"I'll introduce you to … your future sister-in-law tomorrow. Bye."
Tomorrow…
[Party] SakuraBlossom: That's why I'm telling you[Party] SakuraBlossom: you're spending too much money on the wedding
[Party] SakuraBlossom: you don't need to buy a full banquet with 24-hour buffs!
[Party] Sm1rkMeister: I don't have anything better to spend it on
[Party] Sm1rkMeister: and I said spectacle. I mean spectacle.
Sakura sighed, wanting to slowly bang her head against the desk. They'd been wandering around the Central Hidden City together, ostensibly planning their wedding. In reality, though, they'd been having the same argument over and over again for the past hour, until she wanted to reach through their screens and take the guy's credit card away from him for his own good. He'd converted an absurd amount of in-game currency into cash shop currency, so much so that she was pretty sure he'd single-handedly changed the exchange rate.
This was the true difference between a Server-Best and Number four on the current rankings. While she wasn't poor by any stretch, she wouldn't have been able to lay-out this much gold to buy them the top tier wedding appearance package, including new mount and outfit skins. He'd bought her the princess sedan, for crying out loud! It was too extravagant for a one-use item. He even bought a fully fixed up house in his home instance so that, and she quoted, "their bridal chamber event could happen properly." Like most serious, top-level players, Sakura's home instance contained little more than a shed, because the house was purely an aesthetic addition. What was he spending so much for?!
[Party] System: OldRamenMan, Beowulf69, and RollOutBoy have joined the party.Three new figures popped up beside them. A blond avatar in a white cloak and an orange and black sweater, a beastmaster avatar with a large white dog and the distinctive triangular facial tattoos, and a truly enormous avatar in samurai armor and a red trench coat appeared on the screen. Who were these guys? She didn't send out the party invite, so it must have been Meister.
[Party] OldRamenMan: What's thirty-seven plus eight times four?[Party] SakuraBlossom: 69?
[Party] Beowulf69: YOOOO SHE'S AN ACTUAL HUMAN
[Party] Beowulf69: Hehe 69
[Party] Beowulf69: So how'd this ***hole manage to trick you into marrying him?
[Party] OldRamenMan: Wulf!
[Party] OldRamenMan: Don't be rude
[Party] Beowulf69: Fine
[Party] Beowulf69: How did Third bro manage to trick you into marrying him?
[Party] OldRamenMan: Don't worry, we won't call you ***hole sister-in-law
[Party] OldRamenMan: You can just be 3rd SIL
Sakura rolled her eyes at the screen. Shannaro! Who wants to be your sister-in-law?
[Party] SakuraBlossom: Thank you?The other three guys who'd just joined Sasuke at the big table in the middle of the dorm room all jumped.
"This guy's actually getting married!" Naruto crowed. "We're no longer the forever alone team anymore."
Kiba grinned, then made a face when he realized something, "Even this asshole, the eternal bachelor has a game wife now… How pathetic are the rest of us? I gotta hurry and find a girlfriend."
"She seems nice," Chouji shrugged, taking another handful of chips, "Congrats, Sasuke."
[Party] SakuraBlossom: Who are you guys?[Party] Sm1rkMeister: They're my regular static
That explains it. Now that she was divorced, she no longer had her old static with Fries and a couple of their other guildmates. Considering most end-game content was group content, she was glad he had a standing group to play with that she could shamelessly hop into.
[Party] SakuraBlossom: Hi, nice to meet everyone![Party] OldRamenMan: heyyyyyyyyyyyy!
[Party] Beowulf69: yooooooooooooooooo
[Party] RollOutBoy: Hello!
"Third Sister-in-law's username looks familiar for some reason…" Chouji muttered through a mouthful of consomme potatoe-y goodness.
"She must be on the rankings or something," Naruto shrugged.
"AH! I know!" Kiba suddenly exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise.
[Party] Beowulf69: 3SIL, are you FriesWithThat's ex-wife?[Party] Beowulf69: The guy who just married the server beauty?
[Party] Beowulf69: And now you're with this ***hole?
Sakura nearly spit out her drink. Now she knew where she'd seen one of their usernames before. Wulf had been one of the voices calling for the groom-napping! She decided to tease back a little.
[Party] SakuraBlossom: Meister and I are…She wanted to let their imaginations run wild before she reassured them that she and their friend were only getting married for the Couples Tournament, but before she could curb their imaginations, Meister responded first.
