"We're home, we're home, we're home!"
You were excitedly walking towards your home, the Navy ship that dropped you off now long gone. Tashigi and Smoker were no longer around to supervise you-- meaning one thing. You were free to do what you wanted. You now knew how Marines fought, unintentionally won over the heart of Tashigi and befriended her (Maybe Smoker if you're feeling lucky) and had trained your Haki to become a bit stronger.
You were buzzing with happiness. "Can't believe it's been a month since I was auctioned off!"
"Time flies. I missed the quiet life of Crow Island!" The demon on your shoulder chimed.
"I know, right?" You paid no mind to the attention your voice drew-- and the strange looks you received from the people of the village. You only waved and extended a greeting to them all. And surprisingly, you received warm welcomes in return. Kindness must receive kindness, huh.
"Hm... The rumors must have died down. All the better for us. Maybe I'll finally be able to try some of that street food."
You giggled and waved at one of the kids-- why shied away behind their other friends. "Maybe later-- I wanna go home-- to my room!"
"We'll have to show Annan later-- I can't exactly run around with a sword."
Though he was disturbed that you still liked Annan, and planned to keep him along for the ride, Kosai only sighed. "Fine. But at least say hello to your family instead of disappearing into the woods to train."
No promises!
You didn't think you'd miss your family that much, but you quickly realized that you really enjoyed your time with them. That's why you couldn't wait to see them again. Even your bratty brothers-- but you wanted to see your favorite sister the most. And see how Sai was doing.
Greeting the guards near the entrance of your home, and not catching how surprised they looked to see you back, and entered the massive mansion where you lived. You kicked your shoes off and started running down the halls. It was around lunch, and your family usually ate meals together. You remembered the time that you forced everyone into having a tea party with Lory because she had tried making tea cookies and sandwiches for the first time.
(Let's just say that your brothers silently swore to never go against your orders when it regarded their youngest sibling if they wanted to continue sleeping peacefully at night.)
You threw open the door to the dining hall, heart swelling. You missed your family so much-- and you knew that you'd catch them during lunch time. The month had been longer than you thought, though your time with Tashigi, Smoker, and the other Marines had been amazing.
"Dad, dad--!! I'm home, I'm home--!! What the fuck."
He jumped in his chair. "(Name)?" You were back already? He thought you arrived later that day, and didn't he tell the guards to warn him if you came back earlier--
"What the fuck."
You looked at your dad. He looked at you. You looked at the (rather beautiful) woman who sat across from him. She looked at you. Her hands were frozen in the air-- reaching for her drink, and her other was on King Sai's hand.
They were... eating together.
Pausing, you looked around. Your swords were strapped at your hips, and Sai took notice of a small scar that ran across the bridge of your nose-- it wasn't there before. You appeared to be a bit rougher around the edges-- but you were still (Name). You were still his daughter.
You? You were focused on something else.
The lighting
The drawn curtains
A candlelit dinner
... The romantic feel to it
Wait a minute. Wait a goddamn minute. Something here ain't right.
The gears were slowly turning in your head.
Hold on...
Was King Sai... on a date?!
Kosai was living for this. He sounded like he was hyperventilating in your head. "HOW UNEXPECTED--"
You put your hands on your hips and blinked. Then, your arms fell limply to your side in shock. Holy shit. Holy shit you couldn't believe it.
"I CAN'T BELEIVE IT EITHER ---WHAT THE FUCK"
WHAT THE FUCK IS RIGHT WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE WE HAVE TO TELL ANNAN--
"(NAME) THEY'RE ON A DATE YOU IDIOT LEAVE THE ROOM"
--AND MAKE IT AWKWARD??? FUCK NO I THINK THIS BASTARD BETRAYED ME
This wasn't about sending you away so you could learn how Marines fought. Not so you could snoop around and find out all of the Marine's secret. Not so you could grow and train and accept that your curse was now a part of who you were and are.
"Oh my god. You got rid of me for a month so you could go on a date with a woman." Your eyes widened even more. "---AM I THAT BAD OF A KID THAT YOU CAN'T PULL BITCHES--"
King Sai shot out of his chair
"(NAME) GET OUT--"
~ . . . ~
First five minutes back home and you've been put in a goddamn time out.
You were livid. But you were above exploding in anger. Especially when Lory was with you, with the celebratory cookies she made for you-- in celebration that you were back home. At least Sai had the decency to chuck you into your room for your punishment.
