Shivered Timbers
by Kaline Reine
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of the characters/settings. This is just a fanfiction story. I do own Shiori, she is my character. I also own a few other original characters in this story (not affiliated with One Piece), which will be introduced as they are needed. c;
WARNINGS: This story contains (or may contain) graphic adult content and language, explicit sex scenes, possible violence, cursing, adult themes, etc. I do not censor my writing, but I do my best to warn people about the subject matter and potential subject matter. So if you don't like that kind of thing or can't handle it, then I suggest not reading this story. You have been warned. Also, I know this doesn't follow canon but it doesn't have to, that's why it's a fanfic. xD
Also... The beautiful cover image for this story is by my friend, EzariaUmiko on DeviantArt. All credit for the image goes to her. c:
Chapter 3: In Good Hands
Things hadn't been easy since Chiaki left... While she was gone, the child she'd left behind had become really sad. She wasn't used to being away from her for so long. Shiori had worked hard to attend school and when she was home, Michiko did her best to keep her distracted. Today, however, Shiori seemed distant and distracted from everything.
Several months had passed, and each night she'd spent time sewing with Michiko. Her older Sister had always been adept at stitching things together with only spools of thread and a needle. From the time she was only a toddler, Shiori had been her assistant and helped her with her sewing. She couldn't do needlework on her own back then, but she would hand her supplies and hold things for her. Michiko was known locally as their Seamstress. She could sew practically anything and she took a lot of pride in her work.
They had nearly finished one such after school sewing session, when Shiori decided it was time to try talking to her about something she'd learned about recently. She'd been unsure how her older Sister would react, but she had to try... She just didn't know how to bring up the subject.
'It's so awkward trying to talk to people...' She thought, sighing softly to herself.
"Why do you look so sad?" Michiko poked her side. "Cheer up!"
"It's not that easy," She sighed, with a little pout.
"What's on your mind, little one?"
"Just something we were learning about in school..."
"Oh? What is it?" The brunette regarded her with sudden interest, setting her latest sewing project aside, for the moment. She'd been asked to repair several of the Sisters' habits and the two of them had been working on that together. They were in Michiko's room, sitting on her bed.
"The teacher told us about families and the reason a lot of us were here... I was wondering, well... A-about mine?"
Michiko literally had no idea what she could possibly say to her. She didn't know how to answer, and instead sat with her mouth agape. Her jaw hung open, while she attempted to regain her composure. She wasn't expecting such a random question out of the blue like that. She was completely blindsided by the sudden inquiry. Though she should have seen it coming for some time, she just hadn't thought it would be this soon.
"Well, er, that... That depends- ah... You see, well- Um..."
Shiori put her tiny hand over Michiko's. She realized that her hands had been shaking... She tried to regain her composure, running her fingers through her long brown hair. She also adjusted her skirt and started fidgeting a lot, which was unlike her. She was nervous about being the one to tell the child this information by herself. It was especially difficult without Chiaki here. They'd always planned to tell her the whole story together. She knew about what she was, but she'd never been told where she was from.
"It's okay. You can tell me. Chiaki's not my real mother, is she?"
"No," Michiko sighed. "She's not. We hoped this wouldn't come up for a while yet."
"Is it 'cause I'm a Valkyrie?" The adorable child regarded her with curious eyes. She really seemed to look up to Michiko.
"Not really... It's more like you were abandoned."
"Abandoned? Why?"
Michiko nodded, solemnly. "Yes... I suppose it's time we've told you what happened. This isn't going to be easy to accept, but... You deserve the truth. We believe your mother may have... um... Passed on?"
"Oh," It took her a minute to realize... "You mean... She's dead, right?"
"Yeah."
There was no other way to say it. With those few words alone, something had passed between them.
Michiko got up from her place on the bed, rushing over to her dresser. She opened a drawer and started rummaging through it frantically. Every now and then, she shot Shiori a sympathetic look, while she continued to look for whatever it was she was searching for. Bits and baubles moved around, scraping across the oak inside the drawer.
"I know it's here somewhere," She muttered. "Ah, here it is!"
She held up a shiny blue amulet on a silver chain. It shimmered in the light from the oil lamp in the corner. Shiori looked at it, almost mesmerized by the pendant. She took it when the other Nun held it out to her. Michiko dropped it in her hands and waited for the girl to inspect it. She noticed the bright peacock feather that was sealed inside the smooth polished oval surface, and tried to stroke it through the outer shell. She seemed to like it.
