Just as Eris stood there, eating her supposed lunch while waiting for the capricious and almighty School Council President, Yoshino Tsugumi, she heard a voice coming from her side and turned to cast a look at the, apparently older, girl that was calling her.

When Eris looked the other girl from head to toes, she had to admit that the dark-haired girl looked like someone that even she would think twice before getting into a fight with. The reason was simple enough, the girl had beautiful eyes, but they were, for the lack of a better word, the eyes of a beast. Even Eris had to admit that this one looked like she was on a totally from her temper fueled rebelliousness.

Nevertheless, the girl addressed her politely enough and so, Eris was compelled to reply in kind, despite the dark-haired girl's hasty conclusion "Good afternoon," Eris said as she finished her hot dog and extended her unwounded right hand to her. "you seem to be confused, I'm not Yoshino Tsugumi. As you can see, I'm not even Japanese, but a student from Germany. My name is Eris Valkeyr and I would like say that you'll have to wait a bit before talking with her. I've come here to deliver a medical leave, so I want to be done with this hastily and go back home to get some painkillers." Eris gestured to her wounded hand as she waited for the other girl to reply.





Yoshino merely grunted as Eris walked into her office, the other girl announcing her presence. She had called out to give her permission to walk in but she figured Eris might have forgotten about it or something. Noticing another girl next to her but not really paying her any mind, Yoshino motioned for Eris to close the door before taking a seat across from her. While scribbling away at some business papers, she asked, "Yes? Do you require something Eris Valkeyr?"

Eris eyed Yoshino with indifference, she wasn't really one to care for social finesse, but the Council President was at a totally different level of aloofness, if she could ignore someone as throughout as she did. Nevertheless, it wasn't of Eris concern, so the blonde simply followed Yoshino's direction, after nodding to the other girl.

"You are having a busy day, huh?" Eris said as a half-hearted greeting, before retrieving the medical license from her school bag. "I'm sure that you must know what happened earlier at the auditorium, this is what I got from it." As the German girl said so, she placed the license over Yoshino's desk and showed her wounded and, by now, half-bloodied hand to the Student Council President.

"Every day is busy for me," Yoshino answered without looking up from her papers. Only when she noticed the patch of blood cross into her vision did the Student President pause in her work. Glancing at the small note, she looked at it closer to read that it was a medical leave.

"And? Obviously I'm not going to stop you if you're injured and you need to take a few days off," Yoshino pointed out dryly, wondering if Eris was just here to waste her time.

"I didn't thought that you would. I just came because I wanted to be considerate, but I guess it's no use when I'm dealing with the pawns of the Interface." Eris looked down at Yoshino, not because she thought that she was better, but simply because she pitied those who couldn't see that their lives were being controlled.

To that, Yoshino twitched, the pen almost snapping in her grip. She rose her gaze up, looking through her glasses and straight at Eris with an expression that could freeze a heart. She took several moments to compose herself before saying, "I am no one's pawn Eris Valkeyr. You seem to be gravely mistaken."



Having finally drawn a reaction from the Purple Crown's ice queen, Eris couldn't help but smirk, considering this a victory "Ha, you can trick everyone, Yoshino Tsugumi, but not I. Both of us know that there's no way for you to be as perfect as you look to be, or be on the position that you occupy without the support of that chunk of silicon." Since Eris had the entertainment that she sought when she came here at first, she got up from the chair and moved to door, before looking over he shoulder to say, "Everyone has their hidden skeletons, Yoshino Tsugumi, it's just a matter of how deep they are."

"Of course I'm not perfect," Yoshino retorted, not seeing the point of all this. "The fact that you think I am only shows how much you fail to understand. I will repeat myself again Eris Valkeyr. I am nobody's pawn. Now if you have nothing better to do, get out of my office," she said with ice in her voice, a slow calm about her.

There was a knock at the door. Retsu was on the otherside, and she had heard most ofst of the conversation. At least what Eris said; she wasn't being very subtle. Retsu knew she was a foreigner and rather strange. "Two-faced" in a way, though Retsu only knew about one face, leaving the other a mystery. Ultimately she didn't think much of Eris; just another girl with an attitude.

"I brought the reports, Tsugumi-san."

"Yes, come in Retsu," Yoshino called out, keeping her eyes trained on the back of Eris' head.

Just as another glasses wearing girl was comingin on Yoshino's office, Eris turned to face the Council's President. A last little act of defiance was all she wanted to do, before going back home "Yoshino Tsugumi, I'll be here even after you graduate, if what you say is the truth, then time can prove, once you come of age. Until then, I'm sure that I'll have the pleasure of seeing this side of yours many more times. I hate to admit it, but you actually get quite beautiful when you are seething with bottled anger." After saying what she had to say, Eris flipped her hair and would leave Yoshino's office, if she didn't said anything more.

Yoshino held in a sigh. Did this girl really think she had gotten to her or something? Honestly, the Student President was used to dealing with people's personal problems on a daily basis. Hearing this one spout on about how she had won or some nonsense was just annoying to say the least. She was about to tell Eris so before she paused, eyes slightly widening and pupils dilating as she noticed the blonde girl staring straight at her.

"Likewise," she finally said, raising a hand to fidget with her glasses. "You can see yourself out now Miss Valkeyr." And only when the blonde girl did see herself out did Yoshino finally look down, clutching a hand to her chest as she felt her blood pressure rise. She clenched her throat, tensing as she slowly forced herself to calm down.

"Well then, if you'll excuse me" Eris said, grinning, before she finally left Yoshino's office, taking the time to acknowledge both of the other girl's who stood in her path.





"Excuse me, but I've fulfilled my objective here. I believe we shall meet again, farewell for the time being." Eris said to Junko, before going on her own way.

Just as Eris arrived back at her apartment, she took off her uniform, stored it safely and took a dose of the medicine and painkillers that the doctor prescribed to her, before laying down on her bed in nothing but her underwear. With a simple command Eris brought her message interface up and sent an email to Cassandra.

---

To: Cassandra O'Shera
From: Eris Valkeyr
Subject: Change of Plans
Greetings, Cassandra O'Shera.

I'm writing this to ask if you are not willing to change our plans for tonight. Given that today is Friday, I thought that it would be enjoyable to go out and watch a movie. Don't worry about the expenses, I'll cover them as a token of my gratitude. I'll be waiting for you at the food court of shopping arcade, after school is over for the day.

Farewell,

Eris Valkeyr.

---

After sending her message, Eris thought of login in on Deep Ground, but she was far too tired from this morning's events and had her mind all jumbled with weird thoughts, so the best thing to do was rest and let her body and mind heal themselves, even if for a brief.

Thus, Eris finished her preparations for tonight's outing with Cassandra, Eris set up her alarm clock and laid down on her bed to sleep until around sunset time.







Having done all that she had to for the day, and with school finally over, Yuuno had just to wait for the appointed time to go on her... huh... "How would you call something that is not a date, but still looks like one?" Anyway, that was not the point here and all that Yuuno had to do for the rest of the time is wait.

With only the ticking of the clock in her room as company, it became increasingly obvious to Yuuno what she should be doing for the next couple hours or so, since she had to wait until Yoshino was ready as well. "I guess that I can play just for a little bit, can't I?" Yuuno thought as she laid on her bed and summoned her interface. And...









Seconds later, Absinthe Blue had been materialized back on the world of Deep Ground, though it was still a light time when it comes to active players, so Absinthe could almost count on her fingers the number of other players that were also at the guild hall of the Cobalt Bruisers.

"Well, it only means that I'll have less competition for good turfs, right? Ohohoho, sometimes even I amaze myself..." Absinthe chortled loudly, before a momentary jolt run through her mind, remembering her of an important thing that she had to do today. Indeed, hunting insipid dissolutions could wait, because now... "It's time for business. And I have to run before I miss the big catch."

With that said, Absinthe grabbed a Land Claim that the Bruisers had secured recently and had been given to her by her beloved Mercury Titania-sama, flapped her gorgeous wings before the lesser earthbound beings around her and flew towards the Black City. Since it was quite a long trip, Absinthe summoned her interface and had a song to distract her:



And so, a singing star of Absinthe shot through the skies of the Faded City, if the omens she brought were good or ill, it was up to those she met to decide. Not that Absinthe cared for any of this, anyway.

Retsu waited for Eris to leave, and a few minutes more until she was out of earshot. Once Retsu was certain she was gone (ensured by a quick scan to make sure Eris's chip wasn’t anywhere near the door) she tossed the folder onto a shelf and stepped forward. She was lying about having reports, merely using it as an excuse to be at Yoshino's office. "Your announcement perplexes me, Tsugumi-san. I'm curious to know how Moon Rider intends to follow through with her promise."

Yoshino blinked, hearing Retsu's voice as her mind returned to the land of rationale and sensibility. Adjusting her glasses, she noted the empty folder being tossed away, figuring it was just Retsu's way of speaking to her.

"We'll deal with that issue when it arises. I figured it would be best to give people some inkling of a reason to fight for us."

Retsu sighed and put the topic aside. She'd let Moon Rider worry about it, she supposed. Perhaps she could use this chance to manipulate Moon Rider later, if she doesn't have an actual means. "Fair enough. There's still the matter of dealing with Corpse Collector ourselves. She's obviously a hacker, and even if she doesn't use those skills, a bunch of Sweepers won't be able to take her down if she's smart. And if she wasn't smart she wouldn't have been such an issue."

"Indeed," Yoshino said with a nod of her head. "Perhaps we should-"

She blinked just then, her user interface bleeping with an incoming message. Frowning, she quickly opened it up and scanned through the contents. Yuuno had sent it and she was asking her to be free later this evening. Something about hanging out with a new friend she had made. Couldn't she have just gone alone with her friend?

"Well that's interesting," Yoshino muttered before looking up at Retsu. "You kept an eye on Yuuno right? She just messaged me about a new friend she made today."

Rolling her eyes Retsu leaned her head to the side. "I saw her pass fliers out before the assembly. Can't say I've seen her new friend. Do you want me to investigate?" Retsu raised her hand up and began to tap into the school's cameras, trying to see if she could see footage of the assembly hall, trying to find anyone who might have been hanging out with Yuuno.

"If you can then yes," Yoshino said, catching Retsu's eye roll. "I don't know how it works for you Retsu but I tend to care about my family members. Now if you would," she finished, waiting for the other girl to proceed, not really caring if she was percieved as possessive.

Another annoyed sighed escaped Retsu's mouth. She saw who Yuuno was hanging out with and had to think carefully. "I see. Yuuno seems to be getting hit on by some stupid boys. I'll make sure she doesn't get any unwanted attention. If there's nothing else...?"

