8Hey all,
Sorry for the long delay, but at long last the final chapter for part 2 is here.
Hopefully you enjoy it, and I'll meet you on the other side with an update on my plans for the future.
-asdf
Chapter 6
Monday Dec 26th, 2022
"90%? That's insane!"
"I know!" Klein emphasized. Telling the tale in wide sweeping motions, one would think that Klein had single-handedly saved the party from certain destruction.
"Are you alright?" Sachi's voice was filled with worry as she examined Keita. Finding nothing, Sachi seemed to relax a little. "You need to be more careful; you understand?"
With Sachi berating Keita on staying safe, the atmosphere imperceptibly lightened.
"It was strange though," Arthur agreed with a slight frown. "I almost feel like we were missing something crucial. Thinking back on it I realize that the boss didn't even have a health bar or a name."
"Was it even really a boss then?" Asuna murmured speculatively.
"Not going to weigh in on this?" Argo asks Naruto inquisitively.
Leaning his head on his hand, Naruto appeared bored with the whole situation. Sighing, Naruto spoke morosely. "I just wish I could have been there. Tested myself against this rabbit."
In reply Naruto got a triple glare from his girlfriends.
"Was yesterday not fun enough for you?" Asuna's quiet voice was delivered with an angelic smile.
Somehow, that beautiful smile caused far more fear than the words for poor Naruto.
"That's not what I…"
"Or maybe, what you're really saying is that you don't like spending time with us?" Argo added.
"Oh, lay off me," Naruto retaliated, "at least the rabbit wouldn't get mad at me for talking."
The angry words silenced the room and left an awkward aura over it. All the excitement of telling about the strange quest from yesterday was gone. Sharing glances with each other, the men in the room looked like they wanted to be anywhere but.
Opening their mouths to fire back, Asuna and Argo shared a quick glance and said nothing. This certainly wasn't the time to get into it.
"I thought we were going questing today?" Sachi asked hopefully.
"We are," Naruto confirmed. "Orlando is just coming quickly to talk about finalizing the guild acceptance."
As if Naruto's voice had called him, the inn door opened to admit the legend braves. The recently reformed eight-man party looked awkward standing in front of Naruto's sixteen. Waving them forward, Naruto gestured to the seat across the table.
Coughing, Orlando looked around the room awkwardly. "I thought it would be just you."
Tilting his head, Naruto looked confused. "I don't know what you mean."
Biting his lip, Orlando cast his gaze around the room once again. The rest of his party stood near the entrance with nervous expressions. Nezha, and Shivata merely looked disappointed with Orlando. "You know everything, don't you?" Orlando's low voice was barely audible, but it carried to the far corners of the tavern.
"I'm not sure what you mean." Naruto wore an innocent smile that betrayed nothing. This only served to increase Orlando's fear even more.
"I- I mean we, accept your proposal to join your guild."
The acquiescence from Orlando caused Naruto to loosen his stance. A microscopic adjustment, only a select few in the room were able to notice it.
"That's good news. I'll send out the invite. Furthermore, I'll designate you as a leader of a subdivision as previously agreed upon."
"Huh? But I thought…"
"That I'd break the agreed upon conditions? No, Orlando. I'm a man of my word." Turning his full gaze upon the Legend Braves leader, Orlando seemed to melt before Naruto. "Also, it may serve as a reminder of what I've provided for you before you think you would get better somewhere else."
With his face whiter than a sheet, Orlando practically fled from Naruto. For some reason Orlando was more terrified of Naruto than the floor bosses. Practically sprinting to the door, Orlando pushed his party out with him.
As the door slammed shut, every gaze landed on Naruto. "What the hell was that?" Klein's question represented everyone's feelings in the room.
Shrugging, Naruto leaned back in his chair. "Orlando brought his party to intimidate me into giving him more for joining the guild."
Snorting, Argo seemed somewhat dismissive of the explanation. "The boy may be a bit slow, but he isn't that stupid. There's no way he'd do something like that unprompted."
Nodding, Naruto agreed with a sigh. "Yes, unprompted he would never have conceived the idea. Someone seems to realize how amenable Orlando is to suggestion and is using it to their advantage."
Looking at each other, a new wave of determination seemed to pass through the three girls.
Sighing, Naruto couldn't help but feel having them here was a hasty decision. Now they would be even more eager to hunt down PoH. Standing up, Naruto faced the door, for now at least, it was time for the easy part: facing deadly monsters in combat.
Coughing awkwardly, Naruto shuffled his feet. Standing at the entrance to their inn room, Naruto was torn on what to do. The quests had been easy and took up just enough mental focus to prevent him on thinking about what to say. On the other hand, they left just enough that he'd been worried about this moment all day.
Part of him wanted to get on his knees and beg their forgiveness for his previous words. But he wasn't sure that was such a good idea. If even the suggestion of doing something else set them off so much, it was possible that further compliance would only make things worse. How long before they started demanding more time to be alone? While Naruto loved them with all his heart, he had more people counting on him than these three. Actually, everyone was counting on them as well. They were all members of the guild and had key roles to fulfill.
Scratching his head, Naruto observed the girls, hoping to get a clue from their behaviour. Oddly, they appeared to be in the same situation as Naruto, stuck on the fence as to what to do. The thought brought a smile to his face. Naruto had forgotten something important again. He'd thought of his girlfriends as something that he had to manage. That wasn't true though, their relationship wasn't something to manage, or dedicate a certain number of hours a week to. It was something that grew with them, a continual pact to ensure their love and support.
Sighing at his stupidity, Naruto walked quickly over to them. Focusing sharply on him, they opened their mouths to say something but hesitated. In the brief second, Naruto wrapped them in his arms. One giant, awkward hug between the four of them. "I'm sorry I blew up at you."
With her head buried against Naruto's neck, Asuna shook her head in denial, "don't apologize, we overreacted."
"Oh, I don't know Asuna," Argo denied teasingly, "he did choose a rabbit over us."
Chewing her lip, Sachi stared right into Naruto's eyes. "I think we are just worried that you are becoming addicted to fighting."
The clear words hit Naruto like a hammer. Suddenly, the conversation from earlier took a whole new spin. "I-I see…"
The weak trailed-off words caused looks of worry form his girlfriends. Casting each other nervous glances, they stared at Naruto's dazed expression. "Umm, you okay Nar-boi?"
As if the words had been a trigger, Naruto broke down into laughter. Tilting his head back, Naruto pulled the girls in tighter as peals of laughter rang around the room.
The girls were starting to wonder if Naruto had gone mad when his soft voice washed over them, "Not for a hundred rabbits would I abandon any of you."
"Hmm, but what about 200?"
"Well, let's not push it," Naruto replied jokingly to Sachi's probing question. "I'm glad we talked about it."
A general consensus of grunts indicated their agreement. Standing with his girlfriends held tightly against him, Naruto felt a sense of peace wash through him. No matter what happened, he'd always have them.
Tuesday Dec 27th, 2022
"We will now hear from Orlando, leader of the legend braves and expedition head on the Elf War questline."
Stepping back to light applause, Naruto cleared the stage and let Orlando take over spotlight of the meeting. Naruto had called a meeting of the front runners mainly to hear more about how the Elf War questline was going, whether it was worth it for others to pursue. The secondary goal was more nebulous, promoting the guild. Despite having signed a large number of the frontlines as members already, Naruto wasn't satisfied. In his mind he likened the efforts to clear the game as exactly that, a game. He would be the coach and the others would be his players. Split calls from another coach would lead to mistakes, and in SAO, mistakes were deadly. Attempting to cast the doubts from his mind, Naruto focused on Orlando's words to the group.
"Greetings fellow clearers," Orlando started, a faint quiver in his voice ruining an otherwise stoic front. "This past week, The Legend Braves have been working both sides of this elf war questline hoping to find advantages for us to ply when it comes time to fight the bosses."
