Koga

Koga hadn't really considered the fact that DAY might not be able to communicate with the NPCs directly. A fact that, when stated, seemed both unbelievably strange, and yet also incredibly obvious. Koga made a peculiar face for a moment as he ruminated on that fact, wondering what might make the inner mechanisms of the machine they called Aincrad worked in that respect, before realizing he was giving himself a headache and stopping altogether.

The party walked along the cobble and flagstones, NIGHT and DAY benefiting from their shared warmth, whilst Koga was relegated to the cold. Okami, for his part, was unfortunate enough to have to endure rain soaked fur. The sudden realization that the canine would be tracking in water, mud and dirt into the estate made the blood drain from Koga's face. A crass man, sure, but even he had some sense of decorum. Oh, well, it couldn't be helped. He wasn't about to leave his companion out in the rain, and he'd happily fight anyone who tried to tell him otherwise.

Soon enough, they'd all come upon the grand door, NIGHT taking hold of the knocker and banging on the door thrice. At first, there was no answer, beckoning another set of harsh, booming knocks before the door finally swung open to reveal rotund, severe, elderly lady.

And boy was she rude.

The old hag had almost slammed the door in their faces before either could even get a word out. NIGHT, a little quicker on her feet than Koga, interjected and, despite stumbling over her words like a fool, somehow managed to convince the old lady to let them in, though she did not seem happy about it.

Koga followed the other two in, politely nodding towards the woman (and only out of politeness) as he passed. Okami trailed in after him, the sound of water dripping onto wooden floors following the audible sound of a sneer as the woman's gaze followed Koga's mutt. Sucked to be her.

Koga pulled his hood down as the old woman shouldered her way past him, and beckoned for them to follow her: "Come with me." Leading them down one of the halls, she stopped in front of a plain (or at least what passed for plain in this building) looking mahogany door. Knocking quietly, she waited until a sultry, feminine voice called from within: "Enter!"

The woman turned and gestured for them to wait a moment before opening the door and striding into the firelit room. Striding over to a chair whose back faced them, the woman bent over slightly to whisper something into it's occupants ear before turning back to retrieve the players. "Come, quickly now. And don't sit down anywhere, you," she added poking Koga in the chest. "You'll ruin the upholstery." And with that, she slammed the door behind them.

Now standing in the rooms entryway, it was revealed to be a small study. A large rug thrown in the center of the room, a desk sitting in front of the windows, facing the door, behind which a rather large and rough looking man in uniform stood, stone faced and unmoving. A fireplace cast long shadows across the floors, granting just enough light to read from the many books that lined the shelves that circled them all around. And finally, the chair in which their mystery woman sat, who had a matching companion beside it. Across from the two chairs, a sofa and a coffee table, the same dark wood as the desk, sitting between them all.

The woman in the chair rose and turned smiling. Dark, stormy blue eyes drifted over DAY, NIGHT, and then the smile soured as her gaze fell on Koga. "And just what are you supposed to be?" the woman asked incredulously, giving him a disgusted look. "Are you her guard? Oh, perhaps a stable boy. Well, whatever you are, you are in poor attire for an important meeting such as this."

'...What?...'

"Ah, but you, my dear. Clearly, you know how one must present themselves. What a lovely garment, a uh...track suit? If I recall correctly? I hear they are all the rage in Braso," she said, striding over to NIGHT confidently, taking a hand in hers and gently bringing it to her lips to kiss it before continuing. "I am President Brienne of Ordsea. Might I ask your name?"

"Hi, yeah, Koga. Here to help with your extremist problem?" Koga interjected, crossing his arms, upset at the differing caliber of greeting the two had received.

"I wasn't speaking to you," the president replied with a smug smile.

