Chapter I

And here it is! Another new story...! I am sorry... my brain runs at a million miles a second. This one, as you saw, is called Emperor of Blades. It is primarily a crossover of Sekirei, Sword Art Online, and And You Thought There was Never a Girl Online, but there are others that will come into focus later on. The main character is Kazuto/Kirito, as usual, and it is a harem, as if I would write anything else. Bakuto Masaki is helping me with the story, as always. So, on we go!

Two people, within a seemingly virtual space, stood on the end of a long dock sitting on a large lake.

The first, a young man with short, messy black hair and a plain blue outfit, with a sword and shield on his back, blinked in bewilderment. "… Huh? What did you say… Ako?"

The girl, Ako, a girl with long, wavy black hair, dark blue eyes, and an impressive bust wearing a simple white and pink dress resembling a maid's, nodded firmly. "I – I asked… will you marry me, Kirito?"

Kirito stood in silent disbelief. "Wh – Why…?"

"Because, it can only be you, Kirito!"

After a long pause, he sighed with a defeated smile. "U – Um… sure."

Her eyes got bright and wide before she tackled him with a heavy hug. "Yay! Finally, you said yes!"

He remained silent for a moment before chuckling weakly and patting her on the head. '… Well… guess I'm married…'

"Kazu! Wake up!"

In a small, fairly standard bedroom outside the virtual space, the same young man, his hair shorter and not as wild, laid on a bed with a full helmet on his head, sighing as it deactivated and he sat up with a stretch, a small smile on his face. He quickly turned to the side and saw a young woman with short, even cut black hair standing next to him, her bulging cleavage heaving with her annoyed breaths.

"You finally woke up…"

"Huh…? Suguha?" he wondered in confusion.

"Yes, Kazuto!"

Kazuto lurched back in surprise at her shout.

"Mom made dinner for everyone, so come downstairs."

"R – Right…" he sputtered as she left. After a moment of thought, he looked at the helmet he was wearing moments ago. "Well that was a good day."

As Kazuto walked into the building's dining room, several faces turned towards him, causing him to flinch slightly.

Suguha, however, noticed the small smile on his face and frowned in confusion. "Big Brother? What's going on?"

He looked at her, not understanding. "What do you mean?"

"You're… smiling. It's kinda creepy."

His eyebrows twitched at her words. "… Why is me smiling a bad thing?"

"Well you're usually so… glum."

"… You make me sound emo. Which I am not."

"You do have a habit of looking pissed all the time," a woman with short, messy silver hair and dark grey eyes commented wryly as he sat down.

"That's rich coming from you, Mom."

The woman merely frowned disapprovingly at him.

"And now you're proving my point."

"Maybe if she keeps it up with the frown it'll come back around to a smile!" a girl with short black hair and dark eyes snickered.

Their mother simply shot a glare at her. "Quiet, Yukari."

"And the great Takami loses another fight to high school girls," Kazuto remarked sarcastically, garnering a glare from her as well.

Yukari flinched from Takami's glare. "Eek! A – Anyway! Kazu, what's got you so happy?"

Kazuto simply laughed weakly. "Just a good day in Legendary Age."

Suguha sighed heavily as she sat down. "Of course it's that game again. You know, you're starting to slip in your kendo practice."

Kazuto turned to her with a lecturing face and raised two fingers. "Two words. Muscle. Memory."

"That's what you always say!" she bit.

Kazuto crossed his arms with a proud smirk. "Well with how LA works, the better I get there, the better I'll be in kendo training."

Takami felt a vessel in her head snap as she shouted, "Break it up you two! There's no reason to get so worked up. You all have school tomorrow so quit bickering and eat your dinner!"

"Right…"

Yukari pouted in annoyance. "And I'm still stuck in middle school!"

"Then study more."

"But that's boring…"

"If you study more and get high grades you could graduate early and never go again."

Yukari sat silently, thinking.

Kazuto frowned in concern and leaned close. "Yukari?"

"My head hurts…"

He just chuckled and patted her head gently.

Suguha sighed as she ate.

The next day as Kazuto walked to school with the others, Suguha gave him some advice. "You know, you should stop making Mom so mad."

Kazuto simply sighed in defeat. "I think mad is her default setting."

"Only because you keep making her worry."

"Well she doesn't need to."

"Yes she does," Suguha and Yukari answered in unison.

"No. She doesn't. And why did you both say that at the same time…?"

The two just looked at him, then each other, and then sighed.

"H – Hey! Come on…!"

Yukari sniggered in amusement, prompting Suguha to raise an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing," she answered with a smirk. "Just imagining how many girls Bro will get in his harem at this point."

"Hah?"

Kazuto twitched an eyebrow at her. "That's just stupid."

"Oh? I guess Ako's more your type then?"

Kazuto went cold before grabbing Yukari and pulling her to the side away from the others. "Where did you hear about that…?"

Yukari pulled out her phone and showed him a blog labeled "Argo's Daily Adventures".

Kazuto's jaw dropped in horror. "That damn Rat…! Why'd he have to go and make a blog…!? Next time I see him I'm strangling him with his own money bag…!"

"Hey! You're gonna be late!" Suguha shouted.

He frowned in confusion before turning to Yukari. "Don't tell anyone else about this."

"Right, right," she replied with a mischievous smirk.

Kazuto groaned as he sat in his classroom, looking around at the other students crowding around. 'There's too many people in this classroom… Why do I have to come here again…?' He was brought out of his thoughts when a girl with a plump bust and long, wavy white hair and golden eyes, called out to him excitedly.

"Kazu!"

"Huh? Oh hey Hiyori."

Hiyori frowned slightly. "You look down. Is something wrong?"

Kazuto stiffened and then laughed weakly. "Ah… School. Just wish I was home."

"Oh…"

"How can you hang out with that Otaku?" a girl with light brown hair tied in pigtails, as well as a noticeably slim figure chided the white-haired girl.

"He's my best friend," the girl puffed, grabbing his arm and burying it in her cleavage.

She just huffed and walked away.

