Till Death
Thank you for my loving me
The house stood outside of Syrup. Alone and full of dust, of memories that should be buried in a coffin, to never be looked at. Its solo inhabitant was the one dubbed as the curse one. It stood alive, protecting the remains of the latest Witch, until its child went on her own journey.
As the Going Merry sailed away, the island shivered in anticipation. The house fell during the following night, burning down the last remains of its creator, burying the past. But no soul heard the commotion, only horror filled their eyes the following morning.
East Blue shivered, and storms brought dread to Syrup as they continued to hit the island until the perfume of hope from the past was shattered.
Till Death
"Never show your mark to anyone," were the last words of Baba before she died.
Usopp did not appreciate Chopper's demand of doing a checkup. But she still agreed, knowing that it was important for any sailor. The reindeer didn't comment on her gender, easily going along with her disguise, and just asked her some questions. Usopp never went to a doctor growing up. The main reason was people always rejected her, always hated her for what she was. And even though someone might accept her, she couldn't afford a doctor. She hadn't been sick very often, only when food was rare and the cold was too much for her young body.
"We're lucky that Sanji is a good cook. I'll ask him to start healthy meals for everybody," the young doctor muttered as he wrote down the information.
He asked her for more information. Her parents, but Usopp refused to say anything, only showing the resentment she was feeling towards them. Her mother had abandoned her, preferring to go on missions for the Revolutionary. And her father wasn't any better, he never called or sent any letters. He could have met her when he was in East Blue a few years prior, but he never did. Chopper didn't push her, understanding. He asked her if she knew her family history. Usopp knew nothing and she didn't mind it.
"Do you have a soulmark?" was Chopper's next question.
She froze. In East Blue, asking such a question was taboo. Soulmates were dehumanized, considered as monsters, and rejected from all sides. Usopp knew the worst side of Syrup. If they showed any kindness and joy at seeing strangers — like when Luffy, Nami, and Zoro arrived on the island — their behavior totally changed for the cursed people.
"Don't ask that," she hissed, her voice hard and cold, surprising the small reindeer, "why do you even ask?"
"I'm sorry," Chopper shuttered in a timid voice, "Kureha-sensei always told me to ask. It's important for doctors to know."
On Grandline, the rare people born with a soul mark were believed to be blessed and almost worshiped in certain places. The contrast with East Blue was terrific. Usopp didn't even apologize nor did she offer some explanations; she just let draw his own conclusions.
"I won't ask again," the teenager finally said, promising to not reveal anything to anyone as if to reassure her.
Till Death
"Oh, Ace! These are the crewmates I was telling you about."
Her soul mark started to burn. Her eyes fell on the man kneeled over the railing, watching them with a large grin on his face.
He was a tall muscular young man with curly black hair. He also sported freckles. He had a tattoo on his upper left bicep that spelled 'ASCE' vertically. She could imagine the tattoo of Whitebeard in his back as the man almost never wore any shirt according to the rumors she kept hearing. The Second Commander of Whitebeard wore black boots, black knee-length shorts with an eyelet-studded orange belt, and a blue pouch belted around his left leg. There was also a short second belt with a large red "A" on the silver buckle over his right hip, but left it unfastened and threaded the free end along the back of his shorts. A dagger in a green sheath hung at his left hip. On his left arm was a Log Pose and a red and white striped bracelet around his wrist, and an orange elbow guard. He also wore a red beaded necklace and an orange hat with two blue smileys, one frowning and one smiling, and a string of red beads sitting above the rim. Two long orange side straps hung down the sides of his hat and met at a large medallion of a bull's skull with orange tassels.
Usopp suddenly blushed when she caught the man smirking at her.
"Hello everyone, I trust my little brother has been in your care."
The crew bowed down as all spoke, "Yes, he has."
The Second Commander of Whitebeard grinned widely at them, "He has no manners, so he will probably end up burning your hands a few times…"
"Yes, he has."
"I'll entrust you to you."