"Not like Naruto didn't tell us this a couple of minutes ago," Kibaou complained to his party mates. Unfortunately, Kibaou never learned the art of whispering, causing the sound to carry to the ears of all gathered.
Flushing from the interruption, Orlando attempted to continue unabated. "Ah, yes, well moving on, we've started making great progress on the questline for this floor from both sides. According to beta knowledge we have three parts left which we should finish in a couple days."
"So, have you found anything helpful for clearing the game?"
"Um, well, no." Orlando answered honestly, "the experience is better than the average quest you can find on the floor, but rewards seem about equal."
"And you have confirmation on that? You could be lying to keep it all for yourself."
Sighing, as Joe's weedy voice threatened to destabilise the meeting, Naruto stepped forward to help out Orlando.
"I've seen the quest rewards and can confirm he speaks the truth, is that enough for you? If not, feel free to attempt the quest line yourself."
"I-I'm good," Joe mumbled abashed.
"Ah, yeah, well I guess that's all from me," Orlando spoke falteringly, the previous stoicism cracked from the multiple interruptions.
"Hold on, I have a question!" someone from the audience interjected before Orlando could escape the stage. "How hot are the elf girls?"
As the question was followed by a series of whoops and cheers from the audience, tension seemed to leave Orlando. Opening his mouth to reply, he was cut off by his party members.
"They're out of your league! And they're all ours!"
The general mayhem that ensued brought a dramatic and relatively happy end to the meeting. The only ones who didn't appear to enjoy it were the ladies in the assembly. Meeting their frosty eyes with a weak smile, Naruto could only shrug as the front lines waxed on about the beauty of elves.
Wednesday Dec 28th, 2022
"Not the pace you were hoping for?" Argo teased to a grumpy looking Naruto.
"Ah, no, its not that…" Naruto answered distractedly.
Having finished pacing the tenth floor of the labyrinth, everything was on pace for a New Year's Eve raid. Ending the year on the fourth floor would be satisfying even if the initial hopes would have been for higher. He truly couldn't ask for any more from those following him.
It was just one of those days. When life weighs on one's mind. Having gotten a break from planning and just being able to fight was a blessing Naruto had originally thought. But in the intervals between battles, his mind kept wandering to the future. He didn't know why it was affecting him so much today, but a fog of gloom seemed to hang over his actions. Ninety-seven more floors of this. Risking death every day, for not weeks or months, but years.
If he was being honest, Christmas had kind of killed his motivation. It had been a dream to spend the whole day laughing with friends. Even the occasional fighting would be fun. Spending the morning killing monsters for fun, with no stress of fear or death. However, neither of those things were possible. Instead, they climbed up the labyrinth in relative silence, unable to talk loudly for risk of drawing monsters.
Maybe that's what it is, Naruto thought dully. Rather than the perpetual threat of death, which had begun to numb, it was resentment over what could have been. To have a virtual paradise transformed into a deadly prison that wore on Naruto's mind.
"Huh?" Getting dragged out of his depressed thoughts, a large purple mushroom waddled its way into the corridor.
"What the…?" Klein expressed, echoing everyone's thoughts.
Focusing on the creature, Naruto brought up its icon to identify it. A 'Giant Purple Mushroom Man', its name identified it as. What really drew Naruto's attention, however, was the monster type indicator. It was something he'd never seen before, only heard of, a rare monster.
"The chances of this…" Voice giving out at the end, the awe in Argo's voice was evidence enough of how rare this encounter was. "I've never met one before."
"A monster Argo hasn't met before? Perish the thought," Naruto lightly teased.
"Shut up," Argo snapped, "be useful for once and kill it."
"Testy, testy," Naruto laughed lightly. Obeying Argo, he stepped towards the misshapen mushroom. With stumpy little legs, the wide mushroom man looked like it shouldn't even be able to move without falling over. Standing as tall as him, Naruto locked gazes with the bright purple creature. The humanesque face seemed like it was plastered on the stem and was twisted into a terrifying scream.
Releasing a sound that was less animal roar than primordial screech, the mushroom man bowed, pointing its cap towards Naruto.
"Not this shit again," Naruto groaned angrily. Dashing forward, Naruto rolled to the wall at the last possible second.
Unfortunately, the rare monster surpassed Naruto's expectations. What released from the cap was not a simple poison stream that Naruto had encountered previously; instead, a literal cloud of spores appeared that encased everything nearby.
Filled with the exhilaration of fighting an enemy with unknown potential, Naruto smiled fiercely while leaping backwards out of the cloud. With what could be considered top-of-the-line equipment for this floor, it was fair to say that Naruto was almost immune to most status ailments he could encounter. With just the briefest touch, however, the mushroom man's spores overcame his resistances.
Falling to one knee, Naruto gazed wide-eyed at his status. Not just stunned but poisoned as well. The ailments may only be level one, but the combination effect was fearsome. With limited ranged methods of attacking, it was hard to imagine an easy way to defeat this creature. Glancing up, Naruto waited for the creature to capitalise on the stun it had applied. To his surprise though, the creature was slowly retreating, reasserting the distance it had held prior to Naruto's approach.
Gritting his teeth, Naruto stood up uneasily as the last vestiges of the stun left his body. "Well this is annoying."
"True," Argo agreed with a frown, the only one to keep up with Naruto's processing on how this enemy fought. "As mush as I hate to say it, maybe we should leave it alone?"
"Eh!? Why?" Klein screeched while gesturing emphatically. "Just bait out the cloud and follow up with a sword skill, yeah?"
Sighing, Argo shook her head at the distraught swordsman. "Would you mind demonstrating Nar-boi?"
"Sure," the swordsman agreed with a chuckle. Pouncing at the mushroom, Naruto rapidly closed the distance. This time, however, Naruto was able to leave the radius of the cloud and avoided the stun. Despite that though, the cloud remained in the hallway blocking his access to the enemy. Once again when the toxic cloud dissipated, the mushroom man had re-established the gap between them.
"Damn," Sachi mumbled observing the strategy that could only be referred to as unfair, borderline cheating.
"What about flanking?" Asuna suggested, "or backing it into a corner?"
"Good thinking…" Argo complimented the chestnut-haired girl who'd started coming out of her shell recently. Asuna had left her hood down today as well, allowing her beauty to illuminate the dark tunnels of the labyrinth. If she was being honest, Argo was slightly intimidated by the moments of brilliance Asuna had shown at coming up with tactics. Even though her knowledge was still below average when it came to games, her raw intellect let her devise unique ways to deal with obstacles. Actually, it may be in part because of her previous lack of game knowledge that enabled her to come up with ideas uninhibited from what gamers would consider "common sense".
"If we push it straight down for another hallway it will enter a loop," Sachi informed the party after quickly checking her map.
"Alright then," Naruto agreed with a nod, "We'll follow Asuna's plan."
Pushing the Mushroom man back was long, boring work. After its fifth cloud, the group was fed up with hunting the annoying monster.
"I can't wait to bury my blade in this annoying bastard." Klein growled menacingly at the uncomprehending mushroom. Licking his lips with anticipation, Klein eyed the approaching junction where they would finally be able to trap the rare monster.
One more repeat and it was time. Leading his party with a mighty roar, Klein took off down the far tunnel to loop around the mushroom.
Smiling wryly, Naruto waited with his trusty Anneal Blade balanced on his shoulder. Standing half the distance to the mushroom, the monster seemed unnerved by its antagonists change in strategy.
Letting out an anxious wail, the monster changed its tactics for the first time. Scrunching in its cap, the mushroom unleashed a fine gold mist after a short delay.
Not letting the move go unpunished, Naruto dropped a Vertical Arc on the mushroom's head. Losing close to a quarter of its health, the mushroom defaulted to its tried and true strategy, the poison cloud.
