Blast Scar III (Yamata, Karaburan)

Orochi sighed deeply. Her nails dug into the sleeves of her dress. She conceded to go to the family gathering. She was not happy there, but she knew she had no option.

A sizable part of her wanted to rage and scream. A bigger part of her knew it would amount to nothing, as the clan could still ruin her life, and get what they wanted out of her.

She closed her eyes in introspection. There were things she could not fight, or she lacked the mentality to fight them. In their fight, Akane drove Orochi to the edge and kept fueling the flames not to let her think, keep the pressure, or stop any strategizing that could make Orochi bridge the distance and firepower between them.

She was inexperienced and lacked the power to fight the threats that extended beyond her hand’s grasp. Orochi snapped her eyes open.

Akane stood ahead of them, to lead the way. Despite her power, her confidence, and her will, she shook as she walked. Minuscle, nearly imperceivable muscle twitches, but it denounced her agitation and anxiety.

Orochi’s mother walked by her left side. Her face was still as a statue’s, but deep in her eyes, Orochi saw a storm ready to burst, her anger and discontentment towards the family gathering burned deeply in her yellow eyes.

Her little sister held on to Orochi like a crutch.

More people started to walk with them. People Orochi had never seen before, but she recognized them as Atsushi because of their reptilian or dragon-like quirks.

Some walked past them, some kept their pace with them, and three people walked beside Akane. ‘Who are they?’ There were many faces Orochi never saw. It was not the first family gathering or reunion she participated in, but it was the first time she saw so many people flock towards her family.

There were too many people here. ‘I thought only Aunt Aoi was close to us because she and father were friends…’ Few of the other Atsushi-related families ever interacted with her father, as far as Orochi knew.

Soon, they reached a large hall with a stage, where dozens of people were gathered. It was nauseating to see so many people. “Sorry, Orochi. We can’t stay with you now. They will be upon us like vultures. Stay close to the wall and the food table.”

Her mother spoke first, as she tugged Kyoko on the sleeve. Orochi’s little sister looked at her with sad eyes, before releasing her arm and walking away with their mother.

Akane walked away, to talk with other heirs.

Orochi was alone there. She felt her heart skip a beat. A nasty feeling bubbled in her belly. The hydras stood alert, with the middle one resting her head over Orochi’s shoulder With a dry gulp, Orochi walked to the wall.

She looked over the other Atushi, or she thought, teenagers of her age range. However, there was no will or want to talk with them. They avoided her since her childhood.

Since she poisoned Yuusei accidentally.

A bitter venom permeated her mouth. They avoided her since childhood. Memories came to her mind. Ever since her childhood days, she did that. She went to a wall, stood next to it, and never walked out of her way.

That was why she couldn’t recognize all those faces.

She never paid attention, she just obeyed her mom, to not be a problem to others, and kept her presence to herself

No one bothered to come over to her. Ever since she became the problem that almost killed the main family’s heir, she became someone no one should approach.

Now, though? The Clan Elders wanted her to obey them, they wanted something out of her. She was suddenly important, and those bastards who sat on their asses for years on end could use her, to further plots she doesn’t want to be part of.

She bit her lip. A sorrowful rage ached in her chest, her emotions overflowing at the injustice she was forced to face. Tears were adrift in her eyes, but they didn’t flow out, as if forever chained as prisoners inside her being.

(Just because you accepted yourself, does not mean this pain is going to end)

The voice of the middle hydra echoed in her mind. Her emotions downstream towards the hydras, and they felt her pain.

“I know,” Orochi whispered. Her hair hid her face, as she tried to calm herself down before the main event. Before the elders came to her like hunters.

“The carp who goes up against the waterfall becomes a dragon.” A manly and gruff voice said, coming from her left side.

A man sat on the ground beside Orochi. His clothing was anything but fit for the occasion. A ragged, beaten black kimono, wood sandals, a gourd to his side, and a bokken held on his waist. His face with stubbles.

He had no trait that could link him to an Atsushi at first glance, and someone would be hard-pressed to think that man was one due to his lack of etiquette and “regality”.

“There ain’t no waterfall bigger than the old folks here.” He said, taking his gourd and opening it. “You are very courageous to bear your distaste towards all of this.” The man said with admiration.

