Author's Note: The character in this story was contributed by stigma13. Hope you enjoy.
.
"Whatever life give you, even if it hurts, just be strong & act like you're okay. Strong walls shake, but never collapse."
.
Outside in the forest around Tolbana…
.
Walking in a group, Shirou, Shimizu, and the twins: Hinata and Makoto began their daily grind, and with only two days until the first boss raid, the group wanted to be well prepared.
.
"Okay, so we meet up back here in an hour?" Shirou asked as he looked back towards his group.
"That seems fair." Makoto answered. "And I like how your keep your promise."
"A man's not a man unlike he keeps his word." Shirou stated back.
.
Then the group dispersed going their own way. Looking back only for a second, Shimizu noticed everyone leaving, then opening her menu she pulled out her spear and began to swing and twirl it around her body before having the tip of it point towards the ground.
.
"Alright. Here I go." Shimizu spoke to herself as walked on the path in front of her.
.
As monster began to approach her, she rotated her spear on the side of her before piercing forward. Then as the monster passed her, several red particles fluttered in the air as the creature began to shiver before exploding into a million light particles.
Seeing the creature disappear, Shimizu began to rotate her spear in a speed no one would ever think of being able to do. Almost as if she was used to wielding a spear she continued moving forward without delay.
The seconds turned to minutes and Shimizu continued to fight. As she did memories flowed from her head towards her hands. One after another, mob began to fall towards the ground, and as one did the young woman stabbed her spear into it, causing it to shatter. Breathing heavily, Shimizu wiped away her tears. Despite the nightmare she was in being a reality, she knew someone else was suffering more.
"Shirou." Shimizu said to herself as she continued looking down towards the ground. "You don't have to carry everything on your own. You can rely on me too, you know?" As tears began to stream down her face, she began to rub them away with not much success.
.
Then hearing the leaves rustle behind her, Shimizu stood on guard and quickly turned around to face the supposed enemy.
.
"Whoa hey! Shimizu you alright?!" Makoto answered as he put his hands in the air.
"Oh, it's you Makoto. What happened? We were supposed to meet in an hour."
"Oh, well you see…" And Makoto began to explain the situation that had happened. "So, that's what happened." He rubbed his head in embarrassment.
"You too, huh?" Shimizu leaned her back against a tree behind her as she held her head in frustration.
"You alright? You don't look so good." Makoto spoke to his elder as he began to approach.
"No, I'm not alright." Shimizu answered honestly. "Here we are, stuck in this death game, and I'm still the weak little girl I am in the real world." As Shimizu began to bite down harder on her teeth she looked up toward Makoto. "If you looked up to someone your whole life and began to noticed them struggling to, what do you do?" She asked the young teen.
"I don't know." Makoto answered as he began to walk around. "Because my view of adults is that they always know what to do, even when things get rough. Why do you ask?"
"It's Shirou." Shimizu replied as she looked in the direction she last saw him. "He's older than me by 2 years, and I've always looked at him as my big brother even though were not related. He's just my Senpai who's looked after me for as long as I can remember. But…for the first time, I'm beginning to see him struggle, and I'm at a loss."
.
Hearing the story of the two people he's looked up to for the past weeks, Makoto has realized that they've been struggling more than he and his sister were. This left Makoto stunned and speechless. Not really knowing how to continue the conversation, Makoto remained silent.
After a full minute of silence, Shimizu pushed herself off the tree and began to walk away.
.
'Sorry, I didn't mean to put that on you." Shimizu spoke with her back facing the young teen. "Just between you and me, can we please keep this conversation a secret?"
"Oh, sure." Makoto answered as he noticed Shimizu walking away with each step.
"Thanks." The brunette whispered as she disappeared into the forest.
.
An Hour Later…
.
Meeting in the same spot they first left, the group returned together.
.
"Looks like we're all still alive." Shirou replied with a bright smile.
