Matsushima Momiji

@Undying Curiosity

Well, at the very least the other seemed to recognize her. Momiji understood that the current situation seemed rather odd to her. Sort of like when you are walking down the street and you meet up with a friend from highschool but you don’t actually remember their name and you don’t want to let them know you don’t actually remember their name.

Well, that wasn’t the exact case here, but it was pretty similar to Momiji’s eyes. She knew of Kazue, but she was not completely familiar with his person. Simply put, Momiji remembered him as some kid sitting in the corner of the classroom, never really interacting with the rest of the class. Though Momiji tended towards introvertive actions, she wasn’t exactly “anti social”. Merely, she never really trusted the words of her fellow classmates.

After all, Momiji had been lied to all her life from many people and she could never accept someone who she didn’t trust. Though it was not easy to gain her trust, at the very least once this trust was obtained there was little chance that Momiji would betray you, as on principle she understood the pain of betrayal all too well.

“Eh!? Are you some sort of idiot, kid?”

Though she was about to place the ramblings of Kazue to a bit of insanity, there was a single word, or more aptly a single name that stood out within the confines of the conversation that ignited something that Momiji had kept buried for years.

Yoshiro.

It couldn’t be the same person, could it, that she had met all this time ago? Impossible. Such conveniences were only found within the plotlines of poorly written shows.

However, she did remember someone who used to be friends with Yoshiro. The two were inseparable together, as if twins at the hip. The three would play together as children, running around as the rascals they were. But because of her living situation, Momiji was forced to move away from the group, never seeing them again.

It was not until much later that she had learned what happened to Yoshiro. She hadn’t been for him during his time of need. She had failed a friend when they needed it most. Though not exactly Momiji’s fault, she felt somewhat responsible. Perhaps if she visited him or even wrote letters to him the situation might not have occurred as it had. After all, Momiji understood to a degree, at least on the surface level, the experiences of a divorce on a person’s mental psyche.

But, where Momiji had Brain Burst to effectively obtain an escape from reality, Yoshiro didn’t have this luxury. No, perhaps that was not correct. Yoshiro had Brain Burst installed as she remembered, but lost it due to a mistake.

After all, Yoshiro was her parent, right?

But what of the other boy that Yoshiro and Momiji had played together with as children? His name was …

“...Kaz? Is that really you?”

It was a bit of a surprise to Momiji, running into a childhood friend like this. After all, the world tended not to be so cliche in its mechanisms. Perhaps it was simply the wheels of fate. After all, like the users of Stands from a certain Bizarre Adventure, those destined towards the confines of Brain Burst were more than likely to meet one another than those without.

Like a web of fate, one cannot escape their destiny.

Momiji tried, and there is no going back.

“I hardly recognized you. You really changed, Kaz. And I don’t mean that in a negative way. The Kaz I knew would have been crying behind my hip if someone had said that to him.”

Though as expected, Momiji didn’t change, at the core of her being, too drastically. Though in modern day she did tend to avoid others, when she had some sort of idea she was one never to drop it and would always see it to the end, even if it wasn’t in conception a very smart idea. Though very outward, she only acted in such a way towards that which she drew passion from.

' Every person wears three masks, a mask to show their friends, a mask to show their family, and a mask they only show to themself. These masks change over time and are different for everyone...'

If this was the case, than Momiji herself was no exception from this ruling. After all, she acted completely differently from those around her when in different company. Perhaps the person who said this was not such an idiot after all.

But, there existed another problem. Momiji had been betrayed before by those she believed to be her friends. In the confines of Brain Burst, the identity of a King was information one could sell for near infinite amounts of points. She had to be sure this was not some sort of trick. At the very least, she didn’t want another incident to break her heart once more.

She had trusted him before. She would hope that her trust in his words would not go unfounded though.

“This must be fate, no? Small world we live in. I can’t believe I’d meet you again after all these years in a maid cafe, no less. My my, what a degenerate you've become.”

---

Hirose Reimi

@Krinos Solstice

It was a bit to take in all at once. Though a bit sceptical surrounding certain details within the confines of the program named “Brain Burst”, at the very least she had no reason to not trust Shin. The two had a mutual understanding of one another, and Shin at the very least didn’t seem like someone to lie about such a frivolous detail.

At the very least, if he was lying, he could of at least came up with a better lie than a videogame escapade. But still, a game that could manipulate the memories of those who played it? It seemed to Reimi, even in a world more advanced than humans thought possible within the confines of the near future, it seemed a bit farfetched.

