Okay! So after going through many story scenarios, I finally have my next installment of writing for the Log Horizon series! I don't want to reveal too much before we begin but I will say that this takes place about three and a half years after the Catastrophe. I already have a whole bunch of one-shots and drabbles written (or half written) filling in that space of time, but those will be posted later. Or maybe not. Unless someone is particularly eager to read them.

Also, while I am attempting to somewhat keep to cannon events, I only know so much of what is going to happen. The eighth novel is not going to be English translated on baka tsuki since the series is licensed now, so I have had to stick to the measly synopses found online. Luckily, the second season will cover those events, but if anything I write is proved incorrect, no holding it against me, okay?

One more thing. As usual, I'm using the spelling of Rudy's full name according to how he signed it in the anime.

I always forget this part. I do not own the genius that is Log Horizon. I only own the OC's created for the purpose of my plot.

Lonely.

As she sat on the roof of the guild house, it was her strongest and most penetrating thought.

It was strange, as she was often surrounded by others. Her band mates. Her fans. Her guild mates, though these days only on the rare free evening. So why? What was so different about his company?

"Isuzu-san?"

She turned her head slowly, distractedly even, and realized her younger friend was smiling down at her.

"Minori-chan? I thought you were with Karasin..."

"We finished our work early. Chief said you were home so I came looking for you."

"Oh…" She trailed with a smile, which seemed much too polite and forced to Minori's eyes.

"Heh. They really work you like crazy over there, don't they? Yeah, rehearsal got out earlier than expected. It's nice to have an evening off, isn't it?"

Minori smiled back and took a seat next to Isuzu.

"Honestly, Isuzu-san. It's nothing compared to how much you work. Between rehearsals, concerts, appearances and the time you spend composing and practicing on your own, I'm surprised you even have time to sleep."

Isuzu giggled lightly.

"Well I love what I do, so it hardly even seems like work!"

Minori frowned, sensing the switch in Isuzu's mood. This time she could tell Isuzu's smile was real.

"Isuzu-san, I can't help but notice that these days, you're only happy when your playing. Which isn't bad but, the rest of the time it's like your just going through the motions."

Isuzu seemed startled for a moment, her bright eyes growing wide at Minori's perceptiveness. Then her expression dropped with a sigh.

"Oh I don't know. I'm just..."

"It's because you miss him, isn't it?" Minori asked softly, giving her a knowing look.

Isuzu couldn't quite meet her gaze, so she shifted it down to her hands and then up at the night sky.

"Minori...why do I think about him all the time? I'm so lucky that people like my music but, sometimes I wish that..."

Isuzu bit her lip, unable to finish the thought out loud.

The fact of the matter was that she, Isuzu of Log Horizon, was now an immensely popular musician. Between the concerts she held around the city, special events, and band rehearsals, her schedule was stretched pretty thin. Her best friend, Rundllehaus Kode, was now what Adventurers considered a professional raider. He, along with 23 others, traveled the whole of Yamato, completing any and all raids for the purpose of attaining rare items. As such, he was generally absent from Akibahara for weeks or months at a time.

Isuzu had never felt so lonely in her life. Almost miserable sometimes. The only other time she had felt the pain of misery in her life was while trapped in Hamlin. But at least in Hamlin she had friends.

No...That's unfair of me. I have more friends now than I did then. I just didn't know him back then. And I don't get to have him now.

"I wish that doing what we love didn't mean being apart." She whispered, finally looking over at the petite kannagi.

"Is that all?" Minori prodded, sensing the frustration in her friend's voice.

To Minori's surprise Isuzu began to laugh.

"Sorry! I sound too depressed, even to my own ears. It's just that I really do miss him! It's like, there's a hole in my chest. And this weight pressing down on me. I wish I knew why."

Her hand came up and rested over her heart, a soft glow rising to her cheeks.

"I mean, we talk all the time. It isn't as if I haven't spoken to him in weeks."

Isuzu giggled fondly, thinking to their last conversation. He had entered into an argument with another mage in the party, over whether ramen or beef stew would be the better choice at fighting off the coming winter chill. It was so ridiculous, and she didn't have to be there to know Rudy had most certainly instigated it.

