Katoka

Normally she would have acted more surprised at him appearing out of nowhere just out of sight, however this time when she noticed a figure approaching she simply turned and waited for him to approach. She wanted to make a remark, something about arriving like a fart on the wind, but the words wouldn't come out. Instead she watched him. Something that Katoka rarely did, watch people. She could see that he was conflicted himself, as though he couldn't decide what to say.

"You called, Katoka?" his voice soft, like he was walking on eggshells.

She gave him a smile. One that was big, but filled with deep and resounding sadness. "Yeah. I did. Thanks for showing up big brother."

Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she collected herself the best she could. Letting out a shaky breath Kat began to speak.

"I think by now you know that I wasn't being truthful with you. Things... Things were not ok between me and Sam." she let out a half chuckle half sob, "She was smothering me. She was so afraid that I was going to die that I couldn't leave the house without us having a fight half the time. And things just kept building, and building."

For the first time in several days she felt her eyes begin to well up again. She had thought that she cried every last bit of moisture out of her body but there was suddenly more. It must have been the rain. "We made a compromise at first. You knew sort of. We were going to get married that night and... and...." her eyes spilled over, like a dam that had finally cracked. She stepped closer to the Whisper, her personal space be damned. "She didn't show up Freyd. We were supposed to get married and she left me there. She left me alone for weeks before coming back home like nothing had happened."

She grabbed ahold of the front of his clothes, gripping them tight and shaking him, "I don't understand what happened. I don't know what went wrong. I was so mad then and I just exploded. After that things were never the same. We just went through the motions, never really saying much to one another. I didn't even tell her about the skydocks, or the stupid Sundered wolves." sobs escaped her throat as she tried to continue.

"I kept things from her. I kept things from you. I kept things from Elora. Finally it was all too much. I couldn't take the meek and quiet dinners. The sneaking in and out to avoid one another. I sat her down and talked." she buried her face into Freyd's chest, tears soaking into his clothes. "I think I had already come to the conclusion a while ago but was too afraid to pull the trigger. I told her that we should break up." she pounded her fist into the man's chest. It wasn't hard, she didn't want to hurt him. Though she probably couldn't to be honest. "I ended it and it hurts so damn much Freyd. But now that it's over I feel like I can breathe again and I hate that."

She looked up at him, "I hate that I'm relieved. I hate it so fucking much. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for lying to you and for being a shitty person."

----

Katoka consumes:

Gugnir’s Shard (Untradeable/Unique/Reusable Consumable): Crème Brûlée Tray | ACC 2 | Feast (5/6) - takes 1 portion
Jackpot Pretzel (Snack) | Loot Die 3 | 197124

 Katoka | HP: 780/780 | EN: 112/112 | DMG: 26 | MIT:138 | ACC:7 | EVA:1 | BH:43 | REC: 8 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | LD: 3

(1x) Draught of Safeguard

Fusing 2x T1 Rare Potions (183696-1, 183696-2) to T1 Perfect Potion | ID# 224985

Results: (1x) T1 Perfect Potion | ID#: 224985

Among the ramshackle huts and dilapidated tents of the settlement of Home there stood a blonde haired samurai, her mood as somber as the weather that poured rain into the muddy ground. Katoka felt as hollow as an empty bowl, and her eyes reflected that much. It had been a few days since she had broken up with Sam and she was finally done keeping up appearances. Once Freyd had left a note in her shop that he knew what had happened she knew it was time for her to give him an explanation now. After all, she had been keeping things from him as well.

It had been some time since she had last been to the 19th floor, and it was as dreary and it was just as soppy and wet as she remembered. This was as good a place as any to talk things over. Hell, they could always finish up the quest line they had been chipping away at previously as well. Two birds one stone. "If he even still wants to that is." she mumbled to herself. She wouldn't blame Freyd if he was angry with her. She lied to him. To Elora. To everyone about her and Sam. It was easier than trying to explain things at the time.

Her hand reflexively gripped her sword. It's easier to fight and move and never stop to look back. A shiver ran down her spine and she let go of the blade. Ever since she started using the sword it made her feel.. Off. As if it was eager to kill and be used as a tool to destroy. She had a theory of why it was the way it was, but that was something for her to discuss with someone that has interreacted with weapons that had an odd connection with the system. With a deep sigh she checked her inbox again, making sure the message she had sent to Freyd had actually been sent.

