Fourth Savor ~ Usopp

There were a lot of times in my life when I wished I was someone else—someone braver, stronger, and cooler. Also, there were those rare occasions when I felt lucky to be myself. Right now, I felt the latter.

"Now, Luffy! Show them your super version of the Battle Franky Olympic Dive!" Mr. Cutty Flam—or Franky, as he wants everyone to call him—pushed Luffy in our Olympic pool. Luffy, who definitely never swam in waters twelve feet deep without a lifesaver before, was wailing for help as he "dove" into the pool, thanks to Franky. I was just weirded out with the entire scene playing before me, so I headed to Luffy's side just so I could save his life. Swimming was something beyond Luffy's abilities.

"Super!" Franky grinned while wearing only his speedos, his Hawaiian polo, and shades that glinted brighter than the sun. Luffy was coughing out water while holding on to the sides of the pool.

"Where's the lifesaver?" He whined. I shook my head. He had no idea how much I wanted one, too.

"You can't use one in P.E. class," I explained to him while leaning on the sides as well. I could feel all of my energy swimming away. I'm sure the rest of the class felt the same.

"Alright, everyone! I want some nice and super exercise rounds! 50 laps!" The entire class of males groaned at this, exhausted. Thank God we heard the sound of the school bell create a shrill echo. I could have drowned anytime soon.

Franky heard this, too, and then posed. "That's okay! Next meeting, we'll have one hundred laps!" I wanted to die before that would happen. I didn't care if I had a pool in my house to practice on. I was merely human.

I mustered enough strength for me to climb out of the water, and then I turned to grab Luffy's hand. He fell on the floor, slumped, and began gasping in deep breaths. He looked knocked out already.

"Oh, Usopp! Luffy! What brotherhood you share!" Franky was there to witness my act of "heroism." I even swore I saw him choking with tears of joy. The rest of the class was edging away from this, retreating towards the boys' locker room. Something was really wrong with our P.E. teacher, and I didn't want to stick around to see how much more eccentric this guy could possibly get.

"Usopp, I'm hungry!" Luffy was lying on his stomach, whining. I sighed, helping him stand up on his own. He swayed like rubber, from right to left, and before I knew it, he was leaning on me. Oh God, this made me look so gay. Frantically, I looked around. Please, don't let anyone watch this.

Luckily, it was only Franky around, and he was too busy sobbing to actually notice. At least, my reputation's still safe.

I supported Luffy by my shoulder and guided him out of the pool area, heading straight for the locker room. "Me, too," I mumbled, hearing my own stomach agree with his.

It's been a week since the start of school. Orientations were wrapped up quickly, and we've just gone through our first lessons on each subject. No hard discussions yet, but we already had homework. They always said the freshman year was the "adjusting period." Everyone seemed to have noticed that the homework increased in amount compared to our middle school limits. What else was different about high school?

"Usopp!" Luffy seemed to have recovered fast. Was this guy normal? "What do you think we should do in Sogeking later?"

Now, I felt energized. "Oh, we can try out some of the new tips I've heard of." Luffy's mouth hung open while he listened intently. I didn't understand why exactly he reacted like that. When I finally met up with him in the Sniperverse, his character was literally a monster. I was surprised why no one invited him to their own guilds. Luffy was no newbie—and I really didn't want to fight him.

"First, we can check out the G8 map for the S.R. Cannon," I started, "It's no where else but there. Then, we can go get a Kabuto. I heard the Firestar Ammo only works at maximum strength with that. Oh, we can also use our wind dials to enter Little Garden. We just need to charge it up seventy five percent so we can perform a mega jump." Oh, Sogeking—my one, deep pleasure.

I thought about the other tips I learned and what I also wanted to try out of myself. Sogeking was a game of strategy and secrets, crucial to any player out there—

"Shit! We have a quiz on History, right?" I noticed a History text book on the side of the corridor, inside a locker that was left open. "I forgot about that!" I was so going to fail. Sadly, it was supposed to be the easiest topic of the year. Why am I so dumb to even forget?

"Oh, the one on early Japan? I remember a little bit," Luffy said. I blinked at this, and while we entered the locker room, I listened to his huge summary on the subject. He said everything we had to know—from the legends of Amaterasu, to the worshipping of kami, to Emperor Jimmu's descendants, and to the earliest periods of Japan, including the Tokugawa era. In fact, he had this way of explaining those in really simple terms while we showered in separate cubicles. While he was mentioning all of these, only one thought came to my head—how the hell did he digest all of this information and actually remember it?

