NOTE: This next chapter takes place during the Excalibur arc.
Star Force DxD
By Tailsmo4ever
32nd Contact: The P3RF3CT Girlfriend
Let us go backward in time by several days from our last story; exactly one week after the invasion. Everyone in the city, as well as the world, is slowly recovering from the shock, unaware that dark forces hidden away from them are also reacting to the event in ways of their own. But for now, let us step away from the supernatural and look into a group of certain young individuals who played roles in stopping Earth's destruction.
Pacing around in a dark alleyway, Nackle kicked a trashcan in anger, scaring away stray cats that were scavenging for scraps. The man(?) was not in a good mood at all. Ever since he arrived here, he had been getting stymied and distracted, and his boss wasn't liking the lack of results.
"Those damn brats!" he snarled.
Nackle was a professional bounty hunter and he took pride in his work. He had a 100 percent rating on completing all of his assignments. Sadly, his perfect rating had gone down due to his recent failures.
He hated this planet! He used to be at the top of his game but now he was just a joke! He got beaten by some Terran adolescents! Children!
"You look like you're having a bad time, Nackle," a voice suddenly said.
Startled, Nackle spun around and raised his gun only to have his weapon blasted out of his hand. He hissed in pain as he held his injured hand.
"Ace Killer, what are you doing here?" he frowned.
Ace Killer stepped forward, a blaster rifle over his shoulder. While the shadows obscured most of his features, he was clearly not of this Earth. He was a tall and muscular figure, adorned in hi-tech alien battle armor which was made out of interlocking pieces of armor plating. "Can't I say hello to an old friend?" he asked mockingly.
"Who said we were friends?" Nackle snorted back.
"Not with that attitude, we aren't," Ace Killer chuckled. "I hear you've been having some trouble with bringing back the princess and killing a rogue FMian. That's unlike you."
"It ain't my fault! It's these weird Terran kids! They aren't even a hundred and they fight like professionals!" Nackle shouted, looking offended. "This was supposed to be a planet of nothing but wimps too, so I got completely blindsided!"
"Ah, so you just went in guns blazing, huh?" Ace Killer mused, striding around Nackle casually. "You always did have the brains of a gunner meathead, but this? I really have to hand it to you, buddy. You really went above and beyond in epic fails."
"So what? You're gonna steal my job, is that it?" Nackle growled.
"Well, the boss was starting to think you couldn't handle it on your own anymore, especially with what the FMians just did," Ace Killer reasoned, "Though unlike you, I'm not the type to go in running in all by my lonesome. It helps to have a crew."
Sure enough, Ace Killer was not alone. Nackle could already see that three other figures had joined Ace Killer from out of the shadows, two flanking his sides and one large figure behind him. On his left was a figure that could be best described as a living plant. He didn't seem to have a proper face; it was more of a mask. He was dressed in green robes with pink accents that seemed to be made of plant life and a pair of armored boots. He could see what appeared to be a large flower blooming behind his back. If Nackle remembered correctly, he was Nepenthes, an alien that had tissue structure very similar to Earth plants.
On his right was a grey, skinny figure with a tall height, a tiny head, and beady black eyes. Horn-like structures were on both sides of his head. Three fingers were on his hands, the middle one looking thicker than the other two, with dark plating on his legs and "platform heels" on the soles of his feet. A Woovelve if he recalled. They were generally a peaceful race that avoided conflict, but their agility made them forces to reckon with.
The last one he could recognize very well. It was a Reach. And like all Reaches he had an insect-like exoskeleton. It was black, with several crimson-lines running his chest, arms and legs. Thin red blades jutted out of his shoulders and horns were on both sides of his head, yellow compound eyes and a silver mouthplate in the shape of mandibles. How did Ace manage to get one of them into his group, Nackle wondered.
"Allow me to introduce you to my ragtag band of misfits," Ace Killer gestured his arm at the alien on his left, "Choju of the Nepenthes race. Able to produce vines and branches through the flower on his back. He's the strategist of my group and can speak in approximately 5,000 languages." He gestured to the one on his right, "Grain of the Woovelve race. Beyond average agility and strength with a damn brutal way of fighting. Not very flashy I know but as my team's muscle he gets the job done just fine." Next, he pointed to the alien behind him. "My latest addition, Djo Mke of the Reach race. I'm sure you're already familiar with what they can do, so I won't go into detail as much. But I did get him to join me after I gave him some very valuable piece of information.
"And then there's me... Ace Killer!" he struck a pose that he thought looked heroic. Nackle couldn't help but shake his head in annoyance, "The greatest bounty hunter and assassin in all the galaxy with over 777,000 confirmed kills! And also the chosen keeper of... " he drew out a weapon with a sweep, "The Strider Blade!"
Ace Killer whipped the sword through the air in a series of complex patterns before holding the cutting edge up in front of Nackle at eye level, so he could marvel at the full effect of its otherworldly iridescence. Despite everything, he couldn't help but be impressed. The curved blade looked like a supernatural blend of diamonds and steel.
"Honed to a monomolecular edge, it slices through carbonite steel meteors like butter," Ace Killer said in a melodramatic tone, "Forged before the Rayonix Wars by the lost arts of Neuan metallurgy-"
"Is that so?" Nackle sounded bored, "So who'd you kill for it?"
Ace Killer peered over the top of the blade and didn't seem to like what he saw. He sheathed the sword and patted his hand on his shoulders in sham camaraderie, "Look Nackle, I get it. For a guy as good as you, flunking at your job is gonna get under your skin. Hey, if any of my targets managed to give me the slip, I'd hunt them all the way to the next galaxy over if I have to. So I'll tell you what. You take care of this blue brat while I grab and bag Princess Lala. We can split the reward 50-50, so everybody wins. How about it?"
Nackle snorted suspiciously, brushing Ace Killer's hand from his shoulder, "50-50, huh? That's funny. It's not like you to be so generous, Ace."
"It's a big galaxy Nackle, the lifestyle of assassins like you and me ain't nothin' to take lightly. Today you're standing on a mountain of corpses and then tomorrow you're done just like that," Ace Killer emphasized with a motioning thumb over his neck. "Plenty of our comrades already kicked the bucket. Could happen to you, could happen to me, why do you think we get so much cash out of this?" He turned away and walked out of the alley, his group following behind him as he casually waved, "I'll wait for a little while for your answer. We can talk a bit more than. Right now, we need to scope out this city."
