(A/N): HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! A day early because I feel really bad about not updating this in so long even after I promised to be better at it. And I'm trying! It still pains me though because the last anniversary was a couple chapters ago and I was planning on finishing by now. Hopefully I can finish the ten-ish chapters left this summer. For now though, exams are coming up and I really need to study for AP. I hope this long chapter somewhat makes up for it!
Chapter 29: Something Stupid
2024/09/02
A week later, Felicita left her "house" to walk with Ryner to the town square, where they would teleport and meet everyone for the "group outing". Walking together was a little different this time around, as Ryner had met her outside her door with her permission and was now contentedly holding her hand. It was safe to say that things had gotten a little easier between them, less awkward, especially on Felicita's end in regard to their relationship. She was slowly, yet surely, opening herself up and coming out of her shell little by little. Admittedly, it was a bit on the scary side, but she found that she liked the way things were going.
"So," Ryner began, swinging their hands back and forth nonchalantly. He made it seem like they were walking through a meadow or some charming forest with his attitude. Felicita found it weird since they were practically walking through the slums of Aincrad, but it was uplifting at the same time, so she just let him be. "Are we going to tell them?"
"About?"
"This," the knight said simply, briefly holding up their entwined hands in clarification before dropping them, allowing them to swing with ease once again.
"Oh… It's been two weeks, hasn't it?"
"Yep," Ryner replied, popping the "p". "It's about time we said something, right?"
"I guess so," Felicita sighed, looking at the cobblestone ahead in thought. "But I don't know if it should be today."
"Why not?"
"Well, today is about the group. Should we really bring personal matters into it?"
"You make it sound like a debt or a lover's quarrel." Ryner smiled, amused. "We would just be telling them about us. Friends like to know about these things. Most of the time, it makes them happy. And anyway, if we were going to tell, wouldn't today be best since everyone's together?"
Felicita thought on that for a while. He did make some good points. Their friends all deserved to know, especially considering all they had done for them. But today was, as she had said, about the group and not just the two of them. Today was supposed to be a day where everyone had fun together and forgot about the stress of trying to survive a death game… Then again, maybe sharing their "big news" would help lift their spirits. The kind of relationship like they had was precious in this world. Most of the time, people were separated from their loved ones by SAO. You were "lucky" if you found someone in-game out of the few thousand that were trapped as opposed to the several billion that were in the real world. And even then, the relationships you made while in the game were at constant risk of being destroyed if someone's HP hit zero. Having each other like they did and proving happiness was possible might bring some hope and happiness to others, especially their friends.
Ryner kept an eye on her as she thought, smiling as he awaited her decision. "Well?"
"You're right but… how about we tell them at the end of the day? 'Cuz if we say something at the beginning, there's going to be a lot of teasing and then it won't be as much fun," she finally replied. She did feel obligated to let them know, but not at such a sensitive time when a certain pink-haired blacksmith would take it upon herself to make some fun of her own.
The boy laughed. "Yeah. That's true. This evening it is." They had reached the square now, the teleportation platform in view. They took the several strides to the dais and stood there, Ryner turning to look down at his smaller companion. He was still smiling, albeit a bit awkwardly now. Felicita knew he was thinking about finally revealing their secret to everyone. She could tell he had wanted to be open about it for a while now, but he was just as nervous as she was to actually get it out there.
"So… what exactly are we doing on this 'group outing'?" he asked, probably trying to get both their minds to a lighter topic.
"Kirito and I decided to go on a quest," Felicita replied easily. "Though, if you want details, you'll have to wait until we're all together. It's just easier that way."
The knight didn't seem pleased by this. "You two seem to love making decisions and keeping secrets together."
A small smirk came to the petite girl's face. "Is Ryner jealous?"
"…No."
There was a small chuckle. "Don't worry. You and I will make so many more of those."
The boy blinked, staring at her. Slowly, a smirk of his own came to his face and he leaned down closer to her, eyes glinting. "And what kind of decisions and secrets would those be?"
The way he said that sent a subtle warmth to Felicita's cheeks. "What are you saying?!"
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
"W-well—" she sputtered, but before she could get more than that out, Ryner disappeared in a flash of light.
