Power Pros Forum

June 7, 2036
Azuma Residence
6:57

-HRRK-
Ohgodohgodohgod, bathroombathroombathroom
I rolled out bed and sprinted down the hall to my bathroom. With utmost urgency, I put up the toilet seat and took "the position," and immediately after, for what seemed to be the thirtieth time in the last five hours, I emptied the contents of my stomach. Primarily water at this point, so there wasn't really much to come up.

"Guhhh..." Good lord I feel horrendous. I don't think I've been this sick since Kenma's "Manly Excursion!" on my twentieth birthday. What did I do yesterday? Nothing, really. I went to the supermarket... Bought a new tie... Ate a... Shit, that had to be it. Those vending machine burgers still aren't any good.

After figuring out what the reason was for me laying on my bathroom floor in the wee hours of the morning, I stumbled into the shower to clean myself off.

10:15

I need to go... I've already missed two weeks... I can't afford to miss any more time...

I was conflicted. I had three hours before today's game. I couldn't decide on whether or not to go to it. Here I was, sitting on my couch, underwear and a t-shirt the only thing on my very sweaty body, wavering on whether I should go to work.

Ultimately, I decided to go.

I have a responsibility to the team and the fans. I have to go! I thought, to rationalize my decision.

12:30

"Alright -coughcough- boys. Ahem, we need to get the win today... The Ronin are still on our tails, and the Bears -cough- aren't too fa... Far off." My pre-game speech was going far less smoothly than it usually did.
"Uh, Azuma?" Ishikawa spoke up, "you doing alright? You don't look so hot."
"Exactly the opposite, actually. I'm burning up."
"Maybe you should go home, dude." Kura was the second to offer sympathies. "We can handle this!"
"O-oh... No, I can't leave you -coughcough- you guys."
"Seriously, man. You don't look so good." Kura stood up, "you want me to call someone?"
"No. No, I'm fine." I said, waving him off. For some reason, I was suddenly winded, "I'm... I'm goo-"
"Azuma!"

--


heh, the Saitama second string team is meh

The Sendai team on the other handdddd.....

June 7, 2036
Azuma Residence
18:07

The green light of the digital clock next to my bed shone bright in the otherwise pitch black room. 18:07... Hunh.

I sat up.

"Wait... How did I get home?"

As I got to my feet, I was reminded with extreme prejudice that I was very ill. I fell to the hardwood floor of my bedroom with a loud crash. “Ow…”

Then the overhead light turned on. My eyes burned at its sun-like brightness. “Wha…” I was very confused. There was no reason for my light to be on, I was home alone. I was… somehow home by myself... Right?

Hands from an unknown source lifted me up and placed me back on my bed. Their grip was very firm.

“Whoa! Can’t having you doing that again, kid.” It was a man’s voice that spoke in the holy light filling my room. I was still too tired and too out-of-it to make sense of their face. “Hey, you alright, Azuma?” They asked me. Was I alright? I think so… This is definitely more than food poisoning, though…

-snapsnap-
“Uh, Azuma? Hello? You alright in there, kid?” the blur of a man asked me once more
I squinted my eyes. The blur slowly came into focus.
“...Laisei? What’re you doing here?”

It seemed that my boss, Laisei Matsubara, was at my home--no, at my bedside, rather--taking care of me. I was very surprised, to say the least.

“Uh… What are you doing here?” I asked him
“Heh, yeah. I bet it’s a bit strange waking up with your boss in your house, huh?”
“Yeah… Yeah, it’s a little weird.”
“Hah! Well, I can assure you there’s a good reason for all of this…”

Laisei went into an explanation of the few hours I missed. Seems that I passed out in the middle of one of my no doubt rousing pre-game speeches and, rather than calling the emergency services, Kura called Laisei to tell him what happened. He happened to be in Asuka, by some miracle, and rushed down to the stadium. I didn’t look too good, apparently, and so Laisei drove me to the hospital. Apparently I was awake and answering questions, but I don’t remember any of that… The doctor sent me home, called it “a combination of the stomach flu and exhaustion” and told Laisei that bedrest (and a “shit ton” of acetaminophen) was the only way I was going to get any better. So… here we are, me and my boss… in my room… on a Saturday night… It was an odd scene.

“So... “ Laisei spoke up, “how you feeling now?”
“A… uh, a little bit better now. Still pretty terrible, but more like a 4 than the 2 I was this morning.”
“Oh, good. That’s… good.”
“Yep.”