Kazuko huffed with insult. "Well… that was unnecessary…"

A girl with long pink hair and matching eyes bowed with an apologetic smile. "S – Sorry about that, Kirigaya. Akane's been a little –"

Akane interrupted her, "You don't need to explain anything to that Otaku, Nanako."

Kazuto frowned in response. "Gamer."

"How is there a difference?"

A woman with long brown hair tied in front ponytail with violet eyes, frameless glasses over them, wearing a simple grey suit, laughed weakly as she entered the class. "O – Okay class… settle down."

Kazuto sighed in response. "Well I guess at least Ms. Saito knows how to deal with them…"

Hiyori was about to shoot back at Akane when the school's bell rang loudly, a voice on the intercom announcing, "All students, assemble in the auditorium. Repeat, all students, assemble in the auditorium."

Kazuto and the rest of his class arrived in the auditorium, seeing the huge room packed to the brim with people. Kazuto shivered at the sight. "… That's a lot of people… Wonder why we're here… I hope it's quick…"

After all the students sat down, Kazuto noticed someone approach the room's podium, a young woman with long, flowing, dark azure hair, bright amber eyes, and a bust her top barely contained.

Kazuto looked at the young beauty in mild bewilderment. "Does she go here?"

Hiyori nodded and explained, "Yes. She's Kyoh Goshoin, the student council president."

"Oh…"

Kyoh coughed softly into her hand to garner the room's attention as she began. "Ahem. I'd like to thank all of you for coming here on such short notice. As you know –"

No sooner had she begun speaking had Kazuto tuned her out and turned his attention to his game. 'Wonder what I should do today…? Maybe that new quest? I know I'm going to hang Argo by his purse strings though. Plus… I'm still not sure how to handle Ako… crap… what will Schwein and Apricot think…? I can just imagine Master laughing his ass off. And then Sachi would freak out… Oh, this is gonna suck so hard! And I am going to strangle that damn rat! Schwein can just bite me.'

Akane, sitting nearby, suddenly sneezed loudly.

At the same time, behind him, a girl with blonde hair tied up like a bow on top of her head sneezed harshly.

"You okay, Mozuki?" one of the other students asked.

"Yep, just fine," the blonde answered with a smirk.

"That is all," Kyoh announced as she finished her speech, rousing Kazuto from his thoughts.

"Huh?" Kazuto murmured.

"You zoned out during her speech," Hiyori remarked. "I figured it was pointless to try and wake you."

"Ah… thanks. I think."

"You may all return to your classes," Kyoh announced to the auditorium.

Kazuto sighed as he returned to class, stopping when he noticed several students staring and chuckling at him before Hiyori sprinted to him, frantic. "Kazu…!" she cried hysterically. "Is it true!? You got married!?"

He was caught in surprise by her sudden shouting, and so did not respond in a full sentence. "… Hah?"

Hiyori held up her cellphone, showing the same social media post of Argo's once more.

"… Crap."

"So you are!?" Hiyori shouted with even more feverish wailing.

Seeing the others beginning to scowl at him, Kazuto had to think of a way to resolve things, fast. "I – It's not real! It's just in a game!"

Hiyori stopped her freak out with a sniffle. "… Are you sure…?"

"Yes," he answered firmly.

Hiyori sighed with a somewhat doubtful smile. "Okay…"

As Kazuto flopped onto his bed after the day ended, he sighed heavily. "Geez… what a day… I'm gonna go kill something…" Kazuto grabbed his helmet and put it on before being launched into the virtual world of Legendary Age.

Kirito sighed as he came to on a bed and looked to his side, seeing Ako next to him. Chuckling, he remarked, "Hey there, Ako."

The girl pouted as she looked up at him. "How'd you know?"

"Because, the game only allows one person per bed to log off. Oh. Has Argo logged on yet?"

Ako sat up with a confused expression. "Yeah, why? He's at the tavern with Master and Schew."

Kirito launched out the door, leaving the confused girl behind. "I'll be back!"

"Aw…" she pouted.

Inside a tavern near the inn Kirito had been in with Ako, three people sat at a table.

The first with a tall man with short violet hair and rather scant outfit of a green scarf and trousers.

The second was a young man with messy, dark blonde hair decked out in silver and gold armor with a huge sword on his back.

The third was a rather petite young man with short, bright blonde hair clad in a cloak.

"School's been rather strange lately," the first man remarked.

"Tell me about it, Apricot," the cloaked boy muttered.

"It's Master, Argo. You'll need to remember that now that you're in the guild," Apricot rebutted with a smirk.

"How about you, Schwein?" Argo asked, ignoring Apricot.

Schwein smirked confidently and retorted, "I got confessed to. Again."

"Oh?" Apricot asked with intrigue.

"Yeah. But of course I refused, after all, I wouldn't have time for gaming if I –"

He was interrupted as the door slammed open, Kirito stomping in angrily. "Argo! I'm gonna kick your ass, you damn rat!"

The blonde burst from his seat in shock. "H – Huh!? What'd I do?!"

"Don't lie! That godforsaken blog of yours!"

Argo remained silent for a moment. "… Seriously?"

"Yes! Everyone at school wanted to kill me because you posted that you jackass!"

Argo merely blinked in total bewilderment. "… Nya?"

"You heard me! I don't know how but my whole school knew about your damn blog and they all had it out for me!"

Apricot raised an eyebrow with intrigue as he grabbed his glass. "Oh? This is interesting. What's the blog about?"

Argo just shrugged. "Our adventures in the game. I'm guessing Kiri's mad I made a post about him marrying Ako."

Apricot immediately spit his drink in shock, splashing it all over Schwein. "Wh – What?"

"What the hell was that for!?" Schwein snarled.

"What…?" the blonde asked in further confusion before Kirito lunged at him angrily. "Unya!" he shrieked before diving out of the way, Kirito slamming into Schwein.

"Gagh! What the hell dude!?" Schwein snarled before throwing him off.

"Stop dodging!" Kirito howled.

"You'll kill me and I'll lose my progress!" Argo retorted.

