.hack//AI Buster - Volume 2 - Chapter 5.4

.: 4 :.

I stood in a grassy field. It was night. I could see the moon and the stars light up the sky. The wind swept across the plains, and 1 could hear the grass rustling. Only one thing was missing.

"Sanjuro?"

The samurai was nowhere to be seen. The giggling fairy was my only company.

"Where are you? Sanjuro?"

I stepped through the tall grass. In contrast to the noise and activity of the root town, the grassy field was silent, except for the faint sound of flowing water. I ran toward the water, the fairy following close behind.

I stopped when I heard something hit the water. I had stepped into a small creek, Then I heard another sound. As I scanned the area, I witnessed strange shadows moving on the other side of the water. It couldn't be Sanjuro.

The voices became louder as r moved upstream. I could hear several people talking about something.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning hit one of the characters.

Before I knew what had happened, I ran to the fallen player. It was the large Heavy Axe that I met in the back alley of Mac·Anu-the one that had walked away from me. He was dead.

The Wavemaster gulped at the sight of her partner's corpse. Then three characters emerged from the darkness to surround her.

Two were scraggly Heavy Blades holding samurai swords. The third was a Twin User resembling a ninja.

"So, there was a third one, huh." The long-haired Heavy Blade who killed the Heavy Axe glared at me. The other two laughed. It ticked me off.

"Are you guys PKs?" the Wavemaster shamed.

PK? What was a PK?

"Yep. And you're our prey." The long-haired Heavy Blade snickered. He was waving his sword back and forth between me and the Wavemaster, apparently trying to decide who would be next.

"Why?" I asked. "Why did you kill him?"

"What the hell? Is he a gaijin?" The long-haired Heavy Blade looked at me funny.

"How could you kill people?!"

"Stop speaking English, stupid! This is a JP server!" The long-haired Heavy Blade bellowed and pointed his sword at me. I had a feeling I would be next.

"Die!" he shouted.

I closed my eyes as the glinting sword swung downward. I heard the swoosh, but when I opened my eyes, Sanjuro stood before me.

"Sorry I'm late."

He struck the long-haired Heavy Blade with his sword and the rogue staggered from the forceful blow. All the three outlaws stepped back.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Do you wish to continue this battle?" Sanjuro spoke in Japanese.

The Heavy Blade turned to his companions. "He's too strong."

"What?"

"His level is too high!"

How did he know that? Could he tell just from the amount of damage he received?

The long-haired Heavy Blade was ready to flee and that seemed to dampen the spirits of the other two.

Sanjuro sensed their hesitation and barked a simple command, "Leave."

They fled like dogs.

"Filthy PKs are just like ronin ... They have no pride or honor." Sanjuro remarked as he put away his sword.

"What's a PK?"

"A Player Killer," he explained.

"Why do they do that? Are they allowed to kill other people?"

Sanjuro didn't answer.

If the rules of The World allowed it, then I guess it was acceptable. But I couldn't understand why anyone would want to do that. The image I had of The World, and everything I had hoped to find in it, crumbled.

"Do those people play just to hurt others?"

"There are those that log in for that kind of stimulation." Sanjuro said.

"I just wanted to practice my Japanese. But if The World is like this, I don't want to play anymore."

The female Wavemaster politely bowed to me. "Thank you for saving us:'

As she turned and thanked Sanjuro, I noticed the Heavy Axe was alive again.

"Thanks!" He looked happy as he spoke to me.

"How did you come back to life?"

"She resutrected me." He chuckled. Then his demeanor changed and he asked, "We met you back at town, didn't we?"

"Yes."

"I feel bad for ignoring you back there. I'm sorry."

The Heavy Axe introduced himself as Tamotsu, and she was Aki. The two of them were married in real life. Then I heard the sound of insects.

"Hey! It's almost time," Aki said.

"Almost time for what?" I asked.

"You'll see soon enough." Tamotsu pointed toward a soft glow of light. Slowly, the glow multiplied; first one, then two, then another and another. The tiny orbs appeared over the river, ever increasing in numbers.

"Fireflies!" I said.

"They're so pretty," said Aki. "We logged in to see them."

"But we didn't expect to run into PKs. I suppose you bump into a lot of things in The World." Tamotsu grinned.

"I remember when I was little I saw fireflies at the small creek near my grandmother and grandfather's house. That's my only memory of Japan."

"You've been to Japan?" asked Sanjuro.

"My mom is Japanese." And then it hit me. "I know the answer to the riddle."

I looked at me fairy and typed in the answer.

"Correct! Correct!" The fairy somersaulted gleefully.

"What is the answer?" asked Sanjuro.

"The one thing everyone has and yet there are no two of in the world is- your name!"

"How did you figure it out?"

"You can't register a name that already exists. When I firs t tried to register my name, I tried 'Hotaru' in biragana, but it was already being used. I also tried it in katakana and kanji, but they were also taken. That's why I used English letters for my name, Hotaru, which means firef1y."

The fairy frolicked in the air, then turned into a large ball of light and joined the fireflies. A moment later, the fireflies scattered into the night sky. Only the sound of the softly flowing river remained.

"Sanjuro, did you already know the answer?" I asked.

He smiled. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you brought me here to see my namesake."

Sanjuro chuckled.

"Well, we're going back to town," Tamotsu said.

"Thank you for saving us, Sanjuro Sunaarashi. Thank you, Hotaru." Aki waved.

They smiled and transported out in a ring of light. It fell quiet.

"You're getting better at your Japanese, kiddo."

"Huh?"

"You were speaking to those two in Japanese for quite awhile."

I suddenly realized he was right. I managed an entire conversation without speaking English.

"Here," Sanjuro said, as a new window popped up on my screen.

"What is this?"

"It's my member address. That way you can contact me again in the future."

"Thank you very much!"

"Remember, when you're adventuring, you'll encounter good people and bad, just like you will in real life. Do your best to enjoy the game and be with those worthy of your time," Sanjuro said.

"I'm glad I met you!"

"Nice to meet you, too, Hotaru," Sanjuro said. "I hope your adventures, like your name, will be one of a kind."

I logged out and removed my FMD. Somehow, my room looked different. I'd experienced a new world, one that existed only through satellite beams and fiber optic cables. In a mere heartbeat, I could visit Japan.

I wanted to log back in to meet more people right away, but it was getting late. My parents would be home soon. I went downstairs to eat my cold dinner and turned on the TV The game had just ended; the Celtics lost by three points.