In the split second between my bullet finding its end in the dirt and Klahadore 's realization that I 've flubbed my shot, he's already launching forward to gut me like a fish. I silently resign myself to a second painful death.

'FUCK! ' Usopp 's voice rings out right before I feel a heavy weight barrel into me, pushing me aside with barely a millimetre of clearance between my face and the strike.

'FUCK! '

I respond right back.

Oh my god I fucked that so bad. I had a cool line and everything! What the hell is wrong with me?!

Me and the weight roll a few times through the dirt and down the hill. We come to a stop, me staring right up into Usopp 's terrified bloody face. 'HOLY CRAP THAT WAS SCARY! ' he screams into my face.

'AGREED! ' I scream right back.

'I thought you were a master of the quick draw?! I can shoot better than that

blindfolded! '

he shouts, spit flying into my face.

My surprised look turns offended. 'Being

quick

doesn 't mean I 'm

good!

That 's the fourth time I 've ever shot a gun! Besides, I WAS LYING ABOUT THAT! '

'WHAT?! ' I spot something flying at us from the corner of my eye, so I tug Usopp down flat on top of myself as the body of Klahadore goes sailing over us, Luffy 's stretchy fist recoiling behind it.

'If you hate being shot at so much I 'll make sure to hit you a hundred times! ' I make eye contact with his dazzling smile as he laughs loud and unabashedly cocky, 'my fists are like pistols after all! '

Witty one-liners, you gotta love 'em.

I turn my head so I can see where Klahadore landed, pushing Usopp 's curly hair out of my mouth. He 's just kind of standing there ' menacingly. 'Time 's up, ' he announces, once again adjusting his broken glasses.

At least his depth perception is gonna be shit?

Then he starts swaying.

Aw fuckbuckets.

'Hey, Usopp? '

He turns to look at me, once again getting his wiry hair in my mouth. 'Yeah? '

I spit it out. 'However stupid it may look, that technique is going to rock our shit. Got any ideas? '

His eyes bug out. 'Is it that bad?! '

I scrunch my nose. 'Let's put it this way, he's not very good at ' scaling it down. Or discriminating what it hits. ' His lip starts wobbling and sweat drips down his nose onto my face. Ew.

The rhythmic clicking of Klahadore 's claws is still audible over the panicked hum of the Black Cat Pirates' pleas for help. Luffy stalks into view, planting himself firmly between the two of us and the clinking Klahadore.

'Luffy ' ' Usopp mutters.

I call out to my Captain, 'Luf, be careful! And watch out for your hat! '

He tosses a grin over his shoulder. 'Don 't worry! I 've got this! '

The clinking comes to an abrupt stop. Klahadore mutters something under his breath and disappears. I had already known what to expect. But holy shit seeing the huge gouges and slashes appear in the rocks and people around us, including my Captain, is fucking terrifying.

And then the dumbest thing happens. Klahadore, going faster than the eye can track, Pussyfoots right into the oil. He doesn 't register his mistake at first, just raises a hand to attack or make another stupid proclamation.

Then sweet

sweet

karmic comeuppance. His feet fly out from under him. He makes a weird 'HUAH ' ' noise that sounds like his lungs trying to exit his body through his mouth as he goes down.

There 's a moment of silence across the battlefield. Which is broken by a snort from Kaya of all people. Me Usopp and Nami are quick to join her, as is the rest of the accompaniment, Luffy loudest of all. Even the Black Cat Pirates join in!

Klahadore furiously whips his head around at his subordinates. 'Would you shut up! ' he yells, but after his willingness to almost murder a good half of them, they don 't seem as receptive to his anger. They just keep laughing.

His indignant and oil smeared face is almost enough to make up for him almost flaying me. Then a most beautiful thought enters my brain dome. I slowly turn to Usopp with a wicked grin. 'Is that oil ' flammable? '

Usopp 's entire face lights up. 'Yes. Yes it is. ' He pulls out his slingshot, braces an arm on my shoulder, and lets loose a pellet that explodes on impact. The entire swath of ground slicked in oil, including the pirates still standing in it, are set alight by bright orange flames.

There's some screaming, and a shout of fury from the on-fire Klahadore. I let out another disbelieving laugh. 'I love it here ' '

'Good god ' ' I hear Zoro mutter somewhere behind me, Nami humming her horrified yet impressed agreement nearby.

'YOU! ' Klahadore howls, scrambling out of the fire looking like a demon escaping hell.

