Chapter 3: Nakama

Your sides hurt a little bit. Genuine laughter was something that you had missed a lot. You were sitting outside in the crisp autumn air, listening to the wind that gently danced with the leaves. It was rather cold, but you wanted to see the front yard. It was all worth it. Filled with amazing statues, trees, decor and more room than you could ever imagine, it was just as regal as the building itself. You watched as a tree shed the last of its red leaves and they flew away. Closing your eyes for a while, you took a deep breath and smiled. You kind of tried not to, but you were just happy. You chuckled quietly as you bit your lower lip. Your heart had a funny and full feeling. During lunch, you had gotten to know everyone so much better. You felt like you belonged. No, everyone made you feel like you belonged. Even Zoro now, after he wasn't falling asleep on his feet. Sanji was alright, too. You were actually able to have a conversation with him, and you enjoyed it. What you loved the most though, was the way they interacted with each other. They were all teasing one another, fighting like siblings and laughing their hearts out. In a way, it made you feel insecure since you were the newcomer, but you couldn't help but to laugh at how full of energy they were. You were so eager to see them use that energy while dancing.

You let out a heavy breath, and it turned into fog. You tightened your scarf in the cold air and dug out some of your books. You had some catching up to do, not to mention the homework. You had a few rather simple few sentence answers to write for some biology questions, so you thought to get them out of the way. It was hard for you to focus, since you were so excited. You were itching to see the Straw hats (seriously, Luffy?) perform and you were feeling like dancing yourself.

This made you frown. You had not danced in a while, and you might just be a little rusty. The pen in your hand got a taste of your frustration with your hand tightening around it. You hated how your fathers new wife got under your skin. She had said that your passion was a waste of time and could never get you anywhere. Damn, if you wanted to dance and _, you sure as hell would. Calming yourself down, you continued to flip though pages of stuff about DNA and cells, but it was all a blur to you. You just kept remembering how that bitch invaded your space, your home and thought that she could push you around. And with your father not being around, you just couldn't take it. It was your home. YOU were there first.

Suddenly, a small smile grew on your lips. So far it was a good thing, right? Maybe destiny wanted you to attend this school, who knows? You had been nervous to go to a school were you had to live. But it wasn't so bad. Again, you thanked the universe for Nami and Robin.

After a while of writing answers, you started thinking about Usopp. Maybe it was just that he happened to sit next to you in math, but you really liked him. He was so goofy and made you laugh. Not everyone could do that. As much as you knew about him so far, he seemed to really care about his nakama. He looked after Chopper almost as much as Robin did. He was a child, after all. Chopper really looked up to him, and he looked like he was sort of proud about that. He seemed super sweet. And that smile of his was so cute. Silly. You meant silly.

You peeked at your phone to see the time, and decided to start leaving for your room. You wanted to warm up properly and mentally prepare yourself for the fact that you were going to be dancing in front of everybody while they were judging you. It was worst when you knew the people who were watching you. It took you a little longer to get to your room than you had wanted to (the ninth floor, seriously? Who's idea was this?) so you started to change right away. You wore your most supportive bra, a fitted /fav color/ sleeveless top and your trusty black dance capri pants. With your dance shoes on, you sat down on your bed a little nervous. What if they didn't like your abilities and you couldn't have anything to do with these awesome people anymore? You had known them for less than a day, but you were really attached to them already. Luffy was more fun than you had ever imagined, Nami was that awesome girl friend you had always wanted, Robin was like a wise, older sister supporting you, Chopper was that way too adorable little brother that you wanted to cuddle with a comic book, Sanji was like one of those weird relatives that you still got a long with and wouldn't want to give away, Zoro was stubborn, but he was definitely a part of this group even with his machoness and filled his own spot. And Usopp was-

"_!"

You got snapped away from your thoughts with Namis excited voice. You smiled at her, nervously. She was all ready to go in her stylish training outfit.

"Nervous?" She asked, picking up on your feelings right away. You nodded a little, trying to smile it off. She took your hand.

"It's all going to be okay. I have a feeling that you will be awesome!" She nodded for you to follow her and you did. You went through all your things one more time while you were walking. Towel, water, phone... Yup. All good.

