Usopp Needs Help

Luffy laid down on the rug that lined the floor of the Library, stretching out like a cat in the line of sunlight that came from the window.

"Ugh, it won't come off!"

"Hm?" Luffy blurrily looked up at the ceiling. "Usopp?" He jumped up and walked over to the ladder, peering up towards the baths.

Usopp continued muttering angrily to himself, and Luffy went up to check on him. "Usopp, are you okay?"

He didn't answer him, causing Luffy to frown. He toed off his sandals, leaving them under the sink and walked into the baths, his eyes widening in shock. "Usopp!"

Usopp was kneeling in the shower. Watery blood travelled in ringlets down his arms, legs, and chest, pooling at his feet before running down the drain leaving light pink trails on the porcelain.

Usopp hadn't noticed Luffy's arrival and kept rubbing the rag against his skin as he angrily muttered to himself, causing more blood to bubble up from the minor cuts on his leg.

"Usopp!"

Usopp gave an unmanly squeal and dropped the rag to the bottom of the shower. He stared down at it for a moment before looking up at Luffy. "What are you doing in here, Idiot!?"

"You're bleeding," Luffy said matter-of-factly, taking Usopp's hands in his and gently running water over them. "Oi!"

Usopp pulled away, poured shampoo into his hands and scrubbed at his hair. He growled, feeling more agitated when his hair tangled at the rough treatment.

Luffy watched him helplessly, unsure what to do other than stop Usopp when he kept pulling too roughly at his strands.

"I— can I tell you something?" Usopp asked after scrubbing at his hair for a while, dropping his hands in defeat.

Luffy kicked over the stool and motioned for Usopp to sit while he grabbed the showerhead to rinse his hair. "You can tell me anything, Usopp." Luffy rinsed out his hair quickly before putting the showerhead back on its hook and taking the conditioner in hand.

"My mother died. I couldn't stand being at the house. I was all alone, and I was scared."

"You were seven," Luffy stated as he ran his fingers through Usopp's hair.

"Yeah, so anyway. I didn't stay there for a long time until…." Usopp paused as Luffy moved to stand in front of him. He leaned his head down to give Luffy better access and held onto the bottom of Luffy's vest, his hands shaking. "Do you remember that big storm in the East Blue about thirteen years ago? It was probably the biggest one we ever had. Came real quick, there was a lot of destruction, and was gone in less than a day?"

Luffy gently untangled Usopp's hair with his fingers, starting slowly from the bottom. "Yeah, it destroyed the area where Makino's bar was and knocked down the tree where my brothers' made their treehouse. Half of Dawn Island got flooded."

"Well, it completely flooded Syrup too." Usopp removed his hands from Luffy's vest and began to help him untangle his hair. "Instead of sleeping at the house, I would sleep at my mother's grave."

"You slept at the cemetery?" Luffy asked, eyebrows knitting together. "That's a lot more…."

"Brave than what you would expect from me?" Usopp asked humorlessly.

"Hmm, not more brave. You are really brave," Luffy said with a shake of his head. "I just didn't expect it." Luffy settled on, his nose scrunching up in frustration when he hit a difficult knot. "I don't think we will get this one out with our fingers." Usopp felt the knot and sighed, "I'll have to get Brook to take a look at it."

"Okay," Luffy moved to another section of Usopp's hair. "You were saying?"

"Right, so I would sleep at my mother's grave every night, but then the storm came." Usopp shook his head, dislodging Luffy's hands and allowing the strands to fall into his eyes. He began to work on the ones there while Luffy moved to his back. "Despite how bad it was, I forced myself to sleep out there. I had brought a small tent and camped, with the opening beside my mother's grave and the back facing the rain."

Luffy's eyebrows knotted as he tried to figure out where the story was going. Usopp took a deep breath. "It went as well as one would hope until the water started coming in." Usopp shrugged his shoulders, "Do you know what happens to shallow graves in really heavy rains, Luffy?"

"No."

"The soil is dispersed due to the water. That's what happened, and much of the soil moved off the body until the body was revealed." Usopp closed his eyes, pressing the heel of his hands into the sockets. "I woke up to her half-decomposed body hanging out of the grave, her hand on my head and her soulless eyes and open mouth just staring at me."

