“Mou~! Is this how you treat guests, Iona? Owowow!! Mercy, mercy!!!”
“As a matter of fact, this is not how I treat guests. But for you, Leia? I firmly believe exceptions were made for such a reason.”
Lucian watched with an amused curl to his lips as Iona firmly tugged at Leia’s left ear as she knelt on the tatami. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Leonardo had a concerned frown plastered on his face; hands wringing together in clear anxiety.
We can’t have that, now can we?
Looking away from the entertaining show, he drew the auburn-haired man’s notice with a typical greeting – at least when it came to the two of them.
“Sup Leon. Glad that you could make it, man.”
Leonardo reflexively extended out his right hand at Lucian’s approach, the two men reeling each other in after firmly clasping extremities; respective left fist pounding down on the other’s back as they casually embraced.
“What’s up bro. It looks like you were the first to get here, like always.”
Pulling back from their hug, Lucian nodded, seeing no point in denying it.
“Yeah bro. You know me. I would rather be early than late.” He shrugged lightly while rocking back and forth on his heels. “How are your parents doing? It’s been… what? More than a year since I last saw them.”
“They just flew off to Nihon yesterday, actually.” Seeing Lucian’s raised eyebrow, Leonardo quickly elaborated. “They went to visit Ollie and get some business done at the same time.”
“Ah.” Lucian smacked his closed fist into his open palm. “I completely forgot that Olivia’s studying over there. How’s the squirt doing? Still getting into trouble, I bet.”
Leonardo waggled his hand from side to side in a clear so-so gesture. “You’re not wrong. But on the bright side, she finally broke up with that cunt girlfriend of her-“
“I swear to the Champions Luca. If you don’t get your girlfriend off me, right this second, I’m going to bite you until you bleed!”
While Lucian and Leonardo had been catching up, Leia had been constantly begging Iona for mercy
Considering how big the latter was on propriety, the former frequently got disciplined, as a matter of course, due to her more rambunctious nature. As a result, the two men had been ignoring the loud exchange; treating it as familiar, background noise.
It seemed like she had finally had enough.
Lucian rolled his eyes as he strolled over. “That joke isn’t funny anymore, you know? Iona isn’t my girlfriend. You’ve created a ton of misunderstandings by saying that.”
“You’re gonna tear off Leia’s ear at this rate, Iona.”
Unbeknownst when, another young woman, similar in age to all the others in the room, stood in repose at the slid open bamboo door just as the two men were about to converge on the kneeling blonde troublemaker and composed, white-haired flutist.
Lucian stopped, knowing he needn’t help Leia now that Seo-Yoon had arrived. After all, whenever the two were in the same area, it was as if a cat and dog were present and sizing each other up.
Iona let go of Leia’s ear immediately—as Lucian expected—and glided up to Seo-Yoon with predatory grace exuding from her form; Leonardo hurriedly sidestepping out of the young woman’s way, knowing she was on the proverbial warpath.
“And what is it to you, hmm? My home, my rules, ne?”
Where Iona’s waist-length tresses were like a waterfall of spun white clouds, Seo-Yoon’s locks carelessly tumbled about her shoulders and neck, loose ringlets as black as a raven’s feathers.
“I was just stating my opinion. Whatcha gonna do about it?”
Seo-Yoon entered the room proper as she retorted in a faux haughty tone of voice, not even hesitating for a jot as she sauntered over and intercepted the other young woman midway.
“I could always ask my guards to evict you from the premises.”
As the two young women squared off, the other three present felt as if sparks were about to fly; especially when pale blues locked with stormy greys.
Just as Lucian planned to step in and defuse things—as he usually had to—a gruff voice from the room’s entrance caused all the tension to deflate and vanish like hot steam escaping from a faulty pipe.
“Really girls. Do the two of you need to play fight every single time you meet up?” Looking in from the open door were two men; one standing at a height far taller than the other, bald head shining like gilded marble under the room’s warm lights.
“Robert’s damn right. I swear, it’s like the two of you have an unresolved sexual tension or something.” The shorter man proclaimed, an easy grin softening his sharp, suntanned features; hazel-brown eyes glinting with mirth.
“It looks like the whole gang has finally arrived!” Leia cheered while popping back up to her feet, cutting in before anyone could get a further word in. “I don’t know about y’all, but I’d like to get this meeting started ASAP. Darling and I have got places to be later.”
