Chapter 1: A startling entrance into a new world.
His bed was moving. It wasn't violent movement, or anything like that, but more of a gentle, side to side, swaying movement that would've helped him sleep if it weren't for the fact that the movement shouldn't have been there in the first place. And it also felt as if his bed was oh so slowly bending, allowing his feet to drop. Then he realized that his bed was quite a bit narrower than it should be, allowing his feet to dangle off to either side.
It wasn't until he felt a breeze drift across his face that he opened his eyes, rather fearful of what he would find. The site of leaves above him, and a clear blue sky viewed through those didn't do much to alleviate his fears. He slowly ran his right hand along his 'bed' and felt bark. He then looked to the left and right.
Yep. He was in a tree.
(What the hell am I doing in a damned tree?!)
He looked down.
(And a very high tree at that...)
Since he never was one for tree climbing, getting down would be a tricky procedure. But he knew the basics, and was rather fit so he should be able to handle it. Now, first thing to do is shift around till he can use both of his legs and arms...
CRACK!!
Correction: Shift around until the tree branch finally breaks.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
Then scream on the way down.
He hit the ground with a very hard 'Thud'. For a moment, he simply lay there, and then he heard a female voice laugh and then speak.
"Ouch. That had to hurt. You okay?"
He rolled over onto his back, and glared at the girl. She had dirty blond hair, most of which was shoulder length. The exception was an obscenely long braid, nearly reaching the ground. She was wearing a blue denim jacket, which was open, revealing a red muscle shirt with a Nike sign on the front. The shirt was tucked into a blue denim, knee-length skirt, and her shoes were white sneakers. She wore a pair of fingerless gloves, revealing rainbow painted nails as well as a mood ring on her middle finger.
She leaned over toward him, and he noticed the colors of her eyes. The left was green while the right was blue. He also noticed the piercing, two in each ear, which supported shark teeth, and a string necklace with an unidentified tooth hanging from it. She extended a hand to help him, but he climbed to his feet without taking it, and she stood up straight in an attempt to keep her feeling of height. The attempt died when she noticed that he was 6'1", much taller than her own 5'6".
She grinned slightly as she studied him. He was wearing a black jacket, with a black tank top underneath, which was tucked into a pair of tan cargo kaki's, which were held up by a black belt with a silver buckle. The pants bunched over a pair of what looked to be steel toe boots. She transferred her attention to his face, and saw him studying her with intense, ice blue eyes. She noticed two silver studs in each of his earlobes, spaced about a centimeter apart.
"Ah, the strong silent type. So, Newb, what's your name?"
He glared at her, and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Ryu. Now, where am I, who are you, and what do you mean by 'Newb'?"
She grinned and turned away from him a bit, just as a breeze kicked up, which blew his blond hair about, and made her braid sway slightly.
"I'm Yuna Horitaru, and I meant newbie to the world of Bishonen and Bishoujo! As for where you are beyond that, you're three miles north of Devic City, prime Naruto territory!"
Ryu opened his mouth for an angry response, but sudden movement from his peripheral vision made him hold off on the comment to glance in that direction. He returned his attention to Yuna, when he suddenly whipped his head around so fast that it popped to stare in shock at the person calmly walking over to Yuna. Ryu's arms slowly loosened to fall to his sides and he just stared at Sesshomaru as the youkai lord came to a graceful stop by Yuna's side, his long silver hair blowing in the breeze. He glanced at Ryu out of the corner of his eye, and then returned his vision to Yuna in inquiry.
Ryu finally blinked. He closed his eyes, and shook his head vigorously, and pinched his arm. He opened his eyes, and stared at Sesshomaru for a moment before walking up to the demon. Then Ryu reached out and poked Sesshomaru's arm. Sesshomaru turned his head to Ryu and glared at him, though Ryu couldn't tell since Sesshomaru's face didn't change. Yuna chuckled softly, and then spoke.
"Yes, that's Fluffy, and yes, he's real. This is the world of Bishonen and Bishoujo."
Ryu thought he saw what would've passed for Sesshomaru flinching. He looked at Yuna and quirked an eyebrow in inquiry.
"'Fluffy'"?
Yep, definite Sesshomaru flinch. It was something about the eyes...
Yuna shrugged when she spoke.
"I was half asleep when I caught him, and all I saw was the tail at first. I also caught a Naraku before I moved on to another area, where I caught a Ryoga. I'd let him out, but I don't do that except when it's time for him to fight. And Naraku's around here somewhere..."
Ryu walked back to the base of the tree he had fallen out of, and folded at the knees and waist. He placed his arms on his knees, and let his hands dangle in front of him, his eyes unfocused. Sesshomaru, Naraku, and Ryoga? Three characters from two of his favorite animes.
