A Different Path (Growing Up)

A New Beginning

For as long as Ayano could remember, she had been born without the one thing that made her human.

Emotions.

She didn't laugh, she didn't cry, she didn't throw tantrums, nor showed any interest in really anything. Nothing about her was human, even when her biological state said otherwise.

She felt nothing. She was empty.

While her Father fretted and worried over her, though deep down he knew that history was going to repeat itself, her Mother simply smiled and patted her head whenever she asked if there was something wrong with her.

"You're not strange Ayano-Chan~" Her Mother hummed as she went to tuck in the physical representation of her and her husband's love. "You were just born to be emotionless, just like every Aishi woman in our family. I was like you, your grandmother was like you, your great-grandmother was like you, and so on! It'll only go away once you find the one just for you~ Just like how every Aishi woman found their own love, you'll finally be completed! And you must never let that true happiness get away Ayano, no matter what."

But how would she know if she found the one? She asked this to her Mother who simply tittered.

"One day you'll just know when your world just seem to brighten up, your heart thumps so loudly in your chest, and you start to feel as you've never had before!"

Those were the exact same words her Mother had told her each and every time, and she kept those words in her heart. She hoped that one day she would find the one that would bring life into her world.

Her Mother, her beloved Mother with such a cheery smile and a friendly demeanor. So kind, so pure, and Ayano knew her Mother loved her...

But she was such a scary woman. She was strong, smart, cunning, and deadly in all the wrong ways. How else had she been able to... Eliminate all of her rivals that became too close to her Father, purposely or not. And continue to do so to this day? Her Mother ruled over both of them with an iron fist underneath her mimicked expressions.

She made sure that her husband only focused on her and only on her, not even wanting to share him with Ayano. And she made sure that Ayano would turn out exactly like her, passing down all the skills Ayano would need when Ayano found her own love, as per Aishi tradition.

But then one day... Her Mother died.

Disbelief filled Ayano, unable to believe that her Mother had just... Died during her outing when she was grocery shopping, planning to make Father's favorite food, as usual. Her Mother had been at the wrong place at the wrong time, as she had been the only casualty of the shootout. Her Father was as shocked as her when the news came.

Even as they watched Ryoba Aishi's body being lowered down to the ground, even when the both of them were doused in cold rain and the wind blew around them chilling them to the bone, even when their neighbors gave their condolences, they hadn't been able to shake out of their shock.

It would be her Father, Tatsui, who would snap out of it. With one last look at Ryoba's grave, filled with joy, anger, and even sadness, he placed his hands on Ayano's shoulders and lead her to the car. Allowing her in first before taking the driver's seat.

He started the car, turning on the heat up to full blast as they shivered, but they stayed there. Still stewing in their disbelief.

"Father..." Ayano spoke her, sounding so vulnerable. "...What's going to happen to us?"

Tatsui looked at his daughter, and really looked at her.

Ayano Aishi was sure to turn out like her Mother, she was another clone like her after all. Another product of the Aishi Curse. But... Ayano was just a child... His child.