Breaking the Rules

[Eprlide]

(Maybe I shouldn't write something like this again... unless people like it and want me to do this with other characters. Anyway, this be the reason why I haven't updated Amendments yet. Enjoy or not enjoy, I don't know how I feel about this either now that it's done.)

A lot of people commend me for my good memory, but there are times when it falters. For instance, this very morning. I cannot remember Hisao's bed ever being this comfy before, although it's probably because he is here too. I slowly reach out from the bed to snuggle up to him...

He's not there. Did he leave his room?

"Hisao...?"

There's no response other then a sound of something rolling along something else until it stops with a small thud, locking in place from the sound of it. I can't recall ever having something like that, not even the box he gave me...

"Ah, so you're awake now. Don't panic, and I can explain."

Many things are now taking me off guard.

First off, that voice is NOT Hisao at all, because there's no way he can speak English that fluently so quickly. Not only that, but there's a distinct accent to this male's voice, one of which I can't remember either.

Secondly, my sense of smell now gets to me. This is not my room, unless it has the smell of cinnamon and sugar. It's such an aroma it makes me hungry on its own.

Finally, sound comes into its full effect. A car rolls down a street not to far from this room and there's a slight hum in the room from what I assume is a computer.

I am not a morning person. Out of the worst mornings I've ever had, this is the new worst. I wish I could see just where exactly I am.

"Who are you?!?"

My words blurt out before time to think over them go through along with me immediately sitting upright on a surprisingly large bed. Thankfully, I at least speak back in English. The male in the room chuckles a bit.

"That is not of concern at this moment in time, Lilly Satou. I suggest you try to calm down about this situation and relax for a while. The electric blanket is heated. And out of everything, trust in me that I have absolutely no intention to cause you any physical harm."

That explains the warm blanket, but I've never heard of an electric blanket before. His voice is very calm and informative, like someone you would find in some secret service. He seems, however, still very young just from his voice alone; an educated guess would put him in his early twenties. His accent, however, is still unrecognizable.

"Is there anything you might need right now, perhaps something to eat or drink? I can get you whatever you would like."

The gentleman is kind enough to offer me breakfast, and anything I want on top of that. However, I am still not happy with this.

"I want Hisao."

The man chuckles again at my response.

"I can assure you that you will be returned with your boyfriend after everything here has been taken care of, Miss Satou."

"How do you know everything about me? I don't even know you!"

Now I am feeling legitimately angry at whomever this person is. He surprisingly is unaffected by my yelling.

"I guess some proper information would be suitable for this, but I must warn you there is an unlikely chance you will believe anything I am going to say, even though it is the truth and will change what you know about your life forever. Are you sure you want to know how you got here and who I am?"

"Yes!" His threats go straight over my head. All I want to know is why I'm here, and get back to Yamaku.

"Then I would suggest you relax yourself first, I want you to take this as seriously as it comes." Only now his voice changes. He waits for a bit before continuing, giving me some time to calm down from my burst of anger.

"You and your friends live in what you would call your own reality, one that you have affiliated yourself with, along with the rest of the world beyond Japan and Scotland that you know of. What you are in now, coming straight from science, is an alternate dimension of your reality, and just so happens to be, a very specific one at that for one main reasons. It is now February of 2012, and the life of you and your friends have all been recorded in what we call a visual novel. I happen to have the power to pull you and anything out of what people in this reality deem fake and unrealistic into this world, so I have pulled you right out of the story at a particular point in it into my own room. Since you are to our world nothing more then a character, we know everything about you, your sister Akira, Hisao Nakai, Hanako Ikezawa, Shizune Hakamichi, Yukko, and many others who are residing in Yamaku High school at what was your current moment in time before I pulled you out of your reality and into mine. You still exist, true, but the world you are from is in pause while you are in here."

I don't believe a word he says, but he says it with so much conviction that he seems confident enough that this is all true.

"Oh yes, and you are in the United States. Oregon, to be exact. I decided to warm up the blanket even though you prefer winter and the coldness it brings, correct?"

How he knows everything about me is disturbing. I've only told this to Hisao, and...

"What did you do with Hisao?"

He chuckles once again.

"Nothing. He is still within your reality, paused in time as you were brought out by me and into here. All I have done is simply observed the relationship between you two grow over time. If you do not believe me, I can list off a few things I can recall off the top of my head that has happened."

Now he challenges me, saying he knows everything about my personal relationship with Hisao. How can a male living across the pacific ocean know of MY relationship?

"Do it."

