[PP-F4] Words with Steel

[Miaki 0]

A day or so had gone by since Nikki and Miaki had made a visit to floor one where they found themselves roped into returning to the front lines. Nikki was as adamant about the idea as her reputation of being unmovable suggested. Miaki however didn't want anything to do with it. He had numerous reasons for his decision and was ready to make them heard. But the last thing he wanted was this topic to come between them and hurting their relationship. It wasn't worth it and he wouldn't allow for it to be the reason for upsetting them. He would go with her whether he liked the idea or not because he loved her. He would not let her do this duty alone. But she still had to convince him. Since then their days returned to a sense of normalcy they were so accustomed to. Miaki was sitting on the loveseat writing while Nikki was making another attempt at cooking. This time it was eggs. Boiled, fried, or scrambled, he wouldn't know til he saw the end result. He had turned the loveseat enough to keep an eye on her to make sure if something went wrong he could intervene. He would look over periodically but Nikki started to give him a hard time every time she noticed. He kept to just peeking while making it look like he was writing. The document on his screen read...

 

Days upon days had gone by for the lone Wildkin as he pursued the being which was the source of his hatred and the reason for his vengeful quest. The Red-Haired Teifling. The murderer of his parents and destroyer of his home and livelihood. Miaki moved quickly through the darkening night following the instincts of a hunter and tracker. A break in the brush, print in soil, anything that changed the forest or landscape was a sign that he was still hot on the trail. He had hardly slept or ate since beginning his hunt and was beginning to tax on him. The shortness of his breath and the aching in his calves were a constant reminder that his body needed to stop.

Trying to keep a steady pace but staggering more and more often he felt his chest tightening. He couldn't recall the last time he stopped to take a break. But he had a hard time stopping himself. Almost as if he was afraid that if he stopped he would never be able to get back up. He had even been questioning himself about whether or not he was even following the right trail anymore. His thoughts came to a sudden halt when he tripped over an unnoticed root that stuck up in the middle of the path. Miaki inhaled sharply in surprise as he tumbled and landed on his face. Feeling disoriented and coming to a sudden halt the blonde Wildkin breathed deeply with half his face printed with the dry earth. The world came to a halt for him and his other senses expanded. He could hear something stand out amongst the sounds of the night life. A subtle sound of popping and crackling. It was the sound of a campfire which brought the realization of someone else being nearby. Maybe it was the Teifling he was hunting Miaki thought. Unmoving, Miaki listened for any sound of something moving. Hearing nothing he slowly got to a kneeling position. At this time a gentle breeze blew through the forest and brought the scent of burnt wood to his senses.

Reaching behind his back, Miaki gripped his mother's bow and brought it in front of him. Drawing an arrow from his quiver he closed his eyes and calmed himself, willing his heart to slowdown. Miaki began walking towards where the campfire was; taking each step slowly and deliberately. He wouldn't act rashly and rush the camp. He would put an arrow into the Tiefling's leg or pin it to whatever tree it made the poor decision of laying against. He wouldn't kill it outright. He wanted the monster to look him in the eyes before he ended it's miserable existence. Drawing the string of his bow, he rounded the camp using the shadows and saw not the Red-Haired Teifling, but instead a woman with smokey grey colored skin, a Drow to be precise. She was sleeping against the roots of a tree.

Miaki eased the tension on his bow and returned the arrow to his quiver. He stood there staring at the young Drow. She seemed so peaceful that it made him stop. It was almost relaxing for him. He glanced down at the fire and saw a cast iron pot with soup still inside it. The hunger hit him hard and he realized it had been a day since he last ate. Glancing quickly between the Drow and the pot he was in a tug of war and unsure what he should do. He gave in and crept towards the pot and knelt in front it.

 

This was part of what Miaki had been doing in their time of isolation and respite. Inspired by his wife and muse and at her insistence he took up the hobby for their personal enjoyment. Writing became a nice distraction for them and right now it was almost therapeutic with the idea of returning to society in mind and close at hand. He read over the segment he had just finished, looking for errors, making sure it came out the way he wanted it to. He liked what he had and would show it off to his love once he had a little more for her to look at. A satisfying feeling a sense of accomplishment filled him as he closed the display and looked at Nikki from the loveseat. He loved to watch her go about the most simple things she did. Nikki would tease him about the daydream look he often made when she caught him watching and would always blush telling him to stop saying he was making a fool of himself. If love made him look foolish at times he didn't care. Living with her he discovered a whole new side of the woman he fell so madly in love with.

 

Sitting there a thought came over him and the more he thought it through the more he liked the idea. Yes, this was just the thing they needed. "Honey? Wanna take a walk? I could really use it and wanna talk things over about the other day." He made the request in a calm tone and wanted his tone to show he wasn't gonna let it get become a heated debate. He stood up and walked over to her and came up behind her and hugged her from behind. "I'll make it worth yer while. I'll hear you out and we can get it all out on the table so to speak." He ended his request with a soft kiss on the cheek and looked down at what he was hoping was an omelet.

[Nikki Styx 0]

Nikki sighed as she put down her cooking tools. She had been waiting for this moment, her chance to talk about the other day. It had been rough, the pair had squared off for the first time ever, and it had been stressful. Luckily they both were quick to settle and life had continued as normal. Unfortunately for her this meant that there was a cloud hanging now, and she would need to plead her case again. She knew Miaki had not wanted to return to the front lines, that in recent months he had grown happy with the simple life. In truth she had too, she didn't want this to end, she loved what they had. But people were dieing. People needed them. She was a member of the Vanguard, or rather had been, it was not in her to just walk away while the innocent needed her. (This is really quite a change from when she started out)She closed her eyes for a moment and turned to her husband, finding him close by and giving her a kiss on the cheek. She smiled softly nodding her head in agreement. "Alright, I'd like that."