He seemed to forget that you could climb, which is why you climbed out of your window and were now on a small picnic with Lory in the garden that overlooked the sea.
You sighed and took a bite out of one of the cookies, sitting down next to your little sister. Lory smiled. "Did... Did you get my letters? Did you read them?" She asked.
"Hm?" Your brow raised in amusement. "What kind of sister would I be if I didn't read them?" "
"You'd be a goddamn monster," said Kosai, who was scarfing down cookies that you had moved out of view from your sister.
"Of course I did. I loved reading them--" To demonstrate you reached into your robe pocket --shoving the rest of the cookie into your mouth-- and pulled out a stack of envelopes. "See??"
Fuck being cringe, these letters were your first treasure. The day someone tried to take it was the day you'd resort to murder. That was your villain uprising.
Lory smiled and bit into her own cookie. You commented on how well they were made. She smiled at you and offered you more-- which you gladly took.
The two of you spent the next few minutes catching up. What she had been up to in the month you were gone, and what you had been doing in your time on Loguetown with the Marine Captains and other sailors.
From what Lory told you, she was eligible to move up another class because of her big brain. She'd be doing it, but said that she'd really miss her tutor, who was only suitable for kids in third grade and below. But you were incredibly proud. She was smart and would definitely be smarted than your pea brained brothers.
Lory had taken up a few hobbies. She really liked gardening-- and mentioned that she started taking care of the garden now that you were gone and couldn't do it. (You only started taking care of the garden in the first place because you were going to become the ultimate housewife for Nami when she finally joined and had her orange trees moved onto The Going Merry. You were very good at taking care of orange trees)
But hearing that your sister started taking care of the garden in your place made you happy. You'd still be helping, but it'd be something that you'd be doing together now. Maybe you could teach her how to crochet or sew now, if she didn't already know.
When she asked you what you had been doing, you told her everything (leaving out your SLIGHT crush on Tashigi).
Training with other sailors, making friends, breaking your arm, unlocking your Haki like a game stat, shopping with Tashigi, getting thrown around like a ragdoll by Smoker-- the whole shebang.
She laughed hard when you were retelling your experiences. So hard that she was almost in tears at one point. You left out the fact that you had a slight bump of misfortune on the last night (your horrible visions) in favor of keeping the mood light. And you wanted to introduce her to one of your friends, since the other was invisible to her.
The mood only got better when Lory started to make flower crowns out of daisies. She made some for you and started to make more for your other siblings.
"Lory, you know how we have a lot of strange things in this world?"
She wiped a tear from her eye, a wide grin on her face. "Yeah...?"
"So, I met this guy, he's really funny. My other friend hates him. Want to meet him?"
Lory nodded. Any friend of yours-- she wanted to meet them.
"Don't panic, okay?"
Her brows furrowed in confusion when you reached for your sword-- the only one you had taken with you on the picnic. For some reason, you liked that sword out of all the rest. (in her opinion, the one that was a bright red was her favorite one).
The sword looked old. Her eyes lingered on the mother of pearl flowers that were on the scabbard. You unsheathed it-- and not only was she met with the sight of a beautiful sword-- but four eyes. She thought they were just a design until they blinked.
She flinched and backed away from her spot on the grass a bit. What was that?! WHY DID IT BLINK--
"Don't panic! He's harmless!"
"You know that he isn't. You fought with that one sailor and almost cut off his arm when you let Annan control your arm for a moment. I'M STILL ANGRY ABOUT THAT--"
You grabbed a fistful of cookies and slammed them into Kosai's form, and his cries of outrage were quelled as he started to eat them. Your eyes were still on Lory, who didn't look too scared. Her eyes held curiosity, though her face did show that she was apprehensive.
"Please, Lory, don't panic. He's very nice."
The sword's eyes creased, as if it was trying to smile. "It's a pleasure. You're Master's sister, I presume?"
She blanched. "Master?"
You felt your face grow a bit hot. The nickname was fine in closed company-- but it really threw you off when the demon used it in front of others.
"U-Um, yeah! He just calls me that. Introduce yourself..." you left out saying 'idiot' in favor of appearing nicer.
"My name is Annan, and I'm a... spirit, trapped in a sword. It's nice to meet you."
She blinked and smiled awkwardly. She had become shy again. "Ni...Nice to meet you, too."
