Okay, while this isn't my first 'story', this is the first one I have posted. Hopefully my mistakes aren't too bad, if they are I apologize in advance. This is probably one giant fail, but I tried!
Angela: Get on with the story :|
Emily: Shut up. D: I'm warning them. Plus, you have to do the disclaimer.
Angela: Ugggh, fine.
Disclaimer: Emily does not own any characters from One Piece, nor the plot of One Piece, if she ever uses the plot. All those rights go to Oda. She does, however, own me, Master Harring, and any other OC's that might or might not pop up.
Emily: Thank you. Now, on with the train wreck!
Angela stood in the center of the stage, her red hair curled and poking out extravagantly. The classic line of makeup, a teal shade, over both her eyes classified her as some type of performer. She had a wide smile on her face as she looked out at the crowd. Her lime green eyes scanned the rows of seats, checking out her audience for the night. Her lime green tank over the lavender shirt attracted attention to her as she stood quietly. A pair of striped pants that flared out at the ends hung loosely from her hips under the shirt. A stunning bow of similar coloring was clipped to the left side of her head. Golden star earrings hung from her ears, a matching necklace rested halfway down her chest. A bright green collar, similar to the kind animals wear, was connected tightly to her throat. A thin metal band hung around her forehead, with three red stones imbedded into it. The most noticeable thing about her, however, was the two red cat ears that poked out of her hair. Anyone watching could say they were fake, but they would be wrong. Her ears were one hundred percent real, they could be seen twitching if you paid attention.
When most of the eyes were on her, she began speaking, and even without a microphone, her voice could be heard clearly within the circus tent. "Hello, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Angela." She said, walking in a slow circle around the tiny stage made for her act. "Tonight I will show you something you have probably never seen before." Her ears flicked as she listened to the murmurs throughout the audience. "I will show you the abilities of a Neko-Woman." She gestured to herself.
"I come from an island far away from here, where the things I can do are considered normal. All of you-" She made a motion to the crowd in general, "-are strange to them, because you lack the type of ears we have, and you have no tail." As she said this, a red tail slithered out from under her shirt and waved in the air. The crowds murmurs grew louder after seeing it. She grinned as she suddenly flipped backwards, landing on her hands before spinning, making herself look like a green, purple and red blur. Finally she stopped and pushed herself off the ground and into the air, turning again so she landed back on her feet. She bounced quickly over to a wooden pole that held the center of the tent up, sticking her nails into it as she climbed up. She feigned losing her grip with one hand, seeming to flail in the air for a moment with only one hand in the wood as she gripped it tightly. She smirked as she heard shocked gasps and held it for a moment longer before using her grip on the pole to lift herself upwards and twist, sticking her bare feet into the wood. If she let go now, she would go face-first into the ground.
She slowly made her way up the pole until she reached the tiny platform near the top. She walked over to the rope that was fastened to the edge and began walking as if it were solid ground. She soon was doing hand-stands and flips as she went across it, much to the shock of the normal humans on the ground. She reached the end where it met another wooden pole and, instead of climbing down, she jumped off, landing on her feet. She walked back to the center stage and did a quick bow.
The crowd, assuming she was done, was clapping and cheering. Before anyone could say anything, she had pulled a bow out from behind the stage. She pulled three arrows out with it and notched all three. She pointed it at three random people in the crowd and fired, each one barely missing its intended target and burying into the tent walls. Shocked gasps escaped the crowd before they began screaming. She spoke in a loud, commanding voice. "Stop your screaming! Neko-Women have excellent eyesight! I purposefully didn't let the arrows hit any of you. I have no intentions to harm anyone here." At her words, the crowd settled down. She took a grander bow, the bow still in her hand. "That was the last act of the Harring Circus. Thank you for visiting Demming Island, and have a great trip! To those that don't know, the Log Post sets in three days. Have fun!" She grinned as she walked offstage.
She slowly took her hair down as she made her way to the owner's room, letting the hairbands hang around her wrists. Her red hair swished around her waist in a straight line, having uncurled immediately after being taken down. As she slipped into his room, she tied her hair back into a loose ponytail. He sat at his desk in the corner of his room. She walked over to him, slipping down onto her knees when she reached him. As if it were a routine, he reached over and carefully removed her green contacts, her eyes watering slightly. He then removed the earrings and necklace, leaving the collar. She herself took off the bright clothing, replacing it with a loose black shirt and dark blue pants. He roughly wiped off the stage makeup as her seemingly permanent smile was replaced by a neutral face. Her now dull white eyes stared back at him as he looked her over.
