7

"That's it! All done!" Usopp glanced at his bare house. He had packed all his belongings. Clothes, food, camping materials, his slingshot and projectiles, etc.

The curly-haired boy took a deep breath. He had lived in that house his entire life. He was born there. A part of him didn't want to leave. Not out of fear. No. But out of anxiety.

That house was where his family had once lived happily. Before his dad followed the sea. Before his mom died. Living in the house felt comforting. Like his parents were still with him.

But that had to change. He wasn't a little boy any longer. He was sixteen. A man. It was time to follow his dreams.

It was time to become a real pirate.

The previous day, after Kuro and Jango had been defeated and thrown out of the island, Usopp had made the most important decision of his life.

In front of Kaya, Nami, Nijin, Peaman, and Tamanegi, he declared that the Usopp Pirates were disbanded.

The kids had shouted and protested. But Usopp stood firmly. It was time to sail and become a real warrior of the seas.

That didn't mean that the entire crew of the Usopp Pirates didn't cry like babies during the disbandment. Including the captain. Kaya just smiled at her friend's behavior.

After that, he made them all promise not to utter a word about the pirate attack to anybody. When they asked why, he only said that because he didn't want to ruin the villagers' peace.

Maybe it was dumb. Maybe they should know that someday monsters could strike from the shadows.

But not today. And not by him.

Syrup Village wasn't a known place. It wasn't big or near any important marine route. The fact that Kuro found it was actually a miracle. He still remembered that when the man first appeared, he was dehydrated, starving, and near collapse. And it wasn't fake.

While Usopp struggled to lift his enormous and overfilled backpack, Luffy and his crew were following Kaya through the beach.

The heiress had searched for them herself and asked them to follow her.

"Soo, what did you want to show us, Kaya?"

"It's a little surprise," the heiress grinned at her saviors. The previous day, she had thought long and hard about how to reward them for their actions. Then she remembered why they came to her home in the first place.

Hard to believe it had just been three days since then. It was amazing how life can change in just three days.

Three days ago, she had been a sickly girl, sheltered, with only her staff as company, and her only entertainment was Usopp's fantastic tales.

After that traitorous Kuro had been defeated by Usopp's new friends, she went back to the mansion. She had been so glad that Merry was still alive and helped him change his bandages and dress his wounds. She told him how the Kuroneko's Pirates had been defeated and how they had left the island forever.

Merry hadn't liked the idea of not telling the villagers the truth. He still felt guilty for shooting Usopp the other day. It didn't feel right for him that only they would know the truth about what Kuro tried to do. Moreover, what were they supposed to say about Kurahadol's disappearance?

Kaya chose to tell partly the truth. Kurahadol tried to steal from her, but Merry and Kaya caught him in the act, and her former butler ran away on a boat that he had secured previously.

After agreeing, she told Merry of her plans on how to reward Luffy and his crew. Her butler agreed and showed her the perfect gift they could give them.

That morning, she woke up feeling stronger than she had been since her parents' deaths. Merry told her that the present was ready, and she went by herself to find her heroes.

Not that she would call them that to their face. Luffy had blown a gasket when she called him that the previous day.

The pirate captain hated the idea of being called a hero for some reason.

Finding them had been easy. They had been eating in the only restaurant in Syrup Village.

"Are we there yet? I'm hungry."

"We just ate; how can you still be hungry?" Nami was amazed at the bottomless pit that was Luffy. Even after eating so much meat, he acted as if he was starving.

After walking another few minutes, they reached Merry. Kaya smiled when she saw her new friends' reactions.

"A ship! It's a ship!" Luffy was jumping in excitement, a wild grin on his face.

"A caravel! So pretty!"

"No way, you're giving us a ship, Kaya?" "Pika Pika!"

Merry smiled proudly at his ship. It may be an old design and small, but he made it himself.

"It's name is the Going Merry. It may be small, but I'm confident in its ability to take you anywhere you wish."

"So cooolll!"

"The main sail is triangular; it has a central steer rudder and a jib. There are four cannons in total: one bow, one in the stern, and the last two point to either side. And the ship's figure is a goat's head. Now about how to make it work."

"That part, explain it to me," Nami interceded. Neither Luffy nor Zoro had any clue about ship sailing. They barely knew how to sail a boat; that had been clear during their time together.

