I vaguely remember reading once about how it takes two months to form a habit. But that's bullshit, because let me tell you, I've already reached the point where writing this journal is an important part of my routine. The past three nights I've reached for my phone to start writing it only to realize that nothing that interesting happened.
Sure, I could have still written short entries, but I decided it was better to get some work done on… well, a secret project I've been working on for a couple weeks now. One that I finally finished preparing for last night and that I was able to put into use today, but I'll get to that later.
But to quickly sum up the past few days, the first thing of note is that the Stamp finished growing on both Tohru and Kobayashi. It earned me a huge windfall of credits… that were immediately put to use repaying the loan, putting me back at zero credits. But I was able to get two of those credits back, since Kobayashi qualified for a Stress Defense rebate. There were also a few other Defenses they offered rebates on, but none that I had, and none that made any Defenses free.
I wonder how the Company feels about me using their Loans as basically an advance on my paycheck. I suppose they don't really care, considering I've done it a couple times now and I haven't heard anything from them. At the end of the day, I have the total number of Credits that I've earned, my Loans are paid off, and the captures have been made. All I'm doing is changing the timing of things a bit.
After that it was just three days of more training. Outside of taking some time to teach everyone Zetsu, it's pretty much just been Bisky waking us up right at sunrise, an hour of us all working out, eating breakfast, a full day of sparring and training, eating dinner, taking our baths, watching more Hunter x Hunter, and having an orgy until we fall asleep.
Honestly, it's not a bad life at all. The training is grueling, but when you can see yourself improving so fast because of it, the satisfaction makes it so incredibly worth it.
Our morning workouts are now customized by Bisky, who has very much grown into the family coach. She's the one that wakes us up each morning, somehow waking up at the same time every morning. She also leads us directly in our workouts, giving us customized instructions on what we should be focusing on each day. We haven't seen massive improvements yet, but even Matsu's max lifting weight has increased by a noticeable amount.
Training with Uzume has gone similarly. Bisky removed the training wheels for both of us and kicked things up a notch. Our sparring now involved more technical Nen skill, as Uzume was given not only permission but was told in no uncertain terms to use her cloth from now on. She didn't hesitate to wrap herself in her combat outfit and start using her cloth as half a dozen fearsome weapons.
I thought I'd get to use Ren, but instead Bisky forced me to only use Gyo. I had to both attack and defend with it, using it to selectively boost parts of my body to either boost my speed and strength, or boost my defense from Uzume's attacks. Bisky set the rule that if I used Gyo in the spot that Uzume hit me, then it would count as me having blocked it. And while I did still feel those impacts, they were much duller than they would have been otherwise.
It's a pretty rough training method. I'd even go so far as to call it frustrating. I hadn't mastered Gyo yet, not when it came to anything but my eyes at least, and my focus was way too heavily split. Focusing on Uzume's attacks while also trying to control my aura nodes so that I only pushed aura out where I needed it. More than once I'd end up using Gyo on multiple parts of my body, or just slipping straight up into Ren, which Bisky would remove points for.
I recognized why she was having me train like this of course. I could see how this served as a foundation for more advanced techniques that she would teach me later, one that would require me to precisely control the distribution of my aura at lightning speeds to create a powerful and dynamic combination of offense and defense. There were several steps I needed to master before that, but I could recognize the theory, even if actually learning it sucked.
The first day of that was the worst. I was completely unable to use Gyo so dynamically. I got pretty beat up and had to get Kusano to heal me up a couple times to prevent the bruising from getting too bad. Uzume felt a little guilty about that, but Bisky and I both insisted that she keep going, and she was smart enough to recognize the wisdom of it.
I was better by the end of the third day. Not enough to even come close to being able to attack Uzume, but I could reliably either dodge or use Gyo to block her jabbing cloth. Uzume was actually the ideal opponent for this kind of training, as she could rapidly attack me from multiple angles, forcing me to change where I was using Gyo at an impossible pace.
Watching her fight like that was actually quite impressive, as each roll of cloth acted like an extra limb that floated menacingly in the air around her. She controlled a massive space around her, and even staying on the edge of it was dangerous.
We didn't spar the entire time of course. I had to take frequent breaks as my constant Gyo usage drained my reserves. As the days went by and the Laws I put into place kept steadily increasing our maximum reserves and regeneration rates, I could go longer and recover quicker. But reaching a constant upkeep was impossible.
Bisky didn't let that time go to waste though. While I meditated and recovered with Zetsu, Bisky trained Uzume on how to use Gyo. She'd train the others in it as well, but since Uzume was part of the combat training she got a bit of a priority.
I felt a lot better when I saw Uzume's attempts to learn Gyo. She had learned Ten very quickly and Ren hadn't given her much trouble either. But Gyo she struggled with, significantly more than I did, and unlike me there wasn't one spot she was good at using it on as she struggled using it on all parts of her body equally. As mean as it sounds, that made me feel a lot less frustrated by my own struggles with the skill.
The others haven't been slacking in their Nen training. They've mastered Ten, able to maintain it through the night while they sleep, and they've been diligent about training their reserves with Ren. Diligent enough that, with the boosts the Laws gave them, they were ready to do the water divination test to determine what kind of Nen users they were.
After breakfast this morning, our rest day, we gathered once more around the dining table with a single glass full of water with a leaf on top of it. Bisky had a small pile of leaves next to her, but we only had the one glass, so everyone had to take turns. It was decided that the most fair way was to do it in order of being Captured.
So first up was Levy. I admit, I hadn't paid much attention to the Nen development of the others up until this point, not beyond what I casually observed from Uzume during our sparring. I was aware of everyone now maintaining Ten at most times, and I could feel it whenever they trained their Ren, but feeling it and seeing it were different.
Not going to lie, it was kind of hot to see Levy's aura suddenly flare up like she was going Super Saiyan, her aura washing over the Ten of the people sitting next to her. There was something sexy about seeing her create such raw power. Her being naked helped of course.
She focused on the glass of water between her hands, and it didn't take long for us to start seeing the effects. They started out so small that it was hard to be sure, but small black dots appeared in the water, slowly growing in size as she maintained her Ren.
"You can stop now," Bisky said as it looked like they stopped growing. Bisky picked up the glass and held it up to an electric lamp to see it better. "There's definitely something appearing, but they're too small to make out their shape, if they have a shape at all. You're definitely a Conjurer."
"That feels appropriate," I commented.
"I can mostly guess from the name, but what exactly does that mean?" Levy asked. "What does it mean to 'conjure' something with Nen?"
"It can mean pretty much anything," I explained as Bisky went to dump the water outside and fill it with fresh water for the next person. "If you can imagine it well enough, you can make it with your Nen. There are limits of course, but it's more of a limit on power and ability. I think the example given was that you can make a very sharp sword, but you can't make a sword that can cut anything, because that would be stronger than you, or something along those lines."
"It's more complicated than that, but that's more or less correct," Bisky said as she came back. "Conjuration can be one of the trickier fields to train. Theoretically, the limits are only your visualization skills and your power. But actually learning how to make something is a time consuming and difficult process that will take you months.
