CHAPTER 2 ALL'S FAIR IN VIRTUAL LOVE AND WAR
Night came and the group of trapped players had yet to reach their destination. The distance seemed to be longer than Shampoo recalled and it took them through a second forest, which they were currently in. And if that wasn't bad enough, they were all really hungry and tired.
"Food here only satisfies the mind's hunger. Our real bodies get nothing from eating here." Shampoo said, trying to ignore her own hunger. The rations they were eating, which was an automatic entry in their storage upon initial log in, took away the thought of hunger but not the lingering sensation they got from their real bodies.
"Gotta admit, this tastes real." Ranma said while eating some bread. "Not the best, but it's like I'm really eating bread right now."
"I wonder how long we can last if our real bodies can't eat or move." Kasumi thought out loud, sounding nervous.
"Our only hope is someone outside moves our bodies into hospitals and puts us on life support until the game is over. Without disconnecting us from the game." Nabiki commented. "Problem is who back home has the sense to do that instead of taking the NerveGear off?"
"I don't think Pops and Mr. Tendo would ignore someone telling us we could die. Both of them want the dojo to be united too much to risk our lives like that." Ranma mentioned.
Akane nodded. "Yeah, our fathers are so dead set on getting us hitched even they couldn't be so quick to act on the first thought that entered their heads at a time like this." She paused for a moment. "Could they?"
No one had an answer for that, which only made Akane more uncertain.
"Great-grandmother will also get us some help. She'll know what to do. She'll keep us alive." Shampoo added, providing some relief to them. If Cologne could get to them first, and odds are she would since their bodies were at the Nekohanten, they'd be safe.
"Well, I know someone's going to be getting me out sooner or later. I get the feeling that a lot of people are getting rushed to hospitals across Japan. Anyone with a Nervegear on is goi-" Suddenly Ukyo just stopped and slumped over, like she passed out.
"Ucchan!"
"She's still alive." Everyone looked at Shampoo, while still worried about the okonomiyaki chef before she continued. "Her body didn't shatter like broken glass. That means she's still alive."
"That's a relief." Nabiki said and sighed. "This must mean she's being moved to a hospital in real life, resulting in some kind of sleep mode here. Only explanation I can come up with."
"How do you know how someone looks when they die in here?" Akane asked Shampoo. "I thought you said you had to play by yourself."
"Whenever I saw something in the game die, like the boars we fought earlier, it always burst into pieces. Sort of like a firework in terms of appearance. I assume that's what a player looks like as they die too." Shampoo explained.
Everyone just sat down beside a tree, waiting for what happened to Ukyo to happen to them too. It didn't take long, soon Ranma, the Tendos, and Shampoo slumped to the ground like they were passed out too.
"What happened?" Ukyo asked as she woke up. 'Wait, was that real?' She looked around and saw she was in a forest and cursors hovered over everyone's heads, making her groan which morphed into a yawn. "I guess it was. That sucks."
Everyone else was waking up too, and they had the same basic reactions as Ukyo. "Anyone hurt or missing?" Kasumi asked.
"No, but I don't feel so hungry anymore." Nabiki replied.
"They must have us hooked up to life support now." Akane said, crawling closer to Ranma for a sense of comfort. No one was in the mood to refuse her. "We could be here for a long time, couldn't we?"
Shampoo nodded. "This game has 100 floors, and 100 Bosses. A near infinite number of quests and challenges to go with it. And that's not even taking into account the Mini-Bosses or other threats I haven't experienced yet. Heh, it's not so bad when it's just a game, but now..."
Nabiki nodded. "Now it's pretty damn daunting. And we have to do it all on one life."
"Shampoo, as current group leader, what do you suggest?" Ranma asked, surprising everyone.
"You think I should lead?" The Amazon asked to clarify. She, like the others here, never would have expected Ranma to let someone else take the lead of a group he was in.
The pigtailed young man nodded. "You're the only one here who's not wandering around blind. Right now the rest of us don't know what to do or where to start, but you do. I think for now, the rest of us don't really have a choice but to follow your lead."
Shampoo looked over the others, expecting some objections. But instead, she got reassuring expressions.
"He's right." Akane admitted. "For better or worse you are the voice of experience here. If you can't guide us, who here can? We need you." She then sighed, as if the next part was hard to admit. "I need you."
This actually touched the Chinese girl. Never before had she felt wanted by the people around her. Tolerated, but never wanted.
Her resolve strengthened, Shampoo sat up straight. "Right, here's what I know. We're all Level 2 with little money, weak weapons, and no armor or equipment. And I think we've used up all our rations and probably have one thing of medicine left. First we change that. We need to battle weak threats to get more experience and money, work our way up to buy better weapons and more. I can find quests to get more of what we need and some special items that wouldn't hurt to have. For now, we should avoid trying to find the Boss. We need to get stronger first."
Nabiki nodded. "Right, every gamer knows not to go for the Boss right away. You need to work your way up first."
Shampoo nodded in agreement. "Remember, in here our real life strength means nothing. This is a leveling game, strength here is based purely on stats and levels. Our martial arts can barely do anything here if someone else has a higher level. Forget everything you can do in real life, instead work on in-game skills only. Also, ki doesn't exist in this game, since these aren't our real bodies."
"So that means I can't use the Moko Takabisha or Hiryu Shoten Ha here?" Ranma asked.
"No you can't. Ki cannot be created artificially. And ki isn't registered as a sword skill or unarmed skill either. That means we all have to work on our skills and levels." Shampoo finished, contemplating what to do next. "The Amaguriken might work here, but it's not going to be as strong as you're used to. Not yet anyway."
