Work Text:
Today was supposed to be a regular old morning.
As usual, everyone gathered in the dining room and began eating breakfast. Usopp was exhausted from pulling an all-nighter, too caught up in his tinkering to stop and go to sleep. He speared a piece of bacon on his plate, nibbled on it, and decided that maybe something fresh and clean would help reboot his brain rather than something salty and greasy.
He blearily reached for the fruit basket and grabbed an apple. After taking a bite, Usopp scrunched his face in disgust. Did Sanji accidentally purchase bad fruit or something? The bitter mush slid down his throat, causing his to shudder. Yuck. He should have spat it out when he had the chance.
"Uh, Usopp? What are you eating?" Nami inquired across from him.
"Apple," Usopp said around a yawn. "But it's nasty. Don't eat anything from the bunch."
"I-I don't think that's an apple, Longnose," Franky stammered. "Look at it."
Usopp blinked and his eyes drifted down to the object in his hand. The fruit was round and smooth like an apple, but it was in a peculiar magenta hue with whorls imprinted on its smooth surface. Immediately, he paled and dropped the fruit, causing it fall onto the floor with a soft thud.
"Oh my," Brook said, breaking the silence. "It appears that we have another Devil Fruit user in the crew! Yohoho!"
"So, in other words," Robin said, closing the book, "it is perhaps one of the strongest Devil Fruit abilities out there."
"Unless someone manages to silence him or block their hearing," Zoro pointed out.
"Not quite. According to these records, the target just needs to be within the user's field of vision. Although, yes, verbal command is required, and the volume of the command determines how strong the effect will be."
"Wow, that's so cool, Usopp!" Luffy said, staring at Usopp in awe. "You can do some serious damage with your new power!"
"Man, it sounds so convenient," Nami sighed, her face plopped on her hand. "I could get out of any fight unscathed if I had that ability."
Usopp did have to admit that Luffy and Nami were right; this ability was certainly a useful one, especially for a sniper like himself. He was a long-range fighter and he couldn't count how many times he had gotten involved in short-range fights. If any enemies were to get too close, he could stop them with a one-word command and come out as victorious!
"Ahahaha!" Usopp grinned widely, propping his fists on his hips. "This ability is truly befitting of the great warrior of the seas, Captain Usopp!"
“It’s kinda weird how it’s called the Sit Sit Fruit when there isn’t any sitting involved,” Chopper said with a perplexed frown.
“Ah, yes, one of the many mysteries of the fruits of the devil,” Brook agreed.
Robin tucked the book under her arm and turned towards Usopp. "We would need to test out the boundaries of your new power first before you could try it in battle, Longnose-kun," she said.
"Hey, Usopp should test it on the marimo," Sanji was quick to suggest.
Zoro scowled. "What? Screw you! Test it on the love cook, Usopp!"
"Too chicken to bear with a little pain?"
Before the two men could duke it out, Usopp imperiously pointed at either of them and exclaimed, "Sit!"
Zoro and Sanji stiffened, but the expected result didn't happen.
"What the hell, Usopp?" Zoro and Sanji shouted in unison. Usopp squeaked and dove behind Franky for cover.
"Huh, that didn't work," Luffy said, crossing his arms and pouting in disappointment. "Robin, why didn't it work?"
"Perhaps certain conditions must be met in order for the ability to take an effect," Robin mused. "Longnose-kun, you were trying to command both of them, correct?"
"Well, either of them, actually," Usopp said, peeking around Franky's waist.
"Try singling out one of them."
"Wait, hold it—!" Zoro began to protest.
Usopp's eyes landed on the swordsman and said, "Sit." Simultaneously, as the word was about to leave his lips, a strange sensation took over: a tingling danced from the base of his throat to his tongue, and his stomach felt fluttery. Usopp hadn't realized that he had been in a daze until he blinked back into awareness, startled to find Zoro lying flat on his face with some of the guys laughing at him.
"Usopp, I'm gonna kill you," Zoro swore as he propped himself up.
"Sit!" Usopp cried. He no longer felt the same sensation, but he was able to see his ability in action. Zoro was quickly pulled to the floor as though there was an invisible chain yanking him to it, and the floorboards creaked under the force of his weight.
"Usopp, quit it!" Zoro roared.
"S-sorry!" he yelped, hiding behind Franky again.
"No, do it again!" Sanji insisted.
"Screw you, dart brow!"
"Wait, hold it. What's that around his neck?" Nami intervened, pointing.
Everyone paused to look at Zoro. Hanging around his neck was a beaded necklace, not unlike the one that Luffy's brother, Ace, had worn. Except, rather than red, each bead alternated between black and white. Placed between two beads and Zoro's collarbones was an orange and black striped pendant. A tiger, Usopp's mind automatically supplied.
"What the—where did this come from?" Zoro grabbed the necklace and pulled it off of his head—or, at least, he tried to. When he brought it by his ear lobes, the necklace glowed faintly and wouldn't budge past that spot. It was as if there was an invisible wall blocking the necklace from leaving.
Sanji, after recovering from his laughing fit, decided to take pity on his crewmate and tried to help him. Yet, no matter how much both men tugged and pulled, the necklace didn't go anywhere. Soon, Franky, Luffy, and a Heavy Point Chopper joined the fray, only to result their endeavors as fruitless.
"Usopp, get this thing off of me," Zoro growled.
"I don't know how!" Usopp cried. The dark look in Zoro's gaze made him anxious, and he was worried that the swordsman would actually commit crewmate-icide. Just before Usopp could declare his scary-marimo-swordsman disease as an excuse to book it out of here, Nami smacked Zoro on the head.
"Cool it! You know Usopp wouldn't do something like this on purpose," Nami berated.
Zoro shot her a disbelieving glare. "Uh, yes, he would. Have you met him?"
"Yes, I have, and I know that he wouldn't. Isn't that right, Usopp?" Nami sent the sniper a saccharine smile that read "you better not be lying and pulling another of your inane pranks or else". Usopp would have been offended if he hadn't been so nervous. The sniper rapidly nodded to assure them that, no, he wasn't doing this on purpose and please please please spare him.
"Interesting," Robin murmured, rubbing her chin. "This wasn't mentioned in the book." Then, to Usopp, she said, "This requires further testing. Do Cook-san next."
Usopp, flabbergasted, said, "Uh, what? Seriously?"
"If Robin-chan wants me to do it, then I'll gladly do it!" Sanji exclaimed with a beam, but he added tentatively, "Although, could you make it so that it won't hurt as much?"
"Make it hurt!" Zoro bellowed.
Usopp looked at Robin with uncertainty before turning his attention to Sanji. In the softest whisper that he could muster, he said, "Sit."
Sanji grunted as he dropped to his hands and knees. The sensation remained absent and no necklace formed. The cook awkwardly stood up, rubbed the back of his neck, and said, "Um, nothing?"
"Nothing," Robin confirmed.
"Usopp, scream it out. Maybe this time it'll show up," Zoro suggested.
"How about I make you scream by shoving my foot up your ass?"
"Okay, putting aside how wrong that sounds," Nami said, ignoring Sanji's "Wait, what?", "I think that's enough for today. We already got the basics of Usopp's new power, and what she can do should be used on our enemies."
"Come on. How's that fair?" Zoro grumbled. "Alright, fine. If not the love cook, then do Luffy."
"What? Why me?" Luffy whined.
"You're rubber, so you should theoretically bounce back up. Shouldn't hurt."
"Didn't you hear what I just said?" Nami snapped.
"Haramaki Bro is just mad that he's the one who got his ass handed to him by Longnose's Sit Sit ability," Franky snickered. He waggled his brows at the navigator. "How about we throw him a bone, eh?"
"Oh, yes, but hopefully not one of my bones! Yohohoho!" Brook chortled. "Skull joke!"
"Actually, I was thinking more of the lines of a dog joke."
Everyone looked at Franky in puzzlement. "What do you mean?" Chopper asked.
"Ya see, Longnose is using the command 'sit' and dogs chew on bones, so..." Franky trailed off, letting the crew to figure out the rest on their own.
"And the damn marimo is collared like one too!" Sanji threw his head back and laughed. "Fitting for a mutt! Bwahahaha!"
"I don't get it," Luffy said, frowning. "What's this got to do with dogs?"
As Robin calmly explained to Luffy, Usopp watched with mounting apprehension at the red tinge and glower on Zoro's face. The embarrassment that the man displayed would usually be followed by an explosive and violent response; additionally, because the source came from him, Usopp would undoubtedly suffer the repercussions. In order to appease Zoro's anger, Usopp knew what he had to do.
"Oh, I get it!" Luffy burst out in glee. "Zoro is a dog—!"
"Luffy, sit!"
Luffy crashed onto the floor, his straw hat flying off of his head. When Luffy lifted his head, he was scowling, red from the hit, and necklace-less. "What the hell, Usopp! That hurt!"
"Luffy didn't bounce at all," Chopper observed.
"Perhaps the ability nullifies the target's Devil Fruit power," Robin figured.
"That confirms it: Only Zoro is in possession of the necklace. Can we put an end to this now?" Nami said exasperatedly.
"The necklace probably only appears on the user's first target," Brook speculated.
"Looks like Haramaki Bro is Longnose's bitch now," Franky said. There was a pause before the guys broke into hyena-shrieking laughter. Sanji especially was rolling on his back, eyes prickling with tears in his mirth. Even Luffy had dropped his anger in favor of joining the merriment, although it was likely that he had no idea what the guys were laughing about.
"I'm just gonna go to my workshop," Usopp said to no one in particular when he noticed the menacing aura that Zoro was emanating. Before hell was let loose, he fled out of the room.
Just like the past two islands the crew had stopped by at, Usopp was paired up with Zoro.
"It's because you can sit Zoro whenever he does something stupid," had been Nami's reasoning, which didn't make sense because Luffy did stupider things than Zoro. Shouldn't he be with the captain instead?
Usopp had protested at first, finding the tense silence between them to be unbearably stifling. Yet, as the two had explored the new lands together, the awkwardness had soon subsided. It had been easy to fall back into their old pace, what with Usopp yelling at Zoro to not wander off and Zoro protecting Usopp from any danger. It had helped that not once did he use his power on the swordsman.
