The Inner Demon

The events that followed couldn’t be any more hazier, I remember the feeling of my whole body cramping up ... .the pain causing me to twitch and writhe while even the smallest of movements caused me even more agony.

I remembered a muffled voice calling out to me, while I was trying to see who it was while my vision gave way. And the fact that I don’t recall anything more and that I’m most probably on my way out of the mortal plane scared me even more than anything that I was subjected to in the past few weeks.

Wait….was someone crying?

My vision came back to me and in my line of sight was a face I was all to familiar on the stone pavement

“Tadashi?”

He looked severely beaten and bloodied… and I was on top of him. My gauntlet and my right arm were bloody, with only my blade yet to be stained.

The look of resentment that he had in his eyes both times we crossed paths was there, which made me question the reality of the situation I was in.

But even after all this time….. I still stiffened up.

“Disappointing” he said from the ground….. and the next moment, I found Tadashi’s knife buried deep in my stomach

The sudden jolt of pain made me curl up as I tried to pull the blade out. But as it made me blink, it was all gone.

The blood, the knife, the pain…. Tadashi…. Everything disappeared. I got back up to my feet and reassessed my surroundings.

It was the black void again, I could see my arms, body and legs and under my feet was a pitch black floor that was rippling everytime I moved.

“I thought maybe Nishigaki would’ve been enough. Guess your shell is a lot thicker than I expected it to be…. On the bright side, even with him removed from the equation, the world will be a more manageable place…. albeit still equally cruel”

Of course, he had to be back to torment me…. And now he was wearing my face and voice

“Hey, it’s not like I enjoy it as much as you do….. Unfortunately, we are both stuck with each other at times like this” He was quick to remind me that I was not safe against him even in my own thoughts

“What happened to me?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, Akio….. I only see what you see.” He disappeared as I blinked and found himself behind me, facing away “But what I do know, is that considering I’m still here ... .you still live to see another day. Kind of a good thing too….. would’ve been a bit embarrassing to go out by the hands of that delusional control freak….”

I took two steps forward and turned around to lock my sight on him, but I managed to trip on something and fall on my ass.

He closed the gap and crouched down to my level “So tell me, Akio…. How did it feel? Taking a life out of your volition for the very first time?”

I got back up, losing sight of him for a moment…only for him to be in front of my face as soon as I got up “But even after ridding this fresh world of a wannabe scum like Nishigaki, you still refuse to change…. But it’s just a matter of time. Just like everyone else, your morality will betray you and the chaos will begin”

I brushed him off again “Alright asshole….. I listened to your crap, now you answer to mine. What the hell are you? You know what I think, you know how I will act but you can’t be me, not while I’m here”

He started walking away from me, with his hands behind him “Like I keep telling you ... .Some questions are better off left to have the answer found yourself, Akio.… But I can, nudge you in the…. general direction” he disappeared into the darkness and I felt two hands on my shoulders squeezing me “Remember how you thought Yamori Nishigaki to be two-faced. Think of me as your second face.”

I fought him off yet again “So what…you are my…. Inner demon?”

He let out a brief chuckle “Inner…demon. I like that name, as a matter of fact. So guess I am that for now…. Your…. Inner Demon”

And the moment I blinked; the whole scenario had turned into Yamori’s interrogation room. The white ceramic table and the rustic walls were all there. As I observed it all turning around looking at the room… the only difference was the flickering light

“Trust is a double-edged sword….” And there he was wearing Tadashi’s face and using his voice, and the light flickered and now he had turned into Yamori “Guess you found out about that the hard way once again”.

“What do you want from me?”

He paused for a very brief moment before replying “Lets figure that out shall we? I am trapped in your head…. and if you die, I die. What do you think I want,?” He got up from his chair and started to walk around “Do I want to kill you and take control of your body?…Who knows?”

The light flickered once again and he was now Tadano-san “Do I want to watch you fight a system that is clearly against you and watch as your whole world comes crumbling down? …Who could say?”

