Usopp spends his weekends at the Baratie from then on.

They always need an extra waiter, and one of the fishermen in the village has a monopoly on Zeff 's fresh fish stock, so Usopp always tags along with their weekly deliveries. People often give the blind waiter a suspicious look, but there 's a special paved trail on the floor just for him.

It's jokingly dubbed the Usopp Road by Sanji, and it quickly passed around the chefs and regulars.

It 's set in a specially arranged pathway that doesn 't intersect with any tables, so Usopp (walking bare feet) won 't need his walking stick and he can have both hands free to wait tables. He works much better than other waiters, not that other waiters ever stay long.

There are occasions where a new customer neglects to stay off the Usopp Road, but if it 's a human, Usopp can avoid it with Haki.

It 's good training for both his Haki and his maneuverability at the same time. Consulting Chef Zeff about this really was a good choice.

( 'Time travel? You 're kidding me. ')

( 'I mean ' wait, Chef Zeff sir, how far into the Grand Line did you say you went again? That 'll probably give me a perspective on how much absurdity you can take. ')

( 'Now don 't get cheeky with me, brat. ')

Not to say there are never accidents, though. Of course there were plenty of clumsy moments. There were also plenty of customers that just wanted someone other than the blind waiter to serve them.

It's hard to work here, but that was part and parcel of life.

After too many complaints of the same ableist nature, Sanji finds himself a near permanent job of sharply barking back at rude customers for Usopp.

"That was

your

elbow, you shithead!" Sanji would shout, and though Patty would smack him for that language, he would then,

politely

, tell the customer to respectfully fuck off.

(Usopp likes this-- to be protected. It's Sanji-- not the Sanji he knows, not his-- but it's Sanji, and his nature to 'instinctively stand up for comrades (even the males, though he denies it,) is something he's missed very much.)

(His heart aches, but it's fine.)

(He'll get used to it.)

'Oomph! Hey, watch where you 're going-- '

'...I can 't. '

'...Right. Sorry. '

He makes a lot of weird customer friends, though some of them are horrifyingly unexpected.

It 's useful that they tend to think he 's just a very nervous teenager, because even Usopp can 't hold back a terrified shriek at the sight of CP9 agent Jabra at a table in the corner. Or Mihawk, dining quietly in his table, enjoying the wine in silence.

(There was a time someone

else

came by, but Usopp didn't know his name.)

(He had a really pretty girlfriend (at least Sanji said she was pretty and she does sound very sweet) called Lucian or something ' Or was it Russian? It 's hard to tell with just the pronunciation.)

There were a few old faces (voices) that he barely recognized and got to know-- differently this time, of course-- but he smiled, acted, and hid. He's learned how to hide this familiarity and act dumb in his many years of needing life-sustaining chat skills in the Revolutionary Army.

(He was no longer too bad of a liar, at least when he was really trying.)

It 's good practice. Maybe this time Usopp can double up as a scout along with his sharpshooting and mechanic duties.

Ah wait, they 're called assassins, actually.

Nevermind, then. Usopp 's not gonna be an assassin, name or not. It sounds too edgy.

-

-

'Captain! It 's an emergency! '

Piiman comes running with all the desperation of someone running from pirates. Usopp hums, still trying to fix one stubborn hole on his house wall. The child barges into the house, loud and cantankerous.

'Captain, have you seen-- '

'I don 't know Piiman,

can

I see? '

'...I officially hate talking to you. '

Usopp can 't sense any trouble, so his actions do not reflect the panic the kids are probably feeling. He lifts another plank over his head and starts nailing after carefully ascertaining the position.

'Captain! ' and there comes Tamanegi and Piiman, equally erratic. 'Trouble! '

'Usopp-san! ' oh, Kaya 's here too. 'I can 't find Kinoko anywhere! '

On cue, Usopp turns around, and a little gray ball of fluff sticks its head right out of his hair.

The vegetable trio and Kaya let out synchronously surprised shrieks.

