Ah.

Maybe I wasn't entirely wrong, after all.

Brynlee stared as a random hypnotist walked backward along the road, obviously headed for the smaller beach on the other side of the island, opposite from where they'd docked - and where, Before, he met with Klahadore. If that guy was here (Dango? Dumbo?), then something was bound to happen, still. So, Brynlee followed the hypnotist from afar. And when she leaned over the cliff to check what was happening, she was only mildly surprised to find Klahadore down there, obviously waiting for him.

Well, I suppose he was just smarter in this story—

"Django. I thought I told you not to contact me anymore."

"But Captain—"

"Do not call me that. You are the Captain of the Black Cat Pirates now, Django."

Django – that was his name! – clenched his fists. "So you're serious, then? You're really not coming back? You told us to wait for you!"

"Yes, until I'd recovered – and a year later, I contacted you again to hand in my official resignation, if you recall correctly. I was never suited for a life at sea. So, feel free to do what you want with the crew, now. I am no longer associated with any of you."

"… fine. Then don't hold this against me!"

Brynlee blinked, and Django unexpectedly found the guts to stab Klahadore.

… so that's what's going on, then.

A muffled gasp echoed a little further away, and Brynlee only then noticed Usopp, hidden in some bushes, and who'd obviously overheard everything. Below, Klahadore collapsed in the sand, and Django promptly ran off. Shaking off her surprise, Brynlee hurried to Usopp's side, roughly shaking his shoulder.

"B- Brynlee—"

"Get a hold of yourself. I'll go help Klahadore – you go and warn the villagers, and Kaya too. If Django's here, there's no doubt he'll return with the rest of the crew to lay waste to the entire village, if only to completely get rid of Klahadore and what he gave them up for. Usopp, you need to hurry!"

"R- right! Please take care of him!"

As Usopp ran off with a familiar cry of 'The pirates are coming!' echoing in the distance, Brynlee quickly climbed down to the beach, where Klahadore now laid in a growing pool of blood. She got to work, trying to stop the flow, but quickly came to realize that only one thing could save his life, at that point.

"Alright, this is going to hurt – just bear with it."

Klahadore groaned, and Brynlee briefly summoned her fire, promptly pressing the flames against the wound. A pained moan followed, but she kept at it, the smell of burnt flesh quickly filling the air.

[SKILL UPDATE]

Pyromancy

Level: 8/20

This is all kinds of fucked up, but I guess we'll just have to roll with the punches…

No one believed Usopp when he claimed pirates were going to invade, saved for Kaya and her staff – who grew even more worried when Brynlee eventually managed to drag Klahadore to the mansion, where Merry and a doctor quickly took over.

"Those pirates are really gonna attack, aren't they?" sighed Nami.

"Aa. There's no doubt about it," confirmed Usopp. "But… everyone thinks that it's all a hoax. Everyone thinks that tomorrow will be just like any other day…" He clenched his fist, before determination settled in his eyes. "But I will stop those pirates at the coast and make sure it was all just a lie! This is my duty as a liar! E- even though they shot my arm… Chased me all over the village… This is still my village. I love my village." Tears started streaming down his face. "I want to protect everyone!"

After a few seconds, Zoro smirked, apparently satisfied. "Never thought that you'd find the balls."

"Let me get this straight," warned Nami, smiling smugly. "All the pirates' treasure will be mine—" Brynlee pinched her arm. "I mean, ours."

"All right! Let's beat up those guys!" cheered Luffy.

"You guys are… willing to fight beside me…?" Usopp rubbed his eyes, in awe. "Why?"

"'Cause I want my ship," shrugged Luffy. "Also, they have more people, so it's fairer that way."

"If you're scared, you can reconsider," taunted Zoro.

"Me? Scared?" Usopp jumped to his feet, any traces of tears no longer in sight. "It doesn't matter how many of them there are, it's fine by me! For I am the brave warrior of the sea, Captain Usopp!"

But… his badly shaking legs were saying otherwise. Seriously, though. How was he still standing when shaking like that?

Probably the habit, snorted internally Brynlee.

"D- damn it! This is no small matter! They are just some wayward pirates! Scared? Of course I am! What of it? I won't accept anyone's sympathy! Just go home! Go home!"

"We're not laughing," assured Brynlee, squeezing his shoulder. "We're helping you 'cause we admire your courage—"

"And because we want to fight," mused Zoro.

"And because we want the treasure," added Nami.

"If it was sympathy, do you really think we would put our lives at risk?" retorted Luffy.

At that, Usopp's eyes started filling with tears yet again. Seeing that, Brynlee couldn't help but smile a little. Even if things hadn't entirely turned out as expected, one thing was for certain: their crew was about to gain a new addition.

There you go, guys - thing are right back on track! Somewhat xD

And wow, I did NOT expect to cause you guys so much anxiety with a little system error like that. This is going to be even more fun than I thought!

*Cue evil laugh*