Charles Patricius

Once he had Johanna in his sights, Yugi could only wonder what wild excuse the next Jovian would come up with for their irresponsible actions. The only one he could rely on for a logical excuse was Sakura, but Johanna... claimed she had better ideas when someone was inside her. Though he knew such things to be true with many people, the risk she took in doing something like that with an atomized Wise was colossal in nature. Ah, but he had something else to deal with before addressing the issue here. "You shut up!" he said to Miko first and foremost. As for Johanna... "Well if you get better ideas from that, maybe letting you finish taking that dick would have led to a realization, hm? Maybe the realization that... you're pregnant with your own husband's younger self's child, and adding the mana of someone else in his future would form a link through time to that person? Do you want KazAtsu ship? Because that's how you get KazAtsu ship, at least three splintered realities, and possibly lock one of your own sisters out of the group you know now. How many times do we have to say it? When we're doing a timey-wimey, what's the first step?" he asked while holding out that finger again, priming it for another flick.

The one they called Aventurine was an interesting subject. Whatever he wanted out of a deal was difficult to assume for those who weren't in one of his 'special circles' as Atsu would call it. Rin presenting the idea of exchanged services was questionable at best. "Whatever those services are, I don't think I'm the one to offer... or the one to offer anything he'd take. I'd rather just work for free for a while, but that'd be an even bigger issue if we want to deal with bills at the new place," he surmised. "We'll definitely need a consistent alibi. I don't think school clubs or anything like that will line up, so maybe a shared part-time job doing tech work? My mom doesn't get the tech lingo, so it's an easy one for me without having to speak in code." As he spoke, Atsu took the time to pick up a crumpled shirt from the floor. Right away, he slipped it over his head just to see Rin holding out that box of tissues afterwards. He took it, tossing it recklessly onto his bed while showing an expression of disgust over the game Rin explained. "Ew, gross. Anybody else can do whatever they want, but the last thing I want is to accidentally become gay," he griped. With that shirt, all Atsu had to do was select the right pair of shoes downstairs. First though, it seemed Rin was making a selection of her own. He stopped next to the closed door, wondering if she was going for a full change. If that were to be the case, he'd definitely kill more time by watching. "We don't get a lot of random, chill hangouts. That'll be a plus from this situation we're in; I like when we hang out. Maybe we could even scope-out some choice spots for a new base while we're out."

The game was continuing but Yugi's announcing had taken a back seat to a bit of parenting. Firstly, Miko was told to shut up, which she took in stride only pouting a tiny bit while she went for her next conquest. 'I worked though my own thing today, I didn't even do anything...' she thought huffily. Still, there was a more pressing matter directly in front of them, apparently there were many things that Johanna hadn't considered. Like potentially what her pregnancy with her husband's past-self's baby meant. Yugi went on quite the tirade as he explained that such a connection would have caused Kazu and Atsushi to become connected across space time, ending in some sort of homosexual relationship for the pair. "I didn't think about that, I didn't plan to add anything to them. They feel oddly complete. I wasn't trying to lock anyone out and I wouldn't want KazAtsu... I don't get that whole boylove thing, I'm not Mimi..." she said with her brows furrowing. "Shots fired~" Kimiko uttered quickly unable to help being amused by the situation. Miko on the other hand went wide-eyed. "Party Foul, I was comforting you... why am I being attacked today?" Miko exclaimed. She was willing to ignore the fact that only a second prior to that, the idea of seeing such a thing for a few minutes would be worth the watch. She wouldn't watch any intense homosexuality or anything. Regardless, there was a question that was being asked of Johanna so she looked sheepish. What was the first step of doing a timey-wimey, "I should wait for time people," she murmured softly. It was always bad when she got these sorts of talks. She'd not intended to do anything bad.

