The theme song for this chapter is Move Along by The All-American Rejects.

Act I: Making a Name
Part 2 – Move Along

Sunday, January 17, 2021 7:28 AM – Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan

I yawn as I feel the effects of sleep deprivation, taking a sip of my green tea as I step out of the taxi and onto the concrete of the courtyard in front of what will become my new home. I throw the now-empty bottle away in a nearby recycle can as I walk up to the digital access system and press the 'operator' button. A moment later, I hear a voice from the other side. "Hello, sir. Could you please state your name and purpose for visiting?"

I clear my throat and prepare my professional voice. "Yes, salutations and good morning. My name is Damien, and I'm the new owner of the complex. I'm getting ready to move my personal affects into my home at the top of the building and I'd also like to review the property permits and building licenses to make sure we're up to date."

I can practically hear the receptionist on the other end scrambling, and a moment later, the door in front of me opens. "Apologies, sir, we weren't aware you were arriving this morning! Please come in and I'll contact the manager so we can prepare those documents for you."

I chuckle. "It's no problem. Thank you and have a good rest of your day." The initial greeting done, I adjust my suit and enter the building, waiting for the second door to open and then walking up to the receptionist. "Good morning. Apologies for the surprise of my arrival, I'd thought someone would have updated the manager on when I'd be arriving in the city."

"Oh! Well, it's of no concern now, Damien-sama. The manager's office is down the hallway behind me, on the third door to the right. Please enter whenever you're ready," the man responds, and I can tell he's nervous.

"No need to be nervous around me, I'm not a strict owner or anything. And please, for future reference, I'd like if you could drop the honorifics or at least use informal ones, I'm from the States so I'm not partial to that sort of treatment."

"Oh, of course. Does sir or Damien-san work for you then?"

I think to myself for a moment. "Either or is fine. As long as no one calls me sama again, which I'll be making sure the manager is well aware of."

"Of course, sir! Have a good day, and don't hesitate to call down if you need assistance in getting acclimated to your suite."

"Will do," I say to the man, giving him a smile as I start making my way over to the manager's office. I knock several times.

A moment later, I hear a soft female voice from the other side of the door. "You may enter." I make sure to check my suit again and then enter the door, closing it gently behind me. I turn and face the manager, who is a blonde woman who appears to be in her late thirties. She wears a set of bifocal glasses and is wearing teardrop-shaped earrings onset with beautiful amethyst gems. She wears her hair in a neatly kept bun and is wearing a traditional black kimono. The typing of keys echoes through the room as she finishes the item she's currently working on and then turns to face me. 'Greetings, sir. How may I assist you?"

I put on a small smile. "Good morning, manager-san. I'm Damien, the new owner of the building. I asked to be directed here because I'd like to make sure the building's permits and licenses are up-to-date before I get settled into the complex."

The manager looks at me in surprise for a moment, before remembering I was due for arrival soon. "Oh, my apologies, Mr. Damien. I wasn't aware you were scheduled to come in early. Let me retrieve those documents for you. My name is Helina Ayase. It's nice to make your acquaintance."

I raise an eyebrow in surprise at the name, but even more at the lack of honorifics. "No honorifics? I'm surprised, I've been getting honorifics all over the place since I got off the plane."

Helina chuckles. "No, dear. I'm from Russia, you see, and we don't use honorifics there either. I'm told you're from the States?"

"Yes, ma'am," I chuckle. "Had to get out of that hellhole as soon as I could. Plus, I was too smart for their systems and college was too expensive where I lived so I thought it better with how the world is now to go ahead and start a new life somewhere else. I heard Japan has quite the challenging curriculum, and when my father was still around, he had hired a tutor for me from Japan, so I'm interested in furthering my education and professional advancement by moving here and using the more rigorous system to push myself even higher."

Helina looks intrigued as she opens a file cabinet and rifles through the files, looking no doubt for the ones I've requested. "Really now? If I may ask, where were you in your education system in the States?"

