Prologue

Usopp jumped off the railing of the Sunny Go, landing neatly on the wooden port below in hot persuit of Luffy. He smirked, dodging fish mongers and the like as he chased after his friend, upheaving sand as they raced through the beach. Luffy tripped, giving Usopp the opening he needed to catch up and tackle him to the ground.

Luffy squealed and pushed on Usopp's shoulder to pin him under himself. Usopp grunted, eyes squinting as the sand around them was sprayed into his face. He grabbed Luffy's armsand struggled to keep him from licking his face. He was able to throw Luffy off of him and climb on top, his hands at Luffy's ribs causing the other boy to laugh and kick his feet in an attempt to escape.

Usopp yelps as Luffy wraps his legs around the back of his thighs and turns them over once more. He begins to tickle the sniper, and Usopp tries to push him off to no avail. When both were out of breath, red cheeked, mouths hurting from laughter, Luffy climbed off him and lay, breathing heavily in the sand beside him. They were quiet for a few moments, both focusing on the clouds above them as they caught their breath.

Usopp pushed himself up on his elbows and grinned at Luffy, "hey, Luff."

Luffy blinked and threw his head to the side to he could look at his friend, eyes wide with curiosity, "what?"

Usopp reached over and pulled Luffy's hat on over his face and jumped up, wiping the sand off his jeans. "If you can catch me, I will give you my second helping of Lunch." He smiled cheekily and then he was off, running so fast he was already almost halfway through the beach by the time Luffy had realized what was going on and had made it to his feet.

"Oi, Usopp! That's not fair, you started way ahead of me!" Luffy called after him, wide smile on his face as he ran after Usopp. "Usopp!"

Usopp, slowed down just a bit and looked behind him, sticking his tongue out at Luffy. "You can't catch me! I guess that nice big second helping of lunch meat is going to be all mine!" He taunted good naturedly.

"No, that meat is mine, Usopp!" Luffy growled, pushing his legs harder. Usopp stuck his tongue out and looked forward again so that he could put more space between him and Luffy. After a minute he turned around again to make sure Luffy was still behind him and had not gotten lost (at times he could be such a Zoro).

He gasped, pausing almost automatically as he slammed into the person who had been walking into his path. He caught himself and quickly reached out to grab their arms to steady the person in front of him from falling to the floor. He sighed in relief and let go of the person, taking a step back and rubbing his neck sheepishly, his eyes staring down at his boots. "I-I am so sorry!" He looked up, a bright blush running over his cheeks and nose. "Are you okay? I was fooling around with my friend and wasn't watching where I was going."

When the woman laughed, it sounded like Christmas bells, the sound putting him instantly at ease. He pulled his eyes from his feet to the face of the woman who stood before him, freezing when he got a look at her face. It felt as if time itself had stopped. In the distance he could hear Luffy yelling something about meat (and he was way off base, on the other side of the beach. How he had gotten lost when he was following him, Usopp will never know) and Sanji and Zoro arguing somewhere near the ship. He swallowed heavily and blinked rapidly, not quite believing his eyes. "Mom?" He asked, voice full of uncertainty.

She, herself, had seemed to be frozen before she placed a hand in front of her face and gave a nervous laugh. "I haven't any children. You are mistaken, Child."

Usopp's face scrunched up in confusion as he stared at her, "I-I'm sorry. You just bear a striking resemblance to my mother, I thought you were he-"

"Oi, Usopp! Get your ass over here, shit-head, it's lunch time!" Sanji called from where he had built a fire by the ship to barbecue.

"Coming!" Usopp bowed deeply, "pardon me. I need to get back to my friends." He turned around and began to walk away, a frown on his face. He turned around and gave her one last look, his eyes scanning her face as if trying to commit it to memory. "I am really sorry for running into you, Ma'am." He nodded his head towards her and took off running towards his friends. A red blur flew at him and tackled him to the ground. Causing the woman to wince for the boy's sake.

"Ha! I got you Usopp! Second serving of meat is mine now!" Usopp shoved the other boy off him and jumped to his feet, brushing the sand from his pants. He made no comment however, merely nodding his head and walking back towards camp. Every dozen steps or so he would look back at Banchina, an intense expression on his face.

She sighed, rubbing her hands over her arms as she watched as he turned from her one last time and went to sit at the table beside Luffy. "It's been a long time, Usopp."