Things were tense as the butler, Klahadore, glared daggers into everyone present. Thankfully, they were dulled by the returned gazes of those opposed to him. Nick's was particularly potent, being the only one who knew his true nature.

Kaya stared at them with a worried expression. While it was true she wanted to be taken more seriously by her caretakers, she didn't want them upset with her either, and Klahadore seemed particularly irritated. She can't remember the last time she's seen him lose his cool like that.

She needed to remove the tension she could feel, or at the very least, reduce it to manageable levels. She could either send the group away, those who came seeking her aid, though she was loath to do so. If people needed help, it was only natural to help them, right?

Or, she could listen to them, hear what they had to say. However, that ran the risk of irritating Klahadore even further, and he would likely be grumpy for weeks. The guilt of making her friend/caretaker upset would eat her alive until he forgave her.

Ooh, what should she do? The indecision was giving her a headache, and making her tummy hurt. Maybe being in charge of things wasn't what she wanted after all.

"Kaya," said a voice from below, dragging her out of her pessimistic thoughts. She looked at the one who had spoken, the boy with the straw hat. He gazed at her with a deep intensity, and she found she couldn't help but hear him out.

There was just something about him that compelled her to listen. Not to obey, but to simply hear what he had to say. If nothing else, she was glad it helped her make a decision. "Um, yes?"

"We heard that your ships are being attacked, is this true?" Luffy asked. It wasn't that he doubted old man Pett, but he wanted her to confirm it herself.

"Oh, yes it is, I'm afraid. It's been happening for some time now. Why?" she asked. She remembered the girl said they wanted to make a deal with her, but she couldn't imagine what it could be about.

"We need a ship, and that can't happen if these attacks continue. So we'll beat these guys up for you, if you promise to give us a ship," he stated. Nick was somewhat surprised by Luffy's relative eloquence here.

And he wasn't the only one, as most of those gathered gave him surprised looks. "Wow, you did that all without shouting. I'm impressed," said Nami with a teasing voice.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Luffy shouted, as Nami looked away, pretending to be innocent. "Oh, nothing."

"She means you're loud," snarked Zoro.

"Huh? I'm not loud!" yelled Luffy, proving Nami's point. The group began to bicker and tease each other, as the rest of them stared in bafflement.

These were the ones they were supposed to trust to defeat the pirates responsible for attacking the shipyards?

Kaya herself was more surprised by the proposal than the bickering, but then again, perhaps she shouldn't be. In retrospect, it was pretty obvious what they wanted. But that didn't mean she knew how to respond. She was uncomfortable at the thought of people putting themselves in danger over her.

Usopp himself glared down at the ground, clenching his fists. He wasn't upset by what they suggested, not really. He was more upset by the fact that he couldn't handle this on his own.

The thought of him not being enough to protect Kaya made him feel ill. Worthless. What kind of man couldn't protect the people he loved? A useless one, that's who!

These thoughts ran circles in his head. Round and around they went, until he couldn't take it anymore, until…

"Enough! We don't need your help!" he shouted. The group of four stopped their bickering, turning to face him with surprise on their faces. Kaya and Akisu stared at him with concern, rather than shock.

"Usopp…" Kaya muttered, looking down at her upset friend.

"I told you over and over again, we don't need your help! We can handle this on our own, so just butt out!" Usopp continued to yell. He was panting in anger at this point, glaring at the people who came in and stuck their noses into things they shouldn't.

"Oh really? It's been a month already, and you haven't done a damn thing. If you could really handle this all by yourself, why haven't you?" questioned Zoro. His voice was bordering mockery as he glared right back at Usopp.

"You…" Usopp growled through clenched teeth. As much as he wanted to deny what the green haired swordsman said, he couldn't. It was true, he hasn't been able to stop the attacks. Hell, he hasn't even been able to see who did it.

"Usopp," stated Nick, who was also glaring at the long nosed man, though not nearly as hard. Honestly, he was getting fed up with the liar's attitude about the whole thing.

