Disclaimer/s:
-Lucky Star is not mine.
-Any anime/manga/video game/book that I will mention here do not belong to me.
-Fight Pan is a fictional game corporation that I made up and is not related to any gaming company.
4=a
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Stranded in a Twisted RPG
Chapter 4: Truffle Town-Tutorial
There were no words being exchanged ever since Sakuraba Satomi and Sakuraba Hikaru entered the room, both quickly took a seat and typed the necessary keywords to get them to the folder holding the game's data.
"It doesn't look like anything was deleted." Satomi said, turning to her cousin. "Not yet anyways…The enemy only started the hacking two hours ago, by my calculations."
"Yeah, but it seems they've deployed the monsters for us." Hikaru replied, looking over the files and codes. She then spotted something, a new folder. What's this? She clicked it and gaped at what she saw.
In the folder were files with her students' usernames. "S-Satomi…Did you put this here?"
Satomi turned to her cousin. "I haven't encoded anything for the past two days…" She walked over to Hikaru's monitor and saw what the other girl was gaping at.
The two Sakurabas looked at each other, fear in their hearts and the knowledge of what might actually be happening in their minds.
Satomi pulled on her collar. "Hey, you don't think…?"
Hikaru didn't reply as she ran out of the room, her cousin following suit after locking the door. Two words were in her mind right now, impossible and students.
She dashed through the corridors, pushing three employees out of her way and knocking Sei off her feet. The orange-haired teacher opened the door with so much force that she almost fell, and when she regained her balance she only saw ten seats, all with the VRE on the seat and the gloves on the armrests.
Her jaw dropped as her eyes widened. "It…it can't be."
=-=Carnibuor;Sugarette==
Ayano sat quietly as she watched Misao sleep peacefully. Misa-chan's been through a lot today…I should let her rest. Misao's MP bar was the first to start recovering. Unfortunately, slowly. Ayano winced when she saw that the numbers appearing from above Misao's head were all decimals, ranging from 0.01 to 0.7. The orange-haired girl resisted the urge to do a healing spell right then and there, the only reason that she didn't was because she might make the situation worse. She recalled Miyuki's words to her after the battle, when she was about to run to the brunette's side. 'Kusakabe's system is highly unstable right now. Any spell of any kind might cause a reaction that we would not like to see.'
She was pushing away a strand of hair that covered Misao's face when a person entered the room. "Tsukasa-san?"
"Hello, Minegishi-san. Yuki-chan said I should give this to you." Tsukasa said, holding a few rolls of bandages. "She said you should put it around Kusakabe-san's stomach."
"Ah, thank you." Ayano smiled as she took the bandages.
The purple-haired girl smiled in return. "We'll be having a meeting in the main room. Yuki-chan said you can follow once Kusakabe-san is awake."
Ayano nodded as she watched Tsukasa exit the room. She then pulled her chair closer to the couch Misao was lying on. She opened a roll and got a good look at it. It wasn't ordinary bandages. There are symbols here I can't even understand…Wait, there's a letter.
Minegishi,
Kusakabe's stomach is extra sensitive right now; this is probably one of the reasons why she's in hell of a lot of pain. Luckily, Izumi purchased some 'special' bandages when she was going through job selection. These bandages have magic properties that will keep the pain in check.
Have fun.
The orange-haired girl folded the piece of paper, blushing at the last sentence. She took a deep breath. I might as well do this. Misa-chan did take all those blows for me…this is the least I could do…It won't change anything, anyways.
She gulped, her hands inches from Misao's zipper. She shook her head. Wait, why am I getting flustered? It's not like I haven't seen Misa-chan in nothing but her undergarments before…
Ayano then resumed her work, unzipping the jacket and lifting up the black shirt underneath. She gasped at what she saw.
The now exposed skin was practically glowing red, covered in burns with colors ranging from pinkish to violet. Not only that, there were also lines of black writing…swirling around Misao's stomach.
The orange-haired girl only looked at the seal with utter shock, watching some sort of smoke rise up. "What…is this?"