Yoshino leaned forward with her hands clasped together. Just some boys huh? Even so, she couldn't flat out refuse Yuuno's request. Sure she was busy but she could manage. After all, she was used to packed days such as these. That being said...

"Yes Retsu, there is one more thing you can do for me," Yoshino began, fidgeting with her glasses as she tried to word this properly. "How...do you feel....about hanging out with me tonight?" she finally got out, unsure of what she had just said.

Now this was a surprise. Frankly, Retsu had been thinking of ways of getting closer to Yoshino, so that the red-haired girl could manipulate the student president better. She was surprised to hear Yoshino make the first move. It almost made Retsu suspicious. "That's a rather... Surprising request. Though I suppose it's in your nature to go all the way, isn't it?" Retsu teased Yoshino. Indeed, Yoshino seemed to always hit fast and hard. Retsu was going to have to roll with the punches.

"I can't say I was entirely prepared to go out tonight... I'll have to check my schedule. Responsibilities and all... Plus I'll need to head back to my dorm, pick out an outfit. That being said, I'll make the time, sure. Let's hangout."

Yoshino sighed at Retsu's lame joke though she made no notion to deny it. Only a few days and already they were acting like old friends? No, it was more like business partners. Or something. Of course, Retsu mentioning an outfit didn't help out matters and the Student President opted to stare at her stack of papers, unsure if her face would betray something.

"It's nothing like that so you don't have to pick anything fancy. If anything, you're probably just going to use the event to manipulate me or something," Yoshino said. "Either way, it's just a small gathering. Hanging out. Nothing else."

Shrugging her shoulders Retsu turned her back on Yoshino. She was going to leave, but left some parting words. "You wouldn't be wrong, Tsugumi-san. But I intend to make the most of this. I hope you do too." Stepping out of the room Retsu took a moment to take a deep breath after shutting the door behind her. To the red-haired girl, this wasn't something an outing with strangers. This was an important event to further seal her alliance with the Black King... And deal with some loose ends.

"Why... Why did it have to be him..." Retsu walked away from the office swiftly, making a phone call to her brother, Asahi.

"AMADOU"

On cue after Yoshino made the announcement about the hunt for the Corpse Collector, Asahi and his boys blurred out some music and started hollering. And it was something worth while too: Hunt down a single player and the Black King would elevate them to level 9? That wasn't a small thing for most players. Some students start as early as they can, but they'd never hit level 9. Most would be luck if they ever break out of level 5. So the idea that one of them could become as strong as some of the champions in the game... That was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Of course, there was one issue: Only one could claim the kill. Asahi may have a lot of pull with his boys, but even they have their own dreams and aspirations. They work somewhat well together, but when it came down to the crunch Asahi simply couldn't trust his boys not to stab each other in the back just to claim the kill on Corpse Collector. Mostly because he would totally do the same. And foe that reason, after he and his guys were done causing a scene, Asahi told them all to prep themselves to hunt down the Corpse Collector. On their own: he wasn't going to lead them, stating quite bluntly that it'd be selfish of him to steal the kill if they worked hard to get it. That being said, he's still going to try, but if they beat him to it he'd respect that outcome. His guys were fine with that, though they simply started to collaborate together even before Asahi left. "These guys aren't going to last too long."

But that was an issue for a later time. Right now, it was time for school.

Later, after school was over, Asahi headed home. But he'd be back soon: after all he had a date with Yuuno. Sure, she didn't exactly call it a date, but for Asahi it may as well be one. Once he got home he went to take a shower and washed up, even using his good soap. He washed and combed his hair, gave it a bit of gel, put on some deodorant, and went into his room. He decided that for the date, he'd show of his softer side and dressed in a casual pink collared shirt with khakis. He wasn't afraid of wearing pink any more than he was afraid of his ginormous weight.

After he got dressed he got a message. From Retsu. "Oh dust, what does she want?" Asahi looked at his message and noticed that she wanted to meet with him. This made Asahi suspicious. Despite being siblings, they hardly knew one another. Asahi has always lived in the family mansion while Retsu either lived in the dorms or, before that, the same apartment as her mother. They never really spoke to one another at length, and the few times they do they often traded insults over each others lifestyle. Retsu criticizes Asahi's "Spoiled Rich Kid" attitude while he counters with her "Teenage Wangst" persona. Sometimes Asahi is referred to as the "Violent Psychopath" while Retsu is the "Manipulative Bitch", but these bouts are often much more private and personal. All the more reason why Asahi was suspicious of Retsu calling him out.

But he did meet up with her. Not that he went entirely unprepared: He had a collapsible baton tucked into his sleeve. He was kinda hoping he could use it: He hated how condescending his sister always was, and wished he could just beat the crap out of her. So there was some validation for the whole "Violent Psychopath" thing. Asahi and Retsu met up at the part, during sun down. Retsu was out of her school uniform and looked look like she was also going to be going out. Either she was trying to scare Asahi or she really wanted to make her "I'm part of the yakuza" look, because she wore a dark blue sweater that exposed her back, revealing her tattoo. It was it was a dark ink image of Buddha, which is something of the family religion. Not that anyone followed it, and Asahi suspects that Retsu has it only for status, rather than meaning.

Retsu stood in front of a fountain, glaring at Asahi as she always did. Unlike Asahi who had a hidden weapon, Retsu quite visibly brought a bokken, likely for the same reason as Asahi. He didn't seem perturbed however and approached.

"What do you want Retsu? I got a date to get ready for."

"You're not going on that date Asahi. Stop hanging out with Yuuno."

This made Asahi annoyed and he met Retsu's glare with his own. "Oh? And why do you care? I've been with girls before. Yuuno ain't different. Unless... It's because she's the cousin of the prez?"

"Yes. She's out of your league, and if you break her heart, you're going to make things difficult for me. So don't get any closer to Yuuno."

Asahi brushed his sister off however and began to turn around. "And what, you think I won't break her heart by standing her up? I don't give a fuck about your agenda, sister. I don't know what you've been up to and I don't care. I've stayed out of your business, you can stay out of mines."

The moment Asahi heard footsteps he took out his baton and swung blindly behind him. Just in time too, as Retsu nearly bashed him in the head if his swing didn't parry her blow. From there Asahi and Retsu fought by instincts: the intentions were clear. There were no words to express except pre-battle banter.

"It's time your fatass got some exercises."

"I'll break you like a twig you skinny bitch."

---

Beaten, bloodied, but not defeated, the two siblings departed as soon as they hear the shouting of police officers. Retsu had the good fortune of bringing her makeup kit, thus allowing her to hide her bruises with clever application of makeup. Asahi was able to keep the injuries off his face, though his body was sore and some spots bleeding. He'd need to head home to get a new shirt and deal with his new scars. The two siblings weren't done fighting each other and traded vicious remarks over instant messaging, mostly shooting a volley of insults against one another. Eventually Asahi had enough and blocked Retsu, but not before Retsu threaten to decapitate his cat and put it in his lunch box.

"Damn whore!"

"Fucking Asshole!"

But the two had to set aside their mutual hated and get ready for their outing. Retsu applied her makeup to hide the bruises while Asahi bandaged himself up and got a new shirt. Drinking a dark cup of coffee Retsu lost her train of thought. She was suppose to meet with Yoshino soon for a date, and she just got herself into a fight. Drinking another cup of coffee Retsu calmed her nerves. She'd deal with Asahi later, perhaps this time bringing some of her girls along to make a point.

Asahi was doing the same, though he drank lemon ice tea and quickly forgot about Retsu to check on Deep Ground. He needed to vent his rage, and the best way to do so was by murdering people. He also noticed that Yuuno was logged in: perhaps he could do a bit of a pre-date and fight with her. Or against her. Whichever.



Finding himself at the center of the Black City, Arms Slave was feeling rather murderous. So for today he chose to wield a bardiche and a pair of claws. Chaining himself towards a roof top, Arms Slave was looking for an opponent to kill. The fact that he'd also be defending the Black City was just a happy coincidence. But the Black City didn't need too much help.

Over the course of a night, the Sweepers were hard at work reinforcing the Black City into something greater. Walls were made, big enough to keep even giant dissolution away. Currently material and EXP were being pooled to create artillery on the ramparts, but for now various ranged players were stationed to serve as guards. They still needed to recruit NPC's for basic tasks such as market place manager, temple healer, and general merchants. But compared to the empty and poor streets of yesterday, the Black City was much different. There were actual players around just mingling. Most were getting ready to hunt the Corpse Collector, gathering gear, planning attacks, and finding information. But that didn't matter to Arms Slave. He just wanted to find someone, anyone, to kill.

He may get that sooner than he realized. Far away from the Black City, in a cave deep in the mountains, were a gathering of Outlaws. Gangs that once rivaled and fought with each other, now peacefully gathered here today for one purpose: to take back what was theirs. And leading this big band of misfits was a blond gunslinger who's name no one seems to be able to read...

Taking the girls hand to shake it firmly Junko could not help but notice the slight hesitation in which hand to use, and in turn drawing her attention to the injury on the girls hand. Were such things common within this place or was it a accident? Really it was a shame that smooth white skin was harmed either way. Still she was surprised to hear that she wasn't the president, after all she really looked the part and gave off a air of nobility that a beast like her could never achieve. "I see. Sorry for the misunderstanding then." Letting go of the girls hand she tossed the documents onto the desk "My name is Junko Kisagami. If ya even wanted to know that is."

However what she expected, to be just sitting around and relaxing while she waited for her meeting, was not what happened as a rather heated debate erupted between the almost doll like Eris and the president! After something like that she was smart enough to know not to stick around "Yeah, same." She said, turning around to exit the office since she had left her documents on the table so she was sure it would be fine even after missing half of the school day... Besides it seemed like the president didn't have the desire to talk with her after that heated debate.

Returning to her room was the only real thing she could do... What a uneventful day, was this place truly the school for her? No, her friend was here, that was good enough reason for her to be here and besides there were some super cute girls at this place even if they were higher class than herself. After locking the door she made her way over to the interface before starting to log into the world of Deep Ground Online...

Receiving Eris's message, Cassandra responded that that was okay by her, and then proceeded to go through the rest of the day. Whether or not it was because she had missed half a day, the day Itself just seemed to drag. Finally as the last class ended, Cassandra started out. She very nearly made her way to her family's house, before chuckling at her self and returning to her dorm room.

