Disclaimer: SAO isn't owned by me. Because if it was, I wouldn't be writing this.
A hooded figure slinked quietly through the streets, sticking to the shadows and the alleys. He pulled his black cloak closer around him, making sure that it hid his face. A few passersby noted his movements, but instead of steering away from the shady figure, they gave him small smiles and nods of acknowledgment.
Kirito payed no attention to his 'fans'; instead he focused as he tried to recall how to get to the meeting location.
Dammit Argo. Why do you have to pick these obscure places?
After several fruitless minutes of getting lost in the twisted back passages, he managed to stumble upon a small, wilted grove with a withered apple sapling, jammed in between two buildings. Just as she had described it. Now, where is that rat?
"Kii~bou!" As if hell had answered him, Kirito heard a shout before a felt someone latch onto his back, sending both of them into the ground.
"Argh! Argo, stop doing that!" he protested, trying to get up.
"What? Jumping on you or calling you Kii~bou?"
"Both! Now, get off me!"
With a harrumph and a slight giggle, Kirito felt the weight lift off of his back. Sighing, he got up and dusted himself off.
Looking up, he finally got a good look at his assailant: the infamous info broker, Argo 'the Rat.' Not that one would peg the name onto her at first sight, though. She was beaming at him with a teasing smile, a playful grin plastered on her face. Black whiskers were painted on her cheek, which contrasted sharply with her pale skin and hair. Overall, she looked like some carefree, slightly ditzy young teenage girl. Not a businesswoman that had a hand in everything from drug deals to political negotiations.
"Right," Kirito said. "What do you have for me?"
Instantly, Argo's smile vanished and was replaced by a serious look. "Reaver's gang is up again."
"What?!" Kirito choked. "I thought I finished them last year!"
Argo shrugged. "Apparently, between then and now, they've rebuilt. With most of their competition gone thanks to you, they're trying to do something big to get back into the public eyes again."
Kirito cursed. Reaver's gang had been one of the biggest fights he ever had. He had won eventually, but it the cuts took a lot of explaining. That brawl had put him out of commission for a whole week, and he wasn't looking forward to meeting them again anytime soon. But if people's lives were in danger…
"Where?" Kirito asked.
Argo hesitated. "Kirito," she said, startling him as she used his 'real' name. "As a friend, I recommend you should leave this one. I can get this to the guards easy enough, and they can take care of it."
They stood in silence for a few moments. Then, Kirito reached up and threw back his hood. It revealed a somewhat unruly mess of black hair and pale skin. Dark, ebony eyes sucked in anyone who looked at them. But what stood out the most were his pointed ears, showing everyone what he was: a faerie.
"How long?" he asked.
"Huh?" Argo replied, startled by the sudden question.
"How long until Reaver acts?"
Argo sagged, knowing that she had already lost their upcoming argument. "About an hour…"
Kirito shook his head. "Argo, both of us know that there's no way the guard will react in time."
"I know, but-" she tried lamely before being cut off.
"You're going to have to send the information through several people to cut your ties from it, which risks distorting it. Even if it gets to the guards relatively unscathed, they won't take it seriously. And even if they do consider it, they're going to do their own investigation before doing anything. At best, they're going to send one or two people."
Argo sighed. "Fine. They're planning a hit-and-run at the eastern plaza. They're going to kill a few people, make a quick yet dramatic speech, and then hit the slums before the guards show up."
Kirito nodded. "I'm going to go on a hunch here and say they have a few crossbows."
"Of course they do. Why wouldn't they? I mean, you only recommended it to them last year as you were fighting!"
Kirito winced. "Hey! I was trying to be nice…"
Argo stared at him. "To a bunch of criminals."
"I didn't know that they would escape! Or that they would rebuild!"
Argo facepalmed. "Sometimes you make me feel like an idiot, and at other times you make idiots look like geniuses."
Kirito scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Eh heh heh…"
Argo was silent for a moment. "Anyways," she continued, straightening up. "You should get going if you want to make it beforehand."
"Right. How much do I owe you?"
Argo's lips twitched up in a faint smirk. "The usual."
Kirito groaned. "Argo, please, just take my cash. I really don't want to owe you a favor."
