Hey guys! Chapter's up early because I got a snow day (it's -22F over here, so no work!) so I figured it was cause for celebration. Plus this last chapter got 6 reviews and I'm excited about it! (I'm on a 6 per chapter streak lol) Thank you all for coming back week after week and reviewing. Means the world to me.

To answer some questions: 1. Sunny knows ember, but not reliably. Yep, his mom was a big part of his life. 2. Yep, fast arc, Cocoyashi arc is about 8k so that's nothing compared to the record-breaking 1.5k Baratie arc lol

This chapter is way long for me. There just wasn't a good way to cut it without making the next chapter weird so here we are. Also some weird things are happening with my chapter writing. I'm working on this chapter and chapter 9 at the same time while chapter 7 is done and chapter 8 hasn't been started. I'm either crazy or doing galaxy brain writing. Enjoy!

Things slowed down after Luffy's proclamation of Nami's freedom. The orange-haired girl stayed on the ground and the remaining fishmen dove into the East Blue. Ussop cautiously crept into the empty battlefield. Luffy made his way to Nami and spoke quietly to her. She covered her mouth and nodded and he helped her to her feet, reclaiming his hat with a grin while blood dripped from the bite wounds on his arms and shoulders.

The adrenaline was still running through me, almost enough that I was shaking. The last day had been fraught with uncertainty and fear but the Strawhats were here now. And somehow even with the chaos they wreaked, it made me feel, not safe, but placated.

The Strawhats stayed a few days, gathering supplies and recovering from both the fishman and fight and the fight they'd had with those pirates and their crew, who had shown up at the Baratie. They'd defeated them, Luffy had impressed Sanji enough he'd decided to come along, much to Sunny's surprise. But if anyone could, it would be the Strawhat's charismatic Captain.

After the fight, they'd all made their way to Nami's house, surrounded by a small orchard of mikan. This time, Nami didn't say anything about me leaving nor did she offer for me to come back for dinner. I was so disoriented by the recent events, I followed blindly, numbly behind the crew. Everyone was quiet, even Luffy, but his tired grin still gave off plenty of excitement and pride. Once we got to her house, Nojiko ushered us in with a shove. She looked harried and exhausted but thrilled, once she heard the news.

Everyone immediately slumped into chairs or couches. Nami slipped into another room and reappeared twenty minutes later, looking red eyed but determined.

Zoro was fast asleep on a chair, moving. Usopp had already treated him and Nami helped him as they went around treating injuries.

Nami approached me a while later after everyone's injuries had been tended to. I was laying quietly in the corner and turned my attention toward the red-headed girl as she approached. To my mild surprise, she sat next to me and gently scooped me up, careful of the soot-covered bruise on the side of my head. She looked thoughtful like she wanted to say something but she ultimately looked like she was at a loss. So Nami gently wiped away dirt with a handtowel and offered me a handful of seeds. They were strange looking and when I tried one, they were salty and crunchy and the perfect size. Nami gently pet my back over my firespots like she wasn't worried about them even though she'd seen them in action.

We all fell asleep that way, lulled by the dusky sky, sprawled about exhausted in the small living room. Part way through the night, I woke quickly to the twitches in Nami's arm.

I didn't move as she set me down, padded quietly toward her room. I listened to the loud snores of the other crewmembers and thought to myself, Nami might believe in them now, but it will be a while until she won't be sneaking off into the night.

Nami, above all the rest, is the most in touch with her pokemon side. Her instincts are strong so they will keep her alive even when she isn't strong. Like me, they served her well.

What were my instincts telling me? To find a group to be safe, to find the other cyndaquil and avoid the terrifying open sea. But there were no cyandaquil here and there never were, except for me.

But I had found a group, one that came with a heavy price of danger. Well, more than a group, a word stronger that I couldn't bring myself to use. Was it worth it to sneak onto their ship again?

My eyes dipped shut again, bidding me to worry about that later.

There was a saying among pokemon his mother had told him—'foresight is for humans and Abra' So I wouldn't worry about it for now.

The next morning, everyone was slow to rise. I was the first one awake as I felt the footfalls of the cook, Sanji, walking around. I cracked open an eye to see the blond pulling food and supplies from Nojiko and Nami's kitchen and making breakfast. I thought I'd close my eyes a little longer as quiet filled my head and woke up again when sunlight was streaming through the window and to a set table full of french toast and omelets and still-sizzling bacon. Everyone but Zoro made it to breakfast and after we were done, Luffy exclaimed he wanted to give me a tour with the vitality of someone half as bandaged as he was.

