[OP-F3] The End (PM for invite)

[Kiru 0]

My eyes danced along the edge of the wooden table in front of me. I traced my finger around every hole, crack, and water mark on the table. Each time I lifted my finger I pursed my lips, determined not to land inside the table or get my finger stuck. Man, what a day that would be. I chuckled at the thought of someone getting their hand stuck in a table and rested my palm against the cold wood. Today was my off day. Keith was away, the guild was too, but I was spared and allowed to stay in town for a few days to recollect myself. So, being me, I came to the very same place I always did, Floor 3. Mostly I came for the Dandelion fields but also this shop I was in. It served the best cake I had, and the water was free of charge. I had just eaten my strawberry creme cake but my water was still half empty. I picked up the glass and drank almost all of the rest and set it down lightly so it wouldn't disturb anyone else. Oddly, I didn't like to be disruptive in cafes or restaurants. Besides, today was a pretty relaxing day.

 

Out of nowhere, a PM popped up in front of me, blocking my view from anything. "Must be from Keith." I said to myself and smiled. He always PMed me when he was close by, surely this was him now. There wasn't really anyone that messaged me about anything besides him. Excited, I opened it up. It read: "Keith is dead."

 

I stared at the words in front of me for the longest time before becoming severely confused. A small pit formed in my stomach, making me almost a little nervous to find out the sender. I shook my head and slapped my hands against my cheeks. "What? Hah, who would send me such a dumb message...especially right after he left. Jeez, whoever sent this is going to pay...seriously..." I thought and checked for the sender. The person that sent this wasn't being funny at all. I swiped at the message and clicked on every possible feature until I finally gave up with finding who it was from. There wasn't any way for me to figure out who had sent the PM to me so I decided to let it go with a sigh of closure. "Just spam...not real." I thought to myself and took another sip of my water. I swallowed it and opened up the PM again, reading it almost fifteen times before closing it again. I couldn't help but be a bit suspicious and worried about the simple words that meant so much to me. "Keith is dead." resonated through my head enough to make me check my friends list. I scrolled down to the K's. His name wasn't there. My face turned ghostly pale as I went to the top of the list and slowly went through my entire list, which had only a few people on it. He wasn't there. My breathing became faster as I tried to send him a message. The only thing that I got was an error message stating that this player name no longer existed. The cup in my hand fell to the ground and shattered into millions of pieces. My eyes widened and I drew in another sharp breath. This wasn't happening. This was a prank. Just a sick prank...Keith wasn't gone.. I shakily clicked out of my HUD and stood up with no balance. I staggered out of the shop and integrated into the town towards the exit. "No...."

 

I wiped the tear from my cheek and walked further through the town faster. Each person I passed gave me a confused look but I ignored them, now was not the time to yell at them for staring. I quickened my pace and sucked in a deep and uneven breath. My boots dug into the pavement without stopping until I reached the end of the safe zone and was out of the village. At the moment I was out of the village I began to sprint. As I did so tears streamed down my red face, making my vision blurry and my running very messy. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat but that only made it harder to stop crying. "No!" Tears flooded out of my eyes as I ran faster and faster away from everything, leaving nothing but a small village behind me. 

 

After a whole thirty minutes of constant running I came to halt at a large tree with millions of flowers dotted underneath it. I smiled a little and sank to my knees. Through blurry eyes I tried to tie the flowers together to make a flower crown like Keith did for me. Instead, my shaky hands managed to make a mess of the ground and left nothing but crumple flowers in my hands. Frustrated, I threw them at the ground and watched them scatter around me. I put my hands on my head and screamed at the top of my lungs. If there was a time to let everything out, now was the time. "NO!"

[Calrex 0]

"Huh, I don't usually come to this floor often, but it is a nice change of pace."

 

Coming back from the field was a man wearing a blue fur-lined coat with a white shirt beneath, sporting dark grey pants and boots on his legs. On his arms were a couple of deep-sea blue gauntlets and on the back of his hip was a similarly colored sword. As he looked around his blue hair moved with his head rotations. He gave a calming breath as he felt a breeze go by, "It's too bad I didn't get a chance to bring Teayre along. It's a nice setting."

 

"NO!"

 

"What in the?"

 

"That was almost a death wail level of scream. I think it came from...that direction?"

 

With that Calrex used his <<Sprint>> ability to quickly move in the direction of the scream, giving a quick exhale as he let his <<Reveal>> skill activate. Surroundings became partially see-through as he tried to home in on the origin of the noise. As he came over to a large tree, his eyes showing a person sobbing on the other side. The two-tone hair reminded him of someone Oikawa had mentioned, a person who was also a member of his former guild, the Azure Brigade.

 

"I think her name is...Kiru?"

 

With that he gave a calming breath, making his way over. Once he got within speaking distance he called over, "Hey...are you alright? What happened?"

