[F22 - PP] I dunno, what's a dramatic title we can use?

[Yukiro 0]

Spoiler

Yukiro

********************************************
LEVEL 27
540 HP | 54 EN | 8 DMG | 3 ACC | 44 MIT | 3 EVA | 1 REG | 1 FLN 

Skills:
2H Straight Sword - Rk 5
Light Armor - Rk 2

 

Equipped:

• "Unnamed" - 2H Straight Sword (T2 Demonic) ACC x3 Gain 3 to the BD on an attack roll, cannot be used to make a critical hit | FALLEN x1 Successful attack rolls of 6-8 (before modifiers) gain 4 fallen damage to your total base damage.
• "Briar Cloak" - Light Armor (T2 - Demonic) MIT x2 Prevent 36 damage from successful attacks against you | REG x1  | CRSD
• "Ravenfeather Treads" - Light Armor (T1 - Perfect) EVA x3 Reduces the die value by 3 on an enemy’s attack against you. Cannot be used to avoid a critical hit.

Equipped Vanity Items:

N/A

Familiar: 

• Yumi - N/A

Battle-ready Items:

T1 Health Potions of Uncommon Quality (+40HP) x5
Starter Healing Potions (Heals 50 HP) x3
Crystal of Agile Dragon Wings (Teleport crystal) x2
T1 Damage Potion. (+1 Damage) x1
T1 Over-Health Potion (+50 Temp. HP) x2

Yukiro's boots made soft noises as they brushed against the grass of floor 22. Everything felt quiet and still around him; but then again, he chose the middle of the night for that reason. He glanced up at the clock in the borders of his vision. 

11:47 PM

Good. Nobody would be out at this time of night. Anybody who would want to check his location would be fast asleep by now. That assured Yukiro that he'd be alone. It was guilting to be avoiding the people who had messaged him for the month he'd been locked away; Cordelia, in particular, had been adamant in sending multiple messages every day. He'd have to respond to them eventually. 

He wasn't just here for no reason though. He'd gotten one message in particular from a certain info broker. 

Quote

To: Yukiro
If you need a reason to live, find the Forest of Memories on Floor 22. 
From: Fleur

At first he'd ignored it. But, as time passed, he'd decided that he should go see what she'd meant. He'd quietly slipped out from his shop and went to the 22 floor, which was far above his level. Finally, after just under an hour of walking, thick fog started to seep from the forest. ahead of him. Yukiro tightened his cloak around his shoulders and started into the mist. 

@Cordelia

[Cordelia 0]

Spoiler

To: Cordelia
You know the kid you were looking for? You'll find him on floor twenty-two. Forest of Memories.
From: Fleur

Cordelia rubbed her eyes tiredly as she read the message again. Kid--

"Yukiro."

The blankets around her legs tangled as she bolted up from her mattress, which nearly sent her falling face flat on the ground, but she caught herself just in time. The girl let out a ragged exhale. 

Weeks. It had been weeks since she had last seen him. She had messaged him countless of times, yet she had never gotten a reply from him. He is alive, she knew that. She could still see his marker on her map. It never left his shop. There were days when she would go visit his shop itself, only to find it closed. She wondered if he ever saw her standing outside with a disappointed expression.

She felt her hands tingle as she opened her menu again. Was this Fleur person really correct? Did he finally leave the confines of his shop? Was he out there? 

Strands of silver white hair hovered over her face messily as she clicked on his name. Please, please, please--

She paused and nearly felt the stinging of tears prick at the corners of her eyes. There he was. Right where the broker had told her he was. At first she was angry. Angry at him for leaving her in the dark. Leaving everyone in the dark. Then she felt confused. Why had he left her in the dark? Was it something she had done? Did she do something to upset him? Did she do something wrong? Then, she was worried. It wasn't like Yukiro to act like this. He wouldn't do this without at least telling her something. Anything.

The girl closed her menu and gripped on the hems of her shirt with tight fists as she stood in the dark room. She wasn't sure what to do. What could she do was the better question. Sneak out and find him? It was dark. Well past the time where everyone would have fallen asleep.

But it's Yukiro. 

She bit her lip. The same boy who had accompanied her throughout so many journeys. Thick and thin. She needed to know what happened. She needed to know why he wasn't responding to her messages. She needed to know why he wasn't leaving his shop. She needed to know what the hell was going on with him. 

11:40 PM

Without waking up Oscar, Cordelia slinked out of the house quietly, her gear equipped and her katana placed firmly on her hip. She was going to find out what was going on whether she liked the outcome or not.

