I don't own One Piece, duh!

So, eheh. My second story, this time featuring Usopp and Nami. I honestly feel that Usopp doesn't get enough love. He shares the second place (along with Luffy) on my favorite list.

About the whole singing thing…. The story changed while I was working on it. It was originally supposed to end when Nami falls asleep, but I somehow found myself writing more. So, sorry if it looks bizarre from there.

Hidden Talent

A calm, still night out on the open sea, the waves ever so gently rocking the ship that carried the young adventurers out to their destiny.

Nami huffed. She was laying in her bed, sprawled out on the sheets. It had been an exhausting day. Of course, every day on board the Going Merry was exhausting in a way. But this day had been simply ridiculous, even for Nami. And that was saying something.

It started with this morning, when Nami awoke in an unusually groggy mood. She had been having the uttermost fascinating dream (which included Berri and clothes) when Chopper stormed into her room, a little over-exited from a game of tag with Usopp. He had promptly been thrown out.

When Nami came out to the deck, Sanji immediately greeted her with his usual fawning. However, Nami had forgotten she was still wearing her nightgown. Sanji went into shock and collapsed from amount of Mellorine. It certainly did not help Nami cheer up. It was a gorgeous day, comfortably hot with a nice, fresh breeze. Nami thought herself a calm afternoon of drawing cartography* and enjoying some treats, courtesy of Sanji. Her skilled fingers completing the final touch needed on the map, her hand suddenly slipped when she heard a startling cry, drawing a long, black line across the parchment. That yelp, Nami thought, was way too easy to recognize. Luffy had fallen overboard, again. Luffy's splash was followed with another, bigger splash when Zoro dived in to save his captain. As much as Nami didn't like to admit it, that green-haired lug often came in handy when Luffy needed babysitting. (Then again, babysitting was hardly a good word for it. Watching babies was definitely easier than watching Luffy.)

After tossing Luffy's behind back on board, Zoro went straight back to sleeping. Jeez, can he ever do any work around here? Not to mention his ever-increasing debt. Nami would have kindly reminded him with a punch, but today, she just wasn't in the mood. It was amazing how he was always fought back when she ordered him to do something, even if he was the one she had most ways of blackmailing. Why couldn't he be more like Sanji? Think of the devil; Sanji appeared next to her, hearts miraculously blooming out of thin air around him. Maybe not like Sanji. He was sweet and came in very handy, but two would be way too much to chew on.

"Ah. Nami-swan's map has been ruined! Who is responsible for this foul play? Worry not, Nami-swan, I'll kick the fiend's sorry ass for soiling your beautiful work of art!"

Nami sighed. The last thing she needed was someone bothering her even more. "Yeah, sure Sanji, go kick Luffy in the head." Sanji was immediately running for Luffy. Well, at least he was out of her face. Nami re-drew her map, very happy with the outcome. Just as she allowed a smile to settle on her face, something Usopp had been tinkering with blew up, blowing the map out of Nami's hands and into the sea. "NOOOOOOO!" Nami wailed, hands reaching out over the railing towards the smug little piece of paper, waving her goodbye as it floated away. It was mocking her, she just knew it. Heads would roll for this. As Usopp staggered out of the smoke, coughing from the stench coming from something one could only imagine, a high-heeled shoe made acquaintance with Usopp's nose.

"BASTARD!"

"Gah! Nami, what the he-ghhck!"

Before Usopp managed to finish his sentence, Nami's hands locked themselves around his neck and wrung it like a rag. Why, exactly, Usopp didn't grasp; something about a map, explosions, inventions, and a conspiracy about making her life miserable. Hands suddenly sprouted from Usopp's shoulders and forced Nami to release her grip of death.

