Black.

That's all that Usopp could see.

Wait.

Scratch that.

There were some bright flashes of red in there too.

Usopp groaned as he slowly woke up. Where was he? He was lying on something lumpy. His arm hurt! What had happened? Was this the ship? The last thing he remembered was going to collect wood for Nami, then... Wait! There was someone who had- oh. That- man- had shown up and had claimed to be Yasopp. Usopp frowned. That wasn't possible, was it? What were the chances of the Straw Hat Pirates docking on the same, secluded, uninhabited island as the Red-Haired Pirates? Hold on minute, why was his Sogeking mask still on? He would've taken it off when he had gone to sleep. Now that he thought about it, he didn't remember dinner, or going back to the ship. And his arm hurt painfully. Why was it throbbing? He felt like he had gotten shot-

Then he remembered.

"Aiyiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" he screamed into his fists.

Then he remembered to open his eyes. He did so slowly, afraid of what he might see. He was in a small room. It was old and musty, and smelled like rotten sea king. That wasn't the worst part. In the corner of the room was- that man asleep, snoring in a chair. He just couldn't think of this stranger as his father. Usopp held his breath so he wouldn't wake him up. He didn't need to deal with that right now. He had to think of how to get out of here. Where was "here," again? It was a good thing he still had his mask on. He glanced at his arm, too. It was bandaged tightly. At least- that man- had fixed him up after shooting him. Usopp rolled his eyes nervously, shaking his head. That's what you get for helping a stranger with a gun aimed at you. He started tip toeing towards the door. He had to get out of this place and find the crew. They must be wondering where he was. He began reaching for the door handle.

"Nice mask," a voice behind him said. "So why are you wearing it?"

Usopp turned around slowly. It was –that man. He had woken up and was grinning apologetically at Usopp. "Sorry I shot you," he said. "I thought you were going to shoot me."

Usopp stayed silent. "So… what're you doing on this island? Do you live here?"

Usopp managed to speak. "Uh, no. My ship is docked here. I was out gathering wood for dinner." Shoot! Don't tell him anything! Usopp thought furiously.

That man- frowned. "Ship? Are you a marine? Merchant?"

Usopp made a face. "A marine? Do I look like a marine to you?"

"Well, no. Just thought I'd ask." You can never be too careful, nowadays. Captain would've hit me on the head if I brought unwanted attention right now." That's right. Captain. This man said that the famous Red-Haired Shanks was his captain. It wouldn't hurt to double check.

"Who did you say your captain was?"

He grinned. "The amazing Red-Haired Shanks! Did you forget already? My name, again, is Yasopp, the sniper!"

So much for mishearing things. Usopp supposed he might as well refer to this man by his name.

Yasopp frowned. "You said you had a ship, what are you?"

Usopp grinned in pride. "The amazing Thousand Sunny is the ship I sail on! She is my- our pride and joy!"

Yasopp choked. "You're lying!"

It was Usopp's turn to frown. "I am not lying!"

"Yes, you are!"

"How so?!"

"Well, for one, that's the Straw Hat's ship!" "I serve under the Straw Hat pirate flag, don't you know? That is our ship!" So much for not telling him anything.

A chuckle came from the doorway behind Usopp. "Is that so?"

Yasopp had a smirk on his face. Usopp slowly whirled around. It couldn't be it couldn't be it couldn't be- It was. Standing in the door, framed by sunlight, was Shanks himself. Uh oh. He had heard about this pirate, and if the rumors were true— His legs were shaking.

Shanks smiled a wide smile. "A Straw Hat Pirate, huh? That's interesting. If you are a part of Luffy's crew, how is he?"

Usopp gulped. "Uh, he's fine. Sir."

"None of that! You can call me Shanks! I'm pleased to know that Luffy's in the area. Maybe I'll say hello."

Usopp smiled. "He'd like that for sure."

Yasopp sputtered. "But- what- but- How do you know he's not lying?"

Shanks groped in his pocket and pulled out Luffy's bounty poster. "If I'm not mistaken," Shanks said. "This is you, in the corner."

Usopp smiled. "It is! Finally I get the recognition I deserve!"

"Yeah," snorted Yasopp. "Deserve how? You're just in the corner!"

"I'm not just in the corner; I have a bounty of my own, too!"

Yasopp looked as if he was going to die laughing. "Really? A pipsqueak like you? How big is it, like five million beris?

Shanks smirked thoughtfully. He searched in his pocket again and pulled out another bounty poster. Usopp recognized it. It was his bounty as Sogeking! It was a really good thing he still had his mask on.