"According to the college estimation exams, the SAT and ACT respectively, I was the top student. On the military's Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test, I also scored a perfect ninety-nine out of ninety-nine."

Helina nods. "That is impressive indeed. And most of the world is already aware the education in the States is abysmally below average, so your decision to use what you had to move elsewhere in the world was the right choice. I doubt you'd have found a sufficient environment to push yourself and challenge yourself in the way you want to there."

I nod. "No doubt about that. Plus, the country was getting hit worse by the COVID pandemic than most of the world right now, so I decided that since I had nothing left to tie me down there it'd be better to get out before I end up catching it myself. Of course, that doesn't mean I can't still catch it here, but with the precautions I take, it shouldn't be nearly as much a concern as it was when I lived in the States."

Helina nods and makes a small noise of triumph as she pulls out the records I've requested. "Alright, Damien, here are the records you asked for," she says, handing them over to me.

I nod gratefully and sit in a chair nearby, taking a few minutes to look over the various items to ensure everything's in working order, but frown as I notice the property occupancy report hasn't been verified recently. "Hmm… I notice that the occupancy hasn't been checked by the local fire department. That may be why the building was scheduled for demolition. Is there any reason this hadn't been done before I bought the building?" I ask, trying to figure out why such a critical document as this one would fall through the cracks.

Helina frowns. "Unfortunately, the previous owner had been using certain areas of this building as fronts for illegal operations, and when it was discovered, he was arrested. The occupancy was supposed to be renewed four months ago, but he'd also taken the funds in the treasury with him by way of a gang with ties to the yakuza, so unfortunately, we didn't have the funds to do it anymore."

I nod. "Right, I'll be making sure that gets addressed immediately. You'll have to put me in touch with the collection specialist so I can contact the fire department and police and get a verification visit scheduled. Otherwise, everything else here looks good. Though it seems we'll be due for a renewal of the bill of health here in a couple months, so we'll need to keep a lookout for that." I pass the documents back off to Helina.

She nods as she takes the documents from my hands and places them back in the cabinet she'd retrieved them from before shutting it and turning back to me. "Of course, Damien. I'll make sure everything is handled once that comes in. If you leave here, the collection specialist's office is the door opposite mine. If there's ever a concern you have, don't hesitate to bring it to me and I'll see it addressed as soon as possible."

I get up and offer her a handshake, which she takes, and turn to take my leave. "Thanks, Ms. Helina. Have an excellent rest of your day. Don't work too hard."

She chuckles as I leave. "You as well, Damien, and I'll make sure to keep that in mind." I shut the door behind me and sigh, preparing to enter the collection specialist's office. Man, I can already tell today's gonna be a long day…

I enter the passcode for my penthouse I'd just saved in the remote access panel at the front of the building, then enter it again to confirm the data and allow myself back into the building and take a minute to sit at the bench in the lobby. I see a vending machine and get up, find the machine dispenses green tea, and smile, swiping my new debit card over the machine and dispensing a green tea before taking a quick sip. The cool liquid hits my throat and I sigh in relief. A moment later, I see someone come up to me out of the corner of my eye, but don't initially register it because I'm busy researching articles for the education system and figuring out whether I'll need cram school – which I'm probably going to opt-in for to keep myself at the top regardless, so I don't know why I'm bothering, now that I think about it.

"Hello there," I hear a quiet and relatively meek voice call out to me. I look up and find Rina Tennoji standing in front of me. I have to crush the sudden instinct to introduce myself normally – I can't even imagine how much courage she must have had to come up to me directly considering she's normally such a wallflower.

