Chapter 5: Usopp
Luffy stared out the window of the car, watching the occasional house flick by as Zoro drove them towards who knew where. He was exceedingly bored, having listened to Nami's cds at least twenty times over. He sighed and puffed his cheeks out with the breath, causing the window to fog where he had breathed.
"So, do you even know where we are going?" Nami asked suddenly. Luffy didn't even bother to look up. He just moved his eyes so he could see the swordsman's reaction.
Zoro looked up and frowned, hands tightening slightly on the wheel. He didn't trust Nami to drive, so he was stuck with the job.
"No. But I'm sure I'll know when I get there." he replied sarcastically before glancing over at Luffy, who merely looked back out the window and Zoro's expression softened. Luffy wasn't used to travelling all the time like he was, having been on the run for at least a year now.
"You okay Luffy?" he asked. Luffy didn't even look up.
"Yep." the boy replied and then pressed his nose against the window, the glass fogging as he breathed. "Just bored."
"It can get that way." Zoro said as he looked back at the road.
"Zoro. Why did you become a fugitive?" Luffy asked. Zoro sighed.
"I had to."
"Oh sure, you tell him." Nami said bitterly from the back seat.
"I trust him." Zoro snapped. Luffy looked up and turned to the swordsman with a confused look.
"You trust me?" Luffy asked. Zoro smiled and nodded causing Luffy to beam.
Zoro trusts me! Ha, he is sooooo cool! Luffy thought and then his attention was back on the swordsman as he began to speak again.
"Anyway, back in my home town, someone was murdered. A girl I knew. And there were slashes across her chest and body, much like the ones a sword would make. I was the only swordfighter in the town that anyone knew of, so they instantly suspected me. I ran and that just proved they were right. The one back there, Tashigi. She's been after me all year and her boss, Smoker. A pair of tight ass bastards who won't believe me when I tell them that I never killed anyone. Nothing better to do than listen to their superiors." Zoro explained. Luffy thought for a moment and then nodded.
"So you're guilty until proven innocent." he said. Zoro glanced at him and nodded.
"Pretty much."
"What are you going to do? How are you going to prove to them that they're wrong?" Nami asked. Zoro shrugged.
"I don't know. I haven't thought that far ahead. I've mainly been trying to just survive until I can find out who the hell framed me and get them to confess. Not to mention I would like to find out why the hell they picked on me and what I ever did to them!" Zoro finished with a yell as he slapped a palm against the wheel. There was silence and then Luffy's hand came to rest on his shoulder.
"We'll get em. We'll make em give themselves in and then you can be free again." he said with a broad grin. Zoro sighed and shook his head, his insides feeling all warm and fuzzy.
"Thanks Luffy." he replied. "But, it's up to me and when I find the guy who framed me, you had better not get in my way, because he's going down." and Zoro stared back at the road, his green eyes darting from side to side. Luffy watched him for a minute and then smiled before looking back out the window.
Nami, in the back seat and watching all of this unfold with a smile, thought this the perfect opportunity to notify the swordsman that there was in fact a map in the glove box.
"Hey, sword boy, there's a map in the glove box." she stated. Zoro's face hardened and his eyes travelled slowly up to glare at her in the rear view mirror. Nami gulped. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to do that. The look he was giving her now was damn freaky!
"Why didn't you mention this sooner?" he asked dangerously. Nami shrugged, keeping her cool.
"Wanted to draw the tension out." she replied smartly. The swordsman's hands tightened on the wheel and it was quite obvious that his fingers wanted to be wrapped around Nami's throat and not the wheel. Luffy popped the catch and dug around in the overfilled glove box. Pens, notepads, makeup, tic-tacs, letters, and many other various objects came spilling out and Luffy tried to grab them. Nami chuckled.
"Forgot how much stuff I kept in there." she muttered. Zoro gave a fake, sarcastic chuckle which caused the orange haired woman to shut up and glare instead. She crossed her arms over the black, tight fitting shirt she was wearing and crossed her legs, kicking the back of the driver's chair as she did so.
"Found it!" Luffy cried waving a thick, folded up map in the air above his head. He unfolded it quickly and then stared at it. "Uh, how do you read this thing?" Luffy asked turning it upside down as he tried to make it out. Nami reached forward and snatched it away from the boy. Giving the paper a flick she tried to pinpoint where they were.
"Okay, so we're travelling along the high way known as the Merry Go. Uh, the next town we go through should be Syrup." she said.
"Mm, I like syrup." Luffy muttered from the front. Nami reached over and whacked Luffy over the head.
"Not food you idiot!" she yelled. Zoro ignored this.
"How far away is the town?" he asked keeping his eyes on the road. Nami went back to the map, still shaking her head.
"It's about," and she thought for a moment, adding figures in her head before, "an hour. If we keep travelling at this speed." she answered. Zoro nodded.
"Good. We need more petrol." he stated. There was a crack and the two looked over to see Luffy asleep next to the window, obviously so damn bored that he had pretty much fainted.
