The five made it back to the Merry, awaiting Usopp's recovery. "I hope he's going to make it." (Y/N) paced, back and forth, on the upper deck.
"Would you quit worrying. Chopper said he could save him, so that's what he's going to do." Zoro calmly told the (h/c) haired woman, making her stop in her tracks.
"I know but—" (Y/N) got cut off by the small doctor running out of the main cabin, jumping up on the railing.
"HEYY!! Usopp's finally awake you guys!!" Chopper happily yelled down to his crew members.
"Alright!! Good to hear!" Luffy yelled back making the whole crew relieved.
Nami sighed in relief from the news. "That's one less thing to worry about."
(Y/N) smiled at her Straw Hat captain as he stretched his arms up the railing Chopper once leaned against, running into the main cabin to check on the long nose. The (h/c) haired woman leaped up on the upper deck using her devil's powers before gently placing her feet on the floor, joining her captain in the cabin.
"Ya know, I outta punch you for scaring us like that." Nami spoke to the long nose first. Everyone was grouped around the man that struggled not to cry in front of his friends.
"Yeah no kidding. Though it looks like you've taken enough punches already if you ask me." Sanji rubbed salt in to his wounds with his words. "What were you thinking taking those guys on alone?"
"You can't just run off and fight whoever you want." Zoro scolded the long nose, but Sanji quickly called out the swordsman's hypocrisy. Luffy laughed at his two crew mates, but was shut up by (Y/N).
"That's enough you three. The man has been though enough. Let him speak... but really, Usopp. What were you thinking running off like that? You were already in a terrible condition when Nami and I found you." (Y/N) frowned at the long nose. Sadness lingered in her (e/c) eyes.
"This wouldn't have happened like I was strong like you guys." Usopp's voice shook as he spoke. "I'M SORRY!! It's all my fault... I'm so ashamed of myself." Usopp ran up and hugged (Y/N), crying into her chest.
"It's okay, Usopp. You're okay now, so that's all that matters." (Y/N) held the long nose's head on her chest, smiling down at the boy. Sanji yelled at him to get off the woman, telling him he was tainting a sacred place.
"I knew how important that money was! That's all our saving! All the trouble we went though... what about the Merry??!" Usopp cried harder on (Y/N), but the woman's smile quickly faded when Usopp mentioned the Merry. Tears slowly began at form in her eyes, but held them back due to her knowing it was not her job to break the bad news.
"Take it easy! You shouldn't be out of bed yet!" The doctor waved at the boy in concern for his friend's well being.
"Hey, calm down! Stop your whining and listen to the doctor!" Nami scolded Usopp, concern lingered in her voice.
Once Usopp finally stopped his tears, (Y/N) helped him back to bed. "So... is there a chance we might get out money back after all?" Usopp didn't look at the woman, nor any other crew member as he spoke.
"Well... maybe!" Luffy said with a smile. "We won't know for sure til that Franky guy shows up!"
"I see." Usopp hung his head in defeat. "I'm sorry..."
"Hey!! Even if we can't get the rest back, we still have 100 million berries left over! Don't worry!!" Luffy started laughing.
"Yeah, but he lost twice that much!!" Nami yelled out making (Y/N) whip her head at her.
"Nami! Now it not the time!!" The (h/c) haired woman scolded the ginger. Nami quickly apologized to Usopp for her outburst.
"No. It's fine. More importantly, is Merry... gonna be okay?!" The long nosed man finally look up at his crew mates in worry for the news to come. "I mean, can we get her repaired with the money we have left?! We're lucky we have all these awesome shipwrights to work on her, but I know these things are going to get rough out there. So I want her to be stronger than ever before. I want more than just a little touch up, so do you think those guys will still do a good job even though we only have 100 million to pay with?? You've talked to them about it right?!"
(Y/N) hung her head low from Usopp's concerns. She was sniffling a little, battling against the tears that pleaded to put out of her soft (e/c) colored eyes.
Her captain spoke up for everyone in the room. "Well yeah... but we aren't having them repaired. We've decided to get a new ship instead." Usopp looked at Luffy in shock by his words. "I know that we probably should have asked you first, but we didn't have much choice. Either way, I've made up my mind. The Going Merry has taken good care of us, but it looks like our journey with her has to end here."
