Colors in the Dark

Special 5: Her Lineage

The next morning, Ayami was called to Recovery Girl's office after class, for some reason. She had no idea what for, especially given the circumstances. All Aizawa told her was that it was on Nezu's orders. On the walk there, the spirits buzzed in her mind, flitting around her head like overexcited butterflies, trying to come up with a proper explanation.

She reached the Nurse's Office to see the usual setup: Recovery Girl at her desk, overlooking a line of empty beds. She swiveled around in her chair to see Ayami as soon as she crossed the threshold into the room.

"Ah, there you are," she greeted, her voice noticeably somber compared to usual. "Please, take a seat."

"We're not in trouble, or else we would've gone down to Nezu's, and we're not sick or injured," Asclepius mused. "I wonder what this could be about."

"Recovery Girl looks sad," Prometheus added, his own knowledge of emotions and their tells aiding as he tried to figure out why. "Almost like she's... mourning?"

"What, er, is this all about?" Ayami asked, but the nurse held up a hand, gesturing for her to be silent for a moment.

"I'm sure you have a fair amount of questions," the Youthful Heroine remarked. "Let's start off with this... It's something Shouta and Toshinori found in Kamino Ward." She took out an old, yellowed folder from under the pile of papers on her desk, handing it to the redhead to look over.

Brow furrowed, she opened the file, only for her and the spirits- all anxiously crowding around the front of her mind to get a peek through her eyes as well- to be met with a photo of her younger face. Her name, last name scribbled out in graphite, was on the tab of the folder, while the inside contained a handful of papers she vaguely recognized as she began to read over the contents.

Fear gripped her heart as she noticed the handwriting, for it was the same that had written a warning on her apartment walls. Mother Kaibutsu... Why do they have this!? "This is... my foster file. Did they find this?" Ayami asked, trying to keep the shake from her voice. It felt like before she joined UA all over again, her months of building up walls all crashing down as she held the folder in her shaking hands.

They know. My own teacher and the former Number One Hero finally figured it out, where I came from, what I did... Are they going to expel me!? Try to put me in a hospital just like they did with Kana!?

Her vision was blurring, the sensation of her body growing further away. Her eyes stung, but she could hardly feel them, like she was disappearing into her own mind when the spirits used to possess her. She felt like she learned a word for that kind of feeling when studying some kind of literature, but her mind was spinning and she couldn't focus, could hardly even see.

Dissociating. That's what it was. Disconnect between thoughts and memories and the body itself, panic because the mind can't handle the information. But I can't help it, I can't stop it, all I can think about is they know, what have they done, what have they done!?

Recovery Girl's words took a moment to register in her mind. "Among all of those belonging to the children of Kamino Ward's Orphanage." That didn't make her feel any better, dread still gripping her from the inside and turning her stomach in knots. She could feel the spirits going on the defensive as well, subconscious whispers to take over, protect her from the unseen demons- but this wasn't a battle they could fight, for they couldn't erase the past.

She tried her best to ground herself, focusing on her breathing and what she could sense.

I can see the nurse's office, and Recovery Girl, and the file, and my hands by my sides, and my bangs in the corner of my eyes. Feel the tile under my feet, the cold air, I think I'm shivering, and my heart thudding in my chest... Slowly, she was coming back to herself, exhaling a quiet breath of relief. I can hear machines, either the AC or heat, can't tell, and the sound of ticking, probably from the clock on the wall, and Recovery Girl is talking... Need to focus on that.