I'm vaguely aware of what happened after I passed out. I was beaten, likely by guards whom friends I incapacitated. I was dragged along down some stairs, and tossed into what I assume is a cell. I spent the past hour, hearing someone cry.
"Ugh..." I crawl over towards the nearest wall, and struggle up to my feet, still a little shaky from the poison. "That still taste like shit..." I mutter. I look around, and I see that I am alone in my cell. I see across from mine, IF curled up with a tear-stricken face. I see Neptune, out cold, probably feeling the effects of the poison. I see that the bars that are separating us are just normal old metal. Though I was still a bit too weak from the poison.
'Well, only one way to fix that.' I walk towards the bucket that they were nice enough to provide. I pick it up, which by the way it smells like shit, and throw up. Not exactly the most pleasant way to get rid of something, but definitely the most effective.
"Damnit! Let. Me. Out!" I hear Ryouichi, mashing away at the bars. Unfortunately for him and Erica, they sound like they are making zero progress. After most of the poison is gone, I set the bucket down. I also see my suit.
It's disheveled, but that is a major understatement. It would be a pure red suit, had it not been for the under-shirt I had worn. There are no tears, as I used a little spell on it. But it is stained red, likely my own blood.
"What a waste..." I walk over to the bars, and put my hands on them. I freeze them, and I pull out my swords. "Hm?" I pat torso, not finding where I put that shadow seal... Which they probably found as well. Shit.
I crack my knuckles, "Hiya!" I toss a roundhouse kick, shattering the bars, as well as something in my leg. "Ow, ow, ow. Worst idea." I limp over towards IF and Compa.
"Hey hey! No crying now. That isn't like you."
"He is right, suck it up." I don't think you are helping. Plus she can't hear you.
"B-But sniff this is sniff all my fault!" Hm?
"I-I f-forgot about the p-poison. I was s-so wrapped up sniff in seeing Lady Green Heart..." I put my hand through the bars, and on her shoulder.
"Hey, no crying. Where is that IF that uses me as a punching bag?" I... am not the best comforter am I?
"*sniff* Waaah! Lady Vert!"
"Iffy, please try to calm down. You might catch a headache."
"Oh? What is it my dear Iffy?" I see an extremely... "Gifted" individual appear next to IF, comforting her. IF proceeds to cry her eyes out. I look to my right, and I see... Nirito! I stand up, wary of what is going on.
'Being in the dark...another worrying habit in the making.'
Nirito hold up his hands, "Hey now, don't mind me, I'm just one hell of a butler." Somehow I doubt he is just a butler.
Clang Clang Clang!
"Let me out!"
"Calm down kid, you are gonna pass out."
'He needs to use his head...'
After freeing an, for reasons unknown, extremely pissed off Ryouichi and Erica, we followed Vert and Nirito. I didn't like being unarmed.
"Why don't you just nuke the place it's easy enough."
'How about...No.'
"Still so boring..." Auguste once more went back to playing explosions in my head. We reached Vert's room. Only Vert, Nirito, Neptune and myself remained. The rest had branched off into treatment, since they all were too wobbly on their feet.
"Make yourself at home." She waves over her 'modest' adobe. Various consoles and computers scattered the room. I see shelves upon shelves of anime...
'Otaku...'
"Hypocrite."
Vert goes and puts on a headset and opens up what looks like an MMO. I clear my throat, "Um... not to seem rude here, but we have a few issues."
"Hm? What might those be?"
"Well, one." I emphasize my shoulder, "Neptune is poisoned right now. You can thank Yvoire, your Oracle for that one."
"Oh my, again..." Vert face darkens... and what do you mean by again?!
"Okay, moving on. Where are my things?"
"Right behind you." I turn around, and Nirito is standing there, with my things packed away in a duffel bag next to his feet.
"O-Okay. And finally... why is Nirito a damn butler?!" Last time I checked, he was an excellent guild member. How does one go from being a 'bounty hunter' to a butler?
"Reasons." Nirito answers. I sigh. It's obvious there is no real reason.
"But for real, let's have some plot advancement now. Do you have a cure for Neptune? I believe the poison was called... Quelling-Gale?" She shakes her head, and taps away at a keyboard.
"I do not unfortunately, but with the magnificence of technology, we shall have an answer from a pro in seconds." I doubt that there are just people lining up and waiting to answer random general qu-
Ding!
'Well, I'll be damned.'
"Oh! That's excellent. The herb that we need to gather can be found from a monster not far from here."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go grab the others."
"Wait! I must have a disguise... the people must not know it's me." She throws on a pair of glasses.
"...I'm just going to not question it, and move on."
We arrive on the grounds of what is supposed to be an Ancient Turtle. Minus Erica and Ryouichi. Erica is tending to Ryouichi, whom passed out from exhaustion.
'The idiot...'
"So... where is the monster we are hunting?" I ask.
"It's right over... here." We round the corner of a cliff, and we see an open plane. The only thing that seemed out of the ordinary is a palm tree with coconuts growing on it. Nirito scratches his head, "Or, it's supposed to be." Something doesn't seem right.
I know there are some beaches around in Leanbox, but this is not the climate for it... I walk over towards the object in question.
Tap tap
Nothing. 'Okay...' I pull out from my, slightly damaged suit, four demolition assembly charges. Which are twenty pounds each.
Vert face pales, "Are those safe to detonate so close to Leanbox?"
"Yeah, worst case scenario there is a cave underneath, and I fall in. And don't ask where I was keeping these. You might not like the answer."
"Don't worry Lady Vert, he knows what he is doing." IF said. Though it looks like she is too busy idolizing Vert to pay attention to the explosives I am planting.
"Don't you think that is a little excessive? You could level a building with all of that."
