The beginning

I was a short kid, or at least I felt like I was, for most of my life I was shorter then every one else, and then I grew, but so did everyone else and then I still felt short because everyone else was taller. Anyway what I'm trying to say is that I was never a tall person.

Now I bet you're wondering what that has to do with anything, well what that was was the last thought I had before I died.

I was walking along the sidewalk, late for school (and wondering if I would make it on time if I ran), and then all of a sudden this car swerves off the street out of nowhere and hits me, I go flying and hear a crack (when I think back I figure it was my head hitting the pavement) and then, everything goes dark.

And then I woke up, I remember thinking that that was weird because nothing hurt and I had literally just got hit by a car, so everything should hurt (right?) and then I noticed that there was a guy standing in front of me, and all I knew was that the his face just screamed guilt. Then he started talking "I am so sorry about that" and that just left me more confused, and so I said then first thing on my mind "how am I not dead" (I think I was still in shock) and all of a sudden the impossible happened, he managed to somehow look even more guilty.

"Well you see... about that... IM SO SORRY PLEASE FORGIVE ME" and suddenly he was on the ground begging for my forgiveness, "look dude no offence but I don't even know you so how about you try giving me some context with that apology" I asked him, because I had no idea what he was even apologising for. "Well what happened was I screwed up and accidentally killed you" he answered, and my brain stopped because did he just say he killed me "just to make sure that I heard right, did you just say you killed me" I asked politely (I was still in shock otherwise I think I probably would of swung at him).

Then he replied "yes, you see my job was to watch over earth, and to put it simply make sure that 'karma' " he stopped and looked at me "you know what karma is right?" i nodded and he smiled "that's good, anyway my job was to make sure that karma worked the way it was supposed to, but I accidentally screwed up because when I made sure that the guy driving that car, who by the way was a murderer, 'got what was coming to him', as they say" and then his smile was gone and he was looking guilt as all hell again "and you... you well, as they say, 'got caught in the crossfire', I think that's the right analogy, and so I apologise for killing you".

That was when I tried swinging at him (I think that's when the shock wore off), of course it didn't work him being a god and everything but it did help when I screamed at him "YOU WHAT!?" And he looked like the words physically hurt him, he flew out of my reach as I started swearing at him.

He tried calming me down (which really didn't work) "look I understand you're angry, but think through whether it's actually helping you in this situation"

After a bit longer of swearing, swinging and a couple other adjectives, though it took a minute, the anger started wearing off and the words sunk in and then I just kinda deflated, I collapsed to the ground and curled into a ball, because those words sinking in came with the horrifying realisation that I was dead and I'd never see my family again.

I'm not proud of it but I will admit that at that moment I broke down crying, no bawling. There was no stopping, I lost all rationality, I couldn't think, I just lay there whimpering in tears at the realisation that I had no one, that everything that I had every had and anything I would ever would have had was just... just gone.

I'm not sure when I stopped, I'm not sure if I did or If I just reached a point where I couldn't cry anymore, but I stopped, I was still curled up but I think was calming down, the realisation that I would never go home sucked but I think I was coming to terms with it and... oh who am I kidding, I was still freaked out and I'm pretty sure having a nervous breakdown, but I also kinda realised that what I needed for what was left of my sanity to keep doing its job was to find out what was going to happen to me, because I realised that I didn't know what was happening or where I was and I didn't like that. (I find it funny now that my psychosis of not being in control was what kept me sane)

"what's going to happen to me" I whispered, hoping he heard me and thankfully he did "well you see that's the thing, you weren't a bad person so you don't deserve hell but you can't go to heaven because I don't know if you deserve it either".

I think that statement give me a little bit of hope "so i can go back?" Trying to hide the desperation in my voice, I looked at his face and that hope died "no, I can't return you because that would mean changing the past, and that's the one thing I'm not allowed to do because I don't know what else will change".

I whimpered again, unable to hide the desperation this time "but why not, I'm nobody sending me back won't change much" and his response took the ashes of my hope and ground it to dust "or it might change everything, that's the problem, I just don't know and I can't change things without a reason". I went mute and curled tighter as I started falling apart, i just wanted to go home.