Orochi slapped her face as if it could bury all her negativity and rage. She needed a straight face, as now someone was looking at her. “And you? Who are you?”

“Oh, Atsushi Yoshida Mamoru, a parent from the countryside.” The man said without hesitation, scratching his messy stubble beard.

Truth be told, Orochi knew her family had a leeway to use only the clan name, much like the main family, but it was strange to hear someone use “two” surnames at the same time.

“Well. Things are not looking good, you see? Even someone as unimportant as me was called her. The elders want to make a big deal outta this. You are in the center stage of this event.” Mamoru said, his gaze cast to the other people in the family gathering

Orochi grits her teeth. Her nails ripped the fabric of her dress. “What do you know about that?” It pissed her off to see someone talking so lightly about what she was going through.

“More than I wanted to. Less than you think.” He got up with a huffed grunt, his articulations made a snap sound. “Keep ya chin up. Don’t give the bastards what they want. Give them an inch, they will take a mile.”

Orochi’s view flashed red for a moment, her claws open, but she held herself long enough for the flash to vanish. “Stop talking as if you know anything about what is happening to me.” She sounded petulant, she was angry, and it showed in her voice.

Her feelings stopped her from forming more complex thoughts to throw at the man, to snap at him with a witty remark or two.

Meanwhile, the man only saw a teenager with problems, and in an insurmountable situation. Even if she flashed her claws at him, he could not blame her. This was all too above her pay grade.

“Wow. Here you are, uncle.” A blonde young man with reptilian eyes came to them before he noticed Orochi. “Oh, you are near the monster too.” Orochi opened her mouth to snap at the blond, but before she could do it, his head was hit by a bokken.

“Watch your mouth. She still is a person of flesh and blood like us.” The man sighed, as he placed the bokken back at his waist. His nephew held his head, his face full of pain.

“But uncle, better to tell the truth than hide my intentions. Hey, you, freak.” The nephew pointed at Orochi. “What would you prefer? For me to try and sweet talk you with falsehood and lies, or say to your face you are an aberration?”

“For you to not call me a freak!” Orochi thought about screaming but recalled she was in a place filled with people, so all she could do was use a muffled high-pitched voice to call the blond out. Mamoru sighed drew his bokken again, and hit his nephew on the head and his chest.

“Stop being an ass, Kousei.” Kousei had to catch his breath, holding his chest, with a wide smile on his face. Despite the wooden sword’s hits, he was undeterred.

“You… hadn’t answered my question.” Mamoru sighed and face palmed at his nephew's persistence. Meanwhile, Orochi’s face was red with anger.

“Listen here, asshole, at least you are honest, and are not trying to use me.” His smile devolved into a shit-eating grin.

“Yeah, freak of nature. I won’t ever lie to someone’s face or say something I don’t mean. You are a monster, but you are honest yourself. Better than those lying snakes.”With a gulp of air, he recovered his posture.

Orochi scoffed. “At least you have that going for you, even if you don’t have a personality.”

“Being an ass is my personality, thank you very much.” Kousei smiled widely. Orochi face palmed, while the hydras were mildly amused by this turn of events.

“Anyway, Uncle, why are you near her?” Kousei gestured towards Orochi.

“Can’t a man wish for some peace and quiet away from the bulk of his relatives?” Mamoru spoke shamelessly, not hiding the discomfort in his voice at the mere thought of getting close to other Atsushi.

At least, they had a point in common. “And you, were kicked out by your peers?” Kousei nodded and placed his hands on the back of the head.

“Yeaaah. They couldn’t handle a bit of truth when I said we are all spoiled rotten and we live better lives than most.” Even Orochi felt discomfort after she heard those words. Sure, her life was bad, but not on the same level of relying on a minimum-wage job to survive, and a job you may get fired after a few days due to fast worker cycles.

“Sigh. What I do with a nephew like you… go pester your mom. Leave your poor uncle alone.” Mamoru tried to send his nephew away, but Kousei refused to bulge.

“Nah, I would rather stay here. At least the walking poison-jar bears who she is on her sleeve. Better than our other relatives.”

