Chapter 6: Murder in the Safe Zone
Detroid: Well, time for another SAO adventure, not literally but time for another chapter of Sword Art Online: A World Apart and we know what you're thinking? Where are the other updates? Well… that is for us to know and for you to find out.
sakuraphoenix: Yeah, but as an apology for the terrible wait you guys have been feeling, we're doing a special update just for you guys!
Detroid: Yeah
sakuraphoenix: So we could either sit back and let this chapter write itself, or we could get to the disclaimer!
Detroid: Right
Disclaimer: We do not own SAO. That belongs to the creator of the series.
sakuraphoenix: Now while Asuna's being a pain in our personal rear-end, enjoy! Uh… this will start in… Blade's POV, I think.
Detroid: It does start in his POV
sakuraphoenix: Oh, so enjoy!
Detroid: What my girlfriend said!
We were all in the field, well, more like a cave in the village, just whispering to each other but not me. I was to hurt in my heart not to be wanting to listen to this "Vice Commander" and her lecture. Seriously, she pushed Sakura and I to hard when her and I are still in a guild together. It's not something I can forgive for this time. We all stopped talking when Asuna slammed her hand onto the table.
"We'll lure the Field Boss into the village." Asuna said
"W-wait a second. If we do something like that, the villagers…." Kirito started to say when Asuna interrupted him by saying:
"That's the goal. While the boss is killing NPCs, we're going to attack it and then destroy it."
"For those who disagree with this plan say 'aye'." Sakura said out loud
"NCP's aren't just 3-D objects like trees or rocks. They're…" Kirito started to say
"Alive? Is that it? They're only objects. Even if they're killed, they'll just respawn." said Asuna
"Man, out of all the plans I've heard, this one was worse than Klein's and Kirito's 'Meaty Meat' plan. Remind me again why I decided to loan you two an A-Class ingredient?" Sakura asked Klein and Kirito
"I can't go along with that kind of plan." Kirito said
"I, Asuna, Vice Commander of the Knight of the Blood Oath, will oversee this operation. You will obey my orders." said Asuna
"Well unless anyone else has a better idea, because I'll be honest, it's lame, go on ahead with your suicide mission. NPCs are immortal objects. They'll just knock the boss like a pinball, making things worse." Sakura said as that got everyone in the cave discussing on what she just said
Asuna was looking flustered at how Sakura quickly shot her plan down to the ground. That's my girlfriend for you.
"Asuna… you promised Sakura and I that you weren't going to boss us around. I shouldn't have trusted you so soon again…." I said in my thoughts
"Well, do you have a better plan, Vice Commander of Moonlit Avengers?" Asuna asked Sakura
"Well… nope. But anything's better than your suicide mission." Sakura said to Asuna
Asuna just growled angrily before she stormed out of the cave, followed by the rest of the guilds, before we exited with Kirito when we heard someone call out to us.
"Oh, you Agil. What do you want?" I asked him
"Why are you and the second-in-command always like that? And on another note, why didn't you tell me your girlfriend was so smart?" Agil asked me
"Oh…. well… You wouldn't understand." I said
"Complicated story. Anyway, nice seeing you again. Kirito, got a moment?" Sakura asked Kirito
"Yeah, do you." I added in
"Yeah. Why?" Kirito asked
"Just follow us. I don't want the royal pain to hear." Sakura said as I started to snicker over the nickname Sakura gave Asuna
"Nice one." I said
"Thanks." Sakura said to me as we walked into a more-hidden cave so we could talk privately with Kirito
"We know a way to defeat the boss." I said
"Really?!" Kirito exclaimed in shock
"Yeah. We didn't want to disclose it at the meeting because of the royal pain. Anyway, the solution is simple, we put it to sleep with a song I learned from an NPC in town." Sakura said to Kirito
"Yeah and once the boss is asleep… we attack it." I added in
"If you two knew, why didn't you try it?" Kirito asked us
"We did. It woke up before we could finish it off." Sakura said while sweat-dropping
"Yeah…" I said while sweat-dropping as well
"I see. Alright, let's work together to defeat the boss." Kirito said to us
"And rub it into Asuna's face afterwards." Sakura said
"Let's do it!" I exclaimed
"Yeah!" Kirito and Sakura exclaimed in unison
A few hours later, after Asuna was pretty far away, we saw the boss. I nodded to Sakura to start singing, and once she did, the monster yawned and turned to its side, just like before. And just like before, Sakura started the attack with Flashing Penetrator before Kirito and I joined in, and we were lowering its health three times faster than before! Nice!
