The ME Organization

A strong feeling of tension quickly spread through the restaurant. Shade's confrontation with the two unknown players seemed as if it was about to take a very bad turn. He was adamant about receiving information on the one they had referred to as Rein.

"Who the hell is this kid?" Cursed the emerald-eyed player.

"If you know what's good for you, you'd apologize and back away," warned the other.

Unfortunately, Shade had no intention of doing so. Tristan and the others had become extremely worried due to knowing this. Shade wasn't quite acting like himself.

Normally, if Shade wanted information, then he would try to use a form of strategy to gain it. However, this time, Shade had simply confronted the two players and demanded information from them. It was very much unlike him.

It was also quite evident that Shade was beginning to lose his temper, which was very odd. No one could imagine what could have caused him to react like this.

"You all mentioned someone by the name of Rein. Who the hell is he?" Interrogated Shade.

"Don't you know that it's impolite to listen in on other people's conversations? We have no obligation to tell you anything!" Argued the brown-eyed player.

Becoming even more irritated, Shade then placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to beat the two players into submission. The two players also did the same, feeling quite offended that a mere teenaged kid had confronted them so boldly.

However, before any of them could withdraw their weapons, Arora, Tristan, and Celia ran in-between them.

"We're terribly sorry about this! He's just a little tired from a long day!" Apologized, Arora to the two players.

"Yeah, we don't want any trouble and we're sure it's the same for you!" Supported Celia.

The two players then hissed as they scuffled past them. They were not pleased by Shade's actions.

"Fine, but if that happens again, we'll kill all of you..!" Warned the emerald-eyed player as they walked away.

Shade was also not too pleased by this. He was still a little too lost in his rage to comprehend why the others had interfered.

"What are you guys doing?" He asked in an intimidating tone.

"We had to stop that from escalating. We don't want to get into unnecessary fights..." Mumbled Arora.

"That wouldn't be an unnecessary fight! It was to gain information!"

"And is that how you normally gain information?" Asked Tristan sternly.

Shade's eyes then widened as he realized that Tristan was right. There was nothing strategic about how he had demanded the information from the two players. He had allowed his rage to consume him which was a very rare occurrence.

"Shade, are you okay..?" Asked Arora in concern.

"Damn it..! I'm sorry about that... You guys get back to the motel for now. I'll be with you in a few minutes..."

To everyone's surprise, Shade then turned around and walked away as if he needed some time to think. This however made the others worry even more.

"I take it that he rarely gets like that..?" Inquired Celia.

"More like never... It's the first time I've seen him show that level of emotion," noted Tristan.

"Yeah, I could tell that it probably wasn't a normal occurrence for him."

Arora then watched as Shade disappeared through the door. Her heart sank as she saw this. It was as if he was struggling with something very dark which he refused to open up about.

"But what could have caused him to react that way..?"

"It was when those players mentioned some guy called Rein. Shade said that the name belonged to his brother. Have you guys ever heard of him before?" Asked Celia.

"I don't recall..."

"Same here," supported Tristan.

Celia sighed. Shade was truly a mystery to her and the others. They couldn't tell what it was that could have forced such a reaction out of him.

"I've only heard him mention his master, Sung," continued Tristan. "Otherwise from that, I know nothing else about him."

"Is that all?" Queried Celia.

"When we first met, Shade had told me that he lived alone for some reason. However, when I asked for the details, he told me it wasn't important," indicated Arora.

A moment of silence then proceeded as the team pondered. Arora was however very disheartened. She didn't know why but for some reason, she cared about Shade deeply. Seeing him in such a state had only made her worry.

"Arora, are you okay?" Asked Celia taking notice of her sad expression.

"You said that Shade mentioned that this Rein person was his brother, right..?"

"Yeah, that's what he said... What about it?"

"It's just that I think I understand what he's feeling... I had an older brother once but he died in a fire. When I found out, it was one of the most painful things I ever heard in my life. If it's the same for Shade, then I think I can understand why he would be so bothered..."

Tristan and Celia looked on in bewilderment. They hardly knew what to say or do.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Arora..." Comforted Tristan.

"No, it's okay! Don't worry about it!"

