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The letters went out all over town and just after that fancy research facility was finished being built. No one was actually sure why they chose such a small, rural town as the base for their research, but they were offering good money so the mayor turned a blind eye to any suspicions. But when they started asking for participants in some sort of experiment, it was harder for everyone to pretend nothing was happening. They even offered a hefty payment to anyone willing to partake, pulling in people from all over the state.
The people weren’t sure what they were getting into, but it didn’t take long for the researchers to reveal their biggest project, yet.
An immersive reality--one that was separate from this one. It was in virtual reality that was indistinguishable from this one, save for the abilities that are possible. It was a fantasy world with a whole new set of rules. The researchers gave each participant a character and a certain set of abilities and unleashed them onto this world. Every week, the participants are paid to come back to the facility and live through the simulation. It’s funny, really. A lot of them have started feeling as though they’re starting to mesh with their characters. And it’s not just happening in the game.
What isn’t known to most is that there is another town that is part of the experiment. Across the country, the city of Amestris is going through the same thing. And recently, the two simulations were linked to test what would occur when you mix unsuspecting parties.
~~
Entering Simulation
It was Shikamaru’s favorite time of day - early morning, right after the sun had just begun to rise high up in the bright Atlantean sky. It was beautiful outside, the lazy clouds drifting through the sky, and enough light was coming through the floor-to-ceiling windows in the small home gym that it turned Shikamaru’s soft skin a shade of sun-kissed gold. The music blared around him as he struck the punching bag quickly, trying his best to maintain his breathing. Funny, one would have guessed that being in a simulation would reduce that greatly.
He enjoyed days like this one. Family was stressful on the outside world, but he was able to ignore all of that once he got here. He lived alone, for one thing, which was totally different from being cramped up with his dad and foster siblings in a three bedroom apartment. He was thankful for the time he had here, but he was finding it increasingly harder to carry a life outside of this world. They only spent around seven hours at a time here, but in Atlantis that translated into roughly a week of living here. During the first few sessions, it was apparent that people weren’t used to that. They’d come out of the simulation dazed and confused, wondering how days of their lives could be consolidated into a mere few hours.
Personally, Shikamaru loved it. He had all the time in the world.
He paused his workout when he heard the ringing in his ear--someone was trying to voice message him.
“Go for it,” was all he said when he answered.
“You’re still coming, aren’t you? We’re going to Greed’s Bar & Grill to meet up with the gang.” Naruto’s voice was quick and excited. He’d been looking forward to this for weeks, ever since the barrier dropped, he’d been meaning to visit the other side of the map. Thing is, it was a seventeen hour trip there from their destination. So, Naruto decided to get a group to travel there together. Shikamaru wasn’t really sure how well he fit in around the blonde’s friends. After all, those were people that knew Naruto outside of the game in one way or another. That already set him apart. Shikamaru lived two hours away from Naruto in the outside world and they’d never actually met in person. Shikamaru wasn’t even sure if Naruto’s avatar was accurate.
For one thing, when the two of them stood face to face, Naruto was a great deal taller. His avatar was a little over twenty years old, but the kid himself sounded like he was still pushing his way through puberty. Shikamaru’s avatar was younger, but not by much. But all of Naruto’s friends seemed to be Naruto’s age or older.
“Yeah, I’ll be there. Just needed to get some time in before I’m stuck in a moving death trap with strangers for nearly a day,” Shikamaru responded. “Tell me why I agreed on this, again?”
“Because you know it’ll be awesome.” He added a chuckle that made Shikamaru smile in turn. Something about this guy…
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll meet you there in about an hour and a half, okay?” They agreed and hung up.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
What Gaara liked the most about this whole thing was the lack of dysphoria. In this world, he was able to customize his avatar to reflect how he felt in the real world. Almost six feet in height, broad shoulders, and best of all...this one had a penis.
It wasn’t something Gaara thought about too much before this experiment happened. He’d experienced a certain degree of discomfort with his body, but he never bothered to put too much focus on his dick (specifically, the lack thereof). But since it was possible in this world, he was able to explore what it would be like to use it. So far, he’d only gone to the bathroom and--of course--attempted masturbating with it at some point. It worked, but Gaara wasn’t very experienced in touching himself in the first place.
