Life Is But A Game

Author's Notes: Firstly, I do not own any of the characters in this fanfiction. They belong to Konami's Genso Suikoden 2 and maybe 1 as well. Everything in this fanfic belongs to the game. I just elaborate on it...

Here's a fic on how hard it is to be a Suikoden 2 hero. This shows the different scenarios in the hero's journey and he had to deal with it. There may be some Out-Of-Characterness and some scenarios may not be accurate. I love the game and I have nothing against any character, so please don't feel offended if I insulted your favorite character. Btw, the Hero's name here is Riou.

*NEW! This chapter is rated PG-13 for adult themes...I think*

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It was a nice warm day in the middle of spring. The sky was cloudless, the trees swayed gently to the wind and the birds chirped happily together. It was the season for love, and not even a massive war could stop it from coming. A hooded lady walked with grace across a great hall and sat in front of a crystal ball. War, death, destiny and fate were usually on her mind, but that was such a special day that even the most troubled mind was at ease. She gazed into her crystal ball as it started to blur and smiled.

It was pretty much a normal day for Riou, perhaps one with good weather. Shu had announced that it would be their only day off before they fight Highland again and thus Riou planned to walk around his castle and see how it had developed. Riou noticed that a fourth level was under construction Perhaps I can finally have my suite... and decided to start from Nanami's room, which was opposite his. Knocking three times with no answer, Riou left for the stairs puzzling about her sister's whereabouts.

On the way down, he noticed a man in blue sitting by a window. Flik was cleaning his sword and caressing it with his gaze. Riou unconsciously hid behind the stairs like a curious kid eavesdropping. His sword Odessa+, which was named after the woman he loved, was glimmering with pride. Flik stared at it with his thoughts a million miles away, as though reminiscing the past with Odessa. Riou felt his heart ache for such a tragic romance for his comrade and was about to step forward to comfort Flik when he saw something that nearly made him faint. Flik had lifted the sword and kissed it, passionately. The ache Riou felt was replaced with nausea, and he quickly made his way down to the next floors. Flik, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice his leader and had now embraced his shining weapon.

"Odessa..."

Riou would now have to classify Flik as one of the many questionable comrades in his army. He was in front of the meeting hall, but as it was a holiday, there would be no one there. Gazing into the blue crystal ball beside the hall, Riou made a save before continuing his walk around the castle. It was best to take precautions. Who knew when the next chef would attack, or when a fire would break out from Adlai's lab? The suggestion box took Riou's attention and he went to read the letters. It was empty. That's odd...usually there would be at least one complaint or weird letter... Passing by Shu's room, Riou noticed his door was open. Being a cautious strategist, Shu would never have left the door to his private chamber open, thus Riou approached it feeling suspicious. Good thing he had saved first. Peeking through the small gap left by the door, he saw movement inside the room. Someone had placed something on Shu's table hurriedly and scurried towards the door. Before Riou had a chance to hide or step away, Apple dashed out of the room onto him.

"Lord Riou!!"

Shocked and somehow embarrassed, Apple apologized in a hurry and explained that Shu asked her to hand him the report for the previous battle. Afraid that the leader would go inside, Apple shut Shu's door and excused herself. Apple was a nice girl and hardworking too. She was also very shy. Somehow, Riou suspected that what Apple placed on Shu's table was not a war report, but it would not be anything dangerous either, so he had nothing to worry about.

Passing by Teresa's locked door Riou noticed the mayor herself dashing across the corridor towards him. She was holding a big shopping bag tightly against her chest and turned around occasionally to see if anyone was looking. When she saw Lord Riou she almost shrieked, but kept her cool and stopped a few meters before him. As Riou greeted her, he realized that Lady Teresa of Greenhill was blushing.

"Good morning, Lord Riou."

She passed him cautiously and before she fled into her room, she whispered,

"Thank you for your advice."

Baffled, Riou blinked and tried to remember what advice he had given to Teresa that made her act so flustered. In fact, he could not remember talking to Teresa outside the meeting hall ever since she arrived. Feeling that this was not the last weird thing to see that day, Riou made a quick save before anything else could happen.

He journeyed further down the hall towards Klaus' room. His room was empty and Riou felt rather disappointed. He had intended to challenge Klaus to a game of chess to spend the afternoon, but it was not to be. However, he could see movement outside Klaus' balcony and squinted his eyes. Klaus was present after all, but he was already playing chess...with Sierra! Knowing Sierra, she would not do anything troublesome, like wrecking her mind for a chess game, and she would NOT sit out under the hot sun unless she went to battle. But here she was, sitting opposite Klaus in a game of chess, with a subtle look of bliss on her face. Riou could not make out if Klaus was blushing from the heat or from Sierra's foot rubbing onto his. This is becoming a really strange day...

Deciding to go get some air, Riou headed for the shopping district of his castle. Things seemed more normal down here. People bustling around to buy weapons or armory, kids playing around with Shiro, women gossiping at a corner and men lining up to waste their money on useless runes so they could have a close look at Jeanne. Passing by a flower stall Riou saw Tengaar dragging Hix towards the white roses section.