Me and Usopp whip our heads to each other and scream in unison, 'WE ONLY MADE HIM COOLER! '

In a move straight out of Ghost Rider, Klahadore attempts the Out The Back Attack

while still on fire.

He leaves a sparking web of light as he bounces around the path, flaming streaks leaving claw marks.

Luffy stands strong through it all, from what I can see past Usopp 's hair. He stays tall and unmovable even as smouldering slashes imprint on his rubber skin. 'Captain ' ' I can hear someone murmur behind me.

A good portion of the fight is mostly a blur, with Usopp 's near constant screaming and tendency to hunch over my head whenever something crazy happens most of my perception is from the yelling and screaming of the fight's participants.

I do hear a loud yell at some point proclaiming, 'THEN FROM THE VERY BEGINNING YOU PLANNED TO KILL US ALL?! '

'What a bunch of fucking idiots ' ' I mumble into Usopp 's shoulder. He makes a questioning noise. 'He 's been hitting them with attacks and saying he doesn't give a shit about them the whole fight. It 's obvious he wanted them dead, ' I elaborate.

'Sometimes people don 't want to see what 's right in front of them, ' he replies.

'Jango! Hypnotize the girl and

kill her! '

Klahadore screams, still locked in combat with Luffy.

'This dude doesnt give up ' ' I mutter, turning to try and see where the man in question is. I spot his very beat up form struggling to his feet and gearing up to lunge at Kaya.

Merry jumps in front of her as Usopp yells above me, 'Kaya! Run! ' He tries to scramble off of me, but it's at this point I register the main reason he hadn 't gotten off earlier. His ankle is definitely twisted at an unnatural angle.

Kaya gives the two of us a solemn nod, then grabs Merry 's hand and takes off into the woods as fast as she can. 'Shit! ' Jango wheezes out, hobbling after her with significantly less pizazz than usual.

'Fuck! ' I hiss out, jumping up myself and pulling Usopp with me. I crouch down. 'Ok bitch get on! ' Usopp makes some indignant noises, but climbs on anyway. 'We 've got Kaya! For the love of god someone put that cat bastard down! '

' ' ' '

Listen. I am no runner, I am no trackstar.

Especially

with a lanky teenager on my back. We 're (and by we I mean me) running through the woods, following Jango 's hollers and the path of destruction he cuts.

We follow the downed trees for a solid ten minutes, the shouts slowly petering out during that time. We reach a section of trees completely decimated from about three feet up.

With no other trail to follow I turn my head back to look at Usopp. 'Any bright ideas, Brave Warrior of the Sea? '

He makes some frustrated noises on my back, 'I don 't know ' '

He 's cut off by Merry 's voice yelling out, 'I won 't let you touch Miss Kaya! '

I start booking it in that direction. 'I 've got no free hands or bullets, so I'm basically your mobile turret right now. You 've gotta shoot this fucker as soon as you see him, ' I instruct Usopp. He makes affirming sounds in response.

When we come up on the scene, it's to Jango preparing to hurl a chakram at a solitary Merry, no Kaya in sight. Usopp shoots a pellet above me, nailing him right in the back of the head. 'Hey! Weirdo! ' he calls, gearing up a second shot.

When Jango turns around to yell at us Usopp looses the pellet, which turns out to be some kind of pepper bomb, and it explodes all over his face. 'Where 's Kaya? ' I yell to Merry as Jango folds over hacking.

'We split up, I stayed behind to distract this man! The Usopp Pirates are with her now! ' he yells back, scrambling away from Jango.

Me and Usopp both heave sighs of relief. 'Great, then we just have to take down this chump. '

'Who ' *cough* Who 're you c ' *wheeze* calling a chump! ' Jango grits out, eyes red and streaming.

'Put a sock in it, MJ reject! ' I retort, letting Usopp slide down my back.

Jango does not put a sock in it. 'Wh ' Who do you think you ' *hack* are?! '

I roll my eyes and don 't even bother replying. Usopp nails him in the nose with another pellet as I lean around him to call out to Merry, 'which way did they go? ' He points to his left so I take off cheering, 'you got this! ' over my shoulder.

I barely make it 200 feet before a screaming weight drops on me from on high while hollering 'Take this creepy weirdo! ' I scream and fall on my ass. I get smacked in the back by what I 'm fairly certain is a frying pan and silently swear vengeance.

'Wait! Stop, it's Ed! ' Kaya 's relieved voice rings out.

'Kaya? ' I groan, shoving the weight off myself. The weight turns out to be Carrot, who scrambles back to join the other two kids. The three of them start babbling apologies.

