Well, that was a long wait! If anyone is curious, the reason that these chapters are so slow coming is because I have recently been sucked into the awesomeness that is Star Trek. Bad news for OP fans, because my One Piece stories will be slow going, but good new if you like Star Trek (TOS or 2009, I'll be writing for both) so if you're interested in that, go check out my sister's account in my profile. We haven't updated any stories yet but they'll be along shortly.

Otherwise, I'll do my best to finish this story without disappointing you guys D: and be sure to tell me if there's anything you would like to see happen! I'm sure I'll be back into the swing of things when One Piece gets of hiatus and the Straw Hats get back together!

When Zoro was woken up the next morning, he was instantly on edge. He wasn't really aware that Luffy was still sleeping, or that the fire had gone out—not that it was needed any more, and it was well past dawn from the looks of it. The only thing that he was aware of was that he had been woken. Not of his own accord, but by some outward constituent, and that was what put him on edge.

Because if whatever it was that had woken him turned out to be a whoever he knew that he couldn't let his guard down. If it was Buggy, or even some of Buggy's men, Zoro intended to kick their asses as quickly as he could and run, because he really didn't want to face a cannon head on, and he had better things to do with his time than fight a horde of rioters—things like getting Luffy out of the cage so that he could leave with a clear conscience.

Zoro slowly turned his head toward Luffy, bringing a hand to his swords to make certain that they were still there. He didn't want to make it entirely obvious that he had woken up, but he didn't want it to be glaringly obvious that he was guarding his movements while trying to find a hidden assailant that may be in the trees either, as both would probably be detrimental.

So Zoro feigned ignorance, and stretched. Luffy was still fast asleep, and he seemed no worse for wear, so Zoro didn't wake him up. Instead, he closed his eyes and pretended to go back to sleep. And as he did so, he listened.

At first, no sound that was out of place in the area made itself known. The leaves in the trees above him rustled, but not in a way that made Zoro think that anything but the wind had rustled them. A few birds chirped their good-morning, but all else was quiet.

There was a bout of time where no foreign sound reached his ears, but after a few minutes of sitting, unmoving, Zoro though he heard something moving to his left. It wasn't very far away, though it didn't seem to be moving toward him but, rather, away from him.

A twig snapped, and Zoro's eyes snapped open as his arm reached out to grab the offender. He got a handful of fabric and pulled hard, sending the person stumbling backwards. Even as Zoro leapt to his feet, the man was falling to the ground and covering his face with both arms.

"No, please, I'm sorry!" Zoro had drawn one of his swords and, at the sight of it, the teen he'd grabbed squeaked and curled into the fetal position. "I swear I didn't mean anything, I was just passing through!"

Zoro frowned at the display. He was shaking like a leaf. He doubted that this kid had anything to do with the rioters, but appearances could be deceiving, and he wasn't going to take any chances.

"Do you work for Buggy?" He demanded in a serious tone that he hoped would express that he really wasn't in the mood for games. The teen paused in his pleading. There seemed to be a moment of contemplation that made Zoro wary before the teen uncovered his face and propped himself up on his elbows.

He was a lot younger than Zoro had expected, with dark curly hair and, most remarkably, a very long nose. He puffed out his chest and looked Zoro in the eye with confidence.

"That's right! Buggy works under me, the great Usopp! And if you aren't careful, all eight hundred of my men will show up and kill you!" He let out a haughty laugh, and tried to scoot himself out of the reach of Zoro's blade.

"Bullshit." Zoro said. Usopp froze, and, with the realization that he'd been caught in his lie, the look of confidence on his face was overtaken by fear once again. He bowed his head—making a complete one-eighty from his previous attitude—and clapped his hands together.

"Please don't kill me! I don't even know who Buggy is, I was just—"

"Nah, Zoro? Is there someone over there with you?" Usopp's head snapped around when he heard the voiced behind him. He seemed oddly relieved when he saw that the second "assailant" was locked in a cage, but the relief was quickly over taken by what Zoro was sure was apprehension as to why he was in a cage. His eyes went back to Zoro, but the swordsman ignored it.

"It just some guy I found sneaking around—"

"I was doing no such thing!" The teen cut him off, sounding indignant, "I was just walking by and you startled me! It's not every day you find a guy with three katana in your backyard!"

"Hahaha, he sounds cool. Hey, you, come over here!" Luffy cheered, and Usopp hesitated. He glanced at Zoro, then back at Luffy. An idea seemed to flash across Usopp's face, so when his eyes widened and his face adopted a look of shock Zoro had an idea of what the teen was doing, but he gave him the benefit of the doubt nonetheless. As expected, when he turned in the direction of his gaze to look at absolutely nothing, Usopp tried to make a run for it. Zoro was too fast for him, and grabbed him as he tried to run by.

