Secrets Skin Deep

Play the Game

A young child was sleeping on a small bed, surrounded by old ratted-up blankets. The moon shone slightly in through the girl's window. It wasn't long into the night before voices were heard in the small house. Hurried footsteps came from down the hall until her door was pushed open. A woman enters the room, a wild look in her eyes, her dark hair a mess, with clothes barely hanging onto her skeletal frame. She flicks the light on, causing the room to light up in a soft yellow light.

"Reika baby, wake up. Common now, it's important." Aya, Reika's mother, shakes the young girl's shoulder until the child wakes up. "Mama? What's going on?" The young girl questions, using her small hands to try and rub the sleep away from her eyes. Her gray hair was a tangled mess on her head, with small pieces falling around her face. As she sat up, the blanket fell away from her, showing the shirt she used as pajamas, covered in stains and holes, barely holding onto her malnourished body.

"Wake up fast baby, it's time to play the game again!" At the word game, Reika's eyes shot open, showing her beautiful silver-colored eyes, shining with excitement. "The game? I love playing the game!"

"I know sweetie, here, hide these toys, and if you win, I'll get you a cookie tomorrow!" Aya begins handing Reika random items, a small bag of some powdered substance, with a couple of spoons and a lighter, along with needles, tubes, and ties—your typical drug accessories. Reika didn't know what these items were, her parents only called them their toys. However, she knew that if she got to win this game she would get a cookie, and Reika loved cookies. Reika carefully takes the items, while Aya lifts Reika's shirt slightly, showing her stomach. One by one, Reika begins to gently place the items on her skin, waiting for her quirk to begin working. The items slowly begin to absorb into her skin, appearing as tattoos.

She did this until all of the items were gone, disguised as tattoos on the young girl's skin. She had to place a couple on her back and legs as she was running out of room on her stomach. Thankfully, the shirt was long enough it covered up to her knees, hiding the few tattoos on her thighs. Once all the items were hidden, Aya fixed the girl's shirt before picking her up and carrying her into the living room. She was met by her husband, Ren, pacing the room nervously.

His white hair was tousled, and his black eyes were looking around the room with a panicked look on his face. He turns around quickly at the sound of his wife's footsteps.

"Is it gone, all of it?" Ren asks Aya when he sees her enter the room, with Reika sitting on her hip. "They're gone, just in time too, I can hear them coming up the stairs now." Aya's quirk allowed her to hear things from quite a far distance. She usually used her quirk to warn her husband about the police coming up, most likely another try at a drug bust. While Ren's quirk lets him see a small time into the future, allowing him to warn his wife to start listening anytime he sees the police cars showing up at their apartment complex.

They used to get caught all the time, but after having Reika they tried to quit. But the call of drugs was just too much for them. It wasn't until Reika's quirk manifested that they realized how useful this was for them. Thanks to Reika's quirk, the police have never found any drugs lying around. It wasn't long before the family heard the failure pounding on the door. "This is the police, open the door now." Ren quickly walks to the door before opening it up, showing five police officers in full gear standing right outside.

"Officers, lovely to see you again. Yes, I know the drill by now, please help yourselves, we'll be right outside." Red invites the police in while motioning for Aya to come outside with him. One officer waits with them outside, to make sure they wouldn't run off. The police waste no time in tuning the house into a mess, even more so than it was before. They go through every drawer and cabinet while flipping the cushions and miscellaneous clothes strewn around. Furniture was turned upside down and every crevice was ransacked carefully.

This was almost a weekly occurrence. The police knew that Aya and Ren were heavily into the drugs, but they were never able to prove it. They keep hoping that they'll slip up one of these drug raids, but it hasn't happened before. they wanted to get Reika out of harm's way, but without evidence, there was nothing they could do. They couldn't even go for child neglect, as she had food, a bed, clothes, and other necessities. Eventually, the police start walking out of the small apartment. By their pissed-off faces, you could tell they didn't find anything.

"You're free to return to your house now. We'll be suing you again though, I know you'll slip up eventually." The police chief warns before motioning for the rest of the police to follow him. Aya, Ren, and Reika watch them walk down the stairs before returning to their apartment.

Aya sets Reika down on the floor before kneeling in front of her. "You did so good baby, great job at winning the game. Now time to give us our toys back and you can go back to sleep. I'll stop by the store tomorrow and grab your cookie." Reika quickly begins retrieving the items off her skin before handing them to her mother, who sets them on the table after Ren places them back in their upright position.

Reika was tired but excited at the thought of getting her cookie tomorrow. After all of her parents' toys were retrieved, ten shooed her back into her room before closing the door behind her. Reika crawls back onto the bed before snuggling back up into her blankets. "I love playing this game." Reika's last words were barely a mumble before sleep took over her. 

Word Count: 1048