"I find myself missing so many little things about him. Like how his hair would stick out all over the place in the morning before he fixed it. How obsessed he got with shogi when we showed him how to play. And when we would work together in combat...the way he would smile at me so proud of himself when he used one of his powerful spells."

Minori giggled, remembering all those things too. While she also missed Rudy when he was away, Minori understood that it was different for Isuzu. After all, she had left Crescent Moon to follow him Log Horizon. Minori was sure that their honest feelings for one another was what made them such a great team.

She had realized a long time ago that they told each other everything. It had been a night much like this one, with little cloud cover to filter away the light of the waxing moon. Minori had determined to spend the evening on the balcony alone with her thoughts, but instead found the space otherwise occupied. She remembered being frozen in place at the doorway as she witnessed Isuzu and Rudy sitting close together on one of the lounge chairs. They were merely laughing and talking together quietly, and at first Minori told herself she was overreacting. But then Rudy suddenly put an arm around her and affectionately called her by a name that wasn't Isuzu. Her real name.

Minroi made sure to forget the name, understanding she really had stumbled in on a private moment. He was probably only allowed to call her by it when they were alone. But it was then that she fully grasped how close the two were. This distance must be really hard on them both.

"Whenever I do the dishes with Chief, I think about how he bragged about being really good at chores." Minori snickered, muffling the noise with a hand.

"That's right! Spoiled little dog. Come to find out he'd never done house work in his life!" Isuzu huffed in halfhearted annoyance.

"To his credit, he never once complained. He does his share, even if it took him a while to get the hang of it."

"Oh believe me, I know. Who do you think taught him? And I still had to do his laundry most of the time. He's really good at ruining shirts."

They chuckled together, finding comfort in the fond memories.

"Remember when he made us lose the three legged race? He's so obnoxious."

Minori nodded, noting how affectionately Isuzu insulted him.

"I miss hearing you two argue at dinner. 'Rudy, eat some vegetables!' 'But Miss Isuzu, vegetables are beneath my magnificence!'" She mimicked their voices, making Isuzu roar with laughter with her imitation of the way he flipped his hair.

"That guy would eat nothing but meat if I didn't do that! He's too hopeless." She replied while leaning forward, her smile crinkling the corners of her eyes.

"I still can't believe you yell at him like you do. And he listens to you every time too. I mean, when Rudy-san is really fired up and intense, he's a little scary. But from the very beginning, he never intimidated you. Where I would shrink back, you would charge forward and tell him to calm down. Or shut up."

"Well that's because he's..."

"I know. He's your golden retriever, as you like to put it.

"Exactly! He's...so beautiful and regal, but then he opens his mouth and says the stupidest thing you've ever heard! But at the same time he's so wonderful! No one can make me laugh the way he can. Even if he doesn't even mean to half the time. I can really be myself around him."

A brief silence enveloped the two girls, disrupting the previously playful atmosphere around them. Before it could get too heavy, Minori spoke.

"Isuzu-san…I know we are all friends. I know we all miss him. But I think the way you're feeling with him gone is so much more than that. I also think you already know the answer to your question. You know "why'."

She offered a kind smile to her older, freckled friend, hoping Isuzu would find some clarity in her words.

"More than that, you say? I've been wondering about a lot of things lately, but…Minori…how am I supposed to know? Sometimes I start thinking there might be more to it, but then I think I"m just sad that our lives are on different paths right now." Isuzu paused with a non committal shrug.

"He's doing what he loves and I'm doing what I love. The days we spent battling and wasting time together are like a distant dream now. That's all. It's a bit impossible. I guess that's why...why I don't know what's best anymore."

"You think you don't know, but you can admit that he's so special to you so easily. Surely, if you know you feel a certain way, then those feelings are special too."

Isuzu sighed.

"Oh, probably. Maybe…but no, it's probably that I haven't seen him in a long time. It's making me all confused." She said quietly, shaking her head as if the action were capable of clearing away all the confusion in her heart.

"Are you guys talking about Rudy-ni?" Touya's voice cut in suddenly.

Isuzu flushed, not having heard him approach.

"M-maybe..."

He snickered and took a seat across from Minori.

"Minori and I were just…its just a discussion I guess..."

"About Rudy-ni."

Touya pressed again, leaning forward slightly, his expression revealing just how much he was enjoying Isuzu's timidity on the subject.

There was a long silence before Isuzu finally nodded.