"Okay, one final blow should finish this boss off!" I exclaimed
"Right! Blade! Switch!" Kirito exclaimed to me
"Let's end this boss!" I exclaimed as I finished the boss off
"Alright! We did it!" Sakura exclaimed as she hugged me happily
"Yeah we did. Let's hope it takes Asuna four hours to figure out that we defeated the boss with our own plan." I said while hugging Sakura back
"That may be too good to be true." Kirito said as he pointed to the raid party that appeared while we were fighting, with Asuna leading them
"Great…." I sarcastically said
"Y-y-you knew how to defeat the boss this whole time?!" Asuna exclaimed angrily
"We had our reasons to not share with you, just like how you ditched us for the Knights of the sorry oath." Sakura said to Asuna
"I have to agree with my girlfriend on this one." I said
Asuna angrily just stormed into the maze while Kirito, Sakura, and I were laughing our socks off. That was too funny!
April 11, 2024, Floor 59: Danac
I was blushing as my girlfriend had her head on my shoulder. Man, she's so cute when she's curling up with me. Scary when she's on her bad side, which Asuna currently has a permanent place on.
"Man, Kirito was right. The weather is perfect today." Sakura said as she was holding an ocarina that she pulled out from her inventory as we sat under the same tree Kirito was sleeping under
"Yeah but I love you." I said to Sakura
"Love you too." Sakura said before she started playing a melody on the ocarina, which just made the area all that more peaceful before she suddenly stopped playing as we saw the royal pain
"What are you three doing?" Asuna asked us
"Why are you here for us?" I asked her right back
"The other lead group members are all working hard to clear the dungeon. Why are you three out here taking a break? Even if you're a solo player Kirito, and you two are a solo guild, you need to be serious!" Asuna exclaimed
"So you haven't noticed?" Sakura asked as she put away her ocarina
"Yeah and besides, you're the one to talk, rude ditcher." I said to Asuna
"Don't get worked up over her you two. It's Aincrad's nicest season, and today is its nicest weather setting." said Kirito
"Huh?" asked Asuna
"Entering the dungeon on a day like today sounds like a total waste." Sakura said before she played another tune on her ocarina
"Yeah so just chill out for a change." I said while snuggling next to Sakura which got her blushing
"Do you not understand? Every day we spend here is one we've lost in the real world." said Asuna
"Depends on what your life was like before in the real world." Sakura said after taking a break from playing her ocarina
"But right now, we're alive here, in Aincrad." Kirito said as the wind blew a gentle breeze
"I have to agree with Sakura and Kirito on this one. Just… take a nap for a few hours to know what we mean." I said to Asuna
"Besides, the wind and sunlight feel so good." said Sakura
"Do they? There's nothing special about this weather." said Asuna
"Just listen to my boyfriend about it already." Sakura said while looking ticked at her
Asuna just looked confused as Sakura yawned and curled up next to me to take a nap before I followed suit. She was really cute when she sleeps.
Sakura's POV
I yawned as I finally woke up from my nap before seeing Kirito and Blade waking up after noticing Blade had curled up next to me, which had gotten me blushing.
"Whoa! Sakura…. Kirito… look." Blade said while pointing to a sleeping Asuna
"Talk about miss bossy of the year." I said before all three of us chuckled a bit
"Let's leave her alone." Blade told me and Kirito
"Hey, take a look at that." Someone said as we looked to the road
"Taking a nap at this time of day?" Someone else said
"Some people don't work too hard." The third person said
"Who are they? Jeez…" the first guy said
"Says the guys who don't know I have three skills mastered." I said
"Which skills do you have mastered babe?" Blade asked me
"You already know them. But since Kirito doesn't, I'll say them anyway." I said playfully
"I know that tone missy." Blade said
"Alright, my Picking skill, Cooking Skill, and Rapier skills are all maxed out." I said to Blade
"You serious?" Kirito asked me
"Yeah. I've almost maxed out my parry, sewing, and musical instrument skills." I said to him
"Believe us… just trying to level up now is impossible if you think about it." Blade added in
"True, but that's what makes things more fun. Besides, we're more than halfway through with Aincrad." Kirito then said
"That's true but the bosses are starting to get harder." Blade said
"Yeah, but let's enjoy the moment." I said as I pulled out my ocarina once more and played the tune that put Geocrawler to sleep
"You know I love you when you play that ocarina." Blade told me
"I thought you loved it when I sang." I said playfully
"I know that tone and it can't be both?" Blade asked
"It can." I said while smiling
We ended up waiting the whole day until Asuna woke up.
