Ayame's life

Fairytales

Hi hi, a quick tip, I was listening to that song while writing it and I think it fits the story so yeah, if you want to, go ahead and give it a listen as well! Have fun!

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In fairytales, everybody gets a happy ending, it gives people the illusion of being happy themselves, deceiving them to think, there is one waiting for them as well. This however is the real world and not everybody's ending is going to be happy, most of them are tragic, heartbreaking and all you can do about it is watch, witness as everything important to you, everything you've ever treasured or held dear, slips through your fingers and disappears forever. Cold hard truth but when that happens, life will be ruthless as if only out there to break and destroy you. Way too many times does it succeed, leaving one as nothing more but a shell of what and who they used to be.

Fate does not take pity or show mercy. It doesn't spare you, just so you can feel better or relieved. It takes and it takes and it takes, seemingly never actually giving back half of what it took from you. Even when it looks as if things are going well, the truth pulls you down once again into reality way too quickly, not giving you a chance to breathe as if trying to drown you in pain and sorrow. It's almost like all efforts are in vain no matter how hard you try to outrun or even deny it. This is no different. We all experience more pain than what we deserve and sometimes, those who would need a little, just a little more light, don't get to have that. By the time you could get up and fight, there is another blow, stronger than the last one. As a hero, most of the time, literally.

Ayame had teamed up with Oliver to watch his back but of course she never forgot about her rather reckless friends that seemingly always needed a quick patch up. Generally, she didn't mind at all and was just glad she was useful enough to help. But being the only support; the only healer in a team of sometimes over 20 people excluding injured civilians was tougher than one might think. And working way over your limits everyday for extended periods of time is anything but good for one's health.

It started with just feeling weak and tired all the time which then grew into dry and then eventually wet coughs until one day after removing her hand from her mouth, the girl saw blood. At first it was only a couple of droplets, however that changed soon. Way too soon. Not wanting to worry anyone as much as she had to worry with all the hero work, healing and trying to be a patient, good friend going on. Almost ironic how selfish, yet at the same time selfless that is, With all that and her awakening also messing with her weight and health, she really needed to pay attention to herself a bit more. Of course with the worsening health state, the girl got hurt quite a lot, being sore all the time, or in pain all over was not exactly fun.

Unfortunately taking enough time off to change things, to really recover and try to sleep it off was not really an option as evil never rests and seemingly there is always someone in trouble. Due to being as busy as she was, sadly helping out at the clinic which she loved so very much was no longer an option, as her health was already way worse than it should be. There were a lot of times she thought about telling her teammates, ask for help but there was a voice in her head stopping the girl each and every time. Telling her that as the only healer in the group quitting and leaving them alone, even for a single mission would be selfish, inhumane, so she stayed silent. Didn't mention a word about the sleepless nights, bloody noses and coughs, or the unbelievable weight loss that she could hide fairly well. But whenever she healed, that soft warmth she would feel has turned into a horribly painful feeling. It didn't affect the healing itself, only what she, and she alone felt, as the warmth made it feel as though pure acid was running through her body, making her want to stop way faster than required. Then one day she got used to it. Used to the never ending pain, the nausea, dizziness, even the coughing and the constant feeling of weakness. She got used to the acidic burn inside of her blood stream. Adding a mask to her hero costume helped to hide just how pale she was and how empty her sapphire orbs seemed.

Way too many sleepless nights spent on thinking, turning from one side to the other. She didn't fear death, after all it was inevitable, the path leading there however was much more terrifying. She was okay with not leaving a mark in anyone's life. Okay with being forgotten once she was gone and never again mentioned or even just popping up in someone's mind. She was okay with all of that. Not knowing whether the effects of overusing her quirk, or the constant tiredness that made her sloppy would end her rather meaningless life however, did get her thinking way too much about the future.

A future that she would most probably not see, but one where her friends were happy and laughing. It seemed like a dream, yet, she knew it wasn't. Too tired to be asleep, to dream. Nothing but a simple wish for a future she wouldn't witness if things continued like this. Way too many times did the girl's mind hallucinate that those she loved and treasured so much ended up dying because of her. Way too many restless hours, trying to come up with strategies not to let anyone die, disregarding her own health for who knows how manieth time.

Ayame felt extremely guilty for underestimating even a single one of her friends. Deep down she knew they would be alright even if she couldn't give her 100%. Man but were they reckless. Sometimes it seemed like they took the danger head on without any actual planning, which, to be fair, as long as they didn't die seemed like a logical and the most illogical plan at the same time. Obviously if the opponent could read their thoughts or plans, having none to begin with seemed so very... well, it seemed to work, however any other time it was terrible to watch. The medic liked to plan ahead and know what she'll do next, not to mention that sometimes she even needed to plan when and how she'd heal people as after that, she was usually out of the game by now.

