Ryuk: You should have sent me a message earlier. I would have logged out.
Hajime: I’ve just arrived. Perfect timing, I suppose. It gave me time to think of a good Oblique Quote.
Ryuk stretches his arms over his head and looks at the row of Proxima capsules across from him. The room is by no means large, but it does have enough space to fit fifteen capsules, three to a wall and six on the lengthiest wall of the room.
Other players are in the bunks, logged into their chosen worlds. A holoscreen next to the bunk indicates playtime and somnium skipbox usage. This is for legalities, but most gamers know that the skipbox monitors are rigged and never actually meet their supposed time cut offs.
Ryuk: Do you mind if I take a quick shower? We will be meeting my friend FeeTwix at a maid cafe in Akihabara in about thirty minutes.
Hajime: A maid cafe? That is a very public space.
Ryuk: Hidden in plain sight, that’s what we were going for.
Hajime: I see. Let me do some research regarding cafes with the best exit points. I will make the decision on the cafe based on how it easy it would be to escape.
Ryuk: Sounds good.
A foreigner walks by, a thirty-something with pale skin and long, brown hair. He belches, excuses himself, and climbs into the nearest bunk without making eye contact with Ryuk.
Once he’s in the hallway, Ryuk turns left into the male shower rooms.
Each shower is private, but the changing area is shared, and as he enters, he catches a glimpse of a stocky Japanese guy who almost reminds him of Hiccup.
This thought bothers him in two ways: One, he doesn’t like the fact that he’s just checked out some guy’s chalupa by accident; two, the damn goblin has somehow worked his way into Ryuk’s psyche enough that people are starting to remind him of Hiccup.
“Damn goblin,” he says, a grin spreading on his face as he removes his clothing. While he secretly has started to find Hiccup amusing – well, at least some of the time – he doesn’t like it when he teases him about Enway.
I wonder what she looks like in real life, he thinks after he’s removed his clothes. Maybe she looks a bit like her avatar after she became an Hourglass Mage.
Ryuk slips into a pair of 3-D printed sandals dispensed by a machine in the corner. From there, he hops into the shower, turns the water on, and immediately sits on the stool in the middle of the shower, letting the water sluice over him.
A quick glance around for soap and he finds the dispenser.
The smell is a bit weird, some type of fruity melon with a hint of mint, but at least he’s clean and it feels good for his muscles to have hot water on them, especially after being logged in for so long.
While he lets the water run over his head, he checks a few of the feeds he follows on GoogleFace, including the Tritania leaderboard. He’s never been one to take part in the leaderboard competitions, preferring to stick with the classic guild-building and leveling strategy.
“The Mitherfickers,” he whispers.
It is a stupid name, but such a motley crew could hardly be named anything else. Where it goes from here, especially after they’ve gotten the runestones and figured out a way to free Tamana…
Ryuk swallows this thought down.
He hasn’t been very verbal about it, but it has been at the back of his mind and he knows that Tamana, the Tamana he knew, would never have betrayed them.
It was Kodai, he thinks, his fists tightening. Kodai or the serpent woman, that’s why Tamana is the way she is now.
“And if we stop them,” he whispers to himself, “then she will be freed.”
And then what? a voice at the back of his mind asks.
Ryuk doesn’t know the answer to this question, and to further complicate matters, he has no idea how Tamana will be received by his guildmates once she’s back on their team. Hiccup and Zaena will never trust her again. FeeTwix would, as would Oric and Enway.
Enway.
His thoughts skip to Enway and her transformation. Red-eyed with a big crimson tear on her forehead, Enway looks nothing like she looked when they first met, back when she was trying to loot someone in Aramis.
And this new power of hers? Why did Lothar take some of her spells away? How powerful could an Hourglass Mage truly be?
Ryuk recalls the couple of times he has used his wild card marble to freeze time. He hasn’t been able to replicate this spell in a while, but then again, he’s been using his gun more and more.
Funny that. Just like anyone anywhere at any time in the history of humankind, given the choice of a gun over slingshot, Ryuk has chosen the gun.
Maybe I should load a mag with clear marbles, he thinks.
