"Daddy? I'm home." Aisuru called as she walked in to the house. On her arm was a bag that held the plain brown tee shirt that Nami bought for her.

"Oh, hey sweetie. So, how about tomorrow you and I take a little road trip?" Shanks asked with a bright grin. Aisuru swallowed.

"Um... I actually have a date..." Aisuru said softly. Shanks's face grew dark.

"Really? A date? And just who thinks they're good enough for my baby girl?" Shanks asked. Aisuru opened her mouth to speak.

"Nope. I'll judge him myself tomorrow." He said. Aisuru sighed and hugged her father's shoulders.

"You'll like him, Daddy. I promise." She said.

"We'll see." Shanks grumbled, feeling protective of his daughter. He wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Aisuru giggled at her father and nuzzled his cheek like she always did as a baby, dragging an unwilling smile to his lips.

"Well, you and Makino could have your own date night tomorrow. If you don't plan to spy on me, that is." She giggled to him. Shanks sighed softly and reached up and ruffled her hair.

"Nah, I trust you, baby girl. I just can't believe that some boy thinks he's good enough for my little princess." Shanks said with a little pout. Aisuru laughed at her father.

Time Skip

Saturday afternoon, while Aisuru was getting ready for her date, Shanks paced by the front door, waiting to tell the boy that thinks he can date Aisuru to take a hike. No one would hurt his little princess ever again, or his name wasn't Shanks LeRoux!

"Shanks, honey, you need to relax. Everything will be fine. Aisuru is a strong young woman." Makino assured from the couch, watching her boyfriend.

"No, she's a little girl that needs her father." Shanks said. Makino giggled at him. She found the way he was so protective of his daughter adorable and kinda sexy, too.

The doorbell rang and Shanks's hand snapped to the door handle as he could hear Aisuru frantically rushing about her room to finish getting ready. The red haired father pulled open the door and stared at the boy with messy black hair in jeans and his usual red vest.

"Hiya, Shanks!" He said with a bright grin. Shanks blinked and cringed a little bit.

"Luffy... I can't goof off with you today, kiddo. Aisuru's got a date and I've got to protect her from the boy!" He said with determination in his voice. Luffy grinned at Shanks.

"No worries, Shanks. I'm Ai-chan's date!" He said with a small laugh. Shanks stared blankly at the boy.

"You're the one taking Aisuru out on a date? You're dating my baby girl?" Shanks asked. Luffy nodded with a bright grin, clearly not understanding the "murderous protective father" concept.

A bright grin over took Shanks's face. Relief filled the father's heart as he laughed.

"Well, have fun then!" He said with a laugh. Makino smiled happily at him as he took a seat by her. Aisuru came running down the stairs. The three stared at her. Yes, she was just wearing some simple sneakers, jeans and a tee shirt, but she looked so pretty and cute.

"Were you waiting long?" She asked. Luffy shook his head and grinned at her.

"I'm ready whenever you are." He said with a grin. Aisuru smiled as he held his hand out to her. She grabbed his hand and waved to Makino and Shanks.

"I'll see you later!" She said with a smile.

"Have fun, sweetie." Shanks said. Makino waved and the two teenagers left the house.

"You knew about this date, didn't you?" Shanks asked. Makino smiled mischievously at him.

"I knew before Aisuru did. Luffy asked me for dating advice." She giggled. Shanks rolled his eyes and pulled her closer and kissed her cheek.

"Next time, please tell me."

Outside, Luffy pulled Aisuru in to Ace's car. Ace sat behind the wheel, flipping through his phone. He looked up when Luffy and Aisuru were in the car.

"Hey, Aisuru." He said.

"Hi, Ace." She said with a bright smile. Ace set down his phone and drove the two to the roller rink.

"Just text me when you guys are done, okay? Don't want you walking home, some freak has been roaming the streets and grabbing girls off the street at night." Ace said as they climbed out of the car. Luffy pulled Aisuru closer to him.

"Will do, Ace! see ya later!" Luffy said. The two walked in to the roller rink and Aisuru looked around.

"It's been such a long time since I've been here. Not since I was seven." She said as Luffy rented two pairs of skates for them. Luffy grinned back at her.

"So you've gone skating before?" He asked, handing her skates to her. She nodded.

"I'm not very good, though. I'll probably just fall all the time." She said softly as she removed her sneakers and pulled on her skates. After they both had their skates on and their shoes in a locker, Luffy took Aisuru's hand.

"Don't worry, just hold on to me. I won't let you fall. I promise." He said. She nodded and held his hand. Soon, they were out on the skating floor and Aisuru was having difficulties staying upright as Luffy pulled her to the center of the rink. She squeaked as she fell forward in to his arms. He chuckled down at her softly.

"Don't worry, Ai-chan. I've got you." He promised, helping her back in to her upright position. She held tight to his shoulders and he kept her upright and close to his body. He guided her along and it was almost as if they were dancing together.

"How are you so good at this?" She asked. He smiled at her as she watched their feet in fascination.

"When I was a little kid, Aoi and Yatsumi would bring me here when Ace and Sabo said I was too small to join them for football or basket ball or soccer. At first I was against it, thinking that they were gonna teach me something girly, but after I was able to keep myself up right, they taught me how to do really cool tricks. After Yatsumi went to fashion school, Aoi taught me how to dance out here." He said. Aisuru giggled.

"You're really good at this, Luffy." She said. He smiled at her. He pulled her closer and he helped her until she could dance on her own, but she still held to him. She felt so safe in his arms. She wasn't even worried about him feeling her scars.

Until she slipped.

She shut her eyes waiting to feel the floor hit her back, but instead, she only felt Luffy catch her, his hand accidentally slipping a little under her shirt. She gasped and cringed. She held to his shoulders as he smoothly made her fall look like he was dipping her romantically.

"Ai-chan... did you hurt yourself? Why is your back all bandaged up?" Luffy asked as he pulled her back up right. She held on to him and slowly looked up at him. Worry was written across his face.

"Oh, that? It's nothing. I just was climbing the tree in my backyard and scraped my back on a branch yesterday. I'm alright." She said with a smile. Luffy took a breath of relief.

"Good. I don't like the thought of you getting hurt, Ai-chan." Luffy said and hugged her. Aisuru leaned against his chest, resting her head in his shoulder and closing her eyes. She felt the feeling of safety come back to her.

"Awww." A small group of teenagers nearby said. Luffy smiled at Aisuru as she blushed and tried to hide her blush

"How about we get some ice cream?" He asked her. She nodded and smiled at him.

"That sounds good." She said. Luffy grinned at her and pulled her off to the food area.