[Party] OldRamenMan: We're finally all online at one time! Let's do a mission
[Party] RollOutBoy: Sure
[Party] Beowulf69: I must savour my FREEDOM before Sm1rk puts me back into my cage
[Party] Sm1rkMeister: Shut up
[Party] SakuraBlossom: Can't~ First round of the PVP tournament is in an hour
[Party] SakuraBlossom: We'll be disqualified if we're late by more than three minutes
[Party] OldRamenMan: That's right!
[Party] OldRamenMan: I forgot about that
[Party] Beowulf69: You guys ready?
[Party] SakuraBlossom: Should be!
[Party] OldRamenMan: Do you know who your first match-up is?
[Party] OldRamenMan: I bet it's going to be your ex and his new wife
[Party] OldRamenMan: That would be great
[Party] Beowulf69: I would pay good money to watch that
[Party] SakuraBlossom: No spectators until the finals, soz :)
[Party] SakuraBlossom: An there're more than 100 couples signed up for this tournament for our server alone
[Party] SakuraBlossom: We're only fighting 12 of them in the general competition
[Party] SakuraBlossom: That's a fairly low probability
[Party] Sm1rkMeister: less than 16% chance we'll ever have to fight them
[Party] SakuraBlossom: Exactly!
[Party] OldRamenMan: You never know
[Party] OldRamenMan: Enemies are bound to meet on a narrow road.
(￢‿￢ )
[Announcement] System: The server round-robin of the [Celestial Lovers Couples PVP Tournament] is about to begin. Competitors, please make your way to the arena.
[Announcement] System: Competitors must enter with their husband or wife. Failure to show will be an immediate loss
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: Shall we, mdw?
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: yup ^^
[Party] SakuraBlossom: We're off, see you guys!
[Party] RollOutBoy: Good luck!
[Party] OldRamenMan: knock'em dead
[Party] Beowulf69: If you guys lose we're never going to let you live it down
[Party] SakuraBlossom: Keep dreaming
"Sakura-chan, are you going to meet us there later?" Tenten asked from the doorway.
"Hm? Where?" Sakura looked up from her game, only to see Tenten and Hinata both standing at the doorway, looking at her expectantly.
"W-We're going to go get dinner and then hit the library. Y-You could meet us at the library later."
"No, I've got the tournament in Way. I did my studying this morning after my run. Count me out for weekend library trips for the next month or so," Sakura waved them away.
"Oh, is it already that time? Can we watch your fights?" Tenten came back and stared at Sakura's screen like she was expecting Sakura to be in the middle of a bloody and flashy brawl. All that was shown was the loading screen, though
"You can watch the server finals and the cross-server tournament. I'll let you know when those happen. But go do your homework first!" Sakura shooed her friends out the door.
"D-Do you want us to bring you back dinner?"
"I've got sandwiches. I'm stocked! Thanks though."
"Text us if you need anything. Have fun, Sakura-chan!"
As her roommates finally closed the door behind them, the game finally moved them from the general waiting room to one side of the fight arena. When she saw who their opponents were, though, her jaw dropped. That is one narrow road! Shannaro!
FriesWithThat and Ami were standing on the other side of the arena
[Arena] System: The first round of the [Celestial Lovers Couples PVP tournament] begins now.
[Arena] System: Couples, you have 3 minutes to prepare.
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: ?!
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: Is Old Man psychic or something?
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: Just cursed
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: lololol
[Arena] Sm1rkMeister: glhf
[Arena] SakuraBlossom: glhf ^^
[Arena] FriesWithThat: glhf
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: How do you want to handle them?
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: I'll take her out first since she's a healer
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: that would probably be best, but she may go be annoying on the world channel later and accuse you of bullying weaker players
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: So?
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: Killing them requires discussion?
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: …
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: No, I guess not
Sakura sat back to watch the counter run down. This fight really didn't require any strategy. Even though the tournament scheduled twenty-five minutes scheduled the fight, she'd be surprised if it took them more than 5. Not only were she and Meister top-level PVP-ers, but they had also worked hard to max out their couple boost. Ami and Fries, on the other hand, had gotten married around the same time they had but only had half the maximum boost. Fries had also just lost a few levels to Meister, despite being a strong genjutsu main. And Ami... Ami… wasn't a challenge. In fact, I wonder if I could…
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: can I try to solo this fight?
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: If I look like I'm failing you can step in
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: But I really really really want to try
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: ...
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: Pretty please?
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: *puppy dog eyes*
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: ...
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: ...
