HAKKAI, suiren

Suiren's luck has never been, one could say, good. If one knew her parents then one could say that it all started with that one Christmas party. And, it was – to this pitying viewer –, an unfortunate Christmas party indeed. The Isami family were, to even the densest of people, very private people. They never said much about their personal lives except to tease some of their friends about what they did. And so, on one fine evening the couple (both scientists) had, unfortunately, walked under a mistletoe. Everyone began to cheer and giggle, pushing and hoping to see the couple finally show some semblance of affection for each other (Mrs. Isami's bulging stomach did not count).

They refused.

The disappointment was natural, of course, and so was the threads of bad luck. At the end of the night, when both Isami exited the party a particularly heavy and freezing wind pushed against them as if in warning of what's to come. Just as Mr. Isami fell asleep that night he recalled one of his friends telling him (after the mistletoe event) that 'to refuse a kiss or to kiss under a mistletoe causes bad luck.' He laughed and waved it off. They were scientists! Superstitions were only words and no real concrete evidence.

That was what Mr. Isami believed.

His disbelief began to wane, however, when things began to... not go his way. Especially when it was time for his wife to give birth to their only daughter. He had, to his uneasiness, walked under a ladder that very afternoon. The entire day left him feeling paranoid. Just an hour or two afterwards they had to rush Mrs. Isami to the prepared hospital-like room in the Trophaeum Tower. It was too early for the baby to come out, and it would complicate matters for everyone. And it did.

Mr. Isami had felt every hair on his body stand on end when he heard the doctor yelling in the emergency room just a few hours after Mrs. Isami was brought in. He didn't even need to hear the cacophony of hurried movement and loud beeps to know that something had gone wrong. Not even an hour later he was presented with the most horrible and wonderful news – his wife had gone, but her legacy remained in the form of a small, blonde baby.

His daughter was the last of the Gravity Children (as they were titled) to be born.

Isami Suiren was the youngest and also deemed to be the one with the least potential. When they tested for IQ (which was every half year or so), she almost always scored the lowest. When they tested for physical prowess, Suiren was written off as last. She lacked, to the adults' consensus, something vital that all the other Gravity Children had. The ability to 'fly' like the others? The need, drive for something above her? They weren't sure, and considered taking her off the program. The scientists immediately retracted that decision, saying that it was still too early to tell.

Life in the Trophaeum Tower was dull. There was always a schedule to follow every single day. Experiments, training, lessons. Experiments, training, lessons. That's all there was to it. The experiments hurt but she got used to it, the training sessions were absolutely tiring but she dealt with it, and the lessons were endless but she managed to do well. Free time was pretty much a luxury for Suiren (at least to her).

Labeled as the weakest, Suiren had to undergo more training than the others. When she questioned the adults why she had to work harder, they only told her it was because she was 'playing catch up' with the other Gravity Children (GC for short). As such, she was isolated for large amounts of time from group testings and the children themselves. With how full her days were, Suiren was never permitted to leave the tower.

It was as if the Trophaeum Tower was her grave.

This continued on until Suiren reached the age of twelve.

The blonde girl had joined the other Gravity Children in a large room where there was a murmur of unease and fear. A sudden gathering had broken their daily activities, and that was never a good thing.

It didn't take long for the scientists to come in and announce what they were going to do for next twenty-four hours – a tournament. The top three were to be awarded three days of 'free time' while the others were to return to their everyday routines. Suiren was enthusiastic about the notion of having 'free time' and dreamed of being one of those top three.

It was a typical tournament in which once the child lost a match, they're out of the tournament. As expected, Suiren was one of the first to get knocked out. The three that lost were taken away to another room and was told that one of them had to, in a sense, sacrifice themselves for one highly dangerous experiment called 'The Brain Charger Project.' It could leave them brain dead, or potentially permanently crippled in some way. Although it wasn't said out loud, Suiren could practically hear their thoughts.

These three are expendable.

