Now in the air the spring is coming
Sweet blowing wind
Singing down the hills and valleys - Fake Wings
|One|
"Where's Dad?" I asked as mom set down the cereal bowl in front of me on the table. I picked it up and grabbed a spoon from the cupboard behind me, then walked to the kitchen counter and hoisted myself onto it. The bowl on my lap, I waited for her answer while I watched the cornflakes soak in the milk. I hate soggy cornflakes. I took a spoonful of the stuff and looked up at her. "Ma?"
"He left for work around two hours ago, dear," she said. I shrugged and continued on the flakes. I should have known. Or maybe I had known but asked anyway, if only to complete the morning exchanges between my mother and I. The question pops out of me every morning and the answer's always the same too, more or less.
My father's a workaholic. It's seven in the morning so two hours ago meant the ungodly hour of five in the morning, or early dawn rather. He comes home late in the evenings, somewhere between ten and midnight, and whenever I manage to stay up for him would be the only times we actually see each other during the week. But he's too tired to do anything more than kiss me on the forehead or ruffle my hair at such chances mostly. I know he loves me very much but I often wish that he spends more time with me.
"What are you going to do today, Kuroudo?" mother asked just as she does everyday before handing me date-nut bread. I took a bite of it and washed it down with orange juice.
"I'll ask Kyousuke if I can come over but I'll probably stay in today," came my standard reply. I shrugged.
Kyousuke Jin is my best friend and he lives right across the street from us. My other friends aren't as close to me as Kyousuke is and most of them are away on summer-camp anyway so I spend much time with Kyousuke on vacation. Kyousuke's father is a single working-parent so he's always left to watch over the house and while my own father can afford to send me to sleepaway camp, I'd rather he not. I'm polite and charming but not really that friendly. I won't stick out like a sore thumb but I won't be comfortable either.
I finished my food and brought my plates, glass, and spoon over to the sink. Mom took them from me and placed them in the dishwasher, and then tilted my head up to face hers with an index finger beneath my chin. "We love you, Kuroudo. You know that, don't you?" she said.
"Yes, Mother." I kissed her on the cheek and got out of the kitchen. I passed the dining room on my way to the hallway for the phone and glanced at the table-top. The glass was so clean. I couldn't remember the last time my parents and I ate together.
I dialed Kyousuke's number and at the first ring realized it was seven in the morning. He was probably still asleep. To my surprise though, someone picked up at the third ring.
"Moshi moshi," a voice I couldn't recognize answered in Japanese. It was neither Kyousuke nor his father.
"Uh, hello? Is Kyousuke there please?" I asked.
"Yeah, wait a sec," the voice said and then partly covered the mouthpiece. I heard a muffled shout and then someone coming down the stairs. Then the phone was passed.
"Hello?" Kyousuke's voice came. He didn't sound like someone who just woke up. Good. I didn't want to be the one to disturb his sleep.
"Hey Kyousuke, who was that?" I asked, not bothering to introduce myself since I knew he'd recognized my voice anyway.
"Kouya. He slept over last night. Are you coming over?"
Kouya is Kyousuke's other best friend. We're not really that close. He lives way across the other side of town so I can only imagine how he and Kyousuke met and keep up. It's very rare that they get to spend time with each other.
"Nah." I didn't want to be a third leg. Also, I imagined I wouldn't know what to say even if I did come over. The first thing that entered my mind at the mention of Kouya's name was that he had a girlfriend who died a couple of years back. No, not died, more like murdered. Kyousuke also knew the girl and was equally devastated during that time. That was most of what little I knew of Kouya and I didn't want to slip and bring up any painful memories for either of them. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay. Bye, Kuroudo." He hung up and I did as well.
This was going to be a looooong day.
I did one more vertical slash with my kojiki and dropped it to my side altogether. It was stifling hot in the training room even with all the doors closed so it must be sometime around noon. I returned the wooden sword back to its place on the rack, grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat of my brow. Mom had to leave for something so we ate lunch ealier and now I'm left with the whole house to myself.
I took a detour through the kitchen and grabbed some Gatorade from the fridge. Then I made a beeline for my bedroom upstairs. I didn't know why, but I gained a sudden interest to play computer games. And I had a lot of them too, though I still considered myself an amateur gamer.
