OSPREY…SWOOOOSH
UO: Hey guys time to start again.
Uryu: I assume you have a good reason for skipping us for updating.
UO: Yes. I wanted to get a chapter of my Fairy Tail story the 2nd Magnolia in.
Orihime: So cool that you're doing a story on your country's Civil War.
UO: Thank you. Alright where is everyone.
Chad: Tatsuki is on her way, Andrew is eating lunch. Ichigo had to save the world.
UO: Again…will those quincies ever give up. Hold on.
(UO leaves. Tatsuki and Andrew walk in.)
Tatsuki: Uh where's the boss?
(Shouts and explosions are heard. Then yelling which increases in volume.)
UO: WHAT PART OF STAY OUT OF THAT FIGHT DON'T YOU GET? YOU HAVE A CONTRACT!
Tatsuki: Uh no we don't.
UO: (tic mark) Your lucky you're a girl I don't like to hit them. So instead help me lock Ichigo and Orihime in the utility closet.
Ichigo: Wait WHA- (The cast grins evilly and then ties him and a blushing Orihime together and they throw him into the closet.)
UO: Before you ask, he needs to get laid in the manga badly. Won't happen here unless the readers request it.
Tatsuki: So how long?
UO: (Looks at watch) well I need them so let's give it a couple of minutes.
(Five minutes later)
Alright let's let them out. (Opens closet door. Ichigo and Orihime are in a disheveled state. Ichigo has kiss marks and Orihime's shirt is partially undone.)
UO: (Closes eyes.) Damn who knew? Someone start the chapter
Chad: UnitedOsprey1991 does not own Bleach, the tracks, the various teams, the hypothetical future children. He only owns Andrew, Maria and Raoul. Jury is still deliberating on Rebecca as that might be Hetalia-Axis Powers. He also does not own Sword Art Online or Fairy Tail. They will have brief cameos in this chapter. UO: Thanks. You two (Points at red heads.) Get yourself situated. Where's Andrew?
(Retching is heard)
UO: Damn he is sick. Well that actually works in his favor this time. Start the chapter and you will see why. Also there are references to other anime. This is not a cross with those though I have future ideas with other anime. One is a compromise with my friend Spartan719 the other just came to me.
Normal: Dialogue
"Italics and quotations": Radio and track announcer and lyrics.
'Italics and apostrophe': Thoughts
Bold: Yelling
Bold and Italics: Yelling in head:
Name followed by a colon: In-race TV Announcer
Chapter 10: Games Cure All
April 5th two days after the race
Last chapter the fifth round of the World Grand Prix took place on the Suzuka circuit an hour from the Kurosaki mansion. Though their team did alright, the Kurosakis weren't a factor in the race. However the Souske team was on its way to a victory but on the last pit stop Renji Abarai managed to get out ahead of Gin Ichimaru and Tier Harribel and win the race for Kuchiki Industries driving the 64 that their former driver Kaien Shiba drove. It was a one two Kuchiki finish as Ikkaku Mandarame passed both Gin and Tier as well.
Now they were in the middle of an off week and the Kurosaki drivers were hoping to spend that time unwinding and doing some fun things. Well the break started off quite poorly for the drivers.
"BLEARGH" That was the sound of Andrew vomiting.
"ACHOOO!" And that was the sound of Ichigo sneezing.
Yes the Kurosaki drivers were sick with the flu. Considering the wet conditions they have been dealing it was a surprise they didn't get the whole crew sick. As it was, Andrew was the first one sick as he gotten the flu from someone at the party and it quickly spread to the rest of the drivers. Now Andrew had not gotten sick often according to him but when he got sick it was really bad. Ichigo was often too stubborn to get sick but this must have been really bad for him to get sick. Chad and Uryu had gotten sick as well so Dr. Unohana and Kotestu were brought in to help them. Now Orihime and Tatsuki were playing nursemaids for Ichigo and Andrew as Isshin was at work and the twins were at school.
Andrew was sitting by the toilet shuddering from the vomit. Tatsuki seeing his plight gave him a cold towel to bring down his fever.
"Damn…this always happens." Andrew said exhaustedly.
"What happens?" Tatsuki said wiping his sweat off.
"Whenever I get this sick I throw up like this. I think I can count the number of time I got this sick on my hands with fingers left."
Tatsuki grimaced at the images. "Yeah I guess it gets really bad for you if you don't get sick often."
Andrew nodded. "I think I make it worse because when I sniffle I suck up all the mucus and it gets into my lungs. Over time I guess it builds up in the stomach. Whoever gave me this flu, I want to give them five of these where—aaaACHOO" Tatsuki had the foresight to move out of the way and grab a tissue.
Andrew blew his nose and leaned back. "There was this game expo in Tokyo I wanted to go to this week. I got tickets for all of the guys but I don't think we can go. Guess we will see." Andrew said struggling to get up. Tatsuki caught him and helped him up. As they walked back to the room, Andrew was sounding delirious. "You know Tatsuki…I see this halo around you. It makes you look pretty."
Tatsuki blushed and it went atomic when he kept rambling. "You know there is always this fantasy of a guy where their girl is dressed as a sexy nurse. I wonder if I will get to see that?"
They made it too his bed and Tatsuki tucked him in. "Who knows maybe next time you're sick?" Tatsuki saying to her embarrassment.
Andrew grinned as he closed his eyes taking the bunny rabbit he got from Tatsuki. "You know if you can make it look good, Ichigo is a lucky man to have Orihime caring for him."
Tatsuki smiled shyly. "Yeah I guess you're right." She said. And without thinking she kissed him on the forehead.
"Get some rest. That fever will break soon." Tatsuki said walking out with a blush.
