LINKED | Brothers Online Series | BK #1

Chapter 13: Feelings & a Duel

December 25, 2022 - Town
Satomi (Yumi) Noa

"Come on Yumi, get up! Rise and shine! We've got a big day today!" Zara's bubbly tone pierced through the dense fog of my drowsiness, and I groggily rolled on my bed.

"Mghgm..." I mumbled tiredly, "Don't wanna..."

"Oh hurry it up sleepyhead," she responded with giggle, "Come on! Come on!"

I groaned again and snuggled back up into the fluffy blankets. "Don't wanna," I muttered, "Tired." I wormed into the warm embrace, curling up like a miniature shrimp. Zara gave another giggle and said, "Hurry up Yumi. We'll be late."
'For what?' I thought, 'Was there a schedule?' I wasn't so sure what the rush was. It wasn't like we had a plan or anything. However, Zara's voice revealed her excitement, something I did not have at this early hour.
"Oh get up!" Zara gripped the bed sheets and yanked back, exposing me to the cold. I squeaked and lunged for the fuzzy material.
"Gimme," I mumbled.
"Nope! Get up!" The blankets were thrown off my bed to show a feisty Zara with hands on her hips. She wore a yellow tank top with purple shorts, and her face was scrunched up in a teasing frown. "Now hurry up! Up up up!" I grunted and shoved myself upwards on wobbly legs.
"I'm up... up..." I swayed a few times and plopped back down on the bed. "N-never mind."
Zara sighed and sat down next to me. She gave me a smile, "You okay?"

"Tired."

"Well come on," she nudged, "We're going to look for Evermore today. Remember her?"
I nodded and crawled over to sit next to Zara. I gave her a return nudge and a light smile. She also smiled back, but there was a strangeness in her eyes, something that I haven't seen.

