Burning Hearts [SEQUEL INCLUDED]

Sequel Chapter 8

Here is the first death of the sequel. Mourn over it or whatever. Ok, bye.

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Aiko

For the whole day, I was cooped up in my room. I kicked Zonji out in the early morning and locked the door tightly. People tried to get me out of my room but to no success. It's not worth it, anyway. I had a taste of the Grim Reaper and it was quite small but delightful.

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Ember

"Aiko, please! Come out!" I called out.

"He still blames himself, huh? Tell me if he comes out," Law said.

"For what? What happened?" Rosinante asked.

"Something... happened to one of ours." Hana answered.

Everyone kept silent and then looked at me. Of course, they're asking me to tell him. Besides, I was the only one who could pluck up the courage to tell the tale.

"Alright, if you want to know..."

Flashback to before Water 7

"Guys! We're docking soon! Get ready!"

Everyone was exhilarated to go back to the island Izo and Jozu stayed on. They recently called us to visit the island as they had something to show us. As the curious captain I was to finding out what, I changed our initial courses and turned the wheel around, heading to the small island we left them on. After docking, Aiko and Norman jumped out of the ship and launched themselves towards Izo and Jozu.

"Izo! Jozu! We missed you!" Aiko and Norman greeted while hugging them.

"Hey, hey. Let go of the two. They're going to die if you're hugging them like that," Shimizu said as she alighted.

Zonji carried the extra supplies and gifted them to Izo and Jozu.

"Oh, thank you! You didn't have to!" Izo thanked.

"No, please. We've got enough for the ship. You guys can have this. Take it as a homecoming gift," Zonji said.

"Oh. I see you got a new shark biscuit," Jozu said, referring to Hana.

"She's Hana, Uta's twin sister. She was dead but got reincarnated by Shimizu. We recently met at the Calm Belt," I told them.

"I see. Well, just make yourselves at home," Izo said.

"Oh, right! I wanted to show you what I talked to you about earlier. I should show you since you're here. Follow me!" Jozu said before signalling me to follow him.

Aiko and Norman ran deeper into the forest and from there, I didn't know what went on with the two.

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Shimizu

Ember went to see the thing with Jozu, Izo and Zonji were just talking and I watched as Aiko and Norman ran into the forest. I sighed and walked towards Zonji and Izo.

"Hello. How's it with Jozu?" I asked.

"It's going quite well. We grew closer and we had been wanting to upgrade our current house," Izo answered.

I snapped my fingers and the current house then transformed into a refurbished sturdy mansion.

"I... I don't know how to thank you," Izo said.

"No need. I expect nothing but a healthy life for the both of you," I wished him.

He smiled and so did Zonji. Ember and Jozu then returned from their trip and Ember had sparkling eyes.

"Whoa, the thing looked so cool! It'd be easy for them in the future," Ember commented.

"Whoa, the house looks great! Shimizu, did you do this?" Jozu asked.

"It's definitely not me," I answered sheepishly.

We heard an ear-piercing scream from within the forest. We knew who it was and immediately ran inside the forest. We were about to split when the same scream got louder, meaning we were close. We ran together as a group and when we reached the area of the scream's origin, we froze. Our eyes couldn't believe what they saw and soon, we all wished it was just a dream.

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Aiko

We ran into the forest and when we reached a certain point, we stopped and panted for air.

"You sure you want to challenge me? I'm a good opponent," Norman asked.

"Very funny. Let's do a Treasure Hunt. Whoever hunts the most wins," I challenged.

"Very well, then. Challenge accepted," Norman accepted.

We shook hands and lined up. I smirked and so did Norman.

"Ready?" I asked.

"You bet I am," Norman answered.

"One... Two... Three!"

We dashed ahead of each other, splitting in two ways to cover more ground. I found lots of coins and jewels. As I searched, I started to find pieces of paper that looked like a treasure map. I taped the pieces together and it was a last note from a past dweller. Probably a journalist or something.

"Whoever is reading this, I must warn you about the dangers of this vast unique forest. There are patches of poisonous grass. The poison is lethal and whoever comes into contact with it will have black roses eventually spawning on their faces. If you're reading this and you're on a patch of grass that is almost blue, you're in trouble. The cure is a rare material in the forest. Only those who is wary may find it."

I held the note and looked slowly around my feet. The patch has a hint of dark green and also a tint of blue. I looked back at the note and it matches the description. I gasped, carried my messenger bag and sprinted out of the forest. When I arrived, I had to act normal and told them everything was alright. Norman was there and seems unharmed. I thought the disease was a slow one but as I was approaching them, I felt petals in my mouth and coughed them up, only to see they were black. So the note was right. I ran back into the forest, tried to get rid of the petals and failed to. I ran and ran until I reached a certain point and realised I was trapped in, hearing a group of discouraging and malicious voices trying to take over my body. I'm not letting that happen.

"You'll never be a good lover..."

"You'll never be a good friend..."

"You'll never be the Pirate King..."

"You'll never be as good as your sister..."

I groaned agitatedly as I tried to block out the voices. I couldn't take it anymore so I screamed.

"Stop!"

The voices slowly faded one by one but some still remained. I screamed for them to stop again and then, the petals came out again and it got worse. I tried to walk but my body fell to the ground and I was losing consciousness. As my vision blurred, I could see familiar blurry figures rushing towards me. I smiled weakly and soon lost consciousness.

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[End]

Continuation is in the next chapter. Stay tuned.