Message:

----

Katoka consumes:

Draught of Safeguard | Mitigation 3 | 214723
Draft of Keen Edge | Damage 3 | 218093

Katoka | HP: 780/780 | EN: 112/112 | DMG: 26 | MIT:138 | ACC:5 | EVA:1 | BH:43 | REC: 8 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16

"It's like riding a bike Mac, I'm sure once we finish our gauntlet here that you will be battle ready." the samurai gave him a thumbs up as they made their way to their next destination. Once the group arrived Kat was in awe of the arena they had to enter. It reminded her of the pictures she had seen of the roman coliseum when she was in school. At that thought everything clicked, just as the portcullis dropped behind them.

"Ah, we're trapped in here until we kill it." she let out a sigh and reached for her sword. Her hand hesitated slightly but she gripped the hilt as their next opponent rushed out of it's enclosure, Mac meeting it head on with his interesting fighting style. Katoka took a deep breath and drew her blade, she could not hesitate like this in the raid let alone here. Charging her sword art she rushed in as she rhino turned it's attention to the rest of them.

Kat struck the beast and felt her sword catch on it's hide, nearly pulling it from her hands. Bracing the bald against one hand she dug her feet into the ground and let the mob's momentum drag the cut along it's side until he had a large gash from front to back. As he continued his charge past the small blonde stumbled as she attempted to regain her footing, "Holy hell, that thing is insane." she could feel her breathing begin to quicken, the excitement of battle running through her. She was more prepared for it this time so it wasn't as startling.

She was more certain of it this time. Her new sword was making her crave combat, and it needed her to feed it's insatiable hunger.

----

Noticing the party beginning to take their leave, Kat hurried to follow suit. This was the first time the had fought any of these field bosses so she was in the care of her seniors in that regard. Taking a quick look at the other three it dawned on her that she was really the only fresh to the frontlines player there. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but she hoped it was leaning towards good. It would mean that she was on equal enough footing with them that they felt comfortable enough to bring her along. At least that's what she hoped it meant.

At Freyd's question the samurai flinched slightly, letting out a nervous chuckle. She moved in a bit closer to him before responding, "Um, just keep an eye on me, I feel a bit off for some reason. Not sure if it's the environment or what, but I felt a bit too... ready to battle." she looked at him, her face concerned. "It might be nothing, but like I said. Just do your usual thing and keep your eyes peeled." with that she returned to a normal distance and continued with their trek to the teleport gate.

Katoka did her best to keep a conversation flowing, talking with the group and trying to be her usual self, all the while she fought to keep her hand from trembling.

With their target felled the party was able to take a moment to begin recovering their energy. Kat felt her chest rise and fall heavily, her heart pumping as if she had been in an all out brawl. She hesitated to return her weapon to her side but when she finally did a sense of calmness washed over her. Glancing down her katana she arched a brow in confusion. Was it doing something to her? Surly not. She probably had just gotten excited to fight or something. Turning her attention back to the group she put on a smile, "I'm sure that they just want to share their day with everyone. If you're going to be on the frontlines with everyone then what better way to get to know them than to throw a party?"

Katoka hadn't noticed her hand gripping the hilt of her sword at first. At the realization her brow furrowed and she let go, reflexively rubbing her hand as if it was in pain. "I'm cool with moving on to the next floor if it's easier. Waiting here might get boring fast." the samurai responded as she began pacing around the general area. She was feeling restless, as if she would begin to vibrate out of her skin if she sat still for too long.

The floor of Katoka's living room was cold, though she honestly felt cold all over. After what had happened the previous night she had torn nearly her entire house apart before collapsing in a heap and crying herself to sleep. Now she had awoken to sunlight in her eyes and drool on her cheek. Sitting up in confusion she looked around at the mayhem around her. Slowly things started to come back to her.

It was over. They were over. Sam was gone.

Kat felt the urge to cry again but no tears seemed to flow. She was empty.

In so many ways she felt as hollow as a mountain that had been stripped of all its resources and left barren.