=-=Konakona;Sniperiincho;Balvine;Haiphobe;Chibirisu;Southeagle;Barashoujo;Cosprei=-=
"Martin, this will do for now." Miyuki said, signaling the blonde at the wheel to stop. Patty nodded and stopped the engine. Miyuki checked the map, they were on the borders of a place called Truffle Town. "The meeting starts now."
"What is it you want to tell us about, Yuki-chan?" Tsukasa asked, turning her gaze from the vehicle's window to the pink-haired girl.
She crossed her arms. "Two very important things. We'll start with this." Miyuki then took out the book she had been reading ever since she had arrived here. "I got this from my job selection. It's got about everything we need to know about this place, including ourselves. There's a section here that tells you all about your current job, as well as all the possible skills you can attain."
"Ah, it's sort of like a job Pokedex, isn't it, other Miyuki-san?" Konata said, adjusting one of the plates on her shoulder.
"Precisely."
"Does it show evolutions then?" The blue-haired girl said excitedly, getting a pat on the shoulder.
"Let her continue! And don't just throw out random references from out of the blue!" Kagami scolded.
"Hai, Kagami-sama…" Konata smiled, saluting.
"Ahem." The pink-haired girl coughed, earning an apology from the blue-haired girl and the now blushing purple-haired girl. "Anyways, Izumi, it says here that you are a 'Bioweapon', a Warrior type job like Kusakabe's. You can figure that one out for yourself, right?"
Konata nodded, knowing exactly what it was. "Yes ma'am."
Patty and Hiyori then went over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Nice, senpai!"
"Sweet!" The blond gave her a thumbs-up.
The pink-haired girl then turned to Kagami. "Now, as for you, you're familiar with the symbol on your armband, right?"
The pig-tailed girl hesitantly nodded. "Yeah…I guess…but that show ended a long time ago…"
Miyuki snickered. "Oh, I'm pretty sure Fl4me of Recc4 still has a lot of fans."
Kagami sighed. "…so I'm a flame-caster huh?"
The pink-haired girl pushed up her glasses. "Yeah, a flame-caster of the Supernatural type jobs. It also says here that you have animals inside of you too. We'll have to take a look at that after you get to level 15."
"Animals…?" Kagami said, unable to believe what she just heard. "Not just one?"
"Well, your job is based of Recca Hanabishi's powers, correct?"
"I…" Kagami gave a sigh of defeat. "I guess you're right."
"No worries." Miyuki smirked. "Chances are…they won't be as troublesome as what Kusakabe got."
"Yuki-chan!! What kind of job did I get?" Tsukasa piped in, causing Miyuki to turn around, leaving Kagami to wonder. "I'm wizard right?"
The pink-haired girl smirked. "You, my balsamic vinegar-addicted friend, are a witch of the Magi type of jobs. You're a girl after all." Miyuki then gestured to the clothes Tsukasa was currently wearing. "Hmm…Nagato's style huh…"
"I heard someone say Nagato." Both Konata and Patty instantly appeared from behind Tsukasa and Miyuki, making the former jump and the latter push up her glasses.
"Ah, that? Well, as you can see, Tsukasa's wardrobe is modeled after Yuki Nagato's witch outfit.
"Oh great!" Patty grinned, grabbing both Konata's and Tsukasa's arm. "Now all we need is an Itsuki and a Kyon!"
Before the blond could drag off the two girls in her grasp, Miyuki grabbed her white jacket. "Martin, wait a moment."
"You already told me I was a paper master a while ago!" Patty said.
"Yes, but I didn't mention that you are a Special Ability Type, along with Kobayakawa."
"What the? Gakuen 4lice…?"
Miyuki pushed up her glasses. "Apparently, it's a category for all the other jobs that don't fit in with the other job categories…"
"Precisely! Just like Gakuen Alice!"
"You realize that I have no idea what you are taking about? Nor do I have any interest of knowing?" Miyuki gave Patty a cold look, making the blond take a step back.
