|Sword Art Online, Floor 51, Town of Luminary|
|Jan. 23rd, 18:46|
After their 'private' moment out of sight, Nagi and Argo continued on their venture around the festival, having actually obtained one of the Shards of Railaan after the archery range, the item automatically added to a player's inventory. Not long after marching with the crowds, a new, distinct vendor appeared as a hand waved to them in particular.
"No way..." Nagi gave a light chuckle as Argo whistled in surprise.
"Talk about standin' out in a big waY," She couldn't agree more.
A small courtyard among the houses was sectioned off to form a large obstacle course, many players falling to the dirt below as they fell off one of the many difficult or moving sections to reach the peak of the course, a gong stationed at the top of an extreme tall post. Manning the station were a handful of NPCs dressed in distinct black and white shinobi garbs with the symbol 'Purify' stitched to their backs in Kanji. The woman that waved them through the players was none other than Shirayuki.
"My friends! It has been too long, come-come, I have a thrilling opportunity for you!" Shirayuki was positively thrilled to see them. "When news of your Frontrunners conquering the 50th Guardian reached Sunsinger Village, it came with the news of a Festival of the Radius, so as such, I cannot simply allow such an opportunity to slip by our fingers,"
Nagi couldn't withhold his own large grin, seeing the shinobi offer a fist-bump, something Artorias had taught her, so he happily accepted it, "It's great to see you too, this looks amazing, Shirayuki,"
"So an obstacle coursE? Nothin' screams 'Shinobi' like that I suppose, what's yer pass ratE?" Argo leaned forward curiously, her whiskers twitching to match her shimmering eyes that ogled the course.
"Your kind words fill us with joy, truly," Shirayuki beamed, her helpers all waving in agreement, clearly happy to have received some positive feedback. Then, the silverette gave a boisterous laugh. "Unfortunately, not many have managed to conquer our training course, hahahaa! Strange, we even sought to alter the layout to be far more forgiving,"
"You don't say..." The young couple sweat dropped as their eyes followed a man being flung through the air after a plank swung wide from his blindspot, his back hitting a nearby roof as he tumbled out onto the streets beyond their view, startling people, and smashing items in the process. Nagi and Argo looked to each other, then to the roof, then back to one another.
"Miss Informant, I have seen first-hand your agility, I insist, this course will truly test your skill," Shirayuki leaned against the counter, eager to see Argo in action.
The blonde waved her hands a little, "Nah, I ain't one to go around struttin' my stufF,"
Seeing her modesty, Nagi squeezed her hand, looking deep into her eyes with a sweet smile. "I think you should, you deserve to have fun too," Leaning down to her ear, he piqued her interest further. "Who knows, if the famous Argo the Rat conquered a course very few could in record time, it might bring in even more customers," Now, her whole body jumped, and Nagi blinked to find she was already on the other side of the barrier, tossing to Nagi her precious cloak to properly stretch. "Hehe..."
"Keep it safe for me, HerO," Eyeing Shirayuki, Argo tapped her menu open. "How much for an attempT?"
"You have done more for me than I can ever repay, consider this part of that gratitude, I'm sure my comrades would be honoured to see you in action once more," Shirayuki offered, leaning up against the barricade with Nagi. "We will time you from the moment I give the word, your clear objective is the gong mounted at the peak of the course, use whatever means to ascend,"
"My-my, aren't I a lucky lady tonighT," She gave Nagi a coy smile, kissing her new ring which caused him to blush with a sheepish smile, Shirayuki eyeing him curiously after the display.
Taking to the starting point, an elevated wooden platform. Argo lowered herself into a stance that was reminiscent of a pouncing cat. With no further delays, Shirayuki gave an ear-piercing whistle and Argo's feet left the ground instantly. The first trial appeared to be stepping stones in the form of rectangular slopes, the blonde effortlessly zig-zagged between them, barely making a sound as she passed them in mere seconds, twisting to her left to dive and grapple the rope ahead, using that forward momentum to wrap around a post to the right, giving her the needed drag to fling herself upward to the next solid surface.
