FANFICTON

One Piece: Lost dog

Chapter 1 ( Who? What? Where?)

Not for the first time, the peacefulness of the morning was shattered by a loud yell

from a drowsy little ship. The Going Merry. "Niku! Niku niku niku!"(Meat in Japanese)

A black haired teen of 17 bounced out of from below deck and promptly smashed

his face against the main mast, falling back with his nose as red as a baboon's bottom.

This boy's name was Monkey. D. Luffy

Luffy was a very interesting character First of all, despite his young age, He has

beaten many great, terrible and widely-feared pirates of the age, together with his crew,

and, of course, his trademark straw hat, earning him the title of "Straw Hat Luffy" and a

hundred million beli bounty.

"

Ouch! By dose! I dink id's bwoken!"

You'd hardly notice though.

A young muscle-bound man with short, spiky green hair emerged from below

deck as well. This man was Zoro. Well, I say he's a man but he's actually 19 and in all

essentials, still a teen. He is swordsman who invented the famous 'santoryuu' or 'three

swords style'.

"Couldn't you let us sleep for a while longer?" he grumbled drowsily as a young

long-nosed teen and a rather peculiar-looking reindeer-boy yawned their agreements

behind him.

The four of them perked up, however when the delicious smell of Sanji's special

breakfast reached their nostrils and they dashed to the kitchen.

The long-nosed teen was Usopp, the Straw hat's sniper. He also likes to make up

fantastic tales, which Chopper, the reindeer always believed. Despite his remarkable

sniping skills, Usopp was also a perfect coward. Chopper was a reindeer who ate the hino

hino no mi, one among hundreds of akuma no mi (devil's fruit) which grants the eater

special powers in exchange for the ability to swim. The Hino Hino no mi allowed

Chopper to become human- a rather hairy human at that- but he seems to favor his half-

human-half-reindeer form. A reindeer-boy.

The four of the burst into the kitchen and grabbed seats, eagerly awaiting the

food which sizzled juicily in the pan Sanji was holding. Nami and Robin, the only two

girls in the crew were already seated at a separate table with plates laid out before them.

Sanji turned and 'Glided' towards the girls, his eyes a pair of large, pink hearts.

Sanji was a cook with exceptional culinary and combat talents. His fighting style

has almost no flaw- Quick and deadly- but for his dumb-ass weakness for pretty women.

It was precisely this reason which made him susceptible to the attacks of Mr. 2 Bon Clay

during their battle in Arabasta, in which he almost lost to Mr. 2's mane mane ability

which he used to turn into Nami.

Nami was the Navigator who Luffy saved from the Iron-Fist dominator of east

blue, Merman Arlong. She is a money-loving witch who is easily bought over by money.

The End. Robin was the more refined of the two, with a soft spot for Giant animals like

Banchi, the Giant Turtle she used to ride as Miss. All Sunday and the tame Banana

Crocodile she kept in Arabasta. She is an assassin who has been wanted by the world

government since the age of eight, and has the ability of the Hana Hana no Mi, which

allows her to sprout her body parts out of anywhere.

"Nami-swan! Robin-chwan! Sanji crooned serving the still-steaming food in

Heart-shaped platters to the girls. Nami accepted it, looking rather annoyed, while Robin

just gave him a mysterious smile. The guys, meanwhile had greedily gotten their own

share out of the frying pan and were wolfing the grub down like there was no tomorrow.

Disgusted, Sanji dumped his own share into a clean plate and lit a cigarette before

beginning to eat.

Suddenly, Sanji noticed Zoro snickering. "What's so funny Marimo-head?" He

growled. "Watching you try not to chew and swallow your own Cigg!" Zoro snorted.

Sanji swung a lethal kick towards Zoro, which he barely avoided by rolling to the floor.

"Oh, yeah? Curse me will you?" He shot back, the veins popping in his forehead. Luffy

and Usopp began wolfing down all the food on the table even faster, for fear of wasting it

if the table got turned over. Soon after , the Kitchen was filled with the sound of bashing

and the clinking of swords, which was soon followed by the sound of two sharp bonks,

then all was silent, as Nami walked out , dusting her hands..

Ah, Yes. A typical morning indeed.

Nami walked round the side of the ship and leaned over the railing, enjoying the

Cool sea breeze, mentally plotting their course at the same time. She unfurled a map

across the railing muttering to herself, drawing some lines from reverse mountain,

Whiskey peak, then to little garden, then to drum, then to Arabasta. Each of those islands

held memories for her and her Nakama, especially Arabasta, where they had to part with

Vivi, their ex-crewmate. Smiling and tearing at the same time, she checked the

pattern against the log pose and tried to work out their next destination.

