we just keep dreaming of the land 'cross the river
we are always on the way to find the place we belong
wandering to no where, we're paddling
down the raging sea- to nowhere
|Three|
"Because, my dear white mage, black mages like me, and white mages like you, are natural enemies."
I stiffened as the black mage began to cast a spell that looked powerful enough to kill me after his statement. But maybe that would be better? I could just start all over again and make sure not to pick white mage from the list of jobs there were. It was too dangerous. And I also just realized that white mages were rather slow, or maybe that was only because I was hampered down by these robes. Either way I had been playing for about three hours but whatever I had accomplished yet, if there was even any, would definitely be not much of a loss.
But it never came. A large swordsman had walked from behind the mage and closed his hand on the handle of the staff right above the hands of the dark-eyed PC and gently pushed it down. "Still a supporter of that old stereotype, aren't you, Mitsuke?" the character asked in a voice so familiar that I quickly shifted back to first person view. I saw the person I expected to see.
"Jirou!"
The two were trapped in a gaze-lock but both pairs of eyes turned to me at my exclamation. The black mage, now identified as Mitsuke, tilted his head to one side. "You know this guy?" he asked Jirou as he looked me up and down like some dressmaker sizing me up and deciding what clothes would best fit me. It was rather unnerving, especially since he still managed to appear cool even as he did that. He turned sharply to the swordsman after some more of it and the apprehension was very evident in his voice. "Jirou, don't tell me he's---"
Whatever it was he was hoping I wasn't I never found out as Jirou abruptly cut him off. I had the distinct feeling that he deliberately stopped Mitsuke from completing his sentence. "Right. Jean, this is Mitsuke, one of my party members. Mitsuke, this is Jean, a newbie I met awhile ago on my way here...Speaking of which, I met Takeshi at the gates. He already found out which dungeon our prey is in. If we're going boss-hunting, we've got to go now. Where's Yuyha?"
I looked around, searching for Taki, but he was nowhere in sight. I was a bit puzzled by the way Jirou used the dark-haired PC's nickname, Taki, with me while he used his full name, Takeshi, with their own party members. It was normally the other way around. But judging by Mitsuke's elegant Chinese tunic, perhaps he was one for formalities? It must be a sad thing for him that PCs do not necessarily have to have surnames.
Mitsuke was looking over at me intently but seemed to have immediately lost interest upon hearing Jirou's statement. "He must be looking for you, like I was. Takeshi, Yuyha and I went online around the same time. I know about the boss, the three of us found it out together. We were going to tackle it on our own, but Yuyha said it won't be fair to you so here we are. Come on, we've got to find him," Mitsuke said, turned, and started to walk away without even so much as a wave at me. It was like he didn't even know me.
Jirou, on the other hand, stayed for a bit longer. "Ah...er, sorry, Jean. I guess this can't be postponed. I'd take you, but you might get killed. We'll work on your levels some other time, okay? Here," he said and whipped out from thin air an ancient-looking piece of yellowed scroll that glowed with a faint blue light. The scroll floated towards me. "Take it. It's an entry to the contacts book, address book of a regular e-mail."
I nodded my head and reached for the scroll. It rolled itself up as soon as I touched it and then disappeared. Hammerspace ruled this game, didn't it? I suppose that's one drawback, but then again, I'd rather have that than have a bag piled with my stuff to carry around and slow me down. "That's okay. Thanks, Jirou."
He nodded his head and went after Mitsuke. I sighed. So this is how my first session in The World ends. I made my way back to the gates, which also served as a portal, saved my game and signed off.
I took off the visor and VR gloves then shut down the computer. The bed looked inviting when my eyes fell on it as I pushed my chair back, but there were some things I had to do before a rest. First, I stepped out into the corridor and yelled down the stairs for my mother. No answer came. So then she was still not home. I re-entered my room and fell down on the bed, grabbing the phone off its hook from my bedside table.
First...Second...Third...if Kyousuke doesn't pick up by the seventh ring, it's either he's out or he's playing, with Kouya probably...seventh. I hung up. It's four in the afternoon but I need some sleep. That game is...strangely exhausting...
"Takeshi, finish it!"
