Act I: Scene III

The Chop-Chop Man


I glowered at the three idiots sitting across from me. My arms were crossed and my mood was sour. Of course it wasn't entirely their fault. Most of it had to do with an idiotic brother of mine who had tried to go bird hunting but got carried off by the same quarry. Honestly we could've gotten Zoro to try fishing for us with his swords. Now we'd lost Luffy and these three ship-wreckers had caused us to lose sight of him because of their idiotic shenanigans. They looked at both me and Zoro fearfully.

"Uh…h-hey l-little girl…" one started.

"When're ya gonna stop glaring at us like that?" his friend asked. I tsk'd annoyed.

"I dunno, maybe when these metaphorical stakes of annoyance finally pierce your flesh and I hear your screams of agony," I suggested. They flinched and began whimpering.

"Is it just me or is she slightly scarier than Zoro?" the third guy whispered fearfully to his comrades. They whimpered and nodded in agreement.

"Hey!" Zoro spoke up causing them to freeze in terror.

"Yes sir?" they exclaimed in unison.

"Less talk and more rowing!" he growled.

"Yes of course; right away sir!" they all said in unison again. They began rowing slightly faster as they went.

"You idiots had better know where you're going," I grumbled threateningly.

"Yes Ma'am!" they all replied. A moment of silence occurred as we were rowed towards where the three had claimed land to be. With any luck Luffy would be there too.

"So…any ideas about what we do now," one of the guys asked the others.

"Good question," responded another. "If Captain Buggy finds out a 'girl' stole our boat and our treasure; we're history!"

"I know," moaned the third. I quirked an eyebrow and shared a glance with Zoro.

"So who is this Buggy guy?" he asked. The three idiots seemed shocked by this revelation.

"Uh you've never heard of Buggy the Clown?" one asked.

"Nope," Zoro replied.

"Do I look like I've been to the Circus?" I asked back. The man who'd asked the previous question leaned forward with a darkened expression.

"He's the ruthless captain of our pirate crew and he's eaten one of the devil fruits! And above everything else he's one truly terrifying man!" The three shuddered with fright. I burst out laughing with a snort.

"Yeah, probably to you three!" I said. "But I've gotta go ahead and make a call here that he's probably not gonna be as terrifying as you make him out to be; devil fruit power or not!" The three men however weren't convinced.

"Oh you're dead wrong!" one stated.

"Our captain might be called a clown but he's anything but funny."

"Yeah, he wouldn't hesitate to blow someone who disrespects him to kingdom come!" I raised an eyebrow in thought.

"So basically what you're saying is…he's got a big ego?" I asked. I tilted my head to the side thinking it over then nodded.

"Mmhm, definitely nothing to fear there!"

"What!?" the men shouted in unison.

"Hey, who said you could stop paddling?" Zoro demanded. The men flinched and picked up the oars again.

"Sorry sir!" they replied. I shook my head as Zoro yawned and looked to the sky.

"Let's just hope Luffy doesn't do something too stupid," he sighed.

"Heh, no promises there," I countered knowing full well how my brother could be. Then a thought occurred to me and I turned back to the idiot trio.

"So hey, you mentioned your captain having devil fruit powers of some kind. Mind sharing what they might be?" I asked innocently. The three just snickered and turned up their noses.

"As if we'd ever tell you," proclaimed the one in the middle. Zoro raised a brow and began to unsheathe one of his swords, freaking them out a bit.

"O-or p-perhaps…i-it w-wouldn't kill us r-really!" the one on the right said.

"Spill it," Zoro threatened. "Or I spill you!" The three gulped and shook considerably.

"O-okay well…"

"He can separate his parts…"

"As in he's a chop-chop man who ate the Chop-Chop fruit!" Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"Chop-Chop fruit?" he questioned. I raised an eyebrow again in thought.

"Huh, guess that means you won't be able to cut him," I stated indicating his swords. Zoro nodded.

"Wouldn't want to anyway; at least not unless he started causing trouble. You and Luffy could probably handle him right?"

"Yeah, probably. We'd have to catch him with his guard down to get a hit in and if his ego's as big as I'm thinking it is then that won't be a problem!"

"And what makes you think you could stand a remote chance against our captain?" one of the men asked slightly offended. I just grinned and transformed into my hybrid state.

"Because my brother and I also have devil fruit powers!" I said simply. "Now keep paddling before I paddle your rears with my lucky rabbit's feet!" I threatened darkly.

"Yes ma'am!" they cried again in unison. It was about two hours later that we found ourselves coming upon the docks of a small coastal town on the next island. I let out a sigh and groan of relief.

"Ugh; finally!" I declared as I used my hybrid form to leap right out of the boat and all the way onto the shore leaving not only the three stooges surprised but Zoro relatively impressed. He smirked at me as I waved back to him and the idiots as they docked the tiny boat and began tying it up. Zoro stepped out.

"Geez, that was one powerful leap I mean; we were still fairly far out on the open water!" he commented. I chuckled as I scratched the side of my nose.

"Nah that was nothin'; you should see how far I can really jump!" I giggled some. Just then a loud explosion occurred in the town and we witnessed a full row of houses being obliterated. The shockwave of the blast was sent out towards us and the wind ruffled our clothes. Zoro's face had become serious.

