Kiru

[Came as a +1 guest, thank you for the invite ;)]

"Who in the world thinks 'yeah let's design a hot springs on the coldest floor in the game.'? Yeah, like that's a good idea.You'll go from freezing to burning in two seconds and get hot flashes or something stupid like that." I thought as my icy blue eyes traced the outline of the building. Snow covered the roof, the sign, and practically everything on this godforsaken floor. Floor 4 was definitely not the place to have such a thing, a party wasn't really good to have on this floor either- especially in the middle of spring. It was alright if it was a holiday party for Christmas or New Year's but, it wasn't.  It was a mere gathering for The Knight of The Blood Oath members and some and obviously Mack had done a very poor job of organizing the location for the specific theme. But, this was most certainly not my party, nor my guild, so I couldn't necessarily complain. I could have just turned down the invitation, but I didn't. I had said yes to be courteous to Mack, and there was no going back on this now. Half of the reason I had said yes to this offer was because I was still being passive aggressive towards Zelrius for whole Spring Festival incident even though I had forgiven him for it already. The other cause of my acceptance was because of past experiences with guild relations. If your guild didn't have a good appearance and bond with the members of the other groups then it wasn't beneficial to either party- and could ultimately lead to disbanding or slaughter. It wasn't something I enjoyed so I knew I had to repay Mack for his kindness and attend his party for at least a little bit. 

With one last sigh, I walked inside only to find a catch: fruit punch. Instantly I was reminded of the potion Zelrius had given me and shuddered, I did not want to experience that embarrassing moment again. I glared at the drink, knowing that I would inevitably have to drink this in order to enter. I grasped the cup with both hands and stared at it with hesitation. My eyes shut tight, I drank the liquid and hoped for the best. To my surprise, it was just fruit punch. I shrugged and finished the glass, entering the party for KOB. 

The first person I noticed was Ssendom, his cursor obviously. I paused for a moment, confused; why was he here? Also, I couldn't help but to notice that this was the second time I had seen him without a shirt. The first time was a rather awkward moment of me falling out of a chair, then in a chain of reactions Lowenthal showed up, scaring me once more. I cleared my throat and began forward. Seeing as though he was the only player here, besides Mack, that I knew it would be best for me to converse with him. However, I stopped in mid stride in front of the hot springs, something was happening to my body. I tore off my black Azure Brigade cloak and inspected my skin frantically. It was sparkling. My cheeks burned red as I stared at myself in shock. I was pale, and along with this I looked like something out of a bad vampire movie. I gritted my teeth and slowly pulled the cloak back over my body to cover my swimsuit that consisted of a pair of black bikini shorts and a black top. Normally, I hated showing my skin, but this was a hot springs was it not? Even so, I pulled the black fabric of Azure tightly to conceal my now glowing (not in a good way), skin. 

I swallowed hard and diverted my attention back to Ssendom. "Hey, did Mack invite you as well? Also, do you know when this will wear off?" I asked, sticking my shiny arm out for the Orange player to see.

"Really, that's amazing! I mean, what are the odds of that happening?" Dai laughed and swiftly brushed his midnight black hair from his eyes in a nervous sort of gesture. He proceeded to shove his hands in his pockets and tilt his head towards the ground. "I guess we should get going then if we want to make back before dark right?" He asked rhetorically and put a hand out, gesturing for me to walk first even though he was supposed to be leading the way. 

I nodded to his speech and began to walk away from the spawn towards the small river on the right. The initial quest was strange, as we were going to be looking for a monster to spawn from a shallow river. I had never heard of such a quest but apparently it was an automatic one, meaning once you were in the correct area it would simply pop up as a message from a random NPC. Dai was very thorough with his explanation and description of the creature so I thought nothing of the unusual circumstances. To me, he seemed a little impatient, sporadic, and nervous. His movements were also not very smooth. From this I concluded that he wouldn't be very much help in this quest, even if it was to just kill a small river dweller with a bad attitude. Though it wasn't fair for me to judge I knew that just by his fist impression he was not the type to take initiative and lead a strategy. Knowing this, I sighed slightly and walked about five inches away from the river, looking in the water bout every minute or so. "So, Dai. Why did you ask for my help? Was it because of my guild or was it something else? Also, do you have a plan?" I asked, hoping he would have an answer for at least the latter question. 

The young man tapped his chin for a moment before turning to face me with a slight smile. "Well, Kiru. I've heard your name a couple times and from what I've gathered you're in The Azure Brigade, you were once fairly active with quests, and you have a high damage output. Correct me if I'm wrong; I've only heard the rumors from people." Dai said, bringing his finger up to about eye level and dug through his inventory. He clicked hard on a button after scrolling through countless pages. A spear began to form in his hand. "I've got a plan, sure." He smirked and "sheathed" his spear by holding it in his opposite hand. "But for this quest? No." 

His answer struck a chord in me, why would anyone be talking about me? I haven't even set foot outside the guild for a couple months, there was no possible way he could've learned that from a mere passerby. I furrowed by eyebrows in confusion, suspicion formed as well. "Who did you hear that from?" Was the only possible response I could utter out in my state of a non-lucid head. Another thing that wasn't normal was his answer to my question of his plan. He said he had a plan, but not for this quest- which was highly alarming. 

"Oh nothing, I'm confusing myself- I apologize for confusing you too Kiru." Dai completely averted the question and instead went on to talk about his battle strategy. "I think once the quest appears we should each get on one side of the river just keep an eye out. Once we see it we'll attack using a switch system, getting out when our health is low and healing, then going back in. In worst case scenario we retreat but that's very unlikely to happen since you're strong." 

"That's not what I asked, Dai." I stopped right where I was, something was really fishy about this, and it wasn't just because we were by a river. This player was acting odd- like he was hiding something. "Who told you information about me?" I stated in a more threatening manner this time. This kid needed to know that I was not joking around here. He stopped as well when I did and faced me. "If you must know, he was a cute lil' guy. Blue hair, just a little above your height. He had this purple cat thingy jumping around on his shoulders. The young guy had a lot of charisma and spunk to him. I knew he was high in level- he was so cool!" Dai's face then darkened. By this point I had thrown the entire image I had of him out the window and was now focused on him. He was talking about Keith, but this wasn't in a good way- he sounded kind of sarcastic and his face wasn't very sincere. 

