#yeah so far further maths has been way better than regular maths

[thursdayg1rl]

to be honest kitten, non homogeneous second order linear differential equations are making daddy want to kill herself

[hedwigstalons]

High Expectations

This is a fic that I originally told myself I wouldn’t post any of until it was complete.   Evidently I lied.  It’s not complete but I do have 21k words and eight chapters built up already.  It was meant to be Gordon’s story of how he ended up in WASP but the other brothers have decided to put in an appearance too (I blame the boys and also @willow-salix​ for encouraging them)

I’ve also set myself a secondary challenge with this to produce a piece of art for each chapter.  I’m hoping to try out different styles and hopefully make some progress over time.  This first bit was very much about getting a feel for the tools (a challenge seeing as I first have to wrestle the drawing pad away from the small person who just likes being able to make rainbow glitter pictures)

Anyway....

xoxoxox

Summary: Jeff Tracy has very strong beliefs about what he expects from his sons.  Sometimes his expectations are at odds with what his sons themselves want from life, especially Gordon.  

Chapter One

The office was tiny, barely large enough for the single desk it contained.  It didn’t really matter.  This room no longer had a permanent resident. State wide cuts to the careers service and an investment in online guidance meant that careers advisors were stretched across districts; a few lonely individuals doing the rounds of the high schools to dispense reassurance and wisdom in statutory ten minute blocks.  As a consequence this area of the school hadn’t been refurbished in many years and had a general air of neglect.  The carpet tiles had been worn bald in a clear path to the two chairs in the room, one in front of the desk and one behind.  The painted cinderblock walls were covered in posters, bleached and faded by the California sun, bearing inspirational quotes.  

 You can do anything!

 Be the change you want to see

 Aim for the skies

 The posters mirrored the sentiments he had heard at home too many times.  Although at home they tended to come tinged with disappointment as he handed over yet another report card that didn’t meet the standard set by the siblings who had gone before.  Yale, Harvard and the Denver School of Advanced Technology had already accepted a Tracy.  Gordon just couldn’t match up to their lofty heights of academic success.  He was bright but that just got overshadowed by the glittering trio above him.  Anything he did had always been done better by at least one, but more often all, of his older brothers.  

 The pressure to achieve academic excellence had lessened slightly as his swimming training had ramped up in intensity.  As competitions progressed from local, to state, to national, to international the family had grown to accept that this was no passing hobby.  But Gordon still lived with the constant threat that he would be pulled out the pool if his grades dropped too low.  It was taking all his energy to keep on top of his school work to the required B- average insisted on by his father so that he could keep doing the one thing he felt truly good at.  The one thing that set him apart from his over-achieving brothers.

 At least the teachers didn’t judge him or at least couldn’t judge him against his more intellectual siblings.  As soon as John had graduated high school and started at Harvard, an accomplishment for which he was several years younger than the average after skipping a couple of grades, Jeff had moved himself and the youngest boys away from rural Kansas to Los Angeles.  The old farmhouse was retained but was no longer a permanent base for the family.

 The move to the city was a strategic decision by Jeff and one that was only delayed in order to allow John to complete his high school education without the disruption of an inter-state move.  For Jeff it meant the ability to site himself in the commercial heartlands expected of the business that was flourishing under his direction.  It also meant he was able to get back each night to care for his youngest children, even if he sometimes didn’t make it back to the apartment before midnight.

 It may have been expected that Jeff Tracy, an individual rapidly climbing the lists of America’s richest and most influential individuals, would have used the move as an opportunity to enrol his youngest sons in the finest educational establishment Los Angeles had to offer. But Jeff Tracy was a man raised in Kansas wheat fields.  A man for whom his own success and the successes of his eldest three sons had been built on the foundations of learning delivered in small town rural schools. What was good enough for him was good enough for all his children.  There were no private tutors or exclusive schools.  Gordon and Alan found themselves enrolled in the regular district school with its air of neglect and underfunding.

 A large part of Gordon really wanted to be back in his math class.  Not because he had any great fondness for the subject but because he found it hard in a way the others didn’t.  He was not above digging out Virgil’s old annotated English texts or Scott’s history files if he wanted a bit of extra insight for his essays but math was different. Any notes left by his siblings were generally an incomprehensible scrawl.  Not that any of them had made many math notes; they all seemed to just get it.  

 Gordon still remembered the first time after John had headed off to Harvard that he had called for help with his homework.  John had tried to be patient but there had been an unmistakeable tone of annoyance accompanied by a condescending eye roll clearly visible on the call screen.  Gordon had been left in no doubt that John found the idea of a Tracy struggling with algebra to be frankly insulting.  Virgil had displayed rather more patience and understanding but the pity that came with the help was too much for Gordon to take.  He didn’t want to find out what Scott’s reaction would be.  The golden haloed first-born was becoming increasingly distant and superior as his career in the Air Force progressed.  

 And so Gordon ploughed on alone.  Taking study guides to swim competitions to read between the heats.  Trying to juggle the conflicting demands of Team USA and Team Tracy.  The former striving for physical excellence and peak performance, the latter demanding excellence across the board.

 The careers advisor on the far side of the desk looked up at the young man sat opposite her.  The school records showed he was academically above average.  He had prospects.  

 The students that entered her office tended to fall into three broad categories.  There were the ones that didn’t really need their regulation advice session having already got their chosen career path mapped out, whether that involved furthering their education or just jumping straight into the local jobs market. There were those that were bewildered and clueless about where to turn next.  Then there were those that just didn’t seem to care and who drifted through her office much like they drifted through the rest of their school career. She wondered which she would encounter in this interview.

 “So Gordon” she smiled at the teenager, “have you considered what you want to do after you graduate high school?”

 The teen looked at her with a slightly surprised expression.

 “Swim, ma’am”  

 It was said bluntly and without preamble, accompanied by a mid-western politeness that the move to the city hadn’t shaken off. Stated as fact rather than as some hypothetical idea.  She had encountered plenty of teenagers with dreams of making it big on the sporting circuit but very few made it professional.  Usually the dreams were of football or basketball; swimming was a new one to add to her list.  

 “Swim?”

 “Yes ma’am, swim.  I’ve already got my qualifying time sorted.  Come the summer I’ll be at the Olympics.”

 Cogs clicked into place.  This was her nineteenth interview of the day and the students were beginning to blur together, even with the supplementary notes put together by the tutors that actually got to see these kids each day.  The low attendance scores suddenly made sense. Gordon Tracy, the rising star of the swimming circuit.

 “Of course.”  She flustered slightly over her notes.  It was a new experience to have a member of the Olympic squad sat before her. But she was obliged to be a sounding board for his career choice for the next ten minutes.  She couldn’t just send him back to class off the back of a one word answer.  She decided to stick to familiar territory; if they know the plan, find out the backup plan.

 “Have you considered what you will do after swimming? You have good grades here.  I’d recommend making a college application.”

 The youngster gave a hollow sort of chuckle. “Not good enough for anywhere that matters.  I think I’ll stick to what I’m good at, ma’am.”

 The interview was brought to a close by the final bell of the day and Gordon was glad to be able to scoop up his rucksack and escape the claustrophobic confines of the office.  He was sure the careers advisor meant well but he felt that the session was a pretty pointless experience.  Actually being in class would have been a better use of his time.

 As he reached the front of the school he spied Alan waiting for him in their usual spot.  The younger boy was scuffing his shoes in the dirt while waiting, the bored expression of his face breaking into smile when he saw his older brother.  They set off on the short walk back the apartment.

 “Good day, Al?”

 “Yeah, ok”

 “Much homework?”

 Alan grimaced.  He was about as fond of homework as Gordon was.

 “I’ll take that as a yes.  Well make sure you get on with it as soon as we get in.  No video games until it’s finished.”

 “Yes Sir!”  The response was accompanied by a mocking salute which earned Alan a gentle whack on the back of the head.

 “Hey, less of that.  I’m not Scott.  But seriously Al, just make sure you get it done.  I’ve got an extra training session tonight but only a short one; you’ll have the place to yourself until about 6.  I’ll sort us some dinner once I’m home.”

 “Will you be able to play video games with me once you’re back.”

 “Sorry, I’ll have my own work to get on with.”

 Alan’s shoulders slumped dejectedly and his feet dragged along the sidewalk.

 “Another quiet night then.”

 Gordon hated seeing Alan so flat.  The pair spent a significant amount of time together and, like all his brothers, he had a desire to protect the youngest.  He wrapped an arm around the shoulders of the shorter boy and was rewarded with a shove in the ribs.  Evidently anything even slightly resembling a hug in public was out this close to the school grounds.

 “I’ll see what I can do.”

 They had reached the apartment by this point. Gordon dashed inside to grab his swimming kit and left Alan with strict instructions to make sure he got all his homework done.  He didn’t like leaving Alan home alone but it was a regular occurrence now.  Their father wouldn’t be home for hours and with all the others moved away the youngest two had got used to fending for themselves.  He left Alan with a promise that they would spend some time together later.

 The training session passed in a blur of drills.  There were now more days with both morning and evening training in preparation for the Olympics and the extra workouts were taking their toll.  By the time Gordon reached the apartment his shoulders ached and all he wanted to do was stand under a scalding hot shower before collapsing in to bed.  Unfortunately he knew he had other responsibilities to attend to first.

 Gordon rolled his shoulders, plastered on a smile and scanned the entry system for the apartment.

 xoxoxox

 Normally weekday meals were Gordon’s domain or he was at least there to help out if Alan ventured into the kitchen.  But he had completed his homework quicker than expected and in the boredom of the empty apartment it had seemed like a good idea to start dinner.

 He took the pack of greens from the fridge, prodded the pan of pasta and gave the chicken a quick stir.  As he sliced the greens an acrid smell assaulted his nostrils.  The chicken, which had been cooking nicely until now seemed to have chosen the moment he took his eye off the ball to catch and stick to the bottom of the pan.  Carefully prepared strips of prime breast disintegrated and crumbled as he tried to scrape the dried out offerings from the base of the pan.  He cursed, turned out the stove, and went back to preparing the greens.  

 The clock ticked closer to 6pm.  Steam rose in billows from the pan of greens which had reached a rapid boil.  Perhaps he should have waited until Gordon was actually home before cooking the vegetables, the shredded leaves were starting to disintegrate.  

 At least the pasta should be ok.  

 The pasta which wasn’t boiling.

 More cursing filled the air as Alan realised his error. In his attempt to salvage the chicken he had turned off the heat under the pasta as well.  Perhaps he should have just let Gordon cook the whole thing. This was a mistake.  All he wanted to do was free up some time in the hope of getting a game in with Gordon and instead he had ruined everything.  He wondered if it was too late to dig out the emergency credit card and call for take out.  He would just have to make sure Dad took it out of his allowance rather than Gordon’s.

 The sound of the front door broke through his thoughts.

 “Hi Alan.”  The voice echoed up the hallway.  Footsteps approached, only pausing briefly as a kit bag was launched into a room, landing in a corner with a heavy thud.  Too late to salvage anything now, within moments Gordon was in the doorway.  “Hey, you cooked.  Thanks”

 “No need to sound so surprised.  Don’t thank me til you’ve tried it though.  It’s, um, not really gone to plan.”

 “I’m sure it’s fine.  Want me to drain these pans while you get the plates out?”

 Alan signalled his agreement by delving into the crockery cupboard leaving Gordon to drain and stir together the contents of the various pans.  He wasn’t exactly looking forward to the meal but Gordon seemed grateful to be spared the chore.

 Dinner was everything Alan expected it to be.  They sat opposite sides of the kitchen counter, Gordon shovelling down vast quantities of noodles while he picked at his own much smaller portion.  The meat was as dry as cardboard and stuck in his throat alongside the shards of undercooked pasta. Perhaps he ought to pay more attention in the kitchen, especially as Gordon was likely to be training more and more over the coming months.

 Gordon’s fork clattered onto the empty plate before Alan was even half way through.  He looked up to see eyes the colour of mahogany under the harsh kitchen lights looking at him with concern.

 “You ok?  You’ve hardly eaten.”

 “I’m fine.  Just wishing I’d ordered us a pizza instead.”  He waved a forkful of charred chicken to emphasise his point.

 This earned him a small chuckle and at least dispelled the worry.

 “Hey, no complaints from me over it.  I think my coach would have something so say about that too, we’ll save the pizza for the summer.  I’ll start clearing up while you finish off.  You still want that game?”

 Alan grinned.  Suddenly the pasta was a lot easier to stomach if there was a chance to thrash his brother in the goblin realms at the end of it.  

 xoxoxox

 As the clock ticked past midnight and into the small hours of the morning Gordon lay in the darkness, sleep refusing to come.  His normally comfortable bed felt too lumpy and he turned this way and that.  First facing the blank wall next to the bed, then the ceiling and finally the open room. A shelf of trophies glinted faintly in the light that managed to spill around the edges of the heavy blackout curtains.  Back in Kansas Gordon had rarely bothered closing his curtains; he had always been an early riser and was usually up long before the dawn in order to get to early morning training or fit in a gym session before school.  But the pervading yellow glow of the city from the ever present light pollution wasn’t like the peaceful moon.  On nights like this the city felt oppressive and he yearned for the open fields of home, as he still though of Kansas.  Gordon might now be able to access better training facilities and coaches which had enhanced his Olympic prospects but he had never embraced city life.

 He was exhausted.  The training session after school had been intense and he had thrown himself into the drills with maximum effort.  The gaming session had probably been a mistake but he hadn’t wanted to let Alan down.  The kid had gone to the trouble of trying to make dinner and save him a job.  Ok, the noodles had been still firm to the point of being slightly crunchy and the greens had been on the verge of turning to soup but it’s the thought that counts.  It was calories.  It was from his prescribed meal plan.  It was mostly edible.  He appreciated the level of consideration shown by a teenager who shouldn’t have any more pressing concerns than getting his chemistry paper completed and working out whether Ellen from World Studies class had a crush on him.

 His own homework had been its usual slog.  He wrote until his eyes became sticky and the notes he was reading became a jumbled blur.  Sleep should have enveloped him within minutes of climbing into bed but instead the words from his earlier interview kept churning around his head.  The thoughts drowning out even the gnawing ache in his overworked muscles.  

 What about after?

 He had always managed to stave these thoughts off before.  Whenever his father had made comments about future plans he has always managed to deflect the conversations.  He didn’t have room in his head for anything other than visualising the dream.  Why on earth should the words of a complete stranger, parroted from some state approved script, make life any different.

 He was a Tracy.  A name synonymous success and achievement.  He had found his calling in a way that set him apart from the others.  

 He was going to swim.

 He was going to represent his country.

 He was going to win.

 He ran through the visualisation that had been a constant companion in his head for years.  He could feel the flow of the water over his body as his muscles flexed in perfect synchronicity.  He could hear the roar of the crowd as the results flashed up on the scoreboard.  He rode the wave of emotion as the medal was presented.  This was the moment that would mark him out as more than just the fourth son of an astronaut.  Gordon Cooper Tracy.  A name in his own right.

 With the sound of the national anthem still ringing in his ears Gordon tried to visualise the next steps.  He tried to force the dream beyond its current conclusion but instead found only darkness.  

[welllpthisishappening]

Here’s a distraction for you: it’s Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, and it’s being played on Garden ice. It’s Roland’s Flyers vs Matt’s Rangers. Who would win? What would the group chat look like going into that game?

B! My darling! You are, first of all, an absolute delight and, second of all, possibly a soothsayer because I wrote this. Like, a year ago. It’s only the first-round, but it does include some next-gen nonsense, Matt and Roland being on ice-bros and Henry being less-than-responsible. Seriously, Henry is not an adult presence when he’s partaking in the aforementioned nonsense. 

Sorry in advance if the cut fails on mobile, mobile users. 

----

“Are you watching this?”

Emma hummed, not taking her eyes away from the ice. “The game?”

“Nuh uh,” Killian muttered. “Whatever is happening over there.”

“You’re going to have to be more specific.”

“With our kid.”

“Once more.”

Killian chuckled, slinging his arm over Emma’s shoulder and resting his cheek against her hair. She still hadn’t moved away from the window, clicking her teeth every other shift because every other shift seemed more nerve-wracking than the last. He supposed that was the nature of playoff hockey – especially playoff hockey where one kid was playing another kid who wasn’t, technically, theirs, but had more or less grown up in their house as well. 

And Roland had texted both Killian and Robin that morning demanding that they didn’t make any weird bets. 

Matt and I have got that covered anyway. 

Killian didn’t bother asking what the bet was. He was certain it was ridiculous. Although––

“Honestly, are you not concerned about this?” he asked, working another vaguely frustrated sound out of Emma because one of the wingers on Matt’s line had just missed the net wide right. 

“Does that kid not understand how angles work?”

“You realize calling him a kid does take away from the insult of it?”

“I’m not trying to be insulting,” Emma sighed, but that was a lie and it really had been a fairly pitiful shot. Will laughed somewhere a few feet away. Peggy might have cackled. And Killian was going to dislocate his neck trying to watch the one kid on the ice and the other kid doing…whatever. “Ok, I mean, not super insulting,” Emma corrected, throwing both hands in the air when the Rangers iced it. “Just, you know…insulting enough. Because we really should have scored there.”

“That’s one,” Peggy mumbled. “C’mon, c’mon, you’ve got to—“

“—I know,” Lizzie hissed, cutting her off with a glare that probably affected the ice underneath them. Roland had the puck again. 

Killian wished the game was over. 

Because the series could end in just under two periods and it had been far more stressful than Killian expected it to be. He’d expected it to be vaguely awful. 

Will had cursed for several minutes straight when the regular-season ended and they all did the appropriate math, Robin looking like he was in actual pain when he’d been forced to acknowledge it on TV. Emma kept doing that thing with her teeth. Regina hadn’t sat down in days, Killian was certain. 

He was less certain of what Lizzie and Peggy were doing in the far corner of the suite. 

Although, he had a few suspicions. 

“I know,” Lizzie repeated, the letters starting to slur together. “God, I think my throat is burning.” 

She scrunched her nose, far too Elsa to be entirely comforting, and maybe Killian should have been worried about the state of his eyes before he started worrying about his neck. It sort of felt like they were going to fall out of his face. 

He’d been right. 

“We’re all a bunch of degenerates,” Killian muttered, pressing a kiss to Emma’s hair. 

She kicked at the glass in front of them, a string of mumbled curses that deserved several other kisses. “Passes to sticks,” she growled, bobbing on the balls of her feet. It made it difficult to keep his around her shoulders. “Wait, did you just say something to me?”

“Degenerates,” he repeated, eyes flickering towards a suddenly flushed Peggy. She opened her mouth, only to close it just as quickly, tugging her lips behind her teeth as she swatted at Lizzie’s shoulders. “Should we get you on the ice, you think, love?”

“I mean…I’d be better than whatever this guy is doing.”

“Undoubtedly.”

Killian kissed Emma’s hair again, a quick squeeze of her shoulder. She didn’t really notice – far too preoccupied with the boarding call that even Regina, in head to toe orange, had to agree was a soft whistle. Will was doing a fairly pitiful job of not laughing uproariously while Chris provided Henry a play-by-play over FaceTime. 

And Killian probably should have noticed it all before. The signs were all there – color-stained cheeks and slightly glazed eyes, wobbling just a bit even while they were sitting down. 

Margaret Jones and Elizabeth Vankald-Jones were incredibly and exceedingly drunk. Just a few minutes into the second period. 

“Oh, don’t make that face,” Peggy groaned as soon as Killian stopped in front of her outstretched feet. “I can’t—I absolutely cannot deal with that face right now.”

Killian arched an eyebrow. “What face?”

“Oh my God, or that voice either. Don’t captain me now, Dad. It’s not—“

“—You’re doing the face now, Uncle Killian,” Lizzie interrupted, and none of the syllables sounded particularly well pronounced. 

“Yuh huh,” Killian said. He crossed his arms, rocking back on his feet and both Lizzie and Peggy groaned at the move. “Was that too much?”

Peggy appeared be growling. “You think you’re way funnier than you actually are, you know that?”

“Whose idea was this originally?”

“You honestly would not believe me if I told you.”

Killian’s other eyebrow moved. “Well now you’ve piqued my interest, little love—“

“—Dad, seriously, I am way too—“

“—Drunk?”

“Plastered,” Lizzie corrected before immediately dissolving into hysterics. “Did we kill off the penalty?”

“You don’t not get to claim our penalty kill as yours, Elizabeth,” Chris yelled, one hand gripping his phone and the other thrown into the air when the Rangers, presumably, did in fact kill off the penalty. Henry shouted something at him. “Jeez, relax. You aren’t actually moving, you can’t get whiplash, old man.”

Lizzie’s laugh got louder. And Killian hadn’t had to ground any of his kids in quite some time, but his gaze held steady on Peggy, years of experience and knowledge of her very obvious tells. 

She bit her lip. Like Emma. 

“Did we kill off the penalty?” she asked. He nodded. 

“I don’t think they even got a shot off.”

Peggy beamed. “You know what that means!” She moved her arms again, no rhyme or reason to the pattern she kept hitting Lizzie with. It earned her another pointed glare, all narrowed eyes and thin lips and Killian wasn’t entirely sure what to do with the incredibly drunk daughter in front of him. 

He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen his daughter that drunk. 

“Shut up,” Lizzie mumbled. “I know the rules.”

He really should have been more concerned about his eyes. “How many rules are there, exactly?”

“Dad,” Peggy sighed. “C’mon, who do you think we are?”

“People with drinking game rules, apparently.”

“Ok, that makes it sound way worse than it is.”

“Stand up then.”

“No thanks.”

He chuckled, dropping onto the few inches of space next to her and he wasn’t all that surprised when she slung her legs over his. “God, you smell like a barrel of rum,” Killian muttered, letting her burrow into his side. “The room start spinning yet?”

“I haven’t stood up yet,” Peggy pointed out. “And you’re wasting time, LIzzie.”

Lizzie stuck her tongue out, before taking a rather large gulp of whatever it was she was drinking. “Shit, it’s honestly getting worse. Ah, damn, that’s—“

“Strangely enough, I’m not going to tell your parents on you,” Killian grinned. “I think the hangover both of you are racing towards will be punishment enough.”

“Generous.”

“What are you drinking?”

Lizzie gagged and Peggy laughed, head pressed into Killian’s shoulder with her hair threatening to, somehow, find its way towards his mouth. “Those were part of the original rules,” she explained. “We didn’t get to pick.”

“Seriously, who came up with these rules?”

“Demons.”

“With a horrible sense of humor,” Lizzie added. She shivered again, running a hand over her face when she pulled herself towards the edge of the chair she’d more or less been slumped in. “I can’t believe they didn’t even get a shot off. Who’s in charge of that power play?”

“You know,” Chris yelled, “between you and Mom, I don’t know who has more opinions.”

“It’s definitely Gina,” Peggy mumbled into Killian’s shirt. She groaned when he laughed. 

Chris hummed. “Oh, yeah, yeah, that’s true. Hey, hey—wait, things are happening!”

Peggy barely lifted her head, Killian’s hand moving up and down her spine out of habit and those same years from earlier. She’d curled into a rather impressive ball in the last few minutes, arm wrapped tight around his middle and knees threatening to do some rather serious damage to his stomach, but he didn’t tell her to move. He shifted slightly instead, moving further into the minimal amount of cushioning on the couch and let the smile settle on his face with practiced ease, eyes flickering towards Emma. 

She bit her lip. 

“Toph, if you’re going to make sweeping announcements, you’ve got to actually update them,” Peggy grumbled. 

He winked. “That kid that Mom hates got his angles right this time. And—“

“—And?”

“Wow, you are an impatient drunk. I didn’t realize that until this very moment. Good to know.”

Lizzie made a noise – not quite a laugh, but something closer to a scoff that was also, somehow, less dignified than that – and Killian could only just make out the look on Henry’s FaceTime face. “Matt got the assist,” Henry said. “So. Go on, try not to die.”

“That’s getting a little macabre, don’t you think?” Chris asked. “They’re not going to die.”

Will clicked his tongue. “I think the jury’s still out on that. Look at your sister’s face.”

Peggy flipped him off. And Lizzie took another drink. It really did smell like a considerable amount of rum. “Was that the right amount?”

“I have no idea,” Lizzie shrugged. “Most everything has stopped meaning much at this point.”

“Is that a sign?”

“Of?”

“How incredibly drunk we are and also that I’m winning. Collectively.”

Lizzie blinked. “Collectively?”

“Me and my team. Because I get to claim the Rangers as mine. Which you don’t.”

“I really don’t think that’s fair at all.”

“Change allegiances then,” Peggy said, nodding towards Lizzie’s bright orange and even more ridiculous hat. She groaned again. “Oh God, moving was a mistake. Is the game over yet?”

Killian chuckled lightly, tugging her closer to his side as he tried to figure out what, exactly, the rules of this game were. “Not quite yet, little love. You want some water?”

“Not allowed,” Chris mumbled. 

“What?”

“Maybe we should revisit the macabre,” Will added. 

“It’s super serious business, Uncle Killian,” Lizzie said, sitting up a bit straighter and yanking her bright-orange hat further down her ears. “Chris, Chris, is Rol back on the ice?”

He nodded, the threat of a smile tugging at his lips and Killian briefly wondered why he wasn’t part of the game. He had more suspicions. 

“Back on the ice and oh—“

“Christopher!”

“Ok, relax, relax, relax. He hit someone. That’s something on your list, isn’t it?”

“God damn.”

“How long is this list?” Will asked, wincing when something else happened on the ice. “Also, Dr. J just took another shot. Shots for shots?”

Peggy shook her head. And got hair in Killian’s mouth. It was honestly a marvel how often that happened. Still. “Shots for goals,” she said archly. “And only goals. That was the agreement.”

Emma tilted her head at that bit of information. “You’re keeping secrets, babe.”

“Nah.”

“You want to try that again?”

“I mean…not really?”

“What were the other rules?”

Peggy exhaled, a huff of air against Killian’s neck that made him blink a bit more than usual, Lizzie flopping back with all the drama of someone who’d lost most of her center of gravity in the last few minutes. “Ok,” Lizzie said. “The start is pretty basic. Pegs was right. Shots for goals. Two shots for a fight. A drink for an assist. Another drink for—shit, I can’t remember.”

“Look who gets mouthy when they’re drunk,” Chris laughed, grabbing the list off the table. Henry complained about the phone again. 

“Can’t you watch this on TV?” Killian asked. 

Henry made a face. “I’m watching the game on TV. It’s the rest of it that I’m interested in.”

“That so?”

“Don’t ask questions you don’t actually want the answer to.”

Killian hummed, several brand-new suspicions simmering in the back corner of his brain. “A drink for a hit?”

“Yup,” Chris nodded. “And it does actually start to get complicated. We took this very seriously.”

“Told you,” Lizzie muttered. Her eyes were starting to flutter shut, waving down Will so she had something solid to lean against when the chair proved unreliable.  

“What’s the rest of the rules?” Emma asked, finally pulling her attention fully away from the ice. It was a TV timeout. 

And, really, the rest of the rules were fairly absurd. 

There were Rangers specific ones that only Lizzie had to do and Flyers specific ones that only Peggy had to do and power play things that, if they actually happened, would probably lead to alcohol poisoning right there in the team suite at Madison Square Garden. 

The whole thing was hand-written, the letters getting smaller the longer the list became, with more than a few words crossed out and underlined and Killian wasn’t sure there was a single piece of paper in the history of modern humanity that had more exclamation points on it. To their credit, however, if that was even the right word, Peggy and Lizzie seemed determined to follow every rule to the letter. 

“It’s a matter of pride, Dad,” Peggy slurred, ten minutes left in the third period of a tie game. 

“Sure it is, Pegs. What do you win?”

“Did you miss the pride part?”

“You’re honestly playing each other for pride?”

“And bragging rights,” Lizzie amended. It was difficult to hear her though, face pressed into Chris’ leg. She’d demanded he move towards her halfway through the second intermission, explaining that Will kept fidgeting too much and Chris had been summoned into service on the goddamn floor. He was rubbing circles into her temples. 

Will kept taking pictures – probably to send to Liam. Or, at least, show Roland after the game. 

“Maybe we did raise a bunch of degenerates,” Emma laughed, back on the sofa with Killian and Peggy. They’d moved that as well, an executive decision Killian claimed was well within his professional rights and—“He wants to watch the game too,” Peggy said. 

He did. 

But she also wouldn’t let him move. 

It was a compromise. Of the exceptionally intoxicated variety. 

“Are we winning yet?” Peggy asked, Emma shaking her head before she’d even finished the question. 

“This is looking a little overtime, honestly.” The groan that moved across the suite was immediate and decidedly loud, several curses that absolutely were not English shouted into a variety of FaceTime phone calls. “Ok, that is not a jinx,” Emma said, glancing imploringly at Killian. “It’s not!”

“Of course not, love,” he promised. 

“You’re no help at all. And—“

She cut herself off, head snapping up and for as loud as they’d all been loud two seconds earlier, they were just as quiet then, eyes wide and breath baited and—

“Shoot!”

Roland didn’t shoot. He passed, a clear lane across the crease that would probably make SportsCenter, it was that good, and Killian’s gasp was equal parts reaction to that and Peggy’s elbow colliding with his ribs. 

“God damn, shit, fu—“ she grumbled, the light going off behind the net and the suite was a strange mix of happiness and frustration and alcohol. 

So much alcohol. 

Lizzie jumped up, arms in the air and for half a second it looked like she was going to be able to stay upright. But then she wobbled slightly, blinking far quicker than any human with a normal blood-alcohol level should, reaching back blindly for Chris. 

He had to wrap his entire arm around her waist to keep her on her feet. 

“You got to breathe, kid,” he muttered. 

“I’m so much older than you, it’s not even funny.”

“Ah, but I’ve never been this irresponsible.”

“Liar.”

“C’mon, my parents are here.”

She laughed softly, turning into his chest. “I think this means I won, though.”

“Does it?” Killian asked, Peggy making a noise that was not entirely coherent. “What do you have to do?”

“Not until the final buzzer,” Peggy said. “We could come back and tie.”

“And if we don’t?”

“I’m going to tell MD about your lack of confidence, Dad.”

“I’m mostly concerned about your liver now.”

She scoffed, the sound turning into a moan rather quickly. “If Rol scored the game-winner, then I had to drink for the entirety of the handshake line. And, you know, vice versa if MD scored the game-winner. But Rol didn’t actually score, so I don’t think it should count.”

“It’s close enough,” Lizzie objected. The Flyers goalie made another save. 

Peggy shook her head. “Something about horseshoes.”

“Ah, that was funny.”

“Hysterical. I’ll tell you what, I’ll drink the entire time Rol and Matt shake hands.”

Lizzie considered that for a moment, lips twisted and nose scrunched again. She nodded. “Yeah, ok.”

The Flyers won – a one-goal victory that didn’t come directly from Roland Lockley’s stick, but most of the New York and Philadelphia media would probably lead with that pass through the crease. They likely would not lead with the rather elongated groan that it elicited from Peggy. 

That would have been weird. 

She took a deep breath when Chris poured her a fresh drink, scowling at the glass as soon as her fingers wrapped around it. “Alright,” she said, shaking her whole body like she was psyching herself up. The teams had started lining up. “Is Henry still watching?”

Killian hadn’t expected that. Emma tilted her head. “Is he supposed to be?” she asked. 

Peggy ignored her. So did Lizzie. And Chris. And, perhaps most importantly, Henry. He saluted towards Peggy instead. “10-4, kid. They’re coming up in, three, two, one—“

“—Drink,” Chris shouted. 

Peggy squeezed her eyes closed, tilting her head back and she couldn’t seem to stop moving. She kept shifting her weight, rocking back and forth and bouncing up and down and drinking. And drinking. And drinking. 

She mumbled something into her glass, completely unintelligible while she tried to make sure the rum or whatever didn’t fall down her chin. Henry shook his head. 

“They’re handshaking,” he said, as if that explained it. It kind of did. 

And the New York and Philadelphia media may have found its sidebar. Because Matt Jones and Roland Locksley, NHL legacy and stars in their own right, with equally impressive first-round playoff series performances, had slowed down the handshake line to a standstill – while they did their own handshake. 

Lizzie grinned. “We totally won.”

Peggy, somehow, drank angrier. And Killian absolutely understood who came up with the idea. 

Matt and I have got that covered anyway. 

“Degenerates,” Emma repeated, a note of awe in her voice that probably wasn’t appropriate for the situation. Lizzie’s smile widened. “Did they write the rules too?”

“They helped,” Lizzie said. “And got to pick the drinks. Henry’s the final judge though.”

“Of?”

“Who was worse at holding their liquor,” Henry explained. “You can stop now, Pegs.”

“Shit,” Peggy groaned, dragging the back of her hand over her mouth. Her knees buckled slightly. “I’m going to kill, MD. I hope he gets absolutely destroyed in the tabs for that nonsense.”

“They’ll probably rip him apart on TSN,” Chris shrugged. “TSN hates fun things.”

“That was not fun.”

“Maybe for you. Also, you agreed to this P.”

“I’m staying with you later.”

Chris groaned, but he moved towards Peggy anyway, letting her rest most of her weight against his side. “Let’s find you some water now, huh? Then we’ll critique Matt’s obvious lack of respect for the game.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a plan.” She glanced back at the phone that had, somehow, found its way into Will’s hand. Henry smiled at her. “Did I honestly lose?”

“Can you stand up without Toph holding you? Or your dad?”

“Probably not.”

“Well then…”

“Oh shut up.”

“That’s the sore loser we all know and love.”

“I’m going to kill, MD.”

“I’ve got no doubt,” Henry laughed. “Let me know how that goes, ok?”

Peggy nodded. Or tried. She mostly just wobbled against Chris. And she didn’t really kill Matt after, far too busy doing her best to keep her eyes open because Lizzie may have won, but she was incredibly drunk as well, stumbling into Roland’s chest with a distinct lack of grace. 

“Did we win?” he asked, mostly into her hair. She made a noise that was probably an agreement. “Never doubted you once, babe.”

Matt groaned. “For real, Mar?”

She kicked him. Or tried. Again. She was having quite a bit of difficulty keeping her balance. 

“It’s your own fault,” Killian said, moving towards Peggy on instinct. She borrowed her face against his arm. “Who decided on the handshake thing?”

The tips of Matt’s ears went red. And Roland’s eyes widened. “Did people notice that?”

“How could they not? It took you guys twenty-six years to get down the line.”

“It’s not something that can be rushed, Hook,” Roland said. “It’s—“

“—Super serious business,” Peggy and Lizzie said in tandem. 

“Well. I mean…it is.”

“Yuh huh,” Killian muttered, one arm around Peggy and the other twisted back towards Emma. She squeezed his hand. And he expected the next few words out of her mouth, but they made him smile anyway, a hint of old in a day that had been kind of new and a little nerve-wracking and maybe the Rangers would get out of the first round next season. 

“Why don’t you come home with us, babe?” Emma asked, free hand brushing over the side of Peggy’s face. 

She didn’t answer, just half-nodded and let Killian direct her back towards the car waiting outside the players entrance. She fell asleep twenty blocks before they got home, her head on his shoulder and an elbow dangerously close to what might have been his spleen. 

[arysafics]

can u take requests??? if yes, a fic where clarke is cheerleader and bellamy is quarterback and they are the power couple of the school and bellamy is actually pretty soft and protective of her when someone starts to threaten her (to leak her nudes or something idk)

okay I’m sorry, this probably wasn’t exactly what you were expecting, but it’s where my brain took me.

Invincible

Summary: Finn tries to blackmail Clarke into breaking up with Bellamy by threatening to leak her nudes.

Rated M, ~2,900 words

warning for implied/referenced abuse

Clarke is at her locker after school, already dressed in herred and blue cheer uniform for practice, when a pair of strong arms wrap aroundher from behind. Clarke smiles and leans back against him as his lips pressagainst the top of her head.

“Hey, Princess,” Bellamy murmurs. “Will I see you afterpractice?”

Clarke turns in his arms so she’s facing him. God, she stillcan’t believe she’s so lucky to have him, when she knows every other girl inschool wants him. They’ve only been dating a little over a month, and she getsa rush every time he touches her, gets butterflies every time she sees him.