"That was one heck of an explosion," he muttered. I sensed the three idiots shivering with fright behind us and gave them a side glance. Their eyes remained fixated upon the area that'd been destroyed.

"It looked like it was one of the captain's beloved Buggy Balls!" said one. I couldn't stop from snickering and trying to stifle whatever raucous laughter was trying to come forth. Meanwhile, Zoro snorted and smirked.

"Buggy Balls?" he questioned. I couldn't hold back anymore and let the laughter out holding my sides. Every time I tried to stop it only got worse. However, I was eventually able to calm myself down. I finally sighed and wiped away some tears that'd formed in my eyes as I'd been laughing too hard.

"Geez; if I hadn't known this guy was all ego before then I certainly do now! I mean…how many balls does one guy need!" I grinned as Zoro chuckled and began walking.

"C'mon…if we wanna find Luffy I say that way's our best bet," he pointed towards the direction from where the explosion had occurred. I nodded before turning to the three idiots who immediately flinched at my glare.

"Where can we find your captain?" I asked seriously. They trembled and pointed towards a distinct part of town.

"On t-top of the local tavern," they said together. I stared them down for a bit to see if they were lying before finally deciding that they weren't and smiled a beaming smile at them.

"Okay, thanks a bunch guys. Stay outta trouble!" I called as I ran to catch up to Zoro. He glanced at me as I came up beside him.

"So where's the local tavern?" he asked. I just shrugged my shoulders.

"I dunno," I admitted. "But I'm already starting to pick up Luffy's scent and it's coming strongest from that direction," I said pointing to where the guys had pointed before. He nodded and we walked as quickly as we could through the empty streets. He looked about curiously.

"There doesn't seem to be a lot of people around today?" he commented.

"Meh, Buggy probably scared them all off. I mean wouldn't you get the hell outta town before you were blown to kingdom come?" I asked. He hummed in thought.

"Hm…I guess so," he agreed. "So I guess this means his crew has taken over the town!"

"Yeah and the local tavern is their base of operations! Understandable seeing as how that's where most of the food is." I said.

"And booze," Zoro added. "What pirate doesn't like good booze?" I giggled and agreed.

As we neared the tavern, my ears twitched and I could hear voices. I shifted my ears some more to get a better listen and heard the words the voices were chanting.

"Fire; fire; fire; fire; fire…" they chanted on and on. I turned to Zoro.

"Something's going on up there on the roof! I'm gonna hop ahead and get a better look!"

"Okay," he nodded. I started picking up my pace and began running until I was entering the building and finding the stairs to the roof. The guard who was supposed to be guarding the entrance was passed out drunk on a bar stool.

Once I was at the door to the roof, I saw the spectacle before me and groaned as I saw Luffy was tied up and in a stone cage with a cannon aimed right at him. A man wearing flashy attire with a big red clown nose stood behind the cannon and was handing a box of matches to an orange haired girl about Luffy's age who looked fearful and uncertain.

"Now; light the fuse Nami!" the man in the flashy captain's attire cried excitedly. If I had to take a guess then I'd say that was Captain Buggy. The men surrounding them continued cheering 'fire' over and over again as the girl stared at my brother; at the matches and back again unknowing of what she wanted to do. Meanwhile Luffy just sat in his cage staring back at her.

"Hey; you're not wimping out on me are you?" Nosy demanded. Heh yup – that's a good nickname! But I think I'll keep trying for something more insulting. The girl jerked her head up at the accusation trying to answer but not even sure how to answer it herself.

"What's the matter?" my brother suddenly asked from the cage. "Your hand's shaking." He grinned some and I could tell immediately what was running through his mind. I glanced back to the girl who was taken aback by the statement. My eyes widened in realization. That was the girl I saw on the last island. Orange hair in a pixie cut; she looked like a tangerine or something and looked pretty intelligent. If Luffy was planning on asking her to be a part of the crew then she'd have to have one of the skills we'd discussed or she'd had to have caught his eye in some way. Definitely not an attractive way although she was pretty. It's just that Luffy doesn't have the brain enough to figure that stuff out and honestly I'm dreading the day when I'll have to explain it to him on the level that he should understand it.

"That's what happens when you take on pirates with half ass resolve," Luffy continued. The girl stiffened and gripped the matches tighter.

"Resolve? To do what? To kill someone like it's nothing?" she demanded of him. "Is that a pirate's resolve?!"

"No!" Luffy responded. Then he stared her straight in the eye with a smile on his face. "You've gotta be willing to risk your own life!" he confirmed. I grinned, excited that this test was getting interesting. However, I became distracted as I sniffed some food and my stomach growled though it couldn't be heard over the chorus of chants.

I slipped into my rabbit form and crept through the crowd of chanting pirates to where the food was lain out and I started salivating as I saw the picks. These guys were probably having a party before I'd gotten here and Buggy had decided to get rid of Luffy now.

"And that's why when they're done here; it'll all be gone. Heh, heh, heh," I chuckled darkly as I crept up on the remaining food and began to divulge myself while they were distracted. I knew I'd have to do something if things got out of hand but I also wanted to see what this new girl was willing to do. She clearly didn't want to blow Luffy to kingdom come and yet she was scared of what the pirates might do to her if her cover was blown. Oh well…time to watch. I absent mindedly wondered where Zoro could've gotten to.

