Face to Fish

A/N: I wrote another chapter! So, I thought it might be time for another update.

As always, I'm still bowled over by the response to this story. Here's my thanks to reviews from Lukasia, Xipholynx, treavellergirl, Blackdove Whitedove, Telepath98, Sakura Hatsu, FairyBookworm, Mermaid's Magic, and Sulina!

To answer Lukasia, I'm thinking canon characters only. More OC's would be headache-inducing.

Mermaid's Magic: I thought about what to do with Gin. I think I will reevaluate his importance to the timeline for a later date, but for now, he won't be joining the Straw Hats. I might just involve him in a butterfly effect of events that will bring him back to the Straw Hat crew, but right now he needs time to reassess, well, everything.

I'm probably capping the number of new additions for Paradise at five at most. I'll be honest and say the new additions I've considered aren't much more powerful than Usopp in respect. Or weaker. Make of that as you will.

Also to Lukasia and Xipholynx, yes, the interactions between the two will be awkward in the future since Usopp not only insulted Sanji, he brought up his manly pride and code of chivalry. To make up, they would preferably find some time alone with Sanji to talk it out in private. However, it's pretty hard to find a private moment on a ship with thin walls, loud crewmates, and chaos at every corner.

And yes, Sulina, it does make me grin when I think about how I'm writing the revelation scene. As for the two potential additions…hmm, vulture meat doesn't taste very good usually in nature, but Sanji can make just about anything taste good as long as it's edible.

Finally, thanks for your words of encouragement Treavellergirl, BlackDove WhiteDove, Telepath98, Sakura Hatsu, and FairyBookworm. Sometimes simple and honest comments on your favorite parts are just what I need to keep the creative flow going.

"Alright, you're stable so long as you don't do something crazy again," I said, clicking my tongue as Zoro kept insisting he was fine now.

We had lost sight the Merry, but Johnny, Yosaku, and I could testify that our navigator took extreme interest in one particular bounty poster. Judging by the direction we saw her sailing off to before losing sight of the ship, our destination was the Conomi Islands, the heart of the territory of the East Blue's most dangerous pirate: Saw-Tooth Arlong with a bounty of 20 million beli.

I went off to the other side of the ship (after impressing on Zoro that he needed to rest if he wanted to do anything). Being a Straw Hat pirate was a roller coaster of adventure, danger, and disasters. Quiet interludes became precious bits of time.

Now that I also had ten minutes to think, I just realize another tearful realization: I idiotically left about 40,000 beli on the Going Merry. Excuse me as I proceed to smack my head against the wall behind me.

You'll get it back…I hope. Okay! Time to clear my mind of really depressing thoughts, perhaps. I sat with my legs crossed and tried to meditate. Breath in, breath out… All living things breathed in harmony with all other life forms. I just had to reach out and connect with those other breaths. My Kenbunshoku haki was still not quite awake, more like sleep talking since I could kind of sense people by their emotions. More like an animal instinct or a hyperawareness of people's body language. This was good for now, but I needed to figure out the real thing. Preferably sooner than when we confront actual users. And I had a funny feeling that was only going to happen if I put myself in a life or death matter of the most extreme and stress-inducing nature (oh, universe, please direct your attention somewhere else as I think that).

Arlong Park loomed just over the horizon.

In a few more hours, we were in sight of Arlong's homage to Sabaody's amusement park and his lost dream.

"Okay, Usopp-nii, Zoro-nii, we've finally arrived," announced Johnny. "But the problem will be sneaking around here without rousing the pirates in these waters. First, we'll go and find where Nami docked it Going Merry and…"

Zoro thumbed Wado Ichimonji's hilt. "And then we'll cut our way in?"

Johnny and I yelled, "No way! Haven't you've been listening to us?!"

Johnny continued, "This is ARLONG PARK! Controlled by fishmen with strength ten times that of a human by the time they're born. We do NOT want to cause a ruckus here!"

"Plus, your wounds hardly had any times to properly heal! At best, they closed up, but one wrong move will rip them open again. Then where will you be? Most certainly not alive," I scolded him.

"So? They're just a bunch of fish, right?"

One set of ropes, yelling, and argument later…

"Okay, I can see the Merry!" I told Johnny, stowing my hand telescope back into my ammo bag. "She's over by that dock, but I can't see very far along it."

"Hey! Untie me now! You bastards!"

"Sorry, Zoro, but you need to relax a bit more. If you struggle too much, your wounds will reopen. It would be pretty crappy if you died only days after Mihawk told you to go and explore your potential, right?" I reasoned to the indignant swordsman. Naturally, he didn't listen to a thing I said to him, still cursing the pair of us out.

