You moved fast enough to duck at it jumped for you. It was definitely looking to sink it's teeth into you and it let out a frustrated roar when it failed.

But ducking led to you stumbling over your own two feet and Nami. She somehow had enough sense to scramble out of the way and crawl back to her feet while you were splayed out on the ground, everything spinning around you dangerously. The urge to throw up suddenly hit and you fought to keep everything down as you worked your hands under you.

You being drunk had given the cat an advantage though. It pounced onto your back, knocking the breath out of your lungs and shoving your face into the cold concrete. Claws pricked at your shoulder blade through the fabric of your shirt and you could vaguely hear Nami screaming for help. But you were more focused on the crushing weight of the feral animal on your back.

Hot breath fanned at your neck and you knew it was going in for the kill. You were pinned, unable to move, and it would be far too easy for it to sink it's teeth into your exposed skin. Your neck would snap like a dry twig under the force of those jaws, that was if your ribs didn't shatter under the beast's weight first.

And just as you were expecting it to kill you off, the weight left and you were suddenly gasping for air. You hadn't even realized you couldn't breathe. Once again, you worked your hands under you to see Nami had fallen onto her butt and was watching something in the street. Her eyes were wide, jaw hanging open in disbelief. Kneeling beside her was Mihawk, checking over her for any signs of damage you assumed. One of his hands hovered near her waist without touching, gentlemanly even in this situation.

You took in another ragged gasp of air and slowly turned your head to see what had Nami so captivated. Inhuman shrieks filled the quiet, that was until you looked over. Shanks stood over the now cowering jaguar. His face was completely stern, devoid of the playfulness he'd shown you in the bar.

"Leave." He hissed at it. "If I catch you around here again, I'll give you a slow, painful death. Have I made myself clear?"

In answer, it let out a low hiss and ran down the nearest alley with a noticable limp. Shanks stood still for a moment before turning to face you.

"Are you alright?" He crouched down to your level and extended a hand.

It was then that you noticed he only had the one hand, the one arm. The left sleeve of his jacket was knotted up where the elbow should have been and swayed lightly as he moved.

"Your arm...." You whispered.

"My–" He glanced at the sleeve and back at you. "That's been gone a long time, I'm more worried about you right now. Did he hurt you?"

"I, uh," You worked yourself up to your knees. Your chest hurt and would probably be bruised in the morning but besides that, in your inebriated state, you couldn't find anything else wrong with you. "fine, I'm fine."

"Good." He nodded. "How's she doing?" He asked Mihawk, motioning to Nami.

"Unharmed. It seems we have regular hunters in the area. If they keep it up, they're going to cause problems for the rest of us." Mihawk's face scrunched up in disgust.

"Hunters? W-what do you mean by hunters?" Your mind was more clear than it'd been that entire night as it hit you how close you were to dying.

"Not all of our kind are happy to be known publicly and have decided to take their anger out on unsuspecting humans. Some out of sheer animosity, others, in hopes of creating fear." Shanks explained as he once again offered his hand.

You took it this time, letting him help you to your feet. Mihawk did the same for Nami, right as your taxi rounded a corner and came into view.

"So that was..."

"A werejaguar, you'd be surprised how many different kinds of were beasts there are. But it's nothing for you to worry over. I'd suggest staying out of trouble, don't come around places like this anymore, especially at night."

"That...sounds important though."

"Exactly why you should stay out of it." Mihawk interjected as he walked Nami to the car. She was in a state of shock, completely at a loss for words as she slid into the seats complacently.

"The point is, you're safe." Shanks' eyes roved up and down your body, as if he was double checking to make sure you really were. "Go home, get some rest, and forget about your time here tonight."

They wouldn't hear anymore from you as you were led to the back of the car with Nami. Shanks handed the driver a small wad of cash through the passenger side window and gave you a wink.

"This ride's on me, for your troubles. Consider it an apology for having to see our....inhuman nature."

"You don't have to–"

"I insist. Have a good night miss (Y/n)."

They took their time walking back inside and you were so focused on watching their backs that you almost didn't hear the driver asking where to take you.

----

You woke with a groan.

Your head felt like it was splitting and the slightest movement made waves of nausea hit you. Never again would you drink like that. You didn't even remember getting home yet here you were, in your own bed.

It was your phone that woke you. While you'd managed to make it to bed, you hadn't managed to get the device on a charger and it was on its last leg as it rang constantly. You were tempted to ignore the call but the sound wasn't helping your hangover and the name across the screen filled you with dread.

Robin. You'd forgotten to call her.

You answered on the last ring, preparing yourself for the worst. "I swear I can explain."

"For what?" She asked innocently.

"Please don't make me say it."

"I really have no idea what you're talking about. How'd you sleep last night?"

