[PP|F01] An explanation, however poor, is better than nothing

[Dustin 0]

Dustin had spent yet another day in his garden. The hot sun beat down on his white tank top covered in dirt, the sweat dripped down his forehead into his eyes as he pulled the weeds from the ground and watched them dissolve into shapeless shards. His bucket for weeds he carried out of habit was empty, his mind however, was anything but. Everything over the past few months played back in painful slow motion. The hunt, the kill, and the aftermath in a beautiful symphony of pain and sorrow dancing. Intertwined like father time and mother nature on their honeymoon, the two negative emotions swayed with despair as he kept tugging at the plants. The most painful thoughts lingered on an old flame of his. She would hate me for what I did. I do owe her an explanation though. He pulled up his menu, scrolling to the friends list and selecting her name. He would stare through that window at the ground beneath it, watching the plants sway in the breeze. His thoughts couldn't pick a direction to blow so like the grass it wiggled and tossed without actually creating a cohesive sentence.

If anyone would forgive me, it would be her. Which is why I shouldn't explain myself... I don't want her to know, I don't want her to side with me. But I don't want her to hate me. He would begin to type his message, the words appearing faster and faster as he got into the swing of things. These messages all sounded the same but always had different meanings, so he would often struggle with conveying the right tone. After the message was typed it sat dormant for a few minutes while Dustin built up the courage to press that arrow. He would read the words, delete them and then type the same message again and again, until finally he just took a deep breath and pressed send. He wouldn't wait for a reply, but would instead close the window to continue working.

The sun had gone down not long before Dustin materialized on the first floor. He would open his inventory to check the time, but soon close it once more. His blue sweatshirt and khaki pants were covered by a long plain brown cloak, his hair was still a mess from working in the sun, but was hidden under a hood. He had a sword tucked into an opening in the back to make sure the disguise stuck, but would avoid main streets anyways. The town of beginnings had enough back allies to keep him concealed until he got to the wall. It was never easy getting to the top but today he struggled less than yesterday, and tomorrow he'll struggle less than today. The clock was getting close to the time he had stated in the message, but no one had appeared yet, so Dustin waited.

However, not very patiently.

Message:

Spoiler

to: Ryoko

Meet me on top of the wall just right of the southern gate at 21:00

-Dustin

@Ryoko

[Ryoko 0]

Ryoko was busy training herself to be better at what she did, Floor five in her eyes was the perfect floor for this. Not many players seek out this floor or even set foot here, to begin with. Wearing a top without sleeves and some leather padding on her wrists and shins as well as on her shoulder a bit. Wearing her leather hand wraps as well Ryoko was pushing herself past her own limit. She has done a few quests on this floor before and she felt good doing so. Then as she slammed her fist into an oversized lizard she got a notification before the monster disappeared. She looked around for a second only to open the menu and look who send her a message.

"Heck! Dustin really!" she said reading the message and she stared at it for a second before nodding, Well he wants to meet at a wall... wall... floor 1 wall... I think, she looked around once more before sliding down a sand hill and grabbing a bag from the ground, as she opened her inventory and walked back to the main settlement. Once there one of the days to day players that walked on this floor spoke up to her with a smile "Finally the Monk comes out from the desert, heading somewhere," he said to her only for her to nod in silents and walking past him. No time to talk, I got to get to Dustin, she thought as she walked to the teleporter. Once there she went to floor one and to her destination.

Looking at the time she notices that she was already a bit late and she took up her speed bumping into players and NPCs alike, "Sorry!!" she said every time she bumped into someone before going into a full-on sprint. She ran up the stairs she saw the first up the wall, noticing that she got a bit to go she took up a sprint again. Running over the wall she finally saw a figure in the distance and she was hoping this was indeed Dustin, but she was not sure if it was even him. Once she was getting close she came to a hold and waved kneeling down a bit to catch her breath as well, then she jogged over waving at him "HEEEEY!!!!" she yelled at him before getting close and came to hold right in front of him this time. Standing in full fantasy like monk clothing her crop top tight again her body showing off her muscles and assets  "Sup! Dustin! you wanted to speak?" she said trying to catch her breath.