"Here new chic; quit being such a tease," a pirate said as he snatched the matches from Nami's hands surprising her. "Let me show ya how to light the cannon!" He grinned as he brought out a match and struck it against the side of the box; lighting it. Then he began to reach his arm out to the fuse with the match still held between his fingers.

The girl called Nami reacted on instinct. Just as the fuse was about to be lit, Luffy became nervous and Nami grabbed three short rods from three holsters on the side of her leg and in one swift and fast movement, the three rods were clipped together and the full staff was coming down hard on the guy's head, silencing the crowd and knocking the man unconscious. I snickered at the shocked expressions on the crew's faces.

Luffy meanwhile was amazed and leaned forward to get a better view. I just rolled my eyes at him without his noticing and continued eating the meat I'd found on the table. What? If it's left out it'll go bad. Besides by this point, I was practically starving because we hadn't eaten for practically the whole day. Meanwhile, Nami was coming around and looked slightly startled with her actions.

"Sorry; my bad," she exclaimed over her shoulder to Nosy. Nosy didn't look so forgiving. He growled in annoyance.

"Nami…what's the meaning of this outrage!?" he demanded to know. Nami turned full around taking her staff in her two hands and bowed apologetically.

"I'm sorry," she said again. Nosy growled.

"What's wrong? Just shoot him already!" he demanded. Meanwhile Luffy looked confused.

"Huh…so now…you've decided to save me?" he asked. Nami turned on him with an air of annoyance.

"Don't be so stupid!" she retorted before turning back to face the pirates defensively. "I'm not doing this for you; I just don't wanna lower myself to the level of these inhuman pirates!" Luffy blinked then shrugged.

"Okay; thanks anyway!" he replied. I nodded appreciating that he'd remembered how to be polite.

"Pirates took the life of someone very dear to me. I'll never be one of them!" Nami explained. I could hear the pain in her voice as soon as she said it. I could tell as well that her pain was cutting deeper than what it would appear. I dunno I guess I've always been able to tell with this kind of stuff. Anyways back to…to… My eyes bugged out and I quickly gulped down my food.

"Luffy; Nami! The fuse is still goin!" I shouted calling everyone's attention to the burning piece of rope leading to the cannon. It looks like that guy lit the fuse as he was being knocked out by Nami. How'd I miss that? Oh…right…food. Meanwhile no one had even really glanced my way to see where the new voice had been coming from. The pirates were all focused on Nami and their captain while Luffy was focused on panicking over the lit fuse.

"So you think pirates are just inhuman filth is that right?" Nosy demanded angrily. "Get her men!" he ordered and all of the pirates began to gang up on her. She was able to block a few swords with her staff before losing her grip on it then slipping past the pirates and rushing towards the burning fuse.

"Water, water, water, water…" Luffy chanted looking around for something to douse the fuse. Meanwhile, I'd grabbed the last of my meal and bounded after one of the groups chasing Nami. Nami by this point had reached the fuse and without anything better to do, grabbed a hold of it hoping to suffocate it with her hands; burning them in the process. Back with the group I'd reached, I got in front of them then leapt up and kicked them all back with powerful kicks for a little bunny and watched as they landed on their rumps. Nosy turned in our direction with a furious face.

"What!?" he demanded. The guys came at me again but a few more well placed kicks landed them in a pile which I proudly stood atop of. However, as I'd been dealing with these guys, more had followed Nami and were just pouncing as Luffy told her to watch out. That was when Zoro finally arrived and let them face plant into the sheathes holding his swords.

"Hey now…it's not nice of you guys to gang up on the girl," he said. Luffy smiled widely.

"Heh, Zoro!" he exclaimed. I bounded back over towards him and stood proudly beside the green haired swordsman. His eyes fell on me and he smirked.

"You couldn't have handled them yourself?" he teased. I pointed heatedly at the pile of idiots I'd just beaten up over to the side and he stopped smiling. "Never mind then," he grunted as Nami turned around to behold her two saviors – well one – I'm still in bunny form.

"Hey Allen…when'd you get here?" Luffy asked.

"A while ago," I admitted without regret. Luffy took that in then started shouting at me.

"Hey if you've been here this whole time then just what hell were you doing?!" He demanded. I turned to glance back over my shoulder with a grin and began picking my teeth with a shaved down piece of bone.

"Devouring their buffet tables," I replied.

"No fair ya meanie!" he shouted back. I harrumphed and wiggled my cotton tail in his face. He shifted into a growling, grumbling expression as he was disappointed that he couldn't have any of the meat. Zoro rolled his eyes at our sibling rivalry already having gotten used to it the short time we'd been together and glanced back at a baffled Nami.

"You hurt?" he asked.

"Huh?" she said.

"I said are you hurt?" He asked again. She continued to stare in amazement at the swordsman while glancing between him and me.

"Uh…no I'm fine I think," she replied.

"I'm fine too," Luffy called from his cage, his previous scowl forgotten for the moment. He grinned. "I gotta say that was a close one. I'm glad you guys found us. So hurry up and come get me outta here!" he stated. I turned to him annoyed and crossed my arms.