After about half an hour of Tekken and two of Final Fantasy X-2, however, I was as bored as ever. Returning the discs to my stash, I switched off my PS2 and turned my attention to my computer instead. As I trailed my index finger down the stack of CDs, I wondered if there was any game here that I haven't played already. The chances were slim. But then I stopped and pulled out one of the cases.
The World?
It was a popular online game here in America, but I never got around to buying a copy of it. So where did this come from? But then I remembered. It was Kyousuke's gift to me on my thirteenth birthday three years ago.
Kyousuke is near to obssessed with the game and wanted me to get hooked too so he'd have some company in the game. Unfortunately, our internet service was broken that week and when it did get fixed, I guess the game just slipped out of my mind. And Kyousuke never reminded me of it, I suppose he got into a party soon enough. Unlike me, Kyousuke is a hardcore gamer, and a genius at that.
I looked down at the CD case and considered playing it...
Hey, why not? It's just a game, right?
Author's Notes:
Kil - okay, so here's the first chapter, I hope you like it! Feedback I get on this first CGT story would determine whether I should write more for this section. Though I guess I'll be writing more even if I get flames...This is the basic CGT turned .hack//SIGN plot. Left in my list currently are Vampire Hunter D/Blade, Final Fantasy VIII and, of course, Harry Potter! Oh yeah, thanks much to Hareta for co-writing this with me!
Hareta/Jirou - *rolls her eyes* introducing the Prince of Cliché plots! Okay, so maybe that's a bit too harsh. Sorry...anyways, useful author's notes, if you will:
1) This is an AU fic. No crushgear, no dead brothers, quarrels over microchips, dislocated shoulders, etc. Although we'll still include a lot of things from the anime.
2) Kuroudo is sixteen, so is Kyousuke, while Kouya's a year younger. The ages of the characters in The World won't really matter much.
3) They live in America.
4) Kuroudo is the person IRL, his character in The World is Jean.
5) We're just making up the stuff about Kuroudo's family situation! *shrug* This is an AU fic anyways...
Okay, whatever part I write in this fic (and that's mixed in with what kil writes) I dedicate to my friend, Kazie Solo aka Kuroudo Marume, AU Princess of CGT Fanfiction. I'm sorry about the delay of the Glühen fic, I'll have it up after this. Or rather, we. Kil's a big fan of Weiß and promised to co-write it with me since I'm doing this with him. Anyways, it shouldn't take too long, especially since he insists to have two chapters per installment with each chapter three or so pages long.
I will tell you about the sun
You are here no escape
From my visions of the world
You will cry all alone
But it does not mean a thing to me - Aura
|Two|
Username: Kuroudo
Password: ******
I've always considered games as an escape from reality.
While in a game I often forget myself, my problems included. I remember the time my parents almost broke up around five or six years ago, I rarely moved from in front of the PC or PS, much less left my room. Kyousuke was around most of the time and brought me new CDs every other day. I was so caught up in playing that I finished a single game in a day and a half. Eventually the divorce issue passed and I dropped gaming altogether, but once in awhile problems I can't face would still come and I'll find myself locked up in my room and holding the controls again.
I've always considered games as an escape from reality.
But this game was way too real.
I looked down at my hands and marveled at the sight of a pair that moved with such smoothness as if they weren't simply generated. I could feel the VR gloves I wore but with my visor on I could only see a set of limbs a bit darker than my own. A bit? That would have to be the understatement of the century. My character's complexion is nowhere near my own. While I have pale white skin out of my European heritage, Jean, that's the name I chose for myself in The World, has dark, almost perfectly tanned skin. And that's not where the differences end. I switched from first person to third person view.
I got my light blonde hair from my mother. It's short, but not as short as hers. We've got the same Mediterranean blue eyes too. Characters are not born, they're made, so in the game I have neither a mother nor inherited looks. I, on the other hand, have long dark brown hair that reaches halfway down to my waist, with green tips and red highlights along its length. After weighing the pros and cons I decided it's better off tied into a single braid, no matter how beautiful it may be. To contrast with my azures IRL I picked dark greens from the color palette. You could say I'm a dark character, that is, if I wasn't completely covered in white. What's up with white mages and white robes anyway?
I've always considered games as an escape from reality. In a different world, I might as well look and be different.
