Sword Art Online: Side Stories

As Scarlet made her way to the second-in-command - after making sure Shiina was okay, apologizing to her, and promising to make it up - a window flashed in front of her. A friend request? Hm, seems to be from one of the players she fought in the first round. The person seemed okay in Scarlet's eyes so she accepted the request before sending one of her own to Shiina, having forgotten to do that sooner.

 

Dang, and I thought that they would win. Kaito thought. Still the tournament wasn't over just yet and he was certain that someone would beat the PK. Then, out of nowhere, a friend request appeared in front of him. Once he saw who it was from, he smiled a little before accepting it.

 

Masaru watched the fights and heard Scarlet's annoucement of it being down to him and Star against Masamune and Mya, which was unexpected to say the least, but could they plan to do? He did have to reveal his Unique SKill, Absorption Slash in the first Round against kouri and ittoki and the second fight, the opponent's forfeited, but thsi actually gave him and Star time to watch masamune and Mya's fight to have some strategies ready such as he'd take on Masamune while Star handled Mya from a distance again, that was Plan A.

Plan B was to rely on Switching tactics frequently to force them to defend against the onslaught of attacks and there was a Plan C which he had to ask Star to trust in him on that one which invovled something he mastered out in the Front-Lines and finally Plan D was a small surprise as he asked her to hand him Dagger or two to use in his inventory to throw them off balance and finally, Plan E which was to focus on distraction to grab the ribbons in case he and Masamune were perhaps equally skilled in conbat, but no-one would know fo these ideas since it was relayed through a private conversation.

"Guess we're up, ready for this Star?" he asked her as he tied his ribbion to his wrist.

 

Mya sighed heavily as she walked off to the side of the arena and preparing for the next match against Star and Masaru. After their fight with Shiina and Scarlet, she felt even less motivated to go through this tournament. Especially how Masamune acted. She thought she'd be used to it, but it still disturbs her how he acts. It didn't feel...normal for him. She decided it wasn't worth the worry as she tugged on her ribbon on her elbow. Besides, he owed her the explanation now since he lost the bet.

 

Masamune flicked his fingers through his contacts full of PKers and rapidly typed out a coded message to a few PK Guild heads. His mood completely business now that he knew Scarlet hadn't used her full potential in the match against him. Of course...the girl wasn't fighting him but she had the ability to take a few PK heads out. None of that information sat well with him. His mind blanked on Mya's presence as the unimportant match went on before his against the Beater and her boyfriend. Wasn't using her full strength...she made a fool out of me and I didn't even touch her. Foolish Masamune...letting my guard down because it was a simple tournament was a dumb move. PoH will think I'm not serious anymore if I don't up my game... Ima will try to kill me... Mike and the others will drop out of following me around... Hitting mass send, Masamune waved away his menu and dropped his head into his hands. "Nothing good will come out of my stupid antics..."

Being helped to her feet and receiving a mass of friend requests, Shiina felt a bit dazed. "Wh-what? Friend requests...?" Her fingers tapped accept and her mind rolled back through everything Masamune had goaded her with during the fight. Shiina smoothed her furry friends' fur as she sat in a recovery room.

 

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Star was accepting of this plan. It would have maybe been a better idea to target Mya first together than focus the rest of their attention on Masamune. She couldn't argue however, Masaru's plans were well thought out. The battle would be intense and it was a good thing they were able to relax and watch the two battle. It was a shame she couldn't reveal her new technique in this round instead. All would be well though, people had already sent her messages for he forgery. Even if she lost, her business was about to boom in sales.

That round was to begin soon. Star looked into Masaru's eyes. "Lets beat this guy and show everyone they shouldn't be afraid. Don't let him kill you." The battle would begin soon. A strategy for her own would be needed to deal with Mya. Long distance would work, but it may not be enough. Her other senses would need to be used. Her speed, accuracy, and agility will be put to the test, especially if Masamune attacks her before Masaru gets the chance to defend. Before she walked out to the battle field, she quickly pecked Masaru's cheek with her lips, "For good luck, now lets go win."

 

Masaru nodded at Star's words, like he was going to let himself be killed here and now when his family was waiting for him to come back from this prison of a game and receivied something rather unexpected from Star as he was kissed rather lightly on the cheek, all he could do was turn his face red light as he touched the spot briefly and heard her words. "Yeah, we'll go with Plan A for now, I'll call out the other plans when they are needed." He said and walked out to the battlefield, hearing rather loudly, crowd cheers chanting his and Star's name.

