Click to Enter Chapter 3

Sano's eyes were wide as the three agents began walking down the 'street' in front of them. It looked as normal as any of the streets downtown on a dark night even down to an occasionally flickering street light. They passed large painted windows offering a variety of different services from virtual massage to clothes shopping. Kenshin and Misao had to nearly drag him away from one window display that was showing some lovely pictures of scantily clad females.

"It's legal here?" Sano's eyes remained fixed on the window even as he was being dragged away.

"'It' isn't real here, Sano," Misao spat out in a frustrated voice. "How can something you're only experiencing in your mind be illegal?" Kenshin chuckled as she continued to grumble. "Why is it that all the men wind up there first? I swear, can't they take an interest in something other than buying a girl?"

Sano finally turned his head and began staring at the people they were passing by. Most of them looked normal. Some were wearing odd clothes or had strange hair colors but nothing too wild. He was actually beginning to feel a bit more comfortable when he felt someone bump into him. The slight sound was too high pitched to be a man so he figured the fallen mass of red and black that was now on the ground in front of him was female. "Hey lady, are you all right?"

Kenshin and Misao stepped back as Sano held out a hand to the fallen woman and wound up taking several leaps back as the form jumped up and began screeching.

"You idiot! You should watch where you're walking. Just because you're in some program doesn't mean you have an excuse to be without manners."

Sano was listening with half an ear as she continued berating him. Most of his thoughts were focused on the long black hair, the filmy red dress, the tight waist and round hips, those bright lips and shiny eyes, the pair of fox ears that sprung form underneath her glossy hair. Fox ears?

"Ooooh.. You are such a baka... Go away!" And with that Sano's mysterious fox woman pivoted around and began walking away, her heels clicking loudly on the cement below them.

"Wow." Sano turned to look at Misao. "How do I find her again?"

Misao just shook her head with a laugh. "I've seen her around before. Maybe I can find someone to introduce you, actually I'm pretty sure I can." Her laughter died at the serious look in Sano's eyes.

"She was a fox."

Kenshin shrugged. "She was all right, but not that pretty, Sano."

"No, didn't you see her ears? She had fox ears on her head. She was... was..." Sano sighed. "I didn't apologize to her for bumping into her."

"She didn't actually give you a chance." Misao coughed and continued walking. "So, lets go jump into 'Tales of the Meiji' real quick and make some characters for you two. The entrance to the game is just down here a bit. You can probably already see the gates."

The three walked in silence, the two newbies twisting and turning like tourists. Misao only had to search and rescue Kenshin once when he'd fallen behind after passing an office building. She and Sano had found him reading the many programming companies that had an office there.

"How do they do that, Misao," he asked? "How can they have an office here?"

Misao sighed. "Consider a virtual website. That's pretty much it." She shrugged and grabbed Kenshin by his collar and pulled him down the street. The three reached the gates to 'Tales of the Meiji' without any further mishaps and entered a perfectly normal looking traditional Japanese house. Misao led them off the main path and into what could have been a dojo. A tall female in a racy kimono was humming as she stood in the center of the room twirling a fan. She looked up as they stepped further in and smiled at them.

"Welcome, travelers. How may I assist you?"

Misao pushed Kenshin and Sano forward. "These two need characters."

The woman nodded and minced forward. "Ah, I see. Gentlemen, what type of warrior have you always imagined yourself to be?" After a few seconds of silence she delicately cleared her throat. "I will need your character information, you know."

Sano swallowed loudly. "I fight with my fists. I like the outfit I'm wearing now and you can call me Zanza." He shuddered as he watched the woman's dark eyes turn a static grey as she filed the information away.

"This is adequate, your clothes are period, your fighting style is perfectly accepted. There are no other players with the name Zanza. You are now registered." Her perfectly painted lips curved in a smile as she turned inquiringly towards Kenshin.

"Oro? Sano, why did you tell her all that?"

