School President
Taking the time to finally relax in her chair, Tsugumi leaned back and sighed. Telling Retsu that she was Moon Rider had been risky indeed, but from the expression on her face, it seemed that the other girl hadn't completely bought it. Good. The more time spent to delay the truth and avoid giving a straight answer. And it wasn't because of some secret factor of anything as mundane like that; it was just Moon Rider's personality at play.
It was some time before Haruka, bearing two bottles of strawberry-flavored ramune and two convenience store bentos, one with pickled vegetables and another with fried eel, reached her dinner room for that day. Passing a smile towards a red-headed girl who was leaving that room, Haruka slipped inside without a sound, before casting her light brown eyes at the sole occupant of the office room.
“Thought you’d be hungry,” she gestured at the warm, plastic boxes in her hands, “But if you’re on a diet, I’ll eat both."
At the sound of a very familiar voice, Yoshino Tsugumi sighed for....well it was a lot in one day. And who could blame her? Especially with White Terror herself in the flesh having come to visit her. Catching her eye on the assortment of foods she had gone out of her way to bring, the School President adjusted her glasses.
"Haruka Fujiyama....it's been a while since we've talked like this. I assume you have business with the Black King?"
She eyed Haruka carefully, waiting for a response....only to stiffen when the growling of her stomach cut away any sense of mystery or tact.
"So you are hungry?" A light smile appeared on her features as she look that as her cue to sit down as well. Dragging over a much more conservative seat, one that was of well-worn wood, she placed the two bottles of carbonated soda on the table, before balancing the bento boxes on there as well.
"Pick one," she said, before a twinkle entered her eyes, "But if that one is the one that I want, it's rock-paper-scissors for it."
As an afterthought, she added, "The Black King has business with me, actually, so that's pretty much it."
"Yeah...I suppose she does...you don't want the eel, right?"
Regardless, Tsugumi took the one on the right like always along with her ramune as well. Opening the bottle, she took a small sip while looking around for any potential ease droppers that could be spying on the both of them. There were none, but that was to be expected. This was Haruka after all.
Haruka....
"Look....Haruka....I....I wanted to speak with you out here. In the real world. I guess I...."
She hesistated, not exactly sure how to go forward with all this, and the normally calm and collected School President now had raw emotion reflected in her bespectacled eyes.
"I know you probably have better things to do, so I just...what I mean is that I wanted...I suppose...."
A recluse was a recluse, after all, but Haruka could admire the effort Tsugumi was putting into it. Taking the pickled vegetables and allowing the Student Council President to have a small gift in the form of fried eel, she cracked open the plastic box, snapped apart her chopsticks, murmured an 'itadakimasu', before taking a nonchalant bite of the vegetables as she spoke.
A bit rude, in retrospect, but then again...actually, no, Haruka decided that she'd just stop eating there. "Deep Ground's gone," she said with a reassuring smile, "For tonight, let's pretend that one of us achieved our goals. Just tell me what's on your mind, Tsu-chan."
"Right...itadakimasu," she said, the formal etiquette having a deeper meaning. Taking a slow breath, Tsugumi followed the White King's actions of taking only a few bites of her bento before finally stating what was on her mind. Dammit, why was she being so polite and kind? Didn't Haruka know that only made this more difficult for her?
"I can acknowledge that I was a driving factor in our divided friendship," she began. "Therefor, I understand if you choose not to listen to my words, but I still hope you can at least consider them."
An air of slight desperation entered her voice, but Tsugumi ignored it.
"I finally opened the gates to my Guild as Moon Rider for the primary purpose to fufill my goals. However, there was another reason as well, and I'm glad it was enacted. You see, I...I wanted to see you again....Haruka, why did you answer my summon? You know it was only for those players who sought to join the Ebony Strykers."
A driving factor sounded about right. She nodded at that, not bothering to admit that her personal nonchalance in regards to such an important issue also caused the great divide. Nevertheless, she tapped her ear, showing that she was indeed listening.