He smiled at himself in the mirror as he pulled on his shirt. He was going on a date tonight--something he didn’t do often. It wasn’t that he never wanted to, but Gaara never went out of his way to ask someone out. In fact, he was confused about his attractions to people in general. He’d never experienced what others described as a crush and there wasn’t anyone in particular that he wanted to date.
A mutual friend set up this date for him. There was a friend on the Amestris server that Gaara apparently had to meet once the barrier was down. And now that the time had come, the friend jumped at the opportunity to introduce them.
He left his home--one that he’d customized himself about a month after the simulation started--and made his way to the location for his date. When he got there, he scanned the restaurant for the avatar that fit the description his friend had given him. When his eyes landed on a girl with dark hair and crimson lips that almost looked like blood, he couldn’t help but smile.
She was beautiful. He’d go so far as to say sexy, even. And that wasn’t something that popped into Gaara’s mind. He liked to think he was aware enough to know when someone was dressing for a date. In comparison to his choice in attire--a simple button down shirt and not even his nicest pair of pants--she was drop dead gorgeous. As he approached the table, he noticed a group of men a few tables over that were whispering and looking their way. Though the woman seemed more concern with his arrival than her surroundings.
“Hi, I apologize for being late,” he said to her. “I’m Gaara.”
“Yes, Ino was nice enough to provide me with a name before setting this up,” she flashed the most stunning smile. “I’m Haku. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Gaara.”
Haku. He’d definitely be remembering her name after this.
“The pleasure is mine.” Once he sat down, he realized he wasn’t sure what to do next. He’d never been in this situation before and, honestly, whenever he found himself alone with people he never felt the pressure to talk to them like he did now. “Have you ordered, yet?”
“I figured it would be polite to wait for you to arrive. Though the waiter has stopped by at least four times in the last ten minutes.”
The two of them ordered their food and Gaara noticed just how much attention the waiter was putting on her. He made an effort to maintain eye contact with her, even as Gaara spoke. His name was Soul and as far as Gaara could tell, he was trying to hit on her while still remaining slightly professional. Did she not notice?
She kept asking Gaara questions. Nothing too personal, just trying to gather small bits of information on him to figure out more about him.
“If I may ask,” Gaara cleared his throat soon after their food arrived. “Why did you agree to come on a blind date?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re gorgeous and you personality is great, why did you agree to meet up with a stranger when so many guys are clearly interested in you?”
“Do you mean the waiter?” She arched an eyebrow and tilted her head slightly. “I’ve noticed the way he looks at me, yes. But he’s not the one I’m interested in getting to know. If I wanted to date someone that was interested in me based off of my looks, I wouldn’t experience as much fulfillment.”
It wasn’t like he didn’t expect to hear that. He’d encountered enough people to know that interactions were filled with surprises and it was best not to draw conclusions about people. He offered her a crooked smile, but that was all he could think of offering. See, Gaara wasn’t a man of many words. It’s part of the reason it was so difficult for him to date and pursue relationships. People thought too quickly and he couldn’t come up with things to say quickly enough so he decided a long time ago that it was much easier to talk to people online. Typing things out gave him a sense of comfort that speaking face to face just didn’t provide. Truth be told, when this new virtual reality project launched he was excited that it’d be some miraculous loophole that enabled him to hold healthy and meaningful conversations and relationships with real people.
That didn’t work out the way he planned. Especially when it was hard to tell the difference between what was real and what wasn’t. This world looked and felt just like his own most of the time. And that meant talking to cute girls left him just as nervous as it did when he was in the real world. The only difference was that he was able to talk to them and know that they were seeing him for how he truly felt on the inside.
“If you’d like to know the whole truth behind my preference not to date left and right, it’s because a lot of men can’t handle who I truly am. We go out, have a few drinks and some interesting conversation; but when it’s time to go back to his place, that’s where the true test begins.”
Gaara pulled his hands off the table and balled them into fists in his lap. He felt his nerves bundle at the mention of going back to her place. She was...quite possibly one of the most attractive women he’d even spoken to, avatar or not.