From behind me I heard a familiar voice. Though I knew who it was I couldn't bring myself to look behind myself and retaliate. Now, of all times, he decided to show up; his timing couldn't have been worse. Zelrius was once again acting as though nothing happened the night before, like we were still the bestest friends in Aincrad. That along with the situation I had right now I couldn't have him here. The last thing I wanted was for this to take a turn for the worst and have him intervene. I frowned with many weighted decisions I could make. but settled on one that couldn't really hurt him, nor make him want to join us. "Weren't you ever taught not to poke your nose where it doesn't belong? Go away please, the grown ups are having a nice discussion " I half yelled through gritted teeth as I glared at the person before me. Dai paid Zelrius no mind at all. Dai certainly was who he said he was and I knew it. "Continue." I said to Dai, slowly reaching for my dagger.

Dai's smirk twisted into a full fledged smile, a creepy one. "If you insist, princess. Didn't he used to call you that?" His face contorted with malice, lust growing. "Hm, what was his name? It's on the tip of my tongue I swear." Dai motioned to his mouth and stuck his tongue out. He pretended to think for a moment before gripping his spear and laughing. "Let's see, Kiru and...Keith! Ah yes! Who could possibly forget the duo? Travelling through Aincrad killing my comrades. Yes, young love- how sweet! It's sad...the incident that happened. It's a shame really, not for me of course. Boy was he annoying! He only said three words the entire time; and I think you can guess what they were."

I bit into the side of my cheeks, I wasn't  going to wait for him to finish. I held onto every word he said, getting angrier with each passing moment until he finished. My cheeks were flushed with anger and my eyes began to well with tears that wouldn't spill. I pulled my dagger from my case and pointed it directly at his face. "What did you do." I hissed, stepping closer to his face, about ready to tear his face open. "WHAT DID YOU DO!" I screamed, not being able to control my anger anymore, and pulled the dagger above my head.  I began to thrust it down, only, I stopped halfway through. A yelp escaped my lips. I felt something slowly sliding through my stomach; his spear. In shock, I looked down at the weapon being lodged inside me with wide eyes. I then brought my head up to look into his excited brown eyes. "What did you d-" I began, raising my weapon with murderous once more but more movements were made by the even quicker Dai. "I'm," he yanked the spear from me and kicked his boot into my wound, sending me backwards and into the shallow river. "Sorry, Kiru. That's all he said."

My head and body was submerged upon the embrace of the water. It was just deep enough for a person to lay in it, but too shallow to swim. I quickly sat up but was once again sent backwards.      

A flash of red spread on my porcelain cheeks as the blonde took my joke seriously. Normally when I made jokes such as those I got sarcastic answers, so for him to take it to heart was completely unexpected. Though, his words did have some truth behind them. The time spent with Oikawa discussing, walking silently, and watching was way more important than any item gained at the Festival. It was really great that he and I could just pick it up as friends even though we haven't seen one another's faces in probably over three months now. With anyone else besides Tristan or Keith it wouldn't been very awkward for me to explain myself. The young man had truly been a faint presence in my life at Castle Aincrad up until now, but he was in no way just there. Oikawa was the only person that I asked the question of marching into your death, and he exceeded my expectations with his answer. He didn't lie and tell me he would bravely go with me, nor did he ask what was wrong with me. No, he told me that he would be there for me but would never let me go into such a situation. And that, along with this precious night with the blonde, and irreplaceable by mere vanity items. 

All while thinking this I watched the fireworks above. Bright yellows, dark greens, and practically every other shade made it's way into the sky each with it's own unique explosion. I looked out of the corner of my eye when I felt a returned squeeze and a reciprocated thank you. From under the bush of yellow I saw a red brighter than the fireworks above us. This made me smile even more, and laugh a little internally. I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing, causing my cheeks to turn the same shade as his. Finally, I breathed out and looked at Oikawa. "You know Oikawa, you really are something!" I chuckled slightly with a grin. "I could say the same for you. Who knows what my night would've been if you weren't there. You are the highlight of my night Oikawa because without you I probably would've watched these beautiful lights all alone from that bench. I know there's supposed to be a limit but I don't think so...so I'll say it again: thank you very much Oikawa for this night." 

r.i.p to my first post 

After accepting the young blonde's arm I proceeded to stare down at my black shiny heels. Every step I took I could see my reflection in them because of the light from the town we approached. It was quite amusing to me to think how real looking this death game could get. Everything looked real to me, it made me think a lot about the intentions of the game masters. And especially on nights like these designed to make the players of Aincrad forget of those things I couldn't stop the reoccurring thoughts to pop in my head. I was so focused on how the game creators reached the level of graphics for this game and how they could make things look so real. I could see the textures of the dresses that Ariel made for me, I could see the sharpness of my dagger. I could also see the countenance of the player beside me change; when he frowned and smiled, his emotions. I smiled as my eyes made their way from my shoes to my arm that was interlocked with Oikawa. It was comforting to be accompanied by another person tonight, especially one whom I've grown to trust and create a solid relationship with; someone I could openly express my feelings to and not get angry for watching the scene between Zelrius and I. 

 As we walked through the town I observed the festival inside the safezone begin to shut down. The shopkeepers shut their doors, the taverns lit up, and the outside stands were broken down and packed into inventories for next year's use. The players in the town began to even out as well, they were all heading to the fields to watch the fireworks in an open area. We had been walking for maybe twenty minutes before either of us spoke. Naturally it was Oikawa first because I was wrapped in my though ninety-nine percent of the time. He stated we should go and see the fireworks. "Aren't I the best part of the festival though?" I joked and continued walking.

"Yes, I really would like to see them." I said just as soon as I heard the first firework commence into the air and explode.I knew that they wouldn't be going on for very long sadly so I stopped and looked towards the sky. Just then I heard two unexpected words come from Oikawa. My eyes shifted from the explosions in the sky, to the blonde tufts slightly waving in the night breeze. I had no idea why he said it but I smiled and reached for his hand. I gave the gloved hand a slight squeeze and closed my eyes. "Thank you as well...for tonight. I really am having a much better night now that I have someone to spend it with." I then looked up at the sky. Lights began to dance, then end abruptly with a fizzle of smoke much like a real one. The unexpected events of tonight lead me to this moment, and for that I was glad.

Hey Or! 

I remember you from an OP and from what I recall you weren't terrible! Actually, you're better than some of the native English speakers on the site so I encourage you to come back!