"Humph, well if some idiot hadn't gotten himself carried off by a bird in the first place then he probably wouldn't have been roped up and thrown in a cage then have a cannon aimed to shoot at him!"

"Yeah, how'd you even get like that anyways?" Zoro wanted to know.

"It's an interesting story actually," Luffy replied innocently. The men of the pirate crew surrounding us seemed surprise.

"That's…" one started.

"Yeah, that little brat just called him Zoro," his buddy agreed.

"And is it me or did that little bunny not only devour our feast but kick our butts and make us look like fools?" asked one of the guys I'd beaten groaning from the man pile.

"And…is it talking?" another asked.

"Hey!" I snapped turning on them and making them shiver slightly. "I ain't an 'it'; I have a name. Also…you idiots don't really need my help in the fools department!" I said haughtily. Some of the men growled in annoyance at me but I just growled right back. Yeah…don't piss off this bunny. Meanwhile Nami looked perplexed between Zoro and I as Zoro started walking towards Luffy's cage to get him free. Nosy crossed his arms looking like he was cooking up a plan. I wondered what his chop-chop power would look like in action.

"So you're Zoro," he stated. Zoro stopped walking and glanced back. "If you're here for my head; you've got quite the struggle before you," he warned. Zoro ignored him and turned back to face Luffy.

"No; not interested," he replied. "I gave up pirate hunting. I'm here for my friend!" Nosey just grinned nastily.

"But I'm interested though," he said. "Killing you would bolster my reputation!" Zoro stopped again and glanced back unamused.

"If you try; you'll die," he warned. Nose-Horn – heh new nickname and it's better than the old one; ya know cause he's got a big red nose and he likes to blow his horn to make himself look good anyways – Nose-Horn simply grinned and chuckled.

"Oh…is that so?" he asked as he twirled his swords in his hands. Zoro just sighed as he brought down his swords.

"I tried to warn you but oh well," he said. He then turned to me. "I assume you have a plan for this as well?" he asked and I grinned.

"Heh, heh, heh," I chuckled whilst rubbing my paws together maliciously. I already knew what I was gonna do. Zoro turned around with his swords at the ready; ready to face off against Nose-Horn. I turned to Nami with the same grin on my face.

"Hey Nami; why don't you go and untie our captain while we take care of Mr. Ego here?" I suggested, pulling her from her trance. She blinked and then furrowed her eyebrows.

"And why should I do that?" she asked. I just continued grinning.

"Because I helped save you from those other guys a while back and ya owe me one!" I replied simply. She deadpanned and began to creep off to the side with a sigh as the crew was cheering for the coming fight. Meanwhile Captain Nose-Horn licked the top edge of his sword with a crazy glint in his eye. Zoro put one of his swords in his mouth held between his teeth like before and held his other two swords up readying himself for the attack that would follow. Meanwhile; Luffy watched intently from within his cage.

Then it was on. As Nose-Horn raced forth with many blades between his fingers, Zoro strengthened his stance and I moved back some to get a better view while calling to Nami.

"Now!" She groaned and ran for the cage, catching my dagger as I tossed it to her.

"This is the last time I take orders from a rabbit!" I heard her grumble as I heard Nose-Horn shout as he leapt into midair, "Die flashily!" Nose-Horn came down upon Zoro with little to no skill involved and Zoro sliced right through him in an instant – or so one would think. Nose-Horn's parts fell immediately to the ground and the crowd was silenced.

Zoro sheathed his swords again and glanced back at the body while also giving me a look that indicated it was my turn. Nami had averted her eyes and cringed as she'd cut Luffy's ropes. Luffy was relieved as he could now move again.

"Woah; thanks Nami," he said. Then he looked up at the scene before him. He grinned like an idiot. "Oh wow; he's weak! Way to go Zoro!" he exclaimed. I rolled my eyes at him. Anyone who'd been paying attention would've noticed that Zoro's swords were untainted with blood and the air didn't smell of fresh death either. Then again most of my senses are sharpened because of my devil fruit ability. Nami had finally brought herself to look upon the scene with shock.

"No way," she breathed. Suddenly the rest of Nose-Horn's crew began to chuckle darkly and soon it grew into dark laughter at our expense – for now at least. Nami and Luffy were pretty clueless as to why so I considered it good that Zoro and I at least knew what we were dealing with already. Zoro already had a cautious hand on the hilt of one of his swords but kept his eyes on the crowd of laughing pirates. He trusted me so I couldn't let him down and I wouldn't. In the meantime, he cocked an eyebrow at the pirates.

"Hey why are they laughing?" Luffy asked turning to me for an answer. I just waved him off promising he'd see soon enough. Nami too was confused.

"They're captain is lying dead on the ground and yet they're still laughing? What's going on?" she asked. Zoro smirked as he looked at them.

"Oh…so you think this is funny do you?" he demanded to know. They just kept laughing and I watched as Nose-Horn's form lifted itself off the ground, a twisted grin on his face and I watched as his detached hand shot forwards. Showtime.

"I'll have you know it's no laughing matter to have your captain made a fool of," he stated. They kept laughing until they heard Nose-Horn's scream of agony. They all gaped and Zoro turned to see that I'd reacted right in time and now had Nose-Horn's hand with the blade in it in a vice grip with my jaw; my teeth sinking into his flesh. FYI; he tasted gross!

