"I think you've got enough people for backup as it is. I'll go scout out the Citadel for a bit, so I'll meet you guys there." Fujiwara said, saluting the group as head opened up his minimap and began walking towards the city. The monsters on the way were no different from the ones he had faced the rest of the journey, so the issue was less of security and more about not having to swing his katana around any more than he had to. As he approached the gates to the citadel, Fujiwara glanced around and sighed.
"Well, half an hour's gone by and I think I've got time to kill. Might as well start scouting the place a bit more..." he said to himself before entering the city.
Over the course of the next hour, Fujiwara wandered the streets of the Citadel, marking any major points of reference on his map for future usage. The winding alleyways and the city-like feel of the place made him feel like a stranger in a strange land- he was used to the atmosphere of a city and all, but the lack of company made it feel oddly empty; the feeling was jarring, and eventually he stopped paying attention to his surroundings... Until he bumped into someone, at least. Fujiwara blinked twice and shook his head on the impact, looking as the person he had bumped into was trying to pick up some items off of the ground.
"Ah, shoot. My bad. Let me help you with that." he said, kneeling down to help the person pick up the items. The person turned to him, almost as if in shock.
"...Hideki...?" she asked, mouth agape in shock. Fujiwara stopped picking up the items for a second and paused for a moment.
"Wait... That voice... Aren't you...?" he asked before being tackled to the ground by the person in a hug of sorts. "Agh, yep, definitely you. Ayame, what the hell are you doing here? Shouldn't you be... You know, preparing for college or something?"
"Well, it's a long story, but I'll tell it to you later." Ayame said as Fujiwara pushed her off of him. Standing up and brushing himself off, he shook his head and sighed.
"Ayame... Well, drop your items in your inventory before you do anything silly like that again." Fujiwara stated, giving Ayame back all the items she had dropped earlier.
"An inventory...?" she responded, cocking her head at the question. Sighing, Fujiwara explained to her how to work the menus of the SAO system before leaning back against the wall. Ayame smiled at him, slowly putting the items into her inventory one by one.
"Alright, with that out of the way... Can you PLEASE explain to me how you got into this mess? I mean, you've got so much more to work for and all, so why...?"
"Well, you were just so excited about this new game, and a lot of my colleagues at school were all talking about it..."
"So you pulled a few strings and got a copy. Gotcha. Okay, now tell me how you got HERE of all places, and within like... The last three days or so?"
"Certainly. Well, here's how things went back during that announcement..."
Ayame stared nervously at the giant, imposing figure as he declared Sword Art Online a 'death game'. It chilled her to the core, knowing that her life could very easily be ruined because of one man's actions. The life that she had spent so long to build up, one that she strove to make into a model for others- just like that, gone. And the fact that she could die here, forever... She was afraid, and very much so. Frantically looking around, Ayame began calling out to the crowd, yelling "Hideki!" in hopes that she would find her friend. But then, reality hit her once more- what if she was alone in this strange realm, with nobody she knew around to be with her? In fear, Ayame ran away from the crowd, hoping to find a small, secluded location to sit and think.
Breaking away from the crowd, Ayame moved deeper into <<Starting City>>, eventually finding a small inn where she gladly paid 200 col to stay. That night, as more players flocked in, Ayame looked at each face in fear. Nobody she recognized, nothing was familiar. As the night grew longer, Ayame abandoned looking for someone that night and slept with worry.
"I can't be stuck here alone... I just can't..." she muttered repeatedly before she finally fell asleep.
The next morning, Ayame, though still in fear, resolved to keep moving forward. "There's no point in staying here, huddled in fear. I have to put on a brave face, so I can prove that I'm not the person I used to be anymore." she said to herself, boldly leaving the inn before making a beeline for the town's gate. When she arrived, Ayame looked around, and seeing the sole road to the next city she kept moving forward. Dodging every Frenzy Boar and Dire Wolf that came her way, Ayame had finally made it to the Citadel by nightfall. Exhausted and tired, she spent that night resting in the inn in this town.
At this point, Fujiwara stopped Ayame and looked at her in disbelief.
"So... You're telling me... This ENTIRE time... You haven't fought a single monster, haven't gained a SINGLE point of experience and are STILL level one. Right?" he asked, voice filled with confusion and shock.
"Uh... Yeah, I think that sounds about right." she said, smiling. Fujiwara yelled in frustration before grabbing her by the collar of her dress and dragging her towards the blacksmith shop he had marked on the map earlier.
"H-hey, what are you-?" she asked, struggling to break free from Fujiwara's grip.
"I'm going to get you up to par. Not fighting in this game is the equivalent of not doing anything. We're getting you a decent weapon, pronto." he responded, using his spare hand to quickly write the rest of his party a message.
"Guys,
I've got a little bit of an... Issue to deal with. I'm at the Citadel's blacksmith with someone I know who hasn't gained a single exp point. I'll start up the quest if you tell me how, so just drop me the party leader privileges so I can add her in. It's... Complicated, so if you want me to explain a bit more I'll tell you when you guys get here."
Hitting the reply button, Fujiwara turned to the still-struggling Ayame before picking her up and dropping her on her feet.
"You didn't need to go that far, Hideki!" she whined, smacking him on the head.
"Well, it's your fault for being foolish enough to come here without knowing how to use a weapon! Now come on, the rest of the party will get here soon. Blacksmith's this way." he responded before beginning to walk on. Sighing, Ayame followed closely behind.
