Hey guys, NainTarlow here with the newest chapter.
I can't believe it but the story is actually a year old. Never thought I would have the motivation to continue a story, let alone see so much of you reading it. Thank you for wasting a little of your time on this story, it means a lot to me.
I wanted this chapter to be a little special. Usually, I try to focus on Natsu and what happens to me, but now I want you once again to see what goes on in the rest of the world. In my typical fashion what I thought will be a small chapter once again grew into more than 10k. And it was hard to write, especially Episodes Nara, Buzz, and Ken with all those pesky emotions. After that, it was practically a relief to write about the structure and politics of the KoB.
Reviews:
Phoenix: Believe it frustrates me as well that the khr storyline is too far away right now but I also don't want to rush things. After all, the khr storyline will be interesting because the changes in Tsuna and his relationship with others occur during the events in Sao. So I try to build up my characters properly, so when I finally got there that it's mafia time I have a proper foundation to build upon. Please bear with it, the laughing coffin storyline is something I think will be very important to Tsuna's character.
Thank you for all the favorites, follows, and just sticking with me until now. After next week I will be on vacation so I think I won't write much so the earliest the next chapter will be finished in September. Sorry, I try to work on it as much as I can.
Enjoy
Level 11 A different perspective
Episode Verde
Verde hated interacting with people who couldn't even imagine the brilliance of his intellectual pursuits, meaning around 99 percent of the population.
Still, it was a necessary sacrifice from time to time so he could continue concentrating on his work. He needed them to operate some of his machines, especially after he acquired this cursed firm, test subjects for a few of his experiments, and most importantly, though he inwardly (and quite a lot outwardly too) looked down on them, these unintelligent imbeciles were the ones who provided most of the necessary funding.
That's why he agreed when out of nowhere Sawada Iemitsu showed up, rambling something or other about his son. It seemed his offspring was stuck in some kind of virtual reality, an idea that certainly intrigued him, even if it was not his usual area of expertise, and the young lion offered to fund his research into returning his son safe and sound and then some more as an incentive, however long he needed. Safe to say he did not have to think about it for long.
The Vongola's money was not simply money, it was a prestige symbol. With their backing, he could work on several experiments that he deemed too costly or he could not find anyone who would fund it for him. Also with the thanks of the young lion of Vongola, a lot of opportunities that were closed before would open before him. Also, it could give him a lot of protection and connections. He essentially would have the same status as Reborn with nowhere near as many obligations.
He even went as far as to offer to look after his subordinate who he was able to send into the game, as a measure of protection for Iemitsu's son. Of course, it wasn't out of the goodness of his heart, having access to the boy and a firm connection to that game provided him with a lot of useful data, especially since the boy in question was also a flame user.
He figured he would solve this problem in a relatively short time, maybe delay it a little to get a little more funding out of it. Yet, despite his initial assumptions, he found himself bumping into obstacle after obstacle, and suddenly this little side project that he could solve in only a month at maximum turned into a high priority project that had him working on it for the last six months. And he was very excited about this development.
One primary reason why he invented so many things was that he craved challenges. With an intellect like his, he could easily become a leading expert on anything of he sat down and studied for a month at most, but it was simply not enough for the lightning arcobaleno. He wanted to feel challenged, to have a reason to use his intelligence to his fullest, and in contrast to his initial assessment, this little project from the leader of cedef proved to be one he could sink his metaphorical fangs into.
He had to give due respect to the work of Kayaba Akihiko. The man was a real genius, though he lost a bit of Verde's respect for his questionable choice of project, I mean all these groundbreaking achievements only for the sake of a game? Still, admittedly from what he could see from footage he caught of the so-called death game, it could be used for other, more intellectual purposes.
What he found really fascinating was Kayaba's masterpiece, the Cardinal System. It was an A.I. solely responsible for the management of the game, Sword Art Online, a magnificent work of art.
It was a work of art, there was no denying that. In the half-year since he poured his efforts into this project, he gained access to a lot of things, step by step. First, he sent Basil, Iemitsu's subordinate into the game then began monitoring his and the young lion's kid's status. Later he was even able to gain access to things like their location within the game, their equipment, and skill tree. Not all of them useful information but information regardless. About a month ago he was even able to gain access to a live-feed of the game, using the two kids' locations as a base. He learned a lot about their lives in the game, information that he provided to Iemitsu to show his progress and stop the man from bugging him daily.
But in the end, he still wasn't able to achieve his original objective. The cardinal system was very capable of diverting his attacks, its defense only strengthening with each failed attempt. He wasn't able to gain access to any essential systems, right now he could only observe and not interact with the game and even that ability was limited.
Verde was still delighted even with the failures since those contained many ideas that served well with other projects of his, as well let him add further defenses to his servers, something that he was sure was a bit overdue if the complexity of this cardinal was anything to go by. After all, it wouldn't do for the most intelligent person in the world to have substandard virtual defenses.
He was in the middle of sending another batch of videos containing the son in question for Iemitsu along with a few requests of his when something interesting caught his eyes.
For the past few weeks, he caught sight of small anomalies appearing inside the system periodically before vanishing soon after. They were surrounded by error messages and corrupted codes, something that should have raised the cardinal system's attention, prompting it to investigate and repair. Yet, for some curious reason, the system acted as if it hadn't noticed the disturbance. Like everything was how it was supposed to be.
On the other hand, he took an interest in it and carefully monitored it, trying to find its source. As far as he could tell the source seemed to be a player that was full of corrupted data, something he found fascinating. And now some type of item appeared in the game briefly, something that changed the very properties of the system around it.
He couldn't help but smirk as he began to type furiously, trying to find out how that mysterious player was able to manipulate the game from within. He cackled to himself in the darkness of his laboratory, after all, he loved a good challenge.
-0-
Episode Iemitsu
"Here is our report about the movements of the Graza family's recent activities." Lal Milch said as she handed a thick dossier to her boss with a strict, professional manner."Oregano also sent in her findings into the current situation in Madrid."