"So, yeah, that's it." Luffy grinned as he was drying his hair with a towel. I stared at him for the longest time, not knowing whether to say "thanks" or just "shit." Why was I surrounded by smart people?

"Hey Luffy, do you have a girlfriend?" I didn't know exactly why I asked. Maybe it was because I felt really dumb at the moment. Maybe it was because we were in the boys' locker room, and I was somehow pressured to sound more like a man than a nerd right in front of everyone. I didn't know.

"Me?" Luffy thought hard. "Bonney and Nami. They're my girlfriends." I was wondering if he thought differently—if he knew the difference between "girl friend" and "girlfriend".

I decided to rephrase. "Do you know a girl you want to kiss?"

He shook his head with a shrug. "Oh, I don't really mind that stuff." I looked at him queerly, wondering whether he was gay or just plain asexual. Never mind. At least I wasn't alone with the kissing bit.

"Do you like-like someone, Usopp?" Luffy asked me this time. Oh, crap, I could feel my face heating up again. I looked around, seeing that everyone else was minding their own business.

"Yeah, I like Kaya," I whispered in a hushed voice. He tilted his head with curiosity while sliding his pants on. Oh, right. He didn't know her. I just shook my head, not wanting to talk about it.

Kaya—as beautiful and as kind as she was—was way above my level. Once again, we weren't in the same class, and even though I wished I could get closer to her, I think fate was keeping us apart. What could I do about that? Nothing. Also, what if we did get to know each other more, only to realize that I was too boring for her? I wasn't that special, at all. I was just Usopp who plays video games and watches anime for a living. She wouldn't "like-like" me, and even if she did, I wouldn't be able to stand next to her. Kurohadol, her butler, would scratch me off better than a cat with its scratch poll.

We were both finished with changing, so we went straight to the classroom. Nami, who was in Dance class along with the rest of the girls, should be there by now. Since I basically know the gist of the History quiz, I thought of spending lunch by reviewing with Luffy and Nami while eating.

Then, suddenly, I realized that I couldn't do that, especially since the entire classroom was organized into some sort of forum discussion.

All the students were facing each other in a heated conversation. I looked at each of them, trying to decipher what was said.

"I can't believe he did that to her," one student murmured.

"He's a junior. What do you expect?" another responded.

"Poor Kaya. At least, nothing else happened. You know how he is."

"Should we do something about it? We can't just let the juniors push us around like that." One other student raised his point until he was butted in.

"They're juniors. Don't," a girl snapped firmly, looking frustrated.

Hearing Kaya's name bounce from one corner of the room to another made my heart stop. I knew something bad happened to her. What could it be? Which of the Juniors did what to her? Was she going to be alright? How could he do this to her?

"Hey, Coby, what're they all talking about?" I ran into Coby amidst the crowd of students. Luffy just stood there to observe curiously.

Coby looked at me and then leaned closer to whisper, "Kaya's crying. She's in the rooftop with her friends. I don't know what exactly happened, but everyone's talking about Arlong."

For a moment, I stared at the mere mention of his name. Finally, I regained composure, and then grabbed Luffy, dashing towards the roof with him. I didn't like the feeling I received when I had entered the room. Now, I hated it—especially since it happened to her.

Nami was already there with Kaya and her other friends. She was sitting next to her, giving hugs and speaking words of comfort. Kaya was in the middle, hugging her knees close. Soft yet sad tears rolled down her gentle face. The sight of this was killing me—and I didn't know what to do.

Should I go to her side and comfort her? Should I make a joke to cheer her up? No, wait—my jokes weren't that funny, so I guess I shouldn't.

I ended up approaching her and asking. There couldn't be anything wrong with that—hopefully. "K-Kaya, what ha-happened?" Kaya looked at me with wide, glassy, red eyes before sobbing harder.

Her friends continued to soothe her, and it was Nami who told us, "Arlong was harassing Kaya." She looked irritated herself.

I tried my best to resist a shiver when I heard the sound of his name. Arlong harassing Kaya? How could he? Then again, he's a junior—not too far from a Senior—so he actually could, but why? Why did sweet, gentle and innocent Kaya have to be treated that way?

It turned out that Arlong has been harassing Kaya for money, especially since she's rich herself. What was worse was the fact that he never even pays back. Kaya has been tolerant for sometime, and she didn't want to squeal to anyone about it.