There were painful bouts of silence.

“You know, Laisei?” I tried my best to slice the silence
“Hmm?”
“I should be okay now, you can go home.”
“Oh… Noo… I, uh… You sure, kid?”
“Yeah. I should be fine. You’ll be getting a call or two if I’m not, don’t worry hahaa…” Gah! Laughing hurts now? Good lord, this is a vicious flu.
“Okay.” Laisei stood up, “Listen, bud. If you need anything--anything at all--give me a call. I’ll be over in a flash! Well, either me or Tsuzumi. Regardless! If you need anything, let me know. Tsuzumi’ll be checking in on you for the next couple of days. She’s real helpful.” He smiled, “Take as long as you need to get back to 100%, Ryu. I don’t want you at anything but your best, alright?” He patted me on the head, “Get some rest, kid. You definitely need it.”

Laisei left my room, and I heard the door shut as he left.

Man… Laisei’s really nice, huh? was my final thought before falling back into a deep slumber.

There's gonna a Wellington fire extinguisher cellphone situation eventually, if Ryu doesn't fumikomu and kizuku!

Abunai, Azuma!

June 8, 2036
Azuma Residence
9:18

Guhhhhh… The mornings are always the worst… It seems that my stomach’s doing a bit better at least. I slowly got out of bed, and even slowlier walked into my kitchen and opened the fridge. I stuck my head in it, the cool air felt great on my sweltering skin. The contents of my fridge, though… Weren’t so great. I was left with the options of dry cereal or oranges for my breakfast. Neither of which seemed too appealing to me or my ailing stomach.

I decided to think on it, so I flipped on my TV and grabbed my phone. Ooh, a text! And it’s from Laisei, too.

松原ライセ 8:02
リュねえ。鼓は10の周りにあなたの上にチェックするためにオーバーになります
(Hey Ryu. Tsuzumi will be over to check on you around 10)

Ooh, seems that Tsuzumi will be coming over in like 40 minutes! I really hope she’s bringing food… Is that rude?

10:27

-bzzbzz-
…
-bzzbzz-
…
-bzzbz--
“GUH!” The obnoxiously loud buzzing of my phone on my coffee table woke me up. I turned it over to see who dared disturb my sleep. It was a number I didn’t recognize.

“Uh… Hello?” I did all in my power to sound as not sick as possible
“Hello?” A small voice was on the other side of the line, “Ryu Azuma?”
“Speaking.”
“It’s Tsuzumi. Tsuzumi Tsukada, Laisei’s secretary. I’m sorry that I’m late, I got a little bit lost… I’m outside your door now, though, so here I am now. Uh… I mean, I’m here now, so could you, uh… could you open the door please?”
“Ohhh, Tsuzumi! Of course! I’ll be right there.”

The lock clicked as I turned it.

Tsuzumi’s small frame and darting eyes met me on the other side. She had a bag in her hand.
I guess she noticed me looking at it, “Oh,” she said, “I got you some plain fried rice. I, um, I hope that that’s alright…”
“Hope that tha- Of course it is! That’s perfect! Thank you, Tsuzumi.”
“You’re welcome.”

We stood at the door looking at each other.

“Uh… Could I come in?” she eventually asked
“Oh, yeah. Right. Please, uh… Please pardon the mess.”
“This isn’t too bad. You should see my brother’s room, heehee.”
“Oh? I didn’t know you had a brother.”
“You didn’t?”

We took a seat on my couch.

“He’s younger than me. You should know him…”
Uh oh. “Uh… I should?”
“Yes!” she covered her mouth after raising her voice, how demure. “It’s Tsuyoshi. Tsuyoshi Tsukada. He plays for you.”
“No way.”
“Yes way.”
“Hunh… I had no idea! That’s pretty cool--both of you working in the same place and all.”
“Heehee, it certainly makes carpooling easier.”
“Heh, I would imagine.”

Tsuzumi and I chatted for a while. Not really about anything in particular; the NPB, Laisei and his great hair even pushing 50, the new iPhone coming out, her brother’s increased playing time… All the standbys.

