Kiru

My eyes blazed with anger towards the older male that brushed me off as if I was nothing. If ignoring me wasn't enough he had the nerve to keep meditating. I folded my arms over my chest and continued my stare until he finally spoke. In another language. I was familiar with Keith speaking fragments of Swedish but this was different. Keith's words, "Jag gillar dig, okej?", were a way to tell me that he liked me without really telling it to my face. That was when I really hated Keith, now he openly expressed his love in English. Not everyone was like that though, and this man was a fine example. Judging from the tone and timing what he was saying was directed towards me. "Did you log into the wrong server or something? Geez, people these days and their motives to talk indirectly. Of course I don't understand you! Oh and another thing, if you have temper tantrums please warn people so they aren't disturbed by them." I sneered, stepping forward to face the other player that addressed me. It was Xantos, the one who was super loud around Mari during the "incident". 

"Oh great it's the high and mighty Xantos that's also tone deaf! Man, of course I'll leave even though I was here first. You two obviously need this space more than I do. I mean, I come to this beach every day to think. Why in the world would I, Kiru, need one day of silence away from annoying people like you?!" I exclaimed and glared at him as well. These two had no idea how high my stress level was as of right now. Events of the past few days built up, and right now I was at my highest point of tension. Any moment now I could snap and completely lose it. 

As soon as I stood up, Keith sat down again expressed doubt. He stated that attempting to find the murderer of Zelrius wouldn't do any good and that we couldn't do it. This made me extremely annoyed. He was always so sure of himself so I didn't have to be there to boost his confidence. I wasn't used to this Keith, not thinking he could do anything. I clenched my teeth together and stared at the ground. ".....back at Vile's castle with Shade I couldn't help but feel useless compared to the two of you. Being able to inflict only a small amount of damage compared to you didn't feel good...it made me feel weak and I didn't really give it my all. To other people I'm like a goddess with magnificent powers because of my levels but to you I merely make a scratch. So don't go around saying that you cannot do something-- you are one of the strongest people I know Keith." I said, trying not to sound to pathetic. I didn't want to be pitied by Keith, I just wanted him to know that he could do anything once he set his mind to it. He just wasn't...Keith right now, which really bothered me. I tried to keep my annoyance hidden but it was difficult. Keith wasn't as contained as he usually was and had the attention span of a fish. I took in a deep breath and continued. "Keith. I know this has been hard but I never want you to say you can't do something ever again. I can't say I've been in the exact situation but I can say I've been in one similar...so I can kinda empathize. His unfortunate end has me shaken too you know. I have gone out of my limits way too many times to be left hanging when I need it most. We have taken care of Mavericks and even have come face to face with dangerous people. Are you seriously going to sit there and say that you won't at least try to solve this? You're Keith freaking Yudai for heaven's sake! Get up and let's get moving on this!" I extended my hand down to him, motioning for him to take it.

-When Zelrius disappeared off the face of Aincrad and made sad character development happen. (Aka got banned)

-The meeting of Keith and Kiru (This may not be important to some but I think it was a big moment that impacted the site a little.)

-Kiru stabbing Daeron like a psycho maniac due to the craziness of the potion induced madness.

-When Kiru was "calm."

The boulder I sat on was cold but after a few minutes I got used to it. I pulled my legs closer to my chest and sighed, staring out into the blue water. The giant water body expanded until you couldn't see it anymore, just like a real ocean with no end. The only difference was that there was an end to that water. There was an end to Aincrad. In this game you could only go so far before reaching the "edge of Aincrad," or the "dead end." The ironic thing was that everyone who logged into this game thought there would be no limits as to what you could do here- or at least I thought that. I shifted m position a little and eventually got lost in my own thoughts. I kept on thinking of the most random things like Keith, the real world, the wedding, and other things until something disturbed my train of thought. The sound of other players. 

I opened one eye and glanced down and to the right of me. I clenched my teeth together and opened both eyes, attention on them now. One figure stood tall upon a rock close to mine while another player sat on top of another rock. I cleared my through and raised an eyebrow in their direction. Excuse me? Uhm, what exactly possessed you guys to choose this rock to do that?" I points a slender yet firm finger at the surface beneath them. "Of all the freaking rocks on this shore you had to choose the exact one next to mine and meditate? " I rolled my eyes and stood up on top of the boulder, allowing my shadow to loom over the two below me. My black and white hair swept in front of my icy eyes as the wind picked up. It felt good but I paid it no mind, right now I was preoccupied with glaring at the two idiots that dared enter my space. 

"I don't know...I can't think of anyone. Whoever did this muse have really hated him. Or they could have been jealous that he was so strong? It could have been a PK guild or something that wanted to eliminate his "threat."  He is- was.. a really strong player after all..." I said, not liking the fact that I was already referring to Zelrius in a past tense. It was painful to admit that he was no longer here to lead boss raids or just kill mobs. Zelrius was viewed by many as a leader but some people really didn't like him. To go as far as to kill him though? That was too much.