Chewing thoughtfully on a sour chunk of plant matter, Haruka deliberated, before deciding that there was no point in thinking about an answer, when she had that answer ever since she had first heard of the announcement. "Because I was bored," she started, setting her chopsticks down and popping off the marble-seal of the ramune.
"And hey, it's your first time running a Guild with more than a single person, so I thought I'd lend a hand, teach you the ropes, give you some industry insider knowledge. Blue was probably stalking you and Orange wanted to try out my mecha-horse, so that's how it is."
"Don't know why Yellow came though."
"You were....bored? Heh, that's so like you."
Well, the answer she had received wasn't too suspicious. Still, it really had to be something much more than that. Why would the White King care at all about a completely separate Guild then her own?
"So let me get this straight....you came because you wanted to help me? So you have interest in joining or what? Seriously Haruka, sometimes I just don't get you at all."
As she said this though, a small smile had worked its way up on the School President's face. Soon enough though, that smile became laced with a frown as she remembered the other reasoning of why she called her here.
"Haruka, I want to form our old alliance again. I want to....become friends again. For us to be friends. That is, if you'll allow that....there's something...something wrong with Deep Ground. I'm sure you noticed those Dissolutions, right? And my message earlier...it's the work of a player named Corpse Collector, but that's just the start. I think I've found something that can finally end all of this. The thing we've been working so hard for!"
Tsugumi leaned closer, her glasses flashing in the low light.
"I think...I think I've discovered the final boss of Deep Ground Online."
"When a bigger company expresses interest in joining a smaller company, it's actually considered 'assimilation," she spoke, before taking a long drink. "But hey, it's my business not to be understood so easily."
As the talks progressed though, Haruka's smiles started to fade, dropping into a more serious expression as she considered the magnitude of what exactly her friend was saying. A Dissolution outbreak caused by a player called 'Corpse Collector'. What a lucky name, to be named after a manga character...who gets killed before the plot starts. And then, this talk about a final boss...
"How are you sure that it's the Final Boss?" A simple question, but considering how Deep Ground is a 'competition' for the most wins, not an 'adventure' with a final boss to fight, it was a very fitting one.
"And you know that games don't delete themselves after you clear the Final Boss, right?"
"Yes, yes, I know all that...but this is something I've never see before, and I doubt anyone in Deep Ground has ever reported it before. Tell me Haruka, when was the last time you faced an enemy NPC....that looked just like a player Avatar?"
Unheard of. Everyone knew that all NPCs were programmed to specifically not resemble human Avatars. That was one of the basic principles to Deep Ground's programming. On a practical note, it was meant for low Level players to tell the difference between the two. So to hear of a Dissolution that looked like such a thing...ridiculous.
"But that's not all," Tsugumi continued. "This thing could talk. Interact, move around, and it even had a player menu screen! The only difference was "Player" status read "Dissolution" instead. As to how it's the final boss...actually that's just a hunch. Still, it can't be a glitch in the system. You of all people should how callobrated D.G.P. is."
"Only difference? You have no friends, so I doubt you've tried this...but can an Assassin use Grim Reaper on it? Why does this mean 'Final Boss' anyways? If not a glitch, an Easter Egg? Shouldn't it be possible to just hack the 'Dissolution' title in?"
Tsugumi's initial excitement began to die down as Haruka began to poke holes in her logic.
"Well yeah," she said, defending herself. "I've tried twice; once to see if it works and again to see if a different factor was accounted for."
However, the comment of no friends hit her with sudden force, and she paused on her explanations. To know this fact was one thing, but to hear it from Haruka...on that same tone of indifference....Tsugumi swallowed hard to keep herself in check. Of course Haruka wouldn't take any notion of it; that's just how Haruka was. Still, that didn't mean it didn't hurt. Maybe she was being too emotional, but she knew that she definitely hated this feeling of helplessness.
"Maybe you have too many friends," she muttered lowly to herself.
Clearing her thoat, she said, "You're probably right," she finally conceded, her tone wavering. "I guess it was just a really strong Dissolution. I suppose...I got my hopes too high up. That's all."
