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The island had been partying for three days! It was bloody insane if you ask me, although they had a good reason to celebrate. Too bad for me because I hated parties with a passion. I hated the loud noises and it was made so much worse now that I had the sharp hearing of a dog. I also hated the huge crowds of people; even as Braylie I hated crowds. I had slight demophobia when I was human, which was annoying for me as well. I could only stand large crowds of people if I knew all them personally. It made school a living hell for me.
After the huge fight everyone went and got their wounds treated, but I managed to slip away. I had no serious injuries; just a bit of bruising and I few small holes from the spines. The worst thing was the pain from the toxin but I knew the doctor could do nothing for it, so there was no point going to him. Also he was a doctor, not a veterinarian. I doubt he would have wanted to treat me even if I did help save his village. Some doctors are a bit iffy about treating dogs when they don't know the first thing about canine anatomy.
So, while everyone else headed to the town, I slipped away and made my way into the surrounding forest. It was a warm night, and everyone else was out partying or getting treated so no one looked for me. I found a nice hole in a tree and I slept there for the night and most of the next day to sleep the toxin off. I got up to quickly slip back into town and get some food. I ran into some of the others while I was there and they all looked to be fine, so after I grabbed some food I went back to the forest to sleep another night. By the next day my body was back to normal; the toxin seemed to be out of my system finally, much to my relief.
"We must now return back to our job as bounty hunters," Yosaku proclaimed as he looked wistful. "So thank you for all your help up till now."
"Though we must say goodbye, may we meet once again someplace else in the future," Jonny said.
I looked over the railing of the ship down at them, my paws on the rail to help keep me up. I let out a sad whine as I watched them; I was once again sad to see them go. They might have been idiots, but they were still my friends. At least I considered them to be.
"I see then, take care," Luffy said simply from next to me. Sanji, Zoro, and Usopp were standing around near us also on the deck of the ship.
It was the day that we finally departed; the partying had finally stopped yesterday too. I woke up from my sleeping place in the trunk of the tree way before the dawn broke with my body itching to be off. I had felt so much better that morning; all I really need was a good sleep and some food after all. I still hadn't managed to get any counseling though, bugger. I had then trotted lazily to the ship and waited there for the others to arrive after the sun had risen. I received a few questioning glances but no one asked where I had been, it's not like I could answer though.
"Where is she anyway?" I heard Usopp mutter as he glanced around the shore for Nami. She had still not shown up yet.
"Maybe she is not coming," Zoro commented blandly.
"What! Is Nami really not coming!" Sanji yelped at our captain.
"Hey! That raw ham melon you were talking about wasn't anywhere!" Luffy said to Sanji, not really realizing how completely off topic it was.
"SET SAIL!" Nami's voice cried out from down the path that lead towards the boat. I saw the villagers look on in shock and I just quirked a doggish eyebrow at her.
"She's running over here. What do we do?" Usopp questioned our captain.
"She said set sail… So I guess we should set sail," Was Luffy's answer.
Quickly dropped my paws from the rail and trotted off to the mast of the ship. If we were setting sail then I probably should get out of the way; I was pretty useless at helping running the ship. As I sat down I heard a commotion from shore and Luffy gave the proper order to set sail.
"You sure it's okay to let her leave like this?" I heard Sanji question our captain.
"It's her goodbye so let her decided," He said with a shrug.
I heard a thump and I'm guessing it was Nami landing on the deck. Shortly following that I heard several cries of, "My wallet's gone!" from shore. I let a smirk ghost over my muzzle. That was truly a parting no one will forget soon.
I dropped to the ground, curling my body around the mast as the sun brushed over my back like a warm blanket. I heard several other cries from the shore and a few more words of parting but since I was not part of that goodbye, I decided to stay right out of it and tuned out as I took a small nap.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I was jolted from my sleep roughly by a loud scream.
I launched myself to my feet, my head snapping around to try and find out what was wrong. I quickly located where everyone else was and bolted to the front of the deck. I came to a skidding halt in front of Luffy and glanced up to see what he had in his hands. It was his wanted poster for 30 million beli. Oh, so that's what the whole drama was about. That's nothing big.
"Nahahahahaha!" Luffy laughed in his childish manner. "Looks like we are wanted men now! It says 30 million beli!"
"Once again you fail to understand the gravity of the situation..." Nami muttered in a deadpan manner. I dropped my weight back onto my haunches as I watched Luffy's gleeful face. He was just like a kid sometimes. "Don't you realize this means your life is at risk! With that bounty I'm sure marine HQ as well as other strong bounty hunters will come after you…"
"Look!" Usopp taunted Sanji. "My pictures here for the whole world to see!"
"As if, that's just the back of your head," Muttered Sanji in a dejected matter.
"Don't become jealous now! Once we become infamous pirates we might all get one!" Usopp declared as if it was a good thing. I hated to admit it but I wanted to see if I got a bounty as well, and how high that bounty was. I hope they don't give me a low one just because I am an animal…
"With this we can't afford to just loiter around in the East Blue any longer…" Nami muttered as she started planning things out.
