The next morning was the loudest I have ever lived through.
Growling and shouts woke me from my dreamless sleep. I opened my eyes and looked around wildly. I was alone.
They weren't in the surprisingly sturdy place, and judging from the boyish war cries and roaring tiger sounds, they were trying to eat something else.
Now was as good a time as any to try out my legs, right?
It was easier than I thought, pushing myself onto all fours and balancing. I took a step forward, then another and another, falling into the four legged rhythm. I made my way over to the side railing and my suspicions were confirmed.
ASL were fighting a Tiger lord. And losing.
I didn't really remember them fighting a second one… oh well. I'm sure they can handle it. What was I going to do, bark and wag my tail in its face?
Not likely. I may be a dog, but I was a teenager in a canine's body. Still didn't know how to fight. Of course I could throw a punch, but not like this!
I sat on my butt, wishing there was popcorn, and watching as Ace charged the beast again, holding his metal pipe above his head like a sword and bringing it down on the tiger's thigh.
It let out a snarl and swiped a claw his way, which landed and sent him flying back and into a tree.
Sado was next, running underneath and poking at the exposed belly. As smart as the kid actually was, even I could see the major flaw in this plan. The tiger could see it too. It let out another cry of pain and responded by twirling himself to attack under its legs. Sado amazingly dodged and escaped to the back of the creature, turning to evaluate the situation.
I didn't remember this at all!
It wasn't even remotely familiar! This was concerning. I had decided to SAVE Sado, not let him die!
I had to do something. Had to help them someway. But how? HOW?
I growled in frustration, then barked angrily. Maybe I could get the creature away from the boys.
'Hey! You! Get away from them!' I shouted, accompanying it with a bark.
The tiger snarled at my direction, then looked up to see me. It froze.
'What do you want canine?' She hissed, her tail whipping back and forth, the three beaten down boys ignored for the time being.
I realized I could communicate with other animals. They didn't seem to speak Japanese. Perfect. I could get my two cents in after all.
'No Tiger, what are YOU doing? These are MY people.' Did I sound intimidating? Or like a scared toddler? I hoped it was the former.
Her ears flicked in a challenge, stalking forward and letting out a snarl. 'YOUR humans? Well, YOUR humans are trespassing on MY territory, taking MY prey, and have the nerve to attack ME. If they are YOUR humans, then I hold you responsible. Now die!'
She was really pissed. With the precision and strength only the cat family could produce, she lept up the tree in three strides, getting in my face before I could blink.
Greaaaaat. A lot of choice words popped into my as I danced back and ducked as she swiped at me before jumping in for the pounce.
I yelped and scampered out of there. Or bravely retreated to the opposite side of the treehouse. Whatever floats your boat.
I had two seconds to act before she gathered her wits and attacked again. Letting the dog part of me take over, I lunged forward and lashed out with my teeth, taking a bite out of her shoulder.
She roared in pain and bit back at me, catching my back leg in her jaws.
Yeah, it hurt. A lot. But I think the reason I still have it is because she wanted me to suffer, so she would have slowly clamped her jaws down tighter and tighter until she went clean through, had Luffy not intervened.
His fist crashed into the tiger's jaw, breaking me free and sending her dazed back to the ground.
He spared a glance back at me, concern in his serious eyes.
'I'm good, go kill that thing!' I said, waving him off with my tail.
He seemed to get the message and flashed me a grin before joining his revived brothers in finishing off the tiger. Her shoulder was giving her issues. Good, I thought, take that flea bag.
Things ended quickly after that. With her impaired movement and the scary raw power of the three boys, she didn't stand a chance.
They made their way back to the treehouse. It might have been my big brother instincts, but I had to make sure they were ok by giving them a good sniff. Luffy laughed like I tickled him, Sado pushed me off, and I think Ace threatened me. But, they were fine.
I yawned, not because I was tired, but because I wasn't really sure what to do next. What did they do after a battle? They never really showed it. Watching the show I had the luxury of scene changes. Now I was living it.
It was like I was getting the backstage experience… And it turned out to be not that interesting. Sado took care of everyone's scrapes, including my foot/paw, and they sat down at their table to talk.
I watched them, hoping to pick up on some of their language. I picked out a few phrases, memorized them, and waited for them to be used again. That was basically how I learned the language. Listening and memorizing. Not that I had a prayer of speaking it, (HA!) but I wanted to know what they were saying.