Oh ho. Though Haruka may give off the aura of a nonchalant individual who's full of chutzpah and no fucks, she wasn't so blunt that she was also emotionally insensitive. Then again, it also wasn't exactly her style to apologize for a slight that was as insignificant as that.
"So it worked?"
She thought for a moment, before asking a different question, a smile that wasn't totally friendly gracing her features.
"Did you invite it to your guild?"
Tsugumi fidgeted with her glasses and sighed. Typical Haruka...seriously, this sighing thing was beginning to become a nasty habit of hers. Still, it was a habit that she wore with pride and humility and-wait a second. Only now realizing something incredibly obvious, Tsugumi immediately cast her eyes over to the far left. How long had Haruka been staring at her again?
"Yes it worked. The thing just kept spawning itself. Yes I tried to invite it to my Guild. All it did was deny my requests. Look, are you gonna help me look into this or not?"
She was speaking fast now, trying to calm her heartbeat as the fear once again took over. A fear that Haruka was all too aware of unfortunately.
Mmm, now, should she show mercy or not? Haruka considered that for a moment, before deciding that her comment about Tsugumi having no friends was pretty harsh, and broke off eye contact to each some more of her food. Swallowing half the contents of the bento in a single gulp, the White King massaged her throat to make the lump of rice and vegetables go down easier, before setting the rest of her meal away for later. Washing it down with some more soda, she suppressed a burp and thought for a moment.
"Seems like you've already looked into it yourself. What help do you need from me in regards to this Dissolution? And how does this tie into your hunt for Corpse Collector?"
When Haruka broke eye contact from her, it felt like a dark cloud had been lifted and Tsugumi visibly relaxed. Despite the White King's often difficult personality, she was thankful she had decided not to torture her any further. Tsugumi gave the still eating girl a quick glance of appreciation before adjusting her glasses once more, eventually breathing normally.
Only she knew of Tsugumi's clutching phobia.
"That's true, but I'm asking if I can rely on you if, for some reason, this becomes a threat to everyone else. I know it's just a theory, but I need someone to trust. I need a King's trust; at least until I figure out what's really going on. Haruka, you know I can't just let it go. Do I at least have your word to help me if I ever need it? As for the Corpse Collector...."
Tsugumi looked up at the school clock and sighed. It was getting pretty late, and she had barely touched her bento.
"Do we have to discuss this right now?"
"I'll help you if you need it..." She stopped, before smiling once more. "But only if there aren't any exams the coming three days."
Bringing up her arms to the side and stretching back, Haruka finished, "And please, do you even take school seriously, Tsugumi? The night's still young and you've piqued my interest with your yandere tendencies towards Corpse-chan. Tell me everything you know. I already napped in the library."
Tsugumi returned Haruka's smile with one of her own. Well, it wasn't much, but then again it was Haruka. Typical White King. There was no telling when and even if Tsugumi would call for her assistance, but at least she had a back-up plan now.
"Haruka, you know as well as I do that I do not have yandere tendencies towards the Corpse Collector," she said with a roll of her eyes. "I'm surprised you even know what that is; I thought you didn't watch anime? Honestly, I think the only person I'd even consider doing that to would probably be yo-"
The dark-haired girl clenched her mouth shut at that moment, sighing in irritation at the whole prospect.
"Alright fine, but can we at least talk while moving? As you can imagine White Terror, this entire day has been nothing short of exhausting for the Black King."
Yeah, Haruka wasn't oblivious enough to just pass over Tsugumi's slip of tongue in regards to the targets for her yandere fantasies, but the White King also wasn't going to be tactless enough to just confront her about it. Shrugging, she ambiguously dropped off a comment about how there's a whole ton of phrases that one could pick up just by wandering the internet, before standing up and picking up the remains of her dinner.
Heading out the door, she said, "Mm, there's something to be said about the relationship between moving and exhaustion, but of course, Tsugumi. I can tell that running to the Student Council Office was very tiring. You should join me and a few friends for a run some time."