Then she saw it.

It was no more than a small moving golden speck against the horizon at first.

"Usopp! Come here quickly!" she called over her shoulder, whilst straining her

eyes against the sun to see what it was.

The sniper burst out of the kitchen and scaled the stairs quickly. "What is it Nami?" he asked as the others followed closely behind him.

"What's that?" she gestured at the small, moving golden speck.

Usopp pulled the lens of his goggles down over his eyes and began to gradually

increase the magnification until he saw it clearly – a large golden dog struggling against

the waves.

"It's... a dog!" He announced to the group, taking off his goggles. "A large golden

dog. Looks like its drowning." He added.

"Whaat?" Nami exclaimed. She pulled out her clima tacts and assembled it into a

'T' shape. "Whirlwind tempo!" She exclaimed, blasting one section of the Clima Tact off

with a length of string tied behind it. The shot fell short of its target.

"Hold on Nami, I'll get you your dog!" Luffy exclaimed, beginning to stretch his

arm back like a rubber band, but Robin beat him to it.

"Viente Fleur!" Robin called calmly, crossing her arms in front of her and a

barrage of hands exploded out of the side of the going merry, wrapped themselves

around the frightened, soaked and tired dog, and pulled it up on deck.

"Arigatou, Robin-nee-san!" Nami gushed as she ran off to get some warm towels

for the dog.

"Are you jealous captain?" Robin asked with a smile.

"Humph! Who's jealous?" Luffy pouted and went back to his meat in the kitchen.

Robin shook her head at the child her captain was but followed him anyway.

X-O-X-O-X

Young Nami ran around the fields of Cocoyashi village, just around the grounds

of Along Park. Following behind her and yapping joyfully was a little Golden Dog. Nami

had found it while playing in the field a week ago. It had been abandoned and she had

adopted it.

The Dog's name was Marcus; named after a childhood friend she used to play

with often in Cocoyashi village before he was killed in the carnage that followed Arlong's

arrival on the Island. The mere memory of the incident which happened two years before

brought tears to 10 year old Nami's eyes.

"Marcus..." She whispered to the dog gently as it laid it's golden head in her lap,

waiting patiently for a scratch. "I wonder if... in your past life... Nah..." she told herself

sternly. "When people die, they just... die... disappear... And just thinking about them

doesn't create an afterlife." She finished her little speech and got up to lead Marcus back

to his hiding place in the woods. She barely got a few steps when she bumped into

somebody.

Nami looked up, an apology ready on her lips when she found herself staring into

the cold, angry eyes of the Merman Arlong , his delegate of three mermen standing

behind him, lugging huge bags of money- tribute actually- from the people all over the

island. Her blood instantly froze in her veins- Arlong didn't look very happy.

"So..." He began softly. "So... Nami..." he said, putting one webbed hand gently

onto her cheek "This is the 'important business' you have been going out to do every day,

without any thought for my maps huh?" He drawled "HUH, NAMI!" he drew back his

arm and hit her in the face with a slap so strong that she careened back a few meters

Arlong bent down and picked up the dog by the scruff of its neck. "You actually

have the audacity to neglect my maps for that sake of this... this CREATURE?". He

shouted.

Nami could only sniffle and touch her stinging cheek gently. Sensing danger and

Nami's distress, the dog clamped it's teeth down into Arlong's webbed hand.

"Argh!" Arlong gasped and withdrew his hand, his eyes twin balls of fire. "You...

inferior creature! " He spluttered, still clutching the dog, which was barking madly.

"You dare do this to ME? We mermen are superior! I'll show you what happens to those

who defy ME?"

And with that, Arlong lifted the dog into the air above his mouth, gave an evil

sharp-toothed grin at Nami, the chomped down on the Dog , starting with the tail, so as

to prolong it's agony. All poor Nami could do was watch, her heart aching for the life of

her poor beloved dog.

"Tasty." Arlong commented as he licked blood off his lips and smiling at Nami.

Nami suddenly found her voice. "YOU MONSTER!" She shrieked, charging at Arlong

and flailing her arms wildly, but Kuroobi stepped into her path suddenly with the speed

of the Gyojin Karate and she remembered no more, until she woke up the Next morning

with a huge bump on her head.

X-O-X-O-X

Wincing at the memory, Nami pushed it aside and fumbled around in the

bathroom cabinet for some dry towels. Finding a pile of them, she took one and closed the cabinet, before she realized that her cheeks were moist and hot tears were spilling from her eyes.