Now, it was a web of various wooden beams with pegs sticking out from the sides, some sections separated by a seam in the wood. Argo took this in as she dove through the pegs, grabbing one of the sectioned points that spun her around, the girl's body tucked in as small as possible to slip between the other pegs, again using that momentum from the trap to launch herself between the beams and over them, dashing across the tops to the next trial.
By now, people were cheering below, but Argo paid them no mind, a bead of sweat rolling down her cheek as her fingers curled into the first monkey bar hanging over a large drop roughly ten meters down. She climbed the bars fast, though, at the lip where she had to turn and climb at a slope, her right hand gave out, causing her to dangle for a moment. Everyone held their breaths as Argo steadied herself and found her grip again, climbing the acute angle before it rose forward like a cliff-edge, allowing her to run up its surface, much to the crowd's enthusiastic cheering.
For the final push it was a simple test of mobility, to cross a four meter gap. Using what little room she had, Argo dug her toes to the furthest edge and gave a running start, kicking off her right foot at the very last possible second, flying through the air over the whole course. In passing, she slapped the gong with her palm, causing it to ring out as she spun and tumbled onto the final platform, catching herself with a heavy exhale.
"New record!" One of the NPCs shouted, and the players erupted into the cheers as Argo stumbled over to the edge and sat down, legs thrown over it with a toothy grin and her eyes closed, clearly exhausted from the mental strain.
Nagi smiled up at her, being completely in awe with her flawless performance. Suddenly. Shirayuki began to laugh, wrapping an arm around his neck that brought out his own laugh, giving Argo a hand while she waved down, eating up the attention she at first didn't want.
|Jan. 23rd, 18:50|
Meanwhile, somewhere else in Luminary, Kirito gave a content sigh as he swallowed another bite of his blue dango, followed by a cute giggle next to him as he walked, making him eye the ravenette with her arm around his, Sachi herself holding a half-eaten dango skewer in her right hand.
"What?" His brow raised, curious as to why she laughed.
"Nothing, you always make such a cute face when you eat something you like," Sachi was honest with him, finding many of the little traits Kirito displayed adorable.
"How is me eating food cute?" He didn't get it, but gestured to her with his dango. "A-and besides, you made a much cuter face whenever you saw the food stall that you nearly took the heels off my boots," Now, it was Sachi's turn to appear flustered, hiding her mouth behind her dango as she nibbled it.
"...they're really good here-and I didn't see you complaining with all the flavours they had, you were so indecisive that a line formed," Sachi pointed out as Kirito raised his dango in defence.
"It was a very important decision, you can't rush a perfect meal,"
"You're totally going back there for more and I know it,"
"Okay... so maybe I was sizing up my options..."
"Told you so~" She giggled, seeing the faint pinkness to his cheeks before she noticed one of the tents with benches set up, only, the very décor was something she's never seen before. "Kirito?" Gesturing to the location, his embarrassed face quickly took on an inquisitive stare.
The tent was made out of light green material with lanterns made of stone, inscribed with playing card symbols, the floor was even made up over large stone slabs marked with random numbers like giant Sudoku. The tables themselves were set with stations of various puzzles; jigsaw puzzles, Sudoku, Rubix cubes, and other assorted games.
"Kirito!" Popping their head up from behind a counter inside, the swordsman was pleasantly surprised to see the familiar face of the only NPC he could imagine being behind this.
She was quite young but a sweet-looking girl in a light-green dress. Her blonde hair curled at chin-length with ash-green eyes. Her yellow icon displaying her name below. 'Miya'.
"Wait... Miya? Uh, um, how'd you get all the way up to this floor?" Kirito didn't know how to respond as it had been over a year since he last saw the young girl who played a big role in the Curse of Stachion questline of Floor 6.
"Mother brought me with her when we heard there was a festival happening, and I wanted to share the puzzles our home's known for," She smiled, far more lively now that she had a normal life again. "She's out grabbing a few things while we're here, so I'm in charge,"
"Kirito, who's this?" Sachi had never seen this NPC before.
Kirito gestured to Miya, "She's from Floor 6, me and Asuna back then helped her and her mother deal with the 'curse' that affected the main city there, and this whole conspiracy meant to cover up the truth,"
"I'm Miya, nice to meet you," She gave a polite bow to Sachi who quickly strained up to return it with a soft smile.
