Argo was in rare form.
The normally mischievous and charismatic information broker was exhibiting something few had seen. It was an emotion frequented by many inhabitants of Aincrad, but one that the Rat never had. At least, not openly. She had a reputation to maintain, after all. Argo the Rat was calm; she was cool. Collected, if a little devious and sassy at times.
Now, though? All pretense of public facade fell away in the face of this one emotion.
Argo was frustrated, dammit.
Argo ruffled her hands under her hood and through her hair, visibly frustrated at the lack of progress she made thus far. A day into her investigation had yielded nothing. Absolutely nothing! Were it not for their name clearly printed on the Monument of Life, she would've thought this Kuroi didn't exist!
Sure, she'd been able to piece together scraps of information here and there, but the vast majority of it was second or third hand information. If there was one thing Argo didn't trust, it was information that had been passed along by more than one or two people. Firsthand accounts were one thing, but once you get past the second and third person in the chain, details begin to warp like the childhood game of "telephone".
She took a deep breath and instantly started to relax.
That was one thing she appreciated about the 3rd floor. The air smelled and felt clean. If she had to compare it to a real world sensation, the air here felt like what mountain air was like. Clean, pure, and otherwise untouched by the oppressive, pollutive influence of man. It helped calm her, just a little. It wouldn't do to meet with these newbies when she was frustrated.
She was set to meet with a group of newer players who'd recently had a chance encounter with the mysterious "Shadow", as people had begun calling this ninja. Argo smirked at the idea that she'd accidentally predicted the moniker this vigilante would be known by. She reclined in her seat, making the most of the table she'd claimed at a local restaurant.
It was a small restaurant - although diner would probably be the more accurate term, based on the interior setup - that was furnished with what amounted to barstools, a long countertop, and several booths in a moderately sized alcove carved into the interior of one of the three trees that comprised the town of Zumfut. Put simply, it was as if someone had taken a 1960's American diner and given it the naturey, druid-like aesthetic that made up most of this floor. It was bizarre, but in a good way. It gave the locale a sense of identity.
"Excuse me?" A male voice said, breaking Argo's idle train of thought. She turned to see a brown-haired boy and his four friends behind him looking intently at her. "Are you Argo?"
She grinned and spread her arms to gesture towards herself. "The one and only."
The boy smiled warmly and extended a hand. "I'm Keita. This is Ducker, Sasamaru, Sachi, and Tetsuo."
Argo nodded at each one as they were introduced, giving Sachi a particularly long look of sympathy. One girl surrounded by four guys. There was no way that girl wasn't at her wit's end. "Nice to meetcha all."
"Likewise." Keita responded in kind. His thoughts were echoed by his friends behind him as a flurry of greetings were made.
"Well don' just stand there, take a seat." Argo said, not at all intending to be harsh with her words. No, the grin on her face disarmed that notion and Keita and his friends seemed to pick up on that as they took their seats. "So before we get down ta business, tell me about yerselves. Gotta figure out if yer a reliable source, ya know."
"Well, once we get to the 3rd floor we're going to officially create a guild." Keita began, a small amount of pride evident in his tone. Little odd to start off with that, but at least it was a starting point. She could work with that.
"Tha's good." Argo nodded. "Lot o' benefits that come with that. Not to be rude, but why not join a larger guild?"
The group looked at each other with some uncertainty but ultimately it was Tetsuo who spoke up. "We all know each other in real life, so we wanted to do this before SAO was a death game."
Sachi was the next to contribute. "We also don't want to be a burden to another guild. We're not really great at fighting."
"Hey!" Ducker objected. He jabbed a thumb towards his chest. "I think we're good. Sure, we're not the best, but we'll get there."
"Good." Argo grinned. "That drive's good. Hold onto that. Just be careful, pay attention to my manual, and before you know it you'll be fighting with the best of 'em in no time."
"You think so?" Sasamaru asked, a gleam of hope in his eyes.
"Why not?" Argo shrugged nonchalantly before she pulled up her notes and her expression became slightly more serious. Argo fancied herself a good judge of character, and these folks seemed trustworthy enough. Not many would openly admit to real life shenanigans right from the get go. "Alright, so… down to business. What can you tell me about our mysterious Shadow?"