"Look who decided to finally wake up from their little nap." Blade said in a mocking tone
Asuna then grabbed her Rapier, cuing a quick dive to hide from her.
"S… Sorry…." Blade said
We kept hiding until we heard Asuna put her sword away.
"One meal…" Asuna then said
"Huh?" All three of us said in unison
"One meal and that's it." Asuna told us
"What do you mean?" Blade asked
"I'll buy you one meal of any kind. Then we'll be even, okay?" Asuna asked us
"Alright then… I thought you would have been mad at us." Blade said
"Well… better than her using her rapier." I said
"Yeah." Blade added in
Kirito just nodded in agreement
Floor 57: Martin, Blade's POV
We eventually agreed to a restaurant on the 57th floor, not like we had any brighter ideas.
"Isn't that Asuna from Knights of Blood Oath?" One person asked
"She's the Lightning Flash…" Another person said
"Who's the guy dressed in black?" a guy with green hair asked
"Who cares? Who's the hot babe in pink?" another guy asked
"She looks like a keeper." another guy said
"Maybe I should start wearing a ring on my ring finger." Sakura said to herself
"Well, anyway… Thanks for today." Asuna said
"For what?" I asked
"For watching over me." Asuna said
"Ah, no problem… It was really Kirito's idea." I said
"Yeah, if it were just us, we would've left you sleeping there all alone." Sakura said as Asuna looked pretty mad for that comment
"Yeah and we would have left you to die as well." I added in as Asuna looked pissed off at what I said
"Uh, I'm sure they're joking, right?" Kirito said as he looked a little panicky about Asuna's anger problems
"In any case…. The towns are safe areas so no one can attack or player kill you. The only exception is when you're asleep." I said
"Yeah, or in a duel. Player killers can take advantage of when you're asleep and just move your hand to accept the duel." Sakura said while crossing her arms
"Which in turn you just keep attacking in a one-sided duel. Such incidents have occurred before from what I read." I said
"Yeah. We had to sell our old guild HQ because the Laughing Coffin guild found it." Sakura said as she just stared at her water
"But in turn, we kept the stuff we bought for the guild when we first bought the house." I said
"So, where are you two living now?" Asuna asked us
"Well, we're sorta crashing at Kirito's for now. We're trying to save up money for a home closer to the front lines." Sakura said to her
"Yeah but it would have been easier to get a lot more money if you didn't abandon us for that stupid guild of yours." I said
"I said I was sorry!" Asuna exclaimed
"That won't work anymore on us. Not after you bossed my girlfriend and I around since you promised us that you wouldn't do that at all." I said
"I honestly didn't want to, but I wanted to motivate the slackers." Asuna said while glaring at Kirito
That got Sakura and I snickering while Kirito was sulking before we all heard a scream. That wasn't good...
"Did you hear that scream?" I asked Asuna, Kirito and Sakura
"Hard to miss." Sakura said to me
"Let's go!" I exclaimed
We ran until we saw someone hanging from the clock tower! Yikes!
"Asuna, let's go and try to rescue him." I said
"Right." Asuna said to me as we ran inside
"There has to be something we can do." I said while looking around to try to figure it out
"Sakura and Kirito will catch him if he falls. You and I are the fastest compared to them." Asuna said as we ran
"Right!" I exclaimed
We were about to cut the rope when the guy had already disappeared. We were too late. Damn it!
"Everyone! Please, look for the 'Duel Winner' notification!" We heard Sakura exclaim
"Great… we were too late." I said to Asuna
"And there's no one in here…" Asuna said in concern
"So how can someone get killed in a safe zone." I said while looking at the rope before saying:
"And nobody pushed that guy off the ledge either."
Soon enough, Kirito and Sakura came inside the tower so we could discuss what happened, based on the evidence we had.
