The gentle rocking of the boat was the first thing she was aware of. She curled under her coat-turned-blanket. The weathered wood of the boat under her wasn't the worst place she's slept.
She grumpily lay there trying to clutch the last dregs of sleep for a little longer before slowly blinking her eyes open. She slowly rolled onto her back and looked up at the pre-twilight sky.
The moon had set, but the sun had yet to rise. The sky sluggishly started lighting up, sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere. The faintest stars started to fade, but the nights here were still truly spectacular with the amount of visible stars. She watched the sky turn from darkness to a startling bright blue, and fade close to the light blue of day.
It was when the horizon started turning rosy pink and orange that she finally got up and looked around her.
Luffy and Zoro were in the other boat beside them, sleeping on opposite ends. Luffy sat at the front, back against the side, and Zoro mirrored him. Luffy was snoring.
Nami slept in the enclosed cabin, which contained a cot of questionable quality.
Ellis's stomach grumbled, giving her a sharp pang of hunger. She looked at the two on the other boat, then the previously opened barrel of apples near them.
The sun's rays started peeking over the horizon.
Ellis grabbed her bag and quietly headed to their boat, hopping over. She put her fingers over the back of her zipper and silently opened her backpack. She peeked into the barrel to see it more than half empty.
If they ever even noticed a few apples going missing, Luffy would be the obvious culprit. Ellis hid four in her bag, cushioning and covering them with her coat. She put her bag on her back after closing it and grabbed two more for breakfast.
She made sure to keep it looking untouched and hopped back over to Nami's boat.
She sat down and ate them as she watched the Pleiades on the horizon fade into the light of day, and the sun rose.
Some time later, after finishing laundry and hanging up her and Zoro's now stainless shirts to dry, while she touched up the last repairs of Luffy's hat, Nami emerged from her cabin. Luckily, Ellis had been awake long enough to tolerate social interaction, so she waved at her before tying off the final stitch.
Ellis stealthily returned Luffy's hat to his head, gathered her sewing materials, and hopped back over to the other woman's ship.
"I can see the Gecko Islands starting to peek over the horizon," Nami commented. "Should only be an hour or two before we get there, hopefully."
Ellis hummed in acknowledgment, pulling out a hairbrush from an outside pocket of her bag.
Luffy only woke up after Ellis went into the cabin to wash off. She exited after she heard some excited conversation, only to see Nami point at her from over her shoulder, and she caught Luffy's stare.
She stiffened as he smiled at her, then leapt onto the boat she was on and over to her.
"Thanks for fixing my hat!" He took it off to look at. "It's good as new!"
Ellis sweatdropped. The hat was so weathered, she doubted it was ever 'new' to begin with, but it was clearly cared for and treasured. "It's no problem–"
He beamed at her. "You're the best, Eyelash!" Then he pranced back over to his own ship.
"That's . . . not my name," Ellis begrudgingly sighed. Nami snickered at her.
As they approached land, Nami took charge and ordered them around, sailing them to the closest of the Gecko Islands. Nami was on high alert because of all the rocks jutting out of the water.
"You never know what's under the surface, and we don't want to scrape up the bottom of our boats, now, do we?"
Nami had them circle the island until she spotted a cove on the north side of the island. They had to carefully navigate through several rock formations.
As they got into shallower water, Ellis and Nami had to pull the boats to shore and onto the sand. Zoro was still injured, and Luffy was allergic to ocean, so the two women felt they were best.
Once the boats were tied down and secured, Ellis allowed herself to take in the beach.
The sand was soft and white, with very few rocks. There was plenty of driftwood, presumably from the trees at the top of the cliffs. Said cliffs were maybe two or three stories tall, made of white stone. There were several areas where rocks jutted out, since the cliff face wasn't one huge flat surface. There was foliage at the top. From where they stood, the trees looked like oak.
