I do not own One Piece.
Sorry for taking so long to get this one out, a lot of things have been happening these last few weeks. This also may not be great, I'm sick at the moment but felt that I needed to get a new chapter out.
It took about a week after my confession for us to reach the next island. It was a large island that seemed to have several cities, much to my despair and everyone else's elation. There was a rather high chance that one of these cities would have the eternal pose that we needed. Nami quickly gave everyone their share of the money and enough to buy the things for the ship that they are responsible for, she gave me some extra money and asked that I got some more gunpowder for the cannon while I picked some up for my boshi.
So, here I am, walking alone through the biggest town I had ever been in, looking for somewhere to buy gunpowder. Nami wants us to get our shopping done as soon as possible, not wanting the log pose to set, she is trying to find out how long it would take to set and any information on the whereabouts of eternal poses on the island. I find the shop for gunpowder and take the requested amount, and a little extra back to the ship, which Brooke was currently guarding. There had apparently been some issues on some of the other islands about a 9 foot skeleton walking around, so he has taken to watching the ship whenever we go into a town.
I walk around casually, not really needing to buy anything so just trying to find something that I might be able to use. As I walk through the town, I find my mind drifting. I am still pretty afraid of going back to that island, no matter how much Sanji reassures me. I know that Luffy knocked him out the first time he saw him, but wasn't that just because he surprised him? Master is strong, a lot stronger than I think the crew realizes, and he isn't afraid to fight dirty. As soon as he realizes that they are the same people who punched him and stole his property, he will not hesitate to set traps and recruit the help of some of his friends…who will force their slaves into the fight….
There was also a small part of me that was still afraid that they were all lying to me. Don't get me wrong, I trust them, I really do. But…everything has just been going way too well for me. Everyone was being so kind. I was asked to help with chores, but no one ever demands that I do anything. No one yells at me, even when I mess up the chores or one of my experiments explode. No one on the crew ever tries to hurt, though sometimes Luffy gets a little too enthusiastic about something and hits up running/flying into someone. Chopper always fixes me right up if I do get some kind of injury, he even gives me something to make the pain go away which I have never had before. They let me sleep in a bed and don't make me take cold showers. They don't expect me to get up before the sun rises or to remain standing all day. They all treat me just as the do everyone else, and it makes me happy, honestly and truly happy. Which was something that I never thought I would feel again. But it all seemed too good to be true. I feel as if I don't deserve this happiness, I don't deserve their kindness. I want to stay with them forever, but, for some reason, I can't shake this intense fear that they don't want me around, that they are planning on returning to me to Master. Maybe with some elaborate story on how all of this was my fault. If that was the case, I would surely be killed, slowly and painfully.
I jump startled as a hand lands on my shoulder. Turning sharply, I come face to face with Sanji. "Are you alright, Usopp?" he asks, staring at me in concern. I blush lightly, realizing that I had been wandering aimlessly and had almost wandered into the forest. "I called your name a few times, but you didn't seem to hear me." I blush lightly, I hadn't even heard him.
"Sorry, Sanji. I was just thinking. I didn't mean to ignore you like that." I reply softly, staring down.
"Don't worry about it. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay." he replies, smiling softly. "Do you do any shopping? We are supposed to meet back at the ship in a couple of hours." he asks as we walk back into town.
"Ah…I bought the gunpowder. There isn't anything else that I really need," I answer quietly walking slightly behind him.
"Is there anything you want?" he asks in turn, slowing down slightly to match my pace. I fight the urge to slow down with him and shake my head slightly. "What about goggles? You have been talking about wanting a pair for awhile." he mentions, shocking me slightly. I had mentioned wanting goggles, but I was only rambling while helping him in the kitchen, I don't really like silence much. I never expected him to remember.
I nod my head and he leads me from shop to shop looking for the perfect pair. I keep insisting that any goggles would do and that he didn't have to waste his time helping like this when I am sure he has plenty of shopping to do himself. But he assured me that he had already finished his shopping, which was a few packs of cigarettes and a new set of knifes that he stumbled upon.
We search for almost an hour, not really finding anything that I particularly liked. We, Sanji, decided to try one last shop before heading back, I'm not really sure why he was trying so hard to help me but it made me happy all the same. As soon as we walk in, my eyes are drawn to the goggles laying on a table next to the wall. Walking over, I pick them and place them on my head. Pulling one of the lenses down, I rotate it, causing it to zoom in and out. Taking them off, I stare in wonder at them, they were perfect! I glance down at the table they were sitting on and feel my elation waver. I lacked a few hundred beri to buy them. Trying to hide my disappointment, I sat them back down on the table and moved over towards the cheaper, and more ordinary, goggles were.
I begin picking up different pairs and comparing them. They all seemed to be of pretty decent quality, but none of them really wowed me like the others. Just as I was about to decide on a pair, a hand appears in front of me holding the goggles I was so fascinated with. I look up at Sanji in confusion, not really understand what he was trying to say.
"These are the ones you want, right?" he asks smiling at me. I bite my lip, stare back down at the goggles.
"They are too expensive," I reply softly.
"I should be able to talk him down a few hundred beri and if you still don't have enough, I'll pay the rest." I stare at him in shock, my mouth opening and closing, for a few seconds. I look down, clutching the last pair of goggles I had picked up tightly.
"You, you don't need to do that. These goggles will be fine. You should spend your money on something you want," I stutter out. I look up after a couple of moments of silence, only to find Sanji already talking to the owner of the store. I hastily put the goggles down and hurry towards Sanji, reaching them just as they agree on a price, which was still a little over a hundred more beri than I had. I turn to Sanji, once again wanting to try and talk him out of it, only to find him, coin pouch in hand, smiling gently at me.
"You better hurry and pay him. We are probably already late." he says. I nod my head, pulling out my own coin pouch and handing the man all of the money I had, and watch solemnly as Sanji pays him the rest. Sanji then picks up the goggles, places them on my head, before walking out of the store. I stare at the door for a few seconds before hurrying after him, vowing to pay him back the next time I received money.