As soon as Sasuke saw her in the library, he knew he wasn't getting any more work done today.

She just had to find a seat right across from me. He definitely wasn't looking for her. But he'd noticed her. And she just had to sit right there, facing straight towards him. If it hadn't been for the one-way privacy glass installed in the study room door, they could've stared right at each other.

In his defense, pink was a very distracting colour. So were shining green eyes.

Sasuke continued watching as Sakura pulled out her laptop and the notebook she'd been carrying in his brother's class and started studying. She must be catching up on the notes she didn't make last class. He smirked when he saw her scratch her head with a pen, making a face at the screen. She probably reached the slide that says "the proof is left as an exercise for the student".

That had been when he'd noticed she wasn't paying any attention in class. Up until then, besides the awkward interlude where she'd fallen right into his lap, she'd casually ignored his existence. Sitting in Itachi's class that day, Sasuke, who had never before been conscious of his effect on other people, experienced an unusual feeling. He'd later identified it as disappointment.

Until she didn't even twitch when Itachi left one tricky proof as an example for the students to figure out themselves. And it was fair game for the final essay. Everyone else who'd actually been part of the class had grumbled loudly, but Sakura stayed still as a statue.

At that moment, Sasuke couldn't help glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

And then he noticed she hadn't taken any notes all lecture.

That finally made him smile a little inside. Maybe it was a bit conceited to think that she was conscious of him at that moment, but with her reaction after class when she'd run away from him like a scared bunny, he was nearly certain of it.

Nearly.

As he watched her try to work her way through this proof, though, a small twinge of regret pricked his conscience. I probably shouldn't distract her in class anymore. I'll have to think of another way to approach her. Even if her annoyed and frustrated expressions were vastly entertaining.

He actually let out a small pfft of laughter when he saw her slowly bang her head against the table.

Why is she so entertaining to watch?

Thinking he'd watched her for long enough, though, Sasuke shook himself, ready to refocus on his work, when a certain file he'd been working on over the past few days in his precious few moments of spare time caught his eye.

The responsible side of him fought a brief battle with his self-indulgent side.

This would be an opportunity...

When he saw Sakura put her head down on her desk in defeat, his self-indulgent side squashed his responsible side like a bug.

Sasuke opened up Way, and used the in-game email function to send the link to the file.

(¬‿¬ ) ヽ('⌒'メ)ノ

I'm going to find whichever professor first said 'The proof is left as an exercise for the student' and tear up their life's work in front of their face! Sakura promised the tabletop in front of her face. She resisted the urge to swear loudly, since she was still in the library, even if it was mostly deserted. She couldn't afford to break another table, either.

Just before she could gather her nerves for another attempt at this proof, a new email caught her eye. It was forwarded from Way's in-game email. Curious, because no one ever used this service unsolicited, Sakura opened it up. It was from Sm1rkMeister.

The video's done. Take a look when you have time.

A link followed. Our video's done! Unable to resist her curiosity, Sakura plugged in her headphones and clicked the link.

The title screen flashed, and Sakura was a bit surprised by the production quality. Did he hire a video editor for this? She'd originally offered to do the editing. Sm1rkMeister was in his last year of University, so she'd assumed he'd be busy with his job search and graduation requirements. Besides, she'd been the one who'd come up with the idea in the first place.

But he'd insisted, and seeing the professional quality of the title screen now, she was kind of glad he did.

"On Living," Sakura murmured the title out loud to herself. Oh, now I see why he had me voice act that line. The romantic twang of the zither with the haunting ring of chimes softly played through her earbuds as it faded to black. Surprised, Sakura stared. This was the music near the eye of heaven and the Magpie bridge, where the marriage altar was. But we didn't film anywhere near that! He switched up the bgm... actually it works pretty well.

