Author's Note: I don't know what to say, but I only hope that this fic will worth your time reading it.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything of SAO, except the OCs.
Looking at the scope inside the cockpit, Asada Shino was trying to shoot down the target appearing on the scope. Her target was a dish flying on the air. In this time, the short black hair girl was staying inside a cockpit of a machine. The small monitor in the middle was having two words, "auto pilot", on it. Under her feet was two pedals and at this time, she did not put her feet on any of them, in order to avoid sudden move. And yet, it could her to be more focus. Today, she was training in another virtual world. Her mission was to use a machine that attached a high caliber round, in short, she was controlling a big gun that no human could carry it. She had been training for a whole morning and yet, she could not hit the target after trying many shots. In a moment, she stopped and held her breath. Shino closed her eyes and stabilized her mind and her thoughts. For her, this was not just a training, but a method to be stronger and independent from the person she loved, as well as her wish to protect him. Thinking of him would ease her mind and calm her down significantly. She smiled slightly and opened her eyes again. She focused on the target. Suddenly, in a moment, she felt like the time was stopped, the target was moving slower, close to her crosshair. Pulling the trigger, the cockpit shocked for a few seconds, before it could take back the balance. Ignoring the shock, Shino found the target just to see it was destroyed.
"Training completed." – A female virtual voice announced. Afterwards, the cockpit disappeared and Shino was returned to a reality virtual space, which had a black, yellow and white colors.
"Nice shot." – A man who had two different eyes, wearing a lab coat came to Shino.
"Thank you, Kurokami-san." – Shino bowed politely. – "But… how many shot did I miss?"
"Let's see…" – Kurokami opened a virtual window and looked at her performance.
"20?" – Shino wondered.
"Nearly. It's 16." – Kurokami answered. – "But for a first time, it's pretty good. You should know that Kaz haven't tested yet."
"It doesn't mean he can't do better than me." – Shino sighed.
"I told you many time. Kaz is Kaz, you are you. Don't make any comparison. Rather than that, learn how to co-operate is more effective."
"You're right. I'm sorry." – Shino startled and apologized.
"You should know that I'm looking forward to the day you and him can training together. Oh, and I have a good news for you." – Kurokami spoke on.
"Yes?" – Shino was waiting.
"It seems that Kaz will be awake soon." – Kurokami smiled.
"Really?" – Shino could not hide her happiness.
"It won't take too long. If you have time, come to visit him. If you can't, we will definitely tell you when he awake." – Kurokami nodded. – "In case he tries to go away, we will chain him. So don't worry."
"He's not a kind of animal. Please don't do it." – Shino sighed boringly. But knowing Kaz's condition made her feel happier than boring.
"Akane said you haven't logged in ALO for two days. Is everything good?" – Kurokami asked worryingly.
"Not quite good. But not bad either." – Reminding of it, Shino felt more boring. – "I took part in the Bullet of Bullet in GGO. I hope I can win the first prize. But I didn't think that an obstacle would join in the game too. And he's not the type of being defeated easily."
"Who can make you say that?" – Although he had an idea, Kurokami pretended he did not know anything.
"It's Kirigaya Kazuto, or Kirito, the hero of SAO." – Shino answered. She did not feel comfort whenever she thought of him.
"Figure." – Kurokami sighed. – "Have any chance to win?"
"I really doubt. He has a good reflex, good instinct, good speed and good sword skill. He is the only who uses sword in a gunfight. He hasn't lost to anyone until now."
"Sound tough." – Kurokami showed he was thinking. – "But I don't agree if you think Kirigaya is the only using sword in a gunfight."
"Speaking of which, I haven't seen Kaz has done it before."
"Doesn't mean he doesn't use it." – Suddenly, a familiar voice appeared from Kurokami's back. Shino did not need to look to know who he was. – "You really have a talent, Asada-chan."
"Uruz-san." – Shino stepped back and showed her cautions.
"Not many people can shoot a fast target like that. Practice a little more and you will surpass everyone here. If you don't mind, I would like to train you. How about it?" – The man named Uruz was a handsome man, with a long blonde hair. He was tall, around Kurokami's height. His eyes were light blue. He was wearing a dark green military uniform.
"In your dream." – Suddenly, a woman voice appeared and afterwards was a smash on Uruz's head.
"Hey, it's hurt." – Uruz looked back and saw a beautiful and mature woman. She had a short dark blue hair that longed to her shoulders. Her eyes were dark red and she had a good appearance. She also had a nice body which made people doubt if she belonged to the military. She wore a black shirt along with a green military pants. – "How's the BoB?"
"Not good, but not bad." – Shino responded.
"Good luck, then. I guess with that sniper's skill, not so many people could detect you after each shot." – The woman encouraged Shino.
"I still have a lot to learn. Thank you, Makoto-san." – Shino bowed her head.
"Today is the last day, are you sure you won't be late?" – The woman named Makoto asked concernedly.
"It will start from 4p.m." – Shino answered.
"It's 1p.m now. Just log out of here, eat something and take a nap, okay?" – Makoto seemed to care about Shino.
"I will." – Shino nodded. Suddenly, she looked at Kurokami and wanted to say something.
"Something's wrong?" – Wondering, Kurokami asked.
"Uhm… no, nothing." – Seeing it did not affect too much, Shino stopped. – "I just want to know more about Kaz after the game is over."
"Just remember to take care of yourself, too. You know Kaz, right?" – Kurokami looked at Shino just to receive her nodding. Afterwards, he said. – "Okay then, it's for today. Asada-kun, see you another day." – Seeing there was no reason to have Shino hanging around, Kurokami suggested Shino to log out. The young girl followed him and logged out afterwards.
"So, what did you find?" – After Shino had totally logged out, Makoto asked Kurokami while Uruz seemed to be interested.
"She is a special one, too." – Kurokami opened another virtual window and answered. – "Her brain burst ability is like Uruz."
"Is that so?" – Uruz seemed to be a little surprised. – "So, she can see thing slower."
"Yeah, if she focuses too much, she will see everything slower, making her shoot down the target easier. But…" – Kurokami stopped and smiled interestingly to Uruz. – "Even she has the same brain burst ability with you, you are no match for her."
"Wait? Really?" – Both Uruz and Makoto were surprised.
"Tell me if you know anyone can shoot down a Mach moving target." – Kurokami asked.
"She didn't feel abnormal?" – Makoto asked doubtfully.
"Actually, no. We adjusted her training, making her feel it is normal and doesn't know the level training is increasing. When she gets used of it, she will feel it like a walk in a park." – Kurokami still kept his interesting smile. – "She's really a partner everyone wishes for. But unfortunately for them, she already has her partner."
"Speaking of which, when will Kaz awake?" – Wondering, Makoto asked.
"Soon." – Kurokami seemed he did not want to answer.
"Well, in that case, hope she will learn a little more about close quarter combat." – Makoto sighed.
"Mah mah, she has her best teacher. No need to worry." – Uruz smiled joyfully, before he turned to Kurokami. – "But still, both of you think she will win this BoB?"
"Hard to say. She has a very high chance without Kirigaya taking part in. I've just sent her a recording when Kaz was using his sword skill in GGO. Hopefully it will be useful to her." – Kurokami responded.
