Sorry about the cliff hanger last time! I hope this chapter makes up for it! :) And thank you to all my lovely reviewers! You are all awesome.
I laid there silently like a statue, waiting for death. I couldn't fight him. He was too strong and I was already too hurt. I held my breath, closing my eyes again as I waited. I could hear my heart beating in my ears, the only standing as a testament to the fact that I was still alive.
'So this is the end of me? All this time only for it to come to this…? I didn't even die protecting my friends. I would have been able to accept that,' The thoughts spun through my head.
I waited. And waited. Nothing happened.
After what felt like a few agonizingly slow minutes, I felt the knife being drawn back and the knee being lifted from my shoulder. I then heard Mr. Cloak drop his ass onto the ground next to me, just sitting there as he crossed his legs.
I rolled onto my side, filching as all the cuts that covered my body twinged. I couldn't find the energy to lift myself off the ground so I kept my head on the ground as I stared at Mr. Cloak.
'The hell…' I muttered.
He let out a long sigh, reaching up to run his hand through his hair again after he slipped the knife away.
"You know, you really have been entertaining… Even if you are weak," He admitted as his grey eyes finally meeting mine. His whole attitude seemed to do a 360 within seconds.
'So… Wait… What?' I muttered in confusion, none of it making sense. If only I could ask him questions.
"I guess I can give you a little more time," He laughed suddenly. "But, you really need to work on your mental state and I know how I can help you do that."
Suddenly I was scooped up in his arms as he stood back up, my back facing down so that I was held like a baby. I yelped in protest, struggling and squirming against his hold.
"Shut the fuck up pup," He hissed and I felt him smack the back of my head. "You've lost a bit of blood so you'll be too dizzy to walk. This will be quicker and I'm not about to kidnap you, I'm helping you back to your friends."
'Well, looks like he hasn't changed that much,' I sighed as the back of my head throbbed. I then let out a grumpy growl before finally settling down. 'How degrading… But I really can't find the energy to fight him. Looks like I might as well trust him... Again. Spidey senses, what do you say?... Oh, so you're not talking to me NOW?'
"Oh, I almost forgot," He muttered as he let go with one of his arms, holding me up with the other. He quickly fished something out of his pants pocket, slipping it into my bandana. "Here is that rose back. I really don't know why you want to keep it."
I looked up to him, flashing him a huge smile now that I had to the rose back. Maybe he wasn't as bad as I thought. I think I might even be able to stand him if he stops trying to kill me every other day.
"Hey, I believe that's your friends," A voice said as I was shaken awake. I grumbled a bit, snuggling back into the arms that were holding me. It took me a few seconds to realize whose arms I was in and what had happened before. When it did click, my eyes shot open and I yelped out loud in protest, wiggling around again.
"Oi!" He hissed as he dropped me, letting me land on the ground. I managed to flip over so I landed on all fours, my body yelling in protest. "Stop being a retard. You were the one who fell asleep not me, so don't get all pissy."
'I feel asleep?' I grumbled to myself, turning my head around to survey myself. My coat was matted with small patches of blood all over my body because of the cuts. Other than that I was fine. 'Hmm, I feel a lot better after a nap… Wait! Friends!'
My head shot up, glancing around the place to try and find my friends. I noted that we were back in the town on one of the streets. The smell of the sea tickled my nose, so we couldn't be that far from the dock. I finally saw my friends, my heart dropping when I noticed that Zoro and Luffy were covered in blood and bruises from some reason. Someone had hurt them...
I went to jump forward and run over to them but a commanding voice stopped me, "Wait. Don't run over there yet. Watch."
I hesitated, swishing my tail unhappily but I waited and watched nevertheless.
"Let them laugh!" A huge man that was sitting in the middle of the road told Nami, Luffy, and Zoro. "Anyone who wants to be a first-rate man will encounter a time where there is no reason to fight back! Tshahahaha!"
"Let's go Luffy," I heard Zoro say as he turned around.