Yuna studied Ryu with some sympathy in her eyes, before walking forward to sit down next to him, her back against the tree. She was about to speak when Ryu's head snapped up and he looked at her with an intense gaze while he asked a question.
"What about people back in the old world? How do I contact them?"
Yuna's look of sympathy increased, and she thought about how to phrase her answer.
"Well...the people back home don't know you exist right now."
Ryu's expression changed to display an emotion Yuna couldn't identify.
"You mean they have no idea I was ever born, or I met anyone?"
Yuna nodded sadly at him. Her eyes then opened in surprise when Ryu suddenly grinned, his face lighting up, and he stood up in one smooth motion, and pumped his fist in the air.
"YES!! Never have to put up with my parents shit ever again!"
He started doing a little victory dance while Yuna and Sesshomaru watched bemusedly. Yuna smiled slightly.
"So I guess leaving home wasn't a problem for you."
Ryu stopped dancing around like an idiot, and grinned at her. She took that for agreement, and grinned back.
"Right. Well, we'd better get you to town so you can go through Orientation. HEY NARAKU, GET YOUR SORRY BUTT OVER HERE!"
For a moment nothing happened. Then a man wearing a white baboon skin dropped down from the tree that Ryu had appeared in.
"Right. Naraku, you carry Ryu, and Fluffy, you carry me. We're heading back to Devic."
"I don't think so."
Yuna turned to Ryu.
"Why not?"
"Two reasons. One: I've seen Inuyasha. There's no chance I'll be trusting Naraku. Two: I hate being indebted to others, even over something as trivial as this. I'll walk if you don't mind."
Yuna was about to protest, but something about the set of Ryu's jaw told her he would not change his mind. After a moment, she nodded and started walking, Ryu following.
-------------------------------------- --- :Two hours later:
Yuna glanced at Ryu out of the corner of her eye, feeling faintly annoyed. Yuna was a rather talkative person, and the silence that constantly surrounded her from her bishonen constantly grated on her. Sesshomaru didn't talk except to answer direct questions, and then it was usually a 'yes' or 'no'. Naraku talked, but he played to many head-trips with her for her to enjoy it for any long period of time. So the chance to talk to another human being was one she would've preferred, but Ryu wasn't the most talkative of people. In fact for the past hour and a half, he hadn't talked at all.
He had been listening to music. He had a CD player on him, as well as a pair of headphones, the kind that fit into the ear, while wrapping around it as well to hold the phone in place. After a half hour of walking in relative silence, he had pulled out the headphones and turned on some music.
As Yuna and her small traveling group rounded a bend in the road, the city of Devic came into view, and Yuna felt her spirits rise. If Ryu had any redeeming qualities, it was that he hadn't stopped walking, allowing them to get to the city. Though they could've made it in about ten minutes if Fluffy and Naraku had taken them...
After walking to the gates of the city, they encountered a guard, who stopped them. Ryu took off his headphones, and put them away.
"I need to see your dexs before I allow entry."
"Dex? What's a 'dex'?"
Yuna looked at Ryu for a moment, then pulled out her dex and showed it to the guard. After examining the gadget, the guard handed it back to her, and turned to Ryu and held out his hand. Ryu merely glowered at the guard with an expression of dislike, crossing his arms over his chest.
"He's a newbie. Doesn't have any of his gear yet."
The guard nodded in understanding and retracted his hand. Ryu still glowered at him, arms still crossed over his chest, and Yuna briefly wondered at the reason.
But as the guard stepped aside and let them through, Yuna put her curiosity in the back of her mind while she looked for the orientation building. She saw a sign pointing her and Ryu in the right direction, and she started to walk in the direction indicated. It took her nearly ten seconds to realize that Ryu wasn't following.
She turned back around, and couldn't stifle a good-natured laugh. She was sure even Sesshomaru was amused, though his face was impassive as always.
Ryu was turning about rapidly in a circle, looking at one bishonen or bishoujo, and then following another as it walked past his field of vision. The poor guy looked overwhelmed as an Akane and a Saitoh both crossed his field of vision, and passed each other, creating the dilemma of which one Ryu should follow with his eyes. Yuna took pity on him and walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder. He snapped out of a daze, and turned to face her, his eyes focusing of hers.
"They're all real...I thought I had accepted it, but deep down, I was expecting this to all be a grand and cruel joke...But the sight of so many..."
He closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and slowly shook his head. Yuna was troubled by the sound of his voice and the look in his eyes, the look and sound of crushed spirit and hope.
Ryu was not a person who had gotten through life with little trouble. She remembered his reaction to when she told him that people in the old world didn't know they existed right now, and Yuna wondered what had happened to him to make him feel this way.
