UsoKaya

UsoKa is the het ship between Usopp and Kaya from the One Piece fandom.

Canon
Anime/Manga= Usopp and Kaya are close friends who have known each other since childhood. Both of them resided on Syrup Village, with Kaya living in the biggest mansion on the island. The two became good friends after Kaya lost both her parents and Usopp, with his talent for fabricating stories, would cheer her up with one of his tall tales which always made her smile. They have a great fondness of each other and, after the events with Kuro, have still kept each other in their thoughts since Usopp joined the Straw Hat Pirates.

Shortly after her parents’ deaths, Kaya developed an illness that risked taking her life as a result of the shock of losing them. With Usopp’s father having joined the Red Haired Pirates when he was a child, and the untimely death of his own mother, he found great understanding in Kaya’s grief and wished to make her days better. As a result, he would sneak onto the mansion grounds to climb into a tree outside her bedroom window where the two would chat all day, with Usopp telling grandiose tales about his adventures. He did all this despite the constant animosity he received from her personal butler, Klahadore. Whilst Kaya was fully aware that his stories were simply lies, she still enjoyed his company and would look forward to him coming to see her. She credits Usopp with helping her cope with her grief and ultimately recover from her illness.

Their relationship is thrown into disarray, briefly, after Klahadore reveals to Usopp that he is a pirate by the name of Kuro, who had masterminded a scheme to steal Kaya’s inheritance from her parents. Usopp desperately tries to inform Kaya of this but she does not believe him, believing he is telling a typical lie, but with the malicious goal of slandering Klahadore, and slaps him, ending their friendship. This leads to a stand off between Usopp, his new friends, Luffy, Nami and Zoro, and Kuro’s entire pirate crew. In the process, Kaya discovers Klahadore’s true identity and intentions, vindicating Usopp. Luffy is able to successfully defeat Kuro whilst Usopp protects Kaya from Kuro’s subordinate, Jango.

After these events, Usopp makes the decision to go out to sea, just like his father, in the hopes of becoming a “brave warrior of the sea” and to have plenty of truthful tales to tell Kaya on his return. Whilst they do miss each other, they accept going their separate ways, for now, when Usopp joins Luffy’s crew. As a parting gift, Kaya is able to gift Usopp with the crew’s first real ship, the Going Merry. Kaya later revealed to Merry, once Usopp left the island, that she wanted to stop him from leaving but knew she had to let him go. Since their parting, Kaya remains fond of Usopp and constantly keeps up with his crew’s exploits with the hopes of hearing more about him. She was also able to see through Usopp’s new found disguise as “Sogeking”, when he got his first bounty. When she sees this bounty poster, she remarks that she must go home and do her medical studies so she can treat Usopp’s injuries when he returns.

Usopp’s attachment to Kaya is reflected in his love for the ship she gifted to him and the crew. Usopp spent nearly all his time trying to fix the ship, and was the only crew member to see the ship’s spirit on Skypiea. This fixation on the Going Merry almost led to him leaving the crew after Luffy informed Usopp that they would have to get a new ship. Usopp was in serious denial about the extreme state the Going Merry was now in, and instead wanted everyone to continue sailing with the ship they had gotten from Kaya. It was only when faced with the crushing reality that the Going Merry cannot sail any further, and that he might lose his new found friends, that he came to terms with losing the Going Merry.

Although in the live action adaptation, some parts of the story remain the same as in the original series, there have been some changes in how the scenes and the story work. Live action at least seems to have kept Usopp and Kaya's history pretty much the same.
 * -|Netflix=

Tell No Tales
Kaya is first mentioned by Usopp to Luffy, Nami, and Zoro when the strawhat captain sees the Going Merry at the shipyard and assumes that Usopp is selling it to them. Although Usopp can't do it because he doesn't own it, he suggests that they could meet his closest friend who owns the ship and the entire shipyard, referring to Kaya, and make a deal with her. He even seems to be proud of her wealthy background, straight up telling the three newcomers that she is really rich.

When the four arrive at Kaya's mansion, they are stopped by Buchi and Sham, who are part of the mansion's staff and are not happy to see Usopp there. Buchi tells him he's not welcome there, but before they can kick him out, Kaya shows up with Klahadore and is happy to see Usopp. Usopp wishes her a happy birthday and she's glad he remembered. Klahadore tells Usopp that they've discussed before that he shouldn't show up unannounced, but Kaya doesn't seem to care. Usopp introduces Luffy, Zoro, and Nami as his "crewmates" and Kaya invites them all to dinner since it's her birthday. Soon, while the others are getting ready for dinner, Usopp sneaks into Kaya's room through one of the servant's passageways and she comments about how one day Klahadore will find out and will not be happy about it. While they both laugh at the thought, Usopp says that he will then find another way in if it comes that.

Kaya asks why Usopp came to her room and isn't getting ready for dinner, and Usopp responds by giving her a wrapped birthday present. She opens it to find a giant "pearl" inside, and Usopp begins to tell her another one of his tales of how he obtained it. He manages to make Kaya laugh, but as a result she starts coughing because she has also been very sick. Usopp gets worried and gives her tea at her request. The cough calms down and Usopp asks how she is, to which she replies that her well-being hasn't changed. She talks about how tea is one of the only things that has made her feel better alongside Usopp's stories, and Usopp promises to continue his "great adventures" as long as she wants to hear them.