"Look Hix, aren't these beautiful?"

It was an obvious hint that Tengaar wanted Hix to buy her those flowers, especially when she had picked up a dozen in her arms. Hix wanted to surprise Tengaar with a praise that those flowers are nothing compared to her, but because he was Hix, it came out as,

"Yeah, too bad those flowers aren't you..."

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Riou just stood there feeling empathy for the warrior as Tengaar threw the flowers at him and scuttled off, leaving Hix to pay for the thrown flowers. They were a sweet couple, even if they didn't look or sound like one.

Riou suddenly remembered that he needed to get some supplies from Alex before he fought again and he might as well do it now when he got the time. So, off to the free-of-charge inn he went only to find little Pete sitting behind Alex's counter. Asked where his parents were, Pete happily chirped,

"Papa said he has something to give Mama, so they went to the room down the hall. They have not come back yet...Want me to call them?"

Riou could feel his face burning as a million thoughts passed his mind as to what Alex and Hilda were doing in that room, and none of them was innocent. He didn't want to disturb them, but Pete had already screamed down the hallway,

"PAPA!! Mister Riou is here!"

A thud followed by ample shuffling with a muffled "Oh my god!" was heard from that closed door and soon, a disheveled Alex came out. He smiled sheepishly as he stepped towards the now furiously blushing Riou behind his counter. Not long afterwards, Hilda appeared from the room as neat and tidy as ever, with a calm and warm smile as he greeted Lord Riou. Riou bought everything he needed and fled the inn. Though he was still young, he knew when adults needed their 'adult time' from none other than his pal, Jowy. Grandpa Genkaku never told Riou or Nanami about adult life or love or such...it would have been really weird to hear such things from him anyway.

Something was in the air that day, but Riou could not name it. The next few things Riou saw confirmed the fact that whatever it was, it was contagious. Upon re-entering his castle, Riou saw Yoshino feeding Freed Y his lunch lovingly and one could literally see hearts floating above them. Around the corner was Jess' room, and Riou noticed a distinct smell coming from it. Riou cursed his curiosity as he saw what was inside. Everyone teased Jess of over-protecting Lady Annabelle, but his room showed he worshipped her. In fact, he seemed to be her stalker or something. Hundreds of Annabelle's portraits were hung on the wall and a small shrine was dedicated to her. An aromatic incense was lit to enlighten the room and...it would be too creepy to go on. Riou wondered if he should put Jess in the dungeon for being a maniac or send him home before anyone hurts him, but decided to leave the room and let it be.

Heading down to the docks wasn't a good idea, for Riou found himself observing the most horrifying event ever occurred. The two octopuses, what were their names again? Abizoah and Rulodia...I think...are mating on my docks? Everyone on the docks, including Yam Koo, was caught in those tentacles as those creatures swirled around the port in their passion. Riou was quick enough to avoid being entangled, but he would have preferred to not see it at all. Though there were no casualties, all the men's mentality would be permanently affected.

Riou dared himself to continue his tour around the castle. Passing the restaurant, Riou's nose became ill as something burnt contaminated the air. He could hear people coughing and gasping in the restaurant when Nanami emerged from the kitchen. Riou could guess that she caused this smell and whatever that was in the box in her hands was her experiment.

"Riou!"

Nanami was both shocked and glad to see Riou in front of her, while her brother felt less than excited. He was ready to flee to Highland if she was to ask him to try the food (if you could call it food) she made. However, Riou did not have to make the trip. Nanami's face turned pink as she asked Riou shyly,

"Um, Riou, have you seen Sir Camus?"

Surprised at Nanami's target, Riou just bluntly pointed towards the Knights' quarters as he watched his sister hopped towards it. Riou sighed in relief as well as pity for the poor red knight. Camus had no idea what was coming. Hai Yo came out complaining about Nanami again, but Riou could not believe his ears when he found out what Nanami was making. She was merely making chocolates and she turned the kitchen into a pigsty. But why chocolates?

Riou explored the rest of the castle and found that there was at least one place running normally; the library. The kobolds, led by GenGen, and ninjas, led by Mondo, were training in the dojo. Walking towards the lake, Riou discovered with great surprise that McDohl had stayed in his castle for once. He was fishing on the bank of the lake, (even though the fish had all died from food poisoning) and looked peaceful. Riou was glad to be able to chat with someone not affected by the something in the air when he noticed a pink fabric sticking out from the tree branch above McDohl. No wonder Kasumi was nowhere to be found...

It was late evening and shops were closing up. Riou guessed it was time to get back to the castle and saw Hix passing by with a huge bouquet of white roses. He probably wanted to apologize to Tengaar. Riou couldn't help feeling nosy that day and followed Hix to the lake. Apparently, Hix and Tengaar had replaced McDohl and Kasumi. While Hix blushed at the large gift from Tengaar, she happily accepted the roses and cried,

"Oh Hix! You shouldn't have spent so much on these roses, but thank you!"