"Don't care!" he snarled before charging again.

Argo jumped out of the way again, Kirito hitting someone else as they walked through the door.

"Stand still and die like a man!"

However, their battle was interrupted as a small voice said with embarrassment, "U – Um, Kirito… y – your hand…"

Kirito blinked and looked down to see a girl with short blue hair and plain armor pinned beneath him, one of his hands firmly on her petite breasts. However, that was pushed to the back of his mind as he looked up and paled, Ako standing in the doorway and seeing him on the embarrassed girl, a cold stare in her eyes.

"Kirito… are you… cheating on me…?"

Kirito immediately sat up, waving his hands frantically as he tried to come up with an explanation. "No! That was an accident! I was trying to kill Argo and ended up running into Sachi!"

Ako's demeanor swiftly returned to normal as Sachi and Kirito stood up. "Kill him? Why?"

"Because of his damn blog!"

"Blog…?"

"Yeah!"

"I told him to post it there."

"… Eh?"

"I want the whole world to know I married the best man in the universe!"

Sachi instantly stiffened upon hearing that. "… Wh – What…?"

Schwein explained disinterestedly, "Apparently Kirito and Ako got married and Argo ratted it out to everyone."

"O – Oh…" Sachi muttered.

Kirito growled before shouted, "And everyone at Manabouku knows!"

The others all remained silent and looked at him in disbelief.

"… What?"

Schwein looked at him in disbelief. "… You go to Manabouku?"

"Yes. I do. Why?"

Apricot then addressed the other members. "Ako?"

"Yup!" she chirped.

"Sachi?"

"Y – Yes…" she stammered.

"Argo? Schwein?"

The duo frowned before nodding. "… Yes."

"As do I."

Kirito gaped in shock. "… Well… this is odd…"

Apricot nodded in understanding and tapped his staff against the floor. "Right. Now that we are all here… I say we should have the first ever Moonlit Alley Cats IRL meetup."

"Awesome!" Ako cheered.

"… Great…" Kirito and Schwein grumbled.

Apricot added, "I know the perfect place too. The cafe just down the street from the train station."

"What time, then?" Argo asked.

"Hm… around noon, on Saturday?"

The others nodded in agreement, though Schwein and Kirito were less than enthused.

Suguha and Yukari sat at the table with Kazuto as they worked on their homework.

"Saturday?" Suguha questioned in slight disappointment.

Kazuto nodded in reply. "Yeah. I'm going to be heading somewhere so don't worry."

Yukari snickered slyly. "Oooohh. A date?"

"No," he answered bluntly. "Me and the guys from LA are meeting up."

"Oh? Even Ako?"

"Yes. And there's always a chance Ako's actually a guy."

"Right," she answered doubtfully.

"What?"

"Wanna bet they are all girls?"

Takami huffed dismissively and retorted, "That'd be a sucker bet."

"Hah?" Kazuto grumbled.

Yukari just sniggered. "Oh nothing. Just knowing your luck, I bet they're all girls."

"… My luck's not that bad."

Kirito dodged a swing from one Ogre before turning on his heels and decapitating another. "This is what I need to relax."

"Kirito! Look out!" Ako shouted before Kirito got thwacked in the back by one of the Ogres. She paled in fear before raising her short, sphere-topped wand into the air. "Oh no! I'll heal you!"

Kirito paled as the Ogres all turned to her. "Shit! That's too much healing! Ako! Run!"

"Eek!" she shrieked as she sprinted from the muscly, green beasts.

Kirito's jaw dropped. "Fast…" he muttered before shaking his head. "Schew! We need to Aggro them!"

"Got it!" Schwein replied before raising his sword high.

The Ogres stopped chasing Ako and turned to Schwein, who grinned as Kirito charged, his shield glowing before he slammed all of the Ogres to the ground, after which they dispersed into a cloud of sparkles.

Kirito sighed in relief as he stood before paling as he looked forward, seeing he had gained the attention of every Ogre in the room. "… Ah fuck me…" he cursed. "Um… Schwein did it…?" he muttered before sighing and charging through the group, slashing numerous Ogres to pieces, all the while getting hammered by others. "A little help here!?"

"O – Okay…!" Sachi stammered before raising spear and charging in skittishly. "I – I'm coming…!" She charged in swinging blindly, not hitting a single Ogre.

The beasts looked at her blankly before turning their attention to Kirito. "… Fuck my week…"

Apricot cackled proudly. "Fufu, fear not, for I have come with back up!" before pulling out a large staff with a curved top, a large green orb floating in the middle of it.

Schwein gaped in disbelief. "You have got to be kidding me… you actually spent money on that crap?"

"But of course! The kind of items you can get in the real-money marketplace would take years of grinding!"

Schwein slammed his face against the wall in disbelief.

"Quit gloating and use the damn thing!" Kirito howled as he was viciously stomped by the monsters.

"Fine," the man huffed before swinging the staff. "Explosion!" he hollered loudly before it began to glow before shattering and causing a massive explosion at the center of the Ogres, unintentionally engulfing Kirito in the blast as well.

Argo just stared at Apricot in disbelief. "Who shouts like that when they cast a spell?"

Nearby, outside the labyrinth, a young child with red eyes and brown hair watched as a huge conflagration rose into the sky, sending Ogres flying in all directions. "Wwooww…"

Kirito cursed as he stood up, a single hit point remaining. "You did that on purpose you jackass!"

"No I didn't," Apricot argued weakly.

"Don't worry, I'll heal you!" Ako exclaimed as she rushed towards him, using another healing item.

Kirito sighed, knowing it was unnecessary, but appreciating it anyway. "Thanks, Ak – bwagh!" he grunted as she tackled him with a hefty hug.

"I'm so sorry, Kirito! I didn't mean to get you hurt!" she apologized profusely, practically crying.

"I – It's okay. What's done is done, so don't sweat it."

Ako blinked and then smiled brightly. "Thank you very much, Kirito. I love you."

"Y – Yeah…" he answered sheepishly before he noticed Argo writing on a virtual notepad. "Hey! The hell are you doing!?"