Zoro hadn’t asked him about removing the necklace either. Maybe he had come to accept that there was no way of doing so until Usopp fully mastered his new ability. Although, while Zoro had been content to wait for that to happen, Usopp himself had been mulling over the situation.
How could he mend this problem? How could he tap into his power and control what he couldn’t control? Because as funny as it was collaring a directionless swords maniac (not really), Usopp wasn't comfortable with the whole ordeal. It felt…weird. Wrong. And pointless. Like, what use did the necklace really have outside of clashing with Zoro’s outfit?
As they trekked across the terrain, Usopp thought back to what his crewmates had told him. Luffy had said that mastering his stretching and techniques had been due to years of training. Robin had said that her ability had come naturally to her, although it did require imagination to produce the result that she wanted. Chopper said that a bit of concentration had been a factor as to how he had adapted being a bipedal creature capable of human speech. Usopp hadn’t asked Brook in fear of evoking sad memories.
So, training, imagination, and concentration. And it went without saying that a whole lot of experimenting was key here as well. After all, it wasn’t as if there was another Sit Sit user who could tell him what to do, not to say that would be possible since the former Sit Sit user would have to die for him to be the current Sit Sit user.
"Hey, I've been wondering..."
Usopp was pulled out of his ruminations at the sound of Zoro’s voice. He glanced at him. “Hm?”
Zoro was frowning and rubbing the back of his neck. Given the agitation he was expressing, Usopp immediately knew that he was embarrassed about something. Zoro didn’t say anything until after a minute pause. When he did speak again, he asked, "Why'd you pick me and not the cook? I mean, was there a reason or was I picked by chance?"
His eyes widened. “What? That’s what you were wondering about?”
A light blush formed on Zoro's cheeks as his face twisted into a scowl. “So, what of it?” he retorted defensively.
“Nothing! Nothing at all!” Usopp quickly assured, holding his hands out in placation. “I was just, you know, surprised? You didn’t say anything about it all this time, even when we would pair up to go exploring, so hearing you bring it up now is just…” he trailed off uncertainly.
“Yeah, well.” He averted his gaze, the frown still in place.
It wasn’t like Zoro to be evasive. Normally, the swordsman wouldn’t waste time beating around the bush; in fact, he was the second most straightforward man Usopp knew (because Luffy, who was laughably incapable of lying, would be the first) to the point of insensitivity. Yet, here he was, refraining from bringing up the question until today. Unless he had thought about it just recently? But if that was the case, he wouldn’t act this way—prickly and flustered.
Usopp briefly considered telling Zoro that he was indeed chosen by chance; that way, the matter could be put to the side and they could forget all about it. However, for some reason, he felt compelled to go with the truth for once. "I knew that you'd be able to handle it. Not to say that Sanji wouldn’t be able to, but you're, well, more cushioned."
"What?” Zoro shot him an incredulous look.
This time, Usopp’s face was the one heating up. “I mean, you got muscles—you’re more muscular! You got your muscles to cushion you." He flailed a bit. “Sanji is more of a stick, so, uh, that’s why.”
Zoro snorted. "Muscles aren't made for that, you dolt,” he said, and then his lips morphed into a smirk. "I appreciate you telling me that I'm better built than the love cook, though."
The confidence that the swordsman exuded was annoying. Usopp was starting to find that he liked sulky Zoro better than cocksure Zoro. He shielded his eyes from the metaphysical rays that lit up as Zoro’s backdrop and replied flatly, “Yeah, sure.”
“Well, come on.” Zoro picked up the pace and brushed past him. “We don’t got time to waste.”
“Huh? What do you mean? We’re not on a time limit or anything. Hey, Zoro—wait! You’re going the wrong way, you idiot!”
It took a great deal of their strength combined to defeat one Bartholomew Kuma, but having to face another one? That was too much!
It was a blessing that their captain had enough sense to call for a retreat instead of getting up to fight again, especially to have them split into groups so that they wouldn’t be chased down altogether. Although, Luffy was one who had taken down the first Kuma with a single inflated punch; mustering up an attack like that would render the rubber man thoroughly depleted of his energy, of course.
There was the same whirring sound coming from behind, and then came another deadly beam. Usopp narrowly dodged the fire that exploded at his heels; he screamed, leaped, and crashed against Zoro’s back. Shaken by the close call, he didn’t have the strength to move his wobbly legs, so he desperately clung onto the sprinting swordsman. “Zoro-kun, protect me, please!”
“Hold on, Usopp! I’m hurt enough as it is…!” Zoro grunted.
“Fear not! I shall protect you,” Brook said as he ran alongside him. “I would imagine that you’re still quite damaged. I was witness to the entire incident on Thriller Bark when you stepped in for him.”
Usopp wasn’t sure what Brook was talking about, but no matter. As long as the skeleton got their backs, then all was well.
“You guys! Let’s meet up on Sunny Go in three days!” Luffy’s order pierced through the air.
As everyone made a run for it, Usopp glanced over his shoulder where their pursuers stood. That big guy with the axe, Sentomaru, had called the fallen Kuma PX-4 and the one next to him PX-1. Did the P stand for Pacifista? That was what Sentomaru had also called PX-4.
Something about this smelled fishy, and it wasn’t because Usopp had decided to forgo the deodorant (not that anyone needed to know that). But given the situation, he couldn’t bother to spare any braincells to ponder what was going on here. All he could think about was how they were going to be sentenced to that metaphorical wooden chopping block if they didn't escape in time.
Sentomaru’s high-pitched, adenoidal voice could be heard, but his words were indiscernible; Usopp could only imagine that the man was giving PX-4 an order. Coiling his legs tightly around Zoro’s waist, he grabbed an ammo, slotted it into Kabuto’s sling, and arched his back so that he was facing the cyborg. Despite hanging upside down while clinging onto a bumpy ride, his shot would sail sure and true.
“Special attack: Super Smoke Star!” he announced, releasing the ammo.
The ammo hit and engulfed Sentomaru and PX-4 in an explosion of smoke.
“Now’s our chance!” Usopp shrieked, pulling himself back up.
“Yohohoho!” You certainly are dependable!” Brook exclaimed.
“Usopp, why didn’t you just use your power on them?” Zoro said.
“My they-know-I-have-the-Sit-Sit-Fruit-ability-and-would-chase-after-me-if-I-use-it-on-them disease is kicking in. I’ll die if I use it!”
There was blast resounding in the direction where Nami, Sanji, and Franky had headed for, and what followed were a series of crashes. That sounded terribly worrisome. Usopp winced.
“Maybe you wanna forget your disease for a bit and use it now?” Zoro asked sarcastically.
“Right, right.” Usopp peered behind him. “Si—"
Zoro abruptly stopped, causing Usopp to topple backwards and off of him.
“Ow! What the heck, Zoro?”
“Get back.” He placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.
In front of them was a golden glow. Standing behind the drifting smoke was a silhouette of a tall figure. What happened next was done as though in slow motion: The man extended a hand that cut through the wispy gray clouds and pointed directly at Zoro. At the tip of his finger, the same glow gathered and grew; it flickered in a way as though it was charging.
A sense of dread took hold of Usopp. Whatever was about to happen, he instinctively knew that Zoro was in danger, but preparing for another shot would be too late. Not to mention how heavy his limbs felt at the moment; it was as if his premonition had frozen him in place and all he could do was watch helplessly. Yet if his body refused to move, then his words would have to do.
Which was why he screamed out from the top of his lungs, “Zoro, sit!”
The second Zoro slammed to the ground, a ray of light fired from the man’s finger and into the earth. Suddenly, an eruption of flames and flying dirt clumps surrounded the sniper. Usopp cried out as the force of the attack threw him to the ground. The knock to the head caused his vision to go fuzzy and had him uselessly pawing at the grass; but, as soon as the world stopped spinning, he quickly gained his bearings and scrambled onto his feet.
“Oh?” an unfamiliar male voice said. “So, you’re the user?”
A man in a striped suit and a marine coat towered over Zoro’s prone body and gazed directly at Usopp. All it took was one glance at the man’s curious face for Usopp to unleash another command. The marine hurtled to the ground and was continuously embedded in deep as he chanted like a loon, “Sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit—"
“Uncle Kizaru!” Sentomaru cried.
“Kizaru?” Robin gasped loudly. Whoa, when did she get here? For that matter, when did Sentomaru? “Usopp, whatever you do, don’t stop!”
Unfortunately, the sumo man didn’t give him much of a choice. The sound of sliced air drew his attention behind him, and Usopp screamed when he saw a giant spinning axe careening in his direction. Without thinking, he shouted, "Sit!", but nothing happened because compelling a freaking object into sitting was impossible, you dolt.
Just before his beheading, skinny yet hard arms gathered him into a bridal carry. With one graceful jump, Brook swiftly evaded the axe and carried Usopp to safety. "Brook to the rescue!" Brook announced.
When the skeleton set him down, Usopp collapsed onto his rear, his legs unable to support him after his close brush with death. "Th-thanks, Brook," he wheezed out. "You seriously saved me."
"Just doing what a crewmate would do," Brook assured.
Not too far from where they were, Zoro wrenched his face from the ground, the imprint of his angry face visible on the dirt. He glared furiously at Usopp (how did he know that Usopp would be here and not there?) and snarled out, “The hell, Usopp? Use it on that yellow bastard, not on me!”
“Sorry! I panicked!” he yelped. “And, just so you know, I did!”
“I meant use it only on our enemies, stupid!”
“I’m sorry!”
“Don’t you know that I got enough wounds?” he continued to yell.
“I said that I’m sorry, you jerk! What more do you want me to say?”
“Now, now. You can have your couple’s quarrel in another time," Brook intervened.
“Can it, afro skeleton!” Usopp and Zoro snapped in tandem.
"Yohohoho!"
“He’s right, Zoro. You need to get away from Kizaru! Now!” Robin called over to him, the urgency in her voice palpable. Robin seldom appeared distressed; however, when she did, really, really bad things were imminent.
Rising back onto his feet was the yellow bastard that Zoro had so aptly dubbed him as. The man's glasses were askew and one of the lenses was shattered, yet he maintained the same expression of simple curiosity. "Ow," Kizaru said lightly. "That hurt."
