VOLUME 1
Season 1, Episode 3
Episode 3:
"Why, how did you know my name?"
An innocuous question, tinted with her surprise and thorough shock.
Even in this bewildered moment her expressions could not have looked more natural.
As she slowly turned to face Shun, the truth finally sunk - this girl was the real deal. From her delicate facial features, down to her tiny little toes, she was all real.
This girl was Rosalie. The complete, unabridged version of Rosalie. In the flesh.
–
He really was an idiot wasn"t he? How could he ever have thought of her as a fake, after witnessing that extraordinary feat of her being projected from the television?
It was getting rather hard to breathe now.
His fingers were shaking with the effort to keep up with the situation, and his head was pounding. With all the blood and adrenaline pumping through his veins, his limbs were starting to feel numb.
After all this time, Rosalie, the real Rosalie, was standing right in front of him.
And he had no idea what to do.
……
History could teach him nothing. Nothing like this had ever happened before. His texts were just as useless, as they would never be able to tell him what in the world was one expected to do when the girl of your dreams pops up from within the television.
Finally, he settled for s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g his eyes shut and shaking his head in the hopes of clearing it of all the mist.
Take a deep breath, Shun. Just think. Rosalie, here, in the flesh! Come on man, you really ought to be a little happier about that!
And while Shun did not appreciate being chided by the voice in his head, what it said made sense. Seeing as how the situation was completely in his favour, he should be ecstatic right about now.
And with that, he opened his eyes, fully intending to enjoy his time with the beautiful Rosalie; consequences and suspicions be d.a.m.ned!
This was a once in a lifetime chance!
His trap was wide open, he was ready to answer all her questions.
But, as his eyes got used to the dim surroundings, he realized something - Rosalie was gone!
–
"W-Where is she?!"
Frantically, Shun spun around the room, in search of her. She couldn"t have gone missing in the s.p.a.ce of half a minute, could she?!
It was then that his gaze alighted on the open door.
And then, from below, came the sound of splintering gla.s.s.
s.h.i.t.
Rushing down the stairs, Shun found Rosalie crouched at the narrow hallway, hands searching amongst the splintered remains of a broken gla.s.s vase, obviously in hopes of finding an item.
Her fluid movements were so typically hero-like, that Shun was taken aback.
–
As Shun descended the bottom rung of the stairs, Rosalie stood up, a dissatisfied frown tugging on her mouth - her search had yielded no results. She looked pa.s.sively at the drenched mess on the floor, courtesy of her handiwork, and with a swift toss of her blonde head, proceeded towards the bigger living room.
"Polar! Gando! Nite! Where are you guys?" she called for her trusted companions.
Silence.
Shun rushed down the stairs, past the hallway and came to a stop at the entrance to the living room, staring at Rosalie"s immobile back.
Time seemed to stand still; Nothing happened.
And then -
-Eat
-Don"t Eat
A textbox floated into sight.
–
"Eh…?"
The textbox that floated out of nowhere - it looked kind of familiar. It was almost as if it were the command window of the game-
No way.
Rosalie was standing stock still, staring at the box of cream puffs on the kitchen table. After breakfast, Shun had conveniently forgotten to put it back into the fridge.
Being the avid gamer that he was, it didn"t take Shun all that long to decipher the relationship between the strange command box and Rosalie"s actions.
Could it be that-
But, with no controller in sight, how in the world was he supposed to pick a choice?
The sweet scent of clotted cream was wafting towards them, and as Rosalie stared at the box melancholically, a notion was hatched in Shun"s head - I really wish to let her eat it.
And the window disappeared.
Where in a game there would have been a beep, signalling that the player had made his choice, there was now only silence that racked the room.
Then, as if the control stick had suddenly been put into action, Rosalie walked towards the table and, using just the slightest bit of strength, opened the box of cream puffs. Picking up one, she held it to her nose for a sniff before biting into its creamy softness.
Watching her, it was as if time had stopped.
