Fujiwara shot a quick glare towards Paka as he left the kitchen before turning back the the boar. Quickly cutting along Ayame's guidelines, Fujiwara placed the butcher knife on the side and turned to Ayame, who seemed to be preparing the vegetables that he had organized earlier.

"I'm done cutting it up. Anything else?" he asked as Ayame glanced at the cut-up boar parts.
"You aren't done getting rid of the bristles on the skin yet, though. Don't try to cheat your way out of work- you'll be eating this, after all." she responded in turn as she went back to cutting up the vegetables and setting the fire for the oven. Fujiwara sighed and looked at the boar parts and a small knife sitting next to the butcher knife he had just used. Picking that smaller knife up, Fujiwara eyed the body carefully before starting to try and shave off the bristles.

Time passed by relatively quietly for the next few minutes, with Fujiwara trying not to accidentally ruin the meat and Ayame still preparing the vegetables. That silence was broken, however, with Umichi and Suki entering the kitchen.

"Hey Umichi. We're not doing much right now; mostly just preparing dinner. I've been writing up the log of what happened to us for the past few weeks or so, and i'll need you and everyone else to help me out with that at one point or another." Ayame said, not looking away from the food as she stoked the flames in the oven. "So what exactly have you two been out doing today?"

Suki sighed then shrugged "he doesn't like having to answer to someone, when he thinks he is right. Don't worry. It isn't you" how she hoped that was true. She followed along beside Umichi, looking about them, and then looking about Tolbana as they reached it, enjoying the crowd of people and the sights. She too saw Paka, but didn't even try to call out to him. His shoulders were set, and he was walking fast, determinedly, clearly trying to reach a destination or complete some task quickly.

Suki slipped inside the ink whe Umichi opened the door, smiling at the others, and sat down when Umichi pulled the chair out for her. She was never sure how to act, when he did things like this, but found it incredibly sweet. She smiled at him, before looking to the others. Timi was, it appeared, struggling to stay awake. The young girl looked as if she had done a lot today, and Suki was glad she was able to keep busy, and stay alive. She hoped the boys hadnt given her anymore trouble, but knew that Yui could handle them just as wellC for Timi.

As Ayame talked, Suki opened her menu, opening her messages, beginning to type, doing so quickly. She had found out that you could save drafts, which was very useful right now. She looked over when Ayame asked what they had done "we did a couple of quests" she said excitedly, taking out the pot plant "we got a pot plant. I'm not too sure what it does, but it's cool" she said "and then re-did the cows of the counter attack"

Nodding as the conversation went, Umichi let Suki tell them what they did. "Well, don't forget that I pretty much outdid the game's own system earlier today." he smirked. "Hm... I wouldn't want the food prepared to go to waste, although it is only data .... we could head to the Inn of Faith for free food guys. I mean, that's if you guys are up for it." Waiting for a response, he observed the room. The inn was starting to fill up with the other patrons. Many going in to sleep for the night, some getting up to go for the night to hunt. Coming in, he noticed two faces. It was Jessica and Ryuu no Kage from earlier today. They seemed to be getting along before noticing Umichi and calling out to him, approaching him.

Jessica appeared to be an older woman, of about 21 years, while Ryuu seemed younger, at about 18. Jessica was a brunette with green eyes. She stood just short of Ryuu, but gave off a vibe that she was more mature than him. Her armor was a light metal type with a mace and shield as her weapons. Ryuu had blonde hair with hazelnut eyes. He seemed to be exerting himself to appear stronger. Equipped with a two-handed sword and heavy armor, he tried to stand tall.

Jessica smiled, but Ryuu no Kage stared at Umichi scornfully. "Hey! How are you guys?" Umichi replied, leaning towards Jessica a bit to whisper, "Does he still think I cheated?"
She laughed. "This guy, just can't handle being outclassed. Man, how did you do that though? No one throws like that."
"'Sup Cheater?" Ryuu no Kage replied to Umichi.
"Jeez, don't accuse people so quickly. You'll lose any friends you have that way. Anyway, I told you earlier. Card throwing." Umichi cheerily replied.
"People don't throw cards like that!" Ryuu no Kage shouted in disbelief.
"I can show you with cards sometime."
"I do that too you know Ryuu!" Jessica told him. "Just not with three in one hand and doing it in both hands." she continued, starting to look suspiciously at Umichi, before winking.