"Hello to you as well. Are you one of the tenants here in the complex?" I ask gently, making sure to keep my mannerisms under control and my tone even and friendly so as not to scare her off accidentally. She nods quietly, and I can tell she's struggling to speak at all now – those two words probably burned up all the confidence she had, which means the remainder of the conversation will rest entirely on my shoulders, it seems. Not something I particularly like dealing with but I've managed far worse so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. "That's good. In that case, it's nice to meet you – my name is Damien, and I'm the new owner of the complex. If you feel more comfortable with honorifics, you can use -san for me, I don't personally like them since I was raised in the States. I've already heard about the whole situation with the building and I'm working with the manager to get our permits sorted out, so you and the other residents here don't have to be forcibly relocated."

Rina's eyes widen. She looks around for a moment and struggles to speak before finally getting something out. "Um… are you… the same age as me? You don't look like an owner."

I chuckle. "Ah, classic societal stereotypes." I briefly see a flicker of sadness in Rina's eyes and realize that may have been the wrong thing to say, and quickly backpedal. "Oh, I apologize, I didn't mean that in a negative way. I'm just used to that being a thing, people are always shocked when they find out the things I can do, and they're always telling me I'm too young. Kind of like Phineas when you think about it." I don't expect a reaction to that reference, but to my surprise, I can see recognition flash in Rina's eyes as she clearly registers the reference I just dropped. Huh… Guess some things do make it outside of the States. Though for that of all things to be one is… honestly kinda questionable… "Anyway, I just got here today so I've been fairly busy with organizing everything. I also plan on hosting a function later in the week so everyone here in the complex can get to know me, that way I can make sure they're all aware that I'm doing my best to keep the establishment afloat, so they don't have to worry about their homes." I gently extend a hand for Rina to shake.

For a solid thirty seconds, I keep my gentle smile and welcoming aura pumping juice at maximum efficiency as Rina stares at my hand, then back to me, unsure of whether to accept the gesture. Finally, she slowly raises her hand and puts it in mine, and I softly shake it. "My name's Rina… I live closer to the top of the building since no one's up there…"

I nod. "Alright, Rina-san. I moved into the penthouse myself, as a condition of helping to spruce everything back up, so if you ever need anything or have a concern you want to address and you don't feel comfortable talking to the manager, just come up and let me know. I should be available to address any problems so long as I'm not asleep." Rina nods, and I remember I forgot to confirm or deny her earlier question. "And if you're sixteen, then yes, I'm the same age. Almost forgot about that but I had a good upbringing so I'm more stable than most my age, though I've also put in immense hard work to ensure I could live the life I want to."

I hear an excited voice call out from behind me a moment later, in the direction of the entrance. "Hey, Rinari-chan! Wait, who is that? Did you finally make another friend?!" We both turn to find a blonde girl with a very athletic figure wearing workout gear who I immediately recognize as Ai running up to us. She pauses for a moment and wipes the sweat from her brow. "Wow, I finally get out of helping the track team and I come here to find this! Rinari-chan, I'm so proud of you!" She doesn't hesitate to hug Rina, to her virtually undetectable embarrassment and my amusement. She turns to me. "So who is this fine gentleman you've managed to befriend?"

I chuckle lightly. "I wouldn't quite call myself a gentleman or Rina-san's friend at present, but the sentiment is appreciated, nonetheless. Nice to meet you, my name's Damien," I say, extending my hand for Ai to shake, which she does with surprising energy.

"You too! My name's Ai! Gotta say, I don't think I've ever seen you around here before. You just move here?" Ai asks me, leaning forward ever so slightly with her hands held behind her back, eyes shining with curiosity.

I nod. "Indeed, I did. I just moved to Tokyo from the States after living there my whole life."

Ai's eyes widen in surprise and her smile grows even wider. "Wow, the States! What's it like living over there?"

I shrug my shoulders. "I couldn't really give you an answer you'd be satisfied with, since I have a biased opinion, an opinion that's quite negative. Plus, despite my relatively stable upbringing, I didn't exactly have the easiest life."

Ai's smile deflates but her bubbly energy remains. "Okay! I guess that makes sense if what I've heard from the news is anything to go by. So why did you decide to move here?" As she talks, I cast a quick glance at Rina, surprised that she hasn't left. It seems being in Ai's presence helps Rina remain calm and more in control of her anxiousness.