"Ah, thank you, Lal Milch." The leader of CEDEF thanked her in an absent-minded way, sparing a brief look at the contents before he put them down on his desk, where two other similar dossiers were waiting. "I'll look them over a minute." he said before he turned his attention back to the computer in front of him.
Lal frowned as she looked over her boss. Everyone in the organization was aware of what happened to his son, they had to work overtime to keep their enemies from finding out about it since in his worry Iemitsu was sloppy. They sympathized a lot, his son stuck between life and death almost literally, even though none of them met the kid in person, their boss used to annoy the hell out of them with his little Tuna's baby pictures, practically showing into their faces. Of course, all of them found the little kid incredibly cute but it was beside the point.
It was easily visible how affected the young lion of Vongola was. He lost weight, though it wasn't as noticeable thanks to his large stature, he grew a few shades paler and had perpetual dark bags under his eyes.
Still, he had a position to maintain, an image to uphold or their enemies would seize the chance to try and find a hole in the Vongola's armor. They had enough trouble with the sudden death of that arrogant brat, Federico, and with the Varia being as uncooperative as possible without actually betraying the Vongola, they simply didn't have the luxury not to have the head of the ceded's head in the game.
"Any info about the kid?" she asked from him quietly, watching as he suddenly stopped working. While others wouldn't dare to ask him, believing it would only hinder his work, Lal knew better. Bottling things like that wasn't healthy at all, he needed to talk with done one or it would be worse later on. He had enough trouble keeping the Family safe, worrying about his kid and subordinate trapped in that game, and also supporting his wife who stayed in Japan.
When one thought about it, Iemitsu was really something, balancing all of those responsibilities. If only he didn't have that goofy, hard to deal with personality most of the time.
"Nothing changed." he told her somberly before he forced a grin on his face. "At least he and Basil are still alive and well, and that's something. Verde told me he soon can get live footage sent to me so I can make sure he is alright." he quickly shook his head, trying to clear it. "But we have no time for it. We have work to do, so better concentrate on that." he told her and Lal heard the quiet dismissal in his voice.
With a mute nod, the failed arcobaleno left him to his work. For a few minutes, he was working silently, before with a sigh he leaned back on his chair, massaging the bridge of his nose. He looked forlornly at the photo on his desk, one showing him in his 'civilian' get-up, embracing a smiling Nana who held a little Tsu-kun in her arms, no older than four years old, who waved happily at the camera.
He was aware he spent very little time with his family, because of his work for the Vongola and the desire to protect them from the darkness from his life. But that didn't mean he didn't love them, to the contrary. Every day he worked hard because he wanted to provide them with safety and love. Yet here he was, his darling son trapped in a death game, a game he bought him because he wanted to alleviate the guilt inside him for spending so little time with him. And despite all he did, all contacts he used, his son was trapped for more than half of a year now.
Worst of all, he couldn't even stay and support his wife. How he longed to be with Nana, to help shoulder her burdens. Yes, he talked to her daily and provided all the help he could afford, but he was painfully aware of how little his support was worth in the end.
"Hang in there, Tsu-kun." he whispered to the photo and with a heavy sigh he picked up the dossier Lal Mirch delivered to him. No matter how much a failure of a father he felt he was, there was no time for mourning the past. He had a job to do, to guard the Vongola, the Family from all possible threats.
He could only hope that Verde could get his son out of that death trap so he could begin to mend his various mistakes.
-0-
Episode Nana
Sawada Nana hummed to herself as she was preparing lunch. The house was painfully empty most of the time but for the time being the burning of the pot and the sound of cutting helped easy that crushing feeling of loneliness.
Nana loved cooking, it was something that was always able to calm her down. It was associated with so many good memories, it let her just forget about all of her troubles and just be herself for a while.
She remembered as a little girl, learning how to cook from her grandmother and mother. She loved spending time with both of them. She also loved her father's face whenever after coming home from work he would sit down and eat her latest creation, praising her earnestly. That's where her love of cooking came from.
When she was younger she used to want to open a restaurant, to make delicious foods for everybody but that dream remained a dream. One of the reasons was the early death of her parents and she had to care for herself as a young adult and didn't have time for her childish dreams. Then she met Iemitsu and soon her life took a new direction, a direction which she liked very much.
When they started dating he took her to a few classy restaurants but as they spent even more time together, she began to cook for the two of them more and more. Iemitsu joked after he asked for her hand that one of the reasons he fell in love with her was her cooking. She laughed, but she nonetheless enjoyed cooking for the two of them, those romantic nights together in their new house. She began experimenting with many different foods, even trying out a few western dishes, much to his delight.
Then came the largest surprise of her life, her adorable Tsu-kun. She was young at the time, her whole life ahead of her, but none of that mattered to her. She fell in love with her little miracle the first time she felt him gently kick her from within. She was content to stay as a housewife with Iemitsu providing for them so she could stay and look after their beautiful son. The moment she first held him she promised she would do anything in her power to cherish and protect him.
She suddenly stopped cutting up the carrots before her as morose thoughts filled her mind. She didn't do such a wonderful job at that, did she? After all, if her son was protected and cherished as she swore to do he wouldn't have had such a hard time at school and he definitely wouldn't be trapped in a game that could easily kill him at any moment.
She looked over the kitchen counter into the living room where she could see a row of pictures displayed proudly. Confident that she could leave her place next to the boiling pot since it needed a few more minutes before any ingredient could be added, she walked over to the pictures, reminiscing a little.
The first one was a picture of her and Iemitsu on their wedding day. They seemed happy, blissful and she couldn't help the fond smile appearing on her face. The wedding was beautiful a nice blend of Japanese and Italian traditions that made it so much more memorable.
She looked at her stomach, knowing she was already pregnant with Tsuna, though that fact had yet to show at that time. Later on, many accused Iemitsu to only marry her because she got pregnant but the truth was they only learned about it during their honeymoon. And contrary to what many others believed her darling was very happy to learn of their little miracle.
