Chase Your Own Tail

Chapter 3: Breaking News

One of my reviewers said that they were confused. I'm not sure about what, but I'll do a quick recap of the original story to clear things up. If any of you are familiar of the term 'kemonomimi' that's what this story is centered on. A 'kemonomimi' is a human with animal features such as a tail and ears. In this story, I call them mutts. The mutts, hybrids, kemonomimis, whatever you want to call them, have lesser rights than normal people. Luffy is a dog kemonomimi. I'm sure most, if not all of you, know of fighting rings. In this story, mutts like Luffy are pitted against each other. If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me! I'm a friendly person and I'm willing to explain myself.

I'm not following canon events with this story. This is an AU. I'm having fun and making the characters my own. It's basically my playground! Anyways, enjoy!

To say his appetite was monstrous was the understatement of the year.

It was understandable. He hadn't eaten for a day and it was questionable as to how long he had gone without before Zoro had found him in the alley. However, if this kept up, the rest of them would starve. The way he shoveled pile after pile of food into his mouth was inhuman. And if it wasn't so damn entertaining, Zoro was sure he would be sickened. Sanji watched with one wary eye. In a way, he was grateful that his food wasn't going to waste. However, the complete lack of table manners left him torn.

"This is all I have left for now," the blonde said as he placed one last dish of leftover pasta in front of Luffy. It was gone in a matter of seconds. The young, raven-haired man pushed the plate in front of him and sighed happily, saying a quick 'thank you.'

Sanji assumed that Franky was still working on waking the others up. Now that he was finished fishing leftovers out of the fridge, the blonde took a seat at the table. Zoro was leaning back in his chair, elbows behind his head as he used willpower to keep himself awake. An awkward silence had fallen over the room as the mutt finished off the last bit of juice at the bottom of his glass. There were many questions just waiting to be asked, but those had to wait until after the group was all gathered.

Luffy fidgeted in his seat. He was overwhelmed with gratitude, really. These complete strangers had dragged him out of the cold, treated his wounds, gave him a roof to sleep under and now, they had even given him a meal. This kind of hospitality was entirely new to him. In a dog-eat-dog world, he was used to simply taking in order to live. That was the only way to survive in the fighting ring. If you were soft, you ended up six feet under in a cozy little coffin. The only person he had ever really shared with was his brother, Ace. They had been together since they were just wee little kids. He didn't know what he could offer these people in return for what they had given him. As to be expected, he was dirt poor. His only possession was the ripped black jeans he had been wearing upon his escape. He didn't even have any abilities that could be of use. He was born and raised to fight. Beyond that, his skills were few. So he figured, the least he could do for now was offer an introduction.

"I'm Luffy," he stated, his voice finally breaking the silence of the kitchen. "Monkey D. Luffy."

His large brown eyes were unblinking as he gazed between the blonde in front of him and the green-haired man sitting to his left, waiting for their own introductions. The blonde was first.

"The name's Sanji," he said, extending a hand to shake.

Luffy cocked his head at it in confusion. What was he supposed to do with it? He had never received such a gesture before. To his left, he heard a slight snicker and Zoro sat up straight in his chair, stretching his arms out behind him momentarily.

"Put that away, eyebrow. I doubt he know what to do," Zoro said gruffly before turning his attention back to Luffy. "Roronoa Zoro."

Before any further words could be exchanged, the rest of the group meandered in.

"So you're the guy that Zoro brought in?" Nami asked tiredly as she sat down to Luffy's right, observing him from head to toe. He leaned back a bit, trying to avoid her penetrating eyes. "I want to ask you questions, but I guess that can wait until after introductions. I'm Nami. It's nice to meet you…?"

"Luffy," Zoro answered, before the aforementioned mutt could even part his lips to speak. "We already got introductions down, so it's just you guys left."

"Uhm… I'm Usopp," the long-nosed man muttered groggily, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He appeared vaguely nervous to be in the same room as the now-conscious mutt. Seeing firsthand what he was capable didn't do much to calm his worries. He was the 'coward' of the group. He could most certainly be brave when the need arose, but the rest of the time, he was all talk and no action. Usopp took a chair next to Sanji. The next in line to introduce themselves was Chopper. He sat directly across from Luffy and smiled brightly.

"And I'm Chopper! Are you feeling better? Do your wounds still hurt?" the tiny reindeer inquired, leaning forward slightly to get a closer look at him. He hadn't really come in contact with many other mutts. They weren't as common in East Blue as they were in other areas. To him, having someone else like him was somewhat of a gift.

