Author's Notes: Hey all! Kieri and Koru here for another update! Did you miss us?
I missed you!! XP
Sorry about the length of this chapter--but it was either this, or wait another week or so for a long update. I figured whoever is still reading (let's count the reviews...four of you?) might want an earlier update more than a long one. Unless I'm totally and irrevocably wrong?
Lemme know, you guys! Please leave comments!
Lurv Koru
Chapter Six
The mansion on the hill was graced with the sounds of a sunny morning. One of the wide windows on the second story of the house was thrown wide, inviting any stray breeze to enter and greet the girl inside.
The young blonde had her face to the window, listening with eyes closed to the slow movements of leaves in the tree that stood right outside, though memories of another voice completely drowned them out.
"Miss Kaya?"
Kaya turned at the sound of her servant's voice beyond her door, followed by a soft knock.
"Yes?" she answered brightly.
The older man ducked his horned head carefully into Kaya's room, and from his expression, the girl knew instantly that something wasn't right.
"What is it, Merry?"
Merry stepped slowly inside, seeming to stall for time against something he did not want to say.
"You must come downstairs, Miss Kaya," he told her, not wanting to meet her eyes. "There is someone to see you."
Kaya blinked in question. Merry never went without introducing her visitors. Who could it be that their presence was so ominous?
Understanding her servant's dilemma, Kaya rose gracefully from her seat on legs that were much stronger than they were a month ago, and went to the man, placing a hand on his shoulder and causing him to look up. She offered him a smile, and he smiled reluctantly back. Then the girl walked out of her room and made for the stairs.
Intrigued, if not a little frightened by the prospect of who might await her downstairs, Kaya made good time to the staircase that lead down into the living room of the great house. But the moment she spotted the person who awaited her in the foyer, her face burst into a grin and she flew down the stairs.
The girl instantly recognized the familiar tan bandana and wild black hair of the boy she'd seen off from the port a mere month ago. His back was to her, hiding his face from view.
"Usopp!" she cried, coming around the couch to get a better look at her friend. "What—?"
She was cut short by the look on the young man's face. Over his comically long nose, eyes weighted by time and trial looked out at her. They seemed to be mostly empty, but at the sight of his friend, Usopp's gaze grew a little brighter, and he managed the energy for a sad smile.
"Kaya," he said wearily, but happily.
"Usopp, what's wrong?" Kaya quickly took a seat by her friend, reaching for his hand. He took it and locked his fingers in hers quickly, as though seeking comfort through her touch. It wasn't the touch Kaya remembered—his hands were thin and strong as they'd always been, but they were cold now.
"What happened?"
Usopp looked up into Kaya's imploring face, then quickly down and away. He couldn't meet her eyes. Couldn't tell her what she wanted to know. But he also knew, just as surely that just this once, he couldn't lie. He couldn't say anything.
"Usopp, where is everyone?" Kaya asked, trying to get her friend to speak to her. "Why are you here alone?"
Usopp opened his mouth to answer, then closed it. He looked at Kaya again, and took a deep breath. He was worrying her. He shouldn't be doing that.
"They're at the docks," he said finally. "With the Going Merry."
"Why aren't they here?" Kaya asked again.
"I…" Usopp started, but wasn't sure how to continue. He was pretty sure he knew the reason, but he didn't know if he had the guts to say it. He took a breath, trying to will the words out, but let it out again and looked away.
"Usopp," Kaya said gravely. "Something happened, didn't it?"
The look Usopp gave her was all the answer she needed. Taking her friend by the shoulders, Kaya pulled him close so she could put her arms around him tenderly.
Wrapped in Kaya's arms, Usopp suddenly felt safe and warm and so absolutely home that he couldn't stop himself from burying his face in her shoulder and crying.
"It's all right," Kaya said softly as she felt his arms tighten around her. "You're home now. Don't worry. Everything's going to be all right."
Later that day, two figures could be seen walking up the hill from the docks into the town of Syrup. Light glinted off of the pair of goggles that sat on the sharpshooter's head as it bobbed up and down to the rhythm of his feet. Beside him, the navigator moved at much the same pace—feet heavy and wandering, almost as though neither of them truly wanted to reach their destination.
"Are you sure you're okay with giving the ship back to Merry?" Nami asked Usopp. "You seemed so attached to it."
"Maa, Nami," Usopp nearly groaned, the weariness in his voice partially because Nami had already asked him this question a number of times before. "It's fine! Really! It's not like I'll be too far from it anyway. What about those mikan shrubs you left on it? You've always said you only love two things—money and mikan!"
Nami laughed at her own saying. It sounded so weird when someone said it back to her like that. But Usopp could hear a hollow edge in the laugh, and it unnerved him.
"Consider them a present," she said. "Something to remember me by."
