[IC] Living in Aincrad: a SAO RP

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Ayame smiled at Umichi's response, politefully declining Suki's trade offer as she did so.

"It's nice to see that he's met some really good people here. I'll follow you to help talk him out of going- he's still stubborn at times, as you already know." she said, following Umichi downstairs.

"Hm...? Is everyone ready to go?" he asked as he noticed Umichi calling him. Upon seeing Ayame, though, he glared at Umichi.
"I thought we esta-" he began to say before Umichi began to reason with him. Fujiwara silently nodded at his responses and sighed before looking at Ayame, who had been standing there looking worried about him as much as he had to her. Sighing, Fujiwara nodded at Umichi's statement to stay behind with Ayame.
"...Alright. I understand. You're turning out to be a more rational leader than I thought. We'll remain in the city- though, with 8 hours of sleep and it being 3 in the morning and all I don't think there would be many locations to train." he said before remembering the scroll from yesterday. "Wait, do you still have the scroll from earlier? I think we can kill two birds with one stone- Smiths get up pretty damn early to start working, and the scroll's writer offered to make any weapon for us if we had the materials. I have lots of monster drops stockpiled and Ayame doesn't really 'like' her rapier, so we might be able to get her a custom weapon made by the time day breaks... If I request it, of course." he said, gradually returning to his analytical self. "Towns are safe zones, but I'm still not taking heavy risks. If you're fine with it, I'll spend the next few hours working with Ayame to get her up to speed with the rest of us."

Ayame smiled as Fujiwara seemed to calm down, walking over as he suggested the idea of splitting up to move about the town. Her cheerful demeanor had returned, so she smiled at Umichi and began to speak in turn.
"I honestly don't mind that suggestion. Regardless of my own selfishness, it gives Hideki more reasons to stay in town with me. Don't worry, I learn quickly- I won't keep him from the rest of the group for too long." Ayame said, sitting down on one of the open chairs in the reception area. "Though, to be fair... The only experience I have with fighting is watching my school's fencing team. I've read some manga in my spare time, though, and that bit of sleep let me figure out what I want... If we can get one, of course."

[MarshiestMallow]

Suki gave a sigh, but followed down the stairs with Paka at her side, she made sure her Annael blade was in easy reach of being equipped, and sighed again. While She liked the Annael blade, she did prefer a sword she could for quick, thrusting attacks, and had been pondering trading to a Rapier when she had the chance. And if it was better than her Annael blade. She could always commission a smith to create a blade for her. She wondered if she had enough Col for that. She frowned, and shook her head, that could be something for another time, she thought, listening as Umichi spoke with Fujiwara.

She looked about the inn, but there was no one besides the NPC inn keeper, clearly woken by them, seeing if they needed anything. She waved him away, saying everything was okay, going outside, slightly worried about what was going on out in the town. What had they gotten into she wondered, looking back at Umichi, Paka and Fujiwara. She looked up the stairs to see if Yui and Yumi were awake too, thinking that they should considering that everyone else in the party was.

Paka followed Suki down the stairs, somewhat trouble by the scene between Fujiwara and Ayame. If he could, he'd have Suki stay behind too, but he knew she would hate him if he asked her to stay, so he didn't. He couldn't afford to have her anger at him.

As he walked down the stairs, he equipped his Katana, a simple Katana for this floor, but it was well enhanced. He listened as everyone talked, checking he had enough inventory for a fight or two, looking about afterwards. "What if we have need of them?" he asked suddenly, "It will just be the three of us, unless the other two wake" He said, "And it could be dangerous after all" He said, concerned for their safety, and concerned for Suki.

He waited for a reply, looking at them all

[DELETED7282737]

Yui <6> Citadel

The room was completely dark as she woke up from her sleep only the moonlight felt down between the window it's curtains. She could hear wolves crying outside from the window that was slightly open a she only moved further down the sheets from her bed "W-w-why is it so d-dark in this room" She got chills from the dark and the wolf cries only made it worse, Suddenly she could hear something more then only wolf cries she could hear people from the town screaming "W-w-what was that" She said moving the sheets over her head, She moved further down till she reached the end of the bed. She raised the sheets slightly so that she could look clearly at the door that leaded to the hallway 'How did I even get here' She got in running position while she was still under her sheets and dashed quickly through the door ending up in the hallway. She slowly moved through the hallway that was a bit more lighted then her own room but it was still scary with all the sounds outside. She still took the sheets with her as they covered her whole body and slightly dragging them over the floor. When she opened some of the rooms from her other party members she soon found out that nobody was in them. But one room wasn't, it made her somewhat feeling more safe that she wan't the only one around this way to spooky inn. She got closer to the person that was still sleeping but didn't want to wake her up "Y-yumi, a-a-are you a-awake" she whispered quietly to her but she didn't react at all as she closed the door behind her. She moved in even more closer to see that she wasn't gonna wake u any moment soon. She still felt somewhat uncomfortable in her armour and opened her menu to hope she could find something more comfortable ,She found some sleep clothing in her menu and equiped it but she didn't expect that she would immediatly change into them without even doing anything but just a simple click on the button. She didn't mind tough it was way faster and easier to do she dropped her own sheets on the ground and moved into the bed of Yumi as she layed down close to her so that she didn't feel so scared anymore. She could see the Yumi her cute face from really close and it made her feel a bit uneasy. She could hear some finall voices from coming out of Yumi her room but she didn't bother to go check she felt safer here as she could finally head back to sleep.

