Kashi’s Room

Residential Sector.

7:45 pm, Sunday, 3 rd May 2043.

Suzuki glared at his reflection in the mirror. The suit Saeko picked out for him fit like a glove, but he felt trapped. He unbuttoned the jacket, then loosened the top shirt button. That felt much better. His bangs which all but covered his eyes were a whole other issue. He might as well have raised a signboard announcing himself as a neet. Not that he cared what people thought of him; he was more concerned with Kashi’s fate.

Suzuki shrugged as he tossed Kashi’s issues to the back of his mind, then walked over to the closet. He slipped on a pair of black sneakers then exited the room.

Multipurpose Auditorium 1

Residential Sector.

7:55 pm, Sunday, 3 rd May 2043.

Suzuki walked into the auditorium where the banquet was scheduled to hold and found the lobby filled with people chatting excitedly with each other. He inwardly cringed as he observed the quintessential display of everything he hated about social interactions, be it the girls with so much foundation, they could build a complex on their faces, or the guys who had enough product in their hair to clog up the pacific ocean.

Or could it be he was projecting his insecurities onto the world? Suzuki banished the inane thought. He put on his headphones and proceeded to the main hall, ignoring the sneers of disgust and mocking from the crowd as they judged his hair and cheap sneakers.

The hall was beautifully decorated with ribbons and cut-out figures of archetypal characters from L.N.E. Suzuki’s attention, however, was drawn to the circular tables were symmetrically around the hall, leaving a circle at their center presumably for dancing or some other activity.

A live band serenaded the hall’s occupants from a stage at the opposite end of the corner, and Suzuki found himself subtly nodding along with the beat. How could he hear the band while wearing his headphones?

Suzuki had a strange quirk. He often put on his headphones without playing any music when he wanted to observe someone or something without being disturbed. It was a very effective tactic. People instinctively ignored someone with headphones and rarely considered seeking them out for anything.

Suzuki stifled a yawn as he took a seat at the farthest table from the entrance. Kashi’s little nine-day crafting adventure had left him without adequate sleep over the past three days. The young man did not bother fighting the fatigue that washed over him. He shut his eyes and engrossed himself in the music.

*Bam!

Suzuki may or may not have slept off, but the next time he opened his eyes, he realized most of the tables filled up save for those close to the edge of the auditorium which was where he was located. Suzuki drowsily looked up at the source of the loud noise that woke him up.

Jade glared at Suzuki, hand on the table. The young woman, dressed in a black gown with white frills that contrasted against her pale skin had a dangerous, ethereal beauty to her.

Suzuki offered after an awkward pause. “Sup?"

Jade’s eyes instantly narrowed, and Suzuki could have sworn he saw an inferno swirling in them. "Hoho. Sup? That's all you got to say?"

Suzuki stared at her with a stupefied expression. Were greetings so complicated in this generation? "...Hello?"

Jade gritted her teeth to control her rising irritation. She opened her mouth to say something but then decided against it. Instead, she grabbed his arm and yanked him off his feet. "Come with me!"

"Uh, you're attracting some attention," Suzuki mumbled as she pulled him out of the hall.

"They can bite me," Jade spat and led him into the male bathroom. The prima donnas who were in the middle of spraying poisons onto their hair paused as they gazed at the beautiful intruder. "Yeah, yeah. Girl in a guy's bathroom. Get over it!" Jade scolded and impetuously seized one of the hair gels as she paraded Suzuki in front of the mirror.

Suzuki frowned. "What're you...!" The young man balked when Jade suddenly pulled out a pair of scissors from a small handbag. "The hell are you doing with those ?"

Jade shrugged and nonchalantly explained. "Some girls pack lipstick, I pack essentials. Now, shut up!" She brandished the scissors like a pair of weapons, and Suzuki felt a chill run down his spine.

"Um, I don't know why you're so mad, but maybe you should drink some cranberry jui—” Snip! The terrible joke died in Suzuki’s throat, and his heartbeat intensified as Jade approached with the hair gel.

