Ichigo was awakened by the sound of her sections 3rd hour alarm. She cursed out loud as she groggily sat up in her bed. He aqua hair was a frizzled mess and she was in no mood to listen to the loud talking of the people that walked to and fro outside her small assigned apartment.
She stood up and stumbled over to the window, nearly tripping on her Hunter's gear that she had left haphazardly on the floor after her long night down of the planet's surface, doing yet another bitch job for minimal pay. She swore again and slammed her fist onto the controls of the window frame. She stuck her head out quickly finding the source of the noise.
"For god's sake !" she yelled, startling the young human boy and his two companions "some of us are trying to sleep, get the FUCK away from my window !"
Before she could see the look of mixed surprise and disgust cross their faces, she pulled her head back in and slammed her hands down on the controls again.
She could hear them bitching, but was mildly thankful that they were moving anyway. She hated them... humans. It wasn't a hate she was just born with, but a hate that had worn on her over time.
She ran her hands through the tangled mess of her hair and stomped back over to her bed, practically throwing herself on it. She closed her eyes. Ever since her people had come to this ship, it's been a struggle... a struggle she wasn't so easy to forgive.
They called them Newmans...Human science at it's best. Genetically engenered half breeds, originally made so the Humans would have free labor for all of their endevors. They spent years fighting for basic human rights and to be treated accordingly. It made Ichigo sick. Even the androids had more freedom than her people.
Ichigo grumbled ... Fuck, she couldn't sleep any more. More reasons to hate them. She got up and stomped over to her modest bathroom and ran the sonic shower. It didn't take her that long to clean up, she was thankful for not having the same physiology as humans... some of then stank so badly she would gag just to be around them.
Feeling just a bit more refreshed, she stepped out of the shower and walked over to the mirror. Ichigo looked at herself with a small amount of annoyance. Even for her people she was considered short, which always pissed her off. She knew why, but the reason only added to her distaste of humans.
She reached out and touched the control panel in front of the mirror. The mirror disappeared and revealed a cabinet with her essentials. She reached out and grabbed the tooth brush and paste. She quickly scrubbed away at her teeth then stuffed the brush and paste back into the cabinet and hit the controls so that the mirror revealed itself again. She grabbed her brush and began the task of putting her hair up. She never cared for it, but couldn't bring herself to cut it either. So as a compromise, she wore in up in odango 99 percent of the time. Besides, she thought as she twisted the first bun into place, it's easier when I'm fighting....
After her hair was up she walked out and over to her clothing. She reached down and pulled up the shorts and shirt.
"Son of a - " She swore outloud when she got a look at her outfit.
It was covered with dried blood... This was her favorite and she was angry because she had been so tired by the time she completed her job yesterday that she hadn't even noticed the creature had bled on her. With a frustrated sigh she threw the outfit in the corner. She was usually more careful than that. She could fight non stop for hours and never once get anything on her.
"Long hours..." she grumbled to herself. "it's catching up with you moron"
She walked over to her closet and touched the button. With a silent swish, the door slid open revealing more of her hunting gear. She chose a plain white and grey set that she usually didn't bother with (blue was her favorite) and dressed.
She fidgeted with the armor collar plait, trying to work it around her section ID collar.
Section Id collars... she hated them, but the damned thing was permanently attached. The humans made sure of that. She turned her lip up in disgust. Everyone on Pioneer 2 had section IDs.. but, she thought bitterly, only Newmans were forced to wear them at all times. The collars were made to be permanent and she had never gotton used to it's presence. With a final motion, her armor plait slid under the collar and clicked into place. She grabbed her sheild and slid it on her arm. The sheild not only held the data for rations she needed, but for her weapon as well.
Ichigo gave herself one last look, her eyes may have been slightly blood shot, but other than that she looked alright.
'Not that you have anyone to look good for.' she thought
Ichigo walked out of her apartment and let the retina scan compete the lock up. She headed up out of her section fully aware of the stares she received as she moved.
