He awoke with a start and turned over to find Kaya feverishly shaking him, morning sunbeams tracing her anxious profile. Unconsciously pushing the flat of his palm to her shoulder, he made a thick, confused mutter.
She responded with more shaking and an urgent hiss, "Wake up! We overslept!"
"What?" Usopp asked groggily, allowing her to pull him into a sitting position.
"Merry will be here soon to call me for breakfast!" Kaya pleaded, yanking him to his feet with all her might. "The minute I leave, he'll start cleaning my room. We have to get you out of here now."
Usopp rushed to collect his things, throwing on his cloak and geta. His friend handed over his walking stick and securely fastened his mother's fan to his waist. They were about to dash into the hallway when a sharp rap came at the door.
"Milady?" her butler, Merry, called. "Are you awake?"
Kaya went paler than white in a way Usopp never thought possible. They shared a quick glance, neither knowing what to do. If Usopp had wings, he could just fly off the veranda, but …
"Y-yes!" she stuttered, looking around until she laid eyes on the closet. "Um, just a second!"
She pushed Usopp towards the closet door. He did his best to tiptoe, but the geta still made a noticeable clack against the floor. They heard Merry shift as he inquired, "What is that noise?"
Closing Usopp safely in the closet, Kaya answered, "J-just, uh, knocked some stuff together! Don't worry about it!"
Finally she opened the door for Merry, giving him her best lantern-bright smile. "Sorry, I overslept. What do you need?"
The servant gave her a strange look. "Of course, it's time for breakfast, milady."
"Ah, yes, thank you," she said brightly, smile pulling her cheeks so hard it hurt. "I'll be down soon, just let me tidy up some things."
"Don't worry, I will tidy up for you," Merry promised fondly. "Besides, I must step in and see about your dresses. Surely they will need some starching ..."
"Starching? For what?" Kaya asked, confused.
Merry gave her a disappointed frown. "Please don't tell me you've forgotten your meeting with the mill owner and his son."
"O-of course not, I just already had one prepared," Kaya stammered. Despite her smooth lie, Merry breezed past her before she could put herself between him and the door. "Ah, wait! I said don't worry about it!"
He stopped in front of the closet door, shooting her a tender smile, completely unaware of her distress.
"You know it's no trouble. I'm delighted to help you-" he said, and then he was pulling open the closet door. Kaya rushed over and grabbed his hand to stop him. Through the slight crack in the open door she saw one fearful eye in the back of the closet. Usopp shook and covered his mouth with one hand.
When she saw him like that, Kaya's whole demeanor changed. Her spine straightened, her shoulders raised like a swan preparing its wings for flight, and her face flowered in stern, royal grace. Before she even said anything, Merry's expression became acquiescent.
"Please come back in a few minutes," she pleaded quietly, but Merry knew it was an order. That didn't stop him from standing his ground.
Neck stiff and chin raised, hand still gripping the doorknob, he asked slowly, "There isn't, perchance, something in here you don't want me to see?"
Neither did Kaya budge as she answered, "Nothing that should make you question me."
Merry continued to stare her down for a few moments longer. She squeezed his hand and the royal facade briefly broke into something that begged his faith. He didn't look entirely convinced, but his face softened nonetheless. Only a bit, but it was enough that he released his grip on the door.
"I'll be back in a few minutes," he declared firmly. "By then, you better be dressed."
"Of course," Kaya sighed in grateful relief.
Merry allowed himself to be all but shoved out of the room, saying, "I mean it, get dressed," before she closed the door in his face. She stood frozen against the door, hearing him huff before his footsteps took off down the corridor.
When she was certain he had left, she opened the closet and ushered Usopp out. His knees visibly shook.
"It's too risky to take you downstairs," Kaya decided. "You'll have to leave by the veranda. We're only on the second floor, so you should be fine. Right?"
They ran to the veranda and peered out over the banister. The distance from there to the ground appeared abysmal. After a quick search, they found the walls had no suitable purchase to climb down, either.
"Th-there's n-no way I can do this," Usopp chattered, leaning on his staff for support. But they had to do something.
Putting a hand to her chin, Kaya thought for a while.
"Okay, let's do it this way," she began. "You climb onto the banister, I'll grab your hands, and then lower you down a little and let you go. It's not much, but it could make the difference."