After several long minutes she stood up and attempted to wipe the dried drool from her cheek. She then set about picking up and salvaging what she could in terms of furniture. Surprisingly there was not much that had actually broken thanks to Cardinal's immortal object system a lot of her things had survived the rampage. Several dishes and picture frames however were a different story. Kat began flipping and returning large objects to the there general places and disgarding the things that were deemed no longer usable. After a bout an hour her living room and the foyer were now back to their usual standard.

With a huff Katoka sat down on the couch and found herself out of breath, reaching for a throw pillow to clutch close to her chest. The work had been a nice distraction but it seemed to take a lot more out of her than she anticipated. She longed to work on the rest of the house as it would be a much needed distraction, however the thought of it made her feel... drained. She glanced over her shoulder at the kitchen and grimaced, that would take a hell of a lot more time to clean than she had the energy for. The blonde found herself opening her menu and glancing at her friends list, her eyes making sure not to glance too low. She took a moment and tapped on Elora's name, opening up a blank message to stare at.

For roughly twenty minutes she stared, her arms wrapped around her knees as she bored holes into the white message box. Finally she typed something short and hit send.

Katoka | HP: 780/780 | EN: 112/112 | DMG: 23 | MIT:78 | ACC:5 | EVA:1 | BH:43 | REC: 8 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16

----

"Wulfrin and Ciela are good people." Katoka called as she moved from one side of the battlefield to the other, "Mina and I helped them both with Absolute Zero not long ago. I like them." She felt like they would both be great assets to the frontlines and looked forward to seeing them both at future battles. Freyd's comment on officiating their wedding caused her to feel a pang in her heart, he was supposed to officiate her wedding as well. The samurai nearly lost her focus, just barely dodging the swinging enraged arms of the troll.

Now was not the time to be remorseful about her failed engagement. Kat assumed a different stance, charging her next sword art as the now red creature seemed to be distracted. With another burst of speed and electricity, Katoka struck her target with a thunderous crash. Tendrils of now white electricity surged from Ugzeke's back wound, his body convulsing and twitching in response.

"If you're going to get emotional, use it as fuel." she told herself, out loud.

Watching as the boss' health dropped into the red she felt a grin once again pulling at the corners of her mouth. Her grip adjusted on her weapon ever so slightly, she felt like her katana was pleased with itself just as much as she was.

----

Doing her best to keep up with the introductions Katoka bowed over and over to each person. She had seen NIGHT in the last raid in passing so she was at least familiar with her in that aspect. "I look forward to working with you as well." she added when things weren't as hectic. "You were super cool in the last raid." Kat gave her a huge grin, hoping she would appreciate the compliment. Turning her attention to everyone she nodded along as Mac gave an expedited explanation to the overall plan. It all seemed to be very straight forward.

She watched Freyd step down over a cliff and rolled her eyes with a smile. Turning to Mac and NIGHT she gave them both a thumbs up, "Let's cream this idiot and get some goodies for everyone." Next Macradon dropped in, his armor polished and ready for the battles to come. Once he had landed his hit Katoka decided to make her move, "Hope you don't mind me going next!" she called to NIGHT as she slid down into the fray.

"Time to see what this baby can do." her hand gripped the hilt of her new katana. The samurai crouched down into her first form, her brow furrowing in concentration. Electricity sparked and snapped from her body as if she was a living tesla coil, the blue white light of the energy collecting into her blade as her sword art charged. With a flash she appeared on the opposite side of her opponent, her katana now fully drawn and a red glowing gashing appearing on its chest. Black lighting erupted from the wound and the monster seemed to stumble at the force of the attack.

"Hot damn, I like this new sword." she grinned ferociously as she felt her thirst for battle grow.

----

Once again burning the midnight oil, Katoka screwed on the final lid to her order placed by Freyd. This time she had been a bit more prepared, having quite a bit in backstock ready to be whipped up into something usable. She hadn't had a solid recipe for antidotes yet, but using the last order the Whisper had left her as a base, she managed to get it down in a few hours.

The samurai took the tray and slid it into the locker she usually left things for Freyd in and locked the wooden door. The wiped her hands on a rag and sent her brother from another mother a message to let him know his goodies were done. "I hope these get good use."

