Ch. 4- Sabeena Is Captured


One Piece © Oda

Blizzard, Monkey D. Aika, Kumi, Sabeena, Mika, and Konan © Me


Night had fallen and the festivities had died down. The Straw Hats all lied on the ground, asleep from all the fun that they had had with Sabeena and Mika. Luffy snored possibly the loudest of all as Aika, in her Wolf Form, and Kumi lied on his hugely bloated belly.

"Meat...!" Luffy murmured in his sleep.

As the crew slumbered, Blizzard sat on the edge of a cliff, staring up at the full moon and basking in its silvery light, his eyes gleaming along with it.

"You mind if I join you?"

Blizzard gasped silently before he turned to see Mika approaching him.

"Oh, Mika," Blizzard muttered. "S-sure, you can sit here."

Mika smiled as she sat down next to the white wolf-dog before she looked up at the moon.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Mika asked.

"Yeah...I can never get tired of staring at the moon," said Blizzard. "It helps me relax whenever I'm having a hard time with things."

"...I can't help but notice that you have this distant look about you," said Mika. "Has something been bothering you?"

Blizzard glanced at Mika, who blinked at him in concern as she put her paw on his, her eyes giving off a warm glow of sincerity. The two wolf-dogs kept staring before the male sighed.

"Lately...I don't know why," Blizzard said, "but...I've been thinking back on how came to be here."

"Here?" Mika repeated. "I don't understand."

"I mean...how did I ever come to be a member of the Straw Hats?" Blizzard asked. "I always thought of something lower...something that didn't belong with anyone...I especially thought that after the way Luffy and I met."

Flashback

The night sky was dark with thick, black clouds, heavy rain falling into the sea. Lightning cracked and thunder shook the heavens above. The wind blew fast and wild, carrying the rain all over.

This storm was probably one of the most severe that Rivet Island had ever seen.

As it raged, a ship pulled up to its docks: the Thousand Sunny, home to the Straw Hat Pirates, who had the misfortune of being caught up in this weather while sailing for the Florian Triangle. It started just like any other day: Luffy and Usopp were testing out the new fish tank, but accidentally put a shark in there in their haste to do so, which resulted in the Straw Hats being out of food...again. Then, out of nowhere, Nami called out to everyone, shouting orders that the storm was headed right for them, leaving the crew in a rush to get everything tied down and secure while Sanji took the helm.

It was a rough ride, but they managed to get to the island in time.

"Hey!" Franky called out from the deck. "I did a quick check and I saw some scratches on Sunny's hull! Probably from the storm!"

"Then we'll leave you to work on those, Franky!" Nami called back up.

"You got it!" Franky replied. "SUPER leave it to me!"

"We still need to restock on supplies," Sanji added, trying to light his cigarette, but failing due to the rain.

"For right now," Nami began, "I'm only worried about where we're gonna stay, not to mention how long the log here sets. Plus, I need some more ink for my maps."

As the Straw Hats looked around, Luffy seemed to spot something out of the corner of his eye, just sitting in the middle of all this rain.

"Hey, guys!" Luffy called out. "Look! A dog!"

The Straw Hats followed their captain's pointing finger and did indeed spot a dog. He was as big as a fully-grown Boxer dog, had long, white fur that was soaking wet from the rain, a thick, bushy tail, two pricked up ears that could almost be compared to that of a bat, two eyes as pink as cherry blossoms, and around his neck was a silver chain necklace with a skull-and-bones charm dangling from one of the links. The dog sat on one of the wooden piers before a gigantic house, his eyes intently focused on the horizon before him, completely unmoving...almost as if the weather didn't matter.

"What's a dog doing, sitting in the middle of the rain?" asked Chopper.

"Who gives a damn?" Zoro asked. "It's just a dog, let it do whatever the hell it wants. It's no business of ours."

"Zoro's probably right," Nami concurred. "For all we know, it could be a wild stray or something. It's best to leave it alone."

"You heard Nami, Luffy," Usopp spoke up. "Besides, we really should be worried about ourselves, right now." He then turned, only to gasp upon seeing that Luffy had vanished.

"Where'd Straw Hat go?!" Franky questioned.

"He's walking up to the dog," Robin answered as she pointed to Luffy, who was indeed approaching the dog, to the irritation of his crew.

"Monkey D. Luffy, get back here!" Nami called.

"Leave the damn dog alone!" Usopp shouted, but their cries fell on deaf ears as the captain stood before the dog. He blinked at him, curiously, as he just sat there, letting his fur get soaked.

"Hey!" Luffy called. "Hey, doggy! What are you looking at? Why don't you move or something?"

The dog didn't respond. In fact, it looked like he didn't even notice.

"That's weird," Luffy mused as he waved his hand in front of the dog's face...but still, no reaction came, not even so much as a blink of the eyes.

"Luffy!" Nami shouted. "Get your ass away from that dog and get over here, or else I'll come over and drag you away myself!"

