10. Stage 1 - 5
Chisame glanced at her watch. Perfectly on time. She knocked on the infirmary's door, merely as a way of announcing her presence since it was always open, and entered. Shizuna-sensei looked up from her desk.
"Ah, Chisame-kun. You're early. Let me just finish this and we'll leave okay?" She indicated the open manila folders in front of her.
"Of course."
Quest Complete!
+ 1 XP
Chisame leaned against the wall and dismissed the prompt with a casual gesture. That had been an easy quest. The only thing she had had to do was pass by her poor room again and get her wallet. And this time she hadn't had to deal with Nobuyuki Shinji. 'Well, one more XP. That makes… Hm, I lost track.' She eyed the yellow bar on the edge of her vision. It was pretty exactly one quarter of the way full. 'I have an HUD and I'm already used to it. Fuck.' Sure, she hadn't really used it. It wasn't like her HP and EP had actually changed any, but it was still creepy how fast she was adjusting to a literally life-changing change.
She eyed the name and level hovering over Shizuna-sensei. 'Actually, I haven't used Analyze on her yet.' Lacking anything better to do, curiosity got the better of her. She muttered the skill. "Analyze."
Minamoto Shizuna
Level 13 - Class: Motherly Advisor
Sex: Female
HP: 650 - EP: 1250
Effects: --
It was fairly standard as far as things went. 'Shame she doesn't count as a classmate.' Chisame had completely forgotten about that quest until she had received two new quests. It grated at her, because Yukihiro, Chachamaru and Hakase could have been safely analyzed that morning. She consoled herself by promising she'd analyze them in the evening.
"Alright, thank you for waiting, Chisame-kun. Do you have your identification and everything?" The nurse said as she stood up. Chisame nodded. "Good."
They left the building and the adult led the way to a green sedan parked nearby. "So, will this take long?" Asked Chisame as she buckled herself in.
Shizuna started the engine. "It might take a little while. We will probably have to wait a little between the MRI and your consultation proper and, well, there's always a bit of waiting to do before each exam." She glanced at the girl next to her. "Is this about Chao Bao Zi's? You should take it easy for a while. It's doctor's orders if Chao-kun gives you trouble." She knew far too well how energetic some of those 2-A girls got.
'Has everybody heard about that already? Geeze.' Shizuna's concern was also useless. Chisame had done more exercise that morning than she did most of her days, and she'd actually gotten better. "No, no. I need to buy some things in town, that's all."
"Oh?" Prodded Shizuna.
Chisame shrugged. The other quest she had received was about her sport shoes, the very same ones she had scorned hours before. "Awfully convenient quest…" She grumbled to herself. But that quest, just like the appointment quest, had a failure penalty. And Chisame wasn't going to risk her only functional pair of gym class shoes without having a replacement on hand. Plus, the few textile pens she had were all hidden inside her room and Chisame refused to do a half-assed job with cheap permanent markers. The lines got all washed away and spotty with water. She explained it vaguely, playing into the nurses worries. "There's some school supplies I was planning on buying before classes started again that I'm not sure I got."
Shizuna opened her mouth but closed it just as fast. Finally, she said, "Would you like me to drop you off somewhere after we leave the hospital?"
"That'd be great, thanks."
At that, the nurse relaxed fractionally and started telling her exactly what they were going to do at the hospital. Chisame entertained herself by staring out of the window. She could barely see the letters over her head on the reflecting glass.
[]
Over two hours later, most of which had been spent waiting and leveling up Analyze due to sheer boredom, Chisame found herself sitting in front of her doctor.
<Legendary Doctor>
Lv17 Takano Kyousuke
Doctor Takano was short, had a beard and hair flecked with grey, and intelligent green eyes that glared from behind square spectacles. Shizuna had assured her he was a very good doctor. Empty platitudes. To know, all that Chisame had to do was look at somebody's class and level.
"Well… The MRI came back clean." The middle aged doctor flipped another page on the clipboard in front of him and tapped a few keys on the keyboard just to the side. "Yes. So did the ECG and the echocardiogram. We'll only have the blood test results in another week, but from what I'm seeing here… I doubt anything will turn up. Frankly, Hasegawa-san, you're as fit as a fiddle."
"So I'm good?" Chisame sighed. "All those exams were for nothing?"
