A/N: Since I've yet to get bad reviews, I must be doing pretty good, so
here's another chapter of Forced Identity. ^^ Hopefully I'll be able to
crank out chapters faster, but seeing as how I've other projects (A .hack
one-shot and a Star Ocean one-shot), and college writing to deal with, that
may not happen. And yes, the little kid in the last chapter was supposed to
be Sora. I just wanted to give him a little cameo ^^(). Oh, and so everyone
knows, this takes place about just a few months before she is trapped in
the world.
*Chapter 3*
"Your two hours are up, get down here and eat!" boomed the voice of the young girl's father.
***
Tsukasa gasped as his blademaster companion opened up a treasure chest. He looked back at the wavemaster in concern.
"Are you okay?" he inquired. He could see the panic written across the young wizard's face.
"I've gotta go!" he replied, pulling out a Sprite Ocarina. Using the item, golden rings surrounded him as his companion shouted something that he didn't hear after him.
Once back in town, the wavemaster ran to the chaos gate, not caring who he bumped into on the way.
***
The morning came and went. School dragged on as the girl looked outside the window. It was raining. The rain drops were slowly sliding down the window, perfectly symbolizing how slowly school was going for her.
There was only ten minutes left of school, and it seemed like those ten minutes were longer than the other hours she had been there. Anxiousness? For what? She wanted out of school for some reason, but she just couldn't put her finger on it. She knew it wasn't about getting home to The World; her father had work tonight so she would have all night to play that.
The soft tone that signaled the end of class sounded. She had no after-school duties, so she did not hesitate to leave the room without looking back.
Keeping her eyes trained on the floor and her pack held tightly against her chest, the teenage girl navigated the halls of her school. Pushing the doors open, she walked outside, looking up at the sky that had ceased it's sprinkling. Somehow, she found herself unable to look away from the sky for a brief moment.
The gray but no longer raining sky matched her mood; clouded, but without a purpose that anyone knew of. The auburn haired girl sighed as someone shouted something after a girl, resuming her walking as she continued to gaze up at the clouds.
"Tuskasa!" She turn her gaze to path behind her at having heard her alter-ego's name called.
A dark haired boy with an umbrella had ran up behind her, huffing and puffing when he finally caught up with her. Someone ran to see her? Since when did something like that happen?
"Hey, what's up?" The boy had a small smile on his face. It took her a moment to realize that this was the boy from the library and the blademaster she had explored with the previous night.
"T-that's not my name..." she said softly, her gaze turning to the ground as it usually did when she spoke with someone. "He's a...different person."
"Well your real name wasn't getting through." he said with a chuckle. She looked up slightly, noticing how silly he looked with the umbrella unfolded when it wasn't raining.
She tilted her head to the side a bit as she pointed towards the umbrella. The teenage boy looked up and realized her inquiry.
"Oh, it's supposed to rain off and on today," he explained. "better safe than sorry, right?" It made since. He rubbed the back of his neck a bit, seemingly unsure of where to take the conversation.
The young girl jumped a bit as she felt something cool and wet come into contact with the soft skin of her arm. A drop of water had fell from the sky. Just as the boy had said, more and more began to fall. Moving more swiftly than she would have liked, her "companion" moved so that they could both find shelter under the umbrella.
"See what I mean?" She turned her back to him and began walking in the direction of her home.
The rain fell upon her, her clothes beginning to moisten as she started off. The rain suddenly stopped around her as she found the umbrella over her head again.
"Um, mind if I walk you home?" asked the owner of the umbrella. "Wouldn't want you to get soaked and catch a cold." Walk her home? Father would be there.
"N-no, I'm okay." she insisted. The adolescent boy tilted his head a bit.
"C'mon, it's not a big deal," he offered. "It's no big deal to me." Her gaze returned to the ground, wishing he would understand.
"I-it's okay...please, believe me." She didn't want him to see her father if he was drunk or for him to get in trouble with him for walking with her. She wasn't supposed to bring people over.
"Well, if you really don't want me to tag along," he said, handing her the umbrella. "At least take this with you." She looked at the object with curiosity. What price would this kindness come at? If she had it, what about him? What did he want out of this...?
"I-I can't," she said, shaking her head lightly. "that's your's." He just smiled and pushed the handle towards her.