----

Ointment of Cure-All - T1 Perfect Salve | Antidote 3
A cream of light mint color sealed in a short but wide jar. The lid seems to be made of petrified wood that unscrews easily. When opened the faint scent of cedar and woodsmoke is present, but not overpowering.
Count: 10
ID#: 224197, 224198, 224199, 224200, 224201, 224202, 224203, 224204, 224205, 224206

Ointment of Cure-All (x10)

Material Cost: 20 (Paid)

Fusing 4x T1 Uncommon Salves (179292, 222705, 222705-1, 222706) to T1 Perfect Salve | ID# 224197
Fusing 4x T1 Uncommon Salves (222707, 222708, 222712, 222712-1) to T1 Perfect Salve | ID# 224198
Fusing 4x T1 Uncommon Salves (222712-2, 222713, 222745, 222750) to T1 Perfect Salve | ID# 224199
Fusing 4x T1 Uncommon Salves (222750-1, 222750-2, 222754, 222754-1) to T1 Perfect Salve | ID# 224200
Fusing 4x T1 Uncommon Salves (222754-2, 222759, 222759-1, 222759-2) to T1 Perfect Salve | ID# 224201
Fusing 4x T1 Uncommon Salves (222816, 222819, 222819-1, 222819-2) to T1 Perfect Salve | ID# 224202
Fusing 4x T1 Uncommon Salves (222820, 222820-1, 222823, 222824) to T1 Perfect Salve | ID# 224203
Fusing 4x T1 Uncommon Salves (222824-1, 222824-2, 222825, 222825-1) to T1 Perfect Salve | ID# 224204
Fusing 4x T1 Uncommon Salves (222827, 224185, 224186, 224186-1) to T1 Perfect Salve | ID# 224205
Fusing 4x T1 Uncommon Salves (224186-2, 224191, 224191-2, 224192) to T1 Perfect Salve | ID# 224206

Results: T1 Perfect Salves (10) | ID# 224197, 224198, 224199, 224200, 224201, 224202, 224203, 224204, 224205, 224206

https://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/20422-f22-r8-alchemist-cordial-remedy-under-construction/?do=findComment&comment=683138&_rid=9038

8/4/24

Results: 70 EXP, -9 materials, T1 Uncommon Salve: 7, T1 Rare Salve: 5, T1 Perfect Salve: 4

EXP Total: 1887

They had spent far too long in this area and it was beginning to get on Katoka's nerves. She hated sliding around on ice, and she hated Absolute Zero even more. Having nearly figured out when to stop so that she could slide in the correct direction, Kat managed to connect with where a normal living things hamstrings would have been. This apparently still had some sort of effect since her sword art cracked the ice around the things ankle and sent a ringing sound echoing through the area. The creature stumbled forward and dropped to a knee, the sound of grinding ice reminding the samurai of a wounded monster groaning.

Watching the things health drop into the red and stop caused Katoka to groan in annoyance. "You have to be kidding me. I hate this guy! Wulfrin you're up!" she yelled as she kicked a chunk of ice that had crumbled off of Absolute Zero and landed near her.

----

Receiving an invite from the infamous Macradon had pulled Katoka out of her stupor and sent her off in a flurry of stumbling and gathering of her things. She had always heard of the player known as Macradon, but had always seen him as a sort of urban legend or even cryptid of Aincrad. I mean surly there couldn't be a player that was as grandiose as he was. Right? Her mind raced as she gathered a few consumables and double checked her gear. If this was not just some joke she had to play it cool, she couldn't fan girl and embarrass herself.

Managing to rush to the teleport gate, Kat now found herself in the city of Kalanaes, where the dark elves made their home. She blinked a few times and looked around, catching sight of her fellow guild captain Freyd. She approached and slapped him on the back a few times, "Well well well, funny running into you here big brother." she teased before she turned to the other player that he was standing near, "And who might this--" she abruptly stopped talking as she noticed the nameplate above his head. It was actually him. A sound escaped her mouth that was attune to that of a tea kettle as she grabbed onto the Whisper's arm. "Is it actually him? The guy that all the new players talk about? THE Macradon?!" she attempted to whisper to him frantically.

The small samurai looked back and forth between the two before politlely bowing, "I-I'm Katoka, Captain of the Assault Team of Firm Anima. It's nice to meet you sir."

"Sir? He's not your father you idiot!" she thought, wincing. In an attempt to stop herself from talking more she began shoving food and potions down her throat.