They haven’t had sex yet, but she’s pretty sure it’s goingto be soon. She’s been holding off, trying to take things slow after her lastboyfriend pressured her into doing things she didn’t really want to do. ButBellamy has been so patient with her, despite the fact that so far, they’vedone nothing more than make out on his couch, his hands on her breasts over herclothes. But she doesn’t want to wait much longer.

“Yes,” she tells him. “I’ll come to you after I’m done.”

“Okay,” he grins. “I’ll drive you home.” He lets her go, andClarke notices a couple of his teammates standing behind him, waiting for him.He always seems to have an entourage. “I’ll see you later,” he says.

“Not going to kiss your girl goodbye, Blake?” Murphy snorts.

“Shut up, Murphy,” Bellamy scoffs. Clarke can feel her faceheating up. “I’ll see you later,” he repeats to Clarke, and then he struts offdown the hallway, Murphy and Miller in tow.

A second later, Raven slams Clarke’s locker door shut.“Would you hurry up? We’re going to be late.”

------

She walks out of the gym an hour later with Raven and Harper,sweaty and tired.

“You guys want to study together? I need help before thismath test coming up,” Harper says.

“Can’t, I’m meeting Bellamy,” Clarke says.

“Did he ask you to prom yet?” Harper asks.

“Not yet,” Clarke says.

“Well, he better hurry up. Everyone is saying you guys areshoo-in for king and queen.”

“Oh, please,” Clarke rolls her eyes, playing it off. Butshe’s pretty sure they’re a shoo-in too. She was already pretty popular beforeshe and Bellamy started dating, but as soon as people found out they weretogether, it’s like she was suddenly everyone’s favourite person. When shewalks down the halls with him, she swears she can feel everyone watching them.And the popularity thing is trivial, she knows that. She also knows it’stemporary, and probably not even real. There are definitely a few girls who she’ssure are jealous, who talk about her behind her back, wondering why Bellamy pickedher instead of them.

Still, when she’s with Bellamy, she doesn’t care. She feelsinvincible.

“The quarterback and the cheerleader. You guys are so cliché,”Raven says with a roll of her eyes.

“As if you aren’t also dating someone on the football team,”Clarke snorts. “It’s not my fault my boyfriend is more popular than yours.”

“Yeah, that’s not hard. Even I hate Murphy at least seventyper cent of the time. He has asked me to prom, however.”

“Bellamy is probably just waiting for the right moment,”Clarke says defensively.

“He’s probably waiting until you have sex with him to askyou,” Raven says.

“He is not!”

Raven shrugs. “Whatever.”

“I’m going now,” Clarke says. “See you guys tomorrow.”

“Raven, study together?” Harper asks as Clarke walks away.

Raven scoffs. “I don’t need to study.”

Clarke walks down the hall, in the opposite direction toRaven and Harper, towards the football field, where Bellamy is probably stilltraining with the rest of the team. She doesn’t even make it outside beforesomeone grabs her arm. She jerks away instinctively, knowing it’s not Bellamyor one of her other friends. She stops, turning to see Finn standing there. Shesteps further away from him, stomach churning.

“Don’t touch me,” she says.

“Clarke,” Finn says, looking at her with big sad eyes. Eyesshe used to melt into. Now they make her feel nauseous.

“What do you want?”

“I want you back,” he says. He sounds pathetic. “Please. Iknow I fucked up, but I’m in love with you. We’re supposed to be together.”

“Fuck off, Finn,” Clarke spits. “I don’t want to be withyou. I’m with Bellamy now.”

“Come on, Clarke,” Finn says. “I know you’re only with himto make me jealous. You can stop pretending now, I get it. I’m jealous. I wantyou back.”

“Leave me alone, Finn,” Clarke says. “You’re delusional. I don’twant anything to do with you. You hurt me and you used me and you made me feelweak and powerless. Not only do I not want to be with you, I don’t ever want toeven see you again. I thought I made that clear last time.”

Finn’s face hardens. “I don’t believe you.”

Clarke wants to scream with frustration. “Fine! Don’tbelieve me. It doesn’t change anything.”

“If you don’t leave him and come back to me, I’ll have totake more drastic measures.”

“More drastic measures? What does that even mean?”

Finn gets out his phone, and Clarke watches him tap at it afew times before he shows it to her. Her stomach drops, and her face grows hot.It’s a picture of her, naked. One she’d sent him when she thought she was inlove with him. She knows there are plenty more where that came from, includingones he took of her after he was done fucking her.

“I told you to delete those.”

“You know I couldn’t do that.”

Her voice grows quiet. “What are you doing to do with them?”

“Break up with Bellamy and come back to me, or I’ll postthem online. Everyone in school will see. Bellamy will see. They’ll all knowwhat a slut you really are.”

Tears well in her eyes. “I won’t.”

“You really want these out there?” He scrolls through hisphone. “I think I have a good one with my come all over your back somewhere.”

Clarke shakes her head. “Bellamy won’t let you get away withthis.”

“If you tell him, I’ll leak them anyway.”

Clarke falls silent, trying to think of a way out of this.Anything she can think of results in him posting the photos anyway, and that’sthe one thing she doesn’t think she could bear. It would be humiliating. Forthe rest of her high school life she’d be known as a slut. People would savethe pictures, laugh at her, do who knows what else with them.

“Fine,” she says. She has no other options at this point.The best she can hope for is to do what he says, then hope she can get herhands on his phone at some point to delete the photos.

Finn beams, and he almost looks like a regular, happyteenager, and not a psychopath. “I knew you’d see reason,” he says. He stepsforward, to kiss her, or hug her, Clarke isn’t sure. She backs away.

“I’m still technically with Bellamy,” she says. “I’m not a cheater.”Not like some people.

Finn rolls his eyes. “Fine. Let me know when you’ve dumpedhim and I’ll come over.”

“Okay,” Clarke agrees.

Finn smiles at her again before he goes, and then Clarke makesher way to the football field in a trance. She waits on the bleachers forpractice to finish, knots in her stomach. She doesn’t want to break up withBellamy. It’s only been a month, but she’s pretty sure she’s in love with him.And it’s good this time, not like it was with Finn. Bellamy always makes herfeel safe and wanted and powerful. Yet, as much as she can’t bear the thoughtof losing Bellamy, the thought of the whole school, and who knows else seeingher naked, is even worse.

The coach lets the boys go, and Bellamy makes a beeline forClarke, a dopey grin on his face. Clarke’s heart squeezes in her chest. Shedoesn’t want to do this.

Bellamy falls onto the bench next to her, sweaty and panting.He goes in for a kiss, but Clarke puts her hand up to stop him.

“No one’s watching,” he laughs. Then he sees Clarke’sexpression and his face falls. “What’s wrong?”

“I want to break up,” Clarke says. Straight to the point. Nosense in dragging it out.

Bellamy looks like she hit him. Stunned, and hurt. “Breakup?” he swallows. “Why?”

“I’m going back to Finn.”

Bellamy shakes his head, confused. “Clarke,” he says, hisvoice shaking. “Finn cheated on you. He—he was awful to you. You told me—”

“I know what I told you,” Clarke cuts him off. She hasn’ttold him the extent of what it was like with Finn, but he knows enough. “But I’mstill going back to him. I’m sorry. I—” she cuts herself off with a sob.

Instantly, Bellamy has his arms around her. “Clarke,” hesays, soothing. “What’s really going on? Did he do something to you?”

Clarke shakes her head, pulling away. “No.”

“Are you sure? You can tell me. You can tell me anything, Ipromise.”

Clarke shakes her head. “Please, just drop it, Bellamy,” shepleads, voice watery through her tears. “If I tell you and he finds out…” shetrails off, shaking her head. She’s looking steadfastly at her hands in herlap.

“Did he threaten you?” Bellamy growls. Clarke bursts into afresh round of tears. “Fuck,” Bellamy says. “I’m going to kill him.”

“You can’t, Bellamy,” Clarke sobs.

“Why not? I’ll protect you, I promise. He won’t lay a handon you.”

“It’s not that,” Clarke says. “He has… pictures of me. Fromwhen we were together. He said he’d post them online if I didn’t take him back.”

“Naked pictures,” Bellamy surmises.

Clarke nods, already feeling ashamed just telling him aboutit. “I know how it makes me look. I never should have sent them, or let himtake pictures of me. I just—I thought I loved him.”

“Fuck, Clarke,” Bellamy says. “That’s not on you. He’s theone betraying your trust. He’s the asshole here.”

“You don’t think I’m—I don’t know—slutty?”

“Of course not. I mean, it’s not like I’ve never sent a dickpic before.”

Somehow, Clarke manages to laugh at that through her tears. “Notto me though.”

“No, well. We’re taking things slow.”

“But what am I going to do about Finn? About the photos? Ican’t let the whole school see them. He said I have to message him tonightafter I break up with you so he can come over. If I don’t, he’ll post thephotos.”

“Okay,” Bellamy says. “Okay, it’s okay. We can figure thisout. Tell him you broke up with me, but tell him your mom says you can’t haveanyone over. I’ll post something vague and sad on Twitter or Facebook or somethingso he thinks it’s real.”

Clarke nods. “Okay. And then tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow he dies.”

“Bellamy.”

“Don’t worry, Princess. I’m going to handle it. I won’t letanyone see those pictures, okay, baby?”

Clarke nods. “Okay.”

“Okay. I guess I should go and tell everyone we broke up.” Clarkenods. He hesitates. “We’re not… we’re not actually broken up though, are we?”

Clarke shakes her head. “We’re not broken up.”

Bellamy smiles in relief. “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow. Tellyour mom not to let Finn in if he comes by.”

“I will.”

 -----

 Finn seems to buy that her mom won’t let him come over. Heasks her to sneak out and meet him, but Clarke tells him Abby is watching herlike a hawk. She hopes he believes it. She’s paranoid she’ll say the wrongthing and he’ll leak the pictures.

Raven and Harper both text her, having heard a rumour thatshe broke up with Bellamy. Clarke ignores the texts. She doesn’t feel liketrying to explain right now, and she’s still hoping she’s going to wake up atany moment and find out it’s all been a sick nightmare.

She sleeps restlessly that night, and when she wakes in themorning her stomach is heavy with dread, before she even remembers why. Shetells her mom she doesn’t want to go to school, but Abby makes her go anyway,when Clarke can’t come up with a good reason to stay home. Abby drops her atthe front gate, and Finn is waiting for her. He kisses her, and Clarke wants tovomit.

He grabs her hand tightly, and tugs at her arm, forcing herto walk inside with him.

“I’ll walk you to your locker,” he says, as if he thinks he’sbeing a perfect gentleman, as if he isn’t literally blackmailing her into beinghis girlfriend.

Clarke walks with her eyes on the ground. She’s ashamed tobe seen with him. Feels his grip on her, suffocating her, making her feel likeshe did when they were together, like she’s worthless, like he’s the only goodthing in her life. She knows now that isn’t true, but even the memory of it is stifling.

They reach her locker, and Finn drops her hand so she canopen it.

Slam—Finn is shoved against the locker beside hers.Clarke jumps out of the way, heart pounding. Bellamy has Finn pinned to thelocker, his hands fisted in Finn’s shirt. Finn looks terrified. Bellamy glancesat Clarke before looking back to Finn.

“You piece of shit,” Bellamy growls. “Get out your phone.” Finnhesitates. Bellamy shoves him against the locker, hard, and Finn winces. “Getit out, or Miller, Murphy, and I are going to make sure you never walk again.”

Clarke glances around to see Miller and Murphy behindBellamy, his usual entourage ready to back him up. Clarke wonders how much hetold them, if they know anything about what Finn has done, or whether they’rejust willing to fight for Bellamy, no questions asked.

“Three against one?” Finn swallows. “That’s hardly fair.”

“Fair?” Bellamy spits. “You want to talk about fair, youabusive asshole? What you did to Clarke isn’t fair. The only fair thing will beyou getting what’s coming to you. Now get out your fucking phone, unlock it,and hand it over.”

Finn pulls his phone out of his pocket, presses his thumbagainst the screen to unlock it, then holds it out. Bellamy looks at Clarke.

“Take it,” he says. “Delete what you need to delete.”

Clarke scrambles forward and grabs the phone from Finn’shand. She finds the pictures of herself, along with a lot of other pictures ofnaked women. Clarke deletes them all so he can’t do this to someone else.Clarke goes to give the phone back.

“Hold on to it,” Bellamy says. “At least until we take thisto the authorities.”

“The authorities?” Finn stammers. He’s sweating now.

“First we’ll be telling Principal Jaha. Then we’re taking itto the cops. Miller’s dad thinks Clarke has enough grounds for a restrainingorder.”

“Fuck you,” Finn says. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

Bellamy’s face goes from angry to murderous. Clarke’s heartpounds. She really doesn’t want Bellamy to commit murder for her. To herrelief, he steps back, letting Finn go.

“Don’t come near her again. Next time you won’t get off soeasy.”

Finn scampers away, with one last glimpse back at Clarke.The crowd that had formed to watch Bellamy beat Finn to a pulp disperses,disappointed no one got hit.

Bellamy reaches for Clarke, pulling her into his arms.

“Are you okay?” he asks her.

Clarke nods. “Yeah. Thank you. Are we really going to theauthorities?”

“Only if you want to. I didn’t really talk to Miller’s dad.I was just bluffing. But I do think you could probably get a restraining orderif you think you need one. And we should at least tell Jaha. We might be ableto get Finn expelled.”

“Okay,” Clarke agrees.

Bellamy pulls away so he can look at her. “I’m so sorry hedid that to you. I know you haven’t told me everything he did, and I don’texpect you to, if you don’t want to. It just makes me so mad that he hurt you.Makes me want to hurt him.”

“But you didn’t.”

“Figured if we want Jaha on our side we can’t give Finn anyammunition.”

“You’re so smart,” Clarke smiles, and Bellamy leans in tokiss her. She melts into him, feeling at peace once again. The bell rings then,and Clarke curses it in her mind. She just wants to stay here in Bellamy’s arms.

“I’ll see you at lunch,” Bellamy says. “I, uh—I have somethingto ask you. It’s about prom.”

“About prom, huh?” Clarke smirks.

“Think I might have given it away,” Bellamy grins.

“You can just ask me now, if you want.”

Bellamy kisses her again, still smiling. “Will you go toprom with me?”

[theflashdriver]

By Land and Sea

When Sonic makes a bet with Amy, it backfires almost immediately. He has come face to face with one of his greatest fears but, at the same time, he isn't one to back down from a challenge. Can he beat Amy at a swimming race or will he flounder? This is the third part of my Sonamy Week catch up! This fic was written for the race prompt! It’s a little over 4.5k words long, I hope you will enjoy!

"This isn't what I agreed to, Ames."

"Oh, it's exactly what you agreed to, my darling." He could hear the delight in her voice; though his eyes were turned from her the blue hedgehog could plainly see the grin on her face. "You promised that if I beat you in a race you'd go on a date with me."

No, he wasn't looking at her; instead, his eyes were fixed upon the racetrack before him. The very racetrack he took issue with. Marked with floating orbs and, no more than 200 metres away, a flagpole that slowly bobbed from side to side. Two lanes of ocean had been isolated, made into a path through the positioning of small orb-shaped buoys. The two met at their ends, a larger central buoy with a blue flag marking the midway point. If the water were land it'd be simple, as fast as Amy was he'd beat her to the marker, around it and back. He'd probably pass her before she got halfway up her lane… well, maybe three quarters. But the sea was a different matter, they were stood on a beach rather than a raceway. Though he avoided water, he'd seen Amy swimming before. She was good and fast, while he might as well have been made from lead. The blue hedgehog needed a life preserver to keep himself above the surface, let alone swim a straight line. No matter how he tried to bolster himself, throwing his eyes to the sky or focusing on that flag, fear and, an emotion he so rarely faced, doubt was plaguing him.

There was a tug at his wrist. Shuddering, he pried his eyes away; allowing them to meet those of Cream. Innocent and full of empathy, she spoke. "I'm afraid that is what you said Mister Sonic. You didn't specify what kind of race, you only said that Miss Amy had to beat you."

"She's got you there, Sonic. You should've been more specific." From his other side he'd heard Tails, the young fox he trusted more than anyone, betray him over the silly technicality. "You kinda brought this upon yourself."

"D-Don't side with them Tails! You know what I meant just like they do! I mean really. When I say race, is your first thought actually…" He shuddered, looking to the lapping waves ahead of them. "…Swimming?"

Amy's didn't hesitate to answer, gleefully posing a question of her own. "Come on Sonic, what would you call this if not a race?"

Many phrases rushed through Sonic's head; a death trap, a nightmare, a one-way ticket to a watery grave, but he settled on, "Lame. Just plain lame." Unable to stomach it, he turned around; eyes closed and chin raised. "It's like challenging Knuckles to chess after he says he can beat anyone in a one on one match, or askin' the Chaotix to solve maths problems rather than mysteries. It's just not what they do, just like I don't swim."

Cream gasped, innocently taken aback. "Oh no, does that mean you're giving up Mister Sonic?"

"Of course not Cream." He'd turned back to the young rabbit, lowering himself to better look her in the eye. "Even if Amy's better at…" Despite having spoken it once already, the word 'swim' felt gross in his mouth. He shook off its vile taste, continuing to reassure the little girl. "Even if Amy's better at this than me, I've got to give it my best shot! No matter how scared you are Cream, you should never back down." It wasn't his best motivational speech, but then he wasn't in the best headspace. He was bolstering himself almost as much as he was trying to send a message.

The young rabbit gave a strong nod, the little chao in her arms matching it. "You're right Mister Sonic! You should always do your best, even when defeat is certain. You might get lucky!" It wasn't quite the glowing affirmation he'd hoped for; even though he knew the rabbit was being genuine, her lack of faith did scuff his pride. Before her wounding could show, she'd turned to face Amy. "Cheese and I will go set things up. Good luck both of you!"

With that, Cream rushed away from the group; what she had left to set up Sonic had no idea. There was a beat of silence, his gut wouldn't let him turn toward the sea and yet he didn't have the strength to face Amy. Thus, he looked to the sky; the sun was shining, the day was windless and only had a few clouds to its name. If this were it a regular race, these would be the perfect conditions.

"Sonic." All of a sudden his imagined visage of Amy was discarded, the anxious way she'd said his name had stripped it all away. "Are you actually scared? You know we don't have to do this if you don't want to"

"Me? Scared?" He snorted, both attempting to reassure her while, simultaneously, puffing himself up. "Yeah right."

"Well, supposing you were, there's nothing to worry about." Unfortunately, his words hadn't been quite enough. She probably wanted him to meet her eye. "The waters are calm today and we shouldn't be at sea any longer than ten minutes. Besides, we're not going too far out."

Finding the strength, he looked to her. Sure enough, there was a glint of concern in her eyes, hands clasped before her. He grinned, shaking his head. "Honestly Ames, I was just putting on a show to make the kids think you stand a chance. Keep things interesting. I'll totally be able to…" The word 'swim' caught on his tongue again, its mere thought made him queasy, but he forced himself through it; maintaining bravado. "Win this race, no sweat."

"Oh really? You're not?" Following his show of confidence, her concern had mostly slipped away, a smile sliding into its place. Amy had leant in, standing on her tiptoes to match his height. "It's cute seeing you flustered for once, Sonic." Perhaps his queasiness wasn't so easily hidden. "Don't worry; I'm sure it'll be an easy lap." There were few cockier than him and so, when it came to smugness, he could recognise it from a mile away. "If anything happens just call me and I'll swim over to save you. I want you in one piece for our date after all."

Attempting to exceed her cockiness, Sonic rose to his own toes and outsized her once more. A winning smirk returned to his lips. "Don't you worry about me Ames, it may be calm now but as soon as I'm out there it's going to get choppy. Maybe duck under when I pass by, the waves are gonna be huge."

"Yes Sonic, I'm terrified of your doggy-paddle." Once again, his endeavour had failed. "Well, as long as I can hear your screaming over the splashing you're in safe hands." Amy lowered herself, turning on her heel, but before she left she looked back to him, a gentler smile on her face. "As much as I want to win, more than that, I hope you have fun; I know you enjoy competition after all. Good luck Sonic!"

"Y-Yeah, good luck Ames!" He ran his finger beneath his nose and, before he could stop himself, called out in reassurance. "Don't worry so much, swimming or running, I like spending time with you." He almost bit through his tongue as she turned around. A pinkness matching her hair had snuck onto her cheeks. "I mean, having you around keep things interesting… you know what I mean?"

Amy's hands clasped, her smile blinding. "Aww, Sonic! Of course, I know what you mean!"

When Miss Rose turned around the spring in her step had more than doubled. He rubbed his forehead. Sonic wasn't sure which parts of that conversation he regretted and, while he was no stranger to making a fool of himself, the knot in his stomach and heat he was feeling were a little too much to handle. He took a deep breath, circling his shoulders, and tried to push out such thoughts. What's done was done, he'd talked a big game so he had to do something… even if winning wasn't in the cards. Just what that something was, he had no idea. Planning was difficult…

"If you're so worried about it why don't you just run off?" Tails question pulled Sonic from his stupor; the little fox had raised a good point. "It's not like you haven't before."

"As stupid of a race as this is, I did kind of promise her, you know?" He ran a hand through his quills, continuing to ignore the heat on his cheeks. "Running off now, it'd just be wrong. Uncool even."

"Wow, I guess this really was smart of her. I didn't realise your word to her meant that much." A glance to Tails proved a fact he'd feared, there was a broad grin on his face. The smugness was spreading.

Flashing his own grin Sonic reached down, ruffling the young fox's ears. "Nah, it's just that Cream's here. Got to be a good role model, after all, I can't let her think heroes back down from a challenge. Let alone lie."

The young boy snorted. "Yeah right, you just don't want to admit it."

"Admit what?" He feigned ignorance.

"Though you whined about the race, and I'm sure you'll moan when you lose, you don't think Amy winning would be such a bad thing." Sonic could practically hear his influence in the young boy's taunts. "In fact, I bet you want to go on that da-

The hedgehog continued to noogie him, further messing his fur and cutting him off. "Yeah, well, when I beat her in this race I'll prove you doubly wrong, won't I? That'll be a change."

Finally, the boy genius pushed him off. The grin on his fluffy muzzle was forced into view. "Lucky I brought your inflatable then, isn't it? Or will you not be needing them, seeing as you're so confident."

Hands crossed over his heart, an overly pained expression overcame the Blue Blur's face. Bending his right leg he allowed himself to lean on the young fox as if he'd been gravely wounded. "My own little bro, siding with the enemy. Where did I go wrong? You knew about this, you knew they'd tricked me all this time and yet you said nothing. Oh Tails, how could you?" His right arm raised to cross his brow as he began to mock cry; "My own bro, betrayed by my own bro!"

Laughter erupted beneath him, Sonic heard the sound of feet struggling to kick up sand as the little fox struggled to support him; "It's not like I could've done anything about it, you agreed before I could say anything."

At that, Sonic brought himself to stand straight; whipping a final faux tear from his eye. "I suppose I'll find it in my heart to forgive you then. Stop me next time though, alright? Tackle me to the ground if you have to, you're meant to be my brains."

"Fine, fine, I promise I'll stop you next time." Tails promised. Reaching behind himself and into a small rucksack, the youth pulled out a dark blue lifejacket. On its shoulder a new addition, a bright orange whistle on an extendable cord.

Sonic took it with a sigh, pulling it over his shoulders before doing the buckle around his belly. "You're really confident in me winning, aren't you Tails?"

He shrugged, that smugness had returned. "Better to be safe than sorry,"

The blue blur turned back to the water, Amy wasn't lying when she said it was calm. It must have been close to low tide but the beach was long and empty. A glance further up the bank revealed Cream and Cheese, staking two flags into the sand; both their finish line and likely starting point. So, there would be a dash from land to water before the true challenge started. While at first he'd thought this would merely give him a small head start, an idea snuck its way to the forefront of his mind. There was a technique that, while difficult, he had performed before in times of crisis. The sand sprawled out far enough for it, the only problem he could really foresee was rounding the midway buoy, a sharp turn. If he could control his turning long enough to manage that then things would be fine. Running on water, well… it was worth a shot at least?

"Well, good luck finding your nerve. I'm sure you'll have fun on the date." Before Sonic could get in another word, Tails had taken off; tail spinning as he rushed over to aid the young rabbit.

Rolling his eyes, Sonic opened the valve in his lifejacket and started to blow; inflating it until he felt safe. The young fox wasn't necessarily wrong; even if this plan didn't work out he was more scared of the water than he was the practically inevitable date. Despite his stutter and regret, he hadn't lied; he did enjoy spending time with her. Amy was always excited to see him and she could pull reactions from him that no one else could. She kept him going like no one else could. Pacing, he cast his eyes across the water's surface; watching the waves froth as they broke against pale sand. It really was gross, everything from the scent of salt to the sound told him he wasn't meant to be here. Even the sand beneath his feet was uneven; it kicked up with every step and certainly didn't make for smooth running. Standing on the beach was definitely way worse than lying on the beach, at least then he could keep his distance from the water, listen to music and properly daydream.

"I thought I'd be seeing you at the starting line, I'm surprised you're still hanging back here." Amy had returned, freeing him from his thoughts. "You'll be swimming in your shoes then?"

"Figured I'd end up waiting for you no matter what." He grinned, turning to her as they wandered toward the finish line. "And well, if we're starting with a sprint I ought to get the most out of my head start."

Her red dress had been shed in place of a red swimsuit. While he tried not to think too long about it, let alone stare too long, he did think it suited her. It was a simple, red, one-piece suit but, around the waist, it had additional fabric that flared out to give the guise of a white skirt with a thin red hem.

"I thought you were going to win this race no sweat." She teased.

Winning would still be difficult but with his plan in mind; there was a spark of genuine confidence in his heart. "Well yeah, but this way you won't even make it to the water. No point in you getting soaked over what's sure to be a landslide victory."

"Oh, we'll see about that." They arrived at the starting line, Cream having gathered pebbles from the surrounding area to construct the start/finish line itself and flags being planted to better separate their lanes. "If you're going to do your best, so will I."

As she started to stretch, warming up well for someone certain they'd win, he couldn't help noticing Amy's hairband had been replaced with a messy bun; her quills bundled near the back of her head. Despite telling himself he wouldn't, he'd found himself staring at the cute sight; pulled in by her excitement. Tearing himself away he reached across his body, beginning a stretch of his own.

With the kids continued to set things up, Tails preparing a camera in case (by some miracle) a photo finish occurred, Sonic saw idle opportunity to pry. "So Ames, what did you have in mind for that date?"

"You'll just have to wait and see." She swapped from crossing her right arm against her body to the left.

"What, no spoilers?" He bent down, touching his toes before reaching behind himself; feeling his calves warm. "Come on Amy, give me a hint at least."

"I know the only way to keep you interested is to keep you on your toes," She continued to refuse. "If I told you now, wouldn't you get bored?"

"A deal's a deal, isn't it? I'm coming on the date if you win, no matter how gross it is." Another glance to Amy found her mid-lunge, returning his gaze. "But that doesn't matter, I'm only asking 'cause I'm gonna win. Tell me now, it might convince me to lose on purpose."

"We both know, as soon as your feet leave the sand, you're going to get stuck my darling." She jested. "Regardless, I want you to enjoy yourself on the date so…"

"So?" He quirked a brow, awaiting her statement.

"Well…I haven't quite decided what we're doing yet." That surprised him; Amy had been asking him out for as long as he could remember… yet she had nothing planned? She elaborated. "I've waited so long for this, I've had my heart set on so many ideas, but now it's so close I'm not sure what I want to do." She stood straight, rolling some final kinks out of her shoulders. "Twinkle Park, going to the movies, getting dinner… I can't decide." There was a sparkle in her eyes that, coupled with the glow in her cheeks brought on by her warm-up, was too much for him.

Maybe, if his plan did work out, he'd treat her to something anyway. Go out for chilidogs or maybe just hang around the beach a little longer, today felt like an ice cream and relaxing kind of day.

Having caught himself staring again, Sonic turned away. "Well, it's good you're not set on anything seeing as I'm gonna win."

"In your dreams my darling Sonic." The pink hedgehog had taken her place on the starting line, lowering herself to a crouching start position.

Sonic matched it, fingertips buried in the sand and eyes locked on the path ahead. The running lane couldn't be longer than twenty metres, even that was a higher estimate. Still, he figured it would be enough to build up the speed, he'd grab onto the buoy on the way around for turning leverage. Yeah, that seemed like it'd work!

At the edge of his lane stood Tails and at Amy's stood Cream, both prepared a flag in one hand and a whistle in the other. Cream was beaming. "The first one back wins! Good luck you two!"

"On your marks…"

"Get set…"

With the blow of the whistle he was off, kicking up sand and bolting forward as fast as he could; not a glance to Tails nor even back to Amy as he claimed his lead. No sound but his footfalls and breathing filled his ears, vision tunnelled on the midway buoy. Soon the dull thudding of his feet turned to splashing, the smack of his soles against water, he had to be prepared for that; had to maintain his pace, quicken it even. He could feel the wind cutting against his cheeks, muffling the sun's warmth as the pounding of his heart grew faster.

Then it happened, the first splash; he'd arrived in the shallows! Sonic closed his eyes, refusing brace himself lest it slowed him. Seaspray coated his body, beads of water like bullets buried into his fur to mingle the salt of his sweat with their own. His footfalls continued; short, rapid, splashes that blurred into each other, making it impossible to identify how far out to sea he was. Confident he could keep this up, the hedgehog's eyes reopened. As he could feel, the waters directly in front of him were flickering up with every step; colliding with his legs and bare stomach. He refocused on the buoy, growing closer with every fraction of a second, in preparation he reached out with his right arm. It couldn't have been ten seconds since he'd left the beach, probably closer to five.

The hedgehog lent in preparation for the turn. Contact was made with the flag. His fingers coiled around the pole's length. A resounding snap cut through his wet footfalls. The flagpole hadn't been strong enough to handle his speed and had broken in two; before he could even realise what had happened it was dragging behind him. The drag from the pole had an immediate impact on his speed, rather than bounce off the surface Sonic's next footfall splashed straight through it. Sonic quickly let go of the pipe but it was already too late, his slowed (but still considerable) momentum led him to bounce off the surface twice, splashing deeper each time, before he found himself submerged and spinning.

The world was a blur, his mouth opened only to fill with seawater as his head dunked time and time again, carried by his own prior speed. When he finally stabilised and surfaced he'd completely lost his bearings, coughing and spluttering the hedgehog found himself surrounded by ocean; kept afloat by his life vest more than his awful attempt to tread water. His shoes waterlogged, he could already feel them starting to slip. Limbs smacking against the surface, Sonic was struggling to turn. Craning his neck, bobbing as though he were tempest-tossed, Sonic could see the base of the buoy and, no more than a few metres beyond that floating grey orb, a bobbing pink head on the approach.

Having spat up what was either his fourth or fifth mouthful of water, he felt a wave meet with his back and push him ever so slightly closer to the floater. He knew he was supposed to lean forward, kick his legs and swing his arms, but the position was just too bizarre to him. The hedgehog was at his best upright, sprinting, not lying down and flailing. Thus, precisely as Amy had predicted, Sonic found himself doggy paddling; arms fumbling through the water as he ran in place. His pace was gruelling, though he continued to wriggle the truth he'd always known had set in. In the water, he stood no chance of beating Amy.

Her consistent, fast-paced, breaststroke was cutting through the water unfazed by its gentle waves. As he watched the pink hedgehog approach he did, admittedly, feel himself relax. Tail's lifejacket, despite its condescending whistle, was keeping his head well above the water despite his frantic efforts. He wasn't comfortable but, at the very least, seeing her so close made him feel safe. Before he could quite make it to the buoy she'd pulled up in front of him, coming to a halt and treading water so very casually.

Soaked and ragged, he used most of his remaining smarm. "Hey, Ames. Long time no see."

"Hey." That prior cockiness wasn't there, instead that gentle smile she'd worn when she'd worried about his fear. "Need a little help?"

"Maybe just a little, looks like you're goin' my way and getting there way faster than me." He smiled.

"Nothing to it but practice." She'd gotten closer still, floating shoulder to shoulder with him. "Wrap your arm around me and I'll show you."

He fully stopped treading water, taking her offer and allowing herself to properly float with her. It'd be a lie to say he wasn't embarrassed but, given the situation, he thought he was keeping his cool rather well. "I think it'll be lost on me but I'll give it a shot."

Amy lowered herself, laying flat in the water, and began to swim again. She'd slowed yes, head permanently raised above the water rather than bobbing, but her pace was still ten times what his had been, "You just need to understand that, as long as you keep moving, you'll keep floating."

"You say that but without this vest, I'd have sunk like a stone regardless of how hard I struggled." He explained.

"That's where the practice comes in, the more you do it the longer you'll manage to stay up."

"I'm sure you're right Ames, but, I think I'll just stick to dry land wherever I can." He couldn't help staring at her as she swam; powerful arms cutting through the water. Words seemed to bubble up without his say. "Then again, I guess I would like to practice running on water some more. If I'd made it around that corner I'd have beat you for certain."

"Well, if you want another shot at it you could always challenge me to another race." He could tell she was joking, at least mostly, "Although, I've yet to decide on our first date, let alone a second…"

As she raised the deal again, a thought entered the hedgehog's head, one he hadn't considered until now. Thinking fast, Sonic waggled his forefinger; "I said if you won I'd go on a date with you, not what kind of date we'd be going on." Finally, having been soaked and beaten, things were back to their natural state. He was the one being cocky. "That means I get to pick what we do."

"Oh Sonic, you really think that matters to me? Of course, you can pick our first date! I'd love that!" Her swimming slowed, she'd turned to look over her shoulder. A smile had spread across her lips, still gently pulling him along. "I didn't pick this race because I knew I'd win, I picked it so you couldn't keep running once you cleared the finishing line. Any time spent with you is a good time."

"Y-Yeah, sure, wh-whatever, Ames." Though he couldn't bring himself to admit it, surrounded by ocean and blushing profusely, he felt the same.

[pineforestwitch]

here's a little drabble of Fae post animagus transformation. A little of jealous charlie and annoyed big brother bill! And annoyed rowan

--------

“This is so fun!” I grinned up at Talbott who was leaning against the tree in the court yard.

“Being an Animagus has its advantages,” he smiled then pushed himself off the tree and morphed into a hawk. He flapped himself up into the tree on the highest branch and looked down on me and squawked loudly.

He drew the attention of a few students who were still out and about but then looked away almost as quickly as they looked up. They most likely thought the hawk was just... a hawk. I grinned at him and stood up, moving myself behind the tree.

I did decide to register at the Ministry of Magic, I figured it was better than getting caught and then thrown into Azkaban.

I morphed into my cat form and stretched really hard before I leaped into the tree. It was such a weird feeling being a cat. But I now know how my black cat Lysandra felt. The world was smaller and that meant spying, hiding and sneaking became a whole lot easier. My vision was weird, and everything... smelled weird too. I didn't know Merula came here so often.

I jumped and climbed my way up until I couldn't anymore, I meowed at Talbott and head butted the tree... which is my cat language for I like this.

He cocked his head to look at me and then rustled his feathers before he took off; making the top of the tree sway back and forth little. I dug my claws into the bark as I watched him fly away high up into the sky. I envied him for being able to fly; to be free. Butthead. I watched him until he disappeared, then I made my way down the tree and landed on the ground without so much as a sound.

Making my way into the castle I pasted almost unnoticed by a few passing teachers and students. I was about to round the corner when I heard loud voices up ahead. I drew into a crouch and tried to blend into the shadows. Luckily it was getting dark.

“It's not fair,” a male voice fumed.

“Would you calm down?” another male voice said, but calmer... and annoyed.

“Ok sure,” the first one fumed again, I recognized that voice... oh it was Charlie! Why was he so upset? I listened some more.

“What do you want me to do hm?” Bill, I realized, snapped.

“I don't know but I don't like that Talbott kid, he's weird and she's been hanging around him a lot lately,” he said and then huffed.

