"Remind me...how hasn't he killed her yet..?"

Killer sighed and turned from Reck to catch me once again biting and ripping at the hem of Kid's coat, initiating an aggressive tug-of-war. It was causing my jaw to constantly ache, but if Kid wanted a dog, I'd damn well give him one.
"Wish I knew, man."

The moment Kid went to strike me, I backed off, tumbling back a little when I released his coat.
"I'll fucking spay you right here right now, you bitch!" He snapped, shortening my leash in warning. I just tilted my head, acting as though there was nothing behind my eyes.

What's wrong, Kiddo? Wish you got a cat instead?

For the past three days I had tried to counter each and every sadistic thing he had done to me. He made me drink out of a bowl on the floor? I chewed up his collection of wanted posters. He yanked my chain? I crawled around his legs and tripped him up. He dragged me into the bathroom with him? I may have gone through with pissing in his boots, but he had no proof.

"Okay, time for doggy daycare." Killer stepped in and grabbed the leash from Kid's hand, and surprisingly the captain didn't protest. "Oi, Papas, you take her for a bit." He called for one of the other crew members, a hooded man with a mildly pointy nose, and I was handed over.

Killer could obviously sense how close Kid was to murdering me dead, and I appreciated the effort to save my hide. Keeping up the puppy-dog act was exhausting, not to mention painful, but I was determined to fight the punky pirate in any way that I could.

"Oi..." Papas whispered to me as he walked me over to the edge of the deck, giving me the first slack of chain I had had in days. "...Did you really piss in his boots..?" Glancing to make sure Kid was preoccupied, I nodded once, openly smirking at my own confession.

The hooded man covered his mouth to hide his snort, his other hand coming down to ruffle my greasy, unwashed hair.
"You're a brave one, you are, Sneaky! Anyone else'd be dead!" I didn't quite like how he petted me like an animal, but at least he was being nice to me.

It didn't last long, though. Papas had his own jobs to do, so instead of being palmed off to another crew member, my chain was tied to the railing of the ship.

The day was overcast, dank and dreary, mist thick in the air as we sailed along. When nobody had been looking I had climbed up onto a nearby crate so I could at least be off the ground. My knees were scraped and bruised, and my palms had deep indentations. I needed a break.

I hope Kid never had an actual pet...He's a horrible owner...

Starfished over my crate, I watched the Kid Pirates do their thing. The typical chores, like swabbing the deck and checking the rigging lines, and the other crap they got up to when their main tasks were done. Games of cards, light conversations, the occasional man catching some shut-eye. They seemed relatively chilled out for a bunch of degenerates.

Casting my gaze out towards the ocean, I heaved a sigh. Had I made a mistake by leaving Water 7 to become nothing more than a petty thief? Becoming a shipwright hadn't been in the cards, seeing as I wasn't physically strong enough to lug around the materials, and nothing else had interested me.

My mother had always expected me to marry a man and become a housewife, which had irked me greatly. The world was a shitshow, why would I have wanted to bring kids into it? Why did I need to marry someone at all?

Paulie hadn't been fond of the idea, either, simply because it involved me getting married. Even during my childhood, he always tried to chase away my male friends, insisting they were getting too close. He had meant well, I knew that, but it had been smothering me.

My stomach was aching from being so empty, and I groaned as I stretched myself out some more, pausing when something caught my eye through the thick fog. It was faint, almost impossible to see unless you knew what you were looking for, but I had all the time in the world to stop and stare until I realised.

"H..hey! There's a-"
"Dogs don't fucking talk!" Kid roared down from the helm, and I flashed him a snarl full of teeth. "One more word and I'll rip your voice box clean out!"

I shouldn't even care, but I'll be screwed too, so..!

"Fuckin, bark bark bark! Woof woof bark yap whatever!" I yelled out the most flat, sarcastic dog sounds I could, continuing until the red-headed beast was heading straight towards me, preparing to shut me up.
"That's it..! You're going overboa-"

The moment he was in reach, I grabbed hold of the collar of his coat and yanked him down to my level, forcing his head in the direction I wanted him to look and pointing.
"Woof."

It took a while for Kid to see what I was trying to alert him of. Shrouded within the dense fog, too close for comfort, was a Navy warship. It was following us, that much was for sure, using the low visibility to their advantage.

"Heh...Good eye, girl..." Kid mumbled a quiet, yet genuine praise, giving my head a single, heavy handed pat before he turned to assemble his men. "We've got company, boys! Veer heavy to the port side!"

Wait. I'm on portside. Don't veer me closer!

I barely had time to react as the ship rocked to the left, having to grab and claw at the crate I was on so I wouldn't tumble over the side and hang myself with my chain. Faintly, beneath the yelling of the Kid Pirates and the crashing waves, I could hear the shouts of Navy officers, and I frantically looked around for a way to get out of the fray.

Locking my sights on the closest person, I jumped down off the crate and ran towards him until the chain went completely taut, very nearly sending me flying backwards.
"H..Heat!" Risking words, I caught his attention, motioning to my chain in panic.

He seemed to understood what I meant, and I think the first crash of cannon-fire made my case, because he hurried over to where my chain was attached, checking that Kid wasn't watching, before forcing it loose.
"Go sit it out in the kitchen. Don't you dare cause any trouble." He warned me, and I mouthed a thank you.

Trouble? Me? Never!

More cannons, more swears, more Kid screaming his demands for blood, I dragged the heavy steel chain along behind me as I crept up to the navigation room rather than the kitchen.

Once inside, with the door shut, I didn't take any time to rest. Opening draws and cabinets, I hunted for something that could get the damn chain off. I had no intentions of running away, but it was painful. My body was weak from all I had been through, and it was too heavy.

