[OP-NK-F1] Part IV: A Faint Explanation

[Oikawa 1]

Rising from the sheets of his bed, Oikawa stretched out and yawned as slumber shed from his form like the skin of a snake. His hands reached his lids, twisting his eyes until the crust of sleep no longer lingered on his lids. Opening his eyes, he skimmed the room. The inn proved to be a lot cozier than he imagined originally. Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, he forced himself to stand and make himself presentable for today's endeavors. Swiping his menu, he switched from his night time clothes to his typical cloak and sword combination. Opting to wear one of his charmed rings this time around instead of donning his shield.

Stepping through the wooden frame, light cascaded the blonde as he stepped onto the dirt-covered road. Swiping the air, a menu suddenly blinked into view. Selecting the messenger function, he addressed the text to all those that occupied his friend list. This seemed very remniscent of his last meeting of sorts. Though at that time, his reason for calling the gathering was much less tense. Typing a rather brief message, he informed all of those who read to come and meet him at the edge of the forest governing the first floor. There, he would explain to all those in attendance the reasoning and explanation of how he obtained the orange diamond cursor that floated above his head.

Selecting send, he pushed out a bit further than his shop and found a nice shaded tree to sit beneath until someone arrived.

Edited May 30, 2016 by Oikawa

[Nikodemus_Blackwood 1]

Hearing the chime of his message system, Nikodemus opened it up and saw it was a mass broadcast to all players. Reading through the brief message, Nikodemus noticed the senders name and recognized it. Oikawa was a frontliner he had heard of from info brokers and other players. Wanting to know what the message was about, Nikodemus equipped his armor and headed from his shop on floor 7 down to floor 1 where the message said he would be present info. Arriving at the destination, Nikodemus sat down nearby and waited for more people to show up.

[Calrex 0]

"Guess it's about time..."

The bluenette already had a feeling that the time was coming sooner than later. Of course this would have been a better time than any. It wasn't many days before that he had spoken to the young man self-titled The Faint, discussing what exactly took place. He had done so, discussing the current state of affairs within the community trapped within the virtual prison that was Sword Art Online.

With a small sigh Calrex got to his feet, gazing at the monolith that was before him, the gigantic slate which showed all of the players both living and dead within Aincrad. Putting his left hand into his jacket pocket he ran his right across the surface, as if trying to tap into the memories of those he had known and lost within the game.

"Lindow...Azide...Ssendom...Zelrius...and countless more...there's too much death here in this world, and someone needs to bring it to an end...Xanatos, even though you're still missing I hope you haven't lost half as much of your ideals as I have..."

With one last glance before leaving he looked down at the malachite-colored shield pin that still rested at the foot of the stone before taking his leave. Exiting the Monument of Life Calrex pulled up his friends list, locking onto Oikawa's location as he made his way over to the outskirts of the forest. Recognizing the blonde that had come into view, as well as another player he had seen only once or twice before, he arrived. With a friendly, yet calm smile he nodded to the bearer of the Citrine Badge, "Guess today's the day huh?"

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru was snoring in his shop, his feet upon his counter with his familiar slumbering on his chest, when suddenly he received a message. He opened one eye, taking his left hand and flicking down the page, finding the message sent to him, and opened it. He read it groggily at first, seeing the words "explanation" and "Zelrius" in the sentence, and he just sighed, closing it and closing his eyes again. Suddenly, the words clicked in his head, and he fumbled, kicking his legs off the counter and sitting up, opening his HUD and reading the message again. As soon as he learned the location, he sprinted all the way to where he was to meet. He soon arrived, tired, sweaty, and out of breath. He had been wanting to know this answer for so long that he didn't care what others thought of him at this moment, it was time for him to learn the truth of the matter, and that's all that mattered to him

"I'm... here... don't tell me i'm... late..." He breathed through exasperated breaths.