In the end, Suzuki was forced to surrender himself to Jade’s mercy as she set to work on his hair. Several minutes and some poor chap's hair gel later, Suzuki once again had a clear view of the depressive black holes he called eyes.

Jade looked him over as she sheathed the deadly blade. "That'll do." She turned around and made her way towards the door. "Are you coming or not?" She called over her shoulder. Well, it was more like an order.

Suzuki did not understand her anger. But more importantly, he did not want to be the one she took it out on. He gave his reflection one last cursory glance then accompanied the irritated young woman back to his table.

While they waited for the event to start, Suzuki could not help but notice Jade’s incessant tapping and fidgeting. He would have ignored it were it not for the fact she sat right next to him. It was far too distracting. Suzuki sighed and asked, "What's wrong?"

Jade snapped to him, her eyes slowly regaining clarity as she slowly recalled where she was. "Hm? What was that?"

Suzuki repeated himself. "I asked what's up with you?"

Jade’s mouth opened and repeatedly closed as she battled on whether to trust him or not.

"If you don't want to tell me, it's fine,” Suzuki said and relaxed in his chair with an extremely bored expression. At the very least he had stopped the tapping. That was enough for now.

Jade’s eyes nervously jumped around the room, everywhere apart Suzuki himself. Moments later, she swallowed hard, she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. "O-okay. Remember when I told you I came to search for my grandfather?"

Suzuki’s brow rose. He could not see where this was going. "Yeah..."

Jade looked away, twiddling her thumbs. "Well, I had to hack into Genaco’s systems to find info on him." She glanced at him for signs of shock, anger or disgust. All of which were common reactions to 'hackers.' However, Suzuki’s ‘izzat so’ expression was kind of annoying in its own way.

"So, how'd that turn out for you?" Suzuki sarcastically asked. Trying to hack into Genaco, the single most prominent company in the world? You’d have better luck catching a star.

"I – I got in."

Suzuki damn near suffered a heart attack. He slammed his palm onto the table, as his eyes widened in amazement. "You did what ?"

"Shhh. You're too loud," Jade chided, as Suzuki’s outburst had attracted a slew of curious glances from the ground.

"So–sorry,” Suzuki apologized. However, the amazement and respect did not leave his voice. “But, seriously. You hacked Genaco? That should be impossible! It's currently the world's highest ranking in network security. Not even the Chinese could break in!" He whispered forcefully.

Jade was taken aback. "You seem to know a lot about this."

"Well, yeah," Suzuki said. "I had to be sure my brain could not be hacked somehow through the Nerve Gear."

"Y-your brain?" Jade chuckled with a playful snort, unable to stifle her amusement.

Suzuki staunchly defended himself. “I was a kid, okay. Animes made me skeptical of V.R.” His inner embarrassment showed as he swiftly changed topics. “Forget that. You still haven't told me why you're mad."

Jade sighed as she took a sip from a drink she kept in her little bag. "I made a mistake. I was impatient and created more backdoors than I was supposed to."

"It's a good thing I watch sci-fi, or you would have lost me right there," Suzuki admitted.

"Haha, good one."

Suzuki thought about what could have gone wrong and questioned, "So... were you caught?"

Jade frowned and resumed tapping on the table. "I don't know, and that's what's bugging me. I was sure the system caught me, but the alert was gone faster than it appeared."

"Maybe i-"

"Sup, Sukki-chan!" a familiar voice interrupted Suzuki as its owner patted his shoulder.

‘Ugh, not him too.’ Suzuki looked up to see Taiga with his trademark wicked grin. The young man retained his wild, untamed hairstyle that ladies seemed to love. "Hello to you too," Suzuki replied in monotone.

Taiga clutched his chest and feigned a pained expression."I'm hurt. You could look happier to see me.” He looked over at Jade and playfully said, "At least introduce me to your date."

"She's not my date!"

"He's not my date!"

"Like two peas in a pod," Taiga remarked with a chuckle. He bowed to Jade and introduced himself. “Last time we didn’t meet in the best of circumstances. The name's Taiga. May I have the pleasure of your name?"