k o g a the elder wolf Spoiler notes: none Koga, Lvl 32/54 | HP: 880 | EN: 122 | DMG: 23 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 5 | LD: 3 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | VD: 96 | B.HEALING: 48/96 equipped battle-ready inventory T4 Demonic Katana <<Tsuki no Hikari>> [ CRSD // BRN I // BLT I // FALN I ] T4 Demonic Light Armor <<Shuku-ro Coat>> [ EVA II // VAMP-D II ] T1 Demonic Trinket <<lupine.>> [ ACC III // EVA I ] none skills Spoiler | UTILITY Gathering: Fishing I | Successfully forage for materials on a LD 14+ | 0/49 EXP  Searching III | +1 LD per rank. +1 to Stealth Detection per rank. | 14 SP Night Vision | Ignores any penalties from low light or darkness. Negates the bonus Stealth Rating from low light or darkness. | 3 SP | COMBAT Combat Shift: Single Target | For the following Sword Arts, +3 to multipliers and +2 to EN cost; ST-I, ST-II, ST-B. No other Shifts may be taken. | 10 SP Mastery: Damage III | Gain 1 * Tier Damage per rank | 13 SP Battle Healing V | Recover 5% (rounded down) of your maximum HP at the start of your turn | 30 SP Emergency Recovery | When non-fatal damage would leave you with 25% or less of your maximum HP, recover 10% of your maximum HP after the attack resolves. Effect cannot occur more than once per thread.  When activated if the player has lower than 10 energy remaining, simply reduce the player's energy to 0. | 6 SP EN Cost: 10 Energist | Increase Base Energy by 5 * Tier | 8 SP Charge | Perform a single attack/Sword Art with +5 base damage. Charge attacks have a -1 Accuracy debuff and cannot be affected by any auto-hit effects. | 10 SP Cooldown: 3 Posts | WEAPON Katana V | +7 DMG when equipped with a Katana | 30 SP Stamina | Reduces the energy of all Katana attacks by 2 EN | 4 SP Precision | Gain +1 ACC. | 2 SP Ferocity | +2 DMG when using Katana Sword Arts | 4 SP | ARMOR Light Armor V | +30 MIT when equipped with Light Armor, -2 Stealth | 30 SP Meticulous | +1 DMG when equipped with Light Armor | 4 SP Resolve | +1 ACC and +10 * Tier HP when equipped with Light Armor | 6 SP | EXTRAS Familiar Master: Rending | You and your familiar attack in tandem, applying Rend [7*tier unmitigatable damage] to the target that lasts for two turns. | 10 SP Cooldown: 5 Turns Survival | Increases Healing effects received from all sources by 10%. Grants immunity to all damage dealing environmental attacks/effects. | 0 SP Parry | Apply the energy cost upon proc, not activation. Reduces the final damage of the next successful attack against you by 50% (rounded down) and negates stun/paralysis effects of that attack. If hit by multiple attacks, only apply parry to the first attack against you. Parry lasts for three turns. Cooldown starts when the player activates the Skill. If the player is hit when using Parry, the cooldown is reset to 3 turns. | 10 SP 9 EN, Cooldown: 3 Turns Vengeful Riposte | A successful Parry also returns 50% (rounded down) of the raw damage that would be dealt to you back to your opponent. The reflected damage can be mitigated by the opponent. | 6 SP Cooldown: 4 Turns Justified Riposte | A successful Parry also stuns the target for 1 turn. | 5 SP Cooldown: 4 Turns Frozen Hide | As a free action, apply one slot of Frost Aura and one slot of Frost Thorns equal to your tier to yourself until the start of your next turn. | 0 SP 5 EN, Cooldown: 4 Turns buffs Spoiler | PARAGON REWARDS Lv. 5 | Earn Col equivalent to 15% of player’s EXP earned in thread. Lv. 10 | +1 LD to Looting | BUFFS <<Well Rested>> | -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat. <<Squeaky Clean>> | The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down). <<Filling>> | Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. <<Item Stash>> | +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot <<Tasty>> | Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast. A Lesser Feast contains 4 portions of the food items sacrificed. Lesser Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread. <<Relaxed>> | Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts. <<Multipurpose>> | Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll. <<Practiced Angler>> | +2 Fishing EXP per Attempt and additional +1 LD & CD to fishing attempts.

Koga was far less thoughtful, at least at this moment. Or rather, it was more a lack of over overthinking, than thoughtfulness altogether. Once Koga had managed to get past the fact that the girl had somehow not used up any of her skill points, his thoughts had turned on what possible build paths she might be interested in, what gear he might be able to offer from his storehouse.

While Ghost might've wondered what ulterior motives Koga might've had, the truth was he had none. He had time, nothing in particular that needed to be done. And, truth be told, he saw it simply as paying an old favor forward. Many had helped him when he'd been a low-level player, it only seemed right to be of many to help others.

And so, because of this simplicity, no glances were shared between the two (or at least none that Koga noticed).  Simply, they walked side by side until Ghost suddenly picked up her pace, Okami trouncing happily along behind her, leaving Koga behind with an eyebrow cocked in an amused expression. Well, they weren't far from the tavern now at least. And so Koga was content to lag behind a little before entering the tavern after them.

It wasn't long before they found a table and took their seats, at which point Koga looked at the girl, still red for some reason. "Are you feeling okay?" he asked, a look of concern flashing across his features.

It had been quite a while since Koga had needed to visit Cintamani. In fact, he could hardly recall when that had been. A year or two ago? In any case, the familiar setting was somewhat comforting. Enough so that the man felt no rush in completing his errand. The man browsed the books, their spines, titles (maybe the book NIGHT had quoted was among these?) before finally coming around to attend to his business. "Hi, five Liquors of Light, please," he'd say, before setting down the required col as payment. "Thank you, have a good rest of your day."

| Koga purchases T1 Perfect Consumable <<Liquor of Light>> [03/03/21] (x5)

Koga sends Bistro 2500 col |

Looking down at Ghost (merely due to height, not any sense of condescension) Koga waited for a response from the girl for a beat, before she suddenly broke free of whatever spell she was under, face lighting up like a Christmas tree. Just what had the girl been thinking of? Whatever the case, she made a few short gestures, words popping into the air to convey silent words.

