dot hack//HUNTER
|bY |kURA
~*~
Chapter 2 : Truth Be Told
~*~
"Sensui?"
A sorcerer in white clothing stood at the entrance to the cave, his arms crossed across his chest and sea-green hair falling just past his shoulders. He blinked once and then again, trying to get his eyes used to the darkness of the cave. He called out once more to the person named Sensui, but no response came. He entered, casting a small Fire spell to light his way. Nearing its end, there came to view a small lake in the middle of a vacant space, a comfortable looking couch set on one of its shores, a save-off point right next to it. The sorcerer's lips formed a frown, finding no one, and he started to walk towards the couch when a voice sounded from behind, from the direction he had come from.
"Is that you, Itsuki?"
Itsuki wheeled around quickly, ready to face whoever it was. A few feet behind him stood an archer with ebony hair and wearing black shirt and pants. The tall thin character gave him a small smile, making his otherwise frightening face look a bit more friendly and warm. Handsome in fact, if one would consider. Itsuki lowered his defenses and approached the figure, returning the smile.
"Yes, Sensui. What happened of the virus? Did it work?"
The one dubbed Sensui gave his companion a thoughtful look before proceeding to the couch, motioning for the other to follow him. Itsuki did so without any objections and waited patiently for him to say something, anything.
"Yes, Itsuki, the 'Dusk' worked."
Itsuki turned to him with a serious expression on his face. Sensui leaned forward a little, his eyes glinting oddly, a shade of obsidian light too real to have been part of the game...
"We're nearing it. Just one more..."
~*~
"You're late."
Kurama regarded Yomi calmly, both hands inside the pockets of his green tunic and showing little amusement on his face. He smiled sweetly and sat down on the grassy field next to the slightly taller male, one hand tracing the parallel veins of a single green blade of grass. The other went up to brush away red bangs from in front of his eyes albeit the action was in vain for they fell down again to cover his emerald greens. He tried again to keep his hair away but couldn't until Yomi finally reached over and pulled away his locks, securing them behind his head with a band.
"Thanks," Kurama muttered, doing a move to secure the hold more tightly. He frowned as his fingers touched a familiar material. "Yomi..." he said in a threatening tone.
Yomi looked back at him with innocent eyes. As innocent as a young boy caught with both hands reaching inside the cookie jar that is. Kurama continued to glare at him, but he merely grinned back. "We're thieves," he said, shrugging.
"Right," Kurama agreed, giving the leafy band one last thug before reaching into his pockets as if looking for something. Yomi watched him curiously. A few minutes passed and a triumphant smile graced the redhead's lips as he brought his hands out, one of them holding a card. Yomi's eyes narrowed and he wheeled around to see a vine slithering out of view and into the woods.
"Give that back," Yomi growled, making a grab for the card but not being quick enough and missing. Kurama teasingly smiled at him and turned the card around with his fingers, much like how a majorette twirls her baton. Yomi glared at him and, catching the redhead off-guard, pinned him to the ground, straddling his hips. Kurama gasped in surprise and the other thief took the opportunity to snatch the card from his slender fingers, licking his lips crazily while at it. He then rolled off of him and lay next to him on the grass. "If I loose this, the raiders are going to kill me, Kurama," he said.
Kurama gave a short laugh before shifting to a more comfortable position on the ground. "So what happened at the meeting today? Anything that might interest me?" he asked, shifting his eyes from the thief beside him to the afternoon sky of The World. Such a beautiful color. Why can't the sky in the world be as beautiful, as clean and as clear as the blue one above them now? He marveled at its serenity, missing Yomi's reply.
"Yes," Yomi repeated. When the other still didn't give any sign of recognition, he opened his eyes and turned his head to look at him. Kurama stared straight ahead, his eyes glinting of pleasure and peace. Yomi could have smiled, the color in his eyes were pretty and so full of true life, unlike many of the beautiful but artificial things around them, but quickly reminded himself of what made Kurama's eyes so tantalizing. Shaking his head, he looked deeper into those emerald eyes and saw flashes of light blue, Kurama's eye color in the real world.
