|Aug. 25th 14:30|
|IRL, Nagi's Home|
Another, chaotic day in Nagi's home would appear to be stressful and a place where very little time was given to breathe before noise would erupt everywhere. For Nagi, that was pretty normal. He sat with a black and white cat curled up on his lap. Its face was mostly white say for the right ear and around the eye, thereby given the name, 'Patches'.
On the living room floor, the two youngest, Kaida and Kayda were transfixed to the TV screen watching an animated show with their legs swaying back and forth in synergy. They both had long, black-brown hair, Kaida, to the left, had hers tied into pigtails.
Nagi, or Kaito, scrolled down his phone at the latest info on MMO Today, a social media site dedicated to news and forums for everything video game-related, including the SAO Closed Beta. With less than a week remaining, the player base was hunting for any clues toward the ninth-floor boss, attempting to beat floor ten before it ended.
|Latest: Devs disabled crafting system due to various visual issues-|
"That's putting it mildly," Kaito grimaced, scrolling once more. "Hm?"
A notification appeared on his phone; From Argo.
Argo the Rat: You free?
Nagi: Need help with a quest?
Argo: Nyahaha, always eager ain'tcha?
Argo: Nah, gotta an offer you'd like to see :3
Nagi: Vauge but where should we meet?
Argo: Floor 8's town, ten minutes, don't be late, Hero~
"Oh? Who's this you're texting?" A voice over Kaito's shoulder forced his head back to view the girl upsidedown. Unlike the rest of his siblings, her hair, while shoulder-length its color was snow-white with blue eyes, Kaito's second-youngest sister. "Hmm, is it your girlfriend?" That mirthful smile reminded him of the Rat.
"Not my girlfriend, it's Argo, an info-broker from that Beta I'm playing," He replied as she sat against the back of the sofa, nodding attentively. "She wants to offer me something but I'd probably have to buy that out of her if I tried asking," Kaito sighed, rubbing his cheek. "She'll put a price on anything if possible."
"Sounds like a real charmer," Keon rolled her eyes, ruffling her older brother's tousled hair. "Try not to spend too long on your game, Mom's making dinner around half-six,"
"Will do," He carefully placed Patches on the sofa, the cat's emerald eyes staring up at him as Kaito stroked behind his ear, making the cat purr. "The seat's all yours,"
"Hey," Keon stopped Kaito for a moment, the siblings meeting one another's gazes as her expression wavered with worry for a split second. "Are you having fun, in SAO I mean?"
Kaito's brow rose momentarily, as if not understanding what she was implying before he ultimately smiled back. "It's been a lot of fun, wish you had a Nervegear too, you'd love it!"
"Heh, I like to keep my feet in reality, thanks," She blew a raspberry before dismissing him with a wave. "Go on now to your world of fantasy and magic, little knight."
He was at the staircase, pointing back as his arm slid across the banister. "Sword Skills aren't magic!"
"Neeeerd!" She yelled back at his snickering, Keon's face relaxed, letting out a breath she had been holding. "You deserve it, dummy."
|Sword Art Online BETA, Floor 8, Town of Frieven|
The blue flash of the teleport gate faded, leaving Nagi to stumble down the planked stairs rubbing his eyes. "Ow-ow-ow-ow, why is that still so bright?" He hissed, blinking the black dots from his vision of a village suspended around the massive trees by platforms and large rope bridges.
Over the edges of the various platforms were the murky swampland below, practically all land submerged underwater with only the large trees and vines to traverse the floor. In the trees, the town sported streamers and banners with lanterns to banish the shadows cast by the roofed forest, some shops built into the trunks themselves.
"Boo," Argo poked Nagi's sides, seeing him yelp as he flopped like a sack of potatoes at her feet. "Nyahahaha, too easY!" Argo clutched her stomach as her laughter met the frazzled expression on Nagi's face.
"Why is your stealth skill so high?" He whined.
Her fingers rubbed together, "Willin' to pay for tha-"
"So, where are we going?" He was already up and looking around Frieven as her arm swayed to her side.
"This way, HerO," She grabbed his wrist to tug him the opposite way. She spun her body around with a cheeky grin. "You can trust your good ol' pal, Argo to give ya the best kind of rewardS,"
"Never doubted you," Nagi's honest answer made it hard for Argo to try and trick him with worries of what this may entail, so she shrugged and led him onward.
On the eastern side of the town was a small stretch of three trees in a triangular formation, their branches arched and curled around one another to form a stable stretch of land. The foundations of the town patched the holes, creating a wide, flat surface in the middle for a battle arena, the circumference barred with a simple set of posts and thick rope as sunlight bathed the arena.
