"Likewise...  Hey, uh...  Thanks," Nero said, stuffing his hands in his pockets, huffing in irritation.  "I...  really don't know why I held on to that damned thing for so long...  Just didn't know when it would be appropriate and...  Well, I knew [i]this[/i] would happen," He explained quietly, looking over at Suto with a rather unsure smile.  The boy didn't regret his decision for a moment, but he wondered where they would be right now had Yari just died...  What if he hadn't used it?  What if Suto had found out he [i]could[/i] have?  Or Fitch for that matter.  His circle of friends was never large before SAO and even in Aincrad he was often isolated, choosing to fend for himself.

Titus gave him a smirk, "Of course.  There's little we can do to avoid that mentality...  Believe me, in a few weeks, you'll be old news...  People can't stay mad about something they had no business being in in the first place.  At least, not a lot, but believe you me: you've made some enemies today.  You'll have to be more careful in the future - people aren't going to be out for just your money anymore, yeah?"

This was a new angle, Nero thought, furrowing his brow and staring at Titus, "People are going to... like... hunt me?"

The American shrugged, "I'm saying be careful, kid.  Aincrad has a lot more undesirables than one would think.  Not everybody wants out, and some people are more than happy to make a fortune like yours from people who aren't thinking right.  Like them," He pointed out, jerking his head toward the general group of people at the part.  Finally, Titus stood up straight, clapped his hands together, "Now, who's ready to get this started?  I've got Minerva on speed dial, anybody want some live music?"  The mood instantly did a 180, several players whipping around and grinning - even the ones that had been angry moments before.  Players who could play music were a rarity in this world and she was one of the best.

-----

Within the hour, an older girl would show up, much to the enjoyment of the players who could really use the morale boost.  She had hair that was tinged a subtle, soft shade of pink.  She came with a small group of friends which were presumably members of her band.  They'd been together since the beginning of the game and many thought that they were a band in real life too, but she never really confirmed any rumours about herself.  She just liked to perform and the crowd was happy to give her the room to do so, letting them set up their own instruments and give the ambiance a little bit more personality than any NPC band could ever do.

After their first couple of songs warming up the crowd, Titus escorted Suto and Nero to the forefront, taking the girl's hand and politely kissing the back of it with a rather regal bow.  "Minerva, great to see you again.  I'm glad you could come with such short notice."

"Shove off, Titus," She said, giving a small laugh to show she wasn't really being too rude.  "You know I love to play the new floors, but the party's always dying when I get here.  Maybe if the party-starters would call me earlier..."  She pointed out with a bit of heat.

The American put up his hands, "Don't look at me, I never start it.  I think most of them either can't contact you or think you'll charge 'em just to show up here."

She shook her head and rolled her eyes, "Well that's stupid.  This isn't a private gig, this one's for a good cause and these guys need it.  Hey, who're your friends?"  She asked, nodding to the boys.

"Ah, sorry.  Suto, Nero, this is Minerva.  Musician Extraordinaire," He said cinematically, "And one of the prettiest girls in Aincrad, if I do say so."

The girl blushed slightly, "Nice to meet you boys.  I'm really not [i]that[/i] great, but I'm certainly one of the better looking girls around.  We're rather rare, aren't we?" She asked with a playful wink, sticking her tongue out at Titus.