Charles Patricius

Now that it was in everyone's head that this 'date' was so real, Kazu began contemplating the night thus far. Those invasive, horny thoughts had all but left his mind for some time. It seemed all he needed was a bit of relaxation and camaraderie, a few chats, a few laughs, etcetera. Ai may have been one of the most ludicrously attractive people he'd ever seen in his age range, but that sort of thing hadn't bothered Kazu for several centuries now. As for him not making the experience weird, he once again couldn't take full credit. "I feel like I've tried my hardest to make it weird. You're easy to hang out with, though. It's been a really chill night," the lad claimed. With that, Ai rose from her seat and gestured toward their ultimate destination. She still had to get the experience she'd come for, and there were still 'spoilers' on the proverbial table for Kazu. Neither of those things were worth missing. "Hai hai! Top of the world, here we come!" he announced, springing up from his seat. They'd venture forth on that note, heading to that big wheel in the sky to end this date on the most literal of high notes.

Atsushi was the victor in this particular exchange; of that he was sure. Well, it never truly mattered to him what his mother thought of future marriage potential anyway. He didn't much care for the idea, nor anything too far in his personal future. In fact, his primary concern here and now was the location of his room... which was apparently an issue of some sort. What was the predicament Haru spoke of? Atsu didn't know. Mia didn't know. It was Rin who spoke next, bringing attention to Atsushi's boxes in the same bedroom she'd been given. Surely they weren't entering that sort of romantic comedy scenario... right? Wrong; that was exactly what they were walking into. As anyone in the room could expect, Mia exploded. Two teens of the opposite sex and no blood relation sharing a bedroom was highly frowned-upon. Alas, Mia's point had another counter first addressed by Rin. Atsu would follow-up posthaste. "So you wanted to stick me on permanent babysitting detail? Hard pass. Anyway, I can see where this is going... so... I'm going. To my room. Our room? The room. Have fun freaking out about your random porn research, I guess," was all Atsu had to say. He'd just have to find the room for himself. Meanwhile, Haru had many things to consider. "Well, there's nothing to really be done about it tonight. The best we could do would be to repurpose the office that was set up this morning, but the office is half of my job. Besides that, it would take a full day without the sort of help we had this morning. I also think it might be just as strange to suggest each of us temporarily sharing a room with our own child. I haven't shared a room with Rin since the nightmare age. Surely we won't have to worry about any 'fantasies' of some sort, right? That's all media nonsense."

Ai had accomplished many of her goals for the day, including managing to get out and spend some time with someone of the opposite sex on her own. She'd been to a place she'd wanted to visit and even managed to have a good time beyond the norm, living out one of her long associated bucket list scenarios. Kazuhiko was quite hard on himself as an individual, always willing to pass along the credit for goodness to someone else. Ai, noticed this and thought it to be charming, especially as it was so obviously not something he thought about actively. "It has been a really chill night. I know I likely can't change how you feel about it, but you can trust me, you definitely didn't make it weird~" she confirmed her own feelings. This kind of vibe was what she needed for any potential steps there after. Her questions to Miko earlier had been to confirm the idea of being able to perform such a check, and she was happy it'd come up so well. Perhaps, if Miko really liked someone it was worth it to be rather calm. "Hai hai, straight to the top! And then around again~" she mentioned. And soon after, they were in a small box car and on their way up the Ferris Wheel. They'd get to slowly watch as the wheel turned and filled before the ride started in earnest. "The further up you go, the more interesting things look," she was left to observe out of the window for quite a while yet, not knowing exactly how to cross the bridge of conversation.