"Right?" I stated in agreement to Azure's need for more activities. Ever since I had joined on Christmas of two years ago we've only celebrated as a guild three times. The first was obviously the party I threw upon the peer pressure from Keith. It wasn't specifically for the guild, because I wasn't in it quite yet, but it just ended up that almost everyone attending was part of Azure. The second was Zelrius' birthday party, open to a lot of people I guess. And the third was the most recent party I threw for Azure, but for everyone else in he game as well. Since I had been throwing the celebration for two years now I thought that I was officially the unofficial social chair. It was funny because I was probably the most antisocial in Azure if you spare Zelrius when he isn't feeling it. 

A smile grew on my face as Oikawa accepted my hand and stood up. "With pleasure." I slightly bowed with an over dramatic smirk.This was a classic move that I hadn't done in awhile. Actually, when was the last time I'd used sarcasm? I shrugged off the thought and followed beside the blonde towards the various lights and sounds that signaled the festivities, it didn't matter anymore. Cliche but, what mattered most was right now; having fun with Oikawa and enjoying myself right now. Maybe it was unhealthy to distract myself from Zelrius by pretending it didn't matter right now, maybe it was healthy that I was "being strong" about it. Either way, I would make this night with my fellow Azure Commandant as entertaining as possible. 

Torn from my thoughts, Oikawa spoke again and offered his arm to me. At first I was a bit hesitant to accept, as this wasn't a very normal occurrence for me. The last time I had done something like this with someone was a little bit ago, and I couldn't remember if it was with Zelrius or Keith. It was a bit scary to have to make this decision, and I didn't know why. Maybe I was afraid of moving on? Or maybe it was just me being childish. I sighed internally and after not much thought I knew my answer to his gesture. "Why thank you." I said stated politely and gladly took the young man's arm. a. "Well, I've never really thought of Aincrad as limited, but I never though it was a free space. I mean, in real life we can't just go around killing animals with weapons from an inventory- from an imaginary space might I add. We have to buy it pre-cut from the store and cook it. I don't want to delve too much into it but I think Sword Art Online is a lot more free in the sense of creativity and survival. I mean, what are we doing back home? Spending our lives doing meaningless jobs at the grocery store or something? We aren't fighting for our lives in the real world, we're literally just doing the same thing every day, you know? So, it's true what you said; the possibilities are endless, even if I am there!"

[loot 15]

I rested my hands upon my chin and leaned forward, awaiting Oikawa's opinion. A solid two minutes passed by as the both of us sat in silence, staring out into the darkness of the street. Only one light illuminated the bench we sat on. In those silenced minutes only one couple came passing by. They gave the two of us a weird look as if they couldn't comprehend what was going on. Though to be fair I didn't expect them to. Even so, they moved on and laughed as they turned the corner, they were at least enjoying themselves. Out of the corner of my eye I looked at Oikawa, who was also facing this way. Then, a sigh broke the silence followed by his voice.  

His words sunk into me, slowly all coming together and making sense, but also confused me. "Oikawa..." I began, not quite sure where I wanted this conversation to lead, "You know how hard dragging me back would be?" I smiled, knowing that it was getting way too serious for tonight, the Festival night. "Do you know how much it took Keith just to get ten feet? Once I kicked him so hard that he almost dropped me!" I exclaimed, remembering the exact moment on Floor Four. Keith was trying to get me into a good mood but I just wasn't feeling it. His solution? Pick up the murderous teenager and start dancing around while swinging her around like a rag doll. He had it coming. 

My gaze shifted from the street, to Oikawa. I breathed out moved my black hair behind my ear. "I know they aren't inclined to, but like you said and like I hope, I hope they would back me up once and awhile. I hope that the Guild Hall wasn't just for meetings. Why do you think I plan the Azure Holiday Party every year? Because it lets everyone chill out for awhile, even if it's just a night they can be remotely happy. I have never played an MMORPG so I don't really the entire deal with the guilds and stuff. I;m also quite dense with learning the new skills, but, I feel like as a guild we should maybe trust each other a little? I mean, I get that Azure is just a bunch of strong players that work hard every day to live up to the title but I want everyone to do something every once and awhile you know? It's actually a little embarrassing but even I get lonely sometimes." I leaned my head to the right and closed my eyes with a slight grin. "You don't tell me what to do, I'm the royal here. You are merely canon fodder to my end goal Oikawa." I joked. Oikawa made me realize something, exactly how much I changed since I met him. 

"Now," I stood up in front of the blonde, "What do you say we're the first of The Azure Brigade to officially begin Kiru's mission impossible eh? Oikawa, would be so kind as to join me tonight?" I extended my hand to him, sincerely hoping he would accept. 

From afar I could see that Ssendom was wearing the Hydra helmet. To be honest, at first I thought it was Zelrius. However, my reasoning knew it wasn't, as Ssendom was much taller than Zelrius and quite frankly Zelrius would have been wearing a tuxedo or something. At first the general though of him wearing Zelrius' helmet made me uncomfortable but it also made me scared and happy. Happy because then Zelrius would not hide his face under the stupid thing, and frightened that something could have happened to him. If the latter was true then the reason Manta and I were called here for would be devastating. I swallowed hard and tried to rule the thought out of my head. But what if, somehow, Zelrius had managed to die? What would even happen? Surely the news would be negative.  

Up close the helmet made me even more disgusted; I never liked it. How grotesque and ugly it was. Sure, it was a major pride symbol but it was also a symbol for the boss battle that it was obtained from. The battle for that floor was the worst by far because it was the first I had lead a group, and at the time I was sure that you couldn't possibly die in the game. Knowing that, I went into the battle and didn't lead my team at all, two people died because of my lack of leadership and that thing Zelrius paraded around on his head all the time didn't help me to forget. (It probably even made my guilt grow.) Not only that but I couldn't ever see what Zel's face looked like while wearing it. Even though I could pick up his emotions through his messages and speech it's challenging to detect feeling through no expression. Now Ssendom was wearing it, making his face hidden as well. I didn't like it one bit but I knew this was something I had to keep to myself, it wasn't my choice what they wore. 