There was nothing else to try. Usopp set aside his staff and slowly dragged himself up and over the banister with shaking arms, placing his trust in the firm grasp of her delicate fingers around his wrists. With a grunt and a "here we go" she gradually bent further over the railing, lowering him a few more blessed inches towards the ground. He watched her face as she grunted in exertion, her hair brushing his cheeks.
He heard a shout from the entrance to the balcony. Kaya looked over her shoulder in panic and gasped weakly, "Merry!" Usopp blanched-the butler must have snuck into her room again once she turned away. Why did he come back?!
Kaya turned back to Usopp in a panic, at a loss for what to do. Even with a few extra inches, the ground was still so far away. He shook his head frantically, but knew by the fearful glint in her eye that he had no choice. She made another few strangled noises, struggling with the weight, and then released him with no further warning.
Usopp felt himself free-falling, tumbling head over heels. His wings, which should have been there-his mother had billowing, ebony wings, dammit-failed him through nonexistence and he plummeted straight onto his back. Pain and his spine became one and the same. As he squinted tearfully up at Kaya's shocked face, and Merry who crowded her, shouting, he couldn't help feeling like some small trust had been broken. A door had been closed.
He heard a loud smack beside him and turned to see his staff had been tossed down. He vaguely heard Kaya calling his name, screaming for him to get up and run. In spite of his swimming head his hands reached over, clawing for the ground, and he managed to drag himself onto his knees. Clumps of grass fell from his fists as he clutched at his staff and used it to stand.
Kaya's voice continued to shriek at his back, something about Merry coming for him, but he was too busy regaining his breath to properly focus. He needed to move. That should be easy, right? Even lower-ranking koppa tengu would have no trouble standing up after a fall like that. Then again, a koppa wouldn't fall. Any tengu with wings wouldn't fall.
Another yell came from around the side of the house, this time from Merry. Usopp turned his head just far enough to see the butler approaching with long-legged strides. He didn't need any more prompting-he ran out of the yard and onto the main road that snaked through and eventually out of the village. As he reached the road he stumbled into a bewildered pedestrian, bowing his head in brief apology without slowing down. He ran and ran until the noontime crowd surged onto the street, allowing him to meld seamlessly with the indistinguishable swath of faces. Only after he had did he allow himself to slow his gait from a run to a quick, determined walk. He pressed on through the outskirts and towards the forest without stopping, without allowing himself to think.
Buildings gradually gave way to trees and the crowd dissipated until Usopp was the only one left walking the dusty path now flecked with leaves. He looked behind himself at the bustling little village, radiating quaint happiness and light. The rock that had been waiting to drop in his stomach fell all the way through to his gut. His truest friend was back there-one who promised to protect him despite all risks-and now that friendship might be as good as gone. And with it went Usopp's easiest out. He shoved down the thought, knowing the only thing he could do at the moment was return to the temple. In a week, when the pilgrimage came, the final decision would be in front of him. He had a whole week to indulge in regret.
It took him a couple of hours to make the climb through the lower mountain strata, mind churning over and over all the while and his back still sore from falling off Kaya's balcony. A repetitive string of thoughts pushed him onwards, commanding, "Keep going. Just keep going. Don't think about anything. Not what'll happen to her, or her distraught face, or her screams. Just keep going." And keep going he did until he was a mere ten minutes away from the temple steps.
Only then did he notice the faint crunching of footsteps a few feet behind him. He turned to see three wiry men emerge from the foliage, each equipped with travel packs and disdainful smirks.
One of them stepped forward and asked coolly, "Where are you going?"
Seized with instinctive apprehension, Usopp muttered, "J-just out for a walk. Hiking is a personal hobby of mine."
"You must really be an enthusiast, you've been out here hiking for over an hour," another of the men pointed out, casually strolling up to flank Usopp on his left side. Usopp could see a knife of some kind in a holster half-hidden behind his back.
So they'd been following him for a while now. His chest tightened as he tried his best to nonchalantly accede, "Yes, I'm v-very passionate about it. I love hiking."
"I see," the first man hummed, "but just where do you think you're going with this?"
He reached for Usopp's waist and Usopp deflected his hand, reflexively protecting Banchina's fan. Seeing a knowing grin spread over the man's face, Usopp realized his fatal mistake-he hadn't taken care to hide the fan. How long had they been following him? Had the fan been in plain sight the whole time he fled Kaya's yard?
