Fire, Tricks, and Explosions
A/N: Another day, another chapter~
Thanks to all the lovely reviews from wolfzero7, BlackDove WhiteDove, Sulina, Telepath98, Xipholynx, BlueAutumn12, and treavellergirl!
To Telepath98, are you still interested as being a beta reader? If so, feel free to PM me, and I can start sending you the chapters I've already penned. If you haven't gotten my message yet, I never had a beta reader, so this will be a teaching experience working with another person on this site.
To wolfzero7…hmm, never considered turning Usopp into a girl via Emporio Female Hormones courtesy of the queen of okama. I'm pretty good about keeping my character the same gender as they are, Usopp's been a guy for about nine years, and they're benefits to being male over female. Plus, a total change like that would mean most of the training they've suffered through would be almost for naught since we're talking about a very big difference in skeleto-muscle systems between males and females. Maybe for a gag moment, but nothing permanent if I did consider letting Usopp meet Ivankov.
To BlueAutumn12, you must be psychic *wink, wink*
So, any more thoughts on who I should add to the crew? I just finished a chapter about this very topic, in fact. And does anyone else want the animal duo as food, crew, stranded, or jailed?
Since Gin was closer to human in terms of healing ability, we sent him on ahead with Johnny and Yosaku after Sanji showed him exactly how well he could fight at the moment. To be honest, Gin was a hell lot more logical than any one of us except for maybe Nami, so he didn't need that much of a demonstration to know what battles to fight.
With a single punch, Luffy demolished the gates.
"Where is he? Where's Arlong!" demanded the teen, eyes hard.
All the fishmen glanced at us like we were insignificant. Certainly not a problem. Until Luffy knocked out the pair who got in his way then punched out their leader.
"How dare you-! Don't ever try and make my navigator cry!" seethed Luffy.
Fishmen may be stronger than normal humans, but no one on our crew was all that normal, especially the three who could tear apart their lower ranks effortlessly.
Hachi glared at us then turned his oddly-shaped mouth into an impromptu trumpet.
I paled and trembled as the pool leading to the sea bubbled ominously.
"Holy sea cow monster!" I yelped in utter terror.
A great surge of water announced the arrival of the little sea king monster Mohmoo, little being the operative word. From a reader's perspective, the sea cow fish looked kind of cute. From ground level, the behemoth looked positively terrifying. His head alone was as big as a freaking house! Bump or not, cutesy and teary-eyed or not, Mohmoo could swallow several people for a snack.
"Usopp, man up. This guy is just a taste of the monsters inhabiting the Grand Line," Zoro told me stoically.
Sanji casually remarked, "Yeah, most sea kings are actually much bigger than this guy."
"That isn't helping!" I yelled at them.
During our little dialogue, Mohmoo had caught sight of two particular stars of his recent nightmares. He ducked his body back into the water and made to leave.
That bit of cowardice didn't last long as Arlong goaded the monster against us. Very unfortunate - for the sea cow. I knew this, but my body didn't listen to my head, seeing as I was trembling like crazy and screaming my head off as the blue and sea green behemoth recklessly charged.
I regained my head shortly after – more bluff than anything – as I turned to the hordes of pirates coming at us. Wait a moment!
"Luffy, don't-!" Down went one leg. "-get yourself stuck into the floor…" I finished lamely. Luffy didn't anchor his other foot after I startled him, but he still had a foot trapped into the ground. Just great, just great. Well, that's why I have Plan B.
Everyone hit the ground when Luffy let himself loose, the sea monster's horns firmly grasped in his hands.
"Gomu Gomu Pinwheel!"
Never ever again let Luffy get a crazy idea like that in his head! I promised myself. It was a hollow one, but meh.
"You bastard! That was way too dangerous for us!"
I joined in with my own yells. "Luffy, you could have crushed us, too! I already nearly died by your first great idea today, I don't want to die for real in the next one!" I shook my head. "Look, you could have easily wiped out all those fishmen without using the freaking sea cow! Now look at yourself! Your leg is dug right into ground! How are you going to get out of there?"
