Anything But That!

{Sekai’s POV}

After we did the ritual back home, we were welcomed by Mom and Dad whose eyes were red from crying and they started crying again seeing us in relief and hugged us. Mom said, “You both are in so much trouble, but I am so relieved that you are alright…” She is a little confused when she doesn’t feel an arm where it should be on Ayaka, and then she freaks out, “Ayaka, what happened to your arm?! Why are you so calm right now?” Ayaka squeezes Mom with her left arm, “It just so happens that I am more like an octopus than I thought, and my limbs will regenerate. Though it apparently takes some time.” Mom looks down and notices her foot, or lack thereof, and is really worried. Dad says while wiping his tears, “Your punishment can wait. First, let us go see Recovery Girl to get you treated.” We nod, also crying because we are happy to be home, and I say, “I can teleport us.” Ayaka shakes her head, “Let’s let them drive us. The reason why we were so delayed coming back was because you went Plus Ultra, so just take it easy.” While we drove to the hospital, Ayaka filled them in on everything that happened in Wano.

Recovery Girl was so shocked upon seeing Ayaka in her current state. She noticed the foot first, seeing the tentacle coming out the back of her leg and bending down where her foot should be, and she had her lie down while Ayaka explained why her wounds were covered in her octopus skin. It was the wildest thing to see when she kissed her with her quirk to heal. Ayaka’s tentacle regrew so quickly, and yet it seemed like one fiber at a time. After the tentacle was fully regenerated, it transformed back into a foot. Ayaka fainted from exhaustion after being healed, and Recovery Girl was a little shocked at the results. I told her about her arm, too, but she said that it would have to wait for another day. She examined me with a flashlight in my right eye and asked how I was feeling. I told her about maybe overusing my quirk recently, and she said, “Hmmmmm, that would explain that slightly pale skin and that look in your eye. You should be fine if you let your quirk rest for a few days.” I nod in understanding. 

Dad picked up Ayaka and took us back home. Ayaka woke up from fainting around that time with deep circles under her eyes, and Mom and Dad sat us down. Ayaka, anticipating losing her phone, grabs it and hands it to Mom, and Mom rejects it and says, “Your father and I talked about it in detail and figured you were anticipating losing electronics and thought of a worse punishment for you both.” I gulp, not liking where this is going. Please don’t say you will abandon me. Please don’t say it. Mom continues and says, “You will be forbidden from having sex, and you are forbidden from sleeping together at night for an entire week. Once you come back from your summer camp, the punishment will be lifted.” 

The second-worst thing for me to hear.

Ayaka and I started sobbing, and Ayaka begged, “Anything but that! I will do all of the chores and cook for months, please reconsider! It was all my fault! I am the one who talked her into it after she said how scared she was of disobeying you in fear that you would abandon her.” Dad sighed and said, “We already knew that you probably talked her into it. We didn’t know you thought that, Sekai.” He hugs me as does Mom, and she says, “One thing you never have to worry about is us abandoning you. We love you so much, Sekai.” I clutch onto them as I cry, and I ask, “I-if I can’t sleep with Ayaka, w-where will I sleep?” Mom says while clutching onto me tightly as well, “On a futon here in the living room. Your Dad and I will sleep in a painting on the wall, observing, and will know if you try to go to Ayaka’s room or vice versa.” I have never NOT slept with Ayaka since knowing her.I don’t know if I can do this. 

Mom and Dad separate from our hug, and Dad says in a stern yet warm voice, “Tomorrow you both are coming with us to the gallery so we can supervise you. Also, Sekai, you won’t be eating jawbreakers constantly during this week-long period, so we don’t have to worry about you two slipping away for a secret rendezvous. So, hand them over.” I take out all of my jawbreakers while still crying and hand them over. After that, they set up the futon in the living room, and since Ayaka was exhausted from recovering her foot, she decided to cry herself into a nap, and we held hands as long as we could before separating. I wrap myself in the comforter they brought out with the futon and also wrap it around Sir Floof, who is trying to cuddle me and cheer me up, and places his ribbons on me, which feel like a warm hug, but I still feel devastated being separated from Ayaka. Mom and Dad both sigh seeing us, and I hear them whispering in the kitchen, but I can’t tell what about.

