Chapter 10: Therapy and Betrayal
[] Speaking English
{} Speaking German
Everything else is Japanese unless otherwise specified. (I won't be doing honorifics)
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"So with that out of the way, let's get started."
Absolutely not, 'let's get started' who does she think she is! I hate mind readers, in most if not all sources of fiction they are the most annoying villains.
Luckily I don't have to deal with them, god I should have been prepared for this since the beginning. Instructor Konstantin would be disappointed in me, after all his reminders about vigilance and how anything could happen. The moment I'm out of the game I automatically all those esoteric attack types no longer exist.
And so I prepared to summon one of my first permanent pieces of gear. I'd been holding off on summoning my equipment because I didn't need it yet, but clearly that was a mistake in my part.
It was going to take around a third of my energy to permanently form it but it going to be worth it. It was one of my most useful items in game while simultaneously being my most useless one. I remember being pissed when I got it for an epic quest reward, it was a chance for a divine rank blade and I got a divine necklace.
[A Warriors Soul Remains Grounded]
[Item Type: Necklace]
[Rank: Divine]
[Passive Effects]
[A Warriors Mind: Immune to mental effects below divine rank]
[A Warriors Soul: Immune to soul based attacks below divine rank]
[A Warriors Time: Immune to temporal effects below divine rank]
[Child of War: Gain +25% EXP from fighting]
[Active Effects]
[Battlefield Declaration: Declare your battle field and gain your rightful superiority as the inheritor of war +10% all stats]
[War Gods Weapon: Increase the stats of any weapon by 25%]
Now it sounds good, but the reality was that battlefield declaration was only useable in places that you considered a battlefield. Meaning I couldn't just declare a random street and get the bonuses. Of the passive effects one was wasted on temporal effects that never happened during my play time and soul based attacks are incredibly rare.
Summoning the necklace I felt my energy drain and stop. Having nearly a third of my energy permanently unusable felt weird, but at least I was now safe from any other mental based quirks.
As the necklace appeared around my neck the therapist flickered slightly. Looking closer the whole room was flickering. Just as I stood up to get a closer look the floor disappeared and I fell.
*thud*
["Ow… my head"]
["Wait what?"]
I was speaking English? I hadn't spoken English since I died, even my thoughts had been in Japanese.. wait they're still in Japanese.
["Hello?"]
… Trying to speak in Japanese had resulted in me speaking English.
Looking around at my surroundings I was on a street-
I recognized this street, this was the street I lived on as a child, which means. Turning around I saw my house. All the lights were on meaning someone was home. Walking up to the door I knocked on the door… hopefully this would give me some answers.
["Alright give me a minute!"]
That voice… even after 20 years and dying I still trembled slightly. I had never come back here after leaving, even when I was an expert in over 25 weapon forms I still didn't come back. After all, seeing him again was easily my biggest fear.
As the steps came closer I felt my hands start to tremble. I was easily more terrified right now then I had been when I literally died.
*click*
The door opened and there he was, standing at 6 foot tall and virtually made of muscle. He smelled of alcohol, as per usual, and his hair was a horrible mess.
"Ahh it's *hic* you. The fuck you doing here? You got my money?"
"N-no father I'm just…"
I remembered this night… I had been 13 at the time. I had been coming to visit my mom and had gotten suspicious after he wouldn't let me see her.
"Well then why the *hic* fuck are you here then."
"I-I…"
I was stuttering, but I couldn't help it. I was noticing all the signs I'd missed at the time, the tear in his shirt, the patches of red on the cuffs of his pants. And the smell, a smell I'd become accustomed to after playing MagikaVR for so long, the smell of death.
Pushing past him I rushed to the living room, where I knew she'd be. Arriving in the room I saw her, laying there just like the she was when it happened. Except this time there were two more bodies in the room, my current parents lying beaten and dead right next to my original mother.
Seeing this happen, again and to both my original mother and my new parents something snapped inside me. I recognized this for what it was now, a nightmare. A construct of my mind, my mind is my territory and my territory is MY BATTLEFIELD!
As I reached my conclusion a wave of golden-crimson light flooded out of me.
*shatter*
"Ayah!"
Sitting up and looking around I saw my mom holding my hand with with a worried look in her eyes. Next to her was an old women trembling with blood coming from her nose.
"Ayah! What happened?! What's this necklace!?"
"What happened! What happened to me! Where are we and who is that!"
My moms worried expression immediately changed to one of guilt.
"T-this is doctor Koizumi, the foremost psychologist in Musutafu. We are in her office."
"I don't remember coming here…"
"That's doctor Koizumi's quirk, nightmare manipulation. She uses her quirk to find out patients fears and rectify them, I-I signed you up for this after the attack."
"So you took me to a mind manipulator without telling me… for therapy."
"Yes… b-but that's not important! What happened! That necklace formed on your neck and the doctor said her quirk stopped working then as she was trying to reconnect a wave of gold-crimson light came out and she passed out with a nosebleed."
"Well… maybe if you had let me know that someone would be invading my mind and showing me my fears I wouldn't have defended my self so strongly!"
I couldn't believe it, my mother had signed me up to be mind r*ped! As a therapy technique as well! As if that would help, if anything I would need therapy about being mind r*ped!
"Ahhh…"
As I sat there and ruminated about the betrayal my mom had committed. The doctor moaned in what I, only slightly, hoped was pain.
"Ah! Doctor Koizumi, are you awake! I called the paramedics already please just stay still."
"I-I'm okay, just dazed. I've never had such a… violent response from a patient before. Also from what little I did see, I can clear her in regards to what your worried about. Other… underlying, issues including her image of herself was worrying but it's likely because of her age."
"Wait so, that was it?"
"Yes, I only observed a little and it was extremely fragmented. Your daughters mind is incredibly strong-"
At that she looked over at me in what looked like… fear?
"-and any further sessions wouldn't result in a different result."
"Are you sure doctor-"
"Yes I'm sure, you can pay Mino on your way out."
Following our quick dismissal from the room, we passed by the receptionist so mom could pay. After she paid and we got in the car she finally decided to address the elephant in the room.
"So… I understand why you would be upset, but see it from my point-"
"Just take me home."
After saying that I made myself some earphones and pulled out the music player my dad had gotten me.
Arriving at the house and walking ahead of my mom up the stairs I made a copy of our house key and opened the door. My dad was sitting in the living room, and immediately stood up as I entered.
"Ah, your back! How'd it go!"
"Ask mom!"
And after saying that I ran off too my room. I made an osmium doorstop. It may be a little overkill considering that it was about a cubic foot and a half's worth, it basically weighed a little less then a small car, but it was how I was feeling.
And so with betrayal on my mind, as that's the closest thing I could relate to what had just happened to me, I opened my book and started to read.
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I hope this cleared it all up for those worried about the mind r*pe. I don't like it any more then any one else who reads. But for backstory development and, soon to be, character development it was a needed interlude.
All that aside I like how this chapter turned out. If you spot any mistakes let me know.
Next chapter we get character development and the return of Toru, yay!
Also if anyone knows where the writing rules are for WEBNOVEL please tell me, I blurred the r-word cause that's how I've always seen it done but an official rule list would be nice.