'She 's been with me all morning, ' Usopp tells them, like that's supposed to be obvious.

Kinoko, the baby bird they've raised since it was a hatchling, had grown over the years. The bird lives primarily in Usopp 's house, but while it was just a hairless little gremlin, it lived in Kaya 's. Her parents may not be the most knowledgeable in animal husbandry, but they had the basics and it was better than nothing.

Once the bird had enough feathers to be considered and recognized as a decently-sized chick of its own caliber, the two taught it how to fly.

The three stooges came into the picture somewhere in between the years, entranced by the bird, by the stories, by the adventures, and by the growing family being built in the little house by the shore.

Kinoko has a birdhouse in the tree beside Kaya 's window. Usopp's house may be much homier, but it only sports a glorified cushion bed-- so Kinoko had taken to the habit of sleeping at Kaya's, then rudely intruding into Usopp's place once the sun rose.

Usopp 's mornings now include a mass of feathers flying straight into his face as a greeting.

So this bird is as blind as Usopp is, because it keeps crashing into faces. Not literally, of course-- her kinetic vision is amazing-- she just doesn't know another way to greet people, apparently.

(It 's so fucking stupid. Usopp wants about thirty of them.)

'By the way Captain, why did you decide to name him Kinoko? ' Piiman asks, the bird squeaking innocently in both his hands as they walked toward the store.

Usopp 's walking stick taps against the ground as he leads the group toward the restaurant. He leads, because they need to walk slower for him anyways and it was just, by unspoken consensus, easier with him in the front.

'I didn 't, ' Usopp says, 'Kaya just thought it was funny. '

Tamanegi chuckles, 'because you hate mushrooms? '

Kinoko makes a sad bird noise.

The three kids converge on it, apologizing profusely to the bird and desperately trying to assure it that Captain does not, in fact, hate Kinoko, but he hates mushrooms, which is

kinoko

but not

Kinoko

, and now they 're all confused.

Usopp honestly thinks they 're cute.

'We have a Vegetable Trio, might as well make it a Quartet, ' Kaya says cheerfully.

-

Khlahadore makes a show of frowning in disapproval whenever Kaya cheerfully leaves to visit Usopp, a basket of sandwiches in her hands. It's night time now and he's talking to Merry about it, trying to figure out if that boy is the unspoken honorary successor of this house or something.

'She 'll be fine, ' Merry assures him, 'Usopp may look like a punk with his figure, but I assure you, he 's no vile thing. '

Khlahadore sighs. 'Perhaps you would know him better than I do, but that is exactly why it seems suspicious to a newcomer like me. '

Merry chuckles, 'it 's a strange combination, isn 't it? '

Khlahadore fixes his glasses. 'I 've only heard unsavory rumours about him in town, after all. It can 't be helped that my impression of him is a little skewed, perhaps. '

Merry stills ever so slightly at the tea mug, but he resumes, expertly trying to pretend he didn't hesitate.

Khlahadore misreads it as skepticism, so he continues.

'I 've heard that the boy 's the son of a rather infamous pirate, ' he grimaces, 'I can 't help but feel that he may have a little of that in his blood as well. '

To Khlahadore 's surprise, a steaming tea cup is shoved hastily into his hands, and Merry stares him down fiercely. Fiercer than that sheep butler has any right to, at least-- Khlahadore almost fought back on instinct, only to remind himself that it 's much, much too early to drop the humble butler image yet.

'Your tea, Khlahadore-san, ' Merry says, stately. 'I 'll excuse myself for tonight. Please do get as much rest as you can. Your more severe injuries are not completely healed just yet, and the Master of the house won 't be happy if it worsens. '

And then he leaves.

Khlahadore sips his tea.

'That Usopp will definitely come in the way in the future, ' he determines, mirthfully. That did not go over well just now-- he may have shaken the trust between them a little too hard. He needs to be careful. 'I should watch myself a little more. '

He needs to gain their trust. That 's more important now.