[Rusty 0]

Rusty's left foot came to a stop as its toes calmy gripped the inner sole of his shoes. He had stepped in some sort of mud, a creamy slow liquid that was foul to the smell. The odor stank of feces and other fluids unknown to himself, the stench so unappealing that Rusty's nose wrinkled into one of utter disgust. "W-what is that!? That's disgusting!" He then removed his foot from the slimy substance and sighed as he continued on, searching for land. The day before, he had searched for some sort of place to read a book but was attacked by monsters that were unknown to him and he lost track of the area around him. Today, he spent all his time searching for a place to stay but his attempts were utterly useless as there was most likely nobody for miles and miles.

 

"At least the stench has gone away. Or I've gotten used to it. Hopefully the latter." Rusty grimaced to the thought of others smelling anything on his left foot, not to mention that the was his bad leg, so he felt as if left was unlucky for him. The boy looked up onto the sky as he trudged on through the endless prarie, the clouds of white-grayish outlines polluting the sky with some sort of prejudice. Was it about to rain? No, it couldn't be. The weather never changed. Maybe a rare occurrence or he could just be seeing things. He gazed at the sky, stopping for a moment. Something bad was happening, he could feel it. His bone shivered with intense fear and Rusty could feel the hair on his neck standing up. It was the calm before the storm. This wasn't some weird storm, and it wasn't just cloudy. 

 

Rusty dashed towards the direction he was heading with, his sword in hand. Something was happening and whatever it was, it was bad. He couldn't afford to stay out here any longer, not if he wanted to live to see the next sunrise. "NOOOO!" Rusty was set aback. A scream unlike anything he had ever heard before. Could it be? Going over one of the hills, he found a girl kneeling down to a lone tree, flowers surrounding it. It was a huge tree, one he had never seen before, but that wasn't what was on his mind. The girl was. He sprinted towards the girl and stopped, a few meters away. He recognized her.

[Kiru 0]

"This can't be happening....this isn't happening." I said, my voice shaking with worry and disbelief. "Keith...." I squeaked out and buried my hands in my face. First Zelrius' disappearance and now Keith's? They both had just dropped off of my friend's list without notice and I lost all form of contact with both of them. This wasn't real. This world, these occurrences..they weren't real. Were they? How was is that the strongest people I knew suddenly weren't..alive? The more I thought about it the more upset I got. It got to the point where I was hunched over and just silently sobbing my eyes out. I had thought of what it would be like if he left but I didn't expect things to be like. Never in my life had I gotten this upset over anything. Without two people now I felt empty but full of hatred. Who could have done this? 

 

There was a sudden voice that cut through my thoughts, someone was coming. I brought my hands up to my eyes and wiped my face, trying not to make it seem like I was crying. Though my blotchy face and red eyes were a dead giveaway. I hid my face with my bangs and turned away from the player, refusing to look at them. No on would see me broken right now. "Yeah! C-completely f-fine. Nothings....w-ro...NG!" I managed to get out without making any noises of pain.  "No! I am not alright. Keith....h-he...h.." I said in my head, trying not to think of this worst. I was a total pessimist but in this situation I couldn't, I had to be an optimist. I swallowed the lump in my throat and peeked back at the concerned player. My eyes met another person's though, the one standing behind him. Wait, two people were here now? I sniffled and faked a smile. "....just fine here." The second one looked familiar but I didn't care, nothing was worrying me more than Keith now.

[Calrex 0]

"Uh...she doesn't seem fine to me."

 

As the girl sitting in front of him tried to put on a brace face to reply to his question Calrex head movement behind him, looking back to see who it was. To his surprise it was a player had not seen in quite some time, "Oh, hey Rusty, long time..."

 

As he gave a nod he stepped slightly to the side. From the look on the girl's face, she seemed to know Rusty, so Calrex figured it would be better him to initiate any conversation than him.

 

"I swore she had said the name Keith. Isn't he one of the strongest players currently in Aincrad. With the way she's acting now...whatever happened must be related to him. I was only a member of the Brigade for a short while before everyone suddenly seemed to be released from their membership, well, everyone I knew at least."

 

He put his hands, still covered in the Grand Gauntlets, into his jacket pockets as he kept his eyes on the two in front of him.

[Rusty 0]

It was fairly obvious that Kiru wasn't fine at all, she had tear stains, red eyes and had a few voice cracks here and there, which all led up to the conclusion that she had experience something that most people never deal with, death. That was the only way Rusty could see the girl tearing up and that was most likely what had happened. She was in emotional distress and he had time to kill so he decided that he was going to at least try to help her, but considering her state and personality, that would be very difficult indeed. The first thing he needed to do what get rid of the facade Kiru was putting up, it wasn't going to help anyone at all if she kept that whole "I'm fine" charade going on for the entire conversation. In fact, she needed to let emotions out and not let them bottle up inside of her, she would go on rampage if it did.

 

"If you're fine, then we have no reason to be here. It seems to be that you are crying out of joy which is perfect sense, considering your happy expression." Rusty concluded, hoping for the girl to snap out of her optimism. "Now that I've gotten that sarcasm out of the way, you aren't fine. Usually you are more of annoyed type and typically don't show any emotion at all which by some books is signs of a textbook sociopath. What I'm getting at is something extremely tragic just occurred or you're having a mental breakdown which can be a viable option for why people that have your personality traits begin to sob, and if that's the case.... I should book it like a freaking librarian. So honestly, what's the matter?" He finished, sincerely worried about Kiru. 