"Easy, I'll just pull it out!" declared Luffy.
"You guys done yelling, chu?"
The three officers. Kuroobi, a master of fishman karate, Hachi, the Rokutoryu user, and Chew, practically the fishman version of a sniper. Okay, you knew this was inevitable. Don't pull an Usopp now, and you'll get through this fine with the minimum amount of broken bones I pep-talked to myself, summoning every bit of courage for my upcoming trial. If I couldn't beat Chew soundly with more than stupid tricks and running him exhausted, I would have to concede that I made no progress in changing Usopp's character up to this point.
Turned out, one leg freed didn't do Luffy any good with the sudden spurt of ink then the huge piece of the roof coming down on him.
I took advantage of Sanji's crazy feat of kicking said piece of concrete into rubble and ran over to Luffy's side. I opened my signature yellow bag and got to work.
"Guys, keep these guys away for me!" I order them, hands going back and forth along a boxlike object and several bottles of mysterious liquids.
"Chu, what are you doing with that, chu?"
I didn't bother looking up, pushing off with my legs to get as far away as possible, adding a touch of Flicker for safety.
"Fire in the hole!" I scream.
*BOOM!*
My homemade bomb did its job and more. Luffy looked a bit blackened but not as badly as the fishman who had stood square over point zero. A huge hole marking the blast zone meant Luffy was clear to fight Arlong now. As for me…
"You're dead, chu," rasps the whiting fishman.
I didn't need him to me that! I made a beeline for the wall, running right over it much to the astonishment of the people nearby.
Wait…people nearby?! Crap, I panic. I miscalculated! Even with Gin added in, they would be no match for Chew.
Chew came barreling through the wall, pausing in his pursuit to take in the crowd of humans with various implements and blunt objects off to the side.
"Chu, what's this? Are you humans trying to rebel against us, chu?"
"Flame Star! You bastard fish, how about another taste of my firepower? I'm your opponent, not them!"
And back to running.
Unlike Usopp of the manga or anime, I was way faster and more agile, so the water bullets from this distance missed. Just barely Inner Usopp sobbed hysterically as another water projectile exploded just half an inch away from my feet. I had to keep running, though. I conjured up my mental map of the area. Okay brain, I need to not give this guy any more of an advantage than he already has. That means don't by any means go toward the rice paddies!
The forest it was then.
I led Chew as far as I could manage, trees and shrubbery as hazardous to him as it was to me. At least, until I deemed it safe enough to clamber up into the trees and start running over them like some Tarzan character.
"Human filth! How dare you burn me not once, but twice, chu! I'll get you, chu! And when I do-!"
Let's just say what he said is better left unsaid and pushed to the darkest corner of my brain lest I panic and lose my already precarious footing.
Chew stopped as the human suddenly disappeared from sight.
"Where the hell did that human go, chu? He was just in my sight, chu!"
"Snipe Kick!"
A twang. Then several sharp stakes suddenly slam into the fishman.
"Fuck!" Chew snarls as he pulled out the foot-long spike pinning his arm to the tree behind him.
I grin at the sight. Snipe Kick. As fast as I became, my kicks didn't have a tenth of the power for a full Rankyaku. Although, it chilled me to consider what a monster like Sanji could do with a bladed kick. It would definitely expand his repertoire if he could perform long-range attacks like Zoro. I shook my head, shelving the implications for later consideration. Anyways, I instead focused my efforts on finessing a scaled down version. A really scaled down version. Let's be honest and call my air blade more like an air needle or something. This was pretty difficult in of itself to concentrate the air blade into a single point, probably taking more technical skill than performing a standard Rankyaku. This way I had a precise thin blade of air at my disposal. Perfect ammo for distractions, aiming for small objects…or setting off booby traps from a safe distance without anyone seeing. I would boast not even the sharp eyes of those assassins could easily catch sight of the near invisible attack.