Luffy only glanced back at Nami and rolled his eyes before he looked back at the dog, beginning to poke his fingers on his nose and tug at his ears, snickering impishly as he did.

"I wonder if he's dead," he pondered as he gave the dog's nose one last poke...only for the canine to growl before he opened his jaws wide and clamped them shut on Luffy's left wrist like a steel trap, sending the Straw Hat Captain screaming in pain as he felt the dog's sharp fangs sinking into his rubbery flesh. "HELP! HELP ME! GET HIM OFF! HE'S GONNA EAT ME ALIVE!"

"Dammit, Luffy!" Zoro cursed as he and the rest of the crew ran to Luffy's aid, with Nami, Franky, Robin, and Chopper trying to pull the captain's arm out of the dog's mouth while Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp tried to make the dog let go.

"GET HIM OFF, GET HIM OFF, GET HIM OFF!" Luffy cried with comical tears of pain and fear in his eyes. "IT HURTS! OW-OW-OW-OW-OW~!"

"We're trying to get him off, Luffy!" Nami shouted.

"You think this is easy?!" Chopper questioned as Zoro slipped Kitetsu III under the dog's upper jaw, trying to use the sword as a makeshift crowbar to pry the animal's mouth open, but it wouldn't so much as budge.

"Dammit, what's with this mutt?!" Zoro queried in frustration. "His jaws are like a bear trap!"

"HEY, YOU LOT! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! LEAVE BLIZZARD ALONE!"

The Straw Hats and the dog all looked up to see a woman just exiting the house, holding an umbrella while wearing a stern expression. She looked like a woman in her late-30s, and her attire consisted of a ten-gallon hat upon her blonde hair that went down to her shoulder blades, a pair of high-waters, and a mahogany sweater that revealed a bit of her cleavage.

"Uhh..." Nami muttered.

"You heard me!" the woman barked. "Let Blizzard go, right now!"

The Straw Hats immediately let go of the dog, known as Blizzard, on that order.

"And as for you, Blizzard," the woman started, "you let that poor boy go, right this instant!"

Blizzard seemed to grumble in his throat before he opened his mouth, allowing Luffy to pull his arm free, and upon getting a good look at it, he saw that the dog's fangs had done a great amount of damage, for blood was trickling out of the torn flesh.

This dog had quite a forceful bite on him.

"Oh, no!" Chopper cried. "Luffy's bleeding really bad! SOMEBODY, GET A DOCTOR!"

"You're the doctor!" the Straw Hats, minus Robin, reminded.

"Oh, yeah," the little reindeer realized.

"Blizzard, you bad dog," the woman scolded Blizzard in a stern voice, causing the dog to shrink and whimper. "You know better than to bite visitors! This isn't like you, at all!"

'But...he wouldn't stop poking me...' Blizzard thought.

"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed, causing Nami to sneer at him.

"What are you laughing about?" asked the navigator.

"The lady reminds me of you," Luffy began, "only she doesn't hit like you do."

WHAK! Nami threw her fist on the captain's head, causing him to yelp in pain as a large bump formed.

"See what I mean?!" Luffy questioned.

"I'm very sorry about Blizzard," Hillary said. "I don't know what go into him. I've never known to bite anybody."

"Well, to be fair," Usopp began, "the bite was kinda justified, since Luffy wouldn't stop pestering your dog."

"Still, I apologize," the woman replied. "Blizzard's not really used to strangers, but once he gets to know you, he's just fine."

"Good to hear, then," Nami spoke up.

"My name is Hillary Rivet," the woman, known as Hillary, introduced. "I'm the mayor of Rivet Island, so, aside from Blizzard, let me be the first to welcome you all here."

"The pleasure is mine," said Sanji, holding the confused woman's hand, "Your Honor."

"Oh, brother..." Zoro muttered while Blizzard growled at the cook, preparing to sink his fangs into his posterior.

"Blizzard, don't even think about it!" Hillary barked, causing the wolf-dog to shrink back, once more. "Now that that's out of the way, why don't you all come inside and get dry? I just made a nice, hot pot of stew, too."

"Sounds good to me," Luffy answered, rubbing his growling stomach. "I'm starving."

Flashback end

"Wait, you actually BIT him?!" Mika asked.

"To be fair, he poked my nose," Blizzard rebuked."That was going too far...but yeah, I still felt bad for doing that."

Mika only chuckled before looking down in a bit of shame.

"I'll be honest," she said."I...might have nipped Sabeena once or twice. I was kinda getting used to her being my owner, now, since...since..."

"...I understand," Blizzard said, while Mika sighed sadly.

"...I still find it hard to believe he's gone," she whispered. "I thought that...this was all some dream and I'd wake up soon...and even though I came to terms with the reality...I still miss him and I think about him, everyday."

"You clearly loved your master, very much," Blizzard added.

