Chapter 2: A Girl Bestowed A Hollowed Heart

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"Like Scattered Seeds, Memories Bloom Forever…"

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Hey Everyone! BossCampers here for another chapter! I normally don't like putting lengthy beginning author messages, but I do feel like I should put a warning for this chapter. As I have channeled my inner Oda-Sensei and wrote a tragic backstory for our future secondary lead. Here are the following warnings…

Warnings: Crying, Death, Depression, Loss of loved ones, Vivid hallucinations, and Suicidal thoughts.

It's standard for One Piece, but this chapter is a bit of an outlier compared to the rest of the chapters, so I'd thought I'd say something. If you do not feel comfortable with reading this chapter but still want to move on ahead, just P.M or leave a review for me. I always respond within a day's time and will give an excellent summary.

So with that said, On To The Chapter!

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5 Months Ago ...

On one such island on the calmer side of the Grand Line, there lay a dairy farm down by the river. On that farm, a small family lived. A Father, a Mother, and a small girl named Moda. While all three of them were dairy farmers, since their daughter turned eleven, they've enlisted in the Marines to make trips to islands nearby to give them food, water, and general aid to those in need.

A year and a half later on one of her parent's time home, her father walked into the living room while Moda was doing her math homework. He held two fishing poles and tossed one of them to her, with her narrowly catching it. "Come on," smiled her father, "Let's go fishing."

Moda looked at him annoyed, rolling her eyes. "You're not even good at fishing," huffed the young teen.

"Cahaha! That's what makes it fun, come on, you can finish your homework later," he walked over to his wife, Koda, who was making a delicious stew. "Darling, we'll be right back. Gonna go take Moda out fishing at the river," he said softly, giving his wife a quick peck on the cheek.

Blushing lightly, Koda replied, "Ok, but be back by dawn. Wouldn't want my food going to waste," she warned, pointing a spoon at the two as they were leaving.

"Oh please, as if we wouldn't eat your leftovers too," chuckled the father, pushing his moody teen out of the house.

Now outside, the two took a short walk to the edge of their farm where the river lay, with a short dock overlooking it. They both sat down on the dock, their feet hanging off the edge. Putting bait on their hooks, they both cast their lines into the river, not saying a word to each other as they enjoyed the ambiance. After a few long silent minutes, with only the sound of birds chirping being heard, her father began to speak to her.

"Sooooo," he began, moving his eyes to her, but not directly turning his head to look at her. "You've been seeing any guys while we've been gone?" her dad asked sheepishly.

Moda nearly dropped her fishing rod in the river along with her lunch when the question was asked. "Are you kidding me!?" she yelled at her dad, red in the face.

Her father also almost dropped his fishing rod in surprise at her volume. "Hey! Whoa whoa whoa," he waved his arm wildly. "What'd I say wrong? Ah damn, is twelve years old too young to be having this conversation? Or maybe it's…, Moda I will support any type of person you like, well except maybe fishmen, especially the Octo-" stressed her Dad, receiving a strong punch to the head from his daughter. "Ah…ha, sorry about that, maybe I jumped the gun a little," he apologized as a red bump grew on his head.

Still red in the face, Moda sat back down and continued fishing. "No… no, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted. And no, I haven't been seeing any boys, girls, or fishmen really."

Her Dad looked back at her, brow raised. "Is something wrong Moo Moo?" he asked with a concerned look on his face.

"Ughhh, no Dad, nothing's wrong. I've been to town plenty of times, but… I don't know. Nobody is like, 'interesting' if you get what I mean?" she received a nod from her father. "Like I've got to know quite a few friends, but I don't see them as anything more than that."

A moment of self reflection hit Moda, her eyes growing damp. "Umm…is there something… wrong with me?" she sniffed looking at her father, rubbing her eyes red.

Putting his fishing pole down, Moda's Dad gave her a warm hug. Moving his hands through her hair he said, "Listen, it can be hard sometimes. Your body is changing and you want to find that special someone. I know it's tough, you running the farm all by yourself while we're away, but I know you're doing a great job and I just wanted to remind you how proud me and your mother are of you."