As he watched the Ace Killer Squad leave the alley, Nackle was left to his own devices to contemplate. While he did agree that grouping up with Ace Killer bolstered his chances, he was also aware that he wasn't exactly very trustworthy. He had heard rumors that other assassins who joined up with him mysteriously turned up dead after a contract was complete, leaving Ace Killer to collect all the earnings. There wasn't any proof that Ace Killer himself did such deeds, but he was quite good at hiding his tracks. He had to in order to be good at his job. Not to mention that Nackle was never the type to really ask for help.
No, he wouldn't resort to that willingly. And if the moment he should come... he'd need to have a contingency plan.
After a week since the aftermath of the Andromeda Crisis, society was slowly returning to order. A few businesses reopened and schools went back to their schedules. One such school was Taiyo Technical Institute. Established in 1998, it became the largest school Kodama had to offer. Literally. The uniforms of the school were as follows; for boys, a white blazer jacket with crimson on the inside, with a black shirt that had white on the collar with black pants. For the girls, a white and crimson dress blazer, a black and white onesie blouse with a black skirt. Interestingly, green neon lights glowed on the sides and top of the boy's and girl's shirts. Contained in its own sector of Kodama, Taiyo Tech was fortunate enough to only receive minimal damage from the invasion. As such, whatever did get broken was easily fixable or replaceable and the students who were stationed at the time were shaken but safe. The ones who were outside of the school when it happened had plenty of stories to tell.
Classes were currently running and some were concluding. A majority of classrooms were as large as small auditoriums and all looked like they were made in chrome. One of these classrooms was being led by a man who looked to be European. He had short brown hair and scruffy beard and glasses over his blue eyes. He wore a yellow shirt and a green ascot around his neck, brown pants and loafers, all while having a white lab coat over himself.
"That will be the lecture for today, class," Dr. Mikhail Sergeyevich Cossack said in a deep Russian accent. "Tomorrow we will pick up on the physics of cosmic rays so make sure to look over your notes."
"Yes, Dr. Cossack," the students all chorused. With the class over, the students all gathered their things and went out the door.
"You know, it's weird how quickly people can get back to their normal routine. It's like they've forgotten that the world nearly ended a week ago," Yokoshima commented as he and the twins left the classroom.
"It's humanity's superpower," Rei replied. "They convince themselves that something so horrific never happened so they can get back to normal."
"Basically, go into denial because the truth is too harsh," Reika translated.
"Dude, that sounds like putting a bandaid over a gunshot wound," Yokoshima remarked. "I mean, people might go into denial but a lot of people accept it happened."
"Like the doomsday cults that feel vindicated somehow?" Reika suggested.
"That's not a good example but yeah, basically, but mostly the people who believe in aliens."
"We basically learned the universe is a much bigger place," Rei shrugged. "Devils, angels, magicians and now aliens."
"Speaking of magicians, I haven't seen your girlfriend since the party," Yokoshima pointed out.
"We do go to different schools, mind you," Rei remarked, giving Yokoshima a look. "And what do you mean 'you haven't seen her since'? Every time she meets us you hide your head like an ostrich before she gets the chance to say hello!"
Yokoshima seemed to pause as he looked sideways awkwardly. "Look, I went to therapy and tried everything," he said finally.
"You know it's not healthy, Yoko," Reika frowned. "You can't go hiding from every pretty girl you see. You did that at the party and you stayed there till dawn when everyone already went home!"
"It's a miracle you can talk to Reika," Rei added.
"Don't remind me," Reika grumbled at her brother before continuing with Yokoshima. "So, what are you gonna do? This school has its fair share of airheaded rich girls here, too. Like Ms. Scary Glasses Seekvaria Agares!"
"She's not exactly someone you'd call 'airheaded'," Rei muttered.
"No, but she's got the aura of a pompous rich kid! The boys go gaga over her cold librarian girl persona and all wanna get stepped on by her and it pisses me off!" Reika snapped, shaking her arm in frustration, "And then there's Dr. Cossack's kid. Kalinka I think her name was. She totally has him wrapped around her finger cause she gets dotes on so much. Oh yeah, she's a Russian native with the accent to boot, so she's got that exotic appeal. Skin like porcelain, fluffy blond hair, eyes like big blue crystals, and she even practices ballet. I bet the only reason she got into this school is because her dad is one of the teachers. Nepotism at its finest."
"You memorized all that?" Yokoshima wondered.
"Know thy enemy," she justified. "We all know we need to look out for pampered little rich girls because they think they own the world and can get away with whatever they do. Sure there are good ones out there like Netto's senpai, but the majority of them are like wolves in sheep's clothing! They can trip you up at any time- AGH!"
"Oof!"
In the middle of her tirade, Reika rammed into a figure that was in a hurry as the books they were carrying went flying and fell to the floor. With both of them knocked down on the floor. While the elder twin grumbled incoherent and colorful words under her breath as she nursed herself, the other boys with her noticed the other character already getting up to dust herself. Yokoshima in particular was starting to look pale and began shaking in place once he saw the person she had bumped into.
"Mne ochen' zhal'! You are not hurt, are you?" The voice was very feminine with a broken Russian accent.
Reika looked up and held her urge to give a stink eye. Seeing the girl offering a hand, she closed her eyes in resignation and took her hand, "Yeah, I just wasn't looking. Sorry, Kalinka."
Kalinka was everything that Reika described her to be. Petite with porcelain skin that seemed delicate to the touch, blond hair that looked finally combed that went down to her buttocks, bright blue eyes and earrings that looked like blue orbs. There was also a bit of chest on her- which added to Reika's slight jealousy. A pair of brown boots all seemed to add to the look of her uniform.
"Hey, Kalinka. You were in a hurry," Rei remarked as she helped up his sister, "Where's the fire?"
"Nothing. I was just trying to hurry to my next class," Kalinka began as she reached down to collect her books. "Ever since the reveal of the aliens I couldn't help but feel ecstatic."
Reika looked conflicted, "So you weren't terrified about the fact that they threw a killer robot at us?"
"Oh that was frightening, believe me," Kalinka answered, standing up after she collected her books, "But the idea of not being the only world with intelligent life is still very astounding, do you not think so?"