As I lay there, he spoke "and I know that this won't make you forgive but there is something I can do" there was something in his voice that made me look at him again, and I saw the look of regret on his face and realised that he would change things if he could, but he couldn't, and the rage in me... I wouldn't say went away but it did dull as I realised that he truly was sorry and that he wanted to fix his mistake.

"I can't put you back in your world, but I can send you to another, I know that you'll still be losing everything else from your life and while I can't change that, I can try to make up for it and apologise" I saw a look of penance and I thought about what I wanted and I realised what I wanted most in the world "I want a friend" and he looked surprised at that, and maybe a bit happy "someone who's loyal, who helps me out when I'm in trouble, who points me out on my shit, who's there when i need someone and who won't leave me alone... I don't want to be alone." and when my words ended he smiled and there was a flash.

When my sight came back I noticed something, it was a tiny little kitten, just lying there, staring at me, there was this look in its eyes and I felt this connection with it, and then it spoke to me "hi there are you okay, do you need a friend?" it's words touched me, they made me feel better, then it was wandering over to me, it looked so small, so fragile. It spoke again and there was this excitement to its voice "can I be your friend?" that was when I vowed to protect this small little ball of fur who had seen me sad and who had tried to help, even though it didn't know me.

I smiled at that, it felt fragile, easily broken, but for the first time since I died I smiled, i started crying again as I spoke "yes, happily" and at that it beamed and leapt at me, I caught it in surprise and hugged it. I looked at the man who killed me and felt thankful "now I can grant you some more things, like a choice over where you want to go and even when, even a a couple gifts, think of them like wishes, for the amount... lets say 6, as long as it's nothing too strong or it'll cost more" and his words got me thinking, what did I want. When I was alive I had family but I never had friends, they moved or left school for a job, and I tried to stay friends, but it felt like they gave up because it wasn't worth the effort. and the less said about my school life the better, I had a temper and the other kids thought it was fun setting me off, I got angry and swung, they told the teachers and I ended up the bad guy, it was always the same thing "I understand that they were saying bad things lian, but you were the one who tried hitting him" and then I was in trouble, they apologised and got a slap on the wrist(and not even that sometimes). over time people started seeing me as this bad person, they were either afraid of me or disliked me. And then I ended up alone because it was better than trying to be nice and being rejected.

I thought of all the places id read about and wondered what it would be like to go there, I thought about it and passed on MARVEL because that just seemed dangerous, I mean a universe where there are beings that can literally wipe you out of existence as easy as a snap of there fingers seemed unsafe. DC had the same problems. But I also wanted excitement, I wanted to be able to do things I couldn't and see things I hadn't, I want to be free to live for the point of enjoying it. Then I thought of a story that, while maybe not my favourite was perfect, a place with loyal friends and as much excitement as I could want. Somewhere where people could do amazing things and see sights too beautiful to put into words, I spoke my voice sure "I want to go to the world of one piece".

I thought about the specifics of where and when in the story and settled on somewhere early enough to have time to get strong, but late enough to avoid causing too many big changes I couldn't predict to the story "I want to appear on an island they stopped on to catch more food, because with luffy of course they would, specifically, a week before they met sanji" I glanced at him.

he responded "that can that work" and nodded, I smiled and continued "I want to be strong enough to not to die from being hit because I'm pretty sure an 'earth human' would be pretty damn fragile in the one piece universe, but not just base level, i need to be atleast strong enough to hold my own against... "and I thought about who was a good comparison for a chance at survival 'not zoro he's stronger than i feel is necessary' and then I realised that, 'actually at that point zoro would be a good level for survival' "zoro because I need to be able to STAY alive, not just survive and he's a good bet"

he nodded again.

"and also hmm. how about a system to keep track of me "I glanced over at my shoulder "and my friend here" he nodded to me(the cat) "in general, like our health, stamina and basic stuff like that also a shop to buy stuff like items but not special items more like food supplies like a tent or sunscreen normal stuff you can find in the world" cause that seemed like a good bet.