Even those who believed in someone’s point of view needs to understand that rational thought regarding instances seemed important to suspend for but the moment of understandment. If this person had betrayed Shin, then the rumors surrounding his person seemed to make much more sense to her mind. After all, Shin didn’t seem like the playboy sort of individual to Reimi. Though they had only but recently met within the year, Reimi at least felt an understanding of Shin’s character.

“I-If this is the case, I am sorry you had to go through this Shin. If this game is really something that you detest, perhaps you should delete it.”

Though Reimi tended towards social awkwardness, she understood to a degree that she didn’t wish to see those around her hurt. And from the message Shin had sent as well as the more somber tone he was taking with her, Reimi understood that Shin was hurting. Just like she was. Ostracisation was, at their age, a common thing to do to those who didn’t meet the requirement of normalcy dictated by the greater Other, and the two were ostracised from the greater group due to rumors.

“...H-However, the Shin I think I know isn’t so much of a coward to run away from his problems like this. If you kept the game for this long, that means you don’t have closure for what happened, r-right? You want to go back to the game, but don’t know how. A-At least, that is my perspective.”

If he kept the program for so long and was informing Reimi about the situation, Shin most likely had a reason for doing so.

Reimi drank her tea at a rather mechanical rate during the conversation, as if a machine taking within herself perfectly measured bursts of tea from her straw. Though Reimi was not 100% sure on the standings Shin had regarding the situation, or was very sure about interpersonal relations between others, but if she knew Shin like she believed she knew Shin, this was likely the right line of thought. Either that or she had misjudged his character or was not understanding a minute detail surrounding the case.

A flurry of mixed emotions swept through Kazue as he heard Momiji speak. At first, it was relief, at least it was somebody he knew, even vaguely. Having a complete stranger tumble to the floor because of something stupid you did would surely be much more embarrassing. Then, Kazue felt embarrassed, after all these years and all the things they both went through, one thing that stayed with Momiji, was how much of a crybaby Kazue was. Although, Kaz couldn't protest much, he knew it himself that no child should cry so much or things so small.

Shame slowly crept into his system when Momiji pointed out the setting in which they met. As she spoke Kazue started thinking as well, Of all places and of all people. Why couldn't it be at a library or on the street or something... Kazue's first thought was to justify why he was here and explain that he didn't even really know what this place was. But it had just occurred to him that, for some reason, Momiji choose this place to eat.

Kazue stood up straight, and held his hand out to her. He palm was excessively sweaty, but he didn't realize this until it was too late. He just had to sit there uncomfortably until She stood up.

"I could say the same. You would have never struck me as the person who like to be served by maids in a cafe." Kazue replied. To further add to his 'comeback' he added more,"...Little miss 'I have an Image to uphold'."He laughed a bit while he helped her up.

Kazue moved a few steps ahead of her and opened the door to the cafe, he was about to walk out side but than realized the girl was behind him. So, after taking a few steps out of the door, he retreated back into the cafe and stood there gesturing for her to go first. "Sorry.." He whispered.

Takeo woke up in a daze, barely noticing the rain and only focusing on the clock, "Two hours, new record..... woo." As he got up from his bed, his stomach rumbled, pleading to be fed. Hey, I ate two days ago so shut up. I've got a limited budget until I find a new job. It's not my fault they don't accept 'having to run an online kingdom since the queen disappeared' as an excuse to miss work. Oh my Queen, where have you gone to? Takeo looked around his nearly empty apartment, having only a bed, a dresser, and a door leading to the bathroom, thinking about how much better this place would look in the virtual world. Welp, that's enough time outside of Brain Burst. Time to go back. He thought, as he returned to his bed and booted up the game. When he entered the game, the first thing Dark Matter did was access his messaging system, searching for anything new. "Any battle invitations? N-n-n-nope. Legion req-q-quests? Of course not. How about messages from the other k-k-kings? Well would you lo-o-o-ok at that, Noth-th-th-thing. Maybe a message from Ms. Void?..... Thought so." Dark Matter thought for a moment, maybe it was time for him to message the Queen himself, maybe she'll answer this time. She probably won't. She never does. No, he couldn't think like that, this time it had to work. He pulled up a keyboard and started writing.

"Greetings My Queen,

I hope all is well. Things here in the game are all falling apart. The legion is dwindling and the remaining members demand for me to take your place or let someone else start calling the shots. The situation with Xero just gets worse as time passes. We need you back, this legion deserves a true leader and I'm not one. If your done with the game I need to know, because if you are then nothing is holding me back but if you plan on returning then I refuse to let someone take your place. Please, respond to me this time. I need to know something, anything.

