A/N: Okay for those of you who may be reading my other stories, so sorry I'm super behind and I need to update soon, I know but I'm hitting some writers block with those two at the moment, I promise I will update and won't leave you forever hanging, but alas I received a OTP prompt from my friend and just couldn't resist writing to it...for those who haven't read my stories, don't worry about a thing I just said XD anyway to all, ENJOY.

Chapter 1: The Concerned Stranger

Asuna lived alone. She had a family, a very top of the line rich family...but they had long since given up on her. Resorting to getting rid of her; they pushed her away supplying her with money from afar and making a point to have nothing else to do with her. So Asuna lived alone in what used to be a very nice apartment, of course by this point she had all but trashed the place.

After all drinking does things to a person and the way they live.

But perhaps the most strangest of occurrences to ever happen to her was not the trashy state of her lonely life or how she lived...No, the strangest thing was that after all the people who were supposed to support her through thick and thin were so willing to give up on her without much effort or care at all, a gray eyed and black haired young man has somehow managed to wedge his way in her life in just the week she has now known him. She was astounded by such a thing because in just seven days he has expressed more patience, care, and determination to pull her back on the right track and be there for her than anyone has expressed in her whole life. Not her parents, not her brother, not her supposed friends, how sad that a stranger was the one to want to help her and be there for her instead.

How sad.

The sound of knocking on the door filled the quiet apartment as the young woman of just 24 sluggishly turned her head to the direction of the door, she was so wasted it was a miracle she was awake really.

"Asuna?" a quiet voiced called from the other side of the door.

Asuna giggled at the sweet and sincere concern she could hear in just him calling her name…It made her want to stop, it made her sick with herself. She wrinkled her noise in disgust as she looked around herself; it was almost like she sat on a throne made of vodka bottles, the entire apartment reeking of vomit, sweat, and alcohol. She wanted to stop so badly.

But she just couldn't. It was like a disease, it was a disease, and the cure could only be found in one's self…a place within that not all people had the will power to reach. The fact of the matter was simple:

She

Just

Couldn't

Stop

"Asuna, I know you're in there…Please open the door." He called again; his voice was laced with worry.

Oh that's right, she was supposed to meet up with him for a late lunch today…Asuna turned her head to the digital clock on the wall, the numbers blurred and danced about her vision as she squinted her eyes to try and make out the time.

6:50 pm

Ah, she was supposed to meet up with him at 5:00 pm…he probably had a panic attack when she didn't show up.

Asuna was no fool, she knew the reason he wanted to meet up with her was to insure her health, he wanted to make sure she was ok. She giggled again; he truly is a sweet man. She thought to herself as the memory of how she met him danced across her mind again…

How embarrassing

But then again her drinking habit has landed her in so many humiliating situations by now she couldn't really be too bothered, she shouldn't be bothered, her own family kicked her out for that very reason so she was used to such a feeling…

So why was she bothered?

The more she thought back to the night the more she came to one conclusion…There is just something about him.

Some men made wolf calls as she stumbled across the loud and hectic bar clearly wasted beyond comprehension, she knew they were for her and she hated it. The bar owner had told her no more drinks as she had had enough to drink. She hated that too, in her opinion she couldn't get wasted enough. She needed to drink more.

A suffocating feeling squeezed in her abdomen; there it was again the pain of self-hate, loneliness, depression, or something like that anyway. To tell the truth she never could really put a finger on what exactly the feeling was, just that it made her feel horrible and she needed it to go away.

At first drinking had helped to numb it, it was why she started in the first place, but now it only seemed to feed it more.

And

She

Still

Couldn't

Stop

"Hey baby, want to come home with me? I'm thinking you and I could have loads of fun yeah?" A man to her left smiled in a way that would make the average woman feel sick, his face too blurry in her eyes to make out for a couple seconds.

She wanted to say no but her mouth was heavy and refused to work right, and her throat was so dry it felt like someone had shoved sandpaper down it. When he didn't get an immediate reply he took that as a yes as he took hold of her arm and started to lead her towards the exit. Asuna started tugging her arm away but she was so weak from the alcohol it was hardly noticeable. No one would notice as she was dragged off and used as a sex toy for this man, taken advantage by such a disgusting creature…it made her stomach drop and do a somersault.

'Somebody help me.'

She wanted to cry out but even if she did would someone answer? No probably not, no one ever answers…she was alone and that was how it's always been and always will be.

"Hey bastard can't you see she doesn't want to go with you? Let her go." Someone near the bar said.

The effect was immediate. The entire room seemed to become quiet waiting with bated breath to see what was to happen.

Someone…was helping someone like her? Wasn't she not worth anyone's time? Wasn't she not worth saving?

Asuna's head began spinning as she swayed from where she stood, the only reason she was still standing was because the creeps vice like grip on her arm was holding her up.

"Oh? She doesn't seem to mind all the much."