She undressed, and then blinked at her small collection of clothes. What did someone wear to the movies? She stood there, in her underwear, watching her clothes as if an outfit would simple jump out at her. Finally, she settled on an outfit, put away her school things, she set out what school work she had to do, organizing it on her desk for later completion. She briefly thought on logging into the game, but did not see the point in logging in when she wouldn't be on long.

She paused, hesitating. Did she need to message jukebox to inform him she wasn't going to be on? She didn't know the protocol, and figured he would figure it out himself. Still, she made a mental note to message later to apologize.

She grabbed her purse, despite Eris saying she would pay Cassandra didn't like to go out without money. She checked to make sure she had everything, double checking she had her dorm key. Finally, she headed out to meet Eris. She found the food court easily enough, and stood for a moment to see if Eris was there yet or not, wondering about the change of plans.

Roaming beyond the walls of the Black City, Arms Slave was looking for someone to kill. Anyone, he'd even be willing to go outlaw just to murder someone. Fortunately for the blood-thirsty player, he noticed a couple of red names in the distance. "Outlaws? Good. I was getting bored." Arms Slave approached the Outlaws, who seemed to be harassing some player.

Rikka had been aimlessly walking around in the vast world to look for companions that she could aid with her abilities. The fact that she couldn't defeat other players made it difficult to gain levels on her own. She needed someone that could defend her in order for her to gain levels by only healing. But right now she was in some other mess. Outlaws had started attacking the helpless girl that was all alone. They might have thought she was an easy target but it was proven different. She had been fending off most of their attacks with her weapon and needed to prepare to draw them apart so she could focus on paralysing one of the 4. One of the 4 tried striking from her side but her arm stretched out and automatically loaded with a capsule.

The capsule shot full force onto his face and broke once it had made contact. Tiny little electronic bugs flew out of the capsule. Rikka swung her fan at the bugs and sended them the right direction by the force of wind. The nanobots flew over to the person that had tried hurting Rikka just now and entered his body by any means. The nanobots dug their way down towards the central nerve spin and all gathered. In one go they dug through the nerve spine and broke it so the boy couldn't move again. The nanobots left by digging through his skin and returned towards Rikka. In the meantime Rikka had been fending off the other three but was taken by surprise as one of her feet had been swept away. The guys started laughing maniacally and tried punching and stabbing the girl to death.

"Yoink."

The same player was pulled away from Cherry Lover and onto Arms Slave's polearm. Major damage was done to him, and shortly after he was put into critical condition when Arms Slave stabbed the weapon into the ground to leave the player to pull himself out. "Ara ara ara! What's this? Isn't this a bit too stereotypical? A bunch of guys ganging up on a lone girl... And she's kicking your ass anyways. Whelp. Let me have some fun too!"

Down to only two combat capable players, one went back to attacking Cherry Lover while one took on Arms Slave. he tried to fire some sort of stunning attack, but Arms Slave wasn't just going to stand there and take it. He dodged out of the way and fired a chain at the player attacking Cherry Lover, pulling him towards Arms Slave. "I'm your opponent now!"

The enemies continually kept striking the girl while they could but it wasn't long before someone else had arrived. A certain someone that had 4 arms, he looked more like the enemy than the people that were attacking her. Rikka was however grateful to the person that began helping her out by his own kindness. The man obstructed one of the outlaws from attacking any further by gruesomely piercing through him and leaving him hanging onto the spear. While he was slowly being killed, one of the two left over split up and started attacking both of them on their own. It was a little easier for Rikka to fight now since she only had one person left to beat. The outlaw tried continuing where he left off with but Rikka griped onto both his arms and stopped him from attacking. The man struggled but suddenly launched backwards. Rikka was a little startled but noticed it was arms slave his doings. He wanted to face the two at once but she wasn't so sure about him being fine just like that. Rikka got up from the ground and thought a little on what to do. But her natural reaction kicked in making her go towards the arms slave to help him beat the other two. She didn't want to help him all that much just yet but gave the opponents a few strikes with her fan.

The two enemies tried to flank Arms Slave, swinging their weapons at him, but he didn't last this long if he couldn't handle a simple double-team. He blocked and deflected their attacks with his shields, poking and cutting them with his swords. "Come on! Come on! Are you telling me you can only fight a little girl!?" One of the opponents got blind-sided by Cherry Lover's fan, which gave Arms Slave the opportunity to stab him in the chest, doing critical damage. His friend tried to grapple Arms Slave, but that just earned him the position of improvised weapon: grabbing onto the outlaw Arms Slave slammed him onto the other player, killing him.

The last survivor was on the ground. As he tried to stand up Arms Slave stepped on his sword arm and slammed his shield onto his other arm. "Now things are looking up, eh? Heh heh heh. Say, newbie! Cherry Lover, right? Do you want the honors?" Arms Slave motioned towards the outlaw under his feet. In this state it shouldn't be hard even for Cherry Lover to finish off the critically injured character.

Rikka was found staring at arms slave, it didn't look like he had much of a problem fending them off and even made fun of Rikka for being called a little girl. She gritted her teeth as her fans hit the opponent his flesh. Blood streamed out of his arm and left a trail of blood flying through the air. Arms slave violently stabbed the one before her to death and slammed the other one on the ground while killing the one that had a gap in his chest now. Rikka got the blood from her opponent all over herself but didn't even blink about that fact.

Arms slave locked down the left over outlaw onto the ground and offered Rikka to kill him. She slowly shook her head "I don't need it." She glanced over to the side of her and looked at the bodies. It reminded her that one was still alive but couldn't move his body any more because of her harsh treatment "If you want, you can kill that guy too. I only get experience by healing." She had a monotone aspect to her voice as she talked to arms slave. Well to be exact that was her voice, she didn't have much of the so called word emotion.

Experience by healing? Arms Slave was about to call her out, but decided not to. More fun for him. "We're going to see how far I can throw you! It'll make a good reference when I make a 'Can't trust them as far as I can throw them' joke." Arms Slave picked up the unfortunate player by both his arms with all four of Arms Slaves. Admittedly he knew no proper throwing form, so he just started to spin around and around before letting the player go. He sailed a good twenty feet before he landed on the ground. He didn't seem dead yet, so Arms Slave took out one of his spears and lobbed it into the air, letting it land and impale the player in the chest. He died. The others he didn't really bother with: They really weren't his kills and he only killed the other one to test his throw. "Huh. Maybe I'm a nice guy after all."

Looking over to Cherry Lover, Arms Slave beckoned for her. "Ayo, so what are you doing out here? Wanna come with me to the Black City?" Always a blunt one Arms Slave did not hesitate to try to pick up chicks. Usually female avatars in Deep Ground were also female players, so with any luck he'll be able to woo this one.

Arms slave seemed to believe her lie. Well, didn't attempt to disapprove her at least. When Cherry Lover had let him take care of the he already had a plan on what to do with the player under his foot. He picked him up and spinning him around with his massive arms and trew him for about 20 feet. Cherry lover's eyes followed the player as he flew through the air and landed with a quite hard tud. She could clearly hear the breaking of bones and bit her lip for a moment. Arms slave threw a spear short after he had thrown the player and killed him in a flash.

"I'm looking for potential party members so that I could support them. I haven't passed anyone that caught my eyes today. Everyone I tried to support died in a flash, weaklings." She gritted her teeth and looked down with a somewhat despised look on her face. Cherry lover looked back up again at Arms slave and gave a confirming nod "Arms slave, right? Let's get along." She poked out her robotic hand at him as greeting.

Arms Slave grasped Cherry Lover's outstretched hand with two of his own, giving her a firm shake before picking up his weapons. "Right! We got a long walk ahead of us, so we'll be extra busy! Eh? Huh. Got a message here." Arms Slave opened up the new message in his inbox. Same no face name that gave him his targets for the Sweepers. Oddly enough there was only one name for this one: Owari. Arms Slave still had some others targets to hunt down, but he supposed that he could find time to search for this Owari too. She wasn't a high priority target (i.e. Arms Slave doesn't need to go after her in real life) so he'd just gather some fellas and knock her down a notch.

It was a long, mostly uneventful march to the Black City. They ran into a few Dissolutions, but hardly anything that Arms Slave and Cherry Lover would have any difficulty defeating. Once at the Black City, Arms Slave didn't notice anything particularly unusual. Many Sweepers were making their rounds through the city, marking things that needed to be repaired and beginning reconstruction. "Here we are. Let's head to the guild hall, see if there's any work for us."

Cherry Lover was taken by surprise by the firm handshake and annoyingly looked at her hurted robot hand before giving him a nod at the comment on the long trip.

They venture forth through the landscape on their way towards the black city. They had to fight through multiple enemies but none were a real threat to them. Cherry lover only helped hurting the enemies instead of focusing on healing since she still wasn't comfortable with the way arms slave looked.

They had soon entered the black city and arrived in quite a mess actually. The city was all destroyed and was already starting to be rebuild but it still left Cherry Lover in wonder to what happened. She gave another nod as she heard about going to the guild hall and followed Arms Slave the rest of the way.

The Guild Hall was full of players for once. Most of them, as Arms Slave knew, were Sweepers. There were even a few Cleaners amongst the crowd. "Hey hey! I know these guys. Well I'm sure finding work won't be too hard now. What about you Lover? Thinking of working with the Sweepers?"

Cherry lover looked over at Arms Slave with a somewhat blank face and gave him a small nod "I don't mind." She was however a little cautious with the sweepers since she didn't trust them like she did with Arms Slave yet. However she did meet Arms Slave only a few minutes ago so it probably wouldn't be long before she grew accustomed to them.

"Awesome sauce. Well, I don't know how they plan to do the process now. You'd either be joining the Ebon Stykers or get scouted out by the Sweepers. Either or really." Arms Slave was itching to go back out there and fight something. But before he left, he remembered that he was suppose to meet with Yuuno. Or at least she was suppose to contact him. Seeing that she was in game right now, Arms Slave figured he could call her up. Now that he thought about it... Yuuno did say he could bring a friend to their little get together.

"Hey Lover, I got a question for ya."

Cherry lover gazed around her while Arms Slave was saying some things. She had mostly traveled alone up to now so she only knew the basics about these factions but not much more. She looked back at Arms Slave once he had said something remarkable. She tilted her head "What is it?" she said in a quite curious blank tone.

"Wanna hang out with me? In... In real life. You're a student at Purple Crown, right? So am I. I'm just here to kill some time before I have to head out and meet with some people. Maybe... You'd like them." Arms Slave then thought to himself. "Maybe you'd like me too."His avatar didn't have the face for it, but he smirked at the thought. Two girls in one day. Aside from that business with his sister, things were looking up. "How about it?"