Meanwhile the present had a version of 'Wise' speaking on what it would mean to use Aventurine as a connection. Working for free was always an option, but not if they wanted to pay bills on a new hideout, "I guess that would put a damper on things. I don't mind some casual work for free, but the likelihood of it being casual is very low..." Rin said as she thought it over. Hm, it was something however which could be done. At the same time, they were figuring out the socially correct way to deal with their parents. A consistent alibi for their 'work' was necessary. "I agree, clubs and such would be a bit too much. A part-time job might be doable. Both are parents should know we are both into tech-stuff. My dad is a bit more computer literate than that, but only just a little... like he can use more than the base stuff for his job, but his line at high tech is drawn at old consoles. Him, that friend of his and his Sega... is as far as it goes," she said chuckling. "Actually, if we found a tech-repair shop or something similar we could cover our usual work and technically any 'emergencies' that need us to be not at home to handle them..." she added. The part time job idea was definitely coming together nicely. In addition to that their discussion on the game called Masquerade of Hearts had Atsushi having a rather extreme but understandable reaction, "I definitely figured you'd have that sort of reaction... that's why I warned you. It's pretty easy to separate friendship from romance once you're deep in the game..." she explained of the situation. After giving him that tissue box, what would she be selecting to wear? A graphic long sleeved t-shirt. her usual vest as it had all the things she needed in the pockets. An orange skirt today, a black belt thigh highs, and probably whatever shoes she had by the door, they tended to work no matter what. With those things spread across her bed, she'd begin getting dressed seemingly without care. "I also like when we hang out. It's always more fun than most things... and we can definitely look at some spots if nothing else~" she said as she easily slipped into various pieces of clothing until her outfit came together. She ruffled her own hair and grabbed a few lips to put her bangs away from her face before checking herself in the mirror and slipping her phone into her pocket.

Johanna didn't think about the potential consequences of her own actions. Yugi couldn't really be surprised; others weren't nearly as well-versed in time manipulation as Kimiko and himself were. Still, that was just more reason to rear them in. "A breath. That's all it takes sometimes. You already have the baby now, and he hasn't met you yet... so think back. Wasn't there some sort of unreal, mystical connection between you two? Like something pulling you together beyond what he was at the time?" Yugi asked for clarity and Johanna's understanding of events. "That same type of pull would exist between him and Wise. It's what happens when the timeline is acknowledging a fixed point; it pulls all involved parties straight into the event horizon of causality, sparing no one along the way," he explained. As for the first step required when doing time-related things, it seemed Johanna at least remembered that. He had a finger prepared to flick her forehead again, but it instead extended for a poke. "Wait for the time people. Good girl. Now, here's the other thing... you can't keep the baby," he stated firmly. After everything else had been explained, the one remaining fact was that Johanna and Kazuhiko would have very difficult lives if a future child between them continued to exist. The possibility of someone being written out of the group was still open.

Rin may not have minded the idea of working for free, but Atsu didn't have any interest in it. He'd have a change of heart if bills were no issue. So long as they were, however, keeping the internet and electricity going were requirements to continue working and... well, having a life, as he saw things. Regardless, it was more important to establish an alibi, that they might work at all. Too many risks were associated with doing what they did from home. Frankly, they wouldn't have the connection for it anyway. "So definitely tech support somewhere. A repair shop wouldn't be bad; it'd explain all the parts we have going in and out for the occasional tinker. We'd probably want to run it as a legit business though, right? I mean... from what I know of Osaka, we'll probably want to do some laundering," he mused while contemplating further. Whatever the case, Rin was dressing herself and Atsushi was preparing to open the door and head out. By the time she pocketed her phone, he took the go-ahead and slipped into the hall. "Yosh! I'll download that Kingdom Hearts game once we're connected again. First things first! Find food, find... 'jobs'. Geronimo!" Atsu announced as he hopped down the stairs to select and equip a pair of pristine white sneakers.

No one knew time travel like Kimiko and Yugi, it was indeed their personal forte. Even so, people like Johanna often found themselves getting lessons on it given their lack of knowledge and their pension for making a bit of trouble on some fronts. In this case, Yugi was aptly explaining to her the issues of her earlier thought process with examples that she could understand and piece together from her existing experiences. "Hm... it was like that. I understand, though that kind sounds like a flaw somewhere in the design if it can cause something like KazAtsu," she commented after everything. Yes, even when it was understandable it didn't make complete sense. As two men couldn't make a baby like that locking them into an inexplicable desire for each other was weird as an acknowledgement of a single event. At the very least, she only received a poke to her furrowed brow as she remembered the main rule for doing things with time. Even so, it seemed a thought she had looming in her mind was being made true. A sigh escaped her when she heard those words, "I knew you were going to say that... I remember this one," she said with a hand placed on her stomach. She really wasn't looking forward to parting with this one, but she also knew it was coming because of the amount of familiarity she felt with it. All the while, the Wise based game was still taking place in the background.

