A chance of fate, or just a single misstep?

Two girls stand bored in the classroom, but for different reasons altogether. The taller of the two looks at the closest door to her, waiting for someone to step in, any of her friends. ‘Do I have too much time on my hands? Everyone seems busy lately.’

Not that her home would be any less boring, given Kyoko is most likely napping, her father at work… leaving only her mother for her to interact with. ‘The day can’t become even more boring. Well, I said to Hoge I would be here to help her in case she needs it.’

Staying overtime at school to help a friend is not a bad thing, and Hoge must be busy given she is the class president, yet no one came calling for her or asking for help. ‘Or Hoge came, and I just ignored her… which would be very mean.’ The mere thought sends a chill down the Hydra girl’s spine.

Meanwhile, the other one stares blankly at her smartphone, scrolling up and down without the intent to read anything on her feed or social media. Her eyes stared at the screen but focused on nothing, lost in thought and jealousy.

Her friends decided to go out on their own, doing their thing. She is smart enough that their “own thing” is their boyfriend. She was left stranded here, her friends having their fun and forgetting about their friend…

‘Forgetting about me just because you all have boyfriends.’ While it infuriates her, what can she say to them? “Spend less time with your boy toys and let’s go shopping like the good old days?”

While Edith would be silently glad if they decided to act that way, she would never voice those thoughts. It is humiliating to admit she has nothing to do but spend time on her smartphone or chit-chat with a few of her classmates.

While they are classmates, she never had the will or need to know them deeper than that, while it is not a good action in hindsight, she never thought her friends would go on their merry way so easily when they found someone else to spend time with.

‘I feel like…’ Edith bites back the urge to curse; she is far above it. But the feeling of being the left cookie in the package, literally forgotten and left to catch mold is gut-wrenching. There is no cure or alternative to that, being a third wheel on any of her friends’ dates is far worse than being left to sulk in the school.

‘At least this way they will think I’m doing something fun too, or that I have a boyfriend too…’ Standing on the same level as them, even if it is a lie because she has nothing better to do here, maybe get in touch with her parents… and see social media.

Maybe train once in a while. Edith rests her face on her hand, staring at the screen as if it can solve her problems, and bring her friends back so they can go back to their usual routine.

“Yo, Edith. Whatcha doin’?” Her heart skips a beat as she jumps on her seat, a tall shadow looming over her, three additional shadows moving behind her.

“Hello, Atsushi. I’m busy; what do you want?” Edith speaks with a sharp and cold tone, trying to end the conversation as soon as possible and go back to her sulking and cursing her friend’s boyfriends in the depths of her mind.

“Busy watching your feed on your phone… fair, fair. Well, if Missus Busy doesn’t find it too troublesome or beneath her, I would invite you to enjoy a leisurely walk with me to a house of entertainment where we can find many attractions and wonders to entertain us.”

When someone watches the tomboyish girl and her antics, they may forget she is part of a powerful old-blood family. The hydra girl immediately caught Edith’s cold and apathetic tone, and as an answer, started to speak in an ancient Japanese tone.

So much so that Edith barely recognized some of her words. ‘For someone with so much muscle, you can be a real smartass.’ With a deep breath, Edith places her smartphone inside her pocket, resisting the urge to grimace.

“Alright, then make sure to show me the way, gongju.” Orochi openly grimaces, having trouble understanding spoken in Korean.

‘Ha, take that.’ Seeing the taller girl openly show her emotions is refreshing, way more open with what she thinks than most of her class. ‘Is she really from an old blood family? Is hard to think an outgoing person like that came from one.’

Someone who acts as she pleases with little to no regard towards other’s opinions of her, and with a sense of self-righteousness that borderlines insanity on her opinion. 'She outright antagonized me and the others at the start of the year.’ She stepped on Rosethorn’s sometimes just to get a shot at them for messing with Kaylee…

“Then, why that all of a sudden? While I do not hold grudges (a lie), you spent the start of the year messing with us, and the rest of the year just doing your own thing.” Edith puts her best poker face on, while the dragon merely laughs at those words.

‘For the princess to descend from her throne to speak with her is a little unbecoming and strange. She never did anything like that in the past.’ The only times they interacted were because of friends in common.