"People certainly change their tune when it's either a Pker or a Beater facing off, how cruel this world is..." He couldn't very well blame them for that fault, he was mainly on the Front-Lines almost constantly who focused on grinding and levelling up his skills to gain a rather distinct advantage on the Boss DUngeons and other monsters, so perhaps the crowd thought he'd be the one to put a Beater and PKer in their places.

"We're ready for you." he said, withdrawing Dream Eater from it's sheath on his back and let it hang by his side.

 

After finished with his curry, he noticed Natsuki coming up to them. Thinking he was a waiter(and being right), he immediately sat up and waited. He listened to what he had, and started to think. He only wanted some coffee, but maybe he should loosen up and try something new.
"I'll have the QUARTET NIGHT, please!" He said. Perhaps he could be making daily visits to the cafe instead of the old restaurants. This place would definitely make an impression on him. He only wished that, if he ever got out of this game, this cafe could exist in real life.

 

Writhlax ordered his food. "Coming right up!" Natsuki said and waltzed into the back, where the kitchen was. Yeah, he ran his cafe alone. Chef and waiter. Somehow he managed by himself. Of course, Ittoki would sometimes stop by and help him out. He hummed one of the songs he wrote as he plated the mousse, carefully placing the white chocolate squares on top, finishing it off with a dark chocolate curl. "Perfect~!" he smiled. He picked up the plate and brought it to Writhlax's table. "Here you go, QUARTET NIGHT. Enjoy~~!"

Ittoki stared at that cake, "Woah~~ Perfect as always, Nacchan!!"

"Of course! I maxed out my cooking and creative skills." Natsuki put on a proud expression. "So, how is it, Writhlax-san?"

 

Mya looked across the field at Star and Masaru with a sad expression. Will they acknowledge me as a friend after this? Or will I continued to be shunned for my actions? Like the past 2 years...whatever the outcome is, I will have no regrets...I hope... She pulled out her sword and twirled it so she held it backward. She hasn't had much practice fighting with a sword backhanded, but it gives her a higher advantage of having more unpredictable strikes as not many people, if any, use a sword backhanded.

 

Glowering darkly at their opponents, Masamune grit his teeth. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted the dark hooded figures taking a few seats in the stadium. PKs from the Laughing Coffin? No...some other guild? A bolt of clarity struck him and his glower became even more demonic, PoH's lackies... If he thinks he can get me when I'm down, he's dead wrong! Tying his ribbon securely around his forearm, he pulled his sword from its sheath. "If he thinks he can eliminate me from the picture so easily...I'll just have to beat him back into his place!" Holding his sword in both hands directly in front of him, he adopted a lower stance than usual. Using his unique skill was out of the question. Wasting such an ability on a couple of kids would only serve as more fuel to the raging fire that PoH had already set. Not to mention if he revealed it to them...they'd in turn tell PoH all about it and he'd lose his edge. No way I'm falling behind...that snot-nosed brat of a PK will get what's coming to him! Checking the timer, he realized...it was gone. His eyes widened and nervously glanced down at his hands. He didn't look any different now that his cursor was back to green. A half-hearted glance to the side at Mya told him she hadn't realized the change yet.

Traversing past Hayden and Kaito as casually as one can get wearing a dark blue hooded cloak, the pair of PKers laughed amongst themselves as they spotted Masamune. "That kid? No way. He's such a brat!" "Eh...either way...boss wants him out. A Guild Leader and PK that allows themself to go even a day close to green...ain't worth a cent of what he says."

 

"Sure, bring me back a drink." Kaito replied. He would probably just wait there until the next match started. Considering who was fighting, he had no intentions of missing the action.

 

Masaru looked at the two opponents carefully and as the Timer counted down to zero, he charged forward, utlizing his <<Sprint>> skill to it's full potenial, bringing Dream Eater to clash rather hard against Masamune's sword,c reating a reaction of sparks between the two swords as metal grinded against metal, with Masamune's hands occupied by holding his sword by both hands, most likely catching both Masamuen and Mya off guard as he seemed distracted by something, it was a good adantage as with his free hand, moved it forward to grab Masamune's ribbon.