11:39

“Ahhh…” I pushed my plate away from me, “that fried rice was delicious, Tsuzumi! Did you make it?”
“Hah, no way! I’m a terrible cook. I bought it at some restaurant on my way over.”
“Damn, alright. I’ll need to go there once I, uh... stop sweating so much.”
“I thought you were a bit sweaty.”
“Well… yeah. It’s amazing what a fever of 38.9 degrees can do to you.”
“I figured it was just because you were nervous that a woman was over.”
At her comment, I immediately began to sweat more and my face turned a bit red.
“Oh please! I… I have women over here ALL the time…”
“I’m sure you do, Ryu. Heheheh”

17:32

Tsuzumi sat in my entryway and put on her shoes.
“Hey, nice shoes.” I commented
“Thanks! I just got them yesterday.”
“Cool.”
She stood up, “I’d like to think so.”

Again, we stood in my doorway, looking in each others’ general direction

“So, uh…” this time, though, I was the one to break the silence, “thanks again for the fried rice. Seems it wasn’t rejected by my stomach demon.”
“Hahah, seems not. I’ll see you around, Azuma.”
“See you, Tsuzumi.”

As she walked out the door, she offered a bit of wisdom, “don’t forget to take your medicine!”
“What, the Tylenol?”
“No.” she stopped and turned around, “the stuff that’s in the fridge.” She rolled her eyes and sighed, “Did Laisei not tell you about it?”
“He did not.”
“Oh for God’s--Well, oh well. Just take a spoonful of it at night for a week or so. Be careful, though, they said it’ll make you drowsy.”
I sighed, “Alright… Thanks, Tsuzumi.”
“I’m here to help.” she stepped out the door, “call me if you need anything!”

I waved as she left and shut the door.

I looked towards the fridge. “I wonder what awaits me inside…”

--

Lovely vocabulary.

college is doin me well

phew, Azuma got a nice treatment that he can go to a better condition. What a relief.
Laisei's such a good boss #rolemodel

Starting work on an essay analyzing the significance of budding romance while the main characters of tweav' slogs are incapacitated and being taken care of by a nice woman.

You know what, I'd actually like to see you write that, lol!

---, ---
-----
8:00

“Sir, it’s time to wake up. Sir, it’s time to wake up. Sir, it’s time to wak-”
I pressed the snooze button on my alarm.

“Guhhh…” I sat up, “huh?”

I was surprised by the lack of acidic backlash in my stomach when I changed positions. Shit… That medicine must’ve really worked. I thought

There was a knock at my door.
“Oh, uh… come in.”
A young woman walked in, “hey, what do you think about this sweater? I found it at the KOKO store… Pretty sure it’s for men, but… I really like it. What do you think?”

I just stared. In walked this woman, no doubt in her twenties, that I’d never seen acting like she knew me. I began to survey my surroundings. I was in a room that wasn’t mine with pajamas that certainly weren’t mine in god knows where. The woman seemed to notice my confusion.

“Hey, you doing alright? Dad, you okay?”
What.
“Um, huh? ‘Dad’? Hm?”
“Yeah… Dad.” She chose her words very deliberately. “You alright?”
“...No. No, not really… What, uh… what’s today’s date?”
“I think it’s the 31st...? I dunno, check your phone.”
“My phone?”
“Uh… Yeah, your phone. It’s in your hand. You sure you doing alright?”
Silently, I looked at the piece of glass in my hand, “This isn’t a phone! This is a piece of glass!” I was having a serious amount of trouble comprehending my situation.
“...What the hell is going on with you?” She waved her hand twice over my piece of glass. It turned on, “Oh!” I looked at the top of it.

August 31st, 2070, 8:07
29°C
Sunny

“Oh, alright. It is the 31st.” It took me a moment to register the rest of the message, “2070? TWENTY-SEVENTY? No… No that can’t be right… There’s no way… Wait a minute, you’ve been calling me ‘dad’? Why’s that?”
The woman looked dumbfounded, “yeah, you’re not feeling well, are you? Are those fevers back?” She touched my forehead, it seemed very familiar for some reason, “No. That’s not it…” She scratched the side of her head, “Uh… It’s me, Ritsu. Your daughter.”
My mouth was agape, “my… daughter. Huh. WHAT. You’ve got to be in your thirties! I’M in my thirties!”
“Uh… 29, but close… And dad, you’re like 65 or something. I’m… gonna go get mom. We’ve gotta be at the airport in like two hours to pick up Masayoshi, and you don’t look okay to drive.”
“Right… yeah, uh… right, okay.”

My “daughter,” Ritsu left the room. As she did, I felt a sharp pain in my left shoulder.