"So our real life skills aren't really impossible or obsolete, just reduced back down to beginner." Ranma noted. "Well, at least that applies to everyone who wants to hurt us too. Like the Kuno's."
"I guess we should see what skills we have and work on them." Nabiki added. "How do we know what skills we can learn in this game?"
Shampoo pulled up her menu. "Check your Skill Menu. It should give you two options, the Skill List and the Skill Inventory. The Skill Inventory is essentially a list of every skill you can learn, and the Skill List tells you all the ones you have learned and how strong they are."
Everyone curiously pulled up their menus and went for the Skill Inventory. There they saw options such as Evasion, Seeing, Listening, Running, Cooking, Appraisal, Forging, Beast Taming, and much more.
"Battle Healing?" Akane asked, noticing one that piqued her curiosity.
"Battle Healing and Regeneration help you heal. They recover lost HP for you, though they're not as good as medicine or healing crystals." Shampoo explained.
"Healing crystals?" Everyone repeated.
"There are these jewels in the game called crystals that can do things for you. Anything from teleport to heal to even repair weapons, but each can only work once. I don't remember seeing any on Floor One, but I was able to buy some on the next one up. So for now don't worry about them."
"So, how do we start a quest? We might as well worry about something we can do something about." Ranma asked.
"Quests start when a player talks to an NPC. The NPC then gives a quest along with instructions on what to do. Some are easy, some are hard, some even come in chains. But they always give a reward when completed. Since we're on the first floor, most of them won't be difficult. Unless the programmer altered that too."
Suddenly they heard some rustling, and halted the conversation. "It must be a monster." Ukyo said, readying her ax. Akane followed her lead, as did everyone else. Everyone except Kasumi, who unlike before was shaking a bit now.
"We should take turns guarding each other when we sleep." Shampoo started when nothing came out. Whatever they heard had either passed by or wasn't interested in attacking them. "Be on alert all times in the fields. We were lucky nothing attacked us before, but luck is never permanent."
Kasumi sat down, trying to control her trembling body. "Is it possible we can find a safe place and just wait for someone to end this game?"
If seeing Kasumi enraged was scary, seeing her frightened was downright... well, frightening. For as long as anyone had known her, Kasumi had been an emotional pillar of strength. A perpetual eye of the storm, surrounded by chaos but forever untouched by it. She was the one thing Nabiki and Akane could always count on to be supportive. But now, seeing the situation get to her, breaking her facade...
If Kasumi couldn't handle the situation, who could?
"I don't think it's going to work that way. If everyone does that then we'll be trapped here until we die. I'm going to try and clear this game." Ranma proclaimed.
"Airen's right, because let's face it, many of the players are probably thinking that way. Stay somewhere safe and let someone else do the fighting. But if we all do that then no one will get out." Shampoo said, but paused when she heard more rustling. "Something's back." She got on her guard and a small pack of wild wolves showed up, growling with apparent hunger.
Shampoo drew her sword. "Get ready. These are stronger then boars."
Everyone got ready again except for Kasumi, and the wolves pounced as one. Akane moved to protect her frightened sister, but her draw wasn't as quick as she was so the wolf got her.
"OUCH!" Akane yelled. 'Wait, we can actually feel pain in this game now?'
"Akane!" Ranma ran to her and managed a single thrust to eliminate the wolf. He looked at her health bar which had dropped a bit, but it wasn't in the yellow yet.
"Switch!" Nabiki did just that as another wolf came, and Shampoo, with her sword properly drawn, struck a wolf that was after Nabiki. A third wolf would have possibly ripped Kasumi in two, if it wasn't for Ukyo striking it from behind with her ax. The fourth and final wolf came up and Nabiki, who had been charging up her sword skill, lashed out and practically bisected it.
Once the fighting was over, screens appeared in front of everyone who had killed a wolf, telling them they had earned some Coll and Experience. Nabiki's screen said she earned an item. Curious, she pulled up her menu and saw something new in her inventory. "What's this?" She tapped it, and in her hands materialized a wolf pelt, the kind a trapper would love to have. "Hmm... bet this would sell for a nice price." Rather than put it away, Nabiki draped it over her back like a shawl, tying the legs in front of her to hold it in place. "Or maybe I'll just keep it." She added, putting the head of the pelt atop her own like a hood. "How do I look?"
"Interesting look on you Sugar." Ukyo complimented.
"Yeah I agree, but why would you wear it?" Ranma asked.
Nabiki shrugged. "Mostly just for fun. And let's face it, my main talent when fighting an opponent is my ability to intimidate them more than attack them. Appearance helps that, and this would make me look more intimidating." Nabiki said with a smile that turned sly. "Yeah, I think I'll keep this. Looks too good on me to sell."
"Why didn't you fight?" Shampoo asked Kasumi, as she kept shaking.
"I-I couldn't." The eldest Tendo stammered out, but just curled up into a ball and kept everything out of her mind, or tried. "It was fun while it was just a game, but now... I'm terrified of dying for real."
Nabiki just shook her head for a bit. "Look, how about we get some sleep? We might be better suited to fight and reach the town alive if we aren't tired and on edge."
"I agree, and I'll take the first watch. Who wants the next one?" Shampoo replied to Nabiki's statement, and Ranma shot his hand up.
"I'll take a four hour watch." Ranma suggested and then Ukyo shot her own hand up.
"I'll take over after Ranchan, anyone else want to take it?" There weren't any more volunteers.
With rest not coming easily, everybody but Shampoo tried to get some sleep. It was much easier said than done.
They managed to get through the night without another incident and had fought their way from their temporary campsite to the town. Kasumi, this time, didn't freeze up, but she still seemed highly unconfident about what she could do.
