A/N: Hi, and welcome to End!! Welllll... To anybody who doesn't know me, this is actually my third story in my series. My other two are Exterior and Goddess, and though it's not required, I definitely suggest you read them first for the best experience, because I will most definitely make a few references to them in this story. Umm... This is also the only long-fic I've posted on this site that is in first person, so if I make a mistake, please correct me. And here's a warning; there WILL be original characters in this, as well as places other than Mineral Town. I might even mention Forget-Me-Not Valley. Or I might make places up. Anyways, this story isn't held in Mineral Town. Maybe later, they'll come back. But for the majority of the story, they will not be in the real Mineral Town. You heard me. The REAL one. All right, I've blabbed enough. Please go on and read the story!!

End

1

...

No matter the steps I take, the air I breathe, the smiles I give, nothing changes.
Like footprints in the sand on the beach, I will eventually be washed away. My influence is so small.
I've watched people become amazing, substantial, necessary. I need them. The world needs them.
I am not needed.
Have I ever been?

...

"I'll see you next Summer, Popuri."

That was the simple statement that, every Summer, destroyed me. Ever since Kai had first arrived in the village, I had adored him; helped him in my minor ways, spent time with him, bought items at his shop and constantly defended his image where my brother attempted to destroy it.

But I never got anything from him except for hugs and smiles.

I don't mean to complain. I love every embrace, every ruffle of my hair, every bright grin. But it's like I've got a second older brother. A fake older brother. One that doesn't adore me and will leave me if he has reason to.

But that summer, it was too much. One too many rejection that finally tore me apart.

My best friend Jill had left me two falls ago- she had a heavenly calling that was impossible to ignore. Which, for her sake, I will not talk about here. I could handle losing the one wonderful friend I had in the entire village. Kind of.

But it was yet another disruption in my normal life that threw me shakingly close to the edge. Rick finally confessed to his girlfriend, Karen, in Spring. I have nothing against them; I'm very happy that they FINALLY got together after years and years of childhood crushes and flirting. But my brother used to obsess over me. A lot. I pretended to hate it, and it was annoying sometimes.

But imagine. Someone who has always been watching your every move, keeping you from all dangers and holding your hand your entire life, suddenly has a new person to take care of and kiss and love.

But it's not as if Rick can be blamed for what is happening now.

It's not his fault that I'm locked in this tiny room, on a violently rocking ship, my hands and throat raw from banging on the door and whispering to myself in the salty, musty air.

Alone.

I suppose that if there's anyone I can attach blame to, it's Kai.

"Kai!!" I flung myself at him, and he caught me, twirling me around, his strong tan arms lifting me up. But his face, as usual, remained blank.

My Kai was as mysterious as the sea. Or at least, that's the romantic way Mary would have put it if she was writing a book, holed up in that tower of hers.

"You're leaving?"

"I leave every year, Poppie," he responded, smiling widely. "So... I'll see you next Summer."

"Promise, Kai?"

He set me down slowly on the dock, turning his face to the boat that was waiting for him.

"...Sure, Popuri."

That was not the way he was supposed to answer.

In all the years that I had known him, he had always quickly said, "Promise?! Of course I'll be back!" and flashed that charming smile at me and any woman who happened to be in the vicinity.

Because we had this little separation every year. It had become a ritual: I came to say goodbye to him, cheerily waving from the docks until the ship chugged out of sight. And beforehand, he would always promise to return. But not this year.

My breath stopped in my throat.

'Kai... Not returning next summer?' The thought made my stomach flip. And not from joy or nervousness- from pure terror. Kai was my summer confidante, my best friend (especially now that my other was gone), and my first and only love.

My mixed feelings must have been showing, because he patted my head, nervously pulling with his free hand on his purple bandanna.

"Listen, Popuri..."

Oh, Goddess, no.

'Calm down, Popuri,' I told myself. I tried to conjure a romantic image. Him confessing his undying love to me, him taking my hand and kissing it before he left, promising to return and next time, to take me with him on a journey around the world. Like a prince from some fairytale I had read when I was little.

But the way he bit his lip and tugged on his bandanna like it was full of poisonous snakes made me think otherwise.

"You're going to come back." My voice sounded small and childish, even to me. Harvest Goddess, I hate it when I sound like a child. Because even though I look like one, I most definitely am not. "You are. You're going to come back."

He sucked in a breath. "...That depends, actually."

"You have to come back, Kai!"

He winced, and I realized that I was yelling.

"Popuri. It's not my decision to make."

I wanted to scream and stomp my feet and yell some more. But that was a temper tantrum, and that was... For little kids. I was sure that Kai would not like to return to a surly, clingy child who wanted nothing more than attention.

So I got quiet again.

"I'll try and come back. But some things have come up, and I... Might not be allowed to."

I took a deep breath. "...It's alright. I've survived three months without you. I'm sure I can live for four more." I tried to make a joke, but I knew that I sounded pathetic. My laugh was hollow, and so was my heart.

"It wouldn't just be for the next summer."

There was a yelling of the boatman for him to get a move on.

I felt as if somebody had just hit me in the stomach with a hoe. The breath was knocked out of me, and I could hardly comprehend a single vulgar word the sailor was yelling.

He wouldn't be coming back.

Ever.

"Popuri. Popuri!" He deftly waved a hand in front of my face.

I wanted to cry, but I knew I shouldn't. If he wasn't coming back, then I wanted the last sight he had of me to be a smiling, laughing, beautiful woman who he would regret leaving for a lifetime.

Oh, what a joke that was.

"I... I..."

So much for a prince come to take me away from humble beginnings and show me the world. And I felt like, even though I had probably spent more of my life with him than I had with chickens, that I didn't know Kai at all. He was still a mystery, a dark skinned handsome traveler who always wore his trademark bandanna.