I turn back to Ai. "Well, I want to become a professional musician, preferably a pianist, so I wanted to come to Tokyo because the University of the Arts is one of the most prestigious musical institutions in the world in that regard. Also, I've dreamed of living in Japan for years now and I figured now would be my best chance what with everything happening in the world right now."

Ai nods excitedly. "Right, that makes sense! If you're already this excited and determined, I think you're going to love it here!"

I chuckle, Ai's energy radiating from her and rubbing off on me. "I would hope so, otherwise all the money I've spent so far would be a waste." I stand up from my bench, finishing off my green tea that I had gradually been taking drinks of throughout the conversation. "Well, Ai-san, Rina-san, it's been nice meeting the both of you, but unfortunately, I need to head up to my house to make sure the movers haven't damaged any of my equipment. I bid you both farewell and a good day." I give a slightly exaggerated bow and turn, but before I do, Ai stops me with a hand on my shoulder. I can see the curiosity in her eyes once again and know she wants to ask a question. "Yes, Ai-san?"

"You can call me Ai-chan, I don't mind! And you look the same age as me, so I wanted to ask if you're going to school nearby?" she asks.

I chuckle and nod. "I am, I have a meeting with MEXT later this week to gain approval for entrance into Nijigasaki Academy, but if that doesn't work out, I'm targeting either Shūchin Academy or Asahiyama High."

Ai looks surprised, but nods. Her energy seems to have been tempered somewhat now that she's been given something to think about. "Alright! If that's the case, hopefully I'll see you at school!"

I nod. "Alright, Ai-chan, have a good rest of your day."

"You too, Damien-san!" she says as I turn and walk to the elevator, pressing the button and throwing the green tea bottle into the trash can. I step into the elevator and punch my code in, and the elevator starts moving toward the top floor. When I step out, I notice that there seem to be two other residences in this area. One has an inactive door, meaning no tenant currently occupies it, but to my surprise the other has an active door. I don't consider it very much as I walk over to my door and start punching in my twenty-seven-digit entry code. Is twenty-seven digits overkill? Yes, but this is 2021, numbers alone don't provide much security unless you use a lot of them, and I wouldn't be surprised if my acquisition of this building has put me on some people's radars.

I finish typing in my code and the door opens, and I start inspecting it to check the integrity of the locks and hinges. I notice the hinge squeal as the door contacts the wall, and I frown. So, these hinges are going to need to be oiled or replaced outright. Shouldn't be too much of a hassle but security will be compromised until that happens. I'll need to see if there are any 24-hour services that do decent work. As I'm about to check the fingerprint scanner next to the door –something I absolutely intend on setting up given I used fingerprint biometric locks a lot in my previous life– I hear the elevator ding again and the door start to open. Hmm, guess that tenant just showed up. May as well introduce myself before the function, get it out of the way since they'll be my new neighbor.

I turn to the door as it opens, but to my shock, Rina and Ai step out of the elevator. Rina doesn't display any outward surprise, which is fair given I had told her I live up here now, but Ai's shock is plain as day. "Wait, Damien-san? You… You live in the penthouse?!"

I chuckle as I get my own surprise back under wraps. "Yes, I do. I was explaining this to Rina-san before you arrived, but this building was scheduled for demolition before I moved here. I bought the property and I'm in the process of getting all the legal issues sorted out, so the people here don't lose their homes."

Ai's eyes are practically sparkling in barely concealed amazement. "Wow, that's so cool! I can't believe you'd do something so noble! I thought people in the States were supposed to only care about themselves!" I cringe a bit at that one, and Ai seems to realize she may not have said the best thing. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply you're one of them."