"It's all furnished, and the pantry is fully stocked."

"Thank you, Kaya."

Ashley was excited. Yeah, it was an old-style ship by her home´s standards. But it was theirs. It was a real pirate ship.

"What do you think, buddy?" "Pika!" Pikachu, too, was excited at this next step of their adventure.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!" The screaming brought everyone's attention away from the ship and towards the cliffs. A screaming giant ball was rolling at high speed right towards them.

"HELP MEEEEEEE!"

Kaya squinted. That voice? Could it be?

"Usopp?"

"PLEASEEEEE!"

"I think it is Usopp." "What is he doing?" "He is going to crash against the ship if he doesn't stop."

Luffy and Zoro lifted a leg and stomped Usopp right in the face.

"Thanks guys," he mumbled.

"No problem."

After recovering from his abrupt stop and getting his stomach back into its normal position, Usopp turned towards Kaya. The heiress smiled sadly at him. She was sad that her best friend was going to leave for who knew how long, but it was his choice. He would never forgive himself if he didn't leave.

"Usopp," "I am leaving Kaya. Don't try to dissuade me," Usopp said firmly.

"I won't. This is your dream, Usopp. I will never do anything to ruin it." Kaya smiled sadly at her best friend.

"Don't cry, Kaya. I will have thousands of stories to tell you once I return. They will be better than the lies I told you'' he grinned at her.

"I know they will."

Usopp turned towards the Going Merry. While he had talked with Kaya, the others had already boarded their new ship. He owed them so much. He hoped that one day he would be able to pay them for it.

"I guess this is goodbye, guys. But I'm sure we will see each other again."

"What are you talking about?"

"Huh? We are pirates, aren't we? We will surely cross paths during our journey."

"Just get up, idiot," Zoro pointed at the ship.

"Eh?"

"We are nakamas," Luffy said nonchalantly.

Luffy's statement shocked him. They wanted him. Him. A cowardly, weak liar. Someone who had to rely on others to protect his own home. And they didn't care about that.

He didn't think. He just acted.

"Then I am the captain!" "Idiot! I am the captain!"

"Then I am your first mate!" "That's me." "Second mate!" "Already taken."

Kaya and Merry smiled and waved at their friends. The newly minted pirate ship was leaving the shore and sailing towards more adventure.

On the deck, Luffy opened the casks of beer and poured it for his friends. It was time to celebrate after all!

"For a new ship and a new nakama!"

"Cheers!" "Pika!"

The group cheered and partied hard. Even Pikachu drank a few drops from Ashley´s mug. The electric mouse tumbled from his trainer´s shoulder and swayed over the deck drunkenly. Everyone laughed at his drunken dance and joined him.

The next day after leaving Syrup Village, Luffy made an important announcement.

"This one here is our flag!"

The rookie captain showed his 'design'. A black flag with what looked like a skull and some type of hat.

"At least this time it can be understood," Ashley patted Pikachu's head. Her best friend had fortunately recovered from his first drunken experience. Ashley had recovered faster, and Nami had advised her to drink lightly to avoid a hangover. Especially if it was her first time.

"I think this is the birth of a new style of art. A horrible one. But one"

"When I was still a bounty hunter, they told me that a pirate's flag should invoke fear."

"The only thing that it invokes is pity. Luffy, that thing sucks! I will design our flag."

After some minutes of drawing and painting, Usopp presented his own version of a pirate's flag.

"Here!"

"At least the design looks good. To bad its the wrong one," Ashley pointed out how Usopp had changed the flag to one that looked like him.

Luffy and Zoro punched the back of his head.

"Idiot, a pirate's flag has to display the captain's sigil."

"Ok, ok. I will change it."

After redoing it, this time right, everybody smiled at the sight.

A smiling, jolly roger with a yellow straw hat over a black field. Perfect.

"It looks great, Usopp." "It truly looks like a pirate's flag."

"Good, now we just need to paint it over the main sail. I want everybody to know that Merry is our ship," Luffy stated seriously.

Ashley hummed. Painting the new design over the main sail would take lots of work. Luckily, she had enough friends to help with that.

"You know, guys, I don't think I ever introduced all my team to you."

Interest peaked among her friends. Pokemon were a complete novelty for them. Except for Pikachu, they had only seen them in brief moments while fighting.