Moving on from the issues of the party, Rin and Atsushi, were putting themselves together to go outside, and look into their 'alibi' and work while they were here. "Yeah, that sounds pretty reasonable to me. Laundering, a place to get a lot of specialties delivered... and somewhere to go when we want or need to escape the house, sounds good to me," Rin claimed as their door opened. In the space outside and down the stairs she also went to put on a pair of sneakers, they were plain, black and worn in but that was fine. She looked at Atsushi's choice of exit words and chuckled. "Ahahehehe~ All those shoes are yours? Hm, I suppose its a good thing they are stored down here, Food, jobs... game on!~" she said seemingly surprised. Of course, it didn't much matter as they headed out.

While that pair headed out, a college age blonde was standing outside of a convenience store. She was due to start work in about thirty minutes, but oddly enough the store itself was closed. It was a very unusual thing but she didn't mind in truth. She managed to look innocent enough in her button up shirt and plain black mini-skirt. Her outfit was completed by a pair of flat shoes which weren't impressive but still completed her look. She absently played with a strand of her hair with its pink tips her as she held her phone close to her face. She supposed that she'd waited long enough she might as well, keep herself occupied by checking on th lad she knew to be in the hospital. Her mind schemed actively, what would she say... "OMG! Akira-kun are you doing okay?" she sent after some consideration. Keeping the messages short and concise would have him answering her back in no time, and keep her occupied for a while yet. She kept the casualness of their conversation, didn't separate them from their previous closeness and even made herself out to be worried about him. That sort of thing would work on someone like him, he had to be starved for attention considering how plain he was in general.

As per usual when pointing out the effects of causality to others, there were logistical concerns presented. Johanna found a flaw in the system. Yugi closed his eyes briefly, having a clear visual of the path leading to 'KazAtsu' as they were calling it. The flaw Johanna spoke of was a matter of perspective. "Three-dimensional viewpoints. Put a trace of Wise in an infant already connected to Kazu by his own future, and he becomes a necessary part of it. The same way he's drawn to you and you to him, you'll both equally be drawn to Wise, and him to you. Without the right way to rationalize it, your souls won't understand why the link is so strong, and then... two-thirds of the Good Boys is gay. Good Boys don't do gay, right?" he asked openly to receive an immediate, albeit irrelevant response from Wise. "Uh... I've just been waiting to ask why my name's on the sub side of this gay ship?" he asked. Immediately, Yugi shifted his gaze in the white-haired male's direction. Obviously he didn't know. "Because you're a Good Boy. Kazu has multiple live-in wives. He's a bad man." That was about the only reply Yugi had for Wise, though the latter didn't seem to fully accept it. Either way, Yugi quickly moved on to address something odd in Johanna's last clause. "Now... what do you mean you remember this one? Is this one of the easy times? Tell me it's one of the easy times!"

In the meantime, there was a black-haired male lying in a hospital bed, phone atop his chest when it vibrated. Kurusu Akira expected a message from the likes of Chizuru, or perhaps another threatening or otherwise weird text from Yuusuke, but lo... what he received instead was something from the very woman who led to his near-demise. Akira struggled to flip his phone into visual position due to the cast he wore. Upon finally managing to view the screen, he had an immediate list of reasons to question the message. Why was she messaging him at all? How was she behaving like his fate was news to her? What was the point of checking his condition after that heartless breakup? Most importantly... what was hiding? For a moment, Akira viewed his screen with a bit more seriousness than others tended to see in his face. As for his answer, it was: "No. Hospital. What is it?"

According to Yugi, their 'three-dimensional' thinking was the reason that Johanna saw a flaw in the system that would create a relationship between Kazu and Atsu in order to facilitate a baby being born between them. "Hmmm..." Johanna nodded her understanding. Well, if it was only a matter of perspective it didn't matter, still she wouldn't purposefully change anything about Kazu or anyone else. Still, Yugi wanted confirmation that the Good Boys didn't do gay things, while Wise seemed more concerned about being the sub in this hypothetical relationship. Yugi had an explanation for it, and it wasn't one that Wise seemed to be familiar with, but as multiple wives were present they'd agree. "I still don't get boylove but if, Jels treatment of you is any indication I'd say it's accurate," Johanna mentioned, all while watching Angelica pin a Wise into the male version of mating press and continue to ride him without care for his well-being. "Well as one who partakes of both of the men in question and the boylove genre .. I'd draw it that way♪~" Miko claimed as yet another Wise was dispersing having ejected himself into her mouth. Still, she wouldn't deny a bit of curiosity about this situation, even if it wasn't something she'd get to see in the moment. Beyond that there was Yugi's time of asking a strange question of Johanna was this one of the easy times? What did she remember? Well... "Maybe, you did say you hate Aincrad though..." she murmured. "This one, I can feel, they are... the only good thing I made in Aincrad before my escape this one was what I was living for, a perfect little one," she explained thinking back on those early days of hers. It was tough that time she spent locked away but... a few rays of light happened during her time there.