She soon forgot about the music, though, when the image of two children avatars sitting in a meadow appeared on the screen. Ahhh the child version of Meister's avatar is the cutest! I just want to squish his cheeks. I'm glad I found a use for that transforming potion. Her avatar looked pretty adorable too, with the pink hair and the large green eyes that were currently overflowing with tears.

[Here] SakuraBlossom: Who are you?
[Here] SakuraBlossom: This is my secret place
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Go away!
[Here] Sm1rkMeister:...
[Here] SakuraBlossom: I said go away
[Here] Sm1rkMeister:...

Chibi Meister walked away. Little Sakura buried her head back into her arms and continued to weep

[Here] SakuraBlossom: You weren't really supposed to go away...

Hehe I make a pretty cute Tsundere, Sakura grinned to herself. Chibi Meister soon came back, though, a beautiful red lily in his hand. He offered it to her character.

[Here] Sm1rkMeister:...
[Here] SakuraBlossom: huh?
[Here] Sm1rkMeister:...
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Is that for me?
[Here] Sm1rkMeister:...
[Here] SakuraBlossom: ...Thank you
[Here] Sm1rkMeister:...

Chibi Meister turned to leave but little Sakura reached out and grabbed his hand.

[Here] SakuraBlossom: Wait! Don't go
[Here] SakuraBlossom: What's your name?
[Here] SakuraBlossom: I'm Sakura
[Here] Sm1rkMeister:...
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Huh?
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Can you not speak?
[Here] Sm1rkMeister nods
[Here] SakuraBlossom: ...Oh...
[Here] SakuraBlossom: I'm sorry
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Can you stay a little longer?
[Here] Sm1rkMeister:...

Chibi Meister sat back down, next to her as Little Sakura continued to cry, red lily in hand.

[Here] SakuraBlossom: My... my mommy and daddy went away
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Nobody wants me anymore
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Now I live in an orphanage
[Here] SakuraBlossom: And I don't have any friends

Sakura winced a bit at her own writing. Kids are hard to write, okay? These avatars look like 10, how do I remember what I sounded like when I was that young?

Still, Chibi Meister did a good job acting. He took a handkerchief and lifted her face, gently wiping the tears away. Sakura was pretty impressed by the variety of emotes the game had. She barely scratched the surface in her normal gameplay. Then again, she had to wonder about the kind of dev who put them into the game.

[Here] Tournesola: Smirk!
[Here] Tournesola: Time for dinner!
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Is that your mom?
[Here] Sm1rkMeister nods
[Here] Sm1rkMeister gets up
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Will you come back again?
[Here] Sm1rkMeister:...
[Here] Sm1rkMeister nods
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Promise?

Little Sakura stretched out her hand to make Chibi Meister pinkie swear. Chibi Meister stared at her hand, as if he didn't know what to do with it, until he slowly offered his hand and hooked his pinkie with hers. Then he ran away.

Sakura was once again impressed by the quality of Meister's editing - In order to make emotes with multiple players involved, both players had to accept the action, but that kind of ruined the immersion of the story. He managed to cut and edit it perfectly, though, so that the system message asking for consent never appeared. It looked seamless. I wonder how much he paid the editor.

Trying to keep her laughter at a minimum, Sakura watched as a montage of their chibi characters growing up. The accompanying cheery music as the background music from the beginner area. The two played together in the meadow together, watched the sunset and the stars and the moon, and they even ate in the kitchen together, with Hinata's avatar watching over them in the farmhouse kitchen. I have to admit, I'm glad Meister shelled out for that apron skin for Hinata-chan. It looks great with that character. When the montage music abruptly stopped, and focused in on Meister as a young adult, doing a practice kata in the same meadow, Sakura couldn't help but tense since she knew what was coming.

[Here] SakuraBlossom: Sm1rk!

Meister's avatar stopped what he was doing and turned to the direction where her avatar was coming up the hill. She wasn't sure how he managed it, but the camera panned in on his avatar's expression, which softened for a minute. With the sunset behind him, it practically screamed "man waiting for his beloved." When Sakura's avatar arrived beside him with her giant picnic basket, though, he'd been back to his stony blank face.

