A/N- Finally, here's the next chapter. :) I hope you all enjoy! Thank you so much for the kind reviews! Keep 'em coming! Hope you all enjoy!
*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 10 – What a strange man.

We all stared and I quietly took in his appearance. He was a very strange looking man, with black hair styled with white puffy things in it and a yellow headband. He had green makeup round his eyes and a little lipstick on his lips. He had an oddly shaped chin and perhaps the strangest part of him were his flamboyant clothes. He had a long and flowing pink coat, with a white ruffled sort of collar around his neck that lead to a pair of swan necks and heads. I cocked my head. Why would someone wear swans? I wonder if they were real...

Karoo began squawking, tears running from his eyes. The man, who had been staring blankly at Luffy, Usopp and I, suddenly looked at the duck he was hugging. His eyes bulged and he screamed, "Oh no! Why am I grabbing a spot billed duck I only just met?" My ears perked up as I listened to his voice. It was strange, and sounded nasally. Beside me, Usopp and Luffy conferred with each other. "A-a mermaid?" I looked at them and raised a brow. They think... this is a mermaid?

Suddenly, the man lost his grip on Karoo, falling into the sea with a handful of feathers. "Oh no!" he cried. We all peeked over the edge where the man was splashing and thrashing in the water. "Help me! PLEASE! I'm a hammer and can't swim!" My eyes widened. A hammer! Then doesn't that mean he's eaten a devil's fruit? I wonder what his power is... Luffy stretched his arm out and shot it down towards the water, grabbing the man by the collar and pulling him onto the deck. The man cried as he flew through the air and landed roughly on the wood. I eyed him suspiciously. We have no idea who he is or how powerful he is. He might even be with the navy! Even though his clothes wouldn't suggest it.

The man sat on his knees, coughing up water. Everyone gathered around, curiously staring at the man. I relaxed a little. He would have a hard time attacking with all of us at such a close proximity. Water was dripping off the man and landing in the small puddle that had formed around him. Once he got his breath back he gasped out, "Oh... I thought it was all over. But, really! Swan, swan!" He raised a hand in a prayer like movement and chanted out the last two words. I hummed and cocked my head to the side, crouching beside Luffy. My ears were trained on the man, as were my eyes. "My life has been saved by pirates that I do not even know. I will not forget your kindness!" He began bowing respectfully, water still dripping off him. He suddenly stopped bowing, and asked in a voice that had a lace of cheekiness, "Oh, but I was wondering if I might have a bowl of warm soup?"

In unison we all screamed at him, "WE DON'T HAVE ANY!"

Zoro then screamed, "We're starving too!"

The stranger's attention was suddenly directed above us. I heard a small gasp and tilted my head upwards to see Vivi standing on the upper part, her hands clenching the rails. "Oh my~ Well aren't you cute~!" the man giggled. Vivi shied away, looking disgusted and thoroughly freaked out. I looked at him and shuddered. "My little fruit, I just want to eat you up~!" He then kissed his hand and blew the kiss to Vivi. I could have sworn I saw a little heart appear. The man grinned then looked towards me. I flinched and flattened my ears back. "Oh~ And you! Look at you with those adorable ears~!"

"Err... thanks... I guess," I answered awkwardly. I puffed out my cheeks and averted my amber gaze to the side.

Beside me, Luffy humphed before asking, "You can't swim, huh?" I looked up as the man rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"You're so right there. I ate a devil's fruit." I was right. He had eaten a devils fruit.

"Ah, which one?" Usopp asked, intrigued. We all stared at him attentively as he got to his feet. His clothes under his coat were even stranger. He was wearing a blue shirt with an un-describable blue round thing on his legs. It covered about half of his thighs and the rest of his legs were bare.

He chuckled before saying, "Yes, well... I suppose there's no rush while I wait for my ship to come and get me. I might as well put on a show!" Luffy chuckled with excitement, and even bopped up and down in anticipation. The stranger pulled back an arm and poised his hand, palm forward. "Prepare to witness my ability!" Faster than we could have stopped him, the man shot his palm out and smacked Luffy in the face, sending the boy tumbling backwards and crashing against the wood. Every one took in a sharp intake of breath and I let a low growl rip out of my throat. Ears flat back and teeth bared, Zoro and I readied ourselves to fight.