"I wouldn't say for nothing…." the doctor steepled his hands in front of himself "You are still missing three days full of memory, aren't you?"
Chiame winced. She was yes, but she couldn't just tell him that it was worthless looking for explanations, since her HP had been replenished. 'Yeah, sorry about that but you won't find anything wrong with me. Plus, I'm almost sure my memories being gone has something to do with being a Gamer. And wouldn't explaining that be something...' "Well, yes, but what does it have to do with my heart and everything?"
"Amnesia is a cause for alarm. Maybe it has a psychological root, yes, but amnesia tends to be associated with physical causes. Brain damage, more specifically." Well, wasn't that reassuring. "The MRI would have revealed anything of the sort, however. So I believe the memories will return in time."
"That's a relief." 'Right, like I'll be that lucky. Wanna bet that if my memories do come back, it'll be to either traumatize me or give me a mission? Basic anime logic.'
"Indeed. But while the consequences were light this time, the cause of your fainting has not been discerned. So we have no idea if it might happen again, or what the consequences might be." He spread his hands, looking even more serious.
'Cripes, scare a girl will you?' Chisame thought, uncomfortable.
"Could it really be that serious?" asked Shizuna from where she was sitting next to her student.
"Fainting is always something to take seriously." the doctor hit the table with his hand, frowning "It could be the first sign that something more serious is happening. It could be neurological and that's why I ordered the MRI. It could be just a sudden lack of oxygen to the brain, which itself would most likely be of a circulatory nature. The ECG and echocardiogram removed that from the equation and even Hasegawa-san's blood pressure is top notch. Maybe some imbalance in the body's biochemistry… well, the blood test will tell." he sighed "The longer one remains unconscious, the more alarmed one needs to be. But, Hasegawa-san… as far as I can tell, you should not have fainted. There is no visible cause for it to have happened and that, most of all, is worrying."
Chisame was almost afraid to ask. "Ah… Why?"
"Because then the cause is invisible to us. And something unknown cannot be treated, much less even predicted."
[]
"Damn, I ended up not doing anything this afternoon." Chisame sighed as she walked to Chao Bao Zi. It was nearly seven in the afternoon, the hour at which her shift at the restaurant started. "Three hours in the bloody hospital, grrr…" True, it hadn't been a complete waste of time. She'd entertained herself by Analyzing people and her skill had jumped to level six. She'd also learned of quite a few interesting status effects. 'Some of which I really could have been better off not knowing about...' Then Shizuna-sensei had left her in the shopping district, where she had managed to get new tennis pretty similar to her own with a discount. 'Funny how they have the same item name, yet don't stack in the inventory. Unlike the ink and what the fuck is up with that, hun?!'
Chisame had gotten a quest to change her utterly drab white tennis into something better. She had said: sure, whatever. And in the process of gathering the required materials for the task, she'd acquired another White Tennis pair and a couple of Black Textile Markers. But when she'd bought and put into her inventory a small bottle of White Textile Ink, the blasted thing had told her she actually had ten of the damn things! 'Also, why am I thinking of items with capitalization and everything!?'
Chisame took ten seconds to stop and bash her head against a tree, much to the bewilderment of passersby.
'Right,' she thought has she rubbed her forehead 'doesn't really matter anyway. I'd be more pissed if I suddenly had less things, instead of more. ... Fucking hope that doesn't happen.'
At this hour, the street restaurant was starting to fill up for dinner time. The tables were out, unfolded and Ku Fei skated lazily between them taking orders and ferrying plates back and forth. Chachamaru saw her first and welcomed her with a smile. Chisame raised a hand in greeting and pointed at the tram where Satsuki was working. Chachamaru nodded. Spying Chao on the other tram car along with Hakase, the hacker slipped more comfortably into the apron that had already been put apart for her. It was always just a bit unnerving to work with her back to Chao.
Unsurprisingly, dinner was also very crowded. It was, however, less rushed. Chachamaru barely had to help her anymore.
Mastery of the skill [Dish Washing] has increased.
'Probably because my dish washing speed has increased like crazy ever since I started working here.' She wondered how fast the skill would allow her to wash plates. 'To think one of my most used skills is this lame…. Well, in a way it makes sense. Real life tends to be boring after all.' In a roundabout way, it was strangely comforting.