By thoughts subsided when Keith leaned forward and wrapped his arms around me. I hugged him back, squeezing tight until he broke away and stood up. He usually wasn't the one to end a hug or a kiss, I was. Stupid as it was, his one movement of breaking away made me feel different somehow; it had a different effect. It was strange to see someone who was normally overjoyed and carefree to suddenly be serious and less self expressed. Due to this occurrence, Keith now was not who he was a couple days ago. In that short amount of time I had been away from him he changed drastically. The way he talked to me, his actions, and his motives changed. It was also scary though. To see Keith change so much over one event scared me so much that I had to bite the inside of my cheek to cease the negative thoughts. I took a deep breath and sighed as I stood up.

"Yeah, I guess we should train then. Lead the way." 

I knew something was wrong when Keith got quiet. My face paled to a ghastly color when he didn't say anything for awhile. It became especially scary when he couldn't find the correct words to say. "Something must have happened...Oh...please don't be..." I thought with a disturbed look on my face. I waited until he finally explained. His words weighed down on me for awhile, it was hard to even imagine that Zelrius was no longer here. After attempting to process the information that Keith had just given me my eyes widened with shock. Everything came crashing down and suddenly something inside me shattered. Zelrius. The Zelrius died? There was no way. Was there? The blonde boy who tried to beat me in multiple contests? The one who had more ego than I did....died? I bit the inside of my cheek and calmed down, easing my eyes to a less vibrant blue, almost dull. I was being denial right now, which was normal but I knew there were more important things, like Keith. I could tell that this hit him pretty hard. I recalled knowing then as friends so I could think of a few things that Keith would be thinking right now. I swallowed hard, forced a smile, and placed a hand on his shoulder. I gave it a squeeze and let out a slightly choked laugh while trying not to bust out and cry. That was the absolute last thing that Keith needed right now. "It's going to be okay. We'll find whoever did this, we- we'll find them okay? So...don't worry." I tried reassuringly.

I pounded on Daeron's back and attempted to penetrate Daeron's armor but I couldn't; I did no damage at all too him. The metal against metal of the dagger and armor screeched through the arguing. He jerked to the side, which surprised me and in the end caused my to slip. My grip wasn't that well since I was thrashing so violently, which resulted in my body crashing onto the paved ground. It was hard and it hurt but I barely felt it. The one thing on my mind right now was Daeron. My muscles shook as I lifted myself and stood under shaken knees. My legs were scratched from the fall and my leggings were torn but I paid no mind. I huffed out a ragged breath and unsteadily raised my dagger to point it at Daeron. "How dare you...you...go around hurting people but want to be an advocate for peace...stupid Daeron..." I narrowed my cold eyes and icily glared at him. He had a single tear roll down and an explainable look on his face. He almost looked like he regretted ever touching Mari with his blade. Pathetic. 

I turned my head to Mari a gave a half smile. "I will Mari...just wait." I said and walked until I stood beside Kosan. He raced forward and attacked Daeron and paralyzed him, he did what I had wanted to do. A lust for blood built up inside me, a wanting to join Kosan. I twirled the dagger in my hands and crouched before Daeron with a sideways smirk. "When you hurt other people you can expect to be hurt in return." I raised my dagger over my head and stabbed it downwards and sank it into his armor. I looked into his eyes with a flash of crazy and twisted the blade. I let out a chuckle and looked behind me. Mari was on the ground...Kosan was going crazy...and I was becoming a murder. I paused and widened my eyes. I looked back at the weapon impaled in his chest and my mouth gaped open. I looked down at my hands and frowned. What was I doing? Aren't I supposed to be the one to stop the violence? The one to prevent damage being dealt? Avoid death? I stood up slowly and retracted the dagger, placing it back in it's pocket. "Everyone aside from Kosan, Mari, and Daeron should leave. There is a matter that we need to discuss privately. I don't think anyone wants to be here while it's happening either. So...please leave? For me?" I offered a weak smile. 

ID: 13738; BD: 8 (+1 ATH +1 base +6= +8 Damage)

Daeron: 77/80 -Paralyzed For 1 Turn- (- however damage I did lol)

Kosan: 37/37

Kiru 88/90 -2 Thorns

"Thank you~" I sat up straight and looked up, admiring the woven masterpiece on my head. I was careful not to disturb the balance when I lowered my head to look at Keith again. I felt a lot more comfortable wearing it now, unlike months ago when I threw his creations on the ground and rejected them. The arranged flowers bothered and embarrassed me up until now. Now I loved them when they were here and missed them when they were gone. Their absence from my head for awhile even made me feel gloomy. 

