Innocent Sin Online: Chapter Fifteen (the party forms)

[madimpossibledreamer]

Main Points: Persona 4 .hack inspired AU
chapter summary: yukiko, chie, and souji meet up with yosuke.  in the past, souji tells his friend how the outing with saki-senpai went and refers to koual as a friend.
word count: 2052
rating: T

        Yukiko argues that if he tries to play at home, Dojima-san will probably stop him, particularly if he passes out again or gets more obviously sick, so instead they head to the Amagi Inn.  Chie probably notices as he falters when they approach.  Maybe she mistakes it for worry about what’s waiting on the other side of the computer screen.  Really, it’s the past slapping him in the face.  Memories of yukata, of being shown off like just some expensive sculpture acquired for unfathomable sums of money halfway across the world.  Being forced into conversations with businessmen in the hot springs, to show off that even the least accomplished in the family were still a part of the civilized world.
        He quickly shakes that off.  He’s in the real world.  He doesn’t need to let their memories haunt him.  After all, they’ve been written off by the rest of the world.
        They walk to the back, a number of patrons and workers greeting Yukiko-san with enthusiasm, to where five fairly old computers wait in what appears to be the employee’s room.  It doesn’t take that long to log in, and the computers work better than expected.  “We make sure to update the graphics and stuff like that even if they’re not the newest,” Yukiko informs him quietly.  “Sometimes our employees travel across Japan to work here, so we want to make sure they can keep in contact with their families.  And, of course, computers are really important in work these days, though we don’t put them out in the open to preserve the ancient feel.”
        Appearance being more important than the real thing.  Yes, he remembers that too, and not fondly.  By the slight distaste in Yukiko-san’s tone, she doesn’t, either.
        Still, it doesn’t matter too much when he’s going to be in the world of the game soon.  The instant he logs in, he feels the faint memory of a tail curl up contentedly beside him.  It takes the other two a little longer to join him.  The game, apparently, says that he logged out in the police station, which is nowhere close to the secret dungeon he found Yosuke in.  It’s possible he stayed at the Clan Sanctuary, but if he didn’t want to be found Yosuke was very good at hiding, and if that was the case he’d hardly have stayed in the same place.
        “Sensei!  Sensei!  You’re still alive!”  Teddie runs up, and he has to smile at the screen.
        “I found out what’s going on, Teddie, but I need your help,” he types.  He’s surprised at how clunky and inefficient the procedure feels.  Maybe he’ll get the text-to-speech setup Yosuke had been raving about, if not the whole MS System.
        “Anything!  You didn’t tell me you had such incredible powers, Sensei!”  So he had seen a little of the fight.
        “I need you to find Koual again.”  The bear’s about to panic, flailing his arms and already muttering, but he continues, calm and overriding the NPC.  “He’s not evil.  I saved him.  But he’ll need a little persuading to convince him that he still needs help.”  It’s possibly not necessary, but only if Yosuke was being less of a jerk.
        Teddie nods enthusiastically.  “You can count on this bear!  Just give me a moment, sniff sniff…”
        “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” Chie grumps at her computer screen, and he doesn’t even have to look to know she’s staring.
        “If you don’t like it, you can always log off,” Souji says, and is a little surprised by the fact that he’d actually said that out loud.  She doesn’t, although he feels the kick at his chair resonate through his whole body.  He doesn’t care.
        When they start getting close, he recognizes the street and starts running.  Teddie’s taking them by a weird route, but it appears the scent is still strong around the Clan Sanctuary (which doesn’t necessarily mean he’s still there, but it’s a place to start, at least).  He blows past Teddie, past all of them, and for a second he feels like his feet are slapping on the concrete.
        And he comes to an abrupt halt as he notices Koual, arms crossed, leaning casually against the door.  The animal strength and grace in the figure indicates that Ceirahn’s close to the surface.  “Yo, partner.  Back so soon?”  He actually looks disappointed at seeing the others.  “And you brought company.  Here I was hoping we’d be alone.”
        “We should talk,” Souji insists, and that gets a slightly sad smile.
        “Let’s go in, shall we?”  He opens the door and sweeps a hand toward the interior.
        Souji blinks.  There’s other characters lounging around, and he doesn’t recognize anyone from the Clan.  “Who are—” he begins typing, but doesn’t even send it before Koual’s responding.
        “I can actually sense you typing.  Just you, though.  It’s weird.”  He shrugs.  “I’ve been a bit busy since I sent you away.  I saved a few CPs and now they’re just hanging out and kinda refuse to leave.”
        Souji nearly responds with pride, since Yosuke has to be feeling the guilt from his time as Ceirahn and pretty much everyone else is thinking more about saving other people than he is, but he’s interrupted by Koual suddenly invading Sakuya-hime’s personal space, sniffing.
        The jealousy that thrills through him probably means something for his little unanswered question, and he remembers that he’s supposed to hit Yosuke when he comes back, so he does.  When he types /hit, he doesn’t expect his character to actually step forward and go after Yosuke with a right hook, but that’s what happens.  Even the emote seems to do enough when Yosuke’s in the game.
        Yosuke looks up at him from the floor, and he’s paying attention to him again, and there’s a little boyish hurt and confusion and just a hint of Ceirahn’s brutal excitement again.  “What was that for?”  It’s a little annoyed and hurt, but mostly just curious.  At least he’s not smirking, thankfully, because Souji’s not sure he could deal with that, but he’s also not as hurt as Souji would expect.
        “Kicking me out in the middle of our conversation,” he responds, as the other two stare at him.  “You knew that was coming, though.”
        “I guess I deserved that,” he responds, all smiles now.
        “Why are you sniffing me?” Yukiko types, trying not to seem as freaked out as she is.  Her hands are shaking a little.
        Koual turns serious, glancing at Kenshin.  Souji shivers; it feels like he’s the one being stared at.  Think they can handle it? comes across the PM.
        Souji hesitates briefly before responding, Yukiko’s looking into CPs on behalf of a friend.  She’s determined to see this through.  Chie’s mostly here because she doesn’t want to let Yukiko do this on her own.
        In response, the fur starts bleeding into Ceirahn’s outfit.  The others turn to look, but otherwise don’t react.
        Chie pushes her chair away from the desk, hyperventilating.  Yukiko just sits more primly, eyes sharp and bright.  “He’s one of the Immortals.  That’s how he pulled you into the game—and pushed you out,” she types, quickly.
        “Got it in one.  I can pull you in, if you like.”  He’s behaving himself—kind of—although he’s still got the way-too-toothy grin.
        Souji doesn’t have to finish typing his reply before he’s already inside.  Yukiko joins them quickly.
        Ceirahn is suddenly serious, or as serious as the Immortal can be.  “She’s marked by another Immortal.  Vaspran, if I had to guess.”  He casually reaches out and yanks Chie in.
        “What does that mean?” Yukiko asks, breathless, and whacks him with a fan.
        He blinks, grinning as if he felt nothing, and Chie stares at him, scared.
        “What are you?” she asks, backing up into a door, and Ceirahn shrugs, slow and dangerous. 
        He glances at Souji, amused.  “You didn’t tell them?”
        “I didn’t think it was my story to tell,” Souji responds, refusing to be intimidated.
        Ceirahn chuckles, smile showing far too many teeth.  “Guess that’s fair enough.  Well, since I’m so rude let me introduce myself.  You probably know me as Yosuke, you might know me as Koual, but I’m also known as the Immortal Ceirahn, Siren of the Abyss.”  He bows elegantly.
        Teddie squeaks, eyes wide.
        Yukiko doesn’t flinch.  “I want to know more.”
        Ceirahn’s grin just grows.