“And? He's nice to her and that's all that matters to me,” Bill sighed, he was obviously tired of this conversation.

“Yeah I know that's all you care about but I'm the one who has a...” he hushed his voice down to a whisper, any regular person wouldn't have been able to hear what he had said next. But... I was able to hear perfectly, “crush on her.”

I held my breath, who did he have a crush on... I shouldn't be spying on him like this... but...

“Fae know's what she's doing and to be honest Talbott seems like a nice kid and you shouldn't be so aggressive towards him. If you want her to like you back then just support her and be there for her. He's done nothing wrong to her, as far as I know. So like I said earlier, calm down,” Bill's voice was harsh, like an older brother talking to his younger brother. A tone I had never heard before. But it was a tone that told Charlie that the conversation was done.

Charlie huffed in anger one last time and then dropped the subject. I heard them pick up their packs off the floor and start moving in my direction. At which I started to panic. Ok ok ok what do cats do? And right on cue my brain went into 'math test mode'... aka completely blank.

So I stood up like I was walked towards them, I don't think Bill knows that my Animagus form is a cat. It didn't matter now because I was about to find out. They shortly rounded the corner and stopped in front of me. My heart started racing, if Charlie found out that I spied on him...

“Aw what a cute kittywitty,” Charlie crooned and knelt to pet me.

Omgs it felt so good, I started to purr and headbutted his leg and rubbed myself on him... you know, just typical cat behavior. He scratched me behind my ear and I nudged my head further into his hand before licking his gross tasting fingers and walked away.

“What a nice cat, I've never seen it before!” He said and then they both walked away.

My regular paced walking turned into a full on sprint until I was in my dorm room where I pounced on Rowan, giving her a heart attack.

“Fae?! Don't do that!!!” she shrieked.

I morphed back into the my human form and told her everything before I gave her a chance to speak.

When I was done she just looked at me knowingly and then rolled her eyes at me playfully.

“You got all the boys wrapped around your finger and you're 14 years old?” she scoffed.

“Ok but that's not my fault,” I whined, “I need your wisdom 'O Great and most Nerdy Wise One!”

“You're terrible.”

“Tell me something I don't know,” I groaned and plopped myself onto my bed.

“I think you should just act like nothing happened,” she shrugged, “You know, play it cool.”

I started to take off my shoes and change into my pajamas, “You realize that when he looks me straight in eye he will know all of my deepest and darkest secrets.”

“Then you're doomed,” she shrugged plainly.

“You,” I tossed a shoe at her, “are just,” I tossed my other shoe at her, “a butt-load of help!”

[xoxokiz]

How Love Dies- 1

*6 months later*

E T H A N

I looked out the window in my room, which gave me a full view of the street. The one advantage of having you room at the front of your house, is how you can see the sunsets every day. Having the golden light hit your walls.

Like every other day in the past 12 months, I've been watching the sunsets.

I hear the door creak open, then a deep voice. "Seriously dude?"

"What? I asked Grayson without turning around.

"It's been 6 months, get over her," he explained as he sat beside me. He looked out the window as well, and I could tell that even he was mesmerized.

"I am over her- I've been dating Raman ever since we broke up. I think that counts as 'getting over her'," I implied. Grayson sighed, and looked over at me.

"Really? Why are you watching the sunset, huh? Isn't that something Tanya used to do?" he interrogated.

I turned to loom at him, breaking my gaze from the sunset, and crossed my legs. I sat with my hands in my lap, slouching. "I don't know, it's a habit."

Which it was. I never really payed attention to the sunset, until I was with Tanya. I usually only watched it with her at my place, but never otherwise; now, I can't stop.

Grayson raised his eyebrow. You could sense the awkwardness between us. "Well, if you're over her, you wouldn't mind me asking her out? Or would you?"

I felt a tiny twinge in my stomach, but chose to ignore it.

"She's going to say no, Gray," I tried to explain to him, in order to get him to not do it.

"Obviously you would think so... 'cause you're not over her," he stated.

"What do I need to do to prove that I'm over her!?" I snapped.

"Nothing... I already know-"

"Know what, Grayson!?" I exclaimed.

"I already know what impact it's made... you've been different ever since then. Watching the sunsets and all," he informed, as he glanced out the window.

I couldn't argue against it.

In result of my silence, Grayson got up and left. He made sure to slam the door shut, in order to prove he was frustrated.

I groaned, and followed behind him shortly after. I ran down the stairs, and to the kitchen. Grayson leaned on the counter, as he watched mom prepare dinner.

"Mom!" I called.

"Yes?" she responded.

I leaned over the counter like Grayson," Do you think that I've changed?"

Grayson gives me a look, but I smirk when I hear my mom respond, "Not really, sweatheart."

"Thank you, now if you excuse me," I walked over to the pantry and grabbed a box of Oreo's, and stuffed one in my mouth," I'll be in my room, preparing for the retreat."

I bolted up the stairs, and closed my door. I walked over to my Bluetooth speaker, and randomly tapped on a playlist. As soon as the song came on, I realized whose it was. (Play music)

Tanya's.

T A N Y A   * the next day *

I swung open the big red doors of the school, and enter the madness of the main hallway. I passed multiple groups, who obviously looked over at me, but made it look like they weren't. I knew what they all were thinking.

Here comes the girl who dated the most popular guy in our grade, but got cheated on.

Yup, I've been getting that look ever since November.

But it's been 6 months, I couldn't care less.

Along with having no boyfriend, I'm also stuck with no friends. After my best friend turned out to be a backstabbing bitch, I never really trusted anyone again. I chose to stay alone, rather than have anyone break my heart again.

I stopped in front of my locker, and grabbed my math Textbook and notebook. I love math, but I hate having it in the morning.

I slam it shut, and make my way to Ms. Jeffries class. I looked down at my notes while I walked, trying to review for the test today.

In a blink of an eye, my stuff goes flying everywhere, and I'm left fallen on the floor. I rubbed my head, as a hand extended out towards me. I took it, and got up.

"You should really watch where you're going," I heard a familiar voice say as I looked into deep brown eyes.

"Thanks," I said coldly as I took my books back from Grayson. He smiled, but I looked away.

"Hey," he said getting my attention back.

"What?" I ask rather a bit to rudely.

"Chill, I was just wondering if you want to, um, go out some time?" he asked nervously.

"Ha, just to be betrayed by dolan number two? No thanks," I rejected, and left. He looked a little hurt, and I turned away. Soon, I'm yanked back by a pull on my arm.

"Ow," I wince as I rub my arm. Grayson stepped closer, only inches away. (or centimeters? I'm canadian smh)

He looked into my eyes a bit longer than her should have, and then looked around to see if anyone was listening.

"Listen, I'm sorry," he said softly, so only the two of us could hear. "I should have told you , and I was stupid enough to let Ethan do it, let alone tell you I-" he began to ramble. I stopped him.

"Dude, chill," I calmed him. " Thanks for apologizing and all, but I don't think we could ever be friends again."

I walked away, leaving Grayson standing there. I wanted to look over my shoulder, but I look straight ahead, keeping a brave face. It hurt me how I just left him there alone, but the pity was quickly washed away after I walk through the class doors.

E T H A N

I waited for Grayson at out regular table. Our table is in the centre, which makes it hard for us not be watched while we eat, and have fun.

Aaron, Nate, and I waited for Grayson and Alex to come. We spent the time being throwing Takis Fuego, aiming at each others mouths. Nate caught one, but then began to pant for water, exclaiming that the heat was too much.

"What are you guys doing?" I heard a familiar voice ask.

I smile as I turn around to look at Raman. She slid in between me and Aaron, and kissed me on the lips.

"I missed you," she mumbled in between kisses.

"So did I," I respond, before making out again.

"Ewww," Grayson gagged as he sat beside her. " No more PDA, guys."

The two of us broke apart, laughing a little. I shook my head for a bit, and then looked down at the pizza slice in the red tray. I pushed it away, "They expect us to think this is food?"

They agreed with me, then Raman began running her hands though my short hair. "I miss your long hair."

"Yeah," Alex said. "Why did you cut it?"

Grayson looked over at me, and gave me a look the screamed you-better-tell-them. I looked down into my lap.

"I don't know? I guess... I just wanted something different," I lied. Grayson rolled his eyes, and continued to eat the 'pizza'.

(Flashback btw)

We laid on my bed, and she rested her head on my chest. My hands lightly stroked her back, and she looked up at me. She ran her hands through my hair, paying extra attention to my streak of purple. "Long hair looks good on you, you look maybe 1 percent less ugly."

I put my hand over my chest, and opened my mouth to form an 'O'. "Excuse me?!"

"Wh-hat?" she replied even more dramatically.

"What the fuck did you just say?" I say, getting up.

She broke into a fit of giggles. "I was just saying that you looked very handsome sir."

"Good, and it should stay that way," I whispered as I crawled on top of her, and began to kiss her hungrily.

(End of flashback)

"Earth to Ethan!?" Nate exclaimed. I looked up, and realized i just zoned out in front of everyone... again.

"I gotta go," I said, rushing as far away from the cafeteria as I could. Once I was in a hallway, quiet enough that no one was there, I pull out my antidepressants from my backpack pocket, and grab a bottle of water from the second pocket.  I run over to my locker, and open it wide, so I could block my face.

I unscrew the lid of my water bottle, and hold the green pill in the palm of my hand. I look both ways, then place the pill on the tip of my tongue. I drown the pill down with water, and wipe the water off the edges of my mouth.

A voice startles me. "Why did you send Grayson to apologize? You know its not going to work."

I turn around, and come face to face with Tanya. I look at her shoulders, where her newly cut hair hovered a little above them. I was so used to her long hair, at first couldn't even recognize her. Her deep brown eyes pierced into mine.

"I didn't send him," I stated coldly, turning back to shove my water bottle and the container of pills into my locker.

"Really? And aren't you not supposed to have more than 2 pills a day?" She further questioned. I look at her blankly, at awe how she still remembers. It took me too long to reply, so she walked off after rolling her eyes.

She was wearing blue jeans that were ankle cuffed, and a red shirt that was tucked in. her hair was spiraling in majestic curls, and her black horn-rimmed glasses were slowly falling down her face. My eyes followed her as she slowly disappeared in the hallway.

She changed.

A lot.

Everything died inside of me when  we broke up.

But that's How love dies

FIRST CHAPTER! 1672 WORDS!

[adobe-outdesign]

Opportunities

When opportunity knocks, you have to answer.

Warnings: Some implied violence, though nothing explicitly shown

“What would you say... if I told you that you could be Alice Angel permanently?”

Susie wiped the tears from her face, smudging a thin layer of eyeliner across her cheek. “W- What do you mean? Allison already-”

“Susie, Susie. We only switched the roles around in order to boost the character’s popularity! You’re the one and only Alice, as far as I’m concerned.”  Joey drew Susie closer to him, putting an arm around her still trembling shoulders.

“You really mean that, Joey?” Susie took a deep breath to steady herself, slightly ashamed of her little breakdown. She took a lock of hair and tucked it back into place in a weak attempt to fix her disheveled appearance.

“Of course! That’s why I’m extending this offer to you before I give it to Allison. She’d work decently, but I don’t think she has half the passion for Alice’s character that you do.”

“I- I mean, I’d love to accept immediately, but you still haven’t explained what the part is.”

Joey beamed, moving to the center of the room. “Imagine a world where Alice Angel is real. Not a cartoon, not a person in a cheap suit. The actual character herself, in the flesh and... ink, I suppose.”

Joey grabbed a book off the shelf and began to flip through it rapidly as he spoke. “I’ve always said that with enough belief, you can accomplish anything. This is no exception. Why do you think I bought that machine?”

“To produce ink...?“

“Not to produce it, to enhance it! You can’t do anything with regular old ink. But this? You can meld it into almost anything, provided you sacrifice a little something in return. That’s how we’ve been making all those Alice toys.” Joey abruptly slammed his book shut, turning back to her. “So? What do you say?”

“I mean- Well, the idea of bringing Alice to life is... amazing. I can’t imagine anything better than people being able to meet her in person. And I’m sure she’d love it too.“ Susie twirled a loose piece of hair around her finger. “But I’m confused. Why do you need me for this?”

“Simple. The machine can create inanimate objects just fine, but for something living... it needs something else. Something to give it substance, life. All people have that something by default. And if we want to make Alice real, I need to use someone close to her for it to work properly. That someone is you, obviously.”

“I don’t know, Joey. Wouldn’t that... hurt?”

“Of course not!,” he reassured her, his smile just a little too big, his enthusiasm just a bit too forced. “It’s no different than going to sleep. You drift off as normal old Susie Campbell, and wake up as an angel. Everyone will love you.”

Susie sat down on the adjacent couch, mind racing. I can be Alice Angel.

"I- Well, I mean, I’m certainly interested. But do you think I could have a few days just to, you know, think it over-?“

“Of course, of course! This is a big decision for you to make. Just consider it and let me know when you’ve made up your mind,“ Joey offered, sliding onto the couch next to her and putting his hand on hers. “But I know you’ll make the right choice. After all, opportunities like this only come once in a lifetime!”

"So, what do you say?”

Wally adjusted his position on the couch. “I don’t know, Joey. Are you sure you want me for this? I’m not exactly a voice actor or animator or anythin’-”

“Absolutely! You’d be a perfect Boris. You do feel like he’s similar to you, right?”

“Well yeah, sure I do, but-”

“Then that settles it! You’ll have your own living space right here in the studio along with all the food you can eat. The only thing you’ll have to do is greet guests that come through and record a few shorts now and then.”

“Hey, hey, hold the phone here! I didn’t say I’d do it yet. Wouldn’t that I mean I wouldn’t be a person anymore? Don’t get me wrong, I like the Bendy shorts as much as the next fellow, but I have things I still wanna do. Marry someone, maybe have some kids one day. I don’t even have my own place yet! And I wanna go to Club 21 and-”

“Relax, relax! You’re focusing far too much on the little details. Think bigger! You won’t age. You won’t get sick. You’d effectively be immortal, and any injuries you did get would be healed with just a bit of ink. You’d never have to worry about rent or living expenses again, and everyone would adore you. Doesn’t that sound better than living in a dingy little apartment for the rest of your life?”

Joey moved over to the couch, setting his hand on the other man’s back. “When opportunity comes knocking, you have to answer! That and a little belief is how I got to where I am today. So? What do you say?“

Grant rubbed his temples as he slouched over the desk, staring down at the sheets of paper in front of him. 465 + 2673. He ran his eyes down the columns, adding the numbers up mentally, trying to figure out where the error was. 3721 + 287...

A knot formed in his stomach as he went back to the first page, redoing the math for a third time. If he couldn’t account for the sudden deficit, he’d be fired. Or worse, be forced to shoulder it himself.

The thought made him feel ill. Such a massive debt with no job and a blacklisting from one of the most famous studios in the area... he’d be on the streets in no time.

Or he’d have to admit that he was a failure.

Grant gave up for the moment, leaning back over the chair and putting his hands on his face as his thoughts drifted to the conversation Joey and him had had a few days ago.

The very idea of making a physical cartoon was absurd in and of itself, really. And the angel that Joey had presented as evidence wasn’t terribly compelling, seeing as it was nothing but Susie Campbell in heavy make up.

He wouldn’t have even considered it possible if it hadn’t been for Boris. He had to admit, the idea of the wolf being a person in a costume was dubious at best, given the proportions of the thing. He had even seen it consume some bacon soup at one point without any noticeable difficulty. It really was like the character had just walked right off of the silver screen.

Grant returned to his papers, trying to shove the thoughts out of his mind, but every new string of numbers that failed to add up brought the thoughts up again. The very notion of letting Joey do God only knows what to him to make him into a cartoon spider was both ridiculous and even vaguely offensive. But Boris had looked... content. Happy, even.

And if he went through with it, the debt wouldn’t be on his shoulders anymore.

Grant shook his head and returned his gaze to his final, unwavering calculation.

$48,128 short. 

"All right, Mr. Drew, I’m here. Tell me where this leak is.” Thomas looked down the hallway with a wary expression, as if imagining what kind of issue lay at the end of it.

“Thomas! Glad to see you showed up. I was beginning to worry.“ Joey motioned for him to follow him, falling in stride with the shorter man.

“I said I’d show up, didn’t I?” Thomas gave a wary look at the pipes above them.

“Only after some strong negations.”

“I already told you. I want nothing to do with you or this damn machine of yours. You’re lucky I even accepted double for this.“

The conversation stopped as they entered the room in question, the broken ink pipe above them being nearly impossible to miss. While the flow had been shut down, there was still a sizeable amount of ink dripping down the glass and creating a huge puddle on the floor.

“Don’t you have that Franks kid here to clean this mess up? It’s going to be that much harder to fix these bolts when they’re covered in that godforsaken ink.”

“He’s... no longer with us, actually. You know how it is. Life gave him an opportunity he just couldn't pass up.”

“Mmph.” Thomas had already turned his attention away from Joey, instead setting down his toolbox and selecting a large wrench from the contents.

"And speaking of opportunity-“

“Whatever it is, I’m not interested.”

“Are you positive?” There was a degree of playful to Joey’s voice, like he expected this response and was merely going through the steps. “You should at least find out what you’re passing up before declining.“

“Don’t need to know. I came here to fix a pipe, and that’s it. I told you, I want nothing to do with this place anymore. There’s something wrong with all of this.”

“I see. Well, if you’ve made up your mind there’s not much I can do about it. Meet me in the Ink Machine room when you’re done and I’ll give you your payment.”

“Isn’t that Grant’s job?“

“Grant... also left us. There were some issues with our budget.“

Thomas narrowed his eyes, but didn’t pursue the topic further, instead focusing his attention on the pipe as Joey left the room. Two hours later, the excess ink had been cleared away and the pipe was once against securely fastened together. He threw the wrench back into the toolbox and begrudgingly made his way to the Ink Machine.

Inside the room were about fifty or so employees, all wearing Bendy masks.

“What the hell-?” Thomas turned back the door, but a few of the masked people had already moved in front of it, effectively blocking him in. Joey walked forward from the rest of the group and put a hand on his shoulder, smiling down at him.

“Why don’t we talk about that offer again, Barley?”

“You want me to be makin’.... clothes?”

“Clothes and everything else on that list. Think you can manage?“

Shawn squinted down at the piece of paper in his hand. “I’m not sure. I’ve never made anythin’ other than the dolls.”

“It’s the same basic principal. Just mold the ink into whatever you need and the rest will happen automatically.”

“I suppose I can manage. But why do you need these thingamabobs?”

“I only have one set of clothes for each cartoon. Unfortunately, belief isn’t going to do anyone’s laundry,” Joey said, chuckling.

“And the weapons?”

“I can’t say too much yet. Strictly hush-hush. But... let’s just say there are some new creations that will be very happy to have them.”

Shawn gave him a questioning look, but simply turned his attention back to the paper. “When do you be needin’ these by?”

“Two days.”

“I can’t make them that fast! Today’s almost over, and even if I pull the entire shift tomorrow I still won’t be able to produce this much that quickly-”

“Nonsense! I made all of our friends in less time than that, and they’re actually alive.” Joey snapped his fingers. “You could do it if you had some proper motivation, I bet! See what dreams are really made of. You haven’t personally met any of the characters, have you?”

The trip to the archives resulted in nothing but ink and a few curious stares from other employees. Shawn picked up a bacon soup can off of a shelf and turned it over as Joey searched the area, already loosing his patience. “How do you lose your own cartoons?”

“They’re allowed to move around,” Joey called out, voice resonating from a different section. “I just didn’t expect them to move around this much.“

Shawn looked around the room, clearly impatient. “Well if you don’t have anythin’ to be showin’ me, I’m going to head back up to the-”

Something brushed his neck.

Shawn swore loudly and fell back in shock, clutching his neck. A giant spider was dangling on a black string before him, staring at him with pie-cut eyes. Venom dripped steadily from its pure white fangs, leaving a dark spot on the floorboards. Above him was a massive spider web, black strands strung across the edges of the room.

“See? I knew they were around here!” Joey smacked the toy maker on his back and Shawn jumped again, unaware that he had returned from wherever he had disappeared to. The spider turned and climbed back up the silk strand the way a person climbing up a rope would, perching on top of the far bookshelf.

“The- the bastard just tried to bite me!” Shawn rubbed his neck, half expecting to feel puncture wounds there, but the skin was unbroken.

“Is that so?” Joey looked towards the spider and for a moment something dark flashed across his face, but it was gone just as quickly. “Well, they obviously aren’t completely perfect, but we can try to fix that later.”

“How in the seven hells did you make-?“

“Edgar! Have you seen Barley anywhere?” Joey called, ignoring the question entirely. Edgar didn’t speak, instead stretching a middle limb out to the right with a sickening cracking noise. Shawn briefly wondered if that hurt.

“This way!” Joey grabbed the toy maker and moved to the right, the Irishman twisting around to keep an eye on the spider. Edgar turned and crawled straight up the far wall, and Shawn could have sworn he caught a glimpse of a human hand at the end of one of his legs as he moved.

The room that Edgar had been pointing to turned out to be a massive storage room that had completely flooded with ink from a broken pipe. A makeshift dock had been assembled out of what appeared to be loose floorboards, and at the end of it sat a small sailor, smoking a pipe, fishing line deep in the ink. Shawn briefly wondered what exactly he was trying to catch.

“Barley!”

Barley glanced over at them, grunted, and then returned his gaze to the inky abyss before him. His eyepatch was gone, and in its place a human-like eye sat buried deep in an otherwise empty socket. Shawn felt a shudder of disgust run through his body.

“He’s not much for conversation,” Joey said apologetically, pulling Shawn away again. “But speaking of conversation...”

“What, the items again?” Shawn allowed Joey to pull him along, still trying to process what he had just seen. He had seen Alice and Boris when Joey had introduced them to the studio, but he had simply assumed that it was make up or some sort of animatron. But these things... they were definitely alive, and something about that fact made him feel uneasy.

“No, not the items.” Joey waved his hand dismissively, and Shawn got the feeling that it was never about the items to begin with. “Didn’t you notice anyone missing?“

Shawn racked his mind, trying to recall all of the Bendy shorts. “The... little leprechaun fellow?”

“Correct! It doesn’t feel right without Charley here, does it?”

“I don’t think it would be feelin’ any better with him.” Shawn glanced over at the library, half expecting to see Edgar crawling after him, but the room was still.

“Sure it would! You can’t have the Butcher Gang without all three of them. Otherwise you don’t even have a gang to begin with. And I think I’ve found the perfect candidate for him.”

“Candidate? What are you-?”

Something clicked.

“Joey? How did you make these cartoons again?” Shawn asked, moving back away from him, things slowly piecing themselves together in his mind.

“I told you. Belief!“

“And what else?” Sweat started to drip down his back as he remembered how many employees had ”quit” the company over the last few weeks.

Joey simply smiled, and Shawn ran.

Upstairs, a few dozen Bendy masks met him outside the elevator.

[heartslogos]

newfragile yellows [881

“Ah, so this is Skyhold at last,” Frederic says, shading his eyes as he stares up at the castle. “The great seat of the Inquisition itself. Astounding. You were able to modernize that ruin?”

“To be fair, it was in good condition when we claimed it as ours,” Max says, slinging one of Frederic’s bags over his shoulder and tossing the keys to the cargo truck to one of the soldiers on stand by. “Professor de Serault is going to be moving his research center into Research Building Delta, I think he’s been assigned to room three-twelve-a. Can one of you call ahead and make sure if that’s correct or if there’s been reassignments in the building?”

“Yes, sir,” another soldier says, pulling her phone out as she goes around back of the truck.

“Ah, it’s further on?” Frederic asks.

“Yeah, this is just the docking bay,” Max says. “A cargo truck of this size won’t be able to take the roads we need to get to the research facilities you’ll be working out of Professor. Your things will be loaded onto smaller, regular sized, vehicles and driven over. It’ll take a few trips on a couple of cars but it’ll get there by today. Set up will take longer though.” Max gestures for the professor to follow him. “The castle of Skyhold itself is mostly a symbolic building. Almost all of our business is done in the buildings we’ve put up around it.”

“That does make sense,” Frederic says, looking around. “The Inquisition has only been around for a year or so, but the infrastructure you’ve put in place is astonishingly detailed. The Inquisition operated out of Haven before this, correct?”

“Yeah. We still have some people working out of Haven, but it’s mostly as support for the town. The Inquisition’s taken charge of rebuilding since it’s mostly our fault that the area became a fighting hotspot,” Max replies. “Are you tired professor? I can take you to your living quarters if you want to rest. Or I can show you round the base.”

“A tour would be good, I think,” Frederic replies. “Stretching ones legs after such a long drive seems the better idea. How large is the Inquisition facility that it needs vehicles?”

“The size of Haven at least, maybe Redcliffe if we include our undeveloped lands,” Max answers after some thought. “Once you know your way around it doesn’t feel very big, to be honest with you.”

Frederic gives Max a look like he’s insane. “A military fortress the size of a city and to you it doesn’t feel big? No wonder the higher authorities of Ferelden and Orlais are so frequently concerned about you.”

“You have a lot of contact with the higher authorities, professor?” Max asks, careful to keep his tone teasing. It must not work because the professor blanches a little, stammering his way through an apology. “It’s alright, we know how they see us.”

Max gestures for the professor to follow after him, leading him into idle conversation about the university where he was working previously and what it was like in Serault and if he knew any of the prominent artisan families from the area, were they really as talented as their reputation would suggest?

He thinks that he’s done pretty well in easing the professor into the Inquisition, there hasn’t been anything overly alarming so far and everyone they’ve run into has been the model of a respectful, typical, average person.

It wasn’t meant to last, and Maxwell doesn’t know how he could have ever fooled himself into thinking otherwise.

They’re approaching one of the green areas and Max can see the gray shape of the Iron Bull on one of the benches. And once he gets close enough he can hear the Iron Bull and Ellana loudly arguing about something. Ellana is walking circles around the bench, arms dancing in the air as she gestures and punctuates her words with her hands.

Max sends a silent prayer he knows will not be answered, “Please let it be a normal conversation.”

But it’s the Iron Bull and Ellana. They don’t have normal conversations or normal arguments. They wouldn’t be themselves if so.

He could steer the professor away from the couple, but that’s only delaying the inevitable. And it feels like something Max should get out of the way. After all, the professor is going to be working closely with Dorian and Sera. He’s going to need to get used to the Inquisition’s more eccentric members. By which Max means, the Inquisition’s most important and prominent members.

Bull spots him first while Ellana’s walking around back the bench. Bull nods in acknowledgement. As Ellana turns around the bench she spots them and waves.

Max turns to Frederic who’s attempting to look polite about looking anywhere other than the arguing couple. Good man.

“That’s the Iron Bull. I don’t think he needs explaining.”

Frederic coughs on what could be a laugh. “No. He’s rather well known.”

“Right. And the one walking around him is Ellana Lavellan, she’s one of our best pilots. She also works in intelligence gathering under Leliana. Ellana is also a mycologist and phytopathologist. Our researchers often consult her whenever she has free time. I’m not sure if that will be something you need for your own projects, professor, but it can’t hurt to introduce yourself. Chances are that if any of your research touches upon red lyrium, or lyrium itself, you may need to ask her a question or two.”

“How can one be so many things at once?” Frederic asks. “I can barely manage being a scholar, if one is to believe my assistants.”

“Oh, you’ll find out. It’s Ellana. She can wear so many hats she might as well be a hatter. Ellana, dear, is it alright to interrupt your argument to introduce our newest researcher, Professor Frederic du Serault?”

Ellana stops pacing and gives the professor a smile. “Hello, welcome to the Inquisition. First day? Also, now that you’re here, Max, maybe you can settle something between me and the Iron Bull.”

“Oh no,” Max mutters.

“Should’ve just kept walking, Trevelyan,” Bull says, shaking his head. “You never learn do you?”

“Keep in mind that the professor is right here and you should maybe modulate whatever you’re going to say,” Max says.

“Well maybe the professor can pitch in, too. Listen. Base ten mathematics. Based on what? Fingers and toes? It can’t be, right? There’s absolutely no way an entire system of math was based on that.”

[nachtgraves]

a++ kuzuhina: maybe the same ship with #4.“I’m flirting with you.”?

Oh my god I am so sorry this took forever and a half BUT I FINALLY FINISHED IT. I experimented with writing a thing told mostly through texting so hopefully it still flows pretty well? It was an experience, I tell you. Also. I apologize for the awful title for this but it was literally the best I could think of.  And I probably should have used time stamps but I’m a dumb and hope extra spacing gives the same effect?

Title: Mis-Texting Could Possibly End in Kissing  // AO3Word Count: ~4200Warnings/Tags: PG. Told through texting with interspersed prose, high school au, hope’s peak still exists, but no despairs, some typos are intentional and let’s pretend the others are too, real minor angst. Hajime is non-italics, Fuyuhiko and the two instances of Chiaki are in italics.

[ughhhhhh][im so bored][she wont stop taking][talking*]

[That’s kind of the point of a presentation]

[nooneasked for ur sass]

Hajimedoesn’t know how it happened, but he and the infamous ‘baby-faced yakuza ofHope’s Peak High’ are texting buddies.

Well.

Maybethat’s not entirely true. He does know how it started, at least.

[heypres][its kuzuryuu][souda gave me ur number][wat do we need for teh fair agian?]

[Sorry, youmight have the wrong number]

[oh][ur not nanmi?][fuck][souda is dead][sorry]

[Noworries. Mistakes happen][But, by Souda do you mean Souda Kazuichi?And did you mean to text Nanami Chiaki?]

[yeah][who r u??]

[Chiaki’s a close friend. Ournumbers happen to be really similar. Hers ends in a 1 instead of a 2]

[ohthanks][srry for the mix up]

[Don’tworry about it. Happens fairly often :p]

Hajimedoesn’t hear back from the stranger for a few days and quickly forgets themix-up even happened. He hadn’t been lying when he said that such thingshappened fairly often, especially since Chiaki was voted as class rep. (She hadbeen so surprised and happy, Hajime thought a new VR game system was announced).Chiaki and him and found it quite amusing and it wasn’t much trouble to fix themistake usually. But one afternoon, he’s cleaning up his room and finds apacket of papers that look important by the large scrawling over the front pagein Chiaki’s loopy handwriting, reading: ‘SCHOOL FEST BUDGET’. He also knowsthat Chiaki wasn’t going to be home for hours, since her school festival wasthis coming weekend and she’s been staying back to organize, plan, and dowhatever it is class representatives do for events like that.

[Hey you left a packet of papers atmine. School fest budget?]

[Chiaki?]

[Goddmannit did u foget to chargeyour phone again?]

Knowingthat if the packet were important, Chiaki would be freaking out (she always putso much pressure on herself, especially since she became class rep), Hajimestares at the packet in his lap. He could run to Chiaki’s high school, butdoubts he would be let in since it was almost sundown and Hope’s Peak High wasone of the more prestigious secondary schools in their district. Hajime himselfgoes to a regular public school a short walk from their neighbourhood.

Staringat his phone, as if it was going to give him an answer, he finds one as hescrolls through his messages. He still has the short conversation from thestranger from Chiaki’s class. It’s worth a shot, at the very least.

[Hey this is Chiaki’s friend HinataHajime. I still had your number from when you mis-texted me and I was wonderingif Chiaki was nearby? She’s not answering her phone]

[yeah][why?]

[I think she forgot something at myhouse. School fest budget?]

[yeah][she thought she lost it][shes asking if u can drop it off at her place][her phone is dead]

[Yeah I cando that][Thanks]

Laterthat night, Hajime is attempting to complete a history essay due the nextmorning when he receives a text. His phone is plugged in by his bed, on theopposite end of where his desk is. He literally jumps at the distraction,hopping into bed and lying back against the pillows propped up against the headboard.

[Thanksfor dropping off the packet.]

[No prob][You need to remember to charge your phone]

[I know. (*_ _) ][How did you have Kuzuryuu’snumber, by the way?]

[The miss-text a few days ago.Figured it was worth a try]

[Thank you. You really saved me.]

Threehours later, it’s inching closer to midnight and Hajime hasn’t returned to hisassignment. Chiaki is not impressed.

[Doyour work.]

[I’m takinga break]

[(￢_￢) You’ve been ‘takinga break’ for three hours. Stop procrastinating and finish your homework.]

[You’re notdoing your homework]

[I finished my homework. I’m makingsure all the plans for the school fair next month are in order.

You’recoming to it, right?]

[Yeah][If I’m not stuck wiht tuorting…][Tutoring*][Can’t you help???]

[You know I’m not that much betterthan you. Sonia helps me.]

[Give me hernumber?][I’m desperate a tthis point]

[That’sa breach of privacy.]

[Chiakiiiiiiiiiii][Please?][I’ll do your Japanese hw next time?]

[No.]

[JapaneseAND math?]

[Tempting.But good night, Hajime.]

[Chiaki][Chiaki][Chiaki come back][Chiakiiiiii][What kind of friend are u?]

It’stimes like this Hajime sometimes wishes he was closer to some of hisclassmates. He’s not a loner, but he’s definitely a drifter of sorts. He has peopleto talk to and sit with at lunch, but rarely does he spend time with hisclassmates outside of school or for non-school related activities. Because ofthat, he’s not close enough to anyone to randomly message them at close tomidnight for homework help.

Justas he’s trying to figure out a solution – since it’s far too late to actually do his work like the goodstudent he only sometimes is, his phone goes off. And this, is the true startof everything.

[cmon i’ll pay u][and by pay i mean not break ur fucking teeth with my fist]

[Wrongperson?][Hopefully, at least]

[fuck][sorry][yeah][i meant to text the person above u in my message list thing]

[Everythingokay?]

[yeahjust some shitty hw]

[You too?][I have this awful history essay due tomorrow]

[historyis whatever][math is killing me]

[Math isn’ttoo bad][At least there’s always just one answer]

[historyand english u just bs tho]

[But it’sso subjective][Everything depends on something else]

[wannatrade then?]

Andthat is how Hajime found himself a homework buddy. Kuzuryuu is good at Englishand history, while Hajime’s strengths lie in math and science, and the both ofthem were pretty good at Japanese. One night of texting back and forth, helping(dipping into the realm of ‘academic dishonesty’ on occasion) with theirrespective assignments. They say goodnight close to dawn, but Kuzuryuu had stayedup long after his homework was complete and waited and helped Hajime until hewas done as well.

Fromthen on, Hajime would find himself texting back and forth with this boy he’snever met. At first, they exclusively went to the other for homework help, buteventually Hajime would send Kuzuryuu a short text about something funny that hadhappened (a cat attacking some dumb kids that were trying to taunt it) andKuzuryuu would send him a rant about something that annoyed him (old womenthinking that he’s younger than he is or a police officer asking if he’s losthis parents) and it snowballs into them casually texting throughout the day,particularly during boring presentations that no one, including the personpresenting, cared about.

[Payattention and stop distracting me]

[potnd kettle][stop looking at ur phone during class]

[Shush][I’m bored too]

[fuckinquit the holier than thou then][i can ignore u][nd u can be bored alone]

[Youwouldn’t do that][Who’d you distract if not me?]

[plentyof pple][ur lucky i deign to talk to u]

[Yeah][I’m sooo grateful]

[ushould be]

[Stilldoubt that you could ignore me]

[fuckintry me]

[Is that achallenge?]

Kuzuryuulasts all of until the end of the school day. Hajime can be quite theannoyance.

[jfc ur gonna break my phone]

[I win :D]

[uwin a fist to the face when i see u]

[Are wegoing to meet up then?][So eager to see me :P]

[Kuzuryuu?]

[I’m sorryif I made it weird]

[nahi had to hide my phone fr a bit][ur the one who sounds too happy bout gettinghis face smashed]

[You’re tooviolent][How do you have firneds if you treaten to hurt htem all the time?]

[nicetypos]

[Hush. Atleast I use proper grammar most of the time]

[yshould i waste my time with shit like that?]

