Lea words : "Hi","Lea","Bye","How","Why","Wait","Sorry","Meet","Thanks","Please","Evotar,"What","I","Love,"You","Emilie"
Chapter 8
Villa of Terror - 3 days later
Days have passed, and the happy couple spent time in the room every night, sharing their love. Both of them were happier than ever, these recent events feeling like dreams to them. None of their friends had still got suspicious of their relationship and they were hoping to keep it this way for a little longer.
Today however, Emilie had matters to take care of on her end, so Lea was roaming the playground alone. She eventually passed accross Autumn's Fall, then directly to the Villa of Terror, where she first kissed Emilie, a couple weeks earlier. She sat on the same little island, in the small creek, sighing peacefully. She was holding a flower she picked up earlier and gently kept it close to her heart, remembering the past days with her lover.
However, she did not realized she had someone following her. At the top of the small incline leading to the island, hidden behind a cliff on the left, the avatar that was used to create her evotar was lurking in the shadows, stalking on her.
[Shizuka] : ...
She looks at Lea from her hiding spot, making sure she doesn't spot her. "But, why is she following Lea like that? She's doing it since three days now." That's a question she was also asking herself, one she is leaving unanswered, fearing the answer would deeply depress her. In fact, each time she sees Lea, Shizuka feels an ever growing feel of envy towards her. Was it because she had a girlfriend, and not her? Was it because she has already surpassed her skills at the game? Was it because she always looked so happy, every day?...
[Shizuka] : ...
She clenches her fists, sighing quietly. She would like to talk to her. Maybe she could ask for... advices? Tips? Or just a little chat? Unfortunately, her pride was preventing her from moving, letting her feel of envy grow, weighting her down...
[Shizuka] : ...
[Shizuka] : ... rrmh!...
She took a deep breath, groaning exasperated. She couldn't let herself getting crushed by her feelings. She couldn't let a copy of herself be better than her! She'll show her! Who's the original! Who's the best out of them! Who's-
[Unknown Voice] : Ha! Told you it be here!
[Shizuka] : ?!
She stopped herself, taking a peak at the path to the villa : two players, a triblader and a pentafist, had entered the area, walking towards the door puzzle!
[Pentafist] : Woah, this place is so hidden!
[Triblader] : Right?! Took me a while to find it too!
[Shizuka] : ...
Shizuka had already done the puzzle, so she could hide behind the lazer wall the two players hadn't unlocked. However, she realizes that they'll eventually come to her location and spot her. So, she waits for them to go further in the puzzle to hide behind a ruin wall, hoping they would be quick. They would spot Lea, obviously, so Shizuka also hoped she wouldn't be spotted herself. The two boys solves the puzzle quickly and goes through the tunnel leading to the creek. Suddenly, the spiders that Lea already defeated respawned in front of them, taking them by surprise.
[Pentafist] : Waahh!? What are these things?!
[Lea] : ...?
[Shizuka] : "... ugh... great..." "" - thought
Lea looks at the two players battling their foes, politely letting them battle the monsters themselves, but soon realizes they aren't that good battlers, and the high-leveled mobs were giving them quite the trouble.
[Triblader] : Ahh! These things are too strong!
[Lea] : ...!
[Lea] : Wait! Lea!
[Pentafist] : Huh?!
[Shizuka] : "Noo! Please don't-"
Lea intervenes, taking care of the spiders easily with simple melee attacks. The two friends looks at Lea amazed.
[Triblader] : ... W-wow... Thanks, lady!
[Lea] : Lea!
[Pentafist] : ... Wait... Lea?... THE Lea!?
[Pentafist] : T-the AI girl who is so good at the game?!
[Lea] : [nods]
[Triblader] : W-what?! For real?!
Shizuka facepalms, groaning as quietly as possible behind her hiding spot. The two players had ruined her plans...
[Pentafist] : I-I'm so glad to meet you! I heard a lot about you in the news! I love your story!