Your Knight,
DarkMatter

As he sent it, a warning message popped up on his screen. Warning, nutrition levels are dangerously low. Eat something immediately or an ambulance will be sent to your location. Great, looks like I have to log out and find a cheap place to eat. Takeo rose from his bed slowly, exiting the game, and started walking towards the door. He hoped for something to happen to finally break this monotony, perhaps a challenge would come in as he walked around or maybe he'd see a place that would hire someone like him. For now though, he just cared about getting to this new place called 'Angel Snort' or something like that, which was apparently cheap.

Matsushima Momiji

@Undying Curiosity
@Kronshi

It was strange. Momiji felt something she thought she would not feel in some time. Nostalgia. A degree of familiarity with a someone else. Something she had not felt in a long time, ever since she was but a young lady.

Perhaps it was merely destiny that she had met once more with a friend from childhood. Of course, at the same time she couldn’t say that it was an all-good meeting. After all, she felt responsible to an extent for her “other” friend. But that conversation was one that Momiji couldn’t truly articulate as she could with other instances of conversation. It was an awkward, yet serious subject matter after all.

At the very least, Momiji was a bit happy to see that despite his attitude towards others changing but the slightest, he was still a kind lad. After all, it was the sharp distance of dissonance which caused Momiji to act like she had for the last few years. Even to someone she had known for the majority of her youth Momiji was unable to trust completely. Even if he was someone who was nice to her during her childhood, people change by the experiences they take and the ideas they adopt. Life in not a journey from A to D, but rather the immense steps to procure what once is able to desire as B from the sum of their existences’ 1-infinity and so on, like the book Tristram Shandy. People were not so two dimensional as to not have their own inner machinations which force the core of their existence.

But even so, Momiji was still human. And despite her desires to keep away from others to the greatest extent, there existed a part of herself that wished that Kaz hadn’t changed from his kind ways as a child, if but awkward. But even Momiji wasn’t the same person who once accepted those around her into her person. She had lost this trait long ago very easily. Betrayal was something that perhaps Momiji expected at this point from those close to her.

So perhaps it wasn't too selfish for Momiji to accept this “kindness”, even if it was probably superficial to begin with. As long as she knows it is inconsequential an action, she cannot be bothered by it, no? But deep down within “herself”, she wanted this kindness to be true.

Perhaps she needed someone, anyone, to Kickstart her heart.

“Maids are great. I come from a rich family, you know? Maybe I should practice my Ojou-sama laugh,” Momiji said to Kaz, barely stifling her laughter. "Ohohoho~"

She would have been able to continue with Kaz out the door into the rain.

At least, that is what should have happened.

But that was when Momiji saw “it”.

“Eeeeek, what is that monster that looks like something out of an old western undead flick doing at the entrance of the cafe!?”

Momiji placed her hands to the front of her in the shape of an X in a feeble attempt to protect herself.

Well, at least that is what Momiji thought it was at first. It had a similar constitution at the very least. A dilapidated and deprived being that seemed almost feral to an extent. However, on closer inspection of the “thing”, she soon concluded it was not a “monster”, but rather a boy who seemed in the same age group.

“A-Are you okay? Do you need food? I can help you if you need food!”

At the very least, Momiji as someone who believed in philanthropy, despite being rather fortunate throughout her life, would not allow another soul to simply die to their hunger.

She would protect those she could see, and in turn they could protect others as well. Well, perhaps Momiji wasn’t such an idealist to believe such a line, but at the very least if someone was suffering and she could aleve such instances with simple actions she could not say she would be annoyed by such. This boy was still an idiot regardless though.

“Assuming you don’t mind, Kaz.”

Yoshiki Kaibara

The unmistakable sound of a new player logging into the virtual world resounded through the chamber, breaking Yoshiki's focus and causing him to turn. As soon as he did, he was greeted with the sight of a balcony - an addition from the last time he looked - with a small, panda avatar standing atop it. So, Keiko had indeed invited others for the little test. No surprise there. They must have been school friends or something, yet... He had never seen that avatar.

That train of thought was obliterated as the countdown ended, and his vision flashed with the word FIGHT! in a crimson colour. His head darted up just in time to catch the bot charging at him, aiming for a swing to cleanly take his head off. Narrowly, he ducked; rolling away before turning back to face it. In that time, it was already coming back for another strike - to which Yoshiki blocked in a one handed swing. Then came the third attack, a broad swing, which he easily struck away.

