Blastscar I

Atsushi Akane scratched her nails against the wooden desk of her office. Her eyes looked at nowhere, they pierced far past her desk, beyond what was visible to the naked eye.

Her lips trembled, as her respiration went out of pace. An invitation to the Atsushi family reunion was there.

She, her mother, and her two sisters would need to attend. Akane was the Successor of her Father. It didn’t make sense for the elders to request her sisters and mother.

Akane scoffed as she became teary-eyed. The saliva in her mouth was thick and bitter like acid. “Who do I want to fool?”

The oldest daughter of Yamamoto Atsushi knew why they wanted her family there. They wanted a way to worm their will into Orochi’s head and use her as an instrument to further the clan’s prestige.

If Orochi refused them, they would not spare efforts to ruin her academic life, and her hero life, and turn her into a social outcast, as they did with certain members who refused to “help the clan”.

Akane lips trembled, and her jaw had no strength, not enough to even chew on her lips due to anxiety.

She couldn’t protect Orochi.

Once again, she would fail her dear sister. She was there for both of the Feral fights. She was not there to help her against the Reaper, both times.

Tears flowed down her face. Akane was lost on what to do. She could go to the meeting, and blast the Elders. So what? It wouldn’t help her sister, or solve their situation.

This problem could not be solved with violence.

Akane picked up her phone. Scrolling through her contacts, she reached her mother’s. It had been years since she had called her.

It has been even longer since the last time Akane felt so lost, that she needed her mother’s advice.

Her heart raced. Her blood pressure dropped. The call button was right there, just a tap and she would have her mother in line.

Her muscles froze up, her tendons refused to move. Something so easy as a call felt impossible. A lump in her throat gagged her, and Akane had trouble breathing.

She needed help. She needed her mother’s help. She mustered all her strength and tapped the call button. Strength left Akane’s shoulder, as she started to sweat cold, her vision blurry.

A part of her wanted her mother to hang on the call. Just drop the issue.

Sadly for Akane, she answered. “The first call in years. I would have been flattered if the circumstances were not dire. Speak, child, what troubles you?”

It was as if her mother read Akane’s mind. akane choked on her saliva, her eyes tried to blink, but they couldn’t, they lacked the strength to do so. Everything felt so heavy and difficult. “Mom. It’s about Orochi. I.” Words failed her. Her mother stood silent, awaiting for her oldest daughter to elaborate. She had faith that her child would protect her little sister first and foremost, so this call couldn’t be about Orochi’s physical well-being.

Or so Atsushi Nabiki hoped.

“I… we are losing her, mom. It is clear to see. How she is acting now, it is not so different of how it was three years ago.” Her delinquent time, her time leading a gang. Her rebellious tone and air, how she carried herself. Orochi was regressing back to those days.

“The elders want her to “Help the clan”. This is not something she can escape easily, not without our father. They chose the best time.” Akane forced words out of her mouth, her mind desperately tried to form the next phrase, but she ended up forgetting words, as if speaking them was never an option.

“The best time to coerce her, as your father will be busy with his new and old Top 10 pals.” Akane nodded, but soon realized that her mother was unable to see her.

“Yeah… yeah.” Her words were still shaky, Akane was lost, she struggled to not break down on tears.

Her mother sighed. “Oh child. This is something only you can do. I lack the prestige to move those elders… but you are in a Lioness’ den. You can have a trump card over them.” Nabiki spoke softly, as if soothing her daughter’s hurt and stress away.

“She won’t turn down from helping her student… but first, you need to iron out Orochi’s posture while you can.” Nabiki’s tone was heavy, while still full with a mother’s love for her children.

Akane left out a shaky breath. What did her mother wanted her to do?

“I tried it my way, but I failed. Orochi looks you more than a sister, and more like a surrogate mother-figure after I burned the bridge between us,” Nabiki said with hurt in her voice, but she persevered, not allowing herself to break down before her daughter.

“To her, you are like a mother, she will listen to you. What you need to do, is make Orochi realize what she needs to fight for, and that it lies within Shiketsu. Force her to confront her ideals, and finally settle on a path. She cannot be everything, if she can’t be a vigilante, a delinquent, or a hero, at the same time.”

For a moment, Akane felt as if her morther was with her, her hands over her shoulders, a gentle expression, and understanding eyes cast towards her. “If it is you, then you can make her understand. If you ever feel hurt, or need a shoulder to cry on, your mother will be always there for you. I love you, Akane.”

“I love you too, mom.” Akane ended the call. Her mother was right.

She was in a Lioness’ Den. She would not take kindly over a bunch of old snakes trying to snatch her “curbs”.

Akane placed her hands over her face, dropping her phone on the ground. She now had a bigger problem to deal with. Iron-out Orochi.