----

Katoka consumes:

Well-Done Steak | Tierless Rare Meal | Protein 2 | 190631
Draft of Keen Edge | Tier 1 | Damage 3 | 218087
Gugnir’s Shard (Untradeable/Unique/Reusable Consumable): Crème Brûlée Tray | ACC 2 | Feast (5/6) - takes 1 portion
Madlad Muffin | Tierless Rare Meal | EVA 2 | Combine 220090b and 220090c into Feast using Dining Room | Feast (3/4) - takes 1 portion

Katoka | HP: 780/780 | EN: 112/112 | DMG: 28 | MIT:38 | ACC:7 | EVA:3 | BH:43 | REC: 8 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16

Nodding along Katoka took the clothing she was handed and let her mind sift through what Freyd had said. She stepped behind the tree he had pointed at and equipped the clothing while her mind wandered. All they had to do was walk to the NPC and see if they could point them in the right direction. It seemed like a simple enough task, however there were probably several other factors that fed into that simple task that would alter the outcome in any way, shape, or form. Once she was finished changing Kat walked back over to Freyd and looked down at her clothes. "Well? Do I look disguised enough?" the samurai felt ridiculous in the peasant's clothing, but she felt a little more incognito than before. "Did you have to pick the ones that stunk so bad? Jeez."

The two disguised Firm Anima Captains pathed their way to the build in which Zackariah resided. As they entered Kat was met with the familiar smell that filled her shop from time to time. Drying herbs, bubbling elixirs, and what seemed to be the faint hint of some sort of food. An old man behind the counter turned to the both of them and grinned, opening his mouth the begin his usual speech. Kat cut him off as she cut him off, "Sorry Zack but we're not here to make potions with you today."

The older man stopped, his eyebrow arching, "Oh? Would you still like to have a bit of my fondue?" he gestured to a small pot behind him. "I-- No, no thank you. We wanted to ask you a few questions about someone that passed through here before. Someone that went by the name Veradine?"

Zackariah reached up and stroked his beard as he mumbled to himself, "Verdine. Veradine. Hmmm, the name does sound familiar. Why might you be asking about her Katoka?"

The blonde looked at her companion ever so slightly, they now knew that she was a woman now "Well-- Wait, you remember me?"

The alchemist chuckled, "Of course I do. I remember all my protégées." his eyes seemed to twinkle as he winked at her. Once Kat recovered, remembering what Freyd had said about the NPCs being able to recall more than she thought.

"Right, of course. Um. We wanted to know anything you could tell us about her because she seems to be making some rather, unsightly concoctions." Katoka nervously rubbed the back of her neck, "We think she might be trying to hurt people on purpose."

The old man arched a brow once again, reaching for a ladle nearby and turning around to stir the contents of the pot behind him. After a moment he turned back around and sighed, "Veradine, at least at the time, was a bright young woman. She had beautiful blue eyes and lovely white hair, much nicer than mine." he grinned as he gestured at his head, "She struck me as a bit odd, not really talking to many folks back then. Now when I see her every so often she seems to have a few friends with her." He waved at his shop, "She stops by every now and again to pick my brain on the interactions of certain items, but she is never alone. Always some large brutish man and a tiny little one with her, hurrying her along for some reason."

Katoka was surprised with the amount of information that the old man was able to provide. She could feel her heart rate accelerating as be spoke. "On other thing, she had pointed ears. Much like your elven friend Elora that I taught not long ago. Funny how there are a few of the elven folk that leave their homes to join us here isn't it?"

Kat inhaled deeply and turned to the Whisper near her. She almost jumped up and down on the spot at the literal treasure trove of information he was willing to give them. Gathering all her will power she turned once more to Zackariah, "When was the last time you saw her?"

He held his chin for a moment, taking his time to think. "I'd have to say a week or two ago? That was when she last stopped by. She will hurry about Tolbana from time to time so it would not be surprising to see here at any point in time." With that Katoka bowed and thanked the man profusely for telling them everything he could. He smiled in a way that seemed almost sad, "You can thank me by stopping the girl from hurting anyone. I don't like to see my students fall from grace."

With that the duo left the shop and found a nearby bench to sit on where they could discuss some of the info they managed to receive. "I didn't think there were other players that went the elf route like Elora. Also, this disguise must not have worked very well, Zackariah clocked me like instantly."

