Our Hearts Are One At Sea [One Piece/Zoro]

Ch 7: Is He A Bear Or A Sheep?

💫Third Person POV💫

"Where's Zoro?" Luffy asked the old man, while looking behind him after not spotting a certain cherry girl. "Where's Lexie?"

"I gave the boy a bed to rest in and the girl stayed with him to patch him up." The Mayor informed him.

"Man, that's my big sis for you. Always helping people." Luffy rocked back and forth on his heels grinning widely. "She's so nice."

Nami looked dumbfounded for a second, "Wait, she's your sister? You guys have no resemblance at all."

"She's adopted but she's still my sister, blood or not." His tone was serious for the first time she had met him, which surprised her. Luffy then turned to the Mayor, "Now old man, what's up with this dumb pup?"

"His name is ChouChou." He replied crossly at the previous name.

"Right, ChouChou, so why's he the only one left in town?"

"He's guarding this shop here." He said pointing to the building in front of them, its sign reading 'Pet Shop'.

"Oh? So, he's a guard dog." Nami concluded.

The elder just nodded taking a seat on the steps and pulled out his pipe to smoke, like when grandfathers tell a story. "A dear friend of mine owned this store." He blew out a puff of smoke. "It's been 10 years since him and ChouChou opened the place." He sighed as a sad smile appeared on his wrinkled face. "A lot of memories were created here." The Mayor notice the kids eyeing the marks on his white fur. "Those bruises you see are from him fighting off the pirates in order to protect his shop."

"I'm sure this shop means a lot to his master, but this is just cruel." Nami said with concern for the animal's well-being. "Is his master at the Refugee Shelter with the others?"

"No, he isn't." He spoke dolefully, "He got sick and passed on three months ago."

Nami gave the dog an empathetic glance, "Poor thing.... He's been waiting here for his master the whole time."

"Everyone says that, but I don't think that's the case. ChouChou's a smart dog, which is why I think he knows his master is dead."

Luffy remained silent throughout the whole story, just staring at the pup sitting in front of him.

"Then why is he still guarding the shop?" Nami questioned.

"Because it's his treasure."

'Treasure...' Luffy thought placing a hand on his hat.

"He guards it because it's all he has left of his beloved master." The Mayor stood up from his seat after extinguishing his pipe. "I've been trying to get him to the shelter, but he won't budge from his spot. He'd rather starve to death than leave his post."

Nami smiled at the devotion the creature displayed for its late owner, until an ear shattering noise broke in the air around them. "RRRROOOWWWRRR!"

"What's that horrible rour?!" Nami yelled over it, covering her ears.

The ground underneath their feet began rumbling causing the Mayor to shout, "Ah! I-it's Monji, the Lion Tamer!"

The quakes were getting worse, filling the two with panic. "RUN!" And they did, leaving Luffy and ChouChou behind.

"Oh, something is coming?" Luffy questioned being obvious as ever, before frowning at the pooch. "Alright doggy, give me my key."

ChouChou just 'Wurf'ed at him as ground creased its shaking, causing them to turn to their new company which was a bear-sheep riding a lion?