InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "IT GOES IT GOES IT GOES IT GOE"

Ikeda Kiriko | 池田妃凛子 (apathyisboring) wrote in disappear_rpg,
@ 2009-09-24 11:27:00

Entry tags:

kiriko, toru

Who: Kiriko & Toru
What: A confession regarding Toru's birthday present.
Where: An abandoned hallway.
When: After school.
Why: To flood the forum with posts by me?

At the bell, Kiriko caught Toru’s eye, gave her head a tiny jerk in the direction of the door, gathered her things and walked coolly out of the classroom. She did not look back at him as she walked – she was busy looking for the first relatively abandoned location that would not lead to the spread of nasty rumours about the two of them (unfortunately ruling out all of the otherwise perfectly fine broom closets). When they reached the end of an abandoned hallway on the third floor, Kiriko turned on her heel to face her companion.

“Ishinomori-san.” Her expression was grave. She reached into her bag and withdrew the MMO subscription card that Toru had given her on her birthday. With a bow, she presented it back to him. “I’m sorry, I really can’t accept this. I…”

She straightened again, eyes darting quickly around and then averting.

“… A couple summers back, I, um… I got really into Sphere of Skirmishcraft and… Well, I just don’t want to be sucked in again, and I don’t think I can afford to right now.” It was pretty embarrassing to admit. Even though she figured Toru would understand, saying it out loud was slightly mortifying – she had her reputation to consider, after all. While she was obviously excellent at running the auction house trade cartel she’d set up back in the day and was secretly quite proud of her PvP prowess, it didn’t quite fit with her image.

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

2dbeauty
2009-09-24 07:27 pm UTC (link)

He quickly realized that his reaction was probably the cause of Kiriko's initial stutter. Not wanting to make her feel too awkward, Toru stuck the card in a pocket.

"I-I see... maybe I ran into you in-game and didn't even realize it at some point in the past... who knows." He paused. Was that really the right thing to say? He had no clue. "A-anyway, I understand that you're too busy to play this now. Er.... w-would you possibly want to have it during our summer vacation? Since... y'know, there isn't a whole lot to do then... But, ah, don't fret about it or anything! I-I can just get you a different present instead of this!"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

apathyisboring
2009-09-24 08:40 pm UTC (link)

"Do you think it would be okay if I played during summer holidays?"

The trouble, really, was stopping once the holidays were out, but as long as she played it like a beta and didn't get involved in anything serious...

"... Maybe that's what I'll do." She snatched the card from Toru's pocket, inspected it, cast another nervous look around and stuck it back in her bag.

"Do you think we could have run into eachother? What did you play? I, um... I know we grouped together a couple times in Matsuri, but I never wanted to say it was me because..." she made a few flippant hand gestures. "Well, you know."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

2dbeauty
2009-09-25 12:02 am UTC (link)

Without a second thought, Toru answered, "I-I don't see why not! Th-there's so much free time, a-and you like MMOs, right? Nobody'll have to even know that you were playing, right?"

He didn't even have time to react to Kiriko pulling the card from his pocket. That was fast. And besides, he didn't really want to think too hard about her grabbing something out of his pocket in the first place.

"It's a possibility. I-I was active in that game during that time period, s-so... w-well, were you Gang or Entente?" This was somewhat important. "A-and you've been in my team in Matsuri before? I would never have guessed! D-do you think you could give me your character's name?" He figured it was as good a chance as any to spend time with the team.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

apathyisboring
2009-09-25 06:01 am UTC (link)

"I had characters on both sides," she said. 'To play both markets and player-kill annoying teammates', she added silently in her head.

"On Matsuri I was playing as Cielo... I don't know if you remember but we definitely grouped up a bunch of times, since not so many people were in the same level range. Um, that was in the beta, though..." Had she just admitted out loud to powerlevelling? Well, she was talking to the class nerd, and though he wasn't likely to outnerd her...

"Um... You're not going to... tell anybody, right?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

2dbeauty
2009-09-25 07:26 pm UTC (link)

Toru nodded far too sagely for someone his age or stature at this statement. "That's the way to do it. My better character was in Gang... he was a Crimson Elf. Ehehe, overdone, I know, but y-you know how I am about those things, right? He was the first character that I named Kurama Tengu, too."

Toru thought for a moment on the name, and then lit up. "Cielo? I remember him! I'd never have guessed that you two were the same person... though I guess the way he always typed things properly should have been a tip-off... a-and that the only people really playing the beta were people from school." Lost in reminiscing, he continued. "D'you remember that one guy who always tried to pick PVP fights with me? He was really tenacious and annoying. Hmm, though really, it could have been anyone in this school."

With a smile, he nodded to Kiriko, finally out of his nostalgic revery. "Of course I won't tell anyone. W-who would I tell? And... why would I tell them? Your secret is safe with me."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

apathyisboring
2009-09-26 09:31 pm UTC (link)

"I played a Crimson Elf, too. They had the best hair." And also excellent racials, but if she was going to be honest with herself, it was mostly the cute hair. "Oh, are you talking about Shirai's character? He was terrible at PvP, I goaded him all the time, it was hilarious - er, don't tell that to anyone, either."

She hestitated. She was conscious of the fact that what she wanted to ask was a very self-conscious question, and she very much loathed asking self-conscious questions, generally preferring to put them out of her mind. At the same time, Toru was about as non-threatening as they come, and as far as confidence went, did she really stand to lose any face in his eyes? She bit the bullet.

"Is it weird that I mostly play boy characters?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

2dbeauty
2009-09-26 11:16 pm UTC (link)

Toru laughed. "That's as good a reason as any. But, uh... I don't think it was Shirai-san. I remember Cielo- I-I mean you- and him getting into a lot of fights, but there was another guy. A-and I swear I wouldn't tell anyone! 'Specially not Shirai."

When Kiriko dropped her question, Toru didn't seem remotely perturbed. "It's not weird! I know loads of guys who play as female characters, and plenty of girls who play as male characters, and they all have their own reasons for it! In fact, it's a common joke online that any girl you meet in an MMO is actually a guy in real life. B-but I'm sure you have your own reasons, too, Ikeda-san." He smiled conspiratorially. "And of course, I'm not going to tell anyone about that part, either."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

apathyisboring
2009-09-27 04:53 pm UTC (link)

The answer was only partially placating, but that was enough for the time being. Instead, she tried to think of who this mysterious harasser could have been.

"I think I remember who you're talking about, but I have no idea who that was..."

She rattled down a list of likely suspects in her head and came up dry. She indicated this with a shrug.

"I guess there isn't really any way of knowing now."

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(Read comments) -