[Kiru 0]

My facial expression stayed the same as I looked between Rusty and the other player: smiling with cold, dead eyes. This would be considered a "brave face," but, there wasn't anything brave about hiding the way I felt. I was just being a straight up coward. Mostly this was to protect my image but there was also the fact that I swore not to break down in front of everyone. I was good at pulling facades around everyone but Keith, he could always tell when I was sad of angry. Though he pushed my buttons all the times he managed to make me smile in the end. That was the thing about him though, he knew what I was feeling always but never told me how he felt. He always made me smile but I never knew how to make him smile. Even so, he was always smiling around me. I wiped my hand across my nose and sat up a little bit straighter. I focused my eyes on the two of them and collectedly spoke. "Yes, I'm fine... so please leav...." I dropped my smile and processed his words for a moment. Rusty, the one I met by the seashore, had he really just said that? Did he really just say I was happy about this? My eyes went from calm and emotionless to fierce and full of hatred. My cheeks turned hot with anger and my hands began to shake like the did when stuff like this happened. Only, Keith wasn't here to calm me down. His words made me snap. "JOY?" I screamed at Rusty with wild eyes forming an icy stare. "Do you really think I'm happy?! That I'm glad he died? Hm? Does it look like I'm just so enthusiastic that the only person I liked has just disappeared off the edge of Aincrad! HE DIED! Why would I be crying of JOY RUSTY?!" I shrieked and attempted to even out my breaths as he finished talking. My response wasn't sarcastic at all. Being sarcastic about something as big as this would be too painful for me to bear. I sniffled and took in very uneven breaths preparing to reply to him now. It took me a few moments but I had calmed myself down enough to say a few words. "Rusty....you are lucky not to be dead on the ground for what you just said." I hissed, glaring into his eyes. "I am fine. Even if I wasn't I wouldn't ask you for help, you don't even know what's going on and how to handle it...what would you do if you loved someone and were engaged to them, then they suddenly died? No warnings. Only a scary PM on a nice day. Then after that, every one of your friends lost contact with you? It would drive you mad, correct? To not have anyone..." I snipped, crossing my arms in attempt to stop myself from shaking under this kind of pressure. Right now I didn't want to admit it. That Keith was dead.

[Rusty 0]

Rusty's blank expression slightly turned into a frown as Kiru stated those last few sentences. It was almost an offense to what he had gone through over the years, still he had to forgive her in the sense that she was just now going through it. "You're done now right? Good. One, I do know what's going on. Not really on how to handle it, but I'm least I didn't become a blubbering mess. In fact, now that I think about it, I'm the most qualified person in this goddamn floor who understands how you feel considering that when I was twelve, my dad died. And if you're thinking I should feel the same way as you back then, no! I saw his freaking corpse in the window shield as they brought me to the ambulance with a fractured leg into the ambulance. The last memory I have of him is his forehead almost completely cut off and one of his eyes blown out. I CAN NO longer walk because of what happened seven years ago! Not to mention the fact that I moved to Japan right after that and was a complete outcast in the society! Guess what!? I didn't know it was weird to be by yourself or weird to speak in such a sarcastic and monotone voice? No! Wanna know what happened after that!? Nothing." Rusty's voice falter from one of that of digust and irritation towards one of just depression. His voice cracked as he said the last word. "Absolutely nothing. I was labeled as an erratic kid, students who transfered to my school were taught to ignore me and act if I wasn't there. The last time I talked to a kid for the sake of conversation was more than year before I entered this stupid game. That's how lonely I was. Sure, I had my sister and my mom, but that isn't being a regular person. That's a shutout, a person who barely sees the light of the day and never talks to anyone. The only goddamn thing I had was books and it has kept me going to this day and onwards. So suck it up and think next time before you speak."

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a small sigh to himself as he listened to Rusty and Kiru interact, "So just how many people in this game had emotional baggage in the real world before this, and how many developed it inside the game?"

 

He swiped down on his menu for a second, contemplating donning his Grand Chariot armor. He had to do it once before when he was with Teayre, Kotori, X, Zeri, and Corvus, but back then he was the strongest player in the group. Kiru, going from what he saw of her level, was four levels higher than him, and even with his armor equipped it would at best put them on equal standing.

 

"Great...deal with one situation and now I feel like I'm hardwired to expect the situation to go bad. I'd best be careful, should I make it out of this game, that this doesn't become instinct."

 

"Alright you two I think you've gotten your points across."

 

"...and now I'm having to play referee. That turned out so well the last time. Best be careful and learn from the mistakes of before."

 

As he stepped between Rusty and Kiru he looked over at Rusty and gave a nod, indicating that he understood his words. With that he turned back to Kiru, "Guess I should probably introduce myself first before speaking further. You probably don't know me, since I was only a part of the Brigade for a short period of time. I'm Calrex."

