Ascension: Online

"I was born in an abusive family," Nadeshiko explained, gazing out the window with a melancholic expression on her face. "Everyday, my father beat my mother and I."

"…" I remained silent, patiently waiting for her to continue.

"It happened randomly, out of nowhere. Whenever he got angry for whatever reason, he would take it out on us. Throughout the years, I suffered countless bruises and cuts. Endured insurmountable amounts of pain. Lived through tons of torture, day after day."

"Did you… ever fight back?"

"Hehe, what do you think?" she giggled softly, kicking her feet up. Right now, she seemed like a truly innocent girl, speaking of her dark past.

"I haven't known you for long enough to say," I replied stoically.

She smiled. "One day… I snapped."

"You… snapped?"

Nadeshiko nodded. "I still remember it very clearly. That night, about six years ago, my father came home from work late. When my mother opened the door for him, he did not have a pleasant look on his face. He never did, since he hated his job, but that day, it was especially bad."

"What happened?"

"He got fired from his job. And naturally, he took out the frustration from that on my mother and I."

"Wait… if he hated his job, then why would he be mad that he lost it?"

Nadeshiko laughed. "My father may have hated his job, but it was the only source of income he had. Even though he hated it, he still needed it."

"I see… that makes sense. So, what did he do?"

"Just the usual. He punched and slapped my mother ruthlessly, and when I tried to intervene, I was struck the same way."

"… Scum," I spat quietly.

"My father lost his mind that night, and took a step further," Nadeshiko continued. "He took out the kitchen knife and stabbed my mother with it."

My eyes widened. "He… what?!"

"She was killed instantly," Nadeshiko said, casting her gaze towards the ground. "When I saw her bloodstained body falling to the ground right before my eyes, I… went crazy."

I opened my mouth to speak, but then closed it again, unsure of what exactly to say.

"Without thinking too much, I picked up the bloody knife my father dropped to the floor, and plunged it deep into this chest without any hesitation."

Nadeshiko suddenly began laughing, covering her eyes with her hand.

"I'm really a psychopath, aren't I?! Hey, hey, did you know?! I was laughing just like this when I stabbed him! My own father! HAHAHA!"

I looked away from her and rested my chin on top of my crossed hands.

"I don't think that's all that bad."

She stopped laughing, then turned to look at me. "… What?"

"It's fair, isn't it? He killed your mother. You just killed him back as a form of revenge," I said calmly. "To me, that is perfectly fair."

"… Heh," she chuckled, turning away once more. "You're the first one who's reacted like that."

"You've told this story to others before too?" I asked curiously.

She shook her head. "No. The news just got out, somehow. You know what the other students at school called me after that night? 'Murderer'. 'Killer'. 'Demon'. Eventually, I was forced to move somewhere else."

"Were you charged with anything?"

She laughed. "Nope~ it was registered as self-defense in the court. But of course, no one else saw it that way. Murder was murder, no matter the reason."

"Yeah? Well, sometimes it's the only solution," I murmured faintly. "That night, if you hadn't done that, your father may have killed you too in his rage. Sometimes… we're forced to do things against morality, whether we like it or not."

She chuckled. "Is that so? But… what if I told you I enjoyed killing? What if I told you, when I killed my father, I felt exhilarated?"

"That exhilaration was not born of your natural heart. It was born of relief - relief at not having to suffer any pain again," I sighed. "Though, I'm guessing… that feeling stuck with you, eventually leading to your bloodthirsty and psychopathic nature seen today."

"…" Nadeshiko fell silent for the first time in a while.

"So? What happened after you moved?" I asked. "This can't be the whole story."

"I was adopted by some wealthy family," she replied emotionlessly.

"I see… isn't that good? You found yourself a nice new home to live in."

She giggled. "Good? What a farce… they just wanted me as a puppet. A placeholder for their future generation."

"… Sorry, I'm confused."

Nadeshiko sighed, walking over to the bed and falling backwards onto it.

"The family owned a fairly large company. They wanted to use me for a business marriage with another company to form a relationship of sorts, nothing more. On the outside, they made me appear like the perfect girl. Good looks, good body, good personality… hence why they gave me the name 'Nadeshiko Nakano'."

"You mean… that isn't your real name?"

She laughed. "Of course not. But… my real name's a secret. I'll tell you when we both turn 18. Until then… work hard to earn my heart, okay~?"

"A-Ahem… never mind, I don't particularly want to know your real name anyway," I said, perhaps a bit too coldly, given the situation. "But… they can't possibly be marrying you off at 14, right?"

"Nope, but they can arrange one."

She stood up and walked to the window, gazing outside once more. It had started raining, the clouds dark and sun gone.

