A/N: I'll be honest this was going to be a Halloween one but I decided to introduce the next mini-arc instead. Enjoy.
[...] Text from The Game.
"..." Talking.
'...' Thinking.
"..." SIS talking telepathically to Ichika.
Flight of the Phoenix
"...a…minor favor?" Ichika spoke at a normal volume, but as his words ricocheted off of the large hallways of the hidden laboratory, it felt like a million versions of him were all bombarding Tabane with the question at once.
The clicking of shoes against the floor stopped as they both grinded to a halt. A large contraption unfolded itself from the floor, creating a chair, which Tabane promptly sat on, the gears of the chair whirled as it turned to face Ichika.
Tabane's face morphed into a mixture of smugness and mischievousness.
"I….ah…. actually only said that to get you out of the house…..hehe….Chifuyu wouldn't let you go with me if it was anything else…"
With a slightly raised eyebrow he looked at her in minor annoyance. "Then you should know that she will be even more upset if she finds out you lied."
"Ahhh, details." She waved away the question. "I'm more concerned about the present than the future, so much more entertaining, isn't it?"
"Mmm. You were saying?"
"Oh. I need a favor. Can you do it?" She gave him a wide smile.
"What is it, before I agree to it." Ichika pushed.
"Uh, hehe. I have…. a problem…. okay maybe not a problem per say…. I'm not a people person-" "Couldn't tell." "-and because of that, I am…. less than good at business."
"Please just skip to the point, Tabane-nee. Business is ever so dull…"
"You remember when I told you I would be busy for an entire month?" He nodded.
"Well this-" She turned her chair and brought up a few tabs into one of the massive monitors of her supercomputer. "-is what I was working on."
His eyes widened. If he was honest he couldn't understand much of it, but it was without a doubt blueprints of an IS. It looked far different from anything he had seen before, or anything Tabane had talked about to him when they spent time together.
"Is-" "Yeah. It took me an entire month and then some. I slept three times and I'm pretty sure I drank enough caffeine to kill an elephant, but I got it done. The base design for the third generation IS….beautiful... isn't it?" She turned and looked at him, seemingly disappointed that he wasn't overreacting.
"Can it make stuff go BOOM?" He grinned.
"Hell yeah, it can make stuff go boom." She matched his grin.
"Then I love it." He looked back to the monitors and stepped towards them for a closer look, inspecting the design of the third generation frame.
"...you said business… are you going to sell the designs?"
"Mmm." She hummed in objection.
"Not exactly. I still own the designs of every invention I've made, but unless they want me to sue their asses for every penny they have, they need to pay me for the right to use my designs. So, you're less of selling the third generation design, as you are selling the right to use it."
"...that's….odd."
"Laws are like that."
"Those are the designs you will be selling. There are a number of companies that practically run the countries they are based in. I need you to get to know the people who run those companies to make sure they are on our side, if they aren't, no deal. If they are, find the one with the deepest pockets and squeeze as hard as you can."
"This...doesn't sound like a short favor."
"It's not, to be totally honest. It could take a few months, maybe upwards of an entire year. You don't need to worry about schoolwork by the way, I can hack your school's network and make it appear as though you are taking virtual classes."
"What If I want to go to school?"
"...full of surprises...Hmmm, I can easily get permission for you to be absent from actual attendance, I have my….ways... as for schoolwork, it should be fairly simple to get your work to you. Do you have someone who could get your assignments for you?"
"...Dan should be able to."
"Sure, tell them to drop off your assignments at your house, I have people that will take it from there. I booked hotels for you to stay in during your stay at each location. Going with you are a few people to help you. One is the pilot that will fly you to the destinations. A few lawyers will go with you to file the paperwork for the deals you make, they will need your signature-"
"My signature?" She nodded.
"Much more convenient for me to give your signature the authority to complete transactions than to send the paperwork from you back to me. Plus paper work is dull and not worth my time-" "I feel honored."
"Besides those handful of people, there are also two IS pilots that will go with you as bodyguards. After that, there are a handful of servants that will help with menial tasks so you don't have to worry about them."
"I will have servants?"