The wink threw Umichi back a little. "So boy, how did you do that exactly?" She looked deep into him, approaching him, coming onto him.





Umichi sighed once the commotion died down. "Uh... sorry everyone about that." he apologised, turning back to face his party.

Suki had trotted over to Timi and Yui, giving Timi a hug. She imagined it had been a long day for the girl, waking so early in the morning to them rushing about and going to rescue Fujiwara, and then the quest, and walking back here. Timi seemed intent on proving she could do things, but all in all, she was still just a young girl, pre-teen, who was trapped in a world away from everything she had ever known. Suki brushed Timi's hair back from her face, but it fell back. Timi yawned and looked up at Suki, then over her shoulder at the two people that appeared.

Suki followed her gaze, recognizing them from earlier today. Had the card game really just happened today? It seemed like everything that had happened today could just about fit into a week! She rose, intending to go great the two, remembering the "cheating" outbreak at the darts, and intent on clesring things up, when Jessica winked at Umichi. It could have just be somethings innocent, but with this girl, Suki didn't think so. To Suki, it seemed that the girl was just over the top. But she had still winked at Umichi.

"Excuse me" she said, taking by a confidence that she had no idea where it came from, stepping up next to Umichi, and taking his hand. "I think you need to back off" she said it politely, and kept her tone calm. "Or I might just have a problem with you" Suki had absolutely no idea where this territorial behavior came from. Al she knew was she cared for Umichi more then she could ever say, and Jessica needed to learn boundaries.

Suki was not impressed by the laughing nor the reassurance that she was just kidding. She sighed, watching them leave "she's a bit over the top" she said, giving Umichi a smile

Ayame blinked as Suki pulled out the potted plant, which was confusing (to say the least); she didn't take Suki to be the type excited over something so... Normal. Taking note of Suki's statements as she quickly set up the vegetables to boil and the boar to roast. Letting out a small sigh at the completion thereof, Ayame glanced at Umichi as he suggested to eat somewhere else.

"We've got food prepared here already, and I'd much rather eat this here and now than go off somewhere else. We were supposed to relax today, weren't we? Might as well do that here, right?" she stated as she turned to Fujiwara. "You're off for now; go hang out with the others as I finish up here."

Shrugging, Fujiwara nodded and left the kitchen to meet up with the others, only to see Umichi and Suki in a bit of a... Dispute with two other players. Casually walking over to the two, Fujiwara patted Umichi on the shoulder and looked at the two that had just left.

"What was that all about?" he asked watching as the two mingled with other people.

Yui <<8>> Tolbana

All of the mostly left the kitchen except for Timi, Yui and Ayame. She glanced over Timi while slowly standing up from sitting on the ground. She gave Timi a pat on the head and walked over to Ayame standing right besides her. Her body was slightly hanging over the counter of the kitchen to see how Ayame was cooking "Do you need any help? Im free right now so I dont really mind to do it." She gave a gentle smile at the girl while standing up right again.

Sighing, Umichi smiled back at Suki. He once again apologised, "Sorry I let that get so out of hand." Ayame's response was not really heard over due to the commotion. With Fujiwara coming up behind him and patting him, Umichi turned to Fujiwara. "Ah, they were people we had met earlier. We were doing this ... quest/competition together, and I won. The guy still thought I cheated, and the girl was just messing around." He paused and looked over at Suki. "And Suki here got all jealous" He had a big smile on his face. Turning back around, "Anyway, I won the right for free food at the Inn of Faith, so we can take it easy with food for a while, excluding today's meal, since it is already being made."

"Moving along, what's the plan for the next few days? I guess dungeon crawling, till we find the boss room?" Umichi suggested.

Ayame smiled at Yui's offer, glancing at the vegetables and outside the kitchen as Fujiwara talked. Maybe something had changed... Or maybe it hadn't. At this point, she couldn't really tell. Spacing out for a few seconds, she quickly shook herself back to reality (however 'real' this world was) and turned back to Yui.