“Si—” Usopp was cut off by the body tackle delivered by Brook. Good timing too since the ray that zapped through Brook’s afro would have zapped him in the face had they not evaded in time.
“Waaah!” Brook cried out in alarm. “My hair! How is my hair?”
“Singed,” Usopp croaked.
“Brook, take Usopp to safety,” Zoro ordered, already on his feet. He widened his stance and had two swords drawn out. “I’ll handle this guy.”
“Zoro, don’t! He’s an admiral; he’s way above your league!” Robin yelled.
“It’s not like we got much of a choi—”
“Sit!” Usopp shrieked, causing Zoro to fall again. For a mind-numbing second, he wondered why he couldn’t just direct the command onto Kizaru instead of Zoro. Why did his thoughts veer towards Zoro every time? But no matter—Kizaru’s foot dove into the empty space, an arch of golden light chasing after his heel. Had Zoro not been pulled down, would the kick to his head result in Zoro soaring right into buildings or a bloody splatter?
As the admiral rotated in midair, Usopp locked his eyes on his form and shouted, “Sit!”
“Veinte Fleurs!” Robin exclaimed. Two rows of arms bloomed from the ground and proceeded tugging and grabbing onto Zoro’s clothes, propelling him to move down the rows and away from Kizaru.
“Quit rolling me around!” Zoro barked, trying to get on his feet. “It’s making me sick!”
Brook grabbed Usopp’s arms and hoisted him up. “How—how did you know that was going to happen, Usopp-san?”
“I’m not sure,” he stuttered, “but I’ve been getting hunches that whenever Kizaru’s about to do something.” Well, not for all his actions. Usopp hadn’t noticed the marine shooting at him until Brook had saved him yet again. Why was he receiving these hunches and why at certain times, he had no idea but would have to dwell on them later. He swallowed heavily. “We—we gotta go now.”
“Uncle Kizaru, what the hell is the matter with you?” Sentomaru cried out in bewilderment. “Why couldn’t you phase through his attacks?”
“Seems like I’m unable to.” Kizaru shook the dirt off his head. He touched his jawline and winced. “The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Ow…”
“Sit!”
Kizaru was reintroduced to the ground.
“You!” snarled Sentomaru, making a charge towards Usopp and Brook. “I’ll finish you!”
Which never happened. Sending the sumo man skidding away from them was a powerful kick courtesy of Rayleigh. The Straw Hat Pirates all gasped at the old man’s unexpected yet welcomed entry.
“Rayleigh!” they exclaimed.
“How wonderful. Another nuisance,” Kizaru noted nonchalantly. He cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders. “I don’t suppose you’ll move aside so I can take a hit on the Sit Sit user, eh?”
“Don’t be silly, Kizaru-kun,” Rayleigh replied. “Of course not.”
“Figures.”
“Zoro, Brook, take care of Usopp! They’ll be targeting him!” Luffy hollered. “Everyone, focus on escaping; we won’t be able to take on these marines as we are now!”
“Right.” Zoro sheathed his swords and bolted towards Usopp and Brook. “Start running now!”
No need to tell him twice. Usopp ran like his life depended on it—which it did. This was why he had been reluctant on using his power! If the marines caught a whiff of someone with an ability as strong as taking down a freaking admiral—he took down an admiral; holy cow!—then they would chase him down to the ends of the earth. Not to say that the crew hadn’t experienced that what with them being relatively well-known pirates and all, but, this time, he would be the one who the marines would specifically target.
Usopp already missed the safety net that his anonymity had ensured. No one knew who Sogeking was behind the mask and he had hoped that it would have stayed that way. Unfortunately, though, there just might be a bounty for Sogeking and for Usopp. Good grief.
Just when he thought that they were making a successful escape, PX-1 was closing in on them, its arms positioned as though it was going to snap them into a bear trap.
Usopp screamed—again.
“Sit!” he commanded, but nothing happened to the Kuma robot because it was a robot, you dolt. Learn from the axe mistake!
“Zoro-san, ensure that you and Usopp-san make it out safely,” Brook said as he faltered back.
“Brook, the hell are you doing?” Zoro demanded.
“All for one and one for all.” Brook unsheathed his sword. “Sometimes a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.” With a spin, Brook dove at PX-1 with his sword ready to slash, but what happened instead was the skeleton getting flung out of the way with a beam.
“Brook, the hell are you doing?” Usopp and Zoro shouted furiously in tandem.
The heavy pounding of PX-1’s feet grew louder. Usopp dared to catch a glimpse of the robot and squawked when he noticed it was indeed closer than before. Uncomfortably close.
“Shit,” Zoro hissed. “Usopp, whatever you do, just keep going.”
“Zoro, don’t do what I think you’re about to do. It’s suicidal!”
But Zoro did not heed his words. He slowed down just as Brook had and whipped out his swords.
As Usopp maintained his pace, the further he got from him. A part of him urged himself on: Usopp had to escape no matter what. He had to! If he fell back, then he was going to get annihilated, and that was a death he did not want to experience. But Brook had gotten himself creamed to buy them time even though his attempt had been futile. And Zoro was going to get himself creamed to buy Usopp time. Could he really just allow this to happen, his crewmates throwing themselves in danger while he was the only one who made it out safely?
Of course not! Usopp might be a coward, but he wasn’t the kind of person to turn his back on his friends.
As Zoro dodged a blast, a bullet connected PX-1’s head and enveloped it in flames. Zoro leapt back to create space between him and the robot before peering over his shoulder. “Usopp?”
“I’m not leaving you here to fight on your own,” Usopp declared, readying another ammo. “We’ll do this together!”
“You idiot! Don’t get involved! Run!”
Just as Zoro had ignored his warnings, Usopp ignored his. He understood, though—the need to protect those who they cared about even at the cost of their lives. That was very much like Zoro, but Usopp himself could be that way too. So, he fired again and again. With each blow, PX-1 staggered a bit, but his ammo wasn't enough to take the robot down.
Then, PX-1 lifted its hand and caught the next shot. The ammo exploded within its grasp, yet it did nothing to deter the robot. PX-1's fingers stretched apart, revealing an illuminating palm preparing for another beam.
“Shit,” he murmured. That wasn’t good.
Suddenly, PX-1 fell onto its face. As it lost its footing, so did its aim; the beam was blasted a few yards away from where Usopp and Zoro were standing—a really close call. It was to their luck that they had Sanji to the rescue, who was flying ahead of PX-1.
Usopp smiled in relief. "Sanji!"
The hope that lit up within him only existed briefly, however. Even from this distance, Usopp could see Sanji’s leg spasming. He had overexerted himself and the strain was now taking over. The cook gripped his calf as gravity pulled him down. With no way of maneuvering himself for a landing, he spiraled towards the ground. Given the angle he was falling at, Sanji would have crashed on his face had it not been for Zoro catching him.
"You made yourself useless, love cook. Way to go," Zoro groused.
"Shut up, marimo."
Usopp's eyes darted back to PX-1, which was slowly picking itself back up. Kizaru was right about one thing—the bigger they were, the harder they fell. They had to seize this opportunity quickly; otherwise, once it was back on its feet, they would be stuck to the same game of cat and mouse.
"Zoro, pick up Sanji and let's go," Usopp ushered. "We don't have much time."
"Maybe you should freaking listen to me for once when I tell you to—" Zoro's eyes grew wide when his eyes slid past him and onto what was behind him. "Run."
Usopp felt his blood go cold at the look of horror on Zoro's face. "Z-Zoro?"
"Run!"
He flinched and spun on his heel; however, he was too late. An enormous hand—practically his size—with pink palm and fingertip paddings closed in on him. His world was eclipsed into darkness until he knew nothing more.
"Usoppun, look!"
Usopp took a glance at the presented paper and nearly choked on his food.
On the wanted poster was a picture of a bird's eye view of Usopp drawing back Kabuto; one of the Kuma robots must have had taken it. While seeing his own face was a surprise, seeing the tagged price was downright alarming. Sit Sit Usopp was wanted dead or alive for...one-hundred million beris?
Usopp blanched. That was higher than Sanji's bounty!
And...and...his epithet was Sit Sit?
Nooo! Why couldn't the damn marines give him a better name like Great Captain Usopp or Sniper Emperor Usopp? Hell, if they had any brains, they would have put two and two together and see that he was Sogeking! Sogeking Usopp had a nice ring to it. But Sit Sit? Sit Sit? He didn't want the world to recognize him for that!
"Arrrrgh," Usopp groaned miserably.
"I take it that you're upset," noted Heracles.
"Wah!" Usopp brought a hand over his left eye. But just before he could press her palm against it, he stilled.
"Usoppun?" Heracles said concernedly. "Is everything alright?"
"I... Yeah." His eye wasn't in pain, yet, for some reason, his hand had reflexively flown to it. He dropped his arm and looked up to the skies. Maybe he had stood under a particularly sharp sunray or maybe a speck of dust had landed on his eye. Whatever. It wasn't a problem anymore.
The first thing Zoro did in their reunion was march right up to Usopp and give him a noogie. He hooked the nook of his elbow around the sniper's throat and arrested him against his chest. Zoro then drilled a fist to his head as though he was trying to create a hole in his skull.
"You dolt. Why didn't you run when I told you to run?"
"Eeeyaaah!" Usopp shrieked, wriggling wildly in his hold. Was he talking about what had happened two years ago? He was sore about that? For what had happened two years ago?
"Hey! Are you guys playing? I wanna join!"
Zoro released Usopp in order to dodge Luffy's pounce. Usopp ducked, tucked, and rolled out of there before scurrying away.
Admittedly, the one person who Usopp was the most excited to see was Zoro. The reason?
"I think I found a way to take the necklace off of you."
Zoro's eyebrows rose. "Seriously?"
Usopp nodded, his lips stretched into a grin. "I mean, there hasn't been another person who I've, uh, collared, but I spent these past two years honing my Sit Sit power. I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to free you."
The swordsman snorted. "It wasn't as if I've not been free just because I have this thing on," he said, pointing to the necklace.
"Funny how your first reaction was completely different," Usopp deadpanned. Zoro rolled his single eye in response. "Now, come over here! Your wonderful and generous Captain Usopp has worked hard for this very moment!"