“Do they not live up to your standards in bed?”
She chuckled lightly. “It’s not necessarily that.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. There are just some details about me that I notice some people are more hesitant to wrap their heads around.” She paused for a moment, seemingly taking him in for a moment before she carried on. “I kind of wonder if you’re the same.”
“Would you believe me if I said I wasn’t?”
She shook her head. “No. But I’m still interested in hearing what you have to say.”
They were able to continue the conversation through dinner and once the check came, Gaara made a move to pay for it when she reached for it first. She offered him a reassuring smile, the nails of her free hand drumming along the table as she slid the black book with the check in it towards herself. He’d never actually been on a date before, but he always assumed it was the man that paid for the meal afterwards.
“Don’t worry,” she said as she typed in her payment code. “You’ll just have to get the next one.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“So, this is Amestris, huh?” Naruto looked like a starstruck child as he looked around, his sparkling blue eyes widened with each this he took in. Shikamaru couldn’t understand how he was constantly in awe with every new thing he encountered. After experiencing something like the simulation they were walking around in, it was hard to believe anything else would ever be as impressive to him. “God, it’s fucking amazing.”
“I bet there are people saying the same thing about Atlantis right now,” Shikamaru commented, shoving his hands in his pockets as they walked.
“Yeah, but...the sky looks so different here. Fuck, it’s even a different color. That’s such a cool detail. I wonder how long it took for them to develop a place like this.”
Shikamaru chuckled. “You know, you could always ask.”
“I’ve tried,” Naruto responded, his eyes settling on Shikamaru for the first time since they arrived. “The scientists protect their secrets with their lives. Makes sense, though. I couldn’t imagine having someone try to replicate something like this. What do you want to do, first?”
“Well, we could always go track down the others.”
Naruto wrinkled his nose. The rest of their group had run off as soon as they arrived, leaving only Shikamaru and Naruto. Not that either of them actually minded. It was a well known fact that they were the closest duo out of the gang. In fact, almost everyone seemed to know about Shikamaru’s feelings for Naruto except for the two of them. It wasn’t either of their faults. Shikamaru never really vibed well with others enough to consider what it’d be like when he finally developed feelings for someone. To him, he just enjoyed spending time around Naruto a little bit more than spending it around others. He also liked the way Naruto had to be told the same thing over and over again because he would always, inevitably, forget it completely a few seconds later.
Shit, he liked a lot of things about Naruto.
“Eh, they left us behind, why not make the most of it and do something that’ll make them regret running off? It’s a big place,” Naruto replied coolly as he pulled a black tablet from his back pocket. He browsed the directory for activities that both of them were likely to enjoy. After scrolling for a few moments, he came across the perfect thing.
“How ‘bout we take a look at Bradley Estate? Says here that it’s modeled after an actual estate in the real world and follows the storyline of the family that died there. It’s basically a horror simulation,” Naruto said. “Sounds like it’s right up your alley.”
“But you hate being scared.”
“No, I hate being caught off guard. This is different. I’m walking in knowing what I’m getting myself into.”
Shikamaru stepped closer to Naruto to get a closer look at the tablet. There was one image of the mansion on the page and from the look of it, the developers definitely knew how to make a horror game. Even the photo was enough to give Shikamaru goosebumps. Naruto knew him well enough to know that he had the most fun when he was terrified--within reason, that is. Then something else caught his eye.
“Says it doesn’t open for another couple of days,” he stated. “We wouldn’t be able to do it today, anyway.”
“Aw, damn,” Naruto groaned. Then his eyes lit up again. “Well, I guess this means we’ll have to wait, then. Let’s not tell the guys about it; I want something to brag about once we get through it. Sound good?”
“Yeah, whatever you say, Naruto.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Ino always thought of herself as an Advanced Matchmaker
™
when it came to setting up her friends. She was able to fish the contents of the night out of Gaara when they met up a couple days later over a glass or two of wine.