For several long seconds, the girl stood there, staring at the place he had gone from.
"…Perverted son of a…"
In the end, she sighed, trying to calm the heat in her cheeks. Uttering the same words Ryner had before disappearing, Felicita figured now was the time to go or else be late.
Seconds later, she was standing in the middle of another square. It was decently busy, she would say from a glance. She estimated there were about twenty people walking around, but as far as she could see, none of the ones in front of her were any of her friends.
She didn't have to look far to find them. They were to her left just beside the dais. Seven people greeted her, and really, she was surprised that the majority of them were male. Considering Kirito was present she would have expected for most of the company to consist of girls. Not that she was saying anything about his preferences or what he did with his spare time it was just… how things were.
Asuna, Silica, and Lisbeth were there as expected, Kirito obviously next to them. Klein was not three steps away, grinning and talking with his hands on his hips like his usual self. It made Felicita smile. Ryner was in front, waving at her with a smirk that made her blush a bit, reminding her of certain words that had been spoken earlier. And then, there was someone she didn't know. He was tall. Like seriously tall. He was bald and dark-skinned too, wearing green armor and an ax on his back. His appearance certainly surprised her. Not that she had anything against other races, but SAO was released in Japan. It would have been just as surprising to see an English or American person.
They all looked at her as she came toward them, making her feel a bit self-conscious, but she knew them—well, most of them anyway—so she didn't feel the need to run or anything.
"Hey, Fel." Ryner was still smirking as she drew near, and she tried to stifle her blush as she looked away.
"Ryner. Hey, guys," she said, barely acknowledging him as she looked to everyone else (leaving Ryner pouting like a child).
"Yo, Felicita!" Klein greeted with a wave, still grinning cheekily. "Long time no see."
"Felicita!" Silica rushed to her and grabbed her hands, her eyes sparkling. "I'm so glad that you agreed to come!" From on top of her head, Pina chirped happily, like she felt the same way.
"Me too. This should be really fun," she replied, smiling as she looked at her friend. She may have been hesitant to do this before, but now she was glad she had done it. She got to see her friends.
Looking just behind Silica, she could see the stranger watching them, a smile on his face.
"Sorry. I don't think we've met."
"This is Agil," Kirito supplied, standing beside the man. "He's a good friend of mine."
"Hey there," the man said in a deep voice. "You're Felicita. I've heard a lot about you. I'm glad we could finally meet." He offered his hand for her to shake, and after staring at it for a bit, she took it. It was practically twice the size of hers, and that was kind of intimidating, but he still smiled genially at her as he shook. He instantly earned her respect.
"Okay. So everyone's here," Lisbeth said looking around. "Alright, everybody, thanks for coming. Let's get started. Kirito, Felicita, if you would please."
The two solo-players blinked.
"Why do we have to debrief? This was your idea," Felicita exclaimed in exasperation.
"Hey, you're the ones that come up with what we were doing today," the blacksmith defended, smiling slightly. "Have at it."
The culprits glanced at each other, both reluctant to say anything or take the lead because of their generally antisocial nature. They looked back at their apparent audience, then back at each other. Suddenly, Felicita's elbow nudged the swordsman forward. He grunted, looking back at her with narrowed eyes, as if she had just betrayed him, but she only smiled and made a shooing-motion with her hand.
Kirito sighed. "Thanks a lot." Lifting his head to look at everyone, he spoke again. "Right. So today is what Liz and Silica decided to be dedicated as a group outing. After thinking about it, Fel and I decided that this would be a great opportunity to take on a quest in the southern part of this floor. It's an item-retrieval quest that offers a rare item as the reward, but only for the first five times it's completed. It's one of the tougher ones and only a couple parties from the more well-known guilds have been able to clear it, but I'm confident we're just as capable."
"Wow. You actually kinda sound like a leader right now."
Kirito glanced back at the thief, eyes narrowed slightly to say "no thanks to you" before continuing. "Did everyone stock up on crystals before coming?"
"Yeah. I think we're good to go," Asuna reported, smiling, her hand on her hip as she listened.
The KoB second-in-command and everyone else staring obviously made Kirito uncomfortable, so he quickly turned, making to lead the group onward. "Right. Then let's get going."