I chuckle. "It's fine. I can recognize just how bad most of the people in America were. That's half the reason I got out; I was tired of watching the country fall apart around me because people weren't willing to let go of their greed and help their fellow man. America isn't the country it used to be, not by a long shot." I turn to Rina briefly. "When you mentioned you lived near the top, I didn't think you meant you lived right next to me, Rina-san." Rina nods.

"Do you think it'd be okay if we could see the penthouse for ourselves? I've never been in one before!" Ai asks me excitedly, and I can see though Rina isn't vocal about it, she's just as intrigued.

Eh, I'll come back to the fingerprint scanner later. This takes precedence. "Sure, I don't mind. Just be careful, there are still a couple of movers inside getting my things organized."

"Right!" Ai cheers as the two girls walk behind me and follow me inside the penthouse. This'll be the first time I'm seeing it in person too, so I'd like to get an idea of what I'm working with. Especially before my piano gets here. "Wow, it's so big and spacious! This is at least twice as big as my apartment!" I hear Ai exclaim as I look around.

In front of the entrance is a rounded wall. On the straight side, a large coat hanger and utility rack hangs off the wall. Next to the door is a video camera feed, no doubt built into the camera I'd seen installed on the door itself. There's a fully functional intercom system with keypad as well, not just for answering the door but for if I also need to call down to the lobby for anything. That'll be useful for contacting Ms. Helina whenever there's an issue in the complex that needs dealt with. I take off my suit jacket and hang it gently on the coat hanger, stretching my arms out as I work the cuffs loose on my shirt, and look around to see what I'm working with.

A large kitchen and bar island is set off to the left of the entrance, the dark granite countertops shining with a well-oiled polish that shows the estate has been freshly prepared for my arrival. Two extra-large refrigerators are built into the wall opposite the countertop next to another extra-large dishwasher and a triple-wide sink with a built-in garbage disposal. I'll have to check the power on that motor later to make sure it can handle daily tasks. If not, I'll have to have it replaced. Above the sink and dishwasher, a large wine rack hangs ready for use. Two bottles of cheap non-alcoholic cider have even been provided free of charge, and I verify, to my satisfaction, that the cider has been recently purchased and isn't going to expire soon.

Off to the left of those, a door is built into the wall. I open the door and am surprised to find a large walk-in pantry and storage cabinet. A second door on the right-side leads to a smaller walk-in closet that houses all the cleaning supplies and tools. I step out and close both doors and look around for the cabinets, which I find are built into the bar island. Inside are various glasses, plates and other cutlery and tableware, as well as mixing apparatuses for drinks. I close those and turn back to the final set of cabinets on the right side of the refrigerators, and find all the cooking accessories I'd need, including several high-quality pots and pans. Damn, these must have been quite expensive to get. I remember that skillet cost over a hundred dollars when my mother had one in the past.

With the purview of the kitchen completed, I look around the rest of the lounge area. As expected, the entire wall is lined with extra-large plexiglass panels to provide a fully open view of the Tokyo skyline. A sight I'll no doubt be looking out on quite often now that I have the chance, especially considering this is the forty-third floor. Two large couches sit next to the far-left wall of the penthouse, both circular, in front of what appears to be a seventy-inch 4K television mounted to the wall. A small entertainment center sits beneath the television with places to store game consoles and movie collections. I look off to the side and notice another door. I approach and open it to find a fully decked theater room, and my eyes widen in shock. Holy shit… I have an actual theater room…? I gently close the door, blinking a few times to clear the confusion. Wow, I did not see that one coming… I can already see potential uses for that though. I notice a second door, which leads into a very spacious bathroom, complete with linen storage and an extra-large jacuzzi tub. Oh, that is going to be nice to get rid of stress after a long day of studying and practice.

I turn back around and close the door behind me to examine the rest of the lounge area. In the center, in front of the glass, two large L-shaped couches sit around a large glass table, and the layout suggests that this is clearly supposed to be the general social area. Off to the far right is what appears to be an open area with mood lighting. Probably a dance floor or something similar. A more thorough search reveals small but powerful speakers and subwoofers built into the beams and walls around the area. Yep, this is definitely a dance floor. Could also use it for karaoke or VR.

