~Inki's POV~

Flashback Age: 7

My body felt like it was broken, like every last bone had been shattered and was now jutting out of my skin. Then came the burning. The blood coursing through my veins felt like lava, thick and molten. I wanted to scream but there was something in my throat, something thick and tar-like, choking me. I rolled onto my hands and knees and heaved. A sticky, black tar like substance spilled from my lips and coated the bare floor in front of me. I heaved again, more thick black ichor coated the floor. It was oddly reflective, I could see the blaring overhead lights glistening on its black surface.

I glanced down where my reflection should be and felt fear and panic consume me. It wasn't my reflection staring back at me, it was a girl, who looked quite like me but also different. Where I was monochrome she was vibrant. Her hair was a vibrant cotton candy pink, her eyes a bright shade of juniper. While my expression was most certainly one contorted of horror hers was a ghastly manic grin. She reached a hand toward me. I screamed and slapped the black tar like substance afraid she'd escape before falling onto my back and away from the reflection.

I glanced around at the unfamiliar surroundings in a panic. There didn't appear to be any doors or windows in this room. It was just a blinding white cube. Where was I? How did I get here? I struggled to remember what had happened. The last thing I remembered, I was at the park, my friend had dragged me out from under the bench. My memory was hazy. Something happened. She'd said a word after holding my hand and it triggered something within me. I blacked out after that.

The blaring lights above hummed loudly. It hurt my ears and the bright lights were too much for me. "Hello?" I called to the empty white room.

There was no response.

"Is anyone there?" I called softly.

Nothing.

"It's too bright." I whimpered.

The humming got louder and the brights grew brighter. I let out a cry of pain and shielded my eyes from the blinding light.

"Too bright!" I screamed and jolted awake. It took me a moment to recognize my surroundings. I was in the lounge, on one of the lumpy sofas though it was surprisingly comfortable.

"Still?" The loud voice of Ms. Joke sounded from the window where she appeared to be battling with the blinds...and it looked to be a losing battle.

The lounge was comfortably dark. She'd gone through a lot of effort to dim the lights for me. "...no...it's fine..." I replied softly as I stared at her, taking in all of her beautiful vibrant colors.

"Sorry if I gave you a fright. I was just so excited to welcome you to the team." She grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of her head.

I stared at her blankly, "...but why? I'm nothing to get excited for...I'll probably ruin everything..."

She laughed, it was loud and somewhat abrasive but I found the sound jarring and oddly pleasant. "You're so funny!" She slapped her knees as she doubled over before straightening herself up and offering me a big grin.

She was so bright and vibrant, but I didn't feel faint. My heart was racing like crazy and my stomach was doing something strange. It felt like there were a bunch of bugs crawling around in my stomach. The thought of hundreds of maggots suddenly exploding from my belly made me grimace and the weird fluttering feeling shifted to an uncomfortable queasy feeling.

"Inki-chan?" There was a flash of seafoam green across the monochromatic backdrop that was the world as I saw it. Ms. Joke was at my side and leaning over me looking worried, "you okay? I didn't think you could get any paler but now you're turning a bit gray all over and that's troubling."

My heart skipped a beat and I nodded. "I'm fine." I couldn't tear my gaze away from her, a beacon of cheer in my dreary world. A painter's pallet of colors amidst the drab black and white world I resided in.

She grinned brightly down at me. "Well that's a relief. How about some lunch? I noticed you skipped out on yours to feed all those critters."

My chest felt tight. I wasn't used to having so much attention focused solely on me. I was used to fading away into the background, melting into the nothingness where I belonged. "...I..." My throat felt dry.

"Come on." She slipped her hand in mine and pulled me to my feet. I clung tightly to her hand and stumbled after her clumsily. She sat me at one of the small circular tables before making her way to the fridge.

She returned with a large wrapped lunch. In her hands I could clearly see the bright blinding blue of the cloth wrap enclosing it. It was heavy and clunked onto the table with a loud thunk as she placed it in front of me.

"I made an extra one just for you, in case today was the day I finally caught you and welcomed you to the team." She grinned as she unwrapped the lunch. There were two bento inside. She set one in front of me and offered me some utensils. "I'm a terrible cook, but I'm practicing.Gotta learn some good housewife skills if I plan to catch a spouse." Her smile was so bright and sincere.

I looked at the array of food in the bento, it was overflowing with rice and there were some fried things that looked a bit darker than they were probably supposed to be. "...thank you..." I said softly before nervously taking a bite.

It was terrible.

I wasn't even sure it was safe to eat.

It was the worst thing I'd ever eaten...yet, somehow, it was my new favorite meal. I often forgot to eat, and when I did eat, it was alone or in the company of strays. In Tartarus my meals were bland and cold and I was all alone in a blinding white box. When I was released to the Hero Public Safety Commission to be used as they wished, I ate alone, sometimes with Hawks if we were permitted, but mostly I was alone.

Ms. Joke got two bites in before she tapped out and spit it out into her napkin. "I definitely need more practice." She turned to me as I took another bite of the most assuredly burnt fried chicken pieces. It crunched, not a pleasant crunch, like a 'possibly chipped a tooth' crunch, but I ate it. Even though it tasted like ash, I ate it.

"Inki-chan?" Ms. Joke called to me quietly. "How is it?" She asked warily as she noticed I was still eating.

My lips did something strange, they shifted in a way I wasn't used to, of their own accord. I think I was smiling, "It's horrible...but I think it's my favorite meal."

Ms. Joke stared at me for a moment before erupting into a fit of raucous laughter. She pounded her fists on the table and nearly toppled out of her chair. "You're a riot, Inki-chan. Please stop eating it." She was laughing so hard she was crying. "I'll go get us something from the cafeteria." She cackled and ran away.

I pulled my new phone out of my dress pocket and sent a text to Hawks.

I: Can you teach me how to make a bento lunch?

H: ...the depressed goth cinnamon roll wants to learn how to cook?

I: Tonight, my place.

H: ABSOLUTELY NOT! YOU HAVE RACCOONS AND WHO KNOWS WHAT ELSE! YOUR PLACE SHOULD BE CONDEMNED! If you're cooking for someone you can learn at my place, then you won't poison anyone.

I tucked my phone back into my pocket as I heard Ms. Joke's thundering footsteps as she ran loudly back to the lounge. She had two wrapped sandwiches in hand and flashed me a bright smile. "Lunch is saved!"

She extended one of the sandwiches to me as she returned to the table and took the seat beside me.

"...I could try to make lunch tomorrow..." I piped up softly feeling nervous. "It'll probably be terrible."

"I look forward to it." She beamed. Some of the sauce from her sandwich had smeared across her upper lip.

I felt my lips tug into an unfamiliar expression as I picked up a napkin and handed it to her, sending her into another fit of laughter as she realized her blunder. Loud noises usually made me uncomfortable, but I oddly found this loud blinding being very comforting.