Just when Cherry Lover put her back in place she tilted it once more to his weird question. Why would someone want to hang out with her out of nowhere? Cherry Lovers gaze pointed at the ground as she began thinking about what he wanted from her. She looked back up at his face and back down to ponder some more. Cherry lover carefully looked around her before giving a small nod at him while herself still being full of hesitation "Hmm, alright." She carefully looked around her and started talking again "Where do we meet?"

"Not sure yet. I'm expecting a call. If I don't get one, I guess we can just do our own thing... Hence, why I'm here, killing time and anyone else I can get my hands on. So! Now that that's decided, I got another proposition for ya." Arms Slave walked with Cherry Lover to a sort of bar in Deep Ground. None of the drinks were real in the sense that their body would suffer from the effects of alcohol, but that never stopped the players from drinking. Currently there was a player role playing and actually serving as the bartender. Arms Slave ordered a drink for himself and Lover, trading one of his swords instead of EXP.

"You heard about that announcement for by the student prez? About the Corpse Collector? What say you and me gather some other blokes and form a party, take her down. I know a couple of guys who are good for it. And we could use a healer. You in?"

Cherry Lover simply followed Arms Slave over towards one of the good known bars around the city. This was one way of killing time alright. Arms Slave was so kind as to buy them both a drink. Cherry Lover wasn't an adult yet and wasn't planning to do anything tricky by ordering something that she wasn't allowed to take yet. Instead she ordered a simple ice tea. She bowed gracefully at Arms Slave and heard him out further. He was planning to take out corpse collector? well alright that wasn't so bad as it seemed to be. After all she wasn't someone who wanted to get involved with the guy all that much but if she would have been in a group with a few others she wouldn't suffer anything from it since someone else would most likely kill him. Cherry Lover was thinking longer about it then she had originally planned and left an empty silence for a while but ended with a nod again.

"Sweet. Well, cheers to that! You and me Cherry, this is going to be the start of something beautiful." The bartender served up the drinks, with Arms Slave taking two of the beers for himself, raising his glass towards Cherry. "A toast, yeah? To kill the Corpse Collector!"

Cherry Lover wasn't really accustomed to these kind of situations but tried acting out of instinct. She raised her glass a bit high up in the air with her arm still half bended and let out a quiet "Woo." She stayed silent after that to think about if she had done the right thing or not and began sipping lightly on her ice tea while she peeked back at Arms Slave a few times more.

Resting in a daze throughout the assembly, a lot of it was busywork and simply an update on the happenings of DGO. Sighing is his hear Alex tried to keep his eyes open, perking up a bit when the reward for the Corpse Collector bounty was announced. What? Can they do that? Kings can just make players level 9’s? No that can’t be the case, if it was every guild would be swarming with 9’s... do... do they hack? If that’s not how, why don’t all the kings have entire guilds of level 9’s... whatever, I can ask Bel about it later

As the students were dismissed, Alex waited for most of the students to leave before tenderly touching the cut on his head. Wincing at the touch, he slowly made his way through the lingering student body and into the boys bathroom. Wetting a paper towel he treated the gash as best he could before heading to class, noticing a message from Nies. Smiling, he was glad he hadn’t accidently burned one of the few bridges he had.

-
To: Nies Hellum
From: Unrelenting Jukebox
Subject: Re:CC

Hey, Nies~

Yeah that announcement was pretty crazy. Not sure if I’ll actually go CC hunting though. The track record of my Avatar Abilities doesn’t make me optimistic about my future prospects :P

I’ll just take my time. If you want to go a huntin’ I’ll give you a hand.

No worries about being on today, I’ll find a way to occupy my time. Have fun with your friend~!

Cheers,
Unrelenting Jukebox

PS: Yeah, it was me the other day. It was actually an accident. It was pretty fun, wasn’t it? :3
-

Hitting send, Alex settled down to make it through the school day. Thankfully it was rather uneventful. Using his injury as an excuse, Alex left school early, although no one really noticed which he was fine with. Alone again in his room, Alex wondered if her should bar his door to stop Bel coming in whenever it took her fancy, but figured that wouldn’t stop her, she’d just try the window or something. With a sigh he sat down and relaxed...





Another cryptic message from the welcome screen and Jukebox was in the Faded City, he couldn’t see Bel’s tank anywhere, but he was mainly here to relax, and a bright blue tank? Well that’s just asking for trouble. Wandering Faded City, Jukebox made his way to a rooftop and sat down, just watching the outskirts of the city... and Soundtrack of Life decided to have some fun with him

While Nao tried to just keep herself awake throughout the entire day, and thought about what games she'd play when she got back to her domicile, she spotted a dark purple haired girl that caught her eye, the girl passed by the class room quite quickly but she made Nao wake up from her dozing off, she stared at the girl for as long as she could, even though she could see her for several seconds. When the class was over Nao felt like her heart was pounding in her chest after seeing the girl, she was just caught by her beauty, and when she had a break to go to her next class Nao said " Screw it !" And went to find the girl she saw from before.

When she found her again during the school time she began stalking the girl around the school as if she was some type of stalker or trying to hunt her down or something, Nao stuck to the wall as she followed the girl staying just down the hall to see her and know where she was going without seeming like she was stalking or following someone, to others she looked like she was just going her own way, she Followed the girl till the end of the day and when it was time to go home.

The second Nao collected her things she just rushed back home, she really did give a crap about homework, she got on the train and gotten home without being groped by someone no the train and unlocked her home container, when she gotten inside her home she locked the container from the inside, she lazily threw her backpack into an empty corner, she grabbed a cola from her mini fridge and went over to her consoles, she wasn't going for the controllers, only to sit back in her gaming chair and sip her cola.

When she was finished with her soft drink she tossed the bottle into the trash can and leaned back, she started pointed to her consoles and her head saying " eni mini mani Deep ground." she leaned back in the seat before interacting with her interface and seeing that she was allowed back in, Nao shouted " Sweet ! " before she logged into her character.

" I really hope I can see that purple haired girl again, she was more than hot, I hope shes into chicks that have aggressive heterochromia ? " she asked her self and even waited for a response." I gotta talk to her if I see her again, fuck all that school shit, I now have even more of a reason to be going to school now. Gotta get there early tomorrow or when ever we got fucking school. Need to make sure she ain't gotta guy, or at least doesn't have a guy yet, Mom was right you'll always find the girl you love in highschool." She made a mental note to get to school early tomorrow even if it ment having to sleep early and stop playing Fallout out 4 and Black ops 3 online.

Eris woke refreshed, physically and mentality, after sleeping for the best part of the afternoon and went straight to the shower. Keeping her left hand away from the water was a real hassle, but Eris managed to even wash her hair, despite having shampoo on her eyes a couple times.

When Eris finished with her bath, she changed into an outfit that wasn't quite expected of someone who was one of the hardest to deal with females in the whole academy. Eris checked if she had everything she would need with her, before locking the door and leaving for the shopping arcade around an hour before the appointed time.

Upon her arrival, the first thing that Eris did was go to a drugstore and have her bandages changed. Actually, Eris thought of asking Cassandra to do that for her (mainly because of privacy), but decided to not bother the redhead girl with such a trivial task. After properly tipping the nurse who helped her (despite his initial refusal to accept the money), Eris left the drugstore and went to a bookstore.

"In this age when everything is done digitally, the mere existence of paper is a miracle," Eris thought. Nevertheless, that was a miracle that Eris appreciated and demonstrated that not all of the human species had lost to the World Interface yet. After skimming through the philosophy section, Eris got a copy of a book she had back in Germany, but wasn't able to bring with her on the travel and had almost forgotten about until her fated meeting with Cassandra sparked an unknown flame on Eris' chest.

Following that, Eris' next act was to go to the food court and secure a place on a small bench besides a flower bed. The German tsundere ordered a simple cup of black coffee with a trace of milk (to make it easier for her near-empty stomach) and a couple cupcakes, before she indulged in a book that few of her age even knew about.

All that was left to do now was wait until Cassandra O'Shera arrived.







The azure shooting star casually known as Absinthe Blue still streaked through the skies of the Faded City, admiring the world from an angle known by few, since the ability to fly is a rare gift among the Deep Ground players.

She kept soaring until eventually she came across a deserted section of the city where a lone player sat atop a roof, gazing aimlessly at the distant scenery. Judging from how he behaved, the handsome blonde seemed to be listening to music as well, which was a point that Absinthe shared with him.

Moved by curiosity, Absinthe lowered herself (not that she could fly much higher than a roof, anyway) until she was in the player's field of vision, only now reading his in game name. "Unrelenting Jukebox, huh? I wonder why that name sounds so familiar..." Absinthe thought, remembering faintly that she might have heard something similar to that before, but dismissing her doubts since she didn't had a foundation to them.

Anyway, now it was time for Absinthe make her grand first impression, so she cleared her throat loudly and speaking only after she got Jukebox's attention. "Greetings, fellow player! I, Absinthe Blue, have come to grace you with my presence. May I ask what's the reason for your current actions, or better, lack of them?"

While Absinthe waited for Jukebox's answer, she noticed that Asahi was on line as well and decided to send a message to him, clarifying their plans for the evening:

---

From: Yuuno Kurogami
To: Asahi Goroshi (Goroshi-kun)
Subject: Tonight

Hi, Goroshi-kun. (Sorry, in the end I really think that Goroshi-kun is cuter. Xp)

I'm writing to ask you if a movie is alright for you? We can meet in the shopping arcade's plaza at 19:30.

Bye,

Yuuno.

---

After sending the message, Absinthe checked her in game clock and noticed that she still had a good two hours before the appointed time. More than enough to do what she wanted to, in her opinion.

Now, the only thing left to consider was Jukebox, so Absinthe kept staring at him as she waited.

Distracted for a moment by Jukebox's reponze, Cassandra took a moment to read the message. She saved it, to respond to later, as she did another sweep of the food court, finally spying Eris. She wove her way through the crowd, an easy smile on her face.

Eris had obviously been there for some time, having a cup of coffee, what looked to be cupcakes and settled reading a book the title Cassandra recognized, but had never read. The outfit she wore was cute, not expected of Eris, but suited her. As Cassandra approached, she wondered if her outfit was suited for the outing. She was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, a jacket thrown over it all.