The group of newbies before her then began to weave a tale that sounded harrowing, to be honest. A few days ago, they had been on the 2nd floor grinding some levels when they were approached and subsequently ambushed by a fiery redhead by the name of Rosalia and her guild Titan's Hand. The thieving guild had apparently waited until Keita and his friends were weakened before giving them an ultimatum. 'Hand over the goods or die' was what it amounted to.
Argo couldn't help but scowl. She'd heard of Titan's Hand, but now that there were eyewitness accounts here - five of them, actually - she wrote down Rosalia's name and description and made a mental note to spread the name around. Maybe that kind of pressure would get Titan's Hand to back off, at the very least.
What came next was the kind of juicy information she'd been looking for. Shortly after being ambushed, Keita and his group were saved by the vigilante in question. The rescue sounded like something out of an action flick or an old school kung fu movie. Throughout it all, however, Argo was able to deduce a few key facts based on the description presented to her.
First was the undeniable fact that this person was a high level player. Even accounting for personal skill, there was no way anybody could take on six other players of their same level and emerge victorious. The vigilante had to have been significantly higher level. Using Keita and his group as a baseline, Argo surmised that the Titan's Hand goons had to have been at the level you'd find on the 5th or 6th floor. Decent, but not fantastic either. That meant that the vigilante must have been Clearer level in terms of levels and equipment.
That significantly narrowed the search. In fact, Argo realized, she remembered there being someone dressed as a ninja in the 5th floor boss fight against Fuscus. Maybe they'd been a Clearer for a while now?
Second was the first hand accounts of this person's behavior. She'd already guessed that this was the last survivor of Fuumaningun, but the way the vigilante had presented herself to the group was a dead giveaway. 'Kunoichi'? If the Japanese word for "female ninja" wasn't enough of a glowing neon sign, Argo wasn't sure what was. Then there was the matter of the choice of weaponry. The throwing picks and the chakram were about as close as one could get to proper throwing stars, and the daggers - plural, apparently - screamed dedication towards the ninja theme. Most players used something larger than a dagger because of the relative increase in strength, with only the more agile players like Silica and Yuna being the exception.
"So what do you think?" Sachi asked, breaking Argo out of her thoughtful stupor. "Do you know who this is?"
"Hmm…" Argo hummed. So far, this group hadn't asked for any payment, so she could probably stand an even exchange of information. She couldn't blame them for being curious as to the identity of their savior, after all. "I could be wrong, but all signs are pointing towards this ninja being a former member of a now-extinct guild called Fuumaningun. I think her name is Kuroi."
"Fuumaningun?" Ducker asked, raising an eyebrow. "I think I heard about them. Didn't they used to be a roleplaying guild or something? People didn't seem to like them much."
Argo shook her head. "That's because they liked to draw monsters towards other players so that they could exploit the free muscle against the monster until they could swoop in for the final blow. Nobody died, but it still gave 'em a nasty reputation, ya know?"
"That's a dirty move." Sasamaru muttered. "But it doesn't sound at all like, what was her name, Kuroi? She could have waited for us to fight them and then swooped in and killed them if that was the case."
"We weren't going to fight them, though." Sachi corrected him.
"But she didn't know that." Keita added. "No, she leapt in before things got nasty and drew the attention away from us."
"Well…" Argo started, drawing their attention once more. "I looked up her guildies - or rather, former guildies - and found that they all died to PKers. She's out for blood, probably doesn' want that sorta thin' to happen to others, maybe."
"So what are you going to do now, Argo?" Tetsuo asked. "Why are you trying to track her down? She saved us, but what's in it for you?"
"Tetsuo!" Sachi scolded, clearly not appreciating the rude question.
"No, no, he's fine. I'd be askin' the same thin' myself if I were in his shoes." Argo said, waving her hands placatingly to try and soothe the girl. "Honestly? She's doin' everyone in Aincrad a favor by huntin' down that scum. I just wanna meet the girl, maybe get on good terms with her. Always helps to have powerful friends, ya know? Part of the reason I'm such good pals with the Renegades and other Clearers."
"Wait." Keita said, his look disbelieving. "You know the Renegades?"
Argo scoffed. "You kiddin'? I helped put 'em together, Kei-bou."
Keita blinked, clearly caught off guard by the nickname but otherwise paid it no mind in favor of the revelation he'd just been presented with. "That's incredible. Just how many people do you know, Argo?"