Meanwhile the blonde lass continued to stand outside of her work place, steadily waiting on a reply. It'd taken a while longer than she'd expected for one to come in. It was short, concise and maybe a bit colder than she would have liked, but there could be multiple reasons for that. The first of which was whatever his injuries actually were. Still, there was a question at the end, which left her enough of an opening. A little sparkle occurred in her blue eyes as she thought of what to say next. "It's nothing, really. I was just checking on you. I did hear what happened, and it's crazy!" she claimed easily. Well, a bit of sympathy would be enough. He didn't have many people to rely on, she'd made sure of that... so surely a bit of teasing and maybe a visit and he'd be hanging on her every word, even with no promise of a real relationship again. It was the easiest way to handle someone like him, besides... this didn't seem like the sort of job that would require all of her attention, she had plenty of time to string him along.

The issues present with Johanna's current pregnancy were easily avoided, at least in a technical sense. Any hypothetical situation involving Kazu and Wise was an issue Yugi had no further interested in; he was already floating lower to bring himself eye-level with Johanna's womb. Reaching out, he'd touch the upper end of her pelvis with his palm while hearing her mention... Aincrad of all places. "... No, that's not funny. Why does it have to be that one?" he wondered immediately. On the list of annoying places to visit, that one was rather high. Such a special moment and apparent beacon of hope could not be taken from Johanna's past, though; he would never take something like that for his own hatred of something connected to it. "Fucking shit! More time in Aincrad, but you know what? I'll do it. But you still owe me," he declared with a groan.

Elsewhere, Akira remained motionless in that hospital bed. He didn't have much choice without proper use of his legs or arms. At this point, all he had was whatever garbage news the nurses left on a low-quality television set, a drip-feed of morphine via IV, and the phone kept close to his broken chest. With that being the case, Mami's messages were easily received and read now that he had that phone stable. Just checking on him, was she? A lie, probably. The one called Mami always had some sort of ulterior motive. He saw the mask she wore, but he'd yet to peel it off and see what lay beneath. Perhaps he still had a chance? Well, time would tell. Carefully did his thumb move across the touch-screen keyboard until another response was managed. It read: "I'll be fine. Will take months to recover. Hospitalized for at least a week."

The Kazu and Wise issue were no longer one which needed more conversation. It would seem that instead the magical pregnancy of Johanna held a bit more importance. This particular child of hers, was one she remembered and was technically the first she birthed in happiness. Yugi didn't think the mention of Aincrad was funny and was legitimately upset about having to visit there. That hand upon her pelvis wasn't one she'd turn away from, even if she was currently being chided for her bad actions, Yugi had always treated Johanna with a certain amount of kindness. "I know you don't like it there, not many with your kind of alignment do..." Johanna mentioned almost apologetically. Aincrad wasn't a pleasant place for anyone who wasn't a purely 'creator' leaning entity. "Come on, Aincrad is annoying but... naughty nun time~ Forgive me, Daddy for I have sinned♥~ A full session in a confession booth? I can't say no to that~" Kimiko said in her lightly joking manner. As for Johanna, it appeared she'd owe Yugi for making him go there, but she didn't mind. "That's fine... depending on when you go it might not be too bad for you, there is that weird thing that happens during that time period..." she said remembering an event which changed the 'climate' within the floating space. Hearing words like that a certain brown haired young woman quietly shifted herself into a new position bent over in that swing to sway between two Wises and hope that wasn't one of the things that would get her into trouble that she didn't remember.

Meanwhile, Mami continued to wait around and text. Much to her own relief and satisfaction, there was no confrontation with Akira. He simply answered her questions and kept up his usual behaviors. His texts didn't imply that he even blamed her a little for his situation. Such a thing almost made it too easy to keep him on the back burner. "Good that you'll be fine. But you should definitely watch where you're going, lol." was the first message sent. Ah, but a quick follow-up though so he didn't think she was being too snide with him. "JK. A week is a pretty long time, to only see doctors and nurses. I'll stop by and say hi after my shift♥~" she added to those words. Yeah, that'd be alright, she'd just be the breath of fresh air in a hospital full of random sick people, cementing that she was there for him at some point during his recovery. And so long as she checked in on him every once and a while, she'd be fine to continue her other endeavors and know he'd be at her beck and call once he was a bit better physically. She could even probably talk him into going shopping with her and helping her attract some other people, she could play him off as her 'just friend' for the sake of getting other guys interested. Yeah that worked and if anything happened he'd defintely help her out, that was the type of guy he was...

