The Wild Rover. (A One Piece Ace x OC x Shanks Love Story)

Chapter 6: The Devil's Diamond

By the time they reach Foosha Village, the sun is just peeking above the horizon. Ace suddenly stops and turns to face Shanks, "What now? I don't think the village doctor is at his office yet."

"We'll take her ta the Red Force. Lucky Roo will be able ta patch her up." The two head towards Shanks' ship and as they get closer they can see men on deck and on top of the mast.

"Captain!" Yasopp shouts as he spots Shanks and Ace approaching.

"Wake Lucky Roo and have him meet me in the infirmary!" Shanks yells back as he walks up the boarding plank and on to the ship.

Benn is there to greet him, "I see that you managed to get Devlin out of the pit, captain."

Shanks shakes his head and continues to walk, making his way to the stern of the ship where the infirmary is located. "No, the lass got herself out." He stops and looks over his shoulder at his first mate, "Tell the crew that they no longer have ta take down the rigging." Benn nods his head and walks away. Shanks then looks over at Ace, who is still by his side, "Would ye mind goin' ta Party's Bar and telling everyone there that Devi's safe?"

"Yeah. Okay," Ace agrees. He casts one last look over at the sleeping blonde in the pirate captain's arms before taking off in the direction of the bar, running as fast as he can.

Once Ace is gone, Shanks opens the door to the infirmary then walks inside. He gently places Dev down on an empty bed, having to pry her arms from around his neck. Shanks removes his cloak from over her body as Lucky Roo enters the room and walks over to the bed. "Captain," Roo greets Shanks before starting to examine Dev. "How'd you get Dev out of the pit?"

"I didn't. The lass climbed out by herself," Shanks replies. "What's the extent of her injuries, Roo?"

"Well, she's malnourished and dehydrated," Lucky Roo lifts both of Dev's hands to examine the bloody palms then moves to look at her feet. "Her hands and feet are badly cut, but I'll need to wash the blood off first to see how deep the cuts are." Roo notices that Dev's breathing is shallow and uneven. "She seems to be having trouble breathing," he presses his hand against her right side and moves his hand up towards her shoulder. Dev whimpers in pain in her sleep when Roo gets halfway up her ribcage, "She has a couple of broken ribs."  He looks up at his captain, "You said that she climbed out by herself?"

Shanks nods his head, "Aye."

"That's amazing. She shouldn't have had the strength to even stand."

"I know. With the proper training, she will be a remarkable haki user when she's older."

*-*-*-*-*-*

A few days later, Dev finally wakes up. She yawns loudly and stretches her arms, but stops when she feels something in her left arm. She looks over at her arm and sees that she's hooked up to an IV and that her hands, feet, and abdomen are wrapped in bandages. "Ah, finally awake I see," a male voice says causing Dev to look in the direction that the voice came from.

"Lucky Roo!" She says happily when she sees the large man sitting on a chair with a large chunk of meat in his mouth. "Where's Shanks?"

Lucky Roo chuckles as he stands up and begins removing Dev's IV needle. "He took Ace to Party's Bar for something to eat. The captain had to drag him away from your bedside. That boy is dedicated; he's been by your side since Shanks brought you here a few days ago." Once the needle is out of her arm, Dev sits up and practically jumps out of the bed. "Whoa! Take it easy, Dev."

The little girl pouts up at Roo, "But I wanna see Shanks."

"The captain's not going anywhere. But if you reopen the cuts on your hands and feet, you will be stuck in here for a few more days." Dev sighs and sits back down on the bed. Roo walks over to an empty bed and picks up a bundle of clothes and a pair of boots. He walks back over to Dev then places the clothes beside her on the bed. "Makino brought these by for you. Once you get dressed you're free to go."