The force of the counter caused the drone to stumble, stepping backwards and waving its arms slightly in order to maintain balance. Perfect. Bring the blade back, he lunged forwards, putting in practice some of the fencing he learned for another game. Except, as it made contact, a chained blade wrapped around the sword, forcing his stride off and dragging his whole body away with an unnatural strength. It was too late as he saw the second Kusarigama blade swinging in a wide arc, giving only enough time to stop the force at the expense of arm use.

It wrapped around his left arm, held outstretched as if to catch it, and coiled up - slicing a line directly up his arm and forcing it to hang limp. Blood sprayed slightly, dripping across the ground as the second bot attempted to pull the blade free from his crippled arm. It stuck, however, tugging against the lacerated meat in a futile attempt. Which was exactly what he needed. Both drones were now converging on him, made only slightly better by the engagement of the Kusarigama.

Yoshiki jumped, twisting his ruined arm around the chain to prevent it's movement further. His foot connected with the chain, loosening it a bit with the weight and dragging the bot closer, allowing him to slide the katana free. With another jump from the chain he was atop, he forced the blade forward in a lunge - aimed for the exposed, yet neat wiring at its neck. It didn't flinch as the blade pierced straight though, severing all the connectives to the processor in its head. Once again, his arm fell limp and the blade slipped out; uncoiling as it went until it was laying on the ground in a puddle of blood.

An audio cue seemed to play, in the form of slicing air as a blade was across with force. His katana flicked once, the blade now facing the ground, before being brought up to block. If the AI could process fear or confusion, it would of done, as Yoshiki continued looking at the body of the first slain drone. That fear probably would have doubled as the catboy swivelled his body and stared deep into the matte white eye type indents on its face.

"Waste of my arm..." the drone stumbled back once more as the boy drew the blade up and forced it back. A simple flourish and the blade was back to facing the ceiling. Before it managed to charge at him, he took a step. Then two. Then three. Each step increasing in speed, until his was upon the drone. For a second, he thought that maybe this AI COULD process fear, because something seemed to flash across it's face.

That glimpse, that glimmer, was quickly stopped when Yoshiki went for a single, round ending swing. Except, the bot seemed to have different ideas. It blocked the strike, the the second rebound. It deflected a roundhouse kick to the chest, and then went for a two handed swing of its own. In twist, he deflected, and the two stood there, facing each other; staring. What seemed like minutes passed, and the two broke, instantly going back into to attack again.

For the most parts, it was a flurry of blades, kicks, and dodges. With the death of the second AI, the difficulty almost seemed to increase, and with it so did Yoshiki's skill. Anyone looking would have seen an abnormally large grin stretching across his face in the front of combat - like he was enjoying it. And damn if he wasn't. He hadn't seen a Virtual World fighting game this fun for at least 3 years! How could he do anything but enjoy himself.

Every couple of swings, there would either be the sound of metal slicing meat, or slicing electronics. Occasional sparks would fly from both parties, or in some cases blood, as each exchanged blows. A timer appeared on the top of both Yoshiki and Shizuka's screen, indicating a 1 minute countdown. He'd have to make this quick then.

With a swing, he clashed against the oppositions blade, but instantly retracted. The blade twisted back into an icepick grip, and he went in for the rebound. The two blades collided, but his slid past the counter and slashed across the bots shoulder. Normally, that would have given it an opportunity to end the match. But not here. Even though it did go for an attack, Yoshiki placed his limp arm in the way and took the blade, wincing ever-so-slightly against the pain.

"Game over!" he exclaimed through his grin, slicing the blade across its chest; leaving a long slice. With a twist of his shoulder, he ripped the blade from the bots hand and let if fall, switching his own blade back to a regular hold and slashing off the drones right leg. It fell, before its over leg was severed too. Then both its arms, and finally its head.

A screen flashed with FIGHT END! in dark grey letters, and he turned back to Shizuka. The whole room reset, and the wall replaced the sword with a beautiful curved combat blade.
"Hey... Are you... Just, give me... A minute..."

Shizuka hopped onto the edge of the balcony, doing a double front flip off of it so she could be on the ground below with the other guest before giving him a soft smile.
"Than by all means take a moment to rest, I hope you don't mind if I take a turn while you do. I did promise I would at least give it one go though I wonder if I can still do it in a minute."she spoke gently before gracefully walking past the other. The field resetting as the AI was once again standing at the other side of the arena in perfect shape, waiting for its next opponent. The screen popped up, the weapons pulling up before her though all seemed to be blocked out but a lone dagger which meant that was the obvious choice she had to make. The second her small paw touched the weapon, the screen switched to mode of difficulty with many different options though when she caught her name, she was instantly curious to what Keiko had made up for her.
Interesting...what kind of challenge did you have in mind? What are you playing at Red King?"
Not one to let curiosity eat at her, she tapped her name before the screen disappeared and the 10 second counter went up. Shizuka moved swiftly into a defensive stance and turned her full undivided attention to the AI before her as she waited for the game to beginning.

