Chapter Text
The close proximity to Water7 and it not being on usual magnetic path of the Log Pose made the Nokki Island a peaceful and unassuming home to small Marine Base, of which soldiers wanted to be close to action if need be but otherwise were pretty lazy and cowardly.
This idyllic inactivity was disturbed when shortly after the shocking events of Enies Lobby the pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro barged in with the infamous Sogeking in hold.
‘Oi. I wanna cash in this bastard.’
‘No Zoro please I swear I’m so sorry I didn’t meant it its not funny anymore c’mon let's go back i don't wann-’
‘They still would want you if you’re dead know that?’ The man in mask fell silent.
Way to start a morning. The two officers stationed outside the post exchanged astounded looks. Technically, they should’ve arrested both of them on sight- but they were the Pirate Hunter and the Sniper King of the Strawhat Pirates, so...
‘Uh, aren’t you guys on the same crew?’ One of them, the shorter and apparently braver, asked with very stable voice. She clearly remembered seeing them together in newspaper a few days ago. Burning the World Government’s flag. The unthinkable.
‘Not really. It was a temporal alliance.’ The swordman flashed them a shark grin, that certainly wasn’t friendly. ‘ Which is done - you want him or nah?’ With a hint of melody he elongated the last word and menacingly stroked his three katanas. He was good at it- the art of intimidation.
It wasn’t uncommon for coalitions between buccaneers and mercenaries to form and fall apart. But to sold out one another when the deal is done? Pirates were a cruel bunch after all.
The shorter nudged her comrade out of stupor and he, stumbling through his words, turned towards entry of the base. ‘R-right, if you follow me…’
She watched from behind as their two “guests” marched inside, the sniper still being dragged against his will, sending silent pleas to his captor. He, however, was unaffected and carried on without any sense of remorse. She really hoped they hadn’t any ulterior motives.
Once the four of them were indoors, her coworker dutifully dived behind the desk in search of proper paper form for a bounty hunter to fill in. It suddenly occurred to her how bizarre it is for Marines to issue an invoice for turned in criminals, but she guessed even as humanitarian organization as the Navy wasn’t completely free from bureaucracy. The pirate hunter seemed to be accustomed to the order of things as he lazily strolled through the room towards the single cell on a furthest left side and unceremoniously dropped his ex-friend (crewmate? accomplice?) behind the bars. He then came up to desk, leaned against it and, while maintaining eye contact with shaking Marine, signed the paper. It was sickening how comfortable he felt here.
‘Zorooo, you know I have “i-cant-be-put-in-cage-and-left-to-die-on-this-random-secluded-island” disease! Have mercy!’ The now imprisoned Sniper King whined. He sounded almost harmless, but both officers knew how deceiving pirates could be. ‘Please Zoro, it won’t EVER happen again!’
‘Damn right it won’t, traitor.’ He spat, wrenched the 30,000,000 berry from the shocked guard and without a second glance, promptly left the Navy outpost on the Nokki Island.
‘…he signed in wrong place...’ her coworker groaned and sunk his head in arms. The poor guy took his job so seriously.
She really should’ve committed to learning his name when they first met. It was inconvenient to address him as “the tall one” or “hey you” but after working together for what? 5 months? It would be even more awkward to randomly ask his name.
And it wasn’t like the base (a small two storey building with living quarters, training ground, office, a brig and cafeteria that served god-awful coffee) was swarming with people. Other than them, there were three more pairs on rotating schedule and once every two weeks some captain from Enies Lobby came by for the report. The town was situated on the opposite side of the island- which wasn’t far and the walk through the fields was her favourite part of being stationed here- and it’s residents stayed out of trouble and other than occasionally providing food and entertainment they were almost non-existent.
But she was really bad with names.
‘…so uh. Can you let me go? You got the wrong guy.’ The prisoner snapped her out of thought. Right, the job. She measured him from head to toe and grabbed the wanted poster pinned to the wall. The resemblance was undeniable.
‘Mask is the same.’
‘Yeah, well it’s just a costume- a dress up! You see I’m just a big fan-‘
‘So you support his actions’ The other marine stated coldly, and holy mackerel she needed to come up with some name for him or she will go crazy.
‘But I don’t even know how to shoot! I’m blind as a mole without my prescriptions! My aim is worse than of a Marin- wait no I shouldn’t say that-‘ This guy was starting to get on her nerves. She didn’t apply for this post to deal with people who didn’t shut up- she wanted peace and quiet. She reached for the stress ball from her side of the desk and hurled it at the alleged Sogeking. Yep, that’s what’s the ball is for. She already felt better.
