A night of Fate

Her days were mirthful, filled with joy in the aftermath of the incident despite her attempts to taint them with doubt and darkness within herself.

Orochi dragged everyone down a notch or two in gloominess ever since, consumed by despair and hopelessness due to her wounded pride and shaken confidence.

Many helped her, Rosethorn, Bobby, Yui, and strangely and unexpectedly, Edith. The one to blame for her darkness now is herself, those around her did their best to help. It is up to her to fix this negativity and melancholy.

…

Many nights after the fight, Orochi struggled to sleep. She stayed awake until the sun rose, collapsing on her bed after school only to wake in the middle of the night.

This night was no different. Her heart pounded loudly, and reptilian purple eyes glowed in the darkness of her room as her sister slept soundly beside her.

What set it apart from other sleepless nights were the worries and doubts in her heart. Those concerns were different, and a new nightmare rocked Atsushi’s world.

She worried about her friends and what she should do. It was a refreshing breath of air to hang out with the Koreans a little. In a turn of events, one of them revealed the next step in Orochi’s journey, where the fight should lead and continue.

It helped to broaden her horizons and friendship a little. An extrovert she was, but she had few friends in class, yet after the fight against the slimes, and their eventful day in the Mall, a question rang in Orochi’s ears: ‘Where will my destiny take me?’

Orochi’s body wasn’t paralyzed on the bed, but she wished for it to be. Paralysis could be used as an excuse to do nothing and not think about anything. She was scared of facing destiny, of taking action to move forward.

She wanted to lie there in hopes of a stone crumbling to dust, her fate changing without her needing to take action, and the hurts of the past vanishing.

She lacked such an excuse. Her body was awake, her limbs free to move as she wanted. In the darkness of her room, she felt Kyoko’s thin limbs coil around her body, hanging on her like a lifeline.

In the darkness, her toys and action figures stood like a mark of shame. She excelled in everything in her life, but her friends had to struggle for many things— fight for their lives in some cases.

The gang was the only thing she made, the only thing she earned and raised from the ground. Her friends and comrades worked together to create a place where outcasts and those rough but good of heart could hang out. ‘People like me,’ she once thought.

Then a lightning bolt fell, the storm raged, and the first to duck and run away was Orochi herself. She ran away and discarded what she created, disregarding their achievements and hard work, like how a snake sheds its skin.

It felt damning. Her friends didn’t turn their lives around. They stood in the life she abandoned, while she left them for dead, with happy thoughts and intentions leftover from her presence in their lives. A metaphorical sign with “Godspeed, I wish you good tidings”.

For two whole years, her signal and company were still and cold as a corpse. Only called them when she had a run with death incarnated.

She ducked at the first trial of her life as a hero trainee, but they fended for themselves while she enjoyed therapy and remedial lessons to get into a hero school with her father’s help.

Her life got easier while theirs got harder. Orochi’s lips pursed, and her eyes attempted to close themselves, not to see this darkness and bleakness.

Yet, the remaining pride and ego left from the old days of how she used to be are still there. They forced her eyes to stay open. Orochi forced herself to see the world as it was, done with running away when things became a little too hard for her.

Her room should be the safest place on Earth, but now it twisted with darkness. The walls were painted in an obnoxious bright pink color, it hurt her eyes in the dark. It was somehow scary, like the insides of a beast’s maw.

All the toys and figures she accumulated throughout the years seemed to move.

They stared down at her, casting their judgment and disapproval. “The princess stays in her home while her friends suffer!”

“Her so-called best friend lives in poverty and misery! She has problems to feed a damn cat! Yet what does the fake dragon do? Nothing! I’m sure her pocket money can afford a new home for that poor soul!”

“That redhead shed blood and tears for her, coming in clutch when she was in danger, risking her life and identity, but the snake spits venom at her. Oddly fitting.”

“She likes to make others feel how great and magnificent she is. Oh dear! See, I have my own stylist! I’m big and powerful but I don’t show it 'cause I’m humble!”

“Wait, you are unto something here! “See, I can finish my friend with just a punch because I’m that good when not holding back!” She is a show-off and glory seeker like those she condemns!”

The toys’ voices echoed in her head. Orochi knew it was all make-believe, her treacherous mind playing tricks, but those words had some weight. Her tired psyche was attacked by an onslaught of impostor syndrome, animating her toys and twisting reality into an ominous mockery of itself.

“Shut up…” She whispered, aware of the waste of words thrown against an imaginary mean foe, as the real problem is rooted in her mind and not her toys and room. The unshakeable feeling of doing something wrong, or in Orochi’s case, doing nothing at all.

