A/N : Hello everyone. Things have been very hectic for me during the past month. I took my math regents and I passed this time. Yay! I recently got back from vacation, and there was no wifi in the suite we were staying in. Unfortunately, that meant no uploading. I also worked at a summer camp for an entire week. I understand your disappointment in my failure to upload any chapters and I wanted to apologize to everyone who has been waiting consistently. I can assure you that i'm free now and I am ready to upload on a constant basis. Enjoy the chapter !

" How the hell are we going to find a new party member on such short notice ?! " Kirito and I repeat in absolute terror. " I think I can help " A timid voice peeps behind us out of nowhere. " Huh ? " Kirito and I turn our heads to find a red hooded figure of average height with a small frame. The figure's face was covered completely, only revealing its eyes and mouth. Normally I would have dismissed such a mysterious person, but due to the circumstances I was willing to at least inquire about his motives. " Who are you exactly ? " Kirito stole the words right out of my mouth before I could even utter a single word. " It's better if you don't know that right now " The cloaked figure responded without a single trace of emotion, which made me even more nervous. Kirito raised his eyebrows in suspicion before speaking once again. " Are you a solo player by any chance ?

" The unknown player eyes widened at the question, which I'm sure kirito took note of instantly. " Yes, I am " the figure replied hesitantly as if the player were hoping kirito wouldn't come to that conclusion. " I operate by myself always, but in certain scenarios such as this I briefly form an alliance. " The player opened up the in game menu and scrolled down to the invite players option. " So do you want to join me or not ? " The figure said in calm, yet intimidating tone that was not present before. " What's up with this guy ? I'm getting a bad feeling about this " I comment to myself hopefully assuming kirito thought the same. Surprisingly, Kirito opened up his own in-game menu and scrolled down to the invite players option also. Instinctively, I grabbed his hand before flashing the mysterious player an unconvincing smile.

" Excuse us, we need to go over something that we forgot to discuss before " I said as calmly as I could while I held back a struggling kirito. " Can't it wait rick ? The raven haired boy stated still trying to make negotiations with the unknown user. " No it can't " I said gritting my teeth before pushing kirito aside to a nearby wall. " What the hell is wrong with you ? " I said in a serious tone while I was screaming internally. " What are you talking about ? " Kirito questioned as if we were a naive child. " We have our third party member now, that's what we wanted " he said still not understanding my concerns or he was ignoring them all together. " I don't what a party member that's so edgy though, how can you be okay with this ? " Kirito simply shook his head before replying in his usual laid back attitude. " We don't know his motives yet, don't be so quick to judge " He spoke before glancing over at the hooded figure, who was still silent as ever.

" Quit with that fortune cookie bullcrap, I'm not going to wait around to comprehend this person's motives. " " And how did you know he was a solo player ? " Are you hiding something too ? " My curiosity was beginning to overtake me but at this point I didn't even care. At this, Kirito started intently at me with eyes that were completely different from his usual self. " Somethings you have to decipher your self. " You can make any judgement you want, but remember they have consequences. " I was completely paralyzed with fear, my body refused to move and my brain refused to think. Suddenly, Kirito tapped me on the shoulder playfully recovering me from my daze; " Now will you please let him join our party " he said in a cheery tone that I had completely forgotten of due to my shock. " Yeah sure, I was being stupid " I manage to say even though i still had my doubts. Kirito smiled before turning back to the player and gave a nod. " Thank you " the figure said in his usual ominous tone. All of us opened our in game menus before accepting each other's invites officially declaring us a three man squad. As I accepted the player's invite, I caught a glance of the username. Asuna. Nice name I thought to myself, maybe this guy isn't so weird after all. The one i was truly concerned about was my new friend kirito. " You can make any judgement you want, but remember they have consequences " What was that ? I've never seen anything like that before. That fear I felt when his black eyes stared into my own, I saw a completely different side of him. While I was pondering in my thoughts, a fist collided into the upper portion of my arm.

" Ouch ! " I yelled in pain, " what the heck was that for ? " " Asuna wanted us to meet up in Tolbana later to give us items for the big raid tomorrow. " So you had to punch me to tell me that ? " I questioned sarcastically while rubbing my arm. " Must have been a glitch in the game " Kirito smirked smugly before breaking into laughter. " I'll give you a glitch in the game " I muttered before noticing the Asuna's expression. A slight smile appeared on the corner of his mouth that almost seemed adorable. After catching my eye, Asuna quickly regained the original solemn expression. " Well see you at tolbana soon " Kirito remarked trying to break the awkward silence between the three of us. " Farewell " Asuna replied formally before teleporting away with a teleport crystal. " I'll still never get used to that " I say shaking my head in disbelief while kirito smiled at my novice remark. " Well you better get used to that and a whole lot more, a raid is no joke " He said suddenly getting serious. " Yeah, I got it. " I responded fully grasping the situation at hand as well. Kirito and I talked for hours about raid preparations until we had to meet up with asuna.

As soon as we arrived there, All worrieness and suspicion began to take over me. The place was deserted, not a single player was outside and the lights were awfully dim. " I knew this player was weird " I was beginning to feel that this was a setup of some kind. " Maybe he's just late " Kirito said in a reassuring manner while surveying the area. Sure enough kirito was right again as a red hooded figure stepped out of the shadows a few minutes later. " Sorry I'm late, the bread took forever to bake" The player said in a slightly more vibrant tone than before. " I'm sorry, did you say bread ? " I stated making sure I wasn't dreaming. "What kind of player bakes bread for their party members" I thought suspiciously. Asuna gave me a nod before unveiling a basket full of round, smooth rolls along with a jar of cream. " That looks delicious " I thought but the nagging thought of this player being untrustworthy stopped me from taking any. " Well dig in, you need plenty of energy for the raid tomorrow. " Asuna grabbed two rolls before handing us the basket which disproved my theory of the bread being poisonous. " Well doesn't mean it will taste good " I convince myself before reluctantly taking a roll. I bring the roll towards me and take a bite, unsure of what would happen. My mouth was instantly filled with the sweet aroma and warm dough texture after just one small bite. " This is amazing ! " I scream dashing to grab more of these delicious rolls. Kirito also had the same idea and soon we were fighting over the mouthwatering blend of dough and flour. After finishing the delectable pastries, we were given medicine and other healing based items for the big raid tomorrow, while also discussing our battle tactics and strategy. Kirito and Asuna were a offensive tag team because of their high level combat skills. Since I clearly lacked fighting technique, I was put on defensive duty. My purpose was to heal if necessary and defend any other injured members to prevent them from dying.

After our meeting, Kirito and I rented out a nearby inn to stay for the night. While kirito was fast asleep, I was as usual pondering my thoughts about many different issues at hand. What krito had said before remained in my brain. " Somethings you have to decipher yourself. You can make any judgement you want, but remember they have consequences. " What do you mean ? " I asked myself before glancing over at a sleeping kirito. " I'll find the answer, whatever it takes" The thought soon faded away as I fell into a deep slumber