"Looks like we've got competition," said the one with the poorly-concealed knife. "I haven't seen a single tengu since I got here, but this guy already nabbed a fan."
The third hunter, much shorter than the others, stepped up and smacked the knife-bearing man on the shoulder. "Use your brain," he chided, gesturing with a hand to Usopp's trembling form. "He's got a fan, but no weapon, and look at those robes."
Reaching again for Banchina's fan, the first man-most likely their leader-smiled even wider, all his carnivorous teeth gleaming beneath the afternoon light through the trees.
He asked playfully, "Where are your wings? Did you hide them, too, or just your nose?"
All the blood in Usopp's body froze. But his mind cranked up and shifted gears, automatically generating a lie. He cried a little too loudly, "Wings? My nose? You think I'm a tengu?! A tengu can't hide their wings! I mean, that's impossible, r-right? I've never heard of such a thing! And this fan here-"
He stepped back, making enough space between them and himself that he could safely display the fan. With sweat running down his cold neck in rivulets he pointed to it and insisted, "I-I really did take this from a tengu, though! Hunted one down with my own two hands! Or actually, I guess I stole it, probably. And these robes, they're my disguise, to help me sneak up to the temple!"
I can answer any accusation they throw at me this way, Usopp reasoned. I can make something up, maybe tell them I'm heading back up the mountain right now to hunt more tengu. Though then they might ask to come with me, and if they do, it'll put the whole Upper Yard in danger.
Not that he had any room for debate. The shorter hunter kicked Usopp's walking stick out from under his hand, knocking him off-balance, and fisted one hand in his gesa.
"You've got two options. You either give us your fan here and take us to where your friends are, and maybe we don't kill you," he offered unconvincingly, "or we drag your body up the temple steps and kill you in front of your friends."
Usopp desperately covered Banchina's fan with one hand, angling that hip away from the man in front of him.
"You want to go to the temple grounds?" he squeaked. "You'll never make it! And even if you do, that place is sacred!"
"Only to you," the hunter hissed, fist tightening. "Make your choice."
Usopp's mouth clamped shut. There was nothing he could say. If he took the bounty hunters to the temple, they'd definitely dismember his fellow ascetics. But he couldn't get rid of Banchina's fan either. It was more than a keepsake of his mother-it was an artifact of her people and a symbol of their heritage. First and foremost it belonged to him, but its symbolism belonged to all the Upper Yard tengu. An artifact of that magnitude would be pawned in the village for mere alms in comparison to what it was truly worth.
Even if he did hand over the fan, he knew just by looking into the eyes of these hunters that he would still die. They saw him as a base animal. He could either die in front of his fellow tengu, a brave sacrifice for refusing to sell out his comrades, or be slaughtered like a pig in the temple after the hunters picked everyone else clean.
"Make your choice," the hunter prompted again. The knife-bearing man discreetly withdrew his weapon from its sheath.
Usopp knew what he had to do. He knew, but his mouth wouldn't open. He couldn't move. He couldn't say anything. He was too full of the awareness that this terrible moment, lit warmly by the sun playing through the trees, would be the last memory before true suffering.
He was going to die.
His knees gave out and the world went black. His mother's face appeared before him, floating in a vision of sacred peace. With a warm smile she placed her hands on his shoulders and gently shook him. Then she shook him again, a little harder this time. The next thing he knew, she'd vanished, and in her place was the rigid face of a stranger with close-cropped light blue hair, equally blue eyes and cheeks like slabs of stone.
"You're awake," the stranger breathed, stony expression easing. "Don't just pass out like that. You scared me."
Still in a daze, Usopp sat up to frantically scan his surroundings. He was … alive? And still in the forest. Where did the hunters go?
A few feet away the three hunters from before lay sprawled on the grass. The short hunter who had once been so intimidating was now spread-eagle on his back, mouth agape and eyes open. None of the hunters moved or even appeared to be breathing.
Fearfully, Usopp whispered, "Are they d-dead?"
The stranger barked out a laugh.
"Hardly. I hit them with the blunt side-they're just unconscious."
Usopp wasn't sure what he meant by "the blunt side" until he saw the stranger lean down to pick up an axe. At that moment he remembered this guy was a complete unknown. He also happened to note just how massive the man was in comparison to him-he had to be at least one to two heads taller with a warrior's wide, muscular frame. His head climbed like a mountain peak into the trees.