"Alright, good," the man affirmed with a nod before looking at the boar, that was still trying to attack him, despite Koga's health bar having already regenerated completely. "Sorry dude." Koga took hold of his katana, and with one swift strike, accented by a bloom of black flame, dispatched the boar, and then returned his katana to it's sheath.

"C'mon, let's go find some food," the man said as he started to walk towards back towards the settlement, hand retreating to his pockets. "It's on me."

Thread Summary

k o g a the elder wolf Spoiler notes: take 2! Koga, Lvl 32/54 | HP: 880 | EN: 122 | DMG: 23 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 30 | ACC: 5 | LD: 3 | BRN: 56 | BLT: 32/20 | FALN: 8 | VD: 96 | B.HEALING: 48/96 equipped battle-ready inventory T4 Demonic Katana <<Tsuki no Hikari>> [ CRSD // BRN I // BLT I // FALN I ] T4 Demonic Light Armor <<Shuku-ro Coat>> [ EVA II // VAMP-D II ] T1 Demonic Trinket <<lupine.>> [ ACC III // EVA I ] <<Apple Pie>> [+3 LD] (1) skills Spoiler | UTILITY Gathering: Fishing I | Successfully forage for materials on a LD 14+ | 0/49 EXP  Searching III | +1 LD per rank. +1 to Stealth Detection per rank. | 14 SP Night Vision | Ignores any penalties from low light or darkness. Negates the bonus Stealth Rating from low light or darkness. | 3 SP | COMBAT Combat Shift: Single Target | For the following Sword Arts, +3 to multipliers and +2 to EN cost; ST-I, ST-II, ST-B. No other Shifts may be taken. | 10 SP Mastery: Damage III | Gain 1 * Tier Damage per rank | 13 SP Battle Healing V | Recover 5% (rounded down) of your maximum HP at the start of your turn | 30 SP Emergency Recovery | When non-fatal damage would leave you with 25% or less of your maximum HP, recover 10% of your maximum HP after the attack resolves. Effect cannot occur more than once per thread.  When activated if the player has lower than 10 energy remaining, simply reduce the player's energy to 0. | 6 SP EN Cost: 10 Energist | Increase Base Energy by 5 * Tier | 8 SP Charge | Perform a single attack/Sword Art with +5 base damage. Charge attacks have a -1 Accuracy debuff and cannot be affected by any auto-hit effects. | 10 SP Cooldown: 3 Posts | WEAPON Katana V | +7 DMG when equipped with a Katana | 30 SP Stamina | Reduces the energy of all Katana attacks by 2 EN | 4 SP Precision | Gain +1 ACC. | 2 SP Ferocity | +2 DMG when using Katana Sword Arts | 4 SP | ARMOR Light Armor V | +30 MIT when equipped with Light Armor, -2 Stealth | 30 SP Meticulous | +1 DMG when equipped with Light Armor | 4 SP Resolve | +1 ACC and +10 * Tier HP when equipped with Light Armor | 6 SP | EXTRAS Familiar Master: Rending | You and your familiar attack in tandem, applying Rend [7*tier unmitigatable damage] to the target that lasts for two turns. | 10 SP Cooldown: 5 Turns Survival | Increases Healing effects received from all sources by 10%. Grants immunity to all damage dealing environmental attacks/effects. | 0 SP Parry | Apply the energy cost upon proc, not activation. Reduces the final damage of the next successful attack against you by 50% (rounded down) and negates stun/paralysis effects of that attack. If hit by multiple attacks, only apply parry to the first attack against you. Parry lasts for three turns. Cooldown starts when the player activates the Skill. If the player is hit when using Parry, the cooldown is reset to 3 turns. | 10 SP 9 EN, Cooldown: 3 Turns Vengeful Riposte | A successful Parry also returns 50% (rounded down) of the raw damage that would be dealt to you back to your opponent. The reflected damage can be mitigated by the opponent. | 6 SP Cooldown: 4 Turns Justified Riposte | A successful Parry also stuns the target for 1 turn. | 5 SP Cooldown: 4 Turns Frozen Hide | As a free action, apply one slot of Frost Aura and one slot of Frost Thorns equal to your tier to yourself until the start of your next turn. | 0 SP 5 EN, Cooldown: 4 Turns buffs Spoiler | PARAGON REWARDS Lv. 5 | Earn Col equivalent to 15% of player’s EXP earned in thread. Lv. 10 | +1 LD to Looting | BUFFS <<Well Rested>> | -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat. <<Squeaky Clean>> | The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down). <<Filling>> | Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. <<Item Stash>> | +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot <<Tasty>> | Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast. A Lesser Feast contains 4 portions of the food items sacrificed. Lesser Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread. <<Relaxed>> | Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts. <<Multipurpose>> | Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll. <<Practiced Angler>> | +2 Fishing EXP per Attempt and additional +1 LD & CD to fishing attempts.