"There are several paths you can take. First, you can focus on making something relatively mundane. The most common method of doing that is intense image training. You have to keep an example of the object you want to conjure with you at all times, constantly touching and looking at it as you familiarize yourself with the details. Drawing it helps as well, and just experiencing it with as many of your senses as possible. You keep doing that until you're obsessed over it, until you're dreaming about it, and then you take it away. You'll begin hallucinating about it, and those hallucinations will become 'real' as the item is Conjured."
Levy blinked several times, a faintly shocked expression on her face as she processed that. "That seems… unhealthy."
Bisky shrugged. "The process of turning aura into physical objects is a mysterious one. There's no real build up to it, either the object is created, or it isn't. You can't start out making spheres and train up to more complex shapes. Nen responds to your will, and you have to want it enough to manifest it. The method I described is the most universally reliable method, though yes, it has its flaws. But the alternative is for me to tell you to just want it enough that it happens, which is not very helpful."
Levy frowned, but nodded, accepting her explanation. I could practically see the gears turning in her head. "Earlier Roland and you both implied that the objects you can make don't have to be mundane, but can be more esoteric."
Bisky nodded. "The second method is to do the first method, but imagine it with special abilities. Say, for example, Conjuring a sword would be mundane, but then you could give it the ability to emit light or light itself on fire. This is best done by impressing those abilities onto it during the visualization training, imagining those abilities. Often you'll need to make use of Conditions and Limitations to empower them to usable levels. But that's a more complicated discussion we can save for another day. For now, just know that putting strict limits on your ability can increase their power."
Levy nodded, so Bisky continued. "The third method isn't really a training method. As I said earlier, Nen responds to your will, and some Conjurers can manifest their Nen techniques in other ways, often creating things that have no basis in reality, or don't focus on a singular object but still use a very specific Conjuration technique."
"Like Knov, who Conjured a pocket dimension that he can create doors into and out of," I explained. "Or one of the Phantom Troupe members, who can create duplicates of objects that last for 24 hours so long as he can touch it."
Bisky nodded. "Two perfect examples of what I was describing, yes. Those are still Conjuration techniques, but cannot be achieved by the more traditional image training. You have to find your own path of properly visualizing and desiring those things hard enough."
"I think I understand," Levy says. "I just have to want it hard enough, and it has to be something I have the power to do."
"That's right. For now, just think of something you'd like to conjure. In fact, think of several things. Don't worry too much about creating something strong or useful. Go with what you desire the most and what feels the most natural to you. A silly technique that resonates with you will always be more reliable and effective than an objectively powerful technique that you don't like. Once you have a few ideas, and once I explain Conditions and Vows to everyone, I'll help you decide what to focus on and the best way to achieve it."
"Okay, I can do that," Levy agreed. Then she smiled and turned to Kusano. "In the meantime, I think it's your turn next."
"Yes!" Kusano agreed, excited. Bisky put the glass in front of her and Kusano started using Ren. It was strange to feel that power coming from a girl that looked and acted so cute and innocent. But then again, that fit her, as she was the one who took out Karasuba. That gap between her sweetness and her effectiveness in a fight was part of her charm.
It didn't take long for her to get results, as the water in the glass stirred before swelling up and spilling over the edge of the cup.
Bisky told her to stop before she made too much of a mess, and started explaining. "The water growing like that is a clear sign that you're an Enhancer. Enhancement is, in a lot of ways, the easiest type to train. You have the best spread of proficiencies with the other types of Nen and you benefit more from training. In fact, many Enhancers never develop a Hatsu and instead focus on pure combat ability, passively Enhancing their strength, speed, skills, or other aspects."
Kusano frowned. "That doesn't sound well suited for me…" she said.
"Not true," I replied. "In fact, your Sekirei power is pretty much Enhancement, as you enhance the growing speed of the plants you use it on. Those sorts of things are very possible with Enhancement as well. And as Bisky said, you'll have the most luck developing techniques that use other types of Nen, since you have a decently high proficiency with them. It's the most versatile type."
Bisky cut back in. "What I recommend you do is to just keep focusing on the basic training, especially when I start leading everyone through basic training exercises for each type of Nen. Build a solid foundation and try to imagine what you want to do most with your Nen. Unlike with Conjuration's image training process, you could theoretically develop your Hatsu within a day, or even just a few hours, so there's no rush."
"Okay!" Kusano replied cheerily. "I'll come up with some ideas and ask you about them!"
Bisky gave her a smile. "Good girl. Now, Matsu, it's your turn."
She slid the glass in front of Matsu, who looked equal parts excited and nervous. She looks around the table, meeting everyone's eyes before turning her attention to the glass and placing her hands around it. She waited another moment as she took a deep breath before using Ren.
After a few moments, the water stirs again, and I thought at first that she was going to be an Enhancer as well. But rather than growing and overflowing, it's the leaf that moved, spinning in place in gentle circles on top of the water.
"That's enough," Bisky told her and Matsu stopped. "You're a Manipulator."
"That's not a very nice thing to call Matsu," Matsu joked.
Bisky rolled her eyes and continued as if she hadn't heard her. "Manipulation is about using your aura to control objects and other people. This can be done in a lot of different ways, making Manipulation tricky to train. Often you'll need to reach certain Conditions, and it's common for Manipulators to use objects that are emotionally important to them as a medium."
Matsu was lost in thought, her finger tapping on the table. "But so long as it's controlling someone, I can do it, right? With possible limits to make the technique strong enough?"
"Theoretically, yes," Bisky confirms.
"Then Matsu already figured out what she wants to do," Matsu said with a grin. She flashed me a look before turning back to Bisky. "But I'm going to keep it a surprise for now. I'll talk to you later about the specifics."
"That was fast," Uzume commented. "You sure you don't want to think about it more?"
"Fast is a good sign," Bisky cut in before Matsu could answer. "If an idea entered her head as soon as I described what Manipulators do, then it could indicate a good compatibility with the idea. While there's no rush, that kind of instant association can be a good indicator."
"That's pretty much it, yeah," Matsu said. "Matsu wasn't sure what she wanted to do at first, but then it hit me like a lightning bolt. Here, lemme whisper it to you."
Bisky leaned in so Matsu could whisper in her ear. I couldn't make out what she was saying at all, but I watched as Bisky nodded. When Matsu was done, she stood straight again and crossed her arms, thinking about it.
"I can't see any reason why that wouldn't work," she said after a moment. "You'll likely need more Conditions than that, but it's certainly theoretically possible. I don't get why you want to keep it a surprise though."
"Matsu wants to see Roland's expression when he sees her successfully use it for the first time," Matsu said with a grin, turning to me and sending me a teasing look.
I frowned and wracked my mind, trying to guess her reasoning behind that, but there were too many possibilities. Matsu was just like that after all. So I shrugged. "I don't mind. Just don't be stubborn about it, and come to me if you need help figuring it out."
