>>37594719
>Swap to Kaori
Let's see what her POV is like!

>>37594719
>>Swap to Kaori

I'm going to wait a few more minutes for latecomers. But so far:

>Swap to Kaori

If no one else joins in, I'll write for that.

>>37594719
>Swap to Kaori

>>37594719
>Swap to Kaori

>Writing!

I'm still here, Sorry.

>Next post almost up!

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I am Kaori Itsu-.

I'm just "Kaori". Today I've come to Fortune to meet my father.
Not "really" my father. But he's the closest thing I've ever had to one.

I'm amazed I was able to keep any of my nosy "family" from intruding today. Especially Masami, she's been so clingy ever since she took me home and declared me to be her sister. I'm amazed she didn't try to do something like stop me or insist that she come with me.

That girl, why does she always insist on being where I am?

But that's not important right now. All that's here is Dad, and me.
Speaking of which.. I asked him a question, and he isn't answering.

"TELL ME!" I yell at him, I need to keep my composure here. The only thing Father has ever respected is strength of self. If I falter here, I can forget ever getting any kind of straight answer from him.

Maybe I'm coming on a bit too desperate? Maybe too uncertain of myself? I really don't know.

I don't know what I'm doing at all.

"Magician. Thank you for coming all this way to see me again. But I'm not certain I understand the question you're asking."

He doesn't understand my question, what?

>"I'M ASKING IF YOU THINK OF ME AS YOUR DAUGHTER YOU JERK!"
>"..Never mind, forget it!"
>"Have you ever thought of anyone in your life as family?"
>"This is just like you! You act like a big tough guy but you're really a big softie, I just know it!"
>Other?

>>37597619
>"Have you ever thought of anyone in your life as family?"

>>37597619
>>"I'M ASKING IF YOU THINK OF ME AS YOUR DAUGHTER YOU JERK!"

>>37597619
>"I'M ASKING IF YOU THINK OF ME AS YOUR DAUGHTER YOU JERK!"
>AND MY NAME IS KAORI

>"I'M ASKING IF YOU THINK OF ME AS YOUR DAUGHTER YOU JERK!"
>AND MY NAME IS KAORI

Writing!

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He's always just so dense, and he never understands what I'm telling him and WHY CAN'T HE JUST LISTEN THIS ONE TIME!?
"I'M ASKING IF YOU THINK OF ME AS YOUR DAUGHTER YOU RUDE JERK!"

Just this once.. I just want him to listen to me just once.
"AND MY NAME IS KAORI!" I yell at him one final time.

Geez, I can feel myself trying to break up. I'm barely able to hold back tears at this point. I gulp hard and focus on trying not to let any tears slip through the burning aura that scorches the surface of my eyes.

I'm a strong girl, I don't need to cry. I'm not like a certain other person I know who runs crying to mommy every time something bad happens.

He continues to stare at me, I don't know if he's at a loss of words or simply doesn't know how to respond.
I've never really spoken out against him before. It just never seemed like a good idea. He was always so commanding, and serious. And I've always lived in his home until now.

But still, I really want to know. 'Family is someone who loves you back', that's what Masami told me, right?
So why is it taking him so long to answer me.

"Kaori, that's the name I gave you for school."
"IT IS! And I would prefer if you called me that!"

He's not acting as if he's mad, more that he's confused. I can never really tell with him, but I've at least known him long enough to know a few subtle hints about the way he talks and composes himself.
Maybe I should try another question.

>"Why did you use me like a tool for years!?"
>"What was the purpose of anything that I've done?"
>"What is your purpose? Why do you have bodyguards or work with Fortune?"
>"Normal people don't do any of that, why can't you be a normal person!?"
>Other?

>>37599783
>"Normal people don't do any of that, why can't you be a normal person!?"

>>37599783
>"Why did you use me like a tool for years!?"
>"Normal people don't do any of that, why can't you be a normal person!?"

>>37599783
>>"What was the purpose of anything that I've done?"

>>37599783
>"Normal people don't do any of that, why can't you be a normal person!?"

>"Normal people don't do any of that, why can't you be a normal person!?"
>"What was the purpose of anything that I've done? Why did you use me like a tool for years?!"

Writing!

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"Don't you get it?!" I can feel myself getting flustered once more. "Normal people don't do any of that! They don't surround themselves with hundreds of bodyguards, they don't order their daughters to spy for them, either! There's nothing that you've done for me that makes me think of you as a father!"
"What was the purpose of anything that I've done?"
I can't take it, I can feel the disgust and unpleasantness welling up inside of me. It feels like years of pent-up anger and frustration that I've never dared to voice to him under any other circumstance before now.
"I DON'T EVEN SEE THE PURPOSE OF ANYTHING YOU'VE ASKED ME TO DO IN MY LIFE!"

