Hello, Naintarlow checking in.
Sorry for the late chapter but with school starting (for the time being) and work, I have a lot less free time so my updates will be even less punctual. I will try to write smaller chapters so you don't have to wait months for the next chapter but even if it takes a while, I plan to work on my fics so be patient.
This chapter is kind of a filler and preparing to jump into the thick of the Laughing Coffin arc, and after that, we will have larger time skips as we approach the end of the game.
How do you guys like my version of boss fights? Should I cover more of them, or skip through them and mention them briefly? I definitely plan to write the 27th, the 50th, the 74th, and the 75th raid but do you want to read more about other boss fights when the pacing of the story suits to cover it?
Reviews:
HorseAdmirer: Obviously I won't give spoilers but I see where you are coming from. I plan at least one of them to become a guardian/element but I'm rather on the fence on the other one at the moment. But there will be changes to Tsuna's elements, that I can guarantee. And I agree, it will be hilarious to see professional killers completely shocked when they expected to fight school kids and found highly competent warriors.
Phoenix: You don't have to worry, even if sometimes it's slower going, I am going to work on this story, and see it through the end. Maybe it will take a decade with the speed I am going, hopefully not.
TheSamurai'sRose: Thanks, I plan to do things like that from time to time, good to knew that my readers aren't opposed to this.
Thank you for the favorites, follows, and reviews, I really appreciate your support. Let's not keep you waiting any longer.
Level 12 survival of the fittest
"This place changed a lot since the last time we have been here, didn't it?" Natsu asked softly, feeling a little out of place as he and Buzz stepped away from the teleport gate.
Around them was a large city, seemingly abandoned at first glance. The large square was empty, only a few NPCs milling a little distance away, but no players lingered around. Despite this initial picture, this city was far from unpopulated, with almost four thousand players still claiming it as their home.
They were back where everything began. Where newly made avatars spawned for the very first time when this whole thing was nothing more than an innocent game. This was where Kayaba gave that ominous tutorial that changed everything. The front square of the City of Beginning, on the 1st floor of the floating castle of Aincrad.
"I think it's more correct to say that we changed a lot since that time." Buzz commented as they confidently began to walk, a moment later the teleport gate flaring up behind them once again. "we were the very few ones who never came back after the first day."
Natsu nodded at his words, thinking about the day everything started. Even before the first boss battle, they stuck to other small towns and villages, closer to the dungeon, instead of staying and feeling sorry for themselves. According to Argo, there was still a ton of players who had never left the confines of the city's safe zone, not even with other, stronger players accompanying them.
"But why do we have to come here?" he complained as he crossed his arms, not wanting to think about what would have happened to him if he didn't meet Buzz and Agil on the day of opening. "The least Kibaou could do is to meet us himself instead of forcing us to come to him." he continued to grumble, even as Buzz laughed beside him. Natsu made no secret of his dislike of the cactus-haired man.
"Because both Kibaou and Thinker pulled their guilds away from the frontline before uniting their guilds and they don't attend strategy meetings because of that. But this is a talk we better have in person." a voice said from behind him disapproving, making him cringe at the lecture.
Asuna stood behind them with crossed arms and a slight smile on her face despite her earlier words. She was standing confidently, and both Natsu and Buzz noticed that a few residents of the city came out and watched her in amazement. After all, aside from her proficiency as a fighter, she was also famous for her beauty and she was very well known among the lower level players than brutes like Natsu or Kirito. At least that was what Argo said.
"Yo, Asuna." Buzz greeted her flippantly, not at all intimidated by the girl who could cause grown men to fearfully back away when she was stuck in one of her moods. It helped he had almost two heads on her and generally very few people could unnerve him.
"Hi, Asuna-nee-chan." Natsu on the other hand greeted her with the most innocent and adorable face he could muster. In hindsight maybe he shouldn't have teased her about a certain black swordsman a few days ago since the sub-leader of the KoB was known to hold grudges for a long time. She still yet to forgive Lind, the leader of the HDD for his treatment of Kirito and other confirmed beta testers. Though he didn't disagree with that.
"You guys are as easy-going as ever. You should act more befitting of your positions instead of acting like a pair of vagabonds." she scolded them though her playful smirk took out the sting off most of the words. "Especially you Natsu, a guild leader should project a more confident image." she said turning to the young boy who gave a good impression of a deer caught in a headlight.