"Tsk," Naruto snapped in irritation, using the time given, Naruto observed the new move. Already it was barely visible, looking at his HUD confirmed what he'd initially thought, no status ailment had been inflicted.
"I've never seen something like before," Argo confirmed before Naruto could ask. "It seems to be gone…"
Naruto spoke no disagreement but felt something was wrong. The mushroom had risked death to unleash those spores. There was no way they'd simply fade doing nothing. "Be alert, this thing may have surprises for us yet."
Smiling wryly at their leader and boyfriend's serious attitude, the girls glanced at each other. Bringing their weapons to bear, the party waited for Klein's party to provide an opening to kill the rare mushroom.
It was at that moment Klein did indeed burst out of behind the mushroom. Releasing its final poison cloud centered on itself, the mushroom waited for death. With weapons cocked, and ready to cut down the fungus, no one was watching the entrance.
Announcing their presence with a roar, a pair of Fallen Elf Duelists charged them.
"What!?" Quickly cancelling his sword skill stance, Naruto spun around and barely got his blade in the way of ones descending on him.
Naruto could see the fury in the Fallen Elves eyes and knew immediately his blade wouldn't be enough on its own.
Standing shocked as Naruto was knocked to the ground by a furious attack, everyone forgot about the giant mushroom.
"Kill it!" Screeching at his party from the ground Naruto fumbled desperately to block the next set of blows.
Thankfully, enough people kept their heads on that the mushroom's health was fully depleted. The delay, however, let it unleash another golden cloud.
"Hiyah!" intercepting the next round of attacks with a great shout, Asuna came to Naruto's rescue.
Diverting the blades to the side, Asuna primed her sword skill, expecting the combo to have finished.
"What?" with a confused shout almost identical to Naruto's from moments earlier, two swords crashed into her body and sent her flying.
"They've gone ballistic!" Argo howled with fear.
Rage. The only ailment in the game that couldn't be inflicted on players. A monster only condition, it prevents the use of sword skills. In exchange, the monsters are imparted with great strength. Swinging wildly, the elves had no need to stop their rampage.
"I'm coming!" jumping in front of the next barrage, Tetsuo was able to keep his feet.
"Despite the shock, we should be able to wrap this up pretty easily," Klein declared cockily.
As if in answer, an echoing howl reached their ears before another three monsters turned the corner, two more fallen and an Elder Treant.
"What the hell is going on!?"
Keita's confused scream helped to relax Naruto's mind. "It's an effect of the golden mist attack. Calm down and we'll be fine. If you drop into yellow back off."
Hearing their leader's calming voice did wonders to relieve the strained party. While enraged monsters could certainly be a hassle to deal with, there were more than enough of them to deal with these five.
Stepping forward, Naruto led by example and sent one of the Duelists flying with a well-timed Rage Spike. Following him, Sachi and Sasamaru teamed up to repel the other.
"Thanks for that," Tetsuo laughed nervously. "Wasn't sure how long I could hold out there."
"Focus!" Argo snapped at the group. Indeed, blowing back the two duelists had grouped them with the three fresh mobs. Now they would have to absorb the charge of all five monsters at the same time.
"Leave this to us!" Butting their way to the head of the column, Kunimittz and Dynamm crouched behind their shields and waited for contact.
With a loud Screech of metal on metal, two swords connected with each shield pushing them back. Taking advantage of the opening, the Treant swung its powerful arms into the already unbalanced defenders. Faces blanking, the boys had only a moment to reflect on their mistake before they went flying.
The different Treant varieties are the strongest monsters in the third-floor labyrinth. As a prelude to the boss of the third floor, Nerius the evil Treant, Treants are solo monsters. Prowling the floors with little regard to anything, Treants slaughtered anyone in their path with thick trunk-like arms. Standing taller than the players at a little over two meters, they used the height advantage to nullify sword skills and invalidate defense. On the flip side, it was almost impossible for Treants to block blows to their lower body. It was this, that Naruto used to turn the tables back in their favor.
Almost hugging the ground, the Horizontal Arc tore through the Elder Treant's feeler-like feet. The sheer athleticism of the maneuver was awe-inspiring. Convincing the game you had assumed the correct stance at that height was hard enough; doing it at a near sprint was ludicrous.
Roaring at the surprise attack, the Treant's charge was halted as it attempted to keep balance. After regaining its footing, the Treant searched for the one who had injured it. Casting its gaze at the floor, the AI ground to a halt in confusion; the swordsman was gone. Not even a second later, the Treant feel to its knees. The AI controlling it couldn't keep up, what had just happened to it?
Grinning at his advantage, Naruto trusted the Elves to his companions and pressed his advantage on the Treant. By keeping low to the ground, Naruto had been able to flank the giant Treant and further confuse the already enraged monster. Having laid it low with a quick Vertical across its back, Naruto prepared to finish it off.
If the Treant could see Naruto's face, it would have fled in terror at the sadistic grin plastered on the boy's face. Unfortunately, it was still trying to rise from the stumble debuff that had been applied when Naruto hit it last. Cueing up his new sword skill, Naruto unleashed death upon the monster. Sharp Nail, a sword skill unique to one-handed swords that hits three times. Carving right to left, the trajectory rapidly changed into an upwards diagonal, the beast's fate was all but sealed.
Turning his wrist to bring the cutting edge of the sword straight down, the blade endued with crimson light resembled a guillotine. Moments before the final strike could finish the 4 shaped sword skill, one of the fallen interrupted the final blow.
Hitting Naruto's arm with an inelegant strike, the Elf managed to save their monstrous comrade.
Rising from its spot on the floor, the Elder Treant bellowed its anger. Raising its arms high above its head, the Treant brought them down upon the dusty floor of the labyrinth. The shockwave produced sent everyone close to it down onto one knee. This included Naruto who was still frozen within his skill's post-motion. Staring fearfully at the downed boys on the front line, Naruto prayed for their survival.
Treants were known for their high strength stat. Inflicting it with the Rage status merely exacerbated the issue. A creature this powerful could easily deliver a fatal blow on a critical.
Eyes wide with fear, Naruto waited to see where the dice would fall.
"Like I'd let you," Argo snorted contemptuously.
Following Argo's lead, the three girls who had been standing far enough back to avoid being knocked down stepped forward. Like goddesses saving their devout followers, three sword skills lit up the gloomy passageway.
"You three left quite the impression," Naruto lightly teased.
"Oh, shut up," Sachi moaned.
Flopping onto a bed, the girl hid her face behind her hands. Having rushed into the fight to save the battle, the men in the party had all but worshiped them for the rest of the day. Finally, back in their room, they were freed from the uncomfortable praise that had been heaped upon them.
"Did you see Keita's face as he talked to you though?" Argo gushed unrepentantly, "he's in love."
"Please stop," Sachi whined amidst the others' giggles.
"But seriously, the three of you were very impressive out there," Naruto spoke softly.
Despite the words being barely audible, all three girls went scarlet.
"I was just trying to be worthy of staying in your party," Asuna answered honestly.
Placing his hand on her cheek, Naruto thumbed away the strand of hair obstructing her face. "I think that's my line."
Leaning forward, Naruto briefly touched his lips to Asuna's. Smiling at her, Naruto hid his conflicted feelings as he tried to gauge the feelings in the room. While he had genuinely wanted to kiss her, Naruto wondered how the other two would take it.
"Oh, so that's our reward is it?" Argo purred appreciatively.
"Huh?"
Confusion only lasting a second, Naruto's thoughts were wiped by the sensation of Argo's mouth colliding with his. Eyes widening, by the time he had adjusted to it, it was already over.
"Sac-chan, its your turn!"
"Eh! W-what are you doing, Argo?"
The protesting Sachi was being dragged forcefully to Naruto.
"If she doesn't a want kiss, don't force her," a surprisingly calm Asuna scolded Argo.
"Hmm, true." Argo agreed with an evil smile, "I guess Sach-chan just doesn't feel that way about Naruto."
