Nurse Ashley here to help
We were deciding on what to do but there was another person that we needed to include here if we wanted to go anywhere. Pyrrha's opinion really mattered here as it was her world.
Technically speaking there was nothing stopping us from waltzing into her world damn her thoughts but that was really rude. It was not like we could hide from her either when we traveled to a different world we arrived where the other Chat Member was.
So while Ashley was convincing her brother to join us despite his valid fear of monsters eating his liver I took up the task of getting permission. I was not exactly expecting this to be a hard task as her world really did need help in regards to Grimm.
[Overdramatic Fool: Hey Pyrrha, Ashley and I need to slay monsters to level up. Do you mind if we come to your world and kill some Grimm?]
[Khajit Has Information If You Have Coin: I don't understand how you two are fine with your life being a video game again. We spent way too long in Sword Art Online for me to feel comfortable even seeing a game right now.]
[Overdramatic Fool: The power mostly, having access to such a cheat is not something I would be willing to give up over some mild trauma. Ashley and I were not as hurt by the events of Sword Art Online as well.]
[Grade A Bottom: Can't say I agree with that but I can see where Prince-san and Ashley-san are coming from.]
[Khajit Has Information If You Have Coin: What enemies do you guys have that you are constantly searching for powerups!? You managed to get through Sword Art Online pretty easily. Then the four of you did that new mission and considering how happy you were coming back it should have been easy.]
[Grade A Bottom:....Prince-san is scary enough, who scares someone like that!?]
I let out a small huff of amusement. Honestly speaking I could handle all the threats in my world with my current abilities. That did not mean I was satisfied with my present strength.
The enemies I would be facing were no longer so narrow. The Chat Missions would continue along and I was not willing to be weak in the face of the unknown. It also went against my nature to be content with what I had. I will always want more, as I did not want to face a day where my current strength was not enough.
Rias and I cut it pretty close with Hades already and it was only Hades being nothing but a puppet that saved our asses. That and Fortuna trying her hardest to save my dumbass from the god of the underworld.
I felt embarrassment from her but there was also a hint of pride as she was excited about her effort being appreciated.
[Overdramatic Fool: Well I just fought with Hades and he is probably going to rat on me to other gods eventually so I have to prepare for that nonsense.]
[Khajit Has Information If You Have Coin: How the fuck did you manage to get yourself in something like that!?]
[Grade A Bottom: I did not want to know but it makes sense that gods are the only thing that would draw fear from Prince-san]
[Overdramatic Fool: It was not my fault this time. Rias wanted to test out her new move but that drew Hades' attention as his power was being used. I was not going to leave her there to fend for herself against someone like that. So I had to duke out with the lord of the underworld. Not that I blame Rias for what happened either. I also overlooked the fact that the spell was being powered by Hades himself.]
[Grade A Bottom: Is Rias-san okay!? She has not been sending any messages! Did she manage to get herself hurt!]]
[Khajit Has Information If You Have Coin: She should be okay Izumi-san. Prince-san does not seem that worried about it if he is willing to joke around like this.]
[Overdramatic Fool: Yeah she is fine, the both of us managed to beat up Hades' puppet but he is eventually going to be a pain in an ass so we have to take care of that. She is currently training with her Brother so she is probably too busy to respond right now.]
[Grade A Bottom: That's good.]
[Khajit Has Information If You Have Coin: See there is no reason to worry about anyone in the Chat Group except us. They all have powerful abilities that should protect them. All we got to do is be content with being the normal ones and the danger won't come to our doors!]
[Grade A Bottom: Fighting gods and monsters for adventures is not something I would want to do. So I'm fine with being the normal one as well!]
[Overdramatic Fool: See now that is not a mindset I can understand. You guys have already been introduced to a world beyond your comprehension but you are willing to stand back from all of that and not advance. The Chat Group might drag you into missions despite your wants so you should prepare yourself for that day instead of staying as you are.]
[Grade A Bottom:.....You would protect us if that did happen right? You're not going to leave us all by ourselves right!?]
[Overdramatic Fool: That's not really the point, Sure I could try my best to protect you but no matter how powerful I become I can not guarantee your life. I am always going to have priorities above you for the most part so you should take matters into your own hands instead of letting the chance slip away from you.]
[Grade A Bottom: Scary!]
[Khajit Has Information If You Have Coin: God damn it Prince why do you gotta freak out a frail girl on a hospital bed with your very real threats! Fine I'll try to get stronger as well but I'm going to need to heal up so you better get on fixing me up!]
I was not really looking to lecture the two of them about their lives as they were free to live it in any manner they wanted. It's just that the way they were reacting to the world around them rubbed me the wrong way.
As someone that always tried to gain more and more seeing someone stand still content with what they had bugged me. It should not as their stagnant nature would not affect my growth in fact it would probably be a good thing for me. If they were not willing to endure risk to grow then the missions that the Chat Grup issued would have two less competitors.
Still, even if that was the case I did not like seeing them play so idly with their lives.
Izumi was not someone I was particularly close to but I did not want him to end up dead because he was not willing to face the reality around him. He was a different case from Andrew as Ashley's brother was someone who could live a mundane life without encountering anything truly scary. Izumi was going to be dragged into messes whether he liked it or not and he needed to accept that fact.