Same time Ichigo
Ichigo was sneezing and coughing as Orihime tried to give him his medicine.
"Stupid flu. Stupid Andrew getting us sick. I hate being sick."
Orihime looked at him with a small smile. "Well look at the bright side you don't have a normal job so you don't have to miss work.
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "You always have a positive spin on things. That's a great trait of yours." Ichigo said smiling.
Orihime giggled. "You know I wish I some sort of magical fairies that could reject all this icky sickness from you. Or you know I could reject all the injuries these drivers get."
Ichigo decided to humor the girl. "And how would you summon them."
Orihime grinned and stood up. "I'd go like this and then say 'I REJECT YOUR MALEDY' then they would come from my hairpins.
Ichigo started laughing and then started coughing because of the congestion.
Orihime squeaked. "Hold on Ichigo-kun. Dr. Unohana has some cough medicine." She said running out the door. Ichigo groaned at the thoughts of the icky medicine. A few minutes later Orihime came back in with the cough syrup.
"Orihime…can I not take this?" Ichigo said pleadingly.
Orihime giggled at his expression. "Sorry Ichigo doctor's orders." Orihime poured some of the syrup in the provided cup.
Ichigo grimaced as he slowly sipped the cup. He made a face of disgust at the taste as the medicine went to work.
"Damn that medicine is nasty." Ichigo said.
Orihime sympathized with him she didn't like getting sick either.
"It will be okay, Dr. Unohana said that because your such strong healthy guys you might be better in a day or two."
Ichigo smiled. "Thanks nurse Inoue."
Orihime blushed. "You might want to get some sleep. It will help you out Ichigo-kun."
Ichigo smiled. "Yeah, I guess I should. Thanks Orihime-chan." Ichigo said closing his eyes.
Orihime smiled and kissed his forehead. Ichigo mumbled something about his mother and was dead to the world.
Orihime left the room and ran into Tatsuki who was blushing.
"How is he?" Orihime asked referring to Andrew.
"Delirious but fine." Tatsuki said still blushing. "What about Ichigo?"
"I just gave him cough medicine and is sleeping." Orihime said smiling. Tatsuki though saw the look and had to smile.
"You like Ichigo don't you?" Tatsuki teased.
Orihime turned red but had the ammunition on Tatsuki. "I can guess the same for you and Andrew."
Tatsuki flushed red. "Is it that obvious?" She asked shyly.
Orihime giggled. "Don't worry. Your secret safe with me. Unless the little blue men decide to take over my mind."
Tatsuki rolled her eyes but grinned. "Come on we should leave them alone."
"Girls there you are." Dr. Unohana said scaring the two girls. She still had her smile. "It's so nice of you to help me today. These boys deserve some one as nice as you two." Retsu said getting the girls to blush.
"Now then if they keep up the medicine and rest regiment I think they will be back to normal tomorrow or at the worst Thursday. I see no reason for them to be cooped up here longer then they need to be though Uryu might need to care for a bit longer."
The two younger girls nodded. They looked around and noticed Isane missing, "Uh…Unohana-sensei where is Kotestu-sensei."
Retsu looked curiously around for her silver haired nurse. "Huh…good question. Probably finishing up with your large friend."
With said nurse
Isane sighed as she walked into the room Chad was in. From the surface Chad looked fine. The dark skin and somewhat messy hair made it hard to tell if he was feeling well but the coughing told the story. Sticking a thermometer in his mouth she waited for a minute and then too it out. Looking at it was reading 101. From her understanding he was the last one to get sick so he was in the middle of the worse of it.
Isane put her stuff away and watched Chad sleep.
"It's strange, it's almost like he's dead with him being so silent." Isane said as she pulled up a chair to watch her patient. She felt unconscious need to touch is chest. Feeling the muscles she wondered. 'He definitely works out. All of them work out which helps them fight off illness. What the heck did they feed him to get him so tall.' She wondered. She felt a hand on hers startling her. Isane looked at Chad whose eyes were open but barely visible underneath his hair.
"Kotestu-sensei." Chad groaned.
Isane shook her head. "Its Isane to you Chad. Anyway how are you feeling."
"Like a train wreck." Chad said.
"I bet big guy." Isane said giggling. "Your prognosis is good so take it easy."
Chad grunted. "Thank you. You're a good nurse."
Isane flustered which on her pale face looked wonderful to the big man. Before she could respond Dr. Unohana called out.
"Isane please save your flirting for some other time we need to head back to hospital."
Isane and Chad looked at each other as Isane started backing out of the room. "I will see you at Laguna Seca Chad. Feel better." Isane said quickly as she closed the door. Chad looked at the door and smiled as he fell asleep.
Isane ran quickly to where Retsu was. Retsu still had her smile. "Is Mr. Yasotora alright?"
Isane recovered. "Yes though he might be bedridden for another couple of days."
Retsu nodded. She turned to the younger girls. "I trust you to take care of them? Have them drink plenty of fluids and if they feel better then give them some solid food."
"You got it Dr. Unohana." Orihime smiled.
Retsu nodded. "If you don't need us we will be on our way. Come Isane." Retsu said as they left the clinic.
After they left Orihime turned to Tatsuki. "Let's go make them some lunch I could add Wasabi and red bean paste to help fight off the invaders."
Tatsuki shook her head. "I think you better let me handle the cooking." Tatsuki said laughing as they made their way to the kitchen.
Next day
Andrew groaned awake. He was feeling a whole lot better than he was yesterday. He was still stuffed up but he figured a few hours and a decongestion pill will help him. Getting out of bed he felt the stiffness of his body. He went to take a shower to hopefully clear all the gunk off his body. Returning to his room and getting dressed he turned on his T.V and looked through his game collection. It was a considerable amount considering it was his main source of entertainment for years. When asked if he would ever grow up from games by several people he responded, "Games are my escape from life and the grind. Telling me to give this up would be killing my character. That's why my dad let me play them whenever I could provided I did my work."