Argo grinned toothily. "Oh, just about everyone. Kinda have to if yer gonna be an info broker."
The group of newbies looked at each other, seemingly starstruck by proxy. Sachi was the only one with any semblance of calm; if anything, she seemed unfazed and was probably less of a fanboy compared to her companions.
"So yer fans, then, I take it?" Argo said, her grin growing wider. She wasn't a Renegade herself, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't take a small amount of pride in knowing them (and having played a role in their formation).
"Oh that's putting it mildly." Sachi interjected, drawing horrified looks of betrayal from her friends. "You should have seen them at the last boss broadcast. They were practically drooling."
Argo let out a hearty laugh at that. "Oh, I'm gonna have to introduce you guys to them one day. Kii-bou's likely to go into shock if he met his fans!"
Sachi seemed to enjoy the info broker's sense of humor. The boys, decidedly, did not. However, Keita seemed to ignore it as he turned to face Argo.
"Wait, you'd really introduce us?" The newbie leader asked before composing himself, trying to appear calm as the group's leader. He tried, at least. "If nothing else than to get some tips and pointers on combat. We're still kinda new to this so their advice would really help, I think."
Argo's grin subsided for a moment as she thought for a moment. They had just given her more information about Kuroi than she'd been able to scrounge up on her own, and so far they hadn't asked for payment. They may have been newbies but surely they knew how information exchange worked around here. She could easily arrange a meet and greet between these kids and the Renegades. Their ambition to get better and their humility in seeking advice would get them far and the front line could always use some more help.
The fact that they'd fanboy hard over Kirito and Asuna had absolutely nothing to do with it.
Nope.
"I think I can arrange that." Argo concluded, her grin returning. She was definitely going to wait until recording crystals were available, though. Something like this needed a 'replay' button. "Not right away, though. I'll let ya know when I can arrange a meet an' greet."
First things first, though. She had a ninja to track down.
The ((Hiding)) skill was perhaps one of Argo's favorite skills.
With it, she was able to silently eavesdrop on conversations and glean her most-valued information. After all, she couldn't be expected to buy every piece of information in her stockpile; she had to be able to get some of her own from time to time.
In fact, information gathering while hiding was exactly what Argo was doing right now as the Clearers fought the 8th floor field boss, a large green swamp monster that looked to be made entirely out of vines. It was possibly one of the largest creatures she'd seen so far, as it was tall enough to stand up in the water and reach the treetops, where the players were situated. It had no legs to speak of - either they were in the water itself or the mound of vines simply lacked legs - and was constantly reaching out to swat away the army of Clearers. There were no identifying facial features to speak of, save for the decrepit wooden mask adorned to the front of its body.
As she readjusted herself in the higher branches of the tree she was sitting in, her eyes scanned over the ruckus below. All of the major Clearer guilds were present. The Aincrad Liberation Squad. The Dragon Knights Brigade. The Resolute Renegades. Fuurinkazan. The Legend Braves. Yet none of those were who Argo was looking at. Not directly, at least.
No, her attention was almost solely on the girl dressed like a ninja.
Just as Argo had predicted, Kuroi had shown up. It only made sense; if the ninja vigilante hoped to maintain a competitive edge against PKers, she needed to stay at Clearer level. Watching her in action, Argo could tell that Keita and his friends had not exaggerated in the telling of their rescue. Kuroi seemed to be the real deal, almost as fast as Asuna and as agile as Silica. While her attacks weren't particularly devastating due to the nature of her weapon choices, she was constantly on the move, leaping from branch to branch and expertly using her throwing picks and chakram.
If she didn't know any better, she'd say that Kuroi was actually a ninja in real life.
"Almost there!" Lind shouted in an attempt to rally the Clearers. "Last push!"
Argo took her eyes off of Kuroi to look at the field boss and, sure enough, it was on its last sliver of health. The rate of its attacks had since quickened and the Clearers were doing all they could to give it a wide berth. Only the most agile players were able to dive in to score a few attacks before having to retreat again. A smirk tugged on Argo's face as she saw Liz, Leonn, and the other tanks standing to the side helplessly, unable to contribute much of anything to the fight.
The few ranged players - Sinon and Nezha were no longer the only ranged Clearers at this point - were the only ones having any degree of success at dealing consistent damage. Sinon herself seemed to be dealing the most damage, scoring hit after hit on the monstrosity's wooden face.