"Yeah, what do you want?" he asked with vitriol.

"What's more important to you? Your pride, or Kaya?" he asked.

Usopp's eyes widened at the question. He stared into the unflinching gaze of Nick, as the question swirled around in his head. Kaya or his pride, which one held deeper meaning in his heart?

He was a proud man, perhaps unjustifiably so. But it was the only thing he had to cling to. But was the feeling of importance it gave him more valuable than the woman who clawed her way into his heart?

Looking up Kaya, who was staring at him with nothing but concern, made his choice easy to make. His pride meant nothing without her.

"Heh, what a dumb question. Obviously, it's Kaya," he said, while forcing himself to his feet, using the tree as a crutch.

"Oh, Usopp…" Kaya said, staring at the injured man with warmth. His words made her heart beat twice as fast, and made her stomach twist in curious ways. Her entire body filled with a pleasant heat as she continued to look at him.

"If you guys really think you can take them out, then you have my support. I'll help however I can," he stated, standing tall. Akisu looked at his brother with sparkles in his eyes, wondering when he became so cool.

The rest of the straw hats gave him matching grins, with Luffy's being the biggest. Kaya herself smiled happily at Usopp seemingly making new friends; his endorsement of them helped to make up her mind.

But before she could agree to their deal, another, condescending voice, interrupted her. "What utter tripe. You believe yourselves capable of lending us aid? Don't make me laugh."

The group turned to the butler, frowns marrying their faces. None more so than Nick, who noticed Klahadore distinctly looking in his direction when he said that. Just because he lost his pants to some greedy squirrels, doesn't mean they can't kick some ass!

Or maybe that's exactly what he was afraid of, considering he was most likely behind the attacks himself. Of course he wouldn't want other people involved. The sneaky dick waffle.

"Oh yes, because you've been doing so well on your own," Nami mocked with an eye roll.

Klahadore seemed to take offense to that, if his angry glare at Nami was any indication. But she also appeared to gain some courage, as she glared right back at the man. She may have still been hiding behind Nick as she did so, but progress is progress.

"Be that as it may, what makes you lot believe you can help us?" asked the fake butler. And the way he said, "you lot" was done with such derision and pomposity that Nick feared he and the others may come down with a case of douchebaggery.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Luckily, such illnesses were rarely contagious, but Klahadore had such a bad case of the disease it may not have mattered.

"Oh you want our resume? Well why didn't you just say so!?" asked Nick with false cheer. Klahadore watched with bafflement as the nearly nude young man walked over to him and slung his arm over his shoulder.

It nearly sent him into a rage.

"You see, it just so happens that we recently defeated a little group known as the Buggy Pirates. Ever heard of them?" Nick asked with his own aura of smugness. Perhaps it was contagious after all.

Klahadore, however, was not so easily impressed. He scoffed, fixing his slightly crooked glasses, glaring at the audacious man who dared put his hands on him, "Do you really expect me to believe a bunch of fools such as yourselves were able to defeat one such as Buggy?"

It was simply impossible to think about. Klahadore knew well who Buggy was, and to think these simpletons were able to defeat him was an absurdity of the highest degree. No, he had to be lying, trying to appear more competent than his half naked form would imply, that was the only logical explanation.

"And remove your hands this instant!" he shouted, throwing Nick's arm off of himself.

"Ok, ok, geez. Somebody's touchy," Nick muttered as he took a few steps away from the man. Klahadore then proceeded to fix his now rumpled suit, releasing an aggravated huff as he did so.

"But I wasn't lying, we really did beat Buggy and his merry band of assholes. I personally took out the furry," Nick said in a proud tone of voice. "So believe me when I say, whoever is doing this is in for a world of hurt."

Nick's voice took on a deeper, more threatening tone as he gave Klahadore a hard stare, one which was returned in equal measure. Nick sure wasn't making any new friends here.

"And I'm sure you believe that. But I will not suffer the aid of fools," Klahadore spoke, eyes roaming over each and everyone present, sending chills down a few of their spines.

