It begins

"Good morning early birds, time is 05:00. Today's Monday, arguably the most hated day of the week. Don't let it get to you dear listeners – weekend will be here faster than you think. We'll start with the news segment; another 3 Celestial found dead after a police raid to the southern ends of Academy city. To ensure your safety, it's better for most to not venture and stay out too late, the curfew is around 21:00. On lighter news, preliminaries for Gian's tournament has ended. Four challengers versus Four elite, C-sport will host the drawing during the opening ceremony. Best of luck to the teams – Manticore has had an update to befit the tournament better."

'Monday already,' awake, '-I skipped work for two days,' following a yawn, the curtain opened making no difference in the dim room. 'Practicing for 16 hours straight for two days – I've gotten back my muscle memory a little. Shooting with the sniper still feels odd – out of ten round – I almost get a kill every three-round. Very inconsistent – against the pro-bots, that's pretty good,' brushing his teeth, '-I can barely sleep.' Gargling, the stove turned on, tea as opposed to warm water. 'Playing Mantis is the only way I can get the image of killing another human out of my head. Today's the start of the Gian tournament, I wonder who'll win,' sat facing the window, a little opening made the wind whistle.

'Time to head out for work then,' emptied, locking the door, '-even if I don't eat that much, running to work might serve to train the frail body of mine. Nothing major, a little stamina boost will go a long way, it's not like I plan on taking up the Assault rifles and storm into a bomb-site.'

"Good morning Jerry," entering the well-lit store, he waved.

"Morning Sayer, you seem to be doing well," with a smile, the supervisor tinkered with the register, "-any special reasons?"

"The pressure of exams is off my shoulder and I've found something to do," taking off the bag, "-I'll change and get to cleaning."

"Don't overdo it," voiced Jerry, outside, the sun rose at 05:45. People crawled to work, most had tired faces, some hungover from not holding back on the weekend. Students were not rare to walk around these parts – with holographic displays, tournament info about the Gian had peaked the young mind. Holographic display announced a month ago – a feature by the brand FX, conveniently named: FX-X. Priced around 70,000 Bits, depending on what version one bought, it hosted multiples of add-ons. Most prolific, the no-limit Virtualization. Going above 12 hours, a normal SCHD would overheat and cause damage to the person's nervous system. Worst the older models abled to handle 6 hours at most. Not that it was lethal, there were reports of people losing the ability to see or hear after an extensive gaming session. One in every ten-thousand, they were people who'd tempered and removed the inbuilt limiter. Nothing could be done about the situation, the addicts died and it was the end of the story. The FX-X with it's no limit had worked out a way to lower the pressure of being Virtualized even farther. Gamers, used special Pods, to train and play, devices built especially for staying in that state indefinitely. The average person had only a few hours at most, thus the limit to allow functionality as a phone.

"Good morning," at around 06:45, a girl with a beige top, grey skirt, spoke with a smile.

"Good morning," the hands moved effortlessly to bag her snacks. "Jerry's in the backroom, want me to call him?"

"Oh please," she chuckled, "-good to see the sunglasses have served their purpose. It didn't suit you."

"Thanks for the advice, I'm Sayer by the way, hope you'll come by for more snacks. Be considerate, isn't watching one's weight the big thing for ladies?"

"I'm Heather, a high-school student at Soel's institute. Nice to meet ya," tilting her head, *Click,* the door opened, "-I better go," she reached for her bag and ran.

"Did something happen?" asked Jerry with squinted eyes, "-I heard something run out of the store."

"Nothing, just someone rushing to work."

"They sure are reckless," he headed towards the magazine aisle.

Noon came by, with a free lunchbox, "-I'll head to Boycott, see you later, Jerry."

"Later," voiced the supervisor. Admiring the road and ins and outs of people walking about, the journey to the electric shop resumed without much trouble. Constantly reminded about the girl who died, the pressure of saving her sister, a contract which had turned him into a toy – the mind wandered without any guidance.

*Dring,* interrupting the music, the SCHD rang, "-hello?"

"Good afternoon, Sayer," a female voice spoke joyfully.

"Who's this?" asked with a dulled tone – the shop came in sight.

"It has been two days and you've forgotten about your owner?"

"Oh… it���s you."

"You could at least try and be more energetic, since I've called you," it softened taking a turn to be more sensual.

"Yeah…" he paused, "-about that, is there something you need?" sarcastic, he waited. Dimia waved from afar. Signaling her to wait, Sayer pointed at the SCHD, she nodded and entered with Rodger trailing behind.

"Fine," dropping the voice, "-I'll be at the park at 18:00. It's another match of D-sport, I won't tolerate tardiness," it grew sterner, "-I hate people who make me wait."

"Will do," hanging up, '-so early,' the hand trembled, '-a-another fight for l-life and d-death,' shaking his head, '-this is for Elise, don't back out, you've crossed the line already. Nothing will change that – it's a game, think of it as a game.'

"Look who decided to come at last," behind the counter, Dimia stood with arms crossed. "Thanks for gracing our presence, your lordship," sarcastic, her eyes told another story.

"Sorry," staring the floor, "-I was on the call with a friend."

Changing clothes in the backroom, "-Sayer?" called Rodger, "-are you feeling ok?"

"Yes," peering over the lockers, "-why do you ask?"

"Not that I want to pry," he stared the injuries, "-you got hurt more than one place – the scars are obvious. Did you get in a fight?"