"Okay, the rope was never cut but nobody pushed the victim either." I said
"And no one had the duel winner notification over their heads." said Sakura
"Okay, this is becoming a big case almost like one from Doctor Who." I said
"Yeah, but this weapon… it gives me the creeps." Sakura said while holding it out
"Hmm… We need to check this out." I said while examining it
"In any case, we can't ignore this. And as much as I hate this, we all have to team up." Sakura said while glaring at Asuna
"Yeah or if you don't like it… Sakura and I will do this by ourselves, right?" I asked Sakura
"Yeah, with Kirito." Sakura added in
"Yeah." I said
"Besides, think about it. If someone found a way to PK someone in a safe zone, no one would be safe." Sakura said while looking grimly at the weapon
"That's true but we only have this one weapon. We have no suspects or witness." I said
"Guess we're going to do this the old-fashioned CSI way." Sakura said before Kirito and Asuna looked at her weirdly before she said:
"What? I watch cop shows."
"We need to ask someone on what they saw." I said
"Right, so until this is solved, there's no time for napping." Asuna said as she approached Kirito with her extended hand
"You're the one who was napping." Kirito said as he was about to take her hand
"Bad choice of words…" I said before Asuna twisted his wrist, causing him to scream in pain, and scaring away the birds
That'll teach him a lesson for next time, I hope.
"In any case… let's ask." I said
"Yeah." said Sakura
We walked out of the clock tower, with Kirito rubbing his wrist. He better be grateful that Asuna didn't do that IRL.
"Did anyone see something?" I asked
"If anyone saw anything, please, any information about the circumstance may help us understand what's going on." Sakura said to the crowd
"Yeah." I said
The crowd was somewhat silent until a girl with purple hair stepped forward toward us.
"Sorry, I know you've just had a frightening experience. What's your name?" Asuna asked the girl
"Please tell us so we can uncover this mystery." I said
"My name is Yolko…" Yolko said in fright
"Was that first scream yours?" Kirito asked her
"Y-yes. I just came here to eat dinner with the man who was killed. His name is Caynz. We used to be in the same guild. But we got separated in the plaza. I looked around, and I saw him hanging from the church window…" Yolko explained before she broke down in tears
"If you don't want to keep explaining what happened then we can wait until tomorrow morning." I explained to Yolko
"N-no, it's okay." Yolko said as Asuna started rubbing her back
"Did you see anyone else?" Asuna asked her
"It was just for a second, but I thought I saw someone behind Caynz." Yolko said
"That might give us a bit of an edge for us to solve this mystery." I said
"Did you recognize this person?" Sakura asked Yolko
"No…" Yolko said sadly
"I hate to ask this, but do you know why anyone would've wanted to kill Caynz?" Kirito asked her
She just shook her head no. Man… this just got a lot harder. We walked her to a nearby inn for her to stay in, since no one could break into an inn room without a key or being invited in.
"Thank you for walking me here." Yolko said to us
"No problem." I said
"We'll talk more tomorrow, after you've gotten some rest. You may be able to remember more details." Sakura said to her
"Okay." Yolko said to us
"Have a good night sleep." I said to Yolko
She bowed before she closed the door to the inn.
"So, now what?" Kirito asked all three of us
"We'll have to review our info. That or it's Criminal Minds talking." Sakura said
"You watch way too many police dramas." Asuna said to her
"Hey!" Sakura exclaimed
"Enough from you miss bossy pants." I told Asuna
"Okay, enough. We know somehow a player was killed outside of a duel, and with this spear. If we could learn where it came from, we may be able to learn who killed Caynz." Sakura said
"Then we'll need someone with an appraisal skill. You don't have one obviously." Kirito said to Asuna
"Of course not. Nor do you. Blade, Sakura, what about you?" Asuna asked us
"Well… I do have the appraisal skill but I didn't raise it to a high enough level for this." I admitted
"I don't have the appraisal skill, sorry." Sakura said
"But I do know someone who does." I said
"But she's busy at this time. She's swamped with orders. There is the other guy we know." Sakura said
"That's who I was talking about." I said to Sakura
"You don't mean…" Kirito started to say
"Yep." said Sakura
"Let's just go." I said while starting to get a bit annoyed
We all headed for the 50th floor where Agil had his shop. I hated that we couldn't ask Lizbeth for help, but my girlfriend was right. She was busy. We arrived at the shop just as one guy exited the place. Another satisfied customer.
