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chibi_trillianHappy Birthday, Usopp. I've been working on these off and on for a few months, and I'm glad I got them finished in time.
Title: Counting Crows--Drabble Series
Series: One Piece.
One Piece: Not mine.
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: Seven drabbles about Usopp's pre-Strawhat life. Yes, I am a dork for using a counting rhyme as a theme. STFU, it's part of my favorite UsoKaya song. Apologies to the band of the same name.
One for Sorrow
Usopp sat on the beach, watching, waiting.
Today was the day. It had to be. His mother didn’t have many todays left.
Deep down inside, he knew that there was almost no chance. None at all.
But some part of him screamed that his father would know, somehow. Know that his wife was dyi—sick. Know that his son really needed him right now. Know that there was no village on the planet that needed a pirate raid like this one did. If Usopp just sat there a little longer and watched, he’d see sails.
Any moment now.
Any moment.
Two for Joy
Usopp was used to the quiet in his house now. The first couple of months had been hard. Everything had reminded him of his mother, and sometimes, late at night, he thought he heard her crying. Was she worried about him? She didn’t need to worry. He’d use the resourcefulness of his pirate blood to survive.
He’d had to fight to stay here by himself, but he had won. He had to, to prove himself, to preserve his pride as the son of a pirate. The villagers wouldn’t let him starve, even if he was a “nuisance and a pest, running through town screaming like that.” Physically, this was perfectly fine place to live.
But the quiet in the house had gotten to him. The quiet and the lonely.
So he’d started doing things to fill it up.
Today’s project was paper flyers. He’d carefully designed and redesigned the simple paper model until it was immensely complicated, but flew like a bird. He’d spent the last hour carefully making this one, and he thought it was his best yet.
Usopp scrambled onto the roof, feeling the wind. Out of the west today, a nice breeze. Good.
He carefully lined himself up with the wind, braced himself against the chimney, and not so much threw the paper model as released it. The wind carried it up and away as if it were planning on taking it all the way to heaven.
Maybe his mother would see it, and smile.
Three for Girls
Kaya laughed, and Usopp was happy.
Usopp loved it when Kaya laughed. When Kaya laughed, her cheeks flushed with health, her breath didn’t catch in painful coughs, and she didn’t look sick or frail at all. She just looked beautiful, in that ethereal way that she had. For that moment, it was as if illness had never touched her at all. And every time, the illusion lasted a bit longer until it seemed there was a bit of truth to it after all.
Usopp looked at Kaya’s smiling face, and silently vowed that he’d never let illness steal anyone he loved ever again.
Four for Boys
Usopp ran, shouting a battle cry to encourage the warriors behind him and terrify their enemies. Okay, so “warriors” was being a bit generous with his crew and “enemies” was giving a bit of extra credit to the crows they were currently chasing off of the cornfield. Still, image and belief was all, especially if he wanted his crew to have fun.
“After them, men! We’ve got the Dread Harpies on the run!” The black birds scattered into the sky, swirling overhead, fragments of night that had somehow found their way into the day. It was strangely beautiful.
Naturally, Piman tripped over a rock and took a header into the dirt.
Usopp patched up Piman’s skinned knee while reminding his crew that no island was conquered in a day. There’d still be Harpies to chase tomorrow.
Five for Silver
Usopp had never liked Klahadore. Ever. He’d made Usopp’s skin crawl the first time he’d seen him in town, and things had gone downhill from there. Punching the slimy bastard right in the face had been simultaneously the most terrifying and the most satisfying act of his life.
Now, seeing the flash of silver claws flecked with blood, hearing Klahadore’s—no, Kuro’s—smooth voice explaining how badly they were all screwed, seeing Kaya’s arms shake under the weight of the gun and then drop as she started crying, he understood why.
One liar recognizes another at work, and a coward can smell a dangerous predator from a mile away.
But even the most timid of beasts will fight back when cornered.
Six for Gold
Usopp’s whole body screamed with pain the likes of which he had never felt before. Being shot in the arm had been a mild sting compared to this. He couldn’t get his legs under him, couldn’t move, couldn’t go save Kaya or protect his crew, couldn’t even see straight enough to shoot.
So he did the one thing he could still do. He talked a good fight. The mocking cries of the pirates were nothing compared to Kuro’s cold gaze. Usopp had run from a lot of things, but he’d never felt quite so much like a failure as he did now.
And then the boy in the straw hat made them all stop. The ice in Kuro’s eyes shattered on the steel in Luffy’s voice. At that moment, Usopp realized that he’d found someone who was true gold compared to his own gilded paint and pyrite. A real, honest-to-god person to live up to. A Pirate, capital P.
An overmuscled arm scooped Usopp up, the green-haired swordsman picking him up like he weighed nothing. Luffy promised to finish the fight that Usopp had started.
Usopp had known Luffy for a bit less than two days, but he trusted him enough to let him. After all, Usopp had a hypnotist to stop, a day to save, and a girl and some kids to rescue.
Maybe some of Luffy’s gold was rubbing off.
Seven for a Secret Never to Be Told
“Can we keep this a secret? Everything that happened here?”
Usopp could see the shock on the faces of Kaya and his crew. Frankly, part of him was still stunned that he was giving up bragging rights like this. But truly, he’d rather know that the people in this village—the only family he’d had here since his mother had died—could sleep soundly at night with the only pirates that bothered them being the imaginary ones Usopp shouted about. Their peace of mind was worth his pride.
A story—his first true tale of heroism—that Usopp would never tell. He’d decided that he’d have to go collect more to make up for it. After all, if three complete strangers can defend a town against a horde of bloodthirsty pirates and a sociopathic butler, a coward can learn to be brave. Learning like that wasn’t going to happen here, though.