It was always the same, always a set of eyes watching her move. She hated this place. She hated them. It was the only reason she pimped herself into the Hunter's Guild. Even though she was given twice as many missions at half the pay, she was happier spending as much time away from the ship and her surroundings as possible. Oh sure, the planet was full of primitive creatures that had nothing better to do than to kill you should you step into their territory, but as a Hunter, she could easily get herself out of any situation she was in... no matter how dire.
'Except ' she thought, 'at the expense of your clothing'
Ichigo walked into the station and waited impatiently for the next transport. She looked at the people waiting around her. Newmans mixed in with Humans and Androids. Her people tried so hard to "fit in" and all of it was tolerated with a silent impatience, but to Ichigo, any Newman that tried to become their human counterpart disgusted her just as much.
The transport arrived and Ichigo sat herself in the back away from the others. She stared out the window as the transport quickly sped through her section towards the Hunter's Guild.
'All those people...' she thought ' not one of them worth their weight'
Ichigo sighed... when had she become so hateful, she wondered to herself. But she knew fully when it happened. She'd kill them all if she could after what they did... but then she'd be breaking a promise she had made to her mother. She wouldn't allow herself to do that. Doing that was far worse than living among them.... close, but still.
As Ichigo got out the transport and made her way to the Guild, she tried hard to ignore the pangs of hunger that went through her stomach. She didn't have enough credits to eat, which is why she was going to take up another mission. She could eat after... or if all else failed, she'd eat something on the surface, distasteful as everything was down there.
Ichigo walked into the Guild, trying hard to ignore the stares coming from the other few idle hunters. It was always the same. They didn't like her being there, they actually talked as if she was taking their jobs, jobs that only humans should have. It's was alright though, because she didn't like them either. All she wanted to do was get back to the surface.
Her stomach grumbled '...and eat' she thought with a sigh.
She walked up to the counter and waited for the guild member to 'notice' her. Another game that she had to play every time she came in. She knew full well that her presence was known, but it always took a moment of her standing there before they'd recognize her person. She always fought and urge to grab the member and pound their head into the counter.
....Better to play the game then to be banned and stuck up here forever.
"Yes" the guild member said with forced courtesy.
"Any new jobs ?" Ichigo asked, composing herself,
The guild member looked down without a comment and began clacking away on the light buttons in front of her. Ichigo could see the reflection of the computer screen roll across the guild member's face. It came to an abrupt halt and she looked up lazily.
"Nothing that isn't already taken" she said coldly. "Come back tomorrow"
Ichigo didn't bother to reply, she abruptly turned around and headed for the door. Fuck , so much for eating today...
"Newman Hunter Ichigo. " she heard a man's voice from behind her say.
She turned around to see another guild member standing in a doorway to the back office. He was a small man, human and big for his size. In all of the times she'd been in the Guild, she'd never seen this door open. Usually she'd go to the counter, get her job and clearance then head to the planet teleport.
"Come with me please" He said, gesturing towards himself.
Ichigo walked in and followed the small man to his office. The guild looked retty small on the outside, but this back area was vast. Once inside his office the door slid closed and a chair appeared for her. He motioned towards it and she sat down, wondering if this was the day she'd be kicked out.
He sat down and pulled up a computer screen, without looking at her he began searching through files. Ichigo sat there uncomfortably, waiting .
"Section ID Pinkal " He began " member number 867,923b, NEweral -"
"Missions- 789, confirmed kills- 6700..." he stopped and looked up to her "my, that's quite a record considering that you've only been in the Guild for 1 year.""Do you ever have time to sleep ?" he chuckled to himself.
He looked at her, and the smile left his face. He cleared his throat and began again.
"Hunter Ichigo, we have a mission for you of the utmost urgency and importance."
"okay...." Ichigo started, but the man interrupted
"Due to your impressive record, we in the guild feel you are the only one capable of handling this mission, " he began punching up data on his screen while he talked " a few days ago, a very important scientist went to the planet's surface to acquire samples of the local -ahem, wildlife, and disappeared. We need you to go retrieve him."
