I'm expecting special rewards, okay?

starter - @tigerstrategist 

Parasoul had no idea where she was and what is this place. But one thing for sure is one of those ‘gods’ creative antics to be inside in a TV show where celebrities gathered and doing something they never understand why. Parasoul was one of them. There was a host in these type of shows and some unknowns even Kiyomasa is there too.

“What is this place? A game show?” She had no idea where are they now but Parasoul is not liking this.

                    ❛❛ A ‘game show’ ——– so is that what this sort of thing is called ? ❜❜ The name hardly even mattered to Kiyomasa, though. No matter what it was called, this sort of staged event was lame. What was so fun about talking about nothing and playing silly games ?

                    ❛❛ Good morning, sir ! I hope we aren’t getting in the way of your morning commute. By the way, my friends here say that you’re a big fan of Tiger’s Paw. ❜❜ Kiyomasa gave a vague gesture to the members of the crew following behind him. Sure, today’s activity was another televised event, but it was different. For the first time, Kiyomasa had left the indoor area of the ‘studio’ and ventured into the ‘streets’. Supposedly, Kiyomasa was supposed to find fans of Tiger’s Paw and interview them for laughs. But why waste time following the script when this was an opportunity to find an way out of here ?

                   Kiyomasa swung his legs as he sat in the seat above the dunk tank. This wasn’t at all how he wanted to meet the Demon King’s younger sister ! How was Kiyomasa supposed to get her to spread the word about his talents to Nobunaga ? There was no way that he could show off his genius in the middle of this silly game. To make matters worse, Kiyomasa hadn’t heard anywhere near as much about Oichi as he had her brother. And today, how much of his dignity he’d get to keep depended on Kiyomasa’s knowledge of her.

                    ❛❛ The way today’s event goes is this —– today, our special guest is the one who asks the questions ! Miss Oichi here will ask me questions about herself, and I have to answer them correctly. If I get three in a row wrong, then it’s into the dunk tank I go. ❜❜ Was the crew going to have Oichi read off of a script ? Or would they let her create her own questions ? Kiyomasa peeked around, but he couldn’t find any clues pointing to either scenario.

                   A bead of sweat rolled down Kiyomasa’s forehead. He might as well have been standing in front of the sun, as hot and bright as the stage lights were. The pair of tiger-striped cat ears he'd been forced to wear was digging into his scalp. Whose idea had it been to make each member of the boy band wear cat ears ? Under different circumstances, Kiyomasa would’ve already walked out of the studio. None of this had anything to do with him, and he doubted whether it was even real. However, after many interviews with human subjects, this was their first one with...a rabbit ? A stuffed doll ? It was a discrepancy that could give him a clue as to how to escape the twisted world he’d found himself in.

                    ❛❛ ...So today’s special guest is ‘My Melo’, is it ? Welcome ! ❜❜ Kiyomasa flashed the brightest smile he could, hoping it didn’t look too fake. His eyes scanned the question the teleprompter had spit out for him.

                    ❛❛ As you can see, today’s theme is cats...rawr. ❜❜ God, who’d written in that sound effect he’d had to speak at the end ? Kiyomasa had to fight the urge to cringe in front of the guest and his so-called bandmates. 

                    ❛❛ To think that the famed Motonari Mouri should appear before me ——– today must be my lucky day. ❜❜ Kiyomasa had been keeping tabs on the most distinguished warlords in the Land of the Rising Sun. He might’ve been a nobody now, but one day he’d start crossing paths with them regularly. Whether as an enemy or an ally, he figured he needed to be prepared. The other two geniuses in the land in particular had caught his eye. Kiyomasa had met Hanbei Takenaka not too long ago, and now Motonari Mouri was here in Spirale.

                    ❛❛ I’m Kiyomasa Kato, a warrior-for-hire. I’m a member of the Kato clan —– although I’m guessing you haven’t heard of them, have you ? ❜❜ Who was he kidding ——– no one had heard of the Kato clan ! They wouldn’t have even crossed Mouri’s radar, most likely. Kiyomasa’s father, who would’ve been the leader of the family, had been dead for over a decade. Not only that, but even before his death, he hadn’t served a lord in years.

                    ❛❛ So you’re saying I would need this ‘screwdriver’ tool to open up my cell phone ? And a rather small one, at that ? But at the same time, you don’t really recommend that I open it up if I haven’t done it before ? ❜❜ Kiyomasa fought the urge to roll his eyes. What did this shopkeeper in The Surface know about him ? Kiyomasa was a genius. Sure, he might not have understood a cell phone or its components as of right now. But he had the ability to tinker with the piece of technology and learn about it as he did so.

                    ❛❛ I see. I suppose I should thank you for telling me about screwdrivers. Although, as for the rest of your advice —– to be frank, I’m not so sure about it. ❜❜ He turned towards the other customer in the shop and started speaking to him. 

                   Kiyomasa stepped into the library, his eyes scanning the bookshelves. Someone had dropped him in a foreign city, so he now had a lot he needed to learn about his new surroundings. However, he was surprised at just how many books they’d stored here. If they wanted to control Kiyomasa, shouldn’t they have erased all this information ? Sure, there was a chance that all of these books contained misinformation, instead. But wouldn’t writing all of that have taken too much time and energy on the part of his captors ?