Maps, pencils, log poses, it seemed like there was nothing that could do what I needed, and the fact that the ship was rocking and rolling with each near miss didn't help me in the slightest. That was until I reached to feel the underside of the desk.

Well well wellity well...What do we have here..?

It was a rifle. Kind of heavy, but well taken care of, and it was fully loaded when I checked. It wouldn't help me with my problem, unless I wanted to risk a stray bullet ricocheting off of steel and into my skull, but...

One moment I was standing, and the next I was hitting the far wall, the entire ship groaning in complaint and inanimate pain. The Marines had landed a hit, and I could hear Kid going absolutely ballistic outside.
"COME AND FIGHT ME ONE ON ONE, YOU PIECES OF SHIT!"

Even the Navy aren't that dumb, Kiddo...

Groaning as I climbed back to my feet, I looked between the rifle in my hands and the portside window a few times, wondering whether or not I should try to assist. On one hand, if Kid went down, I wouldn't have to be his neglected lapdog anymore, but on the other, I was a wanted criminal too. If he got caught, I'd be caught too, and I knew there was a set of shackles in Impel Down with my name on them.

Rolling my eyes, I moved over to the window and shoved it open, keeping low so I could peer out at the ship across from us. From what I could see, there were still about two dozen men standing, along with their head honcho.

They didn't look all that strong, so it was almost laughable that Kid was having a bit of trouble. Especially after having heard him go on and on about how powerful he was. Maybe it was just because they had taken us off guard, or maybe the red-headed pirate rookie was just full of shit.

"Okie dokie...Let's see if I can bring our score up a little..." Mumbling to myself, I rested the barrel of the rifle on the windowsill and lined myself up, closing one eye so I could aim better. It'd be a longshot, both literally and figuratively, but it was worth a...shot.

The kickback from my first shot was brutal, but I managed to land a hit on one of the Marines, off to the side of the stomach. I was used to pistols, not long, weighty weapons that could blow me backwards when used.

Well, at least I shot someone.

I was slightly more prepared for the next attempt, missing my initial target but getting somebody behind in the groin. With each shot I got a little better, all the while watching their own guns and cannonballs being ripped away and thrown right back at them by Kid and his devil fruit powers.

Six, five, four, three, two, one...It seemed as though I was the one doing the most damage to the actual people, whilst Kid and his brutes were messing up the Navy vessel itself. I only had one bullet left, so I decided now was a better time than any to go for the big boss. The Navy Captain.

Whistling to myself, I tried to stay as steady as possible, ignoring the familiar throbbing ache of my wrist and the new, annoying burn of my shoulder. It looked as though they were planning on a retreat, their ship too banged up to continue an assault, but why not deal with their mastermind while I had the chance? They'd only be back once they had a while to recover.

"Okay, buddy...Just hold still for me..." I murmured, finger flexing against the trigger. Normally, I tried to avoid killing people. Murder wasn't my game, but sometimes there was just no avoiding it, especially when it came to the government bastards. It wasn't like I'd go out of my way to hunt them down, but if they tried to get me first, well, it was free real estate.

I was more than ready for the recoil this time, and I watched like a hawk as my final bullet torpedoed across the ocean gap and straight through the captain's throat. I had been aiming for a head-shot, but it had the same desired effect. Cringing as the man clutched his open throat, hands quickly turning red, I shrunk down a little.

No hard feelings, my guy. Prison stripes just aren't my aesthetic. Rest in peace.

Once the rest of the Marine unit realised their leader was down and out, it didn't take long for them to pull away from the Victoria Punk, leaving us to continue on our path across the foggy sea. Just as I was about to move away from the window and put the rifle back where I had found it, the door burst open, and the poorly named beast of a captain stomped in.

"Funny...I didn't know dogs could snipe Marines...Did you, Killer?" Kid didn't even look over his shoulder at his companion, who was shaking his head slowly. With the utmost caution, I placed the gun down on the ground and scooted back a few paces to show that I wasn't looking to fight against him.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand I'm toast.

I was about to open my mouth to speak, but all that came out was a choked yelp as I was suddenly dragged towards his outstretched hand by the steel collar. He deactivated his ability the moment he took hold of the chain, dragging my face close to his, studying me with those molten eyes.

"You shot eight men down, then a captain, directly through the throat? From up here?" He asked, even though he damn well knew the answer. All I could do was nod, knowing that if I spoke he'd likely rip me a new one.

I don't need a new one. The one I have is just fine, whatever it is.

Kid's painted lips cracked apart to show teeth, but instead of the vicious snarl I expected, they wreathed into a smirk. The one that always made my skin prickle.
"That's my good girl."

No! Bad brain! Don't make it sexy! Bad! Words bad! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa-

"Now, what made you turn around and decide to side with me for a change, hmm? You had every chance to make things more difficult, but you helped out instead. Go on. You can talk." He smelled like hot metal, if that was even really an existing smell, and it was overpowering. I was tired, and that meant my courage under the eyes of the man was dwindling.

"C..common goal..." I stammered out, my throat still roughed up from being yanked into his reach so harshly. Kid kept me up close and personal for a few more moments before he let my chain slowly run through his hand, lowering me back to my hands and knees at his feet.

"Killer, feed her." He nodded to his right hand man before petting my head again, his thumb pressing against my forehead to force me to look up.

"Normally, I'd kill a bitch who went behind my back and stole my shit...but considering you made the right call...I might just think about cutting you some slack..."

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
***I got called into work at short notice and I'm exhausted and when I got home my verandah was flooded and my cat was soggy and mad and I want to sleep for 10,000 years.

This chapter isn't my best, so I may come back and edit it eventually. I'm bad at writing fights/warfare stuff.

Also, preordered some kitties 🥺

LOOK AT THEM.

Next Time: Swallow Your Pride***