[El_Tigre]

Yumi ~ 8 ~ Citadel

Yumi groaned in her sleep as the loud commotion of wolf howls and people screaming outside. She was dreaming of home and she only thought it was a part of that, someone in the other room watching a scary movie. So she grumbled in her sleep and rolled about until remaining on her back, sheets messily draped over her with one leg out from under it. She didn't even notice Yui until she was already crawling into bed..

"Hmm..?" She tiredly moaned as her eyes blinked awake. Looking over to see Yui curled up at her side underneath the sheets with her. She rubbed her eyes and looked again, checking to make sure she was really there. "Hey Yui.." She said with a yawn. "Is everything okay?" She asked as she noticed the dim lighted panel in front of her. A quest? Quickly reading through the information she realized the sounds she was hearing weren't in her dream but the activation of a quest. She accepted and exitted out of the Panel.

Yumi then sat up in bed, the sheets cascading down and pooling in her lap. Not realizing she was only in her bra and panties. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes once more she began to feel something strange. A cool breeze touching her skin. Looking down at herself curiously her eyes then grew widen with embarrassed fright, her cheeks burning a bright red they nearly glowed in the dark room. She eeped in terrified embarrassment as one arm wrapped around her chest to cover herself and the other frantically tapping away at her menu to find clothes. Finally she found clothes and quickly pushed the equip button, suddenly draped in a loose white linen top that hung down to nearly mid thigh and beneath that were small shorts.

She kept her deep blush, too embarrassed to look directly at Yui.

"W-we should uhm... Go check on the group, Yui..." She mumbled bashfully. Crawling out of bed she gently took Yui's hand so she wouldn't be scared walking through the dark room and hallway. The two headed out of the room and down the stairs to find the rest of the group. They walked up to the ground, both in their casual clothes.

"So I guess you guys got the quest too, huh?"

[Little_ninja]

Listening to Fujiwara's suggestion, Umichi agreed, to letting Fujiwara and Ayame go about doing that quest to help Ayame get a weapon she preferred. Seeing Ayame smile at him, Umichi smiled back. She spoke about how she wasn't accustomed to fighting, only knowing what she had seen in the fencing team and in manga. "It's fine, take all the time you need. You two could probably use some time to catch up anyway."

"We won't go with just the three of us, Paka, we will get the other two as well. Anyway, Ayame is level 1, and has no battle experience, bringing her would be almost a complete death sentence for her. We don't know if there are some sort of tricks or special rules about the quest, so Fujiwara should stay around her and make sure she is safe." Umichi turned to Paka, rejecting the possibility of bringing Fujiwara and Ayame along.

"Anyway, we should check the other two, they probably were woken up from the howl as well."
Turning to the stairs, he looked up to see that Yui and Yumi were coming down the stairs. Turning around to start leading them out, "Yeah we got the quest too." he replied to Yumi. "Let's head out and check what is happening in town." Umichi started to lead.

Exiting the inn, there were some very angry NPCs, and some wounded ones. The town seemed a little distressed. There were calls made by the NPCs.
"It's that damn Dire Werewolf again!"
"When can we get the weapon finished?"
"It attacked Elliot! The blacksmith making it!!"
"Oh no! What do we do!?"
"Mum! Are you alright?"
"Damn that beast!"
"It got Yuna! Damn it! Our alchemist won't be able to make the oil!"

There was an indicator over the top of one of the NPCs. Walking up to him Umichi asked the NPC. "What's going on?"

Reeds, the mayor of Citadel said
"That blasted Dire Werewolf has attacked the town again!
We were in the process of making a weapon so that we could slay the foul beast, however, it has attacked Elliot and Yuna.
Please young adventurers, please if you can, make the weapon and defeat the Dire Werewolf for us!
The Dire Werewolf is known to live to the South of Citadel, in an open area surrounded by woods.
Only the weapon will hurt the Dire Werewolf, it must be used to slay the beast!"

