Author's Note
This chapter is a bit short, at least compared to what I've been putting out recently. Once I got close to the end, I hit a slump of sorts. Everything I wrote after a certain point degenerated further and further, so I decided to make a stopping point, and it ended at 2500 words.
So, Kiriko gets some new gear in this chapter to replace her starter gear. Gonna have some fun with that, because I totally feel like making Kiriko wear something she's uncomfortable in. Huzzah for the writer's sort of pervy whims!
Anyway, I don't have much to say, so I'll let you read for now.
ALfheim Online: Path to Recollection
Chapter Seven: New Clothes Beat All
I took a deep breath. The danger of a panic attack happening had been reduced to nothing, now I just had normal nerves to calm. I spoke once I gathered the strength to do so. "Thanks… both of you."
Probably not the most eloquent of responses to such a heartfelt statement as, 'I'll always be here for you,' but it was all I could manage at the time. After regaining my nerves, I knocked on the door myself with my free hand, and Argo slowly let go of my other one.
Just as her hand returned to her own side, the door opened, revealing a tall, blonde woman with red-dyed highlights and a considerable amount of makeup for an adventure VRMMO title. She wore a red leather coat with black trim and white fur lining over some basic leather armor that looked to be of the highest quality.
She took one look at the both of us, and her whole demeanor changed. She had initially opened the door with little attempt to hide her disinterest, the look of not wanting to deal with it as plain as day on her face. But the moment she saw who her customers were, that whole notion shattered, and she became a well of bubbly smiles, this time not bothering to hide her complete glee. Finally, after two seconds of sizing us up with an unbridled expression of pure joy, she spoke in a light, airy voice that reminded me of wind chimes.
"Why, Argo, it's been months! And look at who you've brought! I had no idea my most interesting customer in GGO even played this game!"
Before I even had a chance to freak out, I felt a hand grasp my right gently and knew that Argo took it again. Her calming effect (I swear, she must have had a calming AoE skill or something) took its hold on me, and I began to speak.
"I just started playing recently, so I've been having Argo show me around," I elaborated on the situation without going into sensitive topics, something I had grown quite accustomed to doing in the past year. "She said I should get some lightweight battle equipment today, so here we are."
"Well, you've come to the right place!" the wind chime-like voice of the blonde shopkeeper rang out loud and clear – it looked like I needn't have worried at all about being accepted, just as Argo had said. "You're always welcome here!"
As we were quickly ushered into the shop itself, Argo decided to speak up, all the while still holding my hand gently. "Thanks a million, Ashley," she said as we walked with the woman. The shopkeeper herself probably didn't realize it, but that line was actually directed at me. Argo intentionally mentioned the blonde's apparent name so that I'd be able to better play along as if I knew her. "So, I was thinking another Devil Draco's leather set would suit – oh, right. Not in ALO."
This was the first time I'd heard anything from Argo that wasn't accurate. She seemed to be the informant type player, rather than a battler, and she'd never said anything about the game that she had to retract for any reason. She must have been talking about what I last wore in GGO, though it was only a hunch.
"Not to worry, Argo," Ashley spared my companion a glance as she led us to an area that looked suspiciously like a dressing room. "There happens to be an equivalent monster in this game, though I have other ideas for what to use. I'm assuming you still want dark colors, no?"
The last question was more or less directed at me. I just nodded dumbly in response, internally wondering just how long I'd liked black clothing for. Obviously, since GGO, if not before it, but I couldn't be sure of exactly when. Then again, my first clothing in my GGO memories from the fragments were a dark gray, rather than black, so it must have started after GGO began its official service.
"Okay then, we'll use some «Phantasmal Lord's Leather» for the main parts, «Hardened Quicksilver» for the trim, and an «Ares Crown» for the metal parts," the master tailor listed off a bunch of really rare-sounding materials without batting an eyelash. Did she work with that kind of stuff for everyone? And if so, how did she even get it all?
Just in case this was a normal thing for her, I decided to just play along without acting as surprised as I felt. However, before I spoke, Argo beat me to it, revealing just how badly I would have screwed up if I followed my own plan.
"«Phantasmal Lord's Leather»?!" she exclaimed, showing the most emotion I had seen from her since we first battled. "But that leather is supposed to be incredibly rare and imbued with unique magic that changes with each harvest from the boss you get it from! How did you even get that?!"
"A really strong Salamander that used a katana brought it in for me the other day," she responded to Argo's shock with a cool demeanor that made her seem like the voice of reason in this picture. "He said he couldn't use it for anything, so he'd give it to the only tailor he knew of who would be skilled enough to sew with it."
