Btooom!
Continued Game
Ryota Sakamoto, at one time known as an unemployed drop-out, awakens from his night of slumber with a girl sleeping on his chest. This girl, a previous high school student, is Hemilia but prefers to be called Himiko; she is an attractive girl with long blonde hair and a figure that has caught the eyes of many men but also the cause of much strife for her. However, now she sleeps peacefully and Ryota recalls the events leading to this day.
These two had been normal people living in Japan trying to make the best of their lives, Ryota was a wanna-be game designer living at home with his parents. He is 22 and is yet to find a job but when he is at home he becomes immersed in the latest online game known simply as Btooom!
"Btooom!" which is a combat type game using bombs, known as BIM's and tracking devices alone. Each BIM is unique in their use and abilities, for example, some are time bombs that blow up after a timer reaches zero, remote bombs which are planted and set off with a remote from a distance, gas bombs filled with an acidic gas that kills and melts living organisms, flame bombs that case a blazing inferno in the general area, implosion bombs that stick to enemies and cause a vacuum effect in the blast area causing giant holes, crackers which are bombs that explode on contact, and trackers which are seeking bombs that blow up within the range of a specified target that they continuously hunt until they are destroyed or blow-up on target. Each BIM is deadly and depending on their use can be a gamer's nightmare or greatest asset. The trackers located in their hand shows the location of all moving enemies within a specified range and their location; however, the pinged enemy can also sense the tracking and use that to their own advantage for a trap. Targets that are not moving cannot be sensed and simultaneous pings cancel each other out, meaning if a target is moving but pings while an enemy pings, they cancel out.
Ryota has been trying to work for the Btooom! game company for years but they never returned his calls or signed him on. He continues to play however and will not work anywhere else, much to the disheartening of his mother and step-father whom he continues to live off of. In the course of his playing he becomes one of the top 10 players in the world with his team and acquires an online girlfriend by the name of Himiko. Their feelings are strong for each other but it all remains in the game world and takes no fruition. Rumors however around the nation report a list for getting rid of people and that whoever has their name submitted disappears, never to be seen again. Of course this is thought to be a hoax and everyone ignores it.
Ryota however learns that this is no hoax, one day he is taken from the street by two large men, knocked unconscious and later thrown into a plane with many other people. Armed guards can be seen keeping the group submissive in the plane.
"Hello all!" says the announcer on a large screen in the plane. "You were all selected to play a game," he declares with a grin. "Let me explain the rules, you will be given a bag, inside this bag are eight bombs or BIM's, you will also notice that there is now a chip in each of your hands, these chips can only be removed through surgery or when you die they will simply drop out." The plane begins to get anxious and chatter amongst the group can be heard. "Your job as players is to collect eight of these chips to leave the isolated island location you will be dropped on to, and your target… is the people around you!" Panic takes a hold of the group and they struggle to fight back but one by one they are thrown out of the plane with parachutes and pouches into the jungle below. Ryota loses consciousness and his memories from a blow to the head with a stun gun but he had entered a real game of Btooom!
Ryota had many struggles in his early phases, not wanting to play the game has been his goal since the start but most of the other players do not agree with that sentiment. He ends up meeting up with Kiyoshi Taira and they form a team and are later joined by Himiko who is at first trying to kill them but reluctantly changes her mind later. They acquire supplies that are dropped regularly and fight off many other players to ensure their survival and end up acquiring 6 chips, Taira however loses his sanity and after failing to kill Ryota and Himiko takes his own life. Ryota regained his memories, Himiko and he now have 7 chips, and they both need 8 to get off the island successfully.
Ryota finishes his thoughts and looks back down at Himiko and wonders how anyone could have wanted her to disappear. She was a beautiful girl and she had suffered greatly, Ryota shook with anger that anyone would want to harm her but he had not a short time ago been lustful for her as well but he regained his composure at the sight of he trying so hard not to be disturbed by his touch. She had nearly been raped no less than three times previously and had a strong distrust of men. She grew fond of Ryota however after learning that he was her online love and after she had been saved at various points. He comforted her as she slept and kissed her lightly on the forehead. She mumbled lightly in her sleep, "Ryota… my boyfriend... love him…" a smile formed on his face, for this is the first time he had enjoyed anytime on this island. The constant fight for survival had almost cost him his own sanity, but now he only wished to leave the island with Himiko and as soon as he could but for now he would let her rest.
After about 30 minutes, Himiko grumbles awake, "Good morning, Himiko" says Ryota with a smile. Seeing his face she blushes instantly and responds, "G…g…Good morning Ryota" she turns away to try and hide her embarrassment, this was the first time she had slept even near a boy. "I heard you talking lightly in your sleep" said Ryota with a goofy grin still on his face. She turned white "Wh… wh…what did I say?" she asked. "You said you loved me and that I was your boyfriend" he still smiled away. Getting angry, she jumped on him pounding lightly into his chest with her fists "IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIOT!" Ryota, not missing a beat, kisses her on the lips, shocking and then slowly calming Himiko. "I'm happy you love me Himiko, I love you too" stated Ryota. Himiko now calm but still embarrassed says pouting, "I do love you but you are a jerk." Ryota responds by kissing her once more. They smile at one another.
