Number 7

Days passed.

Weeks passed.

Months passed.

And yet, nothing went wrong.

"I'm home."

"Ah, is that so? If that is the case, then why don't you report to me the events of your day. After all, as your father I should probably make some sort of effort to involve myself in your life, no?"

"Ah..."

It was early evening.

The girl was on her way to her room as the odd man who sat with his legs crossed while reading a newspaper spoke to her, glancing at her with one of his two eyes while keeping the other focused on the paper.

"Well... I did this and that. You know."

The girl seemed to shirk off the man as she rushed up the stairs, leaving him alone to continue reading his newspaper.

As he grabbed a cup of tea and took a sip of it, the man smirked to himself.

"I suppose this is what it is like to experience the rebelliousness of a teenage daughter rejecting her father. Interesting. Now then... should I feel rejected? Or should I understand that this is merely a matter of course, and that she will soon get over it? Mmm..."

Putting his hand to his chin in thought, the man didn't appear the slightest bit worried as he shrugged his shoulders.

"That is correct. After all, no girl loves her father at this age. And especially not a man who isn't even related to her pretending to be her father. If we consider that her real father threw her out on top of that, then this result is... perhaps on the optimistic end."

Taking another sip of the tea, the man thinned his eyes as he looked up at the ceiling, gazing into the light of the chandelier above him.

"It has been an intriguing experience. I cannot say that I haven't enjoyed watching that girl transform from a street rat to a normal student in the matter of weeks. It is truly interesting how their surroundings change a person so drastically. Now then... I suppose I should decide on whether or not to keep her."

Standing up, the man begun to pace back and forth as he thought out loud, not hiding his thoughts in the slightest.

"Keeping her would of course mean spending resources and funds on maintaining whatever costs she incurs, however such things are minimal. The only benefit which I receive from keeping her is the experience of watching as a human grows and learns based on the situations they are put in, therefore from the perspective of those two parents who she spoke of... I suppose it could be understood as to why they abandoned her. However..."

With a grin, the man nodded to himself as he elegantly took a seat once again.

"I've gained so much from this. Can I say that I've grown from this experience? Perhaps. But more important than that, I can now understand the minds and opinions of those who have children to care for. And in doing so... I can appeal to them all the more. Stella, I will have to thank you greatly... for this experience will enhance my own ability to influence the world."

----

Stella had entered school once more, timid and frightened.

She had been abandoned by her own parents, and the psychological scars were obvious.

She was shy and didn't speak up for herself, and often avoided everyone around her - especially those who tried to show her kindness.

For such a thing was not in her vocabulary.

'My parents threw me out because I am a liability.'

'The man who cares for me now is using me for some reason that I don't understand, but that's fine because I'll use him back.'

"Hey Stella. You wanna go to a party tonight with us?"

However, despite the fact that Stella had avoided others, those others approached her.

"Sure. But I'm not paying for any drinks."

"No problem, I got it! My dad's rich, after all!"

'Mine is too... I think. But I'm not going to say that.'

'Ah... did I just think of that man as my dad?'

"Haha... yeah, that's fine with me then. I'll go."

"Great! See ya tonight!"

----

'Should I be studying right now?'

'Should I be doing this?'

'What's the right choice?'

Stella found herself in a predicament.

Surrounded by dancing girls and gawking boys, she was at a nightclub with a drink in her hand.

'Should I drink this?'

'Do I have to?'

"Hey, Stella... you haven't even touched your cocktail!! Come on, gulp it DOWN!"

She found herself in a red dress, plastered with makeup and surrounded by girls who she called her friends.

"Ah... I... haha... ok!"

Chugging down the cocktail, Stella forced down the alcohol even as it burned her throat with a single gulp.

"L-like that... right? Hahaha!"

Her vision became blurry as the girl slurred her words, having become tipsy from the drink.

"Ah!! I guess this is why dad was always drinking so much!! This is so much fun!!"

Falling over onto the girls who had brought her to the place, Stella laughed in her drunkenness as they all looked to her with surprise.

"Hey!"

"What are you doing? Get a hold of yourself!!"

"How much did you drink?"

The girls helped her onto their shoulders with annoyed expressions, to which Stella shouted out in a cheerful manner.

"JUST ONE!! HAHA!!"

"Only one?"

"Really? You're a lightweight?"

"How plain. I thought you were used to this sort of thing based on how snooty you acted at school."

"Hah? Who are you calling snooty? I was just minding my own bus-i-ness!! I don't care about any of you, so I was just shutting up and staying quiet!!"

"Oh really? Well I'm not inviting you here again. Hmph."

"Ah.... no!! NO!! I WANNA COME BACK!! Come on!!"

Stella began to scream like a child in her drunkenness, flailing her arms at her friend who had taken her to the place.

"Hmph. Nope."

"Pleeeease..."