"Wait! No, I…" Stuttering a highly embarrassed Sachi was unable to coherently string her thoughts together.
Chuckling, Naruto patted the crimson girl on the head. Smiling at the absurdity of it all, Naruto locked his lips with his third girl in as many minutes.
Going rigid with shock, Sachi didn't relax for the entire time Naruto was kissing her.
Burying her head in Naruto's chest, Sachi showed no signs of coming out in the foreseeable future.
"So, now that we've set the mood, what are we going to do?"
"I was thinking of going to sleep," Naruto replied stoically.
"Really?" Argo pouted, "maybe I'll just have to… wake you up…"
Stealthily wrapping herself around Naruto, Argo breathed her final words into Naruto's ear from behind.
"I don't know what you're talking about," body stiffening, Naruto fought to get his reply out.
"Hmm, pity. Guess I'll go drown my sorrows in the bath." Walking slowly to the bathroom on the far side, Argo put every bit of sensuality she could manage into her strut.
Mouth going dry, Naruto had to physically rip his gaze away from the swaying hips that threatened to ensnare him. With the room oddly silent, Naruto was keenly aware of every sound that came from the neighbouring room.
As Argo continued to make overenthusiastic sighs, Naruto didn't know what to do.
"If you want to join her, that's fine."
"Huh?" Looking down at the girl who had spoken the muffled words from his chest, Naruto was sure he'd misunderstood.
"She's willing to do things I'm not ready for yet. So, I'd understand if you, um, indulge."
"Sachi…"
Listening to Sachi's explanation, Naruto made no comment. Even Asuna's weak reply didn't stir him. Slowly but surely, Naruto's hand found its way to Sachi's cheek. Lifting her chin, Naruto took a moment to simply stare at his oldest friend.
"That's still bothering you, huh?"
Nodding, Sachi confirmed Naruto's worries. Like a dagger, the simple motion pierced Naruto's heart.
"I didn't realise…"
"Uh, if you need someone else to listen to you…" Asuna's halting words broke the strange tension in the room. "…I would be willing to lend my ear."
"Thank you, Asuna. And it's not your fault Naruto, it's mine."
"Still…" Naruto tried to insist, but words failed him. He didn't know how he should have been able to tell this. Sachi had seemed the same as always.
"Hehe," chuckling lightly at her boyfriend's conflicted emotions, Sachi reached a hand out to Asuna. "Would you like to hear it?"
"It would be my honor," Asuna replied honestly.
Forgetting about the bathroom, no one noticed the lack of noise emanating from it.
"T-those! Those pigs!" Asuna announced with shifting emotions as Sachi finished her story. Rage at the men, sadness and horror for Sachi.
"I've never told someone before," Sachi admitted. "We ran away from where it happened and never heard from the police."
"True," Naruto admitted in a whisper, "My parents were gone when I got home, and I never brought it up afterwards. Didn't know how."
"When I close my eyes, sometimes I still feel their hands on me." Sachi continued, baring her deepest secrets to the girl.
"You're always scared touching Naruto will you remind you of it, aren't you?" Asuna murmured sympathetically.
Nodding tearfully, Sachi buried herself in the older girl's chest. "He- he's my hero! I don't want to be scared of him."
Sitting there stunned, Naruto locked eyes with Asuna over Sachi's head. But what could he possibly say in this situation? Hand poised halfway to Sachi's shoulder; Naruto was at a loss.
"I can't imagine being touched like that," Asuna consoled Sachi, "but why do you think Naruto would invoke those same feelings? As long as you want him to ah… you know… then there shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"I thought so too," Sachi agreed dully. Casting a brief look at Naruto's stricken stance, she kept talking. "Before we met you, Naruto and I were uh… and when he initiated, I got flashbacks. Its not his fault, but I want him and yet don't all at the same time. I'm a failure of a girlfriend."
Chuckling, Asuna lightly smacked Sachi's head.
"W-what was that for!" Sachi demanded indignantly.
"For not telling us earlier," Asuna admonished, "but mostly, it's for not trusting Naruto. He didn't just save you, he saved me as well. No matter what you're dealing with, I'm certain he'll go to any length necessary to help you, if you tell him."
"I'm sitting right here," Naruto reminded them uneasily.
"Oh, I know," Asuna assured him with an angelic smile.
"Just making sure…" Naruto grumped.
"Well?" Asuna prompted.
Finally facing him, Sachi opened her mouth, "Naruto, I…"
"Shh," stopping her words with a finger, Naruto smiled at her. "You've said enough Sachi. I'm a bit of an idiot at times though, so if you have something to say, say it. Remember, I love you regardless. I'm not going to use the other girls as a replacement for you, alright?"
Nodding silently yet again, Sachi finally smiled. Naruto thought her tear-stricken face, filled with joy and trust was maybe the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
Getting out of the bath, Argo made her way to the living room on silent feet. She'd worn a swimsuit during her bath on the assumption that Naruto would at least sneak a peek; however, Sachi had far surpassed her expectations. Wiping her face, Argo looked at the mirror one last time to ensure no tears were on her face.
She'd heard every word. Every damned word out of Sachi's mouth. Getting stopped by older boys on the way home. Getting dragged into the alleyway and forced against the wall. How Naruto had saved her.
Argo's life was a series of similar events with one difference, Argo had no hero. There was no light at the end of her tunnel, until now. She knew it was wrong, she knew that Naruto deserved better than her, but still… Naruto kept her around. So, she continued to cling to him, offering him everything she has in the hope that maybe, he really does want her.
Re-entering the room, Argo smirked at their confused expressions. They'd forgotten about her. While the realisation hurt, it didn't change the words she needed to say.
"I'm sorry Sachi."
"Argo?" The girl replied questioningly.
"I flung myself at Naruto with no concern for your feelings, and I'm sorry."
"Oh, you uh heard our conversation…" Trailing off Sachi scratched her head, a habit she'd picked up from Naruto. "To be honest, I'm glad you did, it would be annoying to have to repeat it after you'd finished your bath."
"Huh?" Argo replied unbelievingly, "but why aren't you mad at me? Or gloating?"
"Hehe," Sachi giggled at Argo's baffled face, "well, I guess it's because we're a harem, aren't we? We help each other with our problems."
"Yeah, I suppose we are," Argo agreed wistfully. "Now, come here you!" Leaping on Sachi, Argo tackled the poor girl in a hug.
"Hey, break it up you two!" Asuna scolded. Walking over to forcefully separate them, Asuna could only yelp before being dragged into it as well.
Panting heavily after the excitement died down, Sachi cast a quick glance at Argo who was laying beside her. Making sure Naruto wasn't in range, Sachi whispered in Argo's ear.
"To answer the other part, I really don't mind. In fact, … I wouldn't mind watching."
"Eh?" letting out a startled gasp, Argo's red gaping face found no answer.
"Did something happen Argo?" Naruto asked concerned.
"N-no, nothing."
Trying to calm her raging emotions, Argo cast one more probing glance at what seemed to be the sleeping profile of a peaceful Sachi before attempting to find sleep herself.
Saturday, Dec 31st, 2022
Lifting its head to the sky, Nerius the Evil Treant unleashed an enraged howl. With four of its five health bars drained, Nerius had put up less of a fight than any of the previous floor bosses. Part of that may have been an increase in experience among the raid group, but most of it, Naruto felt, was due to the lack of weapon from the floor boss.
Illfang had a axe and no-dachi, Asterius and co had hammers, but Nerius had nothing. While the Treant's massive fists did ludicrous damage when they connected, that event was rare. In exchange, Nerius relied on other methods; primarily copious amounts of adds, and poison attacks.