11:47 PM

It wasn't long before she had made it to the Forest of Memories. So this was where Yukiro was, huh? After all of these weeks of zero contact with the boy, she was suddenly anxious. A month was a long time. Could he have changed? Personality wise? Appearance wise? What if he was a completely different person? Her heart sank at the thought of that. 

Cordelia's lips straightened into a thin line as she approached the forest. Would it be any use to call out for his name? Would he even hear it? And if he did, would he even try to reply back? Or would he run? She couldn't take the chances of losing him. Not now. Not when she had just finally found him.

She paused again, suddenly becoming aware of a figure she had noticed while she was in thought. Her first instinct was that it was a hostile mob, but as she focused more on the shadow, she quickly took note of the familiar features. 

White hair.

"Yukiro?"

[Yukiro 0]

"Yukiro?"

The boy froze mid-stride, his breath catching a bit as his mouth hung slightly agape. He knew that voice immediately upon hearing it. How did she find him all the way out here? It wasn't like she was the kind of person to randomly wander out to misty forests in the middle of the night. 

But, then again, he hadn't seen her in a very long time. 

Yukiro's mind seemed to race, yet he was unable to grasp onto any thoughts. After what seemed to him like a small eternity, the boy turned to look over his shoulder. He was right. Cordelia was there, looking at him. Should he run? He wanted desperately to get away. His legs were already poised to start running, but they weren't moving. He didn't know what to do. 

Finally, Yukiro closed his mouth, using both hands to pull the black cloak over his slumped shoulders. He turned to face Cordelia completely. He opened his mouth to say something, to apologize, but nothing came out. He just stood there, quietly looking down at the ground until the words managed to tumble out of his course throat.

"...It's me."

[Cordelia 0]

"... It's me."

Cordelia felt something in her snap.

"It's me?" She asked incredulously. "That's it? That's all you say after you've been missing for weeks?" She said weakly, her voice cracking. "Do you really have nothing more to say than that?"

She was angry. She was beyond angry. She had been trying to reach him for weeks and this was all she got? It's me? Not even a hello? An apology? Nothing? Did he really have nothing to say to her after all of this? Did he even read her messages? Did he even know how worried she was for him?

Cordelia let out a labored breath as she felt her whole body tremble. With anger? WIth sadness? WIth disappointment? She couldn't even recognize the type of emotion she was feeling.

Her eyes directed to the ground. She couldn't stand to look at his face, for she was scared that if she looked, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from connecting her fist to it. 

"Did you know how worried I was? How worried everyone was?" She whispered hoarsely, trying her best to keep her voice steady. "I've messaged you dozens of times. Did you even bother to look at them? I-I. . . I've knocked on your shop doors and everything and you never answered. I tried everything and now I suddenly find out wondering a forest alone in the middle of the night? What the [censored], Yukiro? I was scared shitless and this-- this is how I'm just going to see you again?" 

She didn't understand.

She just didn't understand.

They were friends. Companions. How could he do this to her? To everyone else worrying about him? How could he just disappear without a single world and suddenly come back into her life like this? It was unfair. Why did it have to be so unfair?

[Yukiro 0]

Yukiro took an involuntary step backwards as Cordelia's words pounded his very being. A part of him wanted to collapse, to fall into the earth and never get up again. He had been fearing this very moment; the moment when he'd have to face the people he cared for again. 

As much as he wanted to speak, the boy couldn't manage to form sounds. He wanted to apologize for disappearing. He wanted to tell her how he read every single message than was sent to him, how he sat by the shop's wooden door as people tried to visit. But nothing left his mouth. Yukiro's legs trembled beneath his cloak, his shallow, uneven breaths making small clouds of mist in front of him as he looked at his feet. 

Almost as if he was in slow motion, he took another step backward. 

"I-I'm sorry," his soft, trembling voice came, "I'm so, so sorry." 

As he spoke, Yukiro took a few more short, unsteady steps away from his friend. 

[Cordelia 0]

From the corner of her eye, she watched him step away. In fear? In dismay? They expression on his face was indescribable. 

No, don't leave. Please, not again.

. . . Is what she wanted to say but she just couldn't. She didn't know how she was supposed to feel. Was she supposed to feel angry? Sad? Confused? Sympathetic? She. . . she just wanted things to be like how they used to be; simple. Why did she have to get dragged into this bullshit? Why did Yukiro have to drag her into this bullshit?