"A pleasure, I'm Sachi," The ravenette greeted.
"Oh, and Asuna and that nice elf woman, Kizmel, are here too, see?" Miya pointed between the teens toward a table in the back where Asuna's brow was creased deeply, fiddling with something in her hands as her clear frustration was growing. Kizmel, still dressed in her armour, also toyed with a similar object. "Feel free to play for as long as you'd like, we give out prizes based on how many puzzles you solve,"
"Hah, sounds fun, we'll do that, thanks," Kirito waved to her as she reciprocated it.
Deciding to check on their friends, the pair came up quietly, watching Kizmel's eyes focus solely on the Rubix cube in her hands. "-it proves to be a very tricky puzzle to master, I fear I may not be a match for it,"
"It's just-I'm so close...!" Asuna was far more vigorous with her turns, trying to match up her moves correctly but the second she made progress, she ended up doubling back on herself without realizing.
"Having fun, Asuna?" Kirito wore a smug smile, sitting across from them while Sachi eyed the Sudoku before her, humming in thought.
"K-Kirito? Don't sneak up on me like that!" The brunette berated her old partner who held up his hands, one with dango, in defence.
"Sorry, sorry-guess even you got time off to come up here, Kizmel," Kirito noted, sparing Asuna any of his teasing remarks.
"Yes, it has been wonderful to see you both in such good health again, I had stumbled upon Asuna not long ago and she suggested we explore this festival together, I must say, the cultures of humanity never cease to amaze me," Case and point, Kizmel happily displayed her incomplete Rubix cube. "Such as this fascinating puzzle. To try and match the colours on all sides while moving the other faces, I have never seen such a complex design,"
"Ah, I'm not that great with them either but it's always best to start with the white face as it's easier, and start with the white piece in the center," Kirito suggested, seeing Kizmel pause to inspect her cube, then had the white side facing upright as she began to methodically turn the sides. "Asuna-"
"I can do this, but thank you," She was stubbornly against any aid, she had more progress than Kizmel but still had three sides incomplete.
"You know, for the person who said she disliked Floor 6 the moment she learned how puzzle-extensive it was, you sure got hooked on these," Kirito remarked, causing Asuna's right brow to twitch.
"That's because you couldn't even go into a room you paid for without a puzzle to unlock it-who does that?" She huffed, eyes flicking towards Sachi, though after the third glance, Asuna gasped and nearly dropped her cube. "H-how did you do that so quickly!?"
Kizmel and Kirito shared a strange look, then leaned over to see Sachi had completed a Sudoku page in less than a minute, a pencil balanced between two fingers. Kirito swiped the page to double-check what he read, and then sat it down sharply to look at his girlfriend in complete shock.
"W-what? I actually did a lot of these back in school whenever I had a free period," Sachi scratched her cheek, giving them a cutesy, innocent smile. "I guess all those pages stuck with me even in SAO, heehee..."
"Quite the sharp mind, to form so many answers so quickly," Kizmel praised Sachi with a proud smile. "I see now why Kirito is so fond of you,"
"Well, I have to be better than the Black Swordsman at something, right?" Sachi giggled, her cheeks pinker, making Asuna roll her eyes with a laugh.
"What about it, Kirito? Aren't you going to beat her before she upstages you?" Asuna teased, the girls putting him on the spot as he gulped, feeling like he was thrown to the wolves.
"Nope, I'm not taking this fight," And then went straight back to finishing his dango, looking the other way. He can solve these puzzles no problem. Swallowing his last bite, he eyed the Sudoku sheets, snatched one and a pencil, and quickly pushed his brain to its limits. "Just you watch, I'll solve more puzzles than these three combined."
Happy to see Kirito now on-board, Sachi smiled and grabbed a new one to continue her work, curious to what the prizes were for their collective efforts.
|Jan. 23rd, 19:10|
"Hahahahaa, did you see your face~!?" Yuuki was almost doubled over in a fit of hysterics, she, Artorias, Ran, and Siune leaving a building that had quite the strange attraction, a maze of mirrors.
"Yes, I was very much aware of my face's condition when I had it nearly put through the mirror," Artorias rubbed his nose, even within a safe zone it felt like he had broken it. "Who puts a maze of mirrors in a Chinese-themed festival?"