Shampoo got them into the village and everyone looked around. So far they saw no other players, just NPCs obeying their assigned roles in the game.
"What do we do now?" Kasumi asked.
"You find an inn and get us a room." Shampoo said. "This is a Safe Zone, no one can die or lose HP in here. And inns give even more safety. We need you to not be panicked before you go out and fight."
"Maybe Kasumi shouldn't be in any fights." Akane suggested.
"Actually, I think that's a bad idea." Ranma said.
"Why?" Akane asked, bothered by the idea that Ranma was basically suggesting Kasumi risk her life needlessly. But she sensed she was on thin ice already with the group and didn't need anyone getting more mad at her. The fact that her cursor was orange only reinforced it.
On the walk over, Shampoo had explained that according to her guidebook from her beta days, cursors were supposed to indicate if a player was someone to be wary of or not. Green was the normal status, but an orange cursor meant that the player had physically assaulted another player or attempted to kill them. It would wear off in a couple of days if she didn't attack another player again, but if she or any play actually killed another player, it would turn red. And Shampoo couldn't remember if that was permanent or not.
"We want to get to the end right?" Ranma asked, and everyone nodded. "Leaving someone behind would not be a good idea. You want Kasumi to stay where it's safe and the rest of us go out fighting? That might have worked back home, but not here. Imagine the kind of stress that will put on her, us going out with her unable to know for sure if we're ever coming back."
Akane slowly nodded in understanding. 'That's exactly how I felt when you went to go undo what Herb did to you. It was a horrible feeling, not knowing when or if I'd ever see you again Ranma.'
Ranma gently put a hand on Akane's shoulder. "Besides, if she moves from town to town with us, she's going to be out in the fields at some point. Better to prepare now rather than wait until she has no choice."
"I understand and agree. But still, maybe there is a way to keep her safe." Akane countered.
"No, he's right." Kasumi said, surprising her sister. She spoke with closed eyes. "I can't spend the entire game hiding. I came here because sometimes I get tired of being in the background. What's the point of being here if I'm just going to spend time here as a housekeeper? I don't want to be the deadweight of the group. I just need to stop being afraid."
Akane was speechless, not expecting her docile sister to admit a desire to stop being docile, held back only by a fear of what that entails.
"Well, let's see what we can get done here. Plus we should visit a blacksmith NPC and get our gear repaired." Nabiki suggested. They took off to the closest smith, after noticing that they had nicks in their gear. It seemed each fight weakened their gear. 'I hope once we get stronger weapons repairs won't be needed so regularly.'
"I definitely want to get my shield repaired." Kasumi mentioned.
They now had their gear repaired and finally managed to get a room and some food, even if it was just virtual food. Mental hunger apparently was felt in the game as real hunger. But luckily their real life bodies were bound to be hooked up to nutrition supplements to keep them fed, but not satisfied.
There was a little problem regarding the inn. The fact was the group didn't have much money left, and after pooling it all together they could afford one room for one night. One room, single, that all six of them would have to share, and came with only two beds. But if there was one good thing about the stress of the situation, no one wanted to start some argument about sleeping arrangements just yet. Not even Akane.
"Alright, we've got to train, and we need a quest. What kind of quests can we get here?" Ranma asked, taking a sip of water as they sat outside on some benches, letting a fountain fill up some water bottles for him and the others. Fortunately for him he hadn't had to experiment to see if his curse activated in the game world. Even if ki didn't exist here, the curse seemed to follow it's own rules.
Shampoo gave it a bit of thought. "I can't recall any for this specific town. Most nearby might be to kill a monster and collect prize or find lost item in field. Good for a start if nothing else." It made sense that the first floor had only the basic quests.
"Ranma-darling/Foul-sorcerer!" came the voices of two individuals that they really didn't want to deal with, and it was a good thing they were in a safe zone, both parties. Even then it wasn't that bad as Ranma managed to dodge the curved strike and almost-tackle of two of the most insane individuals he knew: Tatewaki and Kodachi Kuno.
"Whatever you want, leave me out of it." Ranma demanded.
As always, the Kuno siblings were in no mood to listen. "Ranma, you are behind this terrible set-up! This entire trap reeks of your doing!" Tatewaki accused while charging at the pigtailed young man.
Akane jerked a bit. 'Is that what I sounded like?'
Ranma intercepted with a sword to block, catching Tatewaki off guard. "You're not the only one with a sword anymore Kuno, and I'm guessing you're only Level 1 here."
"Nonsense. I am the Blue Thunder of Furinkan and the greatest swordsman in Nerima!"
"In case you haven't noticed Kuno-baby, you're not in Furinkan or Nerima anymore. You're in a game, where everyone starts as Level 1, even you." Nabiki interjected. "And this is a Safe Zone, nothing you do here can actually hurt Ranma."
'Better not remind them of the duel system.' Shampoo thought, tempted to hit the interlopers with her mace just for the satisfaction of it.
Tatewaki looked at Nabiki, and seeing her covered with a wolf pelt shocked him enough to back away from her and by extension Ranma. "Nabiki? What are you wearing?"
"I believe the proper term is 'spoil of war'." The mercenary answered, caressing the fur on the arm for a moment. "Looks nice, my very own fur coat. And it didn't cost me a thing."
"You look like a barbarian." Tatewaki criticized.
Kodachi seemed to ignore the fur on the middle Tendo but concentrated on her brother. "I do not believe that my darling Ranma would do this, but the ones to blame are either this harlot," She pointed to Akane. "Or that pigtailed wench that you are smitten with."
'Great, even when she sticks up for me she blames me.' Ranma thought as the siblings bickered a bit and Ukyo slammed her fists down, getting a notice on the table that said 'immortal object'.