The two of you made your way all the way to the first floor, and since you didn't have a hoodie, you were a little chilly. You shrugged it off, knowing you'd be sweating soon enough.

"Nami, can I ask something?" You said. She looked at you invitingly. "How come there was a spot in your room?" You asked.

"Oh, that belonged to Vivi. She was an exchange student, but left last spring. She danced with us, and became very dear to us. She helped us improve a lot, too!"

For some reason Nami's words made you loose some of your confidence. Not only would they be judging your overall skills, but they'd also be comparing you to someone else they really like. Yay.

Nami led you to a back corner of the first floor, beyond the dining hall. At the end of a long hallway was a yellow, wooden door with a huge lion head on it. You were instantly curious about it. But you were distracted by the sounds coming from inside the room. Laughing, fast footsteps and yelling. Nami rolled her eyes as she opened the door. It was a sight to see. Luffy, Chopper and Usopp were running from one end of the room to the other, trying to catch each other. They were throwing stuff at one another, practically anything they could grab. Water bottles, paper balls, their PHONES and shoes, since they weren't wearing them. Nami was observing your face for a while, before she let out a loud 'ahem.' The three boys turned towards you for a second, in the funniest positions. After that, they just went right back at it. You chuckled. Luffy was throwing stuff at an unbelievable rate, Chopper tried to hit the other two, failing most of the time, and Usopp never missed. The best part was when he hit Luffy in the stomach with a shoe, making him literally roll backwards in a ball. Luffy got up quickly chasing Usopp for a counter attack. The two of them were running around the room playing cat and mouse for a good while, until Luffy tried to throw his phone at Usopp. Bad idea.

He missed, the phone flying all the way to the corner of the room where Zoro was napping. You hadn't even noticed him until now.

The sleepy, grumpy and startled man gave his friends a look that probably could have killed them. Usopp and Luffy exchanged gazes before running away, starting to laugh their asses off. Zoro chased after them, growling out something you just didn't understand. You giggled as the green haired grump chased the two up the stairs. Wait, stairs?

You took a better look at the room around you. It had gorgeous, shiny floors perfect for dancing. The two wall to your right was a mirror. And at the back of the room, was an area filled with couches, pillows, chairs... It was for lounging, you guessed. The floors there were dark, polished wood and a staircase led to a whole new floor, which you thought you'd take a peek of later. There as a big stereo at the end of the room. A large man with blue hair was just finishing up doing something with it. And he was wearing a speedo. Wait... Oh GOD!

You covered the sight with your hands and blushed. What on earth was going on here?

"It's all good, _! That's just Franky." Nami laughed out loud at your reaction. You slowly removed your hands from your face and looked at the guy. He was big and tall, looking at you with a smile.

"Yo, who's this Nami?" He asked while gathering his things.

"This is _. She's going to dance for us tonight!" Nami exclaimed.

"Nice to meet ya. I'm Franky." franky said to you, offering his huge hand for you to grab. You took it, smiling awkwardly. Why was he wearing a speedo?!

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Franky." You replied.

"You are one lucky gal. These guys here are amazing and if you become one of them, they'll always have your back, trust me." He said. "I help them out with the technical stuff. Like the music and lighting for their shows. I work behind the scenes, ya know?" He laughed. "It was nice to see ya ladies, but I have to go. Someone complained about a heating problem at the tenth floor. Good luck, _!"

You waved him a baffled good bye.

"Bye Franky!" Nami replied. "And thanks!"

"Just tell Luffy to stop throwing stuff at the stereo, okay?" Franky yelled from the hallway. He passed Sanji and Robin who were the last one's arriving. They greeted one another like old friends.

"Franky is one of the janitors here. He's like gold to us. He actually helped us fix this place up!" Nami explained to you. "Don't ask about the speedo..." She added. It made sense to you that a place this big needed a few janitors.

Sanji bounced to you as little hearts filled the air. You and Robin exchanged funny looks. The noises of chasing upstairs got louder and more violent.

"GET YOUR ASSES DOWN HERE YOU IDIOTS!" Nami screamed, startling you. Chopper looked happy he hadn't followed the three idiots upsrairs.

