Staring down from the corner of the ceiling, I observed Tang-Ji's restless body. It had already been 7 years since we were in that fiery pit again, yet I still remember everything as though it were yesterday. I sigh as I look out the window, my eyes being met with dazzling light that sparkles.
The moon had finally slept, and the sun was eager to wake, illuminating the futuristic features of Kyoto as it cast its brilliant rays over the glorious structures. The sunlight inched closer, whispering possibilities while lighting up the unconscious Tang-Ji's pale, pretty face.
The alarm on her device projected a blue holographic screen that displayed the time: 6 AM. Before delivering a loud beep. It was ear-shatteringly loud; however, she simply covered her ears with her pillow out of reflex.
She could still hear a faint beep through the cushy pillow, which was just as bad as hearing it fully. Eventually, she got tired of hearing the irritating sound and decided to act like a normal human; slamming her panda plushie against the digital screen besides her.
'What was that dream just now?' She pondered, not fully awake yet.
She began to get up, stepping down from her bed one leg at a time. She wore a null, bored frown and blinked rapidly, her eyes stunned by the sunlight. She stared into her mirror with a dull expression and began stripping off her pyjamas with cute teddy bear patterns all over.
Her long, jet-black hair shone in the sunlight from the window, creating thin, delicate lines on the carpeted floor. Her low waist-to-hip ratio outlined her hourglass physique. Her slim, unblemished limbs were as white as snow, clad in black lace that evoked solemnity, leaving no room for wicked lust.
She rubbed her beautiful, sapphire blue eyes while continuously staring into her reflection, detached from reality. Her lengthy hair fell onto her small, delicate shoulders as she threw on a white shirt with a red ribbon around her neck, hugging her curvy figure, along with a short black skirt that enveloped her slender hips.
She steadily walked down the wooden staircase to be greeted by her mother, who was in the midst of brewing some delicious miso soup along with some eggs and rice for breakfast.
"Your father seemed to be running late for work, so he rushed out without even having breakfast. I hope that the lunch I made for him was enough to satisfy him until he gets home," she said in a worried voice. "Come on, Tang-Ji, you'll be late for school; sit down and eat up," she continued, resuming her kitchen duties.
It seems our mother is in a good mood today. I wonder what is on her mind.
"Today is dad's new job interview, right?" Tang-Ji asked nonchalantly.
"That's right, he finally landed an offer to work in the main hall of V.I.R.M. It's always been his dream to work for a gaming company, ever since he was little," her mother replied.
The excitement in her voice began to subtly fade away as her eyebrows fell to a relaxed position, her eyes becoming blank and staring away from Tang-Ji. The corners of her mouth slowly dropped downward, and her reflection in the boiling cooking pot became lifeless.
They all hid it from her; she had no idea that she was someone else not too long ago.
The mention of the word V.I.R.M. plunged Tang-Ji's memories into chaos, with fragments beginning to form in her field of vision, as though this scene from long ago had come back to haunt her. With her lack of interest in video games, all that was left was a tiny fragment of her former self.
"V.I.R.M., huh? I could have sworn I heard that name somewhere a long time ago." The vivid scene of a boy walking through fire as thin as ice—he spoke those words slowly crept into her mind. 'Am I hallucinating? I've been getting the same dream a lot lately; I guess it's better to let it burn.' Tang-Ji thought to herself, staring down at her steaming egg omelette sandwich.
Everyone knew what V.I.R.M. was. It was the largest virtual reality gaming industry in Japan. Operated by some of the most renowned scientists the world has to offer.
"Thanks for the food," she mumbled, nibbling on her meal.
After finishing breakfast, Tang-Ji hurriedly rushed out the front door while stuffing her mother's homemade onigiri into her lunch bag.
"Have a good day, dear," her mother said, waving her cookware carelessly around and spilling droplets of soup onto the counter.
"See you later, mother." She yelled as she mustered all her courage to step outside, smiling while waving back at her.
Setting foot outside the front door, Tang-Ji was greeted with waves of glistening wind blowing against her face in an innovative city shimmering with freedom. The morning sky was filled with a multitude of cutting-edge drones that hovered with a quiet hum.
In the past, Kyoto was profoundly known for representing the cultural and historical heart of Japan, which remained undamaged through warfare. The entire area was populated with traditional temples, shrines, gardens, geisha, shops, restaurants, and festivals, sweeping joyful laughter into the dusk of the night.
With an almost completely technological era drawing near, the city is an inhabitant of revolutionary hologram technology that operates instinctively to perform daily tasks.
Information about natural architecture and culture is now able to be collected and preserved through drones in real time. It can be harvested and stored by an infinite-capacity quantum computer known as 'Minerva'.
Almost enchanted by the sight, Tang-Ji stepped out into the street, slowly snapping back to reality. Noticing that she was short on time, the timid girl hastily walked while continuously checking her phone for updates on her bus's arrival.
She paced along a glittering stream of water that misted water out into the gardens on the other side, grateful that they weren't pointing her way; it was truly like a fever dream.
Tang-Ji saw the bus about to leave and dashed to the closing door. "Wait!" She screamed to the bus driver, crashing her body into the door while panting heavily as she pushed her palm onto the glass to prevent it from closing. "I'm so sorry, but can you please let me in?" She asked, catching her breath.
Stepping into the aisle, she pointed her finger at the hologram pad attached to the entrance of the bus. She began to trace the glowing touchpad to register her name as Tang-Ji continued on her way to the school, Kiryuuin Academy.