As soon as he got into speaking distance Lazarus made the first mistake of being overly excited. Instantly I regretted bringing Lazarus along. He was way too immature and really couldn't handle this at his age. And based off of the reaction Ssendom gave off, he wasn't to happy about my company. "Whoops." I thought, really wishing that I left the blonde child in the city and directed him to find a guild on his own. "Hey-" I began to tell Lazarus to chill out, but it seemed I would be too late. He had already made another mistake within twenty seconds of meeting Dom. I cringed when the candy was thrown, hit the helmet, and bounced onto the pixelated grass. If I were Ssendom I would have already gotten extremely angry at him. I was actually surprised how high his tolerance was. I sighed, stepping forward to apologize to Ssendom for bringing such a ruckus but once again Lazarus cut in and made a scene. Not a pretty one either. "Sorry, I didn't think he'd be like this. I'm just afraid that if I don't expose him to a guild or something that'll he'll get killed." 

Directly after Lazarus showed his unhealthy amount of candy in his mouth, Ssendom calmly continued with explaining to Manta and I that Zelrius would be gone. My stomach sank, he was going to leave again for awhile. Even though he kinda told me through Ssendom that he was leaving I still was frustrated. Why did he keep leaving? I pursed my lips and crossed my arms. Finally, I spoke, not caring whether I was being intrusive. "Is he alright? Nothing has happened to him right?" I wanted to ask why he left but he already said he would not tell us the reason, which hurt. If Zelrius really considered me to be a family member like he claimed I was then why was I not included on this? I looked at the ground, then back to the lifeless helmet. "You're not just saying this right? He'll only be gone for a little? Like, he's not...dead or anything right?"  It was hard to ask the last part because I was afraid of the answer I would receive back from him. 

 "Alright." I chuckled, handing him the rest of the box that contained at eight cupcakes left. I then picked up the two boxes left and looked at the blonde haired candy freak. There was a twinge of happiness that went through me as I looked at him.

I was glad to hear that the child was interested in the guild. This kid was obnoxious for sure but he was still in fact just a kid and made a lot of mistakes. If he met me a year ago I would have walked away from him by now, annoyed by his cheerful attitude. However, I had a change of heart since then and my values were shifted from being anti-hero to kind of anti-hero. I knew that if Keith were here that he would do something like this; he would do everything he could to help him. Surely he would also make this kid super happy but that was pushing it for me. I wasn't interested in making him happy, keeping him from dying in his early years was my main priority. 

Luckily I didn't have to tell him to follow me, he instead followed my lead when I began to walk out of the alley. Soon Manta Gaul walked beside the two of us. I smile politely at her and continued my conversation with Lazarus. "So, I'm in a guild called "The Azure Brigade," and also am one of the commandants. Meaning, I'm pretty high ranked. The person you'll meet will also be very high esteemed so make sure you're nice to him. I explained to him while walking outside of the safezone. Up ahead was none other than Ssendom. He was leaning against the wall nonchalantly, far away from the guards. I knew the reason he did so, Keith made the mistake of getting too close a lot. Especially when he dared to go inside the town with me he was often hurt badly. I waved at him from afar with a smirk on my face. 

"So, what's so important? I was learning some tricks." I then motioned to the "candy man" beside me. "And this is, well I don't know his name but he was teaching me how to swipe a few sweets. He wants to ask about the guild if that's alright." I stated, sincerely hoping that what Ssendom was going to discuss wouldn't be classified for Azure only. I would feel guilty if he had to leave without getting to know the guild members I told him he would meet. 

As I was crouched down, ready to listen, a sudden message popped up in front of me. I internally sighed at the mere appearance of it. It felt like every time I was doing something remotely important I got a message, telling me to meet somewhere as soon as possible. Silently, I clicked open the message and read it alone. Surprisingly, the sender was Ssendom. I never got messages from him so it was a rare sight, even to see him on a normal day was uncommon. And for him to message me was actually really out of place. I pursed my lips for a moment, would I have to leave without learning this trick? It seems not, as the young boy suddenly got extremely excited and began. 

He tossed me a peppermint, which I almost fell over trying to catch, and instructed me to put it in my palm at a certain position. I tried my hardest to copy him and in all honesty it looked easy but it kept falling from it's place over and over again. Frustrated, I cupped the candy in both hands and decided to just watch the rest. Maybe I would gain more information that way. He made it very clear that positioning was very important, something I could do very well, and showed me the rest. I didn't quite grasp the last step either, as he was simply making it disappear and wasn't explaining very clearly. I furrowed my eyebrows and tried it for myself. I followed every step confidently and in the end dropped the striped mint onto the pavement. I bit my lip and stared at Lazarus' eyes, this was definitely not a normal trick. If I couldn't do it then surely no one but this kid does. I mean, I was very good a tricks in general but this? This was not working. 

I inhaled deeply through my nose and picked up the boxes of cakes. I opened the biggest one and placed three of them in his open hand. "Thank you. I'm Kiru by the way." I said with an irritated voice. Now that I couldn't learn it, it seemed I would simply have to meet up with Ssendom without a magic trick to entertain him. It was sad but the truth. I began to leave but turned back to the child. He seemed to be a free spirit but I couldn't help but feel the need to keep him protected, specifically in a guild. "Listen, I gotta go meet up with someone really quickly. It may take five minutes or it may take a day but if you'd like I could introduce you to my guild mate so you could maybe join one when you're ready. Unfortunately Azure isn't accepting new members right now but you could ask a few questions to him if you like?" I asked, hoping he would at least consider a guild at his level. Surely he wouldn't make it on his own. 

After placing the cupcake into the hands of Ranmura I smiled politely and stood up. The kid who stole the cupcake from the shop had obviously been interested in the box of cupcakes I held to him. He summoned my attention, asking me to check my box once more. Even though I thought I had them guarded he seemed to steal them anyhow. I wasn't necessarily angry at the boy, I was actually more amused than anything. His skills were useful as of right now and with his help I would possibly learn them. Before I could ask him for directions he motioned he to follow him to a more sequestered place in order to show me his ways. 

I stood up and followed the young blonde to the alley way. As he explained it was magic I couldn't help but to roll my eyes, it was probably just a party trick. He began by waving his hand over the cake and then it disappeared. I smiled at him. "I must say, you are good." I complimented him, hoping he would speed up his lesson. Nothing bothered me more than slow people, especially children that thought they were the cheese. But, I made myself look very interested anyhow. "Alright, I'm listening..." I placed the three boxes of cupcakes on the ground and crouched down to his level. 