At one point, when Luffy and Zoro find Usopp in the mansion's kitchen, they start talking about Kaya. Zoro asks if she's his girlfriend or something and Usopp weakly denies it. Meanwhile, in Kaya's room, Nami had asked Kaya something similar and she denies that they are dating. However, Kaya begins to tell her how she and Usopp have known each other for years, ever since his mother's death. Usopp didn't have anyone at the time, so Kaya's parents gave him a job at the shipyard. Kaya also admits to Nami that his stories always made her feel better.

Back in the kitchen, Usopp tells Luffy and Zoro that Kaya is more his best friend. And when her parents died a few years ago and she took it hard and then got sick too, Usopp tells them that he just wants to be there for her. He reveals that he thinks Kaya is gorgeous, very smart and has the best laugh, but then wonders if Kaya really likes him more than as a friend. However, the two Straw Hat Pirates proved to be of no use in this matter.

Once Usopp learns about Klahadore's true identity and plans, he tries to get the villagers to help him to no avail.

The Pirates are Coming
When Usopp meets Koby, Helmeppo and the marines who were after Luffy, he fails to get them to arrest Klahadore because he has no evidence to support his claims. He soon appears at the window of Kaya's room and wakes her up. Usopp first tries to get her to leave by telling her about Klahadore and that he killed Merry, but she has a hard time believing it and ends up slapping him in the face when he grabs her arm. Kaya wants him to leave, but Usopp then decides to sit down and stay with her to make sure nothing happens to her. When the clock strikes midnight and Kaya turns 18, Klahadore finally decides to carry out his plan with his underlings Buchi and Sham, and they lock down the entire mansion so no one can get in or out.

Nami, after learning about the vicious pirates' true plans, runs into Kaya's room and tells her the same thing Usopp said. Kaya still has a hard time believing it, but when Nami reveals that Kaya's tea has been poisoned all this time and she's sick because of it, Usopp is shocked to hear this and even regretfully remembers giving her the tea without knowing it was slowly killing her. However, Nami tells Kaya that they must leave or they will die, and she, Kaya, and Usopp then use the servant's passageways to enter the east wing of the mansion to Kaya's late parents' room, where they can open the shutters that prevent them from leaving the building. Unfortunately, Klahadore realizes they are in the room and enters as the three hide. He starts walking around the room, slicing his knife claws through objects, taunting Kaya.

The heiress then finds a letter opener and decides to attack him with Nami, but due to Klahadore's speed, he manages to take a hold of the two. Usopp shoots him with his slingshot and Klahadore goes at him and pushes him hard, making him fly backwards and hit the wall. However, when Klahadore almost kills Kaya with his claws, Luffy appears and stops him. This leads to a fight between the two. Kaya worriedly runs towards Usopp and Nami joins her. Together they help him up. They also witness when Luffy kicks Klahadore (real name Kuro) out of the window and defeats him. Zoro had also defeated Buchi and Sham.

Nami is worried about the marines and that they have to leave soon. Luffy wonders how they can leave since they don't have a ship yet, but Kaya offers them the ship that Luffy originally wanted from the shipyard. Luffy notices that the ship decoration looks like Kaya's lawyer friend Merry, who was killed by Kuro, and Kaya tells them that Merry ran the shipyard after her parents died and that he was her oldest companion and her parents' dearest colleague. Luffy names the ship "Going Merry" in his honor.

Luffy then wants Usopp to join them, who is at first confused as to what he means, and the strawhat captain tells him that he's coming with them because he also needs a great sharpshooter. Usopp is reluctant to accept because he believes Kaya still needs him, but she grabs his hand and tells him that he's been a good friend to her all this time, but it's time for her to start taking care of herself. He then wonders about the shipyard and that he promised he wouldn't leave her, but she tells him that she might start doing something else since the shipyard was just her parents' dream. She brings up the possibility that she might start studying to be a doctor, and Usopp gives her a quick smile until he realizes it's goodbye.

Kaya calms his thoughts by telling him that they will meet again someday and she looks forward to hearing more stories about "Captain Usopp". She then kisses him on the lips, which he returns. That makes him smile a little wryly, but Usopp then leaves with the other Straw Hat Pirates.

Fanon
UsoKa is a well-received pairing by the fandom. In fact, the pairing is even embraced by non-shippers as well. Both Usopp and Kaya are never shown with any outright indication of romance, but their portrayal implies romantic undertones that might become apparent in the future. Though, this aspect has changed a little due to the release of the live action series since they both do kiss each other before Usopp joins the Straw Hats, suggesting that maybe their relationship actually is a bit more in the original series as well. Many fans view Kaya as a person waiting for her love to return from sea.

There are rivals to this ship, the most prominent one being UsoNa, the pairing between Usopp and Nami. This stems from their similar personalities and strong bond. However, the nature of Usopp’s friendship with Kaya, that makes it difficult for fans to see them as just friends, takes a dominant precedence and often many fans see Usopp and Nami as the best of friends, as oppose to being a true rival.

Fandom

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