AN: Hi again all. It seems this story is going to be a lot longer then I
expected, especially after a twist I'll be putting in farther down the
line. I'd like to thank alphaskiier, Neo, and Trinity7 for their reviews.
^_^ I hope you enjoy the next chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from .hack or My Life as a Teenage Robot. I do own the online personas of Kakera, Aoshi, Tobira, and Rai.
.hack//dimensions
Chapter 4: Blademaster
"Uh, thanks for you help," said Kakera, as the group sat around a campfire in the area, Chosen Forbidden White Devil. "I would have been done for if you hadn't shown up."
"No problem," replied Aoshi, wiping down his blade. He turned towards Rai, and continued to speak. "A lot of newbies tend to go over to areas beyond their level. Good thing you didn't try and go to a level 30 area on one of the other servers."
"Heh, well I'm not that stupid," joked Rai.
"Well, you're pretty stupid anyway," muttered Tobira as he wiped down his staff with a bit of his robe.
"What's that supposed to mean!?"
Through this entire conversation, Kakera couldn't keep her eyes off of Aoshi. To Kakera, the blademaster appeared to be the most amazing person she had ever met. He emanated a kindness and a willingness to help that Kakera had never noticed in anyone else before in her life. He smiled at Rai's reaction to Tobira's comment, and Kakera wished that that smile would never end.
"Yoo-hoo, Kakera?" said Tobira as he waved his staff in front of her face.
"Huh?" Kakera jumped up. She was so entranced by looking at Aoshi that she had not noticed that everyone had stopped talking and were peering at her.
"You back in reality now?" asked Rai in a concerned voice.
"Oh, sorry," said Kakera, shaking her head. God, I must look like such an idiot in front of Aoshi, she thought. I have to make a good impression on him...
"I have a big sword!" she yelled. The group gave her a quizzical look, and she slumped down again. Great, now he knows I'm an idiot.
"I have a big pointy stick," said Tobira, trying to liven up the mood. "I got it in the first dungeon me and Rai went into."
"Can I see?" asked the blademaster. Tobira handed over his staff and Aoshi examined it. "Yeah, that's a pretty good one for a beginner." He handed it back and continued. "When you get to a higher level you'll be able to get to harder dungeons, they have amazing items in there."
"Really?" Tobira smiled and began to think of the really cool staff he would one day use.
"So do you three want to go to another dungeon?" Aoshi asked, getting up.
"Don't ask me to pick one again," said Rai. "I don't think I can be trusted."
"Don't worry, it happens to everyone," said Aoshi. "Let's head back to Mac Anu, I can help you all out in a few areas."
"Alright! Now we have three fighters to protect m... err, fight for us," Tobira cried. Kakera got up with the others, and in four yellow lights, they disappeared from the area.
************************************************************
"Aoshi, where did you have in mind for us to practice?" Kakera asked. She was attempting to sound smart again so that Aoshi would not think she was some kind of dunce.
"Well, there's..." Aoshi was cut off as a huge group of players ran towards them. Rai, Tobira, and Kakera turned to see who was so eager to meet them, when they noticed the entire group was made up of girls.
Screaming fan girls.
"There he is! Aoshi!" screamed a wavemaster in the front of the group.
"Shit, they found me again!" Aoshi ran off away from them deeper into the city. "Rai, I'll email you the area, I'll be there in as soon as I can!" He was soon out of sight of the group, but the large mass of girls could still be seen chasing him.
"Ok, that was weird," commented Rai.
"I knew he was good looking," said Kakera. "But I didn't know that he had that many people after him."
"So you've met Aoshi the Blademaster as well, haven't you?" A twin blade walked up to them, smirking, and continued to speak. "He's a bit famous around here. He's helped out quite a bit with the administrators and newbies. His avatar is really unique too, so a lot of girls think he's hot. Besides that, he's amazing in battle. Most people would give an arm and a leg just to say they knew him."
