Ren's eyes flickered open and he sat up with a rather overdramatic groan. He blinked a few times, rubbed his eyes and looked over at the clock. It was twelve-thirty in the afternoon. That was what he got for staying up for twenty-four hours straight with only a few small naps, he thought to himself. He slid out of bed and slowly made his way downstairs where his father was reading the newspaper on the couch.
"Huh, the dead can rise, what do you know?" Shinji remarked, looking over his shoulder to see Ren. His son ignored the comment and made his way over to one of the armchairs and slumped down into it. "Don't get too comfortable there kiddo, I need you to head down to the shops for me soon."
"What do you need?" Ren asked, looking over at his father curiously.
"Nothing too exciting, just some groceries. I'm just too lazy to go myself."
"The adults in my life are such great role models."
"I am a great role model, I'm awesome."
Ren shook his head and quickly returned to his room to get changed before coming back down again. He grabbed some money and a shopping list off his father and left the house. He slipped his hands into the pockets of his jacket, pulling the garment a bit tighter around himself. He let out a breath and watched it swirl around in front of him.
"I guess the winter settings for ALO will kick in soon too," he said to himself, his voice muffled by the jacket that was over his mouth. He broke into a steady jog as he went to the supermarket, keeping his body warm in the cold weather.
As he stepped into the supermarket, Ren's body was flooded with the warmth of the building's heaters and he let out a small sigh of relief. "First on the list, milk," he said to himself, unzipping the top of his jacket so that his mouth was revealed. He wandered through the store, placing the items he needed into a basket and heading for the check-out. Ren paid for his shopping and headed back outside into the cold with it.
He turned towards home and took two steps before he stopped. He had heard something nearby, the sound of someone screaming. Ren had never been the type to really stand up and protect people in danger in the real world, but still he ran towards the source of the scream. He stopped just short of an alleyway around the corner and peered into it.
He could see a girl probably around his own age being cornered by three older boys wearing kendo uniforms and carrying their shinai on their shoulders. Ren's eyes narrowed in on the three bigger guys, wondering what he could do. If this was ALO he'd just run in with his sword and shield and kick their asses no sweat. But this was the real world, if he did something stupid he could be seriously injured. These thoughts swirled in his head as he quietly lowered his shopping bags to the ground and took the lid of the trashcan next to him, holding it like a shield.
"Hey, leave her alone!" Ren called out, stepping into the alley. He instantly regretted it when the three taller boys armed with their shinai turned around. His tense arm held his makeshift shield as the three came towards him.
"Who the hell are you supposed to be? Her boyfriend?" the tallest of the three asked with a smirk. "Think you're playing her little knight with that thing?" he asked, pointing his shinai at the bin lid.
"The three of you should just back off and quit bothering her," Ren said. He really needed to shut up and stop acting tough. One of the other boys raised an eyebrow, stepping towards Ren.
"What are you gonna do about it kid? Run home and tell your mummy?" he said with a laugh. The three boys cracked their knuckles and took another step closer to Ren. He was really wishing he had Amethyst Edge right about now, heck, any sword would help.
"How about I drop you on your ass and embarrass you in front of your friends here," Ren remarked, a plan formulating in his mind.
"Ha, that I'd like to see!"
"Why don't you try me then? I'm stronger than I look."
"Your funeral twerp."
"Daisuke, don't kill him," the tallest boy said.
"Don't worry Goro, I won't beat him all the way to death," Daisuke said with a cruel smile. He took a quick step forward and raised his shinai above his head, swinging it down towards Ren.
"Here it comes," Ren whispered, taking a deep breath and letting instincts kick in. His right leg slid back and tensed as his left arm came up, his makeshift shield taking the powerful swing of his opponent. He felt the metal lid vibrate on his arm and the force of the impact sent a small amount of pain up towards his shoulder. "This is easier in ALO," he remarked, taking advantage of his opponent's surprise and stepping closer, pushing the shinai away with his shield.
"Cocky little punk!" Daisuke growled, kicking his foot out towards Ren's shin, making the smaller boy step back a few paces. He was forced back further as Daisuke rained heavy blows down on him, each barely being blocked by the bin lid shield that gradually became more and more dented. Ren counted as he was battered by a series of overhead blows.