"Pretty..." Was all she said, while giving the older Nun a confused look.
"Yes," Michiko sighed. "But there's a bit of a sad story behind it..." She still seemed to hesitate behind every sentence.
Shiori was becoming worried now. Her brows furrowed, and she looked at her older Sister in confusion. "Tell me?"
"That was found around the neck of a woman... She was the one who brought you here. I've kept it for all these years, waiting until the day I could give it to you."
"Where is she...?"
"She's..." Michiko looked like she was just barely choking back tears. She'd been young then too and it was a fairly traumatic thing to even witness. "She's in our mausoleum." She sat back down on the edge of the bed, the springs creaking under her weight.
"Was she a Nun here?" Suddenly, Shiori found that she was filled with so many questions. So she asked them. "Was she pretty? Was she nice? What was she like? Why did she die?"
"Whoa, now let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet. Actually, I don't know any of that. She wasn't a Nun here, at least I don't think so..."
"Then what was she doing here?"
"We think she was on her way to bring you here," Michiko sighed. She didn't know how she was going to explain all of this. She could only hope that she wouldn't screw it up. "Sometimes people drop off babies on other people's doorsteps when they can't take care of them anymore. She never made it here though. We found her outside. She'd frozen to death before we found you in her arms. You were so small..."
"So... So you're not my family, then?"
"Shiori-chan... We may not be a... a conventional family, but yes, we are still your family. Chiaki took me in too, when I was younger. Although I wasn't as little as you were, obviously. We may not be blood-related, but... You'll always be my little sister."
"You aren't related to Chiaki-sama either?" Her little red eyes were wide with wonder now.
"I am," Michiko nodded. "She's actually my Aunt. She was my mother's older sister... My parents died when I was young too. So I guess I can relate to you a lot that way." She did her best to smile, through all of this.
Shiori had taken to fidgeting with the amulet. She didn't try to put it on, just sat twirling it between her fingers. She ran her hands over it, liking the feel of the polished surface...
"How did they... ya know, die?"
"It's painful to talk about," She admitted. "We used to live in Drum Kingdom, in a small village... But we were attacked one day and-"
"Attacked? By who?"
"...By Pirates."
"What's a... Pirate?" Shiori tilted her head on confusion, watching Michiko's face carefully. She noticed how the older girl shuddered when the word was even mentioned.
'It must be something scary...' She thought.
"They're people," Michiko told her. "Bad people, who sail around in ships. They attack villages to steal everything they can. They also attack other ships. They hurt other people and even kill them sometimes. They-"
"Ships...? Sail?" She asked, still lost.
"Oh, I forget you haven't ever been to the ocean. You've really seen so little of the outside world, though that's probably for the best. You're much safer here."
"The ocean? What's that?"
"It's an enormous volume of water..." She stretched out her arms to emphasize how big it was. "It covers most of the world. Sort of like the water in lakes and rivers, only much bigger. And there are huge waves that crash into the sand along the shore line. Actually, we're on an island right now. We're surrounded by the ocean, the seas, only they're very far away. I can't believe they haven't taught you about this in school yet."
Shiori only nodded, seeming to accept everything she'd just been told. It was all very confusing for one so young... She just took it all at face value, for the time being. She was sure she could learn more about it later.
"They only teach us about fighting stances and balance and stuff, mostly..." Shiori giggled. "And about the Monastery. But that sounds really pretty. I'd love to see the ocean someday."
"You should be lucky if you don't..." Michiko replied, darkly.
"I'm sorry, Michiko-tan... About your Mom and Dad and everything..."
"You must have learned about that in school though, huh?" Michiko pulled her in for a crushing hug. "It's not your fault, little one. I'm glad we had this talk and I was finally able to tell you everything."
"You can have this back..." Shiori made to give her back the amulet, but Michiko stopped her.
"No," The older Nun smiled. "It's yours. You can keep it. You should keep it. It belongs to you now. Take care of it."
"I will." She smiled back.
Michiko got up again, and she began pacing back and forth in her bedroom. The boards were worn in front of her bed. She obviously had a slight habit of that. Shiori was worried about her. She didn't want to upset her Sister... She thought maybe she shouldn't have brought up her parents, since it was a sore subject, but she hadn't known any of that at the time. She was just curious.