"Yuhi... Jade Yuhi. Call me Jade," Jade replied.

Taiga laughed as he tested the name on his lips. "Jade, a precious na—"

“There you are!” Interrupted an energetic voice.

‘Oh, great. The whole gang's here.’ Suzuki thought with dread when he saw Saeko approaching. The blue-eyed, blond, extremely fashionable young woman seized the attention of the entire hall. By proxy, Suzuki’s table caught a lot of unwanted attention when she joined them.

Saeko walked up to Suzuki and ruffled his hair, "Why didn’t you answer any of my calls?"

Suzuki had two choices. Play along with her ludicrous game, or firmly tell her off. No wait, there was a third option. He could flip the table like a boss then stomp out.

Unfortunately, that went against his low-profile policy. Though now that he thought about it, between the goth-hacker, the silver-haired weirdo, and the big-breasted, blond, blue-eyed foreigner, he was definitely the furthest thing from low-profile. Even now he could feel the heated glares coming from the crowd directed at the oddball out of the group.

"I was in the Drive all week, sorry," Suzuki apologized.

"I understand," Saeko replied with a lovely smile then took a seat next to Taiga. She noticed Suzuki’s new look and said, "You got a haircut?"

Suzuki nodded. "Something like that."

Saeko was about to say something but was drowned out by roaring applause.

Akari walked onto the stage, accompanied by Yukino who looked stunning in a flowery yellow dress. Akari stopped in front of the standing mike and cleared his throat. "Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen. I am glad to see we have a full house tonight. This event is hosted by one of our very brightest minds. I present to you... James Shoyou."

Suzuki sharply inhaled and watched with clenched fists as the young CEO took to the stage, accompanied by roaring applause.

James flashed his winning smile as he waved down the applause. "Hello, all you handsome gents and exquisite ladies. You all look absolutely amazing!" His cheery voice washed over the audience. "So, some of you are no doubt wondering why I pulled you guys out of the game?"

Murmurs rose around the hall.

"I'll take that as a yes," James said. "Here's the deal. I saw some of you were beginning to spend a lot of time in the virtual world and neglecting this one. Before I go any further, how many of you here like the new park, and recreational facilities I opened up?"

The murmurs grew louder, but no one spoke up.

"And I'll also take that to mean a lot of you did. So at the very least, a couple of you by now have made some friends. However, there are still a good number of you guys who spend their entire days cooped up in their rooms. Some immerse themselves in the game while others..." James’ eyes swam across the room. Jade shivered, feeling like he spent a bit too much time on her. "...engage in interesting activities."

James stepped down from the stage and begun walking among them. "What does this have to do with me interrupting your game time? Well, most of you are in the prime of your youth. I personally believe it is a waste to spend all of your time locked away." He leaned in towards a girl who blushed scarlet and said in a musky voice. "You're all too pretty for that."

James left the girl short of breath as he continued energetically. "In lieu of this, I have ordered Mondays and Thursdays as bonding days. This means you must exit the game for at least two hours on those days." He raised a hand to calm the rising murmurs. "We will be increasing the time paradox to five times ours to compensate for this. So, rejoice! You get more playing time."

"As to what we'll do on bonding days... well, nothing really. There might be other events like this one, but those days will mostly be dedicated to you guys hanging out or making friends. Now I know some of you are gamers because let's face it. The real world sucks big time. Why bother with judgy classmates and annoying bosses when you can be heroes and have people listen to you for once.

“Most of you guys here have been shunned by girls or guys because they label you as neets—uncool by definition. Good news, those here are as much gamers, if not more than you guys are. So, while we are here to find a cure for parallel, your well-being is also of our utmost concern."

James paused, and returned to the stage where he replaced the mike onto its stand. "I have taken up enough of your night. Mingle, talk, have as much fun as possible. And most importantly… Enjoy the evening." He bowed and left the stage, to a standing ovation, whistles, and cheers.

The band kicked off the rest of the night's activities with a rendition from a recent anime.