"YOU HEARD THE LADY!" Sanji added immediately after Nami. Everyone stared as three messy boys made their way downstair. Luffy had something on his face, but you couldn't quite tell what. However, ew. Zoro still looked pissed and Usopps hair was all over the place. Which made it extra poofy. If only you could squish it~

"Ok, I was wondering if you guys were okay if we showed _ one of our choreographies before she showed us what she's got." Nami suggested.

"That's a good idea." Robin mentioned, taking off her shoes. You had a shy, but very relieved expression on your face. This was great, you got to finally see them dance and work together! Not to mention the time you'd gain to calm yourself down. Everyone, especially Sanji agreed simultaneously. Luffy bounced all over the place, throwing his hat in the corner.

"LAST YEARS BIG THING!" Luffy yelled out with a loud 'Whoo!' You had gotten the impression that Luffy kind of called the shots in this group, and even though you weren't sure why. Everyone agreed without saying a word. You sat down on the floor and paid close attention to everyone's faces. They all looked calm and excited at the same time. It was so weird. All you knew was that they looked happy to be where they were. Zoro was calming down, and everyone did a few stretches and shook their muscles awake. Chopper, who actually had really short legs, walked to the stereo and looked up something on the mp3 player attached to it. Even though you weren't the one getting ready to dance, your heart was racing and your palms were sweating. Everyone else looked really relaxed though, like this is where they were meant to be. They were breathing in sync, getting ready to work as a team.

Chopper hopped back to his spot and put his head down in the starting position like everyone else. The little guy really stood out of the rest, but it was just kind of cute.

Usopp, was standing in the row next to Luffy who was having difficulty staying still. The tan boy was correcting his hair to get it out from his face, but a few strands were still hanging outside his ponytail. You bit your lower lip a bit, hugging your knees just a little tighter. For an unknown reason, of course.

Finally, the music started.

The group started by spreading up with a couple of sharp movements, and you were honestly very impressed with their timing and coordination. They continued as you admired the originality of their moves. Which one of them choreographed this? Whoever it was did a good job. Things started to really get going when Zoro and Sanji did a flips at the front of the crew. The dance was getting really heated and everyone was really getting into it. Luffy did an absolutely amazing flip, and you were wondering how come he was so... bendy. It's as if you were looking at a man made out of overcooked spaghetti.

After a while, the little baby Chopper took over in the center, and he was so adorable! He was really good though, even with his tiny legs. He did a back flip over Usopps back, leaving him at the middle for the next part.

You had been paying attention to everyone. Luffy the spaghetti man was super flexible and bendy and sure had a lot of fun. That grin could NOT be wiped off of his face. Nami danced rather seductively, but had her technique down well. Chopper completely surprised you, and so did Robin and Sanji. The two looked and danced like they had a background of more traditional dance, but they adapted really well to hip hop. Zoro had amazing technique and moved really well for his large, muscular build. But the one who really caught your eye was Usopp.

The time you had spend with him, he had seemed a little funny with his movements, walk and such. But when he was dancing, everything was spot on to the millisecond. His skill took your breath away. He looked so happy. He was confident and totally lost in the dance. The look on his face was pure bliss as his eyes met yours for a brief moment. You quickly looked at someone else, but of course, not to avoid his eyes. Not at all.

The Straw Hats picked Usopp up from the ground so that Chopper could do a back flip bouncing off his feet. This made you clap a little, it was so cute! You couldn't help but to look at Usopp again though, whilst he hopped of the arms of his friends. They ended on a really intense series of sharp movements, and stroke a pose laying on the floor for the finale. You clapped and cheered, as the group looked very pleased at themselves.

Usopp and Luffy shared a high five and everybody was catching their breath. You looked at Usopp, and he loked back. He smiled at you, making you bite your lip once again.

"WE ARE SOO GOOOOOD!" Luffy hollered while running a victory round around the room.

You really wanted to just scream with Luffy how awesome they were, but you and Usopp had your eyes locked at one another. It had gone to a point where you felt like breaking the eye contact without saying anything would be awkward, but you didn't know what you could say to him. He wasn't saying anything either, just staring at you. The smile on his face grew a little crooked as he raised his eyebrow a bit as if asking 'were we good or really good?'.

