Redefining the META at VRMMO Academy 4

“What happened to you?!” I blurted.

Normally, I thought of him as so dangerous that I dared not even touch him. Seeing him like this, though, I couldn’t just stand there.

I can see his face! He’s hot as hell, what the heck?! And he has clothes on! What happened to the pervert who only wore swim briefs, a scarf, and a mask?! Now he’s just another pretty boy! Where did the man we knew gooooo?!

“What troubles you, my good friend? Oh, but first, allow me to thank you for helping my sister. Let us battle fair and square today. I pray you’ll put up a good fight.”

Him being normal is actually terrifying! I mean, he was always terrifying, but I really don’t like this.

“Akabane! Psst, get over here!” I beckoned her closer.

“Yes? Is something the matter?"

We huddled up around her and started whispering.

“This is just weird! What’s with him? He sick or something?”

“Yeah! And nobody told me he was actually good-looking!” Yano hissed.

“It’s a bit difficult to look past his usual persona, however.”

“More than a little, I’d say, bawk."

“Nice that he's actually hot, though. Eeheehee.”

“I can certainly appreciate his aesthetics.”

“Bawk. You girls all fall for pretty faces.”

“That is why my brother typically hides his face,” Akabane chimed in.

“What do you mean?” I asked her.

“Exposing his features attracts too many women for his taste. He much prefers when people are disgusted by him, so he chooses to conceal his face.”

“A staunch exhibitionist, if I’ve ever seen one.”

“It’s truly only in video games. Normally, he is kind and intelligent. One might call that half-nudity the one sin he bears in this world.”

“Uh-huh... So why's he acting normal today?”

“Obviously it’s because our parents are present! He can’t let them see him like that. He is an intelligent person, so of course he knows the right time, place, and occasion for his indulgences.”

“Yeah, I guess I’d cry if my son was like that. Akabane, are they okay with your, uh, ensemble?”

The sword dancer gear showed a lot of skin already.

“Hm? What is there for me to be embarrassed about? My mother and father said it looked very nice on me.”

In other words, they were okay with her sword dancer gear, but her brother’s blatant perversions would be too far. Every family drew a line somewhere, I supposed. His near-nudity must have been a “no” no matter what.

Again, I would legitimately burst into tears if I saw my son like that.

“B-But wait, I say! I cannot accept that!” cried the only person in the iron mask.

Oh, it’s Selphie. I guess she would be upset by that.

Selphie had been influenced by the Akabanes’ guild and had become a Daughter of the Mask. And now, on the most important of days, her master had shed his own uniform.

It was as if she'd been betrayed, the ladder pulled out from under her. Now, left high and dry alone with the mask, the embarrassment was too much for her to bear.

“Ryuutarou, open your eyes! You’re the one who taught me that no matter what anyone says, the only thing that can move you is true beauty! Please, don the mask! Return to your true form!” She removed her own iron mask and tried to hand it to him.

Wow! That elf is a beauty behind her mask. Man, she’s adorable.

The fact that she had been so thoroughly tainted was the most deplorable thing ever.

“I’m sorry, miss. I don’t understand. Though I suggest you change out of that silly outfit so that the viewers can enjoy a nice, clean fight without having to blush.”

Whoa, he just destroyed the girl! Even after he was the one that lured her on that path.

“Urk! B-But... then what was the point of all this? Waaaaah!” She started bawling. I really couldn’t blame her. “I’m going home!”

With that, Selphie ran off. Then, after she got to the edge of the pier... she leapt right off of it!

“Excuse me?!”

“Bawk! Is she gonna die, bawk?!”

“Whaaaat?!”

“Oh no!”

We looked down from the pier to find that Selphie had mounted something like a broom and was riding it through the sky.

Ooh, very witchy. Cool that she's safe and all, but are we gonna be able to get her back?

“Whoa! Uh, wow, she actually left,” I said.

“Selphie’s gone, bawk.”

“What should we do?” Yano asked.

“Erm, I don’t think we can do anything.”

Do they get disqualified, or what?

“What’s the plan, Akabane??”

“I... I wouldn't know. We can’t fight like this; the rules state that you must fight with your guild’s NPC.”

“We leveled her up so much, too. That’s a shame.”

“But, well, since this battle involves parental supervision, I had a vague feeling this could happen. I feel awful for what we've done to Selphie, though.”

“Come now, sister. There’s nothing to worry about,” said the culprit himself. “Our guild may be disqualified, but you can participate as part of their guild. Your thoughts, Takashiro? I trust you don't mind.”

“Well, we are kinda short on hands. If she wants to help, we could use her.”

The teams were limited to five people and an NPC, and we could switch freely. Our guild was only four people, so we had room for one more. If we could get Akabane to fill the space, I’d be all for it. The double sword dancer setup was flexible and easy to combo with on the fly.

“Well, sister, you heard him. Our parents and I will be watching your fight from the sidelines.”

“But won’t our parents be angry that I’m fighting alongside Akira?”

“I admit, relations between our families have been less than amicable. But that doesn't mean that things need to continue being that way. You must follow your heart. I won’t let them get in the way of your friendships. Now, leave them to me so that you may enjoy the event.”

“Ryuutarou, I...”

Cool that he was being such a good guy, but I just didn’t buy it! Especially not after seeing him half-naked all the time!

“I am off to find a place in the stands, then. Until next we meet.”

Akabane’s brother turned and left with their parents to find some seats.

“We should be off, too, bawk. Good luck, Kokoru.”

“Do your best, everyone!”

“Go get ’em, Kokoru! Cheep cheep!”

Seems like Kokoru’s family was leaving, too.

“Bye, Ren! We’re going to grab some seats, too!”