"Luffy, Sunny's been on the island longer than you have," Nami tried to explain. But Luffy wouldn't have it.

"Oi, Zoro, you wanna come too?" Luffy asked, putting on his sandals where Nami, him, Usopp, and myself were at the front door, preparing to head out a few minutes later.

"He's not gonna wake up. The idiot fought too hard," Sanji said, then directed his voice toward the swordsman. "Hey Zoro, want some sake?" Zoro didn't stir.

"Zorooo! Want me to bring you back something cool?" Luffy yelled.

"Sure, Captain," Zoro mumbled, cracking an eye open for a moment.

"Shithead!" Sanji yelled, throwing a dirty ladle at the injured man, who caught it and let it clatter to the floor before rolling over and going back to sleep.

"Shishishi!"

After a brief walk through the town, Nami had given up on any effort to get a proper tour to Luffy, who kept getting sidetracked or complaining and she and Usopp had gone off to the general store.

"Aw, they left. What should we do now?" Luffy looked down at me. I tilted my head helplessly. I didn't know any good spots either. In fact, the idea of being in a town without needing to worry about people trying to hurt me was a strange feeling. What had I always wanted to do that I never could? I didn't even know where to begin.

Then I remembered something Nami had said. I ran down the street, Luffy immediately following in a run a step behind me. I stopped at the base of the first coconut tree I saw and put my front legs up on it.

"Coconuts? Good idea!" Luffy's arm extended out to grab one twenty feet above us with ease and he bonked it against a rock so it split in half. He handed the smaller half down to me and he ate his half in three bites, shell and all.

"Hello? Can I have a moment of your time?" We both looked up. A man with a small mouth wearing white clothes approached. "Are you the ones who saved our town from those pirates and scared off those Marines?"

Luffy looked at him blankly for a moment. I slurped the coconut water.

"Yeah, that was my crew," Luffy said breaking into a grin.

"What do you call yourselves?"

"The Strawhat pirates, and I'm Monkey D. Luffy, I'm going to be—"

"Of course, do you mind if I get a picture of you? I'm a journalist…for the Cocoyashi Chronicle," the man said holding up his camera.

"—The King of the Pirates!" Luffy finished. The camera flashed.

The camera abruptly turned to me, startling me enough to look up from my gnawed coconut in time to hear a snap and a blinding flash of light that made me see floating blue shapes. The man thanked us and ran off.

"What a weird guy," Luffy laughed.

"Cyndaquil…" I had to agree. Strange things always seemed to happen around the pirates. But looking around the island I was suddenly all too aware of what Luffy and Nami had said.

"We won't eat you and we'll bring you to another island—that's a promise!"

"There's plenty of coconut trees and small animals to play with, and you could even visit my sister and I if you want, and try our grove's tangerines."

They intended to make me stay here.

The rest of the day passed more lazily as we headed back to the house for lunch and Luffy crashing back onto his cot for a needed nap. Nami disappeared again for most of the day and everyone got a mikan after Sanij's delicious beef stroganoff. I slept next to the fireplace that night and still no one had sent me off on the island on my own like they'd promised. The next morning, Luffy announced they'd leave after lunch and I waited for Zoro to point out I was still there, hanging around like a stubborn booger. No one did.

Finally, Luffy said it was time to go and Sanji packed up plenty of food and Nami bid farewell to a grateful if weathered village.

Still no word on me staying behind and eating charred coconuts for the rest of my life. Not even Nami was staying. The call of adventure of the high seas was too strong even for a careful girl like her. They began to load the Merry with supplies. I watched, not having any hands to lend to the process. There hadn't been any casualties as Nami had given herself up to protect the villagers and the Strawhats had shown up before the other pirates could 'teach them a lesson.' In short, even dozens of miles apart, it was as if the crew had worked in perfect sync with each other. I had the realization that they were powerful and there was no chance that I could sneak onboard again without anyone knowing. If they were going to leave me on this island, they would make sure I wasn't on the boat again before setting sail. Maybe the world didn't want a little fire type on the sea anyway.

Finally, the crew was standing on the small harbor, the Merry loaded for her voyage.