The sound of an arrow flying through the air and cracking something was soon followed by a mighty sword swing which ended in the dull sound of metal meeting skin. The creature gave one last piercing, awful cry before dying and dematerializing right before their eyes. It was replaced by heaps of gold, some rare items and a few weapons here and there (which were useless to them). Yuyha was glad that the battle was over. It wasn't because it was a hard one --- no, it was really an easy win, although rather drawn-out --- It was that he couldn't take to look at the monster they had been battling anymore. It was, to put it simply, hideous. He had never seen such an ugly thing. Definitely reptilian, it was a cross between a devilfish and a large crocodile, with the markings and strength of a small dragon. It was probably considered as boss more because of its terrifying looks --- in the case of experienced players like him, sickening --- than of its power. Other players probably froze on the spot with one look at it, able to do nothing but await their deaths.
Now that it was gone, his arrow was left on the ground unbroken, but he didn't bother to retrieve it for another use as he normally would have.
Takeshi and Jirou were sheathing their swords. Mitsuke was already bent over the treasure, calculating their shares as it was usually his job. Yuyha strapped his bow to his back and picked up a gold coin from the pile beneath their feet. He tossed it into the air, humming a little tune to himself. Comfortable silence filled the cavern their company were in. To keep himself busy, Yuyha began to search for a portal. One was usually to be found at the end of a dungeon and he supposed this was the end because they had already fought the boss and there was no way out of the room except the way they came.
"I've got to go!" Jirou suddenly exclaimed and all heads turned to him. His dark chocolate brown eyes met Yuyha's slightly lighter ones. "Your sister is making me get off," he said.
Takeshi looked up. "Hey, what about---"
"Bye!" Jirou bellowed as blue light started to swirl up from his feet which were both on a platform about half a feet from the ground, the portal. It engulfed him and with a bright flash, he was gone.
"I sure hope he remembered to save this time!" Takeshi mumbled under his breath but the statement was still loud enough for his two remaining companions to hear. Yuyha nodded his head in agreement. Mitsuke, however, seemed to be lost in his own world.
"Mitsuke?" Yuyha said, knowing better than to try and shake his friend back, that was as futile as pushing a cement wall in attempts to make it move. Eventually, the eyes of his friend turned to him in askance. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yes. I'm perfectly fine," Mitsuke answered and then shook his head as if to clear it. "I was just---just thinking. Yuyha, I think I know who the next target would be," he said and then proceeded to tell the two what happened earlier the day. "I'm quite sure. When I was battling him, I saw fear in his eyes, mixed with a look of determination and stubbornness."
"Jean?" Takeshi repeated the name from his friend's explanation with a frown. "How are we supposed to know if we've seen him yet?"
"His eyes are dark green and he has long dark brown hair with red splashes and green tips. It's tied into a braid. I suppose that's distinction enough. I haven't seen anyone here yet that looked even remotely like him, another reason why I think he's the next target. Although I might be wrong. The programmers must have made new templates and---"
"Alright, Mitsuke, that's enough," Yuyha interrupted with a smile. Mitsuke was a fanatic of anything mechanical and technical. Although he enjoys the game like any other player, he knows enough of The World that one could easily mistake him as one of its creators. Yuyha left those thoughts behind and his voice got more serious. "The three of us will keep an extra eye out for this Jean. It's unfortunate Jirou already beat us to him but...anyway, we can't afford anymore slips. We've got to make it this time."
The two simply shared a look and nodded their heads.
Author's Notes:
Kil - Third chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Poor Jean confused Takeshi with Taki, lol. Anyhow, what are the Three Musketeers up to? And who are the -real- bad guys, them or Jirou and Taki?
Jirou - And our conflict begins though it's not that obvious as of yet....
Clinging to unreliable dreams. Where are you going? - Yasashii yoake
|FOUR|
I buried my head deeper into the pillows. Someone was incessantly shaking me awake and saying my name. I groaned out a protest, rolled to lie on my stomach and placed a pillow over my head and ears. The person ripped it ruthlessly from my gasp and threw it at the foot of the bed. His hands pressed on my sides, trying to roll me back into a position that would simplify his task of waking me up. My eyes snapped open. I had already rolled far towards one side of the bed. Just a few more and---hey, wait---
"Ow!" I cried out as I fell down hard on the wooden floor, landing on the funny bone in my left elbow that sent tingling sensations up and down my arm. I winced.
"Uh...sorry?" Kyousuke didn't sound all that sincere. I grabbed the pillow he had discarded earlier onto the floor and slowly stood up, then threw it at his face. It knocked his glasses askew, dropped to his chest and then to the floor, and he stood there with a surprised look on his face. But shock from the unexpected move quickly wore off and he frowned, fixing his glasses.
"That's for the not-so-pleasant wake up. Help me fix my bed, will you?"
