|Sword Art Online, Floor 51, Town of Luminary|
|Jan. 23rd, 19:15|
"Hahaha, these weaklings can't hold a candle to Barbarous!" Daora gleefully marched on, content with his high-streak of wins against players who weren't expecting an unarmed fight from the wolf-masked man.
Mito followed him silently, clearly weighing a lot on her mind; his fights were impressive, he wasn't as impulsive as he might've been all the way back on Floor One when they reunited without realizing it. "His strength is incredible, even compared to the likes of Artorias or Nagi, maybe... he doesn't need it..." Before she could dwell on this further, she bumped into his chest as he stared at her.
"Hey, what are you staring into space for? This is a festival not a funeral!" He gave a gruff reply, shaking Mito from her thoughts.
"I-it's nothing," She replied curtly, stepping into pace with him. "I've just... never been to a festival like this before," Her eyes wandered the streets, taking in every inch of colour and spectacle there is. "Gaming conventions are vastly different from this,"
"If that's the problem, then come on!" Grabbing her hand, Daora tugged her towards whatever caught his eye the most. "Quit staring into space overthinking everything and enjoy it instead!"
His rough pulling didn't concern her, and despite his brash tone, it was enough to keep her interested in the festival as a whole, her hand gripping back as she quickly fell into pace with him once more. During their travels, Mito eyed something that stuck out like a sore thumb, quite vertically too, pulling Daora to a stop.
"Since you're so fixated on strength, why not the oldest test known to man?" She gave a sly smirk, gesturing to the Chinese-decorated High Striker, crystals acting as the counter lights along the sides towards the bell mounted at the top.
"Hahaha, now that's more like it-you've got great tastes!" Daora slapped his hands together, rubbing them in preparation.
Lining up to test their luck, Daora and Mito finally made it to the front, a handful watching and observing all those willing to put their strength stat to the test for pride more than anything. Mito took the mallet first, eyeing Daora who gave two thumbs up to encourage her, eager to see her strength. Mito's vermillion eyes travelled up the length of the high striker, feeling a nervous pit form but took her place before the target.
Her muscles tensed and with an overhead strike that blurred from the speed of which she moved, almost like a downward spike with her scythe, she struck the target and sent the dial shooting up the mast. In total, there were ten levels of strength, and hers struck just above the fifth, which for someone like her who allocated her stats evenly among her core stats, that was surprising.
A few applauded her, seeing Daora approach her with a short laugh. "Hah, you got higher than I was expecting, good work!"
"I'm not as strong as you though, not by a longshot..." Though, she did appear bashful by his praise, smiling a little hand offering out the mallet. "Show me what you got,"
"I'm gonna blow this game away!" Throwing his off-hand wide, he declared it for all to see. "I am Kushala Daora, the Lord of Wolves, the strongest player in SAO!" Then, a furious silver flame burned over his body, dramatically increasing his bravado and nothing more. "Hraaaaah!" Striking down the target with enough force to lift his feet off the ground, Daora sent the dial flying up the mast, surpassing Mito's which she wasn't surprised by.
Then, the dial struck the bell so hard that it sent it flying into Luminary somewhere with a comedic 'ding'. "Ehh...?" Mito and Daora shared their disbelief.
The crowd was either stunned to silence or muttering in shock over the raw power behind Daora's strength alone. The NPC hadn't turned and noticed yet, so Daora quickly discarded the hammer and grabbed Mito by the shoulders to throw her over the guard rail and push through the crowd, laughing hysterically. "Next time, make it a more worthy challenge!" He reprimanded the crowd and fled with Mito by his side.
Mito stifled a snort, drawing Daora's head to see her unable to hold back a contagious laugh from spilling out, her cheeks red as her laughter only escalated, eyes closed in an attempt to control her outburst. "Y-you dummy...! Hahahaa!"
Running away from that disaster led them to the commercial district nearby, passing across the bridge that too was decorated with streamers and lanterns suspended below as the sea stretched out towards other smaller islands and the edge of the floor, a distant, dark spire on the horizon. Mito stared at it for the longest time before her lips parted.
"Do you think-ah!" Jumping, Mito stumbled back when she bumped into someone, quickly waving her hands out a little. "Sorry,"
"It is fine, I'm unharmed-huh?" The person that she stumbled into didn't lock eyes with Mito, rather, the stoic wolf-pelt-wearing player beside her. Daora too gave the girl an unreadable silence, then he jabbed a finger at her with a surprised noise.
"HaAH, you!? Motaro!" He exclaimed at the girl with an orange cursor. Only, players with those cursor colours can't enter towns, meaning... she was an NPC.
She was shorter than Daora, down to his shoulder. The girl had shoulder-length raven hair and matching onyx eyes fixed into a once cold glare, and a faded scar across her right cheek to her nose. Most notable about her attire was she looked strikingly similar to Shirayuki only with the Kanji on the back slashed. Hotaru, the former shinobi of Sunsinger Village.
"Wrong, my name is Hotaru," She corrected him, looking around pensively. "...the others are not with you,"
"Like I need them to take you on!" Daora puffed out his chest, but again, Hotaru was unphased by the threat.
