Author's Notes: Well, here we are with the sixth chapter of "Log On!" I hope you'll all enjoy it!
This chapter is divided into three short stories!
First: Zaiten the Rare Hunter!
Second: The Strange Player: Ryo-oki! (SailorStar165)
Third: Secret Sweets
Zaiten the Rare Hunter!
"Noooo…" Zaiten moaned as he opened another chest, containing a paralyze scroll, "This one isn't rare either! Five dungeons and no super rare items for Chikoro-sama! This is too sad!"
Zaiten had been at the game all day that Saturday, still looking for a rare item for his beloved "Chikoro-sama". Unfortunately, he hadn't been successful even after five dungeons and many monsters killed. "Dumb Orizo! He can data drain the monsters for rare items! The lucky dog!" He cursed and continued on.
"Eat – this – fowl – fiend!" Zaiten gave the mushroom monster another slash with his katana, then took out a scroll. "Juk Zot!" The monster, an earth type, fell victim to the elemental scroll and dropped to its knees. "Good, now that that's over…"
Suddenly, a "Level Up!" flashed across the screen. "Huh?" he wondered out loud. "Of course, I've been fighting all day, my level should be about 12 now…"
"Twelve, you say?" Zaiten looked around as a strange small voice spoke, but heard nothing. "Hmm…a level twelve? You could help me out with something!"
"Show yourself! Zaiten the great samurai has no time to dally!"
"Fine! Grouch!" And, out of the shadows came a young female wave master with brown hair, a white and blue cap and suit, and baggy white and blue pants. She carried a cross staff and was smiling widely. "Hey!"
"Oh, just another player," Zaiten grunted. "I'm sorry young lady, but I have no time for you. I'm in the search of a rare item."
"Hey! What a coinkidink! So am I!" The girl smiled and extended her hand. "Maybe we can be of use to each other! My name's Mirielle!"
"Zaiten. Miss Mirielle, what exactly are you proposing?"
"Well…I'm in search of a super rare item you see," she smiled. "An e-mail sent to all players announced it! It's called 20-20 Dungeon Game!"
"20-20 Dungeon Game?" Zaiten asked, his eyebrow raised. "Explain."
"You need to give some of your levels away to another player so that both of your levels equal 20! That way, the two of you get into the dungeon and get a chance to win the prize!"
"I see…and…this prize is a rare item?" he asked, now interested.
"Yep!" She nodded. "I'm level 28! (Note: It never mentions in the Manga how leveled up Mirielle gets. I suppose you could argue that she's the same level as Mistral, which is like 99, but in this, her levels have started over when she renamed her character and now she's 28.) If I give you 8 of my levels at the event, then we can both go!"
"Amazing! You have a deal Miss Mirielle!" Zaiten smiled and shook the small wave master's hand.
"So, we're here," Zaiten said as the two arrived in a grassy area.
"Yep! Delta, Disturbed Rolling Twin Hills! This is the place for the event all right!" Mirielle lunged forward, "C'mon! It's first come first serve, we don't want to be left out!"
"So," Zaiten spoke as he ran along with Mirielle. "What kind of rare prizes are they giving out?"
"Loads! Weapons, enhancements, scrolls!" Mirielle smiled widely out of anticipation. "It's all random! I live for the thrill of chance!"
"As long as the item is good enough for Chikoro-sama…" Zaiten smiled, his eyes sparkling.
"So, you're getting it for your girlfriend, huh?" Mirielle giggled. "How funny, I know the type!"
"What about you?" Zaiten asked, curious. "What are you here for?"
"Oh look, we're here!" Mirielle cheered as they reached the dungeon where an NPC was standing, waiting for them to speak to him. Mirielle noticed another pair heading in. "Oh no! We're behind! C'mon, let's go talk to him!"
"Welcome to 20-20 Dungeon game," the NPC spoke. "Please input how many levels you are giving or receiving from your party member."
"Eight, giving!" Mirielle smiled.
"Eight, receiving," Zaiten said and a small beep went in Zaiten's headphone.
"You may proceed. Please head to B-5."
"Awesome!" Mirielle smiled and ran down into the dungeon. Zaiten realized he was now level 20, as was Mirielle. "Remember, we're going to have to work together to beat this event!"
"R-right!" Zaiten nodded and headed down into the dungeon after Mirielle.
Luckily, the monsters inside the dungeon were easy enough that Zaiten could beat them with Mirielle's magic backing him up. They had made it through many floors, without much trouble.
"Almost there! I can smell the treasure!" Mirielle grinned wide.
"I suppose I can too," Zaiten said. "Come now, we only have one more floor to go!"
"You bet! There's no way I'm letting anyone else get my rare item!" Mirielle ran down the steps, but Zaiten called after her.
"Mirielle!" he called and she turned around, curious. "I wanted to ask you, why are you after the rare item?"
She smiled, "I thought you'd never ask! You see," she smiled and lightly twirled, as if putting on a show, "I'm a rare hunter."
"A…rare hunter?"
"Yep!" She nodded. "Rare hunters go around and look for super rare items to collect! Call it my hobby!"
"Y-you just collect them?" Zaiten asked. "What purpose does that serve?"
"Well…" she smiled. "It's different for everyone you know! Some people collect them to brag about, but I," she grinned. "I collect them just to have them! It's the thrill of the hunt! Rare items are what I live for in this game!"