It flickered again, now in the appearance and voice of Tadashi “ Do I want to set you free…. To guide you towards an…. Inevitable corruption, break down your restraints that hold you back and witness you being born anew?..... Nah, that can’t be right”

And again, now…he was me, and he leaned towards me, supporting himself on the table from the opposite end “Or…. Do I want you to live, so I get to live?..... What do you think the answer is, genius?”

I didn’t say a word and got up from the chair I didn’t even notice I was sitting on

“I am more than fine being a watcher but when I see what you do, it’s like watching a bad slasher movie…. Why do you run away from the solution when it’s right there? Why hold onto petty morality if it’s just going to hold you back?”

“BECAUSE THEN WHAT WOULD BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ME AND HIM?!” I turned back towards him and screamed

I had my head down “I saw my best friend murdering my little brother…. I watched helplessly as that blade took Mom’s head off…. And even after all this time, after all I’ve been through…. I still don’t know why. I haven’t learned a damn thing on why he did it ever since that bastard Sato trapped us in here.”

My tension drained as I caught my breath “As much as I have followed him for most of my life, this is the one time in my entire life that I don’t want to. And I am afraid that I might follow in his path without even knowing it”

“You figured it out, didn’t you?”

“That Tadashi had gone through all this shit before we have…..Yeah. He knows this place inside out, he can appear and disappear without a trace and after I saw him move, it didn’t take me long to realize that he has had a lot of experience with the new CG. He beta tested this shit for 2 years away from home. That and Immoral 10 being not who I remember them to be….. It all started to make sense……. But what I still don’t know is why he did what he did? Why me? Does he blame me for not saving him? Maybe he felt like I abandoned him….”

“Or maybe, he blames you sending him here in the first place” said the demon

As I blinked and looked up at him, the scenery had changed into something familiar once again

“You remember Shizuoka right? Jun and Hayato being their usual selves and while Yuito, Mai and Meguru were being a pain in your and Tadashi’s ass the whole day…..” He had his back turned to me, arms stretched wide as he was embracing the rushing waves while the sun was shining blindingly bright

“The folks were drinking their hearts out and it was nothing but fun in the sun with the only damper being Hayato constantly reminding everyone how he wished Matsuri, Misha and Yukari came along as well. Remember when the day was almost over, when Tadashi Chifuyu confided in his best friend to help him make a life changing decision. Should he or should he not…. Participate in the closed beta he was invited to, which you weren’t”

He turned around and walked towards me “It’s easy to think why he would hold it against you…. You encouraged him to test a death game, you might’ve missed him clueing you in during your monthly chats that maybe all is not well on his side…. When he spent his whole life being judged and alienated for a crime he didn’t commit, maybe being abandoned by the one friend that he believed in was his breaking point….. It really is elementary when you think about it”

“If you really do know what goes on in my head, then you know for a fact that the Tadashi I knew could never be like that, even when he was cast away, even everytime he was bitterly defeated… He always laughed at the face of it. That’s not who I saw on either of those days”

He started walking sideways and nodded at me along and I followed parallelly “The thing is, Akio…. No matter how they are like individually, human beings are till creatures driven by instinct…”

And we then sat at the picnic table “I mean, isn’t that how the real world used to manipulate people. Show them adverts that they want to see, show them stories that they want to read or watch. Filtering out what they don't like their consumers to be…It’s all like herding sheep. But what if..”

He claps in front of my face and makes me jump “You kill the Shepherd, you take away the manipulation, you take away what they rely on to guide them…. And they learn to fend for themselves, to be who they truly are. They wake up.”

And he leaned forward with his hands in front of him on the table “Tadashi Chifuyu had one unshakeable pillar of support…you. And when he entered that beta he lost that pillar, and judging from what you have gone through as a first timer to this place, it's safe to assume he was beaten down… Over and over and over again.”