This was a usual thing that happens to the other thief. Allowing all of himself to be poured into the game, his soul slowly enters and becomes one with it. Kurama was one of the few players they have come to recognize as 'realas', users that somehow gets some of their real world attributes to appear on their player characters. He frowned at the thought, no one is really sure how this happens, if it's a glitch in the systems or what, but one note has already been declared true - realas level up thrice as fast as normal players and can achieve levels past the maximum of their character. This is the reason the raiders are wary of realas, and of the 'occult', a group of realas humored to be gathering players like themselves.
'Which is not really true,' Yomi thought with a mental smirk. 'The raiders have no idea of what they are up against.'
Yomi suddenly snapped to attention when something caught his eye. He quickly placed a hand over Kurama's eyes to block his vision and used his other hand to grip his arm tightly. Kurama started to protest but he kept his hold firm and the other soon stopped struggling, trembling slightly. When he'd finally relaxed, Yomi let him go and lay back down on his place.
"What happened?"
Yomi sighed and lay on his side to look at him. Kurama was already lying on his side. "You..." He reached for a handful of the red locks, savored their smoothness and prettiness, before continuing. "Your hair turned blond...that is its color in the real world, is it not?"
Kurama gasped and gave a pained sort of look before nodding his head dejectedly. He lay back down on his back as Yomi did too. He has done it again. He became so entranced with The World's beauty that he has allowed himself to become too involved yet once more. When will he ever learn that everything in this place is not true? That it really is just a game? No matter how hard he tries to cling to it, or wish to bring it back with him to the real world, it can never be for such things are only fantasies.
"Kurama?" Yomi called his attention. His head swerved to him in response. "You have to be careful next time. That very attitude of yours is what made you a reala and remember that not all players are fond of realas...'
"Is there anything you wish to tell me, Yomi?" Kurama asked seriously. When Yomi looked away, he pressed on. "Something about your little conference, isn't it? About realas?"
Yomi sighed and relented, telling the redhead everything. Kurama paid rapt attention to everything he said, his lips forming a frown once in awhile....
Yomi shrugged. "...the true and only goal of Mission Fantasy is to pinpoint exactly where the occult's hideout is in The World and discover what it is they are up to. But the only way to do that is with realas..."
"And the most famous realas of the game are us, right?" Kurama finished, raking a hand through his red mane. Great. He didn't notice when, but the plant has somehow lost its hold on his hair. Now his flaming red tresses are loose and disheveled. Again. That doubtlessly should be the last thing he is worrying about right now, but it still irritated him. Darn. "We are the most powerful among all the realas in The World and the most suitable of accomplices to the raiders, right? Me, Hiei and Kuwabara?"
"Exactly..." Yomi replied, starting to feel uncomfortable. "I didn't want to get you and your party involved but Koenma thinks it can't be helped...none of the raiders are realas themselves."
"That's because all of you are too intent and serious on your jobs," Kurama said, standing up and brushing grass blades stains from his tunic. "You're no fun," he added teasingly, springing into the woods and leaving Yomi behind.
Yomi smirked at the redhead's back which was quickly slipping out of view in the distance. He turned and fled from the place, unaware of the rouge's eyes set unwaveringly on his figure, the owner of which was scowling darkly. Giving one last glare, the raider walked away as well.
~*~
Mukuro looked away from the still form of Hiei, getting utterly bored. The dark-haired player character's user told her to wait, saying that he'll be back, and took off his visor. What the person is doing in the real world right now is beyond her, but minutes has already passed and she's getting quite impatient.
Boy, she feels like a baby-sitter.
More like a character-sitter really. When a user takes of his visor, his player character goes into some sort of motionless, lifeless state, but it doesn't die and that's a good thing since the user won't have to start from his last save-off point. However, being in its immobile 'trance', it becomes an easy target for other players, particularly thieves, as well as monsters and such within the game. Only two shabby computer-generated goblins have dared to approach and attack them as of now, which she disposed of quickly, no sweat, but Mukuro wonders how much longer it will take Hiei with whatever it is he is busy with.
With no warning, Hiei's crimson eyes which have dimmed suddenly turned lucid and he had on an annoyed expression. He doesn't seem to acknowledge Mukuro's presence next to him. "That was a waste of time..." he mumbled.
"What is?" Mukuro asked, making Hiei jump about a mile. Well, not actually 'jump' since the player character Hiei rarely shows any emotions, but she did see the swordsman blink a couple of times in quick succession as if startled. "What was a waste of time?"