"Atta girl, Sin-chan." Argo murmured, clenching her fist in solidarity with the stoic archer.
Today seemed to be Sinon's day, actually, as the field boss exploded in an enormous cloud of pixels from one last charged shot. After a slight delay, the assembled Clearers erupted in cheers. Not quite as enthusiastic as she'd heard from a floor boss fight, but jubilant nonetheless. Already a small crowd was forming around Sinon, who brought out what looked like a new bow, this one very much themed around nature and vines. Argo smiled. Sinon was overdue for a new weapon anyway, so this was perfect.
With the assembled Clearers beginning to funnel out of the area - most of them heading back towards town - Argo took a look to see if she could spot the suspected vigilante. It shouldn't be that hard to find someone dressed like a ninja in that sea of metal and leather armor. Her eyes scanned over every individual there.
Yet she couldn't find her.
"What the…?" Argo mumbled. Had she slipped and fallen into the water? She craned her neck to get a better view of the mangrove-like waters below. Finding no trace of anybody - let alone a ninja roleplayer - Argo's eyes traced over to the few nearby ladders to see if maybe she was climbing up them.
Nope. Not there, either.
Argo half-stood up, deciding to rest on her haunches as she scanned over the boss area. It looked like the Renegades were sticking around, probably talking about Sinon's new bow or their next steps in the Elf War quest line, but no one else was there.
Damn. She was hoping to track down the ninja and at least introduce herself. Well, at least she knew what she looked like now. It was likely she'd see her at other Clearer events in the future. Giving a deep sigh of equal parts frustration and resignation, she stood up fully and turned to leave.
Only to find herself face-to-face with the ninja herself.
"GWAH!" Argo cried out, quickly grasping at a nearby tree branch to prevent herself from plummeting to her premature death below. Where the hell did she come from?! She didn't even hear her approach!
Her quarry stood there, arms crossed and looking remarkably stoic. "Who are you and why are you following me?"
Once Argo's nerves calmed somewhat, she steadied herself and adopted as best a nonchalant stance as she could muster, leaning against the tree trunk. "Name's Argo. I take it you're Kuroi?"
The ninja raised an eyebrow but otherwise remained unmoving. "I am, and you did not answer my question."
"I'm followin' ya because yer makin' waves, sister." Argo said, grinning and nodding once in the ninja's general direction. "People are talkin' 'bout the mysterious Shadow and how she's killin' off the PKers."
"I fail to see how that is any of your business." Kuroi replied, her curious brow settling down once more.
"I'm an info broker." Argo explained with a shrug. "It's kind of my business to know things. I wanted to find ya, maybe network a little."
"You're the Rat." Kuroi stated. "Isuke and Kotaru mentioned you on more than one occasion."
Argo flinched at the mention of the two deceased ninjas that had chased her on the 2nd floor. Just because she didn't like them didn't mean the reminder of their death wasn't unpleasant. "... About that, I'm sorry to hear about them. For what it's worth, I might not have gotten along with 'em but they seemed like good people. Loyal."
Kuroi remained still, looking rather vigilant, but Argo could see the ninja's eyes start to water slightly before she blinked the tears away. She tried to mask them by giving a curt nod. "... I thank you for your kind words."
"How did you sneak up on me, anyway?" Argo said, looking to turn the topic of conversation away from fallen comrades. "I've got a pretty high ((Eavesdropping)) skill and my ((Hiding)) skill is up there too."
Even though Kuroi's mouth was concealed by a scarf, Argo could tell she was giving a faint smile by the way her cheekbones raised ever so slightly. "I could not call myself kunoichi were I not a master in the art of stealth."
Argo definitely picked up on the use of the word "master". Roleplayers seldom ever spoke using game terms, as that would break character and their immersion would be ruined. Instead, they'd often use roundabout ways of indicating their skill levels and game terms. Kuroi's use of that word might imply that her ((Hiding)) skill was maxed out.
"Impressive." Argo said, rather amused. "That's no small feat there, especially at this level and solo, no less."
Kuroi merely shook her head. "Thank you. I prefer solitude in my travels; I've yet to find another who would be worthy to be called my lord. Even then, not many in this world would tolerate my brand of justice."
