Chapter Text
It’s not Usopp’s fault he gets arrested, really.
Well. It’s not entirely Usopp’s fault he gets arrested. It’s mostly not his fault.
He says as much as he’s pushed against a wall, cheek scraping against the concrete, handcuffs snapping around his wrists behind his back. The officer grunts noncommittally and tugs on his arm, making him stumble on the fancy slabs of the esplanade. He looks around the crowd that has gathered to see the excitement, the public arresting of two wayward kids, and reality hits him hard, then.
Usopp feels his heart stutter in his chest. His fingers curl with anxiety. There’s a sort of primal sense of fear that takes over, realizing he has most likely just permanently ruined his life.
One does not want to get arrested, generally. Not in the Grand Red or in any of the Blues. But one especially does not want to get arrested in Mariejois.
But it wasn’t Usopp’s fault, though.
It was Luffy who thought it a good idea to punch a noble, a royal, in the middle of a day, on a crowded street – with such force that the man fell unconscious and dropped like a brick the second the punch connected. Usopp, meanwhile, only watched from the sidelines, maybe secretly cheering Luffy on but mostly doing nothing illegal.
Sure, he might have shot one rock or two towards the psychopathic fucker with his foldable slingshot, run away from the officers that were alerted to the scene, and resisted arrest – just a little bit. Might have shouted and screamed at the officers that kicked Luffy to the ground, cursed obscenities when the squad leader’s heavy boot was still pressed hard against his friend’s back even long after he’d stopped twitching.
Just ordinary, reasonable things one does when faced with the imminent threat of violence, Usopp thinks.
Unfortunately, he also knows that in Mariejois, one could get jail time for as little as littering, or breaking curfew.
So maybe he had done something to deserve it.
They stick him into an interrogation room and leave him there, for hours and hours, alone.
Usopp winces as he shifts around, his back and buttocks sore from the hard metal chair, eyes dry and watering under the harsh halogen lights. He stares through the black glass and wills for someone to come in and talk to him, anyone. Please. Anyone.
He has just leaned his head down onto his folded hands in resignation and exhaustion when the door clicks open in front of him. Usopp raises his head, alert immediately, and stares down the female officer who walks in.
“Water for you”, she says, and places a plastic mug on the table just barely within his reach. She’s young, nice-looking. But there’s hardness in her eyes Usopp doesn’t enjoy seeing.
“Where’s Luffy?” he asks before the officer can turn around and leave. Leave him all alone, again. She tilts her head, questioning.
“I’m afraid I-“
“The other kid”, Usopp blurts, fear giving space for anger, momentarily. “You know, the one your friends beat into a pulp right on the Golden Palace esplanade. The scrawny kid from East Blue with nothing but few coins in his pockets.”
The officer swallows, hesitates.
“Is he okay?” Usopp asks, voice cracking. Fragile, suddenly, like glass about to break.
“I don’t-“ the officer starts, before someone else sticks their head into the room. Another officer, higher rank.
“Tashigi”, the man says sternly. “Come here.”
The officer, Tashigi, stalls for a moment longer, her dark, sharp eyes trained on Usopp, before she turns on her heels as stalks back out of the room.
“What other kid, Smoker?” Usopp hears her hiss, right before the door closes completely behind her.
Usopp slumps back down onto his arms, presses his face hard against the bend of his elbow. The fight has left him. He’s still alone, he still has no idea what happened to Luffy, and he really, really doesn’t know if he can talk himself out of the trouble he’s gotten himself into, this time.
It’s another couple of hours before the door opens again, and a new face walks in. An old man, huge, imposing.
“You will regret this, you know”, Usopp tells him immediately. He has collected himself a little, during the wait, and has come up with a fool proof plan to get out. “My father is an important man, I’ll let you know. He will make your life a living hell if you don’t let me and my brother go this instant!”
The officer stares him down, lips twitching. The skin around his eyes crinkles with amusement. He doesn’t look as impressed as Usopp thinks he should.
“Your brother, hm?”
“That’s right”, Usopp nods. “Me an’ Luffy are the adopted sons of a highly respected noble. His team of lawyers will be all over your ass when he realizes you have been keeping us here against our will!”
“How frightening”, the officer says evenly. He pulls a chair from the other end of the table and sits down, with the casual assurance of someone who knows they hold all of the power. “You need anything, son? More water, or a snack? Now is the time to ask.”