Spawning multiple Elder Treants every time a health bar emptied, the raid group was forced to prioritize killing them or risk being overrun. In addition, Nerius possessed not only a poison breath, but an ultimate attack similar to the Mushroom man. Unleashing a ring of poison gas, it enveloped the entire room and inflicted a tier two poison debuff on all present without fail. This attack which was unleashed every five minutes would have wiped the raid group without proper preparation.
Thanks to the legend braves, who had finished the elf war questline the day before, they were prepared for this. Beware the poison attacks, that was what both leaders had said. Despite how Argo mumbled about stupid Kayaba changing bosses, they had done their due diligence in prepping.
With his guild forming the majority of the raid party, Naruto had said that they would buy the antidotes for everyone. That decision may have been a little… rash. The cost for the hundreds of tier two antidotes required to nullify Nerius' ultimate attack had been exorbitant. In a way though, it was their duty. They were the ones leading everyone through the game. It would be a small price to pay in the grand scope of things if it established them as the rightful leaders.
"Here it comes!" Naruto cried to the raid group. Five minutes were up. So, like clockwork, Nerius raised his arms to the sky and unleashed his great ring of poison.
Letting it wash over him like a stiff breeze, Naruto barely even glanced at his HUD before downing an antidote. A four-minute level two poison, it truly would be terrifying with no advanced knowledge. Proccing twice as fast as level one poison, without an antidote, the entire duration would deal about 160% of a player's health. With only a minute of downtime before another attack, the chances of becoming permanently poisoned were frighteningly high.
This made the raid highly dependant on antidotes which halved both the remaining duration and damage dealt. If the antidote used was below the poison level it would have half the effect for each level below; conversely, for each level above, the antidote would be twice as effective.
"We're out over here!"
"Same!"
Wincing as Orlando and Kibaou informed them of their predicament, Naruto sighed. Glancing around the room, two of the Elder Treants were still alive from the final spawn and Nerius had barely entered his final bar. Clicking his tongue, Naruto was still debating options when…
"We should have it, yeah?"
"Definitely in kill range."
"Well, what are we waiting for then?"
First Sachi, then Argo and Asuna came in and made the decision for him.
"I'm becoming a damn figurehead at this rate," Naruto joked. Clearing his throat, Naruto announced the decision to the raid. "Parties A and B, on Nerius. Everyone else, finish the Treants and heal."
Leading his party forward, Naruto handily dodged the exaggerated overhead swing. Taking a moment to ensure he wasn't staggered by the shockwaves, Naruto kicked off the ground and delivered a quick Vertical Arc.
Backing off, Naruto made room for Tetsuo to come in and draw aggro with a Howl. Skirting around the edges, Naruto took advantage of Nerius' vertical attack pattern to sneak in extra sword skills whenever the opportunity presented itself.
As the minutes slowly trickled by, Naruto kept an eye on time. Two, three… just before the fourth minute Nerius hit 20% on his last bar. The timing would be tight, but he should die right before he got another ultimate attack off.
Roaring its displeasure at having been reduced to its last section of health, Nerius unleashed its final attack. It wasn't a powerful move with the potential of one-shoting someone, like Illfang, nor was it a powerful AOE crowd control attack like Asterius had. Instead, Nerius' final move was more subtle, and in a way, more dangerous.
Using one of its weaker attacks, Nerius forced Tetsuo who was tanking to absorb the blow. While Tetsuo was still off-balance from the first strike, the boss unleashed it. Not from an appendage, or the predictable breath attack, Nerius sent feelers out from its feet.
The vine-like projections wrapped themselves around Tetsuo's feet.
"Uh oh…"
Face blanking, Tetsuo only got those words out before being lifted upside down into the air. Suspending the flailing Tetsuo in front of itself, Nerius was able to effectively halt all attempts to hit it.
"Nezha!"
Adjusting quickly to the sudden change, Naruto called on the only long-range weapon user in the raid to save Tetsuo.
The gleaming arc of the chakram's trajectory lit up the dim cavern in which they fought. Like a speeding bullet the rusty gold chakram homed in on the tendrils wrapped firmly around Tetsuo's legs.
Holding their breath, the raid waited to see whether the weapon would nullify Nerius' final ploy.
Jerking back, Nerius attempted to avoid the speeding weapon. The chakram sailed past the first vine but managed to catch the second one. With one of the vines cut, Tetsuo yelped as he swung loosely from just the one restraint.
"Hehe, let me help you out Nar-boi." Winking as she flew by, Argo put her incredible dexterity on display to scale the body of the floor boss. Leaping from the ground, off its knee, Argo cast a sword skill in mid-air, Vaulting Strike.
With three quick blows Argo shredded through the final tendril and released the hostage.
"Huh?" mumbling with confusion, Tetsuo had no time to prepare before being dropped in a heap.
Smiling briefly at the comedic act, Naruto turned his attention back to Nerius. Pointing his blade at the severely wounded floor boss, Naruto called for the final charge.
"Kill it!" Voice cracking slightly under strain, Naruto watched the seconds tick desperately by towards the five-minute mark. Not like the attack would kill them, more like it would be an inconvenience to doll out even more antidotes.
Caught in post-motion delay, Naruto had been clipped by the edge of one of Nerius' attacks. It was a foolish mistake that never should have happened, but the result was that Naruto was unable to deliver the blow to finish off Nerius.
Gritting his teeth at failing to stop this poison wave, yet again Naruto's problem was solved for him.
""Yargh!""
With twin shouts, Asuna and Sachi impaled the Treant with their rapier and spear respectively.
Lifting its arms up to release its attack, Nerius' large frame froze. As Asuna and Sachi's damage finally registered, its health bar emptied. Finally, drained, the third-floor boss exploded into millions of polygons.
"Nice!" Arthur exclaimed, patting Naruto on the back. "Though you kind of got upstaged…"
"So, it would seem," Naruto answered wryly. Standing up he joined in on cheering the three women who had won the day.
After the excitement settled down, Naruto found himself dragged up the stairs wedged between Sachi and Asuna. Argo led the entire raid up with a hop in her step.
"The three of you were pretty great out there," Naruto congratulated them.
"Yeah, unlike some people we were on point today." Argo teased.
"Hey, don't make fun of Tetsuo like that," Naruto fired back immediately.
Laughing the four of them enjoyed the sweet taste of victory as they finished the ascent of the stairs. Still smiling, Argo paused with her hands on the double doors.
"Huh?"
Standing still, Argo made no move to open them or move aside.
The whole raid party ground to an uncomfortable stop. With hushed whispers sent up the line, everyone was wondering what the holdup was.
"What the hell happened…" With only this mumbled wondering, Argo threw open the doors and dashed onto the fourth floor.
Following her nervously, the raid group was greeted by a sight that had been rare since starting the game, water. With the exception of the swamp on the first floor and minor creeks, SAO had an astounding lack of water. One of the reasons being, its next to impossible to fight in water.
Glancing at Argo's pale face, Naruto assumed that held true in SAO as well.
"Well, now what?" Saying what the entire raid was thinking, Ducker's words washed over Naruto like a cold shower.
The turn of events was simply too unexpected to predict. How could he expect to need a skill that had literally never come up before?
"Argo, you know this game better than anyone. Can we swim to the main town?"
"No. It's not like swimming in real life… And if there's a monster…"
Clicking his tongue in frustration, Naruto surveyed the island they'd been given. Besides the staircase, the only notable feature was a large tree with odd fruit.
"Does the tree do something?" Naruto asked, desperately grasping at straws. If they didn't find a way to the main town, it would be a defeated walk back to the third floor and wait for the teleport gate to open automatically.
"It…" stalling for a moment, Argo tilted he head quizzically. "It wasn't there in the beta."
"That's probably the solution then," Asuna declared reluctantly. It seemed like she was unhappy about something, but Naruto wasn't sure what.
"Yeah, it probably is," Sachi agreed with the same despondent tone.
"Is something wrong?" Naruto whispered quietly to them. When they didn't immediately respond, Naruto ran out of time and advanced towards the tree.