"Alright men! Let's head straight for the Grand Line!" Luffy cried out.
"AYE, AYE!" Usopp and Sanji chorused together.
"Hey, I see an island over there," Zoro pointed out and I trotted over to the rail, popping my head up to see where he was pointing.
"That island if proof that we are close to the Grand Line," Nami stated. "On that island there's a famous town called Loguetown. It's also known as the town of the beginning and the end. It's the birthplace of the Pirate King Roger as well as his execution spot."
"So that's the town where the Pirate King died at…" Luffy muttered to himself. For some reason I could remember nothing about this time… Well let's hope that's a good thing and that it means we won't get into any trouble. But hey, this is us we are talking about. We are trouble.
"Shall we go…" Nami asked. I don't really think she needed to ask that because we all knew the answer to that question.
"Whoa! What a big town!" Luffy cried gleefully as we stood at the entrance of the main street of Loguetown. We were all standing near a large archway with a sign at the top the read 'Loguetown' and around the place was tones of people everywhere. I hate crowds…
"So, the pirate age all began from here, huh?" I heard Sanji say and I sent a glance his way. He didn't question my place in the crew; not even once, I wonder why? I hadn't even gotten to have my introductory staring contest with him. Maybe I'll have to do that another day.
"Okay then! I'm going to go see the execution stand!" Luffy declared; I'm pretty sure that was all he was here for really.
"Seems like I can get some good ingredients and food here!" Sanji put in happily.
"I'm going to go look for some equipment to buy," Usopp said as well.
"I do have something I want to buy too…" Zoro muttered thoughtfully.
"I'll happily lend you some money. At 300% interest that is!" Nami said with a creepy look on her face.
I wasn't watching my crew mates though, this whole town had me on edge. It was way too damn busy and had too many people. I wanted to just crawl back to the boat and wait for them there. Maybe I would do that, I had nothing I needed. I still had that knife the cloak guy gave me and it was strapped to my leg, so I had a weapon and I can think of nothing else I'd need.
'How the fuck did I end up in this situation!' I snapped at myself; I was so stupid! I should have just gone back to the damn boat.
Everyone went their separate ways and here I was, stuck in the large crowd of people as I tried to dodge their feet. It was so crowded, there was legs and feet everywhere and so much noise! I just wanted to get out as soon as I could or I would start hyperventilating soon.
I spotted an exit from the crowd down a smaller street and I bolted for it, my eyes zeroed in on my goal. I think I might have accidentally pushed a few people as I ran... Oops? When I finally cleared the maze of legs, I skidded to a stop and took a deep breath. That was crazy, I'm not going back in there. It's time to go back to the boat now, and I'll just have to take the back streets.
I start trotting slowly down the small side street that only had a few shops and people walking about but I stopped when I spotted something. There was a young women on one side of the street and she had three large baskets full of food around her. She seemed to be struggling to pick them all up at once and I felt a twinge if pity.
I couldn't help it as I slipped over to where she was standing and I let out a whine as I looked up at her. She glanced down at me and I saw her green eyes narrow in suspicion as her short brown hair fluttered in the wind.
"Sorry doggie, I can't spare any food for you," She sighed and continued her attempts.
I just shook my head and scooped up the basket handle between my teeth and lifted it up. She gave me an alarmed looked, probably thinking I'd steal it. I just sent her a stare and then bumped her leg with the top of my head causing her to take a few steps forward. I then walked up to her and did it again as I ignored her yelp of, "Hey!"
I looked up to her again and she hesitated as she looked down at me still, probably wondering why I hadn't already taken off with her basket. She seemed to get a thoughtful look on her face and took a few steps forward by herself this time. I copied her, staying at her heels and stopping where she stopped. I saw her smile at me as she walked a few meters away before stopping and I followed at her heels the whole time.
I saw her shake her head and mutter something before she turned back to me and said, "Come on then."
She kept walking down the street without stopping this time, although she did spare the occasional glance backwards to see if I was still following. After ducking down several more streets we came to a stop in front of some sort of craft shop that was filled with materials and sewing things. She pushed the door open with her shoulder and held it open for me to walk in. I stopped a few steps in the door and she walked out the back for a few seconds before coming back empty handed and taking the basket carefully from me.
After she had put that out the back too she came back to stand in front of me and she reached over and began to pat the top of my head.
"Thank you for your help!" She said with a bright smile. I was glad I could help. Now, back to the boat!
"Wait two seconds and I'll get you something," She said as she stood up.
I was tempted to go anyway, but she stayed in the front of the shop this time before flitting around a bit and digging through a few draws. She eventually found what she was looking for and she came back over to me, holding out a small scrap of black material. My eyes widened a bit when I saw that it was a bandanna that had a Jolly Roger on it. It was a simple skull and bones Jolly Roger, but the fact that she picked something like that out for me confused me. I look up into her eyes and sent her a questioning look.