"The type of person who designed a game to be self-sufficient, and like mirror mazes," Ran tried as best she could but couldn't hold back a few snickers.
"You're laughing too, aren't you?" He pointed to her with a flat stare, forcing her to turn her back to him.
"N-no, of course not, I-I wouldn't... m-make fun of what happened to you," She wheezed a bit, hiding herself behind Siune who giggled behind her hand.
"I hate all of you," Rolling his eyes, pretending it wasn't a little bit funny, Artorias eyed their surroundings. "Cupcake, where to next?"
"Um..." She hung herself off Artorias by placing an arm around his neck, swinging a little to scan the busy streets. "I dunno... there's still so much to do that two days doesn't feel like enough time to celebrate, you know?"
"What about over there," Siune pointed ahead to a large group of players all spaced out around what appeared to be a grand stage before a large decorative statue of a dragon that glowed like the sun.
The stage sat in front of a large dragon made of crystal, glowing golden from the lights emanating from the base. Lanterns were tied to the corners with decorative flowers laying around its serpentine-like body. Behind it was the sea and docks, streamers connecting from post-to-post and over the stage itself.
"A stage?" Ran titled her head a little. "Is it a live performance?"
"Oooh, that's perfect! Alright, we have our new target team, move out!" Yuuki declared, index finger jutting outward.
"You heard the Cupcake, let's hustle," Artorias copied her, marching beside her toward the stage, feeling a little uncomfortable with so many around. "Ugh, that's a sour feeling..."
"Hm?" Yuuki prompted, still looking straight ahead.
"No, nothing, just... bad time for reminiscing," He kept his tone vague on the matter.
"You've been on stage before? Do you play?" Ran asked curiously, the four now in line with each other.
That brought a snort from Artorias, giving a lazy smile. "Pfft, not a chance, I will admit my musical talents are... very limited, shall we say? Boss is better at it than me, but I've had some... prior experiences with an adoring crowd and the spotlight," Though, the less said about it the better. "I'd rather not bring it up,"
Seeing that it made him uncomfortable, Yuuki smiled softly, calming her energetic side down for a moment to look at him. "You want to leave this for another day?" They were here to have fun after all. "There's a whole bunch more to explore!"
"Plus, we could go for a meal, can't we?" Siune prompted too.
"You can pick since you know the best way to find deals," Ran smiled supportively, coughing for a moment into her hand.
Genuinely moved by their kindness, Artorias laughed half-heartedly, "Look, I appreciate it, really, but go on, enjoy yourselves, I'll cheer from the side lines," They then gave him a strange look. "Yeah Shorty, you, I saw how your eyes lit up at the prospect of a stage, you can play, can't you?"
With the tables officially turned on the co-leader of the Sleeping Knights, Ran anxiously squirmed in place, playing with a strand of hair. "We-well, I took lessons before-SAO, so I haven't touched an instrument in a while." That near-slip-up made the girls tense briefly, though Artorias took note of this he pretended not to. "I wouldn't say my talents are by any means professional-"
"Woman, it is a Goddamn festival," Artorias tapped his knuckle into his open palm. "Everyone here's having the time of their lives, good and bad, hell, I saw Klein and Agil drinking by an open bar with Klein singing... erm... well, you've all heard what nails on a chalkboard sounds like, right?" Dismissing with a wave, he continued. "It'll fine, show your stuff, live a little!"
"I dunno..." Ran bit her lip, the idea was tantalizing...
"If I may?" Siune raised her hand slightly. "I've played the wind flute myself, so if you want to perform, I don't mind stepping in to form a duet with you, Ran,"
"Really? I... uh," Ran was then assaulted by her sister grabbing her shoulders, looking into her sister's uncertain orbs gleefully.
"Come on, Ran! You always tried your hardest at practice, and at home you were really good too! You'll knock the crowd dead!" Yuuki agreed with Artorias's view on the matter. This was a festival, and Ran and Siune could bring even more flair together.
Closing her eyes, Ran combed her fingers through her hair, holding them there as a timid blush crossed her cheeks, eyeing them with a pretty cool gaze. "I guess... with all that you're saying... it'd be lame if I just chickened out, huh?"