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: fine
Sakura cheered, her blood already starting to boil. I never realized how much I wanted to beat them. Obligingly, Meister moved his avatar to a corner out of the way while Sakura took center stage and started laying down her groundwork. Just before the timer ran out and the fight started, though...
Fries and Ami just vanished.
Poof. Nada. Nothing.
"Shannaro! What the hell!?" Sakura gaped at her screen. They ran away?!
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: Did they just...?
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: Yep
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: Boooooo
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: Our first match and we win by forfeit
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: Are we really that scary?
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: You, mdw, not we
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: hey!
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: :)
[Arena] System: UWUAmixx and FriesWithThat are not in the Arena. They earn 0 points
[Arena] System: Sm1rkMeister and SakuraBlossom win! They earn 3 points
[Arena] System: All couples will be sent back to the general waiting room for the next round of the tournament
Sakura was still cranky as they waited for the next fight. She was so annoyed that she charged her ground-cracking punch throughout the entire three-minute arena waiting period before their next fight, not even bothering to talk strategy with Meister. Their opponents, who specialized in a very cool and very rare branch of puppetry genjutsu from the Land of Sand, didn't stand a chance. Sakura's punch destroyed their pre-cast genjutsu web.
Easy as one, two, three. Sakura grinned when Meister anticipated her ground punch and was already in the air when she launched it. He flew across the arena to get up close and personal, while Sakura used the combat version of the [Love Across Time and Space] skill to close the gap right behind him. Standing between the opponents, who were still stunned, some quick katana work and a couple of haymakers to key chakra points finished the fight.
[Arena] System: Sm1rkMeister and SakuraBlossom win! They earn 3 points
[Arena] System: MistressSaya and LocoMamushi earn 1 point
[Arena] System: All couples will be sent back to the general waiting room for the next round of the tournament
[Arena] SakuraBlossom: gg
[Arena] Sm1rkMeister: gg
[Arena] MistressSaya: … what was that?
[Arena] LocoMamushi: holy ****
[Arena] MistressSaya: I refuse to concede!
[Arena] MistressSaya: There's no way I, Saya, would lose so easily!
[Arena] MistressSaya: Especially not to someone so uncute!
Sakura wanted to laugh at how shallow the other female avatar's rage was. In contrast to her basic skins, Saya was using cash-shop exclusive skins, including a long purple twin pigtail hairstyle Sakura remembered from a Halloween event last year. Nearly thirty minutes later, Saya was still ranting and raving when Sakura and Meister got pulled into their final fight of the night.
Having worked off her ire, Sakura got ready to discuss strategy with Meister. When their opponents appeared on the other side of the arena, Sakura blinked in surprise.
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: It really is a narrow road
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: Two out of three couples are people I recognize
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: ?
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: AnkoDango was my old Clan Leader
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: But she got busy with work 9 months ago and handed the Clan over to her husband
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: Ah
[Arena] SakuraBlossom: glhf ^^
[Arena] Sm1rkMeister: glhf
[Arena] AnkoDango: glhf
[Arena] AnkoDango: Long time no see Sakura~
[Arena] SakuraBlossom: long time no see
[Arena] SakuraBlossom: You're back for good?
[Arena] AnkoDango: Yup!
[Arena] AnkoDango: It looked like a lot of fun
[Arena] AnkoDango: and with a prize pool this big … *drool*
[Arena] SakuraBlossom: lolol
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: They know my style so we should switch it up
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: He's a Taijutsu main, she's a ninjutsu main, fire release
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: Her bloodline limit makes her stealth modes last longer
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: he… I don't remember
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: But they're both pretty flexible
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: Don't think too much about it
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: Unless you want revenge
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: He's mine
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: lol divide and conquer
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: I'm okay with that
Even though Anko hadn't been much of a PVP player, she'd still been higher level than Sakura before her hiatus. Now, they were evenly matched in that and couple intimacy, but Sakura had recently upgraded her armour. It should be good.
They clashed in the middle of the arena, the flying senbon Anko shot at them seamlessly splitting them apart. Sakura went straight to close the gap between her and Anko, while Meister went straight for Ebisu's throat. She lost track of their fight as she focused on Anko, who, despite being away from the game for 9 months, only fumbled a little on her casts.
Anko knew her well. She didn't bother with any long casts against Sakura but kept firing irritating fireballs with half hand-seals. Sakura was a better dodger than she'd been nine months ago, though. When Sakura saw her other hand starting with a familiar pattern of hand to go into a shadow step, she took a calculated risk. I can't let her disappear, I'll never find her again.