"He has created his character, sir, and now it is your turn. What type of weapon would you like to use, or shall I register the sword you already carry around? It is an accepted Meiji era style piece."

"That, umm... That will be fine. Kenshin's hand wrapped around the familiar hilt of his sakabatou.

"And your outfit, sir? You cannot travel around Meiji era Japan in pants and a dress shirt."

"Gi and hakama will be fine, a standard samurai outfit, I guess."

"Do you have a preference on color?"

"Just imagine the colors you want it to be, Himura," Misao called out as she watched Kenshin's office clothes blurred and changed to the requested samurai outfit. She began to smile as his Hakama remained white but began to look rather worn and slightly grey in spots. Her smile turned into an all out laugh as his gi darkened to a bright pink.

He turned around to look at her inquiringly then looked down at himself. "Oro?" He sighed and slumped his shoulders. "I will never get away from this outfit."

"You've worn that before, Kenshin?" Sano had a wide grin on his face as he watched his friend change into exactly what he imagined a wandering samurai would look like.

Kenshin nodded in answer. "This is the outfit I regularly wore through high school and college whenever I had training with Shishou. Misao, why won't the color change?"

Misao shrugged. "Just pick a name, Kenshin."

He blinked several times and finally turned back to the woman in the kimono. "I'd like my name to be Rurouni."

"Rurouni it is then," she verified. "Welcome Zanza and Rurouni to 'Tales of the Meiji. I'm sure Itachi-Musume will be happy to show you around. Please feel free to come back and create a second character if you wish, you are not limited to just one." She bowed and returned to the center of the room. Sano and Kenshin bowed in return and turned to leave. Misao nearly doubled over laughing.

"That was a program, guys! She's not real." Misao continued to giggle as she skipped ahead of them onto the main path. She led them out what seemed to be the back gates to the house and onto a long dirt road that led into a city of wooden houses. "OK! We're here, couple of guidelines." Misao pulled them off to the side of the road and pointed to her forearm.

"If you look at your arms you will see, when you want to that is, a menu. As you think of the area of the menu you wish to view it will automatically change. Please try this out." Both men looked at their arms then back at her. "By looking there you can sometimes access a map, but only if you've purchased a map of that particular area before. You automatically have a map of the major roads and cities but if we go off the main road and into the forest we'll probably be on our own from there. We also have a small amount of money to start the game off with which we can supplement by doing various quests and stuff, but I'll tell you about that later." Misao shrugged and began walking down the road swiftly followed by her two companions. "If you have problems or get lost just think of trying to get to the center of town and you'll see a red line appear on the ground in front of you. If you follow it you'll get to a gathering point for all the characters based in Tokyo. I'll find you there." She continued to instruct them as they walked into Meiji era Tokyo.

Kenshin soon found himself wandering around on his own as were his other two companions. They had agreed to split up for a short time and get back together once an hour had passed. He had begun walking through a marketplace where his eyes had been constantly moving around amazed at how lifelike it all seemed. The are was full of other players walking around, chatting and shopping. They were easy to spot since their name would show up in thin letters just above their head. He avoided most of them and only returned any offered greetings with a quick smile and a nod. His feet led him through the streets following the flow of traffic until he came to a fairly quiet intersection. He realized that most of the players had disappeared into one of the occasional gates that he had assumed led to houses hidden behind the tall walls. His eyes searched for the nearest one for a bit of investigation. He was quickly in front of them reading the sign posted there.

"Kamiya Kasshin Ryu Dojo. I guess this is as good a place to start as any." He knocked at the gate and waited. After several minutes he knocked again with no answer. He tried the handle to see if it was open and shrugged when it didn't budge. "Guess not." He turned to leave and was startled by a pair of bright blue eyes staring inquisitively at him. "Oro?"

The blue eyes blinked then crinkled slightly as the girl in front of him smiled. "May I help you," she asked in a cheerful voice. "Were you interested in the dojo?"

Kenshin nodded. "I've seen other players walk into the gates around here and wondered what they were doing."