"Oh?"
Tsugumi grabbed her bag and scooped up the now cold bento in her arms as she followed Haruka out of the Student Council Office. She made sure to lock the place securely and turn off all the lights before picking up her pace to walk side by side with the other girl. At this time, it was roughly about late afternoon or early evening for the two girls. Should there be any wandering students about still remaining on campus, then they would have been surprised to see both Yoshino Tsugumi and Haruka striding as equals.
"I almost forgot that you're kind of an exercise nut. What, you guys just walk around the school's track field all day?"
Her voice was dripping with the lightest of sarcasm.
"50/50 interface for Deep Ground is actually quite lovely," Haruka replied, checking the time on her cellphone. Noticing Claire's message, she felt a little happy that her friend would offer help if she needed it, but then again, that was what true friends were like. She tucked away the phone, before accelerating to her normal walking pace: that of a person speed-walking to a set destination.
"It's really quite nice to be able to run around on the track while my Avatar runs around through the Deep Ground. The scenery change makes it quite fun...but we're straying from the topic. Tell me about Corpse Collector. It's related to all the Dissolutions that have been popping up, right?
Tsugumi gave Haruka a look. "Well of course it is. I'm actually surprised the other Kings haven't put most of the pieces together yet. But yes, we can strongly assume that the player named Corpse Collector has been responsible for the amount of glitches seen over the past couple of months. Long story short, she's a hacker who got too much of a kick in her job and now she's messed up in the head."
The School President checked her own cell phone to note the time as the two girls exited the main building of Purple Crown and made their way to the far left of campus. Unlike most students, Yoshino chose to make her residence at the school-provided dorms. After all, that was what her parents were paying for.
"Corpse Collector's brain has been influenced and adapted by the system. Quite frankly, she can tamper with the game in a number of ways due to the fact that she's practically encoded into the program. It's not hard to imagine that a little tantrum from her would cause a massive influx of enemy NPCs to spawn in one place sporadically."
"Wow, I'm impressed," Haruka replied, "You can read minds now? And Corpse Collector...hm, I'm actually surprised that this is a 'first' case. So that's why you want to 'remove' her from the game? Find her in real life and smack her over the head until the chip breaks?"
Tsugumi narrowed her eyes at the mind reading comment-not exactly sure if Haruka's reaction was genuine or not-but chose to ignore it for now. "Yes, that's generally the plan. What I plan to do is make sure she is never able to log into the D.G.P. Otherwise, she won't just endanger herself, but other players instead. And another thing...how long do you plan on following me?"
Evidently, the two were standing right outside of Tsugumi's assigned dorm room
Oh, it has been a long time since she's been this close to Tsugumi's home away from home. Arching an eyebrow at the president, as if Tsugumi had just asked a very dumb question, Haruka said, "Straying from the topic, are we? Figured that the least you could do is let me sleep over, if you intend on talking so much and eating all the stuff that I bought."
"But why are you intent on protecting Deep Ground the first place? If you're lucky, Corpse Collector might just render the whole system inoperable, and you essentially win."
The Student Council President paused as she reached out to unlock her dorm. Trying to process what Haruka was implying...actually no, the message couldn't had been more clear to her. Really, how long had it been since the two of them stood just like so at this particular door...?
"A...sleepover?" After a moment to gather her thoughts together, Tsugumi could only, surprise, sigh in defeat. "Alright fine, but only if you make something to eat. I expect that your company will only serve to keep me from resting my mind..."
Despite her words, her tone was light and friendly. "As for my goals, I'm well aware that this is counter-productive. However, if I allow Corpse Collector to do as she pleases, then there goes my new army."
With that said, she opened the door and guided Haruka to the familiar interior.
"Don't make too much of a mess. I just cleaned the place....I assume you're sharing my pajamas as well?" She frowned at that thought.
"I'd cook," Haruka said, as she entered the dorm room, "But it's not like you finished eating dinner the first place, so just have that if you're still hungry."