"Thank you! Come again!" We heard Agil exclaim
"Seems you're just as greedy as ever." Kirito said as we entered his shop
"I'll say." I said
"That won't ever change, will it?" Sakura asked
"Hey Kirito, Blade, Sakura. My motto's always been 'buy cheap, sell cheap'." said Agil
"I don't know about that second part." Kirito said to him
"I agree." I said while sweat dropping
"Yeah, sounds fishy if you ask me." Sakura said as Kirito and Agil fist-bumped
"Don't speak so ill of me." Agil said before he noticed Asuna behind us
"What is it Agil?" I asked
He then dragged all three of us behind the counter, and by drag, I mean he forced our heads down so hard, it was like being in an awkward position with my girlfriend's mom.
"Wh-wh-what's going on you three? What's a solo player like Kirito and a solo guild like you two doing with Asuna of all people? Weren't you four always at odds? Say something!" Agil said in a panicked tone
"We need your help with something Agil but first… release our heads!" I exclaimed
"Please!" Sakura exclaimed
He soon let us go, and back into the back room of his store, where Sakura, Kirito, Asuna the traitor, and I were sitting and talking with him when he said:
"Someone got killed in a safe area? It wasn't during a duel?"
"We didn't see a 'winner' notification anywhere." said Kirito
"If he was walking with Yolko beforehand, it couldn't have been a sleep-PK either." said Asuna
"Plus with all of the evidence, it looks like premeditated murder to me. The only other thing we have to go on is this lance." Sakura said as we looked at the weapon
"Yeah." I said
With a serious look, he picked up the weapon, and used his appraisal skill on it.
"It's player-made." Agil said to all four of us
"Really?" Kirito asked
"Who was the one that made it?" Asuna asked him
"Grimlock. Never heard of him… but I do know that he's not a first rate swordsmith. And there's nothing particularly strange about this weapon." said Agil
"But it can still be a clue." I said
"Can you give us the item name?" Sakura asked him
"Let's see… it's called Guilty Thorn, meaning 'thorn of sin'." Agil said as he gave the lance to Kirito
"Guilty Thorn… Kirito, can I try something with that weapon. I have a theory and I want to try to prove it." I said
"Um… sure." Kirito said as he gave me the lance
"My theory is that this weapon can't really kill something because of us being inside a safe zone…. So…" I said as I was about to stab my arm with the lance
"Blade, what are you doing?!" Sakura exclaimed in shock
"Babe, you have to think… how can we solve anything if we don't take risks?" I asked as I was about to strike my arm
I was about to strike it when Asuna stopped me. Really? You had to stop me?
"Why did you stop me?" I asked Asuna
"Why do you think?! Are you an idiot?! Someone's been killed by that weapon!" Asuna exclaimed in panic
"We won't know unless we try." I said
"Don't bother trying something that dangerous! This… should be left with Agil." Asuna said as she took Guilty Thorn from me and gave it to Agil
"Babe, you should have backed me up for that." I said
"I have to agree with Asuna on this one." Sakura said as I was starting to get mad before I noticed her winking and secretly putting Guilty Thorn in her inventory without Asuna knowing
"Thanks for helping us Agil." I said
"Uh, s-sure." Agil said before we all left
"So, what now?" Asuna asked us
"We get something to eat. We never really had dinner." Sakura said
"Yeah." I said
"And Kirito's place is a little crowded for all four of us in the kitchen, plus last time I let him cook, he made the dish too spicy!" Sakura exclaimed
"Nice one babe." I said
"I said it was just fine." said Kirito
"And I said there's something wrong with your taste replicator engine." Sakura said before she, Asuna, and I started cracking up
"I love you babe." I said while smiling
"Love you too… oh shoot. I forgot my uh, necklace, you know the one you got me yesterday?" Sakura said to me as I understood what she was trying to do
"Oh yeah. That one. We have to go then." I said
"Okay. We'll meet up with you in Martin for dinner." Asuna said to us
"Okay Asuna. See ya there." I said
Once she and Kirito left, Sakura opened up her inventory and pulled out Guilty Thorn.
"You know if you do get damaged with this, your necklace I gave you should help." Sakura told me
"I know." I said while smiling
I noticed how Sakura looked nervous at the thought of me hurting myself, but the moment I see my HP bar dropping, I'm getting rid of this thing permanently.
