[PP-F5] Pursuers (Asen, Souske)

[Asen 0]

"Can't you guys just call it for the day? You're all really getting annoying." Asen asked the group of players that thinks that they have him surrounded since there's 7 of them on all sides of him as he sits on a female player's back basically pinning her down while he rested his head on his chin dying of boredom. Twirling around his finger was a pick that looks similar to a stinger like a Scorpion or Wasp of some kind. One of them was a rugged looking man as he seemed to be the one in charge around here in this group sneered at Asen as the female struggles against his weight but winds up failing on that. "You really expect us to walk away from a 2.3 million bounty that's on your head?! You must be out of your mind." Asen simply shrugged his shoulders as he still had the look of boredom about him which really seems to annoy these guys. "Maybe I am, but let me ask you this. Why is it that I have such a large bounty on my head?" Some of them had the look of uncertainty as the leader one refused to respond. To further prove his point he slowly moved his arm to where the pick was pointing straight down at the woman's neck. "If you've read through the cause, I've killed over one hundred of your kind and one hundred more from other PKers. What makes you think that I won't do the same to you?" The woman started to grow afraid as she tenses up as well as freezing. Muttering prayers under her breath, the group around him starts to grow even more edgy.

 

Finally the leader raised his hands in surrender just before Asen had the pick hovering just over her neck. "Okay! Okay... Let's just talk this out okay?" Asen for once grinned as that was what he was hoping for the man to say. He removes the pick from her neck and looks at the leader of them expecting a deal. "You can let her go, and we can let you go. No one dies, and no one gets hurt that way." Asen couldn't help but clap towards them as a congrats while he gets up on his feet and steps away from the terrified girl. "Good, because I would really hate to have to kill a pretty girl, let alone anybody in particular. I'm not in the mood for it anyways." One of the men scurries to the woman's side as Asen takes his leave further into the fields.

[Sousuke 0]

Sousuke had been watching the whole ordeal between this player and the group. Sousuke had noticed the player indicator above his head which clearly showed that he was a player killer but Sousuke had no intentions of fighting nor even getting in a fight with this man. He admired the way he handled the situation regarding his bounty and being out numbered. The main thing that caught his attention how ever was that for a player killer he seemed to be quite mellow and laid back and not only that he acted similar to Mari his guild leader using the player killer status he had obtained to diffuse the situation. Sousuke decided it the bounty wasn't what had intrigued him about the man, it was the way he handled himself ... almost like he had done back in the Secret service before he came to SAO. He was leaning against a tree when the man passed by seeming not to notice him and Sousuke spoke up. ''I like the way you handled yourself there you remind me a little of myself.'' He said as the man walked past him. He stayed leaning on the tree and waited to see how the man would reply.

[Asen 0]

"Hm?" Asen turns his head to look over his shoulder at the man leaning on the tree. Asen at first thought it was another player attempting to take his life as well, but Asen would later realize that wasn't this man's intention at all. So his shoulders relaxed as he grew less tense. "Oh really? I was just trying to prevent pointless deaths." He stated as he has his hands tucked in his pockets of his trench coat that has some black wool on the collar area. "Who might you be if I may ask?"

[Sousuke 0]

Sousuke noticed the way the man seemed to relax and to him it was good sign he had given the right impression given the circumstances he didn't want to get into a fight with this man and he had respect for him also. He had defused a situation where a regular player killer would have just wiped them all out but it was clear to him that this man had earned his title perhaps doing the right thing such as killing other dark player killers or prevented the death of someone. ''Names Sousuke my friend used to be in military before this whole death trap of a game not much for pointless slaughter myself but I commend a man who knows when killing needs to be done as I can tell from your player indicator and the way acted that your not a run of the mill player killer.'' He explained extending his hand for the man to shake if he wished too. 

[Asen 0]

Asen smiles slightly as he extends his hand to shake Souske's hand. Before he did so one of the picks slips up in his sleeve of the hand he extended so that it wouldn't accidentally stab the man. Last thing he needs is to make unwanted enemies and right now he's not really in the mood to deal with one let alone create one. "Name's Asen, it's certainly an honor and pleasure to meet somebody that's in the military." His eyes radiated the sense that he has killed before, but he certainly didn't have the look of a killer for if he did he would've killed those people earlier a long time ago without batting an eye at them.