She placed the picture back to its place before her attention moved to the next picture. It showed her little Tsu-kun as a very cute four years old, Iemitsu was holding him up above his head much to the little boy's delight. She was standing next to them, giving them the same fond smile she wore at this moment.
At a young age, Tsuna was an energetic child. He loved playing outdoors, always running and jumping around. He always tried to help her cook, looking at her making lunch or dinner, trying to peek over the tall kitchen counter with a fascinated look on his face. He was her little helper and even if there were only the two of them most of the time since Iemitsu had to go back to work, she never felt lonely.
She frowned as her attention wandered to the picture next to it. It was taken on the first day of elementary school of her little Tsu-kun. He was looked very fetching in the school uniform though he was shyly looking away from the camera, fingering the edge of his shirt.
As he grew up much to her sadness her son became a lot less energetic, content in staying up in his room, and amusing himself. While most kids were a little clumsy, they soon grew out of it, but unlike them, her son's clumsiness grew worse. It wasn't rare to see him walk home covered in bruises after falling a few times on the way home or get chased by a dog. He also didn't have many friends since he never invited them to their house or asked to visit one on the weekends or after school.
As the school years progressed he brought home worse and worse marks and people began calling him names. It went to the point she even heard that cursed nickname from other mothers while she went out to the market (and why did they call him no-good? Just because someone is not that good at academics and sports it's not the end of the world). She thought she could help him best by not saying anything, not stepping into his matters but silently support him that he could become whoever he wanted.
Despite her intentions, her son became more withdrawn, more reclusive, finding solace within various mangas and video games. It broke her heart seeing him smile less and less honestly, but she did her best to support and show him that she loved him all the same. Yet the distance within them seemed to become wider and wider despite her best efforts.
And then came that game. Nana instantly teared up as her eyes wandered over to the last picture. It showed her son, yet at the same time, it did not. Iemitsu sent it to her a month ago, something that his contacts who he asked to look into getting their son out of that game were able to show for their efforts. Though her son was still motionless on a hospital bed, at least she got proof that he was still alive, not alone by himself and for the time being happy. And that simple fact meant the world to her.
Her son wore some kind of armor with orange clothes. On one of his shoulders was a lion while he had a smaller cape hanging from behind him and on his back, there was a sword. And out of all of those strange things that were what she found most surreal. Her baby was never a violent person, he could hardly hurt a fly after all. Yet there was something in the way he stood, the way he held himself. Even though he was smiling and looked relaxed, she couldn't help but feel as if she was looking at some kind of warrior from the medieval ages instead of her little Tsu-kun.
He stood in front of some kind of rich-looking mansion surrounded by many people. The first her attention wandered to was the young boy with short black hair and black eyes smiling next to her son. She saw him many times since incidentally he and Tsuna-kun were placed into the same hospital, into the same room, they even had been on neighboring beds. He was Yamamoto Takeshi, Tsuyoshi's son, the man she befriended, two of them helping each other through this whole mess.
On the other side stood a young man with foreign features, short blonde hair smiling similarly. Both he and Takeshi had their arms around her son. In front of them crouching on the ground, was a young girl with shoulder-length blonde hair and whisker marks on her face, both her hands forming peace signs as she smiled broadly at the camera. She wore a cloak that hid most of her figure but she was clearly a girl.
To their left stood three older teens. One was a very pretty girl with long chestnut hair. She wore white clothing with red crosses on it, a rapier at her side as she smiled at her camera. There was another girl with some kind of maid uniform and short pink hair, beaming widely. Between them, trapped and looking uncomfortable was a black-haired teen a few years older than her son with black clothes, looking out of place between the colorful and happy girls.
It should have been a happy picture. Her son was alive, he was happy and most of all he seemed to be surrounded by friends. But all she could see that he was with kids his age, who also had parents deathly worried about them, and worst of all, all of them had weapons almost proudly displayed on their person. And seeing a kid with a real weapon was not something that any parent could bear.
A whistling sound tore through her reminiscing, making Nana hurry back to her cooking. Soon she once again lost herself in happier memories as she continued cooking. No matter how depressed she felt over her son's condition she helped nobody by breaking down and doing nothing else.
She was just finishing up when someone knocked on the door, and after a moment opened it too. She heard footsteps and looking to the side she saw two young girls walking into the living room. One of them was a bubbly girl with a kind smile and orange hair. Her friend, a young girl with long black hair wore a more disinterested expression on her face. Both of them had a couple of notebooks in their hands.
"Excuse us for intruding Nana-san." the bubbly girl called out, smiling widely at the older woman. Despite her earlier sad thoughts, Nana found herself returning the smile without a thought, the girl was just so bright it was easy to be happy around her.
"Kyoko-chan, Hana-chan." she greeted them as she turned off the stove and turned to them."How are you doing? Do you want some stew? I only just finished them." she offered them curiously.
Kyoko was about to cheerily agreed before the black-haired girl, Hana cut her off with a sigh.
"We would love to Sawada-san, but Kyoko and I have to hurry home since we have a test coming up tomorrow." she said with an apologetic tilt of her head, making Kyoko pout at the reminder.
"Um, I forgot about that." she admitted with a sheepish chuckle before she and Hana placed the notebooks down at the living room's table."We just came by to drop off the notes on today's lesson. Sorry, we can't say Nana-san."
Nana's smile turned sad for a moment before she covered it up and walked over to the girls. She met Kyoko around a week after the start of the whole SAO incident. While she saw the girl in the town before they hardly interacted with each other even if she was Tsuna's classmate.
She started coming around, asking about Tsuna's condition and generally a bright spot in her worry-filled days. After a month, where it became obvious that the trapped ten thousand people won't wake up anytime soon, Kyoko with the help of Hana began to write notes for Tsuna, so he could have an easier time catching up when, and not if, she declared whenever Nana acted more depressed than usual, he finally woke up.
"Thank you for that Kyoko-chan, Hana-chan." she thanked them with a kind smile, subtly chasing away her errant thoughts."If you wait a minute, I can pack you a little food." she offered and Kyoko was happy to accept it.