"Is that so?" he chuckled, complying. Zoro walked into his space until their chests nearly brushed against each other. Usopp stumbled back a bit by the closeness but no mind; nothing could dampen his excitement for this very moment! When Usopp's hands reached over to Zoro's throat, though, Zoro caught them and held them in place.
"Zoro?" Usopp blinked.
His single eye stared into his own pair. "You sure about this?"
"Wha—? What are you talking about? Of course, I am!" Usopp frowned. "Why do you ask?"
He returned his frown. "Well, why bother?"
"Why...bother?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
Usopp stared at him blankly. "Okay, you lost me. What are you on about?"
Zoro sighed and stepped back. "Never mind," he dismissed.
Now Usopp was really confused. "Wait, Zoro, don't you want it off?"
"Like I said, why bother?"
His mouth opened to say something, but no words came out.
Evidently enjoying Usopp's lack of response to his own, Zoro smirked at him. The swordsman squeezed his hands (oh, hey, he was still holding them) before releasing them. He then turned around and held up a hand as a gesture of farewell. "See ya."
Still oh-so confused, Usopp blurted out, "What the hell?"
"I don't understand why Zoro wants to keep the necklace on. Isn't it a bother to wear all the time?"
"Perhaps he became accustomed to it after two years," said Robin, her eyes never straying away from the page of her book.
"I guess," Usopp grumbled. "But I don't see why he just doesn't accept the offer. Sure, why not keep it, but why not take it off?"
"It could be that he now likes it. It's rather becoming on him, isn't it?"
"Um." Usopp wasn't sure what to say to that. "Zoro's always been a good-looking guy, so anything'll suit him."
"Oh?" This time, Robin peered over her book and fixed Usopp a teasing smile. "Is that so?"
Usopp froze. "I mean, objectively speaking! It's not like I'm into guys or anything. Quit smiling at me like that, Robin!"
Robin chuckled and returned to her reading. "Of course."
There were times when Usopp appreciated the older woman humoring him, yet this wasn't one of those times. He frowned. "I'm serious, Robin! I don't see Zoro in that way."
"You won't now, but you will later on," she replied, turning the page.
There was a pause.
"What do you mean?"
"I meant what I said."
There was another pause.
"I already said that I don't like guys! And even if I am, Zoro would not be my type!" Usopp insisted, his eyes wide with incredulity. "What the heck, Robin?"
"I'm just saying how it is."
"Just—argh, just no." He shook her head. "Where did you even get that from?
"It's just how it is," the archaeologist repeated in lieu of an answer. "Although, I'm certain that your feelings won't be unrequited, so have faith, Usopp."
"Why're are you saying as though I do like him already? Stop being so cryptic! I don't like Zoro!" A bullheaded swords maniac like him? As if!
Robin hummed. "If he's not your type, then what would your type be?"
Why did she want to know? Ugh, never mind. She could be asking simply out of curiosity. Usopp opened his mouth to answer, but he then faltered. What...was his type? Come to think about it, he hadn't seriously thought about this before. Sure, Usopp had crushes. The biggest crush that he had formed had been one on Kaya, but, well, every guy had a crush on her, so that had been inevitable. As Usopp mulled over this, he ended up blurting out, "Someone nice."
"Zoro can be nice, you know. And he's good-looking, according to you, which should be a bonus."
"That was an objective claim, alright? No personal feelings or interests involved whatsoever!"
"Fufufu." Robin smiled at her. "If you say so."
Being crammed in a tiny cage was one thing. Being crammed in a tiny cage that was suspended above thirty stories was another. But even though the cage’s chain to the ceiling might snap from the collective weight of Usopp, Zoro, and Brook being inside, there shouldn’t be an issue of them breaking their necks since the room was being flooded. The water ought to break their fall, right?
Oh, wait, Usopp was a Devil Fruit user; that meant that sea water would make him sink like a rock. Then either Zoro or Brook could get them out before they drowned to death, right? Oh, wait, they were chained up like how he was and were stripped of their weapons, rendering them utterly useless. To further shit on the situation, Usopp was gagged. Not that there was anyone who he could command to sit, but being cut off his ability to complain about his predicament put him in a dour mood.
“This certainly isn’t good,” Brook observed, peering between the bars of the cage. “And I just finished drying too. I don’t want to be submerged in sea water again.”
“Mmhmm!” Usopp tried to speak.
“Yohoho! I can’t ascertain what you’re saying, but I have a feeling that you’re also displeased by our situation, Usopp-san.”
“Of course, he would be, considering the mess that you’ve pulled us into,” Zoro groused. Usopp had been unconscious after one of Hody's subordinates had brought him to surface, so he hadn't seen what had happened; however, according to the two men, had Brook not fooled around too much with the fishmen, they would have escaped.
Zoro scowled. "Ugh. If I had my sword, I'd free us."
“Ah, it seems that I have a lot to atone for." The musician hung his head in theatrical contrition, but he quickly recovered as he cheerfully said, "Fear not, my friends! I have a solution to our problem. Never have I imagined that I would be using this ability in front of you two, but that matters not right now."
Unwittingly, Usopp leaned forward and looked at Brook curiously. What was he planning on doing?
Brook slackened his jaw and chanted, “Dororororororo.” His body teetered side to side as he changed his mantra to “Bone. Bone. Bone. Bone. Bone.”
This time, Usopp jerked backwards, creeped out by what was happening. The skeleton was behaving as though he was being possessed by a ghost.
“Bone. Bone. Bone. Bone,” Brook droned, the words spilling out of him faster and more fervent.
“Brook, the hell are you—”
“Baaaaang!” If the abrupt burst hadn’t surprised them, then the green specter that shot out of Brook’s mouth did.
"Hmmmmm!" Usopp screamed around his gag.
“Boom! I’m out!” the wispy creature declared in Brook’s voice. It did a loop and floated away from the cage. Then, in a casual voice that was meant to be used by an office worker to tell his wife and kids that he was going to work after breakfast, it said, “Okay, I’ll be going now.”
Usopp’s eyes darted between the skeleton, which was now motionless like how an actual skeleton would be, to the specter, which he noticed that it not only had Brook’s voice but also Brook’s hair and face. Not that most skulls were distinct from one another, but it was too much of a coincidence. That specter was Brook.
“Hold on, Brook,” Zoro called out to him, causing the specter to pause. “Is this a new ability? Since when were you able to do this?”
“Why, yes, it is new!” Brook affirmed, floating back to them. “I’m able to make my soul leave my body.” Okay, wow. “You see, I first discovered this during my Soul King world tour. At that time, I was in quite a slump. TDs sales were plummeting, and no one was buying concert tickets.”
At this, he sighed and shook his head. “I was at a loss as to what to do,” he continued. “In my desperation, I cried out to the God of Music to give me a sign, an inspiration, a muse! Something so that I could write a song that would shake everyone to the core! Then, a ray of sunlight broke through the clouds and shined on me. The next thing I know, I was barfing out my own soul! Yohohohoho!”
Usopp and Zoro exchanged looks. What a way to develop an ability.
“Since then, I noticed what was missing in my music and found a way out of my slump!” Brook laughed.
“What was it?” Zoro asked.
“Yohohoho!” He turned away, but not fast enough to hide his lecherous expression—at least, as much as a skull could express. “If you have the ability to pass through walls undetected… Well, any able-bodied man would understand, right?”
Damn. Usopp was jealous.
"Ah, not that I would presume infidelity between the lovely couple here," Brook amended.
"Get out," Zoro ordered impatiently.
Brook laughed again. "Anywho, I'll be taking my leave now. Don't get hanky panky even with me gone! Yohohoho!" With that said, the musician flew away and out of the chamber. To find their weapons to free themselves? To go retrieve Luffy and the others? Either one would work as long as they got out of here before the water would reach them. Usopp had a horrible experience being a Devil Fruit user in sea water, and he didn't care to repeat it.
Also, was it just him or was Brook becoming more perverted? And weirder? What was up with all the couple comments?
"Nothing to do now other than to wait," Zoro sighed, slouching against the bars. Usopp would have reprimanded him for taking the situation with ease if it wasn't for the fact that he was, well, gagged. But Zoro was right—there really was nothing that they could do now. His gaze drifted down to where the water's surface was making its ascent, anxiety roiling in his stomach.
Although he had faith that Brook would do his best to save them, Usopp couldn't help but worry that this just might be the end of him. Of them. He had always envisioned a bright and sparkly future waiting for them, that their miraculously long-lived luck would grant them enough time to see through their goals, but anything could happen in the tumultuous life of a pirate. Or maybe their luck was at the end of its wits with them and decided to get rid of them via drowning.
"Stop looking."
He flinched and pulled back, finding Zoro looking at him sternly.
"You're just making yourself nervous, you dolt." He gestured to his side with a jerk of his chin. "Come over here."
Confused, Usopp did as told. After shuffling by his side, the sniper tilted his head up expectantly.
"I'm going take the gag off of you," Zoro informed him, "so don't move, alright?"
Wow, just going for it without his permission? What a gentleman, Usopp thought dryly. But he would have permitted Zoro to do it regardless. He wanted this blasted thing off.
Zoro leaned towards him. His face was close enough that Usopp could see the indentation of his scar, and then the swordsman moved his head, his cheek brushing past Usopp's. The knot of the gag was secured below his skull and under his mass of curls. How the fishmen had managed to tie it there, Usopp could vaguely imagine. Maybe one had held up his hair while the other one did the tying?
However, he knew that Zoro wouldn't be able to sparse through his tresses with the way he was, so he settled on gnawing on the fabric until he was able to tear it off. At least, that was the impression that Usopp was getting. He couldn’t say since his mouth was full of cloth.
He felt Zoro's hot breath against his skin and felt Zoro's nose rubbing on his cheek. The solid presence of the swordsman's build over Usopp's felt like a security blanket. Usopp's eyes flickered down and skittered across his crewmate's chest. The last time he had been this close to him, he hadn't noticed how muscular Zoro had gotten. More muscular. A fleeting memory of him telling Zoro why he had picked him to first experiment his power crossed his mind.
Finally, the fabric fell loose. Usopp spat out the gag and vindictively kicked it out of the cage. He opened and closed his mouth, stretching his jaw after being it being stuck in the same gaping position for hours.