While a Ferris Wheel ride became something of an interesting and magical conversation, a different kind of conversation was taking place in a new household. It seemed that Atsushi had no intention of arguing the point with his mother about her problematic decisions. She'd wanted to place him on permanent babysitting duty and now he was to be sharing his room with a teenage girl. "I had to know what was going on, so I could know what kind of girls to keep you away from!" she said as if it was a perfectly normal thing to do. "Besides, lots of kids babysit," she said as if that was normal. "I really hope you've cleared your browsing history," Rin commented almost absently. "It's not all nonsense things like this exist for a reason! I can't have a girl his own age crawling into bed with him, because of a nightmare or claiming to be stuck to get help!" Mia exclaimed. "Well, as true as that may be, we are currently sharing a room. I wouldn't want to make anyone reorganize a bedroom at midnight, nor would I want to get in the middle of a happy night between newlyweds," Rin explained of her own stance. "I'm pretty responsible, and I have lived my entire life alone with a man I don't want to see me naked so I'm not exactly going to be running around half-dressed or anything like that. We aren't take a bath together or anything like that, just sharing a living space." Rin argued from a point of pure logic. "I can say I haven't crawled into anyone's bed with nightmares since I was super small. And if you just hand over the wi-fi password, I can promise I likely won't be sleeping most of the night regardless. I have games to play," Rin offered. "Back me up a bit, Otou-san," Rin prodded her father for help, to avoid anyone having a major meltdown. All the while, Mia found this girl to be quite agreeable and her claims did have a bit of validity. It would be rude to make her husband give up his home office immediately and disrupt the work already done just because they didn't think through something. She was also looking forward to their shared night together...

A chill night between two teens had not even reached its climax. According to Ai, none of Kazu's actions had caused any weirdness. That was a relief; he always wanted to be as cool as possible. If he'd managed even a semblance of that, it could be called a success. With that, they were well on their way. Into the cab they went after a short wait, and so began the slow climb up via that rotating wheel in the sky. Ai spent her time looking through the window, and Kazu did the same. It was the general point of a Ferris Wheel ride, after all. Conversation couldn't be left at a standstill, however. Ai spoke of the climb and the view. If she didn't know how to cross a bridge of conversation, she had no cause for concern. There was hardly a conversation Kimura Kazuhiko couldn't keep going. "Right?! It's like the best thing next to a plane. I wouldn't mind being on one of those either, but I might actually like this better either way. We just get to... slowly climb up, and really take it all in over time. Being here in the middle of the night just makes it even better; look at how well-lit late night Osaka is!" he rambled excitedly.

Meanwhile, Mia tried to produce an excuse for her knowledge of modern pornography. Her claim fell on deaf ears, at least in regards to Atsushi. Things didn't get any better for her after mentions of nightmare claims and stuckage. "You shouldn't have bothered looking into that stuff; it'll poison your mind. Besides, I'm a computer nerd. Girls my age aren't interested in me anyway. I guess in that regard, you can say goodbye to any potential grandchildren anyway. Oyasumi~" Atsu said while waving over his shoulder, fully intending to walk upstairs and find this shared bedroom. He wouldn't have much time to get away, though. Why was that? Well, Rin had a few more things to say. First came a list of logical reasons Mia had nothing to worry about. All the while, Haru was nodding along, sipping his coffee and staring into his phone screen. It seemed he was trying to find some solutions to this current conundrum, but... there was another issue. Rin wasn't likely to sleep by virtue of her gaming habit. All she needed was the wi-fi password. "I trust my Rin is more interested in gaming and other things than boys. Besides, dear, you're not giving our young ones enough credit. They both seem reasonable enough to keep away from any tomfoolery or temptation. Ah... as for the wi-fi password, it won't be available until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. We could only squeeze so many things into today."

Right then, Atsushi stopped halfway up the stairs. For a 'computer nerd' as he claimed to be, a feat of physical prowess was shown immediately. One could have blinked and missed his rapid descent down the stairs again, all to confirm one damnable thing he'd just heard. "WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN TOMORROW?! KAA-SAN, FIX IT!" he exclaimed, that cool and calm composure he'd maintained all this time collapsing in an instant.