I walk toward the stairs outside the floor –there's another set of identical stairs on the other side outside the entertainment area, and both move up around the floor in a loose C-shaped curve– and up onto the second level. I whistle as I look around, and I can see Ai and Rina by the billiards table off to the right side, above the entertainment center the floor below. Next to the table is a ball storage rack as well as a cue and accessory storage rack. Nice, I could see myself using that for some practice, I did enjoy shooting pool in my previous life. I examine the glass panels keeping people from falling, and frown. No glass on higher floors. Absolutely not. I'm going to have to have a contractor take all these out, recycle them, and replace them with some durable, aesthetic handrails for safety.

I look around the right side of the second floor to see a couple other rooms and enter the closest one to the building wall first. I whistle as I see a full bathroom suite, with an extra-large walk-in shower and a separate double-wide bathtub. Across from the two bathing areas is a full countertop vanity suite with three sinks and cabinets to store medical and cosmetic supplies. On the far wall is a large cabinet built into the wall against the ceiling, more than likely to store towels and linens. I chuckle as some thoughts about my life before this come to mind. Yeah, not gonna be using the shower for that anytime soon. I have more control than that now. Having goals to constantly push myself toward has most certainly made that easier.

I exit and turn to the next door, finding a full laundry setup inside. Two large two-load washers and dryers sit in the alcove near the back wall, and opposite them off to the left side a large folding table sits ready for use. Good, I'll be using that a lot. Never did like moving my laundry around and then folding it.

Finished examining the laundry room, I finally open the door to the master bedroom and… am immediately not happy with what I see. Don't get me wrong, the bedroom looks nice, with a set of drawers off to the left side, a Cal-King twelve-inch Purple brand mattress on an adjustable bedframe, and my 65-inch 4K TV mounted above the drawers, but the thing that holds my attention right now... is my computer currently sitting on the floor next to the office door in pieces. I growl in anger and turn to go back out the bedroom door to find one of the movers looking at me nervously, clearly sweating as his eyes rapidly dart from me to the computer. "Explain. Now."

Apparently, I had growled loud enough for Ai and Rina to hear, as they both look at me curiously, only for Ai's face to contort in concern as she sees the anger on my face. The mover coughs into his hand and stutters out an explanation. "M-Mr. Thompson, I apologize… One o-of our rookie movers tried to help g-get the computer up the steps because t-the other mover who was hauling it s-sprained his back…"

I sigh in frustration, rubbing the bridge of my nose with my index finger and thumb. "And why, when I specifically told you and your entire crew that all of my electronics were to be treated with the utmost caution and care, did you think it was a good idea to let some newbie handle the job?! You do realize I'm not above doing things myself if I have to, right? You literally could have called me, and I'd have just moved it on my own!" I shake my head and turn away. "Ugh, it doesn't matter… How much of the rest of the work is done?"

"A-All of it, sir," is the man's quick and nervous reply.

I nod and raise a hand in dismissal, trying my best to control my emotional state. "In that case, gather your crew and leave. Your services are no longer required." The mover beats a hasty retreat as I go back into the room, plopping down on the bed. I hold my head in my hands and growl. "Fucking great, it's gonna cost a fortune to fix this…"

I hear Rina gasp in open shock and turn my head up to see Rina and Ai standing in the doorway, Ai looking at me in concern while Rina's gaze is firmly fixed on the destroyed computer. Rina looks back, clearly distraught even if she's doing her best to hide it. Ai quickly comes up to me. "Hey, are you alright, Damien-san?"

"No…" I barely manage to growl out, and I can see Rina is taken aback by the edge in my voice. "That computer… building that computer was the last memory I shared with my father." I turn around and, in a moment of weakness, jump into my bed, grabbing one of my pillows and screaming into it as loud as I can. It wasn't enough for everyone in my family in this life to die, no, now people being careless was costing me their memories too!