"I…I see…" Zaiten looked at her. "How strange. C'mon, let's get that item now."
"You bet, no doubt about it!" Mirielle smiled and sprinted down the steps.
"Yay, yay, yay, yay, yay!" Mirielle cheered as she threw herself upon one of two treasure boxes that lay in the last room of the dungeon. "YAAAYY! Treasure, rare items!"
"Finally!" Zaiten smiled and went over to the treasure box that Mirielle wasn't currently glomping. "Now, let's see what we've got here"
"WAIT!" Mirielle commanded, making Zaiten stop dead in his tracks. "We did this together, so let's open them at the same time!"
"If you insist," Zaiten grumbled.
"All right! 1, 2, 3! Open!" Mirielle threw open her chest as Zaiten unlocked his as well. "Oh! Yay! A Zu Whang Nai Gauntlet! These are so rare!" She hugged the gauntlet. "Oh…I love you!"
"Wh…what's this?" Zaiten asked, pulling out a strange golden statue.
"A Golden Grunty! Lucky!" Mirielle's eyes sparkled with jealousy. "I'm green with envy!"
"Really! A super rare item?" Zaiten smiled widely. "Finally! An item worthy of Chikoro-sama's heart!"
"Yay, yay, yay!" Mirielle cheered again. "Hey Zaiten, let's be friends, you're really cool!"
"I agree Miss Mirielle, perhaps we can do this again sometime," Zaiten nodded.
"Yay! Another rare hunter to hang out with! We'll be partners in crime!" They both exchanged member addresses pleasantly, and Mirielle's name came up in Zaiten's log. "Wasn't it fun to hunt down the rare items?"
"I…I suppose," Zaiten nodded. "It was fun, wasn't it?"
"And you know what's even better?"
"What?"
"They just keep making more!" Mirielle squealed. "I'll never get them all! The chase will go on forever!"
"But-but then you'll never collect all the rare items!" Zaiten told her. "Doesn't that make you sad?"
"Are you joking! I love it!" She laughed, "The thrill of the hunt – the chase! This is what a rare hunter lives for!"
Zaiten stopped as he saw Mirielle still hugging her gauntlet tightly. It was just a bunch of pixels, just pieces of data, nothing more. But somehow, Mirielle valued it more than anything. And then, Zaiten realized. Mirielle didn't love the item.
She loved the fact that she had been able to obtain it.
"Miss Mirielle…" Zaiten spoke softly and Mirielle turned to him.
"Huh?"
"I think…" he smiled. "I think that I shall become a rare hunter myself! That way I can always enjoy the hunt!"
"Good for you!" Mirielle laughed. "Now, let's get back!"
"Right, my friends should be waiting for me now," Zaiten smiled as the two used a Sprite Ocarina to get themselves out of the dungeon.
"Zaiten!" As Zaiten appeared at the Chaos Gate of Mac Anu with Mirielle, he saw Iam, Orizo, and Chikoro waiting for him impatiently. It was Iam that had spoken. "You're late! What have you been doing?"
"Oh, nothing," he smiled. "Just having an adventure with my friend Mirielle."
"Mirielle?" Chikoro asked and eyed the wave master. "Hmm…that name sounds familiar."
"Woah, woah, woah!" Mirielle's eyes became wide and she ran over to the group. "Those rings you've got! Where'd you get them? They must be SUPER rare!"
"Uhh…these?" Iam asked, taken aback. "Oh, nowhere! I mean…umm…it's just junk jewelry, that's all!"
"No way! I can smell the rareness!" Mirielle cooed. "Look at the awesome symbols carved in 'em! Wait till I tell Shugo and Rena! Ouka will want to know too…" she smiled and turned to Zaiten. "Well, I'll be going now! My friends are waiting for me! See you!" With that, she headed to the Chaos Gate and disappeared.
"What a weird girl…" Orizo commented. "Anyway, what were you doing Zaiten? You promised us we'd level up an hour ago! We're already all to level 12!"
"Heh! Me too," Zaiten smiled. "I was out retrieving this for you Chikoro-sama!" He whipped out the Golden Grunty and held it in Chikoro's face. "For you my love!"
"What an ugly item!" Chikoro's nose wiggled. "Get it away from me!"
"B-but it's super rare!" Zaiten told her. "Don't you want it?"
"I don't care how rare it is, it's UGLY!" She grabbed the Grunty and thrust it into Zaiten's pack. "There! You keep it!"
"Enough of this, let's go level!" Iam commanded and she, Orizo, and Chikoro ran over to the Chaos Gate. Zaiten stayed behind and looked at the Grunty in his pack. He smiled lightly.
"I suppose this shall be my first Rare Item…" he smiled at it fondly. "Now, let's find some more! Here comes Zaiten the Rare Hunter!"
"Zaiten! Get over here!" Orizo called.
"O-oh! Coming!" Zaiten scampered up to the Chaos Gate and warped away with his friends.
A few minutes later, none other than Mirielle showed up once more, this time dragging a twin blade boy with blue hair and a red outfit. Behind them was a girl with pink hair, tan skin, and a brown and pink armor set. "Awww…they must have left!" She pouted. "But I swear, those rings must have been super rare!"
"What were you gonna do?" The boy asked. "Force them off of their fingers?"