“I wanna know when we’re getting out of this stinky place”, Usopp replies, full of put-on assurance. “If we don’t make it to dinner today, there will be dire consequences!”
The officer rubs a hand along his bearded jaw, considering him. “You are from East Blue, aren’t you son?”
“I’m-“ Usopp pauses. “Yes. What about it?”
The man hmms quietly. “There are no nobles in East Blue with enough power to get Luffy out of the mess he made for himself.”
He’s not amused any more, his face set into hard lines. Usopp feels a chill run down his spine.
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“Punching a noble, a son of a royal?” The man scoffs. “I’d though not even Luffy was capable of idiocy of that level. I was wrong, clearly. The poor sonovabitch is still unconscious.”
“Luffy is?” Usopp asks, heart jumping into his throat in worry.
The officer levels a look at him.
“No, Saint Charlos. Luffy is having the time of his life emptying the clinic’s food supply while we speak.”
A breath of relief leaves Usopp, and he leans against his chair, smiling despite the current shitty situation.
“Man, I’m so relieved…”
“He sweet-talked the nurse the minute he woke up and convinced her he needed mountains of food to recover. He’s a sneaky brat, and tough as hell. But that’s how I trained him to be, after all.”
It takes a second for the words to register, and Usopp turns to stare at the officer, eyes wide.
“Wait… You know Luffy?”
The man grins. “Bahaha, do I! He’s my grandson.” He pats his broad chest. “The name’s Monkey D. Garp.”
“What?!” Usopp balks at him. He can feel the last grains of hope running through his fingers, disappearing into the abyss. He very abruptly, very acutely realizes his genius plan was all in vain, and he has nothing left to defend himself with.
“Oh yeah”, Garp says, still grinning. “Luffy already spilled everything, as I knew he would. You are the son of a wanted criminal, Usopp. Your mother is dead, and your village barely tolerates you. You joined Luffy in his venture to Mariejois just for the adventure, didn’t you, hm?”
For once in his life, words have left Usopp.
“There are security cameras all over the main streets of Mariejois”, Garp continues. “It is quite unequivocal what happened there today. You are being charged with simple assault, disturbing the peace, and resisting arrest. You’re lucky you’re a minor, son, or you would find yourself in the pits of Impel Down before you could say the word infringement.”
“Holy shit”, Usopp says. “Holy shit.”
Garp nods, almost sympathetically. “You sure you don’t need anything? You’re soon going to be moved into a holding cell and there’s a long night still ahead of you.”
“What’s gonna happen to me?” Usopp asks, voice barely above whisper. “To Luffy?”
“I’m not here officially, so I couldn’t tell you”, Garp says. “I’m not allowed near your or Luffy’s case, for obvious reasons. But… there’s a very nice juvenile detention center right here in the outskirts of Mariejois, so I would start getting used to the idea of moving house, if I were you.”
“Juvenile detention center”, Usopp echoes silently. He looks up. “That’s a prison, right? That’s basically going to prison!”
“Oh, it’s nothing like prison, son”, Garp says ominously. He moves to stand up, clearly about to leave. Leave Usopp, alone, again.
“Do I get a lawyer?” Usopp asks, hurried, out of breath. “I demand a lawyer!”
Garp sighs. Turns around.
“One will be assigned to you for your trial.”
Usopp wants to stand up, bang a fist on the table and demand proper answers, but he’s too frightened to even move one muscle. One wrong move, and they will probably forgo him being seventeen and thrown him straight into Impel, minor or not.
“Sir, wait”, he croaks, but the man is already out of the room, and the only face Usopp sees anymore is his own miserable reflection staring back at him from the darkened glass.
The holding cell is small, dingy and bleak, with four disgusting beds tucked against the walls.
“Enjoy your stay”, snarks the officer that brough him there, and slams the barred door shut behind him. The sound echoes around the room with an awful finality. Usopp stands still, heart hammering in his chest, and stares at the one other person lounging at the back of the cell, his feet tucked on the bed and back leaning against the wall. He has the strangest hairdo Usopp’s ever seen.
“Hey”, the man says. “Nice to get some company for a change.”
Usopp swallows nervously.
“Don’t be frightened, young one”, the man adds. He stretches his legs, feet setting down onto the stone floor. “My name’s Galdino. What is yours?”