[Khrysaor 0]

Khrysaor was working on setting his shop up for the day. When suddenly out of the blue a Aincrad-wide message popped up. Putting down the armor he was hanging up on display, he went to his menu and clicked the message button. He saw the senders name, and thought, 'Hmm, Oikawa I am not to sure who he is, I wonder what he wants to meet up about. There isn't anything major happening at least not that I know of.' Khrysaor started to pack thinking this would be a good excuse to get out for a while and enjoy the weather. He went to the door of his shop and locked it. "I wonder what this group meeting is going to be all about." muttered Khrysaor as he equipped his armor, and sword. He traveled to the teleport gate, and when he got there. He stated, "Teleport-Floor 1, Starting City." and with a flurry of whitish-blue color of light surrounding Khrysaor disappeared from view.

[XWuZHeAR 0]

The virtual wind cut through the trees uncharacteristically violent almost as if they were screaming out. However it was hard to pinpoint the reason why, be it annoyance, anger, or grief. A guitar begins strumming in the distance seemingly calming the wind. After a message chime resulting in a bum note all sound stops.

.... "Ruff ruff"... "Shhh calm boy"... "Well maybe I was right about him ha"... I sure do hope I'm not.

The wind furiously swirls again as two figures dash from tree to tree. The edge of the forest was rapidly approaching. The wind now calmed into a sort of heartbeat like gust.

damnit damnit damnit, regardless of if my ex guild mate is crazy or not he's still orange now, sure I've killed before but I'm still green in my own way. I also noticed Zel, my almost comrade is dead... This better not be connected.

The boy and small dog known as X and Maruchan have arrived. A little later than others but still in attendeance. Against his instinct X chose to keep a low profile until called out atleast to get a story.

[Baldur 0]

Baldur was at his shop on the first floor when he got a message from his old friend. He had heard rumors about what had happened, but Oikawa was one of the few people he would trust with his life; and so he would give his friend the benefit of the doubt and hear what he had to say, regardless of how damning the infobrokers would make it sound.

The edge of the forest was probably as close to a good mutual location for someone with an orange marker above there head as you could ask for. Picking up the 3 katana that he owed his friend, Baldur headed out towards the forest to meet up with his friend and whoever else came out there. Some were likely to seek revenge if the story was true. What would Baldur do then? Defend his old friend, or let justice happen?

When he reached the tree line, Baldur couldn't say for sure one way or the other.

[Oikawa 1]

Slowly but surely, players began to fill the field.The blonde tilted his head, shifting his gaze between the few faces that had shown up so far. Recognizing the first three to arrive, Oikawa nodded to each of them as they entered his field of vision. Calrex, his friend, no brother, came to him first and greeted the Faint with a question he was sure the bluenette already knew the answer too. His crystal blue eyes swiveled to the Ultramarine Knight and offered him a light-hearted gaze. "Indeed, it is. If you don't mind, stick close by. Rumor is PKing has been somehow made impossible for the time being, but should that be untrue or lifted by the time I'm done here, I'd appreciate having someone I an trust by my side should things get hairy."

Exasperated pants filled the momentary silence as Hikoru bent over to catch his breath. Between pants, he sputtered out the curiosity of wondering if he was late. Rising to a stand, Oikawa answered him. "Nope. I haven't even started yet. Give it just a bit longer to see if others will join." Just as the words left his lips, a few more players straggled in. An unfamiliar face wandered into the clearing. Assuming he had caught word of what was to happen here, he chalked up the mans appearance to curiosity.

Flicking his gaze once more, he managed to catch a glimpse of Baldur, to whom he offered a wave, and another player. One he hadn't seen in a long while. Was that X? No way...I thought he for sure had lost his marbles or his life given his recklessness. Hopefully he doesn't cause a scene. That's the last thing I need.

Rubbing his hands together, Oikawa decided he'd wait just a little longer before beginning. Turning to those in attendance, he spoke. "Just bare with me a little longer guys. Waiting to see if a few others will show."

