Facing the Devil
"Jealousy? NO! That just makes it creepier, he kept chasing BT around too and she's like what, forty!" Mimiru
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"It's only six thirty, stop pacing." Mariko said, looked at An who was pacing back and forth in front of the assigned meeting spot.
"I know, but, this'll be awkward, won't it…?
"What'll be so awkward about it? We're just meeting up with them."
An shook her head, flopping down on the bench beside Mariko. "It's just that in the Old, Forgotten Castle before we met up with our doppelgangers… Bear said he's take me in. I think he found out who I was in this world."
Mariko nodded. "I can see how that might be a little bit awkward. You better make a good impression then or he'll kick you out!"
"Mari! How could you say that!" An said indignantly.
"Mari?"
"Nickname." An shrugged.
Mariko grinned. "Never been that close to anyone person before…"
"Really?" Mariko nodded. "Is it because of your wheelchair?" Another nod. "If you don't mind me asking you, why are you in a wheelchair? What happened to you?"
"Remember the Pluto Kiss virus in 2005? I'm not sure how, but my doctor said that I got a virus – probably because I was hooked on another online game at the time – and it paralyzed me from the waist down."
An nodded. "That bites. That must be what Crim meant when he said you accessed the world so you could be free. I had no idea what he had meant… I see why he said that you were brave."
"Crim said that?"
"He sure did, I think he likes you."
Mariko blushed, waving the comment aside. "Maybe in The World, but not here, we're too different."
"How so? Is it because of your wheelchair… that's kind of shallow if you ask me."
Mariko shook her head. "No, it's more to deal with age. I'm only fourteen and he's about twenty-eight."
"Really, he's that old? Mimiru will have a field day with that! She thought Silver Knight was old!"
Mariko laughed. "She probably will. That girl will never change."
"No, probably not," An laughed. "Let me guess though, Mimiru picked this place?"
"Yeah she did, she said you guys talked about it one day."
"I knew the day that I accidentally said that, that it'd be trouble."
"She jumped on the chance to meet at Shimokita so fast – what'd you promise her?"
"Not sure… but she kept going on about going shopping."
"Sounds like fun."
"Oh joy, knowing her she can probably shop for hours!"
Mariko grinned. "Well then, I hope you've got your money handy, because here she comes."
"Huh?" An said, spinning around on her heel. "How do you know?"
"Easy, I sent Mimiru a picture of myself and she sent me one of herself."
"Hey Subaru, over here!" A girl called out from the crowd, her hand waving rapidly.
"You didn't give her your real name?"
"I did, she must not have seen it."
The girl in question appeared, out of breath in front of the two teens. "Here there, Subaru, and this must be," Mimiru grinned, immediately latching herself onto the light haired girl. "Tsukasa!"
An grinned as the brunette latched onto her arm, she looked an awful lot like her avatar. "Hey there, Mimiru."
"I knew you knew where Shimokita was – no matter how much you denied it!"
"Well, I'm here now."
"Good! Ohh – and guys, that's Bear." She pointed to an older man standing behind the three teenagers.
"You look familiar…" Mariko said, looking over at the older man. "Oh! You're that writer, Ryo Sakuma, no?"
Bear nodded. "That's me, you got that faster then Emi here."
"You actually got that?" An grinned, elbowing Sakura in the ribs.
"I didn't see you saying anything!" She huffed, looking at An, hands on her hips.
An shrugged it off. "I haven't been reading any books for the past six months."
"So, your real name is Emi, then?" Mariko asked; looking over at Mimiru over the table they had sat down at during their conversation.
Emi nodded. "That's right, and no offense, but what're your names?"
"Mariko Manson."
"An Shouji."
"So, now that we've met, now what?" Emi asked, leaning back in her chair.
"Mariko said Sora got trapped by some monster, any leads on that?" An asked Ryo, a small smirk coming onto her features.
"Not much yet, I think he's no older then seven though, that's the last player who fell unconscious, and that last player was Sora."
"Sora was only seven!" Emi screeched. "I thought he was a teenager, or close to it!"
"Heh, is that jealous I hear, Emi? That the guy chasing you around was only seven?" An smirked.
"Jealousy? NO! That just makes it creepier, he kept chasing BT around too and she's like what, forty!"