Her musings were cut short when Ryu opened his eyes and grinned at her. He looked completely different now.
"So, where's this Orientation building?"
-------------------------------------- ---
Ryu stood in front of the Orientation building, a large, office-ish affair, with the word 'Orientation', in rather large, garish red letters painted on a sign on the buildings front. Yuna had hurried off a minute ago, once the building came into site, to talk with some people she had met last time she had traveled through the town, leaving Ryu to tackle this event alone. Which was fine with him. He was a lone wolf, and he knew it.
(Quite large for something that simply tells people what this things all about. Do they really need what looks like three stories?)
Ryu walked through the door into the building, and saw nothing to change his opinion of the Orientation being nothing but a large office building. It had the standard lobby, complete with receptionist desk, couches, and chairs, which looked marginally comfortable, for waiting, and various doors. Ryu still couldn't see why it needed to be so damned big.
He stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets, and walked up to the receptionist desk. The clerk looked up when he leaned against the desk.
"Newbie? Then go wait over there for a few minutes, the Professor is nearly done with the current batch."
Ryu looked where the clerk indicated, and saw a group of people of medium size, about ten or so, people of various ages, occupying various couches and chairs in the waiting area. Ryu nodded at the clerk in thanks, and walked over to the waiting area. He sat in an unclaimed chair, found it moderately comfortable, and slumped down, lazily relaxing in the chair. He pulled out his headphones, and put them in his ear. He then turned on the CD player.
As the soothing music of Papa Roach came on, Ryu studied the other newbies waiting with him.
Most weren't of interest, but one caught his eye. She was about his age, 17, and a few inches over five feet. She had long black hair, green eyes, and a light tan. She was wearing blue bell-bottom jeans, and a matching blue shirt, as well as black boots with two inch heals. Before Ryu could continue with any further inspection, a door opened, and a group of three people walked out, wearing belts filled with a black and white version of a pokemon ball, and carrying devices that Ryu now recognized as dex's.
The group of three people was followed by a young woman, in her mid- twenties, wearing a white lab coat, jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers. Ryu turned off his music and put the headphones away to hear what the woman had to say.
"Ah, more newbies? Come with me then."
Ryu got up and followed the others into a room that the woman had emerged from, finding himself in a large classroom, complete with desks and a chalkboard.
"Please take a seat, then we'll get started."
Ryu complied, taking a seat in the front row, next to a guy with red hair, a black shirt, and baggy pants.
"Well now, I imagine you're all rather surprised to find yourselves here. It can be quite a shock to wake up like that, and then to have a total stranger direct you to this building. Now then as to the reason why they directed you here."
At this point, the woman moved behind a desk, pulled out the chair, and sat down. She then looked them all in the eye as she started speaking.
"You've been brought to this building so I may explain the rules of this world, and what this world is about."
At the word 'rules' Ryu had instinctively scowled, but he listened to what the lady had to say anyway.
"Now, you all received an anonymous e-mail, which was an add for becoming a Bishonen or Bishoujo trainer. At the bottom of the page there was a link that said 'Make Me A Trainer'. When you clicked on this link, your computer froze and everything went black. When you came to, you were in this world. Correct?"
Everyone nodded, and Ryu remembered finding that e-mail in his account. It had confused him a little at first, but he decided to check it out anyway. The black and white pokemon ball nearly made him delete the e- mail in disgust.
"This world is a world where your favorite characters from any anime, movie, or book walk about in the flesh. This world is constantly growing, as new series are created, a new area appears in this world to accommodate them, and each series has their own hidden city. That's where the first rule comes in; you can explore the boundaries of these areas, but do NOT search for the hidden bishonen cities. This will violate a pact made between them and us. The purpose of this pact is to keep us from tearing the world apart, and driving them all into extinction. Violating this act will place you at the mercy of the bishonen who's city you attempted to invade, and we will give you NO aid what-so-ever. Understood?"
Everyone nodded again, some more vigorously than others. Ryu was one of the ones who merely nodded, but he had taken the woman's words to heart. As skilled a fighter as he was, he knew that against some anime characters, he would go down hard.
"Now, we do, of course, have the technology to capture the bishonen and bishoujo, for either protection, battling, or company of the conversational kind, or the pleasurable kind."
That last statement raised a few eyebrows, and one of the girls talked for the first time.
"You mean we're compatible with them?!"
The woman looked at the girl with a slight grin on her face.
"Of course. There are quite a few half-bishies wandering around out there, and they can look exactly like their parents. My own son is the spitting image of his father."
Ryu felt his right eyebrow rise of its own accord to join his left eyebrow.
"Anyway, as I said, we have the technology to capture bishies, and that brings us to our second rule; NEVER capture a chibi."