Before he could say anything in his defense a pair of arms wrapped themselves around his neck protectively as he felt a slender body pull itself close to his and a head resting itself on top of his. If this whole situation was not familiar enough, the barely suppressed snicker on Buzz's face told him more than enough information on the identity of the person hugging him.
"What did I tell you about bullying my adorable Na-kun?" the voice of the whiskered informant rang out about him as she unsuccessfully tried to mold their virtual avatars into one being. "Only I can do it, Asuna-chi, and don't you forget it. Na-kun is mine and mine alone. " she declared proudly, talking about him as if he was some object.
Natsu blushed in embarrassment and tried to wiggle out of her grip to no avail. Despite having a much larger strength Stat than the Rat in question he was still unable to break out of her grip even if he should be able to in theory. That just goes to show that while the world mechanics were ruled by their stats there were curious exceptions to the rule.
"Argo, why do you have to do this every time?" he asked timidly, trying not to look at Buzz who was slowly losing the battle to hold back his laughter. Though he protested her frequent habit of draping herself over him, both of them knew it was more of a token effort.
"Why because I just love that little surprised sound you make whenever I do this." she admitted without the slightest amount of shame or embarrassment even as players who wandered over began to look at the commotion she was causing.
If possible Natsu turned even redder and Buzz finally lost his battle against the laughter that threatened to escape and began to guffaw loudly. Before the young boy could deny or agree with Argo's words she continued without mercy.
"Don't tell me, my little Na-kun found a new girl to focus his affections on? How cruel fate is to have fallen for the charms of a playboy like you." she wailed in mock sadness. Though he didn't see her face he knew she had a Cheshire-like grin on her face." And after all of those nights, we spent together, just the two of us. Do those passionate memories mean nothing to you? "
Natsu immediately paled as he realized what Argo was referring to. This sent Buzz through a new wave of laughter that causes him to have trouble staying upright. On the other hand, Asuna's face went through a very scary transition from a used to annoyed and finally furious.
"T-That's not true. At least not the way you think." Natsu hurriedly tried to explain himself to the brown-haired girl, waving his hands around frantically."Well, it was the two of us, but we weren't doing anything we were just talking, talking, I swear."
It was true, that when she chose to spend her nights at their mansion they frequently spent a large portion of it in his room, just talking. Argo was one of the very few who never really treated him like a kid, even if she teased him all the time. She was honest with him and they both found someone who could listen to whatever silly thoughts came up in their heads and needed to went it without fearing to be judged for it. But that was the extent of it, save for one instance when they fell asleep on his bed and Ken woke them up, only to find Argo spooning Natsu whose face was so red that they seriously feared he would boil then and there.
Before he could take control of himself and try to explain himself calmly, Mount Asuna finally erupted something that was in a long time in the making.
"Argo!" she cried out, eyes glaring at the information broker accusingly. While most times Argo was unflappable, for once even she looked taken aback. "I had it with you stop corrupting Natsu-kun. I won't let you make him into some kind of pervert." she shouted, not caring about the players around them.
"Ara? And what about Na-kun corrupting me?" soon Argo regained her normal, mischievous expression and she lowered face next to Natsu's and began to nuzzle it much to his embarrassment."Thanks to him I can no longer sleep peacefully without cuddling to him."
'Please, kill me.' Natsu thought desperately, as Asuna gaped at them, feeling the last of his dignity evaporate into thin air.
"Okay, enough of playing around." Buzz said after he laughed himself out thoroughly, ending the young boy's misery. He reached out, grabbing his collar and pulling him out of Argo's grasp."Alright then, calm down. Didn't we have a job to do here, instead of fooling around, Asuna?" he addressed the younger girl after the rat relented with only a bored sigh.
The famous Flash of the frontlines gave a body-wide blush as she noticed the curious players looking at them. She opened her mouth but closed it a moment later, not finding her voice. Thankfully, the sudden flare of the teleport gate saved her from trying to defend herself.
A young man around Asuna's age or maybe a year younger stepped out of the teleportation gate, wearing the familiar white and red armor of the kob. He looked around frantically, his face brightening as he spotted his vice-leader who gave out an annoyed sigh at his appearance then began to run towards her.
"Asuna-sama, please don't take off without warning, what could have happened if anyone attacked you?" the young man asked as he stopped before her and began to collect his breath as he obviously ran from wherever he came.