"As awkward as always," Liz sighed, the touch of a smile at her lips as she and everyone else began to follow him.
Felicita smiled. "He's getting better though," she said to herself. She began to follow after them, and just as soon noticed Ryner slinking behind her. She turned, her eyebrow raised in question. "Hey. You ok?"
He glanced at her, then resumed his slouching and looking at the ground. "No."
"Aw. What's wrong, little baby?"
"I feel rejected."
"Rejected how?"
Suddenly, he looked up at her, his eyebrows furrowed together and his lip threatening to stick out. "You didn't even greet me."
"I just saw you." Felicita rolled her eyes. "And what, did you expect me to actually treat you like a human being after what you said?"
Ryner finally cracked a smile. "Oh yeah. That."
The girl scoffed and faced forward again. "You're an idiot."
"True," the boy mused. Suddenly, Felicita felt his presence right behind her, his breath right at her ear. "But I'm your idiot."
A shiver went up her spine, and suddenly her ears were warm. "L-let's catch up to everyone else!" she suggested a little too loudly, scurrying to keep with the group. That left Ryner grinning, and he made his leisurely way along.
"Kirito~, where is this quest!?" Klein whined, hands thrown up in the air and itching to for some action.
"In a cave near the edge of the map," his friend answered, glancing around at the passing trees for any monsters. "But we need to activate it first by accepting it from an NPC being attacked wild dogs."
"Caves. Great."
"What's wrong with caves, Liz?" Asuna asked, looking curious.
"They're dark and they lead nowhere."
"Are you sure it's caves you're worried about?" Kirito barely glanced back as he said this.
"Yes!"
"Stop leaving us out of the loop!" Ryner interjected, looking somewhat annoyed. "What are you guys talking about?"
"Well—"
"Liz got the both of us stuck in an underground dragon's nest once."
"Really? That's interesting. How did you manage that?"
"I-I did not get us stuck! The stupid dragon made me fall!"
"Yeah. And then I had to come get you out. We didn't get back to town until the next day."
"Wow. Good going, Liz," Felicita teased, giving the girl a smirk.
"You know what? Forget it. If you guys are just going to make fun of me—"
"We're not."
"They're just teasing, Liz," Asuna added gently.
"Yeah well that's not what it—"
"We're here."
Everyone looked to Kirito and Agil who were actually paying attention and noticed the distant sounds of a fight. Blinking and glancing in the direction they were facing, Felicita activated her search skill. Her vision zoomed in, the world taking on a glow like she was seeing through night-vision lenses. Immediately she made out the thin form of a man wielding a hammer fighting off several, snarling, black wolves. He didn't have a cursor, but a health bar floated beside him, half-full and creeping towards red.
"We better hurry if we're going to save him." Asuna pulled out her rapier, her expression hard-set. Then, she was gone, sprinting toward the fight in a blur.
"Yeah! Let's get this quest started!" Klein shouted before unsheathing his katana and dashing after her, the others not far behind.
Kirito sighed. "They didn't even stop to plan a strategy."
"Well that's part of the fun," Felicita said, smiling from beside him. "It's only a few enemies. Fighting a bit recklessly this time adds to the charm."
"Right…"
"Come on, man," Ryner clapped him on the shoulder, a grin splitting his face. "Adventure time."
The teen sighed again, reaching behind him to pull out the obsidian blade on his back. "I guess it is."
Asuna didn't even take five seconds to make it to battle. Just as soon as the NPC knocked away one wolf, she appeared, her blade driving straight for one heading for his back. The blow connected, sending the mongrel whimpering and tumbling into one of its pack. The others snarled, immediately acknowledging the new threat as she glared at them.
With a yell, Klein rushed in, bringing his sword down on the nearest wolf. It saw the blow coming and growled, darting to the side and moving in for the kill, only to meet Klein's blade with a screech of claws on metal. The samurai stumbled, but shoved back and knocked the wolf down, following soon after with an overhead strike.
Nearby, Lisbeth and Silica joined Asuna in the fray, their weapons drawn and sword skills activated with flashes of blue and red. Together, they took on a single wolf, beating it back with sheer force. Unbeknownst to them, one was circling their rear, eyeing any of them for an opening. But before it could act, a heavy ax swung down, catching it in the middle and hurling it away into a nearby tree. Agil smiled at his handiwork before moving on to the next enemy.
