>>40432494
>No, that's okay, We can talk.
>I was wanting to talk about trying to get Aiko back. I still think I should do that sooner rather than later.

>>40432494
>No, that's okay, We can talk.
Maybe it's advice on how to deal with the twins bickering!

>>40432494
>No, that's okay, We can talk.
Always time for Kaori.

>>40432494
>No, that's okay, We can talk.
>I was wanting to talk about trying to get Aiko back. I still think I should do that sooner rather than later.

>>40432494
>I was wanting to talk about trying to get Aiko back. I still think I should do that sooner rather than later.
>No, that's okay, We can talk.

>>40432494
>>No, that's okay, We can talk.

>No, that's okay, We can talk.
>I was wanting to talk about trying to get Aiko back. I still think I should do that sooner rather than later.

Writing!

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"No it's fine. " I say to her. "We can talk. This is about trying to get Aiko back, right?"
"This is about something else." Kaori looks anxious. "Maybe we should talk about this somewhere in private?"

"Um, okay." I stand up. "Lead the way!"
Almost instantly, we find ourselves in another room of the mansion.

"Wow." I look around, in awe. "You need to show me how you do that!"
"Maybe later." Kaori sips from a cup of tea. "You wanted to talk about getting Aiko back?"
"Right! Right. I would. You knew Aiko's mom long before I did, why is she acting that way now?"

"Well." Kaori looks away. "When she found me in father's mansion, she offered to teach me some things for self-defense."
"Did she know who you were?"

Kaori averts her gaze away from me, "I sort of lied about who I am to Marie. I said I was the Chairman's daughter, and she was so horrified when she found out that she wanted to adopt me on the spot."
That's good news, Aiko's mom must have a soft spot somewhere.
"It doesn't really matter." Kaori pouts, "She probably really hates me now, that she knows the truth about us."
"Don't say that!" I stand up. "She's just in a very tough position right now. I'm sure she's a good person at heart!"
I think.

"In any case," Kaori sighs, "We also need to talk about our family, and its future."

"Future?" I feel confused.
"I mean." Kaori looks for the right words. "We got a lot of new sisters in the past day, right?"
"And a brother." I correct her.

"..Right, right. How many more do you think we're going to get?"

I think about her question, searching for an answer.
"I don't know. I guess it depends on how many more monsters there are, and how many of them turn. I guess cards, too."
"Masami." She seems worried, "That could be a LOT of monsters. Do you really think Mom can support all those new kids? We're not an orphanage."

>"I don't want to talk about this anymore right now."
>"I guess that's Mom's decision."
>"Maybe you're right."
>"But what do we do?"
>Other?

>>40434409
>>"But what do we do?"

>>40434409
>"Maybe you're right."
>"But what do we do?"
We can't very well go rejecting our new siblings,

>>40434409
>>"I guess that's Mom's decision."

>>40434409
>"I guess that's Mom's decision."
>"But what could we even do?"

>>40434409
>"I guess that's Mom's decision."
>"But what do we do?"
>I could try making more things in the magic world.

>>40434409
>"But what do we do?"

>>40434409
>"I guess that's Mom's decision."
i wonder if we can create cash somehow, it's probably not that hard

>"I guess that's Mom's decision."
>"But what do we do?"


Writing!

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"That's Mom's decision." I say, crossing my arms. "It's her household and she can take on as many new children as she wants. I like having a big family."
"But, Masami. If it gets too big, she might not be able to support us. Won't that be a problem too?"

I feel my head tilt, "Then, what do we do?"
"I don't know, that's why I wanted to talk to you about it." Kaori sighs.

I think about the problem for a minute, and an idea pops into mind!
"I could try making cash! Lots and lots of cash! Can't be any harder than making the cards."
"Masami, Mom going to jail for counterfeiting won't solve the problem."

"Wait wait! Then what about gold? We could just make lots of gold and diamonds!"
"But, where would it have come from, Masami?"

Her question evokes only one answer in my mind.
"We... found it?"
"Masamiiiii." She pouts.

