Fuyumi quickly logged off and took her headset off. In a rush, she sloppily threw it on the charging rack beside her computer desk and pushed herself out of her office chair and bolted toward the door.
Unable to stop in time, her side crashed into the door with a thud. She then swung the door open and ran down the hall toward Ayaka's room. Her uncouth clothing and frantic running was completely contrary to her usual image. The only thing on her mind was Ayaka's safety.
"Please let me make it in time!"
"This time I can make a difference!"
"This time I can protect her."
These thoughts ran through her mind at the speed of light. She burst through the door to her friend's room and looked to the right to find an empty computer desk. She then snapped to the left to find Ayaka in her pajamas brushing her wet hair in front of a wardrobe and mirror.
"What are you doing?! Haven't I told you to knock before opening? I thought we were over this years ago!"
She let out a big sigh of relief upon hearing Ayaka's complaints. Ayaka put the brush down and got up from the stool.
"What's wrong? You seem like you just ran a marathon, are you okay?!"
Ayaka grabbed her friend's shoulders and pulled her in for a hug.
"Sorry if I scolded you a little too much."
Fuyumi rested her head on Ayaka's shoulder. Ayaka lightly pushed her away but held on to her hands.
"Hmmmm? What's that look on your face? Did you just want a hug from your big sis?"
"You're not… my sister…"
Fuyumi's voice was hoarse and unsteady, restrained by her labored breathing.
"Come on, when are you gonna warm up to me! You might as well be! What's got you in such a state?"
"It's… nothing… I just wanted to tell you to make sure not to have anyone or anything take off… your Zero VR headset while you are still in the game."
Ayaka pinched Fuyumi's cheeks into a smile.
"I didn't plan on it anyway. I'll be fine!"
Ayaka let out a big smile before hugging Fuyumi tightly.
"Mmmm your hair! It's wet!"
Ayaka quickly pushed herself away.
"Haha! Sorry! Sorry! I'll let you get back to the game then. I'll be on in a few minutes myself."
Fuyumi walked toward the door and looked back at Ayaka once more who waved at her. Fuyumi waved back before closing the door behind her.
She put her back against the door and slid down until she hit the ground. Her head tilted down and she clasped her hands together and sighed in relief.
"You ok out there?" Ayaka chucked, failing to keep herself from laughing
"I'm fine, thank you!" Fuyumi yelled from the other side of the door sarcastically.
"If you need me, just shoot me a message! I'll log in a few minutes after I put on some lotion."
"Thanks…" Fuyumi spoke quietly.
She pushed herself off the floor and walked back to her room, her heart rate slowly returning back to normal. Fuyumi hoped that she didn't keep Shin and Nightingale worried for too long.
+++++++++++++++++++
Shin sat, eagerly waiting for Fuyumi to return. The party of arguing adventurers in front of them had mostly dispersed now aside from Aureo, Jinra, and two other players who sat a couple of tables away from them. Shin was tapping his foot and leaning forward in his chair toward Fuyumi, who was resting with her head on the table. Meanwhile, Nightingale finished grabbing a cup of water from the bar counter. He placed it in front of Shin and sat down beside him.
He let out a long breath and leaned back in the chair, placing one arm around the back of Shin's chair.
"Think everything will be alright?"
"I mean, I hope so."
Shin glanced over at Aureo's table. They were all sitting in front of Jinra as if they were interviewing him.
"You think something bad actually happened to him?" Shin continued.
"Well, when I went over there earlier to ask them how it was going, they told me that he was starting to act a little more normal again but he still wasn't quite the same."
Nightingale patted Shin's back.
"I'm sure Fuyumi is going to be fine. After all, she did log off of her own volition."
"Yeah, I hope so."
Shin played with a strand of her hair, swirling it around his finger. Fuyumi's eyes slowly began to open. Noticing this, Shin quickly retracted his hand, put his back to the chair, and tried to act natural.
"Welcome back."
"Oh, why isn't it sleeping beauty waking up from her hundred-year slumber!" Nightingale said, teasingly.
Fuyumi stretched her arms out in front of her as if she had just woken up from a nap. Shin's face was slightly red from the close encounter.
"Thanks."
Nightingale clicked his tongue.
"Ah! Not even a reaction?!"
"If I'm the sleeping beauty then I'll take that as a compliment."
"Shit… Anyway, what happened?" Nightingale said, crossing his arms.
"I just checked on something in real life. Nothing crazy."
Fuyumi looked away as she answered, reluctant to give out any additional information.
"You mean Ayaka?" Nightingale replied
Shin turned to Nightingale and grinned.
"Bullseye."
Fuyumi closed her eyes tight and covered her face with both of her hands in embarrassment.
"Yes… Everything is fine. I got a little worried after hearing what happened to those two earlier and seeing that she wasn't online."
Nightingale put both his hands on the table and leaned forward.
"Shall we get going then?"
They got up from their seats and began walking toward the exit. As they passed the other group of adventurers, Aureo waved at them to get their attention.
"Hey! Hold up! I know this is really out of nowhere and very sudden and all… But could you take over for us? We were supposed to be handling a request from some players a few buildings down from here."
He made a quick glance at Jinra before continuing.
"Given that we're in this situation and most of our party is gone, I don't think we can really deal with that right now…"
Aureo shifted his gaze to the floor.
"Yeah, sure we'll see what we can do."
When he heard Nightingale's voice, Aureo lightened up. He put his hands together in a plea.
"Thanks a ton! I really didn't want to let them down after taking their request and all. Oh, and of course, the quest details!"
Aureo dug around in his bag hanging from his belt before taking out a ruffled piece of paper and handing it to Nightingale.
---------
[Unique Quest: Neighborhood Disturbance]
The townspeople in the district have been gathering around to make a complaint regarding a disturbance in the area. Several people have gone missing and have not returned to their homes after dark. Most of the people were women.
Investigate the cause of the disturbance and missing persons reports.
Return to Edea to relay the information upon figuring it out.
(?) - Unique quests can only be completed once and will no longer be available to other players once the clearing party turns in the rewards.
[Rewards]
880 XP, 16,500 silver coins
---------
"This isn't much of a reward." Shin thought out loud.
Nightingale put a finger up to his mouth as a sign for Shin to be quiet.
"We don't have much else to do right now anyway since we're waiting for something. Thanks for helping us kill some free time!"
Aureo scratched the back of his head.
"No, no! Thanks for taking this off of our hands and looking after us. I really appreciate it. If you don't mind, let me know when you finished the job! I'm a little curious about the outcome. The NPC we got it from was an interesting one."
"Do you know where we can find this Edea NPC?" Shin stepped forward and asked.
"They're just a few streets away from here. If you make a left from outside the guild hall and walk down until you see an arched-covered walkway, that'll lead you to them."
"Thanks."
Aureo grabbed Shin's hand and shook it enthusiastically.
"Thanks really!"
Shin was taken back from his passion but tried to put up a smile back at Aureo who had a wide grin.
"I shouldn't take up much more of your time. Before you go, here's my contact."
Nightingale tapped the empty space in front of him, accepting a friend request from Aureo.
"We'll talk to you soon then."
"Good luck!"
The party of three turned their backs to Aureo and left the guild hall.