A sharp knock-knock-knock on the door woke Ayuka from her drifting off into Ukiyo Komorebi, the world that Kunoichi Online took place in, completely.
“Yeah, come in,” she announced, pushing herself upright so she was sitting on the edge of the mattress, game controller still in hand, her legs now trailing over the edge, her bare feet dancing along the pile of the blue carpet.
Keiko poked her head in. “We came to check on you,” she said. “Do you have a minute?”
“Oh, sure,” Ayuka said, pushing pause on her controller.
Both Heroki and Keiko came through the door. Heroki started, “Just wanted to stop in and make sure you were all right.” Heroki hesitated for a moment. “I think I came across as a little harsh,” she relented.
Ayuka grimaced after hearing that Heroki was taking back what she said. “Heroki, I know you were being harsh for my own good. I needed a reality check, and you were a good enough friend to give me one.”
Keiko gave Heroki a side-eye ignoring Ayuka’s remark of being a good friend and said, “We agreed we are here to support you no matter what the case is. Both of us will be staying in San Francisco, and if you need a place to stay while you finish up your calculus class, then you can stay with either one of us, rent-free.”
Ayuka was taken aback by the offer. She searched for the right words to say, realizing whatever she did say would not fully describe her gratitude toward her two roommates. “Wow! That is so generous,” she mustered. “I am deeply touched.”
Keiko observed the game controller in Ayuka’s hand, “Looks like you’re back to your vice,” she concluded.
Ayuka looked down between her hands, “Right. Was playing Kunoichi Online.”
“That’s the one with the girl ninjas?” Heroki asked.
“Yeah, you can be a boy ninja or samurai if you want, but then you will be fighting the kunoichi clan, the Kanga Clan.”
“What is the appeal of female ninjas?” Keiko asked.
“It’s more than just females being ninjas. Kunoichi’s are the perfect balance between charm, seduction, and being trained as the perfect killer and spy,” explained Ayuka. “Most of them masquerade as nonthreatening laborers, such as maids or servants, but that is how they get their access. They are masters of the art of allurement, which allows them to act as a spy, an observer, or a messenger. They are master manipulators. To be a member of the Kanga Clan, which is the clan of only kunoichi’s, they are chosen. Usually sought after for a unique ability they have. Then they are initiated into the clan after performing a series of tests and challenges to cement their loyalty.”
“Seems appealing,” responded Keiko. “I can see why you are into such a game.”
“Ever since this game came out, I’ve been enthralled in it.”
“Maybe that’s why you failed calculus?” Heroki interjected.
“You know I was studying around the clock,” Ayuka shot back. Not able to keep her enthusiasm down for long about her favorite game, she explained, “Kunoichi Online is like a sisterhood if you choose the female ninja class, then you have a shot in being in the Kanga Clan. To begin the game, a player first selects a different clan that they are a member of. If they have the calling to destroy the enenra, then their first mission is to join the Kanga Clan. These women will do anything for each other.”
“What if you choose a male class?” Keiko asked.
“The male classes are fun too. You can choose a samurai, which is basically a tank. Another option is a sohei, which is basically the same as a cleric if we were playing D&D. Ikko-Ikki are similar to sohei because they are religious warriors as well, but they’re different. They seem to be more egalitarian than the sohei, so they would be similar to a paladin if we were playing D&D. They often encourage peasant revolts and uprisings, so they have an ax to grind. You remember some of the D&D stuff we used to do in high school after bible study, right?” Keiko and Heroki both nodded their heads, their eyes wide open from the sheer amount of information that Ayuka blasted them with.
Ayuka continued, “Oh, a Ronin. That would be a disgraced samurai, one who lost their place in the hierarchy or their lord died, leaving him without a master. These would be a fighter in D&D. The ninja, that one is easy to explain, the ninja is simply a rogue. Sometimes known as Roof-Monkeys, Shinobi, or The Masked Ones. They are the main ones that participate in the War of Darkness.”
“War of Darkness?” Keiko asked.
“Right, War of Darkness. The dark shadow that looms over the peaceful facade of Nara. It’s the world of violence, conspiracy, sorcery, and illusion. All of these conflicts rage constantly, known, and cleverly hidden under the noses of the dwellers of Nara.”
“All right, continue,” requested Heroki.
“Ashigaru are like European knights or foot soldiers that support the samurai. Tsukai-ban are messengers. They get information from different units. Those are all the melee classes. They each have their own weaponry.”