The look in Ashley's eyes told a slightly different story – rather, the look said that that wasn't all to the story she told us. But she didn't seem to want to mention the rest, so neither Argo nor myself decided to pry.
The result, rather predictably, was an awkward silence. The room fell quiet as Argo seemed to be calculating just how much money's worth of materials would be going into my new outfit, and I myself began to wonder about the full story.
"Okay then…" I decided that the silence had to be broken one way or another. If this did it, then I didn't mind a slight subject change. "If you're okay with using such rare materials on me, I won't object."
"Great!" and with that call, the creation of my new gear began.
"I don't know about this…" rather predictably, these were my first words on my new ensemble. In the dressing room, I stood as I tried it on, but looking at it in the mirror across from me only solidified my opinion: it was too skimpy. "The skirt is way too short. It barely even goes halfway past my thighs…"
"You always have the same complaints, don't you?" came Ashley's wind chime voice from the other side of the closed door. She completely dismissed my problem and presented me with a brand new one to think about. "Don't get so worked up about it. In a game where flying in the air with your body is the main form of transportation, there's no way to avoid flashing people at some point. You'll just have to get used to it, dear."
Of course, I hadn't once thought about that before then, and it made my face's color spontaneously combust just to think about it. After all, whenever we flew, Argo was always right behind me, rather than next to me. Did that mean she had full view of my… I can't say it… when we traveled?
Rather predictably, the next thing to be spoken aloud indirectly confirmed my suspicions. Argo gave herself away with this line: "Ooh, you put her in a mini-skirt? I want to see! I definitely gotta see this!"
I didn't know whether I wanted to go out there and slap her or not, because if I did, I'd give her exactly what she wanted right before I hit her. So instead, I settled for a warning. "Argo! You will never fly behind me again!"
"Aw, come on!" and there went the direct confirmation of what I had feared and suspected.
"Never again!"
Although I complained about the skirt, it wasn't the only thing that needed to be mentioned. The black shirt under my matching cargo jacket was of the strapless variety, showing off the straps of my black bra to everyone if I didn't wear my jacket. The shirt clung to my figure low enough that it actually left a medium degree of cleavage visible, even with the metal breast plate I wore in between the shirt and jacket.
The gleaming silver breast plate was actually the biggest piece of metal in my new ensemble. My new combat boots had metal accents as well that shined the same silver color, and my jacket had a matching silver zipper, along with silver trim on the ends of the sleeves and the bottom of the torso.
Combined with the black mini-skirt, this made the most revealing outfit I had ever worn. I would have flat-out rejected everything if it weren't for the amazing stats and effects in each individual item.
For example, the shirt and jacket, both made from the «Phantasmal Lord's Leather», each had an additional special effect of «Auto Evade chance +25%», which both stacked to create a chance of 50% for attacks to phase right through me. Combine that with good defense stats, a high bonus to Strength, and even a high bonus to Agility, and they were top tier for a fast, offensively-styled player such as myself.
The breast plate, made from the «Crown of Ares», gave both debuff protection and a boost to both defense and raw attack power, plus a high boost to Strength. Additionally, the «Hardened Quicksilver» used for the trim and accents of almost every part of my ensemble gave a boost to Agility on everything it was used for.
The fingerless, black leather gloves that were thrown in at the last minute were made from the leather of a demonic mob that could wield two swords at once. Thus, having gloves made from such a dexterous opponent's materials actually gave a solidly high boost to Dexterity, which helped with flight control at high speeds.
And finally, my black combat boots with metal accents that had wing designs engraved in them gave a decent boost to defense, but their main asset was actually a special effect of «Flying Speed +20%», though the boost to Agility also helped assert their worth.
Unfortunately, I probably couldn't get better equipment for myself anywhere. Which meant that I would just have to deal with the fact that the aesthetics were way too revealing for my tastes.
But the mini-skirt didn't really do much other than give a decent boost to defense. That's why, out of everything I could've picked to complain about, I chose the least useful piece of equipment, which happened to be the skirt.
After about three minutes overall of hiding myself, I decided I couldn't just stay in the dressing room forever. Argo had been getting impatient, and I still had to pay the one who made the clothes for me.
Finally, I opened the door to the dressing room and stepped out, pulling my jacket tighter over my revealing shirt and breast plate. In the next three seconds both of them reacted on polar opposite ends of the spectrum.
"Why, you look gorgeous!" came Ashley's reassurance, though it didn't help ease my anxiety much. "You still have that natural beauty that's so hard to come by these days!"
However, the seamstress and metal-worker's reaction had nothing on Argo's. The whisker-cheeked Cait Sith's ears twitched and her tail went high into the air as her visage turned completely mesmerized. She even drooled a bit, embarrassingly enough, and suddenly I felt like her gaze wasn't just one of enthrallment – it had a hint of hunger to it as well.