Lea blushes a bit embarassed. It's true the story of the Evotars had already made it to the news of several planets. An official announcement was also made in the game by Instatainement, with Lea's face and story displayed, not entirely of course, but enough to understand her circumstances. Plus, Lea also had a few records in the Rhombus Arena and made herself quite the popularity. Something Shizuka was also jealous of...
[Triblader] : It's so crazy! I-I hope we aren't bothering you or anything...
[Lea] : [shakes head]
[Pentafist] : Heh, I wish I could ask for your autograph. Too bad we can't write on anything in this game...
[Lea] : ...
[Pentafist] : Oh yeah, I guess that would help you too, since you are mute and all that!
[Triblader] : Hey dude! Don't say it like that in front of her!
Lea politely listens to the two players, smiling at their speech. Suddenly, her gaze catches something, behind the ruins : a dark silhouette that scurries away as soon as its spotted.
[Lea] : ...!?
[Triblader] : Anyway, we won't bother you any longer, miss Lea.
[Pentafist] : Yeah, thanks again for your help!
[Lea] : ...? ...! [nods]
[Triblader] : Oh look dude, there's a chest on that island!
[Pentafist] : Oh cool! Anyway, bye miss Lea!
[Lea] : Bye.
The two players waves politely at Lea, who waves back in kind, and leave her alone as they rushes to the chest. Lea looks back at the ruin. She could have swore that was Shizuka, spying on them. She walks to look behind the ruins, then to the entrance of the path, but no one was here. She ponders for a while, wondering why she was here. Maybe she wanted to talk to her? However, her questions were shortened by a D-Link from Sergey, asking for Lea's help with the Evotars...
The next two days, Lea kept noticing that Shizuka was always nearby, spying on her. She couldn't really see her, but each time she went to her friends list and see Shizuka's location, it was always in the same area as her. The few times she spotted her, not only it was very brief, but she was always far away, behind a wall, or any object for that matter. This kept puzzling Lea, deeply pondering on why her friend was always following her from so far.
At one point, she decided to just call Shizuka via D-Link, trying to ask her that.
Direct Link Request
[Lea] : Hi!
[Shizuka] : ... Hey Lea.
[Lea] : ...
[Shizuka] : ... So... what's up?
[Lea] : ... You?
[Shizuka] : ... Me?
[Lea] : ...
[Shizuka] : What about me?
[Lea] : [sighs] You... Lea?
[Shizuka] : ... Err... I don't get it.
[Lea] : Sorry...
[Shizuka] : It's... alright, no worries.
[Shizuka] : Sorry though, I'm quite busy right now. Can't talk for long.
[Lea] : ...?
[Shizuka] : You'll try to explain yourself later, okay? See you.
[Lea] : ... Bye.
Shizuka hangs up, but Lea checks her position again immediately : she's still in the same area as her... This leaves her even more confused. She wonders if it has something to do with the recent events, because she definitely wasn't acting like that before. Maybe she was still angry? Or jealous? Or... curious?
Now that she thought about it, Shizuka was also following her when Emilie was present. She didn't told Emilie yet, but each time she could check, Shizuka was always around, nearby, out of sight but still here. But, maybe, she was also... frustrated, Lea thought. She spends a lot of time in the game, while she has a normal life on the other side of her CrossGear. So, maybe she misses certain... activities? Maybe she could... share her add-ons to Shizuka, just for a short while? But who would she play with? Just herself? Or maybe with...
Lea rejected this perverted idea at first, a bit shamefull she had it in the first place. But then, she thought about Shizuka always following her. Maybe she took a liking for Lea? And, in the end, would it be wrong to help a friend in need? Even if this friend was the player of the avatar you got created after... But Lea discarded this fact quickly : this may have been true at first, but since then, they both developped their own identity separately, making the two of them different enough from eachother. So, Lea decided to try and catch Shizuka later, so she could then try to ask her about her feelings towards her. She thought that, in the end, this could be funny.