Then there was Argo. I had spent two long years getting to know that girl and I was not willing to see her be as she is. Sure, Ashley was closer to her but I also considered her a friend. I also felt a little guilty about dragging her into this when she could have lived a semi regular life.
I don't regret bringing her along and Ashley would have certainly missed her if we did not but the reason she was here was because of my own decisions.
I would do my best to ensure their safety in missions but like I said I would always have other priorities. If I had to make a choice between Ashley's safety or the two of them I would pick Ashley ten out of ten times.
Hell, I had a bias between Argo and Izumi as well as I would choose to save Argo over Izumi any day. That was a fact that they needed to accept. Hopefully my words have driven a small fire under them. It looked like it worked on Argo for the most part but Izumi was hard to read. It looked like he understood where I was coming from but it also looked like he was allowing fear to overcome him.
I kind of forgot to learn Hypnotism from Rias but I should be able to handle Argo's situation myself. It would have been easier if I had that magic on my side but with my mastery of Obliviate, I can take care of it.
How hard would it be to erase the memory of a single patient from hospital staff? Her Family would be a bit tricker but I could take care of that with potions, or Argo could be open and honest with her family as they were unlikely to rat on her.
I turned to Ashley who looked like she was winning whatever argument she used against her brother. The poor dude looked like he was resigned to face an endless horde of monsters, which was going to happen to him so at least he got the mentality in order.
"Hey Ash, do you mind if we take a pit stop in Argo's world? I promised to heal her and it should not take that long." I asked Ashley as I figured I might as well get her opinion.
"Sure, It'll be nice to see the bitch again." Ashley let out with a smug smile on her face. Andrew looked like he saw a life line being thrown at him.
"Take all the time you need to heal her, you don't want to cut any corners when it comes to your friends," Andrew spoke out with a twitchy smile on his face. I felt my own lips twitch in amusement as the dude was not fooling anyone. Ashley rolled her eyes at him.
"We are killing monsters and you are going to like it." Ashley let out with a glare on her face as she watched her brother squirm.
"The healing should be over fairly quickly as I had all the potions already prepared. It might take a little longer to fuck with people's memories but it should not be that long." I explained with a calm smile on my face.
Ashley just gave her brother another smug look with my words. Her brother on the other hand had a grimace on his face which made sense as he clearly did not want to lose a hand in a fight with a giant black werewolf thing.
"Felt a lot more comfortable being around you when mind fuckery was off the table." Andrew spat out bitterly.
I let out a sigh as that made sense as well but I did not feel like hiding this from him. He was just going to have to accept that I was not fucking with his or Ashley's mind. A difficult task but as time passes by he should be able to do so.
[Overdramatic Fool: Ashley and I are going to your world to heal you, Argo. So make sure you are in a room by yourself. I could erase the memories of the people in the room but it would be easier if there was just no one in there in the first place.]
[Khajit Has Information If You Have Coin: Is Ashley in a stabby mood?]
[Overdramatic Fool: I get the concern but let me ask you a different question. When is she not in a stabby mood?]
[Khajit Has Information If You Have Coin: Touche. Still, the last thing she sent me was about stabbing me as someone needed a stabbing. I'm only like 70% sure that she was joking.]
[NTR Victim: Meh, found someone to stab so we are all good. Kitty Cat made a better target anyway. Although Prince is right I am always in the mood for a good stabbing so just give me a reason I dare ya!]
[Khajit Has Information If You Have Coin: See the problem is you don't even need a good reason.]
[Overdramatic Fool: Can't really say you're wrong but that's the risk you take when you are friends with Ashley.]
[Grade A Bottom: I have never felt safer being on bad terms with someone.]
[Overdramatic Fool: Eh, I would not say you are on bad terms with her. It's more like she just does not care at all in regards to you. If you were on bad terms with her you would be even in more danger of stabbing.]
[Khajit Has Information If You Have Coin: Right, I still shudder at what she did to Kibaou. That poor poor dumb ass. I will never see spoons the same.]
[Overdramatic Fool: We agreed to never talk about that! I was so close to erasing that memory from my mind!]
[NTR Victim: Heh. Dipshit really deserved it and the both of you know that.]
[Grade A Bottom: Another thing to the long list of things freaking me out. ]
[NTR Victim: Cry me a river. Hey Bitch I'm coming along to laugh at you in your hospital bed!]
[Khajit Has Information If You Have Coin: Well it beats getting stabbed for no reason.]
[Overdramatic Fool: The consolation that you were not even aware you needed.]
[I Was A Hunter But I Took An Arrow To The Heel: As always reading the chat log…is something. When you are done healing Argo I am more than fine with you coming here and killing Grimm, Brothers knows that the frontier needs a good culling.]
[Overdramatic Fool: Was beginning to worry that you were ignoring my messages. ]
[Khajit Has Information If You Have Coin: She really does take a rather long time to respond. I would say she hates you but she is the same when you are not involved either.]
[Overdramatic Fool: That's nice to know even if it does not necessarily mean she does not hate me.]
[I Was A Hunter But I Took An Arrow To The Heel: I don't hate any of you! I'm sorry if I come across like that but I keep a very tight schedule. Studying, training, photo shoots, meetings, and the tasks the headmaster has me doing. All of that is rather overwhelming and I can't find the time to keep up with the Chat.]