Yasopp peered at the amount. "Thirty million beris!? How did you get a bounty that high? I mean, for a pipsqueak."

Usopp stood up proudly. "I shot down the world government flag. Didn't you hear about what happened at Enies Lobby?"

Yasopp's eyes bugged out of his head. "You- were- did- what-?"

"Yes, but- Hey, Shanks, sir? Usopp was confused. "Why did you have our bounties with you? Do you just carry our bounties around or something?"

Shanks shook his head. "Nah, when Yasopp brought you in I noticed a resemblance to the posters all over the place."

Yasopp looked at Usopp. "Why do you wear that mask? Do you have something to hide?"

"No!" Usopp said angrily. "I am Sogeking! This is who I am!"

"Sogeking, huh? That's a pretty boastful name for a little kid. How good do you think you are with that thing?" "I'm good enough! I can hit anything!"

"Anything? Sounds like a challenge to me." Usopp was usually confident in his abilities, but this man looked like a dangerous opponent, even if it was just a test.

"Sure, I don't see why not." He said bravely. "Let's do it!"

Yasopp smiled. "Then we can go up on deck with everyone watching and see what happens, okay, kiddo?"

Usopp got mad. "Kiddo? How old do you think that I am?"

Yasopp frowned, leaning on the chair. "I dunno, fourteen maybe?"

"FOURTEEN?! I, for your information, am seventeen years old!"

Yasopp shrugged. "Seventeen?" he said. "I was wondering what a kid was doing on the Straw Hat crew. "

"Yes, seventeen!" Usopp said angrily. "Can we go up and show off now?"

The grin was back on Yasopp's face. He seemed to have forgotten why he was so out of it. "Show off? You sure know what's up."

Usopp rolled his eyes. "'Course I do. The crew and I used to practice up on deck when we were bored. Except it wasn't really practicing for Zoro. He was already doing it anyway."

Yasopp just shook his head. "Let's go."

Shanks laughed. "You're both crazy."

Usopp looked around. This was weird. He'd never been on Shanks's ship before. It was pretty cool. The only thing he would've changed was the freaky masthead. "So," he said, trying to stay calm. He would leave soon, and then he would find the others. "What do you have in mind, Yasopp? There doesn't seem to be any good targets around." In fact, the area around the ship was pretty bare. It was just water and water and- Hey! What?! Water?! "Aiyiiiiii!" he exclaimed. "How am I supposed to go back to the ship?

Yasopp shrugged. "Dunno. I never really thought about it."

"Why, you!"

"Hey, hey. Don't worry, kid. We'll get you off the ship one way or another."

Yasopp looked around for a target. The other crew members were starting to notice the others on deck. They were making a slow ring around them, watching. "Hey, Shanks. Do you think you could throw a sheet out over the water?" Yasopp said casually.

Shanks understood. "How will you bring it back?"

Yasopp scratched the back of his head. Didn't think of that…"

Usopp rolled his eyes. This man was his father? You have got to be kidding. Shanks nodded his head at a man in the circle. The man ran off to get a piece of cloth. Usopp dug around in his satchel.

"Hey, whataya doing?" Usopp ignored Yasopp.

When the man came back with the sheet he messed around with it for a few seconds. Everybody looked closer. Usopp held up the finished product. It looked like a kite. The crew oohed and ahhed. He grabbed a long stray piece of rope and tied it to a corner. He raised it up in the air. The wind lifted it up, and it flew higher and higher. Very quickly it was at least 150 meters in the air, swaying rapidly back and forth. The wind was high.

Yasopp followed the kite-target with his eyes. He whistled. "Nice, boy. I wouldn't have thought of that."

"I know," Usopp said proudly. "I am the best thinker of the crew. I have to do stuff like this all the time."

"I'm so sure." Yasopp said. Usopp grinned, missing the sarcasm. "Are you ready to test our skills?" Yasopp said.

"As I'll ever be." Usopp said. Truth be told, he was shaking inside. How could his skills compare to someone who had been doing this for longer than he had been alive? And he had just been shot in the arm. He was lucky it had just gone through. He looked at Yasopp. "The ammo of my Kabuto is slightly bigger than the bullets of your gun. It will help differentiate between all the holes in the sheet."

"Sure of yourself? That's good… or bad, depending on how you look at it." Yasopp grinned. "Captain, do you care to count us off?"

Shanks was staring intently at the two. "Not a problem. On the count of three, fine?" Usopp gulped and pulled the strings of the Kabuto back. Yasopp aimed his gun.

"One…" Usopp's breathing got uneven.

"Two…" He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. "One…"

His head was going to explode. "SHOOT!"

Gunshots rang through the clear midday air.