Finding Myself (One Piece Fanfic)

Chapter 33: Memories (Part 3)

I don't own One Piece

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7 Years Old
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It was raining. Dark clouds covered the sky, making the day as dark as night. Still, the candles burned, lighting the ceremony. The rain helped hide his tears.

Mom stood behind Makoto, her hands softly rubbing his shoulders as he shook with sobs. Behind both of them, Sato and I stood silently. We were all wearing black, something mom said most did to morn.

Placed in front of Makoto sat four tomb stones. Two older ones were made of marble and contained his parents names. The other two were newer, his grandparents. Mom couldn't afford to get marble for them, but she got a nice shiny stone. All four had the marine symbol engraved on it.

Mom knelt down to Makoto, softly handing him a couple bouquets of white flowers. Softly, she wiped his tears. "Here, these are Chrysanthemums. They symbolize truth, which I believe your grandfather fought for. I also added in some white roses, because they were your loved ones and it represents love, respect, and grace." She then softly pulled a stray hair out of his forehead. "Go ahead and place them by his tombstone. I can wait by Mitsu and Sato if you want to give you some time."

His bottom lip tremboled, "Y-Yeah. I don't think he liked pirates much." My mom nodded in understanding, but paused when Makoto reached out and gripped her hand. "But-But he never said anything bad about you. So-So would you come with me?"

She nodded, "Of course." She stood at full height, and let Makoto lead the way.

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Immediately after the funeral, Mom had brought all of us to Makoto's home. It was silent in the old home, and still smelt of his grandfather's cologne. Some flowers still lingered from his grandmother's funeral, which was only last month.

"Alright, Mitsu, Sato, we're gonna help Makoto pack up." My mom instructed, making us all look at her in confusion.

"Why?" Sato and I asked in unison.

"Am-Am I going to the orphanage now?" Makoto asked quietly, his bottom lip trembling.

"What? No." My mom shook her head, "You're gonna live with us." She smiled at Makoto, "I would never let you go to an orphanage. You've been part of our family for a while already, so it's only right that I take care of you now. As long as you don't mind?"

He shook his head, more tears spilling from his face. My mom smiled again, and softly nudged us towards Makoto's room. Then she turned around and left another bundle of flowers on the counter. As the boys turned and walked towards the room, I watched as my mom placed her hands together and bowed towards the flowers.

Glancing back at the boys, I stepped closer to Mom. "What are you doing?"

She looked at me, "I'm paying my respects to Makoto's grandfather, just one more time."

"He didn't like you a lot." I muttered, "And I always got into fights with him whenever we would come over. Sato always got mad at me because of that, but I can't keep quiet sometimes."

"He was a good man." My mom said, "Even if he didn't like me. He was a good marine, so I believe he deserves our respect." I sighed, and followed my mom's actions.

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It's the first official night that Makoto is living with us. Though he's spent the night plenty of times, it's different. He's going to be here from now on.

"Alright kids, no sneaking out of bed." My mom smiled, taking her time to tuck each of us in. She gave a pointed look at me. "Especially you, Mitsu."