"Quit it." Zoro snapped. "It's not like I'm going to cut your head off…" With that he half-walked-half-dragged Usopp over to Luffy and motioned for him to sit. Luffy was grinning ear-to-ear as Usopp took a seat as far away from Zoro as he could manage.

"I'm Luffy!"

"Usopp…" He mumbled, looking warily at the two of them, with an obvious pout on his face from having his escape plan foiled. "What're you doing here?"

"We're looking for Haven!" Luffy cheered before Zoro had a chance to say anything. He was going to protest the statement on two counts, one because he wasn't looking for anything, and, similarly, because we was not an acceptable term, but Luffy continued to cut Zoro off before he even began. "Do you know where it is?" Usopp frowned.

"No… why would I?" Luffy shrugged, rocking back and forth childishly.

"I don't know. I figured you might be looking for it too." Usopp shook his head. He seemed to be relaxing a little after talking with Luffy, which was fine. Maybe he would be able to get the cage door open if they could convince him to trust them, and he could do the same.

"I haven't left my house since The Occurrence… well, at least, not for long periods of time. Just, you know, to get supplies and stuff. And I haven't seen anyone in a couple of months, until I ran into…" He paused. "I don't think I caught your name?"

"Zoro." Usopp nodded affirmation.

"You said we were in you backyard earlier." Zoro stated, making Usopp nearly jump out of his skin. The curly haired boy nodded, and pointed a shaky thumb over his shoulder.

"Yeah, I live right… over there…" He seemed almost not willing to divulge this information. The fact that he did, however, convinced Zoro to continue.

"Do you have anything at your house that could get him out?" He pointed at Luffy.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask… why is he in a, uh… cage?" Usopp asked. Luffy shrugged.

"I was locked in this by some rioters, and Zoro didn't get the key when he helped me escape." A look of realization washed over Usopp, and he pointed a finger at Zoro.

"So you mean he didn't…" Zoro raised an eyebrow, and Luffy cocked his head to the side curiously.

"Didn't what?" A pause.

"Never mind." He said quickly, wilting under Zoro's disapproving look. The swordsman didn't even want to know what this kid had been about to say. "I could probably pick the lock if you gave me a little time." Usopp shrugged nonchalantly, but he felt like the glare Zoro was giving him was going to burn a hole through him. Zoro watched the teen squirm under his gaze for a moment before sighing and getting to his feet.

"Okay, sounds good." He said and lifted the cage onto his shoulders. Luffy giggled as he slid down into the corner of the tilted cage and smiled at Usopp.

"Lead the way!" He cheered, pumping a fist into the air and firmly pushing his hat onto his head with the other. The teen got hesitantly to his feet and smiled in a similar way. He marveled at how easily the swordsman seemed to carry the cage on his shoulders, and made a mental note to not get on his bad side.

"My house isn't far…" He said, trying to strike up conversation. When neither of them answered—Zoro, because he didn't feel like talking and Luffy because he didn't catch the hint—Usopp asked them about the first thing that came to mind.

"So… how long have you been locked up in that thing?" Luffy perked up at this and cracked a smile.

"Not long…A couple hours, I guess." This reply didn't seem to appeal to the long nose, because as soon as he heard this he nearly tripped and fell flat. He whirled around, and Zoro almost laughed at the sheet white color his face had adopted.

"But I thought you said that rioters locked you in there!" He shouted. Luffy nodded.

"Yeah, so?"

"So that means they're near by!" He nearly screeched, glancing through the trees as though looking for a hidden assailant. Zoro rolled his eyes as Usopp continued in increasing panic. "What if they're looking for you, what if—"

"Well!"Zoro cut in, silencing Usopp's rambling in an attempt to stave off his impending headache, "That's why we want to get him out," He motioned to Luffy, "So if they do find us, it won't be a problem."

"Yeah!" Luffy cheered, "I'll kick their asses!" As if to punctuate this fact, he pumped both fists into the air and struck a pose.

"Settle your ass down. You're hard enough to carry as it is!" Zoro snapped as Luffy continued to shout battle cries from within his iron sect.

"But, what if—"

"Usopp!" The teen stopped mid-sentence. He really did look horrified by the thought of rioters coming to his home—and with good reason, since the kid had already confessed to not leaving his house since The Occurrence. He obviously wasn't one to take risks. "There's nothing to worry about accept getting Luffy out of this cage, okay? Everything else is noise."

The teen looked at him as though unsure whether he should believe him or not, but nodded nonetheless and reluctantly continued leading them to their destination… wherever that was. Zoro followed slightly behind, wondering all the while whether this Usopp kid could be trusted.

Please review, tell me what you think so far!