Five days passed in the blink of an eye, morning dawning bright and cheerful on a day that, unbeknownst to the world at large, would go down in history…
Lucian instantly rolled out of bed once the warm rays of dawn inched up his face. Leaving his bedroom, he plodded over to his apartment’s bathroom and unthinkingly got his morning ablutions over and done with.
Scratching at his bare chest, he headed for the kitchen and gulped down two cups of pre-boiled water. Rooting around in his fridge, he tried to find some inspiration about what to cook for breakfast – especially with today being such a momentous day!
Since NAoC would only be going live at 12 noon SUT—according to the paperbound instruction manual—he had time to burn before leaving and heading over to the Shimotsuki’s branch compound.
Even several days later, he still felt a burning embarrassment at the unfortunate timing of Iona’s call.
Though being shirtless, in and of itself, wasn’t something he would usually be embarrassed by, the fact that someone else had seen him in such a state of undress—especially when that someone was brought up as… conservatively as Iona had been—was prime fuel for such burning embarrassment.
While hesitant, he had called the white-haired flutist back after finishing his dinner; knowing she likely called for an important reason.
Like he had expected, it was.
Evidently, much like himself, Iona had received her neuro gear on that exact same day. Her entire family, and even her retainers had, as a matter of fact.
It was then when an idea had struck her like a snowstorm in summer.
Since logging in to NAoC wasn’t limited by a person’s location, she had suggested that he could go over so they could enter the VRMMORPG together.
He had accepted.
……
Seeing some fruits and a tub of honey-infused yoghurt, Lucian decided to indulge a bit and make something more decadent for breakfast.
And if it just so happened to require less effort than cooking something from scratch… well, no one would ever know.
Swiftly pulling out an apple, a pear, a banana, and a kiwi, he dumped them all down on a cracked plastic chopping board before getting to work; slicing and dicing until he had made four neat piles of colourful, chilled fruit.
Retrieving the tub of yoghurt from the fridge, he scooped out a substantial helping of it into a bowl he took from the rack above the sink before pushing the piles of fruits into the same bowl with his knife and giving it a cursory stir.
Once done, he dumped all the used kitchenware into the sink while making a note to wash them at some later time. Scooping up the bowl in one hand, he snagged a spoon with the other and left the kitchen before immediately plopping down on his couch; holoscreen turning on with a single worded command before he ravenously dug in to his sweet breakfast treat.
Chatter filled the living room as Lucian paid the ongoing show half an ear; something about a celebrity of some sort getting stranded on an island in the middle of nowhere before finding their way back to civilisation and achieving stardom.
Nothing more than a show to rot the brain, essentially.
Lucian scraped the spoon against the bowl’s walls, scooping up what yoghurt remained and shoving it inside his mouth and then swallowing. Once he was sure his crockery and cutlery were squeaky clean, he got up, headed to the kitchen, and left them in the sink.
He ran the water for a brief moment, cold temperature acting as a shock to his system as he perfunctorily rinsed all the utensils before leaving them to soak in a half-filled bowl of soapy water; ready to be cleaned properly when he got back from Iona’s place.
“Hmm. I should probably check the time.” While muttering under his breath, Lucian left the kitchen and walked back to his bedroom; wanting to know how much time he had before he needed to leave.
Since it roughly took an hour to arrive at the Shimotsuki’s sprawling suburb compound, he would need to leave around 10:30am to get there with time to spare.
Unplugging his holopad from its charging station, he turned it on and checked the time.
08:24
Wednesday, 17th of Verdant Blades.
At the same time, he saw that he had received a message.
Fr❄️sty 4 Lyfe
- Morning Cyan. Remember to bring your neuro gear when you come over~. [06:17].
Lucian rolled his eyes reflexively. As if he would forget the neuro gear, of all things. Sending off a quick reply, he dropped his holopad on his bed and headed to the shower; content to know he had more than enough time to freshen up before having to leave.
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Gentle heat from the mid-morning Sun streamed in through the windows, warming up the room and adding a light glow to the clean, barren confines. Lucian gave his reflection one final once-over before he left, satisfied with what he saw in the mirror.