[Here] SakuraBlossom: You must be tired. I brought lunch!
[Here] Sm1rkMeister nods
[Here] SakuraBlossom: I haven't done my training kata either today
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Can you take a look at my form?
[Here] Sm1rkMeister raises an eyebrow
[Here] SakuraBlossom makes puppy dog eyes at Sm1rkMeister
[Here] Sm1rkMeister looks unimpressed at SakuraBlossom
[Here] Sm1rkMeister pokes SakuraBlossom's forehead
[Here] SakuraBlossom scowls at Sm1rkMeister
[Here] SakuraBlossom pouts at Sm1rkMeister
[Here] Sm1rkMeister sighs
[Here] Sm1rkMeister nods
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Thank you!

Her character got up and started a very basic Kata, with a couple of purposeful fumbles thrown in. Sakura watched, her heart melting a little as Meister put down his sandwich and came over to help her correct her form. His arms ended up wrapped around her body as he adjusted her hips. She turned to look at him, and the music changed to something softer and more poignant as their character stared at each other, the moment suspended in time. It's the wedding music!

[Here] SakuraBlossom blushes
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Eat first, don't stop for me
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Training comes second
[Here] SakuraBlossom: It's not like we're going to be leaving the village to roam the way of the Ninja, anyways
[Here] Sm1rkMeister: ?
[Here] SakuraBlossom: I mean, don't get me wrong. it would be fun
[Here] SakuraBlossom: But what I really want is very simple
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Raising some animals and growing some crops
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Maybe a couple dogs
[Here] SakuraBlossom: A family
[Here] SakuraBlossom: A warm home
[Here] SakuraBlossom: I just need to be strong enough to protect those who I love
[Here] Sm1rkMeister: ...

Meister reaching behind his back, a perfect red lily suddenly appearing in his hand. He reached for her avatar's hand, but before they made contact, a loud explosion stopped the sweet music dead.

They both turned to look, identical expressions of horror on their faces. In the distance, they could both make out a burning farmhouse. Dead silence, and then Meister's expression contorted into a silent scream. The lily dropped out of Meister's hand, and he ran. Sakura followed him, and the camera panned on her stepping on the lily. The screen faded to black, and a voice shouted "Meister!", as if far, far in the distance.

Ahh hearing my own voice recorded is always weird, even if it is distorted, Sakura winced. Then again, I was the one who suggested some voice acting. Thinking of voice acting, though, she frowned when she remembered the other lines she'd recorded. Where'd those go?

Before she could rewind, though, her favourite scene came on. Meister stood in front of a gravestone, a travel pack over his bag. A full bouquet of lilies lay on the grave in front of him. He looked like he was about to go, but all of a sudden, someone called out from behind him.

[Here] SakuraBlossom: Sm1rk!
[Here] SakuraBlossom: What are you doing?
[Here] Sm1rkMeister: ...
[Here] SakuraBlossom: You...
[Here] SakuraBlossom: You aren't leaving are you?
[Here] SakuraBlossom: No!
[Here] SakuraBlossom: You can't leave!

Sakura's avatar hugged him tightly from behind two. A trail of tears flowed down her face.

[Here] SakuraBlossom: You've never left the village!
[Here] SakuraBlossom: You can't just go roam the Way of the Ninja like this!
[Here] SakuraBlossom: You're barely more than a child!

Meister's avatar broke free of her hold, and pulled away. Sakura's character still cried.

[Here] SakuraBlossom: I know you blame me for keeping you away from home
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Maybe you could've saved your mother from those bandits if you'd been there
[Here] SakuraBlossom: But she wouldn't want you to lose yourself in revenge!
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Living is hard, but we must live on, for our loved ones and for ourselves
[Here] SakuraBlossom: Don't leave me behind...
[Here] SakuraBlossom: At least take me with you!
[Here] SakuraBlossom: I love you

Sakura hadn't noticed this when they were filming, but she was pretty impressed by the expressions on Meister's face. It contorted in a mask of pain, then he closed his eyes, and finally looked away from her, like he'd made a decision.