"You're from the Upper Yard, right?" the man asked, stern brow creasing. The axe swayed threateningly at his side.
Fear gripped at Usopp's stomach once more. He shielded himself with both hands, shrieking, "P-please don't kill me, or take my fan!"
"What?" the stranger balked. He glanced at the axe out of the corner of his eye. Returning the tool to a spot somewhere on his back that Usopp couldn't see, the man hastily clarified, "I'm a woodcutter, not a bounty hunter."
Stooping again, he offered a hand to Usopp and said, "I'm Franky. What's your name?"
Still shaking in fear, Usopp gave Franky a once-over. From his position he could see the outline of a woodcutter's pack over Franky's shoulder, where the axe had presumably been returned. He also wore a very … unconventional uniform. His humble field worker's vest clashed with the high-quality cloth of his navy-striped sleeves and gauntlets. Around his waist hung a bear pelt, and nothing below that but a fundoshi and a pair of leg-guards below the knee.
"That's not a woodcutter's uniform," Usopp protested with some embarrassment as he tried not to make eye-contact with this stranger's lower body.
Franky merely raised his eyebrows. "Trust me," he assured, "I'm the real deal. I can chop down a tree right now if you want me to prove it."
If anything, the ridiculous getup somehow made him more terrifying. He looked like a youkai sculpted from cold stone, so unaware of the limitations of his body that he didn't need to hide himself.
Usopp cautiously regarded Franky's hand. If Franky had wanted to kill him, he'd have done so by now, right? And he'd saved Usopp from the bounty hunters.
Reluctantly, Usopp gripped Franky's hand and acceded, "I'm Usopp."
Franky gave a casual tug and Usopp practically flew to his feet. His stomach lurched. He suddenly felt bad for the unconscious bounty hunters. Maybe they really were dead, considering Franky's apparent strength.
"Are you on your way back to the temple?" the woodcutter asked cordially.
Usopp nodded meekly, still ready to bolt at any time.
"Maybe you can help me then," Franky suggested. He gestured with a thumb at the forest behind him. "I'm out here in the Belt almost every day working. These guys here-" he pointed to the men out cold on the ground "-were creeping around near the temple steps yesterday. At the time, I didn't think much of it, but they were still lurking when I came back this morning. Now I know they are hunters. Do you know anything about the situation?"
Usopp frowned and averted his gaze.
"No. I m-mean, that's definitely weird but it should be fine." He paused, wondering how much information he should give. Eventually he conceded, "Some tengu usually stand watch over the temple steps to ward off intruders. If anything happens, they'll take care of it."
"You're talking about the white-winged tengu, right?" Franky asked, brow furrowing in concern. Usopp nodded. "That's the thing. I just came back from that area ten minutes ago. There were no tengu standing guard at the steps."
Usopp's eyes widened. "What? Are you sure you didn't miss them?"
"Yes. I know because there's this one koppa tengu, a girl with twin braids and a beak, who's on duty every afternoon."
"Conis wasn't there?" Usopp shouted, his nervous heart getting the better of him. "There's no way she'd leave the temple steps unguarded."
"I'm telling you, there's no one there," Franky repeated. "Come on, I'll show you."
Without another word, the woodcutter turned his back and stalked off in the direction of the temple steps. Usopp called out for him to wait, but Franky simply kept walking. Taking a human to the temple steps seemed like a bad idea. Even if Franky did save Usopp, he could have plenty of ulterior motives for showing friendly behavior. But fear at the prospect of venturing to the temple steps alone, where more bounty hunters might be hiding, outweighed Usopp's distrust.
Usopp hurried to catch up with Franky, insisting breathlessly, "Only to the temple steps-then you have to leave, okay?"
"Sure," Franky grunted in affirmation.
They quickly arrived at the steps and found, much to Usopp's dismay, that Franky was right-Conis had vanished and no other White Berets appeared to be around.
"I have a real bad feeling about this," Franky mumbled to himself as he scanned the surrounding area. "You said this never happens?"
"Not in my lifetime," Usopp confirmed.
"Could the guards have left to chase someone off?" Franky suggested, carefully avoiding the explicit mention of bounty hunters.
"The enemy would have to be pretty strong to pull both guards from their post. And even if they did leave, more tengu would replace them," Usopp explained, cupping his chin and doing his best forensic examination of the spot where Conis once stood, kneeling down to scoop the earth with two fingers. Unfortunately, normal koppa didn't leave behind trails of vegetation like he did, so he had no idea how to determine where she went. "I don't understand. Where could they all have gone?"