The girl blinked again. "Most of the houses in this area are property bought by high level characters to do with as they wish. Some of them are gambling houses, some have set up stores, and some are just areas to go and chat. It depends on what the owner wants it to be. There's a code you can request to see regarding the gates that will tell you what the owner has chosen it to be; store, chat room, or training area."

"And this one?"

The girl stepped up to the gate and grabbed the large handle. "This is the Kamiya Dojo where you can learn 'The Sword That Protects'. It's a sword style that does not kill. Would you like to come in?" Under her delicate hands the gate swung open easily. After a few polite questions and answers Kenshin soon found himself sitting down beside a lovely garden with a cup of tea in his hand.

He looked at the girl as she settled down beside him with a soft laugh. "You look lost."

"And you look completely comfortable," he said.

She shrugged and sipped her tea. "I come here often. It's obvious to me that you don't. Is this your first time in the game?"

Kenshin nodded and looked into his teacup while attempting not to squirm in embarrassment. It had just struck him that he was very inexperienced and vulnerable right now. Another odd thought had him looking back at the girl who he was sitting here about to drink tea with when he actually wasn't. In an attempt to turn the conversation from his inexperience he blurted out the first thing he noticed, her player name shining above her head. "Shihondai, what a different name. Are you one of the teachers here?"

She blinked then nodded. "Actually, I am a shihondai of Kamiya Kasshin. Not only here but in the real world too."

"You practice kendo?"

"Yes, and I rather enjoy it." Shihondai smiled at him. "And you, what's the basis of you name? Rurouni doesn't exactly sound like something you chose on a whim."

"I always had a wandering streak in me," Kenshin explained. "I would continuously get lost whenever I was taken to large people-filled places; at least, I was lost to the people I was with. I always knew exactly where I was."

Shihondai chuckled the stood up. "You must have been a handful then." She began to tell him of some of the antics of her students who were little more than children in her eyes. They both enjoyed the tales as they sat and drank their tea.

"My students should be here presently," Shihondai mentioned as she began to stand up. "If you'd like, feel free to watch the training. Maybe I can help you with some pointers. Knowing how to use the weapon you've chosen is extremely useful in this game. Many people have been turned off by the amount of realism in this world."

"Amount of realism?"

"Yes, you don't actually have to know how to wield a sword, but you do have to know how you want to use it. Some players come in expecting to be able to defeat anything and everything by just swinging their sword up and down blindly. That would work in an on-screen game, but this is truly a completely different world for them to play in."

Kenshin listened intently as she went on about several players she'd known and their reactions to the game when they first began playing. He was walking beside her as she went to open the gates to allow her students in when he noticed that she was smiling proudly as she talked about the many Online gamers that had pretty much taken up residence in this world since they liked it so much.

"Are you one of those," he asked softly.

She turned to him and smiled. "I have another life besides this one, but right now this one is far more important to me."

"Oro?"

Shihondai laughed and patted his arm. "You're truly a newbie, aren't you? Well, let me give you some clues. Stay away from the forest to the north of Kyoto. There's a player there who has no problem killing other players when they disturb his peace. And actually, watch out whenever you're in Kyoto. That city still carries unease from before the last patch. Oh, and the traders. Make sure you speak to someone you trust before you trade for any item. It would even be better if you brought them along to help you trade. Experienced players can get you a better deal."

"If I asked, would you come with me?" Kenshin found himself speaking before he could stop. Shihondai blinked her suddenly sparkling blue eyes and nodded. "I... I would enjoy that, Rurouni."

Kenshin nodded then actually felt himself blushing. "I... I... I'm a wanderer," he blurted out suddenly feeling embarrassed. "I should be on my way again." He bowed quickly to her and walked out the now open gate passing several players carrying shinais strapped to their backs.

Shihondai's eyes followed him until he turned a corner and was out of sight. She sighed and leaned against the open gate. "Why do I feel so alone now," she muttered to herself then straightened and pasted on a bright smile for her students.



