Chapter 8 - Chapter 8

Loss...
The grief imposed by the loss of those we love is so great, we feel we may burst with the sorrow that chains our heart to the earth. We try to break free of the shackles, but it keeps a tight hold upon us and haunts our every moment, whether waking or sleeping.
We can go mad with anguish...and nothing will break us away from the horrible past.
We are forever haunted by our pain, as long as time exists...

“Move faster!” Kuro urged on the ship, though he knew that shouting at it wouldn’t make the wind or the boat speed up; it certainly hadn’t during the past few days. The bird that had delivered the message had recovered quickly and was now flying a few feet ahead of Kuro’s boat, directing him back to the island.
Back to the woman that had asked for him. Or, more precisely, who he had been...Captain Kuro.
He went over the contents of the letter again in his mind, still slightly confused. How did she know who Captain Kuro was, or even what he looked like? And, why did she think that he could stop him?
“She must’ve known,” he sighed, pushing up his glasses. “She must’ve seen a wanted poster a long time ago of...him.” He felt his throat dry as he spoke those last words and shook his head. It was silly of him to think of Captain Kuro as a separate person; no matter how he wanted it differently, he still was Captain Kuro. No amount of planning or deaths could change it.
He heaved a sigh of relief as the island came into view and felt his thoughts about the woman fill his mind again. He watched the messenger bird fly off into the distance then quickly anchored his boat on the shoreline. He jumped out of the boat and dashed up the shore to the mansion.
He forgot that he was still carrying his cat claws.
---
“Miss, please, you must get up!” said the servant pleadingly. “I’m telling you, there’s no one there!”
“You’re wrong,” the woman said, staring hungrily out the window at the sea. “I see my sister...and a black-haired man. I won’t move until they come.”
“They’re not coming!” the servant cried angrily. He tried to heave the woman to her feet, but she slipped out of his grasp and tumbled to the floor again. “That captain and your sister aren’t coming back!”
The woman turned to the servant and glared at him. “You don’t know them.” Suddenly, they heard a rapid knock at the door.
“Let them in!” the servant called, not budging from his spot and staring into the woman’s eyes. “Miss, you can’t allow anyone to see you like this!” They only had to wait for a moment before the door of the room burst open; in the doorway stood Kuro, completely exhausted. The servant jumped slightly and looked at Kuro.
“Kuro, the mistress...she says...that there’s a black-haired man coming,” the servant stumbled over his words. The woman also turned her gaze to Kuro, though her eyes changed rapidly.
“Oh, Kuro!” she gasped and leaped to her feet immediately. “Such a pleasure to see you again!” She raced to him and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace, while the servant stared sadly at Kuro and the woman.
“It’s...it’s good to see you again, miss,” Kuro said softly, returning the hug and looking over at the servant.
“Oh, enough with all this ‘miss’ nonsense,” she said as she released him. “Call me Sara.” Kuro smiled and nodded. “Now, would you like some lunch?”
“I...,” Kuro began to say, looking over at the servant; he nodded his head slightly. “I’d love to.” As he began to follow Sara out of the room, the servant stopped him and closed the door.
“We need to talk,” he said, looking at Kuro. “About the letter.”
“You said she was hallucinating,” Kuro stated flatly. “You said she saw...Captain Kuro...and her sister.” Again, Kuro separated himself from who he’d been, even if it wasn’t possible.
“That’s right, I did,” the servant scowled.
“But, why did you think I could help you?” Kuro asked as he pushed up his glasses. But, as soon as he did, he noticed the servant shudder and felt as if he’d been slapped in the face; the servant had known all along, ever since that first day.
The shock must’ve shown on his face, because the servant stared at him even deeper. “She’s seeing you, and you have to tell her that you’re gone.”
Kuro turned away as he tried to force the subject away from himself. “Why did she act the way she did as soon as she saw me?” he inquired without turning around.
“These visions happen at any given moment and are varied in length,” the servant replied. “Perhaps the surprise of seeing you again snapped her out of it.” Kuro still kept his back to the servant and started to stare out the window.
“Does this window have any importance?” he asked suddenly. “What about the room?”
“Oh...,” the servant sighed slightly. “This was the room...where she last saw her parents.”
Kuro turned around, pushing up his glasses. “What happened to them?”
The servant bowed, holding back small tears. “Killed, sir. They were killed in this very room.” As soon as Kuro heard this, his heart jumped; somewhere, some memory long buried, began to creep up...it couldn’t be...
“And her sister; what about her?” Kuro pressed on. “Did...did her sister die as well?”
“No,” the servant answered. “She left not long after her parents passed on. She used to send us letters, but...they stopped.”