"I was thinking... I could show you where she rests, if you like, you know..." She wasn't entirely sure if she should bring it up, but it seemed to make Shiori happy when she offered. Her little face lit right up.
"I'd like very much if I could see her, yes."
"Alright," Michiko scooped her up off the bed and helped her onto the floor. "Let's get bundled up and we'll take a walk down there to visit her, okay?"
The two of them put on their veils, cloaks, and socks, and laced up their boots. They walked downstairs and exited the front of the Monastery. The other Sisters were out and about, doing various chores, but no one bothered them. Most people seemed to sort of avoid Shiori sometimes... Now she felt like she knew why. Or at least part of it.
"Chiaki-sama said that you might want to return home someday, if you learned the truth..." Michiko said, as they walked along the narrow path. "But there's one problem. We don't know where your home is."
"Why not?"
"No one knows where she was from, your mother, I mean... And there were no clues found on her person or anywhere near her. All we found was that." She pointed to the amulet, which was now hanging around Shiori's neck. "And it doesn't seem to be of much value. It doesn't offer any clues as to where you might be from."
"Then I'm from everywhere!" Shiori declared, excitedly.
She'd taken to playing in the snow, as they walked, and occasionally kicking it with her boots. She didn't try to hide her powers from anyone. After all, the entire Monastery already knew she was a Valkyrie. She conjured up little flurries of snow, watching them twirl around her, and making them dance in front of her while she giggled happily.
They were almost to the mausoleum, when someone caught their attention though... There was clearly something out of place. This was very wrong. There wasn't supposed to be anyone else here! Some of the other Nuns came out to the mausoleum to clean things up every morning, but it was already late afternoon by now. And the person who stood in front of them... was a man. A very tall man, with a scraggly beard. He wore a white outfit with strange blue symbols emblazoned onto it.
"Can I help you, sir?" Michiko asked, guarded. She held out a hand to stop Shiori from going forward, bringing it down in a flat chopping motion in front of her.
The child had stumbled into her Sister, unsure of what to make of this. She watched the man carefully, before noticing that there were other men. They were all dressed the same, and they all seemed to be surrounding the Monastery. There weren't many, maybe a dozen or so. The Nuns still outnumbered them, but they had no idea what they wanted or what they might be capable of. She could feel the alarm coming from Michiko in waves. It was unmistakable. She knew this wasn't right.
"Shiori..." She muttered to the small girl who was currently clinging to her side. "Go inside. Now!"
She did as she was told, hurrying off to warn the others inside the Monastery. She made it inside before the adults began talking.
The man cleared his throat, watching the little one scamper away. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lieutenant Kumamoto, I'm with the Marines. We've been ordered to search this Church. We believe you may have something very valuable and-"
"There is nothing of value here," Michiko stated icily. "That is, of course, unless you seek spiritual guidance or enlightenment." She smirked. "And we are not a 'Church', we are a Monastery. You're not allowed inside."
"Very well... I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but..." The man pulled out a loaded gun, cocking it. "Do as we say, and no one will get hurt."
His finger froze on the handgun's trigger. It was clear that he didn't really want to do it. Michiko gasped, and glanced back over her shoulder. She saw that Shiori was a safe distance away, already inside, but that she and several other children and older Nuns were watching the scene through a window.
"Maybe... First I want you to tell me something, and then we'll see." She swallowed, nervously.
"Fine. What's that?" He seemed willing to listen to reason, and he saw the woman give a visible sigh of relief. They seemed to want to do this without a fight. Was it possible that he knew more than he was letting on?
"Tell me... What's happened in Drum Kingdom? What of the rebellion? Is there any word from Lady Chiaki? And is she alright?"
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."
Her bright green eyes widened in fear, and then sudden understanding. So they really didn't know? "In that case... You are not supposed to be here. No one is permitted on these premises without Chiaki-sama's permission. I'm afraid that I cannot allow it."
"Alright," He pointed the gun right in her face, point blank. The other men behind him chuckled. "Then I have no other choice..."
She heard the barrel click, and then the gun fired. But Michiko was too quick. She'd ducked low and swept her foot behind him, hitting his Achilles tendon. Her long black veil swished behind her as she moved. His legs were effectively kicked out from under him, just after firing. She reached swiftly to grab his wrist, jumping over him as he fell, and using the leverage to make him drop his gun. Before he could even fumble for it, she'd already picked it up.
