[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/HYYybxe.png[/img]
[color=#008b45][H2]ARMS SLAVE[/H2][/color][/center] 

Once more, Arms Slave floated in that limbo of death in Deep Ground. Usually these moments only lasted a few minutes of real time, though it was also during these times Arms Slave was able to review his death. Literally, there was a kill cam and everything. Not the most glamorous way to die, but he supposed he had to do it. He had to prove a point that, win or lose, he wasn't going to just let Eclipse Princess do whatever she wanted. As he waited to see if he was going to respawn or not, he received a few messages from the audiences. Most were jeers and insults which he promptly ignored, though a few came from the players who were suppose to go on the treasure hunt today. He simply told them that they had only a minor set back and that tomorrow they should be able to resume operations. For now, they should try to hide or otherwise protect themselves and the vehicles for the treasure hunt; who knows if Eclipse Princess was going to cause more bedlam, or if the city would start rioting and looting. That would be fun.

Eventually Arms Slave found himself back at the Sanctuary in the Black City. Evidently no one chose to bring him back to life, and he noticed a 1/3 of his EXP gone. Fortunately for him he never had much to begin with, so he only last a paltry sum. Arms Slave quickly got onto his feet and was going to go back to fight Eclipse Princess, but not before stopping by a reflective fountain. This fountain had no real purpose aside from being decorative, though Arms Slave could see his reflection in it. He flexed to see if his body was still fully functional, but while he did so he got to thinking. Why was he fighting in the first place? He had said that he would kill any Outlaw that opposed the Black Guild, even if they were a Stryker. He supposed that Eclipse Princess fell under that category. However as he looked at his reflection, this thoughts drifted back to Yuuno.

For the longest time, Asahi never really thought about the actions he did for the Sweepers. He had always grown up with the idea that he'd do anything to protect his friends. That's why he fought for the Sweepers, as most of his friends were in the organization. When they were in trouble he'd protect them. When they were constantly harassed by Outlaws, he'd find the outlaw and kill them. And not just in game; he has blooded his hands more than once for the Sweepers. Either he had sent them a bloody message or were direct, not to mention the various other people he has personally made an enemy of while hanging out with his friends. Gangs and lowlives who picked fights and held grudges, and Asahi wasn't really that different. That was his life, and for the most part Asahi accepted it.

But seeing Yuuno so... Scared of him. It made him wonder what he was really doing with himself. He said he'd help his friends make a future for themselves, but doing what? What he did here in Deep Ground wasn't too different from what he does in real life: he fights, he roams, he gets into trouble and generally causes a ruckus. It was all good fun, but honestly speaking, it was pointless. He enjoyed it, sure, but he wasn't making a future for his friends. He was just distracting them and himself from the reality that more than likely, they'd end up part of Asahi's crime family, either as scummy businessmen or enforcers. Asahi might have a better chance at a glamorous job by inheriting his father's position, but aside from his own ruthlessness, Asahi doesn't know how to run a business.

Asahi, as Arms Slave, pondered these thoughts and wondered what he could really do about it. Book learning and training was good and all, but those were generic solutions. Not that they wouldn't work, but they were too simple. They were about as useful as saying "get better", leaving Arms Slave with no direction by whatever he was doing before. Then his words thought back to what Eclipse Princess said, that she kept calling the Sweepers killers and murderers. Despite his own defiance, it wasn't as if she was wrong. While it might be unfair to say that all Sweepers were killers and murderers, there was no doubt in Asahi's mind that he was guilty of the things she accuses them to be. Indeed, the more he thought about it, he did realize that she was right. But that didn't mean he agreed with her.

Arms Slave walked out of the Sanctuary and looked towards the guild hall. From that moment, he had a different goal to pursue than this pointless interaction with Eclipse Princess. He would, if only out of spite, change the Sweepers. Make the lies become the truth. He did not know who the Sweeper's true leader was, if they ever really had one, but Arms Slave decided that he would lead them into a new age. There was much to do before he would get to do that, and the first thing he'd need to do is find out his his real friends were. Arms Slave had plenty of Sweepers and other players who'd willingly follow him into danger, but what he wanted wasn't just some raid or deathmatch. He had a bigger goal in mind and that called for players who could think bigger. For now though, he had other obligations to attend to. Arms Slave logged out of Deep Ground and returned to the real world.


[hr] 

[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/vJxiQ6a.png[/img] 
[color=#cd2626][H2]RETSU GOROSHI[/H2][/color][/center] 

[color=#cd2626]"If that's true, then we would be mortal enemies."[/color] Retsu didn't like herself very much, and if Eris was like her, than she was certain the feeling was mutual. Retsu was aware of how vile she was, and merely hides it under a mask of apathy and using others to dirty their own hands while hers remain immaculate. But that didn't mean she wasn't responsible for the suffering of others. So if Eris was anything like Retsu, capable of bringing ruin and tragedy to others simply because she willed it, then they would hate each other. If not for what they can do, then because there was someone else who was their equal.

That aside, it seemed like for the moment the feud between Eclipse Princess and Arms Slave was over, if only for now. And Retsu was going to ensure that it won't happen again. She just knows that one of the Erasers had already done something to capitalize on this, she only needed to figure out who was responsible. But that was Retsu's problem, and not Yoshino's. At some point perhaps the two would have to have a serious discussion about guiding the Ebony Strykers to ensure they don't implode on themselves, but for now Deep Ground was a distant issue. Now they still needed to get home. 

The bus had stopped near the [url=http://66.media.tumblr.com/4a2275368adceb0b9bb22efff27d718c/tumblr_inline_nliwadfnJZ1rpjv75_400.jpg]new apartment[/url]. There were still plenty of girls moving their belongings in, and for some they may find that they still had a lot of space. The daughters of the various men in the Goroshi's family business now lived here, and had already taken up a good half of the building. The rest of it were mostly associates and workers of the family, mainly women and a few enforcers. Obviously some dirty business also occurred here in the past, but now that most of the girls moved in, that operation was moved elsewhere. Retsu and Yoshino had one of the better rooms located near the top, though Retsu had specifically chosen a certain room: the central room. It was the only room with it's own express elevator, and there were only four other central rooms, with Retsu and Yoshino taking the second from the top, right underneath the penthouse. Technically they could have moved into any of the four central rooms, as they were reserved for important members of the Goroshi family. Retsu wasn't one of them, but she ignored that and managed to get a key anyways.

The room was nicely furnished, though Retsu still hasn't finished getting all her stuff here. At least her part of the room was cleaned and organized, for the given definition of the word. What took the most space in Retsu's room was a series of computer servers. Within these servers were backup data to Deep Ground itself; it was here that she tested and developed new ways to cheat the system. It mirrored the game down to the code, only that it was completely voided or any other Avatars. Here Retsu could directly link herself into Deep Ground and play at her own leisure, altering the setting to make things as easy or hard for herself as she wanted. The servers weren't always here and were actually back at her family home, but once she heard that these apartments were available to her she took the opportunity to move it. However nowadays Retsu doesn't use the server for plying Deep Ground; she's trying to find out it's secrets.

But that would be later. Once inside Retsu went to go wash up. She intended to head to The Network soon, so while she washed up she made arrangements over the local area chat to arrange a ride. Another perk was that the apartment now had it's own personal chauffeurs around the city, and during school days there would be a bus for the girls. They haven't actually brought the bus yet, but it was planned. 

[@TheWindel]