“Ow!”
“Whoops, sorry there, pal.” A voice responded
“Who said that?” I looked around the room to see no one but my reflection in the mirror inhabiting the room.
“It was me, pal. Take a look at your shoulder.”

I did as he said, and sure enough, it seemed that my shoulder octopus was talking to me.

“Oh okay. That’s fine. Everything’s fine right now. My shoulder octopus is talking to me, my phone is a piece of glass, I have a 29 year old daughter, apparently I’m 65 and we’re in 2070 right now. Yep. Everythig is A-OK right now.”

this is not okay

”I hear you, man. This is a weird spot we’re in.” The voice was in my head. My head!
“Wait, why’re are you inside my head?”
“I’m not real.”
“Okay. Phew. That’s a relief.
…
But my question still stands, why’re you in my head?” I reiterated
“You’re asleep right now.”
“So this is a dream?”
“Sort of… It’s,” the octopus sighed, “it’s hard to explain. This is what’s going to happen. This is your future, Ryu Azuma. Well… One of your futures.”
“Um…” I didn’t know what to say. Why was I being shown this? Why was I being shown my future? “You… Uh… Who are you?” was all I could say. Er, think…
“I’m Taco.”
“Tako.”
“Nono, ‘Taco.’”
“Yeah, that’s what I said, ‘Tako,’ like ‘octopus,’ real clever name there, bud.”
“Noononono, ‘Taco,’ with a ‘C.’”
“What?”
“Never mind. Yes, I am Taco. Very hysterically named such by you in 2058 after a particularly drunken episode. You see, there is a double meaning. ‘Tako’ is Japanese for ‘Octopus,” which is what I am, and ‘Taco’ (my actual namesake) is taken from the Spanish word for meat sandwich.”
“Uh… I don’t think that’s what a taco is…”
“Hm… Seems I must update my reference lexicon.”
“Lexi- What? Whatever, listen. I need to get out of here, where am I in the real world?”
“Asleep on your couch. You just drank the medicine in your fridge. A bit more than a spoonful, too. That’s why you’re here. You see, today is the day that-”

The woman--er, my daughter--walked back in my room with a glass of water. “Mom said she’s going to go get Masayoshi herself. How about you lay down, dad?”
I had no choice but to comply, “how you feeling?”
“I’m not feeling too great, honestly.”
“Yeah, you look a bit out of it. Here, I’ll leave some water for you on the nightstand.”
“Thanks, sweetie.” rolled out of my mouth, it felt very unnatural
“Of course.”

She left the room once again.

”That’s your daughter, Ritsu. She’ll be born in November of 2041.” Taco said
“2041? That’s pretty soon!”
“Yes. In five year’s time, you’ll finally lose your virginity!”
“Ouch.”
“Hahahaha! I’m just kidding, pal. But seriously, you’re gonna have a daughter in five years. Pretty exciting stuff.”
“Yeah…”

-RINGRINGRING-

”What’s that?!” A loud ringing sound invaded my headspace
“Seem’s it’s time to wake up.”
“What? What do you mean? Why was I shown this? Is there any reason? Who the hell are you, Taco? Why do you know so much?! What’s going on?!”
“Eh, who knows. Maybe I’ll be able to tell you someday.”

A sharp pain coursed through my left shoulder into my head.
“AHHHHH-

June 9, 2036
Azuma Residence
15:58

-HHHH!”

I was rudely awoken by the ringing of my doorbell.
“Yo! Azuma! You in there? We came to check up on you.” it was Ishikawa’s voice
“He’s not dead in there, right?” another voice responded, it seemed to be Satoshi Kura’s.
“No! I’m not dead! Good lord… Can’t you let a man sleep in peace?” I made my way over to the door and aggressively opened it.

“You were still sleeping? It’s...” Kura checked his phone, “15:58.”
“Uh… It is?”
“Yea, dude.”
“Hunh.”

--


c:


Ask Florence for refs ;}

or Siggy

also with this post I am the eighth member of the 6000 post club

I'd like to thank my friends and my family for this opportunity

thanks

[applause]

THE TACO IS ALIVE
and congrats tweav for having 6000 post!

I'm gonna love this dialogue.

looks like Ryu's gonna have a take a trip to the lovely Velvet Room one of these days

PPFan... I'm not sure what I just read, but it was beautiful. Thank you.

Yeah this was a fantastic update, keep it up!