Three Years After Day Zero in Land of Shadows
June 25th
The Town of Grounder
"Guildmaster Masa! Guildmaster Masa! She's back from the mission," Joey shouted as he rushed into the guildmaster's quarters. Masa, who thanks to the game system's scans had aged since Day Zero and looked his age instead of like an eighteen year-old teen, looked away from flirting with his assistant. The woman seemed less than pleased in her druid attire, a spell book clutched to her chest as she pushed against the guildmaster's chest.
"Who is," Masa asked with a bored expression. His assistant sighed, rolling her eyes and pulling out a small notepad from one of the many pockets in her skirt, flipping through it and smiling when she found something. Masa pouted at her, looking more like a small child than a twenty year-old guildmaster and senior beta player in the Land of Shadows VRMMORPG. "How come you look like that when you look at a piece of paper, but when I'm with you, you seem to hate me, Karla?"
"Guildmaster Masa, how is it that you became a guildmaster and Taro, who by the way, has come back from a mission, isn't when she is so much more suited to that position," Karla asked haughtily. She smiled at Joey as he stood impatiently in the doorway, both excited about Taro's return and disapproving of their guildmaster's motives toward the younger sister. "Why don't we go greet Taro? She's been gone for nearly three days now. I think we were all a little worried."
"I bet you wish my loner of a sister would be the guildmaster. Too bad she prefers to be a solo player. If she were a guy, you would be falling at her feet," Masa mumbled as he walked swiftly back to his desk, grabbing his cloak and fastening the clasp emblazoned with the Shade Guild's emblem.
"My, what gave you that idea, Guildmaster Masa," Karla asked sarcastically before scrunching her nose up at the idea of Taro as a guy. She looked back at her brother who had turned and waited patiently for her in the doorway. "Masa, you are a good leader, and that is why Taro helped you set up this guild and let you lead. She believes in you, so you should prove that you are who she believes you are. You put up this front to defend yourself from your fear of your sister's solo player status, but by doing so you are failing her and those who rely on you. Toughen up and straighten out your act."
"You should come greet her with us, Guildmaster Masa. I'm sure Taro'd be thrilled to see you. You haven't talked to her since your last fight over her joining the guild," Joey said quietly before walking out of the room, Karla hot on his heels.
"Yeah," Masa mumbled, straightening his clothes. "It has been a while."
-..-..-
Taro was as cool and collected as ever. Her face was carefully emotionless, her dress was chosen as to not give away her class, and her weapons were kept hidden as to keep her as pleasant to be around as possible. She led her game-generated companion, a German shepherd named Kotaro, through the center of the commercial town of Grounder. She made sure to keep her information inaccessible and to keep from showing exactly how exhausted she really was.
The citizens of Grounder parted like the Red Sea before her and she had to stop from snapping in annoyance at the players. It was only natural, though. The name Taro was like the name of a god in Land of Shadows. Taro herself knew that she had done nothing to remain on the down low. It was clear that Kotaro had noticed her emotional readings as his normally calm demeanor that she had set in his systematic reactions was wiped away, a growling beast replacing him much like the Kotaro she knew while in battle.
"Easy Kotaro. We just have to make it to Shade Tower," she whispered, and immediately calming her companion's unease. She could see the shining silver tower not too much farther into Grounder, but it wasn't spawning her typical elated reactions. She could clearly remember the fight she and the Shade guildmaster had had. It wasn't any harsher than usual, but she couldn't help but feel that it was more final than the others she and her younger brother had had.
"You need to settle down, Taro! This is a dangerous game and you know it! If you keep going out to the front lines you might not come back next time! What will I do then," Masa shouted at her, eyes narrowed at his sister who stood calmly on the other side of his office. The fact that her stats were hidden didn't help the situation. "How am I supposed to trust you to be all right, especially on your own, when I don't even know who you really are here? How am I supposed to let you go?"
"What am I supposed to do, Masa? Let others go out and fight and die when I could be out there and maybe save lives? We finally have a reason to fight, we're on the verge of an uproar between advanced Shadowlanders and players!" Taro's composure seemed to slip a little, and she took a breath to regain it. "I am more than capable, Masa. I have the ability to hack the system to some extent, so I can protect myself even without my own skills. I am plenty able to be doing this, and I have always worked best when I know who I can trust, and right now, that is just me and Kotaro."
"Kotaro is a system-generated mutt! He isn't something you can trust or rely on," Masa shouted, earning the same cool glare that was Taro's trademark. "Join the guild, Taro. You started this guild, and you should lead it too, but you just being a member would put me at ease. You would qualify for guild housing and be able to get out of the slums."
"I chose to live in the slums, Masa. I want to be with the people I'm out there fight for. I don't want to be in a guild, but knowing that the guild I gave you is safe for all members makes me feel better."
"Taro-"
"No, Masa. I'm not joining. Take care of the guild for me, okay," she said, turning to exit the guildmaster's quarters.
"Taro, we're not done here!"
"Goodbye Masa. Keep an eye out for any trouble in Grounder or in the guild. I'll be back soon."
Taro sighed heavily; it had been almost a month since that fight and they still hadn't talked. Sure, she had been back to Shade Tower, and she had even seen Masa since then, but she was just as stubborn as he was, and they hadn't even greeted each other. She had taken more quests than usual in order to keep her mind off of their disagreement. She idly wondered if Masa hated her or would speak to her once she got back, but that was of little importance. She would continue to support him and the guild as much as she could, regardless of a strained relationship. As long as they survived she would be willing to deal with any harsh feelings they held for her. They just had to survive long enough for her to figure out why Land of Shadows had trapped them all inside the game and how to get them all out... or at least get everyone else out.
