In her younger years– you know, back when Olivia's parents had still cared about their daughter– they had always had at least one, if not two, bodyguards that protected their children. As magnates in the hospitality industry, they were affluent enough to garner the attention of high-profile criminal organizations. To kidnap one of Favager triplets then offer their freedom at a ransom would be easy money. Thus, hiring security was necessary in order to safeguard their childrens' well-being.

Even in her younger years, Olivia had been ever cautious– ready to scurry to safety at her bodyguard's behest, or to fight for her own safety with tooth and nail.

Being disowned had made her sloppy. Each Sunday, she'd take a bus to the woods in the Eastern part of the Tokyo prefecture to have a picnic lunch and reading session with King. Then, while the light was still good, he'd see her back to the bus stop so that Olivia was back in time for dinner. It happened like clockwork each Sunday… and someone else had taken notice.

She hadn't even made it to the bus stop, when they found her. A cargo van hopped up onto the curb, and two pairs of well-muscled hands shot out from the open side-door and hauled her in. Olivia shrieked, kicking and flailing, as something sharp was plunged into her shoulder.

The world went fuzzy… and then went black

***

It was nighttime before anyone had noticed that Olivia was gone. Her usual dinner-group, not seeing her at their usual rendezvous spot, called her phone. They knew that she "went to visit a friend" on Sunday's. But when she didn't answer, curiosity became concern. Olivia always answered her phone.

The teacher in-charge of their dormitory was alerted, then the police were alerted– and, rather surreptitiously, the search for Olivia was set into motion. This time, it was a police dispatcher and a detective that attempted to call her phone– and this time, someone answered.

"H-hello? Olivia Favager speaking…"

It was Olivia. Her voice trembled like a leaf in the wind, but her answer was fairly normal…

"Favager-san," the detective– a young woman with a clear voice greeted, "This is Fujioka, from your class! Do you have a minute?"

The detectives name was Fujioka, but she was not from Olivia's class. The detective and the dispatcher watched one of many screens, which bore a road map of the immediate area from above.

"Ah, sorry, no," Olivia quivered, "I'm quite busy at the moment. Can I call you back?"

The map reoriented itself so that it was over Tokyo Bay.

“It’s just a quick question, Favager-san! About the math homework? I’m at a total loss…”

There was a terse, murmured phrase from a distinctly male voice– but the words that they uttered were completely unintelligible.

“What… part of the math homework? Sorry, I’m a little pressed for time, but I’ll see if I can explain it.”

The map zoomed-in on Kawasaki, on the northwestern side of the Bay.

“I’m at a loss on the quadratic equation,” Detective Fujioka said, “I keep trying to calculate it out, but… my answers don’t match what’s in the back of the book…”

A pregnant pause. The map focused further-in on Kawasaki ward.

“I always g-get confused w-w-with the negative signs,” Olivia stammered, “When you write the problem out, make sure you don’t forget which numbers are positive and which are negative-”

The map zoomed further, on the outermost islands that faced the Bay, near Kawasaki Marien.

“-it’s really hard to say if that’s your problem, or not. I’d have to see your work in-person. M-m-maybe tom- augh!”

The male voice interjected, and Olivia’s offer broke-off in a yelp. She started to cry, but something muffled the impending sobs.. The cell phone continued to ping in that area, plopping new circles in that vicinity on the map.

At least Olivia was stationary… and, based-on the phone conversation, alive... but, time was of the essence.

The call went dead.

A flush colored the blonde's cheeks as her soon-to-be classmate watched her struggle to lift her own bag– and the sheepish expression remained as she requested Claudio’s aid. She'd never needed to do it herself, okay? There was always the help, or her brothers or dad at least… so in that regard, she was quite helpless.

Thankfully, the boy seemed quite good-humored about lending a hand. He rolled up his sleeves and swaggered towards the suitcase, making a show of trying to hoist the baggage in. It was clownishly overdone, and he even grunted a few protests out as he did. Olivia smiled in spite of herself, covering her mouth with a hand.

“Non, only une fraction of a house, I promise,” she chuckled, still slightly flushed, “The rest was shipped to the dormitories.”

Whether this was an earnest answer, or offered in a similarly silly tone, was ambiguous– but regardless, she could withstand a laugh at her own expense every now and again!