Robin introduced herself next with a sweet, polite smile. Following was Franky, and, finally Brook. By the time everyone had gotten themselves acquainted, the mood had lightened significantly. Sanji had started to make tea to help disintegrate the tiredness of the group. He set out a hot, steaming cup in front of everyone (aside from Zoro, who promptly turned it down and stuck to a mug of black coffee instead.)

"So…" Nami began, resting her cheek in her palm as she glanced at Luffy. "Assuming you're feeling better, can we ask you some questions? It wouldn't be good to have a complete stranger staying with us."

Luffy took a slow sip at his tea and set it down, fumbling around in his thoughts. It was only reasonable that they would want to know about him, but could he trust them with the truth? He squirmed slightly. He had to get back to Ace. Thinking that he could dance around any undesirable questions, he nodded slowly. Nami clapped her hands together and smiled.

"Good!" she chimed, obviously content with his willingness, "Firstly… where are you from? There aren't many mutts like you in this area… and there are definitely not a lot of half-dead ones running around. So what's your story?"

The raven-haired man gulped down another swig of hot tea. That was one of the questions he had wanted to avoid. "Well… I don't really know where I am right now, but I'm pretty sure I came from Grand Line city."

"Eh? That's pretty far away, Luffy-bro," Franky pointed out in slight surprise, "That's about a few hours from here on foot. How'd you get here?"

Soft black ears flicked back against his head in an obvious display of discomfort. He seemed to be running himself into a wall. He inhaled and said bluntly, "I… ran."

The expressions of the group simultaneously evolved into incredulous looks. Nami chewed on her lip as she continued to observe him. It was obvious that he was growing continuously more uneasy. Suspicion was bubbling in her gut. Things were already weird enough without his horribly simplistic answers. "You… ran?"

Luffy nodded, sipping at his tea distractedly. "… yep! I ran. I was with someone at first, my big brother, but we got separated. When I saw Zoro in the alley, I thought that he was a bad guy, so I… kind of attacked him. And… now I'm here."

This answer hardly seemed to satisfy them, Luffy noted. He was looking down at his rippling reflection in the teacup with slight guilt still shining in his eyes. He hated living like this. Wherever he went, a huge shadow seemed to follow close behind. The line between friend and enemy had been smudged to the point where it became increasingly harder to tell who was there for him and who was there to harm him. He remembered being a young kid, running alongside Ace and his lost brother, Sabo. The three would sit in the grassy fields, staring up at the clouds and share their dreams of living a free life devoid of regrets. It had been years since they had spoken of them together.

The barrage of questions was beginning to affect him physically as well. He could feel a throb of pain radiate throughout his abdomen. The narcotics were beginning to wear off and he was growing weary once more. Chopper's lips formed into a tiny 'o' as he took note of Luffy's worsening condition. He leaned forward and tugged on the fellow mutt's hand.

"You should go lay back down!" he instructed in a more serious voice than his previous introduction. "I'll give you more pain medicine."

Nami frowned slightly. That was all she was getting out of him for the night. She shrugged and stretched her arms out behind her with a yawn. "Well, I guess that's good enough. I don't know where you were running from or why, but for now, you can sleep. The rest of us are tired too. If we need to, we can talk more tomorrow."

Luffyís lips curled upwards into a relieved smile as he pushed up from his chair. Chopper had walked up beside him and was tugging at his pant leg to grab his attention. The rest of the group began to rise from their seats and separate. As the two mutts reached the threshold, Luffy paused momentarily, grabbing the frame to steady himself.

"I… want to say thank you for letting me stay! You guys really are good people," he exclaimed with his last bit of energy. His eyes flickered over Zoro, as if to emphasize the last part. He was grateful to these people for offering him shelter. But Zoro… Luffy felt especially indebted to Zoro. If it hadn't been for him, he would be spending his last breaths in some unfamiliar alley and he would have never gotten his true taste of freedom.

The sun was had yet to rise, but the moon was beginning to disappear below the horizon's belt. Dusky light barely illuminated the quiet house. After the events of the previous night, the group was still locked into a deep slumber. All except for Zoro. He tended to be the one who woke up last, but today, he couldn't seem to sleep. His eyes were focused up at the ceiling, tracing all the little divots and imperfections in the white plaster. He had been frozen in this position for the past five minutes, and he was growing tired of it. His sheets were pushed aside quickly as he swung his legs over the bed to step onto the hardwood floor. Staring up at the ceiling wasn't going to make him fall asleep any faster.

