Crying on the inside (Zoro x oc)

My purpose

**A Peek at the Past**

Yao Akane, an 18-year-old girl with a peculiar ability to heal through sleep, found herself in a world far removed from the dreams she had once harbored. Her life, marred by hardship and betrayal, had taken an unchosen path that seemed to lead through a relentless storm of suffering.

When Akane was just seven years old, her world was shattered. Her mother and 'father'—figures who should have been her anchors—disappeared without a trace, leaving behind a void that defined her childhood. Their departure wasn't a gentle parting but a cruel abandonment that left Akane in the care of a stranger—a pirate whose presence would haunt her for years."Akane, sweetie," her mother had said, her voice dripping with a sickly-sweet tone that masked the betrayal beneath. Her hand twitched as if struggling with the decision to offer a comforting pat on the back. "Liam and I are going on an adult trip and need to leave you here with Auntie. Behave for us, darling."

To young Akane, these words were bitter poison. The idea of staying with this 'Auntie,' a pirate living on a ship, was terrifying. Her mother's deceitful sweetness only deepened her sense of dread. The love and protection she had known were being cruelly stripped away, replaced by an impending nightmare.

At the tender age of five, Akane had stumbled upon a mysterious fruit—an act born of desperation. Starved and neglected by her parents, she consumed the fruit, hoping for sustenance. Instead, it granted her the ability to heal through sleep but took away her ability to swim—a loss she would come to regret. Her mother's reaction to the fruit was one of disgust, as if Akane's very existence had become a burden. Liam, her so-called 'father,' showed no interest in explaining or supporting her. On the fateful day when her parents abandoned her, Akane clung to a fragile hope, only to discover they had vanished, leaving her in the clutches of her 'Auntie,' Alvida. Alvida's ship became a prison of torment and fear, a vessel of cruelty where Akane's suffering became a daily ritual.

**The Life Aboard Alvida's Ship**

Alvida's ship was a place where the echoes of agony and despair reverberated ceaselessly. The crew cast sympathetic glances and murmured words of pity, but their sympathy did little to alleviate Akane's suffering. To Alvida, Akane was merely a target for her pent-up rage, and her life became a relentless cycle of punishment and humiliation.Each strike from Alvida felt like a knife through Akane's soul. Despite her healing powers, the pain was unbearable. Alvida's voice thundered with a venomous rage, "SHUT IT!" as she inflicted her cruel punishments. 

Akane's attempts to whisper, "It hurts," were drowned out by the unending assault. Each blow was a manifestation of Alvida's frustrations, with Akane serving as the canvas for her anger. Alvida's hollow promise that Akane would be "fine by tomorrow morning" was a cruel joke. Scars might heal, but the emotional wounds remained.

In her moments of vulnerability, Akane's voice trembled as she whispered apologies. "I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry." She wasn't sure if these apologies were meant for Alvida or herself. Perhaps, in some twisted way, she believed that by acknowledging her suffering, she could alleviate the pain of others. Her healing ability, a rare and fortuitous gift, only seemed to underscore her tragic existence in Alvida's eyes.

Alvida's cruelty was a twisted form of therapy for her—a way to channel her frustrations and disappointments. Each slash and whip was a manifestation of her own internal struggles. As Alvida's hand rose for yet another blow, Akane braced herself for the inevitable pain. The darkness seemed to close in around her, but in that moment of despair, a glimmer of hope appeared—a stark contrast to her grim reality.

**A Glimmer of Hope**

Time seemed to slow as a mysterious figure appeared—a boy with silk-black hair and a straw hat. His sudden arrival was like a beacon of light cutting through the darkness of Akane's world. The crew gawked in stunned silence as the boy effortlessly intervened, stopping Alvida's assault with an air of nonchalance.The wind rustled around them, carrying the sound of Akane's blood dripping onto the deck. In that suspended moment, Akane's heart raced with an unfamiliar sensation—hope. The boy's presence was a stark contrast to the life she had known. As he stood between her and Alvida, Akane's world shifted. The pain didn't vanish, but for the first time in a long while, she felt a faint whisper of possibility—a chance that her suffering might finally come to an end.