Disclaimer: I own no part of Love Hina, but the OC's are mine.
There's only one word that can describe this chapter. Evil. Evil. Eeeeevil.
Chapter LIV: Entrapment
Monday, 12/1 5:45 AM
Motoko's internal clock woke her up bright and early. In an instant, she remembered that today was her birthday. This thought brought back memories of her last birthday, when Sean gave her her own private arena to train in. "I guess it is possible," she thought with a chuckle as she gazed at the PlayStation in the corner of the room and the significance it held within. "You can give someone a world of their very own."
As she got dressed, her thoughts turned to what she could expect this year, most especially, what she might get from Jimmy. "So much has happened in my life over the past year and then some," she said with a happy sigh. "And I have Sean to thank for all of it. If it wasn't for him, I don't know what I'd be doing right now." She thought back to some of the more recent events. "I'd probably be back in Kyoto carrying on the family business as Tsuruko wished."
She pushed the unpleasant thought of having to leave her friends aside and made her way to the roof to begin her morning meditation, but was shocked to find that everyone--Jimmy included--was already there, waiting for her to arrive.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOTOKO!!" They all cheered.
It took Motoko a moment or two to recover from the shock and regain rational thought. "I suppose I should have expected nothing less," she thought as she saw the table set up with a descent sized cake and utensils sitting next to it. "This group isn't all that known for its subtlety. I wouldn't have it any other way."
As she joined in the festivities, she noticed right away that everyone wasn't exactly at 100. They had all made the personal sacrifice to get up before she did and set this all up for her. From her perspective, the one most affected out of the whole group was Naru. Sure, she had never known the Tokyo U student as much of a morning person, but there was this strange feeling about her that she just couldn't shake.
Over the last couple months, there has been a noticeable decline in Naru's energy, as though she was suffering from exhaustion over long spans of time. At first, nobody thought much of it, thinking she was just studying too much for her own good like she did so often in the past, but as early as last week, Naru found it increasingly difficult to even get out of bed in the morning, much less get any schoolwork done. Worried for her health, he advised her to take it easy. Motoko wasn't sure if she had followed his advise or not, but it was obvious that her condition never got better.
"Get ready, Motoko," Sean said, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Like last year, there is only one present and also like last year, it's from the main man in your life."
"What did you get?" Motoko asked.
"Don't ask me," Sean said. "Ask him."
Motoko's followed to where Sean pointed to find Jimmy, his hands behind his back. She mentally kicked herself for not figuring that out sooner. "Close your eyes, Motoko," Jimmy said. "I want this to be a surprise." Motoko obeyed and within moments, someone grabbed her wrist and stretched her arm out a ways in frost of her. It was then that her hand came into contact with her gift--and her heart started to race as she instantly recognized what it was, even with her eyes closed. Despite this knowledge, she couldn't help but gasp when she opened her eyes and gazed at the sword she was holding. Unsheathing it, she was speechless as she examined the extraordinary quality of her new blade.
"After what happened to your old sword," Jimmy said. "I had this one specifically made for you."
Motoko sheathed her present and embraced Jimmy tightly. "This is better than I could have ever dreamed," she said, shedding tears of joy.
"I'm glad you like it," Jimmy said. Motoko couldn't see it, but Jimmy gave a small salute to Sean, who quickly returned the favor.
"If you don't mind," Keitaro said. "We're going to get another couple hours sleep. You may be used to getting up this early, but we're not."
"Go ahead," Motoko said, releasing Jimmy. "I will see you all at breakfast."
"I guess all we have to do is to--" Shinobu stopped mid-sentence when she saw that the cake was no longer there. "Uh, never mind."
"Can somebody say sugar rush?" Sean asked, knowing full well who was responsible for the dessert's sudden vanishing act. Within minutes, Motoko was alone on the roof, eager to begin practicing with her new sword. In fact, she would get so caught up in her training, she would lose track of time, forcing someone to come get her for breakfast.
--- 7:21 AM
"Hey, Gorgeous!"
Motoko turned around to see Jimmy standing at the steps, grinning at her. Out of everyone on the planet, he was probably the only person who could ever call her that and get away with it; even so, he was pushing it just a bit. "Yes?"
"Think you can spare some time to get something to eat?"
Motoko blinked a couple times. "Is it that time already?" She sheathed her sword and accompanied Jimmy back to the dining room. "I love this new sword you got me," she said. "Thank you so much."
"My pleasure," Jimmy said. "And this day's not over yet."
That caught Motoko's interest. "What else do you have planned?"
"Nothing much; just an afternoon out on the town."
"I look forward to it. If only I didn't have to go to school, then we could spend the whole day together."
"Well, you don't HAVE to go if you don't want to."
Motoko shook her head. "As appealing as that sounds, I have a reputation at school, and skipping school wouldn't bode well for me."
Jimmy shrugged his shoulders. "It was worth a shot."
Breakfast would go off without a hitch and afterwards, everyone went off on their regular morning routines, with one… minor exception.
"Hey, Sean!" Suu said after Sean finished putting the dishes away.
"Yeah?"
"Sarah and I have something cool to show you!"
"And what might that be?"
"It's a surprise. C'mon!" Suu grabbed Sean by the arm and lead him upstairs. Along the way, Sean couldn't decide if he should be worried or not. Suu's creations have been less… shall we say… lethal as of late, but old habits tend to die hard. It didn't take long for them to reach Suu's room, where Sarah was waiting for them, somewhat impatiently.