"I insist." he stated. She chewed at her bottom lip. If she took too long to get home, she would be punished again. Subconciously touching the bruise on her cheek, she wondered why he hadn't asked about it yet, when other's would've jumped on her about it, or at the very least, gawk at the black and blue bruise.
Reaching out, she hesitantly took the umbrella from him, her shaky hands drawing the thin shelter away from him. He smiled once more, even as the rain began to pour down on him, waving slightly.
"Meet me at Mac Anu tonight!" he said as he ran off. She watched him for a moment before walking in the direction of her own house.
***
"Oh, early today?" inquired her father as she walked through the door, stopping to remove her shoes and close the umbrella.
"Y-yes...I came s-straight home." She gripped the umbrella in both hands, as he stood and stalked over to her.
"So why are you late other days then?" She cringed inwardly at her poor choice of words. "And where the hell did you get this?" he asked, tearing the umbrella away from her shaky hands. She swallowed hard as he held it up for her to see.
"A f-friend let me use it..." She didn't dare look away, but could not look him in the eye either. He scoffed.
"Friend?" he began. "Who're you kidding, you don't have any friends. Where'd you really get it?" She couldn't think of a thing to say, her knees shaking.
She watched as he took the umbrella and smack it against the wall, throwing it to the ground and stomping it firmly so it was broken. The innocuous girl could ony watch.
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter where you got it from now." He walked of after giving her the broken umbrella. It wasn't her's, so why did she care what happened to it? Why did she feel such guilt as she trudged upstairs.
Regardless of how she felt, she'd have to explain this to the umbrella's owner. She would have to wait the adequate amount of time and meet in in The World like he had asked.
***
"Don't worry about it." said the blue haired swordsman, his feet dangling over the ledge of where the two sat.
"Your not angry?" asked the young wavemaster, his eyes wide in disbelief. Talora chuckled a bit at his surprise.
"Well, you did say you trip on your way inside, right?" Tsukasa looked down into the water and nodded softly. "Well, accidents happen. I've got another somewhere." Tsukasa let out a sigh of relief and stood up.
"Okay, sorry again." He turned to leave.
"Hey, where ya goin'?" inquired the aqua haired man. The wavemaster gave a half-shrug.
"No where in particular." he answered. The blademaster stood up and walked after him.
"Well hey, wait up." he requested as the wavemaster continued walking towards the Chaos Gate. "Are you up for a dungeon adventure? We never really got to finish our last one, you know."
That was true. The young wizard had to admit that the experience wasn't painful or anything like that. And with what happened earlier that afternoon, he couldn't just walk away after apologizing, could he? It's not like it would be that bad. Last time, he had just done what he'd always done, except he was splitting the treasure with someone.
"Sure, I guess..." he answered. He had all night, so things would be fine.
***
"Finally made it." stated the green armored swordsman, walking up to the Gott Statue's treasure chest. He opened the chest and pulled out three items that the younger boy could not see. One was a larger metallic object that looked like a staff. He turned around and tossed the staff to Tsukasa, his amethyst eyes opening wide in surprise as he caught it, causing him to drop his other staff.
The young boy looked over the newly recieved item. The rod was better than the one he had, which was actually a few levels below his character level. It was a white color, the head of the staff forming a crecent kind of shape, a red spherical ruby ordaining the center of the arch.
"That's a pretty good rod, you can sell your old one and use that one." said his companion. Tsukasa looked the rod over, nodding and picking up his old one.
"Thanks, I think I'll do that," he said, pulling out a sprite ocarina. "I'm gonna head out now." Before he could leave the blademaster spoke again.
"Hey, some friends of mine are gonna be on tommarow," he explained. "Would you come with us? I know you don't like groups of people and all, but I want you to meet my pals." The wavemaster shook his head.
"I dunno..." stated the young wizard. "why do you want me come?" he asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"I just figured it'd be fun," said the blademaster. "I promise, all you'll have to do is follow us through a dungeon or two, hang out in the back and do what you normally do."
"I'll think about it," said the silver haired boy, looking down at his new staff. "but no promises." Talora nodded slightly.
"Well, just promise me you'll think about it then." Tsukasa scoffed a bit.
"From what I've seen," he began. "promises are made to be broken." he finished, warping from the dungeon with his Sprite Ocarina, the new staff still gripped tightly in one hand.
