All quirks are bad.
That's what young Nari was told once her quirk was discovered.
Of course, she already knew that. She had to know that because it was drilled into their brains the second they learned to walk and talk. And she was fine with that idea; whether there were good or bad quirks made no difference to her.
But she hadn't ever thought otherwise before her own manifested.
It was like a fever at first. Having a high temperature and pounding head were the first signs, then the tingling in her hands that made her feel like she was holding a live electrical wire.
Finally, she was aching all over, head to toe her body felt sore as if she got hit by a bus.
Her Parents were almost inconsolable over how sick little Nari had become. Her father called out all his weekly appointments and stayed home to focus on his baby girl.
Thinking back, Nari recalls it as one of the best weeks of her life. Her rarely present family was doting on her, and even though being sick wasn't the best, she got out of school.
Miraculously, the next morning she was perfectly fine. No fever, no soreness, the only thing was her hands wouldn't stop tingling.
A little while later she was allowed to play in the backyard with Ani. She missed playing with her sister while she was sick, and their favorite thing to do was push each other on the swing.
Nari went first, with Ani pushing her from behind as high as Nari requested. After Nari had had her fun, it was Ani's turn.
She screamed in excitement the higher her little sister pushed her, unaware of the turmoil Nari was facing behind her.
The tingling in her hands seemed to only get worse. It was as if her whole body now felt the uncontrollable buzzing that plagued her hands.
" Ani?" She paused to stare at her palms for a brief second, something was wrong, and she needed to let Ani know.
Ani didn't hear her and laughed into the frosty air.
Pins and needles accompanied the buzzing, and it started to hurt, unbearably so. Everything that came next, happened in only a second.
Nari screamed as searing pain erupted from her hands, it felt like they were exploding. The light that followed was so bright that it blinded her, and when she could see again, Ani was soaring dangerously fast through the air.
She crashed into the metal bars of their jungle gym, and Nari had to look away before the impact.
She remembers running to her sister as fast as her shaking legs could carry her. The commotion had alerted the adults in the house, making the housemaid and their Mother run to assist.
Ani lay unconscious on the ground, her head was split open and bleeding heavily. Not only that but, her leg had been angled in such a way that even Nari knew it wasn't right.
She felt awful.
This was her fault, she knew that. Ani was hurt because of her, and she had to fix it.
Nari's hands were tingling again. Without thinking any further, she moved closer to her sister and allowed the tingling in her hands to ebb slowly onto Ani's weak body.
The light returned, this time less blinding and more like a warm glow. It was... softer, more gentle than before. And it was helping.
All three that were conscious, watched as the bloody pool surrounding Ani's head stopped flowing and her leg, which seemed to be out of place, nearly snapped back into position. It was still angled wrong, but it looked less critical than before.
It was silent for a moment, as everyone absorbed what had just happened. Little Nari missed the looks of distress that passed both the housemaid and her Mother's face.
She also missed the angry tears that fell down Ori's cheeks, so she was caught off guard when she was picked up and carted off into the house.
They locked Nari in her room for weeks, with no word from anyone about the condition of her sister or any answers for her unexplainable abilities. It hadn't registered to her that what she had was a quirk because... quirks are bad right?
So why would something so bad be able to help her sister in her hour of need? It couldn't have been a quirk, because they hurt people, not help.
The first person she saw after being locked away was her Mother, who made it clear that she was never to do anything like that again.
She called her evil, and dangerous. Said that she was a disgrace to the family name, and accused her of hiding her quirk this entire time. When Nari tried to deny it, her Mother slapped her.
It wasn't like she and her Mother had an amazing relationship before, to be honest, Ori isn't the mothering type. But she was nice, and she didn't yell or demean her.
At six years old Nari had become familiar with this new side of Ori. And even more familiar with the feeling of despair.
Ten years later, she had grown used to the feeling of loneliness, and self-hate.
It got easier to suppress her... quirk, and even easier to pretend.
...
Dinner at the Henko household was always tense, especially on a night like tonight when they were in between maids, and Ori had to lift her perfectly manicured hands to whip up a disaster of a meal in the kitchen.
