Hello, everybody! Now that all the drama's done, let's watch Gonbe get into some shenanigans! ;D Heeere we go!
The Little Rabbit Who Wanders! Gonbe Strays Too Far!
Sector W7 Treehouse
Another peaceful morning on Water 7. Just like always. Chimney was peacefully at rest in her room, a blindfold over her eyes and a smile on her face. Asleep on her belly, her loyal cat Gonbe, who was actually a rabbit. The sounds of a train's horns echoed from the distant station below, so far away, but the sound reached Gonbe's ears nonetheless. His big ears perked, and he awoke first, eyes and smile as wide as his master's.
As he awoke, Chimney also sat up, removing her blindfold to reveal her wide, wakened eyes. "Uwwwaaaaahh!" she stretched her arms, and her mouth grew wide. "Another DAAAaaaay, GonBEEEEHHH!"
"Gyom-gyoooooom!"
Gonbe hopped off the bed to let Chimney throw off her covers, the girl hopping off and slipping on her sandals. A grin on her face, she walked out to the living room, alongside her bunny. "HEEEY, Sector-chaaaaans! What's new today? ?"
"No new missions, yet." Apis responded. "Oh, and Chimney: your grandma called and said she needed help loading coal again."
"Ahhhh." Chimney sighed in exhaust. "Oi, I'm comin' Kokoro-san. Gonbe, watch after the on'nanokos."
"Gyom-gyom." Gonbe nodded. Still wearing his grin, he watched as his master left.
Of course, almost instantly, Gonbe became bored. Normally, he would always stick by his master, but he wouldn't go against her orders. He would stay and look after the girls. But they barely needed looking after. They were just doing whatever like usual.
He decided to approach Aisa first, and the girl was currently organizing different-colored apples at the kitchen table. He climbed onto the table and pointed at the apples. "Gyoooom?"
"Oh?" Aisa looked at him, then smiled. "Oh hi, Gonbe! These're Skypian apples! They're supposed to be magical and each has a special effect. I'm thinking of trying them."
The one that caught Gonbe's interest was the orange one. In his eyes, the orange apple looked like a big, juicy carrot. ...He wasn't sure why he liked carrots, being a cat. Regardless, he snatched the apple and gobbled it in his huge, wide mouth. "Oh, Gonbe, be care-" Aisa tried to say, but Gonbe was already chewing.
"Gyo?" They looked as a mustache suddenly appeared on Gonbe's upper lip.
In seconds, Aisa began to giggle. "Hehehehehahahaha! You silly rabbit! ...Cat. Thing."
"Gyo-gyoooo!" Gonbe angrily ripped the mustache off. He looked around, and decided to approach Apis, who was once again reading her Bible on the couch.
"..." Apis peeped over the book and noticed the rabbit grinning at her. "Hm hm hm! Hi, Gonbe! What's new?"
"Gyom, gyom."
"Hahaha! Good point! Nothing's new that we don't know! ...You probably feel lonely, with me being the only one that understands you."
"Gyom, gyom." He shrugged.
"Yeah, I guess it doesn't matter. I mean, we're all different, right? And we're still friends!" she grinned.
"Gyoooo, gyo!"
"Uh, huh!" she agreed. "Anyway... wanna hear a few passages?"
"Gyo, gyo." Gonbe shook his head. "Gyoooo..."
"I guess some people wouldn't find it exciting. Well, have fun!" Apis waved as Gonbe walked away.
Gonbe then approached April, who painted on her canvas from the corner of the room, eating a rice cracker. The painting was of the current scene itself, with Sector W7 doing their own thing. April looked down and noticed the grinning rabbit. The 12-year-old smiled and said, "Hey, Gonbe. Wanna be in a picture with me?"
"Gyoooo, gyo!" he agreed.
They went to April's room where the girl stood before a mirror, with Gonbe rested happily on her head. April carefully painted the image, and every now and then, she gave light chuckles. This is the first time she's painted herself in any of her pictures. It was a warm feeling. Painting a picture of herself with a friend. She wishes she'd done it more often.
Soon, April finished the portrait, and she held it up to show Gonbe. "So? How does it look?"
"Gyoooooom!" Gonbe really liked it.
"Hm hm hm! I think I'll hang it up here. Come and see it again if you want." With that, Gonbe hopped off April's head as she hung the painting on the wall.
Gonbe returned down the hall, and on his way, he ran into Aeincha. The tiny Lilliputian smiled and waved at the huge rabbit. "Hey, Gonbeee!"
"Gyo-gyoooo!" he grinned and waved back.
"Hm hm hm hm! Got anything to do today?"
"Gyoooo… yo." He shrugged.