Floor 14, Stonewall, 5:37pm

Floor 14 was something straight out of a nightmare. Or just a Castlevania lover's wet dream. Koga personally enjoyed the creepy gothic aesthetic, but it wasn't a nice enough place to live in. Too gloomy, and he wasn't that depressed yet. Of course, the perpetual melancholy and general sense of anxiety didn't matter too much to the residents of the floor. They couldn't leave like the players could.

Flashes of blue contrasted sharply against the permanent red hue of the Floor's palette, drawing the eye involuntarily with each new arrival of a player. It was hard to miss it, even from just outside the walls where Koga stood, watching a scripted battle play out. The man jabbed a fork into a tray of apple pie as he watched the lackluster entertainment play out. A pale-skinned woman was thrashing a group guards. It wasn't much of a contest, even with the guard's number advantage. Honestly, it was kinda pitiful, but you couldn't expect much more from the poor sods. They lived with the sole purpose of dying. Koga sighed and glanced over his shoulder towards the teleporter as it once again flashed with a bright blue light.

"NIGHT sure is taking her sweet time getting here," the man muttered to his familiar as he took another bite of pie, sitting with uncharacteristic patience beside him. Okami yawned in response, before laying down, his forepaws crossed beneath his chin. "Yeah, me too bud."

Koga eats an <<Apple Pie>> gaining 3 LD |

Staggering on his hands in knees away from his assailant, Koga somehow stumbled to his feet, wincing as the burning sensation gnawed at his nerves. There was no warm trickle of blood, like one might've expected. Just searing pain across his flesh.

Koga turned, unwilling to expose his back to his opponent any longer. His eyes burned with frustration. Anger. "Good," the creature cooed, "I like that look in your eyes." The soft clicking sound of metal and wood as Koga gripped his katana. "I want to see more of that." A sneer crossed the man's face as he began to draw his weapon.

"you become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. you are responsible for your rose."

Those words. Why was it now that they made their way into his thoughts? Now that he could hear them?

The flames of rage in Koga's eyes slowly flickered and died out, lips once curled back in a snarl relaxed. The grip on his weapon, no longer white-knuckled.

It was NIGHT who'd said those words to him. A quote, he'd always suspected. And not one he'd really understood. He probably still didn't now, not knowing where the quote was from. But one could guess.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered.

"What?"

"I'm sorry," Koga repeated, soft but firm. A bloom of flames, crimson, not black as always, ignited as his feet. A calm look fell upon his face as his gaze fell through his opponent. "You were right."

"You're the one who left me first. The one who believed a complete stranger over me. The one who believed Tala over me!"

"I should have known better, trusted you. For that, I apologize." A soft click as his thumb pressed on the katana's tsuba. "I can't hate you for that anymore. I have to accept responsibility. So, please, forgive me Noct."

A blink.

In the space that it took for one to blink, Koga had left the spot he'd been standing, and reappearing behind the phantom, a trail of fire behind him. His weapon held loosely at his side, it was difficult to discern what had occurred. Until the phantom fell apart, into little blue shards.

Koga took hold of the table between them and lifted, throwing it up into the air. The entity let out a startled cry as it toppled toward her, the sound of the rapier clattering onto the ground as Koga took off towards the door he came through.

The wooden door rattled, the purple hexagon indicating that it was an immortal object briefly appearing before Koga tried the handle. Nothing. It wouldn't budge.

A heaving sound of exertion came from behind Koga, followed by the sound of splintering wood. "Do you recognize this place?" the entity asked with a chuckle, now considerably more disheveled than before. "This was the tavern you and Christelle had your big argument. I thought it fitting that it should end here."

The door rattled again as Koga pulled on it desperately, willing it to open. "That won't work, you know," the creature cackled. "Only one of us is allowed to leave here. Not my decision mind you." Koga turned and watched as the woman knelt down and gingerly picked up her rapier, before pointing it at Koga. She lunged forward the woman moved quickly, Koga had almost no time to react. The man jumped to the side, rolled, but not before he felt a white hot searing pain tear across his back.

"I'd draw that blade if I were you. Or you won't be leaving here at all."

Koga physically bit his own tongue at the mention of the last time he'd been at Eden with Nari. He'd thought, back then, that their small adventure here had been of some importance to her. Perhaps not a breakthrough moment, but at least movement in the right direction (crying into someone's chest and soaking their tee shirt tended to lend that impression to others). Of course, all of perhaps, a day or two later, Nari had decided to go against literally everything they'd just discussed. That thought alone made Koga toss another malevolent glare at the woman.

"Not much of a lead to follow, I'm afraid," Koga commented as he found himself a nice bench by the water's edge. Even though it was cold, the water didn't even have a thin layer of ice. The man wrapped his coat tight around himself before summoning his fishing rod, casting a line, and sitting down.

| 207503, CD nat6, +4Exp
    > Total Exp Gain: 4

Blindingly fast, the gleaming edge of the rapier was little more than a bright flash as it cut the air, always missing Koga by a hair's breadth. The man rolled away on his side, trying to find the space to get back to his feet. It wasn't until the man tossed a chair into his attacker's path that he finally managed to scramble to his feet.