Three guesses who those were.

"Well, good thing it isn't up to you then, now isn't it? It's up to her," said Nick, pointing to a visibly worried looking Kaya.

"Miss Kaya is hardly mature enough to make such decisions. She leaves such things to myself or one of our qualified staff," Klahadore dismissed, making them frown, including Kaya, who gripped the windowsill in frustration.

Klahadore wasn't usually this overtly blunt about things, but these were his true feelings on the matter. He truly didn't believe she was capable of making decisions for herself. It was vexing in the extreme for the young woman.

"Oh yeah? Well we weren't asking you, so why don't you keep that mouth of yours shut?" asked Zoro, getting sick of the butler's attitude. And he wasn't the only one. Usopp still looked like he wanted to grab his slingshot, and Luffy hasn't blinked in a while. He just kept staring at the guy. It was really unnerving.

"I beg your pardon?" Klahadore asked through grit teeth.

"Beg all you want, it doesn't change anything," Zoro responded.

Klahadore now looked ready to blow his top, but he somehow managed to keep his composure. He really wasn't used to back talk at all, was he?

"Miss Kaya, you cannot possibly be thinking of begging for their assistance, can you? I assure you, we have everything well in hand," he claimed, bowing his head toward his employer.

Must have killed him on the inside to bow his head to someone like that. His pride was set to a permanent ten after all.

"Oh, I, um…" Kaya stuttered, being put on the spot like that.

"Hey, we aren't asking her to beg us for help, so don't put words in our mouths! We are here to make a mutually beneficial deal," Nami said, angered by Klahadore's attempt at gaslighting.

"I would ask the young lady for silence as Miss Kaya deliberates on the best way to turn you all down," Klahadore stated, raising from his bow. Nick couldn't help but snort at that.

"Oh, so sure she'll turn us away?" he asked with snark.

"But of course. Ah, it seems like the guards have finally arrived as well. Your time appears to be up," Klahadore said with a smirk of his own. And sure enough, coming around the corner were dozens of guards, some with barking, angry dogs on leashes.

Each of them was wearing a pressed, blue suit with a white undershirt and a black tie. They were also wearing black sunglasses and carried with them wooden or steel batons.

"Ah hell… Zoro, want to help me distract them?" asked Nick, giving him the puppy dog eyes. The swordsman rolled his eyes at the look, but agreed all the same. "Fine… What a pain in the ass."

"Alright, the rest is up to you," Nick said with a jaunty wave toward Nami and Luffy, as he and Zoro walked toward the shouting guards charging for them.

"Right, leave it to us," Luffy said, as Nami gave them a worried look. "Just don't kill anyone, alright?" she said.

"Tsk, like we didn't know that…" Zoro grumbled under his breath, making Nick chuckle.

The pair of them slowly approached the guards, who stopped and watched them carefully. "Alright you two, come with us quietly and maybe, we won't hurt you too bad," said guard number 1.

"You hear that Zoro? They won't hurt us too bad," Nick said with a snicker. After his ordeal at the hands of Buggy and his goons, these random NPC bastards weren't threatening in the least. Although, neither were the clowns, come to think of it…

Meh, he was sure he wouldn't get tortured this time.

"Awful nice of them," Zoro said with a smirk of his own. Of course, the hired goons didn't take kindly to their being mocked.

"You think you can take us all on? There's 15 of us and only 2 of you," another guard snarled.

"Oh, is that all? Do you have more guys waiting somewhere else? Because if so, we'll wait," Nick said with a cocky grin, and Zoro snorted in amusement.

"You smug bastard! That's it, get them!"

Having said that, they released the hounds. Thankfully, they only had three of them, so it wasn't that big of a deal. Much easier than a single, big ass lion. The only real issue is that they needed to hold back, not wanting to do any permanent damage to them.

"I'll handle the mutts," said Zoro, taking a few steps forward.

"I was hoping you would say that," chirped Nick.