"You're really a big brother type." – Makoto complimented.
"Sa nah." – Kurokami sighed worryingly when the conversation was over.
"So light saber can be used like this." – After returning to the real world, Asada Shino received a video cut from GGO. She saw a player using a light saber. It was not the first time she saw a person using a sword in a gun game, but seeing this person was different. Comparing, both of them used the same style with one gun and one sword. But one of them used sword the whole time while the other had a combination between two types of weapon, and it was quite new to her since the person on the video had not used sword before, or at least she remembered so. Whatever it was, seeing him again, Shino could not help but felt sad and worried about him. Days by days, she kept waiting for his return, clearer, his awakening. Calming her down, she wished the Bullet of Bullet would be finished soon, so she could return to him in ALO. She also wished to win the first prize and showed it to him. But she doubted if she could do it since there was a guy that could prevent her. She wondered what the real reason was when he participated to a gun game, more than that, he did not even use gun. Knowing his ability, Shino knew it would not be easy to win against him. Furthermore, it seemed he tried to get her attention but she did careless and always tried to go away whenever they met. And it was not only one time. He tried so hard that everyone started doubting if that guy was trying to follow her. And no one knew that he had a girlfriend, clearer, a wife-in-game, in ALO. Not only that, that girl was one of the most voted beautiful players in that game.
"KNOCK! KNOCK!"
"Who's that?" – Hearing the door was being knocked, Shino wondered who had come.
"Sinonon? It's me, Asuna." – The familiar voice spoke on.
"Didn't think you would come here." – Shino opened and it was no one than the girlfriend of that guy. She was wearing a white coat and brown dress. She also wore a white scarf around her neck. Despite the long chestnut hair, her face was still the same in ALO and it made Shino recognized her quickly.
"Can I come?" – Asuna asked politely.
"Sure." – Shino did not mind.
"Wow, I never thought that you have so many technology devices here." – Coming to the room, Asuna was surprised because of a lots of technology stuffs in Shino's room. Most of them were old style game consoles and handheld devices. – "Kirito-kun had some of them, too."
"Well, they don't belong to me." – Shino sighed and her face turned sad.
"What do you mean?" – Asuna wondered.
"It's just like that." – Shino tried to dodge it. Afterwards, she opened the fridge and offered Asuna some fruit juices. – "So, why did you come here? I thought you are with Kirigaya right now."
"Just make sure that you're still okay." – Asuna got to the point. – "You seemed down for few months. Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking, though." – Shino turned her head away.
"You sure? I don't think so." – Seeing that Shino still wanted to keep distance between not only her and also Kirigaya Kazuto made Asuna could not let it slip away. She could feel that Shino was hiding something. She found that Shino had often logged in ALO but not stayed with them for recent months. For unknown reasons, she felt that Shino was waiting for someone when she looked at her face. Being through this situation before, Asuna could feel it but since she did not want to be impolite. She wanted Shino to speak out with her will. And she thought it would be okay if she told to her sometimes.
"Rather than worrying about me, why don't you ask Kirigaya the reason he joined BoB?" – Shino felt displeasing when she told that name out.
"Well, he said it was because of you." – Asuna responded without thinking.
"What's that supposed to mean?" – Shino asked back.
"You seemed to look down certainly. While I did not know what to do, Kirito-kun said that he would join BoB and played with you, so you could feel better." – Asuna answered.
"Sorry, but I don't need his care. It would be better if he didn't join it. And if he truly worries about me, then he should not try to hang around with me like we are close. It can create misunderstanding and you still okay with it?" – Shino asked louder.
"Really? I didn't know." – Asuna was surprised. She knew that Kirito often hung around with other girls and looked at them as friends. But seeing how Shino was disturbed and annoyed because of him, Asuna could not say anything else than sorry. – "I'm sorry. But I think he did it for good will."
"Once again, I don't need his care. We all know how close you are and I don't want anything bad happens for you. I think he will want it, too." – Suddenly, Shino bowed down her head.
"Yeah, Kirito-kun won't want it." – Asuna said.
"I didn't talk about Kiriga…." – Suddenly, Shino startled and realized she had revealed too much. – "Nothing, just forget it."
"What's wrong?" – Asuna wondered. – "If you don't mention Kirito-kun, then who?"
"No, it's nothing, really." – Shino shook her head.
"You know, look at those technology devices you have here reminds me of one person." – Seeing Shino did not want to speak out, Asuna thought it could be better if she changed subject. – "He was really curious and interested in technology, which I thought it made him really cute. His reaction to them was totally different than his cold silence. And he really gave me a lot of trouble to explain them to him. It was really hard since I was just a kid, and so was he."
"The person you are talking about… how he was back then?" – Shino was a little surprised but she did not go straight for it, and slowly searched for confirmation.
"He was an adopted child. His adopt sister was my brother's friend and his adopted father was my dad's friend. Since their family was busy back then, they asked us to look after him sometimes. I was quite free as this time so my brother asked if I could look after him because he was busy, too. At first, I was surprised and did not know what to do, but somehow, we managed to play along with each other, and it was thanks to the technology." – Asuna smiled and remembered those times.
"Could you please… tell me more?" – Shino asked sadly.
"Huh? Oh, of course." – Feeling strange, Asuna wondered for a moment but then, she kept speaking. – "Few times later, we got closer. I saw him as a younger brother and he saw me as another sister. But back to that time, it seemed he had problem with his vocal cords, so he could not speak well and we all tried to teach him to speak normally. Luckily, he could make it but his voice sounded emotionless and no one knew why. When I was a little older, I heard more information about him. He was born and raised by war, specifically, a civil war. No one knew where he had come from, who his true parents were. My brother and his adopt sister found him that civil war and brought him back to their shelter, and let him live with them. But because he was adopted from a war zone, so it was why my mother was displeased whenever she saw him. Sorry, it seemed I had gone so fast." – Realizing something, Asuna stopped.
"No, it's okay. I got it well." – Shino comforted Asuna. – "So it meant your brother and his adopt sister were being stuck in a civil war, right?"
"Yeah. It was such a hard time and until know, I still cannot believe what they had been through." – Asuna looked up and sighed sadly.
"Well, it's very hard to imagine since we are born in peace." – Shino followed Asuna.
"Right. So whenever it comes to him, I just want to take care of him. But I always wonder why he has to be suffered from times to times, even when his identity wasn't clear yet." – Asuna turned sad. – "You know SAO, right?"
"Yeah, so what happened?" – Shino pretended asking.
"He lost his sister. She was killed right at the time SAO was ended." – Asuna nearly cried. – "If we… if we could end it faster, maybe she didn't have to die, and the others as well."
"It's not your fault. He understands it." – Shino tried to calm Asuna down, before she took out a small device. It then turned to be a cellphone when a virtual screen appeared on its frame. She showed Asuna a picture of a short black hair boy standing next to Shino, in a place like a warehouse or some sort, around them were lots of strange technology stuffs. And they both smiled happily. – "It was him, right?"
"How…" – Asuna was totally surprised. – "How do you know Kacchan?"