Luffy's heartfelt words made (Y/N) feel slightly better. 'I think that was the best way to say it.' (Y/N)'s thought as the crew stood in an uneasy silence, awaiting Usopp's response.
"Anyway." Luffy broke the unbearable silence. "Ice pops gave us this awesome ship catalog to flip through. There's all kinds of different ships we can pick from in here, and if we decide to shop for a used model, we can go for a ship bigger than the Merry. And still keep our budget over 100 million!"
"Wait... just stop. I get it, Luffy! But the joke's gone on long enough! Okay?" (Y/N) looked up at the long nose in shocked concern. "See? Chopper doesn't know you're kidding! Look how upset this is making him. Haha, geez Captain! You should know better than to treat your crew like that. Come on, Nami, back me up here!"
The long nosed looked around the room to see his crew mates sad expressions they wore. "Huh?! Does that mean we... we don't have enough for repairs?? It's because I lost the 200 million, isn't it?! And now we can't afford to work on the Merry, is that what this is about?!" Usopp stood up, throwing his hands in the air as he yelled at the captain.
"Would you stop and listen to me?!" Luffy yelled back at the man, but his yelling just pissed off Usopp more.
"What is it?!! TELL ME!! Don't try to sugarcoat it!"
(Y/N) tensed up from the argument breaking out. Her body shivered in concerned fear as her friends yelled back at one another. "I'M NOT OKAY?! I DONT EVEN CARE YOU LOST ALL THE MONEY, THAT'S OVER NOW!!" Luffy yelled back at the long nose in mixed anger and sadness.
"If that's how you feel, then WHAT'S ALL THIS CRAP ABOUT BUYING A NEW SHIP?!" (Y/N) took a step back from the argument. Tears rolling down her face as she stared, frighted by her friends arguing in a way she's never seen before.
"Both of you, STOP IT!" Zoro attempted to defuse the situation. "Fighting isn't going to help. Just calm down for a second."
"I don't see what I'm going wrong, he's the one saying all this dumb stuff!" Usopp didn't take his anger filled eyes off of Luffy.
"I know how you feel, but you shouldn't get all worked up right now!" Nami scolded the boys also attempting to defuse the situation.
"Listen to Nami, Usopp." Chopper stood between the two boys, trying to break up the argument. "If you don't get any rest, you're not going to get better!"
"Who cares about me?! When he's making jokes about getting a new ship?!" Usopp yelled at the deer, his eyes still locked on to Luffy.
"I'M NOT JOKING ABOUT ANYTHING!! THIS WAS A HARD DECISION FOR ME TOO!!" Luffy got closer to Usopp's face, screaming at the long nose.
"OH YEAH I FEEL REALLY SORRY FOR YOU!" Usopp snatched the catalog from Luffy's hand throwing it on the ground. "Already window shopping for a new toy!!"
Luffy looked down at the catalog before looking back at Usopp. "You tryin' to pick a fight with me?!"
"Guy, no please..." (Y/N) held up her hand at the boys.
"I don't want your damn pity, got it?!" Usopp ignored the woman, continuing to argue with his captain. "If you tell me it doesn't matter that I lost the money, then why are you talking about buying a new ship?! Just spit it out already! If we can't afford the repairs because I screwed up, then tell me! Don't show me some stupid catalog and change the subject. I want to know the TRUTH!"
"The Merry can't be fixed!" Luffy yelled out in absolute anger. His words caused silence among the crew. Usopp stood in shock by his words.
"Wha... what did you just say?" Usopp's voice shook as he spoke. (Y/N) started to cry quietly for her long nosed friend.
"Don't make me repeat myself... I told you, the Merry can't be repaired anymore." Luffy tried to hide his anger and frustration, but it was clear as day. "No matter what we do, we... we can't fix her."
Usopp dropped to his knees in absolute shock as Luffy continued. "Otherwise I wouldn't say something like that."
Usopp slammed his hands against the Merry's floor. "You mean this ship?! The ship that were riding on is broken?!
"That's right. It's only a matter of time before she sinks." Luffy told the man in front of him. (Y/N) sniffed a bit before wiped her tears from her face, nodding her head in agreement.
"What are you taking about, Luffy? That's nuts." Usopp looked away from his captain in anger.