'He's more perceptive than I remember,' stuck in a quandary, lying here would be bad news. "I got a little violent after visiting Elise – the doctors weren't that polite," half true, it worked.

"I see," he glared, "-be more careful next time."

"I will," with a half-hearted smile, Sayer returned to work.

Minute turned to hours, Dimia followed the opening ceremony. "Ma'am," at 17:30, "-Can I call it a day?" asked with a polite tone, she glared.

"Reason?"

"I've got a meeting scheduled for another part-time job," staring her glabella, it made it look as if he were truthful.

"I see," she stood, "-go ahead, I know exams ended a few days ago and you have the whole moving out of the student housing trouble – I'll cut you some slack for this month. I'm expecting you to work more during the morning at the Convin, drop by the Boycott whenever possible. The pay will be cut," she winked.

"I understand," with a nod, '-I better run there,' returning workers and students walked calmly. Beige tops, the sprint through the sideway continued without stop, '-I'm so out of shape,' half a kilometer away, he stopped, '-my chest feels like it's going to explode,' gasping for air desperately in front of a zebra crossing, people gave side-glances. Sweating profusely, the ladies especially, they stepped away without trying to be tactful.

"Oi," tap on the shoulder, "-where are you running off to?"

"Heather?" turned still trying to breathe, "-w-why are you here?"

"To cross the road obviously," rolling her eyes, the signal turned green for the pedestrians.

"It must be fate then," he walked, "-I'm doing the same," the expression was of amazement.

"4 out of 10," she sighed.

"Are you rating my looks?" he asked, the signal went back to red, *Park 3.5 Kilometers away.*

"Not, I rated the jokes, if I'd go for looks then it'd be in the decimals," firing back with an attitude, she smirked.

"Decimals," he chuckled, "-in no way is Jerry going to fall for that loveable personality. People speak about inner beauty, well, if men walked around with X-rays, they'd still be appalled at how ugly you are, both in and out," the laughter continued, "-I wish words could describe how beautiful you are," the tone fell saddened, "-too bad that the dictionary doesn't allow foul language," flipping the finger, "-it's a pleasure to meet you again, Heather," the run resumed.

"FUCK YOU," was heard in the background, "-heh."

Gates in the shape of waves guarded the park. A door next to the metal structure led inside. Cars were allowed, though they had to drive through the southern exit. 'Fountain,' scouring the landscape, benches with couples flirting, some with umbrellas to hide what they did, the walked felt awkward. Not gazing at the couples was hard enough, paired with the search for Cherry – the image reflected was one of a creep.

"Over here," under the bristling of leaves, covered by the foliage, a fountain, hidden from the sun by old and robust trees, stood in the middle. Stone paths, cleared regularly, seemed to be new. Each time the gust blew, leaves would twirl till it reached the ground. Resembling snow, it fell peacefully – Cherry stood with warm clothes, an oversized checkered salmon and white scarf, and ankle-high boots with brown laces.

"Hello," approaching slowly, the lady felt as if she were to attack given any sharp movement. Drunkards and a few people under the influence made laps around the fountain, they all stared with perverse gaze. Unraveling her whilst being fully dressed. Not minding the attention, she winked and even blew kisses to the teenagers. The immediate reaction was coughs followed by an embarrassed look.

"17:58," she voiced, "-good," taking his hand, "-your opponent today is a fellow newbie, with four wins under his belt," the stone path led to the parking where the greenery faded into one more modern.

"I hate to do this," once sat, she turned with what appeared to be a gun, "-I have to knock you unconscious. You'll wake up in the pod as usual, better not lose, Player One," shot in the neck, not speaking a word, the consciousness faded.

"WAKE UP," screamed across the fogged pod, virtualization hadn't commenced. "Are you ready, newbies?" a manlier voice asked.

"Cherry," called Sayer, "-I have a favor to ask."

"what is it?" her tone differed from earlier.

"After I win, can you make it so I don't have to see the one I killed in real life?"

"AHAHAHAHA," laughter came from Hep; "-do you think you're in any position to make demands kid?"

"I never said it was a demand, it's a favor I asked my owner," anger fueled the confidence as he spoke.

"Win 3-0 without getting grazed and I'll make sure you don't see blood ever again," the tone, sadistic in its own way, came through loud and clear. [Virtualization commencing in three… two… one… BEGIN]

"What kind of stunt are you trying to pull?" inches away from Cherry, the tone didn't seem friendly.

"Don't blow that foul-smelling mouth at me," she turned, "-it's as the boy said, I'm his owner. As long as my orders are obeyed, he'll be rewarded."

"Shut the fuck up," punching a broken-down fridge, "-not seeing blood, do you think it best to not desensitize him right here and now. The experiment requires someone who doesn't care about human life."

"Shut up," yelled Cherry, "-I'll do whatever I want. Don't forget who's my father and who's in charge here. If he doesn't want to see blood, then so be it."

"Whatever," holding a grudge, "-I don't see him winning 3-0. The opponent is an up and coming pro-manticore player. I've no idea how Charlotte managed to bring such a strong player here," opposite the window peering into the virtualizing room, another control room with people watching the match.

'I don't want to die,' [2-0] '-sorry whoever you are, but you were weak. Rushing down the middle guns blazing isn't going to take me off guard.' Aiming down the slope, *BANG,* [3-0] *Player One Victorious*