"Back off!" Michiko barked at the rest of his men, pointing the small handheld weapon at each of them, and then centering her aim on the one she'd just spoken with. "I won't hesitate to kill him if you come any closer!"
Her eyes frantically scanned the rest of the men. She noticed the word "Marines" printed legibly across their jackets. It had been a long time, but she'd heard that word somewhere before... It had been just after her parents were killed. They were the ones who had helped her, when her family had been killed by Pirates.
'Marines... They're supposed to be good people,' She thought. 'Why are they doing this? It makes no sense!'
They kept inching their way closer, gradually closing in on her. The terrified Nun was left with no other options. She cocked the barrel back, just as she'd seen him do previously. She wasn't so good with guns, but anyone could figure out how a trigger worked. Michiko pointed the shaking gun at the man on the ground.
The ones who had been hiding in the forest began to rush forward to his aide. But it was too late. Another loud bang resounded, echoing off the stone walls that partially surrounded the Monastery. The first man was on the ground, dead. A pool of crimson began to stain the ice around his head. Michiko was shaking all over. She hadn't wanted to do that, but she'd felt very threatened by these men and there was nothing else she could do to keep them out. They were acting like they were going to come in, whether she said it was okay or not. And anyone who would put a gun at her could only have ill intentions.
The men closed in on her. It looked like one of them actually had nun chucks. Another carried a sword, and one man had a couple of daggers. Several others had different varieties of guns... They watched in confusion as the other Nuns ran out of the temple. They didn't seem to be afraid of these men anymore. The children and a select few others still remained inside. It seemed to shock the Marines, as they'd expected a group of Nuns to hide inside their Monastery until the fight was over.
Shiori was still inside, terrified... She was being held back by one of the older Nuns, who was trying to calm her down. Every now and then, she let out a terrified whine. She was unable to speak a word, frozen in fear.
"Don't be afraid," The woman said. "And don't make a fuss. We'll be just fine in here... Let Michiko-san handle this, alright? She knows what she's doing. Our fighters will help handle this. You just sit back and try to relax. Don't worry."
They continued to watch the ensuing mayhem.
Michiko was still fighting the men off when her Sisters came to lend her a hand. The fight had begun so suddenly, with little provocation... They knew these people were obviously a threat to their well-being. However, it was still unclear what they even wanted.
Some shots were fired before they could get to her. They were trying to shoot her! She fired a few shots back, before the small gun she had taken from their leader ran out of ammo.. The other Nuns rushed to her side in a panic, but they had to get through several of the Marines in order to do so. Michiko was down. She crouched on the ground and was holding her arm, as red liquid seeped out of it. Apparently, she'd been hit.
"Michiko-tan!" An elderly woman with graying hair called out to her. "Are you alright?!"
"I'm fine," She grimaced. "It just grazed me, that's all..."
"What should we do?" Another asked, unsure of the men's intentions.
It was up to Michiko to decide what to do in Lady Chiaki's absence. She winced when one of the other Nuns applied a tourniquet to her arm. It was bandaged tightly, and she could feel the bleeding start to slow.
"Kill them! The lot of them! We have no other choice." She ordered. "We have to protect the Monastery."
"You heard her, girls! Let 'em have it!" The elder Nun yelled.
The others were quick to do as instructed. And then a terrible fight ensued.
They tried to avoid the shots being fired, choosing to deliberately take out the men holding the guns first. Every time one of them slipped up or fired a shot and missed, a Nun would take control of their gun. They might have had weapons, but their movements were greatly slowed by the numbing cold. The Nuns, however, were used to it. Therefore, they were at an advantage because they had the elements on their side. They also had more fighters on their side, since dozens of Nuns had poured out of the Monastery to help defend their home. All they knew was that these men were a threat... And that was all they needed to know.
Michiko herself was up again and fighting in no time. The bleeding from her arm had slowed, and she was doing her best to take these men out before it got any worse. One suffered a kick to the groin, a rather low blow, but she would do anything to win. A large part of Baransu Jujitsu involved taking an opponent's weapon from them and using it to win. She even used the butt of the empty gun to clock several of the Marines in the head. She would stop at nothing to win.