"Babe, listen. I know what I'm doing." I said
"I know, I still can't help but worry about you." Sakura said to me
"You can babe since I love you." I said
"I love you too." Sakura said to me
"Forever and ever." I said while smiling
"Until the end of time." Sakura said as she held my hand, the one that was holding the weapon
"So, ready?" I asked
"As much as I can be." Sakura said in worry
"So stop worrying, please." I said
"I can't help it! You're my boyfriend." Sakura told me
"Please…" I said while making the sad cute fennekin sounds
"Aw come on! Don't you go givin' me them baby doll eyes now, ya hear?!" Sakura exclaimed in a Southern accent
"Nuzleaf reference but please.. No need to worry about me." I said
"Whenever you say that is when I worry the most." Sakura said to me
With a determined look, I stabbed the weapon into my hand. Sakura gave a yelp as I stabbed my hand… and my health bar hadn't moved an inch! But my armor's duration bar did go down slightly...
"I was right about my theory." I said as I pulled the weapon out
"You were?" Sakura asked me after she had breathed a sigh of relief
"The weapon didn't kill that guy at all. It was lowering my armor's duration instead. Meaning..." I said
"Could Caynz have teleported right when his armor's duration expired?" Sakura asked me
"Yeah." I said
"Well, in order to get to the bottom of this, I'm gonna have to pull a CSI: Miami on Yolko." Sakura said to me
"Really…." I said while puffing out my cheeks
"I meant we pretend we don't know this to get a confession about who Grimlock is so we can put the puzzle pieces together." Sakura told me
"True…" I said
"So, let's meet up with Kirito and Asuna so we can tell them what we found out." Sakura told me
"Let's keep this info just between us and Kirito… if you know what I mean babe." I said as I kissed Sakura on the lips
"Oh yeah, because Asuna's still a royal pain." Sakura said before she kissed me back on the lips
"Exactly!" I replied while kissing Sakura deeply
"You know I love it when you do that, right?" Sakura asked me
"I know babe." I said
"Come on, let's catch up with the others. I'm starving!" Sakura exclaimed as my stomach growled
"Right." I said while holding Sakura's hand
We headed for Martin, and surprisingly, only Kirito was at the table.
"Hey Kirito, where's Asuna?" I asked
"She left something in her house. She went back to get it. So, what did you two find out?" Kirito asked us, which made us look at him in shock
"What did you find out first?" I asked him
"Nothing new. Asuna still hates me." Kirito said to us
"Oh well… we found out that the duration of that Caynz's armor was depleting instead of his health." I said
"So we theorize he teleported away instead of the weapon having a special skill. To be safe, let's pretend we never had this conversation, just because of the royal pain." Sakura said to Kirito
"Yeah…" I said
"Alright. Yolko's sleeping right now, so we'll talk to her in the morning." Asuna said as she entered the restaurant
"Okay." I said
"Did you find your necklace?" Asuna asked Sakura
"Since when do you care?" Sakura asked her
"Yeah. Thought you only cared about clearing the game." I said
"I care about your relationship too." Asuna said
"Uh-huh." Sakura said in an unconvinced tone
"We don't believe you. Come find us when you can really convince me and my girlfriend that you do care for our relationship." I told Asuna before leaving
"Guess we'll be getting dinner elsewhere." Sakura said to me
"Yeah." I said
"I'd cook something, but well, you know how messy Kirito's house is." Sakura said to me
"True…" I said
"So how about that restaurant we went to that Silica took us? I love their cheesecake." Sakura said to me
"I was thinking the same thing." I said
"So let's go. I would love to save up for that house you still haven't told me where you wanted to buy it." Sakura said to me
"True and right." I said while holding Sakura's hand
"So when will you tell me?" Sakura asked me
"Soon, very very soon." I told Sakura
"Well, you win. But can you at least tell me if I'll like the view?" Sakura asked me
"I know you will." I said while putting my head on Sakura's shoulder which got her to immediately start blushing
"Come on, dinner's on me." Sakura said while smiling
"Right my cute Fennekin you." I said
Having dinner with my girlfriend… back in the real world, it was just something I wished I could do, but here in Sword Art Online… it was a reality. I know we're trapped here and all, but a part of me wishes that this would doesn't have to end, and another part of me wants to go back to reality. The truth is, I don't know what I'm more afraid of. Losing her… or losing these moments. The next day, we met up with Kirito and the royal pain to see if Yolko knew anything about this 'Grimlock' character all while I could imagine Asuna glaring at me. I don't think she's forgiven me for the Geocrawler boss quite yet… I don't blame her, but because she's been such a pain I had to keep it a secretly from her royal painliness.