But instead of hitting him, the ball was deflected with his elbow as he protected his face, rebounding on the walls of tiny holding cell, and finally, coming from the back, bounced of his long nose like on trampoline or a diving board, and landed perfectly in the trash bin on the opposite side of the room.
If those weren’t aiming skills it must’ve been pure luck. Or unluck. The sniper looked horrified.
‘Listen,’ The Steve continued, ignoring prisoner’s pained expression. ’Even if you’re not him, it doesn’t really matter. We paid that other guy so we can’t exactly let you go. But don’t worry- it’s not like they’ll send you to Impel Down or something. So try to relax.’ The Steve attempted at reassuring smile and turned towards the door. ‘Want coffee? We got pretty good one in cafeteria.’
She decided she didn’t really mind not knowing his name.
***
Nami looked at the small bulk of money laying on dining table. The 30,000,000 berry looked thinner than she remembered. It’s not like they would need money in near future, because if everything would go according to plan, they should be entering Florian Triangle pretty soon and she doubted there were many shops there. Still, money’s money, and they were pretty much broke (because someone had to throw party for whole city. UGH.).
‘Everything went smoothly?’ It was more of a statement than a question and Zoro’s lack of response told her everything she needed to know. Even if the whole plan was her idea, she felt the pang of guilt in her chest.
‘I still don’t get it why it had to be Usopp-bro. I don’t think they know I’m part of the crew yet, so wouldn’t I be more convincing?’ Nami wasn’t quite used to Franky’s pervasive presence. He was weird and brash (but not necessary in unpleasant way) and she really wished he was wearing pants. ‘ And my bounty’s bigger.’ He added proudly.
What was up with men and wanting to be hunted for sport?
‘It’s part of the problem. Smaller bases usually don’t have that much funds to give away in exchange, so they could’ve send us off. And it would be suspicious if Kensh- I mean Zoro returned with different pray.’ Robin supplied with gentle smile. Nami suspected she would’ve gone crazy without her on the crew.
‘It had to be this way.’ Swordsman agreed and slumped back in his seat, most likely pretending to be asleep. Nami hoped he would still listen, because she didn’t feel like repeating herself again.
The plan itself popped into her head somewhere during the long celebrations at Water 7, when Kokoro helped her plot the course to Fishman Island and it was quite obvious that Usopp would sooner or later rejoin them. At first she deemed it as too cruel, but after running it through the older part of the crew, they decided it was worth a shot. It still didn’t sit right with her, because neither her or Robin were ever punished for leaving, and they would've to go behind captain's back, but both Zoro and Sanji seemed quite persistent on it (which was in its own way weird to see them agree on something).
‘Right, now to the second act. As I mentioned before, it’s actually straightforward and -hopefully- fool-proof.’ Because it really was- Sanji, dressed as Sogeking and guided by Robin will divert attention of the Marines, while Zoro and she will retrieve Usopp. And maybe check if there was something left in the Navy’s vault. Franky would just need to distract Luffy and Chopper long enough for them to return and then they’ll bail. Easy.
Sanji stirred in the kitchen, from which he’s been listening while preparing lunch. For some reason, he wasn’t too keen on playing the super hero, but when heard he’s been paired with archaeologist, he halted any complains he had.
As if he sensed cooks movement, Luffy burst into the galley with loud ‘MEEEAAT!!!’ and Chopper right behind him.
‘Is food ready?’
‘Yes, is it?’ Reindeer parroted. Ever since they first embarked the Thousand Sunny, both of them were joyfully running around sightseeing and marvelling at the smallest of things. Suffice it to say, they had a blast. Carefree idiots.
‘No, not yet.’ Sanji emerged from kitchenette with plate of sandwiches. ‘Have a snack and go, the adults are talking.’
Luffy inhaled the offering with a pout. ‘Why are we stopping here anyway? I thought we were running from my grandpa.’
‘Yeah and where is Usopp? I wanted to check on him.’
‘Right! We have a lot to catch up- and I wanna show him the gears!’
At this, Chopper dimmed a bit. ‘…I still need you to explain to me how they work, you know?’
‘Yah, yah, later! So, where he’s at?’
The participants of the secret meeting exchanged worried looks. They hated keeping things from Luffy, but they also knew he wouldn’t approve of their little scheme. Or even worse, he would fool around and mess up something that was supposed to be fool-proof.
