After writing a seven-chapter arc and a two-chapter intro to a second one, I decided I'd try another short one. It's been a while since I did that. So, I just took this random little idea and did what I could with it. Hopefully it's at least slightly amusing.

"So what did you do today?"

Hitsugaya shrugged. "Nothing much. I tried out a game Inoue showed me last time we were here. It was extremely confusing."

Matsumoto raised an eyebrow, dropping her shopping bags and sitting on the couch. "Confusing? You, Toushirou, couldn't figure out a game?"

"It wasn't that," he was quick to assert. "I understood how the game worked easily enough, although it's more complex than I thought...it's the other people that confuse me."

"Other people?"

"Yes. This game is different from the ones Kurosaki has. It's played over that...internet thing. So when you play, you're in the game world with hundreds of other people, from all over."

"Really? That's interesting. So...what's confusing about these other people?"

Hitsugaya scrunched up his face, clearly still trying to understand. "I...don't know why, but apparently I annoyed one of them. I asked what I thought was a simple question, but...the person I asked just told me to..."

He frowned, grabbed a sheet of paper and wrote it down.

Matsumoto looked at the paper and frowned as well. "Wtf...L2P...n...are those zeroes?"

"Yes."

"What are they supposed to mean?"

"Apparently, these cretins have no idea how to spell, because I think the word is supposed to be 'newb.' Which is apparently, itself, a made-up contraction for 'newbie.' I can't even hazard a guess as to what the first part means."

"Uh...huh. N00b. Right. So what did you say?"

"I asked if he knew that zeroes weren't letters."

"Logically."

"He...lol-ed me."

"He...what?"

"I have no idea."

"Lol?"

"Yes."

"O...kaaay..."

"Someone else rofl-ed at me."

"Did...what?!"

Hitsugaya shrugged.

Matsumoto stared incredulously at her captain. "You're right. That is confusing."

Hitsugaya fully agreed.

And the next day, when he asked Ichigo – who was the shinigamis' chief instructor on the ways of the living world – what all of it meant, he just laughed.

Rukia, who was there as well, laughed with him.

She had no idea why.

Hitsugaya walked away more confused than ever, and decided the next time he played that game, he'd just keep his mouth shut.

He didn't want to chance being rofl-ed again.

Whatever the hell that meant.

Anybody reading this who partakes of online gaming will understand these references easily enough...and probably the rest of you will, too.

This came to me earlier today while I was playing WoW (World of Warcraft, to those who don't know), because yes, I'm one of the eight million some-odd addicts out there, although I consider myself more a casual player. I've never particularly understood my fellow players' fascination with the term "n00b," or with the ever-so popular proverb: "L2P" or "L2play" or "L2-" anything.

For the record, I hate it. All of it. But, that's the price I pay for liking a popular online game, I guess.

Speaking of which, to anyone who happens to play this game (considering how popular it is, I'd think at least a couple of you do), my main characters are Sythius, a level 66 Night Elf Druid on the Bronzebeard server, and Neothain, a level 27 Blood Elf warlock on the Antonidas server.

Y'know...just in case somebody cares.

Anyway, sorry for the delay. Finals, you understand. Summer's starting, though, so I'll have more time. 'Til next time, all.