"One, two, three… hyaa!" Ren yelled out, stepping forward again and pushing Daisuke's shinai up high. This time he didn't stop his movement, his right leg coming up. There was a loud squeal of agony when Ren's shin connected with Daisuke's groin. The bigger boy dropped to the ground and Ren quickly snatched up his shinai, knowing what would happen next.
"You little bastard!" one of the other two yelled out as they came towards him. Ren's confidence rose as he spun the shinai around in his hand, lowering his shield to a more natural level and taking up a battle stance.
"You're fighting D Hunter Chrome now, you don't stand a chance!" Ren called out, blocking a blow from Goro's friend and striking him hard in the ribs with Daisuke's shinai.
"Ichirou, watch it! This kid is better than he looks," Goro warned his friend, taking up a defensive stance. Ichirou however chose not to listen. He moved in again, ignoring the blow to his ribs and delivering a strong horizontal blow from the left. Ren lowered his shield just in time, blocking the attack. He spun on his heel and cracked his sword down on Ichirou's head. His opponent yelled out in pain and fell back, holding his head.
Ren turned to Goro and the two watched each other, both with serious expressions. Ren could see the girl huddled in the corner, not daring to run past the fight to escape. Ren tried his best to give her a small smile just before Goro charged in. Ren yelped in surprise at the sudden attack, not bringing the bin lid up in time and taking the blow on the left shoulder. He winced and cried out, staggering back.
"I'm gonna kick your ass for hurting my buddies pipsqueak, you're not getting out of here alive," Goro growled, attacking again. This time Ren was able to block it but the impact sent pain straight to his injured shoulder. He stumbled back and almost lost his footing as Goro swung again. This time Ren opted to use his own shinai to block. It took all his effort to hold off the attack of the much stronger boy.
Ren gritted his teeth and decided to charge in, it wall all or nothing now. He rammed his shield into Goro's stomach, winding the bigger boy as his own shoulder was hurt from the impact. The attack was followed up by repeated strikes to his opponent's leg, battering the boy's calf with his shinai over and over again. When Goro fell to one knee, Ren discarded his equipment and motioned towards the girl.
"Run for it!" he yelled out. The girl did as she was told without hesitation, running past Ren and out of the alley. Ren ran after her, leaving the three older boys in the alleyway. Ren grabbed his shopping bags as he left the alley and followed the girl. The two ran for a good three minutes before stopping on a footpath near a riverbank.
They walked down to the water and Ren fell on his back on the grass, his shoulder aching. "Are you okay?" the girl asked, looking down at the panting boy.
"Yeah I'm fine, you?" Ren asked, turning his head to her. The girl nodded and sat down.
"Thank you for saving me."
"I wish I could say it was nothing, but getting hit hurts a lot more in this world." Ren chuckled weakly as he spoke, looking up at the overcast sky.
"In this world?"
"Oh uh… I'm used to doing all my fighting in ALO. That stands for…"
"ALfheim Online."
"You know it?"
"I play it," the girl said with a small smile. "I guess that's why you fought so well." Ren sat up and looked at the girl. "I take it you use a sword and shield in there?" she asked with a small laugh.
"Yeah, turns out I fail epically using them out here though," Ren said with a weak smile.
"Aww you weren't that bad. You looked pretty heroic to me."
"Thanks." Ren blushed a little at the compliment, turning his head away.
"I'm Megumi. Megumi Junko," the girl said, holding out her hand. Ren turned back to her and held out his own hand, shaking hers lightly. He took a few moments to take in her appearance. Megumi had short, black hair, cut in a bob and a pair of kind, blue eyes. She was a little shorter than himself and was thinner.
"I'm Ren Hikari," Ren said with a smile.
"Well Ren, I thank you again for saving me from those thugs," Megumi said as she rose to her feet. She took a piece of paper and a pen from the pocket of her trackpants and quickly wrote something down, handing it to Ren. "That's my email address and ALO name, I hope we can meet in there!" she said with a warm smile before turning and walking away.
Ren to got to his feet and began walking home, making sure to stay well away from the supermarket. As he walked he glance down at the name written on the paper. Muko. Ren repeated the name to himself several times as he walked home.