Queen of the Pirates

Off-Screen Events: Life on Going Merry Part 1

Unlike being in a village where there are clear tasks that need to get down before the day is over, being on a ship sailing through the sea, while it does have a destination, leaves us a lot of time to pass. Even when we have to treat a man with scurvy, there is still plenty of time for Luffy to drag me into an accuracy contest against Usopp.

"But Usopp and I don't use the same weapon," I hold up my hand to cut off Luffy from pleading me to show off my skills against our newest crewmate. "I'm sure that we both can hit our targets every time, but that doesn't mean one is better than the other."

"There's nothing else to do," Luffy whines. "And Usopp said that he wants to see your skill up close, so I thought it would be fun to have a little contest. Nami and Johnny are looking over Yosaku while they keep us on the right track, so we don't have to worry about them. Zoro's taking a nap at the rear, and I doubt we can wake him."

"Okay, you've convinced me," I giggle as he grabs my hands and starts pulling me over to where Usopp is waiting near the main mast.

"Ah, Akari, so I see you've gathered up the courage to face me," Usopp smirks as he tosses his slingshot between his hands.

"Well, Luffy did mention that we don't have anything else to do right now, so I couldn't keep saying no knowing that I didn't have anything else to do."

"Did you figure out a way to test your skills against each other?" Luffy lets go of my hands. "Are we going to put a bullseye on the mast for you both to shoot at? Or do we have some empty bottles to shoot at?"

"The surface area of a shuriken would mean that even if I was off a little bit, I would still hit a bottle," I comment. "Like I was saying earlier to Luffy, it is going to be difficult to have a contest against each other since we don't use the same weapon."

"This is why you will throw at this," Usopp holds up Luffy's goofy Jolly Roger that he painted earlier today. "We'll call out targets, and then you have to hit them." He rushes over to start hanging it up against the wall.

"And what about you?"

"I'll have to set some bottles or small items on the railing to take out one by one," he glances over his shoulder. "Luffy, go find some targets for me."

"On it!" Luffy smiles before rushing off.

I sigh, pulling a couple shurikens out to juggle in my hands. "Other than wanting to see my skill up close, why do you care how accurate I am, Usopp? I mean, it doesn't matter if both of us are perfect. I don't care about being known as the sharpest shooter of the crew. All I care about is being known as the blacksmith, so you can take whatever title that you want."

Usopp turns around and walks back over to me. "I know that, but this is a win-win for both of us. We both get to show off for Luffy, we both get to practice our skills for a little bit, and we both get to have a little fun to pass the time."

I grin, nodding my head at every point he makes. "Okay, those are all fair points. However, Luffy is going to want someone declared the winner, so you better have two categories so both of us can win."

"I'll figure something out," he waves me off.

"I've got some bottles!" Luffy exclaims as he comes rushing back to us with his arms full of at least a dozen glass bottles. "Where you do you want me to set them up?"

"Up on the railing above Akari's target."

"Can you hold some, Akari?" Luffy steps up to me.