Author Comments: Just finished part two, I hope you like it. It's a bit shorter than the first and less gets done, but it's all leading up to something fun.
Current Warnings: Shoujo-ai, violence, language
Commence reading!
Current Warnings: Shoujo-ai, violence, language
Commence reading!
Rumors
First Log In
“So you want to know about a player character named Ovan?” Azami heard a faint clink as her customer’s gold was transferred to her own inventory. She propped her elbows against the wooden box that served the front desk of the rag-tag shop. “He was the guild master of a guild called the Twilight Brigade. The guild broke up a little while ago, and he disappeared.”
The customer, a small Harvest Cleric, blinked rapidly for a few moments before speaking. “That’s all? There… there has to be more…”
Azami smiled. “There’s more. But it’ll cost you extra.” The smile broke out into an impish grin as the trade window opened and closed again. “The Twilight Brigade was basically a guild that chased after a hot rumor on the forums, something about a Twilight Key. Nothing they believed in was ever really proven to exist, but they still tried. It didn’t last very long before it disbanded.” The customer nodded tentatively, said thank you, bowed, and logged out.
“S-so, this is what you do here?”
Azami turned to the Macabre Dancer beside her. She had been standing quietly behind, watching. “We in the guild Eve’s Drops do as the name suggests.” The Steam Gunner smiled. “We listen to the conversations of others, surf the forums, visit fansites, and look for anything that can be turned into a good rumor. We make side accounts to post on the forums with, spread said rumors, maybe adding a few exaggerated details, and immediately everybody is flocking towards us, practically throwing their gold at us for more information.”
“I-isn’t that the same as… lying?”
“Not at all. It’s buying and selling information. It’s like the, er…” Azami tilted her head back and placed a finger to her lips. “The New York Times, only profitable.”
“But, the information isn’t… true.”
Azami smiled, folded her arms, and glanced back at the Macabre Dancer. “Erika, it’s just a game. Is it really so hard to tell a few white lies through text and data?” The smile widened. “This guild would be perfect for a newbie like you. You don’t have to level up, or be strong, or fight in the arena… Your wits are all you need.” She stood, brushing the back of her dress idly.
It was like military uniform; blue and tight-fitting, cut high against her thighs, the lace white trim leading up the sides and over the lapels, which were pushed to the side to show cleavage. There was a black symbol branching from between her breasts, a distorted V that broke off into similar branches leading up her neck. Barbed wire fishnets wrapped tight around her legs, though the pixilated flesh beneath was flawless. Azami had been contemplating illegally editing her character to add scratches, but kept pretending to overlook it.
Azami turned and began to walk, leaving Erika behind. “If you’re interested in joining, come to Eve’s Drops’ @Home later. Somebody’s bound to be there.” She began heading for the Chaos Gate.
Erika stood still for a while, thinking. Was it right to be part of a group that did nothing but lie to people all the time? They did seem like a popular guild, and to be part of a popular guild would make her popular among her classmates… So what if she had to lie?
“So did you get rid of that Macabre Dancer, Azami?” Chiharu propped her boots up on a box nearby, lounging on a sofa in the main lobby of Eve’s Drops’ @Home. Chiharu was a beast Edge Punisher from the Lei Tribe, her body a soft maroon and her hair a bright shade of neon red. She had a muzzle instead of a human mouth, spotted near the chin. Her tail swept slowly back and forth the edge of the sofa, the black tip twitching every so often.
“She’s a bit thickheaded. She doesn’t seem to like what we do, but she keeps coming back.” Azami sat beside her lover, brushing a hand over Chiharu’s feline ears.
Chiharu gave a slight mewl as she was touched, nudging her head into the Steam Gunner’s hand. “I don’t like her. We can always penalize her at her first little slip-up. She’d probably leave then.”
“Eh. No need. I doubt a character like her will stay active in this world for very long.” Azami’s eyes wandered, thoughtful. “Did you know that she’s accessing the game from America?”