"I could never say no to your awesome food Nana-san." she said joyfully and even though Hana pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance, she made no move to leave. Nana knew she loved her food as much as the bubbly girl, but was too refined to admit it.
She waved them goodbye, as the two girls went their way home, holding small containers of food. She watched them go with a smile before she went inside the house. They were kind girls, who always managed to cheer her up just a bit. Grabbing the notebooks, she went up the stairs to put them away in Tsuna's room.
She stopped just short of entering, hesitating. She knew it was pointless, that the room would be empty but a part of her that desperately wanted this whole thing to be nothing more than a nightmare expected that she would find her son sleeping, or maybe playing some sort of game in the messy room, crying out in embarrassment as she stepped in. But when she finally gathered the courage to open it, she found the room devoid of Tsuna, painfully clean and empty.
The mangas her son used to leave on the floor were put on the shelves, the clothes he haphazardly threw everywhere were back in the closet, the few games he had lying around were put back to their proper place and the bed was made for once. It looked like nothing like her son's room used to be, making her heart clench in pain.
Nana carefully placed the notebook down to a nearby desk where a dozen similar notebooks lied, all made by Kyoko and Hana, the lessons Tsuna missed since the start of the incident. It was always a painful reminder that her son was laying in a hospital for almost half a year now, with her unable to do anything at all, only waiting for a miracle.
"Please, come home Tsu-kun." she whispered to the silent room, permitting herself this moment of weakness. "Everybody is worried about you, you will miss out on a lot of school work that will be hard to make up for, and" a single tear escaped her eyes even as she tried to smile as if her son miles away on a hospital bed could feel her sadness. "Mama is very lonely." she admitted to herself.
She stayed there for a few minutes before she forced herself to leave and go back to the kitchen. She began to put the rest of the food into containers, planning to drop a little off to Tsuyoshi.
The man was a brilliant sushi chief but he was hopeless when it came to everything else and she wasn't sure it was healthy eating sushi all the time. The first few weeks after their sons were put in the hospital she didn't feel like cooking at all and the man brought her sushi and urged her to look after herself more. Bringing him a little food now and then was the least she could do for her friend.
Her eyes stopped at a recipe book that she left on the counter. It was an old book, a little frayed on the side. She picked up the book with a fond smile on her face. It belonged to her mother, she used to teach her to cook from that. Opening it and flipping through it she saw that she tried already most of the recipes in it but there were exceptions to that.
She hummed in thought as she found an interesting one, something she hadn't tried before. It looked very hard at first glance and she was sure it wouldn't turn out all that great at first. But, if anything she had time.
"Maybe I should try a few recipes out." she hummed to herself in thought, a small appearing on her face. "So I could have a few new dishes when both of my boys finally get back." she said wistfully.
-0-
Episode Buzz
"This is a mess and a half." Kuyaku Suzaku, mostly known as Buzz nowadays sighed tiredly, trying to quell the incoming headache. Agil next to him could only smile in sympathy while he continued to drink his tea. Sometimes he envied his friend's saint-like patience.
Earlier the day Natsu, Basil, Biggs, and Wedge went into the 27th-floor dungeon to explore a little, in hopes of maybe finally finding the boss room. Well, they did find it after being trapped in the dungeon for hours, encountering an organized player killer group, even capturing one of them. And then they show up as if nothing happened just as he gathered a force equaling a smaller raid party to rescue them.
Just when he thought that reckless brat could not get any more trouble, Natsu goes and just about destroys any of his expectations. Don't get him wrong, he was worried as hell about the kids, but there were days when looking after them felt like it was more trouble than its worth.
"All in all, it could have been much worse you know." Agil spoke up after the silence stretched too long, giving him a pointed look since he took the time to chew Natsu out, even when he looked a step away from falling asleep while standing.
Buzz huffed but didn't say anything. He was very aware he was not the easiest person to get along with. He could be very blunt, oblivious to other person's feelings and if it came to it he could be a huge hypocrite. It didn't endear many people to him but it was also his personality that caused him to befriend Agil. When they first met, he visited his newly opened bar, a bar that was still in its infant stages, and criticized the place without the least bit of remorse. In response, the other man only laughed before he got him his order and then they began to talk.
His ex-wife was one of the few people who could handle and even like a civilized barbarian like him as she used to affectionally call him. He was thankful that they parted ways amicably, so he could still be part of his little girl's life even if he was a slightly washed-up programmer.
He knew Natsu and the others were capable warriors on their own and could look after themselves but they were still just kids. It just didn't sit well with him to see them fighting for their life while many people twice their age covered back in starting the city. It didn't help that when he looked at Natsu in particular he didn't see the famous Orange Blaze, a player that could easily give him a run for his money but the scared little kid who wanted to go with him and Agil back at the first day, fearing the thought of staying back even more than the dangers ahead.
"Still those items and tactics Natsu and the others encountered are worrying." said Agil after he saw that Buzz was not very interested in speaking."A PK group with access to these kinds of resources and an upcoming second round against that two-headed giant." he pinched the edge of his brow with an irritated sigh."Our problems are just piling up one after another."
"As long as no one makes another dumb decision like that idiot Kibaou we should be fine." said Buzz with a thoughtful look."With players like Kirito, Heathcliff, and Natsu working together it would be easy to stay in formation. And according to the kids, the boss's attack patterns were relatively unchanged. I look forward less about the possible talks involving the prison for criminals." he scoffed as he stood up and walked to the nearest window, looking out to the starless sky."Always hated politics, never thought I had to deal with something like that in a game. Much less be an active part of it."
Sometimes he wondered how it came to this. It just started with the three of them, Agil, Natsu, and him trying to survive in the game. Ken joined them not long and to this day it still worried him how he went from a teenager with slightly suicidal tendencies to Natsu's most devoted follower if you discounted Basil.