"I don't know what to do, then."
"Well, we could ask around and see if anyone would be willing to adopt. We would still see them, and they might be taken care of better in a smaller family than a big one with a single mother."

"That's Mom's decision still, and you should talk to her about it."
"I will! But I just wanted to ask you first. You're kind of touchy about the family stuff."

I recoil, "I'm not touchy!"
"You kidnapped me originally, remember?" She smiles.

My arms cross, and I pout.
"It's just something to keep in mind for the future." Kaori stands up. "I know we have bigger things to worry about right now."

"Right!"
"It's almost time to wake up, what were you going to focus on doing today?"

>Find out more about Fortune and Asai, see if there's a weakness to his armor.
>Do what Mom suggested and practice trying to turn monsters into humans, I have a test subject.
>Try to find Aiko and make amends with her Mom before she decides to run away to the mountains or something.
>A little of everything.
>Maybe nothing, wait and see what everyone's plans are.
>Other?

>>40435040
>Try to find Aiko and make amends with her Mom before she decides to run away to the mountains or something.

>>40435040
>>A little of everything.

>>40435040
>Try to find Aiko, and kidnap her too!
The Masami way.

>>40435040
>deal with the housing issue by making a mansion card

>>40435040
>Try to find Aiko and make amends with her Mom before she decides to run away to the mountains or something.

>>40435040
>Try to find Aiko and make amends with her Mom before she decides to run away to the mountains or something.

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Everyone I'll be back in an hour.

Until then!

>>40435040
>Try to find Aiko and make amends with her Mom before she decides to run away to the mountains or something.

>Try to find Aiko and make amends with her Mom before she decides to run away to the mountains or something.

Writing!

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"Well, the first thing to do is find Aiko and her mother. I'm worried she'll run off to the mountains or something after this is over and I'll never see her again. So I should go deal with that first."
"Good choice, I was going to suggest you do the same thing." Kaori sips from her tea.

"But what do I do when I find her? I'm not sure she'll just listen to me."
Kaori smiles deviously, "Maybe you should kidnap Aiko. You seem really good at it."

I think about her words for a moment.
"..That's a great idea!"
Kaori seems shocked.
"No! Wait! I was just kidding!"

"But it was such a good idea!" I smile.
"No! It's not! Then you'll be FIGHTING Marie! You don't want to do that!"

"Yeah but, if I kidnap Aiko, she can't drag her into a fight against a giant monster! It's the perfect plan!"
"That's a terrible plan! Then Marie will come after YOU!"
"But- if she comes after me, then she won't be trying to fight the giant monster either! Win-win!"

"No! You shouldn't be trying to make more enemi-"
In the distance, I hear noise.
"It's time to wake up, Masami. I'll pout at you when we're awake."
"Aww, fine."

--

Why am I on my floor?
Oh, I remember why.

I sit up and rub my eyes as the four other people in my room do the same. Kaori immediately pries herself away from Julie's extremely tight hug and gets right to my eye level.
"You are NOT kidnapping Aiko."
"But-"
"No! No one is getting kidnapped!"

Haruko hears us and jumps down, she breathes a sigh of relief.
"Oh, you were thinking of kidnapping her too?"
"Wait! No! Don't encourage this!" Kaori jumps up and tries to cover her mouth.
"I was thinking the same thing, but didn't want to say it." Julie rubs her eyes. "But I'm glad to know you were thinking the same thing!"

"NO!" Kaori jumps to her feet, "This is an AWFUL idea!"
You laugh, "Let's get breakfast first, then we can talk about it."

>Kidnapping may work here.
>No Kaori is right, it's silly.
>Ask Mom's opinion
>Find Aiko first.
>Other?

>>40438428
>Kidnapping may work here.
as long as marie doesn't know it's us...

>>40438428
>Kidnapping may work here.
Kidnapping has a 100% success rate, you can't argue with science.
>Find Aiko first.

>>40438428
>>Ask Mom's opinion

>>40438428
>Find Aiko first.

>Hmm Kidnapping might work here.
>Maybe I should ask Mom's opinion
>Or find Aiko first.

