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"I've been thinking about what kind of place would be best for us a lot, Izumi. I've decided that we could make that place for us."
"I don't want that, Asai."

"Izumi, I'm not a human. You're not a human. This isn't something that we can ignore. We can't live like they do. We are the last members of a dying species. All of our leaders are gone, and the only adults left are you and I."

Mom is silent, but she keeps her anger lightly held back. Her face is close to changing color.

Asai continues, "Which is why, I have something for you; and something for our family."

He reaches into his pocket.
Oh no, this isn't what I think it is, right?

It's a small box.

"Izumi, I am but a man. And I have but simple desires. The most I can offer you, is myself."
He cracks it open.
It is what I think it is.

A small, silver inset ring glistens in the light.
There's a familiar red gemstone in the center of it. How did he get that sigil back?

"Izumi, Will you marry me?"

A cool wind blows through the trees, and every sound in the world seems to fall away. If time is moving, it's hard to perceive it.


..
"This is the worst gift anyone has ever given me." Mom crosses her arms. "I hope you can at least understand why it's a bad gift, and why this is the worst time to give it."
She shakes off some errant concrete dust that has settled on her sleeve.

>"HA, AHAH, HAHAHAHAH!"
>"Guess you won't be needing that ring!"
>nudge Kaori and crack jokes with her.
>Use this lapse in Asai's concentration to get someone to safety.

>>Start to worry about his mental health if this is considered a good idea to him
>"Are you legitimately insane?"
>"Maybe just.. stupid?"
>"Are you even the same guy?!"

>>Nope, I already knew he was crazy. This doesn't change things.
>Try grabbing him and putting him in the home-prison now. He's not expecting it.

>Other?

>>44430850
>Use this lapse in Asai's concentration to get someone to safety.

>Try grabbing him and putting him in the home-prison now. He's not expecting it.

You're under arrest for being the single worst boyfriend ever.

>>44430850
>"Guess you won't be needing that ring!"

>>44430850
>Try grabbing him and putting him in the home-prison now. He's not expecting it.

>Try grabbing him and putting him in the home-prison now. He's not expecting it.

Writing

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His posture cracks, the kneeling position he's in falters, and he falls over onto his hands.
"W-what?"
"Guess you won't be needing that ring." I laugh, Kaori starts giggling as well.

"Asai, do you seriously think proposing to me was a good idea? Right now of all times? Right after you tried to crush me and my children with concrete. What did you think my answer was going to be!?"

"No, wait; you don't-" He is about to say something, but then stops himself. "I'm only doing all of this for you! It's not like you're in any real danger, do you think I would seriously try to hurt the one I love the most?!"

This is the first time I've seen Asai seriously look like he's about to lose his mind.

"I don't think you're in your right mind, Asai." Mom says, without a hint of holding back. "I think you're arrogant, drunk on power, and feel everyone lives to serve you. I think getting rid of the Chairman was probably the worst thing for your mental health. You've equated your ego to that of a deity, now."

He sits down, onto the filthy clay. The look on his face is that of utter shock and genuine hurt.
Which begs a question, why have I never seen him like this before? It's not like this is the first time Mom rejected him.

"You need help, Asai." Mom leans forward and grabs his hand. "I'm not saying this as your girlfriend or as your co-worker, but as a friend. This wouldn't be healthy behavior even for a human. I've asked you before to go seek help for your problems, and not to take it out on other people. I think now is the time for you to listen."

"I don't need any help, Izumi!"

He says, sitting in a pile of concrete dust, in a park which is completely unusable now, while a giant stone figure hangs in the distance.

"I don't need to seek human help, Izumi. This is just who-"

He doesn't get to finish, the card symbolizing a healthy home presses up against his neck. Within an instant, we're spirited away somewhere we can talk.

>Cont.

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The house is still cool and temperate. It's a very welcoming atmosphere for the place you wish to someday live in. You just have to figure out how to make it into reality, and it'll be the perfect place.

Which is why it feels so strange to be using it as a prison. The last person who was held prisoner here wanted nothing more than to leave when you saw her. So maybe Asai will have about the same reaction after spending some time-out here.

He sits across of me, at the dining room table. He looks depressed, moreso than I've ever seen him.

"Was this that big project of yours? The one that I felt this morning?" he says, crossing his hands on the table. "It's funny, I had thought you were making some kind of superweapon at first. I suppose I should have known better. It really is a shame that I barely know you, at all."

"Oh quiet!" I yell at him. "You know exactly why you're here! And you're not going home until you stop this attack and leave my family alone!"

"Hmm." He turns and looks out the window. The endless expanse of the other world greets him in return. "This isn't in the real world, is it?"

"No! You're safely far away from that place, now. You're not going back until you-"

"Masami, I'm not going to argue with you. But for the good of the city, I demand you put me back right now where I was."

"Why should I!? You're a horrible monster! You just want to finish taking over the city and then pressuring Mom into marrying you. That's something only a monster would do!"