She said nothing. She wasn't sure if she could say anything. She felt lost. Completely and utterly lost. She wanted to, so desperately, to forgive him. To smile and to tell him that it was okay, that everything was going to get better, but she couldn't. She couldn't do any of those things without knowing what the hell was going on. 

"Please don't go," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, "I don't want to lose you again."

[Yukiro 0]

I don't want to lose you..! 

The words made Yukiro stop; not because he wanted to, but because that was the very thing he wanted to say. 

But I already... 

Something dripped off his face. Yukiro's eyes were blurry. Was he crying? A hand moved to touch his cheek. There were wet lines running down his face. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force the tears to go away, but it only made it worse. His breath caught in a small, choking gasp and his knees buckled below him. Yukiro nearly collapsed, wavering unsteadily on his feet.

The sense of total loss he was feeling was overwhelming. He couldn't fight it. He wanted to get away. He needed to. But as he tried to turn around, his legs finally gave out. The boy collapsed onto his knees, facing half-away from Cordelia. Quiet sobs were almost audible as he fought to regain control over himself. 

[Cordelia 0]

Cordelia's face fell as she watched him try to keep himself up. Just then did she realize. He was thinking the same thing. Neither wanted to lose each other, yet neither had the courage to face the other. 

Her lips quivered as she felt hot tears start to cascade down her cheeks. He wanted to leave. She could see it evidently on his face. Why? Why, why, why, why? Did he not like her anymore? Did she do something wrong? Tell her, what did she do wrong? She sobbed harder. What was she doing wrong?! 

Was is something she did? Was it something she said? What did she do to make him so desperately want to leave her presence? 

Her whole body tingled as she stumbled slowly to him. "Don't leave, please," she begged, her face pleading, "I can't stand this anymore, Yukiro. I can't."

The girl fell to her knees in front of him as she cried uncontrollably. "At least tell me what I did wrong. Tell me what I can do to make this better!" She cried, her gloved hands balling into tight fists on her thighs as she looked down. "I don't know what to do. Tell me what I did wrong, please!" She pleaded, not sure how much longer she can take the dreaded silence.

Talking became so much harder. Her throat felt as if it had closed completely, which left her voice completely dry and ragged. "Please," she murmured, her throat feeling like gravel, "please tell me what I can do to make this better."

[Yukiro 0]

Yukiro's breath caught in his throat as Cordelia wept. She was blaming herself? Did she not know what had happened? His neck seemed to creak as he looked over at the crying girl. A new feeling was starting to pierce his chest; unrelenting guilt. His mind was almost blank, save one thought that penetrated his spirit. 

I need to help her. 

The hoarse, quiet words started to spill out of Yukiro's mouth before he could even think about what to say. 

"You didn't do anything wrong. It was all my fault. I let her go alone." He knew that Cordelia wouldn't know what he meant, but Yukiro couldn't stop his voice from proceeding. "There's... There's nothing you can do. Nothing anyone can do."

He slowly curled up into a ball inside the folds of his long cloak. 

"...Nothing I can do." 

Yukiro buried his face into his knees, a new wave of tears coming. He didn't want Cordelia to see him like this; or anyone else. The boy wanted nothing more than to sink into the earth and truly disappear. 

[Cordelia 0]

She looked up at him in disbelief. ". . . it's not?" She asked, her body quivering. 

Her? She looked down at her clothed hands and furrowed her brows. The once distraught expression on her face had quickly morphed into confusion. Her. Her. Her. Cordelia's thoughts retreated to the back of her mind.

Her.

Months ago. Christmas. She remembered. She remembered her. 

Cordelia gasped as she cupped her hands over her mouth, her features changing into a horrified expression. It didn't take a genius to put all the pieces together. Why he was like this. Why he seemed so lifeless, broken and distraught. Why he hadn't left his shop in weeks. Why no one had even seen him for the past month.

"Tala?" She asked, her voice almost inaudible. She didn't need an answer to already know the answer. "Oh, God, Yukiro," she croaked, her eyes widening in shock. 

His fiancee. A person he could've likely spent his whole life with. Gone? She didn't even know the poor girl that well yet she still felt her own heart throb in pain for her. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, staring at the ground in incredulity. She had so many questions buzzing in her head that it was hard to keep track of them. How did she die? When did this happen? Why hadn't he told anyone sooner? Where was he when it happened? 