"It is kinda ignorant and arrogant to believe that Earth's the only planet in the universe that supports life when the universe is just so vast and infinite," Reika answered.
"Exactly! That comes from the old beliefs that Earth is the centre of the universe, right down to the genesis of religion!" Kalinka agreed excitedly. Reika had never spoken to Kalinka like this, preferring to keep girls like her at arm's length but the way her eyes sparkled when talking about aliens made her seem cute.
"What's gotten you so worked up anyway?" Rei asked her.
"The project I'm working on involves A.I. technology. I was studying ways to make advanced A.I. to be as advanced as possible," Kalinka said, opening her book to show text on the subject, "While there were basic breakthroughs on powerful A.I., they were almost not successful. Very few managed to be classified as 'ghosts' but there's no information on that. But maybe the key to creating such an A.I. is outside of our world."
"That sounds pretty ambitious," Reika responded. "Are you working on this project by yourself?"
"For the most part, I am. I can never know when someone is looking for ideas to steal," Kalinka reasoned. She blinked several times before letting out a humored laugh as she waved her hand over her face, "Oh dear, I probably shouldn't have said that out loud! And I am in a hurry anyway so I'd best be going now! Dasvidaniya!"
The Russian girl was already off as soon as she said her goodbye, and Rei made an intrigued hum, "Well now, she was nothing like I expected her to be."
"Hn, yeah well remember what I said about wolves in sheeps clothing," Reika told him with a heavy sigh. "We had run-ins with sickeningly sweet girls like her. Isn't that right Yoko... huh?" Looking around, she quickly noticed that their orange haired companion was no longer visible.
"He must've run off when Kalinka bumped into you. I thought it was strangely quiet when she talked about her project," Rei said.
"Alright, that does it," Reika's face became very irritated, "It's finally time for an intervention!"
Yokoshima could not wait to get out of the school. It was, after all, populated by beautiful girls and this triggered his venustraphobia. He had it under control, for the most part but each day was a battle as he fought his anxiety so he would not suffer another nervous breakdown. It seemed only real girls would trigger him so pictures had no effect on him and he could play video games featuring attractive female characters without any fear. But that wasn't something that Reika was really going to tolerate. So the moment school ended, she took him to the Ruby Spears Mall.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Reika?" Rei asked as Reika dragged Yokoshima along with her through the mall.
"Yeah, I can walk myself," said Yokoshima.
"If we're going to fix your crippling fear of beautiful women, we're going to do it somewhere all girls go," Reika said as she let Yokoshima go. "The mall."
"And you sure you didn't just drag us here to carry your shopping?" Rei asked.
"Please! You know me better than to drag me in the same category as those rich bitches," scowled Reika. "This is all about Yokoshima."
"So, how am I supposed to do this if I can't look at a pretty girl?" Yokoshima protested.
"I anticipated that much. I made these glasses that are made to modify the appearance of certain people through them. These glasses will make any girl look plain to you," Reika explained as she put the glasses over Yokoshima's eyes.
"So, kinda like you?"
Reika's eyebrow slowly twiched. "There's the food court and some girls hanging out!" she snipped as she forcibly turned him around. "Now, go mingle!" she finished before literally kicking him in the ass. Yokoshima rubbed his backside as he looked back, walking over to the food court.
"So are we seriously considering the 'sink-or-swim' approach here? Because there is no way this can backfire," Rei's voice was dripping with obvious sarcasm.
"Look, he won't get better if he does not confront his fears. So long as he lets it control him, he can never really move on from what happened."
"OK, but I doubt pushing him into the deep end is a good idea."
"We need to take off the training wheels eventually. But if it makes you feel better, we'll keep an eye on him."
"Really, now?" Rei muttered as he looked to where Yokoshima went, "Well since you asked, Yokoshima just got a drink thrown in his face."
"Creep!" the girl huffed and stormed off after throwing her drink into Yokoshima's face.
"That could've gone better," Yokoshima muttered as he went to a sink and grabbed a paper towel to dry himself. He had tried to talk to the first girl he saw but he became paralyzed, unable to say a word. He could not even blink as he just stared at her and breathed heavily.
Wow, he did sound like a creep.
"What happened?" Reika asked as she approached her friend.
"I tried to say something to the first girl I saw but nothing came out of my mouth," Yokoshima answered, trying to sound optimistic. "But hey, at least I'm maintaining eye contact, right?"
"Well, in my experience eye contact is important but it also helps to have something to say," Rei told him. "Because if you're just staring at them, they just think you're some kind of creep."
"Maybe the food court's not the best place for us to start," Reika realized. "Let's try this someplace where you're more comfortable. You might do better in your comfort zone."
"My comfort zone? Can it be at home in front of my PC?" Yokoshima asked hopefully.
"Nope, we're going to a manga cafe. There are plenty of nerdy girls that won't trigger you," Reika answered as she grabbed his hand. "C'mon, Yokoshima!"
A quarter hour passed and there was not much of an improvement. Yokoshima was simply incapable of controlling himself in front of a girl, be it through awkward and outdated pick up lines or just total blackout. And then, adding to the string of misfortune, his glasses fell from his face and the filter left his eyes, exposing the good looks of the girls he was trying to talk to. In a fit of panic, he quickly retreated into a nearby game shop.
"It's no good. I'll never get a girlfriend. Guess I'll just be thrown away just like you guys. At least Street Fighter and Tekken won't scare me," Yokoshima sighed sadly as he picked the said games. Then he noticed a pink colored one making him look at it curiously. "Huh, never seen you before. 'Doki Doki Gakuen. Learn to improve your dating skills. Basement dwellers recommend'," he read. "Yeah, if I can't talk to real girls then I'll just try training myself with 2D girls."
"There you are," Reika said as she and her brother entered the game store. Upon catching sight of Yokoshima at the bargain bin, she made a face, "Sheesh, you chickened out again? You realize how much trouble that's gonna be for all of us?"
"Actually you guys, I have a better idea," Yokoshima said as he held up the game, "I'm gonna do some virtual training to get over my phobia."
"Huh?" the female twin exclaimed incredulously, "How is a video game going to help you now?"
"At this point do we have any other option?" Rei said with an exasperated look, "Yokoshima wants to get better, so a dating sim could do the trick."