"'Chibi'?"
The woman looked at the speaker, the girl with the black hair and green eyes. She studied the girl for a moment, then reached into a drawer on her desk and rummaged around in it for a moment. When her hand reappeared, she was holding a black and white ball, which had been a picture on the website with the link, and were things everyone here carried.
"This is a bish-ball. These are what you use to capture the bishies, who come in three stages. Instead of growing, they evolve you might say. The three levels are 'chibi', 'san', and 'sama'. You may only capture san's or sama's. Capturing a chibi without the consent of its parents is strictly forbidden. It is akin to kidnapping."
As she spoke the woman looked each of them in the eye, and when she was done speaking, they all nodded. She put away the bish ball, and smiled slightly.
"Now, I'm not saying there aren't ways to get a chibi. If two of your bishies get romantically involved, and have a chibi, that is all right. Or you may capture a chibi if and ONLY if the parents give their consent. Otherwise, it is forbidden, and the chibi's parents will more than likely hunt you down to get their child back."
Everyone nodded again, this time with a little more force.
"Now then, capturing. If any of you have seen pokemon that is how it is done. You throw the ball at the bishonen, and it captures them. If you want to release them, let them out, and then break the ball in half after opening it manually. But do not release all of your bishonen unless you wish to be taken home at that instant. That also leads to another rule. If you do not capture a bishie within two weeks, you will be automatically sent home."
Ryu scowled at the news that he might still end up in the old world. That was not something he would allow to happen.
"And now for the final rule; keep your bishies within three miles of yourselves at all times, except in the greatest of emergencies. If you do not, after 48 hours, the bishies will go insane and die."
A stunned silence followed this announcement, and Ryu spoke for the first time after he found his voice.
"What makes them go insane?"
"Once the bishies are captured, they are tied to you by blood."
Ryu swallowed and nodded. These would be rules that he would have no trouble following, despite his general dislike for rules and forms of authority of any kind.
"Right then, just line up over here, and I can get a blood sample, and you can go out and get your supplies. Then it's off to capture bishies!"
The group of people obediently lined up, and Ryu found himself near the back of the line. For a moment, no one moved. Ryu realized that they had only just realized that the woman was holding a hypodermic needle, and the first person in line didn't want to go near it. Or anyone else for that matter.
Ryu grunted in the back of his throat and got out of line and walked to the front. He slipped his right arm out of the sleeve of his jacket, and after flexing a few times to bring a vein close to the surface, thrust his arm out for the woman to collect the blood sample. She nodded at him in approval.
Ryu didn't bother with looking away, or flinching when she inserted the needle into his arm. A slight pinch, a small itch, then the needle was gone. It wasn't that needles didn't bother him. They gave him the creeps. He just had better things to do, and he knew that it was rather painless.
Ryu drew his jacket back on and watched as the woman placed the needle filled with blood into a machine he hadn't noticed before. The needle vanished into the machine, which then clanked and whirred for a few seconds, then beeped. Another compartment opened, holding a belt filled with bish balls. The woman picked up the belt and handed it to him, along with a dex.
"You get your first twenty bishballs free, as well as a dex. These act as a mix between cell phones, encyclopedia's, and GPS systems. They can tell you any known information about a bishie, as well as record another person's dex number and then letting you call that person. It also displays all of your personal information, such as how long you've been a trainer, your bishies, and the circumstances of their capture, ect."
Ryu nodded at her, put the dex in his jacket breast pocket, and slipped the belt around his waist. For a second, the belt felt awkward. Then a strange shiver passed through Ryu's body, and afterward, the belt felt...right. Ryu's eyes widened a little in surprise as he put one of his hands on a bishball. He turned and looked the woman in the eye, seeing her small smile of knowing. He nodded, and then moved aside for the next person in line.
The others seemed to be encouraged by Ryu's success, and everyone was soon fitted with their own equipment, and were ushered out the door with the instructions to tell the local shopkeepers that they were new to this world.
As they filed out of the building, they were all in high spirits, and were conversing loudly, even Ryu, who was talking to the red haired boy he had sat next to. The boy was currently telling Ryu what bishoujo he wanted to catch.
"Man, I hope I can find an Aeris, from Final Fantasy 7!"
Ryu nodded, and spoke.
"Good choice. But I think I'd rather catch a Ryoko from the Tenchi series, or maybe a Marle from Chrono Trigger."
The two of them got drawn into a small debate about the finer points of either bishoujo, but Ryu's mind was only partly on the debate. The rest was dwelling on how he was the only person to experience the shiver, then that feeling of...right...
(Very interesting...I'll have to look into that.)
:Author's note:
So, what did you think? I'll have bishonen show up and interact with everyone a lot more in the next chapter. Please give me some feedback.
