Chapter 3
Ryou woke up to the sound of the alarm clock going off.He sleepily turned to turn off the alarm and takelook at the time,then rose up and sat still at the edge of the bed, his mind still blurry from sleep. Slowly, things came to him again. That girl, Angel…and, something about The World? He glanced over at his computer. Just how was all this supposed to work, anyway? From the way Angel described this 'project', this 'experiment,' it sounded like a time machine or something. Anyway, why was any of this of any importance to him? Things were back to normal, and everyone was happy! But still…
Ryou looked deeper into the darkness of the empty screen. Maybe I do want to know what happened…I don't know why, but I just do…puzzles have to be solved eventually, or left unfinished, right? And I guess I'll never be truly satisfied until I can free these thoughts from my mind. Now trying to focus on something else, Ryou stood up and began getting ready for another day of school. Later that evening, he would have to report to his part-time job at the grocery store; money didn't grow on trees, right?
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Ryou, much to his amazement, managed to stay focused in his classes until lunch. As soon as he sat down at his table, an older boy quietly snuck up behind him and pounced on his prey, headlocking him in a light, friendly position. Ryou, able to breath, knew instantly who 'attacked' him. "Orino?!"
"Hello, Misaki!" Orino greeted Ryou. He let go of his grip and plotted himself next to Ryou at the table.
"What are you doing here?" Ryou asked, still refusing to admit that he had been quite shaken by Orino's assault.
"I wanted to meet the pretty new girl," Orino replied simply, as he scanned the lunchline for anyone that matched the description of the girl he had heard about from his peers. "You did tell her about me, right?"
"Yeah."
"So what did she say?"
Ryou shrugged. "Well, she said that it was nice of you that you're coming my way often and that I should go with you to town for lunch more often." When he caught a glare from Orino to himself, he could feel himself flushing. "Well, that's what she said!" he snapped.
"I'll consider that, I guess," Orino replied, grinning. "So, where is Miss Angel? Is she here yet?"
"She was late to lunch yesterday. She might be late again." Ryou looked around once more and saw Angel coming from the cafeteria entrance. "There she is."
Orino turned to where Ryou was looking at and, smiling ear to ear,started waving over at her. "HEY! OVER HERE!" Several students looked over at Ryou and Orino and stared at them; Ryou could feel himself turning as red as an apple again, and saw himself wanting to punch Orino just to shut him up.
Angel came to themand sat across from Ryou once again. "Hello," she greeted both boys politely.
"Hell-oh," Orino purred. Ryou quickly nudged him, giving him the don't-get-any-ideas look.
"You must be Orino-san," Angel said warmly. "Ryou-san told me about you."
"Well, uh," Ryou could hear Orino's attempt to be suave, "It's nice for the kid to have a little company now and then, you know? Without me, he'd be cold…lonely…depressed…in an ice cube of misery and dirty red socks."
Angel stifled a giggle, and when Ryou glanced at her, she felt herself turning a little pink. "I'm sorry…I thought it was funny."
"You hear that, Ryou-boy?" Orino asked, putting his hands behind his head and feet on the table in a relaxed position. "The young lady things I'm funny." He winked at her, making Angel giggle even more.
Ryou's eyes began darting back and forth between Angel and Orino, curiously. Weird…they just met for two seconds,and already they like each other.
As the minutes dragged on, Orino and Angel were soon caught up in one conversation after another, with Ryou sitting silently out of them. He never thought that quiet Angel could be so talkative, and he had no idea that Orino knew, or even cared, of things such as opera, poetry, barbershop quartets, the list went on…and if that wasn't all, Ryou wasn't sure what would make the young man shut up! As if anything could...
As he sat quietly, he couldn't help but feel a little fear of when he would go home. He had no idea what to expect, and Angel herself said that she would not stick around him 24/7 to see to his safety and 'educational' trips. He would be alone most of the time…and with a stranger…a stranger that he only knew as himself.
Angel seemed to notice the thoughtfulness in Ryou's eyes, as she asked, "Ryou? Is something the matter?"
Ryou nodded, his eyes placed on the table. "Could I ask you something…privately? About you-know-what?"