Chisame's hands stilled on the glass she was rinsing. There was… something. A shiver ran down her spine. Like a premonition, Chisame could just swear every sign was pointing to something happening. And not something good. The pressure in the nape of her neck increased, like there were eyes staring at her.
"Is something wrong, Chisame-san?" Chachamaru asked, concerned.
Chisame made her hands start moving again. "Just… a bad feeling." 'A real familiar bad feeling...'
She was right to dread what was to come. Ten minutes later, no more, she thought she heard something familiar amidst the ambient sound of the Chao Bao Zi's full tables. Then a high-pitched, self-righteous voice she knew far too well rose above the din. "Table for twenty-two, please!"
Yukihiro. She should have known. Chisame should have fucking known! 'So that's what Danger Sense was for!' Too little, too late. And sure enough, not so surreptitiously looking over her shoulder, nearly the entirety of 2-A was present. Chisame averted her eyes before she could read the various levels and titles around. Next to her, Satsuki smiled encouragingly and nudged her. Had it been anybody but the pudgy girl, Chisame's mind would have screamed 'Traitor!'. Since it was Satsuki, the feeling was reduced to a whisper.
She knew she should not, that it was a trap, but Chisame sighed and, turning, asked nonetheless. "What are all of you guys doing here?"
Yukihiro rose to her feet, a rose background unfolding, striking a pose with eyes sparkling. Chisame could already tell this was going to be bad. "You see, Chisame-san, we were all overjoyed to learn of your recovery and as such we-"
"Oh, get on with it, Class Rep!" Kagurazaka interrupted. "It's a party to celebrate Hasegawa not being sick anymore!" The class agreed with an excited chorus.
"Yes, that." Growled Yukihiro.
Chisame raised a finger, hopefully. "Err…" She was working, after all.
From the other stall, Chao smiled cheekily and yelled, "Chisame-chan! You get two hours of mandatory paid leave, yo!"
'You traitorous bitch!!' Thought Chisame as she got dragged out of the stall, kicking and screaming. All of her struggles were for nothing, because she still ended up sitting outside, surrounded by nikuman and overly excited middle-school girls.
As usual for a 2-A party, which happened at a slightest thing and got organized at the drop of a hat, it was loud and chaotic. 'Probably because you could replace most of these girls by hyperactive chimpmunks without any concept of boundaries and a strange fixation on getting each other's clothes off.' Fortunately, it seemed today they were behaving with a little more sense than usual. Kagurazaka Asuna in particular was indulging in a protective streak Chisame hadn't known she possessed, keeping at bay the most outrageous members of this madness. She would make sure to thank her later. As it was, Chisame did not need the twins or Saotome volunteering Nodoka and Yue as nurses. 'You don't even pretend to be innocent do you? Not a hint of shame. Freak. I saw your notepad and I still haven't managed to forget that. You're part of 2chan, aren't you? You're certainly fodder for them, that's for sure.'
A lot of people were complimenting her change of glasses. It felt weird. Really weird. Chiu got praise. Chisame… not. Her lives shouldn't be mixing like this.
'If it was just a normal party, it'd be fine. I could have just slipped away. Not the first time it happens. But no. It's, apparently, my party. As if. 2-A does parties for everything and nothing. And my ability is. Not. Helping.' It took everything she could scrounge up to not say anything at the information that people were unwittingly presenting her.
<Evil Mangaka>
Lv5 Saotome Haruna
'Yeah, I knew that already, but nothing like a good old Evil over somebody's head to know just how bad things are.'
That was not counting how Sakurako was a Lucky Girl or Naba was a Zaibatsu Heir. The more one knew….
And then, there was the other side of the equation.
<Mage's Daughter>
Lv4 Akashi Yuna
'Like Akashi. Her level is normal, she's normal but her title very clearly states Mage's Daughter! And these things haven't steered me wrong before!' Of course, Chisame could have dismissed the existence of magic, for a little while anyhow, if Misora hadn't been present.
<Mage Nun>
Lv15 Kasuga Misora
'Mage Nun, seriously? How does that even work? Wasn't the Church happily burning witches in the middle ages or is there a conspiracy there? … Are magicians and wizards different things? Why am I even seriously thinking about this!? And why the heck does that prankster have such a bloody high level!?'