"Y-yes…"
"Good." The pink-haired girl nodded as she then clapped her hands. "All right everyone. I assume that you were given some sort of weapon during job selection. The book says you should start out with those, since they were designed to help you in leveling up."
"Miyuki-san! I have a question!" Yutaka raised her hand, smiling.
"What?"
Yutaka pulled out a white flute and a bell from her belt. "Well, you said I should use this bell for the battle against Mr. Bear. Does that mean that I need to be at a higher level to use this flute?"
"Yes. But since you've leveled up, why don't you try it? Special Ability equipments can last for a long time, you know." Miyuki then stepped forward.
"OK!" Yutaka said. Equip: Beastmaster's Flute.
EQUIP INVALID.
Yutaka's eyes widened. "Why? I'm level 5!"
"Check the flute's level requirement." Minami, who was beside Yutaka the whole time, suggested.
Info: Beastmaster's Flute.
BEASTMASTER'S FLUTE
-a basic summoning tool for every novice Beastmaster.
Level requirement: Level 6
"…I'm short one level…" Yutaka said, utterly disappointed.
"Shall we execute a PersonvsPerson battle to level you up?" Miyuki smirked.
Yutaka was about to say something when Minami stepped forward, getting in between the two. Miyuki smirked as she saw Minami's warning glare. "Oh? You want to try me first, Minami-chan?"
Minami stood her ground, not moving.
The pink-haired girl only chuckled as she stepped back. "Fine. Just try equipping it for now, Kobayakawa. You'll get a chance to use it." Miyuki stepped forward again, whispering to the green-haired girl, who grew stiff. "I think you're trying too hard to be like your Setsuna-sensei. I said you could trust me as long as we're in this game, Minami. As of now, all of you are in my clutches. If you really can't trust me, shouldn't you be breathing on the other side by now? And, instead of worrying about me, why don't you worry about your demon side, half-demon?"
The two of them left it at that. One reason would be that they both know that the other won't do anything (for now, thought Minami). Another reason would be that the other girls were screaming because there were three girls doing something they shouldn't. Miyuki sighed. "Tamura? Just why the hell are you summoning pornography in my car?"
"Aaaah!!!!! I'm sorry!!!! I'm sorry!!!" Hiyori said with a hand on her profusely bleeding nose as she tore up her new sketch, which resembled the scene with Miyuki, Minami and Yutaka earlier, the only difference would be the girls (two of them sandwiching the girl in the middle) were in short skirts and loose tops, and it was way windier than usual. Once the sight disappeared from the team's eyes, and a certain artist got a towel from a certain blonde to stop the bleeding, they sighed and Hiyori rubbed her head sheepishly, apologizing with a clogged nose. "Ahehe…Sorry…I forgot I could do that…and…I couldn't resist…it's my instinct."
A frowning Miyuki then approached her and grabbed the artist by her shirt. "And your instinct is so out of whack that it should've told you to wait for my instructions!"
Hiyori gulped.
Konata then put a hand on the pink-haired girl's shoulder. "Now, other Miyuki-san, it's just Hiyorin's nature to be like that. She'll learn eventually."
Miyuki sighed again. "I suppose. Anyways, it was my fault as well. I should've explained to her about this first." The pink-haired girl then took Hiyori's hands and removed her gloves…
…revealing one, perfectly normal left hand…
…and one, perfectly mechanical right hand.
"OH MOTHER O--FATHER OF YAOI…I'VE LOST MY HAND!!!" Hiyori said, her left hand gripping her right. She then took off her jacket, revealing a mechanical arm starting from her shoulder. She gaped. "Correction. I'VE LOST MY ARM!!!"
"That's the reason why you could turn your drawings into real figures. That mechanical arm somehow converts your sketches into the real thing." Miyuki explained. "It's said here that you are a Summon Alchemist, a type of summon artist. Hence, you are a technical type along with me."
Hiyori nodded plainly and slowly walked over to the nearby seat without a word. The three freshmen among the group, understanding the situation their friend was in, nodded and approached the girl.