"Kacchan?" – At first, Shino was a little surprised but then she shook it off. It was not hard to understand, though. – "We were studying in a same class. When I stayed with him, it was my happiest times of my life."
"Glad to hear it." – Asuna smiled happily and interestedly. – "But for a long time, I haven't seen him yet. Is he okay?"
"Actually…" – Shino then told Asuna the whole story and as she predicted, Asuna was surprised and could not say anything. She even felt sad and worry but at least, she was happy when she learned that her "younger brother" was still alive.
"It's such a short time and he nearly lost everything. But fortunately, he doesn't." – Asuna smiled when she looked at Shino.
"I don't know. I hurt him." – Shino answered sadly. – "I wondered if he would forgive me, after what I had done to him. I just… don't want to leave him again. But I'm also afraid that he will reject me again."
"I definitely believe he won't. You're both so close. Just let's wait until he awakes, okay?" – Asuna quickly comforted Shino. – "So, where is he now?"
"His real body is unknown, but his consciousness is still in his ALO avatar." – Shino answered.
"If you don't mind, will you lead me to him? I want to meet him, too." – Asuna requested.
"Uhm…" – Shino started thinking. Knowing that Asuna had not forgotten Kaz, she felt relieved. Besides, if there was one more person close to him, it could be easier to look after him. In short, there was no harm but more benefits. Shino then nodded. – "Of course. He's now in the Cait Sith main village. I'll lead you there."
"Thank you." – Asuna nodded back. Afterwards, she looked at her phone and spoke. – "It's quite late. You need to join the BoB right? I should go now."
"Okay." – Two girls went together at the door of Shino's room. – "It's good to know that you still remember Kaz."
"But, when will he awake?" – Asuna asked worryingly.
"I don't know, either. But the doctor said he will awake soon." – Shino answered.
"Guess we have to wait and hope." – Asuna sighed. – "Good luck with the BoB. If Kirito-kun annoys you, don't hesitate to beat him down."
"Thought you would say I should cooperate with him." – Shino teased her friend.
"Not after what he did." – Asuna pretended to be disturbed.
"One more thing. Can you stop calling me "Sinonon", it feels kinda odd." – Shino requested.
"Hm? I think it's cute."
"Well… it's just I don't feel comfortable with it. I intend to let Kaz call my first name as before. And when he isn't in a good condition, he maybe not understands and will probably call me that name. So…" – Shino tried to find an explanation.
"I see. So, can I call you Shino-chan?" – Asuna then asked.
"It's fine. Besides, I'm younger than you." – Shino smiled comfortably. – "No matter what is the result, I'll lead you to Kaz tonight. Is it okay?"
"It's okay." – Asuna smiled interestedly. – "Well then, see ya."
"Bye."
Afterwards, both of them said goodbye. They were happy, especially, Shino. She did not think that Asuna could remember Kaz. It gave her a relief since Kaz was somehow alone and did not have anyone left. His family was all gone, leaving him behind. After so many things had happened, Shino could reinforce her mind, realizing who she loved and wanted to be with the most. But sadly, he had not wakened up yet due to his coma. Shino hoped it would not take too long but in the case he would not, she would keep waiting for him and even tried to do her best, to protect him even if he did not love her. However, she did not lose the hope that Kaz still remember her and it was the reason that kept her faith to him.
Standing in front of a big virtual window attached on the wall, the blue sniper, Sinon, was looking at it to find the item she needed. At this moment, she was in Gun Gale Online, or GGO, and was preparing for the Bullets of Bullets which nearly started. She still had a few times before going into the game. Standing in this place reminded her lots of memories. She was in the biggest shop of GGO, where everyone nearly found what they needed. Of course, the shop only sold normal and basic weapons and items. A rare gun like hers, a PGM Ultima Ratio Hecate II, was only dropped in boss battle, not mentioned it was one of the rarest guns. However, she knew that she was not the only one who had a rare gun like it. There was a person she knew that had one of those rarest guns. Reminding it, she felt a little happy when he gained it after a boss battle which was defeated by both of them. She guessed that it was still in his inventory. Back to that time, he wanted to give it to her as a thankful gift. But she declined, saying that she only helped him a little, and he deserved it. She also mentioned to him that she already had Hecate II, so owning another rare gun was nothing than a waste. After a short persuasion, Kaz gave up and accepted that gun, a Cheytac M200 Intervention. And it was the first time she knew that he was an excellent sniper, in her eyes.
"Got anything?"
"You again?"
Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice, which annoyed her than secured her. She turned back and saw a long black hair player. It was a person who had large and shiner eyes. They also showed an innocently bewitching gaze, framed by long eyelashes. This person also had pale white complexion and red lips. From the first looks, everyone would misunderstand this was a girl. But they were absolutely wrong.
"Didn't think you will go shopping for a sword." – The person who had an avatar like a girl spoke on.
"What's wrong with that?" – Sinon responded annoyingly. But she knew he did not even care.
"No. Nothing. Just a little surprised. I thought you are like a ranger than a swordsman." – He stepped back and tried not to provoke Sinon when he looked at her disturbing eyes. He came closer to her with a relax pressure. – "Want me to pick up for you?"
"I don't need you r help." – Sinon moved aside as a warning that he should not come closer. Afterwards, she looked at the virtual window carefully, which showed her a lot of photon swords, and bought one. Immediately, a droid ran to her and gave her the weapon she chose. She smiled when she knew she did not choose wrong sword. Different than Kirito's sword, which had pink blade, hers had blue, the same with her hair's color. She wondered if he picked up because of it but she might be overthinking.
"Know how to use it?" – Seeing Sinon was more pleased, Kirito asked. Although he was teasing her, he would not mind to teach her how to use sword. He had a little surprised when Sinon bought a sword, which was totally different than her strength, as a sniper.
"You don't get it, do you?" – Sinon took back her smile and asked. – "When I said I don't need your help, it means I will never need it. Besides, you think you're the only one can use sword in GGO?"
"Well, until now, I haven't met anyone like that. But I can be sure of anything." – Kirito answered innocently.
"Whatever, we're done talking. Remember that we are opponent." – Sinon walked away. Even she said so, she wondered if she had a chance to take him down. Kirito was not an easy target. His reflex and sword skill made him famous, in SAO, ALO and GGO. She could not deny it and there was a time, she even thought that he could become one of the best players in a game as long as it gave him a sword.
"Sinon, wait." – Kirito quickly followed her. – "Really, what's gotten into you?"
"Nothing." – Sinon ignored him. She also saw that the other players were looking at them.
"If you have trouble, maybe I can help." – Kirito offered.
"Do you really understand the term "I don't need you help?"" – Sinon was getting more nervous and angry.
"Just calm down, okay?" – Kirito still insisted. – "You've been a little strange lately. If you have problem and you don't say it, no one can help you."
""Say it out", is that what you meant?" – Sinon stopped and turned back. – "Tell me, Kirigaya-san, have you ever gone straight with the others?"
"Why all of the sudden?" – Kirito was surprised when Sinon spoke out his family name. – "And what does it mean "go straight"? Where to go, really?"
"Have you ever told a girl, who has feeling for you, that you cannot leave Asuna?" – Sinon looked at Kirito and gave him a question strongly.