Andrew smiled as he picked out an RPG. He was in the middle of playing it when he came down with his flu. He had to apologize to his online crew.
Logging in, he scrolled around until he found his guild. He was considered one of the best online but without his crew he'd be nothing.
"Hey guys. Sorry but I came down with a flu." He said into the microphone.
One of the avatars which appeared to be an axe wielder and was the team's frontline support turned to him his game tag reading, Diamond rattler8. "Hey Andrew where the heck were you we had to pull out of a guild tournament because our ace was missing."
"Oh shut up Justin. Give me a break I haven't been feeling well, I am fine now. You should know I have a stressful job.
"Yeah racing is a stressful job" another man a knight said, his tag saying Mad Dog 48.
"Look I am ten hours ahead of most of you so I just woke up. Don't push it racing is hard enough with people trying to beat me. That goes for you too Pete."
"Oh don't be like that Andrew. We know you don't always have to time for us but it is nice to see you pay attention." Said a sweet sounding voice. It was coming from an elf like creature who had the garb of a medic. Her gamer tag read, Sweet Princess 120
Andrew smiled. This girl was probably one of the few friends he had in school Mary Haviland. If it wasn't for the fact that they considered each other siblings they would be going out. He ran into her online one day and the following day he gently confronted the girl. She swore him to secrecy not to say anything but it eventually came to light. To her surprise a lot of people respected her for that but online she stuck close to the six people she formed a connection with.
Michael Ares, Peter Larington, Jonathon Lazerus, and another friend, Emma Gonzalez all met up by chance in an RPG that came out seven years ago. When they met outside they were surprised who they were but they dealt with it. Andrew because of his traveling tried to play as much as he could but his friends understood. In those times normally, Michael took over and he helped spread the fact they had a stronger ace then they showed. Which Andrew justified every time."
"Thank you Mary. You know one of the girls traveling with us has a similar personality to you would get along great with you."
"Who, this Orihime girl." Said Jonathon whose avatar was a samurai. His tag read, Thunder Samurai 78.
"Yeah, she is definitely quirky but she has a great heart. Ichigo would be lucky to have her as a girlfriend.
"You mean he hasn't made a move?" Peter said with his avatar making an exaggerated movements.
"No but I have a feeling he will. Anyway Emma what's new?
A female hunter with the tag Elfen Lied 257 turned to Andrew. "Some new guild has come in and started harassing some of the lower ranked guilds in some of our areas. They are claiming because one of the so called Gods of Realm Quest can't be here to defend their territory they have a right to take over the lands. I got a report that four have fallen and at least six others are in jeopardy
Andrew growled. On this game, Realm Quest, he was known as one of the Gods. As the Ace of the number two guild in the game, their guild, American Blue Braves controlled many of the realms in the game. Of the 1000 or so on this expansion they had about 100 or so through alliances.. This new upstart guild must have taken a neutral realm near theirs and started spreading out. One of the ways to take a realm was to beat the guild that had controlling interest the other was to wait for a guild to disband and take over the territory they gave up. Meaning despite actually controlling them, their guild only controlled directly ten or eleven areas. With two hundred players in the guild and another 200 allied with them, they were spread out thinly over them but they made sure that they trained
"Who is attacking and where are they now?" Andrew said picking up his controller.
"Uh…here we go. Phantom Lord (Fairy Tail reference. Couple more anime references to come). Attacked the guild Cait Shelter and took their territory Cait Shelter has been forcibly broken its members have been taken in with other guilds as a result. In a fight at last check with Fairy Tail, they have so far taken over Magnolia forest and is proceeding on the Bay of Igneel before they take the town of Magnolia. If that town falls their territory will be taken and put them in direct confrontation with the Lucario Fist guild.
"Alert the five guilds in the area to proceed to the Cerulean Lake that is the outer edge of Lucario's territory. Have all the rest to prepare to move out at a moment's notice. Let's go make sure that they know the meaning of strength.
The others cheered as they teleported to a forested sector. They could see the smoke coming from the fighting over by Magnolia. They saw the other guilds they requested make appearance.
They saw a black haired staff wielder with a blue and black outfit and a red headed woman with yellow clothing and a blue trident walking up. Their tags read Aura Guard 012 and Tomboy mermaid 199.
"Ash, Misty how are things on this side of the Pacific." John asked.
"Not bad, me and Misty have been dating for a while we were on our way home when we got the call." The black haired man said.
"What is the situation?" Peter asked.
"We got the mayday call from Cait Shelter but could not arrive in time to stop the destruction we took in two members but we can confirm at least three avatars are gone."
Andrew knew what that meant, it meant they were destroyed and reset. An unofficial rule was that there were no intentional fatal blows by a human player outside of a sanctioned fight. In those fights they could fight to their hearts content and no ill will was had. If destroyed in the world like that, they had to reset their entire avatar from level one. Three of them meant they weren't playing by the rules at all.
"What's the status on Fairy Tail?" Andrew asked
"No fatalities but they are now holed up in Magnolia." Ash said.
Andrew growled then a prompt was heard on their menus. They all pulled up their menus to see a message from the game board.
"To all guilds,
For malicious destruction of eight guilds and taking over thirty territories forcibly, we contract the Brave Alliance, the Black Blades group and the Knights of Britannia to eliminate Phantom Lord. Reward is 1000000 credits to all participating players and the choice of ten territories to the alliances.
They widened their eyes. The game masters were allowing them to destroy a guild and were contracting two of the other big alliances. If they need the top three players then the situation was serious.