“Well, your friends ditched you to do something else alone. My friends are also busy, so I was thinking: Do you want to come to the arcade with me? Going alone is cool, but it is always better when you have someone else with you.”

Her eyebrow twitches at the mention of being “ditched out” by her friends. While not wrong, doesn’t mean she wants it to be said by someone outside her friend cycle. The hydra girl also ignored the bait, keeping a large smile on her face.

It bothers Edith how she can just ignore things and act as if nothing happened, so annoying the edges of her poker face threaten to crumble and show open disdain.

“Hey, don’t make that face. I know we started on the wrong foot, but it is almost the end of the year. Do you want to spend it alone here, or do something fun? Hoge dismissed me, so you will be here all alone.”

Edith’s classmate doesn’t betray animosity or second intentions; her words are as clear as her emotional display, on her sleeve for all the world to see. It sends an inkling down Edith’s spine because no matter how she sees it, there doesn’t seem to be a second intention in Orochi’s voice or actions.

She doesn’t want to be bound to expand her network or get insight into her family’s business; she starts to think of how to get more social benefit and standing, higher than the Hydra girl already has because of the status of the Atsushi family.

‘Maybe almost dying made you less prickly and more amicable, huh?’ For a moment, Edith considered laughing in her mind, before the realization dawned on just WHAT she joked about. If Imai was there and heard it, she would be done for.

Not only that, the topic of the mental joke she made is the worst one possible, her face paling, breaking through her facade. “I… okay. Let’s do it. I have nothing else to do.” A silent apology to Orochi for the bad-taste joke, and most importantly, a way to feel good about herself and bury this memory seven feet under.

It can’t be all that bad. “So you are not as busy as you said. Let’s go!” With unmatched vigor and excitement, the taller girl strolls to the door, a wide smile on her face, and her tails moving full of life, unlike how they were a few days ago.

Her body irradiates joy and somehow… kindness. Almost enough to make Edith smile because of the infectious nature of the hydra girl’s happiness. “I’m already regretting it.” Edith lies, and Orochi merely laughs, ignoring her words again.

(Scene break)

They walk towards the park, but Edith feels uncomfortable in their walk. ‘This was where she fought against that Rank S. How can she walk with so much confidence? Doesn’t she feel unsafe by being here? Unsafe to go to the arcade?’

‘Or she is not voicing and showing her insecurities. She is one of the toughest guys in our class. She and Kaylee are mountains. If a mountain crumbles, what does it mean to the rest?’ The biggest reason why showing emotions openly is frowned upon in high society.

Showing weakness, emotional weakness, is a quick way to get yourself and your business destroyed, breaking from the inside out as your rivals gang up on you. ‘Although she is filthy rich, then she must keep her status.’

Different reasons, same methods, and objective in the end: keep your image pristine and unblemished. If it cracks, everything will shatter soon. ‘I’m not this kind normally, so you should feel grateful.’

With a blink, Edith turns off her poker face to start small talk with the girl full of (false) confidence. “Say, why did you decide to be a hero? You are smart and wealthy enough to pursue any other profession.”

While the Atsushi Family is a hero family first and foremost, from what she knows about Orochi, both her cousin and older sister are heroes, she didn’t need to join the hero work to maintain the family name; she is off the hook.

“Ah.” Orochi gasps softly, but with this gasp, many emotions show. Hesitation, fear, hope, doubt, and hurt, deep-seated hurt. Edith’s skin crawls; the topic wasn’t as safe as she thought it was.

She made a mistake. ‘I and my damn big mouth.’ Before her eyes, the confidence of the hydra girl crumbles, leaving her posture as normal as hers and anyone else. Somber and self-consciousness. ‘I made a serious mistake.’

Before she can try to disarm the trap she set, Orochi starts to speak. Her voice is sober and devoid of the happiness she had shown moments ago.

“I like to think I chose this profession to protect others. I thought I was born strong and blessed. These blessings may hurt, but I thought I could use them for good. Save people and be a shield for those I love and the innocent.” Her voice twitches, following the instability of her lips as Orochi speaks, the movements of her tails slowing down.