"He saved me," said Kakera, still staring into the distance.
"Well, he's heroic as well," replied the twin blade. "You should feel lucky that you three met up with him. Well, I gotta go." The twin blade walked up towards the chaos gate and left.
"A strong fighter huh," said Rai, sneakiness in his voice. "Well, I am glad he decided to hang with us for a bit then.
"He's heroic," whispered Kakera. She sighed and her cheeks turned red.
"He's just some guy," mumbled Tobira, kicking the pavement. "Rai, did we get an email from him yet?"
"Oh, yea," said Rai, startled out of his thoughts. "Ok, I got an email to meet him at some area. Let's go!"
***********************************************************
The three friends stepped out of the beams of light, and walked out into an open green field. They could see what must be the opening to the dungeon in the distance, but the field appeared empty except for a few trees and what looked to be a pond in the distance.
"This is a lot nicer then the area you picked out Rai," said Kakera, gazing about. "There doesn't appear to be many monster portals either.
"This area's level must be lower then the one we were in before," remarked Rai.
"Good, then no scary dragons!" squeaked Tobira.
"I hope Aoshi got away from those screaming fan girls," sighed Rai. "He seems like a nice guy, and I don't think he wants all that attention."
"Yeah, I hope he gets away too," said Kakera, not really listening.
A twinkling sound echoed through the area, and the group turned around to see Aoshi come through a yellow portal. He was panting and his hair looked like it had been through a tornado. He wiped his black bangs out of his eyes, and spoke to them.
"Sorry about that," he apologized. "One of the players decided to start some sort of 'Aoshi Fan Club', and now I don't get any rest in that server."
"Do you have a record of being a playboy around here?" joked Rai, toying with his blades.
"I guess that some of the girls decided I deserve worship because I've helped them out. Ugh, it gets annoying though. All I want to do is play the game."
"Uh..." Kakera felt guilty now. She thought she liked Aoshi, but she didn't want to cause him problems like those other girls. I'll just cherish the time I have with him here, and obsess about him in the real world. She grinned and brought her attention back to the conversation.
"Worry about that later," said Rai. "You were going to help us out in this area, right?"
"Yeah," Aoshi muttered. "Okay, first let's go over some basics with the World. In the battle you had with that dragon, I noticed that Tobira was hiding behind his staff the whole time."
"Wait, you were watching us?" asked Tobira.
"Yeah, because I wanted to see how much you guys were capable of before I jumped in. If I thought you could handle it, I wouldn't want to butt in where I wasn't wanted. Anyway, Tobira hid behind his staff for most of the time."
"But I didn't want it to eat me!" piped in the indignant wavemaster. "Besides, I couldn't attack it well, I was just there to try and heal Rai and Kakera."
"Not true. Tobira, not only do you have healing moves, but you have offensive spells as well."
"Really? You mean I can attack too?"
"Huh? Didn't you look at your ability screen?" asked Rai.
"Uh, not really," admitted Tobira. "I just saw the healing spell first so I decided to use that..."
"What! You mean you could have helped us against that dragon?"
"It wouldn't have mattered anyway," said Kakera. "You saw how our attacks didn't do anything against that creature."
"You're right Kakera," said the blademaster. She blushed at Aoshi complementing her. "Your levels are far too low to fight those monsters. However, if you had continued those attacks and managed to survive long enough, then you may have beaten it. Its HP would have been whittled down little by little. The main problem was obviously level difference, which is why we are here. This area has monsters for your ability, and by fighting monsters here we can increase your level."
"Awesome!" cried Tobira. "Let's start at that portal!" He ran past Aoshi towards a round spinning yellow portal in the distance. As the wavemaster got closer, the portal began spinning faster, until a small yellow goblin appeared. It looked up as Tobira stopped in his tracks, and the creature smiled at him with a toothy grin. The goblin raised its right arm, which held a large wooden club, and started to run towards Tobira.