I was interrupted from my study when they looked at me simultaneously. "Baka." Ace said simply.
Sado nodded, echoing the word.
I figured out the meaning of that one fairly quickly. Idiot. It meant idiot.
IDIOT?
What I did to suddenly deserve that rude remark was beyond me, so I gave him a glare.
He repeated it, and I got up.
Those were fighting words, the fact he was Portgas D Ace be dammed! I was in no mood to be messed with. This snot nosed brat would learn to respect me or get hurt. I just risked my life for these kids!
I lept at him, taking him by surprise and knocking him off his chair. I pinned him down for a moment, growling in his face. His jungle crafted reflexes kicked in and kicked me off, sending me staggering back.
I was getting used to the whole four legged thing by then, so I held my ground and didn't fall over and skid back and into the pile of sheets. I let out another growl/bark.
He wiped his newly cracked lip clean and stared at me with intense brown eyes. He wasn't calculating like his brother, or giddy like the other. His were dangerous.
In that moment I felt just as dangerous.
Sabo said something in a calming tone, the only thing I could understand. I decided that I had gotten my point across, so with a final huff, I took my place again by the table. Luffy was laughing, completely ignoring the fact that a stranger dog they had just picked up attacked his brother. Mom, if you watch the show you'd realize this was a classic Luffy move.
Ace paused longer, glaring at me but inevitably sat back down.
Little did I know that they were actually choosing a name for me. Baka, for some reason, was the runner up for 'spare meat'.
Actually, it turned out that I kinda earned my own name. Sort of. Kinda. Well, let me explain.
Living in the tree house could only go so far. As I was somehow accepted into their little family, I took it upon myself to make certain... Adjustments to their original design.
Sabo was a young genius, no questions asked, but he seemed to overlook one key factor.
Pillows.
Our shared bed was a couple of sheets and each other, keeping us warm enough but no comfort. The wood was hard and pointy. What else would you expect out of a couple of ten year olds and a half brained spaz?
For a while there our routine was; Sabo wakes everyone up, Ace groans, I growl, Luffy pops right up like a spring, and we go about our mischief and taking people's money.
Actually, that was their job. Mine was learning Japanese.
I knew simple commands, thanks to Luffy and Sabo... Sometimes Ace... They would say a word or phrase, pantomime it, then I would get it. They would cheer like they accomplished something, while I sighed and grudgingly accepted the head pats.
They mostly used me as a distraction. I didn't mind, (it gave me something to do) but when the not so enthused townspeople had a dog rummaging through their laundry... Let's just say that mailbox sales increased ten fold that month.
I was happy, mom. Really happy I got to wake up every morning, hunt, mess around, and do whatever we wanted. It was truly free for a long time.
Luffy and I got along really well. He would say things at me and talked like I was just another person. I soon found that having him sprawled out against my side every night wasn't quite as annoying as I first thought.
Sabo was... Well... He treated me like a dumb dog. I would listen to his gibberish closely, trying to pick out words I might know, but it always ended up with me getting frustrated and storming off. He would yell a new phrase over and over, but I still didn't know what he was saying. It would take a lot of charades before I understood a thing. But, all in all, I liked the kid. He was responsible and clever, something I could relate to.
And let's not forget about little hellfire Ace. When One Piece was nothing more than a show, he seemed so badass. In real life he's high maintenance, prissy, argumentative, greedy, and most of all directionally challenged. No, I mean it. He argued with me! I couldn't even talk back! I (a DOG) would be following the scent of some creature, trying to be helpful, and the brat would point in the opposite direction. Not only would he go that way, but somehow we'd all end up in a fight with some creature or another. The wrong creature, mind you.
Add dumb to the list.
Besides the head pats and dumb talk, I had fun. We got along well. I mean they were still little kids to me, but I was treated alright, fed, sheltered and kept in the loop.
I even found my place in the group.
Watchdog.
Because my sleeping arrangement was in a pile, I didn't get my eight straight hours of beauty sleep.
I dozed off, moved around, and nudged elbows out of my sides all night. So naturally, when a man trying to be sneaky fails and stumbles up to our little treehouse in the wee hours of the morning... I hear him.