"Yes, Ashikabi-tan," she replied obediently.
"You know, your Sekirei power is pretty much Manipulation, right?" Uzume asked. "We're three for three in our Nen types matching our existing abilities. Is that weird?"
"No, I more or less expected that," Bisky said. "There's no real precedent of users of other supernatural techniques learning Nen in our world since Nen is all there is." She paused. "Well, that we understand and is used by humans. But the other things aren't relevant to this.
"What is relevant though, is, once more, that Nen is incredibly personal and it reflects the user. So it's not surprising that those of you who have developed certain core skills have those reflected in your Nen. Either the development of those skills influenced you into becoming that type of Nen user, or you developed those skills because it reflected something deeper inside of you that your Nen type also shows."
Bisky slid the glass of water in front of Uzume. "That being said, I don't believe that will be the case for you."
Uzume looked at Bisky with a furrowed brow. "What makes you say that?"
"What type would you say your Sekirei ability falls under?"
"Manipulation of course."
Bisky nodded. "And I don't think that you are a Manipulator."
Uzume was frowning now. "I thought the whole point of the test was that this was the only way to tell?"
"It's the only reliable way," Bisky specified. "There are other methods that are less reliable, but the more Nen users you interact with, the more trends you notice. The way their aura flows, their mannerisms, their personalities, and more. These aren't reliable enough that I'd be comfortable basing your training off of them, and they're not definitive enough that I can say I could have guessed everyone's type. But my gut is telling me that you're not a Manipulator, and a good Hunter pays attention to her gut."
Uzume gave her a good look before shrugging. "Well, it's not like it really matters. Something besides what I can already do would be better anyway, wouldn't it?"
"For those of you with an already defined fighting style such as you and Levy, yes, you would be better served by developing a technique that supports that style. Whether its a second weapon you can also attack with, a shield that shores up a weakness, or a tool that gives you more options or control, it's not worth throwing away your years of training and work to replace it with Nen. Instead, use Nen to grow and develop that style further."
I saw a flash of inspiration cross over Levy's face before her brow immediately furrowed and she was lost in thought. Uzume, on the other hand, just nodded and moved her attention to the glass. "I can start now, right?"
Bisky nodded. "Go ahead."
We all watched in silence as Uzume used Ren with the glass of water between her hands. And after several moments, there was nothing. I don't think any of us assumed she failed though, as it was clear that her Ren was stronger than the others. Instead, I'm pretty sure we were all thinking that she was a Specialist as well.
All of us except for Bisky that is. As Uzume stopped, Bisky wordlessly reached over and dipped her finger into the water before putting it in her mouth. "I was right," she declared. "You're a Transmuter."
It was only then that I remembered that Transmuters created the invisible effect of changing the flavor of the water. I reached forward to get a taste for myself and noticed that the water had a clear flavor to it. It was kind of bittersweet, with a sharpness to it.
Everyone else quickly followed suit, hands crowding around the water glass as everyone wanted to experience the taste for themselves, Uzume included. As they did, Bisky launched into an explanation.
"As their placement on the Nen chart indicates, Transmuters are the in-between point of Enhancers and Conjurers," she started. "Rather than create objects like Conjurers do, they change their aura and give it different properties. They can then use that changed aura to do all kinds of things."
"Hisoka is a pretty good example," I said. We'd been introduced to him as a character as we continued watching Hunter x Hunter, but we haven't gotten to the point where Nen was introduced, so they haven't seen his yet. "His transmutation technique is called Bungee Gum, and it gives his aura two properties. It allows it to stretch and recoil, like rubber. And it can stick to anything it touches, like gum. Using those two properties, he can use strands of his aura to attach it to people and things and control their movement."
Bisky nodded. "Hisoka is one of the more creative and talented Conjurers that I've met. His technique may seem weak or silly at first, but it's one that resonates with him, and he uses it well. That's the kind of thing you all should be aiming for."
"We don't have to be as weird as him though, right?" Matsu asked. They'd all been introduced to the bloodlust, emphasis on lust, creepiness of Hisoka as we had watched the show.
"You're plenty weird as is," I teased her, causing the others to laugh.
Matsu grinned. "That's true," she agreed without any hint of shame.
Bisky turned back to Uzume. "It's important to note that you're not making objects with your aura, you're just changing it. You can give it just about any property you can think of, but similar to Conjuration, it's something you need to be intimately familiar with."
"So I could give my aura the properties of cloth?" Uzume asked. She lifted her hands, and her aura around them flared as he used Gyo. "I don't really see how that would be useful though, unless my Sekirei powers worked on it."
"I'm sure you could find some way to leverage it," Bisky reassured her. "Or you could pick some other property. I think it's worth mentioning one of the techniques you'll learn later, known as Shu. Using Shu, you can wrap your aura around not just yourself, but an object, making it more durable and stronger. Eventually, you'll be able to do this with your cloth, and that alone would increase your combat potential by quite a bit. As a transmuter and a weapon user, you could get a lot of synergy out of focusing on an attribute that cloth doesn't normally have. Maybe something elemental? Or esoteric?" Bisky shrugged. "Or go with cloth, if that feels more right to you. It's certainly possible to make a bad or useless technique, but it's harder than you think so long as you're creative."
"Guess I'll have to give it some thought," Uzume replied. "This Nen stuff is a lot trickier than I thought it would be."
"But it's worth it," I said as Bisky went to get new water so Chiho could do her water divination. Technically both of them were captured in the same instant, so we flipped a coin for it and Uzume won, which is why she went first. "Especially with Talents letting us push beyond what anyone in that world could ever reach."
Uzume nodded. "I think I'm starting to see that, yeah."
"And last but not least, Chiho," Bisky said as she placed the glass in front of the girl in question. "You ready?"
Chiho nodded and put her hands in position. She took a few deep breaths and then used Ren, aura bursting from her. Like Kusano, there was a contrast between her normal vibe and the power exuded by Ren.
It didn't take long for her results to show. I half expected the color to change, marking her as an Emitter, giving us one of each type of Nen user. But instead the water started overflowing as it grew, revealing that she was an Enhancer.
Chiho frowned at the results, but didn't say anything as she stopped.
"Both of our non-fighters are Enhancers, huh?" I commented.
"That's just how these things work out," Bisky replied with a shrug. "Chiho, the advice I gave to Kusano applies to you as well. Enhancement is one of the most flexible types, so just focus on honing your basic skills before figuring out what you want to focus on."
Chiho nodded, seemingly lost in thought, so Bisky continued. "And now you all know what type you are and can start thinking about techniques. We still have a lot of basic training to get through, but the earlier we start on your Hatsu, the better. That being said… today is a rest day, so we'll hold off on that. Just think, and let your mind wander."
"Or… you can let me distract you all," I interrupted. "And no, I don't mean it in a lewd way this time." Matsu pouted, but I ignored her and pulled out my phone. "I've got a special something prepared for you guys that I think you're going to love."
A small pile of stuff appeared on the table in front of me. A handful of books, a box, a stack of paper, and several small cloth pouches.