 

With that he stepped slightly to the side, turning so that he could address both Kiru and Rusty, giving a quick clearing of his throat as he gathered his thoughts, "Now, going from what I've heard so far it seems like both of you have someone that you have just recently lost..."

 

With that he turned to face Kiru, "...possibly sooner than the other..."

 

After finishing his sentence he turned to Rusty, "Rusty I'm sure you mean well by saying you know where she's coming from, but in this case placing the pain of loss on a scale doesn't really help. Pain is pain, no matter how bad one has it, and in the moment the suffering others have endured can possibly be insignificant to your own, because you're not feeling their pain. You're feeling your own."

 

With that he looked back over at Kiru, "As for you, I see you're on the defensive and trying to put on a brave face. It's nice to see that you didn't go and shut out you emotions over this. I almost made the same mistake some time back. But if those cries that we heard earlier are any indicator, you're definitely feeling something. It's alright to let those emotions flow, because if you don't all they're going to do is eat away inside you."

 

He put a hand behind his head as he relaxed his stance, "I can guess it would be embarrassing to be letting loose your feeling to a couple of almost strangers, but in this game sometimes it's the best you can get. If you're willing to open up about it I'm sure both of us are willing to listen."

[XWuZHeAR 0]

NOOO

I jumped as I heard this sound from far away. As I was bumming around on a rooftop in town with maruchan on my lap. His ears shot pointing up as his legs did the same.

"Maruchan track it!" I told my pup as I got up and we began running across the rooftops.

"Ruff ruff" maruchan barked as he led the way.

"Kiru..."

I instantly knew it was her it was like seeing well in this case hearing a friend you haven't for a long time. Like when a master leaves his dog for a long period of time. At first the dog misses his master but then moves on. However when the master returns so does the dogs loyalty.

Eventually we came to have Kiru in sight along with two other players. From this distance they seem like people I've met before but I didn't really focus on them. Me and maruchan then jumped from the roof down across the street from Kiru. I then pushed my way through the crowd to get to Kiru.

On my aproach I realize there was a player shouting at Kiru b*tching about his IRL life sucking and him not having any friends. This doesn't sit well with me especially how kiru's acting right now. Something's off and I don't like it. I even notice that calrex is here and not doing anything however I don't think he knows Kiru.

"Hey! Stop F*cking yelling! If it is as you say no one cared IRL, guess what guy no one cares here!" I yelled in the players face as I pushed him.

Now I turned to Kiru who was the main issue. I then walked over and lightly put my hand on her shoulder not caring about the danger.

"Kiru... What's wrong? I know your not being yourself... Don't tell me it was something he said!" I told Kiru as I cleched my fist gritted my teeth and stared at the player with brown hair.

[Zelrius 0]

Zelrius watched from a distance, a focused and hard expression on his face. The boy had ran off on his own after leaving the Meeting for the 10th floor boss fight. Since then he had done nothing: No grinding of level, No Money gaining, no messaging, nothing. He had removed everyone off of his friend's list and double checked to erase his name from all property he may have owned and disappeared. To everyone, it would seem he died, but that was not the case. The boy had had enough of the world around him and was more then ready to drop it. It wasn't until recently that he began to show up back on the outskirts of towns and fields, doing the tedious things he always did, and as always, thinking. He had thought long and was entirely ready to give up all together. Up until the Brigade ended up disappearing into the darkness just as quickly as he had and the announced death of Keith Yudai. One of his closest friends he had ever had, gone. And Now Shanok, Miaki, and Clarence were no where in sight or sound to be heard from. The world had fallen apart. Zelrius had expected that with his disappearance that the Azure Brigade would carry on, Clearing floors for the people who were trapped in the game, That was no longer the case.

 

Upon the announcement of Death, Zelrius decided it was finally time to make his return. He had been away a great deal of time, and since all the people he actually called friends had disappeared. All except a tid bit that remained. Part of that tid bit was Kiru, whom he'd known would take the hit the hardest, if she knew Keith was dead. So, he asked around towns up and down looking for her, and finally found his information. There he was now, footsteps up behind the now amassed group of people. Despite his sympathy and feelings of joy that the world still went on without him, Zelrius could only feel and show anger and irritation with the Girl.

 

"Get up, draw your sword, wipe away those tears, before I kick your teeth in and stick my blade so far in your arse, you'll spit dual colored flames for a week."

 

In the midst of saying all this, The boy removed his hydra skull helm and drew the legendary Phoenix weapon: The twinfire sword. The pendant that had the Azure Brigade's Sigil on it flared and there he stood: The Blood Buccaneer.