‘Usopp is-‘ Sanji stopped abruptly.
‘We stopped here because-‘ At the same time Nami bit her tongue.
‘Uh’ Zoro, as always, was very helpful. Luckily, they still had Robin.
‘He went to say goodbye to Sogeking.’
‘Whaaaat? Not fair, I wanted to go too… ’ Their captain, fearsome enemy of the state, whined. He had this look like the earthquake swallowed all the meat in existence and nothing in the world could possibly cheer him up.
Chopper somehow knew it was up to him to do the impossible and he tugged at his shirt. ‘Can we go now catch some fish to fill the aquarium?’ Luffy blinked, and just like that, his emotional state did a whole 180.
‘A. I forgot. Let’s go then!’
And they left. Nami let out a sigh of relief, as did the rest of the remaining Strawhats. Ok. Focus. Usopp. ‘Back to the mission. It’s go time.’
‘Hey. Can we make a small shuffle?’ Franky, for the first time she knew him, looked uncomfortable. Well, the second time, considering how they forced him to join the crew. ‘I don’t think I can manage these two little beasts.’
Nami’s stare was blank for a moment, running the cons and pros of changing plan last minute. As always with these people, it was a gamble- but she felt pretty lucky with them around. ‘ Sure. You’re coming with me. Zoro on the ship. Let’s move.’ She already felt the headache building at the back of her head.
***
He was cold. And lonely. Perhaps the coldness originated from within his heart, as it slowly turned into stone to become one with the cell. He didn’t need it anymore anyway, because the only people he loved left him here to die. He lost track of how many days, weeks he’s been it there- there were no windows in the room and the guards stopped visiting him a long time ago. He didn’t even feel hunger, as he lost the appetite after the fist coffee they had offered him. It was horrendous.
For the hundredth -thousandth? millionth? time he circled his entrapment. There was nothing to keep him entertained- greatest torture to the mind, the boredom. Only object of interest – different from his dull surroundings- was the mask he used to wear with pride, a reminder of all of his failures, mocking him openly in the face.
They left you, just like you wanted. That’s a good thing, you would only slow them down. It’s a punishment for all your lies.
Where’s your courage now, oh brave warrior? You hurt them first, so that’s what you get.
They left you, just like your father did.
Usopp didn’t know how much more of this he could bear. Only some miracle could save him.
‘Luffy, help me.’ He whispered to the nothingness as a prayer.
He wasn’t expecting an answer, especially in a form of loud explosion and a rubble almost knocking him out.
‘Careful, I said CAREFUL.’ Two figures emerged from the smoke as a familiar voice scolded the other.
‘I was, I know the bearing wall when I see one.’ Frankly said matter-of-factly. ‘ If it doesn’t go with the boom it’s not SUPER though.’
Wait, Franky? Nami? Usopp either was dying from the debris hitting him and was experiencing hallucination to ease his last moments or in the time he was stuck here Luffy became the King of the Pirates and decided he needed jester to entertain him. Usopp would happily take that offer as long as it meant getting away from this hell.
‘Usopp, quick, where’s the safe?’ He gave Nami an empty stare. A “hello” would be nice, but he guessed some things never change.
‘Uh, under desk I think? But wait, you came back for me too, right? I mean I could get out at any moment but…’
‘Really? But I wanted to test these new SUPER canons I’ve installed this morning. These babies should make a show.’
‘In that case, go ahead.’ He was grateful- the Cyborg’s enthusiasm will get him out AND save his face-
‘On a second thought, let him be Franky. He has it under control and I found what I came for, so we can join others and set sail.’ She sent him a wolf’s grin. Ok, lying to Nami was never good idea, she could always read him like an open book. He felt the anxiety raising at the thought of spending here another second. To hell with his honor.
‘No, I’m kidding please, PLEASE let me out, don’t leave me I’ve wasted enough years here, I wanna see sea again-‘
‘What are you blabbering about? It hasn’t been even 3 hours.’ Nami rolled her eyes and gave some sort of signal to Franky.
What…?…It hasn’t?
‘Ok move away.’ And without a moment to react, the booming sound ripped through the building and the blast blew him into pieces.
That was how the great Sogeking met his end.
The next think he knew, he was in Franky’s arms, bridal style, with Nami, Sanji and Robin in front running towards Thousand Sunny and a total of seven Marines in pursuit. He decided to no longer question anything that was happening that day. The officers didn’t even pose any danger to them, so fighting them fair and square would be just pathetic. So they ran.