The creature before them looked as though it's health had barely moved when it managed to heal itself. Kat clicked her tongue in frustration and heard Mina and Nari's call for retreat. Checking her own health and energy she arched a brow, was it really necessary to leave? She checked the stats of her party and found that half did not have the energy reserves to fight for much longer. She leapt back, putting distance between herself and The Ancient before she pulled a teleport stone from her inventory. This would be the first time she had to use one, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Taking a quick look around she watched as Star vanished, then turning her gaze to Nari and Mina. "Don't hang around too long." it was short and to the point. She had never lost a party member before, and she didn't want to start now. With that she crushed the crystal in her hand and felt her stomach drop as she felt like she was falling up.

----

Katoka activates Teleport Crystal

Katoka came to a complete stop as she observed Freyd's new appearance. She looked down at herself and then back at him before violently pointing in his direction, "Wait do I need a disguise too?!" she panicked as she opened her inventory and scrolled through trying to find something, anything, that would change her appearance. After a few minutes she let out a sigh and closed the menu, "I was not prepared for this. I've never done a stake out before." Her eyes flashed with realization as she reached up and let her hair down. "There! How's this?"

As the two walked the streets of Tolbana Katoka continued to speculate on the individual they searched after, "So once we find this Veradine, what are we going to do? Do we try and capture them? Or do we just, kind of follow around and see what they do?" while she spoke she looked around, seeing if anyone seemed to stand out as an evil potion maker. She made sure to cover her mouth a bit and whisper the name in case anyone they passed was their target. Kat was beginning to think that she was not the person to have been brought along on a reconnaissance mission like this. There was a reason she wasn't in O&I after all.

As Sam moved to pull her in to a hug Kat almost flinched away. She had thought she would be mad. She expected her to yell or plead or throw something, but when her arms wrapped around her she could feel her pain. Katoka's eyes once again filled with tears but she held them back, trying to stay stronger than she felt in that moment. "You will always be my first everything Sam. I don't want to forget the times we had together, so I won't." her voice was soft, her words bitter sweet on her lips.

She looked down at the floor as Sam rose to go into the kitchen, her footsteps sounding as hollow as Kat's heart felt. "You don't have to do that." she thought as she heard her rinsing out her cup like she always did. "You can be angry." she listened to her go upstairs to retrieve her things. "You can yell. You can scream." she let her body fall onto the couch. "It would make it so much easier if you hated me." she felt Sam's lips on the top of her head. The samurai clenched her eyes tight, afraid that all the moisture in her body was going to rush out if she didn't.

The sound of the door opening caused her to take a deep breath and old it in, waiting for the the cacophonous sound that would follow. But it never came. Just the light footsteps and soft click on the latch. Her eyes snapped open, and she was alone. She felt her hand raise, reaching out towards the door as if to stop Sam, but she knew it was too late. She knew that this was it. It was finally over. She had been thinking of ending it for so long now that she had expected things to end in a loud and destructive way. She had played out so many scenarios in her had that were all so bad, but deep down she knew how it was actually going be resolved.

With a mournful kiss, and an empty house.

Katoka cried. She cried harder than she ever had. She let everything out. All the anger, all the pain, all the suffering. She stood up and threw the pillow she had been clutching at the nearby wall with a yell. She grabbed the edge of the coffee table in front of her and flipped it into the nearby wall. She smashed, and punched, and screamed. The Cerulean Storm rumbled, letting loose a squall in her own home that would have made any floor boss second guess challenging her. And when she was done, she collapsed onto the floor with nothing left.

Kat took one last shuddering breath and exhaled slowly. She would sleep in the midst of the wreckage of her home, and in the morning she would clean. She would gather her things thereafter, and she would return to her place on the frontlines.

Katsumi Kato was heartbroken, but she would recover from the pain and be stronger because of it. She had to be.

Thoughts of her alchemist quest replayed in her head as they entered the first floor. She cringed remembering the failed attempts at gathering materials for brewing. "I suppose it's not too far off for them to remember stuff I suppose. I tend to forget that some NPCs can retain info just as much as I forget they they aren't actually people." she scratched her head as her thoughts overflowed, "This game really is something else. I can only imagine how far off we are from Cardinal making a world indistinguishable from real life."

