I think I lost track of time a bit here... but I had no school today and I could work on some things, such as this x3 So here you are everyone, I hope you'll all like it!

Theme 24: Voodoo

Usopp peered through the small opening. The door had been left ajar, and as he had walked by, the man had heard some very, disturbing, weird things. This was the new crew member's room. Really, why the hell would Luffy let a guy – or was it really a guy? – like this onto their beloved Sunny!? That man – or was it really a man? – was dangerous. Usopp knew this, he could feel it deep inside this gut.

That's why, when the opportunity to spy on him had come, he didn't hesitate! Not for long, anyway. Yes, his knees was shaking! So what!? He wasn't scared! It was just the cold, that's all! This hotel was cheap and the cold wind of the night easily seeped in through the wood of the building, that's all!

What he saw inside was dimly lit by the glow of candle, or rather, numerous candles placed in a circle in the middle of the room. In the center of it was drawn some kind of geometrical circle, looking much like a bloody crest. He could barely see the form of the skeleton kneeling beside it, a bit too far to the left to see the being's face entirely and clearly, but Usopp knew it was him. No one could be this tall, especially when sitting directly on the ground.

The hat had been removed and put aside, away from the yellow flames of the candles. The boney hands reached into the pocket of the man's suit, and Usopp held his breath. He didn't what he was expecting to see, but he somehow felt that if he breathed, he'd let his presence known to the stranger. Stranger, yes, because even if Luffy had accepted him as one of their own, Usopp hadn't. And he would never, because he knew he was dangerous. This might be the proof he was waiting for, the proof he needed to make Luffy believe the man was a threat to the crew.

What he pulled out was not a weapon. Someone with a less better judgment would be tempted to say it was not a weapon. But the doll was placed in the center of the circle of candles. It was ragged and old-looking, probably sewn by those same hand that gently deposited it on the wooden floor. It must be a weapon, surely! When the skeleton started humming, low in its throat, a tune that seemed to have the capacity to bring the dead back to life, Usopp didn't stay to learn anything more. That was too much, and his teeth were starting to clatter as shivers racked his body. Just from the cold, of course. He had been standing out in the corridor for too long.

He pulled away and retreated to his own room, one he shared with Chopper. He suddenly wished he was rooming with Zoro instead, at least he'd know he'd be secure and safe... or maybe not.

The next day found part of the crew staying at the hotel, and the other part roaming the streets and markets to get food and other useful things for their next trip. Usopp was one of those on that assignment, along with Sanji, Chopper and Nami. The money demon had parted with a few coins, leaving the sharpshooter and the doctor to take care of some almost useless purchases. Usopp took the opportunity to share his findings with his reindeer friend.

"And then I saw him take this doll out of his pockets, placing it in the middle of all those creepy candles, and he began chanting! It was like he was possessed, doing some kind of dance probably meant for the ritual!" At almost every sentence, Chopper would exclaim in gasps and in "ooh"s and "aah"s. The tale seemed to awe the humanoid animal, yet scare him at the same time. His reactions only fueled the man's imagination as he continued on.

"He kept on chanting even as he pulled out a needle and pierced it right through the doll's heart, and you could hear someone screaming in the night! He had killed someone by using the doll!" For the first time, Chopper became deadly serious as he considered this. He briefly stopped the story so he could form his own hypothesis.

"Maybe that's what his real Devil Fruit power is... Usopp...?" He looked up at the long-nosed man slowly, his eyes glinting with fear. "You think we should tell Luffy?"

"Nononono, no, not yet. We need to prove it to him! He's so amazed by Brook's appearance that he wouldn't even listen to us! Listen, Chopper, we have to get that doll away from that man, understand?"

"Yeah, but... isn't that a bit... dangerous?"

"Shhh..." The masked man whispered. The reindeer followed him step by step, not leaving his side for a second and ready to hide whenever he heard something. He couldn't seem to be able to keep his sobs in, and that scared the long-nosed hero a bit. If the skeleton ever found them, in his room, while he was in the bathroom – what the hell does he need to go to the bathroom for, anyway – Usopp didn't want to imagine what would happen to their poor bodies...

The both of them hastily searched around the room, but never found anything resembling a doll. They looks at each other, and Chopper's eyes seemed to be getting doubtful. Had Usopp seen everything correctly or had he simply misunderstood? Before he could voice any of his doubts, though, Chopper saw the sharpshooter silently sliding toward the bathroom door.

The reindeer began to panic, understanding that his friend's intention was to get inside the bathroom while the skeleton took his shower to look through the man's clothes. Without a second of hesitation, the doctor hid behind a desk, if you can call his position "hiding".

Usopp cracked the door open a tiny bit, his brown eye the only thing visible from inside the bathroom. Instantly, he spotted the heap of clothes and easily noticed that the being was under the jets of water and hidden by the curtains. Brook was humming to himself joyfully. Good; that meant he was distracted enough and wouldn't notice anyone roaming around the same room.

The masked man ventured inside and walked cautiously toward the suit that had been left on the toilet cover. He slowly picked it up and started patting it all over, finally finding the doll hidden in an inside pocket.

"Ah-ha! Found it!" He whispered to himself. In his search, he hadn't noticed the water going off, so when the curtains were pulled away brusquely right as he took hold of the doll, he couldn't help but let out a headache-inducing scream, which he would later describe as being a startled yelp. But this reaction brought forth a reaction out of the skeleton, who, in his case, screamed like a distressed girl and wrapped himself with the shower curtains. This act only served to scare the poor man already scared enough, who only yelled harder, and this happened all over again.

From the bedroom, Chopper could only imagine his friend getting murdered by the skeleton, and he fled at top speed to fetch Luffy.

It was a funny sight to watch, Robin thought as she stared at both skeleton and sharpshooter on their knees in front of her and Nami. They were being grounded by the orange-haired girl for having waken her up in the middle of the night. She was still in her blue pajama with golden stars stitched on the cloth, but her face was red with rage. It was so much of a contrast that it made her funny rather than scary.

Yet both men were trembling on their knees, head held low in cowardice. A little more and they'd be peeing in their pants. The historian thought they would for sure when Nami started to yell about their behavior towards each other. How Usopp shouldn't have doubted a fellow crew member, because they were family, and Brook shouldn't be playing with such dangerous black magic because it could very much be true and hurt someone.

The funniest thing in it all, Robin thought, was that she was the one who had lent Brook that book on voodoo dolls and who had slightly opened his door before going to sleep that night.

So, how was it? PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! I'd like to have new reviewers if possible x3 It's always the same people, and even they end up with writer's block trying to come up with different reviews each time... So please, just leave a thought, and I'll die happy!

See you soon!

Voxei