[Grade A Bottom: It's alright Pyrrha-san. We can't blame you for living your life.]
[NTR Victim: Hey don't put words in my mouth unless you want me to put things inside of you as well! Although I don't really care if Pyrrha does not take an active role in Chat. So you are right in a way.]
[Khajit Has Information If You Have Coin: Sounds like you have a packed schedule. It honestly sounds exhausting just from the list. I hope you can manage to get some free time for yourself.]
[Overdramatic Fool: Did not mean to blame you. I won't deny that hearing you don't hate me is a positive from this but there really won't be any judgment here. If there is anything we can do to help you with your schedule you can ask and I'm sure most of us would be happy to help. Working tirelessly like that is going to have a toll on your mind and I don't want you overworking yourself.]
[I Was A Hunter But I Took An Arrow To The Heel: Thank you all. I'm not usually this busy but I am going to take a break from sponsorships and tournaments so my agency is pumping a lot of activities into my schedule before they lose me. I should have a more regular schedule soon. Thank you for the offer of help. I appreciate the thought behind it!]
That made a certain amount of sense from what I knew about her. She had been planning on going to Beacon which was another continent away from her family and celebrity status. So her agency was trying its best to get some money in their accounts until she was ready to get back to work.
That was the price you paid when you wanted fame and money. A schedule where flying a private jet is not for luxury but for time. Because the time you saved traveling on your own schedule was that fucking valuable.
She was also training to slay monsters and protect humanity from the forces of darkness and I imagine that took a large chunk of her time. Her world needs to train child soldiers to even stand a chance at survival.
Granted the students at Beacon were not underage except Ruby but that did not mean they weren't child soldiers. I seem to recall that there were academies for combat before Beacon after all.
It was messed up but they lived in a messed up world so I could not find it in me to blame them. They were in a never ending war with beats that wanted nothing more than to pillage and eat your large intestine.
[Khajit Has Information If You Have Coin: Is…she a celebrity? Have I met someone famous in another world!? That's amazing! Although it won't mean anything to my friends but I can at least brag that I met a celebrity.]
[NTR Victim: You do know Prince is nobility and he can bend luck over his lap like it's his bitch. Kind of blows celebrity you never heard of out of the water.]
[Grade A Bottom: Celebrities are normal people; there is no reason to treat Pyrrha-san any differently.]
[Overdramatic Fool: Fame is overrated it just has people bothering you all the time. Although I won't deny the money that comes with Fame is certainly appreciated.]
[Khajit Has Information If You Have Coin: Wait! Prince is literally nobility!? I thought you called him that as a play on prince charming as you were clearly smitten with him! Is he an actual prince?]
[NTR Victim: Bitch do you think I would stick to calling him that instead of his name!?]
[Khajit Has Information If You Have Coin: I thought it was a cute nickname like baby or pudding!]
[I Was A Hunter But I Took An Arrow To The Heel: I was under the impression that Prince was his last name. I did not think he was a noble.]
[Grade A Bottom: On one point down with the bourgeoise and off with their heads but meeting a literal noble does sound kind of cool. Even if said noble haunts my dreams with birds.]
[Overdramatic Fool: Can I get you therapy or something? I'm not that scary I promise Izumi-san!]
[NTR Victim:Oh he is absolutely terrifying, you should be afraid as he might come knocking down your doors wearing nothing but feathers. He might even turn you into a bird!]
[Khajit Has Information If You Have Coin: He can't do that can he?!]
[Grade A Bottom: God I hope not I do not need even more fuel for my fears.]
[I Was A Hunter But I Took An Arrow To The Heel: Umm.. You might not want to hear this but I do recall that he picked up a small chick that he said was the last version of one of our foes. I could be wrong but I am pretty sure he turned that guy into a chicken.]
[Khajit Has Information If You Have Coin: Magic is bullshit and I want nothing to do with it! Wait, scratch that! Can you turn things into gold or could you give someone the ability to turn things they touched into gold.?]
[Grade A Bottom: Midas has a bad ending! Why would you want the powers of someone like that!]
[Khajit Has Information If You Have Coin: See I get it, there is danger there and I might end up turning something I don't want to lose into Gold but if I am careful it still sounds amazing!]
[NTR Victim: She is a greedy cunt you're not going to convince her of anything else here so you might as well drop it.]
[Overdramatic Fool: Theoretically I could give you the ability to turn things to gold by touching it. It would take time and research that I am not willing to do for something like this but I could probably do that.]
[Khajit Has Information If You Have Coin: COME ON! I COULD TAKE CARE OF THE BILLS NO MATTER WHICH WORLD WE END UP IN! THAT HAS TO BE WORTH THE EFFORT RIGHT!!!]
[NTR Victim: Heh, that's not how you beg Argo.]
[Khajit Has Information If You Have Coin: Please Ashley! You gotta convince him to do it! Imagine all the gold, all the things we can buy with all of that!]
[Grade A Bottom: The merch!]
[I Was A Hunter But I Took An Arrow To The Heel: Do you need financial support?]