[Forlegibility][I got to go][Got phys ed :/][Save me]

[ihope u have to run laps the entire time]

[You areevil]

Hope’sPeak’s festival comes and goes one weekend. As usual, it is a busy event due tothe school’s prestigious standing. Hajime, as promised, visits Chiaki’s class,doing an interactive murder mystery café of sorts where customers are givenclues with their orders to figure out the murder of a prop set up in the centerof the classroom. He finally meets some of Chiaki’s classmates whom she’stalked about and apparently she’s talked to them about him in return. However,and though he won’t admit it to anyone other than Chiaki if hard pressed, hekeeps his ears open for the name Kuzuryuu and is disappointed to realize thathis texting buddy was nowhere to be seen.

(“Kuzuryuu?We sent him to go advertise with Koizumi and Saionji,” says Sonia. “Do you twoknow each other?”

“Uh,he mis-texted me once,” Hajime replies. He redirects further questions awayfrom him and towards what they used to make the neon pink blood for the fakecrime scene.)

Hajimemay have lingered around for a bit until he couldn’t justify staying and beinga distraction any longer. By the time he leaves to go back home, he’s exchangednumbers with a few of them with vague promises to meet up some time and hangout. Even as he leaves the school, weaving past the steady stream of peoplestill entering the premise, his eyes roam for individuals advertising forChiaki’s class. He returns home to his books and TV without having met aKuzuryuu.

[You guysdid a good job at your school fest]

[uwent?]

[I promisedChiaki]

[u2 datin or somthn?]

[God no][We’ve known each other forever]

[doesntmean u havnt dated]

[Ew][She’s practically my sister]

[heardu got numbers frm some girls in my class]

[Oh yeah][Are Sonia and Mioda always like that?]

[annoying?][obnoxious?][preppy?]

[Haha][Your class seems really cool]

[seems][u dont see them 5 days a week]

[I bet your classmates have thingsto say about you too]

[maybe][but they wouldnt live for long if they say anything]

[Hahahawhat are you, the yakuza?]

[Kuzuryuu?]

[uhavent looked me up?]

[Why wouldI?][And you’ve never told me your first name]

[uwouldnt need my first name][but its fuyuhiko]

[You’re not pulling oneover on me are you?]

[i go to hopespeak idiot][sonia’s a motherfucking princess][nd y woud i joke about that?]

[You’re not going to send people after me for makingfun of you, are you?]

[ur entertainingfor now]

[Oh ha ha][Glad I amuse you]

[Wait][Oh my god][Is this you?][[image]]

[u got somethingto say?]

[No][Just][Not what I was expecting]

[think carefullybout ur words hinata]

[I thought I wasentertaining?]

[toys can getbroken]

[Now that’s uncalled for][I didn’t even say anything about how adorable you look]

[HINATA]

[It’s true though!][You can’t call a hit on me for being truthful]

[just shut up][y did i tell you to look me up][yd u look for pictures?]

[Curiosity][We’ve been talking for a while now and we don’t even know what the other lookslike]

[Kuzuryuu?][Did you know what I looked like?]

[bein cautious isimportant]

[Omg you looked me up][What horrible pictures did you find???]

[[image]]

[That’s from Chiaki’s fb!]

[not that hard]

[I TRIED TO FIND YOU ONFB THOUGH]

[securitysettings]

[Oh][Point]

It’snot too long after that Hajime receives a friend request from one KuzuryuuFuyuhiko. He hits accept almost embarrassingly fast and proceeds to exploreKuzuryuu’s newly unveiled profile with the eagerness of a stalker given an inchand taking a mile. There’s not much to explore, the other boy doesn’t seem touse the website very much, which honestly does not surprise Hajime though hecan’t help but feel a little disappointed.

[The last time you were active onfb was almost a year ago][And it was a profile pic update][That you didn’t even upload??]

[soudand sonia hacked my account][sonia was offended my profile pic was like 2 yrs old][koizumi has a fuckton of pics of ppl][nd i was 2 lazy 2 change it]

[It’s agood picture of you]

 [thanks]

Uponadding Kuzuryuu, Hajime’s flooded by friend requests from Chiaki’s otherclassmates and ends up talking semi-regularly with them. Kuzuryuu and him stilltext each other practically daily, to the point Chiaki comments on it whenHajime is over at hers to help her complete co-op achievements for a game she’syet to 100 per cent.

(“Youand Kuzuryuu seem to really get along.” Chiaki glances pointedly at Hajime’sphone as it buzzes several times, Kuzuryuu’s name flashing on the screen.

Hajimeshrugs noncommittedly, and is oddly relieved that the game finishes loading andthey’re thrust into a horde of mutant creatures.)

Evenhis classmates notice he’s on his phone a lot more often during and betweenclasses.

(“Gota girlfriend, Hinata?”

Frowning,Hajime shakes his head, “No, why?”

“You’realways on your phone texting and smiling down at it.”

Hajime’ssure his face has never been more red and when, moments later, he gets a textfrom Kuzuryuu complaining about the apparent Souda-Sonia-Tanaka love trianglethat should just turn into a threesome, he realizes his face does indeed moveon its own.)

[Oh my godhelp]

[what’dyou do?]

[Gave into peer pressure and wentto a goukon with some classmates -_-][I’m hiding in the bathroom][But I’ll have ot go back out there][:c]

[urnot drinking r u?][ur not 20]

[A yakuzaheir is against underage drinking?]

[udidnt answer]

[No one’sdrinking][We’re at a karaoke place][But htank you for caring c:]

[shutup][u dont usually go out w/ ur classmates]

[Yeah][Some of them have been teasing me about a girlfriend so I mostly just went sothey’d shut up]

[girlfriend?][u said u nd nanami werent dating]

[We’re not][They think you’re my secret girlfriend]

[?]

[Apparently I smiled while textingor something][And I’ve been on my phone more often][And you’re the only person I really text during class so]

[oh]

[Yeah, funny right?][Wonder what they’d think if they knew I was texting buddies with the heir tothe Kuzuryuu clan lmao][Though some ofthem already give me shit for being close to Chiaki just cuz shegoes to Hope’s Peak][They think you guys are snobby elitests just cuz you go to a prestigiousschool and we’re just public school kids][But you guys arent tat different][Just different talents and families][Woops sorry][Didn’t mean to get all ranty][Ugh I gotta go][Can’t hide here forever]

Afterthe goukon, which wasn’t horrible but neither was it all that enjoyable, Hajime’splunged into preparations for his school’s culture festival and upcoming exams. He’s barely had timeto text Kuzuryuu other than short greetings and the occasional tidbit from hisday that the other boy would find amusing. He misses their daily conversationsand when he finally has some down time, the day before the culture festival,he’s holed up in his room and on his phone while he catches up on TV shows onhis laptop.

[Hey longtime no chat][I’ve finally got free time again!]

[yea][school stuff?]

[Yeah][Every teacher decided to have everything due weeks early so we weren’toverwhelend when finals come around][Kill me -_-]

[shouldnt u be spending ur free timew/ ur gf stead of talking to me?]

[What?]

[ugot a gf or whatvr after that goukon][didnt u?]

[No?][Where’d you hear that?]

[therewas a pic on fb][u were tagged][it showed up on my feed]

[I haventbeen on fb recently][Lemme check]

[Oooooh][Yeah no][I wasn’t even aware this was taken][And the comments are baseless][I barely spoke to her][There was no ‘chemistry brewing’]

[shescute tho]

[Yeah Iguess?][Objectively][But not really interested][She doesn’t go to my school][And we met for like five seconds]

[datingimplies getting to kno eachother]

[Yeah but][Idk][Just nothing clicked?][And I wasn’t even looking for anything going to the thing either so][What about you?]

[watabout me?]

[You thinkshe’s cute][She your type?]

[no]

 [Am I notgetting more than that?]

[i’mmore into a dif set of anatomy]

[?????]

[shesnot a he]

[Oh][OH][You’re]

[homo]

[Oh]

[ifthats a problem u should delete my number]

[NO][Not a prob at all][Sorry][Just surpside][Supreied][SURPRISED][Fuck][I’m sorry]

[usaid that alredy]

[Well I am][Could have responded better]

[couldaresponded worse][so][not a prob?]

[Coursenot][That’d be stupid for one][And hypocrtical for antoher]

[hypocritical?]

[I’m bi][Or pan][Idk][Still nto sure about the difference tbh][Nd I have a friend who’s ace]

[nanami?]

[I cannot divulge something that isnot mine to tell]

[she let it slip when we werecleaning up after culture fest][sonia and mioda bugged her bout if u two were dating][hanamura wanted to know bout ur sex life]

[Hanamurascares me][And yes to Chiaki being my ace friend]

[hanamurascares everyone][u basically gave it away with ur notanswr answer]

[Shedoesn’t care][But I still didn’t actually confirm or deny][Because that would be rude][(◡‿◡✿)]

[fuckoff][dont u dare start using those kaomoji things like nanami]

[(。・ω・。)][( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)][*｡:ﾟ+\(^‿^✿)]

[imgonna block u]

[(◕‸◕✿) *pout*]

Theydon’t re-visit the topic of sexuality again and settle back into their frequentback and forth texting. Hajime’s still teased at school but once he finallycaves and lets his classmates know that he is not texting a girl, but a boyfrom Chiaki’s class at Hope’s Peak, all interest in his affairs are lost.

Winteris fast approaching and with that comes the school culture festivals foreveryone other than Hope’s Peak, who have their festival earlier because no onewould go to any other school event if Hope’s Peak is allowing outsiders to touraround. Hajime’s class decides what to do rather quickly since no one’s allthat interested in putting too much effort, but Hajime still ends up being runragged with the rest of his class in the last minute preparations.

[I hateculture fests]

[culturefest?]

[Yeah][My school’s one is coming up][My class is doing a butler/maid cafe][Because we are simple public school students who don’t have the resources forpink blood]

[I was kidding][Your class’ murder cafe was the best thing I’ve ever seen][Thouhg I admit I had high expectations since you guys do go to Hope’s Peak]

[it was nanami’s idea][nd hanamuras a creep but good cook][nd sonias gotta 1up everyone nd dished out money so we could go way overbudget]

[Haha][But it was great][I had a lot of fun]

[Btw][Your birthday’s coming up right?]

[no][y?]

[Is yourbirthday not during the winter?]

[itsin aug]

[But yourname is FUYUhiko]

[ndmy sis is natsumi but her birthdays in march]

[But][That doesn’t make sense]

[blameour parents]

Hajime’sculture festival comes and goes. It goes fairly well in his opinion, even ifhis butler uniform ended up shrinking in the wash and it was too late to fix. He’spretty sure his pants were borderline indecent with how tight they were and thefact that he had felt far too many eyes on his ass and crotch region during theday was not comforting in the least. No real disturbances occurred though, other than when Chiaki came by and was recognizedby video game enthusiasts and Hope’s Peak admirers.

[thoughtu were doing a butler cafe not a host club]

[?????]

[[image]]

[Where didyou get that???]

[ihave my sources][could u not find pants that werent 3 szies too small?]

[It shrankin the wash okay][But oh god][Did I look that bad all day???][Kill me]

[udidn’t look bad][how many ppl asked u out this time?]

[None??][Though now I know why girls kept giggling when I turned my back][I don’t know if I can show my face at school again]

[theywere prob giggling cuz u have a nice ass]

[Ha ha]

[urnot ugly idiot][i bet tons of girls are crushing on u at school][nd guys][im surprised ur single]

[Shut up][If it’s a surprise anyone is single it’s you][You’re funny, snarky, smart, and really attractive][And you pretend like you’re relaly grumpy and antisocial][But when Chiaki talks about school and you come up you’re always taking part][And the fact that you’re secretly really toned][Like seeing those beach pictures on Koizumi’s fb][Oh my god][And your eyes][If they look that gorg in candid photos I don’t want to imagine in rl][And I’m just this normal whatever][Mediocre in every way]

[Uh][Pretend I never said all that?]

[didu fb stalk me on other ppl’s fb?][nd ask nanmi to spy on me for u?]

[No]

[Maybe][No to the spying][Maybe I would ask about you though?][I’m sorry]

[ur not mediocre][wanna talk about pretty eyes?][and secretly toned bodies?][if u wore clothes that didnt swallow u][ud be batting away pple who wanna date/fuck u][nd ur eyes are the ones that are gorg and unique][u have any idea how many times ive thought of wanting to see em in person?][nad how nanami talks about u all the time][i knew of u before the whole mistexting crap][but as nanmi’s annoying notboyfriend][and now i get hwy she praises u so much][anyone would be lucky to go out with you][ur stupidly nice and considerate][but also a sarcastic little shit u cant hate]

[You don’t need to say nice thingsto me just cuz I made a fool of myself just now]

[imflirting wth u dumbass]

[Oh]

Hajime is typing…

Hajime is typing…

[uever gonna finish ur reply]

[I’mpanicking][Give me a break][I don’t know how to respond]

[fine][go on a date with me?][ y ( ) n ( )]

[How did Inever realize how dorky you are]

[fuckinjust anser or ill punch ur stupid face]

[Maybe I’drather you kiss it]

 [andi’m a dork?][fucking loser]

[Shut up][You didn’t say no though]

[ustill havent answered me]

[You first]

[fucku i asked first]

[I askedsecond]

[HINATAI S2G I WILL SHANK U]

[I’m sorry][I default to annoying when im embbarsed and dont know waht im doing][I want you to kiss me. I want to kiss you][So yes please]

[yesor no woulda been fine][dork]

“…”

“…”

“…”

“What?”Kuzuryuu finally snaps.

“This is a lot harder in person,”Hinata laughs weakly. And it really is. Especially because Kuzuryuu is even cuter in person and Hajime didn’tthink that could be possible. Also, the skinny jeans and casual button downcombo he’s sporting makes it hard for Hajime to look anywhere at the boy’s bodywithout blushing. He’d been so excited to finally meet up, expecting to fallinto conversation as easily as they do while texting, but one look at Kuzuryuuwaiting by the entrance of the movie theater, scowling at everyone who’d lookat him, had wiped most of the vocabulary in Hajime’s brain.

“Younever shut up when we text,” Kuzuryuu grumbles.

“It’snot my fault you’re even cuter in person and I forgot everything I wanted tosay.” Kuzuryuu scowls but he also turns redder than before. “See! If you canstop being so adorab—”

“Hinata,I swear if you call me c-cute or a—that, again you’ll wish I sent Peko afteryou.”

“Peko?”

Kuzuryuugives him a look that is equal parts fond and exasperated and a littlebewildered. “You could have found so much about me just from a few google searches.”

Hajimejust shrugs and looks down at his feet, “Yeah, but I’d rather get to know youby actually talking to you.” When he looks up, Kuzuryuu’s facing away but notenough to completely hide the fact that his cheeks and ears are tinged a darkpink-red, especially since Hajime’s got a 22cm height advantage. Hajime grins.“C’mon, we’re going to be late for the movie.”

Whenhe reaches forward and grabs Kuzuryuu’s hands, he files away the squawkingnoise the shorter boy emits as he tugs him along towards the movie theater. Inall honesty, Hajime wouldn’t be able to tell anyone about the movie they saw –he believes it was an action flick – since Kuzuryuu decided to pay back the handholding with a game of gay chicken that led to some intense public displayingof affection. They’re lucky the theater was mostly empty and they chose seatstowards the back. Hajime’s mental notes of Kuzuryuu by the end of the movieinclude several points relating to the plushness of Kuzuryuu’s lips, the factthat Kuzuryuu’s palate is quite the sensitive spot, and that Kuzuryuu has totry extremely hard to remain quiet.

[voymedia1]

Launching a Business Online – 5 Tips for the Debut

It always seems like a pretty dope idea when it comes to leaving behind your regular 9 to 5 job in pursuit of starting an online business. Perhaps, starting an e-commerce venture or a blogging looks like an achievable goal, however, can get a bit tough as you continue further with it.

This does not mean that you stop dreaming big or setting huge goals; it is, however, essential to make a plan so solid that you even get to hit that far. Unfortunately, quite a number of aspiring business owners fail to design that plan which plays a pivotal role in succeeding. According to Huffington Post you must always plan before starting anything. No plan means, no business growth at all and that is the truth many fails to embrace.

Speaking of this, there is a misconception that it is easy to find success in a niche which is popular. For instance, many budding entrepreneurs believe establishing an apparel business is easy to handle due to the niche’s popularity. Again, the reality is way different than how one may think it is. And to put things in perspective, it is totally opposite with a niche this popular. There is pressure especially in the beginning, as it requires a really effective strategy to stand out from the other competitors or you might end up wasting your time.

If you are looking out for some effective tips on how to start a business as successful as Uber, that too which sells apparel, then you are reading the right post!

Choose Niche Wisely

Narrowing down a niche is the foundation block for a successful business. It will give you a clear picture of what you seek as a potential seller. In other words, a business owner then knows where to start from, when they are clear with what niche they are going to work on. With a well-defined niche at hand, you get to draw out on a product list that would specifically cater your agenda. Moreover, you then will know how to make a business plan and where will it center on in addition to where you, as a business owner will reach in terms of success.

You have completed the first step once you have identified your niche. A relevant example here would be that of the fashion aficionado Sophie and Trey. It serves as a one-stop shop to women, selling everything from clothes, swimwear to handbags. They identified that it is a real hassle to visit a different store every time for a woman with a lot already going on both personal and professional front. They filled in and emerged as a one-stop shopping portal.

The most important thing is to know what you are passionate about. If it excites you, it is your call! In addition to this, you need to identify your chosen niche’s earning potential. For that, we recommend a thorough market research to look out for any gaps within. Have a cost-benefit analysis done so that you know where your niche stands in terms of the budget you have to allocate. After this, you are free to draw the business plan out and yeah, everything is good to go then!

The Affiliate Program

This should be at the top of your priority list when you are planning your business. Speaking of affiliate program, that is how it happens at Sophie and Trey. It has contributed quite a lot in their revenue generation and overall business popularity.

Now, we the question must be popping in your mind that why a affiliate program, considering the fact that it involves quite a bit of investment. And the answer is, sometimes your business requires an extra promotion from external sources to both survive and thrive. A word of mouth can prove to be catalyst when a business’s success is concerned.

Through an affiliate program, an affiliate publicizes about your product in return of a commission. It can sound a lot like giving away too much considering that you, as an owner would have to provide the product as well as the marketing materials. But, in the long run, it can be pretty fruitful if an affiliate manages to generate sales for you. This is super good for the longevity of a business and to establish a reputation in the market as well as in the eyes of the customers.

According to a study, 65.5% of the consumers responded positively in light of affiliate marketing. We leave rest of the math to you and yes, you are welcome!

Make Shopping An Exciting Experience

Now, how can you do that is a million dollar question. One thing you should know, is that the last thing a customer wants to feel is unwanted. And we believe neither you, as a seller, would want a customer to feel that way. Therefore, make it a point to give your customer base a more personalized shopping experience by offering gift certificates or displaying recently viewed items the next time customer logs in. Sending personalized emails on birthdays is another way a business can make a customer feel special

This can be seen on Sophie and Trey’s website. They have truly made shopping an exciting experience by offering a personal stylist and that too for free. Which woman would not want to experience such an opportunity?

Other than this, their blog does some exceptional content too! From producing look books to even doing light content like beauty hacks and DIYs, Sophie and Trey surely knows how to strengthen their customer base and ensure that their relationship with their customers remains intact. Such strategies not only keep the business thriving for good but also keep the customers engaged throughout.

Work on the Web Assets

There is no smart approach than working on the business model in combination with a focus on its assets. And by assets, we mean that your website and social media should be well taken care of. They should and must be in order as they are what propels your business further and ensures its success.

At times, businesses have been noted underestimating the power that nurturing web asset brings to a business. They see it as frivolous investment and keep going for the traditional means for advertising, which should not be the case. In this era, where everyone symbolically carries a world within their hands in the face of a Smartphone, such an approach appears to be medieval.

In fact, digital media offers unmatchable opportunities for networking and if used rightly, to the very optimum, can garner a large number of viewers, and clients. Above all, you can reach out to people across the globe without even getting up from a chair. It is safe to term it as a bridge enabling you to broaden and expand the reach of the business.

Speaking of this, each and every outlet should be made use of to its fullest. After all, it is the digital age! Any brand or business is easily accessible and approachable through social media channels, considering the profound media transition. Hence, they should be updated and in sync with the increasing demands and trends.

Here, you can see how Sophie and Trey serves as an awesome example as they use every social media portal quite productively, be it, Instagram, Pinterest or Facebook.

Know Your Competitors

Before you put your foot forward in the market, you must know who your competitors are. A business who does not know about their competitors is bound to go haywire and flunk real bad.

It is a widely acknowledge fact that any good business will definitely be well-versed about its competitors. This sort of knowledge is a validation of a business’s legitimacy as well as credibility. A special focus should be on the marketing strategies that they have applied and are currently using.

Researching about your competitor’s web assets is equally essential. You should know which social media platform your competitor uses, to know where you as business owner is headed.

It is to give you that edge which tends to play a role in a success of a business.

Additionally, knowing about the pricing of the products your competitors sell is beneficial as you would have an insight about what range your target market is willing to pay. Not only this, but you would even know which pricing model seem to appeal a large customer base. Also, you will have a better understanding of pricing ethics as well as the psychological impact it casts on customers.

There you go! We hope the above information proves to be fruitful and gives you a framework to finally start working upon. There is no proven set of sequence when it comes to launching a business, but if you have the basics right, as discussed above, your business for sure is going to be successful.

To sum up, a little research about the industry you have interest in, will always work in your favor in the long run.

  Author’s Bio: Judy Robinson is a passionate marketing and business blogger. She loves to engage with readers who are seeking B2B and B2C marketing related information on the internet. She is a featured blogger at various high authority blogs and magazines in which she shared her research and experience with the vast online community. Currently she is associated with an Orlando based SEO Company ‘PNC Digital’. Follow her on twitter @JudyJrobinson for more updates.

The post Launching a Business Online – 5 Tips for the Debut appeared first on Facebook Advertising Agency | Facebook Marketing Company.

from Facebook Advertising Agency | Facebook Marketing Company https://voymedia.com/launching-a-business-online-5-tips-for-the-debut/

[shiro-sensei-14]

Chapter Two: The love birds of Luna Nova

It has been several months since the first chapter. I am actually working on a long Fanfic (around 50 chapters) on another subject and this one is meant to be a short one. This chapter settles life at Luna Nova (an idyllic version that can be far from the original). There is no real drama, the complication should happen in the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Little Witch Academia.

v

The night had fallen on Luna Nova, Chariot was lying on her bed next to her partner who was caressing her hair and looking into her ruby eyes. Chariot was still blushing just thinking of what had just happened between them.

“Ney, Croix, that was not your first time, was it?” She asked timidly.

“Was it yours?” Asked the lavender-haired girl suddenly startled.

Chariot suddenly flustered and looked aside.

“ye.. yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? You seemed so sure of yourself when you dragged me to your room that I thought … Oh dear I’m sorry, I…”

“Shhh… don’t say sorry when you made me so happy. I never imagined that it would go that far … but… when you started undressing me it all seemed so natural that I let you … do it.”

“Oh my sweetheart, I could have been more gentle, have taken more my time. Are you sure you are ok?”

“I promise! “

Croix held her tighter in her arms and kissed her forefront. She was still feeling bad not to have asked before. It was true that Chariot’s passionate kisses and caresses did not look like the ones of a virgin.

“You are quite experienced, aren’t you?”

Croix blushed a little and said shyly.

“Well I had a boy friend two years ago and a girlfriend last year. That’s not much of experience”

“A boy?”

“Why? Are you shocked? I fall for people not for a specific gender. He was my sempai, a very gifted boy in any field, Magic of course, but also IT and Sciences. I asked him to tutor me for IT and programming. Spending time together we discovered each other, I admired him and he liked the fact that I was quite advanced and skilled for my age. So one day our relation Sempai/ Kohai turned into something more romantic and later more… intimate.”

“I see. What happened?”

“Life; he transferred to another school in another city and we progressively lost contact. That was sad but I handled it. I then met a girl at the library. I always sat at the same place and so did she. One day she asked me about my readings. She was a nice girl, very attractive and quite racy. I liked that trait of her personality. She asked me out, at the end of our first date, she kissed me. I was attracted to her as well, so we became lovers. I was quite fond of her and she was terrific in bed. Sorry I should not say that.” Chariot nodded and encouraged her to go further. “But she was free as a bird and one day, I came earlier to school and surprised her wall pinning a freshman student. I was so shocked I could not say a word. She was kissing her furiously. That’s how it ended, I stopped returning her phone calls and we changed spots at the library to make sure not to bump into each other. I avoided her for weeks until one day when she caught me at the school gate. We had a terrible fight, I told her that I could not bear her unfaithfulness, she said “I am not gonna change for you” and that was it.”

“Gosh, that must have been hard.”

“Well, less than what it would have been if we had parted normally because of my transfer at Luna Nova. In a way, I was so mad at her that it disgusted me. I was over her much faster.”

“Yeah, but still…” said the red-haired pensively.

“And you, tell me a little bit about your past stories.”

“Me? … I fell once for a woman, she was around 28, long brown hair, green eyes, very smart and a great magician.

“Wow, 28! What happened?”

“Nothing, it was one sided… she was a teacher.”

“Here?”

“No…huh … at the elementary school I was 9”

Croix started laughing very loudly and Chariot made desperate moves to hush her. She was scared that somebody discovered her in her room after the curfew. Some students were assigned night patrols to avoid these kinds of situations.

“Stop! Hush now!” But Croix could not help laughing and was rolling on the bed. Chariot, infuriated, jumped on her, held her wrists and kissed her vigorously. That move surprised Croix so much that she stopped laughing at once and returned her kiss with the same intensity.

Early in the morning, Croix had sneaked out of Chariot’s room to reach hers. She headed to the bathroom and after a hot shower, she took her new uniform that had been delivered in the evening and put it on. She looked at herself in the mirror and observed the new Luna Nova’s student. This old fashioned uniform was closer to a cosplay costume than the regular school uniforms to which she was used. But she liked it anyway. She got out of her room and bowed to the other students she met in the corridor, she stopped by Chariot’s room to see if she was ready. To her surprise, she found her lover still in bed, with the alarm clock on the floor.

“Chariot! Get out of bed immediately.”

“Mmmm? Five more minutes please”

“It’s half past eight, I was about to pick you up for breakfast!”

“whhhhhaaaaaattt?” she screamed sitting suddenly in her bed.

“You are going to…” but Croix could not finish her sentence, she was almost shoved by the rushing girl. She got out of bed as a jack in the box, ran to the bathroom. Croix observed her amazed, it was as if she had four arms, pooring shampoo on her head while brushing her teeth with her left hand. Croix started laughing; that clumsy girl could somehow be quite dexterous when in panic. She handed her the towel and her uniform but had no idea where to find her underwear. Chariot ran out of the bathroom with the towel around her body, jumped on her bed to go faster and rushed to the drawer where her lingerie was hidden. Croix received the towel on the head while Chariot was putting on her panties and bra. She grabbed the uniform Croix  was still holding and in a few seconds she was dressed.

“Wow, have you ever thought of creating a quick change act in a circus or a cabaret, you did not even use magic.”

“He, he, it’s a matter of training.” Chariot said with a cunning smile. “8.40, we”ve got plenty of time for breakfast.”

“Heee? Ain’t you gonna dry your hair?”

“I never do that”

“That’s why…”

“why what?”

“Nothing” Croix understood then why Chariot’s hair looked so messy with rebel braids.

Their first class was biology. The teacher asked the students to pair up for the exercise. They had to observe  regurgitated bird pellets, dissect them and note what they had found in. Chariot was not at ease with the scalpel and Croix put her hand on hers to guide her. Chariot instantly blushed to the point her teacher got worried.

“Is there anything wrong Ms Du Nord?”

“Not at all, she’s doing just fine. If you want to take a look Ms Clark…” Croix answered as she wanted to avoid her partner to feel more embarrassed.

“Let’s see. Oh that’s very good. Go on like this. Good job.” And the teacher patted gently her student humid head; the sensation surprised her and she made such a face that Croix chuckled discreetly.

At the end of the class, they walked together in the corridor. Chariot felt the urge to grab her arm but Croix rejected her. She asked her to be more careful and not drive attention on them. They spent the next classes in their usual classroom. Chariot could not focus, the images of the night spent with Croix kept invading her mind. She could not wait for lunch break to be close to her beloved again.

But, when the bell rang, She did not have time to make a step towards her lover that she was surrounded by five or six girls of the class dragging her to share lunch with them. Croix sent a desperate look in Chariot’s direction but she also was taken in hostage by a bunch of fans. Some girls loved her magic tricks so much that they asked her as often as possible to play some for them.

Croix had already disappeared so that left Chariot with no other option. She used her wand and pronounced a magic spell. Golden glitters formed shapes above them and transformed into various animals. An antelope was hopping around the classroom when suddenly a lion rushed after it and a fantastic race of glitters marvelled the students for a long moment. Croix got back into the class at the precise moment when the lion made a jump to reach the antelope but missed it. The antelope then transformed into a dragon and spat fire of glitters to erase the whole scene. Chariot was burning with an inner fire, moving her arms harmoniously as a conductor would do to lead their orchestra. Croix felt a strong emotion to see her lover so skilled and with such a poetry in her Magic. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she could feel it even more since she had joined her hands on it in admiration.

Chariot ended with fireworks of glitters and everybody applauded, even the Homeroom teacher who had just entered the class.

“If only you were as gifted in maths as in illusion spells Ms Du Nord…but congrats anyway that was beautiful.”

Chariot bowed and went back to her seat. She had not had time to eat with all that. She often used illusion as a pastime and lost track of time while practicing. Her stomach growled loudly while they were trying to solve a problem. Croix discreetly sent her a candy to calm her until the next break.

When the bell rang, Chariot opened her lunch bag and took a big bite of her club sandwich. That was the precise moment when Croix came to see her at her desk. Chariot with her mouth full like the one of a hamster was all but glamorous. Croix laughed at the vision and took the napkin to brush softly the corner of her lips. Chariot, red as a beet, almost choked and Croix tapped her back to help her. She handed her a bottle of water. Chariot drank a few sips and felt better.

“I just wanted to tell you that I loved your show; that was stupendous and very inspiring.” Croix said keeping her composure while the goofy girl in front of her amused her so much.

“Really, you liked it, that was just improvisation” she said blushing even more.

“Imagine with a real structure, a real story what we could do!”

“We?”  Interrogated Chariot.

“Ahem, I mean… you.” This time Croix was blushing too. They were soon interrupted by the class representative.

“Hurry up, it’s PE class now. Ms Meridies have you received you track suit and trainer shoes?

“Yes, I found everything in my room this mor… yesterday. I put them in the locker.”

“Good, see you then.” The class representative did not remark when Croix’s tongue twisted, that was a relief.

All the girls changed rapidly and gathered on the track field. The first exercise was to test their endurance. The teacher asked them to run nonstop for 20 minutes. Chariot was fit and good at sports in general. She started rather slowly to follow Croix but her pace did not match hers, so after a lap she found her own speed and ran faster. After 15 minutes, she had taken a lap and a half to her lover. Croix really seemed to suffer and was out of breath.  Chariot accelerated a little bit more to make sure to be with her for the last lap. When she reached her she took her hand and looked into her eyes with a smile that gave wings to Croix. She followed her, forgetting about her painful ankle and her burning lungs. She could only see red hair gleaming in front of her and the perfect balance of her moves and pace even though she was tugging her. The whistle marked the end of the race and the girls slowed down until they stopped completely. Croix let herself fall on the ground, breathing heavily. Chariot brought her some water and helped her get up. That was only the beginning. The teacher had planned to work on sprint and hurdles. Croix became white as a sheet when she heard about the programme but Chariot murmured at her ear that everything would be alright. In reality, it wasn’t alright, not at all. Croix never knew when to jump and either the front foot or the back one hit the hurdles. The last one even made her fall since the instep hurt violently the top of the hurdle making the poor girl lose balance and receive the demonic obstacle on her ankle. Chariot rushed in her direction as fast as the teacher. He observed the student and was anxious about the ankle; Croix was already wearing a strap on it.

“Ms Du Nord, could you take her to the nurse, I will just use the iced spray to ease the pain. You can use my broom if you want.”

“yes sir.”

Croix leaned on Chariot shoulders and hopped up to the teacher’s broom. Chariot placed it in position and sat her friend on it. She then rode it and took off with dexterity. She was the ace of the class at flying brooms; she had even won races and that was why the teacher entrusted her with his.

When they were out of sight, Croix embraced her beloved friend and kissed her neck.

“Wow! Do not distract the driver!” said Chariot joyfully.

“My hero” she said joking

“Are you ok?”

“It’s nothing; really, I just wanted to skip the end of class.”

“What?”

“But it’s true that I have a weak ankle so having it checked won’t be a waste of time.”

They got to the nursery and she confirmed that nothing was broken. She only had a bad bruise. She advised her not to run in the next week and to visit again before the next PE class.

The two girls got out of the nursery, Chariot proposed to take her classmate on her back. Croix was a bit embarrassed but eventually accepted; she had to admit that it was fun.

“I need to return the broom to the teacher. Shall I let you in your room in the meantime?”

“Yeah fine”

“Oh I’ve got an idea. When I return, we should use the spa, there is a huge hot bath and Jacuzzis.”

“Seriously? A spa in the school?”

“Didn’t you know. The counterpart is that we sometimes have to clean it ourselves during the cleaning duties. And it’s often one of the punishments when students misbehave.”

“But there’s a spa in the school! Well I shall have a short shower right now, I feel dirty after sports.”

“Yeah me too. We should use the spa tonight before the curfew.”

“Isn’t it too crowded?”

“Well, normally it gets crowded after class before dinner. After dinner, students like to gather in the common rooms and play games, watch TV, or play music. Sometimes the Drama club organises improvisation nights it’s very popular.”

“So let’s go after dinner.”

In the evening the girls of the class rushed towards Croix to see if she was ok. They all shared sweets and chocolates with her. Chariot felt a little bit jealous but her heart was fluttering at the idea to share a bath with her lover. The students tried to convince Croix to play cards with them but she declined politely pretending to be tired. She got out of the room followed from afar by Chariot. When Croix turned in the corridor and was not visible anymore by her classmates, Chariot hasted her pace to join her. She clung to her arm and kissed her lover on the cheek.

“Chariot! I told you to be careful!”

“There’s no one around. And it was just a sisterly kiss; nothing to be blamed for.”

“No matter, keep a distance in common spaces.”

“And what about the SPA? It’s a common space.”

“We will see if we can anticipate people coming.”

“Oh yeah, showers are compulsory before entering the pool or the Jacuzzi, we will hear the noise if someone gets there it’s a small room just before the baths.”

“Ok, but let’s remain careful”

“Here we are, follow me.”

A big wooden door was standing before them; a bronze sign indicated “BATHS”. Chariot opened the door and they entered a big hall decorated in an oriental style. Blue and yellow mosaics covered the walls. Steamed window panels separated the different rooms. On the left were the mattresses to relax or be massaged. On the right, the lockers room with the showers, In front the baths with the main pool surrounded by several Jacuzzis. From the entrance only a small part of the Baths was visible through a window.

The girls entered the lockers room, nobody was there as expected. The employees had left at 7.30, leaving free access to the baths up to 10 p.m. It was 8.30 and the girls could fully enjoy the place without having to hide. Croix started undressing when she felt a hand caressing her back.

“Sombody’s rather impatient?”

“Hum; maybe.” Chariot held Croix by the waist and kissed the back of her neck. Croix flipped and took the red head between her palms and kissed her. They took off their clothes hastily and still kissing headed to the showers. The hot water falling on their bodies could not stop their embrace. Chariot took Croix’s hand and led her to the main bath.

The place was stupendous. Not only the Arabic style looking like a hammam of the 1001 nights, but also the view. The Spa was situated on the last floor of the newest building at the top of the hill and huge windows opened on a stunning view of the town afar and of the forest around. The moon beamed and was at times partially covered by clouds. Its rays were drawing moving shapes on them, changing rapidly with the slight wind blowing outside.

Chariot dropped her towel and plunged into the big pool, inviting Croix to follow her. Croix let the towel on the hot stones and slipped her body in the steamy water.