Just then two figures teleported in. One was black haired man dressed in all black holding twin swords. The second was a blue haired man with a red cape and carrying a gold sword. This was Kirito the Twin Blades and Ike the holy sword.
"Hello Kirito, Ike" Andrew saw walking up to him. "You got the message?" Both nodded. "So what is the plan?"
"I propose we asked the leaders of this guild to a three on three fight. If they want to prove they are the best what better way than the three Gods." Ike said.
Andrew looked at the other guilds gathered. "Send the message. The game masters have allowed us to legally destroy them. One chance at surrendering that's all they get. Hopefully we can destroy whoever is leading them before too many are lost."
They composed the message and they all marched to the Magnolia Town.
When they got there they saw devastation as the town was on fire. Many of the Phantom Lord members had stopped when their guild master had ordered them to end hostilities. Said guild ace tagged Lord Jose 224 looked over to see the three guilds walking up to.
"Well now just who I have been waiting to see. Ike the Holy Blade, Andrew the Speed King and Kirito of the Twin Blades. You want a fight you got. Iron Dragon, Sun God Let's go." Lord Jose said and their fight was on.
When the fight began it was easily apparent that while Phantom Lord had strong members they were no match for the three of the five gods of this game. When Jose attempted to bring in other members to fight their guilds backed them up and even Fairy Tail's three strongest, Titan Fairy, Drago8 and Iceman425 came in leading the surviving members of the guild (Cyber cookie to those who guess who these are). In the end Iron dragon surrendered and Sun God was deleted. Lord Jose was captured and brought over to the Fairy Tail guild for their sentencing. To everyone's surprise they let him go but the administrator's forcibly shut down the account as a result.
The money and the territories divided up they all separated to their own territories. Andrew held Kirito back. "Kirito thank you for helping out." Kirito smiled. "No problem. It wouldn't be nice if the number one player didn't protect its subjects."
Andrew grinned. "Number one but not for long. One of these days I am going to beat you. Three games, I have never been able to beat you. And in this one I never tried because I got busy."
Kirito smiled. "Well then I guess I should tell you the rumors I heard. It's a game called Sword Art Online but it won't be like previous games. I heard the developer Argus Games has a new way to play that will be unveiled at the Tokyo Game show in two days."
Andrew remembered the tickets he got. He was to demonstrate something at this expo and to bring a friend with him.
"I guess you got one too. I assume your bringing Asuna?"
Kirito blushed. "Yeah…who are you bringing. One of your racing buddies?"
Andrew replied. "I might be able to bring Ichigo Kurosaki."
Kirito smiled. "If two Grand Prix drivers give their support I think many people will want to sign up for the beta."
Andrew returned the smile. "We'll see. Say hi to Asuna. Guys can you clean up here?" He asked his guild. When they replied yes, Andrew proceeded to log out.
Andrew sighed as he shut the game off. He looked at the clock and whistled. It was eleven thirty. He got up and was about to leave when he was startled. He saw Ichigo sitting on the bed watching with a box of tissues.
"Damn you scared me. How long have you been there?"
"A couple of hours. I heard talking and I came to see what it was. You were so engrossed into the game you didn't notice."
Andrew sighed. "When I get engrossed like that all my focus is on that. I am surprised Kisuke is able to talk to me. Anyway break time for me then I might break out another game. You want to play something?"
Ichigo shrugged. "Sure but let's get some food first I need solid food not the soup we have been having the last couple of days."
Andrew nodded. "How are you feeling?"
Ichigo smiled but coughed slightly. "I'm fine. Just have some mucus left. Let's go."
After they ate lunch with the girls they were back on the game system this time with the girls and Ichigo in play. Hooking up a different system and selecting something called Mario Party 3. (I saw a let's play of this, it was funny had to include it.)
"Alright now let me go over the rules." Andrew said as he explained the rules as the title screen rolled. Setting up the game and choosing their characters they were about to start when Orihime walked out. As the game started she came back and went to Andrew's bed and picked up his bunny.
"I think our fluffy friends want to play to." Orihime said childlike wonder. Orihime had an orange fox, a red dragon and a white stuffed kitten along with the white rabbit.
"So the cute fox is Tatsuki's mine is the kitty, Ichigo is big ole mean dragon and Andrew is the sweet little bunny." Orihime said, which got the three to lose a notch in their maturity belts. With that aside they started to play. As the game went on with the laughter the frustration and the teasing no one saw the way the stuffed animals were positioned. The dragon was leaning over the cat, while the bunny was leaning against the fox almost like it belonged with the fox. (Guess the parings I got this idea from. Cyber cookie to all those who review and tell me correctly.)
Two days later Tokyo Game Expo
Two days later, Andrew and Ichigo headed to the Tokyo Game expo. Because Uryuu and Chad were still feeling sick, Orihime and Tatsuki volunteered to go in their place. They decided to take the train because it was always murder to drive into Tokyo unless needed. As they walked through the massive city the American was amazed that a city this size hadn't fallen into disrepair. Instead Tokyo looked to be modernizing with the times as there were multiple renovation projects going on around them. After about 30 minutes they arrived at the expo center and saw the line was really long.
Andrew pulled out his phone and called the person who arraigned their tickets.
"Hey…we are here I got my partner and a couple of others but the line is kind of big. Do we wait out here?" Andrew said over the noise of the crowd. As he was calling a black haired man wearing a blue shirt and grey pants and a red haired girl in white dress walked up to them.
"Hey aren't you Ichigo Kurosaki?" The girl asked. The group turned to regard the two that just appeared.
Ichigo answered. "Yes…may I ask who are you?"
The girl giggled. "You're so like Kazuto it's funny. I'm Yuuki Asuna. This is Kirigaya Kazuto. We are here for some sort of demonstration here.