Slipping off her shoes and taking a look around, the White King realized that there really wasn't much to see at all. Too clean to be interesting, really. No super-embarrassing fangirl pics of boy bands, or any disturbingly erotic hug pillows. It was, like Tsugumi, a room that didn't show much of itself. Ah well, if she wanted an entertaining room, she could have just gone to a different place to sleep in.
She turned to face the president as the issue of pajamas was brought up. "You have more than one set of pajamas? Is one of them your birthday suit or something?"
Probably a bit of an offbeat joke, but whatever. Haruka sat herself in one of those black-leather executive chairs that Tsugumi appeared to indulge in, before asking, more seriously, "So...you'll be keeping your intentions secret to your guildmates as well? Have you ever considered recruiting Corpse Collector, actually?"
Tsugumi huffed at the small joke. "No; I have the appropriate amount of sleep wear required of Purple Crown." She smirked. "But they're all the same color, so I'll understand if sleeping in the nude is your thing Haruka. On a more serious note, you can take my bed for the night. I'll sleep on the futa."
Taking her place in the chair opposite of Haruka, the Student President nodded to answer her question. "I've considered the notion....and have decided that's it's just too risky." She lifted her eyebrow in suspicion. "And no, she's not for grabs to the other Kings either. Corpse Collector is a ticking suicidal time bomb. By the end of all this, she'll be lucky to have only minor neurological scars. That's if we're successful mind you. As for my own Guild...."
Tsugumi adjusted her glasses. "By intentions, do you mean my goal of destroying D.G.O.?"
"Sleep on the futa?" Haruka arced an eyebrow at another one of Tsugmi's slip-of-tongues. "Glad to know where your fetishes lie then. Guess even Black Kings get lonely at night."
"And of course I mean that, Tsugumi. The Ivory Masks are well-aware that, at the very minimum, I'm planning to exploit how the win-system in Deep Ground functions, and support me in such an endeavour. On the other hand, from what I've gathered, those who have wished to join the Ebony Strykers see this as a way of quickly attaining a powerful position within Deep Ground. Unlike you, I doubt that they'd be too pleased if Deep Ground was replaced by another system. It would invalidate all of their past efforts, after all."
"Futa? What are you talking about? I said futon...." Tsugumi's eyes widened at her slip of the tongue and she clenched her hands into tight fists. With a look of pure anger combined with a healthy dosage of teenage embarrassment, Tsugumi glared at the other girl, her glasses reflecting off the light.
"Look. It was a simple word twist. Nothing more. Got it?" The slip-up having upset her considerably, Tsugumi narrowed her eyes. "It's my Guild Haruka. I do what I want. I will lead them to victory and crush anyone who gets in my way. If you're with me, fine. If not, then just stay out of my way," she said darkly.
Well someone was riled up.
"Right, right, seems like someone needs her sleep now. Interesting talk today, Tsugumi. Keep this up, and maybe you'll be able to get a boyfriend before Deep Ground ends."
Standing up and deciding that this was the maximum length of a conversation they could have before they started trying to kill each other again, Haruka waved, slipped into Tsugumi's bedroom, and called out, "Try to resist stabbing me to death during my sleep, Blackie."
Realizing just how worked up she was getting, Tsugumi could only watch Haruka go in silence towards her bedroom. Suddenly feeling regretful with her tone, she took the time to pull out the futa....no wait, it was a futon. Right. Laying it out, she proceeded to turn out the lights, all but the one in the small kitchen area. Haruka was in her room, so she would no doubt have to be careful when gathering her pajamas for the night.
Sighing, she strolled into her previous sleeping area without a thought, took some clothes, and changed into her sleepwear inside the small bathroom. Exiting, she was dressed in simple black pajama pants and a white t-shirt. As she moved to leave the room, she paused at the doorway with her back facing Haruka.
"Hey Haruka....thanks. I know I can be unbearable sometimes...so I appreciate you putting up with me."
And without another word, the Black King sat at her dining table, opened up the cold bento, and finally took a small bite.