My parents also got off of the JS Peachy Thunder and followed everyone else.

Suddenly, Ms. Nakada’s voice echoed all around us. “Everyone, we’ll soon begin the competitive guild mission’s final battle royale! All parents who are here to watch, please head to the stands! Contestants, gather at your airships!”

She did say she was doing a play-by-play, didn’t she?

“Akira’s still not here, huh?”

“Reeen! I’m here, everyone! Sorry I’m late!”

I turned around at the sound of Akira’s voice to see her running our way. She was wearing her school uniform, and tagging along behind her was a young man in a suit.

Good timing! Is that guy her guardian? He looks kinda young, though. Her brother, maybe?

Wearing her usual smile, Akira waved.

“You’re rather tardy. The rest of us have been here for some time.”

“Oh, uh, Nozomi? What’s going on?”

“Well, some stuff happened, and now Akabane’s on our team for the day.”

“Um, okay.”

“At least, that’s what we decided. Are they gonna let us do that, though? We should go ask—”

I was interrupted by another announcement from Ms. Nakada.

“Hm? Um, so we’ve just been informed that Nozomi Akabane of True Form is requesting permission to fight with Hell’s Crafters. Well, consider yourself permitted! The battle royale rules can be found in the system menu, but each player will be automatically placed in the team of whatever airship they’re in at the very start. Anyway, you have ten minutes before the battle begins! Players, stand by on your airships!”

Oh, did Akabane’s brother let her know?

Despite his proclivities, he was at least considerate.

Akira shrugged. “Well, there you have it. Let’s get on the airship and get ready, then! Arima, you go on over to the stands, okay?”

“Yes, milady,” the young man replied reverently.

He was definitely some sort of guardian, but not quite her brother, it seemed. Maybe someone who worked for her family?

“Milady,” though? Akira really is a big deal. Should she be gaming every day with someone like me?

“Who’s he?”

“That’s Arima. Ever since my granddad’s generation, his family’s been working in our household.”

“Are you her school friends? Thank you for all you’ve done for her. Good luck in your competition today.”

“Oh, heya. Thank you, man.”

Even toward us, he offered a warm smile and a polite bow.

Urgh. This is too much for me. It feels weird!

“Everyone at home was too busy to come today, so they sent Arima with me.”

“Huh.”

“Are you sure about this, milady? Is that not Nozomi Akabane among your group?”

“A mere coincidence,” Akabane said. “There’s nothing wrong with forgetting the real world and enjoying our game, is there?”

“Of course not. If she doesn’t mind, then it is of no concern to me.”

“I definitely don’t mind. Don't worry about me, Arima.”

“Understood. Well, I suppose I shall head to the stands, then. I pray for your victory. The master of the house has ordered me to watch all of your exploits in battle to the very last."

“Thanks. You might not care about games, but try to have fun, if you can.”

“Gladly. I look forward to it.”

Arima offered one last polite bow before leaving.

“Welp, we’re outta here,” Kataoka said. “Later.”

“We won't hold back. Let us fight with all our might.”

“Lady Nozomi! I may be on an enemy team today, but say the word and I’ll turn on ’em! Just order me around any time.”

“Again, don't just announce your betrayal in front of me. We should be going.”

Kataoka and Peater left, leaving only our guild’s team.

Akira let out a sigh. “As you can see, my family didn’t come; they sent Arima instead. If anything happens, he’s gonna tell my dad. So I gotta fight carefully, okay?”

“Can’t be seen in your sword dancer gear, then?”

“Definitely not.”

“All right. Looking back, I guess it’s my fault for pushing you to choose sword dancer. I never thought it’d turn out like this. Sorry for only thinking about stats.”

“Huh? You don’t have to apologize. I made the choice myself, and I like the sword dancer style anyway. But just for today, we’re gonna mix things up!” She flipped open her Mimic Fan. “We can make it through with this. Thanks, everyone.”

That’s right! The Mimic Fan should really help us out here.

“What a bother that must be. One’s in-game appearance is nothing to be strict about. That’s just going straight into ‘stuffy’ territory.”

“Pssh. You just don’t stand out because you have Ryuutarou in your family.”

“Actually, Akira, he’s wearing normal clothes today.”

“What?! That must have been a shocker.”

“Yeah, for real.”

“It was! Can you believe that gross perv is actually hot?!”

“It’s true.”

“I’ll pass, though. I knew him in real life before I saw him like that. The first time I met him in-game, I could hardly believe what I was seeing!”

“Fair. If you knew the real guy at first, you’d be doing way more than a double-take.”

“Oh! But if Ryuutarou’s wearing normal clothes, what about Selphie? Is the poor girl now the only person wearing a mask?”

I nodded gravely. “Yeah. Ryuutarou pretended not to know her, and she got so mad that she went home.”

“Yep. I think she said she was going back to her village.”

“Then they were disqualified because they can’t fight without their NPC.”

“Wooow, so that’s why Nozomi’s here! Poor Selphie, though.”

“Yes. Now we must win, not just for ourselves, but for our fallen comrade, Selphie!”

“Well, she didn't really ‘fall.’ And I’d really rather you not put the weight of Selphie on our backs.”

“Yeah, bawk. It’s your weirdo brother’s fault anyway, bawk.” Kokoru's logic was irrefutable.

“Three minutes until the battle royale begins! Players, stand by on your airships!”

We heard another announcement from Ms. Nakada.

“Hurry and climb aboard, everyone! My skills are dying to be put to the test! Mwahaha!” Maeda’s eyes shone as she beckoned us onto the ship.

Thus, our crew boarded the JS Peachy Thunder.

“Attention! It is time to begin the competitive guild mission’s airship battle royale! Ready... Set... Go!”

All right! Let’s do this thing!