"Usopp! Are you okay?" Luffy shouted. Usopp was tied up, unmarked but completely terrified. The ship he was on was not the Sunny; it was the ship of the Blood Brothers. The two ships, the Sunny and the ship the Brothers called Soul Snatcher, rocked gently in the waves, only a mere ten meters away from each other. Luffy would've long since rocketed over there, if one of the men didn't have a knife to Usopp's throat.
"I'm f-fine! D-don't worry about m-me!" Usopp called back, but he was obviously shaking in his boots. The man threatening him at knife-point laughed coldly.
"You won't be unless your captain decides to come over here and give himself up!" he snarled in Usopp's ear. Luffy gritted his teeth angrily. How dare these people threaten his friends!
"If I go over there and let you have me, will you let him go?" he asked warily. There was only the other pirates to hear him, the others of the Straw Hat crew long gone to do their own things on the nearby island.
"Oh, yes! We promise!" one of the Brothers answered gleefully. Luffy had a conflicted look on his usually-sunny face.
"I'll come. Just let him go first," he decided, his eyes steely.
"Luffy, you can't-"
"I made my decision, Usopp! Now let him go!" Luffy barked. The first man used the jagged knife to cut away the ropes restraining Usopp from running to the water. A Brother grabbed a long board, stretching it out between the two ships. Usopp immediately clambered over to the Sunny.
"Let's go! Run!" he screeched, running for the wheel. But a Brother smirked dangerously.
"Now, now! You have to honor your side of the deal!" he hissed in a fake-friendly voice. Luffy's face was unreadable as he took his straw hat off of his unruly black mess of hair.
"Usopp, give this to Zoro. Tell everyone... I'll be back someday. Wait for me," he said softly, stretching an arm up to place his hat in Usopp's hands. Usopp's eyes were glassy with unshed tears.
"You can't go, Luffy! You're our captain!" he wailed, scrambling down the stairs. Luffy smiled, a happy smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"A captain's got to keep his crew safe, doesn't he?" he tossed back, stepping onto the board to cross the stretch of water inbetween the ships. The Blood Brothers all smirked cruelly, watching the scene with amusement.
"No! Get back here, Luffy!" Usopp cried, starting to follow the captain. But Luffy turned and sent a fist Usopp's way, casting him back to the Thousand Sunny with a crash.
"Do you think I want to go? Please, just don't make this any harder..." Luffy's voice broke, and he practically ran the rest of the way to the Soul Snatcher. As soon as he was in range, a flurry of large, hairy hands reached to grab him. Usopp let out a strangled cry when he couldn't see his captain any longer. One of the Brothers pulled the board back, smiling with false sympathy.
"Aw, don't worry! You can see him again in Hell!" he said, malice in his eyes. Usopp just fell to his knees, his eyes flowing with sadness.
"Luffy..."