The Lone Wolf

Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece.

--

That very night, as the village of Kohaku lay in ashes, the survivors, along with the treasure hunters, took refuge in the very same forest that was feared. Axe and Kairi watched over Toby as he was treated by reluctant members of the village inside a cave. The village chief ordered them to treat him despite his reputation as the monster in their forest. While he was being treated, Axe and Kairi waited outside the large cave to give space to those who treated him. Kairi's injury was acting up again, but Toby was a priority now and there was something with him that neither she or Axe could figure out.

"So, he can take all kinds of bullets as a wolf-man, but when he becomes normal, he almost dies?" Axe chewed his thumb, "I don't get it. I could swear I overheard him tell flint that it would take more than bullets to kill him, so what's going on?"

Kairi shrugged, "He was awfully bloody after we handled those guys, maybe he just got weak after losing so much blood?"

"Maybe, but what I'd like to know is that if you can't kill a guy like him with normal stuff, how can you kill a guy like that?"

"I may have that answer for you,"

Both treasure hunters turned to see the village chief standing nearby, looking at the night sky, and the full moon hanging above them.

The older man coughed a little, "Among the legends of our village, there is one thing that is very common among them all,"

"We already know about the full moon, ossan," Axe pointed to the white orb, "By the way, if the those are true, should we even be out here with him with that out?"

"I don't think we're in any danger," the Chief shook his head, "But as I was saying, there is another common fact among the legends. No matter what the different stories say, they all say that to rid the area of evil wolves, one must use silver in the exorcism. With silver, only then can the evil be destroyed,"

"But Toby's not evil!" Kairi protested, "He's a good guy, we can tell! He saved me, and he helped Axe out by taking Flint!"

"Although, he didn't really fight her, he just kinda scared the shit out of her and let her run off," Axe thought aloud.

The Chief sighed and lowered his head, "I never would've thought the boy who disappeared after the slaughter of his family was the monster. When we found the bloodbath all those years ago, we thought he had died too, but he was just living by himself in the woods for all that time. I can't imagine how lonely it must've been for him all these years...,"

Kairi looked back into the cave mouth, "I can,"

Axe cast a sideglance at her, then looked back up at the moon.

--

A few days after the mercenary incident and after he fainted, Toby was awake and on the mend. Kairi, Axe, the Chief, and a few reluctant villagers visited him for one reason or another, but the ones who stayed were the treasure hunters, the Chief, and their innkeeper friend.

"Still can't believe a kid like you can take so much damage," Axe looked at the blood wounds beneath Toby's bandages, "You're strong, Toby,"

Kairi nodded, "Indeed,"

"I'm just glad he came to help out," the innkeeper said with a smile, "Screw the monster rumors, we got ourselves a hero on the island. Oh, wait," she looked at the other two young ones, "Make that heroes,"

Axe turned away, rubbing the back of his head, "Aw, well, I wouldn't say heroes, but...hehehehe...,"

Kairi rolled her eyes, "Great, you gave him an ego," she turned back to Toby, "Looks like you got a good thing with you, Toby. How'd you come by it?"

Toby glared a little.

"Okay, we know the rough story, but please, give us the details," she pleaded, "Pretty please?"

The young lycanthrope looked away, "My story is not for the faint of heart," he murmured, "I'll be forever cursed unless I can find a way to lift it,"

"Won't silver work?"

The Chief shook his head, "It may lift the curse, but it would kill the cursed one in the process, remember?"

"Oh yeah...," Axe shrugged, "Well, make one mistake...c'mon, Toby, what happened?"

-Flashback-

Kohaku Village, Seven Years Ago...

"I'll play with you later, Tori!" Toby shouted to the dog, who stared at him with sad eyes, "That's a promise!"

The dog, Tori, let out a happy bark, then went back to eating its meat in peace. Toby brushed a lock of his brown hair away from his bright face, opening the door to his home. The smell of dinner filled his nostrils, his mother slaving away over an open fire, a cooking pot in her hands.

"Soup again, Mommy?" the young boy inquired, his eyes downcast. "I'm tired of having soup every night…"

"I know, Toby, but if your father doesn't get back from hunting, I'm afraid that this is all we can have right now," she replied solemnly. Toby's eyes soon lit up, stars seeming to sparkle within the pupils.

