After logging out Misaki found a face mask and a pair of sunglasses and put them on. She had to take a bus to get to Chiho's house and did not want to bring any more attention to herself. That was why Misaki decided to take Chiho's advice and disguise herself. Chiho's house was only ten minutes away by bus but a thirty minute walk. Luckily the bus that went in Chiho's home's direction passed by quite frequently so she did not have to wait long before taking one.
Chiho's house looked like something you would see in a Yakuza movie for the home of an old Yakuza boss. Her house was surrounded by a tall wall that was as tall as two Misaki's. There was a large double doored wooden gate that could not be opened without being let in or had the code to open the gate. Next to the gate was a nameplate that read Nagasawa, Chiho's surname.
Misaki always felt nervous coming to Chiho's house mainly because there was always some ruffian looking men hanging around doing all the housework. When Misaki first came here she was almost scared to death when she met these guys. It took a bit of time to get used to the people here. Once she did she found that even though the people in Chiho's house looked like they would murder anyone at any moment. They were actually really kind. They would bow to Misaki calling her Young Miss which made Misaki feel like a princess at times.
Today was the same as any other day. Misaki pressed the intercom button at the side to be let in as normal. The person who opened the door was a bald headed young man who was in his mid twenties. He had a large scar across his face and a few teeth missing when he smiled. Seeing the familiar bald head Misaki smiled as she said: "Good morning Tetsu!"
"Osu! Good morning Young Miss. Our Young Miss is waiting for you inside. I heard that you came to start training with Master in swordplay?" Tetsu asked. He was surprised to see that his Young Miss's best friend was wanting to take up actual sword fighting.
"Mhm! I need to learn not only sword fighting. But all kinds of martial arts plus parkour." Misaki explained as she walked into the yard.
"If you need someone to train you in parkour I have a friend who is very good at it and I also have a few friends who are good at aikido, kung fu and taekwondo. Actually Young Miss these three martial arts along with parkour would really mix well with each other." Tetsu explained.
"Hmm… Then I will need to bother you, Tetsu, to introduce me. As long as they are trustworthy, that is." It was not that Misaki did not trust Tetsu, it was she did not trust those she did not know. She was a young girl after all. If she was going to get training from people she had to make sure her safety would not be in jeopardy.
"Haha! Do not worry I will call all four of them over now. All four owe Master a great deal so as long as I introduce you to them in front of Master they would never think of trying anything." Tetsu smiled as he quickly pulled out his phone to make the calls.
Misaki who was left speechless did not know what to say! 'So in other words, if I had met them by myself they would have done something!? What kind of people are you getting me involved with Tetsu!?' Is what Misaki thought but did not dare to voice her opinion out loud.
"Mitsu!" Chiho came running out of the house and latched onto Misaki's arm.
"Chiho do you know Tetsu's friends who are good at martial arts and parkour?" Misaki asked.
"Yeah, I do. I go with them some times to watch them train. They take their martial arts very seriously. Why do you ask?" Hearing Chiho say she goes with them sometimes made Misaki relax a bit. This meant they could not be all that bad.
"Then can you go with me when I go to train with them? I don't want to be alone with some guys I don't even know..." Misaki really only talked with Chiho. Although they were not in the same class they still became best friends. You could say that the two were the oddballs of the school. Misaki always slept during class while Chiho had a special background. The first day of school Chiho was dropped off at school by Tetsu and a few other of her grandfather's "help". Since then Chiho was labeled as someone not to get close to.
But that did not stop Misaki from becoming friends with her. Misaki was labeled as special not only because she slept in class all the time and always got in the top ten of her grade. But because she rarely talked to anyone. Now Misaki and Chiho both had secret fan clubs as well. Even though they were the oddballs of the school, they were both really pretty but no one dared to try their luck.
This actually had something to do with Tetsu who had seen a boy confess to Misaki one day. Misaki who was flustered at the time not knowing what to do looked like she was being wronged and Tetsu assumed that Misaki needed help and kind of beat the boy up thinking he was trying to hurt his Young Miss's best friend.. Since then the two girls were eye candy only and no touching allowed. No one dared to try to get too close to them since they were afraid they would get beaten up as well. This left Misaki and Chiho to only have each other to talk to while at school. Because of this, the two girls grew closer together and now were more like sisters.
"Yeah, I don't mind. But Mitsu you really do go out of your way just for a video game." Chiho teased.
"What can I say? I love games and Eternal Phantasy has actually given me something that I had always wanted." Misaki stated as she looked up at the sky.
"And what is it that Eternal Phantasy can give you?" Chiho was quite curious about what Misaki was talking about. She could only think of Eternal Phantasy as a game.
"Freedom to do what I want and go on adventures. Not bound by rules of the world." Misaki said as she smiled. To her, everyday life was boring, simple, and easy. At least in Eternal Phantasy nothing came without a lot of hard work.