Argo immediately tucked it away. "N – Nothing…"

Kirito snarled and leapt from his spot and chased after the blonde, who fled frantically. "Get back here you damn rat!"

Argo sprinted away, tripping and bumping into Apricot, causing the mage to drop the large staff down a deep chasm.

"Noo!" Apricot howled in despair. "My Staff of Explosions…!" he cried.

Soon after, Kazuto sighed as he logged out of Legendary Age and realized how late it was. He prepared to head to bed when he heard sounds outside his room and went to investigate.

Stepping out of his room, he saw Takami, clearly frustrated, talking on the phone.

"Yes, I understand, but that doesn't change the fact that – I know that, but… yes, sir."

"Mom?" he asked, concerned.

Takami, with incredible speed, hung up the receiver immediately. "Ah, Kazuto."

Kazuto's concern grew into a frown. "… Who was that…?"

"My boss. Don't worry about it. More importantly, what are you still doing up this late?"

"I heard your call and got curious."

"I see. Well it's nothing you need to worry about, so just go to bed."

"… Are you sure?"

"Yes. Now go."

Kazuto sighed and left the kitchen, walking around the corner, but waiting just around the wall.

Takami waited for a moment before picking the receiver back up and calling the person she was talking to before, pulling the receiver away as the other person shouted at her. "You don't need to yell, my son walked into the room." After a pause, she growled, "Yes, I do mean my son, despite what she says. She left him there, so as far as I'm concerned, she doesn't have any right to him."

Kazuto winced as he listened. '… Wh – What?'

Takami just rubbed her temple in annoyance. "Stop shouting so much. You're the one who let those two escape with Jinki, it's not my fault."

'Jinki? And who escaped?'

Takami continued rubbing her head before putting the receiver down and putting the phone on speakerphone as she went to get painkillers.

The voice on the other end, a crazy-sounding man, exclaimed, "Well I know you know where they are, and I'd appreciate it if you told me where they are!"

Takami sighed as she swallowed the pills. "How many times do I have to tell you you're barking up the wrong tree?"

The man huffed with a pout. "Well then at least let me run some tests on No. 01's son, he's a rarity among rarities!"

Takami gained an insane scowl at those words. "You even think of touching Kazuto and I'm hanging you by your damn cape and make it look like an accident!"

Kazuto felt his blood run cold as he continued to listen.

The man pouted more. "You're no fun. Though from that tone, it sounds like you haven't told him yet. What he is."

"He doesn't need to know. He's my son and that's final."

Kazuto frowned deeply as they continued. 'What… I am…?'

"Now, unless you have anything else business-related to talk about, this conversation is over."

"Oh fine… Guess I should tell you most of the little birds are getting restless. Karasuba especially. So I went ahead and did a little… investing."

"… What did you do this time?"

"Well I got them all NerveGears of course!"

"… I'm going to regret asking, but why?"

"To see how they react to getting beaten in virtual reality!"

Takami narrowed her eyes as he spoke. "… You're planning for them to find Kazuto, aren't you?"

The man just snickered. "I will neither confirm nor deny that. Besides, I can just imagine all the fun that this will cause."

"You're a major pain in the ass."

"How?"

"Forget it," Takami snapped before ending the call.

Kazuto remained still at the doorway, tempted to speak up, but instead just snuck off to his room.

The following day at school passed quickly, Kazuto mostly on autopilot as the night's events flowed in his mind. Sighing once he got home, he groaned as he sat on his bed. "… Maybe I'll think clearer if I'm in the game."

Back inside the game, Kirito hugged the wall as he approached a corner and looked in, seeing a large group of Ogres standing around a campfire inside a cave. "Oh great… Okay… didn't expect this many, but it should be okay… After all, it will be a great way to relieve stress." He took a breath and then pulled a small spike from his pocket and threw it, hitting one of the beasts and getting the entire group's attention. He immediately turned and sprinted away with the Ogres in pursuit, suddenly stopping on his heels and turning. "Yo! We got incoming!"

Nearby, Argo, Apricot, Sachi, and Schwein gathered around Ako as she showed them a ring on her left hand.

"Right, tell me more," Argo urged as he held out his notepad.

Ako nodded with a gleeful smile. "Well I asked him on this romantic pier sitting on a huge lake! It was difficult but he eventually said yes and gave me this ring!"

"Ooh."

"Impressive," Apricot remarked.

Kirito gaped in disbelief. "Hey! I'm surrounded by enemies!" He snarled as he dodged one of the Ogres and swung at another, barely swerving around each of their strikes.

"What else, Ako?" Argo asked.

Kirito growled as he decapitated one of the Ogres, only for another to whack him on the back. "Hey! I need help here!" He turned and saw the group still talking listlessly. "HEY!" he shouted before one of the Ogres sent him flying. "Quit gossiping dammit!"

Kirito glared at the others as he downed a huge healing potion.

Apricot raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What? You managed to beat them"

Kirito just twitched an eyebrow angrily. "Barely! … Let's just head back to the tavern…"

Ako frowned in confusion as Kirito collapsed on the table. "Kirito? Are you okay?"

"No, Ako… I'm not okay…" he grumbled. "This whole week's been not okay… And I hate to say it… but it's mostly because of you, Ako… You sometimes miss your targets and heal the enemies, you get caught up talking and wind up getting lost, and do you know how many times I've died because of your mistakes? And that's just the effects within LA…"

"H – Huh…?" Ako sniffled as he continued.

"Argo's blog post has everyone I know at home and at school going insane… And I can barely handle it…" He winced when he noticed Ako's eyes watering and then sighed. "Well at the very least I haven't been actually hurt, and… I guess my experience is still on the positive side…"

Ako's expression instantly changed to a smile as she hugged his arm tightly, rubbing her head against him like a cat. "Aw, you're so nice, Kirito!"

"Isn't tanking the armored knight's job?" Schwein rebutted.