I collapse in the bed, all the chaotic and anger-filled energy leaving my body as I hold the pillow against my head. I don't know what's going on around me and I can barely care. My father had died barely a week after we had finished building that computer together.

Upset as I am, I barely notice Ai place her hand on my back, slowly rubbing it in circles in an effort to comfort me. After a few moments, I turn my head to the ceiling, staring ahead as if looking through the building and into the skies above. I can barely see the concern in Rina's eyes at the edge of my vision, but Ai's concern is much easier to spot. I turn to her, breathing heavily to try to calm myself down, even though I've internally already resolved to get out my anger and sorrow at the loss of this precious memory at a later point. "I don't know, Ai-san… Sure, it can just be replaced, but that memory has now been tarnished. I specifically told them to be extremely careful with all my electronics, yet this still happens… Why do I bother at this point…?"

Ai looks over to Rina, who is very reticent to approach me in my current state. Instead, Rina looks over to the destroyed computer and starts pulling out parts. One might think I'd be angry that she's now putting herself in my business, but in my distraught and despondent state I just soullessly watch as she begins pulling various components apart, until she eventually disconnects the three storage drives that were inside the computer. She tentatively walks toward me and gazes down, before looking back up at me. "I'd like to… see if these still work if that's okay with you. That way you can keep a part of him with you."

I turn to Rina, my breathing calming down. "Do you really think you can? It… looks like the computer took a lot of damage." Rina nods silently, and I can see the determination in her eyes even though her expression remains relatively stoic. "Okay… If you think you can, I wouldn't mind you at least trying."

I turn back up to the ceiling, and after staring at it for a few long, silent moments, I quietly ask, "Can you girls please leave for now? I… I need to be alone."

Ai nods quietly and guides Rina out of my bedroom, and I sigh heavily as I stand up and look at the computer lying on the floor. I sink to my knees on the floor and finally let my true emotions out, crying silently as I remember my father's final wish. Is that even possible, though…? With how much I must do before I get there, it could take years…

Almost fifteen minutes later, with my tears finally dried, I stand up and go to my wardrobe, morbidly satisfied to find that my old workout gear has already been set off to the side as requested. I make sure my keys are in my pocket and grab the workout equipment, going into the bathroom to change. Once done, I close the bathroom and bedroom doors behind me and walk downstairs, stalking out of my house and locking the door with my card before dinging the elevator, face slowly contorting from my earlier anguish into a cold rage. There's only one way to safely get this kind of anger out…

Sunday, February 7, 2021 4:24 PM

… getting the crap kicked out of you, I reflect as the boxing instructor lands two quick blows to my midsection. I exhale sharply to prevent being staggered by the blows before retaliating with a grunt of exertion and a fierce left hook, which the instructor deftly deflects, putting me off my rhythm. I barely manage to recover in time to see a gloved fist flying at my face, and I stumble back, cursing at being suddenly disoriented. I can feel the tension of the ring rope behind me as I fall into it, and I use the momentum to propel myself, ducking down and rolling forward to avoid my instructor's next attack. I take a heavy breath and try to refocus, but my instructor holds up his glove and stops me before I can do anything else. "Alright, that's enough, Thompson-san. I can tell your mind is not on the fight itself and I can't trust you not to hurt yourself slipping up. This isn't the first occurrence either; you've been consistently distracted since we began our lessons."

I curse under my breath as I collapse, sitting roughly on the floor and breathing heavily. "Damn it… I thought this would work…"

My instructor shakes his head. "Normally being able to exercise your frustration in a controlled manner would help people to get out of a funk, but I can tell that your issues are too deep-seated to address in this manner. Not managing and handling your emotional and mental state properly is only going to make doing things like this worse for you."

