Let Me Return
Two – In Love (Day One of Three)
Usopp knocked on the window with a clear view of Miss Kaya's bedroom. Usopp waited patiently, and eventually Kaya opened the window.
"Usopp!" Kaya cried. Usopp beamed.
"Do you want to hear a story? A true story?" Usopp added. Kaya's eyes widened in anticipation.
"Yes, definitely!" Kaya cried. She couldn't hold back her excitement. Not only was it one of Usopp's stories, which were always interesting, it was just the fact that Usopp was there that sent her heart aflutter.
"Well, not long after we left this island, we came across a giant rock!" Usopp said with enthusiasm. "The rubber kid couldn't hit it, so I blew the top off of that rock! And wouldn't you know it, inside were two hideous bounty hunters, out to get us!"
Kaya laughed for no reason. Usopp always managed to cheer her up, and always had. Her only wish was that Usopp would stay there, just telling his story, not knowing how she felt about him.
Usopp lowered his head after finishing his story, which took about an hour. "But there was one thing that I really missed, out there on the Merry Go."
"What?" Kaya asked, a bit disturbed by Usopp's tone of voice. He looked a bit nervous, and he no longer sounded cheerful and bright. On the contrary, he was a bit… serious.
Usopp looked down. "It was…"
"Yes?" Usopp looked straight into Kaya's eyes, and Kaya felt her own eyes widen.
"…you."
Kaya turned red. Usopp mistook her blushing and looked down at the grass.
"…But I figured that you didn't… you know… like me…"
Kaya immediately pressed her hands against the windowsill. "No, that's not it Usopp!"
Usopp had gotten up, but he turned to face her.
"I love you!" Kaya yelled, unable to hold back her feelings. "I always have, and I always will!"
A very long silence came. Kaya felt her heart threatening to pop out of her chest; Usopp felt his face go completely red.
"You do…?" Usopp managed to murmur.
"Yes!" Kaya cried. "Ever since I first met you! I've missed you ever since you left, that long year ago, and I prayed you'd come back! I knew you would, and you did…"
Kaya looked away. Usopp turned and saw Kaya's hand on the windowsill. He put his own hand onto Kaya's, and she suddenly turned to face Usopp.
"I love you too, Mistress Kaya," Usopp told Kaya.
--
"Where's Usopp?" Nami asked Luffy.
"Usopp? He went to see Kaya," Zoro responded. "The real question is, where's Sanji?"
"I haven't seen him since this morning," Luffy added. The three remaining members of Luffy's Pirate Crew looked at each other.
"He's probably taking a smoke," Zoro shrugged.
"Or cooking!" Luffy suggested.
Nami sighed. "Doubt it, Luffy. He's probably hitting on some girl."
Zoro nodded. "Come to think of it, the bar maid was pretty red after we left last night."
"Who?" Nami asked. "What'd she look like?"
"She had short aquamarine hair, wide eyes, and she was pretty gangly."
"She's always red," Nami shook her head. "She was helping me load up. When I asked her how many crates were left, she spazzed out and began apologizing."
"What's her name again?" Luffy asked. "Yoh something…"
"Yohchi," Nami stated flatly. "Leaf-earth. Her name doesn't make much sense…"
Zoro narrowed his eyes. "Let's go do something."
Luffy smiled. "To the restaurant!"
Luffy, Nami, and Zoro headed for the restaurant.
--
Kaya looked at Usopp's hand upon hers. Her face became red, and her eyes became a bit glassy.
"I love you too, Mistress Kaya," Usopp said. Kaya's mouth opened just a bit, and she began to breathe heavily. Kaya flung her arms around Usopp, her knees balanced on the windowsill. Usopp placed his arm around Kaya's waist and gently lifted her out of the window.
Kaya was still embracing him when Usopp moved his head back just a little bit. Usopp boldly kissed Kaya. Kaya returned the kiss, not wanting to let it end. There she sat, in his arms, just kissing him.
Usopp fell to the ground, but they were still making out, completely unaware of their surroundings as they both sat on the grass, holding each other.