“Maybe I could use them to protect others and be like my family, someone others can rely on and feel safe around… I don’t think I’m so strong anymore, but I… should try to be strong, for others, to protect them so they shouldn’t feel this hurt and doubt.”

Edith clenches her mouth shut. The Atsushi’s girl's words echoed in her mind. ‘Protect the weak, be a shield… I don’t think we are so different in our reasons.’ The fight with Feral took a toll on Orochi’s mind and self-esteem, this much was obvious to everyone with eyes and Tanaka.

‘I feel bad now.’ She stepped on a landmine. “You are strong; I mean, I don’t think any of us except Kaylee could do what you did. Everyone else would’ve died on the spot, but you stalled and hurt that villain. It is more than most of us could do. If everyone else would die facing Feral, you're surviving doesn’t make you strong?”

To survive a catastrophe, you need to be strong, resourceful, and reliable. S-class villains are less human beings and in line with a disaster. ‘You stalled and faced her. For someone so tall, you sell yourself so short.’

Maybe her height took part of her self-esteem to grow. ‘It is the only reason someone like you should feel so bad, but what do I know? You were the one who faced Feral.’ Her words are consolation prizes at their very best.

“I… thank you, Edith. I… just thank you.” Orochi's shoulders relax, and the white-haired girl looks away. Her face was a complexity of emotions bubbling to the surface, happiness at the kindness shown. Edith had no reason to show it at all.

Humiliation and shame over her crushing defeat, and guilt over her treacherous thoughts that whisper for her to give up or lose hope. ‘I won’t burden you, or our classmates, with my problems, but… thank you.’

She thanked her classmate out loud, but Atsushi’s middle daughter felt the need to thank her again. Edith, and by that matter, any of the Korean Five, talked with each other beyond the barest minimum, yet she spoke without a hint of lies or a mask.

Sincerity and kindness should be repaid in full. Orochi shakes her head, placing her thoughts in order. “So, what do you want to do in the arcades? Play some beat ‘em ups? Fighting games? Rhythm? I think there is karaoke too, but I generally don’t use those.”

Edith muses for a few seconds. Orochi has the fame of the most try-harding player in the class; even game freaks like Chris and Yui fail to match her. ‘I will be crushed if I try to fight against her on her turf.’

"Using these terms, only karaoke is left, and I’m sure I will win." For all of her gaming ability, she hadn’t shown any skill with singing as far as the class rumors go. “Let’s go to the karaoke first. It has been so long since I was last on one.” Another lie, but it is not as if Orochi knows it.

Her only social media presence is posting gameplay from rhythm games. "It will be a walk in the park. What are the odds of her actually knowing how to sing?" Of course, anyone can sing, but few can sing well.

A musclehead like Orochi fits the former better. "I already won." While it shouldn’t be a competition, Edith does not want to go home without a victory against the snake who destroys everyone who plays a game against her.

Orochi grins widely, showing her oddly sharp teeth and long fangs. “You bet. I’m going first; I haven’t sung in a karaoke in ages. Time to get some rust off me.” With a confident grin, the taller girl cracks her shoulders, and Edith feels like she made a grave mistake.

"The odds of her knowing how to sing are not that high… right?" Because of the lack of a poker face this time around, her uncomfortable smile is seen by Orochi, slitted pupils like a predator ready to pounce on its prey.

"I will beat your ass. No one can defeat me in an arcade game." The tryhard totem spirit inside Orochi accepts the unspoken challenge proposed by Edith.

(Scene break)

Orochi was oddly respected by the people in the arcade, so much so that Edith found it strange at first. "They all respect her like some kind of boss." It is convenient and understandable in hindsight, that Orochi lured an S-class threat away from the arcade at her own expense.

"She is like some kind of local hero." It is amusing to think a classmate has a fanbase, even if it is small and niche like an arcade. "She was in the journals weeks ago, but now everyone has forgotten it. It is kinda cool they remember her sacrifice."

For a moment, Edith finds herself slipping into slang and other uncultured speech, widening her eyes. "Oh god, first Hifumi, then Bobby and now Orochi, their rough speaking is getting to me too!"

