Disclaimer: All the characters herein, with the exception of some random extras, are the intellectual property of Eiichiro Oda and all the companies involved with publishing and production of the One Piece manga and anime. I just twisted 'em a bit.
Spoilers/Warnings: This story will eventually encompass the entire first season of the anime, which is up to about halfway through volume 11 of the manga, just so you know. This is an AU, so many things have been changed/altered/warped to suit my needs. Also, there is some language and violence.
Pairing: None. However, I like subtext, so you can probably find hints of just about anything, if you look for it.
Dedication: To the OP at the fanforall at LJ, for requesting a cowboy AU and spawning this in my brain. Many thanks to Dandy Wonderous for beta-ing.
A/N: Name order for all characters has been westernized. Don't like it? Tough cookies! I do not claim to be an expert on anything involving gun fighting, the old west, or the cavalry. I did some very basic research for some of this, but I probably got lots of stuff wrong. Humor me! As I am sure you are aware, many One Piece characters do not have last names. All surnames assigned by me were given for a reason! See the end notes for further details.
Part 4- A Liar, a Lunch, and a Fair Lady
Nami informed them that the nearest town was some place called Syrup. The combination of a small canyon and a spring running into a small river created a rarity: a desert swamp. Supposedly the mud was as sticky, and approximately the same color, as maple syrup. Luffy was thrilled, even after being informed that it would taste nothing like the pancake topping.
As soon as the town appeared as a smudge on the horizon, Luffy's excitement became uncontainable. The jumping up and down and wild gesticulations didn't appear to bother the endlessly patient, old mare, but Nami soon became annoyed with the boy's child-like enthusiasm. Fortunately for her, Zoro had an extremely low tolerance for whining, and she got to ride behind him the rest of the way. He was surly, certainly, but at least he was quiet about it.
There was a small outcropping of rock to their right. As they approached the small town, something zinged through the air and into the dirt in front of Zoro's horse. The gelding snorted and shuffled back a few steps, eyes wide and nostrils flaring. Zoro quickly dismounted, and Nami thought it prudent to follow suit.
"Beware, rogues!" a voice boomed from the general direction of the rocks. "This town is the main base of the infamous Usopp 'Dead Eye' Vaughan and his gang! If you're here looking for trouble, you'd better think twice!"
"Was that a bullet?" Luffy wondered, eying the spot where the projectile hit.
"Nope." Zoro carefully scanned the outcropping for movement. "Never heard a gun fire." Truly, a shot would have echoed in the open space.
"Well, I've never heard of this 'Usopp' character," Nami scoffed as she crouched down to search for the mysterious object, "have you?"
"Federal marshals quake in fear at the name!" the voice shouted, tone now slightly indignant.
"Golly!" Luffy's voice was ever so slightly hushed in awe. "I'd sure like to meet him! You suppose the guy up there knows him?"
"Luffy," Nami rolled her eyes, "he is the guy up there..."
"That's right!" the voice affirmed. "So... Beware, rogues!"
"You said that already," Nami informed him.
"Oh? Then, tremble, scoundrels! My eighty men and I aren't afraid to draw first blood!"
"Eighty men!" Luffy definitely sounded more excited than afraid. "Where?"
"He's lying," Nami concluded. She eyed the smooth pebble she had found embedded in the ground, bouncing it lightly in her palm.
"Are you really willing to take that chance?" Usopp challenged.
"I surely am." Zoro smirked, brushing his coat back to allow his hands to hover over his gun holsters. "I'm also willing to shoot the first thing I see movin' over there."
"Upon reflection," Usopp responded after a heavy pause, "violence is unnecessary! What say we discuss this face to face like men?" When there was no immediate reply, he continued, voice cracking. "I-I'm coming out now! My hands are up! D-don't shoot me, please!"
The figure that appeared from behind the rocks was a lanky, young man that appeared to be around Luffy's age. He was dressed in a well worn pair of brown overalls, and a lighter brown bandana tied over unruly black hair. He was quaking from his toes to the tip of his curiously long nose.
"No worries," Luffy assured with a grin, proffering his hand, much as he had with Nami. "Zoro wouldn't really shoot you for no reason! Right, Zoro?"
Zoro eyed the slingshot tucked in the stranger's bib pocket, then shifted his cold glare to the wide, dark eyes above it. "I won't this time. But, just so you know, I consider firing on me reason enough."
Usopp laughed nervously, and rather hysterically, as he shook Luffy's hand. "S-sorry about that! Syrup's a small, out of the way town. Nothing exciting ever happens around here, and most of the town would like to keep it that way..."
"So they asked you to harass travelers?" Nami asked skeptically.
"Well, no," Usopp mumbled, reddening slightly. "You guys just seemed a little suspicious, and I didn't want any trouble..."
"If you don't want it, you shouldn't start any," Zoro groused.
"Let me make it up to you," Usopp offered.
"Great!" Luffy gave the other a boy a slap to the back that knocked him forward a step. "You can buy us lunch! I'm starving!"
Syrup wasn't often a final destination for travelers, but it was a stop on several stagecoach lines. As such, the town had a small hotel with a restaurant on the main floor. While the traveler's ate, Usopp regaled them with wild stories. Luffy was the only one who couldn't easily see through the outrageous exaggerations.
"You sure talk fancy!" Luffy noted.