Kiryuuin Academy resided in the central urban part of Kyoto and was dubbed the most prestigious private school in Kyoto. It was known to be occupied by only the wealthiest families, and in Tang-Ji's case, she was offered a place here for her highly honed academic prowess.
She was one of the many students who got into this school for their brains instead of their wealth, despite education being tedious for her.
"Good morning, Shizukesa-san," her homeroom teacher said, waving to Tang-Ji.
"Good morning, Sensei," she replied unenthusiastically as she continued down the bustling hallway.
As she walked down the hallway, she could hear the voices of the other students talking about irrelevant things.
"Hey, wasn't the karaoke at the place yesterday packed with so many students from our school?" Said one of the boys.
"Now that you mention it, you're right. It's rare for that many people to be there nowadays. Although it's not completely out of character for them.
"The seniors usually wander around that area like it's their secret hangout spot or something," gossiped one of the girls.
"Honestly; why can't they just do that at home?"
"You don't think they're planning something bad, do you? I heard a rumour floating around that they are making a virtual simulation room there and are luring girls from our school in and making them do strange stuff." Chimmed a third.
"Ahhh!!! What do you mean by that?" The girl was questioned jokefully. Their gossip and giggling could be heard from far behind Tang-Ji.
She walked past another group of students. "Thanks for the game yesterday; it was really insane. I've never played with such high graphics or with a built-in class system type of MMO before." Said an informed-looking student.
"You forgot to accept my invitation yesterday; join our party; maybe we can conquer the first continent before everyone else," a scrawny boy asserted confidently.
"Keep dreaming; you're also a beginner too, you know," teased a third boy. Abrupt laughter could be heard throughout the hallway, all originating from that group.
As Tang-Ji passed them, the informed boy continued his spiel: "Have you heard? The very first VR full-dive system is about to become available for public use and is also being accompanied by an original game developed by V.I.R.M. tech."
"I know, right, I absolutely cannot wait for this release; I'm going to be in the game forever!" the scrawny boy replied excitedly.
"Yeah, and you will have failed all your classwork as well," the first boy jokes. The group continued to laugh as if they were the only people in the school.
'How much louder can you be?' Tang-Ji thought as she hurried into the corner of her class to get away from the ruckus.
"Hey, did you finish the history homework? I think it's due this afternoon,'' said a girl with blonde hair.
"What?" screeched a mortified male student.
"I haven't done it yet because I thought it would be due next week. Please, I beg of you, can I please see your work just this time? I promise I won't ask again!" The boy continued with desperation in his voice.
"Jeez, you always ask me for work; you've been doing this throughout our elementary school year." The blonde girl replied. She thought about it with a smirk on her face, as if she were intentionally keeping him in suspense.
"Fine, but you owe me this time," she sighed sarcastically.
"Thank you so much! Let's go grab ramen after school, my treat." He gave her a tearful look of relief, as if she were his saviour.
"Let's not; I'm too lazy to go out," the girl replied immediately.
"Just send an order to the drone near my house, and we can hop into a private virtual room tonight." She winked at him.
Chatter echoed throughout the morning classroom, filling the environment with youthful bliss.
However, Tang-Ji's icy presence cut off the class's extroverted students, who were holed up in the room's far left corner, near a window. Her peers assumed that she saw them all as chatty fools and that her condescending demeanour was a result of her irritation with them.
She was perceived as a bright girl with a condescending expression due to the nasty label bestowed on her. A misunderstanding placed her on the end of a thin sheet of paper, ready to be gashed apart by other students. Instead of clearing up this misunderstanding, her fear acted as a blockage to fill her devoid self.
It was not that she was struggling with the thoughts of making friends, but rather the thoughts of having any confrontations. She always wanted a friend that she could share her worries with—perhaps a friend that was willing to listen to her rants about why school had to start so early or why doing homework was necessary at all.
She knew that no one would be able to put up with her gloomy aura. The fact that she never revealed her true self to anyone only furthers the gap between her and, essentially, the rest of the human race.
Tang-Ji always had the belief that by keeping her problems away from others, she would essentially avoid any confrontations. It was this idea that gave her the nickname 'icy princess,' and her classmates used to ridicule her about her name.
However, they would be wasting their time trying to engage in a conversation since she would refuse to respond. Eventually everyone went away, leaving her reflected heart with unsatisfied desires for company.
'I wish something interesting would happen in my life,' she thought to herself, only to quickly realise how foolish such a wish could be. 'If I had to wish, it would have to be something more sensible.' She chuckled, bemused by her own silent antics.
'Perhaps more money, so Dad doesn't have to work so much. Maybe a friend with whom I can lie under a tree and talk about random things while we watch the clouds drift by.
'Or maybe even the chance to know my extended family better—the ones I never really got to meet after we immigrated to Japan, missing out on their stories due to the lack of understand of my mother's native tongue.'
The thought made her eyes instinctively gaze outside the window. The play of light and shadow on the clouds reflected her dreams and wishes, as if it were a sky-theatre, playing invisible strings that guide each cloud's movement, tugging them across the stage of the heavens with choreographed precision.
Even though she knew that second wish was whimsical, she was somewhat hopeful that there might be a god out there who had heard her.
She imagined finding a real friend, one that would be willing to cast away their virtual facade; however, a part of her recalled a cautionary thought: 'Human desire is the toughest prison to break free from.' Still, the vision of a quiet, deserted road where she walked on a flooded fire field lingered in her deepest desires.
"Mina-san, please take a seat; class is starting," was announced cheerfully by our first-period teacher. *(Mina means everybody; san accompany it as a suffix that acts as politeness.)
Thus, the first lonely period began for the day.