"Yeah, but it still sounds like a cheap escape," Reika looked unconvinced.
"C'mon, Reika. I'll play the game, learn the right skills, get over my phobia, and then we can try again with real girls," Yokoshima urged. "Sure the title's not too creative and it might be retro with it's CD-ROM format, but the girl on the cover art is cute." It was the typical anime girl with fair skin, big green eyes, and pink hair in buns and ribbon. She was also wearing a sailor fuku. She was also very busty.
"Huh, if you were able to look at a picture of a 2D girl for ten seconds without blacking out then this might just work," Reika said. "You do seem to be better at games than at flirting."
"Hey you, kid with the carrot head," a goth at the clerk counter called over to them, "You're seriously considering buying that game?"
"Yeah, what about it?" Yokoshima asked.
"Game's been returned three times already. You're the fourth one that's picked up. That's why it's in the bargain bin. It's cursed," the clerk told them.
"What makes you say that?" Reika aaked.
"If you saw how they looked when they returned the game, you'd know," the clerk began before slowly shaking his head, "They didn't even ask for their money back. There's even a note on the back." Yokoshima looked on the back cover of the game with a note stuck to the back that said 'PLEASE DESTROY AT ALL COSTS!'
"Isn't it going a bit overboard to get all bent out of shape over a dating sim?" Yokoshima reasoned. "The cost is cheap anyway so I don't really have anything else to lose."
"Don't say I didn't warn you," the clerk said in resignation as Yokoshima gave him his Yen note.
Nightfall came accompanied by a sudden rainstorm, and Yokoshima was already in his dorm room. He sat at his computer desk, leaning back on his chair as he eyed the game in his hands. He closed his eyes as he breathed in and out before opening the case.
"...Yosh," he decided. He opened up the box and pulled out the jewel case of the CD. He switched the separate disk drive connected to his computer on and popped the CD inside. After letting the program install into his computer, he clicked play.
The title screen was something flashy and flamboyant with the title itself in bright neon colors, very much showing that it was a product of its time. "Woah, super retro," Yokoshima blinked before getting a goofy grin, "I like retro!" That was enough for him to click the [START GAME] button.
After the game's intro CG played, the game proper loaded on the screen with the game's main heroine appearing in the foreground, "Oh, uh, hello. I'm Ai-chan and I just transferred here to Doki Doki Gakuen. What's your name?" the girl introduced herself.
The text window popped up on the screen, "Uh... Yokoshima. My friends call me Yoko," he said, typing his name on the screen.
"Hello, Yoko-sempai! Can you please show me around?" Ai-chan asked. The multiple choice box popped up:
Yes
Yes
Yes
All of the above
"That's weird," Yokoshima blinked, "Oh well. I can't go wrong with D!"
"Oh, that's so sweet of you, Yoko-sempai! Thank you!" Ai-chan giggled cutely. "What would you like to talk about?"
"Hmmm. I rather click your cute face," he said and proceeded to click Ai's face. Much to his surprise, it made Ai giggle again.
"Geez, Yoko-sempai that tickles," Ai laughed.
"Wow, you responded to that like it was happening in real time," Yokoshima exclaimed pleasantly, "I thought you were just retro but you actually felt that. It's almost like you're alive."
"...Yeah. Almost." Yokoshima didn't notice her oddly cryptical answer and the way she shifted her eyes.
"Man, I don't get why people would abandon you but you're really sweet," he smiled.
"Yes and I'm sure you'll never abandon me, new boyfriend," Ai smiled.
Yokoshima blinked in surprise. "Wow, new boyfriend huh? I might be getting good at this. So Ai-chan, what do you want to talk about?"
"I just wish to get to know about you more, Yoko-sempai," she smiled.
And so with that, Yokoshima played the game all night until the sun rose the next day, then the sun set and it was night again before the sun rose once more. This went on for a while, and he never came out of his room since then.
Yokoshima's absence over the past few days didn't go unnoticed. The teachers merely assumed that he simply became sick as he was taking online classes to make up for the classes that he missed. This was allowed for a limited number of days in the school. The twins knew differently though, seeing as they were the last ones to talk to him before he went quiet.
"What do you mean Yokoshima's hooked on a dating sim?" Netto asked from Rei's Transer. "How does that help with him getting over his phobia exactly? Is playing with 2D girls all day gonna help him?"
"Yeah, that was kind of the point,"Rei answered, scratching his head. "Me and sis tried to help him get over his fear again, and it seemed like a good idea after the party. But he freaked out again and ended up running into a game store. He ended up picking up this weird dating sim. At first, we thought it would be a good idea and let him take it slow, but..."
"But?" Netto pressed carefully.
"But then he started locking himself in his dorm," Rei continued, looking worried. "He's been taking his sick days so he could take online classes and keep playing the game. The teachers can't really do a thing about it since he still somehow managed to turn in his work and keep his grades up."
"So you're saying this is a case of video game addiction?" Netto asked, his eyebrows rising.
Rei gave an offended scoff, "Come on, man. You know as well as I do that the Man just makes that crap up. Besides, you know how Yoko's like when he's into a game. This... this is something else."
"Huh. You need me to come over and see what's up?"
The younger twin shook his head, "No, hang back just for a bit. Reika said she'll give him three more days before she drags his ass out of the room. You might not wanna get in her way."
"Alright. Good luck, I guess," Netto nodded before the transmission ended.
"Three more days..." Rei murmured as he closed his Transer. This was not natural for Yokoshima for staying in his dorm room. Sure he's a video game addict but not to this extent.
"So what did Net say?" he looked up to his sister who just sat next to him bringing her lunch.
"He says that he'll help us in a few days. He's busy with his club activities right now so we gotta wait so he can help us with Yokoshima," Rei explained.
"But still I can't believe that Yokoshima was ditching class for a stupid dating sim. I mean sure the image girl is cute but she's not real. Not to mention, we bought that game so he can help get over his girl phobia." Reika frowned.
"Yeah I mean what's with that game anyway?" Rei said. Reika looked at her brother in confusion.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Remember that game was labeled 'destroy at all costs' and the clerk told us how past owners didn't want to talk about why? It's weird that Yokoshima's starting to get addicted to it," Rei recalled.