"So what do you think?" Zoro asked. This made you break your eyecontact with Usopp. You looked at the green haired man, who looked really, really proud. You took a deep breath.

"You..." You started before standing up. "You are one of the best dance groups that I've ever seen!" You could not hold your excitement in any longer. "It... It all was just perfect!" You squealed a bit at the end. The group began to throw a few high fives. "And Chopper, you were my absolute favorite!" You said looking directly at him. It was definitely not a lie, it's not like Usopp was actually your favorite or anything...

"STOP! You don't have to praise me like I'm a child! It does not make me happyyyyy! Idiot!"

By the end of his sentence, Chopper was rolling on the floor, blushing. You couldn't help but to rush to him and fluff his hair. It was so soft and fuzzy~ What might a certain someones hair feel like? Fuck, you had to stop thinking about that.

"My beautiful _-Chan, I am honored that you enjoyed our performance~" Sanji said coming just a bit too close. You smiled at him anyway, because you were happy. Their energy and excitement had affected you and you felt like dancing yourself!

Then it hit you. You were going to dance. And all of these amazing dancers were going to be looking at you. What if you weren't good enough? And even if you were, these guys danced perfectly together. You would probably stand out in the group like a sore thumb. Your expression changed a bit.

"Shishishishi! Are you ready, _?" Luffy asked with big eyes. He really wanted to make you his nakama, and now you were scared to disappoint him. You nervously nodded, and everyone started to move towards where you were originally sitting. Sanji looked at you like Goddess.

You reached for your phone in your pocket, and felt someones hand brush yours just a bit.

"Good luck." Usopp said passing you. You couldn't bring yourself to look at him. You were so nervous, and that was the only reason your heart was beating like a drum.

You unplugged the mp3 player and connected your phone to the speakers. Everything seemed right. You knew this choreography like the back of your hand. You were quite pleased with it and your ability to perform it. You timed the music to start and stepped to the middle of the room. You didn't look directly at the Straw Hats. You told yourself you were alone in your room, in your jammies, dancing with your headphones on.

Once the music started, you began with a laid back move, waking your muscles up. Not facing the others at first, you took your time to breath in sync with the music and once you turned towards them, chilled with a few steps to their direction. You still didn't look directly at them, but could just sense all of their stares.

For a good portion of the beginning, you kept your eyes closed. After about ten seconds, you couldn't help but to smile. Gosh you had missed this. You let your body move to the music more freely. After twenty seconds, you were smiling brightly like an idiot. It was a part of your nature to dance, and you did not even care about the watching eyes anymore. All you wanted was to let go and fly with the melody and feel the beats of the music go with your heart.

You put some sense into your head and told yourself to focus on your technique, but after a second you realized you were doing just fine. You were just so happy. All that good energy was flowing through your body and made your talent bloom.

You did some serious work with your hips, and you heard a couple of the straw hats cheer. You almost started laughing, that's how happy all this made you. You had a heart full of music and a stomach full of butterflies and you wouldn't change a thing.

You had full control over your body, and towards the end all of your new friends started cheering you on. When the number was almost over, they began to throw their shoes towards you like they were roses or something. At this point you cracked up but finished your final moves anyway.

It was over. You were still smiling a kid with a brand new red balloon, but you hugged yourself a bit. You felt the blood rush to your cheeks as you felt a little unsure for a second. They did seem to like it though. Everyone was quiet for a bit, and you lowered you gaze.

"NAKAMAAAAAAAAA!" Luffy screamed out of nowhere making everyone cheer. This startled you, and you swore you were going to get a heart attack when all of you new nakama rushed to hug you. You were surrounded by people you had known for less than a day and had made a complete fool out of yourself in front of them, but they made you feel so good. You wanted to hug them back so badly, but were in a tight arm lock. Breathing was getting harder, but you didn't want to tell everyone to stop this wonderful hug. Especially Usopp, who was right behind you hugging you tight and lifting you off the ground ever so slightly. His arms felt very strong around you, and even though you were more than happy to be hugged by all of your new nakama, you couldn't help but to have a preference. Once again, for no obvious reason...

