A/N- This is a reload of chapter one and hopefully my writing has improved. In no way has it been perfected, this story has just been written at a better quality than before. I'm still prone to mistakes (unfortunately). I think Shiroi's character has changed slight, I made tweaks that made her come across a little 'evil' at some parts (not so much evil as just cocky or such). I also changed the name of the island to Humble island... It's not very inventive but it should suffice. I hope you all enjoy this an I've certainly had fun re-writting it! I'm getting back with the feel of this story and can't wait to write more! Anyway, please enjoy! I hope I haven't changed Shiroi to people disliking.
*Disclaimer* I do not, nor will I ever, own one piece, any of the characters or anything. I only own my OC's and the made up places and e.t.c. I apologise if any of this material offends anyone. I assure you I didn't mean it to offend in any way, shape or form. This story may contain some coarse language.
Chapter one - First glance on Humble island.
"Tsuyoi, what you're doing is wrong."
"Ha ha, Shiroi who is the captain of this crew?"
"You sir..."
"And what does that mean?"
"...That whatever you say goes."
"Exactly. Now go and make yourself useful."
"But-"
"Go!"
"Yes sir."
Exiting the bar, I marched swiftly into town. My shoulder-blade length white hair swayed from side to side, matching my angry strides. My amber eyes bored holes into the ground and my hands clenched into fists. My tail stayed ridged and my ears laid back. Why wouldn't he listen? My 'captain', Tsuyoi, was ignoring my pleads and brushing them off like dust particles off a coat. For the umpteenth time I has asked him – no, begged him – to move our crew off of Humble island. We had become stationed here a while ago after we had stopped for supplies and Tsuyoi decided to stay. The inhabitants of the island had no say in the matter, for fear of what would happen to them and their families. Humble island was a beautiful island, with lush, dense forests and rolling green plains covering most of the island, and the remaining land taken up by small villages and one town. This place was a sort of mini paradise. The people were friendly, the local cuisine was wonderful and the whole atmosphere of the town was inviting. It was too bad that Tsuyoi and the others had to ruin it for everyone.
Tsuyoi is the captain of the Timber pirates. The name may sound weird but it made a lot of sense. Tsuyoi is a timber wolf, large in size but small in temper. And he isn't the only wolf. Haya, Ken and I are all wolves, part of a rare breed said to have combined with the spirits to create human disguises to avoid extinction. The rest of our crew is made of normal human beings; normal pirates who want nothing more than to freeload off the locals and to throw their weight around. It felt as if I was the only one who cared for the locals, and this care is what's brought me to constantly opposing my captain which resulted in conflict. It also resulted in me marching into town and complaining to old lady Sakura.
Walking into town I saw it was fairly busy today. People were busy milling around, shopping for essentials and catching up on the latest gossip. A few locals smiled in greeting, while some chirped out a merry, "Good morning." I was somewhat popular, unlike my crew mates. I was the only one who helped the townsfolk out whenever Tsuyoi got out on the wrong side of bed and decided to take it out on them. I would help rebuild shops, help attend to the wounded or just comfort those who needed it. But not everyone was kind back. Some townsfolk would take out their frustrations of being held effectively captive on me – the only one who wouldn't snap their necks or shoot them in the back for shouting. I didn't mind much, I would have felt the same too. So, I did the best I could, even if that meant getting shouted and screamed at.
I walked down the center, looking about the stalls and in shop windows every now and again. The town was alive with the chatter of civilians and smelt like heaven. There were an array of foods being sold by vendors and each smelt as mouth-watering as the next. But amidst the sweet, inviting scents I picked up a new scent of people. There were more than one and they were un-familiar. I knew everyone's scent well, and could easily identify strangers. My sensitive canine nose could pick out each scent and home in on it. Sniffing the air again I turned my body towards it, and began following the scent to its owner. I weaved in and out of the crowds of people, looking out of place with my nose held high in the air and my tail twitching. I was intent on checking the new comers out; to see if it was anyone interesting or just some new merchants come to sell their stock.
I followed my nose all the way to a stall selling special exotic meats, which looked extremely appetizing. I greedily inhaled deeply, adsorbing the tail wagging smell of meat mixed with spices and herbs. Almost forgetting the real reason I was there, I opened my amber eyes to see a strange looking boy with his head covered by a straw hat. He was dressed in jean shorts ending at his knees and a red button up vest and he seemed to be drooling over the meat and all but shouting at the stall owner. My wolf ears perked up and listened intently as I shuffled closer, taking cover behind a nearby tree. "Hey mister! I want all the meat ya got!" the boy demanded, pointing towards a hunk of peppered meat hanging from a hook. I raised an eyebrow and cocked my head. All of it? "All of it? O-Ok, that will be 800 beli, please," the stall owner muttered, staring at the boy in disbelief. The boy only grinned widely and nodded.