"T-thanks Dad," smiled Moda warmly, feeling a bit embarrassed. Looking over her father's shoulder, she saw the fishing pole her dad put down starting to get pulled away by something in the water. "Dad! Your fishing pole!" she yelled pointing at the pole.

Her dad turned around seeing the rod about to fall into the river and dove at it head first, just barely grasping it in time.

"I got it!" he said triumphantly, getting himself up and reeling in the line. Yet, he was having trouble pulling the fish out moving the pole erratically. "Moda! This is the big one, help me pull it in!" he asked her excitedly.

"Will do!" she went behind him and pulled him backward to help him.

Moda and her father struggled back and forth with whatever was against the line until the line to the fishing rod snapped in half, sending the two tumbling backward onto the dirt.

"Huff Puff, Cahaha. Man that was crazy, pant pant, we almost had that one." huffed her out of breath Father.

"Yeah, pant pant, we were so close," Moda replied weakly, hands on the ground as she attempted to catch her breath.

Standing up, her father helped her up. "Come on, I think that's enough fishing for today. Your Mother is probably just about done with dinner, let's head back," he said, walking away with his hands behind his head to catch his breath.

As he walked away, Moda took a quick second to look at the river. When she looked down she saw a small fish no bigger than her hand swimming with a hook in its mouth. "Oh father," she whispered to herself, sweat dropping.

"Moda! You coming!?"

"Yes Papa!" replied Moda running back to her father to enjoy a delicious dinner.

-----M-----

After that day, her parents finally got permission from the Marines to do a food and aid mission to the Kingdom of Alabasta, their biggest mission yet. It was to be an eight month journey to make it to and from the two kingdoms.

In the meantime, Moda did her daily tasks around the farm and kept up payments with the farm relatively well until…

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The sun peeked over the horizon as the dawn began to lead into the new day. It was a beautiful day outside. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming on days like these, most kids would like to relax, take it easy and…

The front door of a barn house was kicked down, by a small booted leg. The figure strode out of the door with confidence. Tying a cow print bandana around her head and a dirt covered apron around her waist, Moda gazed at her little farm and gave a smile of pride. Then she took in a deep breath and shouted forth…

"GOOD MORNING WORLD!" her voice loud enough to make the birds fly from their branches. She giggled to herself as she ran back inside the barnhouse, coming out with four empty buckets as she skipped to her small herd of dairy cows.

Over yonder, there was a large fenced area that held five great holstein dairy cows. When Moda made it over, she dropped her buckets and picked up a bale of hay, holding it high above her head. Setting the fluffy hay into the feeding trough she called out to her cows. "Oh girls! Breakfast is ready!" hollered the farm girl, as the cows perked up to her call walking to where she was for their meal.

They hungrily ate up the hay, with the blonde smiling brightly, petting each of their heads tenderly. "Let's see we have, Lucy, Spots, Almond, Touche, Thy, and…" she continued out, looking left and right for her newest little calf.

"Moo!" chirped the little bovine. Moda looked down between Thy and Almond and saw the young calf wobble through the larger cow's legs to get her fill of hay. "There you are Yasei! I was looking for you," she gleamed at the calf, rubbing her head affectionately to the delight of Yasei.

After making sure they were all done eating, she checked her cows to make sure they were still healthy. She checked their eyes, body weight, and body in general to see if they had any cuts. Once that was done, Moda hopped the fence with her buckets and began to milk her Holsteins of their vast amounts of dairy.

With a great cheer, the blonde proudly held up four full buckets of milk. "Wow! That was more than usual gals! Thank you all so much!" she laughed excitedly, giving her girls a big group hug along with extra hay for their great work.

"I'll be back later in the afternoon," she told them, getting out and closing the gate. "I gotta go get this milk all bottled, stored, and shipped today. But don't worry I'll be back before the sun even starts to set, later!" she grinned at the bovines, trudging carefully to her bottling shed so as to not tip her delicious cargo.

Luckily, she made it inside without a single drop spilled, setting her buckets down on the floor. On the table were several milk bottles her parents bought for her to use while they were gone, otherwise she would have to either make them herself or hassle a glassblower to make a large batch. Both of which weren't good for how tight money was right now.