*End Chapter 3
A/N: Wee, that took forever. I feel like I had to force this chapter, to the point where I didn't proofread well, so I'm not at all satisfied with it, and I'm sorry if any of you are dissappointed. I'll try to make the next one better and a bit longer. It may go to being two weeks an update because I'm not starting on a term paper for one of my classes. Combine that with work and there goes most of my free time. So updates will come slowly, but stick with me! I love my readers!
*Chapter 3*
"Your two hours are up, get down here and eat!" boomed the voice of the young girl's father.
***
Tsukasa gasped as his blademaster companion opened up a treasure chest. He looked back at the wavemaster in concern.
"Are you okay?" he inquired. He could see the panic written across the young wizard's face.
"I've gotta go!" he replied, pulling out a Sprite Ocarina. Using the item, golden rings surrounded him as his companion shouted something that he didn't hear after him.
Once back in town, the wavemaster ran to the chaos gate, not caring who he bumped into on the way.
***
The morning came and went. School dragged on as the girl looked outside the window. It was raining. The rain drops were slowly sliding down the window, perfectly symbolizing how slowly school was going for her.
There was only ten minutes left of school, and it seemed like those ten minutes were longer than the other hours she had been there. Anxiousness? For what? She wanted out of school for some reason, but she just couldn't put her finger on it. She knew it wasn't about getting home to The World; her father had work tonight so she would have all night to play that.
The soft tone that signaled the end of class sounded. She had no after-school duties, so she did not hesitate to leave the room without looking back.
Keeping her eyes trained on the floor and her pack held tightly against her chest, the teenage girl navigated the halls of her school. Pushing the doors open, she walked outside, looking up at the sky that had ceased it's sprinkling. Somehow, she found herself unable to look away from the sky for a brief moment.
The gray but no longer raining sky matched her mood; clouded, but without a purpose that anyone knew of. The auburn haired girl sighed as someone shouted something after a girl, resuming her walking as she continued to gaze up at the clouds.
"Tuskasa!" She turn her gaze to path behind her at having heard her alter-ego's name called.
A dark haired boy with an umbrella had ran up behind her, huffing and puffing when he finally caught up with her. Someone ran to see her? Since when did something like that happen?
"Hey, what's up?" The boy had a small smile on his face. It took her a moment to realize that this was the boy from the library and the blademaster she had explored with the previous night.
"T-that's not my name..." she said softly, her gaze turning to the ground as it usually did when she spoke with someone. "He's a...different person."
"Well your real name wasn't getting through." he said with a chuckle. She looked up slightly, noticing how silly he looked with the umbrella unfolded when it wasn't raining.
She tilted her head to the side a bit as she pointed towards the umbrella. The teenage boy looked up and realized her inquiry.
"Oh, it's supposed to rain off and on today," he explained. "better safe than sorry, right?" It made since. He rubbed the back of his neck a bit, seemingly unsure of where to take the conversation.
The young girl jumped a bit as she felt something cool and wet come into contact with the soft skin of her arm. A drop of water had fell from the sky. Just as the boy had said, more and more began to fall. Moving more swiftly than she would have liked, her "companion" moved so that they could both find shelter under the umbrella.
"See what I mean?" She turned her back to him and began walking in the direction of her home.
The rain fell upon her, her clothes beginning to moisten as she started off. The rain suddenly stopped around her as she found the umbrella over her head again.
"Um, mind if I walk you home?" asked the owner of the umbrella. "Wouldn't want you to get soaked and catch a cold." Walk her home? Father would be there.
"N-no, I'm okay." she insisted. The adolescent boy tilted his head a bit.
"C'mon, it's not a big deal," he offered. "It's no big deal to me." Her gaze returned to the ground, wishing he would understand.
"I-it's okay...please, believe me." She didn't want him to see her father if he was drunk or for him to get in trouble with him for walking with her. She wasn't supposed to bring people over.
"Well, if you really don't want me to tag along," he said, handing her the umbrella. "At least take this with you." She looked at the object with curiosity. What price would this kindness come at? If she had it, what about him? What did he want out of this...?
"I-I can't," she said, shaking her head lightly. "that's your's." He just smiled and pushed the handle towards her.
"I insist." he stated. She chewed at her bottom lip. If she took too long to get home, she would be punished again. Subconciously touching the bruise on her cheek, she wondered why he hadn't asked about it yet, when other's would've jumped on her about it, or at the very least, gawk at the black and blue bruise.
Reaching out, she hesitantly took the umbrella from him, her shaky hands drawing the thin shelter away from him. He smiled once more, even as the rain began to pour down on him, waving slightly.