Chisame closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This was going to give her a headache if it continued. Someone snickered at her predicament and Chisame followed the sound to Evangeline, who was reclining on a bench, sipping some green tea and looking quite mockingly at her. The hacker didn't even know why the loli was there. She usually avoided these gatherings with the same fervor as herself. And this time in particuçar, her eyes were drawn to the letters floating above the blonde's head and the class that did not fit anything she had seen before.
<Kitty>
Lv?? Evangeline McDowell
"Kitty?" 'The fuck...' were the two words that had time to cross Chisame's befuddled mind before an incredible aura of evil and oppression zeroed in on her. Nobody else noticed anything wrong but Chisame gulped. Two pings sounded one after the other and Chisame didn't have to look down to read what they said.
Mastery of the skill [Danger Sense] has increased.
Mastery of the skill [Danger Sense] has increased.
Evangeline was glaring at her, looking far more scary and vicious than she usually did. Something dark stirred in her eyes, which Chisame swore were slitted. "What did you just call me?"
'Crap.'
There. Chisame had done it and pissed off something she should not have. Evangeline also had a hidden level. This was not good at all. The Gamer's mind kicked in. The instant her panic broke out, it was subsumed by a cold, logical mind. Chisame could deflect this.
She spoke without a hint that anything had happened. "Oh nothing, I just thought I had seen a cute kitten over there." She vaguely gestured over the tiny blonde's shoulder.
Immediately half the class got up and started searching for the illusive, and quite imaginary, kitten. "Kitty!?" "Where, where?" "Has to be that way, follow me!"
Chachamaru had also stopped serving and was looking around. An antenna emerged from the top of her head before retreating. "My sensors indicate no felines are in the area." She sounded disappointed. For a robot anyway.
'Chachamaru! Back me up here! For all that you're a freaking robot, you're usually pretty sane! Isn't logic supposed to be an AI's strong suit?! Can't you see the creepy kid's going to totally murder me!?' Externally, Chisame just shrugged. "Must have been something else then."
Evangeline narrowed her eyes but relented after some seconds of silence. "I see. Chachamaru, I tire of this. Let's go home."
'Safe!!'
After apologizing, Chachamaru followed Evangeline home. It still left Chisame in the middle of the weirdness, but at least she didn't have to worry about the blonde anymore. 'Nah, just with: fucking magic, a princess, whatever super-secret martial art clan Sakurazaki is apparently from, one freaking ninja and Kagurazaka's question marks. Oh, and Zazie, who's just as riddled in mystery as Chao. Joy.'
And Yukihiro Ayaka.
At eight and a half, the tall blonde clapped her hands to get everybody's attention. "Everybody, quiet down please." She cleared her throat.
'Oh great, here we go again.'
"It came to my attention that Hasegawa-san lost several personal and valuable possessions during the incident that hospitalized her. Therefore!" She pointed at something covered by a tarp, which had definitely not been there half an hour ago. The wealth of the Yukihiro family making itself shown yet again. "In reparation for what you have lost, I have prepared this for you personally!"
The tarp got thrown away in a dramatic way and Chisame's heart stopped in her chest. It was all smooth lines, polished stainless steel and flawless ice white finish. She knew the specs by heart and her mind went under the hood, imagining the 1Gb processor, the Velocity Engine, that GeForce2 MX… the LCD screen. When she spoke next, her voice cracked slightly. "An iMac?" It was the newest thing. "You're just giving… me. An iMac."
Ayaka preened under her awe and gratitude. "Indeed."
Well, she had known Ayaka was filthy rich but she'd never imagined actually getting anything from the girl. They barely interacted. And an iMac at that? The things she could do with a high-end computer like that. Because Yukihiro wouldn't spare expenses and give her a basic model, oh no. Brand new hardware, Apple software? It was a dream come true. Chisame would have never had the money to get one of those. Prices on the market were always above two hundred thousand yen, double what she had gathered during years to make her rig...
And so Chisame's pride reared it's ugly head. Chisame didn't actually need to be working for a new computer. She could just ask her parents and they would give her the necessary money. Her family was well-off, after all. But she hadn't, for the same reason she didn't ask for more money even when she had to scrounge and improvise to make a single cosplay outfit. Simple, pure, dumb pride. As far as faults went, pride was pretty normal. Chisame had no trouble admitting to that particular stubbornness of hers. She was independent and she was fine like that.