Without a fancy machine like the ones the Ballywood Kingdom had, the process of bottling was rough and messy. She often had to hold the bottle still via a clamp and then use a funnel to make sure she didn't lose a drop. It worked sure, but boy did she get envious whenever she read about those mammoth machines churning out gallons per minute.

After an exhausting half-hour of bottling and storing the bottles in a milk crate, she walked out carrying the large crate, the bottles rattling with every step she took. She didn't have any other way to efficiently carry it since their old cart broke a month into her parents leaving. So Moda had to book it on foot to Port Town. But it wasn't too bad, it was only 5 kilometers from where she was going. (5K= 3.1 Miles)

She built up her leg strength from not only this but also the daily farm and housework, which gave her surprisingly well defined muscles for someone her age. So by her pushing herself, she made it all the way over to Port Town in a quick 40 minutes!

The town sure was busy today. People were lining the streets with goods of all kinds, ready to be sold to willing customers. Produce, clothes, and there were even a few selling shiny jewels. Yet she wasn't all too interested. It wasn't because she couldn't afford most of it, but it was more so because she couldn't get anything with her hands being full with her haul. Thankfully at this point, her vendor wasn't too far away, but she had to watch her step so she didn't trip or bump into anyone or anything.

As she continued to weave her way through the crowds and carriages, she made her way down the sloped streets to the docks. She strolled along the bright blue sea, looking ahead at the place that she longed to be. It was a minor detour, but she had to try again. So when she arrived, she put her crate out of sight and stepped towards the massive iron gate that entranced her.

She was standing in front of Lulusia's pride and most valuable possession, the Grand Line Base, G2. Its pure metal entrance was closed tight, only allowing those outside its walls to view the sigil of the Marines, the symbol of freedom and justice.

With bated breath, she pulled out a letter from her apron and held it tight in her grasp. "This could be it. All I have to do is walk over there and give the letter to the guard. Simple, so simple." thought Moda, squeezing the sealed letter. Her heart was racing at such a big move. She normally wasn't like this with a lot of things. Housework, the farm, and other people weren't anything to worry about. But… why was she anxious now? Why was she hesitating so much?

The guard in the toll box saw her staring intensely at the gate and got up from his stool to see what she was up to. "Hey you!" he shouted to the girl, startling her as she stared at him. "Do you need anything?" he asked, getting closer to her as he crossed his arms, expecting to get some kind of answer of this kid.

Moda stepped away from him, shoving the letter back in her apron. "Oh! Uh nothing sir," she rambled, sweating nervously for some reason. "I was just, um, admiring the craftsmanship of the gate. Oh darn! Uh, look at the time, I need to get back home for supper, So um, bye Mr!" She yelped, as she scurried back to her crate, grabbing it and speeding away fast enough to kick up dust behind her.

"Wait! Come back!" Yelled the guard as he attempted to run after her. Keyword, attempted. Because soon enough, she was already out of his sight. "Man, huff huff, how is she so fast," panted the gate guard as he put his hands to his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"Wonder what her deal was?"

-----S-----

"alright looks like we're covered on 'Tesagi Greens' and 'I can't believe it's not Sea King'," whispered a small bespeckled brunette, as she marked off the sealed boxes that held the product. She was in the store's small and chilly storage room, marking down what they did and didn't have. "oh, that's not supposed to be there," she frowned at an open box of tangerines. "these were supposed to be put up this morning, where's Ford?" she questioned herself as she looked at her watch. "noon sharp."

The young woman walked out of the storage room, back into the store proper. The store wasn't at max capacity, but twenty people is close enough and too much for Otto to handle alone. She marched up to the front of the store and saw a line of ten people waiting their turn to pay for their goods. The younger man with dirty blond hair and circular glasses was frantically punching in payments on the register.

"Otto," hissed the Brunette loudly, waving her arms to catch the slightly younger man's attention. "where's Ford?"

Despite looking incredibly busy, Otto looked at her and laughed uproariously. "Uahahaha! I sent that nerd on a total goose chase Stella! I told him that a snail merchant was in town and he bolted outa here so fast, he didn't even finish the customer's order!" chortled the blond at his trick.