"I'll go look for him, Mommy!" the little boy cried out, racing out the door again towards the forest. The woman shook her head, a small laugh within her throat, "Be careful…!"

Soon enough, Toby was in the woods, searching for his father.

As Toby tried to break through the foliage around him, birds flew overhead, squawking loudly.

"Daddy!" the boy called out, "Where are you?"

Behind him, a low growling stopped him in his tracks.

"Daddy? Are you playing with me again?" he turned around, but soon found himself face to face with a wolf, snarling at him and snapping it's jaws. Toby tried to run, but his legs felt like they were made of lead. Without thinking, he opened his mouth, a loud scream ringing throughout the entire forest. The wolf sprang at the young boy, pinning him down as it's mouth foamed and eyes glowed brightly. It leaned down, biting the poor boy in the neck. Toby's screams became louder as the wolf continued to bite him. Suddenly, the animal let go, howling in pain. The boy lay very still on the ground, whimpering in pain as a man appeared, standing over him and the dead wolf, which had a hole in its skull.

"You okay, son?"

-End flashback-

"Ouch, that's gotta hurt,"

Toby tapped the scar on his neck, "You have no idea. I remember waking up in the building of the village doctor. After awhile of resting, they came in and told me everything that happened and how serious the wound was. They were all amazed that I was still alive, since a wound like this," he tapped the scar again, "...was supposed to be fatal after so much bloodloss,"

The village chief nodded, "Aye, that's true, lad. Everyone in the village was astounded by the stroke of luck you had, but we were all very happy that you survived the attack,"

"There are days when I wished I died that day," Toby continued, "If I did die that day, I wouldn't have brought such misery to others by living. Since I was released, I noticed changes in myself: I was stronger, I was faster, and I had a greater sense of hearing and smelling. Every now and then, I would black out and lose track of time, but when I came to, I was either alone in the wild, or I was covered in blood with a dead body of someone's pet laying nearby. I didn't know what was going on, but I kept it to myself, I didn't want to scare anybody,"

Axe coughed lightly, "What happened that night? The night you're-?"

"The night I killed my family?" Toby finished for him, "Strangely enough, during the beginnings of my curse, I was able to remember that. It was a full moon night and I wasn't unable to control the transformation. I turned into a wolf and without hesitation, my new body lunged for the only flesh around, which were my pet dog and my parents. I can still...hear...my mother screaming at the top of her lungs. She saw what had happened to me and she begged for me to stop, but I just tore into her. I can remember hearing how her blood sounded as it splashed against the walls and the floor of the house,"

Kairi let out a small gasp, but quickly covered her mouth.

"My dog wasn't a problem for my curse, either. I just snapped his neck and threw him to the floor. My father actually tried to kill me with his rifle, but that failed as well. The bullets just grazed me and I leapt at him. I ripped out his throat and just clawed like a madman into his face. When I was done, I let out a howl, then I bolted outside, deep into the forest, leaving my slaughtered family behind me forever,"

Axe turned to the Chief, "You guys didn't hear the howling?"

The ossan remained silent.

"The next morning, when I came back to my normal body, I slept for hours and hours. When I woke up, I remembered everything that I had done the night before and I was just so horrified, I...I...," he shook his head, "Ever since that day, I've been living in the forest all alone because I'm nothing but a killer and a monster,"

"No, you're not!" Kairi took his hands and looked right into his eyes, "You're not a killer, Toby! You couldn't help yourself, it was the curse! I know you, and there's no way that you could've killed the people you love just like that!"

"You don't know me," Toby pulled his hands away from her, "You barely know me, we only met a few days ago and that was because I revealed myself willingly in the forest,"

"Whether we know you or not, that doesn't matter," Axe said quietly, "What matters that it wasn't your fault, and no matter how many times you tell yourself that it is, you know deep down that Kairi's right about you,"

Toby became silent and looked away from them.

--

The next day, Toby decided he needed exercise to help him heal better, and even though he wasn't sure about stepping out of the cave, he gave in to Kairi's nagging and stepped outside. However, seconds after he did, a large rock flew through the air and clocked him good on the forehead. Yelping, Toby stumbled backward as blood began to dribble down from a fresh cut.