I'm angry again, and yet, the man remains unchanged as he dots out the key moments in my relationship with Hisao in full detail; from our first meeting in the tea room to the festival, to myself telling him I was half-Scottish, to meeting Akira and Hideaki in the town while shopping for presents for Hanako, the birthday party, my departure to Inverness, the talks over the phone, my return, the stay at the house in Hokkaido, the confessions, telling Hanako and Akira, the ride back and our first date. He stops as he's about to go on beyond that point.

"I... could say more, but that would be breaking some rules that wouldn't exactly be right."

I don't say anything at all. Anger subsides to confusion. I'm smart, but this man seems to know everything about me and Hisao, and more then that. Whatever his strange theory is for me being here, and however he somehow got me here, he is wiser then I am. And now, I'm stuck with him, in America, away from my friends and family, because of a reason I do not know yet. Whats worse, is that he knows every single detail about me, maybe even more then Hisao knows. Each strain of emotion that was within me, having the summons back home, the uneasy relationship regarding my family, my unwillingness for Hisao to ever go away, nearly everything. He knows this, yet he still has the nerve to pull me away from it?

"If you knew my life was like this, then why did you pull me away?"

"Because you've done something extraordinary without realizing it."

"Huh?"

He chuckles again.

"If I may restate once again from the past, you and your friends, everything you know, is simply a story for people in our reality to read, even though to you it is reality. But the story is one so dearly touching to people of my reality, that you've grown a big group of followers over the internet. Humans, people like yourself and I, who love and adore you and your relationship with Hisao, who would kill to get into this kind of situation with you right now. Fan fiction has been written, art has been drawn, and people have decided to change their lives all for the better because of you living how you want to live with Hisao."

Once again, I sit dumbfounded with a hand covering my mouth.

"People are changing their lives... just because of my relationship with Hisao?"

"Thats correct, Lilly Satou. There are forums on the internet specifically for your honor, for your appraisal."

This information touches me like nothing before.

"How many people?"

"Not exactly sure, but most likely somewhere in the hundreds, maybe even thousands."

In his first show of emotion, he sighs.

"It's a bit sad when you think about it. You've changed the lives of so many people, but without my assistance, the chance of ever meeting them is zero. Even now, its pretty low. Besides, you just want to be back with Hisao right now, don't you?"

"Well... yes."

As much as he is open to telling me the truth about everything, I decide to do so in return. His tone changes to something much lighter and happier.

"Now there's the Lilly I remember from the story, the one I made choices for."

"Pardon?"

Made choices for? This catches me completely off guard.

"Ah yes, I forgot to tell you. I am a human too, am I not?"

He chuckles at his own joke, which I smile lightly at. He then continues on his explanation.

"There is a reason why the story of you and Hisao, or rather, of Hisao himself, is told as a visual novel rather then a book. With a book, the story is streamlined. It begins one way, and ends in one path. Visual novels force you to make choices on the story much like real life, so some of the actions Hisao makes are based on the actions that the reader makes, which in turn influences the end of the story. In your reality, I made Hisao be with you, which you obviously seem to enjoy, by my will alone even though everything seemed like reality. Any other reader could make the story go any other way, including being with other girls such as Emi, Rin, Hanako and Shizune. One can even make Hisao die in a path. And each path that Hisao doesn't die in has its own share of endings to, because not every story ends happily."

A silence hangs in the room.

The reason I'm with Hisao is because this man willed it to be so.

This person, in the room with me, has controlled Hisao decisions so that he could be with me instead of somebody else, including Hanako. There's one question I fear to ask.

"Is my story over?"

He sighs again.

"Not yet, but thankfully for you guys, there's a point where the reader stops and you and Hisao live your lives how you want to without any external interference. But I may or may not have already given out enough information. Telling you the future is something that would be out of bounds because it would be breaking the rules, so to say. If you knew what was to come, you could change it before it would happen, so then it wouldn't happen in the end, right? It's a paradox thing."

As much as I want to know the future for me and my love, his point makes sense. But, maybe...

"Can you give me some advice then, at the least?"

He takes a moment to think over this before talking.

"I'm making Hisao not afraid to tell you the truth about everything, even if he has a hard time telling it. Do the same back to him, even with your summons from your family, and once you can fully trust each other with your deepest worries and concerns, you will end up loving each other more then you might have found possible.

He sighs again as I hear the sound of his hand going to his face.

"Already with this information you might change the story from its original path. Not that I mind, though. Seeing you and Hisao be the best you two can be is all that I would want from a good story, to resolve your conflicts, overcome boundaries, and truly be a couple matched for each other."

His words grant a big smile from me.

"That is very nice of you to say. I'm sure with how you are treating Hisao right now, I will continue to love him."

He chuckles a bit, and I decide to change the topic a bit.

