Chapter One-The Usual
The people of Chihuly City slept peacefully as the first day of summer's sun raised a rainbow sorbet horizon. Silence filled the empty streets of mini clothing shops, cafes, bakeries, and town homes that resembled a child's play town. Canaries chirped merrily in the grassy fields of the Chihuly City's Park. The fresh chilled air filled the people with relief and joy. No one ever woke up to experience such a peaceful moment. It was far too early to watch the sky turn from a dark sapphire night to a golden morning.
"Wow, it's 5:24AM, and I'm not even tired at all," said the mayor's daughter who just finished up inking a doodle.
In the heart of the city, where the cute town homes resided, the young daughter sat out on her balcony of her father's cute little country home. In the day time, people in the Park easily spotted her, but they never could tell what she did; gazing at the sky, writing, doodling, or reading. Whatever she was doing, she loved her alone time.
She could never wake up early. Instead, she stayed up. She loved to start her summer by watching the sun rise on her balcony. Sometimes, she camped out on her balcony and slept under the night starry sky. Despite that she has to go to another important family meeting to deal with in a few hours, she gazed at the stars and daydreamed a world beyond her little balcony and her Father's city.
Suddenly, in the distance, she saw a strange black rabbit with neon yellow eyes hopping around.
"I've never seen a rabbit like that before. Oh well," she shrugged off and headed back inside to her room.
Later that day, the quiet streets of Chihuly City soon became the bustling streets the people enjoyed. The Chilhulians walked amongst with friends and talked about the exciting annual event, Game ON Challenge, a tournament created for players who play the Game ON video game. Eventually, the players nicknamed the tournament GONG because of a silly typo mistake on the posters. With the streets filled with travelers, shoppers, and drivers, the Chihuly City Park is the best place for friends wanted to have a hearable conversation. Four best friends always started their summer by hanging out at the usual spot near the cherry blossoms. At that usual spot, they had the usual snow cones and discussed the usual conversation; how to improve their action video game character. But this time, an unusual topic popped up.
"How come we never see any girls playing online?" asked a young man to his friends.
"Girls don't exist in this city," his friend joked.
"You morons. Of course girls exist in this city. This one girl--," said another, "Wait, whose turn is it to buy the snow cones?"
"It's Jaswald's turn this time," Talon answered, "Wait, this one girl?'' what do you mean Nibori?"
Talon, a 19 year old boy whose Game ON character is a level 37 thief. He has wavy brown hair with sparkling green eyes and is considered as the oddball of the group. His friends introduced him into Game ON after a few weeks after it's debuts, and his friends found out a week later that he leveled up his Game ON character from level 1 to level 37. He dedicates his time to achieve the "best" in all video games for his own pure amusement. From then on, they called him the obsessive fanboy of Game ON.
"Yeah, there's this one girl. Forgot which class she was in with me in school. She's into video games," Nibori replied.
"Hey! San and I were able to get the very last snow cones!" yelled Jaswald as he ran towards them with snow cones in their hands, along with San.
Jaswald is the youngest of the group, 13 years old. He has long messy dark hair that brushed over his black rimmed dark red shades. Only his closest friends knew his eye color, or if he even has eyes. He is a level 25 Red mage in Game ON, even though he owned the game much longer than Talon, he does not play as much as he desired. He appears to be "cool" and collected" only because he contains his fandom around other people.
"HeyNibori, did you tell Talon about the chick entering GONG?" asked San, handing over one of the snow cones to his older brother, Nibori.
Nibori and San are brothers who look nothing alike. Nibori is 18 year old, which makes him the oldest amongst his friends. He has buzzed blond hair with deep blue eyes. He is quiet for the most part ,but keeps his friends away from trouble. Nibori is a level 7 black mage in Game ON, because he hates leveling up, yet enjoys the story of the game.
His younger, yet taller brother San, short for Sanosuke, is 16 years old. San has messy dark brown hair covered with a forest green beanie and brown eyes. He is Nibori's foil. San is loud, talkative, and has a tendency to get on people's nerves. Once a person get a conversation going with him, San never shuts up. Though, he is fun to hang out with when it comes to Game ON. He is a level 28 blue mage, and been dying to finally play in Game ON Challenge.