The man was so polite compared to her captain. It almost seemed unreal. Her crewmates seemed to agree with her inert thoughts. After the introduction that felt a bit humiliating since Luffy introduced her as the liar even though it was true. He could make the effort of saying the sniper. If she needed to prove to him that she was capable, she would. Nevertheless, the look of pure confusion on the Commander's face when Luffy said he instead of she was gold. Usopp raised an eyebrow when he looked at her.
Chopper was the first person to know that she was a she and not a he. The others were still pretty much in the dark. Kureha didn't count since she wasn't part of the crew.
As they sailed along the coasts of Alabasta, a Navy ship appeared in their vision. There! Her chance to practice her skills. However, her soulmate took the opportunity to show one of his attacks in destroying the ship.
"He's strong!" Zoro said, impressed by the Commander's abilities.
"Of course, he's a Whitebeard Commander after all," Usopp commented with a small smile on her lips.
"Eh, how do you know?" Her captain asked.
"Who doesn't know the Whitebeard's Commanders?"
The sniper sighed quietly. Ace burst out of laughter when hearing the question as he stepped on the deck, a hand on his orange hat.
"Luffy… You know at least what an Emperor is, right?"
To her relief, the rest of the crew knew what Yonko was. Even Princess Vivi knew about the four Emperors of Grandline. The Commander decided to jump in the conversation. The explanations were mostly for his brother, but he also provided information for the rest of the crew. Back there in Syrup, Usopp always had her nose in the newspaper when she wasn't working in her workshop or bothering her neighbors. She even had a journal in which she wrote down information that might be important.
With Nami, they had started the log of their crew since their captain hadn't bothered to start one. The rest didn't care about it.
At some point, Sanji excused himself from the conversation to go prepare lunch. It turned out that the Commander ate as much as his brother. After eating, Usopp chose to flee the social gathering and spent the rest of the day in her workshop.
Her mark was still burning.
Usopp was guarding the shop. She stood on the deck, watching the night sky. Her thoughts were turned towards a certain individual. She never thought of meeting her soulmate so early in her traveling years. It felt weird.
"I thought you'd be two watching the crew," the man said as he rejoined her, "it's no big deal for a small crew in that part of Paradise, but in the future, it might be good for all of you to be two during the night."
"We've only been together for a few weeks now. And like you said, we are a small crew."
"The smallest crew I've ever seen!"
The young woman blushed when the older pirate went to stand behind her. His arms immediately wrapped her smaller body. Usopp found herself relaxing in his embrace as the itching of her mark started disappearing.
"Never thought that I'd meet my soulmate on my brother's crew," Ace whispered in her right ear, "but I'm so glad to meet you."
"So did I."
"Do you want to bond?" he softly asked, fearing what might be her answer.
It was vital for soulmates when finding each other to bond, but it was common before initiating anything.
"Of course, Ace."
"Great."
But they didn't bond right away, instead they spent the night guarding the ship together. They talked about their life in general. However, Usopp didn't speak of traumatizing events nor did Ace.
Till Death
Somehow, they both got lost in the desert. It was probably her captain's fault ; he had that knack of causing chaos without even wanting it. Or perhaps, it was Ace's fault. He fell asleep at random time and went to attack whatever crossed his path. At least, he had a better orientation than Zoro's. That swordsman got often lost on the Going Merry.
Bonding was powerful.
Spiritual filaments spread through her, wrapped in the warmest flames she ever felt and reached her heart as he abandoned himself to her. All doubts flew off the window. Pure joy went through their souls. The bond settled the following morning as they woke up in the burning sand as two souls tied to the same fate. If one died, the other would follow.
But life wasn't easy.
He vanished one morning. He had given Luffy and her a piece of paper. A Vivre Card, she later learned when she discovered a letter in her sketchbook.
They would meet each other in Sabaody. However, the young woman couldn't shake off the feeling of uncertainty.
Till Death
Weirdly enough, Nami was the next person to discover that she wasn't an he. The navigator had walked on her getting dressed.
"Who knows?" she immediately asked once she recovered from her shock.
"In our crew? Chopper," the sniper responded with a sigh, "but don't tell people, Nami."
"Why? You are not even trying hard to disguise yourself! I was so blind."
"I'm just me."
"Why not tell the others though?"
"I know what most men do," to us went unsaid.