"Alright, from what I can tell…huh, that dock is strangely placed. Arlong Park is quite a way away, and this place is beyond the outskirts of the nearest village of Cocoyashi," reported Johnny.

"Untie me!"

I narrowed my eyes, lowering my telescope. "Johnny, we might have better luck docking somewhere else. The fishmen might have patrols posted by the docks in order to control trade and travel."

"Good point, Usopp-nii! I'll go and turn the ship around!"

Unfortunately, we couldn't get the ship to turn in time as we drifted too close to the dock and in sight of the group of fishmen posted there. Human and fishman stared blankly at each other for a moment.

"Johnny, prepare to beat a hasty escape," I commanded with a false-calm.

"The hell?! You guys are just going to give up because of a few fish people?!" growled Zoro as the ship sailed away from the fishmen-infested dock.

I knelt by the stubborn swordsman and enunciated slowly, "Zoro. They. Are. FISHMEN! We're only three humans, one of whom is heavily injured! Party tricks and human will power will only go so far in these conditions! I-"

"Hey! Come back here you humans!"

Aw, crap! They were heading right for us!

I dug out a pocket knife (always handy to carry one, especially a multi-use one) and cut Zoro loose before Johnny and I made a break for it.

…Zoro will be fine, right?

"Lookie here, they left their injured comrade to fend for their own!"

"What are you looking at, fish-face?!"

And of course, Zoro chose suicidal fight over fleeing for his life.

A sudden ominous bump made me turn my head back. Zoro had fallen to his knees, arm clutching his chest. Double crap! The idiot must have overextended something. Or worse, reopened his wounds!

"Zoro-nii! To think you would meet such an end! I'll never forget you for your sacrifice!" sobbed Johnny.

I smacked Johnny over the head and told him they would probably take Zoro to their base since he didn't have a chance to do anything yet. Plus, they could always turn the ship around and come after us if we stayed bobbing here like a pair of idiots.

Gosa Village. I shuddered violently as I considered exactly what kind of strength one needed to flip entire buildings upside down and carve a huge path through the village.

"Man, fishmen are really scary," I gasped.

Johnny agreed as said between clenched teeth, "…yeah, this is the power of someone with at least ten times the strength of an ordinary man from birth. Us humans hardly stand a chance against a handful of fishmen even if we brought an army! This is the kind of thing to expect from a veteran of the Grand Line!"

Johnny suddenly ran off. Don'tlookbackdon'tlookbackdon't! screamed the part of me that remembered every cliché horror movie scene.I looked back anyway, if slowly. One of the fishman from before stared back. I ran like the hounds of hell were chasing me.

Then I ran into the kid from Gosa and Nojiko. A short conversation and then the fishman was coming close! I didn't even get one shot off when the latter knocked me out.

I woke up at her and Nami's childhood home. The first thing I noted was the familiar sharp scent of citrus. A favorite kind of fruit grown back in my old life, I vaguely noted as I slowly got up.

Throughout Nojiko's talk with the small child of Gosa, I couldn't help but feel cold when I saw the darkness and pain shadowing this child's eyes. Even when she reminded him of his last family member still waiting for him, that darkness still lingered. A darkness I noted in both Nami and Nojiko's eyes, even if they did a good job disguising it. I who lost my parent to illness could never understand the loss of someone through extreme and irrational violence.

I told Nojiko about my mission to bring back Nami for my crew and hopefully pulled off surprised when she announced her relationship with Nami as her foster sister.

Somehow, I don't think she bought it altogether, but I couldn't be sure.

I looked appropriately pissed when Nojiko revealed the fishmen captain's intentions to take over all of the East Blue. I kind of doubted it would happen if a certain scary vice admiral caught wind of his home island being invaded like that, but then again, he didn't find out about Red-Hair Shanks's visit until long after the future Yonko had left the East Blue.

We were near the village center of Cocoyashi when shouting broke out not too far from where Nojiko led me.

I got a up and personal look at Arlong's brutality marking not just people's homes but on their very flesh. Gen, as Nojiko named him, had stitches crisscrossing everywhere courtesy of a certain fishman subordinate. It gave him a scary Frankenstein look, but what drew more of my attention was the huge fishman manhandling him. The glimpsed I got from before didn't do the sight justice. I could appreciate why fishmen made humans uneasy.

Back at home, countless science fiction novels and this one great manga I read commented on why humans distrusted human-like robots so much; as an android approached the appearance of humanity, there was that narrow disparity that set off the human's subconscious; our perceptions couldn't help but narrow on the fine details that were just slightly off. The mesh of the human and inhuman.

Fishmen operated on the other extreme of that curve, but it still applied. I found the alien not-quite human but close features far more prominent and monstrous. Not quite skin covered by fine scales, the scent of ocean and fish oils, muscles no human body had. Compared to that, the obvious fish-like characteristics of fins, gills, and Arlong's saw shark nose didn't really bother me as much.