"I believe you too should leave. It is already a stressful situation and neither Ranchan or Akane are to blame for it as the culprit already made himself known. Did you two forget the big red guy in the sky yesterday who confessed to everything?"
"Look Kuno, both of you. We've just started this game and we're all tired of playing the blame game at the same time. Go find someone else to bother, 'cause we don't want your crap." Nabiki stated and it was a bit more intimidating with the wolf fur that she wore.
Kodachi ignored the mercenary and made another attempt at embracing Ranma. "Ranma-darling I'm so glad you're here. We can have all the time in the world to be together."
"Let me go!" Ranma demanded, trying to get her to stop hugging him. Luckily Akane came up and grabbed the gymnast's ponytail to get her attention.
"We are not taking your crap here." Akane insisted while pulling the girl away, her strength not as much as she remembered it being. Of course the same was true for Kodachi so she couldn't hold on despite the fact Akane was pulling her hair out.
Kodachi released Ranma, rubbed her sore scalp, and glared at Akane. "How dare you? Well, I do hear that killing is a part of this game." Right then, she got a sword to her throat but it wasn't touching her skin.
"You so much as point a needle at Akane, and you'll wish you had never even met me." Ranma threatened in a cold tone that betrayed the fiery look of his eyes.
Kodachi for once was actually afraid of Ranma, and her fear was increased when Shampoo walked up drawing her own sword.
"This isn't a game, this is real. Death is real here too. We don't want anyone to die, but if a crazy girl like you thinks it's okay to kill someone here, then maybe this game is better off without you in it." Shampoo threatened.
Panic getting the better of her, Kodachi fled. Tatewaki saw her run, and went after her, giving Ranma a dirty look like he had done something inexcusable.
Everyone sheathed their swords and sighed. "I guess it's not just the characters created by the game we have to watch out for." Akane groaned, then turned to Shampoo. "By the way, right there you said it was wrong for Kodachi to want to kill me. Since you yourself once said 'Obstacles is for killing', wouldn't you approve of her desire?"
Shampoo shook her head. "That phrase is just a quote from my home, a proverb if you will. I'm not a murderer. If I was, why would you still alive before the game even started?"
"She's got a point." Nabiki commented. "If she wanted to kill you, why would she use amnesia shampoo on you instead when she had the perfect chance?"
Akane was shocked once more, and then started to think about it. She thought from how it was when Shampoo did stop pursuing Ranma in the effort to kill him after finding out what happened, and every time she did something it never ended with anyone dying.
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense, and I'm sorry for accusing you yesterday."
"I accept, but I still think you need to learn not to jump to conclusions so much. I'm a proud fighter, and no true fighter needs to kill someone to prove their strength." Shampoo added and they finished up their drink. "I'm getting hungry. Let's go make some money so we can buy lunch."
"Sounds great, let's find a quest that pays well." Ranma suggested, getting nothing but nods as responses.
Having a beta tester in their group was rather fortunate, especially since it appeared Kayaba hadn't changed the quests in the game and Shampoo was able to spot a familiar quest that someone hadn't beaten her to yet.
"Why do we have to do this?" Akane asked while each one of them was lugging a barrel with them. Each one was lighter than it looked, but too heavy when someone tried to grab more than one. The quest they were currently on was given to them by an NPC who gave each member of their party a barrel that couldn't be opened, and told them they had to carry them all undamaged to another village where they would get rewards for the effort.
"It's an easy quest that doesn't require fighting. Builds up Experience, that always helps a lot." Shampoo explained.
"Thanks, I'd feel better being in fights when my levels are up." Kasumi said. "Since it's no longer okay to die in a game, I'm not in a mood to be careless about playing."
"I don't think anyone here is." Nabiki said. 'It figures Kasumi's courage was circumstantial. It's easy to be brave when you're safe, that's why the first couple of hours she was like a different person. But now the safety net is gone, and Kasumi's fear came back in full force. I wonder if anything can make her feel safe again here.'
"Guys, while we have a moment, there's something I think we should get out in the open." Nabiki added. Everyone kept walking but showing she had their attention. "I think we're going to be here for quite a long time. I mean, there's no way we're getting out of the game tomorrow. The sad truth is, we could be in this world for years."
"Years?" Akane almost yelled while almost dropping the barrel. She caught it, which was good because it wasn't an immortal object.
Nabiki nodded. "Yes. I doubt that guy would go to all the trouble of creating this world just to let it be easy to conquer. There's a hundred floors here and Shampoo only got to the fourth one. Keep in mind she was beta-testing it, meaning her job wasn't to have fun but to find bugs and show the game makers how difficult it was to level up under the obstacles they created. I bet now the game's been adjusted to ensure no one could get too high too quickly."
Shampoo looked down. "This is all my fault. I should never have played this game."
Ranma came up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "You had no way of knowing this was going to happen. You just wanted to play a game and share it with us."
"Yeah, and like I mentioned this game is supposed to be tough to play." Nabiki spoke up and had everyone's attention once more. "So that means we need to stick together or something. That includes setting aside any business in real life."
"What kind of business?" Ukyo asked, but the answer was obvious.
"I think she means deciding on Ranma's fiancee." Kasumi spoke up in a more normal manner for her, getting everyone's attention. "Well, it seems that a lot of trouble comes from the issue of who Ranma is going to marry."
'Did they have to bring that up now?' Akane thought, exasperated. 'Even here I can't go one day without that being mentioned in some manner.'
"It's true, and each of us has a claim in some way." Shampoo added as they continued with the quest. And it was true. Ukyo and Akane both had parental agreement and Shampoo had one because of her tribal laws. The choice was ultimately Ranma's to make, but no one was really giving him the opportunity to choose. Everyone was trying to choose for him.