Instead of trying to reach one of the fruits, Naruto punched it with a Flashing Blow. Rattling the tree mightily, several of the tree's fruits fell. Catching one, Naruto examined it. It seemed normal enough at first glance, but looking more closely, something was wrong with the stem.
"It's hollow?" Whispering to himself, Naruto brought the stem to his mouth. Hesitating briefly on the off chance of looking like an idiot, Naruto blew. Encountering slight resistance, the 'donut' started expanding. After several seconds it stopped at a size that was familiar to all watching. An inner tube.
Walking to the edge of the water, it finally dawned on Naruto what the girls were hesitating about. Hiding his embarrassment, Naruto disrobed before the entire raid group. Bracing against the snickers, Naruto stepped into the chilled water and tested the tube. Sighing with success, Naruto was pleasantly surprised that floating was so easy.
"Well?"
The scorching question woke up the raid group that had been lounging around unconcerned. Flushing the group got around to collecting inner tubes and blowing them up.
Sneaking away from the tree, Argo handed inner tubes to the other girls.
"Let's go before they're ready," Argo hissed.
Nodding their agreement, the girls dove into the water and didn't start unequipping before they were well away from shore.
Rolling his eyes at their childness, Naruto felt he understood a little. If even he hadn't wanted to get in the water in front of everyone's prying eyes, he could only imagine how it would feel as a woman vastly outnumbered by men.
Waiting for the rest of the raid who seemed to be dismayed at the absence of the women, Naruto led the huge flotilla to the town of Rovia.
"That's it," Argo coached, "just let the water carry you along."
"Thanks Sensei," Sachi laughed. With her arm tightly gripped around Argo's tube, she knew Asuna was in a similar position on the other side.
"Do you think maybe we should have waited for them?" Asuna asked, voice tight from strain.
"Nah," Argo replied easily, the only one comfortable in the water. "While it would have been fun with just Naruto, I don't want all those eyes on me."
Shivering, the girls nodded their agreement. Sachi especially was having troubles removing the memory of men leering at her; stripping her with their eyes.
"Still," Asuna complained, "As sub-commander I can't routinely abandon Naruto to deal with stuff on his own."
"Hey girl, you already get more attention than me. I'm not giving any commands."
Chuckling, the three girls floated down the river in peace.
Breaking the silence after a couple minutes, Sachi smiled at the girls. "This is nice, isn't it? Just the three of us spending some quality time together."
"It really is," Asuna agreed, letting her long chestnut hair flow on the surface behind. Stretching her legs out, Asuna looked into the azure sky. The stone roof framed between the steep canyon walls made a picturesque view.
"So, maybe we should talk," Argo started awkwardly.
"About what?" Sachi's voice was framed with exhaustion from the long day.
"Tonight," Argo murmured awkwardly.
"New Year's Eve?" Asuna questioned. "Is it about the party?"
"After that." Argo bit out. "I can't believe you two haven't thought about it."
"Can't you just tell us Argo?" Sachi complained.
"Please do," Asuna agreed, with hooded eyes.
"Fine. I mean the New Year's kiss! Who gets it?"
"That's going to have to wait!" Sachi yelped, "Enemy!"
"Huh!?" flipping their heads, Asuna and Argo watched with horror at the giant fin that was slowly slicing its way towards them.
"Swim!" Roaring her command, Argo led the three frantic girls towards the distant shore.
"We aren't going to make it!" Sachi complained as the fin rapidly closed the distance.
"Go!" Argo commanded, "I'll hold it off."
"Don't talk crazy," Asuna shot back. "We can't fight it without a weapon!"
"I have mine though." With a nasty smile plastered to her face, Argo turned around and unleashed a quick two-part sword skill at the fish which had closed the gap.
Leaping out of the water, the disappointingly small fish was easily repelled by Argo's claws.
Fear fading the girls let the current carry them to shore in a state of disbelief.
"That was…"
"Interesting?" Asuna finished for Sachi.
"I can't believe I wasted my cool moment on that," Argo complained. "I was going to be the hero that repelled some great shark monster!"
At Argo's senseless complaining the girls stored their inner tubes and put clothes on. Relaxing on the shore they waited for the rest of the raid to find them.
After arriving in Rovia, the Raid group had walked around dazed at the water-filled town. Reminiscent of Venice, the quaint city was breathtaking. Unfortunately, the novelty quickly wore off and inconvenience set in. Every journey from the gondoliers was, regardless of length, 30 cor. While the cost was fairly low per ride, it was easy to see how prolonged time in the city would lead to a sharp increase in cost. Especially for those players who didn't adventure, staying in this city would be untenable.
Standing in the teleport plaza, Naruto and the raid group performed their customary duty of greeting the other players. Captured by the beauty of the city, many of the players ran off to enjoy a gondola ride and see the sights. This was coupled with an actual size restriction on the plaza which prevented thousands of people from staying there.
Sighing, Naruto could only observe as people fought for a spot on the gondolas to avoid the cramped square.
"Is this really the best place to have a party?" Arthur asked concerned.
"No," Naruto had to admit. "I think we'll relocate back to Zumfut."
"I'll spread the word," Arthur accepted. Nodding his head, Arthur left to tell the other party leaders and people who had helped organize the New Year's Eve celebration.
Turning around, Naruto smiled at his girlfriends. "So, do you want to explore Rovia first, or head back down?"
"As much as I love the gondolas…" Asuna trailed off with a light blush.
The reason for her pause was obvious. The lines for the gondola's were long and showed no sign of slowing down.
"Yeah, there's always tomorrow," Sachi agreed.
"Back to Zumfut then?" Naruto inquired.
"Yes, Nar-boi. Thought that was obvious." Argo teased.
Rolling his eyes at the irascible girl, Naruto led them to the teleport gate and back unto the third floor.
"Naruto! Great to see you! You fought well today!" The excited, shouted lines were slightly slurred. Wearing a goofy smile, Kibaou looked like a standard drunk.
Naruto could sense Lisbeth's revulsion as she shrank back. How Kibaou was managing to appear perfectly drunk when alcohol doesn't work, Naruto didn't know. One thing he did know, was that a happy looking Kibaou was very odd indeed.
True to his promise on Christmas, Naruto was taking Lisbeth around to meet the front liners. At this point, both Naruto and Lisbeth were waiting for it to end. Every conversation was a repeat of the last. All the front liners told "jokes" about how Naruto was cheating on the three girlfriends he already had, and that Lisbeth should watch out because she'll be next to fall under his powers of seduction.
"Eh? You caught yourself a new girl already have you?"
Sighing in unison with Lisbeth, Naruto prepared himself to relive the same awkward conversations.
"Actually, Lisbeth is a blacksmithing acquaintance. I'm introducing her to the front liners as a reliable and skilled source of weapons, repairs, and upgrades."
Hearing this information, the goofy expression slid off Kibaou's face and was quickly replaced with an appraising one. "You have her under contract for the guild I assume?"
"What? Uh no."
"No!? Blacksmiths are important resources!" Kibaou's shocked voice came loud and fast, buffeting Naruto under its force. "The more of the trades you soak up, the more people will be forced to join your guild in order to get good equipment and level easily. It will make us unstoppable!"
So much of what Kibaou had just said were mirrors of Naruto's words. But they were all wrong at the same time. They preached the same goals but had perverted the method. Lisbeth too had a deep scowl on her face. She was about to blow up at Kibaou. Placing his hand on Lisbeth's, Naruto knew he was only confirming the rumors about them. Squeezing it gently, Naruto conveyed his feelings through the contact.
Snapping her head up, Lisbeth turned the full force of her glare onto Naruto. The rage and disgust in her eyes threatened to overwhelm Naruto. Without opening his mouth, Naruto plead with his eyes to let him deal with this. Eyes locked, the moment seemed to last an eternity. Acquiescing, Lisbeth squeezed Naruto's hand once. An affirmation of her faith in him that he'd deal with this. "Excuse me, I'm going to get a drink."