"I can't do that," Koga said as he circled a table, trying to the woman on the other side of it. "Why's that?" the entity replied. "It's not like you mean anything to her now anyways, so what's the harm?"

'to her-' Well, at least that confirmed what Koga already knew. This wasn't the real Noct. Not that was any kind of comfort.

"Why do you insist on being so difficult?" the creature groaned. "Holding onto to some notion of sentimentality maybe? There's nothing wrong with giving in to your desires, you know. Your emotions. You can't pretend they don't exist, you know how that always ends."

"Do you ever shut up?"

"Ahh, maybe we are getting somewhere," the entity laughed. "You implode. Isn't that right? Everyone around you suffers because you pretend to be in control. You suffer, just marinating in all that pain. Just let loose. Wreak a little havoc. Stab someone. It's better than waiting around for it to go off like a powder keg."

Perhaps a little sheepish and disheartened than, Ghost approached Koga, carefully moving around the still riled boar who, for some reason or another, thought it was a good idea to focus on the stronger member of the party. Keeping the annoying creature occupied with lazy kicks, wincing and kicking it slightly harder when it actually managed to land a lone hit.

The girl silently opened up her menu, took a moment to examine it, and immediately began to flush with embarrassment.

'Oh no...' Koga thought to himself as he observed the girl's quickly reddening face. He hoped against hope that his suspicions were unfounded, but doubt crept in as soon as Ghost turned her HUD towards him, revealing an entirely empty skill menu...and five unallocated skill points.

There was no laughter. Not humorous teasing. Just a long, pained groan of disappointment as Koga closed his eyes and felt his soul leave his body.

"Ohhhhh-kay...Ghost, here's what we're gonna do," Koga said, finally opening his eyes. "I'm gonna take out this boar for you, because we'll be here all day. And then, we're gonna go get some food, and talk about skills. And possibly navigating the menus. Sounds good?"

The woman lunged at Koga quicker than he could have anticipated. Somehow, her rapier, no, Noct's rapier, was in her hand, it's point tearing through the air almost faster than he could react. Instinct was the only thing that saved Koga from being stabbed in the heart. The sudden movement, the table suddenly rocketing to the side to explode into thousands of wooden splinters before they too exploded into blue shards, Koga's body reacted before he registered it all, shirking itself to the side, just enough that the rapier's speedy point buried itself below his collarbone.

The man let out a surprised cry of pain as the woman pulled the tip of her blade free, and Koga scrambled backwards. "What the fuck?"

"Don't be surprised," the woman said wickedly as she strode forward. "I did warn you that I was going to kill you."

Another slash, but one that Koga was more prepared for. The man skipped backwards, the sharp end only narrowly missing his abdomen.

"C'mon, why don't you draw that pretty blade of yours. Get angry, kill me. It'll make you feel better, I promise." Another slash, forcing Koga to back up some more, right into another table. A clattering sound as the man fell over and onto his back, knocking over a couple of chairs in the promise. "Because if you don't, I'll just kill you instead."

That name.

"Don't say that name."

"I bet that's why she chose Hikaru over you. Tsukiko just couldn't imagine having a real life with you, could she," the woman said in a lilting, sing-song voice. "Getting passed up for by your best friend for your other best friend. Wow, sounds like a team drama. That must've hurt."

"Stop talking."

"Must've hurt more when you couldn't protect them. You couldn't protect either of them."

"I said stop talking."

"You even promised her."

The chair didn't just fall over and clatter on the ground this time. It flew backwards, toppling over with a loud racket. The sounds of the non-existent tavern-goers ceased, as if listening attentively to whatever may happen next. To the sound of a blade being drawn.

Koga's blade. Only part way out of the black saya, the silver edge gleaming in the candle light as Koga's crimson eyes bore into this imposter with an intense fury. His chest rose and fell, knuckles white around his katana's grip.

He forced himself to breathe.

Inhale slowly. Slower.

Exhale, softly.

"Tsk, I thought that would've worked for sure..."

Koga's eyes grew wide. "Thought what would've worked?"

The unsettling smile had left the woman's face now as she examined her long manicured nails with a bored expression on her face. "Gotten you to try and kill me out of anger. It would've been such fun."

"You wanted me to...what, why?" Koga asked, confused as his katan clicked back into it's scabbard.

"It would have made you feel better, wouldn't it? To strike down one of the people that hurt you so badly? Even though you claimed to have loved them so much? I think it would've. Would've been fun for me at least."

"That's not the kind of person I am." Koga glowered at the woman.

"It would appear so," she'd respond with a heavy sigh. "Oh well. I guess I'll settle for killing you instead."

Item Name: Shuku-ro Coat
Profession: Blacksmith
Rank: 7
Roll ID: 207460
Roll Result: N/A, Fusion
Item Type: Light Armor
Tier: 4
Quality: Demonic
Enhancements: EVA II // VAMP-D II
Description: A black leather coat, well worn, but in good condition. Although there is nothing of particular note about the coat, one might swear that it's wearer's shadow wavers like a wisp of smoke from burning incense.