"Hiyorin…" Patty poked the other girl's cheek. Hiyori didn't react. Patty pouted. Oh great, yet another trance I can't break today. Might as well try until it breaks. "Hey, at least it wasn't replaced by a wooden leg--er…arm, right?"
The artist flexed her fingers. She then mumbled as she stared at her hand. "The drawing hand is an artist's most valuable weapon…"
"Wait…you do know that, technically, you still have your drawing hand, right?" Patty asked, not really expecting an answer as she wiped some dried blood off Hiyori's cheek.
"Yeah."
"T-tamura-san? I'm sorry you lost your arm but…how does it feel?" Yutaka said uneasily.
Hiyori chuckled plainly. "How does it feel eh?"
Minami gave Patty and Yutaka a look saying: Did our friend lose more that her arm? Something like…Oh, I don't know…her mind?
Patty pouted. Silly, she didn't lose her mind!
"Heh…you want to know how I feel?" Hiyori said, still chuckling. "You want to know how I really feel?"
Patty and Yutaka then looked at Minami. Well, I don't think she did…yet.
Hiyori looked up, grinning. "IT FEELS GREAT!!! HECK OF A LOT COOLER THAN MY OLD ARM!"
The three of them sighed. "As expected…"
The artist then stopped grinning. "But that means I can't draw anything without it turning real…"
"Then you'll just have to practice with your left arm." Miyuki said as she approached the dark-haired girl. She gave Hiyori's gloves back and went to the opposite side of the room, sitting down and closing her eyes. As for now, we'll have to wait for Kusakabe to wake up. I guess I'll leave this to you.
Miyuki opened her eyes, and those same eyes widened to find that she was sitting down while her friends were chatting to themselves.
=-=
Satomi was panting by the time she caught up with her cousin, who dashed out again. She groaned, but stopped herself when their suspicions were confirmed to be true. Reluctantly, she dashed out again, following Hikaru to the storeroom. She's probably looking for that.
The head of Fight Pan followed the teacher into the room, watching as Hikaru practically tug one of the file cabinet's drawers. "You really think that will work?"
"Of course it will. It did when they used it last time." The orange-haired teacher said, her fingers running through the old folders.
"But we've been hacked."
"True, but it seems that they've only disabled our ability to alter the current data."
"…what?" Satomi's eyes widened, staring at Hikaru's back.
"You said that they started hacking two hours ago, right?"
"Yeah."
"I finished putting in the quest items 45 minutes ago. Aha!" Hikaru pulled out a folder, yellowed with age. "So that means, we may not be able to change the current data, but we can put in new ones."
"Ah…" Satomi nodded, tapping her chin. "So how will that help?"
"Communication." Hikaru said, walking past the file cabinet and into the stacks of boxes that have everything from computer parts to meters of wire. "Where did you put it?"
Satomi's eyes widened. "Use that thing again? Seriously?"
Hikaru smirked. "It worked before didn't it?"
The dark-haired scientist frowned. "But wouldn't that mean endangering more people?"
"Not really." Hikaru replied as she gave the folder to Satomi and started looking into the contents of one box. "There were other files in the database as well, the enemy probably added it in. And most probably, the girls will need reinforcements when they encounter them."
"Reinforcements?" Satomi raised an eyebrow. "You have someone in mind?"
Hikaru nodded as she tossed a small box, which landed with a familiar cling. "Oh, shoot!" She scrambled after it, opening the top to see if anything was damaged. She sighed. "Well, we've got the heart. All we need is the body."
Satomi sighed, knowing there was no changing Hikaru's mind now. "I think it's over there."
=-=…=-=
She was walking through a dark corridor. The only sounds she could hear were her footsteps. The only things she could see were the strange walls that surrounded her left and her right, as well as a few centimeters of the path in front of her.
She continued as the corridor gave way to a room almost ten times it size, and stopped when she sees some metal bars. In front of her was a piece of paper, with a familiar circle containing kanji of twelve different animals.
She feels a warm breeze coming from above her. She steps back…and looks up.