Fine tremors ran across her body, and her large eyes slid shut in ecstasy, as she savoured the sweet, full, creamy taste of the custard that bloomed on her tongue. A sheen of sweat appeared on her forehead and her cheeks pinked in delight.
It was fate.
If this was a just a dream, Rosalie decided she would make the best of it. Plunging her fingers into the box of cream puffs, she grabbed one in each hand and proceeded to stuff her mouth, biting into each one alternatively.
A repet.i.tive process of bite, chew, swallow; change hands, bite, chew and swallow. All that dignity and poise had taken a flight out of the window.
–
Watching her every enthusiastic bite, it occurred to Shun that this might be the first time that Rosalie had actually eaten.
After all, in Dragon Bless, also known as D.B. to their avid fans, there had never been an option to "allow the character to eat".
Hmm…. Come to think of it, he ought to bring up that point with the producers next time.
Anyways, what an amazing sight it was to watch the girl he had always idolized, even back when she had just been an image on his television screen, take her first bite of food, ever! In her entire life!
He stared fondly at her, noticing her cheeks bulging with the cream puffs and bits of cream that were smeared across her lips. Her features, frightening in their intensity during battle, had all but melted away into a puddle of happiness, cream puffs and rainbows. It was almost as if her time had been set on reverse, sending her back to when she was but a girl, chasing after the herd high up in the Alps.
Sigh. What a lovely sight.
However, while indulging in this rare treat, a slight worry was niggling insistently at the back of Shun"s mind. He couldn"t quite put his finger on it, but somehow this wasn"t how he had pictured the statuesque warrior princess.
"Dragon Bless" had projected an image of her as a strong warrior and a dignified and n.o.ble princess, but watching the scene in front of him, the jarring difference between the two had become even more prominent.
If anything, it served to make the girl in front of him that much more real.
Because only those that were real could be flawed.
–
Within minutes of indulging, Rosalie found herself staring at an empty box.
A last lingering glance and she turned to faced Shun. Head on.
"Ah… Well, you s-see, there"s n-no more," Shun stuttered, unnerved by her beauty and intensity.
Rosalie spared another longing glance at the box, steeled herself. "What was that?" she asked, completely unaware of the effect she had on the poor boy. Her fingers were pointing imperiously towards the box as she demanded her answer.
"E-erm…"
Tongue-tied, it took a few more seconds before Shun managed to sputter out the words, "cream puff," in a strangled voice.
"Skim duffs, I see," came the reply.
With a nod, Rosalie gave a sidelong glance at the empty box, her eyes glazed over with regret.
"Such strong foes."
Clearly, she had no idea what they were.
–
"And pray tell me," employing her insane reflexes she turned towards Shun, "who are you?"
If he had, for a moment, thought that she looked rather intimidating in her seriousness before, it was definitely nothing compared to how she was staring at him now.
Her stare sent chills down his spine.
"Just now, if only for a while, I felt as if something had pa.s.sed between us. It was as though a spark, or a thin thread of fate was connecting us."
No, it wasn"t possible. She couldn"t have felt him issue that command with his mind when the command window popped up.
Could it?
"What"s more, this is not the only time that I have felt something so strange. Time and again, throughout my life, such twinges would occur, and I would find myself doing a certain thing, regardless of whether I willed it or not. So, pray tell me, who, sir, are you?"
Oh yes, she could feel it.
–
Shun found himself caught in a very strange situation.
Here was the heroine of his favourite game, and his long-time cyber crush, Rosalie, in the living room of his own house, telling him that she had always been able to feel his presence through his commands, while simultaneously asking him for his name.
Real life, right then, was - ironically – unreal.
All that thinking, with all those ideas flooding his brain, was really starting to put a strain on him. His temples pounding, Shun was just about to give up and state his name when a very strange thought occurred to him.
"Please sir, if you would tell me your name?" With no reply forthcoming, Rosalie repeated her question.
"A-Ah, erm…."