“Usopp”, says Usopp hoarsely. Then he straightens his back, turns his nose up, and bellows, “I am the son of a hardened criminal, Yasopp the Chaser! So do not mess with me, scum, or he will come for revenge, and you nor no-one you love will be safe!”
He points a shaking finger at the man, but Galdino’s eyebrows only rise a fraction. His dark eyes glint behind his glasses. “If you think things like that will matter down there in Impel Down”, he says sardonically, “you are sorely mistaken, my friend. Everyone there is a hardened criminal, or a good friend of one.”
It’s made clear to Usopp that this man is one of those things himself, as well.
Usopp deflates. He sits down onto the nearest bed, arms folding around his bent knees.
“I’m not going to Impel Down”, he says after a moment, voice small. “I’m not eighteen yet.”
Galdino nods, and sits back as well. “Lucky you. Where, then?”
“I don’t know. One of the officers implied that possibly into a juvie right here in Mariejois.”
“Ah.” The man chuckles humorlessly. “The Mariejois Reformatory. Or, more lovingly known as Impel Ahead.”
Usopp’s breath catches. “I-impel Ahead?” he stammers. “What do you mean?”
“It’s located right next to Impel Down”, explains Galdino patiently. “Impel Down, the hell pit where the worst of the criminals are thrown into, never to be seen again. Impel Ahead, where the delinquent kids wait until they are old enough to be thrown into the Down. I hear their yards even share a fence.”
Usopp suddenly feels like he’s about to hyperventilate and die on the spot. Cold sweat breaks onto his skin. His thoughts feel muddled, twisted around themselves into an unsolvable knot. Desperate.
He’s going into a prison that’s right next to Impel Down? And in a year, if he’s still incarcerated, he’s going into Impel Down itself?
He won’t make it. Usopp’s sure he won’t make it.
“Don’t be so afraid, little friend”, Galdino says, after having courteously given Usopp a moment to have an existential crisis in peace. He smiles encouragingly. “I spent a few years in a juvie when I was only a bit younger than you are. And I made it out just fine!”
There’s a brief silence in the cell.
“Aren’t you going into Impel Down now, though?” Usopp asks. Tentatively.
Galdino shrugs. “Yes, but those two points are totally unrelated.”
Usopp chooses not to answer to that one. He bends his back, rests his forehead against his knees.
He’s hungry, and sore, and tired. He’s worried about Luffy. He’s afraid for himself - for both of them. He just wants to go home.
But the truth is, he thinks, as the sun drops below the horizon and the cell is plunged into total darkness, the evening chill settling deep into his bones, home is rapidly starting to feel further and further away.
It’s the female officer from the day before, Tashigi, who comes to pick him up the next morning.
Usopp waves goodbye to Galdino, and Galdino waves back, says, “Maybe we’ll meet by the fence one day”, and Usopp turns around as fast as he can and leaves the man behind.
“Where are we going?” he asks Tashigi as they walk along the station’s long hallways. It’s not towards the same interrogation room as before, that much Usopp is sure of.
“To meet someone”, Tashigi replies shortly. Usopp can’t tell from her tone if it’s going to be a good meeting or a bad one, and that makes him quite nervous.
“Who?” he asks cautiously.
She doesn’t answer. Usopp struggles to keep up with her quick pace, one hand pressed on his aching stomach. He’s so hungry. He hasn’t eaten in almost a full day. He really regrets not asking for anything when Garp had offered. Hindsight, and all that, he muses sourly.
They halt in front of a heavy wooden door, and Tashigi knocks on it twice, sharply, before pushing it open.
“I’m here with subject 3-1145, aka Usopp from East Blue, Sir.”
Usopp recognizes the man sitting behind his desk. The white hair and the--quite disturbing--jagged scar that runs down his forehead and over his right eye. The heavy curtain of smoke that seems to permanently linger in the air around him. Smoker, he remembers Tashigi calling him. How fitting.
“S-sir”, Usopp says, standing up a little straighter. He somehow feels it’s appropriate while in the same room with this man.
“Thank you, Tashigi”, Smoker replies and with that, the younger officer is excused, and the door closes behind Usopp.
“So”, the man starts, speaking between puffs of his two cigars. “You can call me Smoker. I am the commander of the G-5 branch of Red Corps, and those were my men that arrested you and your friend on the street yesterday. I will be responsible for deciding where to place you while you wait for your trial during the upcoming months.”
Usopp blinks rapidly, the information sinking in. “The upcoming… months?”