"Aww, c'mon Zoro, don't be like that!" Chopper sniffled. You were so distracted by Usopp that you hadn't even noticed that the little boy was shedding a few happy tears and that Zoro wasn't participating in the hug.

"I don't do group hugs." He replied plainly. Chopper sniffled a little louder. Luffy jumped away from the group to hug the grump.

"OI!" He yelled protesting. Soon everyone else rushed to trap him in a hug as well. He was trying to get away but all of his friends were hugging him too tight. He blushed.

"Aww, he actually likes it!" Nami teased. She gave you an inviting look, wich made you go and hug Zoro as well.

"OI! STOP! LET ME GO!" He was clearly feeling quite uncomfortable with the situation but you believed Nami when she said he was actually enjoying it in a way.

"If you don't let me go RIGHT NOW I will make Luffy pee his pants!" Zoro yelled. Everyone, including you, quickly spread apart and Sanji shivered with disgust. You were a little interested in how he was planning to do that though... Nami grabbed your hands and started leading you towards the stairs.

"We have to celebrate this!" She giggled. Luffy started laughing and rushed up the stairs. Curious to see what was up there, you began to follow everyone upstairs.

Then the door opened.

"Shut up and keep it down in here, would ya?"

At the door was a very angry woman, slim and old woman. She was wearing clothes that were definitely not age appropriate, and you just had to wonder why she wasn't retired.

"I have said a million times that you can't rehearse on Mondays you little assholes. I'm trying to teach one of my evening classes here!" She borderline screamed. Was this woman supposed to be a teacher? You thought that Shanks had said everyone was super nice here.

"Come on you old grandma!" Luffy whined. This outraged the old woman even further.

"That, you little punk, is Dr, Kureha. If you won't let me teach my CPR class in peace, I will cut off your limbs one by one, all right?" She hissed at him, slamming the door shut. You could only imagine how pale your face must have been.

"That would be the school nurse. Don't get sick." Zoro advised bluntly. You were not planning to. Luffy was not pleased, as he slid down the steps looking very let down.

"I wanted to partyyyy..." He whined like he was six.

"I think it's better this way. We all have early classes." Robin said.

"It's not even six thirty, I think you're the grandmother." Usopp chuckled. Chopper giggled at his comment. Robin didn't really care.

"I don't like you drinking with Chopper around anyway." She added.

"I think they're really funny when they do!" Chopper said with big eyes. This shocked you, actually. They would seriously drink with Chopper around? You didn't like the sound of that at all. Maybe Robin was sober, at least.

"I think we should celebrate _-Chan joining the group properly!" Sanji said, stepping closer to you.

"How about on friday? I'll prepare something nice." He purred giving you an admiring look. You blushed a bit, not wanting to cause any trouble.

"YES!" Luffy yelled out, Nami immediately shushing him.

"I... I don't really need anything. I'm just really grateful to be your nakama. You all seem so great and like a one big family and.." You had started talking out of nowhere. You didn't even really think what you were saying. You just wanted to thank them. "Honestly, I don't know why but I trust all of you. I have not been happy for a long time but... Now I am. Thank you for making me feel so welcome." You wiped a little tear hoping no-one saw it yet. You felt stupid saying all that cheesy stuff. But it was all true.

You got another massive group hug, this time even from Zoro. Usopp, once again, had his arms around you the tightest.

Authors notes:

The Straw Hats group dance

YouTube (c o m) /watch?v=nYfxprBsTfA

Your Choreography

Youtube (c o m) /watch?v=uPdhKogF-k

(Skip to 0.20 for your dance)

I spent like three hours looking for the best possible choreographies I could find, oh my... ; A ;

I need someone to fangirl over Usopp with so bad~

Thanks again for reading. :3 I am not too happy with this chapter, but I've been working on it and changing it for so long now that I don't think I can make it much better... Sorry!

I want to dedicate this chapter to Tulula-Mate! I got the sweetest comments from them and it really inspired me to keep writing! :3 Thank you so so so so so much, hun! Keep on loving Usopp. 3

Again, feel free to request anything. :) If you'd like for something specific to happen, let me know! I'll fit it in if it doesn't mess with the story. 3