"If your sister didn't have dark circles under her eyes she would be pretty cute," Akihiro whispered.

I smirked and flung my leather bag over my shoulder.

"That's what everybody says," I mused.

Those dark circles. I remember when she completely changed. In elementary school, my sister formed a new face for herself. She built layers and layers of inflexible walls. She abated all relationships and separated herself from everybody. She became bleak and emotionless. It seemed like her heart crumbled to dust and drifted away into somewhere far deeper. When high school started, she created another fake identity to surround herself with friends and please the family. Even though she created so many masks to hide her brutal identity, those dark, cold eyes never left her.

"What's her name again?" Akihiro asked.

I silently giggled to myself and faced him. What really is her name now?

"Rin," I said, "That's her real name."

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The computer said:

:::::::Welcome Rin::::::

::::Wish to Proceed?:::::

:::::::Yes:::::::No::::::::

I swiftly clicked the YES option.

...Please wait System Processing...

After a few seconds, the loading finished and a new window popped up.

::::: Are you sure you want to be a contestant?:::::

:::::::Yes:::::::No::::::::

"Yes," I whispered to myself.

After a few seconds, another window was projected. In bright red letters on top of the page, it read KINGDOM.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

KINGDOM

1. Choose a building that is abandoned and far from non-gamers.

2. Connect your device to the land you pick.

3. Use the shop to upgrade your mini Kingdom

4. One to five A.M is when the grace period is deactivated. You can choose to attack certain kingdoms and make the owners your slave if you defeat them.

5. When the grace period is activated, any players that are trespassing other kingdoms WILL BE ELIMINATED[code 1111]

6. The bigger the kingdom the more yen and skills you will receive.

7. This is a one-week event and will start TONIGHT.

8. Good Luck!

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"You going to your girlfriend's house tonight?" Akihiro whispered in my ear.

I rudely pushed him away.

"No shit, bitch! My parents aren't coming home tonight." I barked.

He mischievously smiled and leaned his arm on my shoulder.

"Are you going to do a little of that," He purred.

I blushed and flicked his arm off me.

After the rain, a tropical humidity hung in the air. Sullen, Gray clouds sauntered through the sky and a mellow breeze grazed my hair. The grass swayed back and forth like they were rejoicing from the plentiful rainfall.

"You have a hot girlfriend, but I think your sister is hotter," Akihiro embarrassingly gloated.

I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth. A shocking anger filled me in that moment. It felt like a fire was scalding and ripping my heart. The scorching anger did not end there. It swirled through my body and blood. The anger inside me was like a bubble, ready to pop at any instant. This anger could not hold itself any longer.

"DON'T EVER TALK ABOUT MY SISTER LIKE THAT, YOU LITTLE BITCH. YOU THINK YOU CAN HIT ON MY SISTER."

Akihiro's expression... I could never forget it. The mix of disgust and devastation painted on his face shocked me. We stared at each other for some time. Akihiro surprised by my actions and me surprised by my own actions. In that moment, nothing dared to move. The world and the grass and the clouds and the people silently watched the fight unfold.

"Sorry for... everything," Akihiro stuttered.

Akihiro quietly snatched his backpack from the sidewalk and took one last glance at me. The glance of sadness for the broken friendship...

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________