“So? Her Japanese is very good.”
“Still, it’s kind of strange. Why would she want to access the Japanese server when she can just access the American server?”
Chiharu shrugged her shoulders, and then grinned. “Maybe she’s an otaku?”
“Chiharu…”
“Just sayin’. Why should it matter, Azami? Nils is accessing from Sweden, and you never made such a fuss over him.”
“How is Nils, anyway?”
“You’re awful at changing the subject, you know that?” Chiharu leaned her head further back onto her lover’s lap, a smile gracing the red muzzle. “I hear he’s doing well. The pneumonia cleared up, apparently. He accessed earlier. You must’ve missed him. He told me to tell you hello.”
Azami nodded her head slowly, looking away again thoughtfully. “Chiharu, do you think we’re playing the game the right way?”
Chiharu lifted her head a bit, blinking. “Why do you ask that?”
“I dunno. That little brat got me thinking.”
“And we all know the chaos that comes with you actually thinking…” Chiharu smirked and leaned back again, lifting a clawed hand and gently stroking over Azami’s cheek. “Tell me what’s up.”
“Is it right? Lying to people?”
Chiharu raised her eyebrows. “Is it wrong?”
“Morally, yes.”
“You have to remember, it’s just a game. It’s not like real life. You can lie as much as you want here with no consequences, and nobody will ever know you lied because there’s no way to tell. No nervous tics, no bad habits. Nobody can see your nose flare when you lie here.”
Chiharu smirked and tapped Azami’s cheek, though the enthusiasm wasn’t returned. She continued, “It’s… easier. Doing this. We don’t have to fight or organize events, we don’t have to worry about PKs because we never take jobs that require us to go to a field. We don’t have to worry this way. Our levels won’t get too high, so people won’t say we’re just losers that don’t have lives from playing all the time. It’s really about the networking, anyway.”
Azami nodded slowly. “I guess it is…”
“Of course it is.” Chiharu closed her eyes for a few moments. “And even then, it doesn’t matter. This is a game; we should play it however we like. Whatever way is fun and makes us happy.”
There was a moment of quiet, and Azami touched both hands to Chiharu’s cheeks, tilting the Edge Punisher’s face to look at her. “Are you having fun, Chiharu?” She murmured. “Are you happy?”
Chiharu opened her eyes, staring up at the other for a few moments. “I’m happy, Azami,” she said, sounding slightly startled by her girlfriend’s sudden change in behavior.
“But you’re not having fun, are you…?”
“Hold up, I didn’t say that! Azami!” Chiharu sat straight up, twisting to face the Steam Gunner when the @Home’s door slid open.
“Erika, it’s you.” Azami raised her eyes and stood up, though she didn’t move to greet the Macabre Dancer.
“I… I want to join your guild.” Erika said, clenching her fists.
Azami didn’t miss a beat, “Oh yeah? And what makes you think we’ll even take you?”
Erika swallowed. “I… have an interesting rumor I think you’ll like.”
//end Rumors part one
//log out
Rumors
Second Log In
Azami and Chiharu exchanged looks. “Yeah? And what rumor is that?” Azami seated herself on the sofa beside Chiharu again, giving Erika a sideways glance. Chiharu steepled her fingertips between her knees, crossing and uncrossing her fingers.
“Well,” Erika began, swallowing before she continued speaking, “I was reading about the coma incidents from version one on some old fansites… And I read about that player character Tri-Edge…”
“Yeah? What is it?” Azami raised her eyebrows.
“Nobody knows who the real Tri-Edge is, right? And he seems incredibly strong, from what I’ve read, anyway…”
“Can you just get to the point? Your voice is grating on my nerves.” Azami interjected, tapping her foot impatiently against the floor.
“S-sorry. I’ve heard of situations where,” Erika paused a moment, seeming to be thinking over her words carefully, “players fell into comas playing the game. Apparently… they hear the same sound when they see Tri-Edge as they do when they fall into a coma… And some people claim that characters that were in comas have been playing the game without being at a terminal…”
Azami and Chiharu were eerily silent, and Chiharu began tapping her fingers together more urgently.
