Chapter 5 - Flashback

"Ohh! Here to visit your sister again?" Asked the familiar nurse I was passing by in the hallway.

"Yes ma'am, is she awake right now?" I inquired politely.

"She is, I just took her blood pressure a while ago. Your sister must be happy seeing you often." The nurse smiled at me.

"I think so..... Then, I'll go meet her right now."

"Ohh right sure, have fun and take care." The nurse gestured for me to go on.

I nodded and proceed to head to the intended room. After a short while of passing nurses and visitors alike, I arrived at my destination. I knocked reflexively, a habit of mine when visiting her room, and entered without even hearing her permission.

The smell of disinfectant with a mix of other chemicals assaulted my senses. The inside of the room was white and clean, decorated with the intent of being simple and pleasing to the eye. In the corner of the room is a therapeutic VR pod intended to ease patients' mental states especially those prohibited to leave the room due to medical reasons.

A pale girl lying on an inclined bed rest in the center of the room holding a tablet. She has long brown hair, soft brown eyes, and a smile plastered on her face. She was always cheerful and bright, though I don't know how much of that is a facade to not make us worry any more than we do. She is 2 years older than me but her childish demeanor coupled with her cute looks and frail body makes people think that I'm the older one. Most people say we don't look alike (Her facial features and hair color resembles our mother whereas I got my sharp blue eyes stoic looks and black hair from my father). We instead have the same interests though which include mostly gaming and watching movies and anime. I probably just acquired my hobbies from her cause we always spend time together ever since we were little and her body prevents her from having any strenuous hobbies making gaming one of the few choices for her in the hobbies department.

"Sup, sis." I greeted her as I saw her.

"Ohh good you're here! Come here, come here look at this." The girl, my sister, beckoned me to come near with exaggerated movements.

I sat in the bed close to her, curious about why she was making such a fuss.

"Kat look at this it's so cute! Right, right?" She excitedly said while showing me the video.

It was a video of a puppy trying its hardest to climb the stairs while failing spectacularly..... My God, it IS adorable!... Wait calm down Kat, act mature.

"Yeah it's ok, I guess," I replied with restraint.

Our appreciation for cute things is also the same, though I don't act as childish as her.

"I want a puppy too, I'll ask mom if I can get one later." She declared.

"I don't think they even allow pets in the patient's room." I countered.

"Hmph, you're always such a killjoy Kat."

"No, I'm just stating facts."

"Yeah, and that is the definition of being a killjoy." She said with finality.

I'm pretty sure it's not, but I keep it to myself. I can never win an argument against her since she is not confined to any rules. She even makes the rules herself if I'm to be honest.

"Oh, I just remembered that I have something to show you!" She said as she swiped and pressed her tablet to open her e-mail account.

"Is it another one of those e-mails you got saying you won a million dollars?" I deadpanned.

"I-it's not that, and I told you that was the last time that I'll fall for a scam like that!" She visibly reddened

After a short while, she handed me the tablet with an expectant look. "Here, read this."

I took the tablet from her and read the contents.

Dear Ms. Katyusha

We are pleased to inform you that your application for the beta test program has been approved. Be one of the first to take part in Champions of Andartha before it would be open to the public. We appreciate any feedback, suggestions, criticisms, or concerns you may have during this trial period and encourage you to voice them out to our team so that we may continue to provide you with the best gaming experience we possibly can.

Sincerely yours

Champions of Andartha team

*Please Note that the beta key and download link are provided below this letter*

I looked at her with awe while she instantly made a smug face, which in turn dampened my amazement.

"How did you even manage to get this?" I asked unbelievingly

V-Tech, the creator of the full dive VR technology and also the company behind the CoA team was said to have funded the game with millions of dollars. They also have gone wild in their publicity, promising their players that they will experience the best VR technology has to offer. They are even planning to release new VR pods that will complement the game. if you're an avid gamer, it's impossible for you to not have heard of this since it is even featured in local news outlets.

"I have my ways, and also a whole lot of time in my hands," She said smugly as if that was something to be proud of.

"Are you sure it's not a scam?" I ask incredulously.

"Of course! What do you take me for? I learn from my mistakes you know."

I guess it looks legit, and it also doesn't as for any personal info or bank accounts.

"How many keys do you have?" I asked curiously

"I uh, only managed to get one.... Sorry. I'll share my account with you though so we could level it together. Playing for 2 hours a day is the most the nurses would let me anyways." She said regretfully.

"Sure, sounds good. Send me the account info after you create an account so I can play it at home." I replied with a grin.

it's not the first time we shared an account due to her circumstances. I'm the one mostly doing the leveling when we share accounts though.

"What should we name it?" she inquired.

"I'll leave it up to you, I'm bad at names." I shrugged.

"Ohh okay I already have something in mind"

"What?"

"A name that means 'hero' in Japanese and also close to our surnames." She riddled.

"Out with it already." I said impatiently.

"Yuusha" she smiled.

---------------------------------------

"You're here again? You always come here almost every day."

"What, are you tired of seeing your cute little sister?" I quipped.