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
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“…so we are all in agreement, yes? If possible, all of us will reuse in-game monikers that we have used in past VRMMORPGs.” Iona summed up briefly, light from the setting Sun making her tired features rosier than usual; assent from all and sundry pouring in.
“Just to make sure we are all on the same holopage, can we go over each of our monikers one last time?” She requested once everyone fell silent.
“You should go first then.” Seo-Yoon sniped back without missing a beat. “It’s only polite, isn’t it?”
“There’s no need to be so aggressive Seo-Yoon.” Lucian interjected, cutting in before Iona could snipe back; knowing things would escalate without an end if they got into another one of their spats. “I’ll go first. Like I said, I’ll be using Equinox as my IGN.”
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For some inexplicable reason, Lucian had always been fascinated by the interplay between darkness and light.
It didn’t help that his first and last names were related to both phenomena as well.
As such, when he first learnt of the Equinoxes, it was as if he had been caught like a fish; hook, line, and sinker.
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“I’ll be using Pixie, as always!” Leia chimed in cheerfully, knowing what Lucian was doing and deciding to help him implement his plan of action.
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Ever since she was a young girl, all those around Leia—whether it be friends or family—dubbed her as a troublemaking pixie.
It wasn’t much of a surprise, then, when she eventually claimed the moniker as her own – especially after jumping headfirst into VRMMORPGs!
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“Scotsman.” Repeated Leonardo, voice soft yet filled with surety.
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Confidence. Strength. Courage. Traits that Leonardo desperately wanted to embody yet always failed to express in real life.
It was only in virtual worlds, and when veiled by an avatar’s total anonymity, that he could truly act in a way aligning with his heart’s dearest desire.
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“Must you ask? It’s obviously gonna be Yeowang.” Seo-Yoon stated confidently while shooting Iona a playfully competitive look.
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Even if she despised her past with all her being, Seo-Yoon would always be grateful for one, single thing.
It hammered in the importance of hunger.
Coming from a past of poverty, she was well acquainted with nights without food and days full of mockery. Never again would she suffer such indignities; even if it became the last thing she did.
And so, as the ancient adage went: if you really want something… then fight, fight, fight!
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“Hopefully, Titan will still be available.” Robert grumbled tiredly as he cracked his neck before settling back in the slightly too small armchair.
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A frame, larger than all those around him. A heart, softer than others would expect. And a mind, sharper and even more keen than a razer’s edge.
Robert was a veritable giant amongst men, excelling at anything and everything he put either time or effort in to.
Hopefully, this new VRMMORPG would be more challenging than the last…
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Jonathan tossed his head, wavy chestnut locks catching the dying light as it swayed from side to side. “Casanova, obviously. What else?”
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With a name like Jonathan Smith, he only ever had two paths in life:
Fade into the background, as was expected, or revel under the spotlight; to rebel against his fate.
He chose to embrace the latter, obviously!
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“As always, I will be taking the moniker Wyntir.” Iona calmly reasserted, eyes as placid as an iced over pond while looking over the others sat all around her, bringing an end to the group’s recital.
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Pale freak. Frigid bitch. Cold-hearted. Some say that children are the cruellest of all, but Iona would beg to differ.
Though the insults grew increasingly less childish, growing up did not mean they ceased; they merely changed and transformed, starting to target her as a person, instead.
It was an inevitability, then, when she closed off her heart and protected it in a cage of icy impassiveness. Besides her immediate family, she only ever found solace in her flute and the one person that had seen it all and been with her since the start.
And like winter’s chilling embrace, she would never let go – no matter what.
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“We’re finally done right?” Leia asked with a loud clap. However, she didn’t wait for anyone to respond before hopping up onto her feet. “Like I said just now. Darling and I’ve got places to be, so we’ll be taking our leave if no one has anything to add…?”
Lucian shook his head in the negative, eyes briefly squeezed shut as a yawn nearly slipped out from his mouth before he stifled it behind his gloved hand.
Listening to the others as they offered their own negatives, he reopened his eyes, just in time to see Leonardo join Leia at the room’s bamboo door.
As the cherubic blonde carelessly slid it open, she waved farewell before slipping out without a backwards glance; Leonardo offering a last quiet word and an awkward smile before following hot on his partner’s heels.
Just as the sound of their footfalls fully disappeared, Robert clear his throat, gathering all the attention of the room’s remaining four occupants to himself.
“Leia’s got the right idea. I still have to head back to cook my own dinner, so I’ll be leaving as well.”