(The god... higher-being... whatever, karma guy works) karma guy replied " you can have the zoro level body for free because thats not really enough to need a wish, so I'll just add it in with the system, which WILL cost you, hmmm..." I started panicking, wondering if I'd just blown all my wishes "1 wish seems fair" and that calmed me down because yes, that did seem fair.

I continued "and for my 2nd wish" and I sorted it out in my mind "I would like it if I could start with however much 1 wish can get me currencywise in the system shop" I looked at him "hmmm... let me think on that" he went quiet and I stopped moving as I waited for his answer (which took 32 seconds. I counted) "500,000 seems like a good amount" and I felt proud of that wish because now I had some money in case I needed something later that I couldn't think of now.

"for my 3rd wish I would like for..." I looked at the kitten perched on my shoulder "quick question are you a guy or girl and do you have a name" she/he looked surprised, and replied "I'm male and I don't have a name" and then he looked confused "should I have one?".

And That Hurt, because I realised that technically, I was the reason he existed and I hadn't even given him a name. So I thought about it, And as I looked at him my brain short-circuited, cause I suddenly realised that 1. I'd never seen an amber (the colour, cause it's awesome) coloured cat, and more importantly 2. That he looked suspiciously uncatlike, he almost looked like a... I voiced my suspicions "are you a tiger" dumbfounded.

He looked proud when he heard that "yes lian, a bengal tiger to be exact" which was when I noticed that 'huh. So, Those ARE stripes'.

And that had me rambling "so my bestfriend in the world of one piece, just to put it clearly, is an amber coloured bengal tiger" and then I was grinning 'This is so cool'.

I think I may have looked ever so slightly demonic, cause karma guy flinched away from me as I spoke "oh this is going to be fun" and then I paused cause I got distracted.

"okay, back on track, names,names, what's a good name, stripes and fang are out cause, well, they're too basic, Amber's nice but it has the same problem" I mused out loud.

As I struggled to think of a good one, I stopped as I had it, I remembered this one name I found when I looked up names that meant stuff, (like names that meant honour or kind or courage. cause everyone does that at some point) and that I thought was cool "Damon, cause it means loyal" and I think he liked it cause he beamed at me again.

I started my up on my wishes again "for my next wish i would like for Damons' and My bodies to be as efficient as possible, so no allergies, no lost energy from digestion, no eyesight problems, the minimum amount of sleep required as well as the ability to fall asleep when I want and perfectly proportioned muscles, bones and everything and anything that has to do with my or his body, except my adhd you can make my thoughts faster my memory better and my motor memory improved but don't outright remove my adhd, oh and that gives me a thought don't remove my scars just make it so that they don't actually affect me in any negative way. I'll spend my next wish to improve my muscles and bones to be as strong as they can for 1 wish worth" and then the karma guy Grinned " that's actually more like a 3 and a half wishes worth because the efficient body thing is actually pretty strong, but I'll let you have it" and then I felt my muscles squirming.

I realised late that that, 'hey this doesn't really hurt that muc...' "HOLY MOTHERFUCKING SON OF A BITCH..." and then I was swearing again. cause damn it, my muscles and bones and EVERYTHING was literally Restructuring Itself. AND. IT. HURT.

At times it felt like I lost consciousness cause my brain was rewiring and improving on what couldn't be rewired or didn't need to be.

It felt like hours (but was probably minutes) passed before the pain mostly went away, leaving a full body ache. I noticed that karma guy was talking again (he also looked apologetic) so I focused on my hearing to figured out what he was actually saying "I am so sorry, I didn't realise that would hurt so much" and then I was trying my damnedest to hit him again with Damon joining me. we failed. miserably.

"please calm down I didn't mean it I just forgot" he said, trying to sound soothing. I Politely yelled at him my response "JUST LET ME HIT YOU, YA BASTARD. I MEAN JUST HOW, HOW DO YOU NOT REALISE THAT THAT WOULD HURT" I started cussing him out again. then since I did ask him to, he stopped moving so I could hit him. (it felt like punching a cliff. Hard) or "MOTHERFUCKER. THAT FELT LIKE HITTING FUCKING CONCRETE"(yeah, That works).

