Chapter 7 is up after like a million years.. im soooo sorry

Disclaimer: Not mine, its theirs..

Natsuki revved up her Ducati wanting to reach the event faster. As she was getting closer to the venue, she was getting more nervous. Not will only she be meeting her guild mates in person but she will be meeting Reito. If her heart was a little calm during the meeting, it sure did beat a lot faster as the building came into view. She found a parking spot and as soon as she was sure that everything is secured, she tucked her helmet under her arm before whipping her cell phone out of her pocket to send Mai a message. She stood outside the enormous building, staring at it. It's more like a dome kind of building where events like this are usually held. Somewhere inside that building is Reito and she wasn't sure if she was ready, but looking at the people going in and out the building carrying game memorabilia's, not to mention the large RF Online tarpaulin hanging outside is a reminder that today is indeed the Grand EB. Pushing all the thoughts from her mind, she walked towards the building.

As soon as she entered the building, she was assaulted with the blaring sound system and a sea of people. She felt her phone vibrated and saw that Mai had replied. She said that they have found the guild's booth and it was by the vending machine somewhere at the back.

"So you mean you three have known each other since you were kids?" Youko asked as the four of them sat inside the booth while waiting for the other members to show up.

"Well you could say that but to be more specific, Natsuki and I know each other since we were in diapers while Midori is our beloved baby sitter." Mai added as she tried to contain her giggle. It was true though, Mai and Natsuki's parents have been friends especially both other mothers who were childhood friends as well. Midori huffed but made no move on correcting the orange-head. In the span of their conversation, they have known that Nao, unlike what initially thought was indeed a year younger than her. Youko also shared that she's 27 years old and works as a scientist.

"So you own the shop where they play?" Youko asked Midori.

Midori adjusted on her seat before answering. Talking to Youko somehow made her uneasy, not the bad type of uneasiness, just the uneasiness you feel when the person you are talking to have the capacity to render you speechless and the way Youko handles herself tells her that she's not just all beauty. In short, she's really intimidating (intimidating to Midori that is).

"Well if you put it that way yes, but those two help me with the bills and stuff and they have their own computer in the shop. Besides the shop is just a hobby, I'm really an archaeology professor at one of the universities here."

Their conversations were pretty much shallow, trying to get to know each other. But as far as it goes, they hit it off.

"So where do you plan on goi-"Mai's question was cut off when she noticed three people eyeing their booth. It seems that the three of them were too shy to ask or wasn't sure if they found the booth they were looking for. Seeing this, she stood up and motioned Nao to follow her. As they approached the three, the girl with dark gray hair who's wearing glasses gave her a bashful smile while the girl with brown hair and the guy who has a nasty scar on his face just smiled shyly.

Mai gave a warm smile of her own while Nao being Nao gave them her traditional smirk.

"Can we help you with something?" she asked.

The megane girl who was still smiling offered a handshake while she introduced herself. "I am Chie Harada and I believe I'm a member of this guild". Mai's smile widened as she took the offered hand.

"Welcome! Were so glad you came. I'm Mai Tokiha and this is Nao Yuuki". Nao just raised her hand. "The two ladies over there are Midori and Youko." She said as she pointed at the two ladies engrossed with each other.

"Nice to meet you too! We've been walking around trying to find this booth for a couple of minutes now, we almost thought that there wasn't even one. There are tons of people here, this event is pretty bigger than I have expected and –"

"Ahem.." Chie abruptly stopped as soon as she heard the sound.

"Oh God I'm so sorry, where are my manners" She pulled the two person with her and introduced them. "This is a friend of ours, Takeda and this is my girlfriend Aoi" motioning to the two. Aoi offered a handshake which Mai and Nao took appreciatively while Takeda settled with a nod. Then it dawned on Nao. "Wait, Chie and Aoi? Dont tell me you are AoiChie?"

Chie gave her a big smile and a peace sign. "Yep! Thats us!"

"Holy crap! It's me BnycOrBkild!"

A flash of recognition crossed both their faces before giving the red head a very eager and excited high five. "Oh my God! The clean up crew has finally met!" Mai's sweat dropped. She knew about them and how the guild came up with the name for them. BnycOrBkild, AoiChie, NinjaToad (another guildmate of theirs) and AsthmaNothing (which sounded more like ask me nothing, is Mai's younger brother Takumi who is also a part of their guild) are levelling buddies and always volunteers to "clear out" everything during CW and even on raids. Clear out, meaning killing everything that is in the path. With three killer type characters and one healer, they usually are on the frontlines during the Chip War.