Frankly, it unsettled me a bit. This complete change in demeanor was unnerving, even though I had a good idea of why it came about. After all, she said she loved the old me, and Shino said we had once been lovers. Well, even if my personality had changed after my amnesia, my body in this world was the exact same body that she had been attracted to. So even if the emotional attraction was gone, the physical attraction was likely still there on some level for Argo.
It wasn't as if Argo herself was particularly unattractive. Far from it, in fact; she had a catlike cuteness and mischievous nature that only intensified with the ears and tail. She may have had the moniker of the «Rat» in GGO, but here, she seemed much, much more like a playful, adorable cat.
Although I couldn't deny that I was attracted to Argo to some degree, it still unnerved me to see her have such a hungry, almost lustful gaze when looking at me. I didn't know whether it was something to get mad about, something to be flattered about, or something incredibly embarrassing. Rather than calming, the effect she usually had on me, this kind of attitude made my heart race and my face heat up.
"Argo…" I decided to mask my insecurity about this revelation by teasing her about it. "I know you're ogling me right now. The drool is a dead giveaway."
That did the trick, and she looked away, a furious red color decorating her whiskered cheeks. "I-it's not right to have you teasing me…" she mumbled as she continued averting her eyes.
I ignored her flustered response for the moment as I turned to Ashley, giving her a wary look. This would probably cost a lot. "How much do I owe you?"
"Oh, don't worry about it!" she replied instantly, startling me a bit with her warm smile. "Consider it a 'welcome to ALO' gift. After all, I'm sure you'll be back eventually for more anyway."
I didn't want to admit it, but she was definitely right. If I ever needed better equipment for whatever reason, I'd definitely come to her for it. The stats were top tier, even if the actual appearance seemed skimpy.
"Well then, thanks," I told her, extending a hand. She took it, and we shook for a moment before letting go. I then turned to Argo, who had more or less calmed down by then. "Well, where are we headed next, tour guide?"
My Cait Sith companion's ears twitched, and she put a hand to her chin. "Before you go to the Cait Sith capital, we need to get you a new weapon. There's a master blacksmith that lives here, in another part of town, so we'll do that here."
"Gotcha," I replied, before turning back to Ashley. "Well, we're off. Thanks again for the new gear."
"Don't mention it, dears," the blonde tailor told us with a wave. "And Kiriko, Argo."
We both looked at her, wondering what she would say. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but before long, she gave us a warm smile, and said the boldest thing she'd said all day. And considering her personality, that was saying something.
"I'm glad you two are a together again. You make a better couple than Kiriko and the blue-haired girl."
Blue-haired girl? Just how many people have I gone out with?!
Author's Note
Kiriko's last mental commentary makes perfect sense if you think about it. She hasn't seen Sinon's game avatar yet, nor has she obtained the memory fragment for Sinon, so she doesn't know that the sniper dyed her hair blue in-game. Thus, she now thinks she's dated three people pre-amnesia, since Sinon in real life has blackish hair.
Anyway, hip, hip, hooray for overpowered skimpy equipment! Kiriko has a half chance of attacks phasing through her body even if she doesn't dodge. That's some OP bullshit right there, but I like to call it endgame equipment. The irony of it is that the amount of skin that shows in her new outfit would make you wonder how it classified as defensive equipment in the first place.
Anyway, I think the next thing to get an update will be GGO SW TB, since that's the only one of the quadrilogy of Swordswoman fanfics (there is an unpublished fic that takes place between TB and this one that will explain Kiriko's memory loss and Sugou's lack of involvement in ALO) that hasn't updated in the past few days. Though it might be a new story entirely, which I'll explain below.
See, recently, I got this thought in my head. Shoot to Thrill, Swing to Kill really had terrible pacing for the development of relationships. Seriously, everything moved way too fast in the first several chapters. They go from perfect strangers to close friends in just two freaking days. Not realistic at all, though the problem sort of rectified in later chapters. Sort of.
So I thought of trying to rewrite it, but with a more realistic flow for the development of Kimiko and Shino's relationship. I'm still toying around with how I'd do it, so I'm not sure if it'll get published anytime soon, but it's a possibility that I might do it in the near future. If I do, the rewrite would contain both Shoot to Thrill and Forgive Minus Forget Equals Love, because both stories are part of the same plot, so it would make sense for the rewrite to include both.
So yeah, that might come out soon, too. Just depends on if I can get myself to reread Shoot to Thrill enough to rewrite it anytime soon.
Well, that's enough rambling. This note is getting too long. I'll just let you go for now.
See you next chapter!