She had to eat the full impact of a fireball to dodge forward but managed to close the gap quick enough to jab a fist into Anko's chin. It surprised Sakura, though, when Anko didn't even try to dodge that hit. Instead, she flew backwards two feet, totally losing her casts and slamming vertebrae first into the ground. Not taking any chances, Sakura quickly followed up with a charged punch straight to her stomach, aiming for one of her main chakra points.
Looks like that worked. Anko managed to get up, but when she launched straight into hand-to-hand taijutsu, Sakura already knew the fight was over and she'd won. She easily blocked her opponent's sluggish upper kick, grabbed her shin, and threw her across the arena like a rag doll. By the time Anko got up again, Sakura was already underneath her, a quick scissor kick throwing her back up in the air. Anko tried to make some full handseals in a last-ditch effort to save herself, but it was futile.
Sakura slammed a solid punch into Anko's solar plexus, totally knocking her out. She caught her breath as she watched the other character's avatar bounce against the arena floor like a skipping stone in a shallow creek. When no fight end announcement came on, though, Sakura frowned. She turned her camera to where Meister was still fighting with Ebisu. I thought they'd be done by now.
Then she read back through the combat log and burst out laughing. Meister's been taunting him! The log was full of Meister landing laughably light hits on Ebisu, but not a single record of Ebisu successfully dealing any damage to Meister. Sakura smirked. Serves him right. I bet he's steaming now.
[Combat] System: Meister has used the Harem no Jutsu
[Combat] System: MightyEbisu is dazed!
Shannaro! Sakura's eyes nearly popped out of her skull when the arena suddenly filled with nearly naked blond women clothed in whispy bits of smoke. She nearly missed the bright flash of Meister's Chidori amongst all the bouncing … personalities, but the arena cleared all of a sudden as the match ended abruptly.
[Arena] System: Sm1rkMeister and SakuraBlossom win! They earn 3 points
[Arena] System: AnkoDango and MightyEbisu earn 1 point
[Arena] System: All couples will be sent back to the general waiting room. This has been the last fight of the tournament for today.
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: What was that?!
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: ?
[Whisper] AnkoDango: Sakura-chan
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: The blond women! With no clothes on!
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: It's a variation of the Sexy no jutsu
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: Multiplies the stun effect by the number of clones in the arena
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: How did you come up with that?
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: Stole it off OldMan
[Whisper] AnkoDango: Hey Sakura-chan
[Whisper to AnkoDango] SakuraBlossom: What's up?
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: It was his signature for the genin and chuunin stages
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: Wait is that why it's blond?
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: Because it's OldMan's avatar but female?
[Whisper] AnkoDango: Can we talk?
[Whisper] AnkoDango: Meet you at the old place?
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: Mhmm
[Whisper to AnkoDango] SakuraBlossom: OK
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: Anko wants to talk, I'll cya?
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: sure
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: I have work anyways
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: same time next week?
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: You got it! ^^
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: k
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: cya mdw
Sakura watched Meister's icon go grey to show he'd gone offline before she opened the world map and navigated to the old, forested genin training ground where the five of them had met, once upon a time. Maintaining a friendship between her, CL, Fries, Ebisu and Anko for as long as they had had been a once-in-a-million chance encounter in MMOs, like capturing lightning in a bottle. Otherwise, I wouldn't have put up with Ebisu's bullshit for as long as I did.
The training ground was one of many, so this particular one was deserted. Sakura wasn't surprised when Anko reached out in just the [Here] chat.
[Here] AnkoDango: Sakura-chan~ How are you!?
[Here] AnkoDango: It's been ages!
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Yeah, we missed you!
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Are you back for good now?
[Here] AnkoDango: Yeah, work's settled back down
[Here] AnkoDango: And I reeeally wanted to try this couples tournament
[Here] AnkoDango: I thought we'd have a pretty good shot at winning the server, even if you and Fries would've been hard to beat
[Here] AnkoDango: Although with you and Sm1rkMeister together, we might not have a great shot
[Here] AnkoDango: Geez, I get busy for six months at a new job and you get a new husband!?
[Here] AnkoDango: What happened?
[Here] AnkoDango: Like I knew you and Fries weren't a love match or anything but I thought something might develop there, you guys were together for so long
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Nah, we were always just friends
[Here] SakuraBlossom: So when I got back after winter break, my laptop and phone were stolen like the day after I arrived on campus
[Here] SakuraBlossom: So I had to quit for a few weeks
[Here] SakuraBlossom: And when I got back, Fries asked for a divorce
Sakura made sure to recount the events of the past couple of months as factually as she could, but when she got to the blowup over UWUKasumi and MightyEbisu, she paused, not knowing how to approach it. Anko and Ebisu were married in Way, and she'd suspected they at least knew each other irl from some of the things they let drop. Before she could figure out the most tactful way to tell her friend her in-game husband might be cheating on her, though, Anko spoke up.
