News About Usopp
Chapter 2
It was a peaceful afternoon in Syrup Village and some of villagers were enjoying their day by eating lunch in the village's restaurant. Days had become quite quiet after Usopp had left the village although the boys who used to play with Usopp continued his everyday tradition to lie that pirates were coming.
The silence ended suddenly when Piiman, Ninjin and Tamanegi rushed into the restaurant.
"Captain is in the wanted poster!" they shouted as Piiman waved a piece of paper in his hand.
Usually villagers didn't pay much attention to the boys' noisiness, they were already used to it. But this time their shouting made villagers curious.
"He left over a week ago and he's already in trouble?" Joe asked in surprise.
"Show me that wanted poster," said Kelvin who had talked with Helen about delivering the next batch of bread before the boys' appearing.
Piiman gave the paper to Kelvin. He studied the paper for a moment while others waited curiously his reaction.
"This isn't Usopp's wanted poster," Kelvin said with frown. Excited atmosphere that had appeared in the restaurant by the boys' announcement disappeared.
"You're right. It's that straw hat wearing boy," said Helen as she studied the wanted poster beside Kelvin. Both of them turned their attention to boys. "Why you're so excited about this?"
"Our captain is in the poster too!" Tamanegi said.
"Yeah! He is at the bottom left corner of the photograph," Ninjin said as he pointed at the photo.
"May I see it?" Toby asked. Kelvin gave the paper to Toby who adjusted his glasses to study the photograph.
"Black hairs... overalls... familiar looking bandanna... It looks like Usopp. But the photograph has taken from behind so it's also possible that it's somebody else," Toby said as he gave the paper to Joe and Andrew to see.
"No, it's Usopp. We have chased after that brat so many times that it's easy to recognize him from back of his head," Joe stated. Then he turned to face the boys. "I don't understand why you're so excited to see back of Usopp's head in the photograph."
"Haven't you read newspapers?" Tamanegi asked. "That guy's pirate group defeated Arlong Pirates!"
"And because our captain is part of that group, it means that he also was fighting against those fishmen!" Piiman explained eagerly.
Their eager smiles disappeared when villagers gave them sceptical looks. Some of them even had a nerve to laugh a little bit.
"Why are you looking at us like that?" Ninjin demanded.
"Usopp? Fighting? As if," Kelvin said.
"You know that Usopp doesn't know how to fight," Andrew said like it was self-evident. "Always when problems arise, he runs away."
Boys stared at them with offended expressions.
"Captain knows how to fight!" Piiman shouted.
"With what? A slingshot and rubber bands?" Joe asked with mocking tone. Boys heard how some of people laughing like they had heard a good joke and it made them even more upset.
"You just don't know what our captain capable of!" Ninjin shouted.
"Yeah! When a group of pi-" Tamanegi began but his words were cut off as Piiman and Ninjin quickly kicked his ankles.
"You idiot!" Piiman hissed to Tamanegi's ear.
"We promised to captain that we won't tell anybody about that pirate attack," Ninjin reminded quietly.
Tamanegi's eyes widened a little bit when he remembered the promise and nodded his head quickly.
"Boys," Toby said with sympathetic expression when he gave the wanted poster back to them. "I know that Usopp is your friend but you should be realistic. You know that he isn't very strong or brave. These fights between pirate groups surely scares him, so it wouldn't be wonder that he would run away."
The boys stared angrily at the villagers.
"Captain doesn't run away anymore," Piiman said.
"Captain wouldn't had gone to sea if he would be afraid," Ninjin informed as he took the wanted poster from the cobbler.
"Someday Captain will become a famous pirate and then he'll get his own wanted poster!" Tamanegi snapped. After this the boys left the restaurant.
The boys walked away from restaurant without specific destination. None of them said anything because all three of them were so upset how the villagers underestimated their captain's skills.
"Villagers wouldn't think that way if they would know what kind of man our captain really is," Tamanegi muttered.
"Yeah. Although Captain is a coward and liar, he is also very brave," Ninjin said as he stared at the back of Usopp's head in the photograph of Luffy's wanted poster.
"Someday we surely will prove to them that Captain is a great pirate," Piiman said with determined expression.
"Boys!"
Boys stopped and turned their attention in the direction of the voice. They felt immediately little bit better when they noticed Kaya walking towards them.
"Good afternoon, Kaya-san," the boys said in unision.
"Good afternoon, boys," Kaya said to them with a friendly smile.
"Are you going for a walk, Kaya-san?" Tamanegi asked.
"Actually I'm on my way to a bookstore to buy medical books for my studies," Kaya explained.
"In that case we will escort you," Piiman offered.
"Thank you," Kaya said with a smile. "Shopping trip will be much funnier in company."
Kaya and the boys walked to the direction where the bookstore was. While they walked, the boys kept watch in case if somebody malevolent person would decide to attack on Kaya. Although Usopp was at sea at the present time, the boys didn't want to disappoint their former captain by being incompetent bodyguards.
After walking for a while Ninjin asked from Kaya: "Have you seen this wanted poster, Kaya-san?"
Kaya glanced at the Luffy's wanted poster in Ninjin's hand and smiled. "Yes, I have. Merry showed it to me this morning."
"Have you also heard that they fought against fishmen?" Tamanegi asked eagerly. "We're sure that our captain was fighting there too!"
"But when we told about this to villagers, they just said that Captain doesn't know how to fight and that he would just run away," Piiman said with offended expression.
"Don't let their opinions dispirite you," she said to boys with sympathetic expression. "Although they don't yet believe in Usopp-san, we know that he's brave and ready to fight if necessary. And I know that someday Usopp-san will do something that makes villagers change their opinion of him."
Boys smiled, happy to hear that here was at least some people who believed in their captain.
"You're right, Kaya-san," Piiman said.
"When Captain becomes the brave warrior of sea, villagers must admit that he's strong and brave," Ninjin said.
"Thank you, Kaya-san. You always know how to cheer us up," Tamanegi thanked.
Kaya smiled softly. It was always pleasure to her see the boys being so happy.
Together they continued their trip toward the bookstore, now with more cheerful atmosphere than earlier.
To be continue...