To the left of them was the only path past the cliffs, since the formation circled the beach. There was no going around. The rock face looked too steep and unsteady to climb, not to mention how sharp some of the hand grips would be if they tried. It would definitely cause some bleeding.
Ellis turned back to Nami's boat and climbed back in to retrieve her shoes, and to towel off her legs from being in the water.
She wasn't about to roll her pants back down onto wet legs, the chafing would be unbearable.
Everyone else jumped out the boats and onto the beach by the time she pulled out her coat from her bag, using it as a towel.
"Feels good to be on dry land again!" Zoro sighed, stretching.
"There's a village around here somewhere, right?" Luffy, hand on hat on head, looking around like a kid in a candy store.
Ellis rolled down her pants.
"Yeah," Nami, "It looks like a small one, though." Ellis could hear paper rustling as Nami pulled out a map.
"Ooh, ooh!" Luffy ran at Nami. "Then there's meat!" Luffy stopped in her face, drooling. "There has to be a place to eat meat in this village!"
"Just forget about meat for a minute, would you?" Nami replied, irked.
Ellis slipped on her shoes.
Zoro stretched his arms up, groaning, ending in a 'huh?' Then he got a better look up at the cliff's edge, reaching for his sword.
"Careful." He glanced back at them. "We're being watched."
Ellis turned to look.
"Huh?" Luffy perked up. He practically gave himself whiplash as he looked around. "By who?! Where are they?! They got meat?!"
Zoro's head snapped to them and exclaimed, "Look out!"
Then Luffy practically danced in place, dodging the projectiles aimed at his feet.
Nami practically wailed as she ran back toward Ellis and the ship, hopefully getting out of range. Zoro just stood there, trying to spot the source.
Four unknown pirate flags rose from the bushes. Then, to the right of them, four more rose.
Then another group of flags.
Luffy looked on in amazement, but Ellis was just confused.
"Woah," Luffy exhaled. "That's so cool!" He erratically waved his arms.
"Is this supposed to be where I'm impressed?" Nami bluntly asked next to Ellis. Then they heard laughter.
"I am Usopp!" The voice came from an outcropping from the cliff ahead of them. The one with a tree. "Leader of the invincible nation of pirates who reign over this island!"
Ellis and Nami glanced at each other.
Pirate islands were marked on maps. Invincible pirate islands would be surrounded by sunken Marine vessels and be in the news. None of which are the case.
Usopp wore brown overalls, a bandanna, a white sash around his waist, and one single armband. While the island is pretty humid, there was still an early morning chill, so Ellis was concerned (in more ways than one) that he wasn't wearing a shirt underneath.
Not to mention his absurdly long nose.
"You stand before a living legend, the most revered pirate who ever lived!" He pointed his thumb at himself, continuing to boast. "I am the great Captain Usopp!"
As he was speaking, slowly more flags were raised and planted along the cliff's edge.
There was a pause before he continued. "Surely you know that plotting an attack on this island would mean certain death?! My army of eighty million super mean soldiers would squash you like bugs!"
. . . Is he serious?
"Awesome!" Luffy shrieked, causing the rest of them to deadpan at him.
"You expect us to believe that?" Nami called out, jumping from the side of the boat back onto the beach.
'Captain' Usopp immediately shrieked, hands in his hair. "She knows!"
"Yep!" Nami confirmed. "Well, now I know."
"How could I be so dumb! I practically told her I was lying!" He wobbled in place as he wailed. "I'm such an idiot! So stupid!"
"What!" Luffy turned to look back at Nami in shock. "He was lying?!"
"Curse you, you crafty tactician!" Usopp collected himself. "Eighty million may have been an exaggeration, but I have a great many men under my control!"
Only one small group of the flags on the cliff were actually waving around. Six, in total.
"Looks like three people to me," Ellis commented, causing three boys to jump out of a bush, shrieking.
"She does know!" They drop the flags and run.
"Hey, where are you guys going?!" Usopp called after them. "Come back!"