"I've got to make sure these vegetables cook for exactly the right amount of time. It'd be nice if we had a kitchen timer, but I guess staring and waiting for a bit will have to do..." she trailed off before glancing at the clock. "Maybe... Five, six more minutes should be fine, I guess. Can you tell me when that time's up while I go make sure the meat doesn't burn?" Ayame asked as she went pack to cooking the boar.

---

Fujiwara smirked at Umichi's response, trying to visualize in his head what kind of contest Umichi could have won. He could ask, of course... But where was the fun in that? The free food bit, however, seemed a lot more interesting.

"Well... I can't argue with free food. As for plans... Well, we've definitely got a lot more to scout out. If there's anything to do for the next few days, it'd be that. I mean, there's not much to do at or around town, anyhow." he said, tapping his fingers on his leg. "I'd personally like to see more improvement working as a team, and what better place to do that than in the dungeon, right?"

Suki poked her tongue out at Umichi when he said she got all jealous, but did smile. She didn't intereupt, watching Ayame and Yui, glancing over at Timi, who appeared to be struggling with staying awake. Suki frowned. They needed a schedule. As Fujiwara spoke up about working as a team, Suki waited for a chance to speak.

"I think the first thing we need to consider is the fact that we have a young girl to look after. Timi needs adequate sleep, we all do. We've all been awake since early morning, except for you Fujiwara. We need to consider the fact that we have to survive here, perhaps for a long time. Since we are staying together as a team, we may need to keep a running list ln resources. Right now, it's just been sharing is caring. Ayame has done a lot of the cooking. I've been providing potions, both of which aren't a cheap profession. But will make us money. Theres things I think we need to plan for. Such as guilds. And houses. Will we buy a big enough place for us all, or something else? Can we create a guild? These are concerns for when we reach the required floors, but still something to consider. As for team building....doing so in the dungeon does seem reasonable, but again, we have to take into account that we have a young girl. And we each have different skills and areas we are good in" she said, looking over them all.

"We have done well so far. There is always room for improvement of course." She continued. "Tomorrow, we should enter the dungeon together. But I don't think anyone should enter alonez it's tougher, but is also a long way for us to all get there to save someone's butt. What do you all say?"

Leaning back in his chair, Umichi nodded. "Well, I left you in charge. As long as it is reasonable I believe the group will follow you. Anyway, it's nice being relieved of the responsibility." he chuckled lightly. "It's nice you are thinking ahead, but you are a bit too focused on us right now. There's over 9000 other players still alive. Letting them know that we have beaten a floor will raise morale of everyone, and also open up available resources. I think we can start finding out what we will do after that. There are probably only about 100 people who have passed level 6 at the moment. We were able to get passed that, but leveling slowed down quite a lot. Quests are being fought over quite a bit. You are about to lead a raid party. Your thought should be about the people of the raid party, and of the people living in this game." He leaned back forward, his eyes looking like glass.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Umichi stood. "Sorry, I am gonna be walking around for a bit, I'll be back soon." Making a faint smile, he walked off. His mind wondered, thinking about various things, things in the game, things in real life, things in "reality". If anyone tried to follow him, they would have lost him before they made it out of the inn.

About ten minutes passed before Umichi returns to the inn, he brings a bright smile. "Sorry about that. So, is dinner ready yet?" he asked, returning to his seat.

Think about the raid party? How? I don't know what the hell i'm doing Suki thought to herself, watching Umichi go. she tried desperately not to let her doubt, her worries show, but she didn't know how well she succeeded.

She sighed heavily, and looked around at the others. She started to make a list in her mind of their strengths and weaknesses. She knew hers. Leaning more towards the quick, and perhaps less powerful attacks, she was incorporating acrobatics and speed into her attacks, for quick, darting and damaging blows. But that left her vulnerable. Not training her strength much, she wasn't able to wear heavy armor, nor was she able to put the strength behind attacks for more serious blows.

Timi was small. She was perhaps the lowest level of them, and she worked with a short sword. The girl had spunk, and a toughness to her, but all in all, she was just a little girl. Still, ,she had survived with Yui, and had survived the town, being in the wild, and had reached here, well before their group had. So that was something.