"What took you so long?" Sarah asked.
"Well, I'm here now," Sean said. "What have you got to show me?"
"You'll see," Suu said, grinning from ear to ear. Apparently, this was something she was really, really proud of. "Have a seat."
As Sean sat down, he couldn't help but think that he had been in this situation before, but at that particular moment, he wasn't able to put his finger on it. He was jarred from his thoughts when some sort of headgear was slammed onto his head. "OW! Watch what you're doing, Suu!"
"That was me," Sarah said.
"Whatever."
"Are you ready?" Suu asked.
"Ready for what?" Sean replied, trying to make heads or tails of the situation. "You still haven't said what you're--" He got cut off by a jolt of energy suddenly coursing through him. When he regained his senses, he knew right away that he wasn't in Hinata-Sou anymore.
He found himself in a long, narrow valley, about a couple hundred feet wide, and bordered by high cliffs. A series of low rolling hills could be seen a short distance away. Nearby, a short structure stood, with ramps leading up to the top and down underground. In an instant, he recognized where he was: Blood Gulch. Besides, for him, the blue combat suit he was wearing was a dead giveaway. "Cool," he said. "Virtual Halo."
"Not quite," Suu's voice said from inside his helmet. "This is Halo, that much is true, but that's all."
A confused look appeared on Sean's face--as if it could be seen anyway. "What are you talking about?"
"A year ago today, you gave Motoko a rather odd gift. I'm sure you remember what it was."
"Of course," Sean said. "It was the video game disk I made to help her with her training. What does that have to do with this?"
"It has everything to do with it," Sarah said.
"She's right," Suu continued. "Ever since that day, I tried to figure out how to get into video games like you did. And today, I bring to you the fruits of my labors."
"You're saying I'm in here for real?" Sean asked, almost not willing to believe it.
"You sure are," Sarah chimed in. "And you're not alone, either. Look behind you."
Sean turned around to find two people in identical outfits as his, except one was yellow and the other was red. It didn't take him long to figure out which was which, though it was obvious he was the only real person there. This was unimportant, however, as he was more focused on the firepower they were carrying; the yellow one had a pistol, while the red one wielded a shotgun, both of which pointed straight at him. "Oh, this is just great," Sean muttered.
"I'm glad you agree," Suu said. "Cuz we're going to use you for a little target practice."
"Whether you like it or not," Sarah added. "And to emphasize our point…" Sean saw the red one switch weapons, and he quickly wished she'd had stuck with the shotgun, as he had a feeling a rocket launcher was going to hurt a hell of a lot more. Before he could do anything, Sarah fired a rocket at his feet, the resulting explosion blacking out his senses. Five seconds later, he was suddenly aware of his surroundings again, and he saw his previous body laying on the ground next to him.
"How did that feel?" Suu asked.
"How do you think it felt?!" Sean shot back. "I got hit by a frigging rocket launcher for goodness sake! Thank God for respawning in this game, though. If there wasn't, I can only imagine what Shinobu would do to you two when she found out."
"Well," Sarah said. "Since we don't have to worry about that, let's do this again, shall we?" The red player started to move forward, but stopped abruptly.
"Sarah, wait," Suu said. "It's my turn." The yellow one then moved forward, shooting a pistol at Sean.
This time around, Sean made an active effort to dodge the shots, while firing back with his pea shooter of a plasma pistol. Of course, all of this would only delay his inevitable demise. The next time he respawned, he found himself at the other end of the valley, out of range of his tormentors. "That was lucky," he thought. "Time to fight back." He hurried over to the nearby building, which was identical to the first one except for the blue markings on it, as opposed to the red ones on the base at the other end. As soon as he got there, he ran up the ramp, where a pistol and a sniper rifle were waiting for him.
"Oh Sean…" Suu called out in a sing-song voice. "Where are you?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Sean thought, being careful not to say anything out loud.
"Come on out, Sean," Sarah said. "We're not done playing with you yet."
"I'm sure," Sean thought. He had a good feeling his pursuers knew where he was, and it wouldn't take long for them to get there. Therefore, logic says he should get away from there A.S.A.P. Quickly he made his way off the base, heading in the direction of one of the sides of the canyon, where a narrow incline presented a vantage point for a viable offensive strike. When he reached the top, he spotted Suu and Sarah below. As soon as he did, he ducked back against the cliff wall so they didn't do the same. With sniper rifle in hand, he started to draw a bead on them, which was harder than it could have been as he didn't know how to work the zoom on the sight. "I have to make these first shots count," he thought. "I may not get another chance like this."
Sean would took his time in aiming as his two adversaries marched their way obliviously towards blue base. "C'mon, stop moving, already," Sean thought. Then, an idea appeared in his head, and he began laughing out loud.
"Hey," Sarah said. "What's so funny?"
The red player stopped in its tracks, just like Sean hoped it would and, before it could do anything else, shot it right in the head. All of a sudden, a message appeared in his visor: "You killed DemonSpawn." He paid little attention to this, as he was more focused on shooting the yellow character before it could take revenge on its fallen comrade, making another message appear: "You killed TechFreak." The game announcer saying "Double Kill" only put an exclamation mark on what had just happened.
"HEY!" Sarah said. "You weren't supposed to do that!"