I switched back to first person view. The gates to the town appeared before me and I debated on whether I should go out or not. The town I was in right now, Port Town, a starting point for newbies like me, was incredibly empty for vacation. Although of course it is the middle of the week, the middle of the day no less. I imagine players are out working right now IRL, but where are the kids?
See, the thing about first person view is that you have limited vision. It's like seeing through your own eyes, you only see what's in front of you and your immediate right or left. You wouldn't be able to see if someone was to come from behind you, and since this is virtual reality, you wouldn't be able to feel them either. You could easily be caught off-guard. While with the third person view, you would be able to see your PC and its immediate surrounding. The chance of an ambush is less. However...
Details are clearer in first person view and the game is much more satisfying this way, visual-wise that is. Within towns and other relatively safe locations I find it better to shift into this view to get most out of the game. Especially in a comparatively empty road like the one I am walking now, where I am free to walk and look about as I wish...
H~ey! What happened to the gates?
Snapping out of my thoughts and back to reality, I found red bricks right at my face. Had I walked right against a wall? But then, the images started to shift, and I could see the light blue sky coming from above the bricks...
"Hey, are you okay?" a voice asked behind me.
Did I say the road was empty? Forget it. I turned around as I finally managed to stand with the help of the owner of that voice, facing the people who bumped into me from behind and sent me sprawling into the red-brick road. There were two of them, the bigger, bulkier one with unruly brown hair while the smaller, lither one with neat, cropped...dark blue?...hair. They both wore impressive armor and jeweled gauntlets, and by their swords alone one would be able to tell that they were high-level players.
"Hey, are you okay?" the same voiced asked again, it was the smaller of the two. I nodded my head and looked down at myself. As I expected, there wasn't a bit of dirt on my robes. After all, there were no dry-cleaners here within the game. I raised one eyebrow when I found the guy staring intently at my face when I looked up. He saw this, and smiled, shrugging. "I'm sorry. It's just your eyes...I've never seen such a pretty blue color before."
My eyes? Pretty blue? Didn't I make them dark green? I must have chosen the wrong color during character build...but I can't see how I could have.
A sudden movement from other swordsman brought both of my eyes, whatever color they may be, to him. Whatever he did however, I turned too late to see.
"You're a newbie? White mage, right?" he asked and I slowly nodded my head. Even though he was far from handsome, he looked comely, but there was still something about him that rubbed me the wrong way...But then he broke into a friendly grin and my mind was wiped clean of all doubts. "My name's Jirou and this is my friend, Taki. We're one of the few older players who take newbies under their wings. What's your name?" He didn't even ask whether I wanted to be taken under their wings or not. Not that I didn't. It was rare luck to get into a party this early in the game, a party of high-level PCs such as this much less.
"Jean," I answered. I even sounded like a newbie. I realized how pathetic I sounded and felt my cheeks burning with unwarranted embarrassment. It was a good thing such things wouldn't show up in my PC, otherwise I'd be gone from these people's company in two seconds flat. I raised my hand to shake theirs, trying to save what was left of my honour in The World by acting what I hoped was casual and placing ourselves on the same ground.
Jirou laughed, "Newbie indeed," and took my hand. I felt my eyes widen as he did. There was my hand, grasped firmly in his, but I couldn't feel anything. I don't know if it's possible that my surprise should register in my PC's face, but it must be since Jirou saw it and his grin widened. "We don't shake hands in The World," he said.
"It's just a game. Things might look real but you won't feel them, you're not part of that reality. It's a good thing too, especially during battles," Taki elaborated and, with an abrupt change of topic, turned to Jirou, "Aren't we supposed to be looking for Mitsuke?"
Jirou scratched the back of his neck with his right hand in what could be perceived as hesitance. "Yeah, I know, but since we got Jean here..." he trailed off.
Taki shrugged. "Hey, it's not like we don't have other days to help Jean." I nodded my agreement but Jirou still won't give his consent. "Alright," Taki finally conceded after awhile, shrugging, "Let's go, Jean. We'll go get you some equipment and then head for a beginner's dungeon," he said it as if it was routine.
Damn.
I mentally cursed my luck. Why did I have to bump into that NPC trader and trigger a conversation? Furthermore, why did I have to hit 'Trade' instead of 'Cancel' and thus prolong my delay? By the time I pulled out of it, both Taki and Jirou were out of my sight, even in third person view. Just my luck.