Stunned, Kairi looked to see the group of villagers had formed a mob of sorts and were either holding a sharp rock.

"Get that freak out of here! Get him away from us before he goes wild and tries to eat us!"

"Yeah! Kill him or banish him! Either way, get him away from us before he does any more harm!"

"Because of him, we have no home to go to!"

Angry, Kairi stepped in front of Toby and the villagers, her arms outstretched. She glared at them all, "How dare you! You're treating him like he's some kind of wild animal!"

"That's because he is a wild animal, outsider!"

"He killed our animals!"

"He killed our pets!"

"He could've killed us anytime that he wanted to!"

"THAT IS ENOUGH, DAMMIT!"

The villagers, Toby, and Kairi turned to see Axe, who looked just as angry as Kairi did, if not angrier.

The young treasure hunter approached the groups and turned to Toby, "You gonna be okay?"

"Just a headache..," Toby murmured, hand over his head, "I'll be fine,"

"Good," Axe snapped his head to the villagers, "You should all be ashamed of yourselves! Yes, he can turn into some kind of monster, but do any of you know what this poor boy has gone through?! What he has suffered for the past seven years?! Most likely, he has killed pets and farm animals on nights of the full moon, but that is not his fault!"

One of the male villagers flipped him off, "If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have hired those mercs-,"

"Those mercs were scamming you and you all know it by now!" Axe cut him off abruptly, "It was the mercs who burned your village, your home, not Toby! Toby fought against the mercs, he fought for your...for his hometown and even after he has been wounded by those same mercs, you are wanting him dead because of this misfortune! A piece of advice to all your ignorant, close-minded idiots: Unless you know someone's story, you shouldn't assume you know them just based on their actions or their appearance!" he pointed to Toby, "He has lived alone for seven years, because he was afraid that you would consider him a monster and kill him. Well, by the way I'm seeing you all now, I would say that hiding was his best option!" he stepped forward, pulling his axe off his back, "If any of you, ever, and I mean ever...try to hurt him again, I will show you the real meaning of pain!"

The mob went quiet.

Both Kairi and Axe stared at him, speechless.

He...he's defending me...!

Axe...

Axe looked at the mob for a bit, snorted, then turned and walked back to Toby and Kairi.

"C'mon, let's take a walk, you two,"

--

"Anyone following us?"

Kairi looked back behind them for a moment, then turned back, "Nope. I think you scared them, Captain,"

"That's good," Axe muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets, "That was the point,"

As they walked around the forest, the trio were pretty quiet, especially Toby.

I've never had anyone defend me like that before, but then again, these are the only people who know what I can do and haven't tried to kill me and I haven't tried to kill them. What does this mean?

"So, Toby, what's on the horizon for you?"

Toby snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Axe, "W-What?"

"I asked what's on the horizon for you?" Axe repeated, "What're you going to do since everyone knows what you can do and what the monster really is?"

"Oh...," Toby looked down at the ground, watching his bare feet step over the soft dirt, "I...I don't know, really. Besides trying to find a way to lift this curse, I'm not sure what else there is for my life. Not even the wolf spirits told me,"

"Wait, hold on," Axe came to a halt and turned him around to face him, "Wolf spirits?"

Toby nodded, "Yeah, the wolf spirits of this island. When I ran away, they found me and helped me survive. Sure, I had some skills of hunting and stuff from my father-,"

"Which is pretty amazing considering how old you were at the time...,"

"But they're the main reason I'm still around! They showed me safe places to live, outside the village, they showed me great places to hunt and fish for food, and they even told me the whole deal behind my curse. Hell, they even taught me how to fight with a sword!"

Axe glanced at Kairi and his First Mate returned the glance. The two of them looked back at him and started to laugh.

"What's so funny!?"

"Sorry...," Axe tried his best to hold down his laughs, but still let a few chuckles escape, "...but you really expect us to believe that you were raised by a group of wolf spirits? And that they, somethings that were both dead and animals, taught you to fight with a sword?" he shook his head, "I guess all these years without real company will give your mind something to work with. Besides, even if that was true, and I'm not saying it is...where's this sword of yours?"