"Hn. None of your business, sorcerer," Hiei answered gruffly in his deep baritone, pulling his sword out, turning it over to inspect its blade, and sheathing it. He stood up and started walking towards the woods, dazily at first but more steady wih each step.
"Now that's rude. That's the way you talk to me after I stuck around here to watch over you?" Mukuro retorted irately, glaring at the back of Hiei's head. The male stopped on his tracks and turned around to face her, a matching glare shooting from his eyes. Mukuro waited for him to speak but he kept silent and moved to a nearby tree, sitting on the ground and leaning against its trunk. She sat somewhere close and crossed her arms in front of her after carefully placing her staff down beside her. "So? You're going to tell me what you did or what?"
Hiei gave her a look that could freeze hellfire but she merely ignored it. Deliberately taking his time, he finally answered. "Hacking into Kurama's user-files." He waited for the sorcerer to comment but she just raised an eyebrow, prompting him to go on. "I found nothing. I can say he - or she - doesn't really trust 'The World's filekeeping super-tight security' the creators keep on bragging about," he said, paused, and smirked. "And he's right not to," he added as an afterthought and rushed on. "There wasn't much info there. Only status reports and such on Kurama and nothing about the user at all."
Mukuro took a moment to digest what has been said and a frown appeared on her lips. "Hack?" The swordsman's look didn't falter a bit and she found herself fighting the urge to flinch. Darn it. How can he so easily say those things in front of her? She's a raider for pete's sake! An authority of sorts within the game! How can he admit to an illegal act so candidly in her presence? Is it because she's a woman? Darn it.
"What? Have any plans of turning me in, Mukuro?" Hiei asked in an inciting tone, a silent challenge in his voice. He laughed inwardly at the look of horror and indecision that passed over Mukuro's facade for a fleeting moment before the sorcerer finally shook her head, the small piece of cloth that covered half of her face managing to conceal what it is intended to hide as it barely kept up with the movement of her head. "Thought so," he said, starting to get to his feet. "I'm going now. I'm meeting up with the thief and that tall idiot who gives all the rest of us swordsmen a bad name."
"Why Kurama's user?" Mukuro asked when Hiei had taken not more than ten steps. The black-haired character didn't bother to turn around and shouted his answer as his form disappeared into the trees.
"I have a guess that he - or she - is part of the occult."
~*~
"I've been waiting for you guys."
Hiei watched as the redhead quickly strode over to the the carrot-topped player character's side, casting a Healing spell he has no doubt stolen from some poor sorcerer. Said goofy-looking swordsman nodded his head as wounds and bruises all over his body disappeared, muttered "Thanks", and struggled to get to his feet with the help of the thief. He shook his head and walked over to the two of them, tossing a flask half-full of neon green liquid at Kurama. The other easily caught it upon instinct and looked back at him with a confused expression. "Hiei?"
"Drink it," he replied. "You've been poisoned."
A thoughtful look passed on Kurama's face before he checked his status, gasping silently at the confirmation of the swordsman's words. He quickly downed the antidote and red liquid soon followed it to raise the redhead's vitality points. He then returned his gaze to Hiei whose eyes were still on him. "How'd you know?"
"I noticed your speed isn't the same as it was this morning," Hiei answered easily, shrugging and covering up faultlessly the true reason, which was that he had hacked into his files earlier. "Careless of you, Kurama," he scoffed.
"Sorry."
Kuwabara groaned, drawing the attention of the two to him. Even rid of all his wounds he still appeared to be out of sorts. Hiei tried to hold back a smirk as well as an insult. Meanwhile, Kurama has asked the sad excuse of a swordsman for the name of the player character who did this to him, assuming that it was a player character since the monsters in this part of the forests are too weak to beat him up that bad even in groups of five or more. He answered "Yuusuke..."
'Yuusuke, huh?' Hiei thought, innocently scanning Kuwabara. The swordsman was four levels below his and Kurama's albeit still pretty strong compared to other gamers. 'We'll see who this Yuusuke is.'
~*~
To be continued...
~*~
Standard Disclaimers Applied. I don't own HxH/YYH and the concept of this story, as well as some of the terms and the game 'The World', was taken from the .hack series which I don't own too.
|bY |kURA
~*~
Chapter 2 : Truth Be Told
~*~
"Sensui?"
