PS: The title is obviously in Japanese. Here's the translation: Happy New Year ~Memories~
And the song below:
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Agemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu ~Omoi~
MazdaKitsune
"Oenjengan joung nii-ipsuleul neu-kkotdon... Onu ja-geun suubsokae nuwo... Uldaga jam-ii deulmeon-neun... Noul manalsu issulka?"
The singing female voice that floated to her ears from the speakers so strategically placed around the city made her footsteps falter, then stop. Emerald eyes raised and looked up at the large screen mounted atop one of the large buildings, displaying a popular online game as the singer sang her song with all her heart. Ebony tresses got caught in the fingers of a passing breeze, and she lifted a hand to hold them away from her face, a small nostalgic smile crossing her lips. For a while, time stood still for her as she listened and watched like a single stone in a stream, other people walking and flowing by her like water. Ah... how long had it been? Almost six years, she reckoned, and so many things had changed within that amount of time. For one, games were not really played with computers any more, but for those who could afford it, virtual reality devices that could tap either into the player's conscious or subconscious mind.
Six years had passed, and all things had to come to an end. Six years, and she had already traded in her junior high uniform for the blazer of high school, and now, kept the blazer away in favour of more comfortable and fashionable for university students. Six years... and she wondered what had happened to... him.
The song ended, and she started walking again, letting herself drift with the flow of the hurrying crowd.
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"Things... were good between us, but... you know, eventually... everything has to come to an end."
On a ledge overlooking Payon forest, two figures stood together, silhouetted by the setting sun. One wore clothes that seemed to wrap around his body, a worn scarf loosely draped around his neck, weapons hidden in boots and belts, a pair of katars strapped behind his waist. The other was slender, obviously female, wore clothes made of durable cloth, hunting shorts with a fitting skirt over it, and a top that bared most of her midriff, complete with a hood. Though she wore fitting long gloves over the wide short sleeves, suggesting she handled animals often, perhaps of the aviation type.
For anyone who lived in this world, they would recognize the pair as an Assassin and a Huntress, individuals that were already powerful in their own ways. The young huntress gave a sigh as she tilted her head to view her companion from the side, hands clasped together in front of her. Unlike him, she had discarded her weapons; her bow and quiver of arrows lay carelessly off to the side, but she wasn't worried of being attacked by any stray monsters. They were both under the watchful eye of a falcon. "I hate changes," she mumbled under her breath. "I hate that things have to change."
"Sometimes changes are for the better, isn't it?" The male chuckled, feeling the warmth of the sun play on his face, and he sobered slightly. "Uso da. This is all a lie. It's made like reality, made to imitate reality, and players can live here as if it is reality, but this is all a lie. The environment isn't real. What you and I feel isn't real, but wired straight to our senses. Touch, taste, feel, hear, smell. A convincing world, don't you think?"
"It's called technology, Iruka." The Huntress gave a choked laugh, then fell silent. "But... can you say that what we have isn't real? That it's just as much a lie as this world is?"
Iruka's face was shadowed by his silver hair. "No, I can't. But in a way, we're just two strangers that met, aren't we? Ryorin."
Ryorin didn't answer. It had been a wonderful experience, from the day she had first set foot into the world of Ragnarok Online. She had been able to live a second life, start over from scratch, meet new people, embark on adventures and make new friends. In a way, she had gotten a whole lot stronger the longer she played. The character, this character that she had made and had grown into, she had worked so hard to build it up, to become as strong as she needed. Her thinking became sharper as she puzzled out quests, her reflexes faster, and there was always the fun of talking to other players, figuring out new quests and adventures that the game might throw their way. Then one day she had met Iruka, mostly out of accident. It was doing a player versus player event, and they had gone up against each other, after Ryorin so foolishly challenged him. Of course.... Iruka won. And after that, they bumped into each other while in the city of Prontera and stuck together in a party of two since they were headed in the same direction anyway; Morroc. It was a long journey by foot, mainly because she was always broke and had no zeny to use the Kafra's teleporting services, but they surprisingly made a good party, and grew close over their journey.
Then the world had come crashing down when Gravity announced that players would need to start paying in order to play the game. Ryorin couldn't afford spending money just so she could play, and neither could Iruka, and so they had decided to part ways. Today was their last day together, and they had mostly spent it reminiscing about the adventures they had; the stoic Assassin and the playful Huntress.
"Mm?" Iruka glanced to the side when he didn't get an answer from Ryorin and his eyes widened as he noticed tears rolling down the sides of her face, and he sighed, reaching out to pull her close so that her head leaned against his. "Baka yaro. Why are you crying for, you idiot?"
"No reason," Ryorin mumbled.
