They Call It Puppy Love

One Piece © Oda

Summary- While driving home one night from a New Year's party, university student Nami accidentally runs over someone with her car: a boy named Luffy, who is actually under a dog's spirit's curse. Nami takes Luffy home to nurse him back to health, but he decides to stay with her instead. Now, Nami must try and find a way to keep Luffy on a short leash (no pun intended), as well as try to keep these strange feelings of hers in check. After all, a girl can't fall for a dog...right?

Prologue

"Well, that was quite fun, wasn't it?"

"Yeah! That was the first time I ever had sake! Zoro was right! It is good stuff!"

"Too bad he's asleep, otherwise he'd hear you say it...hey, Moss-head! You awake or what?!"

"Shut...up...Dartboard..."

"What did you say?!"

"Sanji, don't fight while Nami's driving!"

Nami kept her hands gripped on the steering wheel, her eyes focused on the road ahead as the snow fell gently from the sky. Despite her eyelids drooping sleepily, she forced herself to stay focused until she got her friends and herself back home, safely. She yawned, briefly, but then she quickly shook it off before she kept driving, making sure not to go too fast on the next curve.

"Nami?"

Nami looked up at the mirror and met the icy blue eyes of one of her schoolmates, Nico Robin, who blinked at her worriedly as she sat in back seat with her boyfriend, Roronoa Zoro, who snored softly with a light blush on his face. To her left sat Sanji, who was talking to the young man behind him, Usopp, while Sanji's girlfriend, Nefertari Vivi sat in the passenger seat up front.

"Is everything okay?" Robin asked. "You've actually been acting a bit...well..."

"Well, what?" Nami asked.

"You weren't really acting like yourself at the party, Nami," Vivi answered. "You hardly talked to anyone, you didn't dance with anybody...hell, some of the guys were hitting on you, and you even didn't even give them the time of day!"

"Yeah!" Usopp added. "Usually, you charge them for making a pass at you! What gives?"

Nami's right eyebrow twitched at the long-nose boy's statement in irritation.

"For your information," she began, "I just wasn't in the mood, okay?"

"What about when the fireworks went off?" asked Sanji. "You always cheer the moment the first second of New Year arrives."

Nami didn't answer, but instead sighed as she kept driving, the only thing breaking the silence being the humming of the car's engine and Zoro's snoring.

"Nami?" asked Vivi in concern.

"...I dunno," Nami said. "I just feel like...another year's come again, but I feel like I'm gonna be doing the same things I do, every year! Go to school, go to a lecture, go home, study, go to sleep, go to school, again! I just..." She then sighed. "I just wanna break from my usual routine, y'know? Maybe go out on vacation somewhere. Hell, I might decide to leave Japan, altogether!"

"You mean...start over?" asked Usopp. "In a new country? Like in America or something?"

"I guess," Nami answered before she sighed. "But who am I kidding? I'm just gonna stuck in my same humdrum life...maybe forever."

BA-THUMP!

"AAAAH!" everyone screamed as they felt the car jump, and Nami slammed her foot on the brakes, causing the vehicle to brake to a screeching halt. It was so jarring, even Zoro ended up waking up from his slumber.

"What the hell?!" he questioned. "Nami, what the hell are you doing?!"

Nami opened the car and brought out her phone, using the flashlight function to bring light to the road...and then she gasped upon seeing a motionless shape, lying on asphalt. All she could make out was a red orange shirt with a hood on the back and an old, tattered straw hat that covered a head full of jet black hair. However, the most noticeable thing of all was that whoever it was lying in a forming pool of blood.

"Oh, my god...!" Nami whispered. "Guys, I think I just ran someone over!"

"What?!" Vivi questioned as she and the others soon got out of the car, as well.

"Oh, man, don't tell me we just killed somebody!" Usopp bemoaned. "I'm too young to go to jail!"

"Shut up, idiot!" Zoro said as he smacked his friend in the back of his head. "No one's going to jail."

"W-what do we do?" Sanji asked, but he soon got his answer when Nami cautiously approached the figure.

"Nami, be careful!" Robin warned as the orange-haired girl stood before the unfortunate victim...only for another gasp to escape her mouth.

"W-what?! What is it?!" Usopp asked, worriedly.

"Nami?" Vivi inquired.

"Guys," Nami said as she turned to the others, "come and get a closer look."

"A-are you sure that's a good idea, Nami?" Usopp asked.