"Okay. NAMI!" the boy bellowed at the top of his lungs, calling out for someone. I flinched and flattened my ears back to protect them from the loud, damaging sound. Obviously, some people aren't aware that others may have heightened senses, and I don't fancy being deaf at the age of 17. "Luffy stop shouting! You're drawing attention!" a girl with orange hair shouted, hitting the boy on the head. She must have been the Nami he shouted for. I mentally agreed with her and would have happily joined in on scolding the boy but apparently he was unfazed by the physical punishment. Perhaps he just had a thick skull.
More strangers emerged out of the crowd and joined the boy and girl around the meat stall. I stared long and hard at the strangers, trying to figure out what they were. They didn't look like merchants, if anything they looked like tourists. But why would tourists be here? Humble island was – as its name implied – humble, so it wasn't often that word got around about it. I ran through a list of options in my head and none of them seemed to match, except for- "Pirates?" I said aloud. "Are they... pirates?" I took another look at them, my thumb nail coming to my lips as I began to bite and nibble it. There were three men in total; the straw hat boy – apparently called Luffy, a muscular green haired man with three katanas sitting proudly at his hip, dressed in a white shirt with three buttons at the collar, black trousers tucked into black boots and a green waist band with a black bandana tied around his upper arm, and a third slim, blonde haired man dressed smartly in a neat black suit with a blue shirt underneath, along with black trousers and shiny, well cleaned shoes. His hair was parted over the left side of his face, revealing only one eye and a strangely curled brow. A cigarette was protruding from his mouth and his hands were holding a series of bags – they had obviously been shopping. Then there were the two women; the orange short haired woman from before called Nami, dressed in a small black skirt with white rings on it and a patterned shirt which complimented her curves and long legs, and a long, blue haired woman, dressed in jean shorts and a plain white blouse, with her hair tied back in a high pony tail. She looked familiar but I couldn't quite place her face with a name.
I scanned them all over once again and concluded that they had to be pirates. The green haired man was very muscular and looked strong, as well as having three katanas at his side. What would he need those for besides fighting? The man dressed in a suit looked strong in his own way. He had a slimmer build than the other man but he was probably a good fighter. However, Luffy didn't look much like a pirate. He wasn't as muscular as the others, he was a little bit on the scrawny side, and he just seemed all together goofy and overly-happy. And, while he was somewhat cute looking, he didn't look much like pirate material. I hummed to myself and pushed off from my tree. They were interesting all right, and if they were pirates then they would have to have a ship. Perhaps I could have a little fun with them and see just how skilled they were. I'd like to see how that green haired guy uses three swords. I began heading towards the coast, but not before purposely walking past the suspected pirates.
"How much is it?" Nami asked, sighing and reaching into her back pocket.
The stall vendor looked at the drooling Luffy with confusion and fear and muttered, "800 please." The girl sighed and snapped out her purse, fishing around for the right amount of money. As she did so the man began packing away the meat for the strangers to take. Luffy grabbed the peppered hunk of meat he had been pointing at and eyeing earlier off the hook without asking and opened his mouth wide, about to take a bite. His wide jaws hovered over the meat but he was kicked in the back of the head by the blonde man. "Don't eat it now! It's still raw, you idiot!" I raised both eyebrows and giggled slightly. Luffy looked extremely disappointed, like a child having their toy taken away. The girl, whose face rang a bell, laughed slightly at him, finding the now pouting Luffy funny. The two men sighed. This obviously happened on a regular basis. I grinned at them then continued forward towards the sea. They were all now facing my way, Luffy still pouting with his long arms crossed over his chest. I smirked as I walked past, purposely tilting my head slightly to my right to get a better look at their faces. They were all staring at me, no doubt. How often do you see a white haired girl walk past sporting a pair of wolf ears and a tail? I noticed Luffy especially was watching my ears and tail, so I wiggled my ears and flicked my tail, watching as his eyes grew 5 sizes and gained sparkles. The two girls were simply staring wide-eyed, while the swordsman looked at me suspiciously. I could feel wariness and natural curiosity radiate off him, despite his hostile demeanor. The blonde haired man was the strangest though.
