[Alfheim Online, New Aincrad, Floor 1 Coliseum]
[Malzeno's POV]
After my glorious victory, and subsequent scorn from the adoring crowd, I managed to return to my friends only for the unexpected to block my path. I stood still, blinking several times to process my surroundings as I was compressed from every angle. "Uh, why am I being smothered in a human cage? Not that I'm complaining..."
We weren't among the seats but the doorway leading to them, so I was wrapped in hugs from Yuuki, Siune, Nori, and even the guys offered a firm hand on my shoulders, Tecchi placing his atop my head given his height. It felt very warm now, both for my body, and my face as I felt really embarrassed about this.
"Cause, we wanna know if you're okay, dummy," Nori nudged my side, frowning like the rest over my apparent 'wellness', or lack thereof.
"We didn't hear all of it, but you lost your composure at the end of the battle, so we naturally felt concern over your health," Siune explained better for me, again, embarrassed I had three girls basically smothering me.
"Yuuki was looking all worried too, worse than us, anyway," Jun shrugged, again, trying to appear aloof I imagine.
"W-well, duh, I'm supposed to worry about my comrades!" She deflected from the truth anyway, she knew what I once was after all. Then, I felt her arms squeeze my waist tighter, looking serious. "And I don't want to see you brooding over whatever was said down there; you can talk to us too, y'know?"
'I'm fine' is what I was going to roll out automatically, but I clamped my lips shut, feeling a weight in my chest ease a little. True, Shinku's words got to me, due to the fact he was connected to ArcSol too. Sighing slowly to steady my breath, I gave them all a gentle smile.
"...it's alright, I just lost my composure for a second... but thank you," That finally got them to smile, releasing me.
"There's m-more to this..." Talken pointed out, but nodded understandingly. "But this isn't our place to pry i-into your personal life,"
"But don't be afraid to approach us if you need it," Tecchi assured me from behind, and I nodded to them both.
"Right, always good to have several therapists on hand," I remarked, getting a few chuckles from the lot. Slapping my hands, I rubbed them together greedily. "Now then! Let's go see what lies ahead, I've got bets to nail down, and people to upset, hahaha!"
"You shouldn't get too invested, gambling is a terrible addiction for someone so young," Siune gestured with her finger like a teacher would during a lecture to me. "That goes for you too, Jun, Nori,"
"I haven't done anything illegal/Y-you can't prove I have - and it's just bets!"Nori and Jun excused. Nori appearing aloof, arms crossed, and Jun expressing a look of nervousness.
A few of us expressed a light sigh, myself stepping forward beside Yuuki with a devilish grin that could match Argo's. "What's a fighting tournament without a few bets? I'm banking on Cupcake and Blackie to bring me my fortune, so I'm set!"
"You're using me like a betting horse?" Yuuki hummed in thought, eyes narrowed slightly as I felt a chill run up my back.
"C-come on, you're making it out to be worse than it actually is - think of it, funds for the guild - yes! Exactly that!" Rapidly, I scrambled for a defence, not wanting to invoke her wrath. She's scary for a short-stack. "Right, Jun, Nori?" All I received was a dust cloud, the pair having fled back to their seats. "Eh?" Whipping my head around, I started to sweat anxiously when Talken and Tecchi backed up with timid smiles, leaving me with Siune's not-so-friendly smile and Yuuki's questioning look. "...well, seems I've just be notified of my associates sudden retirement from the betting scene - I have to say though, off topic, that is a peculiar place for a piano,"
For a split second, their gazes raised to where mine was, and I took my chance, immediately doing the only sensible and mature thing to do in this situation. And I politely excused myself silently with my Sprint skill straight for the exit.
"What-?" Siune was caught off guard by this. Key point here, 'Siune' was caught off guard.
"Grah, get your butt back here, I am no one's betting horse, you sharp-mouthed jerk!" Vermillion eyes were scorching the back of my head.
"Sorry, what was that, couldn't hear you - byyyye~!" When it doubt, grab your money, grab your shit, and run like your life has some numerical merit.
"KAZUKI!"
It was later in the day, and over half the battles were through, Klein had cleared his without much trouble, same for Yuuki, which was to no one's surprise, I felt bad for the player that had to fight her, yikes. Sinon, who had recently cleared her match, sat down behind me, one of her cat ears twitching with curiosity at the red welt on the side of my head that refused to disappear... I hate this game. "What happened to you?"