The others looked with furrowed brows. "Dungeons and dragons?" Levy read out loud, confused.
"Wait, you want us to play D&D?" Matsu exclaimed in surprise.
"Absolutely," I replied. "I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to-"
"No no no, Matsu is ready to roleplay!" she interrupted me.
"What is this?" Uzume asked. "A game?"
"Sort of," I answered. "It's somewhere between a game and a cooperative story. Basically, all of you will make characters with certain stats and skills and classes, and I'll give you a quest to do and control all of the other characters and enemies you interact with. To keep things fair, everything is decided with dice, but unlike a game, you can do whatever you can think of, so long as it's something you can convince me your character would be capable of doing."
"Like combat simulation?" Levy asked.
"Again, sort of," I replied. "It's not meant to be a learning experience or anything, and you don't have to focus on combat. There's also puzzles and social stuff and you're really just meant to have fun. Here, the books probably explain it better than I do. I picked up a couple of rule books, read over the intro and we can learn as we go along."
I won't go into the full detail of our D&D session here as I recorded most of what happened in my notes already as we played and I don't have a lot of time to write right now. But there are some parts that I do want to share.
"By the way, when you make your characters, go ahead and level them up to five," I instructed them as we started that process. Which, considering there were six of them and we only had two rulebooks to share, was a bit of a messy process.
"Eh? We're starting that high?" Matsu asked, in confusion. "Why?"
"Because levels one and two are straight up a waste of time, you don't get any interesting class features until level three," I explained. "But five is where it gets fun, depending on the class."
"Done," Bisky said, putting down her pencil.
I looked at her with confusion. "Done? With what?"
"With my character," she said as if it were obvious. But it had only been ten minutes since we started, and not even a full minute since I had told her to level them up.
"...let me see your sheet," I said. Bisky had never heard of a game like D&D before when I was explaining it to them, so I was concerned she was confused and had missed something, or several somethings.
But when she handed over her character sheet I was confronted with a perfect character sheet, with all the information neatly laid out. I quickly ran over the mental checklists and didn't see anything out of order.
"And you rolled these stats?" I asked, looking at them. She didn't have a stat lower than 16, and her Dexterity was already at 20.
"Aside from the racial bonuses, yes," Bisky said. "I wrote down my rolls on the back, you can check."
I flipped the paper over to find numbers just a little lower than what were on the front of the page.
"I saw her roll them, they're real," Kusano offered as she rolled her own dice before frowning at them. "I even borrowed her dice afterward, but they're not being as nice to me."
"Huh," I said out loud. "Well, in that case, help the others with their builds." Bisky nodded as I handed her back her character sheet and turned to help Kusano, who was making a Dragonborn Barbarian. It was pretty different from her image, but then again, that is what D&D is all about.
I turned my attention to Levy, getting up and looking over her shoulder where she was filling out details on her own character sheet. "A Cleric?" I asked. I absentmindedly reached down to pet VV, who was lounging on her lap.
"Yep!" she replied. "I couldn't choose, so I looked at what everyone else was doing and noticed we didn't have any healers. I remember a lot of times wishing I had someone with healing magic with me on our jobs, and I remember you talking about the importance of having a healer back when it was just the two of us. So I figured I'd take that role." She turned to me with a smile. "I think this is a really good idea."
I returned her smile. "I'm hoping it'll be fun and take everyone's minds off of things, mine included." I shook my head, clearing those thoughts before I got too far down that train of thought. "Do you have any confusion with the character creation?"
She shook her head. "No, I've got it. You can help someone else."
I nodded and gave her a quick kiss before moving further down the table, to where Uzume and Chiho were.
"A human sorcerer?" I asked as I looked at what Uzume was working on. "That sounds fun." I looked over at Chiho and saw her character sheet was blank. "Still figuring out what you want to do?"
"I guess," she replied, and I didn't need Communication Talent to hear the dissatisfaction in her voice. "I don't know if I actually want to play."
"Come on, don't say that," Uzume replied. "This is gonna be fun, don't you think?"
"I just don't know what to do," Chiho complained. "There are too many options and I can't choose."
"You can play a sorcerer too, we can be magic girlfriends in real life and in the game," Uzume suggested.
"I don't know…" she replied. "I still don't really want to make a character…"
"How about you and Uzume share a character?" I suggested. "That way you can try things out without having to commit. I won't force you to play, but I would like you to at least try it."
At the time, I wasn't sure why Chiho was in a poor mood, I just thought she wasn't very interested in the game. Still, misguided as I was, my idea appealed to her at least a little bit, and I could see her considering it.
"I'm down for that, but how would it work?" Uzume asked.
I crossed my arms and thought about it. "Sorcerers get power from their bloodline… you could say one of your ancestors was some kind of spirit that wanted to live forever by passing their soul to their children and taking over their bodies. But it didn't work quite right and instead they now ride along as a passenger. One of you will play as the original owner of the body, and the other as the ancestor, and you have to compete for the body each time you want to do something."
"Oh we have to do that," Uzume said excitedly. "Doesn't that sound really cool Chiho?"
"It does sound pretty interesting," Chiho admitted, her shoulders relaxing a little and her tone lightening.
I was a little worried, but as I helped guide them through the rest of character creation and come up with a couple rules for their special situation, Chiho got more and more into it.
When it came down to the two of them just picking spells, each having their own list of spells but sharing the same spell slots, I moved on to check Matsu's character sheet, which she had completed.
"...Matsu, 'Sexy' isn't a race," I said dryly as I looked over her sheet.
"Yes it is," she insisted. "It's a sub-race of Tiefling."
"Uh huh, sure," I 'agreed'. "Show me it in the rule book."
"Well, it's not in there, Matsu made it up," she admitted. "Mechanically she's just a tiefling, but she refers to herself as 'Sexy' instead."
I sighed. "And of course you're playing a bard," I commented. But I scanned the rest of the sheet and didn't find anything wrong, either due to a mistake or Matsu fudging the rules more. "Alright, alright, you can be a 'Sexy' bard. It's a classic for a reason."
"It is?!" Matsu replied, surprised.
"What, horny tiefling bard?" I asked. "Yeah, that's like, the biggest D&D cliche."
Her shoulders slumped. "And Matsu thought she was being clever. Should I not do that then?"
"Nah, like I said, it's a classic for a reason," I told her as I gave her her character sheet back. "Just be aware, we're not doing any actual erotic role play. Any successful seductions will not be described in detail."
"Booo!" she jeered, but I could tell she was just messing around. I rolled my eyes and moved on, checking Kusano's sheet before sitting back down as I waited for the others to finish their character creation.
Shortly after, I felt a tapping on my back, and I looked behind me to find Tinks. I had felt her with my aura sense of course, but had thought she was going towards one of the others. "What's up Tinks?"