'Yeah, you should. '

Khlahadore drops his tea in surprise, but a hand catches it before it crashes to the floor. The lights in his room flicker off, the window is still open, and a too-strong night wind comes in from the sea.

'Shh, you wouldn 't want to wake Kaya up, do you? '

Khlaha-- no,

Kuro

finds himself staring straight at Usopp, who had, at some point without even his notice, made his way into the room and right into the bedside. Kuro 'tenses and shoots back. He reaches for his blades first-- a defensive dagger, because his claws are hidden elsewhere.

Usopp steps right out of the way of the knife, swerves once more to the side when Kuro gets out of the bed. Kuro lunges, Usopp vanishes.

He hears Usopp place the teacup on the nightstand behind him, and he swings the blade wide.

Usopp twists the knife right out of Kuro 's hand, and points it right below Kuro 's chin.

Fuck, is this kid seriously

blind

or was that just someone messing with him? This is ridiculous, even if Kuro isn 't in top form yet. There is

no

way a blind kid is doing this much. It 's not possible.

Kuro 's next tactic is to scream, but Usopp predicts it, shifting the knife to place right at his throat, so he wouldn 't dare.

'If you value your life, Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates, ' Usopp begins, and Khlahadore tenses. 'Leave once your injuries are healed, ' Usopp says, and it 's a warning, a threat, and an order all at once.

How did he know?

There is no,

no

possible way, logical or not, that this

blind

kid could recognize him. Unless someone

else

has recognized him as well but

no

, his cover is perfect. It can 't be.

Kuro almost felt shivers down his spine, but no. He won 't.

Is it the knife? Is the knife making this kid think he can make demands of Black Cat Captain Kuro?

Usopp loosens his hold on the knife.

Somehow, Kuro thinks he shouldn 't yell out now. Even though yelling would guarantee a win on his hands-- Usopp 's glare makes him stop. Makes him ' concede. Begrudgingly.

Just for now

, he tries to tell himself. The Black Cat Kuro does not falter in front of a kid.

'If you know who I am, why do you not hand me in? ' he asks instead. 'Isn 't it because you 're just throwing empty threats? Like the serial liar you are? '

Usopp doesn 't take the bait.

'You 're right, ' he says, a short laugh. 'You 're not the kind of person that has honour. I shouldn 't trust you, I 'm just wasting my time. '

Kuro blinks confusedly as Usopp turns and leaves, the knife back in Kuro 's hands and the long-nosed sniper jumping onto a tree to clamber back down.

Kuro watches Usopp walk casually out of the fence and into the road and back into the village, as if he hadn 't tried to threaten a pirate captain just moments ago. Kuro watches until Usopp makes his way down the road toward his house.

Kuro sighs.

He could yell for Merry now, but if he can 't justify how Usopp could make it up here when he 's blind, no one would believe him. It 'll just make them distrust him more.

He turns around.

Then, a sharp pain at the back of his neck.

Then, nothing.

-

Usopp sighs, putting down his slingshot.

Small button as a projectile, coated in Haki-- shot at a velocity too fast to not be dire, hit directly at a pressure point at the nape.

(At best, a concussion. At worst, an interruption in the synapse.)

He requires immediate medical attention, but Khlahadore has only fallen awkwardly into bed and no one will find him strange until the servant arrives for routine check up, three hours later and three hours too late.

The button is a part of Khlahadore 's clothes. It'll fall not too far from his body, and won 't at all look unnatural when someone finds it in the morning. Of course, no one will suspect it to be the cause.

Perfectly executed, impossible to trace back. This is East Blue, where the impossible doesn 't happen, after all.

Satisfied and admiring the slowly fading voice in the distance, Usopp closes the window.

(Oh hey, the Assassin job might suit him, after all.)

He keeps boxes and boxes of his pellets, makes a slingshot similar in sharpness and power to his Kabuto, but without the dials, he can 't live up to them yet.

But it 's enough, for now.

