Welcome to Chapter Two of Origin Story! This time around, Ian goes through the process of learning Japanese, informing his twin about his goals, and getting a trip to Japan. I'm learning Japanese IRL, too, and I'm going to reference Red vs Blue: Reach every now and then throughout the story. Once again, please review or PM and point out any writing mistakes.

Becker Residence, Florida

United States, Real World

May 13, 2022

Ian Becker

Ian woke up at 7:30 in the morning, having been disturbed by his ginger cat, Griffin, who had decided to lay on him. Groaning as he rolled over, Ian tried to get back to sleep when Griffin meowed lowdly.

"Grif, I'm trying to sleep..." he murmured, soliciting a meow from Griffin. He was Ian's favorite animal, but he could be a bum at times, especially when Ian was trying to sleep.

"Really, Grif... let me sleep...

Ian called Griifin the name "Grif" for two reasons: 1) he was a big fan of the web series Red vs Blue, and there was an orange character named Grif, and 2) it shortened his full name.

After a bit, the cat succeeded in waking up his owner, whose mind was swimming with thoughts about what the future may hold. On the one hand, if he failed, then he'd be bummed for sure, and he'd be on square one, and on the other, if he succeeded, then he'd be on his way to the technological wonderland known as Japan in a few weeks.

Ian got out of bed, stretching and getting ready to perform his daily chores. This involved brushing his teeth, changing clothes, making coffee, and whatever else his parents asked him.

Today, he chose to wear a black and blue shirt with a blue front pocket, blue jeans (his main choice of leg clothing), and white and red socks. After feeding Griffin, he set out to do his chores.

After doing his chores, Ian sat down on the couch, waiting for a new chore to do and thinking about how he would ask Allan if he could take him to Japan. His parents weren't an issue in this situation since Allan was twenty three and Ian was allowed to stay with him if he wanted, since he had a twin sister named Nikki who was just as capable of doing things as he was.

However, he had to learn Japanese before he even considered going, since English was definitely not the primary language of Japan. Thankfully, he was already learning the language (and having fun with it, since he thought that the Japanese language sounded beautiful). After he mastered it, that was when he would ask the question, "Could you take me to Japan?"

Getting up from the couch, Ian decided to go to the game room, where the family's PC was. It wasn't high-end, but it was capable of running Destiny 2 and perfect for research uses. After sitting down in the chair, the boy turned on the PC and immediately and selected the language learning application. Today he would spend more time on it than usual so he could learn more Japanese, even if it cut into his game time.

"Alright, let's get started." Ian said.

The lessons that day focused on proper usage of Japanese words and how to write them in each type of writing style. Having focused on doing admirably, Ian successfully completed the exercise in under ten minutes. He was always the intellectual child of the Becker family, and he tried hard to maintain his intellect.

After two hours of learning, Ian was tired, but considerately smarter. Alongside the language learning, he also researched about the laws, customs, and geography of the Japanese nation. As soon as he mastered everything, he would pop the question to Allan about taking him there.

A ringing sound alerted Ian to his surroundings: the phone Nikki was given was laying on the Xbox's table and charging had been ringing. When Ian got to it, it stopped ringing, showing a missed call from Allan.

Speak of the devil. he thought.

Picking up the phone, he called Allan, hoping he would pick up. A few seconds later, he picked up.

"Hello." Ian said after exhaling. "I'm sorry I missed your call, but Nikki left it on charge and I was too slow."

"Ugh, it's fine, little bro." he replied. "I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"How's North Carolina?"

"The colder temperatures aren't so fun, but it's better than Florida in terms of summer temperatures."

"Yeah. We're doing fine, and I'm still a bit cheery from going flawless yesterday."

Ask the question, you fool! his subconscious thought, but he wasn't ready, according to his gut.

"Hey, Ian."

"What?"

"I've got something to tell you about."

"Does it have to do with cutting-edge Japanese tech?" Ian pretty much hit the nail on the head with his reply.

"Damn. I hoped you didn't hear about that. I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Sophia told me about it when you went to the bathroom."

"Oh, right, your kind, loving girlfriend." Allan teased.

"She is not my girlfriend." Ian growled. "She's just the only real friend I've ever had."

"Oh, okay. Are you going to wait for its release in the US or are you going to get it as soon as possible?

Ian thought for a moment, wondering if he should ask Allan what he wanted to. He decided on his original plan.

"Don't know yet. The latter seems a little difficult."

"Okay. Tell me when you've made up your mind."

"That sounds good. I'll tell Nikki you stopped by."

"Goodbye. See you whenever you can log back into D2." Allan hung up, leaving Ian a little confused. Had Allan really been in a helpful enough mood to take Ian to Japan?

Ian sat back down in the chair after setting the phone down. While he dwelled on his thoughts, his mother called him downstairs for coffee.

"Damn it." Ian muttered before he left the game room.

After making coffee, Ian found himself outside in the back yard, despite the horrible heat. Having gone through that phone call, he couldn't figure out if Allan wanted to help him or not. Instead of dwelling on that, he found a sturdy stick to use as a makeshift sword and practiced swordfighting with it. He wanted to be able to take up some kind of sport that involved swordplay, like fencing or the Japanese art of kendo, however, he couldn't find anywhere that wasn't expensive to get into.

Maybe it'll be easier to do in Japan... he thought as he swung his stick once again.

"Enjoying yourself, Ian?" a feminine voice said as a girl with glossy dark brown hair and brown eyes left the house, shutting the door behind her. She wore a tank top and shorts, unlike her brother.

"Hi, Nikki." Ian nonchalantly said, performing an overhead strike.