I bolted out of the pile and gave him the scariest bark I could muster, stalking toward him as he peeked up from the ladder.
He smelled of booze, so it took him a moment to realize I was a pissed off dog.
He found it funny. For whatever reason, he laughed.
I didn't really want to hurt the guy, really I think he was just a drunk from the grey terminal, so I snapped my jaws at him and growled.
Getting the boys up didn't cross my mind. While they could probably kick his drunk ass from here to Alabasta, I was still the eldest. At least I knew that.
I didn't try to be quiet, but I didn't shout 'Hey guys! Pizza man's here! And he brought pepperoni!'
Well, turns out that pizza guy also brought a knife.
Really, what kind of a delusion was he in that he would break into a kids' tree house and kill them in their sleep? I mean really! This definitely wasn't in the Anime.
He laughed again and wielded the knife like it was a sword and probably said something along the lines of 'have at thee!'
His slashes were half hearted and sloppy. I mean the old granny we stole from would have no problem taking this guy out with her slippers.
So, as any guy would do, I told him 'You're DRUNK!' And jumped at him, pushing the greasy fat man over and back toward the railing.
He was saved from falling over the side by the short fencing, and that's when sleeping beauty one two and three decided to wake up.
I tried to tell them I had this, but they wouldn't listen and proceeded to beat the living crap out of the drunkard and send him on his way.
So yeah. Watching out for creatures and 'Ninjas' as Luffy put it was my job.
Still didn't know where in the timeline I was. Man, there's so much they don't put in the show. Like drunks and, for example, where the pillows came from.
That would be yours truly.
Like I said, The no pillow thing really bothered me. After a long time without them, I finally had enough. So one day I went off on my own for the first (And Last) time.
We had gone to town many times already together, so I knew the way back and forth. For a 'secret base' it wasn't that far from civilization.
I padded into town, trying to look like I was blending in with the common rabble. My eyes darted from house to house. I was looking for one that might have a surplus of pillows... I really only wanted to make one run.
The higher community didn't seem to mind my presence. I guess my breed was common. Which reminded me I still didn't know what I was.
That became mission two.
Then I spotted it. A big yellow house with white stairs leading up to a nice looking door. Now that looked like a house that would have pillows in it.
I took a glance around me to make sure I was alone before examining the door closer.
I figured out rather quickly I couldn't open it. No thumbs.
So, I had to be creative. After a bit more searching and sniffing around, I spotted a cracked basement window. It must have been a servant's quarters or something like that because the ground was dirt and it was easy to jump onto the wooden desk and onto the floor.
It was my escape as well.
There was nothing to prop in it as security, so I just crossed my toes and hoped it would still be open when it came time to go.
I looked around the simple rectangular room and decided to have pity on the owner. They only had one pillow.
I crept to the door and listened, hearing only low voices a bit away. I peeked around the door and saw a clear path to the stairs that led to the next level.
I made a dash for it and successfully ended upon the next floor.
This must have been the main living space because of the fine wood and fancy furniture. I think if we had this kind of wood at home, no dog would be allowed to scuff it up.
I made a mental note that my nails would make a ticking noise, so I treaded lightly giving off only the faintest tick.
After more snooping, I found a bedroom. Success.
And it was full of pillows. I grabbed a few in my mouth, and turned back to the door when something caught my eye. A mirror stood by the shuttered closet, giving me a full view of what I looked like.
I am a German Shepard, (You know, the police dogs?). I sighed in relief. At least I wasn't a lab… now that would be hell.
I ripped my eyes away from the mirror and continued my stealthy mission out of the bedroom and back into town.
I was just about to get to the stairs, when the stomping of boots caused me to duck behind a table. Someone spoke, I only caught a few words and phrases from what he said.
"...town. Don't… forget...send… Sabo…this year."
That made me pay attention really quickly. I nearly dropped the pillows from the shock of it all as I caught a glimpse of the speaker. It was Sabo's dad. The one he was hiding from for who knows how long! And he was going to town… oh boy.
I suddenly knew exactly where I was in the timeline. This was the day the old noble saw the ASL brothers running in the streets and hired that blue- what's his face- pirate! This was bad. Really bad.
How did I know that this was the day?
Well, a couple things. Really only one thing. His father's outfit. He probably only wore an outfit once every two years. What are the chances he would wear it on a day when this incident didn't occur?