As if in answer to his plea, a faint scream trickled down from the sky. Both men gave a start and glanced at each other to confirm they'd heard it. They strained their ears and waited with bated breath. The heavens did not disappoint-another shout fell down, and then another. And then multiple in tandem and one right after the other until they rained on the trees like comets.
Usopp had scarcely the time to panic before Franky boomed, "I knew it! Someone's attacking the temple!" The woodcutter grit and bared his teeth, his mortar-smooth skin stretching and folding into the visage of a fierce oni. He lunged up the steps without hesitation, climbing two at a time.
"Franky, stop! You can't go up there!" Usopp cried, but could not move to stop him. He could barely feel his legs. The woodcutter didn't seem to hear him, and continued charging up the steps, already twenty feet away and getting further.
Usopp stumbled up the first couple of steps, calling out again. He tripped over the third step, landing on his right knee with a yelp. He reflexively doubled over to clutch the injury. As he cursed his clumsiness, a shadow fell over him. When he looked up, to his surprise, he found that Franky had come back.
Bright blue eyes wide with confusion, Franky asked, "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"
With a mighty heave he picked Usopp completely off the ground and slung him over his shoulder. Then he turned back towards the temple and continued his ascent, his pace faster than before-faster than any human his size should be allowed to run. Usopp bounced in his grip, chin banging against Franky's thick shoulder blade until his teeth rattled. They reached the top of the temple steps quicker than most ascetics could fly there. Before they could get high enough to see the temple grounds over the top step, Usopp struggled out of Franky's grip and tugged on his shirt to get him to stop.
"You have to stay here. The temple grounds are sacred-no human is allowed to see or enter."
"But the tengu are in danger!" Franky retorted. His protest was punctuated by the sounds of a struggle a few yards away.
"That's why I'm going to help them. You can't come," Usopp insisted, giving the other man's shoulder a firm press. "You'd get in trouble. We both would. I can't let that happen."
He really hoped the insane fear he felt coursing through his veins didn't show on his face. By the look of Franky's growing distress, such hopes seemed far-fetched. But a regretful sense of understanding finally grew between the two of them, just like the clover stems struggling up through the soil beneath Usopp's feet.
"I get it," Franky admitted begrudgingly. "I'd rather die than defile your temple. I'd rather die than leave you all to face those hunters alone, but-"
He seemed to visibly steel himself, strained brow polishing over until it was smooth and white. And then his eyes blew wide open as a thought suddenly occurred to him. He reached behind himself, rustling with something under the bear pelt around his waist, and pulled out a weird instrument made of wood and metal with a hook-shaped handle. Though Usopp had never seen one in person before, he immediately recognized what it was from one of Kaya's many books.
"Many bounty hunters carry guns or ranged weapons. Especially now that tengu are on the menu." Franky hesitated, mouth set in a tight line. "I don't know what temple policy is on this, but … It's just a standard flintlock. Only one shot in it."
Usopp looked up helplessly at the woodcutter, fear plain on his face now. Franky seemed to know that what he was doing was wrong, and completely out of the line. Usopp wanted to flat-out refuse, because of course guns weren't allowed in the temple but now that the offer had been made, he was possessed with the fear that maybe Franky was right. Maybe he needed a trump card. He thought back to the bounty hunter from earlier, and the yawning black unknown of what he might've done to Usopp if Franky wasn't there. What he was capable of doing. What tricks he had up his sleeve.
Franky held the pistol out by the muzzle, clenched within his chiseled fist. A fist that could have crushed Usopp with a simple squeeze, or perhaps could even crush the gray barrel if he tried hard enough.
"It doesn't hurt to have a backup, right?" Franky suggested weakly. "Maybe it's a bad idea, but I …"
The only time Usopp had ever seen such concern on someone's face was from earlier that day, when Kaya struggled in vain not to drop him from her verandah. The look she gave him in the millisecond he slipped from her grasp bore a strong resemblance to the expression Franky wore as he proffered his dangerous, mysterious weapon. It's a trick of the eye, Usopp told himself. He wants you to let your guard down. Don't believe him.
So he refused to believe in Franky's concern. Even so, fear made his final decision for him. Without another word, he reached out and met Franky halfway.