@Dustin

[Dustin 0]

The bright haired monk had made her way to the rendezvous point rather quickly, faster than Dustin had expected. She would approach him and the boy would notice she was covered very little. “You know... the disguise doesn’t work too well when someone you’ve known forever can see through it right away.” He would smile, the look of happiness obviously fake as he pulled down his hood to reveal redness under his eyes. He was obviously crying recently, and a lot. He hardly slept and ate even less, anymore he was just waiting to die. “I killed someone... not just anyone... the person who killed Kadin. I’m not saying he deserved it. I definitely don’t want you to take my side, I just want you to know.” He would say as he walked over yo the edge of the wall and stared down to the ground.

Part of him still wanted to jump.

But that would be weak. He can’t just take the easy way out now, he put himself in this situation he would have to tough it out. “Sometimes I wonder if Kadin would still be around if I was never born. Maybe Greil wouldn’t have targeted him if he wasn’t with me. Maybe I could’ve saved him if I had just let go, killed them all right there...” A tear falls down, tracing the front face of the wall, “Maybe if I was dead my friends could move on, maybe they could forget about ever having known me or been around me. I could be nothing but a faint idea of something that may or may not have been, when they wake up from this nightmare I could be a shapeless blob like every other person in their dreams.” Dustin would look up at Ryoko and give another weak smile.

”I’d be content if I was forgotten.”

@Ryoko

Edited November 11, 2020 by Dustin

[Ryoko 0]

Ryoko tilted her head a bit and looked up at his crystal for a second and then back to him with a smile that never really moved away from her. He did not really give her a chance to say something but as soon as he started speaking about death, Ryoko made a fist of her right hand and kept smiling as her other hand grabbed her right arm. She stared at him for a second as he looked at her again, there was a bit of hesitation be then she started pouting a little bit. "Stand still," she demanded as she got closer to him and stared at him being almost close enough to kiss him, but then she punched him right in the stomach. If pain was a thing in the game Dustin would have felt it 100% for sure as the pure raw power made him move a bit.

Then shortly after she punched him she stared at him right in the eyes before grabbing his head and giving him a hug pushing his face against her chest. He was so close he could hear her heart race from the sprint she took to get here "Don't be stupid, you dont deserve to die. You may not have been popular in class or school, but you made me laugh. And no matter what the other girls said, I liked hanging out with you, they wouldn't mind if one of the most popular kids of the class hanged out with one of the quite once," she said holding him closer to her chest being quite clueless of what she was doing at the moment, she only knew that her teacher did this from time to time to calm down people. "you are Dustin, my Dustin. Dustin Salyer to be more on point, and you are my friend to hell and back I don't care what or who you are, you did nothing to deserve death," She said pulling his head up from her chest to meet her eyes. Wait what! was that her blushing or was that the light shining on her cheeks.

@Dustin

Edited November 11, 2020 by Ryoko

[Dustin 0]

A sharp, sudden tingling. That’s what they felt instead of pain. Dustin had forgotten, but the stinging of a punch to the gut was one of his favorite feelings. Another one being the feeling he got around Ryoko. His eyes shut for a moment, before suddenly his head was jerked down into a hug. He felt so helplessly vulnerable at that point, but in a good way. She was talking but the boy was focused on her heart beat. Her words got to him though, behind the rhythmic reminder of who this was. The rise and fall of the heart almost made him feel relaxed, until he realized where he was.

Right as her eyes meet his, he recognizes a look of embarrassment on her. A look he had worn enough around Arabelle to know what it meant. “Damnit Ryo.” He would say as he reached down and wrapped his arms around her stomach before hoisting her up. They were incredibly close to the ledge, but to keep her just distracted enough he would spin around as he stepped away. “Hard to be upset when I know you’ll always be there for me.” His words being strained as he sets her down, still wrapped in a hug.