“…so maybe… we’d be able to tell people that Tri-Edge is really just… the embodiment of all of the coma victims that didn’t wake up when the first version of the game was destroyed… Nothing can be erased fully, so traces of that data must still be around…” Erika finished, glancing up and awaiting approval.
Azami’s eyebrows shot up and she began asking where Erika had come up with a conclusion like that, but Chiharu spoke first, standing ******** you! You can’t do something like that! A lot of people were damaged by those incidents and to make a cheap shot at it would just be… wrong!” She snapped, baring her teeth.
“Chiharu! Shut up and log out.” Azami said in a hurry, and there seemed to be a small struggle between the two before Chiharu logged out, Azami close behind.
Disconnecting…
Waiting…
Waiting…
Disconnected.
Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture; Kanto Region, Japan
Akiko had forcibly removed Keyaki’s headset to log her out. The two were sitting in their University’s computer lab, staring at each other.
“Why did you do that?! I was putting her in her place!” Keyaki cried out, grabbing Akiko’s arm, unconsciously digging her nails into the skin.
“She didn’t know!” Akiko grabbed Keyaki’s wrist, forcing her to let go. “She didn’t know about Mamoru!”
“Exactly! He was right! Nobody remembers him, now that he’s gone!” Keyaki slammed her hands down on the table, causing it to rattle, and stood up furiously. The hem of her grey skirt hitched a little and she smoothed it down, distracted from the current argument.
“It wasn’t her fault, though,” Akiko said, standing as well and moving to stand beside her older lover. “It wasn’t anybody’s fault. You shouldn’t have taken it out on her. It’s… been a while since I’ve seen you that angry. I’m kind of jealous that I wasn’t the one that caused such a riling of emotions.” She smiled weakly, hoping Keyaki would smile back. But she didn’t.
“Let’s not talk about it, okay?” Keyaki murmured, grabbing her bag and starting out of the computer lab with Akiko following closely behind. There was quiet between them as they stepped outside. Keyaki’s fingers twitched every so often. It was obvious she wanted to reach for her portable headset and controller and immerse herself in the gaming world again, but the situation didn’t seem to call for it.
“Have you eaten yet today?” Akiko asked quietly, brushing short auburn hair out of her face as a gust of wind blew past them, rustling their skirts and blouses playfully before gliding off to bother somebody else.
“No,” Keyaki muttered, seeming unhappy. She was almost always unhappy when she was forced to be away from her gaming world, and was a hard person to get to know in real life. She was of normal height and slightly pudgy, her thighs rubbing when she walked and stretch marks beginning to appear on the back of her knees.
“Are you dieting again?” Akiko said, brow furrowing. “It’s not healthy to do that all the time.”
“It’s not healthy to be this way, either.” Keyaki pulled a bottle of vitamin water from her bag, unscrewing the top. “Don’t worry, it won’t get out of hand.”
“You say that, but I know you and your obsessive personality…” Akiko said as she rustled through her bag for something before pulling out a small chunk of chocolate wrapped in tinfoil. “Here, eat this. It’s a little melted, but I don’t want your blood sugar getting all low and have to deal with you shaking until we get home.”
Keyaki glared briefly at Akiko before taking the chocolate, biting into it. “You’re cruel.” She muttered once she had finished the candy.
“How’s that?” Akiko smiled innocently, giving an exaggerated stretch as they waited to board the bus.
“You know I’m dieting and I can’t have sugar, and you still force me to eat it. It’s so mean.”
“Hey, I’m just looking out for you. I don’t want you getting sick.” Akiko produced a comb from her bag and brushed it through Keyaki’s hair, pulling the curly black strands down flat.
“If anything, you’re my illness… Why are you so different offline?” Keyaki groaned, swatting Akiko’s hand away.