[NTR Victim: Meh, I don't really have to worry about shit like that Prince has the bills covered. I don't think it's even possible for him to run out of money. I once saw him lying in a pile of gold coins with a smug expression on his face.]
[Overdramatic Fool: Yeah I was having a bit too much fun with the gold I stole. I don't really need to give Argo the ability to turn things into gold to have unlimited funds. I am fully capable of turning the air around me into gold if I wished. I could also conjure whatever currency was needed in any circumstance if gold was not a good material. The only place I could not gather funds would be a world that is really reliant on Tech. ]
[NTR Victim: See Prince has the answer to everything, just leave all the bullshit to him.]
[I Was A Hunter But I Took An Arrow To The Heel: We don't have to leave everything to him that would not be fair. We are more than capable of doing things by ourselves.]
[Khajit Has Information If You Have Coin: Speak for yourself I am currently laid up in a hospital bed without the ability to even move properly.]
[Grade A Bottom: I am not as extreme as Argo-san but I don't really have any skills that would be all that helpful. Even the ability I got from the Chat Group is not that good at combat.]
[Overdramatic Fool: You can work on it Izumi-san with the C hat Group behind you the world is your oyster. As for Argo situation Ashley and I are about to take care of that.]
[Khajit Has Information If You Have Coin: Sweet I would like to leave this bed as quickly as I can. No stabbing please and thank you!]
I rolled my eyes at the last comment but it fit the night I was having. I looked over at Ashley who looked like she was amused by what was going on. Andrew had given up on escaping and had a displeased look on his face.
"Alright we got permission so let's head out." I let out with a calm smile on my face offering my hands to both siblings. Ashley rushed forward and hugged my arm while Andrew reluctantly took my hand. We might as well save some points by only buying one ticket.
Again we flashed away from the mansion and arrived in a relatively modern-looking hospital room. There was various equipment around the room but nothing too extravagant. Although the room was empty except for a small thin girl laying weakly on the hospital bed. Argo looked like she did in Sword Art Online but it was strange not seeing her with those whiskers on her face.
She gave us a hesitant and envious smile which I returned. Well, minus the envious part.
--------
"So how's being a cripple treating you?" Ashley asked Argo as soon as we got a handle on the room. Argo gave her a flat look but other than that she did not react much to that.
I knew it was coming but it was still pretty odd hearing something like that.
"It's fine, how's being a bitch treating you?" Argo asked in an equally flat tone. Ashley took in the jab and shot a bright smile at the frail girl.
"It's the best you should try it more often." Ashley let out with a smug smile as she walked towards Argo's bed and gave the girl a comforting pat. Argo let out a light smile at the support and a hint of amusement played across her eyes.
"Heart warming as always, are we going to be good for a bit or should I set up some defenses so no one barges in?" I questioned as I looked over the room. It was fairly standard for a hospital room but there was only the one bed in here and it had several amenities that I was not used to seeing. I guess Argo's family sprung for a private room.
"We should be good for about an hour. I told the nurse I wanted some privacy. The staff here walk on egg shells with people coming out of Sword Art Online. I think they don't want to push any buttons with the traumatized teens." Argo explained with a small shrug. I guess that made sense since the players came from a world in which they had to fight literal monsters just to eat for the day.
The amount of emotional instability coming from there would be insane. That was coming from me so you should get a feeling for how bad they were.
"Well, I should not need a full hour to heal you. Here just take this and you should be better rather quickly." I took out several potions that I had already prepared. The various potions shined with multiple colors and seemed to glow but that was pretty standard for magic potions.
Argo just gave me a flat look from her bed as I held out the potions to her. There was an awkward moment where it was just me standing there and Argo giving me a flat look.
"Dude, she can't move. How the fuck is she supposed to take those potions from you?" Andrew asked from the side as he gave me an equally flat look. Ashley just started laughing at me and Argo's flat look made more sense now.
I did not really think this one through but I was used to my patients taking the medicine I prescribed. Granted my patients were not this bad but that did not make my actions not stupid. I even knew how bad her condition was so I really did not have a good excuse here.
"Right, that tracks. Here Ash just fed her the potions while I take care of the staff." I explained as I handed the potions to Ashley who took them with a gleeful look. Argo shuddered from her place on the bed and gave Ashley a worried look. Andrew let out a sigh from his position but did not say anything else.
"Hey, random guy I never met, how about you feed me the potions?" Argo asked in a begging tone as she shot Ashley a wary look.
Ashley's smile just grew as she took in the fear Argo was radiating. Andrew just looked between his sister and Argo and gave her an apologetic look.
I felt my own lips twitch in amusement from the byplay. I considered sticking around and feeding Argo the potions myself but whatever Ashley did would not be too bad.
Argo was her friend and while she was probably going to mess with Argo the entire time she would make sure she drank all of them. So I figured letting her have her fun was fine.
So I turned around and started to walk out of the room.
"Don't be like that Argo, Nurse Ashley is here to take care of you. All you got to do is take your medicine." Ashley let out with a dark tone dyed in amusement. I then heard Argo letting out a muffled yelp and then the room was filled with gurgling sounds as Ashley forcefully fed Argo one of the potions.
I let out a small laugh as I exited the room. Ashley could have slowly fed the potion to her but I guess she found this method more amusing. As I left the room I hit the room with a sound barrier and a notice me not charm.