You held him forward, grip loosening on the sword's handle. "You can hold him if you want. Want a closer look?"
"N...No thank you."
Worth a try. You shrugged and pulled Annan closer to yourself but left him out of the scabbard and propped him up against the tree that you sat under so he could see everything around him.
You thought he'd join in on the conversation, but the nostalgic look he had in his eyes as he looked at the sea made you think otherwise. It had probably been a while since he had seen the world like this.
You turned to the ocean and let out a sigh, a cookie in your grip. The sea was vast and blue. It was exciting to think that you'd be sailing it soon-- and not on the Going Merry.
"I'm going to be leaving soon, you know," you abruptly said. The words fell past your lips so casually that your sister stopped making her crown and looked at you.
The grass was scratchy on your legs,, but it was nice and cool. The dun wasn't blazingly hot. Crow Island always had wonderful weather.
"Huh?"
"Uh... Sometime after my birthday, I'm going to leave. Y'Know, for my dreams?"
"Oh... So soon?"
You nodded, "Yeah..."
"..."
Shit, I think so much that I forget how talking works. I gotta figure out what to say. "Yeah. I wanted to leave when I was around sixteen. I know. Kinda young. But I have to start when I can. I'm almost strong enough as a beginner." And I won't get caught by the Marines.
"Uhuh..."
You smiled at Lory. She had started to copy the way that you casually spoke. While the whole 'overnight switch' from that day (seriously, you were speed running your own arc) you hoped that you weren't too suspicious with the way you spoke. Which wasn't very normal. At least the past 'you' was an idiot.
"Will you visit at all?" She asked hopefully.
You gave her a shrug. "I dunno. I plan to be gone for a few years, but if I can get back here before then-- I'd love to come back."
Her head cocked to the side. "Will you be travelling alone?"
Since when do nine-year-olds speak like that?
"I'd like it if we travelled alone," Kosai spoke up from his resting place, attached to the side of your thigh. "Though I hate Annan with a burning passion, he'll help protect you. I don't want a gang of pirates we don't know ogling you because you're a woman."
Oh, he had a point. That was both a good and bad idea to be travelling alone. Maybe some pirates could pick you up off the side of the road and you could start an internship. Or you could pretend to drown. That usually worked when you were trying to get someone's attention.
"(Name), are you... are you insinuating that you've done this before??"
Lifeguards are hot, man.
"YOU-- YOU ALMOST DROWNED FOR LIFEGUARDS--"
You tuned him out. "Hm. I don't know for sure. I'd probably feel more comfortable if I travelled alone. Do you think I can write any letters? I know that there's a newspaper service..."
"We can just use the crows, Sis. You should be getting your own personal crow for your birthday..."
"Uhhuhuh... right, it slipped my mind." What crows. That was really ominous. Kosai, explain.
"Kasugai crows from demon slayer but they're more useful and less annoying."
That doesn't help. Can it speak?
"No, but I can understand any language, including animals. It shouldn't be a problem. This is one of Crow Island's perks. The crows here are extremely strong and resistant and can fly for days on end."
Damn. That really was better. "Okay then, what else can we talk about.... Oh!" You snapped your fingers. "The wedding! When's that supposed to happen?"
Her shoulders drooped slightly. "Um... two weeks after your birthday, I think." She smiled. "I'm supposed to be the flower girl."
"Ah? You as a flower girl? I could see that..."
"You think so?"
"Yeah, you'd be cute." Lory, wearing a flower girl dress? You can't wait.
She looked flattered. "Thank you... You know, we're supposed to have a rehearsal dinner. Dad got the best chefs on the island to accommodate you."
"HA!"
Lory jumped, not expecting you to let out a bark of laughter. You honestly didn't expect it either.
"Knew it! He's probably going to send them back for the stunt I pulled earlier, but he might keep 'em because he did send me off."
She sweat dropped. Having no idea what you did to him earlier that morning, she could only imagine that you'd be starving on the wedding day.
"I'm sure he won't do that!"
"Uhuh. Just wait and see. At least my birthday's tomorrow. I won't be starving anytime soon."
"It's almost like you can read my mind at this point..." She said, laughing softly.
"With the weird powers that you were given? I wouldn't doubt that they'd give you an ability like that." Kosai spoke up.
Ugh, I don't want to think about that. I want to think about myself.