"Sure" Umichi answered nonchalantly, starting to walk over where the blacksmith was. "So it seems like we make a specific weapon to kill the Dire Werewolf. I would have to say a weapon made from Silver, but why is an alchemist involved? Any ideas guys?" asking the group.

Reaching the blacksmith, Elliot, they could see he was bedridden. There was bandages wrapped around the man's torso. "Hello, the mayor asked us for help in regards to your ... werewolf problem." Umichi told Elliot.
"I see ... who in your group is a blacksmith? I will lend you my equipment, and tell you how to make the weapon."
"Yumi, that's you." Umichi turned to Yumi.
The blacksmith tells Yumi how to make the Silver Boar Blade and received three silver ingots, telling her that she will need three Frenzy Boar Hoofs.

"So Yumi, we need to get anything for the weapon before you can make it?" Umichi asked Yumi.
After getting a reply, "Hm... before we get it, we should go to Yuna, the alchemist, and see if we need to get anything there, so we can make it all at once." He said, heading to the alchemist, from the blacksmith. After reaching the alchemist, "Oh, you must be the ones the mayor asked for help." Yuna told them. "Who is your alchemist? I will tell you how to make the oil to polish the single-handed straight sword Elliot told your blacksmith to make."

Facing Suki, Umichi watched as she would learn how to make the oil. Yuna tells Suki that they will need Sap obtained from Rooted Little Nepents (found during quest only, all Little Nepents encountered are rooted) and received some Mandrake Roots.
"So, is there something we need to do for the oil too?" Umichi asked Suki. It was approaching 0300

[Little_ninja]

Event - Fujiwara/Ayame said
Once Fujiwara and Ayame reach Cleo's shop. She will ask them, "What can I do for you today?"
If they tell her something about a custom design weapon, she will reply, "Gladly, please draw your design here"
Cleo hands over a piece of paper and some charcoal.
Upon receiving the drawing, Cleo will ask, "What type of weapon is this?"
If she hears one of the weapons already in the system, she will be able to make it and ask for the some materials to make it with on the first try.
However, if this is not a weapon in the system, she will try to make it, and has a 30% success rate. The materials are generated at random, and can take a few tries to make. Upon successful generation, the system will create a class of weapons by the name Ayame and Fujiwara have chosen.

The requested materials for the items this time are:
Three Boar Tusk
Four Wolf Canines
Two Little Nepent Leaves
One piece of wood (unspecified) (Wood cutter skill required, cut down a tree)
One copper ore from Dire Wolf (Quest/blacksmith drop 1/1 rate)

(Note: I have made the material list before hand, since PKMNB0Y has told us about the weapon already)

[MarshiestMallow]

Suki let the others talk, decided to just go with the flow. She thought it was a bit unfair to not have the whole party involved, but she knew that Ayame had no experience, and needed further training. She glanced at Paka, who seemed a bit frustrated, but she couldn't figure out why or how she could help. She bit her lip, uneasy, but didn't speak up, looking up as Yumi and Yui appeared.

She followed everyone out the, looking over the crowd of NPC's, following along with what was happening. She let out a soft sigh, feeling somewhat uneasy at what they would have to do. She thought iit was a bit of a risk, considering so far most people had died at night, but they had to do the quest. At least she wasn't alone, but she still thought of the hunting the multi-coloured Nepent. Perspective changed at night, and Suki could still hear Umichi yelling at her to not do that again, and she looked down shame-faced as she followed along to the blacksmith. She stayed silent, since she would be useless with the smithing side of things, yet when they reached the alchemist, she looked about with interest. She spoke up when asked who the alchemist was in the group.

"me" She said softly, stepping up. She listened carefully as Yuna told her what they would need, and how to make the oil. She looked over to the ground, telling them "We need some sap from rooted Nepents" She said, moving to head out of the Alchemist's place, and into the street.

---

Paka let out a sigh. They had all faced risks to get where they were, and Paka didn't think this would be too much more of a risk, especially not with the group they had. Of course, Paka didn't believe that when they died in the game they did in real life, not truly. It just didn't sound possible, yet he would do whatever he could to make sure no one died on him. Just in case.

He let it go, decided not ot create an argument, yet he was frustrated that it seemed there was no room for debate, almost like what Umichi said went. That wouldn't do here, when everything they could do would reflect on how they got things done, and on how they could survive in this world.

He sighed, and followed them outside. Listening to the angered NPCs, grimacing at the wounded ones. He listened to the calls of the NPCs, and wished he could do something to make everything alright. He looked to the NPC with the indicator on, and went to mae he way over, but Umichi got there first. Once more Paka sighed. He followed along as they moved through the crowd to the blacksmith, and then to the Alchemist. He made a note of what they would need, so t hey could collect it and get this done as quick as possible.

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Fujiwara nodded and saluted to Umichi as he and Ayame left the inn. Quickly opening his inventory, Fujiwara scrolled through his items before finding the scroll he thought he had handed Umichi earlier.