Luffy didn't budge though; he just continued to stare at the stranger that was sitting in the middle of the road.
"Come on," Mr. Cloak urged me as he walked towards them. I quickly followed him by his side, cutting our way through the crowd.
"Hey! Old man!" Mr. Cloak called out next me, causing me to jump and send him a wide eyed look. "What are you, a preacher?"
"Mamori!" I heard Nami gasp my name when she saw me. Hmm, apparently I looked worse than I felt… Wait, nope. I felt pretty bad.
"Tshahahaha!" The large man laughed as he turned his head towards us. "I'm just passing on some wisdom."
"Is that what you call it? " The man beside me snorted.
"Oh, looks like I'm in your way," The large man said as he turned back to Luffy and stood up. "Are you in a hurry? It would be great if you can get there… To Sky Island!"
With that said the man turned and walked past us as we walked towards my crew. I watched him blankly but the man next to me didn't even spare a glance his way as he passed. Who was that guy…?
"Not you too!" Nami huffed as we finally reached them. "Honestly! What is it with you guys! You can't go anywhere without getting in trouble. Where did you go? One second you were walking behind us the next you gone! You can't just run off like that!"
I flinched slightly, my ears drooping to the side as I looked at her with wide eyes. I just created more problems for them all by wandering off, why am I never smart? You think I could make smart choices every now and then, but no.
"Relax," The man next to me laughed at Nami, waving his hand. "She didn't start the fight if that makes you feel any better. Nor did she continue it. You should be proud of her."
"Thank you for bringing her back to us," Nami sighed.
"No problem. Actually I wanted to talk to you guys anyway, but not here in public," He admitted, flashing her a charming smile.
I resisted the urge to gag at his fakeness so I settled for a snort which earned me a glare from him. Damn, he was being so sweet that it was sickening. I'm not really sure why he wants to talk to these guys but he'd better not try any funny stuff…
"Uh…" Nami hesitated as all three of them looked at him. "Okay, let's just get away from here."
They all turned around, walking back towards the dock. I lazily followed along at the back with Mr. Cloak as I watched him suspiciously.
"L…LU…LUFFY! ZORO! MAMORI!" Usopp yelled out as he, Sanji, and Chopper hung over the railing, staring at us all as we approached the boat. "YOU GUYS! WHAT'S WITH THOSE WOUNDS! WHAT HAPPENED?"
"NAMI!" Sanji called out. "Are you alright Nami!"
"Ahhh!" Chopper panicked. "Doc… Doc… Doctor! DOCTOR!"
"You're the doctor! So go give them some fist aid!" Usopp yelled, smacking Chopper over the head.
My ears flicked as I heard the man besides me let out a small laugh that only my dog ears could pick up on. Well, it was more of a quick exhale of breath. He actually sounded amused then…How odd… It's good to actually hear him bei-GOD DAMN IT! I WILL NOT START GETTING SOFT ON HIM! GODDAMN HORMONES AND PROTECTIVE INSTINCT! He keeps trying to kill me! After he has saved me… Damn confusing bastard!
Wait no...Could this be Stockholm syndrome? Well that's great. I needed to add another mental quirk to my long list.
"Were you fighting with that monster Mogera?" Usopp asked.
We had all climbed aboard the boat and Chopper started to treat our injuries. He had already fixed up Zoro who was now sitting down and leaning against the railing. Chopper was now halfway through patching Luffy up and then I was next. Mr. Cloak man was sitting on the railing behind me, watching with mischievous eyes that I didn't approve of.
"It was just pirates," Luffy replied. "Don't worry about it, it's all over."
"That's right," Zoro added.
"Even if all of you want to let go of the past, I'm still angry!" Nami hissed. "What kind of response was that! A real man would pulverize any challenger to dust! Argh! This city is pissing me off! Why didn't you bash them into bits!"
"Just a little while ago you were saying-" Zoro started to say.
"That was the past! Don't bring it up!" She screamed back at him. "If you do I will beat you to death!"
