Contains spoilers for Water 7 (up to the introduction of Sogeking).
I don't own One Piece. If I did, this wouldn't be a fanfic.
...
Usopp wondered what it would be like to hide behind a mask like Franky's. He wondered if he would feel more powerful, more detached... and so Sogeking was born.
...
In the warehouse under the bridge…
"That's so sad!" the large, blue-haired man wailed.
Usopp didn't answer, frowning as he worked on the Merry Go.
"It's too much! Oh, man, you're breaking my heart!" the man, who said his name was Franky, cried loudly.
The two strange women who accompanied Franky were weeping loudly as well.
"You actually split from your friends you'd travelled with from the East Blue over a ship?"
"Oh, stop crying already!" Usopp snapped, turning to face them.
Franky loudly denied he'd been crying, as he sobbed into a handkerchief. Usopp grumbled and turned back to the ship. He cringed when the man pulled out a guitar and started singing a ridiculous song.
"Are you making fun of me?" Usopp demanded angrily.
Needless to say, he wasn't in a very good mood. Hadn't been for a while.
"I'm sorry, bro," Franky said, putting away his guitar as Usopp turned back to the ship. "You must be pretty mad about the 200 million berries we stole…not to mention the beat-down we gave you."
Usopp didn't answer right away. He was in a foul mood, but somehow he didn't feel all that angry with this strange man. Franky was annoying, but seemed nothing like the masked gang leader Usopp had met the day before. That man's words still rang in Usopp's ears.
I feel sorry for Straw Hat Luffy… if the only one he had to guard the money was a good-for-nothing crewman like you!
Those words had been far more painful for Usopp than the cruel beating he'd suffered afterwards. They had confirmed what Usopp had feared for a long time now; that he was a weak and useless crewman. Those words, perhaps even more than Luffy's disloyalty to Merry, had led to Usopp leaving the Straw Hat crew.
And yet he couldn't bring himself to hate the man who'd taken him and his ship into this grungy hideout, sheltering them from the approaching Aqua Laguna.
"What happened, happened," Usopp finally answered. "There's no point in holding a grudge."
Except that was a lie. Usopp did hold grudges. He still held a grudge against Captain Kuro for threatening Kaya's life. He still held a grudge against his father for not being there when his mother died, although that was a grudge he held secretly, deep inside him…
"That's real decent of you!" Franky said happily. "Although I should tell you, about that 200 million… we used it all up!"
Glowering, Usopp turned to Franky and his ridiculous backup dancers.
"I will kill you," he growled, gritting his teeth.
But in all honesty he had no desire to kill or even hurt this man. He wanted to hurt the masked gang leader who'd cut deep with his words…
It was funny how that mask had made Franky seem like such a different person. He wondered if Franky had felt different with the mask, too. Meaner. More powerful. More detached, like he could do and say whatever he wanted without repercussion.
Usopp felt a twinge in his stomach, wondering what that would feel like.
...
On the roof of the Puffing Tom…
"C'mon, Long Nose, let's go save Robin!" Franky called to him.
Usopp looked away.
"I'll… stay here…" he said softly.
He could feel Sanji and Franky's eyes boring into him, shocked.
"…I don't have any obligation to save Robin. She's not my nakama anymore… I quit the crew, remember? Goodbye…"
And Usopp walked away, not turning around when Franky called, "Goodbye? Listen, man, there's nowhere for you to run!"
The rain and wind were so loud in Usopp's ears, he wasn't sure if he imagined Sanji saying, "It's fine. Leave him alone."
Usopp descended back into the car they'd just left. He felt confused, cowardly, and angry. Angry with himself.
What the hell was that? a voice from inside his head demanded. It wasn't the first time he'd heard that voice. Abandoning your nakama?
"She's not my nakama anymore," Usopp repeated. "I quit the crew."
Ha! And you think that makes it okay to abandon a damsel in distress? the voice said, mocking him. How can you ever hope to become a brave warrior if you give up when you get the chance to shine?
Usopp gritted his teeth. He'd never been good at dealing with this voice, this voice that came to him whenever he was most unsure. When he was younger, he used to imagine it was his dad, pushing him to become stronger, braver.
Now, he was just confused.
"I can't!" Usopp finally wailed. "I can't go save Robin! I can't fight the government! I'm… I'm scared…"
Coward, the voice said.
"If you're so brave why don't you save Robin?" Usopp shouted, clenching his fists.
Alright, the voice answered, sending a chill down the sniper's spine.
That was when he noticed the mask. Yellow and blue, rather flamboyant, it stood out from the rest of the disguises piled up in this storage car.
The sniper reached out and slipped the mask over his face. It fit perfectly, as if it had been made especially for his head, complete with a convenient hole for his long nose. He draped a red cape over his shoulders, also courtesy of the Cipher Pol's spare disguises.
Then he climbed back up onto the roof the sea train. Sanji and Franky were still there, their voices muffled by the rain and wind.
Suddenly, a marine poked his head up from one of the train's windows and spotted Sanji and Franky.
"I found them!" the marine shouted.
He barely had a chance to finish his sentence before he was shot down by the sniper, falling into the ocean below.
Sanji and Franky turned around to face the sniper, surprised.
"Who's that?"
"I heard the whole story from him," the sniper declared. "You want to save a young lady, do you?"
Sanji and Franky stared at him, confused, as he approached, arms crossed.
"I need no particular reason to lend you a hand in your endeavour! I shall fight alongside you!"
From behind the mask, Usopp did indeed feel very different. More confident. More powerful. More detached, like he could do and say whatever he wanted without repercussion.
He didn't feel like himself. He felt like the brave voice that had always been in the back of his mind.
So he wasn't at all surprised when he opened his mouth and declared, "My name is Sogeking…"