Keiko and Heroki nodded once again. “I had no idea this was so involved,” said Heroki.
“Then there are kitsune.”
“Oh, a fox witch,” replied Keiko.
“Right. Similar to druids in D&D. They use natural forces for their ritualistic magic.”
Not having any self-awareness, Ayuka kept with the onslaught of information. “Now these classes, they belong to different clans. The government of Ukiyo Komorebi—”
“Ukiyo Komorebi?” Keiko asked.
“Right, Ukiyo Komorebi is the world that this whole game takes place in. Mostly in the capital city called Nara. Ukiyo Komorebi is similar to ancient Japan, but with mysticism. Anyway, the different ninja clans are involved in a Cold War. Normal villagers and city folk are not aware of the ninja clans nor the war at hand.”
“Intriguing,” said Heroki.
“Thousands of years ago, a number of rival warlords emerged, and the ninjas slit up into separate clans, Ukiyo Komorebi forming its own ninja clan, which are unknown to the people of Nara. That is because the ninjas have a cover, an occupation that the do to hide the fact that they are a ninja. They might be a Geisha, doctor, scientist, waitress, something common.”
“Interesting,” said Keiko. “Go on.”
Ayuka continued on, “So the government of Ukiyo Komorebi, run the samurai under the Crown Prince’s rule. They also have a secret ninja clan called the Himitsu Agency and they are responsible for protecting Ukiyo Komorebi’s interests.”
“Fascinating,” added Keiko.
“Then there are the Kagaku Clan. They are a clan on scientists, engineers, and technologists. They are known amongst the other ninja clans as having sophisticated advancements. They have special hidden weapons, are able to tie complex knot tying and rope work,” explained Ayuka.
“What are some of the other clans?” Keiko asked.
“Let me show you the interface of the game. It explains it more thoroughly than I could,” suggested Ayuka.
Ayuka went to the information interface in the paused Kunoichi Online video game by using her controller. She clicked several buttons and soon a scroll appeared on the screen. Ayuka scrolled through the information while Keiko and Heroki read the screen. The screen read:
Clans of Ukiyo Komerebi
Kagaku Clan
Asset: Technological advancements
Description: A clan comprised of scientists, engineers, technologists.
Mission: Want to obtain the advancements from all of the clans.
Rival Clan: Himitsu Agency
Himitsu Agency
Asset: Manipulation, secrecy, scheming, conniving, conning
Description: A government-run clan ran under the direction of the Crown Prince.
Mission: Protect the interests of Ukiyo Komerebi.
Rival Clan: Clan of the Black Harvest
Senshi Clan
Asset: Combat abilities in the martial arts
Description: A clan comprised of guards, spies, warriors, and soldiers who have excelled in military combat. Many of them are part of the Ikko-Ikki and sohei classes.
Mission: Want to obtain the advancements from all of the clans.
Rival Clan: Kagaku Clan
Erīto Preparatory Academy
Asset: Strategy and wisdom
Description: This elite academy brainwashes their students into believing that they are the best trained in the land, which they very well might be.
Mission: To learn the secrets of the other clans to advance their skill sets.
Rival Clan: Senshi Clan
Band of Tsuihō
Asset: Covertness
Description: Not a clan, but a band of individuals. Many are Ronin or ninjas who left their clans. They endeavor to stay out of the business of others, concealing themselves in society.
Mission: They fight for their own reasons.
Rival Clan: Erīto Preparatory Academy
Clan of the Black Harvest
Asset: Dark Arts
Description: This clan specializes in mysticism, blood magic, and sorcery. They are responsible for the return of Amun-Ra the exiled enenra.
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Mission: Facilitate the return of Amun-Ra
Rival Clan: Himitsu Agency
Kanga Clan
Asset: Allurement, seduction, manipulation, and advanced combat
Description: A secret clan comprised of only kunoichi’s. They are recruited to join this clan from other clans.
Mission: Stop the return of Amun-Ra.
Rival Clan: Clan of the Black Harvest
Other Factions
Various other factions have ties to the ninjas:
-Mobsters
-Law Enforcement
-Politicians
-Renunciates
After the pair finished reading, Keiko asked, “So the Kanga Clan is a secret?”