'Holy shit…' I muttered, raising an eyebrow. 'What happened to put her in this kind of mood?'
"Hey, why is the only one who didn't get hurt, being so emotional?" Usopp asked, sweat dropping.
"Dunno why…" Luffy muttered.
"Oh, did you discover any clues about Sky Island?" Chopper asked, perking up.
"Sky Island?" Nami said as he turned around and gave him a scary look. "I don't care anymore. When I mentioned it, everyone in the store just laughed. Is everything I say always funny! Is it because I said it! What did I do that was so funny!"
"Ketchup Boshi*!" Usopp called out, collapsing back and using the ketchup to make it look like he was shot.
"Guard Point!" Chopper called out, puffing up in effort to save himself from Nami's wrath.
"As I thought," Mr. Cloak mused loudly from behind me. "You are really planning to go to Sky Island."
"You know about it?" Luffy asked excitedly as everyone's attention finally switched to him.
"You could say that," He replied, waving his hand. "But that's not what I came to talk to you about."
"What did you come to talk about then?" Nami asked with a frown.
"Her," He said simply, using one of his hand to point at me as he stood up. My brows furrowed as I stood up slowly, turning to face him as well now.
'What the fuck is he planning…' I wondered in confusion.
"Mamori? What about her?" Zoro asked in a low voice as he stood up as well.
"I thought it was about time you were all let in on a little secret," He answered in an amused voice. "Now, how to say this without creating too many more questions…"
'Oh God!' I gaped. 'Please don't me is about to te-'
"Mamori, as you call her, is a human in a dog's body," He said as bluntly as he could with a serious face on. He wasn't smiling, nor was he frowning. His face was just neutral, gauging everyone else's reactions.
My whole body tensed up, all the muscles contracting and then I froze. I couldn't move. I couldn't think. I couldn't talk. I couldn't breathe.
"WHAT!" A shocked exclamation echoed numbly in my ears as I stared at him in horror.
"I-Im-Impossible!" Usopp stuttered. "Un-Unless she has eaten a Devil Fruit…"
"She's... A…" Sanji muttered, his jaw dropping.
I couldn't find it in myself to look at any of them. All I could do was close my eyes as I lowered my head. My ears pressed themselves back flat as my mind tried to figure out the proper way to react.
"But, she can swim!" Nami objected.
"No, she has not eaten a Devil Fruit," He hummed, enjoying the chaos he had created.
My body started to shake softly as I took gasping breaths of panic.
'No, no, no, no, no,' I moaned quietly.
"And how do you know this?" Zoro asked.
"Because I came here to kill her," He replied bluntly.
My eye snapped open as my head roughly jerked up to gape at the fool. The tension that grew in the air was palpable, the density of it causing a shiver to run down my spine. I heard several intakes of breath and then I heard Zoro pull out his swords. Sanji and Luffy also stepped forward, a scary look in their eyes.
"YOU ASSHOLE!" Luffy yelled suddenly, his nostrils flaring. "YOU WON'T TOUCH HER!"
"Boy," He laughed as he smirked at Luffy. "If I still wanted to kill her I would have finished her off earlier. I've changed my mind since then."
'This is not meant to happen…' I panicked, my breath still coming in shallow gasps. 'It's not meant to happen like this at all!'
"Who the hell do you think you are you shitty bastard!" Sanji demanded. "If Mamori really is a woman in a dog's body then I am going to be her prince! Just like the story of the frog and the princess I shall kiss her and set her free~"
'LIKE HELL!' I protested, wondering who was worse at the moment. The bipolar and violent mystery man or Sanji who has now decided he is going to be my prince and wanted to kiss me to set me free.
"Sanji! Now is not the time!" Nami quickly cut him off before addressing the still amused stranger. "Who are you and how do you know so much about her?"
"Hmm, I have a few names. If you must call me by a name, then call me Ikol," He replied calmly. "And why I know so much about her is not information that I feel like letting you know about. I only came here to tell you that little titbit of information. No more, no less. Now I bid you farewell."