Luffy and Usopp shuffled in anticipation; even Nami and Zoro showed clear interest.

Ashley grabbed the three pokeballs in her belt. She felt sad when she remembered that Goodra and Greninja weren't with her anymore. But she knew that one day she would see them again. She felt it.

"Come out, everybody!" Three rays of light emerged and formed three shapes. After a few seconds, the familiar forms of Talonflame and Hawlucha were revealed, along with the third unknown Pokemon.

"A giant bat! How cool!" "Impressive! It reminds me of a tribe of giant vampires that tried to suck all my blood when I was eight years old." "Really!?" "Liar"

"Well, everybody knows Talonflame and Hawlucha. Noivern, these are our new friends: Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and Usopp. Guys, this is Noivern."

"Noi," the dragon type waved at his trainer's new friends and partners.

Talonflame approached Zoro. The flame bird remembered the swordsman from their little adventure back when he and Luffy had split up by mistake and Ashley had sent her Pokemon to find him.

Luffy and Usopp looked at Noivern starry-eyed, zipping around the dragon-type and oohing and awing around him. Hawlucha kept watch, his brotherly protective instincts as strong as ever.

Nami sat next to Zoro and began to pet Talonflame's crest. First, it was hesitant, but after some prodding from the Pokemon, she became more confident.

After a few more minutes of greetings and petting, the group began to work on their captain's last order.

Despite his earlier goofiness, Usopp was a great artist, so he took charge of the project. And with the help of Ashley's flying types, it became easier.

Ashley, Nami, Zoro, and Luffy tied ropes over their bodies and, under the watchful eye of Usopp, climbed to the positions he directed. The long-nosed boy was sitting on top of a flying Noivern, giving him a sky view.

Hawlucha and Talonflame flew the entire time between the deck and the pirates, delivering them buckets of pain.

Pikachu was right next to Ashley, the starter helped her paint with a small brush. From time to time, the two would start a little painting fight. Fortunately, Luffy was so far away from them that he couldn't see them well. It helped that Nami helped to cover them. If the rubber pirate saw them paint fighting, then the entire painting would be at risk.

By the time they finished, their personal Jolly Roger was displayed for the world to see, and the newly minted Strawhat Pirates were sprawled across the deck, exhausted and starving.

Zoro was napping in what he called his personal napping/training zone. Noivern was on his back, with Hawlucha and Talonflame on top of him, a normal position for them.

"Damn, I'm exhausted. I can't believe that giving orders could be so tiring."

"Give yourself some credit. You managed to get Luffy and Zoro to do exactly what you said. Last time, you had to tie them to your body and literally drag them." Nami may insist that she was just a temporal navigator, but she didn't act like one. She acted just like a member of the crew.

She laughed with them, joked with them, argued with them, and celebrated with them.

Usopp wasn't brave or strong like the others, but he wasn't a lowly coward. Not like her.

"Hm. I was expecting Luffy to be whining about being hungry."

"Yeah, it's too quiet. It's weird."

BOOOOOOOMMMMM!

"What the hell was that?!" Ashley came running from inside the ship. She had been making a light snack for everyone and a giant sandwich for Luffy when she heard the explosion. Pikachu leapt from her shoulder, his cheeks sparking in anticipation.

The strawhats turned to the side, where a nonplussed Luffy was standing next to a smoking cannon.

"I don't think this thing works well." Luffy was squinting at the distance where the cannonball sank.

"Idiot, you can't just shoot like that and magically hit the target. There are lots of variables to take into account. The wind, distance, angle, strength of the cannon, the waving of the boat"

"Usopp is right. When it comes to projectiles, precision is everything," Ashley nodded, remembering how many times Pokemon would miss long-distance attacks because of weather variabilities.

"Really? Then, Usopp, I name you our official sniper! You're in charge of the cannons."

"Yes! I will do my best, Luffy. But if you fail as captain, then we will switch!" "Whatever, but you're the sniper."

The group was enjoying the lunch cooked by Ashley. Even Zoro had woken from his nap.

"Ahhh, this is great. Great job, Ashley!" "It's really tasty. I didn't know you could cook so well."

Ashley rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"This is nothing, guys. It's just what I learned from my friends back home."

"Your friends taught you how to cook?"