Paka...was more just plain strength, clearly aiming at protecting everyone and drawing monsters to him. Suki knew they could use that.

She didn't know Ayame's fighting style much, nor did she know Fujiwara's, and that was a problem in on itself. They definitely needed to work more together as a team. They could take a day, couldn't they? Whether in side the boss's labyrinth or out, they could take a day and train together.

She sighed heavily, clearly in her own thoughts. she was worried she would fail them all. Worried she wouldn't be strong enough, quick enough, smart enough. Worried she would lead them all into death. She rose, starting to pace, trying to organise her thoughts in her head, but she couldn't. They just kept on swimming around there, creating a whirl pool of confusing thoughts. She needed paper, and pen. She needed to be able to write it all down, to see it, to feel the paper in her hand, yet she didn't have any paper, nor a pen, and the PM wouldn't do what she wanted it to do. She knew she could talk to anyone, sort out her thoughts like that, but...that would just make her believe even more that she was failing them.

She ran a hand through her hair in frustration. She looked up as Umichi entered, managed a smile, but went back to pacing.

Ayame smiled as she watched the food finish cooking, taking in the aroma as it permeated the air. Satisfied with how it had finished up, she quickly moved everything onto dishes and brought the meal outside to the rest of the party. Setting the platters of food on the table, Ayame turned towards Fujiwara, who at this point was sitting down, almost as if lost in thought.

"Umichi... You know that's a bit too much pressure to be putting on someone just getting into the role, right? Though to be fair, I'm just as guilty as you are..." he trailed off before noticing that Ayame had come out. Smiling and nodding slightly, Fujiwara looked at the food before taking a plate and whatever utensils he could. Taking some of the vegetables and cutting off a piece of boar to put onto his plate, he turned to face the rest of the party.

"You've heard my vote already." he said, taking a piece of the boar and putting it into his mouth. Ayame glanced at him and sighed before taking a seat next to him. Taking some of the food into a plate of her own, she looked at Umichi and Suki expectantly.

"Could you two fill me in on what 'vote' Fujiwara's talking about?" she asked before beginning to eat some vegetables.

Yui

She gave a quick simple nod at Ayame to help her with giving a watch over the food. Yui looked at the clock to see what time it was and memorized it in her head, to keep track of how long the food still needed to cook. Yui gently fell back against the wall in boredom with her arms folded over each other. Her eyes wandered around the room and gave quick glance over the food from time to time. The discussion on entering the labyrinth still remained under the group. It made her wonder on how tough this floor boss actually is. They havent really fought one of those yet, so maybe they will just easily pass it, if they find him at least.

Out of the hook of her eye she could see Timi being a bit quiet and drowsy. The heat at the inn made a good napping temperature, making it easy to nod off at only a mere second. The girl looked so peaceful it made her yawn herself a bit. She gave another glance at the clock before squatting down in front of Timi to see how she was holding up. Yui showed a gentle smile at the girl as she started talking Do you still want to eat dinner or rather sleep. You have had plenty of snacks all day so you shouldnt need to worry about an empty stomach. If she rather wanted to sleep Yui would call out to Umichi for helping Yui to bring Timi upstairs. If she wanted food first Yui would piggyback ride her to one of the tables the group was sitting at.

When she returned to the kitchen, the food seemed just about ready and the time was almost over Ayame, the food is ready. She hoped over next to Ayame and grabbed some of the plates she readied to give then out to the others. She sat down at the table and began eating the vegetables. She glanced around the room while eating the vegetables Is paka still out in town she said while gulping down a piece of vegetable.

Walking up to the pacing Suki, Umichi put his hand on her head. Patting and rustling her hair a bit. "Sorry about that. You are doing fine as you are." He tried to pull her in close, not caring about the fact that Fujiwara had been there and telling Umichi off a bit. Regardless of if Suki let's him pull her in and stroke her hair, he continues with "Here's what I suggest, you lead and take care of the party, I'll think about the raid party, the strategies and those things. We will split the burden of our own future and the future of all the other players. How's that?" he smiled at her, an endearing smile.

