Ch. 11- Trouble
One Piece © Oda
Blizzard © Me
Later that day, Blizzard was on his way back to the mayoral house. For some reason, he felt a tad more confident than he was earlier, even with the townsfolk's discriminating stares. Maybe it was because Luffy had scared Rio off for him…?
Whatever the reason, Blizzard was just a little glad to be headed home.
Or so he thought.
Suddenly, Blizzard felt something tackle him by his side and pin him to the ground. Looking up, he saw that it was Rio, pressing his paw into his throat. The Doberman snarled and growled as he sank his fangs into the wolf-dog's neck and then threw him, headfirst against a wall, biting and clawing him all over.
The rest remained unseen, but people could hear the sound of Blizzard's howls of pain and helplessness…but none of them went to help.
XXX
Blizzard's eyes opened upon hearing garbled speech. Shaking his head, he hissed slightly when he felt pain in his left paw. The wolf-dog then saw that he had what looked like a wire noose around his neck.
He gasped before he looked up and saw that there were two men in uniforms, one of which had a catchpole. It didn't take long for him to realize what was going on.
These men were taking him to the local dog pound!
No! Blizzard yelled in thought as he struggled to get away from the two men who were about to throw him into the wagon. I can't go to the pound! Not me! No! NO!
His inner pleas fell on deaf ears, for the dog catchers threw him into the back of the wagon, closing the steel gate behind him and locking it.
"It's about time we caught this wily wolf," said one dog catcher as he boarded the wagon with his partner.
"Yeah," said the other. "No one's gonna ever want him when he gets to the pound, though."
"So what? He's gonna put down, tonight, anyway! He's better off dead to this town!"
"You're right. Hey, what do you say we get drinks later? My treat."
"Sure."
Nearby, hiding in the shadows of a building, Chopper, who had been sent to look for Blizzard when he didn't come back, looked on, slack-jawed and bug-eyed at what he had just witnessed as the wagon was pulled away by a Clydesdale stallion. However, he realized that now was not the time to be fear-stricken.
Blizzard was in danger, and he needed to help get him out.
"I have to get Luffy," Chopper muttered to himself before he shifted into Walk Point form and galloped back to the mayoral house.
XXX
Chopper arrived at the mayoral house about an hour later and ran inside, trying to find his captain.
He searched in the guest rooms.
No Luffy.
He searched in the master bedroom.
No Luffy.
He searched in the bathrooms, the patio, even the kitchen and dining hall.
No Luffy!
"If you're looking for Luffy," Zoro called, "he's in the drawing room."
Chopper ran to the drawing room, and saw, to his disbelief, that Luffy was lying on the sofa, snoring away. His mouth was covered in the filling for the apple pie from last night, and he had a hand on his stomach. His eyes were concealed by his hat.
"Luffy!" Chopper called as he ran to him and began to shake him awake. "Luffy, wake up! Wake up, wake up, WAKE UP!"
Luffy stirred slightly and sat up, eyes hooded sleepily.
"Raw ham melon," he mumbled before he fell back against the sofa and began to snore again.
"Luffy!" Chopper yelled. "This is no time for a nap! You have to wake up! It's URGENT!"
Luffy still snored, smacking his lips.
Chopper sighed, exasperated, before he shifted into Heavy Point and curled up a fist to his side.
"I hate to do this," he said, "but…Luffy, WAKE UP!"
WHAM! Chopper punched Luffy square in the head, causing him to sit up, screaming.
"DON'T HIT ME, GRANDPA!" he yelled.
"No, Luffy," Chopper reassured, shifting back into his hybrid form. "It's me!"
"Oh," Luffy said before he heaved a sigh of relief. "Wait a minute. Why the hell did you hit me?"
"It's an emergency!" exclaimed Chopper. "Blizzard's in trouble!"
Luffy's eyes widened and his lips parted slightly.