His bed was moving. It wasn't violent movement, or anything like that, but more of a gentle, side to side, swaying movement that would've helped him sleep if it weren't for the fact that the movement shouldn't have been there in the first place. And it also felt as if his bed was oh so slowly bending, allowing his feet to drop. Then he realized that his bed was quite a bit narrower than it should be, allowing his feet to dangle off to either side.
It wasn't until he felt a breeze drift across his face that he opened his eyes, rather fearful of what he would find. The site of leaves above him, and a clear blue sky viewed through those didn't do much to alleviate his fears. He slowly ran his right hand along his 'bed' and felt bark. He then looked to the left and right.
Yep. He was in a tree.
(What the hell am I doing in a damned tree?!)
He looked down.
(And a very high tree at that...)
Since he never was one for tree climbing, getting down would be a tricky procedure. But he knew the basics, and was rather fit so he should be able to handle it. Now, first thing to do is shift around till he can use both of his legs and arms...
CRACK!!
Correction: Shift around until the tree branch finally breaks.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
Then scream on the way down.
He hit the ground with a very hard 'Thud'. For a moment, he simply lay there, and then he heard a female voice laugh and then speak.
"Ouch. That had to hurt. You okay?"
He rolled over onto his back, and glared at the girl. She had dirty blond hair, most of which was shoulder length. The exception was an obscenely long braid, nearly reaching the ground. She was wearing a blue denim jacket, which was open, revealing a red muscle shirt with a Nike sign on the front. The shirt was tucked into a blue denim, knee-length skirt, and her shoes were white sneakers. She wore a pair of fingerless gloves, revealing rainbow painted nails as well as a mood ring on her middle finger.
She leaned over toward him, and he noticed the colors of her eyes. The left was green while the right was blue. He also noticed the piercing, two in each ear, which supported shark teeth, and a string necklace with an unidentified tooth hanging from it. She extended a hand to help him, but he climbed to his feet without taking it, and she stood up straight in an attempt to keep her feeling of height. The attempt died when she noticed that he was 6'1", much taller than her own 5'6".
She grinned slightly as she studied him. He was wearing a black jacket, with a black tank top underneath, which was tucked into a pair of tan cargo kaki's, which were held up by a black belt with a silver buckle. The pants bunched over a pair of what looked to be steel toe boots. She transferred her attention to his face, and saw him studying her with intense, ice blue eyes. She noticed two silver studs in each of his earlobes, spaced about a centimeter apart.
"Ah, the strong silent type. So, Newb, what's your name?"
He glared at her, and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Ryu. Now, where am I, who are you, and what do you mean by 'Newb'?"
She grinned and turned away from him a bit, just as a breeze kicked up, which blew his blond hair about, and made her braid sway slightly.
"I'm Yuna Horitaru, and I meant newbie to the world of Bishonen and Bishoujo! As for where you are beyond that, you're three miles north of Devic City, prime Naruto territory!"
Ryu opened his mouth for an angry response, but sudden movement from his peripheral vision made him hold off on the comment to glance in that direction. He returned his attention to Yuna, when he suddenly whipped his head around so fast that it popped to stare in shock at the person calmly walking over to Yuna. Ryu's arms slowly loosened to fall to his sides and he just stared at Sesshomaru as the youkai lord came to a graceful stop by Yuna's side, his long silver hair blowing in the breeze. He glanced at Ryu out of the corner of his eye, and then returned his vision to Yuna in inquiry.
Ryu finally blinked. He closed his eyes, and shook his head vigorously, and pinched his arm. He opened his eyes, and stared at Sesshomaru for a moment before walking up to the demon. Then Ryu reached out and poked Sesshomaru's arm. Sesshomaru turned his head to Ryu and glared at him, though Ryu couldn't tell since Sesshomaru's face didn't change. Yuna chuckled softly, and then spoke.
"Yes, that's Fluffy, and yes, he's real. This is the world of Bishonen and Bishoujo."
Ryu thought he saw what would've passed for Sesshomaru flinching. He looked at Yuna and quirked an eyebrow in inquiry.
"'Fluffy'"?
Yep, definite Sesshomaru flinch. It was something about the eyes...
Yuna shrugged when she spoke.
"I was half asleep when I caught him, and all I saw was the tail at first. I also caught a Naraku before I moved on to another area, where I caught a Ryoga. I'd let him out, but I don't do that except when it's time for him to fight. And Naraku's around here somewhere..."
Ryu walked back to the base of the tree he had fallen out of, and folded at the knees and waist. He placed his arms on his knees, and let his hands dangle in front of him, his eyes unfocused. Sesshomaru, Naraku, and Ryoga? Three characters from two of his favorite animes.