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"How do you think it went?" Mariko asked, flopping down onto her bed.
"I think it went pretty well, we spent three hours there!" An laughed, falling back onto the bed too.
"Uhuh, granted most of it was following Emi on her Shimokita shopping spree!"
An laughed. "That girl loves to shop."
"That she does… by the way what were those sheets Ryo gave you?"
"Oh these?" An fished the papers out of her pockets, carefully unfolding them. "They're adoption sheets. I told you about that, right?"
"Yeah at that Old, Forbidden Castle?"
An nodded. "He told me to read over them and sign them if I wanted to."
"I'll leave you too it then," Mariko said, picking herself off the bed and wheeled herself over to her computer. "You know, with all that legal stuff, you'll need time to make sure that you've got it all right."
An nodded, grabbing a pen off Mariko's desk. "Let me know what happens in The World, ok?"
Mariko slipped on the headset. "That, I can do."
As Mariko slipped on the headset vanishing into The World, An looked over the papers lying out on the bedspread, trying to understand all the legal jargon used on the paper. "This might be harder then I thought…"
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"So, are you going to sign the papers?" Emi asked, leading An and Mariko through the Shimokita district again.
"I have most of the papers signed; I only have one left to go."
"You mean you actually understood those sheets? I looked at them on the subway to Shimokita the other day… and I couldn't make heads of tails of it! I can see why you got all those academic awards."
"It's not that hard actually."
"Yeah, right," Emi waved the comment off. "It's not hard, she says! Geez, only if you had a dictionary with you."
"That's exactly what An had to do," Mariko laughed as An threw her an indignant look. "I saw you!"
"Ha! So, An isn't all smart!" Emi laughed as well.
"What's Bear up too?" Mariko asked, not using his real name out in public, which would sure draw heads in their direction.
"Him? The old man's got a deadline today. He said he'd meet up with us at the café around six."
"OK, sounds good. What stores do you plan on hitting today?"
Emi grinned, latching onto An's hand. "Clothes Shopping! You need some new clothes, badly." She laughed, dragging An in the direction of the nearest clothing store.
"But I think the ones I have!" An protested, digging her heels into the pavement.
"There so baggy though!" Emi replied. "You need to have female clothes to show off what you have!"
"But I don't want to!" An muttered, her protests falling short as Emi dragged her into the clothing store.
Mariko laughed, following the two into the store. "It'll be fun An, you don't have to buy anything, anyways."
"Yes she does. She can't where those – or your – clothes forever. Unless… An's going back to her house to get all her stuff back…" Emi trailed off, casting a look in An's direction.
"Well, I'd like my stuff back… but, I don't want to go back alone/"
The two nodded. "Hey, well why don't you just get Bear to go back with you?" Emi asked, flicking through a clothes rack for anything that might fit An.
"I guess." An muttered.
"You guess? Oh c'mon An, just go in there and go: 'hey old man! I want my stuff'!" Emi laughed. "That's what I'd do."
"I don't know… you know what her father is like, right?" Mariko asked, looking pointedly over in Emi's direction.
Emi nodded. "I know, but I'd still do it. You know, with back up."
"You watch too many spy movies."
"There the best kind though!" She laughed, draping another piece of clothing over her arm. "But seriously, you should go. Ask Bear to go with you, can I come too, though?"
Mariko grinned, looking from An to Emi. "Emi, you should stay home, you're too AWOL to understand these things."
"Mari! You're no fun!" Sakura whined.
Emi shrugged, winking. "No, I think it's you."
"Just try on your clothes."
"See! I told you An, she's no fun!" Laughing, Emi turned on her heel to find the closest dressing room.
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"You sure you want to do this?" Ryo asked, looking up at the looming brown apartment building.
An nodded from his side. "I can do this."
"There you go!" Emi shouted, pushing An from the back, making her stumble.
An shot Emi a look. "Don't do that!"
Emi just laughed. "You're all way to serious! You got to lighten up!"
"I told you, you should have stayed home," Mariko muttered from Emi elbow. "This isn't a fun trip."
Emi shrugged, rolling her eyes as a grin graced her features. "I have to meet the man who caused our little An to run into all of us." An awkward laugh went through the small group of four.
"OK, let's get this over with," An said, taking a deep breath. "I can do this."
A hand fell onto her shoulder. "We're right behind you."