I opened my eyes with a groan. Yesterday was certainly not my best day in a sense, but it wasn't the worst one. I had not only gone to the Spring Festival alone but I ended up seeing Zelrius. Normally this was a good thing, Zelrius was my friend after all. Something about last night was different though; he was uncharacteristically formal and ignorant to my feelings at the time. It was probably because Manta was beside him but other than that he once again left me alone. Only, this time in the middle of an empty street; and unlike the other times, someone was watching. Thankfully, it was Oikawa. If it were anyone else I would have been embarrassed beyond the point of return. Oikawa didn't want to ridicule me or laugh and tell me to move on, he was honest and talked to me through some of it. After talking me through it we actually enjoyed the rest of the Spring Festival together.  After that I felt a lot better, but like most times, the negative parts weighed out the positive. The one question remaining on my mind from that night was why. Why could Zelrius not realize that he couldn't just pretend to be great friends with me then treat me like a new recruit the next. To be quite frank I was tired of it even if it was my own fault. 

The sun began slipping in through the space in between my two curtains. I squinted my eyes and yawned, rolling over and out of bed. When I stood up I stretched my arms towards the ceiling, releasing any pressure from myself. My HUD was brought to my attention as I was reminded of what time it was. I quickly changed into my normal outfit and equipped my dagger to the back of my skirt so it was hidden from view. Before I left I checked for all of my gear one more time, making absolutely sure that I left nothing important behind. Last night I received a PM from a player by the name of "Dai" to help him out with a quest. I usually would stray away from these types of meetings but I was once again reminded by the fact that I was really low in level and needed the extra outside time. The details of the message were kept to the bare minimum, only introducing himself slightly and giving a location to meet at on the Twelfth Floor. At first I was hesitant to accept; the floor was completely a river town. But in the end of course, I agreed to this and set out. 

"Teleport: Floor 12." I said quietly, but just loud enough for it to register in the system. The crystal in my hand smashed to pieces and I was sent to the desired floor, just outside the town. I blinked a couple of times to regain my vision and got off of the teleport gate. I was pleasantly surprised to see that today it was not raining, just cloudy. For reasons I would not disclose at this time I was not too fond of water in general other than to drink. Even so, I still stood in front of the gate to wait for Dai. Not even ten minutes later, he appeared. 

The first thing that struck me was his cursor; he was a PK. I knew two sides of PKing, none of them were acceptable but the reasons were understandable. He traced my eyes and tilted his head with a smirk. He rubbed the back of his neck and look apologetically at me. "Sorry, I forgot to mention the crystal, if it's an issue then I totally understand." He said placing his hands in his pockets. Dai didn't look very dangerous. He was about my height and had black hair. His gear was a little below mine and from the looks of it wasn't very harmful. After an evaluation I shook my head. "No, Dai it's alright. I'm Kiru by the way." I extended my hand out to his, thus marking the beginning of our quest. 

He shook my hand right back with a quirky smile. "Thanks, I uh, no one really trusts me because of my cursor. I'm actually a hunter if you might call it. I go after the real Player Killers, though that doesn't justify my own killings." He said, and I immediately thought of Keith. Dai was in the exact same situation. "I don't enjoy it though, and I've only done it maybe five times max." Dai quickly reassured me, as if I was still weary of him. At this point based on his speech it was clear to me that it wasn't correct of me to judge him merely based off of the color of his crystal. Even though it was a subconscious feeling it still wasn't right for me to be so quick to judge. And now that I knew a little more about him, and how much he reminded me of my blue haired friend, my guard was let down. It was let down in a good way however, I trusted him. "I'm also a Maverick Hunter, I just don't really do it anymore. So I guess we're the same huh?" I laughed slightly whilst thinking how crazy this entire meeting was. After all, I hadn't seen anyone else with a job like Keith and I before. I guess it was a freshened feeling? 

[OOC- Zelrius you're free to write anything he does as long as it stays from the eyes of Kiru.]

As expected, the polite young man listened intently without interruption. Oikawa really was a good listener, it was almost as if he wasn't there in the first place. Though that would leave me sitting alone I still felt calmed by his faint presence. Throughout my entire speech he didn't once inject his opinion. Instead, he let me finish like a gentleman. I was entirely grateful and felt somewhat undeserving of his time right now. However, I needed this time with him to let things out or else it would probably stay bottled inside me, ready to burst any moment. More often times than not I had kept my emotions inside, building up for over a year. All it took was for Keith to disappear for my entire world to explode because at the time he was my entire world. I continued to keep everything inside myself so I wouldn't look weak but that hadn't gotten me that far now that I was physically weak as well. As stated by many others before myself, it wasn't healthy to bottle your emotions. I actually felt relieved now that it was off my chest.

When I had finished talking he went silent and faced the street. Most likely he was either taken aback by the sheer amount of detail or trying to figure out how to respond. Probably the latter. I would be entirely shocked if I were in my shoes. I mean, what would you do if the once arrogant and edgy girl was now sat beside you crying over the dumbest but most important thing? Nothing, I wouldn't be able to comprehend my own emotions. But Oikawa did, and summarized everything completely. It even made me question myself. Did I really love Zelrius in that way? Surely it would be obvious to an outsider, but to me it was a foreign feeling that I couldn't detect in myself. He reassured me that Zelrius would do the same, even though I doubted that. He wasn't saying these things to temporarily make me feel numb to the pain, he was saying it because he believed it in hopes that I would as well. 

"I guess that he wouldn't leave me to die but..." I recalled the moment before the last boss fight I attended. I had gone to Zelrius and requested his help in a mission to help find Keith. We were going to go deal with the person behind everything but, Zelrius exploded. He said Keith didn't matter, that he was a dead man. "If I were to follow through with a plan I was to execute with him then I'm afraid he wouldn't follow me. Actually, I'm sure he'd want to distance himself from me. After all, he did turn his cursor orange for a reason." I knew for a fact that Zelrius would be angry with me if he found my cursor to be orange. "If I was in real danger who's to say that he would even make it? Especially if I was a PK? I'd be nothing in his eyes." I stated, knowing fully that I stuck with Zelrius and helped him turn green. Maybe he would help me turn green but that wasn't something on the top of my lists. The entire idea of going after "Keith's killer" had gone from my mind. I had no intentions of becoming an orange player. But theoretically if I were to, Zelrius wouldn't be too happy. 

