IF... [BOOK I]

IF... shade shaded

"As I thought, this volume is harder to understand from the ones I've read before" murmured Diandra while turning next pages over.

She read some more but decided to take a break.

She looked across her bed toward the lonely console she had been neglecting for a long time now.

These days, although she was home early, her mind was elsewhere. She could play peacefully no more.

No matter how skillful she was, when out of focus, losing was bound to happen.

She was loser enough in real life. She did not need her ass handed to her in video games as well.

She sighed.

"Should I ask that person, after all?" murmured her while resting her neck on top of the grey colored pillow of hers "Will Ma-- ugh, Jack be okay with this? He seems to not like Matt's grandpa that much"

She rolled herself to one side of the bed, feeling unsure about what was best to do at the moment.

"I mean, he's been collecting this kind of publications and materials" argued her with herself "He must have known something, right -- though I never see his version at all"

Huh?

Diandra suddenly got herself up and sat straight.

"Never?! Really? Wait! Maybe his version's presence is just weak so that I barely saw it"

She scowled over her self-theory while trying to rewind the occasions when she saw that particular old man.

"No, that's not the issue. I saw none. It's definitely not there" grumbled her as her eyebrows were brought closer together "Unless he has a way to hide his version, there is no way I don't recognize such presence of an unearthly being!"

***

Took her this long to contact you, wuf

"Well, I might be overestimating her a bit" replied the old man while shutting off his phone's screen "Maybe the perceptive one is not her, but her version"

Then, it made sense wuf. Still, it's surprising, wuf

"Yeah, I don't expect her to lose it too" mumbled him afterward "but then, this confirmed that S06's appetite has actually outgrown his common sense"

You foresaw this, didn't you, wuf

"I'm no clairvoyant, Zef" answered him while sighing deeply.

Correct. But you knew this would happen, wuf

"Zef, please" murmured Toyama tried to stop the St. Bernard's rambling.

Or at the least, you were expecting this, wuf

"Zef-- "

Since this had hap--

"SILENCE, ZEF!"

***

BLEEEEGH.

Jack threw up for the third time. Andrew patted his back to ease the queasiness.

"You, OK, Boss?!"

"Ughhhh, whaatchaa saayy?" answered Jack while slurring.

Andrew drew closer and shouted once more, "I said, are you feeling better, Boss?"

BLEEEEEEGH.

The drunkard threw up again.

But this time instead of the bushes, he chose to blurt all over his junior's work shirt.