Gun Gale Online: Bounty

1: Prize

"Momiji...?" I asked aloud, shocked at what seemed to be my best friend.

I was quickly silenced by the woman shushing me with her index finger.

"You shouldn't use people's real names here, it's considered rude." she said, dropping her arm to her hip. "In here, my name is Kureha."

Kureha shoots a glance upward, presumably at something above my head.

She chuckles.

"I see you still use your real name here, don't you?" she says.

"What's the point of using a fake name?" I shrug. I run a hand through my hair. Also didn't decide to alter my appearance either. Again, what's the point of having a fake identity?

I clear my throat.

"So, what's the verdict? What's this tournament you want to enter?"

"I'll tell you on the way, come on!" she says, in a much cheerier tone than her usual self. In reality, Momiji, or Kureha, I guess, was always a shy girl. What prevented her from expressing herself more was her older sister, who had always been the center of her parents attention. More on that later.

Kureha leads me to an escalator, and we step on, and she starts explaining the tournament.

From what I caught in my half-awake daze, it was a duos tournament, and there was some supposed "treasure" hidden inside it, and Kureha wanted me to help her find it.

Once we reached the top of the escalator, she led me to another big building.

"And this is the governor's office!" she says, twirling around. It seemed like more than just an office. There were about fifty other people here. Most of them were male players.

As Kureha led me to some terminal, I heard a few whistles around me. Idiots.

"This is where we register." she says. "Names, Kureha and Isaac, squadrons, none. Difficulty, noob."

I shot her a glare at that last bit.

"Kidding. You're so sensitive. That last part isn't a part of it. Give me a moment."

While she was registering us, I took a bit of a walk around the circular room. There were big screens displaying some talk show above, as well as clips from the top players in the game. I started walking backwards, but ended up running into someone.

"Unh!" I exclaimed, taking a step forward. I turn around when I regain my balance. "Sorry about that."

When I look at who I bumped into, I realized I may have wandered a bit too far. The man I had bumped into was a good half a foot taller than me, and he wore a long white coat with black sleeves and blue and orange accents.

"Oh, apologies, friend. I wasn't looking where I was going." the man said, flashing me a smile. There was a sense of sarcasm behind his tone.

"Isaac?" I heard Kureha call out. I turn my head and see my pink haired friend run up to me, shoving some people out of the way. Once she reaches me, she grabs my left arm with both of her arms and tries to clear the situation.

"I'm so sorry, Itsuki! This is my childhood friend, Isaac. We were just getting ready to enter the tournament."

Itsuki? What kind of name was that? I must have joined the server Kureha normally links to.

"No problem here." Itsuki said, putting a hand on his side. "Say, you're Kureha, aren't you?"

"Oh, uh, y-yeah. Why?" she asks.

"I've seen you jump from squad to squad. I hear you're pretty good in a fight."

"Oh, thank you so much!" Kureha says, dropping her grip on my arm, taking a bow.