Settled, the group moved around to the side of the stage to see how the two could participate. Currently, the player on stage was sat on a stool, playing a lute with an... ax-head attached to one side, the other was perfectly flat, an identical ax-guitar slung over his back. The man was able to wow the crowd with his performance and could bring the latest hits straight to the enemies. Some even danced in the courtyard space available given they were close to the shipping port.
Paying a fee, Ran and Siune were shown past the NPC a wall lined with various instruments that upon hitting a few icon prompts, could materialize a copy to play on-stage. The next person on stage gave them quite the surprise as they saw the flowing white cape and feathered hat.
"Hey, it's Yuna! Heey Yuna!" Yuuki hollered, waving her hand as the brunette turned with a look of shock herself before she kindly waved back to the group, Nautilus giving Artorias a curt wave as he stood off to the side to watch as well.
The mystery player with the battle-ax-lute combo gave Yuna a polite nod, expression obscured behind a knight helmet, he left the stage to allow Yuna her time in the spotlight, the whole crowd roaring and chanting her name given how famous she was.
"She's performing a new song tonight," Nautilus pointed out, having walked over to chat with Yuna's guildmates. "She's been working tirelessly on it too, even I wasn't allowed to hear any of it,"
"This better not get emotional," Artorias retorted, making Nautilus chuckle.
"You and me both,"
"Shh, it's starting!" Yuuki hushed the pair, seeing Yuna take a deep breath before the microphone as she plucked the strings on her lute.
Yuna began to sing a gentle, almost melancholy song, each pluck of the strings forming a melody that felt sombre at first, but when woven to her lyrics became clear, it was a 'Thank You', gratitude meant to reach out to the heart it was for. Nautilus was speechless, a few tears forming in his eyes as he rubbed them against his sleeve. Yuuki cupped her hands close to her heart, feeling and reflecting on many things that have happened since SAO began, her sister and Siune appeared to be much the same, making Yuuki's smile warmer.
Whenever she looked to Artorias... and saw his eyes glistening with tears, practically on the verge of escaping. His mouth remained ajar ever-so-slightly, and his eyes lingered on Yuna while his hands were balled up so tight they turned white. Yuuki wondered what was going through his head, what was forcing him to hold back those tears? Then again, she had no right to pry, not with the secrets she kept...
Blinking out of his trace, Artorias quickly banished his tears, seeing that his right hand had been weaved with Yuuki's fingers, gaze straight ahead. Artorias didn't say anything, though, feeling her hand in his made him calmer, safer even. Had he gotten lost in his own head for too long, Yuna's song might've broken him.
"Smile... For... You...~" Yuna trailed off, playing the last few notes.
In response to having their hearts torn out by her beautiful vocals, combined with the large boon to their stats due to the Chant skill, the whole crowd drowned out the whole section of the festival alone with their cheers and cries of gratitude. This led to Yuna blushing brightly and giving them all a toothy smile, waving and bowing at their praise. Some even threw flowers of all things, causing a round of laughter to follow.
Artorias cleared his throat, "Hate to say it, Cupcake, but no one's gonna top her," Even Ran and Siune were in tears as they gushed over Yuna's performance, the blue and white-clad girl laughing and politely easing their stress given they had to follow up on that display.
"Man, sis and Siune are so screwed..." Yuuki clicked her tongue, then laughed a bit. "Aw well, that just means they have competition now, that's a good motivator!"
"You're either too optimistic or cruel to be sending them up there," Artorias deadpanned, Nautilus nodded in agreement.
"No kidding, that's just heartless,"
"Nah, they'll be fiiine...!" Yuuki waved dramatically.
"Music's all about expression," Joining their group, Yuna moved in between Nautilus and Artorias. "They were nervous but they both looked eager, I could tell,"
"The musical maestro has spoken," Giving a shrug, Artorias decided to have a little faith. "Do your best you two!"
Ran held onto a guitar while Siune took up the wind flute, brushing some of her dark locks away from her glasses. Ran took a deep breath, face still a faint pink pigment before so many people. She hadn't played a guitar since being hospitalized, rather, since Serene Garden. The last person that heard her play was Merida, and the song back then would be perfect for now, especially since Siune knew it, otherwise, their performance would be enough to bring tears of laughter from the crowd.