'Alone, forsaken, but ever reverent.'
Post Link:

Item Name: oathkeeper.
Profession: Blacksmith
Rank: 7
Roll ID: 207491
Roll Result: N/A, Fusion
Item Type: Straight Sword
Tier: 4
Quality: Demonic
Enhancements: FALN II // HLY II
Description: —the wash of starlight, the old paradox. / it's you. i swear i'd find you in the dark. 
Post Link:

Secret meetings. That was kind of their thing, for whatever strange reason that was. Messages out of the blue dictating a time and place with no other context was the norm for these players. Details were often left until after they'd already happened upon them, as little good as that did.

This location though, Koga new every detail of. Hence, it was a little strange to receive such a request to appear there. It didn't make sense until Koga entered his shop and noticed the addition of a new detail. No instructions though. Though, knowing NIGHT's weapons on sight, he was quick to figure it out. The woman was probably loathe to part with it, and the extras? Easy enough job.

"What?" The question had caught Koga off-guard. Was...that something she was really asking?

"It's an easy question. Who would you choose, me or Tala?"

"I'm not answering that," the man replied crossing his arms again staring daggers.

"If I were you, I know who I'd choose."

Koga rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, you?" he said, eliciting a girlish, and entirely not like Noct giggle from the person sitting across from him.

"Nope," she chirped back. "Guess again."

"I dunno, who?" he replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"C'mon, guess."

"I'm not playing this fucking game with you," the man growled back, irritation joining the crowd of negative emotions that had been occupying Koga's chest.

"You're no fun," the woman replied, dour whilst smiling. "I'd pick neither."

Koga's eyes narrowed for a moment. "Why's that."

"Because why would either of us want you?"

The response felt more like slamming into a brick wall than a gut punch. Painful, disorienting still. But it didn't make you wanna vomit.

"What's there for you to offer us anyways? Tala has Yukiro now anyways. A wonderful replacement for you. Just as kind and caring. Stupid just like you are. He even has the same self-righteous anger that you do!"

Koga's expression morphed into a sneer as he listened to the woman, biting his tongue back. Why he was doing so, he didn't know. Perhaps habit.

"And why would I want you?" She laughed as she said the words. "You're so caught up in the past, that you can't even see the present, let alone the future! What, you think remembering people is a good way to honor them? That you're fulfilling some duty by locking yourself in yesterday?" Another laugh. "Give me a break. You're so caught up in yourself and things that are better left forgotten, I can't even begin to imagine what a life with you would be like. I doubt you could. I doubt Tsukiko could."

A mirthful laugh bounced across the table as the person across the table covered their mouth, utter glee echoing around them. For a second, the ghostly voices of tavern appeared to laugh alongside her. "Why would I have done that? You'd already showed me who was more important."

"What, were you really going to try and make me choose between me and my sister?"

"Why not? It's not like she hadn't made you do the same."

"That's not the fucking same."

"It isn't? Destroying your relationships so you'd only be left with her? That doesn't sound any better."

"Would you fucking shut up already?"

"Ran out of ways to defend your sister?"

"I don't need to defend her, I know what she did is wrong. But that doesn't excuse your actions, just like it doesn't excuse mine."

Silence passed between them for a moment, and Koga settled back into his chair. He hadn't realized he had begun to lean across the table. A part of him almost wanted to lunge at her, wrap his fingers around her neck and squeeze. What stopped him? It wasn't as if anyone was around to see. Though, there was Cardinal, who most certainly would throw an orange cursor at his head if he'd done so. Maybe that was what had stopped him.

"So, who would you choose?"

"I thought so." Was there a hint of smugness there, behind those grinning eyes?

"It doesn't seem fair though that she get's to be happy while all we get is-" the brunette woman gestured between them, "this." The smile never faded, not even when there should have been a look of disgust in place of the a that twisted smiling mask.

'A mask,' Masato thought to himself. 'Yeah, that's what it's gotta be, there's just no way someone can smile that long without faltering.' That of course meant, that whoever was sitting across from him was not Christelle.

"Who are you?" Masato questioned. "Where's Christelle?"

"Pain, anger, loss. That's all we're left with, isn't it?" the woman across from him went on, ignoring him. "Do you think that's fair, Mas?"

"You don't get to call me that," Koga said, vitriolic words in response to hearing his own name. "Only those closest to me get to call me that."

"Hmm, I suppose we're not that close, are we? After all, you betrayed me, listening to that bitch you call a sister instead of me."

"I told you not to talk about her like that." Seething words barely escaped through gritted teeth as Koga dug his finger nails into the palm of his hand.

"Hmm, I guess you do deserve all that after all. The pain and loss and, you know."

"Oh, and like you weren't at fault too?" The age old argument surfaced. "You ran, remember? You didn't even try to fix things."