Hearts had filled his eyes and he was repeating the phrase "mellorine" over and over. Wasn't that a dessert? Was that directed at me? Was he calling me a dessert? Either way, it freaked me out. What a strange phrase to say to someone. Shaking my head slightly, I turned forward but turned my ears backwards, still able to hear their conversations. "Ah ~ Such a beauty!" a smooth, deep voice spoke, who I guessed to be blonde man. Another voice cut in, but this one was much deeper and rougher. It had to belong to the green haired swordsman. "Shut it crap cook," he grumbled.
"Oi oi, how about you shut it, shitty marimo," the blonde shot back. I giggled a bit as they both began firing insults at each other only to have Nami scream at the two to stop before she kills them both. I placed a hand over my mouth to stifle a laugh and skipped off into the crowd.
As I reached the southern docks I shielded my eyes with my hands and scanned the line of various ships that had docked. There were ships of all sizes and different sorts of people walking to and fro, some carrying heavy looking barrels, others talking with men, perhaps sorting out stock and such. Ignoring them, I looked around at the ships again. "Hmm... where is that ship?" I muttered to myself. It then dawned on me that I wouldn't be able to tell which boat was theirs. I deadpanned for a moment before blinking and sighing. "Looks like I'll just have to sniff them out then," I said, tapping my nose and inhaling deeply. Many smells assaulted my nostrils and a whole palette of scents was presented before me. I could smell musty gunpowder – perhaps it was the substances in the barrels. I could also smell a range of food, such as more exotic meats, vegetables, bread and cakes. A distinct smell of wet clothes and damp reached my nose as I passed a large, wooden ship. "Urgh! That stinks," I muttered, waving a hand in front of my nose. I glared at the ship, whose wood looked worn and moldy, and moved past, continually sniffing the air. After sniffing past ship after ship I eventually picked up the strange pirate's scents. "Hm? Oh! I can smell them!" I giggled to myself, skipping down the wooden platforms of the docks with my tail held high and my nose in the air. I received a few confused looks but I ignored them. I was used to it by now, and was almost at the ship. Coming to a halt, I opened my amber eyes and tilted my head back down to see a small but quaint ship, adorned with a rams head on the prow. The sail was decorated with the traditional Jolly Jogger, but this one had a unique twist. Atop the skulls head sat a straw hat, identical to the one that the Luffy boy was wearing. This has got to be their ship! An impressed grin spread across my face and my tail began to wag. "Woooooow," I gasped, staring straight at the ship. I stared amazedly at the flag, and began to think, if the Jolly Roger has a straw hat like that boy... does that mean that he's the captain? I thought over this theory and was somewhat shocked. Him? The captain? Impossible! He's so... he doesn't look like a pirate at all!
I decided to check it out more and jumped up to stand on the edge of the ship. I landed soundlessly, immediately scanning the ship for anyone who might have been left behind. I spotted a curly haired boy at the other end of the ship, bent over an assortment of wood, hammering something. He must be making repairs... Perhaps he's their shipwright? I watched silently and carefully as he was busy hammering away when movement suddenly caught my sharp eyes. Looking to the right I spotted a small and fuzzy creature walking over to the boy carrying a pile of wood. A large pink hat was on its head and on the hat was a large, white cross. I cocked my head slightly and brought my thumb to my lips again. The small fuzzy creature appeared to be a reindeer, and a cute one at that! He was so adorable and all instincts telling me to eat him were being over ridden by the sheer cuteness of him! My tail began wagging again and my ears twitched as the curly, black haired boy spoke. "Hey, Chopper, could you pass me a board?" So, his names Chopper? So cute! Chopper dropped the pile of wood and selected the correct piece then took it over to the boy. "Here, Usopp," Chopper said. I almost died, there and then. His voice was soft and cute, going with his adorable appearance completely. "So cute!" I squealed. Both of the pirates huh'ed, and looked over their shoulders towards me. Well, where I was. I dropped down at the last second to avoid being seen. I looked up at the ship one last time before spinning on my heel, clasping my hands behind my back and striding off back towards town.
So, they are pirates after all! And not only that, but they have an adorable pet too! Interesting... Perhaps I should introduce myself to them. I wonder how strong they are... This is gonna be fun! I giggled to myself before wagging my tail and jogging off into town. I decided to do what I was originally going to do, and that was visit old lady Sakura at her tea shop.