"Mm." Shimizu nodded as Shirou spoke, to which Makoto looked with confusion.
"Makoto, you alright?" Hinata questioned her brother's sudden change in attitude.
"Huh? Oh! No, I'm fine." Makoto rushed to answer, only to bit his own tongue in the process. "Ow." He spoke with his tongue out to which Shimizu coughed out a laugh.
"I'm sorry." She answered as she covered her face from embarrassment, only for the rest of the group to burst out laughing, making Shimizu turn a brighter shade of red. "Come on! Stop laughing!" But the group continued to laugh until their stomach hurt.
.
As they laughed, Shimizu noticed the once sour atmosphere that surrounded the group began to dissipate. Seeing this, she joined in and began to laugh as well, knowing that everything was going to be okay for now.
.
In the Horunka Woods…
.
As wolves began to rush towards a man who looked to be at least 6ft tall, the man moved from side to side with ease, despite his height. But as a wolf jumped from behind him, he looked over his shoulder without any hint of fear in them as he pulled out his blade at a speed no one could see.
This movement allowed him to chop the oncoming wolf in half like it was butter. As he stood still, the wolf's body flew past him, leaving a trail of red particles as if fell. Then its body smacked into its comrades before shattering, this gave the man a chance to rush in and finish the rest of the pack.
.
"You should've fought fairly." Was all he said as he placed his blade back into its sheath that hung from his shoulder and watched as the wolves that surrounded him shattered into a million pieces.
.
Then in that moment a Congratulation Board showed up in front of the man showing his level rising from 20 to 23. Sighing, he clicked the board and walked away.
.
"Beta Tester." The term that should've brought him fame, instead brought him nothing but pain. "Well, unlike other testers, I'm not the type who'd get angry over something as trivial as that." Then going through his menu, he noticed a new item and placed it on. A shoulder pad that sat on his left shoulder with the strap circling around his chest and hooking back up with the back of the shoulder pad. "I like this." Then he began to make his way back to Tolbana.
.
Within the Town…
.
The man began to see everyone on edge for something, though he really didn't understand as to why anyone would be on edge.
Not wanting to be part of whatever was happening, the man just went on his way. But before he could, he noticed something from the corner of his eye. A man blocking a young girl from leaving. Clicking his tongue, he changed the direction he was walking from, to the direction where the two player were.
.
"Come on!" A player yelled just loud enough for a ginger red haired girl to shake from the sudden burst. "Just give me it!"
"Are you kidding me? I earned it!" Xena yelled back. "If you want that badly, go get it yourself!" But as she tried to move, the man grabbed her and slammed her against the wall.
"You're a beta tester, aren't you?" The man's eyes went from angry to crazy. Seeing this, Xena began to freak. "If you don't do as I say, I'll be sure to make your life a living hell."
"This man is…" Then seeing the tall man behind the one holding her, Xena smiled a bit. "I don't think so."
"Huh?!" The man barked back, only to feel a large hand on his shoulder. "What?!" He yelled back only to see the 6ft man behind him. "Uh…" Stunned by the sight, his hand slipped from Xena's shoulder's, then without a moment's notice, the man tossed the bully player out of the alleyway. "What was that for?!"
"Simple, you were threating a girl." The towering man answered as he looked down at the other man. "Where's your sense of pride?"
"Oh, I get it. Just because she's cute, you decided to intervene." The bully player began to chuckle before pointing straight at Xena. "You probably didn't know this, but that girl behind you…She's a beta tester."
.
Surprised at hearing the term come out of the man's mouth, the 6ft man looked behind him to see Xena looking with eyes that showed no fear. Sighing, the man swiped his right hand down to open his menu and began to tap around.
.
"I don't care." The raven haired man responded as a PvP board appeared before the bully. "If you don't accept, then that just means you pick on the weak and call them beta testers so you can get your way. That's just pathetic." The towering man answered with a cocky smile. This was enough to get the bully angry and prevent him from thinking as he accepted the duel.