Argo said that she was good for an hour but the hospital staff might not stay by those terms.
It was better to plan for things going poorly instead of just accepting that the terms you thought were right would follow through. I wandered around looking for staff members, which was actually rather difficult.
It just seemed like every single member of the staff was really fucking busy which made sense. This hospital had a large amount of patients they had to deal with right now. The thousands of victims of Sword Art Online had to go somewhere and this place had a good chunk of them.
Sure the staff had them before they left as well but the Players might as well have been coma victims before now they were awake and had needs that had to be taken care of actively.
Still, I managed to find a couple of tired nurses. So I read their minds as I passed by them. As I examined their minds to find out if they had regular contact with Argo or if they knew of people that might have known Argo's current situation.
As I shifted through their memories I realized that this was going to be easier than I expected. Like I said the staff were overworked and honestly far too tired to remember most of their patients.
Although Argo has made herself an exception as her family sprung for a private room so she became a face that was easier to remember. It was not too bad as people in the single rooms only had a couple of staff members taking care of them.
So I would only need to modify a couple of people's memories. I did not know which doctor or nurse took care of Argo so I needed to search for them.
Usually, I would use a point me spell but I did not have names or faces to search for so that door was closed for me. So I was just going to have to rely on the old trusted method. Wandering around aimlessly and stumbling across the one person I needed to find.
That method really did wonders for me as I found the doctor that was in charge of Argo almost instantly. One look into his mind told me everything about her from the name she refused to tell me to her family's situation.
Argo always struck me as someone who put money above anything else so I thought she came from a poor background. That was a misconception on my part and the fact that she was in a private room should have already hinted at me that I was wrong.
I dismissed her family's wealth as it was really not that impressive. Her family ran several businesses but she was just moderately wealthy, nothing compared to the heiress that was Asuna or close to my mountain of gold. So it was not that important to know even if it was a little interesting.
Her name was Hosaka Carina Tomo which was rather confusing for a Japanese teenager but she was mixed. I should have figured that out from blonde hair but that feature kind of just went over my head.
Asuna had orangish hair and she was a pure Japanese person so I kind of just wrote hair colors off as not important. I should have figured blonde would be different as the mixed and foreign characters always had blonde hair.
It was nice knowing her name now but I was not going to say anything about it to Argo. She wanted to withhold that information until she felt comfortable and I was not going to break that notion. So I was just going to feign ignorance until she felt comfortable sharing her name with me.
As I continued to rifle through the doctor's memories I realized I was overthinking this whole operation. I did not need to alter the memories of several individuals, I just needed to mess with this guy.
Some of the SAO victims were signed out of the hospital for different methods of care. The Hospital was more than fine with the patient family signing them out as they were already swarmed with victims.
So all I had to do was rewrite his memories to show that Argo's family had signed her out. He would then take care of the paperwork and if anyone had questions they would be pointed at him. Not that it looked like anyone would really care too much if Argo was signed out.
I did just that and left that guy with a dazed expression. He would recover in a little bit and get on my little mission for him.
I walked back to Argo's room with the good news brewing in my mind. I mean she already knew what I was doing but it would still be nice to hear everything was in the clear. Well not everything but we could get to that when it pops up.
I walked back into the room and saw the scene that I should have expected. Argo looked a lot healthier in comparison to how she was before.
She had several bottles balanced on her head as Ashley fed another one of those potions down her throat. Argo was struggling to get out of the bed but Ashley was capable of holding her down with a single hand as Argo was just a regular human. Judging from her struggles she should have recovered enough to drink the potions herself but Ashley decided this method was more fun.
Andrew was watching his Sister mess with her friend with a flat look on his face but I noticed he was a bit farther than he was earlier.
Argo finally managed to drink the potion Ashley was forcing down her gullet. Ashley then stacked that bottle on top of the others.
"Just three more Argo, but don't worry nurse Ashley has you covered!" Ashley announced with a bright smile as she opened up the next potion.
"Mercy!" Argo yelled as she struggled to get out of bed. The bed was shaking from the force she was using but it did not work out.
"I managed to get everything clear on the hospital side, so you should be good to leave," I announced with a small cough as I might as well tell her now. Ashley paused her torture and looked back at me, when she did that she released the pressure she was putting on Argo so she was able to scramble out of the bed.
She ran across the room and hid behind me and shot Ashley a wary look. I gave her an amused look as she hid behind me. I'm not sure what she had going on in her mind as I would probably hand her over to Ashley if she wanted me to.
"Oh, That's great! Argo can come with us to kill monsters!" Ashley announced brightly as she walked towards Argo excitedly. It looked like she gave up on forcing the potions down her throat as she found something more interesting to do.
I raised an eyebrow and looked over at Argo. I was just giving Argo shit for not trying to get stronger and this was a good opportunity. We were already taking Andrew of all people so bringing Argo along should be fine.
--------------
Argo was looking back at Ashley with a conflicted look on her face. It was a bit difficult to read her mood on this subject but she was clearly torn about what she should do.
She knew that we were going to slay monsters to level up as that was something we had explained. She had also been convinced to improve herself but going from regular girl to monster slayer is a big step. Even if she had experience fighting foes that would end with her dead if she did not take them seriously.