"Oh. …Wanna go for a ride? ?" she asked excitedly.
"Nnnn…nya?" He asked. Aeincha grinned.
"WHEEEEE!" Moments later, Gonbe was scampering excitedly throughout the treehouse, his tiny passenger on his back as she raised her arms in the air. Gonbe scampered into the living room, where he pounced on Aisa's head and made her hat slip off, but she slipped it back on. He then jumped onto Apis's lap, startling and making her drop her Bible. As April was walking down the hall, Gonbe came charging by, running around the girl's long legs before speeding further down the hall. Gonbe then went into Aeincha's room and started bouncing and kicking off of almost everything. The whole world zipped before Aeincha's vision as he did so, bouncing up-and-down on his back, and her excitement grew and grew.
Eventually, Gonbe stopped for a rest, lying on his front on the floor while Aeincha lied on his back. The soft, warm, furry back of the tired rabbit was more comfy than any bed (or pillow at her size), and his soft purring eased her mind. "Hehehehe! You're really soft, Gonbe! Like a stuffed bunny-kitty!"
"Gyoooo…" Gonbe was still too tired.
"You know, Gonbe, when I first saw you, you looked kinda scary. I mean… big cats eat little people. Er, and big rabbits, too. But you're really fun, Gonbe! And SOOPER cuddly!" she hugged the giant rabbit tight.
"Gyo-gyoooo!" he blushed.
"Anyway… yaaaaaaawwn… I woke up kinda early… I think I'm gonna sleep a couple more hours… yaaawn." And the Lilliputian was fast asleep, feeling warm and cozy on the rabbit's soft back.
Gonbe turned his head back, smiling at the tiny, peaceful Lilliputian. The bunny crawled onto Aeincha's bed and gently set her before the pillow, pulling the huge blanket over her form. "Gyo, gyo…" He patted her head lightly with his paw.
Gonbe returned to the living room and stepped out onto the balcony. He rested his head on his arms as he lay on the breezy balcony, staring at the great horizon in the distance. His huge ears picked up almost every sound from the town below, from the happy, laughing children, the neighing of Yagaras, and the ringing of bells. The rabbit was slowly drifting to sleep from the calm wind blowing through his fur. Even without his master, this was such a great day. Chimney really cared about her friends… and Gonbe could see why.
"Ha ha ha ha!" came Aisa's joyous laugh, seeing the mustache grow on Gonbe's face.
"Hm hm hm hm!" Apis smiled at the rabbit, sitting with the Bible on her lap.
"He he he!" April chuckled, painting the picture with Gonbe on her head.
"WHEEEEeeee!" Aeincha screamed with joy, riding Gonbe's back.
"Gyoooo…" His master had such great friends. He loved playing with them. But neither of them compared to his master herself. He hoped she would be back soon. Then maybe, they could all play together. Until then, Gonbe would rest peacefully, and awaken at the sound of his master's footsteps, and the shout of her loud voice.
Gonbe's ear shot up, catching another sound. Gonbe sat up and looked around frantically: it was the sound of the Puffing Tom's horn. He looked past the balcony's fence, seeing the smoke rising from the train in the distance. "Gyom, gyom!" Gonbe felt excited as the train sped toward the city. Was his master coming back? ? Was she home? ? Gonbe hopped on the fence, squinting his eyes hard, desperate to see if Chimney was crossing through the distant town.
A strong wind suddenly blew, and Gonbe lost his balance. "GYO-O-O-O-O-O!" The rabbit went tumbling over the edge, taking land on one of Water 7's many gigantic waterslides, which came from the giant fountain. The rabbit went zooming down the slippery slide at high speeds, going faster and faster as he would soon shoot into the ocean. Gonbe nudged his way to the right of the slide, and took a mighty leap, landing on one of the smaller slides as he zipped around, narrowly dodging Yagaras that were passing by.
After zipping around a few more turns, Gonbe was thrown over the slide's ledge. Meanwhile, as Grandpa Banban was cooking fish at his floating boat restaurant, the old man was startled when something crashed through his roof, knocking down a pile of barreled supplies. The man jumped around, still shaking with shock, when Gonbe rose up from the pile, looking dizzy. "Gyooooo…"
The man stopped shaking and sighed in relief. "Aaahhh… just you."
The rabbit grinned as he shook his head and hopped out of the pile.
"Hmm… where's your master, anyway. She didn't throw you out, did she?" he asked.
"Gyom-gyoom!" he shook his head.
"Ahh… well, anyway… here's a fish for the road." He tossed the rabbit one of his cooked fish. "Still don't get why a rabbit likes fish…"
"Nnnn… gyo-gyoooo." He shrugged and hopped out of the restaurant.