“Feel free to stay for dinner, my chefs can easily accommodate.” Iona instantly offered. However, Robert only shook his head firmly and politely declined, unwilling to impose on such late notice.
“I might as well go too, since Robert’s heading out. It’s better to catch a ride with him. And don’t bother, Iona. I’ve already got dinner plans for tonight.” Jonathan added in while preventing Iona from making the same offer, knowing she would without fail.
Receiving a gentle nod from the white-haired flutist, the two men bid farewell again before taking their leave in a calmer fashion than Leia; footsteps soon vanishing from out of the remaining trio’s hearing range.
Silence descended on the room as Lucian pulled out his holopad. Unfolding it and powering it back on, his fingers danced over the hard light keys as he swiftly confirmed a booking for a hover cab to come and pick him up in half an hour.
Midway through doing so, raven curls spilled down his front, seamlessly blending in with his short black hair as Seo-Yoon came from behind and rested her chin on his shoulder without warning.
“Would you mind if I hitched a ride Cyan? We can split the bill.” She asked eventually, warm breath ghosting across his neck and jaw, goosebumps prickling up on his flesh.
“Sure. I don’t mind.” He confirmed. “I can get the cab to drop you off at your place first.”
She huffed amusedly. “There’s no need to inconvenience yourself. I can easily get home by walking from your apartment.”
“Whatever you want.” He shrugged a single shoulder, consciously making sure not to injure Seo-Yoon through his movement. “The cab will be here in half an hour. That works for you right?”
She nodded her head, her chin poking into the hollow between his shoulder and neck. “Of course. Anyway, I’ll be right back. Gotta go to the restroom~.”
With that being said, she pulled away and left the room, confident steps fading away soon thereafter.
Now that his freedom of movement was fully restored, Lucian comfortably tucked away his holopad. With the others gone, he felt comfortable enough to close his eyes, intending to rest for a little while.
He could be extroverted with the best of them when the time and occasion called for it, but he would always revert back to being an introvert whenever possible.
That was why Iona was one of his closest friends. With her naturally stoic disposition, she tended to be quiet, more often than not. At the same time, with how long the two of them had known each other for at this point—more than a decade, at least—it wasn’t as if their silences needed to be filled up with inane chatter.
It didn’t mean they were awkward around one another or anything. When the need arose, conversation flowed between them like melted snow down a mountainside; refreshingly and with absolute ease.
The increasingly loud sound of footsteps from the corridor outside caused Lucian to reopen his eyes.
Glancing over, he watched as Seo-Yoon re-entered Iona’s room, small beads of water still sparsely clinging to her cheeks and neck. Without any fanfare, she crossed the room and lazily flopped back into her previous armchair; soft whumpf going off like a gunshot in the silence.
“How noisy.” Iona muttered sotto voce, causing Seo-Yoon to send a rude gesture her way while making him roll his eyes exasperatedly.
Here we go again…
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By the time his holopad beeped, informing Lucian of the hover cab’s arrival, he was well on his way to ripping out his hair from pure exasperation.
It was an absolute relief, then, when the ride-hailing hover service made itself known.
On his way out, he made sure to bid his farewell to Luna; fulfilling the promise he had made earlier.
As Iona decided to tag along to see himself and Seo-Yoon out, they had been delayed for a moment when the Shimotsuki’s Matriarch suddenly pulled her daughter to the side for a short conversation.
While he couldn’t deny that he was curious, he didn’t pry. He trusted Iona to tell him about it if it involved him in some way, shape, or form.
Lucian slipped through the gap in the front gates before it could fully open, seeing that the hover cab was waiting just outside, suspended above the gravel path.
As he approached, the right door slid open, blasting the front of his body with a gust of welcome, chilly air.
“After you, Seo-Yoon.” He offered with an inviting gesture, letting her get in before he did.
With a muttered word of thanks, the ravenette bid farewell to Iona—in her usual irreverent way—before clambering into the cab.
Turning around to do likewise, he was caught off guard when the white-haired flutist embraced him out of the blue; arms snaking up and intertwining behind his neck.
He was about to ask her if everything was alright, knowing such affectionate displays were completely uncharacteristic of her, to put it mildly, when her voice, far softer than her usual, breathed into his ear; causing a shiver to race down his spine.
“Do not react to what I am about to say. Once NAoC launches, try your best not to convert all the in-game currency you earn into credits. You will definitely regret it if you do.”