“It is. None of the other clans know that it exists, or if they have an idea that there is a seventh clan, they don’t know for sure,” explained Ayuka. She added, “Many of the classes I mentioned before are members of these various clans. Some of the soldiers are not part of a clan, but of a known military entity like the samurai are members of the Crown Prince’s army.”
“So the whole point of the game is to stop the return of Amun-Ra?” Heroki asked.
“Right. But in the underbelly of the ninja clans, there is a lot of fighting. A clan will prevent a member of the Kanga Clan from fulfilling her mission, but not because they want the return of Amun-Ra, it could be another reason. So it can get complicated. They may think the Kanga Clan member is trying to steal something, and they will prohibit it by battling them. The Kanga’s never give up their identity, so the rival clan member might think they’re from one of the known clans.
Within this game, members of rival clans form emotional connections and bonds with other clan members. Sometimes they work together, sometimes they kill each other. It all depends. Some rival clan members may not know the other is in a rival clan. They might realize it down the road, and then they are confronted with a difficult decision. Loyalty to the clan or loyalty to their friend. This complicates things further because the members of the clans can get more information by building relationships, but the person they friended may not be fully trustworthy.”
“Wow! Seems like it can get very complex very fast,” affirmed Keiko. “I can see why you like this game so much.”
Ayuka wanted to keep telling her friends about the different missions that she had been on, the spies she uncovered, or the mix-martial artist she defeated, but she knew that Keiko and Heroki would never play with her, so why would she waste her breath. All she could think about was joining Hikari, her player character, on her next mission.
Ayuka caught herself getting swept up in the world of Kunoichi Online. She stopped herself when she said, “As you can see, I can talk for days about this game. It really has a hold on me. There are other obscure magic users in the game as well as NPCs that add to the world.”
Both Keiko and Heroki looked overwhelmed by the amount of information they received. “Right,” Keiko said, her eyes glossed over from Ayuka’s explanations. “Seems like a really cool game.”
“Yeah,” added Heroki. “We just wanted to let you know about our offer for you to stay with either one of us while you make up your calculus class next fall.”
“That was so generous. I would never impose on either of you. This is my problem and I will find a way out of it.”
Ayuka seemed resolved to strike out on her own, and perhaps not even finishing up her degree. She wanted to see how far she could get in the workforce without one.
“Well, we’ll let you get back to your game,” Keiko said. Both her and Heroki made their way to the door, shutting it behind them.
Ayuka was grateful to have two friends as caring as they were. However, deep down, she knew why they made the offer to her. They felt sorry for her. They were the haves. The ones from good families that had money, educated parents, and social standing in San Francisco. Ayuka was the have not. Their charity case.
* * *
Ayuka unpaused her game and yearned for the escape of her reality. In Kunoichi Online, Ayuka became Hikari, a skilled warrior, spy, and assassin. She wore claw-like finger extensions known as neko-te over her fingernails. Often times, this neko-te would be dipped in venom before they were used to stab a target’s neck. She also wielded a tessen, a metal bladed folding fan. Poisons were a special craft of the kunoichi. Carrying around vials of odorless and tasteless poisons became an art form as they were formulated by the kunoichi’s themselves. These poisons would be added to target’s drinks, and had a fast reaction time, killing the target in minutes.
Hikari was a member of the Kanga Clan, which consisted of only kunoichi’s. Ayuka had a hard time joining the Kanga Clan as she had to endure days of challenges and trials. However, finally, she was given an invitation to become a pledged member of the Kanga Clan, which was one of the happiest days for Ayuka.
Kunoichi Online was set in a world similar to feudal Japan but had magic systems, mainly coming from the Clan of the Black Harvest, but there were other magic users in the world as well. The Clan of the Black Harvest used magic from the dark arts, mainly conjuring and necromancy.
Ayuka enjoyed her escape to Ukiyo Komorebi, which meant a floating world with sunbeams through the leaves. That summed up the world perfectly. On the facade of the world, it seemed like it was perfect. Cherry blossoms decorated the walkways of the capital city in Ukiyo Komorebi, called Nara. Nara was where the Crown Prince, Akihito ruled. Castles lined the main square where other nobility reined under Akihito, with the central tower in the center. The square in front of the castles was surrounded by gardens and fortified buildings. They were set within massive stone walls and surrounded by deep moats. Verandas linked the castles together with highly cultivated gardens. Religious temples sat on the opposite end of the square. Priests and monks resided in the temples, worshiping the gods of the universe with statues erected in the god’s likeness lined the entryway of the temples.
