Chapter 3

This pet food store was adorable. The dog was nice as well. That is, until he ate the key to the cage.

Now, let me back pedal a bit. When we had found the pet store, the thief had come up to us, giving us the key as 'payment' for saving her. How do I know she's a thief you ask? Well, thieves often smell richly of money, but not perfumes, and look relatively normal, there is also a certain scent of royalty that is kind of a built-in scent for dragons, after all, most collect treasure, and royalty usually have treasure.

Now, as I was saying, the dog, who I learnt was named Chou Chou, ate the key to Luffy's cage, and now, we were getting told off by the mayor of the town, as Luffy had been shaking him for the key back.

"Chou Chou has been guarding this store since his master has passed on. I've tried to tell him he isn't coming back, but he won't listen to me!" At that I can't help but respect the dog. I think this dog knows exactly what's happened to his master, no, friend. Suddenly, we hear a roar!

"Whoa! It's a giant lion!" So there was…what the hell is riding it?! The lion is growling, moving closer to the pet store. Chou Chou is barking, growling, and having a fit.

"Dog. I won't help you. This is your fight." The dog looks over at me. Amidst the pain, I see pride, anger and thankfulness. The lion charges, and I watch, as Chou Chou fights, and loses. The man (?) and the lion walk off with the last bag of dog food, and Luffy, who had been attacked, is now free.

"Adrian." I turn to Luffy, his eyes are murderous, as he watches Chou Chou howl at the store.

"Go Luffy." He nods, and runs off in the direction of the lion. The orange thief walks up to me. Her eyes are a light brown, her hair an obvious orange. She's wearing an orange skirt and a blue-striped shirt.

"Who are you in this band of idiots?" I hear her hand shifting towards my pocket expertly.

"Hands off, Tangerine girl." She looks startled at me. I grin as her hand retreats.

"Why tangerine girl kid?" I can feel a tick on my forehead pulsing.

"I'm not a kid, and you smell like them. Problem?" Suddenly, I turn as Zoro walks out from an alleyway he had been sitting in.

"Your right, you're not a kid, you're a lizard." I bark a laugh, while the girl continues to look weirdly at me. I ignore her in favor of smirking at Zoro's lost expression.

"What happened?"

"Lion attacks dog, steals dog food. Burns down store. Luffy goes to kick his ass." Zoro nods, before walking back over to his corner to nap again. I wait till I hear his breathing even before speaking up.

"Why do you smell of fish men girl?" I see her flinch. I examine her over, watching her eyes dilate mildly, and hate grow in them, along with a small dose of fear.

"I will give you one warning. You hurt my captain, and you will die. I swear this upon my soul, as that is the dearest promise a dragon can make." The girl's head lowers, her eyes darkening, before she shoots up, a questioning look on her face.

"D-dragon?!" I grin at her.

"That's why Zoro calls me Lizard, and that's why I can smell so well, my hearing is very sensitive as well, so no sneaky stuff!" I can literally see her sweat drop at my sudden mood swing. Suddenly, I hear sandal steps. I can feel my ear twitch.

"Captain's back, come on navigator. ZORO! GET YOUR ASS UP!" I ignore tangerine's attempt at denying her fate, knowing Luffy, and I watch as Luffy hands the dog the food bag the lion took.

"It's all that's left, but it's still a treasure right?" I can't help but grin. Chou Chou picks up the bag, and walks off, but not before stopping and turning around, barking at us. I can almost hear his faint call. Thank you!

"No problem dog." I watch Chou Chou leave, when suddenly the mayor pops up!

"THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THOSE CLOWNS! (Kekeke) I SHALL PROTECT MY VILLAGE AS MAYOR!" The mayor stomps off, and we follow. (Me having to drag Zoro back on track a few times.) I can't let the mayor pass on…he's all Chou Chou has left…well, seems I've got another potential idiot to protect. When we arrive, I see that lion guy, along with the stupid clown himself and the rest of his crew. The mayor goes off into a long speech, and I ignore him, focusing my eyes on the crew. I take in the air, when I smell gunpowder. The cannon! I watch as Luffy jumps up, blowing himself to bounce the cannon ball back them!

"BOOOOOOM!" I yell in my head as the group is wiped out! Wait a minute….since when could Luffy do something like that?! I watch as the smoke clears, already hearing Buggy's raspy breathing through the ring of the cannon. The smoke revealed he used two of his own men to block the cannon shot! To my left I spotted a man who had used the lion to block the cannon shot instead. Those bastards should learn to take their own shots. Zoro steps forward, only to be halted by a man on a unicycle….ooh.

"It is an honor to fight you Roronoa Zoro, I am Cabaji, the third in command of the Buggy pirates!" Am I seriously being left with no one to fight?! Seriously?! Well…I guess I can deal with the rest of his crew.

"Captain, let me deal with the rest of his crew still standing!" Luffy grins and I run past the two fights, heading for the twenty some men standing there. I dash at the first man, giving him a punch straight to the face, causing him to go flying into a wall, I then duck a sword swing from another guy, before side-kicking him into another. I'm about to knock another out when a whip grabs my arm, pulling me back resulting in the pirate's swords slashing deeply through my arm, as I was unable to scale over in time. I ignore the pain and tug harshly at the whip, making the bear/lion/guy fall out of his corner where he was hidden. I punch the guy with the sword harshly, causing him to go flying off into another building.

"Hey bear guy, stop hiding and fight me like a man!" The guy gapes, seemingly offended…I wonder why?