[Yukiro 0]

Yukiro nearly flinched when Cordelia put the pieces together. He felt bad for not telling her, but he just also relieved that he wouldn't have to say what had happened. Instead, he just nodded to confirm what was suspected. 

"It wasn't your fault," he repeated in an empty, quiet voice. He opened his mouth to say something more, but nothing came out, so he closed it again. 

The boy let go of his legs, letting his upper body fall back into the grass. His sad, wet eyes stared up at the sky. Would Tala be happy seeing him like this, he wondered. Would she be proud of him for locking himself away, for avoiding everything he possibly could? He already knew the answer to that. 

Slowly, words started to come to him again. "I never learned the details. One day she was just... gone. Forever. We never got to say goodbye." Tears started to form in his eyes again. 

It should have been me, it should have been me, it should have been me... 

[Cordelia 0]

She looked at him sadly. "Why didn't you tell me?" The girl asked, her voice holding slight betrayal. "You know I would've been there for you, you that," she murmured, her eyes casting down to the ground.

Maybe you wouldn't have had to lock yourself up if you did. Her lips pursed into a thin line. It was a selfish thought, but she couldn't help but think it. 

Cordelia sniffled. She was a mess of emotions, a ticking time bomb. She felt like she needed directions on how to feel, or else she would just explode. She paused as it went silent. She knew he was thinking. She knew what he was thinking. He was blaming himself. It was a natural way to cope with a sudden death like that.

"Stop blaming yourself," Cordelia muttered, "none of it was your fault. Don't ask why I know either, it's obvious," she said with a dry laugh, "it's like I can just hear you thinking."

[Yukiro 0]

"..." 
Yukiro wasn't sure how to respond to Cordelia. He was at fault... He had to be, there was nobody else to blame. So why was he taking comfort in her words? For a long while Yukiro just laid there in the grass, saying nothing as one arm covered his closed, leaking eyes. Time seemed to move at a crawl, but he didn't even try to say anything until his eyes were tired and dry from crying. With trembling arms Yukiro pushed himself back up into a sitting position. 
He wasn't sad anymore. He just felt... empty. 

"It..." He paused. His throat felt dry. Talking hurt. But he forced himself to continue. "...I can't blame... anyone else. But... I'll try." 

He let out a shaky breath. His entire body was feeling dry and weak. He slowly looked over at Cordelia. 

"...Cordelia..." 
Yukiro turned his entire body to face her. He felt like he needed to do something. To tell her something important. He didn't know why it was important, but it was. He needed to tell her.

"...My name..." he said, the first thing he'd said with even an ounce of confidence, "Is Kite Junichiro."

[Cordelia 0]

“Then don’t blame anyone,” she argued, sighing to herself before she calmed herself down. “It’s not anyone’s fault. Not yours, not mine, not Tala’s,” she murmured quietly, her shoulders relaxing.

Cordelia let out a raspy cough. It hurt to even let in a deep breath at the moment. Her throat felt narrower than a straw and felt like sandpaper. 

“Huh?” She echoed, turning to face Yukiro. 

She blinked. And then blinked again. A small smile formed on her tired face as she let out a small laugh. “Quite the timing, eh?” The girl said, “it makes me happy though. Thanks for telling me that,” she whispered softly. She felt like calling a person by their real name was sort of a taboo in Aincrad nowadays, but it was nice to know that someone trusted her enough to share their real name.

Cordelia looked off into the distance, a slightly glassy look to her eyes. ”Amara Le,” she sniffed, “my name is Amara Le.”

[Yukiro 0]

Yukiro turned a little red as Cordelia pointed out his poor timing. Despite his embarrassment, the change of topic was helping him feel better, if only slightly. Yukiro looked away, staring pointedly at the grass once again. 

"Amara Le. My name is Amara Le." 

The name pricked at the boy's mind. Something told him that he knew that name, but it was too vague for him to dwell on it. The fact that Corde-- that Amara trusted him with her name meant a lot to him. Yukiro nodded to the ground, not sure what to tell her. And yet, despite his insecurity, he slowly spoke. 

"...Thank you," he told her.
A sudden feeling of guilt swept over him again. This time, it was the guilt of having left her, and everyone else. 
"I... I'm sorry... That I left like that. I just..." 
I just couldn't bear it all.
"...I read the messages. All of them. I listened by the door whenever anybody came by. I secretly visited the places I had fond memories of..." The boy's dry eyes got a little wet again as he talked. Taking a deep breath, he looked at Cordelia with trembling eyes. 
"I missed you." 