I hadn't had much one on one time with her since she evolved, busy as I was learning how to fight. She looked different of course, with a more mature appearance, but she hadn't seemed to change much. She was still sweet and the sound of her hammer against the anvil was a near constant while I was training. Together with Levy she was making all sorts of small, simple things, both improving her skills and providing us with more supplies.
She pointed up at the table and let out a warble filled with curiosity. "You want to know what we're doing?" I guessed, and she nodded. "We're playing a game."
Her face lit up and she pointed at herself. "You want to play too?" I asked, and again she nodded. I hesitated. "I don't know… this game requires a lot of talking and has complicated rules…" Even with Communication Talent, understanding VV and Tinks was more an art than an exact science. And Tinks was smart, but that was compared to her apparent age. She was basically just a kid, even now after her evolution.
I could definitely make it work, but it would slow down gameplay a lot, especially when we already had so many players, so I was hesitant to do so. I had tried D&D with some kids before, usually the siblings of my fellow players, and it was usually a frustrating experience.
Tinks' face fell, her smile turning into a frown as I denied her, her expression becoming stormy. She started throwing a tantrum, yelling in her voice that was half metallic and half ethereal as she waved her arms up and down.
That was one thing that had changed about Tinks. She had gone from baby to child, and she had started throwing temper tantrums. I knew better than to give in, but I quickly tried to figure out a compromise to placate her.
"Wait wait, okay, how about this?" I offered. "You can be my assistant!"
She stopped throwing her tantrum, tears in the corners of her eyes, and looked at me as she waited for me to explain. "I'm the one in charge, and I have to roll the dice. I'd be really grateful if you could help me do that."
She tilted her head, clearly not fully understanding what I was offering, so I scooted over slightly on my seat at the head of the table and patted the empty space next to me.
When she climbed up, I showed her the stuff I had unpacked from the DM kit I had bought alongside the books. "This is where all my notes are. And sometimes I'll have to roll these dice."
I had gotten lucky and found a big bag of assorted dice, so I had plenty for our entire group. Tinks reached into the bag, curious, and picked up a D20. But unfortunately, she overestimated their sturdiness, and with a crack it crumbled into pieces in her grip.
Her eyes widened and she looked at me in shock, and I had to suppress a wince. "It's okay, it's okay," I quickly reassured her. "We have extra. Just, be gentle with them, okay?"
She nodded and carefully picked up another one. "That one is a d12, because it has 12 sides," I explained. "Each one is named like that, and they're all used for different things. So I want you to help me by rolling the dice I need, okay? Like this." I grabbed a die of my own and rolled it into the empty box the DM screen and book had come in.
Tinks nodded, eyes lighting up, as she threw her own die in as well. She then looked back at me with a smile and nodded, accepting her role. As the others finished their characters, I taught Tinks what all the dice were called.
And soon after, we got started playing.
"You are a group of adventurers that have been hired to take care of a camp of bandits that have been raiding the towns in this area for over a year now. They are-"
"Shouldn't the king or whatever government in charge of this place be doing something about this instead of us?" Uzume asked, interrupting.
"Umm. The King's forces are all busy. They're…. They're fighting a war with a neighboring country. These bandits are specifically taking advantage of that. But while he can't spare the soldiers, he can spare a bit of gold. Not all that much, actually, but that gold plus a promise that you can keep all the gold in the bandit camp, was enough to draw you into doing the job."
"Shouldn't we be giving that back to the people they stole it from?" Kusano asked.
"You can, if you want, but the king has given up on that and would just be satisfied with stopping the bandits. Besides, there's no real way of knowing how much they stole from who. Would your character even care about that though?"
"Glikanaar may be a Barbarian, but she's also very noble when she's not fighting."
"...right, I'll keep that in mind. Either way, if you want to try to redistribute the money, that's on you, but you'll have to convince the others as well, because that money was promised as pay for the job."
"Yeah, fuck sharing, Candi wants to get paid!" Matsu added. Yes, she named her 'Sexy' tiefling Candi.
"You can sort that out after," I continued. "Anyway. The leader of the bandits is a man only known as Scar. Survivors of the raids say that he has a prominent scar on his face, along his cheek."
"Bandits sure are straightforward, huh?" Levy mused.
"What's the king's name?" Chiho asked.
"It's uhhh… Let's say Henry. He's King Henry."
"Lazy," Matsu accused.
"Shush, you," I told her before getting them back on track. "Anyway, Scar leads a group of about twenty men, or so you've heard. Their encampment is well fortified, but as your group approaches them you don't see anyone watching over the wooden walls they've constructed. The sun set about an hour ago, so it's night time. What do you want to do?"
"I think we should sneak in," Bisky suggested. "If we can kill the leader, the rest should flee, right?"
"It's possible," I confirmed. "Depends on how you go about it."
Bisky nodded. "I'll sneak in, kill the leader, maybe parade his body around to make the rest of them run, and it's job complete and we get a big payday for minimal work!"
"It could work," Levy admitted. "But it's too risky for you to go alone. We should all go in together."
"That'll just increase our chances of getting caught."
"Better to be caught together than caught alone. Besides, we're a group, it wouldn't be very fun if you just did it by yourself."
"Fine, fine, we can do it together. But don't blame me if it goes wrong."
Once they hashed out a few more details, they put their plan into action.
"Alright, you are entering the camp. There are tents set up around in a chaotic manner, some of them have voices and lights coming from them, but most are empty. All of you give me a stealth check."
"26."
"Holy shit Bisky. Uhh. Matsu got a 16. Is that enough?"
"You're fine, this first check is easy. Everyone else?"
"We got a 17, but Uzume's still in charge of the body."
"I got a 17 as well."
"You three make it too. Kusano?"
"Umm. I got a four."
"That's a d8, you need to use a d20."
"Oh! Thank you Onee-chan! I'll just reroll real quick and… I got a 1."
"Add your Stealth skill."
"Uhh. That brings it up to a 2."
"That is not going to cut it I'm afraid. You all stealth your way through the camp, quietly heading deeper in. That is, until the big shiny Dragonborn accidentally bumps into a precarious pile of crates, which fall over with a crash loud enough to be heard through the entire camp."
"I told you this would happen."
"My point still stands."
"While Bisky and Levy are arguing, someone pokes their head out of their tent, spotting all of you. He demands to know who you are."
"Wait, what was that? You're not going to voice him?"
"No? He's just a bandit."
"Come on, you gotta immerse us. Matsu wants to hear you do a voice!"
"Fine, fine. He sticks his head out of his tent and sees all of you. 'Oi! Who are all of you?!'"
"Psh, was that you attempting a British accent?"
"Matsu I swear to god…"
"I Rage and attack him!"
"So much for sneaking our way in."
"Welcome to D&D. Now, everyone roll initiative. Also, Kusano, since you're a Wild Magic Barbarian who just started raging, I'm going to need you to roll on that Wild Magic table."
"Uhh. Where was that again?"
"Here. You need a d8, this one."
"Thanks Bisky. Umm. That's a six. Do I add anything to that?"
"No, you don't. Let's see. Multi-colored lights appear around you, giving you and any allies around you a plus one to their AC until your Rage ends."
