Friendly reminder that Aki is about 16 years old at this point. She’s not a woman, she’s still a girl. A girl who’s scared of her own powers to a point where she believes she’s been cursed. It’s not like she doesn’t want to help people, she simply doesn’t know how because NO ONE has ever showed her how to use those powers for good.
Her parents were scared of her, as was everyone else. Ever since she found out about her psychic powers Aki has been isolated and terrified of herself. So of course she would take up on any help she would get. Granted, following Divine and duelling as Black Rose Witch weren’t exactly the best decisions she made but she literally didn’t know any better. Divine accepted her, he gave her a home where she wouldn’t be judged simply because she was different.
She has no idea that she’s just being manipulated. She’s gotten nothing but bad reactions from anyone around her that, naturally, she thought hiding her face and trusting in this man who offered her a, in her eyes, better future was the only path she could take. She’s scared, alone and confused. She doesn’t believe she will ever have true friends until Yusei, after some struggling, eventually manages to convince her that, above all else, she has to love HERSELF.
Only then does she slowly begin to see herself as more than a cursed girl with destructive powers. She opens up and makes friends. She even brightens up and shows more emotions once she became comfortable with the others. Izayoi Aki is a precious being and deserves so much more love than she’s getting. In both the show and the fandom.