Just then, Celia clapped her hands to gain their attention. She needed to raise their moods. Allowing themselves to act so depressed wasn't good for the team's morale.

"Enough of this depressing stuff! My my... You all have such a beautiful team captain such as myself and you dare to act all sad in my presence? Smile! It's good for your soul! Shade will be fine!!"

Arora chuckled, "You're right. We shouldn't allow ourselves to become depressed. Knowing Shade, he'll be fine."

"Right! So until he gets back, we should all go to the motel before it gets too late! I'm dying for a cozy bed!"

Arora and Tristan then both agreed as they went to find the motel.

On the other hand, Shade walked closely behind the two players who he had confronted earlier. His eyes were as cold as a serial killer as he gazed upon them.

"Huh?" Suddenly exclaimed one of the players, taking notice of Shade. "It's you again! Do you have a death wish or something?!"

Shade's facial expression then quickly became timid as he threw his hands over his head before responding.

"No, no! I'm sorry..!" He began. "I didn't mean to stalk you or anything... I just wanted to apologize for earlier... I've had such a rough day that I allowed myself to take out my anger on you... I hope you'll forgive me..."

The two players then exchanged a look of uncertainty among themselves. Had Shade truly only followed them to apologize?

"Look kid, we don't care what you're going through. Now stop following us or we'll kill you!"

"Please! I just want you to accept my apology! I'm terribly sorry!"

"Damn it! Scram kid! We'll seriously kill you if you keep annoying us!"

"I just hate having people think bad of me! I'm sorry! Please just tell me that you accept my apology!"

"That's it! You're done!"

The emerald-eyed player then hurriedly draped Shade by his collar before dragging him into a dark alleyway where no one could see them.

"It's best we kill him here where we won't attract too much attention."

"I agree!"

"Kid, just know that you're about to die because you annoyed the hell out of us!"

Both the players then raised their swords, ready to execute Shade on the spot. However, before they could even move a muscle, Shade withdrew his sword and gave both players small cuts across their cheeks.

"Son of a-" Cursed the brown-eyed player.

"Damn you kid! You're dead, I swear it!" Shouted the other.

However, to their surprise, none of them was able to move a muscle. There was now a small lightning bolt icon hanging just underneath their health bar, signifying that they had been paralyzed.

"What the hell did you do to us?!"

Shade then waved his midnight sword in the faces of the players. It was responsible for their paralysis.

"My sword," he began. "...It's a drop from a field boss known as the Wandering Fang. It paralyzes anyone it cuts for one minute. In other words, you have less than a minute to answer all my questions."

"Damn you, you bastard! You only pretended to be an emotional brat, didn't you?!"

"I did. I did mean it when I apologized though. Back in the restaurant, I allowed myself to act upon rage instead of using my brain. Due to that, we wasted a lot more time than needed. So again, I do apologize for not fooling you sooner."

Shade had only been pretending to be overly apologetic and timid to the players so that he could annoy them. Once they were tired of him, Shade was certain that they would try to kill him. He took advantage of this and turned the tables, now having both players at his mercy.

"What do you want from us?!" Cursed the emerald-eyed player.

"I want to know who Rein is. Tell me everything you know about him or you'll die."

"We don't know much, I swear! We're only low-ranking members of the ME organization! Rein is one of the top guys!"

"The ME organization?"

"Shit! We're gonna die if we tell you anything else! Please-"

Before the player could even finish his statement, Shade waved his sword, removing his arm with a single swing. The player cried in agony as his health bar quickly began declining.

"Aagh! My arm! My fricking arm!!! Aaah!!!"

"You're wasting my time. I don't care what happens to any of you after I'm done. Answer my questions."

"I swear," began the other player. "...we don't know much! I only saw the guy's face once! Yes, now that I think about it, he kinda looked like you! You've got the same eyes as him! Rein was his name and he's one of the high-ranking members of ME! I swear that's all we know! Please let us go!"

"And what's the ME organization?"

"I can't say... P-please, I beg you! If they find out that we talked, we're dead! I can't say anything else! I'm begging you!"

Shade then looked down at both the players with a cold gaze. He then lifted his midnight sword above his head as he said his final words to them.

"I see."