Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Korone asks, "Are you sure about this? Do you really need it?" and for a moment, Miko tries to think about it -- she really does -- but she swipes the CD box from the shelf after, like, five seconds of what she calls solid reflection and struts towards the counter with a pep in her step. Korone rolls her eyes, trailing behind her.

"Ko'one, I know it's a bit expensive but--" Miko turns to the cashier to give a polite smile. She slides the game towards her and reaches in her leather school bag for her wallet. "--you know how long I've been wanting to try this."

"Right, but are you playing it because you want to, or because everyone's playing it?" And to be fair, Korone makes a good point. This game is the new craze at school. In fact, it's the new craze everywhere. Nonstop commercials, billboard advertisements and basically the default demo game on display PCs in Kojima Denki. Her opinion and interest for the game may have been colored by those tidbits more than she let on.

Not to mention, Miko had to work (secretly, their school generally doesn't allow students to take part-time employment) for a few months waiting tables at a Saizeriya two towns over and had to partake in small-time gambling with a few middle-schoolers outside of a shoddy Lawson over Tamiya Mini 4wd Racing. And even after all that, Miko had to wait for the second-hand copy of the game, because after tallying her earnings, she still came up short to afford a new, sealed one. So she gets why Korone is being extra worried. And she loves Korone for it, adores her even.

"I just want to try a game that everybody's playing, I guess. And summer break is almost near, so I need something to enjoy or I'll just end up replaying one of my eroges." says Miko. She gently secures the newly bought game in her bag and they make their way towards the exit of the Hard Off.

"Well, don't you enjoy hanging out with me?"

"Of course, I do. But most of the time you're doing sweet lovey-dovey things with Okayu." Before Korone could interject, Miko adds with her hands raised, "And It's not bad that you have a girlfriend! I swear, it's great. It's awesome. But I know you'll be hanging out with her all summer." The unspoken 'I would too, if I had one,' is not lost on Korone but she laughs, anyway. "Well, you got me there. Miko-miko is right."

Miko nudges her gently with her shoulder. She's smiling. "Go have fun with Okayu this summer, 'kay? I'll be having fun with this game," she pats her bag. "and the millions of people who are playing it."

"Just-- please don't talk to creeps there."

Miko laughs. "Of course I won't!"

-

Miko throws away the Hard Off plastic and tears off the tight wrapping of the game's keep case. She runs a hand through the glossy cover with a reverence usually reserved for religious relics. Raising it above her head, she invites the heaven's choir to sing it praises.

Monster Predator Z. She mumbles the words, almost fumbling it because, well, English is hard.

Getting into the game was easy enough (with her mom's help) and she was able to get started with the basics. The mechanics are basically identical to its predecessors, so it was manageable, though a bit challenging, to accomplish the first few checklists that tracks the player's progress. That is a feat in and of itself, considering how Miko almost never plays MMORPGs. Her skill lies more in character observation and dialogue analysis utilized in thought provoking games such as "Where The Ivory Dove Reaches the Peaks of Paradise", an erotic visual novel where an angel (who is blonde and an archetypal tsundere) crashes down to earth and the player is tasked with seducing her or her sister, Lucifa, or even both if you finish the five main endings for the two available routes.

So really, Miko is kinda out of her league in the game but she's somehow clearing objectives and chugging along. She doesn't want to overburden anyone, so she prefers embarking on missions alone. It's an enjoyable solitude and she's having fun. That is until 8 hours in where she arrives at a problem. The area boss is too difficult for a solo player, let alone a solo player of her level.

She glances at the global chat and winces.

🗾 JPN SERVER
Please be respectful in chat. For any concerns, contact support. GLOBAL ⚙️

Miko sighs, burying her face in her hand. That noob remark is annoying but she's getting a bit tired, to be honest. Maybe this is a good sign to throw in the towel? She's been at this for hours and it seems like she isn't going to defeat the area boss anytime soon. She's going to try again tomorrow, though. The game is too expensive to just be played once, and she's not the type to just give up. She's about to click the Back to Menu button when some commotion in the global chat catches her attention.

Miko laughs because holy crap, someone just straight up griefed the guy.

But the laugh is cut short and she almost jumps from her chair when the murderer themselves, a user by the name of CometCometh, approaches her character. The player is decked out in high quality gear -- real expensive and rare. Miko ignores an intrusive thought telling her to try and stab the player to steal their equipment.

The player, who has a penchant for the color blue judging by their avatar's attire, crouches near Miko. There's a three second pause where the player is stock-still, menacingly frozen. Then, a notification comes in.

Miko smiles.

Miko squints and inches nearer towards her monitor, straining to read the small text. Stupid MMORPG UIs ruining her eyesight. She mumbles under her breath, reading aloud, "...join your party... join my party? They'll fight the area boss with me? Huh..." She thinks it over for a moment, wrestling with the idea of disappointing a stranger. On one hand, she really shouldn't care about disappointing someone she doesn't know in real life. On the other, well, she doesn't want to disappoint anyone. Period.

She clicks to accept the request while still very much hesitant about this whole thing.

She beams. "Alright. Let's do this." says Miko, the thought of quitting for the day all but forgotten.