"...Huh. I guess that we can head there right away..." Fujiwara said before looking at the map, turning it around and squinting at it a bit before sighing. "I can't figure out where the heck we're supposed to go from here..." Sighing, Ayame took the map and glanced at it before looking over at Fujiwara's minimap once before pointing out two very similar areas on both maps.
"You still can't figure out how to read a map, Hideki?" she asked, cocking her head before pointing southward. "Well, to be fair, you were never really good at crossword puzzles and the like..."
"That's irrelevant right now, though! Point is, we have somewhere to go with absolutely NO sleep to worry about! Let's get moving." he responded before heading southward. Ayame chuckled a bit at his impulsiveness at this time, and though it seemed to be a bit out of character it was good to know that he still acted like he did years ago when they had met for the first time. He had been so much more cheerful then, but... Well, that would be something to delve into in the future when there was more time. Smiling, Ayame quickly followed Fujiwara's pace as they made their way deeper into the city.

---

Fujiwara looked at both maps side-by-side as the two of them arrived in front of a little storefront. The store seemed to be the one pinpointed on the map on the scroll, so at the very least this might get them somewhere. Knocking on the door, Fujiwara slowly opened the door to the shop and looked around. It seemed to be a relatively homely shop, with a little furnace and anvil and a little stairwell to a second floor. Ayame followed in slightly after Fujiwara, looking in awe at all the equipment in the place before a female blacksmith walked down the stairwell.

"Sorry about that~! There's been of a bit of an incident, so I'm kind of on guard. But customers are always welcome! My name's Cleo and I'm the owner of this shop. How can I help you?" she asked, walking down the stars and smiling brightly at Fujiwara and Ayame.
"Ah, right. I'm here about the custom weapon making." Fujiwara said as Cleo nodded and held up a finger.
"Give me a second, please. I just need a little sketch of what you're looking for." she said as she handed both of them a piece of paper and some charcoal. "Just sketch out what you're looking for here and I'll see if I can't get one fixed up for you or not."
Nodding, Fujiwara took the paper and charcoal and handed them to Ayame, who immediately began to sketch something on the piece of paper. In a few minutes, she had finished the sketch and handed it back to Cleo.
"Ah... Hm. This... This might take a bit. Give me a while and I'll have a list of stuff you MIGHT need to make this. Never seen one before, though... What is it, anyways?" Cleo said before moving to the back and writing up a list.
"It's a scythe. You know, like the stuff you use to cut crops and all... Except weaponized."Ayame said. Cleo nodded and handed the list it back to Ayame. Smiling, Cleo tapped the list and pointed to the items on it. "You can get all of this stuff around town- shouldn't take too long, even at this time of night." she said before starting up the furnace. "It'll take me a while to get everything ready, so come back after you've gathered everything."

Nodding, Fujiwara thanked Cleo before leaving the shop with Ayame and looking at the list.
"Well... Seems like we're heading out regardless. Shoot."

[Little_ninja]

Throughout the time it took to get to the shop, Umichi could feel frustration emanating from Paka. Please don't tell me it is because he knows I like Suki and he wants to kill me over that? he thought, worriedly. He looked towards Suki from time to time, noticing at one point, she had a shamed-face. Why does she look like that? Is it to do with night time? remembering the night he told her not to go alone again. I should change that promise. It's not fair on her to keep her almost locked up and guarded. I just want her to stay safe. I have to let her do her own things, and if she wants to, train by herself. A sense of fear instilled in him for a moment, while thinking of this. He shook it off.

Once they left the alchemist's, Yuna's, shop, Umichi turned around, and looked at Paka. "Is there something wrong Paka? I'm sorry if I have done something to offend you or done something that has rubbed you the wrong way. Please do tell me if I have done something that displeases you. If you have an issue with the way I do things, tell me. I am open-minded to ideas. I don't know what it is, but I can tell you feel frustrated at me. I don't know why, but I want to resolve this now. Issues down the track will cause more problems. Which is why I wish to address this now."

There was still some NPCs getting angry about the Werewolf. They were not of Umichi's concerns at the moment. Since at the moment, he was the leader of the party, he had to take care of the party and any of it's problems. He just hoped he could help his party members, his comrades, his friends.

