The Tale of a Puppy!

Mikoto's Childhood?

"Well," started Xavier, "I guess I'll start off with his parents death. I remember it as the day Hestas Nero came to town. He was a friendly old man he was good friends with everyone on the island."

(~Flashback-Twelve years ago~)

An old shriveled man, called Hestas Nero, stood at the docks. He smiled down at the hundreds of islanders that were seeing him off. "I await my return to this wonderful island." He stood on top of a large ship. He had at least 50 men under his command at this very moment. He was currently in control of the largest inter-island trading company. They would buy items from certain islands and then sell those items to other islands and make a huge profit.

"Aye, me mate. We look for ward to yer return!" said a single man. He wasn't very well muscled, and he appeared to be in his young thirties. He had light auburn hair and was dressed in a light green vest and jeans. He had a small golden-hilt sword strapped to his side.

"Right," laughed Nero, "Michael Azgard, captain of the Legend Pirates. Its always…a pleasure to do business with you. That reminds me, actually. I got a barrel of ale I wanted to give you." Nero snapped his fingers. One of his workers appeared with a large barrel of ale. Nero motioned to Michael with his bejeweled cane.

"You really didn't have to," said Michael as he graciously accepted the barrel, "I don't drink that much. Ever since I had me boy, I cut back. I'll be lucky to finish this within the year. I'm sorry, but I just don't think I can accept this."

"Humor me, old friend," said Nero as he waved goodbye and left. His smile was still present on his face when they were several miles off of the coast.

"Right, right," said Michael, "I do suppose it is the least I can do. Goodbye." Michael turned around and decided to head back home to his loving wife and little boy. He strode home confidently. The sword at his waist was a family heirloom, he had all the intentions to give it to Mikoto when he was eighteen, until then it would remain on his waist. He adjusted the barrel onto his shoulder.

He was just walking by Xavier's pub when the local bandit gang had come running out of the bar. They were being led by their own vicious leader, Hai Mungi. He was a brute with the strength of ten men and the intelligence of half of one. Hai, however, was getting on in years and losing some of his once legendary strength. He came out wielding his signature weapon, a large wooden club.

"Michael?" said the man as he came to a halt, "you're back from your voyage?"

"Yeah, came into dock last week," said Michael, "me and my two trusted friends…and crewmates. Are you going to return what you stole? Or are we going to have to fight?" Michael laid his barrel of ale down onto the ground beneath him.

Hai dropped the stolen stuff onto the ground. "Let's fight." He brought his large wooden club up and held it above his head. "You wanna make the first move."

A third man came up from behind him, "you go on home, Michael, say hello to that son of yours." The man had golden hair that stretched to his shoulders. He was quite large, reaching about 8 feet in height. "I'll handle the bandit."

"You are a good man, Okuso," said Michael as he turned around. He picked up his barrel and started to head back to his house, "make sure you hit him once for me."

"Wait," said Hai as he looked up at the man in front, "Okuso? As in Marco Okuso? The Tyrant of War?" Hai knew this man as his wanted posters were all up over the world, he had earned his first bounty of 60 million just a few years ago.

"Yup," said Okuso as he cracked his knuckles, "the same one that sank five Marine ships in the Grand Line before retiring to the East Blue."

Michael continued to run home and stood confidently on the doorstep. He had gotten into the habit of returning every two years to see his wife and son. He'd stay there for a week or so, and then leave again. It was heartbreaking leaving his son, but he had to get his name out there somehow. The marines mocked him and looked down on him, he was just going to prove them wrong.

"I'm home! Now where is my son?" asked Michael as he burst through the doorway and struck a pose. He just saw Miyu sitting on the chair he had brought home for one of his visits, smiling at him. "Where is…" Michael was met with a young boy swinging from a rope suspended from the ceiling. Michael was thrown to the ground with the force. "There he is!"

That night the house burst into flames. Michael was caught up in the flames and burned to death along with his loving wife. Through sheer luck Mikoto's room was on the top floor. The beams supporting his room broke and his room simply fell to the ground. The room wasn't even touched by the fire until the villagers were able to put it out.

(~Four years later~)

"I'm bored," pouted an eight-year-old Mikoto in his teacher's face. The old woman puffed her chest out. There was a younger girl, Melanie, who sat in the back of the class observing the class as apparently she was going to be the teacher next year.

"Of course, you are bored," she said, "you haven't even touched your math work! How in the world are you going to get a job? You shouldn't really on those bandits forever! They are bandits, they are despicable!"

"Yeah, I can!" shouted Mikoto, "They like me! They were friends wit' my dad. They told me so."

"WITH!" Shouted the teacher as she brought her ruler around and into the back of Mikoto's head, "they were friends with your dad. Please use proper grammar in my presence."

"OW!" shouted Mikoto as he was sent sprawling to the floor. "You are a meanie! Can't you hold back a little bit on me!"

"You have no work ethic or kindness!" shouted the teacher, "Those bandits are idiots. They could easily kill you in a matter of seconds. I really think they should."

"Nuh-uh," said Mikoto, "I fight WITH the boss' little boy all the time! I usually win!"

"You're still going to trust the bandits?" shouted the teacher, "You are a fool! The little boy? He is ten times weaker then the rest of bandits. He has no talent with his weapon! He's weak!"

"Yeah, right," said Mikoto, "you are just jealous of the fact that I can beat them and you can't." He received another thump on the head from his teacher's ruler. "OW!"

