The Explorer and His Tech-Dude Part 2
Usopp decided freezing his ass off was better than spending a few more minutes with Luffy.
Ten minutes. Ten minutes was all it took for Usopp to lose a fraction of his lifespan. He could see the end of the tunnel. Literally and figuratively. This was not the first time that he had to escape from steroid fed goonies, also not the first time that he got trapped somewhere with Luffy. 'This is nothing' was what he thought. He kept repeating the thought until it calmed his nerves. It didn't sound that bad really, he had worse. But when your company was Monkey D. Luffy, it did get worse than worse.
All went well really if Usopp didn't consider the ridiculous amount of bat shit and the bat-shit-loving bugs e.g fist size cockroaches and twelve-inch centipedes feasting on shit that Luffy deemed 'majestic'. Usopp had to comment on that but the idiot's reply made sense 'It provides nutrients for microorganism Usopp. Its useful in agriculture and did you know that the marines used the nitrate from the poop decades ago for explosives? How awesome is that!'
Luffy was smart but he could've freaking used his brain in important matters and not explaining the importance of bat shit because that didn't help the olfactory assault that Usopp experienced. The rancid smell of urine and feces combined wafting around inside the cave irritated Usopp's eyes and lungs, which a non-genius like himself knew exactly where it came from: the 'majestic' mountain of malevolent excrement. It was pure horror.
Usopp calculated they should reach the surface in ten minutes or so if what Luffy said was correct. The duo obviously didn't have the leisure to take their time and enjoy the view because they were freezing their ass off. But Luffy..oh Luffy the lunatic.. had to stop at every rock formation he found interesting and voiced out his thoughts. 'Ohhh Look Usopp, this one's shaped like meat, it looks yummy!' Oh this one looks like my hat! Awesome!' Look Usopp its just like your nose!Shishishi'. Usopp nostrils flared which was really bad with all the shit and stuff, red in his cheeks, a vein popping out of his forehead. Well, excuse Usopp and his long nose. He was born that way damn it!
After an excruciating ten minutes of listening to Luffy's relentless ramblings on his scholarly knowledge about caves, that made Usopp's resolve to ignore the idiot crumble, Usopp wanted to detach Luffy's mouth from his face just to shut him up. All the maneuvering through jagged uneven cave floor, worming through tiny holes, slipping over loose stones littered on the ground and more bat shit, finally. Finally. They were outside.
Usopp stood straight his mouth partly open, took a deep breath and slowly letting it out, savoring the fresh cold air. Tears pooled in his eyes, causing his vision to blur, not that Usopp would admit that, he was manly. Manly men didn't cry but the immense sense of relief and indescribable joy betrayed him. Usopp quickly brushed away the fresh tear that pooled in the corner of his eyes. He raised his arms to the sky, clasped his hands and yelled at the top of his lungs "Hallelujah!". He knelt down and kissed the ground not minding the cold that stung his chapped long-nosed man had never been so happy looking at a vast expanse of nothing but white. A thick blanket of pure white. Fluttering snowflakes, it was beautiful.
Breath against the cold numbing air, Luffy blinked as snow sat heavy on his eyelashes. Howling winter breeze - piling up snow drifts - picked up across the field. His jet black hair tousled as the rigid breeze blew into his face. His sweat-slickened skin from all the crawling he'd done felt chilled after emerging from the cave. Fatigue took over rather than breathlessness, he should've conserved his energy. But the cave was just so mesmerizing, he couldn't help but get excited.
Luffy hugged himself as winter breeze swirled around him causing the hair on his neck to rise and made him shudder. He expertly scanned the area but found no trace of his car. Something didn't seem quite right. He was conflicted, it was good that the goonies didn't get to follow them but the more they stay bare with their wet clothes in the freezing wind, the more likely they would get hypothermia and die.
Who would've known that the Cipher Pol Organization would follow them inside the cave? Luffy was not careful enough, his movements were tracked. He cursed under his breath, he had led them to another clue. "Tsk."