He takes his hands off the desk and leans back “ And it’s as you said, Tadashi Chifuyu is a fighter…. He gets back up when he is beaten down but how many times can someone be beaten down without getting frustrated at how powerless they are. Before everything, when he fell, you were there to lend him a hand to get back up and what happens when that hand is cut off….. Frustration builds and builds, and all of a sudden. He is forced to change into something he wasn’t before….. He becomes the Immortal Tyrant”

These were all the things that had been going through my mind, but he lays them bare reminding me how I am unable to outsmart him. But he still wasn’t done

“With his new lease on life, what is he to do first but to right his wrongs? What if one of those wrongs was getting back at his dear old friend that abandoned him?”

I couldn’t listen to any of this anymore, and I looked away from him

“You know all this all too well Akio, you just refuse to believe it. You wanted answers from Tadashi but here I am giving it to you….. And you knew all along. So what’s the point in all this? What’s the point in fearing a path that you know that you won’t be able to take?”

However, I wasn’t able to process any of it, as I felt a sharp pain that made me clutch my head on impulse

My other self-looked around “Guess our time had to run out sooner or later”

“Can you not…drive a spike through my head at those times?” I asked as my vision started to blur slowly as I held my head

“You are the one who is waking up…nothing I can do about it. See you when I see you Akio Nakamura, oh and don’t worry… I’ll keep the grill on till you return…. Maybe you would even answer the riddle the next time

“Riddle?”

But just before I could say another word, everything disappeared as I was pulled into a bottomless void and into pitch blackness

.

.

.

My ears were ringing and my vision came to me as a blur…it almost felt as if I was staring point blank at a flashlight. Through the steady expanding cracks of my eyes, I saw the blur of someone walking around in the room I was in. I could feel my breaths, under my nose and out of my mouth. And the person noticed that I was waking up and he rushed out of the room.

He was saying something from outside, but I couldn’t make heads or tails of it as my senses were still out of it. I tried to lift my head but it felt like I was stuck inside an ice block, unable to even make the slightest of moves.

My recovering hearing started to pick up a sudden thumping sound, and the door swung open with someone barging in. And my senses were at the level of functioning at the bare minimum, enough for me to pick up the chuckle out of Jun as he came close

“Oh my god-“ he crouched down on my side “-you gave me one hell of a scare you, you son of bitch”

The other guy appeared beside him, as I got a look at him, he looked slightly older and larger than Jun was, but even with my limited brain functions, I was sure that we haven’t been acquainted

“Where…what….how… who-” I couldn’t even form a single sentence yet, as my mouth was moving a lot slower than my brain at the moment

“It was a first for me doing this as well, he might still be groggy from all the after-effects. I’d say we give him a few minutes to acclimatize.” But my ears were working just fine

“What did you do to him?” Jun questioned

“Promise that you won’t flip out”

“Lawrence-san”

That was a name I wasn’t familiar with

“I uh….had to replace all him blood”

He did what?!

“You did what?!” while I couldn’t speak, Jun said exactly what I was thinking

“I know, I know…Perfectly valid reaction, but his blood was contaminated. Whatever Nakamura-san was put through, his hemoglobin wasn’t bonding with…. Look, long story short. He went clinically dead for a few seconds and-”

I what?

“He what?”

Okay, at this point, he’s just my sounding board

“In a moment, Jun-kun. But I had to transfuse a ton of HP potions into him… It was a gamble and I didn’t even know if it would work, but it did. The potion turned into new and functioning blood and there was no rejection whatsoever. He’s only alive because this is a game and the HP potions are wonder cures, he would’ve died painfully if this was real. Or if someone who didn’t know what they were doing did the procedure”

Jun moved away and looked like he was processing all of it with his hand on his hip and one on his forehead.

“Thank you….Lawrence-san”

“Of course, it the least I could do” said the Lawrence guy

But right on cue, I had more sensation now

“Jun” I called out weakly

And he returned to my side as I called out to him

“Hey, feeling better?”