As soon as they climbed the ship, Nami ordered them around to “unfurl the sails” and whatnot, but the sounds were muffled to sniper as Luffy lashed onto him in vice grip, almost suffocating him. He wasn’t heavy, but the constant whirling and squirming made it hard to support his weight.
‘Why didn’t ya bring me with you’ He wailed straight into his ear. Usopp fought back the constrictor, peeling the rubber limbs away and finally freeing his face. In the corner of his vision, Chopper stirred awake with quiet “oh, he’s back’’ and dozed off back at Zoro’s side. The swordsman didn’t bat an eye, and the gulp in Usopp’s throat (that he didn’t realize was there) grew bigger. Was he welcomed here or not? What’s the deal?
‘I wanted to see Sogeking off, too’ Luffy continued as if Usopp wasn’t just experiencing maybe the fourth most confusing day of his life. Ooh, so that’s what they told him- which, in a way, it was correct. He wasn’t planning on wearing that mask ever again.
‘Sorry.’ Sorry for disappointing. Sorry for doubting you. Sorry for leaving.
‘Na, it’s ok.’ Luffy pressed with this serious look, like he heard the unspoken, swiftly untangled himself and, with the usual air of cheerfulness (and a bit of mischief) pulled him in direction of aquarium. ‘Wanna see the fish I caught with Chopper earlier?’
The setting sun leveled with the strawhat, blinding Usopp with warm glow. He would go wherever his captain wanted him to.
It was dark when he finally managed to shake Luffy out of him. He was always clingy, climbing his victims like the monkey he was, but after the recent events, it was almost unbearable.
Usopp supposed he was (partially) at fault.
He was strolling back and forth, avoiding the unavoidable. For the peace of mind, he had to have this conversation- even if it would end with his demise. With sharp tools and skilled user like him the death would be quick. Unless torment would be part of his punishment. Then he-
‘Will you sit down already?’
Usopp shrieked. He thought he had more time- he expected Zoro to be asleep- but it was over. Any argument he had left him and he dutifully lowered himself to his knees beside the swordsman, eyes running through the blades of grass covering the deck. He counted around 37 (because they kept moving on the breeze and it’s hard to focus awaiting your own execution! ), when silence became too oppressive. He must’ve looked very dumb, because when he raised his head to scream “get on with it already!”, Zoro was smirking at him and lightly punched him in the arm.
‘You know it was just a ruse? We don’t sell each other.’
‘Oh- o-Of course I knew!’ The skin of his palms prickled where fingernails left small, crescent indentations and for the first time since morning he felt light. Light-er. ’You’re a terrible actor, by the way.’
‘But’ Zoro continued unfazed with murderous gaze and Usopp’s nervous laughter immediately died in his throat. ‘if you ever again disrespect the captain or put the crew purposely in danger, I won’t hesitate.’ The swordsman was never good with words, so Usopp easily caught the hidden message -“you hurt us, please don’t do it again”.
He started to finally grasp the full scope of the pain he caused them. How much he hurt Luffy. Not physically, because the fight, even if taken seriously, was a joke, but emotionally.
First almost dying with the whole Franky Family fiasco, then ignoring captain’s feelings in favor of his. And leaving.
If there was one thing obvious after spending some time with Luffy, was that the guy was absolutely terrified of being abandoned- Usopp knew this better than anyone, seeing the same eyes every time he looked into mirror. So what the great and loyal friend Usopp did? Abandoned him.
Darn, his eyes were getting really watery.
‘Being liar and a coward is ok- not honorable, but alright. Giving up s’not.’ The hand that previously punched him, tightened on his bicep. The tears were now falling freely. ‘So even when you’re scared, don’t give up on us.’
Not that long ago Zoro would goof around with them, play pranks, tease and even occasionally laugh. Usopp wondered when exactly he became so mature- was the burden of protecting them that heavy?
The dream of being “the brave warrior of the sea” was something ambiguous, something that came to him on spur of the moment, almost on a whim, because although he always wished it was possible, he never truly believed. But with friends who strived even higher, with wilder ideas and bigger ambitions- he thought if it meant he could help them, protect them, he will do anything in his might to be worthy of this title.
Usopp dried his eyes and finally met Zoro’s.
‘Hey so... when I do become braver and stronger.... will you share some weight?’
A genuine smile settled on swordsman’s face in what felt like forever.
‘Sure. When you stable enough.’