"What the-?" Zoro drew out his swords and pointed them threateningly at the man. My ears perked forward as a strangely familiar voice came from the man, and his hand blocked his face from view. "Wait, wait, waaaiiiit~ I said I was putting on a show. Stop jooooking around!" He moved his hand to reveal an exact copy of Luffy's face. My eyes widened and I gasped. What the-! He looks and sounds exactly like Luffy! Luffy jumped up and placed his hat back atop his head. "It's me!" he said, surprised. The look-a-like Luffy began to laugh hysterically and bopped up and down.

"Surprised you! Surprised you! Surprised you!" He erupted into more chortles and I frowned. "When I touch myself with my left hand..." He raised his hand to his face and as soon as he had barely grazed his skin, his face morphed back into his original one. "See! Back to normal~!" I stared at him in shock. What a power to have! He could do some much damage with it! "This is the ability I gained from eating the Mane Mane fruit," he explained, his voice back to normal as well.

Nami uttered in shock, "His voice..."

"And even his physique was the same!" Usopp finished. While everyone stared in shock, Luffy began cheering the man.

"C-COOOOOLL!" Luffy yelled, eyes wide and jaw dropped. The man proudly spun in a circle, doing a funny dance.

He spun one last time and said, "Well, there really is no need to hit anyone though." He raised his right hand. I knew what he was going to do before he had even done it. "Hi! Look at me~!" His face morphed into Usopp's. "...If I touch my face..." Then Zoro's. "...With my right hand..." Next it was Chopper. "...I can imitate aaanyone..." Then it was Nami. "...Just like this!" He opened up his clothes, giving us all a view of Nami's naked body. "Even the body~!" The boys all oogled the body, but before they got a good look, Nami punched the man in the head. "Ouch!" he cried as he fell to the floor.

"Knock it off!" she screamed, her face red with anger. I watched the man fall and moved away, choosing to stand beside Nami and Zoro.

Luffy crouched beside the man and stared at him intently. "Oi, you okay?" He chuckled weakly before sitting on his knees.

"Well, now... I'm sorry to say I shouldn't show you anymore of my ability than..." he sighed, almost sadly. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper however, began cheering, clapping and whistling, egging the man on. "You're awesome! Do some more!" The man seemed to revel in the praise and leapt up.

"Ah! Really, I have no choice then! Wanna see some more?"

The three boys erupted into a chant of, "Show us more." Behind me, Nami tsked.

"He's going right along with them." Zoro was slouched against the rail and the three of us watched the man carefully.

"He's lapping up the praise," I sighed.

He cheered, "Very well! I'm going to show you something! My memory ability." The three boys cheered and watched with bursting excitement as he raised his hand to his face. "Hi~!" His face morphed into a strange looking man with buck teeth.

This earned a, "Whoa!" from the boys. He raised his left hand and changed faces. The next one had a bulbous nose and a natural grimace.

Luffy laughed out, "That's a weird one." I was momentarily distracted as I watched the massive grin light up his face. His eyes were alive with laughter and his attention was focus solely on the man. I smiled sweetly at him, but shook my head clear and focus back onto the stranger. He had now changed his face back to its original form and was spinning like a ballet dancer on his tiptoe. He was gleefully chanting, "Spin~! Spin~! Spin~!" Luffy, Chopper and Usopp were all laughing and clapping, while Zoro, who was behind me, scoffed. "This is bullshit."

Eventually, the man stopped spinning and landed gracefully, his coat billowing around him. "So how was my performance? I don't usually show this to people," he explained, grinning proudly. In unison, all three of them cheered, "It was so cool!" They leapt up and lined next to each other and kicked their legs out together. The boys chanted, "So cool! So cool!"

While the stranger chanted, "Stop joking around! Stop joking around! Stop joking around!" I sighed but laughed slightly at their idiocy, and turned to face Nami. She sighed and muttered, "Do what you want." I suddenly noticed something approaching in the distance. Another ship. Was this the stranger's?

On cue, the man sung, "There's my ship." Suddenly, he leapt from his dancing with the boys and landed softly on the rail in front of Nami. "OH! My. The time has come for us to part. How tragic." He was standing, hands on hips, rather dramatically. I raised eyebrows curiously. Was he going to make a dramatic speech?

"Please don't go," Usopp begged, tears falling profusely from his eyes. I glanced back at him, sighed then turned back.

