The Past
FLASHBACK
A 10 year old girl with an ebony black hair and green eyes runs around the garden.
"Daddy! Daddy!"
A man with ebony hair and brown eyes looked up from reading his newspaper, "What is it Ayu?"
She opened her palms and pinched the butterfly by its wings. She lifted it up and showed it to her father. "I caught a butterfly! Look! Look!"
"My! It looks stunning. Great job!"
"Heh," she smirked with an arrogance of a child.
"Kenji! I brought snacks!" a beautiful woman with blonde hair and green eyes walked to the two, holding a tray full of cookies and a pot of tea.
"Is there tea, Ayane?" Kinomoto Kenji inquired.
"Yes there is. It's your favourite."
"Mommy! Can I have cookies?"
"Sure dear. Anything for you."
Then out of the blue, loud voices and banging were heard from the gate. "W-what was that?" Ayane said.
Kenji stood up from his seat and stayed alert. "I better check. Stay here Ayane."
"Be careful! I don't want you to get hurt."
The frightened child asked her parents, "Momm, daddy! What's happening?" The mother shushed her daughter and said, "Ayane, go inside. Don't go out unless I told you so. Close the door."
While she was pulled by her mother, she desperately reached out for her father. "Daddy where are you going? Daaaaddddyyyy!"
The door of the mansion opened, followed by a loud thud.
"Kenji! What happened? Why are you covered in blood? Why are you tied up? What's in your mouth?" Ayane bombarded her husband with questions, which were only answered by muffled sounds.
"Daddy! Are you alright? Don't leave us here! It's scary in here!"
The three of them heard footsteps approaching. "Who's there?" Ayane shouted. Kenji's attempt to speak were futile, while Ayumi was crying and desperately calling her mother.
The steps were approaching.
Ayane grabbed her daughter and positioned her at her back. "Ayu, hide behind me, quick!"
The footsteps stopped and the door was being kicked. After several kicks, the door finally gave in, revealing a fully grown man wearing a lab coat, with green spiky hair and spectacles.
"Kinomoto," the man said.
"Mmmmph! Mmmmph!"
"Kenji! Who is he? Kenji! I can't take this thing off your mouth!" Ayane was desperately trying to take the metal contraption off of her husband's mouth.
"Of course you can't. It's made of metal, fool."
Ayumi didn't hold back and revealed herself. "Daddy! Daddy!"
"Ah. Little Ayumi. It's nice to finally see you. Would you like to come to my house for snacks?"
"Daddy!" she called for her father again.
"Stay away from my baby! Ayu! Stay here! Don't move!" the mother was desperately trying to calm her daughter down. "Tch. Restrain the two. Take the child. We're going to the lab," the man ordered.
And with that, Ayu was forcibly taken by the man.
"Heart rate – normal"
"Status – stable"
"No problems detected."
"All systems clear."
"It seems that she is far from waking up yet. She must gain consciousness within the next 24 hours, or we might cancel the experiment."
The man was apparently speaking to computer, which he built himself. It communicates through the screen, the words appearing like it was typed.
"Master Verde, why did you want to experiment this girl? It was uploaded in my data bank that she demonstrates amazing capabilities in such a young age."
"That is correct. She demonstrates amazing capabilities in such way that she can kill thousands of men unarmed. She can control her hair, and change it into different sort of weapons. She can even turn herself younger or older, depending on her. Her special power is that she can control her hormones in a fascinating way. But in her state today, she is too young to control her power. She doesn't even know she has power."
"What do you plan on doing, Master?"
"I must know where to find the source of her power, and retrieve it. This may help a lot on my research regarding invincibility and even immortality."
Several experiments were conducted as soon as she woke up, some of which her body cannot handle. The torture of the experiments were also too much for a little girl's mind to bear.
"Mommy..."
"Daddy..."
"Where are you..."
"Why did you let them take me?..."
"I'm hurt..."
"What are these things?..."
"They hurt me..."
"Mommy...Daddy...I'm lost..."
Beep!...Beep!...Beep!...Beep!Beep!Beep!
"Heart rate – fluctuating"
"Status – In danger"
"Experiment failed. Patient 's power too much for the machines to handle."
The man was befuddled by the sudden loss of control. "W-wha—"
And with just a second the whole room blew up from the tremendous accumulation of power, leaving Verde motionless. His face was priceless. He didn't think that the whole experiment would go haywire, and the lab rat would actually have the strength to fight back.
Ayumi's eyes were emotionless. Green orbs became dull black, probably due to the experiments. Her hair was a mess, tangles everywhere. The colours from her face were drained and her porcelain-like skin became even paler. Will her own parents still recognize her?
Her nude foot started to take a step forward. She shuddered upon the impact of the cold cement on her skin. Verde knew it hurt, but it didn't even show on her face.
And then that's when her powers started to show itself.
Her hair suddenly grew a few centimetres, turning to inches then meters. Her hair lifted her up, letting it do the walking. It was fascinating to watch on the part of Verde, but if it were from a commoner's view, it would be totally creepy. Ayumi started hairwalking and went straight to an unknown direction.