A sorcerer in white clothing stood at the entrance to the cave, his arms crossed across his chest and sea-green hair falling just past his shoulders. He blinked once and then again, trying to get his eyes used to the darkness of the cave. He called out once more to the person named Sensui, but no response came. He entered, casting a small Fire spell to light his way. Nearing its end, there came to view a small lake in the middle of a vacant space, a comfortable looking couch set on one of its shores, a save-off point right next to it. The sorcerer's lips formed a frown, finding no one, and he started to walk towards the couch when a voice sounded from behind, from the direction he had come from.
"Is that you, Itsuki?"
Itsuki wheeled around quickly, ready to face whoever it was. A few feet behind him stood an archer with ebony hair and wearing black shirt and pants. The tall thin character gave him a small smile, making his otherwise frightening face look a bit more friendly and warm. Handsome in fact, if one would consider. Itsuki lowered his defenses and approached the figure, returning the smile.
"Yes, Sensui. What happened of the virus? Did it work?"
The one dubbed Sensui gave his companion a thoughtful look before proceeding to the couch, motioning for the other to follow him. Itsuki did so without any objections and waited patiently for him to say something, anything.
"Yes, Itsuki, the 'Dusk' worked."
Itsuki turned to him with a serious expression on his face. Sensui leaned forward a little, his eyes glinting oddly, a shade of obsidian light too real to have been part of the game...
"We're nearing it. Just one more..."
~*~
"You're late."
Kurama regarded Yomi calmly, both hands inside the pockets of his green tunic and showing little amusement on his face. He smiled sweetly and sat down on the grassy field next to the slightly taller male, one hand tracing the parallel veins of a single green blade of grass. The other went up to brush away red bangs from in front of his eyes albeit the action was in vain for they fell down again to cover his emerald greens. He tried again to keep his hair away but couldn't until Yomi finally reached over and pulled away his locks, securing them behind his head with a band.
"Thanks," Kurama muttered, doing a move to secure the hold more tightly. He frowned as his fingers touched a familiar material. "Yomi..." he said in a threatening tone.
Yomi looked back at him with innocent eyes. As innocent as a young boy caught with both hands reaching inside the cookie jar that is. Kurama continued to glare at him, but he merely grinned back. "We're thieves," he said, shrugging.
"Right," Kurama agreed, giving the leafy band one last thug before reaching into his pockets as if looking for something. Yomi watched him curiously. A few minutes passed and a triumphant smile graced the redhead's lips as he brought his hands out, one of them holding a card. Yomi's eyes narrowed and he wheeled around to see a vine slithering out of view and into the woods.
"Give that back," Yomi growled, making a grab for the card but not being quick enough and missing. Kurama teasingly smiled at him and turned the card around with his fingers, much like how a majorette twirls her baton. Yomi glared at him and, catching the redhead off-guard, pinned him to the ground, straddling his hips. Kurama gasped in surprise and the other thief took the opportunity to snatch the card from his slender fingers, licking his lips crazily while at it. He then rolled off of him and lay next to him on the grass. "If I loose this, the raiders are going to kill me, Kurama," he said.
Kurama gave a short laugh before shifting to a more comfortable position on the ground. "So what happened at the meeting today? Anything that might interest me?" he asked, shifting his eyes from the thief beside him to the afternoon sky of The World. Such a beautiful color. Why can't the sky in the world be as beautiful, as clean and as clear as the blue one above them now? He marveled at its serenity, missing Yomi's reply.
"Yes," Yomi repeated. When the other still didn't give any sign of recognition, he opened his eyes and turned his head to look at him. Kurama stared straight ahead, his eyes glinting of pleasure and peace. Yomi could have smiled, the color in his eyes were pretty and so full of true life, unlike many of the beautiful but artificial things around them, but quickly reminded himself of what made Kurama's eyes so tantalizing. Shaking his head, he looked deeper into those emerald eyes and saw flashes of light blue, Kurama's eye color in the real world.