I wave them off. 'Don 't worry about it, you did a good job. ' They beam with pride. I turn to Kaya. 'Usopp is dealing with Jango, let's go back to where they are. ' She nods, stepping toward me but fumbling.

I jump forward to catch her. 'I 'm sorry, I 'm feeling a little faint ' ' she murmurs into my arm.

I reach up a hand to feel her forehead. 'Shit Kaya, you 're burning up! We gotta get you to a doctor ASAP. '

She shakes her head. 'No, please take me to Merry and Usopp. '

I hesitate, but sling her arm over my shoulder and start in the direction I came from. 'Let me know if you don 't feel up to walking. '

She flashes me a grateful smile. 'Thank you, but I 'm fine. '

When we get back to the scene, Jango is on the ground and Usopp is helping Merry up. His face lights up when he sees Kaya.

God this boy is whipped.

'Usopp! ' Kaya cries, running out of my arms toward him.

'And so is she.

It 's at that point that Jango springs up from his prone position, a chakram poised to slice Kaya 's throat clean open. I make a choked sound and lunge forward to grab her, but she 's already past my reach.

Then there 's a loud bang and Jango crumples to the ground in a flash of light. As he falls he reveals Usopp behind him, sling shot still raised and a terrified look etched on his face.

'Shit, alright. '

' ' ' '

We end up leaving Jango in the woods. Fuck that guy. On the walk back to the rest of the crew Usopp pipes up from my back, 'can you guys keep everything that happened a secret? '

The kids burst into shocked outrage. 'Why would we do that? The village has to know you were telling the truth! '

Kaya nods along from where she 's being supported by Merry. 'We have to fix their misunderstanding ' '

I feel Usopp shake his head. 'Misunderstanding? They call me the village liar because

I

lie all the time

. Besides, why would pirates be interested in such a small village? So let's just say nothing happened. ' He lets out a small chuckle. 'It was all just another of my lies. '

I hike him further up my back with a laugh. 'Very mature, Proud Usopp. '

'I try, ' he says smugly. 'I 'm not gonna force you, of course, ' he throws out. The kids start shouting their compliance and reassurance.

I feel Usopp turn to look back. 'Kaya. Will you tell? '

I can almost hear the smile in his voice. Kaya laughs quietly. 'No. '

' ' ' '

When me and Usopp get back to the shore the last of the Black Cat Pirates have already fled with their defeated Captain in tow. Kaya, Merry and the kids had split off from us, the kids into town and the other two back to their abode.

Zoro is laughing against the cliff wall, Nami is cradling her bag of treasure, and Luffy is laid out on the ground with a content smile resting on his face.

'Thanks, I wouldn 't have been able to protect the village without you guys! ' Usopp laughs.

Zoro snorts in response. 'Credit where credits due, if you hadn 't done anything I wouldn't have either. '

'Me neither, ' Luffy pipes up.

'Who cares? I got me some treasure! ' Nami giggles.

I shrug. 'Eh. I do what I want. Sometimes you solve a case and a guy tries to kill you. Them's the breaks. ' Zoro laughs and leans over to fist bump me, which I gladly return.

'In light of this there 's a decision I've made, ' Usopp announces. The rest of the group looks at him in question, but I just close my eyes and smile.

' ' ' '

We find ourselves once again in the restaurant Usopp brought us to the first day here. Oh god, it 's been less than 48 hours since we got here. This endeavour has felt like a damn lifetime.

'Now that we 've eaten we should probably get going, ' Zoro announces.

'Yeah, you 're right, ' Luffy hums, pulling a fishbone out of his throat. Me and Nami exchange exhausted looks.

'There you are! ' Kaya 's voice calls from the door. The lady herself strolls up to our table with a big smile.

'Hey, Miss! ' Luffy grins.

'Hi Kaya! ' I wave.

'Are you alright to be up out of bed? ' Nami asks.

She lets out a chuckle. 'Yes. I 've been sick ever since I lost my parents ' but Usopp 's encouragement helped me start getting better. ' She flashes a bright smile, 'I can 't stay in bed forever, you know! ' And she does look noticeably better today, her complexion is not nearly as pale as the day previous.

Me, Nami and Zoro all exchange smiles. 'Getting out of bed is sometimes the hardest part, ' I admit. 'You should be proud of your progress. '

Kaya laughs softly. 'You 've all done so much for me, I can 't thank you enough, ' she gives me an especially grateful look, 'especially you. I don 't think I would have realized anything was wrong if you hadn 't stepped in. '

Why does this keep happening?