Kuro’s heart skipped a few beats. “How...how long ago?”
The servant stared at Kuro, trying to read his expression. “More than twenty years ago, I believe.”
‘It is,’ Kuro thought to himself. ‘It’s really her.’ Kuro moved past the servant and exited the room, leaving the servant baffled. He remembered where the dining room was and, when he stepped into it, found Sara waiting for him.
“Well, sit down, silly!” she laughed. “There’s plenty here!” Kuro smiled gratefully and took a seat, still thinking about what he’d discovered. “And, there’s something that I wanted to ask you.”
Kuro looked over at her as he reached for the food spread on the table. “Hm?”
“I was wondering...well, if you’d like to stay here,” she said, blushing.
“I...” Kuro sat in silence for a while, going over his thoughts. He couldn’t stay here; not with the servant knowing who he was...but...he had to know more about Sara and her sister. He had to confirm his doubts.
“Of course,” Kuro said, grinning. “But, only if you allow me to work here.”
Sara looked stunned for a moment, but she agreed, despite her protests of him staying as a guest. Out of the corner of his eye, Kuro could see the servant, looking at Kuro and Sara apprehensively.
---
And so, for the next seven years, Kuro worked as a servant for Sara, much as he had done for Kaya; but, this time, he wanted something else. All he wanted now were answers. Though it was little more than speculation, he felt as if he’d met Sara long before this. But, somehow, he could never find the words to ask her. So, for those long years, he was haunted by that one simple thought, one simple memory.
However, another dark surprise awaited him one afternoon...
---
“Let’s see...” Kuro said to himself as he scanned the list that Sara had given him. He’d volunteered to do the shopping in town after having nothing to do. “Hm...fresh fruit.” He started his way to the fruit cart when he heard a familiar voice.
“Why can’t we get the meat now?” Kuro turned around and saw Monkey D. Luffy, standing there with the sword boy and a person he’d never seen before.
“I told you; you need more than meat to cook a meal,” said the blonde-haired man through his cigarette. “Besides, it’ll spoil in this heat.”
“Sanji’s right, Luffy,” the sword boy said. “We can get the meat last.” He turned to move on and saw Kuro, standing there idly, and stopped.
“Luffy?” the man said urgently without moving.
“What, Zoro?” Luffy asked and turned his gaze. He jumped suddenly and moved closer. “Hey, it’s Cap-” His sentence was cut short by Kuro’s hand; he’d reappeared behind Luffy and covered his mouth.
“Be quiet,” Kuro hissed in his ear. “You can’t go around saying things like that!” He released Luffy and moved back as Luffy spun around.
“What’re you doing here, Kuro?” Zoro said, his hand moving to his swords.
“I’m working as a servant,” Kuro said, pushing up his glasses. “What’re you doing here?”
“We need to restock on supplies,” Luffy said cheerfully. “Why are you working as a servant?”
Kuro paused for a moment as he thought about this; truthfully, it sounded similar to what had occurred those few years ago.
“It’s a service to her,” he said, looking down. “I was asked to stay as a guest, but...” Kuro stopped and, collecting a large amount of fruit from the cart and leaving a sack of money, started to walk away. “If you don’t believe me...visit the manor on that cliff up there.”
As Kuro walked away, Luffy and Zoro exchanged looks.
“Do you trust him?” Zoro asked Luffy as soon as Kuro was out of earshot.
“No,” Luffy said, stretching his arms. “Let’s follow him.” Luffy lead the way while Zoro hung back to explain the situation to Sanji.
Kuro stopped in the middle of the path and looked back; he noticed Luffy and the other two following him; he ignored them and continued.
“Whatever they’re doing, they must be stopped,” he said to himself. He returned to the mansion well ahead of Luffy and the others.
“Miss Sara,” Kuro called from the kitchen, “we have visitors coming up the path.” He stepped out of the kitchen into the dining room, but the mistress was not there; from far away, he thought he heard something like sniffling. Somehow, though he wasn’t aware of it, he found himself automatically dashing to the same room he’d found Sara in the day he’d returned.
Sure enough, she was in the room, but this time she was sitting in one of the chairs, facing the window. Kuro walked in softly and stood behind her, determined to try and see what she was looking at.
“Miss, there are visitors waiting for you,” Kuro said without moving his gaze from the window.
“They can wait,” Sara said in monotone. “I see them again.” She looked up at Kuro, who looked down at her. “That captain that has your name...he’s coming again.” Something jolted in Kuro’s mind; she didn’t think he was Captain Kuro. She merely thought that they shared names. He shook it out of his mind.