"Don't be mean Onii-chan!" the girl commanded. "C'mon Mirielle, Ouka's waiting for us with Hotaru."
"Coming Rena…" the boy mumbled as he and Mirielle walked back to the Chaos Gate and quickly warped away.
The End of "Zaiten the Rare Hunter!" Will Mirielle be back? Will Shugo and Rena come again? What about Kite, Balmung, and BlackRose! Oh well, enough questions: Onto the next short story!
The Mysterious Player: Ryo-oki!
Note: This chapter is dedicated to SailorStar165 who was kind enough to put me in her New World Legend story before it got strangely deleted. As retribution for her good deed, here's a chapter dedicated to her character.
"This is too cool!" Ayumi squealed as she, Mai, Hiromi, and Souichirou all were eating lunch that afternoon. Ayumi had been telling the group about the latest "The World" rumor she had heard; obviously, it was a huge deal. "I'm telling you! This is big!"
"Ayumi, what are you trying to say?" Mai asked, chewing on some noodles. "You're not making sense."
"I've heard it from the boards!" Ayumi started. "It seems that there's a strange character named Ryo-oki whose character class changes randomly! Everyone's trying to find her!"
"Please," Hiromi scoffed. "That's obviously just a rumor. Unless she's a hacker, no one can change his or her character class."
"ARE YOU SAYING AYUMI-SAMA IS LYING?" Souchirou accused loudly, prepared to defend Ayumi's honor. "Don't worry Ayumi-sama! I believe you!"
"I don't care who believes me," Ayumi stuck out her tongue. "I'm going to find this player! Tonight!"
"Tonight?" Mai asked. "Ayumi, you'd better watch out, she may be dangerous. What if she's another Prism Player?"
"I doubt it…" Ayumi smiled. "And it sounds so totally awesome, I'm willing to take the risk!"
"I won't let you risk it alone Ayumi-sama!" Souchirou exclaimed, trying to glomp Ayumi, only to have her foot come in contact with his face.
"Neither will I," Mai nodded. "Let's all go together. Where do we start looking?"
"The latest update was that she was at an area called "Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground" in the Delta server!" Ayumi explained. "Let's check it out!"
"If you insist," Hiromi shrugged. "But it's probably just a rumor."
"Let's meet on tonight at 5:30," Mai told the group. "We can do two and two parties."
"I'm with Hiromi-sama!" Ayumi squealed, glomping Hiromi.
"ACK!"
"AYUMI!" Mai fumed. "This isn't the time! You'll go with me, and Hiromi and Souchirou will go together."
"I guess…" Ayumi pouted. "Better then being stuck with Souichidork."
"Oh Ayumi-sama…your words sting like a thousand knives…" Souchirou cried waterfall tears.
"Enough fooling around!" Mai commanded. "Tonight we search for Ryo-oki!"
Mai had checked the boards, and Ayumi was right. The latest rumor was that Ryo-oki was at Delta, Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground. So, she had logged on that night onto the Delta Server, ready to find this mysterious player. Chikoro, Orizo, and Zaiten were already there when Iam arrived.
"Ready to go?" Chikoro asked, obviously excited.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Iam shrugged. "Are we all ready?"
"Ready!" they all nodded and Chikoro invited Iam to her party. Iam guessed that Orizo and Zaiten were already in one and she nodded to them. "Let's head to Delta, Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground!"
Soon, they arrived at the area, and their eyes widened as they saw a long bridge that led up to a stony church like structure. "What the…?" Orizo started.
"No area looks like this," Iam bit her lip. "There's obviously something strange here."
"Quick! Let's go in! She might be there!" Chikoro grabbed their arms and started sprinting towards the building.
"Chikoro wait! This might be dangerous!" Orizo tried to tell her. "What if she's a prism player?"
"I told you, she probably isn't!" Chikoro insisted. "And after all, we thought Kalen was dangerous, and he turned out to be just fine!" She pulled them up to the entrance. "Well, here we are! Let's dive on in!"
"Huh? Who's there?" A voice from inside the church called. "Crap, they found me again, time to log out!"
"Wait – are you Ryo-oki!" Chikoro ran inside and the group gasped. Inside was a girl withlong blonde hair and a pure white dress, holding a blade master sword. "Huh?"
"Uhh…yeah, that's me," Ryo-oki nodded. "Sorry, I was kind of waiting for my friends. I'll leave if you want."
"Are you joking?" Chikoro laughed. "We were waiting for you!" She ran up to Ryo-oki and smiled. "I'm Chikoro, that's Iam, Orizo-sama, and Zaiten. We heard the rumors and just had to check you out!"
"Yeah, I guess…" Ryo-oki smiled as the other three came forward. "Well, I'm Ryo-oki, but…I guess you already knew that."
"You bet we did!" Chikoro laughed. "Is it true you can change your job class?"
"Kind of, but I don't control it," Ryo-oki laughed. "Kind of silly, huh?"
"It's so awesome to meet a legendary player like yourself!" Chikoro squealed. "These guys were afraid you were a hacker or something!"
"A hacker? Me?" Ryo-oki quirked an eyebrow. "Please!"
Iam blushed, "We-well, we had every right to! I mean, how many people can change their character class?"
"I guess you've got a point," she laughed, rubbing the back of her head. "But don't worry, I'm not a hacker."