Kenshin found Misao and Sano only a short time later since Misao had linked them together. A thin green line had appeared in the ground below him pointing him in the right direction. The three of them decided that they'd had enough for a first time encounter. "We'll get into some combat next time we're in," Misao had chirped after they had walked out. "Come on, fellow Kenshin-gumi. We might as well go wake up now. I feel thirsty."

Kenshin nodded in agreement as Sano declared the need to run into the Akabeko across the street from headquarters. "You two should come with me. We'll grab the case file and some coffee, how does that sound?" Later on, when he had seen the line of females sitting in booths around his and Sano's normal one, Kenshin had wanted to run away. Sano had grabbed him by the collar and literally thrown him down onto the slick plastic seat.

"Sit."

"Wow," Misao whispered. "They're all staring at you, Himura."

"I know," Kenshin muttered. "They always do this, it's the reason I usually get drive-through coffee instead of sitting in here like Sano."

Misao chuckled as she ordered some pie from the young waitress who stepped up. Sano grinned his widest as she took his order. Kenshin just kept his eyes focused on the table as he muttered 'coffee' as quickly as he could. His shoulders jerked as he heard a sigh from behind him. For just a moment he wished he was back in the game sitting beside Shihondai sipping tea.

"Oro?"

"What?" Misao and Sano's voices echoed through the cafe`.

"I just wished I was back in the game," he explained in an awed voiced.

Misao began laughing hysterically. "I've created a monster, Himura. You're already an addict."

He smiled at her suddenly oblivious to the swooning females that filled the restaurant. He really did want to go back into the game, and not only to investigate. He wanted to talk to Shihondai again. Kenshin resolved right there as he was swiping Misao's pie that he would go see her again, maybe he would even sit in on one of her classes, maybe ask her to go adventuring. It wasn't as if he could ask her to go to a movie. As he fended off Misao's attacks his mind was mulling over what to do with her.

Sano was laughing as he watched Misao's ineffectual attempts to retrieve her pie. He knew it was a hopeless cause. He'd never seen that look on his partner's face before, but he knew exactly what it meant and was very happy to see it . He was also very interested in who was causing it. He leaned back in the booth as he calmly swiped Misao's coffee since his was already gone and their waitress was no where to be found. Through his own experiences he knew that guys only ever got that look on when they were thinking about a girl. That far away, slightly quizzical look and quirky smile. Yeah, his partner was definitely thinking about a girl. Sano replaced the now empty coffee cup on the napkin in front of Misao and leaned back waiting for her to notice. This was going to be fun.



To be continued

Disclaimer: Finally it shows up to make sure that you know something that you probably already know and don't really care about. WOW!! I don't own it. So there.

Author's notes:

Whew, one long chapter down the hatch and so many popping ideas for the next that I'm sure the next chapter will be up before Christmas, but I warn you.... December is bad juju for insurance specialists in the optical field, actually in any medical field, so umm.. let's just keep our fingers crossed.

Shizuka: thanks for the thankyou, and I hope this helps you know the characters better.

JML: yeah, those colors do suit Kenshin better, but I have a plan. : )

Mae: me and my imagination thank you. Long bus rides help spur my stories along, it's one of the reasons I don't have a car yet. How could I deprive you of this wonderful story since I wouldn't have enough time to come up with it.

C-chan: Alright, my story will just have to placate your bodies need to see Matrix. It does have one, even if you don't know it.

Tenshineko: Well, the Online isn't just for gaming as this chapter should help you understand. and thankyou for that catch with the misspell. One wouldn't think I was actually in a spelling bee in fifth grade... wait, that was a long time ago. *sigh* I suck.

Marstanuki: yeah, FF.net always has a couple problems, but they're a free service. *shrugs* thanks for your review, now do it again!

AUTHOR'S SECOND NOTES...... two a night seems to be my max... till tommorrow, or the next night I can grab the puter. cheerio!