Angel nodded. "Of course." She stood up from her chair. "Could you excuse us, Orino-san? We want to discuss quietly on a project of ours."
Orino made suspicious glances back and forth between her and Ryou. "Are you two…dating?" he asked darkly.
Angel laughed. "No, of course not! We just met yesterday, after all. The project I'm talking about is a computer project."
Orino's frown turned into an ecstatic grin. "Well, then, hey, sure I don't mind!" He shooed at Ryou. "Go on! Move!"
Ryou quickly stood up and began heading towards the cafeteria bathrooms, with Angel following him at first, when she shyly turned back once more to Orino. "By the way, you can call me Tenshi-chan, if you want to."
"Tensh-MAN! You ARE smart!" Orino exclaimed, noting that Angel wanted him to call her by the Japanese variant of her name.
"Well…I don't think I'm that smart," Angel replied playfully. "Anyone could have figured it out…" With that, she turned back to follow Ryou. "So, what do you want to talk with me about?"
"It'll be today, won't it? As soon as I get home?"
"Yes, the sooner we begin, the better. Just don't forget anything I told you."
"Was the original World different from the one I'm used to?" Ryou asked, biting his lip.
"In several ways, yes," Angel answered. "Ryou…are you scared?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Ryou muttered, still biting his lip.
"You seem nervous, and I can understand why. If I placed myself in your shoes, you'd have no idea who'd you meet, no idea what to do or say. It's like being a stranger on another planet, and you have nowhere to go. But you don't have to be afraid, you know. It's like when you're playing with your friends in The World; just take your time, relax, and have fun. Nothing is going to happen." Ryou began laughing quietly. Angel cocked her head, confused. "Are you…okay?"
"Well, it's just that…I can't help shake the feeling that something is going to happen. I don't think it'll be inside the game itself, but…" Ryou felt sweat trickle down his cheek. "I guess I am a little scared…it's really stupid, actually…"
"It's not stupid; anyone placed in a situation in which you don't know the exact conditions would feel nervous. Don't worry; I'll meet up with you in the game at the Delta Server. And we'll try helping one another as gamers for a while,and I'll be there to help you on your feet, okay?" Ryou nodded. "Good. Now, when you begin, Haseo's character data will be saved in The World, so you can just go on ahead without having to create just another character. You got that?"
"Yeah, I remember. And my account in The World R:2?"
Angel opened her mouth to speak when the bell suddenly rang. Shaking her head, she responded, "You'll see for yourself. My character's name is Tenshi, a Blademaster. Meet me there in Mac Anu."
"Did you eat lunch?" Ryou asked suddenly, remembering that he didn't see Angel eat once when she was with Orino and himself.
"I had a quick snack before I came to the cafeteria, and I wasn't very hungry anyways." She began heading out, calling to Ryou one last time, "I'll see you in The World, Haseo! Later!" With that, she ran out of the doors to her next class, following the other students. Ryou knew that he too had to go on, and wait, until he could begin his next journey…
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School ended quickly for Ryou, and he found himself stilldreading to go home, still afraid of what might happen where he to face his past. Even so, Ryou was alsocurious: Who would he see? What was he like then? Here was a chance to be freed from his doubts that he had bore all those years and find out what happened that caused pain to him for all those months, and even afterwards into years! Isn't that what he secretly wanted deep down?
Once he reached his locker, Ryou quickly unpacked and headed off with his completed homework, a notepad, and his backpack. Orino would not be there to greet him that day; he had an away game that afternoon and wouldn't return until that evening. The walk home was a quiet one, with the birds chirping here and there. For his part, Ryou remained silent, debating and asking himself the same questions over and over again until it was becoming too trivial for him to even think.
As soon as he reached home, he turned on his computer and waited for it to boot. He knew that the disk labeled 'PROTOTYPE' would be inside and installed; one less thing to worry about. I can't help but thinking…why is it called 'PROTOTYPE'? Is this branch Angel told me about up to something?