Yuna studied Ryu with some sympathy in her eyes, before walking forward to sit down next to him, her back against the tree. She was about to speak when Ryu's head snapped up and he looked at her with an intense gaze while he asked a question.
"What about people back in the old world? How do I contact them?"
Yuna's look of sympathy increased, and she thought about how to phrase her answer.
"Well...the people back home don't know you exist right now."
Ryu's expression changed to display an emotion Yuna couldn't identify.
"You mean they have no idea I was ever born, or I met anyone?"
Yuna nodded sadly at him. Her eyes then opened in surprise when Ryu suddenly grinned, his face lighting up, and he stood up in one smooth motion, and pumped his fist in the air.
"YES!! Never have to put up with my parents shit ever again!"
He started doing a little victory dance while Yuna and Sesshomaru watched bemusedly. Yuna smiled slightly.
"So I guess leaving home wasn't a problem for you."
Ryu stopped dancing around like an idiot, and grinned at her. She took that for agreement, and grinned back.
"Right. Well, we'd better get you to town so you can go through Orientation. HEY NARAKU, GET YOUR SORRY BUTT OVER HERE!"
For a moment nothing happened. Then a man wearing a white baboon skin dropped down from the tree that Ryu had appeared in.
"Right. Naraku, you carry Ryu, and Fluffy, you carry me. We're heading back to Devic."
"I don't think so."
Yuna turned to Ryu.
"Why not?"
"Two reasons. One: I've seen Inuyasha. There's no chance I'll be trusting Naraku. Two: I hate being indebted to others, even over something as trivial as this. I'll walk if you don't mind."
Yuna was about to protest, but something about the set of Ryu's jaw told her he would not change his mind. After a moment, she nodded and started walking, Ryu following.
-------------------------------------- --- :Two hours later:
Yuna glanced at Ryu out of the corner of her eye, feeling faintly annoyed. Yuna was a rather talkative person, and the silence that constantly surrounded her from her bishonen constantly grated on her. Sesshomaru didn't talk except to answer direct questions, and then it was usually a 'yes' or 'no'. Naraku talked, but he played to many head-trips with her for her to enjoy it for any long period of time. So the chance to talk to another human being was one she would've preferred, but Ryu wasn't the most talkative of people. In fact for the past hour and a half, he hadn't talked at all.
He had been listening to music. He had a CD player on him, as well as a pair of headphones, the kind that fit into the ear, while wrapping around it as well to hold the phone in place. After a half hour of walking in relative silence, he had pulled out the headphones and turned on some music.
As Yuna and her small traveling group rounded a bend in the road, the city of Devic came into view, and Yuna felt her spirits rise. If Ryu had any redeeming qualities, it was that he hadn't stopped walking, allowing them to get to the city. Though they could've made it in about ten minutes if Fluffy and Naraku had taken them...
After walking to the gates of the city, they encountered a guard, who stopped them. Ryu took off his headphones, and put them away.
"I need to see your dexs before I allow entry."
"Dex? What's a 'dex'?"
Yuna looked at Ryu for a moment, then pulled out her dex and showed it to the guard. After examining the gadget, the guard handed it back to her, and turned to Ryu and held out his hand. Ryu merely glowered at the guard with an expression of dislike, crossing his arms over his chest.
"He's a newbie. Doesn't have any of his gear yet."
The guard nodded in understanding and retracted his hand. Ryu still glowered at him, arms still crossed over his chest, and Yuna briefly wondered at the reason.
But as the guard stepped aside and let them through, Yuna put her curiosity in the back of her mind while she looked for the orientation building. She saw a sign pointing her and Ryu in the right direction, and she started to walk in the direction indicated. It took her nearly ten seconds to realize that Ryu wasn't following.
She turned back around, and couldn't stifle a good-natured laugh. She was sure even Sesshomaru was amused, though his face was impassive as always.
Ryu was turning about rapidly in a circle, looking at one bishonen or bishoujo, and then following another as it walked past his field of vision. The poor guy looked overwhelmed as an Akane and a Saitoh both crossed his field of vision, and passed each other, creating the dilemma of which one Ryu should follow with his eyes. Yuna took pity on him and walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder. He snapped out of a daze, and turned to face her, his eyes focusing of hers.
"They're all real...I thought I had accepted it, but deep down, I was expecting this to all be a grand and cruel joke...But the sight of so many..."
He closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and slowly shook his head. Yuna was troubled by the sound of his voice and the look in his eyes, the look and sound of crushed spirit and hope.
Ryu was not a person who had gotten through life with little trouble. She remembered his reaction to when she told him that people in the old world didn't know they existed right now, and Yuna wondered what had happened to him to make him feel this way.