Usopp whimpered, sliding off the stool and onto his knees. Luffy kneeled, following his movements. "It smelled sickly sweet and worms were crawling all over her body— in and out of her skull, on her hands, going into my hair— I… Impel Down reminded me of it. I'm sorry I did such a bad job, but I couldn't handle it." Usopp burst into tears, his hands pulling at his hair. "A-a-and now I can't get the images out of my head. I feel the worms crawling all over me, and the smell won't go away. I can't handle it!" Usopp scratched at his arms and pulled out strands of his hair, stopping only when Luffy pulled Usopp to him and grabbed his hands. Usopp struggled in Luffy's hold as Luffy crossed Usopp's arms over his body and held them at his ribs, effectively stopping his movement.

Luffy held them firmly in his grasp. "I need help in here!" Luffy called, pulling his head back so that Usopp didn't hit him in the face with the back of his head. "NOW!"

"Luffy?!"

Sanji and Zoro rushed into the bathroom, eyes widening when they saw the scene in front of them.

"I need someone to help me hold him. He's going to hurt himself." Zoro rushed over to them, stopping only to turn the water off. He quickly knelt before Usopp, pressing his hands onto his knees.

"Cook, get Chopper, and make sure everyone else stays out of the Library and bathroom until he's safe. He's not going to want an audience for this." Zoro called before leaning back and observing how Luffy was holding him. "You'll have to let him go if you want me to help you."

Luffy was sitting in the middle of the shower, feet slipping against the wet tile, Usopp between his legs and hands holding Usopp's arms across his chest. He was leaning his head back to keep Usopp from hitting him in the nose.

"Usopp, knock it off."

"Let me go! I need to get it all off me." Usopp struggled against Luffy's hold, tears falling down his face as he growled. "Let me go!"

"I can't let you go until I know you aren't going to hurt yourself," Luffy said through gritted teeth.

Chopper's hurried hoofsteps were heard on the ladder before he rushed through the bathroom door. "What happened to Usopp?!" Chopper sniffed the air, "Why is he bleeding? He was fine an hour ago."

"Do you have anything to calm him down?" Zoro asked as he pulled back when Usopp broke out of Luffy's grip and almost knocked his forehead into his chin. Zoro pushed Luffy away and grabbed Usopp's arms, holding him firmly in place. Luffy laid back against the tile, chest heaving with exertion. He opened his eyes suddenly and looked up to see Hongo, the doctor of the Red-Haired Pirates, looking down at him. "Hongo, when did you get in here?"

"I figured you might need a sedative for him." Hongo knelt beside Zoro and Usopp, his hand coming up to rub against Usopp's arm to try and get his attention. "Usopp?"

"Fuck. Off. And. Let. Me. Go." Usopp pushed forward and slammed back into Zoro.

Hongo sighed and nudged Luffy, "I'll need you to help Zoro keep him still." Hongo readied the needle as Zoro and Luffy held Usopp still. He quickly administered the sedative, and they let Usopp go, allowing him to fall back into Zoro's chest.

"I'll make sure we have everything set up in the Medical Bay," Chopper said, hurrying out of the bathroom.

After what felt like hours, Usopp's body relaxed against Zoro's. Luffy reached over and turned on the water, rinsing the rest of the soap out of Usopp's hair while Zoro held Usopp and Hongo began to check his vitals.

Zoro accepted the towel Luffy handed him after the water was turned off. He wrapped Usopp in it and stood, picking Usopp up in his arms despite the sniper's light protests. Luffy quickly followed him out, sliding in front of him to jump down to the Library, ready to catch Usopp if Zoro slipped.

Zoro and Hongo landed beside him and began to move towards the Medical Bay, "Are you okay?" Zoro asked, shifting Usopp in his arms. He peered down at Luffy, frowning when he wouldn't show him his dace.

"I've never seen him act like that before," Luffy admitted. "It scared me." Luffy opened the door to the Medical Bay. They were greeted by Franky, who had just vacated the bed to allow Zoro to place Usopp on. He stepped away and sat on Chopper's desk, watching as Chopper and Hongo began to work on Usopp.