"Wh-What? That's…" – Kirito could not find the answer right away due to the sudden.
"Can you answer that?" – Sinon stood still and saw if he could answer.
"Well, that's…" – Kirito did not know what to say.
"You can't, right?" – Sinon turned back.
"I just don't want to hurt anyone." – Kirito defended himself.
"So you're saying it's okay to give people hope, and it isn't a big problem if you dump it?" – Sinon spoke on. – "I really appreciate what you did to me, and when you saved me. But did you know that I fell for you?"
"I…" – Kirito was totally surprised. – "Yeah, I know. But…"
"Then why when I tried to get your attention, you didn't go straight and told me that you have Asuna?" – Sinon asked sadly. – "If you refused me at the first stage, maybe I wouldn't become a bitch that tried to take away the lover of a friend."
"Don't say it. You didn't do anything wrong, really." – Kirito tried to comfort her. – "I thought if I just only see you as a friend, then no one will get hurt."
"Did you say that with the others? Lizbeth, Silica, and Leafa?" – Sinon strike back. – "Did you know that Asuna is the most painful one? She is afraid that one day, you will leave her."
"I swore to her I can't do it." – Kirito answered.
"Can you keep that promise when there are a lot of girls who fell for you, staying around you and hoping for your return? With the feelings they give to you are bigger days by days, will you be able to withstand them? Don't promise what you can't do." – Sinon responded. – "We don't need your sorry. We only need your honest. The way you're doing right now, is giving away more desperate hopes. But don't worry, I don't want to hurt Asuna but the other girls, they may think like me, but they still want to keep you for them. You should consider carefully, who you want to be with. There are a lot of people you meet but only can stay with you until the end. From now on, you don't need to worry about me. The only one you need to, is Asuna."
"Sinon, I…" – Kirito could not find a word a say back.
"It's time for the game." – Sinon looked at the clock. She knew she should be hurry. - "Whatever happens, I will win this game, not for anyone, but for him. I don't want to hurt him anymore."
"Who's "him"?" – Kirito wondered who Sinon was mentioning.
"The only one in this world can recognize you are a guy at the first look." – Sinon smiled determinedly. – "And don't forget, we are opponent. See you in the battlefield."
Later, all attendants of the BoB were participating in the match. They were sent straight to a giant battlefield. The battlefield contained a forest, an urban city, a mountain and a desert. Each player had different styles so they quickly spread out and found a place for them to fight. In the battle between players and players, there were two types: hunters and hunted. Mostly, the hunters were meant to search for their prey, but they could be the hunted ones, too. When they were searching, they might enter a trap of a patient hunter. And when they realized, it was too late. Some players decided to stay hidden in the forest, some players decided to go higher to have better view. Sinon was one of them. She climbed to a mountain and scouted the whole area. She kept patient until a player ran under the cliff, passing a bridge. Holding her breath, she shot after adjusting her sniper rifle. Few seconds later, the poor players broke into piece. Afterwards, she ran away and found another sniper position. Since she had just shot, it meant she alarmed the other players if they were around, so she could be the next target. On the outside, the other players who liked her shouted victoriously at the screens.
On the other side, Kirito used his close combat strength to run, dodge and slashed all the bullets came to him. He found a player who used a crossbow. After the first shot, that player was revealed, giving Kirito a chance to chase after him. A crossbow would be reloaded longer than the other guns so Kirito did not think to give him a chance to reload. He kept chasing and that player pulled out a Berretta M9 to shoot him. Kirito could easily stop those bullets. Suddenly, that player stopped and smirked to Kirito. Kirito startled before he heard a big explosion, coming from an anti-tank RPG-7. The anti-tank shot was come from higher ground. Even he knew there could be more than two enemies, Kirito showed no fear. He pulled out his Five Seven pistol and shot but with the one who was not used to gun, his shot was nearly terrible. But he did not need to hit the enemy, but suppressing them. When he approached near the player who used crossbow, a spray of bullets headed to him and it was from a M249 SAW heavy machine gun. While he was dodging the machine gun, the other players fully reloaded their weapons and shot at him. However, four of them were quickly suppressed by another heavy machine gun, M134. But it did not have only one gun, but two and they quickly torn apart the forest. The player who had crossbow was surprised and could not dodge in time, so he did not last too long. Kirito tried to stop the bullets but the rate of fire was more than he could effort, forcing him to run away. But when he tried to find an escape, the forest quickly became a brutal warzone, when the gunfight did not stop. Kirito then realized that the attendants this time were cautious to him. That explained why they focused to him first, before dealing with the others. Some of them even cooperated, only to eliminate him first. Without a partner, playing solo this time to him was a suicide idea. And at this moment, Kirito was being hunted. Running was his only option.
"Kirito is in trouble, isn't he?" – Back to ALO, Asuna, Yui, Lizbeth, Silica, Klein and Leafa were watching the BoB together. Lizbeth gave a comment.
"With that number of players, running is better." – Klein, the Salamander samurai, followed the blacksmith Leprechaun.
"Oni-chan won't lose." – Leafa, the Sylph player, rejected the other two.
"That's right." – Silica, the Cait Sith player, followed Leafa.
"Who knows? But sometimes, losing is good." – Only Asuna did not praised Kirito, and her sentence made everyone surprised.
"Thought you will say "There is no way Kirito-kun can lose.", or else." – Lizbeth spoke on.
"Not always. Besides, I'm more concerned about Shino-chan." – Asuna responded.
"Are you angry with Papa?" – The little girl, Yui asked innocently.
"Some sort. But don't worry." – Asuna patted her adopted daughter softly.
As Asuna spoke, Sinon was staying in a building inside the urban city. Returning here brought her a lot of memories, and reminding her that she forgot Kaz without reason. She felt sad but she knew it was not the right time. She had to focus and reminded her herself, that she wanted to win the first prize, as a gift for Kaz. The game would not stop until only one stood, not by killing as much as possible. And the one who won the first prize must be her, as she thought determinedly. However, like Kirito, she did not cooperate with anyone. It led her to have to stay on her guard every time. She also knew that she could not be able to take down Kirito by her own. Even she used range weapon, there was no way to tell that she could defeat her. Kirito could cut down any bullet, even the 12.7mm round. Not mentioning that she could only have one chance to shoot if she encountered him, since her sniper rifle was a bolt-action type. Seeing another target running on the street, Sinon shot him before moving to another position.
When running to city, Kirito hoped he could reach Sinon. One thing to say, she was the only sniper in this BoB. When he came to a building, he suddenly heard a gunshot. Only one and the sound were very familiar. He looked outside and quickly saw a man broke into blue glass piece. He wondered if anyone could kill a player with only one shot. And he quickly had his conclusion. Although he did not know if it was a headshot or not, but one loud shot could identify the player. The only problem remained was he did not know where the shot came from. He remembered that after a shot had been shot, it would reveal the next shot until 60 seconds had passed. There was no time so he would like to take the risk. He ran outside and ran on the street. Suddenly, he saw a red ray leading to him. Afterwards, a gunshot was fired. Luckily, he could see the bullet and cut it in half. After that, he ran to the building the shot came from.