The AI didn't move an inch, a slight twitching seemed to be happening as if it was almost glitching until it looked as if something were forming out of it. It started growing extra limbs and parts before a whole new AI was standing next to the first having just pulled itself out of the original. A frown set on her face, a eyebrow raised at what she had just witnessed since that was an interesting way for a double opponent to appear but she couldn't be too surprised by more than one since a one on one fight could be too quick. It wasn't till the new one split once more that Shizuka knew she was going to have her hands full at this point and was honestly starting to wonder when they would stop doing so. The AI had split twice already with only four second left to the start of the fight, it made her on edge after being away from a true challenge in so long. Would she still be able to do this? Did Keiko have this much faith in her? It was about the time of that thought when she was graced with yet another AI to get in her way but luckily the timer was about to run out so at least she knew how many she needed to get through.
4vs1...you couldn't make it easy could you? Well, I guess it is now or never."

2....1.....FIGHT!

She spun her dagger, a playful smile on her lips before she dashed forward with no trace of fear as the four opponent sprung to life. Shizuka jumped to the side as one took a swipe at her, only to do a quick spin to block an attack from behind her and using her strength to push the weapon away from her enough to kick the AI's ankle. This gave her just enough to dodge into a clear zone, her eyes darting back and forth to each opponent as she circled them slowly and waiting for an opening. One of them jetted forward, preparing to attack when it switch course at the last moment and throwing Shizuka off guard as the next came up to attack which made her have to bend backwards to avoid the blade though it still ended up nicking her shoulder a bit. She glared, the wound irritating her and boosting her determination as she used her arms to do a flip from her bent position, kicking the sword out of the AI's hand. Shizuka grabbed the weapon in mid air before rushing forward to slice at the defenseless AI but ended up dropping the sword to grab the wrist of the computer that had almost stabbed her side. She yanked the AI forward by its wrist, throwing it off balance since it was already slightly bent to be able to attack and kicked out its legs. She didn't waste any time before plunging the dagger into where its jugular would be and slicing across.

Shizuka quickly removed herself from the fallen AI, moving back into defense as she spotted two of the enemies but the other one was just out of sight, slowly making its way behind her. They had her surrounded now, she would have to break them up to take them out one by one or she would have to find a away out of this circle to give herself more room. The two AI's before her moved into attack position, each attacking her at the same time causing her to have to block fast with no free chance to attack unless Shizuka wanted to take some heavy damage which was not her goal at the current moment. She had almost forgotten about her third little friend behind her and had almost been slashed had it not been for the reflective surface of the swords she was holding at bay from ripping into her. She pulled her weapon back, not holding the block anymore as she stepped back, laying on the ground fast before pushing herself back between the AI's legs with its sword narrowly missing her head. Shizuka didn't take long to slash at the AI's Achilles tendon, causing the thing to wobble before she attacked the other leg behind the knee so it could no longer stand. She had no time to finish off the AI laying on the ground but they wouldn't be going anywhere with ease either. That being said, she now had the last two to focus on and they were after her with a vengeance. It didn't matter what she tried, the two were not leaving any openings for her and where making her work hard to not be hit. A thought came to her mind and she turned her backs on the AI's before dashing away, making it almost seem as if she was trying to run from the fight or stop it. They two were hot on her heels, the wall coming up fast which would have made anyone think she was setting herself up to be trapped. Instead, Shizuka started running up the wall before pushing off of it once at a certain height and reaching an arm out to grab hold onto on of the AI's back. It tried to throw her off and slam her against the wall but she held on tight waiting for the right moment. That second came when the other AI went to attack Shizuka and help its comrade only to have Shizuka drop down, the AI dispatching the other by accident as the sword was now through the other AI. The AI turned to her, a one on one match finally beginning. They both stood, no one moving before they both rushed at each other, jumping into the air to slash at one another. They landed on opposite sides of the field, Shizuka refusing to wince at the pain that was blooming across her chest while the AI held its belly slightly and turned slowly back to its enemy. She swiftly jerked around, picking up one of the fallen swords and tossing the dagger aside for now before raising a arm to wave the other to her. She stood calmly, moving into a regal stance as she waited for the attack to come but the second the AI was close, she moved at lightening speed and slashed the AI in two. She didn't let her exhaustion show as she walked slowly, the forgotten fallen AI struggling to grab a sword as it dragged itself across the ground. Shizuka stood over the computer, stepping on the outstretched hand and pointing the sword to the things neck."If you can concede than I would do so now." Shizuka stated to the AI, waiting a moment to see if that was even possible and she assumed it was as everything disappeared once more. The AI standing good as new at the other side of the field as she walked away from it so she could rejoin Yoshiki on the sidelines.