"In a safe place. In fact, we're very close to it," Toby looked around for a bit, smiled, then ran off to what looked like a burial mound for a small animal.

Axe raised an eyebrow, "Don't tell me he buried a sword?"

Kairi shrugged, "Well, dogs bury bones and junk, and if he has any dog traits then...?" she trailed off as the two of them watched Toby dig through the mound, flinging the dirt behind him. Soon and sure enough, Toby pulled something out of the dirt and ran back to the two treasure hunters, holding a long object wrapped in tattered cloth.

"This is mine, a present from the wolf spirits!" Toby removed the cloth to reveal a brown sheath and after pulling that away, he showed them a beautiful looking katana.

Both treasure hunters leaned forward, "Oooh...,"

It was a beautiful sword indeed. The hilt was in the shape of a crescent moon, the handle was wrapped in brown material of some kind, and the blade had a strange, but wonderful appearance to it. It was the normal length of any katana blade, but it had the image of a wolf howling at the moon.

Okay, a bit strange, but it does seem to fit him. Then again, I'm no expert on swords... Axe thought, looking at the blade. As he looked it over, he noticed something dangling on the end of the handle. Looking closer, he saw a large, pearly white fang, no doubt a wolf's fang, hanging from a thin cord that was laced into the handle.

"This is my sword, I call it Black Fang," Toby held up the sword and looked at it longingly, "I received this as a gift and I learned how to use it during my early years in my exile,"

Black Fang? It's got brown all over! Axe looked at the sword a bit longer, then back at the owner, "Why'd you have it buried?"

Toby shrugged, "I love it and all, but I've had no use for it, so I buried it,"

"Ah...makes sense I suppose," Axe scratched his head.

"What are you guys going to do now?" Toby asked them, sheating the sword, "After you leave the island, I mean?"

Axe grinned, "We're on our way to find the legendary pirate treasure, One Piece!"

Toby's eyes bugged out of his head, "ONE PIECE?!"

"You know it?"

"Of course, I know it! I may have been living as a hermit most of my life, but even I know of Gold Roger's treasure! Why are you guys going after it?!"

"Well, unlike most people who are looking for it to be the Pirate King, I'm looking for it to become the World's Greatest Treasure Hunter," Axe said proudly before jerking a thumb to Kairi, "She's coming to make sure I do it,"

Kairi nudged him in the side, though that just resulted in hurting her elbow, "I'm coming for my own dream of ending senseless killing," she confessed, "I figured if he's willing to risk his life for One Piece, I should at least give it a shot. Besides, if I go with him, I can make sure he stays out of trouble,"

Toby looked at the two of them, "Stay out of trouble...yeah," he nodded, "So far you've managed to avoid trouble although a whole village was burned with you guys around,"

"...good point...,"

--

When the trio of young ones returned, they were met with the mob again, looking as sore as ever, but what surprised them was that the Chief and innkeeper were standing at the front of the mob.

"Stay here," Axe held out his arm to Toby, "Kairi?"

"I'll stay with him," Kairi pulled out her rapier, "Don't worry,"

Axe slowly approached the villagers of Kohaku, "What's up, ossan?" he greeted the Chief.

The village Chief cleared his throat, a somber look on his face, "It may be best if you leave, children. People are a bit...angry," he jerked his head backward, motioning to the villagers.

"Well, gee, we'd hate to leave such a great and loving community like this, but we have a problem. We have no way to get off the island, so it seems like we'll have to extend our vacation,"

"Actually, they've already thought of that, young ones,"

-A Short Time Later...-

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Hey, at least we actually have a ride,"

"But can we do it?"

"Three people were able to do it,"

"Numbers really isn't the question the question is do any of us know how to pilot this thing?"

"I know the basics,"

Axe and Kairi looked at the ship that was once used by the mercenaries when they arrived. Looking off to the side, they saw a pile of dead animals and other garbage, which told them it had been cleaned out by the villagers, no doubt the deed was done while they were resting.

"I'm truly sorry to have to do this, children, but for everyone's best interest, it's probably wise for you to leave,"

Both treasure hunters turned to the Chief.

