The first thing I saw when my eyes flew open were the figures that hovered before my vision. 6, 0. Block-like, resembling the numbers on a digital alarm clock, just like the one I'd had at home before this whole mess had started. I remembered frequently throwing it across the room as it heralded a new day. The digits were the same shade of blue as the veins in the back of my hand. As I stared, the numbers changed; 59, 58...

It was a countdown. I pushed my hair back over my shoulder, the way I always did when I was frustrated. Brilliant. Maybe this was the last time I'd ever do it.

It wasn't difficult to guess what it was for, I mused, stifling a sigh. Otherwise the ultra-rare revival items wouldn't make much sense. There was little sense dwelling on it, however. Maybe someone would get me out of here, but more likely they wouldn't. I knew that if anyone in the party even had something that could save me, I was fairly dispensable. If this was it, there was nothing I could do, so there wasn't much use crying about it. Ignoring the numbers now, I looked to my right, to see the evening sky bleeding hues of orange and pink into the clouds, darkening rapidly as the sun sank down behind me. But glancing down was what made my stomach try to escape through my open mouth.

I was floating. Again, brilliant.

"No! Kotori! KOTORI!" a hoarse shriek from behind me made me swing around in surprise. A boy was stood, or rather hovered, a couple of meters away. By the look of him, he was probably of about fourteen or fifteen, a good three years younger than I am. Or, was. His hands were balled at his sides in fists, and his frightened eyes streamed tears, leaving stark tracks down his cheeks. I was sure he hadn't been there a moment ago, and blinking, I became conscious that the "60" was displayed in front of him also.

"Hey, hey!" I growled, and he startled, seeming to realize where he was. The "60", changed, as mine had. 59, 58... He sniffled, drawing the back of his hand over his face, looking on the whole rater pathetic. I observed how scrawny he was as he took his hand away from his face, and looked up at me. We stared uncomprehendingly over at each other for what felt like an uncomfortably long time, but could only have been moments.

"Is this...?" he finally asked, his voice cracking as he trailed off. He was shaking like a leaf, twisting his hands in his shirt. A bad habit, I assumed. A small part of my brain wondered why he had made it this far.

"I think so." 49. With a long drawn out sigh, I sat down, my legs hanging over an invisible precipice, facing away from the dark and distant form of Aincrad, and screwed my eyes shut. I didn't want that hell-hole to be the last thing I saw. There was a brief silence- I realized with a detached numbness I hadn't got this much peace for over a year, but it was shattered almost immediately.

"What... what are you doing?" the boy asked hesitantly, obnoxiously quietly, from behind me.

"Waiting." I didn't turn, but instead leant back onto the palms of my hands, and looked straight upwards into the sky. Stars were starting to appear, shining with irritating superiority down on us. For a fraction of a second, I searched for constellations, before it hit me; this wasn't the real sky. Just a collection of pixels. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement, and looked to see him sitting down beside me. He hugged his knees to his chest, his eyes cast downwards, which made him look child-like and vulnerable.

"So what happened to you?" he asked almost inaudibly, shakily. 40. I eyed him suspiciously, before it occurred to me that there wasn't really anything to be suspicious about anymore. What could he do with information?

"Nosy, aren't you?" I responded with aggression out of habit anyway, shooting a glare at him. He flushed, and looked away, mumbling an apology, and I sighed. "My guild miscalculated something."

"Which guild?" We weren't making eye contact anymore. The boy had reached out in front of himself, as if he were trying to pluck the clouds from the sky. The light threw strange shadows over his face, and I found myself thinking of angels. I grimaced. My mother had been a Christian. What was it Christians did? Confession, or something? I didn't know much about it, but I was pretty sure all the confession in the world wouldn't keep me out of Hell, not if it existed.

"Laughing Coffin." I said, surprising myself. There was a silence. 34. Geez, it was hard to ignore that seemed like someone was deliberately slowing the time down, but I guessed sixty seconds is a long time if you're waiting. Especially for the end of... everything.

"Why?" This time his voice came so softly I nearly missed it.

"What?" I was caught off guard, not understanding.