Argo gave a quick tilt of her head in a half-hearted shrug. "No, I imagine they wouldn't. Doesn' mean you can't still branch out, though. A ninja like yerself still needs information and resources, right?"
Kuroi's eyes narrowed. "What are you proposing...?"
"Eh, call it a partnership of sorts." Argo said, trying to maintain the air of nonchalance she'd started with. "I provide you with any intel I come across about any PKers; you help me out every now and then with small favors here and there."
"What kind of favors?" Kuroi said, her suspicious glare softening somewhat.
"Nothin' illegal or illicit, relax." Argo said, waving her hands dismissively. "You're clearly good at hidin' yourself so I might ask you to gather some information for me from time to time. My skill's good but clearly not as good as your own. Favors suited to your particular skill set, Kur-chan."
Kuroi's eye twitched at the mention of Argo's nickname for her, but apparently she decided to not comment on it. Probably would have broken character, if nothing else. Argo smirked. She could already tell Kuroi would be a fun person to tease from time to time. The self-appointed kunoichi was far too serious.
She needed to lighten up a little.
"...So?" Argo drawled, angling her head down a little to meet the kunoichi's eyes. "Whaddya say?"
Kuroi was silent, but the Rat could tell that she was thinking. Right now was probably the only time during their whole exchange where Kuroi wasn't staring her down. Instead, her gaze was… off. She wasn't just thinking. She was in another world. Daydreaming wouldn't be the right word. Reminiscing would be more apt, if Argo had to put it into words. Eventually, she seemed to snap out of it.
"I will agree to this." Kuroi said, giving another curt nod.
"Great!" Argo exclaimed, quickly pulling up her friends menu and sending Kuroi a friend request. "Just gimme a ring if ya ever need some info. I'll hook ya up, Kur-chan. For a price, that is…"
"And in return you'll inform me of any trouble, yes?" Kuroi asked pointedly.
"O' course." Argo replied with a nod of her own. "Wouldn't dream of gettin' in the way of the great Shadow."
"Do not make me out to be some sort of hero. I do not seek fame or glory." Kuroi corrected her. "I hunt them for my own reasons."
Argo closed her friends list once she saw Kuroi's name appear on it. "I know, Kur-chan. I've got a pretty good idea why, but that's not my place to say anythin'."
"In that case, is our business concluded here then?" Kuroi asked, warily glancing about, all the while remaining unmoving and patient in her vigilance.
"Yeah, yeah." Argo confirmed casually as she turned around to see if the Renegades were still down below. They were not. "We're done here. Ya can go and do yer ninja things now… what?"
As Argo turned around, Kuroi was gone. She hurriedly looked around the immediate area but saw no trace of the elusive ninja-vigilante. Where'd she go? Argo looked around at the tree trunk and the surrounding vegetation only to find no inkling that anyone else had even been there. Argo sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose before walking away towards the nearest town.
"I really need to work on my ((Hiding)) skill."
"Status update on all current projects, Cardinal."
Akihiko Kayaba leaned back in his virtual seat and laced his fingers together. While Cardinal worked on the finishing touches for the bigger projects of theirs - he'd give the system some credit for thinking up some of the newer ideas - the game master himself was staring at a virtual replica of his avatar.
With a visage that harkened back to his younger days as a gamer, Kayaba's new avatar was of an older, grizzled war veteran. A headful of greyed hair and sharp facial features were chosen to give players a sense that this man was an older authority figure that was to be recognized, if not outright respected. His older appearance did not imply weakness, however; Kayaba made sure that this avatar was solidly built.
A fitting facade for the man who would be known as Heathcliff.
"Which project would you like to hear about first, sir?" Cardinal asked.
Kayaba thought for a moment. Many of these projects wouldn't see the light of day for several months for the soonest one and easily years for the longer-reaching ones. So, he decided to work chronologically.
"Let's start with the Unique Skills, Cardinal."
"Very well, sir. The Unique Skill queue is as follows:"
Kayaba looked to a separate monitor, which blipped into existence off to his right. He scanned the current loadout of skills carefully. He'd originally designed ten Unique Skills, but Cardinal proved to be quite crafty when it came to suggesting new ones. So, he'd removed a few and added a handful; their concepts would definitely be entertaining to watch.
[US_Battoujutsu-01] is complete and a candidate has been found.