[Party] Sm1rkMeister: That's right[Party] Sm1rkMeister: She trusted the wrong kind of people before
[Party] Sm1rkMeister: Don't hold your 3SIL's past against her
There was a collective headdesk in the guy's dorm as Sasuke typed this with a perfectly straight face.
"Oi, oi," Kiba protested, "What's up with these cliche melodramatic lines?"
Sasuke innocently stared back at him. Kiba obviously hadn't read Icha Icha Innocence.
"Fine, fine," Naruto grinned, "We get it, you like the girl." He typed back:
[Party] OldRamenMan: Don't worry, 3SIL[Party] OldRamenMan: Forget about your ex.
[Party] OldRamenMan: Our Meister is a much better catch
[Party] RollOutBoy: That's right
[Party] Beowulf69: Let's do a mission.
[Party] Beowulf69: Lady's choice, 3SIL?
Sakura was still laughing at Meister's cheesy lines when Wulf so gallantly offered her the choice of mission. Recovering herself, she wandered over to the mission board and browsed through them. With a static this high level, they should be doing A or S level missions, but Sakura also didn't want to sour relations with her new in-game husband's friends if they couldn't complete it. She just wanted to get to know these guys. Suddenly, she saw a familiar mission with a "C?" rating and grabbed it. Perfect!
[Party] SakuraBlossom: Let's do this one[Party] SakuraBlossom: [Escort the Bridge Builder to the Land of the Waves]
That mission still gave Sakura nightmares. Back when she, CL, Fries and their old guild leader were starting out as genin, they'd taken this mission, thinking they'd end up with some C-level enemies, and got massacred in about three seconds flat by two S-level nins. CL and their guild leader, being who they were, had insisted on trying until Sakura had put her foot down and 2v1 PVP-ed them to get them to give up. After that, she'd triple checked the ranking for any mission she took for a good, long time.
[Party] Sm1rkMeister: Sounds good.[Party] Sm1rkMeister: Let's do it
[Party] SakuraBlossom: Yay! TY ^_^
[Party] OldRamenMan: A C-ranked mission?
[Party] OldRamenMan: OK, I guess
[Party] Beowulf69: aite aite I said lady's choice. But why this one, 3SIL?
[Party] RollOutBoy: It's a scaling mission. Max possibility is an S-ranked final boss, right 3SIL?
[Party] SakuraBlossom: Yep!
[Party] SakuraBlossom: I once got the S-ranked mission as a genin and died horribly
[Party] SakuraBlossom: So I've always wanted to see if I could beat it again
[Party] SakuraBlossom: But no one ever wants to do this mission
[Party] SakuraBlossom: With our group, we probably have a 50% chance at the S-ranked boss
[Party] SakuraBlossom: and if it's the other 50% chance…
[Party] SakuraBlossom: Put up with it as a wedding present, okay?
[Party] OldRamenMan: Ooooooooooh
[Party] OldRamenMan: You're so smart, 3SIL
"Turns out this third sister in law really is smart," Kiba nodded in approval.
"Thank you," Sasuke said.
Kiba glared at him. "We weren't complimenting you, Asshole."
Sasuke only smirked, "I'm the one who found the intelligent fiancee. Who have you found?"
Naruto snickered as Kiba angrily snarled at Sasuke. Kiba looked like he was ready to climb over the table to throttle him, but Sasuke, being the asshole he was, only rubbed salt into the wound with what he typed next in chat.
[Party] Sm1rkMeister: This doesn't count as a wedding present[Party] Sm1rkMeister: It's only what they should do
Sakura rolled her eyes. This new husband of hers was too indulgent; if she wasn't careful, his friends were going to hate her. Escort missions were long and time-consuming, and if all they came out with was a level C reward, wouldn't they be too fed up?
[Party] RollOutBoy: Let's go then[Party] RollOutBoy: 3SIL, can you pull?
[Party] SakuraBlossom: Sure
A blinking light popped up on their minimaps at the south gate of the city. When the party got there they met an old man with spiky grey hair - the NPC would start the mission.
[Party] Bridge Builder Tazuna: You're the group that's going to take me back to the Land of Waves?[Party] Bridge Builder Tazuna: You look like a formidable group
[Party] Bridge Builder Tazuna: Uh… you know this is a C-rank mission right?