It was time he stepped out of the nest, spread his wings, and hoped to heaven that he would fly.
Title: Counting Crows--Drabble Series
Series: One Piece.
One Piece: Not mine.
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: Seven drabbles about Usopp's pre-Strawhat life. Yes, I am a dork for using a counting rhyme as a theme. STFU, it's part of my favorite UsoKaya song. Apologies to the band of the same name.
One for Sorrow
Usopp sat on the beach, watching, waiting.
Today was the day. It had to be. His mother didn’t have many todays left.
Deep down inside, he knew that there was almost no chance. None at all.
But some part of him screamed that his father would know, somehow. Know that his wife was dyi—sick. Know that his son really needed him right now. Know that there was no village on the planet that needed a pirate raid like this one did. If Usopp just sat there a little longer and watched, he’d see sails.
Any moment now.
Any moment.
Two for Joy
Usopp was used to the quiet in his house now. The first couple of months had been hard. Everything had reminded him of his mother, and sometimes, late at night, he thought he heard her crying. Was she worried about him? She didn’t need to worry. He’d use the resourcefulness of his pirate blood to survive.
He’d had to fight to stay here by himself, but he had won. He had to, to prove himself, to preserve his pride as the son of a pirate. The villagers wouldn’t let him starve, even if he was a “nuisance and a pest, running through town screaming like that.” Physically, this was perfectly fine place to live.
But the quiet in the house had gotten to him. The quiet and the lonely.
So he’d started doing things to fill it up.
Today’s project was paper flyers. He’d carefully designed and redesigned the simple paper model until it was immensely complicated, but flew like a bird. He’d spent the last hour carefully making this one, and he thought it was his best yet.
Usopp scrambled onto the roof, feeling the wind. Out of the west today, a nice breeze. Good.
He carefully lined himself up with the wind, braced himself against the chimney, and not so much threw the paper model as released it. The wind carried it up and away as if it were planning on taking it all the way to heaven.
Maybe his mother would see it, and smile.
Three for Girls
Kaya laughed, and Usopp was happy.
Usopp loved it when Kaya laughed. When Kaya laughed, her cheeks flushed with health, her breath didn’t catch in painful coughs, and she didn’t look sick or frail at all. She just looked beautiful, in that ethereal way that she had. For that moment, it was as if illness had never touched her at all. And every time, the illusion lasted a bit longer until it seemed there was a bit of truth to it after all.
Usopp looked at Kaya’s smiling face, and silently vowed that he’d never let illness steal anyone he loved ever again.
Four for Boys
Usopp ran, shouting a battle cry to encourage the warriors behind him and terrify their enemies. Okay, so “warriors” was being a bit generous with his crew and “enemies” was giving a bit of extra credit to the crows they were currently chasing off of the cornfield. Still, image and belief was all, especially if he wanted his crew to have fun.
“After them, men! We’ve got the Dread Harpies on the run!” The black birds scattered into the sky, swirling overhead, fragments of night that had somehow found their way into the day. It was strangely beautiful.
Naturally, Piman tripped over a rock and took a header into the dirt.
Usopp patched up Piman’s skinned knee while reminding his crew that no island was conquered in a day. There’d still be Harpies to chase tomorrow.
Five for Silver
Usopp had never liked Klahadore. Ever. He’d made Usopp’s skin crawl the first time he’d seen him in town, and things had gone downhill from there. Punching the slimy bastard right in the face had been simultaneously the most terrifying and the most satisfying act of his life.
Now, seeing the flash of silver claws flecked with blood, hearing Klahadore’s—no, Kuro’s—smooth voice explaining how badly they were all screwed, seeing Kaya’s arms shake under the weight of the gun and then drop as she started crying, he understood why.
One liar recognizes another at work, and a coward can smell a dangerous predator from a mile away.
But even the most timid of beasts will fight back when cornered.
Six for Gold
Usopp’s whole body screamed with pain the likes of which he had never felt before. Being shot in the arm had been a mild sting compared to this. He couldn’t get his legs under him, couldn’t move, couldn’t go save Kaya or protect his crew, couldn’t even see straight enough to shoot.
So he did the one thing he could still do. He talked a good fight. The mocking cries of the pirates were nothing compared to Kuro’s cold gaze. Usopp had run from a lot of things, but he’d never felt quite so much like a failure as he did now.
And then the boy in the straw hat made them all stop. The ice in Kuro’s eyes shattered on the steel in Luffy’s voice. At that moment, Usopp realized that he’d found someone who was true gold compared to his own gilded paint and pyrite. A real, honest-to-god person to live up to. A Pirate, capital P.
An overmuscled arm scooped Usopp up, the green-haired swordsman picking him up like he weighed nothing. Luffy promised to finish the fight that Usopp had started.
Usopp had known Luffy for a bit less than two days, but he trusted him enough to let him. After all, Usopp had a hypnotist to stop, a day to save, and a girl and some kids to rescue.
Maybe some of Luffy’s gold was rubbing off.
Seven for a Secret Never to Be Told
“Can we keep this a secret? Everything that happened here?”
Usopp could see the shock on the faces of Kaya and his crew. Frankly, part of him was still stunned that he was giving up bragging rights like this. But truly, he’d rather know that the people in this village—the only family he’d had here since his mother had died—could sleep soundly at night with the only pirates that bothered them being the imaginary ones Usopp shouted about. Their peace of mind was worth his pride.
A story—his first true tale of heroism—that Usopp would never tell. He’d decided that he’d have to go collect more to make up for it. After all, if three complete strangers can defend a town against a horde of bloodthirsty pirates and a sociopathic butler, a coward can learn to be brave. Learning like that wasn’t going to happen here, though.
It was time he stepped out of the nest, spread his wings, and hoped to heaven that he would fly.