The little rabbit went to an alleyway corner to begin munching on the tasty meat. His ears perked, hearing another sound. He abandoned his tasty fish and walked around the building, finding a group of six kids, three on either side of the river, kicking a ball to each other. A brown-haired girl on the farthest side from Gonbe got the ball, and after a few kicks, she sent it flying straight over to Gonbe, bashing the rabbit in the face. "Gyoooo…"
A boy went over to retrieve the ball, but- "Huh?" took notice of the dizzied rabbit. The rest of the gang hurried over to see what their friend found.
"It's a rabbit." A girl observed.
"Aww, you knocked him out, Abi!" another boy shouted at the brown-haired girl.
"Ayako's the one who didn't catch it!" Abi yelled.
"Gyooo…" Gonbe's vision began to fade.
"Oh no! You probably gave him brain damage!" the other girl yelled.
"Don't be silly, Yoko!..." In seconds, the world went black around Gonbe.
Sunset…
Dusk was falling over Water 7. When Gonbe finally came to, he found himself on a soft blanket in a basket, inside someone's house. "Gyom-gyoooom?" He hopped up and curiously walked through the open door. There was a rather obese woman with orange hair, cooking at an oven. She turned around and smiled at the rabbit.
"Oh, helloooo! My, you sure can sleep a while!"
"Gyom-gyooooom?"
"My kids brought you here after they knocked you out. It's why I keep telling them to be careful." She turned around to resume her cooking. "I sent them out to get some groceries a while ago. I hope they didn't get lost." A thought occurred, and she turned and smiled at the rabbit again. "Perhaps you could go out and look for them for me!"
"'yoooo… Gyo, gyo!" Gonbe smiled and nodded, hopping out of the house.
"Hm hm hm! What a sweet rabbit!"
Sector W7 Treehouse
"OOOLAAAAA!" Chimney screamed, kicking open the door to the living room. "I'M BAAAAACK!"
"Hi, Chimneeey!" Apis cheered as all four girls smiled at their leader.
"Oi, why does Santa Clause send so much coal?" Chimney said exhausted, falling back on the couch as her sandals slipped off. "Heeeey… where's Gonbe?"
"Hmmm. I haven't seen Gonbe since this morning." Apis said.
"Last I saw, he was giving me a piggy-back ride!" Aeincha cheered.
"That is what he was doing." Aisa remembered.
"Nnnnn. Where'd that neko-chan go?" Chimney asked.
Water 7; close to the shoreline
Nighttime soon came over Water 7. Gonbe continued to search for the kids, but had no luck. The alleyway he was in was nearly pitch-black, and the rabbit was becoming terrified. "Gyo-o-o-o-o-o!" he shuddered.
A sound reached his ears, and he kept following the path. He soon reached one of Water 7's shores, where strange men dressed in yellow protection suits stood on the deck of a ship. Gonbe stepped closer, and his eyes widened in shock: those men were leading the children onto the boat.
"But Mister, I don't feel sick." The girl, Yoko, said.
"Can't we say 'bye' to Auntie first?" Ayako asked.
"It's too dangerous, kids." One of the men spoke. "Unless you wanna infect her, too."
The children and men were soon all on the ship, and Gonbe hurried over quickly. Before the ship's plank was lifted back up, Gonbe hurried on and made it on the deck. The rabbit hid behind some crates, gone unnoticed by the men. He turned around and peeked past the fence, as Water 7 drew further and further away. "Gyo… (Chimney)?"
Unknown Laboratory
A woman stared at the tiny monitors, watching as the ship returned from Water 7. She stepped away.
In the darkness of a lab, several glasses of potions and chemicals boiled on a table, releasing steam that poured and spread along the ground. A scientist experimented with the chemicals closely, and he himself was emitting a strange, pink gas that spread along the ground and mixed with the steam. The woman walked in, and spoke quietly. "Shipment 4 is back. And they've brought the kids."
"Mmm, from Water 7, yes?"
"That's the one."
"Make room in the Biscuit Room! I'll get the candies ready…"
"Will do… Master Caesar."
"Shurororororo!" The scientist held a tiny piece of wrapped butterscotch, and stared closely through his goggles.
And SO ends the tale of Sector W7. Who are those mysterious people, you ask? Well, they're from One Piece. Anyhoo… this story was pretty fun to write! So, which one-shot was your favorite? Mine was April's, 'cause it's more sad. :P Second, Aeincha, third, Aisa. Anyhoo… this was the start of the Big Mom Saga. Next time, the Christmas story of my series, Operation: FROST. See you in December.