Chapter 76
Hancock has been wandering around this godforsaken beach for the past hour trying to find Luffy. He knew that Luffy’s Grand Fleet was big but he didn’t realize just how big until he saw the sheer amount of ships docked on the horizon. It was like a floating city. A cacophony of laughter, clanging swords and the smell of grilling meat filled the air.
As he made his way through the throngs of people he stumbled across Zoro, Robin, and Nami sitting in the sand near a campfire, chuckling over something. Hancock approached them, his heart racing as he tried to play it cool. “Excuse me, have you seen Luffy?” He asked, trying not to let his desperation show.
The three stopped their conversation and looked up at him before looking at each other, Zoro granted, Nami shrugged, and Robin shook her head, “she’s probably with Usopp, last I saw them Usopp and her they were coming back from town after buying fireworks.” Zoro spoke casually, not bothering to look up from his plate of skewered meat.
Hancock’s eyes widened, “What? Usopp?” he questioned, trying to keep his voice calm despite the sudden rush of emotions. He couldn’t believe the woman he was in love with was spending time with that liar. “Where is he?”
Zoro stopped mid-chew, his eyes filling up to him, his eyes flashing with annoyance at Hancock’s tone. “He’s her snipper, and her friend.” He said before shoving another skewer in his mouth. “And he’s her weird, boy-toy, boyfriend-not-boyfriend thing. So, you’ll find her with him.”
Nami giggled into her hand, while Robin gave him a knowing smile. They watched as Hancock’s face fell, his heart sinking at the thought of Luffy with someone else, especially that Usopp.
“Zoro, I don’t know why you say Usopp is Luffy’s weird, boy-toy, boyfriend-not-boyfriend thing. They’ve been together since we were in the East blue.” Nami corrected, her giggle turning into a laugh. “I’m just waiting for Usopp to proposal to Luffy already! It’s about time Usopp mans up and pops the question! You know he’s already got a ring!? Oh, it’s the prettiest, most gorgeous, most fabulous ring I’ve ever seen!”
“It’s made out of gold, obsidian, rubys, sapphires, emeralds, amber, tigers-eye, and diamonds. It looks like it should belong on the finger of the highest of highest of highest royalty. It’s got like fifty of those sparkling diamonds, and the main stone is a rectangle shaped Tigers-eye, with The diamonds, rubys, sapphires, emeralds, amber surrounding it, the actual ring part is made out of obsidian with gold wrapped around it swirling patterns!” Nami gushed, fanning herself dramatically, her voice filled with excitement as she talked about Usopp’s ring.
Hancock felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Luffy and Usopp? Together? The mere thought of it was like someone had punched him in the gut.
Robin nodded, a small smile playing on her lips. “Yeah, I’ve seen it. Franky helped him design it. Drawings of the ring are plastered all over the walls in both of their workshops. They’ve been planning it for months.”
“OOOOHHHH! What if he proposes to Luffy tonight?! I mean, they both went off and bought fireworks. When do we ever buy fireworks, like never! So obviously something big is going to happen, right?” Nami squealed, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Hancock felt his world crumbling around him. The revelation hit him like a cannonball to the chest. He had to see Luffy, to talk to her, to find out if what they were saying was true. He couldn’t just stand there and listen to them talk about her and Usopp as if he didn’t even matter. He turned on his heel and sprinted away from the campfire, sand flying behind him. His mind was racing, thoughts colliding with each other like waves in a storm as weave his way through the crowded beach, the sounds of merriment becoming a dull roar in his ears. The closer he got to the heart of the party, the more tense he became.
Finally, he stumbled across a giant camp fire, surrounded by rowdy pirates of all shapes and sizes, their faces alight with joy and their voices raised in drunken cheer. And there, right standing in front of the campfire was Luffy and Usopp, standing so close to each other their sides were practically molded together, Usopp’s arm slung around Luffy’s shoulders, and Luffy’s hand was resting in Usopp’s back pocket, and her head resting on his shoulder.
Hancock's eyes narrowed as he approached the couple, his heart thumping like a drum in his chest. He had to get closer, had to hear their conversation, had to understand what was happening. As he made his way through the crowd, Luffy looked up, her dark eyes locking onto him. She grinned widely, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.