"Agh…ah…wagh…get it off of me…get it off!" he screamed. Then he glared right down at me. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

"Iting or and! (Biting your hand)" I said through his hand in my mouth. Luffy was laughing his ass off still in his cage while Zoro turned back to regard the stunned silent pirate crew.

"Didn't I tell ya it was no laughing matter?" he asked them mockingly. "We ran into three o' your buddies a while back and persuaded them to share some information with us. I guess it's just your unlucky day men." I still held Nose-Horn's hand in my mouth tightly and he continued screaming not even thinking to split his hand up as the pain served as the perfect distraction. Meanwhile Nami looked quite freaked out.

"Just…just what is he?" she wondered.

"E's a shop-shop mawn! (He's a chop-chop man!)"I told her through the hand and over the screaming. Nami looked at me not completely getting it.

"Huh?" she asked.

"A chop-chop man," Zoro explained while walking over to her. "According to the idiots we found ship-wrecked at sea, he can separate his body parts at will. It' the power of a devil fruit." Nami still looked shocked.

"Oh; Oka; mekes shense! (Oh, okay; makes sense!)" Luffy said through a mouthful of something. Looks like he wasted no time in stealing himself some food. The crew members screamed in horror as they watched my brother's limbs stretch effortlessly through the bars of his cage to the tables I hadn't touched yet to steal some of their feast.

"H-he's…s-stretching that f-far!?" some men cried in unison.

"Captain; just separate the parts of your hand!" cried one of Nose-Horn's buddies. Nose-Horn immediately took his advice and I felt some of his hand split apart leaving a small piece of it inside of my mouth. As the excess pieces moved back over to where Nose-Horn was now standing, I felt the stray piece in my mouth fighting to break free as I dropped to the ground again.

"Bleh!" I finally spit it out tired of the horrible flavor. Then I began rubbing my tongue to try and get rid of the flavors that still existed there. Meanwhile, Nose-Horn finally reattached his full hand and his wrist slapped back onto his body but there was still a big red bite mark where I'd gotten him. He looked us over angrily.

"Just what are you freaks?" he demanded of my brother and me. I grinned and waved at him and enjoyed watching him flinch in fright ever so slightly. As Luffy Swallowed another pound of meat he replied.

"I'm a rubber man," he said. "And my little sister's a…"

"Bunny-girl!" I proclaimed becoming hybrid then human in an instant before their very eyes. I giggled then went over to a nearby table and stole myself a mug of ale that'd been untouched. I began to drink at it ignoring my current age and just wanting something; anything to wash away the taste of clown hand. I'm just glad he dropped the knife he'd been holding before that. Nose-Horn glowered at us.

"So…you two are devil fruit users as well," he stated. "That's quite a rarity here in the East Blue of all places." Luffy grinned from his cage.

"Yeah I know," he said. "Al here says there are probably more on the Grand Line!"

"The Grand Line eh?" Nose-Horn mumbled in thought.

"Yeah, I told ya didn't I?" Luffy continued. "I'm gonna gather a crew and we're gonna go and sail the Grand Line together. Then I'm gonna become King of the Pirates!" Nose-Horn didn't seem to like that. I could hear him beginning to growl slightly from where I stood next to Zoro. Then he chuckled darkly.

"Oh you are, are you?" he asked. While he chuckled; some of his men started to join in.

"Yeah," Luffy responded innocently.

"No!" Nose-Horn shot back looking up. "I don't think so! You do realize how many other pirates in the world are shooting for that goal right? And if this is the number of people that amounts to your pirate crew then I dare say that you don't stand a chance!" he sneered with his men's laughter picking up.

"Oh please," I said waving his remarks away. "Like you could do any better. You're nothing but an ego driven man who likes to hear himself talk and brags to others when he thinks he'll hear things that he wants to hear. You're only scary because you have devil fruit powers and chose to terrorize a small town in the weakest sea in the world. Not to mention your crewmates are all men and aren't too bright I might add!" He growled at me but I didn't find it at all threatening. I knew how to defend myself from bigger threats than this man before me. I didn't spend the past few years training with Ace and Luffy to get beaten by a clown.

"You don't know when to shut your flapping gums do you?" Nose-Horn bellowed. "Very well then." He turned to his men raising a sword with his good hand. "Men; prepare the buggy ball to fire at them and send them to hell flashily!"

"Yes sir!" they cried together. However, a loud thunk called their attention away from their Captain. Zoro and I had flipped the cannon and now I was standing atop it in hybrid form with a twisted grin on my face.

"Nami; you can light the fuse now!" I said with false sweetness sending shivers down their spines. Luffy began laughing from within his cage while Nami looked at me in shock. I turned to her smiling. "Don't worry; I'll give em a head start," I promised. She nodded and didn't even think as she snatched up the previously dropped matches from the ground. Meanwhile, Nose-Horn and his pirate crew were freaking out.

"Agh; crap the cannon's pointed at us! No!" Nose-Horn cried. I smirked.