"Tch…"
Inside the building, Sinon regretted the mistake she just made. Seeing Kirito was running on the street, she did not know if he heard the previous shot or not. Seeing there was nothing unsual, she took a chance and hopefully, it would kill him. Unfortunately, Kirito destroyed her hope by making him himself become a decoy. He was cautious all the time and that was why he could cut her bullet. Not only that, she thought that 60 seconds had passed, but it had not. She still had three seconds left until the bullet guiding effect disappeared. After seeing him running to the building, Sinon knew she was compromised. She quickly got up and changed to another position. She heard explosions rapidly blasted out, making the building shake. She wondered if Kirito had turned on her traps, which was used to obstacle if she was compromised. Considering nothing, she ran.
"Finally…" – At the end, Kirito encountered Sinon when she headed to a stairs. Despite the explosion, Kirito still managed to dodge all of them without a sweat. Seeing her, Kirito sighed in relief. – "Hey Sinon, it's dangerous out there, we should…"
"BANG"
Suddenly, Sinon took aim and shot Kirito with her Hecate. Despite the surprise, Kirito still manage to cut the bullet. While he intended to say, Sinon kept shooting as fast as possible. But even so, it was not so hard for Kirito to cut all of them, and her bullets ran out quickly. Although her skill was improved, she still could not defeat him. Not only that, she was inside his range. She quickly drew her H&K MP7 machine pistol and shot Kirito. But it was only buying her few seconds. On the other side, seeing Sinon would not listen to him easily, Kirito decided to neutralize her first, just like he did before. After cutting all her bullet, Kirito used his speed to approach Sinon. Suddenly, when Kirito was approached, Sinon quickly threw a flash grenade before running away. The flash grenade did not have the chance to explode when Kirito cut it. But it bought Sinon a moment to hide. Despite Sinon's aggressive, Kirito still wanted to cooperate with her in order to win the game together. He thought it was just some kind of misunderstanding and did not realize that Sinon really wanted to defeat him.
"Calm down. Calm down."
Hiding behind a wall, Sinon changed her weapons and mumbled to calm her down. She had to admit that Kirito was not an easy opponent. But if she could not defeat him, she would have less chance to win the game, or even impossible. Touching the thing on her left side, she wondered if she could learn anything from a video clip. She tried to mimic "his" move but she did not have much time to do it. Besides, she had not used a sword before, so it was harder. But she knew she had to fight Kirito. By using the surprise, she had only one chance and her attack should be only one hit. Drawing an H&K USP 9.19mm, she took a deep breath before Kirito encountered her.
"Sinon, just listen to me."
"BANG"
Speaking nothing and just shooting, Sinon once again surprised Kirito. Despite that, he could block the bullet. Sinon kept shooting while counting the ammo she had left. Suddenly, when Kirito approached very close to her, she realized the time had come. She grabbed the thing on her left side, turned it on and it became a photon sword, like Kirito but her sword had blue blade. And she was aiming at his neck, intending to kill him immediately in one hit. Being surprised, Kirito felt the time was slower. Looking at her face, it was like she really wanted to kill him. Due to the close distance, Kirito could not have time to dodge it. He did not know what to think in this moment. But his instinct, his body, knew what to do. The survival instinct, which had been sealed a long time ago, was awakened inside his body.
Kirito stepped one step back and moved his body to his left side a little, before he stabbed Sinon's stomach while grabbing her body. When he realized, it was too late. Both of them were surprised, but the only one was painful the most, was Sinon. Kirito could hear her cry before she broke into blue glass pieces. Kirito was stunned after Sinon had disappeared and he did not know what to do next. Suddenly, the building once shook again and he could hear gunshot from in and outside. The other players were coming and he knew he had no time to think.
"Hey Asuna, where are you going?" – Back to ALO, everyone was surprised. After Sinon had disappaered, Asuna stroke Yui's head before she logged out. Seeing that, Lizbeth said incomprehensibly. – "You don't stay until the end?"
"No need. Kirito-kun will win anyway." – Although she answered confidently, Asuna felt sadder. – "Yui-chan, Mama will log out. I'll be back soon so don't worry, okay?"
"Okay." – Yui nodded but she could feel that her adopt mother's sad. After that, the little girl kept watching her adopt father's battle until the end. And it was like Asuna predicted, Kirito defeated all players unbelievably and won the first prize. After the screen had announced the winner, everyone decided to hold a victory celebration for Kirito, as known as, Kirigaya Kazuto.
"Are you ready? One, two, three… Congratulations, Kirito."
In the Dicey Coffee, the store of the black tall guy, Agil, as known as Andrew Gilbert Mills, was standing behind the bar. He was a massive and bulky bald man with a brown goatee and brown eyes. He also had two silver earrings on his left ear. Standing behind the bar, he brought out the drunk for the rest, who was his friends. It was including Leafa, as known as Kirigaya Suguha, Kirigaya Kazuto's cousin; Lizbeth, aka Shinozaki Rika; Silica, aka Ayano Keiko; Klein; aka Tsuboi Ryotarou. Four of them was enjoying the party, except two persons.
"Thank you." – Kirigaya Kazuto, wearing his favorite black coat, thanked the others. Then he turned to Asuna, who seemed to be concerned about the girl next to her, Shino. He wondered why both of them did not congratulate him. Asuna often praised him more or less, but for Sinon, he wondered if it was because he defeated her. Back to that time, he had no choice and the situation was very quick. He stepped closer to them. – "Sinon?"
"What?" – Shino looked at Kazuto and asked.
"I'm just wondering why you fought me back there. I mean, we could both work together, and…"
"Even so, at the end we still needed to fight together, have you ever figured that?" – Shino responded annoyingly.
"Well, if you want to win, then I…"
"Win because the opponent gives up, and you think I will be proud of it?" – Shino then turned to angry.
"Hey, there's no need to be that disturbed." – Suguha protected her adopted brother.
"Whatever, at the end, I lost." – Shino admitted, and turned sad.
"Really, it's just a game, you don't have to take that serious." – Kirito said.
"You…" – Shino nearly lost control, if it was not thanked to Asuna who calmed her down in time. Having nothing to say, Shino put her coffee cup and was ready to leave. – "I have thing to do. Goodbye."
"I'll come with you." – Grabbing her favorite white coat, Asuna stood up.
"Thanks but I'll be fine." – Knowing Asuna's good intention, Shino said back since she did not want to interrupt her and Kazuto.
"Kirito-kun will be fine, since he has others with him. Besides, we have things to talk, right?" – Asuna comforted Shino. – "Come on, let's go."
"If you said so." – Shino was surprised but since Asuna wanted, she did not mind.
"Well them, see you late, Kirigaya-kun." – Asuna smiled back to Kazuto.
"What's gotten into them?" – Hearing the way Asuna called him, he knew that she was angry with him. But he did not know the reason. But since the other girls wanted to keep the celebration going on, he stayed with them. He intended to ask Asuna later.
"So, when was the first time you met?" – When two girls returned to Shino's rent room, Asuna asked curiously and interestedly.
