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Sora's parents met in the most non-romantic way possible.
There weren't any heart eyes, no dramatic background music, no electric sparks----nothing.
Their story started way back 900 years ago, when the Great War of the Void Century was still ongoing...
The rays of the sun illuminated on the surface of the calm waters of the Grand Line. Occasional splashes of waves caused by the wind and currents to overlapped, emitting the nature-like sound one would hear when they are near the ocean.
In the distance lies a lone island, its dense green forest already visible even at a far distance.
Two men were standing on the shore of the beach, hauling fishnets.
"We've got quite a catch today," said the man with the farmer's hat.
His partner shot him a glance before donning a winning grin. "Yup. Maybe this would be enough to feed the whole clan for a week."
"With the war going on, it's been hard to-----" the one with the farmer's hat paused mid-speech, his forehead creasing. "Do you feel that?"
His partner stopped hauling. "Feel what?"
The first man looked around. "A faint chi... but it's not one of us."
At his words, the second man dropped the net on the sound. "An intruder?"
"It's coming from there, behind the boulder."
Cautiously, the two men walked towards where the source of presence was, behind the boulder on the shore not too far from where they were standing.
When they were just beside the rock, they exchanged knowing looks before finally stepping around it.
The first man's eyes widened. "What the---"
"Call the chief, hurry!" the second man urged on, his eyes never leaving the peculiar thing lying down on the sand.
Without another word, the man with the farmer's hat sprinted towards the forest, heading back to the village. The other man stayed, his wary eyes inspecting the object they've found.
If it were just any normal day, they would have had different reactions to the thing, but this was war times. Any strange occurrences should be dealt with caution.
There, lying down on the sand, was an unconscious girl.
•
"So what should we do with the girl?"
A man with brown hair looked up from his clasped hands, eyeing the other authoritative council members around the table.
The group was inside a huge round tent, where the usual gathering of the council would be held whenever there were meetings.
"I have already assigned my son to watch over the girl. Once she regains consciousness, we will bring her into interrogation."
"And if she is a spy?"
The Chief Leader, Mundok, slightly frowned as he replied. "Then we will have to put her to death."
•
As the girl opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the green grass. Once her sight adjusted and her mind cleared, she then wondered why she couldn't move.
Then it hit her. She was tied to a large wooden pole, with her hands secured at the back.
"Eh?"
Lifting her head, the next thing she saw was the back of a person-----it was a young teenager, and a male, at that. Probably around 18 years old, same age as her.
What struck her as odd was that the said person was holding a long spear, with the butt of it reaching the ground, as if it was guarding someone.
He looked so stiff, the girl almost thought he was a statue.
When she found her voice, the girl finally spoke.
"Where am I?"
Aside from wondering where she was, the girl also realized she had no recollection of everything that happened before, where she came from, what her goal was-------heck, she even forgot her own name. It was unnerving.
The young man didn't reply. The girl couldn't even see his face as he was facing away from her, and the only thing she could identify aside from his back was that his hair was the color of chocolate brown.
She pouted. "Hey, can you hear me? I'm talking to you."
Still none. Now she was really starting to think of a possibility of the guy being a statue.
"Are you deaf? Or are you just ignoring me?" The girl asked once again.
No reply.
And so, this continued for a while, with the girl continuously talking while the boy kept on his silent facade.
When the next morning came, the girl was brought to a tent and was interrogated.
•
"They were so persistent, ya know? 'Are you sure you're not a spy from the Union' like, I've already said it a hundred times, 'I don't even know what a Union is! Is it food?' and they ignored me. I mean, is this thing called Union food?"
The silver-haired girl ranted impatiently at her local bodyguard, who still refused to say anything despite her throwing a fit.
After the interrogation, she was led back to her pole and tied again. So here she was now.
"AGH! So frustrating!" She lifted her legs and kicked the air, rattling the pole and herself. Still, the brunet teen didn't acknowledge her. "Why can't I remember anything?! What happened to me?! .. Hey, bodyguard! Are you listening? Say something!"