“And your sister?” he asked her.
“Yes,” she said. “So you can see her, too.” Kuro’s eyes stared deeper into hers, sadness slowly filling them.
“I can’t,” he said and looked up again. “I...I don’t know what she looks like.” They heard a loud knock at the door that snapped Sara out of her hallucination. She leaped out of the chair.
“Oh my! Guests!” she cried and dashed out of the room, leaving Kuro standing there, small tears rolling down his face. He swabbed them away before leaving the room to chase off Luffy and the others. But, he arrived a bit too late...
“Wow!” Luffy cried as he entered the mansion. “This place is huge!”
“You’ll have to excuse him,” Zoro said as he whacked Luffy on the head with his fist. “Thank you for inviting us into your home.”
“Oh, no trouble at all!” Sara said joyfully. “You can join us for lunch!”
“You’re too kind, miss,” Sanji said, kneeling and taking her hand. Kuro appeared from the hallway, arms folded.
“Oh, Kuro!” Sara said, pulling her hand away. “These three are going to join us for lunch!” Though she didn’t notice it, a ripple of confusion passed through Luffy and Zoro. Kuro didn’t argue with her; so, ten minutes later, the five of them were sitting at the table, enjoying lunch while Luffy and Sanji were retelling their tales to Sara. Kuro sat there stiffly, barely listening to Luffy and Sanji; oddly enough, so was Zoro.
“I’ll be back in a moment,” Zoro said suddenly, standing up. He walked past Kuro and whispered, “Follow me.” Kuro excused himself and followed Zoro into one of the empty rooms. When he closed the door, Zoro drew one of his swords and pointed it at Kuro.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Zoro said wildly.
“I’m taking care of her,” Kuro said angrily, pushing the blade away. “Nothing more.”
“I don’t believe you,” Zoro spat, pointing the sword back at him. “And, why does she call you Kuro?”
Kuro sighed and pushed up his glasses. “There was no point in trying to hide my name.”
Zoro sheathed his sword after a moment and crossed his arms. “Does she know?”
Kuro looked at Zoro, pure hatred in his eyes. “She doesn’t know...she thinks that he’s a completely different person.” Zoro couldn’t hide the confusion on his face.
“What do you mean?”
Kuro sighed and opened the door slightly, peering out at Sara, who was laughing at whatever Sanji and Luffy had said. He closed the door again and pushed up his glasses. “She’s lost her mind...she sees her sister...and Captain Kuro...coming home to her.” He flinched slightly; he’d separated it again; but, he so desperately wanted to be free of that horrible name.
“You ARE Captain Kuro,” Zoro said darkly. “No matter what you do.” He moved closer to the door and opened it. “You’ll have to tell her.” He left Kuro alone in the room.
---
That evening, Kuro and Sara sat alone on one of the upper floor’s balconies, staring out at the ocean. The sun was still setting, slowly, into the water, casting a golden glow over everything. A soft wind was blowing, rustling the leaves in the tree branches along the estate.
“It’s a beautiful evening,” Sara said, standing up and leaning on the balcony’s edge. Kuro remained silent; he was still thinking about what Zoro had said.
‘I should have killed him,’ Kuro thought to himself. ‘I shouldn’t have allowed him to leave...none of them, knowing what they know.’
“Don’t you think so?” Sara asked, turning around to look at Kuro and pulling him out of his thoughts.
“Yes,” Kuro answered automatically. She smiled, pleased with his answer, and turned around again.
“Moments like these remind me of so many things,” she reminisced, her eyes glazing over. Kuro looked at her sadly.
“What things?” he asked, almost in a whisper. Sara turned around, tears rolling down her aged face.
“My sister,” she said, and fell over; Kuro moved to catch her and held her for a moment, pushing her back up, but it was no good; she fell to her knees. “She told me...she said she’d come back...but she never did.”
Kuro fell to his own knees, trying to meet her gaze. “Did she say where she was going to go?”
Sara shook her head. “She said she had to get away...she couldn’t live with her parents anymore...but, she said she’d come back for me.” She looked up at Kuro, still crying. “But, she would write...she always wrote to me, no matter what happened...but...one day, almost thirty years ago...they stopped.”
“Do you have any of the letters?” Kuro asked, his heart beating impossibly fast; it just had to be her.
“I do,” Sara replied; she stood up and entered the room behind them; she moved to the bookcase that lined the wall and pulled out a box from one of the lower shelves; inside were a number of letters, yellow and decaying, each with Sara’s name on them. She dug her hand into the pile and unearthed one of them. She returned to Kuro and handed him the letter; he lifted the already-opened flap and pulled out the parchment inside.
