*Sora's P.O.V*

I clicked on the invite. It wasn't the usual type of games that we played.

Checkers...

Somehow her user name was ever changing. 'Error' and the three digits that followed after it were constantly changing.

Shiro was starting to fall asleep.

"....Wake me up when you're done....."

She told me with a blank face.

"But, Shiro! That girl is trouble! We need to show her that Blank doesn't lose! Come on Shiro! I need your help!"

"....Checkers is boring....it's nothing more complicated than tic-tac-toe...."

.......................

Well it was supposed to be that way, but somehow we were losing.

For the first time in our entire lives...we were losing.

Shiro starred blankly at the screen.

"....Nii, I'm..."

A hint of sadness could be heard from her tone.

"Hahaha! Have you forgotten Shiro? Blank doesn't lose!"

I tried to encourage my sister. She already had her head down and her bangs covered her eyes.

She was starting to cry.

I too, myself was starting to give up. My palm was now sticky from the amount of sweat I had.

As her pieces moved, not wasting a single move. I tried my best to try and turn the game but...we were down to two pieces against 10 of hers.

Shiro was starting to cry.

".....Nii, I'm sorry...I'm useless...I'm sorry, Sora....."

As we waited for our opponent to make a move I patted Shiro's head.

"Don't worry.....we'll beat her next time.....probably....I'm sorry I let her beat us..."

Shiro must have seen the tears rolling off my face. She grabbed my hand and looked into my eyes.

"....It wasn't just Sora who lost. It was Blank who lost...but, nii...promise me that we'll beat her next time..."

I suddenly hugged Shiro. I have almost forgotten the face she made when we promised to always be together.

That smile that bound us together.

The smile that created Blank.

A smile of pure innocence, the smile that makes you forget how cruel the world really is.

*Pop*

I broke off our hug and looked at the screen with disgust.

-Error 930's turn has ended-

-Error 275 has disconnected from the game-

"Is-Is she giving up?"

I looked at Shiro who instantly wiped her tears.

"Blank doesn't lose......no matter what!"

I shouted at the top of my lungs but I was still stuttering.

-You Win-

(A/N : If you guys thought that it was going to be Blank's first loss then you're ABSOLUTELY WRONG!!! XD)

Shiro collapsed on the floor. She wore an even more blank face than usual as she nibbled at the cookies she bought.

*Ring*

I quickly looked at my phone. My suspicion was right. It was 'her'.

(A/N)
[ '/sample/' " '//' " means that the words were said over the phone so the voice is a little fuzzy]

'/Umm...am I still connected? Kinda tripped over a glass of water and short circuited the entire house.....there's actually a fire/-

"Nope, you lost....wait, fire?!"

I heard the crackle of fire over the phone.

'/Don't worry I'll be ok...so since I lost....technically. Ask aw-.../'

She was suddenly cut off.

I dropped the phone to the ground.

I looked towards Shiro. She was tilting her head, waiting for an answer.

"Shiro.....lets never speak of this situation ever again!"

She gave me a thumbs up and we resumed to our regular schedule, and by regular schedule I meant a marathon of games.

+Time Skip+

"...Aa....I'm dying....aa, now I died for real.....hey, my little sister, hurry up!"

"...It is impossible....to use my feet for controlling the mouse..."

"Whatever hurry up, my little sister...Or should I say, my sly little sister...even though I have not even eaten for three days, you are eating instant noodles? On top of that, you're doing so while in battle."

I was starving already but with the battle resting on my shoulders can I really stop?

"Nii, you want to eat too...? Something like Calorie Mate or so...."

"...here, Nii's share."

"Oh! Thank you.....by the way, what time is it now?"

"Let's see......still eight o' clock at night."

"That didn't answer my question....Then, what day is today?"

"...Who knows?"

" Wait...one, two...four cup of instant noodles so.....fourth day?"

"Does that even matter.....to Nii who is a NEET?"

"Of course it matters something like an online event or tournament could have happened!"

The LED display gave off a faint light and the only source of light other than that was the sunlight that was even now blocked by curtains.

