Ch.14: Reckless

I had a really weird dream while I slept…the waters around me seemed different…the story they told was too sad and violent to be the sea I'd been sailing in recently...

But I knew those waves, I was in the Grand-line. This was where I learned to listen to the waves. They told me stories of Gol D. Roger and his crew, they told me stories of a crew known as the White-beard pirates, apparently, the waves in Grand-line believed that they had the best chance at pirate king.

In my dream, I stood on top of the water, and as I walked, the water behind me became tainted with a thick red liquid. I don't know where I was walking to, but I seemed determined to get there.

As I walked, I began to think strange things. Things like joining Luffy's crew, asking him to help me find Ace, or my uncle…

I stopped walking suddenly and when I looked down at the water below me, I screamed. It was a long blood curdling scream. In the water in front of me, bodiless heads floated. Some were only skulls while others still showed the terrified expressions from when they were killed.

I realized something round had appeared in my hands, and I screamed again and dropped the item. It was another head.

But this one had a straw-hat. The head bobbed in the water and it seemed to turn and look into my wide eyes with its dull lifeless ones. The head smiled, but it seemed disappointed at the person who killed it. As though he had expected the murderer to be better than this.

It felt like something was stabbing my heart suddenly, and after I blinked, I found Zoro in front of me, and a katana shoved all the way up to the handle into my chest.

"How could you!?" he shouted at me. I flinched at the sudden noise. Up until now, there had been no noise other than my screams and fast breathing.

"We trusted you! And this is what we get!? I thought you were a good person!" He growled. Somehow, his words hurt more than the sword in my chest.

"YOU KILLED OUR CAPTAIN!" I stared at him in shock, but I was suddenly thrown back to the scene in the middle of the ocean.

Another head was in my hands. This one had moss-green hair. I felt a weight on my waist and I looked down to see Zoro's three katanas. I dropped his head into the water next. Luffy's head was floating farther away, and the only way I could recognize him was the disappointed smile on his face.

His hat was missing, and I immediately felt its weight on my head. My hand shakily came to rest on it.

And then the scene changed again. I stood on the shore of an island in the Grand-line that I had only visited once. In front of me was a cannon. Smoke drifted up from the weapon.

I watched as the black dot, the cannon ball fell through the sky, but I screamed out when the ball smashed through a small ship. It sank almost immediately. There was only one reason why I cried out, and that was because of the flag the boat flew.

It was black like any pirate flag, but there was a bright red spade symbol. On the spade, a jolly roger with two smiley faces on its hat. Under the spade the word SPDE was printed boldly underneath.

I threw up.

I had just killed the only captain I had ever wanted.

I had just killed Fire Fist Ace.

I was back in the ocean, and I dropped the head. He had the same expression as Luffy did. I was startled to see how similar they looked. They were both disappointed in me.

Ace was my captain, but Zoro had said Luffy was my captain. I had killed my captains. This thought erased the possibility of me joining Luffy. The idea that I could actually do something like this chilled me to the bone.

"Little Kitten all alone, you've killed all your friends, sliced 'em right on through the bone." I heard a voice sing. It was chilling and utterly terrifying.

It felt as though I was warped to the real world when I woke up. I sat up quickly and took in as many breaths as I could. They were all shallow and fast. I couldn't get enough air, and it felt as if every breath just got sucked out before it reached my lungs.

I was covered in sweat, and if I could cry, I would have, but I'm pretty sure I've forgotten.

I panicked tough when I didn't recognize where I was. I calmed down and looked around.

I was in a house, and I realized I was on the floor next to the bed Zoro was sleeping on. I looked up at him, and realized just how peaceful he was when he was asleep. Every time I saw him, he always was hurt or starving, but now that he was asleep and his wound had stopped bleeding, he sort of looked like a little kid…not like the man who had just ran me through with his treasured weapons.

I realized that I had turned human while I was asleep. It was something that happened when I was really weak, so I knew I should probably morph back and go to sleep, but something was bothering me…other than my nightmare.

