Finding Myself (One Piece Fanfic)

Chapter 34: Memories (Part 4)

I don't own One Piece

So the ending of the chapter is going to be very choppy. Basically you guys are getting a run down of the memories Katsu is remembering, and towards the end it's only fragments therefore choppy. It might be confusing, but it is intended.
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8 Years Old
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We had waited the hour our mother had instructed. All between that hour we had heard shouting from the marines. From what we understood, it sounded like someone wasn't from their crew. Whoever it was had been arrested and taken for questioning. The past twenty minutes have been silence.

Sato had nudged me once he realized an hour had passed. Then all three of us were scrambling to get out of our fort. We didn't wait for one another as we exited, instead we scrambled towards our home.

My twin was the first to make it, his movement coming to a complete halt. Makoto had been right behind him, he had the same reaction as Sato. Finally, I saw the reason behind the other two's actions. My own body doing the same thing.

A body laid on the ground. Red hair splayed around her, and her head turned away from us. Blood that was still wet had pooled around her soaking the dirt under her, the main source coming from a small hole on the left side of her chest.

It wasn't just a body. Not to us.

"Ka-san!" I was the first to move, running closer to my mom.

She was fine.

Dropping to my knees, I didn't pay any mind as my knees scraped against the dirt. Instead, I placed my hands on my mother's face. For a quick second, I pulled away when I realized how cold she was. Then, with my hands more shaky, I softly turned her head towards me.

"Ka-san," I muttered, seeing her face. Her eyes were closed and a smile was present.

She was fine.

"Ne, Sato, Makoto, and I listened." I said, "We didn't leave the fort until after an hour. You know how hard that was for me. I wanted to come out right away. But I listened." She didn't move.

"We kept Makoto quiet too. You didn't tell him what he needed to do." I swallowed, my throat feeling thicker. "Ah, Ka-san. You're really cold, we should get you a blanket."

She was fine.

Still behind me stood my brothers. Neither had moved, though I could hear some sniffling. Rather than pay attention to them, I kept my attention on my mom.

"We'll call Uncle Shanks." I said, my hand slowly placing on top of her forehead. I had hoped I would feel a fever, but instead I received the same cold clammy feeling. My lip trembled and I felt my eyes burn. "You're super strong. Super, super strong. You're fine."

She wasn't fine.

Warm wet tears trailed down my cheeks as I bit my lip to keep from making any noise. She didn't move. Not to breath. Not to open her eyes. Not to tease me for dirtying my dress which she would have to clean later. Not to sooth the boys behind me in tears. She did not move. She would not move again.

Softly, I took my hands away from her face. Instead I laid them in my lap as I stared at her face just a little longer. I wanted to make sure I remembered what she looked like, and instantly I was trying to lock her voice in my mind.

Finally I stood up. My eyes looking down at the red dirt that stained my knees and dress. I would have to clean that later. I need to be cleaner now.

I didn't look back at my brothers as I walked inside the house. My moves felt robotic as I made my way through the hall and through the room until I was holding the transponder snail. I knew the number by heart, so there wasn't much thought with dialing it. The soft dialing pur didn't register in my head.