"Wait!" Luffy yelled in rage, pulling back his arm. "Gomu Gomu no…."
Ikol just smirked, looking at me one last time. He winked at me in a mischievous way while I stared, having no idea what to do.
"PISTOL!" Luffy finished, throwing his fist at Ikol and just as the fist was about to make contact a huge torrent of wind picked up around Mr. Cloak. Luffy's fist hit the mini whirlwind that encased the man, his fist being shot off to the side. Luffy stumbled forward a few steps, the wind around Ikol dying off. His arm then retracted to normal as we all stared silently at the place that Ikol was before. He was gone again, no sign of him left.
"AH! COME BACK! COWARD!" Luffy yelled after him.
"H-He's gone…" Usopp muttered.
The silence that settled over the ship unsettled me, my eyes straight away dropping to look at the deck as everyone else turned to look at me.
'No, no, no!' I panicked, on the verge of hyperventilation and a panic attack. I took a step back, my eyes still refusing to meet my friends. 'I'm sorry. So very sorry! Sorry! I… I…'
The silence that continued had me on a verge of a mental break down, my mind swimming a million miles an hour as all sorts of things spun through it. Although my brain was so active, I couldn't quite process any of it. My mind was so numb. The only thing I could process was the sound of my heaving and choking breathing and the loud thumping of my heart.
"Is… Is that true Mamori?" Chopper's soft and placid voice asked, breaking the silence. I jumped at the sudden sound, my head snapping up as I looked at Chopper. I didn't know what to say. What could I say?
'It… Is. I'm sorry! I should have told you! I… I…' I stumbled over my words, trying to spit out too much at once with no way to voice all my feelings.
"But how!" Chopper exclaimed.
'I… I don't know! If I knew then I probably would have told you by now! I was even starting to doubt that I was once human… I've been in this body for what seems like ages. This is me now! It was not my plan to deceive any of you! I just woke up like this one day! One day I was happily going about my normal life and the next I woke up as a dog!' My chest was heaving and shuddering and I finished my rant, ears pressed back against my head. I could only guess what was running through the others heads. All the times that I'd acted like a dog around them. Licking them, jumping on them, and sleeping on them… 'I DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND THIS! I WISH I DID! … I… I'm sorry.'
"W-What did she say?" Usopp stuttered, causing me to flinch. He was scared of me now…?
"She said it's true… She said she has no idea how it happened. One day she was a normal human and the next she was in a dog's body," Chopper mumbled quietly, seeming to be in shock himself.
"So?" Luffy's calm voice broke the silence. "She's still Mamori."
My eyes flicked in Luffy's direction, widening in shock at what he had said. He didn't care? My jaw almost dropped when I saw what Luffy was doing. He was standing there, looking to the side with his pinkie finger up his nose.
'But… What…' I spluttered, not sure how to take Luffy.
"Who was that strange guy though?" Zoro asked, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked at me. He didn't sound angry… At least not angry at me. He didn't sound pleased at Ikol though.
'I… I don't really know. I have reason to believe he knows why I am like this. I have seen him around the place before but he's never tried to kill me before now… I can't understand him,' I admitted, shyly meeting Zoro's eyes.
"She says she doesn't know who he is. She thinks he has something to do why she is like she is. She also says she has seen him around the place before but today was the first time he tried to kill her," Chopper translated for me.
"So those injuries…" Sanji left the question hanging in the air.
I could almost feel my face heating up. If I was human I would have been blushing by now. They didn't care about the fact I was human? They were worried about me? No one has really worried about me so much before now… I'm usually the protector. I felt butterflies in my stomach. It was a feeling that I was not used to and it wasn't exactly a bad feeling either. It made me feel 'loved,' for a lack of a better word.
They took the look on my face and my silence as a yes.
"If he comes back, you need to tell us," Luffy ordered, a serious look on his face.