"Well, what did you expect me to do?" Sean asked after breathing a sigh of relief. "Just stand back and let you kill me time and again? Besides, that was some pretty lucky shooting on my part. I didn't even use the scope on this thing."
"Well, you luck won't last," Suu said. "You may have gotten the drop on us that time, but you're bound to run out of ammo sooner or later."
"She's right," Sean thought. "I've hardly been able to beat anyone from the outside. How do I expect to beat both Suu and Sarah now?" He quickly saw Suu reappear near blue base, and he quickly tried to shoot her down in order to prevent her from arming self, but her erratic movements coupled with Sean not taking enough time to aim conspired against him as Suu grabbed a sniper rifle and hid behind a part of the base, waiting for her chance to strike.
Unfortunately for Sean, he was so engrossed in his standoff with Suu, he wasn't aware of Sarah sneaking up behind him until she whacked him in the back of the head with a shotgun, killing him instantly. "Nice one, Sarah!" Suu said with a giggle.
"That was a cheep shot!" Sean yelled when he came back.
"A cheap shot's better than no shot," Sarah said.
"And speaking of shot…" Suu said. She then let her sniper rifle do the talking for her, taking advantage of Sean reappeared at blue base again, still a bit disoriented in doing so.
"Is it going to be like this the--" Sean said, but was cut off when he was hit by a shotgun blast. This time, he was at red base, and Sarah was quickly upon him. This shot wasn't enough to kill, but it did damage him quite a bit. Sarah fired again, but Sean was able to dodge this time, but walked right into a plasma grenade, sticking to his side. "NO!!" He was somehow able to pry the thing off and was about to throw it back at Sarah, but it detonated in his hand, taking him with it.
"This is so much fun," Sarah said.
The next hour would be spent with Sean dying, coming back and dying again. By then, the score was DemonSpawn: 43, TechFreak: 37, RPGer: 1 (He learned the hard way not to fire a rocket launcher at close range.). "Well," Suu said. "We have to get ready for school now. See you later!"
"Yeah," Sarah said. "We'll be back to kick your butt when we get back."
"Hey!" Sead yelled. "You can't just go off and leave me here all alone!"
"You won't be alone," Suu said. "You'll have a bunch more friends to play with soon enough."
Sean thought Suu meant he was being sent into Campaign mode, which he didn't mind so much, as he figured his chances for survival would be somewhat better that way, but a message on his visor told him another story altogether, and upon reading it, his heart fell into his stomach: "Now connecting to X-Box Live."
"Oh, you did not just do that!" Sean said. "SUU, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE!!"
"Have fun!" Suu said.
"Get back here!" Sean said, his voice starting to get a bit hoarse. After a few moments of radio silence, he knew he had been left stranded. "Great," he muttered. "Just great. Well, it's only a matter of time before somebody else shows up to turn me into Swiss cheese, so I'd better get ready." He didn't know exactly how much time he had, so right away he began familiarizing himself with the various weapons, paying closer attention to the pistol and the sniper rifle, as they were his preferred guns. After about twenty minutes, text started appearing in his visor…
"Now entering game."
"Here we go," Sean said, preparing himself for the coming onslaught.
"Game Name: Fun Run 50."
"You gotta be kidding me," Sean muttered, immediately recognizing that custom game and what it signified.
"Location: Blood Gulch. Total Players: 5. Player 1: RPGer. Player 2: Archmage."
"I knew it." He knew he was going to be going up against his friends from back home; and he wasn't looking forward to it, either.
"Player 3: Archmagus. Player 4: ABitch. Player 5: OneBadMoFo."
"Oh, hell no," Sean said upon seeing that last name, for that was none other than Jimmy. For him, things just went from bad to worse.
"Hey, Sean," a voice said as soon as the game got under way. "You ready to have some fun?"
"Shut up, Ross!" Sean shouted. "I'm in the game!"
"So what?" another voice (Jeremy) asked. "So are we."
"You don't understand," Sean said. "I'm IN the game! See me waving?"
"How did you get in there?" A third voice (Zack) asked.
"Suu did it, how else?" Suu and Sarah have played with Sean's friends for a while now and they have gotten to know each other a bit.
"Looks like we got ourselves a target," Jimmy said.
"Hey, don't make this four on one!" Sean said. "I just went two on one with Suu and Sarah and lost a combined 80 to 1!"
"Ouch," Zack said.
"Well, it was mostly because they stayed at each base and kept picking me off before I could do anything."
"Something like that should teach you something," Jimmy said.
"And what might that be?" Sean asked.
"Never stand still in Halo if you hope to survive."
"Easier said than--" Sean wasn't able to finish his sentence, as he was shot in the head by a sniper rifle.
"Okay, that was just mean," Zack said.
"I know." Though nobody could see it, Jimmy had an evil grin on his face.
--- 3:21 PM
"We're home!" Shinobu said as she, along with Suu, Sarah and Motoko entered the living room to find Kitsune on the couch watching television.
"Hey y'all," Kitsune said. "How was school?"
"Pretty good," Shinobu said, looking around. "Hey, where's Sean?"
"Couldn't tell ya. Haven't seen him all day. I'm starting to wonder myself."
Shinobu turned to find Suu and Sarah chuckling to each other. "What have you done with Sean?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Suu said, stifling a laugh.
"Tell me what you did with him," Shinobu demanded.
"We shouldn't mess with her," Sarah whispered in Suu's ear. "Remember, the dork's not the only one with magic."