When night fell and it was time to sleep, I found it hard to sleep. I kept finding myself crying, missing Ayaka’s presence beside me. Hearing me cry, Garlic came into the living room and bonked me affectionately and whispered, “Saur?” while pointing to his flower bud on his back with a vine. I asked him, “Are you asking if I need help going to sleep?” He nods and whispers, “Saur.” I wipe my tears with one hand and pet Garlic with the other and say, “If you wouldn’t mind.” Garlic uses his sleep powder quirk on me to help me fall asleep. My eyes closed as if weighed down, and I heard Mom and Dad freak out a bit momentarily, then realizing it was Garlic’s quirk, and I heard their voices trail off as I drifted into a nightmare-filled sleep.

The next morning, Mom and Dad woke me up wearing worried expressions, and Mom said softly while wiping the cold sweat and residual sleep powder from my face with a warm, damp washcloth, “Are you ok? It seemed you were having a nightmare.” I choke back tears and gently stroke Sir Floof, who was also waking up with me, “I’m fine.” Though my words betrayed me as I choked up saying them, and they knew that I was shaken and they hugged me. I look over their shoulders and see pink dust covering everything. Mom said with watering eyes, “You were talking in your sleep, honey.” The last dream I had before waking was replaying the day of my mother’s death, and tears fell from my face, realizing that they heard things I never wanted to ever repeat to anyone besides Ayaka. I need some things to keep close to my chest to preserve my dignity. The only thing they don’t know about now is what Isamu put me through at the orphanage, so I hope and pray to whatever deity is out there that they don’t find that out. Eating his shit was so embarrassing and dehumanizing. I haven’t even told Ayaka about that yet.

Before we ate breakfast, I volunteered for cleanup since I was the cause of the mess. Ayaka had the bright idea to collect as much as I can so we can just sniff it so that is what I do. Even though I told her to sit down, she still helped me clean up. Apparently, she had him use it on her as well, so we had to clean her room also. After we got the house cleaned up, breakfast was ready. Since Ayaka was missing her dominant hand, I fed her breakfast. Though one serving wasn’t enough for her, and she asked Mom, “Is it alright if I have more? I haven’t eaten much the past few days because I was worried for Sekai.” Mom says, “Sure, give me one moment while I whip up another omelet.” She mixes the eggs and cheese, and Ayaka bonks me on the arm and says, “You need to eat your omurice, too.” I eat mine quickly while Mom is making another omelet for Ayaka. I try to be even faster than normal so I can take my time feeding Ayaka. Mom glances back at me and says, “Slow down, or you might choke.” As if her words were a prophecy, a clump of rice and egg got stuck in my throat, and I started coughing. Ayaka passed me her water, and I chugged it in between coughs to flush it down. 

Mom asks while using two metal spatulas on a griddle, folding the outside of the scrambled eggs and cheese inward in a masterful manner, “Is there a reason why you were eating so fast?” I stammer, getting flushed in the face, picking up my chopsticks again, “I was w-w-wanting to finish b-before you were done, so I could take my time feeding Ayaka.” After the words left my mouth, I became even more red, and Ayaka was smiling at me, making me even more flustered. I looked back down at my omelet and continued to wolf it down, and I was able to beat Mom making Ayaka’s omelet, and Ayaka giggled, “Looks like you win, Sekai.” Mom chuckles as she places down my omurice, “Didn’t know we were racing.” I blush again and pick up her chopsticks and take my time feeding her, enjoying the feeling of our legs touching and knowing she is right beside me.

We get to the art gallery, and Dad says, “Ayaka, you are with me. Sekai, you are with Fumie.” We groan and hold each other’s hands as long as we can until distances separate us. I follow Mom to a special warehouse-type space with lots of fertile soil inside, where she puts on a long apron and puts on a special painters' utility belt that has large metal rings. There is another employee here who seemed to be watering and fertilizing the soil, and her skin is green, and her hair is made of leaves. Just taking a wild guess that her quirk has something to do with plants, leaves, or something along those lines. The walls have no windows and are completely white. I sit in the corner in a depressive slump missing Ayaka while Mom asks the plant lady, “Ayame, can you give me a large tree surrounded by smaller trees and a sea of flowers in the foreground area here?” She says, pointing to a specific spot of soil at each directive so Ayame knows where each thing goes. 