His avatar turned back around, grabbed her by the shoulders and stared into her eyes. The background music began to play over the scene. It was the same motif as the earlier romantic music, but in a sombre minor key. Sakura recognized it as the theme that played as a couple was getting divorced. I hadn't noticed it was the same motif when Fries and I were getting divorced a few months ago. That's so good!

Instead of saying anything, though, Meister poked on her the forehead like he had when they were little. When Sakura's character looked confused, his avatar leaned in as if to kiss her, and the music hit a bright note for just a minute as Sakura avatar's eyes fluttered closed.

Sakura put her fist to her mouth like she was holding in a squeal. Yes! This moment! Then she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard some voice acting as their avatars stared at each other.

"Sakura... thank you... and goodbye"

SHANNARO! IS THAT MEISTER'S REAL VOICE?! Sakura nearly freaked out, but she quickly calmed down her overheated brain. No, he must have run it through a voice modifier. Still, it's pretty sexy. And... maybe kind of familiar? No, you must be imagining it, Sakura. Get your act together! Still, it's a great place for some voice acting.

Tears actually pooled at the corners of her eyes when Meister's hand came down and knocked her character out. Her fist pressed harder against her lips as Meister placed her on the bench nearby, and he leaned back to take one last look at her avatar. Her eyes actually leaked a bit as his character leaned down and softly kissed her forehead, then leaned in even closer for a moment, his eyes screwed up in pain. In that moment, Sakura could almost feel his forehead against hers and his breath intermingled with hers.

And then he got up, left the village, and the screen faded to black around his lonely back.

Urgh, so cruel, but so good! Shannaro! I'm still in the library! Sakura quickly mopped up the corners of her eyes with a tissue. The tone of the music picked up again, and she smiled again as the montage of Meister chasing the bandits ensued.

Meister tracked them down, but time and time again, the bandits, played by Old Man, Wulf and RolloutBoy, always managed to escape in some way shape or form. The flow of time was represented by title cards counting up the years that had passed since Meister left the village. Sakura was soon trying to suppress her giggles, even though the fights were epic, because all the hijinks and goofs the guys had done while they were filming this bit came through on the screen. They're all really good at PVPing too, Sakura mused as she watched one particularly epic escape over a waterfall. The mood slowly turned more and more sombre, though, as Meister became more and more aggressive, more and more dismissive of human life, and first Wulf, then RolloutBoy, and finally Old Man were killed off.

Seven years later, as Meister stood over Old Man as he took his dying breaths, one last scrap of dialogue played.

[Here] OldRamenMan: You...
[Here] OldRamenMan: Damn mute avenger
[Here] OldRamenMan: Finally caught up to us...
[Here] OldRamenMan: Fine...
[Here] OldRamenMan: I'm ready to die.
[Here] OldRamenMan: But are you?
[Here] OldRamenMan: Or are you already a walking dead man?

Sakura shuddered and covered her eyes as Meister's avatar cut his throat. The look in his eyes was inscrutable as the screen faded to black around him.

The next scene showed Meister limping up the road where he'd left that day seven years ago. The music playing in the background had the same motifs as the cheerful music of the newbie town, but its cadence was much slower and softer, like it'd been worn away by the flow of time. He stopped at the bench he'd left Sakura's avatar on. He didn't stop for too long, though and instead made a beeline for a building with several little children npcs playing outside, when someone else called out to him from the blacksmith's forge nearby.

[Here] SharpandPointy: Hey!
[Here] SharpandPointy: Aren't you Tournesola's boy?
[Here] SharpandPointy: The one who left the village seven years ago?

Meister walked towards the blacksmith and nodded.

[Here]