Nara backed up to a mountain range where clouds of pink and purple accumulated and descended onto the city each afternoon. The gardens were intricately manicured that no one branch or twig was ever out of place. This was under Akihito’s direction.
As far as Ayuka was concerned, Ukiyo Komorebi was the perfect place. It had the beauty of a museum quality painting, but underneath the physical appearance laid a complex underbelly of corruption, power, and deceit.
* * *
Ayuka found herself lost in the world that Kunoichi Online allowed her to escape. She far more appreciated this world than the one that she lived in. She only had played for a few weeks since the game was relatively new, purchasing it on release day. Despite that, she had logged several hundred hours and had advanced her player character, Hikari quite far.
Nailing several of the melee techniques and mastering at least a dozen weapons, Hikari was one of Ayuka’s proudest accomplishments. Hikari was Ayuka’s alter-ego. She was cunning, ruthless, smart, and capable of just about anything. She never let her emotions get the best of her and had precision like a surgeon. She was everything Ayuka aspired to be.
She could feel her eyes getting heavy as it became harder and harder for her to fight to keep them open. Ayuka was lying flat on her bed, her head propped up by a single pillow. With the emotion and panic of the day, she was simply worn out. She felt herself give in to the urge to just let go. After a few moments, Ayuka’s body fully relaxed and her mind drifted off into the dark abyss of the subconscious.
* * *
With a surge, Ayuka awoke on an icy cement floor. Weird, she didn’t recall falling asleep on the floor, and on cement no doubt. Her bedroom had a rug. She raised her head to take in her surroundings but was blinded instantly from the stark white light that penetrated from above.
She did her best to make out anything. Even though she could lift her head, the rest of her body felt heavy. Her arms did not move, nor her ankles.
Clouds of vapor swirled around her while she peeked her eyes to discover where she was. Weird. Nothing looked familiar. The fog clouds that enveloped her reminded her of the dances she used to attend in middle school when the DJ would play an R&B hit and start the fog machine. It was novel then, as an adult those things were smelly and annoying.
Her eyes finally adjusted to the profoundly penetrating white light. “Who are you?” she said, making out an image who stood over her.
The figure did not acknowledge but held out his palm with pale white lizard scales that felt like cool reptilian leather as she clasped it, capable now to move her one hand.
Rising to her feet, she stared directly into the dismal void beneath the black-cloaked figure, trying to make out its face, but nevertheless incapable to see anything but a shadow that obscured the identity of a substantial-stature resemblance of a man who stood before her.
“Where am I?” Ayuka asked, expecting an answer because this all just seemed to be strange. She racked her brain for the last thing she could remember. Right, she was playing Kunoichi Online when she floated off to sleep. She rarely fell asleep while playing her favorite game, however, that day had been particularly stressful.
She momentarily took her eyes off of the dark and mysterious figure and looked around. Clouds of mist swirled around on the floor, now appearing to behave like the sublimation of dry ice. The cold carbon dioxide gas denser that the atmosphere, sinking down to the floor like something she would see at a Halloween party. Other than the fog, nothing but whiteness filled her vision.
She shifted her attention back to the figure. “What do you want?” Ayuka asked.
“What do you want?” asked the figure, finally speaking in a strong, male voice. The shadow cast from the figure’s hood did not allow Ayuka to make out if it, in fact, had a mouth and jaws that it moved or did his voice just emirate from his being?
“What do you mean, what do I want?” Ayuka asked. She hesitated, pondering how none of this made any sense. “Wait!” she interjected. “Is this some sort of alien abduction? Are you going to run experiments on me and then return me to my bed?”
Laughter came from the figure. “You do have a sense of humor. I like that,” the figure said, still chuckling. “Aliens! Good one!”
“Then what do you want? I’m hoping I’m going to survive this?” Ayuka pleaded, thinking back to all she still wanted to do with her life. How she wanted to get a job, design games, help take care of her parents, eventually, get married and have a family. This was putting her mild setback of failing calculus in perspective. That was no longer even a concern of hers at the moment.
“Well, that depends,” responded the figure. Both of them stood facing each other, Ayuka still trying to make out what was under the hood of this mysterious man.
“On?”
“Let’s take a step back here. I noticed that you play a lot of this one game, what was it again,” the figure started.
“Kunoichi Online?” Ayuka asked.