I guess it was not that hard to read her after all.
"You don't have to worry too much Argo, Ashley and I are more than capable of killing the monsters ourselves. We are even taking Ashley's brother along to level up so you're not going to be in a large amount of danger." I explained softly to the small girl who was still hiding behind me.
The conflict on her face increased as she understood my point but there was a part of her that really did not want to join us. Whether that was from the danger of facing Grimm or the trauma from the video game that took over her life.
"I'll protect you Argo!" Ashley announced with a smug smile on her face but there was a hint of genuine care in her eyes. Seeing that Argo deflated slightly as the conflict on her face faded away.
"I'm not afraid of anything." Argo let out with a huff as she stepped around me to get close to Ashley with her hand out. Ashley gave her a confused look before Argo sighed and reached for the potions Ashley was holding in her other hand.
"If I am going to fight monsters I am going to be as healthy as I can be." Argo let out as she took the potions from Ashley who let them go with an amused look on her face.
"Not going to let Nurse Ashley take care of you any more?" Ashley questioned with an amused smile on her face. Argo gave her a flat look and drank one of the potions slower then the chugging Ashley was forcing on her.
" Sure, why wait for monsters to eat me? I might as well off myself from drowning." Argo let out flatly as she finished up the first potion.
"That's the spirit." Ashley let out with a large amount of cheer.
Andrew was watching the chatter coming from his sister with a small smile on his face. I suppose he felt rather similar to me in regards to her, we were just happy that she was reaching out to others and was comfortable being herself for the most part.
"Argo joining us would be good but I only took care of the Hostipal side of all of this. Argo's family is still going to think she is here so if they come to visit and find out their daughter is missing it might freak them out." I let out as Argo was downing the second potion.
Ashley shot a pout at me but this needed to be said. Argo paused her drinking with a look flashing across her face but she decided to finish the potion in front of her before she responded to my statement.
"Family's usually pretty busy so they should not come here for at least a couple of days." Argo let out flatly as she finished up the potion.
Ashley stepped forward and gave her friend a big hug which had the small girl struggling around in the air as Ashley picked her up. It was a rather amusing sight to see a small girl pick up an even smaller girl.
"Stranger danger." Argo squealed out as Ashley swung her around in her grip. Andrew was sighing at the sight before him but that was all he did. I let out an amused laugh.
Ashley must have felt like we broached on a topic that would upset her friend so she took action to distract her friend from moody thoughts. She probably felt like a hug would bring up Argo's mood as that was something that was helpful for her as well. Even if Ashley's hug was a lot more enthusiastic in comparison to the hugs I gave her.
Eventually, Ashley placed her friend back down and Argo stepped away from her with a flat look on her face. She shot Ashley a wary look as she sipped on the last potion. Probably expecting the girl to spring another hug on her out of the blue. Ashley was just giving her a cat like smile but there was a hint of relief in her eyes as she successfully distracted her friend.
Not that her actions were needed. Argo might have a good relationship with her family but they just happened to be busy right now. Then again Ashley might know more about Argo's relationship with her family than I did.
I was originally going to ask Argo if she wanted me to alter her family's memories or if I should leave it to her to tell them the truth. Now I felt like bringing it up right now might not be the best.
We had a couple of days before we had to face that question so it was not that urgent. So I was fine with avoiding the subject for now. Even if we had no guarantee that her family would show up for a visit in the time we would be away from this world.
If we came back to this world and her family reported her missing that was just something I would have to take care of. It would not be pleasant but it was definitely something I could take care of.
Argo finished her last potion and she looked like she was in a really good place now as opposed to the sickly girl we saw when we got here. In fact she was looking healthier than I would expect from someone prescribed the potions I gave her. I guess Argo was not completely human anymore as she did eat a Devil Fruit.
I was not sure which one she had but I doubted it was a Zoan as those would have her in a much healthier state.
"Alright you are healthy now so lets go slay monsters!" Ashley shouted out with some cheer. Argo gave her a flat look before she flinched as she looked over at something only she could see. I assumed that she received the party invite and I was proven right when she let out a sigh and another party member was listed on my HUD.
Oddly enough the name listed on the HUD was not Argo's real name but Argo. I had no idea how that worked out but I did not really care too much either.
As she was reading through her menu I contemplated something. For the most part, I did not enhance the other members of the Chat Group with potions. Hell, the only person I upgraded was Ashley and that was because I loved her. Was that selfish? Absolutely but I never thought I was altruistic in the first place.
I did not offer those potions to Andrew as I honestly did not like him and I thought he would never be in danger but Argo and Izumi were different cases. They would absolutely be in danger but I was not offering them the same offer. Why was that?
It would not take me a vast amount of time or resources. I could get them upgraded fairly easily but I chose not to and I had no clue why.
I looked over at the only person that I upgraded and thought over my actions. I could say I upgraded Ashley because I loved her and I was worried about her life but that was not quite right. I was the kind of person who would desperately cling onto those that were close to me. I did not want to risk losing someone that I was close to in any circumstance but that did not apply to Argo and Izumi. I would list Rias and Pyrrha here as well but my potions could not really affect them.