[Baldur 0]

Baldur walked up to Oikawa and gave his old friend a smile and returned the wave. The swordsman was dressed as he always was in his simple armor and blue haori. He didn't seem to mind only having one outfit.

"Hey Oikawa. I brought your swords as well. I finished appraising them, but unfortunately got nothing special out of it. At least it turned your rare items into perfect quality ones, I guess."

The smile he gave his friend now was a mix of consolation and support, probably more due to the situation Oikawa was in than the swords themselves.

Baldur caught sight of Calrex and nodded to the once junior player, who was now probably the most powerful man in the entire floating castle.

"Oh, Calrex. Excellent! I brought something for you just in case I bumped into you." Baldur reached into his pack and pulled out a simple, almost useless <<Healing Potion>> as sold at his shop. "I thought you might get a kick out of it, seeing as now you're a Frontliner and all."

[Calrex 0]

Calrex couldn't help but give a small laugh at Oikawa's request before regaining his calm smirk and nodding, "You've got it, although I'm surprised that you would fear for your life, Mr. Runner up for the S&D tournament."

Swiping on his menu the bluenette made sure that all of the equipment he would need was at the ready. Of course he would hope that this announcement would be met with discussion and words over swords and spears, but he was also aware that the community, at least from those he had spoken with, were more of the type to think, "guilty until proven innocent." "Potentially a side-effect of being in here for so long. It's easy to peg someone just by the color of their crystal, without trying to understand the reasoning behind it. Of course Oikawa's already explained to me what happened. I just hope everyone else that arrives takes it the same way."

Glancing over he gave his friendly smile at Baldur, "Geezes it's been way too long Baldur. I thought you'd..."

As he glanced down at the potion in the young man's hand he laughed again, "Geezes that healing potion might have kept me alive in the past, but I think it would only be good at topping off my massive health bar now, at best, heh."

[Macradon 0]

Arriving at the scene, Macradon stood on the first floor, walking towards the small group that had formed from the message of Oikawa, the slayer of Zelrius, the "hero" of Aincrad. Sighed as he got close, he was sure that Oikawa had a valid explanation, since Opal seemingly was the one to be the puppeteer behind it all. Macradon wore the same out fit he wore when Oikawa partook in the murder of two of the strongest players in the game. Zelrius the Hero and Ssendom the Berzerker. Wearing his guild uniform in a proud manner though without his weapon, Macradon approached the lot and would just stand still and be quiet, as Oikawa would be able to say anything at any given moment, though Macradon did not feel like being all silent "Good to see you again, Oiakawa" he said in a monotone fashion.

[XWuZHeAR 0]

X stood listening even though it actually began to physically pain him a little bit to go this long without saying anything or moving. Oikawa seems to want to wait for more people X only visibly grows more agitated. Even Maruchan the familiar was getting a little riled up which was unheard of given his carefree personality. While Zelrius and X were never fully guild mates the group forming in secret referred to as the sinners was something they would both be a large part of. However with Zero and X's disappearances the group was officially disbanded before it even formed. Also that's not the only thing X has against his former guild mate  he refers to as psycho-kawa  a reference to the time oikawa went crazy and almost murdered X.

*Slow really loud clap*...So he's actually gone and done it? I'm surprised actually, I know me! The one who called this off the bat.... I was about to speak but instead restrained myself trying not to make the scene I'm causing worse...Well look here, Psycho-kawa back at it again with the pointy blade!... Please do explain to all of us who you attempte- wait no I mean succeeded in murdering in cold blood this time?... Ruff Rrrrrufff... Damn it I caused an even bigger scene didn't I?

[Nikodemus_Blackwood 1]

Nikodemus sat back and listened to the players as they came in give their salutes and hellos. Most of the people he was familiar with through previous run ins around Aincrad, or through their reputations from info brokers, but one he had never seen, nor heard of. This one player began speaking to Oikawa, accusing him of things and making a large scene. Nikodemus knew they were safe in the safezone, but he did not take chances. Swiping his hand through the air, he opened his HUD and quickly equipped his shield and braced himself incase an impromtu duel happened. He watched it unfold and kept silent.

