IRL

Nami hustled across the busy street and stood on the sidewalk to get her bearings.

"Stop sign, big tree, red bench..."

She spotted it and her heart leaped and stilled in her chest. At once her hands grew clammy and she bit her lip to stop the onset smile of excitement. Today was the day she was to meet her gaming friend IRL. It was all silly, really. She didn't even know his name... Or what he looked like.

"Ne, Niku..."

"Hm?"

"How about we do that?"

"Go to the town market and splurge all our money on a bunch of meat?"

"No, silly."

Nami rolled her eyes.

"Let's meet IRL."

She heard a gasp over the phone.

"Are you okay?"

"You mean it? Are you for real?"

"Why wouldn't I be? We've known each other for a year now and... I believe I can trust you enough to not kidnap me at least."

"I live in Tokyo. Where do you live?"

"Okinawa."

"Damn..."

"... I'll make the trip. To be honest, I'm considering a university in Tokyo after high school so I might move there in the near future... If things go well between us, perhaps maybe you can show me around..."

'Shishishishi' "Sure. I won't mind... I always thought you were the type that didn't like people."

"You're not far from the truth. If it wasn't for school and the like, I'd be a total shut-in. Not that I mind... I enjoy my own company."

Trust issues were developed at a young age ever since she met her mother's old boss but that's another story.

"You never want to meet my other friends."

He was talking about his other gamer friends. Day in and day out he asked her to join his larger party and she refused each time.

"Why when I have you? You're more than enough, Niku."

He was one of the strongest players she knew. He won many tournaments and his name was always high on the rank boards. She bagged herself a jackpot.

More people meant more problems. She had to put up with his reckless spending and spontaneous quest-taking from time to time but his daily check-ins and soothing voice were enough to make her day. He was a dear friend to her and she wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

On another day, they finally decided on a time and a place.

"What will you be wearing?"

"A red hoodie."

"We're in the middle of summer."

"Oh, right."

"Then I'll wear my straw hat. I take it everywhere with me. It's yellow with a red ribbon tied along the base... And I'll wear a red shirt. You wouldn't miss me."

"Okay."

"And you?"

Nami looked over her shoulder at her entire wardrobe dumped on her bed and back at her monitor. Her tongue stuck out in concentration since the boss at hand was a handful but they were close to victory. For the life of her, she couldn't decide what to wear. Now, that was the least of her worries.