I realized it was the fact that someone had tied my ribbon around my wrist, or paw, since I was a lioness when they probably did it. I fumbled with the knot. I started to wonder how Mohji had gotten it, since I never noticed it coming off, and I would have felt someone taking it off, even if I was unconscious, since I have a slight problem with being touched. Years of beating will do that to you.

I suddenly flashed back to when Richie had me pinned down and had his teeth at my throat. That must have been the ripping sound I heard. After the fight, Mohji must have found it on the ground and taken it. No pirate can resist a free gold coin.

I smiled lightly as I tied it back around my neck, sure it was slightly tighter than before, but it didn't choke me.

I looked down at my body. My new/stolen clothes were stained in dark red splotches over my wounds. I hurt unbelievable, but it was better than earlier. My stomach rumbled hungrily, but I ignored it and stretched out my limbs.

I think a couple ribs were busted, and my left ankle was sprained, but other than that, nothing was broken. I was probably more black and blue than skin coloured, but I didn't mind. I was very tolerating of pain and it helped that my body healed amazingly fast. I would be good and new by the end of the week, so I didn't really care that much.

As I stood up, I refrained from taking any deep breaths and made my way to the kitchen of the house since my stomach was starting an endless speech on organ abuse.

I was delighted to see that there was still some good food in the fridge and that some of it was meat, since that's all I mainly rely on. Once I was done, I morphed into a lion again.

I felt blood trickle down my side, so I took a moment to lick it away. I blinked when I noticed that there was a darker patch of fur on my left side. After pulling my head back a little, I realized it was just the jolly-roger marking that was on all my forms. It was on my calico form, a bright orange on black and white. It was far less noticeable on my cheetah form since it was only one of hundreds of normal black spots, but I found it was a lighter black than the others.

It was even on my human form! You remember the birthmark on my left cheek? Bingo. I was born to be a pirate and that marking was my proof.

I could hear Luffy, Boodle and Nami talking rather loudly down the street, and I walked-well…more like limped-casually towards the door when I stopped suddenly.

Something horrible was going to happen. I could hear it in the wind, and the waves sounded different…

My mind flashed to my dream but I pushed it out of my mind.

Without a second thought, I ran into Zoro's room and jumped on top of him, just as a thunder-like boom rang through the air. The house seemed to suddenly explode, and I couldn't even see my nose through the dust that filled the air around us.

"AHHHH! Zoro and the talking lion were sleeping in there!" I heard Luffy shout in alarm.

"Hey Zoro! Are you and the talking lion still alive?" I was really hoping that wasn't going to be the only thing he remembered me for…it was only three words for god's sake!

The dust around us started to clear and I jumped off the swordsman.

"Yeah…" Zoro said. I looked at him in concern as he held his head, but I didn't smell any fresh blood, so I hoped he was alright. "That was some bad way to wake me up…"

"WHAT A RELIEF! YOU'RE ALIVE!"

I rolled my eyes at the pirate's stupidity. 'No Luffy, we're dead, that's why Zoro can talk to you.' But really, I was glad that he cared. I mentally slapped myself though because I was trying not to feel anything for them, because I can't get attached to the two morons. It would hurt too much when they died. Not if, when.

"And just how did you two survive?" Nami asked in a shaky voice.

"Cat." Zoro said and pointed his thumb at me. I puffed up my chest and my trademark Cheshire grin appeared on my face.

Boodle suddenly clutched his chest and for a second I thought he was having a heart attack.

"It feels as though me chest is being scraped out! Do you think I'll allow pirates to trample all over us again!? For a 'horse skeleton-like guy' who suddenly pops out…he has absolutely no right to trample over our forty-years! I am the chief! I won't leave and let this village be treated this way!"

I have no idea what he meant be 'horse skeleton-like', and I'm guessing it was a saying back in his day…

"ALRIGHT! I'm going to FIGHT!" Boodle shouted and I shook my head in disbelief. As he was shouting, I could smell salt, and I knew what it was right away.

Nami tried to stop him "Those people are DANGEROUS! So what's the point in going?! This is too reckless!"

I stopped the chuckle that formed in my throat. I've practically been around the world, and I know when someone else knows something, so this old man, he definitely knew what he was doing. The man was old, his bones were probably frail, but he's lived long enough to know when something was dangerous, so he didn't need some clueless girl like Nami to tell him.