"I have something to ask of you before anymore words are spoken. Do you love games? I feel that you do from watching you fight. If the answer is yes than would you like to play a game that is even greater than this one? A game that makes this one small in comparison?"

Kazue held the door open for a few seconds to long, eventually turning into something the put Kaz in a very awkward position. He waited for a little bit, before spotting a boy about to come into the Cafe. It'd appear Momiji spotted this boy the same time he had, except, she responded in a completely different way. While Kazue just stepped back with one foot, opening the door to the cafe more to allow this person in, Momiji let out a shriek and called him a monster?

Kazue thought it was a bit harsh, the boy was a bit thin and pale but to say it out loud was bit unexpected. Kazue stood their, awkwardly, as Momiji bombarded this boy with questions as if she was talking to a starving child. Kazue might have said something to them about holding the door open for to long, but he honestly thought it would make him seem like he didn't really care for chivalry, that soul purpose being the reason why he's holding the door open in the first place. Instead, Kaz let a sigh escape his lungs and leave his nose, it was quite and light enough to go unnoticed.

Kazue looked at Momiji when she said his name, he was listening inattentively just a few seconds prior but he still understood what she was saying. It was like his brain was listening even when he didn't intend to, allowing him to respond without having her repeat herself. "N-No, no, it's no problem." Kazue said, ushering in the boy to the cafe.

From what it seemed, Momiji didn't know this person, and if she did, why didn't she call him by his name? Kazue just assumed she didn't know him, so he started to wonder what this boy is going do. Kazue tried to see it from his perspective; You're just about to walk into a cafe and you get stopped by a rather pretty girl and she treats you like you've been starving all your life. Kazue felt a shiver down his spine, That would be terrifying.. Kazue closed the cafe door behind him as he let the boy enter.

He looked over at Momiji from beyond the boy's shoulder, "We'll catch up after." Micky stated. There wasn't a lot of confidence towards the end of that statement, making it come off more like a question, as if he was unsure of what is happening.

As Takeo walked towards the cafe his thoughts were completely on the game. He had to decide what the next step would be, should he start up a mission to attack Xero and his forces or focus on the other Kings first. Perhaps I should just wait and see what my queen decides to do. His thoughts completely absorbed, he barely noticed the girl that screamed at him before walking into her. What is she saying, something about food? Well, she clearly wants me to follow her inside so I guess I'll oblige. Being ushered in, Takeo looked around the place wondering why someone like this girl would be in a place like this. Takeo just wanted a cheap meal, guess she just wanted that too. Although, she had enough money to pay for him so then why?

Wait a minute, she's paying. Then I can order anything I want right? Maybe I should verify first... No, I should just order before she changes her mind. Takeo took a seat and picked up a menu, all of the food looking really odd to him. Why must everything be made up all cute? I'm not sure what to get. I've never been here before. What would you suggest? Takeo asked in a quiet voice. He wasn't sure what to think of this girl. Why was she doing this, was it a trap? Was she going to trick him into ordering something expensive and then ditch him with the bill? He didn't even know her name and she didn't know his. Maybe he should tell her? No, then she could find information on me using her Neuro Linker. I'll wait until after I get something to eat.

Matsushima Momiji

@Undying Curiosity
@Kronshi

“Eh? It shouldn’t take too long if you would be willing to wait.”

Momiji figured that Kaz might have something to do, and if that was the case at the very least she could allow him leave. It was her own choice as a member of the wealthy upper class to save those whom befell misfortune. Though the balance between existences might be a rather important aspect which Momiji respects as the harmony of nature, the existence of someone less fortunate than themselves before them without much regard to their own health brought out an aspect of Momiji she hardly enjoyed to touch upon. A naturally maternal individual who would prefer to exist as a ‘cool’ person. Truly the class of existences was something that one might consider “embarrassing” to see, but Momiji didn’t truly mind this aspect of herself. After all, it was an unconscious reaction. No training could really remove unconscious actions from the person without extremity, and Momiji considered such undertakings more of a hassle than not.