This was a usual thing that happens to the other thief. Allowing all of himself to be poured into the game, his soul slowly enters and becomes one with it. Kurama was one of the few players they have come to recognize as 'realas', users that somehow gets some of their real world attributes to appear on their player characters. He frowned at the thought, no one is really sure how this happens, if it's a glitch in the systems or what, but one note has already been declared true - realas level up thrice as fast as normal players and can achieve levels past the maximum of their character. This is the reason the raiders are wary of realas, and of the 'occult', a group of realas humored to be gathering players like themselves.
'Which is not really true,' Yomi thought with a mental smirk. 'The raiders have no idea of what they are up against.'
Yomi suddenly snapped to attention when something caught his eye. He quickly placed a hand over Kurama's eyes to block his vision and used his other hand to grip his arm tightly. Kurama started to protest but he kept his hold firm and the other soon stopped struggling, trembling slightly. When he'd finally relaxed, Yomi let him go and lay back down on his place.
"What happened?"
Yomi sighed and lay on his side to look at him. Kurama was already lying on his side. "You..." He reached for a handful of the red locks, savored their smoothness and prettiness, before continuing. "Your hair turned blond...that is its color in the real world, is it not?"
Kurama gasped and gave a pained sort of look before nodding his head dejectedly. He lay back down on his back as Yomi did too. He has done it again. He became so entranced with The World's beauty that he has allowed himself to become too involved yet once more. When will he ever learn that everything in this place is not true? That it really is just a game? No matter how hard he tries to cling to it, or wish to bring it back with him to the real world, it can never be for such things are only fantasies.
"Kurama?" Yomi called his attention. His head swerved to him in response. "You have to be careful next time. That very attitude of yours is what made you a reala and remember that not all players are fond of realas...'
"Is there anything you wish to tell me, Yomi?" Kurama asked seriously. When Yomi looked away, he pressed on. "Something about your little conference, isn't it? About realas?"
Yomi sighed and relented, telling the redhead everything. Kurama paid rapt attention to everything he said, his lips forming a frown once in awhile....
Yomi shrugged. "...the true and only goal of Mission Fantasy is to pinpoint exactly where the occult's hideout is in The World and discover what it is they are up to. But the only way to do that is with realas..."
"And the most famous realas of the game are us, right?" Kurama finished, raking a hand through his red mane. Great. He didn't notice when, but the plant has somehow lost its hold on his hair. Now his flaming red tresses are loose and disheveled. Again. That doubtlessly should be the last thing he is worrying about right now, but it still irritated him. Darn. "We are the most powerful among all the realas in The World and the most suitable of accomplices to the raiders, right? Me, Hiei and Kuwabara?"
"Exactly..." Yomi replied, starting to feel uncomfortable. "I didn't want to get you and your party involved but Koenma thinks it can't be helped...none of the raiders are realas themselves."
"That's because all of you are too intent and serious on your jobs," Kurama said, standing up and brushing grass blades stains from his tunic. "You're no fun," he added teasingly, springing into the woods and leaving Yomi behind.
Yomi smirked at the redhead's back which was quickly slipping out of view in the distance. He turned and fled from the place, unaware of the rouge's eyes set unwaveringly on his figure, the owner of which was scowling darkly. Giving one last glare, the raider walked away as well.
~*~
Mukuro looked away from the still form of Hiei, getting utterly bored. The dark-haired player character's user told her to wait, saying that he'll be back, and took off his visor. What the person is doing in the real world right now is beyond her, but minutes has already passed and she's getting quite impatient.
Boy, she feels like a baby-sitter.
More like a character-sitter really. When a user takes of his visor, his player character goes into some sort of motionless, lifeless state, but it doesn't die and that's a good thing since the user won't have to start from his last save-off point. However, being in its immobile 'trance', it becomes an easy target for other players, particularly thieves, as well as monsters and such within the game. Only two shabby computer-generated goblins have dared to approach and attack them as of now, which she disposed of quickly, no sweat, but Mukuro wonders how much longer it will take Hiei with whatever it is he is busy with.
With no warning, Hiei's crimson eyes which have dimmed suddenly turned lucid and he had on an annoyed expression. He doesn't seem to acknowledge Mukuro's presence next to him. "That was a waste of time..." he mumbled.
"What is?" Mukuro asked, making Hiei jump about a mile. Well, not actually 'jump' since the player character Hiei rarely shows any emotions, but she did see the swordsman blink a couple of times in quick succession as if startled. "What was a waste of time?"