"Navigator-san, I believe it would be rather unappreciated if you strangle Longnose-kun to death." Robin smiled to her from across the deck, seeming delighted about Nami's attempt to murder her friend. "But, Nee-san, my map!" Nami wailed. Usopp was gracefully passed out on the deck, his face matching the blue sky. "Not to worry, Navigator-san, as great of a cartographer as you are, I'm certain you'll make another one just as good, if not even better." Nami gave Robin a small smile. She wasn't a Chopper; she wasn't about to call her a bastard while blushing and dancing from glee, but Nami enjoyed a pat on the back as much as anyone. And it was true, making another map wouldn't be a problem. But paper and ink cost money, and money didn't grow on trees. But mainly, Nami was just upset about the entire morning. She just knew someone up there had it in for her. A small, pressuring pain formed in the back of Nami's eyes. Just plain great, a headache decided to join the party. Sure, headache, there's plenty of misery to go around. Join the let's-torture-Nami-til-she-explodes club! Nami was acting out the meeting in her head. To top it all, Chopper chose this moment to come out of his lab. "GYAAARGH! Usopp! What happened? Why are you passed out? Are you starved? Dehydrated? Seasick? Did you get shot? Oh no, are there enemies here?" As cute as Chopper was, his constant babbling did not relieve Nami's headache. "Chopper, please….!" Nami was nearly crying. Why her? "Nami, what's wrong? Are you sick too?" Nami couldn't stay mad at the little Zoan. Stupid Chopper with his adorable little hooves and his big eyes and his soft fur and cute voice. It was like he was made solemnly for being able to do anything without being hated. Just as she was about to tell him it was fine, her head suddenly jerked up, her nose sniffing into the air. A strange, salty smell was lingering in the wind now. They were out on sea, so salty smell wasn't all that strange, but this one was different from the usual one, and Nami's keen navigating senses picked up on it.

"GUYS! There's a storm coming! Everyone get to your positions, this one's big!" everyone shot up like they had rehearsed this routine, and in a way they had. Big, sudden storms were actually those of the more normal kind of the things in the Grand Line. They had dealt with numerous of those.

Zoro and Luffy rushed up to fasten the sails, Sanji ran to the helm. Usopp, Robin and Chopper fastened anything loose on the ship and carried important things inside. The storm was a nasty one, not their worst ever, but a rather nasty one nonetheless. Chopper nearly got washed away when a huge wave hit the spot where he was standing, and he'd sunk to the bottom of the sea if Robin (or, namely, Robin's hands) hadn't caught him just in time. As freaky as her devil-fruit ability was, it was definitely a blessing at times like this. The storm blew over, and was replaced with bright sunshine beat them like it was saying 'What, that storm? It was nothing. It came out of nowhere but I'm going to shine like nothing happened.' But something had happened. Nami's clothes, which she had bought at the last island they visited and she really happened to like, didn't seem to tolerate the salt water. The color seemed all washed up, and the patterns were indistinguishable now. 'Calm down, girl.' Nami mentally said to herself. 'It's just a shirt. No need to loose your cool. Just breathe in and out.' Nami convinced herself of not taking her agony out on the next person, and instead, she was about to turn around and tell the others what a good job they'd done. That was, until she heard Usopp's shrieking, panicking voice. "MARINEEEES!"

That filled Nami's cup of temper. The world hated her guts, it was evident now.

And so, after this annoying, exhausting day, a bad morning, a smug map, a storm and a marine attack, Nami still found herself wide awake, unable to sleep. Her body and mind was tired, but somehow she just couldn't bring her eyes to close for the night. The darkness outside was quiet, too quiet. Nami desperately needed some motion; some sound to stir her to sleep. Sighing, she decided to go for some fresh air. Maybe that'd help. She picked herself up from the bed and slipped a thin sweater over her nightgown. This had been a warm day, she wouldn't need much clothing, would she?

As soon as she stepped out, she regretted it. It was cold, not freezing, but cold enough to give her a chill that didn't go away. Damn you, Grand Line. Still, she thought, it was better than lying in her damp room, so she walked out to the deck, aiming to watch the waves for a while. The gentle motion of waves always calmed her down when she needed it.

This night was a little creepy, once you were out of your room. The ship creaked and the wood purred. It was so silent her steps seemed to echo in the fog. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Nami heard singing. 'Oh dear god, what is that? Is that a… a ghost? No, no way, I'm a grown woman, I don't think like that! But it's not like enemies would just start singing instead of killing us! What can it be?'

Despite her fear, Nami headed for the sound. It was eerie how it called to her, beckoned her to come closer… the melody was calm and nostalgic, and a little sad and longing. Nami couldn't make out the words, but as she got closer to the sound, its source dawned upon her.

Usopp.