"...Nii, are you.......not going to find a job?"

"Then why didn't you also go to school, my little sister?"

"........"

"........"

Just like that they ended our conversation and no one spoke on the subject thereafter.

"....Argh, enough with this already.......gonna sleep."

"Wait! You are the one that's in charge of the team's recovery, and if you log out--"

".....If it's you, Nii, you will be able to do it."

"Theoretically it is possible! If I operate my own two characters with both my hands and also two of yours using both my feet after all--"

".....Fi...ght!"

"Wait! Please wait a moment, my little sister! If you sleep I will surely die!"

The stack of instant noodle cups had already become a tower five cups tall. Which also means that we have already done all-nighters for five days straight.

Even after my loud bickering Shiro still slept anyway, using a game console as her pillow.

*Ring*

Suddenly a tone notifying the both of us that we had a mail, sounded.

"....Nii, an e-mail."

"Just what are you demanding from your brother who's currently playing using four characters on four different screens!?"

I skillfully operated the mouse using both my hands and feet. I furiously commanded a party of four by myself and answered in one breath.

"I'm sure it's just another advertisement e-mail anyway, just ignore it..."

"...What if...it came from a friend?"

"Whose friend?"

"...Nii's."

I can only laugh at this 'insult' from my sister.

"Haha, how weird, somehow I can feel you stabbing me through my chest with such an ironic statement, my lovely sister."

"I don't...want you to say...it's mine....."

"Then it's an advertisement e-mail after all. Or should I say, if you want to sleep, just sleep! If you're not going to sleep, please help me a bit here"

"...Uu....what a bother."

Shiro tried to wake her consciousness and muster all her strength to get up. It would be no problem if that really was an advertisement. But, one that couldn't be ignored is an advertisement about a new game.

"....Nii, where is the tablet PC...?"

"At three o'clock from there, in the second mountain of eroge from the left, and placed around the third and forth box"

"....The sound is Ring-- so it came from..... the third address of the main account......is it this one?"

Shiro, whose memory was extraordinary compared to an ordinary person, easily found the message.

-New mail----Subject: To the both of you, 『 』.-

"...?"

Shiro bent her head slightly.

E-mails that were addressed to Blank were not rare.

War Requests, Invitations, Provocative Challenges....those are what they would commonly receive, with the exception of the girl from earlier, which we have told each other to forget.

"...Nii."

"What is it?"

"....This."

Shiro showed the mail to me.

"Hmm...what is this?"

I quickly noticed that the mail looked peculiar.

"Saving. Okay, that's done. Checking the item drops, that's done too."

After checking that there was nothing wrong, I closed the game screen that had been continuously running since five days ago and switched it to my inbox to check out the e-mail that we just received.

"...How does this guy know that Blank is actually a pair of siblings? Don't tell me its her...or someone she knows"

-Have you siblings ever felt that you guys were born into the wrong world?-

"What.....is this?"

"............."

It was a somewhat, no, it was a considerably strange message. It also included a URL that we had never seen before. At the end of the URL. This URL was pointed to a specific page and it looked like it was linked to a game.

"...What should we do?"

Shiro who did not seem very interested, went back to her game console pillow and tried to sleep. Which means that she would just leave the decision up to her dear brother, me.

"Hmm, so 'you' plan on making me take a bet on it, huh. Well, even if this thing turns out to be just a bluff in the end, let's just treat it as another amusement."

I made that decision and clicked on the URL. I was on full alert in case of a virus infection, while the security software was running full throttle. What appeared there on the screen was just simple online chess.

".....*Yawn*...good night..."

"Wait wait wait! This is a challenge for Blank , you know. If the other party has an advanced chess program, just me alone will not be enough to win!"

I tried to stop his Shiro from sleeping.

"...Who plays chess well...these days...."

"Umm, I know how you feel but...What if its 'her' again?"

"It wouldn't be forgiven if Blank lost. Please at least stay awake until we know the extent of the opponent's ability."

"....Uuuu.....it can't be helped."