Afterwards, he turned to Fujiwara, "Yeah, I know it was a bit much and I apologized, three times. I went too far with it. I was only supposed to open her eyes a little, to see she needed to realize there's more than our seven lives to consider, since the raid party will likely assemble soon." Umichi spoke in a heartfelt manner, and turned back to Suki. If she had allowed him to pull her in, he would push her to arm's length to be able to look at her properly. "I shouldn't have said so much, and burdened you like that. Anyway, let's split the burden, okay? I'll let Shinobu know about this, okay? Or would you rather tell her? Unless, you don't want to do it that way ..."

Turning to Ayame asking about a vote, Umichi replied, "Ah, just about what to do tomorrow. Fujiwara is voting to go to the Labyrinth, while Suki was thinking about if to go to the Labyrinth or do something else to help Timi." Leaving out everything else that happened before Ayame came, Umichi pulled out a seat for Suki, and then pushed it in once she sat down. If at this point, Yui calls Umichi to help carry Timi to bed, he would leave to help, otherwise, he would sit down next to Suki.

Suki let Umichi draw her in listened as he talked, and just nodded, with a soft sigh. She wanted to be able to say what she wanted to, but couldn't form the words for it. It has always been so. This...reality had taught her the importance of words, the values of them...and yes, she had used them effectively...but in all seriousness..."I just....I don't want anyone to die. It's bad enough we get the nasty little taunts of how many people have died so far. I don't think I could bare it if I lost you. Any of you"

As Umichi moved her to arms length, she met his eyes, once more listening as he addressed her. "The problem is, my burden is nearly 10.000 strong. I'm always worrying, thinking, is there someone out there, dying now, because we aren't working fast enough? Because we aren't there? Could we have done something?" Sometimes she wondered if she just simply cared to much. Did others think like this, or was it just her? She'd always been told she had too big a heart for the world. Was that a bad thing? Would caring to much destroy her? She couldn't stop it. So she would just have to live with it. "We can split the burden of the group, the raids. I can tell Shinobu. She's returned with the rest of her group. I'll go to their rooms now" she managed a smile.

She looked to them all and said "I think we need one more day. To work together, and with Shinobu and whoever else she has managed to round up to fight the boss. We need to be able to work effectively as a group, otherwise we are just individuals on a death sentence. I'll speak with Shinobu about it. I'll be back in time for dinner" she darted out the room before anyone could object. They might object, she knew. But what was the point of fighting the boss, if they weren't coordinated, didn't know how the rest of the raid party worked? She thought that would just lead to more deaths.

She found Shinobu easily enough. She was brooding just outside the inn. Suki approached her quietly. "Hey" she said softly, wary because she had seen Shinobu like this before. And usually it was because she was brooding on Minoru, a guy in her group. Suki had learned that they had had a bad break up, and struggled to maintain friendship, but becuse they, and the rest of their group had always been together on online games, they tried their best. "You know. One thing I have learned here in this game is that you can't deny yourself happiness. I know you care about Minoru deeply. Wh-"

Shinobu turned towards Suki, and said viciously "easy for you to say! You just smile, and Umichi's all over you"

Suki took the verbal slap. She fell silent, then sighed after a moment. "I'll take that, since I know you are hurting. But never do that again. I was just stating a fact. Now. I'll just get to why I'm here. I think we should all work together tomorrow, train with each other, get use to each other and whoever else you have found to join us in the boss raid. So that when we find and fight the boss we aren't doing so as a suicide mission. We don't want to accidentally kill our own. I'll leave you be now" she turned to go back in, then stopped. "Minoru cares deeply for you too. And that's why it's hard for you to be around each other" then she stepped back into the inn, returning to the group, sitting back down with Umichi.

"She's fine with that" Suki said softly, keeping her expression composed, but she did message Riku, another girl in Shinbu's group, recommending that she go to Shinobu and talk with her. She did hesitate about messaging Minoru. She didn't in the end, and looked to everyone. "I forgot to ask. Was there any objections to that idea?"