"Yeah..."

"Do you like him?" He asked plainly, making her gasp and blush like crazy. Minori, at least, had not come straight out and said it.

This time there was an even longer silence, which stretched out into the darkness. Isuzu's hands fingered a necklace, the one with the leather tag she wore all the time.

"Maybe." She finally answered, still sounding unsure of herself.

"Why the hesitation?" Touya questioned, cocking his head to the side.

"It's not as if he doesn't love you back."

"And why would you think that?" Isuzu scoffed, rolling her eyes a little at the comment.

"Because he told me he did."

She blanched and stared back at Touya in disbelief.

"Quite a long time ago now, actually." He added.

"How long?" She whispered, trying to pretend her head wasn't spinning and swimming with a million questions.

"A little after we got back from getting our magic bags. When we headed west."

Isuzu choked. That was three years ago now.

"You can't be serious." She said finally, a hand subconsciously running through her loose hair.

"It's the truth." Touya said with a nod.

She bit her lip, taking this new information in.

"Are you going to tell him?" Minori asked earnestly, an excited expression on her face.

"Tell him..." Isuzu echoed.

After all this time...was he waiting for me? Has he given up? He must have...He should have...

"I just…" She trailed, covering her face with her hands.

This was too much to process. And only served to prompt more confusion. More questions.

"You should. Well, I think so at least. It would be nice to see you and Rudy happy." Minori said softly.

"I…That's…There's still another...what? Three weeks before he comes back to Akiba? Maybe four?" Isuzu gave a short laugh, filled with unease.

"I'll figure it out as I go." She decided firmly, composing herself with a deep breath.

"Have you talked to him? How's he doing?" Touya asked with interest.

Isuzu's eyes opened and she offered Touya an easygoing smile.

"It's been a couple of days but he's..."

She recounted everything Rudy had told her about the current raid he was participating in. It was full scale, and moderately difficult. Their goal was to obtain super rare phantasmal class gear and items. Useful things that could only be gained through hard work and cooperation between friends. He had hooked up with this ragtag lot of people last year by complete accident. A group of Adventurers from different backgrounds and different guilds, they traveled all around Yamato, completing any major raids they could find. Rudy was having a blast being with them. He was making a load of gold doing so too. They would be gone for months at a time, and when the group did return to Akiba, the longest they ever stayed was two weeks before shoving off again. New raid, new gear, new adventures.

Isuzu was happy for him, but immensely gloomy that she couldn't go too. Being away from the friend she had grown so close to over the years was hard. If her music career hadn't picked up like it did, she would have followed him in a heartbeat. Like she always did.

She sighed and thought about the few phantasmal class items she actually owned. They were earned from some smaller scale raids she participated in before her music started to get popular.

It would be nice to get a better cloak. And a better spear. And it would be wonderful to work with him again.

But the fact remained that it wasn't possible for Rudy to take her with him on his adventures. She had contracts to fulfill, rehearsals, and leagues of people lining up to see her play. Her following was becoming extensive, consisting of Adventures and People of the Land alike. She was Akiba's very first celebrity, and had even opened up the door to other bards getting popular and able to do things with their music. While she was disappointed it kept her away from Rudy, she couldn't hate it. This was truly something she loved. It was fulfilling, knowing she was touching the hearts of so many people.

Eventually, the twins excused themselves for the night and Isuzu listened as they bickered the whole way down the stairs. With their departure, she was left alone once more, with only the soft glow of the moon to light her surroundings. It was early October and the crisp fall air was becoming increasingly more chilly. She reached into her bag and pulled out a blanket, stubbornly refusing to go inside.

Eventually, her thoughts roamed back to Rudy, as they usually did. If he were here right now, he would ask her to play for him. She could hear exactly what he would say, imagine all of his elaborate hand gestures and regal expressions.

It is a wonderfully clear night. The perfect night for one of Miss Isuzu's ballads!

She would smile at him with pure happiness from the bottom of her heart and play for him anything he wanted to hear.

"I wonder what he's doing now?"

She opened her status screen, checking the time. It was still early, just after eight. She nimbly opened up her friend list, her finger hovering over his name. After a moment of hesitation, she pressed it and placed her palm against her ear.

"Rudy?" She questioned as the line connected.

"Hello!" His voice exclaimed loudly and with evident joy.