Oikawa proceeded to talk about Keith and I, which surprised me. I didn't think that Oikawa even thought about Keith, let alone me, at all. "Yeah..." I said, feeling a twinge of sadness knowing that everyone claimed Keith to be dead. Even sadder, he probably was. "Oikawa. I know you believe this but, I don't think everyone in Azure would march behind me if I went to attack someone. I mean, would you? In all honesty, would you walked along with me to your certain death to merely make a point?" I asked, knowing it wasn't a fair question. Of course no one would just happily go along. The only person that might would be Zelrius, but obviously not. If Keith heard anything about me doing anything remotely dangerous he would literally pick me up, drag me, or force me not to go. "If I'm being picked because of being me then how come I never see anyone at the Guild Hall? How come they leave? I just don't understand what I've done." I shifted in my seat and turned towards the street. This was definitely not the night I was expecting. 

"Oh...oh." I chuckled, a voice ridden with sadness. He had told me to "let it all out," but, what exactly was there to release? There was nothing there in the first place, or so I thought. If I knew that my encounter with Zelrius would be so distressing I wouldn't have just put myself through that emotional damage. Knowing that, would I have wanted to meet him in the first place if I knew how this spiral of even would turn out? I probably still would for the experiences, the positive and fun ones at least. The memories of hugging, dancing, laughing, and fighting together. Not the fighting, the falling, or the crying.  Surely anyone would want to just skip over the bad parts of their life, but the truth was none of could. We were, in all seriousness, virtually trapped in a game that was killing us one by one. And that's exactly the reason why we all needed these horrible experiences; to grow. Even if we were hurt in the process we all needed lessons, and it sucked, but we had to face it. 

I nodded, scooting to my left a little to allow Oikawa a portion of the bench. I closed my eyes and looked away from him. It was embarrassing, for someone whom he used to look up to, to cry. Especially now that surely he was above me in level I could really look him in the eye as he began. He told me what I assumed, he saw what happened. He didn't know what to say, and neither did I. It was weird in a way. I mean, what would I think if I was the situation? I certainly would assume that there were internal issues between Zelrius and I. But, I decided to let Oikawa continue so I could hear exactly what he had to say. First however, he nudged me, obviously wanting me to look at him. For a moment, I didn't agree with this. I didn't want him to see my blotchy and tear streaked face. 

Finally, I took in a deep breath and turn my body towards him, giving my full attention. He wanted to listen. Calrex also wanted to listen to my problems. Tristan was ardent on me letting out everything in front of him. What was different about all of them? Tristan and I were once in a relationship and quite frankly have been down a rough path from there. After things got better I now felt that I couldn't bother Tristan to spill my heart out to him, he didn't deserve to be troubled by my problems. Calrex on the other hand, had been there to see everything leave me. He was the first to comfort me when Keith let, the first to see me when Daeron jumped of the edge of Aincrad without saying anything, and now I didn't want him to be doing anymore comforting for me. After all, he had a Tearye to look after. And now, here was Oikawa. There was something different about how he would respond, and I knew it. He wouldn't try to tell me to calm down, or that I was revealing enough. I felt like he would do as promised and just listen. Oikawa was once a "student" of Keith and I's, mostly Keith's though. He listened to us both back then, so I had a feeling that he would be the same now. 

His smile was contagious. Soon, my countenance lightened and smiled back at the blonde. "I uh, sorry, I don't know how to explain exactly what just happened," I ran my fingers through my black and white hair and continued, "he's pretty difficult you know? Zelrius I mean. One moment you're in the middle of a party having a ball, and the next you're in the middle of the street alone while he's running off. It's not that I'm jealous that he's been on a date, I just feel kind of like leftover pizza or something. Like, I was fun to be around but as soon as I was left alone to fend for myself I wasn't pleasant to be around. Zelrius is such a fragile person on the inside, I swear, but sometimes he forgets that by closing himself off to his only "family" in this game he is practically stabbing me. And with other holes in my heart I'm afraid that if this keeps going on that I won't have any hear left for him to poke at." I frowned and looked down at my hands. I was probably making no sense to someone who wasn't there for Zelrius and I's conversations. Even knowing this, I kept going now that everything was flowing out. "It just stings, a lot. He probably doesn't even think of me highly anymore, seeing as though he's been choosing other's over the one person who would stick with him. Gosh, if he turned orange and everyone in Aincrad was after him I would protect him and stand along side him- I'd turn orange because he means just that much to me. I just can't say that he would do the same for me..." I trailed off, whispering at the end.  

This didn't make any sense. I didn't even come here to speak with the yellow haired commandant, so why was I so upset? Was it that he looked unhappy to see me? That he was accompanied by another player? When it came down to it, I was shocked and jealous and hurt that for one of the first non-guild related events he chose to go with someone I didn't even know. Zelrius never went to go have fun, like me two months ago he was so battle focused and training all the time to maintain a high reputation. Although it had serious positives, it also had it's major downsides. For example, a topic brought up between Zelrius and I internally was that with a high level and power came people who liked you merely for your strength. Now that I wasn't up to par with him was I unwanted now? That probably was not the case but I couldn't but to keep it in the back of my head, for later questioning if I would even see him again. Nowadays I learned that was everywhere and nowhere with no heads up. Leaving me for the second time in a row was seriously degrading and to be quite honest, very irritating.  Not even that, it's that he just treated me as though I was nothing. Like I hadn't been the only member from the beginning that hasn't stuck with him. Like I wasn't the only one who left Azure even when things with the other members got bad. This only brought more anger into me as I sat on the park bench under a single light post.

I wiped my right eye with the sleeve of my sweater and looked out. To my surprise, Oikawa was now kneeling in front of me. I hadn't even heard him coming, which made me wonder, had he seen the entire exchange? As his eyes locked onto mine I saw him speaking, but could not hear him. I was probably still in shock to even register simple things like hearing. I shook my head and accepted the cloth, wiping my eyes with it. "Oikawa...I uh couldn't hear you." I sniffled and smiled. It was too late to just brush off his attention and claim nothing had happened. "Thank you." I whispered quietly to him and laid the cloth in my lap. This time, someone was here for the aftermath, and I was grateful. 

