A/N

Welcome to my Christmas themed story of a certain story ark that didn't receive enough attention in the main timeline of SAO. I'll let you read this before I go into more depth about this story. So for now, thanks for reading the first chapter of One Wish For Christmas. See you below!

Cascades of frosty snow pelted against the ground in such away that you'd think heaven had abandoned Earth and forsook its right to light and life. Bitter winds punished the enduring forest harshly, billowing moans rolling across the stiff tree bark of towering pines.

Never before would Kirito ever imagine himself trudging through such weather, but then again, he never imagined losing her either. It had been ailing him for months now; the deaths of his only friends had tormented his mind and warped his goals to the point where they were simply husks of a promise once full of flame. When once he was determined to beat Aincrad at all costs, now he debated whether living was truly worth it at all. Now, there wasn't a moment in his wake or sleep that he didn't see the massacre of the Black Cats of the Full Moon. Even now, his mind was plagued with the images of his friends being struck down one by one, dispersing into tiny blue bits of data, as if they never had any real presence in the very world that snuffed them out. It wasn't fair.

IT WASN'T FAIR!

His boots clashed harshly with the firm layer of snow clinging to the ground. He focused on the rhythmic crunches of snow beneath his feet, the only indication for himself that he was even moving. He was so numb, in more ways than one. He'd lost everything, and there was nothing he could do…

...until a certain rumor began to spread around Aincrad, that is.

A wall of wind blasted against Kirito's black clad body, strong enough to hault his advance and almost tear his black coat straight off his body. He unsheathed his sword, Fragarach, and thrust it into the ground through layer upon layer of frost. The wind continued to batter his body roughly until, as if realizing that its efforts to pummel him were futile, it quit altogether. He retracted his sword from the ground and returned it to its scabbard, looking at the newly revealed terrain once hidden behind the previously thick snowfall.

This was definitely the place. Kirito couldn't think of anywhere more suitable than here. It matched the description of the info leaks perfectly. Even the fir tree was here, and that was the most tell-tale sign of all. This had to be the place that the rumored Christmas event was taking place, the place where the item he was looking for would have to show up. It was his only hope, the only thing capable of redeeming his broken spirit.

He stared up at the tall fir tree as the sky grew dark, the tip of the tree seeming to reach the stars. In one week, it would be Christmas Eve. Only then he would have his chance…

"No way…"

He watched as several players garbed in brilliant blue armor stalked the snowy forest, looking around with digillence, drinking in every detail. Running a hand through his spiky orange hair, Kibaou cursed to himself at the newly discovered hurdle.

The DDA was looking for the location of the Event Boss.

He really should have expected this from the self proclaimed Guild of Treasure Hunters. Even in this world, people were still drawn to things with power. He supposed the DDA thought that if they had the rarest items, they had the strongest players. Chances were that once they got the drops from the boss, they would either keep them for themselves or sell them to the highest bidder, even the fabled Revival Item.

That was the source of Kibaou's frustration. He would have to work extra hard now to make sure that he'd be the one to get it. He'd been grinding hard these past few months, ever since the rumour started, going through plenty of sleepless nights. He had to get that item; it was the only thing he could ever think about.

The only solace he could muster was that it seemed the DDA didn't have the location of the event yet. That being the case, it wouldn't be long before they did, and even if they didn't, the DDA was not the fairest guild out there. They would eventually find a way to get that item. Kibaou knew he'd just have to be better.

Being the Elite Commander General of the ALF, or the Army, as people were now calling it, Kibaou had to be the best fighter in the guild, otherwise risking the guild's reputation (although the ALF's presence in the front lines was pretty much nonexistent). Immediately after the first floor, he had taken to training rigorously and endlessly, working on more than just EXP farming. He'd challenge players one after another, working on his skill as well as his strategy. From there, he was invited by the ALF's founder, Thinker, to join their ranks, and soon became the General he was now. His insane stubbornness was something he prided himself on; he strived to be the best at everything, and in a world where fighting prowess made you strong, he aimed to be at the top.