The others practiced similar techniques, first sweeping their feet out from under them, then knocking their weapon away, before gaining control of it. Sometimes the men would jump over their kicks, but they kept trying. The Nuns also made use of pressure points to help subdue them.
One by one, the mysterious men fell. Their bodies littered the snow... Eventually only a few remained, and they were driven off. The remainder of Marines scurried off into the forest. Only three of them had survived. Several of the Nuns had sustained serious injuries during the fight, and it was clear that not all of them would make it. A few of the Sisters had been shot and killed during all of the chaos. But over all, it had been a victory. A bitter victory, but a victory nonetheless...
Michiko was helped inside by several of the other women. Some of the others needed help too, so she waved them back, insisting that she was fine. A few were limping, some were wounded, many were scratched and bruised. But they'd won, and that was the important thing.
Once she'd made it back inside, Michiko went straight upstairs to the medic's office. She knew there were many who would need medical treatment, but she was in charge in Chiaki's absence, and hers was urgent. Ruhi was certain to have her hands full, right after such an intense and bloody battle. They still didn't know why it had even happened, but they could sort out all the details once they knew everyone was alright.
She noticed that Shiori seemed to be feeling better now, and was following her. The young girl knew her Sister needed medical care, but she didn't care. She was just happy they'd won the fight. It had been really scary for her and she was still trembling. They talked about combat frequently in school, but that was nothing compared to witnessing the real thing happening right in front of her.
"Michiko-tan!" She called, hugging her around her waist and clinging to her. "I'm so glad you're okay!"
"I'm glad you're alright too," She responded with a slight hug, even though she was panting. "I'm very tired... I need to speak with Ruhi-san alone, so we'll need some privacy. Okay?"
"Alright..."
Sullenly, she wandered into the stairwell... But Shiori wasn't about to leave, not right now, not after everything that had just happened! She wanted to make sure her Sister would be okay. This whole thing had really upset her. She didn't know what to do, but she wanted so badly to help. She felt completely useless.
The events that had transpired had left everyone on edge, including Michiko. But she knew the other Sisters would let her know if anyone tried to come back to the Monastery. She was pretty sure the Marines had retreated for good.
"My goodness! I heard about the fighting, and I was busy preparing things for after the battle," Ruhi said, actually raising her voice for the first time Shiori had ever heard. "You've got quite a wound there. Come and sit down."
"Thank you..." Michiko replied, weakly, doing as she'd been instructed.
Ruhi began removing the tourniquet and cleaning the wound right away. She used iodine to disinfect it, which stung badly. Michiko made a face and hissed loudly, each time the cotton ball touched her bullet wound. This was the part she hadn't wanted Shiori to see. At least there was nothing in it that had to be removed, so that was good. The medic was busy applying bandages after only a short time. She then moved on to examine other areas, to make sure she didn't have any other serious injuries.
"Is there something wrong?" Michiko asked, alarmed.
"Nope," She said, getting up to clean up the area she'd been working in. "You've got a few scrapes and bruises, but those should heal just fine on their own, in time."
Ruhi was a patient woman, and also very quiet. Michiko was glad when she didn't ask too many questions about what had happened. She was fairly sure she had seen everything through the window, every time she ran by it to prepare some medical care, anyway...
"Good. Time is something we don't have. I'm planning to leave soon."
Shiori could feel her heart seize up in her chest, the moment she heard those words leave Michiko's lips. She couldn't believe it...
"And just where are you planning to go? Won't that leave the Monastery weakened without a leader?"
"It won't. That's why..." Michiko grabbed her arm, pulling her down to eye level for a moment. The look on her face spoke volumes of the urgency and seriousness of this matter... "That's why I'm leaving you in charge."
"What?" The redhead's jaw dropped. She began shaking her head. "Wha- I... I can't, I... Why me?"
"Because you're the one who I feel is the most capable of handling things while I'm away... I'm not planning to stay for long, but I have to go to Drum Kingdom. I think something's wrong... Something must have happened to Chiaki-sama."
Shiori began to tremble in fear, from her place at the top of the stairwell. She was glad no one else was coming in yet. She didn't want them to find her eavesdropping. She wasn't normally one to disobey, but she'd really wanted to know what was going on... Now she wished she hadn't. Her jaw dropped in disbelief.
"Oh no..." Ruhi placed a hand over her mouth. "What makes you think that?"