Kirito twitched an eyebrow heavily. "The only reason I'm the damn knight is because you're so obsessed with using that big ass sword your character isn't even strong enough to use properly! Okay, weakling!?"

Schwein twitched an eyebrow before smirking angrily. "What? You think you can take my bad self?"

Sachi trembled in worry as she looked between the duo. "H – Hey… don't fight, you two…"

Apricot interrupted with a proud chuckle. "You can just leave the annihilating to me. Because I'm unstoppable…" he trailed off as he opened a large pack, "as long as I have these powerful, real-money items!"

"Lousy pay-to-win bastard," Kirito and Schwein both cursed.

"Indeed…" Argo added with a frown.

Ako smiled before opening a menu in front of her.

Kirito blinked as an icon appeared in front of him. 'Private chat?'

Ako nodded with a smile. 'Hey, let's talk just the two of us, this is no time to be talking to the others. You should focus on your wife. Haa… your wife… your wife…'

Kirito frowned as Ako continued mumbling mindlessly. "… A – Ako…? Ako?" he urged as he shook her, getting no response. "Geez… she always does things her own way, I guess."

Apricot chuckled in amusement. "Seems you two are really stuck together like glue today."

"Yeah…"

Schwein snickered wryly. "Yeah, just like a couple of normies."

Kirito huffed dismissively. "Yeah right. This is just in the game. The game and reality are completely separate."

"We'll see when we all meet tomorrow," Apricot interjected.

Argo snickered before redirecting, "Say, Ako, anymore juicy info on your time with Kirito?"

Kirito twitched an eyebrow at his persistence. "Oy, zip it or I'm hanging you by your money bag!"

Ako, undeterred, jumped from her seat. "Listen to this! Kirito rejected my love-filled confessions again and again! The stress was shortening my life at mach speed!"

"He should have kept doing that…" Sachi mumbled quietly.

Kirito flinched away from her in response. "W – Well, it all worked out in the end, didn't it?"

Ako pouted deeply. "It's not the destination, it's the journey!" She began flailing her arms in a childish way as she continued. "I proposed to you ten times, and you rejected me each time! Is that how badly you didn't want to marry me!?"

"Yeah…" Sachi again added softly.

Kirito flinched more before sighing. "Okay, okay, I get it. Come on, let's just reset from our first conversation and move on."

Ako paled and grabbed his leg desperately. "Please! Don't! I was only kidding! Anything but divorce, I'm begging you! Don't abandon me!"

"Divorce her…" Sachi urged silently.

"So why'd you refuse at first anyway?" Schwein asked.

Kirito tensed before looking to the side with embarrassment. "I – It's… complicated. In-game marriages are something that… kinda turned me off."

"Wh – Why…?" Sachi asked in concern.

"It's… complicated."

"You mean the cross-player?" Ako asked bluntly.

"Cross-player?" Sachi asked, tilting her head curiously.

"AKO!" Kirito hollered as the guys laughed. Kirito flinched at their laughter. "Sh – Shut up! You guys are enjoying this way too much!"

"What's a cross-player?"

Argo, suppressing his laughter, explained, "It's a player who plays as a character that's the opposite of their gender, i.e. a man playing as a female character, like poor Kiribo here likely ran into."

Ako inched up to the side of the table and added, "I heard about that. Kirito actually propositioned for marriage in the game once. Nekohime…"

"Th – That story's beyond dark!" Schwein taunted through heaving breaths.

Apricot, barely able to hold himself up, added, "That's definitely a memory for adolescence!"

Kirito growled with shame. "Y – You can't really blame me… Her… I mean, his, character was cute, nice to everyone, had good taste in equipment, played the game well, and was all-around the ideal girl… I mean, girl character. I just made the most epic fuck up of wanting to meet them IRL… Tch… anyway, the shock was devastating, so I stuck to solo play for the whole time after that until I came to a realization."

"Oh?" Argo asked with intrigue, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Who cares? As long as their avatar, the version of them I interact with, is cute, it doesn't matter who or what they are in real life. It was the cuteness in the game I liked, so what they looked like in reality didn't matter."

"Well that'll go up in smoke soon."

Kirito groaned heavily. "I know, which is why I want to appreciate Ako for Ako until I meet him in real life. Then it's going to be a pain in the ass to try and remind myself that Ako in the game and 'Ako' in real life are two separate people as far as I'm concerned."

Sachi frowned slightly before adding, "Oh… W – Well, if it helps, I actually am a girl."

Ako nodded in agreement. "Yeah, me too."

Kirito nodded with shrug. "Sure, if you say you are, then you are. At least in the game."

Ako waved a hand dismissively. "No, no, I mean in reality I'm a nerdy, book-girl type."

"Same…" Sachi added.

Schwein frowned in disappointment. "Yo, hold it, you shouldn't just admit something like that, Ako, Sachi."

"Huh?"

Kirito nodded as well. "It's the greatest net taboo of all."

"I had no idea…" Ako mumbled.

"Oh no…" Sachi muttered quietly.

"Geez…" Argo groaned.

Apricot chuckled proudly. "Taboos are ludicrous. I, for example, am a high school girl in real life."

Kirito flattened his brow incredulously. "You, Master? With that premium gear? No way."

"Not a chance," Schwein added.

Ako laughed weakly. "Yeah, it's impossible."

Argo nodded with a smirk. "Yeah. Next thing you know, you're gonna say your family runs a multi-billion-dollar company."

Apricot blinked in surprise. "Yes, actually. But I make all of my own money to pay for items in the game."

Argo gaped in disbelief as Kirito sighed heavily. "… This meetup is going to be weird…"

"Yep…" Schwein groaned.

The next day, Kazuto stood at the town's train station and looked around in confusion. "I guess… the others aren't here yet? Weird… Guess it means I'm the first one here." After a moment, he pulled out his phone and sent a message to the group text he had. "I'm… by… the… big tree… in a… black… tee… There."

A short pause later, he felt a soft tug on his sleeve. "K – Kirito…?"

He tensed harshly before turning and seeing a girl who looked identical to Ako, but real, wearing a tight black sweater that showed her figure was nearly the same as her in-game counterpart. "… A – Ako…?"