[Lawfer 0]

Having received the ping in his inbox, the dragoon had raised his hand and selecting the incoming message. It was from Oikawa, the man who had slain one of the other frontline players in a recent boss raid. There were many questions that were raised especially since one of the factors that egged him on to such a decision had apparently been a potion he had ingested from Opal. In his short time getting to know the man, Lawfer had found him to be far from the malicious player killer persona that had blown up the media outlets within Aincrad. Venturing from his studio on the 4th floor, Lawfer had made it in time for the player X to begin his slow clap accompanied by a verbal assault the frontliner, Looking over to the teen, a sense of hostility resonated within Lawfer. He realized that tensions were high and that Oik had done a truly despicable act, but he was still under the belief that Oik had the right to explain himself free from hostility especially because he called everyone together himself. 

"You know you should really learn to shut that hole under your nose." Lawfer stated with a raised voice as he looked over at X. He didn't know the teen, but he still remained loyal to Oikawa after the help he received from him. "Like everyone else here, we came to hear what Oikawa has to say, so until he decides to talk I would rather not have a kid try to egg something on and start problems. If your only intention here is to create a problem, then I would suggest you leave." Turning from the teen, the blonde walked over to a nearby tree that was in ears reach of the gathering. He had just arrived and already spoken more than he originally thought he would, Lawfer was their to listen. Now all that was left was to wait to hear from Oikawa.

[Oikawa 1]

Oikawa chuckled at the mention of the S&Z tournament he had manged to go an astounding nine and zero at yet somehow still lost the tourney. It had been so long he had forgotten what caused his title to be forfeit. Shrugging the thought away, he thanked the bluenette before returning to his quiet wait.

Surveying those who had already arrived, Oikawa took notice of a familiar haori coming into his line of sight. Shifting his gaze to match Baldur's, he offered a grin as the man mentioned the returning of the blades he had managed to appraise. "Thank you for the swords and showing up," mentioned the rapier wielder as the brown-haired youth turned to address Calrex.

Swiveling to check the rest of the clearing, he caught Macradon approaching from the direction of the town. The budding tank offered his hellos as he took to standing a little further off from the rest.

"Likewise Macradon. Thanks for coming," responded the blonde as he checked the time on his HUD. Procrastinating any longer won't do you any good. Just go ahead an- Cutting his thoughts short, Oikawa turned around to hear the voice of X spouting off the same level of crazy fallacies that he used to back when their guild, Square One was still alive and thriving. Preparing to interject, the blonde cut himself short as another voice cut into the mush.

Glancing to his right, Lawfer approached the group of players. Quick to defend the blonde, Oikawa clasped a hand on his shoulder and thanked him. "Well you basically said exactly what I was planning to. That being said, its time for me to explain to everyone what transpired in those days of the Raid."

Clearing his throat, the blonde took note of one last straggler. Nikodemus if I recall correctly, he exclaimed in thought. Setting his gaze on all those present, he began.

