Darka looks in awe as Sumiko and Vitomar take her to the hilltop dock where a massive Airship is stationed. The Velikyy Shestakova is the pride of the Russian Asian Fleet.
In its prime, it was a battle carrier designed by Alexander Kuragin himself, piloted by a former captain who served with the Third Reich's First Navy until the end of the war, when he retired to live his life on a small island off the coast of Japan with one daughter and two great grandkids.
When the last Vortail was completed, he retired as captain of the flagship Velikyy Shestakova. Despite losing most of the fighters she once flew, the Velikyy Shestakova's imposing shadow looms over the region.
Darka closes her eyes and shivers as she remembers the horrors of the eastern front. The last air raid he experienced had been more than two years ago. She could still feel the cold seeping into her bones even though it was only June. The Vortail's cannons had blasted out enough holes in a single air raid that the enemy planes couldn't land.
A new fire is lit in her soul... 'I want to conquer that airship!'
Sumiko leads them through the busy crowd to the ship's launch area near the stern. Her hand tightens around Darka's as if afraid she'll lose her courage if she lets go. The crowd parts before them like the Red Sea.
Vitomar strolls along like a lost puppy as they trudge around the hangar. Sumiko starts explaining things to her, but the robotic voice in Darka's head makes her understand things more leisurely. It's the best way to do the job without relying on Sumiko too much.
"The Velikyy Shestakova is a beauty," Darka says as she watches their ascent. The ship is massive from prow to stern.
Darka looks up and sees an officer in uniform standing in the ship's controls. He has pale skin and dark hair and wears an aviator's cap. He's so beautiful, Darka almost forgets about...
'Wait... What am I forgetting?'
[You aren't forgetting anything]
Darka feels shivers in her back as she hears the audible robotic voice. 'This ghost has been haunting me for a very long time.'
She doesn't know what to expect, but she isn't expecting to have her entire worldview flipped upside down.
"That would make you Darka, right?"
She startles and whips around just in time to see the officer walk over. "H...Hello! You can call me Darka."
"Ms. Abaturov recommended you study at the Great Mountain College."
"Great Mountain College? What a stupid name!"
******
Darka is at the back of Vitomar's car when the weird 'ghost' suddenly speaks up.
[It's about time I introduced myself to you]
"Aaaah!" Darka yelps.
"What happened?" Vitomar asks. Darka shakes her head.
"Quit acting dopey." Vitomar sighs. Darka sticks out her tongue, ignoring him.
[Are you done now?]
Darka shivers. 'What do you want?' she asks.
[I'm here to assist you]
'Assist me in what?' Darka frowns, her stomach tightening.
[For your quest]
Darka rolls her eyes. 'Quest? What is this? Medieval Europe? Am I supposed to wear armor around?'
[Don't you know how this works?]
"What works? I don't know how any of this works!" she whispers angrily, just under her breath.
[I am here to give you things to do in exchange for points]
'The Aliens are asking for too much!' Darka sighs. "What happens next?"
[You'll have a chance to use the abilities you need.]
'How can I be sure I won't screw everything up?'
[I'm sure you won't]
'I'm under threat of death, I guess.' Darka massages her forehead.
"So, what do you want?"
[That's it. Don't worry; I'll make your life really easy]
"Uhuh, now tell me what you want me to do first?"
The entity smiles, a grin from ear to ear. [Perfect]
Darka's fingers tap restlessly against the passenger's seat beside her. This 'ghost' hasn't left her alone since they left the airfield. Darka's not exactly looking forward to whatever it wants to show her.
After ten minutes of waiting, it speaks again.
[Quest Name: Do this for me
Description: Did you play the new Last of Us game? If you did, then this is a pretty simple quest! All I need is Otome Miyahara's necklace! It's a fetch quest!
Rewards: Three Wishes...]
The words float in her sight. As she reads, the more confused she gets. 'Hey! This doesn't make sense!' she attempts to communicate with the ghost, but she's met with silence.
"Hey, what's wrong?" says Sumiko, turning to face her.
"My quest title is... Do this for me? Like, three wishes or something? How am I supposed to complete it? Is that even possible? Or am I supposed to find Otome Miyahara?"
Sumika freezes when she hears the name mentioned, but after a while, she calms down.
"I don't play videogames Darka; if you want, you should ask kids your age about videogames," she says.
"So Otome Miyahara is a person in these… videogames?" Darka asks.
"Y-yes!" Sumika flashes a stiff smile.
