The Odds are Definitely Not in My Favor

Ignite: Chapter VII

Ignite - Chapter VII:

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Preparing for the interview required putting on a mask.

In three minutes, one must be able to act, meet, or even better yet, exceed expectations, and most importantly-

A tribute must be memorable.

Choosing the mask to put on, however, was the part she was having trouble with.

Should she be sweet?

Should she be kind?

Her last performance before she entered the arena would be critical in completing her stage.

After all, consistency is key in weaving an illusion, and in order to successfully complete the play she had in mind-

She has to dance and twist herself to a tune only she could hear.

Solanum hummed, voice filling the room eerily.

Solanum hoped the Capitol would like it.

She did prepare it with them in mind, after all.

...

..

.

Wearing a persona, for Solanum, wasn't difficult.

It wasn't a conscious decision.

Perhaps this particular talent, if you could call it that, carried over from her life as a shinobi.

Wearing disguises - trained continuously as she tried to appear more "normal"-

The skill came too naturally to Solanum.

Solanum could even say that to some extent, she found it more difficult to hold back from doing so.

(Her family always did like her more when she wasn't herself.)

(A bit more life to her- a bit more color.)

(A touch of flush in an otherwise blank page.)

(It was addicting to see care, affection, and relief etched into her parents' tired faces.)

(A break from the usual fear and anxiety that Solanum usually see from them when they look at her.)

Solanum wanted the people close to her to accept her for who she truly was.

However, observing how it seemed like pretending could ease the burden- the worries her parents have-

The thought of putting on a facade in front of them didn't make her chest hurt as much.

(Wasn't this not unlike the mask Kakashi wore before to hide from the world?)

(Even to the people he cared about-)

(His teacher, his comrades, or the team of children that he took under his care-)

(Kakashi hid.)

(From his past, from the thought of not meeting expectations-)

(From the thought of disappointing people again because he didn't react as they expected him to.)

However, Solanum was afraid.

If one wore a mask long enough, would the face behind it fade away?

Would it disappear?

She wondered.

(Would she disappear?)

Solanum compromised.