AN: I'm so sorry, but I'm going to hold off Luna's appearance. 'Meetings and Reunions' may continue on for a while (maybe until part 5?)
This chapter is quite short… I'm suffering from jetlag and writer's block… GREAT! (Not) I'm thinking of starting a new story... starring my beloved Kirito of course! A crossover maybe…
Reki Kawahara: KIRITO IS MINE!
Me: Why must you do this to me?! *Runs off to cry in corner*
Chapter 9-Meetings and Reunions (2)
As soon as the wind died down, the mist started lifting, and before long, it was clear enough to see more than ten metres around them. Kirito glanced at the player next to him and wondered if he should say something; the silence was getting awkward. Luckily, not everyone had the same communication skills as Kirito and he did not need to worry about that problem.
'Hi… Um… I'm Rook. Nice to meet you.'
'I'm Kirito.' Kirito answered, secretly relieved.
'So, uh… Do you have any idea what just happened?' Despite the man's uncertain words, he held himself confidently. His posture seemed relaxed, though if you looked closely, you would see that his muscles were tense.
'Yeah. That girl took my egg.'
'Oh'
'…'
Pity the one Rook was talking to was Kirito, for the silence settled in once again as the mist continued to curl back towards the sky. The two stood there, each wondering what they were supposed to do in such a situation. It was night, after all. Although both were tempted to just leave, neither knew of the other's capabilities. From the weapons and equipment, it was safe to assume they were both above average players. But Kirito, not wanting to attract attention, hadn't equipped his best. Rook guessed that the other was of lower level than he, and therefore it wasn't a good thing for him to go alone. Kirito on the other hand, was busy trying to decide the most polite way of leaving since, he reasoned, if a player was in the woods, they wouldn't have gone unprepared, right?
Unluckily, or luckily, a gorilla mob growled from behind them, rousing them from their thoughts. Kirito's hand automatically went to the hilt of his sword and quickly drew it when he saw the threat.
'The Gellows, one of the largest beasts that inhabit the fourth floor. Most common at night when there is no wind. Known for their loud voice and inability to remain discreet.'Rook said, loudly enough for Kirito to hear.
The said player smiled. 'Well, they certainly gave their position away.' He caught some movement from trees to his left. 'Seems like we have other company.' A flurry of wings later, he saw that this time it was a group of bats. Bloodsucking ones. The bats were healer beasts, but the vicious kind. He heard Rook sigh from next to him.
'Shit. Those are a pain.'
'…
'Yeah, they are.' Kirito agreed, a relaxed grip on his sword as the first of the gorillas charged, or rather, knuckle-walked, towards him. From the corner of his vision, he saw Rook tense his shoulders and roll them back a bit, as if there were a weapon on his back, and then turned back to eye the approaching monster. Despite its size, it moved quite quickly and was already within his thrust range. Kirito stepped away from the tree behind him, knowing that otherwise he would be disadvantaged, and activated a sword skill. The gorilla altered its course to face him and lifted its hands from the ground, charging only with its feet. Fist met blade. He only met little resistance as his sword cut into the beast's tough flesh and split open its arm up to the elbows. It yelped in pain, causing Kirito to narrow his eyes slightly at the screechy noise. Gunshots sounded from behind him, accurately hitting their flying targets. It was all he had time to notice in his brief moment of recovery before he attacked again, this time at a much faster pace, darting to and fro, dealing blows at the confused monsters. Occasionally, he would flick a knife towards the ones further away before ducking a punch and countering with a jab of his own. Soon, the air was filled with the sounds of shattering as the gorillas died one after one.
Rook stared at the swordsman, his eyes barely following the dark shape flitting through the approaching mob and marvelling at his graceful movements. Unfortunately, the bats decided that they would interrupt him by trying to sink their teeth into his arm. Irritated, he pulled a dagger from the folds of his jacket and, with one smooth movement, sliced through their fragile wings, causing several to fall to the ground. Smiling grimly, he stomped on the one nearest to his foot and twirled his gun in his hand before picking out the rude bats one by one. They dropped like apples from a tree and, injured, were taken out pretty quickly. He was so into it that he forgot the reason that the species was such a pain–they travelled in big groups. Big as in ENORMOUS. As if on cue, a buzzing noise sounded from several metres before him. He looked up, fearing the worst. There were so many that he couldn't see into the trees. Cursing under his breath, he used up his remaining bullets quickly before unhooking an (extremely expensive) grenade from his belt. As he touched it, a small window appeared on its side with 'activate' and the number '10' on it. He pressed the screen with his thumb before bringing his arm back in a practised motion. As the grenade glowed green, he bent his arm and flung it at the enemy. He didn't look happy when it exploded in the centre of the mass, scattering and shattering the mob of attackers.