"This is for you, as thanks for helping me. Don't give me that look; I know you are a pirate's dog. The knife kinda gave it away. If you were a marine's pet you'd have something labeling you as one and no pirate hunter is stupid enough to send their pet out so blatantly armed in a port with pirates, marines, and other bounty hunters everywhere. My older brother is a pirate and I miss him dearly, so I have nothing against pirates if they aren't harming others," She said as she tied it around my neck.
Her little speech had made a lot of sense, this woman was more switched on then most people would have guessed. I let out a soft but grateful bark at her, my tail swinging happily in the air as she pulled her backs from tying it. I reached up and softly licked the end of her fingers before I spun on my heels and headed back out of the shop. I passed a mirror on the way out and I smirk at how much my new black pirate bandanna actually suited me. I guess no good favor goes unpaid.
I was making my way to the ship when I happened to bump into everyone but Luffy at an intersection. I looked down one of the street and saw most people heading in one direction. The hell? The other glanced at each other curiously too, what and easy way to meet up.
"So, where is he?" Zoro asked the others. That was a good question in my opinion. Whose smart idea was it to let our captain go off by himself?
"He said he wanted to go check out the execution stand…" Nami muttered.
"Isn't the execution stand right here is town square?" Usopp asked and he all glanced to where he was indication with his head. Why the hell were Sanji and him carrying a freaking huge fish?
"WHA!" Usopp screamed out as we all spotted Luffy at the same time. He was on the execution stand, with his head and hands in the damn wooden block thing so he couldn't get out! He was about to be executed! That IDIOT!
"WHY THE HELL IS HE ON THE EXECUTION STAND!" Zoro yelled in shock.
Without anything needing to be said we all got to our respective jobs. Nami and Usopp took off running towards the dock to get the boat ready. At least I think that is what they doing. Zoro, Sanji, and I were left to try and save our Captain.
We were pushing our way through the citizen when I heard Luffy scream out, "I'M THE MAN WHO'LL BECOME THE PIRATE KING!"
"Is that all you have to say you rubber brat!" I heard the clown looking man call out and he began to swing a sword down towards Luffy's neck.
"WAIT!" Zoro and Sanji screamed at the same time as the citizen around us began to part so we could get through easier.
"ZORO! MAMORI! SANJI!" Our captain called out. "Help me out here!"
What did that idiot think we were trying to do?
"So, you've come Zoro! But you've come too late!" The clown I am presuming to Buggy cried out as he stood over Luffy's trapped form.
"In any case, we've got to bring that execution stand down!" Zoro snarled as we bolted through the parting crowd.
"I know!" Was Sanji reply.
"Take care of them boys!" A female voice cried out.
"As you command Lady Alvida!" A bunch of pirates cried as they charge at us, their weapons at the ready.
"MOVE IT!" Sanji yelled as we started to fight our way through the pirates.
They weren't that strong so it was easy for me to push them over or trip them up. I also dished out a few nips here and then as I pushed my way through. I wasn't game enough to use my knife just yet… I still didn't like it that much after it had helped me kill the Lionfish.
"Gyahaha! Just watch carefully from there!" Buggy cried tauntingly. "Witness the last moments of your captain!"
"BASTARD!" Sanji screamed at him. "Come down here and fight me coward!"
I saw how hopeless the situation was getting so I finally slipped my knife out of its holder and started to use it to help me get through the pirates. I slashed a leg here and there, not doing enough damage to kill. The blood that splashed onto my face was gross though, it made me feel sick. I was doing this for my captain though! I would do anything for Luffy! But the damn pirates kept coming. I got dealt a few kick or hits here are there, I wasn't sure how long I could last.
"Zoro! Mamori! Sanji! Nami! Usopp!" I heard out captain call out to us. My eyes flicked to the side for a second to watch him as he said with the biggest smile on his face, "Sorry, I'm dead."
"Don't say that you bastard!" I heard Sanji scream as at the same time I let out a howl of rage and sorrow.
'LUFFYYYYYYYY!' I screamed mentally in panic, my chest seizing up and the sword came down on his neck.
Just before the sword touched Luffy's flesh, a huge bolt of lightning came down from the sky and crashed into the platform, causing it to splinter and collapse in on itself. I watched in in awe like everyone else as Luffy stood up out of the rubble looking perfectly fine, not a damn scratch on the prick. His hat then flew to the ground and he bent over to pick it up and put it back on his head as rain started to fall.
"Nahahaha! Looks like I did survive," He said happily. "How lucky."
I was so relieved... But at the same time I was so fucking pissed!
"Hey, do you believe in God?" Sanji asked Zoro as Luffy walked towards us.
"Enough talking, let's leave this town already," Zoro snapped. "We've got more trouble heading our way."
"Surround the town square! Capture all the pirates!" We heard a voice call out over that rain as marines began to swarm out everywhere.
We all bolted, heading back towards the harbor as we did so, the marines on our tail. As we ran I kept sending Luffy very nasty glares. That fucking idiot had me so worried! I can't believe he done that! If I was still in my human body I would have smacked him clean across the face and then burst out crying. Lucky from him I was a dog…