She used a cookbook, but could never stick to the recipe. So, Nari and her family were left with slops of green, brown, and red on their plates, pushing the colors together in hopes that Ori wouldn't be offended.
" Nari, stop tapping the plate with your fork," Ori spoke, making Nari's head snap to attention.
Not wanting to argue, she answered, " Sorry Mother."
With the perfect excuse to stop eating, she placed her fork down with a sigh.
Thank God.
" Ani, I heard that you and your friends went dress shopping for the Match ball. Did you find something fitting, or should we have something custom-made?" Charles questioned his eldest daughter, who sighed
dreamily at the mention of her first official Match Ball attendance.
The Match Ball was a gathering of the most elite in the Kohitsuji, to arrange the marital sets of the next generations. All families can attend, but only those eighteen to twenty-five were permitted to participate in the Match.
Finding your own partner is not something the founders wanted to leave to the citizens in fear that they wouldn't... ' breed well ' with their chosen mate. So they do it for them, subtly. You can choose your partner, but only at the Match Ball, and their pairing has to be approved if they want to start a family together.
It's how their bloodlines have remained so pure for so long.
Ani had just turned eighteen and already had her eye on a specific boy from a founding family.
" Yes, I found one that was just perfect! But I have to wait to see if the seamstress can make the dress in honey gold, that's Hachi's favorite color you know? And then I saw this really gorgeous..." She began her excited rambling, making Nari smile in contentment.
She was happy for her sister, no matter how much the idea of having a match grossed her out. And she was determined not to attend this one, no matter what it took.
Nari dreaded the day that she'd have to participate in one, for obvious reasons. But hopefully, her dream will come true before that time arrives. Or else she'd hardly be able to hide it anymore, but she had an inkling that her Mother would sooner kill her before allowing her secret to be outed for all the eyes of the Society to see.
" That's great, dear. Nari, aren't you looking forward to the ball as well? This might be a fine opportunity for you to make a few friends finally, don't you think?" Her father moved his attention to his quiet child.
He always wondered where she got her reserved personality from, no one else in their family had that trait and it confused him to no end.
Her troubles with finding friends all stemmed from her refusal to leave the house, how would she ever find a match with that attitude? He of course was unaware of her situation, Ori had worked overtime to ensure that the secret remained between her and Nari only.
Nari always wondered if her life would be any different if she told her Father. His being a doctor probably meant he had access to the very serum that could cure her, but her mother had convinced her that Charles would turn her over to the founders before he ever helped her.
She nodded in response to him, not wanting to engage. Dinner ended soon enough, with Charles going on about how it was odd that the ball would be taking place four months early, and wondered if it had something to do with the problems going on outside of the walls.
He was a part of a very exclusive group of men who were allowed to know the dealing of the outside world.
Just to keep them prepared in case something detrimental were to happen. He wasn't permitted to disclose details, but he often told his family when something was amiss.
Nari didn't care much for the gossip, so she excused herself before he could continue speaking.
She was stopped before she could retreat to her room, " Nari! Hold on!"
Ani walked down the hall, a little wobbly. Her leg had never been quite the same since the incident from her childhood. Knowing that it had been her fault, staring at it made Nari feel unbearably guilty.
Ani reached her little sister and grabbed her hands. " I know you don't want to go to the Match ball but, I really need you there. I have to impress the Toko family if I want to form a match with Hachi. If I have to do it on my own I just know I'll make a fool of myself!" She pleaded.
Nari was conflicted, " I don't know..."
" Come on, please? You're my medicine, and besides, I miss you coming to events. It's like we barely see each other anymore." Ani pouted, making her younger sister smile in admiration.
Although she had been planning to skip the event, she could see how much this one meant to her sister.
" I guess... I can wear the dress from your birthday dinner?" Nari conceded and watched the small smile on her sister's face grow into a bright grin.
So she was going to the match ball. She'd have to be extra careful, but she would manage.
For Ani
Just a tinnnyyy bit more exposition before the story takes off frfr!!
Did you guess Nari's Quirk yet? I promise it's not what you think it is (;
Next chapter will be funnn!!
See you next time...