He was a little taller than Natsu, with short blonde hair and blue eyes. He was pretty, more in a cute way than handsome, a two-handed greatsword of high quality resting on his back. It was player-made if he wasn't mistaken, Natsu recognized the work of Liz who provided a large part of the KoB's and their own guild with equipment since her work was the most reliable among smiths.
He had good equipment but it was clear after one look at him that his level was lower than any of the other present frontliners. Natsu and his friends tended to have several levels above the recommended level of the current floor, while this teen was barely hitting that recommended level if he was not mistaken.
"Who would be able to attack me in the middle of a safe zone? I'm not about to accept a duel or anything like that." Asuna argued, crossing her arms over her chest, glaring angrily at the young teen who surprisingly didn't back down.
"It's even more reason not to move alone, Asuna-sama without even one guard since those people who hunt other players couldn't be trusted to think logically." he argued with passion. His words would have made some sense if he was not noticeably weaker than his charge.
Natsu and the others watched on with amusement, the young boy glad to not be the center of embarrassment for once.
"Who is the Puppy, Asuna?" Buzz asked with a raised eyebrow, cutting into their conversation.
"P-puppy?" the young teen asked back, indignant at first but as he recognized Buzz, who was a well-known frontliner himself, he visibly shrunk back a little.
While he may not have a nickname, like Kirito, Asuna, or even Natsu, Buzz was still a well-known and respected player. Not to mention many lower-level players found them to be larger than life because of all the rumors about them and the fact they usually found themselves in the thick of it, in almost every boss fight. So it was understandable that the young man was a little intimidated by Buzz.
A lot of people revered, admired, and even envied the members of the so-called old guard, the sadly diminishing number of veteran players who were fighting since the 1st floor. Natsu had gotten used to the various expression he and his friends got whenever they ventured to lower floors, even met with newly joined frontliners.
Argo began to cackle madly at the very apt nickname, while Natsu sent his way a polite smile, silently apologizing for his friends' behavior. Since Argo, Buzz, and even Kirito tend to act rudely, because of that, both Natsu and Asuna had to act polite, despite their personal feeling most of the time to mitigate some of the damage the three of them can unknowingly or knowingly in Buzz's case, cause.
Asuna sighed as if the whole world was on her shoulders, the brown-haired guild leader could sympathize with her. She gestured to the young knight, who couldn't seem to decide to be either incredulous or nervous.
"This is Climb, he is one of the members of the guild group under my direct command. After the incident you had in the labyrinth, Heathcliff decided that we shouldn't move alone since if this laughing coffin is brave enough to attack you guys, they could attack anyone, anywhere. And since I usually travel by myself or you guys, the other sub-leaders argued they should place an escort with me, hence Climb here. "she explained with a huff.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Climb seemed to find his voice after his introduction, giving a low bow to the other high-level players before he turned back to Asuna."Please understand Asuna-sama, it is not your abilities in question that made the other leaders assign me to you but by yourself, you could be overwhelmed or simply led into a trap so everyone thought it would be better to have someone with you." he explained through by the end he looked a little uneasy, sending cautious glances to Buzz and Argo, and even to Natsu a few times.
Natsu could understand what he truly meant by the last part even if he didn't like it. A lot of the players at the KoB and HDD guilds were still in a mindset of hating beaters, even in leading positions. And while Kirito chose to shoulder this burden by himself, for the most part, thanks to idiots like Kibaou or Lind, even Buzz and by extension, their guild still got a lot of mistrust. It was annoying but it was also a fact of life they had to accept for the time being.
"I hope you didn't mean to insinuate that we couldn't protect Asuna if anything happened." Buzz said with a sharp smile, less forgiving towards idiots with less than 3 brain cells as he called the beta haters.
"He really wouldn't," Argo cut in with just as sharp of a tone, eying Climb with a glare that for once contained no mirth as the young man began to fidget in place. "after all, our very own Orange Blaze could be offended by the distrust in his skill, which could even lead to worsening relations between two leading guilds." she let the end ominously trail off, making him even more nervous.
Natsu knew both of them well enough, to see both Buzz and Argo mouth quirk up in suppressed smiles, confirming that they were messing with Climb. And while he accepted his fate to be eternally teased, mostly by Argo, he wanted to spare others from such fate, so he spoke up.
"Please, stop teasing him, before he faints." he said in an annoyed tone, sending a disapproving look to Buzz who failed to hide his snickers."Let's go to the meeting, I personally want to be as far from Kibaou as possible before the day is over."