Andrew heard this. "Hold on a second" Turning to the two. "You're Kirito and Asuna?"
Kazuto looked at Andrew. "Yeah and you are Andrew?"
Andrew nodded. "Hey I'm back, we ran into the other testers. So where do you want us to go? Uh huh. Got it see you in a few." He hung up the phone. "Alright they told us to go to a back entrance and show them our passes. Come on." Andrew said as they followed them. As they walked Andrew turned to regard the players."
"So you're Kirito and Asuna, it is nice to finally meet you both. Though I must say Kirito you're a little on the scrawny side, but who am I to judge, you're a good player all that matters online."
Kazuto rubbed his neck. "Yeah…well I never thought that Andrew Michaels was that Andrew Michaels the driver. Got to say I never expected to have a celebrity playing the game."
Andrew smiled. "Well like I said online the backgrounds don't matter, though after today we might see an influx of players."
They both dropped their head at that which got Asuna and Orihime to giggle. Asuna turned to the red headed driver.
"So Mr. Kurosaki what's it like to drive the Grand Prix?"
Ichigo turned to regard the cheerful girl. "Well it's hard, with all of the traveling and racing but we somehow make it work."
Orihime watched the two interact with a smile. It was nice to see Ichigo interact with a fan. Looking at Kazuto who was talking with Andrew and see the younger girl's look at Kazuto she knew she liked him and smiled as Ichigo fielded the girl's questions.
They reached their entrance which the guards halted their progress. A quick flash of their passes and they sent for someone to escort the group down. Soon a brown haired man wearing a lab coat appeared.
"Ah you must be Andrew, Ichigo, Kazuto and Asuna. Come our CEO is about to give his speech." The man said as they led them through the labyrinth behind the stage.
Ichigo looked confused. "Who are you exactly?"
The man looked sheepish as they walked through the corridors. "I am Kayaba Akihiko. I designed the system you are going to demonstrate. I feel that this will revolutionize the industry."
Orihime being the reporter she was couldn't wait to ask the question? "How is it going to change video games? I think the only way to advance is to actually put the players into the game." Orihime said.
Tatsuki laughed. "Yeah like that would…happen…?" Tatsuki trailed off seeing the look on the developer's face.
Kazuto caught onto this. "No way you didn't."
Kayaba smiled as they led them to the stage and waited for their cue.
The announcer introduced the CEO. He was a young Japanese man in his late twenties. This was Satoru Iwa, the CEO of Argus Games.
"Good day to you, ladies and gentlemen of the Tokyo Game Expo. I am the CEO of Argus Games. Today, the world of gaming changes. For years you have been confined to the controller behind the screen. Video games have evolved from simple machines that has processing power of an 8MB computer to a global connection spanning over a three hundred million players on all continents. But the interaction was limited to communicating by voice and screen as the technology has been focused on improving hardware not the experience of the player. That changes today. To help me unveil this new system please give a round of applause to Kayaba Akihito.
The crowd applauded as the man walked across the stage and shook Satoru's hand. "Thank you sir." Turning to the crowd he prepared to drop the bombshell. "This project has been the brainchild of five years of work since I was in college. With this the barriers between gamer and game are gone. Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you the Nerve Gear."
The screen lit up and the device was shown. It looked like an incomplete helmet but it looked powerful.
"Using microwave transmitters, the Nerve Gear transports the user's consciousness inside the game where their custom made avatar for each game lets them feel for the first time what the game world is."
The crowd was stunned and flashbulbs blinded the stage.
"We have two games for our demonstrators to show. This system we hope to have in beta in the next few months with the hope of a release some time next year. Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome the number two and number one fighters in the RPG game Realm Quest, Andrew Michaels and Kazuto Kirigaya with their guests.
The crowd started clapping and then recognized Ichigo and Andrew which sent them into a larger applause.
Kayaba smiled to the crowd. "I see you recognize two of our testers but there are two others here so introduce yourselves please.
Andrew went first. "I am Andrew Michaels, Gamer Tag GarnetOsprey91. As you can see I am the driver Andrew Michaels. In my down time I am huge gamer so don't be afraid to approach me." He said handing the mic to Ichigo.
"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, Andrew's teammate and friend. I tagged along to see what the big thing is here and got to say I am excited to say what's in store." He passed the mic off to Asuna.
"I am Asuna Yuuki, gamer tag, Princess Snow 55. I am excited to be here with my boyfriend." She said which got some of the guys in the audience to groan, she was a good looking girl for sure.
Kazuto groaned and gently took the mic. "As Asuna said I am her boyfriend Kazuto game tag Kirito. I can't wait to try this." Kazuto said with a smile.
The microphone was passed back to Kayaba. "Okay then now we have four pods with the Gear in them. When playing with this I suggest lying on a bed as your body will be completely immobile during game play.
The four did placing the gear in their heads. Andrew had to take off his glasses to put it on and they were sitting comfortably.
"Ready?" Kayaba asked.
The four gave a thumbs up.
"Now close your eyes and here we go. Link…up." He said punching in buttons. Like a knee jerk their bodies went still.
"Don't worry they are perfectly fine. Take a look on the screen." Kayaba said. The crowd watched in amazement as the four showed up on screen in some kind of loading area.
"Wow. This is so cool." Asuna said feeling around. Ichigo had a more vivid reaction as he freaked out. Andrew and Kazuto had the biggest grins on their faces.
"Hello can you guys hear me?" Kayaba said. They turned to see a screen with Kayaba's face off to the side.
They all nodded. "Say hello to your fans." The four looked and saw that the cameras were flashing and people were on their phones spreading the message. They waved and smiled.