The small twelve year old girl already knew she would be the one to go through their latest project. She was, after all, the one with the least potential – the weak link of the Gravity Children. Suiren hadn't performed as well or as beautifully as the other two, and was taken away to prepare for the experiment. Two weeks passed since the tournament and the 'secret project' experiment. The researchers were very hard pressed to consider if their experiment on Suiren was a success or not.

While the procedure had gone flawlessly, there was no change in the young girl except for the complaints of a constant headache. Suiren survived, thankfully, and was not crippled either. She was isolated, again, for a couple of more days before deeming the project a bust since there had been no progress whatsoever.

Everything went back to normal after that, or much as it could. Suiren was as busy as always before she was released for some much needed 'free time.' It was then that she was informed by the others that they would try and escape. Apparently, when she was confined and isolated, the other five had continually got together in their 'free time' and planned how to leave. Suiren quickly agreed with the rest. They made their escape early morning, just minutes before the sun rose.

It was a quiet and adrenaline-filled getaway. Suiren lagged behind the group, but struggled to keep up with them until they reached what the others called a 'safe' city. The group stuck with each other for a few hours, simply admiring the the world around them. They could feel the wind blowing against their bodies, and the sun beating upon their skin. It was simply amazing.

Their time together was fleeting. Unknown to Suiren some of the children's parent or parents had aided in their escape and came by to take them far away from Trophaeum Tower. Thinking that they were there to capture and forcibly return them to their birthplace, Suiren panicked and sped out of the vicinity. She didn't dare look back to see if anyone was chasing her.

Young, naïve, and scared Suiren didn't stop riding her ATs until reaching the edge of the city. It was then that she realized that not everything was as sweet and cloudy as the open skies. She didn't have a mother or a father to rely on, and resorted to stealing food and other necessities when the situation called for it. Suiren always escaped by use of ATs which then began the rumors of a witch residing in the city.

The moment the rumors of a flying girl reached the authority's ears, Suiren was chased harmlessly around the city. That is until the police grew frustrated and angry with her constant evasion and law-breaking. She was never caught; not with her 'abnormal' skills and the not-yet-released ATs. To the youngest of the Gravity Children, the new world was scarier than the endless experiments and training. Everyday Suiren had to hunt for food and avoid the ever determined police, who were now given to shoot on sight (sleeping darts, though, not bullets seeing as she's a child).

Just trying to survive was slowly melting away her resolve to live and trust the people around her. Too many times she put faith and belief on a stranger, hoping that they would help her adjust to life. The twelve year old was disappointed every time as she barely managed to escape the selfish and gangs of thugs.

Suiren, who thought of herself as an orphan, never knew her father even though she could remember the vague feeling of being held by strong arms and being rocked to sleep. As such, she never knew of 'the bad luck' that plagued the Isami family.

Months into her new life, Fate or Destiny thought it'd be funny to have a group of thugs ambush Suiren in her sleep. Too bad she was easily woken up and didn't waste time to skate out of there. Unfortunately, however, the blonde hadn't had a decent meal in a while, forcing her to stay grounded which made it a lot easier for the authorities to catch her as well. It was a long chase that ended with Suiren pushing herself with whatever strength she had left and jumping high into the air, seemingly escaping once again.

With all the adrenaline rush and the numbness of her over-exerted muscles, Suiren didn't feel one of the sleeping darts embed itself on her lower left back. Once she landed on safe ground, particularly in the back of a skating sports shop, Suiren promptly fainted and hit the back of her head against the wall on her way down.

The owner of the shop, one thought to be missing, Mr. Hakkai (formerly Isami) took her in and attended to her until she woke up. It was a surprise to him that she didn't seem to know anything besides her given name, Suiren. He didn't know if it was coincidence, luck, or the Gods Mr. Hakkai thanked the heavens for returning his daughter despite having abandoned her.

Deciding that it was his second chance to be a father, Mr. Hakkai 'adopted' Suiren and taught her everything she should know. There wasn't much work or teaching to be done, though, since the 'factual' information was hammered into her brain. For the next few years, he had her attend school so that she could 'socialize', make friends, and learn how to live in the outside world.

Currently, Hakkai Suiren, works at her family's AT shop and is a current high school student.