Climb's shoulders sagged noticeably at the knowledge he didn't anger the leaders of a sizeable part of the clearers with his careless words, whose Argo cackled as she tightened her grip on Natsu.
"My, my, Na-kun, when do you get so mature? If you aren't careful you gonna break the hearts of young girls everywhere you go before long." she noted with a large grin on her face as she continued to cuddle with the brown-haired teen.
"Let's just go, please." he pleaded as he once again remained unsuccessful in trying to escape the information broker's grip.
-0-
"That egotistical idiot, he should be flattered that we still trust him to do anything after the stunts he pulled." Asuna said angrily as she stormed out of the Black Iron Palace, the building the Aincrad Liberation Army or the Army for short used as their headquarters, the other trailing behind her, with Climb almost running as he tried to keep pace with her.
The few people who were in her way wisely moved away without a sound as soon as possible, not wishing to invoke the anger of the famous Flash.
The others were also annoyed or frustrated in various stages. Buzz was calm on the outside but those who knew him knew he was fuming, Argo was listing all the ways she could ruin Kibaou under her breath, and Natsu who was jokingly called a Saint of patience as frowning as he also left.
"Asuna-nee, please calm down, it's not worth getting mad over something we knew could you are scaring the others." Natsu called out to her, pointing at the poor players still in the visible range, trying their best to blend into the background. They were players who probably never left the city of beginning and with Asuna further scaring them, he doubted it would change anytime soon.
Asuna stopped, turning to Natsu, her face still flush with righteous anger and she opened her mouth to snap back at him, before she looked around, took a big breath, and tried to calm down.
"You are right, we expected this but it still doesn't make it right. That pompous... Argh, I don't even know what kind of low-level degenerate he is." the auburn-haired girl gave a sigh, her shoulders slumping in exhaustion. In response Natsu patted her shoulder, smiling encouragingly at her.
While they were aware of Kibaou's personality, they were hopeful that the other leader of this newly formed Army, Thinker could rein in that cactus haired loudmouth. Unfortunately, while Thinker was a more rational and pragmatic man, he didn't have the charisma that Kibaou seemed to have, so his words had a much lesser impact than Natsu's group would have liked. It led to Kibaou pompously making demands of them for making a prison for orange and red players out of the Black Iron Palace, such ridiculous demands that had Asuna lose her infamous temper and leave angrily after verbally tearing Kibaou a new one. Natus would have lied if he said he didn't laugh at certain parts of the tirade.
"We all know that he is only blowing hot air out of his mouth." Argo chimed in after she calmed down."None of his ridiculous demands will be accepted, and he will be thankful for what we offered at first. Unlike him, Thinker probably is well aware that it's us who are doing them a favor, not the other way around."
The others nodded in agreement, save for Climb who looked around confused and a little lost. Deciding to help out her subordinate, Asuna began to explain the politics behind the information most people knew.
"Right now the Army as it's now called, barely even exists. The losses on the 25th on Kibaou's part, many players leaving on both sides of the newly formed guild, and the sheer loss of prestige from retiring from the frontlines left them basically crippled. Their guild is supposed to stand for the weaker players, those who stayed behind, but right now they can't even support their members. They cannot afford to refuse this duty with the promised small but for them still significant contributions from major guilds." she explained briefly, the blond teen making an impressed sound in response before furrowing his brows once again.
"I understand why they should accept, housing the criminals but why were they offered in the first place? Is there something special in the Black Iron Palace, couldn't our guild or any other do the same thing." he asked curiously.
The others looked at each other at his question, before giving a collective sigh. In the end, Natsu was the one who decided to explain the ugly truth.
"In one word? It's politics." he admitted with a sigh."While Lind would like nothing more, both Heathcliff and I know that if any of the frontline guilds got this job, especially a major one like the holy dragon alliance, the carefully crafted balance between the guild would be destroyed, creating further problems for us. Among us cleaners, there are too many individuals too many people who like to think they know better to let just one take the lead and decide anything for us. Not to mention no leader among us could pull off taking control without causing infighting. Heathcliff could be one" he said as he saw Climb open his mouth in protest before continuing." but he came too late for us veterans to simply accept him and he stays out of the general public too much. Kirito may be a candidate but he is still viewed largely as a beater and too much of a loner."
"Not to mention, we couldn't afford to pull out any competent players from the frontlines in the name of guard duty." Buzz added with a nod to himself."Better to give it to guys who actually could spare the people for it."