You wanted to talk about you, so what? It was your birthday! Your own day! You'd be turning sixteen! A sorta big milestone in your life. If you hadn't already experienced turning sixteen, that is. It was exiting that you were getting another do-over in your teen years.
You hadn't done nearly enough of what you wanted to when you were back on Earth. You weren't looking forward to the food the most.
The wedding, which would be a few weeks after your birthday... eh, you didn't really mind it. You didn't know what to say. Cool, you guessed At least Sai's workload would be halved. That man needed a break.
Well, it'd be after your birthday. You kinda hoped that Zoro didn't show up then. That'd spoil your mood if you had to deal with that moss covered rock and asked something pretty cringey of him. You weren't looking forward to the interaction.
You pictured it liked this:
You, reaching out dramatically as his boat sailed away, probably about to get sucked into a nearby whirlpool.
"Wait for me in the future--!!"
A shiver ran down your spine and Kosai started cackling when he saw what you envisioned.
You weren't Sophie and he wasn't Howl-- so you'd be sending Zoro off with a big 'fuck you' and a signed contract saying that he'd take you with him when you inevitably ran into each other again.
(Though the thought of Zoro wearing Howl's clothes got a very loud and audible laugh out of you-- which startled Lory)
A comfortable silence had enveloped you and your sister. She ended up just adding the daisy crowns on your head in stacks. And you just let her. If there were spiders in there? Your loss.
You had to do it. It was your moral obligation.
You watched as more clouds rolled by. Bored, now that the two of you had stopped talking, you watched them. Clouds... More clouds... you watched as their shapes changed with each passing puff of white.
Huh
You wondered what Crooner's hair looked like
Was it like the clouds you saw, or were they different? Wispy or fluffy? Constantly rolling into mist? Did it look like his hair was woven from the clouds themselves? Now that you'd be able to see him in real life (regardless of whether you were a marine or a pirate, you'd be hunting that fucker down) you wondered what he really looked like. He could've looked vastly different from you.
What did he act like? Did he visit Crow Island often? When you weren't around-- did he come to see your late mother when she was still alive.
You knew everything but your own life. You were curious. You wanted to know. What were you like? What did the previous you really act like? What was she like? Was she really like you?
"...Do you think in different circumstances, you would've stayed here on Crow Island?" Kosai abruptly asked. He hadn't piped in the conversation in a while. Maybe he had been spurred on by your deep thoughts.
Your lips parted and you sighed as Lory put another flower crown on your head. What do you mean?
"If you didn't know anything about One Piece. And you just... woke up here. Without any knowledge of the anime. And you just chose to live a different life entirely?"
You grew a bit concerned. What was this all about? Kosai wasn't the type to suddenly ask something like that. You'd still protect me, right?
"Of course I would." The demon internally sighed with you. "I'm just saying. What would it be like if you just stayed on this island forever?"
Well, I wouldn't be having fun. I don't understand people who don't like travelling.
"You wouldn't stay, even if it was peaceful?"
Fuck no. That sounds like torture. It'd be boring if there was no chaos.
"I see."
You fiddled with a blade of grass in your fingers and watched as even more clouds rolled by. You better not be backing out now, you motherfucker.
"I'm NOT--"
--And you shouldn't be hung up on what happened the night before I left. Of course this stuff is going to affect me mentally. It's not going to be sunshine and rainbows. I'm gonna get hurt one day or another.
You didn't have to say it to Kosai for him to know. You had already grown very attached to the demons that were with you. Kosai would probably rather die than admit that he felt the same. (Though he was surprisingly amazing at comforting you--)
And besides. It's One Piece. I got Isekai'd. I'm sure that I'd be in the Straw Hats one way or another.
"Hm... You're right," Kosai mused. "You'd still be a part of this family. And you'd still make the weirdest friends."
Speaking of family and friends, you had no idea that you could become so attached to your family, and you did feel a bid bad for treating this family a lot better than the one in the real world. Well, not the real world. Other world.
Sighing, you tossed another cookie into your mouth.
Man, thinking about how many worlds are out there hurts my head. Are there more people like me? Different versions?
"Perhaps. We may never know."
You had a feeling that he was lying
"Well, we should probably think of a good dress for you, right?" You turned to Lory. "What's the new queen's name again?"
Lory stared at you for a very long time. Before you started sweating, she smiled at you and let out a little giggle. "You're funny-- I almost forgot that you haven't really met her yet!"
