Chapter Thirty-Nine: Stowaway as I go Away~!

After gobling down the steak, the part of me I was afraid of settled down and I relaxed, letting my grin slip on my face as I hunted down a stream to clean off my face and hands. As soon as I was slight presentable, I ran to town where Dez and Tiger were packing.

Tiger decided that he couldn't stand being a civilian, so he was going to try and join the Strawhats...I was almost positive Luffy would want a 'tiger-guy!' on his crew...

I morphed into a cat and padded into the inn, walking past the old lady who ran the place. Se looked up, but shrugged and went back to her crossword

I felt a lot better, and I was thankful that it didn't take long for my body to start setting itself back in order, even speeding up the process of making blood.

I turned into my human form to open my door and walked to where I had my bag under the bed. After I quickly wrapped my side up in bandages, I changed into a black t-shirt and jean shorts.

I slung my bag over my shoulder and walked to Dez's room. After a quick knock, Dez opened the door and looked at me sadly. I wanted to change that. Dez had lost his boat, which was his home. He had no way of going anywhere without it and Dez was a man of the sea, he hated land.

"Chesh, I take it you're leavin' soon?" He didn't bother hiding his sadness.

I let out a sigh and a bit of a laugh, "You can leave before me."

"Chesh, I ain't got a boat-"

"Of course you do." I said, looking at him blankly, "You have my boat."

"But, how're you gon-"

"Seriously, old man? Are you getting forgetful? I'm the Cheshire Cat, known for boarding boats and only being found out after I leave. And something tells me there will be a perfectly good ship leaving soon..." My grin was in place.

Dez shook his head, "You're going to need it..."

"Fine, leave it at Sabaody. If I don't find Captain in the first half, I'll see if I can get it coated and go to the next half." I said. To me it made perfect sense, "And if not, I'll leave it there and hitch a ride on some idiot's ship."

"Alright, you win, but be carful for now, you're gonna kill yourself before you reach Grand-line." Dez said in a soft but stern tone. I smiled and nodded before spun on my heel.

"Seeya later gramps!" And then I ran into my room before he could murder me.

I slunk in the shadows of Merry's ship, a calico cat again, as I watched Luffy and his crew. He, Nami and Zoro stood and looked at the ship, the Going Merry in awe. "Wow!" "A caravel!" "Hey..."

I hopped onto the deck while they were distracted and swiftly moved across the deck and down into the heart of the boat. I found an empty crate deep inside and sat on it.

Somewhere outside, I heard an odd noise, a sort of... "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Or something like that. It kinda reminded me of that annoying, lying wimp...what's-his-face. I smirked, knowing sing scene. I opened the crate and put my stuff inside before turning into a calico cat before slipping back out and slipping into a coil of ropes. I knew I couldn't stay here for long, but it would do for now.

"Well, safe voyage guys!" Usopp called to Luffy's crew, he stood on the beach with an enormously huge bag filled with all of his things, Hope to see you all again somewhere!"

"Why?" Luffy asked. He clearly had a plan...I rather approved of it though...They needed another dim light in the group.

"Huh? Why!? Sheesh, such a cold hearted guy. We're both going to be pirates now, so we might meet again on the seas!" Usopp tried to explain. I almost laughed. What a fool...

"What are you talking about? Hurry up and get aboard!" Zoro said gruffly pointing at the deck with his finger, like a person would when telling a bad dog to come.

"What?" Usopp asked, he still didn't get it. I almost made an exasperated noise. Man this guy didn't get it. Even I got it and I almost forgot who these people were!

"You're already our companion, aren't you?"

And then it finally dawned on the village idiot.

"I-I'M THE CAPTAIN RIGHT?!"

"NO WAY! I'M THE CAPTAIN" Moments later, Usopp was aboard the ship and I was waiting for my chance to slip back into my hiding spot. I was disappointed...Tiger hadn't come to say good-bye to any of them...

"HEY! WAIT!" I dared to pop my head up and out of the rope coil. On the shore a large tiger was racing down the slope towards the boat.

"TIGER DUDE! Did you come to say bye!?"

Tiger reached the edge of the shore, but didn't stop there. Instead, muscles in his legs clenched and I watched as he sailed through the air and landed on the deck.

He morphed into a human and stood, tall and proud. "Nope. I came to sail with you as a pirate."

I silently snickered at his answer, and I knew I was showing a Cheshire grin, even though no one was looking. There was no question in his voice as he leaned against the deck.

"GREAT! EVEN MORE NAKAMA!" Luffy shouted happily.

Zoro looked at Tiger, "What's your name anyways?"

Tiger smiled, almost grinned, "Leo."

I almost face-palmed. Seriously? His parents must have known he was gonna eat his fruit someday...although I felt slightly hurt that he didn't tell me his real name...until he says it to my face, I'm still going to call him Tiger.

After a few more moments, the order went out and the ship drifted away from the shore. Minutes of sailing later, I watched the crew share a mug of sake...was that what it was called? Oh well. I had no intentions of drinking at all, so it didn't mater to me.

I shrugged before dashing for the nearest entrance of the ship. My paws padded rapidly across the deck and I managed to get in, just as I saw Zoro stand up. As I padded down the hall and towards the room full of crates I heard Zoro speak.

"I won't tell the others." And then a door opened and a second later shut. I looked back to see that there was no one in the hall. I went into the room and quickly slid the lid off the lid of the crate with my paws before I climbed in and curled up inside my bag which was still full of gold and other valuables.

Sleep took over and I sighed, letting myself relax. I still needed to heal anyways...sleep would do me good...

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