[Party] Bridge Builder System: Mission Leader SakuraBlossom, Type Y to start the mission. Type W to wait for more teammates, Type N to forfeit the mission.
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: Y
[Party] Bridge Builder Tazuna: Alright, let's get going!
[Party] Bridge Builder Tazuna: [muttering] I feel better with such a strong group. Even if we run into…
[Party] Bridge Builder Tazuna: N-Nothing! Nevermind!
They started to move out, trotting easily through a relatively safe low level area, which gave them the ability to chat leisurely.
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: Huh[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: They changed the dialogue from when you're a genin
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: That's pretty cool
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: Oh, what's your fighting style and roles?
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: Meister I already know because we fought, but I'm not sure about the three of you
[Party] OldRamenMan: wait
[Party] OldRamenMan: you fought that ***hole? Who won?
[Party] Sm1rkMeister: She did
"What?!" Naruto looked at Sasuke dubiously, "You didn't let her win, did you?"
"Of course not, idiot," Sasuke didn't even bother to look at him, "My wife is strong."
"Oi, oi," Ever the peacemaker, Chouji scowled at both of them.
[Party] RollOutBoy: I have the multi-size kekkai genkai, so I'm a taijutsu based, passive ninjutsu main[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: Nice!
[Party] Beowulf69: I have the dog tamer line, so I'm a ninjutsu/taijutsu based main
[Party] Beowulf69: My partner here is Akamaru
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: Aww he's so cute!
[Party] OldRamenMan: I've got one of the tailed beasts for a kekkai genkai, so I'm an offensive ninjutsu main
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: Oh wow, that's so cool!
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: You guys all have such cool bloodline limits
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: I'm a little jealous [Party] Sm1rkMeister: They're nothing special
Sakura squinted at her chat. Was he jealous? No, he couldn't be. She was thinking too much into it
[Party] RollOutBoy: What about you, 3SIL?[Party] Beowulf69: Yeah, I know you're on the PVP leaderboards
[Party] Beowulf69: But I've never seen what your bloodline limit is?
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: Oh, mine isn't anything special
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: just a basic improved Chakra control
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: I'm a taijutsu/medical nin main
Chouji frowned, "Don't medical nin usually need teams? Especially taijustu mains."
Kiba eyed the chat dubiously, then looked at Sasuke again. "You sure you didn't let her win?"
Sasuke didn't even bother answering him
They leisurely continued along the road, with Kiba and Chouji easily taking care of most of the mobs along the way, letting the active ninjutsu and healer nins conserve their chakra for the final boss. SakuraBlossom tried to jump in a few times, but considering they were only running into B-rank missing nin and bandits, she didn't insist on it. Instead, she focused on maintaining everyone's chakra levels by passing out some super basic chakra potions - Good thing I did so much crafting yesterday.
[Party] Beowulf69: this is the life![Party] Beowulf69: It sure is comfortable partying with a medical nin
[Party] RollOutBoy: Thank you 3SIL
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: It's my job
[Party] Sm1rkMeister: Don't get used to it
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister]SakuraBlossom: Is everything OK?
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister]SakuraBlossom: Did I do something wrong?
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: You're fine
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: They're bad influences
"Oh come on, asshole!" Naruto protested. "We finally have some time to play and a medic-nin to play with us! Don't be stingy!"
"Sasuke," Chouji asked, sounding very serious but grinning widely, "Are you going to be one of those guys who ditches his friends when he gets a girlfriend?"
"They're not even married and he's already whipped," Kiba sighed with regret.
Sasuke didn't even look the slightest bit ashamed or annoyed."Make fun of me once you have your own in-game wives,"
"Che!" Kiba clucked his tongue in irritation. If he couldn't irritate this jackass then…
[Party] Beowulf69: you know 3SIL….[Party] Beowulf69: you're going to have keep a good eye on your husband once you're married
[Party] Beowulf69: In fact…
[Party] Beowulf69: He may not have a girlfriend but...
[Party] Beowulf69: He doesn't sleep in his bed most nights...
Kiba snickered behind his laptop, deliberately not looking at Sasuke as he typed it. He wasn't wrong, exactly - Now that Itachi deemed him suitably socialized, he let his younger brother come back to his more spacious faculty housing and Sasuke's private room to sleep. Naruto caught on to what Kiba was up to, and added some fuel to the fire.