I shrugged my shoulders slightly frowned. It was hard to explain but there really wasn't anyone like Keith. And when I did Keith stood out and the others faltered. Keith and I being so different should have drove us apart but I guess the "opposites attract" card came into play for our case. It was weird but I learned just to accept it and be with him. Finally, I spoke. "Well when I compare you to everyone else, no one else compares really. You are Keith and Keith is awesome." Then, I thought about it for a little bit more and added onto my speech. "I guess. I don't think that there's anyone else like me around either. If anyone tried to act like me then it probably wouldn't end well." This was true, other than Mari I don't think there was anyone that remotely resembled my personality or style. "Who ever said I liked you?" I said sarcastically and smiled. 

My smile slowly went from thin lips to a frown. A look of concern filled my icy eyes and I crossed my arms. "Keith? It's been bothering me for awhile...uhm. What happened to...Zelrius? He just suddenly vanished from my friends list and he hasn't replied to my messages. It's bothering me. Everyone's leaving..."

"Hey." I replied and shifted. I tucked my legs under myself, criss cross style, and welcomed the visitor in my lap. I stroked behind the creature's ears and greeted the light purr with a smile. We both watched Keith weave the daisies in and out until the finished product came out: a crown. I tried to study the way he made it so I could one day make my own but I couldn't, he worked too fast. He made it look so easy too. "You're quite good at that, I bet you were a great brother." I added after leaning forward to allow him to place the crown upon my two toned head. Then, I remembered something: Keith had sisters and I had met one of them. "Speaking of family...your sister, Haine? She's a little...different? We ran into each other and it didn't really start out very well. I guess we just don't like one another." My voice had a hint of sadness, but it wasn't like I was disappointed that we weren't getting along. It was that she wasn't the sister that I imagined Keith would have.

The sun was out, the animals were lively, and the supposed sounds of "nature" echoed throughout Aincrad. Normally, just hearing these sounds would cause me to complain and make a fuss about it but today I had way too many things on my mind to even notice they were there. The sudden disappearance of Zelrius, Mari's insanity being lost, and my role in Aincrad were all things that weighed heavily on my mind. Up until now I hadn't had any free time to just think and walk around. Since today I didn't have anything to do I paced around and wandered aimlessly. Things were getting stressful and I needed to think everything through. 

As I stumbled in random directions I scrolled through my friends list. This was mainly to ease my unsettling thoughts but it was also to check up on my small circle of friends. About halfway down the list was where I began removing certain people from my friends list. Either I was no longer friends wit that person or I regretted meeting them. I continued this until I got to where Zel's name was supposed to be. Except there was nothing filling that space, he was no longer there. A crease formed into between my eyebrows as I quickly scrolled back, on to abruptly stop at Keith's name. My eyes lingered on every letter of his name until I noticed his location. Floor 2. Literally every time we met we have always been on the same floor at the same time. It was weird but I guess it was Aincrad's way of keeping us close. I exited from my HUD and walked along the small path until I saw Keith. His hair was a dead giveaway but I already knew this spot. He sat there laid back in the field of flowers with his strange carbucle cuddling with him. From far away it seemed like he was sleeping, especially with his eyes closed and armor off, but I knew that wasn't the case. I approached him slowly until I could see his face; it was peaceful. I smiled inwardly and took a seat carefully next to him. "Oi, where's my crown? Aren't I the princess?" I asked with a chuckled and poked his cheek. 

Roleplay Complete

400 col per page x 2= 800 col/2 = 400 col per person

+1 SP

+400 col

The other two seemed to leave within an instant, abandoning Ariel and I without saying a word of leave. It was peaceful to have them out of my face but it was stupid of them to just venture alone. They weren't that high in levels after all. Then, Ariel spoke to me in a teasing manner about the whole "neechan and big sis thing." I gritted my teeth and clenched my hands into fists, I was done. "Ariel. I am not your younger sister, and you are not my older sister so if you would? Shut up. I don't like you calling me things like that, nor treating me like I'm some little girl running around. What do you expect? Me to run up and hug you every time I see you? Nope." I sneered and continued with the same disgusted tone. Yes, I was being extremely rude right now, but she was being extremely annoying. "Me? Considerate? Tch, don't even try to make me look like a good guy." I rolled my eyes and looked in the opposite direction. It would be nice to have a sister but...I didn't want Ariel or anyone to be one for me. I did fine without anyone watching over me so why would I now? There was no sense in accepting Ariel as a family member...was there?

