Usopp can 't read books anymore.

That 's a shame, but it 's fine. All he needs to know is already in his head.

He didn't really like reading, anyways. He's not sure if he remembers how the alphabet looks like anymore, actually. He hasn't seen one in... maybe a decade? Man, he feels so old...

He is thirteen where he arrives, and thirteen is the perfect time to get serious with his personal training.

After regaining his bearings, scouting out his living areas over the course of a few months-- he was finally permitted to move about unsupervised (for the most part) and with it, he adapts to his new life.

He has been blind a long time, but he hasn't exactly been an active blind man for a long time.

He works out, runs laps around the island perimeters. The good thing about Gecko is that the beach shores the islands far and long, interrupted by a cliff before going downhill back toward the beach in one big oval of sorts.

He needs to get stronger.

Stronger, stronger, and stronger even more.

He has plenty of years to train now, not just two. And he needs it-- he 's lacking everything he used to have on Boyn. He doesn 't have access to his Pop Greens, and that 's already a big setback in strength.

(...No, he doesn 't need them now. 'He 's a New World level pirate.)

(New World Level pirates don 't need their best weapons to win against the small fry of the East Blue. He needs to think calmly, slowly. No rush, no rush.)

He needs to get back to his basic level first. Baby steps. First he familiarizes himself with blind fighting, building up his stamina and power on the way.

Then, back to crafting.

-

'If you find a Strawhat, you either run, or you kill it. '

A little after Robin 's public burning, that rule became a permanent fixture.

None of the Strawhats could stay long in one place-- that 's why Zoro and Jinbei were the first to fall, standing proud and strong before the gates of the place they treasured most.

(For Jinbei, that was literal.)

When it came to Usopp, the marines didn 't kill him.

With Elbaf behind him something he didn 't want to discard, he was captured. And, because they couldn 't think of a better way to trample over a warrior 's pride, they spared him and kept him alive.

'Because only the small fry is left,

' they mocked. '

Surely, they 'd pull a Mugiwara and break into Impel Down for you. Then we can capture them at once and you can all die together! '

'But if they don 't, well maybe you weren't that important after all! Hahaha! '

Never once, not even once, did Usopp feel like that.

Never once had he felt a single bit less significant and important to his one remaining comrade he knows is alive and he knows will not come for him.

He just wants Nami, at least, to live out there, running free and strong.

-

He wakes up with a start.

It 's dark. It 's blurry, His arms hurt.

No they don '

t

. He can 't see, he can't see-- where is he? The bed under him doesn't feel familiar under his hands, doesn't feel right-- it should be hard. It should be chapped, broken bricks

It 's so dark. Completely dark.

No gray. No red-- just black black

black black black

--

(What 's beside him? He 's sitting down.)

On a bed. But

w

hy?

He claws at his head, squeezes his eyes shut, trying not to remember the burning, burning

pain

on them that he could never forget. He crosses his legs over each other, because things don't feel real, and that's how he's been comfortable for the past ten years, why change it now? He squeezes his shoulders in, a half-hearted attempt to remind himself he's no longer tied to the wall.

He leans forward, making himself small, as small as he can.

(Where 's everyone?

Who 's there? Is anyone there? Anyone,

please

, anyone.)

He opens his eyes. It 's still complete darkness.

He can't take this any longer.

In a few hours, the sun finally rises over the sea, and colour filters in again.

Usopp looks at his own hands,and sits there.

He breathes, in and out.

(It 's another hour before he can will himself to move again.)

-

It 's become commonplace to hear Usopp 's walking stick click against the tiles of the streets. It's not paved, but people are careful to stay out of his way. Eventually, children learn how to swirl right around him when they play tag.

If they run into him, Usopp is quick to reach out and set them right back on their feet. And they're quick to gather themselves, giggling with a short apology before running right off once more.

He 's gotten good at that, even without Observation.

And that 's what happens.

The flutter of a girl 's dress alerts him to his surroundings, the gentle pitter patter of flats against the sun-baked pathway-- 'Usopp notices quickly who it is, but he doesn't quite know how to avoid her before she crashes into him.