"What happened to Usopp, bro?" Franky asked, critical eyes scanning Usopp's body.

"Psychotic break, likely from the stress of breaking into Impel Down," Chopper supplied. He was standing on a stool by the bed, taking Usopp's blood pressure.

Hongo looked over his shoulder and nodded in approval. "Lower than it was a few minutes ago."

Luffy shook his head. "It wasn't the breaking in that did it." He looked down at his friend, "Impel Down made him relive a horrible memory. That's what did it." Luffy took off his hat and placed it on the pillow beside Usopp's head.

"That thing he was screaming about on Law's ship?"

"Mhmm," Luffy said with a nod, frown deepening the longer he watched Usopp.

"Is there anything we can do for him, Chopper?" Franky asked.

"There are a few things we can try, but none of us is a practising psychologist," Chopper said with a sigh. "We can give him antipsychotics, but I prefer to use that as a last resort. Most of it is different types of therapies - art, cognitive behavioural, family intervention- or crew intervention in this case. We will have to find someone with experience to help."

"Is Usopp going to have to leave the crew?"

"Absolutely not. We will find help for him. I don't care how long or how much it costs." Luffy looked down resolutely at Usopp. "I promise."

o0o

It took almost a week for Usopp to snap out of it, and even then, everyone knew that it was not over. It was nearly a week of him waking up the ship with screaming nightmares, crying and begging in his sleep. Almost a week of being in some form of brain fog from the sedation they kept him under.

It was early morning when Usopp woke on that drizzly day, the sun barely peeking over the horizon. He climbed over Luffy's slumbering form and made his way out of the Medical Bay. He paused, looking up at the sky and allowing the rain to fall on his face.

"Usopp?"

Usopp sighed heavily and turned, a pit of guilt forming in his stomach at the sight of the man beside him. "Sanji," he greeted.

"Come inside. It's raining. I'll make you some coffee."

Usopp nodded and followed Sanji into the kitchen, sliding into a seat at the island. "I'm sorry." He said after a moment, his eyes never leaving the surface in front of him as he drew invisible lines across the marbled surface.

"Usopp, stop," Sanji said in warning. He poured the ready coffee into a mug and handed it over to Usopp before leaning on the other side of the island, blue eyes watching him.

Usopp scowled, features twisting in frustration. "Why won't anyone let me—"

"Because you have nothing to apologize for," Sanji said firmly.

"I worried you guys."

"Yeah, you did. But that isn't something you need to apologise for."

"But—"

"Ah, Usopp, you're up!" Brook said cheerfully while hurrying through the kitchen door.

Usopp scoffed, folding his arms and hiding his face in them.

"Still not feeling well?" He asked gently, running a skeletal hand down Usopp's back. He took the seat beside the sniper and began to study his hair. "If you're up for it, we can fix your hair today." He offered, reaching up to finger the large knot at the back of Usopp's head.

Usopp turned his head to face him and nodded, "Yeah, that'll be good. I want to try and not have to cut my hair if possible."

"It might take a couple of hours, but I think we can do it," he said confidently.

A little under an hour later, Usopp sat down on the rug between Brook's legs, a sketchbook and a small box of items to make ammo.

He scrunched up his face when Brook sprayed his hair with water, getting some of it in his face. Usopp frowned down at his sketchbook, tiny water droplets decorating the page. "Ugh, you put oil in the water, didn't you?" He whined, shaking his head, wincing when Brook gave his hair a sharp tug. He put his sketchbook to the side and leaned his head up to allow Brook to put conditioner in his hair, wincing when he caught a hidden tangle.

"Sorry," Brook murmured as he continued to run his fingers through Usopp's hair and ensure the strands were properly covered. He reached down and Usopp handed over the detangler by his left foot.

There was a knock on the Library door. "Come in," Usopp called, wincing when Brook pulled on his hair. "Don't pull my hair out!"

"Do you need help?"

Usopp's head shot up, and he narrowed his eyes at the man by the door, "N–"

"Yes, Mr Yasopp! I would appreciate it," Brook said over Usopp, nudging him with his knees to keep him quiet.