Ayame nods and places her hands on the soil and creates the scene that Mom was imagining and Mom stands in front of the flowers looking at the scene using her fingers to make a rectangle frame. She smiles, “I love it, thank you for your hard work. You can take a break for now while I work on the background.” Ayame sits in a chair around where Mom was, looking at the scene, drinking some water from a gallon jug. Mom gets her paint and puts the paint receptacles in the rings in her belt and goes to the wall where she has two ladders connected with a plank. She starts painting the wall in blues and dark purples and leaves some spots not painted in. The more I watch, I realize that she is painting a night’s sky, and the empty spaces are stars. I never thought that the lack of something could be beautiful like this. I have a lot to learn from my doodles. Ayaka mentioned in Wano how she wants to try working on bringing 2D to life, and I want to help her however I can and learn how to make better art. Thinking about Ayaka makes me feel more depressed as I watch Mom.

Ayame brings her chair over to my corner and asks, “What is your name?” “Sekai.” She asks, “What is wrong?” I sigh and hug my knees, “Nothing.” Ayame sighs at my response, knowing it is obviously a lie. Sir Floof comes out and bonks me gently, and Ayame gasps, “Where did that one come from?” I tell her while holding Sir Floof’s ball, “He can come and go from this ball here as he pleases.” She smiles warmly and asks, “Can I pet him?” I ask Sir Floof, “Is that ok with you?” He nods and nuzzles into Ayame’s pets, and she holds back squeals at his adorable elegance. I tell her, “You would probably like Ayaka’s best friend. Garlic has a few plant quirks like you.” Ayame perks up more and asks, “Did she bring him to the gallery today?” I nod, and she says as she storms off, “Be right back!” When I said that, I wasn’t expecting her to be that excited.

Ayame comes back all smiley and giggling and sits back next to me. She said, “Garlic is so adorable. I love his beautiful flower bud on his back. I wonder if it will bloom.” I nod, “According to the information we have on Garlic, he will get bigger when he gets stronger, and in that form, his flower will be in bloom.” Ayame asks while pointing to Sir Floof, “Will that one grow bigger one day?” I shrug, “Actually, the species that Sir Floof is has only just been discovered, so there isn’t much information on him out there. I think Sir Floof is perfect the way he is.” Sir Floof adorably chirps and bonks my head gently, and I hug him.

Mom heard the talk of quirks and said in a manner like she remembered something, “Sekai, doesn’t Sir Floof have a mist quirk?” I responded, “Yes.” Mom asks, “When I am done, can you ask him if he could use his quirk in the tree line? I think that would really elevate this painting.” I asked Sir Floof, “Would that be alright with you?” He nods, and I pet him and let Mom know, “He said he would help.” Mom said while using a sponge to make some dark grey and purple clouds in her night sky. I kept watching Mom while petting Sir Floof, trying not to think of Ayaka’s absence, and at the end of the workday, she finished the background scene. Mom asked while taking the ladders ‘out of frame’, “Sekai, I am all done. Is Sir Floof ready?” I look at him, and he chirps as if to say yes. Mom, knowing his sounds, says, “Fantastic. Whenever you are ready.” She says, coming to the front of the frame, and she makes her finger rectangular as Sir Floof uses Misty Terrain.

The result was a mystical-looking landscape, and Mom smiled and said, “That is perfect.” While choosing this moment to make her skin canvas, the scene from the view in her finger rectangle disappeared in a flash of light, leaving a white wall and soil again. Mom pulls the canvas from her skin and looks at it and says, “I love it. Sir Floof, could I borrow you more in the future? This effect is just stunning.” She shows us, and it looks like she is showing us a painting of a magical forest under a starry night sky, and it looks so lifelike. Mom really has skills. Mom asks, “What kind of quirks does Garlic have? I might be able to borrow him, too.” I tell her what I remember from the list, and she says, “Hmmm. I could probably make something equally as mystical with the poison powder or sleep powder quirk. Though if I use that poison powder, we will probably have to replace the soil here. Oh, I could ask to see how that razor leaf quirk looks because at the right timing, it could look like leaves flowing in the wind.” Mom says while wearing a bright smile, looking at the painting, “Thanks, I will talk with Ayaka to see if I can borrow Garlic for tomorrow.” She almost pats me on the head, then realizes she is covered in paint and stops.