“This feels like paradise. I could not imagine something more fairy-like”

“Oh, Don’t move.” Chariot gave a short kiss on the lips of her partner before going out of water and heading to the lockers. Croix was wondering what she was doing and suddenly she heard a spell that she knew well.

A fire of pink sparkles erupted around the main pool. Croix jumped in surprise but soon was fascinated.  Her lover was dancing and jumping all around with her wand in the hand to lead the different geysers of glitters.  She changed their colours, pink, viola, blue, turquoise, green, yellow, orange, or red… She looked at her partner with a much focused gaze and she reproduced her traits with glitters above them as if she were painting her portrait. Croix was astonished, and even more when the portrait animated itself and winked. Chariot jumped into the water and added her auto-portrait; she moved her arms with great swings and the representations faced each other. Chariot clapped her hand together and the two faces kissed. Croix clapped her hands. Chariot pronounced another enchantment and maintained the sparkling fountains without using her wand. She then swam to join her lover who welcomed her with passionate kisses.

“You are a magician. A real one. There is a lot of potential with such a talent.”

“He he he. That’s just entertainment.” Said Chariot with her hand behind her head laughing nervously.

“No, it could be something huge. You could promote Magic all over the world with big shows.”

“I remind you that we need the power of the stone.”

“Tsk, I am sure that with technology, there are means to transport its energy.”

“That seems complicated.”

“But not impossible, believe me. I will find a way.”

“My mad scientist” Chariot had sat on Croix’s laps to kiss her. She took back her wand and pronounced a last formula and epic music sounded. That last touch of perfection was going to lead them to a terrible fate.

The noise attracted the attention of two teachers who had had the same idea as the girls. Ms Clark and Ms O’Shaughnessy wanted to take a hot bath in the Jacuzzi before going to bed. The music they heard was not familiar and they rushed in to see what was happening. When they entered the room the music was very loud and the baths were sparkling with different colours.

Ms Clark got in the lockers room and, still dressed, crossed the showers to see what was going on, followed by her colleague. The room was fantastically beautiful with the geysers of sparkles and it was hard to identify where it came from. Suddenly, Ms Clark recognized the red head she had patted in the morning. Croix was not visible hidden by the body of her lover who was still kissing her.

“Ms CHARIOT DU NORD!” Chariot jumped and turned in the direction of the voice, uncovering the body of her lover. All the Magic ceased instantly. “AND MS CROIX MERIDES!” the two girls plunged underwater with panic and shame.

“GET OUT OF HERE!”Ms Clark yelled.

The two girls grabbed their towels, covered themselves in and walked with the head down towards the teachers.

“What were you doing here?” asked Ms O’Shaughnessy.

“It’s just me, I wanted to show off and I got carried away with my Magic”

“And your lips were carried away as well? And YOU, a newcomer, getting involved in such inappropriate situation. Are you aware that sex intercourses are not allowed at school?”

“We were not having sex Ms O’Shaughnessy if I may. We are both virgins and were just training on kissing. That was just … practice.” said Croix with a cold and assertive tone.

“Are you trying to fool me? Practice? Is it like that you tutor the students?” Ms Clark shouted at Croix

“Well, my dears; get dressed right away. We are paying a visit to the head!” Said Ms O’Shaughnessy abruptly.

The two girls obeyed and followed their teachers looking at their feet; terrified at the idea of being expelled and separated.

[your-mr-sf]

ZOLLAR WARS Story

ZOLLAR WARS

Skyler Fernandez

ZOLLAR WARS

ZOLLARS isn’t just a gang website like the Dollars, it is also a virtual online world like OZ. It is a better and cool combination of both the Dollars and OZ from Durarara!! and Summer Wars, but for real!

ZOLLARS is a virtual world on the internet. The amount of people who use ZOLLARS has spread faster than cell phones. Users from all over the world create a virtual self called an “avatar” with which they live their lives. And I mean their lives literally. Games, shopping, businesses, and even legal processes. Just like in the real world, you can do almost everything inside ZOLLARS. Every business in the real world has at least one branch shop in ZOLLARS. World affairs are also shifting to ZOLLARS as well. That is “ZOLLARS,” the world’s greatest communication tool—

My name’s Sora Jackman. Cool name, I know right? I’m a cool guy when it comes t being the leader of the ZOLLARS, but in college I am just a regular guy. I’m a young student at the College of Wooster in Ohio with a gift in mathematics and science and part-time moderator for ZOLLARS along with my friend Kenta Watson.

Anyway, back in 2010 I had an idea to make a website similar to the Dollars and OZ, so I combined them together to make the next best thing. I gotten an internet company to make my dreams and ideas come true. Four years late, we finally managed to make it possible. They may have created it, but I was the one who came up with that idea in the first place, so I was named leader of the Zollars. I love to keep my leadership a secret though. Before we get any further, I’d like to talk more about myself and everything else.

I just finished my junior year in college about a month and ten days ago on Friday, May 23rd. I’ll be starting my senior year on Thursday, August 7th but the thing that sucks is that my long time crush Mitsuki Fuji has graduated here this year and I might not get to see her again. The other thing that sucks is that I didn’t get to go to the Math and Science Olympics this year and I was so close to representing Ohio, much less the United States of America. Kenta and I are 21 years-old (well, I will be 21) and Mitsuki is one year older than us, she is good at athletics and at a Japanese card game called ‘Koh Koh.’

She’s a good friend of ours and spirited girl. We’re both in the Physics Club together or was, now it is just me and Kenta. Now read of how my whole life goes upside down.

THE NEWS: ‘This is the midday news report for Tuesday, July 1st, 2014. The asteroid probe sent to space by NASA has completed its orbit around the Sun, however, it’s being brought back towards Earth to deal with some technical problems.’

Sora and Kenta were doing some maintenance checks on ZOLLARS.

“I can’t believe I didn’t get to represent Ohio,” Sora said to Kenta. “I was so close.”

“You’re still depressed over that?” Kenta asked. “Jeez man, get over it.”

“OK!” yelled a headed turkey male avatar. “Less chatting, more working!”

“OK,” Kenta said. “ Seriously, all of this moping you’re doing is really bugging me out.”

“I guess.”

“Hey, let’s go pick up some hot girls to eat watermelons watch fireworks for the 4th of July,” he said blushing. “More girls, more fireworks, more watermelon, and more summer.”

“I’m just going to stick with more watermelons and fireworks,” Sora said. “Hey, its been working for me so far.”

Then Mitsuki Fuji came charging in here by slamming the door straight open, which made them jump.

“Hey, you two wanna a job?!” Mitsuki asked loudly.

It took a few hesitate seconds for one of them to anser and it was Kenta that spoke first. “That’s kind of what we’re doing.”

“What? Really? You are?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Kenta said, “we do maintenance checks on ZOLLARS.”

“You two work for ZOLLARS?” she asked. “Awesome.”

“Nah, we just take care of the outermost systems, pretty routine.”

“I see,” she said. “Well, I guess that’s it than. I’ll just have to deal with it.”

“What kind of job is it anyway?”

“To travel with me to my hometown—

“I’ll do it!!” Kenta got up, hand raised, and excited.

“Me too!!” Sora said doing the same thing Kenta did.

“Really?!” she asked looking at them happily excited.

“Yes!!” they said at the same time.

“Count us both in,” Sora said.

“Two could get complicated,” she said.

“Huh?” both said.

“All I need is one,” she said, “so who’s it gonna be?”

In case you were or are wondering; yes it was Sora who won rock, paper, scissors. If Sora or Kenta won three times, then one of them would go with Mitsuki tomorrow to Japan. The first was a draw, both scissors. The second Sora won using scissors, the third Kenta won using paper, Kenta won the fourth using scissors, Sora won using scissors on the fifth round. Sora did a move and trick Sora learned from the fourth book of the Percy Jackson series.

Since that wasn’t fare to Kenta, Sora didn’t count that one and chose to go again. Sora’s plan was to distract Kenta, so he could win. The seventh round was a draw of paper. Kenta surprised him using gun as well, but they didn’t count that one either. Ninth round was a rock draw.

Kenta said lets both draw gun but change it to something else. So they drew gun, then they started to change it to one of the three to win. Sora made his look like he was going to draw rock, so Kenta could draw paper but Sora tricked him and drew scissors and Kenta lost. If he knew Sora would draw scissors, he would have drawn rock or if Sora still used rock, he would have won with paper or if they’d have had a draw again, then one of them would have won the next one but Sora was smart enough to counterattack and trick Kenta into thinking all of that.

Anyway, Sora got up at 7:00 a.m. to make him a fast breakfast of bagels to eat. He already packed him seven pairs of clean clothes and pajamas in his backpack last night, so he was ready to go.

He left at 8:30 a.m., Kenta’s mom was happy enough to take him to Wooster Wayne County Airport, which only took thirteen minutes to get to from the college. On the way, he watched King Haruto beat the Martial Arts Championship time record on his phone in ZOLLARS.

Mitsuki texted a message to a relative of hers saying: ‘Getting on the airplane now.’ With her avatar on the ZOLLARS.

“Sora!” she called out spotting him. “Hey, I’m over here!”

It was 8:43 a.m., when he got there and 8:47 a.m., when she spotted him.

He ran to get to her when he saw her after she called his name.

“Sorry, I’m late.”

“You’re right on time,” she said. “I bet you, Kenta would have token all morning.”

“Whatever needs doing, I’m here for ya,” he said. “Just say the word and I’ll be on it.”

“Thanks a lot,” she said. “For starters, how about grabbing these?”

She had five bags and Sora had to carry four of them. They boarded the airplane at 9:00 a.m. and it took off thirty minutes later.

“Ueda, Japan?” Sora asked.

“It’s great-grandma’s birthday party,” she said. “Our relatives will be coming all over Japan, so we could use some extra help.”

We ordered some snacks while on the plane.

“So how are you going to represent Ohio?”

“Huh?”

“Kenta mentioned you was almost close to representing Ohio in some way,” she said. “Oh come on, what’s all the blushing about?”

“Well, I almost got to go to the Math & Science Olympics this year.”

“Wait, Olympics for math and science? Hey, you must be really good, huh?”

“Good thing, because I stink at almost everything else.”

“Seriously, then show me what you got.”

“OK,” he said, “tell me the year and date that you were born.”

“OK, it was June 14th, 1992.”

“On a Friday.”

“Huh?”

“That’s what date June 14th, 1992 was,” he said. “It was a Friday.”

“You’re saying you memorized all the dates?”

“No, I just used modulo method,” he said. “So did I get it right?”

“Uh, I don’t know what date it was.”

“I’ll just go to timeanddate.com to find out,” he said. “And I got it right! Whoo! Yeah!”

“Shhh!!” said all of the passengers.

It took an hour and forty-seven minutes to get to Metropolitan Topeka Airport in Kansas and it was an hour behind their time.

“Landing in Topeka, Kansas,” said the captain.

They had to wait until 10:30 a.m. (11:30 a.m. in their own time) to board the next flight. They bought some early lunch to take with them on the plane. At 11:00 a.m. (12:00 p.m. in their own time), they took off.

“My great-grandma is turning 100 in a couple of days,” she said. “Crazy, huh?”

“She was born on 1914?” Sora asked. “Talk about a full life.”

It took seven hours and five minutes to get to L.A.X. (Los Angeles International Airport) in California. Its time was three hours behind their time, but it would be two hours away from the time in Kansas.

The flight to Japan wasn’t boarding people until 4:30 p.m. (Kansas 6:30 p.m.; Ohio 7:30 p.m.). Sora and Mitsuki gotten themselves supper to eat before boarding the plane. The plane took them off at 5:00 p.m. (7:00 p.m. in Kansas and 8:00 p.m. in Ohio). It took eleven hours and eighteen minutes to get to Japan at the airport called: Narita International Airport.

While they waited during that time, instead of being quiet the whole time. They took pictures of each other, laughed, made silly faces and told jokes. When night was coming upon them and they fell asleep the whole way. Later, the female attendant woke them up and said that they would be landing shortly. So Mitsuki, ZOLLAR texted one of her relatives saying: ‘We’ll be landing shortly. Get ready to send in a driver to wait for us at the airport.’

It was 8:18 p.m. when they landed (4:18 a.m. in CA, 6:18 a.m. in KS, and 7:18 a.m. in OH). It was 8:30 p.m. when they arrived to the exist to leave the airport and spotted a driver holding a sign that said: MS. FUGI.

“Hey, driver over here!” Mitsuki called out and waved her hand out to the driver.

“Are you, Ms. Fuji?” the driver asked as they approached him.

“Yup, that’s me.”

“Then please come right in and please allow me to put your bags in the trunk.”

“Sure, thanks.”

It took them an hour and five minutes to get to Ikebukuro (that’s in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan).

“Ikebukuro?” Sora asked. “Why stop there?”

“Well, since it is night time now,” she said. “Thought maybe we could sleep at a friend’s place for the night.”

“Really?”

“It won’t be long until we get to Ueda in the morning anyway.”

“Oh, I see,” Sora said. “Oh Mitsuki?”

“Yeah?”

“Did you know Ikebukuro is the place that the Durarara!! characters live in?”

“I know, right?” she said. “That’s why we are really going to Ikebukuro. To see them.”

“Who?”

“Celty and them.”

“What?!”

“Yeah,” Mitsuki said, “as it turns out. They are real living people.”

“Whoa!” Sora said surprised and freaked out by the discovery.

“I know, right?”

It was 9:35 p.m. when they arrived in Ikebukuro. They only took the luggage that they need (Sora got his backpack, which was the only thing he brought with him and Mitsuki got her tiny bag of clean clothes for tomorrow and pajamas too), while the driver was going to go on and take Mitsuki’s other luggages to Ueda to her relatives. While they stayed for the night there in Ikebukuro with one of Mitsuki’s Durarara!! friends.

It took the them five minutes to find who they was looking for but it turned out that the person found them. It was the Black Rider a.k.a. Celty Sturluson, the Dullahan looking for her head in Japan.

“Whoa! No way!” Sora said surprised to seeing the actual Black Rider in person.

“Way,” Mitsuki said.

Mitsuki waved her hand at Celty, “Hi Celty! Good to see you again.”

She typed on her PDA and showed it to them to see what she was saying to them. A way for her to communicate with people.

‘It’s good to see you too,’ she said. ‘I got your message as soon as you texted me.’

“That’s great,” Mitsuki said. “Oh Celty, this is Sora. He’s my friend in America, he’s from Ohio, and he’s very good at math.”

“And science,” Sora said. “Anyway, it’s nice to meet you, Celty. I’m a big fan of you, Shizuo, and the rest of the gang.”

‘I’m honored and it’s very nice to meet you too, Sora,’ she said. ‘It’s very nice to have a big fan who isn’t terrified of me or Shizuo, right?’

“Right.”

‘You two ready to go?’

“Of course,” Mitsuki said.

“Going where?” Sora asked.

‘Why to my place, of course.’

“Oh right, I almost forgot about that,” Sora said now realizing it. “Yeah, I’m ready too.”

‘Good,’ Celty said, ‘hop on everyone.’

“OK,” Sora said.

“Alright,” Mitsuki said.

Mitsuki got on first and held on to Celty, while Sora got on behind Mitsuki and held on to her.

Celty wrapped their stuff bads in her shadows shapped as spheres, one on each side of her motorcycle (which is really her headless horse name Shooter).

‘You ready?’ she asked the both of them.

“Yeah,” they said at the same time.

‘Hold on, okay?’

They nodded.

Once Celty took off, her horse made that noise and the ride was exciting, until a motorcycle cop showed up behind them.

“Police! Pull over now, monster!” the cop ordered on his intercom.

“Oh please tell me that’s not who I think it is,” Sora said.

“Oh yeah, it’s Kinnosuke alright,” Mitsuki replied.

“NO!!” Sora shouted in panick. “I don’t want to go to jail! I’m gonna die in there!”

‘Not yet!’ Celty replied.

Now they were going at an accelerating speed limit that not even the cop could follow them up to. They turned to their right and hid in an alley, until Kinnosuke passed by them.

Then they laughed.

“That was the most exciting thing that I have ever done in my whole life!” Sora shouted in excitement. “Whoo!”

They continued to laugh a bit longer.

‘Alright, let’s go.’

“Right,” they both said.

They took off once again and this time there was no police after them the whole way to Celty and Shinra’s apartment. It was 9:50 p.m. when they got there and five minutes later for when they went up the elevator, Celty putting her motorcycle up, and going into the apartment room.

“Oh, welcome home, Celty,” Shinra said out loud, “Oh hey, Mitsuki.”

“Hey Shinra, hi.”

“It’s nice to see you again.”

“It’s nice to see you again too, Shinra.”

“And who might this be?” Shinra asked curiously.

“This is Sora,” she said, “he’s a friend of mine from Ohio in America.”

“Ohio, huh?” he said. “I never been to America but I’d love to see it. I bet it’s great.”

“It sure is,” Sora said.

“That’s good,” Shinra said, “I’ll be sure to visit there one day. Anyway, you two are free to use the shower to wash up if you guys want?”

“Sure. Thanks,” Mitsuki said, “that’ll be great.”

“Yeah great,” Sora said, “I’ll let you go first, Mitsuki.”

“You sure?” she asked.

“Yeah, sure. Why not, right?”

“Right.”

It was 10:43 p.m., when Mitsuki finally gotten out of the shower.

“Alright Sora, you’re up,” she said. “It’s your turn, you can go in now.”

“OK,” Sora said. “Thanks Mitsuki.”

“Your welcome.”

‘She sure sounds like she’s mothering Sora a bit don’t you think, Shinra?’ Celty asked Shinra.

“Mothering Sora? No way, Celty,” he said. “But now that I think about it, she was mothering Sora just now, wasn’t she?”

‘It sure looks that way.’

“Let’s just forget about that happening just now, okay?”

‘Okay,’ Celty agreed. ‘Weird, huh?’

“Oh yeah, weird.”

It was 11:30 p.m., when Sora finally got out of the shower.

He saw Mitsuki coming in the hall to talk to him, “Oh hey, Mitsuki. What is it? Is something wrong?”

“Oh no. I just came to tell you that I’ll be sleeping in the guest room, while you on the other hand will be sleeping on the couch. Is that okay?”

“Uh . . . yeah. Yeah, it’s fine. I’ll get use to it.”

“Okay,” she said, “Thanks Sora.”

“You’re welcome,” Sora said out loud as she left the hallway and off to the guest room. “Oh an-an-and goodnight, Mitsuki.”

“And goodnight to you too, Sora,” she said out loud for him to hear.

He could hear her giggle and he smiled just hearing it.

It was 11:35 p.m., when Sora went to bed (well the couch) and he rested easy thanks to the air conditioner.

It was 6:20 a.m. in the morning when he was woken up for breakfast. He’s been sleeping for six hours and forty-five minutes.

“Hey Sora,” Mitsuki said out loud for him to hear her as she shook him on the shoulder.

Sora groaned.

“Come on, it’s time to get up. We got breakfast ready for you,” she said.

Sora woke and got up automatically, “Breakfast?!”

“Thanks.”

“Your welcome.”

After they ate pancakes, bacon, eggs, sausage and drank orange juice, they left with Celty the same way they did last night. They left at 7:32 a.m.

“Where did you guys get all that breakfast this morning?” Sora asked. “I didn’t think you guys had American food in Japan?”

‘We got it at a grocery store, it’s a little hard to come by but we managed to get it for you two,’ Celty answered.

“For us?”

“Yeah, I asked Celty on the ZOLLARS to buy us breakfast before we got here, so when we spent the night at hers and Shinra’s place, we would have breakfast in the morning.”

“Oh cool,” Sora said. “So will there be more cops following us on the way to Ueda in Nagano?”

“Nope,” said both Celty and Mitsuki.

“Why not?”

‘The motorcycle cops never come after me in the early day time, unless someone was after me or something bad happens. And they would never suspect me leaving Ikebukuro to get to Ueda either.’

“But should we be going faster just in case?” he asked.

‘You just read my mind, Sora.’

She started to go faster now and Sora started to panick and scream before enjoying it.

It took them two hours and thirty-two minutes to get to Ueda.

“Faster Celty!” Mitsuki begged and encouraged Celty in excitement.

‘Alright, hang on!’

She want even faster to get them to Mitsuki’s great-grandmother’s house.

Normally they would have gotten there by one hour and forty-five minutes, but they got there in just forty-five minutes thanks to Celty and her horse Shooter (disguised as a black motorcycle). It was 10:49 a.m. at the time that they arrived at the big house.

“Whoa!! What in the world!!” Sora said in amazement. “You guys live here?!!”

It was awesome and amazingly big mansion.

“Granny Noriko!” Mitsuki called out to the old woman by the house entrance, Mitsuki happily waved to her as she ran to her.

“Mitsuki!” she said happy to see Mitsuki. “I hope it wasn’t too much trouble coming all this way.”

“Not at all,” Mitsuki said. “My parents said they’ll come as soon as they’re done with work.”

“That’s great, hone. Everyone else has just got here as well. Well, almost everyone,” she said. “Oh Celty, it’s been a while. How are doing?”

‘Great. Thanks,’ she said in nervous way.

Then she wondered who Sora was.

“Just wanted to wish you the best of luck. Happy 100th Birthday, ma’am,” Sora said nervously.

Then after he said that, the three of them (well two) made strange faces.

“That’s very sweet, but . . . it’s my mom’s birthday,” Noriko said.

But the biggest surprise was when they met a little someone they knew that they didn’t expect to be there.

“Why hello there, Sora,” said a familiar voice.

“Wait that voice, is that?” Sora said.

“Yup, it’s me!” said the boy right behind Noriko at the doorway, “The one and only . . . Kenta Watson!”

Sora and Mitsuki were both surprised.

“KENTA?!!” they both said out loud for the whole house to hear.

“Is that really you, Kenta?” Mitsuki asked.

“Yup,” he smirked.

‘You know this guy?’ Celty asked the both of them.

“Yeah, he’s our—

“Online buddy from France and now here!”

They didn’t answer for a few seconds.

Sora finally spoke up, “What are you doing here?!! Wait a minute, how are you even here?!! How did you get here, Kenta?!!”

“It’s simple,” he answered, “I took the two o’clock flight in the morning.”

“Huh?”

‘Yeah, I’m not buying any of that.’

“You two really know this guy?” Noriko asked.

“YES!!” they both said.

“From the . . . uh, ZOLLARS website!” Sora said quickly to keep Kenta’s secret of being their college friend covered up from any trouble at all, “We’re the bestest friends there! We’ve never even got to meet him in person before until now!”

“Whoa, never?” Noriko asked.

“Yeah,” he said.

“Oh I see, than—

“Mitsuki!” a girl about Mitsuki’s age came running to her and hugging her. “It’s been so long, since we last met! Where’ve you been?!”

“Hana? Hana! I can’t believe it you’re here! You’re back!” Mitsuki said in excitement while hugging Hana back.

They laughed together.

Sora and Celty were clueless or confused on who this Hana character was.

“Uh.”

‘Uh, am I supposed to know her. I mean, are we supposed to know her?!’ Celty asked Sora.

“I don’t know, I just got here,” said Sora.

“Sora, Celty, this is Hana,” Mitsuki said. “She’s one of my best friends here in Japan.”

“Uh,” Sora and Celty said at the same time. “What?”

“Long story short,” the girl said, “but most people call me Ana. Because it’s a lot easier to say then Hana. Am I right or what?”

“Yeah,” said both Sora and Celty.

“So what brings you here, Hana?” Mitsuki asked.

“I came for Granny’s birthday, silly,” she said. “That’s when I met little handsome man Kenta.”

He smirked.

After that, they followed Noriko to meet the birthday lady.

It really is a samurai house . . . Sora thought, “Wow.”

“Sora, come on,” Mitsuki said.

“Oh right.”

“Um, Sora.”

“Yeah?”

“I know I’ve should have mentioned this earlier, but when you meet my great-grandma just go along with whatever I say.”

“Okay,” he said. “What’re you gonna say?”

They waited outside the doorway to the room while Noriko came in on her knees and said. “Mother.”

“Yes?” the elderly woman asked.

“I’m home, Granny,” Mitsuki said coming in.

“Oh you came,” Granny said hugging her great-granddaughter.

Noriko left the room with Kenta and Hana right behind her.

“I missed you so much. You feeling, okay?” Mitsuki asked.

“Never better, dear.”

“I’ve been worried. They’ve told me you might be sick.”

“Summer heat, stayed too long in the sun.”

“Oh, that’s good.” Mitsuki said relieved.

Then Celty came in.

“Oh Celty, it’s been a while. I’m glad to see you again,” Granny said happily. “How are you doing?”

‘I’m doing great, thanks,’ Celty replied, ‘and it’s good to see you too, Granny Eska.’

“Just Granny or Eska is fine by me, Celty,” she said. “So will you be staying, if so than your friends must be coming too?”

‘Oh yes, I’ll be here for your birthday but I’m not so sure about the others yet.’

“That’s just fine, I’m sure they’ll come.”

“Hmm?” Granny said wondering who Sora was.

“Uh, hello,” he said coming in.

Mitsuki winked at Granny as she said, “Remember what I’ve promised you?”

Sora kneeled next to Mitsuki as she scooted down a bit.

“That’s the boy?” Granny asked.

“Yup, Sora Jackman.”

“Uh, hello. Please to meet you. Mitsuki and I were both in the Physics club together, so when she asks me something—

“Um-um,” she said clearing her throat. “Yeah, so we’re going out.”

“Huh?” Sora said confused.

‘Hmm?’ Celty said wondering the same thing.

“Going out?” Granny asked.

“Yeah, Sora’s my fiancé actually.”

“What?!” Sora said confused and blushing a little.

‘Huh?!’ Celty said.

“Your fiancé?” Granny was wide eyed and couldn’t believe it too.

“Huh?” Sora said.

“Yup, my fiancé.”

“Uh?” both Sora and Celty said.

Granny and Sora (even Celty) looked back at each other still wide eyed.

Granny was the first to speak, “Well then—

“So I brought him home like I said I would.”

“Mitsuki, what the heck is going on?” Sora asked.

“Listen to this grandma, his specialty the most is Math!”

“Math?” Granny asked.

“Sora! Grandma was born on July 7th, 1914. What day was she born on?”

“Eh? A . . . a Tuesday.”

“When is the anniversary of great-grandpa’s death? It was on March 21st, 1988.”

“1988, huh? Then it would be a Monday.”

Granny asked the rest from that point on.

“Great-grandpa became a part of this family when I was 17 on September 10th, 1931.”

“Thursday!”

“He was born the same year I was. Four days before his death. On March 17—

“Tu-Tuesday, a lucky day!”

“My eldest son died 6 years ago that day of my husband’s death. He was born on January 1st, 1934. How old would he be if he was alive today?”

“Your son’s death was a Friday! His birth was a Monday! If he was still alive he would be 80 right now!”

“Sora.”

“Yeah, uh-huh?”

“This great-granddaughter of mine is no push over. Are you man enough to make my Mitsuki happy?”

“Huh? Oh, uh. Maybe, uh . . . well—

“I’m asking you if you’re man enough?”

“Um, yeah.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, sure I am,” he said with a nervous smile.

“Man enough to die for her?”

Sora was really wide eyed and scared now but he answered, “Yes.”

She looked at him with that serious look for a few zilliseconds, than began to smile. “Lucky girl.”

She laughed.

Oh man, I thought she was gonna kill me, he thought loudly.

“Here Mitsuki,” Granny said.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Congrats,” she said giving her a Japanese dress or outfit.

“The morning glory yukata. Oh, thank you.”

“Sora, please enjoy your stay. I’m very honored to meet you,” she said bowing to him.

“No, the honors all mine. Thank you for your hospitality,” he said bowing back.

After they left Granny’s room, they went to a garage to talk in private and Celty wanted to talk what all of that was about with them too.

“I’m sorry,” Mitsuki said bowing her head to Sora.

‘What was that all about?’ Celty asked her.

“I’m getting to that.”

“I can’t do it,” Sora said.

“Come on, it’s like the easiest part time job in the world.”

“I can’t do it!”

“Come on, Granny and everyone have to think we’re a couple.”

“No, no, no, no, no. Mitsuki, I’ve never even token a girl out on a date before.”

“I don’t want to let Granny down. They said she was feeling sick, so I told her she couldn’t die before she met my awesome boyfriend a.k.a. you,” she said now holding his hands.

Sora was blushing pink red all over for a bit. “Yeah. OK.”

“Oh, thank you so much,” she said now letting go of his hands for him not to blush all over. “Okay, from now on you should act really lovey-dovey on me.”

“Huh?” he asked.

“And I got your back story,” she said. “You’re a teacher in college , you’re  from an old family, and you just came from China.”

“Let’s see,” he said using his fingers to count what she just said. “College teacher, old family, studied abroad from China. That’s the complete opposite of me!”

“So we’re good?”

“No, we’re not good!”

‘Mitsuki, this is crazy! It’s not going to work!’ Celty said.

“Come on, you guys. Whatever happened to whatever needs doing?” she said. “It’s only four days, including today. After that, I’ll tell them that we broke up, pretty please?”

“I’m telling you it’s not going to work,” he said, “but . . . fine.”

‘I don’t like it, either.’ Celty said. ‘Someone will find out the truth sooner or later, but fine. We’ll do it, no point in arguing anyway.’

The rest of the family started to show up, except for three more people that were supposed to show up. I’m going to talk about what the family are doing right now, we’ll introduce them in a bit. Right now, let’s continue with the story, shall we?

Makato, son of Eska, was checking the Akita dog Hachi’s mouth.

“Looks like were both getting old,” Makato told Hachi while checking Hachi’s teeth.

Than a fish truck showed up, it was Makato’s brother Masato who arrived in that truck.

“Hey,” Makato said to his brother waving at him.

“Hey,” Masato said back while getting a cooler out of the back of his truck.

Than Haruna and Takeru, daughter and son of Noriko showed up on a motorcycle.

“Thanks, bro.”

“Sis, your helmet.”

She took her helmet off and threw it to her brother.

Midori, wife of Hiroki, the son of Makato and the kids were watching a baseball game and her son was the pitcher in the game.

“Strike three and that’s the game. Pitcher Ryo is thrilled and crazy,” the speaker said on TV.

Midori and the kids cheered as Haruna came in.

“Did he win?” Haruna asked as she sat down.

“Mmm-hmm,” Midori nodded.

Three of the five kids left to tell everyone that Ryo won the game.

“Let’s go to tell everybody!” Jiro said.

“Yeah, let’s go tell them!” Ichiro said.

“Yeah!” Yumiko said.

They ran down the hall to tell everyone who won the game.

“—I didn’t see this coming,” the second speaker said.

“I thought they were done for—

“I thought they were done for? What you know?!” Midori said.

The kids ran to Hiroto and Nami, seeing them replace a light bulb, “Ryo won, Ryo won!” they said.

“Good for him,” Hiroto said.

“Go tell, Granny the good news,” Nami said.

“OK!” they said happily.

“Granny!” Jiro said as he and the other two left the hallway.

“Mitsuki, have you lost your mind!” yelled Shoji, son of Hiroto.

“Quiet, Shoji!” Hiroto shouted. “No need to yell like that!”

“Your fiancé?! Cousin Shoji, objects! Damn, I was too slow,” he said looking around for Mitsuki and her fiancé.

The kids ran to the kitchen to tell the women that are cooking that Ryo won.

“Ryo won, Ryo won!” they said.

“That’s great,” the four women said.

The four women are Noriko, Haruka, Mami, and Yumi.

“Brought something for the victory party,” Masato said just coming in laying down three coolers.

They all asked what he brought and what it was as they came up to see what it was.

“Jackpot,” he said opening it.

“Squid,” Jiro said.

“And then,” Masato said opening the second one.

“Even more squid,” Ichiro said.

“And for dessert,” Masato said.

They were all like ‘uh.’

“Why’s it all squid?” Yumiko asked.

Masato got up and laughed.

When it was night time, they all sat down to eat dinner/supper but before that, Sora was introduced to the whole family by Mitsuki.

“All right, introduction time,” Mitsuki said. “The head of the family is my great-grandmother Eska. She has four children. As you know, the son was Yuto, my grandfather, who passed away six years ago. We have her eldest daughter, Noriko and her two children, Haruna and Takeru. Then we have Masato and his children, Nami, Haruka, and Hiroto. Shoji is Hiroto’s son. The last son is Makato, he has three boys who aren’t here by the way but their names are Takeo, Isamu, and Hiroki. Takeo’s wife there is Yumi and her two kids, Jiro and Yumiko. That’s Isamu’s wife, Mami and her daughter, Shizuka. There’s Hiroki’s wife, Midori, her three children are Ryo, Ichiro, and Saburo. Ryo is off playing baseball with his team before he gets back for Granny’s birthday. Last but not least, are my parents that are not present either are Taro and Sachiko. You get all that?”

“Uh . . . yeah. More or less.” Sora said.

“Well, you get the idea.” Nami said.

“Please to meet you!” everyone said and went to eating.

“Yeah, please to meet you too. Thanks for having me, I guess.” Sora said.

Everyone was chatting, eating, and drinking.

“Wow, I’m amazed Granny gave Mitsuki’s boyfriend the okay.” Haruna said.

“No kidding, every time I brought a back home. She was all mean, she would send him back to the bus stop,” Nami said.

“College teacher in China, studied abroad there, an old family, of course she likes him,” Haruna said.

Sora was surprised that they knew about the story already, but they still didn’t know it was a lie yet.

“Quite the renaissance man,” Nami said.

“Sounds too good to be true,” Haruna said.

That’s because it’s not, Sora and Celty thought at the same time.

“Maybe the spencer club should take some notes,” Masato said.

The two argued or complained about what he just said, but no one could quit keep up what they were saying.

“Oh yeah, there was a middle school age kid and a high schooler in a back room. Who are they?” Kenta asked.

“Ah, that older one would be my Haruto,” Haruka said. “He isn’t too good at these type of gatherings.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it, I can compare to that,” Sora said.

“The younger one is my son, Naruto,” Haruna said. “He’s probably still battling Haruto on a game.”

“By the way, when’s the due date?” Makato asked Sora.

“Huh?” Sora asked in confusion. “Due date?”

“Yeah, you know. For the baby?” Makato asked.

“What?!”

“Stop being a pervert,” Yumi said to Makato. “What’s wrong with you?”

“He only came to say hello,” Noriko said.

“Ah, but I thought he came to say ‘hello,’ because he got her in a family way. You’ve done it, right? What am I saying, you’re a college teacher of course you’ve done it.”

“Just drink your beer,” Noriko told him.

“Oh let him ask, Old Sora here is gonna be family soon enough,” Masato said, then laughed.

“Like hell he is! I object!!” Shoji shouted.

“Oh give it a rest, Shoji,” Hiroto said to his son.

“You give it a damn rest!” he said.

“How dare you talk to your dad like that.”

“Just you wait, fiancé,” Shoji warned.

“Or what?” Midori asked with a smile.

Than everyone laughed.

“Laugh it up!” he said.

Than someone came out from behind Sora and scared the bejesus out of him.

“Mitsuki!!!” the boy said excitedly.

“Ahhh!!” Sora screamed scared.

“Oh hi, Naruto!” Mitsuki said.

“Naruto, what did we say about scary people?” Haruna asked the boy.

“Sorry mom,” he said.

“This is Haruna’s son, Naruto,” Mitsuki told Sora.

Naruto looked at Sora. “Is this him?”

“Yeah, this is my fiancé,” Mitsuki said.

“Hi, nice to meet you. I’m Sora.”

“Sora? Cool,” Naruto said, “like off of Kingdom Hearts. I hope you become the best heroic man for your future wife, Mitsuki here!”

“Like hell!” Shoji shouted.

“Mother’s permission is all that we need. You know how things work in this family,” Noriko said.

“Come on, Granny. You really gonna go through with this?” Shoji asked.

“Of course,” she said, “Sora will make a wonderful addition to the family. I have no doubt about it. These eyes of mine have never deceived me. The Jinnouchi clan have no time for meteocre men, not while there are still family in town to protect.”