"Alright! I have an announcement!" Luffy cheered, an omnipresent grin on his face even larger. He laughed to himself as the crew and I turned our attention to him. "Shishishishi…Our crew has a swordsman and a liar and a cook and our navigator. But we still need a Leuitenant of Cabin-warming!" He announced proudly.

Sanji and Usopp gave him especially strange glances. Nami caught on even before I did.

"Sunny would be our…" Nami started confused.

"Our crewmate! Officially. He may look funny like a mutant and only be able to say one word, but he's definitely got what it takes to be on the future Pirate King's crew!"

I blinked. So Luffy wanted me on his crew? I knew he did before, but I thought the rest of the crew wouldn't take it seriously, really they hadn't, except for Nami, who had seemed like she wanted a pet. But a crewmate? I thought about the fight, how I'd been knocked out, how Nami had tried to protect me and Zoro had to step in to help me, the canyon between our strength had never been so plainly apparent. I wouldn't be a stowaway, passenger or pet, but a crewmate that was expected to contribute. My head spun at the thought.

"I'm the Sniper Captain, not the liar! And Lieutenant of Cabin Warming is horrible!" Usopp complained. "Sunny wants to be the Lieutenant of Fire!"

"What does that even mean?" Nami demanded.

Luffy thought for a moment. "Well, Sunny would be a second-in-command whenever we go somewhere cold or when food needs warming away from the ship or if my hands get cold."

"THAT'S TOO MUCH POWER!" Nami yelled, hitting Luffy in the head with her good arm. "He's still a baby animal, you know!"

"Idiot, I'm in charge of the food! If there's no fire, I'll MAKE it." Sanji added heatedly.

Zoro drew a long sigh, his captain had made his decision. "Well, they say taking care of an animal teaches responsibility."

Luffy sulked. "For now, Sunny'll be the Junior Lieutenant of Fire then. How does that sound?" he directed the second part to me, crouching down in front of me and extending a hand with a gentle smile. I instantly remembered him trying to pet me like this shortly after I'd first met him, but I'd been scared and dashed away. He didn't move his hand closer, just held it a little ways a way.

"You're ready for an adventure, aren't you, Sunny?"

A tingle of excitement ran down my spine to my toes. I was. These humans, humans, had become my sleuth. Sleuth—a word I hadn't used since my mother's death, a word we had called our family. A group of cyndaquil where called a whisker, and a family of cyndaquil evolutions were a sleuth. And if these strange humans were my sleuth now, they were the biggest family I'd had since the Big Displacement.

They—no, Luffy—could give me the strength I needed to find the person I'd been looking for. Just a week ago, it had seemed a distant but constant dream pushed aside by the need to survive and the sheer eminence of the task. But Luffy didn't care what was impossible, and I clung on to that.

"Cynnn!" I rumbled happily, pushing my head into Luffy's palm affectionately. He laughed and gave the top of my head a scratch as I nuzzled the calloused hand.

I woke up in the boy's cabin the morning of the second day on the water well-rested. I was feeling 100% again after the fight, maybe even better. I had slept on the quilt folded to be my size with high sides that Usopp made for me. Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp were still asleep, collectively snoring loud enough to make a slight vibration through the floor even on their hammocks. I imagined how much more quiet Nami's room would be and wondered why 80% of the crew was in the same room while she had one to herself with extra beds.

I shook myself off and stood, feeling my temperature rise in response to waking, burning away any drowsiness. I hopped up the ladder one rung at a time, brace myself on the top run and nose the wooden hatch open just enough that I can slip through. It's a process, certainly not one designed with Cyndaquil in mind, but I've learned how to manage.

On the deck, Nami was sitting in a beach chair looking over an old chart. The sun had barely risen but she had a steaming drink next to her, which meant Sanji had already come by. My stomach growled slightly. And if Sanji was awake…

Sanji was the biggest mystery of the crew to me. Floating and obsessive about Nami while serious and distant to others. Meanwhile, Nami looked at peace, as if lost in thought as she examined the map and Sunny remembered all the other maps from that tower flying through the air and Luffy's cry and Nami's face. Her tattoo had changed from the Arlong Pirates to a windmill and mikan.

She looked focused. Better not interrupt her now. Still, I was bored of being on the water and most everyone was asleep so I headed for the kitchen.

I made it to the kitchen door but stopped, stumped at the great wooden barrier before me. The only way in was a couple feet above my snout.