[Here] AnkoDango: Ebisu's already told me about the whole misunderstanding
[Here] AnkoDango: That ****ing idiot
[Here] AnkoDango: I'll never get used to the profanity filter in this game lol
[Here] AnkoDango: That * * * *ing idiot
[Here] AnkoDango: That dingalinglong donut head
[Here] AnkoDango: There
[Here] AnkoDango: I've already scolded him, though
[Here] AnkoDango: So won't you consider coming back to the clan?
[Here] AnkoDango: Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?
[Here] SakuraBlossom: between my school work and finding an internship, plus this couples tournament with Meister, I don't really have time rn anyways
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Better to let someone else have a go at the War Leader position
[Here] AnkoDango: Ah, I understand
[Here] AnkoDango: School's important
[Here] AnkoDango: I wish your major was marketing though; then I could've got you a job with my firm
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Ah I wish
[Here] SakuraBlossom: But any time you need a game developer
[Here] AnkoDango: We do accounting software, so no LOL
[Here] AnkoDango: But I'll keep you in mind if I hear something
[Here] AnkoDango: Maybe then we'll finally be able to meet, Miss I don't meet ig friends irl
[Here] SakuraBlossom: :P
[Here] SakuraBlossom: I may be changing that stance
[Here] AnkoDango: Really now?
[Here] AnkoDango: Now who would've caused you do that hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?
[Here] AnkoDango: Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?
[Here] SakuraBlossom: :P
Sakura glanced at the stack of homework and reading that she really should get started on, but she hesitated to log off. Friends don't let friends get cheated on, even if it is just in a game
[Here] SakuraBlossom: by the way
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Ebisu and UWUKasumi seem to be getting pretty friendly in game these days…
[Here] SakuraBlossom: I don't know how serious things were between you two, but…
[Here] AnkoDango: Her? Oh don't worry about her
[Here] AnkoDango: we never really told you guys, but we're dating irl
[Here] AnkoDango: our relationship isn't something she can **** with
[Here] AnkoDango: she can mess with
[Here] AnkoDango: So don't worry about it
[Here] AnkoDango: He's just being a bit of a donut
I'm not going to bring up emotional cheating if she's not worried about it, Sakura decided. She said goodbye to her former clan leader and got on with the homework and reading she'd been putting off to do the tournament.
(￣▽￣)
Over the next couple of weeks, Sakura totally forgot about her reservations about Ebisu and Anko's relationship problems as she dealt with a deluge of schoolwork, classes, and internship applications. The end of the semester was hurtling towards her with terrifying speed, and the only break she had from the rush were her weekly tournament fights with Meister who seemed equally as busy. Before she knew it, she was only a few weeks away from the end of the semester and the start of her finals.
"I'm going to be bald by the end of the semester," Sakura grumbled as she plopped into her chair with a thud and a sigh of relief.
"I know, I've been finding your hair everywhere," Tenten teased.
"A-Are you eating enough protein, Sakura-chan?" Hinata asked.
"I'm fine," Sakura gave herself another minute to wallow in self-pity, "Just stressed. I haven't gotten a single interview since Root."
"That's pretty normal," Tenten told her, "Most companies hire upper years first. You're not the only second year in this situation. Besides, you have the first four weeks of the summer term to find something. You'll figure it out."
"Y-Yeah," Hinata agreed, although her smile was a bit strained. Sakura saw the expression on her face and mentally smacked herself. She'd be fine with going home for the summer semester, but Hinata had a lot more riding on getting an internship this summer.
So she hurriedly changed the subject, "Did you guys already buy tickets for the server finals?"
"R-Ramen-san showed me last week. I-I bought you a ticket too, Tenten-chan."
"You're the best! I'll transfer you the money now."
"Oh good. I won't be able to go with you guys, so you should find Old Man and the rest of the guys."
"Roger that!"
Sakura left them behind in her teammates' capable hands while she met up with Meister. She winced when she saw the time; she was five minutes later than they planned, but they still had 10 minutes until the arena opened. When she loaded into the lobby, she saw Meister that was already there, waiting for her.
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: Sorry I'm late!
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: Had to grab dinner and the line in the cafeteria was super long
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: Np
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: You should eat before we start
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: The final is three rounds
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: Yeah
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: did you get real food or just dessert?
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: hey!