The girl nodded slowly with a pensive smile. "Y – Yes… I'm Ako…"

His eyes shot wide in disbelief. "Ako…? The… The real Ako…"

"Yes…"

"You're… real… You're really a girl in real life…"

"… K – Kirito…?" she asked timidly.

"Yeah?"

His response caused her to gain a bright, beaming smile after which she grabbed and clung to his arm tightly. "Wow! It's you, it's really you! My husband Kirito!"

Kazuto just laughed lightly before looking around. '… Well… at least no one at home is seeing this…' "Alright, come on, stop calling by my username before someone I know sees me."

"Y – You can't be serious…" a familiar voice called in horror.

Kazuto turned slowly and saw Akane, now in less formal apparel. "… Eh? S – Segawa…?"

She looked at him in horrified shock. "Kirito…? You're Kirito… Kirigaya?"

Kazuto felt a shiver go up his spine as he looked between Ako and Akane. "H – Huh?! H – Hey, Segawa…"

Ako looked between the two curiously. "You two know each other already?"

Akane tensed as her face turned red. "Well, kinda… I mean, I've seen him before…"

"She's in my class," he added unsurely.

"Oh…" Ako remarked.

"Hah!? Tamaki?!" a girl with blonde hair and gold eyes, the one who had sneezed during the assembly, shouted as she ran up to the group.

"Eek!" Ako shrieked before hiding behind Kazuto.

He looked at her in bewilderment. "The hell…?"

"Sh – She's Mozuki Kikawa, same class as me…"

"Oh… cute."

Mozuki's face is the one that turned red this time. "Hah!?"

"H – Hello… I… I'm Sachi…" Sachi, who, much like Ako, looked identical to virtual counterpart, greeted as she approached the others.

Kazuto gaped slightly. "You're… just as cute as in the game…" he muttered, before tensing and turning to Akane. "… Wait… Segawa, are you…?"

Akane paled for crossing her arms defiantly, attempting to hide her embarrassment. "… Y – Yes… I… I'm Schwein…"

"A – Argo…" the blonde girl added.

"So, it seems we're all here," Kyoh, still in her school uniform unlike the others, greeted as she approached the group. "And yes, I am Apricot, guildmaster of the Moonlit Alley Cats."

Kazuto simply gaped in awe.

"Madame President?" Ako asked curiously.

Nodding in return, Kyoh urged, "Now, let's head inside. I got us all a booth."

"Right…" Kazuto grumbled, looking around.

Soon, the group entered said room, a huge room with large windows and a long table all to themselves.

Kazuto, along with the rest besides Kyoh, gaped in disbelief. "… Why is this one so overly expensive…?"

Kyoh looked at him in thought. "What do you mean?"

"… Seriously? Just look at it."

"My parents bring my sister and me here all the time."

Akane was surprised by that. "You have a sister?"

Kyoh nodded as the group each sat at different seats, Ako pulling hers right next to Kazuto. "Yes."

"Wow…" Mozuki muttered in surprise.

The others watched in confusion as Ako pulled herself close to Kazuto, practically drooling. "Kirito… Kirito… it's really you, I can barely believe it!" she exclaimed before she began patting him all over. "You're all warm and everything."

Kazuto frowned as he pushed her away gently. "You're making it sound like I'm some mannequin that came to life. So please stop."

Mozuki just snickered before Kyoh stood up. "Right. Well now that we're all here, let's start with formal introductions. I'll start. I am Kyoh Goshoin, student council president of Manabouku Academy. I came by after school, so forgive me for not dressing for the occasion."

The group clapped softly before Sachi stood timidly. "I – I'll go next… I – I'm Sachi Mokuni, in class B. I hope we c – can be good friends." She shot a glance at Kazuto before blushing.

After she bowed and sat down, Akane realized it was her turn and flinched before standing. "I – I'm Akane Segawa… and… and here I am…"

It being Kazuto's turn, he sighed and stood as well. "Kazuto Kirigaya Sahashi. I play as Kirito. … Man that's embarrassing to say out loud…"

Akane retorted, "Don't worry Kirigaya, your entire existence is an embarrassment."

"And yours isn't, piggy?"

Akane scowled. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?!"

Kyoh blinked in surprise. "You don't know? Schwein is German for pig."

"Hah?! Th – That's a lie!"

"No, I assure you it's not. I speak German after all."

Kazuto shrugged. "I've studied it a little. I blame Mom."

Akane's entire body went limp before her face turned vibrantly red. "… We've been in the guild for weeks, why didn't you tell me!?"

Kyoh tilted her head in confusion. "I thought that was part of the joke."

"Ggrr… fine! Yes, I'm Schwein! And the next person who calls me a pig gets stuck like one!"

Mozuki sniggered lightly. "You're a lot cuter when you're not a bitch."

Akane's eyebrow twitched more before she decided to just sit down, Ako going next. "I'm Ako Tamaki. I'm sorry I'm always a burden to you in Legendary Age. Oh, and since my full name is Ako Tamaki, you just keep calling me Ako."

Akane looked at the girl in surprise. "They're… the same?"

"Is that weird?" the raven-haired girl asked in confusion.

Kazuto just shrugged. "It's more of a safety issue."

"H – Huh?" Sachi, now worried, stammered.

Kazuto sighed before waving a hand. "Nothing. Forget it."

Ako nodded in return. "Right. Well, I'm not in any clubs, and I don't have any friends at school either."

The others just stared uncomfortably before Kazuto smacked her on the head gently.

"Owie! Why'd you do that…?"

"How could you say that? We're your friends, aren't we? You have the five of us as friends, dummy," he retorted bluntly.

"That you do," Kyoh added with a smile.

Mozuki nodded with a grin. "Yup!"

Sachi nodded in agreement.

Ako smiled happily, though somewhat uncomfortably. "Th – Thanks…"

After a short pause to order drinks, Kazuto turned his attention to Akane. "Hey, Segawa?"

"What?" she snapped.

