Chapter 21 - Fuumaningun

Urbus was a dusty, old settlement, about half the size of the Town of Beginnings, built in the middle of a crater. Since they were the first to arrive at the 2nd floor, and had yet to activate the teleporter, only NPCs were present in the town, which Drifter found quite amusing. At least for a few moments, they had the entire town to themselves.

"Say, you don't think we should go ahead and search the shops for rare items or ask the NPCs for quests, do you?"

Nautilus' carelessly spoken thoughts brought them all to a stop. Drifter glanced at his party members, who were considering the idea. Eventually, both he and Asuna shook their heads. Drifter spoke first.

"We most certainly could, and no one could complain. We did risk our lives to get here, and to allow everyone else to do the same, after all. But I don't think we should."

"Yeah, there's no need to give Kibaou more reasons to 'prove' Kirito is a beater."

Asuna mimicked quotation marks with her fingers as she spoke, and showed Kirito a smile that had him mesmerized for a few seconds before he blushed and nodded vehemently.

"Y-Yes! Thank you!"

Very soon the group arrived at the teleporter located right in the middle of Urbus's central plaza. Drifter gestured to it in a mock bow.

"The honor is yours, party leader."

"Ehh! Please don't call me that ever again."

"Hahahahaha..."

As Kirito touched the teleporter, all six of them, without exception, flashed with a brief white light, showing they had gained a level. The swordsman raised his eyebrows.

"That's new. There didn't use to be any experience bonus for activating the teleporter."

That was all he had time to say before someone charged out of said teleporter, which was now glowing, and almost bowled him over. Kirito barely managed to step out of the way before the person looked up, saw who he was, and hid behind his back.

"Argo?"

"Kii-bou! Eep!"

The info broker let out a squeak when the teleporter flashed again. Two players, dressed in what looked weirdly similar to 18th-century ninja attire, stepped through and looked around for a bit. When they spotted Argo, the two players completely ignored the party and made to grab her. There was no way in hell Drifter was allowing that.

His own hand shooting forward, Drifter held the wrist of one of the ninjas in a vice-grip. He quickly tried to pull back, surprised, but Drifter refused to let go. While you couldn't lose HP inside a safe zone, it didn't mean you couldn't touch other players, nor that stats were nullified. And Drifter was one of the players who just fought what was the strongest mob in SAO until this morning. His strength was nothing to scoff at, and it certainly couldn't be beaten by someone playing ninja.

"Now, what do you think you are doing?"

---------------------------------

"That bastard..."

Watching the boss raid through her menu, Argo felt her heart skip a beat whenever Kirito, Drifter, Yuna, and Nautilus came close to death. And, apart from the songstress, it happened too many times for her to feel comfortable.

When Diavel died, tears threatened to spill from her eyes before she blinked them away and wiped her face forcefully. While she didn't know the blue-haired player well, they had talked quite a few times, and discussed the boss battle. He had based his whole strategy around the information the two of them remembered from the beta test. Information they now knew to be wrong. It was far too late.

And when Kibaou started babbling on about how Kirito let Diavel die, and how he was a cheater, or that disgusting new word they came up with, Argo wanted nothing more than to claw his bits off and feed them to the << Cyan Rock Fish >>. How could that bastard be so stupid, so unfeeling?!

Why did he think he had any right to assume what Diavel wanted?! Just because the player had talked to him a couple times?!

Argo knew better. She knew Diavel had ordered everyone to stay back because he was looking to get the last hit bonus, which granted a special piece of equipment. In a way, he died because of his greed. But to Argo, that didn't mean in any way, shape, or form, that Diavel was deserving of less than the highest honors and respect they could offer him. While she was hesitant to call him or anyone a hero, the info broker knew for a fact that if it wasn't for Diavel taking charge and encouraging the players, they would have taken much longer to bring down the 1st boss. Some fools - and she included Kibaou at the top of that list - might have even thought they could take Illfang on their own, and died because of their overconfidence. But trying to lynch Kirito, the player who took over and led them to victory after Diavel had fallen, was not the way to honor his memory. What Kibaou had done almost destroyed all of Diavel's efforts. It would have, had Kirito not turned himself into a scapegoat.