"You bored the poor kid to death." Zoro stated. Nami kicked the driver's seat again.
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Luffy slept until they finally reached the town and he woke up, blearily looking around and then rubbing his head. Apparently the spot he had hit must have been still hurting.
"Where are we?" he asked dopily, still half asleep.
"Just driving into Syrup." Nami replied. Zoro looked around, thanking whatever good god there was that the windows on the car were tinted.
"Really? How long was I out for?" Luffy asked as he gave a big yawn.
"About an hour." Zoro replied with a smirk. Luffy shook his head and rubbed his watering eyes.
"I was so tired." he said. Zoro nodded and then turned the car into a fuel station.
"Luffy, you're gonna have to get out and do the petrol. Nami, you stay right where you are, I still don't trust you." Zoro commanded. Luffy nodded and got out, pushing his hat over his face a little as he did so, so he wouldn't be so easy to recognise.
Casually, and showing more intelligence than anyone would have thought possible of such an idiotic kid, he opened the tank and placed the petrol gun into the hole.
He stood there for a while and then turned as he heard someone yelling. A boy about the same height and age as him was running down the street, curly hair caught in a bandana but still streaming behind him. Luffy let the petrol gun go as he saw three larger men chasing him, guns pointed at the boy's back.
"Hey!" Luffy yelled and took after them as they turned the corner and down an alleyway. He vaguely heard Zoro's shout and Nami's scream as he quickly crossed the road and ran down the alleyway as well.
"Should we go after him?" Nami asked as she watched Luffy bolt down the alleyway. Zoro frowned.
"Damnit. You stay with the car. Go if you want, I don't give a fuck but if you tell anyone about us, then I will personally hunt you down." the swordsman snarled before jumping from the car, and running as fast as he could towards the alleyway.
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Luffy's hat slipped off of his head, catching around his neck as he ran. He was quickly gaining on the three men. A brick wall loomed at the end of the alleyway and the running boy slammed against it, shaking with fear as the three stopped in front of him.
"Well, well, well. The liar. Where's our money you little thief?" the biggest one asked. The boy shook his head, his long nose quivering in fear.
"I d-d-d-don't know what you're t-t-t-talking about." he stuttered.
"Stop lying Usopp. It's only making things worse. Pay the money, and we'll leave you alone." another said, smaller than the first. The third raised the gun he was holding and pointed it at Usopp's head.
"Now." he threatened. Usopp shook and shivered, but never did he open his mouth and beg as the third pulled the safety back.
"Hey!" Luffy yelled and he tackled the third one, causing the bullet meant for Usopp's head to go astray and hit the wall instead. Luffy pulled himself up off the man and slammed a fist into his face, knocking him out.
The other two launched themselves at Luffy, grabbing his arms and legs, trying to hold him down so they could get a hit. The operative word here would be 'trying'.
They never succeeded.
Luffy brought his elbow up, jamming it into the underside of the second biggest man's jaw. He choked and grabbed at his throat. The biggest managed to get a hold of Luffy's arm and pulled it behind Luffy's back.
"Gotcha now squirt." he grunted. Luffy grinned and raised an eyebrow.
"You sure about that?" he asked. The big man's smile faded and Luffy brought his leg up and smashed his foot into the man's nose, causing him to howl in pain and stumble away holding his now bleeding nose. Luffy got up and dusted the back of his pants off.
"Guess not." he muttered. Usopp was still cowering beside the wall. Luffy looked over at him and was about to walk over when a gunshot rang out. It grazed Luffy's shoulder, ripping his shirt and drawing blood. Luffy turned slowly to glare down at the man on the ground.
"Back off buddy." Luffy threatened. The smallest man that was lying on the ground smiled as he cocked the gun a second time.
"Move, and you die." he said. Luffy watched him for a minute and then grinned and began to laugh.
"I don't think so." Luffy replied putting his hands on his hips. The man gave him a bemused look and then the butt of a sword came down in his face, knocking him out again.
"First rule, don't knock them out and not take their gun." Zoro said as he stood up, gun in his hand. Luffy shrugged.
"You never told me the rules." the boy replied. Zoro smirked and then frowned.
"Well, I'll tell you another now. Don't run off like that. If something had happened… then you could have been hurt." the swordsman said. Luffy laughed again before turning to the cowering boy.
"It's okay. We're the good guys." he explained. The boy called Usopp stopped cowering enough to look at them properly. He had dark eyes and dark curly hair that surrounded a rather tanned face and a long nose even Pinocchio would have been jealous of. A yellow bandana caught his hair and pulled it away from his face. He wore overalls that showed his tanned arms and chest.
A light blue sash was tied around his waist and just visible in his back pocket was what looked like a wicked slingshot. He stared at the two for a moment, not fully comprehending what Luffy had just said and then a triumphant smile split his face.