His hands are scabbed and full of callouses. Kinoko is growing each day, and he knows that if he walks away, Kinoko will follow him anywhere.

'I 'm ready, Luffy, ' he says to himself.

(I 'm just waiting for you to come.)

-

-

It takes Nami six months on the straightest ships to find Fire Fist Ace.

She sneaks a tracker Den Den on them, and watches their movements closely for another three months. She returns to Cocoyashi twice in between, then sets off for the New World at the same time the Spades Pirates do.

It's been almost two years since the beginning of this operation-- Nami feels intense relief when Ace finally meets Knight of the Sea Jinbei.

She watches them, carefully. She watches their long battle and watches as Whitebeard comes in, watches as Ace loses, and watches as they leave the island after aiding in the damages.

Then she follows them out to sea on a ship.

'One small vessel approaching, Oyaji! '

'A small vessel? In the New World? '

There 's already activity there.

'Enemies? '

'Not sure. Just one, and it 's young. '

'Suicidal punk number two? '

'Suicidal punk number two. '

Nami swallows thickly. This would be the first, honest first time that she 'll meet them-- and she 's younger than even Ace right now. She 's barely a brat.

But it 's fine.

Jinbei 's on that ship right now, recuperating, and she just needs to talk to him. She just needs to remember her manners, calm down, and calm down, and calm down.

Calm down Nami you can do this you 've done this before.

Marco the Phoenix leans over the deck to look at her when she comes close enough.

Nami knocks her knuckles against the hull twice. 'First Mate of the Whitebeard pirates, Marco the Phoenix. Permission to come aboard? '

Marco hums. 'Yeah, sure. '

Nami hops up to the deck, and immediately bows respectfully to Marco. Then she turns to Whitebeard, and says once again, 'Permission to come aboard, Captain Whitebeard? '

Whitebeard laughs. 'Just state your business, young one. '

Nami lets out a sigh of relief. Everyone 's still tense. Weapons aren 't hidden. A quick sift around-- at least half of the Commanders are present on board.

She doesn 't have much time to think.

'My business is with the Knight of the Sea,

Boss

Jinbei, ' she says, 'I came to ask a favour of him. '

Her grip on her bag tightens when Whitebeard 's eyes narrow. She evens her breathing, placing her bag down by her feet to show she was not immediately prepared to leave when things turned for the south.

'He 's still recovering, ' Marco says, 'you 'll have to come back later. '

Later?

She resists the urge to click her tongue in annoyance.

'It 's urgent, ' Nami says, a bite of her fervor from her Burglar Cat days seeping from her tongue as she sent a sharp glance toward him. If this was back then, even Marco would know better than to divert her needs. 'He 's conscious, isn 't he? Then he can listen. '

'Oh, ' Whitebeard speaks up and it 's a deep intonation that marks anything but patience, 'you think you 're in a position to make demands on this ship? '

Crap.

'You 're just another small-time brat that thinks they 've hit it big once they got out of Paradise, ' Whitebeard says, anything but amused. 'Leave this ship. '

No. No, no, no. It took her a whole year to get this far, she can 't leave now!

(God, why are her eyes burning? Is she seriously going to cry from frustration?)

Nami bites her lip, and reaches up to her left shoulder. With one hard tug, she tears the bandages around it, revealing the bright cobalt Arlong Mark on her shoulder.

Someone sees it immediately. 'Wait! '

Eyes turn to the only Fishman on the crew, Namur. His eyes are wide, and Nami meets his gaze with a pained look.

Marco turns to him. 'What 's wrong? '

Namur stares at Nami for a long moment. Then, 'call Jinbei, ' he says, to the shocked deterrence of everyone else. Namur quickly turns to Whitebeard. 'Oyaji, this is ' serious. Very, for Jinbei. I 'm sorry, but-- please. '

'I 'm already here. '

Nami swirls toward the voice-- and Jinbei 's eyes are wide and horrified.