[Kiru 0]

I rubbed my eyes and glared up at Rusty, who seemed to be sharing his sob story of a past. It seemed to me that everyone I met had something wrong in the world. Someone died or they couldn't do something or they were an outcast. I didn't really understand how so many people could have scarred pasts, all I knew was that right now I wasn't myself. Right now I was in a state of denial and had no one that I wanted to talk to near me. I didn't want to accept any of this so I just listened intently to his words. "I'm not a mess...I.." I muttered under my breath. This whole situation was too unreal for me to even comprehend. I was sitting in a field of flowers being lectured by a child on how I should act when two people close to me disappeared. Was there even a way you were supposed to act? I was being told to let it out by some and just to move on. Those options didn't work for me though, they weren't enough. I mostly tuned Rusty out but I got the gist of what he was trying to tell me: that he had a hard time dealing with it but he kept moving along. By the end of his little rant I felt stupid. Me, Aoi Arakawa, almost a grown girl should not act like this. I should be putting on a brave face and going on with my life. But was that really okay? Keith was the closest and best friend I had ever met. No one ever got that close to me before, but somehow he managed to be my friend and eventually become more than that. It got to the point where I couldn't go a day without seeing him, that was how much I needed him. Now that he was gone, it hit me out of the blue and made my brain stop working. Nothing made sense to me. I couldn't accept that Keith was dead.

 

Calrex, the player who had come first, stood in between Rusty and I like we were about to be at each other's throats. I didn't feel like any combat right now, I was too exhausted and I knew if I tried I would miss every single hit. If anyone went against me right now I would probably be beaten to a pulp and left on the ground to die. But, he didn't know that. Once again, I kept my mouth shut and listened to him. He started out by introducing himself as Calrex, a former member of the Azure Brigade. "How many people were in Azure that I didn't know about? It's like everyone is a member now!" I thought and picked up one of the flowers I had thrown earlier. It was dented at the top and the stem was squished. As he spoke I plucked off the petals one by one. This flower occupied my attention for the duration of his speech. After he finally stopped talking I stopped playing with the plant and looked up at him. "Calrex, I'm not being brave. I am expressing that I am a coward and would like to be left alone. You should stop trying to "help" me." I said, using my finger to make quotations. "If I didn't know any better I would think you were wanting a reaction from me, wanting to see me break down right in front of you. That couldn't be your goal could it?" I scoffed and stared at the ground again. I didn't want to even look at anyone right now. 

 

Almost as if things could't get any worse, they did. Well, X was at the scene now. If there was a list of people I didn't want to be here right now, he would be on it. Don't get me wrong, X was cool and all but he always was biased and thought I needed protection. Also he thought he could protect me. There was no way he could with the enemies I face, he'd get killed in an instant, like mostly everyone here. I let out a sighed of annoyance when he began yelling at Rusty, then quickly averting his attention from him to me. To make things worse than they already were, he laid his hand on my shoulder. "X," I brushed his hand off of me, "Everything is fine. Some people make reactions bigger than they actually are. So please, leave before you get the wrong idea." I stated sternly without giving him a second look. Even with three people around me I had managed to keep the lump in my throat down. 

 

"Get up, draw your sword, wipe away those tears, before I kick your teeth in and stick my blade so far in your arse, you'll spit dual colored flames for a week." The words that came from behind me startled me, I didn't know there was yet another person to witness this. Even though the words scared me the only thing I could focus on was the voice. It was more than familiar. Slowly, I turned my head backwards. Out of nowhere I let out felt the lump in my throat rise. Zelrius was the trigger. My widened and my face turned red again. I covered a hand over my mouth and stood up shakily, barely pulling myself up to stand. "Z-zel...rius? I thought you...w-were dead!" I exclaimed with total shock, there was no sign of him for awhile and he wasn't even on the contact lists. So how? It didn't matter to me anymore, he was here now. I ignored his command to draw my weapon and wrapped my arms around Zelrius in a single desperate movement. "Keith....he..." I couldn't even finish the sentence because just the sight of Zelrius made tears come out again. I knew that this wouldn't last for long but in all of the shock I felt obliged to do so. I stood there, sobbing into the shoulder of the Blood Buccaneer.

[Calrex 0]

"No...I wasn't trying something like that. I guess I must have forgotten that people have their own different ways of coping with loss. Sorry..."

 

"Maybe I'm getting a little too concerned with helping people out. Ever since coming across Mari and Daeron...and speaking with Xanatos...I wonder if I've been putting myself too much out there."

 

Calrex kept his calm face on as he gave a nod to Kiru, stepping to the side. He had a feeling that he had entered into a conversation that he understood nothing about. Trying to step in when he did was foolish and rash, at least in his own opinion. Where had his calm, observant self gone?

 

Well, that part he could answer. After the shocking events he had experienced, it had decided to take a break. Before he tried to understand everything before speaking, and that lack of action caused things to escalate. Now...in this particular social situation, rushing in was the mistake.

 

"I guess I've still got some work to do on myself..."

 

Then...something he was not expecting happened, although the person's actions themselves was fairly predictable. X had appeared out of nowhere, doing his usual tough-guy act as if he were trying to protect the girl. It was things like this that made Calrex wonder exactly how old X's mind was, because his form definitely seemed older than his brain.

 

"Man, not again. Didn't you start enough trouble with Kotori the last time?"

 

Following X's sudden appearance a person walked over and straight to the girl. Upon hearing his name Calrex's eyes widened for a second.