"I'M A LION NOT A BEAR?! YOU SHALL PAY FOR THAT BASTARD!" He pulls the whip from my grasp, pulling it back and slashing it out on me. I plant myself, relaxing for the impact, so I absorb it better with my scales. I feel the burn of the whip and grin as I hear a scream of confusion from my opponent.

"WHAT THE HELL?" I let out a snarl, before sprinting up to him, grabbing his head and smashing it into the pavement, causing cracks to form in the ground. I lift him up by his collar, punching him in the face. Suddenly, I feel a sharp pain along my back. I turn to see the lion's teeth deep in my back! My eyes meet his, and I growl, teeth sharpening and eyes dilating. The lion freezes in fear, and using the opportunity, I grab him by the scruff, and bite the bridge of his snout. (Not on his nose, that would be disgusting) He yelps, teeth painfully leaving my flesh. I lift my foot, and kick him straight in the throat, sending him flying into a house, knocking him unconscious. My lungs hurt and I'm very sore, but I slowly walk back over to where Luffy was fighting the clown. I feel blood drip down my back. Damn, he got me better than I thought he did. I limp over to where Zoro is still fighting the unicyclist, and winning by the looks of it. Though I limp out of the way of the fight, the unicyclist dashes over to me.

"Maybe I'll just take a hos-"I cut him off with a foot to his face, slamming him down onto the pavement. I can feel Zoro's stare as I twist my foot, crunching his face deeper into the ground, before lifting my foot and limping over to a nearby wall, and slowly sitting against it. I look Zoro in the eyes and see surprise, and slight fear in them.

"Pretty bad huh? Finish your fight marimo." His eyes harden darkly, before he runs at Cabaji, who is dizzily standing up. The battles fade in and out, till eventually darkness envelopes me.

"Adrian!"

"Allan?"

"I have important news to tell you!"

"Spit it out little bro!"

"Well….ever since your big leave, many other dragons have followed. Some with good intentions…some not so good. The king can't do anything about those with good intentions, but we're keeping the bad ones landed."

"But…can they transform?"

"The king refused to let those who couldn't leave. Some buffered through it and matured, others didn't. I can confidently say you're probably the oldest dragon to have left."

"Must be the will of youth. Heh."

"I might be thinking of…finding you too."

"I approve."

"What?! You said no last time!"

"Someone's waking me up! See you little bro!"

"DAMMIT ADRIAN!"

I wake up to the familiar floating of the dinky boat of ours. I open my eyes, only to see unfamiliar surroundings. The island we're boarded at has a nice beach, and the perfect sleeping tree! I don't even care where those idiots are, knowing them, their fine. I haul myself up the cliff and into the tree, relax against the trunk, and start chewing on this news Allan brought me.

Allan is my younger brother, by three years in human years, and 30 in dragon years. At home, we were extremely weird, the two of us.

Most of the time, a female dragon is focused mainly on speed, and a male dragon on strength. Though different factors, they balanced out to make themselves of equal strength in a fight. Sexism isn't huge in dragons, because a female dragon can kick your ass.

Allan and I were different. Though we had the normal physical appearance, me being slimmer while Allan is more bulky, we were completely opposite of the rule. I was more in the strong point, and he was more in the speed point. We took it hard, as adults berated us, as if their words could magically change us. Eventually, after that incident….we learnt that the most precious person we had was each other. So, we stopped worrying, we stopped caring. When I left, I refused to let Allan come. Though mature, his human form was too young for him to follow me. Now though, after seeing him, I think he's ready. I hear voices below me, and without opening my eyes, I start to snoop, a bad habit of mine.

"Bring the ship to the north, we'll then slaughter the whole town."

"Yes captain!" Does not sound good…I stay still, waiting. When they finally leave, I slide off the tree. North…from the scents in the air, I'd say I'm on the south side, I guess I need to travel to the other side then. I feel my stomach rumble…food first, leaving later. I dash off, speeding to where I smell food. I slow down in front of an old tavern. I stroll in and take a seat, a waitress asks for my order, and after she walks off, I hear complaints from two ladies nearby.

"That little rat! Always running around and lying! Screaming!"

"I know right! Also he, like, dragged three poor like, innocent boys into his like, terrible games!"

"Such a joke that boy!" okay, this is getting a little out of hand….

"Just a silly boy abandoned by his like, stupid pirate of a father!" That's it! I don't care anymore! I stand abruptly, my chair falling back and hitting the floor. Silence covered the tavern, I march over to the two woman, who are cowering beneath my, most likely terrifying, stare. I turn towards the bartender, who looks scared.

"I'm very sorry for my disruption, but..." I lock my eyes to the two girls in front of me.

"I do not appreciate listening to people bad-mouthing people while I am eating. Especially two young, ignorant girls, who have yet to meet the hardships of the world." I pull my chair back up, and sit down on it silently. A waitress shakily brings me my meal.

"May I have a bottle of wine as well?" I let my eyes relax, and a smile cross my face. I see the waitress visibly relaxes, and she nods with a small smile, before fetching me a bottle of wine. The girls don't speak a word as I finish my meal. I leave some beli from a secret stash I have and pay fotr my meal, before heading for the door.

"Also, I wouldn't recommend insulting pirates when one is in the same room as you." I raise my hand in good bye.

When I get outside I sigh.

"Time to go and enjoy my wine."

Sorry this took so long! I have cousins over for the Christmas break and New Year's! I know this might seem boring, and lacking anything related to the original story set up, but, for Usopp's specifically, I forget much of the details. I will have Adrian fighting more, just to build her spot as first mate better!

Send me an OC in through PM! Review your feels!

Have a great week!

From: S.W.K.