"As many of you know, I took the life of Zelrius Blackfyre within the first five minutes of the floor fifteen boss raid. What many of you may not know, is why. To begin, let me state that it was never my intention to take the leader of the Azure Brigade's life. Despite our differences, he was still a comrade and a person I knew I could come to in any time of need. That being said, there were times where i thought of him in not so high spirits. In my time knowing Zel, I noticed that the community titled "Hero of Aincrad" had more than his fair share of flaws. I mean we all do, but his set of flaws impacted me in more ways than one. You may recall the re-initialization of the Azure Brigade. A guild of elitist bastards such as myself who wanted nothing more than to clear this game as quickly as possible. To make this possible, we could only recruit the best of the best. Insert my first issue with Zel. The blonde dual wielder had not only recruited the now deceased Manta Gaul, but Shizuka as well. At the time, both players were sub-par and he treated them as such despite breaking our own rules of only recruiting elite players. He treated Shizuka so terribly, she contemplated leaving this realm via suicide. He strung along Manta on some tantalizing tale of empty promises and false love. He was the literal embodiment of, for lack of better terms, a d-bag. This type of behavior was not something I cared for, which is what influenced my decision to depart from the Azure Brigade. Insert reason number two of why my dislike for Zel had grown. Many of you know of or have heard of the player Kiru. Her and I met a long while back and to be completely honest, I found her more than interesting. I was drawn to her and to keep it brief, I was smitten. Fast forward, her then fiance Keith has gone missing and is presumed dead. She found comfort in the one and only, Zelrius. I will answer your question that may be floating around, yes I was jealous. I watched as they grew closer. I also watched as Zel strung the heartbroken Kiru along on the same trip he did Manta while with Manta. The events at the Spring Festival being evidence enough. I consoled Kiru that night and we chatted. Things seemed to be okay, but deep within, I was sick of Zel. Whether it was women or players he deemed weaker than himself, he had become the a-hole everyone hated but could do nothing about because if you ever stepped to him, you'd have not only dual blades at your throat, but the entirety of the brigade to answer to. Now take all that into consideration, in your right mind, would it be worth it to take his life at the cost of your own? No, especially when even though he affected those you cared about around you, he didn't affect you personally. Insert the trigger of the attack here. Fast forward to a day or two before the boss raid. I met with Opal for a harmless dungeon run. We talked about the state of Aincrad and our own personal issues that we had come to deal with while having been trapped in this game. By the end of the adventure, my dislike for Zel had not faltered, but it was still not to a point of me wanting to kill him. However, I was worried that I may slip into a state I once occupied before that almost cost X here his life," explained the blonde as he gestured to Xwuzhear. "So I asked Opal what she thought about the matter. Given she was an alchemist and given that if this was outside the world of SAO, that medicine was a valid remedy for calming nerves, I didn't hesitate in accepting a concoction she offered claiming it would calm my nerves. Thanking her, I took the potion with me and proceeded to consume it before the boss fight took place. Arriving to the raid, that morning. Something was off. The very sight of Zelrius sent me into a rage I myself can't explain. Suddenly before I knew it, his life was dissolving at the end of my blade. Pixels shattering into nothing as I took Kiru's last friend away from her and at what expense? Pent up rage and aggression towards a person who certainly made the lives of others miserable, played with the hearts of people, and ruined the confidence of many? Though he was all that and more, he didn't deserve death. especially not by my hands. Yet there I stood, blade outstretched and him ceasing to exist. I have no reason to doubt that the potion I consumed from Opal influenced my actions, but that doesn't omit the fact that all these reasons to want to rid him of this world were there before I consumed it. I thought it, but never planned to put it into motion. I am not asking anyone's forgiveness here. I just ask for understanding. What you choose to do with what you have heard is entirely up to you. I leave the floor open to comments and questions."

Clearing his throat once more, he exhaled and awaited whatever comments this crowd of players could muster.

[Opal 0]

"As many of you know..."

That's when Opal had appeared. She was shrouded in tattered robes as a bunch of other players gathered around. Masses of people wanted to hear from the Legend that was Oikawa and what had truly gone wrong during the 15th floor boss raid. Among the rabble of the crowd the woman could see through her dark hood some members of the front lines accompanying Oikawa and keeping a careful eye on the others. His explanation was long winded and when her name was mentioned, she could not help but attempt to hide the black lips smiling across her face. The full length robe moved slightly in the wind, still cascading and hiding her figure. She would be difficult to pick out of the crowd as many players of all kinds were stationed there to listen to his side of the story. Little did Oikawa know that she had brought an assassination to the group of rabblers. Among them were several other members of the Laughing Coffin group to help spur the flames of hate towards him.