With Rias having a completely different biology and Pyrrha's Magical Resistance.
I thought it over for a moment before the answer hit me. I did not trust them. I did not know their motives and I was not sure if they would take the power I would give them and hurt me.
I was always worried about those close to me hurting me and breaking my trust so I never offered them that trust in the first place. Granted I was not close enough to Izumi to offer him that trust but Argo was different.
I had known her for two long years and we had an established relationship. We had fought together, bled together, and mourned the loss of life that Kayaba was forcing on us. She had more than earned my trust but I could never get over that final hurdle because she was not someone I could let in.
She was my friend and she was not like Ashley who tore down my walls with the force of her passion and love. Argo was content to stand outside of those walls and let me open up naturally but it never happened.
I always pushed her away in my mind saying she was Ashley's friend and that we were not that close but that was not entirely true either. It was true that she was Ashley's friend but that did not mean she could not be the same for me. She cared about my life, my worries, and the struggles we went through but I never let her in.
That was something I would have to fix but now that I had noticed it I could fix the problem. When we finished grinding I would need to make sure to send Argo some potions as she was in danger of being a part of this group and I was not willing to lose her.
I then looked over at Andrew and let out an internal sigh. I did not like him as his possessive nature and his moody outbursts rubbed me the wrong way but he really did care for his sister. He might be harbouring not brotherly emotions for his sister but they were buried underneath everything else about him.
That was a part of him that he was not even aware of and he was clearly willing to let go of her when he saw that she was happy by my side. So I should let go of my petty emotions in regards to him.
Ashley would also be really upset if he did find himself dead because I could not be bothered to care about him. So I should probably get around to upgrading him as well even if I did not really trust him all that much. It was not like he would be capable of hurting me with that strength as we would be on equal stage physically.
My magic would pull me through on any fight with the guy not that I thought it would end up with him fighting me. Beyond my own ability, Fortuna would never allow him to get even close to pulling off something stupid.
The comforting hum of emotions in my chest told me so.
I let out a sigh that had everyone looking at me in confusion as there was no reason for me to be doing so. I just gave everyone a bland smile. The conclusions I reached in my head were not that important so there was no reason to bring them up. They were only important to me.
Before I could say anything Ashley was by my side burying her head in my chest as she gave me a strong hug as well. She then looked up at me with concern clear on her face. I let out a soft smile seeing that and I felt my conflicted emotions unwind as I pulled her closer for a moment.
"Thanks Ash, I just realized something. I'm not really all that torn up about it." I let out as I gripped the girl in my arm tighter for a moment before I let go of her. Ashley did not let go of me as she looked up at me measuring how serious I was about what I said. Seeing the small smile on my face she let me go but continued to hover around me.
"Alright, we hovered around for too long, let's head out." I poke then put an arm around Ashley and gestured for Andrew and Argo to get over here as well. Andrew let out a sigh of his own but marched towards us with a sullen expression on his face. Argo was confused about why we were suddenly having a group huddle but she went over anyway.
When everyone was close enough I made sure to make contact and purchased the ticket to Pyrrha's world. It was time to blow off some steam and kill the never ending horde that the Grimm was.
I did wince as I have been spending a lot of my points on world travel lately. Sure, I got a good chunk from our first mission and the second mission as well but I have been spending them rather recklessly.
I just felt like the most practical use of my points was to travel to the worlds around me. I knew that was wrong as the Store had a large variety of items and it was not limited to the worlds we were connected to like the Gacha. I even had some items I was eyeing as I had a clear goal to evolve one of my abilities.
Divine waters would feed my God Slayer Magic and it would only make it stronger. The problem with that was the cheapest Divine water was still out of my price range. So I needed to save up my points now but I was wasting them on stuff like this.
Although I would consider this trip as not a bad trade. Leveling up will increase my abilities by a large margin. I was just going to have to lay off on the needless spending until I could get what I wanted.
I used the ticket and the world flashed around us in a way that I was quickly becoming familiar with. The room we found ourselves in was not that large but it felt larger because of its lack of things. The only thing in the room was a desk and two chairs that currently held two figures. The room was circular and had windows all around with clock like coverings. As the mid day sun filled the room it gave off a magical vibe oddly enough. Although I should not be that surprised considering whose office this was.
The two figures in the room were Pyrrha who was wearing a polite smile on her face as she faced the other person in the room.
They were a tall thin man in an olive suit. They had messy silver hair and a pair of glasses that seemed like there only use was style. The gaze of the man before me sent shivers down my spine as the glint in his eyes was something I was used to seeing from Dumbledore. Which made sense as I was once again dealing with an old geezer who felt like he knew what the right path was.
I did not expect to meet Ozpin as soon as we entered Pyrrha' world but I should have seen it coming. I knew that she was in his inner circle by this point as she had already shown enough hints to that point. Pyrrha turned around in her chair and looked at us with a bright smile on her face, seemingly missing the odd situation she had placed us in.
Ozpin on the other hand was watching us with a glint in his eyes that bugged me. He did not seem fazed in the slightest as he continued drinking from his mug but there was something about the way he looked at us that screamed his interest in us.
To be fair to him I would be interested in people traveling from another universe and considering his own magical origins our appearance went from something mystical to something that needed to be understood.
