Chapter 3: Connections

Akashi sighed with happiness as he felt the warmth of the sun above simply warming him. He lay comfortably in a pile of straw he'd found whilst wandering the world of Elder Tale in search of items and weapons. Deciding to relax for a bit, he took a quick nap and had just now woken up from it.

Shifting a little bit in his pile, he sighed once more as he picked a piece of straw and stuck it in his mouth, chewing on it slightly. So relaxing... he thought with a smile to himself, I could really get used to living out my life here... I mean what's there to complain about?

As if to answer his question, suddenly a shadow fell upon Akashi's face and he scrunched up his eyebrow's in displeasure before cracking an eye open to see what was blocking his oh so nice sun. Unsurprisingly he found that it was nothing but a small cloud casually passing overhead. Closing his eyes once more for a moment, Akashi decided it was time to get up and about. Lazing around for too long would just get him yelled at if Nami spotted him.

With a slight groan of regret from leaving his soft straw, Akashi stood up and stretched. His armor creaking slightly at the sudden movement of it's owner.

"Jeez, the only problem with laying in straw is that you get all the pieces on your body," grumbled Akashi as he started to flick straw off of his body once he'd finished stretching, but out of the corner of his eye he noticed something or someone moving.

"Whose there?" he called out lazily as he stood up for a moment and scanned the area before returning to his straw picking. It was too much effort to go through the trouble of finding whoever or whatever was watching him. I mean Akashi was a guardian after all and not a weak one at that. He was level 90 and had all his gear with him.

A few minutes passed with Akashi simply grumbling to himself about straw before another dash of movement was seen from across the field. Frowning, Akashi ignored it once more and finished up his straw picking before setting off down the path.

As he walked he observed his surroundings and soon found that he was in an area where the People of the Land made their homes. Huh... so it must've been a bunch of kids watching me. If i do recall... Nami did tell me a few weeks ago that she had heard the People of the Land were now much different then when Elder Tale was still a game. Having their own lives, personalities, interests, and hobbies. It was almost as if they were a reflection of regular human beings.

Akashi scratched his head and yawned as he walked on. All the thinking he'd just done was making him a bit sleepy. god I am really growing lazier by the day

Another movement, this time it was to his right and much closer. Close enough for Akashi to see that it wasn't a Person of the Land. Even so, Akashi didn't bat an eyelash at the sudden movements, confident enough to continue to move on without stopping for caution.

He walked on for the next hour until he had located a small village where the People of the Land resided. As he entered the village he was greeted with a warm reception since the people there didn't really see Adventurers much at all. The children crowded around him and poked at his armor whilst the adults scolded them before apologizing quickly and dragging the kids away.

"Oh it's not any trouble at all," smiled Akashi as he watched the kids get ushered away, "I quite enjoy their company anyways."

"Oh but they are but mere children interfering with your goals," spoke the an old man as he walked up to Akashi, staff in hand, "Welcome to my village brave Adventurer, my name is Cain. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine," replied Akashi smoothly as he a gave a small smile, greatly intrigued by how different these People of the Land were from the game's version.

"So what brings you here Adventurer?" asked Cain as he turned to walk back towards what seemed to be his home, his staff clacking against the ground with each step.

"I'm here just to search the area for any useful equipment I may need for future trips," replied Akashi as she followed the old man.

"I see... and have you located any of these items?" asked Cain as he opened the door for Akashi and beckoned him in.

"Unfortunately no," replied Akashi as he nodded his thanks before walking into the homely interior of the building, "This is quite a nice place you have here."

"Why thank you," smiled Cain as he followed Akashi in and made his way to the small fireplace set in the corner. Sitting down in a rocking chair in front of it, he began to rock back and forth. An awkward silence fell upon the room as Akashi shifted uncomfortably, not sure of what to say

"Ah... well if there is nothing else you want to discuss, then I must be going."

"Ah... please don't go," said Cain as he turned back to Akashi, "The sun is setting and what would be said of our reputation if we don't show our hospitality?"

"Ah you really shouldn't-"

"Oh no I insist. The children seem to enjoy your company," He gestured towards the window where a few kids were looking at Akashi with smiles, "They rarely ever get young men and women visiting our village ever since ours left..."

"What do you mean?" asked Akashi, curious at what the man was saying. In reply, Cain simply shook his head before patting the chair beside him.

"Please be seated Adventurer, It is a lengthy story that may take some time to tell. That is if you're willing to stay to hear it."

Akashi frowned at Cain's offer but reluctantly obliged and sat down in the chair. It really couldn't hurt to listen to his story. Besides this was a once in a lifetime opportunity in a way.

Akashi lay in the bed lent to him by the villagers. Staring up at the ceiling, he couldn't help but contemplate what the elder of the village had told him.

No wonder there was such an age difference between the children and the adults... All the young adults and teenagers had gone and left for some sort of war that had occurred before the adventurer's had been mysteriously dropped here a few months ago...

Akashi sighed as he closed his eyes, shifting a bit to try and get comfortable in his bed. It was hard to sleep though, so many questions filled his head about the war, the other teenagers, and how it all must've tied into the fact that the players had been dropped here for a reason.