"Okay link in successful. Now for the first game we are going to create an avatar. This is for Sword Art Online and we hope to launch it with the Nerve Gear. So lady and gentlemen make your avatars." He said pressing a button.
Instantly screens popped up in front of them and the three players immediately went to work. (Kazuto and Asuna are from the series) Andrew chose a warrior type with brown hair and a broadsword while Ichigo went with a Samurai in a black gi. When they punched in their choices they instantly felt their clothes change to their outfits.
"As you can see the clothing is changed to reflect in game purchases and choices. Their normal bodies are not changed. Now then to send you into the game." He said pressing the button. Instantly the world around the four avatars changed. They were now in a forest. The four testers were amazed as they looked at foliage. Asuna touched the tree and was surprised at how it felt real.
"This game uses your consciousness. Everything in the game is as real as out of the game. That includes enemy attacks." On cue four wolves appeared at a low level. The crowd was now hooked as the four took battle positions.
"Now like all RPG's, you have a command menu for items and attacks. The battle order is determined by speed. Ichigo I believe you're first. Look on the menu and select the attack there."
Ichigo looked and saw he did have an attack. Kendo Slice selecting it he saw his sword glowing.
"Now attack one of the wolves." Ichigo did so and to his surprise the attack connected and destroyed the wolf.
"Good the attacks work. In the future we hope to have an open combat system. Now then it's a counter attack time." Just Kayaba said one of the wolves attack Andrew, he put up his arm to block and he felt the claws dig into his skin. Another attacked but this time he got his sword up. A third attack Kirito but his speed let him dodge it."
"Like in the real world any attacks that hit are going to hurt. Like with the clothes, their real bodies won't feel it. Now Asuna dear I believe you have a potion in your inventory. Please give it to Andrew."
Asuna looked through her menu and surprisingly she found one. She pulled it out and gave it to Andrew.
"How do I use it?" Andrew asked.
"You drink it of course." Kayaba smiled. Andrew sighed and drank it not liking the taste. Instantly he felt the wounds disappear. Andrew looked at his arms in amazement feeling the wounds leave his body.
"Careful with your hit points, lose them and you're going back to your previous log in point with all of your progress up to that point gone." Kayaba said as Kazuto slashed another wolf to bits. Now for the finale.
"Andrew, you have enough power points to perform a finishing move. Please select the one that can target multiple opponents.
Andrew scrolled through his menu and saw the Lion Breaker. Pressing it he felt enormous power flow through him.
Andrew grinned. "Payback time. Take this LION BREAKER." Andrew said charging in and slashing across deleting the wolves.
The battle ended and the world faded away.
"So how was it guys?" Kayaba asked.
"I don't have any words….except AWESOME." Andrew said cheering. The crowd was into as they were cheering the battle and the group. The other three were of a similar sentiment.
"I am so glad you liked it. Now we hope to branch into other genres with this. Racing seems to be the popular thing so for this demo we have tracks and racers from the World Grand Prix. In the future we hope to have a similar element as to Sword Art Online. What do you say?" Kayaba said.
The crowd wanted to see that and after a quick conference they agreed to do so. A few buttons later they were on the loading screen for the racing game.
"This game codenamed Grand Prix RPG will feature fully customizable cars. Like an RPG you will start out with basic materials and work your way up. We plan to have real tracks, City tracks and all sort of racing venues for a player's enjoyment." Kayaba said. A screen popped up in front of the players.
"Now choose your cars. Like Sword Art Online anything in this game you feel. So you will actually be in the cockpit of these cars." Kayaba said.
Andrew and Ichigo quickly scrolled and picked their own cars. Asuna took a little time and choose Serenity's car. Kirito having little experience in racing games choose Ralph Hamilton's machine. The drivers choose manual while the gamers choose automatic.
"Now choose a track. It will be set to three laps." Kayaba said. They scrolled and they came across their next track Laguna Seca. After getting agreements from the other two, they choose it and they were suddenly in the cars waiting for the game to load.
"While we are waiting, I believe you chose this track because it is the next race on the World Grand Prix?"
Andrew responded from in the car. "Yep. You can catch us all racing here on the 17th of April in California. You can also follow us throughout the season as we try to win the titles. Also we chose this because with one exception the turns are simple to see and react to.
Asuna felt a little stiff in the cockpit. "It feels restricting in here. Is this what you guys go through regularly?"
Ichigo reassured the girl. "Sorry about this, the HANS device is for our safety. It lessens the movement of our head in a crash. Saved our buddy Chad from serious injury a couple of weeks ago." Ichigo said.
Kazuto was quiet which Andrew noticed. "You alright Kirito?" Andrew said using his game tag."
Kirito snapped out of his trance. "Is this…is this what you feel like behind the wheel? The adrenaline, the tension."
Andrew sighed happily. "That and more buddy. Racing is my job but gaming is my life. I know I have only known you online but you are definitely a good friend regardless if you keep beating me."
Kirito looked over. "Thanks. When you are available I would like to challenge you to a fight to see who the true number one player is."
Andrew smiled. "I look forward to that day I will check my schedule so keep your fingers crossed."
Kirito nodded. Just then Kayaba came over the speaker. "Alright, the race is about to begin." Turning to the crowd. "Alright top left is Andrew, top right is Ichigo, bottom left is Kazuto, and bottom right is Asuna. Switching to third person mode." The cameras switched to behind the cars. The driver's images were in the top left of their screen.
A timer flashed and the crowd counted down. "3…2…1 GO" Just as the crowd said go the cars raced off the line.
For the next few minutes, cheering was heard as the players drove on the semi-hard track. Asuna yelped as she ran off road at the corkscrew while Kazuto adapted quickly to the cars. By the final lap the three boys were neck and neck. Coming into the corkscrew Kazuto saw his chance and tried to cut between him by breaking late. What that did was when he turned he ended up in the dirt and it disrupted the drive off for the other two.