"Hmph." I replied and watched her go to join the two other lower leveled players. For about five minutes they fought two boars without really cutting into the health of them. Just by watching the sad scene of a battle I got frustrated. They were way too slow and they couldn't inflict the full amount of damage if they kept on recklessly swinging. Their forms were horrible too. I jogged over to where they were and looked at Hikoru with a grin. Next, I did the very thing that Zelrius did to me at our first meeting; I killed the prey of another. My fingered laced around the blade as I pulled it back. I flung my dagger at the boar, keeping eye contact with the young man who wanted to be a merchant. "You can't do anything if you can't kill a measly boar. I mean c'mon. They have like two health.

Noctis: 12/13 HP
Hikoru: 7/7 HP
Ariel: 42/42 HP

Kiru 90/90

ID: 13471; BD 7 (+1 Base +1 ATH +6 Damage= +8)

Mother Boar: 1/15 HP
Baby Boar: -5/5 HP (Um can you say overkill?)

For the longest time I stood frozen and in shock in front of Kosan. His words cut through all the voices and dug deep into me. He wanted to play around with lives but he wasn't going to kill them? Was he going to kill them? What was his definition of "evil"? If it was anything like I had seen since I joined Azure then I was seriously concerned for him. If he was going to be "evil," as I had seen, then there would be a major issue here. The evil I had met...stuck with me and haunted my every move. The evil I had done haunted me. It followed behind me like a cloud, building up. One day it would all pour down on me and that would be the end of Kiru, of Aoi, of me. It was the sad truth but to be evil meant to have a black cloud trail you wherever you went. This wasn't Kosan..."Why?" I thought, "Why is he acting this way? Is it because of the guild? Mari? Is it..." My mouth opened a little, as if I was about to speaking but I closed it when felt a light shove. It wasn't enough to snap me out of my trance though, it was like I wasn't effected by it, nor noticed it. My shoulders sagged and my body moved according to the push but it didn't move me very far. I stumbled back a little and blinked. "Stop it Kosan. I'm not going to say not to be evil or not to take the wrong path-- that's too childish. But, I want you to get this through your head: I will kill you if you intend on killing anyone. So...stop it." I said in a dead serious tone. I was not about to let him just throw everything away to feel "pleasure" in hurting others. He wasn't Argumail or Napalm..he was Kosan.

Suddenly, there was shouting from another player. I didn't know his name but he sure was noisy and quite annoying if you ask me. What was even more irritating was what he said; that Kayaba put us here. I scoffed and turned my head towards him with obvious resent towards the player. "We all, well except me, bought the game correct? We put the helmets over our heads and said "link start." Kayaba did not put us here. He merely is keeping us imprisoned for his own psychopathic needs. Therefore, you are wrong." I snapped at him and thinned my lips into a straight line. This back-and-forth was getting tiring.

To my left were Mari and Daeron conversing rather intimately. It was mostly one sided but I could tell by Mari's movement and words that she was not at all planning on remaining calm. Whatever that potion was that she drank wouldn't keep her from her goal. Plus Mari was persistent with everything she did so I knew that by her sudden mood change things were about to go up in flames. And they did kind of. It started with the pink haired woman quickly stabbing the off-guard Daeron in the chest and darting away from him. The enraged woman hastily threw insults at the one known as Xantos, who had been yelling nonstop, and attempted to make a move against him. Daeron chased after he but in the end Mari got her way. Her act of violence did in fact drain his HP, which made me worry. She had just committed a crime, in which I had to take action. She was getting too out of hand and Daeron was clearly not helping the situation with his affection towards her. Mari. One of the few people I called my friend. Would I seriously have to put an end to this? To her? Was it the only option seeing I didn;t have a jail crystal anymore?

My hand instinctively clutched the cold metal blade. I swallowed hard and pulled my dagger back, ready to take aim, but stopped. Daeron cut through my vision and attacked Mari. Just a few moments ago he was proclaiming to love Mari, so why was he trying to kill her now? My heart skipped a beat when I heard the choke escape Mari and Daeron's blade impaled Mari's chest without resisting. My eyes widened in shock. Without thinking, I charged forward and jumped onto Daeron's back with blind rage. I didn't care about anything at this point, I was long past the point of thinking my actions through. At this point I completely lost it. Mari was one person that actually was friends with. "TAKE IT OUT! TAKE IT OUT NOW! Dae-ron! Stop it...Please! You Can't HURT HER!" I screamed whilst thrashing and trying to make a deep cut with my dagger. But with eyes stained with tears I couldn't exactly see where I was aiming. The only thing I knew was that I wouldn't let go of him until him stopped hurting Mari. 

ID: 3470; BD 2 (Miss)

Daeron 79/80

Kiru 90/90

After successfully disrupting the hold that Daeron had on Mari everything went downhill. Mari broke away thankfully but she made a move, a dangerous one at that. She opened up one of her vials of disgusting liquid and downed it. He first attempt to strike was at Ariel was futile, which was good. I gave Mari a worried look when she let out a cry of pain and held her hands to her head. The potion seemed to be taking a turn for the worst. Removing him from Mari might have triggered her little outburst but she wouldn't have gone crazy if no one was there to screw with her. I began to walk over to see if she was okay but a certain visitor stopped me.