At the heart of the temple grounds, staff and heart in hand, Usopp witnessed the heavens shatter. Wings beat the air, crude wooden spears clashed with well-honed swords, clawed feet and fleshy toes kicked up tempests of dust, feathers, and blood. Wounded tengu rested at a safe distance on the ground while others sequestered and subdued individual hunters. Amidst the sweat and heat and shouting, the entire area swelled with vibrant life. Usopp had yearned for this fire, for this inertia, but not like this. This life came at the price of peace.
The ascetics fought with surprising organization and efficiency. By the time Usopp made it to the center of the conflict, a gauntlet of White Berets had flanked the last of the bounty hunters and began backing them against one of the connecting walls of the compound. Among them was Conis, who hovered at the back of the formation, darting in to block any gaps that appeared when a tengu lunged or traded places with another. He wouldn't have to fight after all, he thought with crushing relief.
As if in direct response to his misplaced naivety, two hunters took advantage of one of those gaps and broke through the formation. One charged Conis directly, occupying her spear, and the other followed up with a quick dagger slash that cut deep into the flesh of her shoulder. She gave a mighty heave and pushed them both back with her spear just enough that she could attempt a retreat. She barely managed to scuttle backwards four steps when one of them drew a pistol that looked hauntingly similar to the one burning a hole in Usopp's waistband. Without any regard to the tengu rushing to intercept him, he took direct aim for Conis' head.
Usopp's feet reacted without his permission, propelling him in a full-body dive towards the hunters. With a quick and firm swing of his staff, he struck the dagger-bearing hunter in the head, sending him sprawling. He wasted no time in lunging for the other hunter's gun. He tried to wrestle it away for a few preciously brave moments before it was yanked back. In the next breath, the butt of the pistol cracked against his forehead and brought him to his knees. Conis let out a shout, half misery and half rage.
Usopp raised his eyes to see the barrel of the hunter's pistol pointed between his eyes. The shakedown in the woods suddenly felt like a petty squabble in comparison. He felt all courage leave his body, trickling down his cheek along with a red trail of blood, and sat paralyzed. He was helpless to do anything but watch the hunter's finger curl around the trigger while his bravery, his love for this temple, his will, and his loyalty bled out along his face. The weight of them dragged his trembling face down and his gasping lips closed, calcifying against his skin.
The hunter's eyes widened in shock, and then in poorly-disguised terror. He shaked his pistol and shouted, "Put the gun down, I'm warning you."
Usopp looked over and saw the flintlock raised in his hand, aimed with calm and unwavering precision. Just like that, without even looking, he shot the hunter in the chest and turned back in time to watch him fall to the ground.
The last thing Usopp remembered was the hunter clutching at the wound, gaping like a fish on dry land. To the music of clanking spears, Usopp gripped his heavy cheeks and brow with his fingers, digging beneath the skin, and pulled as hard as he could, until the weight began to peel away. What came off in his hands was a mask, the inside molded perfectly to his face. He flipped it over to see the face of a blue and gold tengu, fangs peeking out from behind thin red lips. He knew he should be horrified.
Yet he felt it was the most beautiful thing he had ever held.
The ascetics confined the bounty hunters to a room in the temple and posted guards. They imprisoned Usopp in his room, much the same way, with Pagaya to watch over him. He and an elder stood at the door, embroiled in a quiet but intense discussion. Usopp sat on the bed, still clutching the mask in his hands, listening silently to the sound of feathers rustling.
The mask had not lost its luster in the time since the fever of conflict faded and peace returned brokenly to the temple. The right side of the forehead was dyed blue, cutting the otherwise gold surface at a sharp diagonal, through the right eye and down the sculpted cheek. Two pointed ear-like protrusions flanked the sides, drawing the body of the cheeks into a more threatening curve. Its intense, eyeless gaze bore into Usopp, searching for his resolution, uncovering a burning desire.
Finally the elder left. Pagaya watched the door for a few moments, completely still.
Usopp hazarded to raise his voice, "What did he say? How long am I locked in here for?"
"Indefinitely," Pagaya answered, eyes still on the door. Eventually he looked back at Usopp, turning his whole body to face him. "You have no idea how much trouble you are in. Where did you get that gun?"
A chill ran through Usopp's entire body. "A human. A woodcutter. He saved me from some hunters while I was on my way back, and then we heard the commotion going on at the temple. He gave it to me to protect myself."