Plus, well, didn't she already have a quest about that? She wasn't going to throw away all the hard work she had already done.
She closed her eyes and breathed. "No." Her voice spoke of finality.
The class representative stumbled, caught off guard. Around them the girls quieted, eager to see how this would play out. "Ah, no?"
"No, I can't accept this gift, Yukihiro-san. It would be, ah... remiss of me to accept." Cue the chorus of ooohs from the audience.
With all the grace of a rich ojou-sama, Ayaka drew herself up. "Oh? So you would deny me my right to compensate you?"
"Absolutely." Chisame was blunt and merciless. "First off, I can't accept such an expensive gift when I haven't done anything to deserved it. I'm working here precisely to get the money I need to replace my computer. Secondly, if anybody should be compensating me, it would be the school. Not you, Class Rep." She pointed out.
They locked eyes in a silent battle of wills, the bystanders egging them on. Well, a silent battle of wills for Ayaka. Chisame just held her gaze while hoping it wouldn't take too long. It wasn't like she would be feeling intimidated any time soon, with the Gamer's Mind. Finally, Ayaka withdrew. "So… Hasegawa-san will not accept a gift she has not worked hard for…" Yukihiro eyed her calculatively.
"That's right…" Chisame was getting a bad feeling once again. 'Did I push too far?'
"I see. We shall talk about this another time, Hasegawa-san." Ayaka conceded. Yet her eyes were not those of a defeated person.
The class erupted in cheers at the end of the battle. "Didn't think you had it in you, Chisame!" "Did you see that, did you?" "I win. Pass 'em over." "Damn, there go my extra meal tickets… Since when does Hasegawa have a spine like that?" Kagurazaka in particular had thrown an arm over her shoulders and was gloating at Yukihiro.
"Well!" The blonde yelled to get the attention of everybody. "Then, there's just one more announcement to make. Makie-san, Ako-san." With a smile, the pink acrobat dragged her friend to stand in front of Chisame. "Since it doesn't look like Hasegawa-san's room will be ready for habitation any time soon, we've spoken to the faculty to arrange a room for you…"
"Yep!" Interrupted Makie. "Chisame-chan will take my place and room with Ako-chan! Take good care of her, ok?" She winked conspiratorially.
'A roommate!? I can't have a roommate! How is Chiu supposed to work without the sanctity of an empty room?' Chiame bit her tongue before any retort could"Err… I… I've never had a roommate before… Are you sure…"
"I've spoken with Shizuna-sensei. She thinks it would be highly irresponsible to leave you in a room all alone after what has happened. Ako-san is the perfect candidate for the job, seeing as she has first-aid training. You needn't worry about Makie-san either. She will be rooming with Yuuna-san and Akira-san from now on." Yukihiro explained with a close-lipped smile. Her expression all but dared Chisame to contradict her this time.
Ako blushed and ducked her head, mumbling a sorry in her direction.
Chisame sighed. 'Oh, give me a break…'
[]
During school time, the Chao Bao Zi closed at nine o'clock. There were tables to fold, floors to sweep, counters to clean, plates to rinse, water reservoirs to fill and a plethora of other little things to do so that the restaurant could open the next morning without any delays. But there was time and for once, no need to rush.
Chao Lingshen approached her, a rectangular package under her arm. "Chisame-chan, could I speak with you for a moment, ne?"
Chisame eyed Chao suspiciously but shrugged. "Sure. What's up?"
"Ah." Chao smiled. "I'd like to speak to you in private, ne." She gestured vaguely to a beaten earth path that went into the wooded gardens that lined the square where the Chao Bao Zi was located.
Chisame stilled and narrowed her eyes. Behind Chao, Chachamaru had stopped sweeping and was looking at them. The Gamer's Mind was making her thoughts run like ice cold water. There was no logical reason to refuse. There were some people still milling around in the streets. The edge of the park was really close. "Right. Why don't you go ahead?"
Ara! Chao is being suspicious, oh my. Do you have anything to say to Chisame?
[] Hint: Write-in!
[] No Hint.
] Hint: Beware of the Hora, for it might bite you in the ass in the future!
