Hello for the second time today! This time, we have the first set of friendship events. Hope you all enjoy!

Friendship Events 1

The Spark

I logged in the next day, finding myself in my room despite logging out outside. Arfa-sys wasn't there, apparently wandering around Glocken. I smiled, noticing Kureha, Zeliska and Itsuki was online.

Who should I go and talk to first?

Kureha

I arrived in Solitary Sands, the desert that we had discovered yesterday after coming out of the Cave. The sandstorm was still in effect, making it nearly impossible to see. According to my map, Kureha was just above the exit of the Cave. I used my UFG to make my way up there in no time.

Kureha jumped as I landed, spinning around and aiming her SMG. "Jeez! You could've messaged me, letting me know you were coming to meet me."

I shrugged, joining her in observing the land. "What are you doing?"

"Getting an idea of the area. With this sandstorm though, I can't see a thing." Kureha put a scope she was using back in one of the pouches on her belt. "I can make out a shape in the centre of this storm but I'm having to use the map to find landmarks."

"Cool." I opened up map and began looking.

Kureha immediately was by my side, pointing at the map. "We should be careful if we go through the mountain pass. It'll be like fish in a barrel if someone decides to hide in the mountains. The closest we can get to the centre is this shipyard. According to someone I know, the lighthouse should hold the key to stopping it, but very few people go in there because the boss is annoying."

I closed my map and nodded. "Well, I was hoping to be able to spend some time just being friends in here."

Kureha's eyes widened, pink beginning to appear on her cheeks. "Oh, right." She giggled. "I guess it is rarely just the two of us, with Rei and now Zeliska and Itsuki." She kicked a bunch of sand up, making it join the storm. "It's kind of strange being around two of the strongest players in the game. They seem to be miles ahead of us."

"You're still miles ahead of me." I laughed. "I don't know if I'll ever catch up to you." Kureha rolled her eyes. Her mouth started moving, but the wind suddenly picked up and I missed what she said. "Sorry, I didn't hear that."

"It doesn't matter." Kureha smiled sadly. "I'm going to keep scouting for a little while. If you need me, I'm only a message away."

I nodded, jumping down back towards the Cave exit. It was then that I saw a glint in the sand. I went over to it and picked it up. It was Gold Ore.

A memory suddenly came back to me.

Momiji put out her hand. "Ta-dah!"

The white pearl shone brightly in the sun. She had found it at the beach a few days ago, and had called me to boast. I didn't believe it, mainly because I was jealous that I couldn't go.

"I'm gonna find some gold next and make a necklace out of it!" She wore a grin bigger than I had ever seen on her.

I smirked. "Oh yeah? I bet I find it first." I knew this was impossible task, but I loved to get into little competitions with Momiji.

She pouted. "I'll beat you this time!"

I smiled. It was a memory from 10 years ago. I stored it in my inventory and decided to wait. Surely there had to be a pearl somewhere in this world. It would be a competition 10 years in the making.

Zeliska

I rounded the corner and saw Zeliska in front of a shop that I had never seen before. It had mannequins in the window with various outfits on them. Zeliska seemed not to notice me as I walked towards her. As I got close, Daisy came out of the store, looking rather pleased with herself.

"Master, you already know I was capable of doing this myself. Why did you insist on coming with me?" Daisy asked.

Zeliska just smiled. "Well, there's another sort of danger cuties like you could run into."

"I hope not." I announced myself, making the two jump. "I'd hate for someone to snatch up my Arfa-sys while she's out and about."

"[YN]." Zeliska's face brightened when she saw me.

"Hello." Daisy bowed in greeting.

Zeliska turned to Daisy. "How about you run on ahead to the next store? It will give me chance to talk with [YN]."

"But Master, you just said-"

"It should be fine. Not many players are online."

Daisy sighed. "Very well Master." She walked past us, avoiding looking at me for some reason.

Once she had disappeared, Zeliska hid a laugh behind her hand. "She's very sweet, but a little too helpful sometimes." She let out a yawn. "So what brings you into this part of Glocken [YN]?"

"I saw you were online and thought it might be nice to spend some time with you." I answered honestly. "It's rarely just me and someone else."

Zeliska's eyebrows raised in surprised. "Wow, I never expected you to be so forward." She pouted a little. "There goes my only way of teasing you."

I scratched the back of my head and laughed nervously. "So what are you doing here?" I looked at the shop, seeing it was some kind of outfit store.

"Just something me and Daisy get up to every now and then." Zeliska grabbed my arm and held it against her. "But that's not really important right now. Well, seeming as you want to spend time with me, you can escort me to my next destination."

We began walking through the streets. As Zeliska said, there were few players online, but the ones that were had begun staring at us. I didn't really blame them. Why would the Uncrowned Queen bother with such a new player? In fact… "Why did you ask me to help you? I mean, I died in that boss fight. I was next to useless."

"Oh I don't know about that." Zeliska shook her head, her hair almost hitting me in the face. "Skills and levels are only part of a player's arsenal. I could tell that you were a special player from the moment I saw you. And I might need someone who can help me on a regular basis. You seem to be online every day."

"I made a promise."

"To Kureha?" I nodded. "That poor girl needs to realise that she can't be a mountain by herself. She needs others to support her. So it's really good for her to have you around."

I shrugged. "I think it's just a little daunting to have two players who are so strong around us. Not that I don't like having you around."

Zeliska laughed. "Well, I'm sure you two will catch up soon enough." Daisy came into view outside an accessory shop. Zeliska let go of my arm. "Well, thank you for escorting me [YN]. Be sure to message me if you need me."