"Damn it this turn is hard enough as it is Kazuto." Andrew yelled as they recovered and to head down to the last turns. What that did was allowed Asuna to catch up and on the final turn they all had to squeeze through as they raced to the line. At the line it was a near photo finish but Andrew and Ichigo beat out the gamers. The crowd watching broke out into cheers as the game ended and faded to the loading screen.
"Great job you guys. Now then pull up your menu and select log out and you will be returned to your bodies." The four did so and suddenly they were pulled back into their bodies. It was disorienting and when they opened their eyes they felt around their bodies.
Satoru grinned like a mad man. "Let's hear it for the first Virtual Reality players." A large round of applause was heard as the four waved to the crowd.
They allowed the fans to ask questions about their experience and for the drivers what it felt like to be racing like that. Afterwards the drivers signed autographs until their hands cramped up. Evidently they attracted new fans.
Two hours later they were able to get of throngs of crowds after saying good bye to Kazuto and Asuna and went back to the girls who were waiting outside having gotten enough of the event on camera.
"Heeeey!" Orihime waved over to them. "How was it, it looked awesome from where we were sitting."
Ichigo rubbed his head. "I never knew video game were so intense. That was awesome." They turned to Andrew who looked a little lost.
"Andrew what's wrong? I thought you would be excited about it." Tatsuki asked.
Andrew looked at her with a smile. "I am…it's just have we really come this far where we can port our bodies onto something like this." Andrew said looking up at the red orange sky of the sunset. Idly he noticed a plane passing over head. "Technology has come far hasn't it. Two generations ago it was all about geeks in some sort of basement." Andrew said looking back down. "Now today we became the first to actually become part of the game. It's just wonderment and I guess all of the energy was kind of taken out of me."
Tatsuki smiled. "Guess it's kind of surreal huh." She to the brown haired man. Tatsuki looked at Andrew while walking and saw he was in contemplative mood. That was one of the reason she was falling slowly in love with. He thinking mood always made her curious and when talked it was like talking to a man almost twice his age. He might show maturity but deep down he still was a large kid.
"What are you thinking about Tatsuki?" Andrew noticed her thinking.
Tatsuki snapped out of her musings and shook her head. "Nothing just wondering what is for dinner."
They checked their phone and saw it was dinner time. They walked to a nearby food joint and ate some junk food. Leaving they started walking towards the train station that would take them home. The walk was relatively quiet with the big city and all but they paid it no mind. It was chilly for April so the girls next to the boys hoping to share some of the warmth. Just before they got to the station two black cars rolled up and stopped in front of them. They brushed it off until a group of men climbed out of the trucks.
Ichigo looked at saw the men approach. The bystanders that were there noticed the men approach the group of four.
"Can I help you gentlemen?" He asked cordially.
The apparent leader stepped forward. "Are you Ichigo Kurosaki and Andrew Michaels?"
The group tensed, how did these guys know their names.
Andrew stepped up. "May I inquire how you know our names?"
The man grinned though to the girls it looked sinister. "Our boss says to remove you as a threat to his company."
Tatsuki growled. "Why does your boss want them so bad."
The leader chuckled. "These two are drivers. Our boss believes that if they stay around then they will be threat to his empire."
Andrew raised an eyebrow. "What if we say no?" He asked getting into a fighting stance
The leader frowned. "Then you are making a mistake. Boys get them and make sure the girls are unharmed."
The other eight grinned as they approached the two, think that as drivers they wouldn't put up much of a fight. They were wrong on so many levels. As they approached, Andrew, Ichigo and Tatsuki immediately went on the offensive was they started punching and kicking. Four bystanders who were watching jumped in and it soon turned into a brawl. Soon the goons who did not have serious training were dropped one by one to the ground. Four were groaning in pain as one of the men pulled out a switch blade and started attacking Ichigo. Ichigo ducked and countered. Another one tried to attack Andrew with a lead pipe but he blocked it and then kicked his lights out.
Soon enough the police came in and five of the goons got back in the cars. Two of them tried to escape but were tackled by Andrew and Ichigo. Ichigo saw something in his pocket and pulled it out.
"What is going on here?" The cops yelled out. Andrew and Ichigo started giving their statements along with the bystanders. Andrew and Tatsuki both got a few bruises and Ichigo had a couple of his cuts taped up but otherwise they were okay. The cops hauled the two delinquents away and they were allowed to head home.
On the train heading home, Orihime was clutching Ichigo tightly. "That was so scary Ichigo-kun. Are you okay?"
Ichigo chuckled. "Yeah I will be fine." He pulled out the card in his hand. "Wonder what this is? Looks like a mob symbol."
Andrew took a look at the card. "It's definitely looks like a Yakuza symbol but I am not familiar with them. If it was an international company I might recognize it."
Tatsuki brought a hand up to her chin. "So what would a Yakuza want with us?"
Ichigo looked out the window. "I am the son of a wealthy family and Andrew is started to gain recognition. Who wouldn't want to target us?"
Andrew scoffed. "Target you maybe because of your family. The only thing my family has is insurance and I am not recognizable enough. I wouldn't be surprised if this incident blows up on the media.
Orihime put the pieces together. "So are you saying one of the race teams did this?"
Tatsuki looked at the group incredulously. "Are you saying that one of the other eight teams did this?"
Andrew then clarified. " It couldn't be just any of the eight teams. Three are European two of which, Audi Europe and the Ferraris have factory support which would destroy not just them but their company. Red Bull is primarily a drink company why would they risk it targeting us. I know enough about the American teams to know they would not have the mafia in their pockets and to be honest all three are southern U.S teams they are too rooted in their ideals to do something. Let's face it monetary wise, there are realistically four teams that could pull this off. Of those four, only one the Ferraris are not Japanese.