[Sousuke 0]

Sousuke Shook the mans hand and allowed his hand to relax by his side, he wasn't big on the whole being treated in such high esteem just because he was in the military but it was all he knew. Since he hadnt had the chance to grow up like a usual kid having being almost forced into the Secret service as a child soldier he never understood the normal reaction of the people he knew as 'Civilians'. Still these people had turned out to be some of the greatest friends he had ever had, forming closer bonds with them than simply everyone trying to make it home safely and working together for the sake of protecting everyones lives. He found it amusing however that he could relate almost everything that had happened to him inside of SAO to what had happened to him outside back in the real world. He decided to question the man about how he had earned to unfortunate and clearly misunderstood title of player killer. ''So do you mind explaining how you happened to get that unfortunate title because to me you seem quite the honorable person and as i have mentioned you remind me of myself, so judging by the way you acted back there if i had to say from first impression id guess you got it by taking out some unsavoury types am i wrong?'' He could easily tell this man didnt kill for pleasure ... he had a much deeper underlying purpose to his actions.

[Asen 0]

"Something like that." He rubs the back of his neck as this next part is not a brag rather more of a fact. Though finding the right words without sounding like bragging proved to be a challenge. "Least to say in more basic terms one of my... friends was killed by a group of Player Killers. I..." He took a deep breath as he hasn't really explained this to anyone until now. "I got my revenge on them, along with many others. I started to hunt down a bunch of Player Killers mainly the dark guilds such as the Laughing Coffin for example. Before I knew it I eliminated at least 10 good sized dark guilds leading over to one hundred and fifty people total." That was also the reason why he came to bear the nickname of Terror of Death since he had once taken down a guild of close to one hundred players. "So basically I did it out of revenge." Even as he said that, he doesn't look the type to hold a grudge against anyone.

[Sousuke 0]

Sousuke sized up the man for a moment. Something was off about the way he explained his past, this man however certainly had a valid reason for what he did but the thing that made Sousuke smile was the fact he had taken out players who were clearly killing others for the sake of killing them so no matter how this man came off he was ok in his books. ''Sounds like it was tough going then my friend, but I respect that kind of attitude and you have saved more lives than you have taken its the lesser of two evils. I myself spent months out in the desert back in Lebanan hunting a particular group of extremists that had ben setting of bombs around Tokyo, needless to say I got up close and personal with their boss.'' he said pointing to the cross shaped scar on his left cheek. It was a mark he wore with some pride knowing he had saved the lives of countless people in exchange for only a few.

[Asen 0]

Asen a bit amazed both on the fact that this guy who doesn't look any older than himself was already sent out on dangerous missions back in the real world and also the fact that the game copied that scar as well. "To be honest i'm surprised the game got that on your avatar, but I think it looks cool on you. Kind of gives off the feeling that you're more experienced in combat." He admits as he couldn't help but think about what Souske said. To him it sounded more like equivalent exchange, take one life to save a bunch of other's lives. He tries his best not to dwell on it though as he slides the pick out from his sleeve and slips it in one of the slots that had a patch wrapped around his thigh where it shows four other picks that looks just like it. "Well I do like the fact that I saved others from oblivion, however because of that I have a rather... large bounty on my head to say the least. Players both orange and green have been coming after me left and right. I wouldn't be surprised if they stoop low enough to use my friends as bait, though they're fewer than they were before." A few months ago one of his friends suddenly disappeared from his friend's list, at first he thought he got blocked or something. But no matter how hard he tried to track the player he couldn't get a lock in for a whole week. There were many others that happened in that same way.

[Sousuke 0]

The way Asen spoke of his friends disappearance it seemed to convenient the way it had occurred and Sousuke suspected foul play what was more he was interested in what this guy had to say about the whole ordeal and felt inclined to help him. ''I lost my twin brother not to long ago, he was doing similar things to you and a guy named Zelruis put an insane bounty on his head which got him killed. I can sympathise with you on this whole thing and I don't want the same fate to befall you despite the fact we have only just met I feel I can relate to you so, do you suspect foul play in what happened to your friend and if so do you have a suspect?'' he asked the man

[Asen 0]

He merely shook his head slowly since he had no clue really on what happened. "I haven't really spoken to anyone let alone fought in the past 6 months, so I can't really tell you on who it was. I just know that after I went into hiding it just seemed like my friends were getting picked off one by one. As for Zelrius..." He sighed as face palmed himself. "I'm sorry about your twin brother Souske, and as much as I would like to ask you, I can seriously doubt you would forgive my brother." He's not really sure how Souske would react to the fact that Zelrius is his younger brother, but Asen had been so distant from everyone that he doesn't know what his brother did let alone his younger sister as well.