[MarshiestMallow]

Paka sighed as Umichi turned to him. and let him talk, waiting until he finished. He pondered how to answer a moment, "You are just expecting to be followed, to lead, to have everyone do what you want to do, dismissing what others are saying. This is a party, and yet two of the members aren't here. Everything is dangerous here, wouldn't it be better to stay as a group then to split up, like we are? I call that dangerous" Paka said, keeping his voice calm and level. "Yes, taking someone who has no experience out is dangerous, but sending her off with only one person to back her up? That's more dangerous. In this world, you have to chose the less dangerous course"

Suki shifted uneasily, causing Paka to glance at her, and he sighed once more. "I don't know what's been happening the last few days here, but i have a pretty good idea" he continued, "No doubt you thought you were being the hero, helping Suki out. Suki's always had people watching over her, and would only think its natural to have people in the game do the sa-"

"No" Suki said, her voice filling with anger as she spoke. "No, Paka. Its nothing like that, and I'm sick of people assuming that it is! I've been working my way into a more supportive role, yes, with potions and more quick striking attacks, sure. Because that's what I'm good at. Umichi helped me when everyone else was panicking. He got me moving, got me wanting to survive in this world, and do more then sit on my butt waiting to be rescued. You, my father, my brothers, you've never let me try, never let me be a real kid, with broken bones, and scars, and heart break. I understand why, but here, I'm not that girl. And I have Umichi to thank for that"

She took a deep breath, keeping her gaze on Paka's somewhat shocked face. "You maybe right with your opinions about danger, and all that, but don't ever presume to think I only went with Umichi because I wanted protection. I have a weapon. I can protect myself" She started to walk, to head out of town. "I like Umichi, and that's why I stayed with him" She continued to walk, and didn't see Paka's stunned reaction. She waited on the outskirts of the town, and therefore the outskirts of the safe zone, assuming they would follow.

[DELETED7282737]

Yui <6> Citadel

She did hear Yumi groaning a few times in her sleep before she tried to sleep but she just couldn't sleep in the dark there would always be a little light source near her bed in the old life she had. The only thing thaf could emit light was a candle or something with fire and it wouldn't be smart to let it burn in the night that would mean that she will have to learn to sleep in the darkness even tough she tried many times in real life. As she moved a little closer to Yumi almost touching her skin "Hey Yui.." Looking up bit embarrassed of her actions she replyed back to the still sleepy Yumi ''Goodmorning'' she said with a small chuckle she hoped Yumi wouldn't get angry at her for hoping into her bed but it seemed that they had another matter to handle first.

"Is everything okay?" as she replyed back she could feel the sheets move from her as she saw that Yumi began to sit upright ''S-sorry im not so good with dark places all by myself'' She said softly as she could get a clear view of what was happening, Her face grew red with no words coming out of her mouth.

As Yumi tried to fix the problem Yui's face slowly moved towards the pillow and buried her face deep inside of it as Yumi finally putted on some clothes "W-we should uhm... Go check on the group, Yui..." She only gave a short nod still with her face deep inside of the pillow as she was being pulled away by Yumi out of the bed. She quickly grabbed her sheets from the ground as she was being pulled onto the hallway.

Pulling the sheets around her body she kept walking close to Yumi through the hallway, She also covered the top of her head with the sheets as the kept moving. The group was already waiting at the front door of the inn probably for them but how would they know they were awake "So I guess you guys got the quest too, huh?" She was trilling of fear that something spooky would happen anytime soon as she opened her menu with both her thumb and index finger. The quest has changed and they would need to get outside at this time of day how can this day be any worse however they kept moving and walking to difrent stores that where displayed on the map.

Paka and Yuki were getting angry at each other but Yui didn't really know what was happening all of the sudden but she soon knew as Yuki walked away that they where going that direction ''C-c-can't we just go back to the i-inn and wait for tommorow'' She pulled the sheet ends a bit closer to each other so that her body would be more covered as she tightened the grip around Yumi's hand.

[Little_ninja]

Umichi listened to Paka. He could understand the concerns. I never once expected people to blindly follow me. But, I've thought things through. he thought to himself. But as he continued and started to talk about Suki, he felt that Paka didn't truly understand as much as he thought. Before Umichi could wait to tell Paka what was on his mind, Suki had an outburst.

Suki said
"No" Suki said, her voice filling with anger as she spoke. "No, Paka. Its nothing like that, and I'm sick of people assuming that it is! I've been working my way into a more supportive role, yes, with potions and more quick striking attacks, sure. Because that's what I'm good at. Umichi helped me when everyone else was panicking. He got me moving, got me wanting to survive in this world, and do more then sit on my butt waiting to be rescued. You, my father, my brothers, you've never let me try, never let me be a real kid, with broken bones, and scars, and heart break. I understand why, but here, I'm not that girl. And I have Umichi to thank for that"

She took a deep breath, keeping her gaze on Paka's somewhat shocked face. "You maybe right with your opinions about danger, and all that, but don't ever presume to think I only went with Umichi because I wanted protection. I have a weapon. I can protect myself" She started to walk, to head out of town. "I like Umichi, and that's why I stayed with him" She continued to walk.