"Details. You won't have time for menial tasks, so I hired people to do them for you."
"...where am I going? Specifically?"
"Specifically? England, America, France, Italy, and Australia, to name a few. Not necessarily in that order either. Pretty sure you will be going to America first, then moving Westward from there. I don't know, not my job."
"...I don't know, Tabane-nee. Doesn't this seem like too much, I'm just a kid."
"Maybe...but you're the only person I trust to do this….will you?"
[QUEST ALERT- "Mr. Worldwide"]
[Description: Do a major favor for Tabane by traveling the world and selling her new designs.]
[Rewards: UNKNOWN.]
[Penalties: UNKNOWN.]
[...]
[ACCEPT]
[YES] [NO]
'Okay, so….cons first. I won't be able to hang out with anyone much. As for pros? Potential skills, I suppose. Maybe I can make some allies out of people I make deals with. I get to help Tabane. An unknown reward from The Game…...apparently…. unknown penalties if I deny or fail, gotta take that into account too…'
"I'll do it. Sounds fun. Traveling the world, maybe learning some cultural stuff along the way."
The floating text boxes vanished as his verbal command was accepted.
"Going to fancy parties with stuck up rich douches and douchettes."
"Not one for social events?"
"Imagine me dancing in heels. The only time I tried, it was less of dancing and more of me just...doing my best." Ichika snorted.
"..."
"..."
The thought of his extracurriculars finally popped into his head.
"I'm the captain of my schools' Kendo and Shogi team. We're supposed to compete this year. Do you think I can make my competitions?"
"...ahhh…..depends, how many are there?"
"Not many. Three for each, and that's assuming we win."
"Hmm...It is possible. I was going to arrange enough time in the schedule for you to visit home every so often, just to have a break. But if you want, I can reorganize the schedule so that you will be home during those competitions, or wherever they are. You would be incredibly busy though, all the time I set up for R n' R would be spent preparing and competing in your tournaments. Sure you're up for that Ichika?"
"...eh. I was pretty busy last year, I'll be able to handle it."
"Good. I know I'm asking a lot, but…. you're really all I got."
"Thanks…" He wasn't sure if that was a complement or not.
"No! I mean, not like a bad way. Like, in an, I trust you way."
"Oh...then…. thank you. I'll...uh…. do my best." That was either the nicest compliment he had ever received, or the saddest. Maybe both…. probably both….
Even though Tabane made it clear she only had an outline of the plan when she asked him for the favor, things were moving rather quickly. She was rich after all, and money moves. Or in this case, money quite literally moved people. It took a matter of mere hours for her to arrange for a private jet (which he now stood in front of) to land at the nearest airport, which she had a chauffeur drive him to in a limousine.
The plane itself wasn't what he would consider "private". Of course, he knew he had more people that would be going with him. A couple lawyers, a few bodyguards, and staff (he still couldn't bring himself to call them servants), as well as the crew of the plane. With living quarters and more areas for various activities than he ever thought he would use, "large" didn't exactly cut it. More like "Massive" or "How does a plane larger than multiple homes fly?" or "Why the fuck is a plane created for dozens of people considered private?".
Of course the main question was Chifuyu.
Tabane had promised him that she would tell Chifuyu everything and take full responsibility for whatever….repercussions, there were. If he was being honest with himself, as he began boarding the plane, leaving without talking to her and knowing that he wouldn't be back for some time was...sad. It left a twisting pain in his gut that even after hours of having decided to leave, he couldn't shake.
Ichika had questioned if he was doing the right thing, but being spiteful that Chifuyu rarely spent time with him anyway made his decision all too easy to make.
He was the last to finish boarding, and by boarding he meant walking up a single flight of stairs to the open door of the plane.
The inside of the plane was… beyond... what he was expecting. He had been informed by one of his IS bodyguards, who sat with him in the limo, about the interior of the plane. Not that he didn't believe her, but seeing was drastically different than hearing.
It was made up of multiple "rooms", which were really just walled off sections of the plane. A larger room for staff, and individual rooms for each bodyguard and lawyer. There was a medium sized dining area as well as an average sized living area.
Of course, he himself was given the fanciest bedroom on the plane.