 

It took her only a brief second to equip her outdoor gear and soon they were off hand in hand. The weather outside was actually nice, clear blue sky, no clouds, no wind, and a gentle nip tickled her cheeks as she walked. There had been a fresh snow last night, and the normal paths had not been trodden yet, meaning that they could hear every footstep. It was these days that made her happy to be on this floor. All the while Nikki had been preparing her thoughts, gathering her words, and setting her mind to her new task. She knew that in this case she would need to make the first move, despite her defensive nature. She would need to show her husband how serious she was, how much this meant to her. "I Heard a report that it wasn't just one player that died, but two." She knew that was the best way to start, it highlighted her own concern, and showed just how much they were needed. No one had died on any boss raid they had worked on, and with them gone players were dropping.

[Miaki 0]

Taking a walk was something the two of them did together all the time. Each time they would try and find a new path every time or make their own. They wore different outdoor gear that made them less recognized if they went into town together. Just two ordinary people taking a walk together. The snow crunched with each step they made, conveniently filling the would be awkward silence between the them. Miaki lowered his head but a little in reverence to the word of two deaths in the raid. In truth, people died every day in this game it stood to believe. After all there were thousands of players in Aincrad and the chances of slipping up were favorable. "Two huh?" He said in a low voice making a pause. In reality it wasn't a bad loss but it was still a loss. "That's really sad. But you do understand that death does happen right Hun? I can recall several more died in the first boss raid. And how many since then? There's the monument in the <<Black Iron Castle>> that shows the names of every player here along with the dead." He spoke of the <<Monument of Life>>, a large stone tablet that listed the names of all 10,000 players in SAO. Upon death, the name of the player is crossed out and information of the time and date along with the cause of death are listed with the name. Miaki only saw the tablet once on day one. At the time it was understood that the room was actually a respawn point for resurrection. Only a few hours later and it turned out that was a falsehood. "I don't mean to be heartless but death is unavoidable. It happens every day both here and in the other world. More so there. Even in a fairy tale death exists. You can't save every life. Most of the time it is beyond our control." Looking down at the thick snow he noticed he had been making a few wide steps and was distancing himself from Nikki. He quickly adjusted his pace and moved closer to his wife again. "You just can't let yourself feel responsible for every life. You have to accept that people die in war." He knew he probably sounded like an uncaring man but it was the truth. A look in any textbook or history book would prove it. People die when they are killed.

[Nikki Styx 0]

Nikki knew that people dieing was going to happen. She knew that she couldn't protect them all, and she knew that it was dangerous for her just as much as it was for everyone else. The truth is she had evolved so much in her time here, that it was impossible for her not to help. In the begging she was self centered, focused on her own survival, over everyone else's. She became a tank to guarantee that she could not die. But she learned the value of life, and put her skills to use. Standing between others and certain death made her feel good, like all of her years of playing games could be put to something useful. She had the knowledge of game systems to protect these people of Aincrad. She let out a Sigh, Michael had some solid points, but she was not prepared to back down. Not when these people needed her. Perhaps this could be viewed as her first challenge for them. 

 

She gave his hand a squeeze. "You know Id have agreed with you before." She said with a small smile. She knew she would have, as much as she didn't want to admit it. "It's dangerous, and every boss fought has the potential to kill us all. It is easier to wait, to sit it out, I won't deny that. But I, we, are not used to taking it easy." Her smile grew now as she spoke. She knew her true conviction, and fighting for what she believed in made her feel good. She knew that he would eventually see reason in her words. He was after all the Silver Swordsman.

 

"I wouldn't feel right having this game cleared around us, knowing we didn't help when they needed us the most."

[Miaki 0]

Miaki looked at his wife's beautiful smile and gave into the infectious effect it had on him. His expression slowly changed from the serious mood to a small smile. He was so glad that she wasn't gonna argue like most would. She understood him and he understood her. The point was for them to take that understanding and make them both feel comfortable with the decision. He listened to her talk about the dangers and saw she was giving him a chance to comment. "Yer right. That isn't like us. We want a taste of the action. And I know the dangers but together we can handle anything thrown at us." It wasn't like either of them were lightweights in the least. He had little fear for Nikki's life in battle as she demonstrated time and time again her strength in battle. Other people kept voicing their concerns for her safety, talking about her as if she were made of glass, but Miaki would just ignore them. If Nikki felt she could do it then Miaki had the fullest confidence in her. She could stand against seemingly unbalanced odds and would prove the superior beyond measure. Anyone who thought otherwise was a fool. "Again you are right. What gamer in their right mind would stand by while others beat the game for them?" This last point the answer to them was obvious. But he still didn't want to get fully engaged with the people. He simply wanted to fight and nothing more."I do have some conditions. First, I want us to stay out of the politics as much as possible. And second, we stay out here when we are not fight on the frontlines. Treat it like a job. Go out to fight in the morning or whenever and return home home at the end." The conditions felt fair enough to him and perfectly reasonable. He still wanted to have some grasp of the life he had right now and was hopeful that his wife agreed.