"Have you asked Nin (referring to NinjaToad) if shes coming? AN told me that he's going to catch up later since he has summer school." Nao added clearly ecstatic on meeting her online friends.

"Yeah she said she's coming a little late, like AN, she has summer school as well. "

"Takumi will be here in an hour, his class ended a few minutes ago" Mai interjected upon hearing the conversation.

The three gave her a questioning look; well Chie more like wiggled her eyebrows. "He's my younger brother" Mai explained.

"Ahhhhh"

"Oh and that's KendoBoy" Chie added referring to the quiet boy.

"Wow, he looks exactly like I have imagined" Nao said, after she gave the boy a quick once over.

"Exactly like what?"

"An idiot"

"NAO!"

Reito, Haruka and Yukino stepped out of their car as they arrived at the venue. They have let Natsuki go on first when the three of them stopped at a local mall to get changed into a more comfortable outfit, since they knew that walking around in their formal attire wearing heels and leather shoes would be a pain. They have opted to change into khaki pants, cotton shirts and a pair of trainers.

"This is so exciting!" Yukino squealed as they neared the entrance of the said building. Her excitement only grew as she saw what was inside. Even Reito couldn't help but smile while Haruka had her mouth open while taking all of her surroundings. Like Mai and Midori, the small brunette spotted the ever famous MAU-kun and immediately bounded towards it.

"Haruka, can you take a picture of me and Mau-kun please." She pleaded as Reito rummaged through their bag for the camera.

"But you're not even a belatto" her blond companion playfully argued.

"But this MAU is one of the game's most important symbols, together with the isis and the siege kit"

Seeing that she cannot argue with that, she agreed and took the camera from a smirking Reito.

"Okay, say RAID!"

"RAIDDDD!" Yukino said as she posed beside the MAU replica.

"Can you take mine too?"

Haruka eyebrows twitched not quite believing the request. "Are you serious?"

"I am very serious" Reito playfully answered as he, too, took his place beside the popular thing and posed with a peace sign. "So, I believe I have to say RAID?"

"Whatever suits you"

"Hey it's Natsuki!"

Natsuki was walking around trying to find the said vending machine when she spotted Reito and his companions having his picture taken. Seeing this made her giggle. The brunette whom she remembered to be Yukino spotted her and waved at her to come. Her two other companions have seen her too and smiled.

"So what are your plans? Are you going to look for your friends and guildmates?" Natsuki asked as soon as she was at earshot, though she can't help but let out a snort upon seeing Reito posing for the camera.

"He only looks serious but he really enjoys this kind of things" Yukino explained as she stood beside the blunette. "We were on our way to find our guildmate..but I kinda got sidetracked" the shy bespectacled explained as she motioned towards the now famous Mau replica.

Natsuki smiled. "Well I would be too since that replica is nicely done.

"So have you found your friends yet?"

Natsuki scratched the back of her neck, "I was looking for them but with a lot of booths here, it's gonna take a while".

"I'm sure you'll find them eventually"

"I hope so"

Haruka and Reito approached the two as the young man finally decided that he had enough pictures taken.

"That Mau sure do looks like the real thing if there was indeed a real mau." Reito said as he gave Natsuki a nod in greeting.

"It sure does"

The chatter between the four was cut off when Reito's cellphone rang. He excused himself from the group to answer the call while the three continued with their conversation.

"Reito influenced me to play this game. I'm not a mmorpg fan but the game really amazes me especially the graphics. And the character I play is really badass which is really cool. I get to be Yukino's knight in sewing armor." Haruka announced. She's rather proud that she gets to do something for Yukino even inside the mmorpg world.

"Sewing?" Natsuki scratched her head as she tried to figure out what Haruka just said. I didn't know knights sew armors.

Yukino must have seen the confusion in Natsuki's face and explained what her friend really meant. "Ah what she means was a knight in shining armor, Natsuki-san" before she leaned in and whispered "she actually just started 2 days ago so basically she's a newbie but you know… she really likes it and I don't want to ruin her happiness".

Natsuki nodded in understanding. She checked her watch and was surprised that it was already nearing one in the afternoon. If she didn't want to be butchered by Mai and Midori for being late, she better start moving and find the damn vending machine.

