Life Is But A Game

Author's Notes: Firstly, I do not own any of the characters in this fanfiction. They belong to Konami's Genso Suikoden 2. Everything in this fanfic belongs to the game. I just elaborate on it...

Here's a fic on how hard it is to be a Suikoden hero. Since McDohl has disappeared somewhere, I decided to write on Suikoden 2. This shows the different scenarios in the hero's' journey and he had to deal with it. There may be some Out-Of-Characterness. Let me know if I should continue...Btw, the Hero's name here is Riou.

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Adjusting his tonfa, Riou set out to Muse with Jowy and his new friend, Pilika. She was a sweet kid, very energetic and spontaneous too. However, bringing her along may not be a smart choice, as there is always danger out there in the world map. Jowy did not seem to worry though. Off they went, out into the world map where Riou looked the biggest. Suddenly a loud suspense sound appeared and Riou was in his battle pose. Jowy was standing next to him with his staff and...where was Pilika? It seemed Jowy read his thought and said,

"Don't worry, Riou. She would be safe up there."

Up...there? Riou turned at the direction Jowy was pointing and there she was, sitting high up on a tree branch, cheering them up. How Pilika ended up there was beyond anyone's imagination, but what was worse was the enemy they faced.

There was only one enemy and it squawked angrily. It was a fat, yellow bird with tiny wings. It's amazing how it could even float. Apparently, the tree Pilika landed on was its nest, so now it was fighting them. There seriously was no reason to fight, but hey, the boys do need the extra EXP.

Jowy attacked first, thinking there was no need for a Unite to defeat this thing. Riou attacked next, striking twice with his tonfa. Amazingly, anger could make one's defense higher. The bird was weakened, but not dead, so it cried out and lunged at Riou. He could not believe it. That heavy ball of feathers actually took 5 of his HP. This was getting ridiculous. Impatient, Jowy prepared for Unite. As they circled around the bird, Riou asked Jowy why they were doing so.

"Well, technical-wise, this is to confuse the enemy before we attack together, but I think it's just to make this technique look cool."

This time, the bird disappeared in mid-air and Riou counted the EXP he gained. A certain screen usually appear with the party's picture and attributes after every battle, followed by the amount of potch they earned. Pilika was back at Jowy's side and once again, Riou's body enlarged as he walked around the world map. Not five steps later, they entered another battle zone. Riou, ready for battle, realized their enemies were friends of the bird they just killed.

This...is going to be a long game...

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It was a beautiful morning, or at least, the name of the BG music said so. Riou woke up to begin another day. His castle has grown as he recruited more people, more weird people, if he might add. He could hear the sounds of people buzzing through the small shopping area and people training in the dojo. He was rather amazed at the buildings in his castle. It was like a tiny town already. There was a restaurant, dojo, library, theatre, public bath, cemetery, dock, dungeon, farm, lake, meeting hall and lots more. He could not help but feel a sense of pride. All these people came here to fight with him and they respected him. Deep down, he felt miserable as every day he grew nearer to fighting his own best friend. But he was glad he was able to help many find a home, save a few people or...beings, and that made this cause seem worthwhile.

Riou went down the stairs to the next level. Though they had an elevator, it was really much faster by stairs. Stopping by the Suggestion Box, Riou had the duty of checking for mail every morning. Sometimes he would reply them, but most of the time, the letters would be senseless. Today there were four letters in the mailbox. Riou took the patience to read each one though he was preparing for the worst.

Title: HE HE HE!!

This is a cursed letter. If you don't pass it on to 5 more people, you'll be cursed. Have a nice day.

Sid

...He put a chain letter in the Suggestion Box? Thought Riou as he placed the letter aside. He had always thought Sid was a spooky man, so he had Richmond investigate him. The results were not very helpful, but at least they knew Sid was not an enemy.

Title: OKAY, HOW ABOUT THIS?

I'm going to try a more mature approach. How's this sound: "Ciao, Flik. How ARE you? I'm laying in bed in my pajamas…"

From Nina

Ugh...Riou tossed the letter on top of Sid's as though it was on fire. He did not need to finish reading the letter, as he knew what it was about. This was not the first time Nina asked for advice on how to seduce Flik. Perhaps he should tell Nina never to go near the box again. Hunting Flik down did not affect Riou, but this, this was getting out of hand. Indeed, Riou had heard from many that Flik is handsome and all, but Riou also knew Flik's love story from Viktor. Nina had no chance, not even ten years later! Pitying Flik, Riou recalled the times when Flik would disguise himself as an old man, hid in all corners of the castle and even stayed a whole night in the men's bathroom to escape Nina. It would seem quite cute if she was not so annoying.

Title: MU-MU!!

MUMUMU? Mu-Mu, Mu!!! MUMUMU.....

... Placing the letter with the rest, Riou let out a deep sigh. Was it necessary to write if no one could understand? Was it necessary to read these mails every day? Why did he recruit all these...these beings in the first place?! Of course, to gather all 108 Stars Of Destiny and thus, being able to defeat Highland. But why? Why could he not just fight Jowy and get it over with? Being a hero was a noble thing, but being a leader of this castle was almost impossible! Crying internally, Riou was afraid to open the last letter.

Title: MY SECOND GREAT LETTER

The castle is too hot. Also there are too many people. Why don't you ask some of the less important people to leave?

Zamza

Perhaps you should leave, Zamza... Riou was in the brink of crushing the letter. Each time he met Zamza one of his hair would turn white. At first Zamza proved to be quite powerful, but his boasting was even more powerful. The instant a magic wielder appeared, Riou put him in the party, even if that person is Luc. No one could stand him. There was once when Riou saw him eating alone, he approached Zamza out of pity. However, Zamza had not changed. Instead, he went furious that Riou disturbed his meal and telling him off for letting his powers go to waste.

It's going to be a long day...

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