Forgetting to be sneaky I rushed out the door the old fart had opened for himself and only felt a little better when he let out a snort of surprise and jumped away from me as I rushed down the stairs and through the streets.
I still had the pillows. I mean come on, it's pillows! I will never take them for granted again.
Not stopping my mad dash until I was back at the tree house, rushing up the modified stair/ ladder thing.
I dropped my prizes and barked. 'Guys!'
They were gone. Crap.
With the treehouse empty, I knew they were in town. I really wanted to be wrong and find out that I over reacted.
But, they were going along with cannon. If I could stop his Dad from seeing him, then there would never have been a reason to run away early and a Celestial Dragon wouldn't blow him out of the water.
So I would just have to either find Sabo and drag him away from sight and keep him there for all of time or make a bigger ruckus by that restaurant than the boys.
I kept that one as plan B.
I didn't remember all the details from this arc in the anime… mostly because it had been a while since I watched it. Sure, it was referenced a lot, but I'm not the type to pay attention to filler… which I wish I did…
But I figured saving Sabo wouldn't change that much.
I followed their scent trail that led straight to the restaurant. I hated being right.
I had no idea when they would leave… I needed to make the distraction ASAP.
I looked around for anyone to… and I saw him. Sabo's father coming from up the street, leisurely walking with another noble.
I had moments to think, because I could hear Luffy's voice coming from behind the door.
Plan B it was.
I acted, letting my dog instincts kick in. The black haired and mustached fat man had a diplomatic smile on his face as I rammed into his stomach, pushing him to the ground.
Angry words were said at me, but I didn't let up. I acted the mad dog and growled in his nose, letting my slobber land on his panic stricken face.
I would never do that as a human, mom. Promise. But spit control is something the canine species has not mastered yet. I still slobber today, even years later.
His friend started to hit my back with his cane, but it didn't really hurt… wimp.
A frightened but intrigued crowd began to gather, much to my delight.
I think that as the brothers left the fancy restaurant, they took what I was doing as luck.
I kept doing that, growling and scaring the crowd for what felt like hours before I could barely make out commanding voices and dogs barking, 'Work! Going to Work!'
That was my que. I needed to warn Sabo somehow… My eyes landed on the old man's discarded hat and I lashed out, grabbing it firmly with my teeth. I let out a muffled bark to a group of nobles, meaning get out of my way please but probably looking more like 'I am a scary dog, boo!'
They wasted no time in moving.
I sprinted out for the second time that day, quickly catching up with the brothers.
I heard the dogs on my trail, I didn't have long.
I entered the grey terminal, catching up with the brothers as they snickered in victory, laughing and high fiving at whatever scheme they accomplished. I whined, not really because I was hurt or anything, but because I was really in a hurry and needed their attention without being too loud.
Sabo looked my way, eyes opening in surprise when he saw the hat. He told the others to stop as he turned to me.
He said something Imu, and I dropped it.
The dogs barked louder, 'This way! Smell is this way!'
I had to go and keep them away from the ASL brothers. Really, the consequences of outright attacking a noble in the middle of town didn't even cross my mind.
I let out another quiet bark, then doubled back ignoring the boy's cries of foreign words.
Keeping them out of harm's way was top priority, and as I was the eldest, the responcibility landed on me to take the danger.
'Here! I'm right here flea bags!' I yelled at the top of my lungs. I knew they would eventually catch up to me, I hadn't exactly been built for speed. Or had I?
I really don't know that much about dogs...
'Smell! Closer to the smell!' They chanted. It sounded like at least three of them, I was definitely outnumbered.
Head on confrontation wasn't really an option, so I opted for something intelligent.
I veered around a pile of trash and hopped onto a mound of splintered wood. In hindsight, that was an awful idea. Right then? It was freaking genius.
I would lose them in the chaos of the grey terminal, then go back to the brothers.
Making my path as complex and intricate as possible, their barking got softer and softer.
In my defence I lost the dogs, alright? My plan technically succeeded. Are we in agreement? Yes? Good.
So I lost them… and myself.
I hadn't actually thought about getting back at all, and what seemed like a good idea at the time turned out to be an awful one because not only was I hopelessly lost, but I was surrounded by a pack of wild dogs.
Angry, skinny, hungry, and scary Grey Terminal dogs.
Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
