Author's Note: So, I wanted to introduce this new AU that I and banana-moon-moon have been discussing for a little bit. In this AU, Maki and Hanayo are both big gamers, playing together in an MMO. It's going to be MakiPana-centric. Banana also has some great artwork for this (they drew the cover for this that I couldn't crop in well), so you should check that out too!


Tomato Log I: Crush

They waited at the door, ten of the best warriors that the Lonely Heaven clan had within their ranks. As strong as they all were, two stood out above the rest. Standing in front of the group, ready to lead them into this battle, was a beast tamer/tank of impressive strength and fortitude, a battle-scarred and angry-looking panther by her side. Right behind her was a cleric/mage, her cloak fluttering gently in the wind. A winged rod, her trusty and expensive Seraph Staff, was held tightly in her hand.

"We all ready?" The cleric asked, and her call was answered with eight resounding positives. Only the beast tamer remained silent, bringing a slight grin to the cleric's face. The beast tamer didn't say much, but she didn't have to: her strength was known throughout every land, as were the cleric's own healing powers, enhanced and imbued with the strongest magics. Together, the two of them were well-known and well-respected as extremely powerful warriors. The only thing they couldn't do was make time go faster...


Tapping her fingers impatiently against her mouse, Maki stared at her computer screen intently, as if her glare could force the event unfolding to happen faster. Alas, that was not a power she had. For the fifth time she clicked through her inventory, then her powers, making sure each one was still assigned to the correct hotkey. They were. Unable to suppress a sigh, she felt her lips curve into a pout when a soft giggle reached her ears.

"Hanayooo," she whined, only earning herself another giggle.

"Sorry Maki-chan." On the other end of their Skype call, Hanayo was no doubt smiling, though Maki wasn't able to see it. There was no room for distractions when they were on a raid of this magnitude. "It's just that you've been sighing since we got here."

"I can't help it. I just want the damn thing to start." They had been waiting for what seemed like forever, though Hanayo was quick to remind her that it had only been ten minutes. Still, there was only so many times one could check to make sure everything was still in order before boredom set in.

Suddenly, the large castle door began to creak open slowly, and both Maki and Hanayo found themselves holding their breath as a bright light flooded from beneath the opening, and a loud, strangled cry echoed in their headphones. Eight other people surrounded them, and likely they were all equally excited, but as far as Maki was concerned, it was just her and Hanayo, ready to take on the biggest and baddest beasts the land had to offer.

As the door finally opened up completely, they charged in, battle weapons drawn. The battle with the almighty Ra-Akh had begun.


Welcome to the incredible world of SunFall! In this Juneau award-winning MMORPG, take on quests of various natures, explore breathtaking locations, and fight beasts of incredible strength! Train a variety of skills and improve your character, as weakness will surely mean death. Remember to check out the newest major high-level update, 'The Sky's No Limit', and join your friends in order to do battle with the almighty Ra-Akh! Join now for only ¥1172.38 a month!

SunFall was not Nishikino Maki's hobby. SunFall was Nishikino Maki's passion. She had been playing, and at times fanatically addicted to, the game for six years. To her at least, it was a passion. To her roommates, it was an unhealthy obsession. To her parents, it was just a phase. 'Yeah, sure, a phase,' she would always think with some degree of amusement. She was just lucky her parents continued to pay for her membership, or she might actually have to get a job, and that would definitely mean less time spent playing. University was already cutting into her time as it was, especially with her degree. Medicine was not something one could just breeze through.

It was incredible that she had kept her grades so high all these years while simultaneously being dedicated to a game like it was a career, but Maki was a girl of rather impressive intellect. There were always skills that could be afk'ed while she worked on homework, and if her university was going to be foolish enough to allow students to bring their laptops to class, then of course she was going to end up logged on. She could multitask.

After years of playing, she was prouder of her powerful, extremely high-leveled character than most of her real life accomplishments, though she kept that fact to herself. Most people she knew already considered her weird: that fact certainly would only strengthen their cases. However, even as high-leveled and well-tenured as she was, this particular boss fight was still very difficult. It was for only the strongest players, after all.

