COAST - Luffy x Reader

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

Good LORD this chapter had it out for me I stg. 

It took me forever to cook up because every time I would start working on it again I wound up writing more and more pages than I was supposed to... Not to mention it needed some heavy editing once everything was fully fleshed out. Still not certain that I love the end, but I'm still pretty happy with it!!

Either way, I hope it's worth the wait! It's a lot longer than I anticipated, and I think there's a little bit of everything... Angst, comfort, fluff, etc. etc.

Mostly angst though (rip).

Happy reading <3333

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"U-Usopp, wait a second!" My pleading voice dies across the vacant area with nothing to echo off. The rocky capes hold a stark contrast of nothingness, bordering the city of Water 7 like the thickened frame of an artwork in the museum – Something to contrast the business inside. "Please, you have to think this through!"

The Sniper doesn't respond, limping forward with shoulders that heave, joints creaking with every wobbling step. His tanned skin is battered, blemished with aching violet, crimson winding down his arms and face in drying, clotted trails.

Usopp was in bad shape, on a war path – driven by his self-claimed insufficiency to belong as a member of the Straw Hat crew. It was hard to watch, but so much harder to put a stop to.

I knew how he felt, speaking from experience, from my own bottled emotions that reflected his in kind. However, Usopp was in a much worse state than I. He'd reached that self-destructive level of hopelessness, and believed there was only one way to fix it; By putting himself in immense danger.

The looming structure of The Franky House was enough to make my knees buckle. All goofy, patch-worked design choices – Green and yellow paint, blue tiled roof, goggled windows, claw-like machinery, topped off by the crescent moon jutting at its peak – Like a quilt handed down through generations, this was the place where a band of thieves were said to have lived... Money hungry, grievance-causing, and infamous bounty hunters. They had already beaten Usopp half to death once, and we were headed straight for them a second time.

I couldn't believe my eyes, Usopp's actions were inconceivable. If I was spooked by the thought of being captured by bounty hunters (known to seek out prized-pirates in order to earn a quick buck), how wasn't Usopp terrified by the notion of marching toward the bandits domain, especially after all he'd been through? Even without his lack of courage in question, his physical state was in poor condition. He shouldn't have been able to move with the state that Nami and I had discovered him in.

The Sniper was effectively out of his mind, and as much as I sympathized, empathized– Or felt whatever other emotional connections I harbored with his plight, I feared for the repercussions of what his current actions would lead to.

My back had been turned for only a handful of moments those few hours back... Back when Usopp vanished in Dock 1, yet it didn't take me very long to notice that he was gone. Initially I'd believed he'd been diverted by some amazing gadget, or drawn in by a shipwright and their awe-inspiring work (as the boy had been nerding out during our walk amongst the workers, babbling on and on about every little thing to settle our weary heads). Eventually, once I spoke with a shipwright – Then two, then five – I'd begun to learn that my theory was incorrect. Not a single one of those men had noticed The Sniper in the immediate area. The only ones who had, had seen him with me.

Easily distressed, I thought the worst; Our run-ins with old enemies and surfacing to make themselves known as I searched like a madwoman through the Dock. I'd called his name, searched as far as I could – To no avail.