Then came the first boss raid and he quickly learned how reckless Natsu could be if they don't keep an eye on him. Of course, it turned out well in the end, saving the life of Diavel and even cementing his place among the forming cleaners despite his age but it was not the matter. It was the first of the many reckless and seemingly impossible tricks he would do, ensuring that Buzz aged at least a decade each time, worrying about that kid.
After that first came Basil, then Biggs and Wedge joining for good and their guild finally came together. Yet even as the guilds squabbled with each other, the large guilds playing their little games, he was happy to be as far away from it as possible. He was only interested in working toward defeating the death game, to get him and his friends out by surviving. He was the last person who would have thought they would in a few months become one of the strongest guilds and have to worry about things like image, training lower-level players, and forcing cooperation between egotistical idiots that made up the larger part of the frontline force.
"Well, politics aside, you should talk with Natsu tomorrow. I don't believe he was pleased to learn that he was not told about the PKs you and Argo were investigating." Agil commented with a fond smile, even if he also agreed when they decided to keep the kids in the dark as long as they could.
"The kid is still naive, not wanting to believe humans can be real monsters sometimes." he grunted in answer, still looking outside."I'm not apologizing for wanting to keep him out of it."
"You are unusually gentle with these kids. Any other time and you wouldn't hold back against a toddler." Agil observed, laughing when his friend turned to him with a betrayed look."You can't shield them forever. Sooner or later they have to face these challenges themselves."
"Maybe, but for now we are to help them along, aren't we?" Buzz asked with a raised eyebrow as he walked back to his longtime friend and sat back down. "After all, it is the job of us, older folk to guide and protect the younger ones." he stated as he opened his inventory, selecting an item. A moment later an unremarkable bottle appeared before him.
"Speak about yourself, I'm not old, I'm at the prime of my life." the ax user grumbled to himself as he pulled out two small cups.
Buzz decided not to say anything instead he poured sake into the cups, the two friends sharing a small nod before drowning it. Drinking sake in the game was nowhere near the real thing but one could get used to it if there was no other option.
"I know I can't coddle them forever." the spear user admitted after the second cup, staring ahead but seeing something else."Guess, I just want to help them along their path as long as I can, until my time runs out." he said, missing the narrowed eyes of his friend.
"You talk as If you are gonna die." Agil stated instead of asking. Buzz looked over his friend and gave an empty smile.
"I have no plans to do that. I have a beautiful little girl to go back to. But,' his eyes grew distant as he spoke, and Agil had the feeling he even forgot he was even in the room. "ever since this damn game started in earnest, I was plagued by this feeling as if I am living on a borrowed time. Guess I just want to do as much as I can before my luck runs out." he was silent for a moment before snorting to himself and poured a cup of sake, quickly drowning it."Look at me, talking about mortality. At least the sake should burn properly if it can't even make me a little tipsy." he changed the subject, laughing to himself.
Agil didn't say anything, instead poured both himself and his friend, and the two began to drink, staying well away from the topic of death.
-0-
Episode Ken
"Natsu's not up yet? Should I go wake him up?" Ken asked with a raised eyebrow as they sat down at the table for breakfast with the notable exception of their guild leader.
It was the day after that terrible incident in the dungeon of the 27th floor and Ken felt especially bad about not being there for his friends. He knew in his mind that maybe nothing would have changed if he had been there, he wouldn't have known about what dangers awaited them, still, it did not mean he didn't blame himself. He swore to have Natsu's back, yet when he needed his help he was nowhere near.
Biggs, Wedge, and Basil looked like they didn't get even a wink of sleep and he feared to think of how Natsu dealt with this who admittedly was the most sensitive emotionally out of all of them. All three teens were hunched forward, dark circles under their eyes as they barely paid attention to what was going on around them. He was about to stand up and go to Natsu's room when Buzz simply stopped him with a gesture.
"Sit down and let him sleep." Buzz said after he shared a meaningful look with Agil. He leaned back on his chair, looking disinterested at first glance, but Ken knew well enough that he was just as worried about Natsu as any of them."He went through a lot yesterday and you won't help him if you pester him right now. Trust me, telling him everything gonna be fine will be more of a burden than anything. He needs time to accept what happened, to get it in his head that he did the best he could do. Right now the best you can do is give him a little space." advised the older man before going back to his breakfast.
Ken frowned but did as told and went back to eating no matter how little he liked it. In his mind, he decided that nonetheless, after breakfast he would bring a tray of food for his friend so he wouldn't have to starve just because he didn't feel like coming out of his room.
Friend, that word's meaning changed for him since he met Natsu and joined their forming group. Back in the real world, he thought he was surrounded by friends. He was great at baseball, their team's upcoming star, everyone liked him and wanted to talk with him, praising him. But after he befriended Natsu, who he knew previously as the timid, no-good Tsuna from school, he realized how wrong he was.
Those friends of his were only interested in his talent in baseball, what he could do for the team, what his popularity could mean for them but none of them ever asked what he wanted to do, what he liked. Looking back on it, they just hang around him so they could brag about being around a talented baseball player. It made him sad, knowing that not one of them tried to look past the fake smiles he always gave ever since his mother died years ago, so he could mask the pain and sadness he felt.
Not with Natsu. He had an uncanny sense of when he was faking a smile and he would always send this small frown to him, not saying anything but silently disapproving all the same. When he joined their little group, at that time only consisting of Agil, Buzz, and Natsu he was surprised how they acted toward him, even Natsu who knew him at least by reputation before. They looked out for each other, even him, making sure everything was alright, helped him whenever he struggled with something or other. They were with him, whenever he could no longer fake a smile, missing his father terribly.
Natsu and the others understood him like no one before. They didn't crowd around him, didn't praise him endlessly for his talents. They covered each other in a fight, helped each other during training. They shared an ambition, to beat the death game, but it was more than that. They were a family of their choosing, and no family left one of its members to themselves.
That's why he stood before his friend's door, holding a tray in his hands. It was packed with Natsu's favorites, thankfully he was able to talk Basil into helping him with his little idea. He was aware that probably he could say nothing to help him, but Natsu was there for him countless times and even if all he could offer was a friendly ear to hear him out, he would do it.