“Same here, shithead.” Orochi snapped at Kousei, as Mamoru felt himself age a few years.

[scenebreak]

While the company she had was not good, Orochi preferred to be with them than alone or surrounded by brown nosers.

A group of people came to the hall. Orochi felt her blood run cold. Five elders were there. All elders of the clan, but her aunt Aoi was nowhere to be seen, she was alone on this.

The hall fell silent, as Mamoru gave a stinky eye towards the elders. ‘Well, the usual suspects came. Seems the better half was too put off to come to this sham of a gathering.’

‘What a bunch of bastards. Riding in their high horses as they steal the achievements of others for themselves.’ Mamoru thought with spite, his lips curling in disgust. ‘Good luck, Yamamoto’s daughter. You are going to need it against those folks.’_

With a sigh, Mamoru scratched his neck. ‘Just don’t end up like me.’

The elders walked to the stage. A microphone before their leader, a tall man, with a heavy, ceremonial kimono, with so many details and adornments to the point it looked detrimental to walk on.

So many symbols of dragons and kanjis Orochi didn’t recognize.

“We dedicate this gathering to the newly awakened member of our great clan! Atsushi Orochi!” The leader exclaimed. “Orochi-san, if you would so kindly step onto the stage. We have much to talk about and share with our clan.”

Orochi’s eyes twitched, and her legs were stiff, but she pushed herself to do it. Her walk was stunted and clumsy, as she fought every instinct telling her to turn back and get away, away from this gathering, but she refused to run away now.

She stepped over to the stage, as the gathering of elders came to her. “Now, now, Orochi-san. Can you talk to the clan about how you managed to awaken herself? How did you feel upon reaching such an honor?”

He smiled at her, and Orochi was reviled. She was not the best at noticing subtle things, or emotions, but she felt the malice in his words. They inquired about how she awakened as if she knew how to achieve it.

She wanted to scoff, but her lips trembled. Their scrutinizing gaze on her, like chains and shackles on her body.

“I died for it.” Orochi pushed her words out. Her face distorted into a feral grimace, the face of a challenger. Even if she could do nothing about it, she refused to be controlled now, just another life in a birdcage.

“It was no near-death experience. I died for it, my heart was ripped out of my body for it. It is no honor. It is not something I can even begin to achieve.” Red eyes flared with a faint glimmer.

“Oh. You must know how to do it. After all, you are the first of us to achieve such excellence. It is not fair to hoard your accomplishments for yourself when you could benefit all of the clan. An awakening is not such a simple matter, it is a legendary power few managed to acquire. We know those who awaken are followed by many others in their immediate vicinity. Orochi-san, we know you know to awaken others.”

His voice was filled with malice, and the eyes of the other elders were filled with hunger. The hunger for even more power.

“Then go on and die. I said it: I died to achieve it, and I have no idea how I did that.” Orochi rebutted the elder. She firmed her feet on the ground, as the Elder’s face started to crumble, his smile could no longer be maintained.

“Are you saying you are better than the clan? We are part of the clan, and we all strive to better it. child. Speak to everyone.” The Elder pushed the microphone towards her face.

The expectation everyone felt towards her was palpable. Many looked at her with envy, the desire to also undergo an awakening, at all costs, and hatred at her for “hoarding the information”.

He lied to their faces. They knew nothing about awakenings, and so did Orochi, but she had no way to rebuke him, prove she had no idea of how it worked. She closed her mouth with all of her strength.

“You will be a hero to all Atsushis, Orochi. Your name will go down in our history. The great hero Orochi. You will be greater than even your father.”

The Elder’s words made Orochi’s eyes once again see red. “How dare you to talk about him behind his back? To his daughter nonetheless?” Her heart roared, each pulsation like an explosion’s afterglow. She grabbed the microphone.

She yanked it out of the Elder’s hand, who tightened his grip on the microphone, but it was not enough to contend with Orochi’s newfound rage.

“Listen here, you bastards. I really mean it! If you want to awaken, go to a ditch and die! I don’t give a single fuck about being your hero, or anything like that! I am just a girl. A girl with problems. A girl who died because of our country's horrible ability to deal with villains!” Orochi’s voice echoed like thunder.

