AN: Sorry this took so long. I won't make excuses I had major issues finding the motivation to even try and write this. And I kept getting distracted by errr research, yeah research *cough reading fanfiction cough*. Anyway I also had some problems with inspiration but hopefully now that I've started writing again I'll get more inspiration.
Review responses:
SleepyMangaHead- I'm assuming from how you worded your question you mean sex. I'm not sure if I'll write the scenes or simply imply and scene shift. On one hand I've never written one before and I don't want to put an even more awkward than usually written scene in, but on the other hand I feel like not including those scenes would piss some people off. As for Marzanna's family getting their shit together and finding Kayaba's sorry ass they defiantly will, but you gotta realize while they're used to Marzanna being in danger because of her parentage and profession they're used to one of them almost always being around to bail her out if she gets in over her head. (I say almost because they don't go to school with her and I feel like she'd get dragged into limbo on her way to, at, or on her way home from school at least once.) Not to mention they're used to the idea that she's got all her Nephilim and witch abilities, which she doesn't really have access to at the moment. To them she's incredibly vulnerable and has no back-up, but they don't know about Kirito. :)
Have A Little Feith- I'm sorry it took so long to get to SAO and Kirito, for my writing errors, and that you feel like before the Devil May Cry/Harry Potter was just lumped together but trust me it wasn't. The HP universe will have more of a role than just being Marzanna's origin. As Marzanna and Mike are 14 now, over at Hogwarts the goblet of fire picked its champions for the triwizard tournament, which Mike would also be participating in, 6 days ago. He'll be making an appearance soon. I'm sorry to hear that you didn't like DMC. I've only had the opportunity to play Devil May Cry 4, part of Devil May Cry 3, and DMC. I say part of 3 because I got to mission 18. I didn't care that I had to fight all the other bosses again but when it occurred to me that I had to fight Nevan I will shamefully admit that the very idea made me rage quit despite how much I loved the game. But anyway, personally I liked DMC, but to each their own.
It had been a little over two hours since Kirito and Hanna had left the starting city, after a brief stop to sell their drops from when she was grinding and he was teaching Klein since she needed to go anyway. Kirito had sent her a request to join his party on their way out, and they had been grinding on their way to the next city since. While they want to make it to the next city, which is called Horunka, soon, it isn't their priority. Leveling up and becoming stronger is. Currently they're taking a break while they wait for the mobs to respawn. It was quiet until Kirito, who has been looking thoughtful for almost their entire break, speaks up.
"Hey Hanna?" Once he's certain he has her attention he continues, "So listen. There's this quest in Horunka called 'Secret Medicine of the Forest'. The reward for it is a one-handed straight sword called the «Anneal Blade». It's the best one-handed straight sword until the third floor plus it's possible to enhance it eight times, but because of that the quest is also incredibly dangerous. However, I'm going to go attempt the quest. Considering the danger, I'll understand completely if you don't wanna come along."
She blinks rapidly for a moment in surprise, then smiles, "No, I'll go. If we're going to be partying together, both of us need to get stronger. That means we need to level up and get better equipment."
Kirito looks hesitant for a minute, "You sure? I agree with the both of us getting stronger thing but... You use a curved sword not a straight sword. The Anneal Blade wouldn't be suitable for you. So it's not like we can just both do the quest and get better weapons."
She nods, "I'm sure. We should get going for the quest."
Kirito smiles and nodded before saying, "While we're on our way there I'll message my friend Argo, she's an information broker, and ask her if she knows any quests that give you a good curved sword. If she does, depending on how long the quest for the Anneal Blade takes we'll go get you a nice curved sword either tomorrow or the day after. With the way we're grinding, I don't think we'll even be able to get the Anneal Blade today."
She tilts her head and hums as they start walking, "Could you ask her about claws too? I prefer to fight with a claw and falcata, but the claws in the shops on the first five floors just aren't worth the Col."
Kirito nodded, but tilted his head and asked, "What's a falcata? I've never heard of it."
She glances over at him, "It's probably because you prefer straight swords. A falcata is a curved sword. The skill for it doesn't unlock til you've gotten the curved sword skill up to level 20."