"That was a nice speech," Jade said as he cast a wary glance at Suzuki. Everyone at the table had noticed Suzuki's intense glare as he’d made no attempt to hide it. However, she was unsure on whether she should inquire or not.

"He's always had a way with words," Suzuki ground out through gritted teeth. His gaze was fixed on the blond who was dancing at the center with someone he did not recognize.

"You sound like you know him," Taiga pointed out.

"We go way back." Suzuki directed his intense gaze at Jade. "Care for a dance?"

"Uh-um," Jade stammered, caught off guard by his request.

Saeko playfully chuckled. "If you do not accept, I will."

"I-I'm fine," Jade mumbled and took Suzuki's outstretched hand. She kept her gaze at her feet, trying to remember everything her father had taught her. ‘ Damn, should have paid more attention during those dance lessons . ’

Taiga and Saeko watched as Suzuki led her onto the dance floor. "So... are you going to ask me to dance or not?" Taiga asked, brow raised.

Saeko returned his mocking smile with one of her own. "Isn't that the man's job?"

Taiga shrugged, yellow eyes shining. "Well, I'm all for gender equality."

"Ha. Then you can sit there all night and be equal to zero." Saeko got up and turned toward the dance floor. "I, on the other hand, have places to be."

Taiga grabbed her hand. "That's no way for a prince to act right?"

Saeko closed her eyes and sighed loudly.

Pow!

Taiga blocked her left hook. He revealed a wide grin as he challenged, "That's more like it... Prince."

A vein popped on her forehead as she wrenched her right hand from his grasp. She turned away as if to leave. Then whirled around sharply.

Taiga blocked her punch, then precisely parried a couple more hits. She made to punch his chest, but he blocked her blow. In response, Saeko opened her palms and slapped away his guard. She attacked his chest with bost fists, pushing his chair back, but Taiga grabbed her hands before she could retrieve them and pulled her toward himself. Taiga’s momentum coupled with hers brought Saeko’s face within few inches of his.

Taiga grinned as he teased, "So... about that dance?"

"Fine,” Saeko relented. “But call me Prince one more time, and a sore chest will be the least of your worries."

"Oh, you flatter yourself,” Taiga challenged with a snide grin. “What makes you think that hurt?"

Saeko raised her fist. "Want to try again?"

Taiga nervously chuckled and waved his hands. "No, no. I'm good." As he escorted her to the circle, he added, "By the way, you look great."

Saeko looked away from him and replied, "Thanks. You clean up nice yourself."

"Not too bad," Akari muttered as he took a sip of wine. "That guy actually put together a pretty decent dinner party."

Yukino stood by his side, her brilliance dimmed by a frown.

"What's the matter?" Akari asked.

Yukino glared at him, and he backed away, at a loss at what to do. She swiped a full bottle of champagne from a passing waiter. His protests were cut short with a single look from her. "A toast to idiots," she mumbled as she filled a glass and downed it in one gulp.

Meanwhile, Jade was mesmerized by Suzuki's dancing skill. The young man effortlessly led her gracefully across the dance floor, drawing the admiration and ire of girls and guys respectively. She looked into his distant eyes and asked, "Where did you learn to dance like this?"

Suzuki focused in on her, pausing as if to reboot his brain. "My previous game character picked up a plethora of skills while exploring. This is just one I inherited from him."

Jade chuckled. "The way you view your avatars never gets old. So, what game did you play before this one? You must have been pretty good to be drafted for this weird project."

"King's Journey," Suzuki said. "I'm beginning to see signs that the entire game was most likely a beta for Line ."

"Heh? Did you... sorry, your avatar take part in that last battle against Razznik?” Jade asked. “It was the biggest news in gaming network since the advent of VRs."

Suzuki nodded and admitted, "He died a terrible death."

"Haha. Well, a lot of people called Razz a monster,” Jade said to console him. “Ain't a surprise you lost to him."

Suzuki nodded as they came up beside James Shouyou and his partner. "Excuse me for a second,” he said, then suddenly let go of her and launched a punch at the older man in one deft motion.