It was larger than his real bedroom, back at his house. A massive bed that felt like he was laying on a cloud, a large television, a desk with a computer, and an attached small bathroom with a shower.
Honestly, it was hard to believe that he was on a plane. It felt more comfortable than a mansion, not that he had experience with luxury.
He had met the crew. Well… met… none of them seemed to be expecting a twelve year old, not that he blamed them. When he tried to introduce himself most of them ignored him. Eh, it wouldn't be worth the effort to show them their place, they would soon learn that he wasn't there to be babysat. Plus, he could always put in one word with Tabane and their entire career, or maybe just them as a person, would vanish.
A few hours had passed. Ichika was fairly sure they were headed to America first, which would be at least a ten hour flight. The crew was busy for obvious reasons, his bodyguards were relaxing as they had nothing to do as of current, and the lawyers were being lawyers (not doing anything).
Not wanting to bother anyone during the seemingly little time they would have in their following ventures, he kept to his room.
'...pure white clouds like Dragon's Beard Candy, perfectly lit by warm sunlight. The plane dips and surges above and below them as if swimming through white chocolate…'
…
…
'...well I'm bored. ID' "Ichika, I wouldn't-" 'Create.' Ichika didn't register the warning before he heard the standard roll of thunder.
[ID ALERT - "Sully"]
[Description: Survive the plane crash. All forms of death are frowned upon.]
"There are multiple forms of death?" He questioned aloud.
Seeing the sky slowly turn gray from above the clouds gave the entire entering of the ID a new experience. Instead of seeming like he was part of an apocalypse, it looked as though hell had settled over earth. The fluffy clouds and cheery sun looked to be piles of flowing ash and a solar eclipsed sun, which looked to be almost pitch black, yet somehow still gave off the same amount of light.
"ICHIKA! You just trapped yourself in a plane, alone, already airborne!"
'Yeah….' He looked around, exiting his room and walking around the now empty sections of the airplane, devoid of his companions.
Chrrr. The plane shook violently as he braced himself against a wall. Glancing out the window he soon found the reason, that being the fact that the engines on the plane had also been affected by the ID, meaning, they were beginning to fail.
'Yeah…. I really didn't think this one through.' Ichika thought whilst looking around the now torn apart inside of the plane.
The walls of the plane looked fragile, with rust on certain parts, he was fairly sure the high pitched whirring sound he could hear was air escaping out of a small hole somewhere in the wall that he couldn't see. The once nice rooms were now all torn to shreds. The Game had certainly taken the whole "apocalypse like state" thing to an extreme this time.
So. No monsters. Just him, a plane that was about to plummet out of the sky, and trying his absolute best not to die in a fiery crash of doom.
...at least, he was hoping for no monsters.
"RRRROOOOAAAAAR!"
"...*SIGH*... yeah…" At this point he may just have to accept that his luck was terrible on every day besides his birthday.
'On the plus side, if I die, Tabane will probably "get rid off" my less than enthusiastic co-workers.'
"RRRROOOOAAAAAR!"
'Oh, right.' Ichika jogged through the plane with his head on a swivel, looking outside the windows of the plane. Sliding to a stop at one of the larger windows, which was in the dead center of the living areas' wall.
"Please don't tell me that's what I think it is." Ichika said as he looked upon pure red flames licking at the cracked windows from outside the plane.
"SIS?!" He asked, questioning why the hell there was fire when both he and his half-flying pile of scraps were tens of thousands of feet in the air.
"It's most likely a boss. The ID breaks things down to make things look apocalyptic but it rarely creates something that wasn't there in the real world, besides enemies of course."
'Something like the Jorogumo, then?' He continued looking out the window, and quickly saw the source of the flames.
[Hō-ō]
[Description: A type of Yōkai, a creature, ghost or goblin of Japanese folklore. Hō-ō are beautiful and peaceful creatures, akin to a Phoenix in Western mythology who are known for their immortality through cyclically regenerating. Generally seen as a sign of good luck, and an omen, the sight of one is said to signify that the beginning of a new era of history is near. Hō-ō are revered as divine.]
"What was that about bad luck?"
'...'
