Disclaimer: I don't own Rick Riordan's works or Sword Art Online.
Sorry this one's a short chapter, I'll try and make the next one longer.
Enjoy!
"Agil!" the Son of Hades called as he entered the shop.
A moment later, a tall man with dark skin emerged from the back room.
"What's up, Nico?" the older man asked with a grin, offering a fist bump, which Nico accepted. Percy and Leo had taken great pains to condition him not to refuse the gesture.
After the two males got to know each other a bit Agil introduced himself by his real name, Andrew Gilbert Mills, and Nico had responded in kind.
Not even Kirito knew his name. Then again, Nico didn't know Kirito's, either, and neither of them had ever bothered to ask.
"Nothing in particular." The black-haired boy said with a shrug. "We're heading out to search for the floor boss tomorrow, and I figured I'd drop by—you know, in case you never see me again. Let you bask in my presence for what might be the last time."
Agil scowled at him. He knew that Nico was being sarcastic, of course, but that didn't mean that there wasn't any truth to his words.
No one was invincible, much less those who fought on the front lines like Nyx did.
"Well then, if you're going to die tomorrow," Agil began. "I call dibs on your Col."
Nico snorted, rolling his eyes a bit at the joke.
The older man may put up a slightly greedy front, but Nico had enough experience detecting deception that he could see through it. After consulting with Argo, his fellow information dealer, he had discovered that in actuality the man used his extra income to help other players' level up…
To give them a higher chance of not being killed.
And so the two moved on to a lighter topic, conversing well into night, before Agil kicked the younger male out so that he'd have enough rest for the next day.
"Don't tempt fate, kid." He advised.
"I'm already on the Fates' bad side!" Nico called back, leaving before Agil could wonder why he phrased Fate in a plural sense.
The tall man frowned thoughtfully.
Now that he thought about it, there was a lot about Nico that was strange…
Nico huffed quietly as he dodged an attack from his opponent, Undertaker.
"This would be so much easier IRL." he muttered under his breath, watching the skeletal beast carefully.
Unfortunately, he wasn't alone, and his companion heard him.
"Pretty sure you wouldn't come across this particular problem in the real world!" Kirito called, slashing at the beast, which let out a ferocious roar.
'Sure I wouldn't.' Nico thought.
Out loud, he shouted. "You'd be surprised the kind of crap I've had to deal with!"
"Worse than the monsters in SAO?" Kirito snorted. "What, did some girl with a crush on you not react well when you came out of the closet?"
Nico scowled at him, before raising an eyebrow pointedly. "Like Asuna didn't after your little adventure with Lisbeth?"
Kirito froze for a moment, looking slightly embarrassed and barely managing to dodge as the Undertaker took advantage of his distraction before Nyx struck the killing blow. "Nothing is going on between me and Lisbeth. Or Asuna."
"Maybe not with Lisbeth, but Asuna? I'm not convinced." Nico said with a slight smirk as he put his Col from the monster into his inventory.
The Black Swordsman scowled at his friend, wishing that he knew something—anything—about the boy's mystery crush so he could tease him back. Unfortunately the guy, whoever he was, wasn't in Sword Art Online, so trying to figure it out based on Nyx's reactions to the other players would get him nowhere.
"Really, though." Nico continued, enjoying Kirito's awkwardness because it was a position he found himself in frequently and it was nice not to be the one suffering it. "Solving a murder mystery with her, sharing your rare food item with her—which she cooked—for dinner at her house…and aren't you going to form a party with her tomorrow?"
Kirito rubbed the back of his neck, glancing away from his friend. "What of it?"
Nyx's answering smirk was answer enough. "Better do something about it before Klein meets her."
The Japanese teen grimaced at the thought of the redhead flirting with Asuna, though he wasn't sure if it was because she could kick Klein's butt all the way back to the Town of Beginnings, or…for the reasons Nyx was implying.
Please review! :)
Ah, I'm just imaging Nico's reaction when he finds out about the 'unfortunate incident' that's going to happen (or have happened) next chapter. Oh, his delicate early 1900's sensibilities…