From up above Kosan entered the scene with a grim presence. His chaotic laughing fits and crazy smile were signs that he was about to do something he would regret. Especially with the words he said. This wasn't like him. The past three times I saw him he was like this: delusional, stupid, and just acting strangely. He used to talk to me like we were friends but now he had an orange cursor. He wore a hood and a mask. He pushed people away and now, he was going to kill someone. Just as I thought, he grabbed Ariel from behind and held the blade of his sword to her neck. My face paled a little as he began to speak nonsense, was he really going to kill her? From the amount of time it took for me to think that he would kill her, Kosan threw her to the ground and threatened her. To run or die. If that wasn't bade enough, Daeron had a hold of Mari again. In this state he would most likely just be angering her to the point of murder. 

I looked at Daeron, then back to Kosan. I knew what was needed to be done before anything. My number one jobs was to stop murders. I raced towards Daeron and ripped my dagger from the back of his armor. From there I pivoted and lunged forward, stabbing my dagger forcefully into Kosan's chest. I twisted the blade then retracted it from his body and held it at my side. For the few moments I caught my breath I stared into Kosan's eyes with concern, no glares. I swallowed and in between breaths I spoke. "Kosan...being a "bad guy" wouldn't be funny. It would be the worst thing in your life. Everyone would stray from you, people would be issuing death threats on you, no one would be there to back you up. You'll be backed into a corner. I have not been an orange player thanks to Keith but I have experienced everything that he would. I was shunned, stabbed, and pushed around just for being next to him, It's not FUNNY!" I had managed to get most of it out but at the end of it my voice rose with anger. Suddenly, I felt a sensation on my cheek, it was a tear. I wiped it away and looked back at Kosan with a cold stone expression. "Kosan. Stop this." I placed my hand onto his shoulders and squeezed them slightly. 

ID: 13168; BD 7 (+1 Base +1 ATH +6 Damage= +8 Damage)

Kosan 28/36 -8 (You fix the damage, your stats are confusing)

Kiru 90/90

(This is from Kiru's point of view, how she had arrived on the scene. sorry in advance :])

Floor 1. This floor had so many memories attached to it that I couldn't pick out one specific place to go first. There was no real purpose to my stroll, maybe just for the sake of old times? I placed one black boot in front of the other and slowly soaked in all of the nostalgic memories with Keith, with my old guild, and with the players I considered my friends. I traced my fingers along of patterns of the brick on the wall of the safe zone until I stood before the entrance to the town. I gave the sign for the town a glare and turned in the opposite direction; I hated towns. As I made my way through the thin line of trees and fields I was very familiar flash of pink hair. When I got closer to her I noticed something strange...other people were surrounding her with accusative faces.

"Mari?" I uttered softly with a confused look on my face. My pink haired friend looked especially strange right now. The first thing I noticed was her expression, it wasn't one I had seen before. Though Mari was known for surprising people this freaked me out a little. Next was her tone. It was sickeningly threatening, dripping with sarcasm and a hint of lust. Of course I noticed the most obvious detail: Daeron with her against a tree. Just seeing seeing this pan out was enough to infuriate me. I wore a look of disdain towards Daeron. The last time I had seen him he was all high and mighty for justice yet here he was, pinning Mari against a tree like a common criminal. What was worse was everyone was just watching the display. Ariel had her weapon drawn, obviously against Mari, and the others spectating looked clueless and scared. It was pathetic. 

I picked up my pace from a walk, to jog, then to a run over to Mari and Daeron. On my way over I passed..Celesmeh? I glanced behind me but kept running. As I closed in on the two orange players I pulled out my dagger and threw it hastily at the back of Daeron. But of course I didn't stop there. I hurled my body at Daeron in attempt to push him away. "What are you doing?! Get your hands off of her!" I yelled violently as I collided. 

ID; 13077 BD: 6 (+1 Base +1 ATH +6 Damage= 8 Damage)

Daeron 80/80 HP (-8 Hp...I don't think I dealt any damage to you though.)

Kiru 90/90
 

My hands instinctively went behind me back to soften the fall. Even with this form of protection I ended up on my rear. By the sudden impact with the ground I was shocked, I was normally very careful about losing my balance. Even in the toughest situations of my career I hadn't fallen but somehow in the this very moment gravity failed me. It was probably because I was so frantic to get away from the blonde for various reasons. Ariel annoyed me to the point of wanting to plug my ears and scream but seeing as we were now in the same guild it wasn't a respectful thing to do. So instead of being "rude" I concluded that simply walking away was the best option; that didn't work. Obviously the universe was bent on making me miserable. 