An nodded, looking up at Ryo. "I know," She said, taking a step forward, slipping her key into the apartment complex's door. "Right this way." An opened the door, taking her key out of the door in the process, before going inside, the door closing behind her.
"So what floor do you live on?" Emi asked, looking around the drab little apartment building. "This is kind of a fixer-upper building, no?" The flooring was all chipped and around the walls' trim, Emi could see small clumps of dust building up, and the small bit of red carpet inside the door to catch mud off of people's shoes, the carpet looked black now. Didn't the superintendent ever clean the floor, or even hire someone to do it? "…Does it always look like this?"
An cast a look around the small hallway leading to the intersection of apartments and the elevator. "This is actually a good day."
"A good day! What the heck does it look like on a bad day?" Emi asked, quickening her steps to catch up with An.
"Well, the last time I was here, there was a spider on the ceiling, the carpet was non-existent and it was in need of a real bad paintjob."
Emi nodded, casting another look around. "I see… it looks a little better, I suppose."
An smiled, laughing. "Yeah, I know, some awesome apartment, eh?" She stopped at the intersection of the apartment building, and pushed the 'up' button for the elevator. "And to answer your question, I live on the third floor."
Emi nodded, and the elevator dinged off as it reached the first floor and its' doors sprung open. The four piled into the elevator and An hit the button for the third floor, and the doors slammed shut. Silence engulfed the elevator as all four occupants, no matter how well they knew each other, went silent. The silence was broken when the ding of the elevator went off, and the doors sprung open letting them out.
"Why is it that every time people get in the elevator, people always go so silent? It used to be like that when my parents and I lived in an apartment." Emi frowned, turning left to follow An down the corridor.
"It's just etiquette."
"It may be, but we all know each other! Why were we all so silent?"
An laughed, casting a look over her shoulder. "Why were you so silent, Emi? You're talking a lot now, why not in there?"
Emi faltered, not knowing what to say. "Well… uh… same reason you all weren't!"
Mariko laughed at the two's argument. "We'll talk all the way down, how about that Emi?"
Emi turned to look at Mariko. "That's a deal!" She then turned to An. "Which one's yours?"
"This one," An stated, stopping in front of a door, with the numbers 324 and the name 'Shouji' scribbled under it. She fished a key out of her pocket, and had it hovering over the keyhole. "This is it." Yet, the key in her hand didn't move.
"You can do it An! We're right here!" Emi grinned, bounding up to An and clasping a hand onto her shoulder, while putting her other hand into a fist. "It's four od us and one of him, we can't lose!"
Ryo shook his head. "Emi, you expect to fight him… in his house. More or less, we're just intruders following An."
Emi shot him a look. "Oh, come off it Bear! An invited us, we're not strangers!"
"Ryo is right though… if we do any harm, he could do something… and he thinks An's still unconscious." Mariko said, always the level-headed one.
"Maybe you guys should stay out here then," An said, courage taking over as she plunged the key into the keyhole and turning it. "I'm used to this; my father doesn't scare me anymore."
An pushed the door open, the light from the hallway seeping into the darkened hall. She sighed, all the lights were out in the apartment, this would be easy!
"It's so dark in there… is he in there?" Emi asked, peeking around An's shoulders.
"Probably knocked out… spent another night at the tavern," An shrugged, venturing into the darkened apartment. "Since he's knocked out, I'll only be a few minutes' tops." She smiled, pulling the door to behind her.
Emi blinked at the door. "We just can't let her do this on her own! I don't trust him… especially if he's drunk!"
"I don't either," Mariko sighed from beside her, worry etched on her face. "But we have to follow her wishes, right?"
Emi got a devious look on her face. "That's a good idea Mariko!"
Mariko blinked, looking at her. "What'd I say?"
"We have to follow her wishes… but she didn't say to wait outside, so let's go in. I am!" Emi grinned, pushing the door open and bounding inside.
Mariko shook her head, but followed after Emi as well. "Wait for me!"
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An fumbled her way through the darkness of her bedroom, she hadn't been here for the past nine months and had forgotten most of the layout. She had her duffle bag filed with things she needed like clothing, and she had another bag with her that she was filling with stuff she couldn't leave behind such as her book collection, her photos and other prized things she loved. Making her way through the room, she had surprised herself that she hadn't woken her father up yet, as she had made a lot of noise on her entry into her extra messy bedroom.
