It wasn't fair.
Silver eyes watched longingly as the little raven haired girl fumbled on the piano keys of her parents' home. The other adults scolded her gently for the incorrect way she handled the song, the mother giving a smug smile as the girl apologized and tried again.
She wanted nothing more than to wipe that expression off her face.
"You're being petty" an elderly woman stated coldly to her, eyes judging her cruelly.
No, she wasn't, she was furious at what her family had done to her, to her children. She was mad at their comments, their jeers, everything. They took everything to her and still looked at her like she was nothing more than trash.
It just wasn't fair.
She numbly moved away from her mother, unable to talk to her without breaking down. The warmth of the summer's sun met her skin, the air smelled crisp.
She wished she had been stronger, healthier, anything that would have allowed her to fight back and gain what was stolen from her.
She still recalled when she first announced that she was pregnant, she and her husband were happy. She remembered the hateful and envious look her sister had given her. All her life she had unsteady health, holding her back from being able to do much of anything. Her sister would mock her as their parents took far more interest in their healthier, successful daughter, only giving the most basic care to her.
Her sister had everything she wanted or wanted to be, Health, their parents' love, attention. But her sister, despite how "perfect" she was, found she was incapable of having children of her own. She remembered her wailing to her parents woefully about it, and even she felt sympathy towards her sister in spite of her cruel treatment of her all these years.
But instead of feeling happy for her, her sister was furious that she was able to do what she couldn't. It got worse when she found she was having two children, her sister's jealousy was quick to turn aggression and abuse. She would make cruel remarks and passive aggressive comments about how "Lucky" she was, her brother in law no better than her. Her own parents, despite hearing all the comments made, merely told her that her sister was just hurting, that it truly wasn't fair she was barren.
She stopped caring then, remember claiming she would be leaving to raise her children away from her toxic family. Her parents, her sister, and her brother in law had all been horrified at her claim. Her parents, she laughs at how they attempted to manipulate her.
"You would rob your children of their only Aunt and never let them know of their mother's grandparents? After all, we've done for you?"
"You've done nothing but made me miserable, I will not let you do the same to my children" she had left, moving far away with her husband, hoping to never see her family again. She tasted freedom for the first time in years, even if it was short lived.
When tragedy struck her first, it was her husband. He had died in a fire, trying to save the others in there before himself, leading to his demise.
She had been 6 months pregnant at the time. There would have been no way she could support two children on her own with just her income. It had broken her, she was terrified, not knowing what she could do.
It had been on the news, she had received a call from her sister.
"I'm sorry for what happened" she could tell it was a lie, her sister was secretly enjoying her misery.
"What are you going to do? His family is no longer around, how will you take care of the kids?" the question made her short on her breath, unable to answer.
"You should come back home, your children will need role models and a parental figure, my husband and I can fill those roles just fine" That made her blood boil, she had responded in a heated tone.
"I'll figure something out on my own"
The answer wasn't good enough. Days later, she received a call from her parents.
"Do you realize how selfish you're being!? Your sister is offering to help you raise your children, our grandchildren, and you respond as though she's not good enough!?"
She would never be good enough, not after everything she's done and never uttered a single apology for her behavior.
The calls were frequent, her family trying to pressure her into returning, becoming far more aggressive as the due date closed in. The stress of it, the stress of being a widower and single mother, all finally made her crack and return to them.
She wishes she had been stronger not to. She could feel the victorious smirks her family gave as she returned.
"It'll be better for them" her mother stated.
When the time came, the second tragedy struck. She was unable to even hold one of her children, as she was having the second one. She could hear the wails of her first child, it was like angels singing themselves. When her second child was born, there were no sounds, terrifying her into thinking they were stillborn. The doctors were rushing around, mentioning incubators and the dangers of a premature child.
"Your daughter will be fine... But your son will need to be in the ICU, he's still not fully developed, his vocal cords underdeveloped" was all she remembered before she had blacked out. Even if her health had gotten better, the stress and birth she had gone through left her in the Hospital's care for three months.
She would never forgive her sister for what she had done then. When they heard she would be hospital bound for so long, her sister took it as an opportunity to take from her what she wanted. A lawyer had come in with her sister and brother in law with paperwork.
"With your poor health and widower status, your sister has come to claim legal custody of your children, even if you fight it, the judge will not be in your favor because of this"
She wanted nothing more than to get up and bash her sister's head in for doing this to her. But she could only helplessly watch as her children were given to their "Parents". She was only allowed to see them at family get together's, which were sparse already. The only thing her sister kept as a reminder of their true mother was for them to keep the names she and her husband had chosen for them.
Her sister would occasionally complain or gush over "her" new children, right in front of her. Even that was a lie, she was only interested in her daughter.
"She's going to make a fine young lady when she's older!"
When she would ask of her son, the woman turned her nose.
"He'll only hold everyone down, not surprising, given his origins" it was a harsh comment to her and they all knew it. The burning hatred rose in her as she would clench her fists.
Then, they did it. She didn't even know about it, but her sister came into their parents' home and told them.
"Akira's been adopted to my Husband's Old Co worker" Something in her snapped, she was unable to hold back from what she did, she was too mad to even think about it. She had run up and yanked her sister by the hair, punching her and screaming right in her face.
"YOU GAVE MY SON AWAY TO A STRANGER!?" Her father and brother in law grabbed onto her and pulled her off of her sister, who she began scratching and kicking, seeing only red at that point. She was slammed into a wall, pain racking her body. The four adults berated and screamed at her for attacking her sister in such a way, not caring about the child they gave away.
"He's in such poor health he could die soon, would you really have wanted him back?"
Yes, she wouldn't have anything MORE than for her to have both of her children back. She gave her family a hateful look, this was the final straw. One month later, she moved out of town again, to Shibuya, only visiting on days the entire family was together.
Hikari Kurusu only stayed for the daughter she had stolen from her and no one else.
Notes:
Hey Everyone! I'm still working on Akira Sakura, but here's a bit of a prequel Oneshot relating to events before the story took place! It's also a spoiler as well for future events in the story.
- Also I know that people keep asking about the fully developed and underdeveloped thing, that's actually something that can happen. It's called Superfetation.
Superfetation: su·per·fe·ta·tion, the occurrence of a second conception during pregnancy, giving rise to embryos of different ages in the uterus.