I rubbed my fingers on the temples of my head and inhaled deeply. When I finally decided to make human contact with the outstretched hand in front of my face I slapped it away cooly. Next I stood up on my own and glared icily upon the player I had knocked into. "No, you need to watch where your'e going." I stated and looked right, Ariel was coming this way. 

Along with the other player, she stopped in front of us. "No, I am not okay but thank you for asking, run amok now young one." I said to the newer looking player with a curious look on his face. Next to him, Ariel spoke. I shifted in my place and ran my fingers through my black and white hair. "Stop calling me neechan. I am not your anything". I hissed and crossed my arms. All I wanted to to was be alone, yet here I was with three other players that I already did not like. "Well you see Ariel, sweet Ariel. Mavericks like to kill the noobs around here. What can I say? They're an easy kill. So, I'm here to make sure nothing happens." 

Floor one today was unusually...peaceful. No birds chirped annoyingly, no NPCs disturbed me, and most importantly no players made a ruckus. It was quite suspicious actually. Normally there would be hoards of players just crowding around the middle of the street but strangely, there were none in sight. I crossed my arms and slowed my pace, beginning to enjoy the ghost town. Even a smirk found it's way onto my angered face. It was the middle of the day so maybe everyone was eating lunch? Maybe everyone was just busy today? Either way, it didn't matter as long as I had the streets to myself. 

And at that I was wrong; I spoke too soon. To my right there were two players discussing something. This wouldn't have bothered me if I didn't know who they were but sadly, I knew the blonde one. To me she was especially annoying. This girl Ariel wasn't really fazed by my threats and even saw me when I was "calm." The worst part was she called me "neechan," which was creepy if you ask me. Ariel was super cheerful and right now I was not in the mood to be moshed by her familiar, Kimba. So, to try and not be noticed I ducked my head and scurried in the opposite direction.  With my head towards the ground I couldn't really see where I was going, therefore causing me to bump into something- or someone. 

Now I kinda wished there were people so that I could fade away into the crowd. 

(You guys should pray for me. I tried posting once but it logged me out, second time I accidentally clicked out the tab. I'm hopelessly dense and sorry for the late reply. Merp sorry if it's really bad. :<)

Alton, who's voice I recognized from earlier in the week, made his presence known by making snide remarks to Mari. He commented on the liquid she drank, which told me right away that he knew what was going on. He scooped up a clump of snow and began to mold it. He tossed it in the air slightly until it formed a ball shape. This mesmerizing process continued until he finally came out with a sleek snowball. Alton's honey colored eyes then stared at me with a light glint in them. He then waved his hand at me as he asked me about the 'Calming Honey'. I didn't even have to guess; I knew he was about to comment about the other day. I returned his polite wave with an icy glare and crossed arms. "Shut up...I didn't know what I was doing, I don;t even remember what happened. It would be great if you told me what happened but I doubt it would be the truth. Just lay off will ya?" I rolled my eyes and returned my attention to the situation starting to form between Kosan and Daeron.

Daeron began by stating that Alkor's death was his fault, that he was the one who should be blamed. I could sympathize. In that boss battle we lost two players. I was the captain of my group but I wasn't a very good one. I didn't help anyone or do anything to support my team, instead I just sat back and watched them. That position was granted to me because of my level, which was not the right choice. Even I still blamed myself for Rue's death, she was in my squad after all. But there was also the fact that I physically couldn't do anything, I had no potions on me. If anyone should be blamed for the deaths of Alkor and Rue, it would Daeron and I. Then again, no one else tried to help either. Everyone was so focused on getting the last hit that they just watched Alkor be ripped apart and Rue be killed by the Hydra. 

Kosan totally disagreed though. While he knew Mari couldn't do anything under the influence of the 'Calming Honey' he started verbally attacking her and Daeron. He said that Alkor's death was ultimately Mari's fault; if she loved him she would have saved him. But she didn't. Kosan had no right to say anything like this to Mari or Daeron for the matter even if she couldn't remember it. With anger and threats rising in my throat I stepped forward. "It doesn't matter if I'm in the highest position or the lowest, I'm still in the guild aren't I? No matter what rank I am in the guild, I am still your superior. It's true that you spoke normally to me but the words you've said from the point I arrived weren't okay. You dare bash on a dead person because you have a grudge?! You think you aren't the only one to deal with rejection? Think again." I said and took a deep breath. Without making eye contact I said the following: "If you were in a life threatening situation I would help even you Kosan. I don't enjoy watching people die you know." 