He fished a pair of ripped jeans and a black v-neck out of his closet, and dressed himself quickly before heading off into the living room. There wasn't much to do in the morning. Sanji usually woke up first to make breakfast, and from there, they would plan on what to do. During the weeks, they had their jobs to tend to. Zoro only taught his kendo class a few days a week, so he usually had free time on his hands to do whatever. His free time was mostly spent on training, power naps or errand running. Zoro plopped down on the couch and grabbed for the remote, flipping it on to the first channel he could find.

It was the news channel. A commercial about some cheap brand of dog food was airing. His finger poised itself above the 'up' button and was about to push down when the commercial ended and some choice words caught his attention. He dropped the remote on his lap and watched as the camera cut to a reporter standing in front of a large stadium-type building. There were a few men murmuring behind her as she reported to the cameraman, holding the microphone close to her lips.

"Grand Line authorities are still on the hunt for the two escapees from Baroque Works fighting ring. The two, both dog-type mutts, and assumedly brothers, caused an uproar at the ring's stadium three days ago. Originally, they were planned to be opponents, however, the two quickly turned on the staff and caused an all-out panic. No civilians were injured, however security officials reported to minor injuries and a few were hospitalized due to deep scratches and broken bones. The brothers are reported to have separated. All citizens of East and West Blue are to be on the lookout for these two fugitives. A reward is being offered for any information concerning the runaways. The older of the two is described to be tall and muscular with medium-length black hair and freckles. The youngest is described to be somewhat short and lean with messy black hair and a scar beneath his right eye. If any of these features sound familiar, please call 404-234ó"

Zoro pressed the power button and the TV flickered off in an instant. With just that one report, everything became crystal clear. It couldn't have been coincidence. The facts lined up too well. Luffy had said the night before that he had run from Grand Line City. Hell, he had even mentioned being separated from his brother. And the description was just the icing on the cake. Zoro pushed up to his feet and crept down the hallway, gently opening the door to the guest room. He was careful not to make any creaking noises. He wanted to settle things out with Luffy once and for all.

As the door slowly and noiselessly swung open, he saw the outline of the mutt etched beneath the blue quilt. The blankets rose and fell slightly with each breath. Upon closer inspection, Luffy's face was scrunched up unpleasantly, as if he was stuck in some awful nightmare. Zoro placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him firmly. In an instant, the mutt shot up in bed and looked around frenziedly before his wild eyes settled on Zoro and he regained composure.

"…What is it?" he yawned wearily with a hint of confusion tinting his voice, scooting backwards to sit up rest his back against the bed frame. Zoro settled down in the chair at the foot of the bed and returned Luffy's gaze with a serious expression. The severity of his expression did quick work to make Luffy uneasy. The man's ears flicked back nervously.

"You ran away from a fighting ring…" Zoro stated bluntly, "That's why you're here, isn't it?"

Luffy's heart pounded against his chest painfully as his brown eyes widened to the size of saucers. A lump began to gather in his throat as his limbs started to shake with apprehension. This was exactly what he had feared. "You didn't call the police, did you? I didn't do anything. I swear! Just please let me get away. I know you saved me but please-"

"No, I didn't call anyone," the green-haired man interrupted quickly, putting an end to the ramblings of the mutt. It was almost comical how those four words completely changed Luffy's demeanor. The mutt heaved the largest sigh he could manage and slumped down into the bed.

"…Thank you," he murmured. He lifted his head up slightly and grinned a bit. "You saved me twice."

"Yeah, well… I don't exactly believe in keeping other people as property," Zoro explained, causing the grin on Luffy's face to widen if only slightly. "So you were running away from the police, right?"

Luffy nodded. "I think… I think I shook them off though. I'm pretty sure. Are you going to tell the others?"

The sound of clashing pots and pans from the kitchen caused both of them to turn their heads.

"I can't be sure if they won't find out, but for now, I suppose I can act like I don't know anything. It's not really any of my business, anyways," Zoro concluded with a slight smirk.

"Thank you!" Luffy exclaimed, his tail thumped happily beside him. "I don't know why you've been so willing to help me but… I'll definitely pay you back. Somehow."

"I don't plan on staying here long," he continued, "I promised my brother that I would meet him back in Grand Line! So I have to go back."

"Well, alright. It's not any of my business. But Chopper will probably hunt you down if you leave while you're not healed so you should at least spend a couple more days. They won't find you here for the time being."

Guhh. Not particularly overjoyed by this chapter, but it's something, right? Again, thank you all for the reviews! I'm so glad that this re-write is better! :'D It really helps. I've been a bit discouraged with my writing lately, in all honesty. Anyways, until next time. I don't know if I'll keep up this chapter a day thing, but I'll definitely update more often.