“You know I’ve always liked you, right?” Probably an awkward thing to tell her in that situation, but it made sense to him. “Everyone always gave me shit around school, and I was always on edge. Fights were a regular thing so I had to be ready. But you made me feel different, I’d always calm down the moment I saw you, like the flip of a switch.” Finally he would release her, and of she backed away he would lean down close as Enna used to get with the boy when he was teasing Dustin. “You made me feel safe even when no one else did.”

@Ryoko

Edited November 12, 2020 by Dustin

[Ryoko 0]

Ryoko was still a bit flustered about her own words and actions but she took them with pride, but what she did not suspect was, Dustin, picking her up and a twirl. A small scream came out of her and she looked at Dustin a bit upset that he even did that in the first place. He seemed to be so calm and relax the moment Ryoko pressed him against her chest and now that they came to a stop with Dustin speaking again she seemed a bit down and scared but was going to let him speak. it was great to speak with Dustin again as she said that it was hard to be upset when she was around she looked at him before looking away as they were quite close to the edge. "You dont get upset," she said to him before looking up.

Listening to him more she let him speak not trying to make eye contact with him or anywhere around him after he was done speaking she spoke up. "Firstly, can we get away from the edge, you know I am afraid of heights. Second yes I knew, there have been rumours going around at school, Just wanted you to take the first step," She said pulling away from him and taking his hand pulling him away from the edge. She looked at his hand still as rough as ever, and she wanted to say something but she didn't really know how to word it and not even how to start with her words.

"Dustin, you are who you always been, shy and always looking like someone is out for your ... um skin, But just remember I even on school made sure the most popular girls didn't bother you too much. And I also made sure that the student council picked up on the problems." She said with a weak smile, "Hey do you still remember how that one guy challenged you to a sprinting competition, and you got told by Miss Aris to not do it so I did it instead and smoked the guy. He even wanted to bet that if he won that I would go on a date with him, hell No!" She said trying to get some old fun memories back again.

@Dustin

[Dustin 0]

Dustin smiled as she took his hand and she started bringing up memories of school with her. "Yeah, you smoked him in that race, and Miss Aris said not to race him but if I remember correctly I still had to fight him." Dustin would pull his hair up on his right side revealing a scar above his ear, "Tackled him through a first floor window." He shot her a soft smile. "It meant a lot to me that you were willing to run a race to protect my honor but after that they thought I was easy pickings. Him and his two douchey friends tried to fight me so I took him through a window and beat him into the dirt. His two buddies got me though, but after that they never messed with me again." He would look down at her hand in his. "I don't think I ever told you about that fight. I had to replace the window, Kadin paid for it though so my mom made me help put it in." Dustin would look at Ryoko, right in her eyes, his face turning a bright pink. "It was the most fun I ever had getting my ass beat."

If she was still holding his hand, he would sit on the edge of the wall with his legs dangling off. "You think he would hate me? You know, for what I did?" Dustin would swallow some of the pain and keep going. "You remember how he was, forgive the enemy and make a friend. I couldn't though, I wasn't strong enough." The voices in his mind started coming back, screaming and pleading. The sound of them exploding in the snow, and Dustin's fist slamming into the ground beneath that soft white blanket over and over again. "I couldn't just let Kadin go. I still dream about that day, both of them now... when I'm able to sleep."

His last two cookies escape his pockets as he hands one towards Ryoko. "I haven't had one of these in a long time now, will you have one with me?"

@Ryoko

[Ryoko 0]

Ryoko grumbled a bit under her breath as he talked about him still needing to fight that prick and all. Sure Dustin was not completely used to how things went behind the scene of the student council but there was a big debate about this. "Dustin, I am in the student council remember, nothing goes without us knowing us. Plus we looked at the security footage of your fight to find out who started it. We warned them if they ever mess with you ever again they would be kicked from the school," Ryoko said to Dustin with a small grin. Hoping to remind him that their student council had quite a bit of power of the school from doing paperwork to set up every event in the school.