"So…" Orizo spoke up. "This place is really weird…what with the church and stuff…and that…" he looked up and the group's eyes widened as they saw a giant statue of a girl almost identical to Prisma, only with long white hair and a white dress. "Huh…? Who's…who's that?"
"She looks like Prisma," Iam commented.
"Yes, I too see the resemblance," Zaiten nodded.
"Huh? Prisma, who's that?" Ryo-oki asked. "Well, this statue is…" she paused, as if choosing her words carefully, wondering whether to reveal something or not."I don't know. Just a random girl I guess. I just like this area!"
"Something about her…" Iam walked forward and looked at the statue. "Is so…familiar…" Before she could stop herself, her hand was outstretched and she touched the statue lightly.
"WHAT THE HELL!" Orizo screamed as the room started to shake violently, as if an earthquake was occurring beneath their feet. "What's going on!"
"I don't know!" Ryo-oki screamed over the noise. "We've got to get out of here! The floor's giving way!"
"Guys!" Iam told them and held out her hand. "Our rings are glowing!" They all looked down and noticed the same thing. The rings were all glowing on their fingers. And when Iam looked at Ryo-oki, she saw the golden bracelet the decorated her wrist glowing as well. "Ryo-oki, what's that bracelet!"
"N-nothing!" she told her. "No time to explain, let's get out of here!"
"It's too late!" Zaiten yelled as the floor cracked around him and he fell through. "ARRGGH!"
"ZAITEN!" Orizo screamed as he too fell.
"ORIZO, ZAITEN! AAAAHHH!" Chikoro fell through the floor as well.
"GUYS, OH NO!" Iam screamed and jumped down through the floor.
"Something's up…" Ryo-oki reasoned. "GUYS, WAIT FOR ME!" With that, she too jumped through the floor.
When Iam opened her eyes, she looked up and saw the same ceiling as the Church that she had been in before. She looked around and saw everyone, including Ryo-oki, getting up and rubbing their sore heads. "Where…where are we?"
"It looks like the area we were just in…" Chikoro looked around. "But that's impossible, we fell through the floor."
"Not everything's the same…" Orizo said, his eyes wide. With a shaky finger, he pointed to where the white girl's statue was.
The white girl was still there, only she was now kneeling, and her hand was a bracelet. Prisma, the black short haired girl, was also there, only she was standing on the right side of the white girl, holding rings. The two had become one statue, everything else about the room had stayed the same.
"So that's Prisma…" Ryo-oki reasoned.
"Ryo-oki," Iam wondered out loud. "I've never seen that bracelet before, what is it exactly? Why is the white girl holding it?"
Ryo-oki looked at them, long and hard, and sighed. "I don't know if I should be telling you this, but something tells me you also have a special connection to "The World". I possess the Twilight Bracelet," she showed them the golden bracelet. "It allows me to Data Drain things called Data Bugs."
"All by yourself?" Chikoro asked and Ryo-oki gave her a strange look.
"What do you mean, all by yourself?" she asked. "Does this have something to do with your rings and Prisma?"
"It's only fair that we tell you as much as you've told us," Iam nodded. "These rings allow us to Data Drain Data Bugs as well. Tell me, have you been fighting those created by the Prism Players?"
"Prism Players?" Ryo-oki asked.
"I'll take that as a no," Iam sighed and shook her head.
"I've already beaten an evil threat with the help of my friends," Ryo-oki told them. "But I haven't seen many Data Bugs around lately. These board messages are getting to me though, that's why I've become more alert. This place is where I fought my final battle last time," she told them. "But it seems that it's evolved."
"Anyway," Orizo continued, "there are still many things we don't understand, especially about Prisma. But still, who's the white girl holding the bracelet?"
"That's…Aura," Ryo-oki explained. "Something tells me that she and your Prisma are related in some way or another, yet have their own plans for this World."
"It seems that everyone's stories are weaving together…" Chikoro said softly. "Yet so many questions are left unanswered."
"Oh well, let's get out of here," Orizo sighed. "My brain hurts from all this wondering."
"I agree, this place is strange beyond reason," Zaiten sighed with Orizo.
"Right," Ryo-oki smiled, "Maybe I'll see you guys again some time?"
"You bet!" Iam nodded.
BOOM! A huge tremor once again shook the room and the group was thrown to its feet. "What was that!" Chikoro asked.
"Another collapse!" Iam asked.
"No! This is different!" Ryo-oki said. "It's like something of enormous size is walking towards us!"
And she was right. In a split second, everyone realized that, coming towards them, was a giant, green scaled, skull monster with a black cloak. "A data bug!" Iam realized.
"C'mon!" Chikoro stood up. "Let's take it!"
"Right!" Ryo-oki nodded, and her sword changed into an axe. "It seems I've got some heavy fighting power to go with! Let's fight!"
"HYAH!" Iam, Orizo, Ryo-oki, and Zaiten rushed into battle with the giant monster, while Chikoro stood in the back, throwing Lightning spells and curing her allies.
"It's hard!" Orizo called. "Who made this!"
"I do not think anyone did!" Zaiten told them. "There are no Prism Players around to speak of!"
"Something tells me this is a Vagrant Data Bug left over!" Ryo-oki reasoned. "Something about the change in energy of this area must have drawn it here!" She gave it another slash with her axe.