“Sure”, Smoker huffs. “Our legal system here in Mariejois is quite overladen. You will be lucky to get your trial within the next half a year.”
“But… how…” Usopp feels his knees go weak. He wants to sit down. And maybe cry a little, while he’s at it.
“Don’t worry. That period of time will be taken off you sentence either way. And if it takes longer than your eventual sentence determines, you will be heftily compensated. Though, considering the nature of your crime, I don’t believe that to be a problem.”
Smoker rolls his eyes and blows out a thick cloud that hides his face for a moment. “Your friend is, what, seventeen and a month? He’s going to Impel Down eventually, no matter how good a deal his lawyer comes up with. Saint Charlos and his family will make sure of that.”
Usopp leans against the door, feeling faint. “What happens now? To me and- and to Luffy?”
Smoker stands up, abruptly, and if Usopp wasn’t already as far back as possible, he would have flinched away.
“The Mariejois Reformatory”, the commander says. Impel Ahead, thinks Usopp. “It’s the most obvious choice. And they confirmed just this morning that they have space for a couple of new faces, after an… accident that took place there last week.”
Usopp inches along the wall as Smoker steps closer. “A-a-accident?”
Smoker ignores him. He pulls the door open and says, “Come with me. We are going to go pick up your friend and then you two will be on your way to the Reformatory.”
“I get to go with Luffy?” Usopp yelps, hurrying after the commander. “Thank you, Sir, thank you thank you!”
“Saves us the extra trip, that’s all”, Smoker mutters, and doesn’t turn around to see Usopp’s grateful smile.
Smoker leads him to the medical wing and pauses in front of a big, reinforced window looking into a room.
“I’ll give you few minutes while we wait for the ride to arrive”, he says impassively. “You better get him awake and ready to move in that time.”
Usopp peers through the window and instantly spots Luffy, sleeping on a sturdy metal bed by the far wall.
“I can go in?” he asks hopefully, and Smoker nods. He opens the door with a key and Usopp all but sprints in, pausing only when he reaches Luffy’s side.
If it wasn’t for the heavy cuff that binds his left wrist to the frame of the bed, Luffy would’ve looked like an any ordinary patient at a hospital, sleeping peacefully. Usopp’s almost hesitant to wake him, all of a sudden. There’s an ugly, swollen bruise that spreads from the corner of Luffy’s eye and covers almost half of his face, and under the thin medical gown Usopp can see bandages wrapped around his ribs. Those must hurt horribly, Usopp thinks, when he’s awake.
“Luffy”, he says quietly, and places his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Time to wake up.”
Luffy smiles in his sleep and mumbles something incoherent. He turns his head on the pillow and his swollen cheekbone presses against the bed, and his smile turns into a distressed frown.
“Luffy”, Usopp pleads, shaking him gently. “Wake up!”
Luffy’s one healthy eye snaps open. He groans and goes to sit up, but his cuffed wrist catches the frame and halts him, and he flops back down, the whole bed shaking under him. He gazes up at Usopp, confused.
“‘Sopp?” he slurs, his eye squinting under the bright lights. “Hi!”
“Hi, Luffy”, says Usopp, so relieved he could cry. “How- how are you?”
Luffy considers the question for a moment.
“Been better”, he eventually says. He sits up, carefully, and this time manages it without trouble. Usopp can see his face twisting in pain, though, and his right hand going around his middle, holding his ribs. “Ow, ow…”
“They beat you up good, huh”, Usopp says, angrily. “Red Corps or not, that should be illegal!”
“I’m fine, Usopp”, Luffy says, waving his hand in dismissal. “They gave me lots of food here, anyways!” He squints at Usopp. “Did they give you any food?”
Usopp, stomach still hurting from being so empty, goes to shake his head, but stops.
“They did offer”, he admits. “But that reminds me…”
He crosses his arms, glares at Luffy. “You didn’t tell me your grandpa is a Red Corps officer! Luffy! You should tell me these things!”
Luffy’s eye widens. “You met Gramps too?”
“Uhuh.” Usopp’s still fuming, a little. “And he knew everything about me. So thanks for nothing, buddy.”
“I can’t lie to Gramps, though”, Luffy says, matter-of-fact. “He’ll beat me up if I lie.”
Usopp feels really bad for saying anything, then.