"I KNOW IT'S RECKLESS!" he shouted, and the scent I had smelt earlier was exactly what I thought it was.

Tears.

I sometimes wondered what it would be like to cry, since I could barely remember the feeling.

Zoro, Luffy and I looked at him with calm, grave features while Nami seemed both shocked and panicked.

She let the old man go. I was quite surprised that someone over forty could move that fast…

"JUST YOU WAIT! BUGGY THE CLOWN!" the old man shouted as some sort of a war cry, and then he was gone.

"The chief…was crying!?"

"Oh really? I didn't see anything." Luffy said with a mischievous smile.

"For some reason this is starting to feel more fun…" Zoro said. I nodded quickly and let out a rumbling purr while Luffy laughed.

"I agree." He said with a great big grin.

"HOW CAN YOU STILL LAUGH!?" Nami asked Luffy loudly before turning to me, "AND I THOUGHT YOU WERE SMARTER THAN THAT! AREN'T YOU WORRIED ABOUT THE CHIEF!?"

I only shook my head. I wasn't worried at all' we'd come and save him before he got himself killed.

"Don't worry! I like that old man. I'm not going to let him die!" Luffy told her, "Even the talking lion likes him!"

"Why do you call her a talking lion anyways?" Nami asked. Luffy looked at me. I didn't say anything, but I scratched 'I was trained to say certain words.'

"Come on! Say something!" Luffy whined. I rolled my eyes but altered my lion vocal cords to human vocal cords.

"Hello, small humans." I grinned. It wasn't a nice grin though; I acted as though I was far better than them all.

"Whoa…." Nami looked at me in shock. Zoro only chuckled, while Luffy clapped happily.

"Heh heh. Okay, let's go help the old guy." He was suddenly more serious, but still not really serious. I doubted that happened often.

"HOW CAN YOU STILL LAUGH IN THIS KIND OF SITUATION!? Where the hell does your confidence come from?!" Nami was still freaking out about that? Geez lady, he's an idiot, of course he's confident.

"Our destination is the 'Grand-line'." That would have been enough of an explanation for me. It explained that he was as much of an idiot as I thought he was.

"Now, we're going to steel that map again!" Luffy said with a determined grin. Something told me this guy always smiled…unless he was pissed off.

"Will you join us?" He asked his (forced) future navigator. I could tell she was stuck with them. Sucker. "You need that map too, don't you? And the treasure…"

He had her sold.

"I'm not going to become a pirate." She whispered. "Rather than 'partners', let's just say we're 'cooperating'…helping each other achieve our goals!"

Yep, she had just signed a deal with the devil. What a fool.

Nami and Luffy started walking away towards the bar. Zoro and I looked at each other and made a silent agreement. We both got to our feet quickly and caught up with Nami and Luffy.

"You're going too? What about your stomach injury!?" Nami asked Zoro, "And what about you? You got smashed into two building and ended up all beaten up!" She asked me loudly.

I looked at her like she was crazy; like I didn't know what she was talking about. I purposely put wait on my twisted leg and acted like I felt no pain.

"We're all healed up." Zoro said, I was glad he had spoken for me.

"YEAH RIGHT!"

Zoro pulled out his black bandana and tightened it around his head, "More important than the injury done to my body, is the injury my name suffers because all I did in my last fight was getting hurt. Should we go?"

I nodded grimly. "Yeah, let's go!" Luffy cracked his knuckles. Zoro checked on his treasured weapons. I shivered at the memory from my dream when one of those very blades had ended me.

Nami faced palmed, "I'm dumbfounded. Why are they like this?" she asked me.

The only thing I said was "Pitifully, lonely human." before I walked up ahead next to Zoro. I didn't walk right next to him though. My dream had left me shaken, and right now, I didn't really trust the man.

But it was just a dream. It was only a dream caused by my over-active brain, and my already low trust of other people. In my dream, Zoro was probably the one to kill me because he hadn't done anything to show that he was a threat, so I subconsciously thought it was just an act and he was planning to kill me.

It was just a dream.

It could never really happen.

Right?