"Thanks, Zoro."
Zoro nodded. "Anytime."
Against his better judgment, Usopp had followed his crewmates into Punk Hazard despite the myriad of warning signs that covered the gate. It was either that or be left alone, and Usopp did not want to be left alone in this scary not-island that had a murderous samurai prowling around. Although, the idea of trespassing World Government territory was equally daunting.
Oh, gosh, they were going to perish here, weren’t they? Officers of the World Government were going to jump on them and slaughter them in one fell swoop before they could react! Usopp warily surveyed the area.
On the land, fire burned eternally and everywhere. The heat was so volcanic that all of the buildings they passed by had been melted and deformed. Usopp didn't know that buildings could melt. On the street, there were lava pits that burbled and gurgled, hot bubbles forming and popping.
The air was heavy, although, strangely, it wasn't suffocating despite the fire. There wasn't smoke to inhale—there wasn't smoke whatsoever aside from what drifted to the skies. No gas or fumes or anything. Just scorching heat. It was tantamount, if not worse, to the deserts of Alabasta. If they cracked an egg out here, it would undoubtedly skip past the frying stage and right to the burning.
This was what Usopp imagined hell to look like, except it was brighter. Significantly brighter. And way more orange and red. He could feel his retinas sting from all this brightness.
“It’s so hot,” Luffy complained, dragging his feet.
Ten steps in and already had Luffy and Zoro bared their chests in response to the overwhelming temperature. Even Robin had pulled her dress over her head, now down to her undergarments. At least Usopp had arrived here shirtless, but his hair wasn’t helping matters, it being heavy and long. It was like having a wool coat attached to his scalp, and never had he felt more obliged to hack it all off until now.
As Usopp fanned his face with his hand, his foot landed on a loose piece of pavement. Brewing beneath the cobblestone was lava that spat at the air when the piece was dislodged. He nearly slipped forward had Zoro not grabbed his arm and pulled him up in time.
“Whoa!” Usopp quickly backed away, his heart pounding. “Th-thanks, Zoro.”
“You dolt. Can you be any clumsier?”
“I don’t want to hear that from a swords maniac with no sense of direction!”
Zoro rolled his eye. “Come on. Luffy and Robin are leaving us behind.”
In a flurry of panic, Usopp called out, “Wait, Zoro! Could you maybe hold my hand? In case I slip again?”
On hindsight, Zoro would have looked at him funny and tell him to keep up, maybe even scoff at him for being a wuss. This heat was slowing down his thinking because he should have known that Zoro would have reacted like that. Before Usopp could retract his request and play it off as a joke, Zoro reached over and clasped his hand around his. It was hot and clammy, but Usopp instantly felt the tension leave his body.
“Happy, you big baby?” Zoro teased.
Usopp frowned. “If it’s an inconvenience to you, you’re more than welcome to let go,” he huffed.
But Zoro didn’t. He held his hand during the whole walk down the land. Until they came across the dragon, of course.
In the midst of the battle in Dressrosa, in order to collectively take down their enemies, Usopp had commanded them to sit. However, while he had been able to take down multiple people rather than a singular person, his power hadn’t been honed enough to differentiate between friend and foe. He had been aware of that unfortunate consequence, but he nevertheless had decided to go for it.
What he hadn’t expected was what would happen to Trafalgar Law.
Usopp and the others found Luffy, Trafalgar, and two women on top of a building. Luffy was sleeping on top of the pink-haired girl’s thighs. Trafalgar was lying flat on his back with his severed arm reattached. However, what caused Usopp to gawk at him wasn’t because of his arm; rather, it was because of what was hanging around his neck.
Like Zoro's, Trafalgar’s necklace consisted of black and white beads. Unlike Zoro's, he had a spotted grayish white pendant instead of an orange and black striped one. A snow leopard, Usopp's mind automatically supplied.
“I’ve been told that this was your doing?” Trafalgar said, raising an eyebrow.
Usopp sputtered. “What—how—but that shouldn’t be possible…!”
The pink-haired girl, Rebecca, looked up from Luffy’s slumbering face and at them. “What is it?”
Zoro leaned in from behind Usopp and peered over his shoulder. “Huh.”
“I received it right after you made everyone fall on their faces, so, yes, it is possible,” Trafalgar dryly retorted.
Usopp paused at that. Looking back at it now, he did recall that old sensation from two years ago reemerging, but he had dismissed it then. He hadn’t realized that same tingly and fluttery feeling was perhaps an indicator that someone was going to be a recipient of a Sit Sit accessory.
But…
“Why is it that you have it?” Usopp griped, digging his fingers into his hair. He was flummoxed by whatever conditions there were to obtain a necklace. “I don’t understand!”
The other woman, Viola, appeared contemplative. “You are the Sit Sit user, correct?”
“That he is,” Franky answered in Usopp’s place. “Sit Sit Usopp.”
“Don’t call me that!” he cried.
“How interesting.”
“Longnose-ya, can you get this thing off of me?” Trafalgar interrupted with thinly veiled impatience. “Unless the reason why Zoro-ya is still wearing his necklace is because you’re unable to do so?”
He started at that. “It—it’s not that. I’ll take it off.” Usopp hurried over to Trafalgar and knelt by his side. Usopp then grabbed the necklace, gingerly doing it so that his fingers wouldn’t brush against Trafalgar's skin, and slipped it past his chin. When the necklace glowed and there was a resistance from moving it any further, he poured his focus into the pendant.
As he had told Zoro, Usopp had never done this before, but he was confident that he was able to do it. His brows furrowed as his gaze pierced into the pendant. Snow leopard, snow leopard, the voice in the back of his mind whispered. Free the snow leopard. The sensation crept back up again, but, this time, instead of coming from within, the tingling was concentrated from his palms to his fingertips.
When he blinked back to awareness, he found his hands splayed against Trafalgar’s chest. Usopp squeaked and quickly withdrew from him.
“It’s gone,” noted Viola.
“It is?” Usopp glanced at the man’s neck and found that he was indeed necklace-less. Elated, he gasped, “Oh, I did it!”
“Way to go, Usopp,” Franky said with a grin. “Now you can do it to Zoro."
Usopp's smile fell, replaced by a frown. "I offered to do it before we headed for Fishman Island, but he refused."
"I said that there isn't a point," Zoro grunted.
"Pretty much a refusal."
Strangely, Franky didn't appear surprised by this. In fact, he was sending Zoro a smirk. "No point, eh?" he jibed, waggling his eyebrows.
"Now, now," Robin intervened, a good-natured smile gracing her lips. "Let's not tease them too much."
Tease them? Was Robin implying that Franky was teasing him too? Usopp frowned again, puzzled. He was getting the distinct feeling that these two were in the know of something relating to he and Zoro yet unknown to them.
Or perhaps it was just unknown to Usopp. Judging by the scowl that Zoro was wearing, he wasn't appreciative of Franky's joke or Robin's levity. The glare that he directed at them seemed to read "Butt out or else," yet the two older crewmates accepted the look with even more amusement. Usopp glanced at Trafalgar, who appeared indifferent (not that was anything out of the ordinary), then at Rebecca, who appeared as confused as Usopp felt, then at Viola, who appeared thoughtful.
Well...at least he was not alone in feeling lost by this weird exchange.
Although, he wouldn't be so lost anymore when he decided to confront Robin on the matter.
The next day, on top of the enormous ship Yonta Maria, a party broke out in celebration for the defeat of Doflamingo and his subordinates. People were guzzling down drinks and food, dancing and singing, and breaking out into laughter. Strangers and former enemies alike became friends, all drawn together into a boisterous camaraderie
As much as Usopp wanted to fully immerse himself in the revelry, he couldn't stop thinking about the peculiar interaction among his crewmates. Not necessarily peculiar peculiar, perhaps, but peculiar enough for the memory to linger. And, honestly, it wasn't just that one moment that made Usopp question what was going on.
Back in Kyros's cabin, when he had woken up a few hours after midnight, Usopp had stared blankly at the ceiling with certain instances rewinding in his head. Franky's friendly jeering, Robin's knowing looks and smiles, and Brook's continual remarks about them being a couple. There had been Nami's playful exasperation and the way she had often put Usopp and Zoro together.
Usopp had never described himself as dense. Weak, cowardly, and negative, sure—but dense? Never. Not until that night where he had been surrounded by his snoring crewmates. The hints had been there, but Usopp just hadn't picked them up yet. And now that he had, he...hadn't been sure what to do with this new knowledge. Maybe it had been the weak, cowardly, and negative part of him, but he had been, and still was, afraid.
He had been afraid of changing the status quo, of facing a strange and new possibility, of bearing the brunt of a heartache that had yet to happen but very well could. More importantly, he had been afraid of assuming wrong.
When he had been oblivious, he had been spared of these turbulent notions and spikes of anxiety that now attacked him. Did Zoro actually like him romantically or had the crew gone delusional after these two years? These thoughts had run rampant in Usopp's head for the remainder of the night, and he hadn't been able to bring himself to look or speak to Zoro in the morning.
Wanting to be free of these speculations, whether they were true or not, Usopp pulled Robin to the side and spoke with her.
Robin's expression contorted into that of dismay. "Oh, Usopp. I'm sorry. We didn't mean to cause you any stress."
Usopp shook his head. "I understand, but I just have to know. Ever since I realized it, it's been bugging me."
"I'm honestly surprised that it took you this long to figure it out. Normally, you're one of our more astute members."
"Tell me about it," he grumbled, scowling. As much as he loved Luffy and Chopper, being on their level of obliviousness took a hit on his pride. It now made him wonder if the two really were unaware just because they hadn’t hinted it like how the others did. It was one thing to be subtle about it (which was something that Luffy and Chopper were incapable of doing), it was another thing to just not care.
"Although, before I tell you, I must ask: Did you notice anything different about Zoro as well?"
Usopp blinked. "Zoro? He's the same as ever." Wasn't he? "Are you saying that he's...not?"
Robin pursed her lips. "Maybe, maybe not. It isn't my place to say. However, I will say that the crew views your relationship with him to be a burgeoning romantic one given your interactions."