"RAI DON!" Chikoro yelled, and the monster crippled under the attack. PROTECT BREAK flashed and the group smiled.
"Ready guys!" Iam called. "Let's go!"
"Right!" they nodded and got together. Their rings outstretched, they called:
"RED, BLUE, YELLOW, GREEN DATA DRAIN!" As the light shot forward, it bended back away from the monster! "What the?" Iam yelled as the light zoomed past them and went straight into Prisma's statue! It glowed with their colors, shining brilliantly. "Huh?" Iam asked. "That makes no sense!"
"Something tells me BOTH statues need to be activated!" Ryo-oki called to them. "You guys have done your job, now it's my turn!" She smirked at the monster, out held her bracelet and yelled, "DATA DRAIN!"
The white light once again whished into Aura's statue, and it glowed a brilliant white. The two statues glowed, and soon, the colors combined together and shot back the energy into each of the user's ring or bracelet. "Now what?" Iam asked as she looked at the swirling energy in her red ring. "What are we supposed to do?"
"I don't get how…" Ryo-oki whispered. "But I know what to do! The words are coming to me."
"Me too," Chikoro nodded. "I feel like I know what I have to say."
"As do I," Zaiten nodded.
"And me," Orizo nodded as well.
"If you guys have the same idea as I do," Iam smiled, "Then let's get this party started! Everyone!" The four of them quickly got together once again and pointed their rings. Ryo-oki got in the middle and outstretched her bracelet. "Ryo-oki, you first!"
"Right!" she nodded, took a deep breath, and bellowed, "AURA'S DATA DRAIN!"
"PRISMA'S DATA DRAIN!" The four of them screamed and both of the lights came searing out of the rings and bracelet and began to intertwine with one another. The light, radiant and bright enough to blind someone, slammed head first into the monster, completely destroying it.
"Woah…" Orizo sighed as he saw the light disperse. "That Data Drain was so powerful it destroyed the monster."
"We did it!" Ryo-oki laughed, giving Iam a hug. "We really did it!"
"I know!" Iam laughed with Ryo-oki, embracing her back.
"It seems that the two statues increased our powers so much that we were able to blow away even that strong Data Bug," Zaiten said.
"Too bad, it's probably gone now…" Chikoro frowned.
"Oh well," Ryo-oki shrugged. "When we see each other again, maybe we'll get to perform our Twin Data Drain once more!"
"I look forward to it Ryo-chan!" Iam smiled warmly. "C'mon guys, let's go, it's almost time for dinner."
"Oh man! Me too, my mom is calling me," Ryo-oki grumbled.
"Huh! You're a kid?" Chikoro asked. "I thought you'd be some mature older woman!"
"Nahh, I'm still a school girl! I might be even younger then you!" she laughed. "Well, see you later!" With that, she logged out.
"H-huh! Hey! We didn't get her member address!" Chikoro said, realizing her mistake. "What if we can't find her again?"
"Oh don't worry," Iam smiled as she started to walk out of the Church. "We'll find her." She smiled to herself as the group began to follow her. "After all, our destinies are bound to connect one day or another. Just look at what happened today."
"I guess," Orizo shrugged. "Maybe there is something to all this destiny junk…"
"I know there is," Iam smiled once more and stopped. The group started to go ahead of her while she looked back at the statues of the two girls. Orizo stopped and turned around.
"Iam! We're going!"
"Sorry!" she yelled, "Coming!" She jogged to catch up with him, and the two of them walked out onto the bridge where they promptly gated out.
"Destiny is a strange thing…isn't it sister?"
The End
Notes: Oh yeah! I loved writing that! It was so fun! Will Ryo-chan be back? Might be, might not be, depends. Don't forget, check out SailorStar165 on my Favorite Author's List, she writes cute fics!
Want to know more about Ryo-oki? Check out HackLegend of the Twilight Angel! Cute story, don't forget to review!
As for SailorStar, I hope you enjoyed it, it sure was my pleasure.
Now, onto the final story, "Secret Sweets!"
Secret Sweets!
"Valentine's Day…" Mai groaned as she rolled out of bed one February 13th morning. It was Sunday, and she had already decided that she would do lots of playing on "The World" that day. She was already level 14, only one more to go before she reached 15 and the Theta Server. But one thing had plagued her mind.
Valentine's Day.
On Valentine's Day, it was customary for a girl to present chocolate to guys, sometimes as a friendly gift, or sometimes as something more. But Mai had never bothered to give anyone chocolate, she had never had any friends before this year. But every year on February 13th, she could count on her mother to do one thing –
"Honey! Get up, time to make chocolate!" Mai's mother slammed open her door, making Mai jolt.
"MOM! It's 8:00 in the morning, on a Sunday! Let me sleep a bit first…"
"But honey, we've got to make chocolate, it's a tradition!" her mother insisted. Mai tried to argue that the tradition was that Mai would stand in front of a stove burning chocolate, but her mother had already pulled her out of bed. "I've already got the chocolate! Let's get baking!"
"I don't want to…" Mai grumbled into her pillow, of which she was still holding to her face.
"Aww honey, don't you want to make chocolate for your friends, Horomi and Moiuchirou?"
"Hiromi and Souchirou, and no! They'll just laugh at me!"
"Oh honey, don't be silly, let's get baking!"