The computer was loaded now, and Ryou could see a new icon on the screen; a picture similar to but not like the icon for The World R:2. Ryou quickly clicked on the second version of the World with hope; maybe he still had some time left before Angel would have to freeze his account? Quickly, he typed in his user information:
Player ID: Haseo
Password: ------
Ryou clicked on 'ok' on the screen, his heart fluttering. A window appeared on the screen. ERROR: Username invalid. Ryou sighed, and he felt his heart sink. "Well, she did it, just like she said she would," Ryou muttered. Enough of this…I need to stop procrastinating just because of some fear. He next checked his email, and was pleased when he saw he received a response from Atoli; she appeared to understand, and that she hoped that he would enjoy time working on 'his project' and that it came out successful. She told him that she would email other members of his party, and that he didn't have to worry about anything. Ryou sighed again, in relief this time. Well, at least that was something he was able to cover.
Ryou slowly, almost reluctantly, clicked on the new icon on the screen. As soon as he saw the sign-in window, he immediately typed in his player information once again. This time his sign-in was successful, and as he saw a larger screen loading up, he took that as a signal to place the virtual headset on. Within moments, he was ready. As he began the dive into this new (yet old) world, Ryou finally smiled. "Let's do it."
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Haseo plunged deeper…and deeper…as he expected, it was so much like The World that he was used to, but this somehow seemed…older. More outdated, in a way, but it didn't seem to him that it had completely lost its value yet. Haseo stood now in the Delta server of Mac Anu. He immediately saw that he wasn't alone; many players, real or not, stood by chattering with one another. It was a lively place, similar to the Mac Anu he had come to known. The only difference was that this Mac Anu was smaller, and seemed more old fashioned…more peaceful, even. If all this isn't the real game, it's probably the best imitation I'll ever get from this, Haseo thought. Now, where's Tenshi…?
Haseo stood still by one of the bridges, gazing down at the clean, blue canals. If I wander around, I betI'llget lost, Haseo reasoned. I'll just wait a bit here, and hopefully, she'll find me.
Seconds past…then minutes. Haseo couldn't help but become impatient; he had a job that he needed to go to today, and tardiness was absolutely NO excuse to Mr. Sakamoto, his employer. No excuse at all…
"Haseo?" Haseo felt his heartleap in surprise as he turned around to face a young woman, seeming to be in her late teens. She had light gold hair and deep blue eyes. Her armor was a mix between light violets and yellows, with a pink shawl hanging over the player's right arm, with two golden bracelets hung up in each arm. Haseo could also see a long, sleeksword hanging behind her for her weapon.
"…Tenshi?"
The young woman smiled. "That's correct, Haseo," she said happily.
"So, let's get to the point, because I don't have a lot of time right now," Haseo quickly began.
"Oh? You're going somewhere?"
"Yeah, work. I start at 6:30 PM, and it's 5:30 PM right now; I'll only have about thirty minutes to stay on, and you know how time can fly by real quickly."
Tenshi nodded. "Of course. I wouldn't want for you to get into trouble just because of a game."
"Well, from the way you talk, you seem to take this more seriously than most people I've met," Haseo said.
Tenshi giggled, embarrassed. "I do seem a bit too serious sometimes, don't I?"
"I understand that this could be a breakthrough for your father's team and myself, but--" Haseo stopped when Tenshi held up her hand.
"Right, Haseo, let's get moving. We should be heading out now."
"To meet…him?"
"That's right."
"I suppose so…" Haseo said, trying not to show any sign of nervousness. "Are we meeting him here or at another server?"
"I arranged it so that we could all meet at Dun Loireag."
"Dun Loireag?"
"The root town for the Theta server here," Tenshi explained. "You know."
Haseo chuckled. "I would," he replied sarcastically. "I don't remember this World, remember?" Tenshi nodded."Okay, let's go then." With that, he and Tenshi warped out, both now connecting to the Theta sever. As he warped in, he was able to take in the extraordinary sight the game now took him to.
"It almost looks like a sky city, doesn't it?" Tenshi asked moments after she warped in herself.
"Yeah, it seems peaceful here, too," Haseo agreed. "So…just how long are we supposed to wait?"
"I'd say a few minutes, at least," Tenshi replied thoughtfully.
"I'm not so sure about this anymore…"
"Don't worry, you don't have to stay on for long. Just long enough for introductions."