"This girl is also entering too?" Talon asked excitedly.
"Yeah. Forgot what she is though," Nibori said and ate his snow cone, "I doubt you'll go against her though. Level 49...50 something."
Talon's eyes widen and his jaw fell.
"What is she like? Is she cute?"
"Something you'd expect from one look at her, she's kinda hyper, never stops talking, but she's a ton of fun. What's the word for that?"
"Bubbly?"
"Yeah, she's pretty crazy. Hard to believe she gets so into the game. More than San," laughed Nibori, "She once played nothing but Game ON for a week."
"That still doesn't make her the greatest player of Game ON!" complained San and tossed his finished snow cone into the trash.
A brief moment of silence came among the four friends as they finished up their snow cone. One by one they tossed into the trash and went back to their original positions. Talon grinned.
"She's sounds pretty awesome. I want to meet her,"
Nibori smiled, "She is! And actually, she's on her way here."
Talon nearly tripped over his own feet as he walked back to lean against the tree, "What?!"
"Can't be too long til she gets here too. The Mayor's house is just over there," Jaswald added.
"She's the mayor's daughter?!" Talon exclaimed.
"I thought you wanted to meet her, Talon, "Nibori said.
Talon frantically move about and circled around the tree nervously. Eventually, Jaswald stuck his foot out in front of him, and made him trip over flat on his face. Talon lifted his head up.
"What the heck?"
"Settle man, you don't even know if the chick is cute at all. For all we know, she could be ugly, snotty, or just an imaginary person that Nibori made up for laughs," Jaswald replied and turned to Nibori, "Right, Nibori? There is no such thing as a level 49 or 50 chick."
"Hiya Nibori!" called out by a female voice not to far away.
"Ah crap," Talon sighed as San lifted him up from the ground and brushed the dirt and grass off himself.
A purple short haired girl with hazel eyes ran towards them while waving her arm happily. The closer she appeared to them, the better they could see her wrinkly cargo pants and dark green tank with a smilie, grinning widely with a line and X for it's eyes. On her right arm were mysterious tattoos that no one understood their existence. They say that it's better not to know what she does on her spare time.
"Hey! Akemi wanted me to apologize for her. Her family had another last minute VIP party thingy, and she had to go. Probably something with GONG,"
Talon let out a huge disappointed sigh, " Oh, hey Keion...Damn, Nibori just told me about the chick ,and said she would be coming today."
"Just a few seconds ago, you had a seizure on the floor just as you found out she was on her way," Jaswald laughed.
Talon complained, "You tripped me!"
"Haha. I guess we'll have to wait til tomorrow to see Akemi's new magic attack, eh?" Keion said.
Talon grinned widely, "New magic attack? So she's a black mage! Kick ass!"
Keion laughed, "Akemi? A black mage? That goody goody two shoe would rather be all whee and whoosh then being all rawr like a black mage!"
"Whee and whoosh?" wondered San and Talon.
"She's a red mage then, like me!" Jaswald said.
" So Akemi finally bought that new staff Hikari?" Nibori asked out of the blue.
Jaswald, San, and Talon stared at Nibori. He just shrugged
"Staff? Only White mages...She's a wimpy white mage?!" Jaswald exclaimed.
"No wonder she's at level 45! She'll be put down to the Beginners range rather then the Proud range!" San added.
"50," Keion corrected.
There are four ranges in the Game ON Challenge Tournament; Beginner, Normal, Expert, and Proud. Each range has a Champion, which the winner faced off in the final battle. The Silver Hair Men Gang, or SHM are the 3 Champions; Loz, Yazoo, and Kadaj. Kadaj claimed Champion for both Expert and Proud Range, Loz claimed Beginner, and Normal is claimed by Yazoo. For players able to win in the Proud Range and defeat it's Champion, the winning player would battle the Champion of Champions, Lam.