"Moommm….can we stop now?" Mai asked as she burned her third bag of chocolate chips. "You know that I'm hopeless at cooking."
"Oh honey, don't say that," her mother insisted, but even she looked slightly frustrated at the failures. "Let's try one more time!"
"No way!" Mai snapped. "I stink at cooking, big whoop!" She untied her apron and threw it on a chair. "I'm going to go play now!"
"Mai!"
But Mai just slammed her door and locked it. She threw herself in front of the computer and put on her headset. "At least there's no cooking in this game…"
But as Mai turned on her computer, she realized she had new e-mail. She quickly clicked it and saw the message was from CC Corp.
Subject: Valentine's Day Special Event!
Dear Valued Customers,
Today, CC Corp will be hosting a one day contest in the spirit of Valentine's Day. A cooking contest for female players will be available in Root Town Mac Anu. Our Game master judges will be testing concoctions made with the provided ingredients.
We will be accepting applications for the event via e-mail and will accept five players. Please e-mail us back with the enclosed application form.
"Why should I care?" Mai snorted and was about to close the e-mail when she saw a word that caught her eye.
The prize awarded for this event is a rare item called "Perfect Chocolate" that can be traded and eaten. It's the perfect Valentine's Day gift! Runner-up prizes will also be awarded.
We will be announcing the participants on the boards at 12:00 P.M. Please get your applications in before the deadline.
Sincerely,
CC Corp
"Perfect chocolate, huh?" Mai smiled. "Now this is getting interesting." She quickly looked at the application.
Name:
Member Address:
Character Class:
Level:
Why You Would Like to Participate:
"Easy enough!" she smiled and quickly filled out the information in a "Reply" e-mail.
Name: Iam
Member Address: 57434432
Character Class: Long Arm
Level: 14
Why You Would Like to Participate: Because I'm horrible at real cooking and I'd like to show "The World" that I actually have a prayer at making good food.
She quickly sent the e-mail in before she realized something. "The-there's no way I can win!" She sweatdropped. "I'm horrible at cooking!"
But luckily, Mai didn't have to wait long before it was 12:00 P.M. and the board messaged with the subject "Cooking Contest Contestants" was up. Already, seven replies were up. She quickly clicked on it:
Subject: Cooking Contest Contestants
Thank you to all who applied for our cooking contest to be held today at 1:00 P.M. Over fifty applications were sent, and we have picked five lucky contestants. They are now listed:
Yuyuri
DemonicDragoness
Wanara
Iam
BlackRose
Mai blinked. She blinked again. And again. "OH YEAH!" she screamed and swiveled around in her chair. "I'm in! I did it! Go me!" She looked at the replies:
Subject: WTF!
Sender: Minako-chan
WTF! I'm the best cook in the world! Why didn't I make it in! This is DUMB!
Subject: Re: WTF!
Sender: BlackRose
Oh suck it up! So what if you lost! Grow up!
Subject: Disappointed
Sender: Oponia
Ahhh…I really wanted that Perfect Chocolate, it looked so good to eat…
Subject: Re: Disappointed
Sender: Mirielle
YOU'RE DISAPPOINTED! WHAT ABOUT ME! That chocolate must have been SUPER rare! Grrrr, this sucks! XP! I'm going to kill whoever wins! (Except if it's you BR!)
Subject: EUURRGG!
Sender: Chikoro
IAM! YOU HUSSY! YOU'RE GOING TO GIVE IT TO ORIZO-SAMA, AREN'T YOU! WELL YOU'RE A HORRIBLE COOK, SO YOU'LL NEVER WIN ANYWAY!
Subject: Hey Ladies!
Sender: Nuke Usagimaru
I don't know who this "Orizo-sama" is, but he can't possibly be better then me! So whoever wins, I'll allow you to give me the chocolate!
Subject: Re: Hey Ladies!
Sender: DemonicDragoness
PLEASE! As if! Maybe I'll give it to you, after I've poisoned it!
Mai laughed at the funny replies, but decided not to leave one herself. She noticed that it was almost 12:45. She quickly logged into "The World"
As she arrived, she looked around at all the people standing the middle of the bridge at Mac Anu. On the bridge was a long wooden table with five small stove like objects, ingredients, utensils, and other items. Iam gulped. This wasn't going to be easy.
She walked over, and everyone turned their heads. "Hey! Are you Iam?" A few people asked and she nodded. "Oh wow, good luck! I hope you win! You're cute!"
She thanked them all and pushed her way through the crowd to see that four of the places behind the table were already taken. The farthest left one was taken by a girl with a bright smile wearing pastel green baggy pants and a large green hat. She had light blonde platinum colored hair.
The one next to her was much taller and had black long hair that faded to violet. She had spiky black armor on and held a black blade master sword.
Next to her was a short girl with werewolf ears and a red tank top and tight shorts. Her tail and hair was colored brownish red and she had long canines.
And finally, next to the short one was another girl with tan skin, pink hair and thorn tattoos all over her body. On her back was a giant heavy blade sword and her armor was made up of a skimpy breastplate and armored skirt.
Iam took the final place next to the pink haired girl and waited for the NPC in green to begin the contest. Already, many people were in the crowd and it was growing.