Suddenly nervous, although she couldn't fathom why, Cassandra stopped at the table. She swallowed around a suddenly dry throat. "hi" and then without waiting for an invitation, she sat, fearing if she didn't, her knees would fold. Perhaps she was just excited to be doing something other then homework for a change. "how is your hand?" she asked, "it looks like you got the bandage changed-or rewrapped it yourself" Cassandra noticed that. Doctors and hospital staff tended to do things a bit rushed, and as such their work with things like bandages could be a bit sloppy. The bandages now looked beater, at least to Cassandra. "I hope it isn't hurting you too much" she said with concern

@KoL

---

Yoshino sighed for about the fifth time in an hour. Honestly, why was she even doing all of this? It was just a stupid get together that would no doubt go awry because of…something. That was usually how these things tended to happen after all. She saw no point in making tonight’s events a big deal or anything like that. So then, why was she dressed like something was actually going to happen tonight? Surely that was the question of the hour.

Still, that wasn’t why the Student President was troubled. What did make her mind a swirling pool of chaos were the pair of glasses that stared right back at her from the living room table. The light reflected off of their lens, making them gleam in an intimidating manner. It was almost like they were judging her and Yoshino frowned even more.

She had told herself that she would try to spend the night without them, just to see if she could manage. But the more she thought about it, the more it seemed likely that she would need to put them on out of fear….seeing no point in debating the matter any further, Yoshino grabbed the glasses, stuffed them into her dress pocket, and slammed the front door to her dorm shut. The sound of clacking heels would be heard as the Student President sought to meet Retsu at their meeting spot.

---

Maribel Harper

Unrelenting Jukebox would feel a slight shuddering beneath his feet as something large, fast, and hard was swiftly approaching his position. A quick scan of the area would reveal the mighty Blue Bolt herself riding atop her trusty steed. The tank that belonged to the proud King of the Cobalt Bruisers came to a halt near his position and Mercury Titania leaped out, giving Jukebox a bone-crushing hug.

“Hiya Jukey~! It’s totally nice to see you again! I take it you’ve fulfilled all your services to the Student Council, right? Why else would you be in Deep Ground without my permission~?”

Then she noticed the second Player standing by Jukebox’s side and grinned. Well, well, if it wasn’t her faithful subordinate. No doubt the other girl would either be cowering or admiring her totally awesome Blue King. Titania crossed her arms, giving Unrelenting Jukebox the biggest cat’s smirk she could muster. She waited for whatever explanation he would give.

“Oh yeah, by the way, I heard there’s this rumor floating around about an attack on the local movie theater near campus. You know the one near Purple Crown? I heard that some students are thinking of illegally pirating the movie! That means it’s up to the combined might of the Dynamic Duo to stop them! Oh yeah, and you can totally come too Absinthe.”

She said this all with bolstering confidence, as if she really expected both Players to suddenly cease whatever they were going to do and follow her to the real world. Of course, did they really have a choice in the matter at all?

---

Corpse Collector

“Fucking fucks who think they can fucking fuck with me. Those fucking fuckers!”

The enigmatic Player known as the Corpse Collector had seen it all. Seeing Cherry Lover all alone, the gunslinging Avatar had sent some of her newly acquired goons to go mess her face up. Why? Because it was fucking funny. And it was pretty fucking funny too until that idiotic Arms Slave showed up. Seriously, couldn’t that pompous playboy mind his own goddamn fucking business?

Muttering to herself, the Corpse Collector strolled her way into the Black City, eyeing all these Sweepers and Players for hire. All these shitheads were after her head? Fucking please. She bet she could take them all down. With that annoying President having announced her Avatar name for the world to see, she had no choice but to change it to something more suitable.

So now, “Bullet Maker” was making her way was stalking the two that had so recently pissed her off. Sitting a good distance away from Arms Slave and Cherry Lover, she glared daggers at them both with utter malice. Her hand went to one of her guns, one out of the pair known as the Death Penalty, and waited for her chance. She could easily murder them both and then teleport out of there. But why be so risky? Why blow her cover just to spite a pair of stupid teenagers?

Simple. Because it was fucking funny.

---

As Eris sat there, on her rather lonesome dwelling, she eventually heard the approximation and greetings of her pair for tonight. Cassandra was quite nervous, if her voice was any indication of it.

Eris thought that this was a perfect opportunity to enjoy a little game. She had more than her fair share of problems with this relationship already and now, Eris want to savor it, like a cup of fine coffee. "When Zarathustra heard these words, he saluted the saint and said 'What should I have to give you! But let me go quickly that I take nothing from you! And thus they parted from one another, the old man and Zarathustra, laughing as two boys laugh[...]" Eris said as she turned a sideways glance towards Cassandra, a faint smirk graced her lips as she feigned to ignore her flame-haired and emerald-eyed companion while quoting Nietzsche.

Eris waited a few moments to gauge Cassandra's reaction, before she concluded with the art that was actually relevant for their relationship. "[...]But when Zarathustra was alone, he spoke thus to his heart: 'Could it be possible! This old saint has not heard in his forest that God is dead!'" After saying so, Eris wondered if Cassandra would at least have a clue about what she meant and closed her book, after placing a bookmark she got from the store on the page she was actually skimming over before Cassandra came.

Now, sated her own guessing game, Eris turned her full attention to Cassandra, once again clearly feigning that she had just noticed the redhead. "Good evening, Cassandra O'Shera," Eris said with a genuine non-hostile tone, before turning her face away partially indignant (or not?) with something "While I appreciate your concern about my hand, I must say that I'm disappointed with you. As a woman, you should know better than forgetting to compliment someone who got dressed in some of her best clothes just to go out with you." Eris concluded her (faked?)pout flipping her hair with her left(wounded) hand and closing her eyes while still facing away from Cassandra.

It would be truly hard to guess which was serious and which wasn't amidst the spirited German girl's feints. Perhaps, Eris had taken acting lessons before? She seemed at home when doing this kind of thing. However, sneak peek that she stole of Cassandra was poof enough that was nothing but a well crafted tease, though... only if Cassandra noticed it.

Sora eventually regained consciousness with a bleary recollection of where he was. Staring at the unfamiliar ceiling of his new apartment, he began to remember cleaning the small, homely rooms of a place that had fallen into deep disrepair. It was the only place he could afford within a 5 mile radius of the Purple Crown Academy. It seemed a great deal of the floorboards had rotted away and the plaster ceiling had all but collapsed, but such things did not concern Sora. To reach the top, he only had to have the bare necessities. He had bought an old mattress that he placed in the center of the room where the floor was most intact, and right after cleaning what he could with his current supplies, he lay down and played DGO into the morning. He had recently created his character and he spent the majority of his time orientating the different facets of the game. By the end of his session, he was mentally exhausted from the huge intake of information as well as having been thrown into a fight with a couple Outlaws that he barely succeeded in opposing.
Although he was considered as one of the top in mixed martial arts of his generation, in the end, real life and games felt quite different. Coordination he would have in real life would misalign in the game and his movements didn’t quite feel the same despite the same stature of his avatar to his real body. Even more-so, his movements were sluggish, it may be because of the armor, but it felt as if he was moving through water the entire time he was in DGO. It was an unpleasant feeling that Sora could only hope would pass with time. Raising his arm towards the crumbled plaster, he spread out his hand as far as its structure would allow.
“This will be fairly difficult, huh?”
He clenched his fist and sat up, the mattress springs groaning under the movement of his weight,
”Alright! Let’s get something to ea...the time is...late...I slept too long, even further behind schedule...”
Groggily standing up, Sora washed up in the miniscule bathroom, at least the plumbing functioned (for the most part). Walking back out with a worn towel around his neck, he grabbed a permanent marker from his backpack and wrote Alarm Clock at the bottom of a list of items, written across a peeling wall with the label Shopping List. Of course, he couldn’t afford anything in his current situation, but it set a priority of things to save up for. Sora threw on a plain black T-shirt with khakis, checking his wallet for how much money he currently had. However, Sora was extremely meticulous and methodical with his money up until now, he knew exactly how much money was in his wallet, but he was disappointed nonetheless at just how exactly right he was. Closing and locking the door behind him, Sora understood the door wouldn’t withstand any attempts at breaking in, but at the same time, who would rob a broke adolescent living alone? Debating on where to eat Sora eventually decided on TFC at the nearby food court. It seemed they had a salad bar deal, where one can eat whatever one can fit in a bowl for a few dollars.

There was a bit of commotion at the TFC. An obscene tower of food had been created in minutes with a structure of breadsticks and fried chicken, filled with lettuce and croutons. The breadsticks formed a popsicle-stick-like structure bound around vertices of chicken. A boy with light red hair absentmindedly emptied the last of the salad bar into his tower while one of the employees began to ostracize him.
“Sir, I’m afraid you’re misunderstanding the deal, it is whatever you can fit in a bowl.” The employee tried to gain Sora’s attention, but he seemed uninterested in listening, only retorting with a simple and absent-minded,
“Thank-you for your concern.” Completely ignoring the cashier.
Under Sora’s breath, he muttered the math in his head as he calculated the calories in the bowl, the tower reaching just above his head while he held it at waist level, balancing it against his body as he walked away.
”A full 7,200 calories per dollar...That should be fine.” He said to himself. Although he knew his health would not be able to subsist on the greasy food he had before him, he wanted to put off going to the market as long as he could as it would induce additional living expenses. He’d hit a bottleneck in his martial arts anyways, it’s not like he was focused on improving currently.
Setting his bowl down on one of the food court tables, he wasted no time in gorging himself. Efficiency was key, he had to eat as quickly as he could so he could continue to work on his DGO account. He noticed a number of people around his age at the food court, most likely also attending Purple Crown Academy, but he hadn’t met any of them, and he was not brash enough to introduce himself. What he couldn’t eat, he walked all the way back to his apartment complex in a hasty manner. Lazily, he set the bowl down next to his backpack and jumped onto his mattress. There was a loud crack that resounded from the floor but Sora paid it no mind, entering DGO without a second thought.


Neron was moving before his interface had even fully loaded, although it had the sensation of moving directly after standing too quickly, he exercised his range of motion, and began running as quickly as he could manage. His movements felt sluggish nonetheless, but it couldn’t be helped. With a shrug, he headed towards the black fortress where the Ebony Strykers resided. He figured he needed to join a guild right away to speed his development, and what better guild to join than one with plenty of enemies to fight. It only made sense.
Almost right away, Neron nearly stumbled into an avatar that appeared right in front of him, she was quite notably intimidating and her name read “Crimson Outlaw Kisa”. He automatically assumed the worst and she could hear a quiet, “Shit. Again?” right behind her.