"Hey Kirito." Sakura said as we met up with him in the restaurant we were in yesterday
"Oh, hey guys. Asuna's gone to get Yolko from the inn." Kirito said to us
"That's good." I said
"Yeah, her Royal Painliness isn't here yet." Sakura said as she yawned and curled up next to me as we sat down at the table next to the one Kirito was sitting at
"That's right because she'll keep giving those stupid evil glares at me." I said
"Don't you mean us?" Sakura asked me
"You know what I mean." I said
"That's true." Sakura sighed as Asuna came in with Yolko
"Yeah…." I said
We made our orders and everything, and although I knew this was going to be uncomfortable for Yolko, we needed to know.
"Um… Yolko, this may seem like a random question, but have you ever heard the name 'Grimlock' somewhere before?" Sakura asked her
"Yeah… We just want to help solve this." I said
"*gaps* Y-Yes. He was a member of the guild Caynz and I were in together." Yolko told us
"Well… the truth is that, we kinda… appraised the spear that Caynz was killed with and it was made by Grimlock." I said
Yolko looked shocked from what we just found out, but based on how Sakura looked at her seriously, she was faking her reaction.
"Can you think of a reason why this might be?" Kirito asked her
"Yes, I can. I'm sorry I didn't tell you this yesterday. I want to forget about it. It's something that I don't want to remember. However, I'll tell you about it." Yolko said
"Like two people my girlfriend and I know for starters." I said while glaring at Asuna before saying:
"If you don't want to talk about it then we'll try a different way of figuring this case out."
"It's okay. Just take your time, Yolko. There's no need for you to rush." Sakura said gently to her
"Yeah while avoiding one of the two people we want to forget." I said while still glaring at Asuna
"For the last time! I'm sorry!" Asuna exclaimed
"But back to the current problem…" I said
"We need to understand how this all started. Yolko, please, can you shed some light on all this?" Sakura asked her
"Yeah." I said while placing my head on Sakura's shoulder
I saw Sakura blushing as I had my head on her shoulder, before we all looked at Yolko as she began to tell her story.
"About the reason for our guild's destruction... The name of our guild was "Golden Apple". Six months ago, we defeated a rare monster that we encountered and it dropped a ring that raised one's agility by twenty levels. Some of us wanted to use it, while others wanted to sell it and split the earnings, ultimately dividing the guild. But in the end, the matter was resolved by voting. The result was five to three in favor of selling it. Our leader, Griselda left to stay overnight at a large town on the front lines to consign the ring to an auctioneer. But Griselda never came back. Later, we discovered that she had died. I still don't know the cause of her death." Yolko explained
"Nobody would leave town with such of a rare item like that which makes me to believe that she might have been sleep-PKed." I said
"But if she was sleeping in an inn, she should've been safe. No one's allowed in unless you open the door." said Sakura
"Even so, Sleep-PKing wasn't widely known six months ago." said Asuna
"That is true…" I said
"Still, it's hard to believe that it was a coincidence. Whoever attacked Griselda must've known about the ring as well. In other words…" Kirito trailed off
"It must have been someone in the guild." I said
"The obvious suspects would be those who voted against selling the ring." Said Kirito
"So you're saying one of those three attacked Griselda to get to the agility ring?" Sakura asked him
"Probably." Kirito said in agreement
"Well…. Who else voted to keep the ring?" I asked
"Better question, who's Grimlock?" Sakura asked
"Not only did Grimlock agree to selling the ring, but he was also Griselda's husband. Of course, it was only an in-game marriage. Griselda was a very powerful swordswoman. She had both beauty and brains. Grimlock was a kind person who always had a smile on his face. They suited each other well and were a close couple. If Grimlock is the murderer from yesterday, he must be targeting the three who wanted to use the ring. Caynz and I were part of the three who opposed the ring's sale." Yolko revealed to us
All four of us were shocked to hear that. Then that means…
"Do you think…." I started to say
"Who was the last person who opposed the sale?" Sakura said in a serious tone
"A tank-class player called Schmitt. Nowadays, I hear he's part of the Divine Dragon Alliance of the clearing group." said Yolko
"I heard of his name before. He was at the meeting our little royal pain had." I said while pointing to Asuna
"You're still calling me that?!" Asuna exclaimed angrily
"Well duh yeah. That is your new nickname to us now. Right babe?" I asked Sakura
Her response was her laughing like a Zorua. And that's usually how she agrees with me in hilarious situations anyway, so I'll be taking that as a yes.