Stella could only grow red in frustration. They couldn't be doing this at rush hour! "h-how long ago was this?" was all she could sputter out.

"Eh, about half an hour ago."

Just when she was about to lose it, the store's front door opened revealing a sweaty exhausted Ford, leaning on the wall to catch his breath. He immediately glared at Otto with fiery hatred, "You rat! You sent me running around town for nothing! What the heck was that for!"

"shhhh," she shushed the taller man in the face. "there are customers here, why did you even run out like that?" huffed Stella tapping her foot impatiently.

Ford looked away whistling like the cornered man he was. "Well…getting snails is so hard you know. I um, wanted to get them before they were all taken."

"Sigh, if you do that again Ford I'm going to have to fire you."

"Oh come on it was one mistake?!"

"it's only one if you subtract the other four times you've done this," she crossed her arms judgingly.

Before she could really start tearing him a new one, the automatic doors opened again to reveal a blonde girl they knew well carrying a crate half her size. "I Wonder why she's out of breath though?"

"Hey, Moda."

"Nice to have you back kid!"

"Moda, I told you to use the back entrance," sighed the brunette.

"I know you did Stella, but it's the perfect weather up here. I don't have air conditioning at my place, so this is practically fall," she smiled, feeling the frigid air run through her like a relaxing breeze.

Stella giggled at her happiness before turning back to Ford, a bit less mad thanks to the distraction. "alright Ford here's the deal. i'll give you two options to get yourself out of this. you either buy me dinner later tonight, or next time you pull a stunt like that again I let you go. the choice is yours?" smiled the small woman, swaying bashfully.

"Th-th-, THAT'S NOT A CHOICE AT ALL!" seethed Ford, rubbing his head in frustration.

"soooo… yes for dinner?"

Ford turned his head to look at the floor, not wanting to look at her. "Sigh, You've left me in a tough spot. I guess getting some food with you wouldn't be that bad," pouted Ford with crossed arms.

"Yippe!" she squeaked happily, doing a little hop in the air.

"Oooooooooooooo!" He looked to the register and saw both Otto and Moda chuckling at him. "Hehehe, you hear that kid? I think Ford just admitted his crush."

"Yeah yeah, I think you're right Otto," gleamed Moda mischieviously to her confidant. "You think they'll go to second base?"

"Pfft, just second base. You're thinking to modest my little sprout. I bet you three thousand berries they hit a home run if yeah know what I'm sayin," winked the sandy blond, with a few shoulder nudges for added effect.

"Could you two stop betting on me like I'm some racehorse!" he pointed at the two blonds, just causing them to laugh their socks off. "And you!" he turned on a dime to Stella, "You could've at least tried asking me before resorting to the olive branch and gun barrel!"

She looked away from him, hiding her blush by looking down from his gaze. "sorry, i was just shy," she whispered, pressing her index fingers together.

Ford tried his best to stay angry, but his tiny boss was acting so adorably. So try as he might, the anger fizzled out of him. "Fine, I'll get back to it, but I'll have you know a boss asking out an employee like that is some serious harassment."

"i see it as an even trade for what you did," giggled the female clerk walking past him. "come on Moda, i'll store your milk before it sits too long," she said to the girl, waving her over to come with her to the freezer room. Moda followed her in, but not before turning around to stick her tongue out at the frozen male.

"Bye bye Ford. Good luck on your date!" she shouted before walking through the storage door.

Ford slowly walked over to Otto, resting his head on the counter. "Otto, why do women hate me so much?" he asked in a defeated tone.

"I dunno, maybe you shouldn't be so naive."

"Don't start me up again!" he rose glaring at the ash blond with an accusing finger.

-----M-----

"oooooh nonono, w-w-what have I done," whispered Stella collapsing to the floor, her body failing due to embarrassment. "i came up with that on the spot, how did I pull that off, eeeee!" she squealed rolling around on the cold floor, hands covering her blushed face.

All Moda could do was sigh as she rubbed the older woman's back, showing that she was there for her. No matter how embarrassing it was for her. "Well look on the bright side, you finally got the courage to ask him out. Whether it was the best way is up to you," sweat dropped Moda.