"I'm really sorry Yukino and Haruka, but if I were to find our booth fast, I really need to start moving. I don't really want to be at the end of Mai's fury for being late, please tell Reito-san too." Natsuki apologized.

The two understood Natsuki. They themselves needed to find their own booth and with the amount of people who attended the event, it's gonna take long. So they said their goodbyes for now with the promise of meeting again once they found their respective booths.

OUTSIDE FUUKA TRADE CENTER- PARKING AREA

A black Maybach Landaulet parked perfectly at a vacant spot beside a ducati Diavel who seemed to be screaming DON'T TOUCH ME as it glittered under the sun. The driver, wearing a crisp black coat and tie, got out and opened the back door of the said car and help usher a gorgeous brunette out. Luscious light brown locks frame a face that would put goddesses to shame smiled as she thank her driver.

Shizuru Fujino, the embodiment of a Japanese ojou-sama with her eternal elegance, grace and beauty stood in front of Fuuka Trade Center. She stared at the building before her. This is the first time she's going to be attending an event like this. She is usually a reserved person and doesn't want to mingle unless it is needed in her work. But today, with a gentle push from her cousin, a lot of teasing from her father, a sly comment about finally getting a girlfriend from her mother and a REALLY big reason waiting for her inside the dome, she decided to come. Yup, no pressure at all!

Her crimson eyes took the surrounding around her before it landed on the motorcycle parked beside her car, (still looking like it was screaming don't touch me). 'I bet she would be the type to be driving something like this' Shizuru thought and chuckled to herself, her heart beating wildly inside her chest. She walked towards the bike and ran her hands over it (deliberately ignoring the "DON'T'-TOUCH-ME-unless-you-are-someone-with-midnight-blue-hair-girl-with-a-really-really-really-hot-temper" vibe it was emitting), running her hands on the custom made NK engraving on the gas tank. She sighed. To be honest, she was a little nervous. She looked down at her chosen outfit for the event, a white button up, black pants and a pair of peep toe heels. Her heart sunk a bit. Wearing heels might not have been a pretty good idea. But she can't back out now, Reito and her friends are in there. SHE is in there waiting for her, so she took a deep breath before releasing it slowly.

"Suguru-san, Naruka-san" she called out to her bodyguards, her Kyoto accented angelic voice drawing the attention of the people near them. "Let's go".

"GAHHHH!" Natsuki growled at no one in particular, annoyed or more like pissed off as she has yet to find the God damn vending machine. She's been walking around the place for like 30 minutes but she still can't find it. And with the increasing crowd, she can't determine where the back or front is. Knowing that throwing a tantrum and standing idly won't solve her little dilemma, so she continued on. She thinks she must have lost a couple of pounds just from walking around.

She decided that the best way to find what she was looking for is by going near the stage as it is normally placed near the front. As she approached her destination, a group of people seemed to be huddled around something or someone. But knowing Natsuki, she couldn't care less. Even if the President of the United States arrived, she wouldn't even give as much as a blink in his direction. So she just ignored them and pushed pass them.

Shizuru never thought that she would have to thank her father so much for insisting on bringing a bodyguard with her. She didn't understand why the people around them tried to take a sneak peak of her but it was really becoming a bother. Her bodyguards were doing a good job at keeping them at bay but she really didn't want to be ogled at.

"Excuse me….." came a husky voice. Shizuru perked up upon hearing it.

"Coming through…" There it goes again.

"Could you move a bit please I need to pass through….."

Shizuru tried looking for the source of the voice, looking left and right.

"WTF MAN! DID YOU JUST TOUCH MY BUTT?"

'Oh my, such a colourful language'

From the back of the crowd, Shizuru eyes landed on a beautiful young girl with emerald green eyes kicking a young man angrily before stomping off towards the stage sporting a cute pout. Her heartbeat grew strong upon seeing her. It's her! She was about to run after the girl when her phone rang. The moment she took her phone from her shoulder bag and look up, the girl was gone.

"We will meet later my love" she whispered before going back to her phone and looked at the message. It was from Reito, he was worried. After typing her reply, she and her bodyguards continued on their way to find the Corite guild booth.

Natsuki climbed the side of the stage and looked for the Coca Cola vending machine that was right beside a Pepsi booth. She looked left and right…. high and low…. Squinting her eyes a bit, annnnnnnnddd… AH! THERE! she saw a small booth partially hidden behind a large flag of the Corite guild booth. "TEA BE WITH YOU" she read out loud. "What kind of guild name is that?" she huffed before jumping down the stage and running towards the Hime sentai booth grinning like an idiot.