"Are you saying there's something dangerous about that dating sim?" Reika questioned in expiration. "It's just a game for guys who have no girls in their life."
"We bought that hoping it'll help him get over his fears," Rei pointed out to her, "We thought Yoko would use what he learned so he can at least talk to girls without him fainting. At this rate, Yokoshima is going to end up liking 2D girls more than 3D ones which would make his phobia a lot worse!"
"Oh? So your friend is playing sick to play a dating sim?" a voice unlike Reika's suddenly spoke up, "That is indeed very troublesome."
The twins paled at the sound of the authoritative voice behind them, turning around. Standing behind them was a 3rd year student with long greenish-blonde hair with pink eyes with glasses over them, dressed in the standard Taiyo Tech uniform with thigh high black boots. The way she stood gave her an authority of no nonsense.
"Agares-kaichou!" Rei quacked nervously as he and Reika both stood up, "You were spying?"
Seekvaira sighed as she pushed up her glasses. "I knew something was off about this. But to think that one of our students called off a few days just because of a disgusting eroge."
"It's not an eroge, kaichou. That game has a teen rating on it," Reika said to her. "Why are you here anyway?"
"I wanted to talk to you two since you're the last ones to talk to him. But I can't have a student of this school ditch classes all for a game. As Taiyo Tech students, we must strive for our intellect and excel at it," the glasses girl said.
"Kaichou, our friend has been going through some issues. We hoped a game could help. We didn't know he would lock himself in his room for it. Besides he still takes online classes and keeps his grades up," Rei tried to reason.
"You mean his venustraphobia, correct?" Seekvaira replied, looking unconcerned, "Having a psychological disorder that prevents you from speaking with the opposite sex does not excuse you from playing hookie."
"Just give us a few more days," Reika said, looking exasperated, "We'll have him out by then."
"You better or else I may need to take disciplinary actions?" she said, tilting her head up that made her glasses glimmer menacingly.
"Isn't that an overreaction? He's still turning in his work," Rei remarked.
"School is more than about lessons. Your friend is neglecting his youth," Seekvaira said. "If he does not come out in two more days I will have no choice but to have him expelled."
The twins looked at her in shock, "Expelled?!" Rei gaped.
"Isn't that excessive!?" Reika shouted at her.
"It isn't," she said, unphased, "I won't have students at this school fool around and become shut-ins doing nothing. School is for learning. Not to spend time in the dorms playing video games," Seekvaira said. "You will do right to get him out of his room, otherwise I will do it personally and thoroughly." With that ultimatum made, Seekvaira turned and left the gawking twins to their own devices.
"Ahh, goddamn it! Who does she think she is? Queen of Taiyo Tech?" Reika huffed, ruffling her hands over her hair. "Just because she's president doesn't mean she's in charge of all of us. This is why I can't stand rich girls!"
"Now what are we going to do?" Rei grimace.
"The only thing we can do," Reika growled, cracking her knuckles. "We drag his ass out of the room by force. That way we don't have to deal with the terror of Taiyo!"
Later after school, the twins were at Yokoshima's dorm room door. Not looking for any more trouble from the intimidating student council president, both of them decided to once again confront him with his problem.
"So, you really going to kick the door open?" Rei asked his twin.
"Nope," Reika showed a key card. "I copied Yokoshima's key card in case of this." She put the card against the scanner and the indicator light turned green, unlocking the door.
"OK, let's do this," Rei said as he gripped the handle and turned. They opened the door.
Instantly, the both of them were assaulted by the most horrendous of odors.
"God! Smelled like something died in there!" Reika gagged.
"More like something died, came back to life, then died again," Rei added, his face turning green from the smell as he covered his nose with his sleeve. "Come on, we're wasting daylight."
They entered the dorm room, which was dark, but they saw what was causing the smell. There were trash bags all around them, with flies gathered around them. A few cockroaches scurried by, the sight of them causing Reika to recoil in girlish disgust.
The only source of light was coming from Yokoshima's computer as he sat still in his chair with a VR rig on. This time, he had taken it to the next level and hooked up a VR interface to it. He had on a VR headset, gloves, and a full bodysuit. Reika's eyes lowered enough for her to notice a cone-like thing part of the bodysuit that was directly at his crotch. The look she made on her face at the sight would be enough to make Medusa run for the hills.
"Think he's dead?" Rei asked.
"I don't know. Why don't you poke him with a stick?" Reika responded.
"No, you poke him."
"I'm not touching him. He stinks."
Rei rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Girls." He went over to Yokoshima and shook his shoulder, "Hey. Hey, Earth to Yoko? You there? Say some-"
With a shout, Yokoshima jumped out of his seat.
"AAAAAHHHHHHH!"
The reaction from Rei and Reika was instant.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
"Who's there!?" Yokoshima demanded and he lifted up his visor. "Oh, it's you guys." Even in the dark, they could see Yokoshima's eyes were bloodshot. He also did not look like he had a bath or shower in days. All around his feet were Doritos packets and cans of Monster energy drink.
"Yokoshima," Rei said. "We came since we haven't heard from you in days. Are you OK?"
"I'm fine," Yokoshima smiled but he looked exhausted, evident by the dark bags under his eyes. "I mean, sure, I've been living off Doritos and Monster, and I haven't seen natural light in days, or that I haven't had a shower in days, but I'm fine."
"No, you're not," Reika interjected, holding her nose. "Your dorm is a pigsty, and that's me being polite about it."
"Yeah, man. You need a shower and you need to get out," Rei said. "And call the cleaning lady."
"But I can't leave my girlfriend!" Yokoshima whined, pointing at the screen. Rei looked at the screen where he was pointing, eyeing the game character that seemed to be looking right back at him with an unsettling stare. "I've learnt so much about how to be a good boyfriend! And, I'm going to meet her parents! They're octopus people."
"Um, Yoko. You do realize that's just a video game, right?" Rei asked, glancing back at him.
"But Ai-chan and I are in love," Yokoshima confessed. "She's the girl of my dreams! She laughs at my jokes! She likes the things I like! And I don't suffer from crippling panic or anxiety when I'm with her!"
"You forgot to mention that she's not real," Rei pointed out.
"You're just jealous because you don't have what we have!" Yokoshima rebuffed stubbornly.