"Fascinating." A simple word uttered by the man himself echoed across the room. His expression did not even shift an inch but he honed in on us with an intensity that could only be honed from centuries of use.
"I must apologize Miss Nikos, I have been doubting the story you told me but clearly I was not as clear headed as I should have been." Ozipin let out as he looked over at Pyrrha with a small bow of his head accompanying his apology. Pyrrha seemed startled by the sudden apology as she had her eyes widen.
"There is no need for that Headmaster, I did not even believe what was happening and it was happening to me" Pyrrha explained quickly as she tried to stop Ozpin from continuing his apology.
Ashley rolled her eyes at what was happening but kept her silence. Andrew just watched as he always did and Argo shuffled nervously at what was happening.
"That may be the case but I still made a mistake when handling your situation," Ozipin explained to Pyrrha while he kept an eye on us.
Pyrrha seemed confused at his words as I was sure she thought everything was fine between her and the headmaster but clearly that was not the case.
I guess Ozpin had been monitoring her silently trying to figure out more about the outlandish tale she was spewing. He might have thought that she was delusional and her talent was something she was born with like the silver eyes warriors. Or he thought it was some sort of ploy from Salem but he was willing to sit and watch her movements.
Whatever the case was he was not treating Pyrrha as someone who could be trusted. I was not sure if that changed with our appearance or if his apology was even genuine but the way he handled Pyrrha was going to change from now on.
I could only hope that those changes would not lead to Pyrrha getting hurt. Ashley let out a scoff from the situation that was happening and she looked like she was losing patience with what was happening. She was honestly holding herself back remarkably well considering her gung-ho nature.
Ozpin heard Ashley's scoff but he did not react to it in any way I could read. That was quickly becoming annoying, I could read the glint in his eyes but maybe that was something he wanted me to see as he had control of himself in other matters. The centuries of fighting the good fight must have led to him being far too composed and controlled to let things slip that he did not wish to show.
"I've been told that you have come to our world to fight the Grimm." Ozpin finally let go of his apology and looked over at us finally acknowledging us.
"Yup we need to kill shit to level up so we came here to take care of the Murderbeast problem you chumps have to deal with." Ashley let out aggressively to the man that was wasting her time. Andrew let out a sigh and Argo's face palmed. Pyrrha had her eyes go wide once more and she shot Ashley a pleading look.
Ozpin only let out a slow blink as he took in everything Ashley was saying.
" We can arrange for your group to travel to several nests that have been threatening the populace," Ozpin let out seemingly ignoring Ashley's comments but I knew he had some sort of thoughts on what she was saying.
Pyrrha seemed relieved that he was not offended by Ashley's crass nature but she was not really seeing the full story there.
"That would be appreciated, We can not be here for a very long time so putting us on the more urgent cases would be in your best interest," I explained with my own calm smile.
I did not really want to play the game Ozpin wanted to play but he was pointing us at what we wanted so it should be fine for the most part. He gave us another long look as he sipped on whatever he was drinking.
Ashley seemed to be vibrating in place as she was becoming bored with us standing around but she already broke her silence.
"I'll make sure that you head off to where you are needed." Ozpin let out as he narrowed his eyes slightly at us. I tensed at seeing that but he only gave me a calm smile as if reading my hostility from his nature.
God, it was like dealing with Dumbledore but if he was actually competent.
"Great can we get fucking moving already." Ashley spat out beside me which the both of us ignored as we were busy looking at each other trying to decipher each other's motives. Pyrrha was back to looking worried as she shot her headmaster an apologetic look.
"I'll have someone lead you to your destination," Ozpin spoke out calmly with another glint in his eyes. He was looking over at me with that glint and I was suddenly concerned about what he was planning.
The elevator behind us let out a soft bell as it reached the office we were residing in. I looked back to see what Ozpin was planning. The man who was stepping out of the elevator was irritating to look at.
He had messy hair and a smile that said he did not take a single thing seriously. His entire being stank of alcohol but that was not the worst part of him. The smile on his face reminded me far too much of Sirius and I really wanted to wipe it off of his face.
I clenched my fists and I felt the Mana in my body boiling at the sight of this guy but I took a long deep breath to calm myself. It worked for the most part even if I breathed in the aura of Alcohol that was radiating off of this asshole.
Before I could do anything else the man who was exiting the Elevator paused his stride. He was looking at me with wide eyes and his jaw looked like it would fall off. He looked around with a wild look on his face like he was expecting something to happen but as the seconds passed with nothing happening he looked back at me with a look that screamed things at me.
The guy looked like he wanted to tie me up and put me in the hole in his basement. I took a step back from him, I was not really afraid of him but the look in his eyes was disturbing enough that it got my hackles rising. Ashley narrowed her eyes at the guy and she started to emit murderous intentions but that did not stop the look he was sending me.
"Qrow will be your escort for as long as you are here," Ozpin explained calmly as he looked over to what was happening with another glint flashing in his eyes.
I glared at the guy as he was clearly planning something. I then looked away from the century-old monster to Qrow. Who was still looking at me with a look that screamed want.
What the fuck was his problem. I knew that I was good-looking but surely I was not that good-looking. I did not get kidnapped while I walked down the street after all.