"Hi!" She repeated warmly, beaming to herself.

"It is good of you to call. How are you fairing?" He asked, the volume of his voice coming down several levels from his excited tone.

"Good. Just fine. How about you?" She questioned back, pulling at a lose thread on the blanket.

"Very well. Today we took down Oxeshot the Savage. I've obtained a lot of marvelous items off him."

"That's great!" She said, sitting up a little straighter.

Isuzu listened avidly as he filled her in on all of the details. Apparently, in the beginning they were doomed to fail. But then their raid leader implemented a few cleaver tactics, and the group gained enough of an advantage to come out ahead.

"How many more raid bosses do you have?"

"There are six total in this raid dungeon. Oxeshot was the fourth."

"Wow! So only the fourth and you say you've collected a lot of items already?"

"Yes. I've got quite a few for you as well."

"What?" She said in surprise. She could practically hear the smile in his voice.

"Indeed, they are mostly odds and ends. Charms and debuffs. There's also a new horse whistle. A really nice pair of gloves..."

'Horse whistle? Gloves?' Her mind repeated, missing the rest of the list.

While it was completely normal for Rudy to bring her back small things when he was away, they usually weren't anything so...big.

"A horse whistle?" She inquired.

"But Rudy..."

"It's okay. I ended up with two. A rare one and a phantasmal class."

"You can't give me horse whistle." She stated firmly.

"Yes I can. If I want to. I haven't used it, so it will be all yours."

Isuzu face palmed at that, immediately understanding his meaning.

"Rudy...I refuse to accept a phantasmal class horse whistle that I didn't earn myself. Maybe I'll buy the rare one off of you but..."

They continued to bicker about it for several minutes. Phantasmal class gear could only be earned by doing high level raids. And it couldn't be transferred between people. Once you equipped an item, it was tied to your player ID and no one else could use it.

"And what is this about a pair of gloves?" She questioned, tired of shooting Rudy down about the whistle for the umpteenth time.

"Oh yeah, I bought them off of Richard. They're really great. Brown leather, high defense. All that stuff."

"You bought them?" She said incredulously.

"Well yeah. He got them off the item drop the other day so they were rightfully his."

"Rudy..." She sighed in a warning tone.

"What? William is a tank. What's he going to do with a pair of bard exclusive gloves besides sell them? And I did mention to you that we don't have a single bard in our party didn't I?"

Isuzu sighed again. She remembered him mentioning that. How this group of his was able to manage their MP so well without a single bard was beyond her.

"I guess you have a point." She conceded.

"I know." He replied in an arrogant tone, to which she began to giggle.

"Enough about me. How are things going for you?" He asked suddenly, the inflection of his voice changing.

"Things are good. I had rehearsal all day. But I got the evening to myself for once." She replied, her voice squeezing with suppressed delight. Rudy could see in his mind's eye how she had shrugged the idea off, tilting her head like it was no big deal.

"I see. Your concert is soon, yes?"

"Yeah. It's in two days. I have dress rehearsal all day tomorrow. Then a sound check the morning of."

"That is exciting."

"Very."

The conversation lagged after that. As Isuzu was trying to think of what to say next he nervously cut in.

"I...I wish I was there to see it." He said softly, disappointment laced throughout the words.

"I'll bet you have a whole bunch of new songs I haven't heard."

"Not really." She answered him sheepishly.

"Only like...three."

He huffed at that, clearly displeased.

"They aren't anything special. I'm just giving them a try to see how they hit it off with everyone."

"If they are by you then they have to be wonderful." He replied earnestly.

"Please play them for me."

"Play? You mean right now? Over the phone?"

"Yes, right now."

"Sheesh." She sighed, shaking her head.

"They will most definitely sound better in person, Rudy."

"I don't agree. And I don't want to wait that long. Please, Miss Isuzu."

His voice was soft, pleading, and earnest. Isuzu knew she could never turn down a request from him, if he said it like that.

"Alright." She said equally as soft, reaching for her bag to pull out her lute.

"Only cuz it's you." She added.

So let me know what you think, so far! If enough people like this, I'll be a lot more motivated to update it faster. :)

Oh and if you happen to catch any spelling/grammar mistakes, please let me know. I combed through it multiple times, but you know how it is when you proofread your own work. Thanks!