A comfortable, plain dull-bronze t-shirt. Stretchy but battered matt black jeans. And as per usual, a single blue fingerless glove wrapped around his right hand made from cheap synthetic leather; a holdover from when he used to sprain his wrist more often in his youth.
While he could easily dress up further, much as he did during his last visit, he wasn’t sure what would happen after using the neuro gear and, hence, wanted to be as comfortable as possible.
Though he had experience with using other neuro gears for past VRMMORPGs—as his dusty collection of hardware could attest to—he would rather be well prepared to confront the unknown. After all, the rigorous calibration he had to do prior to playing NAoC was an indicator in and of itself that things would be different, this time.
Sparing one last satisfied look at his reflection, Lucian stored his re-boxed neuro gear in a knapsack, slipped his holopad into his pocket, and left his apartment without fanfare; locking the front door on the way out.
Last he checked, he still had roughly 10 minutes before his booked hover cab arrived, letting him take the stairs down at a more leisurely pace.
As the apartment block he lived in was in a less affluent part of Goldstar, elevators, of any sort, were a non-factor; giving him no other recourse but to take aforementioned stairs, rush or not.
And with how… rickety they were, rushing down them—moreso than climbing up—always proved a nerve-racking affair. So it wasn’t an exaggeration, in the slightest, to say that he revelled in being able to stroll down the stairs at his own pace.
With the complex only having two sets of stairs—excluding the emergency fire escape, that is—it was inevitable for him to bump into other early risers – few amongst whom he actually recognised at a glance.
It didn’t stop him from greeting them, regardless. There was no cost to being polite after all.
Occasional sonic booms from fast-moving hover vehicles high above assailed his ears, the intermittent—and patternless—sound of boiling steam escaping from faulty pipes acting as a gentler accompaniment.
The combination—alongside the typical hustle and bustle from people going about their own business—might be jarring to some, but it was just another Tuesday—well, Saturday, he supposed—to Lucian.
While Goldstar was far from the most affluent amongst the major Megacorp-controlled Capitals, it boasted one of the largest populations – safely ensconced in the top three, based on the last published census.
Hopping off the final step, Lucian walked away from his apartment complex before coming to a stop on the crack-ridden sidewalk. Briefly checking the time, he realised with a roll of the eyes that five minutes still remained before the hover cab arrived.
There was nothing to do but wait, he supposed.
Time flew by, the occasional sonic boom and actual gasoline powered automobile roaring by breaking up the monotony. While not rare per se, earthbound vehicles were, more often than not, status symbols of the ridiculously wealthy; belonging to those who had nothing better to spend their credits on, essentially.
With the prevalence of and convenience afforded by hover technology, earthbound vehicles were merely an extravagant waste – especially since hover cars could ferry one from place to place in a fraction of the time while burning a fraction of the resources.
The mind of the stupidly affluent worked in mysterious ways, however.
Lucian broke away from his idle musings when he noticed a bright crimson hover cab descending, clearly angling to land right in front of him. In the proverbial blink of an eye, it stopped a step away and hovered an inch above the asphalt road before the door facing him slid open silently.
Without any fanfare, he clambered in; door sliding shut behind him before the cab instantly took off.
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Lucian swiped his holopad over the hover cab’s scanner, 20,593 briefly flickering up on the screen as he clambered out onto the tightly packed gravel path.
Repocketing his device, he wandered up to the front gate’s buzzer and pressed it; readjusting his knapsack’s position on his shoulder as he waited for someone to appear.
Without warning, Maria’s figure appeared next to him, long chestnut hair pinned up in her usual strict bun but adorned in an uncharacteristically expressive kimono; opalescent butterflies dancing across swathes of blue fabric as bright as a cloudless sky.
Before she could offer her standard spiel, he stated, “You look positively radiant today, Maria. What’s the occasion?”
She bowed gracefully, one a touch deeper than usual to any with an observant eye. “Thank you, young master Noxlear. I simply felt like a change was warranted for today. As always. Please, be welcome.”
