Usopp knocked on a partially open door. "Beth…?" He pushed it open and carefully stepped inside.
The one-handed girl was sitting silently on her bed, staring outside at the stars. She didn't register Usopp's voice so he just had to hope she hadn't receded further. He sat down on her right, making sure to stay away from the side that made her change drastically. He sidled a little closer.
"Beth," he paused. "Uh, Sanji made supper. You should come up and eat something. I bet it would make him happy. It would make all of us happy." He twitched his fingers together nervously.
There was still no reply from her. He stood with an air of defeat and made his way out of the room when he heard a small whisper.
"I just want to be like you again. I just want my hand and my slingshot back."
Usopp walked away with pain in his chest. He had tried to teach her to use her right hand with a crossbow that only needed one hand, but it was pointless. Her aim was worse than Luffy's. He ruffled his hair in frustration. He was an inventor! How could he not have made something for her by now? He paused and an idea formed. He raced off to his work table without another thought for food.
Luffy frowned with a pout. "Why does everyone stop playing with me?" he whined.
Chopper swung his feet off the chair. "Usopp was up all night. I don't think he slept at all and he wasn't at supper."
"I could hear him and his stupid tinkering all night. It kept me up," Zoro growled.
Sanji kicked him. "You sleep all day, Marimo bastard!"
Nami smacked both of them before they could start fighting. "Enough! Zoro, go find Usopp. Sanji, how about you get me something to drink?"
Sanji immediately did what he was told though Zoro scowled as he stalked off. It was quite on the Straw Hat deck for a few more moments. There was a loud crash and a series of thudding footsteps before the group saw Usopp run past as if a monster was chasing him. With a sack clutched in his hand, he dashed around a corner and almost crashed. He scrambled to get his footing and continued down the corridor.
"BETHANY!"
She jerked back as he crashed through the doorway. He was panting heavily, but there was glee hidden within his eyes.
"Quickly, give me your arm."
She held her left arm to her chest.
"Please, trust me with this." His plea had her slowly loosening her arm. He carefully took it with his own hands. "I need you to close your eyes. I have a very special present for you, but you have to wait just a little longer before I can show you." His heavy breathing made speaking in lengths difficult, but he forced himself to go through with it.
She closed her eyes, fear streaking through her until she pushed it down. She still trusted him, even though she had hurt him more than once in the past two long months. Something cold touched her skin a few inches above the stump. She almost pulled her arm away, but she waited. The cold expanded, surrounding her wrist. There were a few mutterings from Usopp before she heard him say, "Open your eyes."
Her eyes opened and she gasped. "B-but- Th-there's-" Words refused to form. A metal contraption covered her stump and bent further forward. In it was something even more spectacular. A slingshot was tightly gripped by the metal, one piece notching in to keep it from falling. "Ussopp," she whispered, her eyes tearing up. She threw her arms around him. "Oh thank you! Thank you, thank you!"
Her lips were stretched in a smile as she finally let him go. Usopp was smiling, almost in relief. "I just wanted to help you. Please, don't be sad anymore. We miss you. I miss you." His cheeks reddened. "Uh, well, I mean," he coughed. "I, uh, missed my shooting partner. Yeah, that's it!"
Bethany giggled for the first time in a long time. She kissed his cheek. "Thank you so much. I promise to never be that sad again."
Here's part 2. Honestly, I think part 1 was a better ending.
I already have another chapter done for this. Let me know if any of you have ideas for who I should write about next.
-Levvi