He nods at her explanation. He was thankful for the fact he'd chosen to use the account he made for the beta rather than create a new one, and that Argo had been planning on doing the same. The beta testers didn't get any benefits for using their beta accounts, the only thing they got to keep were their screen names, avatars, which was no longer the case anyway, and their friend list. Though since they also didn't get any benefits from starting a new account most of the beta testers he'd talked to had been planning on using their original account. Even if they had no other reason than having an easier time getting back in touch with friends and acquaintances they made in the beta.
Shaking off the wayward thought, he goes into his friends list, finds Argo, and messages her. She takes a few minutes to respond and when she does, rather than an answer to his enquiry he receives a panicked message asking him a bunch of questions. Whether he was ok, where he was, and why the hell he needed that information amongst other things. Kirito blinks for a minute in confusion before realizing that it had only been a few hours since Kayaba Akihiko's 'tutorial'. It occurs to him at about that time, that not many people would be able to recover from that information and immediately focus on what they needed to do like Hanna and himself, and that it was probably pure chaos in the starting city.
With that thought he messages her back reassuring her that he was fine and quickly answering her other questions. He also predicts the questions he'll get about why he'd left the safety of the starting city in return if he leaves it at that, so he also explains that he and Hanna both believe that it was better to prepare for the worst and assume they'd get no help from the outside, than waste precious time they could use for grinding and getting stronger lingering in the starting city waiting for a rescue that wasn't likely to come.
The response takes almost 15 minutes to arrive. From what he can tell it seems the reason she took so long was because Argo had forced herself to calm down, think about the situation, and arrive at a similar conclusion as himself and Hanna.
Turning to Hanna, he tells her what the message says, "So, Argo says she knows of two quests that gave a great curved sword and a decent claw. She says she'll sell the info for the claw quest for 500 col and offered to trade the info for the curved sword in exchange for picking up two claws from the claw quest for her."
Hanna tilts her head and asks, "Why does she want two? Claws are pretty much the weakest weapon class in the game, but in exchange for that they have ridiculously high durability. Well, they've also got buffs on them, but not until floor three. All the claws before floor three are just regular claws. With the durability claws are known for, it doesn't seem necessary to have a backup this early in the game."
He contemplates the information on claws having buffs for a moment, but shakes his head before replying, "She doesn't want it as a backup. The system doesn't allow dual wielding, except for when it comes to claws. Due to their low damage and incredibly short range, the system allows people to dual wield claws. Argo actually fights with two claws, hence why she wants them."
She nods in acceptance, "We need to get to Horunka to sell the mob drops we don't want anyway, but I'd like to take our time so we can grind a bit more. Without the claws she'll probably avoid combat and rush to wherever she's going, so ask her if she's willing to meet us in Horunka."
He nods then messages Argo the request. A minute later she replies, agreeing to head to Horunka to meet up.
An hour later they were walking into the inn they'd agreed to meet Argo in. They'd already sold the drops they didn't want at one of the shops and stopped to pick up the quest for the Anneal Blade so they just needed to talk to Argo. As expected she's already waiting for them when they arrive so they make their way over to her. Argo was clearly deep in thought and doesn't notice them til they sit down.
Jerking at their in her view sudden appearance, Argo takes a moment to regain her composure before speaking, "Kii-bou, it's good to see you're alright." At Kirito's raised eyebrow she huffs then adds, "What? I was just told a couple hours ago that there is a high possibility that I'll die simply because I enjoy video games and some madman wants to play God. So excuse me for being a bit out of sorts and being concerned for one of the few people I genuinely consider a friend."
Kirito visibly barely stops his jaw from dropping. Though she doesn't know Argo, she's not sure why given that she has a point. Though she had heard rumors about her, and her nature, since amongst the beta testers she was considered the best information broker, so maybe it was because she was being so open and honest. A minute later his face softens slightly, likely due to her last sentence sinking in, "I'm fine Argo and I'm glad to see you're ok too. I'll probably never admit it again since you'll find some way to use it against me, but for the record I consider you my friend as well."
Argo blinks rapidly for a moment before smiling gently. It was far smaller than the rumors of her playful teasing nature has her expecting in general, but by far more genuine then the mysterious shifty woman was known for being. After a moment she shakes herself and turns to her to get down to business, "So, the info you wanted, like I told Kii-bou, I'll sell the claw info for 500 and trade the info for the curved sword for two claws."