"If he recovers, I'll move in that direction and think of a counterattack, this is Plan A after all, there's five others to put to use in case this fails, but they don't know that, so we have the advantage in tactics here." He thought to himself, D was a tactic he hoped to never show how much effort he put into, but it did require spilt second timing and very fast reflexes

 

The timer hit zero. Star's Infinity Bow came shooting out of her sword with her daggers already out for use. Aim, hit the location of her vital areas, move in for the final blow. Star released her daggers, all 3 of them in a second. Blink and you would have missed it. All were headed towards Mya. Each would impact her sword as Star sprint towards her continuing to shoot daggers. Mya would have to be off balance with these, as Star swept underneath her when close enough and put Mya in an arm grip. "I cant take your flag, but you also cant move. Once Masaru is done with Masamune, he will take yours with ease."

 

Mya didn't notice the timer count down until the last second which led to her downfall. She panicked and blocked all of the daggers before being held in a grip. She sighed. I'm sorry Masamune...I wasn't prepared for this kind of a fight. She tilted her head to Star. "You won't let me fight? Even a little? If I'm gonna lose, at least make it worthwhile. A final round shouldn't be this... anticlimactic. Well whatever. People would do anything to win I guess..." She opened her hand, dropping her sword onto the ground.

 

Masamune's irritation didn't dull his reflexes. Blocking Masaru was easy enough even as the boy moved to steal his ribbon. Letting one hand let go of his sword, he kept the same pressure back against Masaru's blade even with one hand. Grabbing hold of Masaru's wrist reaching for his ribbon, he growled "Do it, I dare you. Go ahead and take the damn thing. ...if you can." His eyes flicked up towards the PKs lurking in the stands. "You see them? They're not my friends, boy. Win or lose...soon I'll be fighting for my life and possibly yours, your girlfriends' and Mya's." His reddish brown eyes narrowed in anger, "That doesn't mean I'll let you win or that you should go easy on me. Pull your punches and I swear I won't stop when your health hits red." His threat was dark as he pushed back, harder, against Masaru. A cruel smirk crept onto his lips, "Typical of a Soloer. You spend a few days on the front lines and suddenly you think you're hot stuff? I know what goes on in the heads of players like you. You do a few things everyone says is dangerous and then you think you're all that..." Just like him... "Next thing you know...you've confronted a PK on a bad day." It made him cringe to think about his now brightly glowing green cursor. Could he even still call himself a PK with that thing floating over his head?

 

Masaru held his ground and listened to Masamune's words. "It's your own fault for even being a part of that Guild in the first place." He said and twisted his foot to sweep at his leg and make him lsoe ablance as he jumped back. "I don't spend just a few days on the Front-Lines, I spent if not most of my time dedicated to clearing this game, but I never looked down upon people, thinking I'm better than them because if I did, that'd be becoming someone I'm not."
He would shift hsi stance and continue. "I confrontned and jailed PK's but everyone deserves a chance at life, even someone like you despite what happened that day we all spilt apart... there's never a day I forget what occured but I push on, despite the guilt I carry because of it." He finished stared at Masamune, eyes directly confrotning his. "I could never take someone's life but neither would I leave someone to die, be it enemy or friend."

"But you're not a PKer anymore, you're Green, so currently, all I see right now is a fellow Player who wants this game to be cleared and getting back to where we truly belong." He stated and pointed Dream Eater at Masamune.

"I need more allies, friends to call upon to aid me in the task of clearing this game, this is what I ask of you, will you be my ally and help me or will you refuse and work alone?" he finished, hearing the crowd's protests at this conversation.

 

Masamune flipped back, using his free hand to touch down on the ground and complete his flip. Masaru made his offer and he straightened. "You want me...a PK and a real-life murderer...to help you? Now does that sound smart?" He shook his head, a grin tugging the corners of his mouth up. "You refer to my cursor's change...and of a moment in the distant past....you even, just like my dear Mya, believe I joined the guild I'm in." Spreading his arms, "I'm not saying no, my young friend...I would never be foolish enough to turn my eyes from a deal that isn't going to turn on me like a feral beast." Closing his eyes and sighing, he pointed his sword towards Star and Mya. "Unfortunately...this isn't the time to be discussing a deal." Even as he spoke, he flicked open his menu, sending an 'Add to Contacts' request to Masaru and only Masaru. "We'll be in touch." Waving a two fingered salute, he sprinted like lightning towards his partner, sword tucked at his hip, pointed for the young woman holding her captive.

 

Seeing the suspicious members come on to the stands Scarlet made a quick hand gesture using her middle and index fingers pointed upwards and spun them around. This told those who were not around the ring of the match, there to stop the PK from actually killing anyone, to spread out and surround any ominous figures. In a guild only chat they were given orders to stand by while the match went on but pounce if any of them made even the slightest move that looked like trouble.