"I still do," Mika replied. "It's because of that that I promised him I'd protect Sabeena. As far as I know...she's the last remaining thing to remember him by."

Blizzard smiled at this, causing Mika to smile, too. They gazed at each other, their eyes giving a small glow from the moonlight...but then, Mika's ears twitched as she looked back, suddenly alert, to Blizzard's confusion.

"Something wrong?" the white wolf-dog asked, causing the amber-furred wolf-dog to glance back at him.

"There's this scent in the air," Mika replied. "I don't like it..."

"Why are you so worried?" Blizzard asked.

"...Sabeena's out doing her patrol before she goes to bed," answered Mika.

XXX

Sabeena pushed her way through the foliage, holding up a lit oil lantern as she surveyed the area, the sound of chirping crickets and the hooting of an owl echoing through the night air being the only things she hears.

"Nothing unusual here," said Sabeena as she kept walking, but as she did, she heard this rustling sound coming from somewhere around her. At first, she thought it might've been a raccoon or a fox...but when she heard the rustling again, she gasped as she realized it was much bigger, and there were more than one. Thinking quickly, Sabeena readied her bow with an arrow, but just when she was about to fire...

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

Sabeena turned around, only to see a troop of Marines, all pointing their rifles at her...and in front of them stood a man with with a Fu Man Chu mustache, his hair braided into a queue, a dark blue suit with lavender pinstripes, leather shoes, and a Marine coat draped over his shoulders.

"Who are you?!" Sabeena questioned.

"Oh, don't worry," said the man. "I am Commodore Konan...and if I recall correctly, your father is Wolf Fang Benson, correct?"

"H...how did you know about that?!" Sabeena asked in shock.

"Because, my dear," Konan began with a malicious grin, "I'm the one who arrested your father in the first place."

Sabeena's eyes went wide...but then she growled angrily as she aimed her bow and arrow at Konan.

"BASTARD!" she shouted as she knocked it from the bow...only for Konan to easily grab it out of the air...and snap it in his hands!

"I'm afraid your little toy won't work here," said Konan. "Now, then...I'd like for you to come with us, if you would."

"I'm not going ANYWHERE with you!" Sabeena hissed.

"My dear...I'm afraid I wasn't asking your permission," Konan sneered.

XXX

Mika panted as she dashed through the forest, running as fast as her four legs could carry her, while Blizzard followed after her, lagging several feet behind.

"Mika!" Blizzard called. "Slow down!"

"Gotta get to Sabeena," Mika whispered. "Gotta get to Sabeena!"

That's when she heard a shrill whistle in the air, causing her to gasp.

"Sabeena!" she cried as she kept running, faster and faster until she broke through the shrubs, and when she did, the first thing that caught her eye was a bow, smashed in two, as well as an empty quiver and the arrows inside, also broken. She also noticed marks on the ground...like something had been dragged. As she looked up, she gasped upon seeing Konan and his troop, walking away from the scene...dragging an unconscious and tied-up Sabeena, her forehead bleeding, by the end of a rope. Upon seeing the child getting dragged on the ground like a hunted carcass, Mika growled and bared her fangs, her eyes flashing in a dangerous manner before she let out a bark and charged at the Marines, who gasped and even cowered upon seeing her.

"Oh, relax, you ninnies," said Konan. "You've got guns. Just shoot the mongrel."

One of the soldiers raised his rifle, just as Mika lunged for him, pulled the trigger and KABAM! The gunshot went off, and Mika let out a yowl of pain as blood spurted from her shoulder as the bullet made entry. Then, she landed on the ground, whining in pain.

"Better shoot her again, just to be sure," Konan spoke up, causing the Marine to aim his rifle at Mika and shoot her two more times, causing her to yelp before she finally lied still. "There...that should be enough to kill that mutt. Now, let's go. Back to the riverboat with the girl."

"Sir!" the Marines saluted as they walked off, continuing to drag Sabeena along. At that moment, Blizzard jumped out from the underbrush and gasped upon seeing Mika, lying in a pool of blood.

"MIKA!" Blizzard cried as he ran to her side. "M-Mika! Mika, are you okay?! Say something! Anything!"

A pause...but then Blizzard's ears were met with the sound of weak, labored breathing.

"B...Blizzard...!" Mika said in barely a whisper. "They...they took her...!"

"Who?" Blizzard asked. "Who took who, Mika?!"

"...The Marines," Mika whispered, tearfully. "They...they've got Sabeena...!"

Blizzard gasped in horror before he looked off in the direction where the Marines dragged off Sabeena...then sighed as he got down low and gently pulled Mika up onto his back.

"Don't worry about Sabeena, for now,"
he said as he began to walk to the cabin. "We need to focus on getting you fixed up, first."

TO BE CONTINUED...


About time I decided to update, huh? Also, I revamped some of the dialogue from Luffy and the Wolf. Hope you enjoy!

Review, please!