Four days had passed since the bank robbery incident. The story had exploded across the local news, plastered on every channel. The brutality of the fight, the overwhelming power of the hero involved — it all stirred a frenzy.
Paparazzi and reporters rushed to interview him, but his condition had been too severe for words. Even so, the Ashoi City Hero Association rewarded the hero with prize money for his bravery.
"Hehehehehehe~"
And now, that very hero — the mystery, the talk of the town — was trudging up the stairs of his apartment, his goofy laugh echoing through the empty stairwell.
Dempsey had been discharged just today. He told everyone to keep it quiet, to not let anyone see him. But inside, he was over the moon.
Ten thousand ren.
Prize money.
Dempsey had never held this much money in his life.
He'd already paid the landlord, and yet the bills barely made a dent. The money was still there. Still his. It made him feel like the richest man alive.
He reached his apartment, opened the door, slipped off his shoes, and shoved them into the fridge before shutting the door. His eyes swept over the familiar cluttered room, and somehow, it looked grander now. Richer. Maybe because he was richer.
He stood at the center of the room, staring out the window. The lights outside flickered on the glass, casting faint shadows across the walls.
"Hehe~hahaha~AAAHAHAHAHAHAHA~"
Then, unable to hold it in, he burst into laughter — hysterical, sharp, loud enough for his neighbors to hear.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP MOTHERFUCKER!!!"
Someone banged from the other side of the wall. "WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU LAUGHING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!? THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?!?"
Dempsey turned and pointed toward the wall,
"NO!! YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!! BECAUSE I'M RICH!! II'MM RICH~!!"
He threw his head back, bent back spreading his arms like a third rate villain, cackling eviliy.
"HHAHAHHA— ah!?"
Pain suddenly ripped through his back. He gripped a chair for support, teeth clenched.
"Aaaa~ uuuhh~ eeeshh~"
The doctors had patched him up with meds and basic tech, but that was it. He was stitched back together, not healed. His back especially — his muscles burned every time he moved.
"How's that, fucker?"
The neighbor shot back.
"Rich, my ass. You're just daydreaming. Go to sleep."
Dempsey's laughter dropped into silence. He glared at the wall, his expression dark.
"People can't stand seeing others climb up, Fuckers."
He muttered
Slowly, he made his way into his bedroom still groaning. He plugged in his phone, set it to charge, then lowered himself carefully onto his stomach on the bed.
Exhaustion weighed heavy on him. Even after all this so-called rest, his body still felt broken.
Within minutes, he slipped into sleep.
=====
Dempsey suddenly snapped awake, his throat dry. He got up, went to the kitchen, poured a glass of water, drank it, then went back to his bedroom. Suddenly he didn't feel tired anymore; sleep had fled.
He picked his phone off the charger: 4:00 a.m. The building slept. A distant car hummed. Streetlights painted the road in pale pools. Dempsey felt that his back didn't hurt anymore. He froze mid sloch.
'What was that?'
His eyes widened. He crept to the window and peered out. What he saw made his eyes go wide in terror.
A man in a magical-girl outfit stood under the lamppost across the street. Hair showed on every exposed patch of skin. The man walked up to the lamppost and started pole-dancing.
'OHNONONONO!! WHAT IS THAT DUDE DONING TO THAT POOR POLE!?'
Dempsey internally screamed, watching the pole being violated.
'Oh my God!! Look at that bulge!! That guy is clearly violating the pole~. Even the light of pole is getting dimmer~. The poor pole won't be able to show its face in front of society ever again. Poor thing~ ah~.'
Dempsey covered his mouth. Tears formed at the corners of his eyes. As he watched the Dude do exquisite move that looked nothing more then fancy move to violate the poor pole to Dempsey.
'Why this cruelty? What did the pole do? Did it deserve this? Why must this be done to that pole? What happenedto the society!? POLE GOD!! YOU MUST DO THIS POOR POLE JUSTICE!!'
Dempsey prayed for the for the poor pole to the pole God.