"That's it ?" Ichigo scoffed "You could get anyone to do that, why all the bravado ?"
The man shot her a nasty look that told Ichigo to be silent "This man is not just any citizen of Pioneer and this disappearance does not fall under normal circumstances. It needs to be handled very discreetly, with no questions asked, and considering your... how should I put this delicately... position, you are the only one qualified."
Ichigo bit her tongue, she knew exactly what he meant by position... a few years ago during her training missions on Ragol while she was trying to pass her hunters exam for the first time... there was an incident and she was pinned for the deaths of 4 of her companions... including the only person she had ever loved. It was a freak accident that she just happened to survive. They wanted a scape goat and she was it. Ever since then she'd been fighting to prove that she was innocent, all to no avail. Finally she was told to either be quiet and accept the blame, or she'd spend the rest of her life in Pioneer's prison... and because she had promised her mother to live peacefully among them, she took the blame. Unfortunately the percussion that she was already experiencing as a Newman became ten fold once she did...
"Fine" she said finally "where was he last seen"
"We'll upload the data into your shield. It is classified and locked material that you will only be able to access once down on the planet" he smiled sweetly, knowing he had her backed into a corner " you are to meet up with your partner at the coordinates set in this data-"
"Partner ?!" Ichigo blurted out suddenly "look, I work alone-"
The man smiled a dangerous smile "This isn't up for discussion, you will be working with another member, or do you find our prisons to be a better place to spend your time ?"
Ichigo shook in anger, she wanted so badly to grab this fat little man and mangle his face beyond repair, she breathed heavily trying hard not to let his words get to her. It dawned on her that she wasn't being given a choice.
"I thought so" he said standing up " please stop at the counter and have the data downloaded into your shield."
Ichigo stood up, and stormed out of his office, swearing to herself.
After a quick stop at the counter and a brief data stream download she headed over to the teleport. The guards stopped her and scanned her section ID then motioned for her towards the teleport.
She stepped in and suddenly she felt her body get sucked in as if she was in a vacuumed tube. She could see the stars rush past her as she jetted down the invisible tube towards the planet. Once she rematerialized in the planet-side port, she let out her breath. No matter how many times she did that, she never got used to it.
She was glad that despite the security failures and problems with the first Pioneer's residents and their failed attempts to move in, the teleport was still about the only secure place she could be. The last thing she needed was to materialize next to a Booma.
"Hunter Ichigo ?" a man's voice from behind her said.
She turned quickly, a bit startled, not at all expecting anyone to be near the transport.
Behind her stood a very tall human Force. -They were called forces because of their ability to use all kinds of data spells. His section ID was Blufill, a section Ichigo knew to be restricted (the interstellar elitists of the universe, Ichigo smirked to herself) , his hair was very long and white, and his eyes were a pale shade of green. He was attired in typical force gear, like an armored black dress, which really made the paleness of his skin, hair and eyes make him look a bit albino. He smiled.
"I know I look good, but you can stop staring" he laughed arrogantly
The look of shear disgust that crossed Ichigo's face only made the man laugh harder. He had been leaning on the rock face directly behind the teleport and pushed himself up with a graceful movement, and walked up to her. She stood there, annoyed and weary, completely silent. He put his hand out in a greeting gesture.
"I'm Uriel," he smiled "I'm your mission partner"
Notes and Such -
Phantasy Star Online is the bestest game EVAAARRR !
Ichigo is my main character, she's cutie little NeWeral with tan skin and aqua odango and a love for the Red Saber 78. I hope you enjoy her adventures aboard Pioneer 2.
Uriel is a FOmar and my secondary character who love to give Ichigo a hard time.
(edit) I changed some of the story a little , gomen ne, I had never played the previous games (since PSO online is my fav... who needs the rest -ohohohoho) and didn't know that background on Newmans, just made something up to go with Ichigo's angst. Heeeee... now it's correct (sorta)