AN: So incredibly sorry- AGAIN! D:
I'll spare you the stupid reasons and /excusions/ (dear lord how tired was I last night?) : I'm lazy and I'm a bit 'out' of the OnePiece-fandom right now, what with the Hobbit and the resurrected Sherlock-fandom. _
Anyway, june16 at 2:50am I couldn't sleep and I decided to reread my old stories, contemplating whether to upload the WIP's I've got written out already, when I saw BB&H, and felt guilty enough to start writing again. Stopped around 3:26 because the sleeping-pill started working. Wrote another paragraph at 10:22pm, lost inspiration again and then picked it up again when I couldn't sleep last night. So, june23 at 4:45am I wrote the rest.
I hope you forgive me enough to tell me what you think of the chapter below. I know it's a bit short, but it's all I could produce now. It also doesn't really fit with the initial idea I had for this story (what in the world does Kaya make me write, when did she take over my hand and brain, what, when?). And it's in a style I've never tried before, I'm kind of nervous... ._.
"Yo, you're looking weak as usual."
She didn't always get letters from suitor's (when she got healthier, after Usopp left) nor were the packages always filled with new books she needed to study.
"...was how large its droppings were. I thought it was land so I docked and..."
Every once in a while (almost always too long after the last), she'd receive a nicely penned letter, sometimes with a small package of foreign treats, or a few trinkets, of even a painting - small, but always made with stunning details. When they were coloured, they were in breathtaking hues, when monochrome, the shadows were amazing.
"...so I took my sling and shot him right between the eyes! He didn't even have time to think of drawing his swords!..."
While Kaya took cheer from every little gift she received, she treasured only those from her friend who was always traveling farther away from the island she lived on. All his paintings, drawings and small objects got nice places - on the walls, on tables, on chests of drawers, on her nightstand, just about everywhere in sight. The smallest, nicest drawings were even stuck on the edge of her vanity-mirror. The treats he sent - delicate candies and dried fruits and a few times even some tangerines - she enjoyed and savoured as long as she could, always saving them for special moments (when she missed her storyteller more than usual).
"...and the Merry shot right up in the air! I know you probably don't believe what I wrote, but we flew, straight up into the cloud!..."
There was always a letter, though. Sometimes several, if he had to bundle a few together (the News Coo couldn't visit travelings ships regularly, after all, if they even took the letters to begin with). And every letter started with "Dear Kaya, I'm sorry I haven't written for a long time." Always, even if she got a letter within a month after the last (the fastest sent letter was eight days after the last, even if it was only a hasty note because he forgot one of the candies). That he would think of the time between the letters as long, no matter the length, made something warm blossom in Kaya's chest. (It also eased the knot of longing that she wasn't the only one thinking the time passed too slowly).
"...terrible has happened. Perhaps you've read it in the papers: Luffy's brother Portgas D. Ace died at Marineford. No one of the crew was with Luffy then, and I still don't like Kuma for that a bit. But the papers right after, with Luffy's picture, has a (surprising) hidden message in it. Honestly, I'd never expected something so clever from..."
At first, she had kept the letters bound with a ribbon in her drawer. When that place became too small, Merry had brought her a small box that fit underneath her bed (still spotless, like it had been that rainy day). When she had too many letters for that, she had marched straight to the carpenter and (politely) demanded he maker her a chest large enough to use as a bench at the foot of her bed. Right now it fit all her letters and several of the presents, but she had no doubt that it would keep filling with letters. Perhaps she'd even need a second chest for the presents.
"...Heraclesun's training is pretty tough, but I'm already developing Green Pop of my own. I'm slowly getting stronger, which is fortunate because who needs a weak crewmember, right?..."
"Ojou-sama?" Merry opened the door. "Your studies begin soon, Ojou-sama. We'd best be on our way."
"Yes, Merry, right after this letter." Ah, so that's why she was so cheerful at breakfast. He smiled and closed the door with a soft "Of course, I'll be right in the hall."
"...I'm still sorry that we had to burn Merry down, but we all heard her voice thank us for the time we had. She was a great ship, the best gift I've ever had, even if it was for the entire crew. When you gave Merry to us, you gave me a chance to fulfill my dream, Kaya. Never doubt that I cherished Merry dearly..."
Kaya was both glad and saddened that she couldn't write back (he travelled way too infrequently for that). She could never aks more about his adventures, more about his friends and the exciting places they visited and crossed. She couldn't ask Usopp about how he was feeling that day, or what great things he had done to help, or how he had managed such an amazing feat. Yet she also couldn't bore him with her studies or the stories from the village, where nothing happened - except his old crew getting up to mischief again. She didn't have to worry about how to start a letter or how to end it, or whether she wrote too much or not enough.
"Don't forget! I'll come back with all my outrageous stories, and they'll all be real this time! Usopp won't lie about his deeds anymore, because he'll never have to anymore!"
She's happy enough whenever she sees his handwriting between the rest of the post agian.
(and perhaps she won't admit it yet, but she can't stop the warmth from spreading when she reads the last words of his letters. What they are? Well...)
"Love, Usopp"