"Hey, watch it!" someone shouted as I stepped back on reflex. I looked up to find that I had collided with another PC nearly my height, with light brownish-gray hair and black clothing with a golden dragon emblazoned on the side. Another high-level character, obviously.
"Sorry," I mumbled, turned, and started to make my way back to the gates. There was no way I was going to find those two now. I might as well explore a Lv 1 dungeon on my own. With any luck I might even come across a party of newbies who would let me join them.
"Hold it," the one I bumped into said from behind me now and I guess he might have tried to stop me because I got no further towards the gates. I turned my head to the side and found a slender hand grasping my right shoulder. I marveled again how I could be grasped so yet not feel anything at all. "I said 'hold it'," the guy now hissed. I nodded my head and slowly turned around to face him, my dread growing. Whatever it was he wanted, I knew things weren't going to turn out good...for me, at least. "You're a white mage, right?" he asked.
I wanted to answer 'like duh I am' but didn't. Instead I said, "Yes..." and trailed off. He raised his balled hand and that was the last thing I saw before I came hurtling to the ground, the images shifting almost too fast for my visor and my head that it was dizzying. I quickly switched to third person view, just in time to see a lightning bolt on its way to electrocute me and jump out of the way. "Hey, what's your problem?!" I shouted at the other player who had a jewel-tipped black staff pointed at me.
He only answered with another lightning bolt. This one caught me and I quickly used some of my embarrassingly few Magic Points to heal myself. Taki was right. It was a good thing that you couldn't feel anything in The World during a battle. Another lightning bolt. I blocked with my own staff but got my shoulder burned slightly. My Health Points were reduced to about 70% of its total. Why was he doing this? I didn't even know him! That's when it dawned on me...
"You're a player killer?!" I almost shrieked out.
He was casting another lightning bolt but stopped abruptly in the middle of it. He shook his head. "No," he said, "I'm not."
"Then why are you doing this?"
"Because, my dear white mage, black mages like me, and white mages like you, are natural enemies."
Author's Notes:
Kil - Second chapter! And the reason I insist on having 2 chapters per installment is that I think a single one doesn't have enough action in it, bo~ring! Especially chapter one! Anyhow, my turn on the useful author's notes me guess.
Although there really is the game The World, neither of us have played it yet so we really don't know what it's like and just pooled basic RPG elements and our own fantasies to form a game. Here's some of the basic stuff our-The-World-game-wise:
1) The World is a virtual reality multi-player online game. Think Ragnarok crossed with Final Fantasy-quality graphics.
2) The real The World have unfamiliar PC-types (i.e. Wavemaster), but we're going to use the familiar ones for convenience (i.e. white/black mage, swordsman, archer).
3) Some useful terms:
IRL or In Real Life - the 'real world' out of the game
Player or User - the person himself IRL (i.e. Kuroudo)
Player Character or PC - Character in the game controlled by Player IRL (i.e. Jean)
Non-Player Character or NPC - Character in the game controlled by the system (i.e. creatures, shopkeepers)
Portals - allows players to travel from one server or town to another. They can also be found at the end of dungeons and double as save-off points
Grunty - pet/transportation of PCs. Think Chocobo.
Player Killer or PK - players who kill other PCs just for the fun of it
Newbie - new players
-licks lips- Dedication, let's see. Since Hareta-san dedicated this to Kuroudo-sama and she's her fave writer, me guess I'll dedicate this to my fave writer (one of them anyhow), FiendisHSerapH! You should check out Final Penitence if you haven't yet. I've only read up to Behind Blue Eyes as of yet but I already love it! More power to you, FiendisHSerapH!
Jirou - okay, there goes the second chapter. Anyone out there betting that a newbie white mage would make shortwork of an experienced black mage? Anyways, we all know Jean is Kuroudo, but who are Jirou, Taki, and Mitsuke IRL? More of our lovable characters to come and more guesswork for you to do! Btw, can anyone guess what's Kuroudo's password?^^ It's easy, come on! Well, ja!
Disclaimers: We don't own CGT or any of the .hack series, anime or game. Not its soundtracks either, which includes 'Fake Wings', where this fic's title and opening verses come from along with 'Aura' and 'The World'.