"Oh- oh-- you're right!" You laughed with her, totally not embarrassed about what you had just said. "I-I'd like to know her name, since she's marrying dad and all..." She seems really nice, too.
"May Rose..." She trailed off. "She's got a similar name as mom."
Kosai perked up. "Is this trauma I sense?"
LITERALLY SHUT UP YOU DEMON
You pat Lory on the back to try and comfort her. It was no secret that your mother in this world wasn't around.
But it wasn't like you were an insensitive monster! You didn't even know her and the past you had formed a different bond. And from what you had inferred from stalking the villagers before you were rudely sent off, she was a pretty badass ruler. In the good way.
Azalea Roze... She was a soon-to-be princess from another island but had given up her title in favor of your real father. Ditching her royalty for Crooner. It didn't last long, from what you could tell, as they only had one child. Which was you. The rest were half siblings.
So, do like... Nine-year-olds get affected by this?? I know Lory's intelligent, but I don't know much about emotions in children.
"Well, the late Miss Azalea was a woman who lived with a bright smile on her face at all times. She was a very happy person."
Really? When did she die?
"Her death isn't recent. It's been a few years-- Lory must remember her a bit more than you do. It must hurt, but she's trying to smile like Azalea did."
...Lory? She's still sad? You glanced at her expression. Now that he mentioned it... she did look sad. You felt strange. Were you a bad person for not being sad?
"Wh...What do you think happens after death."
Oh no, her existential crisis was happening too soon.
You blurted your answer out in a panic. "Your family members fight for your belongings?"
"(NAME)"
WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO SAY
Your little sister, bless her heart, giggled at your antics. "Huh... I-I try to be like you, Sis. I don't get how you didn't... cry..." She also didn't understand how you were always so upbeat.
I-- past me was a horrible person, it's been confirmed--
"I shouldn't be sad that she's gone, right?"
Your lips parted, and you opened your mouth. Then you closed it. Your brows were furrowed as the blade of grass fell from your grasp. That was a question you didn't expect from her.
How could you answer it? You didn't know yourself-- the only death you encountered was when you died-- which, by the way, you weren't that sad about. Death wasn't a common occurrence in your family anyways.
Your parents had been young when they had you, and their parents were already dead. So you didn't know what they were like and thus, didn't form an attachment with them that would make you sad.
You;d never truly know how to feel unless the person was already gone. You'd hear about your peer's family members passing away, and you'd give the obligatory "I'm sorry for your loss" and condolences, but other than that...
Nothing
You had no experience. Were you some heartless monster or something?
You took the flower crowns off and set them next to. Onto Kosai. On purpose.
"Well..." You leaned back against the tree-- and Lory watched your shoulders slump as your expression morphed into one of thoughtfulness. "I learned this one method of dealing with loss from a book. A children's book, if you'd believe it. Want to hear?"
"...Sure?"
You nodded. "Okay... Think of death like-- someone leaving permanently. You already know that. Nobody knows what's really in the afterlife--"
"You do."
Not important. I'm going to live forever anyways. Moving on.
"-A lot of people say there's nothing, and a lot of others say that there's something..." Your extra arms made gestures as you spoke. Lory was still listening and giving you her full attention. "How about this: picture a soul leaving someone's body when they die."
"Soul..."
"Their body is still there, but there's nothing inside of it. It's the main reason -or the only reason, I don't know- that someone, who was originally a person with thoughts, emotions, and passions, becomes a corpse. A thing. But it's not like they're 'gone' gone."
You checked if she was still following along-- and she was. That was good.
"Still following?"
She gave you a hesitant nod. "I think so."
Your arms crossed. "Right. And the book- it told me that the person who died wasn't really gone. They left an empty 'shell'. Death isn't something to be afraid of, too. It happens to everything and everyone at some point."
"Excluding you, however. You're the God's personal jester."
An irk mark formed on your forehead and you kept your smile. Yeah. The jester who has the entire royal court wrapped around her goddamn finger.
"Careful, (Name)--"
"Right! You shouldn't be afraid of death because that's what makes us human. Though I may look like a monster, I still bleed like you do. I hurt like everyone else does. Because I'm normal. I'm abnormally normal."
Lory also had a thoughtful expression on her face. "I... I see."
You nodded. "Everyone is just a person in the end. King or commoner. It's up to the individual to decide if they want to keep their humanity."
"Does it only apply to humans?" Lory asked, her head tilted to the side again.