Usopp felt his heart skip a beat at the mention of romantic. "Those interactions are mostly forced on us by Nami!"
"Perhaps," she replied noncommittally. Perhaps? What the hell was that supposed to mean? There went Robin again, being all ambiguous and frustrating. Usopp wanted to groan aloud, but he held herself back. The older woman was probably just being considerate towards Zoro, but Usopp wanted answers, damn it! Nevertheless, there was one conclusion that he was able to arrive on her own.
"They might not have seen us like that had it not been for the necklace, right?" Usopp muttered.
"Right," Robin agreed, "but it was a push for a direction rather than the cause of it."
"You're still on about me liking Zoro?"
Instead of smiling in good humor like how Usopp expected the older woman to do, Robin looked down at him intently. "There is something that I must tell you about your Devil Fruit power."
Immediately, Usopp straightened his back and looked back at her, surprised. "Robin?"
"A year ago, I've acquired a book that contained extensive information about Devil Fruits, the Sit Sit Fruit included. It explained the reason behind the necklace."
"Really?" Usopp gasped. "What?"
"Whoever the target is, if he or she qualifies as a compatible life partner, then a necklace forms."
The sniper's jaw dropped.
"I abstained from informing you because I believed that it would have been best for your relationship with Zoro to progress naturally. However, I realize that it was wrong of me to withhold information from you, so I sincerely apologize for that."
"D-does anyone else know?" he stammered.
Robin shook her head. "Only I do. Like I said, the crew views you two as a potential couple based off of what they have seen."
Usopp stared at her with wide eyes until he fell down to his haunches. He pressed her hands to his eyes and released a soft high-pitched whine. Disbelief and incredulity were shaking his world, and he sought to stabilize it by bringing himself closer to the floor. The news was... It wasn't bad—it really wasn’t! But it definitely was something unexpected. Usopp didn't know how to wrap his head around that.
"Usopp?" Usopp sensed Robin bending down next to him, her hand rubbing between his shoulder blades. "Are you okay?"
"Is everything alright?"
Usopp flinched but didn't budge from his position. He didn't dare pull his hands away in fear of seeing the one person who was now capable of making his heart thump at odd intervals and his cheeks be set ablaze. Basically, the one person who he wanted to see the least. If he didn't see Zoro, then Zoro didn’t see him!
"It's fine," Robin answered smoothly. "Usopp just isn't feeling well. I believe that the fish didn't sit well with him." She delivered that lie so well that Usopp, had he not been paralyzed with shock, would have considered asking her for tips.
"Hm. The dolt should be more mindful of what he eats. He isn't like Luffy with his stomach of steel." Usopp heard Zoro step closer. "I can take him inside. I'm sure the captain of this place wouldn't mind if we borrow his sickbay for a while."
"Oh, no, I can manage myself, but thank you."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course. I appreciate the offer, though," Robin said warmly. "But if you still wish to help, then you may ask Orlumbus-san if we can occupy the sickbay."
Zoro did just that. That and more. After returning to them with permission granted and Orlumbus's crewmate to guide them, Zoro insisted on accompanying them anyway. Why? "Just because" was his nonchalant answer. Usopp couldn't even bring himself to stand, anxiety cementing him in place, but Zoro took care of that in the worst way possible. Instead of offering Usopp a shoulder to lean on, Zoro swept him up in a bridal carry.
Usopp's face burned.
"Here it is," their guide said, holding the door open for them. Given that the Yonta Maria was an enormous ship, the sickbay itself was large as well. It was designed like a hospital room with four beds and curtain dividers on each side. "Is there anything else that I can do for you?"
"No, that's fine. Thank you for your help," Robin said.
When the guide left, Robin said to Zoro, "I'll take it from here."
Zoro didn't reply for a moment, and Usopp could feel his eyes on him. Usopp gulped and fiddled with the covers that spread across his knees. Finally, Zoro said, "Got it. Let me know if you need anything."
"Certainly."
"Usopp." Usopp stilled. "Get better."
"R-right," he forced out the word, bobbing his head. When he said nothing more, Zoro finally, finally left them. But he didn't leave without distantly echoing his response, leaving Usopp feeling guilty. Usopp didn't mean to be so short with him, but he wasn't in the right state of mind to speak to him any further without combusting into flames! Hopefully, the swordsman would believe that his “stomachache” was the reason for his reticence.
After Zoro’s footfalls from the hallway had become quiet, Robin said, "You're not very good at hiding your nervousness."
"Robin, I just learned that jewelry is the deciding factor as to who I'm best paired up with, and that my crewmate kept this a secret from me because she wanted to see me and Zoro get together," Usopp said, his tone falling flat despite the thundering in his chest. "I think it's a natural reaction."
Robin didn’t respond, and there was a moment of silence. Usopp looked up, now worried if he had angered or annoyed the archaeologist. Instead of seeing a face of inscrutability that Robin typically wore to mask her emotions, she appeared openly contrite with her eyebrows dipping and her lips twisting into a rueful smile.
"Are you cross with me? You are within your rights, just so you know," Robin said softly.
Usopp stared at her for a few heartbeats before sagging. "No," he admitted with an exhale. "I mean, yeah, I am disappointed that you kept this to yourself, but I know that you did it with my best interest in mind." Even though he didn't understand how or why, which prompted him to ask just that. "But how? Why?"
Robin sighed and sat down on the bed. "You know the nature of pirates—never those who settle down,” she said. "Having civilian partners will result in separation. Having crewmate partners will result in discord if the relationship ever goes sour. And if a child ever comes out of that union, he or she is either killed or abandoned.”
Just like Franky, who had been left behind by his pirate parents. Usopp remembered the shipwright telling him about how his parents had thrown him off their ship when he had been a child and how he had been rescued by his teacher Tom.
“But this crew is unique—that I can tell,” Robin continued. “If a successful relationship is to blossom on a pirate ship, it'll happen on Sunny."
And the Straw Hat Pirates were the only people who would be on Sunny.
“What are you saying?” Usopp asked, feeling weary.
“Maybe you’re right about me wanting to see you and Zoro become a couple, but only because you should have that opportunity to become one. And however that relationship may evolve—whether it be marriage, having children, or simply being partners—I believed that you and Zoro should take the chance to do it.” Robin absently smoothed the sheets. “I wanted it to be of your own volition, hence why I never told you about it.”
Robin slowly expelled a breath. “You and Zoro are so young, so willful, and neither of you know how the seas can be like when it can so much as swallow you and spit you out on whim. Not only the seas, but on ships where men can be savages and women can be witches.” The somberness of her tone and her expression sharply reminded Usopp of what Robin had gone through before she had joined the Straw Hats. Just what the woman had experienced in those twenty years, Usopp couldn’t begin to understand, being a village kid who had lived a life of peace until Kuro had revealed himself.
“Yet it’s what makes your naivete so important. You don’t know that side of evil in humanity and aren’t burdened with it. A perspective like that would certainly create a beautiful bond,” Robin said, sad and wistful.
Usopp curled his fingers on the covers, unease forming in his gut. He knew that Robin was referring to rape, prostitution, and the like. He also knew that Robin believed that he and Zoro were wholly untouched by such. While Usopp didn’t know about Zoro, he would admit that Robin was right about that about him. He was nineteen and never had sex; he never had even kissed anyone. And just thinking about it made Usopp feel like he was out of his depth.
What Robin had said also made him feel restless. Why did it feel as though the older woman was referring to herself? Like...she thought she wasn't worthy of a relationship? Too corrupted to connect with someone on a deeper level? Usopp wasn't even sure if Robin wanted that, but, if she did, someone so kind and gentle shouldn't regard herself so terribly.
“Robin,” Usopp said, “I don’t think—”
“No, Usopp,” Robin curtailed, holding up a hand, “I know what you’re about to say. I’m grateful, but I don’t need to hear it.” Again, with the rueful smile. “I’ve come to terms with it.”
A part of him wanted to argue, to make Robin listen, but another part of him didn’t want to push. One part won the war, and Usopp reluctantly conceded to leave the topic alone. Although, inwardly, he promised to himself to bring it up on another day if not today. Convincing Robin would be a guaranteed success if Franky was around for that talk.
“Alright, I see where you’re coming from about me and Zoro,” Usopp said instead. “But what I don’t get is why it has to be me and Zoro." He then sighed and crossed his arms. "I mean, of all the guys I could be compatible with, I just can't see it being Zoro of all people."
"Don't forget Traffy."
"Traffy—that's right! And compatibility is a two-way street, isn't it? I'm not attracted to swords maniacs and creepy doctors, and it seems much less likely it being the other way around."
Because based off of what he could tell about Zoro, Zoro had never displayed any signs of interest in men—or women. Unless fighting had been involved, of course, but that was disparate to the subject. As for Trafalgar, that man didn't seem like he gave a damn about about relationships in general, but what did Usopp know? Hardly anything as far as he was concerned.
The gravitas disappeared in favor of mildness. “Well, it might be that it isn’t so much that you like swords maniacs and creepy doctors, but more so that you have a particular type.”
Usopp blinked. “What?”
“Remember when I asked you about what your type was?”
“Uh, yeah? What about it?”
“I believe that you have an interest in dark and stoic men.” And then Robin added, "Who are all very handsome swordsmen."
"Robin," he deadpanned.
"There are quite a number of men of the dark and stoic swordsmen variety that you ordered to sit, yet none of them don a necklace to our knowledge, likely due to the fact that they aren't conventionally good-looking. And you can't deny that Traffy is handsome." The corners of Robin's lips quirked upwards. "You even stated that Zoro is handsome too."
“But that’s—” Remembering his crush on Kaya, Usopp refuted this. “That doesn't mean anything. I might not know exactly what my type is, but I know with certainty that Zoro and Traffy aren't representative of it."
His former crush had been a sweet and delicate heiress. Zoro and Traffy, on the other hand, were insensitive pricks. And they were dangerous, which was not a thrill ride that Usopp wanted to experience. Although, granted, Usopp probably had fallen for Kaya because Kaya had been a diamond among clods back in Syrup Village, but that was nevertheless indicative as to the kind of person he was attracted to.