The man began, "Don't be sad! Journeys and partings go hand in hand. But, remember this: To true friendship..." He paused, turned sideways and held a thumb up along with a sparkling smile and tears pooling in his eyes. "...How long you've known each other means nothing!" He suddenly leapt forward, jumping onto his boat which had pulled alongside ours. "Don't cry for me!" he cried into the air. The boys rushed forward, whimpering and crying waterfalls.

Luffy screamed, "WE'LL SEE YOU AGAIN!" I walked closer to the rail and waved.

"Goodbye, Mr. Stranger," I said, being polite. At least he hadn't tried to attack us.

On his own ship, the man stood on the rail and turned to the many colourfully dressed men who were looking at him expectantly. "Now, let's go men!"

They all saluted respectfully and one answered, "Aye! Mr. 2 Bon Clay-sama!" I gasped.

D-did he just say, Mr. 2? Their ship sped away and we all gasped. Usopp yelled out, "MR. 2?" I couldn't believe it. That was Mr. 2, one of the top Baroque works members. I couldn't believe it. He had been so close! Vivi shakily exhaled. "That was... Mr. 2 Bon Clay!" she cried in horror.

Luffy asked, "Vivi! Didn't you recognise him?" She shook her head and stepped back, before hitting the wall and sliding down it.

"No... I've never met the Mr. 1 and Mr. 2 pair before... I don't even know their abilities! But I did hear rumours..." I perked my ears up and listen carefully. "Mr 2... They said he is a flamboyant ballerina with a loud voice... who wears a swan coat ... with the words 'Bon Clay' written on the back."

I felt like face palming. Seriously? How did she not recognise him? Apparently, Luffy, Zoro and Usopp shared my view. "You should have noticed," they said in perfect unison. I noticed Vivi was shaking slightly and carefully asked, "Are you okay, Vivi?" She shook her head.

"Just then... among the faces he showed from memory... My father's face was in his memory! The king of Arabasta, Nefertari Cobra." I frowned. He had the kings face in his memory? This was bad...

"If you could impersonate the king you could pull off some pretty nasty things," Zoro commented. Usopp nodded slowly.

"We just let a really dangerous guy get away."

Chopper, who was stood beside him, piped up innocently, "He was our enemy?" Nami hummed.

"He certainly will be a lot of trouble if he turns out to be our enemy," she explained, walking closer to us. "After he discovers we are his enemy he can use that memory of his to impersonate any of us. We won't be able to trust our own nakama." I nodded slowly. She was right. How would we be able to tell the difference between each other if they looked exactly alike and sounded exactly the same? Luffy seemed confused and cocked his head cutely, with a blank face. "Really?" he said, clueless. Nami sighed and opened her arms, trying to express to Luffy how important this was. "Listen, Luffy..."

Zoro cut in, "Well, wait a second. While this guy may not have any basis for his opinion, he's right in saying we don't have to be afraid the guy." He clapped a hand on Luffy's shoulder and I cocked my head curiously. "I think we're lucky that we met him." Zoro grinned confidently. "Now we take countermeasures."

A grin spread across my face and my ears perked and tail began to sway. "That makes sense!" I chirped. All eyes turned to me. "Zoro, you genius!" I giggled. Zoro blinked before looking embarrassed.

"Shut up," he muttered. Luffy frowned and cocked his head further, looking even more puzzled.

"Ehh... Shiroi, I don't get it..." I rolled my eyes but smiled.

"Basically, if we can figure out a way to mark ourselves so we can differentiate between us, we'll be able to tell if someone's an imposter or not." Luffy still looked confused. Slowly, though, the understanding spread across his face. "Ah! I get it now!" Usopp sighed.

"Slow."

The waters around us began to turn choppy and the boat began to rock. "Whoa! Does anyone else feel that?" I asked, my ears turning around trying to pinpoint the cause.

"Hm? I don't feel anything..." Luffy replied. The boat suddenly jerked and began to shake almost violently. "Ah! I feel that!" Luffy now cried. Everyone began to shout as it became harder to stand on our feet. Then, out of the water like a looming ghost, a large shape broke free from the blue waves, sending droplets flying through the air. A massive cat sat in the sea, grinning down at us. My eyes bulged out of my head. Beside me, Luffy shouted, "That thing's HUGE!"

I heard Vivi say, "A sea-cat!"