[Cordelia 0]

"It's. . . fine," she murmured, trying her best to give him a smile. It hurt. It hurt that he didn't trust her enough to go to her in situations like this, but that was the last of her worries at the moment. "I missed you too," she said, hugging her knees close to her as she laughed to herself. 

"You missed so much stuff in the past few weeks, it's crazy," Cordelia exhaled, her eyes widening for a split second. He had missed everything. Her getting together with Oscar. . . the Valentine's Day Gala. . . the opening of her shop. . .

"I need to show you something once we get out of here, and then we can chit-chat there, okay?" She asked, giving him a small smile. She's changed in the past month. He's changed. Both of them have changed. Maybe into two completely different people. 

She scooted closer to him and give him the most serious face she could muster. "We're going to get through this together, okay? You're not going to be alone in this, do you hear me?" She asked, her lips slightly quivering. That was the last thing she wanted Yukiro-- Kite to be. Alone.

 

[Yukiro 0]

I missed a lot, huh? I guess... I guess that's to be expected when you do what I did. 

Yukiro attempted a smile. It was a bad attempt, but he was trying. He was going to ask what she wanted to show him, but he decided that it didn't really matter. If Amara wanted him to see something, he owed her at least that much. 

"Alright... Let's go then. The fog... The fog is making it cold here anyway." He added the excuse more to convince him than to convince her. "Make sure I don't try to run off, okay?" 

The boy unsteadily pushed himself to his feet. Taking a moment to regain his balance and brace himself, he offered a hand to help Cordelia up after him. It made him at least a little happy that things had gone on without him, though that same fact was also a little saddening. But he'd pretend it was a happy statement, if only to make Amara happy. He only wished he had some stories to tell her too. The only thing he'd really done was lay on the ground in his shop. Maybe he could tell her the stories behind all the places he'd visited. 

"Hey, Amara... Thank you. For being here for me." 

[Cordelia 0]

Oh, it's going to be colder where we're going.

She cracked a small smile. "As a guy who rolled down a whole hill of snow and become a literal Frosty the Snowman for an hour, Kite, I expected better cold tolerance from you," Cordelia joked, remembering back to that time they had slain the Avalanche.

She reached for his hand and heaved herself up. "Don't worry," she huffed, flashing him a childish grin. "I'm pretty sure I can run faster than you, anyway." She chuckled to herself and patted him on the back reassuringly before she gestured to the exit of the forest.

"Oh, that? Don't worry about it. That's what friends do, right?" She murmured, looking over her shoulder at him before she shrugged her shoulders. "Anyway, hurry up now! The surprise isn't going to get anywhere closer if we just stand her and chat all day!" She exclaimed, taking a few steps forward.

 

[Yukiro 0]

Yukiro turned slightly red as Cordelia reminded him of the snowball incident. He had hoped he could forget that. Unfortunately, it seemed evident that there would be ample reminders. 

"I'm pretty sure I can run faster than you, anyway." 

Wincing internally, the boy attempted a smile and nod. He knew it was meant to be a joke, but to him it was a painful wake-up call. She was faster than him. He'd been gone so long that he was probably far, far weaker than everybody else. How much had she managed to level up in that time he'd spent laying on the ground? 
...I guess that's what I get. I'll have to get stronger if I want to be of any help. And fast. 
Yukiro sighed. He'd have to start getting back into things later. For now, he wanted to give Cor-- Amara his full attention. 

"Right. Let's go," he agreed softly, "Um... Yeah, I'll follow you." He started after his friend, making a quiet promise to pay her back one day. 

[Cordelia 0]

[FLOOR FOUR:]

Cordelia tugged on the hems of her capelet as the two teleported to the fourth floor. "Not too cold for you, I hope?" She asked, turning her head slightly to give Yukiro a small smile before he nodded over the Snowfrost's exit. "It shouldn't be that much farther out of the safe zone," she said, "let's get going." 

Silent minutes passed by as the two walked through the snow. "We should be there soon," she murmured, letting a breath of hot air as a familiar structure made its way to her view.

"Aha!" She exclaimed, jumping on her heels as she dragged Kite over to the small wooden building. 

"Welcome to my humble abode," she cheered, as they entered the small shop. Immediate warmth ran over her as she unclipped her capelet from her jacket before tugging it off. "Not too shabby, huh?" She asked, turning her head to give Kite a childish look. "Don't mistake this for my actual home though. I made a shop while you were gone!"