Axe waved his hand, "Don't worry about it, ossan. We're most likely gonna get some treatment like this all the time in the future. With us looking for One Piece, we're gonna be called pirates and not everyone has a love for pirates and what they do, so it's best we get used to the reaction. Hell, this is my second time I've been run off an island," he shot a grin at Kairi, "Ain't that right?"

"Aw, shut up,"

The village Chief gave his final farewell and went back to his people, leaving only the innkeeper and Toby to say goodbye.

"Don't worry about them, kids, the Chief and I know you guys did good for us," she gave them all a hug, even Toby, which surprised him greatly, "Where are you two going now, Axe?"

The leader shrugged, "I'm not sure, I'm not very good with the East Blue Sea area, Kairi and I are originally from the West Blue Sea, so we're in new territory,"

"Hmm...," the innkeeper scratched her cheek in thought, "Well, I'm not entirely sure what things you're wanting to do before going after your dreams, but there are a few places you may want to check out,"

"Oh?"

"Mhm. There's Roguetown, although a lot of people call it Loguetown...,"

"Wait, what?"

"Most people call it Loguetown because they say it's the place where things begin and end. Sort of like a pro-logue and an epi-logue. Got it?"

"Uh-huh, but why do other call it Roguetown?"

"Because it's a hotspot for pirates and other wanted people, and we all know that pirates are Rogues of the Sea," she gave a wink, "Plus, it's the birthplace and the execution site of Gold Roger, the Pirate King,"

Kairi whistled, "Nice...so what's the other place you mentioned?"

"It's a floating restaurant on the sea called the Baratie. It's run by a former pirate, but it's very famous for the high quality of the food that the people make and serve there. You guys should check it out sometime, I bet you'll have a blast there,"

"Thanks for the info...uhm...," Axe smiled awkwardly, "I'm sorry, but I don't think we ever got your name?"

The innkeeper giggled, "Lorene. My name's Lorene,"

Shortly after that, Lorene left as well, leaving the three by themselves in front of the small, waiting vessel.

"So, I guess this is goodbye, hm?" Toby sighed, holding Black Fang over his shoulders, "You guys go on and find what you're looking for,"

"What about you, Toby?" Kairi asked, obviously worried about him now the villagers knew all about him, "Are you going to be okay?"

"Aw, yeah," Toby waved her off, "I'll get by. This lone wolf's gotten by for seven years and he'll get by for another seven, hopefully," he grinned a little, "Maybe in the future, I'll find a group of people like you two, people who'll accept me and become my friends...become my pack, if you will. Until then," he shruged, "I'll just avoid the villagers and do my best to live without killing them, ya know?" he turned and started walking back to his forest, waving as he walked, "Goodbye, you two,"

Kairi glanced at Axe, "Why do I have the feeling you're going to do something?"

"Because you know me so well," Axe grinned, "Hey Toby!" he called out, "TOBY!"

The young lycanthrope stopped and looked back at them, "What?"

"Wanna come with?" Axe yelled.

Toby looked at them for a moment, then turned all the way around, "What'd you say?" he shouted back.

"If you're looking for a pack to be with...come with us, Toby,"

--

And so, that's how I got both Kairi Lumina and Toby Dicey on my crew of treasure hunters, searching for Roger's great, legendary treasure of One Piece. We left Kohaku that day, but thinking back to that day, I realize that we should've spent a bit more time on learning how to use that boat that we got as a "going away gift"...oh well, we didn't keep it that long.

A treasure hunter, a (former) Holy Knight and a werewolf with skill in a blade. What an odd crew, hm? But, there were others who were different and had their own dreams. One of which we would meet soon after we left Kohaku, but before we met her, we'd meet a certain pirate who was very sensitive about his big, fat, red nose...

--

On the next chapter of Origin...

Kairi: We're lost! I thought you said you knew how to drive this thing?!

Axe: When did circuses perform on the open sea?

Buggy: You brats think you'll find One Piece? You have no chance in Hell!

Mohji: There isn't one animal on this earth that I can't tame.

Clowns Are Terrifying

Axe: If this oddball's from the Grand Line, I can't imagine who else is out there...