With Lisbeth gone, Naruto turned his vision to Kibaou. The man had returned to an inebriated appearance in the time Naruto had been communicating with Lisbeth. Taking another second, Naruto composed his words and expression. The sad fact was that Naruto needed Kibaou. No matter how many faults he had, Kibaou was invaluable to Naruto. Not only had he brought multiple players back into the boss raid, he was Naruto's biggest supporter. This was why Naruto had to make Kibaou leader of the front lines within the guild. A decision it seems Naruto may come to regret.
"You alright? Is your new girl mad at you?"
Even Kibaou can figure something out eventually, Naruto thought condescendingly. Simply staring at Kibaou, Naruto didn't answer right away.
Slowly, the drunkenness faded a bit. "Are you… mad at me?" The words were spoken with the disbelief that only one convinced of their position could obtain.
"Not mad Kibaou, just disappointed." The cliché tasted bitter on Naruto's tongue, but it did the trick.
Reeling back in shock, Kibaou appeared to struggle to remember something he'd done wrong.
Not giving him a chance, Naruto continued, "you understand what I'm trying to do, but you don't know why. I want to unite people, not force them into a dictatorship."
Frowning, Kibaou actually took a moment to process Naruto's words. "You sound a lot like Diavel, you know?" The quiet words were underlaid with a strong passion. "But, like him, you aren't a realist. At the end of it all, do you really think there'll be a difference? If the entire frontline is one guild how exactly would one from the middle players rise up to join the front runners? They couldn't without joining us. Either way will create enemies, but mine will ensure they have no method of resisting."
Shocked, Naruto was at a loss of words. The argument was well thought out in a distinctly non-Kibaou way. The future Kibaou painted was definitely a possibility, but it wasn't certain. Furthermore, there was an error in Kibaou's argument. Sensing the trap, Naruto pressed Kibaou. "You didn't come up with this on your own, did you?"
Seemingly confused, Kibaou strained his memory for how he formulated the idea. "I guess… It all really started when I heard Joe complaining about the second-tier players accosting him for something. After that, some guy talked to me about how he doesn't really trust the middle-leveled players. How they only level for personal gain. And honestly, he's right. If they were dedicated, they would have joined us on the frontier by now. They only level so that they can wield power over others."
Naruto was sure that Kibaou's description did indeed include some of those players. However, as someone who knew one of those parties desperately trying to catch up, Naruto knew it fell short of a full picture. So, this was Kibaou's solution. By mopping the best tradesmen into the guild, Naruto could then control how far players could get into the game and eventually rehabilitate the mid-level players into the guild as trustworthy front liners. Taken out of context, the idea had merit. One aspect felt off though, Joe. The man seemed to keep popping up. By itself, his presence complaining here would mean nothing. But it just so happened to be perfectly timed that a stranger could overhear and give just detailed advice?
Chewing his lip, Naruto felt the weight of an invisible darkness close in around him. Despite standing in a open area he was having trouble breathing. It was too much for him. Was this a nefarious plot, organized to split Kibaou's loyalty form him? Was this nothing more than a misunderstanding? As possibilities whirled around in his head, all Naruto could hear was low chuckling from the hooded man he'd fought, PoH. Clenching his hand, Naruto dug his fingernails into his palm and wished for pain. Something that would ground him and let him focus. More foes were the last thing he needed right now.
"Thank you for telling me Kibaou. I made you leader of the front lines because I trust you. If you find someone you think should be in the guild, recommend them to Argo. She's in charge of recruiting and will deal with it. Finally, we'll talk more on this later, in the meantime I'll look into these claims and see how bad it is."
Grinning from ear-to-ear, Kibaou's previous good mood was restored. "Should have known I could count on you. Next time I got something on my mind, I'll come straight to you with it!"
"Please do." Was all Naruto got out before Kibaou had sauntered away to talk to others. Standing alone in the middle of the road, Naruto stared west at where the setting sun was hidden behind the massive trees of Zumfut. The ruddy orange light was slowly giving way to the night. In the encroaching twilight, Naruto felt truly alone, and far too young for the role he'd been cast.
"Is… Is something wrong?" Naruto asked nervously. "It's almost midnight you know?"
"Oh, we know," Sachi agreed instantly.
For the past hour, the tension between the three girls, who had been getting on so well, had continued to grow. Now, five minutes from midnight, there seemed to be some sort of stand-off going on.
"H-hey guys, so, you fought well today…"
"Thanks."
The quick response echoed three times through Naruto's ears but did nothing to relieve his stress. Mustering his courage, Naruto tried one last time to alleviate the situation.
"Well, since we're getting low, why don't I go grab some more food?"
"NO!"
Finally getting a real response, Naruto was blown back by the force of the combined shout.
"Umm, why not?"
"You have to stay here!" Argo growled with a fierce point at the ground.
"Uh… okay?" Looking questioningly between them, Naruto was shocked to find that they had already shifted their attention away. It was on each other again.
Like a wave, Naruto's fear shifted to anger. Fine, if they want to waste New Year's Eve having a stare-down that's up to them. Turning around, Naruto disappeared into the shadows like a wraith.
Grumping, Naruto hid in the shadows just off main way, alone again. Whether he was an idiot for not being able to figure out what was going on, or they were for just not telling him, Naruto couldn't figure out. What Naruto did know, was that he felt like shit. After Kibaou had wandered off, Naruto received a message from Lisbeth thanking him for his time, but she had had enough for one day. After that, Naruto tracked down his girlfriends who were looking through the impromptu shops set up for the festival. Shortly after finding them, they brought Naruto up to the treetop. Once there though, it seemed like something else was occupying their thoughts. So now, Naruto found himself alone again pondering their behaviour.
For some reason, the fact that midnight was approaching seemed significant. Was it because that meant the New Year officially started? No. Discounting the idea with a shake of his head, Naruto tried to remember what happens at midnight. First, there's a countdown. Starting from ten, everyone counts backwards towards zero. Then you yell 'Happy New Year!' and cheer. Feeling like he had struck gold, Naruto had just found the information he needed when she crossed his view and all of his thoughts dispersed.
Rubbing his eyes, Naruto confirmed it really was her. Breaths coming hard, Naruto felt the cold grip of icy fear encase his heart. The only time he'd felt something similar was when he first saw Sachi in that first-floor inn. The horror of knowing someone you care about is trapped inside a death game.
"Hiyori…"
Naruto didn't know if the breathless whisper had reached her, or she had felt his gaze, but she turned towards him, flipping her blond hair all the while.
"Kazuto…"
The faint whisper reached Naruto and enslaved his senses. She was just as beautiful as he remembered. Her silver irises reflected the torch light like mirrors. It was this fact that grounded him and brought him back to the present. In comparison to her real brown eyes, one may say these were far prettier. However, the difference was something Naruto could focus on to clear his mind. Slowly but surely, the gears in Naruto's mind started turning again.
Hiyori Kashiwazaka went to the same middle school as Kazuto last year. Being a year older than him, Hiyori had graduated and went on to high school. If Arthur was his Kendo friend, then Hiyori could be classified as his baseball friend. The obvious difference was that Hiyori played for the girl's softball team. Being quite a large school, it boasted two baseball diamonds that both the girl's and boy's teams utilised to practice at the same time.
Maybe it was the fact they both pitched. Maybe it was Hiyori's sense of humor that led her to pick on the younger boy. Whatever it was, the two of them had an interesting relationship. Based on teasing and competition, the two of them were in a perpetual game.
There had been no rumors about them in school. Not even Sachi had identified her as a threat. Most of this was because, for the entire school day, they didn't even acknowledge the other's existence. Walking right by each other at school without even a glance, one would assume they were strangers.