"AHHHH!" screamed the wavemaster, running away from the goblin. All courage he thought he had had left him in an instant.
"Come on Tobira!" encouraged Kakera. "It's only a little goblin!"
"Use one of your offensive spells!" advised Aoshi. "Stop, aim, and fire!"
"Ok..." panted Tobira. He stopped and turned towards the goblin. Raising his staff, he pointed it at the creature. Bolts of lightning sprang from the blade, hitting the goblin dead on. The goblin cried in pain and raised its club towards Tobira once again.
"One more time!" yelled Rai. "You can do it!"
With more determination this time, Tobira called forth the lightning again, and it struck the creature. It once again cried out in pain, but broke into bits of data in mid scream.
"I did it!" said the triumphant wavemaster. A message appeared over his head saying he had gained experience. The message appeared over Kakera and Rai as well.
"Huh? Why did we get experience too?" asked Kakera.
"You, Rai, and Tobira are all in a party," replied Aoshi. "When a member of a party defeats a monster, every member of the party gains experience no matter what. That's why a lot of newbies attach themselves to high leveled parties in an attempt to gain experience easily. But don't even ask me to do something like that." The blademaster smiled towards Kakera. "I prefer it when people prove that they are willing to work towards a goal the right way, and not take any shortcuts."
Kakera melted under Aoshi's warm smile. iIf that's the case Aoshi,/i she thought. iThen I will do all I can to become strong in this game and impress you./i
"So do you want to do a few more battles?" asked Aoshi to the group.
"Oh no!" cried Rai. "I can't now. I didn't realize how late it was. Tobira, we have to get off, Dad's going to kill us for staying up this late as it is."
Kakera checked her own clock in the real world and gulped as well. "I have to ch.... err, go to sleep now too. We all have school tomorrow, and I'll be dead enough as it is."
"All right then," said Aoshi, shrugging. "I should probably call it a day too. Here, I've sent you all my member address. Do you want to meet up tomorrow night?"
"Sure!" agreed Tobira, Rai, and Kakera. The group said their goodbyes, and four beams of light, left the area into Mac Anu, and immediately back out into the real world.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from .hack or My Life as a Teenage Robot. I do own the online personas of Kakera, Aoshi, Tobira, and Rai.
.hack//dimensions
Chapter 4: Blademaster
"Uh, thanks for you help," said Kakera, as the group sat around a campfire in the area, Chosen Forbidden White Devil. "I would have been done for if you hadn't shown up."
"No problem," replied Aoshi, wiping down his blade. He turned towards Rai, and continued to speak. "A lot of newbies tend to go over to areas beyond their level. Good thing you didn't try and go to a level 30 area on one of the other servers."
"Heh, well I'm not that stupid," joked Rai.
"Well, you're pretty stupid anyway," muttered Tobira as he wiped down his staff with a bit of his robe.
"What's that supposed to mean!?"
Through this entire conversation, Kakera couldn't keep her eyes off of Aoshi. To Kakera, the blademaster appeared to be the most amazing person she had ever met. He emanated a kindness and a willingness to help that Kakera had never noticed in anyone else before in her life. He smiled at Rai's reaction to Tobira's comment, and Kakera wished that that smile would never end.
"Yoo-hoo, Kakera?" said Tobira as he waved his staff in front of her face.
"Huh?" Kakera jumped up. She was so entranced by looking at Aoshi that she had not noticed that everyone had stopped talking and were peering at her.
"You back in reality now?" asked Rai in a concerned voice.
"Oh, sorry," said Kakera, shaking her head. God, I must look like such an idiot in front of Aoshi, she thought. I have to make a good impression on him...
"I have a big sword!" she yelled. The group gave her a quizzical look, and she slumped down again. Great, now he knows I'm an idiot.
"I have a big pointy stick," said Tobira, trying to liven up the mood. "I got it in the first dungeon me and Rai went into."