He didn't like how he endangered Usopp -again - but the circumstances were different from their past explorations. He needed Usopp's assistance, he was the only one in the team that could work with high-tech gadgets. If he brought a certain green haired man with him, the said man would probably get lost the moment he stepped inside the cave or worse even before stepping inside the cave. Luffy admitted, lapses were made. He should've made sure that the cave had a signal so Usopp didn't need to join him. Luffy thought that he should leave Usopp somewhere safe next time, like in their base or something. If dangerous situations arise, Luffy would handle it himself. He did not want Usopp getting hurt or any friend he had. He made it this far keeping them safe, thus he would continue doing so. Though if his friends heard Luffy say these things, he'd get a beating and the divine punishment: abstinence from meat. He shuddered at the thought. But all Luffy really wanted was to never experience the pain of losing someone so precious, someone important again that it leaves a scar deeper than skin and hurt more than any wound. "Death leaves a heartache no one can heal." Luffy muttered to himself.
Luffy took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He shook his head, this was not the time to glance back at his past and mourn. He decided years ago to live in the moment where life was happening.
Luffy shuddered, the wind was picking up, the palms of his hands were getting chilly. He cupped his hand, held it close to his mouth and puffed warm air on his hands. He his flexed limbs and moved his finger, rubbing them together. Now if only he could find his car.
Luffy checked the area again. Looking around, squinting his eyes trying to make out his car through the snowy breeze. Did he fuck up? He tilted his head. That would be impossible. His car should be around here...somewhere...
"Ussop, you placed a tracker on the car right? Can you locate it?" Luffy asked. Usopp nodded then promptly dropped his bag on the ground and took his notebook out. He turned it on and started navigating the gadget.
Luffy winced as he checked the wound on his arm. He cringed at the horrible red blood seeping through the tied cloth, at least it was slowing down. Luffy crouched beside Usopp, he stared at the complicated shit flashing on the screen that made his head hurt. He watched Usopp fiddling around expertly on his notebook. Usopp's cool like that. Usopp had a natural talent when it comes to gadgets and tech shit, the exact opposite of Luffy. Usopp's expertise was beyond any other person he'd met and that included the World Government weirdos. Luffy could've never done anything without Usopp.
Luffy was startled by a sudden strange beeping sound. It came somewhere inside the gadget, it was three short beeps followed by nonstop prolonged beeping.
"Okay, found it. We're currently here" Usopp pointed a red dot on the screen "so we need to head east which is.." Usopp looked around " that side." The long-nosed man pointed at the vast snowfield. Luffy rolled his eyes, of course, he knew where east was. Usopp didn't have to point which side it was. He was just a bit disoriented that was why he forgot which area he hid his car... and no he was not being defensive. Luffy didn't roll like that...
"The car should be... let me see.. three kilometers from here. Not that far." Usopp informed. He placed his stuff back inside his bag as he saw Luffy stand up.
"Yosh! Let's go before we freeze. I'd like to have my fingers intact without frosbite.."
The duo started walking briskly. The walk was not that exhausting compared to the cave but blasted freezing wind carrying half-iced pellets hit their faces as they walked towards the car. Wind seeped through their jackets and the water soaked in it started freezing. The wind howled and pierced right through their skin which numbed their exposed skin, triggering pain in their fingertips. Their feet started sinking in the thick snow with each stride.
Luffy folded his hands and rested them on his chest, he walked closer to Usopp, shoulders rubbing against each other. Luffy welcomed the warmth and sighed. Usopp eyed Luffy suspiciously or more like questioning Luffy's sanity. Usopp raised his eyebrows. "What are you doing?" Luffy placed his right arm around Usopp's waist gently and slowly pulled him closer to his own body, a slip of paper couldn't even pass between them and nuzzled his face on Usopp's neck.
"What the fuck are you trying to do Luffy?!" Usopp yelped and jumped away from his friend's side, eyes wide in shock and disbelief. Luffy pouted and whined as the comforting warmth slowly dispersed.
"I-I-I have a girlfriend and- and- I'm straight!" Usopp shouted at his friend, hugging himself wary of Luffy's every move.
Wha-t? Luffy tilted his head, just what the hell was Usopp saying?..Oh..oh~ Luffy rolled his eyes. "It's called sharing body heat you dummy. Duh! You know, warming our bodies... in fact, we should even remove our clothing and lie down right next to each other, skin-to-skin contact. We can regulate our internal temperature like that." Luffy continued babbling about body heat and Usopp's eyes almost popped out of his head from sheer terror. He started coughing and choking with air the more Luffy explained.
"Shishishi, come here Usopp~ I know you want it~ Don't be shy~," Luffy said in a singsong voice as he teased his friend, snickering like a maniac and inching closer to Usopp, his fingers wriggling. Usopp stared at Luffy in horror. Usopp clutched the strap of his bag tightly. He suddenly bolted away from Luffy in full speed ignoring the blasting wind and kicking thick slabs of wet snow out of his way, screaming 'for the sake of my bum's purity'.