Previously:
        “Please don’t abandon us to Saki-senpai ever again,” Souji requests fervently the next time Koual gets on, and the reply comes pretty quickly.
        “Okay, that’s the first time I’ve ever heard that.  Usually everybody’s begging me to see if she can get on and play with them.”
        He hates it, hates thinking that Koual’s lived with this for a while.  “I like playing with you.  You’re more like a senpai than she was.  I like learning from you, and you’re just fun to be around.”
        “Oh, man, you’re making me blush,” he responds, and that’s interesting.  Koual would probably play it off as a joke, but he gets the feeling it’s actually honest.
        “So, in the interests of efficiency, considering I won’t be able to play with you all the time, who am I allowed to hand you off to?”
        And he does that a lot, too, adding another sentence to distract from the first when he’s not sure how someone will react.
        “I like Vindler, Seimei, Aon, Heimdall, Affinity, Triste, and Sohei.”  There are a few others he’s met, but there’s very few who are his level who he enjoys playing with.  “You’re still my favorite to play with besides my cousin,” he adds, because he’s enjoying this.
        Instead of getting simply flustered this time, Koual just types back, “just cause u like making fun, stay behind yu jerk”.
        “That’s only one of many reasons, you know,” he responds, simply because he can, and there’s a long pause before he gets a response.
        “You’re a serious troll sometimes, Mr. Cat Obsessed.”  He pauses.  “But you also put up with all of my stuff, so I guess I gotta put up with you?”
        “I’m no expert,” he responds, “…but I think that’s how friendships work?”
        There’s no hesitation when Koual responds, “I think you’re right, actually ;)”
        He knows it’s a bit of a change in topic, but he’s not sure how to properly converse with a friend anyway.  It’s not a skill his parents had ever prioritized.  “I really like this game, though.  The cat storyline’s intriguing from what I’ve seen.”
        There’s a pause, as Koual tries to figure out the proper response.  Then, “Man, it shouldn’t shock me that you love playing a cat.  Though I can’t say I didn’t try, either, just out of curiosity.  The dog storyline, btw, doesn’t differ too much.  I ended up going with Satoru, and after the tutorial there’s this whole speech he gives you where he realizes you’re not a normal pet and you’re pretty much the best and only partner he’s got after his went AWOL.”
        “It doesn’t surprise me that you ended up playing a dog,” Souji types.
        “I ended up playing both.”  Pause.  “What’s that supposed to mean?”
        “I don’t know.  A personality thing, I guess?”  He really doesn’t know, but he’s stopped thinking too hard about what he types before he types it with Koual.
        “I’m gonna take that as Oh, Koual, you’re super loyal and I like that about you.  Jerk.” He replies, and then adds, “There is actually something else we could do, if you’re not busy.  One of the cool things to do is play in the test server, because you can actively help make the game better, and you’re good at that kind of thing given that you’ve helped me on my essays, so…”
        “That sounds like fun.  I’m curious about a Ryuu, and I’m not sure what other class to play…” he types back, and Koual responds that he hasn’t played a Ryuu either and is kinda interested in how a Wind of Fate plays.  They spend the rest of the time planning out characters, but it’s a lot of fun.
        They only realize that they’ve played too long when Koual panics.  “ITS 1 VE GOT WORK & SCH SRY” and promptly disappears.  Souji glances over at his homework.  There’s enough time to finish.