She minded very much. Asuna frowned as she tugged on her arm again, this time it was at least a little more noticeable…especially when every one's eyes were on them.

"Don't wanna~" she finally mumbled, the words slurred and barely coherent. But the message was received.

In an instant she felt the grip on her arm pried off and someone pulling her away gently.

"Just what do you think you're doing?!" The man hollered in pure anger.

"He's preventing a sick bastard from taking advantage of a defenseless girl because she's drunk; now get your ass out of my bar before I call the cops on you." A commanding tone could be heard from a very large, muscular, and intimidating man from behind the bar towards the back.

Knowing he had lost the creep huffed before turning on his heel and practically stomped out the door, swinging it shut with a loud bang.

Silence followed.

"Are you alright?" the person holding her asked sweetly with all the concern in the world laced in his voice, Asuna was frozen…It had been so long since anyone had talked to her like that.

"T-thank…you~" she somehow managed out.

She stumbled for a moment as she shifted to face her savior, she felt him lightly grab hold of both her forearms and pull them towards his own chest to steady her.

Oh lord…she thought as she nearly swooned right then and there.

He was not only sweet but very much so handsome, his gray eyes boring into her very soul with a concern that she thought didn't exist for the likes of her.

It was interesting that he had such an effect on her, since it had been so long since she allowed anyone to have an effect on her at all, especially after such an experience as a creep almost whisking her away to take advantage of her and who knows what else really.

"Thanks for the help Agil." The young man spoke to the barkeep who nodded in return.

"I don't take kindly to people like that hanging around my bar; I only wish I had spotted it sooner." Agil responded. The young man nodded in response before turning his attention elsewhere.

"Sorry Klein I believe I'm going to leave early, I want to make sure this girl gets home safely…can you find someone else to drive you home?" Her savior continued as he faced the direction of someone else at the end of the bar still holding her to insure she does not fall.

A man with reddish hair and a bandana tied around his head smiled "Yeah I already figured, you have a habit of playing hero, Kirito." He chuckled, "Don't worry about the ride thing…I'll just make Agil give me a lift." Agil turned and scowled at Klein for being volunteered as chaperon but said nothing else otherwise. Klein just grinned like nothing happened, "See you later man!" He called before turning to Agil and demanding another drink.

Kirito

Is that his name?

Kirito nodded before turning back to Asuna.

"Where do you live?"

Asuna looked at him for a moment before mumbling out her address quietly enough that only he would hear.

He nodded his head to show he heard her as he guided her out of the bar and to his car, being the gentlemen she had by this point gathered he is; he opened the door for her and made sure she was settled in comfortably before closing it and making his way over to his side.

"What's your name?" he inquired as he drove them down the street.

"Asuna~" she responded.

"Asuna you shouldn't go to bars and drink like that alone, it's very dangerous."

The girl almost chuckled at his concern; after all such a thing was nearly foreign to her these days. She was being scolded by a stranger…how funny.

"Your name is Kirito right?~" she slurred

"That's actually a nickname, my real name is Kazuto" He responded, personally she liked Kirito better so she decided she would stick with that instead.

"Oh, nice to meet you Kirito~"

Kirito raised an eyebrow at her for a moment before smiling kindly, "Nice to meet you as well Asuna."

A comfortable silence filled the car the rest of the way back to her apartment.

She still remembered the look of horror on his face when he saw the wreck of her apartment like it was yesterday. She hated that moment because she had felt so disappointed in her existence. She knew he had put two and two together when he had turned to look at her with concern and fear for her wellbeing.

It wasn't all too hard to figure out. An eight year old could piece such an obvious fact together.

She

Is

An

Alcoholic

"Asuna?" he called again from the door, bringing her back to the present moment as she sighed before dragging herself slowly to her feet.

She opened the door and he rushed forward to confirm she's alright, once he was sure that she was ok he looked around at the mess. "You're drunk again…" he mumbled as he laid a hand gently on her cheek with a sad look on his face.

Was he surprised? He shouldn't be.

Sighing, he led her to her bed and helped tuck her in, Asuna passed out as soon as her head hit the pillow.

It was the pounding in her head that woke her up, the common and by now well-known sign of a horrible hangover. She groaned as she clutched her head to block the early morning light leaking through the window. Wiping away the sweat on her brow with the back of her hand she paused as a wave of nausea passed over her. After the nausea passed she dragged herself out of bed and looked around only to be stunned at how clean her apartment suddenly seemed, the very air smelled clean even…

After recovering from her momentary shock she stumbled out of her room and slowly made her way towards the kitchen in hunt of something to sooth the aftermath of her drinking…preferably more alcohol.

Instead she found another shock at her little dinner table that used to be practically buried under old empty bottles of alcohol.

Kirito sat in the chair with his head buried in his arms passed out; looking around the room she realized he must have been cleaning late into the night.