She's distracted, probably playing tag with her very harried Merry, who just wants her to watch herself and not trip.

And trip she does. 'Kaya bumps into Usopp, shoulder to shoulder-- and her toes catch on the edge of a tile-- Usopp quickly releases his hold on his walking stick, extending a firm arm for her to fall forward on.

His other arm grasps her shoulder, keeping her upright as she regains her balance.

'I- I 'm so sorry! '

Flustered, she gathers herself. The apology spills before she 's fully upright.

Usopp smiles. 'It 's fine. Are you okay? ' he asks, though his eyes wander toward the ground, trying to locate his walking stick.

He closes his eyes for a bit. It 's one thing to look into the fog, but trying to look for something in it always makes him dizzy. 'Maybe he should keep his eyes closed more often-- or get glasses, sunglasses.

He feels a gentle hand on his, and his cold cane is pushed into his hands.

'Here you go, ' it 's Kaya 's voice again, gentle and apologetic. 'I 'm really sorry to trouble you. Thank you for catching me. '

Usopp closes his fingers over the walking stick. He opens his eyes to the platinum blonde and the angelic white, and he wants to cry because he can 't see her anymore.

(He can 't even see the face of the woman he loved, and she doesn 't know their star-crossed magic just yet.)

(Right now, they are

nothing

.)

'Kaya-ojousama! '

When Merry the butler rushes forward, Usopp senses her stiffening slightly, as if she was caught in the middle of a childish prank. He smiles fondly as Merry begins to lecture Kaya for running off.

After a hasty apology from Merry for the trouble, Usopp finds himself waving shyly back at their general direction as they leave.

'I live in the mansion on the hill, by the way! ' she says cheerfully, 'My name is Kaya! Nice to meet you! '

She 's a lot more energetic than Usopp remembers.

Is this before she was diagnosed?

That 's quite a bit earlier than when Usopp originally met her.

'I 'm Usopp, ' he barely remembers to say, 'nice to meet you too. '

-

-

Nami has plenty of experience trying to self-maintain her limbs. 'But right now, she 's a growing girl-- thirteen, if she's right about this. She 'll need a lot more than just maintenance-- she'll need more than one session of full surgery to change the fittings as she grows.

And fuck, they 're heavy.

Mekani Isle isn 't as advanced as they are in the future, so she 'll have to handle them weighing a ton or more on her limbs until technology improves.

Who knows, she might get stronger like this. She'll have to, anyways-- need some to sail on the Pirate King's ship, after all. For now, however, these limbs are way too fucking heavy to

swim

in. If she drops in the sea, she 'll be a literal hammer, even more literal than Devil Fruit users.

She's having trouble walking, but she'll get used to it. She'll be having sleepless nights, horrible muscle aches, and incredibly lethargic runs for a while.

But she'll live. She's survived through worse.

(If only she could jump into Paradise, make her way to Baldimore, and get these limbs done there...)

But it 's fine, beggars can 't be choosers. Nami might love money and act spoiled, but she certainly knows when she can and can 't be picky.

Man, Nami hates being poor.

-

She finally brings up enough courage to visit the tangerine grove. She 's come back to Arlong Park a few times, but the town is a place she doesn 't visit much.

She betrayed them, after all. She needed them to think she was a witch, she needed Arlong to think she really turned for money. So she stayed away-- but now, now she 's finally home.

Home

.

Her home, that's been burned to the ground-- to her family, that were seared to ashes.

(How long has it been?)

Gen-san 's reaction is just ' hard to watch.

He just breaks down sobbing, then screams into the void, and then demands for his guns

wait wait wait wait wait! Calm down! Calm down!

She 's a little embarrassed. Thank god she showed up at the house instead of the village. She might just accidentally bring the Arlong Park confrontation up to half a decade too early.

Then there 's Nojiko. She takes the metal hand in hers, holds it gently-- and then she leans into Nami 's shoulder and

cries

.

Nami is the younger sister. She doesn 't know what to do when her big sister cries. (She doesn 't remember the last time she 's seen Nojiko cry.) 'She doesn 't remember the last time she's seen

Nojiko

.