Why couldn't he take me with him? Why?

And then that thought became real.

Yes. Why couldn't he?

"Kai!" I was hardly thinking about the future then- I was just desperate to do anything, try ANYTHING, to have more time with Kai. Because he was too wonderful, too precious, for me to let go of. "Take me with you! Please!"

Even he went slack-jawed at my sudden plan.

But then his face darkened, his voice deepened, and he grabbed my arm. "You don't mean that, Popuri. You don't want to meet my family, see what I've seen. Please don't. I like you, Popuri." A deep breath, but even at the statement, I did not feel satisfied. "...Enough to not want you to come."

"I don't care! I'll try not to be troublesome... But please, I want to come with you, Kai... I don't want to have you leave!"

"You can't." But I could see uncertainty in his eyes. If I had ever believed that Kai wanted to stay with me, it was now. Because even though we had been together for so long, I don't think he loved me yet. If I had ever believed that he loved me, it was now, when he was looking at me with real thought, wondering.

"Kai. We've got to leave. You need to arrive by tonight, or else your-" The boatman again.

"Let him be," Kai snarled back, and I could see the sudden change in him. The man shot him a glare, but let it drop.

"Either bring the girl and come on the ship now, or leave the girl and get on the ship now. Quickly, before I make the decision for you."

Suddenly, there were strong arms around me, and I was being wrenched up the lowered walk into the ship. There was no time for confusion, no time for regret.

But the second I was dumped onboard by Kai, and the ship was rocking, and Mineral Town was fast moving away, I could see my mistake.

I could see my horrible, horrible mistake.

But not for long, because even my panicked time on the upper deck of the ship got cut short.

"Kai. Even though I said you could, I cannot believe you brought that little girl with you."

Kai shrugged, tilted his head and carelessly shook it.

"I wanted to."

The boatman chuckled. "Fine, then. But remember." His face hardened. "We don't welcome outsiders. You know that. It'll be difficult for her to incorporate our way of life."

The conversation was too complex for me. New information, a Kai that wouldn't even stand next to me or look at me, and no idea where I was heading was making me regret my decision more and more by the second.

My stomach was churning, my head hurt, and I felt sick. What had I done? And what had Kai done...?

I raced to the side, sure that I would hurl. Instead, I had a clear view of a city ahead of us. Though right now it was a speck in the horizon, I could imagine it as clearly as anything. Tall, pointed buildings, with fifty floors and elevators. And not a chicken in sight.

The city. I had never been to The City, as commonly referred to by my father and the other Mineral Towners. I had never even left our little island village. I had never been more than five miles from home before.

And yet here I was, looking at this gorgeous city of silver, winking at me from a distance, the loud noises kept at bay only by the length of water between it and I. I felt that if I reached out, I could touch it. This was why I was here; that glorious thing on the horizon that called to me and any adventurer.

"We're going... there?" My voice was an awed whisper, but they both heard me perfectly.

...And ignored me.

"Maria is waiting on the docks. Go up and turn on the signal light to inform her it's us." Finally, finally, he turned his gaze to me. "As for your little girl, I believe you should put her in the hold until you tell your sister the situation."

I suddenly wished he had not thought of me.

In the hold? In the hold, where it was dark and lonely... My stomach protested, and I leaned over the side once more.

What kind of boatman put one of his passengers (a sea-sick one, too) beneath decks? ...Besides, Kai would never put me down there. He'd want me on deck- he'd brought me, after all. Didn't he want me? For once, didn't he?

"I would really rather stay up he-"

My answer was brought by the swift feeling of being thrown over Kai's shoulder once more.

"I can walk, you know!" I protested weakly, but my brain refused to stop thinking of the tan arms wrapped around me.

"Quiet, please, Popuri."

As soon as I was sat on a barrel, he turned, ready to leave and lock the door behind him.

"Kai!" It was a gasp, and a pathetic one, but it was better than the sob of sudden terror I felt. He was going to leave me down here, without telling me a thing. Without saying a word to me. Without caring that I wanted to go HOME.

...I wanted to go home. I had dreamed of that silver city before; but I hadn't thought of arriving there held inside a dark room, wet and unaware of what exactly was going on.

He stopped, hand on the doorknob, clutching it tightly.

"I'm confused," I whimpered, and almost against my own will, I whispered one of my many thoughts. The thought that came out was the one I was now sick over, the one I was regretting and questioning. "...And I want to go home."

What a foolish, wimpy child I was. I had asked him to take me; but why was he even crueler to me when I was here? Why couldn't he, for once, show that he loved me too?

If he loved me too.

I had made a decision the moment I asked Kai to take me with him. But I was backing out of it faster than I had thought possible.

"You can't." He turned back around, ruffled my hair as an afterthought, then quickly turned and walked out.

They couldn't keep me down here if I didn't want to go, could they?

I stood, confusion flowing through me. I felt cold; and my heaving stomach had not given up its efforts to throw away any food it had.

I tried the door.

It was locked.

And as I heard the voice of Kai and the boatman outside, speaking in low, quiet tones, with sounds and accents I had never heard before, I realized. It came slowly, but surely. And though I didn't have proof, and I didn't know hardly anything about this voyage, I knew.

I was not a passenger.

I was a prisoner.

And I had brought it upon myself.

A/N: I don't want to ruin what I hope is a good beginning, but I just want to put in a quick note here. Thanks for reading through the entire first chapter! Hugs to all of you! And more hugs and smiles if you review!! I also want to thank anybody who supported me throughout my previous stories; Ekoaleko, Moonlit Dreaming, Trying To Breakaway, Awesome Rapidash, Flaming Black Skull, and basically just about anybody who's ever reviewed. Here, finally, is the next story! Again, thanks a ton for reading. I hope you enjoyed it!!