"..."
"...I…..take it back." Ichika said under his breath as he stared at the creature, it's beauty was captivating. The fire on its tails only emphasized the multiple colors its feathers held. Its colossal size should've been petrifying, but even as the it's flames continued to lick at the inside of the plane, he could feel nothing but calm.
'...'
"..."
"What now…? The ID implies I'm supposed to land the plane, or at least try not to crash. Given that it is peaceful I don't want to kill it, not that I could kill it."
+1 WIS for not being a fucking idiot and trying to harm a divine being.
The Hō-ō flew closer, causing the flames to intensify around the plane, cracking some of it's windows. Before he had even begun shielding his eyes from the flames, the windows shattered completely and the flames shot into the plane, engulfing the inside.
But there was no pain. No damage. He could see the flames surrounding him as he was bathed in them, but no harm came.
'...this takes "peaceful creature" to a whole new level.' Ichika thought, as he bent down and touched the harmless flames. He could feel the heat, but it didn't burn. It felt...comforting, oddly enough. It was warm, but not too much that it would make him uncomfortable, more like an evening of a summer day, or a campfire on a cold night.
He could hear the clanging of pieces of metal and whirring of the wind as the plane continued to fall apart. Looking around, it became clear that, though the flames were not affecting him, they were very much so affecting the plane. The flames that made him feel like a baby being tucked in were very quickly burning the remnants of the plane.
The soaring creature flew closer to the plane and lightly bumped into it, completely cracking the windows, almost shattering them. The eye on the side of the Hō-ō's face turned towards the plane. He was almost certain that the creature was staring straight at him, if he was being honest it was fairly intimidating, even though he was certain the creature meant no harm.
'...does it want me to do what I think it wants?' Ichika questioned himself as the plane shook violently. This was either the dumbest thing he would ever do, or the coolest.
Dashing through the flaming corridors of the plane, he soon reached the front of the plane, more specifically, the door. He had thought about a parachute, but not only did he not know where they would be, there was a good chance that the apocalyptic effect of the ID.
It wasn't the option he wanted...but this was his best choice…
The situation he was in was poor, once he opened the door, the pressure would suck him out into the open air. He would have to open the door with a single hand to grab onto something else to ground himself in the plane.
Ichika grabbed the emergency release lever on the plane's door, groaning as he slowly turned it.
'SIS. The ID will only give me the opportunity to exit if I survive this plane crashing, right?'
"...yeah. Why do you want that clarification? Seems kind of grim."
The handle jerked, almost completely opened. Ichika swallowed the spit in his mouth. '...just….making sure….' He answered as he strained against the handle….click.
'Got-'WHOOOOSH. The emergency door opened completely and he was immediately sucked out into open air, the pressure far too much for his single hand to hold him inside the plane.
Of everything he had felt in his life, besides perhaps the flames of the Hō-ō, falling through the air was a beyond "weird" sensation. It was like he was on a rollercoaster, only he had no seat and the coaster just kept going down. That feeling in the pit of his stomach just continued to grow as his body flailed in the air.
Ichika did his best to straighten himself out. He knew that if you fell in an X formation your fall would be slower, and more controlled. He tried, but failed miserably. The force of air that was slamming against his limbs, and keeping them tight against his chest, was too strong to fight against.
He couldn't hear anything other than the whirring of wind.
Over and over he tried to bring in air to breath, but he couldn't, either the wind was too fast for him to breath in air, or there simply wasn't any to breath in at this altitude.
'...please.' It wasn't much, but he had tried everything. He was starting to think his best chance at survival would've been to stay in the plane and roll the dice when it crashed. But he was convinced the Hō-ō had been trying to tell him to get out of the plane. He trusted his instincts, now all he could do was wait to see if they were right.
'...'
'...' He had no idea how long he had been falling. It could be only seconds, it already felt like hours.
'!' There it was. An incredibly soft surface had grazed his arm.
The force of the howling wind made him strain to open his eyes.
The image that met him was one that both terrified and exhilarated him.
For one, the ground was approaching at an alarming rate. For another, he only now realized the full size of the Hō-ō, as it was diving downward below him, doing its best to position him above it's back.