"That is also true. Honestly, we wouldn't have to make so many precautions if we knew anything concrete about the limitations of the unknown teleport item they have on their hands." complained Asuna with a tired sigh. Since Heathcliff tended to rely on her when it came to contact with other guilds, the past few days were mentally tiring for the young girl.
"I see." Climb muttered, though he still had a little lost look on his face. Natsu wasn't surprised by this, while he got used to the whole politics the guild leaders were required to take, it was a little surreal to anyone seeing it from the outside.
The whole politicking must have been one of the reasons for Thinker to pull back, he mused to himself as they continued to talk among themselves, heading for the teleport gate, he was too honest and naive for his own good. Not that he wasn't but he had the advice of Argo, Agil, and Buzz to work with. They also had different goals. Thinker concentrated on helping lower level players while Tsuna and his friends concentrated on beating the game as soon as possible with minimal casualties. In the end, MMO Today's retreat was inevitable.
"I hate politics." he declared miserably, even though he was well aware that his guild did a lot of good while working together with the KoB and smaller guilds if he could, he would skip that part of his life. Asuna and Buzz, having a similar mindset only laughed at him.
"Don't worry Na-kun, I will protect your innocence from meddling old men." Argo giggled as she once again gobbled the brown-haired boy much to his embarrassment.
"Geez Argo, at least don't say so easily misunderstood things in public." Asuna scolded her, pointing at a group of players near them who looked away, flustered. A moment later they stopped, having reached the teleport gate."Guess, it's time to split up. Unfortunately, I have still a lot of work to do, not the least to organize the boss meeting and raid for tomorrow." she added, looking a little tired all of a sudden.
"Heathcliff really works you to the bone. It's like he is only guild master in name." Buzz commented with a frown on his face. Asuna smiled tiredly but didn't comment on it.
"Anyway, see you guys tomorrow. Hopefully, the raid will go down without problems and Kibaou gets off his daydreams to see reality." she laughed softly at the disbelieving looks sent at the last part by Natsu and Buzz, waving them one last time before walking into the gate.
Climb hurriedly followed her but quickly stopped and giving a deep bow to the three other frontliners.
"It was an honor to meet you, Natsu-dono, Buzz-dono, Argo-dono. I wish you best." he said respectfully before running after Asuna, not wanting to be left behind by his charge.
"Cute kid." Buzz commented with a snort as the two members of the KoB disappeared in the light of teleportation."I give him a week before Asuna gets fed up with that whole bodyguard thing and she loses that legendary temper of hers."
"I want to disagree with that but Asuna-nee doesn't handle very well being told what to do. Guess, it's lucky that Heathcliff generally so hands-off in enforcing his will." Natsu laughed with a little nervousness as if expecting Asuna to appear, sensing that they were talking about her. He was distracted when a little icon popped up, notifying him that he got a private message.
"Well, let's not talk about Climb in front of Ki-bou or he may get jealous." Argo giggled to herself as she was in no hurry to leave."Better yet, be sure to mention him, I wanna see his reaction."
"Where is that guy nowadays? He shows up from time to time but then disappears for days. I know he is a solo player and a loner but the last few weeks he stopped even coming around." Buzz asked with a raised eyebrow. While it could not be said he got along with the silent Kirito very well, but he certainly respected him as a player and even as an acquaintance.
Natsu would have liked to know that too, since he looked up to the black swordsman, in part because of their similar fighting styles, and in part because he found himself able to relate to the reclusive teen who preferred to stay out of the public eye so to speak. But he was distracted by the message sent to him, so he spoke up, diverting the subject.
"Ken just messaged me. He said he and Klein found a lead on the Laughing Coffin." he told them, and both of their faces reflected his own surprise. While they decided to look into this whole PKer thing, none of them thought they could find anything after such a short duration, since that group managed to stay in the shadows up until now.
"What does it say?" Buzz said, shaking himself out of his shock. Natsu once again looked at the small window opened in front of him.
"It says they found someone who could give us information about the PK guild. He said to come to a restaurant on the 14th floor." he read it out, both Argo and Buzz humming in thought."I wonder what's going on?"
"Well, we will never know if we are not going right?" the information broker threw in with a large grin. Let's see what they found." she cheered, thrusting her hands above her head, before turning around and heading for the teleport gate.
Behind her Natsu and Buzz shared a look, giving a synchronized sigh.