Ellis saw something glint in the corner of her eye. She looked down to see one of the projectiles in the sand. She climbs over the side of the boat and pushes off, landing in a crouch in the sand. She picked it up before standing. It looked like a spherical bullet, rough as it may be. She walked to Nami while looking at the sand around her. Some were metal, and some were stone.
They definitely weren't fired by guns.
"A pirate using a slingshot," Nami piped up from next to her. "Well, now I've seen it all!"
Luffy laughed with his full chest, hands on his hips. "That's pretty cool!"
Man, Luffy's really easy to impress.
"Ugh! Shut your mouth!" Usopp bellowed, reaching into his giant coinpurse-looking bag. "Or I'll shut it for you!" He pulled out his slingshot and lined up a shot at them. "I'm a proud man and I won't stand for it! This is your last warning, or you'll get to see why they call me Proud Usopp, and not Pushover Usopp."
He calls himself a lot of things, Ellis thought to herself, uneasy at his change of tone.
"Is that clear? You've already seen for yourself just how good I am with this thing, so! You know I can rival anyone carrying a pistol!"
Luffy pushed the brim of his hat to cover his eyes.
Oh, no. Is he getting serious? Ellis thinks back to Luffy launching Buggy with a single blow.
"Now that you've drawn your pistol, are you willing to put your life on the line?"
"Huh?" Usopp sputtered.
"Guns aren't for threats, they're for actions," Luffy continued. "Are you willing to risk your life?"
Where the hell did a fool like Luffy hear a phrase like that? There's no way he came up with it himself.
Zoro put his hand on his sword, preparing to unsheathe. "You're looking at real pirates. Consider your next move very carefully."
I never said I was a pirate, Ellis mentally cried. I'm not with you people!
She could only see the shadowed parts of their faces from behind them, but even still, she felt like a cornered animal.
Neither side was standing down, and Ellis could feel her muscles tensing, preparing to run back to the boat.
Not an ideal getaway, but it's the best I've got under the circumstances.
Only the sound of crashing waves broke the silence. Some flags fell over, and the wind occasionally whistled.
"Now that you've drawn your pistol," Luffy repeated, "are you willing to use it?"
Usopp released the sling, dropping the rock at his feet. He fell to his knees.
"Real pirates definitely have a lot more punch behind their words, 'cause they can actually back them up," Usopp whimpered. "That's so cool."
Luffy and Zoro looked at each other, smirking. Then they laughed.
"I stole that," Luffy called out.
"Huh?" Usopp
"I stole those words from Red-Haired Shanks, a pirate I know!"
Ellis, whose tension just eased immensely, immediately raised hackles. The . . . the pirate EMPEROR?!
"What? You know Red-Haired Shanks?!" Usopp. "You really are a real pirate! Wait, you gotta be lying! Do you really know him?"
What kind of person did I just let Nami team up with? Of all people?!
"Yep! I know your dad, too. His name's Yassop, right?"
Usopp proceeds to fall face forward down the face of the cliff, landing on his face, then flipping to his back. Then he sat up.
What kind of water do they put in the East Blue for there to be so many people associated with pirate emperors?
"You're right, my old man's name is Yassop. But, how in the world do you know him?"
Ellis just numbly watched as the conversation continued, Usopp leading them deeper into the island and up to a diner called Meshi. She just ordered pancakes and listened.
"This is good, huh?" Usopp asked.
"So I met your dad when I was just a little kid," Luffy spoke after eating several plates.
"Hold on, does my old man really know Shanks?"
He doesn't know?
"Know him? When I met your dad, he was part of Shanks's crew so they were probably pretty good friends."
"I can't believe it! My old man sailing the high seas with famous pirates!"
Some random kid from a different island knows more about the guy than his own son? Ellis was concerned, but it 's not her business to ask about. She doesn't know Luffy or Usopp at all.
"I haven't heard from him in a while, but I bet he's still with them," Luffy stole the remaining pancakes on Ellis's plate and shoved them in his mouth.