=-=Carnibuor;Sugarette=-=
Okay…almost done. Ayano thought to herself as she was wrapping yet another layer of the bandages to Misao's stomach, somehow managing to relax while sitting on her friend's legs, where she winded up sitting on since Misao kept moving. She was about to fasten them together when she felt the other girl squirm again. "Misa-chan?"
Misao moved a little, her face now forming a frown. Ayano tilted her head. Is there something wrong?
The orange-haired girl saw the brunette moved again, and she leaned in to get a clue on what might be going on.
Ayano was about to go back to bandaging the other girl's stomach when Misao yelled while she (partially) sat up.
"Minegishi-san, Kona-chan and the others are asking if you're--" Tsukasa said as she opened the door…
…freezing at the sight before her: Ayano straddling Misao, who was barely dressed. The tips of their noses as well as their foreheads touching as their eyes were locked with each other. Ayano's hands, which were fastening Misao's bandages, now look like they were undoing them.
Tsukasa felt her cheeks burn as her hands rose up as if to defend herself. "G-Ga…ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga…"
"Imouto?!" "Tsu-Tsukasa-san?"
"S-s-sorry for disturbing you!!!" Tsukasa immediately closed the door, and, after a few seconds, ran to the front of the car yelling "ONEEECHAN!!!!!"
=-=
"The hell?" Misao said, staring at the door.
"We'll have to apologize to Tsukasa-san later…" Ayano mumbled. Then, both girls turned to each other and Ayano finally noticed how close their faces were, she blushed and practically jumped off the other girl.
"What for? She was the one who walked in on us." Misao, on the other hand, paid no heed to her friend's actions, which now involved turning into something that resembles a tomato. Misao scratched her head. "What were we doing anyway? Moreover, why am I still in the game?"
Ayano was about to answer when Miyuki opened the door, wearing a smirk. "Glad to see you awake."
"How'd you know I was awake?"
Miyuki rolled her eyes. "As if a Tsukasa running for her life looking mentally-scarred wasn't something that actually signaled: what the hell? There's something strange happening in there!" she snickered. "I was expecting that Minegishi was doing something wrong in here but I guess not."
Ayano blushed and Misao only raised an eyebrow.
The pink-haired girl then frowned. "Oh, fix those bandages and put down your shirt. You look like you were harassed five minutes ago."
"Ah." Misao said as she looked down. She wrapped the last part around her body and found that it stopped at her back. Luckily, Ayano stepped forward and fastened it to the rest of the bandages. The brunette grinned as she put down her shirt. "Thanks Ayano."
The orange-haired girl returned her friend's affection with a smile of her own, causing the third girl to frown and cough. "As much as I'd like to improve this development in your relationship, we have far more important things to do. Kusakabe, Minegishi, follow me into the main room."
Both girls nodded and followed the pink-haired girl. As they were walking, Miyuki adjusted her glasses and said. "Kusakabe, you are a ninja, Power-type job."
"Pft, figures." Misao rolled her eyes as she put her hands behind her head. "Like a mechanic can actually take hold of a monster in their stomach."
"You insulting my job?" The pink-haired girl turned around, glaring at the brunette.
"N-no, Ma'am." Misao said, stiffening.
"Good." Miyuki turned back. "Minegishi, you are a healer, a Magi-type like Tsukasa."
Ayano nodded as Miyuki led them to the main room, where Konata and the others were waiting. Misao scratched her head. "What the hell?"
Konata, who was trying to dodge one of the fireballs Kagami's arm was now spewing out, saw the three. "Ah, Misakichi, good to see you're--" she jumps to dodge another one. "alive and kicking."
"What happened?" Miyuki asked in an angry tone.
"S-somebody bumped into Oneechan's armband and her arm st-started going craz--IA!!" Tsukasa said, hiding behind a chair as a fireball nearly hit her head.
"H-hey, it wasn't my fault!" Hiyori said, after receiving an automatic glare from the pink-haired girl.
"Geez. Must I do all the thinking around here?" Miyuki said, frowning. "Martin, go get some of Izumi's stuff in the storeroom. Tamura, draw some sort of bubble that'll kee-"
"Hey, shouldn't you just do this?" Misao said, walking up to the purple-haired girl, dodging the little fireballs that went her way. She reached her target, grabbed her arm and shut the loose armband tightly.