"Focus on school. You have a month left in your current school." Vitomar says.
Darka rolls her eyes. It's bad enough that she's forced to pick from three responses every time she tries to talk to someone. 'It's fine,' she thinks. 'I can learn to deal with it.'
******
Three knocks are heard in George Abaturov's study. And by knocks, what he hears sounds more like banging.
He sighs. "Come in, Darka."
The door swings open, and Darka walks in.
"So, what do you want this time?"
"I want a video game!"
"What?" George's stunned.
"I need a video game!"
"Well, yeah, you can have a video game. What made you change your mind? You used to hate games."
George looks confused, and he mostly feels frustrated. His daughter has been acting out ever since he remarried.
A minute, two minutes. Darka stares at him in silence, making him feel uncomfortable.
After another minute, she says, "It's none of your concern, father; now give me the money."
*****
It's Monday when the gaming shop opens.
[I sent you back in time to relive this date and get revenge on your enemies! Use your memories! You were at the pinnacle of all aviators before they betrayed you! Why is my host acting so stupid!]
The System groans as it watches Darka strut into a Gamestop. A large black screen appears above her, showing a map of the Gamestop Center and the surrounding area. Next to it are several different icons that point to specific locations.
Darka glares at the screen. She wanted to buy the video game thing last week, but the Gamestop wasn't open! Now she's here; she's lost!
"Are you okay?" Vladimir smirks.
She turns to glare at him. "Who are you? Why did you follow me?" she snaps.
"Just a friendly face!" Vladimir replies.
She doesn't bother answering him. She's already pissed off and didn't need to add fuel to the flames. Instead, she takes a deep breath. Maybe this guy will help her.
Vladimir watches Darka look back up at the Gamer's Village.
'How do you get women to help you... I remember liking women who act tough! I should use it on this guy. But why do I-'
She turns to face Vladimir. "You! Help me!" She wraps her arm around his and pulls him away. His sunglasses almost fall off, and he hastily retrieves them and puts them back on his face.
Darka continues to drag Vladimir around. Vladimir doesn't move. He looks down and notices that Darka's hands are gripping him tightly, so tightly that he can barely breathe.
"I said help me!" Darka shouts.
"Okay! Okay!" he says, forcefully shaking her off. "At least hold my hand normally."
Walking into the Game Center, Darka and Vladimir hold hands as they navigate through the crowd.
"So, Uhm..." Vladimir starts.
"Why did you run away yesterday?"
"Oh, that."
She looks down. "Yeah, that."
Darka feels Vladimir rub his thumb against hers. "I wasn't ready to see you..." 'I don't know who you are.' Darka flashes a sweet smile at him before looking away. Vladimir blushes at her gesture and squeezes her hand harder than before. Darka's cheeks flush red.
[What's wrong with you, why are you doing this?]
'You're the one who told me about the quest, ' Darka sighs.
"Vladimir~." Darka sings.
Vladimir flinches. She squeezes his hand again and leans close to him. "Please... tell me about it." Her breath smells like... toothpaste. Vlad feels lightheaded as the scent makes its way into his nose.
"Ugh, no..." he stammers.
"The game! Where is it!" she yells.
Vladimir winces.
"There's a video game store over there!" Vladimir points towards the counter. Darka nods and heads in that direction, dragging Vlad behind her.
They arrive at the store, and Darka heads straight to the video game section.
"What do you play?" she asks Vladimir, staring intently at an item.
"I thought you knew." Vladimir chuckles nervously.
"I never played games with children. So tell me! What kind of games do you play?" Darka pouts, crossing her arms.
"Well, I told you before, right?" he asks.
Darka crosses her arms. "Yes, you told me that you loved games but only played video games with people your age. But if you love games, why are you still single?" she asks, tilting her head slightly, her blue eyes gazing questioningly into his brown ones.
Vladimir stares at her in shock for a moment before laughing.
'Was that the wrong choice?' Darka laughs. "Oh well, don't worry about it."
She walks past him, leaving Vladimir alone. The blonde stands there frozen, unsure of how to handle the situation.
'She... forgot all about me' Vladimir catches up to Darka and embraces her from behind.
"I'm sorry for not spending enough time with you!" he apologizes.
"That's okay, don't worry about it!" she hugs him tighter.
"But it's not okay... I love you, and I want you to be happy!" Vladimir continues holding Darka. She lets out a soft sigh. 'I need friends in this world, I guess.'