Maria’s figure disappeared without a further word, wrought gates opening in tandem. Passing through the gap, he proceeded towards the main estate while travelling along the quickest route he knew of.
While he did exchange a few, brief words with all of the Shimotsuki’s retainers he met along the way, something about his demeanour must have clued them in that he was in a bit of a hurry; all of them letting him continue on without a fuss.
Soon enough, he reached the porch. The front shoji slid open before he could step up onto the white-stained timber, revealing a sundress-clad Iona framed in between bamboo frames.
“Sup.” He waved his gloved hand in greeting. “Didn’t expect you to be waiting for me.”
She smiled gently. “Good morning Cyan. Maria told me of your arrival. I just so happened to be in the kitchen when you rung the buzzer.”
She moved out of the way as he crossed the porch in a few, quick strides, giving him ample room to toe off his sneakers and replace them with a pair of house slippers.
Lucian casually slung his arm around Iona’s shoulders and pulled her into an affectionate squeeze once he was done, greeting her properly and then letting go.
“So where are we doing this?” He asked. “In your room, or…?”
“The entertainment room best suits our purposes.” She corrected before walking off. “Follow me.”
He trailed after her without a fuss, unable to prevent himself from teasing her with a faux affronted pout. “You know I know where it is right?”
She turned her head slightly, single pale-blue eye peeking over her shoulder; amusement sparkling in its depths. “Of course I do. It is just the polite thing to do to lead you there, do you not think so?”
Seeing her amusement, his pout transformed into a grin reflecting said amusement. “Whatever you say.”
A comfortable silence settled over the two for their remaining trek into the depths of the Shimotsuki’s estate.
Much like a majority of the publicly accessible rooms in their home, the one meant solely for entertainment-related purposes could be found on the ground floor.
Sporting a thoroughly soundproofed interior and comfortable furniture to lounge about on, the décor of the respectably large space was a far departure from the more… traditional Nihonjan aesthetic adopted throughout the rest of the manor.
With a muted thump, Lucian pulled the thickly padded door shut behind him. Instantly, a comfortable quiet fell over the room, only the sound of two people softly breathing and the gentle whirring of air conditioners working at full blast filling the chilly air.
“I intend to ask Maria to get us some light refreshments. Would you like your usual, Cyan?” Even as Iona was speaking, her long, slender digits were already dancing across her holopad’s hard light keyboard; one whose keys alternated between a glinting gold and shimmering silver, the entire construct outlined by an earthy brown wireframe.
“Yeah. That’d be great, thanks!” He said, before tapping his chin contemplatively and correcting himself. “Actually… mind swapping out the apple juice with something hotter? A cold drink isn’t the best idea with how cold the room is.”
A slight smile stretched across her face, one that practically oozed smugness – at least, to those she was close to and knew what to look for.
“I already have. I presume you do not mind a hot cup of matcha?”
“That sounds good. And wipe that smug smirk off your face Iona, it doesn’t suit you.”
“How rude.”
Lucian chuckled under his breath at Iona’s faux affronted response, shifting about and digging himself deeper into his usual beanbag’s giving embrace.
Shifting his knapsack onto his lap, he dug out the faux cardboard box before dropping it back onto the carpeted floor and leaning it against the beanbag’s surface; one that mimicked a starry night sky.
A thought occurred to him as he comfortably settled the box on his lap. “By the way, where’s your neuro gear? I didn’t see you carrying it on our way here.”
“I already put it in this room.” To demonstrate her point, she walked over to the side of the entertainment room and disappeared around a sectioning off wall. Moments later, she reappeared, carrying a box identical to his own in her hands. “See?”
“Nice. I guess all that’s left is to wait for 12 noon to arrive then.”
“Indeed.” Iona hummed, gracefully settling herself in the beanbag next to Lucian’s own; legs naturally folding up underneath her, the bare skin of her knees coming to a rest against his leg, as per usual, a companionable silence falling back over the room immediately thereafter.