Chapter 35: The Hoax

Indeed, it was Ryofu Hosen, friend and ally to Kan'u and her group. But what is she doing here in The World?

"Ren… Did you come through the Forest of No Return?" Komei asked her. Ryofu nodded and looked at Kite and Zoey in confusion. "…Who are they?"

"These are our friends, Kite and Zoey. They're players in what they called a video game called The World." Kochu smiled. "And you won't believe this… Our adventures were entertainment in their world, the real world which they spoke of. We're based on real world ancient heroes in their world." Cho'un smiled.

Ryofu walked up to Kite. Kite looked at her. For some strange reason, she seems cute with those innocent eyes. He hasn't watched the anime Koihime Musou. But Kite has feelings for a certain female Heavy Blade. Without warning, Ryofu hugged Kite tightly. "W-Wha?!" Kite has the white dotted eyed surprised look as Ryofu closed her eyes and smiled and saying "Your clothes are so soft…"

Bacho laughed and stated "Well, looks like you have another admirer, Kite!" "Let's head back to Root Town." Zoey grinned as everyone including Ryofu gated out back to Root Town.

The next day…

"Hello Zoey! It's goodbye to the old useless Natsume! The next time we meet, my level will be 10 times more! Until then!"

"Hello Zoey. I know we met two days ago, but I will fight an monster that will increase my level 10 times! I didn't tell Kyon and Yusei about this cause I didn't want to worry them. So until then!"

Those were Natsume and Tohru's emails that they sent Zoey. This got Zoey confused on why a monster will increase their levels 10 times. "I got to see if I can find any info on the Board if such a monster exists." Zoey stated as she went to The World's Board.

5 minutes later, she frowned and said "I knew it. It's nothing but a hoax. I got to get everyone together to find both Natsume and Toto." Zoey logged into The World after sending everyone emails except for Mia and Elk since she can't seem to reach them.

Zoey logged in and saw almost everyone except for Kyo and Yuki. "Everyone here?" Zoey asked them. "Yeah, yeah. I heard from Zoey about some monster called Level 10 Vine. I checked the Board and found out it was a scam." Marlo grumbled.

"Those two are in danger! We got to go to Lambda Bottomless Hopeless Footstep to save them!" Kagome stated worriedly. "Yeah, your two friends are idiots for believing a hoax like that…" Marlo muttered. "Take that back now, you freak of nature!" Inuyasha snarled. "Who're you calling a freak of nature, dog boy?!" Marlo growled.

"Enough bickering you two…" Gardenia frowned. "Yeah, knock it off!" Sanjuro added with a nod. "Friends! We must join forces and rescue the fair maidens Natsume and Toto!" Piros proclaimed as he slams the butt of his axe down to try to look heroic.

Chohi walked up to BlackRose and asked "What's with this weirdo?" Chohi has a bored look on her face. "Don't mind him… He can be really annoying and his music is really crappy…" BlackRose muttered bitterly.

"I hope we can get some reward for this rescue." Rachel folded her arms. "Maybe this will be great for my skills, rescuing beautiful women in distress!" Nuke grinned as he spins his spear around.

"What's this about Toto?!" Kyo shouted as he and Yuki ran up to them. "I haven't seen Miss Toto in Root Town or the other servers. What happened to her?" Yuki demanded. "Yusei, Kyon… Toto and a friend of ours went to find a fake monster called Level 10 Vine and we have a feeling they may be in danger." Kite frowned.

"You shitting me?! Augh! That stupid airhead! Playing The World and heading off into a dangerous area without us knowing! Ugh!" Kyo growled in frustration. "Calm down, stupid cat. We need to aid Kite, Zoey and their friends to save Miss Toto and their friend." Yuki frowned.

"Oh yeah! I have been meaning to ask you two something…" Ichiban-Boshi raised his arm. "What do you mean by rat and stupid cat?" "Uh…" Yuki sweat dropped. "Never mind that, you dope! We need to save those two! Pronto!" Kyo growled at him, Ichiban-Boshi sweat dropped and muttered "Touchy…"

"Kan'u, Inuyasha, you and your groups stay here in case something comes up." Zoey stated. "Right." Inuyasha nodded. "Be careful, everyone." Kan'u advised. After forming their parties, everyone headed to Lambda Bottomless Hopeless Footstep.