The view from the top of her Ferris Wheel was indeed the point of the entire thing. But even as Ai lost her ability to think of how to bridge the conversation, it became obvious that Kazuhiko was more than capable of carrying it on even from just a few crumbs to start with. She found that to be a definite perk of bringing him along, he spoke of the view, of planes and the lights of Osaka. "Hai hai, it's definitely great. I am not usually someone who appreciates the high views but, I think I quite like this one... it was worth seeing. And definitely worth sharing with you," she explained of herself. That slow climb upward was one thing, the lights on the ground was another and then... the fireworks began as they continued towards the highest possible place. By the time they made it to the top and the fireworks were exploding her hand reached out to touch the metal of the cabin and a little jolt of mana left her finger tips and traveled pretty far down. So far down in fact that the something in the fuses in the rides controls stopped and... they'd find themselves stopped at the top of this ride for quite a while yet while looking on at the fireworks. "It's really pretty up here. I'm glad I chose this is my first real date," she said a small smile gracing her lips.

At the same time, Atsu was still planning to go to their shared bedroom. Cool, calm and collected he was, and Rin noticed. This was how she was used to seeing him after all, and she could easily handle or mediate any parental fears. Her own father wasn't too hard to get onboard, and given Rin's presentation as a personal gatekeeper of herself, even Mia was thinking she might not need to react too strangely. "Oyasumi? It's barely after 12 you can't really be going to sleep. And anyone would be lucky to have you, don't talk down on yourself!" Mia encouraged her son, even while being the main proponent for him never getting married. The final nail in the coffin to any arguments was Haruto's agreement to the idea that his daughter was more interested in video games than boys. Their combined words made it, tolerable. "Fine, but at least make sure you don't get too comfortable. We'll definitely be separating you two..." she said her brows still furrowed. Ah, but her furrowing wouldn't be all that happened. No, because Atsu came all the way back to question the lack of internet. Her son, rarely showed so much emotion, but when he barreled back down the steps to demand she fix their lack of internet, she could only look at him with wide eyes. "Really, Sushi? You're way too worried about that. It's going to happen tomorrow!" she said quickly, knowing there was nothing really she could do. "Otou-san how could you? I put my faith in you, and this is what I get?" asked Rin who had tears welling up in her emerald green eyes. "What am I supposed to do with no internet? How am I supposed to survive? I can't game on a hotspot Otou-san!" she asked seemingly downtrodden. In this moment, the children were showing more signs of distress over the lack of internet than either of them had about potentially sharing a room. "I guess if they are this upset about the internet, I don't really have anything to worry about," Mia said seeming to relax...

As the moments passed, there was more and more for Kazu and Ai to see. Ai offered additional commentary about her appreciation of it all, despite her established norm. "Well it's good to make sure of these things sometimes, I think. If you want to be sure later without the risk, you can always just use that VR thing. Maybe it'll give some inspiration~" he suggested. All the while, Kazu was staring out the window at the starting fireworks show. Ai was glad she chose this as her 'first' real date, apparently. He hadn't been expecting something like that. "Wait, first? You've never had an actual date before, and you decided I was the one to take? You know I'm, like... sort of double-married, right?" he questioned.

"I don't plan on going to sleep, but I also don't plan on continuing this conversation. Oyasumi," Atsushi reiterated during his attempt to leave. He couldn't fully commit while hearing about the forgotten wi-fi password, however, so... soon enough, the comical return was assured alongside the accompanying outrage. Mia behaved as if nothing could be done about their lack of internet. How could they? What sort of human could possibly push the internet of a new house to the second day? Once more, Atsu was back to his serious demeanor ─ even more so than usual. "Okaa-san. Without wi-fi, I won't survive to tomorrow. You'll both be found guilty of filicide after you find me withered away, barely skin left on my bones by morning because all my lifeforce has been sucked away by living in this thing called reality. Remember these words, for they are my last to you," he preached before slogging back up the stairs again. Something had to be worked out. He could use a wi-fi hotspot from his phone, perhaps. Maybe that would be just enough to keep him alive through the night. Ah, but Atsu wasn't the only one in ruins; Rin was already in tears. Teens these days were so dramatic, Haru thought. "I know this is still spring break, and you kids want your internet. There was nothing to be done about it, I'm afraid. Maybe you two can get to know each other better with some old-fashioned couch co-op? That's a good way to bring new family and friends together."