The small crowd was ranting and raving amongst themselves as Argo grinned ear to ear, throwing her arms wide. "Welcome to the first 'Sword Art RoyalE'!" She tapped her nose. "Bunch of talk on the forums 'bout settin' this little tournament up, any and all can tag in for a match, no big reward or anythin' just good ol' action and bettiN',"
"Wow," Nagi murmured, pointing toward the arena. "So I can enter and fight whoever I choose?"
"That's right, but you can test your mettle against the top ranks that haven't losT," She rubbed her hands together mischievously. "An' I get to have some fun of my own, nyahahA..." Her whiskers twitched in delight before giving Nagi an encouraging shove through the gap in the crowd, smiling at his back. "Go get 'em, Mr Hero, make this broker prouD!"
"W-wait, I didn't - yah!" He was tossed into the ring with another competitor, the crowd cheering for the new addition to what appeared to be a slaughter. Several other players were on the edges of the arena, groaning from the various red marks on their bodies, weapons left on the ground. "Are you sure this isn't a slaughter!?"
"Only if ya let iT!" Argo waved, putting her hands at the sides of her lips. "Hey, Kii-bou, I'm back with some fresh meaT!" That made Nagi shiver, turning white as a ghost.
"You don't sound confident!" Nagi whimpered as the player approached with his hand out to Nagi.
/Kirito\
The guy appeared to be wearing a long, black coat over his basic clothing, a matching belt around his stomach while his hands were gloved the same way. His face gave off that typical handsome protagonist with shoulder-length, onyx hair and matching eyes. "Hey, sorry about Argo, did she drag you off the street for this?"
"Um, does IRL count?" Nagi accepted the handshake. "I'm Nagi, Argo's my friend actually."
"Best frienD!" She relayed as Kirito's face lit up.
"Oh, you're the 'Hero' she muttered about," Kirito gave a humourous grin. "She said you bailed her out of dying on the first day too."
"I will sell you out, mark my wordS!" Argo swung her arms wildly, actually blushing slightly behind her hood. "KICK HIS ASS FOR ME, HERO!"
"Um, will do!" He pumped his fist, unsure of how to act as he sweatdropped. "She's far too competitive today..."
"So, ever done a PvP match in SAO?" Kirito asked as they let go, his hand on his hip. "If not I can tell you the basics."
"That's okay," Nagi's reply surprised Kirito as the brunette placed a hand on his katana. "I won't always be given notice of how a fight might play out, so I'll learn from the experience, so please, don't hold back!"
Kirito smiled, laughing under his breath, "That's the kind of fire I like, okay, you're on," His fist tapped off Nagi's as two windows appeared for them.
|Duel Request|
|The match will end when one player's health drops into the red|
|Time limit is five minutes|
|Accept?|
|Yes / No|
The pair accepted, and the crowd's voices rang out with Argo waving her hands. "I placin' my bet on the guy in the Haori winning or drawing the match!"
"You're betting against me!? You Rat!" Kirito gaped, eye twitching with a strained smile.
"Nyahahaha! All's fair, Kii-boU~!" The Rat put two peace signs up against her whiskers.
The white countdown appeared, so Kirito sighed and took a stance, drawing a silver straight sword with a black grip. Nagi immediately recognized it as the invaluable quest reward from Floor One, the Anneal Blade, though from how Kirito stood with the weapon held behind him, he knew how to use it.
-{5, 4, 3}-
"Isn't that not viable after Floor Three?" Nagi's knitted brow creased, clasping his katana in its sheath. "Maybe he's using it so lower-ranked players can fight as well? I shouldn't underestimate him then, I did say I'd fight without any additional advice so I can't complain now,"
-{2}-
Nagi took a stance, right foot forward with his hands on his weapon and scabbard as he hunched himself, feeling his skill resonate within the blade, turning the edges light blue. For Kirito, his sword was cast in a similar tint, though his was a sky blue pigment.
-{1}-
"Oh, forgot to say, Kii-bou's undefeated, and a frontline playeR!" Argo pipped up as the timer flashed 'Begin!'.
"Wait what-!?" Before Nagi's shock could register, his skill cancelled out as he dove right from the sword skill 'Vertical' carving through the floorboards, Kirito gave chase. Now the pressure was on for Nagi, he knew this guy seemed fairly strong but 'undefeated' wasn't what he expected Argo to throw him into. Hardening his resolve, he dove back from a Horizontal strobe of light. "Keep calm, don't get emotional!"