"Just come here!" Nami demanded, and her friends heeded her word. As they got closer, they all took on looks of shock and disbelief. It looked like a boy, about Usopp's height, wearing a red orange hooded shirt and a blue jean shorts with white, puffy rims, which was odd for this sort of weather. He also seemed to have two scars; one under his left eye and a large X-shaped one on his chest. His body was covered in various wounds, possibly from when Nami ran him over. However, that wasn't what got Nami and her friends stunned: his entire body, from head-to-toe, was covered in golden-brown fur and he had a creamy white stomach, chest, fingers, toes, and...a muzzle, with a black nose on the end, too. His mouth, slightly gaping open, showed that it was full of sharp teeth, and his lips were black and shiny. Out of his backside was a big, bushy, curled tail, and at the top of his head, practically sprouting out of the straw hat, was a pair of point, triangular ears.

"Uh...is it me?" Sanji asked. "Or does this dude look more like a...dog?!"

"He looks like he's human," Robin mused.

"I don't know any human that has fur, pointy ears, and a tail!" Usopp added.

"Who cares?!" Nami asked. "Human, dog, it doesn't matter! He needs help!" She then got down on one knee and gently nudged the boy...which elicited a small groan from him.

"Holy shit, he's still alive!" Zoro exclaimed.

"Quick! Get him in the car!" Nami ordered. "Sanji, drive for me, okay?!"

"Right!" Sanji nodded as he got into the driver's seat while Zoro picked the canine boy up and gently hoisted him over his shoulder before carrying him into the car, then placing him in one of the passenger seats while Nami sat beside him. The boy groaned as he started to open his eyes, but then closed them again as he let out labored breaths while Sanji drove the car.

"Uh...Nami?" Usopp asked. "I don't think he's gonna make it!"

"Hey! Hey!" Nami cried as she shook the boy. "Can you hear me?! Come on, stay with me, okay?! You're gonna be fine! We're gonna take you to a hospital and they're gonna take care of you!"

A pause...but then, to Nami's surprise, she heard him speak.

"...D...do... ta... me..." the boy said in barely a whisper.

"What?" Nami asked as she put her ear to his mouth. "What did you say?!"

"...Don't...take me...to a hospital..."

"What'd he say?!" Sanji asked.

"I think he said not to take him to the hospital!" Usopp answered.

"But he's about to die!" Vivi cried. "What do we do with him?!"

"Take him to a vet?" Zoro quipped.

"Zoro!" Robin chided.

"What?!" Zoro questioned. "I'm just saying!"

"If he doesn't want us to take him to the hospital," Sanji began, "where should we take him?!"

A pause...but then Nami gasped silently.

"Let's take him to my house!" she exclaimed.

"What?!" Usopp questioned. "Are you kidding?!"

"Look, I don't think taking him to a hospital or a vet will help him!" Nami argued. "Odds are he might get sent to some kind of freak show, or worse, a lab or something! You guys got any better ideas?!"

No one dared to answer.

"...I say we trust Nami's decision," Robin spoke.

"Me, too," Sanji added.

"Same," Vivi nodded.

"...It's crazy," Zoro began, "but what have we got to lose?"

"I guess you're right," Usopp answered.

"In the meantime," Robin began, "Nami, don't let him fall asleep. Do what it takes to keep him awake."

"Try talking to him more," Sanji answered.

Nami sighed before she looked over at the boy, whose breathing hitched for a moment, causing Nami to tense up before he went back to breathing steadily. The orange-haired girl sighed as she put a hand on his shoulder, causing him to open one eye at her.

"You're gonna be okay," Nami said with a reassuring smile. "We're not gonna take you to a hospital...but listen, you gotta make it through this, okay? You have to live!"

"...Have...to live..." the boy repeated.

"That's right!" Nami exclaimed. "You can make it through this! Uh...oh! I know! My name is Nami...and what's your name?"

"...My...my name is...Lu...ffy..." the boy whispered before he sighed.

"...Luffy, huh?" Nami asked...until she noticed his silence, causing her to gasp before she began to shake him again. "H-hey! Hey! Don't fall asleep, whatever you do! Luffy, do you hear me?! Hey!"

TO BE CONTINUED...

I was partly inspired by this cover of an issue of Shonen Jump, where the characters are all dressed like dogs, and Luffy looked the best. Also, I watched Your Name last night...totally worth it!

Review, please!