"Gambling is a serious and dangerous profession, my dear Sniper," I.E. Yuuki's as good with a fist as she is with a sword. And with such a distance to close too.
Said 'lovely' girl was sat beside me, happily snacking on more dango I had bought as a means to persuade her to allow me to continue to bet on her, so long as she got a cut, but with how much I'll be making from the idiots who betted against me, not a terrible loss. "Hm-hm-hm~!" Yuuki hummed sweetly, it was adorable, but again, I might've had head trauma.
"Hm, I see," Sinon then eyed the arena as the crowd went wild once more.
~The match was over in mere seconds! I can see why he held his own against so many in the first round!~ Cliffheart gushed as Kirito whipped his sword to one side, casting away the sparks from the black blade to sheath it again. Dammit, why does he look cool doing that - come on! ~The winner is Kirito! He advances on to the next round!~
"There he goes again, showing off like an idiot..." Lizbeth grumbled under her breath. "Like, we get it, save the showboating for the finals at least,"
"I thought his fight was pretty cool, even if it was extremely short," Silica smiled warily at the pinkette who rolled her eyes.
"By about ten-point-eight seconds to be exact," Asuna, ever the studious one, provided. "But he doesn't seem to be giving it his all, I guess he wants to wait for the tougher opponents,"
"You're no better, Asuna, you defeated your guy in nearly half that time with those vicious slashes," Sinon pointed out, making me nod.
"She's right, you got really angsty, almost as much as me," Then I smirked a bit. "Did he hit on you?"
"P-perhaps! And besides, I didn't want to drag out the fight, so I took the most direct method to overwhelm his defences, that's all!" Asuna blushed a bit, crossing her arms with that 'Princess' stature of hers.
Many of us didn't look convinced. Who would be? She totally lost her cool and was hit on by a fanboy. Lizbeth then chose that moment to teasingly nudge the bluette's side. "Come on, don't be so modest! It felt good getting to show off to an audience, or maybe you were itching to impress a certain someone, hmm~?" Liz's expression could be summed up as, 'the cat that swallowed a canary'. It was enough for me and Nori to start snickering at.
Asuna's face was quite the picture, stammering as she waved her hands frantically to deny the truth, if only Leafa was here, she'd totally get in on the jabs but her match was after Kirito's. "-I-It's not like that, I swear it isn't!"
"Sure-sure, whatever helps ya rest easy," Lizbeth patted her best friend's back, but Asuna slumped, whining into her hands as steam rose from her face.
"I hate you so much..." She muttered, making Liz's cheeky grin wider.
During all this, I felt a tug on my sleeve, drawing my eyes to Yuuki who was watching Kirito pass by his sister, the two exchanging a high-five to switch out for matches. "Say... who's stronger; Me or Kirito?" She sounds almost lost in thought when she asked, and my focus immediately went to hers.
"Uh, hrm... that's a tricky one?" That earned me glares from Siune and Nori, like threw ice down my shirt. "What? It's a matter of two the strongest players in tournament, sue me for wanting to properly digest this question in full,"
Giving it some thought, it really was a tricky question; a match between them could go either way, I'm no mathematician, but even the slightest alteration of stat allocation spread across gear and skills could ultimately sway the outcome. I deadpanned; these two are such stat addicts...
Seeing that Yuuki had drawn her eyes to mine, I gave her the best answer I could. "Honestly? ...you," She opened her mouth but nothing came out, but I put my hand up on reflex to hold her thoughts. "And this isn't biased or anything, it's just...
"Come on, you gotta have a good reason after all that suspense!" Jun whined, the silence from the others accumulating to his tone.
I crossed my arms, staring down at Kirito disappearing inside the arena walls. "Look, my reason is more a speculative guess on what I've seen of Kirito; Argo, Asuna, and Sinon will get it, but... Kirito is different than the Black Swordsman that was left behind in SAO,"
The person that makes up 'Kirito the Black Swordsman' is embedded into the Kirito today's instincts, his fight or flight. That Kirito won't be coming out anytime soon. Fixing Yuuki a smile and wink, I added. "If that Kirito was here, I'd say he be the one to win, simply based on that one aspect. Still... doesn't mean he won't keep you on your toes, Cupcake, best not let your ego bite you,"
"Pfft, like you're one to talk about egos," She snorted, shoving my side.
