Chapter 4: Work to Come

A/N: Hey, all! Hopefully you enjoyed my last chapter. Now, I know what you may be thinking: "Wasn't your chapter just a very long description of anime events?" (If not, then I thank you for having that much faith in my work!) For those of you who think this, you may actually be right. However, as I mentioned in my last chapter's footnote, I felt that the events of the anime well-suited my story and was necessary to foreshadow future events. However, as the plot progresses, you can be sure that the content will not be based on anime events. So thank you all for the views, and as always, leave a like and favorite as you see fit and drop a quick comment as well. Enjoy!

"Umm, okay Zekken, if that is your official name." Asuna, the blue haired Undine said.

"Nah, that's just the name people here gave me. Call me Yuuki. Yuuki Konno," replied Yuuki with a smile. Hopefully, she'll understand our predicament and help us.

"Ok, Yuuki, lead the way," said Asuna, the nervousness in her voice melting away with every word. Yuuki just gave another smile and asked her to follow her lead. In an hour or so, they met up with the rest of the guild down at their usual hangout.

"So, what are all your names?" Asuna asked.

"Ok, so from left to right we have Nori, Talken, Tecchi, Jun, and my second in command Siune," Yuuki explained. They all introduced themselves and gradually Asuna began to like them. She began to see that these were merely a group of kids with a common goal in mind.

"Yeah, and about our goal,' began Yuuki, "We want to clear a floor boss… just with us 7…" she explained a little nervously.

"HUUUUHH?!" Asuna gasped, in utter shock at the revelation. "Why would you want to do a thing like that!?" the Undine asked, her tone suggesting disbelief.

"Well, you see…" Siune began, we wat to sort of make an impression in this world, because by the time spring comes around, the guild will be disbanded." Nobody noticed that in the background, Yuuki grasped the cup she was holding just a little bit tighter. Yeah, that's because of me, Yuuki thought, I'm the reason we might disband. The doctor has only given her the first dose (or maybe he gave her the second right now? Yuuki wasn't sure about the schedule anymore.), and he didn't mention that it would completely help.

Asuna thought for a second, a look of uncertainty in her face, "Hmmm…" she began, "alright, I'll help you all out. It seems like fun, and a good challenge. Although, we may want to enlist some outside help for this quest." Upon hearing that, Yuuki seemed to get out of her stupor and looked up. Did she really just say that, after all we told her, Yuuki wondered, astonished. Everyone else had thought pretty much the same thing, looks of astonishment and anger painted on their faces.

"Now, I know what you're thinking, and I know you guys want all your names on the stone," the group calmed down a little upon hearing that, "but I think we may need some assistance outside of our little party in order to handle the boss. Trust me, they won't be listed on the stone if they aren't even in our party. I'll tell them that they can't be grouped in a party, so you can be the sole names on the stone." The group seemed to be relieved at the thought of not risking their names off the stone. Asuna too seemed to have relieved a little, as the reaction that the group gave her was a bit of a surprise to her. They aren't messing around, she thought, they really want to do this by themselves. Once they got a time and place to meet for the boss raid, the gang split up and logged out.

Dear Yuuki,

I know that you dived in earlier and decided to take the opportunity to give you the second dose of medicine. We also took a blood sample to analyze the effects of the medication on your blood stream. We'll come by tomorrow with the results of the tests. We would just monitor that stuff through the screens already in your room, but we need to make some more traditional tests that require some lab work. Rest up, and we'll talk about the results soon.

Signed,

Dr. Francis Lawrence

When Yuuki woke up in the hospital, she saw a note on the bedside table. It was from the doctor. It read:

Well, one thing is for sure, he sure is optimistic, Yuuki thought. She had to admit, there was still some doubt that this supposed cure would help, but a larger part of her hoped that it would be the one that would help her fight it. The thought suddenly calmed her a little, and she wondered how she would break the REAL reason to the guild's disbanding to her new companion Asuna. Maybe she will be the only other person outside our group to understand, she mused. As the light in the room that comes from the window dropped, Yuuki suddenly began to grow tired. She glanced at one of the monitors to find that it was near 9 in the evening. Why am I getting tired now? I've usually dived for longer, was all Yuuki could muster, before she was brought to a deep slumber, happy to have found the person that can help her achieve her dying wish.

P.S.: So anyway, what did u think? I know this chapter is rather short, but I wanted to add this little bit so we can see what Yuuki and her guild felt about their wish. Expect another short chapter, as I feel like these little details are severely needed before the main action scenes. As always, feel free to favorite or follow as you see fit, and leave a review regarding your feelings to this story, as well as any content that you may want to see in the story, and I will see you all in the next one! :)