“We’ll be taken to a youth detention center, soon”, he tells Luffy instead. “The Mariejois Reformatory. My cellmate said they call it Impel Ahead, ‘cause it’s right next to the actual Impel Down.”
Luffy’s face lights up, against all common sense.
“Then we’ll be right next to where Ace is!”
And sure, Usopp has to admire his optimism, sometimes.
“It’s still a prison, Luffy!” he hisses. “Probably a horrible, brutal one! And in a year, we will be moved into Impel Down and we’ll never see daylight again!”
“Maybe they’ll let me go see Ace!” Luffy wonders aloud, still smiling. “I was worried I wouldn’t get to see him at all, since we got arrested before we had time to go visit him.”
That seems unlikely, in Usopp’s opinion, but he doesn’t say anything. Luffy’s hurt enough as it is.
“Yeah, maybe”, he says instead and sighs quietly. “Maybe they will.”
The door cracks open then, alerting them both. Thick smoke streams into the room.
“Your ride is here”, Smoker says. “Time to get up.”
Their ride is a plain armored car that they are ushered into in a parking hall deep below the building.
Luffy still moves with some difficulty, Usopp notices, but that doesn’t stop the kid from babbling excitedly about Ace.
“The last time he called me he said he might get to go on a purolle”, he tells Usopp, left hand pressing his straw hat tighter against his head as he ducks into the back of the car.
“You mean parole”, Usopp says.
“It sounded good”, Luffy goes on. “He said not many prisoners in Impel Down get to go on a purolle. It means he’s done good while in there, and the guards like him.”
“That’s great!” Usopp agrees. He slides a little lower on his seat, trying to get comfortable.
“Maybe we get to go on purolles too, if we do good in our prison”, Luffy muses.
Usopp highly doubts they will do good in their prison, but he doesn’t have time to say as much when their driver and his colleague get into the front seats.
“Alright, time to go”, the driver announces cheerily. “You two ready back there?”
“I guess”, Usopp says, while Luffy says: “Coby?”
The driver whips his head around and stares at Luffy, his startled eyes peeking through the little window in the wall that separates the front seats from the back.
“Luffy?!”
“Hey, Coby!” Luffy grins like a maniac, though he quickly settles as the expression pulls painfully on the mess that’s currently his face. He rubs the edge of the bruise absently. “How’d you get here?”
“How did you get here?” the driver shots back. Usopp can only see a small part of him through the window, but he looks to be about their age, with pink hair and a soft, kind face. “And what happened to your…” He waves his hand around vaguely. “…All that? Face?”
“I got into a fight, it’s not a big deal”, Luffy says, still so fucking happily that it baffles Usopp to no end. “So, you got the job, then?”
Coby presses his face to the window, grinning. “I did! I’m officially a guard at the Mariejois Reformatory! I get to wield a baton; can you believe it?”
“Awesome!” Luffy cheers. He winces, then, arm wrapping around his ribs, but his smile doesn’t falter. “That’s where we’re going, too!”
Usopp grimaces, hiding his face behind his palm.
“I know, Luffy”, Coby says kindly. “That’s why I’m the one driving this car.”
“You’re wasting time, that’s what you’re doing”, says the person on the front passenger seat. He sounds bored, and annoyed. “Coby, at least start the car for god’s sake.”
“Sure, sure”, Coby says, turning around. “I just didn’t imagine seeing Luffy here, Helmeppo! You know, we met each other in East Blue only a few weeks back.”
“I don’t care.”
“He punched my old boss”, Coby continues, as they drive out of the parking hall. “He made me realize I was stuck in my old job and I should go out and reach for my own dreams.”
“What a beautiful fucking story”, Helmeppo drawls. “Come on, drive a little faster. We’re gonna be late from lunch.”
Usopp slides a little lower on his seat. He watches the city rolling past the darkened window – strange buildings and strange streets. He had never been in Mariejois before. The capital of their country. But he had heard countless stories about its greatness all through his life. How beautiful it was, how rich, how full of amazing sights to see.
He came in with Luffy, only two days ago, to be there for his friend when he visited his brother in jail.
Maybe a little for the adventure.
Maybe a little for the sights, the praised food, the beautiful people.
And now he’s on his way to a prison within the city, to be locked up indefinitely.
Great, he thinks, and watches as the gilded buildings of the city center fade from view, replaced by rougher neighborhoods – slums, he realizes, so close yet so carefully hidden from the sights of an ordinary tourist.
He closes his eyes.
Just great.