He stared, looked away in horror, then looked back. The man kept dancing for a few more seconds, then stopped and crossed to the other side of the road.
Curious if there was someone else, Dempsey leaned further from the window and saw a camera stand nearby.
'Wow~! That dude's rich. Wait— is that the Bee-Man?
Before Dempsey could think more, the man snapped his head up and their eyes locked. For few seconds both didn't do anything. The man pointed at Dempsey, voice shaking.
"Did you see anything?"
Dempsey scratched his chin.
"Well, if you're talking about how you violently violated that poor pole, then no, I didn't see anything."
The man's face changed. He pointed again, insistently, furious.
"Fucker, are you playing with me?"
He demanded.
"Aww~ helll nah~. I would never play with a dude. I like girls."
"Fucker!! you're clearly playing with me!!"
"Like I said, man, I'm not playing with you!"
"Now get down here!!"
"I'm not getting down there. What if you do something to me?"
The man snapped back.
"I'm not gay. So why would I do something to you!"
"We can't say— because you were just a few moments ago rubbing your pole with that pole. And you are getting hard. So we can't say that you are not."
"I'm! not! gay!"
The man yelled.
Dempsey nodded.
"You're right, you're not."
He smiled innocently and said.
"But you are a polantophist."
"...What is that supposed to mean?"
The man asked, shoulders slumping with pure confusion, all the rage gone.
"Well… it means a man who likes rubbing his pole with another pole, regardless what kind of pole it is."
The man gaped for a moment, then his brain seemed to catch up.
"Wait—doesn't that mean I'm gay?"
The two of them stared at each other in silence.
"BASTARD!! YOU'RE CALLING ME GAY!!!"
The man snapped.
"No I did not! I even gave you an honorable title: polantophist. How is that calling you gay!?"
"Fucker, don't let me get my hands on you or you'll know the consequences."
The man practically shouted, pacing near the curb.
Dempsey stood near his window with one foot on the frame, almost falling out the window.
"WHAT THE FUCK!? YOU TH8NK I'M SACRED OF YOU!? LET ME GET DOWN AND FUCK YOU REAL GOOD BITCH!!"
He scrambled to his door as he heard the man yelling back something like come and have a taste.
'Clearly a gay. He even told me to become one suggested I taste of my cum? Fuck that guy!!'
He needed to teach him a lesson!
He grabbed his keys, locked it, shoved his back against the door, and scanned the room.
"Where should I hide?"
Dempsey felt the absolute gay vibe radiating off the man — rubbing one pole against another and getting hard? Suggestions about testing ones cum?
Red flags.
He couldn't let this escalate. Imagine that guy breaking in and Dempsey waking up in the middle of the night while his ass is getting destroyed.
Nu-uh.
Dempsey shivered like 11 point earthquake was shaking his core.
'The world is fucking weird~.'
He scrambled back to his bedroom, locked the door just in case, and dove under the blanket.
He wedged his ass against the window frame — positioning himself so that if anyone tried to pull him out or move him, he would wake immediately.
He wrapped the blanket around him for extra safety and tried to sleep with dread sitting heavy in his chest.
He left the window as is to let the man know that he isn't home. And Dempsey didn't believe that dude can climb to the fourth floor.
'Should I call the police...?'
Dempsey now felt genuine fear for his ass. He doesn't want to become like the pole. Forcefully stripped of its dignity as a proud pole of the streets. He shivered.
Fearing something unholy before he pulled out his phone and went into the forum called: Ancient meme Forum. With over 7000 constant members. He was one of the old VIP members who joined early.
It was a place where the ancient online culture from a thousand years ago is shared.
He started watch ancient anime without a care in the world. He found an anime in the forum with over thousand episodes and he is on 798th episode. It is called One Piece.
Others said it is good but long. Dempsey started watching without much thought but he underestimated the word big.
'It's fucking big... just like my dick. Lol! That was a perfect rhyme! Man~ I'm a poet. Hehe~'
As he made rhymes and watched One Piece, his worries melted like it never existed in the first place.