“You tell em, ma,” Masato said. “We Jinnouchi have to be as sharp and tough as nails! If you’re a man, you have to be able to protect your home and family! We played an important part in Takeda’s army! This was the Battle of Ueda!”

“Here he goes again,” Nami said.

“Tokugawa had his 7,000 elite troops, and Senzo-sama had to face him with only 2,000 of his own troops!!”

“Thus began the Second Ueda War!” Makato called out.

“Bingo, we have a winner!” Masato said.

Everyone cheered.

Later, when they were done eating, Kenta and Hanna went off on a date, Celty went to bed (or so they thought), and Mitsuki and the kids (except the baby Saburo) were taking a bath.

Sora was in the hallway talking to Kenta on his cellphone before Kenta went back on his date with Hana.

“Stupid rock, paper, scissors, I knew I should have cheated. You get to be her boyfriend, man. But at least, I get to be with her best friend and not to mention we have lie to them too. I am so jealous of you,” Kenta said.

“There’s nothing to be jealous about, it’s just a job and we’ll tell everyone we just broke up, anyway,” Sora said.

“But still,” he said. “You having at least? I know I am.”

“I don’t know,” Sora said, “I don’t do well with strangers.”

“Don’t be such a party pooper, seriously dude,” he said. “You get to sleep in bed with the most popular girl that ever went to our school. Hey, you two are still playing boyfriend and girlfriend, right? You two should get nice and cuddly.”

“What?! Cuddly? What are you talking about?”

“Ha. Good luck, man. Later,” he said, as he hung on up.

“Man. He doesn’t care about other people’s problems one bit,” Sora said to himself. “Where am I?”

He was looking over the place to find the room he was looking for.

“Wow, this place is big,” he said to himself.

Sora saw light coming from a room, so he went to check it out. It had an old teenager in there doing something on the computer and that’s where the light was coming from. He wore headphones and was listening to some kind of music, I think.

Without even making any noises, he somehow knew that Sora was there.

“You need something?” he asked.

“Hey, Haruto right? I’m Sora and I’m kind of lost.”

“The bathroom’s back there to the right,” he said.

“Oh thanks,” Sora said. “How come your back way over here?”

But he just ignored Sora and went back to doing what he was doing on the laptop.

Sora found the bathroom and saw Shizuka running away naked in the hall.

“Mommy,” she called out to.

“Shizuka, get back here. You’re all wet, silly buns,” Mitsuki said.

She noticed Sora and she hid herself.

“Whoa! I’m sorry! I wasn’t looking! Honest,” Sora said.

“I’m all done. The shower or tub’s all yours,” she said.

“Uh, no thanks. I’m good, still clean.”

But he ended up going to take a bath anyway.

“Mitsuki just soaked in this very water,” Sora said to himself.

But that was until Jiro and Ichiro’s heads popped out from under the water.

“I win!” Ichiro said.

“You big cheater, it was a tie.”

Sora got up and closed the door to let them have that bathtub, than he heard a shower going on beind a door. He slided it open and saw a man in a lab coat peeking at Celty taking a shower, he realized it was—

“Whoa, Shinra!”

“Sora!”

Celty heard them both, she grabbed her PDA and said. ‘STOP PEEKING!!’

She kicked them both out at the same time and slammed the door shut. She used her powers to keep the door good and tight.

After Sora took a shower, he and Shinra talked while walking to the eating room.

“So when did you get here, Shinra?” Sora asked.

“I got here ten minutes before peeking on Celty,” he said.

“I see.”

“Come here, Hachi. It’s me, don’t you remember me?” a voice said.

The adults were looking at a man petting the Akita dog, Hachi.

“Why are you here?” Masato asked the man.

“It’s my home, how’s that for starters?” the man said.

“Like hell it is, you thief,” Noriko said.

“Haha. Still as unpleasant as ever, Aunt Noriko. You haven’t changed a bit,” he said.

“Oh you’re a fine one to talk. Sneaking back here 10 years later like nothing every happened. What’s wrong with you?!” Makato asked.

“The gangs all here, why?”

“We’re throwing a birthday party on Monday,” Hiroto answered.

“Really. For who?”

Then he turned to Granny, realizing it was going to be her birthday.

She called the man by his name. “Daisuke.”

“Daisuke?” both Sora and Shinra wondered to themselves who this man is.

“Hey, the hag. I thought you were dead,” he said.

“Same for you. I thought you died in the streets or at least the slums for that matter years ago,” she said.

“You’ll hit a hundred more easily before you crock,” he said.

“Maybe so,” she said. “Have you eaten yet?”

“I don’t need any of your food,” he said. “This Go-Japan stinks, all street and all narrow, and there’s too damn many of us.”

He drank a glass of beer and said. “But the beer’s good at least.”

Than Mitsuki came in behind Sora and was surprised to see this man.

“Daisuke?” Mitsuki asked.

Than a smile came on her face, “Uncle Daisuke!”

“Mitsuki, is that you?” he asked.

She ran up to him and gave him a hug that pushed him on the ground while he was sitting.

“Oh my gosh, you’re back!” she said happy and laughing.

“Thanks,” he said.

“Mitsuki, you get away from him!” Noriko ordered.

“Huh? Why, it’s Uncle Daisuke,” she said.

The ladies, except Granny and Mitsuki were talking in the kitchen.

“Has it really been ten years?” Nami asked.

“Time sure does fly by,” Noriko said.

“So is Daisuke, anyway?” Mami asked.

“Oh that’s right, you never would have met him,” Yumi said.

“Trust me, it’s a long story,” Midori said.

“Why bother? My mother adopted him,” Noriko said.

“Yeah, because he’s great-grandfather’s illegitimate son,” Nami said.

“Huh?” Mami said.

“That ungrateful punk had the nerve to take what little property Granny had to go chasing off to America with the money. America, can you believe it?! Geez, who does that?” Haruna said.

“That kind of stuff happened a lot back then,” Noriko said.

Daisuke and Mitsuki were playing the card game called, ‘Koi Koi,’ while Sora was trying to learn the rules.

“Really? You haven’t gotten married yet?” Mitsuki asked. “Than do you have a girl-friend?”

“Quit the dumb questions,” he said.

“That’s great. I want to visit more places in America. Hey, take me to the Disney Resorts. First, the one in California and then the one in Florida and in between I could just crash at your place. So how do I get in touch with you?”

“Win and I’ll tell,” he said.

“Aw. No fare,” she said.

“That’s what makes it fun,” he said, “but if you still win I’ll take you all over the world if you want?”

“What? Really?” she asked happily. “So, will you stay too?”

“Maybe if you win,” he said.

“Alright, here goes nothing. Haha. Dry three bright, read them and weep.”

“Are you taking the points?”

“Not yet, Koi-Koi, uncle.”

“Alright, my turn then. Bam. Dry four—dry four brights?”

“Huh? Of course not. Oh, that’s a shame.”

“Three junk cards.”

“Huh? Koi-Koi, right?”

“Fraid not.”

“How’d you do that?”

“Haha. What can I say? Well, I think I’m gonna call it a night.”

“Oh, come on. One more game.”

“I believe in quitting while you’re ahead. That’s my style, anyway. You’re turn.”

“Ah, I’m still learning the rules,” Sora said.

“Hey, how long are you here for?” she asked Daisuke while getting up and going with him.

“Don’t know.”

“You could just stay. Yeah, what do ya think?”

After they left, Sora was alone in the room, then a few minutes later at 8:00 p.m. Masato called to everyone from outside in the grassy fields shouting and yelling. “Hey! Get ready everyone! We’re going to start the fireworks, now!”

When they started the fireworks, it was beautiful. Sora remained where he was at while the others were outside sitting on the ground, or in chairs. It lasted, until it was 9:00 p.m.

“Happy Fourth of July Day!!” everyone outside shouted, then they all cheered.

Later that night, Sora went to the kitchen to thank the ladies for the meal and everything.

“Excuse me,” Sora said. “Thank you all for everything today. I’m going to head off to bed, so good night everyone.”

“Wow, you’re so polite,” Nami said.

“So admirate,” Haruna said.

Then he left and could hear them talking.

“Still, you think it’s odd that he didn’t drink?” Nami asked.

“That’s a good thing, right?” Haruna said.

“Oh stop it, it doesn’t matter if he drinked or not,” Noriko said.

Sora went to the room they gave him to sleep in. It was one of those sleeping on the floor beds called ‘futons,’ Japanese people and maybe even Chinese people sleep in.

Sora went on the ZOLLAR’s chatroom before going to sleep, but none of his chatroom buddies came on, I guess it was because time was different here and in America. So Sora just got off and tried to sleep, but he was having trouble sleeping.

“What am I doing here?” Sora asked himself.

Then in just a few seconds, his phone made a weird ring tone. He opened it up and on the screen he got a Zollar mail, then it had numbers.

He got his notebook and copied the numbers down and begun to try and solve it. It took him from 12:45 p.m. to 3:40 a.m. to finish it and type in the answer.

“I solved it,” he said.

He typed in the answer, then it said ‘thank you’ and it counted down from three, then it did a loud pop sound and that’s what made him jump and drop his phone.

“Ah!”

It had a crazy evil smiley face on the screen and giggled a bit. Sora just turned it off and went to bed to get some sleep.

“What the heck was that all about anyway?” he asked himself before shutting his eyes.

While he was still sleeping the morning when everyone was up, two kids jumped on top of him.

“Wake up!” they said.

Sora woke to see it was Jiro and Ichiro trying to wake him up.

“Huh?” Sora said.

“Out of bed, criminal,” Jiro ordered.

“Get up!” they said.

Sora got up and they dragged him by the hand to get to the living room to watch the news on the TV.

“Let’s go! Come on! Move it, big guy! Come on!” they said dragging him.

“Wait! I just wanna sleep!” he said.

“Quiet, you see. It is too his face,” Ichiro said.

“No doubt about it. This is him, alright,” Jiro said.

“Huh?” Sora said.

“—the master mind behind this attack,” said a man on TV.

“He looks young does he? A college student perhaps?” a second man asked. “Maybe, even a high schooler.”

There was a picture of Sora on TV. He couldn’t believe.

“Wait, that picture,” Sora said. “It’s me.”

Only his eyes were covered up and could not be seen.

“Hard to believe this baby faced boy hacked into the land of ZOLLAR’s maintenance server. He turned the whole place on its head in just one night. Experts are saying that system repairs will take some time,” the first man said.

“Probably just a prank,” a third man said, “but I won’t be able to check my email though.”

“But ZOLLARS is bubukids now. Its users are common of that of cellphones, right?” the first man said.

“Indeed, Japanese and American society depends on ZOLLARS access from shopping and online chatting to business operations. Maybe it is just a prank, but they’re going to throw the book at this kid none the less,” the second man said.

“Throw the book at him?” Jiro asked.

“It means he’s busted,” Ichiro answered.

They laughed.

“OK, breakfast is ready,” Yumi said passing by.

Sora grabbed the remote off the small table and turned off the TV.

“Huh?” they said.

“Hey, give me that,” Jiro said snatching the remote from him and turning the TV back on. “There.”

“No wait!” Sora said.

“Oh no, you don’t,” he said.

Sora tried chasing them around the table to get the remote from them, but he couldn’t.

“Please, I didn’t do it! Stop running already! Wait, nobody look!”

Then he saw the plug and unplugged the TV.

“Huh?” they said.

“The TV went out,” Ichiro said.

“How did that happen?” Jiro said.

Then Sora got away from the kids to try out his phone to get on the ZOLLARS.

“I’m a wanted criminal?! Me?! How in the world did this even happen?!!” I whispered talked to myself.

“Hey, breakfast!” Midori called out.

Sora hid when he heard her.

“This has to be some kind of mistake,” Sora said.

Sora already had his name on the log in of the homepage of the ZOLLARS. He just needed to type in the password, but it just said he was unable to log in and was already on. He did it a second time, but no luck.

“What the?” Sora said.

Then he remembered Haruto.

“Where was that kid?” he asked himself. “Oh man. Huh?”

He spotted Haruto’s room and ran to it and he was still in there.

“There you are!” Sora said.

“Did you do this?” he asked.

“Let me use your computer now!” Sora ordered.

“That was rude. Try asking nicely, dude,” he said.

Sora calmed himself down a bit by inhaling and exhaling one time. “Can I please borrow your computer for a second now, please?”

He moved the computer towards him.

“Thanks a lot,” Sora said.

He typed in his username and password again, but it didn’t work a first or second time again.

“No way,” Sora said.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Someone stole my account to hack into ZOLLARS.”

“I see, you were framed than, right?”

“Right.”

“Don’t try calling Customer Service, their busy.”

Then someone touched Sora on the shoulder.

He closed his eyes and screamed that he also screamed like a girl.

“Come down, dude! You want people to hear you?” Haruto said. “It’s just Celty, jeez man.”

“Celty, I swear I didn’t do this,” Sora said.

‘I know, I over heard.’

“Sora,” said a woman’s voice.

“Yeah?” he asked realizing it was Haruto’s mom, Haruka.

“You have a phone call. It’s Kenta from last night,” she said.

Sora picked up the phone and thanked her for it, then he answered it. “Hello?”

“Please tell me you didn’t break the Internet?” Kenta asked.

“Of course not.”

“Didn’t think so. It’s too stupid to be you.”

“Whatever, if you know it wasn’t me, then help me out.”

“ I can’t. None of our admin passwords work anymore. We’ve been exiled.”

“Wasn’t our security system like the best in the world?!”

“Last night, this strange weird email message popped up all over ZOLLARS.”

“Whad it say?”

“Zollar’s 2056 digit security algorithm. It’s suppose to be impossible to decrypt, but someone punched through it in a single night.”

“Wait a minute, 2056? What was the first number?”

“Eight.”

Then he realized that it was him who did it.

“I . . . I did it. It was me after all,” Sora said.

“Excuse me?!”

“I just thought it was another one of those random math problems.”

“So you just went and solved it?! Idiot!”

“I’m sorry.”

“No way,” both Haruto and Celty said in surprise.

“Anyway, I got you a guest avatar on that phone of yours,” Kenta said. “No privileges, but it’s better than nothing. Use it to find out what’s going on, okay?”

“You’re kidding me, right? I’m a cat? A blue cat that looks like Happy off of Fairy Tail?”

“Greetings citizens of Zollars,” said a male voice, “do to unforeseen secure stances many of our services are off line. We apologize for the technical difficulties and will get on it as soon as possible.”

“Sora, there he is!” Kenta said.

“Hey . . . um . . . pardon me. C-Could you stop using my avatar to cause trouble?”

The avatar turned around and had an evil smile and laughed.

“This guy stole my Zollars account! I’m a victim of identity fraud!” Sora said.

All the avatars around the avatar had the same evil smile and laugh as he did when they all turned around to face Sora.

“Who is this maniac? You can’t just do whatever you want just because you’re online! There are rules, you know!!”

He flew up to Sora and punched him in the face.

“Battle mode?! But this a no fighting area,” Kenta said. “This place has just been reset for all the avatars.”

“Tell me like a normal person would!” Sora said.

“ZOLLARS just turned into one giant cage match! Is that normal enough for you, Sora?! Now run!”

“Hey, let’s talk this over! Let’s talk this over!” Sora said holding his hand up in a stop as the imposter was walking slowly up to him.

The imposter jumped up in the air and its feet landed on Sora’s cat-like face, then it started jumping and punching on Sora’s face.

“Move, dummy!” Haruto said to Sora. “He’s killing ya like a giant punching bag! Get out of the way!”

Now Haruto was taking over with his own avatar.

The imposter was kicked in the face by Haruto’s avatar out of nowhere. The imposter crashed to the ZOLLAR building, then while there was smoke surrounding the imposter, Haruto kicked him in the face again away from the building. As the dust cleared up really fast, Sora and Kenta couldn’t believe their eyes. It was the King himself.

“That’s . . .” Kenta said. “Kind Haruto!”

“All right!!” said the comments of every avatars around the world.

The imposter’s appearance has changed before he got up and started to fly away with King Haruto following him in the air.

“Quick! He’s getting away!” Sora shouted.

‘Stay here, you guys! I’ll be right back! I have an idea!’ Celty said before rushing off.

“Wait! Celty!” Sora said.

Too late, Celty was already gone.

Celty rushed off to Naruto’s room to ask him something, I know you’re all going to love.

Celty appeared in front of Naruto’s front doorway room in a flash.

‘Naruto, I need your help!’

“Celty, are you seeing this?” Naruto asked pointing at the picture of Sora on the news of his computer screen.

‘No time for that now! Help me out!’

“OK, but for what?”

‘I need you to use your machine to put me inside of ZOLLAR.’

“Alright!” he said. “Thought you’d never ask. Which one you’d like? Posses your avatar-self or put yourself in there?”

‘Avatar-self.’

“You got it.”

“There’s no way I’m letting you go in on your own,” said a man’s voice from behind Celty by the doorway.

‘Huh? Shizuo?’

“Hey Naruto, put myself inside there,” he ordered him. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but something tells me you need to get inside ZOLLAR to stop the criminal. Time for battle, huh?”

Back in Haruto’s room after Celty left, Haruto was chasing the imposter.

“I can’t believe it, you’re—

“Stop talking, I’m trying to concentrate,” Haruto said to Sora.

Haruto followed the criminal back to the ground and he finally got a hold of the imposter. He tightened his arm around the criminal’s neck.

“You got him now,” Sora said.

“This guy is nothing.”

Then Jiro and Ichiro spotted Sora in Haruto’s room as they were passing by.

“There he is!” Jiro said. “Sir, the criminal’s been spotted!”

“Good work, cadet,” Ichiro said.

“You’re going to jail!” they both said at the same time as they ran at Sora to tackle him down.

“Huh?” he said turning around before they jumped on him to hold him down. “No stop, I’m innocent! I can prove it!”

“Cut it out!” Haruto told the kids.

The imposter got out of King Haruto’s grip and ran for Kenta. Sora held the kids down before seeing that in alarm.

“Kenta, get away from there!!”

“Whoa, whoa! What the hell!” Kenta said in alarm doing just that.

But as it turned out, it went for the avatar by Kenta and not him instead.

The little avatar tried her best to get away from it, but it just ate her, then went for a guy’s avatar and ate him too.

Every avatar around Haruto and the man-eating avatar, stepped a few feet away from the two.

Then the imposter evolved into something else.

“That guy---” Ichiro said.

“—got big,” Jiro said.

Then Sora noticed a picture of his avatar on the disc thing behind the evolved avatar.

“Hey, that’s my icon!” Sora said.

Then the avatar and King Haruto started to fight. Haruto started having a hard time with this guy.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it,” he said in frustration.

This evolved avatar was stronger and faster than Haruto.

“Who are you?” Haruto asked.

“Hey, cool game,” Ichiro said.

“Yeah, I wanna play it,” Jiro said.

“Don’t touch anything!” Haruto yelled pushing them out of the way.

“I’m telling,” Jiro said.

Haruto realized his avatar was getting beat up, no thanks to the kids. Then all of a sudden out of nowhere, King Haruto . . . lost.

“K.O.!!” a man’s voice said. “Challenger wins!!”

The avatar was about to steal Haruto’s avatar, until Shizuo showed up out of nowhere and punched the avatar in the face but it did not go down. Then two more avatars showed up and stood by King Haruto’s side as he laid down unconscious.

“Whoa! Is that Shizuo?!”

“Yeah, and I’m Naruto!” the fox avatar said. “We met last night, remember?”

“Oh yeah, your that kid.”

“And I’m Celty,” said the headless knight.

“What?!”

Shizuo jumped away from the avatar and stood with his friends, but it wasn’t over just yet, two avatars that this avatar stolen had came out of his disc and they were fighting types.

“Oh man, this is so like Summer Wars,” Sora said.

The kids just watched the show.

Celty fought the samurai avatar, Naruto fought the guerrilla avatar, while Shizuo fought the avatar.

Celty easily defeated her opponent and when the opponent was defeated, it went back into the avatar’s disc.

Naruto was having a hard time with the guerrilla, so Celty came in to help before he was defeated. Celty easily nocked the guerilla out with her scythe, then Shizuo suddenly appeared and punched the unconscious avatar in the face and it went flying and crashing to a wall. So the guerrilla avatar was put back into the avatar’s disc after that attack. The avatar looked at Celty, Shizuo, and the defeated Naruto.

Naruto looked at the avatar and shouted before falling unconscious. “Y . . . you . . . We won’t forget this . . .!!”

The avatar started charging at Celty and Shizuo, without his feet on the ground.

“Come on, come on,” Haruto trying to get his avatar up to help, but couldn’t.

Celty wrapped her, Shizuo, and the unconscious Naruto in a black sphere made from her shadows and when it faded away, Celty, Shizuo, and Naruto were gone.

That was when Sora started to get the kids out of the room.

“Okay, kids time to go,” he said.

“Hey, let me go! You’re a criminal, and yet--” Ichiro said.

“Let me play the game too--!!” Jiro said.

The avatar was ready to steal Haruto’s avatar, but Sora ran to King Haruto’s aid and stood there. Sora gave the avatar a shocked expression pointing to the left direction. The avatar looked in that direction, Sora grabbed, pulled, ran with the unconscious King Haruto and managed to escape. The avatar didn’t bother to go on after them, so he just flew away.

Sora was keeping the door closed, while he used the phone to use his quest avatar to get King Haruto out of there. The kids were wanting back in, but that was never gonna happen.

“Oh, thank god,” Sora said. “That was close. He probably would have eaten your avatar too.”

Haruto was silence.

Outside somewhere around the house, Mitsuki and a few of the family was practicing a happy birthday sing-a-long for Granny Eska.

“Here we go. One, two. . .” Mitsuki said.

Then they started singing.

“Uncle Daisuke, come and sing,” Mitsuki called out to him, while everyone still sung.

“I’ll pass,” he said.

“Just forget about him,” Nami told Mitsuki.

Daisuke was reading something on his phone, until he was approached by Yumiko.

“Uncle?” she said.

“Huh?”

“What’cha looking at?”

So he lied. “Ladies in hot swimsuits.”

“What was your job in America?”

“Ninja.”

“Whoa really?”

He showed her his phone, but looked away and covered her eyes thinking it really was what he said it was, but it wasn’t. Just the words he was reading.

Back at Haruto’s room, after the kids left. Celty, Shizuo, and Naruto showed up to see if Sora and Haruto were okay, then Kenta finally made it there a few minutes after Celty’s group came. Kenta told them, Hana was with the family when Sora asked.

“I think I’ve figured out who’s behind all of this, but it ain’t human,” Kenta told everyone.

“It isn’t human, than what is it?” Sora asked.

“A.I., you know artificial intelligence. Apparently, someone was programming an A.I. designed for hacking into a Robotics’ Club in Pittsburgh and its somehow got out,” Kenta said looking up the thing on his laptop.

“It got out?” Sora asked.

‘What do you mean it got out? How could it have escaped?’ Celty asked.

“It just did,” Kenta said. “The best part, it’s called ‘Kill Machine.’”

“Kill Machine?” Sora said. “Oh god, just like Love Machine, but with the word ‘kill’ in it. Oh I was right, this is so like the Summer War anime movie indeed.”

The group stood silence after that.

The family sat in the eating table in shock as they saw Sora’s face on TV.

“Jeez, I wish this kid would give us a break already,” a man’s voice on the news said.

“You can say that again, I paid too much for this cellphone not to work,” a woman’s voice said on the news.

The rest of the family that practiced the birthday singing came inside chatting.

“If Ryo’s team makes it to the Nationals, let’s go to the hot springs,” Midori said. “My treat, ladies.”

“Sounds good to me,” said all three (Nami, Yumi, and Haruka).

Mitsuki ran to the table in shock of seeing Sora’s face on TV.

“Wait, is that--” Nami said.

Haruna and Shoji came back with news on Sora.

“Mitsuki! Your boyfriend’s a con artist!” Haruna said.

“Dump that guy, this instant!” Shoji ordered.

“Sora’s not from an old family, his dad’s just some random sells man!” Haruna said. “I checked into the ZOLLARS registry! Oh and all of that stuff about being a college teacher you told us was a lie! According to the registry, he’s one year younger than you are!”

“We got a fax down at the police station, look!” Shoji said showing a picture of Sora.

“And he’s just a junior in college in Ohio in America!” Haruna said. “And he’s never studied abroad! He probably couldn’t even find cities of China on the map!”

“I thought. . .” Mitsuki said. “Granny?”

“—and now for our next news story,” a man said on the news.

“The NASA asteroid probe failed to release its capsule as planned by its designers,” the second man said on the news.

“Oh and I found out that that Kenta fella isn’t from Frnace! He’s a friend to you and Sora in America at the same college, you three go to!” Haruna said.

Hana couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “What? That can’t be.”

Back in Haruto’s room, there were comments on King Haruto.

“Whoa, these comments are brutal,” Sora said, “but don’t worry it’s just a game.”

“KING HARUTO, KING OF STUPIDS!!”

“YOU BETRAYED US, HARUTO!”

“It’s not a game. It’s a sport,” Haruto said.

“Huh?” Sora asked.

“Games are for people who don’t care enough,” Haruto said. “In sports you compete to win.”

“Oh, I see!”

“But it’s different!” Haruto said.

“Different how?”

“It loves games just like Love Machine, I can feel it. It likes to play.”

“Likes to play like Love Machine off of Summer Wars, huh? Which means he—

Sora was cut off when he heard someone running this way in the hall.

Shoji shouted at him. “Haha! Got ya!”

The whole family tried to get in at the same time, but they all fell down on top of one another and trying to get back up and they were too noisy that the group could hardly make out what they were all saying.

“Cat’s out of the bag,” Mitsuki said.

“I told you it wasn’t gonna work!!” Sora and Celty said at the same time. “And we told you someone would find out!!”

They were in the room close to the dining room (also known as the eating room too). The TV has the baseball game on with Midori’s son Ryo on. She was the only one watching TV at the table, while the others stared at Sora, Mitsuki, and Kenta in the other room. The only ones not in both rooms were Haruto, Naruto, and of course Daisuke.

Sora, Mitsuki, and Kenta was kneeling in front of Noriko, while the others sat in the dining room behind them. Shoji sat on their left, Nami stood by their right, Eska sat far behind them on their right, while Celty, Shinra, Shizuo, Haruna, and Hana stood behind them.

Ryo said on TV. “Yeah, the team at the other school are no pushovers, you know. But I honestly think when the dust clears we’ll be the champs. Ueda High School, yeah!”

The team gathered around him and they all cheered.

Midori cheered too, but it ended soon as she saw no one else was cheering at the table or watching TV. “Yeah! Huh?”

“Why on earth, would the both of you lie to us?” Noriko asked Sora and Kenta.

“And what were you thinking?” Noriko asked Mitsuki. “Granny likes being lied too?”

Mitsuki just shook her head no, none of the three friends didn’t even bother to look at Noriko.

“I had my doubts about these tricksters the moment they walked through the door,” Haruna said.

“Kenta, please tell me this isn’t true,” Hana asked sadly.

He said nothing.

“Though we do have a college teacher from an old family who’s studied in America and traveled the whole world, if that’s what you’re looking for?” Nami said.

“Daisuke has all of those qualities,” Noriko said.

“Your right, but why Mitsuki?” Haruna asked standing by Nami’s side now.

“Hold on, wasn’t Mitsuki in love with--” Nami said.

Then Nami and Haruna gasped in realization as Mitsuki’s whole face started to blush in embarrassment.

“She was always fond of Daisuke,” Noriko said.

“And she had her love fortune told when she was in kindergarten and Pre-K,” Nami said.

Haruna said, “She even wrote that for her essay for school, remember? ‘Me & Daisuke.’”

Sora and Kenta couldn’t hold in their laughter anymore, so they burst out in laughter, as Mitsuki spoken out.

“NO!!” Mitsuki shouted embarrassed. “Just stop it, I’m begging you!”

“At least we got all of that figured out,” Haruna said.

Shoji got up in frustration. “Oh focus, women! What’s important is that this guy’s a cyber criminal!”

“I’m not!” Sora said.

“He’s right,” said Haruna.

“He can’t stay here after what his done,” Noriko said.

“Well you’re a cop, aren’t you?” Nami asked him. “Just arrest him problem solved.”

“Oh, right,” said Shoji.

“And while you’re at it, arrest Kenta too,” Hana said.

“Huh?” Kenta said.

“Kenta?” both Noriko and Haruna asked her.

“What for?” Nami asked Hana.

“Just in case, he’s an accomplice,” Hana said.

“What?” Kenta said.

“Good point,” Shoji said.

‘Now hold on their innocent,’ Celty said talking about Sora and Kenta.

“Oh enough!” Shoji said to everyone.

Shoji handcuffed the both of them. “Checkmate!”

“Whoa,” Ichiro said.

“Take them to jail,” Jiro said.

“Hey, don’t be rude,” Yumi and Midori said at the same time.

“The time is now, 12:30 p.m.” Shoji said. “The cause of arrest . . . well . . . because . . .”

“Tell me, Sora, was that you on TV?” Eska asked before taking a drink of tea. “I don’t know what load of crap they were talking about on the news just now, but was that really you on the photograph just now?”

“I swear, I didn’t do it!” Sora complained.

“Yeah, right, now come on!” Shoji shouted.

“Wait, before we leave there’s something I need to say before he takes and drags us away,” Sora said scooting over to Granny Eska.

“What?!” Shoji said.

“Be quiet!” Granny ordered Shoji to hear what Sora had to say. “Go on, Sora.”

“I just wanted to thank you for such a good, great, and wonderful time,” Sora said. “You see my father had to relocate for his job and mom’s job keeps her busy too. I hardly ever get to see them anymore, especially on holidays like Christmas and Summer Break. Mostly I’m the only one home, sometimes it’s just me and Kenta’s family but after that I’m always alone. Eating dinner with you all like a real family, I never had a chance to do stuff like that before. I really liked it, honest.”

Granny closed her eyes and smiled. “I understand.”

“Anyway, thank you for having me and Kenta,” he said bowing his head to her.

He got up and said. “Well everyone, we’re leaving now. Glad to have met you,” he said bowing his head to them.

“Glad to have met you too,” everyone said.

Shoji putted Sora in the front seat in his car and Kenta in the back. The wheel was on the right. When Shoji got in, he started the car and was driving out of there.

Sora turned to see the Jinnouchi mansion one last time, until Mitsuki, Celty, Shizuo, and Shinra came running after them, trying their best to follow them.

Sora gasped, “Mitsuki? Guys?” he said. “Mitsuki, Celty, Shinra, Shizuo, I’m soryy!” he called out to them.

Shoji slapped him.

“Ow!”

Mitsuki watched as the car left with Celty, Shinra, and Shizuo standing right behind her watching too.

Celty touched her shoulders and said, ‘Don’t worry about a thing, Mitsuki. He’ll come back.’

Then they looked back to where the car left.

As for Kill Machine, he was up to no good in the world of Zollars.

He used some type of key to unlock something to give him access to. . .well, everything. The key went half way into the ‘O’ of the word Zollar, then he started pulling strings, throwing a ball into other balls like it was a game of marbles, changing traffics, and all kinds of things to create more errors, chaos, destruction, and panic in the real world.

Midori and the rest of the kids were watching her son playing his baseball game. “Yeah Ryo! You can do it, baby! Give mama a no hitter!”

But just when it was about to show her son making his pitch, the news popped up.

“Oh enough of the stupid probe already!” Midori said.

“Midori,” Noriko said.

“Yeah?”

“We’re going to have lots of relatives today. Come and help out. Baseball can wait.”

“OK.”

Back to Sora, Kenta, and Shoji, they just stopped in traffic at a red light.

“To bad you don’t have a siren on this thing,” Sora said.

“Shut up!” Shoji yelled.

“Yes sir.”

Shoji taped his fingers on the wheel impatiently and started grumbling and growling. “Hey!”

“Yes?!” both Sora and Kenta asked.

“It’s green, right?! So why are we just sitting here?!”

“I don’t know!” they said.

Back at the Jinnouchi Mansion, the family is having problems trying to get relatives here for Granny’s birthday party on Monday.

“Huh, you won’t be here?” Noriko asked Mitsuki’s mom, Sachiko on the phone. “Why?”

“Because my GPS is broken. I’m somewhere in Saitama, but it keeps saying I’m in Hokkaido,” she said, “and its wall to wall traffic. So I’m not even so sure if I’ll be able to make it today.”

“Her birthday is the day after tomorrow, there must be some way you can get here,” Noriko said.

“Don’t freak out,” Sachiko said. “My husband will take the next bullet train tonight just let Mitsuki know for me.”

When Noriko called Sachiko’s husband Taro, and guess what?

“Sorry, but I won’t be able to leave Tokyo today,” he said.

“You too?! Why not?!”

“Someone or something’s been raising the pressure in the water bay systems. If we don’t get this fix soon, all the underground cast and power lines will be in danger too,” he said. “I swear I’ll be on the bullet train by tomorrow morning. Be sure to tell Mitsuki for me, okay?”

“You better,” Noriko said. “We’ve been planning this for ages. This is no time to let work interfere.”

The whole family called their loves and none of them could come because of the problem with Zollars, no thanks to Kill Machine.

“You can’t come home?” Yumi asked her husband on the phone. “What’s up?”

“All the elderly keep pushing their emergency alert buttons and when we get here their all fine,” Takeo said.

“What, you too?” Mami said on the phone to her husband.

“We responded to a few alarms, when we got here just now we couldn’t find anything on fire,” Isamu said. “It’s been like that all morning long.”

“Wait, weren’t you on the night shift?” Midori asked her husband on the phone.

“Yeah, but calls keep coming in non-stop. Never got the chance to clock out yet,” Hiroki said. “But I bet this one’s as bogus as the rest of them.”

“My boat docked at the wrong port, but how?” Masato asked the person on the phone.

“Can’t you make it somehow, Haruto’s waiting,” Haruka asked her husband on the phone.

“Nature called?” Makato asked the person on the phone. “Oh say no more than, don’t you worry about me.”

“Yeah,” Nami said on the phone. “Okay, I’ll tell Aunt Noriko. Hey, Uncle—Wait, what the. . .”

“Why can’t anybody make it here?!” Noriko said. “What is going on?!”

Back to Sora, Kenta, and Shoji, they were still stuck in traffic.

“Damn, this is bullshit!” Shoji yelled. “My lunch break’s about to end!”

Then all of a sudden Clety and Takeru came there on their motorcycles. Mitsuki sat behind Takeru, and Shizuo sat behind Celty.

“Turn around, it’s jammed for over 60 kilometers,” Mitsuki said.

Shoji parked his car in the grassy field and left it there, while he and Sora went with the others back to the house.

“The only reason I’m doing this is because Mitsuki asked me too, alright?” Shoji said to Sora while freeing him from his handcuffs.

“Why is all of this happening?” Mitsuki asked.

“It might be terrorism,” Takeru said while listening to the news on some radio device.

“Huh?” Mitsuki asked.

When they got back, Nami welcomed them back, but then realized Sora and Kenta was back too.

“Welcome back,” she said. “Wait a minute, what are you doing back here?”

“Traffic was really full and chaotic,” Sora answered.

“And bad,” Kenta replied.

When they got inside, Yumi and Mami noticed them back too.

“Did ya’ll forget something?” Yumi asked them.

“No, not really,” Sora said as he walked away to get back to Haruto’s room.

“Just bad traffic problems,” Kenta said going with Sora.

In another room there was Noriko, Masato, and Makato but they didn’t notice Sora and Kenta at all.

“Listen, just tell the other fishermen to unplug all the GPS systems,” Masato told someone on the phone before hanging up.

“What about the ladders performance the others were going to do?” Noriko asked.

“I think they’ll have to take a rain check.” Masato said.

“I ordered the right party buns for everyone,” she said.

“Thank god, they won’t get here. Problem solved,” Makato said.

“Bite your tongue!” she said. “Some of us have been working real hard to getting ready, while others go lay a bout and read the paper!”