Ellis sighed, only having been able to eat half of one, saying nothing. She didn't want to cause a fuss.
"He was a heck of a sharpshooter! I'd keep him on my crew. He used to go on and on and on about his son, I think I heard enough about you to make my ears bleed. And let me tell you, he was a GREAT pirate!"
"Yeah, really? I sure am proud of my old man. He leapt into a pirate's life on the endless sea," Usopp sighed wistfully. "He chose a life of real adventure."
"Maybe you can help us," Nami cut in. "Do you know anyone who can provide us with a decent ship, or even anyone who knows how to sail, for that matter?"
Usopp sighed. "Well, it's a pretty small village," Usopp commented, making a strange face. "Sorry, but I just don't think we'd be able to help you."
"What about that huge mansion?" Zoro brought up, looking out the window. "The one on top of that hill over there." Usopp's face fell, startled.
"Hey, do you know them, Usopp?" Nami asked, hands clasped under her chin, eyes lighting up. "With all that money, surely they can help us get our boat!"
"You stay away from there!" Usopp snapped. The group stared at him, startled at the outburst. Then he made a face, surprising even himself, before poorly collecting himself. "Uh– I just remembered something that I really gotta do!" He stood up from his seat. "Everybody knows me at this place. So, uh, stay and eat as much as you want! Well, uh, gotta go!" He grabbed his bag and bolted out the door.
Nami watched him go. Luffy had a funny look on his face as he smiled after Usopp, before grabbing the last apple and taking a bite.
"Why was he in such a hurry to get out of here?" Nami wondered.
Ellis shrugged. "Maybe he already had plans."
Then she saw movement outside the window.
"Are you sure this is the place they took him?" A boy asked in a hushed voice.
Ellis and Zoro glanced at each other.
"Yeah, those terrible pirates dragged him inside and now it's up to us to save our captain," another voice whispered.
Nami was the next to catch on.
"But guys, those are real pirates, what if they've already eaten him already?" Chimed in a third.
"You idiot, it's grizzly old witch hags that eat their victims, not pirates!"
The trio of kids moved away from the window. The group looked at each other. Before anything was said, the door to the small diner slammed open.
"The Usopp Pirates have arrived!" A trio of kids announced in unison. Nami turned to look at the entrance of the store.
"Who are these kids?" She muttered. She and Luffy stared the kids down. Ellis and Zoro didn't have the entrance in view, so they could only sit and wait.
"Captain Usopp is gone," one observed.
"Did they . . ."
The first kid to reach them had dark green hair, and held his sword aloft as he stood at the front of their booth. "Fess up, you filthy pirates!" The other two kids caught up to him. "What have you done with our beloved captain?! Tell us now!"
The kids stood from shortest to tallest, wooden swords all held in the air. The kid on the left, the shortest, was blond with glasses. The tallest, the kid on the right, had purple hair and freckles, wearing a red bandanna with a jolly roger and a black sweatshirt.
"Yeah, tell us now!" The other two repeated.
Luffy sighed after taking a sip of his drink, patting his enlarged stomach. "That meat sure was good!"
The kids lowered their swords, staring at him in horror. "What meat?" They cowered.
"These pirates are cannibals," The shortest kid choked out.
Nami giggled.
"What've you done? You savages?!" The green kid in the middle accused.
"If you're looking for your captain . . ." Zoro goaded, giving a terrifying smirk, "we ate him."
The kids turned to Nami, screaming, "Cannibals!"
"What are you looking at me for?!" She shrieked.
Luffy and Zoro broke into laughter as the kids fell back.
"You just had to say something stupid, didn't you?!" Nami barked.
As she was calming down, Ellis piped up, "He ran off just before you got here."
"He seemed to be in a hurry, too," Nami commented. "We're not sure where, though. It was pretty abrupt."
"I might have an idea," one of the kids piped up. "We can lead you there, if you want."