“But,” she continued “if you don’t want to wait we should at the very least exchange contact information. After all, I might not have realized it before but I might be a tad bit sentimental and I didn’t really dislike this meeting as a whole.”

Momiji seemed to prefer solitude to some extent, but only at keeping others away from her true “person”, as those who have seen her own “self” tend to despise her existence, as with the case of her own mother. Therefore, shells of personality existed to prevent the excavation of her own existence. Though deep down not a bad person, Momiji’s experience with those she had trusted tended towards “unfavorable” to say the very least.

“Of course, that is assuming you also enjoyed this meeting. If not then I am sorry I was such a terrible ‘host’. I do still have a bit of business with you though.”

At the very least, Momiji didn’t think she had caused any unfavorable instances to occur between the two. Though they had met on a bad footing, as with Momiji’s bad footing, the conversation seemed to flow rather naturally as if two long friends had spoken to one another, even including instances of nicknames and the like. Perhaps Momiji trying to avoid the events from transpiring and her own mistake in terms of tripping was the mechanisms of fate moving to their allotted positions. If one is an “actor” on the stage of life, then the actions taken are simply to reach the desired “end”. And this was most likely the desired end.

The fate of oneself was a concept that Momiji tended towards agreeing with. It was her fate as a higher member of society born into this instance to act in a way that would be described as “philanthropy”. It was her fate as both a charismatic and determined individual to eventually reach the point of the “strongest” within the confines of the Accelerated World. And it was her fate to eventually meet with a long-lost friend after not seeing them for ages. Everything in the world has a purpose under the confines of fate, and even if it was idealistic to state such instances, such was the desire for Momiji to find meaning within her own life and the life of others. One could say that this talk of fate was more or less a “kindness” rather than something malicious, but if fate existed it would not have any sort of bias towards either spectrum of morality.

“I'm not sure what to get. I've never been here before. What would you suggest?”

Momiji paused for but a moment, letting out an audible “hmmm” as if a child trying to come up with the answer. This Maid Cafe was definitely not something that Momiji frequented to often. Though she had wished she could have more often visited this place, it had recently opened up so there was not a lot of time for her to savor the menu and the workers.

“I cannot say I really have a ‘suggestion’. This would be my first time in this shop. But I believe that something like a rice omelette like the one I had purchased prior was rather solid. Of course, you are free to order what you wish from the menu. After all, you look like you could use the food.”

Though not exactly the most genuine person in existence, Momiji still believed that this person was her responsibility to some extent. He was probably just some student who had a string of bad luck or some lazy person who didn’t remember to eat for a while. At the very least, a single meal was not really out of the question for her allowance. Because of her natural existence of being “rich”, trades like cleaning and cooking weren’t really her forte, so eating out was always an option for Momiji.

“My name is Momiji. Momiji Matsushima. What is yours?”

"Sure... Go ahead..." Yoshiki said, walking off towards the edge of the room - leaving a trail of blood behind him. A whitish blue light shone from beneath him as Keiko messed around with some commands on the other end, teleporting the boy up onto the
balcony where Shizuka once stood. Not only that, but his arm was healed as well.

Yoshiki couldn't stop himself from smiling. Whoever this person was that Keiko had invited, they were damn good at this. Their moves were precise, and their skills well honed. Even from where he stood, the air of years and years of training was undeniable. This "Shizuka" was something else. Without even realising, the battle was over. She had just taken on 4 bots at once and made the AI surrender. Just who the hell was she..?

As soon as the battle ended, the balcony vanished from existence and Yoshiki was placed directly underneath. Yet, as he walked up to praise the panda for their prowess in battle, he was stopped.
"I have something to ask of you before anymore words are spoken. Do you love games? I feel that you do from watching you fight. If the answer is yes than would you like to play a game that is even greater than this one? A game that makes this one small in comparison?"

Huh? Was she serious? Something that made this fighting experience seem small? From what he had experienced, there were little to no fighting games that actually mirrored fighting close to perfectly - with this being one such few. How could there be something so much larger in comparison that Yosiki hadn't heard about?! Day in and day out, he would check for something new to play. And here this person was telling him that there was something he had overlooked?!

"You're joking, right? I've been checking for games for years, so if there was something, I would've seen it. I mean, it'd be pretty damn awesome if there WAS something like that, but..." His eyes flickered to her avatar, essentially replaying her fight, "You aren't joking, are you... If you are offering me the chance to play something new, I accept fully. Hah, this might actually be something Keiko hasn't heard of!