Sora and Kenta managed to get to Haruto’s room without more of the family spotting them. This time Shoji and Shinra was present in the group. Mikado, Anri, and Masaomi’s faces appeared on Haruto’s computer to be present in the group too. Celty explained that she contacted the three about what was going on here (in case of emergency) and so they wanted to be part of the group and help out in any way they can and they were grateful for that. They needed all the people and help that they could get their hands on.

“Kill Machine is totally behind all of this,” Kenta said. “With that password, it can take on as many accounts it wants.”

“Accounts?” Mitsuki asked.

“People’s online accounts in Zollars,” Haruto answered.

“Seriously,” Masaomi asked, “it wants accounts?”

“Not to mention, eating or stealing accounts gives it a power boost,” Mikado said.

“But why and why ZOLLARS too?” Anri asked.

“Accounts have the same power as their real world users,” Kenta said. “Steal an account from the water department and you control the water. Steal an account from the train station and you control the train. People rely on ZOLLARS to get things done.”

“Yeah, because they thought that Zollars would be safe,” Haruto said.

“Exactly,” Kenta said, “or say it gets hands on the President’s account and fires nuclear weapons.”

“What?” everyone said.

“This is all my fault, I did this,” Sora said covering his face in shame.

“Than, I am so re-arresting you!” Shoji yelled at him.

Granny and Shizuka were watching the news and everything was not looking good out there.

“What a mess, it’s more like a war,” Granny said.

“What’s a war?” Shizuka asked.

“People are gonna die if we sit around doing nothing,” Granny answered before leaving the room.

Granny was calling everyone she knew to help fix the problem, in other words, motivating everyone.

“Ambulance Six,” Takeo said answering the call. “Huh? Granny, how’d you get this number?!”

“Takeo, get out there and save as many elderly civilians as you can, got it?” she said.

“Don’t lose heart, Isamu,” she said. “Show the world your own Jinnouchi spirit!”

“This is a war, Hiroki, and you better believe I’m going to fight my part in it!”

“This is a what?” he asked, but she hung up before answering his question. “Huh?”

Granny was now talking to some old friends or colleagues the rest of the time to respond to this whole mess.

The group watched in amaze during half of the time seeing what she was doing.

“The one she’s talking to on the phone right now named Obata Jr., he’s my police commissioner,” Shoji said.

“Whoa,” Mitsuki said.

“I get it now,” Sora said. “Your Granny is inspiring and motivating everyone.”

Sora smiled in amazement at Granny, while she was talking on the phone.

The group went back to Haruto’s room to do something about the Kill Machine problem in ZOLLARS.

“All the Zollar engineers are on duty, but they still can’t get their way into the admin building,” Kenta said. “Type in some silly password. A caution screen should show up followed by a code, a 512 number code, not like the long one from last night.”

“So all that. . .is the code?” Mitsuki said.

Thanks to Granny every that was in complete chaos is now being fixed. Kill Machine is surprised seeing that problem he caused inside of Zollars to effect the real world was now being fixed. He checked the telephone record to see who the cause of all of this was and of course, he found out it was Granny. If he was angry or had an evil smile, it never quite showed it.

“I know you can do it,” Granny told the person on the phone. “Of course you can.”

Sora was writing rapidly to solve the problem on a lot of papers.

“Who is this guy?” Shoji asked.

“Our national rep of the Math & Science Olympics,” Mitsuki answered.

“Well, first runner up at least,” Sora said. “I got it.”

He typed in the answer and pressed enter and he got the admin building opened. Kill Machine had to retreat, now that Sora fixed the problem with Zollars.

“Hey, we’re in!” Masaomi said online.

“Yeah!” everyone said, minus Sora.

“Alright!” Mikado said.

“Good news, Sora,” Kenta said getting on Haruto’s computer.

“Huh?” Sora asked.

“I checked the security log on my phone. You see these are the list of 33 people around the world that broke the code last night,” he said pointing at the list of names. “Turns out that you’re not on the list.”

“Why not?” Sora asked.

“Ah, because somebody got the last letter wrong. Oh boo boo.”

“What?!” Sora said shocked and surprised.

“Oh burn!” Masaomi said online. “The failed representative got careless!! Hahahaha!”

“Well that sucks, so you’re not a criminal?” Shoji asked.

“Everyone got their avatar jacked, right answer or not,” Kenta said. “Jeez, give us a smile already at least you got it right this time.”

“Boo,” Sora said with a smile.

Mitsuki giggled a bit. “Haha.”

“Great job you guys,” Mikado said online, “but it’s not over yet. Kill Machine is still at large and we got to be there to stop him.

“I already got the Dollars helping out on the job,” he said. “Well, what’s still left of them.”

“Good,” Sora said, “we’ll need both the Dollars and the Zollars working together to take this guy down.”

“Got it,” Mikado said. “We’ll be there tonight shortly, but right now we got to focus on the problem at hand and that’s the problem with Zollars and that problem is none other. . .than Kill Machine.”

“Right,” everyone said.

“Naruto, take them to your machine,” Mikado ordered.

“Got it,” Naruto said giving him a thumbs up, “you can count on me!”

Then Mikado and his friends logged out.

“Machine?” Sora asked. “What machine?”

“Follow me if you want to find out,” Naruto said with a smile.

They followed him to his room, which wasn’t very big. Until he lead them to the room behind his room and it was really big.

“Whoa!” Sora said.

“What the. . .” Kenta said.

“What is this place?” Sora asked in amazement.

Even the others were amazed by its glory and technology machinery.

“This is my real room, where I build my inventions,” Naruto answered.

“Some of this looks like the stuff from science fiction movies,” Kenta and Sora both said.

“It is,” Naruto said.

“Huh?!” they both said.

“I even got more in the basement,” he said.

“There’s a basement here too?!!” they both asked.

“Those look like the exact same thing computer from Code Lyoko!” Sora said.

“And those coffins are the exact same coffins from the Mortality Doctrine book series!” Kenta said.

“Are all of these--” everyone said.

“Yup, everyone of them,” Naruto said. “And they all belong to me now.”

“What?!!” everyone said, minus Shizuo.

‘This is crazy!’ Celty said. ‘I didn’t even know about all of this, or this room either, Naruto!’

“Me neither,” Shinra said. “Why didn’t you tell us about this, Naruto?! This place is awesome!”

“Where’d you even get all of this stuff, Naruto?!” Shoji asked him.

“And where’d you even managed to buy all of this stuff?! How, I should say?!” Haruto asked.

“Tell us, Naruto!!” everyone asked, minus Shizuo. “Tell us!!”

“SHUT UP!!!!” Naruto shouted in frustration. “All of you, that’s an order!! Understand?!!”

They just stared with a blank wide eye expressions in silence.

Naruto exhaled a deep breath and said. “Everyone just clam down and I’ll explain in short. First, sorry for yelling. Second, these machines transport you into ZOLLAR or let you poses your own avatar. Third, I got all of this stuff thanks to Takeru and the government. Fourth, we’re going to use these machines to fight Kill Machine from the inside ZOLLAR. Fifth, I like to keep my inventions private sometimes. And sixthly, the machines are to be kept secret from the rest of the family. Welcome to my laboratory, Team Zollar.”

Then a voice came from the supercomputer. “Shall I get them started, Sir Naruto?”

“Whoa!” everyone said.

“A talking computer program,” Sora said.

“Yeah, cool,” Kenta said.

“Yes, you may. Begin preparations immediately,” Naruto told the program.

“Yes, sir.”

“Who is that?” Sora asked.

“His name’s Jarvis,” Naruto said.

“Jarvis?” Kenta asked. “Like off of Iron Man, Jarvis?”

“Yes,” Jarvis said.

“Cool,” both Shoji and Kenta said.

“Yeah,” both Sora and Mitsuki said.

“Sir, I sense the A.I. known as Kill Machine that you replied to me to hunt down has started to trap users in the admin building,” Jarvis said.

“What?!” everyone said.

All avatar users inside and outside the admin building inside ZOLLAR, were starting to freak out and panic. The ones trapped inside were banging on the entrance to get out and the ones outside were trying to help open the entrance, but with no luck.

“May we hurry this up, sir?” Jarvis asked. “There are citizens in danger and we have not the time to think here.”

“Yeah, hurry!” Naruto said.

“Ready to transport you to ZOLLAR when you are, Master Naruto.”

“Got it,” Naruto said. “Let’s go, you guys!”

“Right!” everyone said.

“Sora, Kenta, and Haruto will stay here to their avatars,” Naruto ordered. “The rest of you get into a Coffin to poses your avatars, or go to a transporter to send yourselves inside ZOLLAR. Now go, go, go!”

Shinra and Shizuo got in the transporters, while Celty, Mitsuki, and Shoji went into the Coffins.

“Scanning Shinra. Scanning Shizuo,” Jarvis said. “Virtualization.”

Shinra and Shizuo made it inside ZOLLAR, along with the others. Sora and the others logged in to their avatars to join the others.

“Mikado, you there?” Naruto asked.

Mikado’s face popped up on the screen with Masaomi, Anri, and Saki in the background. “What is it? Is something wrong?”

“Kill Machine’s trapped avatar users inside the admin building, we need your help,” Sora said.

“You can count on us,” Mikado said before his face left the screen.

It wasn’t long before Mikado and his friends showed up in their group.

“So how do we get them out of there, anyway?” Masaomi asked.

“Beats me,” Mikado said.

“We’ll split up into two teams,” Naruto said. “Sora, Mitsuki, Shoji, Kenta, and Haruto are with me. The rest of you with Mikado.”

“Right!” everyone said.

Mikado’s group looked above and below the admin building for Kill Machine, while Sora and his group went to help the other avatars out into freeing the rest out of the admin building.

“You know, I’ve been thinking you guys,” Mikado said.

“Huh?” Masaomi asked.

“That the website ZOLLAR and the Zollars gang both might have a leader,” Mikado said.

“Does the ZOLLAR world and gang even have a leader?” Kenta asked.

“According to Jarvis it does,” Naruto said, “but let’s not worry about that right now guys. Let’s just focus on the task at hand, okay?”

The leader, huh? Sora thought. Jarvis doesn’t know it’s me, does he?

Then Sora came to the realization that it was all a trap to lure them to the A.I.

“Guys, run!” Sora shouted to everyone. “Everyone, get out of here now! It’s a trap!”

But it was too late, Kill Machine came down attacking him and Naruto’s group.

Kill Machine pushed through Naruto and his team and started attacking Sora’s avatar again, he has easily defeated Sora’s avatar. Just when it was about to absorb Sora’s guest avatar, Haruto yelled at him to log out and he did.

Kenta did the same thing of logging off too, before Kill Machine would have the chance to take his account too.

Mikado and his group came to join the fight too.

Kill Machine fought every last one of them. Mitsuki wanted to join in, but Shoji stopped her.

“Mitsuki, no!” he said. “You’ll be absorbed too!”

“Jarvis, how do I free everyone in the admin building?” Sora asked.

“Do the same thing like done before with the admin building,” Jarvis said.

“Another code to solve?”

“Yes.”

“Alright.”

“But you’ll have to do it inside of ZOLLAR this time. It won’t work in the real world this time.”

“Huh?” Sora, Naruto, Haruto, and Kenta said. “What?”

Then Haruto and Naruto turned their attention back to their computers.

Then Sora thought back to when he was the first one, Kill Machine attacked when it showed its-self to him and Naruto’s team.

He’s trying to lure me in to get me out of the picture, he thought. I’ll have to take the risk.

Naruto was going for the surprise attack to do on Kill Machine from behind. “Payback time, you mother—

Kill Machine saw him coming and so he kicked Naruto’s avatar in the face and his avatar lost the battle, Naruto logged off really fast.

“Thank god, that was close,” Naruto said.

“Naruto,” Sora said.

“Yeah?”

“Get Mitsuki and Shoji out of there,” he said. “They’ll lose in this fight if they stay.”

“Got it.”

Naruto pushed a button on his computer and Mitsuki and Shoji was out of the ZOLLAR world and waked up back in their Coffins in the real world.

When Mitsuki and Shoji got out of their Coffins, they were a bit dizzy like they was trying not to fall asleep.

“Hey guys,” Shoji said walking to us slowly. “Remind me . . . not to . . .” he yawned, “. . . go in there . . . again.”

He fell on the floor asleep and started to snore.

“Hey Sora,” Mitsuki said before she started to fall asleep too.

Sora ran to catch her, when he did she smiled happily asleep in his arms.

He smiled and laid her down softly on the ground.

Kill Machine was giving everyone a hard time, so Mikado, Masaomi, and Saki told them and the others they were logging out and they did.

Shinra didn’t even bother to join the fight, he stayed out of it.

“Alright,” Sora said. “I’m going in. Jarvis, transport me inside ZOLLAR.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What?!” Naruto, Haruto, and Kenta said.

Haruto quickly looked back to see his avatar getting his butt kicked, but Haruto fought back with Shizuo’s help.

“Shizuo, Celty, Anri, I’m going to log out for a sec, then come back in to poses my avatar!” Haruto said.

“Got it!” they said while fighting Kill Machine.

Haruto logged out.

“Alright, we’ll let you go crack the code but you ain’t going in alone,” Haruto said, “so count me in.”

“I’m with you too,” Naruto said.

“Right,” Sora said.

Sora got in the transporter and Haruto and Naruto got in the Coffins.

“Scanning Sora,” Kenta said. “Virtualization.”

Kenta pressed enter and Sora was transported to ZOLLAR. Haruto and Naruto arrived beside him shortly afterwards.

“Alright,” Sora said. “Let’s go!”

“Right!” said the both of them.

They flied while in the air to get back to the admin building.

Kenta decided to help out on the outside. He typed a bunch of stuff to help his friends out in the Zollars. He calls Mikado, Masaomi, and ANri online, until their faces finally pop up on the screen. Then he left a comment for Shinra to read.

“What is it, Kenta?” Mikado asked.

“Are you almost here at the house?” Kenta asked.

“Yeah, we just arrived and just on time and real early too,” Mikado said.

“Where are you and we’ll find you in the house?” Masaomi asked.

“We’re in Naruto’s room,” Kenta said still typing stuff up.

“We’ll be there real soon,” Anri said. “Just wait for us, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” Kenta said. “No problem. Just run as fast as you can.”

Their faces popped off the screen.

Shinra finally saw the comment in the air that Kenta left for him.

It said: “Shinra, come back to aid Mitsuki and Shoji. They fell right asleep when they came back to the real world. Check ‘em out. P.S. Sora went to the admin building.”

Shinra yelled out in the air for Kenta to hear. “Kenta! I got your message! Get me out and I’ll be able to help you!”

“Gotcha,” Kenta said pressing a button and Shinra came out of the transporter.

Shinra didn’t feel dizzy or anything when he got back. He was perfectly fine and he checked up on the sleeping Mitsuki and Shoji.

“They’ll be out for a while, but they’ll awake soon,” Shinra said.

“Good, now to tell Shizuo, Celty, and Anri to get out of there too,” Kenta said. “But first, to give King Haruto, Naruto, and Sora the heads up.”

Sora, Haruto, and Naruto were only half way to the admin building when they heard Kenta’s voice talking to them.

“Sora! It’s me, Kenta!”

“What’s wrong?” Sora asked.

“I’m going to tell Shizuo, Celty, and Anri to retreat,” he said. “I’ll need Haruto and Naruto to fight and distract the A.I. to give you a chance to crack the code again to free all the avatars trapped inside, all right?”

“OK, will do,” Sora said.

“We’ll buy you some time,” Naruto said.

“Right,” Sora said.

“Let’s go!” Naruto told Haruto.

And they both flied really fast back to where Kill Machine and their friends were.

Kenta gave out a comment to all the avatars in ZOLLAR.

KING HARUTO AND NARUTO

TEAM UP AGAINST KILL MACHINE!!

P.S.

THE BLACK RIDER AND SHIZUO HEIWAJIMA

JOINS THE FIGHT TOO!

That got everyone’s attention.

“Anri, leave now!” Kenta warned her.

“Alright,” she said. “We also made it to Naruto’s room. Where are you?”

“Just wait in the room, we’ll meet you there,” Kenta said.

“Right,” Anri said logging off.

“Shinra, open the door,” Kenta told him.

“OK.”

Shinra ran to the door and opened it to pull Anri and her friends into Naruto’s secret room and base of operation.

They stared in awe as Shinra closed the door behind them.

“Oh man, what is all this stuff?” Mikado asked.

“An inventor’s lab,” Masaomi said. “I think.”

“Naruto’s room,” Anri said.

“Yeah,” Saki said.

Shinra stood in front of them on their left. “Amazing, right?”

“Yeah. Right. Amazing. Cool,” they all said.

“Alright, almost done,” Kenta said still typing.

He noticed an unknown avatar approaching Shizuo and Celty’s direction.

“Who’s that?” Kenta said checking out the avatar’s identity. “Wait, is that . . . Kinnosuke?!”

Celty had Kill Machine wrapped in her black sphere made from her shadows. Oh and Celty’s able to talk in the world of ZOLLAR.

“Well, that was fast,” Celty said.

“Yeah, I guess it was,” Shizuo smiled.

“Celty, get out of there now!” Kenta said. “It’s Kinnosuke Kuzuhara! His avatar’s coming your way! He’s like some white robotic version of RoboCop or something!”

“What?!!” she said.

“RoboCop? What’s that? A movie?” Shizuo asked.

“Yes! Now run!” Kenta warned them. “Here he comes!”

Celty and Shizuo spotted Kinnosuke flying in, but Celty wrapped herself and Shizuo in her shadowy sphere and when the sphere swept away, even the ones trapping Kill Machine were gone. Shizuo and Celty were both gone to Kinnosuke’s surprise.

Celty woke up out of her Coffin and Shizuo stepped out of his transporter.

Celty was surprised to see Mikado and his friends here.

Mikado and his friends were happy to see her.

“Celty,” Mikado said in relief.

‘I thought you four weren’t coming, until tonight?’

“We were but traffic started to speed things up pretty fast,” Mikado said.

‘That’s good,’ Celty said. ‘Glad to hear it.’

“Celty, are you all right?” Shinra asked touching her shoulders.

‘I am now, now that I am with you now, Shinra,’ she said.

He smiled at the compliment.

Shizuo walked up beside the two and Anri was glad to see him.

“Shizuo,” she said smiling.

“Who are you—Anri, right?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Nice to meet you again too,” he said smiling with a thumbs up and a wink.

She smiled back and did that bowing gesture.

“Alright, I’m almost done,” Kenta said typing as rapidly as he can.

‘What happened to Kinnosuke’s avatar?’ Celty asked Kenta, worried that the motorcycle cop’s avatar was taken too.

“Hold on, let me check,” Kenta said. “Whoa, his avatar just gotten beat up by Kill Machine!”

‘What?!’

The avatar of Kinnosuke was badly beaten up, then Kill Machine absorbed his account.

“Hey you, Kill Machine, over here!” Haruto yelled down at the A.I. with Naruto by his side.

Kill Machine looked up and saw them. They flew down with a surprise attack. The tag team were working together to take down Kill Machine.

All the avatars were watching from above or below. They were cheering the two on to defeat Kill Machine.

Kenta contacted Sora on what was going on. “Sora, it’s just you, King Haruto, and Naruto now. They’re fighting off against Kill Machine, you’re on your own now.”

“Got it,” Sora said. “I just made it back to the admin building. I’m solving the problem now.”

When Sora finished solving the code, he didn’t like what the answer was. It said: “I want the Leader of the Zollars.”

“What?!” Sora was all shaken up, his fears have come true. Kill Machine was after him.

“Sora!” Kenta said. “King Haruto and Naruto were just devirtualize by Kill Machine! Solve the answer and run!”

Sora snapped out of it and typed in the right answer and pushed enter and the admin building was opened once again.

“I got it,” Sora said.

“Sora, behind you!” Kenta warned.

Sora looked back and saw Kill Machine coming in his direction really close and really fast.

Sora was terrified, that was when a program showed up and fought Kill Machine. It looked like Anon from the XBOX360 game Tron: Evolution.

“What? Is that—

“Yeah, it is. But he won’t last very long so run. Now!” Kenta said.

Sora flew away past them.

“I’m giving you a power boost to fly really fast, Sora,” Kenta said.

“Thanks!”

“Don’t mention it.”

Then Sora started going extra faster.

Anon was derezed and Kill Machine started to go really faster to chase after Sora.

“I got a portal opened up for you, Sora,” Kenta said. “Do you see it?”

There was a yellow big portal just a few feet away up ahead.

“I see.”

“Go through it!” Kena said. “It’ll take you back to the real world, but hurry Kill Machine is gaining up on you!”

Sora was just a few inches from the portal now and Kill Machine was right behind him getting ready to strike his spear down upon Sora to cut him in half, but he missed when Sora got into the portal and the portal disappeared.

Sora jumped out of the transporter and fell on the ground. “Ah! Ow!”

The group stared down at him and helped him up.

“You made it,” Mikado said.

“Yeah, I did didn’t I?” Sora said.

Mitsuki and Shoji were finally up and at ‘em.

Then a thought occurred to him. Kill . . . Machine? A man name Daisuke. Pittsburg. The Zollars.

Sora ran to Haruto’s computer and onto the Zollars’ webpage and was doing something on it.

What’s he doing? Celty thought.

Then when everyone saw what he was on on the Zollars, they were shocked and surprised who Sora Jackman really was.

“No way,” Mikado said.

“He’s the. . .” Masaomi said.

“Yeah,” Anri said.

“I had no idea you were . . . My best friend was . . .” Kenta said.

“This guy?” Shoji asked.

“Yeah,” Shizuo said now smiling. “I never would have guessed it either.”

“Sora, are you the . . .” Mitsuki asked.

After Sora finished up whatever he was doing. He got up and turned to his friends.

“All right, now all my cards are in order now,” Sora said. “Allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Sora Jackman and I am the leader of the Zollars.

“Sorry, I kept my identity a secret of being the leader of the Zollars. But I wanted to keep my leadership a secret, until now. Hey, give me a smile already guys at least we did something.”

They gave a smile and a nervous laugh too, minus Shizuo who pretty much laughed for real.

The news lady said stuff on TV at the dining table for supper tonight. “—and so the entire country was in a state of panic today.”

“According to the reports, the Zollars system was restored and everything has gone back to normal so far,” a man’s voice on the news said. “The same chaos happened around the world, but were fixed thanks to the ZOLLARS system’s recovery. We’re still trying to find an explanation for all of this.”

“It’s Day 10 of the Baseball Tournament, a week and a half into the tournament and after the afternoon slug battle. Ueda High School makes it to the finals,” a man’s voice on TV said.

Everyone cheered.

This time Takeo, Isamu, Hiroki, Mikado, Masaomi, Anri, Saki, Shinra, Celty, and Haruto was present at the table with the rest of them. Shizuo smoked outside, while Daisuke sat away from the family and drank beer.

“32 hits and they win?!” Takeo said. “Amazing!”

“Even when he thinks he’s gonna lose, it’s written all over his face,” Hiroki said.

“Like father, like son,” Isamu said.

Isamu and Takeo laughed.

“Mitsuki, when your parents getting here?” Takeo asked Mitsuki.

“Well, dad’s working tonight to fix the water pipes and mom’s in Saitama at some random business hotel,” she said.

“Good to hear,” Takeo said. “I’m glad their okay.”

“If Granny didn’t call everyone up, we would have had a lot of trouble out there today,” Isamu said. “Ain’t that right, grandma?”

“Oh no, I didn’t do anything,” she said. “You all did the greatest jobs out there today. I didn’t do anything, I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh sure,” Hiroki said.

“No other grandma is that awesome,” Isamu said.

“Best one in Japan,” Takeo said. “No, the whole world.”

“Silly boys,” she said.

The three started laughing.

“Sora,” Granny said.

“Yeah?” Sora asked.

“I hear tell you worked real especially hard today,” she said.

“Oh no, no. It was nothing really,” he said.

“Mitsuki’s boyfriend helped out?” Takeo asked.

“He’s not her boyfriend,” Shoji said.

“He fixed the problem with ZOLLARS twice from what I’ve heard,” Nami said.

“Not bad for a junior college student,” Haruna said.

“Way to go, boyfriend!” the three sons of Makato said.

“He’s not her boyfriend!” Shoji repeated himself.

“And check this out everyone,” Masaomi said getting up and being his goofy old-self. “We’ve all found out that this boyfriend is none other than the leader of the Zollars gang himself.”

“Whoa!” the whole family said, because they didn’t know that. “Cool!”

“Awesome, boyfriend!” the three sons of Makato said.

“I told you, he’s not her boyfriend!!” Shoji said.

“Neither are you, Shoji, so chill out,” Hiroki said.

Everyone laughed.

The news man was saying something. “—though ZOLLARS is up and running again, a few users are unable to access their accounts. The reasons are still unknown.”

Sora said, “It’s because—

“It’s because we haven’t defeated Kill Machine yet,” Haruto said.

“Exactly,” Sora said.

“Kill Machine?” Hana asked out of her angry mood now.

“Like the song Love Machine or something or what?” Hiroto asked.

“It’s an account stealing A.I.,” Haruto said putting his laptop on the table for everyone to gather around to see the picture of Kill Machine.

“That’s one mean looking avatar,” Haruna said.

“No kidding that one’s bad news,” Nami said.

“This thing caused all of that trouble today?” Hiroki asked.

“They’re not mentioning him on the news,” Masato said.

“It’s only a matter of time, sensei,” Haruto said. “The world of ZOLLARS is big. People that seen him are starting to band together, if we could just pull out some info or anything we might just be able to beat him.”

“Hahahaha. That’s very good and all, but it’s not going to work,” Daisuke spoke up.

Everyone stared at him.

Haruto got up and asked him, “Oh yeah and how would you know that?”

“Good question, because . . . Kill Machine was programmed by yours truly,” he said.

Haruto, Sora, and Mitsuki were surprised at this.

I knew it . . . I knew it was him, Sora thought before giving an angry look.

“You made Kill Machine?” Haruto asked him.

“Yeah, I developed an A.I., made for hacking,” Daisuke said.

Back in ZOLLARS, Kill Machine took on every fighters that came at him at once and he defeated every last one of them. He absorbed them all and the only two fighters left were King Haruto and Naruto that he still hasn’t gotten his hands yet.

“Really all I did was simple. I infused a program with the desire to learn,” Daisuke said. “It has a thirs for knowledge. A military branch came and offered to buy it from me for some serious Koi, provided I give it a test drive.”

“A test . . .?!” Sora said.

“I never figured they’d use ZOLLARS as a field test. The results are too damn amazing,” Daisuke said. “As his coded instinct continues to grow, he’ll continue taking over more and more user privileged accounts as he acquires more information throughout the world, his abilities will increase and become more powerful than you can ever imagine,” he continued. “Kill Machine’s as strong as a billion men army now. See that’s why you can’t defeat it.”

Haruto was really shaken up now and Sora clenched his fist and was a bit mad.

Why? Why would you do this?! Why would you make such a thing?!! Sora wanted to say to him, but he knew the answers to that already.

“Do you know how many were infected and troubled by all of this?! Or how much damage you’ve done to our society?!” Takeo asked.

“It’s not my fault, I’m innocent,” Daisuke said. “The A.I.’s acting on its own. So if you want to be mad be mad at Kill Machine.”

“It’s your creation and it’s putting everyone’s lives in danger! Do something about it!” Isamu said.

“It’s like I’m talking to a wall,” Daisuke said. “If I get involved now, I might be a criminal. So—

Hiroki walked up to Daisuke and grabbed him by the collar and pulled him on his feet. Daisuke dropped and broke his glass of beer in the process.

“Keep trying to talk your way out of this!” Hiroki yelled in his face.

“Stop it!” Takeo said.

“Don’t you dare pretend that all of this garbage isn’t your fault!” Hiroki shouted as his two brothers held him back.

“You idiot, listen to me,” Daisuke said. “How many times do I have to keep saying it to knock some sense into you?! I only developed the damn thing, it’s not like I told it what to do, like take over the damn planet!”

“That’s bullshit!” Hiroki shouted.

“Both of you, stop fighting in front of Granny!” Takeo ordered them.

Shizuo growled really loud.

He stepped on his cigarette and walked over to Daisuke and everyone stepped out of his way as he walked over to Daisuke and said, “You piss me off! You’re saying that even though you made it that it ain’t your fault for giving it to the military in the first place?!”

Daisuke looked really scared of Shizuo’s angry look.

“You’re telling me . . .” Shizuo said pulling out a wooden square column. “. . . you really think . . . that’s not . . .”

“Oh boy,” Takeo said.

“. . . YOU’RE FAULT!!!!” Shizuo yelled before sending a screaming Daisuke into the air.

When Daisuke was coming down, Shizuo used the wooden column like a bat to hit Daisuke to a wall before tossing it aside.

Shizuo grabbed him by the collar and was about to literally knock some sense into him, when Takeo came in to stop it and calm Shizuo down.

“Stop it, you guys! Not in front of Granny!” he said.

Shizuo was calm and so he let go of Daisuke and they stared at Granny.

Granny didn’t look happy when she looked at Daisuke, “Daisuke.”

Daisuke walked to stand in front of Granny and looked her in the eyes, “Granny. You understand, don’t you?”

She stood silence.

He inhaled and exhaled, “Sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused up ‘til now, honest,” he said. “It’s just that these last couple of years I’ve been working really hard. So I could come back home to make you proud of me.”

She gave a sad concerned look.

“Read it. See Granny,” he said pulling out his cell phone and showing it to Granny for her to read.

“Well?” he said. “The U.S. Army decided to buy Kill Machine for an enormous price, it’s a fortune. We’ll have money again, like when Gramps was alive but even more,” he continued. “And I never could have done it without you, after all that money you gave me funded my project every step of the way.”

She was shocked when he said all of that, then got angry and walked to fast to grab a spear for a weapon.

“Mother!” Noriko said scared.

Granny came at him with it and he let go of his phone in panic, or dropped it while in panic.

“Look out!” Mitsuki said to Daisuke.

Daisuke was dodging all of her swings and made a mess in the process.

Granny gad the tip of her spear pointed at him, “On your feet and die like a man.”

He grabbed the blade point of the spear and got up, “I should have never come back here.”

He let the spear go and walked away to leave.

“Uncle!” Mitsuki said starting to go after him.

“Mitsuki!” Granny said.

She stopped and watched as her uncle walked away.

“All right everyone, this is a mistake caused by one of our own. Therefore we have to be the ones to fix it,” Granny said. “Now everybody cleanup, a family attends to their own messes and this one will be no different.”

Granny walked away and left them all with the cleaning.

They was cleaning and putting the tables back where they belong and threw away broken glass.

Sora saw Mitsuki still sitting by herself, so he wanted to see if she was okay.

“Mitsuki?” he asked.

She got up and walked away.

He left the dishes and went after her in the hallway, “Mitsuki, wait.”

“Leave me alone,” she said without even turning around to look at him. “I had about enough than I can deal with.”

That was the last thing she said before she left. Sora was about to go back to the cleaning when he heard Granny’s voice.

“Psss,” she said.

“Huh?” he said.

He turned to see her hand waving for him to come with her.

He helped Granny into her room.

“These legs of mine were a lot more easier back in the day,” she said.

“You may have over did things back there,” he said.

“Thank you son, you’re a real help,” she said.

“I should get back to the cleaning,” Sora said.

“Tell me, Sora, have you ever played Honafuda Koi-Koi?”

“Afraid I haven’t.”

She shuffled and laid out the cards.

“In years past we used to play as a family, but now everyone is so busy with their own lives now a days. You can go first.”

“Okay thanks.”

“I’m sorry you had to witness our family drama earlier.”

“That’s fine.”

“And Mitsuki’s foolishness, honestly.”

“Koi-Koi, ma’am.”

“Very good.”

“Uh . . . thank you very much.”

“You see, Daisuke is my adopted son. He’s always been a very bright child, he had a hard time fitting in, somewhat rebellious, and he would work twice as hard as everyone else and wouldn’t want any help,” she continued. “I never wanted him to be discriminated against, nor did I want him to be concerned about being indebted to us. This is my responsibility. When he took our property 10 years ago, it was the first time he had ever depended on me for something and I have long forgiven him ages ago. Now, it’s a matter of being forgiven or not.”

“I can understand Daisuke a bit,” Sora said. “He feels like wanting to be recognized by someone to be necessary to them. But if you have no confidence in yourself, it feels like a fruitless effort. But I’ll help to the best and beyond of my abilities to beat Kill Machine.”

“I know you will,” she said.

They was silence for a while, until Granny asked a question, “So, you like Mitsuki, don’t you?”

Sora blushed, “Uh . . . I’ve always loved her when I first started college. She was the school’s most popular girl. She has the looks of an expensive flower and the heart of a lion.”

“That child?”

“Yeah.”

“So if I should win, what do I get for my troubles?”

“Huh?”

“It doesn’t pack much of a punch if you don’t make a wager to make things more interesting. Oh look Koi-Koi

“If I beat you at Hanafuda . . . I’d like you to swear to take good care of Mitsuki.”

“What?” Sora asked in surprise.

“She’s the type of girl that would drag in some boy to being her fiancé and he turns out to be the leader of the Zollars and she doesn’t even know how to fall in love with someone. She’s still very childish and still does many foolish things, but even so, if you can look beyond that I’ll ask again,” she said. “Please Sora, take good care of Mitsuki.”

He was surprised to hear her asking him to take care of the girl he loves.

“Are you sure?”

She nodded, “I know you can do it, if it’s you, I believe you can do it.”

Then he realized that Kill Machine would have her killed and that was the other reason why she was asking him to do this.

You’re dying. No . . . you know you are going to die, he wanted to say.

He wanted to help her, save her, watch her in her sleep to protect her for Kill Machine, but he knew she was expecting that and would rather die anyway to protect her family. Or maybe she had a plan and he just didn’t know what it was.

He wanted to ask, or say something about it but nothing ever came out.

Then he smiled, “You can count on me, Granny. I’ll devote my life to you to protect Mitsuki all the way to the end, even if I have to—

“I win.”

“What?”

“Looks like I still got it,” she said. “Hahahaha.”

Sora noticed a strange devise on her chest and wondered about it, but did not ask about it.

Sora went to bed after that ‘cause that cleaning was already done. He tried to go to sleep, but it was difficult for him to when thinking about Granny and Mitsuki. He was feeling bad not looking after Granny after discovering the truth, but he finally managed to go to sleep and was hearing a ringing bell sound while sleeping and dreaming.

His dream turned out to be a bit of a nightmare. First, his dream was about him running out of bed and into the hallway to go save Granny. When he got there, the devise on her chest started to glow and bright up the place.

Ring, ring.

Sora found himself inside ZOLLAR.

Ring, ring.

Sora found himself in front of Kill Machine and he screamed and ran away, while Kill Machine chased after him from behind.

Ring, ring.

Ring, ring.

Every avatars around was wounded and injured and laid down unconscious. Everything was a mess and in chaos.

Ring, ring.

He even saw his unconscious friends: Mitsuki’s avatar, his quest avatar, King Haruto, and everyone. All of them defeated by Kill Machine.

Ring, ring.

Sora heard a weapon being drawn from behind him. He turned around to see if it was Kill Machine.

Ring, ring.

He was surprised to see it was Granny with her spear ready to attack Kill Machine with.

“Granny . . .!!!” Sora called out to her.

Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring.

Then the ringing stopped and everything went black at first.

When the dream came back, Granny wasn’t there anymore like she just disappeared or wasn’t even there to begin with.

Sora got angry at Kill Machine, so he grabbed a weapon and charged to attack Kill Machine with it. He jumped up into the air to strike his weapon down upon Kill Machine to cut him in half as he screamed in anger.

Sora heard dog barking sounds, but ignored it even if it started to get louder.

“Hello, leader of the Zollars!” Kill Machine spoke, which surprised Sora and it caused him to wake up.

“Ah!” Sora said as he stood out of bed really fast and the barking stopped. “What a frightening dream.”

Hachi started to bark again, before running off.

“Hachi? What’s wrong?” he asked the dog (sort of).

Then he saw Noriko and Makato running down the hall.

“Makato, hurry!” Noriko told him.

“I’m coming!” he said.

“Hurry, please!” she said.