Kaya finally pulled away. They stared at each other for a very long time.
"Why don't you come in?" Kaya invited Usopp. Usopp nodded, and followed Kaya inside the house.
--
Sanji reached the beach to find Yohchi there, waiting for him. Yohchi looked up from the sandy ground, her tan tank-top dress billowing in the soft wind.
Sanji blinked. She looked beautiful, as she did the first time that he had met her.
"H-hello, Sanji," Yohchi stammered. Sanji smiled.
"Good to see you, Miss Yohchi," Sanji replied. "What do you want to do?"
"W-well, I've n-never been on a d-date…" Yohchi stuttered. Sanji blinked.
"That surprises me."
"I'm n-not l-lying, Sanji…"
"Well, what do you like doing?" Sanji asked.
"I l-like to t-take walks…"
Sanji took Yohchi's hand, sending an apprehensive shiver up his spine. "Then let's take a walk, shall we?"
"All r-right…"
Yohchi held onto Sanji's hand as the two of them walked along the beach, her heart thumping in her chest forcefully. She was too shy to really speak her mind around anyone, and Sanji was no different.
Sanji wanted to get through the layers surrounding the shy little girl, so he stopped. Yohchi stopped too.
Sanji sat down. "Sit down, Miss Yohchi."
"O-okay…"
Yohchi sat down on Sanji's command, unsure of what was going to happen.
"You're very shy," Sanji pointed out. "Why is that?"
"I-I guess its b-because… I-I really d-don't know, Sanji…"
"Are you shy because you feel… intimidated?" Sanji asked.
Yohchi raised an eyebrow as she looked at the sand. "U-usually… Madame is v-very f-frightening… I guess t-that rubbed off on m-me…"
"You don't need to be scared of me," Sanji smiled. Yohchi smiled as well.
"All right…"
Yohchi felt slightly more confident, and leaned her head on Sanji's shoulder. Sanji grinned.
"Feeling a bit better, Miss Yohchi?" Sanji asked.
"J-just because it's you…"
--
Luffy dropped a chicken bone on his plate. "I love restaurants!"
Nami sighed as she sipped on some cool iced tea. Zoro looked into his grog bottle, as if he suspected poisoning of some sort.
"Make way for Onion's Pirate Crew!" someone cried. Nami, Luffy, and Zoro looked over to see Onion, Carrot, and Pepper, Usopp's old 'pirate crew', standing in the doorway. They caught Luffy's eye and walked over.
"Hey guys!" Pepper smiled.
"Where's the weird blonde guy?" Carrot asked, confused. Nami's head fell.
"Where's Usopp?" Onion asked.
"We don't know!" Luffy smiled broadly. Zoro shrugged as well.
"I think Usopp's still at Kaya's house… we have no idea where Sanji is… and why did you call yourselves Onion's pirates?" Zoro asked.
"Let's go to Kaya's house!" Onion cried.
"HOW ABOUT ANSWERING MY QUESTION FIRST?!"
Pepper grinned. "Oh sorry! We're Onion's pirates because Usopp left, and Onion was the first mate! Now he's the captain!"
"Oh," Nami said simply.
"Now on to Kaya's house!" Onion cried, and the three kids ran off.
"Maybe I should follow them," Nami noted.
"Sounds fine," Zoro stated. Nami got up and followed Onion's Pirate Crew.
--
Usopp stood up. "I can't do this to you, Mistress Kaya."
"But you said you loved me…"
"I did say that… but I can't leave you, like my father left me," Usopp explained.
Kaya sat up on the bed. "I suppose you're right. And we still are pretty young…"
Usopp heard a knock on the door. Kaya heard it too.
"Holy crap," Kaya cried. She struggled to pull her arm through her sleeve and tripped over a shoe. Usopp blanched.
"Maybe I should get the door, Miss Kaya…"
"Maybe you should."
Usopp walked near the doorway when he heard the faint click of the doorknob. Merry, the butler, had gotten it.
"We're Onion's Pirates!" the voice of Pepper called.
"We're here to see Usopp!" Carrot's voice yelled.