"Eliminating any defecting factions in our company, that would mean either Kuchiki or Souske?" Ichigo surmised.
"Byakuya may be a stoic man but he is a nice guy when you get to know him. This Aizen fellow however might be a different story." Andrew said
Tatsuki widened. "Wait are you saying there is a possible conspiracy with the Souske team."
Andrew looked at Tatsuki. "This is all circumstantial. Until we have an idea what is going on, this does not leave this group understand me?" Andrew said seriously.
The others looked at each other and hesitantly nodded. An hour later they arrived back at the Mugen mansion. The adrenaline wearing off they dressed for bed but not content on going to bed right now they started watching T.V on the couch. After a couple of hours of channel surfing including seeing their scuffle on the news which was being spun into their favor, their eyes drooped and Ichigo shut off the T.V. Looking down at Orihime, she fallen asleep on his shoulder. Looking over at Andrew and Tatsuki, he smiled at the similar positioning to Orihime and him. Looking at Orihime he brushed the long tresses out of her face and kissed her on the head and then laid down on one of the couch pillows. They slept away unaware that their suspicions were coming true.
Souske Limited HQ
Aizen Souske was in a sour mood. He had just gotten off the phone with one of the Yakuza families he had in his pocket. On the surface, Souske Limited was a legitimate business company specializing in machinery. In reality, he got most of his money from the criminal underworld. No one knew and those that did were killed or ruined just like Vizard Inc. His contact that was supposed to get the Kurosaki drivers in trouble or hurt them had failed completely despite what he found out from the phone taps. His contact said he could only get them near the train station but instead of backing down the two drivers and one of their camera crew fought back. Thanks to witness statements the two men that were caught were now in jail and the media had labeled them heroes. He had ordered those two killed and now was looking out his window.
"Those Kurosaki drivers are more trouble than they are worth. No matter, there will be other opportunities."
He heard the door open and a familiar presence walked in.
"Gin…I trust my orders have been carried out?"
Gin smiled though Aizen didn't see it. "Of course Aizen-Sama."
Aizen kept his expression neutral. Gin asked a question. "Why are you so insistent on eliminating these two drivers, Ichigo Kurosaki and Andrew Michaels."
Aizen glanced back. "They are the greatest threat. They have the technology and the drivers to match us. What also is worrying is that they are intelligent. I am concerned they might unravel my secrets."
Gin looked confused. "You mean besides Kaien's death and Vizard Inc.'s ruination?"
Aizen nodded. "All that and more Gin." Aizen said turning around.
Gin took that sign to leave. As he walked out of the building and entered his 350Z he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
"Hello?" A masculine voice was heard
"Hello sir. I have news to report.
"Let me hear it and it better be good Gin."
"The Rouge Wolf had ordered an attack using seven Omegas on the Eagle and Dragon. Two were captured."
"Understood. Keep up the surveillance. I will inform Eagle and Dragon's handler about this."
"Good, Good. If we keep this up, by the time Brazil rolls around, Souske Limited will be finished. But I feel both your company and your allies' might come under attack.
"I believe you are right. Stay safe, Gin we did not go through that fight two years ago to have it all go up in smoke."
"I know. I will be safe. Just make sure Rangiku doesn't find out, Byakuya-sama."
"Don't worry. She won't. She misses you." The now named Byakuya said.
"I miss her too. Good night and Congrats on the kids."
"Good night and thank you." Click.
Gin grinned. 'Aizen…you destroyed more than those we talked about. One day you will get yours.'
A conspiracy is in the works as the Grand Prix move to America. What will Souske do to the drivers of Kurosaki-Ishida, will the other teams get dragged into it? Find out On Bleach Grand Prix.
End of Chapter
UO: Okay that last part with the Yakuza came out of left field but as I wrote it, I think there should be more plot in the back ground of these races. That and I saw the Jack Ryan movie and it kind of made me conspiracy crazy. (Sweatdrops)So in several race chapters I am going to make it a bit more serious with the chapters having elements like this. It will definitely have racing but the racing will start get meaner especially as a long stretch of racing and travelling is coming up in about five chapters.
Next thing, The Sword Art Online characters were just a one shot thing. I needed some way to bring gaming into this and then I remembered the Nerve Gear. When I brought this to my buddy Spartan719's attention he brought up Kirito and the gang. As a compromise Kirito and Asuna showed up as gaming friends and helped demonstrate the device. So thank you my friend. Also the Fairy Tail and pokemon references were completely incidental.
Relevant terms to know.
Tracks: Laguna Seca
Officially known as Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. This track was built in 1955 in California, making it older than several American tracks. It is most famous for the Corkscrew which is turns 8 and 8a. It is a blind downhill left right turn that even the most experienced drivers have trouble taking this right. Laguna Seca gets its name from the location it was built on. In Spanish it means dry lake and the track was built on a dry lake bed. Many racing series have run here including Indy cars in the past. Also worth noting it is going to be the shortest track in Grand Prix at slightly over 2.5 miles so there will be quite a number of laps.
Preview: As the Grand Prix heads to California for the first of six American races, there is something in the eyes of the Souske drivers as they gun for the win. Who will reach the finish line? Find out.
Next time: Drama in Laguna Seca
Alright chapter is done next up from me is Journeys. Please review that and my other work the 2nd Magnolia. Also check out Spartan719, Code-Emperor 07 and Kage Bijuu. I help on all their works and have become a co-author with Kage Biju. Check out TUAOA End of Space and Time.
With that said review constructively. Flamers will be used to fuel the cars.
OSPREY…SWOOOOSH.