"i get that, it's just…" she turned around to look at Moda between her fingers, her eyes damp. "i've never gone on a date before. have any advice?" whispered Stella hopefully.

"Me! Are you joking!" shouted Moda, turning red from that type of question. "Aren't you literally twenty six?!"

"yes"

"And you're asking someone who's not even half your age about what to do on a date?" she questioned, raising a brow at the girl below her.

"y-yes, okay okay! you don't have to be like that. i'm just so nervous," whined the clerk who toiled in her embarrassment.

"Sigh, I may not know a lot about dates, but just be yourself!" exclaimed Moda, giving her a thumbs up. "You've been working with him for years, so if he doesn't like how you act, then don't date him."

Stella moved her hands off her face to look up at the smiling blonde. "you really think so?"

"Eh, I dunno. Sounds like common sense to me," shrugged the teen.

"ha, I guess that makes sense, thanks for talking to me. I hope I wasn't too annoying," mumbled the brunette, picking herself off the ground to dust herself off.

"Honestly it's okay! I just treated you how I would want to be treated that's all."

"well I would certainly help you with that kind of advice when the time comes. But enough of that, let me get your payment," said Stella, moving to a small safe and moving its combination swiftly.

"Huh but, aren't you going to see how much I brought in?"

"not necessary," she reassured with her back to Moda. "I already saw how much you brought in while I was on the floor," she turned around holding wads of paper berries. "you brought in sixteen one liter bottles and using the standard pricing per liter, that'd be five hundred and ninety berries. Multiply that by sixteen, that'll come out to nine thousand and five hundred berries for you. great job today Moda," she smiled, congratulating the farmer warmly, handing her the berries as she counted just to be sure.

The blonde smiled brightly, and graciously took the money, storing it safely in her apron. "Woah! Thank you Stella! This was a big day for me and my cows worked hard today!" she spoke ecstatically, hugging the slightly taller woman, with her hugging her back.

"You're really really good with numbers. Like I come here almost daily and I still can't do the math on my milk. "

Stella blushed shyly at the compliment. "t-thank you, it's just practice. oh, also, not to keep you any longer, but I have some tangerines I can give to you if you want them," she pointed to an open box of fresh tangerines.

"For free?"

"yes of course. think of it as payment for the therapy."

"Nice!" she cheered, shoveling the tangerines into two plastic bags, filling them as much as she could. "I'll take good care of them! Good luck on your date!" waved Moda as she stepped out of the store using the backdoor exit.

When the door closed, a wave of anxiety hit Stella once again. "ooooooh, I need to get ready!" she spun in a panic. Yet she took a deep breath and went back into the store. She had a job to do.

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Getting back outside again, she carried the two bags of oranges out of the store and made the long trek home. She liked living in the country rather than the town, because although she liked the town a lot with all its experiences and people, it couldn't beat having her cows and the quietness her home provided. Although that did come at the cost of having to walk multiple kilometers on dirt paths to make it back home. But by this time, it was easy for her to walk so far, even with groceries. Today was just so nice, the sky bright blue, not a cloud and the sea breeze kept cooling her off. Absolute perfection.

After about half an hour of walking, she was finally close to her home, seeing it off in the distance, but there was a man standing in front of her door. The man was a marine with large black poofy hair, small round glasses and a large round figure with relatively thin arms and legs. He wore a white bandana that fit with his white coat that had both the symbol of the marines and the cross.

Moda knew exactly who he was. He's Dr Black Beard. Her father's drinking friend and G2's head doctor. She adjusted her bags so she could wave to him, giving a big grin as she received a smile back, although he didn't seem as jovial as he normally was.

Walking closer to him, she noticed that the doctor's glasses were all fogged up, not letting her see his eyes. "Hello Dr," she gave a quick bow, "I'm surprised to see you here. What are you doing here? My father doesn't come back for another two months," she lightly laughed, not noticing the doctor's hands clenching into closed fists.

"Well Moda," he spoke slowly, with a cautious tone in his voice. "I… I'm here to tell you some news," he hesitatingly spoke, she picked up on it, not liking where this was going.

