Chapter Text
"The one and only, the one and only. All alone, all alone.
I am here.
With my chest made of rubble, I can't even breath.
The rain that is beginning to fall is dark as sleep"
[Here, by Junna]
Yuuka Akiko knew how the world worked right at the tender age of four. Since she could remember, Akiko knew people weren’t born equal. Indeed, thanks to the quirk she was born with — that gave her the same characteristics of a white tiger she liked to call Byakko — she had been the most praised of all the orphanage’s kids she lived with. Akiko was always at the center of the attention: she was the strongest, the nimblest and the sharpest of them all. Everything she asked, the adults gave — that was because Akiko was the model child of the orphanage.
So the kid grew with the awareness of being on the same side with the strongest. However, at the same time, it also gave to the others growing expectations on the child: everyone demanded the best from her. At first, Akiko felt flattered about those nice attentions… but when the expectations grew even more, perhaps for this very reason, the child began to ask herself why they chose her. Why was she the model child, the strongest of all the other kids, when there were others with much more joyful or useful quirks?
Why was she chosen?
Why they asked the impossible from her?
Soon, Akiko arrived to a not so satisfying answer: “Just… just because my quirk is strong?”.
Akiko did not show what she felt like, no. She preferred to keep everything inside: outside everyone saw a self-confident, extrovert and gentle Akiko, a person who could solve everything without problems. Just like a hero.
Everyone kept repeating that, adults and kids alike. -You’ll become a great hero one day! You’ll save everyone and capture those bad villains!-.
-With you by our side we’ll be safe!-. They also added.
However, deep down inside some sort of anxiety started to grow. Akiko felt completely alone and void, despite being at the center of attention. As if something was missing.
“Can I be a hero, this way?”, she would often ask. Akiko absolutely did not want to become a hero. Saving people? Capture villains? She wouldn’t be able to answer those expectations.
They just pretended too much.
Instead, she often would look at the happy families in the park with sadness reflecting inside her light greeny eyes, the same look she worn whenever adults came to the orphanage and decided to adopt literally everyone but her.
“If I’m strong just like people say… then why no one choose me?” — at the age of six she started to think that way. And one day, without being able to hold back, Akiko asked one of the adults that worked there why she hadn’t been adopted yet again, or why she didn't have a family.
Yuna — the woman who Akiko asked those questions — felt such empathy and sadness for the child that she told Akiko the story of her origin, even if she wasn’t exactly allowed to. Basically, her mother was a young woman named Yuuka Natsumi, who wasn’t married and had no boyfriend or parents — Natsumi died a bit after the delivery. The father was unknown and Natsumi herself had happily told the nurses the story of how she discovered herself pregnant after a night of revelry and, with all the alcohol consumed, she could not remember the face or name of the man. Natsumi was indeed the main source of gossip of the whole ward. Despite that, the woman had affirmed to the nurses how she believed that the child she was about to give birth was a blessing, her salvation, her little personal hero — she had felt alone and abandoned after the death of her parents and loneliness hurt too much. So that was why Natsumi had decided to raise her. However, fate got the better of the two of them and so the mother died because of how the delivery put a strain on her body. With no living parents, and neither guardian to give to the newly born Akiko… she was sent to the orphanage.
Yuuka Akiko did not know what to feel, after listening to the story.
She knew, of course, that heroes saved people and that was why Akiko thought of them as the strongest and coolest of all the people.
“And I was my mother’s hero? Her salvation?”.
The story of her birth made Akiko think over and formulate a simple question in her mind:
“Why?”.
She did nothing special to be considered as such. But then why her mother thought those things? Just because she was lonely?
Akiko could not understand her. What she understood, instead, was that the Natsumi-named woman who gave birth to her too pretended too much of Akiko, in the end she was no different from the other people surrounding her. But Akiko couldn’t become a hero.
She wasn’t brilliant, as the others believed she was.
She wasn’t the coolest, just like Akiko thought true heroes were.
She didn’t save Natsumi, quite the opposite. She killed her.
Strong just like a tiger? Ah! Her quirk was wasted on someone like her. She would never have the same strength as that predator, despite sharing the same features.
Akiko thought herself as a weak person, exactly the same as her birthmother.
“Did I actually kill her? No, the real question is another. If Natsumi was so weak that she died giving birth to me… then wasn't it better not to have been born at all?”.
.
.
.
Was she someone fated to die alone and lonely, just because she was weak?
-Don’t worry, Akiko! One day someone will see how strong and special you are and will adopt you right away!-. Yuna told the kid after finishing to tell that story, after noticing the disoriented look on the child’s face.
Akiko then put on a good face, nodding and smiling like she always did. That was the one thing she was good at.
A family? She would never have one, if that was the condition.
However, at the same time, the awareness of that fate made her seethe with a strange feeling she had never felt before: anger.
I’m weak. So what?
I just need to become strong, just like a true hero.
At the age of six, Yuuka Akiko understood that her weakness didn’t matter at all, she just would change the situation in her favor. One day, she would become the same as the view others had of her and different from Natsumi, from her “mother”.
Akiko had, indeed, understood something else, after that discovery: she hated to be so negative, so weak. She wanted to do everything to change that side of her.
There’s a reason if everyone think I’m strong, right?
So Yuuka Akiko decided to change her fate: she would not die weak as her birthmother and also would be worthy of receiving a family.
But the child could not know that only the worst awaited her — that was about to hit and drag her into a bottomless, dark and gripless ravine.
