"Gum Gum…Rocket!" Luffy charged upward, almost flying towards the beast's head. He let go of the massive shoulders and flung his arms behind him. "Gum Gum…Bazooka!" He screamed as his arms came charging towards the monster's eyes. A direct hit. He grabbed onto the right shoulder, though it was faltering back, making it harder to grab hold. Luffy couldn't get a good enough grip, and thus began falling back to the ground. Usopp remained behind the thickest tree they could find. He gulped and turned to Robin. "Okay, either we leave these things here or—"
"But Mr. Captain said not to leave these. We have to find a way to take them to the ship. Five minutes left before the island rotates." The raven haired woman looked forward. Usopp sighed, if the island rotated, then that would mean they would come into contact to the ship again. Luffy told them to go right, meaning south. The island had rotated four times already, meaning they were heading back the right way before the monster came into the picture. If anyone was still on the island, it was Sanji's group they'd be heading towards. Due to the counter-clock wise turning, if it happened again, they'd reach the ship. If the monster wasn't shaken off by then, it may cause a lot of damage to the Sunny. The best to hope at this moment was that Luffy beat the monster in time, or they at least came into contact with another group. I wonder if Sanji and the others are okay… wait, let's not think about this now. We're in danger and these fruits need to get on the ship.
"We can try carrying these back. By the time we get to the edge, the island would've rotated already." He said and hoped that Robin understood. She nodded, of course this woman was smart enough to get all the information coming to her. She peeked from behind the tree, seeing their captain being pinned down by a huge paw. This wasn't the time to move.
"Mil Fleur…" Robin crossed her arms over her chest, closing her eyes. What seemed like a million hands developing at the sides of the paw, they began forming two giant hands. Usopp watched, amazed and creeped out by Robin's power. "Gigantesco Mano." The hands grabbed the paw and lifted it. Luffy quickly moved and once the spot was clear, the hands let go, causing it to crash back down in the same spot.
"Thanks, Robin!" Luffy huffed and used his Gum Gum Rocket to shoot back up to fight face to face with the beast. Usopp grinned at his companion.
"Awesome job! You think maybe you can knock the beast out with that?" he asked, hoping Robin would consider. The ground shook, the beast had moved some feet away.
"I would, but Mr. Captain seems to take a liking to fighting it. We should just focus on getting this stuff to the boat." She's not gonna carry anything. She rather you do it by yourself. Not that Usopp minded too much, but it'd be a great help if she carried something. At the same time, she was right. It would be best if they got their finds back on the ship and then came back for Luffy. He could hold on his own, but how long could he hold the beast here? Luffy's done this countless times. Have faith in him. Got to formulate a plan.
A tree came crashing down, just on the other side of the trunk Robin and Usopp hid behind. The beast must've been swatting at Luffy or something. Usopp ran over to the fallen tree and proceeded in breaking off a few of the smaller bushes. Maybe we can use these as disguises. Just to the side of him were Luffy and the beast's fight.
"Robin, come over here okay? We can use these shrubs for cover." The raven haired woman thought for a minute.
"Carry these shrubs and those fruits? Wouldn't that be a bit difficult?" she debriefed. She had a point, and the battle to the right of them didn't seem like it'd be stopping anytime soon.
"Can you carry a bag?" Usopp requested, hoping the archaeologist would agree. She smiled.
"Took you long enough to ask." She hurried over back to the trunk and retrieved one of the bags. The other sack was then carried over to Usopp by a bunch of smaller hands. Usopp grabbed the top of it and slung it over his back. "Let's hurry. Mr. Captain may not be able to hold off much longer." They gave each other a nod and began running. The ground quivered beneath them, trees above began to shake. Shit! The island's rotating. Wait, that's actually a good thing! "Keep heading straight." Robin called from behind. Usopp gave her a thumb up. We'll get to the Sunny in time, and then hopefully go back for Luffy. As the island moved, Robin nearly lost her footing. She tripped and stopped, having to gather balance and started running again. Usopp waited for her to catch up and they ran alongside another.
We'll make this! Usopp hopped over a lone branch and looked back. The fallen tree was so far now. As they ran, another vibration wrought, causing both Straw Hats to fall over. Robin broke their footing, springing a hand from the ground to catch them. Usopp sat up and held onto the fleshy palm, his skin began to crawl. This is so weird. The hand receded and the two began trudging on again.
"Mr. Long Nose, there's someone before us." Robin said, smiling as she pointed forward. Usopp peered, trying to make out the figure running their way. Blond hair… suit, cigarette smoke—Sanji! The sniper instantly felt safe. He smiled and tried running faster. This idiot! He shouldn't be here by himself! Maybe he got lost or something, but still, you're supposed to stay put if you do. The two stopped just before meeting up with the cook. He huffed once he halted and smiled when seeing the two.