She nods, then opens a trade window and gives Argo 500 col, before looking at her expectantly. Argo double checks to make sure she had received the correct amount, then tells her the info she was looking for, "Alright, so the quest is east of Horunka. If you follow the stream that leads that way out of town you'll eventually come across a small farm with wilting crops. The NPC you receive the quest from will be sitting on the porch steps of his house, looking depressed. If you ask him what's wrong he'll tell you that his crops have become infested with a strange bug that eats the roots of whatever he plants. He'll continue by saying that he's tried everything he could think of to get the bugs to leave, but nothing works."
"At that point if you ask if there's anything you could do to help he'll ask you to head north and talk to an old woman who used to own a farm with her late husband. Don't worry about finding the woman's house, you just need to follow the waypoint on your map to find it. He'll also say something about being unable to go himself because the forest is dangerous. This is a warning. Halfway to the woman's house you'll get attacked by a group of four Dire Wolves and the slightly stronger Alpha Dire Wolf. Since it's only claws that's really all there is to the quest. Once you get to the woman's house just tell her about the bugs and ask if she knows how to get rid of them. She'll tell you that all the farmer needs to do is add some moonflower oil to his fertilizer and the bugs will leave, but you can't just tell the farmer that. If you try he'll criticize you for trying to give advice on a subject you know nothing about."
"Anyway once you've seen the woman he'll accept the advice and give you two claws and 100 col. The quest could obviously be done by both of you at the same time as long as you aren't in the same party, so if you guys wanna save time you'll have to temporarily disband your party. I'm warning you now though, if you do it that way, then when you reach the halfway point instead of four Dire Wolves and one Alpha it'll double and be eight and two Alphas. Although the distance between the houses isn't that far, maybe 30 minutes and that's if you're walking rather than rushing. So personally I'd just make two trips, since there isn't a cool down time on the quest."
She thinks about it a moment before turning to Kirito and asking him his opinion, "What do you think, Kirito? One trip or two? On one hand two trips will take longer, but on the other one trip is more dangerous. After all Dire Wolves on their own or in two's and three's may not be that dangerous, but the buffs they get in bigger packs or with an Alpha can make them deadly. And with eight wolves and two Alphas..." She trails off before shaking her head to clear it and continuing, "Although with how much grinding we did I'm confident we could beat them if you wanted to go that route."
Kirito tilts his head in thought before sighing, "I think we should just make one trip. We can handle it. Plus since getting the quest item for the Anneal Blade will take a while, I think we should wait til tomorrow, since it's a little after 9 PM, go and get the claws first then head over to get my sword. After that we'll trade Argo's claws for your sword info and if there's enough time go and get that to. Sound good?"
She nods and a comfortable silence settles over the three as they order some food and eat. Halfway through the meal though, Argo shifts before turning to her, "So in Kirito's message, he mentioned that you're a beta tester. Just out of curiosity how do you not know the info about first floor claws and curved swords already? Did you not start fighting with them until later levels in the beta?"
She swallows her food before responding, "No actually. My family has... strange traditions, I suppose you could say. You know how some families in Japan have their kids learn Kendo?"
Out of the corner of her eye she sees Kirito jerk slightly at that. She briefly wonders if his family was like that, but brushes it off when Argo frowns before saying, "Yeah, but what do you mean 'in Japan' aren't you from Japan?'
She shakes her head before saying, "No. I was in the international beta, I live in America. Anyway, my family has a... tradition that we learn how to use swords, kinda like those families I mentioned. Except unlike those families we don't learn how to use a shinai, my family learns how to use actual weapons. When I started playing SAO it immediately became obvious that the rare players who had experience, usually with kendo, and the players with natural talent for weapons were off the bat better at the game. Of course the more other people played the better they got and the gap in skill level lessened, but it was still there."
She shrugs, "So rather than focusing on my equipment I initially just worked on getting the falcata skill unlocked, as that was what I chose to learn IRL. After I had my falcata I almost exclusively focused on improving my skill with a falcata. I did of course upgrade my gear, but not often. I chose to use a claw with my falcata because I also learned how to use something similar when I was learning how to use my falcata. Really the only difference between the claw I learned how to use in real life and the in-game claw is that the ones in the game have three claws extending from between the knuckles and the one I learned with in real life had one extending from the tip of each of the fingers, kinda like long metal nails."
Argo is staring at her in shock, but Kirito looks thoughtful before saying, "You know, my grandfather forced me and my sister to learn kendo, and now that I think about it I did have a much easier time then almost all the other beta testers when the beta started. I didn't even notice."