“Yes, yes, that’s right. That one.”
“Right. And?”
“Well, it turns out I am the maker of that game.”
“You own Stellar Arts?” Ayuka asked, hoping that he would offer her a job. Not sure how she fathomed a kidnapping would turn in a job offer, but she hoped that maybe this was her big break.
“Well, yes, in away. I created Stellar Arts as a training bed for the most accomplished gamers. Those who mastered the skills and gameplay and stand out from the rest, well I recruit them.”
“Recruit them? Like for a beta tester?”
“Beta tester? Not familiar.”
“You own a video game company and you don’t know what a beta tester is?” Ayuka asked, confused. “Then recruitment for what?”
“That’s beside the point. I use the games designed from Stellar Arts to recruit the players to take part in a different type of game.”
“Uh?” confused even further, Ayuka continued, “what type of game?”
“It’s more realistic.”
“Like real life?”
“Right, like real life.”
“Then how is it a game?”
“Well, that’s just semantics. I suppose it’s really not a game then.”
“Then what is it?”
“Um, well. It’s real life, but not a game. It’s just I base the world on one of the games you’ve played from Stellar Arts.”
“So Ukiyo Komorebi really exists?” Ayuka asked excitement in her voice was palpable.
“It does. Actually, it is one of my favorite worlds that I have created.”
“You created Ukiyo Komorebi?”
“I did. But there’s a problem.”
“Oh?”
“At the rate, it’s going, the world will no longer exist.”
“Who’s that?”
“It is being overrun by an enenra. You know what that is, right?”
“Enenras are smoke, darkness, and pure evil and deception.”
“Right. Well, this enenra used to be a human at some point, I won’t get into that, but he transformed into an enenra named Amun-Ra. Amun-Ra was a deranged demonic maniac who held a lot of power at one time in Ukiyo Komorebi. He transformed into an enenra who will take over Ukiyo Komorebi if they do not stop him.”
“I don’t remember this part in Kunoichi Online,” replied Ayuka.
“It’s coming in the next update,” replied the figure. The figure continued, “Now, Amun-Ra can take human shape and can only be seen by a pure heart. I believe that you have the right heart and skillset to defeat Amun-Ra.”
“I do?”
“If you’re not, then you are definitely my best shot.”
“I’ll take that,” said Ayuka.
“So now, I have a proposition.”
“Okay?”
“Will you enter the world of Ukiyo Komorebi and take on Amun-Ra and save the world from the deadly enenra?”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Let me put it another way. Would you enter the world and game that you love as a kunoichi, defeat Amun-Ra and restore the world back to balance? Or would you rather return to your lame life in San Francisco where you are between a rock and a hard place as you try to get your footing in Silicon Valley?”
“How do you know all of this?”
“I’ve done my homework. Ayuka, you are one of the best gamers I have encountered in Kunoichi Online. I can tell that you are passionate about this world and love the concept. I’m asking you to live in the game you love in real life.”
“And what if I don’t succeed?”
“Let’s not think like that,” replied the figure.
“No, I need to know if I don’t succeed.”
“Well, then you die along with everyone else in that world because Amun-Ra has become so powerful that I cannot even control him anymore.”
“But you created Ukiyo Komorebi. How is that possible that you cannot even control your own creation? Let alone think I can?”
“I could destroy the entire world and destroy him at the same time, that I am perfectly capable of doing. However, there would be thousands of innocent souls lost. That would not be fair to them. Instead, I created Stellar Arts and to solve the issue with recruiting those who I deem worthy of saving an entire world from the depths of evil and destruction.”
“And you chose me?”
“Yes, Ayuka. I chose you.” The figure paused for a moment before asking, “Will you help me?”
“On one condition.”
“Name it.”
“That I transform into Hikari, my avatar in the game.”
“I don’t have an issue with that. You already put in the work to gain those skills, Consider it done.”
“All right. You have a deal.” Ayuka stuck out her hand and the pale white lizard skin met it as they clasped and shook.
“One other thing. Hikari is not a member of the Kanga clan yet. You must earn a place in their clan first,” explained the figure as his cold lizard skin pressed against Ayuka’s. “The Kanga’s are a tough bunch. They would never allow me to just place you in there without earning a place. They have standards.”
Ayuka heard what the figure said as her vision became blurry, She felt like she was drifting off once again, the whiteness fading to black as she saw nothing in front of her.