"I have a girlfriend. A real life flesh and blood girlfriend," Rei reminded him, pointing at himself. "What you can do with that NCP in cyberspace I can do with her in reality, and-why am I even arguing with you about this?"
"Yoko, when was the last time you slept?" Reika asked.
"Who has time to sleep? Besides, love can keep me going!"
"No!" Rei and Reika dragged him out of the chair, recoiling at the smell but held on. They took the visor off Yokoshima's head.
"Nooooooo!" Yokoshima wailed as his friends dragged him away from his computer.
"You can play make believe with your gynoid later," Reika grunted, dragging Yokoshima to his bathroom, "Agares is on our ass and she'll have you kicked out of school if you don't get back to class! Just come on!"
"Ugh... fine!" Yokoshima finally conceded before stretching his hand at his computer, "I'll be back soon, Ai-chan!"
"Yoko, you don't need to say goodbye to her, she's a game character," Rei waved off as they left the room, "She's not going anywhere."
Once the three left the room, the screen flickered slightly. "Yes, it's not like I'm going anywhere..." Ai-chan smiled mirthfully. The screen blinked off, and a trail of static ran out of the computer and into the plug socket.
A few hours after giving Yokoshima a bath - much to the twins' disgust since they had to endure the horrible body odor - they gathered all his laundry and garbage and put them into plastic bags. As he was drying himself up in the bathroom, they waited patiently outside. "OK, I'll just say what everyone is thinking. He's gone bonkers," said Reika.
"He's not crazy. He's just so obsessed with that game that he can't tell the difference between it and reality," Rei countered.
"Bonkers," Reika reiterated. "He's already turning into a hikikomori. So are we really taking Yokoshima to the mall?"
"He's been cooped up in here for days. He needs to go out," Rei insisted. He knocked on the bathroom door, "Yokoshima, are you done?"
"Yeah!" Yokoshima answered.
Rei narrowed his eyes. "Did you remember to lather up all over?"
"I know how to take a bath, Rei!"
"That's debatable," muttered Reika.
"OK, when you're done, we're going to clean your place up and then we're going out to grab something to eat," Rei told his friend. "And no gaming! You need a break!"
"How about we burn his clothes too?" Reika suggested.
"No, let's just put them in the rest of his laundry," Rei pointed to the smelly pile of laundry. "We should call someone to take them to a laundromat."
"Good, we can update his wardrobe while we're at it."
The next day Yokoshima returned to classes, looking fresh from his days locked in his room. The sunlight ended up hurting his eyes after all that time he was inside. After classes were done, the twins dragged him back out of the school and he was dressed in a new set of clothing. dressed in a blue, short-sleeved hoodie with matching cargo pants and sneakers. The words 'SONIC MANIA' were on the front of the hoodie with SEGA's emblem on the back.
"Guys, where are you taking me? I should be with Ai-chan," said Yokoshima.
"Your 'girlfriend' won't mind if you hung out with your friends," said Reika. "Besides, absence makes the heart grow fonder."
"Yeah, and why the mall?" Yokoshima asked as he and the twins stood in front of the building.
"Look, man. You're going to need to get over your fear of pretty girls," said Rei. "And you must've learned something from that dating sim. Just go up to a girl and make small talk."
"Really? You know I can't talk to a cute girl without going blank," Yokoshima told him.
"Oh, just stop and go in there before I punch you," Reika threatened.
Yokoshima hurried along and through the mall. And he stood there. And stood there. He tried everything he read about trying to pick up girls, hoping something would stick. But alas, his smooth talking skills were to be desired.
"Wow, what am I some kind of sim character? Hard pass," a woman huffed as she walked away. Yokoshima slumped down with a depressed look as another girl rejected him.
Why can't things be so much easier in a game?!
Just as looked around he noticed all the girls were becoming more beautiful and realistic in his eyes, making him quake in fear. Yokoshima took several steps back as his phobia started to come back with a vengeance. Then he bumped into someone who let out a cry in surprise. He turned and saw another beautiful girl on the ground with a purse by her side.
"Hey watch where you're going!" She complained.
"Wah! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Undo! Undo!" he panicked as he jabbed his hand at an imaginary screen.
"You can't undo who you are, Yokoshima-kun," the woman sneered as her face morphed into a demonic beauty in front of him.
Yokoshima went white like a ghost, "S-S-S-Sadako!" he screamed as he ran away.
The twins watching looked on I'm shock, "What the?! Did he just say what I think he did?" Rei said.
"Damnit. Looks like he still isn't over her," Reika sighed. "We better find him, stat. Yoko! Don't bail on us!" she yelled as the twins went out for the search. They turned a corner of the mall, not knowing that Yokoshima came around from another, breathing in and out hard.
"I can't do this," he wheezed cowardly, "I'm not so good with the third dimension. I need to go back to 2D." Thus he retreated to the arcade.
Looking around the arcade, he found a conveniently empty Street Fighter II cabinet. He sat down on the stool and slipped in some coins to start the game. Around six minutes into the game, someone else walked into the arcade and sat down on the opposite side of the cabinet, slipping in their money to play.
"HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER!"
"Huh?" Yokoshima blinked. He smirked as he rubbed his nose. "Alright then, try me."
On the character select screen, Yokoshima selected Ryu, the classic. The opponent went with Cammy. The round started as Player 2 was already on the attack.
Yokoshima fought with his character, Ryu. Yokoshima punched the buttons going for a combo however Cammy somehow dodged and block him. Cammy went on the offensive with combos so fast he didn't expect it hitting Ryu hard.
Yokoshima was impressed with his opponent whoever he is. He must be a game maniac like he is.
His eyes went to the spirit gauge which was already full. Smirking at this he decided to bait Cammy into doing more combos however once Yokoshima got the opening, "Got you! Eat Shinku Hadoken!" Ryu used his ultimate move which finished Cammy off. He stood up and shouted, "All right! I still got the moves! Who's the man? I am."
"Wow. I didn't know you were this good." A voice said from the other side of the arcade machine. Yokoshima froze. Why? Because the sound from his opponent wasn't a man. It was a girl.
The person looked over from behind the cabinet. She had indigo-raven hair and ruby red eyes. She was dressed in a baby blue tank top, with a white jacket, jeans and wedge sandals. "Hey you're that blue beetle guy!" she recognized.
