Ren made his way out of the kitchen carrying a plate of sandwiches cut into triangles in one hand with a platter holding two glasses of juice in the other. He nudged his bedroom door open with his right foot and headed inside. Megumi smiled as her boyfriend entered the room. Ren set the food and drinks down on the large desk next to the double bed and sat down next to Megumi on said bed.
"I could've helped you know," the girl said, laying claim to Ren's hand with her own.
"I know, I just didn't want to bother you," Ren replied.
It had been six months since they had defeated Nobunaga and escaped from ALO and now the two lived on their own in a small apartment. Megumi's parents had been against it at first but Ren's parents had helped to assure them that their daughter would be taken care of. It didn't stop both teenager's parents from stopping by regularly without warning though.
The apartment wasn't anything overly flashy, just a single bedroom one with an adequate living space and kitchen. It was just enough for the two of them to live comfortably and affordable enough with both only working part-time while still going to school.
"So what time is everyone going to be coming around?" Megumi asked, taking one of the sandwiches and biting into it.
"They all said they'd be here by five except for Tamaki who said he'd be hear around half past," Ren replied. After leaving ALO, they had found out the real names of Vakross, Hakuya and Lisbeth. Vakross was Tamaki, Hakuya's name was Kai and Lisbeth's was Rika. Along with Tatsuya and Takiko, they were all coming around to the apartment today for the party that had been organised just before Nobunaga had been stopped.
"I wonder why Tamaki is going to be late," Megumi pondered to herself as she happily ate her sandwich.
"Guess he's just busy today. He's the only one we haven't met since ALO so he must have lots to do in the real world."
Megumi spent a majority of the day cleaning the apartment and getting things set up while Ren confined himself to the kitchen to prepare food for the party. Being a small apartment, it wasn't long before Megumi was finished and became bored. After being scolded by Ren for being distracting in the kitchen she decided to set up camp on the couch and play some video games.
Ren noted the serious expression on her face as her character on the screen repeatedly punched another. He shook his head slightly as he laid out some small cakes and sandwiches on the table. He glanced up at the clock, it was almost five so everyone should be arriving soon. He still had a roast in the oven which would be ready soon so dinner was taken care of. He placed an empty glass on the table for everyone along with several bottles of drink before joining Megumi on the couch.
It wasn't long before the doorbell rang and Ren was forced to get up. He wandered over to the door and opened it up to find Tatsuya on the other side.
"Yo! Where's the food? I'm starving," the young man said, sliding past Ren and heading inside.
"Nice to see you too," Ren said with a raised eyebrow as he closed the door. Tatsuya removed his jacket and hung it on the rack in the entryway before moving to the couch and watching as Megumi continued to repeatedly punch people in her video game.
"Hey Tatsuya," she said, turning quickly and giving him a smile before going back to her game.
"Oh please tell me that's pork I smell," Tatsuya said with wide eyes as he slowly gravitated towards the kitchen.
"Yes it is. That's what we're having for dinner so you'll have to wait," Ren replied. He couldn't help but smile when Tatsuya looked almost heartbroken at the thought of waiting for the delicious smelling meat.
Ren went to sit down when he heard the doorbell ring again and he once again opened the door. This time he found Rika standing on the other side with a grin on her face. "Hey! How's it going?" she asked.
"Not too bad, how about you?" Ren asked, taking the girl's coat and allowing her inside.
"I'm freezing but it's nice and warm in here so I'm good. Something smells good," Rika replied, glancing to the kitchen.
"It's pork!" Tatsuya said with an excited grin.
"You two have a lovely place," Rika said, looking around with a smile.
"Thanks," both Ren and Megumi said in unison.
When the doorbell rang again, Megumi answered it this time. Takiko came inside followed by a taller man in a red scarf with blonde hair tied into a ponytail. He wore a pair of grey glasses and had a carefree expression on his face.
"Good evening my fair lady," Kai said with a small bow as he looked at Megumi.
"Hey Kai, hello Miss Hidenori," Megumi said with a smile.
"Come on, you know you can just call me Takiko. Tatsuya and your boyfriend do and they're actually my students," Takiko said, glaring at the two boys in question. Ren kept his eyes on the game he had taken over from Megumi while Tatsuya chose to study a bottle of juice rather intently.
The small group stood around chatting and taking turns playing against each other on the fighting game before Tatsuya who was staring out the window let out a yelp.
"What was that for?" Takiko asked, looking over at her student.
"Th-that," Tatsuya said, pointing outside. Everyone moved over to the window and from the third floor apartment they could see a black limousine pulling up in front of the building.