She nods but before she can say anything Argo shakes off her shock and turns her gaze to Kirito, "You know kendo, Kirito?" Kirito nods, then Argo continues with a thoughtful expression, "I always wondered how you were so much better at SAO than anyone else. Though when you think about it, that actually makes sense…"
Kirito grins and Argo shakes her head before turning to her and continuing, "Since I'm apparently am the only one at this table with no training, and I'm fairly certain I'm not naturally talented if the way I struggled at the beginning of the beta is any indication, and I can't really party with you guys since my being an information dealer means I usually have a busy schedule running all over the place, do you have any tips on how I could get better on my own?"
She grins before saying in a teasing tone, "Now Argo, surely an info broker like yourself knows you don't get anything for free?" Argo looks incredulous and out of the corner of her eye she could see Kirito trying not to laugh. Just as Argo was about to start whining, Hanna laughs before smiling and saying, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I couldn't help myself."
Argo pouts and Kirito was now hiding his face in his arms which were folded on the table, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. Shaking her head at Kirito even though he couldn't see it, she turns her attention back to Argo, "Well my advice would be that once you have your claws put some time aside every day and practice. Start with the claw skills from the system. Focus on one skill and use it over and over, once you've memorized the movements start trying to do the skill without the system's help. You'll probably be awkward and slow at first, but don't get frustrated or disheartened, just keep practicing. Once you can comfortably do the skill on your own reasonably fast, start on the next skill. Keep doing that until you've got a good portion of them learned, then begin practicing starting a skill and part way through switching to a different skill."
Argo, who had been intently listening til then, abruptly interrupts her, "You mean like if the first skill has, say, an upward slash hallway through and the second skill starts with a downward slash, to start the second skill instead of finishing the first, right?" Hanna nods, and Argo continues, "I figured, I just wanted to be sure though. Considering what that bastard Kayaba has done to SAO the better I am, the more likely I am to survive. I don't wanna waste a bunch of time learning something useless because I misunderstood you."
She hums in agreement before continuing, "Anyway just keep practicing switching between skills and once you're comfortable enough with it go back to the starting city and practice fighting without using any system skills on them til you're comfortable fighting without using any skills. After that just move on to an area with slightly tougher mobs, wash, rinse, and repeat. Before you know it you'll be fighting high level monsters without using a single sword skill. Oh and a little nugget of information for you? As you know, the mobs are programmed to know when the player activates any skill in the game, and attempt to either block or evade. The only reason it isn't usually successful is because the game designers realized that the skill system would be heavily relied on. So to make it fair all the mobs have much lower agility compared to the rest of their stats. You know how «Switching» with another player causes the mob to freeze for a couple seconds because it confuses the learning algorithm?"
Argo and Kirito both nod so she continues, "Well, if you start one skill then abruptly switch to a different one? Confuses the hell out of them. See, the programmers apparently realized that players might learn to mimic skills on their own, so the AI for the mobs is not only programmed to know when you activate a skill but they're also programmed to recognize when you mimic a skill. So if you wait til you've almost finished a skill, say hit 8 out of a ten hit skill since the algorithm will definitely have recognized the skill by then, and then switch? Their programming has no fucking clue what to do. I've seen mobs freeze upward to 20 seconds while their programming figures out if it should be responding to a skill it knows or using the learning algorithm to try and predict your attacks."
Now Kirito and Argo were gaping at her. Then Kirito incredulously blurts, "20 Seconds?! At most switching will buy you 5, and you're telling me there's a way to get them to freeze for 20 on your own?!" Hanna nods in amusement at his antics and Kirito leans back before muttering, "Damn. I'm definitely going to learn how to do my skills manually just so I can switch between them. With the new rules to this death game, 20 seconds could easily save my or someone else's life."
She nods in agreement. Then after glancing down at the clock says, "Well, as nice of company you two make I think I'm gonna check into the inn and get some sleep. We should try to start as early as possible tomorrow Kirito, so I'd suggest you do the same, but that's up to you of course."
Kirito and Argo both glance down and to the right, obviously checking their own clocks before Kirito nods and stands while saying, "Yeah that seems like a good idea. Goodnight Argo."
Argo looks back up at them, "I'm gonna stay up a bit longer, but goodnight Kii-bou, Hanna-chan."
Hanna nods, "Night Argo."