"I, um, er, yeah I..." Yokoshima stuttered, forcing himself to keep still.
The girl looked oblivious as she got up and walked over to him, his panic meter rising as she got closer, "Yeah, I remember. You pulled out that big ass cannon and I had to go get you. GG, by the way. I'm Luciana Furin. What's your name?"
"Yo...Yo...Yoko..." Yokoshima stammered.
"Yo-Yo-Yoko? Weird name," she chuckled. "Ah, I'm just fucking with you. I know who you are, Yokoshima-kun. Hey, wanna grab a milkshake or two? Or a soda? Or a smoothie? Or just juice?"
"Huh?" Yokoshima blinked, realizing the girl was asking him out, "Sure. I know this little Manga Cafe nearby."
As Yokoshima and Luciana walked away, the screen on the arcade machine turned to static before it briefly displayed Ai-chan's face.
She did not look pleased.
"So, are you a fan of the 'Magical Cyberpunk Girl Despair' series?" Yokoshima asked, sitting at a manga cafe with Luciana. He still couldn't believe that he was speaking with a girl without going into a breakdown.
"Yeah," Luciana smiled. "Never thought I'd meet a guy who'd be into that sorta stuff too."
"It's a cyberpunk magical girl series," Yokoshima said. "It's awesome! Why wouldn't I like it?"
"Huh, well I'm sure guys are really into the art stuff if you catch my drift," said Luciana, a perverted smirk appearing on her face. "I can see why, I love that ecchi imagery."
"The story's great. It's a dystopian future where machines have pretty much taken over. Then a cyborg girl gains the power to become a Magical Girl so she can free humanity from the clutches of their tyrannical mechanical overlords," Yokoshima described. "There's drama, suspense, some fan service, and sci-fi action!"
"Did you find him?" Reika asked Rei after several minutes of looking.
"Yeah? He's at the Manga Cafe. Believe it or not, he's talking to a girl," Rei told her.
"And he hasn't gone catatonic?" Reika said in disbelief.
"Nope. Wanna see?"
While the two pleasantly conversed, one of the TV's that was mounted on the wall flickered as the anime that played on it turned to static but flashes of an angry anime girl's face could be seen. Yokoshima remained totally unaware of the watcher as he was talking with the new girl.
"...And Reika made all her drones drop balloons filled with paint all over the cheerleaders," Yokoshima finished. "Brown paint!"
Luciana laughed, "Holy shit, dude! That must've been terrible!"
"Yeah, she also mixed in something in the paint that made them smell like rotten eggs for days too."
"And have you done anything crazy?" Luciana asked.
"Well, one time I hacked into some cars and drove them around like remote control toys," Yokoshima admitted. "Led a police car chase too. When they found that the cars had no drivers, they thought they were chasing ghost cars."
Luciana nearly choked on her drink. She was laughing so hard, "Fucking hell! That must've made the news!"
"It did! I even have the original video!"
"Man, you're crazy! I'm so glad I ran into you."
"Me too. Never thought I'd meet a girl like you who loved games like me."
Luciana's cell phone chimed with a text message alert. She flipped it on and scanned through it, her eyes widening and her mouth turning flat. "Uh oh..." she whispered. She looked back at Yokoshima with an apologetic smile. "Hey Yokoshima-kun, something just came up and I gotta dash. But I really had fun today. Here, my number and my e-mail address. Call me if you want to hang out again."
"Oh, sure! I'll definitely hit you up," Yokoshima smiled, opening his Transer to transfer their contact info into each other's devices. The transfer was instant, letting Luciana beam. "Hey, Luciana-san, if you want we could go to a dance club, if you'd like."
"A dance club?"
"Yeah, my friend Netto DJ's there sometimes. How about it? Here, I'll share the address with you."
"Sounds fun. Meet you there at 6 tomorrow." She got up from her seat, leaning over to for a swift press of her lips on his cheek. Yokoshima's eyes nearly widened by the time she was up and gave him a fingered salute. "Check you later!" she waved as she left.
"You finally did it, Yokoshima!" Reika cheered, glimpsing Yokoshima from out of nowhere, "You finally got a date!"
"We saw the whole thing, Yoko! You talked to a real girl without having a panic attack!" Rei congratulated. "You have someone to go on a date with now!"
"You're right, I finally got a date," Yokoshima smiled before the blood drained from his face. "OH, CRAP! I HAVE A DATE! WHAT DO I DO!? WHAT WILL I WEAR!? SHOULD I GET A HAIRCUT!?"
"...And now you're suffering a nervous breakdown. Fantastic," Reika sighed.
"Come on, Yokoshima. Deep breaths," Rei said, coxing the orange-head to breath in and out, "You were making eye contact, you were keeping up with conversations, it was like you did a million times already. You know what that means? The game actually worked!"
"And now you don't need it anymore!" Reika added.
"Don't need it?" Yokoshima grimace, "But I like Ai-chan. She's good to me and stuff."
"Yoko, you can't take an NPC to a night out of dancing," Rei pointed out. "She can't even eat real food. Hell, you can't even touch her."
Yokoshima winced, "I guess..."
"Come on, then. Time to make sure you've got something suitable to show off!" Reika smiled.
She took his arm and dragged him away with her brother following them. As they passed an electronics store, the screens briefly displayed the face of a cute anime girl wearing an expression of pure hatred.
Later that night, Yokoshima was back in front of his game. "Hey, Ai-chan? Can we talk?"
"Of course, Yoko-sempai. I'm programmed to find everything you say interesting," Ai-chan smiled, although there was a slight edge in her smile that he didn't seem to notice.
"Yeah, ok. So, I'm really glad that I was able to spend time with you and you helped me to get over my fear a little bit," he began, "Actually, it's thanks to you that I managed to make a new friend who's actually pretty cute. I'm going to meet her tomorrow so we can hang out more.
"I don't think it's a good idea, Yoko-sempai," Ai-chan said quickly, "You shouldn't go out with this girl."
Yokoshima blinked, "But Ai-chan, she's cool and she's into video games."
"Have you forgotten how the last pretty girl like her hurt you?" Ai-chan continued, "Have you forgotten how horrible she made you feel?"
"No... I haven't forgotten," Yokoshima flinched.
"Then why risk it happening again?"