She just makes me fall for her more and more. Umichi silently smiled to himself, blushing a little as she told Paka that she liked Umichi. He turned and saw Paka's stunned expression. Starting to walk out to catch up to Suki, he paused to speak. "You know, I don't expect people to follow me at all. I expect them to make their own judgements. I just tell them my own and see if they agree. I have my reasons for having Fujiwara and Ayame not participate. But that can come later." He breathed in deeply. "Suki is a stronger girl than you give her credit for. Especially her heart. I would like to be the hero to protect her. She keeps me going in this world. So let me tell you this." He turned around, "I like her just like she likes me." Turning back to start running to catch up to Suki, he could hear Yui ask to go back to the inn. "The quest flag might reset that way. Anyway, we are just getting the materials first, we aren't fighting the Dire Werewolf yet." Umichi called out, his call gradually getting softer as he was running towards the outskirts to catch up to Suki.

Seeing Suki waiting, he smiled. "Sorry, I just had to say a few things to Paka first, before trying to catch up to you." Standing by her side, he looked away for a moment, kind of scratching his face with one finger, thinking of the most appropriate way to say what he was thinking. "You know ... What you said about coming along with me because you like me. It made me real happy, and fall for you even more." Letting her hear how he was just loving her more and more, he blushed a bit, still not looking at her.

"Um... should we wait for the others to catch up? Or just start a bit before them?" Umichi asked Suki.

[MarshiestMallow]

If anyone was watching Paka, they would see him kick the ground in frustration. He ran his hands through his messy brown hair. He sighed, and followed after them slowly. Paka was clearly frustrated and annoyed, with hints of worry and fear. He knew Suki had her own life, knew she could take care of herself, but there was the ingrained instinct of wanting to protect his family.

But things were different here. Yes, they had to live here, but they also had to survive. Back on in the real world, things were...sane. Here, everything was completely different. He was worried that Suki didn't know what she was getting into. People were different inside the game, then they would be in real life, he thought.

He sighed again, and took of his glasses, thinking he didn't need them to fall off when they were fighting and distract him. He didn't need the glasses to see inside the game, but simply wore them out of habit.

He looked up ahead, watching Suki, seeing Umichi catch up to her. He grimaced, wondering what he was saying to her. He stayed behind, enough to see them and help out if necessary, but stayed to himself, frowning and thinking.

---

Suki sighed to herself, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she waited for the others to catch up, arms wrapped around herself. She looked out the town, and just tried to keep her thoughts in check, as she swallowed, wondering if you could cry in this game. She figured you could, although other bodily functions weren't necessary here.

She looked back at Umichi's voice, watching him walk towads her. She couldn't help but return his smile, and watched him as he spoke to her, and she felt herself blush deep, but she didn't look away, didn't look down. She thought briefly how to reply, before taking his hand, hoping to make him look at her. "Umichi, I...being here with you has been the best thing ever, and I like you more and more too" She said, looking back, then shrugging, "I think waiting would be best" She said.

She thought if they went off ahead, Paka would just about have a heart attack, and she had already pushed him off a ledge today, so she decided not to push him any further. "But we should head out soon, since I doubt we will be able to do this quest in the morning"

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Scanning over the list once more, Fujiwara checked his inventory for the possibility of already having the drops necessary. The first three seemed to be common monster drops, so the chance of him having some from that little two-day nonstop grinding stint seemed decently high.

"Alright, so... I've got all the tusks we need, but missing one canine and a claw. Hm. Not to mention, there's no place to get an axe at this time like this... Ah, no big deal." he said, writing up the remaining items in a little PM and sending it to himself before dropping the 'physical' copy into his inventory. Looking at Ayame, he sighed.
"Alright, we're heading out of the town to gather those items for you. Try to stick close to me; if anything looks too dangerous, I'll intervene immediately. Until then, I'll be giving you a crash course in fighting here in Aincrad." he said before opening up his map and locating the exit before moving out.
"Uh... You're going the wrong way, Hideki. The exit's over there." Ayame said as Fujiwara begin to walk away. He immediately made a 180 degree turn and walked back to Ayame. "I think I'll lead, thank you very much." she said before heading over to the town's exit, Fujiwara following slightly behind.

---

Fujiwara looked around the outskirts of the city, quite dark at this time of night. Motioning Ayame to follow slightly behind, he quickly came across a pack of dire wolves, seemingly aggravated by the quest that had started earlier. Turning to Ayame, Fujiwara whispered into her ear quietly and he flicked a pebble from the ground with his katana's sheath.
"Alright, I'll lure one over and tank the aggro. Don't worry about me getting hurt, just try attacking. Basic slashes and thrusts won't do much damage, so you'll have to use a <<Sword Skill>>. I think the basic one for rapiers is <<Linear>>, which you activate by... I think you just pull back your hand like this..." he said quietly, positioning her arm to mimic the activation stance. "Then, once the attack is primed just release and let the system do the rest. I think just <<Linear>> will do for now, since you're getting yourself a scythe and all."

