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He was a pirate...He was a pirate...He was a pirate...He was a pirate…
“Usopp! Usopp, just go! I’ll make it back to the ship, I promise!”
He was a pirate...He was a pirate...He was a pirate...He was a pirate…
“Get moving now! Go!”
He was a pirate...He was a pirate...He was a pirate… And Pirates were free. They chased after freedom, they rushed for the sea; for adventure. They didn’t stay behind for family, and friends understood… that if you were a pirate, you had to look out for yourself. For number one. And a pirate, they themself, was number one.
Usopp ran.
He didn’t run away as instructed, he ran forward. Zoro was several yards in front of him, a large line of heavily armed marines approaching him with a steady pace. Luckily they were still far away from Zoro, but they were loading their rifles, and soon would be aiming at Usopp, or worse, at Zoro. Zoro already had a couple of slugs in his legs, not to mention he was wrapped in chains… Before the chains, Zoro had even taken out a fleet of hundred or so Marines. He'd been fighting for hours.
Zoro was exhausted. He could not run towards freedom, but he expected Usopp to.
He expected Usopp to escape to freedom. Because they were pirates? Because they craved freedom? Because pirates should only look out for themselves?
No. That was a lie.
Zoro wanted Usopp to escape because they were Nakama. And Usopp, as afraid as he was, as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t run and leave Zoro behind.
He thought of his father as he loaded his Kabuto and fired off a series of Pop greens at the approaching Marines. He thought how much it hurt when his father had left him and his mother behind for adventure, for the sea. It hurt, almost as much as the first bullet that grazed over his hip, tearing through flesh like a burning fire.
His mother had told Usopp, “Pirates are free. They run for freedom, and answer the call of the sea. Yasopp, your father, is a pirate… and he’s free.”
If freedom meant abandoning a wife, and a young son… then Usopp wasn’t sure he wanted to be that kind of Pirate. He was proud of his father... some days. And other days, Usopp wasn't sure. He used to think he wanted to be a pirate like Yasopp... and now he wasn't so sure.
He reached Zoro, who swore at him, and shouted for him to turn around before it was too late. Usopp hauled Zoro over his back in a fireman's carry, and roared with exertion as he hoisted the large, bulky man over his shoulders. He could no longer fire his Kabuto with his arms wrapped over Zoro's legs and shoulders, but the pop greens he’d already spread out like a blanket were providing excellent cover. The summoned plants were attacking the marines as viciously as man eating plants could, and would but some time for Usopp.
He hoped it'd be enough.
Usopp turned, and ran back in the direction he had initially come from. Back towards the sea, towards a dock, and towards a ship. And back towards people who were now running for them. Back towards his Nakama.
“I’m a pirate…” Usopp growled under his breath as Zoro shouted at him.
“I’m a pirate…” He continued to chant when another piercing ball of metal ripped through his side.
“I’m a pirate, a pirate, a pirate!” Usopp said again when another bullet tore through his lower leg, and made him fall to his knees.
“USOPP! Please! Please! Let me go and run, Goddamn you!” Zoro was shouting into Usopp’s ear. He was bleeding worse than Usopp, and battered so badly. How could he expect Usopp to drop him now?
“I’m a pirate, a pirate, a pirate! I’M A PIRATE!” Usopp shouted, his own personal mantra that pushed him back up on his feet. He moved forward, with Zoro on his shoulders, even as his leg tried to buckle, even as his vision swam with sweat and tears.
He was a pirate, and pirates craved freedom. For some, that was the call of the sea, for adventure, and for treasure. Some obeyed the call, and some could even abandon their family for it. Usopp didn’t crave that kind of freedom. His was of a different nature.
Usopp was a pirate, and he craved freedom. He answered the call of the sea, he craved adventure, and thirsted for treasure. But freedom didn’t mean leaving loved ones behind. It meant running for them, and breaking all the rules in order to keep them with you. It meant defying impossible odds to save the day.
Usopp’s legs buckled, and Franky caught him and Zoro. Franky’s face was wet with tears and he was grinning at Usopp so wide it looked like it hurt.
“Yahoo, Usopp-bro! What a man! You did it! You did it! You got Zoro back here! We got you Bro! Let us do the rest!”
A blur ran past them, and Usopp locked eyes with his Captain whose expression was set in a determined frown that promised victory. Briefly, Luffy locked eyes with Usopp, and for a second, smiled as bright as the sun, the very embodiment of freedom.
And then Luffy was gone, head long into the enemy, ready to avenge his injured crewmates.
Usopp smiled, and sank fully in Franky’s arms, as someone else took Zoro off his shoulders The sounds of battle, and his friends were fading away. Usopp smiled, unafraid of what would happen to him as he slipped into darkness.
“I’m… a pirate!”
And he was a damned good one.
End