Zoro removed two of his swords, sheath and all, and put them in a guard position as the dogs lunged for him. Their mouths bit down hard on the wooden sheaths, two on one sword and one on the other. But Zoro didn't budge an inch.

"Be a good dog, and sit," said Zoro, holding the canines back. But they weren't the only one to worry about, as the 15 mooks charged at them, shouting their sad little battle cries.

With Zoro tied up dog sitting, it was up to Nick to hold the rest of them back. With an excited smile, he ran past Zoro and the dogs, straight for them. They stopped as they saw this, putting up their own guards.

"Geronimo!" Nick shouted as he neared them, jumping into the air and body slamming the center of the group. They did not see that coming.

"Gah, what's with this guy!?" shouted one.

"He's tougher than he looks!" shouted another.

"Where's his pants!?" shouted a third.

All in all, Nick was having a wonderful time.

Kaya watched this happen with worry on her face. Actually, she's had that face ever since Klahadore opened his big mouth. But she really didn't want anyone to get hurt. Not the people who came to offer help, or the people who worked so hard for her.

But what could she do? What was the right decision? Should she do as Klahadore says, and tell them to leave? She would like to think they could stop the attacks on their own, wanting to believe in the people of her home, but it's been a month now and it's only gotten worse.

This couldn't go on much longer. They needed to put a stop to this, and soon. The very future of the village, and everyone in it was at stake. And that wasn't even her only problem.

She knew who was behind the attacks, and she even knew why. Belief wouldn't stop them, action would. They needed help. The fact that these people appeared now of all times, must be more than a coincidence. It had to be fate.

"Miss Kaya, there's no reason to concern yourself in these matters. Everything will be taken care of, I assure you," Klahadore spoke in his gentlest voice. To Kaya, it was reassuring, and bright forth a new wave of uncertainty.

"Why don't you zip it and let her decide for herself," said Nami, who was now hiding behind Luffy, since her previous meat shield was currently involved in what appeared to be a mosh pit.

All that was missing was the music, and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

"Yeah!" shouted Akisu, agreeing with the ginger haired beauty. His courage ran out when the butler's glare turned to him, making him run behind Usopp, who somehow, managed to stand his ground against the very same glare.

Guess anger trumps cowardice.

"Listen here you scarlet wench, these matters are not of your concern," he growled back at her.

"What did you just call me!?" Nami shouted back, no longer hiding behind Luffy. Her eyes were white with anger and her teeth sharpened to resemble a shark's.

But this was far from abating Kaya's worries. In fact, they merely exacerbated them, as she stared at the feuding pain with worry. No matter what she chose, somebody would be upset.

And that would upset her.

"Kaya…" said a voice. She looked down at the source, finding it to be the straw hat guy from before, giving her a rather intense stare.

"Y-yes?" she stuttered out.

"What do you want to do? What does your heart say?" he asked, making her eyes widen at the question.

Her heart? It was being torn in multiple directions at the moment. If she knew what it wanted, then it might not be so difficult to decide.

She looked out across the yard, at the fighting in the not so far distance.

"Hey I call no biting!"

To the arguing right below her.

"I'll show you a hooker!"

Then her eyes finally fell on her not so secret crush, Usopp, who returned her look with one filled with kindness and understanding, not saying a word, only giving her a simple nod, and her worries just seemed to melt away. He trusted these people, didn't he? Even said he would help them. Perhaps she should trust them too.

Cloning her eyes, having made her decision, Kaya took a deep breath of air, "Enough!" she shouted. Everyone and everything seemed to stop. Nami and the butler stopped arguing, and the guards, Nick and Zoro, stopped fighting, with Nick holding one guy by the shirt, arm pulled back and ready to deck him.

There was also a guard below him, grabbing onto his legs with his teeth sunk into Nick's ankle. "Bitch, I said no biting!"

Kaya huffed and puffed after her yell, as everyone turned to look at her, giving her their undivided attention. There was no going back.

"I've made my decision!"