I turn to my instructor. "So, you would tell me to go to therapy then…?" He silently nods. I sigh heavily and look at the ceiling. "Damn it… Of all the things I'd have to do…"

I look away and stand up, dusting off my workout clothes. My instructor claps me on the shoulder. "Things are hard, but they will get better. You just have to be willing to put in the effort to make that change for yourself."

I nod, grumbling. "Yeah, story of my life at this fuckin' point…"

My instructor frowns. "Alright, we'll cut your lesson off for today. I'll see you next week. If you need it, I'll give you an endorsement to a local psychiatrist to see if you can start getting that issue handled."

I nod solemnly. "Thanks, Naotoshi-san." I slowly trudge my way back to my locker and get out my clothes, setting them on a bench next to one of the unoccupied showers. I turn the water to warm and undress, setting my clothes off to the side as I step in. I sigh heavily as I feel the water cascading over me, but quickly start my typical shower routine, knowing I don't have much time to waste because I still have to finish unpacking my things at the house and inspecting my security system before I turn in. The MEXT meeting is also tomorrow so I have to get to bed early, so I can't afford to waste time here.

I quickly wash and rinse myself off, and after seven minutes, I'm done, stepping out of the shower as I grab my towel and turn the showerhead off. I quickly dry myself off, making sure to get my hair as dry as I can without a hairdryer, not willing to wake up the next morning with a cold. I throw my casual clothes on, putting my workout clothes in my fitness bag, and quickly leave the facility, saying a quick farewell to Naotoshi-san on the way out.

I call a taxi to pick me up, and within the hour, I'm home. I step off the elevator and stop in front of my door, looking at the fingerprint scanner I'd intended on examining earlier in the day, and notice a crack runs along the sensitive glass. It seems dust has seeped in through the crack, meaning the scanner is utterly worthless and will need to be replaced. I sigh and turn away from the scanner, stepping in the door after inputting my entry code. I shut the door behind me, cringing as I hear the hinges squealing loud enough to give me a headache. "Fuck, I need to take care of that soon, otherwise it's gonna drive me crazy… Now, let's see about this fingerprint biometric scanner…"

I take my jacket off, hanging it on the coat rack, and grab a green tea from the fridge as I head upstairs. I enter my bedroom and fall onto the bed, pulling out my phone and typing in 'fingerprint scanner for door' in Google. After almost twenty minutes of inconclusive results and dead-end page redirects, I finally find a listing for what looks like the scanner installed on my system, only to spit out my tea in shock, spluttering at the price shown on screen. "Seven thousand US dollars?! Ugh…" I look up to the ceiling, letting my arm with the phone fall to my side. As if moving into and buying this building didn't cost enough already, now I need to clean up the previous owner's messes…

After that went south, I give up and get out of bed, quickly grabbing some of my boxes from the wall and getting to work putting away and organizing everything.

And that's a wrap! Yeah, I know it's been a while, but it took until I moved and got a new job for me to feel like I was in a good spot to keep writing. Also I kept trying to force this chapter to be longer, with the next few scenes that set up for Niji initially planned to be in this chapter, but it took realizing that the tone of those scenes completely clashes with the content I've already written to finally get past my writer's block. Work on Act I ‒ Part 3 is already underway, though keep in mind with my new job, especially once I start the more strenuous DuPont industry work schedule, I won't have as much time to write as I used to while working eight-hour shifts.

I also said on my profile that my update order would be changing, but that won't be right now. I have a significant number of ideas for Symphony of the Heart, so I'll be writing Chapter 1 of that alongside Act I ‒ Part 3 of this. The new update order will take effect after those updates have come out. And for any of you screaming in the background that my character is 'too smart', remember that A) I already set it up this way, and B) my character will not have things this easy, and will start struggling later on. Also while it wasn't my actual score, the ASVAB provided is going to be my character's canon score, as in real life I did in fact get a 97 of 99 the one and only time I ever took it back in sophomore year of high school ‒ a fact I still like to tease my younger, ex-Marine brother about to this day.

All that said, have a day, and keep on reading and writing!