"Ngh. Fine. Whatever."

Crossing her arms with a snooty attitude, the girl agreed with an arrogant smirk as she looked down on Stella.

"Fine then. I'll take you under my wing. You're so needy. What would you be without me?"

"Ehehe..."

----

"Blergh!!! Blergh!!! Ugh!!"

Stella found herself throwing up in the bathroom later that night.

How many drinks she had, she didn't remember.

She barely even remembered where she was, but as she threw up the situation became clearer as she took in her surroundings.

'Ah...'

'I'm... at a club.'

'A nightclub.'

'I'm only 12 years old... Why did they allow a bunch of 12 year olds inside a nightclub?'

'Ah.'

Looking down, Stella saw her own outfit.

She was dressed like a slut.

'I don't look 12, do I?'

'None of them... do.'

'Did they not even bother to check?'

'Were these outfits so slutty that they didn't even consider that we might be minors?'

'That makes no sense.'

'Or maybe...'

'No.'

It was as she wiped the puke from her mouth that Stella remembered something.

'Ah... that bitch... what was her name... ah right... Melody.'

'She was looking down on me, wasn't she?'

'She thought that I was dependent on her.'

'She was looking at me... like I was garbage.'

The migraine then overcame the girl as she became woozy.

'Ah... I'd better get home.'

'Dad... will be angry.'

'Or will he?'

----

"I'm... home..."

"Ah, is that so? I see. Did you go out and get drunk then?"

"Erm!"

"I'll take that as a yes. You probably shouldn't be doing such things at such a young age, but I suppose that's another part of the rebellious teenage phase? Perhaps I should have found a younger specimen to take in, however I suppose it would have taken significantly more time to locate one such as that. At any rate, are you harmed?"

Looking up to the girl, the man glanced up and down her for only a moment before nodding.

"Based on your expression the answer is no. However, you are likely feeling a mix of guilt and confusion. Yet there are a number of other emotions which you are currently experiencing, I believe. Perhaps... jealousy?"

"Wha-"

Standing up, the man held his hand out to the girl, quieting her before she could even reply.

"It should be obvious. You appear as if you've found someone who holds more than you do, and you wish to defeat that person at their own game. Such is the human mind. Am I wrong?"

"You.... act like you know so much about me."

"Do you know why I took you in?"

The man looked down on the girl, towering above him.

"Why... you took me in?"

The girl shrunk back, unsure what to say.

Was this man about to throw her out?

Or even worse, reject her for who she was just like her father and mother had done?

"I took you in for one reason. Because I desire knowledge... and I study the human mind.”

With the disconcerting glance of the man aimed at her, Stella felt as if something was off.

“And what better mind is there to study than one who has been left without anything?"

With a smile, the man spread his arms as he begun to pace while he spoke.

"Is it possible to redeem such a human and reinstate them into society? What emotional challenges will they face, and what methods should be used to overcome them? What will happen if they are forced to make decisions on their own versus being forced to take a certain path? There are so many questions which I wish to answer, yet you are but one single subject. Therefore, rather than try and answer every single question - I will instead watch and learn. Where you go is up to you to decide."

As the man spoke these words, a jumble of emotions welled up within Stella.

Relief.

Anger.

Hatred.

Sadness.

Happiness.

Acceptance.

"I... see. So you were just using me as well?"

"I never said for a moment that I wasn't."

"You just wanted to see what I would do? I was just an EXPERIMENT to you?"

"That is partially true."

"But because of that... you took me off those streets and gave me a place to live... without forcing me to do anything beyond my means. Does this mean... that I don't owe you anything?"

"That is the case."

"I see."

This short interaction between the two took place, and Stella walked past the man with a serious expression.

"I'm going to defeat her."

"Are you? Would you like my help?"

"No. I'm going to defeat her... without relying on anyone."

"I see. Interesting. Then, I will watch and see what you do. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes."

Without blinking an eye, the two shot off their quick thoughts to one another, not hiding anything from each other.

They clearly voiced their intentions, not beating around the bush for even a moment.

And in that interaction, Stella felt it.

"You said that it was partially true that I was just an experiment to you. What is the other part?"

"Hm? Ah, well I have never had any children. So as experimental as your adoption was, I still consider you to be a daughter. After all... as bad of a father as I may be... I will not ABANDON you like the last one."

"Heh... I see."

With a smile, the girl ascended the stairway, heading to her room to study.

"Then, thank you."

"Dad."

----

"Stella, you were so drunk last night. Don't you think you went a little overboard?"

Stella found herself faced with her group of friends, gathered in the hallways.

"Ah, that? Haha, sorry sorry. I guess I did go a little over. Next time I'll be sure to limit myself."

"Hmm... so you want to do that again?"

"Haha..."

Averting her eyes, the girl turned away as she begun to walk off.