"Can I see?" asked the blademaster. Tobira handed over his staff and Aoshi examined it. "Yeah, that's a pretty good one for a beginner." He handed it back and continued. "When you get to a higher level you'll be able to get to harder dungeons, they have amazing items in there."
"Really?" Tobira smiled and began to think of the really cool staff he would one day use.
"So do you three want to go to another dungeon?" Aoshi asked, getting up.
"Don't ask me to pick one again," said Rai. "I don't think I can be trusted."
"Don't worry, it happens to everyone," said Aoshi. "Let's head back to Mac Anu, I can help you all out in a few areas."
"Alright! Now we have three fighters to protect m... err, fight for us," Tobira cried. Kakera got up with the others, and in four yellow lights, they disappeared from the area.
************************************************************
"Aoshi, where did you have in mind for us to practice?" Kakera asked. She was attempting to sound smart again so that Aoshi would not think she was some kind of dunce.
"Well, there's..." Aoshi was cut off as a huge group of players ran towards them. Rai, Tobira, and Kakera turned to see who was so eager to meet them, when they noticed the entire group was made up of girls.
Screaming fan girls.
"There he is! Aoshi!" screamed a wavemaster in the front of the group.
"Shit, they found me again!" Aoshi ran off away from them deeper into the city. "Rai, I'll email you the area, I'll be there in as soon as I can!" He was soon out of sight of the group, but the large mass of girls could still be seen chasing him.
"Ok, that was weird," commented Rai.
"I knew he was good looking," said Kakera. "But I didn't know that he had that many people after him."
"So you've met Aoshi the Blademaster as well, haven't you?" A twin blade walked up to them, smirking, and continued to speak. "He's a bit famous around here. He's helped out quite a bit with the administrators and newbies. His avatar is really unique too, so a lot of girls think he's hot. Besides that, he's amazing in battle. Most people would give an arm and a leg just to say they knew him."
"He saved me," said Kakera, still staring into the distance.
"Well, he's heroic as well," replied the twin blade. "You should feel lucky that you three met up with him. Well, I gotta go." The twin blade walked up towards the chaos gate and left.
"A strong fighter huh," said Rai, sneakiness in his voice. "Well, I am glad he decided to hang with us for a bit then.
"He's heroic," whispered Kakera. She sighed and her cheeks turned red.
"He's just some guy," mumbled Tobira, kicking the pavement. "Rai, did we get an email from him yet?"
"Oh, yea," said Rai, startled out of his thoughts. "Ok, I got an email to meet him at some area. Let's go!"
***********************************************************
The three friends stepped out of the beams of light, and walked out into an open green field. They could see what must be the opening to the dungeon in the distance, but the field appeared empty except for a few trees and what looked to be a pond in the distance.
"This is a lot nicer then the area you picked out Rai," said Kakera, gazing about. "There doesn't appear to be many monster portals either.
"This area's level must be lower then the one we were in before," remarked Rai.
"Good, then no scary dragons!" squeaked Tobira.
"I hope Aoshi got away from those screaming fan girls," sighed Rai. "He seems like a nice guy, and I don't think he wants all that attention."
"Yeah, I hope he gets away too," said Kakera, not really listening.
A twinkling sound echoed through the area, and the group turned around to see Aoshi come through a yellow portal. He was panting and his hair looked like it had been through a tornado. He wiped his black bangs out of his eyes, and spoke to them.
"Sorry about that," he apologized. "One of the players decided to start some sort of 'Aoshi Fan Club', and now I don't get any rest in that server."
"Do you have a record of being a playboy around here?" joked Rai, toying with his blades.
"I guess that some of the girls decided I deserve worship because I've helped them out. Ugh, it gets annoying though. All I want to do is play the game."
"Uh..." Kakera felt guilty now. She thought she liked Aoshi, but she didn't want to cause him problems like those other girls. I'll just cherish the time I have with him here, and obsess about him in the real world. She grinned and brought her attention back to the conversation.