"To bad," Argo sang. "Should've thought of that before coming to me, Kii~bou."
Kirito sighed in defeat. "Fine." Pulling up his hood again, he started walking away. "I'll be seeing you, Argo."
"Kirito…" Argo's hesitant tone made him turn around.
"Huh?"
"I…I just want to say…that…" She turned her face away from his view.
"What's wrong, Argo?"
"Just be safe, alright? You owe me too many favors."
Kirito smirked. "I'd be more worried about the other guys."
"Heh…" They stood there for a moment longer.
"Alright. I should get going now."
"Right. Seeya."
Kirito turned and walked away. He threw a glance over his shoulder as he rounded the corner, worried about his friend.
Two guys in that alley. Third one on the bench, and a fourth one with a crossbow by the bushes. Kirito frowned as he analyzed the situation at the eastern plaza, hidden in the shadows. If I move now and blend in with the crowd, I could get the one with the crossbow without any issues. He visualized the scenario in his mind. Then I could aim for the guy on the bench. He'll be surprised for a second, and that'll cost him. If I can take him down fast enough, I can take on the two in the alley. He went through the entire scene multiple times in his head and made sure that he had a plan B and C.
Right. Time to move. Quietly, he slipped into the crowd.
Almost immediately, whispers started to float around.
"It's the Black Swordsman!"
"Really? Where?"
"Over there, in the cloak."
"Shit, that means some gang is about to show up. Let's get out of here!"
"But I still need sugar…"
Kirito grinned internally. A while after he became a vigilante, he also became a sort of bad omen. People had noticed that he always showed up just before some crime was about to take place, so they started to leave the area once they noticed his telltale black cloa-
Shit! Kirito realized. My cloak! I stand out like a sore thumb!
He shot a glance at his target, and noted how a hand had steadily moved to the bushes around him. I gotta act now!
Forgoing any attempts at sneakiness, Kirito lunged at the man, drawing twin blades from sheaths hidden behind his cloak. The gang member responded in kind, and whipped out a loaded crossbow. Pulling the trigger, he let a bolt fly.
Kirito twisted at the last second, and felt as the arrow whistled mere centimeters from his face. Screams broke out around the plaza as people started running. He pushed past the running humans and faeries and closed the distance between him and the man desperately trying to reload his crossbow. With a slice of his sword, cold metal bit into the warm flesh of the man's hand. He let out a scream, before he unleashed a wild kick. Kirito pulled the blade out and jumped, avoiding the blow. He then swept his other blade down and cut the man's calf, which resulted in another cry of pain. Carrying the momentum forward, Kirito tackled the man, knocking his head hard against a rock. The man remained still.
Kirito spared a second to check the man's pulse to see if he was just unconscious. His fears found ungrounded, he spun around to deflect a swing from a sword. He pulled back and scanned the plaza. The civilians, for the most part, had evacuated the area. He could also hear armored feet approaching rapidly, which signified that the guards would be arriving soon. But not soon enough, Kirito despaired as he realized that the other two men in the alley had joined the man from the bench. All three wore cocky grins, confident in that they would come out on top. They readied they're swords for the final blow.
I can block two for sure, but I'll definitely get stabbed by the last one…damn, I have to use it.
Taking a deep breath, Kirito calmed himself. The world seemed to slow around him, and he watched as the men's swords start to lunge towards him. Only enough. Not too much, not too little…
Kirito exhaled, and felt power suddenly course through his body, up his arms, and into his swords.
With a scream of defiance, he swung his blades.
The guards thundered into the plaza to find…
"Goddammit, we just missed him," a man in the front complained. He looked around at the few spectators still present. "Did anyone here see where the wanted vigilante 'The Black Swordsman' went?"
One of them pointed at an alley. "Search there," he told two of his men. They gave a quick salute before obeying.
The guard turned his attention to the scene before him. Four men laid on the ground, immobile. He walked over to get a better look at them, before suddenly stopping. He bent down and checked one of their pulses. He stood up again and stroked his chin.
He waved one of his men over. "Sir," he said with a salute.
"Johnson," the guard said, "I've heard of people dying with weird expressions on their face, but have you ever heard of men getting knocked out while looking shocked?"
