Chapter Text
It was late and Usopp paced the junkyard back and forth reciting line after line of how he was going to try and convince Luffy to let him join the crew again. After saving Robin, it felt wrong to not be a part of the crew anymore. Usopp knew that on the ship with Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Sanji, Chopper, and Robin was where he was supposed to be. Except he couldn't simply put his own pride aside.
He tried line after line, but nothing sounded right. He doesn't think of something soon then he would lose his chance. Luffy was a forgiving guy, however when it came to loyalty and the structure of the crew. Zoro was the one that would keep Luffy in line. He won't lie simply overlook this. If he was to join the crew again, he'd have to meet Zoro's standards as well.
Usopp sighed in defeat sitting down on the small ledge. He only had so much time left before they departed. With Franky and Iceburg building the ship time was running out.
"There you are. I've been searching this entire city trying to find you." a voice stated from behind him.
"Huh?" Usopp asked quickly spinning around before spotting Yasopp standing there. "Dad? What are you doing here?" Usopp asked shocked.
Yasopp looked at him slightly shocked before walking over to sit next to him. "Dad, huh? Never would have thought you'd still consider me your father." Yasopp admitted. "Anyway, Shanks heard Anchor was alive from Sabo, so he wanted to come see it for himself." Yasopp explained.
"Of course I'd consider you to be my old man. I never held a grudge against you for leaving. I was always proud that you were able to do what you wanted to do. Hell, I wanna be just like you." Usopp admitted, looking at the older pirate.
Yasopp chuckled a bit. "Just like me? I'd say you're even better than me." he responded. "Anyway, what are you doing out here? Why aren't you with your friends?" he asked his son.
Usopp cringed a little. "Luffy and I got into a fight. We had a duel over the Going Merry and I left the crew." Usopp explained.
"You left? Why?" Yasopp asked him.
Usopp flinched a little bit more at the question. He was selfish and he knew his choice was out of a selfish reason. "The Going Merry's keel was damaged beyond repairs, so we needed a new ship. Luffy wanted to put the ship to retire Merry here. I was selfish, I wanted to believe that we could still fix Merry, I got angry when Luffy mentioned looking into new ships. So, I let my pride get the best of me and I challenged him to a duel. Whoever won got to decide what happened to Merry. It was foolish to think that I could win against Luffy." Usopp explained, hugging his knees close to his chest. "It's just I didn't want to give up on Merry so quickly. She was a gift from Kaya. I didn't want to throw that gift around carelessly." Usopp continued.
"I see. So, it was dispute against friends." Yasopp commented.
"Huh? No! Like I said we ha-" Usopp cut his sentence off when Yasopp turned to him.
"Anchor isn't the type of captain to throw order at everyone. Even before he lost his memories, he cares about his friends more than anything in the world. I'm sure when he mentioned having to retire your ship he was also in a great amount of pain as well. If the Going Merry was truly as great of a ship that both you and Anchor have described, then you must have gotten lucky to see or at least hear a Klabautermann." Yasopp mentions.
"A Klabautermann what's that?" Usopp asked curiously.
Yasopp hummed slightly thinking of an explanation. "Think of them as the manifestation of a loved ship. They develop when the ship has been loved and well-cared for." Yasopp explained.
"Wait! Do they normally take the appearance of a small child with a raincoat and a wooden hammer?" Usopp asked curiously.
Yasopp shrugged. "I'm not sure, I've never seen one or heard them myself. But it seems you have." Yasopp pointed out.
"So, when we said goodbye to Merry the one we heard talking had to have been Merry herself." Usopp said, suddenly coming to the realization looking up at Yasopp.
Yasopp nods. "Now you're getting it. Over the years, I've learned that the ocean is cruel, it will take a person's life and not think twice about it. Especially ones with a devil fruit but sometimes, these waters will show kindness to those that have deserved it. Sometimes fights between crewmembers happen, while most crews would cast out or even kill those that have left the crew. Luffy isn't like that, he won't give up on you. However, your time is running short. If you truly want to join the crew again. You have until they set sail." Yasopp explained.
"How exactly am I supposed to do that?" Usopp asked. "I want to join the crew again. Fighting with them at Enies Lobby made me realize that. Luffy is my captain, but how can I possibly convince them I want to join the crew. Zoro definitely won't let me waltz back to the crew like nothing happened." Usopp stated.
Yasopp hums slightly thinking of a response. "Then put your pride aside." Yasopp told him. "What you need to do is a lot simpler than you think."
Usopp thought about for a moment as he came to the realization, and he quickly stood up. "I got it! Thanks Dad!" Usopp yelled before he took off to where the Straw Hats would be.
"Shouldn't you wait until the morning!?" Yasopp shouted.
Usopp paused turning back to this father. "Oh yeah, I guess you're right." he chuckled.
Yasopp laughs as he stands up. "Come on, I'll take you back to the Red Force. You can meet the others as well." he stated.
"Okay!" Usopp agreed.
Luffy sat outside listening to the ocean. After the conversation that they had with Beckman and Shanks, Luffy felt more certain of himself. It was like pieces were finally starting to piece themselves together. He still didn't know somethings. He didn't exactly understand why the Buster Call happened; he didn't know who everyone was completely just yet but now things were coming together.
"Luffy? What are you doing?" Ace asked, sitting down next to him.
Luffy shrugged. "I couldn't sleep. So much has happened these last few days and I even slept a lot earlier so now I feel wide awake." Luffy explained as Sabo sat on his other side.
Ace chuckled a little. "Are memories still coming back?" Ace asked him.
Luffy shook his head. "No not anymore. I still don't remember everything yet. But it finally feels like pieces are where they are supposed to be." he explained.
Ace smiled as he carefully grabbed Luffy's head placing the younger pirates head on his shoulder. "We missed you so much Lu." Ace told him.
Luffy looked up at Ace then turned his head to Sabo who nodded his head. "You're our precious little brother. We'd do absolutely anything for you." Sabo confirmed. Luffy smiled as he stretched his arm grabbing Sabo to tug him over to him and Ace. Luffy laid his head in Ace's lap so Sabo could rest his head on Ace's shoulder instead.
"I missed you guys to." Luffy suddenly said.
Ace ran his hand through Luffy's hair with a gentle smile on his face as Sabo grabbed one of Luffy's scarred hands.
That was exactly how Robin found the three brothers when she went looking for Luffy as the rest of the crew was starting to fall asleep themselves. She found the brothers curled up together and she smiled.
"Did you find him Robin?" Zoro asked as she stepped inside.
"Yeah, I did. Don't worry, he's with his brothers. I was just grabbing a blanket so they wouldn't get too cold." she explained as Zoro looked outside and sighed in relief. The swordsman turned back returning to his own bed with a smile on his face. "You must be relieved that he is getting his memories back." Robin comments.
"Luffy always seemed lonely when he thought no one was looking. Since I knew about his amnesia, he confided in me telling me that he thought something was missing but he had no clue what it was. At least that was until we met Ace." the swordsman explained.
Robin smiles before she turned to go back inside, she spotted a bottle of sake and three small cups. She was about to gather everything and bring it inside, but something told her not to. So, she left the bottle, covering the three with a blanket before she returned inside to turn in for the night.