"Why?" he said again. It wasn't that he thought I hadn't heard him. Apparently, he didn't feel the need to elaborate. Why was I doing this? I should just keep my mouth shut for half a minute longer. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I lay back, gazing up at the unreachable heavens again.

"My little brother needed protection." A voice in my head told me to stop talking, but I paid it no heed. "He has... difficulties. I-I couldn't do it by myself. They promised that if I joined them, he'd be looked after." I gave a dry laugh. "I wonder if they'll kill him now that I'm not providing the services I promised any longer." I tried to retain bravado, but the thought frightened the wits out of me. Surely, not even Laughing Coffin...

"And what happened?" He stayed sitting up, his hand still outstretched, silhouetted black against the brilliant orange of the clouds.

"Went to dispatch of some little guild that were causing us trouble. Underestimated them." My hand went to my sword and I drew it, slowly, so as not to startle him again, holding it above me in an undoubtedly dangerous fashion, turning it this way and that in my hands. It glinted prettily in the light, and I almost smiled at the irony. It had served me well the last few years. My eyes strayed again to my countdown. 29, and before I knew it I had blurted out;"And you?"

"We- we were hunting in the forest. Got attacked by some red players," he swallowed, his hands had come down and now he was fidgeting with them in his lap. "Not... Not sure who. We were mostly doing what they said, trying to keep them from hurting us but Kotori, my friend... she got riled up when they asked for her crystals and she lost it and ran her dagger through one of them. But then the others... grabbed her and someone got me from behind. I hope she's okay."

"Well, on the bright side, if she's not here, she's probably still alive." 23.

"... I guess." It was really starting to get dark now- the sky was now mostly navy, tinged with peach at the edge of the horizon. Had I never noticed how quickly the sun set in Aincrad? Just then, I had a thought, and sat up abruptly. "Wait, Kotori? Skinny little brat, brown pigtails?" Despite my slightly unflattering description, the boy nodded, looking bewildered. "Shit."

"Shit."

"What is it?" he said urgently, but I was already standing up, holding my sword loosely in both hands. 18. I didn't really know why I was opening up like this, I didn't need to, but I answered anyway.

"Kid, I'm sorry, the forest..." I turned, with an attempt of a smile that didn't reach my eyes. Probably more of a grimace. "That was us. We attacked you. Your friend Kotori did me in," I tapped my stomach where the knife had pierced through, though it looked completely unharmed now, "And it was a buddy of mine who took your life."

He blinked wildly, and a hand went to his neck where he'd been executed, most likley without him realizing he was doing it. 15, 14... I was acutely aware of the back of my mind screaming at me to panic, to find a way to survive, that these were my final moments. But, then again, these were my final moments. I wasn't going to waste them running around like a headless chicken. I'd go out with dignity. I stood stock-still, waiting for a reaction.

"It's okay." The boy surprised me, standing up too, though he was still rubbing at his eyes. He gave a watery, shockingly kind smile, one I knew full-well I did not deserve. "Let by-gones be by-gones and all that right? It doesn't matter anymore. What can we do, after all?"

10. It doesn't matter anymore.

9. I turned and grinned at him. Genuine. The first genuine smile I'd given anyone for as long as I could remember.

8. At first, he looked unsure, but it only lasted a millisecond before he gave another smile in return. There were still lines in the dirt on his face from his tears.

7. I raised my sword above my shoulder, hefted up in victory like I'd seen the leaders of the Guild do countless times before, but I wasn't reflecting them.

6. I was undermining them.

5. I drew back with all the strength that I could, pausing to shoot a sideways glance at my new companion. He was watching with silent admiration, and understanding. He knew, I was certain.

4. In one movement, I tossed the sword out in front of me. It disappeared in an arc of silver light, just as the last of the sun's rays slipped out of sight.

3. I turned back to the boy, and stuck my hand out in greeting, aware that I probably looked more than a little insane, but not caring, not caring one bit. "Mai," It was my real name "Tsukino Mai." I hadn't said it out loud in at least two years.

2. "Sato Kaede" he replied. His grip was weak. "...Nice knowing you." I laughed at this, and so did he. It was loud, resonating.

A good sound.

A brave sound.

1. "Goodbye, then."