At that unpropitious moment, his phone rang, signalling the arrival of a new mail.
–
In a split second, Rosalie tensed.
Too late Shun realized that he had just adopted that new message ringtone, a soundtrack from the "Song of Effective Curses" in the newest "D.B" version.
Shouting a quick warning, she tackled Shun, pinning him onto the ground. Then, clutching onto her pendant with her right hand, she stretched her other into a pool of blinding white light, pulling up her holy sword from within.
With a broad swing she unleashed a powerful wave of attack, destroying near all of the living room. The wallpaper was torn and she saw to it that the calendar would never be used again. The antique cupboard that stood at the corner had had its gla.s.s doors completely smashed through, and the room itself seemed to be on the verge of collapse.
It was almost as if a wild storm had set into the room.
In fact, with the bits of gla.s.s and wood all over the floor, the room"s condition was akin to that of an action movie set, albeit one wherein the shooting had already been completed.
"d.a.m.n it! Did he get away?"
Rosalie"s frustration, cute as it was, made Shun realize that, as the situation was now, he could never let anyone else find out about Rosalie"s ident.i.ty, or else things would get more than a little sticky.
But then again, that was only if, hypothetically speaking, she did get found out.
And he really had other things, bigger things, to worry about now.
–
Why, oh why, of all places, did he have to end up here?
His mind was shocked and horrified and was chiding him to get away as soon as he possibly could; his very male anatomy on the other hand was very happy indeed, and wanted to stay there for the rest of his life.
After all, any hot-blooded male would have wanted their faces pressed right up against Rosalie"s b.r.e.a.s.t.s.
Oh my, they really were bigger than they seemed, weren"t they? That warmth, that softness, that bounce, they were unreal. The devil"s tempta- No, no, it had to be the angel"s gift to all men on earth.
This was bad.
He really had to get out of there, before Rosalie noticed, ahem, a certain, lower part of his anatomy, which had already -
Anyways, Shun struggled about, but Rosalie grip on him was firm. She had him clipped tightly to the valley of her voluminous b.r.e.a.s.t.s, and her strength was no joke. High school boys, especially the weaker ones like Shun, stood no chance against her.
Suddenly, amidst the struggle, he heard a voice.
"Shun-chan, what"s going on here?"
–
c.r.a.p.
The front door opened. Miko-neesan had let herself in again.
His cousin must have heard the commotion from next door and had come running to find out what was going on.
s.h.i.t, he thought. Not now!
A few seconds later, the door to the living room creaked open and Miko-neesan had walk in.
Life was cruel.
"Shun-chan!"
Miko-neesan, also known to others as Kobato Mikoto, was a beautiful girl gifted with a slender physique and generous, full b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Her kind, motherly nature too, added to her appeal.
However, there really was no one in the world that Shun hated more right then.
From Mikoto"s point of view on the other hand, the world had been turned upside down. First, the living room, looking like a set ordered straight from h.e.l.l, was in utter chaos. And then there was this weird girl in a fantasy cosplay outfit, and to top it off, her cousin had his face practically buried in the girl"s chest!
Scared out of her wits, Mikoto stood, dumbstruck, her eyes staring a distance away to avoid the uncomfortable scene in front of her.
"Shun-chan"s turned into a NEET!" she all but exclaimed, before keeling over, landing face first onto the floor.
Another one of her fainting spells.
In her surprise, Rosalie loosened her grip, finally allowing Shun to escape her deadlock.
Evidently, Rosalie had been rattled by the scene, staring, stunned, at Mikoto"s p.r.o.ne form on the ground.
His bewilderment was really starting to grow to astronomical proportions.
In an attempt to regain some semblance of normalcy, or at least calm his racing heart, Shun stuck his hand into his pocket and felt for his phone, determined to alter his ringtone.
After all, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
Then, figuring that he might as well do so, he clicked to view the message that he had received.
It was a text from his friend.
The message read - Did Rosalie disappear over in your place too?