JIGSAW
By: Ropsie
---------------------------------------------------------
Chapter One
Sunday, May 26, 2002. 11:30 p.m.
Shinigami_boy: [Hey FangBoy, haven't seen u in the net for
a while. Where have u been?]
FangBoy: [I had some business to do. Sorry]
Shinigami_boy: [Oh yeah? Btw, I'm up to stage 7 now. Bet
I'll finish this game b4 you. ^u^]
FangBoy: [As if I'm gonna let u! ^^]
Kaoru Koganei smirked at his laptop screen, his fingers
flying across the keyboard as he typed. He hasn't logged in
the internet for some time now because of some recent events.
The Hokage team had just came back from their intense fight
against Kurei in the Urabotousatsujin. He didn't have enough
time to spend on his favourite hobby - surfing the internet.
After the final battle, the Hokage team returned to their so-
called normal lives. Domon Ishijima went back to his mum's
flower shop to help out with their business. Tokiya Mikagami
was still occupied with his thoughts about his sister's
murderer. Fuuko Kirisawa spent most of her free time, playing
with Ganko as she had promised. As for Recca and Yanagi, the
two of them were never far apart and it was a little sickening
the way Recca acted around his hime. Him, he decided to stay
at Recca's home since he does not have anywhere else to go.
Kaoru leaned back onto his chair, stretching his hands as far
as he could, trying to loosen his tensed muscles. He studied
the room he was in - a tiny room with just a single bed
and a small desk to do his homework. Everything was bathed in
the pale moonlight that flooded in through two windows over-
looking their backyard. His madouga, the Kougan Anki stood at
a corner - the time has not come for its usefulness.
As he stares back at the glowing screen, Kaoru thought back to
the time when he found out about JIGSAW - an internet game
involving solving a number of puzzles. His online friend was
like him, another great lover of brain-teasers, introduced the
game to him. Since thereafter, Kaoru was addicted. It was the
ultimate puzzle game and to past all the levels, would be a high
achievement. Never to miss a challenge, Kaoru dedicated whatever
time he could use to complete as many levels as possible.
//flashback//
A ten year old boy with spiky hair that wouldn't tame itself
despite of everything he tried. His hazel eyes burned with curiousity
as he examined the new piece of puzzle in his hands. His adept fingers
quickly twisted the odd pieces to fit them in the right direction.
His inborn talent of solving puzzles in just a few seconds made
him a compatible wielder of the Kougan Anki. Finally, the boy
smiled as he lifted the finished puzzle into the light.
//end of flashback//
Kaoru shook his head to bring himself back to the present. Turning
to his screen, he continued working on what he had been doing for
the past hour. Sharing his time between surfing the net, checking
his inbox, chatting with his online friend and playing JIGSAW,
Kaoru who was unworried by all this, opened another window in his
screen. He was already past the level 12, breaking the highest
record so far. He moved his cursor and randomly picked another
unsolved problem, then clicked on it.
Click.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Problem Question No. 3683
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
A chess club has 10 members, of whom 6 are men and 4 are women. A
team of 4 members is selected to play in a match. Find the number
of different ways of selecting the team if all players are to be
of the same sex.
Answer: _________________
Next Problem
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
*That's easy. Now onto the next problem.* Kaoru thought, his face in
a mask of concentration.
Type. Type. Type.
Kaoru typed in his answer and chose another problem again.
Click.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
*What is this? There's nothing here at all. How am I supposed to solve
this!* Kaoru shouted in his head.
Almost as if in response, his laptop into a black empty screen. Before
he could check for anything wrong, a picture of a girl's face appeared
in the screen. The image was blurry and he could hardly make out her
features. Just as sudden as it appeared, the girl's face disappeared,
returning it back to its empty window. Mysteriously, words started to
type out and Kaoru read out its sentence.
[Please help me.....save me.....please]
Kaoru's laptop switched off by itself.
~~%%%~~
Monday, June 3, 2002. 6:05 p.m.
A week has passed since that strange message appeared in the screen.
Kaoru was too busy with homework and his club activities to think about
that its meaning. He had to admit, it had been pretty scary. The girl
appearing in his laptop and that sentence asking for help, sent little
goosebumps trailing down his back. Who was that girl? Where did she
come from and where did she go? Most importantly, why did she ask for
my help? These questions swirled in Kaoru's head when he thought back
about what happened during that night.
Soon the day passed and school was finally over. Stars start to coming
out one by one in the darkening sky. The moon also joins the stars - a
faint outline in the sky. The trees swayed, their leaves making a dry
rustling sound. A cold breeze blew past him, causing him to pull his
jacket closer to him. Kaoru walked even faster, his steps from a slow
stroll to a brisk walk. It was getting darker by the minute and the
chilly air was becoming unbearable. He was already looking forward to
having his dinner before snuggling into bed.
'I'm home already! Is dinner ready?' Kaoru yelled into the house as he
pushed open the front door and removed his shoes.