"Just as I thought," I said smugly. "Once you're on the wrong end of the cannon you are a coward! Thanks for proving my theory Nose-Horn!" I chuckled as I grinned. Nose-Horn continued shaking but he turned to me with rage in his eyes.

"What's that you called me!? Nose-Horn!? Are you making fun of my nose you brat!?" I giggled as did Luffy behind me.

"So what's the reason behind this one?" he asked cheerily. I turned around to grin at him.

"Well, he's got a big nose but he's got a bigger ego and sometimes clown's noses honk when they squeeze them like a horn and since he likes to blow his horn to boost his own ego, I thought it sound way better than just Nosy! Though I'm still in the testing phase," I explained. Luffy fell back laughing and Nami looked at me incredulously with some mixture of annoyance while Zoro smirked and shook his head at me.

"You bitch; just wait till I get up there I'll…" Nose-Horn tried to rant.

"You all have till the count of three," I said. The crew grew wary again as did their captain. "Care to do the honors Captain?" I asked. Luffy grinned.

"One," he started. I turned back towards Nose-Horn.

"Two," I said next. Nose-Horn put up a hand to try stopping us.

"No; wait!" he cried. "The cannon's still loaded with a special Buggy Ball. I don't wanna go out like this!" Nami lit the fuse again. "I can't believe you did that, you ungrateful little girl!" he hollered at her. Nami covered her ears as did Zoro and myself. Luffy leaned forwards in his cage excitedly. "Wait…n-n-n-no!" Nose-Horn pleaded. "Stop…stop it now!"

"Three!" Luffy and I shouted in unison. As we said it, the cannon bucked beneath me but I was able to regain my balance almost instantly even as it rolled back some. Despite my covered ears, I could hear the screams as Nose-Horn and his crew were blown away and a smoke screen was provided for us by the cannon.

"Great; now let's get outta here!" Zoro declared. I nodded, hopping off of the cannon and rushing towards the cage.

"Can ya get yerself out?" I asked him. He shrugged his shoulders.

"I dunno!" he replied. I face padded again and sighed.

"Just lie down on the cage floor and Gatling the roof off," I suggested.

"Oh; ok," he replied. He did as I'd instructed then started to go hard and fast at the roof of the cage. Since he was strong, the concrete top and even bottom broke after a while and he hopped out smiling.

"Great; now let's get the hell outta here!" he exclaimed. We all followed his lead as fast as we could and got as far away from the tavern as we were able, running through the empty streets of the town with Luffy and I laughing all the way.


We finally made it to a part of town far enough away from the tavern before we collapsed, Luffy and I still laughing some as we caught our breath. I lay back on the ground and glanced up into the sky. It was clear with a few clouds here and there but not many. My eyes then fell on something and I rolled over to see it better.

"Woah, puppy!" I exclaimed excitedly, grabbing the other's attention. True to my word, there was a little white dog sitting in front of what looked like a pet food store. Luffy was grinning at it then he started making weird faces. I rolled my eyes at him before turning back to the dog. Luffy laughed.

"Hey Zoro, it looks like this dog's frozen!" he called to the swordsman. Zoro sighed and walked over to sit down against the wooden beam of the shop.

"I don't give a damn," he replied, "He can sit there forever for all I care!"

"I wonder if its dead!" he exclaimed reaching out a finger. I gave him a deadpanned look.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I warned.

"Aw, why not?" he asked innocently as he placed his finger on the dog's forehead. Then without warning the dog attacked him, scratching and biting at him, chomping around the face. I grinned as Luffy finally got him to let go and panted breathlessly.

"That's why," I replied. Then I turned back to the dog with an apologetic smile.

"Hey, don't mind my brother here, he's just an idiot," I told him.

"Hey!" Luffy tried to protest.

"I second that," Zoro agreed. Luffy turned on him with a scowl causing him to smirk back. Meanwhile Nami just rolled her eyes at him. The dog eyed me warily but seemed to just shrug it off and continued to sit where he was. I laughed lightly and sat up.

"Hey! Who are you kids and what're you doing to shushu?" an angry voice called over to us. We looked up and saw an oddly dressed old man with a weird hair cut coming over to us. Was that supposed to be armor? Zoro cocked an eyebrow as he drew closer.

"And who're you old man?" he asked. The man seemed to be offended by that statement.

"Old man!? Why I'm the mayor of this town! Who're you and why're you hurting Shushu?" I blinked as he turned to look us over. I just smiled when he came to me.

"Nah, we ain't hurting him," I said. "My brother just tried to pet him and he attacked. We haven't done anything!" He blinked, thought it over then sighed.

"I see," he said. "Well you'll have to excuse him for that. Shushu doesn't respond well to strangers. I take it you kids are new on this island?" he asked.

"Um yeah, that's right," Nami explained. He just sighed.

"Then I suggest you get out of here as quick as you can," he told us. "This town is currently being run by Captain Buggy and his men; infamous pirates around these parts." I grinned widely.

"Oh we know, we just finished blowing him up!" I sniggered.

"Say what!?" the mayor exclaimed looking startled. I grinned while meanwhile Luffy sat up and giggled.

"Hey I wonder if he's still alive?" he pondered. I snickered.

"Who knows, we might just find out if we stay here long enough and besides…I wanna see what he has in his treasure chest!" Nami became somewhat hostile with the new information.