"In any case, that's probably the next target of whoever is targeting the people who wanted to oppose the ring selling." I said while in deep thought
"That and Yolko. We should bring him here to keep them both protected. He may not have heard about the incident, so why don't we let him and Yolko catch up? You know, for old time's sake." Sakura said
"You're right babe." I said while smiling
"I know someone in the Divine Dragon Alliance, so if we go to their headquarters, I think I can organize a meeting." Asuna said
"You do that, bossy pants while Kirito, Blade, and I take Yolko to her room in the inn, then we'll meet up with you." Sakura said
"True…." I said while rolling my eyes
"Actually, I want to go with Asuna." Said Kirito
"Then we'll meet up with you later, Kirito." Sakura said to him
"Are we really letting the royal pain take Kirito with her?" I whispered to Sakura
"His funeral, not ours." Sakura whispered back
"That's true." I whispered to Sakura
After we took Yolko back to the inn, we met up with Kirito and Asuna in front of the Divine Dragon Alliance's HQ before we returned to Martin and Yolko's inn, where she explained what happened to a nervous Schmitt.
"Was the weapon that killed Caynz really made by Grimlock?" Schmitt asked Yolko
"It was I'm afraid." I admitted to Schmitt
That freaked him out, big time. I don't think I've even seen Sakura that scared.
"Why did Caynz get killed after all this time?! Was he… was he the one that stole the ring? Was he the one that killed Griselda? Is Grimlock planning to kill us for not agreeing to sell the ring? Are we being targeted, too?" Schmitt asked rapidly and nervously
"Something is not adding up here even with what I theorized earlier." I said to myself
"Grimlock was the spear's maker, but someone else could have used it. Or maybe… Griselda is taking revenge. After all, killing in a safe area can only be done by a ghost." Yolko said
Now Schmitt looked even more scared, and I noticed Sakura was shaking, literally, in her boots. Oh yeah… she's terrified of ghost stories.
"Babe, I feel like something is not adding right now." I whispered to Sakura
"You're telling me." Sakura whispered back while shaking
"There is no ghost. I know that for a fact. Think about it even with what I theorized and tested with that weapon earlier without the royal pain around." I whispered to Sakura before I saw her gulping as she stopped shaking as Yolko said:
"I… stayed up last night thinking. In the end, all the guild members share responsibility in Griselda's death! After we got the ring, we shouldn't have voted, and just let Griselda decide on what to do with it! Only one person… Grimlock alone thought Griselda should decide. That's why he has the right to avenge her… by making us pay for her death with our lives." Yolko said as Schmitt was even more scared now
"Don't screw with me… this has to be some sick joke. After all this time… half a year's passed already, so why now?! Are you just going to accept that, Yolko? Are you fine with getting mysteriously killed off like that?!" Schmitt exclaimed fearfully
"Oh brother…." I said to myself as I was about to leave the room
I turned around, fully expecting to see Schmitt grab Yolko, when she suddenly looked shocked, like she was hit from behind with something. She turned around… and there was a dagger in her back!
"Yolko!" I exclaimed
Kirito and Sakura ran to try and catch her, but failed as she hit the ground before her avatar disappeared into a bunch of virtual crystal fragments.
"Damn it!" I said before saying:
"Kirito… we need to find the killer and fast!"
Kirito still looked shocked over what happened with Yolko… and honestly, I didn't blame him. I didn't see that one coming.
sakuraphoenix: And don't we all just hate a cliffhanger?
Detroid: Yes we do
sakuraphoenix: Either way, please review and until next time, I'm sakuraphoenix…
Detroid: And I'm Detroid both saying we heart you, signing off for now. Chao!
sakuraphoenix: Smell ya later, Feraligatr!