The parties arrived at the dungeon. "This place gives me the creeps… Are you sure they're in here?" Rachel shivered. "We won't know unless we find out." Ranma stated as he stepped forward. "Say, Yusei. I was wondering something. What level are you?" Ryouga asked him. Yuki chuckled and stated "I'm level 58."

"NANI?!" Most of the parties gasped in shock or have their jaws drop to the ground in reaction to Yuki's level. "But… Didn't you start playing The World till now?" Akane stuttered in shock.

"No. I have been playing for awhile until I invited both Kyon and Miss Toto, they're beginning players." Yuki smiled as he did some hand gestures. "You don't have to rub it in, you damn rat…" Kyo grumbled to himself. "Yu Jie hope we find Natsume and Toto soon." Shampoo stated worriedly. "I'm sure we'll save them." Ukyo reassured her.

Eventually, they made it to the final room of the final floor and saw Natsume and Toto fighting a monster, Toto was kneeling. "N-No…" Toto stammered. "Toto!" Natsume gasped as she dodged some slashes from the monster and slashed it three times.

"Whattya standing around for?! We got to help them!" Marlo charged at the monster and shouted "Gae Slash!" He slashed it three times.

"Vak Rom!" Mistral, Ukyo, Miharu, Keitaro, Liz and Sanae used fire spells to give the monster some heavy amounts of damage.

"Haaayaaaaaa!" Rachel let out a battle cry as she leaped into the air and slashed the monster three times with her sword. "Triple Wield!" Piros and Tomoka and Ranma combined their attacks to give the monster some heavy damage as well.

"Juk Smash!" Sanjuro slams his blade down on the monster, inflicting heavy damage on it as well. The monster managed to hit BlackRose three times with its sword.

"Why you damn monster! Ani Slash!" BlackRose slashed the monster five times with her sword. It was Protect Break.

Zoey activated her bracelet and shouted "Data Drain!" She fired, reducing the monster to a weak monster. Kite rushed in and slashed it, ending the battle.

"You two had us worried for a moment." Gardenia smiled as she leaned on her spear. "K-Kite, Zoey, everyone…" Natsume smiled softly. Kyo and Yuki were surprised by Zoey's powers. "What… in God's name was that skill?!" Kyo shouted in shock and bewilderment.

"So that's the skill that turns monsters into weak pansies. Guess that rumor was true after all." Marlo shrugged. Kyo ran up to Tohru and shouted "What the hell were you thinking falling for a hoax like that?!"

"Hoax? But Natsume and I came here to find the Level 10 Vine so we can level up ten times." Tohru blinked. "We checked the Board and it was nothing but a big fat lie made by untrustworthy players." Sanjuro frowned.

"Oh… So this dungeon was nothing but a prank…" Natsume looked down in sadness. "Don't be sad. You can still improve yourself by leveling up regularly." Kite smiled as he placed his hand on Natsume's shoulder. "T-Thank you, Kite! You're right. I won't let such a hoax like that trick me again." Natsume smiled as she rubbed the back of her head nervously.

"I'm sorry, Kyon and Yusei. I didn't mean to worry you two…" Tohru looked down in sadness. "Aw, don't worry about it. The point is, you're safe." Kyo smiled softly. "Yes. Next time, let us know if anything like that hoax shows up again." Yuki nodded with a smile.

"OK!" Tohru smiled again as she and her friends logged out. "Shall we head back to Root Town, friends?" Piros smiled. "Yeah! We need to inform the Mods about that hoax so they can delete it!" Mistral nodded happily.

"Yeah. I'm exhausted. Let's call it a day then." BlackRose yawned.

To be continued…

Next time: The Heavy Blade Lookalike

A/N: Next up, Mimiru from Dot Hack Sign will appear, but she won't join our heroes till Arc 3! So stay tuned!