"What kind of news sir?" she asked curiously, an odd numbing sensation creeping in the back of her mind.

He stood there, he stood there for quite a long time in fact. He was starting to breathe heavily, his chest heaving in and out. "I'm…can we sit down… please," he asked, sweat forming on his brow as he pointed to her front porch.

Moda's heart was beating faster as she complied, sitting on the front steps followed by the doctor, his large form causing the wooden stairs to creak.

"I have some… very sad news to share with you Moda… Your parents have died out at sea. The ship was attacked by what we presume to be agents of Baroque Works, as their last transmission was them fighting off pirates. We haven't found a ship…nor any of it's crew. So…sniff,we won't get to see them again, do you understand," spoke the Doctor, making sure he took many pauses as for her to understand what has happened.

The scene became tense and silent, the doctor's heart breaking even more as the girls face began to drop before his eyes. "No… no that can't be. They'll come back, I know it!" she shouted at the doctor.

"Moda please, calm down…", he could see tears begin to roll down her face.

"Don't tell me to calm down! I know they're still alive!"

"I'm not wrong. We checked over and over again, but there was nothing. No reports, no signal, nothing."

"Liar! Liar! Liar! Liar!" she screeched at him, stomping her foot down over and over again, the tears falling in mass to the floor. "Why aren't you angry! Upset! He was your best friend and you're explaining this like a damn robot! I hate you! I HATE YOU!" she growling in absolute fury, stomping away from him and her tangerines. She went into her home and slammed the door with so much aggression that the large man shook at it.

No, he wasn't shaking because of that. He was crying, a heavy flow of tears flowing under his glasses. He pulled off his glasses and sobbed into his palm. "Aoda… I'm so sorry. I want to help her… but, I too have had my heart shattered."

"I'm so sorry… please forgive me… my friend."

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She kicked her door down, and collapsed on her bed. The tears wouldn't stop, why won't they stop. She punched and kicked and wailed. It was unfair! All of it! What did she do to deserve this! What god could take this away from her.

"Oi, Moo Moo!" she moved her tear streaked to gaze at her bedroom door. She could see her Mom and Dad, they were smiling at her, like as if nothing had happened. "Come on Moda," spoke her mother breathily, "Get up. Come join us."

"Dad! Mom!" she grinned at them. "I knew you guys would come back! I knew you wouldn't leave me!" she reassured herself, yet she was still crying. But despite her best efforts, she couldn't move. "Wait! I can't move! Help me!" she cried, reaching out to them. Why wouldn't they come inside, they were so close.

"I guess you don't want to come with us Moo Moo," spoke her father without remorse, both their eyes covered in shadows. "We'll be leaving for good. You ungrateful brat," snarled Mom. "You did this to us Moo Moo. We're gone for good and it's your fault."

"No! It's not my fault! It's not my fault!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, watching as her parents became more and more transparent, the door closing between them. She was sinking into her bed, going through the covers and cushions like it was quicksand. "Mom! Dad! Don't leave meeee!" she screamed, her face being swallowed away.

In reality, none of it was real. It was nothing more than a vivid hallucination, sadly, the first of many to haunt her. The only rest was the memories of them laughing and enjoying life together, which gutted her heart as she always knew that it already happened, and that this would never happen again. Never.

All these tears can make time fly by, as you can easily lose yourself inside your mind. Without her even realizing it, the next day began even without her resting. Despite the sun shining brightly, the curtains made her room as dark and dreary as her mind.

Outside, her cattle began to grow confused and restless, for their master never came out to feed them like they always had. The calf leaned against her mothers leg, looking for support. Even an animal so young could figure out that something was wrong, they all could. Yet they could do nothing as the hours kept passing them by.

Meanwhile, the sun began to set on the store as it was just Otto by himself to close the store. Ford and Stella left at noon and left him to run the store by himself, "Idiots. Like seriously they should've come back by now. Why haven't they?" questioned Otto, while he cleaned his register.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Gah!" jumped Otto as someone banged frantically on the store door. He quickly peered over to see who it was, the store was clearly closed. "Stella?" he questioned, seeing his boss banged on the glass door, she was holding some sort of cloth in her other arm.