"You saw those men here, did you not?"
"Yes... But that hardly means-"
"That's exactly what it means!" Michiko hissed. "Regardless, I'm going. I have to see what's going on out there. They may need my help. I'll take several of our Sisters with me, just to be safe. But I'm placing you in charge of the Monastery while I'm gone. And... And I want you to take care of Shiori-chan for me too."
"I would be honored, but-"
"Michiko-tan!" A little voice cried. "No! You can't go, I don't want you to!" Shiori wailed, tears already streaming down her face.
She could stand to hear no more. She didn't want Michiko to leave. And she didn't know what would happen to her if she stayed here without her. She wasn't sure if anyone else would be able to protect her like Chiaki and Michiko had.
"Oh no..." Michiko sighed. "Why were you listening in? I told you to go downstairs and wait for me, didn't I?"
"Don't scold the child too much," Ruhi advised. "She's been through a lot too. And she's just worried about you."
"I can see she's going to be spoiled rotten by the time I get back..." The brunette muttered, crossing her arms.
"But you can't leave me too! I don't want you to!" Shiori continued crying, while clinging onto Michiko's habit.
"It'll be alright," She petted the child, before prying her small arms away from her skirt. "Listen... Don't you want me to make sure Chiaki-sama is alright? What if she's out there in the forest, hurt? She might not have even made it all the way to Drum Kingdom. What if she did, and those men were waiting for her there?"
She hadn't wanted to reveal all of this to a child so young, but there was little choice. Shiori had to understand how important it was that she go. She'd been thinking about this since right before the fight started. It would be hard, but Michiko knew she had to go search for their High Priestess and the others who had gone with her.
"I guess so..." Shiori responded, sullenly. "But promise me you'll come back?"
"I promise I'll be back as soon as I can. Once I see that she's okay, I'll turn around and come right back!"
"It'll be okay," Ruhi assured her, giving her a reassuring pat on the back. "Besides, you need to stay here with me. I could use an assistant. I've got a lot of people that need my help right now. Speaking of which..."
She turned to face one of the other Nuns who had come into her work room. Ruhi rushed over to her and instructed the woman to lie down on a nearby cot. She instantly began tending to her wounds.
"Listen, Shiori-chan... I care about you a lot. You know that, right?"
"Y-yeah..." She sniffled.
"But I care about Chiaki-sama too. We all do. So I have to see if she's alright. And you're going to be in good hands here with Ruhi-san. I want you to do what she says. Okay?"
She didn't say anything. It was obvious that she wasn't okay with this at all, but Shiori knew that whatever she said wouldn't make the slightest difference. She knew deep down that she was probably being ridiculous, but she just couldn't stand the thought of someone leaving her again... It was like they were all abandoning her. And she didn't know where they were really going. But she also didn't want anything to happen to Chiaki, so she knew her Sister had to go.
"I have to get my things and leave immediately," She said, getting up and leaving the room. "Thank you for everything, Ruhi-chan! I'll be going now. There's no time to waste."
"Take care!" Ruhi waved to her, while already tending to her newest patient. She noticed Shiori tiptoeing after her. "Hold it right there! I could really use your help with this, if you don't mind, little one..."
Shiori just looked at her. It took the medic a moment to realize that she was waiting to be told what to do. She wasn't used to being around a child this obedient, or this quiet.
"Could you get me some gauze? It's in the cabinet over there."
The girl went to where she'd gestured and pulled out a long roll of white gauze, handing it to her. She watched Ruhi stitch up the other Nun's wounds and pad them all with gauze. If she remembered correctly, this was the woman who had fought the swordsman. She had a lot of cuts all over her body. Her habit was half destroyed, her wrists and legs were sliced up pretty badly, and even her face had cuts across it.
As soon as the medic would stitch up one patient, three more would appear. This continued on well into the night. She did her best to help all of the Nuns who had been injured in the battle. Shiori was up way past her bed time, but right now her nerves were too rattled to sleep anyway.
A/N: Finally, we have some action! It's really hard for me to write fighting scenes, so I hope I did okay with this chapter. A lot of things will be happening within the next few chapters to come, and Shiori's life will be changing drastically... But I won't spoil it for you. I have no idea because I haven't gotten much feedback for this yet, but I hope that everyone who has read this story so far is enjoying it. Thank you all for reading. c:
-Kaline