I sat up on my back legs and shoved against the door a few times before sitting back. A moment or two later, the door opened and I was greeted by an unnatural stretch of black pant leg. I squinted up at the blond cook, who looked down at me with faint surprise and curiosity. We hadn't really interacted with each other before, I realized. I waited a beat and when the cook didn't do or say anything, I padded between Sanji's feet and into the kitchen.

I heard a heavy sigh, followed by the door swinging shut as Sanji went back to the stovetop where he was cooking breakfast.

The whole room was warm and full of interesting scents for me to pick out, making me wonder why I didn't come out here every morning. Well, before it would have been Usopp trying strange recipes and catching things on fire (not that there was anything wrong with flambé) or Zoro would stumble in for his shift fifteen minutes before breakfast cursing before putting out a stack of jerky on hard tack for breakfast. The gentle aromas of fresh ingredients were certainly something new.

Sanji cracked a few eggs into a skillet. "I'm going to guess you're inviting yourself into the kitchen at six in the morning because you're hungry?" Sanji hazarded.

I sniffed in response, reaching up to the seat of one of the chairs, hopping up, and pulling myself onto it, sitting as I'd seen the rest of the crew as a response to his question. I'd learned actions spoke louder than words they couldn't understand. (Why couldn't humans understand pokemon? All pokemon could understand each other, even if we each had our own discreet dialect. We could even understand humans on top of that. And they still thought they were the brains of the operation!)

Sanji did seem to understand my action. "Alright, I'll let you have breakfast a little early, but only because you're a kid, whatever you are." He opened an ice bin and expertly filleted a small flank of salmon off and added it to the pan with butter and dill, scrambling it. "But don't make a habit of it."

He spoke somewhat uncertainly, looking back at me like he wasn't sure what to make of me and was worried I'd make a mess of his kitchen. But every time he looked over at me, I was sitting in a chair watching him patiently. I figured this was the way to get food though, and that hovering around his feet was a recipe to get stepped on instead, so I stuck with my guns and endured the wonderful smells as my stomach growled again quietly.

"Yeah, this is weird," Sanji told himself as he steeped tea and poured it into a teacup. After a moment's hesitation, he set it in front of me. I stared at it in confusion.

"Careful drinking that, it's hot." Sanji turned back around to serve the eggs and salmon over rice.

I hopped up on the table and I stared down at the steaming hot liquid for a second before burying my snout into it with a slurrrrrp!

Sanji spun around to see the large blue shrew stick his snout the near-boiling tea. The washcloth he'd been holding dropped out of his hands. Water burns were no joke—he'd seen plenty of prospective chefs get seriously injured by them. Why had he put it in front of a little animal—?

But the little creature didn't seem to notice as he finished his long slurp and sat back, sighing contentedly, a breath of steam streaming from his mouth in front of a now-empty teacup.

Sanji's slack jaw turned into a small smile of relief at that. "Huh, you liked it? Whatever devil fruit you ate is heat-related, not fire, I guess." He refilled the cup and watched, eyebrow quirked as Sunny drained it again.

Then he poured the salmon and egg rice into a bowl, grabbed the hot sauce on a whim and sat down at the table near Sunny. Sunny sniffed the dish while Sanji sprinkled a little bit of hot sauce on top and pushed it closer to Sunny.

Sunny started into it. It had flavor he'd never expected. It felt like his ember inside his mouth. It was delightful and warmed him but the sensation quickly disappeared. Sunny looked up at Sanji, disappointed. Sanji portioned even more out, making sure to put enough even for Chef Zeff on the food. If it was too strong for the little creature, Luffy would still eat it.

When Sunny tried it, he squealed in delight and put his snout in the food to continue eating as Sanji returned to his cooking, thinking he sure had picked a strange group of pirates to travel with. Even their pet wasn't a pet, it was a crewmember with a heat power and some level of intelligence. Maybe he was a Zoan, Type: Fire mouse? Well, whatever he was, Sanji wouldn't have believed it before he saw it.

All the Strawhats have developed different opinions on Sunny and hopefully, it should show. For various understandable reasons, not everyone has come around yet. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Luffy thinks Sunny is a cool, funny little guy. He's not worried about him like some of the others, because he can protect him just like he can protect the rest. He just knew, just like he did for the rest of the crew, that Sunny was meant to come along.

Tell me what you think! Thanks for reading!