Cassandra became thoughtful as Eris read out passages from the book, or what Cassandra assumed was from the book. It was obvious that Eris was trying to test Cassandra, but why? Cassandra thought she had already wormed her way into friendship status with her. "Are you trying to test me? In which case, I assume you are back to normal. I'm glad" She said genuinely, with a smile. "While god may be dead, faith has a lot of power. Does it really hurt the hermit to believe in god?" She said, giving a shrug.

She blushed at the comment about not commenting on her clothes. "You say that as if I should know what women do or say to one another, like I actually had a social life before" She said in response, a little bit shocked, the words tumbling out. Was Eris playing with her? Why? What was she thinking to gain from this? "You clothes are wonderful though. I was just thinking that they suit you"

Was that a look, did Eris look at her? She didn't know if Eris did, or if Cassandra only wished she did. Was she still blushing? She was. "I'm sorry, I should have mentioned your appearance. I guess I was just a little overwhelmed. And concerned about you" And now she was babbling.

Was Eris seriously upset about this, or merely just trying to trick her again, to test her? Eris was challenging, but Cassandra was interested enough, and enjoyed a challenge. She cleared her throat, and smiled, trying to put herself at ease.
@KoL

After toasting their drinks, Arms Slave started asking around for information regarding the Corpse Collector. By now everyone has an idea what her class was and a vague theme of her character: she was a gunslinger, looks sort of like a cowboy. Often doesn't go by her actual name, so everyone has a general idea that she may be a hacker. General, being that most of the people after her are law-abiding players, and don't want to get involved with a hacker. Arms Slave would have had similar feelings if he didn't work with the Sweepers. But because he did, he didn't fear some two-bit hacker like Corpse Collector. All he needed to do was find her, and record her death.

At the same time, Yuuno E-mailed him back. His face blushed when she called him cute. She seemed much more bold over the web. He was like that too, but at some point his online persona sort of became his real life persona. Strange how that stuff worked out. After sending out a E-mail to one of his informants Arms Slave messaged Yuuno back.

From: Asahi Goroshi
To: Yuuno Kurogami
Subject: Re:Tonight

Heyo Yuuno.

A movie is fine with me. Let me treat you to popcorn and a drink. Also, I remembered you mentioning that I could bring a friend. I figured I'd bring one of my DG partners, let you in on the team too.

Anyways I'll see you later, don't be a stranger!

After sending the E-mail Arms Slave got a few more messages from his informants. None of Arms Slave's leads got him the location of Corpse Collector, but it did tell him that she has cronies now. Outlaws that used to run the Black City before it opened up. Most still have a chip on their shoulder and want to remove Moon Rider from power. Arms Slave figured that the Corpse Collector must have rallied them up. But the four-armed berzerker knew that her gang wouldn't be enough to take on the Ebon Strykers, or the Sweepers for that matter. Killing her guys where just another day's work for people like Arms Slave. And he was about to get to work: his contacts told him that one of the outlaws had affiliations with Corpse Collector. What his relationship was, he didn't know, but Arms Slave was about to find out.

"Mount up Cherry Lover! I got a lead."

Arms Slave didn't have his truck, unfortunately, so he was going to have to hoof it on foot. With any luck though some Outlaws might try to think it'd be a good idea to run him over. Arms Slave equipped his two tower shields and wielded his bardiche, waiting for Cherry Lover to follow. "We're heading towards the west, where the mountains are. Couple of outlaw goons over there, particularly a guy named 'Pale Rider'. We shouldn't kill him immediately though, we need to question him first. I got my ways to get an answer out of him, and with you there keeping him alive should be easy. Got anything you need to do before we head out?"

@liferusher

---

After patching herself up Retsu knew she needed to change her outfit. She thought she didn't get hurt too badly against Asahi, but upon closer inspection the smear of blood and dirt were notable, if faded, on her sweater and pants. Not the sort of thing she should wear going out. So Retsu went back to the closet and looked through for something else. Something a bit more... Dressy. She knew that when Asahi showed up for that outing with Yuuno and Yoshino, they couldn't go back to trading blows. Their battle would be done with wits and style. And Retsu intended to draw first blood by out-classing her brother.

It took her some time, but Retsu finally found a dress that'll work for her. She had to redo her make up and hair, and debated if she wanted to keep her glasses or trade them for contacts. After a coin flip, she chose contacts. Glasses made her look... Innocent. She wanted to look serious. Putting on the finishing touches and drinking another cup of coffee, Retsy headed out of her dorm to meet with Yoshino.

Much to her surprise, Yoshino arrived to the meeting place first, and she was all gussied up. She certainly looked like she was going to be somewhere fancy. Not that Retsu looked casual either. "Tsugumi-san." Retsu walked over to the student president, the light from the street lamp illuminating her from behind. She seemed... More adult in this dress. Though perhaps it was the heels. Retsu certainly wanted to give the impression that she's more mature then she lets on. Or at least that she wasn't just a little girl trying to act like a woman. "You look pretty."

@TheWindel

A faint slapping sound could be heard as Unrelenting Jukebox hit out the drum beat on his thighs as he zoned out and looked at nothing, letting his worries wash away. A feminine voice broke him out of his comfortable daze, shaking his head and blinking he turned his head to the flying player. Her tone of voice and entrance was grandiose and Jukebox felt compelled to compete.

"Greetings, Absinthe Blue, I am grateful that a majestic angel of the skies such as you decided that this mere joke character was worthy to be in your presence~” with and elaborate bow Jukebox had to throw his bodyweight backwards to avoid falling off the roof.

“As for the reason for my lack of actions? Well, as I said earlier, I am a joke character. My Avatar abilities serve little to no purpose. I can turn explosions into fireworks and music spontaneously plays from me with no will of my own. In fact, some very new players mistake me for some rare event character, heh... sent a few on stupid goose chase quests... can’t get away with that anymore. In fact I only made it to level 3 thanks to the wondrous thing that is called fall damage~” a wide grin and waggled his fingers as if gravity was somehow magic. As the song faded Soundtrack of Life changed track and continued causing Jukebox to sigh



“It sometimes even fits the situation... Regardless I can do little to nothing on my own, so why not try to enjoy myself? I don’t have a car to go on a road trip with and I haven’t been blessed with the ability to fly like you, so why not sit down and enjoy the moment? I’m a very cruise-y person in here~” the content smile on his face was corrupted by the slight tinge of green jealousy. Suddenly Jukebox was grabbed from behind and pulled into a bone-crushing hug, knocking the wind from his lungs. Of course it was Bel, who else could it be? Gasping for breath Jukebox responds.

“Hey, Blue Bel~! Whew, did you do something to your hair? Since, well, you did just take my breath away” smiling at his own bad joke he squirmed a bit in her Kingly grip and escaped with an exaggerated spin. “Of course I completed the duties, however I did take a nasty knock to my head in performing my them... I could use a kiss to make it better~” as Bel explained the proposed trip to the movie theater a wry grin split Jukebox’s face.

“Is this another excuse for you to make me cling in fear during another scary movie? Well, I’m sure I’ll survive another trip, you didn’t hit me or anything. Should I meet you there?” bites his lip nervously as Bel invites Absinthe as well Why doesn’t she make me wear a sign that says “Hey, this guy is Jukebox”?!

Suddenly the world came into view as she once again login to her normal spot; a nice place that was central to most of the guilds so she was relatively easy to find if she was free for work. Within the normal world she was nothing, sure she had gotten into the school but why the lack of care about her even being late she had a feeling that that trend would continue... Here through? Here she was a sword for hire, a rather ruthless one that would even go outlaw if the price was right which was the very reason she choose her name to start with. Though she had to admit it had caused some confusion in the past with people thinking it was a status rather than just apart of her name but what was she meant to do? Just Kisa was already taken!

Raising her hand up to her head she checked over her messages and soon found yet another job offer but as she was searching through the interface she noticed someone a voice come from behind her. With a irritated groan she raised her hand to the back of her head to stroke it, getting the feeling back into her old/new body as she peered back to the mountain of a man behind her. "Huh? You need something? Look if you are going to hire me it will have to wait a day or so, unless you got a nice big offer." That sounded slightly wrong in her head but a escort was the last thing she looked like, and besides she could always go outlaw and stab him if he made that mistake... That may be too extreme.

"Uh..." If he could raise an eyebrow, he would, "I do have a something rather large to offer, but I'm absolutely broke if you're talking about money." His tone of voice could only be described as frivolous. Despite his words, he seemed puzzled for a few moment before he made a silent "ah" motion, "Are you, by any chance, a sorts of mercenary?" She was definitely the type of person who had the impression like she'd rip his throat out before she answered his question. He regretted his joke immediately, but he already been tensed for a fight the moment he had misunderstood her name. He paused, then added,
"Like, one of those really hot ninja mercenaries?" In his mind, he was already debating how to fight her, but his personality was an entirely different matter.

Kisa's eye twitched a little at his joke, the feeling of just vanishing and stabbing him in the back was growing but the ploblem being that she was far from being paid to kill him, yet anyway, so for the time being she had to just sit by and wait for the appointed time for her job. "Smooth. Also yes I am a sword for hire, I take peoples competitors out and for it I get XP and money for it, a rather good deal. Nothing against the rules...But yes the 'hot ninja' part should be added to my job discription. What are you doing then? Going to the guild? Not sure they will take someone like you, smartass." She may have joked about all this but with the corpse collector out there now her job was more dangerus than ever... It was worrying.

"Yeah, those Ebony Strykers... I hadn't really thought about being rejected though." His voice sounded like a bitter smile. It'd certainly be unfortunate, although he didn't feel they would reject him, it was certainly a possibility. It seemed level identified the success and power of the character in a general. Although he didn't entirely understand the leveling system, level 9 is generally top tier players, whereas level 1, his level, is the thugs of DGO. "Sorry to bother you hot lady ninja, but is it possibe to spar or exchange knowledge?" He points upwards towards his display of name and level, "I'm a bit new and this game is a bit difficult to adjust to."

Her crimson eyes looked a little surprised when she noticed the guy had meant it when he said he would try to join the black guild. She was far from the type to give advice but for some reason just leaving him out without anything to go by did not sit well with her. "Do I look like someone who would help?... Look forget what you are trying to do, no one joins the Ebony, heck if you were not around for the announcement the first people to bring in the... Never mind." She did not want more competition for something of that nature, since she was sure the reward for that ones head would be more than worth her time. "So yeah, no one can join them, and don't go believing anyone who says they are from it, as only the black king is apart of the guild. That being said I will have to go soon, my next job offer is already on the table, is there anything else you needed before I leave?"