"Whatcha doing other than exercising in the heat?" Nikki asked, sitting down. The boy didn't falter as he continued to slice the air with his stick.

"Thinking."

"About your sexy redheaded girlfriend?"

"You too, Nikki?! I thought that as my twin sister, you'd not do that to me. I see now that I was wrong."

"Ha! Just calling it how I see it." she replied, completely not caring about the distress she was putting her twin through.

"No. I--" Ian stopped himself before he finished his sentence.

"You what? Is there some kind of cool tech you want to get your hands on?"

Well, that's much more accurate than Sophia being my girlfriend. Ian thought, ceasing his practice to face his twin sister.

"Um, yes. It's called the NerveGear, and it's a revolutionary piece of tech that can replicate your five senses and completely immerse the user into the virtual game world. It sends false signals to your brain to do it, so the player can't injure themselves and the usual VR health risks aren't present, so yeah, I want to get my hands on it."

"Wow. Where is it being developed?"

"Japan. It doesn't get released to the US until November 6."

"And you want to get it before the worldwide release."

"How are you capable of knowing what I'm thinking? When you aren't teasing me about Sophia."

"I'm your twin, nerd, so I can usually tell." she replied, playing with her hair. "Besides, it's fun to tease you. You look so cute when you blush."

Ian facepalmed, still facing Nikki. She was right: she was probably seeing him do it right now while he facepalmed.

"What about you?" Ian asked her with a mischievous tone, shamelessly grinning. "You sure that you don't have a girl crush on Sophia?"

Buuuuuurrrrrrrrn. he thought as his twin blushed in such a cute way, and he wished he had a camera so he could take a picture of his sister's adorable face. He wasn't sure who Nikki liked, but it was fun to tease her.

"You're mean..." she pouted, flashing her puppy-dog eyes at Ian.

"You're such a hypocrite." he shot back. "But, I've got something to tell you."

"What is it? Is Sophia coming back?"

"No. I'm going to convince Allan to take me to Japan. He possibly offered to do so earlier." The boy's face registered guilt as he said this.

Her teasing face was instantly replaced with a genuinely sad face. He might have even seen tears leaking from her milk chocolate eyes.

"Oh. That means I can't see you anymore." she said in a sad tone.

"Don't worry, I'll talk to you every day." Ian said, trying to calm her down.

"That's not the same. What about Mom or Dad? What would they say?"

"They're okay with me going to and staying with Allan." he replied, sighing. He felt like such a traitor by doing this to her, but he needed to do this.

"I'm genuinely glad that you can get to go away from here, but it'll just be lonely here." Nikki was actually beggining to cry.

"Oh, no." Ian walked over to her, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Don't cry, please. I'll get a NerveGear or two and I'll come straight back.

"Don't make a girl a promise..." Nikki started.

"...if I know I can't keep it." Ian finished. "I know I might not come back, but I'll try my very best, okay?"

"Yeah." she nodded, standing up. "You need something to eat, Bro?"

"Sure." The two siblings entered the house, discussing their plans for their lives when they grew up.

After getting something to eat, Ian asked if he could log onto Destiny, which he was allowed to do. Having told Nikki his plans, he had to be ready for his big question. While he loaded into the game, he checked his friends list, finding Allan online and at the top of the list, having been on his favorites list. Sophia shared the same position on his list, but she wasn't online yet.

"Here you go," Ian said, sending an invite to Allan. "have an invite."

A few seconds later, Allan accepted the party invite.

"How're doing, nerd?" he said with a smirk. To Ian, the word nerd was a cute nickname that he let his siblings use, not an insult.

"I'm doing fine. I was wondering what you meant when you asked about if I wanted to wait for the NerveGear's kinks to be fixed before getting it or wanting to get it ASAP."

"Oh. I meant that if you wanted, then I'd take you there, to Japan."

Oh. I meant that if you wanted, then I'd take you there, to Japan. Ian kept replaying those words in his head until he fully registered them.

If I want to, then he'll really do it... Now's the time to decide! Ian exhaled, then he answered.

"Yes. I'd love to. But I need to finish learning Japanese first."

"Okay, kiddo. How long'll that be?"

"Maybe a week or two, but I'll finish it."

"Have you told Nikki?"

"Yes. She teared up when I told her, but she's accepted it. I also told her that I'd try my hardest to come back."

"Sounds like someone's got their priorities straight." Allan said, and Ian heard him drumming his fingers.

"Yeah. It sucks that I've got to leave her, but I'm going to maintain contact as much as possible."

"That's good. Tell me when you finish, okay?"

"I will."

"Good. Now let's kick some newbie ass."

Nikki Becker

Hours later

Nikki lay in her bed, thinking about the decision her beloved twin made. He was leaving home to acquire cutting-edge technology from Japan. It wasn't just a spur of the moment thing, because Ian always dreamed of going to Japan. However, she felt that either she or Ian was being selfish, and that meant either Ian was being selfish for wanting to go or she was being selfish for wanting him to stay.

"I think it's both of us. We are twins, after all." she murmured, pulling her blanket over her body until it reached her shoulders.

"Honestly, I am glad that Ian gets to do this, but I'm going to suffer for it. He might be able to call me at somepoint, and Mom and Dad are fine with him leaving home with Allan, but I'll be the only kid here for the first time ever."

It was going to be wierd when she became the only kid at the Becker residence, but she genuinely cared about Ian, and she wasn't going to let jealousy turn her against her family.

Woo! Chapter Two for the win! This one's a lot better than Chapter One and there's more good news: thanks to whitworth5274 being really awesome, he has given me permission to use his OC. See you at Chapter Three!