I sighed “ I don’t think my brain works well enough yet to answer that”

He looked at the other guy instantly “He’ll be fine…. Talk to you in the morning?”

“Yeah”

He turned around to leave, until he turned back again. “Also ... .this was my room all this time so should I just…” He was pointing towards the hallway “Right, dumb question….Of course, also just…don’t let him sit up….or move at all. I had to make some risky incisions and with his slow healing and all….Don’t want him to spill out like a punctured water balloon”

“Lawrence-san!” Jun raised his voice at him

“Alright, I’m going” And he left, closing the door behind him

“Who’s the idiot?” I asked

“Takes one to know one, but it’s thanks to that idiot you are still breathing”

“What happened Jun? What happened at-”

“I found out the truth” he looked like he was in a state between angry and depressed

“I found out….who Senpai really was. The basement, everything he did….. I saw it all” He looked at me in the eyes but I knew he was trying his hardest to keep a straight face. It was more apparent now with his glasses missing

“Jayden….. He was with me…. Where’s-”

“I’m sorry, Akio” he looked more distraught now than before

I paused for a moment as I knew the meaning of those words, but I calmed myself just to not do something stupid and rupture my healing wounds

“You shot him?”

“I didn’t believe him at first but, when I did…. I tried to get him out but it was rigged with a trap. I saw him-” Jun put his hand on his mouth as if he couldn’t get the proper words out to say. “-He pushed me out of the cell to save me but, I couldn’t do anything”

Even with only the ability to move my neck, I could see that Jun was holding his rage back “He played me, Akio….. He manipulated me for years. Used my moment of weakness to wrap me around his thumb I…. I’m-” I could feel his pain through his stammers in his words

“Hey, it’s not your fault….. Nishigaki was good, even I didn't see him for who he truly was until it was too late.”

“But that doesn’t change the fact that I sent you out to die. Even when you had your doubts, I took his side over yours. I don’t think I can ever atone for what I did to you, or to the others that died because of me”

As much as I hated opening up another wound, this was the best chance if any for me to ask the question that had been in my mind for so long

“Actually there is-” Jun looked at me as I said that “I’m going to be stuck in this bed for the rest of the day, you could tell me about how Misha died”

He pulled up the chair from the desk behind him and he did, this time with no hesitation. But it wasn’t what I was expecting in the slightest

“I wish I’d known sooner.” Even after all I went through, I still found it hard to believe what happened to Misha. But I knew that it was the truth….. Jun didn’t run around in circles anymore, instead he told me the hard and cold fact, not leaving anything behind.

“I wish I did too. But I was too late, I was too afraid to confront her…. To tell her what she was doing was wrong. I was a coward, Akio. I was always too scared to stand in someone’s way and tell them that what they were doing was not right. Misha died because of that, and Senpai used me because of that…. I don’t want to be that coward anymore”

I thought I had heard everything with Yamori bragging about his findings in front of a camera and to me directly. But little did I know that this place has twisted roots all over the damn place, and I just happened to be a part of one of them.

“Can I ask you something Akio? Am I a traitor for what I did?”

What am I even supposed to say considering the circumstances?

I looked away from him and relaxed my strained neck, looking directly at the wooden roof above me “Honestly, I don’t even know if I can answer that for anyone anymore. Because I don’t know…… My hands aren’t exactly clean as well, and I don’t know what I am anymore….. But all I know is that, we had a choice, and we made our decisions…. All we can do now is leave all of it in the past and move on”

I told him exactly how I was coping, accept what had happened…accept what we have done and don’t look back. Noone can blame us for choosing the lesser of two evils, even if it meant being responsible for the death of others.

“Yeah….Did you really run into Tadashi though?”