Luffy ran after Usopp laughing like a lunatic, he chased Usopp and grabbed his backpack. Usopp struggled and finally escaped Luffy's clutch and ran even faster his chest heaving and running out of breath.
"Shishishi! Oh my god Usopp, you should've seen your face! I can't.. my stomach hurts. Shishishi" Luffy said through his laughs and panting, clutching his stomach from laughing too hard as he reached the car. Usopp hiding behind it.
"Fuck you Luffy!"
"Oh~ Usopp's so daring, I like that~" Luffy looked at Usopp with half-lidded eyes. "Shishishishi."
"Whatever! Just unlock the freaking car!" Usopp demanded, glaring at his howling friend. Luffy removed the white cover if the car and unlocked the door still laughing making Usopp curse over and over. Luffy looked around first before he entered the car to clear the sneaking suspicion in the back of his mind that someone may be following them. Contented, that it was safe, Luffy sat in the driver's seat. The raven head removed his jacket and unceremoniously threw it at the back seat where Usopp's jacket and bag also laid.
Usopp's mouth gaped as the engine started. He slowly turned his head to Luffy who was grinning and tapping the steering wheel, his lithe fingers grasping the wheel tight.
"Uh... ? We're gonna swap right? I mean, I should... drive.. your arm's hurt... Right?" Usopp prayed internally, hoping the gods are on his side today. He did not want to die via car fucking crash. He survived the rotting cave and the fucking blizzard for fuck sake, dying in a car after those things seemed so counterproductive.
Luffy nodded. He turned on the stereo, played Bohemian Rhapsody and maxed the volume.
"Wait Luf-" The music muffled Usopp's voice as Luffy squinted, eyes focused on the path and stepped on the gas. "Here we go!" Luffy yelled, grinning from ear to ear. Usopp swore he saw Satan himself sitting beside him, driving the car.
Ussop leaned against the seat, hands trying to find the seat belt and hung on for dear life. Luffy sped up, they were running at 180 mph in the freaking snow. Luffy's hands consciously light on the steering wheel, his eyes looking at the vast white horizon. The snow flying off the side of the car, wind sound drowned out other noise but the stereo was still blasting the song.
-I DONT WANNA DIEEEE! MAAAMAAAAA!" Usopp shrieked, eyes closed, knuckles white from gripping the seat hard.
"OHHHHHH~" Luffy replied singing along to the song.
Usopp cursed the day Monkey D. Luffy was born.
As soon as Luffy pulled off into an inn's parking lot, Usopp stumbled out of the car staggering and slammed himself into a railing as he lost his footing on the slippery ground, hurling whatever he ate for breakfast and lunch. Luffy kept laughing while rubbing Usopp's back. What a good friend he was. Luffy hoisted Usopp up and hauled him into their room.
Luffy fumbled in his jean's pocket for the key. He sighed when he found it and opened the door. Usopp was a mess, worse than having a hangover. He placed the man on his bed before closing the door behind them.
"Usopp, get your shit together. Shishishi" Usopp flipped a finger at Luffy as he sat up and went to the bathroom slowly. Luffy grabbed dry clothes from Usopp's luggage and gave it to the man. Luffy did feel guilty. A little guilty. Usopp leaned at the sink and stripped off his clothes and turned the knobs of the shower, steam coming out as the water trickled on his stiff body. He sighed in relief as the water warmed his body. He took his time showering when he got out Luffy was not in the room. He called out the man, but there was no reply. Usopp shrugged.
The long-nosed man scattered his gadgets all over the bed, sorting out what items could be saved. He lost three hard drives, a camera and broke his phone. Great.
The door opened and Luffy came in bringing two shopping bags. Usopp assumed that the man returned the poor car to the rental shop.
"Sup Usopp, feelin' better?" Luffy asked putting the contents of the bag into his bed. Fries and burgers, bottled water, plasters in a variety of different sizes and shapes, large sterile gauze dressings, antiseptic cream, and painkillers. He threw the burger at Usopp.
"Better now. You should go change. You may be an asshole and I hate you right now but I don't want you to get sick cause I'm a good friend." Usopp said as he chewed on the burger, reaching the bottled water at the opposite bed. He looked at the bloodied strip of cloth on Luffy's arm. "And we need to change that."
