Usopp

Usopp sat alone on the edge of a cliff, his legs dangling over the edge, as laughter and music drifted from the village. The crew was celebrating another victory: another island saved. But he didn't dare join them.

His hands fidgeted in his lap, toying with the loose threads of his sleeve. He replayed the battle over and over in his mind, each moment heavier than the last. The others had fought head-on, brave and strong. Zoro, Sanji, even Nami: they had all stood firm. And him? He fled. He hid. He told himself it was strategy, but deep down he knew it was fear.

"...Why am I like this?"

He muttered under his breath, squeezing his eyes shut. Try as he might, that feeling always crept in during moments of silence: the idea that he didn't belong there. That he was just holding everyone up.