[Party] OldRamenMan: In fact…[Party] OldRamenMan: We don't often see him in class either…
Sakura frowned. So Meister and his static were still students? She was 90% sure they were just getting a rise out of her, but still. She had her bottom line, after all.
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: So you guys live together?[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister]SakuraBlossom: Listen, if you have anyone who might misunderstand, I'll reimburse you for the wedding costs
[Party] RollOutBoy: We live in the same dorm
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister]SakuraBlossom: I don't do love triangles even if it's just a game
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister]SakuraBlossom: We can still call this off
[Party] Sm1rkMeister: … I'm moving back to the dorm next weekend
[Party] Sm1rkMeister: Hide your laundry [Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: There's no one else for me, besides you
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: There's just a lot of couples quests to do before the tournament
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: We need the boost
[Party] OldRamenMan: What!?
[Party] RollOutBoy: ...
[Party] Beowulf69: No, I take it all back!
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: Ignore them
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: Like I said, bad influences
[Party] Unknown Missing Nin: Well, well, well, what do we have here?
[Party] Tazuna: ARGHH!
Sakura jumped at the sudden scream from the NPC, not knowing where the sound was coming from, but Meister reacted the quickest and punched the shadowy figure in the face. The figure disappeared in a puddle underneath them. Tensed, Sakura got ready to start the encounter. A light mist started to form around them.
[Party] Sm1rkMeister: I can see him.[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: Go, we'll support
Eerie, gruff laughter echoed through the clearing. They were standing on a dry road between two marshes, and while Sakura thought the sound came from the south marsh, Meister headed north. She trusted him, though, and the trust was paid off when a bunch of clones of a missing nin with a bandaged face and gigantic sword dotted the Marsh. At first glance, it looked like Meister was outnumbered, but with his Sharingan, Sakura knew he could handle it. And she knew what was coming. Old Ramen Man, though, didn't, and started to make hand signs and move forward.
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: Old Man, don't[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: Stay back
"What the hell?" Naruto yelled.
"Just listen to her, idiot," Sasuke murmured, his gaze focused on the fight.
"But Sasuke, it's a S-Nin. You're good, but no-one is that good," Chouji reasoned. He grabbed another handful of chips.
"Yeah, she -" Kiba started in, but froze when Third Sister-in-law's avatar moved suddenly in a huge, flashy punch. This time, the fist connected with the NPC and threw him across the south marsh, landing in the bog.
[Here] Masked Boy Mercenary Nin: *cough* You're fast[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: Old Man, Rollout, go
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: Be careful, he's also an S-rank missing nin.
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: Squishy, but hard to hit
"The hell is up with this mission? Two S-Rank missing Nin?" Naruto muttered, but he and Chouji shifted their avatars towards the figure who'd been thrown into the south marsh. The fog continued to roll in. They both dodged the flying needles that flew in their direction, and both directly engaged with taijutsu, not giving the NPC any time to cast anything.
[Here] Tazuna: Oh no, it's Zabuza![Here] Tazuna: Demon of the Hidden Mist!
[Here] Tazuna: Dammit Gato! Why is he so heartless to bring these rabid dogs to the Land of Waves?
[Here] Zabuza, Demon of the Hidden Mist: If you know that much, just lay down and die!
[Here] Masked Boy Mercenary Nin: Zabuza, please allow me to handle them
[Here] Zabuza, Demon of the Hidden Mist: Go, boy.
[Here] Zabuza, Demon of the Hidden Mist: Don't disappoint me, Haku
Sakura focused her healing on Meister. An S-ranked Nin was a lot for most, and Meister kept dodging out of her effective healing range. He wasn't used to fighting with a medic nin. But this was an escort mission, so she didn't dare leave Tazuna alone if the boss targeted him.
[Party] Beowulf69: Where do I go, 3SIL?[Party] Beowulf69: Meister says the rising fog is starting to hurt his Sharingan
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: Meister, kite him closer so I can heal you
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: Around my marker
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: Wulf, you can still find him, right?
[Party] Beowulf69: Akamaru can find his scent, yeah
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: can Akamaru transform?
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: into anything?
[Party] Beowulf69: Yes?
As Kiba coordinated with SakuraBlossom and Sasuke focused intently on his fight, Naruto and Chouji both suddenly swore loudly.
"Shit I didn't even see him cast that!" Naruto swore. They'd been doing fairly well against the young enemy nin, to the point where they'd rapidly got him down to 75% without needing any special attacks. Then Chouji and Naruto found themselves surrounded in a cage of ice mirrors that they couldn't break free from. Their quarry had somehow hidden himself in the mirrors.