This seems to hit him the hardest, at least as hard as his perfectly-steeled exterior can be hit. He continues to stare at me with his usual detached stare and stern expression, but I can tell his composure isn't quite the same as it once was.

"Are you feeling well?" Is his response, "You've never complained about any of your tasks before."
"Maybe that's because I've always been too scared!" I spat back at him.

He seems even more confused than before, "What was there to be scared of? You did tasks I asked you to do. Was there anything to be afraid of in our agreement? If you'd like, I can make it where nothing makes you afraid. Or I could give you easier tasks if the ones I was asking were too hard."

>Cont.

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>>37601656
I can't even tell if he's serious anymore. 'Nothing makes me afraid ever again?' what does that mean? That he thinks that I need to change?

"I'm YOUR DAUGHTER! You're supposed to always love me and not only if I do things for you!"
Seriously, is he just saying this just to make me mad now!?

He blinks, "I don't understand what you mean by 'Daughter', I'm the last one of my family. Even if I am attached to you, you're still my creation. I am unclear why you think of me as a 'Father'."

That.. So he doesn't even think of me as a-

"This is how things are, I'm sorry I cannot make you one of mine. I'm the only human in this entire building. The only thing you and everything else here are created to do is to serve. Tower, Empress, Priestess, all the guards, all the drones, and you. I rule Fortune, therefore everything here serves me. I'm sorry that it makes you unhappy, Magician. I can't make you into a human."

I feel that burning around my eyes again.

>Show him that he's wrong, through force!
>No, no, he's just mistaken! I just need to show him another way!
>>But, what other way?
>>Do I mention Empress and her happy family?
>>That she isn't real but somehow manages to be way more normal than him?
>>Do I tell him that normal people don't think of the ones closest to them as slaves?
>>Do I tell him that no one
>No! I'm done with him! I'm leaving!
>Other?

>>37601731
>No! I'm done with him! I'm leaving!
That's if we have the strength to move

>>37601731
>No, no, he's just mistaken! I just need to show him another way!
>>Do I mention Empress and her happy family?
Sure!

>>37601731
>Show him that he's wrong, through force!
we're already more humane than him

>>37601731
>>Do I mention Empress and her happy family?
>>That she isn't real but somehow manages to be way more normal than him?

>>37601731
>No! I'm done with him! I'm leaving!
Atleast Masami and her mom are actually willing and trying to treat her like Family.

>>37601731
>No, no, he's just mistaken! I just need to show him another way!
>>Do I mention Empress and her happy family?
>>That she isn't real but somehow manages to be way more normal than him?

>No, no, he's just mistaken! I just need to show him another way!
>>Do I mention Empress and her happy family?

Writing!

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T-this can't be right!
Sure he must be confused. Maybe he just doesn't know what 'family' means? He just said that he never had one! So maybe.. maybe he just doesn't understand that I mean!

Right?

"R-really" At least talking will keep my voice from breaking up. "Y-you don't have to be human to have a family!"

He arches his eyebrows, "I don't understand."

"What's so special about you just because you're human?! Look at Empress! She has a happy family and you don't even have one!"

He blinks again, "Empress doesn't have a family. She can't have a family, because she has no mother or father."

What a jerk!
"How can you say she doesn't have a family when she lives like more of a normal person than you!?"
"I'm only saying the truth, Magician. I'm sorry if it's upset you."

"SHE sends her kids to school! SHE wakes up every morning and makes them breakfast! YOU hole yourself up in a fortress surrounded by guards! Why don't you see that she's living a better life than you!?"

"Because I'm living the only life for me." He says, completely without missing a beat, "And at the end of the day, she still serves Fortune."

There's that burning feeling at my eyes again.
"WHY!? Why is this the only life for you!?"

"Because this is the life my father, my real father, taught me to lead. Sorcery is a talent that's passed down through family lines. Which is why you cannot be my family."

>This is pointless! I'm leaving!
>I'm really mad now! I think I'll show him who's the boss!
>"GO TO HELL!" Cry
>Other?

>>37603932
>>"GO TO HELL!" Cry

>>37603932
>"GO TO HELL!" Cry
>This is pointless! I'm laving!
Seriously, you don't need this guy when Masami and her mother are the ones who actually care about you.

>>37603932
i still can't tell if that guy has a power level over 9000 or if he's just a loonie with barely any powers like that guy with the vestigial horns in elfen lied
>"GO TO HELL!" Cry
>This is pointless! I'm leaving!

>>37603932

>This is pointless! I'm leaving!

>>37603932
>This is pointless! I'm leaving!
Time to go home.

>>37603932
>>This is pointless! I'm leaving!

