SPOILERS for Water 7

Title: Darkness
Rating: G
Word Count: 133
Pairing: none

Usopp's stories had always been filled with light. They were bright, child-friendly colors on a blank white page. Balance of light and shadow was something he understood, something he used in painting and charcoal. Yet, even the villains of his stories were always bright, child-friendly and as two-dimensional as the paper they were drawn on.

It was his one failing as a storyteller, he decided. He didn't understand the villains-didn't want to understand them. So they remained lacking the light and shadow that defined real things.

Even later, he realized his hero lacked that as well. Story Usopp stood bright and childlike, firmly fixed in gaudy crayon. He, the inspiration, put on a shadow for a cape, drew the reality of the world around himself.

And wore it proudly.

Older Drabbles

Title: Leash (Debts topic)
Rating: G
Word Count: 150
Pairing: Usopp/Luffy

He told stories like this. Our hero (himself, of course) saved some hapless nimrod from being doomed by his own inadequacy. The bumbling moron pledged he would repay the debt, but in following our hero only caused him more and more comic distress.

Only he was the nimrod, or perhaps they all were. Unwillingly rescued, now tagging after their captain with eyes wide for danger. Bowled over by his stupidity, yet glad to be able to save him from it. Because they always knocked up debts faster than they could knock them down.

He would never even that score and unleash himself. Maybe it was that collar, chafing his neck raw and pulling him into danger, that made him bark out his irritation.

Despite trying to break it, he could still feel the other end of it. Off in that direction his Captain was tugging.

Catch up, you're falling behind...

Comic Angst (Separation topic)
Rating: G
Word Count: 300
Pairing: none

Upon waking, Usopp felt the heaviness that sleep sometimes produced. The early morning cold chilled him to his bones and the dim light left his soul in shadow. Sitting up in bed, alone, he felt miles away from the others. He didn't like that about this new ship. He was used to being knocked out of his hammock by Luffy as he fought some dream monster, used to tripping over Zoro on his way out, used to being beaten to the bathroom by a few inches, used to distracting noise. Having a room to his own was frightening, even if the walls that separated them were thin.

He'd left them. He'd, he'd mutinied. They hadn't even mentioned it; perhaps they hadn't even considered he might really leave, that he could do without him. That was a painful thought, but not as painful as the idea that they might no longer trust him. He was a traitor as well as a weakling now.

After some sighing, he kicked back the sheets to rise and spotted the disembodied head with the lolling tongue sitting next to him.

His screams spanned the ocean and reached a pitch heard only by dogs. He raced out of his room and was soon ranting at Robin without even knowing what he was saying.

"-what were you thinking, I nearly had a heart attack, are you trying to KILL ME-?"

In the background the others laughed, or threatened harm lest he lay a hand on darling Robin-chan, or said he must be healing well if his lungs were in such good shape, or noogied him, or pulled him by the ear to breakfast. He was immediately in a battle with Luffy over pancakes, and somehow, in the noise of it, he forgot he'd left at all.