(The Marines took everything. Burned every island. Gecko. Conomi. Dawn. All of them. All the people, their severed heads lined up on the newspaper like a symbol and a warning for the world.)

So she cries too, wailing into her big sister 's shoulder, because she 's alive.

She 's so glad she 's back here, and her arm and foot was the only toll for this chance.

-

Princess Nefertari Vivi 's execution was where the gears grinded and broke apart.

Even if Luffy was gone, this was a declaration of war against the Strawhats. There was no way any of them were going to cop out and let it happen.

But just like it had been when it was Ace, they lost her anyways.

And they lost Chopper while they were trying to escape.

History repeats itself, and the World Government will never not win.

Nami 's known that fact for so long-- and yet, she wanted to hope that this time, just this time, would be different ' it wasn 't.

-

Her food was tossed over her. Cream soup drenching her hair, seeping into her skin, leaving a stain on her clothes.

It wasn 't even hot.

The door slammed shut with laughter.

Nami wondered if any of the maps were ruined. Perhaps a few specks here and there, but nothing unsalvageable. That 's a relief. If only she could burn it all and burn herself along with it, too.

Not yet. Not yet.

She 's a New World level pirate, but every Fishman here was too, once upon a time. She shouldn 't push her luck just yet.

Just a little more. Just a little longer.

Her fist tightened on the floor, clasping against nothing.

(

What am I waiting for?

)

Luffy 's not coming. Jinbei 's not coming. They 're all in different parts of their own pasts, unable to come and save her. Because they don 't know her.

(No one came back with her. If they did, they 'd cross the seas for her before Bellemere even died. She 's alone.)

(She has to save

herself

.)

She stepped out of her room. Everyone was having their dinner in the hall, boisterously making noise for their latest raid nearby. Nami made her way to the front porch, and dove into the sea.

It 's faster and colder than a proper bath.

She sinks letting the weight of her limbs drag herself to the bottom-- looking up, to find the moonlight shining in. The ladders are on the edge of the wall-- she wades over, lifting her flesh arm to grab it, dragging herself back up.

It's hard, but it's not the worst thing in the world.

'Ahhh, Nami, Naaaami, wait. '

Hair still drenched and her sandals in her hands, Nami turns around. There 's Hachi, looking less like an intimidating eight-armed man and more like a flustered little big brother as he scampered up to Nami, looking over her carefully.

'Was it Kaneshiro again? Oh man, ' his hand hovers hesitantly before the girl, 'did you get hurt? '

Nami finds herself wordlessly shaking her head.

Was Hachi this nice before? She 's only had bad memories of this place, never once thinking any of them were any form of good against the bad.

She doesn 't quite remember Hachi ever coming by to console her.

Hachi reaches around himself, then rushes inside only to come back out with a towel, draping it over her head, though he removed his hand as quickly as he could, as if she didn 't want to touch her too much.

No.

He didn 't want her to

be touched

too much.

Because he 's a Fishman. And Fishmen are big and brawly and scary.

(It 's experience. Because no matter what Hachi says and who he follows, he 's always got a soft spot for Koala and the soft spot stays and extends to Nami.)

The young Nami would have been frozen with fear and apprehension, worried for this deceptive moment of kindness. Bracing for a punch or a shove back into the waters.

But it isn 't coming, Nami knows that. She recognizes this towel.

She remembers hiding it in the corner of her room and tossing it the first moment she could because she was

disgusted

by it, hating every moment of this fake family feeling. This fake, bargaining kindness that to her, was in no way, no possible way, true.

'Thanks, Hachi, ' she said.

She misses the way Hachi startles. She takes the towel gratefully, wiping her hair down and pressing the hem to the joint of her metal arm.

She 'll wash the towel and give it back.

-

Back downstairs, Hachi watches Nami walk back to her room, leaving a faint trail of watery footprints.

'What 're you doing outside, Hachi? ' Choo sticks his head out the door-- 'wait, are you crying, Hachi? Seriously?? You 're drunk, aren 't you. '

'M 'not cRYiNG '