Suu nodded. "Alright, we'll take you to him. I was thinking of letting him go when we got home anyway."
"I gotta see this," Kitsune said, following the group as they went up to Suu's room.
"I wonder how he's fared since we left," Suu said as they made their way to the television. On it they saw a figure in blue moving about a snowy landscape. "Well, he still around. That's a good sign."
"You mean that's him?!" Shinobu asked. She looked on as Sean got involved in a gunfight with another figure in black. Needless to say, this got Shinobu concerned. "Suu, why did you do this?"
"I'll explain later," Suu said, intent on watching the battle unfold. A few intense moments went by and the black player fell to the ground. "Well, it looks like he's improved somewhat."
"Well, considering how long he's been in there, I should hope so," Sarahcommented. A rocket then came out of nowhere and hit Sean square in the chest. "Maybe I spoke too soon."
"SEAN!" Shinobu screamed upon seeing Sean's motionless body on the screen.
Suu looked back to find Shinobu heading for the door. "Kitsune, get her."
Without missing a beat, Kitsune had Shinobu by the arm just as she was about to leave the room. "Let go of me!" Shinobu said, trying to get free.
"Shinobu, we've been over this," Kitsune said. "He's in a video game; he's going to be fine, I'm sure of it."
"Hey, Sean," Suu said, now wearing a headset. "Enjoying yourself?"
"Suu, get me the hell out of here!" Sean yelled. "I've died more times than I can count, and getting shot from behind is really getting old!"
"I guess you've had enough for one day," Suu said. "Sarah, will you do the honors?"
"Whatever," Sarah said. "It's too easy to beat him that way anyway." She pressed a few buttons and Sean reappeared in the chair he was sitting in before all this began.
"Hey, Suu," Ross said. "Thanks for giving us a great plaything to mess around with."
"No problem," Suu said. "It's just something I've been tinkering around with."
"Yeah, and I'd appreciate it if you'd tinker with someone besides me!" Sean said, standing up.
"Why did you agree to it if you knew what was going to happen?" Shinobu asked.
"Simple: I didn't. They just dragged me in here and sent me in there."
"You're not hurt or anything, are you? If you are, then I'll--"
"I'm fine, Shinobu, calm down. Let's just get out of here before something else happens to me."
Sean, Shinobu and Kitsune went down into the living room to find Motoko there, obviously waiting for something. "Hey, Motoko," Sean said. "What's up?"
"For my birthday, Jimmy is taking me for a day out on the town. He just called and is on his way."
"Oh," Sean said, not exactly eager to see him.
A few minutes went by and Jimmy entered the front door. "Hey, Motoko," he said. He quickly noticed that Sean was glaring daggers at him from the other end of the room. "I didn't expect to see you here."
"I can't imagine why," Sean muttered.
"Um, did I miss something?" Motoko asked.
"Long story," Jimmy said. "Shall we go?"
"Hold on," Keitaro said, just entering the room. "May I ask you a favor?"
"Shoot."
"It's just that I caught wind of yours and Motoko's plans and I was wondering if Naru and I may accompany you."
"Motoko?" Jimmy asked, turning the question to the birthday girl.
"I don't see why not," Motoko said.
"Thank you," Keitaro said. "I hope this will lift Naru's spirits. We won't be long."
"Naru has been a bit listless lately, hasn't she?" Sean asked.
About a half hour later, Naru and Keitaro came down the stairs. Everyone present could tell that Naru wasn't all too excited about going out, but nobody said anything about it and the foursome headed out to see the sights. It wouldn't be until nightfall when they began heading for home--and that's when their trip hit some turbulence.
--- 9:10 PM
"This has been just wonderful," Motoko said as they walked out of a movie theater. "Thank you for planning all this."
"No sweat," Jimmy said.
Keitaro paid no mind to anything that they said, as his attention was focused more on Naru. Much to his dismay, this little outing did little to help Naru's condition. She could barely even stand on her own two feet anymore. "Are you sure you're alright?" he asked.
"Yes," Naru said. "How many time do I have to tell you?"
"Well, we meet again," A voice said from nearby.
"Oh no," Keitaro thought. "Of all times, why now?"
"And who are you?" Jimmy asked.
"His name is Kentaro," Keitaro said. "He's been more or less stalking Naru ever since we met."
"My dear Naru," Kentaro said, completely ignoring Keitaro's comment. "What has befallen you?"
"Get away from me," Naru muttered, glaring at him.
"But Naru, I'm only worried about your well-being."
"You heard the lady," Jimmy said. "Back off."
"And just who might you be?"
"Someone who can kick your ass faster than you can blink."
"Jimmy, don't waste your time on him," Naru said. "I can handle this myself."
"You're in no condition to fight," Motoko said. "Maybe you should let us handle this."
"I said I can do it myself." All of a sudden, Naru's fist hit Kentaro's face, sending him flying. Keitaro took a step forward, raising his hand to shield his eyes (which looked silly considering the time of day).
"Hey, he only went a couple blocks this time," he said in an effort to bring a lively spark out of Naru. "Maybe you're starting to lose your touch." A couple moments went by without a response. "Naru?" Keitaro turned around to find Naru laying on the ground, face down; she wasn't moving. "NARU?!"
End of Chapter LIV
And the suspence begins yet again. What has sucked the life out of Naru and what can be done to get her back to normal before it's too late? See you then! Please R&R!