As the two walked Kat felt her mind jumping from on thing to another when she settled back on the fight with the wolves again. "Hey, did the guys you fought ever seem like they weren't affected by your weapon effects? I found it odd that the blight from my old sword did nothing to them but maybe it had something to do with the pheromones that dripped all over the meat?" she was only making assumptions at this point but it was better than letting her mind wander to what was happening at home, or not happening was more like it. "If these people are finding a way to make nearly unkillable monsters that are immune to some of our status effects, then we might be in more trouble than we think."

She turned to the Whisper as they rounded a corner, a familiar building that many new players visit coming into view. "What are we going to do once we find this person? Something that doesn't involve us getting orange names." she felt her hands begin to get clammy, "Do you think they're just going to run? Are we going to have to fight them?"

The missing pieces of the puzzle felt like they were slowly falling into place now. Katoka listened as Sam spoke, grabbing onto one of the throw pillows on the couch to hold onto something. She could tell that she needed to tell her these things to try and get her to understand. Once she finished Kat looked down at the necklace between them. Her and reached out and she prodded it with a single finger, feeling the cool metal before withdrawing.

"A lot of what you told me makes sense." she began, wrapping her arms tightly around the pillow once again. "It's not uncommon for people to spontaneously get married before going to war, it happens all the time out there. That's basically what we do here monthly, weekly. Go to war. It only makes sense that it would happen here too." She attempted to smile. She felt the muscles in her face move just like they always did when she would smile, but there was no real emotion behind it.

"I think that we moved too fast. We fell in love and we just jumped feet first without really looking because we are in a place where war and battles are so commonplace that love is a fleeting and rare thing. Did you know that divorce rates spike just as much as marriages do during war? It's because the couples don't have the time they need to form bonds and learn about one another in a proper amount of time." she felt her hands grip the pillow as she spoke. "We went to fast. You panicked. It's that simple."

She glanced up at Sam, watching her briefly as she sipped at the drink in her hands. She remembered the time they had spent together, how happy they had been. If this had been in the real world, they could have taken their time with the relationship. Let it bloom slowly over time and then maybe they could have had a normal wedding. "What I haven't been telling you is that I've had a few close calls. I knew how you felt about me being on the frontlines, afraid that something might happen and that I would..." her voice trailed off and she buried her face into the pillow for a moment, taking a deep breath before coming back up, "I got hit really bad on the skydocks. I was with Freyd so I was safe for the most part but my heath dropped fairly low. It scared the shit out of me. And then about a week ago I ran into some weird shit in the Fire Forest on floor 28. These other players were setting up a weird trap that brought in these wolves that just wouldn't die." she felt her self shudder remembering the fight she had by herself. "They were... Scary. Really scary to be honest with you. They had these weird crystals growing out of them and just..."

Kat took a deep breath again, recognizing her anxiety was beginning to take hold of her. She closed her eyes and breathed in and out slowly, gathering herself before she continued. "I took the info and what I could find at the scene to Freyd since he seems to know a little bit about everything. But the point I'm trying to make is, I was too afraid to tell you. I kept it from you because I knew you would get upset and I didn't want to have another fight. That's not ok. When something happens like that you should be able to come to your significant other for comfort. Instead I hid from you more."

She hung her head in shame, but it felt good to get that off her chest. She had been holding it in for a while now. "I'm not going to step away from the frontlines. I'm not going to stop going out and fighting. I can't just sit at home and twiddle my thumbs while my friends and family fight for their lives out there." while she had no blood family here in Aincrad, there were people that were as close as they could be. "And Sam, I like it. I used to be so scared all the time, and I still get scared every now and then, but now I like it a lot. I enjoy going into battle with people I trust at my side. I love overcoming a difficult challenge with friends. I like this stupid fucking game and this idiotic life that we live now and I don't know what I'm going to do when we finally get out of here."

The samurai could feel her heartrate increasing the more she spoke, she was letting everything spill over now that she had been holding back. "I understand that you need time to figure things out. I understand that you need to sort out your feelings. I just need you to know that I don't know if I can. If we can continues with this. With us. I don't want to do it, but I know that I'm always going to wonder if you're going to disappear on me again. I'm always going to be afraid that I'll be at the alter alone, and a relationship can't be built on a damaged foundation." she could feel her eyes welling up again. "Sam I will always love you. I will always care about you. There will always be a part of you with me until the day that I die. But I think that it might be more healthy for the both of us if we..." she felt her arms squeeze the pillow in her arms once again. "If we end things."