At that, they all left the diner and followed the kids up the hill, in the direction of the mansion Zoro pointed out earlier.
"You really had us going there," the shortest kid piped up as they led the group to the fence.
"Wow, this place is huge!" Luffy
"And if our captain ran off at this hour, then this is the place he's gonna be," the short kid told them.
"Oh?" Luffy "What in the world does Usopp come here for?"
"He comes to lie," the purple kid responds.
"To lie?" Nami sternly repeats. "That's terrible."
"He's not a bad guy! He's great, isn't he?" The green kid asked, looking at his friends grinning at him.
"Yeah, he's awesome!" The short kid responds.
"How is a liar awesome?" Zoro bluntly asked.
"Well, Kaya, the girl who lives there, has been in a terrible depression that's kept her weak and in bed since her parents got sick and died a year ago."
That's a loaded statement to tell complete strangers.
The kid mentions how Usopp tells her stories to cheer her up.
"Wow, that is pretty nice of him," Luffy comments.
"Yeah!" The kids unanimously shouted.
"The best thing about him is his mischievous side!" The purple kid exclaimed. "He's always up to something!"
"I like him 'cause he's not afraid to be silly!" The green haired kid added.
"And I like the captain's crazy lies!" The short kid concluded.
Nami leaned down to look them in the eyes. "So when he tells her those stories, he makes her feel better?" She asked.
They could've just said that in the first place.
"Great!" Luffy exclaimed, stretching his fist (a normal amount) into the sky. "I think we should ask her for a ship after all!"
"We're not the ones who make her feel better. Usopp is," Zoro interjected.
"Getting in is impossible," one of the kids pipes up. "Those guards at the gate don't let anyone through!"
"Uhhh, where's Luffy?" The green kid asked.
Metal clanged.
"I'll go ask her!" Luffy stated, at the top of the fence. He gripped the top before using his body weight to stretch down to the ground.
"Wait, you're not gonna–" Zoro cut himself off.
"Gum-Gum . . ."
Luffy braced his feet against the fence, pushing against it to increase tension in his arms. The kids were screaming at the haunting image of a body going far beyond human capacity.
"His arms are stretching!"
"He's some kind of monster!"
The rest of the group rushed him, trying to hold him down to prevent him from slingshotting himself into a situation.
"Pardon the . . ." Luffy grunted. The kids leapt in to help. "Intrusion," Luffy continued.
"No, no, no," Zoro grunted, "no, no."
Unluckily for them, everyone got shot into the sky along with Luffy.
Ellis immediately lost her grip, flying in the air and watching the ground get farther and farther away. Everyone was screaming, but she was just mute in terror. As they reached the apex of the arch, they slowed down. Then they started falling back down.
Ellis watched as specks turned into houses and trees.
"Yahoo!" Luffy screamed as they got in view of Usopp.
Ellis whimpered before they all slammed into the ground.
They 'land' right by the tree Usopp's sitting on, in a cloud of dust. It took Ellis a moment to register she, in fact, did not die, and was still in one piece. No injuries, just bruising (presumably. Could just be adrenaline blocking it out).
As the cloud settled, mc looked at the others, expecting to see pretty much gore. Luffy landed face down on a concrete pathway, Zoro in front of him on his back. Nami landed in the grass, currently on her knees, but not sitting in an impact crater. The three kids landed in a bush, legs still sticking out.
"That worked well," Luffy groaned out optimistically.
"Yeah, real well!" Nami bit back.
"My goodness," a soft voice called out, "are you okay?"
Ellis turned to see a sickly pale woman leaning out of a second story window, the same level as Usopp's branch.
"Uh, don't mind them, Kaya. This happens to me all the time!" Usopp sheepishly interjects. "That's just the price of being a famous adventurer. They're just new recruits that heard about me and came to join the Usopp pirates!"