"Well…" – Shino gave Asuna a bottle of juice, before she tried to remember. – "The first time was after the Golden week last year. I was late and when I came to the class, I saw the teacher was introducing him to the class. They were silent, some of them even felt boring. I heard that they expected the transferred student was a handsome boy or a cute girl, but none of them was right. More than that, he couldn't speak back to that time."
"Yeah, when I was recovering from ALO accident, he visited me sometimes. He said that his throat was damaged due to a traffic accident, and told me no need to worry about him. He also said that he would go to school, which was really weird since his family doesn't send their child to school as tradition." – Asuna said.
"The best school is life, like his father said." – Ignoring the "traffic accident", Shino smiled and followed Asuna. – "I don't know but I feel like he hated school."
"Yeah, and he ended up become an important one." – Asuna sighed but she did not feel disturbed. – "Hey, did you know that his sister didn't go to school, studied by herself and later she was on the top of Tokyo University?"
"Yup, I knew." – Shino smiled but then she turned sad. – "It was sad that Kaz lost everything."
"Well, that's not right much." – Asuna looked at Shino. – "He still has you, right?"
"Too soon to say."
"Come on, be positive."
"Fine." – Finally, Shino gave up. As their plan, they would go to ALO and to meet Kaz. So Asuna stood up and was ready to leave. Suddenly, Shino had a phone call. She picked up her high tech phone and saw a familiar face on the screen. - "Akane-san?"
"Shino-chan, listen to me and be calm, okay?" – The woman on the screen seemed to be nervous.
"Something's wrong?" – Shino wondered while Asuna was waiting.
"Kaz… has disappeared."
"What?"
In a narrow space with had a bright light ahead, the Cait Sith teenager, named Kaz, slowly and tiredly walked his way to get out of this dark space. He was very tired, and his mind was like it would stop thinking anytime. He raised his hand to touch both of his sides. Fortunately, luck had smile to him. Although he did not understand, Kaz still felt that there was a hollow wall around him, which seemed to be created to guide him to the exit. He thought it could be the work of the Akihiko Kayaba guy. To think that he was still in ALO, and what he had just been through was an adventure created by his mind, or his heart, he wondered how could human could make it this far. Creating a world that could reflect everyone's heart, Kaz somehow admired to Kayaba. Although he did not know what future he should face to, there was one thing he wished to find out. For a long time, he had a hope shining in his heart again. But as usual, he was afraid when he thought of this new hope. One more thing, he did not think about himself, or anything that relate to his role, but only her, the girl that stayed with him when he woke up, though it was just her avatar. Additionally, he felt it was a miracle when he did not forget her face, as well as his feeling towards her. After what "the world reflects human's heart" had affected to him, he once again had enough courage to wish he could stay with the girl he loved. On the contrary, he was ready to face the case that she rejected him. He did not have any reason to keep her staying with him, either told her his feeling if she did not have any feeling towards him. In that case, he just had to step away. But one thing for sure, whatever the result was, he would keep living and protecting her, without needing her repay. He never needed it. Her safety and her happiness were what kept him living. He lived and fought, only because of her. As long as she could live happily, he did not care what would happen to him.
When Kaz had just stepped out of the narrow space, the rays of sun blinded him for a few seconds. It took a few next seconds for him to see normally. When he turned back, he did not see the narrow way anymore, but an open landscape with green grasses. More than that, the air was very clean and the slight wind flew near him, like it wanted him to lie down for a while and just slept. Obviously, he wanted to do it right away, but he did not want to do it. He then looked to his right corner of his point of view. Below his name was her name "Sinon". He had an idea that Sinon, in order to keep him in her reach, she decided to party with him, so that if he could wake up and walked around ALO, and she still knew where he was. The problem was he did not know that if she logged in or not. He opened his virtual window and checked his inventory. For unknown reason, all his gears were heavy damaged and they needed to be repaired. If not, they would never be used. It also meant all the add-on stuffs would not work. Worse, he did not have any weapon. The only weapon he had left was the cursed sword, Soul Calibur. More than that, he did not have any item. Kaz guessed, more or less, after all his weapons were destroyed, it made sense that he did not have any left. He sighed boringly but he knew it would not help him. And he was too tired to do anything else. He needed to get back to the Cait Sith village, and returned to that rent room right away. Before that, he opened the map of the whole ALO. It was just a confirmation that he was actually staying inside this game. After that, he was ready to move.
"Now we just have to search around this area."
Suddenly, he heard voice from behind. He turned back just to see a group of people, around 10 or 15 players, had just landed to the area near him. They were all well-armed and came from many races. It was definitely right if none of them was human, since they were all staying in ALO. It seemed they were in a same party or some sort. He did not know if any of them knew him or not, but he would rather not. However, there is a guy that caught his notice. He was a Spriggan man with black short hair. His large eyes appeared mischievous, and he had pointy ears and dark greyish blue wings. Both his cloths and coat was black. Staying by his side was a Sylph girl. She has bright green eyes and wears white and green clothes. She also has a white and green collar on her neck. She has long blond hair, often tied up with a flower like hairband. She was a little younger than the Spriggan man. From Kaz's point, they seemed to be very close to each other. Sitting on the Spriggan man's head was small Pixie.
"It seems that someone has…" – A Salamander man wore a red armor of a medieval warrior, wielding a pair of swords, stopped when he looked at the Cait Sith. He looked more carefully and startled when he recognized him. – "You…" – He squeezed his teeth angrily.
"Do you know him?" – Seeing strange, the Spriggan man asked.
"Yeah. That fucking bastard… Hey, stop right there."
Did not wasting time anymore, Kaz turned back and ran away. As a result, the group chased after him. Seeing he was heading to a forest, the Salamander man sent some fast flying player to block Kaz's way. Right after Kaz had entered the forest, a small Imp player suddenly appeared from above and tried to stop Kaz. He quickly dodged aside, hit her before kicked him to a tree brutally, before he kept running. The Imp girl was just a beginning, Kaz saw it when there two or three players were jumping from trees to trees. They came to him at once and blocked all his way. Having no choice, he had to jump back. Suddenly, a swordsman jumped from nowhere and slashed him with his sword. Kaz blocked his arm and took his weapon, but right at the time he counterattacked, a virtual window appeared in front of his face. Being distracted, he was stabbed by the others. He kicked the man in front and turned his body to punch the other. Afterwards, he kept running since more players were coming for him.
[Warning! You are taking items belonged to another player. Please return to its owner immediately. If you don't, you will be sent to Helheim.]
"Shit." – Kaz scolded before he threw the sword on his hand away. He forgot that some of his skills somehow were useless in this virtual world. Although "the world reflects human's heart" allowed him to take others' weapons without punishment, ALO did not and even punished those who took other player's items illegally. Trying to escape, Kaz opened the map to found the nearest city or village.
"Deryaaaaaa"
Suddenly, a scream came from above, Kaz was caught off guard while looking at the map. In this moment, he realized it was too late for him to escape, or block, even dodge was impossible due to the close distance. Worse, due to the tiredness, his legs stopped moving and he fell afterwards. He tried to focus but it was useless. At a desperate reflex, he raised his left arm and tried to block the attack.