Shiro looked serious due to the experience a couple days ago. After seeing me do one move, two moves, Shiro began to nod off because of the sense of sleepiness that had piled up. Five moves, ten moves, and before he knew it half of the board had already been filled with pieces. Shiro suddenly snapped her eyes open and stared at the screen.

"...Huh? This guy is...."

I was feeling a bit uncomfortable, Shiro stood up and said something.

"...Nii, change players..."

Without any objections, I obediently stood up from the chair and moved.

"....No way."

Somehow Shiro had just been surprised by what was in front of her.

"Calm down. This, I'm sure the other party is human."

"Why?"

"In a program's case, it would always choose the best move to play. In one way that is a good thing, but on the other hand it also means that it can only use tactics that it was already programed to use. That's why you can win against them easily. But this guy is..."

Sora pointed at the screen.

"The other party lured you in and made you play a bad move, and if you feel that it is natural for a program to do that, then you would be wrong."

"....Uuu."

She only grumbled after she knew she made a mistake.

"Calm down, if the opponent is not a program, all the more reason that there's no way you will lose. Don't be taken in by his provocation. I will point out every one of his provocations and tactics so that you beat him."

".....Understood.....Shiro will do her best..."

This is the reason behind our success in becoming the world's best gamer.

Finally, the last decisive moments happened. And then a emotionless voice signaling the end of the game could be heard from the speakers.

-Checkmate-

It was our win.

""Fuaaaaaaah.""

After the game, the two of them felt a great sense of happiness and grinned happily while they were talking.

*Ring*

Suddenly, the mail notification tone could be heard.

"Hey, maybe that e-mail just now is from the opponent. Try opening it."

".....Un."

But the content of the e-mail was only one sentence.

-Well done. With that kind of ability, I am sure you find living to be painful?-

We both sat silently.

Horrible memories of the past suddenly rushed out our minds.

Not long after thinking that, I instantly wrote a reply, I was a bit furious.

-None of your business! Who the hell are you anyways?-

A reply came almost right away after I replied to the message.

-What do you guys think about this world? Is it interesting? Is it a place that can make you guys feel at ease?-

Because of these words, I hid my anger and looked towards Shiro.

There was no need to reconfirm, the answer has long been clear from the start.

"It's a shit game."

With no clear objectives or rules, a stupid game.

Around seven billion players move as they please.

Ones that have more than others get penalized. Shiro was isolated because she was smarter than those of her age, no one could understand her and she was bullied.

Even ones that have less than others get penalized. I was a failure, and because of that teachers, parents and other people looked at me with disgust.

No clear objectives, no parameters, even the genre is unknown.

Ones that do as the rules say are punished, yet ones that ignore the rules are not punished and even look down from their positions as the elite. No game could be compared with this kind of difficult, worst game.

"Damn it!"

I was starting to lose my cool as I caressed Shiro's hair.

The sound *Ring* could suddenly be heard.

I was controlling the cursor and did not care about the message and was about to shut down the computer. But, my sister held my hands to stop me.

-What if a world where everything was decided by a simple game existed-

Even though I myself wanted to turn of the PC,I was unable to do anything other than read that after seeing those words.

-A world where the objectives and rules were clear, a world on top of a game board, what do you think?-

The two of us started exchanging looks. We both let out a laugh and made my reply.

-If that kind of world actually does exist, then that really does mean that we were born into the wrong world.-

Is what he replied after he read the content of the letter.

Suddenly...

The PC's screen gave off a faint noise and then it made a sound like a circuit breaker overloading. After that sound, nothing else could be heard and it was as if everything had stopped; only the screen with the e-mail had been left moving.

"Just what is--"

"...!"

Noise could be heard within the room. There was a sound that sounded like the house itself was creaking, and there was also the sound of an electrical discharge. After that, the noise became increasingly intense and finally became a sound that was not unlike that of the static noise from an empty TV channel. And then from the speakers--no, from the screen of the computer, a voice could be heard.

/-I also think the same. You two were born into the wrong world.-/

Suddenly a pair of white hands appeared from the screen.