"Yay, I'm helpful!"
"You're the one that got us caught in the first place!"
"Alright, alright, calm down and give me those initiatives."
"18" "12" "8" "4"
"Wait wait wait, hold on, not all at once!"
Later, after chasing down a lead they found on Scar's body…
"The shopkeeper says 'I don't know nothin' about no White Phial, and I don't wanna know nothin' about it.'"
"Yeah, he's obviously lying. Matsu does an insight check! She gets a… 19!"
"Oh yeah, he's hella lying."
"Matsu knows how to get him to talk!"
"Oh no, not again."
"Matsu rolls to seduce him!"
"Like that worked so well the last three times you tried-"
"Natural 20! Ha! What was that you were saying, Uzume?"
"Alright. Describe how you seduce the shopkeeper."
"Eh? Oh, uhh… Candi says 'Won't you please tell us mister?' and flashes her panties at him."
"Wow, so seductive."
"Shush, Uzume. Uhh. Tinks, can you roll a d20 for me? Yeah, that one. Hmm. Okay, he failed his check to resist your seduction pretty hard, so I guess he has a fetish for panty flashing. 'Okay, so maybe I do know something, but you ain't gonna get it out of me that easy!' he says. But he's looking pretty intently."
"My character does not approve of this method, but Matsu already knows this."
"Love you Levy!"
"While he's distracted I want to stealth and sneak into the back of the shop."
"Uhh. Alright. Give me a stealth-"
"24."
"...you're not using Nen to fudge your rolls, are you?"
"You've used Gyo to check, haven't you? As you can see, I have not. A Hunter is just naturally lucky."
"Uh huh. Well, you manage to sneak past the counter and through the doorway into the backroom. You find more or less what you expect to find in a potion maker's shop. Shelves with magic lights and pots growing strange plants, a work station with various tools for processing ingredients. And tucked away in the corner is a desk where he does all his book keeping."
"Is there a safe?"
"Uhh. Yeah, right next to the desk. It's a couple feet tall, looks like it's made of sturdy metal, and is bolted to the ground."
"I open it."
"It's locked."
"Well, obviously. I mean I use my lockpicking tools to unlock it."
"Alright. Give me a uhh. Dex check?"
"Dex plus my proficiency. 21."
"Well, that's a success, but while you're still working on opening it, let's hop back to the others. Matsu, you can tell he's being swayed, but it's not enough."
"But Matsu got a natural twenty!"
"And this is a very important secret to him."
"Hmm. Oooh, since he likes panties, Candi will turn around this time and show him them from the back! She'll bend over too."
"I-... alright, sure. Give me another seduction- I mean persuasion check."
"20! That's with bonuses this time though."
"Are you using Bisky's dice? No, nevermind. Uhh. Hmm. Okay, how about this. He's obviously interested and he comes to a decision. 'Tell you what. You gimme dem panties, and I'll tell you what you wanna know."
"Eww, what a creep."
"You're the one flashing your panties at him, and he's not going to tell you without something in exchange. But you think it over for a moment while we hop back to Bisky. Bisky, you get the safe open and find some papers and some gold."
"No jewels?"
"What? No, why would he have jewels? He's an alchemist."
"Because they're better than gold? Because they have more value for their mass, meaning they take up less space and weigh less? Because they're really pretty? Because what's the point of breaking into a safe if there aren't jewels in it?"
"I don't know, maybe for the papers that are apparently important enough to be stored in there as well?"
"No, I'm just here for jewels."
"Alright, fine. Alongside having a fetish for panties, the shopkeeper also doesn't trust the value of gold and instead keeps his liquid assets in jewels for some reason. Tinks, roll these dice for me? Hmm. Okay, you find 5,000 GP worth of jewels-"
"What kind of jewels?"
"...a mix. He diversified his jewel portfolio."
"Sure, but what kinds?"
"Alright, alright, fine. Tinks, roll these for me. Bisky, you find four sapphires, three rubies, two emeralds, and two amethysts. All are cut and about the size of your thumbnail."
"What carat are they?"
"I have no idea. I don't know how that works. Assume they're kinda mid-grade. Not bad but not fancy, very middle of the road."
"Hmm. It's better than nothing I guess. I'll swipe them and close the safe back up before heading back to the group."
"And you don't want to investigate anything else that was in the safe."
"Those papers Roland mentioned sound like they might be useful…"
"Yes, thank you Chiho."
"No, I don't care about those."
"You have to be doing this on purpose."
"I'm just doing what my character would do."
"...you have no idea how cursed of a sentence that is. But whatever. You take the jewels and join back up with the party to see Matsu do… well, what have you decided on?"
"Candi has slipped her panties off and is handing them over!"
"Of course she is. Looking very satisfied, he slips them into his pocket and starts telling you what he knows…"
And then, after getting the lead they needed.
"After hours of trekking through the mountains, you finally arrive at the cave indicated on the map. Just as the alchemist described, the rocks leading up to the mouth of the cave are bone white."
"What's inside the cave?"
"It's too dark to see from out here-"
"I have Darkvision."
"Oh, me too!"
"I do as well."
"We don't, I don't think, but I have a spell for it. Oh, but we're almost out of spell slots. Can we take a long rest?"
"Where does it say if you have Darkvision?"
"You're a Dragonborn Kusano, you have it."
"Okay, okay, so everyone except for Uzume and Chiho can see into the cave, but it curves about fifteen feet in and there's nothing but rock and dirt in the part you can see."
"What's that in meters?"
"I don't know, like five-ish I think?"
"It's four and a half."
"Thank you Matsu. Now, what do you do? Do you go in, or do you want to rest first? The sun is getting low in the sky, but that doesn't really matter inside a cave."
"We want to rest, we used all our spell slots getting here."
"We wouldn't have if Chiho wasn't so spell happy."
"I'm an ancient spirit of magic, and your ancestor, I'll cast all the spells I want to thank you very much."
"I also used most of my slots healing Kusano."
"I'm fine with doing a long rest."
"Me too."
"Matsu also agrees."
"Alright. You guys set up camp. I assume you're keeping the same watch as normal? Alright. Tinks, roll the d100s five times for me."
"Oh no, Matsu does not like that smile."
"No idea what you're talking about. Levy is on third watch, right? Give me a perception check."
"12?"
"Roll it again, I'll give you advantage since you're on watch."
"...9."
"Hmm. Well, you don't spot anything on your watch and it's uneventful. The other watches are also uneventful."
"Oh we are so fucked."
And then, while deep in the cave and fighting the final boss…
"Roland, isn't this guy too strong?"
"I don't want to hear that from the group that has been steamrolling every encounter I throw at them. The last three fights were adjusted for a group a level higher than yours and you still took them down in one turn!"
"Sounds like a skill issue to Matsu."
"...You have a disadvantage on your next attack roll."
"No wait, Matsu is sorry, she takes it back!"
"Don't worry guys, I've got this. I cast Fireball!"
"Chiho no!"
"Chiho yes!"