"Worry about that later," said Rai. "You were going to help us out in this area, right?"
"Yeah," Aoshi muttered. "Okay, first let's go over some basics with the World. In the battle you had with that dragon, I noticed that Tobira was hiding behind his staff the whole time."
"Wait, you were watching us?" asked Tobira.
"Yeah, because I wanted to see how much you guys were capable of before I jumped in. If I thought you could handle it, I wouldn't want to butt in where I wasn't wanted. Anyway, Tobira hid behind his staff for most of the time."
"But I didn't want it to eat me!" piped in the indignant wavemaster. "Besides, I couldn't attack it well, I was just there to try and heal Rai and Kakera."
"Not true. Tobira, not only do you have healing moves, but you have offensive spells as well."
"Really? You mean I can attack too?"
"Huh? Didn't you look at your ability screen?" asked Rai.
"Uh, not really," admitted Tobira. "I just saw the healing spell first so I decided to use that..."
"What! You mean you could have helped us against that dragon?"
"It wouldn't have mattered anyway," said Kakera. "You saw how our attacks didn't do anything against that creature."
"You're right Kakera," said the blademaster. She blushed at Aoshi complementing her. "Your levels are far too low to fight those monsters. However, if you had continued those attacks and managed to survive long enough, then you may have beaten it. Its HP would have been whittled down little by little. The main problem was obviously level difference, which is why we are here. This area has monsters for your ability, and by fighting monsters here we can increase your level."
"Awesome!" cried Tobira. "Let's start at that portal!" He ran past Aoshi towards a round spinning yellow portal in the distance. As the wavemaster got closer, the portal began spinning faster, until a small yellow goblin appeared. It looked up as Tobira stopped in his tracks, and the creature smiled at him with a toothy grin. The goblin raised its right arm, which held a large wooden club, and started to run towards Tobira.
"AHHHH!" screamed the wavemaster, running away from the goblin. All courage he thought he had had left him in an instant.
"Come on Tobira!" encouraged Kakera. "It's only a little goblin!"
"Use one of your offensive spells!" advised Aoshi. "Stop, aim, and fire!"
"Ok..." panted Tobira. He stopped and turned towards the goblin. Raising his staff, he pointed it at the creature. Bolts of lightning sprang from the blade, hitting the goblin dead on. The goblin cried in pain and raised its club towards Tobira once again.
"One more time!" yelled Rai. "You can do it!"
With more determination this time, Tobira called forth the lightning again, and it struck the creature. It once again cried out in pain, but broke into bits of data in mid scream.
"I did it!" said the triumphant wavemaster. A message appeared over his head saying he had gained experience. The message appeared over Kakera and Rai as well.
"Huh? Why did we get experience too?" asked Kakera.
"You, Rai, and Tobira are all in a party," replied Aoshi. "When a member of a party defeats a monster, every member of the party gains experience no matter what. That's why a lot of newbies attach themselves to high leveled parties in an attempt to gain experience easily. But don't even ask me to do something like that." The blademaster smiled towards Kakera. "I prefer it when people prove that they are willing to work towards a goal the right way, and not take any shortcuts."
Kakera melted under Aoshi's warm smile. iIf that's the case Aoshi,/i she thought. iThen I will do all I can to become strong in this game and impress you./i
"So do you want to do a few more battles?" asked Aoshi to the group.
"Oh no!" cried Rai. "I can't now. I didn't realize how late it was. Tobira, we have to get off, Dad's going to kill us for staying up this late as it is."
Kakera checked her own clock in the real world and gulped as well. "I have to ch.... err, go to sleep now too. We all have school tomorrow, and I'll be dead enough as it is."
"All right then," said Aoshi, shrugging. "I should probably call it a day too. Here, I've sent you all my member address. Do you want to meet up tomorrow night?"
"Sure!" agreed Tobira, Rai, and Kakera. The group said their goodbyes, and four beams of light, left the area into Mac Anu, and immediately back out into the real world.