"Yeah, I guess we've gotta set that aside for now and concentrate on playing." Ukyo agreed.
"So we in agreement? Until the game is over, the fiancee wars are officially on hold?" Nabiki asked, hoping she had gotten through to the three competitive girls. 'Boy, if only it were this easy in real life.'
None of the girls in question were eager, because the current situation did pretty much give them a great opportunity to get Ranma's interest and approval. But on the other hand, all three were aware that surviving and getting stronger was supposed to be their top priority, one that requires undivided attention for the time being.
Ukyo sighed. "Ah hell, I'll be the first to say it. She's right. Right now there are a thousand enemies out there that could be anything from dragons to ghosts to who-knows-what. And that's not even counting other players trying to get ahead of us. The last thing we need is enemies among ourselves. A truce won't hurt. Besides, how can we get married in a game to begin with?"
Shampoo nodded. "Yes, no rules or laws here but the ones we make. Old rules don't apply here no more, even Amazon laws."
Akane was a bit hesitant but knew she had to say something. "Well this doesn't mean anyone has to just stop liking him. But right now, I don't see how arguing over who's going to be his wife is going to make things better here. Especially if it changes nothing in the real world." A bad thought just came to her. "Wait, you guys don't think our parents are going to try and make a marriage official while we're stuck here do you?"
Nabiki shook her head. "Don't be so paranoid Akane. If they could make you marry Ranma without consent like that, surely even they'd be smart enough to have done it by now."
That was something that all three fiancee candidates for Ranma thought about. If there was a way for them to get married without consent, then it would have happened as soon as Akane was chosen.
"She's right. As far as I know there aren't any known ways to force a marriage, especially on minors. It's only stated that minors must have parental permission for a consensual marriage and they both must be at least sixteen." Kasumi added as they continued on the quest. "So even if our parents try to give permission now, I don't think any government official would recognize a marriage as consentual when both parties are unconscious."
"Yeah, plus Pop's ain't that smart. He wouldn't even know where to start for something like that." Ranma admitted getting some giggles.
"Thank you for delivering these barrels to us. We were in desperate need of them. Here's a small token of our appreciation." Said the NPC merchant as he signaled the end of the quest. They managed to get just enough Experience to level up at least once more, making them all Level 3 now.
"Ooh, we got some gear." Nabiki said as they looked through the stuff there: an iron mace, some smithing mats, and a smithing hammer. "Someone must want us to become smiths."
"What good would blacksmithing do us?" Akane questioned.
"Smithing skills help repair and improve weapons." Shampoo answered. "It's cheaper than always buying new ones."
"Good point." Akane said looking at her sword at her hip. "How does someone raise their skills?"
"Usually with experience or completing quests. That's how these games work." Nabiki answered. "MMORPGs offer a lot of ways to customize your character. From what I saw, there's no job class, therefore no knights or mages or clerics, that sort of thing, but skills seem to be nearly infinite in variety. We can learn how to do pretty much anything here if we take the time to practice it. Just like in real life."
"So does that mean here Akane can actually learn to cook?" Ranma asked. Akane huffed in response, unsure whether to be mad at the implication or curious about the possibility.
"Assuming she gets a cooking skill and works at raising it, there's no reason why she couldn't." Nabiki explained.
'Then I'm going to maximize that skill while I have the chance to.' Akane vowed.
"We should all work on our non-fighting skills too." Nabiki suggested. "Right now we've all got low skills, so right now even Kasumi's no better a cook than Akane is."
That sure got everyone's eyes to nearly get out of their skulls. Then everyone checked their skill menus and saw they all had low skills in everything. True beginners of a game, a game that didn't care what their talents in real life were. Everyone started as a blank slate in a game and had to work their way up. That was the whole point of RPGs. Granted some gave you a head start in one direction, but Sword Art Online wasn't one of them.
"Fighting skills are a must, but since we might be here for years we should learn to live here too rather than just fight our way out." Nabiki told everyone. "The fact is, fighting can only do some much. I mean, it will get expensive constantly going to restaurants or inns all the time. I can manage our money, that's something I don't need a game skill for. But we need to learn how to cook, how to track, how to make things, all that stuff. Dividing it among ourselves seems like it's only fair."
Everyone nodded. "So what should we do then in that regard?" Ukyo asked.
"We all learn to fight, but I don't think we should all fight the same way. Some variety will do us good." Ranma claimed.
Nabiki nodded. "Yes. And half the people in this group already know how to cook, so for now I think you three should work on getting that skill up."
Kasumi, Shampoo, and Ukyo nodded, but Akane looked mildly crestfallen. "I can too."
"Yes you can sis, but also keep in mind what your natural talents are. Maybe you can earn better skills faster if you stick to what you're best at in life too." Nabiki advised. "Though since we have the stuff for smithing, maybe you can work on that one first. We do need a reliable source of weapon maintenance."
"Umm... I don't know. I mean, I hate to admit it, but I am kinda clumsy." Akane countered.
"Then learn not to be. If your level is high enough the system takes care of the hard part for you. MMORPG's that use leveling systems are like that. A bit unfair if you're low level but that's just incentive to improve."
"Tell you what, I'll work on it with you so you have someone to help you out. Sound good?" Ukyo offered.
"Uh, sure. Thanks."
"Anyway, can we get back before something decides to show up?" The okonomiyaki chef added. "I mean, let's save discussions for Safe Zones."
"Good idea." Ranma said, and everyone headed back, the gear they got currently put in Akane's storage.