>"GO TO HELL!" Cry
>This is pointless! I'm laving!

Writing!

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"But... But.."
So that's just it then.
He doesn't think of me as a daughter.

"BUT, I- YOU SAID YOU LIKED ME THE MOST!"
He doesn't even think of me as a person.

"I...I-"
And he never will.

"GO TO HELL!" I shout at him, tears streaming down my face. Any sense of trying to be a stoic big girl has long since left. Not that it would matter anyway.
I can't win his respect because he never respected me to begin with.

I turn and storm off toward the elevator, deftly reaching for the button.
But before I can press it, the door opens.

I'm suddenly face-to-face with a terrifying figure. A man with jet-black hair and a maniacal grin permanently etched onto the contortions of his face.

"Well said Kaori!"
Asai.

"And to you Chairman! I wish I could share such a healthy relationship with my kin."
Without warning, he twists his head toward completely empty space and winks at the floor. What a weird guy.

Fath- HE isn't amused at all, "As I was saying, she is not my kin. What are you doing here?"

Asai smirks, "Why, I've spent all this time preparing a welcoming party for your guest on the top floor! I hadn't noticed that you suddenly decided to meet on this floor."
His smile gets bigger somehow, "I'm beginning to think you maybe don't trust me, Chairman."

"This isn't a matter of trust." HE says, not breaking eye contact with Asai. "I wanted to meet alone, without your interference, or spying."

"Oh, you're welcome to it Chairman. Like you said," There's that smirk again, "I live to serve YOU, after all."

Wow, THAT seemed to make that jerk angry. I wish I could do that.
"..You're dismissed Magician."
"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!"

I rush past Asai and jump into the elevator, slamming my finger onto the first floor button. The door shuts just as Asai erupts in mocking laughter.

I think... I think I'm going to cry again.
"EEEEK!"
SOMETHING JUST WRAPPED TIGHTLY AROUND ME, BUT I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING

>WHAT DO I DO?!
>BLINDLY PUNCH AT THE AIR?
>FALL OVER?
>SCREAM?

>>37605360
>BLINDLY PUNCH AT THE AIR?

>>37605360
>>BLINDLY PUNCH AT THE AIR?

>>37605360
>BLINDLY PUNCH AT THE AIR?

>>BLINDLY PUNCH AT THE AIR?

Writing last post of the night. Sorry for going a little late.

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"NO NO NO, LET ME GO!"
It's hard to move with this, THING. Whatever it is, tightly constricting around me.
I knew it. Everything seemed too quiet, and that's not Dad-HIS style. He always did like thinking you were perfectly safe before stabbing a knife into your back.

This is probably his final revenge for turning away and leaving him!

Quickly, I give it the strongest punch I can manage! My fists connect right with its center of mass as it reels backwards and falls into a corner of the elevator.

This is it! I'm going to finally beat one of his minions after all and prove myself just as capable as any of his bodyguards!
The monster suddenly reveals itself, maybe in an attempt to scare me? Well it's not going to work!

"Wha- MASAMI!?"
"H-hey Sis."

"Masami! Why did you do that!? You scared me!"
My mood has gone from utterly devastated to increasingly bitter.

"Eheh" She slowly stands to her feet. "Sorry, It's just I saw you crying and-"
"Wait."

The only way she could have seen me crying is if...
"You FOLLOWED me!?"
"Wha? Sort of! I was looking over the building to make sure-"

"You came with me, when I told you that I wanted to meet him alone, and snuck around behind me! How much of our conversation did you spy on!?"

Masami doesn't say anything, instead she seems a little hurt.
I bet she would be just as mad at me if I did the same thing.
The bell dings and the doors slide open. Without saying anything, I turn around and storm out of the elevator.
I exit the front door as the strange creatures lining the lobby peer in confusion at my notably sour mood. I make it about halfway through the parking lot before it hits me.

Dad.. He's never going to love me. He can't be my family, because I'm not human.
And he's right, no one can.

My legs walk only an extra block or two before they buckle out from under me. I don't care if Masami sees me doing this or not.
Right now, I just need to cry.

>Thread End

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Whew, sorry about that. I didn't mean for the thread to be so spaced out.

Thanks to everyone who participated. I'm going to try running tomorrow as well, but lets see if I'm feeling up to it. Keep an eye on my twitter to see if I run Sunday or Monday.

Let me know what you thought of the thread, thanks!

Also I'm happy to say that preparations for a special project on Akun are in full-swing. It's not related to CPM, but I'm hoping people end up liking the light tone I have planned for it anyway.

I'll be sure to link it on twitter when it goes live. It still has some work to be done before then.

>>37606688
Thanks for running.

>>37606688
thanks for running

>>37606688
Thanks for running