Writing!

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It could work.
I mean, it has a 100% success rate! I can't argue with success!

Everyone is given breakfast in a very rushed manner. Mom is the designated cook while Emillion and the friendly monster help with serving plates for everybody. We find our seats on the couch and the floor and pretty much any place there is room. It's difficult to imagine what this place might look like with more kids.

Kaori does have a point. It would be a bad idea to get Marie angry at me when she's already feeling like she has to destroy all monsters. Especially when I'm on a very strict deadline.
What I need is a way to get everyone sitting down and talking for a minute. No fighting, no arguing, just talking.

That's easier said than done.

I finish my breakfast and help with the dishes.
"Hey Mom." I ask as I grab one of the porcelain plates. "Do you have any ideas on getting Aiko back?"
Mom polishes another plate and sets it in the sink, "First we have to find her. Which may take more time than you think."

"Let's say we DO find her, would it be okay to... take her?"
"Masami." She looks over to me, "You're not thinking of kidnapping someone again, are you?"
"No! No. Well. Maybe. At least then she wouldn't have to fight, though!"

She smiles, "I know you think that would solve everything, but what does Aiko think of that? From what I heard, Aiko was intent on staying by her mother's side. You would do the same thing if I asked you to."

"Then what am I supposed to do? Her mother is crazy!"
"She might be, but that's still Aiko's mother. Maybe the right answer is to find out what Aiko wants, first."

She picks up another plate and sets it in the sink. "But before then, you need to find her. Do you have any ideas where to look?"

>Her house, I doubt her mother could leave without leaving some kind of hint.
>No, but I have some friends who might know.
>I'll have to look, it seems.
>Hold on, what happened to her little sister?
>Other?

.Sorry, last post didn't go through and I didn't realize it until a second ago.

>>40439893
>Hold on, what happened to her little sister?
>Her house, I doubt her mother could leave without leaving some kind of hint.
>No, but I have some friends who might know.

>>40439893
>Her house, I doubt her mother could leave without leaving some kind of hint.
>Hold on, what happened to her little sister?

>>40439893
>Her house, I doubt her mother could leave without leaving some kind of hint.
>Hold on, what happened to her little sister?

>Her house, I doubt her mother could leave without leaving some kind of hint.
>Hold on, what happened to her little sister?

Writing!

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"I think I'll go to her house first, I doubt she's packed up and left in the span of a single night."
"That's good, anything else?"

I think about anything else that would let me find Aiko. Something, something, anything at all to let me find Aiko.

Then I remember someone. A certain annoying sister who used to cling to her the few times I went to her house.
"That's right, she has a sister. Her name is Aina."
"She would be a good person to ask."

Okay, that's two people, what else?
"I suppose I should go get Ryouta or Maeda before I go over there." I sigh, "They probably know Aiko's mother better than I do."
"Kaori would be a good person for that, too."

That's true, but I'm not sure that Marie would react too friendly toward her. I don't want her to hurt Kaori's feelings.

"Hey Mom, one other question. What were you gonna do about our house?"
"What do you mean?"

I turn to look at the seven other kids in the living room laughing and talking. Even now, it's kind of cramped in here.
"Well, it's just, what if more of my cards turn into people? Do you think you can handle it?"
"Of course I can! It's not like-"

That's when the joyous nature of the room is interrupted by Julie and Haruko getting into another argument. Everyone stops what they're doing and tries to calm the two down before it gets any worse.

I turn to look at Mom with a worried look, just before I feel something wrap its arms around me.
"(This is scary, can I go with you?)" a difficult-to-see sister whispers as she buries her head in my shoulder.

"Oh." Mom says, worried look on her face.
"See?" I gently try to pry myself away, but the hug-grip is stronger than I expected.

>Thread End

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Thanks for the thread everyone, sorry we didn't get a bit further today.

The 26th is the day the quest started one year ago. I'm hoping to at least make it until that time!

Anyway, thank you everyone for the thread. Let me know what you thought.

>>40441557
thanks for running

>>40441557
23rd according to the archive. Thanks for running.