"You performed excellently tonight, Angela." he said, one hand reaching over to pet her head between her ears gently. She nodded and said in an indifferent tone "Thank you, Master Harring." Her tail twitched before wrapping itself around her waist as he pulled her up, setting her in his lap. She leaned backwards, her back resting on his chest in a familiar position while he rested one of his hand in her lap, the other continuing to pet and scratch her ears. He murmured a few words into her ear as the stones in the band around shone a purple color in contrast to their normal red appearance. She closed her eyes as she began to do what he had commanded.
She slipped out of his room in the early hours of the morning, quietly maneuvering around the sleeping occupants on the floor of the outer tent before making her way out of the large tent flap. She noticed the sun had not risen as of yet, and smiled, hoping to have the next hour or two to herself in the woods surrounding the Circus. Alas, fate had a habit of screwing her, as she noticed with a little spite as she saw the group of four in the forest within the immediate range of the tent. She crept over to the group, hearing what they were saying growing louder and more clear until she stopped behind a large tree fairly close to them.
As she looked at the group, she memorized some details on them. One of them, a woman, had orange hair that hung at her waist and some sort of blue tattoo on her shoulder. The second was a man, and he had blonde hair and a curly eyebrow, his left eye hidden by hair. He was smoking a cigarette, she noticed, as the small ember at the end attracted her attention briefly. The third, and most intimidating, was a green-haired man, a swords specialist she assumed from the three hanging from his hip. There was a scar over the mans eye, which she assumed had been damaged beyond use as he kept it closed. The final person looked strangely young, with a straw hat on his black hair and a small scar under his left eye and a larger one in the shape of an 'X' cutting across his chest.
All of a sudden she blinked before her eyes widened. Now she remembered where she had seen the group! They had been watching her perform from the back of the room, and were the only people not running around chaotically. She even frowned, remembering shooting at the blonde haired man. He didn't seem frightened in the least, which led her to believe these guys were strong.
She decided to focus more on what they were saying.
"-now, they'll still be asleep. We don't have to wake anyone. I have a good idea of where it is already, so as long as you all come with me, we'll be good to go!" the lady was saying to the three, well, two, the one in the straw hat was too busy attempting to catch a bug that was flying around him to pay attention. The swordsman nodded in understanding and the blonde broke out into a loud "I'll do anything for you, Nami-swaaaan~!" as he stared at the woman with heart eyes. The woman, apparently called Nami, suddenly realized the kid wasn't paying attention and promptly hit him on the head hard enough to make him face-plant into the dirt. She winced in sympathy to the poor boy.
He sat up, a large lump forming on his head as he started complaining about having to do what she said and not wanting to on account of it was boring. He was suddenly face-planting again as the blonde kicked him, yelling "Listen to Nami-swaaan~!" The boy sat up again, clutching the second lump before whirling on the blonde, shouting "Sanji! What was that for?!" A tiny fight broke out between the two. She started laughing, softly at first, but it soon became louder before she began backing away.
She couldn't help it! It was hilarious.
Unfortunately, her laughter was noticed by the swordsman, as his head quickly turned from watching the small scuffle to stare at her. In less time than she could blink he was in front of her, glaring down at her. She fell backwards in surprise, landing on her rear. She looked up at him as it grew silent, the two having paused mid-fight to stare at her. She raised one hand to shyly wave at the other three people, who were all staring at her from behind the swordsman with wide eyes. "Um...hi..." she said intelligently before backing away from the swordsman a little, causing her back to hit a tree. she bit her lower lip in thought, however, before she could say anything else, the swordsman was knocked across the area, hitting a tree with his unprotected head.
Her eyes widened as she saw the blonde man, Sanji, land lightly on his feet in front of her, pointing an accusing finger at the swordsman, who was now sitting up slowly. "Stupid marimo, did you push this woman down?!" he asked, well, more like demanded, as he glared at the man. She saw him sigh, standing up. "No! She fell when I stood in front of her. Must be scared or something." he said, rubbing the back of his head.
Sanji frowned, thinking about it for a moment before shrugging. "Tch. Wouldn't blame her for being scared of your ugly mug." He said. This was responded by a "What did you say, shitty cook?" To which Sanji promptly ignored as he turned to her, grabbing one of her hands and bringing her to her feet. "My apologies, madame, for the marimo scaring you." he said as he studied her for a moment, clearly not noticing the way she pressed herself to the trunk of the tree in fright.