He tried to open the door but it was locked. With a sigh, he began to knock on the door, aware that his friend should hear it, even if he was asleep for some reason. Yet after a minute he stopped, the door remained locked. With a sigh he ran a hand through his hair, trying to think of what to do.
"Natsu, it's me, Ken." he called out in hopes that he could persuade him to open the door and let him in."I know you skipped breakfast and you know it's not good for you even if it's just virtual food so I brought you some. Please let me in."
After a long minute, there was no movement and Ken began to feel disheartened. He was about to place the tray down before his door and leave Natsu to himself, respecting his choice when with an audible click the door opened, Natsu poking his head out, looking uncomfortable.
He looked horrible, even worse than the others. His hair was disheveled, sticking into every direction. He had dark rings under his eyes, he was pale and exhaustion was visible on his face. Most of all, for some reason he was still in his field clothes, that is he still wore his armor, though at least he did not have his sword on his back.
Ken chose not to say anything about his appearance, instead, he schooled his features and sent him a kind smile, trying to put him at ease.
"Can I come in?" he asked with a friendly smile, holding up the tray.
Natsu simply stepped away from the door without a word, letting him inside. Ken entered the room, looking around curiously. It was the first time he was in the guild leader's room since it was rare to talk without the others around and having their own room was just the privacy they all needed, no matter how well they got along. Of course, the mansion's capacity was being stretched thin with the addition of new players joining, but for the time being, they were able to provide all players a room of their own.
Natsu's room was large, certainly larger than his, though Ken found he didn't mind. He liked his room just the way it was, a large room like the one assigned to the guild leader would unnerve him unnecessarily. It was sparsely decorated which was understandable, they had enough things to do without trying to farm for materials to make decorations. Though he had to smile at how much orange was in the room, the color seemed to stuck with Natsu's image.
Ken placed the tray down the nearby desk before he turned back to Natsu who was standing in the middle of the room restlessly, trying to not look his friend's way. He was failing miserably if the fidgeting and unsure glances were anything to go by.
"Are you alright?" Ken asked softly, but the brown-haired teen remained silent. Not feeling disheartened by it, he took step toward him but tried not to spook him. Natsu's acting reminded him of a caged animal, trying to find a way out. "I know probably you don't want to talk about it, even Buzz told me to leave you alone for a while, but...if you need someone to talk to, I'm here." he offered with a small smile.
He understood that maybe he can't help but it didn't stop him from offering. Natsu was with him and helped him through the rouge times he had in this game, where his homesickness got the best of him, he lent him a sympathetic ear no matter what, even if he wanted to sleep, he stayed up all night because Ken wasn't able to calm down.
When Natsu didn't react in any way, Ken gave a sad smile before turning around and walking toward the door. He was about to open it when Natsu's quiet voice.
"I just didn't think it would be this hard." he whispered, sitting down on the edge of his bed. He didn't look Ken's way, he looked as he was somewhere very far away. Probably in the dungeon of the 27th floor, Ken thought as he walked back and took a seat next to his friend.
They stayed for another minute, Ken waiting for him to talk, instead of rushing him while Natsu tried to gather his thoughts. When he finally knew what he wanted to say, he turned to him, a lost look on his face.
"I know it wouldn't be easy." he began, clarifying his earlier words."Beating 100 floors, even with Kirito's optimistic estimation it would take 2 or 3 years at the very least. Yet so many died already during the first month before we were able to reach any significant accomplishments. It took half a year for us to get to one-quarter of the way and how many died until now?" he asked, pulling up his knees and lowering his head, hiding his face but he couldn't exactly hide his shoulders trembling.
Ken knew where he was coming from. It was horrifying how many people died out of the ten thousand who initially logged into Sword Art Online. The last time Argo talked about these numbers, it was around two thousand and three hundred. It was a horrific number for sure, especially when you factor in that they only reached the quarter milestone.
"Th 25th-floor boss was horrible," he continued, still not looking at Ken. "but I continued to fight. Because I wanted to believe that there is a way out, then even if one person survives this hell, it would be worth it. But after what happened yesterday...just what's the point of this?" he suddenly cried out, finally turning to Ken with tears falling from his eyes."Why would people decide to just abandon everything and kill other people? I just can't understand. The game is gonna get harder and harder, more and more people will die eventually, yet they chose to make things worse and turn against the very people who fight for them. I can't understand. Why?" he asked, heartbroken.
"I don't know." Ken answered honestly, placing a hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure him. "I have no idea what to tell you, I can only tell you why I fight on, even if the odds are against, even if our enemies become stronger, craftier, and more dangerous after every battle." he told him, looking straight into Natsu's eyes.
He thought about his father who must be worried out of his mind, thought of how much he missed him. He thought about baseball and the school's baseball team but even though he missed the familiar sport a little bit it was not such a defining factor. He thought about the comrades, friends he found here, the ones who gave him the strength to on despite the odds. He thought of Natsu, Basil, Wedge, Biggs, Agil, Buzz, Argo, and all the others with who he shared so many memories, good and bad.
"If there is a reason for me to go, risking my life every day, it would be you and the others. My friends." at his surprised look he smiled and explained."When I was down when I doubted myself you guys were there for me, encouraging and helping me. You saved my life many times, so I think it's the least I can do and repay the favor with having your back."
Natsu opened his mouth to object but Ken didn't let him, he wanted, no needed to say his piece. As much as for Natsu's sake it was also for his own. Natsu needed to understand that the hardships before them did not undo all that they achieved, that there was a reason he and many others chose to follow him.
"It's almost certain that things will be harder from now on, that's true." he told him, still giving him a confident look."But I think after we worked so hard, after we come closer to the end, stopping now just because the odds are against us would be spitting in the face of everyone who helped us. Everyone who fought the frontlines, everyone who helped out from the support class, and everyone who died until now. I think the best way to honor them would be beating the game and saving as many people as we could. Wouldn't you agree?" he asked from Natsu, but his friend could not answer, only look ahead of himself, deep in thought.