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: Anmitsu is real food
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: it's not a full meal
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: I got a wrap thank you very much
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: geez you sound like my mom
Sakura continued to banter with him as she ate her dinner single-handed, but she started to get a bit concerned when they were still the only couple in the lobby, a couple of minutes before the match was due to start. She frowned.
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: Do we have a separate lobby for the finals so we don't find out who our challengers are in advance?
[Couple] Sm1rkMeister: probably
[Couple] SakuraBlossom: I guess we'll find out when we get in there
But when they entered the arena, the only players they saw were in the spectator seats. No one stood across from them in the arena. Sakura furrowed her eyebrows
[Arena] System: The server final first match of the [Celestial Lovers Couples PVP tournament] begins now
[Arena] System: Couples, you have 3 minutes to prepare.
[Arena] ForeverA10ne: Of course it's those two in the finals
[Arena] MagnosAndSoda: whos their vs?
[Arena] GamerMama: dunno, they're not here yet
[Arena] SakiChan: It's not fries and ami though, I just saw them on clan chat doing another mission
[Arena] YugePen1s: Who is it?
[Arena] OldRamenMan: Probably MightyEbisu and his wife
[Arena] OldRamenMan: Forum records have indicated they've won every fight they were in
[Arena] CandyStr1per: UWUKasumiXX?
[Arena] Beowulf69: No, his other wife
[Arena] Beowulf69: Wanna bet if they get to fight all three matches?
[Arena] YugePen1s: they're not gunna if they don't hurry the **** up
[Arena] Ratinger: I hope they didn't make us waste our money
[Arena] Ratinger: Devs better pay us back if they don't show
[Arena] JizzyLizzy: Where are they?
[Arena] System: AnkoDango and MightyEbisu are not in the Arena. They lose the first match of the server finals!
[Arena] System: Sm1rkMeister and SakuraBlossom win!
[Arena] System: Couples, you have 3 minutes to prepare for the second match.
"Sakura-chan," Tenten called over, "Is the other team going to forfeit?"
"They shouldn't," Sakura frowned, "We had to acknowledge that you'll be there by email, otherwise they'll move on to the next highest-ranked team. I hope nothing happened to them. They could still make it, though. There are three rounds."
[Announcement] System: Two hands walking down the Way of the Ninja together have let go, two hearts no longer beat in sync. Should AnkoDango and MightyEbisu meet in the future, they are no longer two halves of one whole.
[Arena] Tellur1der: !?
[Arena] Y00bin: Da****?
[Arena] Beowulf69: LMAOOO
[Arena] MistSwordSuigetsu: okay but srsly the devs better be giving us refunds
[Arena] System: AnkoDango and MightyEbisu are not in the Arena. They lose the second match of the server finals!
[Arena] System: Sm1rkMeister and SakuraBlossom win!
[Arena] System: Sm1rkMeister and SakuraBlossom win the server finals! They will move on to represent the server at the all-server tournament!
AN: That's one way to win the server tournament?
Bahahaha! For those of you who haven't seen Love O2O, who saw that one coming? Also please forgive me for the sin against Anko; she does deserve better (Beta-san was rooting for Iruka; I might need to think on that one.) That's the first round of the tournament down, though! Are we any closer to our leads meeting? I don't know. Actually, I lie, I totally know. For those of you who haven't clued in yet, the sporadic countdown in the ANs (sporadic because I've been smushing chapters together since it's getting longer between updates) has been to THE SCENE. To the drama watchers, yes, I do mean the bridge scene. For everyone else, it's the moment I've been getting the rude, impatient reviews about and commissioned art for - the big meet!
In the spirit of Author-san-drama-queen-ness, I would like to remind everyone about two key things: a) This is a slow burn with lots of moving plot lines, not just the romance. If you don't like slow burns, please come back in three years or so when this fic is done (Or you can read The Words I Want to Say for another SasuSaku all romance fic of mine - they've already kissed in that one). I'm determined to finish it, but it'll take time. b) I really don't like concrit on most things to do with the fic, especially things having to do with the structure and overall plotline of the fic. I understand you mean well, but most authors have their line in the sand and this one's mine. To everyone else who's been positive and encouraging, and even to those of you who have followed the Bambi rule while reading, you guys rock and I appreciate every single one of you. As always, comments, comments, reviews, kudos, favourites, bookmarks, and little bundles of yarn in black and pink colours always make my day. Notes will be on tumblr (I have thoughts about Anko because she's probably my favourite non-rookie 12 character?), and thanks to Reglee for an excellent beta job per usual. Thank you for stopping by and reading!
P.S FIVE CHAPTERS LEFT; This is my last outline consolidation before the *moment*