Ch-3

Days kept on passing by and Usopp progressed greatly. It was about to be his three months on this island and he couldn't help but feel much and much better. The reason for his pleasant mood was his immense increase in his strength during these days.

By now he was easily able to exercise with weights weighing 100kg. From how things were going he was sure that he'll be able to move to 110Kg within a couple of weeks.

Seeing him working out every day the kids who used to follow him also started joining him during his training sessions. He also got acquainted with them as a result. He had told them to keep watch on the Shore of the village for any sign of pirates by saying that he had been training all this while to fight any pirates that came to this village.

Inspired by his words the kids swore to do their job of keeping an eye on the sea coast for any signs of pirates. Seeing that his words livened up the kids so much Usopp was quite satisfied. The scouting of the kids had yielded no results so far but Usopp didn't lose hope as he patiently waited for the inevitable arrival of Luffy because he was in the world of One Piece.

A few days later after a hearty dinner, Usopp was getting ready for bed when he heard a knock on his door which made him furrow his eyebrows. Usopp picked up a stick from the corner of the room and slowly proceeded towards the door.

The reason for his vigilance was that almost nobody except the kids visited him and now that it was so late at night, he doubted that it would be those kids. Tightening his grip on the stick he slowly opened the door by an inch to see who was on the other side.

The person on the other side was wearing a black robe which made it difficult for him to identify the person. Left with no other choice he said deliberately trying to make his voice sound intimidating "Who are you?"

"It's me. Kaya" The person removed the cloak from their head revealing a face that had pure innocence in it.

Seeing the blonde-haired beauty waiting outside his house Usopp couldn't help but feel confused as he voiced out his thoughts "What brought you here Kaya? That too in the middle of the night…Did you run away from your house?"

"I just came because I missed you…" Kaya said and stopped soon after letting the melancholy in her eyes do the rest of the talking.

Usopp stared at her for a few seconds before opening his door fully while saying "Come in."

Kaya entered his house with her eyes on the ground as she walked towards the centre and just stood there waiting for Usopp. After letting her in Usopp observed outside to sense whether things were alright or not before finally closing the door.

Turning around he saw the lonely figure of Kaya standing at the centre of the room. "You want some water?" Usopp asked because that was the only thing he could offer her at this time of the night.

Kaya shook her head and said nothing. Seeing this Usopp took a sigh and said while pointing at a chair "Take a seat." After saying that he too sat down on his bed. His house consisted of only one room and a kitchen so there was only a small table for one along with a chair for him to have his meals on.

"Now tell me, What exactly is the matter?" Usopp asked as his butt rested comfortably on his newly bought bed.

"A-As I said, I came here to meet you…" Kaya said the same thing again while looking down at the wooden floor.

"Do you think this is a proper time to meet someone?" Usopp said while staring at her uncomfortable self.

"It's all your fault…if you hadn't stopped visiting me every day then I wouldn't have to resort to such methods in order to meet you. I tried asking Klahadore to take me to you but he always refused, saying that you're bad company for me. I tried protesting but he always used to bring up your past as a liar and the son of a pirate…" Kaya who had let out open the words she had been holding until now stopped when she realized that her last few words weren't appropriate.

Usopp realized the reason for her sudden pause because how her eyes widened when the moment of realization struck her, "Well, I indeed am a son of a pirate. My father must be sailing somewhere in the grand line at the moment." Usopp said.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way…" Kaya said trying to make her intentions clear.

"I know, but Klahadore is right though, I'm bad company for you. Why? Because I'm going to become a pirate just like my father and leave this place forever," Usopp said.

"Why a pirate? Is this because of your finances? I can finance your education so that you can do a proper job and continue living on this island with me. Why would you go for something so drastic?" Kaya asked clearly perplexed by his decision. He used to lie to her a lot but the current Usopp seemed different.

Not only was his physique much bigger than it was three months ago but his words also carried a certain tone that made her believe that whatever he was saying was the truth.

"It's because I want to. That's enough of a reason." Usopp replied. Of course, he was not going to mention that it was also because of him wanting to fulfil his fantasy of becoming a pirate.

Hearing Usopp reply Kaya became silent for a while. Understanding that there was no way to change his mind from how firm his words were so she changed her question "Why did you suddenly stop visiting me?"

Hearing the question, he had been expecting Usopp looked into Kaya's eyes as he said "To tell you the truth, the reason why I approached you at first was that I had a huge crush on you. Being able to just talk with you and help you lighten your mood made me think that you would reciprocate the feelings I had for you but unfortunately, you didn't. I became your friend and it seemed to be the natural conclusion for you.

I still kept on trying despite that hoping that one day you'll understand my feelings but after a while, I realised that it was all futile and decided to give up because I would be going out to explore the sea soon to fulfil my dream of becoming a pirate. That was also the day when I stopped visiting you."

Usopp paused and continued "After that day I've been training every single day to raise my physique in order to prepare my body for what is to come."