"I... I love you too, Vladimir." She replies, finally releasing herself from his embrace. Darka smiles warmly at him.
"So, can we go play that game?" She grabs the player menu next to the TV stand and flips through the options. "I wanna start playing the latest VR - AR game!" Darka exclaims.
"What are your hobbies, Darka?" Vladimir suddenly asks.
Darka thinks for a moment. Her body stiffens, and she looks like she's in deep thought.
"I have a hobby, but why do you ask?" she says after a long pause.
"I see that I haven't been spending enough time with you; I want to fix that," he says.
Darka turns to him.
"Really? I mean, of course, you can! It'll make me happier!" she beams.
"Great! Then let's-"
She pulls him to a section of the shop, where shelves are filled with video games that range from RPGs to MOBAs. There are a lot of different titles on those shelves, and Darka quickly scans each one.
"Which one do you want?" she asks him.
Vladimir raises an eyebrow in surprise. "You like these types of games?"
'I just want this to be done.' Darka laughs. "Let's play the popular ones together, ok?"
"All right then."
Vladimir picks one game that is easy to understand.
"You chose?" Darka asks.
"Yeah," Vladimir grins. "What is this game?"
"It's called the World of Adventure," Darka answers as she reads the cover.
"Such a cliche name."
Darka doesn't reply, instead continuing to read the title. 'This game is a bit simple, but it's got some cool scenes. The main character has to solve puzzles, fight monsters, rescue princesses, etc.' She pauses for a second. "And you choose the world of adventure?"
Vladimir shrugs. "I don't play these types of games."
Darka raises an eyebrow at him but says nothing. She turns the page and reads the description. "Oh, it says this game is fascinating. Do you really want to play it?"
"Sure," Vladimir says, smiling.
Diga reads the synopsis. "'The story begins on March 31st, 2047, with a group of adventurers traveling to the city of Zagreb to save the country's princess. They encounter many dangers along their journey, including the legendary witch of the forest and the evil vampire lord. However, as the adventurers travel across Zagreb, they find themselves in a land of darkness. The heroine, Princess Lila, has fallen victim to the evil sorcerer and his minions, using her powers for nefarious purposes. Their goal is to turn her into a dark fairy and force her to serve as their queen. When the adventurers discover this plot, they must unite against the villainous plotters and end Lila's terror."
"Huh, it's childish," Vladimir says, shrugging his shoulders.
Darka closes her eyes and massages her temple.
'I need to contact you!'
[I don't understand what you're trying to do right now, but go on.]
Darka is now nervous; her palms are sweaty, and she wants to cry. She wants to use her wish to go back to... go back to...
"Okay then, I'll play with you," Vladimir says, bringing her back to reality.
Darka shakes her head. 'What?'
"We could play this game together?" Vladimir suggests.
"Ah, ok..." Darka gets two sets of the game and buys all the equipment.
Once they leave the store, they begin walking around town. Darka is still clutching onto the box containing the game and keeps glancing down at it every now and then.
Vladimir wonders how to spend time with her when an idea pops into his mind.
He stops walking and looks at Darka. "Hey, Darka? Can we try something?"
"Something?" Darka repeats, confused as to what he means.
"Yeah," he nods his head, grinning. "We can call it... our date."
"A date?" Darka questions.
"Like a date between friends. You know, going out for dinner."
'Way to shoot yourself in the foot.' "Of course," she replies politely.
Vladimir smiles and reaches out toward Darka's face. Darka stares at Vladimir's hand for a few seconds. He slowly lifts Darka's chin upwards while Darka's eyes widen. She can feel Vladimir's breath brushing against her skin, and her eyes widen even more. A faint blush dusted across her cheeks.
... ... ...
Vladimir walks Darka to a car park and walks to the car. The driver opens the door for them.
"Thank you." Darka bows.
"No problem, young miss." The driver smiles at her.
'How nice,' Darka thinks as the car starts moving.
Darka glances at Vladimir, who's staring ahead of himself with a bored expression on his face.
His gaze lands on her, and he smirks. He reaches forward with his free hand and strokes her cheek.
His fingertips brush along Darka's lips, and she shivers slightly. 'What was that?' she wonders.
"So, you now play video games, right?" Vladimir asks.
"Yeah." Darka answers.
"You didn't before; I was just reconfirming."
"Ha~." Darka looks down, twiddling her fingers.
Silence descends upon the car once more.
"... Are you hungry? We should get something to eat." Vladimir offers.
"Yeah, sure."