 

"Zelrius...that name...I swear I've heard it in passing before. He was supposedly one of, if not, THE strongest player currently in SAO. It seems he knows this perso...wait, she mentioned Keith...from what I remember talking with Oikawa about...this girl must be Kiru. Wow, that took a while to put together...alright then, with that name out of the way that covers everyone here."

 

As Zelrius drew his blade Calrex made note of the Azure Brigade's symbol that flashed on his pendant, "So he is, or was, a member of the Azure Brigade. That sword seems pretty formidable. Of course from what Oikawa's told me Kiru's not a pushover herself, especially if she was the betrothed of Keith."

 

With that Calrex walked over beside Rusty, getting some distance from Kiru and Zelrius, "I have a feeling we're insignificant at this point. We should probably make some room."

[Rusty 0]

Rusty for a few moments, briefly considered killing himself because he wasn't sure how hard it was for people to understand his point for why he told basically his life story. Sure, it would be a quick and painless, and he would no longer have to explain himself to anybody, but it had its disadvantages. "Sure, if by your terms recently means only a seven years ago. So yeah, I recently lost someone." Calrex continued on with his little psychologist thing and Rusty listened on with a confused look on his face. He wasn't just playing therapist, he was actually trying to calm the both of them down when for the most part, they were. He meant well, but he wasn't going to have an effect on nobody if he kept playing the part of a shrink.

 

A person, somebody who Rusty had met before under especially weird circumstances, decided to show up at the worst possible time and act the worst possible way. X was his name and already he started yelling when he entered, berating Rusty for sharing his stupid story to Kiru and exclaiming that nobody cares about his life. Rusty facepalmed in the face of utter stupidity, sighing at the fact that X was being so idiotic. "The sad part is, I never said nobody cared. I said I was ignored. Also, if you are looking for fight, go somewhere else, this isn't the time. To put things bluntly, I have two things to say to you. One, if you know Kiru as well as it seems you do, then you know nothing I say will make her this sad, so stop acting as if testosterone is the very thing that drives your body and stop trying to start a fight everywhere you go. Seriously, you tried this last time X, when we were with Sapphire. Two, I don't think you have experienced death from the way you act, but if you do, then you should stop all of this right now. Someone who Kiru loved is now dead, no longer with us. Right now, you honestly shouldn't be acting like she's a damsel in distress. Now bug off."

 

It seemed like to day would never ended, another addition to the party arrived, this time with a yellow cursor and equipment of likes that he had never seen before. It seemed that Kiru and him seemed to know each other well, but it didn't sit quite right that this guy was already threatening a girl who thought he was dead, so the best way to handle this was with sarcasm. "If you are just trying to get her to stop crying act like herself that's ok, but if you aren't and you really are going to do that, let me remind you of the fact that there is no way to actually do that in the game. Sorry, but I don't think Kayaba Akihiko made it so that she can spit flames by doing that." Letting himself have another sigh, he retreated towards where Calrex was standing. "We're anything but insignificant. They either are going to mourn together or kill each other. I prefer the former though." 

[XWuZHeAR 0]

"So you don't think I've experience my fare share of death and despair in and out of the game because I don't whine about it like you do?... Ah well I am seriously gonna beat the HP out of that bar of yours." I said seemingly calm but clenching my fist with the will to fight.

But suddenly a player I was told about appeared... This player was the richest and most powerful in the game. Hell I'm lucky Im able to work this angle on him as I really can't protect Kiru from this one.

"Say uh Zel... Look man if you fight Kiru... You see, me and rusty are already fighting, so it's gonna get really awkward for calrex here when all he has left to do is PM his girlfriend..." I said aproaching Zel.

"I was told to track you down and let you know the favor for receiving twin fire Phoenix blade is being called in... The sin of the lion is yours to bare... I was only recently let in on this..." I whispered to Zel using my stealth skill to hide my words not that the others would understand it anyhow.( stealth rating: 13)

I then stepped back from Zel and returned to Kiru's side and knelt down and picked up maruchan. I then flared up at rusty whom I now remembered was the one who backed down from fighting me last time. It seems this time I would have to go even further if I truly want to push him off the deep end.

"Hey rusty check this out... Yeahhhh you see that?... Oh oh oh look look I can do this too, here and in the real world. Hahaha!" I said to rusty as I began walking around him then doing some little dances and exaggerating the movement of my legs.

Come on just fight me damnit...

[Zelrius 0]

Stern faced, Zelrius only glared Rusty. He looked to Kiru at his side then back to the boy he had not seen before whom was making snide and smart-alecky comments. Of Course, Zelrius did the likes of those himself often, But he knew the time and place. This was not a time nor a place to be joking around. Gritting his teeth and pointing that Twinfire sword at Rusty, Zelrius spoke, his voice full of narcissism and hate.

"I am going to assume that you, a pampered low leveled brat have no Idea whom I am. So I am going to make this really easy for you: Back. Off. I do the most damage a player can do by miles, and I am not afraid to demonstrate that on you. You've more than likely already noticed the cursor above my head. You're not my first, and you sure as hell won't be my last."