---

Keiko Inata

Keiko couldn't stop herself from giggling. In fact, she already had a text window open, and her hand was already dancing across the keyboard.

Mamorimasu,
Sorry to call upon you, but... *giggle* I think I win. Did we actually make a bet in the end? No matter. I do believe I am victorious ^-^

- Kieko, Ember Armoury

In the instant the message was written, she hit send and closed the window. Her eyes flickered back to the camera feed from inside the Virtual World.

"Welcome back, Black King..." she muttered, taking another drink of juice.

---

???

"You're impossible!"
"What the hell are you?!
"S-stay away, damnit!"

Idle screams... It's not like anyone can help. Even the armies of every Legion combined can defeat him. But why would they attempt? It's not as if anyone has a chance...

Every scream, every plea. They're darkest moments set in stone as a death date. How is this being even possible? Within the confines of this universe... The very confines of time do not hold him down.

It's like the very game is unable to hold his immense power. The glitches and physical shudders in space visible attests to it. His form twists and shatters only to reform elsewhere. And, before the people can even realise, his sword cleaves them in twine.

From an army of five.

To an army of Xero.

@Kronshi



It's been a while since Tatsuya has actually taken the luxury of taking some time off from the Accelerated World and even then he was also taking time off from parkour. This was honestly something new that Tatsuya was doing and of course he felt somewhat strange in doing so because of the urge to go a café that happened to be new. Some place called: Angel Mort, though it wasn't his style to go into a place where many people would be present Tatsuya did want to try out some of the bread the café had to offer. Food was really the only motivation for Tatsuya at this point to go and be around a crowd of people without having anybody he actually knew from the Legion to hang out with him. "Well... this is gonna bite... but who knows? I can actually get lucky."

It didn't take very long for Tatsuya to actually get to Angel mort aka the new café around the block. When he entered the premises it didn't seem like there would be anything worth trying out, at least to chow down. There were also many people in the café that happened to be around his age or either slightly younger or older, this was the part that really did catch his attention. Something began to formulate within Tatsu's head: "Is it possible..." he thought to himself then saying as low as possible of a voice, "Burst Link."

Oddly enough, while in his avatar state Tatsuya decided to scroll across the matchmaking list and came across an interesting name: Dark Matter. "Ara ara... the commander is here... let's give say what's up." Tatsuya clicked on the commander in chief's name and began the duel. Though the intention was to merely converse about what's been going on during this time period, and if anything new is going to happen so that he may attend. On the bright side, it's also a duel which means that his opponent and ally in arms will take the opportunity to fight it out and train together.

Kazue's eyes shifted to the top right corner of his NeuroLinker where he would spot a small digital clock, the colon between the number flashing at a steady rate. Kazue remembered that at home, no one was waiting for him at this time. His parents still at work, slaving away at their office jobs like sheep. A part of Kaz had to wonder if he too would follow the same path his parents took, taking any opportunity to work, even if that meant sacrificing joy for money. Kazue isn't much of a free spirit anyway, so he might just be content working 40 hours in a cubicle day in and day out. Although this may seem like Kazue's destined future, he felt like he should do more. Be more.

The minutes changed on the small digital clock in the corner of the NeuroLinker, time was moving at a normal rate, yet Kaz felt like this day would last an eternity. A sigh escaped the lips of the thin boy as he raised his hand to the contacts tab on the left. His hand danced around in front of him as he played with the folders and tabs in his NeuroLinker. Contacts >Family >ME >Copy Contact Info >Send. Kaz tapped the info with his two fingers and swiftly sent it to Momiji with elegant form. While the file with his contact information followed his two fingers through the air, Kazue brought his hand down to his chest, then extended his arm out towards Momiji.

Kaz gave Momiji an awkward toothy smile, before letting out a raspy voice,"If you want to catch-" he stopped and cleared his throat thoroughly then continued, "If you want to catch up, uh, I'm sure I wont be doing later...Send a message. I mean... Me, send me a message." Kazue looked at the two, and gave them a pleasant wave and turned to leave. He had to avoid the boy standing near the door however, nearly walking into him. A repeat of Momiji's mishap was definitely not in Kazue best interest. Kazue stepped outside expecting to get drenched in water, but to his fortune the rain had calmed to a more tolerable drizzle. The air felt cool to the skin and a refreshing change in temperature from that of inside Angel Mort, although outside didn't have that nice cafe smell. Kazue flicked his hood up and trudged through the puddles, slowly making his way back home.