I watched with a mix of fear and frustration as Arlong haul the older man up into the air. The fishman's bloodlust didn't ring too badly, but it still hit my senses like sandpaper. Painful, scratchy, and bloody in its sharp roughness. The fishman really was going to-!

"Gunpowder Star!"

Direct hit in the face. Gen got thrown to the ground. Sorry I silently apologized.

"Who the hell did that?"

"Over there! I see someone standing on the rooftop!"

Arlong snarled, "Who? Who dares? Identify yourself puny human!"

Sweat poured off my face but I stood and with my most obnoxious tone, proclaimed, "I am none other than a courageous young warrior of the seas! Master Marksman and the Great Captain Usopp, the one who helped take down some of the most infamous pirates of East Blue! Tremble before my skills! I once led my own brave crew before swearing my allegiance to the man who will become king! If you consider backing down and leaving this village, my crew won't have to beat every one of you to a miserable pulp!" I half-bluffed/half-told the honest truth.

"Oh, is that so? So, you think some measly human of the East Blue can compare to me? Former captain or not, you're just some wimpy human! Not even the ruler of your own path anymore! I don't care if you were even the subordinate of Whitebeard himself, no mere human scum should ever dare to attack me!" roared Arlong.

I didn't give him a chance to finish his tirade before hopping off house he was about to uproot.

"Crap, crap, crap! I'm a dead man if I let that guy catch me!" I screamed as I scramble over rooftops, fishmen in pursuit. The line of houses ended, so I had no choice but to take to the ground and pray me legs didn't give out on me.

"You dirty rotten human scum!" "You better hope we don't catch you, 'cause Arlong will definitely fillet you!"

"I KNOW THAT, SO WHY DON'T YOU SAVE YOUR BREATHS, YOU CRAZY AMPHIBIANS?!"

Shit, I lost my mind, didn't I? Well, I didn't have much of one if my recent actions were any indication. The fishmen's pace redoubled as their faces took a decidedly furious cast. I slowly upped my speed, trying not to overdo it so soon. Once I thought we were far enough away from the village, I rounded a particularly dense stand of trees.

"Where do you think you're-!"

"Hissatus: Smoke Star!"

The fishmen reeled back, choking as a greenish-gray gas fumed. Tears instantly broke out as the gas stung their eyes, obscuring their vision even worse.

I laughed hysterically, "Did I say Smoke Star? Forgive me, it's actually Brim-Smoke Star!"

Lucky for them the gas was an analogue, not actual hydrogen sulfide gas. It only irritated rather than poison people. Taking advantage of the distraction, I took to the air. Well, kind of.

"Scaling Step!"

I couldn't fly outright, but my incredible Geppo-enhanced bounds were pretty awesome in their own right. Like an old-fashion Superman or Superboy character. Except I can kind of bounce off the air. I was proud to say I didn't sprain my ankle this time, or fell over upon landing.

In the clear, I took a minute to catch my breath, massaging my legs. While I didn't badly hurt myself, the combination of using so many of my techniques these past days plus shot nerves took their toll. I couldn't risk another chase until the others arrived. Speaking of others, I was sure Zoro probably escaped by now. Hopefully, I could find him before he did something like get lost in the forest. Then again, the forest here was more like a wood with the lack of any large animals, hilly landscape, or long stretches of dense forests. But…this was Roronoa Zoro, a pirate hunter who couldn't navigate even with Kenbunshoku unless it was to find a worthy challenge with his swords leading the way (that's how I'm going to explain how he can get lost climbing up a building yet heads straight to Kaku's room in the tower).

I waited. Apparently, I chose the wrong spot to wait as no sooner than I peered up than I heard something crash than I saw the green and brown of a ship just narrowly skimming right over my head, taking out the surrounding vegetation.

I…I just almost died, didn't I? I gave a shuddering breath, pushing the away the trees trunks that came down on me. Thank Kami that these trees were thin and young, or I could have badly broken something! Like your skull?! Your mind, perhaps? But, I think that's a lost cause anyways. I told my inner pessimist to shut it. I picked myself up gingerly, still pretty bruised up from that traumatic experience sure to join the nightmares I had about Kuro finding out my suspicions before I met Luffy and the gang.

I limped forward, following the trail of destruction, stopping multiple times. Damn, I need to improve quick, or my new moves won't do me any good!

When I finally reached the others, I was greeted by Zoro and Sanji arguing- wait, what was that?

I foolishly tried to get their attention only for their fight to somehow wander right over me!