It happened, just a few days ago, when she couldn't take it anymore. She just refused to lend him more money, and Arlong with his buddies ended up teasing and mocking her. Then, yesterday, after school, they ended up eating in the same restaurant. He left a little while after, and as she was about to enjoy her meal, the waiter came to charge her with a really high bill.

"She just got a call from her parents right now, and they're asking why her bill was that expensive, "Nami ended her explanation with that. I couldn't help but feel pissed off at this.

"Who's Arlong?" Luffy asked while watching Kaya.

"Arlong's the asshole in the junior year who thinks he can shove us around," I answered bitterly. I began thinking of what I had to do. I hated Arlong for a very long time now, but this was too much. Arlong needed to know what was coming for him—somehow.

"Kaya, don't worry. We'll just tell the teachers about this, and you can tell your parents the truth. Arlong can't hurt you anymore when they know what he just did to you." Nami smiled slightly at Kaya, but I shook my head.

"No, that's not enough!" I couldn't take it anymore. Justice had to be done—I think. "I-I'll do something about it," I mumbled. Everyone looked at me. Kaya's head shook, Luffy stared at me, and Nami was frowning.

"Usopp, what are you saying? We'll just tell the teachers and let them handle it! It's wrong to take it into your own hands! You're just going to act reckle—" I stopped her at mid-speech.

I felt that I had to say something about it. "Don't you see? This is exactly what guys like Arlong want us to believe!" I argued. This time, Nami didn't debate on it. Her expression softened, full of questions.

"Usopp, what do you mean by that?" she asked. I swallowed a large lump that formed on my throat and took a deep breath. I felt so pissed, yet I was shaking as usual.

"W-We're the freshmen—th-the new guys. So-so, the last thing any of us should be is c-calm and cool and let them pu-push us around. Wh-What are we going to do? Just say that we'll have our day w-when it's our turn to push a-a batch of fre-freshmen." I paused for a moment to eye everyone. Nami remained silent, Luffy spacing out, and the others—particularly Kaya—were surprised. They were all listening.

In all my life, I never really spoke strongly about my opinion. I'd think about it—or even write about it at times—but I wouldn't voice it out. I guess it was because I was only an echo in a dining hall—unheard by everyone and blocked out by the other voices. The more I tried, the more I ended up burying myself. I didn't think anyone would listen to me. I was just Usopp—not so important compared to the others in class. My voice didn't matter.

Now, I had people listening to me. Was this real? Were they just pretending? I didn't really know. Still, I wondered whether to continue or not. I would probably look stupid by talking without even finishing. Besides, this was a one-time thing. When will I be able to speak about Arlong like this again?

I summed up enough of what little courage I had and continued, "Why do so many bullies a-and imposing figures from the upper cla-class like Arlong a-and his group need to receive more attention th-than-than the actual good upperclassmen like Ace and Nico Robin? Guys like Arlong have the easiest job in the school by just-by just being themselves—childish, obnoxious people who do w-what they do to make-to make them feel author-authoritative to the rest of us and get good laughs from their mo-moron jock friends.

"I-I've had it with this, Nami. We've only be-been here for a week, and h-how many-many more incidents like that of Kaya's will come even-eventually? How may times will-will we see those idio-idiot upperclassmen and wo-women throw their weight around u-us? We were told in the beg-beginning of the year-We were told that we should "look up a-and aspire to be like them." Th-That's-That's ridiculous! No one should be given props like that by d-de-default, just bec-because they're older. N-No! Respect is e-earned, and A-Arlong's n-not g-getting any from me. If this is the game t-they want to pl-play—bullying pe-people like Kaya—I say we can play it, too!"

I didn't know what it was—this swelling feeling inside my chest. It was something strange and new to me. Maybe it was my pride—something I thought I didn't really have. Then again, maybe I did have it, but I just didn't use or feel it. Still, for some reason, it felt good—just as good as defeating game bosses in Sogeking.

"So, what do you think we should do?" Silk, one of Kaya's close friends, asked.

"Let's-Let's show these bastards that we won't go quiet!" I made another gulp and took a deep breath. I looked at nothing in particular, pretending they weren't there and that I was Sogeking—the brave king of Sniper Island. I held on to my "pride."