"I read a lot," Usopp admitted. "My mother used to be a school teacher, and she had lots of books. Someday, I'm going to see the whole world on my own, instead of just reading about it."
"Your dad always talked about traveling, too," Luffy mumbled around a mouthful of food. "Are you as good a shot as he is?"
The table went very quiet, and all eyes were on Luffy. He continued eating, oblivious to the stir his offhand comment had made.
"You've met my father?" Usopp asked quietly.
"Uh huh," Luffy affirmed absently. "He was riding with Shanks, last time I saw him."
Zoro raised an eyebrow. Shanks was a pretty well known crminal. "So, your old man's an outlaw, huh?"
"Yeah. He left when I was very young. I hardly remember him at all." Usopp was clearly trying for indifferent, but the underlying hurt was easily distinguishable. Even Luffy, almost completely devoid of tact as he was, decided not to take this topic of discussion any further. Usopp was slightly embarrassed by the silence.
"It's alright, though," he insisted. "I can understand why he would want more to life than a tiny, quiet town. You have to admire someone who can live their life with no regrets..."
A grandfather clock in the corner chimed one, and Usopp snapped to attention.
"At any rate," he cleared his throat, "I have some urgent business elsewhere. Enjoy the rest of your meal, and good luck to you all!" He was out the door almost before the others could blink.
"I wonder," Nami mused as she stirred her drink absently with the tip of one finger, "if this place is so boring, what could possibly be so interesting?"
"It's not our business," Zoro reminded her. "Let's rustle up some supplies, maybe find another horse, and move on out."
"Another horse?" Luffy cocked his head to the side. "What for? I don't mind sharing."
Zoro and Nami both ignored the question. Clearly he did mind sharing, and she knew it would be easier to head off on her own, when the time came, if she had her own transportation.
"I saw a ranch just south of town," she offered casually. "We could look there."
The ranch itself was quite small, and the outlying areas had been left to run down after the owner's death from a sudden illness. He had been a well off banker back east, who had moved west with his new wife in search of a lifestyle wholly different from the cramped and bustling cities. They had lived together happily and prosperously, welcoming a single daughter into their lives, until both man and wife had suddenly passed away. Their daughter, Kaya, inherited the ranch and family fortune, but she was too young to fully comprehend all that it entailed. She drew into herself and slowly languished. Care of the estate had fallen to Merry, the butler who had followed them west, and Klahadore, the head ranch hand.
Usopp couldn't help but be taken by the romance of the situation. It was like one of the novels in his mother's collection. It had taken weeks to work up the nerve, but he had approached the girl as she went for a walk around the grounds. At first, she had brushed aside his attention, but then he won her over with a funny story. Now, both lonely teens looked forward to a daily stroll together.
Usopp fell in beside Kaya, trying, rather unsuccessfully, to mask the fact that he had run all the way from town. She graciously ignored his panting, instead adjusting the bonnet which shielded her fair complexion from the sun.
"I was afraid you mightn't come," she whispered.
"A group of strangers rode into town today," Usopp explained. "I had to make sure they were trustworthy, and I lost track of time."
"What were they like?" Kaya asked breathlessly. Travelers had been few and far between of late, and Usopp's descriptions were always entertaining.
"There were three of them; two men and a woman. One man wore a straw hat and rode a horse that looked half dead. He looked innocent enough, but I could tell it was just a front to throw others off balance. His eyes were shifty, and he was always smiling. Someone told me once that you should never trust a man who's all smiles. The second man was his complete opposite, all brooding and serious. He was dressed all in black and green, and he carried three guns."
"Three guns?" Kaya giggled. "Can one really fire more than two?"
"Not at the same time, of course," Usopp grinned right back, "but I'm sure it was mostly for effect. He had cold, hard eyes, and I knew that he'd used those guns before."
"The woman," Kaya prodded, "was she beautiful?"
"I suppose she was, in a sultry way." Usopp shifted slightly closer, trying to catch a glimpse of Kaya's face out of the corner of his eye. "A little too worldly for my tastes. She had a calculating air about her. She was clearly a schemer, and probably the brains of the operation."
"Weren't you frightened to approach them, Usopp?"
"I was wary, certainly, but not afraid."
As the couple walked onward, their conversation was no longer clear to the figure that had been watching them from a short distance away. Klahadore frowned as he straightened his black string tie. That boy from town might prove to be a nuisance, as he always seemed to be nearby. A small smile quirked the corner of the man's lips. It was no matter, really. Surely one boy couldn't disrupt years of careful planning!
Klahadore turned his horse in the opposite direction from the walking couple. He had an important meeting with an old friend...
End Notes:
There really is such a thing as a "desert swamp." I had to go with that, since sugar maples will not grow in the southwest, and I suddenly have urges to be at least remotely authentic.
Finding a last name for Usopp gave me some trouble. There is no shortage of outlaws who talked a big game, but most of them were total asses and I couldn't do that to Usopp. I went with a slightly different angle. His name is taken from Hank Vaughan. Hank was small and appeared non-threatening, so most other men seriously underestimated how great a shot he was. I feel like Usopp is like that. Enemies dismiss him as a threat, until somebody takes a tabasco star to the face...
Also, I never really melted into a pile of misery and guilt. I just like to be melodramatic when I whine. (Maybe that's why I get such a kick out of writing Usopp most of the time...)