The look on Koga's face soured as the words reach his ear, venomous only to him. "Didn't know you were a comedian now, Chris," Masato replied dryly as he leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "What are we doing here?" The man's eyes drifted around the room, all vaguely familiar. Though, what tavern didn't use these same exact textures and models? Usually it was layout that differed between them all, but this one had nothing of particular note about it for it to stick out in Masato's mind. "Wherever here is..."

"Oh c'mon, can't we just catch up? Isn't that what old friends are supposed to do?"

Masato's teeth ground back and forth, the sound almost audible as they gnashed together. "Friends? Is that what we are now? Last I recall, we decided it was best not to speak anymore."

There was no retort. No explanation, or response. Just a smile. A smile that grew more and more unsettling as time went on. The way her eyes creased. Or maybe the way the corners of her lips were permanently upturned, hardly moving even when she talked. Not even when she said: "How's Tala? I heard she and Yukiro finally got married, right? Are they living with you now?"

The man's eyes narrowed as he leaned forwards, hands clasped together as he rested his elbows on the table. Something was very, very off here. "She's fine. But since when did you start caring about her?"

"I don't." The answer came back sharp, decisive, and with no hesitation. But even then the lips did not move. "As far as I'm concerned, she's still just the bitchy little brat who came between us."

"Hey!" Masato slammed his hands down on the table as he stood up, the chair behind him clattering onto the ground. "Don't you fucking talk about my sister that way."

"Well, am I wrong?"

He seethed. But she wasn't wrong. It had been Akiara who had forced herself into his and Christelle's relationship. Akiara who had carefully crafted lies to draw them apart, break their bonds. And for what? Because she was jealous that her time with her older brother had diminished? Didn't seem to matter now that she had Yuki.

The man sank back into his seat, unable to do anymore than cast the woman across from him an angry glare as she grinned, frozen smile, back at him.

Masato looked around the room for a moment, eyes searching for any reason he should decline Christelle's invitation. Any reason to say, 'no'. But what reason could there even be? The tavern was empty, aside from them. Yes, the disembodied voices of tavern patrons and workers was disconcerting, but even those had begun to slowly fade since Christelle had made her appearance. So, warily, Masato reached out and pulled a seat back before lowering himself into it.

"Chris..." Masato's fist's curled into tightly clenched fists on the table before he willed them to relax. The last time they'd spoken...it hadn't been pleasant for either of them. It wasn't until now though, that Christelle was sitting across from him, that he realized he was still bothered by how'd they'd left things. How they'd never really apologized for anything that had happened. It wasn't raw, but it still hurt. And yet, here she was, sitting across from him, smiling like none of it ever happened.

"So, how have you been Mas?" she asked sweetly. "It's been, what? A year? I've been keeping track this time," she added with a cheeky, troublesome grin.

Light and sound flooded back into existence as Koga stepped through the doorway. The sounds of drunken laughter, cheer, flagons clinking together, pounding fists on tables. Warm lights, accompanied by the warmth of fires. The heat of bodies packed in tightly together. The scents of food, roasted pheasant, fresh loaves of bread, hot soup, roasted vegetables, ale, beer.

The tavern door swung closed behind Koga, sealing him in the empty room. The source of the sounds, the scents, the merriment, not a single one of them were present. And yet the sounds and smells all persisted. More laughter, more cheering.

"Masato," an all too familiar voice called to him by his real name. Only two people in Aincrad knew it. His sister and...

"Christelle?" Where had the woman come from? She sat, legs crossed at the round table in the center of the room. A kind smile played at her lips atop her pretty face, framed by her long brown hair. Bright blue eyes stared into his full of determination. Life.

"What are you doing here?" Masato asked, looking around the room again. She hadn't been there moments ago. Where had she come from.

"Come on, just sit down," she said. "We haven't talked in ages."

Listening only absently, Koga made little note of anything that Nari or Jomei said to each other. He was far too bewildered by the fact that NIGHT had gone from cowering in utter fear and desperation, to spending the NIGHT at the home of the person who tried to kill her.

Koga wrote back furiously, fingers flying as the absolutely impossible situation he, or rather NIGHT, found herself in was forcing his brain to work overtime. One could practically see the steam coming steaming out of his ears.

Well, one, Koga didn't know that. And two...

Nothing came after that. Not even the little text bubbles to indicate that NIGHT was typing something back. Koga let out a "Hmph," of annoyance before he caught the tail end of what Jomei was saying. "Oh, don't worry, you'll get to know him real well too," Koga said dryly as he swiped away his messenger.

With his laughing fit subsided, Koga crossed his arms once more and watched to see what Ghost would do next. Apparently, that was open a menu. Koga squinted slightly and looked at the girl in confusion, a little unsure of what exactly it was she was doing, but figured it was safe to let it all play out for now. The worst outcome was only that Ghost would lose a small amount of health, and have her pride wounded. Nothing serious.