"Nope," Luffy stood up, hand on his hat. "Not me. I came here to see you," he told Kaya. "I wanted to ask you a favor."
"A favor? From me?" Kaya asked, more bewildered at the question than at people falling from the sky.
Luffy hummed in agreement, putting his hands on his hips. "I was wondering if there was any way you could help us get a boat–"
"You there!" A voice cut in. A tall butler angrily stalked up the pathway from behind them. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"Klahadore . . ." Kaya uttered in surprise. Ellis turned to her, seeing her face fall. She turned back to the butler. He stopped a few yards from them.
"Get out," he demanded, weirdly adjusting his glasses with the base of his palm. "I'll have you know that this is criminal trespassing."
Everyone just stared at him.
"Hey, guys? Who's he?" Luffy quietly asked.
The butler adjusted his glasses again, before letting his hand fall to his side, curled into a fist.
"Uh, actually, Klahadore," Kaya said, "these people are–"
"Not now, Kaya," the butler cut in, adjusting his glasses.
It's weird for a butler to cut off his mistress.
"You can tell me all about this riffraff after they've left." The butler turned to them. "Now, get out. All of you." He stalked toward them. "Leave now, unless you have some business with me."
Is he just being protective?
Usopp slid behind the trunk from the corner of her eye.
On what authority is the butler making these decisions? Because it doesn't seem to align with Kaya's, and if I remember correctly, her parents are dead.
"Alright, do you think you could help us get a ship?" Luffy piped up.
The butler adjusted his glasses. "Certainly not."
Luffy sighed in disappointment.
Something about this is off.
"Usopp!" The butler called out. "You have quite the reputation!" He mocked. Usopp pulled himself back on the branch into view. "You're very well-known in the village."
"Sure am," Usopp confirmed. Kaya looked dejectedly on.
"I hear you've been on many an adventure! Quite impressive for someone as young as you."
Usopp was now standing on the branch, leaning one hand on the trunk of the tree. "Usually people who admire me so much call me Captain! So, it's Captain Usopp to you!"
"Captain, huh?" The butler mimicked. He chuckled darkly, adjusting his glasses. "Your father also had something of a reputation."
What would Klahadore know about Yasopp that Usopp doesn't?
"What?"
"Klahadore! Please just stop!" Kaya demanded.
"You'll never be anything more than the son of a filthy pirate!" The butler declared.
. . . interesting.
Luffy slowly looked up from under his hat, eyes shaded as he looked on.
Ellis could now see the situation for what it really is. Explain for the reader. Walk through what's happening as it's happening. Mention that the accusations are confessions, and that this is something completely different from a basic hatred of pirates.
"Who knows what sort of trouble you're up to now," The butler continued. "All I ask is that you and your kind leave this respectable young lady alone."
He'll try to spin the situation to make everything he's doing appear like he's just looking out for Kaya.
"A filthy pirate?!" Usopp parroted in outrage.
"You and she are from completely different worlds, and you know it!" the butler continued. "Is it money you're after?"
An accusation is a confession, a voice whispered in the back of her mind.
"How much do you want?!" accused Klahadore.
"Cease this at once, Klahadore!" Kaya shrieked, leaning out the window at him. "Apologize to him!"
"Hey, calm down, Kaya," Usopp soothed, turning to her.
Ellis watched on.
"I don't believe there is any reason to apologize to this savage young man, my lady," the butler taunted. "My goal isn't to slander, I am merely stating the truth. I sympathize with your situation," He mocked. "You must hate your great idiot of a father for abandoning his family and his village, because of his mindless lust for treasure!"
"Klahadore!" Kaya sternly called. "Stop!"
"Don't you dare insult my father ever again!" Usopp growled, jumping from his branch.
"Usopp!" Kaya cried.
A grappling hook wrapped around the branch as Usopp slid down the rope, landing in between the group and the butler. The grappling hook zipped back into his bag, and he closed it.