"Hey! Iam!" Iam looked up to see Orizo, Zaiten, and Chikoro forcing their way through the crowd to the front. Orizo smiled at her. "Good luck! Kick butt!"
"Heh, you bet," she smiled.
"Don't you dare win…" Chikoro snarled and Iam sweatdropped.
"Good luck Iam-san, I hope you win that chocolate so that Chikoro-sama can give it to me," Zaiten smiled at his comment, only to be greeted with a hard punch to the face.
"And now!" The NPC began, and the crowd cheered. "We have our five lucky lady contestants here, ready to cook up a storm for our judges! Our first judge, Balmung of the Azure Sky!"
Balmung gated in and a thousand girls in the crowd screamed. BlackRose rolled her eyes and Iam eyed the man with wings. He seemed rather distant and mysterious. "Welcome," he smiled. "I'm glad that we administrators can provide you with another amazing event here on "The World"."
"WE LOVE YOU BALMUNG!" the girls screamed again, and the boys scowled at the attention the blademaster was getting.
"Our second judge is Reki, another administrator here at "The World"!" The NPC introduced and Reki came logging in after Balmung.
"This is entirely your fault…" Reki whispered. "Why do I have to do this?"
"It's for "The World" Reki, lighten up," Balmung continued to smile at the crowd. "Come, let's get some free food." He took Reki's wrist and led him up to the Judge's stand where they both stand down.
"Now, let's introduce our contestants!" The NPC announced once more and pointed to the green clad girl. "First, we have Yuyuri, a level 56 Wave Master!" Yuyuri smiled as the crowd cheered. "Next is DemonicDragoness, a level 79 Blade Master!" Many people cheered for the obviously well known player. "Now we have Wanara, a level 24 Werewolf!" Many people cheered for the cute player, who waved lightly. "Next is BlackRose a Level 35B Heavy Blade!" (In this story, once you hit 99, you have the choice to start over as a Level1B, showing you've already completed the job. With this, you get access to the special servers for B players only.) The crowd cheered loudly and BlackRose blushed. "Finally, we have Iam, a level 14 Long Arm!" People in the crowd cheered and Iam blushed.
"The rules are simple," Balmung spoke. "Just use the ingredients provided to make a dish of your choice. The best two dishes will go onto the final round."
"Ready…" Reki said, half heartedly, "Begin!"
A bell ran and Iam looked at the ingredients in front of her. Veggies, sweets, fruits, meats, more things then she could name. "I…I could make stir-fry…but…I always burn that… Or sushi…but that always comes apart when I make it. What about a fruit salad? I always cut myself when chopping up the fruit."
"Damn!" Iam looked over and saw BlackRose cursing as she cut herself with a knife. "Man…I knew this was a bad idea, there's no way I can cook as well as these other girls."
Iam smiled. "I know the feeling, I can't cook for beans."
"But I really want to win this contest," BlackRose sighed. "What can I do?"
Iam bit her lip and then smiled. "One sec, I think I've got something here." She rifled through her pack and smiled as she found what she was looking for. "Look, it's a Sweet Potion." She pulled out a thin vial with pink liquid inside.
"Sweet Potion? Oh! That's that item that acts as a resurrect, right?" BlackRose said, more of a statement then a question. "What are you going to do with it?"
"Simple," Iam smiled and poured a little bit of the potion in a bowl. "This will sweeten whatever I make. I'm making pancakes!" She quickly grabbed the pancake batter and blueberries and poured them in. After mixing it with mater she stirred it around and around. BlackRose looked at her and warily took the potion.
"C-can I have some?" she asked.
"Sure, go ahead!"
"Thanks, I owe you one! Let's see here…cookies seem safe, I can make those at least." BlackRose took out some flour and butter, but not before pouring in a bit of the potion. "Good luck to both of us!"
"Right! Good luck!" Iam smiled.
"Yummy," Balmung dabbed his mouth with a napkin as he finished his bite of yakitori that Wanara had presented. He had made Reki eat the rest of the dishes, and Reki was already bloated from all the food. "8 out of 10."
"That sets the score to Yuyuri: 7, DemonicDragoness: 7.5, and Wanra: 8!" The NPC announced and the crowd cheered. "Next up is BlackRose who made…"
"Ginger Cookies," she announced and handed them to Balmung.
"No special treatment just because we're friends," Balmung told her as he took a bite of the cookies and pushed the rest of the tray to Reki, who groaned. But after he took a bite, his eyes widened and he grabbed the tray back. Reki laughed from relief as Balmung started shoving the cookies down his throat. "These are delicious! 10 out of 10!"
"A ten for BlackRose!" the NPC announced and the crowd cheered as BlackRose blushed. "Finally, Iam is up with her…"
"Blueberry Pancakes with my secret ingredient!" Iam announced and handed the stack of pancakes to Balmung. Balmung took a bite and Reki sat up.
"Hey…can I have a taste Balmung, sir? I really like pancakes actually" But Balmung, after one bite quickly devoured the entire thing, leaving Reki speechless. "Y-you ate every last pancake…"
"Delicious as well! Another 10!" Balmung announced.
"A tie between BlackRose and Iam! We have our finalists!" The NPC announced and the crowd cheered loudly, especially Orizo. Iam smiled at BlackRose who smiled back.
"Now!" Balmung stood up dramatically. "We shall have the final round! Each of you must make…" he paused for dramatic affect. "Chocolate!"