According to Kazuhiko it was good to get out sometimes, she could understand that. "Rewards feel better with a bit of risk," she mentioned. "Not that I won't be enjoying my new VR experience. It will definitely be worth it. Thanks for that too..." she mused happily while watching bursts of pyrotechnics in the sky. Their current stop at the very top was one which would last quite a while, and it was good. Apparently, he was surprised by the notion that she'd chosen him as her first real date. She glanced over at him, a small smirk coming to her lips as he seemed shocked and even decided to reiterate his married status. "Yes, my first real date, as a normal teenager doing normal things... like going to an amusement park with a guy my own age," she explained of the situation. "I am also married already... and you're undershooting the number of times you are married, and that isn't even a spoiler~" she said smiling. "The truth is, I am not the sort of person who can just jump into things, I have to get a feel for someone first, and I'm helplessly romantic. I also think that it is necessary to create a baseline for the kinds of experiences one enjoys and will accept. You're a good marker for that, I'm more certain given how nice you've been this entire time. You exceed all expectations which sets the standard higher for future endeavors. Even with my established thousand years of emotional attachment this date will be something I remember forever. It's not a bad thing~" she explained of her own understanding. All the while, she knew there was a certain build-up which would be met by their joining.

This conversation was one Atsu didn't want to have. His mother saw that as a general normal reaction from him, until it was discovered that there was no internet. Of course, the amount of drama which poured from her son's mouth marked him as hers, but also wasn't something she understood in this context. "You're not going to die because you had to spend a single night without internet, Sushi," his mother said while rolling her eyes. How did kids these days ever get by? Well, obviously not well, as Rin had tears welling up in her eyes. She was accusing her father of some deep betrayal. She was fine with the man getting married out of the blue, but a single night without internet was somehow too much. "Couch Co-op, that's your recommendation? I have to set up a tv for that... figure out if I even have a second controller, actually set up a console, that actually works. And what, play Smash? That's what you want Otou-san? When we hate each other forever, know that this night without internet was the start of it all. As the adults in our lives you're responsible," she said pouting and beginning the childish slog up the steps. What else could she do? Her hotspot wouldn't support her PC. She'd really have to fish out a hand held or something. And with that Mia was left astounded, "They're going to what?!" exclaimed Mia as the girl walked away, 'smash' was definitely slang for something.

Rewards feel better with a bit of risk. Kazuhiko wholly agreed with that train of thought, though he left open the possibility that some may not want the risk. Ai seemed to seek the more balanced approach. As for this being her first date of choice and the strange situation from his end, Ai had much to say. First and foremost, there was the fact that Ai herself was married to at least one other individual. The number Kazu gave was also inaccurate, but there were a lot of technicalities to that which he already knew. What he gave was the number accepted by two involved parties; he'd never give more than that. "It's complicated," was all he said in that regard. "But if everything's clear for you, I've got no problems. I'm happy as long as we can all have a good time. But anyway, this is an awesome ending... unless there's something we missed that you're interested in down there?"

Atsu would be taking no further part in this madness. If he had to live without internet for over 12 hours, he'd be in no shape to entertain conversation with anyone. To Haru, it seemed the same may have been true of Rin. She reacted to his mention of couch co-op as if it were heresy, complaining about the necessary setup pieces and the potential downfall of certain competitive game experiences. "If not that, you could always enjoy your single-player experiences instead. But there's nothing wrong with Smash. Iino-san, Ashikaga-kun, Nanami-san and I used to play all the time. We were at each others' throats every session, but it was good for camaraderie overall. Try and have a good time, Rin. The internet will be working tomorrow," he said in perhaps the most 'traditionally fatherly' speech he'd given all week. While Rin slumped off as well, Mia had more to say. What was she questioning? Well, there was only one real option, but Haru didn't get the reference. "Hm? Smash? What's the matter; haven't you heard of it? It's all the rage, and has been for a long time now."