Resting his hand on his weapon, Kirito's eyes flickered as he stopped his advance inches from Nagi's rising blue blade. "Rising Tide!" The blade scraped against Kirito's weapon as the ravenette spun for another Horizontal that Nagi quickly leapt over, stomping on Kirito's head with the Martial Arts skill, 'Kick-Step', then he slashed at Kirito twice, forcing him back.
Kirito skipped back, drawing his blade back as it flashed sky blue, thrusting forward to skim across the surface of Nagi's inverted sword clutched in both hands. Kirito spun around to block a skill cast by Nagi, the brunette knelt down on his left. "Whirlwind-" His sword slashed right with a spin, his right foot vaulting him into another twirl for a secondary strike that pushed Kirito. "-Slash!"
The pair locked blades, both coming face to face before shoving the other away with Kirito relentlessly striking, forcing Nagi to parry the blows constantly, smacking Kirito's sword away with the face of his katana. The attacks came from side or in low sweeps, so Nagi took a hit to the chest, clasping his weapon above his head as the blade gleamed light blue, a silver sheen indicating the powerful vertical slam that Kirito blocked, falling to a knee. "First Ichimonji, then Striking Wave!"
Suddenly, Nagi's muscles locked up, his movements stalled long enough for Kirito to sweep by his face, leaving a long red gash through Nagi's stomach. Kirito spun around underarming his weapon for two consecutive slashes up Nagi's back. The fourth was a spinning horizontal to finish the skill but Nagi surprised Kirito by twirling on his heels, blade sheathed with a blue tint.
"Serpent Slash!" His blade was drawn right, deflecting Kirito's blade as the parallel slash tore into Kirito's coat, the knockback putting distance between them. Nagi grunted, seeing his health trickle from the three throwing picks embedded into his right arm. Kirito smirked, rushing him as he threw more from under his coat.
Taking a stance, Nagi deflected the picks as Kirito's blade rushed with light against Nagi's ascending katana. "Scarlet Fang!" His upward strike clashed with the burst of energy behind Kirito's attack, his skill persisting, stunning Nagi that his movements didn't seem to stall as he did. "His reaction time is that good!?" As Nagi's skill slammed in a descending state, two flashes of light intersected over his wrist.
The skill knocked him back, his hand scarred and disarmed, behind Nagi, the katana embedded itself into the ground. The audience clapped and roared with excitement, fortunately, neither dipped below the amber, so there was still a chance. Kirito snorted, "Gotcha,"
"Not yet," While Kirito focused on his move, drawing his sword back again for Vorpal Strike, Nagi stood with a wide stance, his left fist folded down at his hip with his right palm extended, a rush of amber encompassing his body with a Japanese symbol for defence, '衛', "Haganeri."
In a complete turnabout, Kirito cancelled his skill to block the incoming fists that struck his blade. His teeth were grit with a stain in his eyes, "I didn't know there were any hand to hand skills!" It felt strange, as though he was deflecting plate armour, even the force behind the punches felt heavy.
Kirito used a wide slash to push Nagi back long enough to charge and thrust his blade forward only to have the brunette's right foot slam down on the blade, cancelling the skill the second it was within range. This left him wide open to a flash of blue light as he gasped from the left hook twisting against his stomach, the strength behind the skill tossing Kirito away.
Focusing, he drew his blade on open-air, seeing the shadow pass over him. Kirito leapt back from a sudden kick, shaving a few strands of hair while Nagi dove low, performing a rising double roundhouse kick to Kirito's weapon, the second kick catching the swordsman's cheek as he was sent flying closer to the crowd.
With the playing field even, Nagi retrieved his katana, spinning it around to clasp in both hands, holding the face parallel to the right side of his face, the edge facing up. Kirito ran the face of his sword across his left palm, the tip hovering above it with his right arm folded back. Both let their similar shaded skills ignite, preparing to strike in a single instance.
"Vorpal Strike!" "Ripple Thrust!"
Their bodies moved like a flash of lightning, a contrail of blue behind them as both pressed for a single, piercing blow to the chest-
|Time|
|Draw!|
"Nyahahaha, hand over the wins to Mama ArgO!" The Rat whooped in jubilation as Kirito and Nagi held their weapons a mere inch from each other's chest. Lowering their weapons, Nagi bowed his head but found a hand set before him, with a matching smile to Kirito's, the pair shook for the crowd, sheathing their weapons.
"That's gotta be the best fight I've had today, and that unique skillset of yours, how did you learn martial arts?" Kirito's eyes were yearning for an answer as Nagi put a finger to his lips.