"Because... my friends are right," Yokoshima sighed, "I need to face my fears and get over them."
Ai didn't look convinced. Instead, she started to look aggravated, "Yoko-sempai, remember when you told me why you got into computers? You said that 1's and 0's made sense. That there's order and structure in data. The real world is just full of chaos. At least with me you only have four choices to make and all of them are good ones. There are no wrong answers. No terrible consequences."
"Yeah, there's order and structure in data," Yokoshima agreed, "But structure and order can get boring. Sometimes, you need to embrace the chaos and take a leap of faith. This is my chance to come out of my shell."
"NO!" Ai-chan suddenly snapped, slamming her hands against the screen, "YOU ARE NOT LEAVING ME! I WON'T LET YOU!"
"Ahh!" Yokoshima gasped, reeling in his seat, "Um, Ai-chan. You're freaking me out. I'm going to turn you off and-"
"And what!?" she pointed accusingly, "Throw me away!? Like all those other boys who swore they loved me!? You're just like them! No, I'm not going back into the bargain bin and you're not leaving me!"
Panicking, Yokoshima jolted out of his chair and quickly pulled the plug on his computer. With nothing to power it, the computer went dead. "OK..." Yokoshima exhaled, leaning back. "That... that was freaky."
Bright flashes of light blinked nearby. Looking up, he saw electricity running over the screen, entering the webcam above it. The webcam glowed and Yokoshima recoiled as it fired a beam. A wireframe pattern covered his whole body as he was digitized right before he could get up. He was sucked right into the computer.
"You're mine now, Yoko-sempai," Ai-chan's voice escaped from the computer, "Now...AND FOREVER!"
It was the next day, at 6 pm, and Reika and Rei were headed to Cyberdelia where Yokoshima would be meeting Luciana for their date. Both were in dark clothing, just enough for them to not stick out too much.
"Do we have to go spy on them, sis?" Rei asked his sister.
"We're not 'spying' on them, Rei. We're secretly chaperoning them," Reika countered. "We're just going to offer some moral support. This is Yokoshima's first date after all."
"Uh-huh, that's true," Rei agreed. "But he seemed pretty comfortable with Luciana-san."
"Still, anything could go wrong and he could suffer another breakdown. He's going to need us when that happens."
Two hours passed and Yokoshima hasn't yet shown. Luciana already had, dressed in a tight and sexy black dancing dress. She looked down at her watch and gave an upset huff. As she moved to leave, she noticed two twins waving over at her. "Oh, you guys," she waved back.
"You were waiting for Yoko, huh?" Reika asked.
"Yeah, but I guess I got stood up," she gave a short sigh, "Boy do I look dumb."
"Give him a little more credit, he's not someone to pull something like that," Rei defended.
"Or he's playing that stupid game again," Reika growled. "I knew I should've deleted it and destroyed the disk!"
"A game?" Luciana asked.
"C'mon, we need to save Yokoshima from himself," Reika said, gesturing her to follow.
Reika, Rei and Luciana entered Yokoshima's dorm room. It was dark and the only source of light was coming from his computer screen. Reika turned on the lights and they went in.
They had tried calling Yokoshima but he did not answer so they decided to come in to see what he was doing. They expected to see him glued to his seat, playing that stupid dating sim but he was nowhere to be found.
"So, this is his room," Luciana looked around. "It's nice."
"You should've seen it the other day. It was a mess, like a hoarder's room," Reika quipped.
"OK, he's not in here," Rei answered after he searched the whole room.
"Ugh, and this game is still playing," Reika peered at the computer screen and then her eyes widened, "...the fuck?"
"What?" Rei peered over his shoulder. On the screen was Ai and she was sitting in the cafeteria but the character sitting across from her was... "Is that Yokoshima!?"
"I love you, Ai-chan!"
"I love you too, Yoko-sempai."
"We will be together, forever."
"Yes, forever and EVER!"
"OK, I think we just stepped into some Ultra Q crap," Reika remarked.
"Um...sis?" Rei held up the power cord for the computer. "It's not plugged in."
"How is it running without power?" Reika asked.
"Battery? Generator?" Rei guessed, "I have no idea."
Ai-chan stopped laughing and turned to glare at the '4th wall'. She got up and walked up to the screen, glaring at the three teenagers. "You three tried to get between me and Yoko-sempai!" she accused. The three of them all gapped with boggled eyes.
"I-is she talking to us?" Luciana gaped.
"That's right, I am talking to you, especially you, you gaijin skank!" she shouted, pointing at her.
A look of offence entered Luciana's face, "Gaijin!? Skank!?"
"You have got to be kidding," Rei remarked, "The game's becoming self-aware!"
"Self-aware and possessed!" Reika gripped the screen. "What have you done to Yokoshima!?"
"Oh, I've done nothing to my dear, sweet, Yoko-sempai," Ai-chan swooned, "I just decided to bring him to my world where he's safe and loved. Not like out there where people are just so mean to him."
"You've brainwashed him, you digital witch!" Reika snapped.
"Oh, I may have tweaked his mind a bit, but only so he does not cheat on me."
"There's nothing to cheat on! You're just a bunch of 1's and 0's! Just data that I'm going to wipe out!" The computer suddenly glowed as lightning exploded from the screen, forcing Reika to retreat.
"YOU WILL NOT!"
Three laser beams shot out of the webcam and blasted the three teens, digitizing them and sucking them into the computer.
"Oh crrrrraaappp...!" Luciana swore as they were all beamed into the machine.
Then it was all quiet until several minutes later when there was a knock on the door.
"Hello, I have a food delivery for Yokoshima Ryuunosuke? Is Yokoshima Ryuunosuke home?" When the food delivery girl did not receive an answer, she just shrugged and left the plastic bag by the door. "Heh, he already paid online."
To Be Continued...
Tailsmo4ever: So... been a while. It was a crazy year and things have happened. Me? I've been busy myself, not only with new ideas but also with things that have suddenly happened in my personal life. That and I hit another snag here and I decided to just separate the chapter. Shoulda done it long ago, really. I was trying to make a one-shot but it seems like that wasn't possible. Well, I'm still very much alive and kicking. Next chapter is hopefully sooner than later. Ah, and this chapter was based on the Gravity Falls episode "Soos and the Real Girl".