Ai's words seemed to settle with Kazuhiko. Though he called his own relationship status, complicated... he seemed fine with her decisions as long as she was clear of them. What was more, his words about everyone having a good time, reminded her of a similar sentiment once shared by a certain small member of their friend group. Well, at least it was really obvious where that particular interest came from. "Complicated, huh?" Ai turned her attention to the lad, and realized that in all his niceness he made things unnecessarily difficult for himself in several ways. Perhaps that was part of his more charming disposition. Well, she was a helpless romantic, admittedly she'd help him out a bit. "Yeah, I am free and clear. There is only one thing I could miss out on experiencing. And I'm sure myself and many others would like to have that fun experience without complications too," she said. "Which means this is a surprisingly good segue into magical world spoilers, you know for the things that keep slipping in~" she began her explanation with a smile on her face as if pleased they managed to get this far. "I'd like my date to have a happy ending, including the physical kind, but before that you need to understand how much power your understanding of yourself has over the outcomes of situations like these," she started. One could note now that the fireworks show was over, but still they remained in the sky, below a certain ride operator was beginning to panic he couldn't get the ride to start back up again. On the last one of the night even, what terrible luck he was having.

At the same time, young blue haired girl was having a mental meltdown. Not only did she royally miss something important, she also wasn't going to have internet. She was being given the fatherly advice and reminder to have fun. It was also mentioned that apparently, he had his friends used to play Smash together and it was a friendship building activity. "It's been a long time since then, times have changed, Otou-san. Comp is high!" she explained while at the top of the stairs. "Oyasuminasai, minna..." she managed still pouting. Of course, she was still going to set up a tv and after entering the room she sighed. How had she ended up in this situation. She looked towards Atsushi and the other half of their missing conversation was one they needed to have, with slightly less panic. As for Mia, downstairs she was sitting beside her husband again while this concept of Smash was eluding her. "Does that mean something else, because for kids these days, Smash is like..." she held up her hands to make a gesture of one index finger entering the hole of the other constructed hand. How could such a thing have been popular? Do did it mean something else in this context. Confusion ran rampant in the woman without real technological skill. Perhaps she really should clear her browsing history, given her oddities.

Toward the end of the fireworks show, Kazuhiko noticed something strange occurring below. People were gathering around, all seeming to work at the facility. Most notably, the operator was fiddling with the Ferris Wheel's hardware, apparently in a bit of a tizzy over it. "Huh. We might be stuck," Kazu mumbled. He'd return fully to his seat from there, leaning back to hear Ai's claim of missing experience. What could she have been missing that others would also have the joy of? Well, Kazuhiko considered it his job to help provide that joyful experience if possible. "What's that? Tell me; I'll do anything I can to help make it happen!" he insisted. Ah, but there was another matter at play here. Ai still had information to deliver, apparently about Kazuhiko himself and whatever power he had. That was one thing he'd been missing since the decent into Munetsuchi and his subsequent recovery. Being pieced together, having an upgraded form of soul, receiving even further upgrades within the Nexus ─ it was all flowing together as one big ball of confusion. According to Ai, it all had some connection to control and understanding. "Oh. You mean you had spoilers on personal character development. Well, that's pretty overpowered... but hit me with it," he said. With that, Kazuhiko would be laser-focused on whatever unknown secrets Ai had in store. He'd even do his best to pay attention all the way through.

