Chapter 4

~Things That Keep You Dreaming~

"Haseo, it's all you!"

Alice sidestepped the charging dire boar and made ample use of her acrobatics skill, somersaulting away and making room for Haseo to switch. A figure clad in blue cloth armor with a large two-handed talwar rushed in diagonally at the mob, the curved blade glowing a violent red as a sword skill activated. The dire boar paused while processing the switch in its target, giving the crucial second necessary for the swordsman to rush in and slash twice in a blinding left then right slice. The freeze frame at the end of the swordsman's skill might as well not have existed as two daggers flew down in a spiraling flash to drill into the dire boar's skull. Haseo whipped around as the damage to a weak spot stunned the mob and with a loud yell and a two-handed cleave split the monster in half before it shattered into blue polygons and shattered glass.

"Yeah! Suck it punk!"

Haseo grinned at the enthusiasm of his female compatriot and flourished his talwar before sheathing it. Looking over he was impressed at how far Alice had come in such a short amount of time. Then again, with her actually being a gamer and him…well, this was really the first he'd done something like this seriously. He never got too into video games, never had the time before trying to keep up with studies and with working part time jobs to help his single parent make ends meet. Regardless it should have been the other way around but Alice for some reason saw his strength right off the bat and had faith in him, it was harder for him to return the thoughts. Haseo always had trust issues but is finding them swiftly relieved by the presence of the dagger wielding girl before him, he still can't commit himself to an attack that he knows will leave him defenseless afterwards but he is taking riskier offensive positions. It's a work in progress he thought to himself, maybe in due time.

"Hey Haseo, I think we've cleared the area already! Our teamwork is getting a lot better huh?"

The dark grey cloth armor Alice wore reminded Haseo of an old modified kunoichi outfit like in those corny ninja movies. With her long black hair out into a ponytail and the twin daggers she used she could pull it off if she wanted to as well. He'd found himself asking her to say lines form movies he had seen but so far hadn't had any luck…she was apparently all too aware of how she looked.

"Teamwork? Nah, you've just got these weak points down to a science, it's quick work mobbing up these mobs when each time you hit them it seems like they get stunned. I'm just the clean up crew, don't mind me any. Gah! Alice…Alice, you promised not in the field, Alice!"

In true ninja fashion Alice had closed on him and wrapped her arms around his neck in familiar fashion before he could even finish his sentence.

"But I heard the pouting in your voice and couldn't help but get all mushy inside and well, I just couldn't fight the urge to hug you and make it all better!"

Haseo's face flushed red as a tomato, he felt like he would never get used to how forward she was…it was such a stark contrast to the day he met her he almost wondered if she was the same girl sometimes.

"OK, all better. Thank you, can you…you know?"

Letting loose an exaggerated sigh Alice swung down from Haseo and landed beside him, still smiling and giggling at the effect she had on the boy.

"I swear Haseo, your so skittish. If you don't change your attitude soon you might scare away all of the pretty girls that are after you."

"Oh yeah, since I'm such a big suitor and all. Did I mention the two girls I have waiting back at the inn? They're to clean up the place, take out the trash, and get dinner started by the time we come home."

Laughing at his own joke and noticing a very agitated Alice, Haseo turned his scan ability on to check for repops and fell to the ground.

"It's hard to believe you're the same girl who almost caused a scene on the day I met her because she thought I was making advances on her. Or, oh no! What have you done with Alice? Imposter!"

Pointing his finger at the girl cinematically he was clearly trying to get her to play the part of another movie scene he'd thought of, from her expression he could tell she was amused but was not, in fact, going to play along.

"I'm shy, you know?"

Alice had taken a sober look as she glanced off into the distance and Haseo just grinned relieved and concerned a the same time for a moment of peace finally.

"You really think so? Have you been present for the hours of amusement I've provided you at my expense, or should I fault your evil twin?"

Alice giggled but her eyes never changed. There was something on her mind.

"Really, I am. I always have been."

Haseo absorbed her silhouette sitting next to him against the mid day sun and sat quietly, he wanted to say something but he knew somehow that she wasn't done yet. It was one of the things with her, he didn't know why but he felt he knew her more intimately than he'd ever known anyone. Of course, it was just a feeling but the more time they spent together the truer it seemed to be.

I had seven siblings; I was the fifth of eight. When your parents have to deal with that much drama, I guess you just learn to behave if you didn't want to get yelled at. The two oldest had moved out of the house and were living on their own already, one of them getting married soon. I guess I'm going to miss it now…the third, my older sister Miya, she was getting ready to move away to go to a better university than in our hometown. My older brother Hideki, he was the troublemaker. He was always causing grief for my parents and Touki was always right there with him, looking up to him like a role model. She admired him day in and day out; saw him as a rebel, a freedom fighter since our parents were rather strict. The other two were the angels, the up and coming prides of our house. They were smart, popular, well liked by the adults…I know it's not right to be jealous but even they overshadowed me somewhat. I never stood out much in school either; my other siblings were the beauties and the brains. I was always just, exactly what I was supposed to be, doing exactly what I was supposed to do; nothing more, nothing less."