Yasopp pulled over a chair and leaned down to take a section of hair, carefully running his fingers through it. He reached over to take the spray of water and oil, blocking Usopp's face with his other hand as he coated the curls. He added more conditioner and meticulously fingered detangle the curls, feeling for knots and separating what he could before running a wide tooth comb through the section, starting from the bottom and working his way up. After the comb, he used the detangling brush.

After about two hours, Brook stood to take a break, pausing when Usopp grabbed his pants leg, eyes wide. Brook leaned down to look Usopp in the eyes, "I'll get Robin to come in. She's right outside. I just need a quick walk, okay?"

Usopp twisted his hand harder into Brook's pants before nodding and sighing, letting the fabric fall from his hand. "Yeah, okay."

Usopp breathed heavily through his nose, leaning his head back to allow Yasopp access the front of his hair. "Thank you," he said softly, pulling his knees to his chest.

"You're welcome," Yasopp murmured. "Close your eyes." Usopp closed them, groaning in distaste when the water oil concoction hit his face. "Sorry."

There was a knock and Robin entered, smiling softly, "Are you doing okay."

"It's taking forever," Usopp complained.

Robin chuckled, taking Brook's abandoned seat and pulling at a set of finished curls. "It looks like sniper-san is almost done."

"About fifteen more minutes," Yasopp said, growling when Usopp shook his head. "Usopp, stop moving your head."

Usopp huffed and tugged his sketchbook back into his lap, flipping through the pages roughly until he landed on his half-finished picture. Robin peered over his shoulder, looking at the sketch appraisingly. "Ah, that's a picture of your mother."

Usopp snapped his head around, "Ow!" He gritted his teeth, rubbing the spot where his hair was pulled. "How do you know that?"

Yasopp looked over his shoulder as well, nodding. "It looks terrific! Although, you forgot the freckle below her lip on the left."

"What, mom didn't have a freckle there!?" Usopp said, voice pitching higher.

Yasopp dropped the hair he was working on and pulled out his wallet. He opened a hidden spot and pulled out several photos before handing them to Usopp.

Usopp stared down at the first worn sepia-coloured photograph, thumb running over the creases that marred it. Banchina and Yasopp were under the large oak tree outside what would later be the house that Usopp grew up in. They both wore school uniforms, and their hair was longer. When Usopp took a closer look at the picture, he could see Luffy's father Dragon, and several others he didn't recognise in the background making faces at them.

The next was a picture of him and Kaya from a couple of years prior, under the same oak tree from the other image. He was sitting beside Kaya, sketchbook in his lap, hands and hair flying wildly around him as he told her some story or another. The picture was taken the day before her parents were murdered.

He quickly flipped to the final picture, shaking the memory from that day. This photo was a close-up of him and his mother on the day he was born. He frowned, noticing that she did, in fact, have a freckle under her lip.

Tears rose in his eyes, handing the pictures back to his father. "I forgot." He said blandly. He leaned his head on his knees and took a deep breath. "I can't believe I forgot."

Robin leaned down, pressing a hand to his back and rubbing gently. "I'm going to go get you some water." She gave Yasopp a significant look before getting up to leave the two of them alone.

Yasopp sighed, sliding down to sit beside Usopp. He hesitated briefly before pulling Usopp to his side, pressing his lips to the crown of Usopp's head. Usopp gave a choked sob and turned to hide his face in Yasopp's chest.

"Hey, hey, shh, you're okay."

"How could I forget her? My memories are all I have left, and they aren't right!" Usopp sobbed, twisting his hands into the fabric of Yasopp's shirt.

Yasopp took a deep breath and let it out slowly, his hands running circles over Usopp's shaking back. "Everything will be okay, Usopp."

"How will anything ever be okay?"

"You have me now."

Author's Note

It's finished! That in and of itself is a great accomplishment, as many of you know, since I have a habit of writing and dropping fics, and then coming back to them months or years later.

Thank you to everyone who kudos'd, commmented, etc! I greatly appreciate it. I hope the ending met your expectations.

Have a great week!
Chandlure