It is a problem she has to solve. Yet the answer was right before her, yet her hands and body seemed not to respond to her commands to grab the answer. Her brain and spirit hesitated in the crucial moments of her life. Edith shed light on the path she needed to take, but why does she hesitate?

Her future lies in her past. The route to tomorrow… ‘Why can’t I move at all, then?’ Orochi’s limbs were heavy, like buried by concrete. Her inaction was her blame and no one else.

The dark room mocked her foolishness. Gloominess overtook her life and painted it a shade of blue.

‘My ego was simply too big.’ It always was. When her mother broke it, the time to heal was lengthy. She doubted herself as she does now… ‘I’m just immature, trying to play a game for grown-ups.’

Her friends have matured fast. The ones who weren’t mature, or at least responsible by the start of the year, are now mature because of the circumstances surrounding their class.

Orochi trusted her regeneration to be the ultimate break-out-of-jail card. It wasn’t. She paid the price. ‘And now I’m sulking here. Dear gods, Kaylee got worse than is dealing with shit better than me.’ Comparisons won’t get her anywhere, normally.

Her life is not normal. 1-D is not normal. They are a class made of prodigies and quirk monsters. Herself, Kaylee, Chris, Chihiro. The class is a mess, almost intentionally so. Delinquents, mutants, transferred students.

1-D was like a time bomb, set for a bang, either a good or a bad one. ‘Maybe this was Kanburan’s intention all along…’ A tougher generation of heroes, with bonds forged in fire. While her classmates matured, she felt lagging behind them, still the "party animal" and carefree girl she was at the start of the school year. "Gaah. What is the hour?"

Orochi looked at the virtual clock of her new phone. ‘02:03 a.M.’ The Hydra girl closes her eyes with a deep frown. The night is long... “Just give me a fucking break.” Kyoko’s grasp over her body tightens.

“Bad.. hmm. Word.” In a sleep trance, Orochi’s little sister mutters asleep, triggered by the “bad word”.

“Yeah… bad word.” Orochi moves her sister away. ‘Staying here in the dark won’t be good for my mind.’ Boredom and paranoia, fears already got to her. Better let those who can sleep enjoy their rest and go out searching for an activity to kill time.

Not bothering to get out of her onesie, the middle daughter of the Atsushi exits her room, a mind full of fear and anxiety in the face of the destiny she needs to take.

(Scene break)

Orochi thought she had wandered to a random location, but in no time, she found herself in the immense garden of the estate. It felt like it was her target all along.

Under the starlit skies, the bluish moon shone bright amidst the stars, a kaleidoscopic veil of stars under myriad shades of blue.

The rustling of leaves and branches was her only company. The faint white lights from the estate cast a shadow against the natural light of the stars and moon, creating a peaceful aura. The night sky conveyed a feeling of safety not even her room could provide anymore.

She cast a wishful gaze on the night skies. Orochi wasn’t interested in gazing at nature, always fond of the urban landscape, arcades, and malls. The night skies before were always the same.

What changed and gave them meaning were the people by her side. Some liked nature like Rui, while others were with her in preferring urban scenarios like Umi and Sasha. Suzuka didn’t care.

The greatest irony of all. When alone and without anyone, the night skies were the most beautiful things her eyes could stare at. The leaves carried by the wind, the slight smell of flowers in the air, and the beautiful garden of the estate joined the night as one scenery.

It became one place. The estate’s garden is not only the garden. The heavens above are not only the night. Was it because of her tired mind? Or was this scenario brand new? Even in the darkness, clouds move and change the view.

They hide some stars to reveal others. Orochi crooked her head to the side, Hydra heads unfolding to join her in star gazing. They cannot comprehend the importance of it, not at all. Yet, they joined her in this activity. Without being forced to, they stood in line.

Proper and polite, not trying to kill each other or make a ruckus. The skies change each second. In a blink, you miss significant changes. ‘Like life.’ One time, Orochi was entangled with Kaylee and Yui on the ground. In another moment, Chris was in the hospital, her friends growing too distant, to face the threats life threw at them.

The rumors of Rosethorn in the showers. ‘These rumors!’ She smiled. It was a hot topic for a few weeks before it died out. How many of her classmates remember the stupid rumor? The dubious humor of it?

‘Inigo may be the only one who fondly remembers it. Hoge would call it out of politeness and to be liked more, to fit in…’ They all grew past the phase to laugh at this crude humor. ‘I know what to do… but can I do it?’