She groaned as her head throbbed particularly badly again and leaned against the door way, Kirito stirred awake at the sound peering up over his arms with bleary eyes. Catching sight of Asuna, who looked an absolute mess; he was up and heading over to support her in an instant.

Pulling one of her arms over his shoulder and holding on to her hip to further support her he guided her over to the couch and helped her sit down on it gently before lifting her legs and adjusting her so she was comfortably lying on the couch instead. The girl looked up at him for a moment before groaning again as the nearby window let in sunlight to hit her in the eyes causing a stabbing pain in her head.

Kirito turned on his heel and closed the curtains receiving a sigh of relief from the girl on the couch.

Making his way over to the kitchen he came back with an aspirin and glass of water, after helping her take it he returned back to the kitchen. Only a moment later he returned again with a damp wash cloth and a bowl of water. He knelt down to gently wipe away some of the sweat on her face and arms before dipping the cloth back into the water and wringing it out. Asuna sighed as the cool cloth settled on her forehead and reached up to pull it down to cover her eyes just a little more.

Suddenly another wave of nausea rushed over her far worse than the last and she covered her mouth as she started gagging, trying hard not to vomit right then and there. She heard the sound of Kirito rushing off and back before she felt a hand take away the cloth and help lift her up into a sitting position, the small trash can from her bathroom suddenly placed in her hands. She clung to it for dear life as she heaved and emptied what little contents that were left in her stomach into it. She was vaguely aware of her hair being held back and the gentle rubbing on her upper back as she continued to dry heave or the feel of the cool cloth wiping away her mouth and face after she was finished.

A glass of water was held to her mouth and gratefully she took a sip before settling back down on the couch.

She was unconscious again before she knew it.

When she awoke next her head was still throbbing but the pain was bearable, the alcohol induced fog over her mind seemed to have mostly lifted as she could now think clearly for the moment. Turning her head she took in her surroundings. On the sofa chair nearby she found Kirito sitting there curled up as he silently read. She continued to stare at him (or maybe she was admiring him) for a long moment without him realizing, taking in the way the dull light of the candle he had sitting on the table nearby cast a warm glow across his face or the way his eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly in concentration as those big onyx eyes of his worked their way across the page and onto the next or even how he chewed the corner of his lip as he got into the book even more.

"Asuna?"

Asuna jolted as she realized he was now peering up over the top of the book and directly at her, the horrifying realization that he had just caught her staring at him made her whole face light up in a deep blush.

The feel of a hand on her forehead jolted her back to reality again in an instant.

"You feel a little warm, let me get-"

"No no, I'm fine!" Asuna cut him off flustered

"Are you sure?" he said as he removed his hand from her forehead and looked at her with that concern that she was starting to get used to…yet her stomach fluttered with butterflies every time at the fact that he cared that much for someone like her.

"Absolutely, I am perfectly fine." She confirmed pulling on a more composed expression. Her head throbbed again and she grimaced, Kirito raised an eyebrow at her as if to say 'Oh really?'

"Um…maybe some aspirin would be nice…" she mumbled clearly embarrassed

Kirito just chuckled before heading off to the kitchen to get her just that.

"Thank you.." she mumbled after he had returned and she had took it, she looked at him for a long moment after, much longer than necessary.

"What?" he asked tilting his head almost cutely as he became ever so slightly confused at the stare down.

'Why is he here?' 'Why is he wasting his time with me' 'Why is he so kind?'

The many thoughts suddenly intruding upon the poor girls mind whirled around her head, tearing at her emotions.

Emotions that she thought she had long since buried years ago.

"Why?" Asuna suddenly asked before she could stop her self, her voice cracked in built up grief as she started to cry.

Why do you care so much about me? Aren't you going to give up and leave me too?

At first Kirito was just shocked but he quickly snapped out of this, sitting down next to her he pulled her in to his arms. She clung to him like a lifeline and buried her face in his shirt as she began to cry even harder.

Years' worth of loneliness, of being forgotten, of hating herself…

Of

No

One

Ever

Being

There

For

Her

It was all pouring out of her eyes now.

Because for once in her entire life there was someone there for her, and it felt so good. Like a hole had been filled.

"Don't leave me, please don't leave me." She started to say over and over again as she felt him hold her close, felt his grip on her tighten and pull her even closer with her words.

He could only think of how mistreated this girl in his arms had been... Who was the fool to leave her to deal with this alone? She reminded him of someone...

"I won't." he said tears of his own streaming down his face.

Two words

Two words that meant the entire world to a lonely and forgotten girl, one that the world forgot about for much too long…and so she cried and clung to the first person to ever care about her, the person who had her wrapped so safely and securely in their arms as if to chase away all the pain.

Only one thought kept repeating in her mind like a mantra:

I'm not alone anymore.

And she really wasn't.

A/N: So I'm not sure if I will leave that be or have more chapters, so write a review and tell me what to think cuz that's always helpful...anyway thanks for reading :)