Hiding behind a pillar to avoid Ra-Akh's devastating Sun Drench attack, Maki queued up her Vampyrium Ultimate, trying to steady her shaking hand. Quickly she moved her hand and pushed her glasses up, rubbing her exhausted eyes before putting all of her concentration back on the game. A mixture of coffee and energy drinks did wonders for keeping her awake, and at that point in time she had been awake for nearly 26 hours straight.

As a doctor in training, the logical part of her brain knew that staying up until there were near-permanent black circles under her eyes every week wasn't healthy, but there were things she needed to do. There were classes to attend, papers to write, and gaming to do, not to mention that on occasion her roommates would force her to interact with people that weren't wearing max-leveled armor. Sleep was for the weak.

"Hanayo, head in. I've got my Ultimate queued."

"Got it!" Maki watched as Hanayo rushed out from her own pillar and charged into battle. Following right after her, the redhead activated her Ultimate, sending a large, sickly-green square out into the area. It shrouded the boss and the surrounding area, allowing the rest of their raid group to huddle in and get some much-needed healing. They had it now. A faint smirk crossed Maki's face as she watched Hanayo leap up into the air, her heavy battleaxe smashing down upon Ra-Akh. Glancing up at the top of the screen, she waited with bated breath as its health bar fell to zero, the mighty beast falling with a final, anguished roar.

"Yes!" Maki pumped her fist in triumph, hearing Hanayo's squeak of elated surprise in her ears. Looking at the time, she was shocked to find that two hours had passed since the battle began. She was so sure it would take three, maybe even four hours. Then again, this was the strongest team they had gotten together yet. "That boss was nothing!"

"Jesus Christ, Maki, shut up!" Maki cringed as the loud, high-pitched voice of her roommate cut through her headphones. Sulking, she huffed and crossed her arms, but quieted down all the same. Her obnoxious roommate could belt out her terrible karaoke tunes as loud as she wanted, but a single shout of jubilation called for instant chastisement. It was only 2 AM, jeez.

"That was great, Hanayo," Maki mentioned a bit more quietly, after the two of them had teleported out and regrouped at the closest bank to put away their loot. Now that they didn't have to concentrate on the boss, they were able to turn on their webcams and actually see each other. "You were awesome!"

"Th-Thank you, Maki-chan." A blush crossed Hanayo's cheeks at the compliment, illuminated by the lamp on her desk. All the other lights must have been turned off hours ago. A thought concerning how cute her reddened cheeks were passed idly through Maki's mind. "Y-You were really good too."

Maki shrugged slightly. "It was nothing special. No boss can handle me. ... H-Hey, don't laugh at me!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Maki pouted anyway, deliberately turning away. "I didn't think we'd finish so soon, though. At least I can get some sleep before class now."

"Oh, you're going to bed?" She turned back around, unable to hide the disappointment in her voice. So maybe it was the middle of the night, on a Tuesday, but she wasn't even tired yet. Okay, she was exhausted, but that didn't mean she wanted Hanayo to go, though she knew it was selfish of her to keep her friend up any later. Hanayo must have noticed the change in her voice though, giving her a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah, I don't want to fall asleep in class again." Hanayo's smile turned sheepish as she waved to Maki. "You should get some sleep too."

"Y-Yeah..." Maki lifted her hand and waved back half-heartedly. It was a good idea to go to bed, but she was already planning on staying up a bit longer to figure out what to do with her new loot. Doing those things was a lot more fun with Hanayo.

"Goodnight Maki-chan."

"Night Hanayo." The call went dead, and Maki found herself still staring at the screen, longingly pretending that Hanayo's face was still there, smiling at her. It had only just ended, but she already missed her, as irrational as that was. With a sigh, one that was not followed by a knowing laugh, Maki placed her chin in her hand and frowned at the screen.

It wasn't that missing Hanayo was something new to her. She was Maki's best friend, so of course she was going to miss her. Lately though, it had felt more intense, like her being not there brought pain to Maki's chest. Whenever her mind wasn't filled with SunFall or school, Hanayo always seemed to find a way into her thoughts more and more, sometimes concurrently with those other thoughts. Try as she might to come up with another explanation, only one truth always came back.

Groaning, Maki shook her head slightly, clicking back to find that she had idled out of the game. God, she really, really hoped that she wasn't crushing hard on a girl who lived far away.