"I would neve- Masami. It's clear you don't understand what is going on. That is fine. I'm not happy about it right now, but my other side is likely jumping with joy now that I'm in here."

>What "Other side"?
>I'm sick of your lies Asai. Stay here and think about what you've done!
>I'm gonna beat that smirk right off your face!
>I don't believe you.
>Not only do I not believe you, I don't want to hear any more about it.
>Other?

>>44432890
>What "Other side"?
>I'm sick of your lies Asai. Stay here and think about what you've done!

>>44432890
>That second-to-first person switch

Wow!
I'm sorry folks. It's been a technical nightmare as of late.

>>44432890
>What "Other side"?

>>44432890

>What "Other side"?
>I'm sick of your lies Asai. Stay here and think about what you've done!

>>44432890
>What "Other side"?

>>44432890
>What "Other side"?
>I'm sick of your lies Asai. Stay here and think about what you've done!

>What "Other side"?
>I'm sick of your lies Asai. Stay here and think about what you've done!

Writing!

Folks, just a heads-up. After this next post, I'll be AFK for about an hour.

Apologies for the inconvenience.

>>44433130
Alright!

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"What 'Other Side', Asai?"

He leans back, "Masami, I'm not going to say this again. You've made things way worse by doing this. I suggest you put me back and we can work toward solving this problem."

"NO! No no no no, I'm not doing that! Why would I ever give you freedom?!"

"Masami, I don't expect you to free me right now. But-"
He thinks about his next words carefully.
"You know what? That's fine. Just return to the real-world and leave me here. I'm sure nothing bad will happen."

"What?!"

"You heard me. Just go. I'll sit here and think about what I've done."

"I don't believe you. All you do is lie!"

"Fine, so be it."

ERGH, Even when I'm trying to talk with him, he still makes me mad!
Is there anything this man does that isn't incredibly annoying!?
I think I already know the answer to that.

Instead of indulging him further; I instead choose to return to the real-world and let him stew for a little.
"Psst, hey." He says, I turn around to notice his huge, arrogant smile.
"What?!"

"Say 'Hi' for me, when you see him." He winks.

I'm too angry to think about what that could mean at the moment. Instead I choose to return to Mom and the others.

--

"EEEK!"
"Kaori, Calm down, I'm sure there's a good reason that's happening."

"What!?" I yell, quietly phasing in behind him. "What's wrong!? What's happening?"

Kaori, behind teary eyes, only points toward the horizon.
It's moving.

The giant is moving.
There's an audible crunch in the distance as one of its feet meet some kind of steel or concrete structure.

>Go right back into the house-prison and ask Asai what is going on
>Take reinforcements with you, in case you have to beat it out of him!
>No time! Get ready to-
>>Go fight it!
>>Run away!
>>I don't know!
>Other?

>>44433600
>Go right back into the house-prison and ask Asai what is going on
>Take reinforcements with you, in case you have to beat it out of him!

>>44433600
>Go right back into the house-prison and ask Asai what is going on
>Take reinforcements with you, in case you have to beat it out of him!

>>44433600
>No time! Get ready to-
>>Go fight it!
It's about time

>>44433600
>Go right back into the house-prison and ask Asai what is going on

>Go right back into the house-prison and ask Asai what is going on
>Take reinforcements with you, in case you have to beat it out of him!

I will start writing, maybe I will get it done before I go away for an hour.

Let's see.

>>44434152
Good luck!
I'm off to sleep soon anyway so I'll probably miss the rest.

I'm not going to make it. I'll finish the update when I get back.

>>44434226
Have a nice night!

I've returned.

Writing continues.

Good, I was getting worried.

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Oh.
That jerk.

He knew exactly what he meant when he said 'just find out' earlier.

He knew this would happen.

"Haruko, I need you to get Mom home. Now. Fly if you have to."
"Right! Mir, give me a hand with that!"

Mir?

Suddenly, there's a voice almost RIGHT NEXT TO MY EAR.
"(I'll try.)"
How long was she standing there!? Was she here the whole time?

"Kaori, Julie, grab onto my hand. I might need your help talking to a certain someone."
"I have just the words for him, too." Kaori has a sinister tone to her voice.

--

"HEY YOU!" I slam my palms onto the table. "Just mind explaining to me what is going on?"

"Oh you're back!" He snaps his attention from whatever weird thing he has on his mind. "Did you get to see him?"

"I don't know who this 'other' is you're talking about, but you better start talking right now. "
"Yeah, and start talking fast, because I've been feeling angry ever since you put that coat on me." Kaori seems to be holding some kind of.. invisible weapon. What the heck, Kaori?

Asai seems to look around the room, quickly realizing that he's outnumbered.
He then smirks, and leans back in his chair.

"Have you ever seen any old cartoons? When a person is about to make a decision, sometimes a little angel and a little devil appear on their shoulder."