Her musings were cut short when Ryu opened his eyes and grinned at her. He looked completely different now.
"So, where's this Orientation building?"
-------------------------------------- ---
Ryu stood in front of the Orientation building, a large, office-ish affair, with the word 'Orientation', in rather large, garish red letters painted on a sign on the buildings front. Yuna had hurried off a minute ago, once the building came into site, to talk with some people she had met last time she had traveled through the town, leaving Ryu to tackle this event alone. Which was fine with him. He was a lone wolf, and he knew it.
(Quite large for something that simply tells people what this things all about. Do they really need what looks like three stories?)
Ryu walked through the door into the building, and saw nothing to change his opinion of the Orientation being nothing but a large office building. It had the standard lobby, complete with receptionist desk, couches, and chairs, which looked marginally comfortable, for waiting, and various doors. Ryu still couldn't see why it needed to be so damned big.
He stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets, and walked up to the receptionist desk. The clerk looked up when he leaned against the desk.
"Newbie? Then go wait over there for a few minutes, the Professor is nearly done with the current batch."
Ryu looked where the clerk indicated, and saw a group of people of medium size, about ten or so, people of various ages, occupying various couches and chairs in the waiting area. Ryu nodded at the clerk in thanks, and walked over to the waiting area. He sat in an unclaimed chair, found it moderately comfortable, and slumped down, lazily relaxing in the chair. He pulled out his headphones, and put them in his ear. He then turned on the CD player.
As the soothing music of Papa Roach came on, Ryu studied the other newbies waiting with him.
Most weren't of interest, but one caught his eye. She was about his age, 17, and a few inches over five feet. She had long black hair, green eyes, and a light tan. She was wearing blue bell-bottom jeans, and a matching blue shirt, as well as black boots with two inch heals. Before Ryu could continue with any further inspection, a door opened, and a group of three people walked out, wearing belts filled with a black and white version of a pokemon ball, and carrying devices that Ryu now recognized as dex's.
The group of three people was followed by a young woman, in her mid- twenties, wearing a white lab coat, jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers. Ryu turned off his music and put the headphones away to hear what the woman had to say.
"Ah, more newbies? Come with me then."
Ryu got up and followed the others into a room that the woman had emerged from, finding himself in a large classroom, complete with desks and a chalkboard.
"Please take a seat, then we'll get started."
Ryu complied, taking a seat in the front row, next to a guy with red hair, a black shirt, and baggy pants.
"Well now, I imagine you're all rather surprised to find yourselves here. It can be quite a shock to wake up like that, and then to have a total stranger direct you to this building. Now then as to the reason why they directed you here."
At this point, the woman moved behind a desk, pulled out the chair, and sat down. She then looked them all in the eye as she started speaking.
"You've been brought to this building so I may explain the rules of this world, and what this world is about."
At the word 'rules' Ryu had instinctively scowled, but he listened to what the lady had to say anyway.
"Now, you all received an anonymous e-mail, which was an add for becoming a Bishonen or Bishoujo trainer. At the bottom of the page there was a link that said 'Make Me A Trainer'. When you clicked on this link, your computer froze and everything went black. When you came to, you were in this world. Correct?"
Everyone nodded, and Ryu remembered finding that e-mail in his account. It had confused him a little at first, but he decided to check it out anyway. The black and white pokemon ball nearly made him delete the e- mail in disgust.
"This world is a world where your favorite characters from any anime, movie, or book walk about in the flesh. This world is constantly growing, as new series are created, a new area appears in this world to accommodate them, and each series has their own hidden city. That's where the first rule comes in; you can explore the boundaries of these areas, but do NOT search for the hidden bishonen cities. This will violate a pact made between them and us. The purpose of this pact is to keep us from tearing the world apart, and driving them all into extinction. Violating this act will place you at the mercy of the bishonen who's city you attempted to invade, and we will give you NO aid what-so-ever. Understood?"
Everyone nodded again, some more vigorously than others. Ryu was one of the ones who merely nodded, but he had taken the woman's words to heart. As skilled a fighter as he was, he knew that against some anime characters, he would go down hard.
"Now, we do, of course, have the technology to capture the bishonen and bishoujo, for either protection, battling, or company of the conversational kind, or the pleasurable kind."
That last statement raised a few eyebrows, and one of the girls talked for the first time.
"You mean we're compatible with them?!"
The woman looked at the girl with a slight grin on her face.
"Of course. There are quite a few half-bishies wandering around out there, and they can look exactly like their parents. My own son is the spitting image of his father."
Ryu felt his right eyebrow rise of its own accord to join his left eyebrow.
"Anyway, as I said, we have the technology to capture bishies, and that brings us to our second rule; NEVER capture a chibi."
"'Chibi'?"
