Fatal Nightmares of the Straw Hat's Captain (WORK IN PROGRESS)

What's That Sound?

It was a rather peaceful night on the Thousand Sunny. Zoro was awake tonight on watch along with Robin as the rest of their pirate crew was fast asleep. The tangerine tree's leaves rustled as a gentle breeze blew across the deck of their ship. The sky was a dark blue, covered in many twinking stars. The crew seemed to have peace for the past couple of days, no marines or other enemy's chasing after them. Sure, the Straw Hats were pretty used to the action that followed along in the face of danger Luffy, their captain always seemed to put them through but everyone enjoys a little peace once in a while. 

  Usopp was fast asleep in his hammock as usual, normally Luffy was asleep right above him but it seemed that he had fallen asleep on the wooden floor. Every other member was asleep in their usual resting places. Normally the room was silent except for the snoring of their captain but something seemed off today, it was more quiet than usual until suddenly Usopp was woken up by strange noise. The long-nosed sniper rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes as he yawned, glancing above him to see that Luffy wasn't there before his eyes wondered to the ground where he found the sleeping straw hat, curled up into a ball. Leaning forward in his hammock to get a closer look, Usopp noticed his friend's body trembling as he heard what appeared to be slight whimpers coming from the other male. The sniper quietly made his way over to Luffy, kneeling beside him as he heard the male mumble in his sleep. Usopp struggled to make out his captian's words but eventually he could hear slight sobs in between the words that he could recognize. "Don't... go... NO!, You can't- You can't take them away from me!" the straw hat's words began to get louder as he struggled, his sleeping body trembling even more as  he began to sweat, his heart was beating rapidly as he was struggling to breathe. The sniper frowned as he watched this happen to his poor captain, his best friend. Usopp wasn't sure what he should do- was it a smart idea to wake him? Should he just wait it out?- No, he couldn't stand to see much more of this, it pained him even more to see someone that he was so close to in pain. It also hurt that he didn't know the cause of this nightmare, he didn't know what to do.  

Usopp's eyes shut tightly as he struggled to witness his captain this way, taking a deep breath he attempted to muster up his courage to take action in order to help his friend. At that moment, the straw hat's body jolted up as he gasped for air, attempting to breathe normally once again. His body was drenched in sweat,his skin was pale and tears were welled up in his eyes as the male looked around, realizing that he was awake now, meaning that that horrible occurrence was no more than a dream. Luffy was relieved but his body was still in shock and believed that it all was real. Eventually his dark eyes set onto Usopp who was frowning, his eyes now widely open as Luffy waking up sort of caught him off guard. 

 Shaking off his surprise, the curly haired sniper scooted himself closer to his friend, his eyes filled with concern as he spoke a but shakily but calmly "H-Hey.. ya alright Luffy?" he questioned, trying not to make it too known that he had just witnessed that entire situation, Usopp wasn't sure how Luffy would react if he knew and he also felt guilty for not stepping up right away to help. For once, Luffy was speechless as he was still in shock from his nightmare, his dark bangs fell over his eyes as he looked towards the ground and simply nodded in response, though he knew that Usopp of all people wouldn't buy the "I'm fine" act. Usopp sighed lightly, he knew he couldn't force Luffy to say anything about what had just happened and he also felt that he should probably allow him to calm down a bit more. He inched his way closer to Luffy before wrapping an arm around him, continuing to speak in a calming tone, "Listen.. we're friends, I'm not sure what's going on but just know that I'm here for ya Luffy. You do so much for us after all- I think right now you need someone to do the same for you. I'm sure it'll be alright" Usopp smiled, reassuring his friend as he pulled the other male into an embrace. Luffy hesitated at first but eventually his body trembled again, tears began to flow as the straw hat quietly sobbed, falling into the sniper's arms. Usopp felt terrible, he hated seeing Luffy so upset but he shook off that feeling, he knew that right now Luffy needed him, he had to be strong and that's what he was going to do. The sniper rubbed Luffy's back gently, attempting to calm him down, continuing to speak softly, reassuring him that whatever was wrong, it would be okay in the end. "I'm here Luffy, I'm not gonna leave your side no matter what, the great captain Usopp is here to protect you." replied the long-nosed male as he hugged onto his friend slightly tighter, determined to stay by him.