"I'll send a text to Agil to not expect us to be back just yet. Can you send one to Asuna so she will not be surprised if we have to hold an emergency meeting between the guilds?" Buzz asked, the young teen nodding before quickly tapping the window in front of him.
A moment later, both of them sent a message off before stepping into the teleport gate and disappearing from the 1st floor.
-0-
"Yo Natsu, Buzz, Argo." Ken waved at them with a smile as the three of them neared the restaurant where Ken's message said they were sure to meet. Despite smiling, it was clear for them that Ken was tense and ready for a possible fight even in a safe zone, as evidenced by the hand on his sword.
"Hey, Ken." Natsu was the first one to speak up, looking carefully at his friend, trying to spot anything wrong or amiss, while Buzz stayed back surveying the area carefully. Argo slipped into the restaurant, using her stealth skills to make sure everything was alright in there too.
Ordinarily, something like that was not necessary, after all, they were in the safe zone, but this PK business put them into paranoia. After all, if they have items that can block maps, teleport items that nobody ever heard of before, Buzz reasoned, they shouldn't let their guard down for the time being. Of course, Natsu felt that Buzz tended to go overdrive with his paranoia sometimes, while Argo mostly egged him on.
But it looked like he deemed things clear because he walked next to them, looking at Ken with interest.
"Everything alright? Did you guys run into any problems?" he asked, raising an eyebrow when the katana user bit back a grimace.
"We did run into a little trouble and had a few close calls but we are fine." he said, not meeting either of his friend's eyes before he turned serious. "But more importantly, we may just found out the location of the Laughing Coffin's base and an attack they are planning on the frontlines." he told them, both Natsu's and Buzz's eyes widening in surprise.
One of the largest disadvantages of being an orange player, other than the fact that you obviously killed someone, is that an orange player could not enter a city, the guards will attack on sight, and even if someone made it into the safe zone, they are quickly chased down and thrown out. It made things harder, like buying weapons, supplies, or even renting a room so the player could sleep somewhere safe.
It made sense for the PKers to stick together, strength in numbers, though they had no idea how many of them were. They made care to hide their faces whenever attacking in case anyone survived to tell the tale but from the information Argo could find, they estimated that at the very least there were ten orange players. And as Basil commented once, there could be green players like Morgana who also worked for Laughing Coffin. That meant any reliable information was valuable since they were essentially in the dark.
Not to mention an attack on the frontlines. Before that, they stuck to the lower levels but it was not a good sign if they were getting more confident. The current frontline didn't need the added worry created by them, to the point that even information about the attack on Natsu and his friends was restricted to the upper echelons of the large guilds for the most part.
If the information was accurate, that meant they could suppress this whole PK movement before it could do any real damage to their work at reaching floor 100 and clearing the precisely because of this, despite trusting Ken's word, both Natsu and Buzz remained a little skeptical.
"How did you learn of this?" the older man decided to ask, his eyebrows furrowed in thought.
Instead of answering, Ken simply inclined his head toward the inside of the restaurant. Understanding what he wanted, they followed him in.
The restaurant a rather simple restaurant, in a distinctly European style that seemed to fascinate a large part of Japanese people. It was rather small, with only a few tables and a couple of booths where they could serve costumer. At the counter an NPC, a rather bland looking older woman was standing, obviously waiting for them to approach her or take a seat.
Only one table was occupied and it was that one they went to. Argo was already there seated, with her hood up, waiting silently. Natsu couldn't see most of her face but she seemed to be frowning, which was not such a good sign in his mind. Next to her sat Klein, who tried to appear to be carefree but it was clear to see that he too had a lot on his mind.
Dynamn was also there, the unofficial vice-leader of the guild Fuurinkazan and the one who usually reigned in Klein when he made too much of a fool of himself, at least according to Buzz. He looked up from the table as he noticed them approach, sending them a small wave with a smile that felt rather forced. Natsu gave him a nod but soon turned his attention toward the occupants of the table he didn't meet before.
One of them was a teen who was probably a year or two older than him. He was tall, probably a little taller than Ken who was one of the tallest in their age group, had a little out of place white, spiky hair. He wore a simple vest over normal clothes, and by the presence of a rapier at his side, Natsu supposed he did not need any more armor. He was carelessly lounging in his chair, watching him with purple eyes as if he was some curious sight, creating a slight unease in Natsu. It was nowhere near what he felt around Morgana but he felt there was more to the teen than one would first think.