"The straw hat guy told us that he was here!" said Onion's voice.
Usopp gulped. Hopefully, Merry wouldn't go up in Kaya's room and get the wrong idea. Usopp slunk back into the kitchen and pretended to be looking through a drawer.
"I'll go find him," Merry told the three and then walked down the hallway. Merry caught Usopp's eye and beckoned for him to follow him to the doorway.
--
Nami sighed. She was by herself in the room. Luffy and Zoro had gone out searching for Sanji, seeing that he'd been gone since ten, leaving Nami alone. Nami was thinking about… things.
It was actually very silly. Nami had never been in love with anyone, other than her parents, and that was a bit obvious. But whenever she saw Luffy, her heart melted on the spot. Her heart told her that all she really wanted was to be caught with Luffy underneath some mistletoe, or that he was that person whose touch she felt lingering over her skin at night.
Then there her brain, that told her that she was completely nuts, that Luffy was a pirate, something she kind of despised, and that she had only joined his crew for the vast expanse of treasure he'd managed to come up with. But how does one explain that age-old pull of fate, the one that ruins so many lives with just a simple tug?
Nami stared at the floor, her head in her hands and her heart with Monkey D. Luffy. Nami reasoned that her heart should have been with Zoro – a person that at least seemed a bit compatible with her. So why did she fall in love with the weird seventeen-year-old with the rubber body, the stupid hat, and the unbreakable dream?
Nami heard a gentle knock on her door. Nami stood up and opened the door. There, in the doorway, was Sanji, cigarette dangling out of his mouth, and his eyes giving Nami the same cold stare.
"Sanji! Where have you been all afternoon?!" Nami cried.
"At the beach," Sanji replied pointedly.
"Why?!"
Sanji stuck the cigarette in an ashtray. "I had a date. Why do you care?"
"AHA! So you WERE hitting on some girl!" Nami yelled. "I knew it! Who was it with, huh?!"
"None of your business," Sanji sighed before leaning against the wall. "Where are Luffy and crap-liar and Zoro?"
Why does he always call Usopp crap-liar? Nami thought.
"Luffy and Zoro went off to find you," Nami huffed. "And Usopp went over to Kaya's house about an hour after you left. We saw him wandering around the village with Onion's Pirate Crew a few hours ago."
"Heh." Sanji smiled. "Didn't know crap-liar had it in him."
"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN??"
"Wow, you're more naïve than I thought." Sanji snickered. "So, how bout it? Bet you've never been in love with anyone."
Nami turned red. "I have too, crap-waiter!"
"Hey don't use that against me!" Sanji complained. "So… who was it?"
"It wasn't you," Nami said flatly. Sanji shrugged.
"You still haven't answered my question."
Nami bit her lip. She didn't know that, outside of the door, Luffy was listening to every word being said in there. Of course, neither Nami nor Sanji had any way of knowing that he was outside. He had stretched his neck so it would reach the doorway from his hiding spot in the hall closet.
"I'm not so sure I should tell you," Nami smirked.
"Oh come on. I won't have a problem with it. Unless you say my name. Then I might hurt you."
Nami gulped. "Okay… Luffy."
"No way… hold on a second…!" Sanji was laughing uncontrollably.
"You said you wouldn't have a problem with it…"
Outside, Luffy brought his neck back to above his body. His face was bright red. He had always held Nami in highest regard inside his heart, a woman he really loved. But now… who knew what would happen… or what Sanji would do…
Luffy decided that maybe staying in the closet for a few more minutes was a pretty good idea.
---
Zoro opened the door to the hall closet. He found Luffy sitting on the floor, grinning broadly.
"Okay, Luffy, why are you in the hall closet?" Zoro asked.
"I'm hiding," Luffy replied. "Come on, let's go back to the hotel room."
Usopp peered into the closet from behind Zoro. "It's late, Luffy."
"Oh fine!" Luffy whined.
As the three of them walked down the hall, Luffy sighed. "Just don't tell Nami I was in the closet… okay?"
Zoro drew a blank, but nodded. "All right… Captain."
DISCLAIMER: I DOn't own One Piece.