Behind him, Ryner and Kirito finally appeared in the clearing. They barely gave their targets time to turn around as both immediately activated sword skills, Ryner executing a rushing strike that sent him right through his opponent and Kirito landing four consecutive slashes, easily shattering his. Behind him, Ryner circled back and faced off with his wolf. It snarled, its hackles rising just before it lunged. The knight easily dodged and just like that ran the dog through from underneath.
This left Asuna, Silica, and Lisbeth with two more. The wolves growled lowly, the five of them staring each other down. One of the dogs snapped, making Silica have to take a step back. Screeching, Pina flew in, attacking it in the eyes and leaving it blinded. Lisbeth took the opportunity to swing her mace down, knocking the beast aside and straight into Asuna's waiting three-hit combo.
Now there was one wolf left, and from its size, it was obviously the alpha. It was almost as tall as a normal person, making up for the height difference in its fierce appearance, a scar cut right across its right eye. It growled, its dark eyes darting around at the seven players around it. Each of them tensed, ready to strike.
It crouched, ready to lunge.
A dark blur suddenly dropped from the canopy above. It was silent, undetected, and with a swift slash of silver removed the head of the wolf and shattered it into polygons.
Felicita landed in a soft crouch, barely disturbing the ground as a Drops Screen appeared in front of her. She had just sheathed her daggers when she noticed the seven pairs of eyes staring at her.
"…What?"
"Felicita, what was that?!" Silica awed, eyes wide and shining.
"What was what?"
"How did you kill that monster with just one hit?!" Lisbeth cut in, eyes just as wide as Silica's. "It still had over half its health!"
"It was a stealth strike, wasn't it?" Kirito prompted, looking slightly impressed. "That takes a pretty high Stealth level."
"Wait. A what?"
Felicita gave a sheepish smile. "With high enough Stealth, anyone can strike an opponent down in one hit as long as you remain Hidden from your target's view. The skill leaves you vulnerable right after you use it, but it pretty much doubles attack damage and is worth it if you time it right."
"So that's where you were," Ryner said, hands on hips. "You just had to make the biggest entrance, didn't you?"
"Yep!"
"Noble travelers, you saved me from those beasts. I thank you."
"Oh yeah. We still have to talk to that guy."
Everyone turned to the NPC, a balding man with age spots on his head and a long white beard on his chin. His hammer was hooked to his belt at his side as he stood to face the party of eight.
"It was nothing. Are you alright?" Asuna asked, stepping forward as she sheathed her rapier at her side.
"I'm not," the man answered bluntly. "I won't be fine until I get back what was stolen from me."
"What was taken?" Kirito asked, standing beside Asuna and looking at the man with interest.
"A special heirloom of mine, handed down through five generations. It was lost many months ago when a thief from a neighboring land came to my village."
"So you know where this thief lives?"
The man looked at Kirito, eyes grave. "I tracked him to a cave just south of here. But it pains me to say that I cannot go on to retrieve my treasure. I am not as young as I once was." He paused briefly, glancing around at them. "You seem to be highly skilled warriors. Would you mind aiding an old man?"
As he finished, as screen popped up in front of Kirito reading "Do you accept the Quest?" Below it was two buttons, "Yes" and "No." With barely any hesitation, Kirito tapped "Yes," triggering a new screen saying "Quest Accepted!"
"Thank you, travelers! I bid you fair luck on your journey."
It didn't take them long to find the nearby mountain range and the cave entrance set in its side. Said cave turned out to be a mini dungeon, and compared to the mobs found there, the wolves were like Slimes on the first floor.
They were probably a little too cliché, mostly consisting of skeletal warriors and packs of the undead, but they still followed attack patterns that left the party of eight no room for error. It was easy to see why only a few parties from the more powerful guilds were able to complete it.
