Luffy x Neko!Reader Warm

Chapter 51: Doctor Hogback

You walked hand in hand with Luffy, purring quietly. Occasionally, he'd try to mimic the sound, but it ended up sounding rather pathetic.

Your crew was so close to the dark mansion that it dominated the sky, it's tallest spires hidden in the clinging fog that hung heavy in the air. You sneezed roughly, trying to breathe easier in the heavy air. You hated fog.

Luffy kissed your cheek and squeezed you hand. He knew it was tough for you to breathe in these conditions after a while. "Almost there, baby," he murmured. "Almost there."

Your breathing was getting more and more labored and Zolo gave you a worried look. Luffy picked you up and you were too tired to argue.

"Is she all right...?" Zolo moved a little closer.

"(Y/N)-CHWAN!" Sanji brushed your hair from your face.

"She's okay." Luffy gently kissed your forehead. "It's just the fog. It's too heavy for her, it's makes her feel like her lungs are full of water."

"Same," Usopp muttered, feet dragging.

"I could carry her, if you want." Chopper went into the form of a normal reindeer, trotting by Luffy's side.

Luffy shook his head. "I got her."

~~~
You didn't like the castle. The smell of rot pooled in every corner, crawling against your sensitive nasal cavity like so many spiders, made your fur stand on end when you'd gathered the strength to shift. There was no way you were walking around as human in a place like this.

You'd all been greeted at the front door. Doctor Hogback himself, the man Chopper had been so excited to see, had ushered them in. He was a strange looking man, that was for sure, with long, thin legs supporting a rather rotund torso, topped with a broad neck that hardly seemed like a neck at all. His teeth were unusually sharp, as were the ends of his ears, and his long pointed nose. He smelled like rot too. You didn't like him. Not that you would tell Chopper that...

Almost immediately, you'd been fed (no plates, the server girl hated them with a passion) and ushered in to the baths. That's when the group split. Nami wanted to bathe, but no one else really did, so you, Chopper, and Usopp were bullied into guarding the door for her. Well, Usopp and Chopper were bullied. You went because Luffy had asked you to.

Usopp and Chopper were leaned back against you, Usopp at your shoulder, Chopper by your flanks (neither of them wanted to put pressure on your swelling stomach). Together, you discussed dinner, ignoring the sound of Nami bathing. "Can you believe Hogback is trying to bring back the dead?"

Chopper huffed. "It's Doctor Hogback, and... Well, medically, I can't believe it. It's impossible. But... What we saw..."

Usopp idly scratched at your head, petting you lovingly. "It is a little weird, but I think it's cool. Hey, how much time do you think can pass before his... Revive medicine can't be used?"

You looked down, thinking of parents, littermates, clanmates, friends... and leader-sama... and Sabo. Your heart clenched. "I don't know."

"Well, that guy we saw was just bones, wasn't he?" Chopper sounded rather cheerful, oblivious to your mood. "Tomorrow, I-"

Nami's voice rose up suddenly. "Oh, no, we are not staying."

Usopp all but leapt over you, poking his head through the curtain that blocked off the baths before you could stop him. "What are you talking about?!"

He flinched back when a wooden tub hit him on the head and you wrapped a foreleg around him, ushering him back to his spot. Nami raised her voice again. "Have you guys really not noticed?" You wanted to snap at her for hitting Usopp, but... Well, he might have deserved it that time and... Nami actually sounded afraid. "The walls, the rooms... even that serving girl... If my intuition is right, this place is already full of zombies." Your two companions shouted in alarm and fear, and Nami shouted louder to speak over them. "Think about it! Hogback is obviously lying! There's no way he could live here, in this mansion, on this island, and have no connection to those things."