[F01-PP] Traitor's Requiem

[Yukiro 0]

Spoiler

LEVEL - 29 | HP - 580 | EN - 58 | DMG - 8 | MIT - 44 | EVA - 3 | REG - 1 | BRN - 1 | BLT - 1 | FRZ - 1
Equipped: 

Jack's Purgatory (T2 Perfect 2H Straight Sword) 
BRN I // BLT I // FRZ I // CURSED

Spoiler

Cursed - This item automatically adjusts its Tier to the player it's equipped to 
Burn - Natural critical attack rolls of 9-10 deal 24 unmitigated burn damage each enemy turn for 2 turns. Burn damage does not stack, but can be refreshed. [Must hit to activate the status condition.]
Blight - Natural critical attack rolls of 9-10 deal 24 unmitigated blight damage each enemy turn for 2 turns. Blight damage does not stack, but can be refreshed. [Must hit to activate the status condition.]
Freeze - Natural critical attack rolls of 9-10 remove the enemy’s action on their next turn. Frozen opponents lose any evasion properties. Striking a frozen enemy before the effect ends will end Freeze and deal an extra 24 unmitigatable damage. [Must hit to activate the status condition.]

Ravenfeather Treads (T1 Perfect Light Armor)
EVA 3 

Briar Cloak (T2 Demonic Light Armor)
MIT 2 // REG I // CURSED

Crimson pixels scattered through the wind, blowing only a short distance from their origin before they were instantly followed by a second violent burst of red. The almost grotesque sound of the cursed blade forcefully tearing through the unfortunate mob's digital flesh sang out with every splash of red, the sounds accompanied by the beast's pained wailing and it's assailant's raging grunts. It only took a few cuts for Jack's Purgatory to shear the entity's life from it's briefly hollow shell. 

During the few moments before the animal shattered, Yukiro stood above it's body. His heavy breathing and nearly halved health evidenced that he'd been doing this for a long while now. The boy's pure white hair had grown long and unkempt, and his scarlet eyes seemed to radiate with burning enmity. He watched the corpse as it started to glow and shatter, leaving nothing left where it had once laid. The boy wanted to stab the area where it had been, just to spite it, but the sound of a new mob distracted him just enough to leave the thought behind. 

Kite had been taught all his life never to lash out in anger. He'd never done so much as insult someone before coming into this game... This accursed game, that seemed to twist both him and everything he was holding dear, and laugh as he broke every useless moral and shattered every hope in his forsaken psyche. And finally, finally, he'd snapped. In a fit of pure fury he stormed into the fields of floor 1 and absolutely desecrated every single mob he could find. Everything from giant insects to mere rabbits were virtually ripped apart in his frenzy. 

Tala was  alive.

It had taken almost a year for him to finally come to grips with it. To accept it. To convince himself not to follow her. He'd almost given up on absolutely everything because of her death. Only thanks to his friends was he able to learn how to move past the pain and accept that he could continue life without her. Finally, after almost a year of pain, he'd gone to visit the monument of life. To mourn, and ultimately to accept. 

And she was alive. She had been alive the whole time. 

Was he supposed to be happy for her? To celebrate? That, once he'd finally found happiness, it had abandoned him? After everything he'd forgiven her for? After it had manipulated him? Played him like a game and threw him away like trash once she was done, only to crawl back because she was sad? So much rage, so much anger had been pent up, and this was it. Yukiro didn't send her a message. He didn't want to talk to her. In fact, a part of him wanted her to just--!

Gritting his teeth as the boar charged at him, Yukiro flipped his large sword into a reverse grip in his left hand. The boar squealed angrily as it barreled forward, a challenge which the boy met with an enraged, roaring war cry that echoed through the fields. Shooting forward faster than the boar, Yukiro slammed his right palm into the boar's snout, stopping it dead in it's tracks. Yukiro's health edged down a bit more, just enough to turn yellow. The luckless boar wasn't even given time to react before it's face was forcibly slammed into the ground, followed by Yukiro's sword being driven so deep through it's body that it pinned the mob to the ground. Yukiro stood up, roughly drawing his sword and beginning to slash through the boar, over and over again until what had once been a recognizable body shattered into pieces. 

As Yukiro finally disappeared from the view of the fields surrounding the Town of Beginnings, several parties of low-level adventurers finally felt it was safe enough to return to fighting boars. 

@Tala

[Tala 0]

Spoiler

Tala
Level: 16
Health: 320
Energy: 32
DMG: 7 // ACC: 3 // Bleed: 12 // MIT: 9 // Regen: 5 // Light Momentum: 1

Skills
» Katana - Rank 4

Inventory
» Yurushi [Demonic T1 Katana [Cursed // Bleed // Bleed // Paralyze]]
» Black Wolf Necklace [Perfect T1 Necklace [Accuracy // Accuracy // Accuracy]]
» Mythic Jacket [Uncommon T1 Light Armor [Mitigation // Regen // Light Momentum]]

She needed to see him. She needed to find him and hope that he wasn't going to be too mad. Who was she kidding, she'd be pissed. It was funny though, she was going to find Yukiro before she went to find her own flesh and blood. Her friends list told her exactly where Yukiro was, and she was curious as to why he was on the first floor. Of course, at the same time, did he know that she was back? The owl had run into her brother, and from what she saw, things didn't go well. She didn't want to chance running into Koga at that moment.