"Out of the people you said have had their lives changed by my relationship with Hisao, are you one of them?"

"Ehhh....."

He seems a bit hesitant at first but then speaks again.

"Not to insult you, but the stories that were made for Hisao being with Rin and Hanako touched me on a more personal level then it did with you. However, you have changed me a bit."

We both pause at this until he speaks up again.

"Mind if I show you some music from the visual novel? In specific, what was made as your theme song?"

This piques my interest well.

"Sure."

I can hear him rising from a chair and coming over to me. From the speed of his steps and the time it takes to come here, the room must be quite small.

"Put out your right hand."

I do so and I feel a smooth hand take mine and lead me out of the bed from the warm sheets. It's a little cold, but the heated blanket has done its job. He leads me to a chair and sits me down, which is already warm from himself sitting on it.

"Can't you play it on speakers?"

"I have headphones for better quality. My speakers are old."

I don't push it further. I'm bad enough with computers, and I don't want to test how good he is. A pair of large comfy headphones cover my ears as music begins to play after a few clicks of a mouse. What starts off as a piano solo is joined in by a chello and soon becomes a symphony of strings. The music is well done, harmonic, elegant and uplifting. If this is my theme song, it fits quite well. After a few minutes, the song ends and he takes the headphones off.

"That was beautiful music."

"I agree. Its my second favorite song out of the visual novel."

A short Hmm comes from him as he then sighs.

"I think our time is up here."

He lets out a chuckle.

"I wasn't kidding when I said there are people who would kill to be able to talk with you right now, but I think among them are the desperate ones who would try to kiss you and exploit you. I am not like that, but would you mind if I asked for a simple hug?"

I rise from the chair and turn to my left, where his voice comes from.

"After all you've told me, I wont mind one hug."

I hear him rise from sitting on the bed and not a moment later do I feel myself drawn into a soft embrace. The young man has shaved facial hair, and is much bigger then me. After a second he draws back and claps his hands.

"So, are you ready to be back with Hisao now?"

I smile at him.

"Ready as ever."

After a second, I realize that there's one thing I'm missing.

"Wait, whats-"

His name. I never got his name, and before I can ask I find my body slammed with fatigue as I fall to sleep on a bed I'm already on.

------

It's warm when I wake up to the sound of a door opening.

"Good morning Lilly."

Its Hisao, speaking in Japanese. I slowly rise from the bed to become sitting on it.

"Morning."

With a clatter of plates and a certain smell in the air, I can tell he's brought breakfast for us. I smile a bit until I feel something touching my right hand. Something plastic under the bed sheets.

"Hmm? Whats this?"

I slowly make my hand its way through the sheets until I hold what I think is a sheet of plastic in my hand.

"There's writing in Braille on it, Lilly, but I never put that in my bed."

Confused, I guide my hand along the sheet, reading the message in my mind.

Just a friendly reminder that your world is controlled by a force you cannot see. We may meet again before the story draws to a close.

Sincerely from Oregon in the United States, an Anonymous, one with no name.

P.S. It wasn't a dream.

[CarnivalNights]

Haha, I enjoyed that a lot.

Are you going to continue working on this and Amendments? I like both stories.

[Eprlide]

I may or may not continue this, because there are two ways this can go: Either Anonymous pulls out Lilly again later in the time line or he pulls out a different character.

And now that I think about it, having the power to make anything fake into reality sounds really... overpowered. Especially when you can make something yourself then make THAT real.

[Daitengu]

I may or may not continue this, because there are two ways this can go: Either Anonymous pulls out Lilly again later in the time line or he pulls out a different character.

And now that I think about it, having the power to make anything fake into reality sounds really... overpowered. Especially when you can make something yourself then make THAT real.

Indeed. It can get really out of hand if you start pulling out different characters from different media. Like pull out Lilly and Ichi or Zatoichi then have Lilly learn blind swordsmanship lol.

[Eprlide]

I may or may not continue this, because there are two ways this can go: Either Anonymous pulls out Lilly again later in the time line or he pulls out a different character.

And now that I think about it, having the power to make anything fake into reality sounds really... overpowered. Especially when you can make something yourself then make THAT real.

Indeed. It can get really out of hand if you start pulling out different characters from different media. Like pull out Lilly and Ichi or Zatoichi then have Lilly learn blind swordsmanship lol.

I wasn't thinking of it like that per say, since both were unknown to me until you noted them to me. I think for safety's sake that he can only interact with the reality of KS and nothing more/less.

[Rikabro]

That started out very creepy and ended a lot less creepy.

I liked how the note was proof that it wasn't a dream, but the note bothered to point it out in the "P.S." too. That made me chuckle.

Really interesting story concept & well executed.