Picking up her baton, she handed it to the cheerleading coach. Sakura wiped
a brow of sweat from her forehead, shading her eyes as she looked at the
burning sun.
"It's perfectly balanced, as usual." Mrs. Lisi said, with a small twist of her mouth.
Blushing and bowing respectively, Sakura replied, "Thank you Lisi-sempai,"
~*~
"Hey Dad, what's that?"
"It's a VR video-game. State of the art actually." Fujitaka said, as he plugged in a few wires.
"What does it do?" Sakura asked, slipping off her bag and opening the fridge.
"Sakura sweetie, pass me the manual on the table." Fujitaka said, waving toward the oak coffee table.
"Sure," The girl said when she reappeared with a piece of bread in her mouth.
"It's an adventure game simulator." Fujitaka continued, rummaging though a box, "I believe it's called an RPG in the modern lingo."
Sakura let out a small giggle as she picked up the blue booklet. Her Dad was never the most modern adult she had known.
"Hey monster, how's it going?" Touya said as he peeked over his younger sister's shoulder.
"Don't call me that!!" Sakura yelled, hitting him on the head with the booklet.
"Ow!" Tory yelped, "Jeez, you really can't take a joke, can you?"
"Play nice you two." Fujitaka muttered as he rummaged through the hallway drawer for a screwdriver.
"So, what are the details of your latest gadget?" Touya asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
"You put this visor on," He said, holding up what seemed to be an over- sized pair of shades.
"Wow," Sakura said as she look it from her father and nearly dropping it. The thing weighed about ten pounds. "We're supposed to put this on?"
"That's the idea, yes," The older man said, placing his elbow on the shelf.
"Let me try it on." Touya said, taking it from Sakura and hooking it up. Sitting on the easy chair, he turned it on and laid back.
Tip-toeing over to her father, she whispered, "How does this thing work again?"
"Don't worry." He said, smiling. "See that monitor over there? It feeds all the visual data into the visor, the sound effects come from tiny earphones on the side."
Nodding, Sakura went back upstairs. The simulator of her father's was freaking her out.
~*~
Tossing in her sheets, Sakura wound her legs between her blankets, unable to sleep. Surrendering to her temporary insomnia, she walked herself downstairs, giving her cramped legs a stretch on her way down the stairs.
Turning her head passed the corridor, she crept into the living room, trying not to wake her brother and father up. Her mother had disappeared years ago. No one had been able to prove that she was dead though. Her father had said that she died in a burning building, but Touya had other ideas. He was convinced that she'd run away, not looking back to her husband and children.
Sakura had never been convinced of this. She was a pure-hearted optimist, always believing in herself and those around her, battling virtues with the best of them.
She took a step back when she saw that the simulator was still on, emitting an eerie blue light that cast shadows across Sakura's well furnished living room. It was vibrating, a sound that was much like bees traveled across the room to her ears.
Moving across the room, Sakura felt passive. Something was pushing her towards the visor sitting on the table, a force that could easily been a hand on her back. Picking up the visor, Sakura set it on the bridge of her nose, the heavy metal making her feel like she was about to suffocate. Feeling it turn on, she felt the vibrating sensation become stronger, buzzing in her head like a resonating hive of insects
Suddenly, she felt her mind being telegraphed to a completely new place, moving her from her living room to a grassland outback, decorated with valleys, rivers, and animals that couldn't have possibly been from Earth. Sakura let out a gasp. The place looked so real, so alive, as though it was just as life-like as Sakura herself.
The command display appeared, asking for voice verification and name. Sakura stated hers as she saw a new game be created and story explained to her.
"You are a novice game magician, your master has been destroyed and now it is up to you recapture all his data-base powers. They are called 'cards', and the world you now inhabit is called reed.com, a planet filled with mystics, legends and dangerous people. It is up to you, as a 'card captor' to seal these cards, and return peace to this planet. This is your duty, Card Captor Sakura."