"So she finished her undergrad at Harvard-"

"MAI!"

The orange-head turned and faced the one who called her.

"NATSUKI!"

"FINALLY! IM HERE DAMN IT MAI!" Natsuki screamed.

Yohko stared, amused at how the two interact.

"Yeah finally, do you know what time it is?"

Natsuki peeked at her watch. "It's 3pm…. Geh! I've been running around for 2 hours?"

Mai nodded. "Not only that but it's also time for the announcements"

"What announcements?" Natsuki asked looking at everyone around her. Now that she took a good look of everyone…..She didn't know them, well except for Takumi (he arrived an hour ago). Suddenly feeling shy, she slowly made her way towards Mai and Midori. "Uhmm hi?"

Seeing her friend's reaction, Mai introduced her friend to the others.

"Everyone this is Natsuki" Mai said as she motioned towards her friend. "I won't say who she is in game but you will know later".

This earned a few groans mostly from Nao and Chie.

"That is Nao" Mai pointed at the red head siting by the corner. "Her character is BnycOrBkild"

Seeing Nao giving Natsuki a nod she continued.

"The one with glasses is Chie and the girl wearing the yellow green blouse is her girlfriend Aoi"

"Ah. AoiChie!" Natsuki interrupted.

Chie gave her a thumbs-up and a wide smile which Natsuki gladly returned.

"The girl sitting beside Takumi is Akira"

Natsuki eyes shot up at the introduction. "Let me guess."

"Okay"

"NinjaToad!"

The girl beside Takumi looked at her with mild shock. "How did you know?"

"Well you see-"

"Ahhhh Natsuki-neechan!" Takumi sprung from his seat and covered Natsuki's mouth before she could say anymore. "S…she sometimes see me playing with you guys so she must have assumed that it was you"

Natsuki pried his hands of her and smirked. "Ho ho ho"

"And this is-" Mai continued with her introductions but Midori interrupted her.

"This is Yohko Sagisawa, a brilliant doctor with a face of an angel aka MyNeedleIsSharper"

Yohko smiled. "I'm a scientist though"

"So anyways as I was saying there's going to be a small event today. It's about introducing the players behind the famous characters in game."

"Like a coming out sort of thing?"

"Yeah."

"So what does that have to do with me?"

"You'll see"

"I really hate this part of you Mai" the blunette huffed. She really wanted to introduce herself thought.

"Uhmm excuse me" A young man called out from the corner.

"Yes Takeda?"

"…"

"Ah. I forgot to introduce him"

"Y.. yeah"

In her most uninterested voice, Mai introduced Takeda.

"He is Takeda, he plays KendoBoy"

Natsuki's eyes must have a natural reaction against Takeda as it twitches the moment Mai mentioned who he was.

"Uhmm h..hi Natsuki, you r..really look p…pretty in p…person" the poor boy stammered. Somehow, the blunette unknowingly has the young man smitten.

Natsuki gave the poor boy a pointed look. "He looks exactly looks like what I imagined him to be"

"Like what" everyone asked.

"An idiot"

"NATSUKI!"

Meanwhile, inside a bigger booth of the TEA BE WITH YOU guild which was sporting a much bigger flag with the guild's name written on it, Shizuru stood in front of every member, introducing herself. To say that she got everyone's attention is a severe understatement. Even Reito, Haruka and Yukino can only shake their heads at how their guild mates are acting in front of her.

"I'm pretty sure that's drool Yukino!" Haruka whispered. Shizuru arrived at the booth just in time when they were to introduce their selves to everyone that is why she was now standing in front of everyone politely answering everyone's questions.

"Are you single Shizuru-san?" asked one brave girl whom Shizuru can't seem to remember the name. The said girl looked expectantly at her and she swore she saw hearts sparkling in it just now.

She gave her a polite smile, like one usually given to her father's business partners. The girl and everyone seemed to swoon at this. "I am actually… but"

"But?"

"I'm not available"

"EVERYONE! GOOD AFTERNOON! HOW IS EVERYONE DOING? ARE YOU GUYS HAVING FUN?"

Sokimizu yelled on his microphone. He was going to be the host for the 3pm event. A large crowd gathered around the stage to watch. Everyone was excited for it. They really wanted to know who are behind the famous characters of RF Online and today they are in for a really good treat. The crowd cheered and answered in chorus.

"YES!"