There's only one word that can describe this chapter. Evil. Evil. Eeeeevil.
Chapter LIV: Entrapment
Monday, 12/1 5:45 AM
Motoko's internal clock woke her up bright and early. In an instant, she remembered that today was her birthday. This thought brought back memories of her last birthday, when Sean gave her her own private arena to train in. "I guess it is possible," she thought with a chuckle as she gazed at the PlayStation in the corner of the room and the significance it held within. "You can give someone a world of their very own."
As she got dressed, her thoughts turned to what she could expect this year, most especially, what she might get from Jimmy. "So much has happened in my life over the past year and then some," she said with a happy sigh. "And I have Sean to thank for all of it. If it wasn't for him, I don't know what I'd be doing right now." She thought back to some of the more recent events. "I'd probably be back in Kyoto carrying on the family business as Tsuruko wished."
She pushed the unpleasant thought of having to leave her friends aside and made her way to the roof to begin her morning meditation, but was shocked to find that everyone--Jimmy included--was already there, waiting for her to arrive.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOTOKO!!" They all cheered.
It took Motoko a moment or two to recover from the shock and regain rational thought. "I suppose I should have expected nothing less," she thought as she saw the table set up with a descent sized cake and utensils sitting next to it. "This group isn't all that known for its subtlety. I wouldn't have it any other way."
As she joined in the festivities, she noticed right away that everyone wasn't exactly at 100. They had all made the personal sacrifice to get up before she did and set this all up for her. From her perspective, the one most affected out of the whole group was Naru. Sure, she had never known the Tokyo U student as much of a morning person, but there was this strange feeling about her that she just couldn't shake.
Over the last couple months, there has been a noticeable decline in Naru's energy, as though she was suffering from exhaustion over long spans of time. At first, nobody thought much of it, thinking she was just studying too much for her own good like she did so often in the past, but as early as last week, Naru found it increasingly difficult to even get out of bed in the morning, much less get any schoolwork done. Worried for her health, he advised her to take it easy. Motoko wasn't sure if she had followed his advise or not, but it was obvious that her condition never got better.
"Get ready, Motoko," Sean said, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Like last year, there is only one present and also like last year, it's from the main man in your life."
"What did you get?" Motoko asked.
"Don't ask me," Sean said. "Ask him."
Motoko's followed to where Sean pointed to find Jimmy, his hands behind his back. She mentally kicked herself for not figuring that out sooner. "Close your eyes, Motoko," Jimmy said. "I want this to be a surprise." Motoko obeyed and within moments, someone grabbed her wrist and stretched her arm out a ways in frost of her. It was then that her hand came into contact with her gift--and her heart started to race as she instantly recognized what it was, even with her eyes closed. Despite this knowledge, she couldn't help but gasp when she opened her eyes and gazed at the sword she was holding. Unsheathing it, she was speechless as she examined the extraordinary quality of her new blade.
"After what happened to your old sword," Jimmy said. "I had this one specifically made for you."
Motoko sheathed her present and embraced Jimmy tightly. "This is better than I could have ever dreamed," she said, shedding tears of joy.
"I'm glad you like it," Jimmy said. Motoko couldn't see it, but Jimmy gave a small salute to Sean, who quickly returned the favor.
"If you don't mind," Keitaro said. "We're going to get another couple hours sleep. You may be used to getting up this early, but we're not."
"Go ahead," Motoko said, releasing Jimmy. "I will see you all at breakfast."
"I guess all we have to do is to--" Shinobu stopped mid-sentence when she saw that the cake was no longer there. "Uh, never mind."
"Can somebody say sugar rush?" Sean asked, knowing full well who was responsible for the dessert's sudden vanishing act. Within minutes, Motoko was alone on the roof, eager to begin practicing with her new sword. In fact, she would get so caught up in her training, she would lose track of time, forcing someone to come get her for breakfast.
--- 7:21 AM
"Hey, Gorgeous!"
Motoko turned around to see Jimmy standing at the steps, grinning at her. Out of everyone on the planet, he was probably the only person who could ever call her that and get away with it; even so, he was pushing it just a bit. "Yes?"
"Think you can spare some time to get something to eat?"
Motoko blinked a couple times. "Is it that time already?" She sheathed her sword and accompanied Jimmy back to the dining room. "I love this new sword you got me," she said. "Thank you so much."
"My pleasure," Jimmy said. "And this day's not over yet."
That caught Motoko's interest. "What else do you have planned?"
"Nothing much; just an afternoon out on the town."
"I look forward to it. If only I didn't have to go to school, then we could spend the whole day together."
"Well, you don't HAVE to go if you don't want to."
Motoko shook her head. "As appealing as that sounds, I have a reputation at school, and skipping school wouldn't bode well for me."
Jimmy shrugged his shoulders. "It was worth a shot."
Breakfast would go off without a hitch and afterwards, everyone went off on their regular morning routines, with one… minor exception.
"Hey, Sean!" Suu said after Sean finished putting the dishes away.
"Yeah?"
"Sarah and I have something cool to show you!"
"And what might that be?"
"It's a surprise. C'mon!" Suu grabbed Sean by the arm and lead him upstairs. Along the way, Sean couldn't decide if he should be worried or not. Suu's creations have been less… shall we say… lethal as of late, but old habits tend to die hard. It didn't take long for them to reach Suu's room, where Sarah was waiting for them, somewhat impatiently.