I followed Calrex's gaze towards the gate that spilled into the fields that we'd surely be crossing in order to find the monster. "That's exactly what I'm going for here. As shallow as it may be, the only thing I need right now is levels. Gotta keep up with Azure, you know?" I stated in almost a disappointed tone. I was so behind everyone in Azure that even the lower players had began to surpass me. Of course this wasn't in strength, only in level, but I still couldn't help but feel the need to redeem my once glorious status while in Azure. This was something I put on myself but definitely needed help with now, and that's what Calrex was here for. To help me with this seemingly insurmountable task of getting my level up to par and possibly even above others'. 

The only thing I knew about this boss was that it was a wasp...queen. Other than that I could guess that maybe it would be able to paralyze or sting. I looked about, attempting to see if it could just possibly be roaming around for open attacks, but it wasn't. Just as I turned to ask Calrex about the exact location, he stopped. I turned to him, confused. His whole tone of voice became serious, earnest even as he began to repeat words like Tristan had told me. I sighed slightly. Quite frankly I was grateful for his support but I had heard those words spoken so many times that they had lost their meaning. And in some cases, were no abided by. But, I knew I had to at least trust him enough not to dissipate the meaning of those words. "Thanks Calrex. It means a lot knowing that I have someone I can talk to about stuff. Likewise with me. Please contact me if you just need someone to vent to. I know I won't just listen but if we can avoid certain events then...yeah." I trailed off, hoping that he got the idea and wouldn't need me to come out and say: "I don't want you to PM me something vague and then watch you die." 

I looked the kid up and down, frowning slightly. He looked like he could defeated exactly half a boar but I continued on. For right now I would put his level and combat skills aside and get to my real negotiation. "Yes, actually I would just love to know how you got away with taking that cupcake." I said, adding extra enthusiasm to talk to him. I then opened one of the box of cupcakes and displayed them to him. "If you tell me, these are all your's." With this incentive surely he wouldn't turn me down. I mean, he loved anything sweet as far as I could tell. I then closed the box shut to ensure that he wouldn't take any and so that he could tell I was being completely serious about this deal. 

From behind I heard a small voice belonging to girl. She stumbled upon her introduction by saying "blood," instead of "joke". Right away this set me off, surely something was wrong with her if she was going around making claims like a certain Player Killer I used to know. When I turned around I looked into her beading eyes as she went on, without the consent of anyone, to tell her joke. Although it wasn't funny and I didn't really get it I still laughed anyway to make her feel better. Also I laughed because of how bubbly she seemed to be. I bent over slightly, causing my two toned hair to fall forward, and took one of the three boxes out. I proceeded to pull out a vanilla cupcake with red frosting and a strawberry on top. "Here." I smiled and handed the pastry to the young girl.

[Loot 8: no mask for Kiru yet :/]

After letting go of Manta's hand I looked back at Zelrius. He wasn't wearing his normal combat uniform, he even looked a little out of place in front of me. Although in our last couple exchanges the boy had been wearing strange outfits, it was this one that looked the most unusual, yet familiar. In fact, without the gear and helmet he normally wore I realized that this wasn't just a random pick from his seemingly millions of suits. Upon closer inspection I noticed that it was the suit I had commissioned for Zelrius' birthday. Internally I felt myself be overcome with pride, as it was the first time I'd actually seen him wearing the custom piece. But even with this sense of accomplishment I was struck with concern as I saw the body under the suit. He was uncharacteristically tense and from the looks of it he was pretty uncomfortable. Maybe it was the suit? Anyhow, this underlying detail of sudden, yet hidden, anxious actions made me feel confused. 

To make my brain even more confused, Zelrius addressed me formally, bowing even. "It is isn't it?" I stated, unsure if I was supposed to respond to him. After returning to normal posture he quickly explained that he was in fact on a "spur of the moment date," with Manta Gaul, and left before allowing me to speak further. As he walked off, holding her hand, I felt an unnerving pressure. "What was that?" I questioned and drew in a deep breath. I watched as he and Manta had faded out into the distance, leaving me alone in the middle of the empty street. Memories began pouring into my head; Keith's name disappearing from my list, Daeron's smiling face as he jumped off the edge, and Zelrius leaving out of the guild doors. Once again, like all those times, I was left alone. "Hah..."  I laughed slowly, in chopped segments of short breath. I was trying to get a hold of myself but it just was not working tonight. Suddenly a tear ran down my cheek, followed by a few others. I wiped them quickly and walked over to a nearby bench because quite frankly, I need a break from this right now. I was supposed to be having fun alone, so why was I so unhappy when left to be with myself? 

Spring had once again finally reached Aincrad, thus the Spring Festival was to come. I slightly remembered going with Keith to something like this but I was pretty sure that it wasn't the Spring Festival exactly. Back then, I was so nervous because it was the first time we went to a formal event together, and the first time in a while that I wasn't running around killing things or completing quests. In fact, I think I was actually a little irritated that I was missing an entire day just to screw around at some event that didn't even offer any good rewards. But even though there wasn't a beneficial reason, a material item, or a boss drop, didn't mean that the day itself wasn't any more special to me now. During that event I had so much fun that I forgot about reality and furthering my level for quite some time. That was, until we were rudely interrupted by a couple of PKs that thought they could just "teach us a lesson," and leave. In the end, they were in critical condition, running away and scared. Overall that experience was for the better and made me ultimately want to come to the next Aincrad Festival, even if I didn't have someone to go with. 

I stepped off of the teleportation gate and onto the path, leading me to the town in which the festival was being held at. It wasn't a very far trip, and from the looks of it, no one else was on the path other than a player lugging a gigantic burlap bag over their shoulder. Upon closer inspection I noticed that he was also dropping things on his way. "That's not smart, someone's going to take them. And if any Player Killers are around they could easily just kill you because you're so distracted with that bag of yours." I thought, looking around to see if there was anyone that could potentially harm the player ahead of me. Like before, no one new had gotten onto the path. I smirked and began picking up the items he had been dropping. To my surprise they were fireworks. I smiled, remembering the first time I met Kyr. I stole his blanket and watched fireworks with him, as if it were normal to lay on someone's blanket. 

This player sure was oblivious to their surroundings. I mean, I could just as easily take off when the mound of fireworks piling up in my arms and sell them. Though I had no reason to, I didn't need money and waiting for people to buy them would be a waste of time. Instead, I decided to return them to him since I was pretty sure I would have absolutely no use for such frivolous items. Yes, they were pretty to look at but I had no interest in taking it. I sped up my pace, holding about eight fireworks, and caught up with the player. "Hey!" I called, "you are dropping like fire hundred of these!" I held them up as the player turned around. It was a man who looked concerned and maybe just a little frightened. 

