'Must have been that weird potion...knew that stall owner looked a bit too creepy!'

Usopp sighed to himself as he slowly dragged himself from his hammock, slightly earlier than usual, but also accompanied by the nausea that had recently started bothering him.

Still, it didn't make much sense for it to be the potion as that was a month ago, but the only other option was to blame the food and considering the chef's probable reaction that wasn't a very pleasant option...Maybe it was a slow acting potion? Ah, yes, that must be it.

Usopp smiled to himself weakly and slowly got himself ready for breakfast, half wrapped up in his musings, and half not wanting to aggravate the growing queasiness.

The smile suddenly disappeared and he leant heavily against the wall of the shared cabin, one hand on his stomach and the other over his mouth as he concentrated on calming the uneasiness.

He felt his knees give way as he slid down the wall, coming to a rest on the floor and allowing his mind to drift back to that day.


It was a lovely, sunny morning, but what do you expect from a summer island in the Grandline?

They had stopped for supplies as per usual and Usopp had wandered off into the town. He had found himself in the middle of a bustling marketplace before too long and had been busy amusing himself with peering at all the brightly colored objects when one stall in particular caught his attention.

The stall had been set slightly away from the others and there was a dim shadow cast over the face of the elderly lady tending to the stall, this hadn't deterred the marksman though as he gazed other the various bottles and parchments.

"What does this one do?" Holding up a curved bottle containing a shimmery green liquid.

A disturbing smirk appeared on the old lady's face, but was nicely hidden from the unsuspecting victims sight by the shadow covering most of her head.

"It will bring a family member close to you." Holding back an evil chuckle as the boy's eyes lit up eagerly and he handed over the necessary change for the potion.

'Finally, something to help me find my father!' Usopp thought to himself happily as he quickly downed the potion and made his way back to the ship, not noticing the suddenly empty space where a certain stall had stood mere seconds earlier.


"Usopp, hurry up will ya! It's time for breakfast!"

Usopp's head snapped up at this before slowly realizing he had somehow fallen into a light doze against the wall.

"Oh, uh...Right!"

Calling out as the irritated blond chef turned and stalked away once more, no doubt sent by another crew member to retrieve him.

He took a deep breath and started towards the kitchen area, his brown eyes fixed squarely on the wooden boards beneath his feet as he tried to keep the rocking of the ship from affecting him.


"Geeze you look horrible long nose!" Sanji's harsh voice cut through the look of surprise on his and the rest of the crew's face, except Luffy of course who was taking advantage of everybody's distraction and claiming all visible food for himself.

"Gee thanks." Usopp retorted dully as he gently settled down in the only remaining empty chair. He looked down at his plate; nearly the only one still loaded with food, and grimaced as the sight caused his stomach to lurch forward threateningly.

"I uh...I have to go!" Shoving the plate away and leaping up so fast his chair tumbled over. One hand resting lightly on his stomach and the other firmly held over his mouth as he raced for the galley door.

The rest of the crew merely stared after him in surprise, mouths hanging open and forks loaded with food frozen in midair. Again except for Luffy who had gleefully leapt on Usopp's rejected meal and finished it off in just a few Luffy-sized mouthfuls.

"Well that was...unexpected." Nami was the first to break the silence as usual, the sound of her voice managing pull break the others, well, Sanji and Zolo at least, from their shock.

"I can't believe he rejected my food. Nobody turns down my cookin'!" The shock of this seemed to be too much for Sanji as he slowly sunk down in his seat, head in his hands as he tried to figure out if the world was scheduled to end shortly.

"Hey Luffy! You ate all my food!" Nami's voice was again enough to rouse Sanji's attention and he leapt up with a gasp.

"My beautiful Nami-swan is hungry? Not while I'm around!" Singing out in a sickeningly sweet tone as he hurried off to start cooking again, Nami's nose wrinkling slightly at the tone used by the chef.

"Hey don't forget about me you stupid cook!" Zolo shook the smirk off his face as he suddenly realized he didn't have any food left either.

"Don't count on it seaweed head!" Sanji shot back without bothering to turn around but smirking slightly to himself as he doubled the servings.

"Me too Sanji, I'm huuuuuuuuuungry!" Sanji was quite firm on this one however as he turned to glare at Luffy, his voice holding no room for pleads.

"No Luffy!"


'What's wrong with me?' Usopp thought to himself sadly as his knees gave way and he found himself leaning against the railing of the ship for the second time that morning.

His brown eyes closed tiredly as both his hands came to rest on his stomach, letting out a deep sigh as the retching finally faded and he was permitted a reprieve from that unpleasant experience.

He didn't get that much of a break however as before too long his stomach was loudly demanding food, innocently pretending to not notice the previous events of the morning.

"Great, last thing I need. More food for my stomach to reject before afternoon is reached!" Grumbling to himself as he returns to the galley and settles down at the table with an expectant smile on his face. Diving on Nami and Zolo's new meals the instant they were placed on the table and finishing them off in a remarkably Luffy-like manner.

"O-kay...So is it just me or is he getting weirder by the moment?" Nami leaned towards Sanji as she quickly voiced her question, the eyes of herself, the chef and Zolo glued to the marksman, and not for the first time that day.