As Tala finally got to the first floor, the darn teleporter being busy for some reason, she heard talk about a white haired guy angrily annihilating everyone in the fields. Yuki... The thought crossed her mind before she ran toward the fields. She needed to find him, to get him to calm down. But, seeing her might make it worse, and she knew that. But his anger could mean that he was going to snap on someone, and she didn't want that to happen.

Yuki was too sweet for that, but then he met Tala and all of this could logically be her fault, and she knew that all too well. As she ran, she saw him, but he was leaving view of the town. This was the moment that she wished she had longer legs, so that she could run just a little faster to get to him just a little faster. But, she was too late, because she lost sight of him. She mentally cursed at herself as she slowed down to a stop, looking around.

She wanted to find him, and after a few minutes, she spotted him once more, still move and killing things. She started to run once more, all the way up to him, and just a single, breathless, word could be heard from her, "Yuki..." She stared at him, pain, guilt, and hurt settled in her gaze. She felt horrible for not messaging him. She felt horrible for coming back. Actually, "If you want me to leave, tell me now, otherwise, I'm going to follow you to make sure that you don't do anything stupid."

She watched him, not knowing what was about to come next. Hell, if he wanted to slap her, she'd let him. She accept his anger, his hurt, his pain. Only, this time, it might be a million times worse than before. "Please, just say something."

@Yukiro

[Yukiro 0]

Just as the boy's raven boots stepped over the shattering corpse of a wolf did a voice slip past the boy's ears. At first he didn't even register it, taking another long step toward his unholy crusade. But after a moment, it's origin clicked in the mind of the fuming player. 

"Yuki..."

His entire body froze, unmoving. Shock ran down his spine like a bolt of lightning, leaving his eyes wide and jaw tight. He could feel his hand tighten it's grip on his sword. Was he going to swing it at her? He wanted to. Yet, somehow, a small part of him wanted to drop it, to just ignore his feelings of anguish and rage to accept her return. 

...No. Not this time. 

Finally, the tall boy looked over his shoulder. 
He couldn't see Tala. His hair had gotten just long enough that he couldn't see her when he turned his head. After an awkward moment of realization, Yukiro turned his body more toward the girl so he could actually see her. Anger burned in his eyes, but it was no longer alone. It was joined by pain, sadness... and disappointment. For a long time he just stared at Tala. Took her face, her expression in. 

She's alive. It's really her.

His mouth opened as if to speak, but it closed again. What was he supposed to say at a time like this..? 
...No, what did he want to say?

"... Was I not worth trusting, Tala?" he asked plainly, "Was I so easily left behind that you could do it for nothing?"

@Tala

[Tala 0]

Well, he stopped moving and she, so badly, wanted to move to him. To hug him. To do anything but get the look that she was getting from him. He was so quiet, so rigid, so hurt, and it was her fault. No, it was that owl's fault, not Tala's. She shook her head though and took a step toward him. She had her hands down by her side, not wanting to even grab a hold of her katana.

"Yuki... I didn't want to leave you behind. Honestly, leaving you hurt. But that damned owl turned flightly and hurt my brother. I needed to find her, bring her home. But the damn bird is just too fast on moving when she feels like she's being followed..."

There was this pleading sound in her voice, as if she were begging him to believe her. She hadn't wanted to leave him behind, but she also knew that she should have just left it be. She shouldn't have gone bird hunting. She should have just stayed right there with them, kept the guys in line. She could have filled that role. She could have kept them all together without there being so much hurt.

But no, she wanted to make sure that her brother wasn't going to be absolutely destroyed, but that might have happened anyways. She took another step toward Yuki, and another, until she was able to place a hand on his arm. His sword be damned, he could cut her down right here, and she'd know that she deserved it.

"I'm sorry Yuki, I swear. I just... seeing Koga hurt, hurt. I know I should have contacted you, but because I had to keep chasing that damned owl, it made it hard to stop and send you a message." She felt her grip tighten on his arm a bit, she was trying so hard not to break down. He needed her to be strong right? That was the only way that they'd get past all of this? Right?

@Yukiro

[Yukiro 0]

"..." 

Yukiro closed his eyes for a moment, processing Tala's words. He wasn't used to just acting how he wanted to, but for some reason he just couldn't keep himself from it. He was angry. But Tala's words... They brought on a new kind of fury. Suddenly, his rage for her disappearance was overwhelmed by the anger at her reasoning. 

"Pathetic," he spat, opening his eyes and glaring down at Tala, "I thought you were dead. I mourned for... this?" Yukiro yanked his arm free of her grasp, stepping back and standing taller than ever. "Don't lie to me, Tala. You just couldn't be bothered. You considered your priorities and you made your choice. And you're the one who has to live with your choice, not Noctua." Contempt began to weave itself into the boy's voice as he spoke. "You couldn't trust me enough to help you. You couldn't trust your own brother enough to live his own life. If he makes a mistake and suffers for it, so be it. But let it be his own choice, not yours. You didn't need to chase anything; you wanted to. You wanted nothing more than to find a villain where none existed, even at the cost of everything you claimed to love."