'Wait, Jinbei! ' Whitey Bay calls from behind him, 'I said bedrest!

Bed

rest includes the bed! '

'You, ' Jinbei speaks to Nami, 'you 're a human. Why do you have that mark? '

Nami can't help the way her shoulders sag noticeably, completely in relief, 'I need your help to stop Arlong. '

-

'So ' Jinbei went ahead on his whale-sharks, are you sure you 're fine not following him? '

Nami turns to Marco.

'I 'll just slow him down, ' Nami says, sliding her shoulder guard on over her tattoo and getting ready to set sail again. 'If Arlong finds out I 'm the one that brought Jinbei there, I can 't tell what Arlong would do. '

Most of the Commanders were present to hear her story. From Arlong 's arrival, to the taking over, to the deaths.

When asked about the arm, Nami denied Arlong 's involvement in it-- but they probably still assume she got it from her too-young thievery endeavours, and Nami can 't find a way to deny the claim.

It 's kept brief and quick, but Jinbei doesn 't need the details to gather the rest.

There are only two very similar reasons a human would be on a Fishman crew-- Koala 's situation, and the opposite. And this was obviously not like Koala 's situation.

Jinbei 's face darkened considerably.

Up until the very end, he was apologizing profusely, repeatedly, head to the ground. Nami 's forgiven him already, a lifetime ago, and she makes sure he knows that.

'You 've got guts, girl, ' Izou says.

Marco stiffens. 'Girl? '

Izou stares at Marco like he 's just said something stupid. Then Izou looks around at synchronously shocked faces around, and he facepalms.

'I can 't believe you guys. '

Nami laughs, 'you can 't do that, Izou-san. Look at their faces! '

'Oh but Nami-chan, Jozu noticed an hour ago while he was ogling your arm. You totally have to let him tinker with that later, ' Izou says.

Nami blinks, 'well... I

am

due for a replacement, soon. ' She's outgrowing this one, after all. And since she's int he New World, she can go somewhere with better technology, to reduce the weight just a little more.

'Consider it done, ' Jozu hollers in the distance.

Izou smiles. 'You know, Oyaji would be glad to have you on board. '

And Nami stops.

Looking around, everyone 's got similarly approving smiles on their faces. Whitebeard huffs, but doesn 't deny it.

(Seriously?)

'Can 't. ' Nami tells them, and one of them deflates. 'She shrugs her jacket back on, and sits on the bows of the ship, ready to drop back into her rowboat. She turns to Whitebeard with a grin. ' 'I 'm already taken, you see. '

Whitebeard hums, 'by who? This Arlong fellow? You know you aren 't. '

'No, not Arlong. ' Nami says, firmly. She grins up at him, 'I 've got a seat saved for me beside the future King of the Pirates. '

Shocked gasps and panicked reactions spread across the deck.

(She did not just insinuate that Whitebeard won 't be Pirate King, right in front of the man himself, did she?)

'Gurararara!! ' Whitebeard

laughs

, louder than before. 'That 's perfect, my girl. You don 't need to join the crew-- won 't you become my daughter anyways? We 'll give you a ride back to Paradise. '

Nami fixes her eyes on the rowboat, then turns back around, baffled. She never thought she 'd ever hear those words again.

("

You 're my daughter, Nami," Bellemere had always said. And she was the only mother Nami ever had.

)

It 's so strange. Last time around, Whitebeard had barely even heard of Nami 's entire existence. She wouldn 't be surprised if he never even knew her-- hell, she never met him personally, either. They were universally strangers.

But now '

She stops herself from the immediate refusal, thinking to herself. Thinking of those days on that island, where she would chat with Izou about Ace 's beginning days. She finds herself bursting out into giggles.

'If I say no, would you let me go? '

"Sure, if that's what you want."

"Then, I respectfully refuse. May I leave now?"

And Whitebeard smirks. 'Nope! '

Figures.