Usopp and Chopper screamed and began to cry. "A sea monster!" Zoro, on the other hand, drew out all three of his swords and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"OUR FIRST MEAL IN FOUR DAYS!" Luffy then also became possessed by hunger.

"FOOD!" I stared at the cat fish and felt a growl growing in my throat.

Before I could stop it, I was screaming, "Cat!" Usopp and Chopper sent a fearful look towards me and huddled together. I growled and advanced forward, following Luffy and Zoro.

Did I ever mention I hated cats?

Luffy was growling out the word, "Food!" It was like he had become possessed. The cat looked at us worriedly. I barked at it twice, making it flinch and let out a fearful meow, shying back. My tail was upright and rigid and my eyes were practically glowing with a natural hatred for all things feline. "Ah, it pulled back!" Zoro cried.

Luffy began to command, "Reverse ship! Back! BACK!"

Usopp's faint voice carried over to us, "L-L-L-Like I can do that!" I continued to growl hatefully at the cat-fish and glared at it, bearing my teeth. I heard a door open and close and footsteps hurry our way. "Don't let it get away! Make sure you kill it!" Sanji appeared and rolled up his sleeves. It was now the four of us, staring down the giant, stupid cat! "You'd better make some damn good cooking, you monster cat!" Sanji shouted.

"You stupid cat! I'll eat you!" I cried, joining in. Suddenly something hard hit the back of our heads, sending us flying into the rail before us.

"OUCH!" The cat turned fin and swam away back into the depths of the sea. I sat up on my knees and pouted, a few tears in my eyes.

"Ow," I whined, rubbing the back of my head. "Damn, that cat got away."

Luffy demanded angrily, "Vivi! You jerk, what the hell do you think you're doing!"

Sanji whimpered pathetically, "W-why, Vivi-chan..." Zoro remained silent, laying face first onto the deck.

"You can't eat it! In Arabasta, sea-cats are sacred creatures!" Vivi reprimanded us. I turned to her and pouted.

Luffy yelled, "Why didn't you say so?"

While I muttered, "Great, I'm going to a country of cat lovers..." Tears fell down my face.

The adorable reindeer called Chopper commented, "There sure are a lot of things in the ocean, huh?" In the background, I saw Usopp had collapsed, out of fear most likely, and was twitching violently. He wailed out a weak, "You still have a long way to go if that scared you." Chopper turned his way and Usopp jumped up in time, keeping his strong facade to Chopper. "Yosh. How about I tell you of the time I fought off sea kings on the calm belt." Chopper was amazed by Usopp's lie. I just sighed and got to my feet. "Sea kings?"

"The big kind. There were this many!"

Luffy was gnawing on the rail like a teething puppy, complaining whilst crying. "My food got away..." he wailed. Vivi giggled.

"Don't worry... you'll be able to eat all you want soon." This caught his attention, and he jumped up.

"REALLY? What kind of cat will it be this time?" We both dead panned. I turned to Vivi and we shared a look, that clearly read, Is he really that stupid? Apparently so. Nami appraoched, walking of the steps and speaking to the blue haired princess. "Vivi, it looks like the wind and climate have begun to stabalise." Vivi smiled softly and nodded.

"Yes, we've entered Arabasta's climate zone. The fact that a sea-cat had appeared is further proof."

Zoro added, "I'll bet those things behind us are even more proof that we're close to Arabasta."

Immediately, we all turned around and, sure enough, there were thousands of ships scattered across the horizon. All of them appeared to have the same a flag; a flag that had the Baroque works symbol on it. Luffy clung to the rail similar to a monkey and gazed out at the ships. "Look at all those ships! When did they...?" He stopped his sentence and just stared in wonder.

Usopp cried, "Oi! They all have the Baroque works mark on them!" I stared at them, eyes darting over the wide blue waters, trying to count the numerous ships.

"There's so many," I commented.

"The employees have started to gather. They're probably the billions. The subordinates of the Officer Agents," Vivi explained. I nodded slowly.

"So there's literally billions of them?" I asked, turning slightly to the girl. She glanced at me before frowning with worry out at the sea.

"Yes. But there looks to be about 200 here."

"200 of them will be tough," Nami commented.