Oikawa had a way with words; he used elegance in his speech and was respectful even to the one who he had slain. He was careful and articulate, but somehow or another those words of flowery language would not stop some people from being verbally abusive, "You 'Hero Butcher!" someone amongst the crowd shouted, and it was that single line that sparked the fires within the crowd. 

"Jealous Asshole!"
"Cretin! You should be the one who died!" 
"Give us back our Hero!" 

The mob seemed more interested in running him down now and lynching the Orange Player. People raised their swords in the air while the yelled out obscenities. Opal was amused by the masses, only a handful of her group members were here and it was surprisingly many others in Aincrad that shared their concerns for this player, "You have no right to do Redemption! MURDERER!" 

"MURDERER!" the crowd moved like an ocean attempting to assault the Orange Player. Opal watched from within the crowd, raising her arm to meet her mouth and gave a gentle cough. That was the sign, the trigger that would cause her assassin to begin his attempt on taking down Oikawa. While the crowd was shouting at the player with their hands raised in the air, the assassin was slowly moving forward. A dagger in his hand as he moved rapidly through the ocean of people. Bursting forward with speed and a battle cry; "FOR BLACKFYRE!!!!" The man launched himself from the crowd up high and low, with his dagger thrusted and ready to take the life of Oikawa. Opal laughed as the crowd shouted, a massive swell of confusion now going on as she stared and watched the events unfold, "How will you get out of this one, Oikawa?" she mused to herself. 

OOC: Have permission from Oikawa to incite this, the Assassination is purely RP Fluff and will not actually kill Oikawa. Who will be the hero to stop this person? 

-Hiding in Plain Sight: LD 22+

 

Edited June 5, 2016 by Opal

[Xion 0]

Xion had been lurking the entire time, listening intently to what the man had to say. He had met Oikawa once, and judged him to be a good man. But the Young tank still wanted to know why he had done what he did. It was strange, he thought as he listened. The man talked of players that the blonde had barely heard of, he talked of conflicts that Xion didn't even know existed. "It's like...there's two Aincrad's. One for the higher levels, and one for the lower levels" he said, deep in thought. He chuckled slightly as he did, amused by how Aincrad's split population of those with power and those without  resembled the class divisions of early 1900s Britain. "It's almost the same...by here you can climb to greatness" he said to himself. Then came the explanation, it was a strange one yes, but the blonde believed it. He knew that Opal, who used to be the VC of KOB wasn't above trickery. The entire affair screamed Opal. 

 

It was then that people began to attack Oikawa verbally, cursing the man for living, cursing the fact that he had killed Zelrius. Initially the tank thought nothing, but he grabbed his glaive and shield from his back just in case. Someone then leaped from the crowd, dagger raised in an attempt to take the man's life. So he decided to act. 

 

He ran towards Oikawa with surprising speed for a heavily srmoured player, his torn half cloak trailing behind him and he charged. The blonde raised his shield in the man's defence and deflected the attack, his attacker being punished by his thorns as he screamed in pain. Xion then struck the man with his shield, knocking the wind out of him and forcing him to the ground. The tank then stood over him, glaive raised in anger. The man's face was one of fear as the dark knight, as someone had called him stood over him. Without a word the blonde thrust his glaive into the man's stomach, twisting it, causing his HP to drop. While he had the man pinned to the ground the tank turned to the crowd which had raised their weapons in anger. "Anyone want to join him?" 

(I'll decide whether to kill him later XD) 

[Baldur 0]

Baldur was surprised by the actions of the crowd. He had thought Oikawa's words convincing, even as he put, though not enough to warrant the death of Zelrius, no matter how much of a d-bad the man had become; it had indeed been legendary. But when people started to draw swords and act like the mob they were, Baldur's hand tightened on his katana.