Seeing that he's got everyone's attention, he continued on. "As you all know, the Game Masters of RF Online had a special treat for all of us!" The crowd went wild and as the time goes on, it got bigger.

As this was going on, the said Game Masters are on their way to pick up the players.

The sound of someone clearing their throat stopped Natsuki and the gang from their lively conversation, outside their booth stood a young woman with jet black hair.

"Can we help you?" Aoi asked as she was the one nearest.

The girl gave everyone a polite smile before introducing herself. "Good afternoon, I am Nina Wang from the Level Up development team. I was tasked to pick you up for the event that is being held today. I think you and my superiors have already discussed the details on the phone?" She looked directly at Midori and Mai as she was speaking.

"Ahh yes we do remember." The two stood up motioning the others to follow. This only left Natsuki confused.

"What do you mean by picking us up?"

At the TEA BE WITH YOU guild, Erstin Ho stood by the booth's entrance waiting for Reito and Shizuru to join her. She was relatively new in the Gaming industry but thanks to her friend Nina who's already a veteran, she was getting the hang of it. She was slightly surprised when she met Reito and Shizuru at first. They didn't look like the hard core gaming type of people considering how refined they acted and how excruciatingly good looking they both are.

"It feels more like I'm fetching a Hollywood actor rather than a gamer" Erstin murmured to herself.

"SO ARE YOU GUYS READY TO MEET THE TOP 5 PLAYERS OF RF ONLINE?" Sokimizu yelled. The audience were already pumped up and excited. They cheered nonstop and from the looks of it, they were enjoying themselves.

"YES!"

The host smiled at the response before continuing. "AS WE SPEAK NOW, THE TOP 5 ARE NOW BACKSTAGE BEING BRIEFED BY THE GAME MASTERS AND TO SORT OUT ANY PROBLEMS. THE RANKINGS WERE BASED ON YOUR VOTES AND IN GAME STATS."

Meanwhile at the backstage:

Good thing the "backstage" is actually a small room built behind the stage specifically for the said event. After the replies on the photo of Kiyohime in the forums reached 1000 pages, the game masters didn't want to take any chances. But looking at the group in from of them, they were glad they did all those extra precautions (like added security, railings around the stage and of course the ever sturdy room build just for the occasion). They were also pleased that Shizuru brought her own bodyguards.

Shizuru sat beside Reito calmly like she always does but is discreetly glancing at Natsuki's direction. Reito on the other hand is texting his younger sister about how he is currently sitting inside a room with his sister's "girlfriend". Midori is talking with Mai while the latter is deliberately ignoring the attempts of one blond guy with sideburns to talk to her. Natsuki surprisingly is quiet. She checks her cellphone every once in a while, waiting for her Reito to message her while she not so discreetly stares at Shizuru.

A while ago, Midori , Mai and Natsuki were the first ones to arrive at the backstage and sat down to wait for the others. After a few moments, the door to the room opened and two more people entered. To her great surprise, Reito was one of them. They greeted each other but her attention was quickly drawn to the brunette that followed him. She had never seen anyone more beautiful in her entire life. The girl was literally the embodiment of a goddess and the way she walks… it's more like floating on air! She knew who the girl was. She had seen her picture in the forums and boy that picture didn't do her beauty any justice at all. The girl didn't really look like a gamer type but she does exude confidence and has this aura that tells you she's got more than just good looks. REALLY GOOD LOOKS.

"Natsuki, did your loverboy text you already? I think it's a good idea if we go on a triple date with Mai since we all wanted to watch a movie anyway." Midori suggested, interrupting Natsuki from her blatant staring. Natsuki was startled; she almost dropped her phone while a deep blush has decided to take residence on her face.

"N..not yet." She stammered trying to get her bearings back. Yes, she's been excited at the thought of meeting her Reito and wanted nothing more than it to be finished so they could meet up. The last text she received from him was that he was on his way.

Shizuru seemed to take the situation as an opportunity to get to know everyone in the room, especially the blue haired beauty. She shifted a bit in her seat, trying to look more graceful while sitting down (as if her gracefulness is not enough). And in her most seductive and sexy voice she could muster, she greeted everyone while directly looking at Natsuki.

"Hello"

Okay, so she's not just beautiful, but her voice could literally knock you off your feet.

done.. no beta.. I hope you can understand my english.. I know it sucks but I'm trying. It's not my native language so it is a bit hard for me to express what I really wanted to say.