A powerful blow from the side sent Felicita stumbling several steps to the left, her feet barely keeping to the floor as they skidded over the rocky floor. She grit her teeth as she glared at her opponent, trying to control her breathing and keep calm. According to the HP bar above the monster, it was a "Draugr," a rotting corpse that guarded crypts and the wealth of the dead. Now under normal circumstances, fighting an enemy such as this would be a piece of cake, but when the enemy outnumbered you two to one, nothing was perfectly easy.
"Fel! Feint left and switch!" Kirito shouted as he parried an attack from a Draugr's Greatsword.
"Right!" she shouted, immediately rushing in when she saw an opening. They had cut down over half of the mob with their current strategy: grouping up based on strengths and weaknesses (mostly speed paired off with strength), and that had all been Kirito's idea. At this point, she really wasn't going to question him. If the two of them could just pull this off—
"Felicita, look out!"
The girl whipped around, barely catching sight of a Draugr barreling passed Silica and Agil and straight at her. She turned, preparing to face the monster head-on so it wouldn't interfere with Kirito's battle.
"Behind you!"
And that was when Felicita felt her feet be knocked out from under her. She felt something slam into her, sending her sprawling to the ground several meters away. Her body rolled and scraped against the rocks, leaving her groaning from the floor, wincing when she saw the red gash in her side and the pixels spilling out of her in substitution for blood. Her eyes flicked to her health bar, now in the yellow. The sight made her growl, her hands going underneath her to push herself up. These Draugr were really starting to piss her off. Now they were definitely going to regret messing with her.
Just as she got to one foot, however, an angry yell cut through the air:
"HEY! THAT'S MY GIRLFRIEND, YOU BASTARD!"
Felicita's eyes widened. Turning her head, she caught sight of a red and white blur streaking passed her. Now that was just stupid, running off headfirst into battle without a plan. But it somehow made her smile.
"Girlfriend?"
Suddenly her face grew warm. Now fully on her feet, she turned around, seeing the six other people she had forgotten existed, all of them now ignoring Ryner as he practically flew off to fight the monster with a vengeance. Their eyes had widened, Asuna, Kirito, and Klein staring at her and Lisbeth looking incredulous. Agil was just standing there, watching the show with interest, but Silica, on the other hand, was having a completely different reaction. She looked shocked, but her face had broken out into a smile and she was bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"Uh…" was all Felicita could bring herself to say. She honestly hadn't expected for them to find out about her and Ryner's current relationship status in a dungeon.
"You two are dating?" Asuna asked, sounding completely caught off guard by this sudden revelation. She had suspected that the two of them had feelings for each other, but she hadn't expected them to act it anytime soon. She didn't think they were that far along yet.
"Why didn't you say anything?!" Lisbeth asked, not believing she found out this way.
"We-we were going to tell you guys," the girl in gray stuttered. "But we figured right after the raid on Laughing Coffin wasn't the best time."
"So… it happened during the raid?" Kirito interjected questioningly, though his tone revealed he was teasing her. Quite honestly, he had just been waiting for the two of them to finally admit how they felt about each other and get on with it.
"Ooo~. Love on the battlefield~," the pinkette in the group sang, smirking as she looked at her friend.
"Shut up!"
Beyond their little gathering, the last skeletal warrior shattered into polygons and disappeared, Ryner turning away and looking satisfied as he walked toward them, his sword sheathed.
"That bastard should have known who he was messing with," he said smugly, seeming oblivious to the current atmosphere as he came to stand by Felicita.
"Ryner, you idiot, you gave us away!" the girl yelled at him, her face still pink.
He blinked down at her. "I did?"
"Yes!"
Finally, Silica squealed, hardly able to contain her delight anymore as she ran up and enveloped both of them in a hug. "Oh, I'm so happy for you guys! I always knew this would happen some day!"
"You did?!" they asked, looking surprised.
"Well why wouldn't I?" the beast tamer asked, holding the two of them at arm's length and smiling at them. Meanwhile, Pina flew in a circle above them, seeming to squawk in agreement. "With the way you two always interacted, it was hard not to see you had something going on."
"But this was only recent. How long could you have known that?"
"Oh, a while," she answered enigmatically, not at all satisfying Ryner's inquisition.
"So how did this happen?" Lisbeth queried, wanting the full scoop.