"Where's Luffy?" He asked before anything else. Robin had to catch her breath before speaking. Usopp placed a hand on his knee. Sanji gave the sniper a concerned look while he wasn't looking, and then turned his direction to Robin.
"A bear-like creature emerged from the trees. Mr. Long Nose he provoked it at first, and then Mr. Captain made it worse." She informed and pointed back to the way they came from. Sanji looked on past them and then nodded.
"Thank you, Robin-chwan. You two head back to the ship. I'll help Luffy out." The cook smirked at them and began running pass them. Sanji's body suddenly jerked, being pulled back by some unknown force. He stopped and looked back to see Usopp's arm gripping his. He was still catching his breath, but looking up at him.
"You… better not get your ass killed. You hear?" He said in a gruff, tired voice. Sanji's heart fluttered for a moment. His cheeks flushed for a slight moment before he cupped his mouth to retrieve his cigarette. He turned his head slightly and nodded.
"I can take care of myself." He replied, trying not to look happy. This sniper here had rejected him not too long ago, yet he was telling him to be careful. This is your chance to give him some sort of clue you're still unsure!
"I mean it! I'll kill you if you don't make it back in one piece!" Usopp stood upright, breathing through his nostrils. He gave Sanji a stern look, making sure he knew that he wasn't kidding. The cook couldn't hide the redness in his face. He snatched his arm from the sniper and flicked his nose.
"Of course. Not like I die easy anyways, right?" Usopp rubbed his nose, a bit embarrassed that even at this moment he couldn't seem cool and remain cool. Robin chuckled from behind the two. They couldn't keep this moment up any longer. Gotta save this for later.
"Yeah. Well, just bring Luffy back. See you on the Sunny." He backed up a few feet. Robin began running again, thinking it was time to get going. Sanji gave the marksman a small smirk. Usopp's cheeks reddened. He shook his head and waved to the cook. He had to move on. He turned away and started running again. He hated to leave him like this, but Robin was starting to fade from beyond the trees. She didn't seem to stop or wait for him to catch up. He had to run even faster now.
"Usopp!" He couldn't help but stop. Looking back, the blond had run up after him. What the hell are you doing? I have to go, and you need to get Luffy! The older member frowned a bit. He hesitated to speak, his face still red. Usopp couldn't help but look away, becoming shy. "You…take care of Robin-chan. If you…don't, I'll kick your ass, you hear?" He huffed out, puffing on his cigarette a little more than he needed to. He took out another and lit it up, shoving it in his mouth and puffed the living hell out of both cigs. You don't need so many cigarettes in a day you—wait is he nervous? Nicotine did calm the nerves.
"You can count on me. But she's so far now; I have to go catch up to her." He pointed behind him, the bag getting heavier. He switched shoulders. The cook frowned more and took the sack. "What are you doing?"
"You're struggling. This damn thing's slowing you down. Go catch up to her. You're a fast runner." He hefted the bag over his own shoulder and gave Usopp a nod.
"I can carry it, thanks. You don't have to—"
"Go on." Sanji placed a hand on Usopp's chest and pushed him lightly to move back. "It's alright." Such a look gave Usopp chills. He sighed, giving Sanji one last look before he went off to help Luffy. Blue eyes, such light blue eyes. That color alone always suited the chef. Sanji began to growl. "God, just get going okay?" He sounded a little agitated. This was giving the cook such a huge urge to kiss the other. He wanted to, but at the same time, it rung in his head, 'I don't like you that way'. He shivered and leaned closer to the sniper, pulling one of his suspender straps closer to him. Usopp didn't do much to stop him; in fact, he sat there expecting a nice long kiss. He smiled a bit, but the cook had let go and backed away. Cupping his mouth again, he pulled both cigarettes out of his mouth and batted them against his leg. "Go." He said sternly and began running towards the captain.
See what you did?
"I didn't do anything."
He's having trouble controlling himself! You should've just told him the truth.
"…well, not like it's that easy."
You should let me take over if you're so scared. Are you still thinking of telling that stupid lie? Are you still just gonna say 'sorry'?
"I haven't let you take over for a long time, and I won't just for this. I'll just…" What was he going to do? Here he had Sanji who still had hots for him, and was just trying his hardest to deny those feelings. In Sanji's mind, Usopp made it blatantly obvious that he didn't like him at all. Then there was himself, who was willing to return this "love" to the cook, but didn't have the guts to tell him the truth.
You'll just be a liar all over again.
"Yep. That's exactly what I am."
lol Usopp doesn't know what the hell to do. He's so tsundere right now. Sanji's fighting it so hard. I really wanted them to kiss, but I like cockblocking myself eve