"Who's there!"

Kibaou's eyes widened, suddenly remembering where he was. He cursed himself for being careless enough to stand in the same spot for too long. Damn those tracking skills…

Having no other smart option nor a reason to flee, he slowly fastened his spear to his back, before stepping out from behind the bushes. Two men and a woman all adorned in shiny sapphire plate armor greeted him with weapons at the ready. Both men seemed to be tanks, holding a bulky shield in one hand, with a long sword in the other. The woman had a dagger in one hand, and seemed to be attempting to covertly draw something from a small pouch on her side, presumably for throwing pick. Don't these idiots know who they're dealing with?

"Well what do we have here? If it isn't the top dog of the Army… What brings you down to the humble forests of Floor 21," one of the men spoke in a taunting tone. It took every ounce of willpower to stop Kibaou from bringing all of his glorious wrath down on the guy.

"I could ask the same thing. What are top level guild members, such as yourselves, doing in such a low-level area like this one? I thought Captain Lind would have you swarming the newest floor… Maybe you're not the top players you've made everyone think you are…"

"It's none of your business! You should leave if you know what's good for you!"

"Now, now," Kibaou smirked, "it wouldn't be wise to threaten the second-highest ranking member of the Army." As much as Kibaou would like to introduce the man to his spear, nothing good would come out of it. He mentally chortled as the three players simultaneously lowered their weapons with regretful looks.

He materialized a teleport crystal from his inventory. He had spent about half an hour scoping the forest for a giant fir tree with no such finding. He had initially started to doubt the rumour, but The Rat was always right in her information, one way or another. For now though, he'd just return to headquarters. He was expected to train an incoming group of recruits as well as conduct a check up on the combat prowess of their frontliners. Sighing, he brought the teleport crystal up to the eyes of the DDA members, still ticked off that they were on the hunt for this item.

"Teleport, Town of Beginnings!"

By the time he reached the nearest town, the blizzard had quelled to a light snowfall. The sound of howling wind and the feel of frosty snow was replaced with the chatter of excited players and the heat of the town's massive bonfire, rippling through the darkness of the nightfall.

He looked the inn up and down briskly, silently gauging his new residence for the next week. It was a more than humbly sized building, but he knew that the dimensions outside mattered very little to the contents when it came to the virtual world. Still though, the way each window was lit with the dancing brilliance of candlelight and the festive Christmas decorum hung neatly over the building seemed welcoming to the Black Swordsman. Feeling satisfied enough with the temporary lodging, the Black Swordsman quickly strode into the inn.

"Happy Holidays, sir," the NPC innkeeper chimed brightly from his spot behind the counter. "How can I help you this fine evening?"

"One room, one week."

"Understood sir." The NPC turned his back to Kirito and began to fiddle with his pockets for a few seconds. "Ah ha!" The NPC handed Kirito a bright, glimmering silver key.

"Here's your room key, sir. Up the stairs, make a right, and down that hallway. The room will be on your left. It should be ready for you when you arrive. Enjoy your stay!" Kirito gave a brief nod of half appreciation, half impatience. He lumbered up the stairs and followed the innkeeper's directions with heavy steps. Upon finding his door, he inserted the key and unlocked the door in one fluid motion, before entering quickly and slamming the door shut.

He propped his sword up against the wall and unequipped his jacket and boots, leaving him in his leisure wear, before flopping ungracefully into bed. He went through his evening rituals one by one. First, he'd check for any unread messages; of course, there were five from Klein in the past four hours alone. The man really needed to stop worrying about him so much; it was unhealthy to be associated with the Beater of SAO, Kirito thought. Surprisingly, there were two messages from Argo. That was definitely new; it was usually him who contacted her, not the other way around. Finally, there was an unread message from Agil sitting in his inbox.