.
As other's began to see the commotion, the began to approach out of curiosity. But as for Xena she noticed something about the man. Despite not having any reason to help her, he still intervened, nonetheless.
Then looking forward, she noticed the time, as well as her savior's name.
.
"Diz, huh?" Xena smiled as she looked towards the fight as the time ticked down.
.
3…2…1…The small battle commenced. But what was supposed to be a battle, ended being a one sided victory. As Diz moved forward, like he was mirage, passed the bully with ease and held his blade up toward the bully's neck.
.
"Admit defeat." Diz answered as he brought his blade closer to the bully's neck.
"Alright! I yield!" The bully yelled ending the fight that only lasted 25 seconds.
.
As everyone began to murmur to themselves at the speed in which they saw, Diz didn't even bother to listen as he looked over at Xena before turning around and leaving.
But before his completely left, he turned around and spoke.
.
"Oh, and by the way, that girl isn't a beta tester. I am." Diz spoke proudly as he walked away.
.
Then, as Diz walked away everyone's attention was turned from Xena towards Diz. Seeing what just happened, the young ginger left without saying another word.
.
Near the entrance to Tolbana…
.
Diz just continued to mind his own business by going through his menu and seeing what he had. Then without even looking, he spoke up.
.
"If you've come to say thanks, there's no need." He spoke coldly.
"Oh, I would never think of doing that, Diz." A young girl spoke only to then be revealed as Xena. "I just came to ask why help me?"
"Simple, I see someone in trouble, I help them. That's all there is to it." Diz answered as he looked back at his menu.
"That's it?" Xena questioned once more, stunned by the honest response.
"That's it." Diz confirmed Xena's question by repeating what she had asked.
"You're weird." Xena replied soon after as Diz looked up to her to show slightly feminine appearance. "So for a guy…" Xena approached too closely for Diz's comfort. "Your not half bad." As the young girl back up, she bent forward with her hands behind her back. "You're a 6.5 out of 10 for me. But sadly someone like you is not my type." This was the last thing Xena said as she skipped away while humming.
.
Making sure Xena was out sight, Diz began to breath heavily. As he began to shiver, he spoke to himself.
.
"She was way too damn close!" As Diz began to panic, he completely forgot to think of the possibility of a difference in age. "I've never had any girl get that close to me. God I hope my expression wasn't a stupid one!" Then for the rest of the night, he began to berate himself for his (sloppy?) actions.
.
The Next Day…
.
Waking up as the virtual Sun shined into his room and onto his eye, Diz felt something off. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, this was mostly due to the fact that he was still half-asleep, but still he felt something off.
Rising from his bed, he scratched he back of his head looked around. Not wanting to waste another second, the 6ft man rose from his bed and walked out into the main part of the town. As Diz began to look around, his uncertainties were finally answered as he saw the state of the small town of Tolbana.
.
"No one's here? Or more like the fact that everyone who was here just left." Curious as to where all the other players went, Diz looked around only to see that there was no one gathered anywhere. "Where are the other player?"
"Oh crap!" Shirou yelled as he, Shimizu, Makoto and Hinata all ran in the same direction. "I can't believe we overslept! You were supposed to wake us up, Makoto!"
"I'm sorry!" Makoto pushed his glasses up as he ran. "I did some late night grinding. I didn't keep the time in mind!"
"I think we can still make it!" Hinata yelled into the chaos as she followed behind the trio in front of her. "But we have to hurry! Afterall, we have info they need!"
"If push comes to shove, let's give Shirou space to pass all the mobs on the way to the Boss Room so he can give it!" Shimizu added as she ran just behind Shirou.
"No!" Shirou exclaimed over his shoulder. "We all go together!"
.
As the group left the gate that lead into Tolbana, Diz only looked in confusion as he couldn't quite understand what they were speaking of.
Not giving it another thought, he began to walk back into Horunka Woods, unaware of what was to come later.