[attr="class","nodensright22"]

Her oldest memories would have been that of the backs of people and closed doors. Born as the second child of a then up and rising hero, Yuuma Kouji, Nadeshiko would often have found herself as a hot topic of discussion amongst the adults at the table - They had said it had been by her mother’s grace that she was part of the family, that her mother had grovelled at the feet of the man she knew as her father. They had said it had been by her father’s grace that she was where she was, that her father had in return sworn her mother to secrecy and banned her from establishing future contact with his family.[break][break]

They called her the Mistress’ child.[break][break]

From young, it had always been clear that she was in no way similar to her family. Pictures and portraits scattered about the Japanese-style mansion; None of the physical traits she displayed were shared by either parent, save for the dark yellow irises that she so shared with her father. Surely, it would have been awkward for the father to have explained the vast differences between child and parents, given that her older sibling had been a near carbon copy of his mother.[break][break]

A young father, a hero quickly rising through the ranks of veterans and making a name for himself amongst the top stars of the country - Tales of his goodwill could have spread but oh, the gossip that could have arisen must have been such a factor of fear for the man. And oh, how Mistress Fate must have condemned his actions that Nadeshiko would have inherited a quirk so wildly different from his own; He could not have passed it off as a mere variation. Paranoia would have taken roots with ease. With a quick tugging of strings and drawing upon of connections, Nadeshiko would have become the sickly daughter of famed hero specialist, Yuuma Kouji; a quirkless child who had to be sheltered for the sake of keeping her safe from villains seeking vengeance.[break][break]

Solitary would have been her bane - Stress built upon her barely-shaped mentality, breakdowns occurred more often than one would have expected, and yet the minor catastrophes would have been kept out of sight. Though kept relatively silent with bribes of stuffed toys, drawing papers and books, Nadeshiko would have spoken to her reflection more times than anyone could have counted, written herself letters as reminders of the things she had to do each day, stared out the window in hopes that someone would have appeared there and seen her. Whispers remained behind closed doors, people remained outside her confines of a room and the hopes that someone would have realised her existence lay painted upon the frames of that wooden door.[break][break]

Her quirk would have been assumed to be the root cause of her problems. As long as it didn’t show, she could have had a chance at pretending her way through situations that would put her father on the spot. As long as she played the part of a perfect daughter that Yuuma had fabricated, she wouldn’t have to stay in that room.[break][break]

But that door would remain shut.[break][break]

Of course, her father’s influence would have ensured that whatever was not willed by him would never happen. At least, until the public started questioning just what happened of her. Was it someone who knew of her existence beyond these walls? Or was it someone trying to nurture doubt against the nature of this rising hero? With society beginning to exert its weight against him, Yuuma would be forced to think of the unwanted child's future.[break][break]

And so, the little bird would be allowed a brief glimpse of the outside world, put on display at social gatherings if only for a few minutes or begrudgingly taken around by her older half-brother under the pretext of being kept safe. Soon enough, she'd be gathering the courage to ask for more: to go to the libraries, to walk in parks, to attend school like all other kids of her age did.[break][break]

In exchange, he'd steal her words. Even if life at home didn't quite resemble the things she'd be told out there, she'd have to keep her mouth shut and simply pretend - Nadeshiko Kouji, a once sickly child, a quirkless child but still a kid like any other.