The menu blipped out of existence and the woman readied herself again, a soft glow appearing through out her blade. But it was...all wrong...Feeble, flickering, until it faded out completely. Another confused look from Koga. Sure, he wasn't a dagger user, but last he checked, Sword Arts either triggered or they didn't.

Ghost moved, lashed out at the boar. No glowing blade, no red marks on the boar's hide. Well, she missed, probably, even if that had been a basic attack something should have happened...

"Hey, Ghost, come here a second, show me your skills page," the man said suddenly, sounding more like a slightly concerned teacher than some gamer nerd.

The boar, for it's part, tried to attack Koga, but the man just kicked it to the side, unconcerned with the creature's antics.

"um, hello? i'm right here, you know, and i resent that," DAY commented, shooting him a look.

"Yeah, but, you're not really an NPC," Koga replied, crossing his arms and shifting in his seat slightly. "Well, I mean I guess technically you are in the most literal sense, but the connotation..." Koga fizzled out a little as he realized he was having a difficult time explaining his thoughts, and as a result was probably only digging himself into a deeper hole. So, he sighed. "Look, you're the exception to the rule, is what I'm trying to say, okay?"

Gravity shifted as the wagon began to climb the hill and Koga sat there in an awkward silence, not looking at the other two across from him. Good job buddy. Real good job.

"this is as far as they'll let me go. you'll have to make the rest of the journey in on foot towards the president." The coachman called to them, and one by one each of the party hopped off the wagon, before it turned back around and began to rattle it's way back down the hill.

The sound of fabric moving violently drew Koga's attention. NIGHT was holding an umbrella, shielding herself and DAY from the rain.

"Nope, but I'm good," Koga said, grabbing the ends of his collar and tugging on them. Blue light fluttered and coalesced into a leather hood attached to the collar of his coat, the water striking it and running off leaving his head dry. "I keep forgetting to buy one," he explained, before nodding in the direction they needed to go and starting down it as he buttoned up his coat, shielding his torso from the rain as well.

As they walked along, Koga looked around at their surroundings. Lichten. This city was completely different from everything else they'd seen on the floor so far. Where everywhere else was still wooden cottages and buildings, Lichten was stone monoliths, architecturally refined, defined by a culture of its own. Victorian meets Gothic in the tall buildings, each sporting seemingly unnecessary spires wherever they could without becoming too cluttered. In the distance, some clock tower rang a bell. Perhaps Aincrad's approximation of Big Ben.

And straight ahead, the largest building, sporting an even larger courtyard. Fenced off from the streets, the rabble. Perhaps four or five stories tall, but long, countless windows dark on the inside save for the stray orange glow emanating from one here or there. The scale alone would indicate it being the presidential estate.

And that's where they were heading, it seemed.

"So, who wants to do the talking this time?" Koga asked, figuring at this point, they were probably taking turns.

"What the f-" Koga gasped in surprise as the being flickered in and out before disappearing all together. Where did it go? Was it an an enemy? It was armed, at the very least. Koga's left hand went to Tsuki no Hikari's saya, gripping it as Koga whipped around, head on a swivel as he searched for the shade.

Except it was gone. Without a trace. Like it never even existed.

Knock, knock!

Koga quickly turned towards the source of the noise, drawing Tsuki no Hikari part way before his eyes settled on a particular site. The shade. And with it, a door. Well, a door and a door frame, standing there in the vast, white emptiness where it most certainly had not been standing before. The shade was just standing there, leaning against the door frame, hands hidden away in it's pockets, staring at Koga, it's disturbingly wide grin still stretched too far across it's face.

Knock, knock!

It rapped it's knuckles on the wood door twice, all whilst staring at Koga, before gesturing towards the door with its head.

"Go in?"

The shade did not respond. Just stared.

"O-okay...sure..."

Though still cautious, Koga approached the door, careful to not allow his eyes to leave the shadow figure, even for a second. But the shade never made a move, beside turning it's neck to follow Koga, it's own eyes never leaving him. Not even when Koga reached out to grasp the brass door knob.

One last look at the strange shadow figure, close enough that Koga should have been able to feel it's breath. But it had none. Just those glowing white orbs, that elongated smile.

Koga took a deep breath. Exhaled. Then pushed the door open.

There stood the shadowed silhouette of a man, a long coat of some sort wrapped around his body, and what appeared to be a katana at his hip, no more than a couple meters away from Koga. Just staring. Though his body was completely black, leaving individual features impossible to distinguish...those eyes...they glowed with a pure white light, far too large on the figure's face, and all too perfectly round. They could've been mistaken for glasses, or perhaps glass eyes, just maybe, were it not for the distinct sensation that they were following Koga's every movement.

It didn't move. It didn't do anything in fact. It didn't even appear to breathe. It just stared. Until it appeared to fragment. Like a glitch. Fizzled out, then back in, its outline breaking up, reforming. Again it broke up and disappeared. When it reappeared this time, a smile was plastered across it's featureless face. A mouth too wide, too tall, stretching from ear to ear, or at least where the ears should have been, impossible for any creature with a hinged jaw. And then it glitched back out.