"Crap!" Iam gave a muffled curse. "I'm horrible at making chocolate…but…" she looked at the vile of sweet potion. "With this, I won't need any real skill." She looked at it and gasped. There was only enough for one person! "Uhh…BlackRose?"
"Contestants, get cooking!" The NPC rung the bell once again and BlackRose started over to her station
"BlackRose!" Iam whispered to her.
"What?" she asked, slightly annoyed. "What do you want?"
"Look!" She pointed to the sweet potion and BlackRose's eyes widened.
"There's only enough for one person," she bit her lip. "Uh oh…this isn't good."
"Well, it is mine, so I think I should have it," Iam smiled and popped the cork.
"No way! That's not fair, you said I could use it!" BlackRose snatched it, the crowd looked slightly weirded out by the display.
"No I didn't! Not for this round, it's mine!" Iam snatched it back, only to have BlackRose grab it again. They were in a struggle for it. "Give it!"
"No way!"
"It's mine!"
"It's mine!"
"MINE!"
"MINE!"
With a final struggle, they both reared back and the vile slipped from their hands and went flying backwards into the river. They watched it float away, their eyes wide. "Umm…is there a problem?" Balmung asked.
"Oh, none at all!" Iam laughed nervously. "Let's get cooking!"
"Jeez, this is all your fault," BlackRose whispered menacingly.
"My fault! Look who's talking…" Iam heckled back.
"If you hadn't been so persistent, then they wouldn't have figured out we were cheating!"
"Who says they're going to?"
"Once they taste how bad our food is, they're bound to find out!"
"Then make it good!" Iam gave a final word on the subject as she poured in chocolate chips. "Fourth time's the charm."
"Well…" Balmung said, sweatdropping as he looked at the two deformed chocolates in front of him. "They look…scrumptious…" He glanced once more at them and turned to Reki. "Here Reki," he gave him the two chocolates, "Happy Valentine's Day."
"That's creepy and mean!" Reki snapped. "I don't want to eat them!"
"You're my subordinate, I order you to eat them!"
"Here!" Reki threw BlackRose's chocolate into Balmung's open mouth and Balmung immediately turned green from the taste. Still, he made himself swallow the brown gunky mass.
"How…dare…you…" Balmung whispered hoarsely, then coughed. "Umm…we will announce the scores after Reki eats Iam's chocolate."
"Huh?" Reki asked, but it was too late, Balmung had stuffed the chocolate into his mouth. Reki drooled from the bitter and horrible taste, but someone let it slide down his throat.
"Now, we will conduct our scores," Balmung said. "Reki, write down the score on your card."
"All right, all right, but it's not going to be pretty."
Iam looked on with BlackRose and lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry BlackRose…I should have let you use the potion, now they're going to get both of us in trouble."
"It's okay…" she admitted. "It was yours anyway…you should've used it…"
"We have come to a decision!" Balmung announced. "And we shall now show the scores. For Iam…"
Reki held up his card and Iam fell over. "2.5."
Balmung sighed. "And for BlackRose we have the following score. Whoever scores higher will win the Perfect Chocolate, since they themselves definitely can't make it." Balmung raised his card and the crowd gasped. "2.75. The winner of the Cooking Contest is BlackRose!"
"I won!" BlackRose cheered and gave Iam a big hug. "I can't believe it! I won!"
"I can only assume that you two are great at making everything except chocolate," Balmung coughed. "BlackRose, come and claim your prize." BlackRose went up to the judge's stand and was handed a large chocolate with a pretty icing rose on top. "And for Runner-up Iam, we have this." Iam went up and received a giant brown chocolate bar. It was so big, she had to carry it with both hands! "Giant Chocolate. Thank you all for coming and have a happy Valentine's day!"
"Did you bring the Antacid?" Reki asked.
"I hope once we log off the "Horrible Chocolate" status affect will be gone…" Balmung sighed. "Let's go Reki." With that, the two logged out.
"Look guys!" Iam laughed, "Isn't it huge?"
"Great job Iam!" Orizo smiled. "But hey, why were your pancakes so great, but your chocolate tasted awful?"
"Umm…well…" Iam shrugged. "Luck? Hey guys, let's go and eat this together! It'll be my Valentine's Day gift to all of you!"
"All right, sounds great," Orizo smiled.
"Yes, it does look delicious," Zaiten agreed.
"As long as you don't give it to Orizo-sama, I'm all for that!" Chikoro laughed as the group walked off together, ready to have the best pre-Valentine's day of their lives.
"Hey BlackRose!" BlackRose turned around to see a boy with blue hair and a red outfit run up to her. "I saw you at the contest, you were great!"
"Oh thanks," she blushed. "Here," she out stretched the chocolate to him. "This is for you Kite."
Kite looked at it and smiled. "Thanks."
"It doesn't mean anything!" she insisted to him. "I can't just let it sit in my pack all day, can I? Don't get smug or anything!"
"I won't," Kite laughed. "Hey, want to go meet up with the others? I bet everyone will want to hear about your big win."
"Sure," she smiled and took Kite's hand. "Let's get moving!"
The End
FINALLY FINISHED! 24 Pages of non-stop .hack goodness! No Prism Players, but don't worry, the action will start again next chapter! Thanks to all who read!
Don't forget R&R!