He had night watch at this hour, but why wasn't he in the crow's nest? And, more importantly, why was he singing? And with such a nice voice, too….

'did I just think that?' Nami asked herself. She managed to fit herself behind some of the tangerine trees, so that she could see Usopp, but he couldn't see her. He was leaning on to the railing, looking a little stressed. He kept glancing around, his voice wavering every now and then. 'He must be cold too', Nami thought. He was wearing his usual brown overalls, and they weren't exactly very covering. Sure enough, he shook a little where he was standing.

He continued to sing to himself, so softly he was almost whispering. Nami had to lean forward and hold her breath to hear him. 'wow,' Nami mentally stated to herself, 'I never thought Usopp had a good singing voice. And he actually sings with feeling, too. Somehow, I'd never have imagined….'

And as Usopp's soothing humming went on, Nami found herself to slowly fade to sleep. 'I shouldn't fall asleep here, what if someone finds me,or I catch a cold… or Usopp finds out I was spying on him?' Usopp, however, as if he had heard Nami's thoughts and wanted to ease her worries, walked off to the other end of the ship. When he turned around, Nami saw a bruise on his forehead, sickeningly resembling the heel of her shoes. She felt a twinge of guilt. Maybe she shouldn't be so hard on him next time…

Nami snuck off when she was sure Usopp wouldn't see her, and quietly dove into her room. As soon as she closed the door, she felt the exhaustion flow over her, and she collapsed into the bed, falling asleep as soon as her weary little head hit the pillow. That haunting melody Usopp had been singing found her in her dreams…

Next morning, Nami awoke with ease. She had slept well and sound, and woke exactly in time for Sanji's freshly cooked breakfast. She found out that the map she had lost to Usopp's shenanigans was remarkably easy to re-draw, and as Robin had predicted, it was better than her first. Nami decided to go and apologize to Usopp about calling him names, kicking him, slapping him and nearly choking him the other day.

She looked around, and saw him with his back against the mast, drawing in his sketchbook. Nami snuck up on him, trying to get a sneak-peek at the drawing forming in his hands. Usopp would never turn down a chance to boast about his skills, but he seemed more private about this particular sketchbook. Nami peeked over his shoulder. Usopp was so consumed in his drawing he didn't notice a thing. The movement of his hands traveling the paper were slow and soothing, and obviously expertise.

What Nami saw in the sketchbook really struck her.

It was a picture of the crew, just like she knew it; Luffy was jumping in the air, hat on his head; Zoro was grinning with his hand on his katana; Chopper was sitting on his shoulders, looking at the sea in awe; Sanji was smoking, smiling with the cig in his mouth; Robin was standing a bit from the crew, watching them with warmth; Nami seemed to be laughing, her hand holding her hair in place while the wind blew it around. The picture wasn't big, so making out faces wasn't easy, but somehow each and every one of them looked just right.

One thing was missing, though, and that was the artist himself, Usopp.

Nami cleared her throat slightly obviously startling Usopp. Startling was actually an understatement. Usopp somehow managed to whirl around, jump away, throw a wild punch in her direction, scream, choke, and throw the sketchbook away, all in one move. "N-n-n-Nami! What the hell? Why would you s-startle me like that, when did-How long have you been standing there?" Usopp looked betrayed, as if Nami had done something horrible to him. He also looked like and old man, hand clutched over his heart in a move of you-gave-this-poor-old-man-a-heart-attack. "Just a while. That picture's great, Usopp!" Nami smiled at him. Usopp took it the wrong way, however, understanding it as her being ironic. "It's not, it's not finished, you know. And it's just a sketch, it doesn't count, it's just…" he fumbled, stuttering and stammering, making an excuse for why the picture was bad. It ticked Nami off, because it wasn't, it was ridiculously good. "Usopp, it's beautiful. I mean it." Usopp seemed so struck by the compliment, Nami almost flinched. It was like he wasn't expecting a kind word at all, and the way his spirit dropped when he thought she had been mocking him… it's true, the rest of the crew wasn't always kind to him but-

something suddenly popped to her head.