"… The moment I turn 18, I'll be forced to marry a boy I have no feelings for whatsoever except hate. I had accepted that fate. At least… I thought I did. Before I knew it, I had subconsciously began looking for ways to escape the situation. Escape this reality as a whole."

"And that's when you came across Ascension: Online, huh?"

"Hehe, yep~" she spun around and looked into my eyes. "To think I would actually end up trapped here… I wonder, does this count as good luck or bad luck?"

I see… when Aisa made the decision to have Nadeshiko join me, she had factored in her past as well. Still, I couldn't understand her motive. What did this girl's arranged marriage have anything to do with me? Sure, I felt bad for her, but it wasn't my problem. Why drag me into it?

"Is that why you didn't seem all too unhappy when you found out about this?" I asked, remembering her expression when she confronted me about this earlier this morning.

"Who knows~" she answered cryptically. "It's not like this impacted me all that much. Ever since I first entered this game, I haven't logged out. It's not like my 'family' cares anyway."

I stood up and walked over to the windows as well, standing beside her. Our shoulders were close enough to brush against each other.

"… You're lonely, huh?"

"I suppose I am. But maybe that's a good thing. You know, since I'm not close with anyone, there's no risk of me killing them, right~?"

"So deep down, you still don't want to hurt anyone?"

"That's not it. I enjoy killing — hence why I'm staying by your side."

"Stop denying the truth, Nadeshiko. Why are you so insistent on not accepting the fact that you're not as evil as you may seem?"

Not letting her argue, I quickly continued.

"Sure, you may like killing. Sure, you may have murdered someone before. But really, deep down? You're nothing more than a lonely girl who has never experienced what love feels like."

She fell silent. Every time she did that, I knew I hit her weak spot.

"Stop lying to yourself, Nadeshiko. You thirst for love. For someone to genuinely care about you. For someone who accepts you for who you are, no matter what you've done in the past."

"… And so what if I am? Are you going to be be that someone for me?" she challenged, smiling seductively at me.

"I already have Hina-nee. You saw how she reacted earlier today, when you forcefully kissed me."

Nadeshiko laughed. "Well, too bad~ I'm dead set on you now. You said I need love, right? Then, what if I said… if it's not your love, I don't want it?"

"… Sorry, but I don't feel anything for you," I replied.

"For now," she smirked, resting her head on my shoulder. "I'll seduce you one day. Just you wait, Kaze~"

I snorted. "In that case, you better be careful of Hina-nee. She'll come for your head, and I won't be protecting you."

"What if I kill her first?"

"I'll never let that happen."

"Hmph!" Nadeshiko folded her arms and turned away. "If only I knew you since birth as well, huh?"

"There's plenty of good men out there. Why so fixated on me?"

"What can I say~ are any of those other men you speak of here right now, talking to me? Was it any of those other men who listened to my past and didn't turn me away?" she giggled. "The same could be said about Sakura Hina and you, y'know. There's plenty of other great girls out there in the world. Why so fixated on her alone?"

"That's… because she stuck by my side for fourteen years."

"There you have it," Nadeshiko smirked. "You're the first boy who has ever genuinely cared about me. Can you believe it? Really, you're probably the closest person to me in the world right now, as sad as that may be."

I sighed then began heading for the door. Hina-nee was probably done showering right about now, so I should be getting back.

"Look… I don't care if you stay by my side, since you're pretty strong, but if you lay a hand on any of the others…"

"Don't worry~ my only target is you, Kaze. You never know when I'm going to try something, so stay alert~"

"If you like me, why are you trying to kill me?" I muttered in frustration.

"Hehe, think of it as… playful revenge!" she replied, smiling happily and innocently. "Even if I kill you, you'll just respawn, so it's no big deal~"

I merely shook my head and headed out, leaving one last message behind.

"Just saying… if you're trying to win my affection here, trying to kill me is not a good way to start."

"Hehehe~ we'll see how long you can resist my charms for~"

I closed the door behind me as I left, then leaned against it, looking up at the ceiling.

That conversation had more or less went the way I wanted it to. I wasn't expecting her to fall in love with me, but my initial goal had been successfully reached through this anyway, so this was fine, I guess. I had wanted to learn about her past to strengthen the bond between us, thereby making her stay by my side of her own will, but this worked too.

Nadeshiko was a powerful ally - though her trying to kill me would be kind of troublesome. I would have to deal with that by talking to her again sometime. However, if I could make good use of her… that would empower our whole group's overall fighting strength by quite a bit.

Sighing, I prepared to go back into my own room, but suddenly, a hologram fizzed into existence before me. And on it, was a familiar face.

"… Aisa?"

[Go into the room, human. We will talk there.]