Go back to the gang? And even if she can, how will she gain control over it again? ‘I have an idea, but will they accept it?’ Umi will accept it. She won’t pass the chance to settle the score and let her repressed anger go unheard.

‘I know you too, Umi. I know you hold a grudge over how I left you alone.’

She can speak all she wants; there is a remnant of darkness and negativity of that day in the redhead’s heart. ‘Sasha will follow after Umi’s tail. Rui and Suzuka…’ The chances of them accepting are slim, maybe a flip of a coin in the best-case scenario.

A gust of wind blew from behind, bringing a refreshing cold as it carried leaves, pollen, and petals to the skies above, into the depths of the night beyond what the eye could see, deep into the void and the city below.

Gently taken beyond where they lived and matured to start a new cycle and life somewhere else. “It is a beautiful view, isn’t it?” A low but commanding voice called her from behind. It was the voice of her mother.

Orochi turned around to see her mother, like herself, still in PJs. “As it seems, I’m not the only one who can’t sleep. Tell me, why are you still up, Orochi? You need to rest more than anyone else.” Orochi looked into her mother’s eyes, golden orbs forever sharp. They appraised everyone and everything she saw.

Since childhood, Orochi stopped using her mother’s eyes to gauge her emotions. Her voice, unexpectedly, was the best way to tell her emotions and feelings. Her tone was gentle and caring, like how she used to be long ago.

‘No, she always loved me. Misguided as she was…’ Her love was there. Orochi was unable to see it, yet it was always there… “It is hard to sleep lately, Mom. The nightmares… they stopped, but I can’t sleep. My heart is always anxious with something…”

A new thought to haunt her night. It is cycling from one inner demon to another.

“I understand, Orochi. I have some problems sleeping lately, too.” Orochi hadn’t seen it, but a lightning spark ran through her mother’s hand. Several veins jumped on her hand’s back.

“So tell me, what troubles your sleep? Can I fix it?” Her mother spoke in a surprisingly kind tone, but Orochi knew better. Her father's and mother's definitions of “fixing a problem” were worlds apart.

“What do I need to break for you to feel better? Do they bleed?” was a better translation of her mother’s intention.

“I am thinking about the future, mother. What should I do to become stronger to help my friends?” Helping strangers was nice, but it can only go so far. Orochi proved it to herself time and time again.

The first and last thing in her mind are always her friends. This kind of selfishness is what moves her. She knows right or wrong and has her codes and morals, but the bonds she forged… were the most important thing for her.

A paradoxical feeling given how she treated the very same friends she cared about. A self-centered parasite who can do no wrong, perfect in her own eyes, who goes into a tantrum when things do not turn out as she expected.

‘I don’t want to be like that anymore.’ Orochi returns to her star gazing, Nabiki stepping up to stay by her side.

“I have the inkling feeling you already know what you need to do. When you were little, you got in your head you were a snapping turtle and destroyed stones and trees everywhere in our estate…” Nabiki speaks with fondness, the memories of a little and chubby Orochi discovering how powerful bites could be.

“I… yes, mom. I know what to do, but I don’t know if I can do it.” The choice is hard, her mind cowers from fear and hardship. ‘Can I even do it?’

“Your idea is the type of thing that will anger me, isn’t it?” Orochi nods, done with lies and falsehoods with her mother. Two years of avoiding each other taught a bitter lesson to them both.

“Ahh, you stupid brat.” Nabiki pulls Orochi to her, in a deep hug. “I learned my lesson. I can’t trap your wings in a gilded cage. Can you improve yourself? Solve the hurt in your heart?” For a moment, Orochi closed her eyes in silent contemplation.

It won’t be a miracle, problems will remain, but she can start to fix them. “I do not know, Mom. I can try, but it isn’t a guarantee, just the best path I have in mind.” Nabiki petted her on the head, scratching behind her horns, fondling her hair with kindness.

“Your heart works better than your brain, my daughter. Leave the heavy thinking for others, and follow your passions. I saw what happened when I tried to contain you…” They remember that way two years ago… when they broke each other’s hearts.

“I won’t do so again, so please, heed my words: Be safe. I don’t want to live in fear of seeing my daughter suffering again. Or worse, in an early grave. Now I know you can walk on your own…” Nabiki’s voice choked on a gasp, her arms shook in her hug.

“Please, whatever you do, do wholeheartedly. Go out there and make your mother proud of the person you are.” Orochi leans into her mother’s arms, her eyes heavier all of a sudden…