"Cute? Pffft cute is the last thing I would describe you, more like obnoxious." She giggled at her own joke

Not funny.

"But seriously don't you hang out with your classmates after school or something? Like a normal high school girl?"

I'd rather spend time with her though. I have a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that our time together is limited, especially after overhearing my parents talk about her worsening heart condition. I won't talk about it obviously since I don't want to ruin the mood.

"Nah I'm good, going out with them is pretty troublesome and tiring. I'd rather relax here." I reasoned.

"Are you sure you just don't have any friends at your school?" She teased.

"W-wha, of course, I do, I'm even quite popular since most of the clubs want to recruit me to their team!" I defensively denied her claim.

And that's not even a lie, my kinetic vision and reflexes are top notch so I excel at any sports I try.

"Sure sure whatever you say, Ms. Loner." She said unconvinced.

"Urkk!"

My pride took a critical hit by that statement.

"Ohh by the way, earlier when I was playing CoA, someone PMed me demanding a rematch. Do you know what that was about?" she changed the topic.

It has been a few months since the official release of CoA. All of the hype it garnered and all the mentions it received on the internet made its launch a total success and amassed millions of players worldwide just in its first month. It also lived up to its hype as the most realistic VR experience up to date. No current game is even close to comparable to it in the realism department. We both continued to use the same account we created back in the beta test since there are tons of benefits and rare sets we got from the perks of being a beta tester. I also don't want to repeat the grinding I went through. Besides, I'm more focused on PVP right now since it's infinitely more fun than grinding or battling NPCs.

"Not sure, I can't even count the number of players I beat in the past week. What's his IGN?"

"I think it was, Zetta or something?" she pondered.

"Ohh, I remember him, I barely won against him in my last rank match yesterday before I logged out. His pride probably got wounded since I recall that he's in the top 10 rank of 1v1. What did you say in response?"

"Nothing, I just ignored him but he's so persistent so I blocked him. Nobody likes persistent guys." She giggled.

"Huh too bad, he might be a good sparing partner. I'll just unblock him later and accept his request."

"You really are focused on PVP these past weeks huh."

"I guess. I'm planning to join the Andartha Cup." I confessed

"Really! I heard the prize pool was a million dollars for the champion, even though it's split into 4 team members, it's still quite a large sum of money. They really are adamant about making the game an eSports success huh. This much prize pool will entice many new players to the game"

I'm more interested in the prestige of winning the tournament than the money though. Sure the money is a plus(a very big one at that) but my main reason is to immortalize the character my sister and I use. A proof that our bond existed at some point and cement it in a game that I am certain will leave its mark in history. It's quite sentimental I know but that's how I feel. I won't tell it to her though since I'm sure she'll just make fun of me.

"Yeah, if you help me with the gears, I'll give you half the prize I get so how's that." I offered.

Though our parents are the ones who are probably going to manage the money if we ever place high enough to earn significant amounts.

"Really! then I'd better research on how to get some of the hard-to-find unique weapon skills then." She said excitedly.

"Sure but don't push yourself too hard though. We still have 3 months to prepare." I worriedly replied.

"No biggie, I've got nothing to do much here anyway." She gave me a melancholic smile.

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I briskly walked into the hallway eager to arrive at my destination while ignoring the familiar nurse that called out to me. I normally don't act that rude to others but I have something I needed to confirm badly. I caught many curious stares as I continued to walk frantically toward the room my sister was in. Usually, I would be too flustered and mindful of the commotion I was garnering but I was too preoccupied with my thoughts to even care the slightest. As I arrived at my destination, I entered the familiar room without knocking.

"Ohh yo-"

"I heard from dad that you'll be having a heart operation next week" I cut her off mid-sentence.

"I know, what bad timing, right? Exactly the same date as the online tournament. You guys worked hard through the qualifiers but I might not be able to watch the main stage." she said apologetically.

"I don't care about that!" I shouted. "I heard there is a chance that your body might not survive the process."

".....Yeah, I always had a weak constitution and hypoplasia since I was born." She paused for a bit as if preparing what to say next.

"The doctors say it's even a miracle that I survived up until now with my body being this fragile and that there is a chance my body could not take the strain of the operation." She smiled sadly.

After a short while, her melancholic face did a 360, back to being her bubbly self.

"But it's not that bad! It's more than a 60 percent chance of success or so they say, I guess I'll have to pray to the RNG gods so that they would bless me!" She joked.

"I..." I croaked feeling breathless.

"I know what your thinking but please continue the tournament. It's not fair if I'm the only one fighting that day, don't you think so too? Besides, I won't forgive myself if I'm the reason you forfeited this, we've worked hard for this remember? Not only us but our teammates too, I would feel very bad for them."

"....I understand."

"It's settled then let's both win our fight next week okay? Pinky promise!" She held out her pinky finger.

I took her hand, intertwining it with mine. I held on to this sensation for a while, feeling her soft, fragile hands as if it was a precious treasure. It took a little while before I crossed my pinky finger with hers.

"....Promise." I declared with renewed determination.