"Information broker Argo."

"Eep!"

So focused she was, Argo didn't notice the two players approaching her until they were right next to her. Doing a backward roll, she put some distance between herself and the two people cosplaying as ninjas. And then she groaned.

"Jesus fuckin' Christ, why are ya guys after me again? I already told ya I don't have whatchu want!"

"Information broker Argo, it is of utmost concern to our lord that we acquire the piece of intel we already notified you about, and which is believed to be in your possession."

"And, like I said, I don't have it!"

Rolling her eyes at their overly formal manner of speech, Argo tensed her body in preparation to bolt. Those two ninjas belonged to a group called Fuumaningum, and had been bothering her for the last few days. They wanted some information, which was right up her alley. Only, she didn't have that intel, and it bothered her. What annoyed her even more was that they didn't believe her.

"Our lord firmly believes you..."

"If that lord of yours is so certain, then they don't need my confirmation, do they? Agh! I don't have time for this! See ya never!"

Relying on her high dexterity, Argo jumped from the roof. The soft 'thumps' she heard, and a quick glance over her shoulder, showed the ninjas were still following her. Scowling, she ran to the teleporter, hoping to lose them on the 2nd floor.

'Kii-bou, you better not be dilly-dallying or I'm gonna be pissed!'

It seemed someone heard her prayers, because just as she reached the previously deactivated teleporter, it suddenly glowed brightly, startling the nearby players, who were still discussing the boss battle. Without hesitation, Argo stepped into the device.

"Urbus!"

She saw Kirito as soon as she arrived on the second floor, and immediately hid behind him. Then, when the two ninjas came through, the info broker felt all warm and fuzzy inside when Drifter's eyes hardened and he stopped them, while the rest of the party also moved to position themselves between Argo and her pursuers.

"Now, what do you think you are doing?"

The ninja Drifter was holding struggled for a while to free his hand before giving up. He and his partner then proceeded to give the party a dirty look, which they summarily ignored.

"Well?"

"Our words are only for the ears of information broker Argo, fellow prisoner."

Drifter raised an eyebrow, and turned to Argo, who silently mouthed the word 'cosplayers'. Letting go of the ninja, he pinched his nose bridge.

"Look, I don't know why you are talking or dressed like that, but, we are, as you put it, 'fellow prisoners'. I dunno what intel Argo has that you want, but she made it very clear she either doesn't have it, or is not willing to sell it. Don't you think you are being obnoxious by chasing after her when she already said 'no'?"

The two players exchanged glances, but didn't back off, or offer any answer, really. Drifter really wasn't looking forward to having to deal with them on top of everything that happened today, but it wasn't like he had a choice.

"Let's take a step back. Who are you, exactly?"

"Our names are unimportant, fellow prisoner. We are but blades in service of our lord."

"They belong to a cosplayin' wannabe guild called Fuumaningum."

"Wait! Do you mean those three guys who went around pledging loyalty to random people back in the beta?"

Now that the cat was out of the bag, Kirito didn't have nearly as many concerns about making references to the beta test as he did before. His outburst caused the ninjas to look at him, instead of just staring straight through him and at Argo, like they had been doing. When that happened, Drifter saw the exact moment their eyes bulged behind their masks. As one, they bowed.

"Our apologies, mighty warrior. We weren't aware we were in the presence of the one who has slain the foul beast keeping us captive to the floor below."

"W-What?"

That had both Kirito and everyone else halting right in their tracks. It wasn't difficult to understand what the cosplayers were referring to, but the question was: how did they know?

