*An Apparition

Jiggly_333 · 05-16-2020, 01:00 AM

[Image: Princess-Mononoke-Full-Width.jpg]

No one in the press room knows what to say. This figure that has appeared before them.

This girl who had shown up at league headquarters with an application to join the NSFL filled in entirely in Japanese. When asked to provide a physical, she never spoke a single word to the doctor. It seemed almost like some prank. Then she was asked to prove her worth, to run a few combine tests. Her application appeared to say she was a running back, so they had her run. And she did. With bursts of speed that hadn’t been seen in the NSFL in a long time. There was no physical reason why she wasn’t prepared for the rigors of American football.

However, there came questions about her age, where she came from. Her application said that her name was Mai Fukush?. She came from Yakushima Island and was 17. No other personal information was given. For schooling, she simply wrote: ????, which translates to “Nowhere” or “Anywhere”. It seemed like she understood fluent English. She followed all instructions in the on-boarding process and had filled out the form. But she never spoke. And when she’d write, she’d only write in Japanese, almost as if she didn’t care that no one understood what she was saying.

Now this mystery girl, this “Fukush?”, has agreed to a press conference. A translator is to be seated next to her in order to read out the responses Fukush? writes. As the translator makes it onto the stage, the press room grows restless. Then, she appears.

Her presence demands the room’s silence. She wears a stained white tank-top and black shorts. It’s clear that she’s an athlete. Her body seems like a wound-up spring, like at any moment she could explode into a sprint or unleash a punch. But that’s not what silenced the room. It’s the red mask over her face. With three yellow outlined circles for eyes and a mouth, a black fabric obscures the inside of the mask. Attached to it is a hood of white fur that drapes past her shoulders. Fukush? takes her seat and looks out onto the assembled media.

She looks down at her pad of paper and begins to write.

“You may begin your questions now,” the translator announces.

The first brave soul spoke up: “I think the major question that we all have is: why are you here?”

Fukush?’s unflinching mask considers the question, she writes, and passes the pad to her translator. The translator looks at the page, looks back at Fukush? who continues to stare straight ahead, then looks back down to read what was written.

“I am here to take what belongs to me.”

“Yes,” another reporter follows up, “but who are you.”

Once again, Fukush? stares at the reporter for a time before looking down to write.

“I am your sins born in flesh. I am the child you chose to neglect. I am the daughter of fire and rage sent to collect on your debts to those you forgot.”

A pallor set over the room. The mystery girl could’ve just been pushed off as a hoax, someone playing an elaborate prank. This had to be a joke. But it didn’t look like one. Her seriousness as she took all the steps to join the league. Her incredible testing. If it was any other person on the stage saying all this, they might have been laughed off. But Mai Fukush? had already proven the truth in her words before.

Another reporter: “You’re joining this league at such a young age. Do you feel ready to take this challenge on at your listed age of 17?”

“I have proven already that I am capable. There should be no more need for discussion on-”

“I’ve had enough of this,” a veteran reporter interjects as he cuts off the translator, “You show up out of nowhere one day with a desire to play football in the NSFL. Then you refuse to speak, let alone write in English, but somehow you know what we’re saying without anyone translating for you so you’re clearly just messing with us. Stop wasting our time here. Who are you? What even are you?”

Fukush? stares at him. She writes another message without even looking down. The translator leans over to read.

“I am exactly who and what I say I am.”

Fukush? stands up and removes her mask. It’s the face of a young girl, determined and strong. She stares at the reporter and speaks for the first time since arriving at NSFL HQ. Her voice is clear and crisp in both Japanese and English.

“Watashi wa Fukush?-desu.
I am Vengeance.”

Mai Fukush? exits the room.