Neron merely shook his head and shrugged off her advise after mulling it over for a few seconds, "You're surprisingly kind, aren't you Hot Ninja Lady?..." He smiles inwardly, every non-verbal expression his body makes seems overexaggerated, although it may be because of the armor. "Even so, I figured Ms.Black King must have quite the strong ambition, I could feel her determination from the announcement, probably. Thanks for the advise though."He paused ready to say 'goodbye' when he acts as if he's realized something with another 'Ah' movement. "Oh! What's your name? I'll add you! To commemorate our meeting forever!" He seemed oblivious to the fact that she may not want to have him in touch with her in the slightest, but his tone changed to something more bitter and subtle, "And, perhaps, repay for the trouble I've given you."

She was just about to leave when he asked her name, though it was rather easy to obtain from her profile she found it amusing at the manners that he showed so opening up her profile she sent a contact request to him. "There, if you need any work done contact me." Placing her hands into the pockets of her armor she only removed one to give a dismissive wave as she left.

Eris said just as Cassandra inquired about her situation. "I'm as normal as is possible for one to be. Nevertheless, what does this mean, when normalcy is a concept measure with a biased scale?" For a moment, Eris almost laughed but managed to stifle it to a mere chuckle a reaction far more adequate to a Fräulein such as she. "Fear not, this isn't another test. I'm merely interested in your reactions, such as always."

"Right at this time, you are the only focus of my attention, not even Nietzsche can take this place." Eris beckoned Cassandra to take a seat besides her, since the movie was still a way to go before starting, thus they had a lot of time to spare. "Don't you think it's a bit unladylike to admit that you didn't had a social life? I find it rather amusing that you can say such a things so easily."

Eris crossed her legs and flipped her hair (again using her wounded left hand out of habit) before resting her book over her lap "Anyway, I've been meaning to ask you something and now that we have the chance to talk as women and friends, I will." Eris looked Cassandra in the eyes, like a predator trying to corner her prey, before continuing "What are your interests? Your passions? I have told you about mine, I think it's fair for you to do the same. However, if the matter causes any distress to you, please remain quiet. I have no intention of causing you to grief, Cassandra O'Shera."

Eris pushed her questioning a bit further, in her... unique way of engaging in girl talk "May I go beyond and ask if there's anyone your heart wavers for? Depending on the sincerity of you answer, I might even disclose mine as well."

"Also, about God? The point is just that, Cassandra O'Shera. Many persons tend to misinterpret Nietzsche on that matter. The problem isn't that God has died, but that we killed him the moment we stopped believing. Ultimately, God is only as powerful as one's determination to make him be is, since he's nothing but a creation of mankind, seeking to give a meaning to the utter chaos that is life." After giving her own interpretation of Nietzsche, Eris fell silent, waiting for Cassandra to reply while she evaluated the redhead's reactions.

---

---

"I think it means how one normally acts. and if they aren't acting how you expect them to, then something might be wrong" Cassandra replied, not really knowing how to explain it, but to her, that seemed right. And Eris seemed to be acting quite normally for herself. She blinked. Only focus of her attention? What did that mean? "I never said I was a lady" Cassandra said without thinking, "I didn't go out, I didn't do anything but study and play Deep ground. So, no social life" She said, as if she had to explain herself.

Cassandra watched Eris. The normally...glamorous and regal girl seemed to be restless, which didn't' seem like her at all. As she looked into Cassandra's, Cassandra had the queerest feeling that she was trying to put her ill at ease. Instead, Cassandra merely looked back into Eris's eyes. At her questions, Cassandra did glance away. It was almost like she was asking who Cassandra was. And Cassandra wasn't too sure if she had an answer for that.

It seemed that Cassandra wasn't about to answer, as she tried to think of what to say. A few more seconds seemed to pass, and then Cassandra looked back to Eris. "My interests? I can't really say I have many. I enjoy being able to help people. I enjoy animals. I find reading pleasant. I want to be able to help the world. My passions? Again, I'm not entirely sure I have any. Do I feel strongly about something to have a passion for it? Perhaps. But that's something I haven't yet thought on. I know you have a distaste for anyone who is apart of the system, but I want to be a doctor. I want to be able to help people. I don't want to be someone that is corrupted by power, and money. I want to help those who can't afford, or can't easily access healthcare. I want to change how people see it. I want to find something that can...well, make the world go wow. I'll struggle, I'll go hungry, I'll live like crap to make it happen. And make it happen, I will. Because I won't accept anything less"

If Cassandra had taken any time to think on that, to study the words, she might see that wanting to make an impression on the world was brought on by her need to be seen, to not simply be looked over. Something she hadn't really felt since meeting Eris. The next question shocked her so much that she simply answered without any thought, "You". As the word left her lips, Cassandra's eyes widened, and she swallowed around a suddenly dry mouth.

She couldn't take it back, of course. And she didn't want to. So she simply just sat there, silent, waiting for a reaction from Eris. And she cast a prayer to whatever being was out there, real or imaginary, that she hadn't just ruined a good thing.

@KoL

After gaming in Deep Ground, Asahi left to meet with Yuuno at the movies. His wounds were mostly healed and just a memory of the past: now he was going to hang out with some hotties and have a good night. He wondered what sort of movie they were going to watch. He didn't really have a preference, but honestly romantic dramas were never really his cup of tea. He often ends up feeling like there needs to be more "Macho" actions done, like having the guy put his foot down when he has to make a decision between two girls, or letting the adults act like fucking adults and chose how to live their own lives, instead of doing what their parents want.

Of course action movies weren't exactly his thing either. Asahi likes a story; if he wanted explosions and gunfights he'd go back to Deep Ground. A good story would make Asahi want to see the bad guys get their dicks exploded, but a bad one just flashes lights at him. Asahi also hoped they didn't go see a horror movie: while he typically can keep his cool and not scream at every jump scare, horror movies make him really paranoid afterwards. "Maybe it'll be an anime movie. Those are usually pretty cool."

Asahi arrived to the movie theater but didn't see Yuuno anywhere. Pulling his coat tighter to his body Asahi walked up to the ticket counter and looked at what sort of movies were showing soon.

Further away at the meeting point of two individuals, Yoshino glanced up as she noticed Retsu approaching. And, she had to admit, Retsu did look good in that get-up of hers. The Student President unconsciously approved of the attire and she nodded when Retsu complimented her.

"Likewise, you as well Retsu. We should get going now to the theaters. Apparently that's where Yuuno and her date are heading off to tonight."

"It's... it's not a date, Yoshinon!" said the distressed voice of Yuuno, who had just arrived at the shopping arcade, right from Yoshino and Retsu's blind spot. "Actually, there's some more people coming to watch it with us. Also, don't tell anyone this, but... it looks like someone might try to pirate the movie," Yuuno whispered to Yoshino and Retsu.

The young blue eyed girl was dressed in a very casual attire, Converse sneakers, denim shorts, black thighighs, a stripped t-shirt and a bleached denim jacket over it. All in all, Yuuno looked like the perfect image of a country girl, who's not used to the big city, which became even more evident with the contrast between Yuuno's get up and that of Yoshino and Retsu.

Giving Yuuno a fake smile, Retsu chuckled. "Of course, Yuuno-san. Very cute by the way." Though at the mention of more people Retsu raised an eyebrow. She knew that Asahi was coming, but she wasn't aware that more was arriving. Retsu was going to need to take this into account. Yuuno also mentioned someone was going to pirate the movie, though honestly Retsu could care less about that. "Hmm... Well, that's none of our business, Yuuno-san. That being said... Perhaps something interesting might happen."

As they spoke Asahi arrived. He looked a bit shocked at first, but then smiled an approached. "Wow. I must have died, because right now I see some angels." Then Asahi shot a glare at Retsu, giving her a devilish smirk. "And a few devils too..." Retsu's smile faded and she just gave Asahi a stern look. "I hope those are your last words."

Yoshino glanced at this random boy who had entered into the conversation and raised an eye as he regarded Yuuno. So this was her date then? But wait, wasn't he supposed to be...then she turned to glance at Retsu and immediately her gaze hardened slightly. There was no way. The person that had apparently captured her cousin's heart was...Retsu's brother?

The Student President crossed her arms, holding back a sigh. It was both a blessing and a curse of memorizing every student's names. One of the many perks and horrors of being Student President. From their school files alone, Yoshino knew the two were incredibly violent and competitive with one another. But...seriously? Yuuno couldn't have picked a better choice? Yoshino remained silent for now though she initiated the group's walking towards the theater, hoping things would not blow over between these two-

"Hiya Shino~!"

Yoshino took pause as she stared at none other than Maribel herself. The Vice President a certain boy kept in her grip as she half-dragged, half-led Alex over towards the now large group of teens. Yoshino resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the display. What was worse was that Bel was wearing a...a...was that a maid costume?

Today had been an odd day for Alex. He woke up and finally fished out his old music player, feeling good about himself, then he fell off a ladder and cracked his head a little. Then he met someone new in DGO and now Bel was taking him to the movies again under the pretense of stopping piracy. He was prepared for it being an excuse, however what pushed today over the edge was meeting up with Bel and finding her in a maid outfit. Then as they approached the cinema, Alex saw Miss President and, well... Alex doubted that this was a coincidence. Bel didn't allow for coincidences.

"Um... hi Miss President. Nice... evening? Bel told me to help her with some council stuff... so um... here I am? Helping her I mean... yeah..." It sounded like an awful excuse even to him, but it was all he had to explain the situation he was in. Even then it did nothing to explain the maid costume. That just made him even more flustered and he was certain that everyone was staring at him.

"Bel? Can we, uh, go in? It's kinda, well it isn't awkward, but I am feeling a bit self-concious... a pretty girl dressed as a maid certainly draws attention..."

"Sure we go in! There's nothing stopping us, right?"

To that, Bel gave a glance at Retsu as if confirming something. She had a feeling the bespectacled girl would try something to get rid of the extra baggage. When one hung around the dark secrets of the Student Council, they tended to pick up on these things. Still, that ultimately didn't stop her as she led Alex into the movie theaters.

Neron accepted the contact request, watching Kisa leave as he once again looked over his surroundings. After a short pause, Neron walked back towards the black fortress in hopes of being recruited by the Ebony Strykers. He moved at his maximum speed consistently to test his limits but it seemed he did not slow with time. Unfortunately, his max speed was not all that quick. Hopefully his endurance maintained during fights.

Eventually, Neron made his way into the black fortress, walking in through the front gate, it only took a few minutes for him to become lost. Only by sheer luck did he stumble across the throne room of the black guild’s home base. Unfortunately, it seemed the Black King was not present. With a shrug, Neron merely sat on the floor, waited for a few minutes, then eventually decided to log out.