**
Some time after that decision, it was a particularly cold Sunday in February, with the clouds carrying an icy wind that covered the sun, when the little Yuuka Akiko got called right after lunch by the manager of the orphanage.
-Be happy, dear Akiko. You got two requests of adoption!-.
The adult’s tone and behavior was truly euphoric, but Akiko was so shocked that she was only able to widen her eyes.
-Between the two, we chose a couple that had already adopted someone. Three years ago they adopted another young girl like you. Their surname is Oda and later, around late afternoon, they will come to pick you up. They were particularly thrilled when they heard about you and your overall results both in academics and in athletics, so you immediately impressed them-.
Akiko stayed put, sat in the huge chair, as she slowly received the information. She was almost euphoric inside and actually did not know how to react to both the good news and that feeling. The man smiled as he looked at her shyness, then gently told her to go and prepare the suitcase and that one of the workers would help her.
Akiko nodded, while silently and slowly walking towards the room she shared with other girls, finding Yuna standing near her bed and smiling.
-See? I was right, Akiko. Someone noticed how special you are!-.
Akiko nodded at her, with no courage of telling her that maybe the couple only wanted what she was able to do and not Akiko herself.
That late afternoon her new parents came to pick her up: the man was rather tall and skinny, dark hair gelled back with two deep dark eyes and worn an elegant suit. The woman too worn an elegant dress, her blonde hair tied in a beautiful and complicated hairstyle with two deep and enigmatic green eyes — Akiko noticed that they were different from her own green, who had a lighter shade than that of the woman. They introduced themselves as Takehiko and Mahiko Oda.
Despite the smile in their elegant faces, Akiko saw that they didn’t reach their eyes at all. But she still clenched her tiny fists into the dress she was forced to wear, wanting to smile and show her happy look.
Yuuka Akiko wanted to give that family a chance and then she would use them to become stronger: that was the decision the little six year old Akiko made.
-From now on you will be an Oda. You won’t be Yuuka Akiko anymore, but Oda Akiko. Understood, child?-. The woman, Mahiko, told her during the trip back home, sat in the huge and luxurious car which had also a driver. Akiko had been impressed right away, even if they had already told her how rich the Oda were.
Akiko turned to look at the woman who adopted her, feeling a bit confused and so not comfortable with that thought, but hiding inside everything in a small corner of her mind since she had already decided to give them a chance. And then Mahiko’s expression was one that seemed not to accept any negative answer. So Akiko smiled and nodded. Mahiko smiled back when she was how compliant and well-behaved the child was.
-Good. They told me you were a child who learns quickly and are not mischievous at all. You are even prettier than the photos they gave us and you also got my same green-colored eyes. When you’re older, many boys will fall for you just like me… right, Takehiko?-.
The woman began to speak in a long-winded way, drawing her husband's attention. Takehiko raised his eyes from the tablet he was working with to smile at his wife.
-Sure, love-. He simply answered and Mahiko nodded, before continuing her small talks.
For Akiko it was obvious that the man hadn't listened to anything, but the woman hadn't noticed it, so she decided not to say anything and stay with a smile to make the woman calm.
-…Kanna is only one year older than you, but I hope you’ll become good sisters!-.
Akiko began to pay attention to Mahiko's words the moment she mentioned that unknown name, her new sister’s name.
-Kanna..?-.
-Yup! She stayed at home because she’s in poor health, poor her, but she was thrilled to meet you, you know?-.
-So do I-. Akiko simply answered, still smiling.
“Kanna, huh… I hope we can become friends”.
When the car stopped and they all got out, Akiko tried to focus on all the details of that immense property. She had never seen such a big house before, it was even bigger than the orphanage.
-Do you like it, dear?-.
Akiko turned to Mahiko, nodding with an excited smile. -It’s beautiful, ma’am-.
The woman stopped her, with arms crossed to her chest. -Oh! Not ma’am, but mom. From today I’m your mother and Takehiko is your dad!-.
Akiko nodded once again and, despite it sounded weird to her, she decided not to go against their words.
-Okay… mom-.
Now satisfied, Mahiko took her hand and began to carry her inside the house, accompanied by the man and some maids and butlers who, instead, carried Akiko's suitcase and objects to her future bedroom. Akiko was stunned and impressed, bringing her eyes all around the hall, thus noticing a little girl at the top of the staircase.
She had dark blue hair, combed into two ponytails full of curls, and two eyes that were large and yellow like the sun. She was smiling at them and Akiko immediately thought how pretty she was, feeling inadequate with her long but poorly groomed white hair and also with the clothes she wore, which were the most elegant she owned from the orphanage.
Kanna turned to her once she had descended the stairs and stood on the third to last step to greet them with a smile. -You must be my new sister, nice to meet you. My name is Kanna-.
Akiko nodded slowly, trying to answer with a respectful tone.
-I’m Akiko. I… err, the pleasure is mine-.
She thought right away that even the tone of Kanna’s voice sounded much more elegant than hers. Akiko started to admire her and truly began to hope for a nice relationship with her.
What Akiko and Kanna didn’t know yet, however, was how this particular day would impact their future life. It was a destined meeting, but the two of them stil didn’t know about the pain and difficulties it would bring to them.
“As softly as a nimbly dancing butterfly, a wondrous light hangs in the atmosphere.
This place is a totally different world and all I can discern is the bright dizziness”
[Wired Life, by Meisa Kuroki]