I couldn't even say anything or make a sound; I just nodded my head numbly.
"Did something happen?" Robin's voice snapped everyone out of their thoughts. My ears flicked around with my head as I stared through the railing and saw Robin walking up to the boat.
"Ah! You're back Robin!" Sanji cooed happily, running up the railing and waving at the approaching female. "Would you like to eat first or take a bath?"
"Where did Robin go?" Luffy asked dumbly, going back to his normal self.
"I went to buy some clothes," Robin said as she walked up the steps on the side of the boat. "I also tried to find clues about 'Sky Island' along the way."
"OH YEAH! IT WAS ALL BECAUSE OF YOU ROBIN! YOU AND YOUR 'SKY ISLAND' TALK!" Nami screamed at her, pointing her finger. I was left to my own devices to calm down from my close call to a panic attack because of earlier. "IF IT DOESN'T EXIST I'LL FEED YOU TO THE SHARKS!"
"Hey," Chopper's voice called from next to me. I blinked owlishly, looking at him with wide eyes. I didn't really want the attention again. "I need to fix your wounds now."
'Oh… Of course. Thank you,' I replied softly, sitting down on the deck next to him as he got started. 'You're not angry or upset at me for not telling you earlier…?'
"Not really. I'm sure you had your reasons," He admitted as he put some liquid on a cloth and used it to wipe out my cuts. I let a yelp leave my mouth before I clamped my jaws together, glancing to side in embarrassment. "Sorry. I knew there was something odd about the way you acted. You acted nothing like any animal I have met before. Plus, you'd never spoken to any other animals before. That's almost unheard of."
'Oh…' I blinked, seeing how foolish I must have looked to him. I noted that the others were talking amongst themselves, looking over a map Robin had given to them. Must be for Sky Island. 'Let me guess, you thought I had something mentally wrong with me?'
"It crossed my mind, but you displayed none of the other main symptoms that accompany an illness of that kind," He said sheepishly, pulling out a jar of cream that he then opened. He scooped some up on his hoof and then started to smudge it on some of my cuts. The substance matted with my fur a bit but it cooled down all the cuts which made me let out a soft sigh. "Would you mind if I ran a few tests later and a physical examination later? Purely for medical reason of course. I would be able to tell you if there was anything wrong with your body."
'I'd be more than happy for you do that. Any answers will be handy for me because at the moment I understand about as much as you,' I told him, flashing him an introverted smile. He was taking things better than I would have though. I thought they would have all have shunned me when the found out the truth… Well part of it. They've no idea that I don't come from this world. Not that it probably matters much… It's not like I remember anything else from the timeline.
"So… What was it like?" He asked as he pulled out a small roll of bandages.
'Hmm?' I mumbled distractedly.
"Being human," He replied, starting to wrap the bandage around one of the large cuts on my leg.
'Oh! Right. Well… It's what was normal for me. I was born and raised human, so it's nothing really out of the ordinary. I was your average teenage female, average size group of friends. I wasn't rebellious, I was the quiet one who did as her mother said. I had a little brother that I adored too, he was such a sweetie,' I sighed, my mind drifting back to the old days that I had been trying too hard to run away from. 'I used to love reading books, they were like my drugs. They could take you from one side of the world to the other with only a few sentences,'
"You like reading?" Chopper said in surprise. "Robin has quite a few books. If you want, I could ask her if you could borrow one or two?"
'That would be lovely if you could please!' I gasped, my tail thumping against the deck at the thought of a book. Their wonderful smell and the feel of the covers and pages. 'You're so thoughtful Chopper… Thank you.'
"I-I don't care what you think bitch!" He yelled, doing his little squiggly dance.
I couldn't hide the smile that flashed across my face. So this is what true friends are like? I was all down and depressed a few moments ago thanks to Ikol, and in a few words Chopper had switched my mood around. Somehow I felt closer to him already, even know that he knew about me. I couldn't say the same about the others right now; they were probably still trying to process it too.
