Out of curiosity, what do you think of the two OCs? I know there isn't much to go on, so if any of you could offer your thoughts, please tell me.
Chapter 15: The Team
The next morning, Mugetsu decided to confirm something that has been on his mind ever since finding out about the map. 'Those two were really set on getting their hands my half of the map. If they have the other, and it marks where whatever is at the end, then I don't see why they would need my half.' Thinking about it for about a couple of minutes he came to two possible solutions. The first is that they had lied to him and his contractors were innocent, but after seeing them close in on him as soon as the job was done quickly ruled out the possibility of them not being involved in using him. The second conclusion was that he had the piece where X marks the spot. 'Well, only one way to find out if I'm right. Still, can't believe that I waited until now to do this.'
While accessing his inventory, a thought came to mind. What was at the end? Could it be a room filled to the brim with money, items, weapons of unparalleled strength, or just another fight to the death? 'With my luck, I wouldn't be surprised.' The map, if it actually could be considered a map, was a semi-sphere made of polished bronze with a small crystal imbedded with its core. 'So neither one of us has the slightest clue... Great.'
With some of his questions answered, he looked at the clock to see how much longer before his meeting. 'Hmm, they should be arriving soon. Maybe I should order some breakfast before they get here.' He signaled over a waitress to take his order.
"Hello, sir. How may I be of service?" She wore a simple green dress with a white apron on top. Her ash-brown hair tied up in a bun.
"I would like an order of today's special and some cider to go with it." He subconsciously gave a polite smile to the attendant, who quickly felt her face heat up. In no time, she wrote down the order and turned to leave.
"Right away, kind sir." Not long after was the food delivered to his table. The meal consisted meat stew with vegetables and a side plate of mashed potatoes. They also brought a plate with neatly chopped and arranged fruit.
'Strange, I don't remember asking for fruit.'
'Ever the ladies man,' echoed a voice, 'aren't you king?'
'Huh?!' "Who's there?" He did a quick scan of the establishment but found none paying him any mind. 'Weird, could have sworn I heard that voice somewhere before.'
"Hey," a voice cried out, snapping him from his thoughts. Turning to see the source, Mugetsu saw Hoven and Kaine approach his table. "Oh, what's this? While we were risking our lives, you sit back and enjoy a nice warm breakfast. Hmm, I fail to see how this is fair."
"Cut it out, Kaine. If you're that hungry just order something." Slowly taking a seat, Hoven looked to Mugetsu with a smile slowly forming. "After all, I'm sure Mugetsu is more than willing to treat us for our success, right?"
"I would be delighted, Hoven..." Satisfied with his answer, the two proceeded to order the same a him. "So," said Mugetsu, "judging by your arm and what you just said, I take it everything went well?"
"Yeah, your friend was kind enough to make the potion for free once we told her you sent us. As for the distraction, I wouldn't now. Hopefully killing a few field bosses will do the trick."
"Let's hope so, I already promised to pay Argo with a part of my share." Scratching his hair, he could not help but think, just how much would Argo charge him? 'I know handing out out accurate information is vital for her jod as an info broker. If they find out that she purposely lied to them, she will have a tough time getting others to trust her.'
"Now who said anything about you paying me in cash," came a voice from the side.
"A-Argo, what the hell are you doing here!?" Sure enough, the «Rat» of Aincrad was sitting there, grinning childishly with a drink in hand.
"Receiving my compensation," she responded with confidence. "I'm going with you guys."
"Now hold on a moment! Just when did I agree to take you along?"
"The moment you hired me to give out false information. My business is built on delivering accurate information. If word gets out that my information is inaccurate I would start to suffer heavy losses, and I'm sure neither of us wants that, right~?"
"You cheeky little rat. Is this why you said that my last payment wouldn't cover this job?"
"Possibly..." The smile on her face purposely gave away her true thoughts. "I might just be tagging along to verify that the information I gave those poor fools is accurate. You know how I feel about disappointing my customers."
*Sigh* "Alright, you win. If you want you can follow, but they," he signaled at Hoven and Kaine, "have the map's other half. How do plan on getting them to go along with this?"
The two, who up to this point had silently watched things unfold while enjoying their meal, gave each other a look. Hoven seemed uncertain, while Kaine was simply amused at how easily Argo had convinced Mugetsu. Knowing how annoying Kaine could get at times, Hoven rolled his eyes in aspersion and nodded his head in approval. Maybe this will get him off his back for a while.
"We have no problem with this," said Kaine in a jovial tone. "Besides, if we encounter anything like the guardians, it would be better to have another person to help out!"
'I hope not,' thought Mugetsu and Hoven. 'Once/twice was enough.'
"Well Argo, seems like I'll have to deal with you for the duration of this mess." Looking at the mocking smile she was giving him, he sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "So, how about we finish our food before we set out?"
[1 Hour later]
"... You three had enough yet?" His question fell upon deaf ears, hidden behind piles of empty plates. "I'm starting to run out of patience and money, so could we please get a move on." A surprisingly large burp echoed from the shortest member of the group.