Well nothing I can do now besides sleep... thought Akashi as he started to clear his mind of all his worries and focus on trying to sleep, but a sudden piercing shriek followed by the smashing sound of wood made Akashi snap open his eyes and jump from his bed.

"What's going on?" he asked aloud as he whipped his head back and forth wildly, looking for the source of the yell. He continuously looked until his gaze fell upon the window that gave a view of the center of town. Outside some older men were shuffling about with torches and weapons. They were yelling and screaming almost as if trying to scare something away. Akashi furrowed his eyebrows in displeasure before quickly putting on his armor and running out of the guest room, sword in hand.

He quickly jogged down the numerous hallways that made up the building, opening his menu as he did. He nimbly scrolled through his contacts until he found Nami though he hesitated before clicking the name.

"Man she's going to hate me for this," he groaned as he put his hand up to his ear, ready for her to pick up. A few rings went by before the sound of Nami's sleepy voice came up.

"H-hello?" she said groggily as Akashi slipped out the back entrance to the building where he heard the yelling gradually get louder as it was now mixed with the snarling and barking of some kind of monster.

"I've got a problem," replied Akashi as he peered around to see the townspeople now cowering in fear as the tried to fend off the dark shadows that circled them, "I think... I don't know Nami."

"What is it? spit it out" replied Nami as she started to wake up now, hearing the worry in Akashi's voice.

"New mobs... My menu says that they're called Demonic Hellhounds, each level 70 and I got a read on about a full pack of 15," replied Akashi as he gulped out of nervousness, "I'm going to need your help..."

"I'll be there, just... just hold on," came Nami's curt reply before she hung up, leaving Akashi alone. He'd forgetten to tell her about the townspeople, but details would have to wait until later.

Drawing his sword, Sword of the Abyss, Akashi gave a yell towards the wolves.

"Hey! Uglies! Yeah you! Why dontcha pick on someone your own size!" roared Akashi as he charged closer into the clearing before spinning his sword and slamming it straight into the ground, "Anchor's Howl!"

A green pulsating light radiated from Akashi's body as all the beasts turned their attention toward him, each of them snarling and gnashing their teeth. From up close the demonic hellhounds were even more frightening. Each packed with razor sharp teeth that could shred through flesh, beady yellow eyes that seemed to always follow you everywhere, and a matted fur that seems to always be wet with blood.

"Damn, these guys must be from the new expansion pack," murmured Akashi as the pack closed in on him, "I don't recognize any of their stats..."

"No Adventurer!" cried out the men, "You'll die if you face them! Just drop your weapon and we'll handle the rest!"

"What are you crazy!?" screamed Akashi as he sidestepped the first hound that launched at him and slashed a thin cut into its side. On Akashi HUD, he saw a counter begin from 30 seconds down. Great, my sword's abilties are kicking in... now to just hold off until Nami gets here...

"They're not here to kill us! They're here for our offering!" yelled the men back at Akashi.

"What are you talking about!" boomed Akashi as he rolled out of the way of another hound before slashing at it's hind legs, "Tsk. Just back off and leave it to me!"

With that last comment Akashi charged, but he knew that Anchor's Howl only had but a few seconds left on it and that once it was over the hounds would most likely turn their attention back to the townspeople. But what happened next surprised him even more.

As Akashi went to slash at another hound, he saw the townspeople spread apart from their tight formation to reveal a tied up girl of about 18 yerars old. But before Akashi could even react to what he'd seen, one of the hounds bounded up to the girl and snatched her up in its jaws before shoving its way back out of the crowd. With that being done, the rest of the hounds all let out their final snarls at Akashi before also bounding away.

Akashi watched in stunned silence as the hounds left before he turned to the townsfolk.

"What the hell is going on here?!" he demanded as he stood up straight from his fighting stance and marched over to the people, sword gripped tightly in his hand, "What exactly, have you not been telling me?!"

His eyes surveyed the townsfolk as they blazed with rage. His confusion and mixed emotions of what had happened were almost too much to control.

"N-now you see Adventurer... we.. we didn't want to-"

"Didn't want to WHAT?!" boomed Akashi as he narrowed his eyes and advanced a step towards the man that had said that, "You had told me there was a war... an unheard of war where all your teens had been sent to fight. Is... is THIS what you were trying to hide?! Eh?!"

Silence fell at his question. Akashi gritted his teeth at the fact no one responded before he took a deep breathe and sheathed his sword. Behind him he heard Nami approaching.

"You all have answers to give," said Akashi as his now hardened gaze looked upon the crowd present in front of him, "And you are either going to give me those answers or be be-headed on the spot."

To add even more emphasis to his statement, Akashi drew his sword from his back and hurled it down in front of him. The crowd lurched to the sides in panic as the sword swept down into the ground, imbedding itself in the dirt.

"Do I make myself clear?"

A/N: Akashi backstory is also a bit tragic. Has to do with morals and kidnapping if you hadn't guessed already. He too will have numerous flashbacks in later chapters, but for now we end here since his story is much longer than Nami's (who we will come back to.) I intend on tagteaming this duo as far as backstories sorta. I won't make any drastic tag teams though where suddenly I'm on a whole new quest all about Nami instead of Akashi.