The suitcase was finally loaded into the trunk, and Claudio gave his final verdict– that it had been a wonder that Olivia had been able to lift the suitcase in the first place, with how heavy it was.

“You have my thanks,” she said mildly, bowing her head. After boarding the vehicle and situating herself on the backseat, she took a moment to inspect her fellow passenger for intently. The wisps of his hair, now semi-contained by the vehicle’s interior, made the top of Olivia’s head cool in the places where it furled. It was like standing outside on a misty morning, she mused.

“Oh, I’ve always wanted to come here for the holidays– particularly New Years! Oh, or Girls’ Day! When I was little, I was always interested in Girls’ Day.”

As the car pulled away from the curb, she listened rapt as Claudio explained how he was determined to explore, her head bobbing affirmatively as he spoke.

“I know precisely what you mean!” Olivia proclaimed in a theater-whisper, “It would be nice to get out and explore and not be beholden to some schedule…”

Like now, Olivia thought crossly, her green eyes lingering on their chaperones. She breathed a sigh, shrugging her shoulders. It couldn’t be helped– or so she thought, anyways.

“...if you had to choose,” the girl said conversationally, “What would you do first, here? If money or distance were not an issue?”

At least they could while away their time with conversation, rather than being stuck in a miserable, solitary silence.

Olivia’s smile did not falter as she smacked her forehead with the heel of her hand at her faux pas.

“Scales!” she repeated, “So that is what they are called. Apologies, good sir! I speak a good many languages and this is not my strongest. Some words are bound to escape me!”

A reluctant and apologetic laugh escaped her, too, as she rose from her bow.
That was the most unusual name! Or perhaps that was his title? A forest was a befitting realm for a dragon to rule over, no doubt.

“Oh, I beg your pardon! My liege!”

She’d been awfully familiar with the dragon, if he was a king. Another bow, deeper than the first, followed. A bow befitting a king! And when she rose, she was able to see King in his entirety, and her look of awe was unflinching.
Even Olivia had enough social graces to know that saying she was here for “him” was far too forward for first introductions. It would be a really creepy way to lead– “Oh, I heard about you on a message board, and wanted to see you for myself–” no, no, no. With this being her first ever successful investigation, she didn’t want to squander the opportunity with overzealousness!

“Well!” Olivia said, “To hike, of course! I am new to this land, and aim to traverse a great deal of it! So I brought a picnic lunch and a book for today’s travels… and it should be quite fun!”

She conveniently omitted the part about not remembering her path to that place in the woods, for fear it might bring her adventure to an early conclusion.

“-with your permission, of course, my liege,” Olivia added as an afterthought. History was fraught with conflicts over the invasions of kingdoms and the maintenance of pre-established borders. Olivia had no idea what this King’s view of outsiders was, so it behooved her to be respectful.

I misunderstood how quirks worked when I made Olivia, and did not fully delineate my intentions with her in her initial app. Since she's within the first 25 posts, I'd like to elaborate on what she'll ultimately be able to do. <3 I'm not sure if it's "too much", but... here it all is. Sections I changed will be denoted by pink in the original!

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Olivia appraised the trio with her eyes, Two suited gentlemen, who seemed to be representatives of the school, and a boy about her age who seemed dressed for the beach (by Olivia’s standards)-- though what distracted her the most was, naturally, his hair. It floated and furled like fog, but had some substance to it. Well, that would make two of them that wore their quirks as plain as a hat upon their head!

The blonde smiled at her own cleverness, if it could even be called that. Her greeting was met by a surprised exclamation from her peer, who seemed shocked that Olivia could already speak the language.

“Yes, a little,” Olivia replied with a nod and a sheepish smile, “I have visited here a bit, ever since I was a child. So I can speak a little.”

She imagined that the writing-system would pose a challenge, but… that’s what pocket-translators were for. Olivia was about to explain her struggles with writing, when one of the chaperones interjected, asking that the pair load their bags. The startled expression flitted across her face before she could catch it– load her own bags?! But… that’s… what they were here for, wasn’t it?!