"Oh, come on," said Argo. "You're the defacto leader, so it's your job to pay for our food and travel expenses!" Mugetsu's eye twitched upon hearing this.
"THE HELL I AM!" Slamming his hands on the table, the remainder of his drink fell to the floor. "Since when did I agree to be in charge of you three!?"
"From the moment you started to boss us around and decided to sit around and do nothing." His glare was redirected at Kaine.
"That's because there was nothing for me to do! Besides, how would trying to get us all out of this alive count as me ordering you around?"
"Let me see," mumbled Hoven, wiping away the last of his food from his mouth. "You sent Kaine and I to act as bait, with my arm badly hurt."
"I sent you to a place where you could get proper care for it."
"Sent Argo here," signaling to the smiling rat, "to deliver false information, capable of endangering both her source of income and her life."
"Hey, she could have said no! Going along with us on this quest and asking for a cut was all her decision."
"And finally, you hold a unique item, unwilling to hand over or trade for, unless it's by force. This all leaves us with no other option, but to listen to whatever you have to say."
"Then tell me, what's to stop you from taking this half of the map from me the moment I step out of town?" A moment of heavy silence came over. With no more orders coming from their table, one of the waitresses nervously came over to pick up the plates. "Back in the jungle, both of us were pretty banged up, but Kaine was more or less in perfect condition. You could have forced me to give up the part in my hands, so why?" Kaine leaned back on his chair and place on foot on the table side.
"That's because, just like you, we don't just go around threatening others to get what we want. Probably couldn't have done so, even if we wanted to." Curious about what he meant, Mugetsu raised an eyebrow. "Think about, someone capable of fighting toe to toe with a monster capable of pushing back an entire party of high level players. With whatever healing items you might have had, does it really look like we could force you to do anything?"
"Didn't the two of you also fight against and defeat something similar?"
"Well... Yeah but, we spent most of the fight running and hitting him from behind. If only one of us was there, we would not even be here." Looking at his face, Mugetsu could see no trace suggesting Kaine was lying.
"*sigh* So that's it, you have no choice but to follow me? Honestly, I'm kinda depressed you see me as some kind of tyrannical monster." With scrutinizing look, all three people beside him gazed at him.
"You are aware of the rumors about you, right?" Argo knew that he was, she constantly reminded him of it whenever a chance presented itself. Mugetsu, knowing this as well, slammed his head down on the table, waiting for the inevitable. Taking this as a sign of resignation, Argo raised her arms and started happily reciting the dreaded rumors. "Clad in black and white, orange hair as bright as the sun, and a razor sharp katana in hand, the «Demonic Swordbeast». Tireless and vicious, he carves up all who stand before him, ignoring any injury suffered. Whenever he fights, a sea of blood forms at his feet. His greed is match only by that of-"
"STOP! Just... stop, okay!?" Satisfied with the result of her words, Argo lowered her hands, a smile clear as day upon her face. Lifting his head and rubbing the bridge of his nose, he let out a sigh. "I swear, I am going to beat the hell out of whoever started that."
"They're not wrong..."
"That was one time! And just so you know, those injuries hurt like hell! I did not have much of a choice when we fought «Ilfang», yet you keep bringing it up just to piss me off."
"Hey, that's because it's the reason why so many people come to you for jobs. The fact you went toe to toe with the first floor boss and did not end up the same as Diable, that left quite the impact!"
"I still needed help near the end."
"Because you chose to take a hit and protect others." With no words to talk back, Mugetsu looked away. "You know, I talked to quite a few people who were there. Most, including your friend Kirito, believe that you could have won without a problem if they had not stayed standing out in the open." That got his attention. He turned back to Argo, eyes slightly widened. "What, think I wouldn't notice you and Ki-bou are closer than you appear to be in public. Honestly, I'm surprised that others haven't noticed that the two of you have each other's back and tend to agree on how to fight the floor bosses!"
"... You guys aren't planning on telling others anything you just heard, right?" he asked the two.
"Hm? Tell who what, exactly? That you and the «Black Swordsman» are working together?" The smile on Kaine's face could not be any more condescending. "Well... Seeing as all of us are already this involved, let's just finish this and then decided everything else afterwards."
"Fine... Still, I can't shake off this feeling."
AN; That's it, nothing more for this chapter but, because of the long wait, I have decided to upload another three chapters. I honestly had no idea how to write this scene for months. Before anyone asks, no, Argo will not be paired with anyone. She will have a later appearance after this. Now, if any of you are still interested in my scrapped ideas, here they are.
1) Mesoamerican pyramid and cat and mouse game with mephitic serpent (look it up if unfamiliar.)
2) Lives with a family of NPCs.
3) Trains with new world shinigamis. They are dealing with the same problems in different ways, if the materialize zanpakutō is anything to go by.
4) Probably the one that was the biggest flop, mainly due to continuity, adding many of the later characters from both series. I didn't do it because I lack the ability to do so but, if someone can find a way to make it work... I'd like to see that.