"Of course, a human," Pagaya sighed bitterly. "You swore to a life of peace, and yet you carried a gun onto our sacred temple grounds-"
"I wanted to protect everyone!" Usopp rushed to defend himself. "The other priests fought too!"
"Yes, but you fought with a gun," Pagaya hissed, wings billowing out in frustration. "Do you think that staff of yours is just for walking?"
When Usopp shrinked back in fear and shame, Pagaya composed himself and folded down his wings.
"Maybe if it had just been the gun, the elders would have forgiven you. But that mask of yours …" Pagaya shook his head at Usopp's wide-eyed look. "They're afraid of it. There is no peace in that mask, only the smell of blood. To see you with that mask, waving that gun around-the elder gurus fear it's a sign of impending war."
Hunching in close to himself, clutching the mask tightly, Usopp asked, "What about the guy I shot? Is he okay?"
His sensei hesitated, pain growing on his bearded face. "The elders say you've killed him."
The news hits like an icepick to the skull. All feeling went out of Usopp's fingertips, yet his heart felt strangely calm and cold. Somewhere deep down, he'd known the result of his actions the moment he saw the gun in his hand. His heart and lungs shivered in his chest.
"I haven't seen the body. But the rumors have already spread throughout the temple," Pagaya continued, a pinch of gravel in his smooth voice. "If there really is a corpse, it must be shipped back to the city. No matter how respectfully we return the body, you will face resentment."
"They were bounty hunters. They came to our temple, to our sacred mountain, and tried to kill us," Usopp begged in a tremulous voice. "He tried to kill me, and Conis too!"
"This is all true. But we are tengu."
The age-old truth of separation left Usopp with no recourse left to argue. Kneeling down in front of him, one wrinkled hand resting on his shoulder, Pagaya soothed, "Please understand, I say this not to persecute you." He grabbed hold of Usopp's wrists and shook them firmly. "I fear for your life. Even if this incident is overlooked somehow you will not be allowed to participate in the pilgrimage."
That final admission made tears well up in Usopp's eyes. He willed them down, not wanting to cry in front of his teacher.
"A tengu's life is long," Pagaya continued, "take this as an opportunity to leave for a few decades and get your spirit in order."
Those words brought a fresh wave of panic to Usopp's face. "Decades? That long? W-what if we're worrying about nothing?"
"If it's really nothing, I'll send for you. But you can't afford to take any chances." He squeezed Usopp's wrists meaningfully. "Just live. I beg you."
There was nothing left to say. Pagaya left the room to give the elders a status report and assure them everything was fine while Usopp collected his meager life in the thin blanket on his bed. Pretty much all he owned were the clothes on his back, his mother's fan, a yellowing photo of his mother and father from just before he was born-a priceless luxury the elders were loathe to let him keep-his lumpy pillow and the staff in his hands. And now, to add to these possessions, his mask. He tied the blanket together onto his staff, the weight dreadfully light and heavy at the same time.
Soon Pagaya returned, a cloth bundle tucked under his arm. He carefully drew back the fabric to reveal a regal gesa with golden straps and six dove-white poffs. A cold bead of sweat fled down Usopp's back.
His grandfather's gesa. An article common to all full-fledged yamabushi, made holy only by the man who wore it as he conquered and protected the Upper Yard. Even though it belonged to Usopp's blood, he had only seen it a handful of times, held prisoner and coveted at the elder gurus' special altar. Usopp stared blindly up at Pagaya. The beady eyes that normally skipped and rolled like blackberries on the ground fixated on him with the piercing gaze of a crow that has laid claim to a shiny object.
"I can't take this," Usopp squeaked out.
"Why not?" Pagaya asked, like the answer wasn't obvious.
"It's the temple's treasure. It's the yamabushi's pride-"
"I will replace it and they won't know the difference," Pagaya said calmly, and added as Usopp opened his mouth to interject, "It belongs to you, not us. We have worshipped it to death, just like its owner-it's your turn now. Do with it as you see fit."
There was no way the elders wouldn't notice the absence of a prized artifact. No way. Apparently Pagaya didn't care-he had already wrapped up the gesa again and pushed it into Usopp's unwilling hands. In the moment that Usopp was still thunderstruck, Pagaya was already pushing him towards the door, hissing, "Go now. Don't waste any time."
Usopp dug his geta into the floor, pushing back desperately. "I have to stay."