"We won't be taken lightly," I said, maintaining my cool, "When we all graduate in four years, I want to look at each and every one of you and say that we didn't wait a few years until we made our mark in this school. We-We did it when we got here. We did something—something not only no one saw coming, but it will be something that our kids and their own kids will be hearing from us when they ask us what we were like when we were young. Best of all, we earned the admiration of-of not only our fellow freshmen and set an example for the other bullied people in our batch, but his goons will give us the respect that we deserve." Shit, did I just say that?

"So, how exactly are we going to go about it, Usopp?" Nami asked when she knew I was finished. Now, my swelling pride disappeared.

Oh, God, what the hell was I saying? None of the juniors are close by, right? No one else heard me?

"Let's go kick his ass! That's what you meant, right?" Luffy grinned, punching the air with a clenched fist. Shit, I didn't mean that, did I?

"Uh, no! I-I-I have a better idea!" Now they were all looking at me expectantly. Crap, why couldn't I just keep my mouth shut? Why did I even say that? I'm guessing that this was the reason why I didn't like speaking out in front of others. It was because my mouth would somehow betray me, leading me to the point of no return.

What idea do I have? Maybe we could kick his ass. No, wait—he'd kick our asses first. Luffy said he liked fighting, though—but I don't think he can actually own Arlong. Maybe it'd be better if we let them do what they want. Wait, what about Kaya? Plus, the fact that I managed to say all that crap—which were probably formed from watching too many Saturday night movies—would make me feel like a dumbass if I back down without an idea. What the hell did I just get myself into?

"Usopp, your legs are shaking," Luffy pointed out curiously. Oh, shit.

Okay, Usopp—think of a safe plan. Safe and simple. I took another deep breath before facing all of them. "We bust his car." What in the name of God is wrong with me?

"Usopp, that is the most immature idea you ever came up wi—" Nami was interrupted all of a sudden by the other girls who began squealing.

"Usopp, are you serious?" One of them said.

"You're not such a coward after all." Silk blinked.

"Usopp, that is the bravest and the dumbest thing ever—but you're so sweet to Kaya!" The girl next to Kaya smiled at me.

Kaya, however, looked devastated. "Usopp, you shouldn't! You might get hurt by Arlong because of me." Her head lowered. Did my pride just come back? Did Kaya deeply show her care and concern for me, just now? I didn't believe this. This was the best dream of the Great Upperclassman Usopp!

I immediately jumped to Kaya's side. "Kaya, don't worry about me. I know exactly what to do for you—your problem." Did I almost just say "you"? I hope she didn't take notice.

I looked at Luffy. He was beaming with excitement. "Luffy, will you help me?" I asked. I couldn't do it alone. I wouldn't be able to. I needed someone with me.

"Okay!" he said, "I'm not supposed to kick Arlong's ass, so what am I supposed to do?"

I thought about it for a moment, and I listed down possible weapons, tools, items, tactics, and options. "Luffy, I need you to find a crowbar, a jack, a screwdriver, wires, a hammer and a lead bar. Find those and bring them to school tomorrow." I would have brought my own, but I was sure that Mom would gain suspicion. I bet Shanks Ojii-san wouldn't—whether he'd check on Luffy tonight or not.

"Okay!" Luffy exclaimed, "That's not so hard." You know what? I thought of just listing those tools down on his palm during dismissal—just in case.

I looked at Nami, and she was rolling her eyes while mumbling in disapproval. I looked at Kaya, and she was smiling a little. I ended up smiling, too.

Then, I looked at Luffy who was in thought while jumping with excitement. Monkey D. Luffy—he was strange, even for the new guy. Still, I was glad to have him as a friend.

I'd have to plan completely by dismissal time. I was sure that as long as we had the proper tools and the proper minds, Arlong wouldn't be able to beat us up into a bloody pulp. Luffy and I might actually go through with this. After all, what could possibly go wrong?

~*~ Omake ~*~

Luffy: Alright, Usopp! I'm ready! Let's do this!

Usopp: Yeah!

Luffy: Let's go make something of ourselves!

Usopp: Yeah!

Luffy: Let's show them who we really are!

Usopp: Yeah!

Luffy: Let's threaten those guys and show 'em who's boss!

Usopp: Y-... Wait, what?

Luffy: If that doesn't work, we'll trash their classrooms!

Usopp: W-Wait, I never said—

Luffy: Then, we beat up Arlong and his gang!

Usopp: Oh, God…

Luffy: Then, we beat up the next set of bullies!

Usopp: I never said that. Hey, Luffy—

Luffy: We won't rest until we've beaten up all of them! Let's go! –runs, screaming-

Usopp: … Fuck.