"What' that? Someone else is trying to take my score?" she challenged. "I'll have you know I've gone through a lot to get close to that treasure and I'm not sharing!" she pointed out. I just shrugged.

"Fine by me," I stated. "I'm only interested in certain items. If he happens to have what I'm looking for then no one's stopping me from taking it." I made that point certainly clear in my tone of voice and smile. It was one of those that which was outwardly pleasant but covered something deadly. Nami didn't shiver as much as I'd expected but just glared at me as I smiled sweetly back at her. However, our staring match was interrupted yet again by the mayor.

"Are you kids serious?" he asked. "You blew up Buggy the Clown?"

"Yeah," Luffy said nonchalantly. "It wasn't that hard all we had to do was flip the cannon." The mayor remained wide eyed and mouth agape.

"I see…" he spoke softly before calming himself down again and sighing. "And you're not sure whether he's alive or not?"

"Nope," I reiterated.

"We didn't exactly see any dead bodies; we just kind of took off," Zoro confirmed. "I'm sure the idiot managed to pull something off." The mayor nodded sagely before approaching the pet food store and unlocking it. He took some time getting a bowl filled with food for the dog and came back out after locking up and placed the bowl before the pup. Nami approached and took her chances as she knelt down to pet the dog's head.

"So this dog's name is Shushu?" she questioned. Luffy laughed.

"Why's he just sitting there like that? He sure is a lazy dog!" he commented.

"He's guarding the store," the mayor explained.

"Guarding it?" Zoro pressed. Nami looked up with interest.

"Yes," the mayor replied. Nami then turned around to see the sign above her head.

"Oh I see…It's a pet food shop!" The mayor nodded then crossed his arms over his chest.

"That's right and the man who used to run this store was a very close friend of mine," he stated. I nodded with comprehension. "When he passed I assumed responsibility of taking care of Shushu."

"He died?" Nami asked sadly.

"Yes," The mayor nodded. "Three months ago after fighting his illness for a very long time." Nami was surprised.

"So he's been guarding the store for his master this whole time; that's impressive," Zoro expressed. The mayor nodded.

"That seems to be the consensus," he said. He went over to the store and sat down on the porch. "But I find that hard to believe," he continued, "Shushu's a smart dog. He's probably known for a while that his master's not coming back." By this time, Shushu was finished eating his meal, finishing off the little bits stuck to the bowl with his tongue. I regarded him with interest as Nami questioned the mayor.

"But then why does he stay here at the store?" she wondered. The mayor took a long drag on the pipe he had before letting out the smoke in a single sigh.

"I guess because he has a connection to it," the old man explained. "It's his…treasure; he's guarding it!" he finished taking another puff on his pipe. "His master left him with this shop and that's why he protects it; I've tried to bring him back to my place so he won't be out of the elements but he won't take so much as a step away from here."

Shushu then yawned and took up the bowl he'd been eating out of and placed it at the old man's feet. I smiled as he yawned and went back to guard duty.

"His treasure huh," I whispered, clutching at the compass hanging from my neck with a silly grin on my face. "I totally understand!" Luffy meanwhile chuckled beside me as his hand found its way to his signature hat. Nami glanced at us from the side with an odd look and Zoro tsk'd with some humor behind it as he clutched his white sword. It seemed that we all had treasures worth protecting because of people special to us. I'm sure that Nami understood it as well.

Just then the bowl and the ground began to shake with rumbles. It called all of our attention. Nami stood up warily.

"What's that sound?" she wondered. The mayor became frantic.

"It's him; it's beast tamer Mohji! We gotta go; run!" he exclaimed. Nami became somewhat panicked as the mayor scuttled about in his own panic.

"What do you mean by beast tamer...wait hold on!" she called after him as she followed. I grinned as I stood up with Luffy and Zoro beside me. I morphed into my hybrid form again and my ears picked up on the roars and my nose caught the scent. I chortled with glee.

"Giant lion coming our way," I noted. Luffy began to salivate.

"Oh really? Sounds delicious!" he said. Zoro cocked an eyebrow at us, his swords at the ready.

"You two have some really weird tastes," he commented. I just shrugged.

"What can we say; we were raised by the law of the jungle," I explained. He just shook his head and turned his focus on the now approaching giant kitty cat. The lion stopped before us and we could see a man with a weird haircut sitting on its back.

"Looks like your luck has run out," he sneered. "I'm known as the beast tamer Mohji; a member of the Buggy pirates!" He looked down at us like he was some kind of threat. Luffy just nodded.

"Oh so he's not dead!" he said matter of factly. I tilted my head with minimal interest.

"You're supposed to be a beast tamer?" I asked disbelievingly. Zoro smirked.

"Looks to me like he just got himself a sissy lion!" he jibed. I snickered. Meanwhile the man seemed to be offended by his comment.

"How dare you!" he shot back at us. "I'll have you know that I'm the first mate to Buggy and that I'm feared far and wide. I'm known all around for my terrifying skill; there is no animal in this world that beast tamer Mohji can't bend to do his bidding!" As if to prove his point, he dismounted the big lion and attempted to get Shushu to shake his hand. This ended with Shushu biting him and Luffy and I falling into one another for support to laugh at him. Zoro smirked mockingly at the self-proclaimed beast tamer as he tried to detach his hand from the dog's mouth.