"..."
The girl clicked her tongue before sighing.
"Why are you so quiet.. you didn't even tell me your name, did you?"
"..."
"If you're not gonna tell me then I'll call you...."
The girl trailed off, thinking of some suitable nickname for the silent brunet.
"Ah! I got it!" She beamed brightly at him, although he couldn't exactly see her face since his back was facing her.
"Chinsei! I'll call you Chinsei, because you're quiet. Do you like it?"
"..."
"I'll take that as a yes!"
And just like that, they became acquaintances.
•
4 days had passed since the girl was brought into the village of the Chihaki Clan, and by then she had already grown accustomed to the silent company by her 'bodyguard'.
Although the brunet had not once uttered a single word, the silver-haired girl still managed to maintain a cheerful conversation----albeit it was one-sided.
"Ne, ne, Chinsei, ya know, Daisies bloom during spring season, on the month of April. It'll be April next week, right?" she said with a smile. The girl leaned her head so that she was leaning on the pole. Closing her eyes, the silver-haired girl smiled.
"Did you know? Just like every flower, Daisies mean innocence, purity, and loyal love."
The girl opened her eyes. "I like Daisies. Funny how I forgot my own name but remembered some random flower, right?" she chuckled lightly.
She turned to the silent brunet.
"Chinsei, if all of this is over, tell me your favorite flower, okay?"
Even if he didn't give her an answer, the girl knew he heard her.
•
"It's been a week since the girl's arrival. The council needs to make a decision."
Mundok, a 46-year-old man, regarded the council members with a cool gaze.
"She's been denying her relation with the Union, or anyone for that matter, and she still claims to have forgotten her memories." A man spoke up.
"It may be true, since all evidences of her sudden arrival leads to the possibility of a shipwreck. Even if she was a part of the Union, she wouldn't mean a threat if she forgot her memories." Another commented, earning a few nods.
"But if she is lying, then letting her live will certainly be a bad decision." The first person retorted. Some murmured in agreement.
"If she was lying, our interrogators would have already found out. You know of their expertism, and it is unlikely that they have made a blunder during their interrogation."
As a debate began, their chief leader Mundok spoke up, immediately silencing the tender atmosphere in the tent.
"I have already made my decision. Anyone who wishes to disagree will voice their opinion after my statement."
Everyone was quiet as their chief leader started.
•
The girl looked around her, curious as to why so many people had gathered today around her pole in particular.
"What's going on?" She asked, but no one gave her a reply.
Ticked, her eye twitched. "Is everyone living here mute or something? Hello? I just asked a question. The logical thing to do would be to give me a reply for Pete's sake!"
The audience--- which only included the high figures of the clan, remained silent as Mundok stepped forward.
"Intruder, it has been a week since your unprecedented arrival on our island. Our council has already made a decision on what to do with you."
The girl rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Intruder? puh-lease, I have a name in case you don't know.... although I forgot what it was."
She turned back to the chief leader and said in a clear, loud voice."And what is this decision you speak of? Oh, humble man with the beard, did your council decide to put this innocent girl to death?"
It was silent for a while. The silver-haired girl's bold comment about Mundok's beard left them speechless for a few seconds. The man in question, Mundok himself, cleared his throat and ignored her comment.
He gestured for someone to come forward, and among the crowd, the girl saw some shifting amidst them.
When someone stepped forward, it took the girl a few seconds to register the person.
Brown hair, serious gaze, and a muscular form---------along with an unsheathed dangerous-looking sword gripped in his hand.
It was the same person who had been keeping watch over her for the past week.
Even though it was the first time the girl had actually saw his face, she could immediately tell that they were the same person.
As the brunet strode towards her, the girl's attention never left his form. For a while, she was stupidly wondering why he was holding a sword while walking towards her with a morose expression, until realization dawned on her.