I just wished things could go back how they were, but I have a feeling they won't be exactly the same again. I shall just have to wait and see how the rest of them adjust to this new change and I have no doubt that Chopper will help me. He really is naïve and cute, he reminded me of my brother.
"All Orang-utan divers, terminate search. Return to the ship!" A voice called across the sea in front of the boat. I furrowed my brows. What now?
"We just set sail and we're already encountering something strange…" Luffy said as I lifted my head up and looked over the side of the cabin roof. As soon as Chopper was done with treating my injuries, I had made a quick escape to the cabin roof. I didn't want to have to face the awkwardness with the others straight away.
"But it doesn't look like that guy Usopp," Sanji sighed as they looked forward at the new boat in the water in front of us.
"Yeah, but we still can't tell if there will be trouble," Usopp pointed out from where he had hidden behind Sanji with Chopper. "But we did see him before, right?"
"Yeah, so he's from this island after all, we saw him come back here," Chopper agreed.
"Hmm, even if we meet him again, it doesn't really matter," Luffy shrugged.
"HEY YOU! YEAH YOU!" A voice yelled at us from the other boat to get our attention. I frowned at the large looking monkey sitting in a chair near his ship's figurehead with all his crew was standing along the railing. "STOP CHATTING OVER THERE!"
This was going nowhere too fast for my liking. Fuck the awkwardness still hanging around me and the rest of the crew, I was not going to hide up here any longer in this situation.
With that decided I smoothly stood up, my tail swishing past my heels as it pulled up into its curled position. I then leaped off the roof and onto the railing bellow the cabin, balancing there for a few seconds as I lined my jump up.
'This is gonna be a pretty far jump,' I hummed in an unnaturally calm mood, wiggling my bum as I got into position.
"Tsk," The monkey from the other boat tusked when he finally saw our crew. "Jeez and I thought it was somebody dangerous. It was making a little edgy."
'1… 2... UPP!' I called out, launching myself straight off the railing and forward. I just skimmed past the bottom of the sail and I flew through the air above the lower decking. I aimed from the railing on the front deck, my eyes zeroed in on my target. My front paws stretched out, ready to touch down the railing, glee lighting up my face with how far I had managed to jump. 'Annndd… TOUCH DOW-OOOF!'
BAM
I miscalculated the amount of room my back paws would need and I ended up shoving myself off the railing, face planting on the deck. I groaned as I looked back up and saw everyone staring at me. Luffy, Sanji, Chopper, Usopp, and everyone from the other boat was gawking awkwardly at me. Embarrassment flooded my systems as some of them sweat-dropped at my sudden crash landing. Suddenly something flashed over Sanji's face.
"MAMORI~ My princess! Are you okay?" He cooed, spinning towards me.
'I'm good!' I yelped, untangling my limbs and jumping up before Sanji got to me. I then skittered away from him a little bit, looking at him with wide eyes. This was going to take a lot of getting used to.
"If you ever need my assistance just call my nam-… Oh," He paused in his speech as he realized that I couldn't call his name.
I just flashed him an unsure smile before edging around him and skittering up to Chopper. I hid behind him to try and get everyone's attention off me, poking my head shyly around his side.
'Dear Gods above… That was rather embarrassing,' I complained to him as he laughed a little. 'I think next time I'll just walk.'
"That might be smart, or you may injure yourself next time," He said, frowning in worry. I had to resists the urge to glomp him, I can't believe I had been such a bitch to him when we first we met.
"You have a very strange face," Luffy told the monkey looking captain as everyone's attention finally switched away from me. "What species are you?"
"I'm human you punk," The monkey looking human snapped back at Luffy.
"WHHHHAAA!" His crew cried out. "DON'T MESS WITH OUT CAPTAIN!"
I frowned yet again at their hostile attitude, stepping out from behind Chopper. I slipped in front of Usopp and Chopper smoothly, my protective attitude switching back on at the change of moods.