"You said someone confessed to you, right?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"Who?"

She twitched an eyebrow at his question. "What? It doesn't matter. I turned him down."

Kazuto just snickered lightly. "Oh yeah. Because you'd be too busy playing games to have a life. Just. Like. Me."

Akane winced and turned red with embarrassment and anger. "SHUT UP! I'm not a loser like you!"

"H – Hey now, calm down you two," Kyoh tried to meter.

Kazuto shrugged with a small, victorious smirk. "I'm perfectly calm. I'm just pointing out she is just like me."

Ako began mumbling somewhat madly, "Schew's a Normie…"

"H – Huh?" Akane mumbled in confusion.

Kyoh smirked and snapped her fingers, the same mad look. "Indeed she is… a verified Normie. Maybe you should pick us up in your minivan."

The petite girl growled in retaliation. "Why don't you drive us around in your limo?"

Kazuto flinched as tension filled the room. "… She isn't a Normie. She's logged as many hours as the rest of us."

"She has guys asking her out," Ako rebutted bluntly.

His eyebrows went flat in a deadpan. "That's some pretty low criteria for a Normie. By that logic I'm sure even Master would count as one."

Kyoh responded flatly, "No. I don't really have any friends at school besides you, and I've never had any guys confess to me."

Kazuto gaped in disbelief. "… With how beautiful you are?"

Kyoh, her cheeks somewhat warm, retorted, "What are you talking about?"

"Well… Nevermind… it's just hard to believe that with a body like yours you haven't attracted friends."

Mozuki, her eyes squarely on Kyoh's bulging bosom, nodded slowly. "Yeah…"

Ako pouted as she leaned against Kazuto, pressing her bust against his arm. "Kirito… look at miiine…"

Kazuto gulped deeply as he tried to figure out where to look. "Moving on…"

Sachi frowned in thought as she looked around the room.

"Somethin' wrong, Sachi?" Mozuki questioned.

Nodding, the girl answered, "How come we never met if we're all in the same school…?"

The others slumped in bewilderment before Kazuto chimed in, "I… guess we were all too into are gaming to notice… Probably because we're all introverted nerds who are more focused on our games than anything else."

"H – Hey!" Akane snapped. "I am not an introvert! I'll have you know I'm friends with Nanako."

"And you have how many others? I have one friend at school, too, so my point is still valid. Plus, you turned down a guy's confession simply because it would take away from your gaming time. Though for all I know it could've been a girl's."

Her face turned an even deeper red. "It was not a girl you pervert!"

"Oh? Why so defensive over a joke?"

Mozuki sniggered as well. "Hohoh, maybe she really turned him down because she swings the other way."

"Oh shut up!" Akane shrieked.

"Nope!"

Ako tilted her head curiously. "Hey, Master's the Student Council president, right?"

Sachi blinked in realization. "Oh, if I remember right, isn't the student council president's father on the board of directors?"

Kyoh nodded in response. "Yes… but technically my father's real job is the CEO of RECT Inc."

Kazuto gaped in shock. "Seriously? My mom works at MBI."

Kyoh widened her eyes as a realization came to her. "… Oh dear…"

"What?"

"N – Nothing!" Kyoh stammered uncharacteristically. "Forget it."

"Okay…? Well at least now know how she can buy all that OP stuff she has."

Kyoh huffed with insult. "I assure you, all of the money I spend in the game is money I earned myself. Besides, you shouldn't talk if your mother is MBI."

Kazuto rolled his eyes dismissively. "Yeah right. That'll be the day if she gives me a single yen to spend on anything she doesn't think I need. I had to work hard to get my Nervegear."

Kyoh nodded in affirmation. "Then don't think I didn't to buy those items."

"Alright, alright," Kazuto muttered, trying to diffuse the moment.

Ako frowned with confliction. "I – I don't know how to feel…"

"Ako?" Mozuki asked.

"I mean… I didn't know you were born with a silver spoon…"

Kazuto again huffed. "Trust me, I wasn't. My mother's wealthy, but she sure as hell doesn't spoil me. Unless it's absolutely necessary in her eyes I have to earn every yen. Same with my sisters."

"I see…" she muttered in thought, the others just staring at her.

Mozuki sighed heavily. 'That was her problem? Jeez… besides, she has no room to complain.'

Kyoh sighed slightly before adding, "That aside, living there isn't actually all fun and games. They control every aspect of my life. Where I go, what I do, even who I can be friends with. Finally, I convinced my parents to let me try out some video games by saying it would help me understand the kind of technology they work with. Of course, that was just a lie, but it worked. And now I have fun in my life!"

"What about your sister?" Akane questioned.

"She is intended by my stepmother to inherit the company. She even has a wedding contract set up for her."

"Geez, that's harsh," Kazuto grumbled.

"Yeah," Kyoh remarked, her eyes unwittingly landing nearby. "I hope my little sister can get some happiness though. But knowing the control freak bitch, that won't happen."

"W – Wow… you really don't like your stepmother, do you?" Kazuto questioned with mild fear at her tone.

Kyoh hissed in disgust. "No. She effectively convinced my father to overlook me in favor of the child they had together, which is fine by me. But she also wants to control everything her daughter does to make sure she's the perfect person. She even has her going to an all-girl schools so that she can't pick a boy on her own."

"She sounds pleasant," Kazuto retorted sarcastically.

"Tell me about it. The only reason I think she accepted me getting into games is because it gets me out of the way of my sister."

Mozuki added, "I be you're jealous of your sister, huh?"

Kyoh shook her head somberly. "Not at all. I pity her, quite a lot."

A tense atmosphere hung over the room for several moments before Akane turned to Kazuto and decided to try and break it. "Oy, Sahashi."

"Yeah?" he replied, eager to get the subject changed.

"You can act all friendly you want while we're here, but once we're back at school, you don't know me."

"We're in the same class…"

Akane challenged with a sneer, "And up until now we've been nothing but classmates, and that won't change once we leave this room."

"Right…"

Ako suddenly perked up with excitement. "Oh, I know how to deal with your problem!"