"Usopp, why aren't you in the picture?" "Huh?" Usopp looked like Nami had caught him red-handed stealing cookies from the jar. "Oh, it's uh, not finished yet, you know, I'll…probably find some place to put myself in…" he noticed Nami's judging look. "Okay, I didn't intend to draw myself. There you have it." He plopped down on the deck, gathering the pencils and other tools he had dropped during his miniature heart attack before. "Why not?" Nami was becoming genuinely worried. It wasn't like Usopp to be so serious, so.. Timid.

"I just… don't see myself fitting in." Nami didn't answer, which made Usopp continue. "You know… Luffy has his rubber powers, and he's one hell of a guy in combat. And Zoro's inhumanly strong, and Sanji can actually kick trough rocks, Chopper's the best doctor ever and he's really strong, you know, when he needs to be. And Robin's amazing and clever, and you're really strong, too, not to mention your navigating skills." That last comment made Name flinch inwardly. Usopp actually considered her strong?

"I just… don't see myself in the same rank as you guys." Usopp finished. Nami wasn't sure whether she should be flattered, sad or outraged. She preferred a blend of the latter two. "What do you mean? You're our sniper, Usopp! You're probably more useful than I'll ever be in battle! And besides, you made me my clima-tact, I'd be helpless if it wasn't for you! I'm useless in battle!"

"I didn't mean that." Usopp said in a voice so dim, Nami wondered if he was possessed.

"I mean, you're the other kind of strong. You always keep us together when we're tearing each other's heads off, and you're probably the only one who can stop Sanji and Zoro from snapping each other's necks." Usopp chuckled lifelessly at that. "And your… your whole Arlong-thing. I can't imagine how hard that must've been, and you still didn't give up, even if everyone expected you to. Me, I'd have run away on the second day." Nami's heart took a dive. She hadn't thought about that incident with Arlong for the longest time. Unconsciously, her hand reached the tattoo on her shoulder.

"All that plus your navigating and cartography skills, it's just.. You have talent, Nami. And all I have is my drawings to boast of. And drawings aren't exactly helpful out on sea." Usopp seemed so far down it was a wonder he hadn't sunk the ship with him.

Normal pep-talk wouldn't do here. Usopp actually considered himself to be a bother and it wrenched Nami's soul. She bent down and pinched his ridiculously sticking-out nose. "Yow! Nami, wh-" "YOU LISTEN TO ME, USOPP." If Nami's aura was visible, it'd be pitch black now. Usopp actually found himself shrinking in her presence. "Usopp, you're a sharpshooter. OUR sharpshooter. You take care of this ship. Hell, we wouldn't even have this ship if it hadn't been for you. Not only that, but you make amazing inventions, you have more artistic talent than even the best of artists, and-" Nami paused for a bit, arguing to herself whether to say it or not. Now was the time for drastic measures. "-And you have a really good voice, Usopp." Usopp stared at her in question, looking abused. "I heard you singing yesterday, on watch. Looks like Luffy already found his musician." Usopp looked crushed, blushing like crazy. He really, really hadn't expected that. Nami let go of his nose. "So don't you dare say you don't have talent, because you're probably the most talented person on this hip. And go draw yourself in that picture!" she ordered him. Usopp still appeared to have turned to stone from Nami's little speech. He was still sitting, now holding his pinched nose, staring at Nami. His mouth formed words, but it seemed his vocal box had gone on vacation.

"Your picture is like the crew, Usopp." Nami went on. "It works without some of us, but it won't be complete unless we're all there." And then she flashed him her fullest, brightest, most true smile she managed, and walked off. Usopp was still completely dumbstruck. "O-oi, Nami!" He called after her, but she didn't turn around. Facing him after saying things like that would be awkward to say the least. She usually wasn't so soppy; that was more Robin or Luffy's job. Nami preferred to take things head-on. But she didn't regret saying those things. She was actually happy to have helped her friend, even if just a little. Even Usopp, the man of thousand lies, needed a pat on the back form time to time.

A few minutes later, Nami was thrilled to see Usopp drawing on the picture again, back against the mast, tongue sticking out.

* cartography is the art of drawing maps.

So?

When I heard some One Piece song (I think it was Oretachi wa family) I noticed Usopp and Luffy are two hell of a singers. (can I even say it like that?) I wanted to fit that in. Although I'm not usually a fan of pairings, I seem to support NaSopp. Two normal people surrounded by inhuman monsters (referring to the rest of the crew)? It's perfect!

I guess…. Read and review?