Menace
Notes: This fic was written for the OP Halloween Zine. Shout out to Mizar for the awesome art that starred with it!
"...Are we sure that's him?" came a mutter among the shocked faces clustered in Tashigi's office. Anxious booted feet shuffled back and forth. She tapped her lip looking down at the…problem.
"Captain-chan said it is!" said another soldier. The issue at hand flicked its tail in irritation.
"I mean it is white and does have a scar like Smo-yan…"
"It is the Vice Admiral," Tashigi huffed. Her men went quiet, which was good, because the very fluffy white cat currently sitting on her lap had lowered his ears and made a small growling sound. Which was definitely cute, but not something Tashigi would ever say to her superior.
"So…how do we turn Smo-yan back?" Tashigi looked up at the man speaking, his bucket hat shining under the ceiling light.
"Well… u-um, let's review what we know so far and with any luck, we'll find the answer!"
1 Week Prior
The town of Pescado was small, but the waters around it were one of the richest in the world, supplying fish to millions. So, as the G-5 pulled into port, Tashigi was determined to put her all into solving the issue they had been assigned.
For the past three months, all the fish the islanders caught had disappeared, and the problem had become so dire that they reached out to the Navy for help. She followed Vice Admiral Smoker down the gangplank, the Mayor wringing his hands.
"Take us to the latest crime scene," Smoker growled.
The crime scene in question was a large warehouse not too far from the port. Tashigi pinched her nose, breathing through her mouth. The smell of fish was practically embedded in the walls. The Mayor stood outside while she followed Smoker in, his cigar smoke trailing behind him.
It was dark inside, the building old, the lights flickery. Big tubs and crates sat in rows, tables for gutting fish and permanently stained buckets sitting empty. "Bit of a dump, huh?" Smoker murmured. Tashigi was certainly reconsidering where she got her fish from.
"You take that side, I'll take this one, yell if you see anything weird," Smoker rumbled, growl echoing off the concrete walls. Tashigi nodded and they parted ways. Her end of the warehouse was lined with conveyor belts and carts. At the back were row after row of freezers, water leaking towards drains in the floor.
She walked the aisles, peaking into the carts, looking under tables for…well anything. What would be stealing fish and leaving no trace behind? No pirate crews in the area, no witnesses, the fish all going missing over the course of a single night? Tashigi pursed her lips as she crouched down in front of one of the leaking freezers, eying the drips splashing onto the floor.
She reached for the handle and pulled the freezer open. It was still on, the blast of cold air over her face making her shiver. Even the frozen fish had been taken! Although… she walked inside, eyeing something poking out from under a thick pile of ice. A single small fish!
Not that that really help-
A noise from behind made her turn quickly, but her feet slipped in the water on the floor, the fish in her hand going flying! Her mouth dropped as a huge, dark shape snatched the fish out of the air, bounced off a wall and scampered away!
Like lightning, Tashigi was on her feet, racing after the culprit! That was evidence, and also, what the heck was that thing?! It knocked carts, crates and even a machete in her way as she chased it to the other side of the building!
This side of the warehouse had a few offices and boxes upon boxes stacked high for storage. She rounded the corner of an aisle, hot on the heels of the creature as a door opened before her! "Look out!" she cried as the shape crashed into her superior officer. A furious yowl filled the air as Smoker wrestled with the beast for a moment before it leapt off and fled out a window.
"God damn-" Smoker snarled, wiping at his face.
"Are you alright sir?!"
He glared at her, a small scratch on his cheek. "I told you to look for clues, not antagonize stray cats Tashigi!"
Oh. A cat.
Present
"...A cat," Tashigi mumbled, staring down at her lap. Cat-Smoker (SmoCat?) continued to rumble, glaring and occasionally swiping at the hands of any of their men stupid brave enough to try to pet him. Something was clicking in her head. A piece of the puzzle.
Two Days Prior
"And that's everyone in town. Every man, woman and child. Not one saw anything the night of the robbery, and most everyone seemed to be asleep. Only the man Dervish and ten year old Steven claim to have been awake." Tashigi rattled off to Smoker, watching him stack rocks on his desk.
"And what'd they say?"
"Uh, well Dervish wasn't very friendly but he said he doesn't go out at night because his dog gets in fights with the local stray cats, and um, Steven said that…" Tashigi trailed off as Smoker crooked an eyebrow at her. "He said that everybody was cats and that they stole all the fish. His mother says he has a terrible allergy to felines and that he's afraid of them." The corner of Smoker's mouth twitched.
"So we're at a dead end still," he grunted, before leaning back in his chair. "A dead end, and 2 days before the full moon, when they strike again."
Present
"A full moon…" Tashigi stared out the window, the celestial body still high in the sky. They were supposed to be on a stakeout right now. She and the Vice Admiral had been here, in her office, finalizing preparations when he'd gone strangely still, then, in a poof of fur and noise– he was quite suddenly the fluffy cat that was curled on her lap!
A full moon, cats, fish being stolen and…the pieces clicked.
Tashigi gathered SmoCat in her arms (his meows of despair far too cute) and began issuing orders to her men.
The trap they had set was in the middle of the town plaza. A large stockpile of fish was set out, the smell of them making her want to gag. SmoCat was wiggling furiously inside the bag she'd placed him in. Luckily he hadn't figured out how to use his devil fruit powers or they'd all be in real trouble.
Her men were stationed in the dark shadows of buildings, waiting for her orders. Time ticked slowly by, the clocktower in the middle of the square finally striking midnight. As the last gongs drifted away, a rustling sound reached Tashigi's ears. Shigure sat secured to her side, but strapped across her back was the linchpin. If Tashigi's hunch was correct…
Out of the darkness, small furry shapes began coming from every direction! Tails high, eyes gleaming, little paws quick and nimble. Cats. Hundreds of them! They swarmed into the plaza, going straight for the fish!
But Tashigi was waiting, searching. Looking for a familiar beast. Larger than the others, acting… different. A yowl filled the air, SmoCat going still in the bag, all the other cats freezing in place before lining up to make a path straight to the fish.
There was her target. Large, fluffy, and regal. The same beast from the warehouse! It had to be. It walked towards the fish pile like a king through his subjects. Any moment now…
Tashigi signaled her soldiers as the beast picked up a fish. In a flash, her men rushed into the plaza, causing chaos. The cats screeched and scattered. Now was her chance!
Quickly, Tashigi leapt off the clock tower roof, hand gripping Smoker's jitte as she pulled it from her back! She wasn't very good with this, so this was her only shot! Her target, a large fish in its mouth, was looking for the best direction to flee, but they had it surrounded just like she planned.
And it certainly wasn't expecting a human to drop from above.
Her feet hit the cobblestone, the seastone pinning the beast to the ground. Everything went silent, the cats froze. Then–
POOF!
Gone were the cats, replaced with bewildered townsfolk. Smoke streamed out of the bag over her shoulder, reforming as a human next to her. Tashigi smiled brightly. Her hunch had been right!
The Next Day
"Smoker-san! We're ready to depart, I finished debriefing the–" Tashigi stopped mid sentence as a shape darted past her and into her superior's office. Smoker gave her a look as the shape jumped into his lap. "We should name him Sir," she giggled. He didn't look amused, but settled his hand on the cat in his lap, seastone collar glinting in the light.
"Hmph. Menace."
Notes:
I love shenanigans and writing Smoker as a fluffy white cat satisfied something within me.
Let me know your thoughts!
As always, thank you for reading and you can find me on twitter at buggyisbest!