His teammates might not like it, but his luck has increased some since he started out, and with his level, he’s gotten better control over his avatar.
The steaming water goes cold, indicating to Ryuk that his shower is over. He towels off, puts his clothes back on, and once he’s given himself a hard look in the mirror, he pops his black hood up to conceal his face a little.
“A maid cafe it is,” he tells himself in the mirror.
(0)__(0)
Ryuk gets the urge to hug Hajime but he suppresses it. He bows instead, a long graceful bow that shows just how much respect he has for the humandroid. Hajime returns the bow, both of them now in the lobby of the Proxima capsule hotel.
The clerk, a humandroid female with a perfectly formed face and dimples, smiles at the two and looks away. She is a far cry from the older gamer manning the front desk last night, and as Hajime and Ryuk step out into the streets, she calls goodbye to them in a high-pitched voice.
The Uberyota waits for them curbside. It is a black affair, with suicide doors and polished chrome accents.
“Riding in style, huh?” Ryuk asks.
“Only the best when we are secretly siphoning money from your family’s accounts.”
“We are?”
The door opens and Ryuk gets in, followed by Hajime.
“Yes, but the way I have it set up, it won’t be noticeable for some time. We’ve spoken before of what I’m capable of, and what humandroids in general are able to do. I want our current transactions to blend in with other transactions normally accrued by higher-ups in your family’s organization. Here is one way we accrue it.”
After they are reminded to place their safety belts on, the Uberyota lifts into the air, settling into its appropriate airlane. Advertisements flash on the inside of the front windshield, hawking everything from in-country vacation destinations, such as a trip to Kobe, to Sumi Haigou Settuken charcoal bar soap.
Ryuk settles into his seat, and as he does, Hajime hands him a pair of sunglasses and a black surgical mask.
While it would be odd for Ryuk to walk around in any other country in the world in a surgical mask, aside from polluted-ass China, it is something that is perfectly common in Tokyo. Take a slice of any busy subway station in Tokyo and the odds that half the people surveyed are wearing the mask is high.
“You think the glasses are too much?” Ryuk asks, the surgical mask now on his face.
“They’re just for when we go from the aeros to the maid cafe. You can take them off once we arrive.” Hajime takes a deep breath. “Now, we need to discuss your Oblique Quote. I do not have a card to write it on today, so I chose something simple, something you’d easily remember.”
“Sure.”
“Listen to the quiet voice.”
“The quiet voice?”
“Yes, that voice at the back of your head hidden behind all of your thoughts. Listen to this voice.”
“That’s easy.”
Hajime chuckles. “It may not be as easy as you think.”
The two are quiet for a moment as their Uberyota races across the expansive city. Aeros moving both horizontally and vertically add a sense of wonder to the cityscape. Neo-Tokyo a city of the future built on the ashes of the past.
Buildings cluttering the airspace add a touch of grandeur to th
e city, mystery too, as every building has the shadow it casts, and every shadow has its secret.
Snow flurries whip around the aeros as it passes over the subway station and nears the outer rim of Akihabara, the anime and tech hub of the famous city.
Five story tall holoscreens are attached to the sides of many of the buildings, flashing video game and anime advertisements. Kawaii teen girls pose on a few of the advertisements, winking at passing aeros. Ryuk knows better than to focus on them, lest he be bombarded with iNet popup adds.
It’s a lot to take in, and every time he comes to Akihabara, he gets the urge to hit up some of the arcades or peruse some of the electronic parts shops for the latest Proxima rig mods. Everything from custom visors to more illicit items, such as ones that create artificially heightened sensations for those engaging in Proxima dreamworld sex, are on offer in this famous ward.
Anything can be modified, improved, tricked out; Akihabara is proof of that.
This part of the city is famous for the maid cafes, an odd Japanese invention that pairs restaurant and entertainment with fetishism. The dozens of maid cafes in Akihabara cater to a variety of crowds. Those who want anime-themed and anime-anatomically enhanced waitresses rub elbows with those who simply are looking to spend time with young girls.