Before Ayame could ask what all of the terms like 'aggro' and 'tank' meant, Fujiwara tossed the pebble at a dire wolf. Contrary to his expectations, however, the entire pack seemed to notice his presence and rushed after him.
"Oh... Ahahaha... Crap. Alright, I can deal with this. Remember Ayame, don't just stab, alright?" he said as he drew his katana and moved into a defensive stance. As the wolves tried attacking him one by one, he quickly parried each him, temporarily pushing the wolves off of him. "What are you waiting for? Don't worry about me, alright? My health hasn't even been dented yet!"
Ayame looked at Fujiwara in awe before he began talking to her. Shaking her head, she pulled her arm back and tried stabbing a wolf. She didn't land the hit or activate <<Linear>>, to which Ayame felt slightly annoyed by. Before she tried again, Fujiwara called out to her once more the the midst of fur and teeth that was coming at him.
"If you can't use the position I just showed you, visualize a fencing strike! You've got experience watching that, at least." he said before going back to blocking and parrying the pack's attacks. Ayame nodded and closed her eyes.
"Fencing, fencing..." she said quietly to herself before drawing her right arm back and holding it. She quickly found that something (the system, maybe?) had caused her arm to move involuntarily forward, piercing a wolf about to jump at Fujiwara for the fifth or sixth time. "Oh, sorry!" she said before Fujiwara responded.
"Don't apologize to these things, they're trying to kill me! It's not working, of course, but still! There are like... seven more left, so just keep trying that out." he said as Ayame continued using <<Linear>> to run through the dire wolves. Over the course of the next few minutes, the entire pack of wolves was dead and Ayame had leveled up. Sheathing his katana, Fujiwara stretched out and let out a sigh of relief.
"That was too much work, having to block all those hits. Geez. Anyways, could you check your inventory to see if you got anything from the wolves?" he asked.
"Ah... Give me a second." Ayame responded as she opened up her inventory and scrolled through it. "I've got the last canine and the bronze ore that you needed. What's next on the list?" she asked as Fujiwara brought up the PM he sent himself.
"Next is a Nepent leaf. They're usually a bit deeper in the forest, so stick close and notify me if anything comes our way. I'll handle the things from here on out." he said as the duo began to move into the forest.

[El_Tigre]

Yumi } 7 { Outskirts of the Citadel

Yumi smiled down at Little Yui as she asked to go back to the Inn, assuming she was scared of being out at dark. She gently squeezed her hand to reassure the girl she was there for her. "Don't worry, Yui. There is nothing to be afraid of. I will be right here with you." She promised sweetly. The surrounding areas of the Citadel didn't offer very many high level creatures so there was little to worry about. Though more monsters roamed at night, Yumi simply considered that a fortunate circumstance as it would cut their questing time down by a sizable fraction.

"Come on, Yui. Let's catch up with the group!" She said as she got into a light job, pulling Yui along by the hand. As they arrived with the rest of the group going on the quest she gave them all a confident smile.

"I think we should split up. Yui and I will go after the boars for the Hooves and you three go after the Rooted Nepents. We can get all the items we need faster that way." She offered the idea, waiting for what the others thought.

[Little_ninja]

When Suki called his name, Umichi turned to face her. He could not help but blush when she told him about feeling the same for him. "Sure let's wait, I don't know why we would not be able to do it in the morning, but I guess the flag could reset in the morning." he said as she suggested to wait. Feeling that someone was watching them from behind, he could not tell who it was. Turning around, he saw Yumi and Yui." Doubt it is them that were watching he thought, leaning over a little, to spot Paka, was staying behind them, but not actually following, at least at the moment.

Yumi said
"I think we should split up. Yui and I will go after the boars for the Hooves and you three go after the Rooted Nepents. We can get all the items we need faster that way."

"Well, I don't really have any problems with that, however ..." Umichi started looking at Paka, "let's hear Paka's opinion. He was suggesting not to split at all earlier." I know I can trust Yumi to keep Yui safe, and that they shouldn't have any problems with the boars. It would be unsafe if the werewolf was to attack, but the mayor did tell us where we would find it, implying it stays in that area when it is available. We should probably avoid the South for the Rooted Nepents. Probably the place forest/woods to the west would be more appropriate. Not too far from here, should have some Rooted Nepents, and Frenzy Boars are nearby. Umichi thought, That way we can help each other if we need to quite quickly. And if Paka disagrees to split, then it is in one place so it is an efficient spot.

