Kyla had learned the shape of this room the way prisoners learn the shape of their cages.
The same warped floorboards.
The same low lantern burning itself to death in the corner.
The same narrow walls that seemed to inch closer every day.
Rin sat across from her in her usual place beneath the windowless boards, knees pulled tight to her chest, eyes fixed somewhere far away.
The door was shut.
It felt like another day.
Another long, suffocating, ordinary day.
Kyla shifted her wrist.
For once, there were no cuffs.
She frowned. No weight circling her skin. No cold bite around her wrists. For once, there were no cuffs—
No cuffs?
She looked down.
Bare skin.
She blinked and looked again. Iron circled her wrists, heavy and familiar, the cuffs sitting exactly where they had been for weeks.
Kyla stared at it longer than she meant to, her pulse skipping once. Maybe she hadn’t noticed. Maybe she was getting used to the weight. Maybe she was losing it.
She looked at Rin. Rin didn’t look back.
The room felt smaller. The lantern flickered. Mei wasn’t there—that wasn’t strange. Mei came and went.
But the door had been locked from the inside.
Kyla was sure of it.
She stood slowly.
The cuffs did not clink.
She looked down again. It was there. Wrapped around her wrists. Circling innocuously.
Her stomach dropped.
She lifted her hands slightly.
The iron was there.
But it made no sound.
Her throat tightened as she looked toward the door. It was slightly open, just enough to show darkness beyond. That hadn’t been open before. She was sure it hadn’t been. Mei wasn’t here after all; they always locked the door when she left.
Behind her, Rin shifted—not the small restless movements Kyla had grown used to. Something heavier. Wet.
Kyla turned.
Rin was still in the corner—but her head was tilted too far, chin sagging against her chest like the bones inside her neck had gone soft.
Blood slid slowly from behind her ear.
For a second Kyla just stared.
Then the world snapped back into motion.
“Rin—?”
She lurched forward on her knees, hands already reaching, already shaking. Her palms pressed against Rin’s shoulders, trying to hold her upright.
Rin’s body sagged in her grip.
Warm blood smeared across Kyla’s fingers.
“No—no, no—”
Kyla clapped a hand uselessly against the wound, pressing hard like that might push the blood back in, like bodies worked that way. The blood kept slipping through her fingers, thick and dark, soaking the sleeve of Rin’s dress.
“Stop—stop—”
Her voice cracked. Her hands moved faster, desperate, trying to hold the skin together, trying to force the blood back where it belonged.
It didn’t work.
It just kept coming.
Rin’s eyes fluttered open.
For a moment they didn’t seem to see anything at all.
Then they found Kyla.
“You—” Rin breathed weakly.
Her lips trembled.
“It’s your fault.”
The words landed soft.
But they hit harder than a scream.
Kyla froze.
“I—no—Rin—”
But Rin’s gaze was already slipping past her.
Her body sagged heavier in Kyla’s arms.
Kyla’s head bowed down over Rin, crying.
The lantern flickered.
And the door creaked open.
A figure stepped inside.
No rush. No noise. Just there. Tall. Familiar.
Kyla knew the shape before she saw the face.
Her mother.
Barefoot. Calm. Whole. Not broken by pirates. Not swallowed by the sea.
She held something in her hand.
A knife.
It dripped steadily onto the floor.
Kyla tried to move.
But her limbs wouldn’t cooperate.
Why was she crying?
Where was Rin?
Her mother looked at her. Not smiling. Not angry.
Just disappointed.
“You left,” she said quietly.
Kyla shook her head. She tried to speak. Nothing came out.
Her mother stepped over Rin’s body.
—there she was. When had she fallen there? —
Blood followed her footprints.
“Why did you run away?”
Suddenly her face contorted, anger that did not belong there, the knife lifting high. “You coward.”
Kyla couldn’t breathe.
The chain pulled tighter— chain? ---
So Close, Yet a World Apart (18704 words) by NoShitHere2
Fandom: One Piece (Anime & Manga)
Characters: Portgas D. Ace, Solen D. Kyla (OC)
Summary:
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts.
Until finally-inevitably-they collide.
Because maybe, just maybe, they were always meant to meet.
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts. Until finally-inevitably-they collide.
Because ma
Read Adrift from the story So Close, Yet a World Apart by NoShitHere2 with 1 reads. baddie, kylarunsawayfromfeels, port...
So Close, Yet a World Apart (18704 words) by NoShitHere2
Fandom: One Piece (Anime & Manga)
Characters: Portgas D. Ace, Solen D. Kyla (OC)
Summary:
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts.