"You fucking morons!" I cried as their attacks still connected to my face in spite of my reflexes. Just proves how much of monsters they are even now, I thought sardonically, rubbing my face. Sanji looked only slightly repentant. Probably still miffed about my parting remark.

"Usopp! Wow, Nami did a number on you, didn't she?" Zoro remarked without apologizing to me either.

"Say what?" I thought I had misheard them!

"The redheaded woman said she killed you," deadpanned someone I definitely did not expect. I swiveled around pretty quickly. Gin. No purple flush from poison, thankfully, though he didn't look the best. He may even look worse than Zoro who was nearly cut in half.

"Usopp!" yelled Luffy. "What happened to you?!"

"I-I'll be fine," I stuttered. "But first, why is Gin here and what's this about Nami killing me?"

"Oh! Johnny came running here and said he overheard some fishman say Nami took care of you! Then Nami came here and said she killed you herself, throwing your body into the sea! See, she brought us your bandana as proof," explained Luffy as he gave me my favorite article of clothing.

I didn't notice it before, but I must have lost it to the wind when I was escaping from the fishmen. I guess Nami found it and used it to cover for me while substantiating her own position on Arlong's crew. I grimaced at all the bloodstains, though. If fate was playing games with me again, then the blood would be Nami's.

"Okay, how about Gin here?"

"Ooh, him? After you guys left, we got into a fight with Krieg and his goons. He had this really weird person covered in shiny stuff and put himself on fire. He almost set the whole place on fire, but Gin stopped him in time. Then Gin threatened the Chef Ossan's life and…"

Apparently things ran canon until we hit the MH-5 scene. My words had a lot more impact than I thought as Gin chose to stop the bomb by running at it and slapping my capsule against it! Suicidal moron. Then again, some of his crewmates evidentially would have died since Krieg was bit quicker to draw on his secret weapon this time than in canon, not giving most of them enough time to strap on their gas masks, plus there were quite a few injured ones who haven't recovered enough to make a swim for it (can't say if this was somehow my fault or not). Krieg…he didn't take Gin's altruistic act very well. The dark-eyed man before me refused to fight back as the worst pirate captain in the East Blue proceeded to beat him within an inch of his life. Well, he tried. But, Luffy being Luffy wouldn't stand by and let it happen. Sanji probably would have intervened, too, if he wasn't as badly injured as he was.

After Luffy beat Krieg, Gin couldn't and wouldn't sail with his former pirate captain anymore. He went as far as seeing his fellow pirates and their unconscious captain (now bereft of his prized diamonds as that was as far as Gin was willing to let Luffy steal). But then he was kind of stuck on the Baratie. So, Luffy found the pirate mulling over what he was going to do. Naturally, Luffy asked him to join our crew. Because he was a good guy and nothing more than that. And if he didn't want to come along, the straw-hatted teen was fine with Gin traveling with us for a bit until we reached a place where we would part ways.

What do you say to the man who not only saved you from what could have very well permanently crippled you but then offered you a spot on their crew or at least a ride to where you're going? Gin told Luffy he needed time to reevaluate his goals as a pirate a bit more, but he would be more than grateful to accompany us until we reached a suitable island to drop him off. Plus, he kind of owed me. That caused the crew to stare at me. Well, understandable since I lent one of my special ammo I showcased not a few hours before to someone whose captain was trying to kill us, in fact threatened my own safety personally. I shrugged and said I knew what kind of captain he followed from the rumors and stories sea salts told whenever I came by the docks of my home island. Krieg's final deterrent wasn't exactly unknown, and he didn't look like a too forgiving or honorable guy compared to Gin. It paid off, didn't it? Nami, Zoro, and Sanji didn't look like they bought that, but who would beside Luffy? Gin simply stared at me very uncomfortably.

Gin was a scary bastard, that was for sure, but he was an honorable one for a pirate. I basically saved his life as far as he or I knew. It's not like the canon really picked him back up after the events of the Baratie. He may have had the sheer guts to survive the poison. Or he could have died. Either way, I had a feeling this won't be the last we see of him. Alright you damn butterflies, anyone or anything else to throw into the works?

We didn't get more time to chat, just long enough for me to outline my own crazy experiences with the fishmen pirates before Nojiko showed up and dropped the sympathy bomb on us.

That story made me teary-eyed the first time I read/heard it. But, being in the presence of someone who suffered through the complete rearrangement of their life as they knew it, the practical loss of everyone in their family to the fishmen, it really hit the point home. I internally raged as much as Sanji did externally. But what Nojiko asked of us was impossible to do, even if I already knew what would happen very shortly.

We went to Cocoyashi Village. I took a seat on the ground and waited for our captain's orders.

Hatless, Luffy strode by and simply ordered, "Let's go."

"Roger," we all stated.