Author's Note

Hey, here's chapter two! We really appreciate everyone who has already read the beginning, and everyone who has favorited and/or followed the story. Special thanks to RedClover25 and the anonymous guest that left reviews!

WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER

- brief animal abuse
- violence

LUFFY'S POV

Luffy ran home after his last class of the day, not bothering to stop and say bye to his friends. He couldn't stop to talk, not when his big brother was in town and bringing meat for their extraordinarily late dinner. His roommate, Law, wasn't going to be there that evening, not that Luffy had told Ace that. He'd be more than happy to eat Law's portion himself.

He giggled to himself at the thought as he ran up the stairs, fishing his keys out of his pocket. It didn't matter that Ace's visit was unexpected and unexplained, he was bringing food and wanted to spend time with him, was willing to wait to eat until ten o'clock at night, that was enough, especially since they lived in different cities now.

The door flew open, slamming into the wall, as Luffy waltzed inside. (thankful that Law wasn't there to yell at him for his dramatic entrance) The nineteen-year-old was surprised to find a snack ready and waiting for him the second he entered the kitchen. He grinned and scooped up the chocolate donut, wondering if Ace had already arrived...though he had said he'd text him when he was close...before taking a big bite.

The next few moments, all Luffy knew was pain and the disorienting feeling of falling. Suddenly, the barstool next to him towered above him like a mountain, his clothes pooling around him uselessly. Confused, he attempted to untangle himself from his shirt, only to fall backward with a small squeak.

"What just happened?" he wondered, trying to stand and finding that, no matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn't. Confusion turned briefly to relief as he heard the loud booming sounds that he assumed were footsteps.

"Ace! Help!" he tried to cry but all he heard was a tiny, "mew!"

Then the feet came into view and his relief turned to fear as he saw that whoever this person was, it wasn't his brother.

UNKNOWN POV

"Team Delta reporting. Krieg speaking. Target confirmed transformed. Proceeding with extraction now." He shut off his radio and chuckled darkly as he walked towards the tiny kitten, trembling and tangled in a pile of the clothes he had been wearing.

"Now now, nothing to be afraid of!" he crooned, his voice cracking at the attempt to sound sincere, "I'm gonna need you to get in this bag and then we'll go on a little trip!" He inched closer, fumbling to get the bag open. He didn't expect the ball of fur to launch itself at his face, hissing and spitting, needle-like claws out and scratching. Krieg grabbed the kitten out of the air, but fell backward over the couch in the process, unable to correct his balance as he attempted to protect his eyes from the slashing attacks. He cursed.

"Oi, Morgan! Get in here and get this thing off of me!" he shouted to his partner.

"What? Thought you said he wouldn't be any trouble?" the other man replied, stepping into the room, leaving the door wide open. The kitten saw his chance apparently, twisting to bite at the hand that was holding him suspended in air.

Krieg dropped his captive, spitting curses, and the two humans began chasing the kitten around the room, destroying anything that got in the way. Unfortunately for their target, when he decided to head for the door, he tripped over his own paws and tumbled head over heels until he came to a stop against one large black boot. A hand came down and roughly grabbed the kitten by the scruff. Krieg grinned menacingly as he lifted the creature, bringing him to eye level and shaking him roughly.

"Thought you could get away?" he laughed, grinning at the disoriented look in the kitten's eyes before he stuffed the tiny cat into the bag Morgan held open and ready. "As if you could escape!" He began walking out of the trashed apartment, grabbing the bag from the partner he didn't quite trust, lecturing all the while about how superior he was, poking at the fabric, amused...until the bag swung and a claw dug into the sensitive skin in between two fingers.

Krieg cursed and threw the bag, not quite realizing where he had thrown it until Morgan gasped and shouted,

"We need him alive, you idiot!"

He had thrown the bag down the stairs, where it landed and rolled a few times, out onto the sidewalk. Both men ran after it, diving towards their prize...only to be stopped by the ominous clang of a large metal pole slamming into the ground in front of it.

"You know," growled a deep voice from above them, "I'm a firm believer that there is a special place in hell for people like you."

Krieg and Morgan froze and slowly looked up, instantly flinching away at the sight of the deadly trident, dripping with blood, and the man that held it.

"Y-you're…."

KATAKURI'S POV

Katakuri, as head of the family, didn't often get the chance to rampage. He'd forgotten just how fun it was. He'd taken care of almost every person that had been lurking around his territory but one had decided it was in his best interest to run for it and, well, Katakuri just couldn't resist giving chase.

After catching, and subsequently impaling him with his trident, the streets had been unusually quiet for a moment, until the sounds of a struggle split the air once again. Curious, Katakuri followed the sound to a nearby apartment complex, walking up just in time to see a strange man wearing...armor?...shake, yell at, and throw a bag that contained some sort of struggling creature. Katakuri saw red, stalking forward to plant his trident firmly in front of the scarily still bag, stopping the two men in their tracks.

"You know, I'm a firm believer that there is a special place in hell for people like you," he informed them, enjoying the terror that filled their eyes as they realized just who was standing before them.

"Y-you're…" one of them managed to get out. Katakuri smirked, not that they could see that, amused, though no less angry.

"...Dogtooth...you're...you're supposed to….why are you here?!" one gasped. This caught Katakuri's attention. Perhaps these pieces of trash were in league with the ones from earlier...not that he needed any further excuse to kill them.

"HA!" The armored man shouted, leaping to his feet in a show of false bravery, "You can't kill me! I'm protected by impenetrable armor and you've got a glorified fork!" The man's comrade backed away, watching in horror as his partner continued, "I don't know why one such as yourself would stoop so low to protect useless, mangy furballs like this anyway!"

In the brief moment of silence that followed the man's taunts, the occupant of the bag that had started the encounter stirred, letting out a low, pained mewl. Katakuri didn't allow the armored man to say another word. His hand shot out and grabbed the man's unprotected face, squeezing hard enough to fracture bones as he lifted him off the pavement. From that angle, the man could clearly see the reason Katakuri wore his signature scarf, not that he would be able to tell anyone, as moments later, the dripping trident pierced through his armor as though it was paper. Katakuri dropped the corpse, twisting his trident free to face the other man.

"You...you're coming with me." he swung the handle of his weapon up and around, knocking the man unconscious instantly. Once that was dealt with, he set the weapon down and turned to the more pressing problem.

Katakuri knelt and scooped up the bag, carefully opening it to reveal the limp, trembling body of a half-conscious black kitten with odd white markings. Looking at the poor creature, he almost wished he hadn't killed the armored man quite so quickly...almost.

"Brother! We need to leave!" Cracker called as he ran up, though he paused at the odd scene before him. "Wha-"

"That one's alive. Take him back to the house." Katakuri ordered, ignoring his brother's question in favor of gently wrapping the half-dead kitten in one of the loose ends of his scarf before picking up his trident and stalking away, leaving approximately fifteen corpses in his wake.

UNKNOWN POV

"Team Beta reporting. Mission failure. Team Delta one dead, one captured. Target confirmed transformed, unable to extract."

"What do you mean unable to extract?!" came the angry reply to the man's whispered report, "Team Beta was the biggest and strongest team!"

"Team Beta...everyone else is dead!" the man replied, "I'm the only survivor!"

"What does this have to do with the failed capture of the brat?"

"Dogtooth...he took him from the site, along with one member of Team Delta. Target was...unconscious."

"...if only Dogtooth had been changed as well." Teach sighed, "This makes things a lot more complicated."