Recca who was home early, sat at the dining table where dinner was laid
out. Recca looked up and spoke while his mouth was still half full,
'At last, you're back. Hurry, dinner's getting cold and I'm not going
to wait for you.'
'You never wait for me anyway. Where's Yanagi by the way? I thought the
two of you were inseperable.' Kaoru retorted back.
'You little rascal! You learn to keep your mouth shut!' Recca blushed
heavily, his face turning a bright red.
Their dinner soon became a noisy affair, both of them exchanging insults
and fighting over their meal. In the end, Kage Houshi had to mallet them
on their heads to stop their nonsense. After dinner and a nice long
shower, Kaoru went back to his room. He casually threw his school bag to
a corner of the room and laid flat on his bed.
*It has been a long day. Time to relax for a while and then go to bed.*
Kaoru stared up at the ceiling.
Something made him turn his head and he found himself looking at his
laptop. He bit his lower lip as he remembered what had happened again.
He should find out what that was all about. There were too many questions
with too few answers. Making up his mind, he swung his body off the bed
and headed for his desk. It didn't take long to switch on the mainframe,
start the computer and log on in the internet. Now all he has to do is
find out who wrote that message. Was it that girl he just saw? To come to
think of it, how was he going to find that out?
Kaoru stared hard at the window where he opened up the JIGSAW game.
Nothing weird happening here. Was it just a dream he saw the other day?
Kaoru clicked onto his saved details of where he last stopped. He was
still at level 12 and there was nothing else. Seeing nothing happened,
he decided to continue and try out for the next level.
Half an hour passed...
Click.
Type. Type. Type. Type.
Click. Click.
*I think I must be thinking too much that night. I was too stressed up
and started seeing things. That whole thing was just a trick of the eyes. *
Kaoru thought, his eyes getting tired and he was getting sleepy.
Click.
[Please help me....save me....please.]
*..... *
Kaoru rubbed his eyes and squinted at the screen. It happened again. The
black screen, the message, it was all there. Again.
*Let's see if I can reply back. * Kaoru thought.
He quickly typed a simple message and true enough, his message appeared in
the screen, below the first sentence.
[Who are you?]
[My name is Aya. Help me, please.]
[Where are you and why me?]
[I'm inside JIGSAW.....find Nanjiroh Fuji. He'll tell you more. He's coming
....I have to go.]
[Wait...who is coming? Who is 'he'!]
Nothing came after that. 'Aya' was gone. The mystery has just gotten bigger.
Kaoru could feel it deep in his guts - this is just the prelude to the storm
and he's heading right into it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next Chapter: The search for Nanjiroh Fuji begins!
By: Ropsie
---------------------------------------------------------
Chapter One
Sunday, May 26, 2002. 11:30 p.m.
Shinigami_boy: [Hey FangBoy, haven't seen u in the net for
a while. Where have u been?]
FangBoy: [I had some business to do. Sorry]
Shinigami_boy: [Oh yeah? Btw, I'm up to stage 7 now. Bet
I'll finish this game b4 you. ^u^]
FangBoy: [As if I'm gonna let u! ^^]
Kaoru Koganei smirked at his laptop screen, his fingers
flying across the keyboard as he typed. He hasn't logged in
the internet for some time now because of some recent events.
The Hokage team had just came back from their intense fight
against Kurei in the Urabotousatsujin. He didn't have enough
time to spend on his favourite hobby - surfing the internet.
After the final battle, the Hokage team returned to their so-
called normal lives. Domon Ishijima went back to his mum's
flower shop to help out with their business. Tokiya Mikagami
was still occupied with his thoughts about his sister's
murderer. Fuuko Kirisawa spent most of her free time, playing
with Ganko as she had promised. As for Recca and Yanagi, the
two of them were never far apart and it was a little sickening
the way Recca acted around his hime. Him, he decided to stay
at Recca's home since he does not have anywhere else to go.
Kaoru leaned back onto his chair, stretching his hands as far
as he could, trying to loosen his tensed muscles. He studied
the room he was in - a tiny room with just a single bed
and a small desk to do his homework. Everything was bathed in
the pale moonlight that flooded in through two windows over-
looking their backyard. His madouga, the Kougan Anki stood at
a corner - the time has not come for its usefulness.
As he stares back at the glowing screen, Kaoru thought back to
the time when he found out about JIGSAW - an internet game
involving solving a number of puzzles. His online friend was
like him, another great lover of brain-teasers, introduced the
game to him. Since thereafter, Kaoru was addicted. It was the
ultimate puzzle game and to past all the levels, would be a high
achievement. Never to miss a challenge, Kaoru dedicated whatever
time he could use to complete as many levels as possible.
//flashback//
A ten year old boy with spiky hair that wouldn't tame itself
despite of everything he tried. His hazel eyes burned with curiousity
as he examined the new piece of puzzle in his hands. His adept fingers
quickly twisted the odd pieces to fit them in the right direction.
His inborn talent of solving puzzles in just a few seconds made
him a compatible wielder of the Kougan Anki. Finally, the boy
smiled as he lifted the finished puzzle into the light.