They sat on the bus for a little while before getting off near their apartment complex. Akiko picked up oden from a nearby convenience store, and they ate in relative silence in the austere kitchen of their apartment.
//end Rumors part two
//log out
First Log In
“So you want to know about a player character named Ovan?” Azami heard a faint clink as her customer’s gold was transferred to her own inventory. She propped her elbows against the wooden box that served the front desk of the rag-tag shop. “He was the guild master of a guild called the Twilight Brigade. The guild broke up a little while ago, and he disappeared.”
The customer, a small Harvest Cleric, blinked rapidly for a few moments before speaking. “That’s all? There… there has to be more…”
Azami smiled. “There’s more. But it’ll cost you extra.” The smile broke out into an impish grin as the trade window opened and closed again. “The Twilight Brigade was basically a guild that chased after a hot rumor on the forums, something about a Twilight Key. Nothing they believed in was ever really proven to exist, but they still tried. It didn’t last very long before it disbanded.” The customer nodded tentatively, said thank you, bowed, and logged out.
“S-so, this is what you do here?”
Azami turned to the Macabre Dancer beside her. She had been standing quietly behind, watching. “We in the guild Eve’s Drops do as the name suggests.” The Steam Gunner smiled. “We listen to the conversations of others, surf the forums, visit fansites, and look for anything that can be turned into a good rumor. We make side accounts to post on the forums with, spread said rumors, maybe adding a few exaggerated details, and immediately everybody is flocking towards us, practically throwing their gold at us for more information.”
“I-isn’t that the same as… lying?”
“Not at all. It’s buying and selling information. It’s like the, er…” Azami tilted her head back and placed a finger to her lips. “The New York Times, only profitable.”
“But, the information isn’t… true.”
Azami smiled, folded her arms, and glanced back at the Macabre Dancer. “Erika, it’s just a game. Is it really so hard to tell a few white lies through text and data?” The smile widened. “This guild would be perfect for a newbie like you. You don’t have to level up, or be strong, or fight in the arena… Your wits are all you need.” She stood, brushing the back of her dress idly.
It was like military uniform; blue and tight-fitting, cut high against her thighs, the lace white trim leading up the sides and over the lapels, which were pushed to the side to show cleavage. There was a black symbol branching from between her breasts, a distorted V that broke off into similar branches leading up her neck. Barbed wire fishnets wrapped tight around her legs, though the pixilated flesh beneath was flawless. Azami had been contemplating illegally editing her character to add scratches, but kept pretending to overlook it.
Azami turned and began to walk, leaving Erika behind. “If you’re interested in joining, come to Eve’s Drops’ @Home later. Somebody’s bound to be there.” She began heading for the Chaos Gate.
Erika stood still for a while, thinking. Was it right to be part of a group that did nothing but lie to people all the time? They did seem like a popular guild, and to be part of a popular guild would make her popular among her classmates… So what if she had to lie?
“So did you get rid of that Macabre Dancer, Azami?” Chiharu propped her boots up on a box nearby, lounging on a sofa in the main lobby of Eve’s Drops’ @Home. Chiharu was a beast Edge Punisher from the Lei Tribe, her body a soft maroon and her hair a bright shade of neon red. She had a muzzle instead of a human mouth, spotted near the chin. Her tail swept slowly back and forth the edge of the sofa, the black tip twitching every so often.
“She’s a bit thickheaded. She doesn’t seem to like what we do, but she keeps coming back.” Azami sat beside her lover, brushing a hand over Chiharu’s feline ears.
Chiharu gave a slight mewl as she was touched, nudging her head into the Steam Gunner’s hand. “I don’t like her. We can always penalize her at her first little slip-up. She’d probably leave then.”
“Eh. No need. I doubt a character like her will stay active in this world for very long.” Azami’s eyes wandered, thoughtful. “Did you know that she’s accessing the game from America?”
“So? Her Japanese is very good.”
“Still, it’s kind of strange. Why would she want to access the Japanese server when she can just access the American server?”