"Yep. Brock and Cilian are amazing cooks. They actually did specific diets for all our Pokemon and for ourselves. I just know how to cook like a normal person. Believe me, their food was like eating from a god." Her mouth started to water at the memory of Brook's cooking. She hadn't tasted since she returned from the Sinnoh League, when he went to study to earn his Pokemon Breeding degree.

"That makes me think we still need to cover an important position on the crew."

"Nami is right. It's a very important position. I have wanted to cover it for a long time.

"I'm glad we all agree on it. We need a musician!"

"Idiot!" "How is that an important position?!" "Get your priorities straight!"

"But pirates need to sing! I learned it from Shanks."

"GET OUT OF THERE FILTHY PIRATES! YOU WANT A FIGHT?! THEN COME AND GET ME!" An angry voice yelled from outside. Crashes followed soon after.

"The hell is going on?" Luffy left to see who was yelling.

Outside, a man with a kanji tattoo was making a racket, kicking barrels, and slashing with his sword.

"Oy! What are you doing to my ship?!" Luffy shouted at the attacker.

"You? You're the captain of this ship?" The unknown man was snarling in rage, "Do you have any idea how many pirates I have defeated? How many have I killed? And some no-name punk tries to kill me and my nakama!?"

The man parried his sword at Luffy, and the rubber boy jumped away. When he saw that the strange man was destroying more of Merry, he got angry. He didn't know who that jerk was or what he was talking about, but Merry had nothing to do with it!

"I don't know what the hell you are talking about." Luffy fell behind him, stretched his arms, and grabbed the man's head. "But stop wrecking Merry!" Luffy went sailing at the man and knee-kicks him in the face. Blood poured from his nose and mouth, making him gasp from the pain and fall to his knees.

Luffy sat on the post. He wasn't really tired; more like annoyed, if anything. Who was that guy?

"Oy, Luffy, are you done? What was it about?" Zoro chose that moment to leave the kitchen/main room. When the attack began, Luffy had been the first to react. Nami and Usopp saw through the windows that it was just one guy, so the group didn't get worried. Luffy could easily handle one guy.

The stranger lifted his head at Zoro´s voice. A look of shock overcame him.

"Zoro-aniki!? What are you doing here!?"

"Johny? Where is Yosaku? You two are usually tied together."

Johny gritted his teeth, anguish and despair on his face.

"Yosaku is why I'm here, Aniki! This scum tried to kill him!" He pointed at Luffy with hate. The boy pointed at himself in disbelief.

"Me?!"

"I think we are missing something here," Ashley muttered to the still-hiding Nami and Usopp. The trainer was well used to little misunderstandings leading to bigger problems. Mostly because of her. In her defense, she had been a very brash ten-year-old. It took her years to learn to think before acting. Although if someone harmed her friends, then all stops were off.

"Johny, Luffy is my captain; he is an idiot but not a killer. Now explain what is going on. " Johnny may be his friend, but Luffy was his captain, and he was his first mate.

Johny sighed and nodded.

"Yosaku is sick. It all started a few days ago. One moment we were just talking and planning whose bounty to claim when he got pale and fell unconscious. Soon enough, his old wounds opened and started to bleed. Even his teeth started to fall! I was freaking out when suddenly a cannonball struck close to us! When I saw that it came from a pirate ship, I was sure that they were trying to kill us.

"I´m sorry! I´m really sorry! I wasn´t really aiming at anything! I just wanted to test our new cannons!" Luffy was on his knees, begging forgiveness; he truly was remorseful, even if he had nothing to do with Yosaku´s illness.

"Where is Yosaku now?" Ashley asked Johny.

"In our ship, it's tied at the side."

Zoro and Luffy went to grab Yosaku, while Ashley told Usopp and Nami that there was no danger. While the boys placed the injured bounty hunter on the floor, Johnny cleared his newest injuries.

Yosaku was in horrible condition. He was breathing shallowly, with blood pouring from his mouth and entire body. Nami was hovering over Yosaku´s body, frowning.

"I can't believe this. After years of hard work, we had just begun to earn recognition as bounty hunters. Our dream of joining the ranks of the best bounty hunters was finally beginning. Why? Why is Yosaku going to die?!"

"He is not going to die, idiot!" Nami couldn't hold herself any longer. How could these two idiots have managed to survive years without basic knowledge?