"Well…" Ryner began, but trailed off as he side-glanced at his girlfriend. She looked like she didn't want to tell the story but, with a quick glance in return, Ryner assumed she gave him permission and began their tale. "During the raid, I saw Fel on an upper platform fighting someone. The fight looked good until… well until she lost her knives and got stabbed." Felicita noticed that Ryner's fist clenched at the recollection, and that made a warmth spread through her chest. "The guy had knocked her to the ground, and he looked like he was going to end it right there. But then they rolled off the platform and… she was falling. My only thought was to get to her. Next thing I knew, I was jumping after her." He sounded so serious now, his voice grown soft as he thought back to that day. "We collided and tumbled onto another platform. We almost fell off again. It was close, but we made it…" A small smile came to his face then, a chuckle escaping him as he continued. "And then you know what she does? She yells at me, the person who saved her, saying that what I had done was stupid, that I could have died. What person worries about someone else after having a near death experience of their own?" It was then that he finally looked at her, a fond smile on his face. Felicita had felt her face get warm as he spoke, his hand slipping into hers almost subconsciously near the end. "It seems that all she does is worry about other people. Never herself."
Their eyes locked together, Felicita's slightly wide with surprise while Ryner's retained a soft fondness in them.
"So… you guys just started going out after that?" Lisbeth questioned tentatively.
This time, Ryner blushed, though not before Felicita did as he went on to say "Well, uh, that's… that's not all that happened."
"Oh really? What did you two do? Was it something naughty?"
"No!" they both shouted a little too loudly.
"Uh-huh," Lisbeth said, smirking and obviously not believing them. "So what did happen then?"
Ryner cleared his throat awkwardly into his free hand, not looking at anyone but at the ground. "We… kissed."
"Really? So it was love on the battlefield!"
"Oh, that's so romantic!" Silica gushed, trying not to giggle.
"Inappropriately making out during a raid." Kirito shook his head.
"Shut up!" Felicita yelled at them, growing redder and even more furious and embarrassed as she saw them trying not to laugh. It was really quite disturbing how they (Kirito especially) were so spot on yet didn't even fully know it. "You know we're not in a safe zone and I would very happily kick all of your asses right now!"
That immediately shut them up, Lisbeth and Silica because they knew they didn't stand much chance against their fierce little friend. Kirito, on the other hand, knew that he could probably take her if he needed to… possibly, but he didn't want to take that risk. She would be pretty fearsome as an opponent.
Feeling a bit better, Felicita allowed herself to smirk and relax.
Ryner gave a sigh, glad that was over. "Well. Now that you guys know about us, I really just have one thing to say…"
And with that, Felicita was promptly scooped off her feet. The girl shrieked, feeling her heart almost jump out of her chest and she instinctively clung to whatever was closest to her: Ryner's neck.
"H-hey! What are you doing?!"
He didn't say anything for a minute, just held her close with his arms under her legs and shoulders. He glared at the males in the group, as if daring them to do something. "She's mine. Got that?"
"Um, yeah. I think we do," Kirito answered, sounding unimpressed.
"Yeah, man, whatever you say," Klein said hurriedly, nodding at them.
Agil waved his hand nonchalantly. "You don't have to worry, I had no interest."
"Good," the knight said, mostly glaring at the first two males. Then, without another word, he turned and left, leaving bewildered and amused people alike behind.
"Wait! Where are you going?!" Felicita shouted, looking at her captor in bewilderment. "Ryner, I can walk on my own!" She hit him on the chest a few times and attempted to squirm out of his grip, but he just wouldn't let go. "Put me down, baka!"
It didn't take long for Felicita to "convince" Ryner to let her down. With her fists. It also didn't take long for their party to be completely overrun.
"Why are there so many of them?!" Klein screamed, running pell-mell down the path with his sword still drawn. Behind them, a horde of Draugr screeched, blades drawn and armor clanking noisily against each other and the walls of the cave.
"This quest doesn't give a rare item for nothing!" Agil yelled back over the din, swatting his ax behind him to keep the mob at bay.
"What do we do now? Should we teleport?!"
