Luffy x Neko!Reader Warm

Chapter 52: Why Do We Keep Ending Up In Confined And Uncomfortable Spaces?

Everything was shaking when you woke up which was weird and not very Cash Money, so you wriggled and hissed until the whole world tipped over. There was a crash and, curled around your stomach, you rolled out of the wreckage of a coffin, your crew around you.

"They're awake! They're awake!" Two squirrels, or something like squirrels, ran in circles for a moment, chirping in fear, before taking off, leaving you to nose your crew awake, starting with Usopp, and helping them to their feet.

As soon as he could stand, Usopp was looking around. "There's... A building that way. The mansion's behind us and this..." He gestures towards a thick forest. "I think this is like... A bridge. It connects the two buildings."

"It's more like a forest," Chopper piped up, accepting your helping paw. "Do... Do we go in?"

"I say we go back!" Nami's enthusiasm meant one thing: She was thinking of the possible treasure chamber. You all chose to ignore her.

"We don't know what's ahead but..." Usopp's lips pressed tightly together for a moment. "I really don't want to bump into that samurai again... Even if he did hit us with the back of his blade, my whole left side is burning. He's seriously strong. And I kind of doubt he'll let us go twice..."

"Yeah, I-" Chopper stopped mid-sentence, nose twitching. "What's that- Penguins?!"

Sure enough, three penguins were emerging from the trees, dancing in a line. They spun around to face you all and- and only one had the face of a bird. The second was something between a person and a fish, and the third had the face of a one-eyed basset hound. "Hello!" The bird-penguin announced. "We are-!"

The fish-man-penguin picked it up. "-the penguin zombie duo! ... Oh, whoops! I mean-"

The basset hound-penguin waved his flippers. "Trio! Trio! I'm the new guy! And those guys behind you are our friends! The Wild Zombies!"

"Who now?" Usopp turned first, squeaking almost immediately. You followed suit, just barely catching the urge to cower as you took in the army of large animals. A cow, an elephant, a zebra-kangaroo, a bull-pug, a monkey-panda, a pony-fox, a monkey-rabbit, a jackal-cat, and more, from paw sized, to more than twice your whole body, the lineup of patchwork creatures featured a plethora of unholy combinations that made your fur prickle. A long-bodied creature with the amiable face of a koala emerged, one striped paw raised. "Go! Beat them bloody and tie them up! This is Mistress Perona's Wonder Garden!"

It was fast. The animals charged, Chopper screamed and Usopp prepared to fire. Nami and you dodged a massive morningstar, then, as Nami stumbled and went down to her knees, the massive cow charged her, apparently planning to trample her into the dust, when the third penguin with the face of a hound leapt and, with one flippered foot, kicked the cow so hard it went flying. Astounded shouts rose up from the gathered animals.

"Hey new guy, what are you doing?!"

"We aren't the enemies, they are!"

"Attack the humans!"

The penguin straightened up. "I don't know who this lady is, but even if I have to defy the master's orders, I will never kick a woman, even if it means my death! If you've got a problem with that... Well, I guess you'll just have to fight me."

Confused and aching, you stood over Usopp and Chopper, tail lashing. What was happening? That sounded like something Sanji would say...

An animal you couldn't see spoke loudly. "Hey, what the hell?! We zombies shouldn't be able to go against our master's orders, so why is he able to?! And why is he so strong?!"