"I think the NPC has a bloodline limit," Chouji muttered as he targeted one of the mirrors with the masked boy reflection. His damage numbers were good, but taijutsu could only do so much. The mirrors were somehow healing themselves faster than his damage output.
"Holy shit!" Naruto swore, narrowing his eyes, "I was wondering why he was an S-rank enemy. Chouji, give me some cover." Naruto started making some hand seals to activate his 9-tails rampage skills.
"Sure," Chouji muttered, activating his own bloodline limit. He was so focused on the fight he couldn't snack any more. Just as he became huge, deadly senbon started flying from various mirrors and took him down to half health, "Shit!"
[Party] Beowulf69: 3SIL, let's do it[Party] Beowulf69: The fog's getting too thick
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: Meister get ready
[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: We're going to pin him
Sakura was already swearing since she hadn't known about the NPC's bloodline limit, but she had to put that away to get Meister some help, he wouldn't be able to last. The fog rolling in was starting to interfere with even her healing abilities - she couldn't see the right chakra points that would make the healing the most effective. With a prayer that this worked, she threw two enormous wind-demon shuriken towards Meister and hoped for the best.
The two large Shurikan temporarily blew away the fog, giving her enough visibility to be able to target him to heal him at least briefly. They flew past Zabuza, whose AI was good enough to dodge the two gigantic missiles, and triggered him to start taunting. What kind of asshole sadist dev wrote this guy?
[Here] Zabuza, Demon of the Mist: Nyahahahaha you missedSuddenly, the swordsman's annoying laughter cut off. When SakuraBlossom had thrown the enormous shuriken at the boss, they'd actually been Kiba's avatar and Akamaru transformed, allowing the two to sneak under the NPC's guard.
[Here] Zabuza, Demon of the Mist: Wait, what?[Here] Zabuza, Demon of the Mist: AHHH Let go of me!
"Got him," Kiba yelled, exhilarated. "Her plan actually worked, damn it!" His fingers never left the keyboard as his avatar and Akamaru immobilized the NPC with one of his kekkai genkai skills.
"Nice," Sasuke murmured as he finished casting the jutsu he'd been prepping. With them holding the NPC down, Sasuke had a point blank shot with one of his most powerful ninjutsu. Just before he could finish Zabuza off, though, Chouji and Naruto both slammed their hands on the desk at the same time.
"What the hell?!"
"Where'd that asshole go?!"
A small, masked figure appeared in front of his chidori. Sasuke's eyes widened in disbelief when the boss that Naruto and Chouji had been fighting suddenly blinked into existence in front of him, taking the hit for the heavily injured mist nin behind him He narrowed his eyes when he realized his avatar's feet were now immobilized, and it wasn't a kind of immob he could escape. He quickly started making the half hand seals for SakuraBlossom's body fortifying jutsu. All of their screens flashed to the same cutscene.
[Here] Haku: Zabuza…[Here] Haku: Please... Let me… protect you
[Here] Zabuza, Demon of the Mist: Haku…
[Here] Zabuza, Demon of the Mist: Ahahahaha
[Here] Zabuza, Demon of the Mist: Thank you boy
[Here] Zabuza, Demon of the Mist: I knew picking you up wouldn't be a waste
"Shit!" Sakura swore as Zabuza somehow broke free of his shackles and started whirling his sword around him in great arcs, rapidly killing first Akamaru and then Kiba. Something must have glitched at the previous cutscene, because they weren't dodging. She could see from the party menu that Meister was holding out only because of her fortifying jutsu he must have copied yesterday. That is an OP kekkai genkai! It took me months to develop that jutsu!
Still, he wasn't going to survive the next attack. Before she consciously made a decision, her avatar was already running towards the remaining boss.
ヽ(`⌒´メ)ノ
"Holy shit. Remind me never to get Third Sister-in-law angry," Naruto muttered, staring wide eyed at his screen. The other two nodded in mute agreement. Sasuke allowed himself to smirk slightly. They shouldn't have doubted my wife.
Her avatar had appeared like a pink fury, and just as Zabuza had gotten stunned from the recoil of using such a large berserker attack, she'd beaten him with a series of lightning fast, devastating taijutsu moves that blew craters into the rice paddies they were fighting in.