"What are-" "He has scurvy." "Uh?"

Nami sighed. "It is a disease provoked by a lack of vitamins. It's easily prevented by eating fruits."

"Give a second, I still remember where we put the lemons and citrus." Ashley had seen them while looking for ingredients to cook. After a fast dash, she came back with a bag of lemons.

Luffy grabbed the lemons and squished them, the juice falling on a cup that Pikachu was holding carefully.

With care, they lifted Yosaku's head and poured the juice through his mouth. The sick man began to slowly drink it.

"Aneue, will he recover?" Johnny asked hopefully.

"As long as it's treated quickly, then he has a chance. And don't call me Aneue!"

"I think I remember hearing about it." Ashley could remember her mother's warnings when she was preparing to start her first journey, back when she was just a child.

"I guess it's really important to know this type of stuff."

"Of course it is. Only idiots sail without knowing basic stuff!"

"I AM ALIVE!" Yosaku got up abruptly, blood no longer pouring from his entire body.

"YOU'RE ALIVE!" "I AM ALIVE!" Both bounty hunters jumped happily and danced in joy at Yosaku's recovery.

"What kind of freakishly good constitution does he have?" Nami was flabbergasted at Yosaku's behavior. One second ago, he was on the verge of death, and now he was brinking in joy.

"We thank you for your help. My name is Yosaku," "And I am Johnny," "We are bounty hunters. Nice to meet you."

"I'm truly thankful; I was sure that I was going to die." Yosaku bowed at the Strawhats in gratitude.

"Maybe you should take it easy. You were basically dead five seconds ago."

"Don't worry, I feel gr-Blaaaargh" Yosaku began to barf blood.

"Sit down, idiot!"

"We really need a proper cook to avoid something like this," Ashley said as she closed the door of the boys dormitories. They had put Yosaku there with mugs filled with lemon and orange juice to drink. Hawlucha was keeping an eye on him; the masked Pokemon was strong enough to lift him and could hand him whatever he needed.

"But you know how to cook, Ashley. Your food is great."

"Idiot. We need a maritime cook, one that knows how to cook proper and nutritious meals and knows which ingredients are best for any place." Nami gave an apologetic glance at Ashley. The trainer just shrugged. All that Nami said was 100% true. She knew how to cook, but she wasn't a cook. Just like the rest of them.

"Then our next crewmate will be a maritime cook!" Luffy declared with his classic grin.

"I don't think we can just find one like that."

"Anikis, Aneues!" Johnny interrupted them excitedly.

"I know of a place where there are lots of maritime cooks. It's a maritime restaurant called Baratie. Since it's close to the Grand Line, the cooks are supposed to be tough bastards."

"How are those two things correlated?" Usopp was trying to link those two facts in his head.

"Because really dangerous guys hover in that area. In fact, 'the man with hawk eyes' that Zoro-aniki is looking for is rumored to go there sometimes." Zoro gave Johnny a sharp glance.

Excitement filled his entire being. The man with hawks eyes. The man he had been searching for since he left his home.

"Can you take us there, Johnny?" "Sure. It's only a few days away from here. The food is great too. Yosaku should be healed by then."

"Then let's go! To the Baratie!" Luffy pointed to the north.

"It's on the east, Luffy-aniki."

Hi everyone! Syrup Village´s arc is done, we have our cowardly sniper. Yeaaaaahhh! Next comes our ladysman cook. Can you guys imagine tomboy Ashley meeting Sanji? I have a very fun scene in mind. Still thinking how will the Arklong Park arc will go. Open to ideas, as always.

Now as a little treat, a sneak about my next story in 3, 2, 1 GO!

She stopped. In front of her was probably one of the biggest choices in her live. She thought that it had been choosing her partner, but looking back that had been easy, she just followed her gut. Now her gut was twisted in a fight with her head and her brain. And there was no clear winner.

She gulped harshly. What should she do? Go back home or take the biggest leap an eleven year old could do?

She looked at her parents. All she saw was love and support in their eyes. Whatever she chose, they would support it. Because they loved her. Because they were her parents. Blood didn´t matter.

Malia Kukui sighed and crossed over Platform 9 and 3/4.

Heads up: the text may be not exact in the final draft, this is more like something to give you guys an idea of what the story will be about.

See you soon!