"You have got to be kidding me…," Ren said with an expression of disbelief as he watched a man in a black suit open the rear door and a young man climbed out. The latter said a few things to the former and then waved off the former as he entered the building.
There was a delay of about two minutes before the doorbell for the apartment rang. Ren hesitated for a second before going to the door and opening it.
"Hey, nice to finally meet you," the same young man from the limousine said as the door was opened.
"Vakross?" Ren asked, although he didn't have to, the voice was unmistakable.
"Well here it's Tamaki Shimizu but yes, I'm Vakross," the young man replied.
"So he really is loaded…," Megumi said with wide eyes as Ren let Tamaki inside. Tamaki appeared to be a few years older than Ren, Tatsuya and Megumi, something they hadn't been aware of inside the game.
"Well I guess that means everyone is here," Kai said, looking around at the gathered group.
"Which means we can get this party started!" Tatsuya said with a grin.
The night was filled with an array of laughter, gaming and just general fun. To Tatsuya's delight, dinner was served relatively soon after Tamaki arrived and the group sat down at the table to eat the meal Ren had prepared.
"Wow, this is amazing," Rika said as she dug into a slice of pork.
"So you're just as good in the real world as you were in ALO, impressive," Kai remarked, looking at Ren.
"Never let this one go," Takiko said, grinning at Megumi.
"I don't plan on it," the younger girl said with a happy smile.
Both Tatsuya and Tamaki dug into their food with quite a substantial amount of vigour and Ren questioned whether Tamaki was really as refined as his apparent wealth should suggest. He shook the thought from his head as he gazed around and smiled at everyone enjoying his meal.
"Thank you for the meal Ren, it was lovely," Takiko said as she finished her serving.
"My pleasure, I'm glad you enjoyed it," Ren said with a warm smile.
Once everyone finished eating, they all moved into the living area of the apartment. Ren, Megumi and Rika sat on the couch while Tatsuya, Takiko and Kai sat on the floor. Tamaki as usual leant against a nearby wall.
"I guess this is kind of sad in a way," Megumi said, looking down at her legs with a sad smile.
"Now why do you say that?" Kai asked, looking over at the girl.
"Well now that we're having this party, I guess Azure Storm's mission is really over. It hadn't sunk in yet but this has really made me see that," Megumi replied.
"Oh yeah, I didn't think about that," Tatsuya said, looking down at the floor.
"Why all the gloomy expressions? Just because we beat Nobunaga doesn't mean we're disbanding the guild or anything and it's not like we're going to stop playing ALO," Tamaki said, looking around at everyone.
"Tamaki is right," Ren said, placing his hand on Megumi's thigh with a warm smile. "Sure we beat Nobunaga and reached the goal we had set for ourselves but that doesn't mean this is the end. All we did was finish one adventure, there's still going to be plenty more for us in that world."
"Well said kid," Kai said with a smile.
"I'd expect no less from our esteemed leader," Takiko said.
"No matter how many adventures you guys have, I'll always be around to fix your gear and keep you in top condition," Rika said with a grin.
"Yeah you're right," Megumi said, wiping a tear from her eye.
"So let's party for tonight and tomorrow we can start planning our next epic adventure!" Tatsuya said, rising to his feet and holding up his glass.
"To friendship, adventure and freedom," Takiko said, raising her own glass.
"To all the battles waiting for us," Tamaki said, holding out his.
"To the world we have yet to explore and all the ladies I've yet to bless with my presence," Kai said, holding up his glass and receiving a rather hard nudge from Takiko.
"To all of you guys, for saving ALO and setting us free," Rika said.
"To love, both in the virtual world and this one," Megumi said, taking Ren's hand and holding up her glass.
"To Azure Storm," Ren said, raising his glass. There was a cheer from everyone in the room followed by the sound of everyone taking a long drink.
Ren looked around at the people gathered before him. They were his closest friends in both worlds, they were kept together by bonds that could never be broken. He knew if it wasn't for the people there with him, he would still be trapped inside ALO and Nobunaga would have won. As he looked at each of his friends, he knew that there was nobody else in the world he would be prouder to call his comrades.
Though the incident with Nobunaga was over, Ren knew that it wouldn't stop them from going on adventures together and continuing to experiencing new things. After all they had two worlds to do so in and two lives each to live. Both Ren and Chrome would continue to live their lives to the fullest.
Ren pulled Megumi closer to him and closed his eyes with a smile. Their adventures were only just beginning.
Fin.
Well, that's it. I apologise for the delay in posting this final chapter, I've been without internet for a while. I really enjoyed writing this fanfic and I hope you enjoyed reading it just as much. Thank you all for sticking out the whole thing and reading write to the end. I'd love to hear your comments so please feel free to PM me or post a review. Thanks again.