Jaswald and San laughed hysterically as they cracked jokes about the white mages. Jaswald told them about his little sister who use to play as a White Mage, but does not compete, because she was completely annihilated at level 20 by a level 12 black belt. White mages are considered as the lowest class of Game ON. As the two were cracking jokes, Keion realized Talon was no where in sight.
"Hey. Hey morons! What happened to Talon?' Keion asked.
Jaswald and San continued their teasing about the white mages and ignored Keion.
Talon ran off towards home to level up his level 37 thief. He knew the only way he could meet Akemi is to defeat her in the Challenge. He knew it would take him all night to get his character to level 40 because of the leveling system, but it was better than nothing. The higher level he achieved, the bigger chance that he will meet her.
The city streets quieted down just as the sun set. Everyone eagerly waited for the next day's Game ON Challenge Tournament. The moon rose and Akemi stood on her balcony with her sleeping bag lied out for her.
"Don't stay up too late,Akemi! Tomorrow is a big day for you!" Akemi's mother called out.
"Right Mom! Hahaha. Night!" Akemi replied.
She waited a few minutes for her family to fall asleep and pulled out a white walkie-talkie. She pressed and held onto a grey button and spoke into it, "Hey Nibori! Sorry I couldn't-"
"Don't worry about it. It's fine. I really wanted to see that new attack of yours though, Over."
"Hey! Keion's here! What's up? Over."
Akemi fell back at Keion's unexpected electrifying voice, "Oh! Hey Keion! Thanks for giving the message. Over."
"No problem, just be ready to show what your made of tomorrow! Jaswald and San were teasing the white mage people and stuff. Over," Keion said.
"Huh?" Akemi wondered.
Keion told all the jokes about white mages being pathetic and stupid. Keion explained how they think she will be a pushover, despite that she almost twice their level. Akemi laughed.
"That's what I want them to think. It'll be more fun this way, but I can't get to cocky now," Akemi smiled, "So Jaswald and San are your friend that you were going to introduce to me? Over"
"Er-Yeah. San is my younger brother and Jaswald and Talon are my buds," Nibori replied, "Speakin' of Talon, I wonder where he went. Over."
"Aww! BFFs, hehehe," Keion joked.
Akemi asked, "Does Talon think White mages are stupid too? Over."
"Hahahaha! Talon wants to meet you so badly!" obnoxiously yelled San in the background.
San grabbed Nibori's black walkie-talkie and spoke to Akemi, "He really wants to meet you! He ran home to level-"
Nibori grabbed the walkie-talkie back, "Yeah, Talon wants to meet you and such. He thinks you're cool."
"I'm out! Akemi, don't go makin' out with Talon after the tournament! Over." Keion laughed and shut off her walkie-talkie.
"Keion!!! I don't even know the guy!" Akemi said, "Gaaah! I feel like playin' some Game ON before I sleep. Hehe, Yeah."
"What?" Nibori sensed something odd from Akemi's voice.
"Nevermind, something weird, stupid, and random just popped into my head, but just forget it, Over," Akemi replied.
"Just tell me, Akemi, you know I won't think you're weird or anything. You know me better than that," Nibori said.
"Haha, I'm already weird as it is. Anyway, it's almost ten so I doubt Talon would feel like talkin," Akemi said somewhat shyly.
"Actually, he stole Jaswald's walkie talkie, and well, he always leaves the thing on. Jaswald probably left the thing on on Channel 5," Nibori said, "Have fun talking to him, over."
"Wait! Wait! I don't want to talk to him by myself! Nibori! Gaaah,"
"Trust me, you'll have fun talking to him. He's just as big of a fanboy as you. Have fun! Over."
"Er-Wait! Gaaah," Akemi sighed.
Akemi sighed and went back inside into her room. She tossed the walkie-talkie onto her bed then turned on her television set.
"Bah. I'm just a complete dork anyway. Besides, it's going to be a short conversation so why bother. Just because we had a few conversations online doesn't make us lovers. Bah. Whatever," Akemi thought, "I'll see him tomorrow anyway, so what's the rush?"