Working and healing no longer worked. The girl could no longer strive to achieve both as using her quirk made her feel so terribly ill and weak, there was no way she could dodge anything afterwards. Most of the time she tried to time her support tasks after a mission was done, unfortunately that didn't always work though as obviously there was no way to always prevent more severe injuries from happening on a battlefield. Whenever it did work and the support hero was able to come up with an excuse to stay longer, she hid in one of the nearby allies, no longer able to carry herself home, she just sat there for hours. Sat there trying to regain enough strength to walk to her apartment and take care of herself to the best of her abilities.

The more time passed, the less that worked out. There were times when Ayame had to sit around and just try to breathe for up to 6, sometimes even 7 hours before she was able to stand up and force her wobbly legs to take her home.


It had been months since the girl started coughing. Weeks since she was able to feel her hands. And days since she could put her head down to sleep. It seemed like the more tired she got, the less sleep wanted to accompany her. 40 minutes of sleep obviously didn't work when trying to do even basic things, let alone trying to work as a hero. And it was definitely showing. The hero costume having short sleeves needed to change.

Her hands emitting the power of healing had started to show clear signs of her worsening state. Veins could be clearly seen from her wrist, all the way up to her shoulder, not only that, but they seemed to be a gentle looking mix of yellow and orange that most people would definitely find cool. It wasn't. It hurt like hell and whenever the quirk was in use, it made the girl feel as though someone was rubbing hydrochloric acid all over an open wound. Pure agony was the only way to describe it and it seemed like whenever she got used to it, things got only worse. Everytime she felt like she got used to the pain, it seemed like it got worse. Way worse than the day before.

As the days passed, the veins seemed to be more and more visible and were no longer only up to her shoulder. It took a while to notice but they were headed towards her heart for sure. She wondered whether it could even get better at this point. The effects, to her anyways, didn't look reversible and maybe there was no cure for it either. As these were all caused by a quirk that's function was still a rather large mystery, the girl had given up hope on easing the pain. On getting better. On making it out of this.

About 2 months after it all started, the healer had decided to lower the amount she uses her quirk. Still wasn't an optimal amount but definitely less than before, however that didn't help. 6 months in and she found walking for extended periods of time way more difficult than it should be. That's when she finally decided to come clean and tell her teammates. Even after only taking on one single job a week, healing about 3 people during those, things never got better. The spreading of the weird discoloration slowed but never completely stopped.

One thing she will never forget, no matter what, was their faces. Names too blurred together but the memory of their faces would stick with her till the end of her life. The pale, worried faces that don't belong there. That don't belong to her always cheerful and determined friends. And the scolding. How upset their muffled voices sounded like, as they scolded her for not telling them sooner. And just how heartbroken they looked upon realizing everything. Realizing why she had been slower, why the hero costume looked baggier than usual and why it got constant updates that showed less and less of her. Even going as far as getting a pair of palmless gloves. That realization seemed to hit them like a moving train without a stop.

Ayame managed to live for a year, after the coughing started. 6 months after her veins changed. 3 weeks after she could no longer work and one and a half days after she could no longer stand on her own. The discoloration reached her heart and not even the best clinic in japan could stop that from happening. Not even after the blood transfusion. In her weakened state, an operation was out of the question, as the doctors feared she could not wake up after it. She could no longer express the pain she felt but in the corner of her eyes, she saw everyone there. All of her friends and even a couple of her patients and past teachers. The girl could've sworn she saw the ghostly shadow of Kiara as well. Everyone was there, by her side and luckily, no one knew the pain she felt once the discoloration reached her heart. The pure agony as the acid like feeling filled the organ.

On the outside, it looked peaceful. Painless and maybe that was for the best. In the end, no one actually knew the pain she went through but the sacrifices the hero made would be remembered. Without saying a single word, everyone in the room had agreed not to forget Ayame Lee and everything she stood for, the sacrifices she made and the friends she found on her way.

In fairytales, everybody gets a happy ending, it gives people the illusion of being happy themselves, deceiving them to think, there is one waiting for them as well. This however is the real world and not everybody's ending is going to be happy, most of them are tragic, heartbreaking and all you can do about it is watch, witness as everything important to you, everything you've ever treasured or held dear, slips through your fingers and disappears forever.