"Likewise." I bowed before walking away. I frowned, knowing she was hiding something. The way she was holding my arm was a little too intimate, despite her barely knowing me.

Itsuki

I found Itsuki next to the Governor's Office. He was surrounded by five other players, most of them having female avatars. He seemed to spot me but his eyes darted away straight away. I waited for a minute, before I received a message from him, telling me to meet him on the building overlooking the Glocken. I looked to see which building he meant, and saw it was the one that Tarako's friends had spotted me from. There was a walkway connecting it to the rest of Glocken.

It didn't take long to get there. There wasn't anyone else there, most likely the reason why Itsuki picked it. I sat down on a bench and waited. It didn't take long for him to appear, looking over his shoulder. He let out a sigh and sat down next to me. "I'm surprised you decided to seek me out."

"I'm surprised you wanted to make time for me. You seem to be rather popular." I chuckled.

Itsuki leaned forwards, hands clenched in front of his face. "You know, it's not fun being popular."

"I guess I wouldn't want all that attention." I admitted.

"It's why I spend most of my time in tournaments. You don't need to worry about people wanting to team up with you. I can rely on my guild." He sighed before leaning back again. "Though I guess I could ask you to tag along if you wanted."

"Maybe when I get a bit stronger." I opened my menu and pulled up my status window. "I wouldn't want to weigh you down."

Itsuki smiled. "Levels are only a number." He opened his status window and showed me it. His level was only a few above mine. In fact, if I decided to just grind levels for a day, I could overtake him. "You see? It's about skill. And I can tell that you're already one of the better players in this game. The way you fight is very precise and planned. And that gadget of yours gives you an advantage."

"It's only because of friends like you that I do so well." I waved his praise off, knowing that he was exaggerating. His smile faded once I finished speaking. "Did I say something wrong?"

Itsuki shook his head. "Sorry. I don't have many people to call a friend. Even less who would call me one." He opened his inventory and materialised a gun. A pistol with a black casing, a comfortable grip with a black star symbol on the bottom of the grip. "Here." He pushed it towards me. "It's not anything special. It's my first weapon that dropped from a boss. I've kept it for sentimental reasons."

I picked it up, feeling it in my hand. "I couldn't just take it for free."

"Yes you can." Itsuki's voice sounded commanding for a second. "Trust me. You accepting this gift means a lot more than anything you could give to me in return. So please, take it."

I claimed it, making sure to lock it so I couldn't sell or discard it. He was right. It wasn't anything special in terms of stats or power, just a little better than the ray gun that everyone was supposed to get. But it was special to him. "Thank you. I'll keep it safe."

Itsuki nodded. "Listen, I might be interested in exploring this new area. Would it be okay if I joined you?"

"Of course."

He gave a genuine smile. His eyes brightened up and everything. "Thanks. I'll be in touch." He stood up and began walking back down towards the Governor's Office.

I materialised the gun again and examined it more closely. It was a nice looking gun. Something about the black star seemed familiar though.

Arfa-sys

"Master!"

The familiar voice came from behind me. Her happiness was contagious, making me feel better just from hearing her. I turned to see Arfa-sys running towards me. "I was just about to come find where you had gotten to."

"I need to show you something!" She began dragging me towards home. Instead of going inside, she dragged me up a staircase that was right next to the entrance. Over another bridge was a man standing there, a helmet covering his face. He was obviously an NPC, because he didn't react when he came closer. "This strange man has a whole bunch of materials for credits."

I sighed. "How did you even find this guy?"

"Just wandering around." Arfa-sys scratched the back of her head, not convincing me in the slightest. I raised an eyebrow and she caved in. "Bazalt Joe showed me. He said it was for beating him."

"Well, at least he kept his promise." I looked at the NPC. "It's certainly a good place to put this guy. He's very out of the way."

"There's also a dungeon down there Master!" Arfa-sys pointed across the bridge to an opening. It looked like a staircase lead down to somewhere. "But the enemies are extremely difficult. I recommend getting stronger before tackling it."

"Right." I took a mental note of the location of both things Arfa-sys had shown me. "Nice work." I patted her head. She blushed before giggling to herself. "So what else have you been doing?"

"Oh, I ran into Kirito at the arcade."

I raised an eyebrow, worried. "What were you doing there?"

"I was exploring…and I liked the claw game." She admitted sheepishly.

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "Anything else."

Arfa-sys's eyes lit up. "Oh yes Master! Have you heard about Squad Jam?"

These are the only friendship events which are going to have their placement set in stone. These happen just after the OC and his group clear the Remnant Wastelands. Other friendship events will be uploaded after an area has been clear, but they can happen before or after unless a character appears in them that couldn't appear beforehand.

Due to the way I've set up the Resurrection Kit, I will be doing a side story focused on Squad Jam. This will happen in the main story, but as it's not part of it, I will label it as a side story. This will happen just before the end of Solitary Sands, so look forward to it.

The amount of friendship events will vary per character. Here's my plan:
3 for Kureha
3 for Zeliska
2 for Arfa-sys
2 for Itsuki
1 for Kirito
I want to not have character events that aren't really needed. Like with Leafa's for example. The OC taking her for a flight makes sense for her character, but doesn't when it doesn't develop anything with either character.

The next batch will be completed once we reach the end of Solitary Sands. I want to add a lot of character moments, as in terms of story, not a lot happens during this part of the game. There's a reason I've added in a sandstorm and Squad Jam.

Chapter 11 will be underway soon. In the meantime, you can always check out my other fanfiction, Alicization Nightshade. It's a crossover between my own series and SAO. I hope you'll like it as much as you all seem to like this one.

In the meantime, thank you all for 2,000 views. It really means a lot to me. Stay Cool