Kirito and her both walk up to the counter and check in, and as they're walking up the stairs she glances at Kirito, "Hey, Kirito?" Seeing she has his attention, she continues, "Why were you laughing so hard when I teased Argo about paying me for the information on how to get better with her claws? It really wasn't that funny."
He grins at her, "Well see, while I've seen Argo buy info off plenty of people, it's always Argo who teases when someone asks her something. I've never seen anyone turn the tables on her, actually I don't think she's had someone get her with her own game ever, if the look on her face was any indication. That was also funny, her expression."
He laughs lightly, undoubtedly remembering Argo's expression, and she smiles. Now standing in front of her door she turns to him still smiling, "Goodnight Kirito."
He smiles back, "Night Hanna."
Going in and closing the door behind her she starts unequipping her armor for bed. As she does an absent thought crosses her mind, 'He's pretty cute when he smiles. I could really get used to it.'
She was already asleep when the message, 'You have been disconnected. Attempting to reconnect.' inserts itself into her vision.
Dante was laying on Marzanna's bed staring off in thought. Lily had eventually cried herself to sleep in his arms. So he'd put her in their bed before hiding himself in Marzanna's room. He sighs when Vergil comes in and leans against Marzanna's desk. For a while nothing is said, but Dante eventually loses his patience, which isn't a surprise, Vergil was always the more patient of the two. Growing in irritation Dante snaps at his brother, "I came in here because I wanted to be alone. Go away."
Vergil shakes his head before answering, "I knew that already. The question is why you want to be alone. I'm the one who wants to be left alone in situations like these, not you. You've always been about family. You're comforted by their presence when you're upset and are always right there for them when they themselves are distressed. Our family is definitely distressed right now, yet you're up here, hiding in Marzanna's room, all alone instead of down there with them. What's wrong Dante? And I know it isn't just Marzanna, you'd be downstairs if it were."
Dante is silent for a while. He doesn't even contemplate trying to lie to Vergil. They were twins. For Demons and Angels that created a mental link. In Vergil and his case this led to being able to sense the others emotions and tell if they were lying. They could block the others' ability to sense their emotions, which Dante was doing at that very moment, but it was impossible to lie to each other. Dante contemplates whether he should tell Vergil what was bothering him. He knows Vergil would understand, wouldn't judge him, but he's ashamed of his thoughts. Which was why he was hiding from the rest of their family.
Sighing again as he sits up Dante was silent for another minute before whispering so quietly that Vergil had to strain his Nephilim senses to hear. "I... I wanna fucking kill him. I wanna tear that Kayaba bastard to tiny pieces and feed his soul to Demons. I want him to be in such agony he begs for death. I-I..."
Unable to continue, Dante stops blocking his emotions. Letting Vergil experience it all for himself. Allowing him to feel depression and terror at what was happening to Marzanna, at the fact she could die. To experience Dante's rage at Kayaba, his desire for revenge, and his bloodlust. And wallow in Dante's shame at such thoughts and feelings. His shame in not believing in his daughter, at having such bloodthirsty thoughts for Kayaba. To feel Dante's self-hatred for going against everything he believed and told Vergil every time they clashed regarding humans and the fact they should never abuse their Nephilim abilities to hurt, kill, or enslave them. Dante simply sits there, drowning the torrent of negative emotions, waiting for Vergil to sift through and process them all.
Finally after almost two minutes Vergil sighs before pushing off the desk, and sitting next to Dante on the bed before speaking, "Dante. You've nothing to be ashamed of. Marzanna's your daughter, these feelings would be natural even if you were human. You're not though you're a Nephilim, and your Demonic side makes those violent emotions all the worse. And of course you're terrified of losing Marzanna, like I already said she's your daughter. It's natural for a parent to worry about their child even when they're safe, and Marzanna's far from safe at the moment. As for feeling like you're going against your own beliefs... I don't know what to tell you except that while yes, those thoughts and emotions go against what you've always believed, it doesn't change the fact that they're natural."
Dante shakes his head before burying his face in his hands. Vergil sighs again before putting his hand on Dante's shoulder and squeezing it in comfort. Vergil wasn't a hugger, unless it was Marzanna, but with how cold he normally was, and considering how he usually fought with Dante, that might as well have been a hug. That was all it took to finish off Dante's composure, letting his own tears finally escape into his hands.