Disclaimer: I do not own any Dragon Quest character, location, equipment or spell. Please don't sue me, because I know better than to try to sell this slop.
A/N: I've thought of doing this for ages, and now I finally have an idea. All of the OCs in this are DQ9 reflexions of people, either through their own OCs or how I percieve they would be in the DQ9 world.
Warnings? Yes. There will be cursing, mentions of sex, and things of that nature. To use the game rating system, it's no different than most JRPGs I play. T for Teen. (if you ask me, you shouldn't be really using the internet much until you're a teenager anyway).
The Soundtrack for this story:
1. "Yume wo Shinjite" ending of Dragon Quest: Yuusha Abel Densetsu 2. "Ningen no Kodomo" by Arai Akino 3. "Let it Out" by Fukuhara Miho 4. "USO" by SID 5. entire OST of Dragon Warrior 2.
FIC START.
-INTRODUCTION-
Three young women had decided they needed a break for themselves. Going on an adventure without their better halves seemed like a fun, quirky idea. That way they could prove they could manage themselves.
Suzuri lived in Bloomingdale most all of her life, having studied the arts of magic - both healing and hurting. She once had an idea of becoming a Luminary, but in all honesty, it didn't fit her personality very well. She felt out of place in a Technicolor Tutu, especially when her beloved armamentalist Ciresso was around.
Tara hailed from the desert mecca Gleeba, and was a force to be reckoned with in battle. Her swords and axes could cut up anything she aimed at. Her big twin brother Taro always took care of her from the back row with his magical powers.
Alicia also lived in Bloomingdale, but on the different side from where Suzuri lived. The two of them knew each other rather well, despite being the opposite sides of a gold coin. She was a dagger master, always hopping from vocation to vocation, and she normally travelled completely alone.
Keeping in touch via Suzuri's strange Slime mail service, the three of them decided to meet up at the very famous Quester's Rest when Suzuri happened to find a very strange treasure map in her latest adventure.
Suzuri used the power of a Chimera's Wing to send herself to Stornway.
"For the person with the idea to get together, you're extremely late," a voice said from the direction of the town gate.
"Hush, or I'll sick Chompy on you, Tara," Suzuri snapped, turning around to see her armor clad, silver-haired friend.
Tara jumped back almost three feet. "You had better not!" she said, almost stammering. "How could you ever keep one of those things as a pet? ...Anyway, Alicia said she was going to the inn to secure us a bed for the night."
"I thought we were going to adventure before we went to bed," Suzuri said, reaching into her item pouch. "I told you, I found a new treasure map. I really wanna go check it out."
"It's not that," Tara explained. "But there's a whole bunch of really famous people from all over the world coming to stay here at this inn. Royalty, heroes, you name it." She pointed over at the windows of the Quester's Rest, which had a beautiful banner flapping in the wind. "That is the Emblem of the Greatest Legendary Hero of our world."
"Loto," Suzuri gasped. "That's right! Today the Dragon Warrior festival starts! If we don't get a room soon, it'll all be full for the rest of the week."
Tara nodded. She turned to walk toward the inn, but then she stopped to look up at the emblem again. "Loto. I wonder what kind of person he was," she said, almost as if she was saying it to herself in amazement. "Every time we have this festival, I wish I could meet the hero we all celebrate."
"He saved the entire world, and then he even saved another world on top of that," Suzuri said. "He had to have been powerful. Strong and smart."
"And I bet he was handsome," Tara added.
"Well, you know how things are in this world. Ugly people are evil and good people are beautiful." Suzuri said with a shrug. "Guess that means I'm an evil Empress waiting to happen."
"Pssh..."
They walked into the inn, taking in all of the decor and friendly ambiance at once. It hit them like a ton of bricks to the head. The place was fun and upbeat.
"Welcome to the Quester's Rest!" the young, blue haired owner said with a big smile from the other side of a large wooden counter. "How can we help you today?"
"They're with me, Erinn," the blonde at the table near the Rainbow's End Gold Bank said with a wave. "Y'know, Suzuri, I was beginning to think you had gotten lost on your way here."
"I know, right?" Tara started to laugh.
Suzuri made a very sarcastic giggle as she said, "Cires gave me a Chimera's Wing this time so I wouldn't get lost on the way! Seems my direction sense has made me somewhat famous, eh, Alicia?" She stopped over at the bank to speak with Ginny and dropped off her gold into her account. "Well, whatever, we've got a whole week to enjoy ourselves."
"Where's Ciresso?" Alicia asked.
"Upover. He's in training to join Greynarl's Knights now." Suzuri sat down at the table. "And Taro?" she asked of Tara.
"Taro's visiting family."
"Does this mean we can pick us up some handsome heroes?" Alicia asked with a devilish smile.
Suzuri sighed. "You're impossible."
"And you're a straight-laced bookworm. Sounds about the same to me," Alicia said with a shrug. "C'mon, girls, we haven't done anything amazing with our little vacay. Let's go out there and kick some monster ass, shall we? Oh, yeah, I got us a Royal Suite this time!"
"We rate a Royal Suite?" Tara asked, finally sitting down with them.
"You do indeed," Erinn said. "When Alicia came in saying she needed a room with three beds for a week, I figured... why not? You know I like to treat everyone with the same respect."
"We're set up nice, y'know? So come on, let's go drop off your extra stuff." Alicia said, getting up from her seat. "Then we can talk about your super special awesome treasure map!"