"CLANG"
For unknown reason, his left hand glew a purple light, before it expanded and became a one handed sword which its blade was purple. Kaz then realized he forgot his cursed sword, the sword that he gained before he killed Norn. No time to think or consider, he pulled the attacker away before kicked him down and kept running. While running, he noticed that below his MP bar was a strange purple bar, with the number "100/100" nearby. He then understood that his cursed sword had its limit usage, just like when he stuck to that "world". However, he preferred to learn it later.
"Why does he keep running?" – Chasing after the Cait Sith man, Kirito, the Spriggan player asked the Salamander man near him.
"Because he realized me, the one he killed without reason." – The man responded annoyingly. – "Yesterday, I found him wandering around this place, I thought he was searching for the rarest bosses. I tried to be nice with him and yet, he killed me and ran away."
"It must have a reason for him to do that." – Somehow, Kirito did not believe in the story. It lacked information to keep him believing.
"Kirito, you know that a lot of people kill other without reason, both in real life and virtual worlds, don't you? If they feel disturbing, they will attack you without reason, or just because they feel like it. Don't tell me you haven't met anyone like it." – The man persuaded.
"Well, not saying I haven't met." – For this moment, Kirito believed this guy temporarily. After the even yesterday, he wanted to have some fresh time.
"Are you okay, Kirito-kun?" – His sister, Leafa, asked him worryingly.
"Nah, I'm good." – Kirito answered. – "Just wondering why I couldn't call Asuna. She seemed to be upset with something."
"Is that so?" – Leafa seemed to be uncomfortable when her brother mentioned the name "Asuna". – "Speaking of which, isn't Sinon-san the same?"
"Yeah… well… You knew the reason. But I still can't understand why she attacked me. I joined BoB just to want to play the game with her." – Kirito responded incomprehensibly.
"But at the end, you won the 1st prize. That was awesome." – Leafa praised. – "If you stick with Sinon-san too long, maybe you would have been ended up like the last year."
"I would prefer that." – Kirito sighed. Until this time, he did not know what he was wrong about. Not only that, he remembered that back to that time, Sinon was like she wanted to kill him. Being attacked, as well as following his instinct, Kirito ended up eliminating Sinon. He guessed that she was upset about it. But for Asuna, he really did not get the idea. Not mentioning that they left in the middle of the party when everyone held to congratulate him.
"You're done talking?" – The Salamander man woke them up. – "We have a job to do. After that, we can find the bosses together."
Back to the Cait Sith boy, he was struggling to escape. He felt like he was running into a trap. He found no escape, only enemy. They surrounded him, attacking him rapidly and did not give him a chance to catch even a single breath. He barely made his way out to a safe place. He felt nothing than a despair growing bigger within. He did not know what else to do than kept fighting and kept running. He did not want to die, not this time. His wish to stay alive was bigger time after time. In conclusion, he needed to find an escape, by any method. Suddenly, he saw a small Cait Sith player, maybe a 12-13 years old girl and she was being protected by some players. Seeing it could be a chance, he rushed into her. Obviously, they did not give him a chance but they all underestimated Kaz's mobility. He quickly passed them and approached the young girl, before he used Soul Calibur and cut her into half. Afterwards, he threw the half up of the girl's body. His action not only created surprise for everyone, but also created a big bright light that could work as a flash grenade when the girl broke into blue glass pieces. Using this chance, Kaz kept running away. He also knew the risk and he was right. They got extremely angry and quickly chased after him. They all wanted to kill him as painful as possible.
"What kind of that man?" – Leafa was stunned because of the cruel attack of the Cait Sith boy.
"See? I told you. He is nothing than a low life insect. He needed to be eliminated for the goods of others." – The Salamander man squeezed his teeth.
"GROAAAAARRRRRRRHH"
Suddenly, a big loud scream came from the sky, before something big was landing on the ground. Everyone stopped and looked, just to be surprised, all of them. In the middle of the place, there was a big size black dragon. Its two wings attached to its two arms. The mouth was very big and it could keep a person inside it. Its two blood thirst red eyes looked around the people around it and definitely, it had nothing to be fear. Seeing a group of people, it roared again and created a shockwave that no one could stand still. However, with those who understood, they knew what was happening.
"Here it goes. I thought we didn't meet it this soon." – The Salamander man smiled satisfyingly. He had a big faith that he and his team could defeat this rare boss.
"Wow. Eight HP bars, really?" – Kirito was surprised. He only remembered that every boss in SAO or ALO only had four HP bar for the maximum.
"That's why it is one of the rarest bosses. We are very lucky to see it here." – The Salamander man gave a quick explanation to Kirito, before he swung his arm strongly. – "Everyone. Attack."
Hearing the order, the players ignored the Cait Sith boy and attacked the black dragon. Normally, the dragon would fight back but for unknown reason, it looked at the Cait Sith man, before it roared again and headed to him. While everyone did not know what was happening, the Cait Sith man knew he had no time to talk or to fight back. His final method was running away and hoped he could run to a safe place in time. The black dragon quickly chased after him, as well as the others chased after it. They kept attacking the dragon but it HP and defense were very good that they barely damaged it. But no matter what, the dragon seemed to be attracted only to the Cait Sith boy. It opened its mouth and shot a black fire ball from it to Kaz. In counter, Kaz raised his wings and flied away. Once again, Kirito and Leafa were surprised because of his wings. Normally, they had elf wings but his wings were different. He still had four wings but they were like sharp metal blades. However, his speed was very fast, faster than anyone but not with the black dragon.
"Why does it only chase him?" – Leafa wondered.
"Who knows, and who cares? Thanks for that, we can draw the boss' HP. Maybe if we can kill it, I can forgive what he did to me." – The Salamander man responded devilishly.
"Kirito-kun, where are you going?" – Seeing Kirito was flying faster, Leafa asked.
"I'll try to get close to the Cait Sith player. I feel something's not right." – After speaking, Kirito flied away and did not listen to Leafa.
Back to the chasing, Kaz had a hard time to dodge all the dragon's attacks. Despite the big size, it flied very fast. He could be sure that it was the fastest giant boss he had met so far. Additionally, its attacks were very accuracy, making him to dodge harder. If this kept going, maybe he could not make it. Kaz took a breath and summoned his cursed sword with hope. When the dragon was opening its mouth and nearly bit him, Kaz turned back and raised his sword. Suddenly, his sword became bigger and slashed right to the dragon. Different than the fight with Norn, the attack could not cut the dragon in half, but only drained one HP bar of the boss. Losing one HP bar, the dragon was getting angrier. The black dragon kept chasing the tired Cait Sith boy. Kaz then flied straight to the water surface, before he changed direction right at the time the dragon nearly caught him. Surfing on the water surface, Kaz found the dragon seemed to be weak in the water. The proof was it was stunned and would not chase him for a while. Suddenly, he saw a person flied near him. It was no one than the Spriggan player.
"You can't win it alone. I don't know what happened between you and that Salamander player but it isn't the time for you to fight each other. Let's eliminate the boss and then we can settle everything afterwards." – Flying near to Kaz, Kirito spoke out loud when he saw Kaz's tired eye. Somehow, Kirito felt that he could see the reason why the Cait Sith preferred to run than staying and fighting.