Finally, with his hand back and throbbing with pain by his side, Mohji tried to reclaim his fearsomeness as he'd though he'd had before as we stared at him. Luffy yawned as he went into a spiel on how we weren't going to get away and that we were all going to pay but we tuned him out. Luffy leaned over to me.

"Hey Al, you wanna take the lion and the weirdo?" he asked me. I smirked and turned to him.

"I thought you'd wanna take him on," I teased. He just waved it off.

"Nah; if Buggy's still around I wanna kick his ass instead!" I nodded then turned to Zoro.

"What about you?" I asked. He just shrugged then turned back to Mohji.

"Hey!" he shouted, getting the 'beast tamer's attention. "Do you guys have a swordsman on your crew?" he asked. Mohji seemed to be taken aback by the question but answered anyways.

"Yeah; why do you wanna know?" he replied suspiciously. Zoro grinned then turned back to me.

"There's your answer," he replied. I nodded turning to face Mohji. The beast tamer became annoyed.

"Hey; what're you three plotting; were you even listening to me!?" he demanded to know. I blinked then responded.

"Sorry; could you repeat that? I wasn't really paying attention," I teased. Luffy and Zoro snickered.

"Oh that's it! You're gonna pay!" he roared as he leapt back up on his lion. I laughed as both Luffy and Zoro took a step back towards the shop front to help guard it with Shushu. The dog went back to standing alert in front as I took up a ready stance already in my hybrid form.

"Well then, come and make me pay; if ya got what it takes!" I taunted. He growled and pointed towards me.

"Richie; attack!" he hollered to his lion. The lion obeyed and charged forth swiping a paw a me but it was all too easy to dodge by leaping up in the air. Even as his other paw attempted to snag me, claws outstretched, I was still quicker as I spun in midair, landed on the top of the paw then leapt over their heads so that I was behind them. I smirked then I yawned.

"Oh man; this isn't much of a fight now is it?" I questioned. "How pathetic too; a lion losing to a wittle ol' bunny wabbit!" Mohji – oh wait I know just what to do with this one now. From now on he'll be Roji and the lion will be Mitchie. Hah I'm a genius. Anyways, Roji growled in frustration.

"You little brat! I'll show you who's the pathetic one! Richie; show this rabbit who's really on the menu!" he bellowed. I made an insultingly funny face at them then tapped my butt in a mocking manner before running off down the street and the idiot actually followed.

I kept running until I came to a part of town that'd already been destroyed by the Buggy ball and wasn't too close to the tavern. At least here we wouldn't damage Shushu's treasure. So I stopped running as the lion caught up. The man on top sneered down at me.

"Do you honestly believe you can outrun your own predator!?" he demanded to know snidely. I just grinned.

"Okay firstly...yeah I could probably outrun you. Secondly...who said I was outrunning anybody!?" I asked back. "I've got you right where I want ya!" Then I took up my own stance. He looked around and realized we were a long distance from the others. However, he didn't feel particularly threatened. He just scoffed.

"And what pray tell can a petty little rabbit do to a mighty lion and beast tamer hm?" he pressed. I grinned.

"Are ya sure ya wanna find out?" I teased. He growled, growing a few tic marks on his head. He leapt off the lion and commanded it.

"Attack her Richie!" he demanded. He stood off to the side and watched as his pet lion charged at a helpless defenseless little bunny rabbit. Then he watched as said bunny rabbit leapt up into the air and began to spin like a ninja star and came down hard upon the lion's head with one hard kick that sent him face-planting into the pavement. Then that bunny rabbit landed on the other side and took the lion by his tail before spinning him around in dizzying circles before throwing him up into the air. Next the seemingly helpless rabbit followed his ascension and kicked him down again into the cobblestone below and finally the giant creature blacked out.

I grinned as I stood up and waved over at Roji who was clearly shocked and scared shitless. Then I began to approach him cracking my knuckles. He stumbled and fell to the ground trying to back away.

"Your turn," I beamed. He waved his hands back and forth frantically.

"What no; I'm s-sorry please…w-we d-d-d-didn't mean to cause any trouble!" he tried to back out. I wouldn't let him.

"Oh but that's your lion right?" I asked. He nodded knowing that if he lied to this face, he'd get it worse.

"Y-yes b-but…he's not usually this hostile…"

"But I heard you tell him to attack me twice and he was just fulfilling his master's orders. Are you denying this now?"

"What no…"

"Seems like you are," I teased in a sing song voice. "And you know what really gets me annoyed? When owners don't take responsibility and blame things all on their pets. That's just downright despicable!"

"But I…" I reached him now. I reached down to pick him by the scruff of the shirt which was surprising considering how I'm fourteen and he's way older. I grinned one last time.

"Have fun with Nose-Horn!" I said before I wound up my arm and punched him full on in the face. He went flying in the direction of the tavern and to add insult to injury I picked up the lion too and sent him flying after his master. I then clapped my hands together dusting off the grime of the fight.

"Well, now that, that's done; time to check on Luffy and Zoro!" I piped up before abruptly turning on my heel and heading back for the Pet Food Store.