"Sadly, I can't say," They let go as Nagi stared toward Argo receiving her bounty from the losers, a mad smile on her cheeks. "Your reaction time is almost unbreakable, I only kept up because you disarmed me."
Kirito looked deflated for a moment, throwing his arms behind his head. "Man... had I know there was a hand to hand combat system I'd have spent time looking for it than level grinding..."
Nagi just laughed lightly at Kirito's expense. Just then, another pair of players entered the arena. "Guess the battle's not over,"
"Hey," Kirito nudged Nagi out of his perplexed state with a challenging smirk. "Ready to clown on these guys?"
Slowly understanding the message, Nagi took a position at Kirito's left, the pair drawing their swords on the mace and axe users. "Let's dance."
Later that day, at a booth in Frieven's tavern, Argo slapped the table with a cackle, snorting as she took a drink. "Didcha see that spear guy? Talk about amateur hour, he didn't think a thrusting weapon against a guy capable of countering them would work, did hE!?" She cleared a tear from her eye.
"It only has a ten-second cooldown too," Nagi muttered, his words trailing out of his mouth. "Though a spear is objectively difficult to attack against so I was only able to parry until I broke his posture with that skill..."
Kirito just blinked at the pair, rolling his eyes as Argo pointed at Nagi with a suspicious leer. "Ya never mentioned you unlocked most of the starter skills too, holdin' out on your favourite broker agaiN?" She hummed as Nagi sent a message to her. "Huh?" She blinked, reading the private message before gagging on her drink. "When the heck did you write all this dowN!?"
"Yesterday, after that quest to kill giant toad-" The Rat's hand slammed into his lips, looking paler with a scary expression on her face that sent chills down the boys' spines.
"Never. Mention. That. AgaiN." She worded slowly as they nodded, the girl sitting back with a sweet smile. "Now that you're acquainted with Kii-bou, we can expand our business practices, nyahahA!"
"She's either lost or possessive," Kirito deadpanned, turning to Nagi. "Say, I haven't met a lot of katana skill users in the Beta, but you aren't on the frontlines; I can see them really welcoming you around."
Nagi smiled nervously, closing his eyes. "I appreciate that but I'm focused on seeing the little things first then focusing on floor clearing once the official launch begins," He then looked to Argo. "Plus, I've been helping Argo out with information gathering as a fun side job too,"
"Did she bribe you?" Kirito jabbed his finger at the Rat who waved a hand dismissively, pouting mockingly.
"Is that all you think of me, Kii-bou? Guess I'll double your prices next timE," She turned her head toward the window as Kirito vibrated on the spot.
"You do that anyway, sometimes triple, you dirty rat!" Nagi just tried to put his hands between the pair to ease the tension.
"See, this is why no girl wants to talk to ya bar yours truly, Kiri-boU~" Argo twirled her finger with a brazen look, whiskers twitching. "Or are ya into this kinda gaL?"
"Where's the nearest cliff face?" Kirito snorted.
"Let's try not to PK in a public place guys," Nagi soothed, looking around the tavern and toward the window.
When Nagi saw his reflection, he almost jumped out of his skin as his drink hit the table, for a second, he swore he saw a samurai in black armour staring back at him. The two quit their bickering when they saw the chipper player's sudden loss of serenity.
"Hey, you okay, HerO?" Argo tapped his hand to snap his focus back, seeing their surprised but concerned looks.
"Eh, heh, sorry, thought some weird player was staring at me through the window," He lied, but that was enough to turn the conversation around.
"Given how you and Kii-bou railroaded the competition I'm not surpriseD," Argo smiled lovingly at her status screen, particularly with zen in her eyes. "And my sweet account couldn't agree morE,"
"You really are just a no-good thief," Kirito sighed into his palm.
"Hey, a 'no-good thief' would be caught, I'm a great thieF!" Argo proclaimed, earning various stares from players in the tavern.
"You're really good at what you do, so it stands out, that and your cute whiskers," Nagi replied kindly, seeing her smile teasingly toward Kirito as she wrapped an arm over the table to Nagi's shoulders, squeezing him into a long hug in front of the irked swordsman.
"See that, my best bud is a big ol' sweet talker compared to your grumpy remarkS," She stuck her tongue out.
"You're unbelievable..." Kirito facepalmed as Nagi chuckled at the banter.
Once nightfall settled across Aincrad, Nagi had his menu open as he checked through his haul of rewards from handing in various quests around Frieven, standing with his back against one of the teleport gate's obelisks as it chimed with players coming and going. On the left side was Argo, her hands moving quickly over a keyboard with a stern look from the reflection.