"Cobalt... he spilled his heart back there," Zara mumbled, voice turning soft as she stared at the ground with hunched shoulders. "You could hear the... heart in his voice. It... sounded nice." She kept her head lowered and continued to talk. "I mean... it must be nice you know, having someone who cares so much. Oh I'm not talking about parents. They always care. I'm talking about someone who would focus his entire survival into finding someone else." She sighed and fell back on the bed, arms splayed outwards. "Could you imagine someone like that Yumi? Someone so dedicated to you that they'll go through anything to find you? Hmm?"
I didn't know what to say, I really didn't. The thought had never crossed my mind. She was talking about love wasn't she? She was talking about something that I have never even thought about. Did this mean that Zara was lonely? Or... sad? What was it supposed to mean?
"Z-Zara? Are you okay?" I poked her in the side with a gentle finger.
"I'm fine Yumi... Just thoughtful."
"Okay then. Are we going?"
Zara nodded and sat up with a sigh. Seconds later, the old bright smile appeared on her face, seemingly plastered like a sticker on a schoolboy's folder. "Yep! Let's go!" The flurry of activity that expounded from my blonde-haired friend covered up any signs of weakness from before. She pranced off into the bathroom with an excited laugh. I finally slipped out of bed and started to change into my thief outfit. By the time Zara exited, she was back into her white and red clothes with the armor over her chest. The two-handed sword was strapped over her back and pointed diagonally. She held out a hand to me and I took it with a smile.
"Come on! Let's go!"
Walking out of the door, we made our way downstairs and into the inn's main lobby. The area was pretty empty due to the early hour. I gave a soft sigh, a tad bit annoyed at the scheduled meeting time that Thom had set up. I remember what he had said before going off to sleep.
"You people want to find Evermore? Then listen up. Early bird gets the worm, or in our case, the first frontliner to get up and start grinding gets the best mob spawns. So up early tomorrow. Say... five o'clock. Set an alarm. Meet in the lobby."
I had bemoaned the lack of sleep, but didn't remark. I don't usually speak up anyways, so that was expected. Still though, did he have to wake us up so early? I like my sleep.
My eyes roamed around the waiting area to see if I could catch a glimpse of the black-haired buzz of the oldest brother. He was the one that scared me the most. Well, not scared, just intimidated. He yelled really loudly. I liked the younger one better. As I looked around, my eyes caught a set of green clothes rolled up on a couch. Zara nudged me and pointed up to the mass to the side.
"That's Thom I think," she mumbled, "Is he sleeping?"
I blinked a few times and began to make out features of the green person. Arms, legs, a tuff of black hair and shoes gave him away. "I think," I responded with an equally low voice.
"Should we wake him up?"
My silence revealed my answer. Zara nodded and led me over to another couch, perching lightly at the edge. Her excitement seemed to curb a bit, but the smile still remained. A few seconds later, a dry tone came from Thom's direction.
"Well good morning."
"Good morning Thom!" Zara's much happier greeting contrasted starkly against Thom's voice. I heard shifting as he stood up. With the same glare from before, he padded over to the stairs leading to the second floor and gazed upwards.
"Define good," he said dully, "And where's Cobalt?"
"I... maybe he's still sleeping?"
"He shouldn't be. Purposely knocked to wake him up too."
"Maybe h-"
"No." Thom spun around and his black eyes seemed to sharpen in the light. "He made an appointment. He should be down here."
Zara scooted back a bit and frowned. Taking in a deep breath, she nodded. "Okay then." Thom didn't look back at her. He kept his gaze transfixed on the stairs, waiting for Cobalt to come down. The silence that followed was uncomfortable, and I had a feeling that it would persist. There seemed to be a tension in the air between Zara and Thom. At least it looked that way. My friend kept throwing furtive glances over at the glaring young man, looking rather... sad and dampened. The excitement from before had vanished to be replaced with an odd look in her blue eyes. Thom, on the other hand, was being himself, ignorant and cold towards whatever was going on with Zara. I don't know why, but there seemed to be something happening between the two. Feelings perhaps? Maybe. It did make some sense. Zara did talk about "love" earlier. Maybe that was what was happening.
I hope not.
I really hope that sweet blonde-haired girl wasn't falling for that jerk. Thom was mean. There was no doubt in my mind. Really, he even stated it himself. He didn't want us. He wanted nothing to do with us. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm not, but I've developed a knack for identifying these things. It came with being shy and silent. Hidden and pushed to the back, I could easily observe people and see things that others might not. I'm not perfect of course, but I am almost positive something was starting to happen between those two. One sided perhaps, but something was definitely happening.
I really hope Zara knew who she was dealing with. It wasn't your average guy or even anyone of spectacular standards. This was Thom, someone who clearly showed his colors through several occasions. He made the bullies at my school look nice. His words cut deep, his tone dry as a desert and those eyes, those eyes were so... judging. They looked right at you and just scanned, picking and analyzing what they've seen. They kinda reminded me of my mother's eyes, except hers were much more soft and kind. I haven't really told you about her have I? Well, now's a good time as any, especially when I'm just sitting here in silence.
I grew up in a lower-middle class. My dad was a mailman and my mother was a grocery store manager. We lived in the cramped urban area of Tokyo. Our house is pretty small, containing a kitchen, a living room, two bedrooms and a tiny bathroom. There was also had a small driveway where my father would park his rundown car. The situation wasn't that bad, it's just that I never really had luxury items. Multiple pairs of shoes, fancy coats, and cute little headbands or hair clips were not something I used on a day-to-day basis. Our family didn't have money to spare. We had to keep a very close eye on the budget. If we overshot a month, then the reserve money built up from other "good" months would have to be drawn out to cover for it. Things got even worse when father left.