"You should train more," said the teacher, "pick a fight with someone stronger then you rather then keep fighting someone weaker then you."

"Fine!" shouted Mikoto, "I'll go fight one of their soldiers and then you'll see!" Mikoto rushed out of the room at high speeds.

Mikoto returned the next day with nary a scrape on him, "told you I'd win! Those bandits were so weak! Maybe I'll be the boss of them one day!"

(~Three years later~)

"Ow!" shouted a eleven-year-old Mikoto as he was thrown across the field. He landed into the muddy field with a loud and wet smack. The mud came up and swallowed Mikoto. Above him stood an older Hai Mungi.

Hai Mungi's body hadn't gone to waste. He was still incredibly fit and well-shaped. The only indicator of his age was his white, crisp hair. He looked down at Mikoto, Mikoto could stare up and see his bony rib cage in all of its glory.

"Hey there, kid," said Hai Mungi as he brought his wooden club back around and onto his back. He had lost some strength as the years passed and his wooden club was significantly smaller then it was before, "your father was a powerful and brave man, I really wish that fire hadn't done him in…because I wanted to!" Hai Mungi's large wooden club was brought straight up into Mikoto's gut lifting him up off of the ground and a few feet into the air.

Mikoto gasped for air as he collided with the solid ground once more. Mikoto rolled onto his side and tried to crawl about but a Hai Mungi's heavy boot stomped into his back slamming him into the ground.

"Me and all my bandits hated your pa," said Hai Mungi as he started to twist his foot and Mikoto's face deeper into the mud, "but we couldn't. Not to mention he had a friend, one Marco Okuso, a bloody pirate. This Marco Okuso had paid us a annual fee not to kill you or hurt you in anyway. He's a month late!" Hai Mungi brought his club down onto the back of Mikoto's head. Blood seeped from the back of Mikoto's head.

"You can't kill me!" murmured Mikoto through the mud, "if you kill me…my pa's friend…will kill you!"

"Him?" said Hai Mungi as he brought his head down closer to Mikoto's ear, "he went to the Grand Line. You are now no longer under his protection and more importantly you are the son of my worst enemy!"

The beating continued and could be heard all over the island. No one moved to try and help Mikoto. They stayed inside their houses as the fight continued and Mikoto continued to be beaten silly.

Suddenly hair started to cover all of Mikoto's body, a thick animal-like hair. His five fingers disappeared and were replaced with five sharp claws, the same occurred with his toes. His nose and upper lip merged together to form the top half of a beastly snout. A small wolf-like tail sprouted from his rear.

Hai backed off of the newly transformed kid. "What in the world?" His legs were weakening, "you're a freak…a half-human freak. How befitting for your father!" He lifted his bludgeon up with the intentions of one final blow to the head. As he swung down his club stuck in mid-air a five pronged claw stopped it. Mikoto looked up.

"If Marco Okuso won't kill you," said Mikoto as he staggered to his newly transformed feet, "then I guess I will." Mikoto reached out with his free hand and felt all five claws neatly slice into Hai's ribs. His old and brittle bones nearly collapsed from the force.

"What are you?" shrieked Hai Mungi, he remembered being in a similar position with Michael many years ago, but Michael had never been a killer. This half-human thing may just be the perfect killer. "Are you a werewolf like from the legends?"

"Close," said Mikoto as he swung his right leg around and into Hai Mungi's side. Hai Mungi was thrown back a few more feet, "I was told I ate a Devil Fruit. The something-something no mi: Model Coyote."

"A Devil Fruit?" said Hai Mungi, he heard of these rare and powerful fruits, but never ever saw someone who had consumed one before at least not in person. "You are just what we bandits need. You wanted to be the leader of my bandits when you were little right? Well, with this power you can be! You can lead my bandits to glory and fame among this little island, put it all under your control with ease! You can be the leader of us, of me and my bandits! We will be…" his words were cut short, an impromptu jab to Hai Mungi's throats ended his ramblings.

"Sorry," said Mikoto, "I don't want to associate myself with trash like you." Mikoto pulled his claw out of Hai Mungi's body and let it fall to the ground.

(~back to the present~)

"That was the first, last, and only man Mikoto had ever killed," said Xavier as he wiped some grease off of his hand onto his apron, "I saw him do it, too. When I heard him being battered, I ran to the rescue only to see him transform and kill a man."

"Why didn't you stop him?" asked Zesiro.

"Something about watching a little kid transform into a half-coyote, half-human hybrid and attack a man," said Xavier, "it is petrifying. Afterwards, me and Mikoto talked about things. He got into riddles and we chatted, we became good friends after that."

"You left something out," said Hiro-Shu as he took another sip from his cup, "when did Mikoto eat his Devil Fruit and how?"

Xavier leaned back and pondered this a moment, before shrugging it off. "Things happen. Could've stolen it from his papa's old treasure stash when he was three, could've ran into a Marine and stole it, with Mikoto's luck it could've fallen out of the sky and landed right in his mouth. He never told me about how he got it."

The Bandit of the Forest!

The Vessel of Wood!

HELLO! How did you all like Mikoto's past? What's that? You want to know how he got his Devil Fruit? I'm not telling (yet)! Also for those of you who noticed a certain reoccurring character who also appeared with the Blackwell Arc and Ridley's past GOOD FOR YOU! I throw little things like this in every now and then…so PAY ATTENTION! ALSO, GO COFFEE!