"What took you so long?" Sarah asked.
"Well, I'm here now," Sean said. "What have you got to show me?"
"You'll see," Suu said, grinning from ear to ear. Apparently, this was something she was really, really proud of. "Have a seat."
As Sean sat down, he couldn't help but think that he had been in this situation before, but at that particular moment, he wasn't able to put his finger on it. He was jarred from his thoughts when some sort of headgear was slammed onto his head. "OW! Watch what you're doing, Suu!"
"That was me," Sarah said.
"Whatever."
"Are you ready?" Suu asked.
"Ready for what?" Sean replied, trying to make heads or tails of the situation. "You still haven't said what you're--" He got cut off by a jolt of energy suddenly coursing through him. When he regained his senses, he knew right away that he wasn't in Hinata-Sou anymore.
He found himself in a long, narrow valley, about a couple hundred feet wide, and bordered by high cliffs. A series of low rolling hills could be seen a short distance away. Nearby, a short structure stood, with ramps leading up to the top and down underground. In an instant, he recognized where he was: Blood Gulch. Besides, for him, the blue combat suit he was wearing was a dead giveaway. "Cool," he said. "Virtual Halo."
"Not quite," Suu's voice said from inside his helmet. "This is Halo, that much is true, but that's all."
A confused look appeared on Sean's face--as if it could be seen anyway. "What are you talking about?"
"A year ago today, you gave Motoko a rather odd gift. I'm sure you remember what it was."
"Of course," Sean said. "It was the video game disk I made to help her with her training. What does that have to do with this?"
"It has everything to do with it," Sarah said.
"She's right," Suu continued. "Ever since that day, I tried to figure out how to get into video games like you did. And today, I bring to you the fruits of my labors."
"You're saying I'm in here for real?" Sean asked, almost not willing to believe it.
"You sure are," Sarah chimed in. "And you're not alone, either. Look behind you."
Sean turned around to find two people in identical outfits as his, except one was yellow and the other was red. It didn't take him long to figure out which was which, though it was obvious he was the only real person there. This was unimportant, however, as he was more focused on the firepower they were carrying; the yellow one had a pistol, while the red one wielded a shotgun, both of which pointed straight at him. "Oh, this is just great," Sean muttered.
"I'm glad you agree," Suu said. "Cuz we're going to use you for a little target practice."
"Whether you like it or not," Sarah added. "And to emphasize our point…" Sean saw the red one switch weapons, and he quickly wished she'd had stuck with the shotgun, as he had a feeling a rocket launcher was going to hurt a hell of a lot more. Before he could do anything, Sarah fired a rocket at his feet, the resulting explosion blacking out his senses. Five seconds later, he was suddenly aware of his surroundings again, and he saw his previous body laying on the ground next to him.
"How did that feel?" Suu asked.
"How do you think it felt?!" Sean shot back. "I got hit by a frigging rocket launcher for goodness sake! Thank God for respawning in this game, though. If there wasn't, I can only imagine what Shinobu would do to you two when she found out."
"Well," Sarah said. "Since we don't have to worry about that, let's do this again, shall we?" The red player started to move forward, but stopped abruptly.
"Sarah, wait," Suu said. "It's my turn." The yellow one then moved forward, shooting a pistol at Sean.
This time around, Sean made an active effort to dodge the shots, while firing back with his pea shooter of a plasma pistol. Of course, all of this would only delay his inevitable demise. The next time he respawned, he found himself at the other end of the valley, out of range of his tormentors. "That was lucky," he thought. "Time to fight back." He hurried over to the nearby building, which was identical to the first one except for the blue markings on it, as opposed to the red ones on the base at the other end. As soon as he got there, he ran up the ramp, where a pistol and a sniper rifle were waiting for him.
"Oh Sean…" Suu called out in a sing-song voice. "Where are you?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Sean thought, being careful not to say anything out loud.
"Come on out, Sean," Sarah said. "We're not done playing with you yet."
"I'm sure," Sean thought. He had a good feeling his pursuers knew where he was, and it wouldn't take long for them to get there. Therefore, logic says he should get away from there A.S.A.P. Quickly he made his way off the base, heading in the direction of one of the sides of the canyon, where a narrow incline presented a vantage point for a viable offensive strike. When he reached the top, he spotted Suu and Sarah below. As soon as he did, he ducked back against the cliff wall so they didn't do the same. With sniper rifle in hand, he started to draw a bead on them, which was harder than it could have been as he didn't know how to work the zoom on the sight. "I have to make these first shots count," he thought. "I may not get another chance like this."
Sean would took his time in aiming as his two adversaries marched their way obliviously towards blue base. "C'mon, stop moving, already," Sean thought. Then, an idea appeared in his head, and he began laughing out loud.
"Hey," Sarah said. "What's so funny?"
The red player stopped in its tracks, just like Sean hoped it would and, before it could do anything else, shot it right in the head. All of a sudden, a message appeared in his visor: "You killed DemonSpawn." He paid little attention to this, as he was more focused on shooting the yellow character before it could take revenge on its fallen comrade, making another message appear: "You killed TechFreak." The game announcer saying "Double Kill" only put an exclamation mark on what had just happened.
"HEY!" Sarah said. "You weren't supposed to do that!"