I was ten at the time.
From then on, I lived with my mom, constantly trying to help out around the house while also maintaining my grades at school. "Learn and advance," my mother would say, "Get better and live better." She pushed me so hard. She always wanted me to go higher, to achieve more than last time. "Always do your best and play fair," she said, "Never owe anyone anything. Make sure you pay them back." These lessons were ingrained into my mind and influenced the things I did. Of course, times got so desperate that there needed to be a change. I wanted bigger and better things. I didn't want to constantly eat instant food heated up in a microwave. I didn't want to watch my mom work overtime just so she could put something decent on the table.
So I began to steal. Well, that may be too harsh. I began to borrow things. I took things that were left unattended, things that were dropped or placed somewhere for an extended period of time. A quarter here, a dime there, maybe a little trinket or two. Those were the items I took. It wasn't anything major and I was sure that the people wouldn't miss them. Sometimes, I even placed a bit of coins in the item's place as a compensation. I didn't forget what my mom said, I really didn't. Still though, times were changing and I wanted more.
So as the months and years piled on, I gathered quite a good bit of money and spawnable items. When the NerveGear came out, I had just enough to buy the headset. The game was the only thing I was missing. It asked my mother but she didn't have enough money. So once again, I had to go and borrow what I needed. The deed was pulled off without a hitch, nabbing me a copy of SAO from one of the rich haughty kids from my class. He was showing it off and forgot to lock it in his locker. It wasn't that hard to swipe it, placing behind several bills as payment.
From there, a whole new world was opened up for me and it was frightening. I don't want to remember the first day, it hurt too much. All I know was that as soon as I found Zara, things began to look up.
Of course, that was before I met the brothers. Now I have to deal with a scowling one and another who liked to laugh and smile. Two ends of a magnet somehow stuck together. Strange isn't it? I don't have any siblings, but I'm not sure how many there are who so starkly contrasted. It's a bit... odd, but in a good way. That is, depending on which brother. Karim was a lot nicer than Thom. He's also my age too. Maybe that was why I liked him better.
Wait... I know that look! Don't go making up rumors now! Wow, you look exactly like those gossiping girls at my school. They attack any news like a school of piranhas, ones covered with a ridiculous amount of makeup and fake all over. Yuck. Disgusting.
Cobalt finally arrived down at the bottom of the stairs. The two boys seemed to have a staring contest before Thom spun on his heels and strode towards Zara and I.
"Alright people. Listen up."
Another set of footsteps alerted us to Karim's presence. He gave a smile when he came down. "Good morning guys."
Thom didn't look at his brother as he continued like nothing happened. "Plan's simple. We get ready to head out on that global quest we found. On the way, we look for news on Evermore." He jerked a thumb at Cobalt. "Someone needs to catch him up on the quest. Places of interest are blacksmith, NPC potion vendors, maybe a few player vendors and some places with food. We're gonna be heading out and won't be coming back for several days. A week even." The small white menu popped up and Thom sent us some map data.
"That should be enough. Questions? No? Good." Without even giving us time to think, Thom turned and strode towards the door with rapid strides. "Meet in the square in half an hour."
It didn't take long for the inn doors to close. Karim sighed and rubbed his face before saying, "Any of you guys have breakfast yet?"
I shook my head along with Zara and Cobalt. "You should probably do that," the younger brother said, "Get something into your system. You'll need it." He then jabbed Cobalt on the shoulder, saying something in English. The brown-haired American smiled and said something incomprehensible. I blushed a bit at the language barrier along with the thought that I was trying to listen in to the conversation. Pulling lightly on Zara's sleeve, I mumbled, "What did they say?"
She giggled and whispered back, "He said he couldn't wait. Isn't that sweet?"
'Sweet? Yes it would be.' My eyes picked up Zara's flicker towards the inn doors. She must've done that twice since Thom left. Not one to pry, I turned to Karim. "Going?" I asked meekly.
"Oh yeah. Come on."
"If you don't mind me asking," Zara started as we walked out of the inn, "Where would Thom have gone?"
Karim waved to the right, "He's off to see a blacksmith. I think he wanted his staff fixed."
"Um, okay."
"Why?" Karim turned inquisitive eyes towards Zara. "He bugging you?"
"N-not really." She lowered her head shyly, placing a loose piece of hair behind her ears. "Just... wanted to know."
"Okay then." We walked for a few more minutes before arriving at a café. I went in first, opening the door of warm and cocoa filled area. The aroma of bacon, eggs, chocolate and other breakfast items wafted into my nose.
It smelled amazing. I love the smell of eggs and bacon.
Wiggling my hand back to grab Zara's, I felt fabric. With a blush, I realized that I had touched Cobalt's stomach on accident. "S-sorry!" He stared at me blankly before recognition dawned. Karim must've translated or something. "Zara?" my small voice asked while I looked around. I spotted her outside the shop, twirling her hair around a pointer finger. My clothes streamed behind me as I scurried outside. "Zara?"
"Hey Yumi," she said with a smile, "I'll be back in a bit okay? I'm... off to see the blacksmith." I barely opened my mouth before Zara ran off, a slight bounce in her step.
'Oh no,' I thought, 'What is happening?'