"You're dead when I find you damn human, chu!"
Like the hell I would let you come close enough for that to happen!
I Flicker into sight and shout, "Oh yeah? Then come and get me!"
"You coward, chu! Hold still you lowly human!"
"Lowly human," I scoff. "And what does that make you? I bet if I burned away that shirt of yours, I would find the mark of the sun, right? That was a promise of freedom your late captain swore! How would he look at all you, basically enslaving humans, treating them as badly as your comrades were treated?!"
"SHUT UP, CHU! You don't know anything about Tiger-nii!" thunders the fishman in total blind rage. Looks I hit a sore spot, I observe clinically, other half of my mind going to full-blown hysterics again.
This was one of Hachi's friends, someone who once had dreams of about the world above. Dreams he probably lost sight of after Fisher Tiger's death. I may be able to able to forgive Hachi after what he does for us in the future, but Chew and Kuroobi and Arlong were nearly irredeemable by this point.
I led Chew to another one of my traps I laid in this part of the forest while waiting for the others (thank the mysterious forces that I scattered them over a fair area considering Luffy's boat crashed through half of them). Chew was so maddened, he didn't even register the odd texture of the ground he was rushing over. The covering gave away to reveal a pit trap. I used another Snipe Kick into a small hollow dug into the side, releasing a small bag of water mixed with itching powder.
"Ow! It burns!" the fishman literally shrieks in agony.
This was my one concession to Usopp's normal line of tricks. I recalled from my biology class about how an aquatic lifestyle usually led to more open system for gas exchange between marine organisms and their environments. Ergo, fish would be a bit more susceptible to substances traveling through liquid media compared to humans. Making irritants and other chemicals so much more accessible to their systems.
My evil smirk falls as Chew launches himself out and heads off into a seemingly random direction. I follow after him from a distance.
*Gurgle-plop-gurgle-gurgle*
Horror. That was the sound of a-!
*SPLASH!*
- running stream!
I heard the sound of something being rapidly sucked up. I desperately climbed to the topmost branches of the trees.
"WATER CANNON! FULL BURST!"
A huge burst of water several times larger than Chew himself exploded. The rush of water obliterated a whole swathe of the forest. I would say Chew had pushed his limits to produce an even more destructive attack than normal in consideration of my battle conduct.
I gasp from dozens of meters above him. My hands dig into my bag to pull out my slingshot.
"Well, chu, he should have been pretty close by. No way could some human scum escape from that attack, chu. I suppose I'll have to go looking for his corp-"
"Hissatsu: Special Cocktail Star Combo!"
Chew felt something cracked against his head and the feel of something wet splattering all over him. The strong scent of extremely concentrated alcohol was the last thing he remembered as a moment later, something hot touched down on him.
As an ode to the brilliant tactic of Usopp's, I recreated it into an improved Molotov cocktail bomb with some moonshine I fermented myself for years and mixed with some dubious chemicals to give the fire a bit more oomph. A single mini-Flame Star was enough to turn Chew into barbequed fish.
The fishman looked pretty well and knocked out, so I let myself fall back down to the earth, turning back toward the village.
And stopping when I hear something very heavy make a solid impact. Afterward, I hear a quiet thump, and I quickly spin around. Chew had somehow summoned the stamina for one last sneak attack and fell not even a foot from choking me.
"You really do have some interesting tricks, Usopp-san," noted my savior dryly as he walked over to pick up his tonfa. "Although, you should check more thoroughly to see if your opponent is down permanently."
"Heh, thank you Gin. Err, what brings you out here? And how did you catch up to us?"
"I didn't need to see you to find you, the fishman advertised his presence loudly enough. And, I may be injured, but I've had to keep going on wounds just as bad as these. I didn't know how well you would handle a fishman considering you're a long-distance type and not very brave – foolish and crazy, perhaps, but not very brave overall."
"I guess we're pretty even then, Chew would have killed me if you haven't come here in time. You have pretty good aim with your tonfa," I remarked.
