I do not own One Piece.

Have a safe and spooktacular Halloween!

Prompt: Haunted
Length: 1468

What Goes Bump in the Night

There was a rumour circulating around the lower-ranked grunts of the Marines stationed at the Hollingthorn base. On the edge of the sprawling property was a large rectangular warehouse, in which various supplies and spare weapons were kept. The Marines who were of a higher class hardly ever ventured down the beaten dirt path that led down a slope and through a grove of trees. They always sent their subordinates to retrieve whatever was needed.

The grunts, from the Chore Boys to the Petty Officers, started noticing odd happenings in the warehouse. It started off small, such as boxes of food being spilt and crushed on the cement floor and items not being in their proper place. But then it gradually escalated, with supplies flying off the shelves with no discernable cause and screeching sounds that were definitely not human. They first believed it was a prank, but no one would admit responsibility.

After a month, a few Chief Petty Officers grew irritated with this charade and checked the security cameras. The footage revealed an unexpected sight—a white blur moving about, streaking amongst the shelves and creating the chaos that had been baffling them for weeks. They wasted no time in telling those below them of the phantom in the warehouse and the stories began to spread like wildfire.

On a dark Friday night, Tashigi sat in a red plush armchair, studiously reviewing the notes she had taken that day concerning her training. Smoker's office was empty for a moment, the man having gone to retrieve a cup of coffee from the break room.

She spent quite a bit of her downtime in her mentor's office. He only ever sent her away when someone needed to speak with him in private, but he always summoned her back in when he was finished. She had been doing this since her first days as a Marine and thought it was normal practice. Her peers, on the other hand, were utterly baffled. No one could be in the study of a Captain or higher-ranked Marine without them present. Smoker hadn't been an exception until the raven-haired girl was assigned to him. The grunts were wise not to comment on this in the man's presence, and Tashigi was a bit too oblivious to notice the difference in treatment.

The wooden door swung open and Smoker strode inside, his face creased with ire. "Some moron didn't restock the coffee beans. Go get some for me, will you?"

Tashigi felt her chest tighten with anxiety. The coffee beans were kept in the warehouse—the haunted warehouse. She normally didn't believe in such myths, but the fact that so many of her peers had witnessed the eerie happenings caused her some doubt.

Knowing that she could not defy such a simple order, she said, "Hai."

Before she went outside, she paused by her room to get her sword. She held it tightly between her hands as she walked down the path, goosebumps prickling across her flesh. The branches creaked in the wind, the shadows twisting and stretching.

There's no such thing as ghosts, there's no such thing as ghosts, she chanted silently as she reached the steel doors of the warehouse.

She punched her code into the security panel and the doors automatically unlocked. She flicked the switch and the overhead lights flared to life. Eased by the brightness that chased away the darkness, Tashigi walked between the towering metal shelves towards where the coffee beans were kept. Picking up an empty bucket that rested beside the barrel, Tashigi filled it to the brim with the small brown beans.

"Rrrreeaaahhhh!"

The soup cans stacked above her head exploded off the shelf, clattering to the floor with ugly clanging noises. Tashigi let out a startled shout and hastily backed up, snapping her gaze upwards. A hulking white creature loomed over her, yellow eyes glinting. She blinked and it vanished, and that was enough to send her flying out of the warehouse with a scream of panic.

…

Smoker stared at his partner, who was terror-faced and trembling, babbling nonsense about a ghost she had seen in the warehouse. He didn't know what he did in life to deserve a hopeless, foolish subordinate, because as far as he knew none of his colleagues had to deal with crap like this.

Heaving out a breath of thick white smoke, he rose from his leather chair with a few impatient puffs of his two cigars. He reached out and grabbed the bucket out of her death grip. This forceful action was enough to halt her frantic speaking.

"At least you brought these with you," he said flatly, setting the container onto his desk. "I'm amazed you didn't let the ghost steal it."

Pale cheeks gaining colour as she blushed, Tashigi insisted, "I did see a ghost, Captain Smoker! Many of us have seen it!"

"There's no such thing as phantoms, Tashigi," said Smoker in annoyance. "You need to stop being so gullible. Someone probably started a story to rile grunts up and you're falling for it."

"It has yellow eyes! It tried to kill me with soup cans!"

"Too bad it missed." When Tashigi's face fell, Smoker rolled his eyes. "There's a logical explanation, Tashigi. There's a logical explanation for everything. If you let your fear control you, you're setting yourself up for disaster."

Biting down on her bottom lip, she suddenly felt embarrassed and ashamed of her behaviour. What kind of Marine would she be if she fled at the slightest thing that frightened her? "Hai. I apologize for my conduct, Captain Smoker."

"Ah." Smoker swept out from around his desk and towards the door. "Let's find this 'ghost' of yours."

Tashigi quickly fell into step beside him as they exited the office. They made the trek to the warehouse and the girl took a calming breath whenever her heart started to beat a little faster in fear. Smoker entered his code and they stepped inside the building, which was still brightly lit since Tashigi had rushed out without turning off the lights.

They walked slowly down the aisles, picking their way over fallen provisions. A bag of rice had been ripped open and Smoker knelt down to inspect it. He studied the jagged tear, brow furrowed slightly. "Well, there's definitely something in here. Something a lot more tangible than a ghost."

"Rrrreeaaahhhh!"

The snarling hiss sounded from two aisles away, the same noise that had occurred when the soup cans went flying off the shelf. Tashigi cried, "That's it!" and rushed towards it. When she reached the aisle, she could see items careening to the floor as something ran down the length of the shelves. Removing her sword, she slammed the hilt against the metal structure, causing it to vibrate violently.

With a shriek the white, yellow-eyed creature fell to the ground. It lay dazed as Smoker caught up to his partner. While it was stunned, the man sauntered over and grabbed it by the scruff of its neck. Without a word, he extended it at arm's length and started for the door. Tashigi scampered after him, puzzled and apprehensive.

They entered the dark night and Smoker dropped the creature ungracefully to the ground. "Get the hose."

Startled for a moment, the raven-haired girl obeyed. She unfurled the green hose attached to the water tank adjoining to the warehouse. She cranked the tap and water gushed out of the nozzle. She aimed it at the thing they had caught and let out a soft gasp as the white started to bleed to the grass in clumps.

The cold liquid surprising the animal to its senses, it let out a snarl of displeasure before scampering off into the trees, a little bit of flour still sticking to its fur. Crossing his arms over his chest, Smoker sent a glance at Tashigi, who stared dumbly after the wildlife, the hose hanging limply from her hands.

"First time I've ever seen a ghost take the shape of a raccoon."

"I don't think I've ever felt so embarrassed."

"You'll probably outdo yourself eventually." Jerking his chin towards the warehouse, Smoker ordered, "Clean up the mess. You've got two hours. And keep the door closed. We don't need any more possessed animals getting in."

Cringing slightly, Tashigi turned off the water before shuffling inside the building to complete her task. They both knew he would not let her forget this for a while, and she resigned herself to bearing his quips. She supposed she deserved it for acting foolishly. She knew there was no such thing as ghosts.

Even though she knew better now, she was still relieved and grateful when she stepped out of the warehouse two hours later to find Smoker waiting to escort her through the pitch-black night.