Daichi

In a small Japanese village up north, a woman ran up to the steps of the local temple, followed by her family and wetnurse. An exasperated shrine maiden opened the door, ready to tell the family off, before her eyes landed on the child in her arms.

The mark was clear as day.

From as long as Daichi could remember, she lived in the temple, not even sure of who her actual parents were. Her question was always answered with "God" so she would sit in front of the shrine and talk about her day with the idols in front of her.

It felt like the whole village was always watching her every move - they spoke of a great destiny which she had to fulfill. Even as a young child, she was tasked with many responsibilites - employed as a shrine maiden, asked to carry out blessings and rituals, as well as visiting the sick. Many spoke of what her gift would turn out to be - something everyone eagerly awaited. She had no idea what that actually meant - but she was a big fan of presents! And it would be a nice break from all the drudgery.

The gift finally revealed itself - after making a flippant remark, the older shrine maiden's eyes widened as she was compelled to follow Daichi's words. Amazed, she tested it out a few more times - each time it worked. Excitement blossomed in her stomach. Finally - after years of being bossed around, now she was the boss!!

The next year could only be described as a power trip. But could you blame her? She was a stressed, detached child who had been given too much power at too young an age. Eventually, the village got sick of her tyrannical abuse of power, and cast her out into the rain, blessings be damned. They would receive another gifted child in due time.

Daichi was devastated. Everything she'd ever had, or loved, or knew - gone in an instant. Wandering the mountain paths, she wailed more than she'd like to admit, feeling her world crash down around her. Eventually, though, her hunger became too great, and it was time to do what she did best - hatch a plan.

Finding people around and slowly daisy-chaining her way to find some sort of shelter, she found herself in a big city. With not even shoes on her feet, she was spellbound - she'd never seen anything like it in her entire life. People gave her strange looks as she walked past, clearly out of place. She had the time of her life for a few weeks - breaking into places, comandeering people's bedrooms, and stealing food, taking in all the sights and sounds of the city.

Until one day, a woman actually stopped to talk to her. She didn't look all that old, but she had strikingly kind eyes. She listened patiently to everything Daichi had to say, and then offered her a place to stay. A little hesitant, Daichi accepted, taking the woman's hand. It's not like she couldn't escape if it turned out to be terrible, right?

It took a while for Daichi to adjust - to citylife, the routines of her new home, to wearing shoes - everything here was so strange. The woman - her name was Dinah - Daichi called her Dinah for about a month before switching to Mom thereon out - would listen to her stories of her old life and laugh, charmed by their seeming oddities.

"Oh, darling, what a wretched thing they did to you!" Dinah pulled the little child into her arms. "I want you to know my love is not conditional. You can stay here as long as you like." The orange milqilin smiled. "Maybe forever."

"You're the best!" Daichi chimed, hugging the woman back. To be on the safe side, however, she resolved to never use her power on her new mother. Just in case. She didn't want to test "unconditional" ever again.

School was dreadfully boring - it reminded her of the temple. She kept skipping and wandering the streets, meeting people and stealing things. She'd come home and smile and lie to Dinah, until Dinah's unwavering faith made her feel guilty enough to actually attend class. It wasn't too bad she supposed, meeting kids her age was a little fun. They were mostly fascinated by her, and she loved the attention! And at school she learned more about how these city people lived. It was a bit lonely to always be an outsider - everyone had a cultural language she couldn't quite break into. No one really understood her.

But between understanding and love - the choice was easy. She resolved to learn faster.

She realized she hadn't quite paid much attention to her new mother's private life until she informed her about the approaching addition to the family. Daichi masked her initial fear with excitement - she's being replaced? Mom will have a new thing to love, and she'll be back on the streets! She began following Dinah around, trying to ascertain if she should run away before the decision was made for her. What she found instead was a lot of unreturned phonecalls and empty tissue boxes. How long had Mom been so miserable? She'd never really thought about dating, but late at night, peeking around the doorframe, watching Dinah quietly sob into a tissue, staring forlornly out the window, she resolved to never let that happen to herself.

She'd been worried for nothing, anyways. The child was annoying and a crybaby, but was also... cute. Mom said she needed Daichi more than ever, and for the first time, responsibility was exciting, even if childcare wasn't! At the very least, her new sibling An was fun to bully. Lightly, of course. She remembered Mom's stories of how hard she worked to help support her parents growing up, and felt some sort of connection through that. Maybe she could do her best, too.

Mom didn't say she had to get a job, after she finally graduated highschool. But she felt obligated - well, a little bit. She continually alternated between trying to live a "proper" life and just stealing to get by. She had horrendous luck actually keeping down a job - but getting hired was no problem for someone with her talents. But work was BORING! Or far too much effort. She sighed as she got home, seeing Mom had nodded off at the dinner table again, the oven still on, in their tiny little apartment Mom finally been able to afford. Her mother had worked so hard, every single day, ever since she'd met her. She came off maternity leave so early. She was so proud of having her own place. She wasn't all that much older than Daichi, either. Should Daichi move out, too?

Daichi groaned and flopped onto her bed. Her entire life had been people laying out a roadwork for her - do this, study that - but now, the script had vanished. And she was still a fish out of water, despite everything. She didn't know what to do, and as much as she loved her Mom and appreciated everything she'd done for her, she didn't think Dinah could help her.

However, her attention was piqued, browsing the internet one day instead of helping customers at her soon to be former retail job. A succilin - a Duchess with her same abilities. Was she also marked? Blessed? Daichi was immediately fascinated.

Do you think maybe... if she could somehow get to this "Belmont", she'd finally be able to help her out?