Having said what he wanted, Ken gave a reassuring smile to his friend and stood up, ready to leave him to think things through. He was about to step out when Natsu softly spoke up once again. Looking back, his friend a small, unsure smile on his face but looking less lost than he did a few minutes ago.
"Thank you, for talking to me." Natsu admitted, looking to the side. "I don't know how I feel about all of this just yet but you are right. We accomplished so many things by working together, it would lose all of its meaning if I just gave up. Thank you, Ke-Takeshi." he corrected himself, addressing him in his real name instead of the one he chose for the game.
"Anytime, Tsuna." he promised, responding with a smile. He gave one last wave before he exited his room, closing the door.
As he walked away, he was surprised to see Agil standing at the end of the corridor with arms crossed, giving him an amused smile.
"Good talk?" he asked, laughing slightly at the sheepish look Ken sent his way.
"I guess, I think he needed someone to tell him it's okay to feel bad, to feel scared about what happened." he admitted, the large man giving a simple nod before stepping away from his way, letting him leave. He promised to accompany Basil to the town to get groceries that they couldn't farm or just wasn't worth farming.
Natsu will be alright, he reasoned in his might. Despite his usually shy nature, he was passionate when it comes things that he believed in and he always worked to protect everyone. Everyone saw him as that larger-than-life Orange Blaze, forgetting that he still was just a little kid, trapped in a death game who despite the odd tried to do his best. But he will be alright because he had his friends, his guild at his side, ready to walk with him to the 100th floor and beyond, no matter the obstacles before them.
-0-
Episode Asuna
Throughout her life, Yuuki Asuna was demanded to act like perfection itself. A perfect daughter, a perfect student, a perfect lady. All she got was various expectations hurled her way. She couldn't reach anything less than 100 on her test, couldn't do anything unladylike, couldn't act her age but as a mature young woman, even as a ten-year-old and she definitely couldn't complain to either her father or mother, who excepted her to uphold the image of the daughter of the Yuuki household.
She was the perfect daughter but of course, it was not something praiseworthy, it was the less she could do. And even though she never spoke up, never disagreed with her parents, her tutors, or anyone in her life, a part of her longed to rebel, no matter if it was something insignificant, she wanted to do something for herself, not for the daughter of Yuuki Shouzou.
That was why, when her brother missed the opening of the long-awaited Sword Art Online because of a business meeting, she snuck into his room and tried out his NerveGear herself, so she could feel like a normal girl for once in her life. The irony of how far from normal her life became after that was not lost on her and though her life was in constant danger and she missed her family and all the annoyances that came with that, there was a part of her that thrived in this world.
She was initially devastated, losing all hope of getting out of the game alive. Until she met a strange swordsman who invited her to the first-ever boss strategy meeting. Later, as she met not only the strange swordsman who up to this day confused her with his attitude, she met many other exceptional players who she started to look up to in various ways. And finally, she seemed to catch the light at the end of the tunnel, began to believe there was hope for them all.
Of course, back then, it was so much simpler. Farm, level up, scout the boss room, gather a group to face the boss, and look out in case Natsu once again tries something incredibly idiotic, reckless, and strangely effective all the same when no one excepts it. That kid alone was responsible for putting a couple of gray hairs on her head.
Back then at least she didn't have to manage a bunch of adults bickerings like seven-year-old children on guild meetings, strategy meetings, and her life was clear of the politics that nowadays eat so much of her time. In times like these, she understood Kirito's preference for a solo lifestyle.
"Could we focus on more important matters for once?" she forcefully cut off, Uzula, one of the sub-leaders of their guild, who was busy complaining about finding it hard to organize farming fields for their middle to high-level members, while blatantly insulting to the other sub-leaders about not caring about the betterment of other players.
She was in an emergency guild meeting that Heathcliff called not long after Natsu and Basil left, making her scramble to assign a room for the three players who got caught in all of this PK business and were nowhere near the condition to leave right now. After that, she met Heathcliff and the other three sub-leaders in a smaller conference room, instead of the large hall where they usually met other players from outside their guild which had a much formal and stiff atmosphere.
It did not mean sitting in a smaller and slightly comfier room for half a day, spending it arguing was much better but at least it only involved the sub-leaders instead of the so-called upper echelons also involved which would drag out the meeting even more. She was a patient young girl but even she had limits.
Their guild's leadership consisted of the leader and founder Heathcliff and four other sub-leaders, including her. Heathcliff left most of the guild's management and administrative work to them, content to let them sort out any problems that arose. Despite being the leader of the guild, he had a very relaxed approach, acting more like a public head than anything else. Even during boss strategy meetings, he preferred Asuna leading instead of him. Though no one questioned his position as leader of the guild since when it came to fighting he was first in line, leading from the front.
Daizen was the head of finances, the one responsible for their funds and charge of supplying their members with equipment and other essential items. He was also the one who had contact with the merchant players, responsible for selling all unneeded equipment and other loot. He was a plump older man who always had a large, delighted smile on his face and despite being in charge of finances he was pleasant and altogether honest. Asuna could see why Heathcliff appointed him as the head of finances, everybody who talked with him even for a little could tell Daizen was a likable person.
The rest of the guild was sorted into three teams, teams A, B, or C. Of course each of these teams consisted of several teams but they were all in the leadership of one of the remaining sub-leaders. Team A was the scouts, those who usually were sent out to explore new floors, venture into the dungeons in hopes of finding the boss room, and even sometimes prodding the boss to discover its attack patterns before the official raid. Team B was the raid team, their members were the ones who usually trained day and night to be several levels higher than needed for any mid-boss or boss battle. They were the ones who made an appearance on boss battles, the elite of their guild so to speak. Last, Team C consisted of those who were not yet strong enough for the frontlines and were helped by the rest of the guild to catch up.
Godfree was the leader of Team A, an easy-going man despite his large and imposing stature. He jokingly called the men under him, the Vanguard of the KOB. He disliked conflicts and usually tried to find ways to make people work together. He might not have been the sharpest tool in the shed but he had a cool head, something that was a lot of help when Asuna had to try and keep people acting idiotic.