Looks like Yamori had kept Jun in the loop somewhat, but guess I had to tell him sooner or later

“I did, and it went as well as you’d expect…. I tried talking but…..while he was different from what we saw of him on that day. He still wasn’t who we remembered him to be-”

I sighed as I recalled our recent encounter “I had a lot of time to think about it as Nishigaki had his way with me….. and part of me thinks that blames me for making him suffer two years of this place all by himself”

“The beta?” Looks like he caught on

“Yeah…. On our Shizuoka trip, he was considering the invite…. And I said go for it. Maybe what he did was…. Just to get back at me”

“That doesn’t sound to me like the Tadashi we knew, but it is possible. But I still don’t believe it….something about it doesn’t feel right to me…. But best we wait and gather more facts before we jump into conclusions I guess” As much as I wanted to take his advice, I still wallowed if it would even change anything… But he was right, it was better to be safe than sorry.

I had to catch everyone up with everything that had gone down in the past few weeks, from all I spilled to Yamori in that interrogation room, about Tadashi and the New World Order ... .and the fact that Yamori used my blood to create a damn super toxin. But first I had to be given the clear to leave my bed, and two I had to clear the air about something that had been long overdue between me and Jun

““Look, Jun…uhm…. About you asking me to…. well…. lead again. I told you I’d consider it and-”

“You don’t have to worry about it….”

That wasn’t a response I was expecting, considering it’s the main reason that they bailed me out of Low-Sec to begin with

“What do you mean?”

“All I’ve been doing ever since I saw my good friend taking his life was looking for someone to shadow. Yamori-senpai, Misha, Tadashi…. You. But look where that got us. Back to square one while we are all none the wiser”

He paused for a second “I’m not going to let you go on your own anymore, because I decided that if I don’t want to see my friends and family hurt anymore. I have to be more than a cheap imitation of others…. That’s why I’m going to lead this ragtag group straight into Morpheus. Misha said that I wasn’t able to do it….. This is my chance to prove her wrong”

He got up and put his chair back at the table and continued “You said that the Absolute Zero was one of your life’s greatest regrets…. You won’t have to face that anymore”

Eventhough if I didn’t forgive Jayden for that, I’d say worrying about a scandal that I had left behind in my life is the least of my worries right now. But I’ll just let him have this moment….. He really has changed since the last time we talked

I couldn’t contain my surprise and a chuckle left me, which caught Jun’s attention

“What?” I sensed a faint grin on his lips….maybe somethings have not changed between us

“Nothing”

“Spill it” the grin grew, and I was not even sure he was aware of it, which made me chuckle again

“Nah it’s just…. I’ve missed out on a lot since I’ve been away”

And now what started as an accidental but brief sneer turned contagious, as his grin grew into one of his own “You have no idea…. Now get some rest….I don’t want Lawrence-san breathing down my neck more than he already is” He said while he walked to the door

“Catch you in the morning, Akio”

“Yeah, later” Jun left my room, allowing me call it a day….eventhough I just woke up moments ago.

Another day arrived and now I was in the presence of the other guy who was with Jun last night.

“Slept well?” he asked me

“Not like I had a choice in the matter.”

“Right, dumb question” he came close and took the blanket off me

He handed me an HP vial “Hm? Just to be on the safe side”

I took it off his hand and chugged it down

“Great, now let me just check on your sutures”

“I don’t think we’ve met” I said

“Hm? Oh! Right…Well, we've met but actually we haven’t but….. Lawrence Richter” he extended his hand in the little space we had “On second thought, don’t shake my hand, I didn’t check the sutures there yet”

What the hell is this guy on?

“So what you are a….doctor?”

“I used to be before this place…. But now, I guess I am one of you guys”

“You mean literally, or?”

“Oh no, Jun-kun, Mai-chan and Meguru-chan let me into the clan just yesterday… I have to say, this had been quite a stressful initiation”

“Huh” So what else is lying in store for me as a surprise

“Akio Nakamura….and thanks for saving my life” I introduced myself

“Right, since we know each other now, might as well get this out in the open…. I might’ve known who you are….Back from Typhon”

I stood silent for a second “You were in Typhon?”