Nami flinched at her words as her eyes widened in horror. Usopp smiled sadly as the other woman wrapped her arms around her shoulders. She promised to never tell a soul.
It would take time for the rest of the crew to realize that she was a woman.
Till Death
Je te laisserai des mots sous ta porte
"I never wanted a child!" her mother would sometimes scream at her as if she was the cause of all of her problems.
Her bond shivered as coldness violently hit her and voices rang through her head. She fell on the deck, breathing hard as the world was compressed. Her vision went black. Her soulmate screamed so much that it made her heart break.
En-dessous de ta porte
"You're the reason he never comes around!" her mother lashed out at her, throwing empty bottles of sake at her head.
Pain paralyzed her body. He kept screaming until he gave out. As the bond went silent, Usopp heard the cruel laugh of someone.
En-dessus des murs qui chantent
"Scum like you don't have the right to eat the food of good people like us!" the words of a neighbor often haunted her dreams.
Nami often looked at her in worry when she thought that Usopp didn't notice. The curly black-haired faked her smiles, hid her worries, and hoped for the best. Despair and sadness filled her entire being, she even had a glimpse of her soulmate suffering at the hands of the personal staff of Impel Down.
Tout près de la place où tes pieds passent
"You're causing me problems with your constant pestering!" Usopp screamed at the only girl of her age, "you are not the one hated here!"
Chaos followed everywhere they went. But if Luffy hadn't punched the Celestial Dragon, she would have killed him.
Cachés dans les trous de ton divan
"Please, please—" begging never helped, they never stopped.
Sabaody disappeared so quickly. Or did she? Her feet landed on an island that held so much food that her captain would love it. A dangerous island that tried to kill her.
Et quand tu es seule pendant un instant
"If anything happens to me, you'll know," Usopp whispered to her friend as she gave her a piece of her Vivre Card.
Blood splashed her clothes, but she struggled to get away from the mortal plants. The bond stretched as the echoes of Marineford ran through her head.
Till Death
Sakazuki rose like the monster in her nightmares. He said terrible words to bait her soulmate, to force the Commander to battle the Admiral, to bring death quicker. The Marine proved to be a bastard as he attacked her captain — exhausted and way too much injured for all the fights he had been in — and the older brother took the blow, easily protecting the younger. Her eyes widened in shock as the bond sent her an electric choc. She could even feel Ace's surprise. Sakazuki's fist was covered in magma. Even the fire was weaker than the magma.
The battlefield of Marineford went still. And she screamed out loud, pushing away the deadly plants, as the pain impacted her whole body. Usopp fell on her knees, ignoring the concerned questions of her new mentor as she watched through Ace's eyes Luffy. I'm sorry, the pirate's voice echoed her mind as she slowly processed what was happening. Don't be, I'd have done the same to protect him, her own thoughts echoed their bond.
Usopp started coughing blood. Her breathing was slower. She carefully laid on the grass as a hole was appearing, tearing her skin apart, burning down her organs.
Her captain was crying.
The Vivre Card was near its end.
"Thank you for loving me"
And the bond violently shattered as Ace vanished.
Till Death
"It is said that one soulmate cannot survive the other's death," Kuhera spoke softly to her.
If Ace's death had been violent and quick, hers was painful and slower. But it gave her time to give her proper goodbye to her crew via a tone dial.
Her child's voice disappeared.
"Herakles. Can I ask you a favor?"
He looked up at her with eyes full of sadness and bitterness.
"Anything."
Usopp looked at the first person, outside of her crew, that genuinely cared for her. Her eyes slowly closed themselves, and… Death took the shattered soul.
Till Death
Herakles wasn't able to catch the Strawhats at Sabaody two years later. He was a bit late to Sabaody, instead he asked Shakky to help him because she was an old friend.
In the end, it was Rayleigh that came to Wano. He was surprised to see old friends — the Whitebeard Pirates — standing with the one that had been shaking the entire world his comeback a few months prior.
The Strawhats were definitely stronger.
"I come bearing the last wishes of a crewmate of yours," he finally informed the gathered pirates, his eyes staring at the newest Emperor.
Je te laisserai des mots sous ta porte
Till Death
Also published on my Ao3 account.