Gin shrugged. "Not really, I still needed to be pretty close to aim it properly. I'm surprise the fishman didn't catch sight of me, but your latest actions may have blinded him to anyone else's presence."
"Tunnel vision," I conceded. "Err, Gin if you don't mind, please let me find the time to explain my full abilities to the others. The new ammo is fine, but I need to straighten out how to explain what I can do – these powers I use aren't the ordinary sorts, and I'm trying to keep them somewhat of low profile. I'll probably explain them once we reached the Grand Line, but for now, can you wait on interrogating me? I think the whole thing with Nami kind of distracted everyone from the walk on water thing – or maybe they plan to interrogate me later – but let's just say there are things I'm not ready to say until after we hit the Grand Line."
Gin analyzed me critically. "Usopp-san, weren't you the one that told me strong bonds with your crewmates are a necessary thing on the Grand Line? And implicitly that the lack of among my own crew is partly why we failed?"
"Gin…please?"
The baggy-eyed man gave me another unreadable look before nodding. "I suppose it's not any of my business anyway, Usopp-san."
I sighed in relief. Suddenly, my left leg gave away underneath me. Damn it! Looks like I was limping back. At least I had some help as Gin pulled me back up before I could fall over completely.
"So…you're telling me after I went to and blew up the floor, our captain still ended up stuck? And underwater?!"
So, it turned out shortly after I left, Hachi's next attempt to crush someone accidentally knocked Luffy into the water under several tons of rubble! Gin looked pretty alarmed as well. I figured he knew about Luffy's vulnerability to water since he probably almost drowned. Again.
Oh, mighty and damn sneaky mysterious entity who decided to make my life harder than it has to be, why?! I curse you chain of static events!
So, someone had to swim down there and unbury his body since someone was able to free Luffy's head in time before Kuroobi chased them off.
Yeah, fate and lady luck hated me so much, didn't they?
I ignored the worry looks the surrounding villagers shot me and clambered on top of the wall, Gin following after me despite the resident doctor's warning about straining his injuries.
There they were. Zoro in his current state was going to die if I didn't do something.
I take out a pearl-colored piece of ammo from my bag. The casing on this one was thicker than normal. But knowing Arlong…
"Diamond Star!"
Arlong's arm casually swung back.
Bingo. The force shattered the shell, releasing a great big shining blast of light. This mixture gave off a very interesting effect of sparkling and extremely reflective dust. And with the wind blowing like it was…
"Aargh! What in the world is the fuck this stuff?!"
…it would blind the fishman. Arms flailed, trying to bat away the dust.
"You damn human! I know it was you again and your damn tricks! When I get the hold of you-!"
Arlong was cut off as Gin's tonfa joined in the party, slamming right into his must-be-as-hard-as-steel skull.
"Zoro, fight without concern! I'll back you up from here! Same with Gin, I guess, although you should keep your last weapon on you for right now."
"So…were you there for how long? And why is panda-eye up there?"
I shout, "Shut it! It's not like I can fight like you and Sanji! My leg aches like crazy, but I only need to be able to aim and fire to att- Watch out!"
Arlong's wild swing came close to bashing the swordsman's skull in. Sword met nose and stopped.
Shaking his head, Arlong opens his reddened eyes.
"So, I suppose I'll start with you, Roronoa Zoro!"
As I scanned the wrecked courtyard, sudden shifting movement caught my eye. Hachi. Someday, the octopus fishman would become our ally and friend. Today, he was an enemy going after Sanji and Luffy.
I take out two capsules this time.
"Take this! Foam Surprise Star! Flame Star!"
The foam temporarily trapped Hachi, but when you added a little bit of heat…
"AARGH!"
…the foam would stabilize into a hard, shell-like trap temporarily. A fishman would be able to free himself in a few minutes, but I only needed that much time. Hachi struggled wildly in the foam, but then his struggles suddenly halted. Eyes rolled back, and he went limp. And just in time. The concrete foam broke into pieces seconds afterward.