With her hands on the strings, Ran felt a strange warmth over her shoulder, as if someone was watching her closely, curious to see the process of performing up close. Strangely, it gave the raven-brunette the confidence to lift her gaze from her hands, the fingers no longer trembling. Immediately, she began to play, the tempo faster, more upbeat compared to Yuna's gentle and heart throbbing song.
"Ah!" Hearing this familiar tune, Yuuki saw that those standing in pairs across the open space were beginning to move to the tempo, and she got a silly idea that she didn't really think too much of. "Hey, Artorias, come with me!"
"Eh?" Not at all following, he saw her tug his hand forward, inching toward the open space. Meeting her vermillion eyes, then flashing his own light-blue orbs to the crowd, his feet locked up. "Uh-uh, no-no-no, I ain't a dancer, never done it, ever, nada,"
"Come on," Her voice wasn't demanding, she simply gave an encouraging tug. "Believe it or not, I can dance, have a little faith,"
Still very uncertain, Artorias reluctantly let the Absolute Sword bring him out further, thankfully, no one was really focusing on them, rather, Ran and her good vocals while she and Siune played an alternate set of instruments to the original song. Yuuki adjusted herself, smiling constantly in contrast to Artorias's neutral-yet-anxious expression as he felt her lithe hands move his right to her waist and intertwine her right with his left.
"See, not that hard, now, just follow my lead, like the overused saying goes, just like a battle," Yuuki wasn't making any silly jokes or remarks, placing her left hand on his shoulder, bringing their bodies much closer.
"R-right..." He murmured, watching Yuuki bring her foot back, so he followed only for her hand to lightly tap his neck, forcing him to look at her.
"Don't look, just focus on the awesome girl in front of you," She teased a little.
"...are they behind you...?" He remarked, making her step on his foot on purpose, though the light banter did reduce his nerves. "Worth it,"
"Bleh," She stuck her tongue out as any modest lady would.
One step forward, one step back, pivot slowly, repeat. It was as basic as dancing can be, but Artorias was gradually getting the hang of it. Naturally, his eyes wanted to analyse their foot movements, his analytical brain was wired that way; to absorb all the information set in front of him, but to have his vision limited to his partner's eyes forced him to instinctually know movements he's never performed. It was strange, foreign, and new.
Locked in this pace that gradually quickened to match the beat of Ran and Siune's song, Artorias's feet nearly tripped a few times, but Yuuki had a firm hold on him, helping to guide his movements. The longer he stared at her, the more he realized how little he knew of her; she was a natural at teaching, not just in competitive fighting, and she was far more girly than her tomboyish attitude let on. Even now, as close as they were, Artorias felt his chest warm up being fixated on her facial features, from her silky purple hair to those deep vermillion eyes and fair skin, down to the sweet smile she had stuck to her cheeks.
"...wow..." Was his face warmer? No, definitely not. "...you're really good at this..." Came his hushed reply.
"...you're a fast learner yourself, dancing and music are much the same; you have to feel the emotions and drive behind your actions, no different than swinging a sword, it's all imprinted into your body with enough practice," Yuuki answered softly, squeezing his hand as she threw in a few new moves to spice up the dance while they turned, completely absorbed in their own world. "...and living in moments like this are far better than standing by, even if you stumble or make a mistake, so long as your heart's in it, what mistakes you make don't matter..."
"When'd you get so philosophical?" Another thing Artorias added to that list of mysteries, though, her giggle made his whole chest flutter.
"I could say the same about your dancing," She teased, staring into his eyes for the longest time. Right now, her heart felt right at home.
Artorias's own couldn't agree more.
To Be Continued...
As annoying as this was to put together, I really enjoyed this collection of moments with many characters we've seen or heard of. Shirayuki, Miya, and even Kizmel made an appearance. That last scene with Yuuki and Artorias was just too freakin' perfect! You may be wondering about Daora and Mito, well, we'll be getting to them soon, with both playing important roles in this arc. So I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; see ya in the next chapter, Misfits!
066 - A Request For Thee
During their own adventure around Luminary, Daora and Mito have an encounter with the last person they expected to meet...