A man had darted forward, attempting to take the life of Oikawa with a killing intent that seemed odd to Baldur, but there was more to worry about. A heavily armored knight stepped forward and took the man down with a shield. Baldur applauded the man until he put his glaive through the man's chest and pinned him down.

Stepping forward out of the crowd, Baldur turned and face them standing alongside the Knight. While Baldur's left hand held the katana ready to draw, he placed his right hand on the shoulder of Xion, offering a wordless expression of restraint and camaraderie. He would defend Oikawa; for now at least.

"He offered terms of peace to us to gather and hear him out; whatever your verdict is on his guilt or punished - we will offer him terms of peace to leave just as we all gathered."

He nodded to Xion in a way that wordlessly said 'I've got your back.'

With that, his thumb pushed forward the hilt of his katana, baring the first inch of steel as warning, but staying his hand further.

[XWuZHeAR 0]

X once again getting caught in his own scene by others treating him like the bad guy here, the one not trying to kill anybody. Even Scarface had a better reputation than X did right now for only yelling a few words at a murderer. Its ridiculous how Oikawa is a literal unstable psychopath that wants to murder people is looked at like a hero with that orange cursor above his head, yet when Keith the Maverick hunter bore this mark of shame everyone saw him as nothing more that a child murderer or even miss Mari with her PK status made her scary and unapproachable by anyone. X doesn't kill X doesn't even fight on the frontlines, he makes music and dedicated himself at one point and will soon again to helping the lower level players of Aincrad.

I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it... Go Fu-... Just before I could fully get out my obscenity I noticed a player with a dagger charging at Oikawa, Damn this guy is even more resentful than me... Then something occurred to me, if we forgave Oikawa just now for his murder why are we trying to fight this guy. These guys Xion and Baldur now basically had there swords at this guys throat ready to kill him...

X then calmly let a breath almost a sigh of calming air out of his mouth and began slowly walking over to address the situation. Upon arrival he looked the assassin over and noticed he was terrified by the look in his eyes. The boy then reached and set a hand on Xion's shoulder.

Easy, we cannot kill someone over trying to kill an orange player... For all we know he may have the same reason you all love that Oikawa here had for killing Zelrius. We will take him back to a safe-zone and question him there before deciding to send him to the prison area or not.

 

[Creius 0]

Nathan, not one for large crowds, and what a large crowd it proved to be, stood in the shadows of the forest. He had said he would come and that was what he planned on doing, especially since it had only been a small walk across the first floor. As he stood and waited in the forest he watched the blonde greet various other players before the expected speech. There were few faces he knew, maybe a couple here and there that he might have seen in passing across the lower floors, but the blonde met them all and seemed to know a good portion of them. Nathan waited patiently for the explanation to begin, wondering just what he would hear. When the blonde began he listened intently, wanting to understand the man he had partied with not too long ago. The explanation was long with a few reasonings, building upon each other. Nathan appreaciated the dislike the blode held for this Zelrius but that was by no means enough to sanction murder. From his dealings, though, he felt the blonde was a good man. The past had just been a singular instance where his emotions had taken over his mind, always a dangerous event. Nathan nodded slightly and was about to walk away when he heard a loud commotion from the crowd. He watched as the riotous bunch just seemed to get angrier. There was little he could do to assuage the situation so he continued sitting in the shadows and watched. Finally, one man charged forward with a dagger in hand, and attempted to take Oikawa's life. Nathan took a step forward but already two others had beaten him to the task of stopping the murder. The first one, a large tank of some sort, knocked the man off his feet and, much to Nathan's distaste, thrust his weapon into the man. He stepped back, deeper into the shadows, intent to watch this play out. One loud boy from the crowd shouted out, calling for the release of the assassin from the blade and to take him back to the safe zone for potential imprisonment. He could not help but watch as the would-be assassin struggled under the weapon, his health perpetually dropping down. He would not stand for a death before his eyes but the man was in no danger as of yet and Nathan was by no means strong enough to take either of the two players on.