With that he gave one more look at Rusty, then turned back to Kiru. The Blood Buccaneer was angry at her for simply sitting here and crying about it. Not finding who or what did this and eliminating that scum or die trying. But it was hard to stay mad at what may be your only living friend, so he half hugged her by putting an arm on her back. In a whispering voice, Zelrius let Kiru in on a possibility. "Look, the chances are low, But he could have very well did the same thing I did. Either he could have done it alone or he did it with the rest of the Brigade. The idea was to delete all contacts and run into hiding. As unlikely as it seems, I think Keith might have left you out of that, hoping that you'd help these losers get out of the game." Now back to his usually attention holding and arrogant voice, Zelrius went on "Remember, He was my friend too. But we cannot waste time grieving. You and I are the only two left that are as high of a level as we are. And well there are others who match our levels, None of them have the slightest experience in actual combat. None of them know how to plan and hold a Boss fight, or how to strategize  or coordinate a boss fight. And unfortunately They cannot learn on their own. It comes down to you and me. Unless Mar-" Zelrius stopped short and his eyes widened, He looked around then back to Kiru "Where is Mari?"

[Rebekah 0]

Rebekah was thinking whether or not to intervene or not, as she was nearby hunting until she heard a commotion. She got there to see the entire conversation unfold, but it was not until the exact moment when Zelrius started to draw his sword and insult her guildmates was where she was going to draw the line, and act upon it. She was a bit shocked to see Zelrius again, after he had disappeared off the face of Aincrad, but she thought to herself, there was no way someone like Zelrius would die that easily, and was probably in hiding. Rebekah spoke, "Zelrius, if I were you I would seriously reconsider attacking my guild mates. Also, you idiots [as she turned to Rusty and X, but Rust in particular] what are you trying to accomplish picking a fight with him?"

As she spoke, she looked at Kiru, even though Rebekah has never really talked to Kiru before on a personal level, Rebekah had experience the type of thing that Kiru was facing in real life, and wanted to reach out to her when she originally heard about Keith. But she did not, as she did not know her well enough to ever start talking. She spoke quietly to Kiru, "If there is anything you want or would like to talk about it, feel free to contact me."

She turned her attention back to Zelrius, nobody here could take him alone without help, and seriously doubt that anyone would try. They both knew that what she said was an empty threat, as she would never fights anyone stronger than her. She knew that what he had said was the absolute truth but was still insensitive for the current situation. Maybe it would be the type of thing that gives Kiru hope again and move on with life, but if the bubble burst, that could be disasterous. That said, there was still no reason for the most arrogant player to talk to her guild members like that, even if she did agree with everything that he said."

[Kiru 0]

As I kept my face in Zelrius' shoulder I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the stupidity going on around me. Listening to the conversations and jabs at Zelrius were enough to turn my cries into quiet and broken laughs. The people surrounding us because of my one scream didn't know the capabilities of the Player Killer standing before them. He could cut someone down in three slashes if he wanted, and he would. Even if all of them attempted to take him on at once he would still be the victor with barely any scratches. I was about to explain to them who Zelrius really was but it seemed that Zel did a good job of that himself. After he spoke to Rusty, he turned his attention towards me. He changed his tone of voice and for once almost seemed to be a little more human. Zelrius began my putting his arm on my back, then changing his voice into a whisper and quietly explaining something very important to me: Keith could still be alive somewhere. 

 

My eyes iced blue eyes widened at his words. From a distance no one would hear what he just said to me, and I didn't want them to. I knew why he ha said it so quietly, or part of it at least. It was probably that they would either want to help search, becoming very annoying, or he didn't see it necessary that he tell them. This was something personal to him and I, I wouldn't want anyone to butt in and "help" me either. I looked Zelrius in the eye for a split second as a silent thank you. Could there really be a possibility that Keith was just in hiding? It didn't seem like he would drop everything, leave without telling me, and separate himself from Azure. Keith, to me, seemed like the kind of guy to give me a heads up or at least send a message explaining what happened. But, the sliver of hope that Zelrius just gave me was enough for me to keep going. 

 

After addressing me personally he moved on to to his usual tone of arrogance and went on to state facts about the two of us. He was right, there was no time for grieving over a loss that might not even be a loss. Keith could still be out there considering I had only gotten that message an hour ago. I paused, the message! Could that have been sent by someone to scare me, to make me give up on the search? Vile? The chances were highly unlikely that the PM was a coincidence, making what Zelrius just said correct in a sense. I lifted my head from his shoulder and stood beside him with crossed arms. Yes, my eyes were red and my cheeks were tear-stained but I had an absolute serious expression on my face. "Yeah, I understand now. Thank you" I said quietly to Zelrius. "That's true. People have been catching up to my level because I've been slacking lately but in the battle sense I can't think of anyone who could replace me. You know how to lead an entire boss battle and keep everyone in check. I on the other hand am not afraid to fight until my HP hits zero, not that it ever will." I sniffled, trying to keep my composure as serious as my face was. Yes, I made a fool of myself by sobbing and literally breaking in front of these people but that was no more. I had a reason not to now. Next, he said something about a certain lady with pink hair. At the mention of Mari I nearly choked, my face heating up in a few seconds. "That woman." I said sourly, "Who knows where she is? I for one would rather not take a step near her again. After she....she did that I don't think things will ever be same. It will be akward and annoying for the both of us. If you insist, I would rather not meet up with her in person. I'm sorry but I do not know- nor do I care where Mari is." I closed my eyes and breathed outwards, trying not to recollect what happened when she snapped. Her potion induced madness spoke for itself and made it very clear that she wasn't stable.  