Okay, he was in denial; he knew this with painful clarity. Usopp wasn't so much of a dolt, as Zoro liked to call him, to not recognize the root of his refusals. As he had weighed his thoughts back in Kyros's cabin, his doubts, fears, and insecurities had come to light. And...whatever his own feelings were on the matter.
But he hadn't wanted to acknowledge it—didn't want to now. It was discomforting to feel these thoughts cloud his mind again, so he pushed it away, tried to drown it out by piling denials and arguments. Even though he logically knew that all this was doing was hiding the truth, it still felt better than facing the truth.
"We don't always know what we're drawn to, Usopp," Robin reasoned. "And, besides, why are you so against it?"
"Just because." He shrugged helplessly, not wanting to disclose his doubts, fears, and insecurities. Robin was his friend, but Usopp hadn't revealed that much vulnerability to anyone and he wasn't comfortable in starting now. He quickly wracked through his brain for something else to say because he knew that Robin wouldn't be satisfied with his tepid response. Before the older woman could press on, Usopp said, "I think that the fruit is faulty.”
“Oh?”
“I’m pretty sure that the fruit went bad when I ate it; it tasted like crap, so it must've been rotten!"
"All Devil Fruits taste like crap."
Ignoring the part where Robin had just uttered the word "crap," Usopp continued his tirade. "Actually, I think that all of the Sit Sit Fruits were faulty. Think about it: an ability to slam people into the dirt, but also the ability to determine who's my best match in the least romantic way possible? That doesn't make sense!"
“Ah." Robin paused, and then nodded. "You do have a point. It seems rather out there, doesn’t it?”
He nodded back eagerly. “Right? Clearly, there's something funky with this power."
Robin appeared thoughtful. “There are always going to be illogical aspects to some abilities. For instance, Luffy’s Gum Gum power is supposed to grant him the ability to become elastic. However, we have seen him also display the ability to elongate his limbs without the requirement of potential energy.”
“I agree that Luffy’s ability defies laws of physics, but that’s relative to his overall ability in stretching,” Usopp countered. “That’s like comparing an orange and a tangerine. In my case, it’s like comparing an orange and a broccoli.”
The older woman offered a smile. “I suppose you’re right.”
“I am! And if there’s anything illogical, then we ought to analyze Traffy’s ability. I mean, I haven’t seen all that he can do, but I get a hunch that a lot of it doesn’t make sense when put together.”
"In the book that I've mentioned, it did have details pertaining to the Ope Ope Fruit, and, I must say, I was impressed by the versatility that the fruit offers to its user."
The two discussed this and gradually moved on to other topics, talking for a few hours until Franky swung by to collect them. Usopp knew for a fact that Robin had allowed them to digress, to pretend to be swept along with his lurid attempt to steer the conversation, and Usopp was grateful for that. The least he wanted to do was review his personal crisis. He was worried, though, that Robin planned on bringing it up again just as he planned to confront Robin as well.
That's another time to be worried about later, Usopp thought with resignation as he followed Franky down the hall. He got the answer that he wanted to hear from Robin, so...there. Case closed for now.
When the Barto Club Pirates caught wind of Usopp’s “sickness,” they ran around on their deck like a bunch of headless chickens. And while they were throwing themselves into a panic because their beloved Usopp-senpai, sniper of the great and amazing Straw Hat Pirates, was the one who was ill, they had another problem at hand.
"You guys don't have a doctor? How the hell did you guys last this long?" Franky inquired incredulously.
“We usually call Grandma from our hometown to give us advice,” Bartolomeo confessed sheepishly.
“It makes you wonder what other vital members they don’t have,” Robin mused. “Like a navigator.”
“It should be fine since we got Traffy,” Luffy piped up good-naturedly. He shot the said man a grin, which Trafalgar returned with a long-suffering frown.
Trafalgar then sighed. “Might as well,” he said before approaching Usopp.
"No!" Usopp burst out, causing him to jerk to a halt, and then hastily said in a normal volume, "It's fine—really! I just need to rest, and I should be good."
Trafalgar eyed him skeptically. “It isn't a big deal if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Well, my stomachache isn’t a big deal, so all I just need is rest,” he insisted. With that said, Usopp turned towards Bartolomeo, who promptly straightened up like he was a cadet responding to his drill sergeant, and asked him, “Could you take me to your sickbay?”
“Aye aye, sir!” Bartolomeo exclaimed with a salute. “I’ll be more than happy to personally escort you there!”
Before they took off, Luffy could be heard saying, “Ya know, I bet all Usopp needs to do is take a dump. That always clears up my stomachache. Or it could be gas—”
Inside the ship wasn’t as outrageous as its exterior. Given the overwhelming adulation these guys had greeted them with, Usopp had been expecting the Straw Hat Pirates’ wanted posters plastered on the walls, their silhouettes carved in the woodwork, and a red carpet rolled out in preparation for their arrival. Heck, the Barto Club Pirates might as well have converted their ship into a Straw Hat museum for all he knew.
However, the inside was sedate with its simplicity. Usopp nearly would have compared it to how Going Merry had been once, but, the further down Bartolomeo led him in, the further from the truth that comparison was. Where Merry had a more rustic charm, Going Luffy-Senpai looked like a snapshot of what Usopp had always imagined what a grandmother's house would look like.
Floral print wallpaper, tiered curtains for every window they passed by, decorative wall plates, fuzzy pink rugs, and a vase with flowers. And, wow, was that a doily? This was far from what a pirate ship ought to look like. Perhaps that aforementioned "Grandma" had overseen the interior decorating as the Barto Club Pirates had designed the exterior.
"—and next to it is the sickbay, which is over there!" Bartolomeo pointed ahead. After a few steps forward, Bartolomeo presented her the door of the sickbay with flourish.
"Thanks," he told him.
"Of course!" Bartolomeo chirped, but then an awkward expression took over. “And, um, the bathroom is right down the hall to the left.”
“I don’t—it’s not—!” Too exasperated to convey in words, Usopp threw his arms in the air. “Argh.” With that said, he slid the door open and slammed it shut behind him.
“Okay! I’ll be out on the deck,” Bartolomeo called through the door. “Uh, if you need anything, please feel free to use the Den Den Mushi on the desk, Usopp-senpai.” When he no longer heard his voice, Usopp assumed that the mullet-haired captain had left.
He blew out a breath and rubbed his face. Trust Luffy to tear down his reputation just when he had started to build it up. Whatever. There was consolation of the straw hat idiot humiliating Usopp in front of guys who pretty much revered him regardless. (Never mind the fact that Trafalgar had also been there. Actually, he was going to pretend that Luffy never said anything.)
When Usopp dragged his hands down on his cheeks, he jolted at what he saw. So much for having Grandma do all of the interior decorating.
From top to bottom, Chopper’s wanted posters covered every surface of the wall. It was a staggering mix of cute and creepy being surrounded by the reindeer’s beaming faces. He vaguely wondered if the Barto Club Pirates knew, despite Chopper’s public status as being a “pet,” who the Straw Hat doctor was. Or maybe one of them was an outrageous fan of Chopper's?
Usopp walked towards the bed, keeping his eyes trained to the floor because the posters were now becoming creepier than cuter, and threw himself onto the mattress. He rolled over to his back and sprawled haphazardly across the sheets. He blinked once and he blinked twice. In this position, he could see that the ceiling bore a carving of Chopper’s face.
The sniper grabbed the pillow and smashed it against his face.
Usopp knew that he couldn't pretend to be sick forever. He could request a food delivery and he knew where the bathroom was (huh, it was a good thing that Bartolomeo had mentioned it). And he didn't think that Trafalgar would care about him enough to drop by on his own accord do a checkup, but his crewmates might get worried to the point of pestering the doctor to do so.
There was also the issue of avoiding Zoro, which was something that he obviously couldn't do forever. It was to his luck that no one had commented it on it if he had been conspicuous. Then again, Usopp had been furtive around the guys and had kept close to only Robin, so there was no telling what they thought about his shift in behavior. Unless…they were now convinced that Luffy was right about him having bowel problems.
When she heard a knock on the door, Usopp exhaled heavily. Faaantastic. Did they manage to convince Trafalgar to see him anyway?
“Go away, Traffy. I told you that I’m fine.”
“It’s a good thing that I’m not Traffy, then.”
Usopp sprung upright, surprised to find Zoro entering the room. Before Zoro could open his mouth to say something, his lone eye took in the design. After a minute, he muttered, “Holy cow.”
“That was my reaction too.”
“Hm.” Zoro shifted his gaze onto him, and Usopp resisted the compulsion to dive under the covers. “We need to talk.”
He felt his face heat up and saliva pool in his mouth. He drew his hair over his throat as though an act of inspecting for any split ends (which there were) and quickly gulped down his mounting nervousness, concealing the way his throat bobbed. Maintaining an airy tone to keep his voice from quavering, Usopp asked, “Talk about what?”
“Cut the crap, Usopp. I know that you’ve been avoiding me.”
He dropped his hair. Damn it. Was he obvious? He was obvious, wasn’t he? Why didn’t Robin say anything?
“Before you break into a panic, no, you weren’t obvious. I could just tell.”
Usopp didn’t know what to feel about that. Zoro had keen senses and possessed a sharp mind, but he could also be a dawdling dunderhead who believed that he could simply slash his way out of any predicament. Usopp had heard that Zoro had tried to cut down a Celestial Dragon back in Sabaody two years ago, which had made him face-palm at the level of carelessness that the swordsman could display. It was often hard to not differentiate him as Zoro the marimo and Zoro the first-mate, and it was hard to accept him as Zoro the marimo first-mate.
Usopp waited for bemusement to pass over him, but it never did.
"Hawk Eyes told me,” Zoro said, drawing him out of her thoughts. “About the necklace.”
He stared at him blankly, and time went on as though Father Time decided to bring things to a standstill. And while the world seemed to have stopped moving, the thumping of his heart hadn’t, and the silence amplified the sound of the rhythmic pulsing as it resounded in his ears. Zoro’s eye was trained on him, watching him, motionless as though the man was under the spell of timelessness.
Usopp then parted his lips to say, “You knew?”
"I didn't tell you because I knew that you'd freak out." Like now, was what was not verbalized but might as well been. "I thought that it'd be better for you to slowly come to terms,” was his insouciant response.