[MarshiestMallow]

Suki shrugged, "its a werewolf. Pretty much every bit of lore on them states they need the moon, and it seems the same here. Perhaps the items we need won't drop in the day" She said, following his gaze to see Yui and Yumi. She sighed when she saw Paka, clearly reluctantly following slowly behind.

She didn't know what to do with Paka. While she felt bad about her outburst, she wasn't going to apologise. She wasn't going to simply lie back and let others do things for her. She could help, and what's more, she wanted to help. She didn't want to be protected, not in this world where her being protected might lead to someone dying.

She sighed, and looked ahead, unsure of what she was going to do with Paka. Paka was 23 years old, the same age as her oldest brother, yet Paka was 10 months younger, and looked up to what her older brother did. Suki couldn't blame him for wanting to make sure she was safe. But she didn't know if she could forgive him for what he had said, when he had no reason to.

"Lets just go and get this over with" She said.

Paka was grumbling to himself, as he walked up to where everyone was. Paka had a younger sister, two years younger than Suki, but that didn't mean he didn't consider Suki a sister, just like he counted her brothers his brothers. Despite living in the city, and them living in the farm, their families were often together.

Perhaps Paka was worried about his family, and what was going on in the real world, but he knew no one would forgive him if he let something happen to Suki. He knew Suki could handle herself, so he was conflicted.

He looked up when Umichi said to ask for his opinion. He couldn't help but think that was being a suck up. He barely managed not to roll his eyes, but he did sigh. "Lets just get this done quickly" He said, "its dark, and I think if we linger any longer we'll have the town with pitch forks and torches or what not" He said, looking bac to the town where he could still hear the angry voices of the towns people.

[DELETED7282737]

Yui <6> Citadel

The situation between the other three group members didn' look to good from yui's perspective it seemed to go on for quiet a long time and probably even before they got trapped in this world they might have had just the same thing going on. Yumi sayed something really intresting but Yui didn't like it one bit"I think we should split up. Yui and I will go after the boars for the Hooves and you three go after the Rooted Nepents. We can get all the items we need faster that way." She only looked around the group nd at the place they where about to head she couldn't see a thing ''We shou...'' It just came to her mind that it would be better to leave the 3 alone for a while to talk right without others ''We s-s-s-should do t-that'' She gave a glance at Yumi that didn't look scared at all she would be safe with her for now. She already started to pull YumI a bit towards the darker part of the field with her eyes closed ''C-can't we u-use a flas-shlight" Yui said as she looked towards Yumi again. Her big glassy eyes where lit up by the city lightning as she looked into Yumi her eyes.

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Fujiwara looked around him as the two moved deeper into the forest, concerned about the possibility of an ambush in the middle of the darkness. Using his katana to reflect the moonlight peeking through the trees, he and Ayame slowly moved further into the forest until they came across a lone Nepent. Holding up his hand, Fujiwara silently closed the distance between him and the Nepent before using <<Rakuyo>> to quickly slice through the plant. Sheathing his blade, Fujiwara turned around and motioned for Ayame to move out as he checked his inventory for the last item.
"This place is too creepy for my liking. C'mon, let's go." Fujiwara said as he looked at Ayame. He noticed that she seemed to be struggling with something, however, and walked back to her side to check it out. There, he noticed that Ayame's foot had been caught by the root of a tree that seemed to be sticking it out.
"I... I can't seem to get free of it..." Ayame whispered as Fujiwara knelt down and tried to undo her foot from the root. When that failed, however, he drew his katana and silently drew it.
"It shouldn't be an <<Immortal Object>>, so I think this should work..." he said as he quickly sliced through the tree root, freeing Ayame from its grasp. She fell back, hitting the trunk of a tree behind her before struggling to get up.
"Ow... That hurt..." she said as she grabbed Fujiwara to pull herself up and steady herself. Sighing, she and Fujiwara began to slowly head back to town through the darkness.

[Little_ninja]

"Perhaps, but you know, not every bit of their lore is about the full moon, and Kayaba might have used the parts not-related. Well we will just have to see." Umichi replied to Suki. With the group having no complaints about splitting, he saw Paka still annoyed at Umichi. He ignored it, since there wasn't really anything he could do. "Well, I suggest we head to the woods in the west." Pointing the way, "There are some Frenzy Boars nearby, and the woods are a common place for the Nepents. We should find some of these Rooted Nepents there. Therefore, we can help each other if something happens or we finish ahead of the other group. It's also not too far from Citadel." Umichi gave the group his opinion.

If no-one complained he would start leading and walking to the woods. It was only a couple of minutes away, so it shouldn't cause problems. There wasn't anything on the way, but around the woods you could see some of the boars, due to the red indicators when they were in plain site. "Well let's head in" Umichi said, to Suki and Paka. Letting Yumi and Yui fight the Frenzy Boars around the woods.