"Like what?" Akane retorted bluntly.

"You can have game time and still have a boyfriend! You can get married in-game like Kirito and I did!"

"Yeah, no thanks. I'll pass. It's gross."

"Hey!" Kazuto shot back, insulted.

Akane shot down his argument with one word. "Nekohime."

Kazuto lurched back, wanting to shrink in on himself. "That has nothing to do with what we're doing! I'd say you don't have to worry about it because girls don't cross-play, but you all do!"

"I don't…" Sachi pouted.

Kazuto groaned as he leant back in his chair, looking at the girls in the room around him. 'This is unbelievable… Geez…'

"Kirito?" Ako prodded with concern, rousing him from his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"What's wrong?"

Looking the girl over as she tilted her head cutely, Kazuto stammered weakly, "I – It's nothing. You're just…" he trailed off, Mozuki sniggering in amusement. "Zip it, rat."

Mozuki retorted proudly, "I may be a rat, but I'm not getting my face flattened in every battle."

Kazuto twitched an eyebrow and slammed his fist down. "Yeah. Seeing as you all DO NOT HELP!"

Mozuki shrugged dismissively with a smirk. "Hey, I'm a thief. My job isn't to fight, it's to sneak around and deal with traps and locks. The rest o' ya handle the fighting."

"I'M THE ONLY ONE THAT DOES THE FIGHTING!"

Akane, insulted, rebuffed, "Hey, I fight too."

Kyoh nodded in agreement. "As do I with my magic."

Pointing to Kyoh, Kazuto chided, "You blow me up with your magic." Turning his attention to Akane, he chastised, "You can barely hold a two-handed sword."

The petite girl twitched an eyebrow and argued, "Hey! The most important thing is having a powerful weapon! There's no point in spending gold on armor and stat buffs if you can't do any damage."

"And what's the point if you can't even hit anything?"

"That's why I use a greatsword dummy, so I have long reach!"

"But your strength's too low to swing it effectively!"

Sachi began trembling as their argument continued and tried to defuse the situation. "H – Hey now… let's not fight…"

"Hey, listen!" Ako suddenly interjected, Kazuto wanting to reflexively smack her but abstaining. "If I were to spend money on upgrades, it'd be for appearance. Then I'd just leave everything alone and let you guys kill it."

Akane scowled at the girl. "Like, seriously, screw you."

Ako, without a pause, rebutted proudly, "Only Kirito can."

Kazuto flinched and turned red as the girls looked at him in disbelief.

"Whoa!" Mozuki cheered.

Kyoh coughed into her hand and corrected, "Now, hold on, there's an easy way to –"

"Zip it, Wallet Warrior," Kazuto and Akane chastised in unison.

Kyoh winced back with a weak laugh. "… How mean to your Master…"

Mozuki suddenly perked up in realization. "Oh! I just remembered some info I wanted to share with you guys last time we met before all the crazy happened."

Kyoh raised an eyebrow with intrigue. "Oh? What info?"

"Remember that super strong guild, the one that was considered LA's strongest?"

Shrugging, Kazuto answered, "AOG? What of it?"

"Apparently their guild master vanished about a month ago."

Kazuto frowned slightly in response. "I see… isn't that around the same time Ms. Manoshi disappeared?"

Kyoh explained, "My father said she likely went on vacation. Ms. Manoshi is known for such long sojourns."

"Ah…"

Mozuki continued, "It's weird, none of the guild members know what happened, and a few of the other large guilds have taken the opportunity to start raiding the guildhall's dungeon. But…" she trailed off, waiting for the others.

"But what?"

"No one can find it."

Kazuto sat in shock. "… Hah?"

"It's not just the guild master that vanished, their guild hall, Tomb of the something-or-other, disappeared too."

"Nazarick."

"Yeah, that's it."

Kazuto leaned back with a heavy sigh. "Just how could that happen? A player not logging back on and disappearing, I get. But a guild hall vanishing? That just does not happen."

"And yet it did. Sinoula and her guildhall just vanished."

"Sheesh… have you found any info beyond that?"

Mozuki shook her head with a shrug. "Not much of anything."

"Damn…"

Kyoh, changing the subject, added, "You know, it actually is best that Ako spend her money on defensive gear rather than offensive, since she's our healer."

Ako sniggered lightly to Kazuto. "Which could come in handy since our tank keeps aggroing faster than I can heal him."

Kazuto gave an annoyed smirk as he grumbled, "That wasn't a problem when I played solo, so maybe our healer just sucks at her job. Oh, and the little fact I'm not a tank! Miss 'my bad self' should be!"

Akane slammed a hand on the table, her cheeks tinting red. "Don't call me that in public you nerd!"

"I will because you're a nerd too!"

"I – I am not!"

Kyoh just chuckled before Kazuto leaned back with a heavy sigh. "You know, I still need to apologize to you guys."

Sachi blinked in surprise. "Huh? Why?"

"Because I assumed that you'd all be dudes when we meet up."

Kyoh, putting her hands under chest, propping up her globes, rebutted, "As you can see we aren't."

Kazuto stiffened as his face turned red, trying to find somewhere to look. "Y – Yeah, I can see that."

Akane smirked derisively and teased, "You made one hell of a face when we showed up."

"That was mostly because of you," he rebutted dryly.

"Eh?"

"You're so violently hateful of games at school I'm shocked to learn you're a geek. Though… maybe you acted that way because you're ashamed of being one?"

And there we go with Emperor of Blades' first chapter. I know it seemed really similar to Swords of Eternity, but I assure you it is a separate story. It may replace SOE, but no guarantees on that, SOE has some unique elements. Anyway! If you enjoyed the chapter, please leave a review letting me know. If you were confused, unsure, or have questions on anything, let me know with a review and I will answer what I can in the next chapter's reviewer response. Though if it is spoiler related you would have better luck with a PM. As for if you did not like it, review if you must or if you have suggestions to improve the story, otherwise I would recommend you do something you enjoy instead. Anyway, nothing else to say here, so until next time, bye-bye!