"Idiot." Iruka muttered under his breath. "We'll meet again, Ryorin. Someday. I'm sure of it. So stop crying, alright?" His arm dropped from her shoulder, and she gave a small giggle before straightening, swiping her hand across her eyes to wipe the tears away.
"There's something I've been meaning to ask you," she said as she sniffled, and she waited for the 'what', but only silence met her. "Iruka?"
He was gone.
Staring at the empty space where the Assassin had just been, the Huntress felt a fresh wave of tears hit, but she refused to let them fall, gathering her weapons to fasten them to her belt instead. Looking up, she let out a piercing whistle, and a falcon circled out of nowhere to alight on her shoulder. "It's just you and me for now, Baron," Ryorin murmured. "I never got to ask him what his real name was. So just you and me for now... until I'm gone."
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She had been kicked out of the game not long after that, her credit used up, and could only assume that the same had happened to him. She had tried other games after that as well, in the hopes of meeting Iruka again, but to no avail. The latest one she was playing, Perfect World, had an interesting concept and she was well on her way as a Venomancer, but nothing could take away her first love; Ragnarok Online. The memories sometimes made her ache inside, but from what she heard nowadays, it wasn't a fun game as it was from back then. The new classes and new lands were tempting enough to make her want to play again, but it was just too expensive.
Then came the bots. About half the players used bots to gain levels, items and zeny faster, and it just killed the mood for playing, especially since she herself had worked so hard to grow, it wasn't fair that those players took the easy way out by cheating in the game. There had been a free server, but the creators of the game had decided to raise the levels, making it extra harder to even gain a level, with restrictions on potions and items. She longed to get back into the game, but with all this.... she just couldn't. Besides, she was already in university. She had to focus on exams and other stuff.
"Onii-san, I'm heading out to the temple."
"Aa! Enjoy yourself, imouto!"
The black haired girl let out a sigh as she stepped out of her house and began her walk to the shrine, knowing that it was going to be super crowded since it was New Year's Eve. Throw away the old and usher in the new. Changes. There was always changes. Perhaps this new year would bring something new in for her. Clad in a kimono with a stylish fur coat to keep out the cold over her shoulders, she was there simply for tradition, and perhaps to pray for something, she didn't know what yet. Ah, and she wanted one of those amulets or arrows to bring home for luck. She was quite the superstitious person, and enjoyed collecting little trinkets like that.
As expected, the shrine was packed with people, and it was difficult trying to navigate through the crowd. Climbing up the stairs was hard, but she didn't quite mind, having her ears plugged with music playing on her Ipod to keep her entertained and her mind off the crowd. But at the rate they were going, she doubted that she was going to actually be able to make it to the top by midnight. Well, just as long as she got to offer her prayers, get her future read, buy an amulet and she'd be happy to go home and sleep. That was, until someone's shoulder bumped into her, almost causing her to tilt right into an elderly couple next to her.
"Watch it!"
"Sorry." A pair of hands caught her elbows to steady her. "Did I hurt you?"
Wait. That voice... it couldn't be. She turned her head to look up at the man who was still holding her, scrutinizing his amethyst eyes. "I... Iruka...?"
The male with messy black hair and amethyst eyes blinked before frowning, looking down at her. He hadn't heard that name since.... since he stopped playing Ragnarok Online, five years ago. And this girl who had just called him by that name.... he shifted through his memories to recall her name, and realization made his eyes widen. "Ryorin?"
"Oh my god. It.. it really is you."
Time stopped for a while, and the only thing she could hear was the music playing in her ears.
"Looking for your eyes... I believe in love... forever..."
Their moment was shattered with the tolling of the bells, a booming sound that resonated through the entire region, and they pulled away to look up at the sky as fireworks exploded in showers of colour. "Kirei na, kono hanabi," she said quietly, and he nodded.
"Aa."
"You know, all those years ago... I never got round to asking you for your name."
He looked down at her, surprised, then let out an amused snort. "Baka yaro. You already know my name. You just called me Iruka. My full name is Takasugi Iruka."
"Sou?" There was a moment of silence where she looked up at him. "Watashi wa Kanegawa Rin."
"You aren't crying again, aren't you?" Iruka looked down at her and clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth to see her emerald eyes swimming in tears. "Idiot. Didn't I say that we'd meet again someday? Women."
"You did. I'm sorry." Rin blinked the tears away and laughed. "You haven't changed one bit. Except for looks, of course."
"It's been five years. We were fifteen then, what did you expect?" He gave her an amused smile before wrapping his arms around her. "But you know what? I'm glad I found you. I was beginning to give up hope. Agemashite omedetou gozaimasu."
"Agemashite omedetou... Iruka. Arigatou."