[US_BeastMaster-02] is complete and two candidates have been found.
[US_Chant-03] is complete and a candidate has been found.
[US_DarknessBlade-04] is complete and a candidate has been found.
[US_DefiantSoul-05] is complete and a candidate has been found.
[US_DivineForge-06] is complete and a candidate has been found.
[US_DualBlades-07] is complete and two candidates have been found.
[US_HolySword-08] is complete and ready for your use, sir.
[US_InfiniteSpear-09] is complete but no candidate has been found.
[US_Kaisingeki-10] is complete but no candidate has been found.
[US_Shurikenjutsu-11] is complete and a candidate has been found.
Kayaba raised an eyebrow. Two different unique skills had two candidates each? That was interesting. The requirements behind these skills were fairly stringent. For two players to be competing for the unique skill, they'd have to be nearly identical in their abilities, at least how they pertained to the requirements. He'd have to select who would receive the skills. He could always keep the second player as backup in case the first died.
"Display candidates for Dual Blades and for Beast Master." Kayaba instructed. Four pictures blipped onto the screen, the portraits within practically staring at the game master.
"Candidates are displayed. How would you like to proceed, sir?"
Kayaba looked at the four candidates displayed, two of which he had been monitoring for quite some time. The other two were less noteworthy, but according to this log had been recently added to the queue. How should he go about this?
"Choose the first candidate for Beast Master. She's been qualified longer than he has, but keep him on a waitlist in case she dies." Kayaba commanded, tapping the girl's picture with his finger.
"Very well, sir. How would you like to proceed regarding the Unique Skill Dual Blades?"
Kayaba leaned back in his chair again and cupped his chin with his left hand. Meanwhile, the fingers on his right rapped against the armrest of his virtual chair, sending out a rhythmic tapping that echoed in his solitary, grid-like room. How to choose? The boy was clearly qualified and was a frontline Clearer. His reaction time was incredible and nothing to scoff at. The girl, on the other hand, was still lingering on the 1st floor. That being said, the fact that she had a reaction time that could compete with a frontline Clearer was impressive in and of itself.
"You know what? Give it to them both." Kayaba said, smirking and giving off a light chuckle. "There's a certain irony to a skill that allows one to hold two blades being given to two people at once."
"Of course, sir. When would you like to deploy?"
Kayaba waved dismissively with his hand. "Deploy it in Patch 2.0. No sense in giving it to them this soon in the game. They haven't even cleared the 10th floor yet."
"As you wish, sir."
Kayaba turned back around to face his player avatar. It wouldn't be long now. If he was to make a name for himself as a player and eventual guild leader, he would need to jump into the game himself very soon. He'd give himself a minor experience boost just to catch up, and then he'd remove it. He was nothing if not a fair game master. Admittedly a cruel one, given his captive player base, but somebody had to live in his world. It wouldn't be remotely as entertaining or productive if the stakes weren't real.
"One last thing, Cardinal." Kayaba drawled out as he stood up from his seat.
"Yes, sir?"
"What's the status on Project Legacy?" The game master asked, placing his hands in the pockets of his white coat.
"Phase 1 is running as we speak, sir."
Kayaba let a content smile fall on his face. It would be a long time until the players ever saw this pet project of his. He wondered how they would respond to it. Would they be happy? Grateful? Or would they be bitter and scornful? Regardless, this was the future of the industry. NPCs like Kizmel may have foreshadowed it, but Project Legacy would go on to change everything, even once the game was beat and he would undoubtedly be caught for his crimes.
He looked fondly at the man floating before him. The man he would soon become. The man who would allow him to live out his childhood fantasies finally, after these many long years.
"Excellent. I think it's time I made my debut, don't you?"
A/N:
Here comes the next major change to canon apart from the usual butterfly effect shenanigans. I've added a handful of new unique skills, one of which is modeled after an ability in a game I used to play. It was such a unique (heh) combat mechanic that I HAD to borrow it. You might be able to guess some of the "candidates" who are getting some of the unique skills, but hopefully not everyone.
In other news, we finally get to properly meet Kuroi, the fabled vigilante who hunts PKers. Writing her is going to be fun since I'll be constrained to "RP-speak" when she interacts with other characters.
Hope you all enjoyed, and see you next week for the 8th floor boss!