"You'll have another shot at becoming a yamabushi," Pagaya assured him with exasperation. "If you can't wait, there are other temples-"
"And if you let me go," Usopp asked, "What happens to you?"
"They'll never know," Pagaya repeated mechanically, mouth set in a thin line.
"But-"
"If I must, I'll face that when the time comes." Then he added, as a consolation, "I'll ask the White Berets to keep you informed as the situation progresses. Now go."
He opened the door to the room, took a few cautious looks outside, and then pulled Usopp over the threshold. He blocked the entire doorway with his body. For the first time, Usopp saw tears in his sensei's eyes.
"Take off your geta so no one will hear you," Pagaya advised him. "And Usopp-I don't have the right to ask this of you, but please, if … if somehow you see Conis on the way out, tell her-"
His jaw clamped shut. He wanted to say the words, but he wasn't allowed. He wasn't even allowed to think them.
"I will," Usopp promised. He fell to both knees and bowed, forehead touching the ground, tears pouring over and mixing with the dirt. "Thank you. For everything you've ever done for me. I'll never forget it."
He pulled himself off the ground and asserted, "We'll meet again. I know we will. So please wait for me."
They nodded to each other, and then Usopp removed his geta and took off barefooted towards the temple steps. When he cast a glance behind him, Pagaya had already closed the door. The temple grounds were blissfully quiet except for the soft patting of his feet. He expected more guards to be around, waiting for a second ambush, but it was if the heavens had sucked everyone up to let Usopp skate cleanly by.
He reached the steps and kept running, feet smacking against stone and breathing already wild from stress. It would be a long climb down. If there were any White Berets in the forest, he'd have to avoid them too. He hoped Conis would be guarding the steps alone, and then realized she probably wouldn't even be on duty, because of her injury. Sure enough, when he stopped at the bottom of the steps, he saw no one there.
He had to go back. Conis was injured. Pagaya had asked him to talk to her, he had to tell Conis his dad was thinking of her. She was hurt and Usopp was running away without a second thought. He turned and looked back up the steps, feeling their magnitude all the more.
Something rustled behind him. He clutched his staff and whipped around, only to find the woodcutter from earlier leaning out from behind a tree.
He was still there. Why was he still there?
"You're okay," Franky breathed in relief, approaching with arms outstretched. His eyes caught the way Usopp's legs wavered and hazarded a step back. The friendly expression immediately melted into worry.
"What the hell were you doing?" Usopp asked through chattering teeth.
"I was afraid if someone saw me they'd chase me away. I had to know what was going on." He put both hands on Usopp's shoulders and Usopp got that feeling again, that awareness that this human could probably snap all his bones if he wanted. "Is everyone okay? Are you okay? You were gone for so long-"
Usopp wriggled fervently out of the grip, hugging his arms. "Don't touch me."
Blue eyes widened in alarm. There, Usopp thought, there's that fear. The fear in that bounty hunter's eyes, the fear in Pagaya's, the thing that makes all tengu what they are. He felt sick to his stomach. His shaking legs finally buckled and he fell to the ground, struggling not to retch. Franky followed suit, reaching out again, until Usopp shouted once more, "Don't touch me! Please."
"What happened?" the woodcutter demanded. "What'd those guys do?"
His eyes went even wider and he pointed to Usopp's forehead, to the wound received from the bounty hunter's pistol.
He looked up the steps, the kindness from before stealing over on his face, and he stood up as if ready to make the climb all over again. He made to step around Usopp until a hand reached up and gripped his bare leg.
"Don't," Usopp pleaded. "Don't do anything. There's nothing-there was-"
He grimaced and pulled himself up again, legs struggling to hold. He was so pathetic. He could hardly stand on his own. How did he think he could go back and make a heroic appearance, impart Pagaya's message to Conis, then wish her well and escape?
He forced himself to look Franky in the eye. The steely determination had already vanished, replaced again with that nagging worry.
Usopp had trusted him. He'd taken this human's gun. And it had cost him his entire life. It took away his decision, and left him with only one path. For all he knew, Franky had known this would happen. Had done it on purpose. He had to have known.
"I thought," he choked out, "I actually thought, maybe, maybe you were okay. But I was wrong."
And with that, darkness overcame his vision and he fell back into the void of dreams, those black wings always, always unfolding before his eyes as his consciousness flew away.