“She said you’ll pay next time? Gaara, that means she liked seeing you!” Ino squealed in her seat, almost knocking over her drink in the process. Gaara had to admit, he was astonished by how realistic everything was. While this was merely a simulation, he could feel himself beginning to loosen up as he sipped the remainder of his second glass.
This isn’t the real world, but to an extent, it’s sometimes hard to tell the difference.
“So, what’s the next date?” Ino asked.
“I’m...not sure.”
“Well, did she at least give you her username for you to message her?”
“Er...yes. She did. I’m just not sure what I would say. I’ve never done this before.” He could feel his ears burning from the embarrassment. When he got home the other night after the date, he’d thought about when he should message her. How soon was ‘too soon’? What would he even say to her? He wasn’t good at making the first move, but it wasn’t until they were parting ways that he realized he never gave her his contact information. The only way they’d probably see each other was if he reached out first.
“Aw, you’re so cute when you’re flustered. Have I ever told you that?” She reached over and pinched his cheek.
“Don’t patronize me.”
Ino giggled and poured herself another glass. This was, perhaps, the most comfortable relationship Gaara had. In the real world, he didn’t interact with his family much aside from his older sister. His brother and parents all disowned him once he came out to them. Or rather, once they caught him.
It was a rather embarrassing moment for him. His brother asked to use his computer for a project. Gaara should have known better than to leave the browser history untouched. Kankuro sifted through the different websites in order to see what Gaara was up to and once he stumbled across Gaara’s hidden files, he decided to take the laptop to their parents. He thought it’d be funny to see their dad yell at Gaara for looking up ways to have a sex change and the ‘weird’ forums he would visit. But it didn’t necessarily pan out as funny as he thought it would. Between his father’s uncontrollable rage and his mother’s hysteric tears, it was a wonder the police weren’t called that night. Temari was able to call Ino and get her to pick Gaara up before it could get physical. From there, the family hadn’t had much contact with him.
“You need to put yourself out there more, Gaara,” she carded her hands through his hair, tugging the slightest bit before sighing. “I can’t hold your hand forever.”
“I put myself out there by agreeing to go on the date. You know it’s not in my nature.” A thought crossed his mind for the third time since his date. Something he’d been sitting on since he came face to face with Haku. “Ino--why did you arrange for Haku and me to meet? She seems so...put together. Confident. I can’t image you spoke to her and immediately thought I would be a great match.”
“You liked her, did you?”
Gaara didn’t respond, but Ino knew him well enough to know his answer.
“And she liked you,” she said. “Trust me, you two have a lot in common. In fact, I bet the next date will be even better than the first.”
“I used up all of my conversation material. I wouldn’t even know what to say if we went out again.”
“Oh, hush. All you need is a wingman to help you out. And the perfect setting to guarantee she’ll be focused on you.” Ino had prepared for this beforehand. She and her boyfriend had been reading up on a new attraction that was set to open in a couple of days. While she wasn’t the biggest fan of horror, she knew how much terror Gaara could encounter and still keep a stoic face. It was perfect for a date between him and Haku. They’d wander through a haunted house and she’d cling to him for dear life, burying her face in his shirt at the slightest noise.
She’d signed the four of them up for early entry to Bradley Estate--the first twenty people to sign up were let in early for the Beta testing. If luck was on their side, they’d be notified within the next twenty-four hours.
“You want me to take her to this?” Gaara asked hesitantly as he stared at the promotion message. “Why does a haunted house seem like such a good place to you?”
“Lots of conversation topics, you two could probably disappear and get some alone time in, the adrenaline might get you two all hot and heavy…” She giggled, nudging him. “Come on, I’m doing you a favor. Just...do this with me, okay?”
Ino had to admit, if it weren’t for her long term relationship with Kakashi, she would have probably been more than friends with Gaara a long time ago. At first, the two of them got along as friends simply because Ino knew how to keep up a conversation and make people her friend. But after Gaara came out, she made it her job to stick around as long as possible. Whenever he needed her, she was there. And it was because of that that she was able to see almost every facet of him. He was charming, a little awkward, looking for someone to love him as he was, and attractive as all hell.
He was the perfect boy, right?
Ino sighed happily once Gaara agreed on it.