The journey back to their town was simple, interfered by only a couple of wild boars that gave them more Coll and Experience but nothing else. Along the way each of them reflected on their situation.
'Does this mean all my training and strength has disappeared?' Ranma asked himself. 'I'm sure I can still repeat the moves, but does the game force me to be weak? If Kuno finds out he'd stop at nothing to destroy me. And knowing my luck, everyone else who wants to beat me is in this game and determined to level up before me. Well there's no way I'm going to let that happen.'
'This is my chance to become the one Ranma wants to be with.' Akane thought, hopeful. 'I know we're not supposed to compete for him now, but that doesn't mean we can't give him a little motivation in choosing someone on his own. My biggest problem before was everything I could do, everyone here could do better. But being here can fix that, and maybe I can carry over those skills to the real world.'
'Fighting's never been my thing, heck the only reason I came here was because I wanted to see if the hype was worth it.' Nabiki pondered. 'Given the graphics and feel of the game, I would say yes, but being trapped here kind of devalues it. Who am I kidding? No one is going to play this game a second time. Anyway, like I was saying before, I need to learn new skills, since I doubt blackmail does any good against a Boss monster. But what would I be good at?'
'I just wanted to have a little escape from my routine.' Kasumi thought, not sure how to feel. 'A fun little chance to break out of my mold even if only for a bit. I guess I got more of an escape than I bargained for. I'm... I'm scared of dying here, dying when it's just supposed to be a game. What's the point of this?' She closed her eyes for a moment. 'Stop this, questioning the situation won't change it at all. The important thing to do is survive, get strong and make it back home. I have to train too. At least I'm not alone.'
'This game is going to destroy my business if I'm going to be stuck here for years.' Ukyo rued. 'To think I just wanted something to do at home besides cook or watch over Konatsu. Now I can't get ho... wait! People need food here too. Maybe when the time's right I can reopen my shop somewhere here. Give us some stable income without needing fights. And I doubt that programmer bothered to make okonomiyaki a meal option here. I'd make a killing as the only okonomiyaki maker in the world. Well, this world.'
'Great-grandmother must be so worried. And Airen's parents must hate me more than they already do.' Shampoo feared, then steeled herself. 'But now, I must do what I can to get everyone out. I can do this, this game can't beat me. I will survive.'
"Someone's coming." Ranma warned quietly. Everyone tensed and put their hands on their sword handles. "But I don't think it's a monster."
"A player?" Akane asked. "We shouldn't fight a player."
"Not if we don't have to." Nabiki advised, certain that someday fighting a fellow player was going to be inevitable.
The newcomer walked but he looked like he wasn't aware anyone was around. He sort of hobbled forward, like a person in shock, unaware of his surroundings but compelled to keep moving forward. But a cursor was over his head, proving he wasn't an NPC.
"Wait, is that...?" Akane asked when he became more visible. "It is!"
"Doc?" Ranma asked. "He's in the game too?"
For some reason it was Dr. Tofu, a martial arts doctor of sorts. He mastered enough of the martial arts to apply it to natural medicine without the need for most of the stuff hospitals used, but it came at the cost that he was a private run clinic and wouldn't be able to possess life support that the major hospitals had.
"Dr. Tofu!" Akane yelled, getting the older man's attention.
"Akane? Ranma? I had hoped that neither of you were here, and..." He stopped while looking at Kasumi, but he didn't seem to be in his usual state of random statements and clumsiness that usually happened when he was in the same room as Kasumi. "Kasumi? You're here too?"
She nodded. "Yeah, we wanted to give the game a try and got caught up in all this. What about you?"
"Oh, I got roped into it after I moved. A patient was kind enough to offer a NerveGear and a copy of Sword Art Online, and I would have declined, until he suggested that it's just for fun."
"We all were tricked." Shampoo replied.
"I don't know what to do. I mean, I haven't been in a fight in years." Tofu confessed. "I didn't even plan to keep the game, just try it then give it back. But I can't get out of this. None of us can."
Seeing the doctor show feet of clay was about as bad as seeing Kasumi in the same situation earlier.
"Come with us. We at least have a place to sleep tonight. That should do you some good." Akane offered.
"That... that might help."
Night came and everyone went to sleep after eating dinner. They had no way to cook, but eating something together in a room gave them some semblance of being home.
The shock from earlier was gone so now everyone seemed eager to get to sleep. Everyone seemed to silently agree to give the two beds to Kasumi and Tofu, the two most bothered by being in the game. The older members of the group slept separately while the younger members slept on the floor with spare blankets to keep them warm.
After a while Akane woke up and walked outside, staring up into the sky that wasn't a real sky. The ceiling reflected light in a way that almost resembled stars, and a strange artificial crescent moon was glowing over the village.
'This world... it's incredible. Ignoring the fact that everything's fake except the death, it really is an amazing place. Unlike any I thought I could ever see. Even Ryugenzawa can't compete with this world, and it wasn't any safer.' She thought, pausing for a moment. 'Would I be thinking this if Ranma wasn't here with me to protect me and share this with?'
Akane thought for a few moments more, and it was something that spoke volumes for itself. Akane like the vast majority of people in the world, the real world that is, didn't like admitting her shortcomings. Such as her tendency to act first and think never. It was that tendency that got Ranma and even herself in more trouble then they would have been in had she withheld herself. It was in this thought process that she finally admitted something to herself. 'Ranma's always saving me, and I don't want to lose him. This game isn't going to get rid of him that easily, and even if it could, it'll have to go through me to do it. But me? I'm a different story. If I was on my own I'd probably be dead already, killed by one of those wolves. I have to get stronger, and Ranma can help me if I just let him.'