"Nah. I say it doesn't. Probably anything with a conscience. Like-- intelligent life forms capable of some sort of communication. You get what I mean?"
Putting it into words was harder than you thought.
"Yeah..."
"Just like, uh-- Fishmen!" A lightbulb went off in your head. "Just because Fishmen are a different species doesn't mean that they don't experience the same things as we do. Same thing applies when you switch it around. They're the same as us, right?" Only they can breathe underwater, which is unfair.
"Right!"
You smiled.
"I'd say that everyone on this planet, across all these islands, is really just a person. But it's what they are that makes them important." You held up a finger. "Just because we can be grouped into a huge number as a whole population doesn't mean that we're insignificant. The stars may outnumber us, but they can't think, can they?"
What if they could, though--
Your expression wasn't thoughtful anymore. You were being straight faced and honest.
"We have thoughts and emotions. They might be different or similar- but we're all sharing this world and the experience-- the experience of being here together. In the short time we're all alive, regardless of lifespan, there will always be other, and the next generation will have parts of us with them. But the cycle will always repeat. Life and death will always be hand in hand."
"In the grand scheme of things, nothing really matters."
Pessimistic asshole. You tried not to make a deadpan expression as you sat back up to but Lory's crowns back on. Were you not allowed to have a serious conversation ever again with him around? Probably not. Then again, you just talked about death with someone who was literally nine.
Kosai huffed. "I've seen many things. I'm a demon. I'm almost immortal. I'm surprised at how optimistic you are when you view humanity."
BECAUSE YOU-- You exhaled slowly. We aren't getting into this.
"Really??" His tone was dripping with sarcasm.
You ignored him. "Lory... Just remember these things. One; being sad is okay. You can cry if you miss mom. There's nothing wrong with that at all-- keeping emotions to yourself does more harm than good."
She nodded
"Two; not everyone is kind-- but it doesn't mean they're monsters. It's up for you to decide. You are the ultimately the best judge when regarding your own opinion when it comes to others."
Another nod
"Three; being nice is a good quality to have, but there's nothing to gain by being a pushover, okay?"
Lory looked down at her hands. They had been stained slightly by the grass and daisies. Her nails were slightly dirty, but her hands were mostly clean. What you had told her...
There had been so much going on in the month that you had been gone. The introduction of Sai's fiancé. Haru, Hana, Sato, and Sage... they were off doing their own things. Leaving Lory relatively alone. She was preoccupied with school and rarely got to socialize. And she was a princess on top of all of that.
The only person who really understood her were you and, well... her mother. The wedding was such a sudden announcement. You weren't around to help her through it, or at least help her process it, and Lory was just confused on how to feel. She felt like she shouldn't have this level of stress for someone her age.
Why couldn't she just be as carefree as the other village kids?
The ones who looked so happy whenever she saw them. the ones that were spooked by you whenever you went on walks around town. The ones that were teasing her whenever she went out with the maids to explore.
She looked up when you had chomped down on a hard biscuit, which made a loud crunching noise.
"Lory, you can be sad. You can be happy, stressed, whatever," you muttered, gazing at the vast ocean ahead. "Just because someone says "It doesn't matter in the end" doesn't mean you're not allowed to live the way you want. You're allowed to be complicated. It's as simple as that."
"Oh... I see..."
After a moment, she looked up from her hands and at you. How were you like that? You just seemed... so...
Peaceful
Comforting
Understanding
You heard her shuffling closer to you. It prompted you to turn to face her. You were met with Lory, who was reaching out to you with shaking hands.
"Thank you..! I didn't know for a while, but..." Her smile fell and her eyes began to water. "I-I didn't know if I was supposed to be sad or not...!"
She practically dove forward to hug you. She was now sobbing into your chest with her pent-up emotions finally coming out. You were startled-- but soon realized that she had been dealing with a lot. It wasn't right that she had to be so stressed. She was a child. What made her think that she wasn't allowed to cry in the first place?
I'm not the best at comforting, but... You put your arms around the girl, securing her in a hug. She was a quiet crier. You felt bad for making her cry, but... at least she was getting all of it out. You have her a few pats and smiled to yourself.
Emotions were hard sometimes. They were complicated. Feelings got hurt all of the time. There was a lot of sadness, anger, hatred, and envy in the world...
But feelings are what make people people.
"You'll feel better about everything after this, Lory. Trust me."
She only buried her face into your chest further.