"Awww Usopp, you're so sweet. Want to share body heat again? shishishi"
"Ugh. Seriously, stop it."
"But you're so gullible! It's fun teasing you. Shishishi"
"Someday, somewhere, someone will do this shit to you and you will not enjoy it." Usopp deadpanned. Luffy just shrugged and went to the bathroom but stopped in the doorway. "Oh..by the way, can you check the memo- memory something in the camera, I hope it kept the pictures. Those images hold the next clue... as much as I loved exploring the cave, I'd rather not risk myself going back there, Lucci might be waiting. Fuck that guy. so... do something about it. It's in my jacket." Luffy said as he closed the bathroom door. "Thanks, Usopp" he added screaming.
Usopp dug out the camera from Luffy's jacket. He groaned while disassembling the camera and pulled out the memory card. Usopp kept the pitiable gadget, painstakingly cleaning each part, he never knew when he'd need parts. He picked up the card reader lying on the bed and inserted the memory card. He connected the chord to his laptop and files popped out.
The curly man scrunched his nose, he did not understand how Luffy could get anything from the odd doodles. A two-year-old kid's drawing was better than the images displayed on the screen. He tilted his head side to side, his hand on his chin, the weathered drawings were still impossible to read.
The bathroom door creaked and Luffy came out with a towel draped low on his hips, water sliding down his chest trailing to his waist. A fluffy towel was placed on his head as he leisurely dried his messy black locks whipped across his boyish face. Luffy winced as he placed the towel on his bleeding arm.
"Is it safe?" Luffy asked as he walked towards Usopp's bed.
"Yeah, here." Usopp scooted away, giving Luffy space. "Looks like chicken scratch to me."Ussop grabbed the first aid kit that Luffy bought. He sat beside his friend and started dressing the wound, removing the towel Luffy wrapped around his arm.
"Is this all of I- Fuck!" Luffy hissed. "Can you not press it hard please, it hurts man. Gimme the aspirin." Usopp sighed and picked up the bottle of water and the aspirin. "Here." Luffy eagerly gulped down the pill and threw the empty bottle into the trash bin.
"Is this all of it?" Luffy asked again as he studied the images one by one. "Yep. Seriously man, I only see..hmm.. stick figures, a cube and ...what's that?" Usopp pointed at the image.
"That's ancient writing," Luffy said.
"Can you read it?"
"Not really, I can make out some figures..like the box, I'm sure it symbolizes a poneglyph and those things that you keep calling stick figures.. well.. they are stick figures.. depicting rituals I guess. But that won't help. I don't want to interpret it in the wrong way. Might lead us somewhere far from what we wanted to find."
"So what are we gonna do?" Usopp popped the antiseptic cap and applied the cream to the wound. Luffy hissed, cursing under his breath, Usopp applied two pads over the wound just to make sure that it was bandaged in place.
"I think we need Robin's help, she's better than me when it comes to ancient writings." Luffy sighed. "But I don't wanna drag her again. Last time, she got kidnapped because of us. I don't want that to happen again." Luffy stood up, thanking Usopp for fixing his arm. He slipped into his red pajamas and sat on his bed.
"Hmm. Dude...Don't you think that Lucci and his goonies already found the painting or whatever that shit is."Usopp pointed at the picture on his notebook.
Luffy's midnight black eyes widened. "Shit! Usopp, we're leaving tonight." Luffy bounced off the bed and hurriedly grabbed his luggage. "If they followed us all the way to the cave, they might already know where we're staying. Shit. I royally fucked up man." he added as he messily dumped his clothes inside the luggage.
Usopp quickly gathered up the scattered items on his bed and dump it inside his own luggage, he looked at his friend, the dude was a master of his art, it was odd to see him panic. Luffy might be an idiot but he was so good at his game. Something was off. "Man, you okay?
"Hmm? Well, my arm fucking hurts and I got bruises all over my body but the painkiller is helping-so I'm good." Luffy answered still focused on gathering his personal belongings.
"Not that man. I mean..you know.. in your mind." Usopp spoke softly.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Luffy looked at his best friend, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not crazy Usopp." Luffy huffed.
"Not like that Luffy" Usopp sighed "What I mean is...have you been having nightmares again? cause it's weird seeing you fail at your game man. I don't mean to sound mean or something but that's how I see it right now. You can smack me if you want. If that will make you feel better, go ahead."