                   Kiyomasa caught sight of a woman around his age. What striking features she had ! That off-white, almost lavender hair and purple eyes reminded him of Lord Hanbei. In addition, she wore ornate clothes and was reading a book. Was she some sort of foreign noble ? Kiyomasa strode over and called out to her with a smile.

                    ❛❛ So in other words, you’re saying that I’m not the original Kiyomasa ? That I’ve only been alive for a few days at most ? That my memories aren’t real ? And now you’re going to seal me away somewhere or else we’ll both die ? You’ve got to be kidding me. ❜❜ There wasn’t any fear in his double’s voice, only incredulity. From the standpoint of his other self’s well-being, that was good. He wasn’t too confused yet and hadn’t lost his sanity as Kiyomasa had been warned he might. On the other hand, though, this could make his job of sealing his double more challenging. Kiyomasa had never been the sort to take information at face value. He questioned everything and tended to only accept what he himself could understand. Would Kiyomasa’s double be open to what he had to say ?

                    ❛❛ I know ——– it’s pretty difficult to believe, isn’t it ? Even I was skeptical of the announcement, when I first heard it. To be honest, there’s a whole lot about my own situation that doesn’t make any sense. However, whoever that mysterious voice belongs to seems to be telling the truth. I’ve watched a couple other locals seal their other selves away, now. ❜❜ It wasn’t the first time Kiyomasa had to take advantage of someone to get what he wanted. However, it was strange for him to try to manipulate someone who was more or less himself. What could he do about it, though ? If he left this man around, supposedly they’d both perish. Now that he’d acted sympathetic, Kiyomasa was going to appeal to his double’s sense of pride.

                    ❛❛ You know, you’re in a lot better shape than the two I saw. One of them was screeching about how she was going to kill her other self and live on. The other one...well, let’s just say he wasn’t operating in the same reality as the rest of us anymore. I suppose it’s a testament to my —– no, our skillset. We both know better than to let ourselves crack under pressure. ❜❜

                    ❛❛ So, if I don’t let you seal me, I’m going to end up like them ? My genius is going to go to waste ? ❜❜

                    ❛❛ I can’t give you any guarantees ——– but yes, I’d assume you’d reach that point eventually. ❜❜ Kiyomasa’s answer caused his double to heave a deep sigh.

                    ❛❛ If that’s how it’s going to be, then I’ll do it. If what you said is correct, then I’ll still get a chance to live out my life, right ? Even if I don’t, though...I can’t stomach the idea of losing my mind and turning into some deranged lunatic. Not to be a downer, but even death would be preferable to a fate like that. ❜❜ Kiyomasa smiled —– he’d managed to convince his other self to be sealed.

                    ❛❛ I’ll leave the rest to you guys, okay ? ❜❜ Kiyomasa gave a quick wave to his co-workers, before turning around and stepping out the door. Maybe he’d been a bit flippant, but could they blame him ? There was no way he was going to stay longer than he had to to help them out. Were any of them willing to get caught up in the dinner rush and miss class ? Kiyomasa doubted it.

                   His time working in the university's café wasn’t him chasing his passion ——– it was only a job. A work-study position, to be exact. In exchange for his work, he received money that went towards his tuition. Although his mother had worked hard his whole life, the two of them had never had much money to spare. Perhaps things would be different if his father was still with them. But what was the point in thinking about that alternate future ? It wasn’t as though Kiyomasa could go back in time and prevent his father’s death. 

                   The point was, the idea of saving money for college had been a fantasy for Kiyomasa. However, thanks to his smarts and determination, he'd made it in anyways. A combination of scholarship and work-study kept him afloat. Even when his financial situation got dicey at times, though, there was one thing he kept in mind. If he could get his college degree, then he could kiss a life of poverty goodbye. A degree gave him so many opportunities and a chance to earn even more than his father once had. But above all, it gave him a chance to pursue his dreams of becoming a famous architect. Kiyomasa could almost picture the houses and commercial buildings he would design. He’d glance out at them from a high-rise building and point at them, saying, ‘Did you know that I built those?’ Kiyomasa would leave his mark on Spirale for decades to come.

                   That moment hadn’t arrived yet, though. Kiyomasa wouldn’t reach the pinnacle of his career as an architect for a long time. For now, he needed to focus on his schoolwork. Kiyomasa was sure that, as long as he studied hard, he’d do well on his exams. He was intelligent enough that he’d overcome any academic challenge in his way. What was more uncertain, though, was how he’d break into the industry. Even when it came to government jobs, it was all about who you knew. The only way for Kiyomasa to make an acquaintance among someone important was to intern for them. Unlike a certain spoiled princess, he couldn’t use his family ties to get what he desired. Even if he had them at his disposal, though, he wouldn’t have used them. Kiyomasa wanted his own hard work to prove to his employer that he was worth recommending. However, he didn’t have an internship yet —– which was why he ended up staying behind after today’s lecture. It might have been a bit early for him to look for a mentor, but Kiyomasa didn’t want to wait. From what he’d found online, his instructor was quite an accomplished architect. Even if he couldn’t mentor Kiyomasa, he might have been friends with someone who could. Kiyomasa strolled up to the older man’s desk, before addressing him in a calm yet confident tone of voice.