"Okay!" says Ryota, "let's see if we can prepare for a supply drop, we are running out of supplies and our BIM's are few in number as well." Himiko looks at him and asks, "What is the plan?" Ryota ponders lightly and asks, "Do you still have those gas BIM's?" Himiko nods pointing to the few that still remained. "Excellent!" replied Ryota, "Here's what we do, when a supply case floats by we gauge where the wind is pulling it, once that is done we track it down and I'll hide you nearby in the trees, this way you can watch my back, and in the meantime you throw a gas grenade past the crate and let the wind carry the gas away from our front, this stops frontal assaults from other players and keeps them far away until the gas clears, we will load up on crackers and time BIM's just in case someone comes from our rear but given that we haven't been found yet I would say we are clear of that." Himiko ponders and asks, "What if the wind changes to this direction?" Ryota thinks for a moment and says reluctantly, "We have to take that chance, our supplies are low and we can't wait for another day."
Later that day a plane was heard flying overhead, "That's the drop!" says Ryota. Both of them rush outside to take a look. "There! That's the one we go for!" stated Ryota pointing at one floating outside of the elevated building they had been staying in. The case was slowly floating away from their base, "A good sign" said Ryota now sprinting down the path toward where the case was going to land. Himiko grabbed the case of BIM's and followed after trying to maintain a distance for their plan.
A gust hit the case pulling it upward suddenly causing it to raise again, Ryota continued running and he pinged to check if other players were nearby, nothing pinged, "Good" though Ryota, maybe we will get this without trouble. After a 15 minute sprint the case landed in a patch of grass surrounded by trees, the trees were high and it was almost hard to see the sky because of the cover of the canopy. Himiko found her spot in a nearby tree branch and waited, Ryota slowly approached the case, pinging and searching for traps. Nothing. He reached the case and examined it, no hidden explosives were around and he grabbed the case. "We got it Himiko he shouted, when suddenly he felt the ping hit his body. "Shit! Himiko throw the BIM!" Reacting instantly she threw the BIM past Ryota and it bellowed out its toxic and acidic gas, it disintegrated the surrounding plant life and any animals that were not lucky enough to get away. Ryota pinged as found that the person who had pinged him was now fleeing from the gas in the opposite direction. "Good, my plan worked" he thought.
A gust reappeared but this time it was blowing from the other side of the gas cloud, the gas was moving back to Ryota from above and below. "Himiko! Run!" they ran the other way, not realizing they now had an uphill climb. They ran and climbed but they soon realized the top of the gas cloud was over their heads and curving inward from above. Ryota panicked looking for a way out. Himiko yelled "Ryota! Here we have to jump inside!" Pointing to a small cave entrance in the side of the hill. Ryota grabbed a large rock quickly and exclaimed "Get in!" They jumped inside and Ryota threw the case in the hole, he climbed in pulling the rock to cover the hole. He pulled the rock on only to have one of his hands cut and bleeding but they were safe from the gas cloud.
"Himiko!" he shouted in the darkness, when a flashlight burst to life next to him. "I guess these cases are useful." Himiko said. "Oh no your hand!" exclaimed Himiko. "Oh its okay…" said Ryota but he was interrupted by pain of an alcohol wipe. "OUCH!" he yelled, as Himiko disinfected the wound. "Hold still" she said pulling a bandage from the case to wrap the wound. "There done" she said after applying the wrap. "Thank you…" Ryota said still stinging from the disinfecting. "You should be more careful" she said looking worried. "I know, I know" he said "I'm sorry."
He looked around at the cave and saw that it was small and a bit damp but okay considering what was billowing above them, "Looks like we will have to wait it out until the gas clears" he said with a sigh. "What's in the case?" he asked. "The Flashlight, medicines and bandages, food, bottled drinks, blankets, some pillows, some travel snacks, and…" Himiko could not finish her thought looking red in the face. "What is it Himiko?" asked Ryota, "We need to know what we have to work with…" She stammered pulling out the package, "c….c… condoms…."
A realization of what she had said hit him, and then he bewilderedly said "w….w… what did you say?" She replied more loudly and rash now, "CONDOMS!" it echoed throughout the cave over and over. They both looked at the ground embarrassed by the thought, but Ryota replied "We can just put those away…" he reached for the package but was stopped by Himiko. "Wait…" she said lightly, "What is wrong?" asked Ryota, she slowly started to talk, "I have been around some evil men before, they raped my friends and they tried to rape me back home and a few times here, I hated it!" Ryota knew this story and went to reach again but was stopped short, "But" she said, "I don't hate it when you are near me and you hold me and kiss me, I enjoy being with you, and I don't want to die on this island but I know I don't want to die alone, so while I have the energy and the time, I want to make the most of our time together." Ryota swallowed trying to sum up what she was telling him, "You want to…" she looked down and nodded quickly.
To the next installment.