Atsushi reached the room he'd be sharing with Rin, having little to no issue doing so. It looked as if they were first in the upstairs hall, separated from their parents' room by a tatami room currently used as an office. Atsushi could at least appreciate the extra distance, though it seemed that middle room could eventually become his, if not Rin's. No matter. There were so many things to sort through mentally now, he resorted to opening boxes filled with computer parts, completely ignoring those that contained clothes. A bath would be necessary in due time... but he wouldn't be bothering just yet. Once Rin entered the room, the real conversation could begin. "OK. First, I guess I'm not the only one who didn't look into this situation at all. Second... really? I'm not sure what to think about this whole room situation. Third... how are we even going to survive the night without a strong connection?" he asked in sequence. Meanwhile, Haru was faced with another curiosity from Mia. Her understanding of the term 'Smash' was some sort of slang ─ specifically of a sexual nature according to her gesture. Haru looked dumbfounded; that wasn't one he knew of. "... What? Absolutely not! I wouldn't have just sent Rin upstairs with a strange boy for something like that, much less her own stepbrother. Smash is just short for the game Super Smash Bros. It's been one of Nintendo's biggest properties for decades now. Maybe you should rest. It's not like I would have admitted that I used to have sexual relations with three male friends years ago. I've never been that adventurous."

At the peak of a date, its ultimate finish, Kazuhiko claimed that they might be stuck. For her part in this, Ai knew that to be the truth, it'd been by her design that they'd be at the absolute top of the Ferris Wheel and that it'd gotten stuck during the fireworks show. "I wouldn't have guessed~" she said in a teasing fashion. Of course, soon after, it would be her left a bit speechless. Kazuhiko, even without knowing exactly what experience it was she was missing out on, claimed to want to help her get it. He was far too free, too open and in all honestly way too nice. She appreciated it though. "Ehehe~ You shouldn't just agree to stuff before you know the details you know? People could take advantage," she said softly. Of course, she decided to leave that topic briefly as her desires would be made clear as the conversation progressed in order. "Yeah, personal character development, though either experience or conversation. I just happen to have a few missing details that can help, but they are currently a bit too much for everyone else," Ai commented absently. With his full attention obviously on her she began her point, scooting a bit closer and letting her eyes concentrate outside of the Ferris Wheel. "Oh, i got it. I know how to explain it~" she said after a few seconds. "You know how you were explained the different types of cards in AoE TCG? How there are Heroic Spirits, Gods and Dragons? Well... you're more like a Dragon than a god. The proper term for it is 'Spirit' but you're much bigger and harder to define concisely, than like the little elemental ones," she explained carefully. "Specifically you work more like a Dragon Spirit would with a condition, but the card text you have... is determined by you. And every time you say something with conviction it gets added to your flavor text and condition. Does that work as an explanation, I know the super magic heavy things are a bit harder to visualize," she said almost wistfully.

While Ai began an explanation of magical world mechanics in the simplest terms she could find. Atsushi and Rin were busy going up to their now shared bedroom and having a more serious conversation about the nature of their now shared life. Rin was wiping tears from her eyes as she entered. This day was overwhelming and while she was a responsible and emotionally stable individual, she'd taken one too many shocks for such a short amount of time. "No, of course I didn't. How could we be so dumb? I thought it'd be invasive to stalk my dad's new girlfriend. I figured I had more time... but he's happy and I know I am only one year left in high school regardless. I figured it would be fine." she started her own rant as well. "Also what in the ROMCOM dumbshit is this? I don't actually care, but this is probably the craziest random thing I've had happen in years," she said beginning to pace the floor as he sorted through boxes. "Ugh, we could actually play a game. I do have a regular console, it's just an annoying thought... I mean we could sleep and make the night go by faster, but do you know how hard it is to fall asleep early on purpose?" she said running her hair through those short blue locks of hers. At the same time the parents were down stairs discussing the new slang of the youth. "I wasn't implying anything. The youth has crazy slang now, they could have taken it and changed the meaning... life is weird like that. I didn't think anything crazy of you or your friends. You don't seem like you'd have really crazy ones," Mia expressed. "The move has just been kind of crazy, but I'm pretty optimistic. Rin-chan seems like a nice girl, and I haven't had one to hang out with in quite a while. I wasn't much into video games or anything like that... I'm more traditional, shopping, cooking, novels kind of girl," she explained of herself.