It is unfit for someone of her status to talk in a manner so crude, especially in her mind. It means their mannerisms are starting to get to her. "If I’m like this, what is becoming of my friends? Will Hailey start to speak like that too? Or will Minnie be as impolite as Bobby?"

Edith’s skin crawls with despair and fear, the only ones safe are Faith and… "I don’t know the one Maxxie is with to get a hang of his personality…" Only Faith and herself are safe. "I won’t ever allow a savage like that to get to me. Nope."

She slipped again.

"Hey, they got the machine going. It is our time to shine, baby." With the same spirit of an overzealous kid with a new toy, Orochi takes the microphone with one hand, her slitted pupils throbbing with excitement, heart pounding loudly.

She licks her lips, waiting to crush her prey—show Edith her singing skills. "Go on, show us the voice of a Siren." Edith taunts the hydra girl, who doesn’t answer the taunt.

"One, two, three, go!"

With a countdown, Orochi places her first song. "What am I fighting for…? After our talk… It is on purpose; she placed this song on purpose." Edith stares at Orochi’s back with a crooked smile.

Depending on the tone of the music, it may show Orochi's self-destructive behavior, or… with worse problems she would rather not think about. "In any case, I should have the school on speed dial; Orochi may need psychological help." A song can speak volumes about a person’s mood and their demons.

Only a fool ignores clear signs on their faces.

Yet, Orochi takes a deep breath, waiting for the lyrics to come in. "I am surrounded by A thousand guns and warriors crying." Instead of a clunky voice or the tomboyish default tone of her classmate, what comes out of Orochi’s mouth is a surprisingly melodic, womanly tone, sounding older and deeper than her actual age, managing to nail the English, even if barely, like she memorized the tone and lyrics. Her melodic voice carries her feelings: impotence, powerlessness, the inability to choose her fate, pain, and regret are added to the melody of her voice.

"They're here! Now brace yourself! Defeat is in our eyes A hundred, million, billion lies: 'We will survive' Now tell me what are we fighting for?”

Orochi’s lips twitch; her heart beating with strange feelings and old pains woven together, her voice powerful and fast like the tone of the music, carrying the pain and hopelessness with it. She is at a loss, surrounded by problems, and without a way to pick her fights, she has to endure it. She has to hold her world over her shoulders. A strained hurt in her tone, yet Orochi sings with strength, like a cornered wounded animal ready to make its last stand.

“I can feel the pain and anger of the many lives we lost from violence Now nobody can escape from the terror again... And again we try to hide our hope”

The never-ending battle of good and evil, the ones she couldn’t protect, the ones she failed. Her friends, Chris, and Kaylee… her lips curl and twitch, her hands shaking while holding onto the microphone for dear life. It is easier to accept things as they are, and just ready yourself for disappointment instead of pursuing hope because it is hard. Because the voices tell her to give up.

“But we will never give up, you know You can't erase our inner flame”

Like a beast going wild, Orochi lets power and strength burst from within her chest, letting the frantic energy that still exists within her go out. Contrary to the original sound where the phrase vanishes into nothing in a lowly tone, Orochi lets out her own hope, her flame in her words.

Changing the tone is a risky move that can cost the performance, but what is life without risks and challenges? Playing safe can only get you so far.

Orochi lets her throat relax, singing a calmer and melodic tune when compared to the power she had shown in her voice moments ago.

“When I look up, I feel I'm longing to forget this war, retreat, leave…”

To give up this path she chose, to forget this pain. To give her back again, like how she retreated when confronted against her mother, how she ripped her gang away so easily.

“When I look back I see a wave of soldiers look at me”

Power returns to her voice, as the memories of her friends, and family, flow all at once in her mind. They all have inner demons, their wars, and vendettas; she can’t bring herself to give up when they haven’t. When they still fight and strive for more; what would giving up make her?

“So tell me how this ends Will I live to see morning light? Fear is filled in every breath”

She never was close to dying. This arcade brings back the memories of her great defeat. When she faced death, for the first time in her life doubting the odds of her survival, feeling fear and wanting to cower and flee from danger, leaving others to pay the price.

She feared losing her life, never facing her mother again, leaving Kyoko to grow alone, hurting her friends with her untimely death, the light vanishing from her insides.

“Sweat and blood run down my chest Will nobody save us all?”