"Uzume, stop her!"
"Uhh. I rolled a 13 to get control of the body to stop her."
"Natural twenty! I'm using fireball on the boss!"
"What's so bad about her using a fireball?"
"A ball of flame grows in your hands as you gather magical power, and you throw it at the ancient skeleton warrior. When it hits him, it explodes into a massive sphere. Kusano, Bisky, and Matsu, I need the three of you to make Dexterity saving throws."
"...oh."
"Chiho, go ahead and roll damage. And Tinks, roll a d20 for the boss."
"Matsu got a six. Dammit Chiho!"
"Hehehe, look at all this damage though! 30!"
"Candi only has 33 hit points! She's lucky she hasn't gotten hit yet this fight."
"Umm, I got an 18."
"And I got a 22."
"Okay. Matsu, you take full damage. Kusano and Bisky, you take half, so 15."
"I have Evasion, I don't take any damage."
"Wait, I thought Evasion was something you got at a higher level as a Rogue?"
"It is, but I picked it up at level four instead of an ability score increase."
"What are you going to do when you hit level seven then?"
"You said I could retrain feats, right? I'll change it to another one and get the class one free."
"God dammit Bisky. Fine, whatever. The boss has a shit Dexterity so he fails his saving throw. He's also weak to fire, so he took double that and that was more than enough to kill him. He lets out a ghostly wail as his bones turn to ash and he is defeated."
"See, it all worked out!"
"Levyyyyyy, Candi needs heals!"
"Yes, yes, I'm coming."
"With the final guardian defeated, there is a clicking sound as the chest located in the back of the room unlocks."
"Ooh, what's inside?"
"Do you open it?"
"...no?"
"I'll check it for traps. 23."
"Bisky I'm going to need you to roll under 20 just once before I believe you're not cheating, somehow."
"I've rolled under 20 plenty of times. I just have a lot of skills I'm proficient in."
"I still can't believe you made such a minmax character so quickly. Whatever. No, you don't find any traps."
"They must be some very sneaky traps."
"There aren't any traps."
"But you made it sound so sinister!"
"All I did was ask you to confirm that you opened it!"
"I'm opening the chest."
"Thank you Bisky. In it are a collection of items. The White Phial that you came here searching for, a pile of gold, and-"
"Jewels?"
"A jewel. A big gray-ish silver one, a little smaller than your head. But it's not one you've ever seen, and you can't identify it."
"I grab it and immediately put it in my bag."
"Uh oh, Matsu really doesn't like that smile."
"As soon as you touch the gem, a booming voice rings out. 'A new hand touches the beacon!'"
"You did this on purpose."
"The gem, or the beacon as you now know it, is also soul bound and you can't get rid of it no matter how hard you try. I hope you like dealing with undead~"
We called the session shortly after that, as it was getting late and we needed to eat dinner. I'm just glad that Matsu had never played Skyrim and didn't realize how many ideas I was stealing. Being a Dungeon Master is hard, and it was my first time attempting it.
But it did a good job distracting everyone from the countdown to midnight, when the portal opens. I'm worried I've overhyped the danger of DR4 worlds a little, but then I look at the list of worlds, and while some of them we can definitely handle, others are more dangerous.
It was that worry that had me grabbing the glass from earlier and finding a quiet spot of the Skyblock. Matsu and Levy were taking a bath, Bisky and Kusano were cooking, Chiho and Uzume were going over the D&D rules some more, and the Pokemon were napping.
Though how VV was tired was a mystery to me. He had spent the entire game either on someone's lap or up on top of a nearby bookcase, watching us lazily.
Still, having a moment to myself was something I appreciated, even if it allowed the worry to come back. I took the glass, filled it with water, and brought it to the garden where I put it on one of the benches.
The chickens were roaming the area, clucking away, but they didn't pay me any mind. According to Kusano they were getting more comfortable with the new environment and should start laying eggs soon.
But I'm procrastinating. I was then too, which is why I focus on it now. I didn't want to acknowledge the glass of water in front of me. But I also couldn't ignore it, and I needed to try.
So I placed my hands around the glass and used Ren, hoping everyone else would think I was just training.
There wasn't all that much light out here, with the sun mostly below the horizon already and the stars not yet visible. But I could still see the water in the glass, and I focused on it, waiting for something to happen. Minutes ticked by as my aura dropped but the water didn't change.
And eventually, my aura ran out, my reserves exhausted, and I had nothing to show for it. If there was a change in the water, I couldn't detect it, not with any of my five senses. And yes, I even tried getting it to make various sounds to see if they sounded weird, such as flicking the side and running my finger around the rim. They made perfectly normal sounds though.
I bunched my fists to resist the urge to throw the glass away. We only had the one and I didn't want to waste it. But it left me unable to vent the emotions building up inside of me, the frustration and the disappointment.
I was torn from my thoughts by the feeling of someone approaching. A quick glance showed Chiho at the gate of the garden, wearing an expression I couldn't read.
I didn't bother hiding the glass. I was trying to do it without anyone seeing, but it wasn't like I was doing something I was ashamed of. I just wanted some privacy for it.
So, of course, she saw it, and I could tell from her expression that she guessed what I was doing. But she didn't say anything, she just quietly approached, coming to a stop next to me.
"Yeah?" I asked.
"Can I sit next to you?"
I blinked, caught off guard by her question, but nodded. She sat down on the bench, behind me really since I was straddling it to face the glass. I felt the warmth of her skin, her arm, pressing against my back as she leaned against me.
We sat in silence for a few moments, the sky slowly darkening and the chickens meandering towards the coop that Kusano grew for them. I breathed in deep, taking in a lungful of the twilight air before releasing it as a sigh.
"No luck?" Chiho asked.
"None," I confirmed, dumping the water out on the ground. "It's just… it's frustrating, not knowing what I can do. It feels like I'm just leaving a card on the table that I should be using. Or like I have the keys for a car but it just won't turn on anyway, but I really need the car to keep everyone safe." I shook my head. "That was a dumb metaphor, nevermind. I'm just glad none of you got Specialist. At least you guys know the general direction to start heading in."
"...I think I would have preferred to be a Specialist, honestly." Chiho replied after a moment, and I recognized the bitterness in her voice. It was the same as the bitterness in mine.
"Not happy to be an Enhancer?" I guessed.
"No. Yes. I don't know, maybe." I felt her hair gently hit my back as she shook her head. "It's just… I don't know. I'm so incredibly glad that you came to our world, that you saved Uzume and I, that you healed me. Every moment I've been able to spend here with her and you and all the others have been the best moments of my life.
"But… I feel so useless. Everyone is always so busy doing something. You're training so hard and always thinking about the future. Levy and Tinks spend all day making things. Uzume can make pillows and clothes and she's helping teach you how to fight. Matsu is unraveling an ancient Sekirei artifact to help empower everyone. Kusano not only grows our food at a magical rate, but she cooks it and makes our buildings. Bisky teaches and guides us, and even VV does his part. I've seen him pushing the chickens back into here when they hop up on the fence, and he's always keeping an eye on everyone.