Sora sat up with a blank expression as if he weren’t truly conscious, his lightless eyes viewing the same, shoddy room for the third time. Eventually he stood up soundlessly, grabbing what remained of his food and mindlessly eating the staling fried chicken and bread. Without much thought, he went back to the small bathroom, washing his face before making eye contact with himself in the mirror. He paused for a few moment, looking his face up and down before fixing his gaze on his own eyes. His expression turned ugly with disgust for a split moment before he splashed his hands in the water, draining the basin and storming out of the bathroom with a poisonous “Pitiful…”

Before Sora could become angry though, he recalled his reason for leaving his home in the first place. To clear his thoughts, he quickly threw on an old team hoodie from when he had participated as a guest member of a boxing team and track pants, stuffing his feet in his tired shoes and darting out the door. Running before the door had even slammed shut. It couldn’t be considered a jog, by the time Sora had gotten into the rhythm, he was moving at full stride. To most it would appear as a full on sprint, his figure becoming something intimidating as his 6 foot figure charged down the sidewalk.

Exercise allowed clear thoughts and provided medicine for the mind, it was Sora’s method of calming down. It was only a half an hour later when he came to a stop, having explored a great deal of the commercial district near the Purple Crown Academy. His sharp features taking on a very reddish hue as his chest contorted deeply with each breath. What had caused him to stop was a familiar face. Well, first what had grabbed his attention was a small girl in a maid outfit, then it was the face of Yoshino Tsugumi, the president of his newly enrolled school. There was only a half a second of debate before Sora decided to seize the opportunity to introduce himself to Yoshino. Despite his half-assed attire, Sora walked up to the gathering group of people as if he himself was invited. With both hands in his pockets, he announced himself without much care.
”Yo, Class President Yoshino, I must say you’re looking very classy, are we going to a dance?”
His features were still reddened on the tips from his work out, but he had a confident but playful smirk spread across his face. Of course his composure was frivolous as always.

Yoshino blinked, hearing a new voice from the distance. She turned to see none other than the latest edition to Purple Crown Academy's roster, Naruse Sora. Ah, so this was the new student. She had just completed his paper work only today, though it seemed he too had plans for the night.

Smiling, Yoshino said, "Not exactly. Hello there Mister Sora. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Don't mind my attire. We're only going to see a movie. Somethin American film about space and lightsabers. Would you like to join us?"

With a grin, Sora nodded as he spoke, his playful features almost thanking Yoshino,
"Ah, going to the movies with the gorgeous class president and her beautiful friends? It is impossible to refuse."

As everyone gathered together Asahi backed off from Retsu. He knew she wouldn't act out in front of everyone, whereas Asahi was more than willing to show off to a crowd. "Looks like the gang's all here! I didn't think we were forming a party, but I'm not mad about that. So, ladies, are we seeing some action tonight, or maybe something a bit more saucy?" Asahi walked over to Yuuno, his massive girth nearly dwarfing the petite girl next to him. He was at least three times larger than she was.

Retsu sighed and stepped closer to Yoshino. Whatever hostilities the two might have between each other, Retsu hoped to put it aside to deal with these new... Arrivals. Sending her a message over their e-mail, Retsu covered her mouth and contemplated their next move. "Asahi I can deal with, but I we need to lose the rest of these people." While it'd be inevitable for them to meet other students while they were out, Retsu wanted to make sure this was just a meet and greet and not a recruitment. After sending her message to Yoshino Retsu spoke to Sora, whom she only knew tenuously as someone from one of the big-named families. And even then she doesn't remember what his specific relationship with them was.

"We're actually about to go see a movie. We're a bit late so we'll be getting the last seats, if we're not too late." And to ensure that this was true, Retsu used another program in her chip to access ticket sales for the theater. She couldn't shut them all down at risk of making things suspicious, so she needed to figure out what movie they were going to watch first. Once she knew which one, then she could make sure She, Yoshino, and Yuuno would be the last ones to get a ticket.

Yoshino glanced at Retsu but said nothing. She was a little annoyed that the girl was trying so hard to get rid of the others but didn't let it bother her too much. So she sent a quick mental email to Retsu saying they were to see the latest Star Wars film before letting the girl do her job. Little did she or Retsu know that Bel had already purchased tickets for the entire group, having suspected such a move from Retsu. The Vice President had her ways and tricks.

"Right then," Yoshino announced. "Shall we go inside? After you of course Mister Sora. It's only fair that you be treated to the best seeing as you're a new student among us."

Sora had taken to glancing about the lobby before Retsu informed him they were grabbing the last seat. With a helpless shrug, he was already ready to buy his own ticket when Yoshino offered him to enter first. He frowned with an exaggerated knitting of the brow, "That's no good class president, I'd feel bad if I were to intrude then take the first spot." He seems apologetic when he suddenly makes a face of surprise, "Ah, could it be you want me to save you a spot?" He sagely nods, as if he has completely understood the situation, "Leave it to me class pres!"

Without a second thought, Sora turned on his heel and walked into the theatre, looking through the theatre and picking a spot in about the center of the theatre.

Yuuno was quiet during all the meetings, since the only one she was acquainted to aside from Yoshino and Asahi was Maribel, so... "That one must be..." Yuuno though before sending a message to Alex saying, "Hi there, Jukebox-kun! It's me Absinthe, don't worry, I won't tell A.N.Y.O.N.E," while waving for him from behind everyone as she gazed at her beloved Maribel-sama.

Anyway, the poor country girl followed everyone as they finally went in the theater properly said and found herself a seat in the back rows, where she could keep away from others' sight as she kept an eye on Asahi, Alex, Yoshino, Retsu and Maribel. If anyone asked why she was doing that, the obvious answer was to say that she was looking out for the supposed movie pirate.

Meanwhile, Eris had just finished her previous discussion with Cassandra and was just wandering silently to the theater, while fiddling with her hair. That is, until she actually stepped in the yet to be darkened room and gazed upon what could only be described as an impossibility come true.

Right there, before Eris' eyes laid a gathering of Purple Crown's students, most of them, members of the Student Council's high echelon, up to and including the infamous president, Yoshino Tsugumi. "Well, if this isn't luck..." Eris said under her breath, before turning to Cassandra and beckoning her to follow.

"Let's go, Cassandra O'shera, we need to find decent seats, before they are all taken." The seats Eris secured were none other than those right besides the ones Yoshino and Retsu chose.

"Good evening, Yoshino Tsugumi and friend, who could foresee such a meeting? By the way, these dresses fit you very well. Also, let me introduce this, Cassandra O'shera, a friend," Eris said, gesturing towards Cassandra, before flipping her hair idly and taking the seat as she waited for Yoshino's reaction.

"Oh. Hello Miss Valkeyr. Yes, I know who your friend is. Hello Miss O'shera," Yoshino said with evident boredom. Was this girl stalking her or something? Still, Yoshino didn't much care really as the movie began to begin, the lights dimming down and the movie starting.

---

A few hours later and the movie had come to a close. Sora clapped vigorously at the end of the movie, catalyzing applause to the point of polite accommodation. Yoshino waited for most of the crowd to exit the premises before she got up from her seat. Well then, that had been better than she had expected.

Yuuno waited for most of the crowd to leave as well, but intentionally blocked the path when the present students were about to leave the premises of the theater, or else, her plans would go down the sink. "So... since we are all school mates here, what do you all say of going out and getting something to eat together. Maybe... pizza?" Yuuno blushed while she presented her plan, nevertheless, when would she have a better opportunity to make more friends?

"I'm down for that!" Asahi chimed up. He wasn't much of a Star Wars fan, but the movie was nice. Shame that he didn't understand some of the references, given that he's never seen all the past movies nor kept up with the series before. Perhaps he could talk about it with his friends, get some conversations going.

Retsu was quiet throughout the entire situation. Her plan to sever the group was foiled when it appeared that Bel had already made reservations for all of them. Which begged the question just how Bel knew this many people were going to show up, given that Yuuno was the one who wanted to go out. In fact, why did it seem like half the school had all decided to come today and watch the movies with them? Of course Retsu was over exaggerating, but she still felt that there were forces beyond her perception forcing events along. She will not allow them to continue doing so.

Yoshino glanced at Retsu, wondering if she was just quiet for the sake of it or simply analyzing something. She wouldn't put it past the other girl to layer some kind of plan into this but to what it would be, she had no clue. She did notice how Maribel seemed to make ghost looks at the two of them but she chalked that off to her Vice President just being eccentric again.

Alex was already nervous, by the look on Yoshino's and her friend's face, she wasn't very happy to see Bel here, or anyone for that matter. Thankfully Bel had already purchased the tickets so no one had to awkwardly stand around waiting. Suddenly Alex got the message from Yuuno, revealing herself to be Absinthe.

Turning around her saw her waving and with a nervous wave back, Alex instinctively moved a bit closer to Bel as if he could somehow hide behind her. This whole situation felt a lot worse than the last time Bel dragged him here. Yoshino and her friend were extremely intimidating.

Slightly shaking, Alex sat down next to Bel and tried to sink into the chair. As the room darkened and the warm light of the projector screen sprang to life, Alex felt his eyelids grow heavy... and he was out like a light, falling to the side his head resting on Bel.

Next thing he knew there was loud clapping and the lights were back on. Momentarily forgetting where he was Alex panicked and accidentally grabbed Bel's hand. Realizing what he did, Alex hastily dropped it and felt his hands shaking.

Hearing the offer of Pizza Alex looked at Bel who seemed to be looking at the President in a weird way "I'll probably be dragged wherever Bel leads, soo... yeah..." biting his lip Alex looked down and scratched his head.

Sora raised his hand as if he were attempting to garner attention without much thought to his surroundings. "I'm in! Pizza sounds delicious right now." Anything sounded delicious to Sora at any time due to his gluttonous tendencies, but making friends so early into his enrollment would be a godsend. There was no reason to refuse.

"Hmm... a tempting idea, miss..." Eris said.

"Yuuno, Kurogami Yuuno, I'm just a new transfer student and Yoshinon, cousin," Yuuno replied, pointing to Yoshino.

"Yoshinon? I didn't expected that one, hahaha," Eris laughed inwardly, as she shot a glance to Yoshino. Nevertheless, she turned again to address Yuuno, "Like I said, Miss Yuuno Kurogami, that's a rather tempting idea. Cassandra O'shera here has been looking for new social venues, thus if she's in, I'm as well." Eris flipped her hair as she waited for Cassandra's reply.

"Pizza sounds nice. Do you have anywhere in mind, Kurogami-san?"

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