---

Timi shook her head, "I'm okay. I can always fit in more food" she said with a smile, standing steadily, and joining the others. She sat down on a chair, and rested against the table, merely watching for now, and not making much conversation. She didn't really have much of an idea what they could do, nor how helpful she would be, yet she would try. She merely enjoyed being in the company of people who wanted her.

Fujiwara opened his mouth to note that he had brought up that 'burden' again, but decided against saying anything else in the end and went back to eating. He still had good intentions in the end, so it wasn't really all that important how he got his feelings across. Ayame, took Umichi's suggestions in for a second and thought for a while, but just as she was about to answer Suki had left the table. The two silently continued eating dinner until Suki returned and asked if there were any objections to the plan.

"I'm okay with heading into the dungeon as a group. Everyone's probably already given well enough reason to head in, and I'm confident that we'll be able to get some good knowledge out of this." she stated before leaning back in her chair. "But today was quite stressful. Do you think we should turn in early so we can prepare for everything tomorrow? I kind of want to resolve all of the things that are buzzing around in my head- it's not exactly one of the best feelings in the world."

Fujiwara glanced away from the table as Ayame mentioned this. It was his fault that today was so chaotic, and he knew that fact well. At this point, he didn't really want to do much of anything at all- his confidence in himself had started to dissipate before he passed out, and now it had almost disappeared entirely. Was he really the great player he was before, or was that simply just him being delusional. Closing his eyes, Fujiwara finished his food and stood up from his chair, unintentionally drawing attention to himself.

"I'm going to... Sleep now, I guess. I'll see you tomorrow." he said as he left the table. Ayame watched and almost smacked her forehead at the major faux pas she just committed. That was so absent-minded of her, it was absurd. How could she have forgotten that easily?

"H-hold on-" she began to say, but by then Fujiwara had already left the first floor of the inn to his room. Sighing, Ayame sat back down and massaged her forehead.
"That was... That was really my bad, huh...?"

As Suki left, Umichi's face was obviously full of self-depreciation. *Sigh*. He let out a long-winded sigh, in his seat. As the others spoke, he got out the guide book. He did not even notice Suki sit back down, due to his own self-depreciation. Flipping through, absent minded, until he noticed something. Suddenly, he spoke, "Change of plans." Looking up, he realised Fujiwara had left. Sighing once more, he brightened up a bit. "Sorry with the way I have been today, anyway, everyone, check the guide book, last page. Looks like things will be moving along." Seeing as though Fujiwara and Paka were not there, Umichi sent a message to the two, saying "Read the last page of the guide book." Just in case, Umichi also sent one for Shinobu and her party.

---

On the last page of the guide book, everyone will be able to find the following written.

Fenrir said
Good day, fellow SAO players. It has been a cruel first few weeks. And for a long time, everyone has been having such troubles in the Labyrinth. Some of us have lost loved ones, and have felt the despair of being trapped in this world, away from our family and friends. However, I for one will not lose hope. And of this day, the first ray of hope has appeared on the 20th floor of the Labyrinth. That is right! WE HAVE FOUND THE BOSS ROOM! I invite you good men and women, those above level 8 to join us on our raid. Let us convene tomorrow, on the 24th of November, to come to Tolbana, in the dueling arena at 12:30pm and discuss the raid, form parties and become the first ray of hope to escape this death game for everyone!

Yours truly,
Fenrir

---

After the others at the inn had read the page, Umichi spoke up, with his spirits lifted, "I don't think there's much reason to not go to this. If it's true, it is as Fenrir says, hope for everyone in this death game. A step closer to our other lives. I don't think the battle will be tomorrow however, as Fenrir mentions, there will probably be more discussion and some party formations. There will probably have the day to use to get used to party members and bonding. I think it would be best to use the day for going into the Labyrinth and getting some party training and practice, as well as stocking up and getting ready for the boss the day after. Any objections for tomorrow?" Umichi was lively and invigorated, hoping to pass on the feeling to the others, especially Suki.

He was still quite worried about Suki. Hoping that this one step closer to escaping would help Suki brighten up, and relief her burden. He looked over the others, to get their answers, but kept an eye on Suki, continuing to hope to see her smile or look relieved.