"Why isn't he dead yet?" Kiba frowned, looking closely at the NPC's health bar. There was only the slightest sliver left on the bar, but Zabuza was now invulnerable and not an enemy any more.
[Here] Slimy Businessman: Tch[Here] Slimy Businessman: Zabuza, what am I paying you for?
[Here] Slimy Businessman: Can't even kill a poor old man?
[Here] Tazun: Gato!
[Here] Gato: Oh well, you might as well finish off this disgrace and save me having to pay him
[Here] Gato: Go, men! Bring me Zabuza's head
[Here] Zabuza, Demon of the Mist: Tch
[Here] Zabuza, Demon of the Mist: Keep dreaming.
[Here] Zabuza, Demon of the Mist: I'm a shinobi, not a dog
[Here] Zabuza, Demon of the Mist: My way of the Ninja is not crooked
[Here] Zabuza, Demon of the Mist: I may take your dirty money, but…
Sakura watched the figure charge forward into the mob of characters at the edge of the clearing, ready to attack if the NPC wasn't meant to take out the random, D level mobs at the edge of the clearing. Zabuza sliced through them easily, destroying the hoard. She watched as her screen faded to another cut screen as Zabuza charged at a cowering Gato, spearing him on a kunai with the last of his strength. Gato died in quite a graphic squeal that made Sakura shudder. He sounds like a pig.
In a low, raspy growl, Zabuza's last words were voice-acted.
[Here] Zabuza, Demon of the Mist: I am a human being![Here] Zabuza, Demon of the Mist: Haku...
As the cut screen ended, the guys clapped and cheered as Tazuna began to run forwards at a much faster speed than the one they'd been escorting him at this whole mission. Chouji and Naruto chased after him, while Sasuke waited for his in-game fiancee to resurrect Kiba and Akamaru to complete the mission. She's much faster than any of us would have been.
[Party] Beowulf69: Thank you 3SIL[Party] Mission Leader SakuraBlossom: YW
She smiled when Wulf's avatar ran off, Akamaru following at his heels. She was about to follow him, when she noticed something about the bodies after the fight. She frowned. Could it be…?
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: ?[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: Sorry, it's just…
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: Can you come back with me after the mission ends?
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: Sure
[Party] OldRamenMan: What are you guys waiting for?
They collected the reward at the entrance to the Land of the Waves, after a mob of villagers came up and Tazuna declared.
[Here] Tazuna: Gato is dead![Here] Tazuna: Peace has returned to the land of the waves
[Here] Tazuna: We owe our lives and livelihoods to this courageous group, SakuraBlossom and her teammates.
[Announcement] System: SakuraBlossom and her 3 teammates have freed the Land of the Waves from the tyranny of Gato! Congratulate them for a hard-fought mission. The [Escort the Bridge Builder to the Land of the Waves] will be unavailable until next reset in 14 hours 20 minutes.
[World] Pink1eP13: Congrats!
[World] M0ffin: I don't think I've ever seen that before. Congrats!
[World] uwuKasumixx: Humph, just a lame C-rank mission
[World] uwuKasumixx: What's the point of a world announcement?
[World] SerNorth: Congrats!
[World] SerNorth: It takes luck and skill to take that scaled mission off the board until reset
[World] Nuxalia: Only a n00b would think that it's just a C-rank mission
[World] TeaSpiller: Congrats!
[World] SakuraBlossom: Thanks all!
[Party] MissionLeader SakuraBlossom: and thank you guys! GG ^_^
[Party] OldRamenMan: Whoohoo! GG 3SIL
[Party] Sm1rkMeister: gg
[Party] Beowulf69: GG! Thanks 3SIL
[Party] RollOutBoy: Wow, these are good rewards
[Party] RollOutBoy: GG
[Party] MissionLeader SakuraBlossom: I've wanted to do that mission for forever
[Party] Sm1rkMeister: You guys should leave first. We still need to talk about the wedding in 2 days
[Party] Beowulf69: Isn't the day after tomorrow…
[Party] MissionLeader SakuraBlossom: ?
[Party] Sm1rkMeister: It's fine. We'll be a bit late, that's all
"Shut up, Kiba," Sasuke said expressionlessly, "Don't say too much."
"We'll be done with the presentation in plenty of time for this guy to get married," Naruto soothed.
"Why the day after tomorrow though?" Kiba complained, "You two better not screw up the presentation, we need the seed money."