However, Dustin came to something more interesting, about his brother and if he would be mad. Ryoko laughed a bit, "you dont know what kind of conversation I have had with Kadin and Oshin. You remember that girl with her blond hair and um... believe she was a transfer student from Belgium or something. Who started trouble with me because I was the most popular girl in our class, Ha I still remember how she kept going for me, from throwing a bucket of water over me or pushing me aside. The only reason why she didn't get punched was that Kadin and Oshin," she hold Dustin's hand for a bit, "Well I can remember she kind of had a crush on Kadin I believe, out brothers came up with a plan to make her get off my back. I think you remember the outcome as well haha," She laughed a bit seeing if Dustin still remembered what Kadin and Oshin did to get her of Ryoko's back without fighting.

Accepting the cookie Ryoko took a good bit from it and smiled happily trying to give Dustin that same smile on his face, "Best to remember the good times and learn from our bad times and make sure they never happened, Quoting my dad there," she said still trying to stay away from the edge at all cost because of her fear of heights. It was weird to know that such a talented girl like Ryoko, who was a skilled boxer as well as runner and singer, not to say that she was quite smart as well, literally top of the class was having fun with the most lonely person in the class being the complete opposite almost. "Dustin... I um... No nothing," she said fast for going back to nomming on her cookie

@Dustin

[Dustin 0]

Dustin watched the ground as the woman he cares about goes on about his brother. He smiled as she brought up the time Kadin had to save Ryoko from that woman from Belgium. “Didn’t he take her on a date? Talk her out of hating you?” Dustin looked at the cookie in his hand, undisturbed and beautiful, yet fleeting. “I remember it was all set up by him and Oshin, completely rigged. Guess who had to work at the mock restaurant.” Dustin would let go of Ryoko’s hand and chuckle a bit. “I wasn’t a great cook but I guess Kadin really liked my Spaghetti because he wouldn’t let me make anything else.” A few tears rolled down his nose and fell to the grass below.

The boy would stand up and finally take a bite out of his cookie. “I can’t say I disagree with the first half, but the bad times have to happen. If you don’t learn from history it’s destined to repeat itself.” Dustin looks to Ryoko. “I’m not saying I want them to happen, but they’re a necessary evil.”

Ryoko would say something, calling Dustin’s name but quickly changing her mind. The boy hated to pry, but he was curious. “What was that?” He would ask turning up in that classic way he always did. Back when they were in school, Ryoko would always sneak up on Dustin, before calling to him at which point he would always look at her with a weak smile, but slowly over the years he started giving her brighter smiles. This was the brightest she would’ve ever seen.

@Ryoko

[Ryoko 0]

Ryoko smiled back at him with the smile he always saw and always will see if she was around. "No, it's nothing, really,"  she said with a friendly smile and a laugh, " you know my dad isn't really a person to speak of experience, heck he even is just as clumsy or maybe clumsier than me... well probably more,"  she said a bit jokingly but she knew she could not really change the subject with Dusting even more so because she left him a bit curious by just saying his name. " Guess I can say it, I have been thinking, while I have been on floor five quite a long time now, and been training to learn more combat styles and stuff. I have been thinking, our families were really close right. So it was a bit natural that we became friends in my eyes even if you weren't that popular,"  she said taking his hands in hers.

" But Dustin, just remember, you are a strong brother, Kadin would not want to see you so depressed. You remember when you needed to clean the swimming pool as punishment, and you were quite sad and kind of gave up only for me to arrive and helped you. Well, I didn't know that you even got in trouble until Kadin told me, I still will get back from that water bucket you threw at me!!!"  She said only to release his hands and punch him in the chest.

 

[Dustin 0]

A flash of fond memories wash over the boy's mind and heart as he reminisced of the time they cleaned the pool together, Dustin hadn't wanted her help so he never told her about it. She found out anyway and came to help even though Dustin fully deserved the punishment. He really cared for her, and honestly it was because of her deep understanding of so many people. "You know I didn't want you to go out of your way to help me... I would often get punishments like that because of all the fights I was in, so they were almost second nature." He would say, staring at his hands in hers. Soon, she dropped his hands and hit him in the chest with a light punch.