"Uh, fine I guess. I forgot to text you, why aren't you pissed about that?"

She laughed and now you weren't so sure if you forgot to let her know when you got home, you forgot about getting back after all.

"(Y/n), who's Shanks?"

"Fuck me." You blushed and pushed your head into the pillows. "What'd I say?"

"That he was the most handsome one armed man you'd ever met, and I quote, you "would climb him like a god-damned tree" if you could."

"Forget I said that, I was absolutely shit faced."

She giggled. "I suppose I could do that. How was Nami?"

Flashes of last night's encounter invaded your head and you winced as your head throbbed all the harder. You only remembered bits and pieces of getting Nami home, but you were sure she didn't talk at all until you got her to the front door of her apartment.

"(Y/n)?"

"Hmm?" You answered groggily.

"Don't tell them about the attack, I don't want them worrying over this."

"M'kay."

You smiled but she held the most serious expression you'd ever seen on her.

"I'm serious (Y/n). I don't want to think about it or try explaining it to them."

"I won't say a word." You promised.

"(Y/n)?" Robin called your name and you realized you'd paused.

"Good, she was good." You answered hurriedly. "She just drank twice the amount I did so she may be in worse shape than me."

"Ahh, I see." Robin didn't sound convinced. "Well I'll leave you alone then, I'm assuming you have a hangover you'd like to nurse."

"Yeah." You chuckled. "I fell asleep in the same clothes I wore last night, I'm due for a shower."

"I'd say so, I'll talk to you later."

She hung up right as your phone died. You wished it did that when she brought up Nami, there was no way she bought your lie. But you made your promise to Nami, she would follow through with what she wanted on her end if Robin questioned her.

After putting your phone on the charger, you got out of bed and made your way to the bathroom. Your place was by no means luxurious but it had all the necessities. The bathroom was right across from your room, connected to the short hallway that, if you followed, would lead to the rest of your apartment. The kitchen and living room shared a space, only separated by linoleum and carpeting. Nothing special, but it had everything you needed.

You stripped on your way to the bathroom, leaving a trail of clothes on the floor. Out of habit, you paused to check yourself out in the mirror. It wasn't a vain action, more like you looking for blemishes that may have come up over night. Hormones weren't kind to you in your teen years and the habit had stuck around since then. The constant battle with acne had you trained well.

But your skin was always flawless nowadays. A good cleaning routine could do that for you, plus you'd always gotten great tips from Robin and Nami on how to keep up with it. As you looked in the mirror, you twisted around, frowning at the bruising that decorated your ribs and breasts. As expected, the jaguar left it's mark on you. You turned more, stopping when you caught sight of a small red spot on your back. You turned around, facing away from the mirror as you grabbed your hand one, angling it to see behind you.

There were four of the spots, lined up neatly with a slight curve. You poked at one with your free hand, noting that the skin was tender around them. The red was the slightest amount of dried blood, resting right on the surface. You weren't sure where they came from until it suddenly dawned on you. The jaguar's claws had dug into your back when it had you pinned.

While you weren't happy with the damage it did to you, at least you got out alive. Touching around any of the marks hurt but they'd go away with time. You just couldn't change clothes around Robin for a while and that was avoided easily enough. You didn't need her asking questions.

Things could've been a lot worse and you'd consider yourself lucky. If those two men weren't there, you might have not made it through the night.

"I'll have to figure out how to thank them sometime." You murmured to yourself as a fresh wave of nausea hit you.

First thing was first, you needed a shower and something to eat to tame your killer headache. It had fallen into a short lull but was back full force. You'd planned to get some housework done today but that might not be happening if it continued like this.

As soon as you got the shower going and stepped under the steaming hot water, you let out a happy sigh. The heat immediately began to tame your pains and relax you. The feeling of water drumming against your bruises wasn't the best but you'd take it over your head hurting, it was much less intense of a hurt.

Your thoughts traveled back to the men. The one with the golden eyes, Mihawk, was supposedly a vampire. That's what Shanks told you at least. But he never mentioned what he was, he only confirmed that he wasn't human. It was bugging you that you didn't get to know what exactly it was you met and you wanted to figure it out.

"If he was there once...." The bar had to be a good place to check again.

From what you learned on your bar hopping experience last night, most supernatural tended to stay away from the areas that were predominantly human. If you went to the same place you met him, you bet you'd see him again. And while he did say you should stay away, it wouldn't hurt to go again if you brought some tough company. You had male friends that could fight and looked the part. All you'd have to do was convince them to go without telling them why that was the bar you had to go to.

You could do a bit of lying, it'd be harmless. You'd get in, sate your curiosity, and get out. Simple.

It'd take more than an overgrown cat to scare you away.