//end of flashback//
Kaoru shook his head to bring himself back to the present. Turning
to his screen, he continued working on what he had been doing for
the past hour. Sharing his time between surfing the net, checking
his inbox, chatting with his online friend and playing JIGSAW,
Kaoru who was unworried by all this, opened another window in his
screen. He was already past the level 12, breaking the highest
record so far. He moved his cursor and randomly picked another
unsolved problem, then clicked on it.
Click.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Problem Question No. 3683
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
A chess club has 10 members, of whom 6 are men and 4 are women. A
team of 4 members is selected to play in a match. Find the number
of different ways of selecting the team if all players are to be
of the same sex.
Answer: _________________
Next Problem
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
*That's easy. Now onto the next problem.* Kaoru thought, his face in
a mask of concentration.
Type. Type. Type.
Kaoru typed in his answer and chose another problem again.
Click.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
*What is this? There's nothing here at all. How am I supposed to solve
this!* Kaoru shouted in his head.
Almost as if in response, his laptop into a black empty screen. Before
he could check for anything wrong, a picture of a girl's face appeared
in the screen. The image was blurry and he could hardly make out her
features. Just as sudden as it appeared, the girl's face disappeared,
returning it back to its empty window. Mysteriously, words started to
type out and Kaoru read out its sentence.
[Please help me.....save me.....please]
Kaoru's laptop switched off by itself.
~~%%%~~
Monday, June 3, 2002. 6:05 p.m.
A week has passed since that strange message appeared in the screen.
Kaoru was too busy with homework and his club activities to think about
that its meaning. He had to admit, it had been pretty scary. The girl
appearing in his laptop and that sentence asking for help, sent little
goosebumps trailing down his back. Who was that girl? Where did she
come from and where did she go? Most importantly, why did she ask for
my help? These questions swirled in Kaoru's head when he thought back
about what happened during that night.
Soon the day passed and school was finally over. Stars start to coming
out one by one in the darkening sky. The moon also joins the stars - a
faint outline in the sky. The trees swayed, their leaves making a dry
rustling sound. A cold breeze blew past him, causing him to pull his
jacket closer to him. Kaoru walked even faster, his steps from a slow
stroll to a brisk walk. It was getting darker by the minute and the
chilly air was becoming unbearable. He was already looking forward to
having his dinner before snuggling into bed.
'I'm home already! Is dinner ready?' Kaoru yelled into the house as he
pushed open the front door and removed his shoes.
Recca who was home early, sat at the dining table where dinner was laid
out. Recca looked up and spoke while his mouth was still half full,
'At last, you're back. Hurry, dinner's getting cold and I'm not going
to wait for you.'
'You never wait for me anyway. Where's Yanagi by the way? I thought the
two of you were inseperable.' Kaoru retorted back.
'You little rascal! You learn to keep your mouth shut!' Recca blushed
heavily, his face turning a bright red.
Their dinner soon became a noisy affair, both of them exchanging insults
and fighting over their meal. In the end, Kage Houshi had to mallet them
on their heads to stop their nonsense. After dinner and a nice long
shower, Kaoru went back to his room. He casually threw his school bag to
a corner of the room and laid flat on his bed.
*It has been a long day. Time to relax for a while and then go to bed.*
Kaoru stared up at the ceiling.
Something made him turn his head and he found himself looking at his
laptop. He bit his lower lip as he remembered what had happened again.
He should find out what that was all about. There were too many questions
with too few answers. Making up his mind, he swung his body off the bed
and headed for his desk. It didn't take long to switch on the mainframe,
start the computer and log on in the internet. Now all he has to do is
find out who wrote that message. Was it that girl he just saw? To come to
think of it, how was he going to find that out?
Kaoru stared hard at the window where he opened up the JIGSAW game.
Nothing weird happening here. Was it just a dream he saw the other day?
Kaoru clicked onto his saved details of where he last stopped. He was
still at level 12 and there was nothing else. Seeing nothing happened,
he decided to continue and try out for the next level.
Half an hour passed...
Click.
Type. Type. Type. Type.
Click. Click.
*I think I must be thinking too much that night. I was too stressed up
and started seeing things. That whole thing was just a trick of the eyes. *
Kaoru thought, his eyes getting tired and he was getting sleepy.
Click.
[Please help me....save me....please.]
*..... *
Kaoru rubbed his eyes and squinted at the screen. It happened again. The
black screen, the message, it was all there. Again.
*Let's see if I can reply back. * Kaoru thought.
He quickly typed a simple message and true enough, his message appeared in
the screen, below the first sentence.
[Who are you?]
[My name is Aya. Help me, please.]
[Where are you and why me?]
[I'm inside JIGSAW.....find Nanjiroh Fuji. He'll tell you more. He's coming
....I have to go.]
[Wait...who is coming? Who is 'he'!]
Nothing came after that. 'Aya' was gone. The mystery has just gotten bigger.
Kaoru could feel it deep in his guts - this is just the prelude to the storm
and he's heading right into it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next Chapter: The search for Nanjiroh Fuji begins!