"The great Usopp has done it! He has defeated the three bullies and saved these two helpless, weak-"
"Who're you calling weak shorty!" Zoro demanded making Usopp jump.
"I'm sorry." he wailed. Luffy laughed.
"You're funny!" he called. Usopp paused and smiled.
"Thanks. So, what's your name?" he asked. Luffy was about to reply when Zoro grabbed the boy and hauled him away by the back of his collar.
"Good luck kid!" Zoro called as he pulled Luffy away. Usopp heard a groan from the men on the ground and squeaked, running after them.
Nami stood by the car, having paid for the petrol and put enough in the car to last them until at least the next town. They needed food and so she had bought as much as she could from the convenience store along with a few bottles of water and some soft drink she was sure as hell going to keep away from Luffy. That kid was hyper enough as it was. She looked impatiently at her watch and then looked over.
"Don't worry boss, I'll fill up the car." a slightly whiny voice said and then a policewoman got out of her car beside them. Nami stiffened. It was the same woman from the other town.
How the hell had they got there so fast! She crept quickly around to the driver's side before getting in and casually driving away. Why the hell was she even trying to help those two? She sighed. She had become attached.
That's what was wrong and not to mention, whether they admitted it or not, they needed her. Nami looked around and saw them standing on the curb, looking around sadly as another boy appeared behind them. She drove up and wound down the window.
"You two need a ride?" she asked. Luffy giggled before jumping in the back. Zoro jumped in after him and then to the three's distress, so did Usopp. He slammed the door shut and Nami began driving off, trying to be casual as they passed the police car.
Luffy was squashed up next to the window, Zoro was in the middle, looking as though he was about to murder the next person who breathed on him, and Usopp had all the space in the world. He looked around at Zoro, who glared and looked about ready to just rip out a sword and slice Usopp's head off with it.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the swordsman asked as he rearranged the swords so they were poking dangerously into his side. Usopp quailed.
"I… didn't want to be left alone." he replied twiddling his thumbs. Nami looked into the rear view mirror.
"Welcome to our crew." she said sarcastically. Zoro looked over at Luffy who had begun laughing again, though it was kind of muffled seeing as the boy was kind of crushed against the window. Zoro noticed the blood that was trickling down the boy's shoulder and gasped.
"Luffy, you're bleeding." he stated before shoving Usopp over so he was the one crushed against the window instead of Luffy.
"We need a bigger car." Nami muttered from the front. "Kid, whatever you're name is, climb into the front." she ordered.
"I'm Usopp." the curly haired boy stated as he did just that, managing to climb over quite easily. Zoro now had the room to undo his swords and lay them against the seat as he inspected Luffy's wound.
"I'm bleeding?" Luffy asked. Zoro nodded as he gently pulled the shirt away. Luffy didn't even wince.
"Ah, a bullet graze. That's okay. Nami, do you have a towel or something we can use? Just to get the blood to stop flowing." the swordsman asked, sounding a little more concerned than he meant to. Nami's wry smile made him frown.
"In the back pocket on the back of the seat." she said, the smile still on her face. Zoro shook his head and reached into the pocket and found a little first aid kit. It had ointment and a bandage in it. Luffy couldn't care less about the wound but as soon as he saw a syringe in the kit, he clawed at the window, trying to get away.
"Ah!" he yelled, "Get it away!" Zoro raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not using the syringe." the swordsman stated. Luffy looked back at him.
"Oh." he muttered. Zoro shook his head and pulled the ointment out and opened the lid, applying the sterile smelling goo to the wound and gently rubbing it in. Luffy wrinkled his nose.
"Smells yucky." he said. Zoro snorted and nodded before pulling the bandage out and winding it around Luffy's shoulder expertly. When he had finished, Luffy pulled the sleeve of his shirt back up again.
"How do you know what to do?" he asked as he looked at the bandage and then poked it, wincing in pain as he hit the sore spot. Zoro raised an eyebrow again and shook his head.
"It'll only hurt more if you keep doing that." he said and so Luffy stopped, watching the swordsman with big eyes, big innocent eyes that the swordsman suddenly found himself falling into. He shook his head and looked out the window.
"Uh, you learn a lot of first aid when you're on the run." he answered. Luffy tilted his head and then smiled.
"Cool." he said before reaching over and giving the older man a hug of thanks and then going back to humming and staring out the window. Zoro was stunned, his cheeks colouring slightly until he noticed Nami watching him in the mirror, and Usopp watching him from the front seat.
"What?" he demanded. Usopp spun around, looking determinedly at the road and Nami shrugged, her smile growing wider as she faced the road again. Zoro allowed himself a small smile as he looked out the window as well. Maybe being a fugitive wasn't as bad as he had thought.
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Wow, that was a long chapter. For this story anyway. I have a feeling this story is gonna be a looooong one. And lots of little hints about ZoLu. -laughs evilly and then sneaks off to... well, do something anyway- oh dude, I really need to stop having sugar late at night.