Chapter Text
It started with the cage. It was always there in the back of his head. It was the first time he was so alone. Beyond the rats and the rare occasional guard, he was lonely. Eventually scared when his brothers discovered him.
It wasn't the only thing discovered. He found he could see in the dark when the torches went out. He wasn't scared of that, but it didn't click until after he got out, his head light from a lack of a helmet stuck on his head.
The cooks on the Orbit were scared as he apparently walked in pitch black darkness, and yet. . . come out fine. The next thing he discovered was the claws he had, drawing blood as his body was itchy from the lack of food.
He owes it all to Zeff for living as they were saved. The Baratie was when more things started to show and he hated it when he noticed it.
He was human! He was meant to be human! And so. . . he did his best to hide it all.
He clipped his claws every time they grew back, filing them down so they don't draw blood.
It was painful when he found a tail on his back, hiding it away, even as it got longer, using it slightly for balance, but it's slight fur, the same color of his head, scared him. But he could never bring himself to pick up a knife and cut it. A perfectly good waste of a knife.
He got used to grins that would hide the new teeth he had, sharp enough to draw blood.
He discovered his lung capacity was much larger than most when Zeff swam down and got him when he didn't come up. His limit was still 11 minutes.
But still, on the Baratie, he was human. He was meant to be human, as people fawned over the food, hungry and eager to eat, never letting anyone go hungry.
He was a monster under it all. He hated those sides of him. Hated how his claws would grow back, how his fangs stood out, how his tail stayed there stubbornly.
He hid it away for good reason. That's not what he was. He is human. He will be human. Right?
A boy in a strawhat then crashes onto the ship, and his life changes forever.