Si ce n'est pas leur travail de chaperon, c'est leur devoir d'homme.¹

She reluctantly maneuvered her suitcases to in front of her, the omni-directional wheels of the larger one coasting with ease over the sidewalk. Olivia carefully corrected her facial expression as they moved towards the car, which appeared to be a modest, black sedan with tinted windows. The body of the car had been elongated into a short limousine in order to accommodate more passengers. When the boy spoke, she returned the glance, smiling politely. He seemed tentatively curious about her, if his inner voice was anything to go by. Olivia was similarly intrigued, if she was being entirely honest.

“I have been to Tokyo,” Olivia confirmed, “Just Tokyo. When my parents came here on business trips, my brothers and I would often go with them. But alas, I have little to tell about it. We really only saw the hotel suites and some restaurants.”

Never much time for tourism when there was business to be done, unfortunately. Olivia was simultaneously well-traveled yet painfully sheltered. They reached the trunk of the car, and Olivia freed the carry-on from the luggage handle, tucking it neatly into the corner. She then collapsed the handle of her larger bag. She sized the bag up as it waited to be loaded.

Ainsi, c'est ainsi que vit l'autre côté.²

Olivia was wearing a short skirt, so hunkering-down to lift properly was absolutely out of the question. Instead, she tried to lift the bag with just her arms, using the top- and side-handles to tip it into the trunk. This was a great idea in theory, but in practice she only managed to lift one pair of wheels off of the black-top before setting the bag back down in defeat. She couldn’t help that she had weak arms, okay!

The blonde puffed her cheeks out in embarrassment, eyeing the boy with the flyaway hair.

“May I… trouble you for some help with my bag, good sir?” she requested, her tone apologetic, “I may have… overpacked a touch. It’s difficult for me to lift.”

If he weren’t amicable to help, she had no problem with asking the chaperones, too. It was their job, after all. At least… in Olivia’s eyes.

Regardless of who helped the young woman with her bag, she would address her newly-decided partner-in-crime in hushed, conspiratory tones.

“Have you?” Olivia asked, “Been to Japan, I mean? Before now?”

Having been rushed into departing, and asked to load her own bags, Olivia was wondering what kind of secret agenda they were adhering to… or if, perhaps, there was any room for any frivolity. She would linger only a moment at her door before realizing that it would not be getting opened for her– the audacity-- before letting herself into the car, and taking a seat upon the plush, tan leather upholstery. Well, at least the interior of the car was nice, even if the demeanor of their attendants were less than dazzling. Olivia set her purse on one of the sideways-facing seats, before taking a seat in the very back. She sat primly, her legs crossed at the ankles.

Olivia couldn’t help but feel out of her depth. See, most students were admitted to UAU based-on the merit of their abilities. Perhaps their quirks were incredibly strong, or perhaps they were gifted in creating technology or outfits. In one way or another, they were exceptional, and on merit alone they had been accepted to this university.

Olivia had no such bragging right.She had rich parents who had contributed a handsome donation to the school, and then only signed the check upon the conditional agreement that UAU take Olivia and keep her. They had told Olivia this, explaining how much she had cost them down to the very last cent– and used this steep bill to caution her to not mess this up.

The blonde couldn’t help but feel that she already had messed this up. Days prior, Olivia had received an email for a counseling appointment. Then, over the video consultation, the counselor teased-out what Olivia was passionate about. Strengths in science and math, and a heartfelt interest in others, gave the girl a tentative placement in the heroics course with a focus in rescue and medicine. Her quirk was, frankly, useless in the realm of combat as far as they knew. And since she had no fantastic technological or creative abilities, Support studies was out. Should she fail the “aptitude screening”, there was always general studies, too, the counselor explained. But… they’d see what she could do, first.

An “aptitude screening” couldn’t have been too terrible, right? When doctors screened you for things at the doctor’s office, they just asked you questions, right? Olivia would just have to answer the questions honestly and professionally! If she put her best foot forward, then they’d know that she would be a good hero, right–?

The day before the screening, she received an email notification to wear her P.E. uniform and her sneakers, and bring any tools or accessories she might need to the USJ Building first thing on Thursday morning. Well, that was unusual! How rigorous could a questionnaire be, that warranted dressing-down in a P.E. uniform? Perhaps the questions were really tough, and that made people sweaty…? And what was a USJ...? It sounded very official!!