"You are…" – Suddenly, Kaz did not say anything and looked at Kaz non-stop. Some memories had turned back to him. He recognized who this Spriggan was. It was the person who Sinon hugged and smiled happily. To be sure, he looked at Kirito closer. It was not a mistake. He then mumbled painfully. – "It's… really you."
"Huh?" – Kirito did not understand. – "Did we meet before?"
Suddenly, Kaz changed his expression. He opened his left eye bigger, before he kicked Kirito away. While Kirito was surprised, did not know what happened and tried to keep the balance in the air. He quickly understood why the Cait Sith boy did it. The black dragon dived from the sky and bit Kaz. A big splash blasted on the water surface, before the dragon flied up. Kirito did not understand why Kaz saved him because they did not know each other. After Kaz had been bitten, the Salamander man's party started attacking the black dragon immediately. It seemed they had been waiting for this chance. Meanwhile, Kirito tried to look if the dragon truly ate Kaz. Feeling strange, Leafa came to support Kirito.
"You're okay, onii-chan?" – Leafa asked.
"Why did… he save me?" – Kirito wondered.
While the siblings did not understand what was happening, the next thing happened right away, in front of their eyes. The black dragon stopped in the air, and its mouth was seemed to be forced opened. It tried very hard to keep its mouth close tight. Slowly, its mouth was opened and who did it was no one than the Cait Sith boy. He was using all his strength to open the dragon's mouth.
"Damn it, is he a roach or something?" – The Salamander's man comment angrily.
As for Kaz, he was very tired but he still tried his best. He did not want to die here. Although he knew that he would not die in real life, if he died here, he would need to restart again, everything, and he would lose the track of the Cait Sith girl. If he started from the beginning, it would take time for them to find each other. He did not want it. That was why he did not want to give up. He needed to keep his avatar alive, in order to meet her again.
"Let's help him." – Thinking no more, Kirito told Leafa before he flied ahead.
"Oh… uhm." – Although she did not understand, Leafa still followed his brother.
"Hang in there. We're…" – Kirito tried to talk to Kaz but he could not do it in time.
In a moment, when Kaz was trying to keep the dragon open its mouth, he suddenly sneezed and it gave the dragon a chance to shut its mouth before the surprised eyes of Kirito and Leafa, along with the satisfying Salamander player. Ignoring everything, Kirito still had faith that the Cait Sith boy would not die easily. Combining with Leafa, they created a strong stab to the dragon's head, forcing it to open its mouth. Seeing a chance, Kaz quickly flied out of the mouth and flied away, although he did not catch up what had just happened. Weirder, despite the fact that Kirito and Leafa were the ones created damage to the dragon, as well as the other's player, the dragon targeted only Kaz. It chased after him afterwards and no one had any idea why the dragon still insisted on targeting Kaz, rather than the others who actually wanted to kill it. As if Kaz was not unlucky enough, while he was flying close to a forest and was trying to stay away of the dragon, suddenly, a rocky hand from a forest below grab him. Not only that, it was a golden rocky arm. Later, it revealed there was hidden golden golem in the forest.
"Two of the rarest bosses in this area appear in a same place. It's really a lucky day." – The Salamander's man smiled satisfyingly. Despite that, he did not intend to help Kaz.
"Hold on." – Kirito shouted and tried to fly as fast as possible, but he was too late. After grabbing the intruder, the golden golem squeezed its hand strongly. Kaz could never scream so he could not scream out loud how painful he was. He lost his consciousness afterwards, and his HP bar was reduced to red.
"BOOM"
A lot of noises appeared. Everyone could see a lot of small explosions were blasting on the golden golem's arm. Being attacked, the golem quickly released Kaz and let him fall freely. Meanwhile, the black dragon flied and tried to bite Kaz but it did not have a chance. A glowing black ball appeared around it, prisoning it inside the ball. Kirito and Leafa quickly realized the ball. It was one of the strongest magic skills in ALO, the name was "Graviton". Whoever was being prisoned in it, they would be strongly affected by a strong pressure that could even stop them from moving. The problem was it took a lot of work to perform it. And if the magicians were not strong enough, the skill would be dispelled. However, the Salamander man and his group, as well as Kirito and Leafa were totally surprised. A lot of players were gathering here together. While the magicians were trying to prison the black dragon, the others tried to attack and eliminate them as once.
At the same time when the dragon was stopped, a black shadow came from nowhere and caught Kaz. When they were landed, Kirito and Leafa were very surprised because it was no one than a friend of them. Clearer, it was the blue hair Cait Sith girl, Sinon. She was hugging the Cait Sith boy very tightly. Not only that, she was crying when she put Kaz's head under her neck. Seeing Kirito, she turned angrily while her tears were still sliding on her face. Although Kirito had a time he made her angry, comparing to this time were totally useless. One thing he could be sure, that the Cait Sith boy was very important to Sinon. While both Kirito and Leafa did not know what to do, another shadow landed near them. They quickly realized it was Kirito's wife-in-game, Asuna. Stranger, the Undine girl had already drawn her weapon, standing near Sinon and Kaz just like she wanted to protect them.
"Asuna, do you…"
"We'll talk later." – Before Kirito could say, Asuna stopped him.
"Alright." – Kirito nodded. Afterwards, he went with Leafa and support to kill two bosses. After a hard fight, they successfully killed them both and everyone was very glad and satisfied. They shouted victoriously, but definitely not the Salamander man, who was aggressive to Kaz. Seeing that he could not kill Kaz, the Salamander man left the area with his party.
"How's he?" – Later, the Undine woman, Akane, landed near Kaz. She seemed to be worry.
"He hasn't awakened up." – Sinon answered worryingly and desperately. – "Why? I thought he has already wakened up."
"Maybe because of the tiredness and the pain from the attack of the golem." – Kirito gave an explanation. – "ALO has a pain system. If the player endures too much, he or she can lose their consciousness, like in real life. But don't worry, he will wake up soon. I'm sure of it."
"Kirito-kun is right. Let's turn back to our home, okay?" – Asuna comforted Sinon. She also seemed to be worried about Kaz.
"Alright everyone, nice work today." – Meanwhile, Akane gathered all her guide members and spoke to them. She then bowed her head. – "Thank you for coming here. Have a nice day. And Merry Christmas."
"You don't need to be that polite, leader. After all, we are "Brotherhood of Arms". We always help each other when in need. Merry Christmas to you, guide leader." – A player responded to her friendly. After that, the guide split up and moved away.
"Shino-chan, Asuna-san, can you take care of Kaz? I will meet you later." – After everything had seemed to be okay, Akane was ready to move.
"We will." – Asuna nodded, before the Undine woman flied away. Afterwards, she turned to Sinon. – "Shino-chan, let's go."
"Okay."
Cleaning her tears, Sinon knew it would be safer if they moved to Kirito and Asuna's wooden house. Seeing that, Kirito offered his help but Sinon refused, saying she did not need it and tried to carry Kaz by her own. Even Kirito showed his will to help, she still refused. But when Asuna asked, she agreed. Carefully, they all used teleport crystals. Few seconds later, they all returned to the wooden house in the 22nd floor, in Aincrad. Putting her back on a tree near the house, Sinon put Kaz's head on her laps with the help of Asuna.