My poor poor col…
Kirito spun around in time for the blast in the centre of the group of bats, causing dust to fly into his eyes. Blinking rapidly, he almost blindly (Kirito would never do anything blindly) threw a few knives at the less fazed beasts before dashing forward and dispatching more of them with his sword. The bats managed to nip at his skin and though his Battle Healing almost completely negated his loss of HP, the numbness from his wounds was uncomfortable. He concealed a sigh of relief when the last of the mob shattered, ghostly shards passing through his body. He turned slightly and glanced at the player behind him. Rook was reloading his pistol. His gaze continued around the trees, eyes straining a little in the darkness. The vegetation was quite far apart from each other and he was grateful for the silvery light the virtual moon provided. All was still and silent except for the scuttling of the occasional harmless squirrel wandering around after their curfew.
'I think we should go.' Kirito said softly.
'Yeah, we should.' Rook agreed, sheathing his gun and crossing his arms. 'It's getting cold too.'
As if by some hidden signal, both players turned and walked back to the shortest track that would lead them from the dark woods.
11th January 2023, 02:30
Darers Dome, Fourth Floor, Haze
Asuna fingered the pistol on her lap, tracing the smooth barrel with her finger. She was sitting on the steps leading to a huge cathedral, staring intently at her Glock 19. Old, but well, who cares? It was a beautiful thing; small but comfortably heavy. Her hands fit perfectly on the grip, fingers sliding into the shallow grooves. She'd decided with the standard magazine of 15 bullets, trusting herself for making the right choice. The metal felt cold in her hands, a reminder to her that she was playing a Death Game; that she couldn't afford any sort of mistake because the world was real, at least to the players. It wasn't a terrible nightmare, nor a strange hallucination; they were IN THE GAME, and for all she cared, nothing was really 'fake' anymore. A knife could kill her here as well as any knife would in the real world. A few months ago, if someone had told her she would be buying a gun and going off to kill some random leopard man or hippo-like monster, she would probably have laughed and told the person than he or she was crazy and think of it as a stupid joke.
Everything was safe back then.
She slid her hand over the gun, touching the trigger softly. She also had mixed feelings about the game. If she hadn't started playing BTO that day… She drew a sharp intake of breath and shook her head vigorously.
How had admiring her gun turned into a moping session?
Kirito dragged his feet along the road. Yes, THE Kirito was dragging his feet along the road. But at the moment, he couldn't care less. His lack of sleep was turning him insomniac and he had used up most of his reserve of strength on the fourth floor earlier. The most important thing at the moment was to find an inn… tavern…whatever… It could be a haystack for all he cared. Or maybe not. He remembered there was one somewhere around here (Not the haystack; an inn)… He glanced around the empty streets and shops, trying to see the tell-tale lights from one of them, trying to hear something vaguely resembling a laugh of players drinking away. He sighed as he met no such luck. Fate seemed intent on playing against him these days.
First I lose the egg… and now this? Kirito thought incredulously. He swore that all the taverns in his vicinity must have moved away to some distant faraway land... He quickened his pace, although he knew his speed would slow again after a while. He glanced back at his map. None of the inns opened by NPCs were in the area and most player-opened ones hadn't had a chance to put their location on the map yet… especially on the fifth floor. Maybe he should have stayed on the floor above after all? But it was easier to get up and then go straight to training…
Argh…
His head was pounding numbly. The game didn't have the 'pain' feature otherwise it wouldn't have passed the tests before it was released and people wouldn't have bought it, but that didn't prevent people from feeling nauseous or dizzy, which is what Kirito felt now. He was relieved that it was winter, for he felt sure he would faint if it had been the middle of the year, if fainting was possible in BTO. He supposed it was since you could sleep and that was almost the same thing…
But that wasn't the point. The point was that Kirito's head was feeling real bad and he needed to get to an inn–fast, and then get the sleep he deserved. He made the nearest inn his destination and plodded towards it, a sour look on his face.
Reviews:
xbamsod: Haha I agree… Actually I was debating with myself whether I should get make the girl leave the egg there or for her to take it away…and as you can see, I ended up with the latter… But I will definitely (somehow) manipulate the story to make it work :)
Kojiro Kun: I enjoyed writing the egg interaction though I was afraid that I was getting carried away =_= for I seem to do that a lot… As for the ideas… haha…you can wait and see :)
MrSnowmizer: Thank you for the nice comment! I truly didn't think Luna was going to be such a popular character -.-… Actually, I had planned a completely different scene but then I changed it to lead up to what you guys like :) Though I guess it doesn't really change the main plot much…
DaughteroftheRedKing: Hahahaha *Shifty look* shhhhhh…
jacksonpotterridefan101: *Ducks flying object* I'm SOWEEEE!
Garm: Thanks! And here it is :)
Sniper of Pucca: Yes it is indeed about time for Kirito to get his companion back…
Sniper of Puca: Do you have an account in fanfic? I will PM you about the OC if you do… But I can't let the reviews section be longer than the story…
AN: I have decided to respond to reviews by PM after all… Readers have to wait too long for responses otherwise…
Anyway, R&R please!