Luffy sat on his bed, kicking the luggage on the floor. He ran his hand through his damp hair and sighed. "Yeah..."
"Same nightmare?" Usopp frowned. "Wanna talk about it?" Luffy shook his head.
"It's okay, I'll be fine. Now.. let's go bef- Knock. Knock. Knock... Usopp yelped and covered his mouth. They weren't expecting any one and no one knew where they were..unless...
Luffy tiptoed towards the door slipped on the side of the doorway. Luffy looked at Usopp and mouthed 'Gimme my knife' and pointed at his luggage. Usopp crawled towards the luggage and quietly rummaged through Luffy's clothes. He felt the switchblade under the pile of clothes, he pulled it out and threw it at Luffy. The raven head easily caught the knife. He pressed the button and the blade slid out of the hilt. Luffy signaled Usopp to hide behind the bed. Usopp nodded and hastily ducked behind the bed, he peeked underneath and saw Luffy's feet.
Knock. Knock. Knock. This time it was a bit louder.
Luffy could hear someone shuffling just outside the door then walking towards the window of the room. Luffy bit his lip, good thing they closed the curtains. The footsteps came back to the door... Before Luffy could turn the knob, there was a third loud tap on the door.
Knock. Knock. Kno-
Without waiting for the last tap, Luffy took a deep breath, he was ready to get this over with, he was not going down without a swung the door open and jumped at the person standing in the doorway, gripping the knife tightly.
The man screamed in an unmanly way. Luffy tilted his head, looming at the man. The stranger's eyes were wide obviously scared shitless. His red cap fell on the damp pavement... Luffy's eyes swept over the man...
"Don't kill me please!" the man shrieked, tears pooling in his eyes, his body was shaking as Luffy remained straddled on top of him, the knife still an inch above his throat.
Usopp hurriedly ran towards the door.. his eyes settled and shifted between the man and Luffy...
the man...
Luffy...
the man...
a cap...
the boxes...
pizza splattered on the ground...
...
"Shiiit." Usopp could feel a menacing aura coming from Luffy as he slowly turned his head and faced Usopp like one of those horror films... "Usopp.," Luffy muttered in a cold voice, a devilish grin on his boyish face.
Clicking heels, security areas beeping, infants crying, toddlers running to and fro about the pale white floor. Restless people wandering through airport boutiques hauling their belongings. Exasperated faces trying to travel through the crowded hallway of the airport dodging carts and rushing people. Tourists inquiring about their flights, two women arguing causing a ruckus in the corner of the hall and prying folks.
Usopp stood among the ruckus of people, nursing a bump on his head, towing two pieces of luggage. "I told you... I forgot! I'm sorry!" He pleaded at the still fuming raven head beside him, the man's straw hat hung on his neck bouncing up and down at every step he took.
"I MURDERED PIZZAS USOPP -A WHOLE FREAKING FAMILY OF PIZZAS! Do you even know how tragic that is?! Luffy barked with a clenched jaw. He was not satisfied that he only gave Usopp one punch..two or three more would suffice and satisfy his anger.
Usopp stood frozen and turned his head to his friend , eyes wide and mouth agape in disbelief, then in shock. "Really Luffy? You're more worried about the goddamn pizza? What about the man?!"
Luffy crossed his arms on his chest, gaze piercing Usopp's face and scoffs. "Yeah? What about the man Usopp? What about him?" he said in a sardonic manner. "I'm not the one who freaking forgot that he ordered pizza! What if i killed the man -huh,Usopp? I don't have powers to resurrect him, that's for sure!" Luffy added flailing his arms all over Usopp's face.
Ussop bit his lips, he felt guilty. But the damage was done. He just have to suck it up and try to coax Luffy.
"Uh..umm.. You- you can always gather the seven balls of dragons." Usopp said sheepishly glancing at his friend.
"Well duh.. I would've used it for the pizza." Luffy casually said without a trace of hesitation as he started walking towards the ticketing booth.
'What the fuck' was all that came out of Usopp's gaping mouth.
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Disclaimer: One piece is not mine. It belongs to the Great Oda-Sensei.
"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal" - this line came from this full quote
""Death leaves a memory no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal" - Richard Puz, The Carolinian
I mentioned Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen (Classicssss 3) which obviously also ain't mine.
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In this fic, Cipher Pol is not connected to the World Government. It's an independent organization :D
The straw hats are coming soon~ and oh, our favorite surgeon - Torao :3
Hope you guys enjoy :D
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