“Yes I was… Okay, if you could sit up now, that would help” I obeyed his request and he started checking on my arms “I don’t know if you remember in that mass panic but, I was one of the guys with the miniguns at the gate trying to cut off….. Great plan with the flour by the way…..A+ for creativity”

“What are you doing here in Helios?”

“Typhon fell, raid bosses started popping up all over and ... .didn't last long till it was a massacre, only three from my group survived, me, Huntley and his daughter….” He glimpsed at me from having his eyes on my wounds “Feel free to call me crazy, almost everyone I told that to did”

“After all the shit I’ve seen, that really doesn’t sound too far fetched”

“Alright, Ak-kun…is fine If I call you-“

“Don’t” I immediately reacted to that

“Ahh…my bad, I didn’t mean to offend you in any way. My apologies” he got off my bed and planted his forehead on the floor

“Hey, hey, hey…relax” Seriously, what is this guy on?

“In that case, mind if I call you Akio-kun? Just like I do to-”

“Alright! Fine, fine. Just get up will you?”

“Right, so...Akio-kun. You are-”

“Akio-nii!” and he was cut off once again by Mai peeking through the doorway “Oi, Meguru… he’s up”

Mai ran into my room and Meguru snuck her way in slowly

“Oi Lawren-chi…. How’s he doing?” Mai asked

Lawren-chi? Since when did this happen

“I was just about to say, you are in the clear, Akio-kun…. Your wounds have healed up and I’d say my procedure is a success…. God I need a shower after this”

“Well, I’m guessing rehab is going to be a pain”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that” said Lawrence-san

“Say what now?”

“This game is ridiculously detailed, but the HP potion also has the effect of taking away muscle stiffness, meaning you should be at your prime by now”

I got up and tried stretching, he was right…. I felt as light as I usually do

“Good to see you back with us, Akio Nii-chan” Meguru’s voice greeted me at the start of my new lease on life.

“Good to be back indeed… Why don’t you guys head out now… I’ll get dressed and be there in a second”

And a moment later, I was alone in my room. I stretched my back and checked my inventory…apart from being out of heals, it’s just as I left it. I found my T-shirt and jacket and put them on.

And turns out, I can even check my weapons in my room as well. I focused on my arm and my gauntlet appeared, and as I clenched my fist, so did a loaded trio of kunai. My blade had it’s shine back again, not being deprived of energy from Yamori’s torture basement.

I put my blade away and my gauntlet dissipated once I stopped focusing on it. I slapped myself on my cheeks and was ready to face the outside once again.

“What can possibly go wrong anymore?” I said to myself and I attempted to leave through the door.

And I had to jinx it

I opened the door only get drenched in what felt like glue

“What the” and something made me trip into a bag of feathers. Oh no, not this again

It didn’t take me long to realize that those two had ulterior motives, and Lawrence-san giving me the okay was literally the sounding of the gong for them to bring out the bag of beatdowns.

“Aw, come on guys, really? I managed to get back on my feet and I saw the two identical devils at the bottom of the stairs

“I swear, once I get my hands on you two little shits”

“Hey Onee, is it me or is the morning rooster sounding different than usual” and of course Meguru becomes talkative at times like this

I tried to go down the stairs and tripped once again, rolling myself down the stairs into a soft landing…. They planned for all this

I was dazed when I got myself up, feathers now covered my eyes and I only had to feel my way towards where I was going. I felt that I might’ve opened something with my shoulder and I tried to summon the animal control

“JUN!!”

“I am standing right in front of your face. You don’t have to yell”

But I couldn’t see two feet in front of me

“Yeah try telling the difference between up and down after tripping down the stairs with feathers in your ears” so I worked on clearing my face with my feathered hands…I blew my nose to clear my airway but that just made me look like a ruptured pillow.

I succeeded in clearing my sightline only to realize that I had made my way outside. Jun was talking to a dark-brown haired woman with a hood on.

“Oh…..Am I…. interrupting something?”