"You players cannot harm anyone within Safe Havens, and if you could, your cursor would turn orange and you'd be either killed or chased out of town by the guards," She gestured to her chest. "By all means, attack me if you must,"
This string of sentences finally pulled Mito from her thoughts on who this girl was, only having heard of her name from Nagi, and that she worked with a player killer that wasn't affiliated with Laughing Coffin. "Hold on, you... you know what we are?" Buzz words like 'Player', 'Cursors', and 'Safe Havens' weren't concepts that triggered dialogue with NPCs, even the advanced ones like Shirayuki or Kizmel. Somehow, Hotaru was completely aware of these game concepts!
"Yes, Evet has taught me much of the truth behind Aincrad... Sword Art Online, as you tend to call it," Neither of them missed the venom behind her phrasing of the game. "Unlike my people you commune with, I am no longer ignorant to this truth, though it does explain many strange things about you,"
"Huh, your AI's become self-aware against your own programming...?" Daora hummed deeply, cocking his head in one of his rare moments of programming knowledge. "The system hasn't tried to fix it either... that's cool!" And he happily approved, twinkling with a mixture of delight and fascination.
"You're... not bothered by this factor?" Hotaru questioned, her brow furrowed.
"I mean, it's strange as it's a new concept to us, but..." Mito rubbed the back of her neck, rolling her eyes a little. "I mean, with how intelligent many NPCs are in SAO, I guess discovering one that had gained some semblance of sentience isn't too surprising. The system itself is meant to be self-sustaining, so creating an AI capable of independent thought isn't impossible,"
"Exactly!" Though, Daora paused, looking behind Hotaru. "Where's that jerk with the bow? Uh, um... Eren?"
"No," Hotaru retorted flatly.
"Evan!"
"No,"
"Erm... Event?"
"That's not a name," Sighing into her palm, exasperated already, Hotaru merely turned back towards the commercial district. "Forget you saw me, I am only here on an important mission, you will never see me again, and I'd appreciate neither of you uttering a word of my presence,"
"Wait a sec," Mito raised her hand out to stop her, selfishly curious to learn more about this NPC, and maybe a little wary given her association with Evet. If Mito could learn more it could benefit Nagi and the others greatly. "Why are you in town? Are you gathering supplies?"
"That is none of your... no, I'm not," She quickly turned to leave the situation but Mito asked again.
"Is it for Evet? Did he need something?" Mito felt Daora's eyes on her but she made a subtle gesture to let her speak.
"No, he... he does not know I'm here, I... would prefer it that way," Hotaru may come off as cold and abrasive, but her new-found sentience came with one flaw; she had a human's tells for certain emotions. Like anxiety and worry in which she was displaying in spades. "I am here for... something, what that something is... is the problem,"
It clicked for Mito there and then, "You're... looking for a gift, because of the festival?" This time, Hotaru didn't speak, merely nodding her head once quickly. "Do you know what he likes?"
"...yes, but nothing he cannot gain himself or already have, I... am at a loss, and my time is dwindling," She was getting worried that if she spent any longer loitering around, her window would close.
Hotaru was here looking for a gift. Suddenly, the fearful unknown surrounding the girl vanished, Mito still felt apprehensive but inspecting the girl closer, she was genuinely lost and confused. If she only recently knew the truth behind SAO, then all of this was likely overwhelming her, seeing NPCs that don't act like her, players that treat her kind like objects, and some with genuine kindness, all of those experiences were overwhelming. She was no different from any other player here.
"Hrm... ah hah, I got it-I'm a genius!" Daora swung his finger to the sky, looking to Mito. "I have an idea, it's perfect!"
"What do you have in mind?" Mito, now somewhat invested in this, turned to hear him out.
"It's on the other side of the city but I saw it on a colourful map with a picture of something I know from real life!" Daora vaguely elaborated.
"You... why would you help me?" Hotaru turned to face them fully, confused and anxious to accept their offers. "I'm not your ally, if we were to meet within the wilderness one day, it may end in conflict, you risk exposing your weaknesses to your enemy,"
"I've never met you, and yes, I guess that's what makes me a little cautious too," Mito admitted, but gave a small smile. "But I've seen others like you, maybe not to the same extent, but I've genuinely put my trust in them and one had saved my life, so I'm not opposed to helping you with something as simple as an act of kindness,"
"Don't think that because we're helping you that you'll get the drop on us! I'm ready to fight whenever you are, just don't pull some underhanded tricks, if we're to fight, I want to see you attack me head-on!" Daora declared, stomping his foot, causing many to jump across the bridge that trembled slightly. "But today, I'm feeling generous, so I'll help you, then you'll owe me next time!"