"Large" didn't exactly do the creature justice. It was massive, easily bigger than any standard building, and it's wingspan was almost double its size. Each individual feather must have been at least the size of his arm.
Before he could take time to appreciate the full magnitude of the peaceful beast, it began to slow it's free fall, ending in him slamming against it's back. But it didn't hurt. He was violently and abruptly thrown onto it's back and it didn't hurt. The feathers had cushioned his fall. Each individual feather felt like it's own pillow. They were soft, but solid, as if to show how powerful the beast could be if it were not peaceful.
Ichika grasped the feathers as tight as he could, but soon found that he didn't have to. The Hō-ō had leveled out.
The wind was gone. He could easily open his eyes. He could breathe the crisp air. Had he fallen so far there was now sufficient oxygen, or was the Hō-ō somehow helping him? He couldn't tell, and frankly, he didn't care.
The fire that encapsulated the creature warmed him against the cold air.
From falling through open air, to being in a place so comfortable he never wanted to leave, it was a contrast that did not allude to him.
Turning his head to look around him, it looked both beautiful, and terrifying.
The clouds that could so easily swallow him whole if he fell, looked like cotton candy as the Hō-ō slowly descended through them. The open air, so easy to fall into, was now just a passing breeze, of which he need not worry about.
He could see the plane he had started the ID from, sinking under the clouds as it fell to the ground in flames.
Ichika sat atop the massive Hō-ō, watching on a beach as the plane he had begun the ID in crashed into the middle of "ID Tokyo", bringing a handful of crumbling buildings even closer to ruin.
He slid off the back of the monstrous creature, who seemed to look at him with a mixture of sorrow and happiness. He wondered why, but was soon to realize that since he had survived the plane crash, the requirements for his completion of the ID were complete, and soon The Game would offer him a chance to exit, which he would have to take.
[ID ALERT - "Sully"]
[Description: Survive the plane crash. All forms of death are frowned upon.]
[COMPLETE]
[NEXT] [EXIT ID]
The pop up only confirmed his thoughts. Though, it somewhat confused him. Completing an instant dungeon in and of itself never gave a reward. The reward he got was always from defeating a challenge, monster, or something of the sort, during the dungeon. However, since he hadn't fought the peaceful Hō-ō, he didn't get any drops, and he would be exiting the ID with no rewards, items, or anything for that matter.
The Hō-ō bent down, lowering its neck towards him. At first he thought it wanted him to climb aboard it again, but it lowered until it was facing him head on. Now face-to-face, Ichika could see into the deep eyes of the "monster". If windows were the eyes to the soul, the great beast surely had one, it looked as though he was staring into the universe itself.
'This entire ID is simultaneously one of the coolest and one of the weirdest things I've ever done.' He thought as the Hō-ō gave up on staring him into nothingness, and resorted to picking at its feathers.
Not that he wasn't somewhat sad that he was going to leave the ID and might possibly never see such a beautiful creature again, but he wasn't going to slow down his real life after already completing the ID. So, he was somewhat surprised that the beast moved suddenly, interrupting his thoughts before he could give a mental command to exit the dungeon.
But it wasn't trying to interrupt him...apparently. It was showing him what was in its beak a single, and surprisingly small, plucked feather.
He could clearly understand that the creature wanted him to take the feather, but far less clear as to why. After outstretching his palms, as the Hō-ō was far to tall for him to reach it's beak, the feather dropped slowly through the air into his hands.
[ITEM OBTAINED]
[Hō-ō Feather.]
[Effect: Unknown.]
[Description: A feather plucked from the tail of a Hō-ō, filled with color and exceptionally beautiful. While exceptionally rare and valuable, all effects (if any) are unknown. It seems to be just a feather.]
The description was accurate, it was quite beautiful. He had never seen anything quite like it, and was glad to know it was valuable. The Game didn't give it any durability, so it was likely unbreakable, which was cool. Then again, so was his Omamori. Overall, the fact that this was seemingly the only item he was going to get out of a very dangerous dungeon was disappointing.
Ichika could tell that the Hō-ō could tell what he was thinking, as it continued to stare at him until he put the feather into his inventory, ensuring he would keep it.