Haseo fell silent as he gazed out across the landscape. He could spot several players here and there chatting amongst one another, just like in Mac Anu, although here there seemed to be fewer players. They did a pretty good job, developing all this again, Haseo complemented Tenshi's father's team silently. I wonder if all they plan to do something more with this than just letting several people at a time play for recovering pieces of the past? That'd be a sad waste of good progress.
Minutes passed by, and Haseo quickly took note of the time; he couldn't stay on much longer. Not unless he wanted a scolding from his boss…
His thoughts were soon put to rest when he heard Tenshi give a surprised little gasp. He quickly turned to the side to see two impressive looking blades placed on each side of Tenshi's neck, a tall figure behind her. "Ta-da!" a voice rang out cheerfully.
Haseo immediately drew out his own blades, ready to attack, only to be stopped by a wary look from Tenshi herself. The surprised look from her melted into a happy, cheerful one.
"I see you got my message," she told the stranger. "I'm glad you actually managed to show up."
The stranger, a green-haired Twin Blade, as Haseo could see now, chuckled. "You're lucky I was around when you called me and that you did it right after my…errands…were finished," the stranger answered back in an even cheerier voice, tainted with hints of mischief."Did you call me for a match? Or are we going to a dungeon?" he asked eagerly.
Tenshi shook her head. "No, not this time." She then pointed at Haseo. "I wanted you to meet him, actually."
The Twin Blade peeked up from behind Tenshi's shoulder, and glanced over at Haseo. "Him?"
"Right. Haseo, you can put your blades away."
Haseo did put his blades away, but he still looked at the strange Twin Blade with suspicion and doubt. The Twin Blade himself drew his blades down from Tenshi's neck and put them away as well. Tenshi now stood between both players, gesturing back from Haseo to the Twin Blade. "Haseo, this is Sora, the player I told you about." Haseo stood unblinking at Sora, now studying him thoroughly for the first time. If what Angel said was true…wasn't this his player character at one point or another, in the past? It certainly didn't seem like it; this player seemed to have a personality similar to Orino's...at least that's what Haseo was reminded of. And Haseo...well, he certainly never acted like this at all when he was playing with others on the second version of The World. This is DEFINITELY getting topsy-turvy, Haseo thought. Too weird...
"And Sora, this is Haseo," Tenshi finished.
Sora was staring evenly at Haseo, with some mild interest in his eyes. "You're the player she wants me to meet?" He grinned in a way which Haseo thought was only the smile of an idiot. And Haseo hated idiots... "Well, at least your character doesn't look lame."
"...'Lame'?"
Tenshi giggled, and both characters glared at her, confused. "Sorry…I just can't wait to see how you two will be spending time together."
"Maybe we can cut each other up a bit?" Sora suggested innocently, holding out a blade.
"No!" Haseo responded back forcefully. What in the world is he thinking?!
"Why not?" Sora pouted.
"…Some other time, maybe," Haseo replied in a quieter tone. "I have to get ready for work now."
"You work?!" Sora asked in surprise.
"Duh."
"How old are you?"
"17."
"I should have thought so. You're old, then."
"You tend to think that at one point in your lifeor another," Haseo muttered, rolling his eyes. "I'm just as young as the next person, you know!" I shouldn't respond so childishly, Haseo thought. That's just so stupid.
"You're really leaving so soon?" Tenshi asked, and was answered by a nod from Haseo. "In that case, I'll give you my Member's Address."
"And I suppose I'll have to give mine to Sora?" Haseo sighed.
"That would be nice," Tenshi answered. In other words, yes.
Haseo sighed as he sent his Member's Address to Sora, and received Tenshi's. "Well, I gotta go now." He looked back at Sora, who was grinning at him. I wonder what he's thinking…Haseo wondered. He doesn't look like he'd do anything good, really, whether he's me or not. "Well, Sora, I guess we'll see each other again soon." He turned to Tenshi. "Don't worry, I'll email him. Not that I have any choice…" With that, Haseo logged out.