"Meet me at Mac Anu tonight!" he said as he ran off. She watched him for a moment before walking in the direction of her own house.
***
"Oh, early today?" inquired her father as she walked through the door, stopping to remove her shoes and close the umbrella.
"Y-yes...I came s-straight home." She gripped the umbrella in both hands, as he stood and stalked over to her.
"So why are you late other days then?" She cringed inwardly at her poor choice of words. "And where the hell did you get this?" he asked, tearing the umbrella away from her shaky hands. She swallowed hard as he held it up for her to see.
"A f-friend let me use it..." She didn't dare look away, but could not look him in the eye either. He scoffed.
"Friend?" he began. "Who're you kidding, you don't have any friends. Where'd you really get it?" She couldn't think of a thing to say, her knees shaking.
She watched as he took the umbrella and smack it against the wall, throwing it to the ground and stomping it firmly so it was broken. The innocuous girl could ony watch.
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter where you got it from now." He walked of after giving her the broken umbrella. It wasn't her's, so why did she care what happened to it? Why did she feel such guilt as she trudged upstairs.
Regardless of how she felt, she'd have to explain this to the umbrella's owner. She would have to wait the adequate amount of time and meet in in The World like he had asked.
***
"Don't worry about it." said the blue haired swordsman, his feet dangling over the ledge of where the two sat.
"Your not angry?" asked the young wavemaster, his eyes wide in disbelief. Talora chuckled a bit at his surprise.
"Well, you did say you trip on your way inside, right?" Tsukasa looked down into the water and nodded softly. "Well, accidents happen. I've got another somewhere." Tsukasa let out a sigh of relief and stood up.
"Okay, sorry again." He turned to leave.
"Hey, where ya goin'?" inquired the aqua haired man. The wavemaster gave a half-shrug.
"No where in particular." he answered. The blademaster stood up and walked after him.
"Well hey, wait up." he requested as the wavemaster continued walking towards the Chaos Gate. "Are you up for a dungeon adventure? We never really got to finish our last one, you know."
That was true. The young wizard had to admit that the experience wasn't painful or anything like that. And with what happened earlier that afternoon, he couldn't just walk away after apologizing, could he? It's not like it would be that bad. Last time, he had just done what he'd always done, except he was splitting the treasure with someone.
"Sure, I guess..." he answered. He had all night, so things would be fine.
***
"Finally made it." stated the green armored swordsman, walking up to the Gott Statue's treasure chest. He opened the chest and pulled out three items that the younger boy could not see. One was a larger metallic object that looked like a staff. He turned around and tossed the staff to Tsukasa, his amethyst eyes opening wide in surprise as he caught it, causing him to drop his other staff.
The young boy looked over the newly recieved item. The rod was better than the one he had, which was actually a few levels below his character level. It was a white color, the head of the staff forming a crecent kind of shape, a red spherical ruby ordaining the center of the arch.
"That's a pretty good rod, you can sell your old one and use that one." said his companion. Tsukasa looked the rod over, nodding and picking up his old one.
"Thanks, I think I'll do that," he said, pulling out a sprite ocarina. "I'm gonna head out now." Before he could leave the blademaster spoke again.
"Hey, some friends of mine are gonna be on tommarow," he explained. "Would you come with us? I know you don't like groups of people and all, but I want you to meet my pals." The wavemaster shook his head.
"I dunno..." stated the young wizard. "why do you want me come?" he asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"I just figured it'd be fun," said the blademaster. "I promise, all you'll have to do is follow us through a dungeon or two, hang out in the back and do what you normally do."
"I'll think about it," said the silver haired boy, looking down at his new staff. "but no promises." Talora nodded slightly.
"Well, just promise me you'll think about it then." Tsukasa scoffed a bit.
"From what I've seen," he began. "promises are made to be broken." he finished, warping from the dungeon with his Sprite Ocarina, the new staff still gripped tightly in one hand.
*End Chapter 3
A/N: Wee, that took forever. I feel like I had to force this chapter, to the point where I didn't proofread well, so I'm not at all satisfied with it, and I'm sorry if any of you are dissappointed. I'll try to make the next one better and a bit longer. It may go to being two weeks an update because I'm not starting on a term paper for one of my classes. Combine that with work and there goes most of my free time. So updates will come slowly, but stick with me! I love my readers!