And good old Hix had to ruin it all with,

"It was nothing, Tengaar! I waited for the closing sale to get them all for you!"

Hix emphasized on the "ALL-FOR-YOU" part, but Tengaar only listened until the "CLOSING-SALE" part. Furious, she threw a lightning bolt at Hix with his present at hand, then threw the roses and stormed off. Again, Riou could smell the whiff of burnt chocolates. They were a sweet couple indeed.

It was time for dinner and everyone headed for the castle. Riou bumped onto Chaco and the little Winger spat a long chain of curses when he noticed he was cursing at the strongest fellow in the castle. Apologizing hastily, Chaco fled into the castle, dropping a note on the ground. Riou picked it up to return it to him when he noticed that the letter had been directed to HIM, from Lady TERESA!

Wide-eyed, Riou opened the letter and stood horrified at what it contained. If Chaco had taken this letter, then the lady was to be a victim...of a horrifying prank! Chasing after the winged brat, Riou knew it was tougher to make him confess than to catch him. When Chaco was cornered, he looked at Riou innocently,

"Why, our mighty hero Lord Riou, I have never seen that letter before! What are you talking about?"

Chaco was a kid, and like any kid, he could be scared.

"Chaco, if you do not tell me what you did, I would have you moved to Sid's quarters."

Immediately the Winger clutched Riou's knee as no one knew, or wanted to know, what Sid will do to his roommates while they sleep.

"Alright! Alright! I give up! It was just a practical joke! No harm is done! Just PLEASE don't send me to stay with Sid!"

Riou was mortified to hear what Chaco wrote to Teresa using his name. Immediately he fled into the castle, making a mental note to punish Chaco somehow. Perhaps he would tell Sid how much Chaco admired him... He rushed past the stone tablet, vaguely noticing Luc summoning his true rune to blow away a raving herd of fanatic girls rushing towards him. Riou knocked Adlai on the way up the stairs, causing the old scientist to shout in anger,

"Blasphemy! What's the point of building an escalator when all you do is run up and down the stairs? Ingrates!"

Riou hoped he was not too late. Chaco's 'innocent' little joke would not only ruin his reputation, but also humiliate both Lady Teresa and...Shin! On his way up the stairs, he was cursing himself for bringing this upon him. Why had he recruited all these atrocities in his army? WHY did he listen to Shu who insisted he recruit all the stars of destiny?? As Teresa's room drew near Riou saw Shin enter it. NOOO!!!! It was too late. Soon he would hear screaming and shouting and he would be blamed. Several seconds after he was petrified, Riou noticed there was neither shouts nor scream, just the noise of the activities downstairs. When his body had the courage to move, he stepped silently towards Teresa's room. Either both Teresa and Shin fainted or... Riou had to find out. He pushed his ear flat on the door of her room and tried to make out noises. Before long, Riou's face was hot. If someone could see him now, he would be described as 'as red as a tomato', literally. Jumping away from the 'burning' door, Riou dashed away from it. Er-um...well, since the prank did not do them any harm, then I shall forget about it... With that, he walked awkwardly along the corridor only to find Shu's door open once again. Not Apple again... Indeed, it was not Apple, but Shu himself. However strong his mind was, he could not escape from whatever was in the air. Riou's curiosity had bested him once more. He stood there, as quiet as a mouse, and observed as his strategist picked up the little box that Apple had placed on his table. Shu opened it and Riou's noticed his eyebrows shoot up, followed by a pint of red on his cheeks only an elf could see. Hesitantly, he reached for the content and took a small cube out. It was a chocolate. What's with chocolates today? Riou watched in surprise as Shu popped the piece into his mouth and smiled. Riou stepped back and walked away. It was too bizarre to go on.

Feeling extremely exhausted, Riou headed towards his room for a nap. Perhaps this funny thing in the air would disappear tomorrow and things would be back to normal. Everyone would be serious and Riou would go to battle. Riou's head was spinning and he wished that someone would tell him what was happening. Little did he know that he was in for a surprise. A shorthaired gypsy girl was waiting outside his room with a big red box, ready to spread the something in the air to him and have him eat...chocolates.

Smiling, the hooded lady cleared her crystal ball and stared up at the sea of stars. Leknaat gazed at the stars of destiny in the vast sky. Everyone deserved a day away from all worries, a day of love.

"Valentine's is such a wonderful day..."

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Author's Notes: First off, thank you for your reviews!! Well, a lot of things don't make sense here, especially the castle structure, but that's not important. I guess this should be posted next Feb 14th, but oh well, can't wait. Hope you guys like it. And oh, about Lady Teresa's letter, you can find it in some of the online suggestion box list (I'm not telling :p), as for Chaco's reply, it is up to you to be as creative as you want (wink wink!) Coming up next: More weird battles with weird comrades!