'Note to self, figure out what the hell that feather does. No way it isn't important….at the very least I could sell it.'
+3 has been added to WIS for making a wise decision that will impact your future.
That message only confirmed it.
…
…
Frankly, he had no idea what it could be, but something that was so heavily implied to be important was a good enough idea for him. The Hō-ō took one last petrifying look deep into his soul, and took flight with a single flap of its massive wings.
"SIS. Is a creature created in an instant dungeon exclusive to that dungeon? Or can they appear in others?"
"...I do not believe the same exact creature could appear more than once, no. The closest thing that could appear again is a different Hō-ō, though I severely doubt it…"
"Mmm."
"Disappointed?"
"...yeah…"
"..."
"...at least I got that feather….I'll really have to figure out what that does...maybe some sort of strength boost or something. Maybe fire powers or something like that. Having a super rare item unlock my use of MP would be cool…"
"I don't think that's it."
"Hmm…...Exit."
Pop.
Ichika was back in the plane. Thousands and thousands of feet above the planet. Sitting cozily in his fancy airplane room. He could hear the lawyers and bodyguards talking outside, most arguing about why they were to be reporting to a twelve year old.
*sigh*
'World travel, huh….' He gave a signature mischievous smirk. '...not bad…. not bad at all…'
END OF CHAPTER STATS
[Ichika Orimura]
Age: 12
Title(s):
The Gamer/Player One - [Grants: Gamer's Body & Mind]
Blade Wielder (Beginner) - [Grants: 1% increase to AGI and END.]
Gunslinger (Beginner) - [Grants: 1% increase to base AGI]
Kendo Team Captain - [Grants: 5% increase to base STR, END, and AGI]
Martial Artist (Beginner) - [Grants: 1% increase to base STR, END, and AGI]
Shogi Team Captain - [Grants: 5% increase to base INT and WIS]
Magical Items:
[Omamori - Prayer of Luck] - [Effect: 10% increase to LUK]
Level: 15
Exp: 4,250/10,000
HP: 755/755 (END *5)
RGN: 750/hour (AGI*5)
MP: 700/700 (INT *5)
RGN: 735/hour (WIS *5)
STR: 141 (*1.06) = 149
END: 141 (*1.07) = 151
AGI: 139 (*1.08) = 150
INT: 133 (*1.05) = 140
WIS: 140 (*1.05) = 147
LUK: 26 (*1.10) = 29
Points: 60
Money: [365,005 ¥ / 3487.70 $]
A/N:
I have to thank MM007 for suggesting that Ichika travel the world and influence some of his future classmates' lives.
This will span the next next canon year give or take. It's also the reason I said Ichika and Chifuyus' relationship will not improve until he is thirteen-ish. I am only putting items on his STATS page that affect them, he obviously has many many more.
I did my best to represent how Ichika and Tabane interact with one another. Ichika is glad to have her as someone who will treat him as an equal, not just a boy (keep in mind the gender power balance, boys are treated far worse). Tabane is grateful to have someone she can be genuine around, and not have to either dial up/down her personality.
Also, I know that a lot of times in fanfiction when portraying children, their lack of experience, maturity, and intelligence, is not usually well shown. I am intentionally making him act and speak more intelligently than an average twelve year old child, as his intelligence and wisdom are almost on par with an adult at this point.
Personal Responses:
Boo.
Blaze2121: I'll put a Skyrim joke on the list. You better catch it when I put one in.
SolSparda369: The question of what his IS will be is going to become a poll sometime in the future.
MM007: Responded by DM.
InfinityZeroDWalker: Cute and comical was definitely what I was going for, especially with the scene of Ichika getting drunk.
Lesancapo: You're welcome.
AnUbIs: I can see the sad side of it.
lebston323: Her realization has been a long time coming. It will still take until Ichika completes his next quest for their relationship to begin repairing, but it will get better.
mnorsyafiq92: That is likely only going to grow tbh.
Jack: I don't plan on making him a bajillionare or anything but going around the world and selling the rights to the third generation IS is the next arc, so it is similar to a tycoon/businessman arch.