Olivia did as she was directed, donning her dark-blue P.E. Uniform and white sneakers. Her waist-length hair was tied into a long, tightly-woven plait down her back. She had arrived at the training grounds early, fully-uniformed and toting a satchel with spiral-bound notebooks, pencils and erasers, and the usual accouterments contained within her purse. She was ready to answer the heck out of those questions! Seeing no one else in front of the domed building, Olivia stood eagerly near the entrance, free hand on her hip and smile set rigidly upon her lips. Perhaps she was a little nervous, but she'd never confess that to anyone else...

(Elijah )

Traveling by plane was a sensory nightmare– with nothing but recycled air pumping through the cabin, each stream of consciousness blended into a deafening torrent, drowning-out any actual conversation to be had around her. Oh, the joys of being alone with your thoughts and the thoughts of three-hundred of your closest friends. She would have preferred the family jet, but… well… first-class on a commercial airplane was all that her parents were willing to spring for.

It could have been worse– Olivia could have been cast onto the streets with nothing. But the shame of disowning their daughter– their mutant daughter, no less– would have been a poor business move. So they concocted a convenient lie– that she was away at some prestigious American university, studying medicine. As long as Olivia upheld that lie, and stayed out of their lives, her parents would continue to support her.

Just the thought made Olivia’s throat tight, and she scrunched her eyes shut, flexing her jaw as the plane made its final descent. Soon she’d be free of this pressure-cooker of humanity, and into more open-air. The tires made contact with the tarmac– once– twice– and then finally the plane careened to a much slower pace. Olivia sighed a breath she hadn’t been aware that she was holding, watching through her window as the plane made its slow approach to the gate.

UA University was no Harvard or Stanford University. It was a school designed to train quirkers like Olivia to be super-powered tools of the government. The perfect place to hide a family embarrassment. The blonde tugged at a strand of her hair, twirling it around her finger as other passengers arose and got their luggage from the overhead bins. Olivia followed suit, gathering her carry-on and her purse. Surrendering her own checked bag, and carrying her own carry-on’s. People really live like this? She felt like a pack-mule.

She and the other first-class passengers trudged out of their private entrance, following the loading bridge towards the airport proper. Some of the din of thoughts quieted as the air became more open. Olivia drew in another breath, and sighed again. Better. Much better. The blonde followed the flow of recent arrivals towards the baggage claim, finding her hard-sided pastel-pink suitcase after only a momentary wait. As she fitted her matching carry-on onto the top of the full-sized one, Olivia made a quiet promise to herself–

She wasn't going to let the misfortunes of the month prior ruin this new adventure for her. After all, flying from France to Japan was traversing a great, great distance. Perhaps she was destined to be a mythic hero, after all!

Olivia put-on a brave face, and strode with determination into the reception area. She was a vision of pastels, wearing a mint-green cardigan, lavender-and-mint green plaid skirt, and crop top with three candy-hearts emblazoned on the chest. Rainbow-striped socks peeked up above the calf-high boots, and her signature pink blossoms sat in clumps atop her long blonde hair, which had been wrangled into a sloppy bun.

Olivia’s wide green eyes drank-in the bustling of taxis, of happy reunions between Japanese natives and their families, of buses, and the like. Often, a chauffeur had met her family near their jet and then driven them off of the tarmac, so this was her first time seeing the energy of the Arrivals area.

Some people held signs, and Olivia inclined her head to read some of them– but many seemed to be written in unfamiliar symbols, which she assumed to be Japanese. When her parents had advised her of their decision, she’d started to study-up– but there were three whole writing systems at least, and Olivia was only just starting to feel confident in hiragana. Never mind the rest of them!

Her attention waned slightly, and her hand found a stray strand of hair again, twisting it ponderously. The email had mentioned that someone would meet her there, but… who… could that possibly be?

Olivia finally saw a sign with UA’s emblem on the corner, with her last name written in slanting, practical permanent marker. Oh, thank goodness. She jogged towards the trio of individuals, a relieved smile breaking across her face.

“H-how do you do!” she said, breathless with excitement. She offered a polite bow, “I am Olivia Favager. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

A lifetime of meeting with the business elite, Japanese individuals included, had granted Olivia with at least a conversational grasp of the language, and some knowledge of manners and customs. The last thing her parents would want is for one of their children to embarrass them by violating some social mores.

When she righted herself from her bow, she mustered a smile but the nerves made it a tense one. Her cheeks were flushed, too, though Olivia hadn’t exerted herself at all.