"Yes, but like you, I can back it up... plus it's fun seeing the looks of pure hatred on people's faces when I do," I smirked back. Behind me, Sinon seemed to get what I was vaguely eluding to, same with the others to a degree. But more so my boss who snuck back to sit with us, as well as Asuna and Yui who knew better than anyone else.
~-this concludes the first half of the United Duelling Tournament! What a blast, there's many highlights our staff will be reviewing and chatting about right now! But if you're up for your own shot at some fame, the arena is open to exhibition matches for the rest of the afternoon!~ Cliffheart stated loudly.
~All those that made it through to the 3rd round, be sure to sign in tomorrow at the arena before 10:00 AM. Rest well!~ As always, Thinker was calm and compassionate, that hasn't changed. Hopefully, with Argo's help, we'll get to chat with him again, maybe even Yulier will be there.
Across from me, while players roamed around the outside of the arena to the festivities, some returning to the Town of Beginnings, the Sleeping Knights were busy re-enacting both Yuuki's fight, and my glorious battle amongst themselves; mainly the guys for the girls' amusement. The rest of my friends either elsewhere or watching from the side-lines. I could see Kirito being laughed at by Agil, Asuna and Yui while Klein had him in a headlock.
"You shouldn't mope alone," Behind me, and startling me, was Sinon, herself leaning against the back of the bench.
"Uh-huh, you're one to talk..." I reminded the cold sniper, earning a flick to the temple. "Ow... worth it,"
"So, what about her?" Sinon directed the conversation as I sat, staring ahead.
"'Her who'?" Another flick, so I begrudgingly answered. "You know flicking me isn't helping,"
I heard her sigh softly. "Yuuki; Asuna's told me some about her, mainly the ties you have with her," Somehow, I feel Asuna's told Sinon more than that, but I doubt she'll admit as much. "What do you feel about her?"
"What's with everyone's assumption I 'feel' something for Cupcake?" My joke put my body on ice, seeing Sinon's murderous fingers raise, so I dropped the act, cupping my hands to fidget nervously. "Hrm... would you believe me if I said I don't know?"
"I'm so unsure of myself, if what I am feeling is romantic attraction or not. It could be I'm attracted to her figure, her personality, all the above... or it's admiration for what she's been fighting this time, doing things I needed so many people to pull me forward to do alone," My face felt warmer now, and my heart was going crazy with how flustered I was. "G-guess I'm just scared cause I don't have a straight answer in my head, haha..."
"Remember what I first taught you after I killed you in GGO?" Sinon asked as if I'd ever forget that ass-kicking she called 'training'. Nodding to avoid another flick of her fingers.
"'A sharpshooter's biggest mistake is indecision', yes, I'm very much aware that same logic can be applied to relationships, thank you, Captain Obvious," My snark didn't earn another strike, instead, she leaned over so I could see her critical eyes lighten up, and a tiny smile of understanding emerge. "I'm not you, Sinon, you know it's admiration you have for Kirito, I... I don't know what I'm feeling for Yuuki,"
"That's okay," She pressed a hand to my shoulder supportively. "But... do you really want to wait forever to find out?"
'Forever' isn't something I can be certain of when concerning Yuuki either. Looking up from my hands, I saw Yuuki in the distance laughing hysterically at the guys, wiping a tear from her eye as Asuna and the rest stood around them, enjoying the show that might actually be a ritual dance with how awkward it looked.
A small laugh escaped me at this, then I looked at Sinon, "I'll... figure something out when this tournament is over, I think that's everyone's focus anyway,"
Sinon agreed with a nod, letting my shoulder go. "Want to socialize with them? Or ditch for something to eat?" So that's why she was here...
"Right, fine, I'll pay since you gave me the advice without much brain trauma," Honestly, girls can be so manipulative. "Did my boss put you up to this?"
"She's waiting by one of the food stalls," Sinon added.
I could only sigh in defeat, throwing my hands up, "Figures..."
[To Be Continued...]
[Author's Notes]
Sinon's the wingman Malzeno needs, I like writing her, the cool but compassionate sniper. Seems Mal can't put his feelings in order... yet. Just what other devilish plans have I got in store? Will writing two SAO stories stress me out? Who knows...
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support; see ya in the next chapter, Players!