It just so happened that the woman, Nami, did, and she quickly pulled Sanji away. "Quit getting so close to her, you're obviously frightening her!" She scolded like a mother. She then turned to the swordsman, who had walked back by this time and was standing a couple feet away from them. "And Zoro, apologize for scaring her!" she placed one hand on her hip. She saw the man, Zoro, sigh again. "Why should I? She was eavesdropping. Don't you guys remember her? She was performing earlier tonight." He said, staring at her, making her wish she could sink into the tree as their eyes once again turned to her.
Nami paused for a moment, looking over her, before shaking her head. "The only woman there had green eyes, Zoro. Maybe they just look similar." She said, shrugging. Zoro sighed again in exasperation. "How many people around here have cat ears?!" He questioned angrily. Nami's eyes widened as she studied her head for a moment, at first not seeming them behind the wild red hair they were hiding in until they twitched, revealing the slight white fur on the inside.
Nami frowned. "But I could have sworn..." Zoro promptly face-palmed. "She had in colored contacts then, or she has some in now, of course." He said when he finally looked up. She decided to clear things up, coughing softly before speaking. "I wore green contacts when I was performing..." She said shyly, looking at the ground. Nami 'ooooh'ed, nodding before frowning. "Why are you out here?" She asked accusingly, making her shift uncomfortably.
"Well...I just wanted some air...so I came outside. I noticed you all and decided to see what you were doing...what are you doing?" She asked, real curiosity in her eyes despite being surrounded by potential enemies, one of which was standing near her and making her extremely frightened. The straw hatted boy suddenly seemed to appear, having not been paying attention, again, and answered her question. "We're gonna take all the treasure from that circus tent!" He said excitedly, pointing at the tent for the Harring Circus. Nami quickly hit him in the head again. "Luffy! She was a performer there!"
He looked at Angela stupidly for a moment before noticing her furry ears. He suddenly was right in front of her. "Woah! It's you! That girl from the circus!" Before she could respond he had reached behind her and under her shirt, grabbing the base of her tail and pulling her entire tail out from under her clothing, holding it in her solid grip as he examined it. She whimpered softly as he pulled on it roughly, pulling her backwards slightly in the process. "Coooool! Your tail is awesome, Cat Lady!" he said, his eyes all starry. The boy, Luffy, was suddenly kicked away from her, face-planting into the ground a few feet away. Sanji as once again standing in front of her as she rubbed the spot where her tail grew out of her back.
Before she knew it all three men were yelling at each other, Luffy about being kicked, Sanji about how to treat a woman, and Zoro at them needing to shut up. Nami was the one who finally made them shut up, hitting each on the head once. They all had lumps on their head as the turned to whine at Nami, but before they could say anything she motioned to Angela, who's eyes were shut a little tightly with her ears pressed against her head. She tentatively opened her eyes to see the four staring at her and she blushed slightly, looking at the ground.
Luffy suddenly spoke up. "I want Cat-Lady to join us!" he said, a wide grin on his face. She frowned softly as she looked up at him, her white eyes studying him silently for a moment before she spoke. "I'm sorry, I can't. Master Harring would surely not like it if I left him, and would likely scold me." Beat me, she added in her mind as she watches as the boy frowned in disappointment before shrugging, a new smile on his face. "That's okay! You should still join my crew!"
She opened her mouth to tell him why she couldn't before the three gem's on the band suddenly shone purple again, making her be silent before turning, almost robotically, and begin walking back to the tent. Luffy wrapped one arm around her waist to try to keep her their, saying he wasn't done talking, but he didn't slow her down as she continued back to the Circus, where Master was waiting in his room.
Well. Chapter one is done. *Sighs in relief.* If anyone bothers to read this story, which I doubt, please, please, please leave a review, even if it's just a 'hi' or a flame because you don't like it. All thoughts are appreciated!
Sorry if I made a lot of mistakes, it's late. If I actually do more with this story, it has the possibility to not get updated a lot, since school starts in maybe two days o3o Oh well!
Angela: I hate Master Harring! *Hisses*
Emily: Sorry! You can't actually hate him...yet. *Thumps the metal band around Angela's forehead.* That's not allowed.
Angela: Fine. I'll keep my hatred quiet...for now.