They were freaked out and scared about something and Sora was going to find out what. He chased after them and saw all the family running to Granny’s room, so he followed them there.

When Sora got in there, he realized that his worst fears and discoveries have come true. Granny was dead.

“Please breathe,” Mitsuki said sadly.

“You have to help her!” Noriko said.

Hiroki had his hands on her chest to pump out some air to get her to breathe.

“Granny . . . Granny, wake up,” a sad Mitsuki said.

“Mother!” Noriko said.

“Granny, please!” the women said.

“Please, you have to help her!” Noriko said.

“Please, don’t die,” one of the women said.

“Please, please, don’t leave us,” another woman said.

“Let me have a try,” Takeo said, but Hiroki wasn’t planning on stopping.

“That’s enough, Hiroki,” Makato told him.

“No, Hiroki, don’t you stop!” Noriko begged of him.

“Hiroki!” Makato said.

“I won’t!” he shouted.

“Hiroki, stop!” Shinra told him.

“Keep trying!” Mitsuki said in tears of sadness.

The kids, Shizuo, Celty, Mikado, Masaomi, Anri, Saki, Naruto, Shoji, Hana, and Kenta couldn’t believe it themselves either.

Hiroki kepted trying for as long as he could, but soon gave up and cried with his head held down.

“Looks like everyone’s here,” Makato said.

“Yeah,” Shinra said.

Makato checked his watch, “5:22 a.m.”

Later in the morning, the family and everyone was still in Granny’s room, sad of her death.

Makato reveals something to all of them.

“Mom had angina,” he said. “She took nitroglycerin for it. I used this heart monitor to keep track of all her health. Heart rate, blood pressure, perspiration levels. This thing would have immediately alarmed me if something went wrong, but it stopped receiving the data late last night.”

“Because of ZOLLARS being down,” Takeo said.

“Someone that works for the health department must have gotten their account stolen,” Sora said.

“So if ZOLLARS was working she’d be okay?!” Masato asked.

“Maybe it was just her time,” Makato said.

“She had lots of time left here, damn it!” Masato said. “Where’s Daisuke?! I’m gonna break his worthless neck!”

“We don’t know. He stole Shoji’s car and left,” Hiroki said.

“He’s been gone for 10 whole years,” Isamu said. “Heck, we don’t even have a phone number to get in contact with him.”

Masato turned around and punched the wooden part of the doorway, “Damn it!”

The baby, Saburo, started crying in the room he was sleeping in. Midori got up to check on her son, “Sorry. Excuse me. Sorry.”

Hachi looked sad that his owner was dead and Granny still had that devise on her chest, but this time it glowed blue in the center of it.

The family was all in the other room sad and depressed that Granny was gone, even Celty and them seemed sad about her loss. Sora was already dressed up by now and he and Mitsuki both sat far away from the family.

“Make them stop,” Mitsuki told Sora without even looking at him.

“Huh?” he asked.

“My tears, I can’t stop them. Hold me, right here,” she said moving her hand over for him to hold on to. “Please Sora, make them stop.”

He hesitated for a second, but he putted his hand on top of hers.

She started crying, so Sora grabbed her hand and held on instead.

The news started to talk about today’s news, “On our top story today, over 10 million users in ZOLLARS are unable to access their ZOLLARS account, because of the system wide errors that brought the Internet to a hold today.”

Later on, Sora went to the room he was staying in to call his mom.

“I wonder if mom’s angry or worried. She must be,” he said to himself.

He waited for her to pick up the phone and when she did, she said, “Hello?”

“Hey mom, it’s me Sora.”

“Sora, are you okay?!” she asked. “I’ve been worried sick about you!”

“Sorry, about that.”

“Yesterday, the police came to the house asking questions about you.”

“Ah. Mom, I can explain.”

“It’s all right. Everybody knows you aren’t the criminal now,” she said. “Even Kenta’s mom and Eska contacted me and explained everything to me. Eska even said you were the leader of the Zollars.”

“Really?! Wait what?!”

“It’s okay, Sora. I don’t care if you are the leader of the Zollars or not. I just want you to know, I’m proud of you no matter what. That Eska sure can convince and talk some sense into ya.”

Thank you, Granny Eska! Sora thought.

“Sora.”

“Yeah?”

“Please, hurry home.”

“I’d love to mom, but . . . I can’t leave them just yet,” he said. “I still have things I have to do here.”

“But your birthday’s coming soon.”

“It’ll have to wait,” he said. “Bye, mom.”

He hung up.

That was the first time Sora’s every showed his mom determination.

He went to the living room to have some breakfast, when Mami noticed him coming in.

“Oh Sora, please have some breakfast,” Mami said.

“Thanks.”

“But first, could you get Mitsuki?” she said.

“Ah, sure.”

“She’s on the second floor,” she said pointing in the direction. “The stairs are that way to your right.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Good luck,” she said.

“Thanks,” he said with a smile and a blush before going.

He went up the stairs and went straight to look for Mitsuki in one of the rooms, he found her in the last room.

“Hey Mitsuki, you should probably come down to eat, if you want to that is.”

She didn’t respond.

“Mitsuki?”

“This is my uncle’s room,” she said.

“Daisuke’s?”

She nodded, “We didn’t know when he’d be back, but Granny kept his room the same as it was when he left. I wonder why it turned out this way when he got back,” she continued. “Just so he could leave again.”

Sora then noticed the phone in her hands, realizing it was Daisuke’s phone.

“You trying to get in contact with him?” he asked. “Like call him, or something?”

“I can’t,” she said. “I’m having a hard time to get in touch with him.”

“You could always try Eska’s birthday for the passcode, if nothing else works,” he said remembering from the anime movie, Summer Wars.

“Thanks,” she said wipping a tear off her left eye, “but the family is torn apart now and . . . and . . . and I don’t even know what to do anymore. I’m all alone now.”

It took some time to answer, but Sora came up with an answer to respond to her about, “But you’re not alone, Mitsuki. It isn’t just Daisuke and Granny, either, but the feeling of wanting to see each other and be together is a great and powerful thing. You and the rest of the family are all the same way and in the same respect as they are,” he continued on. “I think I might have arrived with an answer, even if it takes an amount of time and instruction, even if it does take me a minute o fa million years to accomplish that answer for you and everyone here. I’m sure you and all of you can be guided there. I’m here for you, no matter what, and I’ll help you with whatever way I can to make you all happy again. So don’t be impatient. We’re all in this together, Mitsuki, so . . . I’m gonna do whatever I can to bring the family back together again.”

Granny Eska was such a great person in existence for the Jinnouchi, Sora thought. This home is uneasy without someone as their pillar.

Then Sora had a flashback of what Granny said to him, “If it’s you, I believe you can do it.”

Sora offered his hand to Mitsuki and she took it while Sora was still thinking, Everyone in this house, feels encouraged by Granny Eska. After all, they’re a family that gives it their best. She even believed in me too.

They walked down the stairs and to the living room to eat.

After everyone was done eating in silence, they started to talk and discuss things.

The ones that weren’t present in the room were Mitsuki, Kenta, Hana, Shizuka, the baby Saburo, Shoji, Celty, Shizuo, Shinra, Mikado, Masaomi, Anri, Saki, and of course as always the Akita dog Hachi.

Mitsuki, Shizuka, Saburo, and Shoji were somewhere in the house. Kenta and Hana went with Celty and them in town to do somethings, but Hana was still a little mad at Kenta.

“Have you called Ryo yet to tell him?” Hiroki asked his wife, Midori.

“No, I’ll tell him after his game,” she said. “I don’t want to ruin things for him.”

“That makes sense,” Hiroki said. “I think it’s for the best if we just keep it that way.”

After Noriko got done eating her bowl of rice, she said, “We’re going to be very busy today. Nami, Mami, Midori, you three will be in charge of the kitchen. Hiroki, you and your brothers make an arrangement meeting with the Temple. The rest of you, you tell every family and associates about what happened here today. Everybody got that?”

“There’s something we’ve gotta do before all that other crap,” Masato said.

“Mom, the red and white party buns,” Haruna said.

“I need to order funeral buns too,” Noriko said.

“I’m not talking about the damn buns!” Masato said getting up angrily. “I’m talking revenge! We’re gonna destroy that A.I. thing! Well, are we?!”

“Oh honestly,” Noriko said.

“What’d you say?!” he said.

“It’s true what they say about the second and youngest childish son in the family being useless.”

“That’s got nothing to do with it! First, second, oldest, youngest, or not!” he said. “The Jinnouchi family’s never run from a fight and we ain’t running now! Family taking care of the mistake made by one of our own was mom’s last words to all of us!”

“Dad, please!” Nami said. “Don’t declare war right before Granny’s funeral.”

“What, are you kidding me?!” he said. “We have to do something! Come on, we can dedicate out victory to her very own memory!”

The ladies didn’t liking what Masato was saying one bit.

“Um, excuse me,” Sora said raising his hand, then getting up to face the women. “I agree with him.”

“Yeah, yeah. Can outsider please stay out of this,” Nami said waving her hand.

“Nami,” Haruna said to her.

“Yeah, I’m an outsider, even when I was only here for two days. Granny Eska became an important person to me,” Sora said.

“Please, stop talking,” Noriko said.

Sora ignored her and said, “I never thought the problems in my very own website would cause so much trouble, or cause someone their life, but that’s exactly what happened. Kill Machine’s dangerous. What if what happened yesterday and this morning happens again somewhere else? Heck, what’s to stop it from attacking someone else’s family tomorrow or the next day, or the day after that next day? I just really don’t want to see the sadness that has befallen this home and family spread any further to more homes and families. That’s why we have to stop it, even alone if we have too. Whatever, it takes.”

“What?!” Nami said furious. “Kid, you got a lot of nerves saying all of that right now!”

“Look, all I’m saying is that we should make sure this isn’t going to happen to anyone else anymore,” he said.

“How dare you say and spout such nonsense in the middle of our home!” she said.

\“But I—

“You want us to worry about others right now? We got out own troubles and problems to deal with, thank you very much,” Nami said.

“I-I just want wanted to help,” he said.

Noriko got up and said, before clapping her hands, “Alright everybody, let’s go.”

It was just Sora, Masato, Haruto, Naruto, Hiroto, and Takeru in the room by themselves now.

“Cowards, the lot of them,” Masato said, “and they call themselves members of the Jinnouchi Clan?”

“I’m sorry for earlier. I should have not spoken out like that,” Sora said.

“No, your opinion was honest and it needed to be said,” Takeru said. “You need to protect others before you protect yourself and before they protect you too.”

“Is that supposed to be some Self-Defense Force motto, or something?” Hiroto asked.

“Not really. Well, not exactly I should have said,” he said. “I just got it off of the 1950s movie, ‘Seven Samurais.’”

“Uncle Hiroto,” Haruto said.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Hiroto asked his nephew.

“”Your store sells better computers than this one, right?”

“Yeah, you bet.”

Haruto closed his laptop and got up out of his chair.

“Haruto?” Sora said.

“I want to take out Kill Machine,” Haruto said. “It’s time for another rematch.”

Noriko, Haruna, and Nami were in the big room looking up pictures of Granny.

“I can’t believe that Masato, when there’s so much to do,” Noriko said looking through some pictures of Granny.

“This is gonna be tougher than I thought,” Nami said.

“Hey you two, what about this one?” Haruna asked.

“Oh, for when both the General and Governor gave her that metal,” Noriko said.

“It’s perfect,” Nami said.

The guys were in the garden planning on their attack.

“In the year 1600 of July 5th, Tokugawa Hidetada led a 38,000 men army to invade the smaller area of Ueda. We only had a 2,000 men army. How’d we do it, you ask?” Masato said.

[crijoh]

I wrote a post a little over a week ago when I fully figured out the duration mechanics of food. Now it's been over 24 hours since someone broke my potency system - the only thing standing in my way of saying I'm done! I think it's time to redo my post and make all my final changes... so without further ado, I present to you:BOTW CookingBasic MechanicsTotal health is equal to the sum of the health restoring ingredients' values multiplied by 2 or Health=Sum(HealthValues)x2An effect's duration is controlled by the sum of it's ingredient's time values (all cold resist/attack up/stealth up/etc share the same time) plus 30 seconds for every ingredient.Potency is controlled by a point system. To figure out the potency of a dish, you must sum up the potency points of the ingredients and check if you've passed a certain threshold.Dishes can "crit", you'll hear a musical cue to signify that it has occurred (you'll pick up on it pretty easily).DurationThe duration of an effect is handled by the effect, not the ingredient. All attack boosting ingredients, for example, contribute 20 seconds to the duration, totaling 50 seconds for counting as an ingredient.Attack Up 0:20Cold Resistance 2:00Defense Up 0:20Fireproof 2:00Heat Resistance 2:00Shock Resistance 2:00Speed Up 0:30Stealth Up 1:30With this we can calculate a dish's duration when using a voltfruit and two apples like this: First, you get 2:00 for each voltfruit (1) in the dish. Then you add any time boosting ingredients (I'll talk about them later) of which there are none. Finally, add 0:30 for each ingredient (3) totaling 1:30. Add your 2:00 to the 1:30 and you get 3:30. (If you get different results, make sure you listened for the crit music).PotencyFor potency, it appears each ingredient has a specific "tier". Each tier provides X amount of "potency points" specific for each effect type detailed in the brown section labeled "Potency Table" in the spreadsheet:Tier 1 (Low) - X PointsTier 2 (Mid) - 2X PointsTier 3 (High) - 3X PointsTo reach a certain tier, you must accumulate a number of points. As such:Mid Threshold = 30High Threshold = 45For example, add a Mighty Porgy (28) to one Mighty Thistles (7) and a Mighty Banana (14) to get a High level Attack buff (potency of 49). For more information, check the "potency" and "effect tier" column in the spreadsheet.Time BoostsFor add-on ingredients (in my inventory it starts with Hylian Rice and ends with 'Dragon' Claw) you get a time boost. Important things to note are:Sometimes time boosting ingredients provide less than the actual effect yielding ingredients themselves.They do not increase potency.They can only be used once in a recipe before losing their duration increase and acting as only ingredients (IE: 1 Bird egg = 1:00 + 0:30, 2 Bird egg = 1:00 + 0:00 + 0:30 + 0:30)For more information, see the cyan section in the spreadsheet.Critical Dishes (Courtesy of /u/ErsatzCats)When you experience a crit while cooking, you'll hear a musical cue and one of 5 effects will proc depending on if you dish supports it:+3 Hearts Restored.+5:00 Duration.+1 Potency Tier (IE: Low -> Mid, Mid -> High).+1 Extra Temporary Heart.+2/5 extra green or yellow stamina.If you want to circumnavigate the RNG aspect, you can add a Star Fragment or any dragon parts. Additionally, cooking while a blood moon is in effect (11:35pm-11:55pm) will trigger a crit automatically.In the realm of RNG, Monster Extract randomly randomizes health recovery, potency tier, and duration. The latter of which will be randomized to either 1:00, 10:00, or 30:00.Temporary StatsFor Hearty ingredients and Stamina restoration/boosting ingredients they follow a surprisingly basic set of rules:All Enduras and Heartys fully restore stamina and health respectively. This operates regardless of any other health restoring ingredients (IE: Apples/Raw Meat).The total temporary stamina/hearts provided is the sum of the individual ingredients' effects.For more information, see the pink and orange section in the spreadsheet.Elixir SpecificsElixirs are no different from cooking apart from being far superior in duration and producing a dubious dish (even if the other ingredients are correct) if you do not include a reagent. Elixirs take precedent in a dish, but the label is purely aesthetic. Here's some important things to note:To include an elixir ingredient, you must also include a reagent from a monster. This will establish the dish as an elixir.You can turn a normal dish into an elixir even using cooking ingredients like time boosts and effect ingredients.Reagents follow three tiers:Tier 1 - 0:40 (40sec)Tier 2 - 1:20 (80sec)Tier 3 - 2:40 (160sec)Important to note is the mixture of cooking and elixirs can yield very powerful dishes. Take for example Mighty Porgy + Mighty Porgy + Bladed Rhino Beetle + Bokoblin Guts + Bokoblin Guts providing a high level 8:50 attack up buff.Interestingly, monsters don't influence the duration enhancing effect of a reagent. Most monsters have a Common, Uncommon, and Rare drop. For example, a Bokoblin's drops are horns, fangs, and guts in order of common to rare. Lizalfos' are horns, talons, tails. The only case where variants (IE: Icy Liz Tail) matter are with Chuchu jellies where regular jelly is Tier 1, but colored jelly is Tier 2.This tier system means using your Lynel hooves for elixirs you'll be using is pointless since they're as good as Bokoblin fangs. For more information on which ingredients belong in which tier, check next to the green section in the spreadsheet.Conclusion - ImplicationsSo from all this information I draw these conclusions:Acorns suck, they're no better than the worst duration effect ingredient and offer no additional potency. They're alright for some early/mid game health restoration though!The game wants you to use ingredients out of scarcity, thus acorns aren't too bad if you have one razorshroom and 9 acorns.While bugs can be annoying to catch, they let you make some really long lasting potions (with reagents) for effects that are otherwise short lived.For speed and combat buffs, time boosting ingredients can be great! Toss in a mighty thistle for an attack up and stack the duration with an egg, butter, milk, and sugar and suddenly your food is giving you a few minutes of Low Attack Up with only one thistle.Hearty ingredients shouldn't be mixed with health bearing food - nor should they be mixed with effects. Cook them alone for a full HP restore and some added temporary hearts - or together to save space and reach up to +25 temporary hearts with a Big Hearty Radish dish (there appears to be a cap of 30 hearts TOTAL)Don't use those mini-boss drops on usable elixirs, sell alone or as an elixir. Use whatever parts you accumulate a lot of for your personal stash of elixirs (I like bokoblin stuff since it sells for nothing).If you want to make a "perfect dish", try to reach 45 potency points with as few ingredients as possible and fill the rest with time boosts. If you use a bladed rhino in an attack up dish you can add in some tier 3 reagents for an extra 2:40. For Stealth Up and the Resistances/Fireproof, any combination that reaches above 45 will do since they don't benefit much from time boosting ingredients unless you turn it into an elixir and add only tier 3 reagents.MOST IMPORTANTLYDon't take all this too seriously. Yeah you can game the game as you can with every other game, but the best way to enjoy Breath of the Wild is to enjoy it. Don't let some random guy on the internet tell you not to use Acorns on food! Make whatever food appeals to you because in the end, you really don't need to minmax your food. The game's difficult, but not that difficult.Now if you excuse me, I'm going to go cook a Hearty Durian with two Hyrule Basses and a couple Acorns. via /r/zelda

[anon-oneshot]

Rate of Change

“I hate to be the one to break it to you, but doing nothing but staring at the problem won’t result in a divine revelation of the answer.” She said lightly after a few more minutes passed.

“Well at this point I’m just hoping I’ll get lucky and pass out from lack of oxygen to my brain.” Alistair said dryly.  “A trip to the hospital might get me an extension on the exam.”  

“What?” Amell glanced toward the other student, before realizing he thought she had been talking to him.  “Oh sorry, I was talking to Cullen…  I’ve forked his queen and a rook, and he’s not getting out of… But uh, the same goes for you, Alistair.”

“I was just about to move.” Cullen muttered indignantly, before moving his queen out of harm’s way. Amell watched the move like a hawk, nodded slightly to herself, and took the rook.

“Where are you stuck?” She asked, balancing the piece precariously on a glory tower of claimed pawns, before glancing over Alistair’s shoulder at the page.

“The part where they started using letters instead of numbers probably.” Alistair said glumly. “And weird foreign letters at that.  I don’t understand regular math – how am I supposed to read Tevinter?!”  Alistair shuddered for dramatic emphasis.

“Alistair it’s a derivative.  There are no Imperium letters.”        

“It sure looks Tevinter to me.”

Amell sighed, and glanced back to her chess game, which Cullen was still considering warily.  Assured she still had time, she turned her full attention to Alistair.

“Look, you remember when we went over limits last week, right?”

“The limits of human mental endurance, sure.”

“Alistair…”

“Maybe also the limits of your patience.”

“Believe me, we passed that marker 2 months ago...” she said dryly.

“Alright alright, I think I remember a little of what we went over…”

“Oh Maker be praised, he remembers ‘a little’ of the 6 hours we spent going over the material!” Amell exclaimed in mock excitement.

Across the table Cullen snorted.  Amell’s own smile was wiped away however, when she noticed Alistair’s sullen face.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-.” She amended.

“Don’t be.  I’m well aware I’m too stupid to get this stuff as quickly as I should.” He replied gloomily.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” She chided him.  “It’s math, not magic.  Anyone can understand theory.  If you don’t, it’s probably just because you didn’t have a teacher that could speak to your brain’s own way of understanding.”

The sudden sharpness of her response had drawn a slightly surprised look from Cullen, as well as a mildly intimidated one from Alistair.  On the receiving end, it was suddenly Amell’s turn to look away awkwardly.

“But uh,” She reached for the math book in front of them and began turning the pages, “as I was saying derivatives are basically limits in a more complicated way…” She glanced up to see both Alistair and Cullen still staring, with mixed expressions.

“Cullen don’t you have a move to make?” She implored.

“Ah, yes… right.” Cullen stammered apologetically, before forcing his attention back to the board.

“Okay look at this Alistair,” Amell had found what she was looking for, and pushed the book in Alistair’s field of vision. “I know there are letters but they’re only there to be as generic as possible.  In a real example they’ll be replaced by actual values to form a limit that represent the change in…” She trailed off as she watched Alistair furrow his brow with a hopeless expression, looking at the mathematical notation.

“Check.  Your move.” Cullen said, with no small amount of smugness, breaking the silence.

“What?!” Amell whipped her head indignantly around to scan the board. “You can’t move there Cullen, it’d put your king in check-”

“It would’ve two turns ago, but I moved my-”

“I see it, I see it.” She said, before muttering “Andraste’s tits” under her breath, which Cullen innocently pretended not to hear.  Without giving it too much more thought, Amell swiftly crushed the offending piece with a knight, before turning back to the student in need, whose expression could only be adequately described as Hello Darkness my old friend.

“Okay you know what? Screw the letters.  Let’s draw some pictures.” Amell said, seizing Alistair’s notebook and ripping a page from it without second thought, earning her another alarmed look from Cullen.

“Alright disclaimer: I’m not a physics major but, this is how they do this and it might help you better since you seem to be a, um, physical person…” Amell said awkwardly trailing off as she realized she hadn’t thought through her entire sentence.

“Sorry, what?” Alistair asked, confused.

“Yeah forget that and look at this.” She drew a curved line on the paper.

“This is,” she finished the curve and began to label the axes, “a position graph. At any point on this curve, the height is how far you’ve gone, and the width is how much time it took get there.”

“Okay...” Alistair nodded, for once not lost.

“Alright now this,” she drew a diagonal line, “is a velocity graph.”

“Ah, 3 syllables, you’ve lost me.” Alistair joked.

“Velocity is just speed in a particular direction.  It’s not important.”

“It was a- well, never mind. I will happily take your word for it.”

Cullen coughed slightly, to get their attention.

“It’s ah… your move.” He gestured.  Without looking, Amell moved a pawn before turning back.

“Right.  So velocity, or speed if you like, is how fast you’re going. This velocity graph is how fast you were going as you move according to your position graph.”

“I’m not sure I understand…” Alistair began slowly.

“Look right here you went further in a shorter time, right?” Amell pointed to an increment on the position graph.

“Right…”

“And here on the velocity graph it shows you were…?”

“High?” Alistair tilted his head.  Cullen snickered again.

“Fast.  Faster than when you were going slower.” Amell stared daggers at Cullen, whose laugh abruptly turned into a cough, as he returned to pondering the game.  

“Sorry, I guess I’m just a slow mover.” Alistair said with a wry grin, earning his own look from Amell.  “Alright, alright I get it… but, how does this relate to derision…?”

“Derivatives.”

“Yes those… things…”

“Well, velocity is the derivative of position.”

“Check.” Cullen announced. Amell gave him the universal, “in a moment” hand sign.  Cullen decided waiting patiently was preferable to getting another, less polite hand sign.

“So you’re saying… the slanted line is the derivative of the curvy line?” Alistair surmised.

“The academics would probably cringe but… yes.  A derivate represents the rate that something changes.  In this case, it was speed.  Here it’s changing slowly... and here it’s changing faster.  That’s pretty much it.” Amell glanced back to her game and scanned the pieces on the board, analyzing.

“That… actually makes sense.” Alistair said slowly.

“Really?” She asked, turning to look at him.  Her expression was one part surprised, two parts elated.

“No.” Alistair deadpanned.

Amell’s expression fell as quickly as it had risen.  But even she couldn’t stifle a laugh at his delivery.  She moved a piece on the board and gestured to Cullen, still chuckling.  Cullen watched her carefully, then triumphantly moved his own piece.

“Checkmate!”

“Ahhh, I knew I shouldn’t have played you while helping him.” Amell surveyed the board with a slightly sour expression.  “I bet you asked him to come in for help just to distract me, didn’t you?”

“I did no such thing. It was entirely his idea to come to you for help.  And I hardly think I need his help to-” Cullen began.

“You think I’m distracting?” Alistair cut across him, suddenly interested, as Amell stood stretching.

“As distracting to yourself as to everyone else I’m sure.” Amell laughed.  Alistair pulled a face.

“What can I say? Someone has to bring some humanity back to this lifeless productive citizen factory.”

“Human folly maybe,” Cullen muttered under his breath, cleaning up the pieces and the board. Alistair aimed a kick at him under the table, but missed and hit the chair with a dull thud.  As Amell turned around to face them again, he tried to hide his wince.

“Right well, I’m going to get something to eat.  And before you offer to come with me,” She said, holding up a hand in response to Alistair’s hastily open mouth, “why don’t you consider using your powers of humanity to try and go over what I showed you one more time?  The exam is tomorrow.  It’s now or never.”

“I… fine.” Alistair acquiesced.  As she swung her bag over shoulder, he watched her absentmindedly, somewhat less than enthused.

“Ah, cheer up.” Amell said with a last smile before she left.  “I’ll be back in half an hour.  And who knows?  I may even bring you something to eat.”

“Really?”

“Yeah!  Charity cases as adorably hopeless as yours always get me right here.” She tapped her chest with a wink and disappeared down the hall.

Alistair watched her go with what was probably a stupid smile.

“You realize she said ‘adorably hopeless’ not ‘hopelessly adorable’.” Cullen said at length.

“I know… she’s great isn’t she?” He sighed dreamily.

“She used to be a lot greater at chess before you came along.” Cullen declared.  “I don’t know why I told you she was tutoring for Calculus. You never would’ve taken it otherwise.”

“Some causes, my friend, are worth suffering for.” Alistair replied with a smile.

“I’m sure you’ll feel the same way during the exam tomorrow.”

“Oh don’t worry about that. I actually think I’m starting to get it. The pictures really helped.” Alistair told him, looking over the notes Amell had drawn earnestly.

“Then why…?” Cullen raised an eyebrow.

“Because now,” the other said with an incorrigible grin, “she’s planning on coming back.”

[the-undertale-mouse]

Handplates: Tempus Pt 4

Handplates is a really cool if dark take on the Papyrus/Sans/Gaster origin story by @zarla-s and if you haven’t seen it already, I highly recommend it. This is a spinoff of that in which a human enters their lives. This takes place sometime before Justice falls. She would be the fifth soul. Some things may be inaccurate, but please be patient with me. I just need to get it out of my head and I need some feedback.~miamouse

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4 Part 5

   “Don't get used to this. We’re taking it easy because you are still recovering.” Gaster was giving Tempus a series of IQ tests. They were alright, not too taxing, but there were a lot of them. Tempus was so glad she was left handed. Everything was in wingdings, so it took a bit longer to write out than normal letters. Doing all that with a throbbing hand would be torture.

   She hadn't noticed until she started reading the tests, but she realized had also been speaking in a style that reminded her of the symbols ever since she started talking to Gaster. Sure, she wrote messages in wingdings to her friend, but that never changed the way she or her friend talked, as far as she knew.

   It was weird to think that she started speaking like that automatically when faced with someone else who spoke it. The boys spoke it too, which made sense given Gaster taught them everything and they seemed to have no contact with anyone else.

   “Have I been talking....different this whole time?” Tempus asked, not sure how to put it.

   “Less talking, more writing,” Gaster said, but he thought a moment all the same. Maybe this was on his mind too; one of the things that he wanted to find out about her. “When our fight started, you were speaking like most people around here do, and while I understood you, it was easier to tune you out. But the moment you chose to make a special effort to communicate with me; when you signed and voiced at the same time, you started speaking wingdings and haven't stopped since. So you were unaware of it? That is noteworthy.” Gaster seemed thoughtful.

   Tempus was thoughtful too. It was a bit to process. She didn't question him further about it. Could she turn it off if she wanted to? Or was it something she couldn't help and just happened or didn't happen depending on what context she was in? She started writing in ‘normal’ English, then erased it and continued in wingdings. She sighed in relief. She could stop if she wanted to.

  Gaster noticed her erasing; it was the first time she had done so. “Is it starting to get difficult for you?” he asked sincerely. He seemed more focused on learning about her abilities at the moment than treating her like a human. Her use of wingdings worked in her favor; made her less them and more us. Gaster probably didn't even realize he treated her more like a person and less like a thing in these moments.

   “No, I was just checking something.” she said this in ‘normal’ English. She had only gone a day without speaking it, but it already felt heavy on her tongue. Maybe she couldn't quite switch it on and off like she thought. That kind of scared her. She heard of people losing their language over time, but this seemed like it was happening too fast.

   “Refrain from speaking like that. I must insist you continue using wingdings. It will make it easier for me to deal with you.” Gaster said. That didn't help quell her fears of language loss. So she wasn't even allowed to speak regular English? This was just peachy.

* * *

   After several hours, 3-T had finished all the packets Gaster had prepared for that day. This was quite a bit faster than anticipated. She seemed to have a work ethic closer to 2-P than 1-S. At the same time, she didn't seem to struggle through like 2-P would. That could just mean she wasn't putting her full effort in like 1-S would and only made it look like she was working hard. In any case, that was enough for the day so he sent her back to her cell with an apple and some gram crackers as a reward for following orders without complaint.

   As Gaster went over Subject 3’s preliminary IQ tests, he had to admit the results were not disappointing. She excelled in many areas. When it came to numbers, she was almost, but not quite on par with subject 1. It took her a bit longer to work the problems out, and at times she used solving methods Gaster had never seen, so he wasn't sure whether to call them ‘correct’ or not. She got the answer, but it could have been luck.

  With words and reading comprehension,  she seemed to be a few degrees better than subject 1. It was harder to tell since 1-S didn't put his full effort into this part of the tests, though that in itself was an indication that it wasn't his strong suit. 3-T seemed to enjoy reading more than math, except she was reading symbols that were not native to her, so the results were skewed there too.

   She was bright. There was no doubt. She managed to talk him out of killing her after all. Not just any human could do that. There had to be something going on in her skull.

   He took a look at the questionnaire, a bunch of non-intelligence based questions to get a grasp of her background. Age: 11 (the boys were judged to be physically and mentally about 10 since their growth had been accelerated.) Date of birth: 8/24 (Just passed. It was September 9th. So barely over 10) Height 4’ 10” (147 cm. Just a bit shorter than Papyrus at 149 cm) weight 80 lbs (36 kg. Considerably more than the boys, but that made sense considering all of the flesh attached to her bones. For a human, she may have been a bit under weight. He couldn't be sure, his memory of humans was hazy, but she appeared to be on the thin side.)

    Favorite color: Purple (expected cyan but at least it wasn't pink. Gaster hated pink) Favorite number: 3 squared (9, interesting way to put it) Favorite food: spaghetti (convenient) Favorite book: The Princess Bride. (Never heard of it. Some sort of romance novel? Dull. Expected something better from someone who excelled at reading. Maybe Dr. Alphys heard of it.) Favorite music: film scores (not bad, but he preferred classical himself.) Favorite subject: Both Sans and Papyrus. I can’t choose (Really? Did she think that was clever or something?) Gaster’s conclusion from all this? This human was going to make things interesting.

 * * *

  The lights went out. The day was over. They could relax. It had been a good day, a restful day, a day without pain.

  “Finally he’s gone! He is gone, right? Lights out means he went home or whatever, right?” Tempus asked from her cell across the hall.

  “yes, at least, he never shows up while the lights are out. experiments are over for today. he didn't hurt ya this time right? you seemed ok.”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. He just gave me a bunch of written tests. Though he did say he was going easy on me, implying he has something worse up his sleeve,” Tempus said.

   “It might not be as bad as you think. It could just be harder tests...or something. They don't always hurt, sometimes it’s even fun!” Papyrus said hopefully. Even he knew it was a bit of a stretch to call the puzzles ‘fun’ but it did feel good when you got it right. She seemed smart like Sans, she would do well.

  Papyrus saw her smile a little in the dark. The dark made it harder to see, but not much for him or Sans. Tempus was different that way. They discovered last night she couldn't see as well in the dark. They were worried at first until she explained it was a ‘human’ thing. “Ok, Papyrus. Maybe you’re right. Hey, maybe he’ll play chess or something with me tomorrow. That could be fun I guess.” she said.

  “ya know, he might. he seems to like that test,” said Sans. “he’s good, even i have a hard time against him sometimes.”

  “That's cuz he’s the one who taught you and he knows you two so well. Heh heh heh! He better not underestimate me. I’m the #3 junior chess champion where I’m from!” Tempus said, suddenly full of energy. Papyrus didn't quite know what a ‘junior champion’ was, but the way she said it, it sounded good.

  “That’s the spirit, Tempus!” Papyrus said.

  Sans yawned. He sure liked to sleep, but his yawn had a point. “We should get some rest for whatever happens tomorrow,” said Papyrus.

  They got on their cots and settled down. Then from across the hall, Tempus started making a strange noise: “Hmm Hmm, Hmm Hmm, Hmm Hmm Hmm…” it was odd, but somehow...nice.

   “Tempus, what are you doing?” asked Papyrus.

   “Oh, am I disturbing you? I can stop. Humming just helps me sleep sometimes,” said Tempus.

  “humming?” asked Sans.

  “I guess Gaster never taught you about music….it’s...making pretty sounds. Humming is one way to do that...it might be difficult for someone without lips. Maybe it will be easier to understand if I just sing- put words to music.” With that Tempus started to sing: “+￦!Ω{£€ +￦!Ω{£€  £!++£€  $+@ฯ. #θ￦ ! ￦θΩ§€ฯ ￦#@+ ¥θμ @ฯ€….that’s not right...I’m singing it in English...I guess if it's something I don't think about, I default to that. I wonder if it even rhymes in this language...you see, songs usually rhyme. I messed it all up...I don't know how to explain. ..”

  “You don't have to.” Papyrus intercepted her. “I don't quite understand it, but it was nice of you to share it with us.”

  “...what's a $+@ฯ?” Sans imitated one of the strange words. It must have stuck out to him.

  “A star? It’s what the song’s about. They are little lights that shine in the sky at night. Did he ever mention the sky to you?” Tempus tried to explain.

They had heard a little about the sky, and about stars. They were some of the nice things Gaster missed from the surface.

  “yes, we’ve heard of them. so ‘english’ is a language you speak natively and stars in english is $+@ฯ$?” Sans guessed. He seemed very interested in the new language.

  “That's right. Not bad.” Tempus yawned. She was getting tired now. “If you want to learn English, I can try to teach you. Gaster doesn't want me to use it in front of him-”

  “all the more reason,” Sans mumbled.

  “And when I focus on talking to you guys...for some reason I default to windings instead, unless it's a song or something memorized like…! §£€]&€ @££€&!@Ω©€ +θ +#€  =£@& (I pledge allegiance to the flag, don't worry about what it means.) Automatic things like that come naturally, I guess. I’ll try to figure something out if you really want to learn,” Tempus yawned.

  “it doesn't have to be english if it's too hard, but it would be cool to learn things about the outside world from a new perspective,” sans yawned as well. They continued mumbling half-asleep suggestions to each other until they both lapsed into snoring. It was then Papyrus learned that English for snoring was %%%%(zzzz.)