In the same way that a dog turns it's head in confusion at an odd sound, Katoka too shifted her head to the side. "I... What?" she felt as though she needed to reboot her brain to comprehend what was happening. "Sam I, I know who you are." Her hand still reached up and grasped onto Sam's and gave it a polite squeeze. "Can we just, sit down on the couch?"

The blonde led Sam over to the couch, still holding her hand with the lightest touch. It didn't feel like when they used to hold hands before. This was just to lead, not to show affection. Kat sat down on one end and turned to face Sam, sitting cross legged with a pained look on her face. "We. We both haven't exactly been the best to one another these past few months." she looked away from Sam as she spoke. "What you did. When you didn't show up. That hurt me more than anything Sam. You more or less left me at the alter."

Taking a deep breath to try and hide the pain in her voice, despite it cracking. "I was so angry. So hurt. I lashed out at you, threw things. I've never felt that violet with anyone. I didn't want to hurt you, but I could have. I don't like what I became after that." she shook her head as she felt her eyes well up with tears. Looking down at her own hands she clenched them open and closed, "Despite what had happened I almost hurt the person I was supposed to marry, and that's not ok." Looking up to meet her gaze Kat looked almost haunted, "And then I kept things from you. I kept you around because I was too scared to end them and I lied to Freyd when he would ask how things were going. What the hell happened? That's not the kind of person I am Samantha. I don't lie. I don't keep secrets. I don't try to hurt the people close to me." Her eyes had finally overflown, spilling down her cheeks like two raging rivers.

It had been... far to long.

Kat dreaded coming home at times. Anxiety gripped her stomach and twisted it into shapes that were far too complex. She had taken to going on long quests or staying away for as long as possible, only come home when she couldn't find an excuse to be away. She would cry in the shower as quiet as possible, making sure to show as little emotion as she could when they were around one another. It was easier to pretend than it was to confront. It always had been. She remembered doing something similar back in the real world. Putting on a mask and going through the motions until she could get back to her distractions. Here was no different.

The two would still occasionally eat together. If not then they would at least leave the other a plate of food for whatever meal they cooked. Katoka felt so alone despite being together. She couldn't bring herself to apologize now, not after so much time had passed. Not after she had just left like that. Every time she remembered standing there on the first floor, waiting for Sam for hours. It made her teeth start to grind again. There was no use in thinking about it all again. She would just get more and more worked up. She still couldn't bring herself to ending things. Despite everything, she still loved Sam. Still cared for her.

After a particularly long few days of crafting potions and gathering materials, Katoka arrived home to find Sam sitting in the living room on the couch. The couch she had taken up residence on. She felt her jaw clench ever so slightly as she walked passed. They exchanged their nearly robot like greetings as they always did. The blonde's eye twitched as she began to busy herself with washing dishes, doing anything to keep her hands busy. She would glance every so often into the living room to see Sam sitting, unmoving from the same spot. Letting out a sigh Kat stepped into the threshold and leaned against the frame drying her hands on a towel.

"Sam. I th-think we n-need to talk." the words had tumbled out of her mouth before she had the chance to stop them. At first she motioned to cover her mouth, the overwhelming sensation to flee from the situation was undeniably strong, but she lowered her hand and stood her ground. This had gone on long enough after all.

The sound of sizzling flesh began to rise from the horse Katoka rode upon. Hunks of meat began to slide off and drip to the ground as if they were made of candle wax. Wrinkling her nose, Kat looked over at her companions. She felt a sigh of relief escape her as she saw Freyd seemingly returning to normal, though she felt her skin prickle at the sound of his fear. She rarely knew him to be scared whatsoever, and this unsettled her greatly.

The samurai realized that she was slowly sinking from her high position. Looking down in a panic she watched as the rest of her mount sank into the ground beneath her, slowly lowering her onto her feet. The gravel softly crunched under her as she now stood once again on her own two feet. The bow that she had slowly become adjusted to began to glow with a bright light, causing her to squint and look away as it dissolved in her hand and left her grasping at nothing.

"Holy shit, did we finish? Are we--" her voice trailed off as the the shadowy form of a massive bird seemed to take flight and soar overhead. "Was that... An African swallow?"

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