{Ayaka’s POV}

Ugggggggggggggggh. This is so boring. Dad said find a painting and go inside 2D and have fun. How am I supposed to have fun when Sekai isn’t by my side? I get into a painting and climb a tree, and depressively slump, and Garlic joins me and sits in my lap on this branch. Since I have my legs wrapped around him on this thick branch, his weight isn’t a problem. I ignore the people who view the paintings while I stare off into the rest of the painting, and one person says, “Wow, the depressed, one-armed girl really adds depth and emotion to this piece. I turn and see an old man examining the painting, and he jumps, startled, and asks, “Hanzo-san, who is this one-armed girl in this painting?” Dad comes out of his painting and says, “That is my daughter, Ayaka. She will be regrowing that arm later when we see Recovery Girl.” The old man asks, “How?” Dad responds, “She has two quirks, one that allows her to go into the 2nd dimension, and also is an octopus and has the same abilities as one.” 

The old man looks at me in fascination and asks, “How does she have two quirks?” Dad says, knowing I don’t like to talk about it, giving him the cover story, “When she was lost for a few days in April, she was experimented on and they combined her DNA with an octopus.” The old man says, “That is so tragic. I am sorry to hear that, little lady. Does it hurt?” I shake my head, and he sighs in relief, and then he sees Garlic move in my lap, and he jumps back in surprise, “What is that?! I thought that was a toy or part of the painting.” I gave him Garlic’s cover story and said, “He is a bioengineered dinosaur with a plant-based quirk and is my best friend.” The old man looks at Garlic up close, and his face looks ginormous because of our tiny dimensions right now, and he says, “Fascinating.” He looks at Dad and says, “I like this one, your daughter sold it.” 

Dad smiles, “Great, will you also be taking the frame as well for an added charge?” He says, motioning for him to give the painting some space. Before I emerge, I decide to test something and grab a leaf and take it to 3D with Garlic. It stays with me in 3D, and now I am wondering if this is because my Mom makes paintings consisting of real plant life. When I get home, I think I might try it with a drawing I create. Dad says, “Ayaka? Can you hear me?” I look at him and ask, “What’s up, Dad?” He says, smiling, “You were in your own little world there. Can you get that painting, remove it from the frame, and put it in a tube?” I nod in a depressed manner, still a husk of my previous self without Sekai, and say, “Yeah, sure.” I grab the painting with one hand and use a tentacle to hold the other side as I remove it from the wall. Using teamwork with Garlic, we were able to remove the frame and roll the painting up, and I put it carefully in a tube for our customer.

As I hand it over, Dad says, bonking his own head, “I forgot that you are temporarily down an arm. Sorry, pumpkin.” The old man says, smiling, taking the tube from me, “Didn’t seem to slow her down at all.” Dad says while rubbing the back of his black hair, ruffling it a bit, “I suppose you are right. I just want to take care of my baby girl.” The old man snickers, “As a father should.” He gently taps the tube on his hand and nods to us and says, “Thank you for the wonderful painting.” Dad says while bowing to the old man, “And thank you for your patronage.” When the old man leaves the store, he smiles at me and gives me a thumbs up, and I sigh. 

When they said it was time to go, Sekai and I ran to each other and hugged each other. Dad said while getting his car keys, “One would think you have been without each other for years by the way you two are acting.” Sekai stammered while flustered adorably, “B-b-but I missed her.” I say, “Ditto.” While squeezing her tight, I had missed every little thing about her from being alone all day. She squeezes me just as tight. Mom said while shaking her freshly washed hands, “Alright, you two love-birds. Are you ready to go to Recovery Girl?” We separate from our hug and hold each other’s hands until we get into the car, where we lean into each other and hold each other.

When we got home, I was exhausted from recovering my arm. I went to my room and got a drawing pad and some colored pencils and came back into the living room so I could be with Sekai. I lay my head in her lap, and I bend my knees and draw a pink and purple lotus flower. Sekai strokes my head as she watches me draw. I use different shades of pinks, purples, and greens to bring the drawing to life on this page. Once I am satisfied with it, Sekai looks at it and says, “That is beautiful, Ayaka.” I reach into the page and pull the flower out into 3D, and I sit up and place it in her hair and use one of my bobby pins to secure it, “Good, because I drew it thinking of the pink in your hair.” She is blushing adorably on that scowling face of hers, and I can’t not kiss her now. We moan into each other’s mouths as we kiss, and Mom and Dad clear their throats, and we separate and sigh.

This week can’t be over soon enough.