For a moment, her voice vacillates, gasping for air as painful memories flow in. She was saved. Saved by Yui, Chris, Kaylee, Bobby, and her father. She was saved; her mother was there with her when those machines were working as her lungs.

They were there for her, the painful melancholy and sorrow for ever thinking of giving up bleeding out in her voice.

“We have no time to wait, get up now I'm not gonna die here That's what I'm fighting for”

The one million questions. What does she fight for when her previous ideals and conceptions were wrong? She doesn’t know; she wants to know. Her voice goes out silently, waiting for the next part.

“I wake up to chaos, crying, More explosions, rooftops flying... silence”

The memory of chainsaws revving, the figure covered in blood and fire is clear as a crystal, the noises impregnated in her ears since that fight. The eerie silence despite the chaos. The unsettling visage of mayhem brought by a monster.

“I'm trapped in the darkness under the rubble I can feel my senses fading Falling deep into the shadow of death I know my countdown starts right now”

She was running on borrowed time, she fought. Her voice almost cramps inside her throat, the hurt becoming unbearable, but her heart forces them all the same—the melody suddenly breaking out at some points, the strength vanishing from her voice.

Small water droplets falling from her eyes, the memories of how she felt when her chest was pierced like a living daymare.

“No more cries, living in fear, or lies I cannot stay in this safehouse, by myself What was I fighting for? Who am I fighting for?”

The questions she asked herself every single day since that incident. Her voice vacillates, showing hurt and despair, some anger underneath it all, but it becomes stronger like a crescendo, building it up to break it all out again.

“I want to fight for more!”

There is more to fight about than her ideals. They may be broken and damaged, but they are not the only thing in her world, not the only thing she needs to fight for; she needs to sort them out, know how to fight, to bring the change, the protection, The Aegis to cover the innocent.

She doesn’t know how to save more people, but she needs to be a hero. Orochi pulls her heart, her fighting spirit, and her determination like the waters of a dam breaking out in a simple phrase: ‘I want to fight for more!’

“So tell me how this ends Will I live to see morning light? Fear is filled in every breath”

She survived to fight for another day, to see her family and be with her friends. The light was there, even if she saw her nightmare in every dark corner; there were people to get her up, cleanse the shadows, and bring light to the dark.

Inigo, Bobby, Yuusei. The fight hasn’t ended yet; her voice and soul are empowered temporarily by their will and hopes, to lift some of the burden in her heart.

“Sweat and blood run down my chest Will nobody save us all? We have no time to wait, get up now I'm not gonna die here That's what I'm fighting for”

She needs to make use of her gift, of her blessings, fight for more, and not let her dreams die out; not give up ever again.

Orochi takes a breather, letting the song end. A few stray drops of sweat fell from her face and tails, a little tired from the strain of singing a song so powerful and emotional. “Well, better than what I expected, so it is your turn now, Edith.”

Orochi turns around to stare at her classmate, who stands still as a statue, awe in her eyes and mouth open in a small “o”. “This is cheating.” Edith speaks, stupefied by what she saw. ‘She shouldn’t be this good at singing and games. This is borderline cheating!’

For a moment, she understood the outrage and whining of her classmates when Orochi and Arcade were used in the same sentence. She shouldn’t be allowed to play any game inside an arcade. “And from where came that deep voice? You are fifteen! Your voice shouldn’t be that deep!”

“I’m sixteen, actually.” Orochi places her hands on the back of her head, walking towards Edith to pass down the microphone. “Besides, my family has a deep voice; I guess it runs in my blood. Although I learned to control my tone to play rhythm games better, if you learn to sing in the rhythm of a song, you play it better.”

“It doesn’t make sense! And doesn’t matter; it is only a year of difference!” Edith voices her outrage, her plans to win against Orochi were foiled, bamboozled, and outright destroyed with ultimate prejudice.

She felt entitled to her outrage, even allowing some of it to show on her face.

“Holy. Shit.” Both Orochi and Edith look at the entrance of the Arcade, hearing someone speak in blatant English. Their eyes fall on Sally, Chris, Yui, Inigo, Hoge… the entire gang was there.

Edith felt her face become hotter and redder than the sun.