With that, Otto unlocked the door causing Stella to scurry into the store immediately. "where's Ford?!" she frightenedly shouted, pushing into him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What's going on?!"

Stella didn't answer, all she did was open out the cloth she was carrying to show him. It was a black cloak with several red clouds adorning it. "something big just happened to me," she whispered, remembering the horrifying screams of those men.

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As the darkness of the night once again crept into her room, she didn't move, not even an inch. For she ran out of tears to cry, and memories to look back on. She was empty. Alone. It felt like a part of her was gone entirely, leaving only a feeling of longing and guilt. What truly killed her, was that no matter how long she cried, or how long she shouted… the people she loved more than the world itself… would never come back.

While deep inside her own mind, a small flickering light crept into the room. Even in her current state, she was still confused as to why there was light out this late. Her farm wasn't around any other people and the sun had been down for a few hours too.

She had no idea why, but her body moved on its own. Like a moth to a flame, she had to go into the fire's light. So shakily, with muddled thoughts, Moda opened the door to her house and walked through the tall reeds, reaching out to the light, to whatever made her heart pound in fear.

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Building his new fortress was not going well, and there were several reasons why.

First off, he had a hard time figuring out how to turn the wood into something usable. Sure cutting down these towering pine trees was easy, simply transforming his arm into a chainsaw and swinging it would fell all of them in one cleave. However, the act of removing the bark and turning the materials into planks was something he was not skilled at.

Every attempt would leave a log in a near unusable state. It frustrated the god that he could lead revolts and nations yet not craft a simple shelter. The only thing keeping him going was his stubbornness and restating to himself that not all Daimyo and Kage were also skilled carpenters and architects. At least he made a campfire with how many failed logs he crafted. So he wasn't entirely a failure in that regard.

The other problem didn't necessarily have to do with construction yet was becoming more of a concern as dusk turned to night. It had to do with his body… he wasn't hungry nor sleepy at all. These involuntary human needs clashed with the monstrosity of his body as his mind yearned to consume and slumber, yet there was no biological need.

The closest he could compare his body to was that of the snake Sannin's Edo Tensei. From the few examples he's seen of them, they shared plenty of similarities. They don't require food or sleep either which were the main examples. Yet he wasn't controlled by a master, felt weakened, or lost his senses fully, they were only dulled by varying degrees. He still felt the heat of the fire and the coldness of the night, yet not the growl of his stomach or the dryness of his eyes.

If there was any value to this situation, it was that his body was strong enough to simultaneously handle all six of his paths despite the complete loss of chakra in this vessel. It truly was a body that functioned between life and death.

A rustle of leaves sounded behind him. He whipped his head fast enough to see the movement of a reasonably big creature dive into the brush. He turned fully to face the hidden creature. "Reveal yourself," he brought a chakra rod into his hand, "If you do not, I will have no hesitation in ending your life," he voiced coldly, encroaching on where the creature hid.

It revealed itself, standing up out of the shrubbery, arms held close to its chest. Nagato loosened his grip, turning his head to the side in confusion. It was a girl. A child in fact. What could she be doing out here this late at night? His eyes took in her features for answers. A staggered stance with shaking legs, her arms hiding a hidden tone of muscle, with her hands calloused and red. "An outdoor laborer? A farmer of sorts?" he pondered as his analytical eyes continued their scan, moving up to her face.

And then he saw it, the look in her eyes, his breathing hitched, the receiver slipped from his grasp for he knew those eyes. For they were a reflection of how his eyes once were.

The look, the look that showed that this person, this child… had lost everyone close to them. A broken human. Those lost tear streaked eyes watched him, stared so deep into him that it shook him to his very core, as those eyes that weren't even his reminded him of all his failures throughout his life. Every. Single. One Of Them.

