanks and Luffy sitting in their usual spots at the counter and runs over to them. She begins smacking Luffy repeatedly over the head while yelling, "YOU IDIOT! How could you do something so stupid! Ace is going to be so mad..." The pirates all laugh as Luffy makes a mad dash to get away from the angry blonde girl, which only results in her chasing him throughout the bar. Eventually, Dev grows bored of chasing Luffy and goes to sit on Shanks' lap.

Luffy makes his way back to his seat, his head now covered in large lumps from where Dev hit him. Makino walks out of the kitchen with a plate of food and a bottle of grog for Shanks. She sees the lumps on Luffy's head and glances at Devlin, who is looking anywhere but at the green haired woman and whistling innocently. Makino just smiles and places the food and drink down in front of Shanks before shooing Dev off of his lap.

As Dev sits down on the empty stool to the left of Shanks, Luffy begins shouting as loudly as he can. "I'm not the least bit afraid of getting hurt!! Take me with you on your next voyage!!"

Shanks gives Luffy a deadpan look, "Not afraid o' gettin' hurt, huh? Weren't ye just fleein' in terror from Devi just a few moments ago, lad?"

"That's different!! Dev is scary! Even Ace agrees! He says her face is scarier than the local sea monster!"

"Hey!" Dev shouts then sticks her tongue out at Luffy.

Shanks chuckles at the two. "Shanks! I'm serious! I wanna be a pirate too!!!" Luffy yells with his arms up in the air.

Shanks raises an eyebrow at the boy, "Ye?! A pirate?! Impossible!! Luffy, do ye know why we call ye 'Anchor'? Because ye can't swim...ye just sink!! What good is a pirate who can't swim?"

Luffy stands up on his seat, "But if I don't fall overboard, then it doesn't matter if I'm an anchor!! AND I'm a strong fighter!" He punches the air with his left fist, "I've been training! My punch is as powerful as a pistol!"

Shanks deadpans again, "A pistol, eh? Is that so..."

"ARE YOU DOUBTING ME?!" Luffy angrily yells.

From Shanks' left Devlin shouts, "Shanks, I'm a really good swimmer AND a good fighter! Let me join your crew! Even if it is just as a cabin girl!"

Shanks turns to look at her and places his left hand on top of her head. Ruffling her hair a little, he tells her, "I'm sorry, lass, but yer too young ta sail. Especially, on a ship with so many men on board." Dev begins to pout and gives Shanks her best puppy dog eyes. "Now don't ye be givin' me that look, lass. I'm not goin' ta change me mind on this. Maybe in ten years when yer older and stronger, then ye can join the crew."

A pirate with a spade tattoo above his left eye says, "C'mon cap'n...let's take them with us just this once..." Dev and Luffy smile from ear to ear.

"Aye!" Several other pirates agree, including Lucky Roo and Yasopp, as they dance together towards their captain. There are now stars shining in Dev and Luffy's eyes.

"Okay, but two o' ye will have ta stay behind."

Lucky, Yasopp, and the other three pirates immediately turn around, dancing away from Devlin and Luffy. "Sorry, Luffy, Dev, you've just been beached! Let's drink!!"

"Hey!!" Luffy shouts, "I thought you guys were on our side!"

Shanks points the spoon that's in his left hand at Luffy and then at Devlin, "Ye two are just too young."

"Cap'n Shanks! I'm telling you...I'm not a little kid!!!" Luffy yells.

"Don't get upset now. Here, have some milk," Shanks says, pushing a glass of milk towards Luffy.

"Oh boy! Thanks!" Luffy grabs the glass and gulps down the milk.

"Dahahahaha!" Shanks bursts out laughing, tears running down his face from laughing so hard. "See! A real pirate would never drink milk!!"

Luffy yells, "That was a dirty trick!"

Dev giggles at Shanks' trick and watches as Luffy stomps off only to be stopped by Benn Beckman. She turns her attention back to the red headed captain beside her. "Shanks?"

"Hmm?" He hums around a bite of food to show her that he's listening.

"Will you come back for me in three years?"

He looks down at the little blonde girl and is surprised to see that her usual cheerful smile is gone. He swallows the food in his mouth before replying, "I'm afraid not, lass. Ye will still be too young ta sail. As I said before, maybe in ten years."

"But ten years will be too late!" Dev yells, slamming her fists on the counter. "In three years, Mister Garp is going to send me off to an all girls school where they'll brainwash me into being a quote, prim and proper lady, end quote."

"Goin' ta a school fer girls won't be all that bad, luv. As a matter o' fact, I believe that the lil' sister o' the greatest swordsman in the world is supposed ta be a teacher at one o' those schools. O' course, she's never taken a disciple before...but there's always a first time fer every thing."

Dev's mood is slightly lifted at the thought of learning how to wield a sword. "Really? That doesn't sound too bad. I think I could even stand to wear a yucky dress if it meant I could learn to use a sword." However, Dev's mood quickly sours again, "But ten years is still too long, Shanks!" Her head falls and there's a depressing aura around her. "You see...Mister Garp wants to marry me off when I turn 17... Probably to some uptight Marine who won't let me have any fun at all!" Her eyes fill with tears at the thought of being married to a complete stranger. "I...only have 7 years before I lose my freedom." Tears start to flow from her eyes like miniature rivers, "I don't want to have to be a lady or get married! Shanks! I just want to be free to be myself!!"

A calloused hand gently lifts Dev's head so that she's looking up at the red haired pirate. A gentle smile is on Shanks' face and he tells her, "I guess that just means that ye will have ta become as strong as ye can in seven years instead o' ten before settin' off ta find us."

Devlin's tears slowly come to a stop, "W...what?"

"When ye find us after those seven years and prove ta me how strong ye have become...then ye will be a Red Haired Pirate and travel with us upon the seas."

Dev's eyes widen in excitement, "R...really?!" Shanks' smile widens and he nods his head at her. She pounces on him, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. "Thank you!"

Shanks hugs her back, "There's no need ta thank me, lass. Work hard and become as strong as possible...Because in order ta prove ta me that yer strong enough ta be a Red Haired Pirate...yer goin' ta have ta fight me, lass."

"Does everyone who wants to join the crew have to fight you?" She asks curiously.

"No. I just need ta make sure that yer capable of defending yerself against a crew that's composed of men. Just in case."

Devlin pulls away and looks at him with a small frown on her face. "Do I have to win in order to join?"

Shanks pokes her nose with his index finger, "Maybe. But either way, I expect ye ta fight me like ye have ta win."

She grins up at him, "Then I better start learning everything that I can from the strongest people that I meet." She slides off of her seat and yells, "Hey, Yasopp! Will you teach me how to shoot?!"

Shanks watches as Devlin runs towards his sharpshooter, chuckling softly to himself. "It's goin' ta be interestin' ta see just how strong ye will become, lass."