"Ah, I see..." Hotaru honestly let out a breath that was closer to a laugh, shaking her head. "I suppose we all have our own agendas... but, I appreciate the offer, I am out of options, so if you believe you have an answer, I will honour that debt,"
No quest marker appeared, this was as simple as a request between two players. With a deal made, Daora turned to march away from the commercial district, perplexing the girls who ultimately followed his gut instinct on the matter.
|Floor 51, Legacy Shrine|
|Jan. 23rd, 19:38|
Leading the girls across to the harbour of Lumina, they travelled to the opposite end of the city where a grand archway led out over a bridge across the moat towards a few smaller, interconnected islands, one of which was large enough to have its own cobblestone footpath around the outskirts, decorated with warm lanterns and decorative charms hanging from the trees that hung out slightly over the paths.
One main path led to the middle of the island where a sizable shrine could be found. Many players picking pieces of coloured paper with messages written onto them, hanging them from strangely Sakura trees, their branches hanging low and in bloom even now. To the left was an NPC shrine maiden who appeared to be manning a shop cart with various, colourful charms.
"The shrine is called a himorogi as it's just a large altar. You can hang wishes on the trees or look for a fortune," Daora pointed out each key station around the shrine, again, taking the Reaper by surprise at his wealth of knowledge.
"How do you know so much about shrines? I didn't peg you as the type to care for this sorta thing," She admitted.
"Huh? Why wouldn't I? ...my mother works at one," He murmured, shaking his head irritably before pointing to the clerk. "Go there and find a Omamori that suits... whatever is name is; they're said to provide a protective benefit to whoever has it," Daora explained, waving his index finger in Hotaru's curious, inexperienced eyes. "And make sure you come back to the same shrine every year to replace it to ward off bad luck from the previous year. If you're gonna get rid of it, burn it to release the spiritual presence within them! Also, why is there a Japanese shrine in a Chinese-inspired floor!?"
"I see, so they are a scared item of your culture, I will treat it carefully," Hotaru bowed her head and quickly jogged over to inspect the various, colourful Omamori on display, sealed in their packages with decorative colours and words inscribed into a piece of wood.
While Hotaru was gone, Mito stared at Daora, unsure of what to say. There was still much she didn't know about him, only what time they shared in that arcade or as teammate through this death game.
"I helped at the shrine my mother works at, she's weak and doesn't stop working, so I know this stuff," His voice was gruff, clearly tense over the reminder. "These charms help make her stronger but they don't last, so I'll get stronger than her so she doesn't need them,"
"...you're strong, Daora, even if this is a game," Mito admitted, giving a small smile to reassure him. "I'm not sure if this helps, but I think once you meet her again, she'll definitely agree,"
"..." He huffed, crossing his arms. "O-of course she will be! I'll become my namesake, the Steel Dragon, and conquer this game with my bare hands!"
"Just don't let it go to your head, idiot," She lightly slapped his chest, giving a smug smirk to his challenging cackle. Looking around, the atmosphere was pretty relaxing, maybe now Mito could do this. "Say, before I forget, Daora-"
"I've made my choice," Hotaru appeared once more like a phantom, clutching a wrapped gift in her hands, her features having softened a bit. "A charm to offer him protection against evil. Evet has gone through much since I met him, even if only a little, I wish for him to be at ease from time-to-time,"
Mito smiled at her, "That's a great choice, maybe next time he should do the same for you," They seemed close giving all Hotaru was going through to provide the strange orange player with a gift.
"Hm..." She smiled softly at this, then it fell back to a neutral frown. "Thank you both for your aid, I must go before he grows suspicious of my absence. If we do meet again, I pray it will be under better circumstances," With that, she quickly ran to leave, stopping just after four steps. "Tell Nagi and Artorias... I wish we could speak as we have," Without anymore context, Hotaru's cursor fled amongst the people and trees.
"To think an NPC could be aware of SAO as a whole, does that mean... she knows what'll happen whenever the game's cleared?" Mito had to voice, the question picking at her mind.
"Hmph, no reason to worry over something ages away!" Daora dismissed, marching off to return to the main town. "Well? What were you gonna say before?"
"Huh? O-oh, nothing, it... it's nothing important," Mito shook her head, quickly moving into pace with him while her eyes narrowed down at her hands. "He doesn't need my help..."
While leaving to return to the night of games and other activities, someone had listened in to their conversation with delighted interest. They sat atop one of the trees tucked away from the road. Between their fingers they held a Shard of Railaan, having the community quest up on their menu, revealing the progress was slow and steadily rising towards completion. The display gave them a wicked and sharp smile, closing their fist around their own shard.
Then, they whistled a soft, eerie melody that hid itself among the music surrounding the shrine, as if death itself walked among the living.
To Be Continued...
A lovely time spent between Daora and Mito. Their personalities have always been a fun clash for me, Mito's seen more as withdrawn and independent with her old, mischievous self poking through while Daora is... well Daora, only now showing off more of his smarts than most give him credit for. Even a surprise return of Hotaru from all the way back to Midnight Hour, I really liked writing her awareness of SAO as a whole.
But something sinister is in the works as the event nears completion already. I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; see ya in the next chapter, Misfits!
067 - After Midnight
Determined to complete the event, all players present on Floor 51 clear the quest, causing the whole floor to erupt in a celebratory state like never before. Regrouping with the organizers for the final step of the event quest to restore the mural...