"I couldn't forget you if I tried," Usopp said.
They exchanged an almost nervous laugh—neither would be forgetting the other anytime soon, nor would they ever forget the time they'd shared on that ship. And for as painful as that thought was, neither of them wanted to.
It wasn't long before their slow trudge up the hill carried the two into the main town, riddled with the odd house or wooden building. The white house on the hill stood out against the green of the surrounding trees and grass, and the two watched it approach for a little while before Nami turned away.
"You sure you don't want a ride back to Kokoyashi?"
Nami swung a half-hearted fist in Usopp's direction.
"Stop asking me that!" she said with mock annoyance. "I'm perfectly capable of getting back to the island by myself! I did it for seven years, in case you've forgotten?"
"All right! All right," Usopp conceded with a grin, putting his hands up defensively. "Never mind."
Suddenly, the two found themselves standing before a small wooden cabin just off of the main road. It was so quiet and solitary that the two could tell it hadn't been used in a while. The step was unswept, the windows dirty, and a couple of shingles were coming off of the roof. Usopp looked it all over with a craftsman's careful eye, then gave the place a grin.
"No place like home, eh, Nami?" he said, stepping up to the door and letting himself in.
"Yeah," she said softly, following behind.
The inside wasn't much better than the outside. A fine coat of dust lay over just about everything, but at least it looked as though it had been left in some kind of order. Usopp wandered about the room, gazing appreciatively at everything, when he spotted the bed. He stopped to consider it, and Nami watched as he became almost uncharacteristically pensive.
"Usopp?" she finally asked. "Are you all right?"
There was a second's delay before the long-nosed youth turned to face her with a forced grin.
"Of course," he said. "I'm fine."
When he opened his eyes, he knew that Nami wasn't buying it. He let the grin fall and became serious.
"It's not the ship," he said. "But it's my home."
Nami sighed. The pain was still there, and always would be, but as long as they had their homes and loved ones to hold on to, everything would be all right. Someday.
She stepped forward and put her arms around Usopp in a tender embrace, which he returned readily.
"I'll miss you," she said.
"I'll miss you, too," he said.
Nami gave him a squeeze and pulled back.
"Come and visit any time, okay?" Usopp said.
Nami rubbed at her face, in hopes of catching any tears before they fell.
"All right," she said. "You come visit me, too. I'm sure everyone at Gosa would love to see you."
"They'd love to see you more, I'll bet," Usopp told her, placing a hand at her shoulder and steering her towards the door. "You should get going."
"Yeah," she laughed at the gesture, but it was still hollow.
Suddenly, they were on either side of the threshold, facing each other.
"G-good-bye," Nami managed, cursing herself for the stutter.
"Good-bye, Nami," Usopp returned. Then, slowly, she turned away, and he palmed the door closed, stopping for a moment to watch her back receding down the road. When she didn't turn around, he closed it and pressed his back to the door, then slid to the floor, face in his hands.
He didn't know how long he sat like that before an odd tapping caught his attention. Looking up, he saw three familiar faces at the window. They all waved three small hands enthusiastically when he spotted them. He could hear their laughter through the glass. It wasn't hollow.
When Usopp opened the door to admit the three, they tackled him instantly.
"Captain!" they cried. "Captain, you're back!"
"Did you have a great adventure?" Piman sat on Usopp's stomach, looking him right in the face.
"Did you fight lots of bad guys?" Tamanegi pulled himself up over Piman's shoulder to stick his head in the interrogation
"Did you bring us anything?" Ninjin attempted to copy Tamanegi, but lost his balance and toppled the whole crew, the three rolling off of Usopp and onto the floor.
Once air had flooded back into Usopp's lungs and he was allowed to pant for a couple seconds, he was quickly overcome by laughter. It was contagious, and soon all four boys were rolling on the floor.
"Man," Usopp said finally, wiping at his eyes. "I missed you guys."
"We missed you too," Tamanegi said. The other two nodded enthusiastically.
"You can't be pirates without a captain!" Ninjin said.
"That's right!" Piman added. "We haven't been able to go on any good adventures without you around!"
"It was boring," Tamanegi said.
"So, what kind of adventures did you have?" Piman pressed.
"Yeah, tell us about them!" Ninjin added.
"Please?" Tamanegi begged.
Usopp was almost surprised to be thrown so soon into the rhythm of his previous life, but knew that this was what he had to do. He was home now, where he was the Captain of Usopp's Pirates, storyteller for the most beautiful girl on the island, and a liar. He wasn't a pirate anymore. You couldn't be a pirate without a captain.
"Well," Usopp threw out his chin and raised a dramatic eyebrow, falling quickly into his usual dramatics. "When we went after Nami, we came to the island and were instantly captured by gyojin!"