His right hand would push hers to the side as his left hand moved up and his fingers placed themselves behind her head, he would pull her head first into a hug. "I will always appreciate you, even if I say I don't." His eyes were closed, so he couldn't quite see her face, but if she could see his all she would see was a pink cheeked smile showing a true level of content. "You can always swoop in and save me, though here I think I'd do the saving if that punch is all you've got." His light chuckle would cut through the insult to make it a joke.

"But I'll never forget all the times you were there for me."

@Ryoko

[Ryoko 0]

Ryoko listened to what Dustin said, she knew many people relied on her and her care, even her oldest brother relied on her quite a bit as well. "you might get in trouble a lot, and you might think you deserve it. But Dustin is still the Dustin I always knew, one who hold cookies on pocket just to give them to others." She said before he could drag her into a hug, she gave a little bit of resistance but accepted it in the end. She looked a bit at him as he gave her the hug, she smiled and she waited until he was done speaking again as she kept looking at him while hugging waiting for him to open his eyes. She giggled a bit as he was done speaking and laughed, "I may not be a gamer by heart, but at least I know I can beat in in real life. So if this is a challenge then U got one," She paused for a second and giggled again, "Mister blushing while hugging your best friend!" she said with a teasing tone and a great smile on her face.

Then Ryoko got an idea, and she smiled even more, "Okay! I have a plan. If you can beat these legs of mine in a race, I will have to give you a reward and stay out of harms way so you can rest easy knowing I am not in any danger. But if I win, I get a reward from you and you have to take me with you everywhere you go just to make sure you stay save!" she said looking at his face with a smile knowing full well that the speed you had in the game was little affected by the stats you had and most of your own speed was set in the tactics you used by placing your foot. And Ryoko knew fully well how to beat Dustin in a race.

@Dustin

[Dustin 0]

"Mister blushing while hugging your best friend!"

Upon hearing that nickname Dustin’s heart dropped. Is that really all he was to her? Did she misunderstand everything he had said up until this point. Dustin didn’t understand the idea behind the race either. He never said he wanted her to stay hidden and safe, he wanted her to be with him. As much as he wanted to beat her in this race, especially since he knew he could, He wanted to spend so much more time with her. How can he do that if she’s always hiding.

”Fine then.”

Dustin would wait for her to explain where to go, but not very patiently. In fact it was like a little kid waiting for his mother to stop talking to the friend she had bumped into at the store. He wanted to take her so many places, hunt so many monsters. But for now he would settle for just having her go on adventures with him, despite his surprising lack of interest in the quests as of late. Ever since his guild had fallen apart, he was sort of rambling around town.

Once she would state where to go, Dustin would take off at an alarming rate only to slow down quickly and deliberately. After all...

He had a race to lose.

@Ryoko

[Ryoko 0]

Yes That got his attention at least it made him look up, She was going to plan the race looking a bit over the wall into the fields ahead. Got why did they have the be up here, it's so high. Ryoko really didn't like it up here but she was here because Dustin got her too. Then she looked into the city for a bit and scanned it for a bit then nodded, "I dont wanna get out of the save zone, for now, So we gonna race to... To there!" she said pointing in the direction of a bell tower.

This was quite a known location for Ryoko and maybe Dustin as well if he ended up helping his former teacher, Miss Aris. As it was the Church with the big courtyard and the big tree in the middle were a lot of younger kids hanged around and stayed. "We race to there, First one to get there wins, Everything goes, Going over the top or down below over the streets, No biting, pulling or hitting. Once there you wait in front of the door for the other person to show up," She said as she let off a smile and started stretching a bit.

"ready to eat 'Dust'," She said with a joking tone before she walked over next to him. "Three... Two ... One ... GO!!!!" She said before taking off with quite a bit of speed as her start was flawless and her speed even without buffs was quite high. Sliding down the stairs close by and running off right away without looking back. Compared to her on the tracks and here in the game, she was even faster and her knowledge of getting the maximum amount of power out of your legs as you run gave her a little bit of an edge too.

@Dustin