Jun took a long breath “What do you think, genius?”

“What happened to you?” asked the woman, trying her best to keep a straight face

“You don’t wanna know”

I diverted my attention to Jun “Oh and Jun, they also-”

“They home alone’d the house...didn't they?” Didn’t take me long to realize that Jun approved this

“Yes….They home alone’d the house ….and thousand yen says they have rigged the shower as well, I ain't walking in there until you clear it for landmines”

“Okay, look…I’ll be there in a couple of minutes, can you go back in and make sure you keep your poultry ass out of boiling oil?”

“There’s boiling oil?” I asked out of genuine concern of my own safety

“There will be if you don’t give me a couple of minutes” he slightly nodded his head towards who was waiting.

“Alright, I can take a damn hint” I went inside, not thrilled in the slightest that I must spend moments in the Kanie’s house of mischief. But it’s not like I had a choice.

After checking every floorboard at least ten times, I moved towards the table and took a seat ... .and as I had a moment to think for myself. Even covered head to toe in glue and feathers, this is the happiest I’ve been ever since that day… I just hope there will be more of them

“Akio Nii?” Mai showed herself from around the corner and sounded surprised

“There you are you little-”

“NO, NO, NO...stop…. how are you here?”

“What are you talking about?” I asked

“If you are here, who’s in the shower?”

So the shower was rigged, thank god I-

“Oh no” we both said in tandem as we came to the same conclusion at the same time. And it was verified as moments later, a scream followed.

“AAAAHHH! HOT!...HOOOOOT!”

“Lawrence-san!”

“Lawren-chi!”

All three of us were shouting at the same time to try to get him out of the shower, but the glass door was shut tight.

“How do you open this damn thing?” I asked the two responsible for creating this death trap

“It doesn’t…not until one cycle finishes”

“How long is that?”

“Ten minutes? Give or take?”

Lawrence-san was dancing around like a chicken tossed in oil due to the max heated water coming out of the shower….. Ah, so that’s what he meant.

“Best we try to get him out before that, yeah?”

I tried to break down the door first “Stand back”

I took a few steps back and threw my shoulder right at the glass door and the only damage that was done was to my shoulder

I retreated from that failed attempt holding my shoulder “Ow, god damn it…. How is it so easy in the movies?”

“MEGURU!, MAI!…RIGHT HERE! RIGHT NOW!” and in came to angry brother…eventhough he was clearly involved

The two goblins scurried along and I had to too…leaving Lawrence-san in scalding shower for a bit longer

“You might want to try getting Lawrence-san out of the shower of death before you get to that” I told Jun

“SHUT YOUR FLUFF AND PLANT YOUR AVIAN ASS WHERE YOU ARE. And you move an INCH until I say so, I’m gonna turn your ass into Karaage, Nakamura!”

“What did I do to piss your ass off?”

Jun went inside the bathroom and took a screwdriver and a hammer out of his inventory.

“Watch your feet, Lawrence-san” warned Jun, before he placed the screwdriver on the glass and whacked it with the hammer, causing the door to shatter into million pieces

The shower turned itself off and the poor guy was as red as a beet.

“Uh,uh,uh…you two have done enough already…out you go” I kept the ladies out as Jun was trying to help him out of the shower and hopefully not onto the shattered glass on the floor.

“What just happened” Lawrence-san asked

I went beside Jun to give him a hand “Guess this is not what you had in mind for a warm welcome”

“You are so lucky I have my hands full right now, or I would’ve broken your beak for saying that” said Jun

“And you are cool with calling me a chicken through all this?”

Eventhough naked, steaming and possibly blistering, Lawrence-san started to laugh.

“What are you laughing at?” Jun questioned

“And I thought I was the only one who needed help…Turns out you guys are no different”

And while we tried to hold it in ourselves, the atmosphere turned into one full of chuckles. Our problems just melted away at that moment, and for the first time in a long time….

We were actually having fun.