"No I'm serious." Luffy explained calmly. "The shipwrights took a look at the Merry themselves. They said she wouldn't even hold out to the next island."
"Then it's settled, so that's it?" Usopp looked back at Luffy. "A bunch of strangers told you to scrap your ship and you don't even ask any questions?!"
(Y/N) was about to speak, but her captain quickly spoke up. "That's enough!"
"I understand these guys know what their talking about, but this is just wrong!" Usopp grinned his teeth at his captain. "DON'T GET UP ON THE MERRY!! What about all the adventures we've gone on together?! What about the battles we fought?!! She's our friend! She's one of us! ARE YOU GOING TO ABANDON HER FOR ANOTHER SHIP WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT?!"
Silence fell upon the group for a few moments before Usopp spoke again. "After all we've been though... is that how little the Merry means to you, Luffy?!"
"I know you're upset, Usopp, but you need to calm down." Chopper walked up to comfort his friend.
"I'm sorry, but no. I'm not backing down until we settle this!"
"Usopp, please." Nami tried to reason with the man to no avail.
"What?!" Luffy spoke down to his crew mate. "So you know better than the shipwrights?! If we had someone on the crew who knew about this stuff, we wouldn't have asked them in the first place!"
Usopp looked up at to his captain. "Then forget them! We don't need those guys telling us what to do. I'll repair the Merry myself, just like before." Usopp tried to stand up. "We've made it this far, so there's no reason we can't go on that way. I'll get started right now. Come on guys, help me out!"
"That's not gonna work." Sanji told the man who started crawling to the main cabin's door.
"That's right. We don't have enough lumber do we? I better go buy some at the ship yard. We have a lot work to do!"
Luffy yelled at the man. "YOU'RE NOT A SHIPWRIGHT, USOPP! YOU HEAR ME!"
"Yeah you're right, I know! But so what?! I don't see why you're so hung up on everything those stupid shipwrights say!" Usopp clenched on the catalog on the ground. "If they knew what they've gone through, they wouldn't have given up on the Merry so easily! They just want your money!! They Merry's our ship, so it's out job to take care of her without someone else butting in. I'm not giving up... I WON'T LET THEM TAKE THE MERRY AWAY FROM ME!!"
Usopp claimed that Luffy got fooled by the shipwrights trying to sell him a used ship. "Luffy I know wouldn't cave in to some sale's pitch from a total stranger!" Usopp finally stood up, yelling back at his captain. "He'll believe in the strength of the Merry and the strength of his crew!"
Long nose began stomping over to Luffy. "BUT HERE YOU ARE! Acting like you know everything and ignoring your friends!" Usopp grabbed his captain's collar, pulling Luffy in front of his face. "I can't believe that's the kind of captain you've turned out to be! I thought you were better than that?!"
"Usopp, that's enough!! If you would have saw how Luffy—" (Y/N) got cut off my Luffy putting up his hand to her.
"You stay out of this! It was my call and I stand by it!" (Y/N) backed up from the anger she felt from the man. "There's nothing you can do! We are getting a new ship wether you like it or not! This is the end of the road for Merry!"
Usopp pulled Luffy closer to his face, (Y/N) watched as the boy's got more and more frustrated with each other. "I know you're always trying to think about the future, but not everyone on this crew is like that! The Merry is one of our friend's got it?! And I won't abandon her when she's hurt!"
"Don't be stupid! Even if she is a friend, that doesn't mean she's a person!" Luffy pushed the man's hands off him.
"She is to me! And she still had the strength to live! But you wouldn't appreciate that cause all you care about is getting a new ship to play with!" Usopp yelled back at Luffy.
Sanji spoke up, trying to defuse the argument once more. His attempts were too late when Luffy tackled Usopp onto the ground. "WOULD YOU LISTEN TO YOURSELF?! Don't act like you're the only one who's tore up about this!! We all feel the same way!"
(Y/N) watched in shock as the boys wrestled on the ground. Usopp yelled at Luffy, "If that was true, then you wouldn't be looking for a new ship!"
"Alright fine! If you don't like the way your captain does things then why don't you GO AHEAD AND GET OFF—" Luffy got cut off by Sanji roughly kicking his captain into the table behind him.
"Sanji?!" Chopper yelled out in fear. (Y/N) looked between the two boys then back at the cook.