“Dear Sara,
It’s been only about a month here on the island, but already I’m happier than I’ve ever been. I miss you greatly, but, even with our parents gone, I couldn’t stand their constant quarreling. I promise I’ll come back for you soon, but at the current moment, I’m afraid I can’t. I hope the house isn’t getting too lonely.
Apparently, this island’s main attractions are these large clubs scattered all over the place; I believe they are called clans. Anyway, one of the townsfolk recommended me to come to a brand-new one at the edge of the island. The leader is tall and dark; I think I’ve fallen for him, but I haven’t even seen his face! I wish I could get close enough to even talk to him.
Hope everything’s okay there, say hello to our cousin if you see her.
Amelia.”
Kuro dropped the parchment, a mix of sorrow and understanding on his face. It was her...that’s why Sara was so familiar...
“She’s not coming back,” Kuro said from his spot on the ground. He stood up and faced Sara, who wore a look of shock.
“How...how do you know?” she whispered. Kuro turned away; somehow, he couldn’t seem to say it; he wouldn’t be able to stand the look in her eyes.
“She’s dead.” He could hear Sara crying behind him, but he couldn’t turn around. He couldn’t bear to look at her; he knew that, from now on, all he’d see was his beloved Amelia.
“No,” Sara said suddenly. “No, she can’t be dead! I was told...I was told that she’d left on a boat with Captain Kuro! That man is with her and they’re going to come back here!”
“They aren’t,” Kuro whispered. “You were wrong; I don’t know Captain Kuro...I can’t save you from him.” He slid on his gloves and turned around to face her, sadness in his eyes.
“I am him.”
Sara didn’t scream or gasp, or even explode in anger; she merely continued to cry and fell into Kuro, gripping his shirt tightly. Kuro wrapped his arms around her carefully, making sure not to hurt her with his claws, and cried with her.
“You’re not him,” she said suddenly without looking up. “You’re not him anymore.”
“I can’t change who I was,” Kuro said, though not directly to her. “My past is set in stone.”
“But your future isn’t,” she answered and looked up at him. “You’re not Captain Kuro anymore; you’re no longer that horrible villain.” Kuro looked down at her; somehow, despite everything he’d thought...
This one person had freed him. He was no longer tied to the darkness that was Captain Kuro. He hugged her tighter, letting his hands slide out of the cat claws, which fell to the floor with a small clang. They clung to each other as night settled across the room, the moonlight streaming in upon them softly.
---
The next morning before dawn, Kuro had packed his things, including the gloves. He couldn’t stay; the place would only bring misery. He’d almost made it to the front entrance and reached for the doorknob; but, something stopped him.
‘I can’t stay,’ he told himself again. ‘She’ll only bring back horrible memories.’
They’re not horrible, are they? the voice in his head said. They’re painful; they link you to darker things.
He ignored the voice and reached for the doorknob again.
“Going somewhere?”
Kuro turned around to see Sara, standing in the doorway in her nightdress. Her arms were folded tightly.
“You can’t run away, Kuro,” she said darkly. “You can’t run away from everything.”
“I’m not running away,” he lied. She came closer and he noticed that she had something in her hands.
“I won’t stop you,” she said and uncrossed her arms to reveal a very old piece of parchment in her hand. “But, I don’t want you to live in regret.” She handed him the paper.
“What’s this?” Kuro asked, looking at the paper curiously.
“It’s the deed to my grandparent’s house,” she replied. “It’s only about a day’s worth of sailing from here...directly south.” She gave him a hug, dodging the items in his hands. “Take care of yourself.”
Kuro smiled sadly at her. “Thank you...take care of yourself, too.” He placed the deed in the bag he was carrying and left the mansion, holding back the tears of joy and grief in his eyes.
---
“What’s wrong, Miss Sara?” the servant asked Sara; she was sitting on the wooden porch on the front of the house.
“I forgot...to give him the letters,” she said slowly, staring at the road.
“That reminds me,” the servant said suddenly, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing a letter. “This arrived last night from your cousin.”
“Oh?” Sara took the letter and read through it carefully; she gasped and dropped the letter. “I need to write her a reply quickly, before it’s too late!” She dashed into the house, the letter clutched in her hand, leaving her servant on the porch, quite perplexed.
---
Kuro sighed from the bow of the ship; he hadn’t caught sight of the mansion yet. The sea air wrapped around him thickly, even though it was late in the afternoon.
“She didn’t have to do that for me,” Kuro said to himself, remembering the deed in the bag. “But, I’ll finally be able to live in peace.” He grinned, shoving out any sad thoughts he had, and continued his way south.

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