Picking up her favourite book, she heard her bedroom door hit the wall as it was pushed open. An flinched at the sound, spinning around on her heel. "I told you guys to stay – Father!" An yelled, caught off guard.
"I see your awake you little wench." He said, staggering into the bedroom.
An looked fiercely at him, not budging. "I'm not afraid of you anymore." She said calmly. "I came here to get my stuff, I'm leaving. I've been adopted and you'll never see me again."
Her father said nothing, but pushed at the bedroom door with his foot, the door just coming too. "How can you be adopted? You're my daughter; I never put you up for adoption, did I?"
"The Hospital did it… they said you weren't fit to take care of me. You tried to unplug me when I was unconscious… you were unstable." She said evenly, slipping the book into her bag. "I am not staying with a killer like you. Someone I met from The World will take me in; they already signed the adoption papers. I'm not your property anymore!"
"The World? That game you bought against my wishes! I knew that wretched game would get you in trouble one day." He yelled, coming closer to her.
An could smell the alcohol on him, he must still be a tad drunk, she figured. She skirted away from him, climbing over her bed to get away from him. "It's not trouble; it was an escape from you!"
"Witch!" He shouted, launching himself over the bed.
Before An could react, her father slammed into her chest, making her stagger backwards and into the wall. "I'm your father, damn it. You follow MY rules."
The door to An's bedroom moved a little, as a brunette appeared in the doorway. "What's taking so long… An?" Emi looked between An and her father. "Ah, you must be Mr. Shouji!" Emi said loudly for Mariko to hear, and she heard the sound of the wheelchair making its' way back down the hallway.
"And who the hell are you?" An's father asked, staggering around to get a good look at the new arrival.
"The name's Emi." She said monotone as she glared across the room at the man, arms across her chest. She cast a glance over to An, who was picking herself off the floor. "C'mon An, we're going to be late."
An shook her head at Emi. "Get out of here, I can handle him, I –"
Emi shook her head, her hands balling up into fists. "Shut up An! I'm your friend, and I'm – we're – all here for you, stop saying you can handle everything yourself!"
An's father smirked at Emi, then looked back at An. "Already pushing your friends away? See… you're just like me…"
"I'm nothing like you."
An shifted her bag on her shoulders, not breaking her gaze with her father. She glared at him one last time before turning on her heel to face Emi, who stared at her, eyebrow's raised.
"You ready to go yet?"
An nodded. "Yeah," In an undertone, she added; "I was a fool to come here alone."
"That's where you're wrong, you know?" Emi placed a hand on An's shoulders, looking critically at her. "We all came with you. Besides, you, Subaru and Bear and I were all there for each other in The World, and the same goes for here!"
"Very touching, indeed," An's father drawled, making his way towards the two girls. "Now, An come here and stop this foolishness."
An just glared at her father, not removing her gaze from his. "No, I'm leaving; I have real friends' – and a family – now."
"An? Emi? Are you guys done in here yet?" A male's voice asked, as footsteps were heard coming down the hallway.
Soon two more people appeared in the doorway, a hand falling onto her shoulders. An cast a glance up, as Ryo appeared at her side, Mariko falling in on the other side of Emi.
"Yeah, I'm ready, we were just finishing up here," An said, her tone a very solid voice, no hesitation could be found there. "Goodbye father." She quickly turned on her heel, and took off down the hallway.
Emi and Mariko looked at each other, to Ryo, An's father and at An's retreating back, before nodding solidly and following after An. Ryo cast one look at the three retreating girls before looking over at where An's father still stood, hands balled into fists.
"What did you do?"
An's father cast a glance up at the man before him, his eyes narrowing. "Are you this adoptive parent the girl was rambling on about?"
Ryo looked at the man passively, nodding slowly. "That's me, so An told you, huh?"
An's father nodded, looking from the man to the floor underneath. "Take care of her, ok?"
Ryo nodded to his statement, before leaving the room after the three girls, leaving An's father in what used to be his daughters room – now stripped of everything she had held very valuable to her.
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A/N: And that's part two folks! One more part to go, and this is the end. I think, unless anyone has any ideas after the next chapter is released. See you for the next chapter!
02/21/05