Yugi spent quite a few moments figuring out how to work around Johanna's unique situation. This sort of thing wasn't normally a problem at these parties, surprisingly enough... but there were costs to the type of plan he had. Given Johanna's existing memories of the child in question, however, he figured everything would be fine. The only real issue was having to visit Aincrad, but even that could be mediated by a bit of deviance according to Kimiko. Hearing her suggestion, he could only give proper consideration to the trip. "You know... Aincrad might be worth the itchy feeling. All for a good cause and whatnot, yeah?" he said after a few moments of contemplation. With that, he moved on to scanning backwards through Johanna's origin. So far back he had to go, but a bit of conversation was no distraction in this case. "It's farther back than that, if what you're talking about is the first time pipe organs were deleted. It's fine though. I'd rather go then, than right after they were invented again. That one wasn't problematic; it just sounded like shit," he chattered. "By the way, you probably understand already, but... most of the 'you' from right now is going to be lost in transition. It'll be an incomplete kid... but I'm sure you already remember when it was finished."

Games. Games were being played, but who held the controller? Frankly, Akira couldn't tell for certain. There was every chance he remained in control of the situation without making advancements at the pace he'd like. On the other hand, there was an equal chance he was being played like a fiddle. Not knowing what was truly beneath Mami's exterior made things quite difficult ─ especially when he didn't know how much she'd seen through him. Still, there was something bothersome about her message warning him to be careful. As if she hadn't been the reason for his accident. He should... ah, no; there was another message mentioning a visit later. That would be nice, he thought. No! That wouldn't work at all! Chizuru was too forward; she'd definitely be appearing just as she'd claimed the previous day. "You don't have to trouble yourself! The staff here is nice. They'll keep me company," he replied.

It only took a little poke of deviance and a bit of a distraction for Yugi to see the trip to Aincrad as something to look forward to. Yes, he still would have completed it for Johanna's sake but lightening the mood around the trip was one of the better ideas for a pair like Kimiko and Yugi. Among their time travels, they saw the best things, but they also saw a lot of the worst things this world had to offer. It was best to go into those moments with a bit less tension built up, lest a world ending event be something they caused in their own forms of rage. "Mm-hm~ It's gonna be great! For the cause and all that... and to be fair, between the itchy feeling and the vertigo, a distraction will definitely be worth it~" she asserted. Naughty Nun cosplay was one of the best things about attending to the 'churches' this world had to offer. Whatever the case, apparently, Yugi would be appearing before Pipe Organs were destroyed but he preferred that, "Yeah, I can't say I like them either. Mimi has a whole tirade about them, luckily she's eating~" Johanna mentioned as if it was amusing. Miko was swallowing something while speaking about the nature of Pipe Organs, "They fucking suck♪!" she exclaimed as she gobbled up another Wise for her trouble. As for her baby and the lack of the current Johanna in it, she understood. "Yeah, I understand that now. I didn't before, that one was way too good by the time it came together for the younger me. But it's worth it... I'm glad I can give my younger self something like that..." she mused. There was a stark difference between the Johanna that existed now and the one she was talking about. That girl she was talking about... was a confused mess and barely anything more than her purpose. It would take a very special man and a group of individuals to help her become something else.

Meanwhile, Nanami Mami was busy playing with Kurusu Akira. The lad was such a soft man, he couldn't help himself. It was far too easy to get him to comply with her wishes. Yes, he'd be strung along for quite a while yet, and as if on cue his next message was one which showed the exact attitude she saw in him. She shouldn't trouble herself, the hospital staff was nice. All of those words just led her to believe he didn't want her seeing how lonely he was without her. He was probably still trying to play off the fact that he'd been distracted enough to nearly get run over just because she'd broken up with him. It'd be a good story worth teasing him over in front of others, she was certain it'd keep him in the right space at least. "Wow, Akira-kun, you're practically begging me to stop by, lol. It's really fine, don't go bugging your doctor to keep you company~" she typed that message to send it and did so. Her face in the moment triumphant. Still, what could be taking this store so long to open, were there Golden Week hours she wasn't aware of?