She mentally sighed and tightened her hands for a moment. 'But first, I've gotta let Ranma know how I feel. I don't want to die without doing that. I thought I had all the time in the world before, but now there's no guarantee of that.'
"Akane?"
The youngest Tendo opened her eyes and slowly turned to her right, seeing the boy in question standing and looking at her with concern. She smiled. "Sorry, did I wake up?"
"A little, but I was having a hard time sleeping anyway."
"That must be a first for you." Akane joked. "I'm okay, I just wanted to think about something."
"Okay." He said, then slowly turned to give her the privacy she had sought.
"Ranma, could you stay a bit? There's something I wanted to tell you." Akane kindly requested.
"Umm... okay?" The pigtailed boy said before sitting next to her, leaving some distance to ensure she couldn't reach over and touch him.
Akane saw that such a placement was intentional and felt a pang in her heart. 'I must have conditioned him to do this.' She then scooted closer until she could place her hand over his and look into his nervous eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you Ranma. I just want to tell you something." Seeing she had his attention, she continued. "Ranma, if what Nabiki said is true, we're going to be in here for quite some time. I don't want to spend that time at each others throats. I think we should just focus on what's really important."
"I was thinking of something similar myself." Ranma commented.
"One thing I most want to do then is clear the air between us." Akane continued. "Ranma, I don't hate you. To be honest, I don't even really think of you as a pervert anymore. Sure you're not the most charming guy I've seen, but you are the one I care most for." Ranma gave her an expected surprised look, and she moved in for the big finish. "I'm not ready to get married yet, but there's no one else I'd rather think about marrying than you."
Ranma had no idea how to react. The girl he was closest to, the one who seemed to resent that role half the time she had it, just confessed that she wanted to be closer to him.
Worst part was this made what he wanted to say to her that much harder.
"Akane, I care about you too. When I think about love, you're the first person who comes to mind for me." He sheepishly admitted, looking at the sky while hearing Akane gasp. "But there's something. A problem I can't really ignore. Especially here."
"What is it? We can work things out." Akane said, hoping he wasn't going to let her down. 'Please, it can't be too late to fix things between us. It just can't be.'
"Akane, I care about you, and part of really does want to love you." Ranma started, this not being any easier to say. "But the thing is... I don't really know you. We've been around each other for over a year and I still feel like I don't know anything about you. How can I love you if you're such a mystery to me?"
"Ranma, you do know me." Akane told him.
"Akane, I know about you, but I don't know you. I don't know what your favorite color or food is, what you think or believe, what you like or dislike, things like that. I know a couple of your habits and preferences, but beyond that, nothing. You haven't really let me get to know you."
The short-haired tomboy was silent, taking this in. "Ranma, you don't mean that do you?"
"I can prove it. How well do you know me? What's my favorite food?" He asked.
Akane opened her mouth but no words came out. 'Ramen? Okonomiyaki? Anything I don't make?'
"If you asked me the same question, I wouldn't be able to answer it either." Ranma told her. "I don't know you as well as I should, and I think you don't know me as well as you should either."
Akane slowly nodded, her eyes starting to tear up. "You're right. All this time fighting the engagement, we've never tried learning about each other. I know how you make me feel, but I don't really know you."
"But being here actually can fix that." Ranma told her, making her tears stop. "We have no one here trying to make us marry the second we show fondness for each other. I think I'd like to use this time in the game to get to know you better, so maybe someday we actually can have a relationship that we enjoy."
Akane's eyes released more tears now, but this time she was smiling. "Ranma, thank you. That means a lot to me. And I think that's a good idea too."
"Before you say that Akane, I got to tell you there's more to this than just that." Ranma warned. "It's not just you I don't know, it's Shampoo and Ucchan too. They want relationships too, and I don't know them and they don't know me."
"Why think about them? You just said you want to get to know me." Akane asked.
"Because not thinking about them would be unfair." Ranma stated.
Akane frowned. "More unfair than telling me you want to be with me while expecting me to be okay with them wanting relationships with you too?"
"I know how it sounds Akane, but think about it before you accuse me of something." Ranma kindly requested.
Akane huffed, not sure what to do. 'Part of me wants to tell him no, that he needs to prioritize me and only me or not at all. What right do those floozies have to him after everything he and I have been through? And how can he even consider sparing their feelings? He should just tell them both to suck it up and leave us...' She paused her train of thought and lost a lot of her frustration. 'What am I thinking? Tell them to leave us alone? Where would they go here? Who else can they turn to? Shampoo and Ukyo are trapped here too, and telling them to get lost is no different than abandoning them to die.'
"Ranma, I think I see what you mean. In the real world it would have been different. But here, we have no home to go to if our heart gets broken."
Ranma nodded. "Exactly Akane. And since they can't leave, imagine how they'd feel spending all their time in our group watching us be a couple. How would you feel it I was giving them that treatment instead and ignoring you?"
Akane sighed sadly. "I'd feel unwelcome, and eventually I'd leave even if I had nowhere to go, just to get away. I'd feel like I couldn't rely on you anymore because their safety would always come before my own."
Ranma nodded. "And you want them to feel that way?"
"No, but I don't want to feel that way either. Ranma, even if you don't want anyone to get hurt by choosing just one of us, sooner or later you're going to have to. You can't keep waiting for two out of three to just drop interest."
"Maybe, but I don't think choosing while we're here is going to do us any good. Especially since I don't know who I'd want to choose." Ranma told her. "So I'm not going to make any choice until much later on in the future, and I'd like to use this time to get to know all three of you. It wouldn't be fair to give only you special treatment when we're all in this together. Shampoo and Ucchan have just as much right too to get to know me and let me know them."