Haseo looked over at the girl beside him and then back towards the distant field, his eyes loosing luster as he lost himself in thought before smiling.

"You know, it may be corny but my mother always used to have the best advice. She had her favorites, of course, stuff she used to say all the time. One of them, her favorites, I mean; if you can't get what you love, you learn to love the things you've got. If you can't be what you want, you learn to be the things your not. If you can't get what you need, you learn to need the things that keep you dreaming."

Haseo looked down as he said this, blushing slightly at having shared something of his past. But also at making his first serious attempt at cheering someone up, he would normally use wit or jokes or some form of sardonic humor. He smiled as he realized just how comfortable he was getting with Alice, and felt a bit of relief knowing that she was there for him as well. Alice grinned and Haseo noted the change in her eyes this time, whatever she was trying to say, whatever she had on her chest, she would let it go in due time. World knows why she wanted him to be the one she tells but, it could always be worse. He shuddered as he thought of going through this death trap alone.

"Oh swoon!"

Alice laughed and fell backwards with a hand held dramatically over her face, landing square in Haseo's lap.

"Alice."

"Can't blame a girl after you go and say something as sweet as that can you?"

"I, you…I mean with…gah! That was totally a set up. I am so blaming you."

Alice giggled but made no indication of moving, instead settling down and forming a makeshift pillow out of her arms and closing her eyes.

"Blame away."

Alice yawned and Haseo grew, if it were possible, even redder than before. After calming down a bit Haseo noticed that he had no way to tell if she were really asleep or not. SOA didn't simulate the chest rising or lowering for breathing and definitely didn't simulate breathing itself except for duration in the event of drowning. He wondered vaguely if it simulated REM sleep or if there was even a way to tell if someone was really asleep or just waiting. It was a somewhat unnerving thought.

"Alice, you awake?"

Haseo shifted slightly, a little uncomfortable with the situation as a million scenarios ran through his mind, the foremost was getting caught by Klein. Haseo would never live this moment down and knowing Klein he would feign heartbreak and ask to be taught the ways. Grinning to himself he couldn't help but think about how Klein always seemed to aim to make others out to look better than himself. It was probably the only reason he was still stuck saying that cheesy 24 and single line. It was funny and made him look just as honest as he really was but it wasn't something you said to introduce yourself to someone you were really interested in…was it? Alice shifted in her sleep, moving unconsciously closer to the nearest source of heat. Haseo gulped as she lay almost flush, curled up against his body. He could feel the warmth of her body and on the gaps in his armor he could feel the mixture of her smooth skin and the texture of her armor. Her skin touching his made his cheeks feel hot and his blood rush, he'd never been this intimate with any girl in his life and his first time, were they cuddling? Could this be considered cuddling? Great, his first time cuddling with a girl was in a video game…there's one for the grand kids. A beep on his heads up display from the scan ability he'd activated earlier grabbed Haseo's attention, however. To their right, a repop.

"Alice, looks like we got some action already; to our right about a quarter mile."

Haseo went to grab her shoulder to shake her but Alice wasw coming to her feet before he had even finished speaking. That fox…she wasn't asleep at all, and she had picked up the scan ability for her new skill slot that last level up! It was the only explanation, she was going to hear about this later.

"I'll flank, Haseo you grab agro!"

"Already on it, what do you take me for?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Haseo only had enough time to show on his face how confused he felt as she took off into the forest with a teasing grin, veering a hard right as they ran the quarter mile to where they would confront their next enemy. Clearing the underbrush Haseo measured on his display the distance left and leaped high over a bush, drawing his talwar mid-air as he landed with a cleaving crash through the hide of the mob which cried in pain. He pulled his curved blade form the ground and jumped backwards, looking up at the enemy they were facing. It was a dire wolf mob. Infamous as the most dangerous enemy on the first floor aside from the mini boss and boss themselves. It was a larger version of the basic wolf mob, standing on all fours at just under five feet tall and with enough health and power to prove it's worth as a level eight monster. That wasn't the thing that made it so deadly though…they fought in packs.

"Oh, shit!"

Four more beeps appeared on his display as Haseo was surrounded by more of the deadly enemy that stood before him. Typical, ambush foiled by a rare spawn. Five total, one at half health from the heavy opening hit. No matter how you cut it, they were in for a hell of a fight.