Tsukiya sighed, flipping through the newest version of the beginner's guide. 'I should go out and train more.' She thought, then spied what was on the last page. She stopped for a second, then broke into a grin. "Finally, a challenge." She said quietly, closing the book and quickly standing. She started moving toward the front of the inn, pushing her way out the door. 'Level 8, here I come.'

Suki was silent, looking down at her hands as she thought. Each day it seemed that they were further and further away from the real world. Here, it seemed that this was the real world. After all, there was the fact they got hungry, tired, they had all their feelings, everything felt real. They still sat around and talked, over food. They still had friendships and they still cared. And yet, each day they made progress.

One step closer.

To what? How would they be when they woke in the real world? How would they be effected by this? Would she be able to find the group? The game allowed them to continue to be human. with Same benefits of skills. Pushing away the distracting thoughts that she would not have an answer to until they beat the game, she opened the guild book, reading the post.

The boss's room being found should have enlightened her. It should have made her happy, and hopeful. It did. But it just...she just thought about her life before the game, and her life now. She had friends that weren't her brothers. She wasn't considered weak, nor was did she think that she was being protected every moment of the day. She couldn't go back to that, couldn't go back to being stifled. Not now. She swallowed, aware that Umichi watching her, and she once more pushed the thoughts aside, since she couldn't do anything about it now.

But she was worried. Having found the bosses room, it meant they would be fighting the boss. Which meant that they were entering dangerous waters. Fear clung to her. What would happen, it was more dangerous then anything else they had come against. Would they lose anyone? Anyone, from the raid party? She knew they could. And she knew they would continue on. Because they had to.

She took a deep breath, and managed a smile. "great! In a couple of days we can be 99 floors closer to getting out of here!" She managed a small laugh, "It will be good for people. Boost their morale. And the second floor will be interesting to see" She then grimaced and said "I don't know if we will see Shinobu and her group tomorrow. They might be having some issues" She said, thinking on Shinobu and Minoru. "I hope we will, but I can understand it" She said with a soft sigh. "But enough of this. Let's have some fun tonight. Music is always light and fun"

---

Paka spent his time in the markets, and the blacksmith. He had his weapons tuned up and enhanced, thinking on what they would be doing in the next few days, finding the boss floor. He knew that when they reached the second floor, he would have to part ways with the group. Simply because Suki needed the space. He had seen her so happy here. Free. And if he stayed, she would always be constantly worried and watching her step, and he diidn't want that. So the best thing to do was to leave. to find another group.

he took his time, trying to find what he wanted in the market, figuring that nothing important would be discussed, at least not much more then anything they had already discussed. He glanced at the PM when it came through, opened the guild book and read the entry. Interesting. So they would be fighting the boss soon. He detoured on his way back to the inn, and collected a few supplies and other things.

He walked back into the inn, looking around for everyone.

Ayame looked at Umichi in confusion as he told everyone to check the guidebook's final page, mainly due to the assumption that everyone had already seen what was in the entire document anyhow. Deciding to humor him, she opened to the last page and found the message that didn't seem to be there before.

"Interesting. Does this mean that there's a master document that can be edited to send out messages like this...?" she asked herself quietly before closing the book and turning back to Umichi and Suki.

"I think this only solidifies our decision to go, actually. There's less reason not to with this announcement in place, so..." she trailed off before subconsciously shooting a glance up the stairs before refocusing onto everyone else.

"I'm a bit tired for tonight, though. I want to be as ready as possible for tomorrow, so I think I might want to spend the rest of the day making sure my scythe is sharpened and that we've got provisions for tomorrow." she stated before excusing herself from the table and heading out the door.

---

Fujiwara glanced at the lower right hand area of his field of vision as he noticed a message from Umichi pop up. Quickly glancing it over, Fujiwara closed the message and pulled out the guidebook, where he flipped to the last page and looked at the message there. Shrugging, he closed the book up and sent a message back to Umichi.

"Saw it. Why not."

It may have been only 4 words, but it got the message across. Moving that menu away, Fujiwara re-entered his room and laid down on the bed. Sighing, he glanced at the ceiling before closing his eyes and trying to come to terms with all of his thoughts.