Porcelain Cougar[One Piece x Reader]

002:Laboon

The creaking of the Going Merry echoed eerily as the crew looked around in stunned silence. Inside the belly of the giant whale, it wasn't what they expected—the digestive ooze almost looked like a green sea, no suffocating heat or walls closing in. Instead, they were in what looked like the outside but had stilled, almost like a painting. and then there was the island, lined with steel bonding planks around the bottom of the island, and in the distance, structure was visible—walls, fences, even a palm tree.

Nami took a cautious step forward, her sandals clacking softly on the deck. "This... this can't be real. There's an actual building in here."

Usopp's jaw dropped. "What kind of crazy whale builds houses inside its stomach?!"

"It's not the whale," Angel muttered, her hand still resting near the hilt of her dagger. Her eyes swept the space, alert and assessing. "Someone lives in here."

Zoro narrowed his eyes at the small shack in the distance, his arms crossed. "Then we're not alone."

The group slowly disembarked to the front of Merry, boots tapping softly against the wooden deck. Angel walked ahead of them, sharp-eyed and guarded. Though she showed no signs of fear, she was clearly tense, ready to react at a moment's notice.

The closer they got, the clearer it became—this was no accident of nature. The interior of the whale had been modified, and carefully. A fenced yard, a simple home, even a small garden area with seaweed and oddly shaped vegetables.

Zoro stopped just short of the building. "There's someone inside."

The door creaked open a moment later.

An old man with a tall, lean frame stepped out. His hair was sprouted out like flower petals, and his face worn with age, but his eyes were sharp—far too sharp for someone who appeared to be just an elderly caretaker. A large harpoon was slung over his shoulder as if it were a walking stick.

"You lot," he said, voice low and gravelly. "You weren't invited."

The crew froze.

"We didn't exactly have a choice," Nami said carefully, gesturing back toward the whale's mouth. "The beast swallowed our ship."

Usopp peeked from behind Angel. "Are you... are you a ghost?!"

The man snorted. "I'm alive, boy. Name's Crocus. And I keep this place in order."

Angel's eyes narrowed. "You live inside a whale."

Crocus gave her a faint smile. "I tend to his wounds. This isn't just any whale. His name is Laboon."

Zoro frowned. "That whale... it was attacking us."

"He wasn't," Crocus said, his voice softening. "He was protecting the entrance. He thought you were someone else."

Angel slowly lowered her hand from her weapon, though she didn't completely relax. "He's intelligent?"

"Very," Crocus confirmed. "And loyal. He's been waiting here for over fifty years. Waiting for someone who may never return."

The weight of that statement settled over the crew like a thick fog.

Usopp blinked. "Wait... he's been here how long?"

"Since before most of you were born," Crocus replied.

Angel took a slow breath and turned to look back at the massive interior, the whale's heartbeat a low, distant thrum beneath her feet. "Then he's not dangerous... just a lonely infant."