"Turn right!" Kirito shouted, not three steps behind a certain hooded thief. No one questioned it, opting to take their chances with mysterious passageways than with the horde of death behind them. Felicita lead the charge, sprinting toward a wooden pair of double doors down a shady hallway with Kirito and Ryner right at her heels. She had spotted it only a second before her comrades had, and seemed to have the same idea as they had as she made a beeline for it.
They barreled down the path, their feet pounding against the walls like rain and mixing perfectly with the clashes of thunder behind. As soon as Felicita reached the door, she slowed down enough only to shove it open and stumble inside. She flew around the door, bracing herself against the wood with Ryner right beside her and Kirito at the other door as they waited for the others to tumble in.
Lisbeth charged in first, shortly followed by Silica and a screeching Pina. Klein practically dove in next, his feet lifting off the ground and his hands folded out in front of him. Asuna and Agil came in last, one after the other, panting but somehow looking more dignified. As soon as Agil crossed the threshold, the doors were slammed shut with a resounding boom, three bodies desperately thrown against them and a pole inserted into the handles.
For several, rattling seconds, the eight remained perfectly still, anticipating the inevitable shock to hit the door when the horde finally made impact. But after waiting for ten, twenty, thirty seconds, it never came.
Being in the middle, Ryner took it upon himself to peek through a crack in the doors.
"…They're gone."
The news made Felicita sigh in relief. She let her back slide down the door, her legs curling up to her body until she sat limply on the floor. "Thank god."
"Why do you think they're gone?" Silica asked, trying to catch her breath as she sat on her calves on the floor, Pina curled on her head in exhaustion.
"It's because we lucked out." Kirito was sitting against the door as well, already checking his map over his propped knee. "We ran right into a safe zone."
"Holy crap," Ryner breathed, slumped on the door right between the two solo players. "We almost died."
For a long time, it was simply silence, the only sounds being that of shifting bodies and their breathing.
"Ch… Ch… AHAHAHAHA!"
Everyone whirled around, eyes locking on a head of pink hair as it tilted back in a fit of laughter.
"Liz…" Kirito started uncertainly.
"You-you should have seen your face when that mob appeared behind us!" she said in answer, hugging her sides. "You jumped and ran screaming with one eye twitching half shut! Like what was that, Kirito!?"
"…What?!"
"I saw that!" Klein exclaimed, grinning and on the verge of laughter himself. "I wish I could have taken a picture!" Finally he burst out laughing, propping himself up on his hands behind him.
"I was not like that!" Kirito cried defensively, cheeks now dusted with a slight red as he looked at the two of them. Now the others were starting to laugh too. "What about you, Klein?! You saw them and screamed like a girl before taking off!"
"I did not! Asuna's the one that screamed! She actually squeals like a cute little girl or something!"
"W-what?! I do not! Ryner is the one that screams like a girl!"
"Hey! That was Fel, not me!"
"Don't push that off on me!"
They were cut off by the sounds of Lisbeth and Silica giggling loudly, collapsed on the floor and struggling to breathe. Even Agil was chuckling in the corner, seeming to have a bit of a fit himself. In the end, they all laughed it off, too occupied with the memory of a few minutes before to say anything.
As Felicita sat on the floor, laughing and gasping for breath with the others, a warm feeling began to blossom in her chest. Sitting like that with friends around her and Ryner at her side, her mind briefly glimpsed a distant memory, one where she and five other people sat around a wooden table in a small house—smiling, laughing, and joking like it was the most natural thing in the world. Seeing that, Felicita's laughter slowly died, leaving the trace of a smile at her lips. She knew then that she definitely did not regret this day.
"Hey, guys. You might want to look at what I found."
Laughter fading, everyone turned toward the deep voice. Agil was standing over a pile of crates, hand outstretched for all to see the small, ruby-red ring glinting in his palm.
"Is that the item?" Asuna asked, getting up for a better look.
"Looks that way. I found a body back there in a dark cloak. My guess is the thief tried to hide in this cave but found the Draugr and tried to run. He died in here before he could escape."
"That explains why this is a safe zone," Felicita mused. Safe zones usually surrounded objectives and important items in dungeons. It was sort of like an unspoken rule.
"How can you tell that's the heirloom the man was talking about though?" Silica queried, staring at the ring in awe.
"Tap it and see."