Sanji huffed a bit in frustration before he spoke. "This is going too far! What the hell if wrong with you?!" The cook yelled at his captain. "If you don't watch it, you're gonna say something you can't take back. So CALM DOWN!"
(Y/N) stood in shock with the others. "Luffy... Usopp..." The woman's voice shook as she spoke out to her friends.
"Yeah I'm sorry..." Luffy placed his straw hat back on his head, covering his eyes. "I don't know what I was thinking."
"You don't have to apologize..." (Y/N) eyes darted to the long nose from where he laid on the floor. "Because that's how you really feel, isn't it?"
"That's not true!" Luffy yelled back at him in desperation.
Usopp sat back up, looking back to his crew. "Just get rid of your dead weight and move on before they can slow you down." Everyone stared at their crew mate in shock by his words. "If you're gonna throw away the Merry, might as well throw me away too."
(Y/N) couldn't stop shaking. Her mind was all over the place in trying to find the right words to say to the man before her. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing could come out. Zoro saw the woman trembling and walked up to her, placing her head on his chest. (Y/N) was still in shock, but her crew mate's presences calmed her nerves allowing her shaking to slow.
"I know you're pissed off, but don't say stupid crap like that!" Sanji spoke up for the crew.
"No, I'm serious. I've been thinking about this for a while now..." Usopp looked up at his crew mates. "It wasn't like it was before, you guys are just too strong for me. I can't keep up anymore. I mean... look what happened today! You can't even trust me with your money. No point in keeping me around, when all I do is cause you trouble."
Usopp stood up before he spoke again. "You don't want weak people on your crew, do you?" The man looked over at his captain. "Luffy. I still believe you will be King of the Pirates one day. As for me? I'm just lucky I was able to make it this far. Even back when we first met and I was going to set off alone, you probably just invited me on your ship out of pity." (Y/N) looked up from Zoro's chest to look at Luffy and Usopp as long nose spoke. "That's the only reason I'm here. There's no sense traveling together if we don't even have the same goal."
(Y/N) reached out to her friend as he walked out of the cabin door. Sanji called out to him, "Hey Usopp! Where are you going?!
The long nosed man stood in the doorway, not looking back at his now former crew. "Where I go, it's my business. It has nothing to do with you anymore. Sorry guys... I'm leaving the crew. This is goodbye."
The door slowly closed behind Usopp as his former crew makes ran for him. Nami and (Y/N) fell to their knees as the door shut.
"He's really gone... isn't he?" (Y/N) eyes bagan to water, staring at the closed door in disbelief.
"Hey! Just don't sit there, Luffy!" Nami yelled back at her captain making (Y/N) jolt slightly from her sudden outburst. "Who knows what he's going to do out there! Go say something to him! Stop him before it's too late... we've come too far together. We can't part ways like this. Usopp not just a crew member, he's one of our friends isn't he?!"
Nami looked back to her captain, his straw hat covered his eyes. Luffy didn't respond back to his navigator. "GET UP AND STOP HIM!! ...Luffy? What's wrong? You're the captain, aren't you?"
"Nami..." (Y/N) placed a hand on Nami's shoulder.
"Fine. Have it your way." Nami said with anger towards her captain before Sanji, Chopper and herself ran out after Usopp.
(Y/N) looked back at Luffy with sadness in her eyes. "Luffy, please." Her Captain didn't say anything to her as he got up. The (h/c) haired woman watched as her captain walked passed her and out to the deck next to the others. (Y/N) couldn't help but let tears roll down her cheeks, silently watching her four crew mates looking out to Usopp.
(Y/N) flinched when she heard Usopp speak out to the crew. "Luffy, I'm sorry I can't follow you anymore... and I'm sorry I was a pain to the bitter end." (Y/N) ran out to see her friend once more. Shock ran across her face when she hear Usopp's next words. "I know you're this ship, so the Merry belongs to you. That's why I want you to fight me. Monkey D. Luffy."
Luffy and Usopp shared a moment of silence before the long nose yelled out to the captain. "I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL!!" Nami questioned the man's words as he continued. "At 10 o' clock tonight, I'll be back! So you better be ready for a fight, Captain! I can't stop you from destroying your own ship, but if I win? I'm taking the Merry and leaving! Either way, when we're done, the last bond between us will be broken."