"Well, anyway. I have to get to class. I'll see you around."

"Yeah."

With a nod, the girls all begun to head to their own classes.

"I'll see you around."

----

"Hey, my dad is going to pay for me to go on a cruise, and I'm allowed to bring a few friends. Are you all interested?"

Melody looked to Stella with a pompous grin, flashing her rich smile at the girl as she boasted in a lavish manner.

"A cruise, eh? I guess I'll go.", Stella responded with a fake smile.

"Me too, I definitely wanna go!"

"I'll come. Will there be good food?"

The other two girls didn't bother to hold back, quickly accepting as they blatantly pursued their own desires.

"Of course. It will be top of the line even among cruises, and we'll be first class. It's going to be to the island of Javalta, in the Crostian sea."

"EH!?"

"Javalta?? Your dad can afford a cruise there!?"

"Seriously!? I'm def going!!"

"Me too, me too!!"

The other two girls excitedly reacted to Melody's proposal, to which she crossed her arms with a nod.

"That's right. It'll be a week long, and we'll get the best treatment out of anyone. Charlotte, Bella, you two sure seem to be excited. But what's with that face, Stella? Are you not interested?"

"Ah, no. Of course I'm interested! I'd love to go."

With a toothy grin, the girl forced a smile as she responded.

"I see. Then it's decided! One month from now when school ends we'll go."

----

Smash!

The shattering of glass was accompanied by the dripping of blood, followed by the whimpering of a girl.

"Ngh! That hurt more than I thought it would!!"

Grabbing her bloodied hand and wrapping it up with bandages, Stella looked at herself in the shattered mirror.

"Why.... why can't I have a dad like that?"

"I apologize for not being the richest man on the planet. Ah, but I am not your father. Isn't that correct?"

Turning around to see the man who had taken her in standing at the bedroom door with his arms crossed and an unconcerned smile across his face, Stella looked at him with a pained expression.

"I... why the hell can she get everything like that? So easily!! She was just born into riches, she can take her friends on a cruise whenever she wants, she can do anything!! And yet I... I... I got a drunk bastard for a father!!"

The girl shouted out to the man who posed as her new father, letting out her worries and insecurities before him.

"And are you not similar to him in that manner?"

"Eh?"

Widening her eyes in disbelief at the man's words, Stella looked to him with a gaping mouth.

"What... do you mean-"

"You went and got drunk on your own. And you enjoyed it, did you not? Yet rather than consider your actions, you instead forgot about them and brushed them off. Then instead of chastising yourself and dedicating yourself to fruitful affairs, you instead focused on the riches of one of your friends, severing your own ability to even maintain such a relationship. Ah, but that is only the way I see things. After all... to you, such a thing isn't so trivial. No?"

"What..."

Grabbing an expensive shoe, the girl threw it at the head of the man, to which he dodged with just the slight movement of his neck.

"Do you know about me!?"

"And now when faced with the truth which you do not want to hear, you become angry at the bearer of the message - as opposed to facing it yourself. But that... is yet another outcome that I shall take note of."

Bending down, the girl begun to grab shoe after shoe as she started pelting the man with each and every shoe that she owned - from a pile of around 20.

"How come you always act like you understand every little thing about me!?!?"

As she pelted the shoes, the man dodged with ease, grinning as he effortlessly avoided each and every projectile.

"I never said that I understand you."

Pushing up his glasses, the man's grin deepened as he flashed a demented smile - one filled with an aura of CONTROL.

"Only that I am trying to."

"Because of your work? Or because you consider me to be a daughter to you?"

Gritting her teeth, Stella spouted out her words in irritation, unable to accept her new life.

The man chuckled to himself, laughing once before turning around and walking off.

"Heh."

"Both."

----

'Why do I have these feelings?'

'She hasn't done anything directly wrong to me.'

'She's supposed to be my friend.'

'Why can't I just be like the other two and accept her kindness?'

'Am I... a defective human?'

Stella was left in her room alone to contemplate her own situation.

Before, she had nothing.

She was living on the streets without so much as a cent to her name.

Now she had shoes, dresses, makeup, clothes, everything a girl could want.

She had a nice bedroom with a large bed. She lived with a successful man who was devoted to his work and provided for her everything that she needed.

'Why am I so ungrateful?'

'He's done so much for me.'

'Even if he is using me... even if he only ever comes in to spout his one sided opinion...'

'My mom and dad never did even that for me.'

Stella was conflicted.

Filled with self hatred, she knew that everything she felt was wrong.

She knew that she was just being a jealous prick, and that she should instead be happy for Melody that she had such a good life.

She knew that she should hold gratitude for the man who had taken her in, who she now considered to be her new father.

However, she couldn't accept it.

She was a rotten person at the core.

And no amount of love or care would change that.

'Why can't I be a good person?'

----