Everyone gaped.
"That…that'll work." Miyuki said simply, hiding the fact that she overlooked that plan.
"Th-thanks." Kagami stuttered, still surprised from the sudden burst of power.
"No need. Simplemindedness is my thing." Misao grinned. She then wore a curious expression. "Wait, did I just insult myself?"
"Anyways…" The pink-haired girl in the group coughed, stopping the conversation before it got any more random. "Now that we're all here, I have a question to ask all of you."
She then wore a serious expression and everyone in the room felt the mood get heavier.
"Who's hungry?"
"…"
"….What?" Kagami said, she was expecting some sort of technical question that was related to their team.
Misao, Konata and Hiyori, on the other hand, stifled laughs. "Pft…you ask us that with a serious face…?"
"Idiots. I am serious." The pink-haired girl glared at the three. "Now, who's hungry? Or who gets the feeling they want to go to the bathroom? Is anyone dizzy?"
Yutaka raised her hand, causing Minami to support her by holding onto the smaller girl's shoulders. "I am feeling a little woozy…"
"Erm…now that you mentioned it…where's the comfort room…?" Tsukasa asked, looking embarrassed.
Kagami then felt someone was watching her. She looked around and saw Konata looking right at her. "Wh-what?"
Konata grinned her usual w-shaped smile. "Admit it."
"Admit what?" The purple-haired girl asked, her face getting warmer.
"C'mon Kagamin." Konata grinned. "Say it…"
"I am not going to--"
-GROWL-
Everyone looked at Kagami, who blushed and raised her hand. "S-sorry."
Hiyori shrugged. "Can't be helped. Stomachs growl when they're empty."
"Precisely." Miyuki nodded. "That's the strange part. Izumi, when you play online games, do you experience these sorts of things?"
Konata shook her head. "Of course not. The characters in the games are made of data."
"Correct. Can anyone guess what that means?"
Patty tapped her chin. "Our bodies here aren't made up of numbers?"
"Good." Miyuki said, her expression getting more serious by the second. "Now, can anyone put two and two together and figure out what's happening?"
Silence surrounded the girls as they thought. A few of them got it and kept quiet due to shock. Minami was the first to speak up, all eyes trained on her as she did. "We…are really in this game, aren't we?"
"Yes."
"B-but...couldn't this be a new feature or something?" Misao asked, hoping that her claim was true. "I mean…there is a lot of stuff here that we don't usually see in normal games, right?"
"True, but there is one problem." Miyuki took in a deep breath. "Recall the game demonstration. Did anyone see any blemishes on Yutaka's body when she was being attacked by the blob?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"Then how do you explain this?" Miyuki asked, grabbing Misao's arm, which had a deep gash. She then tilted her neck, showing claw marks. "Or this? Or all the other injuries we got during the fight? Check Kusakabe's body and you'll find evidence, right Minegishi?"
Ayano grimly nodded.
"But, I don't get it…" Hiyori scratched her head. "If our bodies are over here…then that means--"
"Yes: no VRE and gloves, no link to the human world." The pink-haired girl said. "We're stuck." She then spoke before anyone could counter. "If anyone has their doubts, try logging out."
More than five of the girls thought Escape at the same time. Nothing happened.
"…"
"We…really are stuck…" Yutaka said, her voice filled with fright. Minami, seeing that the smaller girl was scared, instinctively went closer to the girl, her hand touching the back of Yutaka's hand. "We'll get out of this."
Yutaka blushed. "Thanks, Minami-chan."
"Another point to take note of: Has anybody heard from Sei yet? She was supposed to contact us after job selection." Miyuki added. "My guess is either there is a virus or glitch in the system or some outside force is messing with the game. Take note that the bear didn't really fit in with this game's graphics."