Until finally-inevitably-they collide.
Because maybe, just maybe, they were always meant to meet.
Read Adrift from the story So Close, Yet a World Apart by NoShitHere2 with 1 reads. chaoticnavigationoffeelings, slowup...
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts. Until finally-inevitably-they collide.
Because ma
Read The Bird and the Monsters from the story So Close, Yet a World Apart by NoShitHere2 with 2 reads. chaoticnavigatio...
So Close, Yet a World Apart ) by NoShitHere2
Fandom: One Piece (Anime & Manga)
Summary:
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts.
Until finally-inevitably-they collide.
Because maybe, just maybe, they were always meant to meet.
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts. Until finally-inevitably-they collide.
Because ma
Read The Bird and the Monsters from the story So Close, Yet a World Apart by NoShitHere2 with 1 reads. slowupdates, slo...
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts. Until finally-inevitably-they collide.
Because ma
So Close, Yet a World Apart by NoShitHere2
Fandom: One Piece (Anime & Manga)
Summary:
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts.
Until finally-inevitably-they collide.
Because maybe, just maybe, they were always meant to meet.
When awareness returned, the floorboards were sticky beneath Kyla’s scraped knees, smelling of brine and stale sweat. The cheap twine cutting into her wrists and ankles was tight enough to bring tears, but she didn't waste the moisture. Every breath was a short, sharp misery, tasting of the cheap gag stuffed into her mouth.
“You--you absolute fucking dumb-ughhhh! This is all your fault!”
Kyla ignored the frantic cursing from beside her.
Her focus stolen by the cold, steady presence standing a few feet away.
There was no apology in her expression. No regret.
The knot in Kyla’s gut tightened.
Betrayal settled in heavy and slow.
.
.
.
.
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts. Until finally-inevitably-they collide.
Because ma
Read Where the Party Ends from the story So Close, Yet a World Apart by NoShitHere2 with 2 reads. slowupdates, kylaavoi...
So Close, Yet a World Apart by NoShitHere2
Fandom: One Piece (Anime & Manga)
Summary:
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts.
Until finally-inevitably-they collide.
Because maybe, just maybe, they were always meant to meet.
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts. Until finally-inevitably-they collide. Because ma
So Close, Yet a World Apart by NoShitHere2
Fandom: One Piece (Anime & Manga)
Summary:
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts.
Until finally-inevitably-they collide.
Because maybe, just maybe, they were always meant to meet.
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts.
Until finally-inevitably-they collide.
Because maybe, just maybe, they were always meant to meet.
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts. Until finally-inevitably-they collide. Because ma
So Close, Yet a World Apart by NoShitHere2
Fandom: One Piece (Anime & Manga)
Summary:
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts.
Until finally-inevitably-they collide.
Because maybe, just maybe, they were always meant to meet.
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts. Until finally-inevitably-they collide. Because ma
So Close, Yet a World Apart by NoShitHere2
Fandom: One Piece (Anime & Manga)
Summary:
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts.
Until finally-inevitably-they collide.
Because maybe, just maybe, they were always meant to meet.
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts. Until finally-inevitably-they collide. Because ma
So Close, Yet a World Apart by NoShitHere2
Fandom: One Piece (Anime & Manga)
Summary:
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts.
Until finally-inevitably-they collide.
Because maybe, just maybe, they were always meant to meet.
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts. Until finally-inevitably-they collide. Because ma
So Close, Yet a World Apart by NoShitHere2
Fandom: One Piece (Anime & Manga)
Summary:
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts.
Until finally-inevitably-they collide.
Because maybe, just maybe, they were always meant to meet.
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts. Until finally-inevitably-they collide. Because ma
So Close, Yet a World Apart by NoShitHere2
Fandom: One Piece (Anime & Manga)
Summary:
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts.
Until finally-inevitably-they collide.
Because maybe, just maybe, they were always meant to meet.
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts. Until finally-inevitably-they collide. Because ma
So Close, Yet a World Apart by NoShitHere2
Fandom: One Piece (Anime & Manga)
Summary:
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts.
Until finally-inevitably-they collide.
Because maybe, just maybe, they were always meant to meet.
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts. Until finally-inevitably-they collide. Because ma
So Close, Yet a World Apart by NoShitHere2
Fandom: One Piece (Anime & Manga)
Summary:
The world has a way of pulling threads tighter.
Missed encounters. Near meetings. Almosts.
Until finally-inevitably-they collide.
Because maybe, just maybe, they were always meant to meet.
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