 

Entering on the right was yet another player. The blonde was quick to assume things, blaming Zerlius right way and accusing him of threatening her guildmates. It was true he probably scared them and threatened them but there wasn't any reason for her to intervene. I sighed and uncrossed my arms. "Thank you but I've had enough with everyone trying to be my psychiatrist today, so I think I'll pass. If I were you I would reconsider making such a bold statement. Since no one sees to be getting this through their head, I will repeat it: Zelrius is not joking. He isn't as kind as some people and doesn't bluff. Trust me, it's scary when he makes a move with his sword. I am not speaking highly of him because I am scared, I respect him. IT would be in your best interest to do the same. IF you were take him on including everyone here in the mix you would have trouble dealing damage. That is if you really wanted to kill him. Put with Zel in a combat situation? You guys would be dead in an instant. So, do yourselves a favor and do as he says: Back. Off." I stated sternly, now becoming a lot colder and less tolerant. I was at my limit of how everyone talked and thought about me, so why not make it crystal that I too was not screwing around. I understood that they were helping me but there was one problem, I didn't accept help from others.

[Calrex 0]

"...and yet more newcomers...well this is certainly turning into a big crowd."

 

After letting Rusty finish his statement Calrex gave a small sigh as he gave him a pat on the shoulder, indicating that what he said was enough.

 

"I've definitely misjudged the situation. This isn't like with Kotori and the others. I'm not the strongest here, and with the fact that there is a powerful Player Killer amongst us it'd be best to not let things get worse by spouting defensive or assumptive words. It'd be wiser to simple observe at this point."

 

As Zelrius mentioned Mari Calrex felt a twinge for a second. He was there for the incident that Kiru had hinted at, but he was there for the aftermath. It was where Daeron had attempted to end his own life, and where he witnessed the more unforgiving side of a couple of players he had met during his travels. It somewhat worried him to think at a couple of the stronger players in the game were so mentally unstable at this point.

 

As he looked over at Zelrius and Kiru, he didn't get the same vibe from the two. They for the most part seemed to have their heads on straight, stressing for the most part.

 

With that he went over and patted X on the shoulder as well, "It would be wise to make some room. I've got a feeling the situation might escalate, and we might want to make some room."

 

"As if he'd listen to me. In any case if he decides to continue on I can't say I tried."

 

As he stepped a few more paces away from the group he opened his menu, keeping his cursor on his Grand Chariot armor, just in case things went south. He wasn't the strongest, but he also wasn't the weakest in this group. Judging from Zelrius' level, even with strategy it would be difficult to even take him down to half health. It would be foolish to think that they could bridge the huge gap between each other with numbers.

 

However, he wasn't sure if the others were aware of this fact. Hence he had to be prepared in case more lives were at risk.

 

"I need to choose my actions wisely. If I've learned anything from these two situations, it's not to be afraid of death, but the fear of acting in spite of it."

[Zelrius 0]

He nodded as Kiru stepped away from him. Now the boy turned toward the others his sword still emitting the Azure and Maroon flames. His light blue jacket flowing out behind him. Rebekah, whom he had known before and even slightly trusted her. He glared at her with daggers in his eyes, hating her now for opposing him. "Reconsider? I might. But not for the reasons you think. I will reconsider because I need you guys as Much as you need me. We are all in this together. And I will get as many of us out as possible. But with attitudes like the one your Guildmate has that makes it difficult to leave some of you alive. Now, on to other matters. I ask where Mari is, because if She is not around I need to know. Furthermore, It seems our friend Kiru here is quite alright, You all can stop babying her, considering if anything, you guys are the babies."

 

​He stopped, glancing from face to face, waiting for reactions. Closing his eyes for a second, Zelrius took a deep breath and re assumed his common arrogance and narcissism with great ease. Putting his twinfire sword away, The Blood Buccaneer realized his mistake in all this: His tone was all wrong. And now it was time to change that

 

"Kiru here gives good advice." The boy remarked whilst securing his Skull helmet back on his head "Here: If you insist on fighting me, You get first strike. I wouldn't feel right destroying defenseless children." A Smirk appearing on his lips, Zelrius was more than willing to fight, but on the inside he'd rather that these people of all would live, because otherwise, it'd be himself against bosses. And well with enough grind, might not be that much of a problem, He'd rather not go through years of his life defeating little BS mobs.

 

"If you don't want to fight, Draw your weapons and raise it. This is it right here: Either we end this hate for me right here, and you all strike me down and take my gear for yourselves, Or you put aside your feelings and we continue to clear floors together."

 

One last glance toward Kiru: "We will find him, if it's the last thing I do."