Another silence engulfed them as they scanned each other's reaction. Ayano seemed to be puzzled. Tsukasa looked like she was about to throw a panic fit, but immediately calmed down when her sister approached her. Kagami looked a little worried and was being watched by a Konata with a blank expression. Hiyori, surprisingly had a serious expression instead of having the usual grin that indicated that she was off to some fantasy world. Patty was worried because the said doujin artist was not in some fantasy world. Yutaka was standing close to Minami as she sought comfort from the green-haired girl, who was deep in thought. Miyuki had an unreadable expression, her glasses glowing strangely as it was hit by the afternoon sunlight.
The last girl, on the other hand, only raised an eyebrow at their actions.
"Well then, let's not stand around like idiots and actually try to find a way out of this digital jam." Misao said simply, earning surprised looks from the other girls. She only grinned. "Besides, it's not the end of the world when we're just stuck here, right?."
Kagami gave her a glare. "Misao, as much as I'd like to agree with you, you don't understand how serious this 'digital jam' is. We're stuck in some sort of digital world, with no contact whatsoever to friends and family, with an unknown enemy playing with the system. Do you really THINK that it would be that easy? "
Misao then tapped her chin. "Well, there has got to be some sort of way out, right? When you make a hole in a bag, can't you slip stuff in and take stuff out through that hole? If we find where the robot bear came from, we can find a clue on how to get out."
"Misao, in games, that's not how it works."
"Fine." The brunette sighed. "Chibikko! When the game mods find out that something's wrong with their game, do they fix it?"
"Of course." Konata nodded. "What's your point, Misakichi?"
"Well don't you think that Sakuraba-sensei and the others would just stand there and let their precious creation break? Plus, Sakuraba-sensei is our teacher. She isn't the type who would abandon her students." Misao explained, she then grinned. "Besides, don't you think she might get scared when our parents complain about us being stuck in here?"
"I guess you're right."
"Now then, why don't we make most of the time here and keep playing?" The brunette then punched her fist as she winked. "And if we do encounter that bear's friends, we'll just have to persuade them to tell us the way out!"
Minami spoke up. "Kusakabe-senpai is right. There are certainly enemies here, the sooner we find them, the sooner we will be able to get a clue on what is really going on, and most possibly a way on how to get out."
"But those guys are strong. It took us a lot of effort just to bring down one, right?" Tsukasa said, fear in her voice. "And…if we really are in this game…what'll happen when we die…?"
"Then we'll just have to get stronger and stronger until each of us can bring down a hundred at once, won't we?" Misao said, determination in her eyes. "Imouto, I don't intend to find out what will happen when I die. And neither should you, or anyone else in this room."
Hiyori stood up, clapping. Patty followed suit, wiping a tear from her eye. "Now that's what I call a Jinchuuriki(dude with a demon sealed inside him)!"
"Not only that, she seems to be the reincarnate of N4ruto-sama himself!" Hiyori cheered. "Count us in, senpai!"
Ayano then stepped next to Misao. "And if there is a chance that any one of us is in danger, we'll support her." She cast a smile at Misao before facing the group. "That is what friends are for, right?"
Misao grinned. She then looked at Minami. "So, Minami, how about it? It'll be just like track practice, only with monsters and swords and the risk of not returning."
Minami exchanged glances with Yutaka before nodding. "Count us in as well, senpai."
The brunette then turned to her other classmates. "How about you Chibikko? Hiiragi?"
"I-I'm in Kusakabe-san!" Tsukasa stuttered, still in awe about what Misao said earlier.
"Call me this team's Bioweapon, Misakichi." Konata said, holding out a peace sign as she smiled.
All heads turned to a certain purple-haired girl and waited quietly. Kagami, noticing the attention, got flustered. "F-fine. I can't leave you and Konata to have your way; you might do something extremely stupid."
"All right!" Misao punched the air. "Joy-killer, check."
"Hey!" Kagami frowned, making Misao grin wider.
"How about you, other Miyuki-san?" Konata asked the girl who has been awfully silent. "Is this strategy good enough?"
"…eh?" Miyuki looked up, giving off her normal aura of friendliness and intelligence. She pushed up her glasses. "I-I guess…Count me in as always, Izumi-san."