Chiharu shrugged her shoulders, and then grinned. “Maybe she’s an otaku?”
“Chiharu…”
“Just sayin’. Why should it matter, Azami? Nils is accessing from Sweden, and you never made such a fuss over him.”
“How is Nils, anyway?”
“You’re awful at changing the subject, you know that?” Chiharu leaned her head further back onto her lover’s lap, a smile gracing the red muzzle. “I hear he’s doing well. The pneumonia cleared up, apparently. He accessed earlier. You must’ve missed him. He told me to tell you hello.”
Azami nodded her head slowly, looking away again thoughtfully. “Chiharu, do you think we’re playing the game the right way?”
Chiharu lifted her head a bit, blinking. “Why do you ask that?”
“I dunno. That little brat got me thinking.”
“And we all know the chaos that comes with you actually thinking…” Chiharu smirked and leaned back again, lifting a clawed hand and gently stroking over Azami’s cheek. “Tell me what’s up.”
“Is it right? Lying to people?”
Chiharu raised her eyebrows. “Is it wrong?”
“Morally, yes.”
“You have to remember, it’s just a game. It’s not like real life. You can lie as much as you want here with no consequences, and nobody will ever know you lied because there’s no way to tell. No nervous tics, no bad habits. Nobody can see your nose flare when you lie here.”
Chiharu smirked and tapped Azami’s cheek, though the enthusiasm wasn’t returned. She continued, “It’s… easier. Doing this. We don’t have to fight or organize events, we don’t have to worry about PKs because we never take jobs that require us to go to a field. We don’t have to worry this way. Our levels won’t get too high, so people won’t say we’re just losers that don’t have lives from playing all the time. It’s really about the networking, anyway.”
Azami nodded slowly. “I guess it is…”
“Of course it is.” Chiharu closed her eyes for a few moments. “And even then, it doesn’t matter. This is a game; we should play it however we like. Whatever way is fun and makes us happy.”
There was a moment of quiet, and Azami touched both hands to Chiharu’s cheeks, tilting the Edge Punisher’s face to look at her. “Are you having fun, Chiharu?” She murmured. “Are you happy?”
Chiharu opened her eyes, staring up at the other for a few moments. “I’m happy, Azami,” she said, sounding slightly startled by her girlfriend’s sudden change in behavior.
“But you’re not having fun, are you…?”
“Hold up, I didn’t say that! Azami!” Chiharu sat straight up, twisting to face the Steam Gunner when the @Home’s door slid open.
“Erika, it’s you.” Azami raised her eyes and stood up, though she didn’t move to greet the Macabre Dancer.
“I… I want to join your guild.” Erika said, clenching her fists.
Azami didn’t miss a beat, “Oh yeah? And what makes you think we’ll even take you?”
Erika swallowed. “I… have an interesting rumor I think you’ll like.”
//end Rumors part one
//log out
Rumors
Second Log In
Azami and Chiharu exchanged looks. “Yeah? And what rumor is that?” Azami seated herself on the sofa beside Chiharu again, giving Erika a sideways glance. Chiharu steepled her fingertips between her knees, crossing and uncrossing her fingers.
“Well,” Erika began, swallowing before she continued speaking, “I was reading about the coma incidents from version one on some old fansites… And I read about that player character Tri-Edge…”
“Yeah? What is it?” Azami raised her eyebrows.
“Nobody knows who the real Tri-Edge is, right? And he seems incredibly strong, from what I’ve read, anyway…”
“Can you just get to the point? Your voice is grating on my nerves.” Azami interjected, tapping her foot impatiently against the floor.
“S-sorry. I’ve heard of situations where,” Erika paused a moment, seeming to be thinking over her words carefully, “players fell into comas playing the game. Apparently… they hear the same sound when they see Tri-Edge as they do when they fall into a coma… And some people claim that characters that were in comas have been playing the game without being at a terminal…”
Azami and Chiharu were eerily silent, and Chiharu began tapping her fingers together more urgently.