"Thank you so much!" He said and and gratefully accepted the heap of explosives. He turned to walk away before facing me again, with a weird look on his face. "You know what?" He asked, "I really won't sell all of these and you look so nice, so please accept this and use it tonight to show everyone in Aincrad that lovely outfit of yours." His hand reached out to mine and placed a firework inside of it, not letting me refuse, and then left. 

"Uh...Thanks!" I called after him and thought about his compliment for a moment. What I was wearing wasn't that special really. My usually down hair was pinned up into a messy bun. Lately, I really liked having my hair up because the black and white colors of my hair intertwined and made it look really cool in my opinion. Normally I wore my boots with literally everything but today I wore a pair of black pumps with small straps around each ankle. The black tights and black circle skirt were set off by the white knitted sweater. But, I internally thanked the man for the compliment anyways and stored the firework in my inventory for a later use. With that settled, I strode towards the town that glittered with excitement from the outside. 

The town of Taft was lively as ever as I stepped onto the stone floor. My heels clicked with every step, which made my presence known. I didn't care either way since it was rather loud. Everyone was gathered around every booth, making it certain that there would be profit tonight made by every player selling items here tonight. Everything looked the same as any other festival, so there was nothing new for me to explore. I guess I could say that it was a little boring seeing as though it was rather generic. Even so, it was to be a wonderful night. I wandered through the streets, stopping every once and a while to check something out, but kept moving. After a few impulse buys later I got into a less crowded area. Then, I saw a familiar face: Zelrius. Beside him was a white haired girl who was extremely familiar but I couldn't think of the name. It was a little strange to see him with someone else, and it even made me a little jealous. After leaving for so long he was choosing to spend his time with someone other than his fellow commandants? In my mind I was so confused, and even a little angry, but I smiled at him as I approached and waved. "Hey Zel, you here with your date?" I painfully teased, looking slightly downwards at Zelrius since I was wearing heels. "I'm Kiru, its nice to meet you." I extended my hand out to the white haired girl with a warm, yet icy, smile. 

No, Ssendom, that's my job ;)

(But it's better if you do: Panic! At The Disco jk then Don't: Ed Sheeran)

The sight of the floor was absolutely revolting, even after rejecting all light from my own room. This floor was so dreary and unkempt that it was depressing- probably caused depression too. There wasn't a single sign of colors other than browns and greys, which apparently, are bad for your emotional health. "Who's decision was it for the Guild to be on this floor anyways?" I asked, disgusted slightly by the terrain. It wasn't that I couldn't live here, it's just that it wasn't as esteemed a place as I imagined it to be. But I guess whoever chose the location could have been thinking of a metaphor for Azure. That we were a generally isolated guild, some of the members came from dark places, and that Azure just was secluded. This was also a significant floor because of the boss battle here. Or the person deciding could have just been picking randomly with their eyes closed.  

"Hm, I might be mistaken but I never got to vote on letting you back in. If I recall it's the majority rule correct? If I wasn't there for the meeting then there has to be a revote right? For the sake of The Azure Brigade I demand to be in on this stuff too!" I joked, knowing that even if there was another vote containing all of the commandants the outcome would be the same and Zelrius would be yet again a commandant. 

The countenance of Zelrius made an abrupt change when I talked about Ssendom and Lowenthal. "Strange." I thought while continuing to walk beside him. Next, his speech became a lot more stern, almost like an older sibling, and told me not to go near him. I crossed my arms and thought about this for a moment. What could possibly be so distressing about Lowenthal that he would tell me to stay away, yet appoint him as Azure's guild leader? In the end I couldn't think of anything so the only logical thing for me to do was question him. "Zelrius, might I ask why? Lowenthal seems like a nice guy so I don't see the problem. And if you really wanted us to not even be in the same room then why would you make him the leader of Azure? Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of avoiding him?" I uncrossed my arms and looked to the right. Gray. Dismal. I continued, "Seriously, what's your deal with him? And why should you care who I associate myself with? I'm sure if he ever were to be somewhat threatening I could handle him." I knew this was a lie. I was at a very critical state of growth right now due to my hiatus of quests and battles. If I went up against Lowenthal I'd probably be crushed without retaliation. I sighed inwardly and took a deep breath, there was no reason for me to get upset over this right now. Actually there were a lot of reasons for me to get angry at him for telling me what to do but I was just to exhausted to do so.   

I chuckled slightly at the though of Tristan burning his tongue again. This time it would be hot chocolate however, and not something alcoholic. He would probably go crazy and hide somewhere if we did that. "That would be pretty funny." I admitted, trying to lighten up the mood again. 

I either want to be in Investigation, Search and Rescue, or Escort

or assault  ?

#ZelriusForgotKiru

Going along with Zelrius and Manta Gaul 

I brushed past Lowenthal without giving him a chance to speak. I knew if Ssendom didn't say anything about the ''Zelrius problem," then he definitely would seeing as though he gave me a very specific gift at the holiday party. Suddenly the words of Zelrius came running through my mind; to stay away from Lowenthal. I considered not abiding by this favor for a second but ultimately decided to follow his wished.  

The moment I walked into the kitchen I was met with a variety of smells wafting through the air. This was the profession I wanted, as it was probably the most stable and it was the most fun in my opinion. Cooking to me was a form of art that you could either master or screw up and never succeed. But in Aincrad all you had to do was touch a knife to a piece of meat and it was cut. Although it would probably take awhile for me to actually open a store and such I still thought the idea of cooking in this nomadic, yet sedentary, game would be just enough please to appease my literal appetite for real experiences. The way everything had to be caught and purchased and cooked just amazed me. That someone in our guild, other than Rebekah, could properly form a meal without burning the building down. I knew that he could cook, he even catered the holiday party, but watching him and getting to shadow Dom was pretty cool. 

"You know something weird? I don't like eating breakfast foods in the morning that much. But just this once do I want an omelette. Specifically with whatever you want to put in it but please no cheese." I told my "order" and clasped my hands behind my back, stepping out of the way so he could work. Instantly, I was overcome with questions, so many. "I know I haven't really asked but, when did you start this profession? And like, I don't know, why? Do you just like eating?" 

#DidntGetChosen

What do each of the jobs do?