Gen 1 - Prologue

So, as you might’ve heard, I’m Akira, Akira Masamoto. What my last name means, I do not know.  My first name means ‘intelligent’ in Japanese, my first language. You might be surprised to hear that, since I look Swedish and all, but that’s because I’m the only one of my siblings to inherit mom’s golden hair.

This here is my dad. He’s  a Japanese pirate lord, like my grandfather was, and my great-grandfather and so on. My father is obsessed with the family honor. That’s why he’s telling me to marry another big pirate lord, to continue his line of pirates – my brother refused to take over his "business" as soon as he turned eighteen.

 "You will marry Shigeo. You have to continue the line and be a pirate, like I am, like my father was and like my great-grandfather. Even your mother comes from a pirate line. No daughter of mine will lead another life!"

He expected me, as anyone would have done, to accept his orders and obey him. I didn't.

 

"I won't! I hate Shigeo and I hate this kind of life! Ask Akahana, she would marry him!"

"You are the eldest of my daughters. You will marry him."

I'm a nightmare, a disaster.

"No! I won't!"
"You will. Akahana will marry someone else. I have everything figured out."

"Then figure again! I will never marry Shigeo! Never!"

And with that I ran away, to my mother who was in the kitchen, where I broke down.

That's what they always said.

"Oh mama, what should I do? Father wants me to marry the man I hate most, and I'm sure grandfather wouldn't have wanted that for me." 

My mother, who came from a completely different tradition, told me not to cry. She said that I had to be strong. She had been strong when my father had captured her and married her, and that she had learned to like him.

I'm a lost cause, not a hero.

"But, my dear, I understand it if you don't want to, and therefore, I will tell you something your father wanted to keep from you. In your grandfathers will, it is stated that you inherit something. A small cottage in Riverview. The keys and address are in the kitchen, since he expected me not to tell you. Do what seems best to you, Akira, and remember that I'll always love you, no matter what you choose."

 It didn't take long for me to make up my mind. I ran to my brother to tell him of this. My brother, or rather, my twin, looks a lot like father, but he's decided to lead an honest life in the military. Coming from him, father accepted it. He was the son, after all. I was only a girl. Well, I'll prove him wrong. I will prove that I'm more. 

"Atsuo, I'm leaving. I'm leaving this family, this house and this town. I am going to live my own life."

"Akira, are you sure? I mean, I can do it, since I'm a man. But you ..."

"Grandfather left me a cottage," I whispered. "In Riverview. I'll go there."

Atsuo nodded. "Goodbye, Akira. I love you and I'll try to visit you one day."

I hugged him and went out to look for my sister.

But I didn't tell her. She behaved as traditionally Japanese as was possible, and so I just sat next to her and thought about what would change for me. 

And as the family sat down for dinner, I snuck out of the house, taking only my bike and a few of my father's  loots that I could sell. I knew my mother and brother would miss me very much, but that my father and Akahana wouldn't mind as much. After all, I had always been closest to my mother and twin.

As I said goodbye to the house where I'd grown up, I vowed to let my children free and to let them do whatever pleased them. None of them would have to do as I did. I would accept all of them, no matter how they were.

But I'll make it on my own.

When I arrived at my new home, it was a bit of an anticlimax, after my old house. But I loved every square inch of it. It was, after all, my own home. And from here, I could prove to father that girls are worth something. From here, I could prove him that I could be a doctor.

It's me against the world.

Lyrics: Simple Plan, Me Against The World.