Wherever the Wind May Take You
A One Piece Fan Fiction
By Sacred Sakura
First Conceptualized/Written: 4/2/2007
Published: 4/3/2007
Rating: T
Genre: Angst/Romance
Pairing: Vivi x Kohza...eventually...
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece; Oda-sensei does. I wish I did, though. However, this story and all characters not original to One Piece do belong to me.
Dedication: To nomadd77, who posed this challenge to the members of the "Be a Pirate!" roleplay. I'm sorry I couldn't do a One-Shot, but that's just how this fic turned out. And…TO MY WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL REVIEWERS!!! (Please review more.)
A/N: It may take a while for me to update this ficlet, since I want to work on updating my other, LONG-overdue fanfics... --;;
Please review! They're my only sustenance these days…
Chapter One: A Brief Farewell
"Nakiyo..." As soon as the whispered name escaped her lips, she cringed, huddling further into a small ball. The pain, the sadness, the loneliness involved with that name tried to engulf her, smothering her in unwanted remembrances. Would she ever be able to utter it again, without suffering torment and mental anguish from the deluge of memories unbidden?
"It's my fault. You knew that. You told me it wasn't, but I saw the look in your eyes. You tried to shield me from guilt...but I'd already blamed myself for it." She reached out, running her fingers over the cool gray tombstone. They slowly traced over the inscriptions, kanji by kanji, kana by kana. "I still do."
She pressed her fist against her mouth, fighting back the tears that threatened to send her back down that well of despair she had fallen into years before. The nails of her left hand dug hard into the cool soil, tearing, bleeding.
There was no mistake. She was the guilty party. She was the one who had dragged him to Breaker's Cliff, sickly though he was. She was the one who had, in carelessness and fear, in selfish self-preservation, accidentally let go of his hand when they slipped on loose sand.
"Gomen, Nakiyo...!" She grit her teeth, hoarsely forcing the words out. "Gomen...!!"
The wetness that trickled down her cheeks did not subside until the pale lavender moon had crossed over to the other side of the heavens overhead.
"I...will be leaving for a while. I don't know how long. But it's for the sake of my country." She paused. "Our country."
She rose, slinging a burlap bag over her shoulder, making sure not to let her aquamarine-blue hair get caught underneath the strap. She blew a gentle kiss that flew beyond the grave, soaring over the quietly lapping waters of the midnight ocean.
Then she set off for the small boat at the shore, where Igaram waited.
Hmm... It's gonna take a while for the plot to develop. Gomen. Please review!!!