"When have we ever let you down?" Naruto retorted.
"Easy guys," Chouji said.
"The day after tomorrow is an auspicious day for weddings," Sasuke said, making the other three choke once again at the sentimental words coming from his perfectly serious mien, "We'll focus on prep for the presentation tomorrow. That's why I want to talk to her today" He finally looked up from his laptop to look each roommate in the eye, "So scram."
"Fine," Naruto laughed good naturedly, saying goodbye to SakuraBlossom in game and logging out. The other two followed as Sasuke moved from the large table in the middle of the dorm room to one of the desks in the back to give him more privacy.
[Party] System: OldRamenMan, Beowulf69, and RollOutBoy have left the party[Whisper] SakuraBlossom: They didn't have to go
[Whisper] SakuraBlossom: I feel bad, I think they're going to miss out on the secret achievement
[Whisper to SakuraBlossom] Sm1rkMeister: It's fine
[Whisper to SakuraBlossom] Sm1rkMeister: What secret achievement?
[Whisper] SakuraBlossom: Oh, I just noticed that Haku and Zabuza's bodies didn't disappear. I think we might be able to bury them?
[Whisper to SakuraBlossom] Sm1rkMeister: ah
[Whisper] SakuraBlossom: What was it about the wedding?
[Whisper] SakuraBlossom: We don't have to buy anything else, do we?
[Whisper to SakuraBlossom] Sm1rkMeister: No, I just wanted them to go away
Sakura started laughing at Meister's latest chat message. She liked his teammates, but it seemed like he just tolerated them. I'd better keep him entertained, then.
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: I should probably let you know we might be late tomorrow[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: So if you have any guildmates coming, give them a heads up
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: All good
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: I have something as well day after tomorrow
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: And I don't have anyone or guildmates coming
It would have been a bit awkward, considering her ex-husband was in her guild. It just felt tacky to advertise it there and she didn't want her friends to feel like they had to pick sides. She hadn't even asked Chun_Lee, her only real in-game friend, It was just a game marriage after all. Besides, I'm not paying for the wedding favours. I can't believe he got lucky red packets.
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: I thought so[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: The bodies are still here and we can pick them up.
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: I bet we bury them, based on Zabuza's last line.
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: But where do we bury them?
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: Probably over there by the waterfall
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: It's the only landmark anywhere around
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: Hmmm
Sakura frowned when, carrying the two bodies, they found an interactive patch of land. That was too easy. Together, they quickly dug an hole and used Zabuza's sword and Haku's mask as a marker.
[Party] System: Congratulations, you have completed the secret achievement [I am a Human][Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: Nice
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: …
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: Sakura?
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: SakuraBlossom?
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: ?
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: Oh sorry, I was taking some notes
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: Notes?
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: Yeah, I…
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: Promise you won't laugh
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: Ok
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: I'm interested in game dev
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: I like taking notes about cool missions or mechanics, or things I think are dumb
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: I see
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: What are you making a note about?
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: Well I really liked the mission, especially how the two bosses appeared. It's so diabolical
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: Except for the cutscenes. You and Wulf shouldn't have died
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: It's an interesting story, if a bit…
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: Short
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: And it's a pity only we see it
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: I wonder if all the other players even get a hint Gato is a threat?
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: Also I think burying human remains so close to a rice paddy is a bad idea.
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: And I'm rambling, lol…
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: Sorry
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: They're good thoughts
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: Haha, thanks.
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: g2g though, cya at the wedding?
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: Mm
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: Good night
[Whisper to Sm1rkMeister] SakuraBlossom: gl with whatever you have the day after tomorrow?
[Whisper] Sm1rkMeister: ty, you too.
AN: Whew! A bit early this week, you can all say thanks to Reglee, my Beta, and Camp NaNoWriMo hosted on the r/fanfiction server for this. I hope you enjoy some hanging out with the guys time - they're fun to write. Anyone still remember the Haku mission? I seem to be taking each scene and stretching them like toffee, so I hope you enjoy it! It does mean I'm writing a lot more action scenes than I expected to. For those of you who are wondering a bit about the MMO mechanics - I'm mostly a Guild Wars 2 player (Because I have responsibilities, and GW2 still allows me to have a life), so I borrow heavily from there. Of course, I'm also making it up as I go. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! As always, reviews, comments, kudos, favourites, bookmarks and whale songs make my day. Stay home and stay healthy!