She turned on her game system, inserted the Game ON game, and sat herself down on her cute midnight sky bed. She felt her stomach lay on the walkie talkie and reached for it. Akemi tossed it aside
"Haha, whatever. Time for some quick last minute Game ON leveling up-ing! Whoot,"Akemi cheered.
Akemi watched the cute little introduction of a young girl with long pigtails turning around with an ocean view behind her, smiling, and then running towards her friends. The main screen finally loaded up, but Akemi suddenly lost interest in playing Game ON. She reached under her bed and pulled out a yellow notebook. She grabbed her walkie-talk and on her way out to the balcony, she shut off the game system and t.v.
She did not understand why she was so eager to meet someone who happened to be a fanboy, or that's what Nibori claimed. She set aside the walkie-talkie again, flipped through her notebook, and saw a poem that appealed to her. The poem was rather long, about a page or so. As she read through it, her eyes lit when she read the third stanza.
Next Day...
Avoiding the possible destiny forever
I found you, unexpectedly
Do I love you?
Continuing to ignore your existence,
you spoke to me and my heart lit up.
Is this true happiness that I seek?
Is this the answer I've been looking for?
Tell me.
Love me.
Simply be my everything.
Akemi spat at the note, crumpled it up and threw it outside.
"No. I refuse. This guy could be the same as he. Meh."
Akemi filled with rage and continued to play her video game. Five months has passed since she heard her ex's words which continued to haunt her. She tried to shake off the feeling.
"Surely...not all guys...are like him...besides, I'm better off knowing my enemy for tomorrow's tournament."
She grabbed her walkie-talkie, held onto the grey button, and spoke.
"Hey! Is Talon there? Talon? This is Akemi, Nibori's friend!"
No answer.
"'ello?"
"This is Talon. Hello?"
Akemi tensed down a bit.
"Hey! Do you know who this is?"
Akemi hit herself on the forehead. She already forgot she clearly introduced herself.
"Hehehe! Wow! I'm dumb! Of course, you know who I am! I already introduced myself!" Akemi laughed nervously.
Talon laughed, "Hey! Hahaha, it's fine."
"So you're the girl that was supposed to meet us earlier at the park?" Talon asked.
"Yeah, but I was busy. I had to help prepare stuff for the GONG Tournament. You in?" Akemi asked and pretended she did not know that she'll be meeting him the next day.
"Yeah! Level 37 Thief! Well, now I'm level 40. First time player, yet I'll be competing in the Expert range! Pretty boy Kadaj will be long gone once I'm through with him!" Talon laughed, "What about you? I heard you are in it as well."
"I am a 50 white mage, but I was forced to go to the Expert range when I clearly have the skills for Proud range. Oh well, I guess I could be fightin' against you," she sighed.
Akemi still felt a little uneasy about this guy. Though, she had to give him somewhat of a chance. Akemi and Talon spoke for hours about anything that popped into their random minds. There was still a bit of tension between the two, but not enough to make any awkward moments.
"Uh oh...It's getting late. We have a big day tomorrow. Er- in a few hours," Akemi laughed, "I'll meet you in the semi-finals."
"Oh really? Semi-finals? You have it planned so?"
"Well, If I faced you off at my first match, I'll destroy you. If not, I'll will meet you in the semi-finals. Thieves kick ass, next to white mages that is."
"Destroy me? I bet not. But hey, you're on," Talon challenged.
"I will kick your sorry theivey ass. Hah. Later Talon," Akemi laughed.
They turned off their walkie talkies and both smiled at it as if they were looking at each other. Akemi skipped back to her bed and lied down. Her smile disappeared.
"I really shouldn't get my hopes up. I'll never meet this guy. Oh well," Akemi tried to laugh it off.
She jumped off her bed, turned off her game system, and her light. She glanced over to her clock and realized it was 3 in the morning. She had to wake up in less than 6 hours.
"I could just stay up...naw."
Akemi hopped onto her bed and pulled her blankets on her. She grabbed the nearest doll she could reach and cuddled with it. She closed her eyes and smiled.
"I can be such a fool."