“How could I? Who would have known what the necklace even means unless they read about it?” he yelled.
He looked at Usopp flatly. “The previous users did; otherwise, it never would have been written, you dolt.”
Seized by frustration, Usopp glared at him. And though it wasn’t right to use his ability under any petty circumstances, he felt very much obliged to use it right now. Thus, he ordered, “Sit!”
Gravity yanked Zoro to the floor, creating a rewarding sound of crashing. He quickly lifted his head. “Usopp, the hell?”
“I had to piece everything together, the reason why everyone was acting differently around us, and Robin was the one to tell me—” The words spilled out of his mouth uncontrollably. Usopp hadn’t realized that he was standing until he clenched his fists by his sides, his arms hanging by his waist. “It didn’t make anything easier, and I still freaked out, you jerk!”
“Do you think that me telling you beforehand would’ve been any better?” he shot back, propping an arm. “You would’ve just skirted around me and not talk to me and probably would have thrown yourself off the ship—”
“Sit!”
Thwack!
“I don’t even understand why you’d just—just let this go on,” he snapped. “Was this just a game to you? Thought that it’d be funny to let me go into this blind while you were in the know?”
“Usopp, you damn well know that it’s not like that—”
“Then what? And if you did know, then why did you decide to keep the necklace on?”
“Like I said, dumbass, there wasn't a point in taking it off," he growled, pushing himself off the floor. "There's nothing more to it than that."
Somehow, inexplicably, Usopp knew that he was lying. And when his gaze zeroed in on the tiger pendant that dangled from Zoro's neck, he felt surer about his assumption. He narrowed his eyes. "If there isn't a point, then there isn't a point in keeping it on, is there?" he dared. "If there's really nothing more to it, then let me take it off."
To Usopp's shock, wariness and alarm flickered across Zoro's expression before they disappeared. No matter how imperceptible it was, Usopp still caught it. He had noticed all of the swordsman's transient tells that graced his features, but to see him appear anxious—anxious—about having his necklace taken from him boggled the sniper's mind. And, now, he was face to face with a man who stared back at him with a resolve that burned radiantly in his lone eye.
There was a stubborn set in his jaw and a temerity in his countenance. He regarded Usopp like how he would with opponents who intrigued him. Opponents who would offer him a good challenge.
"Go ahead," Zoro dared him back. "It's nothing."
And it was nothing; at least, it would be after this. Because Zoro was going to try to agitate him, to throw himself at danger, to do anything to force Usopp to sit him, Usopp registered with a tinge of hysteria. The realization cinched around his chest like a vice and an indiscernible emotion ballooned within it; he was suffocating, and it all had to do with the threshold of a possibility.
And, just like that, his frustration evaporated, leaving only the debris of disbelief.
"Why are you like this, Zoro?" Usopp murmured.
There was a wrinkle wedged in between his brows, but not because of confusion. "Do you really not know? I thought I was obvious ever since our reunion."
Ever since the reunion. Ever since the reunion, their crewmates had teased them and had perceived them differently, but they had a good reason to do so. The Zoro from two years ago to the Zoro now were different as well, and not because of the inevitable growth a person would undergo with time but based off of how he had treated him.
Zoro had never been a tactile person—still wasn't—but he touched Usopp more. It would be their arms grazing each other, them leaning on each other, and them holding hands. And before where he had tolerated Usopp's touches before, he now accepted them—welcomed them. Whenever Usopp would do anything remotely reckless, it would precede an inevitable rebuke coming from Zoro. He was gentler with him, but he also deliberately dispensed jokes to cause him to huff. And, above all, he was often by his side whether Nami would pair them together or not.
Although, before I tell you, I must ask: Did you notice anything different about Zoro as well?
"Robin said that the necklace was more of a push that a cause, but I don't think that's the case," Usopp said. A pause. "Ever since you got that necklace, I've been getting these hunches whenever something happens to you. They’re more subdued since you're strong enough to handle any enemies that come our way, but before… When we were facing that Pacifista and admiral back in Sabaody, my hunches were flying off the handle."
It was why Usopp had kept telling him to sit, how he had managed to time his commands perfectly to have Zoro evade Kizaru's attacks.
Zoro didn't say anything for a moment, but, when he did, he said, "I've been the same way too.”
Usopp looked at him in consternation. “Don't you think that the necklace is somehow influencing us without us noticing it? What if, whatever that we’ve done when we’re together, that’s all because of the necklace’s doing?”
"It's not," Zoro said resolutely.
"But you don't know that," Usopp countered. “In the book she read, Robin said that the Sit Sit necklace signifies a compatible life partner, but it could mean more than that. Zoro, if that’s the case, then to dispel the manipulation—”
“It’s not!” Zoro’s outburst startled him, causing him to jump. Zoro frowned severely. From his sitting position, he rose onto his feet, but didn’t move towards Usopp. Instead, he kept to his side of the room, and the dividing line had never been more pronounced. “Look, Usopp, just trust me on this. It’s not that.”
The involuntary scoff that left his lips punctuated his dubiety. “How—how can I just take your word for it? You know that I’m going to need more than that. Why are you so sure that we’re not affected?”
"Because Hawk Eyes…” Zoro cut himself off and gave an aggravated groan. He ran his hand across his hair. “Damn. He's going to kill me for saying this.”
Usopp’s brows knitted together at the mention of the warlord. The confidence that Zoro had exuded seconds ago was gone, replaced with the outward circumspection engendered by inner turmoil. He shifted his weight between his feet, waiting for Zoro to finish what he was about to say. However, when he didn’t, Usopp gingerly probed, “What about Dracule Mihawk?”
“He…” he trailed off, and then sighed. “He wore the necklace too. Years ago. Was told to sit by the previous user.”
Usopp's eyes widened.
“She took the necklace off of him and they still loved each other. The necklace had nothing to do with how they felt for one another.”
"But that just might be the lingering effects of the necklace,” Usopp disputed, but even he could hear how his argument fell weak to ears.
“Don’t patronize how a man loves his precious person,” Zoro said gruffly. “You know better than that.”
And Usopp became silent because, well, how could he argue against that? He did know; he had risked his life to save his village, after all. He also had witnessed several accounts of the kinds of measures a man would go through for those who he cared about. Kyros was an epitome of that, fighting not only for his kingdom but for his family.
“Why won’t you let me take off the necklace?” Usopp asked at length, deliberating the choice of his question. “Don’t lie to me, Zoro. It can’t be nothing.” The swordsman had told him too much to pass it off as nothing. There was evidently something more to it than that.
Zoro grimaced. “Hawk Eyes lost her shortly after he got rid of his,” he explained tentatively. “You know that the necklace serves as a link between the user and the wearer, so he could have saved her had he still worn his.”
The corner of his lips curved downwards. “I know that I won’t be as strong as you are, but I’m not so helpless that I can’t take care of myself.”
“Believe me, I know. Your hard work during our separation shows. But can you blame me if I want us to be connected?”
Usopp latched onto that. “Then would you want to be connected with everyone else?”
“No, that’s not what—”
“Then you just want to be connected with only me?”
How a man loved his precious person was not to be underestimated, but what was the meaning behind Zoro’s usage of the word “love”? And in what way did he mean it in this context? That possibility that Usopp could grasp by the edges was well within his reach, but his reluctance prevented her from embracing it. Usopp wavered and faltered, and he hated how ambivalent he was being.
“And if I do?”
His eyes returned to his face.
“Like I said, wasn’t I obvious since our reunion?” he said and took a step forward.
“Zoro…”
“Usopp, I know you well enough to say that you overthink things and keep denying what’s real even after realizing it.” Another step and another. “And you already have known this—after telling you about Hawk Eyes.” Another step and another. Without noticing, Zoro had crossed that dividing line and was now standing in front of him.
He slid his hands across Usopp's jawline and cupped his cheeks. The warmth of his palms spread to him, and Usopp felt the hardness of his calluses that lightly scraped against his skin. His lone eye fixed on him, glowing with a dark intensity.
“Stop doubting it,” Zoro commanded, “and believe it.”
Usopp was trembling, but he found that he had the strength to lift his arms and…finally take that possibility—no, that reality. All those thoughts and feelings—the turbulent notions and spikes of anxiety, the doubts, fears, and insecurities—waned into ghosts of what had been. Still there, but not as prevalent as before. It was like a flashlight beaming through a thick fog, and he was starting to see past the haze. If Zoro wanted to be that light for him, then Usopp was willing to walk towards it.
Usopp took his own step forward and buried his face into Zoro’s chest. He felt hands settle on his back and pull him in closer.
“Okay,” Usopp said.
Bartolomeo did not, in fact, leave.
When Usopp had slammed the door in front of his face, he had been worried whether he had upset him or if his stomachache had made him moody. If it had been the latter, that would have been fine—perfectly understandable, even! But if it had been the former, then Bartolomeo was at a lost because he didn't know what he had done to set him off. Wrecked with guilt, Bartolomeo couldn’t bring himself to the deck and leave behind the sniper.
He nervously gnawed on his thumbnail and frantically wondered what he ought to do.
When a hand landed on his shoulder, Bartolomeo yelped and spun around. “The frickin—!”
“Yo, rooster man,” Zoro said, raising a brow. “What’re you doing here?”
“Z-Z-Zoro-senpai!” Bartolomeo gasped, blinking owlishly. He was about to parrot the question back, unable to see what the swordsman’s reason was for not being with his crewmates, but how could he when Zoro had asked him first? Yet he couldn’t formulate a proper response, still taken aback by the abrupt appearance. “I was—um—I was—”
“He was the one who led Usopp-senpai to the sickbay, remember, Zoro-senpai?” Gambia cheerfully supplied, poking his head out from behind Zoro.
“Oh, yeah?” Zoro turned his head to the door. “This the sickbay?”
“That’s right, Zoro-senpai!” Gambia grinned at him, all expectant and hopeful. “Is there anything else that I can do for you?”
“Hm. Could you two get lost?” Promptly, both Bartolomeo and Gambia wilted at that, but that was until they heard, “I need to speak to my boyfriend in private.”
Before both men could react, Zoro entered the room and quietly slid the door shut behind him.
Bartolomeo and Gambia’s jaws dropped to the floor.
Zoro and Usopp were dating?