"Why have you gotten so worked up, Usopp?" the butler jibed, adjusting his glasses. "It's times like–"
Ellis ran to block Usopp's view, keeping her back to the butler, and put her hands on his shoulders.
"He's baiting you," Ellis muttered to him. "He's trying to get you to act out so he can 'prove' to Kaya you're everything he just said."
"Tell me about how your father's really a traveling salesman," the butler taunted. Usopp looked over her shoulder, but she interrupted.
"Don't look at him, look at me." They held eye contact. "If you act out, he'll play the victim and you'll be the bad guy."
"Or how you aren't really related by blood!"
"Shut up!" Usopp bellowed.
Ellis tightened her grip as he jolted. "It's not about pride, or defending your dad. We know he's wrong, and you know he's wrong." She took a breath. "If you want to keep seeing Kaya, you need to walk away."
Usopp breathed deeply before getting out of her grip and walking around her. She turned to watch.
"My father listened to his heart! He chose a life of risk and adventure. I am proud to say my old man is a brave warrior of the sea!" Usopp growled. "You're right. I have been known to exaggerate from time to time, but I will never lie about who my father is! I refuse to be ashamed of my heritage!" Usopp bent over and screamed, "I am the son of a pirate!"
"Pirates are brave warriors of the sea, are they?" Klahadore chuckled. "That's quite a twisted way of putting things. You don't seem to understand that you are living proof of his savage blood." He adjusted his glasses. "You run around spouting lies and use violence when you don't get your way! To top it off, you proceed to the lady of the house to steal her fortune!"
Everything fell into place. The last puzzle piece. So that's what he's after.
"You're wrong," Usopp called out, "I only–"
"Your father's a filthy, no-good pirate! Treachery is in your blood, of course you would have such an evil scheme!"
"You won't let up, will you?!" Usopp shouted, holding Klahadore by his shirt.
He's isolating her, getting her to rely on him more and more. Chasing away all her friends under the guise of her well-being.
"Stop it, Usopp! Please!" Kaya shrieked.
Making them look like the bad guy.
Usopp gritted his teeth.
"Please, no more! I can't take it!" She cried. "Klahadore isn't a bad person! He's just . . . He's just trying to do what he thinks is best for me. Sometimes he goes too far!"
A moment of silence.
Usopp's grip loosened.
Klahadore slapped his hands off of his suit. "Leave this place," he hissed. "You are never to come here again!"
"Yeah, I get it," Usopp angrily concedes. "You don't have to tell me twice, buddy."
He walks past the butler, shoulder-checking him. "This is the last you'll ever see of me."
The three kids run in front of the butler.
"Hey!" The purple haired kid shouted. "You butler jerk! Our captain's not that kind of guy!"
The green kid threw his fist in the air. "You stupid jerk-face!"
"Jerk-face!" The shortest one screamed.
"Jerk-face!" Luffy repeated.
"Shut up, you don't have a bone to pick with him," Zoro stated, hitting Luffy in the back of the head.
Luffy didn't even look like he got hit, though. Or acknowledge it.
The butler leveled a glare at the kids, who then went screaming and running to hide behind Nami.
Zoro held Luffy back. Luffy was squirming so much, he was off the ground. However, Ellis knew that if he truly wanted, he could get out of his grip easily.
"What are you doing? Don't hide behind me!" Nami shrieked.
Ellis stepped closer to them, wanting to keep away from the butler.
"This isn't our fight," Zoro grunted.
"C'mon!" Luffy struggled. "Zoro, I'm serious! Put me down, I'm gonna kick his ass!"
The butler adjusted his glasses as he watched on.
"You will all leave at once!"
As they walked away, Ellis noticed that Kaya's window was empty.
A/N: Sorry it took so long, I got a job. I'll probably edit this some more later, but I wanted to make some sort of progress on the story after not touching it for a while. I also edited the previous chapters and retconned a reveal I made last chapter. I felt like it was too early to bring it up. Anyway, please enjoy!
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