Sighing, he closed his inbox. Well, there went his morning of levelling. Why couldn't people understand that he just wanted to be left alone. He didn't have time for anyone or anything getting in his way; maybe he'd just avoid them until he got her back. To be honest, it didn't sound half bad…

After checking his messages, he closed his eyes like he did every night, and prayed hard. He prayed for a dreamless sleep, for relief from the nightmares that never failed to assail him in the dark of the night. He hoped that somebody would relieve him of the torture, even Kayaba Akihiko himself. He knew, though, that no one would come, and now he was afraid of closing his eyes and burying himself in his subconscious insanity.

All too soon, sleep curled its fingers around Kirito's frame, and began the slow drag into sleep. But not before a feather light touch of warmth flitted on his cheek, and then another touch to his forehead..

"Good night, Kirito. Sweet dreams…"

Before he knew it, the warm whisper of affection had lulled him to sleep…

This time they were laying on a blanket on the Hill of Memories. They looked up to a sky of shooting stars leaving luminous trails through the dark night sky. She curled into his side a bit more as he wrapped his arm around her tightly.

"Did you know that Aincrad has its own constellation pattern for each floor?"

"No… But how did you find out?"

"Well, I used to get really bored when I camped outside after a grind or waiting outside the boss room for the assault team to get there, so I'd have plenty of time to look up to the stars when I wanted to."

"Oh Kirito," she shook her head smiling, "what am I going to do with you?"

The wind howled, blowing its chilly air towards the couple. Kirito instinctively adjusted his coat over the petite girl next to him. She wiggled closer to him and laid a hand on his cheek.

"I've found the place… It'll only be a week now."

Her hand fingered through his thick ebony hair, and she brought her other hand to his, clasping it tightly in her own. Her hand was so warm in his, and he couldn't help but rub the pad of his thumb across the back of her hand soothingly.

"Kirito…"

Her breath blew against his cheek as she whispered his name, sending shivers through his body. She sounded... pained, almost melancholy. Kirito knew what this meant. She was about to dissuade him.

"Please… Don't do this to me…"

His voice was so weak now, so fragile. This was the only place he would allow such a weakness to show. This was the only person he could ever show it to.

Thankfully, this time, she relented. Tenderly, she cupped his cheek, shifting her body so that she was hovering just above him. He fell into the sparkling pools that were her eyes. A long time ago, he recalled when those eyes had been filled with fear, desperation, and uncertainty. He had been the one to strengthen her, the one to always stay at her side and put her doubts to rest. Oh, how the tables had turned.

Her eyes were now filled with determination, warmth, and something even deeper, something tinged with sadness. Without fully processing what was happening, he felt her lips delicately press themselves to his forehead, lingering just a moment before settling herself on his chest, wrapped up in his Coat of Midnight. Her face was still angled up towards his, so that he could see the faint redness of her cheeks and the teardrops gently coating them.

"Kirito, no matter what happens, I'll always be with you. I'll never leave you, even when you lose yourself. I'll never leave. Never." Kirito closed his eyes and pulled her closer, slowly crumbling in on himself.

"Always remember, Kirito. Always remember that I-."

"You don't really think he'd-"

"This is Kirito we're talking about. He was crazy enough to pull off that stunt on the first floor because he felt obligated to help a bunch of players he probably didn't even know… His guild was wiped out in front of him, Agil. He has to be looking for that Event Boss they're talking about in the rumours."

Agil hummed in thought before closing his eyes in contemplation. Klein had a point; it had been a long time since anyone had seen Kirito, outside of boss fights of course, and they were lucky to even get a word from him if someone approached him. Klein seemed sure of himself… no, more than sure, he was dead set on his assessment, and it was rare enough to find Klein in such a serious mood regardless.

"Kirito's the kind of person to tackle a problem on their own. He doesn't want to feel like he's a burden to anyone, and that probably means he'll attack the Event Boss on his own. Agil, I can't let him kill himself like this!"