Though I tried, I still failed to calm things down between the two. Heated words were spoken between Kosan and Daeron until something snapped. Daeron went ahead and issued a total-loss match request to Kosan along with threats. I pulled out my dagger and stepped in between Daeron's blade and Kosan. "Guys.." I warned and shot a glare at the both of them. Surely by now they would know that this was not the best option considering the current situation. Thankfully, Kosan was smart enough to decline. I dropped my shoulders but kept my glare intense. "Settle down now." 

I walked away from Drat while answering his question from awhile back. "No, I'm done evaluating the situation. Don't interfere, Mari and I can handle this." I pulled open my HUD and equipped one of my boss drops. If this Echo kid was going to retaliate then I didn't wan't to run the risk of being injured. I wrapped my fingers tighter around the grip of my dagger and stepped forward. Without daring to make eye contact with Echo I stabbed him in the chest exactly where Mari had previously hit. I pulled out the blade and turned to face Kaito. "I need to have a chat with you when this is over." I faced Mari once more and added in low voice: "Don't kill him. Even he deserves to live." 

ID: 12673; BD 9 (+2 Base +6 Dagger +1 ATH = +9)

Mari 79/79

Kiru 90/90

Echo 24/51 (-9)

After receiving a not so warm look back from Mari and warned the players, the battle still went, or so it seemed. It wasn't long after my little speech that Mari began to contradict what I said. I looked back at her with a raised eyebrow and a hand on my hip. "Yeah it might be best to leave them to kill one another! Let's just let everyone and their mother just go on a killing spree! Would that be nice? Yeah, no. But if these idiots kill each other then I'll be stepping in. No one is being murdered here today. I-!" I began to finish speaking to Mari but suddenly the player named Kaito was shoved into me by none other than Mari. My body didn't move at all, in fact I caught him at the last second. I still maintained a tight hold on him as Mari continued. I glared down at the player I held, then back at Mari. 

"I'm not destroying my ideals Mari. It's my job." I hissed at the pink haired player. She was being totally unfair by trying to make me feel guilty and have second thoughts about my decisions. I was doing the right thing. I glanced down at Katio and stared with cold eyes, he had the audacity to smirk. "I'm not going to stab you quite yet." I said, almost as if I was hushing him. He then broke away suddenly and began attacking the white haired male. I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck, things were going to get ugly from here on out. 

Looking back at Mari again, I explained my point further. "Mavericks who just hunt and kill for the fun of it aren't welcomed and I am asked to exterminate or apprehend them on the spot. Even if these figurative ideals of mine were to be shattered I doubt anything would change. Also, I hadn't even evaluated the issue at hand. Once there is a crime committed I will do something. Try and stop me but this is the one thing that I don't want to screw up! Hold me back, heck try killing me but I know what I need to do!" A knot formed in my stomach as soon as those words left my mouth. It didn't feel very humane of me to be saying any of this to Mari. She and I were "technically" friends but not, a certain battle would decide whether it would stay that way.

"Katana huh?" I thought of this for a second, a sword. It was a strange concept for me, it wasn't my cup of tea. I had wielded a sword recently but it didn't feel right. It was too heavy and it left an insane amount of vulnerable spots to be hit as I swung the sword. It was an overused weapon with too many flaws for me. That was also a virtue in a way, I knew every weak spot to hit when up against a sword user. 

I chuckled when he admitted that this was not the floor he was looking for. "No, this wouldn't be the floor, nothing really comes out fairly on this floor for the entire time I've been here." I tilted my head back again and tried to remember what floor was actually the best for farming. Floor 1? Floor 7?

I nearly fell backwards when the male suddenly was close to my face. I had spaced out for a second and now here he was. I straightened up and maintained balance as I thought of the right words to explain my case. Normally I would push everyone away but I was just not in the mood to say "no" to everything and everyone. After a minute I looked back to the player. "Well you see, I am what some call a Maverick Hunter. I hunt down PKers with wrong deeds and kill them or send them away. It's only natural that some would want to kill me before I get a chance to kill them. Only, they come in groups and are annoying to deal with. So, I don't like hangin' around anywhere very long."

I scoffed a little at Kosan's words. There were some truth to them but they also sounded a bit crazy. Upon joining Azure I still wasn't on a "side." It was because of Keith I joined. Otherwise I probably would still be a solo player with screwed up thoughts. Even though I joined a guild there wasn't ever going to be a "side" for me. Mostly everyone in Azure was a PKer for different reasons, some for greed or self defense but it was the same. They all had a label over their heads; that orange crystal warded everyone away but attracted hate. I guess that was what made me accept the invite to Azure though, everyone had an issue. If they were limited because of the cursors then I could take a stand for Keith and them. Still, I wasn't on any one side of the coin. I didn't agree with Pking, yet I threatened and acted like one. 