"Hn. None of your business, sorcerer," Hiei answered gruffly in his deep baritone, pulling his sword out, turning it over to inspect its blade, and sheathing it. He stood up and started walking towards the woods, dazily at first but more steady wih each step.
"Now that's rude. That's the way you talk to me after I stuck around here to watch over you?" Mukuro retorted irately, glaring at the back of Hiei's head. The male stopped on his tracks and turned around to face her, a matching glare shooting from his eyes. Mukuro waited for him to speak but he kept silent and moved to a nearby tree, sitting on the ground and leaning against its trunk. She sat somewhere close and crossed her arms in front of her after carefully placing her staff down beside her. "So? You're going to tell me what you did or what?"
Hiei gave her a look that could freeze hellfire but she merely ignored it. Deliberately taking his time, he finally answered. "Hacking into Kurama's user-files." He waited for the sorcerer to comment but she just raised an eyebrow, prompting him to go on. "I found nothing. I can say he - or she - doesn't really trust 'The World's filekeeping super-tight security' the creators keep on bragging about," he said, paused, and smirked. "And he's right not to," he added as an afterthought and rushed on. "There wasn't much info there. Only status reports and such on Kurama and nothing about the user at all."
Mukuro took a moment to digest what has been said and a frown appeared on her lips. "Hack?" The swordsman's look didn't falter a bit and she found herself fighting the urge to flinch. Darn it. How can he so easily say those things in front of her? She's a raider for pete's sake! An authority of sorts within the game! How can he admit to an illegal act so candidly in her presence? Is it because she's a woman? Darn it.
"What? Have any plans of turning me in, Mukuro?" Hiei asked in an inciting tone, a silent challenge in his voice. He laughed inwardly at the look of horror and indecision that passed over Mukuro's facade for a fleeting moment before the sorcerer finally shook her head, the small piece of cloth that covered half of her face managing to conceal what it is intended to hide as it barely kept up with the movement of her head. "Thought so," he said, starting to get to his feet. "I'm going now. I'm meeting up with the thief and that tall idiot who gives all the rest of us swordsmen a bad name."
"Why Kurama's user?" Mukuro asked when Hiei had taken not more than ten steps. The black-haired character didn't bother to turn around and shouted his answer as his form disappeared into the trees.
"I have a guess that he - or she - is part of the occult."
~*~
"I've been waiting for you guys."
Hiei watched as the redhead quickly strode over to the the carrot-topped player character's side, casting a Healing spell he has no doubt stolen from some poor sorcerer. Said goofy-looking swordsman nodded his head as wounds and bruises all over his body disappeared, muttered "Thanks", and struggled to get to his feet with the help of the thief. He shook his head and walked over to the two of them, tossing a flask half-full of neon green liquid at Kurama. The other easily caught it upon instinct and looked back at him with a confused expression. "Hiei?"
"Drink it," he replied. "You've been poisoned."
A thoughtful look passed on Kurama's face before he checked his status, gasping silently at the confirmation of the swordsman's words. He quickly downed the antidote and red liquid soon followed it to raise the redhead's vitality points. He then returned his gaze to Hiei whose eyes were still on him. "How'd you know?"
"I noticed your speed isn't the same as it was this morning," Hiei answered easily, shrugging and covering up faultlessly the true reason, which was that he had hacked into his files earlier. "Careless of you, Kurama," he scoffed.
"Sorry."
Kuwabara groaned, drawing the attention of the two to him. Even rid of all his wounds he still appeared to be out of sorts. Hiei tried to hold back a smirk as well as an insult. Meanwhile, Kurama has asked the sad excuse of a swordsman for the name of the player character who did this to him, assuming that it was a player character since the monsters in this part of the forests are too weak to beat him up that bad even in groups of five or more. He answered "Yuusuke..."
'Yuusuke, huh?' Hiei thought, innocently scanning Kuwabara. The swordsman was four levels below his and Kurama's albeit still pretty strong compared to other gamers. 'We'll see who this Yuusuke is.'
~*~
To be continued...
~*~
Standard Disclaimers Applied. I don't own HxH/YYH and the concept of this story, as well as some of the terms and the game 'The World', was taken from the .hack series which I don't own too.