"Forget it, forget it," The monkey waved off with a sigh. "It seems like you guys are pirates! Did you know that Crocodile's seat in the Shichibukai is now empty? If they judge by real strength, that seat should be mine! I am so edgy just waiting."
'Well, that's a little vain,' I grumbled at his attitude.
"Ah, you want to join the Shichibukai?" Sanji asked him.
"I know you're wondering why me? I'll tell you something special about me," He said. "Ever since I was born, I never had a haircut. That's 25 years without a haircut! So, did I surprise you?"
'Chopper… Does this guy display any of the signs of mental illness?' I tried to contain the evident sound of amusement in my voice. 'This guy is not on the same planet as us.'
Choppers face broke out in a huge grin and he had to cover his mouth with his hooves so that he didn't laugh out loud, tears gathering at the corner of his eyes.
"You're an idiot," Luffy bluntly told the weird monkey.
"What!" He cried back at us, no longer happy.
"How dare you say that to the captain!" His loyal crew yelled at us.
"Forget it, forget it," The monkey sighed and waved it off yet again. "Jeez, your response really made me edgy. Remember this, passing through the tunnel called 'My fury' will result in a sea of blood."
"Whatever, we have somewhere to go, so get out of my way!" Luffy order, placing his hands on hips.
"You stupid idiot!" The other Captain finally snapped and lost his temper. I was honestly surprised it took him this long with the way Luffy is. "This part of the sea is my territory! If you want to pass, you have to pay the toll!"
"The 'territory' thing again… He talks like Masira," Usopp pointed out from where he was hiding behind Chopper who was hiding behind me.
"Did Masira say that too?" Luffy questioned.
"What? Masira? What happened to Masira!" Monkey man called out.
"Huh? We sent him flying with a kick, but-" Luffy was cut off before he could say anymore.
"YOU SENT HIM FLYING!" He raged, standing up. "FLYING WITH A KICK! HOW DARE YOU TREAT MY BROTHER LIKE THAT!"
"Hey, wait a minute," Luffy said, waving his hand. "We may have kicked him but he's still ali-"
"I WILL AVENGE MASIRA!" He yelled, grabbing a microphone from somewhere and screaming into it. "SOUND WAVE! WAIL OF DESTRUCTION!"
Everything blurred when the sound reached my sensitive dog ears, all of my senses mixing up. I couldn't see properly or hear, everything around me distorted. I stood there with blurred eyes as I tried to get control of my body back, but I couldn't even seem to twitch a muscle.
'WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!' I yelled mentally in pain.
The sound slowly got louder and droned on in my ears as it reached the boat, pain radiating in my head. It felt like someone was scratching blackboards in my head. Bile rose in my throat I could not feel anything but the pain spreading in my head.
At some stage I was aware that my legs gave out on me, letting me drop to the deck in a shaking pile of fur. I let out a pathetic whimper, slowly dragging my paws up to try and cover my ears as I tried to escape the sound and pain.
I vaguely felt myself get pulled off of the ground into someone's arms as I tried to curl into a ball to escape the God awful sound. After that I don't remember anything for a few minutes as the sound continued to assault my ears.
"This is the place on the map," Nami informed us. "What's his name again?"
My head was still thumping from the earlier attack, but we had escaped from the monkey somehow. I was not sure how because I was incapacitated the whole time thanks to the sound the monkey man made. Even after the attack had been stopped I was still a bit out of it for a while after that attack with a huge migraine thanks to my dog hearing. I also figured out later that it had been Sanji, the gentleman, that had saved my ass and picked me up. He wasn't that bad when he wasn't hitting on me or any other female.
"Montblanc Cricket," Robin answered Nami's question.
"The man who talks of dreams…" Nami muttered
"Gah!" Usopp gaped at the sight before us.
"That's so cool!" Luffy yelled as his jaw dropped. "Is this his house! He's filthy rich isn't he!"
I frowned at the loud noises Luffy was making as it caused my head to start thumping again. I leant against the side of the boat, pressing my head against the cool wood as I closed my eyes.