I looked right at Mari. The vibrancy in her cerulean eyes were now toned down to just a light blue with nothing standing out about them. Her posture was relaxed, even when she defended me and snapped at Kosan. With closed eyes I stared at my pale hands. "It depends on the situation Kosan. I have a different job in the guild. I'm also you superior...and my work takes a bigger toll on me." 

Kosan began with making a love connection between Mari and Daeron, comparing him with Alkor. This wasn't right. But, he kept going. He insisted on pushed the dagger deeper into the wound. Watch out not don't die like Alkor did. That was when he crossed the line. Kosan did know what he had just done. "Kosan" I breathed with anger and bolted upwards from my sitting position. "don't you dare speak of Alkor like that. You didn't know him and you obviously cannot just shut your mouth for once without trying to hurt others! I swear, something happened when I wen't away for like a week. You somehow now have the ability to speak to me with hate and stand up to Mari. What the heck happened?" I asked rhetorically. I didn't actually want to even know what happened because I knew it was going to be a sob sotry full of excuses. 

Slowly then all at once things spun in a horrible direction. Mari hardly gave me a look when eye contact was made, she meant business. No emotion, not even a nod was given to me. I frowned and inspected the other players' actions. One was hesitating to hit the button, one was looking like he was enjoying himself with the player's troubled decision. I glanced at the other player, who seemed to be coaxing the other into hitting the accept button on his HUD. Mari's dagger was in her hand the next time I looked at her; this was bad. Apparently the battle options were forced, there was no going back now for those three. Mari stepped forward, spinning her dagger like I would, and began to hand out threats in a barbed tone.

Before I knew it there were two other males, one clearly recognizable as Drat. We had once been in the same guild but it was only for about two days before it disbanded. But, I had moved on from that little "disagreement" and joined another guild. The other player beside Drat was an unknown face, who looked like he was annoyed by Drat's behavior. He had been yelling and screaming for the violence to stop, that he wanted peace, but all he got was Mari's cold stare and a threatening action. This lead him to come running this way, into the safe zone and next to me. I stared at him for a moment then looked at Mari with a troubled look. Had she meant to kill anyone? These thoughts filled my head as soon as more blood lust was shown.

"Crap. What the heck am I supposed to do?! This was the exact thing I was afraid of when I accepted Azure's invite. Would I have to kill Mari if she made a move on those three? I don't have a jail crystal.. Would anyone here actually fight? Oh man...here we go.." I pulled out my own dagger and stepped out of the safe zone towards Mari and the other players. I paused to give Mari a mixed look. Half disappointed and half concerned. Moving on, I looked at the three players about to commence battle and pointed my dagger in their general direction. "If this is a battle to the death then expect a hefty price to pay. No one who kills here is leaving alive. I am allowing this "friendly battle" to continue but you have two options. Let the timer run out or kill each other and face me. I'm not bluffing either; it's my job." 

After Mari gave a small nod to confirm that he was not a guest I glanced back at the cloaked figure and his offering. The smell of it made me nauseous for some reason. I pushed that aside knowing that I probably just didn't like them smell of it. With a sigh I plopped onto the the blanket ungracefully and stared up at Kosan. "Boy you sure are an idiot not to recognize me. It's Kiru. I didn't come here for a personality evaluation by the likes of you. And no I would not like any of your tea, it's bringing me bad vibes." I said with a subtle glare and a slightly venomous tone. It had been maybe a month since I had last seen my fellow guild mate but I still couldn't get the words he said to me out of my mind. He had changed quite a bit from the day I met him. It was like all of his curiosity and joy was stripped of him, leaving a young man with no purpose. But of course, that probably wasn't the case. 

My eye flicked to the left to see that Mari had taken the agonizing cup of strange liquid. At first she seemed to enjoy it but her happiness turned to anger within seconds. Startled just a bit, I scooted away from Mari until I could get a clear explanation of what was happening. She screamed some profanity at him all while throwing the cup but the one thing I picked out of the mess was "Calming Honey." A shiver ran down my spine at the remembrance of that awful day. Yes, the potion worked but it was just so bad after you became aware of the influence you were under. That feeling was like me finding out that I had spilled my entire life story and secrets to Vile or someone. Overall, it was harsh and I could totally understand Mari's anger.

But there was also the part where Mari had created it. She should have been aware of her own vials on ugly fluids by now....

From the corner of my eye, midst of the madness, I could recognize two figures approaching. The first was obviously Daeron, but with a different feel to him. Instead of mocking me on sight he greeted with kindness, a lot different than last time. The other player looked extremely familiar. The only information I could pick out about him was "Alton." Nothing else came to mind. "Mari~ It seems that either Kosan has a death wish or everyone has been buying your potions!" I said in a sing-song voice to conceal my laugh. I was trying my best not to bust out with giggles at a time like this.