A/N: This has been sitting on my hard-drive for a few months.
Usopp took a deep breath, preparing for his arrival. He was nervous – out of his mind scared. The reactions of the villagers varied in his overactive imagination. What if they didn't recognize him? What if they hated him? What if they begged for mercy because the great Usopp-sama was a well-known pirate? (Despite the fact that all his wanted posters read 'Sogeking' and the photographs hardly ever showed his face.)
And, oh god, what about Kaya?
It was safe to say that Usopp was ready to throw up in his nervousness.
"What the hell are you waiting for? Weren't you the one saying that we should get here sooner?" Zoro's gruff voice broke him from his thoughts. A spine-cracking pat on the back sent Usopp tumbling forwards towards the ladder down to the shore.
"R-R-Right!" Usopp declared, straitening his back and squaring his shoulders. He was a brave man of the sea now! He couldn't be scared of something like this.
Still, old habits die hard, and he found his knees trembling as he walked.
They had docked on the side of the island so that they wouldn't be seen immediately. The only ones aware of Usopp's current occupation were his three childhood followers and Kaya, so the rest of the villagers would panic if the Pirate King's ship docked at their island.
Familiar scents and sounds flooded Usopp's senses as he walked down the path towards the village. It really was great to be back, even if only for a few days. He wondered how Piiman, Ninjin and Tamanegi were doing. They were about fourteen now, right?
As Usopp crested the hill, he couldn't stop his breath from catching in his throat when he looked down at Syrup village. It was exactly the same, like the years he had been gone hadn't happened. He felt like he had gone through a dream, as though all his adventures and hardships had just been one of his lies.
But it was not, and he suddenly found himself tearing up.
"Get him!"
"He's here to hurt the village!"
"Go away!"
Suddenly, very suddenly, Usopp was tackled to the ground by three kids. The ground greeted his face, dirt filling his nose and mouth while the heels of the kid's shoes dug into his back.
"Oi, get off me!" he shouted through a mouthful of ground.
"No! We can't let you hurt Syrup village!"
"Yeah!"
"I'm not going to do anything like that!" Usopp yelled, starting to struggle. He rolled the kids off of him, and in a flash was standing a few feet away.
Holy shit … he thought as his jaw dropped, "Guys …"
"Huh, do we know you or something?" the one with purple hair asked.
"Y-Yeah, it's me, Usopp!"
"Yeah right! Captain Usopp left years ago to become a great man of the sea!" the blonde said.
"And he isn't as buff as you, either!" the green haired one said.
"I've been on the Grand Line stupid, of course I got stronger!" he shouted.
"We don't believe you!" all three kids shouted at once.
Usopp sighed. He guessed he would need proof then. He reached into his pouch and took out a few items that he had packed if he was in this predicament. The first were his early-model pellets, the second being a replicated flag of the Usopp pirates and the third was a picture of them and Kaya that was taken before he left.
He showed them to the kids, and then took off his hat so that they could see his face clearly. Crying, all three kids latched themselves onto him, all the while sobbing about how much they missed him and about how they were sorry for not recognizing him.
"Say, do you guys want to do what we did in the old days?"
"You don't mean …"
"Oh, I do."
"Pirates!"
"Everyone, come out!"
"He's here! He's here!"
Usopp couldn't help but chuckle as he strode after the three teenagers. They were running ahead of him, shouting their heads off with snot running down their noses, tears at the corners of their eyes and wide smiles on their faces. Villagers poked their heads out of doors and windows, both angry and confused.
Then they saw him.
He had his hat back on and was hiding most of his face with it. He could clearly see the looks of terror they had when they recognized him from the wanted posters. They knew him as Sogeking, crewmate of the Pirate King and voyager of the New World.
He still laughed to himself when the villagers gathered and were half threatening him, half ready to run away at a moment's notice.
"Leave our village be!"
"Go back to where you were, scum!"
"We don't want any trouble."
Usopp let out a laugh and smiled widely. "Guys, I'm not going to hurt anyone!" he said, throwing his arms up in surrender. They didn't trust him and continued to point rakes and shovels at him.
He then decided that he needed to diffuse the situation, and took off the hat. Smiling widely, he watched as flickers of recognition flashed across their faces, "It's me, Usopp!"
Weapons were dropped, mouths agape, and then, from the crowd, one person shouted: "It's Usopp, not Sogeking!"
Old habits kicked in once more. "Well, he's actually a friend of mine – WAIT! Those were my wanted posters! It's not my fault that they put 'Sogeking' on the front!" he shouted, pointing a finger at the villager.
A couple of them backed up, some even appeared afraid.
"So, are you really Sogeking?" another asked.
"Yeah, but don't tell Luffy or Chopper. They actually believe that we're different people," Usopp rolled his eyes, "Although, I guess that would be a good thing, since Luffy might throw a fit if he realizes it was me at Enies Lobby …"
They all stared at him with complete shock. So they did what was natural to them, and thought him a liar. Some laughed, others patted him on the back and it was obvious they still thought of him as the liar kid. It was kind of annoying, and definitely not the reaction he had been expecting.
"Oi, aren't you done yet?" a shout sounded, and Usopp looked over his shoulder to see Zoro, Luffy and Nami come down the hill. They had been there before and therefor a few of the villagers recognized them as the kids from back then.
And then they realized that it was the Pirate King, the world's strongest swordsman and the Mugiwara's navigator.
It was panic, and Usopp could only facepalm.
When everyone calmed down and finally believed them, Usopp laughed and smiled as stories were exchanged. The village had missed him, despite the fact that he drove them up the wall back in the day.
That's when Kaya appeared.
She walked through the crowd, and everyone parted for her. When he spotted her, a wide smile spread across his face and he nearly cried again, "Kaya …" She was beautiful. The years had done her good. She looked healthier and happier, her skin tanned lightly and her eyes shining brightly.
"Usopp, I was so worried," she said behind her hands. The young woman was already crying, and before he knew it she was in his arms and kissing him. It was his turn to panic, but he didn't shy away or yell at Zoro for making wolf calls behind his back.
Everything was perfect. It was almost like how he imagined it, and definitely more rewarding than he thought it would. He used to dream of returning to his hometown and proving to his childhood sweetheart that he was indeed the man he'd told her he was. He wanted her to be proud of him. She was, and he'd never felt better.
When they broke apart, she was smiling widely, despite the tears still swimming in her eyes, "Welcome back."