Agil eyed his friend from across the small table he kept in his shop. No, scratch that; this wasn't just his friend Klein talking to him . This was guildmaster Klein; this was the man who had to worry about the safety of his companions on a daily basis, the man who had to face death on a daily basis, but for more than just himself. Agil appreciated the opportunity to see this side of Klein, and it made him realize just how good friends he and Kirito were.

"You're right. We can't let Kirito go through with this on his own. Based off what you've told me, the Resurrection Item is too good of a drop, so we'll have to expect a tough boss. You could get your guild to help out, and I could gather some players who do business here to help out. The question is what do we know. How tough is this boss? What kind of boss is it? Where would the boss be?"

"I'm not sure… Kunimitz only heard about an event boss and a Resurrection item from a couple of DDA members. I don't know a single thing aside from that. Either way though, this is an Event Boss; MMOs are usually good about keeping event bosses a secret, and they only leak a bit of information about bosses for the hype. Still, we're on the wrong end of the stick when it comes to the info we have..." Klein sighed, his hands wrapping around his cup almost by reflex before raising the glass to his lips. The amber liquid stung his throat just barely, overshadowed by a potent sweet taste.

"He still hasn't responded to any of my messages, ya' know?"

"Same. But then again, Kirito is kind of one track minded, and ever since the incident on the first floor, he's kept mostly to himself, these past couple of months especially. The only reason we talk to each other is because of my business. If not for that, I'm sure I wouldn't know him half as good as I do now. Still, it'd be nice if the kid could open up a bit more. Nowadays, I can barely get more than a sentence out of his mouth."

"But still, Kirito has never been this much of a recluse, has he? There's something strange about this whole situation," Klein started, rubbing his arm over his bandana clad forehead.

"If he needs the Resurrection Item, someone must've died, but I can't think of anybody from the frontlines that has died recently, much less anyone Kirito actually knows. I wish he would at least talk to someone about it. Bottling that stuff up can't be good for you, and based on his actions at boss fights lately, I'd say he's been in bad shape for a while." Klein raised his glass back up, only to realize with an annoyed frown that it was empty.

"I feel bad for him. Kirito was a boy forced to become a man too quickly, Klein. He became like this out of necessity, not out of choice. His weakness is that he cares too much about others, so in order to become strong, he refuses to find others to care about. That's why he won't tell us anything. He doesn't want to feel like he's weighing us down with his problems, and he doesn't want to become too attached and lose us."

"You must've been some type of counselor in the real world... Well then, if Kirito won't give us the opportunity to help him, we'll just have to make one…"

Light filtered through the white cotton curtains draped over the lone window in the room. Kirito wearily blinked his eyes open, moisture leaking out of his fluttering eyelids. Tears... Had he really been crying? He drew his arm across his eyes, effectively wiping all traces of liquid from his face.

He sat up on his bed with a determined look on his face.

"Just a few more days…" he muttered. "Wait for me Sachi. I'm coming."

A/N

So, this story will not be a long one. I plan for it to be around five chapters, no more than ten, with this one being more of a set up chapter. The next chapter will be slightly more action-y, with the third chapter hopefully getting into the main meat of the story. So, as to why I've chosen to write this story; the biggest factor was that it didn't make sense that there was a Resurrection Item and only Kirito and a guild tried to go after it. There was definitely more potential for a good story hidden in this plot, and a bunch of moral dilemmas and philosophy that could be brought up into this as well. Also, there's Nicholas the Renegade, a disappointing boss fight for what was being offered in return. In this story, I wanted there to be more depth, and evolve this from a clash of swords to a clash of ideals and wills. Hopefully, I'll be able to do this in the story.

That being said, PLEASE REVIEW. Any criticism is appreciated, and flames only temper my edge ...seriously, I'll except anything :)

Thanks for reading!