"Usopp-san!" hissed Gin from his crouched position next to me.
I looked back to Zoro and bit back a curse. Arlong had completely overwhelmed the swordsman despite my slight adjustment of his eyesight. With his wounds, Zoro barely held up against Hachi without succumbing, never mind the giant shark! Gin looked like he would maybe go down there and help, but I took a firm grip on his jacket, daring him to risk his life unnecessarily.
"I'M FREE!"
I let out a relieved sigh, releasing Gin's jacket. We could leave everything to Luffy to finish the entire affair.
Fishman and rubber man traded blows, but in the end, Luffy was determined and pissed off with the arrogant bastard who forced a little girl to work for him with little rest.
I hardly needed to summarize what happened as Luffy stopped Arlong's Shark on Darts and broke Kiribachi. In that cartography room, I knew he would find the final nail in Arlong's coffin of crimes: a blooded quill and a small isolated room with very little beyond tools.
A room seeped in misery and pain and bottled up grief.
With a might slam of his rubber leg, Luffy sent the entire structure of Arlong Park coming down.
Everyone scattered away from the monolith coming down right on top of us! Gin pulled me down on the other side of the wall since my legs weren't in the best shape at the moment.
In the wreckage was Arlong, nose broken and beaten unconscious.
After nearly a decade of suppression, Arlong Park had fallen. Cheering exploded until some idiots decided to barge in on the party.
Naturally, none of us took Captain Nezumi's interference very well. Six Straw Hats vs. a bunch of cowardly marines? Odds were definitely not in their favor. I gave Nami a thumbs-up after she bashed the haughty corrupted marine a good one..
"Hey, Usopp what are you doing?" questions Zoro as I pull back Ginga Pachinko.
I titter, "Just a little something for just this kind of situation. Hissatsu: Paint Surprise Star!"
The capsule burst open right above the marines, specifically dead center over Nezumi.
"What in the world is this?" we hear the marines shout in rage.
"Paint?" inquires Gin blankly. Wow, this guy is really dour. Not even this could get him to smile?
I nod my head and elaborate, "Waterproof paint. I'll tell you, that stuff won't be coming off anytime today, I think."
"Good!" Nami chuckles as she watches the sparkly pink marines scrub at their painted skin and uniforms in vain. Technically, that was only part one of my great vengeance scheme. Maybe I convinced Gin to make a stop along the shore on our way here. Just to secure some things on a certain unwary ship and take some things away. All as stealthily as two injured guys with the benefit of a demi-powered Flicker and some experience with prior infiltration missions can accomplish.
There was something beautiful about a masterpiece of a prank going right as the king of all paint explosions went off a distance from shore. Nami certainly was very happy about her 100+ millions of painfully collected beli being returned to her without having to see Nezumi's ratface. In the end, she decided to give it all to her hometown for reparations, grudgingly returning my own portion.
One fantastic party later, a rash of cat burglaries, and we were off with our navigator officially joining us.
I glanced at the bright smile of my friend. Don't worry, Gen, Nojiko. If I have any way about it, her smile will be staying right where it is.
Especially after my companions discovered what I arranged to be hiding below decks. Some delicious raw ham melons for Luffy, and the diamonds recovered from the crash site of Sanji's ill-fated ship, courtesy of the former king of East Blue.
The large diamonds dwarfed my palms, and there were eight smaller diamonds, too. According to her, the diamonds would fetch a pretty beli of well…let's just say it made the cost of her village look pretty pitiful. Once polished off and cleaned of blood, we could sell them to at the next city for enough to even satiate Luffy for a good long while (if Sanji could keep him from our larders).
If Nami nearly squeezed me to death when Luffy said I had suggested the idea, I wasn't complaining. Except at the point my face turned blue.
Author's sidenote: Quick question, how old do you think Gin is? I would tentatively put him as somewhere between Robin's age and Franky, but it might be the sleep deprivation marks.
