This chapter is a little different as it focuses on Sanji and Usopp instead of Sanji and Zoro. Pacific Rim AU
Usopp was not a fighter. He was a scrawny kid who spent most of his days weaving together stories and lies to the neighborhood kids. And despite all the lies he told of himself, the only real skill that he possessed was his remarkable aim. And Usopp knew this.
But Usopp had a dream. Usopp dreamed of one day becoming a hero, a brave warrior that protected everything dear to him and damn if Usopp wasn't dedicated to that dream. So when the young teenager learned of the world wide Jaeger pilot recruitment, he signed his name with a shaky hand.
Sanji Blackleg was a fighter through and through. Sanji was a short fuse that threw out insults and kicks with furious speed. Years of training with his former co-pilot, Zeff, molded the young blond into the ideal soldier. Not only that, but Sanji was a hit with the public too. The blond was charismatic, charming, and handsome. The perfect image of a hero and every magazine and news station jumped at the chance to have Sanji speak with them.
So when they told Usopp, this small town cowardly kid, that he would be piloting with Sanji Blackleg, the long nose couldn't believe his ears.
On their first day of training together, Usopp had been extremely nervous. Sanji was intimidating up close, he seemed to tower over the long nose and radiated enough confidence to fill the room. And Usopp thought to himself, "There is no way that we're drift compatible."
That day of training proved the young teen wrong. He was shocked to discover that he and Sanji were almost in sync and their neural handshake had gone off without a hitch. The whole world buzzed with the news that the popular blond found a new partner, but Sanji didn't look nearly as surprised as Usopp felt.
Weeks of training and Usopp grew closer to Sanji. When one day their neural handshake revealed his sick mother lying helplessly in her bed with a tiny Usopp crying by her side, Sanji pulled him into his room after training to treat him to a home cooked meal and an ear to listen to the long nose's words through the tears. When Usopp finally saw the young blond boy and the older man stranded on a god forsaken rock, the younger teen held the blond tightly and nodded along to the string of sobbed curses that Sanji spewed out.
Months of training with Sanji, and Usopp felt like he was slowly getting closer to his dream of becoming a hero. That's not to say Usopp isn't still easily scared by the giant monsters that sometimes towered over their Jaeger, Going Merry, because he was still very much a coward in comparison to his co-pilot. But when the warning sirens went off and the orders to suit up were barked into his ear, Usopp followed Sanji every step of the way. And right before their drop Sanji would look at him and murmur for only Usopp to hear.
"You do what I can't do and I'll do what you can't do, and we'll get through this together."
And he believed every word.