Ultimate Elf

"Oh there he is." Namikawa smiled as he waved his hand, "Yukimura-chan, over here!"

Yukimura growled as he rolled over his luggage, "Don't you put 'chan' after my name, online and offline." Apparently because of miss clicks, Yukimura accidently chose a female avatar for ALO rather than a male; Namikawa wasn't letting that fail get past.

My name is Tsurugi Kyousuke, long story short, Namikawa, Yukimura and I are on a mission to find Sorano Aoi in the popular VRMMORPG, ALfheim Online. She had been trapped in another game, SAO, however didn't wake when the game was 'cleared.' When I found a screen shot of her in ALheim Online, I immediately bought the game and hardware to find her.

Since Yukimura lived in Hokkaido, he had taken the plane to come all the way here in Inazuma Town. He and Namikawa were going to stay at my place for a while.

"Hey Kyousuke! It's been a while since you've brought friends." Nii-san greeted as we entered the house.

Yukimura and Namikawa suddenly went tense, "H-hello, Tsurugi-san...!" They stammered together.

Nii-san laughed, "You can call me Yuuichi. It'll start getting confusing otherwise."

"O-okay..."

Nii-san's surgery 2 years ago was a success and now, he was finally able to play soccer again.

"Want me to get some snacks and tea?" He offered.

"They'll be fine..." I started when Namikawa pushed me aside.

"Yuuichi-san, I'm so glad I got to meet you! A fellow ace striker, I admire you! Ah, I'm Namikawa Rensuke from Kaiou."

"Hey!" Yukimura gasped. He pushed the blue haired boy away, "I'm Yukimura Hyouga, Hakuren! I didn't know you were that Tsurugi's older brother."

"Yeah, why didn't you tell us?"

"... You guys never asked..."

"Well, I guess we should've guessed with the last names..." Namikawa sighed.

"Haha, well, I hope you'll stay good friends with Kyousuke." Nii-san smiled.

"O-of course...!" The two strikers nodded.

"You guys didn't forget why you came here right...?" I frowned.

"Of course not."

"Then let's get going!"

"Hmm, so you already been to the Cait Sith area, Sylph area, Gnome area and Undine area?" Yukimura repeated as he pointed to the locations on the ALfheim Map.

"The next area we should explore is..." Namikawa pointed to the bottom right area, "Salamander area."

"They aren't very welcoming to outsiders there..." Yukimura sighed.

That wouldn't stop me, "I'm still going. Sorano might be there."

Namikawa then put his Nerve Sphere over his eyes, "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

We had already crossed the border and were getting closer to the first city. Poseidon and Blizzard were bickering the entire time about nothing and I did my best to ignore them.

My beast Lancelot suddenly started to growl. I knew immediately what that meant, "Poseidon, Blizzard!" I snapped as I unsheathed my katana, "Players...!"

The two finally were quiet and equipped their respective weapons.

We put our backs to each other so we could see any enemy coming from any directions.

"Hiya ho!" Someone screamed... from above.

The enemy sent down a high level fire spell from above.

Blizzard noticed in time and casted a water spell of the same difficulty, cancelling the enemy's attack.

"Hmm... Seems you guys are somewhat skilled. A salamander elf flew down. I knew who he was as soon as I saw him, since his appearance, besides the red hair, was exactly the same as his real appearance.

"Hakuryuu..." Poseidon and I both sighed in a disappointed tone.

Blizzard frowned, "Hakuryuu!?"

Blizzard looked surprised even though it was obvious.

"Hm?" Hakuryuu said, "How do you two know me? Am I that famous?"

"Hey, its us. Na-"

I quickly shut Poseidon up, "Don't you dare tell him that I'm Tsurugi... It'll just get complicated...!"

"I can see that..." Namikawa laughed softly.

"What are you whispering about!?" Hakuryuu demanded.

I put my hand in the air and threw down three smoke bombs. Black smoke surrounded the area blinding the Salamander elf. We took this chance to flee from his sight.

"Phew... Finally got away..." Poseidon wheezed.

I let out a heavy sigh, "Who would've thought he'd be playing ALO..."

"Hey? Where's Blizzard?" The blue elf noticed.

We glanced around and spotted her talking to a couple of tough looking Salamanders.

"Thank-you..." She mumbled as the two started to walk away.

"Blizzard!" Poseidon yelled, "What are you doing!?"

"Well, they suddenly came up to me... And I asked them about Aoi; it's what we are here for." Blizzard frowned.

You need to consider what gender you are in the game... I thought.

"Anyways, did you get anything?"

"Yup. Apparently someone like her works at the shop down this road but..."

I didn't wait for the Gnome to finish and started to hurry towards the said shop. My hopes high to see her.

I was soon at the store and peeked into it, "Hello?"

My eyes widened. A dark blue haired elf turned from her work to greet me. She wore a beautiful long sleeved midnight dress which was open on the shoulders. Her eyes were the same as from 2 years ago.

I swallowed, "Sorano... it's me, Tsurugi!" I smiled. However, the response I received tore my heart.

"Welcome to Ignitas, are you here to buy or sell?"

An NPC? No, she was definitely Aoi, Sorano Aoi. Her actions were the same as any shopkeeper NPC. The smile she wore, was fake.

I backed away trying to comprehend what was happening.

"Sir?"

"Hey, Tsurugi!" Namikawa and Blizzard opened the door of the shop.

"Welcome to Igni-" Aoi started to say, but I couldn't handle it anymore and just logged off, leaving my avatar behind.

"Hey!"

Throwing my nervesphere to the side I stepped out of my room to get some time alone. What was happening!?

Next on Inazuma~ALfheim Online:

Tsurugi finds Aoi, but she acts like an NPC. What has caused her to act this way, and why does she not remember him? Will Tsurugi be able to get her back? Next: Memoria.

Current Party:

Tsurugi (Tsurugi Kyousuke)- Cait Sith (beast- Lancelot)

Poseidon (Namikawa Rensuke)- Undine

Blizzard (Yukimura Hyouga)- Gnome

Mentioned Elves:

In-game Name Unknown (Hakuryuu)- Salamander

NPC Character (Sorano Aoi)- Spriggan