"Wha--!"

"...Hiii!"

The hands dragged the both of us by the wrists towards the screen.

"I will let you siblings be born again- again, in the world where you two should have been born!"

There was suddenly a bright light that appeared out of nowhere. We both closed our eyes.

As soon as we opened our eyes we were welcomed by the warmth of the sun, its been a long time since we've felt it.

"Uooooooooooo!"

The scenery had suddenly shifted from a narrow room to a vast expanse of space.

Now that you think about it. We were a thousand feet in the air.

Suddenly appearing in the vast sky, it took a while for us to grasp the situation and when we did...

"What the hell is thiiiiis!"

No matter how many times I reviewed the scene. It did not change. We were a dropping from the sky, falling to an island. Now that you think of it there were many other islands. Some were weirdly sculpted as...

"Chess pieces??"

'What's with this fantasy-like kind of entrance?' is what was floating through my mind. The scenery, no matter how many times I tried to compare it, it was not the same scenery from the Earth I knew.

But that wasn't our main problem. Our main problem was we were free falling from the sky.

"I'm going to die!"

I was a little late in realizing this but I shouted to the top of my lungs.

But, as if to break this sorrowful confirmation, a loud shouting could be heard beside him.

"Welcome to my world!"

The boy falling beside me said while opening his arms and laughing.

"This is the Utopia that you guys dreamed of, the world on top of a game board, Disboard everything here is decided by a game, even one's life and country borders!"

It took me a couple of seconds to register his sentence.

I felt a strong hug coming from Shiro. She already had her eyes open and she was starting to cry.

".....Who are you--?"

Shiro tried her best to shout while falling at a frighteningly high speed, but ended up only murmuring her question. But the boy answered while still smiling like usual.

"Me? About me~ I....live there."

He said that while pointing in the direction of the giant chess pieces near the horizon, which was one of the first things I noticed that was different from our world.

"Hmm, in your world you might call me 'God', right?"

Placing his index finger on his cheek, the self-proclaimed god spoke cutely and full of friendliness.

"This isn't the time for that! We're falling towards the ground at a really fast speed--whoaaah! Shiro!"

"...............................!"

Seeing that, the boy who called himself God spoke to us with a happy tone.

"I look forward to seeing you again. Yes, without a doubt, it won't be long."

And like that, our consciousnesses blacked out.

+Time Skip+

We stopped at a small inn after walking for while. There were a lot of people. There must be an event going on. Everyone seemed to be playing poker.

"We better get someplace to stay...but first we need some currency from this country."

I stroked my chin as I searched for a quick way to make money.

Bingo.

I saw a woman a couple years older than me sitting confidently on a chair. Beside her was a stack of playing cards and a bag of coins.

I started to approach her to try and challenge her to a game.

Before she noticed our presence, another girl wearing a brown cloak dragged a chair and sat in front of her.

"Haven't seen you around here, you new here?"

"Yes, I wanted to have quick game before I go...some place else"

Her voice...its the girl who almost beat us! I wanted to approach her but I remembered how her house was burning down.

Maybe she was saved by Tet and decided to have her play in his 'game'.

I stood back and watched patiently.

"Shiro, watch our opponent...I want to see if she has any weaknesses we can exploit"

Shiro quickly nods as we stood back from their game.

"So, what are you going to bet on?"

The older woman leaned towards the silver haired girl.

"Hmm, if you want to...how about this?"

She held a beautiful silver ring studded with an enormous gem being crowned at its middle.

The elder woman was dazed after seeing such an expensive item.

I already knew how badly that woman will lose.

Her body language says it all.

She's underestimating her opponent. Although, I wouldn't blame her.

That girl looked too innocent to even know what the word 'deceit' means, yet she has already mastered it.

Shiro and I were a couple meters back so I have no idea how she spotted us.

Although she didn't look back. She pretended to stretch her arms but formed a 'W' with it and a number '8'.

'w8'

A message that only developed from Earth. It was no doubt aimed towards us.