'Oh well, we can always just make more. Plus it's been a while since we've blown something up for fun.'
I place all four of them, and wire them together. "You guys may want to back up." They all did as I asked. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" I pulled out a clacker.
Clack
"..."
"..."
"Uhh..."
Clack Clack Clack
"What happened Mister?"
"I... forgot to wire the transceiver. Give me a second." I took a step forward, but the ground started trembling. All around the palm tree, the dirt starting lifting off the ground. I see one leg come out, then another, and another.
"W-What is that?"
"I believe it's a turtle Compa." Great...
I look at Vert, "You want to like... transform now?"
"Only if my dear Iffy commands me to." She looks at IF, and pouts.
"M-Me?!" IF's face goes red. "C-Command you? I-I c-could never!" Really Vert?
"Guys!" I yell, "He's coming!" And I dodge out of the way as its foot comes crashing down. I cough once, since there was dirt flying everywhere. I jumped backwards.
"Oh come on! As if my suit wasn't ruined enough." My suit is pretty much sullied with dirt. I take a better look at our opponent. It seems that my demolition array is still on its back. So if I could get on his back for just a few seconds...
"New plan! Distract him for a few seconds!" I take a small square. The transceiver.
"Alright!" IF dashes in, avoiding a foot, and slashes away, though it does little to nothing. Vert stands further away, casting down spears of energy. Staggering it, but nothing more. Nirito joins IF, and the two gather the turtle's attention. Compa was there, but with no place to insert the chemical she is using into the turtle, she is practically useless.
"Okay..." I spread my wings, and flew low, reaching the base of the turtle. I flew up its back, and landed next to the palm tree. I took all four wires, and I planted the transceiver, using some clay I had in my back pocket. I wire them all up, and the arrays light up green, and started flashing.
"Everyone! Run!" I swoop down, and grab IF and Compa, whom in turn grabbed Nirito. I start flying away, and Nirito grabs Vert on the way out.
"Alright! Time to blow this piece of sh- Oh my Nep!" I yell, as the turtle starts chasing after us. Why is it so damn fast!? It's gaining rapidly too. I see a lake up ahead. "Prepare for a crash guys!"
"What?" Nirito yells, unable to hear between the air in our ears. I don't repeat however, as I twirl around and let go of the chain of humanity clinging to me. They go flying into the lake, a perfect 10. I pull out the clacker once more, and turned around.
"See ya!"
Clack
"Where could he have gone?" mused Vert.
"Maybe he is gathering the herb?"
"He ruined my uniform... I just laundered this!"
"I'm sure he is fine Lady Vert."
I'm currently standing there, or well, planted into the ground actually. I kick my legs.
"Oh there he is." said IF. What's with the monotone voice?!
"Help me out a little bit here Compa. One... Two... Three!" They pull, but I don't budge an inch. I'm pretty buried here.
"Uh... Lady Vert, Nirito. Could you please help us?" asks Compa. I feel two more pairs of hands on my legs.
"One... Two... Three!" They pull my legs. But it might as well have ripped them off. I fly out of the ground, and land some ways from my original crash point. Ow... they reopened numerous cuts over my body.
"So... did you get the herbs?" Is that all you care about IF? Either way, I hold up my hand, to reveal leaves that I obtained before being blown nearly half a mile away. At least there wasn't shrapnel in it.
"Ruin my suit will I...?" I mumbled, "No compensation..." I sulked, "I really liked the white too..." I was using a mortar and pedestal to mash the herbs.
"I think we broke him..." I've been broke a long time ago.
"Maybe I went a little too far."
"Possibly... and I was looking forward to a sparring rematch... isn't he immortal? He should be insensitive over people right?" I'm just a man...!
"It's done..." I place the finished elixir on the table. I continue to sulk, and pull out some random shells, and fiddle around with them.
I open a shell, "Ah... Neptune's lips won't open."
'Probably because home-brewed medicine stinks...'
"Maybe if we do it mouth to mouth?" Everyone looks at Nirito.
"Me? I'd rather not cause a scandal. Plus she might mistake me for the new MC." I feel the fourth wall crumbling.
"Then now what... she will just throw it up if we force-feed it to her..."
"Heh... why don't you make it into pudding?" I mused. Such a stupid id-
"That's a great idea Mister! I'll get right on it." I was kidding! I sulked away.
The door opened, and in comes Ryouichi. He walks over to where I was sulking away in a corner, and plopped down next to me. I could sense both of our depression, and to anybody else, they could see an aura coming off of us.
"So... what's up your butt today?"
"Nine kilograms of explosives, a ruined suit, and the lack of humor. You?"
"I... just felt so useless earlier. All the time actually." This piqued my interest, "I couldn't keep the guards off myself, let alone Compa. And then I couldn't even help with saving Neptune because I'm so stupid!" I need to cool him off. If he gets any hotter... he's going to destroy everything around him.
Idea obtained! "You are twenty right?"
"Yeah why?"
"My friend, what you need now is a good drink!"
"This is a terrible idea..."
"Nonsense, it's not like moping around is going to help you."
"Maybe I'll just torture you instead..." mutters Ryouichi.
I turn around, "What was that?" I smile, my pupils shrinking.
Ryouichi follows suit, pulling out his whip. I back down, preferring not to ruin my only spare change of clothing.
"Alright, but still. You need to move on, you are new to all of this."
"New or not... that was just my own stupidity..."
"So, let's turn that stupidity into something fun." I drag him along to a nearby bar for a good time.
A/N: Another chapter for you all! And I've been getting a lot of comments about Nirito. Me and Nirito have been working together to produce two different stories. No, I did not copy off of him. So may your mind be at rest. :P Also, two chapters... one day! I had the previous one written for a while, but timing issues delayed it... sorry. :(