“…so maybe… we’d be able to tell people that Tri-Edge is really just… the embodiment of all of the coma victims that didn’t wake up when the first version of the game was destroyed… Nothing can be erased fully, so traces of that data must still be around…” Erika finished, glancing up and awaiting approval.
Azami’s eyebrows shot up and she began asking where Erika had come up with a conclusion like that, but Chiharu spoke first, standing ******** you! You can’t do something like that! A lot of people were damaged by those incidents and to make a cheap shot at it would just be… wrong!” She snapped, baring her teeth.
“Chiharu! Shut up and log out.” Azami said in a hurry, and there seemed to be a small struggle between the two before Chiharu logged out, Azami close behind.
Disconnecting…
Waiting…
Waiting…
Disconnected.
Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture; Kanto Region, Japan
Akiko had forcibly removed Keyaki’s headset to log her out. The two were sitting in their University’s computer lab, staring at each other.
“Why did you do that?! I was putting her in her place!” Keyaki cried out, grabbing Akiko’s arm, unconsciously digging her nails into the skin.
“She didn’t know!” Akiko grabbed Keyaki’s wrist, forcing her to let go. “She didn’t know about Mamoru!”
“Exactly! He was right! Nobody remembers him, now that he’s gone!” Keyaki slammed her hands down on the table, causing it to rattle, and stood up furiously. The hem of her grey skirt hitched a little and she smoothed it down, distracted from the current argument.
“It wasn’t her fault, though,” Akiko said, standing as well and moving to stand beside her older lover. “It wasn’t anybody’s fault. You shouldn’t have taken it out on her. It’s… been a while since I’ve seen you that angry. I’m kind of jealous that I wasn’t the one that caused such a riling of emotions.” She smiled weakly, hoping Keyaki would smile back. But she didn’t.
“Let’s not talk about it, okay?” Keyaki murmured, grabbing her bag and starting out of the computer lab with Akiko following closely behind. There was quiet between them as they stepped outside. Keyaki’s fingers twitched every so often. It was obvious she wanted to reach for her portable headset and controller and immerse herself in the gaming world again, but the situation didn’t seem to call for it.
“Have you eaten yet today?” Akiko asked quietly, brushing short auburn hair out of her face as a gust of wind blew past them, rustling their skirts and blouses playfully before gliding off to bother somebody else.
“No,” Keyaki muttered, seeming unhappy. She was almost always unhappy when she was forced to be away from her gaming world, and was a hard person to get to know in real life. She was of normal height and slightly pudgy, her thighs rubbing when she walked and stretch marks beginning to appear on the back of her knees.
“Are you dieting again?” Akiko said, brow furrowing. “It’s not healthy to do that all the time.”
“It’s not healthy to be this way, either.” Keyaki pulled a bottle of vitamin water from her bag, unscrewing the top. “Don’t worry, it won’t get out of hand.”
“You say that, but I know you and your obsessive personality…” Akiko said as she rustled through her bag for something before pulling out a small chunk of chocolate wrapped in tinfoil. “Here, eat this. It’s a little melted, but I don’t want your blood sugar getting all low and have to deal with you shaking until we get home.”
Keyaki glared briefly at Akiko before taking the chocolate, biting into it. “You’re cruel.” She muttered once she had finished the candy.
“How’s that?” Akiko smiled innocently, giving an exaggerated stretch as they waited to board the bus.
“You know I’m dieting and I can’t have sugar, and you still force me to eat it. It’s so mean.”
“Hey, I’m just looking out for you. I don’t want you getting sick.” Akiko produced a comb from her bag and brushed it through Keyaki’s hair, pulling the curly black strands down flat.
“If anything, you’re my illness… Why are you so different offline?” Keyaki groaned, swatting Akiko’s hand away.
They sat on the bus for a little while before getting off near their apartment complex. Akiko picked up oden from a nearby convenience store, and they ate in relative silence in the austere kitchen of their apartment.
//end Rumors part two
//log out