This poor child, this poor girl, never even had a chance, a real chance to experience a full life, came here to him. Yet… this girl didn't do so out of bravery nor naivety, no…

-----This girl came to him… To die.-----

"My parents," she spoke ever so softly, her voice hoarse and ragged as she quivered under his gaze. "My parents… my parents. H-how could they leave me?" she squeezed her arms tightly. "I waited s-so long for them. How could it be, that despite praying every night and every day for them to come back safely, that my prayers didn't get answered!" she yelled to no one in particular, this momentary strength fading quickly, leaving her more feeble than ever.

"I… I just want to see them again. Please, I don't know who you are, what you are, but please," she looked him in his eyes, the little light that remained in them dimming to a small flickering glow, the light of the fire casting a dark shadow on her face. "Make the pain stop… I don't want to feel anymore."

It was a strange reaction that happened inside his mind, an instinct of some sort.

Why should he care, he is a god.

Why should he care, he doesn't know this girl.

Why should he care, she was weak, useless to his ultimate dream.

Yet that urge, that feeling pumping in that heart of his overwrote those logical thoughts. For eyes are the windows to the soul, and peering into hers, his heart and soul knew what to do. So without thinking, in a single stride,

-----He Hugged Her.-----

The girl, despite her heart, recoiled back, expecting pain, with death soon to follow. Yet this god, unlike so many others in his past life, did not give pain. No… in one action, the god gave her acceptance. This person was much taller than herself, so she leaned her head into his shoulder, leaned into this unforeseen embrace.

Like a safe unlocked, for the first time in many hours, she began to cry. She wept heavy tears and let out her emotions to this complete and utter stranger. One side of her was full of anger. "This man couldn't possibly understand what she was going through! No one did!" The other growing side of her mind, felt safety.

Safety for the first time since the news of her parent's death.

His slight movements, the look in his eyes, how he was embracing her. She could feel somewhere deep in her mind, that this man knew what she had gone through, enough to fix her, hold both mind and body together.

She had been awake for so long, so very long. Her eyes were drooping, her legs feeling weak. All the adrenaline that she unknowingly had, rapidly left her body. She was falling asleep, causing the man to lift her more and more to stop her from collapsing to the ground. Before she could fall into her slumber, she had to know. "Who… who are you?"

The man stepped back, still holding her, but putting her down gently on the ground. She was now looking up to the sky, the fire that was in the background now fizzled out so she could gaze at the shimmering stars above. The man looked down at her in a way that could best be described as analyzing her, studying her features.

"You can call me, Nagato. You may rest, I give my sincerest of apologies to your plight. So rest little one, for I will keep you safe." The man gave her a warm smile that seemed unnatural on his bizarre face, while still coming across sincere all the same.

"Thank… you…Nagato," she whispered sleepily, as she fell fully into her long awaited slumber.

Pain looked at her resting peacefully on the ground and felt it necessary to pick her up into his arms to take her back home. He had a feeling on which one was hers due to the place where he was based at.

As he began walking back to her abode, his mind wandered in self reflection. "Sensei, is this how you felt?" He peered into his memory, back to the time when he met the Sannin for the first time on that rainy day. "You said it was a part of your destiny, to usher in the new generation. To think, if I had not strayed from that path, you would have succeeded with me," he looked down at the small blonde nestling unconsciously in his arms.

"I wonder… is this my destiny? My fate?" he thought back to all the times the four of them laughed and lived together, back when all their worries seemingly washed away like the ever present rain. "Mmm, I don't see the harm in trying a different path. After all, the gift of a second life does not come so readily to those so foolish as to waste their first life."

"So Naruto, Sensei, let me put our dream on hold for now. So that I can put this child's heart… back together," he concluded, gazing up upon the twinkling starry night sky.

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See… I told yeah that was a doozy. Man that actually made me a teary eyed at certain points, believe it! But tears are for those who need them most, and this moment will help them both! Until next time… 

 Thank You And Read On!

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End of Chapter Serial P.2

Garra and Yagura are on top of a mountain in the land of lightning with kitchen equipment around them. They are wearing hairnets and aprons with determined looks on their faces as they mix their pancake batter.

In hot air balloons, both the Hidden Sand and the Hidden Mist shinobi are cheering for their Kage to win this contest!

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Editing Number: 1/13/2024- 1/13/2024

Credits: Thank You Titosch For Beta-Reading This Chapter.