"Did you hear about Taro's last mission. She killed an army of 100 demons and then finished off some monsters before dinner because she was bored. She's a beast. We should be glad that she's a protector and not a member of a murder guild," one of the players said to a friend.
"How do we know she's not part of an MG? She blocks all of her stats and data from public view. I hear she also makes shady trips to international servers. She's probably hiding the fact that she's a part of a foreign MG. Either way, we should be careful around her."
"But I heard she founded the Shade Guild on Day Zero. It's a powerful guardian guild that protects all of the U.S. servers and players, not to mention runs the guild alliances and helps out with the economics and politics of the towns. She can't be all that bad."
"But she isn't even a member of her own guild; she's a solo player. I don't think she's ever even been in a party. She's a powerful player who hates involvement with others. She's got enough assets to last a lifetime in this game. I don't see why she wouldn't use all of that to her advantage. That would be befitting of her solo status. Solo players are selfish scum. I hear she lives in some mansion in the upper east side of Grounder."
Taro had to admit that what they were saying was true, except for the location of residence. Solo players were notorious for being assassins-for-hire, rich, or fickle as could be. She was none of those things, but that didn't mean that she wasn't suited to be like that... and she had to admit she was a terribly strong player with a tendency to overdo it or to act harshly.
She hardly realized that she had stopped until Kotaro began to whine beside her, looking up at her with his tongue lolling out. She smiled down at him and patted his head softly.
"It's okay, Kotaro. I'm just a little worn out," she said softly, ignoring the growing crowd that seemed to become more and more agitated. Although the crowd was distracting, she could sense a group of approaching players with a more lighthearted atmosphere around them. She had a feeling she knew who was in the group. "Let's just wait here for a while. You okay with that boy?" Kotaro panted in response. They didn't have to wait all that long before the oncoming party arrived.
"Taro! Taro! Taro! Taro!" Taro was nearly knocked over by the two younger players that barreled toward her. She chuckled and looked down to see both Karla and Joey were both grinning up at her like idiots. Kotaro just looked at them and continued panting happily, tail wagging.
"What a good guard dog you are," Taro chuckled, receiving a bark in answer.
"We're so glad you're back, Taro! You jerk! You left us behind without a word! We had to find out from Soren that you had gone off again," Joey said softly, his eyes glossing over with tears. He stuck his face into Taro's neck.
"Don't cry, Joey. Remember what I said three years ago?"
"You asked us to come along on an adventure with you," Joey said quietly.
"And adventurers-"
"Don't cry," Masa finished, catching Taro's attention immediately. "It's good to have you back in Grounder again, sister. Although I must say, talking to Soren instead of your beloved founding guild member children-things is kind of harsh, I must say."
"Not much of a choice there... wait, what did you just call them? Don't answer that. Soren is in charge of keeping my will in order. I have to talk to the scribe every time I leave on a mission." Taro's face went tight and her body language became less free. "It's good to see you again."
"I'm sorry," both Masa and Taro said at the same time. Karla and Joey giggled from their places latched onto Taro. Taro looked away from her brother, a look of utter defeat on her face. "You have nothing to be sorry about, Masa. You are my little brother and you are looking out for both of us. I must apologize for my harsh actions."
"It was a battle that I picked and I knew how you would react. It's my fault. You have nothing to be sorry for," Masa said quietly, looking away as well. The heavy atmosphere was broken by Kotaro whose systematic response to his master's upset was to take attention away from the problem. Masa smiled at the dog that his sister treasured so much. "I hope you're taking care of my big sister out there, Kotaro."
"He is," Taro said softly, managing to push the two younger players away. "I'm home, and I brought all kinds of gifts for you guys and the guild. I made a killing on this past mission, so the guild should be good for expenses for at least a few months without worrying about watching costs, so feel free to spend a little extra and rest some of the front line fighters for a while."
"And you have enough to get by," Masa asked quietly. Taro nodded with a careful smile. "You should make sure that you don't give too much to the guild. You live in the slums, yet you pay dues to the guild plus some. You know, you don't have to give anything to the guild since you aren't in it. What's the use if you don't get guild support or advantages?"
"It is my guild, so I have a duty to keep it afloat," Taro said dismissively, sending a smile to the two children who were beaming up at her. "Hey Karla, how's druid training? Joey, how about your tank training? I heard Soren talking about sending you guys out into the field on a mission pretty soon. I'll take that as a sign and say that training is going good."
"Yeah, but just this week a team of healing druids and knights from the guild were killed by a MG. I don't think I want to go out there, let alone let Karla out," Joey said, ruffling his sister's hair. Taro hummed.
"If you want, I'll go out with you on a mission."
"Really," Karla asked excitedly, brushing off her brother's hand.
"Yeah, it'd be fun. Maybe tomorrow or the day after that. Right now I want to catch up on guild affairs and rest for a while. I'm starving and it's about time I figure out how well my brother is at protecting my family. I just brought back enough for an S class meal for everyone. I'm cooking."
"Yeah, we should talk about some of the guild politics. Something pretty major has come up that I think you'd like some say in. We can also look into some missions for the two noobs," Masa said, leaning down to pat Kotaro on the head. He paused. "S class... How much did you-"
"It's settled then. Let's head back to Shade Tower. The crowd is starting to grate on my nerves." Kotaro barked an affirmative before bolting on ahead of the group, all of whom, except for Masa, quickly ran after him, laughing as if the mood hadn't been heavy just moments before. Shade Tower in all its shining silver glory glinted down on the four players as if death wasn't an imminent part of everyday life in the world of Land of Shadows.
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