Vivi nodded in agreement. "Moreover, these 200 are Baroque work's elite. They are on a different level from the bounty hunters at Whiskey peak." My ears twitched. Whiskey peak? Bounty hunters? I wonder what happened... A cranking sound reached our ears and we turned to see Usopp aiming a cannon at the ships. "Okay, let's open fire while we still have the chance," he said confidently. He stood straight before snapping to us and yelling, "LET'S FINISH 'EM OFF QUICK!" Luffy shook his hands in objection.

"No! It's faster to just go over there and kick their asses!" A rumbling sound emanated from his stomach. "No wait, I need to eat first." I giggled and rolled my eyes.

Zoro crossed his arms and humphed disapprovingly. "Idiots, don't worry about them They're small fry."

Sanji then continued, "Exactly. If we lose sight of our true objective that's it." He exhaled calmly as he sat on the rail. "Besides, there's only nine of us here."

He was right. We wouldn't stand a chance.

Zoro looked thoughtful for a moment and I turned my amber gaze to him. He was staring at the deck in concentration. I blinked at him and watched as a smirk spread across his face. He looked up and spoke to us. "I have the perfect plan for telling each other apart."

The sound of straining fabric could be heard as everyone tied white strips of fabric over a spot on our arms where we had drawn 'X's. "Alright, make sure you tie it tight. There's too much we don't know about our enemy," Zoro directed, pulling his fabric tight with his teeth. Luffy looked at the fabric in his hands then at Karoo. The duck had somehow managed to wrap himself in it, tying his wings in awkward positions. Luffy burst out laughing at the sight, and I giggled with him. "What a stupid bird!" Luffy laughed. I looked down at my left arm and quickly tied the fabric with my mouth. I only looked up when a faint voice carried to me. "Shiroi..." I looked up at Luffy to see he had done the exact same thing as Karoo. "You idiot! You did the same thing!" I cried, laughing slightly. He looked at me pitifully so I helped him out. I unraveled him – with difficulty – and then tied the fabric over his 'X'. I heard the others talking as I worked. "I see."

"If we use these to confirm our identities, we won't have to doubt our nakama." Sanji muttered between clenched teeth, "Did he really look like you that much? When he did the 'Mane Mane fruit' transforming thing?"

Usopp answered flustered, "The problem was that he didn't just look like us, he was us! Too bad, you really should have seen it. We were dancing with the guy."

Sanji growled out, "I'm not interested in male ballerinas." He sounded disgusted. I finished tying Luffy's fabric as Zoro continued talking.

"Since we know that that guy is among the enemy, we can't go around acting carelessly on our own."

"There you go Luffy, it nice and secure." Luffy looked down at it before beaming up at me.

"Thanks!" I smiled.

"It's no problem."

Chopper tottered over to Usopp and asked innocently, "Hey, what should I do?"

Usopp grinned at his reindeer friends and said, "Right! Do what you can There's no need to do more than that. It's okay to run away from enemies you can't defeat!" I sweat dropped and giggled.

"Usopp, that sounds like something you'd say to yourself." Usopp leapt up.

Spluttering he replied, "W-what! I'm the brave captain Usopp!"

"No, Luffy's the captain."

Ignoring our antics, Chopper said to himself, "Do what I can... Got it!"

Luffy's excited voice rang through the air, "I can see the island!" I turned around and sure enough, rising in the distance were the sandy dunes of Arabasta. I could feel the heat radiate off it. The ship sailed on towards it. A sudden feeling of excitement welled up inside me. "We're going to stop at a port called Nanohana. We have to hide the ship," Vivi explained.

A giggle slipped past my lips. "I wonder what it's like!" I said to myself.

"Yosh! Whatever happens from now on..." Luffy turned back to the rest of us, holding out his left arm. "This left arm is the mark of a nakama!" Everyone gathered around and we all stuck our left arms in, each arm (or wing) had an identical white fabric tied around it. My tail began to wag as I looked towards the approaching Arabasta. "Now, let's get on dry land!" Luffy yelled. "TO EAT!" Then, as an afterthought, he added, "Oh... and Arabasta." Every one sighed.

"Sort out your priorities."

I looked down at the bandage on my arm then up at Arabasta. What was going to happen? I was excited, and my furiously wagging tail was evidence. This was my first adventure with the straw hats, and I couldn't wait to show them what I was fully capable of. Perhaps I'd also get to know them all a lot better. I grinned and bit my lip with anticipation. Behind me I could hear Nami faintly scolding Luffy. It would be only a few minutes before we reached the island and our adventure began.