She was the leader of Team B, not much of a surprise since she was a core part of strategy boss meetings and boss raids long before the guild was formed by Heathcliff. That was one reason she knew why her leader preferred to leave many things to her. Despite her association with the beater Kirito, she was still someone very respected among the cleaners and many people were ready to follow her instructions without question. She felt a little flattered by it but she detested the politics that came with her position.
If there was someone she severely disliked in the guild it was the leader of Team C, Uzula. The thin, sickly-looking mace user came previously from the Kaiser Dragons guild, seeking to gain a position of authority in the newly formed guild. And while he was the leader of a large part of their forces, it was never enough for the man, always trying to gain more power, more men under his 'leadership'. He was annoying, looked down severely at her for her gender and age, and unpleasant all the same. His only saving grace was that he was somewhat competent and right now with the instability in their guild and the frontline as a whole, they couldn't bother with internal disputes.
"Enforcing the stability of our farming grounds is a very important matter." Uzula spoke up, sneering at her, angered at being cut off. Asuna held back a tired sigh, her head already hurting from all this nonsense.
That was one thing she did hate. The fighting over spots worth farming on against other players, most frequently the Holy Dragon Alliance who was not afraid to get a little rough with other players just to ensure that every spot worth hunting on was in their control. Uzula, being a former member of one of their founding guilds seemed to follow that same idea and always voiced his wish for them to be more proactive when new farming spots became known much to Asuna's annoyance.
She would have liked it if they took a page out of the Keepers of the Seven Rings' book for once. Despite their large numbers, they continued to send only small farming parties at a spot so they could farm without interruption and without blocking others from doing the same things. It was not the easiest method, especially with the HDA, Uzula's Team C, and other smaller guilds trying to force their will on others but they made it worth it. Of course, whenever Asuna suggested this, she was severely rebuffed.
"Uzula, you may not have heard of it, but today player killers attacked a party on the 27th floor, killing two players." Godfree cut him off with a frown. Uzula opened his mouth to speak up but silenced himself when he caught Asuna's sharp gaze.
A week ago they decided to look into the PKs happening on lower levels, letting Uzula lead that investigation that not so surprisingly didn't have any results. Even he knew better than to object and risk the Flash's wrath. Many people admired her beauty and strength, but the people who feared to anger her was equal at least to that.
"That horrible." Daizen said shocked, looking genially distressed by the news. "Was the attacked party ours? I also heard they had captured someone is that true?" he asked, looking at Asuna for an answer.
"There were two attacked parties, one from the Keepers of the Seven Rings and a not guild affiliated party. They captured one of the player killers and since they were short on time, at the party leader Natsu's request we used one of our lower dungeons as a makeshift prison." she explained. Godfree leaned forward, listening intently while Daizen looked even more distressed, reaching up and sweeping his brow with a handkerchief.
"Figures those losers couldn't even take on some scum like those player killers." Uzula sneered, he never quite liked the members of KoSR, especially Natsu. A moment later he cringed and looked away as Asuna's killing intent washed over him.
"It could have happened to anybody." Heathcliff spoke up, surprising the others. Their leader preferred to remain silent in these meetings."What matters is that we find a solution going forward. The day after tomorrow we will hold a strategy meeting between guilds, partially to talk about the PK problem but also prepare the boss battle since Natsu-kun and his group coincidently also found the boss room." explained the leader, leaning back on his chair and watching their reactions intently.
"He also said he would consult with Argo for a possible place to held the criminals for long term." added Asuna, when she saw Uzula ready to protest.
"Maybe we could demand a fee for housing such a dangerous person even temporally." mused Daizen with a hand to his chin. "After all, we have to account for the danger the guards who placed there could face, the time lost in their farming, not an unreasonable amount but still our effort should be rewarded." he mumbled, more to himself with the others. Asuna felt her eyebrow twitch in annoyance, Daizen was not a bad man at all but since he took his job as head of finances seriously, he tended to overlook things or simply focused on the wrong thing when it came to money.
"Why are you even thinking about money at a time like this?" objected Godfree, cutting off Uzula who was about to agree with Daizen if his heavy nodding anything to go by."We should be thinking about taking steps to defend our men from the various tricks the player killers deploy." Asuna truly appreciated having someone who genuinely wanted to help people in her corner if she needed to routinely deal with idiots. And many could be said for Godfree, being a little slow in the head was one of them but at least he had his heart in the right place.
Asuna withheld a sigh as she leaned back in her chair while Godfree and Uzula began to argue in earnest with Daizen not so helpfully contributing a few times and Heathcliff watched in silence. At times like these, she wondered how would a similar meeting go in Natsu's guild, and maybe she would have been better off joining them when it was jokingly offered to her.
As soon as the thought appeared in her head, she violently shook her head, trying to expel the thought. If she had so much trouble with managing to keep together and in line this guild, she didn't want to imagine how much work would it be to keep that reckless kid she sometimes affectionally called a younger brother out of trouble.
A small smile appeared on her face as she got lost in thought, thinking about how proper, perfect little Yuuki Asuna would react if she ever met Asuna, the Flash. She was aware that she had quite a temper to go along with her mastery of the rapier, something that naturally made many males around her wary of her. And as much her she missed her old life, her family, and that safety found in her normal, boring life, a part of her could help but flourish in this virtual world where it didn't matter whose daughter she was, it didn't matter if she didn't act like the perfect lady. She was free to be whoever she wanted to be, even if she was not always sure of who that person was.
She was Asuna, the Flash, Sub-leader of the Knight of the Blood, one of the most respected frontliners. She was friends with the black swordsman Kirito, the Orange Blaze Natsu, even the Rat were many dangers in this world, yes, but for once in her life, she felt she was free to follow her will. And despite her conflicted feeling about her life in the real world, she intended to use everything in her power to see the end of the game, together with her friends.
That reminded she had to repay back Natsu for teasing her about that good for nothing Kirito.