For a moment Natsu thought he was someone he met before, there was that sense of familiarity that he couldn't place but he soon shoved the thought away. He would have remembered meeting someone with such an out of place hair color, even if it was because of in-game hair dye.
He turned to the last member but was quickly taken aback when he found a venomous glare staring up at him. Most surprisingly, it came from a girl who was even younger than him, maybe by a year or two than him which was quite shocking. He felt a little nervous, he never was great with speaking to people who he didn't know, females especially and the glare she was sending him was not helping matters.
She wore simple but high-leveled armor with a single dagger hanging from her belt. She had light blue hair, similar to Diabel, that reached just below her shoulders, a sea shell hair clip keeping it away from her face. She had equally blue eyes and looked somewhat cute if not for the glare that sent shivers up his spine. She was also short, like even shorter than him, who was one of the shortest people in his class.
But the most glaring feature about her was the orange icon hanging above her head.
Orange players, players who committed a 'crime' in the game. It could range from harassment, attacking others outside a duel, stealing from other players to outright murder. Depending on the weight of the crime and if the player didn't commit any other in the meantime, it would fade and become green in time.
But with the appearance of the organized PKers, one other term appeared among the players. The red players. Players who killed others for the sake of killing, who could never regain their green cursor without a special quest. Red, like the color of the blood they shed.
It was poetical in some way but Natsu could only feel sadness at the fact that there was a need for a term like that in the first place. You would think common sense would dictate that people cooperate with each other and not start randomly killing others.
He was pulled out of his thoughts as Buzz, who looked completely unaffected by the girl's glare walked up to the small group and glared back at her with a frown.
"Who are these brats? And how did you bring an orange player into the city?" he asked without bothering with any tact, as usual.
"You do know Basil, Ken, and I are the same age, right? Are we brats as well?" he found himself quietly muttering, not excepting anyone to hear him or answer.
As predicted, the young blue-haired girl immediately stood up with a furious expression and began to shout at Buzz, while pointing at him, a bit childishly, in Natsu's opinion.
"Who do you think you are calling me a shorty midget brat? I don't want to hear something like that from an old man who is probably half a step in the grave already and probably was born before colored television was even a thing." she began to rant, only stopping when the white-haired teen placed a gentle hand on her head, forcing her to sit back down.
Natsu felt a sweatdrop form as the girl ranted, thankful that she at least didn't actually swear, though she came pretty close to it. He didn't even want to know where that response came from. But, a moment later, his thoughts turned serious, Buzz did have a point. Orange players can't freely enter the cities because the NPC guards would stop them. More importantly, why would Klein and Ken bring an orange player here, to meet them? It didn't make sense.
In the end, Argo spoke up, who was quietly keeping an eye on the two unknown kids the whole time.
"It's not very well-known but an orange player could enter a city if they are in a full party and they are the only non-green players in it, though the NPCs would still not reach positively to their presence." she explained quietly, looking at the teen who continued patting the girl's head to calm her down.
Natsu sent a look to Klein, who allowed a small smile to appear on his face and shrug his shoulders as if saying 'what can you do?'
"Aside from that, can someone explain to us what's going on?" Natsu asked, wanting to diffuse the situation, especially seeing Buzz's eyebrow twitch in annoyance. He never had the patience to deal with others, that was largely the reason why Natsu was nominated to be the guild master.
The white-haired teen chose that moment to speak up, turning to Natsu with a smile that looked genuine yet still managed to unnerve him.
"Yo, my name is Byakuran, nice to meet you. This one is Bluebell, don't worry she's harmless." said harmless girl grabbed the hand that patted her head and bit into it, though Byakuran didn't lose at the smile, even as he began to use his other hand, trying to pry Bluebell off of him."We are former members of Laughing Coffin." he added carelessly, no longer paying attention to them.
At his words, both Buzz and Natsu stiffened while Argo slowly cursed under her breath. Ken wore a stiff smile and Klein began to laugh nervously, especially when the rat pinned him down with an unamused stare.
Buzz, who looked the most calm out of the new arrivals, turned to Ken with a deadpan expression.
"I thought it was only Natsu who got into idiotic trouble like this. but he was with me the whole time What's your excuse?"
"Hey!" the aforementioned teen cried out in indignation, though he couldn't help but admit that Buzz had a point. He did not have the best track record when it comes to staying out of trouble.
"It's kind of a long story." Ken said with a forced laugh."It all started when Klein wanted to come to the 14th floor..."