A/N: Just to let everyone know. I didn't read the JJK Manga. I know certain bits and pieces from YouTube videos and TikTok.
I have watched the entire anime tho. So if I miss certain key details. Please forgive me :)
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July 2009 – Six Years Later
Pear Tree School
Six-year-old Oden was backed into a corner of the classroom, three bullies closing in on him. At this point, being bullied was something he was used to, but never with this kind of aggression.
He had only started attending Pear Tree School five months ago. The trouble began almost immediately. Students thought his habit of wearing shades made him look arrogant and his quiet, withdrawn personality only made things worse, as kids mistook it for him trying to act "cool." And the obvious difference in his appearance compared to everyone else, with him being the only Japanese looking student in the school became another target.
But the biggest reason had nothing to do with him.
It was Olivia. His big sister.
Olivia was well liked by everyone, and plenty of students had childish "crushes" on her. Seeing how her look was obviously Canadian while Oden looked Japanese made the truth of his adoption obvious. Combined with his name literally being the name of a boiled dish, everything simply piled up.
There were too many reasons for him to be bullied.
As for the shades, the reason he wore them was because of his eyes. When Jonathan had found Oden as a baby and taken him to a medical facility, he had seen the kids eyes and was shocked. He had never seen anything like this before.
But the doctors said nothing was wrong with his vision. Jonathan then assumed the baby had been used in some kind of cruel experiment and abandoned afterward. He chose to raise Oden himself. And because people feared Oden's eyes, Jonathan decided he should wear shades to avoid problems.
Jonathan stood as Oden's first true father, even though others in Jonathan's family still resented the boy.
Oden's closed-off personality had its own reason.
Snakes.
Little by little, he started realizing he could summon snakes, countless snakes from somewhere unknown And whenever these snakes sensed danger, they would appear themselves to protect him, whether he wanted it or not. It had happened multiple times.
One of those times was back in June 2006.
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June 2006
Oden and Jonathan were on a fishing trip when three sharks suddenly circled their boat.
"Oden, calm down, okay?" Jonathan said.
Oden nodded nervously. "Father… what are we going to do now?"
"We stay calm. They'll leave eventually. But why are sharks even here? This zone is supposed to be shark-free."
But the sharks drew closer, and Oden panicked. He had read books about sharks in the small library at home, and the descriptions made them seem terrifying. In his panic, a black shadow formed behind him, something he had already come to recognize.
The place all the snakes came from.
From that shadow surged around a hundred snakes.
Jonathan froze in shock. He knew Oden attracted snakes, but this was the first time he saw how they came too. Where were they coming from? Was this child even normal? A superpower?
The snakes launched themselves at the sharks, biting relentlessly. After a minute of struggle, the sharks finally died. The lake water was left filled with venom, and Jonathan seeing that fishing here would be pointless took Oden home immediately.
At the time, Jonathan tried to make sense of it. Was Oden dangerous? The thought came and went. This was just a three-year-old child with a strange ability. Jonathan couldn't deny what he had seen was impossible, yet the snakes had tried to protect Oden. That was good enough.
It would have been fine… if they only protected him from actual danger.
But Oden couldn't control the ability, and the snakes constantly appeared in his daily life. They were almost always around him. Once, they had even judged Olivia as a threat and attacked her.
Oden had taken the bites himself, shielding her after he jumped to hurdle her. The venom didn't affect him.
Olivia kept it a secret because she loved her little brother and didn't want him chased out. Especially since her mother already disliked him.
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Back to the Present
The lead bully, a third-grader, sneered down at Oden.
"Oh? If it isn't the big, cool guy of the school."
The second boy snorted. "Man, those shades look lame as hell, don't they, Mell?"
The third bully, Mell, a second-grader nodded. "Maybe we should take them off him."
Oden's voice trembled. "Please… don't do that."
The main bully, an American transfer named Tyrone, leaned in. "What was that, Hotpot? Speak louder if you want me to hear you."
Before he could continue, a voice called from the doorway.
"His name isn't Hotpot. It's Oden, Tyrone."
The boys turned. Tyrone's grin widened.
"Well, if it isn't Olivia. Here to save your adopted brother again?"
Olivia crossed her arms. "Don't you have anything better to do than bully first-graders?"
Tyrone's expression darkened. "Olivia… this wouldn't be happening if you just agreed to be my girlfriend. Your brother's the one suffering because you refused."
"You're pathetic," Olivia said. "You get rejected and go bully my little brother. Why would I ever want to be your girlfriend?"
Tyrone shrugged. "If that's how you feel, maybe I'll just punch your brother to my satisfaction."
Olivia sighed. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
She was the only one, aside from her father, who knew about Oden's ability.
"Oh yeah?" Tyrone turned back toward Oden. "Or what?"
He swung his fist.
"DON'T!" Oden cried and six snakes erupted from his shadow, sinking their fangs into Tyrone's arm.
Tyrone screamed.
Mell and his brother froze in horror. Where did those snakes even come from?
Oden stared at the scene in panic, mind spiraling. Is he going to die? Am I going to kill someone? No… no… I don't want to be a killer…
Olivia only let out a small sigh and rushed out to get a nurse.