"Stupid, look clearly," Zoro snorted.
"Hmm, a man who dreams…" Sanji sighed. "More like a man who wants attention."
"What are you talking about?" Chopper asked them as the boat pulled up to the shore. Luffy flung himself straight off the boat with no hesitation at all. When would he ever learn? He then quickly ran up to the house to get a better look at it and was rather shocked at what he found.
"IT'S JUST A BOARD!" He yelled.
"WHAT!" Usopp cried back.
"This guy's house is just half the size. The rest is just plywood," Zoro grumbled, leaning against the railing near me.
"Seems like a small cheap house," Sanji pointed out as I heard him pulling up the sails.
"What dreams did he speak about when he was exiled?" Nami asked Robin as I lazily opened my eyes to watch them all.
"I don't know all the details," She replied. "But he talked about a large amount of gold hidden here on Jaya Island."
"GOLD!" Usopp's loud voice rang out, causing my eyes to snap closed again.
"You mean like pirate's treasure!" Nami asked.
"Well, I don't know about that," Robin admitted as everyone else started to climb off the boat as well. Seeing as the rocking of the ship was not helping my headache, I opened my eyes again and slowly ambled up to the front of the boat.
I jumped up onto the railing before leaping over the side of the boat and onto the soft grass below. I notice the others start to spread out, Luffy and Usopp just waltzed into the man's house. Nami was ordering Chopper to dig for gold.
I spotted a nice look tree that was not too far from the house so I trotted over to it, laying down in its shade. I closed my eyes, tuning out to everything around me as I tried to get rid of my headache. If I see that damn monkey again I'm going to shove a banana up his ass for giving me the headache of the century. I didn't even know until now that dogs could get headaches!
I heard the sound of feet crunching across the grass as someone walked towards the edge of the island. I opened my eyes as I saw Luffy kneel down next to the steep ledge, staring into the water.
'What is he doing…?' I blinked. 'One that can't swim should not play with water… It's like poking a spider.'
"WAAAAH!" Luffy yelled suddenly and I watched as he fell forward into the water. My reaction time was less than half of a second as I shot straight up to my feet. I forgot about my headache as I dashed straight towards the water where Luffy had fallen in.
I heard Nami and Usopp yelling in the background but I was concentrating on the form that rose up out of the water where Luffy had fallen in… Or maybe he didn't fall in after all.
"Who are all your people!" He yelled as he climbed back on land and got into a fighting pose. "You punks have got a lot of guts entering a man's house without permission!"
I ignored the dripping wet man, dashing straight past him without a second thought. I knew Sanji or Zoro could deal with this guy; I had more important matters to attend to. I saw him look at me from the corner of my eye and I met him gaze, his eyes widening a bit at my speed and sudden appearance. I didn't even bother slowing down as I passed him and jumped straight off the side of the island and into the water.
The water parted around me as I entered its depths, my blue eyes snapping open as soon as the water settled down around me. I floated under the surface, glancing around for any sign of missing captain. I found him floating down through the water to the left of me, so I spun around and started swimming down towards him, kicking my legs under me.
A soon as I managed to reach my drowning captain I lunged forward, wrapping my jaws around his ankle. I was careful not to bite in too hard as I changed my course of direction, spinning around under water. I then began paddling back up to the surface, dragging Luffy behind me.
My head broke the surface first and I saw Usopp near the edge waiting for me. He quickly grabbed Luffy's ankle out of my mouth, pulling Luffy back onto dry land for me.
"What the hell were you doing?" Usopp scolded him as I heaved myself out of the water as well.
"There were bubbles coming up from under the water…" Luffy mumbled, coughing up some water. "When I looked in the water there was a kind of chestnut, but it was really that old guy and he pulled me in!"
Talking about the old man, I noticed that he was collapsed in the ground between Sanji and Zoro and they both looked shocked about it… What happened?
*Ketchup Star
Beta read by praeses