Yukiro started to turn to walk deeper into the forest, but kept his eyes locked with Tala's until he could finish speaking. 

"Well hear me now and burn this into your mind. You found the bad guy, Tala. You were keeping up with the one who was ripping everyone's hearts apart, and it had nothing to do with Noctua."

"You did that all by yourself. And until you can admit to that, I don't need any excuses." 

@Tala

[Tala 0]

That did it, the very strong person facade that she always held onto was gone. She listened to him, and she knew that he was right. No matter how much she wanted to tell him that he was right, her pride and stubbornness wouldn't let her. Her, now empty, hand just stayed in its spot, acting as if it were still holding onto him. After a few moments, and him even walking away, her gaze fell to her feet as her arm fell to her side.

He was right. One hundred percent right. This wasn't Noctua's fault, it was Tala's. She so badly wanted to tell him that he was right, that she was pathetic and she as the bad guy. But, as she opened her mouth to say it, no words would come out. She would just stand there, mouth agape, like a fish. Why couldn't she just admit that he was right? She knew that he was. But there was something that was holding her back, and she couldn't figure out what.

Was it her pride? Her stubbornness? She didn't know, but either way, she had a feeling that it was going to make her lose Yuki for good. He was leaving her, and for good this time, and it was her fault. She couldn't stop him, and she didn't know why. She felt the first tear start to roll down her face, but she was just too petrified to move. She didn't want him to take it as a movement meant for him. She just... she didn't know how to fix what was wrong.

Well, she did, but she couldn't formulate the words. She thought for a moment, but even though she had the words on the tip of her tongue. She just couldn't. She knew the perfect song to even express her feelings, it had been from one of her favorite MMOs before this one had been announced. It expressed the exact sadness and hurt that she felt, but she couldn't even get that to be formulated into words.

"I..." That was something, but her voice cracked and broke as she tried to talk. A surefire way to signify that was there was an internal fight making it so that she couldn't say anything. Even just looking in her eyes, or the way that she was clenching her fists at this point proved it. She had something important that she wanted, no needed, to say, but couldn't. Part of her wouldn't let her. That same part of her that wanted to be sure that Noctua stayed out of her life.

That part of her that drove the first wedge between them. She didn't move toward him, instead, she turned around and just started to walk away. She couldn't say what she wanted to say, and that hurt her almost just as bad as the reality check that she was given. "I lost everything, because of myself." Whether he heard her words or not depending on if the breeze carried them to him.

@Yukiro

[Yukiro 0]

Taking a deep breath as he walked, Yukiro felt a lot of his anger leave him. Unbeknownst to him, he'd managed to vent a portion of it by yelling at Tala. Not that he wasn't still absolutely furious with her. A small part of him was still wanting to go beat her to death himself, but he knew he could never actually do that. As the small point of guild kept prodding at his angry spirit, Yukiro slowed to a stop. He wasn't sure what to do anymore. It would be proper to go apologize, so... But he didn't want to apologize. She didn't deserve it..! 

Glancing over his shoulder, Yukiro sighed. He could only think of one way to get out of all of this. Opening his menu and finding the messaging system, he typed out a clear yet brief message. 

Quote

First floor, out in the fields in front of the Town of Beginnings. Towards the forested area, not quite there. 
Tala's here. Details later. Hurry or she'll try to disappear again.

With another glance back to Tala, Yukiro added,

Quote

Please don't kill her.

 Sending the message, Yukiro took a deep breath. He'd tail Tala until Koga got here, then leave them to their own devices. There was no chance that he wouldn't come running. 

"...Make amends. For real this time. Then maybe, maybe we'll talk."

[Tala 0]

She had stopped walking after a bit, just looking at the engagement ring that was on her hand. It hurt just to look at it, but more because she knew that she had done the wrong doings. She had destroyed not one, but two relationships in one day, and it was taking her until now to even realize this. It wasn't until she heard a tiny whine that she tore her gaze from the ring. She knelt down and hugged Akame. "I told you that I royally screwed up Akame."

The wolf looked at Yukiro when he spoke to Tala, and just the sound of his voice made the wolf growl lowly. She wasn't trained, so there was nothing that she could do right now other than be emotional support, and that was what she was about to be. Tala on the other hand, fiddled with the ring on her finger before looking at Yuki. "My amends before were real, but I understand." She sighed lightly, before standing up.

"Come on Akami, it's time you met Koga." There was some fear in her voice on that, because she was scared of what was being said in the conversation with Noctua. But at the same time, she did deserve whatever happened there too. She looked back once more at Yuki, and attempted a small, but broken and sad, smile, "Thank you, for at least helping me realize my...." There was a long pause as she fought herself for a moment, choking out the final word, "wrongs."

 

 

Edited February 27, 2021 by Tala
closing with yuki's permission