The three of them went over to the lift that went up to the royal suites, and it took them to the second floor. The hallways appeared to glitter like gold, the red of the carpet so vibrant. It felt royal.
"I've never been in such a nice place," Suzuri said gently. "I might be from Bloomingdale, but I never even went to stay at the Flower Bed Inn." When Alicia showed the other two to one of the rooms, Suzuri walked in. She was impressed.
"Ah," Alicia said, plopping down on the bed she designated as her own. "This is livin'! So, now, tell us about your map."
Suzuri sat on the bed in the middle of the room and brought out her map pouch from inside. She pulled off her boots before sitting crosslegged and spreading the map out flat. "This is it," she said with a grin. "A special map."
"Bah, it's level 58," Tara grunted. "What's so special about a level 58 map?"
"No," Suzuri whispered. "There's supposed to be a floor full of Metal King Slimes in here."
Alicia blinked a few times. "You're kidding. Those things are so rare, they're hardly worth the hunt. And they're a bitch to kill."
"You use daggers," Suzuri grunted. "Of course you're going to have a hard time killing them off."
"I bet if we cornered them, I could get them with Hatchet Man," Tara said with a smile. "We'd be rolling in experience so fast, I could go back to Taro having mastered something like mage without him even noticing a difference."
"And Ciresso's been teaching me how to use spears," Suzuri added. "I could get them with a Thunder Thrust."
Alicia just shook her head. "You can't use what your loverboy uses on you in bed on a monster."
"Hey, it's an actual technique," Suzuri said, not even knowing how red her face was. "You call up a critical hit, and it booms like thunder."
"Pssssh," Tara couldn't hold back her giggle for too long. "Yeah, whatever."
"What's so funny?" Suzuri asked.
Tara and Alicia looked at each other, nodded, and then looked back at Suzuri. "You," they both said at the same time.
"I'm describing a real spear technique," Suzuri said. "Maybe I shouldn't have shared this map with you guys. I could have gone up to my siblings and said 'hey, guys, I got a new map'. They would have jumped on the occasion."
"Hey, I say we dogpile on Suzuri! Let's jump on the occassion!" Alicia said before Suzuri snatched up the map to put it away.
"I'm not trying to be funny..." Suzuri sighed, getting up. "You know what, I'm going to check out the festival."
"I'll go with you," Alicia said.
"No, I'm going to have a moment alone, okay?" Suzuri said. "Please. Before I try to use that move on you, it's best I cool down."
"I was kidding with you."
"It doesn't feel like it." Suzuri said, walking out of their suite and closing the door behind her. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She really didn't want to go to the festival by herself. Her head sank just as much as her morale had.
"Are you all right?" a kind voice asked her from across the hall.
Suzuri looked to see who asked the question, only to find quite possibly the most handsome man she'd ever seen outside of her own imagination. She nodded silently to acknowledge that she heard him speak, though she was afraid to say anything else.
"You appear stressed," the man said gently. "A stressed princess can't be a good thing."
"I'm not a princess," Suzuri replied. "It's just a tiara fashioned like one of the descendants of Loto. I'm wearing an outfit from the battle against Zoma."
"Oh," the man seemed taken by the idea. "Costuming for the festival is a great way to keep the traditions of our past alive." He bowed his head a little. She could see his beautiful strawberry blonde hair popping out from his goggled helm. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Art Princeton, Prince of Cannock."
Suzuri blushed even harder than she had been before. "I... I've never met a prince before."
Art said, "It's like meeting a regular person, just with layers and layers of formality." He shrugged before saying, "I am pleased to meet you, regardless."
"The pleasure is mine," Suzuri said, bowing at the waist. "If my sisters hadn't driven me crazy, I wouldn't have-"
"Traveling with family can be more stressful than traveling with complete strangers," Art said thoughtfully. "I implore you to be patient, I am sure they did not mean to drive you away." He extended a hand towards her. "Come to the festival with me? I don't know this town."
"I'll be more than glad to be your guide around town," Suzuri felt herself squee on the inside. It was like being asked on a date, practically. "Thank you for the offer. My name is Suzuri Heinze."
As Art extended his arm around Suzuri's shoulders and led her to the lift that would take them down to the ground floor, Alicia stuck her head out of the door.
"How does this always happen?" she asked. "She's got a great guy all ready, and a prince of a faraway land practically asks her out? I'm flabbergasted."
Tara pulled her back in the suite. "And don't bother her, either. Suzuri knows not to do anything that would throw her relationship into question," she explained. "You know she does. Tomorrow morning, that Prince is gonna move on and find himself a real princess or something. You know how those royals are."
"Yeah, she is loyal," Alicia thought aloud, crossing her arms. "And royalty tends to be quite fickle. Wait, you don't think that he might want an escort for the night or something do you?"
Tara grunted. "She would refuse that kind of vocation, if offered. She couldn't be a Luminary, what makes you think she could be an escort?"
"She sounded quite taken with him."
"She fangirls all the time about the Sage from the Battle against Zoma."
Alicia said, "Yeah but if she ever met the Sage from that time, you think she'd hesitate before trying to kidnap and rape him?"
Tara shook her head. "What kind of person do you take her for?"
Alicia nodded. "You're right, I really should trust her more. Suzuri's a loyal person to her core. She might not have direction sense or the ability to take hits in battle, but her heart is in the right place... So, let's go to the Festival!"
"I thought we were gonna go treasure hunting?"
"Yeah, but our sage has the map! So let's go get her and go on our girl's adventure."
END PART ONE