Kaori is just about to grab him by the collar before he continues.
"-You see Masami, you were wrong all along in assuming that only I am Asai. This 'Asai' thing I've been doing, it's more like a partnership between all the parts of the monster known as 'Tower'. I like to think of myself as Tower's better half. The part that keeps the other sides at bay, away from your family."

He looks out the window, "It's such a shame I can't be out there to convince them otherwise, now."

>I don't believe you
>You better start making more sense, quick!
>Even if I did, I'm not letting you out of here.
>So make it stop! Do it do it do it!
>Hit him once, just to be sure.
>Other?

>>44437616
>You better start making more sense, quick!

>>44437616
>>You better start making more sense, quick!

>>You better start making more sense, quick!


Writing!

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"That doesn't make any sense! There's more than one of you? You better start making more sense, quick!"

"It's true though, dear daughter." He smiles, "Tower, or, myself I should say; we were made to be a readily-made army. A living fortress for whoever commanded us as our master. And what's a Fortress without an army to protect it?"

"I don't understand what you're saying, how does that relate to the giant outside?!"

"Masami, remember how I could seemingly control Fortune HQ's every whim?"

I pause for a moment. The building did seem to have an affinity for him.

"I wasn't controlling it. That was Fortune HQ acting on its own. The best I can do is give it suggestions. I'm the little angel, sitting on its shoulder."
His arms crack as he shrugs, "Oh, who knows what kind of madness it will get into now."

"YOU BETTER START TURNING THINGS BACK TO NORMAL RIGHT NOW OR IT WILL BE THE LAST THING YOU EVER DO!"

"Is my dear daughter threatening to end me? That would make things way harder, wouldn't you agree? Frankly, I'm the only thing that monster has ever listened to. It's not like it enjoys listening to me, either."

"I want you to go outside and disassemble that thing, RIGHT, NOW. Turn it back into Fortune HQ."

"I can't do that. I wasn't the one that decided to turn into that to begin with."

"You better start thinking of one." Kaori inches closer.

"She's right." Julie edges on the table, sword close to Asai. "If you can't do anything to help when we need it the most, why do we need you?"

"Oh, Julian, you were my best swordsman, and now you're taking orders from my twelve year old daughter." He shakes his head. Julie nearly slits his throat.
"YOU DON'T GET TO CALL ME THAT! You treated me like I was some kind of tool for YEARS! I should run you through right now for-"

>Julie, stop.
>Asai, Please make the monster go away.
>Asai, what do we do?
>I'm not listening to you, but I'll keep that in mind.
>Julie, keep going!
>Kaori? What do we do?
>Other?

>>44438830
>I'm not listening to you, but I'll keep that in mind.
>Kaori? What do we do?

>>44438830
>>Kaori? What do we do?

>I'm not listening to you, but I'll keep that in mind.
>Kaori? What do we do?

Writing last post of the night. Apologies in advance about it being so short.

>>44439275
It happens. Especially at this time of year.

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I put my hand on Julie's shoulder. Slowly, she backs off his throat.

"I'm not listening to you Asai." I say, as serious as I can muster. "..but I'll keep that in mind."

"It's not a problem if you listen to me or not. It's only a problem if you expect that thing outside to stop."

I really don't want to listen to Asai. I trust him about as far as I can throw him.
I can probably throw him REALLY FAR with Belle, but I still don't want to take any advice he gives me. That just seems like a bad idea in general.

"Kaori?"

"Oh please Masami. PLEASE don't ask 'What do we do?', because you know I don't have an answer for it."

OH NO! That was exactly what I was going to ask!

"Um.. What do we do?"
"Masamiiiiiiiiii."

She weakly thumps my shoulder. Asai sees this exchange and laughs. Julie immediately glares at him with her sword drawn.


"I-in any case. We need to try to think of a way to beat that monster."
"Or at least make it not want to attack the city."

"I have a suggestion." Asai stretches his arms. "If you're willing to hear me out."

"No!" Julie snaps at him.
"Just say it Asai, I know you're going to say it anyway." I pout.

"Hold on, I'm not going to just give you how to beat my bigger half for free. I have some demands."

"No!" Julie almost leaps onto the table, but Kaori holds her back.

"If it involves leaving, forget it."

"Mm, maybe later. But right now there's something else I want."
"Just say it."

"I want to talk with Izumi again. I want to understand why she feels that way about me."
"No! Absolutely not!" Julie repeats one more time.

My hand slaps my forehead. "If you don't know by now why she doesn't like you, then I don't see why you need to talk to her."
"Just let me talk to her, and I'll help in any way I can."

I don't trust this at all.
Not only that, I don't trust Asai to not say something hurtful to Mom.
Or Julie to not cut off Asai's head between then and now.

>Thread End.

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Thanks to everyone for the thread. I'm sorry for the interruption. It was much longer than I anticipated.

I hope everyone has a nice night. stay tuned to my twitter because I'm hoping to run again very soon.

Thanks, and let me know what you thought of today's thread!

>>44439952
thanks for running

>>44439952
Thanks for running. Interrupted Masami is better than no Masami.

>>44439952
Thanks for running.