"Good." Konata nodded. "Now then, how about we get some rest here and explore the town tomorrow?"
Everybody nodded when they heard someone's stomach growl very loudly.
"I forgot someone's still hungry." Konata snickered, making Kagami blush harder. She then remembered something. "Oh, right! We forgot about dinner!"
"Tsukasa-san and I can cook the food, Izumi-san." Ayano volunteered. "Takara-san, where's the kitchen?"
"I think it's the second door to the right…" Miyuki looked up, trying to recall.
"I bought some food together with some cooking equipment." Konata reminded them. "Misakichi and I will get them for you."
"Thanks, Kona-chan!" Tsukasa smiled as she and Ayano went to the kitchen. Yutaka ran after them. "Wait, I want to help!"
And the rest of the girls prepared the sleeping bags, and compromised on who gets to sleep where. But, despite what specific task they were doing, each of them felt a part of the group: They were all in this together.
=-=
Hikaru put down the big, old box on the testing room floor. Satomi followed suit, putting two more boxes that were half the size of the first box. They emptied its contents, and organized them by their looks and function.
"Do you remember how they put this thing together?" Satomi asked. "We were kids when we first tried it out."
"No. But I know what it looks like and how it should act to tell if it's working properly." Hikaru then got up and grabbed the nearby folder. "Dad's notes should help."
The orange-haired teacher then pushed up her glasses. "Satomi, get Sei to monitor the database to see if the hackers are still tweaking our system. After that, get back here and help me install this thing."
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Chatroom LS
--start--
Haiphobe: Now, Tamura, what have we learned this chapter?
Barashoujo: …
Haiphobe: Well?
Barashoujo: Never do anything with my powers unless I have the orders from Miyuki-san.
Haiphobe: That's Miyuki-sama to you.
Barashoujo: Yes Ma'am.
Carnibuor: Hey guys! I'm alive again!!
Haiphobe: Yes, we can see that. How are you feeling?
Carnibuor: Fine, I guess. The bandages chibikko brought were a big help.
Barashoujo: Ooh…did anything happen between you and Minegishi-senpai at the back of the car? Tsukasa-senpai looked really traumatized after she checked on you two.
Haiphobe: TAMURA
Barashoujo: Ah! Sorry! Nevermind!!
Carnibuor: …?
Haiphobe: Don't ask. Just don't.
Carnibuor: All right. I won't ask you then!
--Carnibuor has left the chatroom--
Haiphobe: …
Barashoujo: Kusakabe-senpai's quite the smart-aleck, ain't she?
Hiaphobe: Shut up. This is your fault.
--Carnibuor;Sugarette have entered the chatroom--
Carnibuor: Oh…so that's why this story's rated T…
Haiphobe:…Minegishi told you?
Carnibuor: No. Chibikko did. I saw Ayano when I was on my way back.
Sugarette: Sorry, I forgot I was supposed to be here as well.
Barashoujo: No worries, senpai. It's cool.
Haiphobe: Kusakabe, aren't you forgetting something?
Carnibuor: Oh, right. Since Chibikko isn't here I'll have to serve as the Spoiler for the Day(tm). The author sent for me before this little chat session and told me to tell you guys (I mean the readers, heck yeah I mean YOU) that there's a new poll (access it from the profile page). The author needs a lot of feedback to improve the writing skills, so don't hesitate in telling the robot what the heck is going on in your heads. Also, the little bucket of bolts also told me that we (as in us, the girls in the game, who else?) are actually going to go in Truffle Town…and let's just say we meet and hear some familiar faces.
Barashoujo: Wait, bucket of bolts? The author-sama that appeared to me looked like a radioactive ermine…
Sugarette: Mine was an old man wearing cat ears.
Haiphobe: A hundred foot tall demon with sixty horns.
Carnibuor: Well…that was random. Anyways, Ayano! The title please?
Sugarette: Next on SITRPG: Truffle Town-Trial Run
Barashoujo: Wait for it!
--cut--