"I must follow her..."
Ayane Kinomoto was staring off the distance thinking about her daughter. Her current features showed that she had sleepless nights, pondering about her current situation.
She looked like she had aged for about 10 years, even though only 3 months passed. She had wrinkles everywhere, she had those unsightly eyebags and her body thinned tremendously.
"My baby..."
Kenji Kinomoto stood behind her, his arms crossed. He too, had his physical attributes deteriorated.
They love their daughter.
What kind of parents would not love their child? They love her deeply. And it pained them to think that they easily took her away from them. It pained them to think that they are worthless parents. Oh how Ayane's thoughts were filled with Ayumi's begging. Oh how scared Ayumi was. How she begged for the presence of her parents. How she thought they were powerless against the mafia. How she would handle the trauma the experiences inflicted upon her innocent mind.
There were times when Ayane would try and kill herself. Kenji would be on the way to stop her. This will be a never ending cycle between the two of them. Everyday, up until this day. That certain event left a mental scar on both individuals, leaving them dumbfounded and unresponsive, like a zombie.
Ayane was having that time again. She tries to kill herself, and then Kenji would interrupt. But this time, Kenji changed his schedule. He didn't budge. He didn't response. He didn't stop her.
"I'll kill myself now. I'm such a worthless parent...to even let them take her away from me..."
"Do what you want...I'm tired of this endless charade we're going through..."
And Ayumi chose that moment to magically appear in front of them.
"Mommy...Daddy..."
"I-is that you Ayu? O-oh my God!"
"Ayu!"
The moment they landed their eyes on her, they knew something was off.
Her eyes, her hair, her overall presence, everything was wrong. The way she moved, the way she spoke to her parents...everything. It was like she was a whole different person. A person who was experimented, abused, treated like a lab rat, and created for destruction.
"Mommy...Daddy...don't fight..."
"Honey! We are not fighting!...Oh my...Come here! We're so worried about you!"
"Ayu come here! Come t—"
Then they realized they were on the balcony. From where Ayumi is standing, it seems like it's impossible for a human to float midair. Showing no emotions at all, Ayumi's hair took a step on the balcony and then it grew shorter, letting the girl on her feet.
"Mommy...don't kill youself..."
"I won't baby...I won't..."
And with the reflex action of any mother separated from her daughter, she held Ayumi into a tight embrace and refused to let her go.
"I'll be here baby...I'll be here..."
"Mommy...you don't have to kill yourself...I'll do it for you..."
The words left the poor mother stupefied, unable to move from her position.
In a split second, blood splashes across the shirt of Kenji. Ayumi had killed Ayane. Ayumi had killed her own mother.
The hair pulled itself out of the limp body and then slithered to attack the other.
"Do it..I deserve it.."
"Stay well...my beloved daughter. We love you very much..."
The hair attacked once again, leaving Ayumi back to her senses. She loves her parents dearly. She could not afford to lose another life especially her father. She could not afford to lose another life especially when she's the one doing it unconsciously.
The hair then moved to attack Kenji, making Ayumi yell in desperation.
"Stooop!"
"Stop this! My father will die!"
But the effort was in vain or her father already lay on the ground, lifeless.
"What have I done?"
"I killed mommy and daddy!"
"Waaaaaah!"
Cries of desperation echoed through the Kinomoto castle. No one came for the poor girl. No one heard her cries, except for this elderly blonde man who was kind enough to keep her company, after seeing all what happened.
"Come here little lady...everything will be alright..."
With her last will and energy she had, she embraced the elder weakly before drifting into the sea of unconsciousness.
(End of flashback)
DUDE, SERIOUSLY? SERIOUSLY?! But this is from—
"Shush! Just watch."
Ayumi told Yamamoto everything he needs to know. Funny because she seems to really trust the guy. She doesn't care even if he changes his view of her. What mattered most was that she was able to lift off a big part of a boulder that came smashing through her chest. She needs to tell someone. She needs someone to cry on.
Does this entity really think I'm that vulnerable?
"W-wow...it's really hard to believe...I mean..."
"It's fine. You don't have to believe of you don't want to. I myself am also having a difficult time believing what I did..."
"But still... I never knew you were a kind of person to carry a past like that."
"I thought you were going to say, 'I never knew you were the kind of person to actually kill her parents.'"
"No! I'm not like that Kinomoto. I'm sure you don't really mean that. I mean, you're just a kid back then. You can't control your powers."
"And what makes you say that?"
"There's a part of me that tells me that...somehow you are a really good person."
"I'm a monster aren't I?"
"No, I think you're the bravest person I know, telling me those things even if we just met."
"I can feel that I can trust you, Yamamoto. I can trust you, can't I?"
"Of course you can. You can count on me! Hahahaha!"
"Thanks, Yamamoto. I'm glad I met you." WHAT! SHE-I MEAN, I-I MEAN, WHATEVER! THIS GIRL, WHICH IS ME, CAN'T BE SERIOUS!
And with that she suddenly pulled Yamamoto into a tight hug and cried her heart out in his chest.