Akane looked away, not trusting herself to react kindly at the moment. "You really think that's the best idea?"
"Maybe not, but it's the fairest one." Ranma told her. "I know you don't like the idea-"
"Damn right I don't." She interjected. "But... you're right. We all have nowhere to go and no one else to rely on. The last thing we need is for our group to have friction within itself. That's why we agreed to not press the fiancee issue anymore. But if one of us got to do something that's for all intents and purposes dating you... friction's the only thing that can be created within the group."
"Right. So the only options are I do nothing or I give all three of you an equal chance. And that means I can't promise you Akane what the outcome will be. How is that fair?"
Akane turned to the boy she admired, her expression somber but not hurt. "I understand Ranma. I don't like it though and I don't think I'm ever going to like it, but I understand why you think this. Here we need to stick together, and if the only way I can be with you is to not keep you to myself... I'll take that over the alternative."
Ranma put his arm around her to comfort her. She moved in and leaned against him, using him as a pillar of strength, silently crying mostly because it felt good to cry right then. "I'm sorry." He said, mostly because it felt appropriate.
"Me too." Akane told him. "I'm sorry for my attitude yesterday. I know this isn't Shampoo's fault."
"Then why did you blame her?"
Akane sighed and pulled away just enough to look at the pigtailed boy. "Ranma, I've kind of got an old habit. You see, my mom didn't die naturally, she was killed."
Ranma was surprised, no one ever actually told him how Mrs. Tendo passed away. He had assumed it was some illness or accident, not something like murder.
"We were at a train station, going to go somewhere. I don't remember where or why anymore. But as the train was pulling in, someone in the crowd bumped into her hard and knocked her onto the tracks." Akane continued.
Ranma gasped. "What?"
Akane nodded, tearing up again. "Yes, she was killed all because someone wanted to get into a train a few minutes sooner. Worst part is the man was never arrested for causing her death. The courts ruled it as an accident and he had to pay us a fine, but to me it wasn't enough. My mom died because of him, he deserved so much worse than that. To be honest a good part of why I became a martial artist was so when I got older I could find him and beat the crap out of that man."
"Akane, you became a martial artist just so you can hurt someone with it?" Ranma asked.
"I was a kid at the time Ranma. A kid who just lost her mother to someone who got away with it. Can you blame me for thinking like that?" Akane asked. "I was just so mad that he got away with killing her I wanted him to suffer. And when I saw other people get away with their crimes, I thought they needed to suffer too."
"Well that I can understand Akane, but martial arts isn't supposed to be learned just so you can hurt people with it. The art is about more than strength, it's about being able to control it. You have more than enough strength to be one, but hearing this, makes me think you don't have the control to be one."
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"Akane, I can help you become the martial artist you want to be. I want to help you become that. But for me to do that, you need to admit you need my help. Can you do that?" Ranma asked her.
Akane nodded. "Yes, I admit it, I need your help. I want your help. What do I need to do?"
"First, you need a new motive. Use your skills to defend all of us, to ensure none of us get killed here. So you don't have to see another loved one die. If you use martial arts just to punish others, you're going to have a repeat of the fight with Nabiki."
"I don't want that. Never again. If it ever looks like I'm going to hit someone, even you, please stop me." Akane pleaded.
Ranma withheld a laugh. "You make it sound like stopping you is easy for me to do."
"Please Ranma, if you care about me, stop me from hitting you or anyone else. I don't want anyone to die because my temper got the better of me." Akane insisted.
"Alright, though you'll need to work on that too for it to work. But regarding your martial arts I can teach you some forms you can use to work with your strength for a good cause. You'll be using your strength the way it was intended to be used. And while there will be times you'll want to hurt others, you should save it for official challenges rather than just attacking them right away."
Akane nodded. "I'll do anything to be someone who doesn't disappoint you anymore Ranma."
Ranma arched an eyebrow. "You think you disappoint me?"
"Kind of."
He tightened his hold on her. "I'm not disappointed in you Akane. I just think you can hurt someone if you're not careful. Why did you hit Nabiki anyway?"
"I'm not really sure, it happened so fast. I was just upset that everyone was telling me I was wrong, and to me it felt like you all were picking on me. When she slapped me, it was like she was saying she trusted Shampoo more than me." She wiped her eyes. "But you guys were right, and I was being irrational. I was afraid, afraid of being in this game, and I just wanted someone to take it out on."
"Save that attitude for the monsters Akane." He suggested, and she nodded. "I won't let you die here. You're going to get back home someday. I swear it. Even if it means I have to die here."
"Don't say that." Akane reprimanded. "Don't ever say that Ranma. Getting back home without you isn't an option as far as I'm concerned. If you ever think it's okay for you to die here, I will hit you if only to remind you that I need you here."
"I didn't say I wanted to die Akane. I think the seppuku pledge should have proved that." Ranma told her.
"Good, I intend on you wanting to stay alive." Akane said while hugging him.
"Feeling better?" He asked.
Akane nodded, a small smile on her cute face. "I am. I think I can go to sleep now. Thank you Ranma. And I'll tell the others what you told me."
"You think they'll listen to you?" Ranma asked.
"I think I can say it in a way that will make sense to them. You'll probably still have to tell them yourself, but at least this way I can show them I'm making amends."
"Okay, if you want to."
Akane smiled. "Thanks." She then suppressed a yawn. "I think I'm finally getting tired. Let's go get some sleep."
"Sounds good. And please, no bucket of water in the morning." Ranma asked.
Akane laughed. "There's no school for us tomorrow. I think we could all use a chance to sleep in anyway."
The two teens went back inside, unsure what the future would bring but confident they would stand together while facing it.