"Um, ok." Lifting her finger, Silica did as she was told and poked the ring. Barely a second later, a small screen popped up that said stolen heirloom.
Ryner stared at it for a moment. "…Well, that's convenient."
Klein took one look at it and immediately jumped, fist pumping through the air. "Yes! We can finally leave!"
"Are you kidding me?! We did all that and didn't even get the item?!"
"Please don't yell, Liz," Silica grumbled, trudging along the dirt path with her head hung, Pina whimpering occasionally on her shoulder. "It's bad enough without you screaming about it."
"I can't help it if I'm pissed! I thought we were one of the first five to complete the quest!"
"I guess someone just got here before we did," Asuna sighed in resignation, one hand resting at her hip as she gazed ahead at the trees.
"That's so not fair!" Klein suddenly screamed, hands at his temples in frustration. "We could have gotten some really awesome loot!"
"Hey, it's not that bad," Ryner cut in. "That old guy gave us 60,000 col each. Do you know how much we could buy with this much money? We could even splurge on a huge party and celebrate completing this high-class quest if we wanted to."
A large hand clapped him on the shoulder. "I like this kid's attitude," Agil grinned next to him. "What we just did deserves some celebration. How about it?"
"Maybe not right now," Kirito sighed from the front of the group. "I'm beat and just want to go home already."
"You just don't want to go to a social function, do you?"
"That's not it," the boy grumbled, glancing sideways at the chestnut-haired girl now beside him.
She ignored him and continued. "But I have to agree with you, I can't do anything else like this for a while. I loved it, but I was barely able to get the time off; there's just so much work to do at the guild and I should be getting back." She glanced behind her. "You too, Ryner."
"Haha… Yes, vice-commander," he answered, rubbing at the back of his neck. Suddenly, he felt a small, warm hand slip into his. Blinking, Ryner looked down at his small companion, seeing a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Hey," he said, almost in a whisper as he tried to grab her attention. Almost immediately, her round, almond-colored eyes looked up to his face. "You've been quiet."
"Yeah," she replied, gently stepping over some roots in her path as she spoke. "It's just… seeing everybody and hanging out like this… it reminds me of the good old days." A small smile stretched across her lips, her eyes watching and ears listening as their friends conversed and bantered playfully. Just then, Silica caught her eye and made her smile widen. "I forgot what it was like to just play a game and have fun with your friends… It's nice."
"We could always do this again, Felicita," Silica smiled as she came to stand at her friend's side. "This doesn't have to be just a special occasion. At the least, I wouldn't mind the three of us hanging out some time."
"Naaa!" Pina squawked, swirling overhead and finally landing on Ryner's shoulder.
"Ow!" He complained, jerking his head away and rubbing at his ear. The girls chuckled.
"I would like that," Felicita admitted, her tone slightly melancholic. "It would be great. Even if something's missing…" She couldn't help but notice how there was only the three of them. Their little group used to be twice that, and while it wasn't possible to ever have all six again…
"Hey." Ryner squeezed her hand reassuringly. "We'll find her, ok?"
The petite girl smiled up at him. "Yeah. We will. We have to."
"Hmm?" Silica tilted her head to the side in curiosity. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh… I guess we never told you. We're looking for Riku."
"You're looking for her… You don't know where she is?"
"Well, no—Wait," Ryner started, but immediately stopped, his eyes wide as he stared at the beast tamer. "Silica, are you saying you've seen her?!"
The three of them had stopped walking by now, each of them staring in disbelief.
"W-well," Silica began, looking down at her feet as she scuffed her toes together. "Yes. I saw her just a few days ago. I-I'm sorry. I thought you two knew where she was."
For a long time, the two of them simply stared, their eyes wide and mouths utterly speechless.
How could they have neglected to ask the one other person that knew Riku about where to look for her?
(A/N): Just a small note on Ryner's speech. I know it wasn't eloquent like poetry or something but it kinda wasn't supposed to be. He's not a natural speaker or a "literature enthusiast" like myself or really you guys, but he was talking about the girl he loved from his heart and that made it beautiful to me. Which sounds kinda cheesy but whatever. That's just my thoughts on it.
Hopefully I'll see you guys soon. With Riku FINALLY.
Please review!