After practice though, they always found themselves in the same café. Sitting side-by-side, the pair resembled a couple who were past the initial stages and were satisfied by simply sitting together. It was there Hiyori had proposed a rule. Once a week they could ask each other one question, and they had to answer truthfully.
It was because of this that Hiyori knew more about Kazuto than perhaps anyone else. Just when Kazuto felt maybe they were destined to be together, everything changed. Hiyori graduated and went to high school. Separated, everything broke down. Naruto used to go to the café occasionally, but Hiyori was never there. Giving up on it, Kazuto had cut that, and her out of his life. She was his biggest regret. In an age where one could talk to someone on the other side of the world whenever they wanted; it seemed surreal to lose contact with someone just like that.
Kazuto knew, internally, that either of them could probably find each other's contact information. Send an email or private message. Yet… most of a year passed and neither of them had. Kazuto had felt such an attempt would be hollow. Messages and making plans both people knew would never come to fruition were all good for some, but that wasn't them.
Taking a step forward, Naruto walked toward her in a trance. As all the memories came back to him, all of the whispered secrets, all of the laughs, Naruto had to admit, he missed her. Even with his three girlfriends, there had been times, nights where he couldn't sleep, where he wanted to see her again. To sit at the café and simply bask her presence.
"Hehe, so, this is how we meet again."
Standing only a few feet away, neither of them moved to bridge the gap. Ingesting her words, Naruto couldn't help but smile. It was her. Her laugh, her way of talking. Scrutinizing her face, Naruto couldn't see any signs of depression either.
"You really think I'm that pretty?" Hiyori asked with a teasing smile but was unable to keep her cheeks from tinging red.
There seemed to be counting coming from the rest of the street's occupants, but Naruto's focus was solely on one point.
"I should have found you…"
At Naruto's whispered words, Hiyori's blush deepened.
"I should have as well, but I didn't know how to face you."
Here in SAO, all the problems that had once seemed important faded away. Reaching forward, Naruto closed the distance. What he'd wanted to do for so long but never had the courage, SAO had given it to him. Running his hand once through her hair, his brain finally latched onto what the countdown was for.
"Happy New Year Hiyori."
"Happy New Year Kazuto."
Leaning forward, Hiyori kissed him softly on the cheek.
This brought about another, rather uncomfortable realisation. Couples usually kiss to welcome in the new year. Face blanching, Naruto felt an ominous dread flow over him.
"I'm dead, aren't I?"
No voice answered him, merely one pair of confused eyes, and three enraged ones.
Epilogue
"Why did we leave the New Year's party early to come here?" Silica whined.
"You think you'll ever catch up to him, going to parties?" Lisbeth scolded her. "If you want to be worthy to join his party, you'll have to use every moment you can." After parting from Naruto, Lisbeth had found her party and dragged them on a quest. Anything to take her mind off the events off the party. What event exactly she needed escape from, even Lisbeth wasn't sure.
"Lisbeth," Liten berated Lisbeth in turn. "Don't use Silica's crush on Naruto to forward your own selfish ends.
"I-it's not selfish!" Lisbeth defended. "It will help all of us!"
Laughing, the three girls continued deeper into a hidden dungeon near the labyrinth of the second floor. The reason: a smithy quest for a rare item. According to the information, it was a ring that increased the user's chance of making better weapons. To clarify, in SAO when a smith made a weapon, it is impossible for the process to fail. Alternatively, the result can vary widely in power, based on the ore used. This is to say, if a master smith made a weapon from iron ore, and a novice did, 99% of the time, the master's weapon would surpass the novice's weapon. The beta testers believed that the game produced a range of percentages based on the smith's blacksmithing level and the ores. If the level of the ore surpassed the blacksmith's, it would result in the worst possible weapon every time. Normally, however, this should never be an issue.
This ring would reduce the number of below average blades Lisbeth would make. It may seem a minor thing, but over a hundred or a thousand forgings, it could result in a significant increase in profit.
"Do you hear that?" Breaking the group out of their laughter, Silica craned her head forward to listen.
Standing still it was only a moment later before the unmistakable sounds of combat echoed from further in the dungeon.
"Let's go!" Silica declared.
"Wait!" Lisbeth cried but it was too late. The kind-hearted Silica would never leave someone who may be in trouble. Rolling her eyes, Lisbeth and Liten followed Silica down the tunnel.
Opening into a larger room, the three girls found another party of three hard-pressed to hold their ground against a pair of Taurus Brutalisers.
Facing down one of the beasts herself, a short brown-haired swordswoman was locked in a dance of death with one of the ferocious beasts.
Unlike the more standard Taurus', the Brutalisers wielded just that, a gigantic one-edged cleaver that they freely swung with one hand.
The second Taurus was being weathered by a boy in heavy armor and a black-haired girl. Wielding a spear, the girl tried to keep it at a distance, but her attacks were too weak. Shrugging off the damage, the Taurus brought its great weapon down hard on the boy's hastily readied shield. Unable to stop the attack, the boy was blown straight back into the girl's frame. Tumbling across the ground, they were all but dead before the approaching Taurus.
"Like I'd let you!"
Copying her favorite hero, Silica dashed towards the Taurus and carved into it with one of her dagger skills.
Roaring with anger, the Taurus changed targets and fired a Horizontal at Silica's head. Deflecting the blade with her shield so it passed harmlessly over her head, Silica replied with a sword skill of her own.
"Help Silica, I'll join the dark-haired girl." Liz groaned.
Silica's build was fundamentally odd. It focused on a hit and run tactic, yet she used a shield. Using it to deflect rather than absorb attacks, Silica dashed through moves to attack the opponent directly. Liten and Lisbeth, however, wore far more armor and could actually tank hits. Liz would be described as an off-tank, while Liten with the full skill complement available was one of SAO's few full-tanks. Dressed in full plate the girl struggled to even move but was a literal fortress in battle.
Noticing the disturbance in the room, the brown-haired girl had let her attention wander from her fight. There was no doubt in Lisbeth's mind that this girl was very skilled but still inexperienced.
Understanding words would do no good here, Lisbeth sped up to reach her.
Turning back towards the Taurus, the girl was unable to get out of the way and the cleaver tasted flesh. Crying out in shock, the girl stumbled backwards and fell.
Laughing silently to herself at the repeat of what Silica had done moments before, Lisbeth absorbed the Vertical and responded with Hammerfall.
"Can you fight?" Asking the fallen girl quietly, Lisbeth didn't take her eyes off the enraged Taurus.
"Of course."
Showing impressive inner strength, the girl stood up and joined Lisbeth in facing down the Taurus.
"Wow! You girls sure are good," the boy gushed after the fight was over.
"Shut up Caynz!" the black-haired girl grumped.
Noticing the signs of a budding affection, the three couldn't help but smile at the scene.
"To be blunt," Lisbeth started, "what the hell are you doing here? It's pretty obvious your levels aren't high enough for this area."
What Lisbeth had said wasn't technically true. If SAO was still a game then their level would probably be the standard for this area, eight or nine. However, now that death was permanent, going into areas without a level gap was suicidal.
"I thought something was wrong," the brown-haired girl asserted calmly, "but I had it on a good source that we would be able to complete this quest."
"You're after the ring?" Silica butted in. "So are we! Feel free to join!"
"If you'd be willing to have us, we'll graciously accept. My name is Griselda." Reaching forward to shake hands, a new bond was formed in the dungeons of the second floor.
Final Note:
To everyone who is still reading, thanks for the support.
On an unrelated note, I'll be starting a different story next. This will be a crossover between SAO and another story I really like. If you have time I'd appreciate it if you could check it out.
As for Part 3, I'll hopefully start publishing it alongside the other story once I'm a few chapters in. Nevertheless, I make no promises on timescale as my motivation and time for writing seemingly change drastically overnight.
Until then, I'll catch you later.
-asdf