[Sousuke 0]

Sousuke shrugged shrugged when the man mentioned that Zelrius was his brother. And when he said he had been away for a long time he saw no reason to hold anything against the man. For one he wasnt looking for revenge and two he didnt hold this man responsible for what someone else had done. It wasnt in  his nature. ''So hes your brother, big deal im not after revenge or anything like that and what he did isnt your fault either, this doesnt change my view of you. I forgave Zelrius a long time ago, my brother had killed some of his underlings who had taken a girl hostage and he wanted my brother dead, my brother knew what he got himself into and his death was peaceful one at the hands of my guild leader. Besides soldiers die because war never changes.'' he said to the man in front of him.

[Asen 0]

"Indeed they don't, where one war ends, another is on the brink of starting up. Ending in a almost endless cycle, though that's just my perspective." Asen was rather glad that this man wasn't out for revenge. Made things easier for his young mind to rest at least a little bit. He's had a lot on his plate since the very beginning it seemed, soloing through the dungeons, taking out bosses, fighting off bounty hunters, and such. However Asen was also thankful that his brother hasn't fallen too deep in the pits of darkness, least that's what he's guessing as of right now. Now that he's heard of his brother, he now wonders just what his sister has been up to. But that'll have to wait for another time as he now brings up a question. "So what brings you out here of all places?" Sure Souske could've been out farming monsters out here and heard the ruckus, but Asen has the feeling that's not the case here. Or at least not at the moment.

[Sousuke 0]

Sousuke shrugged at the mans question and thought for a moment about is answer. Sure he could lie and say he out hunting for materials or something but i didnt feel the need to lie to Asen. After all he had been truthful enough to him so he should return the favour at least. ''I was out on patrol, i tend to make a point of myself to go out and keep an eye out for trouble every once in a while, i dont like the idea of the newer players wandering to a pointless death. Of course players like your self can handle yourselves i just heard the sounds of a scuffle and thought id see how you handled things. If things went south i would have stepped in.'' He explained 

[Asen 0]

That Asen could believe in, though its not like he didn't trust the man. Of course he still had to be wary of how one responds since anyone can lie to his face. "Is that right? Well, to be perfectly honest i'm rather glad that you didn't step in back there otherwise one you can be a possible target for those that's been chasing me and two you would've given them a moral booster. Either way though, I wouldn't kill them unless I really have to." He admits quite honestly, I mean what's the point on lying now? Plus he's trying to make as less enemies as possible since he already has problems with the dark guilds which one in particular has been acting up of late. He thought about taking the guild out right now, but he simply sent them an unknown warning to straighten up before Death comes for them.

[Sousuke 0]

Sousuke observed the man and judging by his body language Sousuke could gather that for the time being at least the man believed him which was a good start to making a new ally and possibly friend. He could certainly handle himself he had certainly demonstrated that much atleast and his actions were definitely not un just and so Sousuke decided to atleast try to befriend him. ''Well i guess you were lucky things didnt go the wrong way then, things could have gotten really messy. So where you heading off to anyway?'' he asked him hoping he might get a chance to find out more about him.

[Asen 0]

"Well..." His eyes drifted to the horizon as the sun was setting on the tree line. It didn't even occurred to him that it was already dusk time until now, though this just means he does indeed have somewhere to be. "Originally I was just trying to find a peaceful spot where I don't have to worry about these people coming after me. Unfortunately, it would seem that my presence is being needed else where. Have you ever heard of Sabre's Cat?" He asked Souske turning his eyes back towards the man. Sabre's Cat is one of the infamous dark guilds that has recently been formed or just recently revealed themselves as murderers and thieves. Fortunately for Asen their hideout which he managed to obtain from eavesdropping on a couple of players that seemed to have some connection to them.

[Sousuke 0]

Sousuke thought for a moment. Sabre cat? He had heard that name mentioned once or twice and it intrigued him. He wondered what this guy wanted with a guild who were known as Thieves and killers. Something told him he was about to get mixed up in something crazy and he liked the idea of it. ''I know of them yes what could you possibly want with them i wonder.'' he said a sly grin creeping onto his face. 

[Asen 0]

"Well earlier this morning I sent them a warning to straighten up on their acts. Unfortunately they didn't respond politely as they just increased the bounty on my head by another million col. Which drove those people earlier to chase after me. So I figured that I... Pay them a visit." Asen's previous records would show what happens when he 'visits' dark guilds. Majority of them wind up dead, some actually listened to him and straightened up so he left them alone. The Sabre Cat however didn't get the memo however.

[Sousuke 0]

Sousuke smiled to the man and extended his hand out once again for the man to shake it should he accept his proposition. ''Seems like you could use an under cover agent for this and it just so happens i specialised in espionage back in the real world, so what do you say, Partners?'' he said waiting for the reply