I shake my head. 'You 're pretty tough, and you had other people looking out for you. I 'm sure you would have been just fine. '

She just laughs. 'Regardless, I recall hearing you all needed a ship! '

While we walk I tug on Kaya 's arm. She gives me a questioning look. 'Just wondering, could I get your Transponder number? ' I hear Zoro choke behind me, but ignore it.

Her eyebrows quirk and she gives me a small smile. 'Yes of course, I 'd love to stay in touch after you leave! ' She rifles around in her pockets and produces a scrap of paper she scribbles on, then hands to me.

Collecting these as we go couldn 't hurt at all '

Kaya leads us down to the shore, chatting and laughing along the way, until we 're standing in front of a familiar ship.

Noises of awe come from all four of us. 'You're giving this to us?! ' Luffy cheers, waving his hands and jumping around.

'A real caravel! ' Nami fawns.

Kaya giggles. 'Yes, please use it! ' I 'm damn near tearing up at the sight of the ship.

'It 's a bit of an older model, but I personally designed it! A carvel-make caravel, with lateen sails and a central stern rudder. She's a fine ship, and her name 's the Going Merry! ' Merry proudly explains.

Merry starts to explain the finer controls, which Nami takes him aside for. 'What a cool ship! Especially the front, it's so awesome! ' Luffy awes, staring up at her with stars in his eyes.

'She 's beautiful, ' I choke out, fanning my eyes. Zoro shoots me a confused side-eye.

'I 've loaded it with all the provisions you might need on a voyage, ' Kaya tells us.

Luffy spins to her with a huge smile. 'Thanks! It leaves nothing to beat tired! '

Zoro 's face drops into exasperation. 'That 's 'leaves nothing to be desired, ' you idiot. '

Kaya then turns to me with a grin. 'I also prepared lots of ammunition for that pistol of yours, it's stored in the ladies cabin. ' I blink my eyes in surprise. She blinks back before her face explodes in horror and she starts waving her hands. 'But I don 't want you to think I 'm forcing you to use the girls cabin! Or that the cabin is just for girls! Ah ' '

I cut her off with a full belly laugh. 'Man, Usopp really lucked out with you! ' I wiggle my eyebrows, 'almost as much as you lucked out with him. ' I lean forward and whisper conspiratorially, 'you didn 't hear this from me, but I hear he 's something of a ' King of the Snipers. '

The man in question arrives rolling down the path screaming, attached to his absurdly large backpack. 'SOMEONE STOP THIS THING! ' he screeches.

'Usopp?! ' Kaya cries out.

'What 's he doing? ' Luffy questions, looking far too eager to try it out himself.

'Whatever he's doing, we better stop him. He 's on a collision course with the ship, ' Zoro intones. The two of them line up, and as Usopp comes rolling into them they slam their feet and stop him dead in his tracks.

'Th ' thank you ' ' he whimpers, muffled behind the shoes in his face.

'No problem, ' is Luffy 's nonchalant response.

'So you 're really going to sea, Usopp? ' Kaya asks, smile still in place but just a hint of sadness peeking through.

Usopp stands firm. 'Yeah. I have to go before I change my mind. Please don 't stop me. '

She shakes her head, resigned. 'I won 't. '

I turn away from their interaction, climbing up onto the Merry after Luffy and Zoro, Nami right behind me. I lean over to murmur to Zoro, 'do you think he knows yet? ' He makes a questioning hum. 'That he 's coming with us, ' I elaborate. Zoro only rolls his eyes.

'Well, take care you guys! I hope we meet again someday! ' Usopp calls up to us, unknowingly answering my question.

'Why? ' Luffy calls back.

Usopp 's expression turns offended. 'Huh, 'why? ' You antisocial or something? We 're both gonna be pirates, we might meet again on the high seas! '

'What 're you talking about? Get on already, ' Zoro huffs, jerking a thumb to the deck.

'We 're friends, right? So get on, ' Luffy states.

'Get in loser, we're going pirating, ' I add with an eyebrow wiggle.

Usopp just kinda stares at us for a minute, silent. 'I ' I 'm the Captain, right?! ' he yells, pumping his fists and running for the rope ladder.

'DON 'T BE STUPID USOPP, I 'M THE CAPTAIN! ' Luffy hollers, upper body lunging over the railing. We all burst out laughing.

One more East Blue pirate to go.