"Come on Alice, give me an opening…"

From behind Haseo and to his right he heard the sequel of a dire wolf and he sprinted in that direction, clearing the bush in time to see a grey blur shoot back into the trees using an overly abused acrobatics skill and a stunned wolf. He would have to be careful not to use any sword skills, he couldn't afford the lag the freeze frame at the end cost him. Looping his talwar over his head and pulling it hard along his left side in an arc he sliced clean through the entire broadside of the creature and kept moving past it, letting the momentum of his swing carry him clear of the second dire wolf that bounded towards him. Haseo rolled under razor claws that swiped at his back and turned in another wide swing, this time turning the blade to its blunt side and catching the lunging wolf in mid-air. Hefting the curved blade around in a circle he launched the furry improvised missile at its intended target and struck another wolf, damaging both in the impact and causing them to roll in a heap on the ground.

That would buy some seconds at least, affording a look on his display he noticed the positions of the mobs were fading from view as his scan wore off. Haseo made a mental note to definitely level it up and took off towards the first wolf he had hit. Hearing the sound of shattered glass Haseo turned to look at the heap of wolves he had left and grinned as he saw Alice dancing around the one confused monster that was left as she retracted both of her daggers out of a spray of blue polygons. Hearing a snarl form in front of him Haseo turned in time to meet a thick paw full of claws head fist, bounding head over hells Haseo was thrown sideways like a rag doll, landing hard against a tree. Glancing up Haseo noted his health floating just barely above red and gritted his teeth, stupid! Noticing the dire wolf that had just hit him and two other full health mobs pin him against the tree with their presence he prayed Alice would be alright soloing that last wolf mob. No doubt she saw his health fall in her party menu and he hoped she would stay focused. Haseo winced as he saw her health drop a little…now is not the time to be jinxing shit he yelled at himself!

Reaching into his bag with his odd hand Haseo counted out three throwing knives and brought them to bear. Sweeping his arm in an arc encasing the mobs, each of the three daggers lanced towards their targets. The far left mob fell away from the dagger and dodged it completely, the middle tried to do the same but took the hit in it's flank instead, causing it to stumble slightly. That was all he needed, not even bothering to check how the third dagger fared Haseo sprinted to the weak side of the middle dire wolf and brought his curved sword to bear in a looping swing, and in one practiced motion he cleaved through the enemy and flung himself forward and clear of the retaliatory strike that never came. Blue polygons shot into the air and the sound of shattered glass caused a grin as wicked and curved as his blade to come to Haseo's face.

From his right side Haseo heard the sound of more shattered glass and glanced over to see Alice mounted on the back of a dire wolf and both arms wrapped around it's neck with daggers plunged deep into it's shoulder and chest before exploding in a shower of blue particles. Turning to his left he took off at a run but held back enough for Alice to catch up to him. Looking at each other with a smile they nodded to each other and began intertwining their sprint towards the last remaining dire wolf. The dire wolf seemed to freeze, trying to acquire one target and then suddenly another. The benefit of fighting an enemy that hadn't been hit yet is that it had no agro, it could be 'trained', and Haseo found himself glad that the dagger had missed its mark.

Closing in on their prey Haseo prepped his curved sword and felt the pull of the sword skill he was readying, holding it off until the last second like they'd done dozens of times before. Haseo noticed Alice shooting forward and crossing one last time, leaving a trail of red behind her to mark both her sword skill and his signal, letting go of his sword skill Haseo crossed behind Alice at inhuman speed and with his talwar carved through the left side of the monster opposing him. Looking over and grinning he saw Alice with a similar look on her face, twin daggers punching their own way in and through the unfortunate beast. Freezing next to each other at the end of their sword skills the sound of shattered glass shot into existence and a cone of blue polygons washed over the two warriors, carried by the momentum of the onslaught.

"Yeah! Take that losers! Rare spawn my butt, that was nothing!"

Haseo couldn't help but feel both amused and ashamed to be associated with the celebrating girl beside him, wielding her daggers carelessly as she taunted the downed enemies…or rather, the lack thereof.

"Speak for yourself; I got slapped something fierce by one of them. I think I pissed it off a little at the start."

"Yeah, sounds like something you would do. Not a dog person?"

"Haha, very funny. It's starting to get late, you ready to head back before dark? I heard the monsters get more powerful once the sun sets."

Alice shimmied her hands under Haseo's arm and latched on, a scared expression on her face with the curl of a smile barely held in check.

"Oh my! Won't you protect me on the way back then my brave hero?"

"Alice…I can't even protect myself like this and you know that. Alice, Alice…oh, come on Alice!"

His face a bright red Haseo began to walk forward through the forest back to the City of Beginners, or more accurately he was being drug the whole way by a grinning and giggling kunoichi. Disappearing into the underbrush only his screams remained…

"Alice!"

So, a little background on Alice this time. More to come as the relationships she has with people deepens and she begins to confide in people. Also, first real go at a fight scene so let me know how i did. Seemed like a lot of detail work so if it's too much it can be cut back to make the scenes more streamlined. So please review and hope you enjoyed! Next chapter is being worked on as i write this and another character from canon is going to make an appearance!