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Ryou took off his headset once he began shutting down his computer. Well, Angel, I hope you're happy, he thought glumly. Because now I have to spend all of my free time with an idiot. Seriously; cutting people up for enjoyment? From what I can tell, Sora loves fighting to a fault…
Ryou stood up and prepared to get ready for work. But…maybe I'm wrong. They say first impressions are important, but maybe I've got the wrong idea about him…myself. I justdon't remember ever being that violent, though. Was I? I only got to meet him for about three minutes after all. I could be getting to the wrong conclusion… Ryou smiled. Well, I do have to agree with Sora; Haseo doesn't look lame. Wait, what am I THINKING now?!
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Once he was ready, he headed out to the grocery store where he was employed. His job for today was to work at the cashier; good, none of that cleaning up or stocking junk. Mr. Sakamoto would always reprimand Ryou for not greeting costumers with greetings and sometimes not using honorifics. Still, compared to when he was first employed, he was beginning to mellow out, and wasstarting to be friendlier with customers…to some extent, anyway. Besides, he hated getting chewed at in public by people with higher authority. Especially by Mr. Sakamoto.
By now, three customers had come and gone, and no reprimands yet. Good. Ryou sighed; business was rather slow today, and he couldn't help but being bored. His boredom melted away when he saw a young woman come by him; he soon began scanning the groceries, the numbers of each item adding up. He was continuing to scan when he noticed the woman staring at him. "Yes…ma'am?" Ryou quickly added the 'ma'am' part, as he remembered that Mr. Sakamoto would be watching him closely…
"Your eyes…they seem familiar, somehow," the young woman said thoughtfully.
"Familiar?" Ryou asked, confused.
"Yes…I can't put my tongue on it, though. Have we met somewhere before?"
"I, uh, don't remember, ma'am," Ryou stammered. "At least, I don't think we have…"
"Oh…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you with trivial questions."
"It's all right." Once he finished scanning the last item, the total added up, and the young woman swiftly took out the necessary amount of money she owed. "Thank you, ma'am."
"You're welcome, Ryou," the young woman said, smiling.
"Huh?" The young woman pointed at his nametag. "Oh, right." Ryou helped bag the items and gave them to the young woman. "There you go, ma'am. Have a nice day."
"Thank you, Ryou-kun," The young woman said gratefully. She held out her hand. "My name is An Shoji, by the way."
Ryou took the hand and shook it. "Ryou Misaki."
"Well, it was nice to meet you, Ryou-kun. Sorry, I just thought that I might have seen you before."
"Well, maybe we've passed by each other sometimes on the street or something," Ryou suggested. An nodded, took her bags, and left. Ryou kept his eyes on her until she left the store and was out of sight. She…she does seem familiar somehow. I don't know why I have this feeling, Ryou thought. But something inside me…wishes to see her again someday. I don't even know why.
Shoving the events of the day to the back of his mind, he continued his work. This was reality, after all, and he needed to function here as well, if he ever wished to truly live…that's how this world was. Once you were born in a world, you were forced to spend to live in that world for your entire life, until death...right?
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A/N: Well, there's another chapter that I'm putting up out of fear (Curse my lack of confidence...) Anyway, if I failed at grasping any of the characters...my apologies; more characters will appear as the chapters progress, and I plan on using character development...and some angst. :P Probably the longest chapter yet, and I hope it was at least okay. I'm so happy by the good feedback and advice this fanfic has so far; in fact, I'm shocked! 8O
I hope that as I get better, I'll get even more great comments and good criticism, I hope I hope. The introductionbetween Sora and Haseo was rather short, wasn't it? Well, I hope as I'm able to grasp more, I'll be writing them together more; as well as other SIGN characters. I just had no real idea how to get the two to meet with one another properly, and this was the only thing stuck in my mind.The real life sequence with Ryou and An will probably have more significance later on; it's all part of Angel's plan, and my plot. :)
Also, can you tell the chemistry for Angel and Orino...? They'd be very happy together one day. I wanted Orino to bea kind ofclass clown, and Angel seems to appear like a formal doll princess or such,'cause she's introverted and was brought up well. You know how it is sometimes; opposites attract, and it just so happens they have the sameinterests, just different personalities.XP
I've got several ideas I want to use, so I hope I'll be able to continue, and that the chapters don't get bad; I hope, with some luck, they'll get better. Thank you guys again for the support! Any friendly criticism/advice is appreciated!