"Japanese speaking"

"English speaking"

"Hello? Anyone?" I ran my hands through my hair as dozens of people - or players - passed me by with no more than a few weird looks or just utter ignorance. I have the worst luck… which is sort of ironic because I'm skeptical about things like luck. Actually, let me rephrase that: I was skeptical about things like luck before I was literally transported inside of a freaking game! Now, I'm a little more open minded about things that may or may not be possible.

I currently find myself in a bit of a predicament; today I logged into Elder Tales, expecting to catch up with an old friend of mine. She was visiting relatives in Japan, so she convinced me to join the Japan server with her. The thing is, she speaks fluent Japanese and English, so she would be completely fine, while I on the other hand, have no idea how to speak Japanese. Not even a single sentence, I don't even know how to say I don't speak Japanese in Japanese.

That wasn't the issue though… I figured, I'd be fine as long as I was video chatting with Chiyo, speaking English, and having her read the captions and messages aloud as we played or something. We both logged in, she spawned nowhere near me, I spawned somewhere else, and now I have no clue how to get to her. I can still open my friend's list - I realized as much - I activated some mind-voice chat thing (a telepathic link of sorts) and I can talk to her, but I still have no clue where I am because I cannot read maps or signs or anything!

I know I'm near a city, since I'm currently walking away from one, and was in said city not even twenty minutes ago, but that's literally all I can determine.

Not to mention, my hair is maroon when it should be brown, my ears are slightly pointed (Though not to the extent of the elven race's ear pointiness), my eyes are blue when they're also supposed to be brown (Though at least I still have my glasses), and oh-! I most definitely do not have boobs as big as the ones I have right now - though I suppose it's my own fault for making my virtual-self not really like, well, myself.

It didn't feel like I was trapped in some video game, it just felt so… real. I mean, I would've expected small objects to be almost holographic, or at least have some sort of off-ness to them that would help me distinguish from reality. It was almost like I wanted it to feel less real, but it was as real as real life - The grass felt like grass, the leaves felt like leaves, the sun was still warming, I could even feel my heart beating… Nothing felt artificial, and it was extremely unnerving.

I noticed people were more scarce in the wilderness than they were in town - both a good thing and a bad thing. It was good because I really did not want to be stared at anymore but bad because there was an even slimmer chance of me finding help from any English-speaking person.

Basically, I was doomed. I sat down on a mossy rock, head in my hands and feeling hopeless. I should've taken classes to learn Japanese...

"Hey, are you alright?" I looked up to the face of a Alf with glasses, followed by a guy wearing armour - probably a tank. If only I knew what he was saying…

"I don't speak Japanese… I don't even know why I'm here - or how I got here for that matter," I decided I probably should stick to simple English, on the off-chance someone knows a little bit, so I changed my choice of words. "Uh… no speak Japanese. I speak English." Plus, my hand gestures were a little over dramatic the first time, probably confusing him further.

"She speaks English." He spoke to the armoured friend by his side.

"That's gotta suck… Do you think we should ask her to tag along?"

"How?" The Alf raised an eyebrow.

The other shrugged. "I dunno, do some hand gestures."

I raised a hand slightly, in signaling I was about to talk (Or at least I hoped it was discernible). "Know English speaking person?"

"Look, like this." The armoured one spoke before showing no sign that he even heard me and then pointing to me. Then he - I think - made a walking gesture with his fingers and then pointed to himself and his friend.

I just nodded; If they were asking me to follow them, then why not? I didn't have anything to lose really, and these were the first people willing to help.

Then, there was a presence - it's not like I could sense it or anything, but I saw a person looking down to us from the top of one of the buildings. The two guys noticed him too, and they were talking about it in their language. I didn't know what to call them, so it would probably be a good idea to ask for their names, so once they finished their conversation, I did. "Uh… names?"

"I think she's asking for our names."

"You know English?"

"I only remember bits and pieces from what I learned in grade school."

He pointed to the armoured guy, "Naotsugu," and then to himself, "Shiroe." "You?"

So Naotsku and Shiro were their names, or at least that's what it sounded like. He also said something at the end, though I didn't know what. I nodded, before holding out my hand to give them a hand-shake. "My name's Sydney. Konichiwa Naotsku and Shiro." And that puts the only Japanese word I know to use. Hey, at least they both smiled at my effort!

We followed the guy that looked suspiciously like a ninja to an old rundown building. I was honestly hoping he wouldn't assassinate any of us, but I'm pretty sure we were all shocked when he opened his mouth. I may not speak Japanese, but I can undoubtedly tell when a voice belongs to a girl or a boy, and his voice was definitely female. Shiroe gave her a potion after they conversed and she actually became a girl - a really short girl at that - though it's not really my place to talk, I was only a few centimeters taller than her.

Naotsugu was blushing, and Shiroe looked like he was on the verge of blushing. That was the moment I did something I promised I would never do: I began shipping real people - though, I'm not entirely sure they'd be considered real people; it was still a game after all, right?

I smiled sheepishly, hoping none of their magic types allowed them to read minds. It made me wonder, if someone were to read my mind, would a Japanese speaking person be able to know what my thoughts consisted of, or would it be a bunch of English gibberish to them? I should add that to my internal list of questions I will most likely never get an answer to, including why the hell I find myself inside of a virtual game in the first place.

"You saved me. I really appreciate it."

"I-It's fine."

"I must do something to repay your kindness."

"Don't worry about it..." Shiroe scratched the back of his head in what was obvious sheepishness. I wonder what the assassin girl was saying...

"From this moment forward, I will refer to you as my lord, and I will be your ninja." The girl bowed towards the Alf, and I raised my eyebrows questioningly.

"You have your own Ninja Shiroe. I wonder what color her panties- ahhh!" And just like that, The small girl kneed the armoured man right in the face. It was some kickass Ninja skill if I've ever seen one. It made me giggle, a little too loudly, which caught the attention of the girl. I guess she didn't notice my presence until now.

She turned to Shiroe, pointing towards me. "Who is she?"

"Her name is Sydney, I think, and she doesn't speak Japanese, so we asked her to tag along."

The raven haired girl nodded. "I see. I will introduce myself." She walked over to me with her hand out. I gave her a timid smile and shook her hand. After we shook hands, she pointed to herself and said, "Akatsuki," which I presumed to be her name.

"Nice to meet you Akatsuki." I replied. I wasn't sure if she understood me since she merely nodded before we all began walking towards the town, but either way, it was helpful that I knew all their names now. I was glad I had found some help among a world and language that I felt completely lost in. Unfortunately, that relief and happiness didn't last long.

During the walk towards town, Chiyo contacted me. Though I was so glad to hear another voice besides my own, speaking English, I was not at all glad when she told me that the transport gates were down, basically meaning the only way I could get to her was by walking all the way from whatever town I'd landed myself in, to a town called Nakasu. I could only hope it was a short distance away, otherwise, I was in for a hell of a long (Not to mention, difficult) journey.

If I needed anything at that moment, it was that so called luck that I had been so hesitant to believe in...

P.S. This is my first fanfic. Thanks for reading. Let me know if I should continue, or if this should be just a oneshot.