Taking a deep breath, she leaned against the wall of the bathroom and let her body

slide to the floor. Then, for the first time since Luffy rescued her from the clutches of

Arlong, Nami began to sob like a little girl... For the loss of her childhood friend, whom

she'd never quite gotten over... and a memory of a sweet golden dog who kept her

company in dark day, during which the future was bleak...

After an eternity, a soft knock sounded on the door. "Nami?" a gentle voice called.

Nami stopped sobbing abruptly. Chopper the reindeer was knocking softly on the door.

"The dog is fine- I gave it a checkup – but it is still very cold, not to mention wet...

have you gotten the towels yet?"

"uh... yeah! I'll be out in a minute!" she called out croakily, wiping her face.

"Are you crying Nami?" Chopper asked concernedly. "Your voice is--- Weird..."

Chopper said.

"I'm fine." She said firmly and walked out of the bathroom past Chopper,

clutching the bundle of towels.

-----

The dog panted heavily as Nami dried it with the towels. It kept trying to run

away, then it would come running back to Nami again. Once or twice Nami saw a flicker

of SOMETHING in the dog's eyes. Recognition? The thought probed constantly at the

back of her head. She pushed it away huffily.

She stared down into the dog's hazel-brown eyes. "Marcus..." She whispered...

that's what I'll call you.

The dog, as if understanding crawled into her lap, curled up and promptly fell

asleep. Nami smiled and started stroking it. Soon she dozed of as well , hugging Marcus

the dog.

She didn't know when it happened or how, but a few hours later, she was

awakened by a loud crash above the deck. "Nami!" Someone screamed. The dog had

awoken as well and it ran up above deck, yapping loudly.

Nami, expecting to be hit by bright sunlight was stunned to see an overcast sky

and a huge waterspout churning the water into froth right in front of the ship. Sanji was

turning the helm with all his strength, and Zoro and Luffy were taking in the sails to

avoid being blown into the waterspout.

"NAMI!" Zoro shouted over the wind from the top of the mast. "WHERE WERE

YOU?" he yelled

"YEAH NAMI!" Usopp chimed in loudly, barely making himself heard over the

howling gale. "IT'S YOUR JOB TO PREDICT THESE THINGS!" he shouted while,

while Chopper rolled all about the slippery deck in his guard point.

Nami was about to reply when a huge wave crashed into the ship and threw all of

them off balance, the dog was thrown back belowdeck and Usopp got washed off the

ship., But was fortunately saved when Luffy stretched out and caught him before he hit

the water.

"Marcus!" she yelled but was suddenly cut off by Zoro.

"HEY! WE HAVE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT

HERE!" He called.

"Ah!" she stopped. In all the pandemonium, she'd forgotten that their ship was

inching closer and closer to the huge waterspout every second.

"Nami!" All the crew yelled.

Snapping out of her trance, Nami began to give orders like usual. "Robin! Row

the ship backwards! Zoro, help Robin! Luffy , help Sanji turn the Help! Usopp, stop

Chopper before he rolls off the ship!

Zoro walked forward to the oars but Robin stopped him. Leave it to me she said,

smiling at him. He gave her a puzzled look and she sighed.

"CIEN FLEUR!" She shouted, gathering up all her mental energy, causing a

hundred hands to sprout out of the ship and row frantically backwards.

"There, now that's done." She smiled again, then walked over to Zoro and gave

him a hug. "Thanks for volunteering your help though!" She smiled again and walked off,

leaving Zoro in a bit of a daze.

Nami, watching the whole incident smiled to herself. She'd known all along about

Robin's crush on Zoro, since the first day, when she chose to walk up to him instead of

mixing around with her new crew. Well, she'd finally taken the initiative. But then,

looking at Zoro's puzzled expression, her hopes for them faded again. He was such a

BLOCKHEAD!

Suddenly, she remembered Marcus the dog, who'd been thrown belowdeck by the

wave. She dashed down the stairs and found, to her shock, the body of a young naked

boy lying there, unmoving. She was about to run up and call to the others, when

Something hit her like an express train. With an ominous feeling of premonition, she

walked over to the crumpled form and turned him over to look at his face.

In one dark and sudden moment, her whole world crumbled to dust around her

and she did indeed feel like she had been hit by an express train in that instant. Her knees

turned to Jelly and she sat down suddenly, unable to take her eyes off the boy's pale face.

"No..." she whispered. "No... no.. no...no no no NO!" She shrieked, and

everything went black.

To Be Continued...