"Well, what did you expect me to do?" Sean asked after breathing a sigh of relief. "Just stand back and let you kill me time and again? Besides, that was some pretty lucky shooting on my part. I didn't even use the scope on this thing."
"Well, you luck won't last," Suu said. "You may have gotten the drop on us that time, but you're bound to run out of ammo sooner or later."
"She's right," Sean thought. "I've hardly been able to beat anyone from the outside. How do I expect to beat both Suu and Sarah now?" He quickly saw Suu reappear near blue base, and he quickly tried to shoot her down in order to prevent her from arming self, but her erratic movements coupled with Sean not taking enough time to aim conspired against him as Suu grabbed a sniper rifle and hid behind a part of the base, waiting for her chance to strike.
Unfortunately for Sean, he was so engrossed in his standoff with Suu, he wasn't aware of Sarah sneaking up behind him until she whacked him in the back of the head with a shotgun, killing him instantly. "Nice one, Sarah!" Suu said with a giggle.
"That was a cheep shot!" Sean yelled when he came back.
"A cheap shot's better than no shot," Sarah said.
"And speaking of shot…" Suu said. She then let her sniper rifle do the talking for her, taking advantage of Sean reappeared at blue base again, still a bit disoriented in doing so.
"Is it going to be like this the--" Sean said, but was cut off when he was hit by a shotgun blast. This time, he was at red base, and Sarah was quickly upon him. This shot wasn't enough to kill, but it did damage him quite a bit. Sarah fired again, but Sean was able to dodge this time, but walked right into a plasma grenade, sticking to his side. "NO!!" He was somehow able to pry the thing off and was about to throw it back at Sarah, but it detonated in his hand, taking him with it.
"This is so much fun," Sarah said.
The next hour would be spent with Sean dying, coming back and dying again. By then, the score was DemonSpawn: 43, TechFreak: 37, RPGer: 1 (He learned the hard way not to fire a rocket launcher at close range.). "Well," Suu said. "We have to get ready for school now. See you later!"
"Yeah," Sarah said. "We'll be back to kick your butt when we get back."
"Hey!" Sead yelled. "You can't just go off and leave me here all alone!"
"You won't be alone," Suu said. "You'll have a bunch more friends to play with soon enough."
Sean thought Suu meant he was being sent into Campaign mode, which he didn't mind so much, as he figured his chances for survival would be somewhat better that way, but a message on his visor told him another story altogether, and upon reading it, his heart fell into his stomach: "Now connecting to X-Box Live."
"Oh, you did not just do that!" Sean said. "SUU, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE!!"
"Have fun!" Suu said.
"Get back here!" Sean said, his voice starting to get a bit hoarse. After a few moments of radio silence, he knew he had been left stranded. "Great," he muttered. "Just great. Well, it's only a matter of time before somebody else shows up to turn me into Swiss cheese, so I'd better get ready." He didn't know exactly how much time he had, so right away he began familiarizing himself with the various weapons, paying closer attention to the pistol and the sniper rifle, as they were his preferred guns. After about twenty minutes, text started appearing in his visor…
"Now entering game."
"Here we go," Sean said, preparing himself for the coming onslaught.
"Game Name: Fun Run 50."
"You gotta be kidding me," Sean muttered, immediately recognizing that custom game and what it signified.
"Location: Blood Gulch. Total Players: 5. Player 1: RPGer. Player 2: Archmage."
"I knew it." He knew he was going to be going up against his friends from back home; and he wasn't looking forward to it, either.
"Player 3: Archmagus. Player 4: ABitch. Player 5: OneBadMoFo."
"Oh, hell no," Sean said upon seeing that last name, for that was none other than Jimmy. For him, things just went from bad to worse.
"Hey, Sean," a voice said as soon as the game got under way. "You ready to have some fun?"
"Shut up, Ross!" Sean shouted. "I'm in the game!"
"So what?" another voice (Jeremy) asked. "So are we."
"You don't understand," Sean said. "I'm IN the game! See me waving?"
"How did you get in there?" A third voice (Zack) asked.
"Suu did it, how else?" Suu and Sarah have played with Sean's friends for a while now and they have gotten to know each other a bit.
"Looks like we got ourselves a target," Jimmy said.
"Hey, don't make this four on one!" Sean said. "I just went two on one with Suu and Sarah and lost a combined 80 to 1!"
"Ouch," Zack said.
"Well, it was mostly because they stayed at each base and kept picking me off before I could do anything."
"Something like that should teach you something," Jimmy said.
"And what might that be?" Sean asked.
"Never stand still in Halo if you hope to survive."
"Easier said than--" Sean wasn't able to finish his sentence, as he was shot in the head by a sniper rifle.
"Okay, that was just mean," Zack said.
"I know." Though nobody could see it, Jimmy had an evil grin on his face.
--- 3:21 PM
"We're home!" Shinobu said as she, along with Suu, Sarah and Motoko entered the living room to find Kitsune on the couch watching television.
"Hey y'all," Kitsune said. "How was school?"
"Pretty good," Shinobu said, looking around. "Hey, where's Sean?"
"Couldn't tell ya. Haven't seen him all day. I'm starting to wonder myself."
Shinobu turned to find Suu and Sarah chuckling to each other. "What have you done with Sean?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Suu said, stifling a laugh.
"Tell me what you did with him," Shinobu demanded.
"We shouldn't mess with her," Sarah whispered in Suu's ear. "Remember, the dork's not the only one with magic."