It took me a bit (going through every swearword in my vocabulary. which is quite extensive, helped by the fact I'm creative. Meaning it took a while), to calm down.

Once I was mostly levelheaded again, I realised something. I voiced my thought "this better add onto and not count as part of the physique that I asked for so I could stay alive. otherwise, So. Help. Me." channeling my anger onto my face "I WILL find a way to hurt you. even if it costs a wish".

I'm pretty sure my face, plus Damon's teeth got the message across "o-of course it does, and I'll remember to remove pain from now on" he spoke quickly, trying and failing not to sound panicked. My response was for my smile to go from 'Run Screaming' down to 'mildly terrifying'.

I replied." that's good, we don't want any accidents now" and then my face went to my special 'It Better Not Or We'll Have A Problem And You Don't Want That' Expression (which is a special mix of 'you'll regret that', 'you fucked up' and just a pinch of 'don't do that'). "Do We" I finished.

And... 'yep, there's the barely hidden terror i was looking for, Good'. I schooled my face "so I've got 2 left" I voiced "ok add another half a wish to my physique. But this time fix up the rest of my body Besides my muscles and bones, cause I am not dying just cause my muscles could take the hit and the rest of me couldn't" and I smiled again "And Remember, No Pain." this time he got it right, all I felt was some tingling and a strange feeling of somehow being stronger, (which I guess. yeah).

'So 1 and a half wishes left huh' and then I had it. 'So my physique and everything is pretty strong, which means my strength and durability are covered, and I covered my internals as well. But... I should probably use a wish to cover coordination and balance and stuff like that' "for that half a wish I have, I want to put it into my coordination, balance, agility, flexibility and all round everything that's part of my ability to move freely and my control over it" once I finished talking the tingling was back. it felt different this time, gentler if I had to use a word to describe it.

At that moment I started a mental debate about. 'My brains a muscle, right?. so did it get covered in the muscle bit, or are the wishes more intent-based, cause my intent was more my biceps and triceps and muscles used in movement and... this is pointless, stop thinking about useless things and focus on your next wish'.

As I thought of what was worth a wish I realised something that. while it wouldn't make me more powerful, would probably help in the long run. "for my last wish, just for insurance, I want to keep my memories, as well as any skills I had in my past life. And the important bit...".

I thought about what exactly would help me the most in my new world. "I also want some basic combat and survival skills" and just to cover my bases "and by the way, everything that I've asked for, " I looked at my new best-friend "I want for Damon too".

I took a breath for this bit "even if I have to lose some power" and karma guy smiled at that and gave his reply "no, I can do that, and I won't take away anything" and that made me happy. cause I didn't like the thought of having to become weaker.

he continued "and I'll also link the both of your statuses because Damon here" and he smiled at my bestfriend. then he turned his head to me "was just born, which means he'll need help" and then he gave me this look, and I realised that he wasn't just talking about the system.

I realised that Damon was my responsibility. because I was the entire reason he existed. It suddenly hit me, the fact that I was responsible for keeping him safe. he was the very personification of a child, which meant that he needed someone to teach him about the world and life and morals and...

Basically everything. he was my responsibility and looking at him I realised that I guess I was kinda his too. it helped me come to terms with the now indisputable fact that (beyond even a shadow of a doubt), I was never going home.

He gave me something to hold onto when I had just lost everything. right now he was the only thing keeping me grounded, the only thing I had. I figured it was the same for him, cause so far, I was the only thing he had either.

That thought cemented my resolve that, No Matter What, Come Hell Or High Water, I Would Do Everything In My Power To Keep. Him. Safe.

When he noticed I was done Karma guy started talking again "so I'll give you your one piece body now" and the tingling was back and he was still talking "and just as an extra special gift, cause I'm nice, something that you've always wanted" and there was mischief in his eyes and I felt a deep urge to know.

"But that's all you'll get for now" (and oh man, you suck dude, you do not dangle things infront of me, it's so unfair) "but for now" he smiled again "bye~" and then there was light.

As I got my first glimpse of the world that I'd call home from now on, I realised that something was very, very wrong.