The woman looked at the speaker, the girl with the black hair and green eyes. She studied the girl for a moment, then reached into a drawer on her desk and rummaged around in it for a moment. When her hand reappeared, she was holding a black and white ball, which had been a picture on the website with the link, and were things everyone here carried.
"This is a bish-ball. These are what you use to capture the bishies, who come in three stages. Instead of growing, they evolve you might say. The three levels are 'chibi', 'san', and 'sama'. You may only capture san's or sama's. Capturing a chibi without the consent of its parents is strictly forbidden. It is akin to kidnapping."
As she spoke the woman looked each of them in the eye, and when she was done speaking, they all nodded. She put away the bish ball, and smiled slightly.
"Now, I'm not saying there aren't ways to get a chibi. If two of your bishies get romantically involved, and have a chibi, that is all right. Or you may capture a chibi if and ONLY if the parents give their consent. Otherwise, it is forbidden, and the chibi's parents will more than likely hunt you down to get their child back."
Everyone nodded again, this time with a little more force.
"Now then, capturing. If any of you have seen pokemon that is how it is done. You throw the ball at the bishonen, and it captures them. If you want to release them, let them out, and then break the ball in half after opening it manually. But do not release all of your bishonen unless you wish to be taken home at that instant. That also leads to another rule. If you do not capture a bishie within two weeks, you will be automatically sent home."
Ryu scowled at the news that he might still end up in the old world. That was not something he would allow to happen.
"And now for the final rule; keep your bishies within three miles of yourselves at all times, except in the greatest of emergencies. If you do not, after 48 hours, the bishies will go insane and die."
A stunned silence followed this announcement, and Ryu spoke for the first time after he found his voice.
"What makes them go insane?"
"Once the bishies are captured, they are tied to you by blood."
Ryu swallowed and nodded. These would be rules that he would have no trouble following, despite his general dislike for rules and forms of authority of any kind.
"Right then, just line up over here, and I can get a blood sample, and you can go out and get your supplies. Then it's off to capture bishies!"
The group of people obediently lined up, and Ryu found himself near the back of the line. For a moment, no one moved. Ryu realized that they had only just realized that the woman was holding a hypodermic needle, and the first person in line didn't want to go near it. Or anyone else for that matter.
Ryu grunted in the back of his throat and got out of line and walked to the front. He slipped his right arm out of the sleeve of his jacket, and after flexing a few times to bring a vein close to the surface, thrust his arm out for the woman to collect the blood sample. She nodded at him in approval.
Ryu didn't bother with looking away, or flinching when she inserted the needle into his arm. A slight pinch, a small itch, then the needle was gone. It wasn't that needles didn't bother him. They gave him the creeps. He just had better things to do, and he knew that it was rather painless.
Ryu drew his jacket back on and watched as the woman placed the needle filled with blood into a machine he hadn't noticed before. The needle vanished into the machine, which then clanked and whirred for a few seconds, then beeped. Another compartment opened, holding a belt filled with bish balls. The woman picked up the belt and handed it to him, along with a dex.
"You get your first twenty bishballs free, as well as a dex. These act as a mix between cell phones, encyclopedia's, and GPS systems. They can tell you any known information about a bishie, as well as record another person's dex number and then letting you call that person. It also displays all of your personal information, such as how long you've been a trainer, your bishies, and the circumstances of their capture, ect."
Ryu nodded at her, put the dex in his jacket breast pocket, and slipped the belt around his waist. For a second, the belt felt awkward. Then a strange shiver passed through Ryu's body, and afterward, the belt felt...right. Ryu's eyes widened a little in surprise as he put one of his hands on a bishball. He turned and looked the woman in the eye, seeing her small smile of knowing. He nodded, and then moved aside for the next person in line.
The others seemed to be encouraged by Ryu's success, and everyone was soon fitted with their own equipment, and were ushered out the door with the instructions to tell the local shopkeepers that they were new to this world.
As they filed out of the building, they were all in high spirits, and were conversing loudly, even Ryu, who was talking to the red haired boy he had sat next to. The boy was currently telling Ryu what bishoujo he wanted to catch.
"Man, I hope I can find an Aeris, from Final Fantasy 7!"
Ryu nodded, and spoke.
"Good choice. But I think I'd rather catch a Ryoko from the Tenchi series, or maybe a Marle from Chrono Trigger."
The two of them got drawn into a small debate about the finer points of either bishoujo, but Ryu's mind was only partly on the debate. The rest was dwelling on how he was the only person to experience the shiver, then that feeling of...right...
(Very interesting...I'll have to look into that.)
:Author's note:
So, what did you think? I'll have bishonen show up and interact with everyone a lot more in the next chapter. Please give me some feedback.