James, as if anticipating the attack, also released his partner at the same time and blocked the blow. He grinned as he felt his hand quiver under the force of Suzuki's fist. "I guess you've got some questions, Mato-kun."

"Ah," Suzuki said, grinning. "I have lots of questions." He retrieved his hand, and spun around, his elbow aimed for the older man's face.

James anticipated the attack and blocked it. Suzuki kept up the barrage of attacks with his back to him, but James accurately blocked them all then pushed Suzuki’s back. The youth stumbled forward, stopped, then turned around.

The dance floor instantly cleared and a circle formed around the duo.

"What are you so upset about?" James asked. "I would have thought you'd be pleased."

Suzuki ran at James. He jumped, spun horizontally and struck downwards at the older man. James stepped back just in time and retaliated with a kick to the teen’s midriff.

Suzuki shielded the kick, but the force launched him into the air. Not one to lose, the young man forced himself to spin and kicked the older man’s chest which sent James staggering a few steps backward.

"Now, look what you did," James playfully complained. "You just ruined this suit." He took off his jacket and folded his sleeves.

Suzukii did the same.

The charged each other and met at the middle, hands clashed against each other in a contest of strength. They both turned red in the face as they fought to gain some ground.

Suzuki gritted his teeth and headbutted the older man. While James reeled back from the shock, Suzuki raised a leg to his face. S mack!

James bent his cheek to soften the impact. However, he used the momentum from the strike to pay the teen back with a kick of his own.

Snap! Snap!

Women drooled as they took snapshots of the men whose shirts had begun to slip off, revealing their harshly sculpted bodies.

The clash continued with neither side intent on backing off. Bloodied, Suzuki ripped off his shirt which had begun to get in his way. As he flexed, he did not notice the increase in flashes from PDAs.

Suzuki and James ran at each other for one final bout. However, at this point, two figures interfered. Syel stopped Suzuki while Akari punched James.

"I should have known I could not take my eyes off you," Akari complained.

"Why'd you interfere?" James playfully chided his friend. "It was just getting to the good part."

Akari sighed. "For all your smarts, you can be really dense sometimes. You two talk over whatever this is outside."

James grumbled as he picked up his jacket. Unbelievably, he looked brand new once he straightened out his shirt. "Come on, Mato-kun. Let's talk outside. We've disrupted this party long enough."

Suzuki snorted and followed him out of the hall.

Akari clapped his hands, and the band resumed their music as the dinner slowly recovered from the mayhem. Once everything was back on track, he walked over to Yukino. "You still want to dance?"

She glared at him over her cup. "Took you long enough." She hid her huge grin as he escorted her to the dance floor.

The may breeze licked Suzuki's cut lip. He wiped the blood as he turned to James . "Start talking."

James shrugged."I thought you'd like i t here."

"I don't care about that!" Suzuki shouted as he grabbed James' collar. "Why the hell is Razznik still alive?"

James blinked, trying to process what he just heard. "That's what you're mad about? Not the fact that you were kidnapped?"

"My life already sucked anyway s,” Suzuki rationalized. “ This whole fiasco barely makes my top fifty worst moments."

James covered his eyes with his palms to stop the tears from rushing down as he laughed like he had never done before. "Who would've thought that's what you were mad about."

Suzuki ignored his words. "Answer me!"

"Have you forgotten the day you signed up? Section C Clause 4 of the contract ," James explained.

Suzuki shut his eyes as he recalled the sheet of paper. "... In the event of character deletion... retain.. use..." He released Shouyou, stunned .

James whistled in praise. "I see you remember." He had always found Suzuki’s memory to be on the scary spectrum. The young man rarely forgot anything he did or read as long as it interested him. It was a shame to the rest of humanity that such a bright young man only used his talents for gaming.

Suzuki, oblivious to James’ thoughts, questioned, "You. Just how far ahead did you plan?"

James smiled. "That's for me to know, and you to find out." He made his way to the building's doors as he waved over his shoulder. "Have fun in this game. Oh, and give my regards to Kashi."

Suzuki snorted. “Showoff.”