Full Circle III - Part II B
The sky filled with dark clouds, and droplets of water fell from above like endless tears mourning the passing of a young soul.
Orochi no longer felt the cold of the rain nor the chilling touch of death. Her lightless eyes stared into the limbo as blood spilled from her body and intertwined with the rain.
Memories replayed deep within dim eyes.
She was no longer on the street fighting Feral. Orochi was in a place she did not recognize, but it felt familiar as if she belonged there.
Rust-brown clouds blocked the skies, the air was heavy with pollution, and the ground was even but cracked in many places.
Orochi struggled to breathe, slowly choking on the heavy air, but for some reason, she was not worried, as if anxiety could not be felt anymore.
From the corner of her eyes, she saw something. Turning to stare at the strange visage, Orochi saw what looked like a small child, clad in red and white scales.
The kid stared Orochi in the eye. The child got closer. The skies changed as memories appeared on the clouds.
Orochi saw the very beginning of her life—her early childhood. How her mother held her tight, the caring hugs of her father, and the adoration of her sister. Her small claws reached out to them.
Her heart warmed to see how her family was united without divisions or grudges at that time.
The child advanced one step.
A shadow grew from Orochi’s right side; a snake with dark eyes and silver pupils moved to her ear as the vision changed.
Now it was the first beating Orochi received from her mother when she could not act as an honorable little maiden, when Orochi could not reach her expectations of how to control her quirk.
“If you gave in to her demands, if you gave in to her whims, you would be stronger. You would be strong enough to fight back.”
The shadow hissed as Orochi bit her tongue. If she gave in to how her mother wanted to dictate her life, could she become stronger? Strong enough to beat Feral?
“You are strong.” The child hissed back at the shadow; she earned an irate stare from the serpent.
The visions changed to how Orochi improved herself to meet the unrealistic expectations of her mother, no matter how unreasonable or mean they were, always advancing and holding her hopes and dreams in her heart.
A heart open to the world.
The visions changed to her time with her hang; they quickly flashed in her eyes, not only in the clouds.
During the good moments, a second shadow sprouted from her left as the visions resumed in one crucial moment.
The moment her mother discovered it.
Orochi remembered the air supercharged with energy, her mother as a force of nature, something she could not hope to match, and how she walked toward her friends.
The fight and flight instincts as Umi and Rui were thrown to the sides like dolls.
How Orochi herself gave in to her fear and wounded her mother, drawing blood... The shadow over her left shoulder hissed.
“If you allow your violence to bloom, you can survive. You can win.”
Orochi never used her claws to swipe again after that event, only two times against Feral. ‘If I give in to the... monster, to that violence, can I win? Can I protect my friends?’
Her chest clenched like her first as doubt filled her heart.
Kaylee is out there, wherever "there" is for Orochi.
She has to help and fight again. Somewhere within her heart, she knows what she needs to do, but can she do it? To allow violence to gain control over her?
Before those thoughts can continue, the child reaches Orochi. Small white claws held her fingers.
Orochi looked down.
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The child smiled at her. “You are kind.” Orochi looked into her black eyes with white pupils.
(The stars are distant as always,
Still shining with the light of their grand death in vacant space)
The kindness of her father and her sisters was reflected in those eyes.
The moments she had with Yui when they sparred in the gym.
The small misstep with Kaylee, Ashleigh, and the Koreans at the start of the school year and all the times she baited Kaylee into a fight.
When she first brought Yui to the arcade, when she played against Chris, and when Inigo helped her escape a fight against some delinquents before teachers could get them.
When Chris, Inigo, and Sally visited her in the hospital, The help from her gang and the moments in her cousin’s agency.
When Kaylee visited her at Christmas... Her and Hiro’s project.
Tears fell from the child’s eyes. “You were always kind. We want you to live.”
(Let it penetrate the darkness when the beast roars its final wail)
Suddenly, the shadows vanished. Orochi looked to the sides. Two other children held her wrists for dear life, trembling and scared of death.
They wanted Orochi to live, much like the one before her, even if it meant turning her into a monster. They were scared of losing her, scared of dying.
The words she said one time under the heat of pressure
The heavens made a blade deep inside me.
Orochi has to walk forward.
This fight. This struggle is my destiny.
Her will to live persisted.
I have to put my strength to good use. This is why I was born.
(Let it penetrate my heart so I can share your pain)
Orochi knew who those children were; now she saw clearly through them. They were always by her side, in the good, the bad, and the worst of her days.
They understood her struggles.
Orochi smiled radiantly, a warm feeling emanated from her. She knew, pulling those children—her hydras—in her arms. “I promise—I won’t die.” She looked at the left and right ones.
“I won’t abandon my kindness.” She looked at the middle one. The warmth within her heart expanded like a burning inferno.
(If there is a way to collect and portray a mood that cannot be projected into words)
The heavy air burned, and a bright red flame expanded from Orochi and the hydras; it burned to the skies above like a carp rising against the stream of a waterfall.
(If there is a way to turn back and rebuild all the long-lost dreams)
Orochi’s body felt hotter than ever as if she had been set ablaze, but it was not unpleasant or hurt her.
(Another branch will grow and flourish in the future)
The clouds and polluted air burned to reveal a beautiful starry sky. The starry sky she stared at since her childhood, a view she shared with her mother and father—
(The breeze of your world will wake you up again)
Learning under heaven
The reason why I was born
It was to protect
The moon continues to shine above the clouds, even as clouds hide it behind themselves.