"And here I am just… existing. I help the others, but it doesn't feel like they need it. It doesn't feel like I helped get them done faster, or took any of their burden. It just feels like everyone is being nice by trying to make me feel useful. But it's not working, because I don't feel useful."
I didn't say anything to that. I didn't know what to say. There was nothing in her words I could point to as wrong or false. I knew none of the others, myself included, thought of her like that, and none of them were giving her work to try to make her feel better. But Chiho knew that. She said as much. She was just talking about how it felt, and feelings don't always make sense.
"I was excited to learn Nen though," she continued after a moment. "Not because I wanted to get stronger. I've never really cared about that, beyond wanting to be healthy. But because of the way you described it, how it would let me develop a power that was all my own, that I could develop into something useful. I could finally contribute.
"I remember you telling me to think about what I wanted to do and how I wanted to help, back when we first arrived. You said you could make it happen, and after you got Bisky and she started teaching you Nen, I understood that you really could. And I've been thinking about it ever since. But I can't decide. I've thought about it time and time again, and I have no idea what I want to do. Nothing appeals, but at the same time, it feels like anything would be fine. But I couldn't come to you and ask you to just pick something for me. Uzume refused to, and she was right to I think. But it hasn't gotten me any closer to figuring it out."
Things clicked into place. "And then you did the Water Divination test," I guessed. "And you discovered your Nen type was the most open ended and flexible one."
I felt her hair again as she leaned her head against the back of my shoulder. "It was… really frustrating. Any other result would have at least given me a vague direction to work towards. It would have narrowed my possibilities down, at least a little bit."
"That's why you didn't want to play with us," I realized as I went over what happened earlier. "You were already struggling with all the options you had for what you wanted to do. Figuring out a fictional character to play a game on top of that…"
"I wasn't really thinking straight enough at the time to realize it, but yes. I was in a bad mood, and I couldn't even bring myself to think about the game. But I'm really glad you and Uzume convinced me to play. It was fun, and a distraction."
"But you're not distracted anymore," I guessed.
"And neither are you."
There wasn't anything to say to that. It wasn't a question, just a statement, and I couldn't refute it. But, as another silence stretched on, I felt the need to say something.
"I wish I could solve your problem. That I could pick a role and assign you to it. Maybe I should do that. You may have signed up for it, but you are all mine in a way that runs deeper than love or lust. That also means I'm responsible for you, and your problems are my problems."
"But you won't."
"But I won't. Not yet at least. I think you'll be happier if you can figure out what you want to do yourself. There are plenty of things we lack, but it sounds like having too many options is the problem."
"Every time I think of picking one, I also get worried. What if I pick something and you spend our precious resources giving that ability to me, but a week or two later we end up in a world where we recruit someone with that same ability, and they're better than me?"
I grimaced, because that was a very real possibility. The random nature of which worlds we visited made it impossible to predict our growth.
But… "That shouldn't stop you," I insisted. "Doubling up is okay, especially if it's something useful. If they're better than you, then they can just teach you and you can catch up. And, as we grow, we'll need multiple people handling each kind of thing. Multiple seamstresses, multiple cooks, multiple crafters. We're going to grow to be pretty massive, eventually. Sure, it might not be efficient to double up early on, but who cares? I don't, that's for sure. I didn't start making this Skyblock, this world, with goals of efficiency and speed. If we somehow end up with half a dozen blacksmiths, well, it would be inconvenient, but wouldn't it be funny too? Wouldn't it be great to look back at that, years from now, and laugh?"
"Maybe," she admitted. "But it wouldn't help me not feel useless now."
I sighed. "No, I guess not. Still, don't be afraid of what comes in the future. We can't guess that. And if it's something you think you'll enjoy doing, then that's all that matters."
"You're right. And at least I'll have committed to something by then."
I stopped myself from reflexively telling her that I could change her power pretty easily. I didn't think she'd appreciate having more options.
"I know it's not helpful… but just keep thinking about it. I'm sure you'll find something sooner or later. And, if you really really can't, I'll choose something for you."
"...thank you. As strange as it sounds, it's comforting to know that I don't have to make a choice. Though I wish I could help you figure out your problem."
"Don't feel bad, not even Bisky can help me narrow it down more, not yet," I told her. "I was hoping now that my aura reserves were bigger, it would have a more pronounced effect, but I guess not. I'll keep trying. That's all I can really do."
"Mmm," she hummed in agreement. We sat there for a moment longer in silence, but this time it was comfortable and nice.
And then it was broken. "Hey! What's taking you two so long?! Are you guys having fun without us?" Matsu's voice called out across the Skyblock from the house.
"Oh right, I was sent out here to get you for dinner," Chiho remembered as she sat up straight, no longer leaning on me.
I laughed, standing up. "We got a little distracted, huh?"
"We did," Chiho agreed as she stood up as well. "But… I'm glad we did. Thank you for listening. It helped, talking about it."
"That's what I'm here for," I replied. "Like I said, you guys aren't just my harem. You're not just my workers or slaves. You are an extension of me, and your problems are my problems. So, thank you Chiho, for letting me know."
She nodded, a smile on her face. And as we walked back to the house, the stars slowly fading into view above us, I felt her hand slip into mine. It was a short moment, but it was a nice one, and I was glad to have gotten a little closer to Chiho.
I'll have to wrap this up here, it's almost my turn for one of Bisky's massages. After dinner we did our last minute preparations, packing our supplies, getting dressed, and doing our last minute planning. I started writing this was Bisky did the massages for the others, and I'm the last one.
The portal is going to open up in just a couple of hours. I'm… I don't know what I am. Excited. Worried. Anxious. There are more negative emotions than positive ones, but the positive ones are there. For all the danger we could run into, there's an equal amount of profit. Hundreds of girls that I would, and even could recruit. Worlds filled with useful things that could improve our lives here.
It doesn't feel like it, but we've prepared the best we can. I'll just have to hope it was enough.
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AN: It was a fun little thought experiment to come up with everyone's Nen types. I largely used Hisoka's personality test to determine the type, because while even he admitted it wasn't perfect, it was the best thing I had, and I was hoping that there would be a bit of… not quite mismatch, but they'd be a type that forced me to think a bit outside the box for their eventual techniques. I'd say I got mixed results on that front, but I'm satisfied overall. I have some really cool things planned for their techniques.
The original plan was to have the water divination and D&D session on different days, but it made more sense for them to do the water divination on a rest day. The whole D&D thing was just a fun idea I had a while back, he picked up the books and stuff in the Kaguya world(go back and reread and you can probably spot when). I didn't have any solid plans going into it, but it wasn't meant to be a big thing. I just wanted to have a fun group activity for them to do together.
Though I definitely got a little carried away writing it and it ended up a few thousand words longer than I thought it would be. Classic Shifty Effect moment. But it was fun to write and explore their characters like that. I drew on a lot of my irl experiences with groups to try to make it relatable.