He was going to execute her.
As the young man neared, the girl's heartbeat sped up, and all sounds around her muffled out as if her ears were covered by something invisible.
Once he reached her, the man stopped right in front of the girl's tied figure.
Her black eyes clashed with his brown ones, and the young man's eyes only darkened as he lifted his sword.
Involuntarily, the girl shut her eyes and held her breath, her mind going blank as the loud thumping of her heartbeat was the only thing she could hear.
Then, the pressure on her wrists disappeared.
The girl's eyes fluttered open, and the next thing she saw were the chains that previously held her tight to the pole that were now on the ground.
"We have deemed you safe. However, should you show that you are unworthy of the freedom we have given you, you will be put to death immediately for the sake of our clan's safety," Mundok announced.
Now that the the girl's sentence was done, the crowd began to disperse. Others wore unsatisfied expressions of the council's decision on letting the girl live, while others looked indifferent to the situation.
Meanwhile, the silver-haired girl, who was still yet to overcome her initial shock, fixed her gaze on the chains splayed on the ground.
Her expression immediately scrunched up in mild confusion when something white and soft was suddenly shoved in front of her face.
Slightly leaning her head backwards, the girl's eyes focused on the Daisy flower in front of her, then it went to the hand that was holding it, before it finally stopped on the person who was holding out the flower to her.
Her 'bodyguard' was turning his head away as he held the flower.
"Daisy," he said, soft enough for only the girl to hear. His voice was low and soothing to the ears, despite his intimidating look. She was taken aback at his first words to her that she was unable to say something right off the bat. Luckily, the brunette added, still not looking at her in the eye.
"It's now the first week of April."
The girl had her mouth slightly opened. So he was listening. All those times when she was ranting, the brunet had actually paid attention to her.
Somehow, that brought a giddy feeling to the girl's stomach.
There was the slight lifting of the tips of her lips before she took the flower.
"Thank you," she said, closing her eyes as she smelled its fragrance.
"Reno."
The girl opened her eyes and saw the brunet now staring at her.
"It's not Chinsei," he said, his small smile didn't go unnoticed by the girl. "My name is Reno."
The girl blinked a few times before she awkwardly chuckled, her free hand scratching the back of her head. "Ah, haha... you know.. I would have told you my name too if I knew.."
She saw Reno looked towards the general direction of the sea.
"Umi."
"Sorry?"
Reno looked back at her and softly smiled.
"From now on, your name is Umi. Because you're just as wild and unrestrained as the ocean."
The girl didn't know if she should be happy or offended that she was compared to the sea because of her being wild, but she decided to go with the former.
"Do you like it?"
Umi couldn't help but smile just as Reno said,
"I'll take that as a yes."
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HEEY~ It's been a while.
It's finally summer break, but I still have to practice for our recital so I won't be able to update weekly.
I was actually planning on writing the ENTIRE flashback in one chapter, but----yeah. This will probably run for about an estimated 3 chapters (including this one).
Flashbacks are sometimes boring (I know) and as much as possible I want to avoid writing it but it's really essential especially since you guys have a LOT of questions by reading the previous chapter.
AAAAAAND this won't be the last flashback in the story hehe. I'm not fond of writing flashbacks in one go so this is 'probably' the second to the last flashback arc (is there such a thing).
If I recall correctly the first flashback was about Sora's sister, Hoshi. This is the second flashback, about Sora's biological parents, Umi and Reno. Just keep in mind that this flashback happened first (obviously) before the Hoshi issue.
LASTLY, I think the biggest question is "Why was Sora in the real world even though her parents were actually from the OP World?"
Don't worry guys I have a reason for this----a lame reason to the point that I am so ashamed of it but I was a noob when I first started this and I don't want to change the overall story so yeah.
THAT'S ENOUGH TALKING.
Hope you enjoyed this flashback chap: Introduction of Sora's biological parents and about the Chihaki Clan.
-buncha