-

Nami watches in muted awe as Ace goes flying across the deck again. It's honestly impressive, how many times he can try a day and still have energy for another an hour later. 'Her arm is in pieces beside them, and a few other in the mechanic divisions are trying to inspect it.

'It 's an old East Blue model, the core, ' someone says, 'the plates are Grand Line quality. Wires ' a fair amount of this is pretty good. '

'Can we replace the core? It 's not quite your size anymore, is it? ' another says.

'Look at the design of this arm! This is definitely the work of the Jan-Jan island in Grand Line! ' someone says, sparkling.

'Where the heck is that? '

'It 's

the

Jan-Jan Island, doofus! '

'That explains absolutely nothing. Thanks. '

Nami turns to Jozu, 'I got this when I was thirteen, and it 's changed every year since. They told me to change it again when I turned seventeen, so I'm still quite a few months out. '

Jozu blinks, 'no harm being a little early. We 'll get right into it then. '

Beside her, Haruta crouches down and declares, 'we 're going to give you the coolest arm

ever

. ' with bright and expectant eyes. And Nami knows those eyes. It 's the same eyes Luffy gives Franky when they see a new fancy robot thing.

Nami pauses, 'wait, I like normal. With all due respect, I implore you, please-- '

(They 're already sparkling so much, it 's entirely pointless to try.)

She deflates. 'I want to go home. '

Marco 's response is immediate. 'Not until Jinbei deals with Arlong you aren 't. '

-

-

It 's a long story in between, but that 's a story for another time.

Nami can 't help but become so, so comfortable in the midst of the Whitebeard Pirates. She gets to know all the faces she only heard of last time, including Ace. She avoids the topic of his little brother because it never comes up.

Nami is greeted by the apology brigade when she steps into Fishman island.

Jinbei has a foot on Arlong 's head, and the rest of them give the most begrudging yet sincere apology Nami has ever seen from a Fishman in this life. 'They do it before the masses, and Nami isn 't the only one that cries that day.

Arlong is dragged back to Fishman District by the ear, given a big angry talking-to by Jinbei and Aladine, and apparently, tears and manly hugs were shared that day.

Nami grips the Arlong mark on her shoulder-- and with everyone 's approval, she has it removed at a tattoo parlor on Sabaody Archipelago.

She doesn 't replace it just yet, leaving the scars bare. Instead, she gets Whitebeard's mark on her lower back, the cross and the crescent emblazoning her hip, trailing part of the spine in dark blue.

She 's Whitebeard 's child this time, and she 'll be proud of it.

-

-

'It 's so light! ' Nami gapes at her new silver arm, tinted with orange accents.

The fingers are thin, more similar to her actual flesh fingers now. The arm itself is also much thinner and less bulky to match her other arm, but the quality of the steel makes it twice as solid. She curls her fingers, twists her wrist, and throws an experimental punch.

'I 'm glad you like it, ' the mechanic team grins.

'Just a normal arm? ' Nami asks.

'Just a normal arm, ' Marco promises, 'I took out the laser beams and tossed them into the sea before they could try and implement it anywhere. '

(In the distance, Haruta is sobbing into Thatch 's shoulder about stingy phoenixes.)

'Thank you, ' Nami says, wholeheartedly grateful.

'Y 'know, ' Marco says, 'you could 've at least accepted a few dials. They 're from Sky Island and they 're pretty useful. '

'No, ' Nami pouts, firm, 'if I want anything from Sky Island, I 'll go there with my own crew and ask my crew 's mechanic to do it for me. '

'You 're in the New World and you seek normality, ' Marco states, baffled.

Nami shrugs. 'There 's enough crazy in the crew. I don 't want to add to the madness. '

"Fair."

'Nami-chan, we're gonna do your foot next! '

'Coming! '

Soon, now. In just one more week, Nami will be dropped off at Loguetown, and she 'll officially leave the crew. Then she 'll head back to Cocoyashi, cry a few more tears, visit Bellemere 's grave, and then...

(And then from there, she just needs to wait.)