The girls employed by maid cafe are most certainly under the age of eighteen. The traditional cafe – if it can be referred to as such – features six teenage bombshells dressed in maid outfits. Fishnet stockings, push up bras, a ruffled dress, different colored wigs (pigtails a must), white gloves, contact lenses to make their pupils look larger: there are many variations of maid outfit, but they all fit the same theme.
The oddity of it all, at least for a westerner, is the fact that there is no sexual exchange nor is there a hint of this exchange in maid cafes. The girls that work there are hired to be cute, not to offer sexual services.
Which, in a way, aligns them more with geishas, famous for their ability to converse and entertain, rather than with sex workers, such as the women Kodai employs.
As my family employs, Ryuk reminds himself as the aeros sets down before a maid cafe. Hajime steps out first to scan the perimeter. Once it is clear, he sticks his hand in and motions Ryuk forward.
“Remember,” he says, “sunglasses.”
Feeling like some sort of celebrity, Ryuk steps into the streets of Akihabara. The sidewalk is wet from the light snowfall, the breaths of the people passing visible in the air. The smell of cooking meat immediately reaches his nose. He naturally turns to the left to see a man with a small alleyway yakitori stand.
“We’ll order inside,” says Hajime, his hand now on Ryuk’s arm.
“Got it.”
They approach the first maid cafe and are greeted by a teenage girl in a light blue maid outfit and six-inch heels, her hair in a ponytail. She’s added just about as much blush as humanly possible to her cheeks, but other than that, her skin is milky white, clearly the results of an intense cosmetic session.
“Welcome!” she says in just about the highest pitched voice she can. “Irrashaimase!”
She bows deeply, hops back to her heels and smiles at Ryuk in a flirty way.
“Yes, um, we’re meeting someone,” he says. “A foreigner.”
“Hai! Follow me!”
She swivels and marches into the maid cafe. As she passes the front door hostess, she’s handed a set of menus.
A swift glance around and Ryuk sees there are five other maids working, one of whom is preparing to sing a song onstage. Sitting near the stage is who can only be FeeTwix, who stands out even more as he’s the only foreigner in the room.
“Ryuk?” he asks, his voice pretty much the same as it is in Tritania.
FeeTwix has brown hair in real life, shaved on the sides but longer on top and combed over. He wears black rimmed glasses and his face actually resembles that of his avatar. If it weren’t for the hair, his height, and the fact that real life FeeTwix is about five to ten kilos heavier than Proxima FeeTwix, they’d look almost like identical twins.
“Um, hi,” Ryuk says, suddenly ashamed of his English. He knows it is accented, and he can’t speak as well as his brother, but for words he doesn’t understand, he has an app running on his iNet screen translating in real time.
The app runs now, the words FeeTwix says appearing in scrolling Japanese characters, almost as if he were taking part in a movie. Possible responses also appear, written in katakana so he can pronounce them correctly.
“I am sorry, my English is no, ahem, not so good.”
“It’s fine, Ryuk! And where’s my hug? What’s this bowing stuff, buddy? You act like we’re in Japan or something!” The Swede laughs, and the maid, who stands next to him with the menu pressed against her bosom, laughs as well. “See? She gets me!”
Ryuk turns to Hajime, who has a thin grin on his face.
“And you must be Ryuk’s killer droid friend. He’s told us all about you. Hajime, is it?”
Hajime nods.
“You, sir, are an utter badass.”
“You have no idea.”
FeeTwix laughs awkwardly. “You’re right, I really don’t! Now let’s get down to business. Sophia has arrived, and wants to meet in an hour in Ueno in a lab at Tokyo University. She didn’t tell me what she’d be testing, but she did say to come prepared to log in for a while, which as you know, I kind of make a living being logged in for a while so no problems there, feel me? Also, I’m starved, and I’m ready to hear whatever song Kiko has promised to sing!”
He switches to Japanese and begins talking to the girl standing on stage behind a microphone stand decorated in flowers.
“Nihongo o hanasemasu ka?” Ryuk asks.