~*~
RPG stands for role-playing game in v-game nerd speak. VR is virtual reality.
"It's perfectly balanced, as usual." Mrs. Lisi said, with a small twist of her mouth.
Blushing and bowing respectively, Sakura replied, "Thank you Lisi-sempai,"
~*~
"Hey Dad, what's that?"
"It's a VR video-game. State of the art actually." Fujitaka said, as he plugged in a few wires.
"What does it do?" Sakura asked, slipping off her bag and opening the fridge.
"Sakura sweetie, pass me the manual on the table." Fujitaka said, waving toward the oak coffee table.
"Sure," The girl said when she reappeared with a piece of bread in her mouth.
"It's an adventure game simulator." Fujitaka continued, rummaging though a box, "I believe it's called an RPG in the modern lingo."
Sakura let out a small giggle as she picked up the blue booklet. Her Dad was never the most modern adult she had known.
"Hey monster, how's it going?" Touya said as he peeked over his younger sister's shoulder.
"Don't call me that!!" Sakura yelled, hitting him on the head with the booklet.
"Ow!" Tory yelped, "Jeez, you really can't take a joke, can you?"
"Play nice you two." Fujitaka muttered as he rummaged through the hallway drawer for a screwdriver.
"So, what are the details of your latest gadget?" Touya asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
"You put this visor on," He said, holding up what seemed to be an over- sized pair of shades.
"Wow," Sakura said as she look it from her father and nearly dropping it. The thing weighed about ten pounds. "We're supposed to put this on?"
"That's the idea, yes," The older man said, placing his elbow on the shelf.
"Let me try it on." Touya said, taking it from Sakura and hooking it up. Sitting on the easy chair, he turned it on and laid back.
Tip-toeing over to her father, she whispered, "How does this thing work again?"
"Don't worry." He said, smiling. "See that monitor over there? It feeds all the visual data into the visor, the sound effects come from tiny earphones on the side."
Nodding, Sakura went back upstairs. The simulator of her father's was freaking her out.
~*~
Tossing in her sheets, Sakura wound her legs between her blankets, unable to sleep. Surrendering to her temporary insomnia, she walked herself downstairs, giving her cramped legs a stretch on her way down the stairs.
Turning her head passed the corridor, she crept into the living room, trying not to wake her brother and father up. Her mother had disappeared years ago. No one had been able to prove that she was dead though. Her father had said that she died in a burning building, but Touya had other ideas. He was convinced that she'd run away, not looking back to her husband and children.
Sakura had never been convinced of this. She was a pure-hearted optimist, always believing in herself and those around her, battling virtues with the best of them.
She took a step back when she saw that the simulator was still on, emitting an eerie blue light that cast shadows across Sakura's well furnished living room. It was vibrating, a sound that was much like bees traveled across the room to her ears.
Moving across the room, Sakura felt passive. Something was pushing her towards the visor sitting on the table, a force that could easily been a hand on her back. Picking up the visor, Sakura set it on the bridge of her nose, the heavy metal making her feel like she was about to suffocate. Feeling it turn on, she felt the vibrating sensation become stronger, buzzing in her head like a resonating hive of insects
Suddenly, she felt her mind being telegraphed to a completely new place, moving her from her living room to a grassland outback, decorated with valleys, rivers, and animals that couldn't have possibly been from Earth. Sakura let out a gasp. The place looked so real, so alive, as though it was just as life-like as Sakura herself.
The command display appeared, asking for voice verification and name. Sakura stated hers as she saw a new game be created and story explained to her.
"You are a novice game magician, your master has been destroyed and now it is up to you recapture all his data-base powers. They are called 'cards', and the world you now inhabit is called reed.com, a planet filled with mystics, legends and dangerous people. It is up to you, as a 'card captor' to seal these cards, and return peace to this planet. This is your duty, Card Captor Sakura."
~*~
RPG stands for role-playing game in v-game nerd speak. VR is virtual reality.