Suu nodded. "Alright, we'll take you to him. I was thinking of letting him go when we got home anyway."
"I gotta see this," Kitsune said, following the group as they went up to Suu's room.
"I wonder how he's fared since we left," Suu said as they made their way to the television. On it they saw a figure in blue moving about a snowy landscape. "Well, he still around. That's a good sign."
"You mean that's him?!" Shinobu asked. She looked on as Sean got involved in a gunfight with another figure in black. Needless to say, this got Shinobu concerned. "Suu, why did you do this?"
"I'll explain later," Suu said, intent on watching the battle unfold. A few intense moments went by and the black player fell to the ground. "Well, it looks like he's improved somewhat."
"Well, considering how long he's been in there, I should hope so," Sarahcommented. A rocket then came out of nowhere and hit Sean square in the chest. "Maybe I spoke too soon."
"SEAN!" Shinobu screamed upon seeing Sean's motionless body on the screen.
Suu looked back to find Shinobu heading for the door. "Kitsune, get her."
Without missing a beat, Kitsune had Shinobu by the arm just as she was about to leave the room. "Let go of me!" Shinobu said, trying to get free.
"Shinobu, we've been over this," Kitsune said. "He's in a video game; he's going to be fine, I'm sure of it."
"Hey, Sean," Suu said, now wearing a headset. "Enjoying yourself?"
"Suu, get me the hell out of here!" Sean yelled. "I've died more times than I can count, and getting shot from behind is really getting old!"
"I guess you've had enough for one day," Suu said. "Sarah, will you do the honors?"
"Whatever," Sarah said. "It's too easy to beat him that way anyway." She pressed a few buttons and Sean reappeared in the chair he was sitting in before all this began.
"Hey, Suu," Ross said. "Thanks for giving us a great plaything to mess around with."
"No problem," Suu said. "It's just something I've been tinkering around with."
"Yeah, and I'd appreciate it if you'd tinker with someone besides me!" Sean said, standing up.
"Why did you agree to it if you knew what was going to happen?" Shinobu asked.
"Simple: I didn't. They just dragged me in here and sent me in there."
"You're not hurt or anything, are you? If you are, then I'll--"
"I'm fine, Shinobu, calm down. Let's just get out of here before something else happens to me."
Sean, Shinobu and Kitsune went down into the living room to find Motoko there, obviously waiting for something. "Hey, Motoko," Sean said. "What's up?"
"For my birthday, Jimmy is taking me for a day out on the town. He just called and is on his way."
"Oh," Sean said, not exactly eager to see him.
A few minutes went by and Jimmy entered the front door. "Hey, Motoko," he said. He quickly noticed that Sean was glaring daggers at him from the other end of the room. "I didn't expect to see you here."
"I can't imagine why," Sean muttered.
"Um, did I miss something?" Motoko asked.
"Long story," Jimmy said. "Shall we go?"
"Hold on," Keitaro said, just entering the room. "May I ask you a favor?"
"Shoot."
"It's just that I caught wind of yours and Motoko's plans and I was wondering if Naru and I may accompany you."
"Motoko?" Jimmy asked, turning the question to the birthday girl.
"I don't see why not," Motoko said.
"Thank you," Keitaro said. "I hope this will lift Naru's spirits. We won't be long."
"Naru has been a bit listless lately, hasn't she?" Sean asked.
About a half hour later, Naru and Keitaro came down the stairs. Everyone present could tell that Naru wasn't all too excited about going out, but nobody said anything about it and the foursome headed out to see the sights. It wouldn't be until nightfall when they began heading for home--and that's when their trip hit some turbulence.
--- 9:10 PM
"This has been just wonderful," Motoko said as they walked out of a movie theater. "Thank you for planning all this."
"No sweat," Jimmy said.
Keitaro paid no mind to anything that they said, as his attention was focused more on Naru. Much to his dismay, this little outing did little to help Naru's condition. She could barely even stand on her own two feet anymore. "Are you sure you're alright?" he asked.
"Yes," Naru said. "How many time do I have to tell you?"
"Well, we meet again," A voice said from nearby.
"Oh no," Keitaro thought. "Of all times, why now?"
"And who are you?" Jimmy asked.
"His name is Kentaro," Keitaro said. "He's been more or less stalking Naru ever since we met."
"My dear Naru," Kentaro said, completely ignoring Keitaro's comment. "What has befallen you?"
"Get away from me," Naru muttered, glaring at him.
"But Naru, I'm only worried about your well-being."
"You heard the lady," Jimmy said. "Back off."
"And just who might you be?"
"Someone who can kick your ass faster than you can blink."
"Jimmy, don't waste your time on him," Naru said. "I can handle this myself."
"You're in no condition to fight," Motoko said. "Maybe you should let us handle this."
"I said I can do it myself." All of a sudden, Naru's fist hit Kentaro's face, sending him flying. Keitaro took a step forward, raising his hand to shield his eyes (which looked silly considering the time of day).
"Hey, he only went a couple blocks this time," he said in an effort to bring a lively spark out of Naru. "Maybe you're starting to lose your touch." A couple moments went by without a response. "Naru?" Keitaro turned around to find Naru laying on the ground, face down; she wasn't moving. "NARU?!"
End of Chapter LIV
And the suspence begins yet again. What has sucked the life out of Naru and what can be done to get her back to normal before it's too late? See you then! Please R&R!