“GoogleFace translate, buddy, just like you’re using,” FeeTwix says in English. “What language do you prefer? English or Japanese? Actually, Sophia will likely speak English, so we should probably stick to that. One minute, Kiko! Just let me catch up with my friend. Sumimasen! Gomenasai! I want to hear something super cool. Shit, Ryuk, what song should I listen to?”
“I do not really listen to pop music,” he says as he removes his sunglasses.
“And what’s with the mask? You sick or something? Kidding, kidding, I get it, you’re incognito.” FeeTwix sits and Ryuk does the same, Hajime remaining standing.
“You can sit with us, Hajime,” Ryuk says.
“I’ll stand near the door,” the humandroid says. “I’ve checked everyone in the maid cafe. We should be safe for now.”
“Cool!” The Swede eyes Ryuk for a moment. “Ryuk, if someone hasn’t already told you today, let me be the first to say that you are one cool mitherficker. You too, Hajime!”
“Um, thanks,” Hajime says over his shoulder.
“Here’s the menu!” The maid in the blue outfit drops two menus on the table and backs away, waving with both hands.
“She’s a cutie, so is she, and so is she. But I have to say, Ryuk, this is weird as fuck. They aren’t actually, um, what would Hiccup say? Orc chippies?”
Ryuk clears his throat, his face going pale. “Of course not, this is just a job some of the cuter girls in high school get. Nothing, um, sexual.”
“Yeah, aside from all of it. Kiko! You sing whatever you want. I’m all ears!” FeeTwix gives the girl on the stage a double thumbs up.
“What do you want to eat?” Ryuk asks. “Omelet or instant ramen? They also have okonomiyaki.”
“Let’s keep it simple. How about an omelet and a couple of beers?”
“I am too young to drink. I am nineteen.”
“Well, it looks like I’m boozing alone this time.”
The maid waitress comes and Ryuk orders. Just as his order is placed, Kiko starts up her song, which Ryuk recognizes as Sukiyaki, a famous song from the 20th century, albeit a poppier version sung with a schoolgirl voice.
“What’s the song mean?” FeeTwix asks Ryuk.
“It’s about your girl going away and leaving you lonely.”
“Ah.” FeeTwix’s face grows serious for once. “It isn’t bothering you or anything, is it?”
“Why would it?” Ryuk gulps, instantly thinking of Tamana. “No, it is not bothering me. I am over that.”
“Are you? Because you don’t have to be. Look, I know that we get pretty wrapped up in our typical guild shit-talking. Actually, that is all the goblin’s fault, but you get my point.”
“He is a ficker.”
FeeTwix laughs. “Yes, yes, he really is. But like I was saying, we get wrapped up in the shit-talk and don’t really discuss serious things, like Tamana, like Tomas. Those two…I know they are being brainwashed and forced to work for Kodai against their will. Tomas would never attack me, and Tamana…”
“Yes?” Ryuk asks, a fluttering sensation in his chest.
“I know she wouldn’t attack you like that. The others, Hiccup and Zaena, really, may think so, but I know there’s more to this story. We just have to get strong enough to go after them.”
“I agree,” he says, conviction in his voice.
“We brought the fight to the Shinigami once, back when we were a much weaker guild. We also beat Tomas and Tamana back in Kayi. Now, I’m not stupid enough to think they don’t have some tricks up their sleeves, but after we get the runestones, I think we should bring the fight again to the Shinigami, and end it.”
“Get Tamana and Tomas back,” Ryuk whispers.
“Yes, both of them. The Shinigami will pay.”
“–My brother will pay.”
“Him too. This shit is going to be going down real soon, and when it does, I’m fucking game.”
The maid waitress brings back a beer for FeeTwix and a vitamin enhanced blueberry soda for Ryuk.
“You game?”
“Definitely,” Ryuk says. “We just have to get to the point where we can take them on.”
.9. Bluwid is an Actual Shithole (Not like Jatla)
“Can I wear a surgical mask too?” FeeTwix asks as they exit the shop. “I didn’t think to conceal the fact that I’m in Tokyo.”
Hajime pauses. “Do your fans know what you look like in real life?”
“Well, I look pretty much the same. That’s bad, right?”
Fantasy Online_The Runestones of Tritinakh Page 9