Argo snickered when she saw Drifter's dumbstruck expression - it was not one she got to witness very often. Unfortunately for her, after presenting their apologies, the ninjas ran away and disappeared into an alleyway, as it should be expected. That made everyone turn to the info broker, and she gulped when she saw the not-quite-a-smile Drifter had.

"I think you have some explaining to do, little rat."

"He-he..."

...

Not much later, the group found themselves in one of Urbus' hidden cafes, courtesy of Kirito's beta knowledge. They had decided the boss raid was more than enough excitement for the day, and that they would take the remainder of it to talk and rest.

"Where should we start?"

"How about why the... Ninjas, were following Argo?"

"Yay, must ya come after me immediately, Yu-chan?"

"Considering we just saved your hide, Argo, I think it's a fair question."

The info broker showed a pained expression that fooled no one. Finally, Argo broke into a huge grin.

"Aight, aight. That's gonna be a freebie only 'cause ya helped me, okay? They wanted to know 'bout a certain skill from the beta. Since it only becomes available after the 2nd floor's unlocked, and seein' all the changes old Kayaba made, I didn't wanna sell it to them before verifyin' it, but Fuumaningum wasn't willin' to wait."

"Who are those guys anyway?"

Before Argo could demand payment - Asuna and Sinon still weren't used to how the little gremlin's mind worked - Kirito answered, ignoring her pout.

"There were only three of them during the beta. They cosplayed as ninjas and shinobis, and, whenever they met someone, they would either assassinate them - or try, at least - or offer them their services, as if they were their lords. They were... Are a weird bunch."

"Ay, Kii-bou's right. And they got more people who go along with them. Stopped the assassination business though. Cosplay still goin' strong, but even they understand the situation."

There were nods from around the table. In the end, Fuumaningum wasn't harming anyone. They were willing to pay Argo for the intel, even if they were somewhat forceful about it. Only, she wasn't willing to sell it. Drifter knocked on the table to catch everyone's attention.

"That outta the way, there's something I am more concerned about. One of the ninjas recognized Kirito as the one who 'has slain the foul beast'. He can only mean Illfang. If word's traveling that fast, it will only be a matter of time before what happened after becomes known too."

Once again, the party nodded in agreement. Only Argo looked confused, but what the info broker said next had all of them sputtering.

"Ya mean the whole beater thingy?"

"H-How do you..."

"Wait, ya mean ya don't know 'bout the live-stream?"

Seeing the dumbfounded looks Kirito, Drifter, Asuna, Sinon, Nautilus, and Yuna had, Argo whistled.

"Well, shit. No wonder y'all are so calm. Kayaba came up with a few new ideas since the beta. See that new camera icon in your menus? It's grey now, but durin' the raid it streamed the fight from a bird's-eye view. Scared the crap outta me when it appeared. I never knew how anxiety-inducing watchin' someone else fight could be."

"B-But... That means all the players saw it!"

"Yep! And what happened later too. The transmission only stopped once everyone left the boss room. But for what it is worth, I'm with you, Kii-bou."

The boy didn't hear the last bit, or, if he did, didn't respond to it. Kirito lowered his head and hit the table with his forehead.

"Arghh!"

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"... proven to be true. Another government official who is part of the Sword Art Online Case Victims Rescue Force made a statement today confirming that what we watched was, indeed, a live transmission. It has also been confirmed that the player known as Diavel, whose real identity will remain anonymous, lost his life within ten seconds of his in-game death. Our thoughts go to his family and..."

Kikouka turned off the television, and rubbed his temples. He had finally dealt with the backlash of today's boss raid. The day had started with a lot of confusion and panic, then an earful from his boss, and then another forty-seven earful's from the relatives of all the participating players in the battle. There was also Diavel's sister and mother. Kikouka didn't know how to deal with a crying woman, much less two. And, finally, he had to deal with the media.

Of course, while this day was close to over, the repercussions of it weren't. But there was pretty much nothing he could do other than hope the next boss battle wouldn't be as perilous.