"Why? You're going back to sleep in an hour or two anyway," he answered but picked up the pillow around his feet nonetheless and returned it to its place among the others. I smoothed down the bedspread where they were crumpled and replaced the thin comforter over everything. By the time I was done, Kyousuke was already by the doorway.
"Why are you here anyway?" I asked as I joined him in the dark hall and turned on the lights. How he had always managed to reach my room in the pitch black without any accidents I would never know.
"Your mother called here but you were sleeping so you didn't answer so she called at my house instead. She told me to tell you that she would be late and to join you for dinner. I--er--invited Kouya along. His father won't be picking him up in another hour. I hope you don't mind."
I shrugged, "That's okay," but was a tad bit nervous. For all the talk Kyousuke had made of him, I had never really seen Kouya in person. On the way, I wondered what he was like. Probably quiet, if not grim. Yeah, silent, like Kyousuke and me. With a fixed serious expression, as if he's always in deep thought, dark hair and eyes...by the time we made our way down the stairs and into the kitchen, I had completed a couple of mental images of him. Oddly enough, they looked like a more serious-looking Taki and a darker-haired Mitsuke.
Neither of which was Kouya like at all.
He sat on top of the kitchen counter and it surprised me a little because I only did that in the presence of my mother or Kyousuke, who both claim that it's childish. Although Kyousuke never does eat at the dinner table, he doesn't get up next to me either, preferring to stand leaning against the counter instead. As soon as our eyes met, Kouya leapt down from the counter cheerfully, like a child, and rushed towards us. He had brown hair and shining brown eyes, a grin breaking into his face as we shook hands. He was nearly the same height as Kyousuke, and therefore only came up to my shoulder. It was obvious that Kyousuke had talked a lot about me to him as he had of Kouya to me, because introductions didn't seem to be necessary.
"So, what are we eating, Kuroudo?" Kyousuke asked, already getting out plates and utensils. I wasn't expecting mother to come home late and she hadn't left me anything. It was odd really, I wondered what must had come up suddenly.
"We had bouillabaisse earlier. I think there's still some left," I said and felt my stomach growling. I hadn't eaten anything since our early lunch.
"What's a bouillabaisse?" Kouya asked with interest, stumbling over the foreign word.
"French shellfish stew," Kyousuke answered for me, already walking towards the fridge. He opened the door and searched inside for something. "And I don't think you'll like it, Kouya, though maybe you will since you're obssessed with crabs...ah, here we go." Kyousuke emerged from the fridge carrying a couple of boxes. I knew it. Frozen pizza. I grinned.
"Heat it up, Kyousuke. Do you want to eat here or in the living room?"
He grinned back. "Couch."
"Kuroudo...Kuroudo? Honey, wake up."
Someone was shaking me awake again. I groaned before opening my eyes and sitting up. Mom was kneeling next to me and --- where were we? I looked around while rubbing sleep from my eyes. The living room, I must have fallen asleep sometime after Kouya's father came to pick him up. Where was Kyousuke?
"Where's Kyousuke?" I asked.
"At home, asleep. He locked you in here and I got the keys from his father. What are you doing here in the living room?"
"Waiting for Dad and you. What time is it?" I asked, yawning. Mom stroked my hair and it didn't help to wake me up.
"Some time around one," she answered, standing and pulling me up. I shook my head.
"Where's Dad?"
"Kuroudo, your dad---" she stopped and let go of my hand. "Your dad's not coming home tonight."
My eyes snapped open at that. "Mom?"
"W-We had a fight, Kuroudo, and---"
"No!" I exclaimed and got out of the couch. I was at the top of the stairs before she even realized it. Dad never slept out unless it was really serious. The last time he had was before they announced to me that they were going to get divorced. "Mom, you can't do this to me again!" I shouted down and sped for my room. I locked myself in and threw myself at the bed.
How could they?
Author's Notes:
Kil - Fourth chapter! Btw, I made a mistake in Ch. 2. Kuroudo's username is supposed to be Jean. Fixed it. I almost made the same mistake in this chapter with Madame Marume calling her son Jean. It just sounds more dramatic, don't you think?
Jirou - And the fourth. I don't really know what bouillabaisse is, I just ripped it off Harry Potter. XD Btw, Kazie Solo got it (go, Kazie!), Kuroudo's password into the world is Mirage. Sorry, couldn't help it. I love that gear!
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 'to nowhere' and 'Yasashii yoake (Early Dawn)'.