"You're really focused," Nagi commented, seeing her creased brow loosen to stare back at him as he stood up rigid. "Eh, sorry,"
"Hm, it's fine, gotta keep up my work ethic and aL'," Argo whistled, typing away with a toothy grin as her eyes flicked toward him under her hood. "Wanna know a secret? Free of charge and confidentiaL?" She egged on.
Nagi nodded as her fingers curled to draw him closer, he did and she ushered him so close their noses nearly touched, her lips coming close to his ear. "I'm a writer for MMO TodaY,"
His face exploded with shock but her finger booped his nose, "That's a lil ol' secret between us, 'kay, HerO?" She cooed, enjoying his excited but silent nod, zipping a finger over his mouth.
"I will take it to my grave," Nagi promised, enjoying her soft laugh as she pressed a button, setting her window to 'Friends Only', now, he could see everything she had been documenting today. More specifically, an article about the first-ever SAR with the top champions sharing a picture side-by-side. "Wait, that's us?"
"Look at how handsome you are, I got quite the angle toO," She teased, his face reddening a little as she petted his head. "Aw, someone's all flustereD~" Argo's hand was brushed aside by his while the other pointed at the paragraph he was on.
"'However, the top contenders today were a swordsman in black, Kirito (Left) and one of the few katana users in the Beta, Na_gi (Right). While against the other, their swords proved to be on equal footing, but as a tag-team, no pair could break the synergy of attacks or flurry of deflections-', y-you really went all out, huh?" He rubbed his nape sheepishly.
Argo laughed between her toothy grin, but it fell once he pointed at one line. "There's a typo here, instead of saying 'The' you forgot the 'e' and added it to 'Extra' instead by mistake,"
"Huh, I didn't even-" Argo clicked her tongue, changing the mistake as she pats Nagi's back roughly. "Look at you, comin' through for this blind broker, nyahahA!"
An idea came to mind, Nagi giving her a straight face momentarily, "I could help?"
"Huh?" She blinked, cocking her head as he smiled confidently.
"I do a lot of course work at home so that means correcting grammar, spell-checks, variation of words for better sentence structure, all of it," His fist was clenched eagerly. "If we worked together, you'd have articles and player tips out before anyone else, you'd skyrocket in popularity then!"
Argo was at a loss for words, trying to hold a hand up anxiously, "I-I appreciate the thought, but it's not that big of an issue as you're making it, sure, bit taxing as any other publisher is aware, but that I'm used tO,"
"I'm not demeaning your work, it's amazing but then if you had a second pair of hands your work would be faster, and you'd have more time to yourself when you really need it," Nagi shrugged, "Even just every now and then, send me something and I'll do my best to live up to your work," His closed eye smile was infectious yet again. "So don't worry about it,"
Argo stood there, trying to find a counterpoint but her own logic was bested by genuine kindness. It was true, having him pitch in would speed along her posts, and her recognition would grow and be more reliable than second-hand information. And she'd get earlier nights too. "Ngh..." She ruffled her own autumn hair, tugging her hood a little with a strange expression and pout. "You and you're stupid optimism is infectious, ya know thaT?"
"So I've been told, many... many times," He sunk a little with a sweatdrop, chuckling alongside Argo as she put her hand out under the lantern light.
"Well then, here's to extending business work, HerO," It was strange, but maybe this would be a good thing for her?
He was about to shake her hand when someone teleported in, the blinding flash frying Nagi's retinas as he covered them with his palms, swinging backwards. "Yaaaaahahaha!" He fell onto the ground, rolling in agony. "But the settling was at 20, why~y~y~!?"
"Hm-hm-hm..." Argo stifled her laugh as her whiskers twitched again from her snickering, pressing 'record' on her menu as the blind swordsman reeled in agony, trying to navigate his own menu for aid. Smoke rose from his closed eyes. "Gold. I can see it noW,"
"I can't see anything, only the darkness!" He waved around in Argo direction. "I know you're recording me!" He was pointing at a lamppost.
To Be Continued...
Quite the introduction of the future Black Swordsman, and to clarify, I know sword skills have various colours but I wanted to mix it up and have a particular colour for characters, not everyone will be unique but there's some verity. So Nagi's is light blue, Kirito sky blue, and Argo is amber, stuff like that with the exception of status effects or non-offensive skills.
We've got two chapters left for this extensive prologue to the Death Game we all know, but there's more to the story of Argo and Nagi before that. I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Beta Testers!
004 - Danuja, the Tero Senshi
Argo is in trouble, Nagi runs to her aid, a foreboding quest appears...