Akane looked at Orochi with abject horror, but their mother had a proud face, as static energy built up around her, her hair levitated to the beat of Orochi’s voice.

“You are interrogating a teenager before her whole extended family! And for what?! A power I don't even know how to control or how I awakened it! Don’t talk so lightly of me! Or my father again, you, bastard, old schemer!” Orochi finished snapping at the Elder, his poker face restored, but the rage in his eyes was palpable.

“Oh, so, you think yourself are special, and above the clan’s needs?” The Elder stepped forward. “What if your little friends at that failed school discover you are a delinquent? How much of a petty little villain child you were?”

Suddenly, Orochi’s rage was consumed by his threats. Her eyes widened. “Actually, you should never ever be a hero, if you cannot be the Hero the clan needs, what is the point of trying?” His threats continued.

Orochi looked around. Everyone looked away. As if the mere presence of the elders could silence all of their opinions. “Be prepared to be pulled out of that school, then. And to have your friends suffer as well.”

“They have nothing to do with this!” Orochi exclaimed, her hydras moved without her consent. They stood before her, like loyal guards ready to protect their charge.

Yet, the Elder’s presence grew, he felt much bigger than Orochi was, greater than her strength and power. Orochi’s breath escaped her lips.

“Oh, they do. Like that bloody Gaijin. A quick investigation shows that we have more than enough material to send her back home.” His shadow was cast over Orochi. She felt powerless, as cold sweat rolled down her face.

Her friends should not suffer from her mistakes. “Will you continue to reject the opportunity to help the clan? Or do we need to convince you, and show your friends who is to blame for their misery?” Orochi was cornered.

Energy crackled around her mother, a satisfied smile on her face. She would attack the elders, and not look back.

But before Atsushi Nabiki could do her attack, someone chimed in the hall.

“The sheer gall you have to talk with my students like that, and about my school, I have to commend you for your arrogance, and stupidity, Elder Masahiro.” Everyone’s head snapped to the door to the hall.

A scarred woman, without one of her arms, dressed to kill in a fine but simple suit. “As the principal of Shiketsu, I cannot allow you to harass or bully one of my students, nor threaten another one. Not in my presence.” She walked towards the stage.

Everyone made way to the Shiketsu’s principal, a corridor of people on her side, but no one dared to get in her way.

“Get out of this! Anzu-dono! This is not a matter you should interfere with! The matter of the Atsushi stays within the Atsushi! You are committing a grave violation!” Screamed one of the other elders.

But Karaburan paid no mind. “I’m not here as Anzu Nishima, but the hero Karaburan, to rescue a student, as per the wish of one of my staff.”

Suddenly, the elders’ presence felt much smaller than they were before. Orochi looked at Karaburan, her eyes wide, and unbelievable of the scene that played before them.

The leader of the elders, Masahiro, Karaburan eye to eye. “What could a mangled, weak principal like you do? You ran Shiketsu into the ground, even the damn rat is better than you. What power does Shiketsu have to oppose us? Especially regarding one of our members?”

Karaburan held the place where her left arm should be. The memory of how she lost it, and one of her eyes, was a scarred wound, but she would not let it stop her, nor his accusations and provocations.

“I am scarred. I was hurt by the Reaper too, the entirety of Shiketsu was, some more than others, but,” Karaburan said with a smile, as she stepped up to the Elder Masahiro. “I’m still more than enough to deal with all of you.”

“Shiketsu may lack the same political power the Atsushi clan has, but as far as hero matters go, Shiketsu can damage your pristine image as the perfect hero clan.” Her smile widened. “Do you want to buy this fight? Fight against all my connections and heroes?”

The hall felt an overwhelming pressure from Karaburan. She was past her prime, she was wounded beyond repair, but her fighting spirit never diminished even after all those years. Elder Masahiro grimaced and backed down.

Karaburan turned back to her student, a confident smile on her face. “Let’s get back to Shiketsu, Atsushi-san. As far as I care, for you, this family gathering is over. Those old snakes will not hurt you, or your friends.”

A sense of relief crashed upon Orochi. Her legs went limp, and her vision grew dark. “Thank you, principal.”