Hey guys, AintSoSuper here again with another one-shot. This is based on a what-if situation. In this story, Sachi is alive but the others are still dead. Hope you guys enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, they belonged to the creators of Sword Art Online.
October 17th 2023, 34th Floor
He didn't know how long it has been he had been walking for, the sun had long disappeared, and darkness settled in the area, only the moonlight guided him through the forest.
He had fell countless of times, and got up countless of times, but he continued to stagger towards an unknown destination. Breathing in deeply, the icy cold air drew a sharp pain within his nostrils.
A cold winter breeze blew past Kirito, emitting a ghostly noise. He shivered in cold, involuntarily. The path before him was barely visible in snow, yet he didn't care, he just stumbles forward.
He didn't know why he was walking, but he just did, like a machine. It was as if his body was programmed to walk forward only.
The light in his eyes grew dim, becoming more blurry by the minute. Drained by the numbing wind, his body color turned sheet pale. All of his fingers and toes would have dropped right now, if this was the real world. His blood chilled to the point of freezing, but it didn't mattered, nothing did.
Not after what has happened…
June 7th 2023, 26th Floor
Kirito desperately tried to avoid Keita's eyes as it stared deeply into his face. Beside him was Sachi, her hands locked onto his right arm, clutching tightly.
He pulled his arm away, despite resistance from Sachi. His whole body felt uneasy as it prepared for the coming response, a drop of sweat drip down his left cheek.
"Go… Get Away from us." Keita spoke with a blank face. His voice was soft, yet harsh, a voice capable of instilling fears into others.
It wasn't a shocking response. Kirito had expected it, yet it still pierced him like an arrow.
He nodded slowly, closing his eyelids for a moment.
"N-no, Keita please don't let Kirito go, h-he sav-"
Sachi was silenced by Keita's raised hand, his eyes still sharply fixed on Kirito, as though they were stabbing him.
"I'd wished I'd know it earlier… A dirty beater like you never belonged here, with us."
Dirty Beater. Those words stung Kirito harder than any wasp, though it was natural. A title that he was already used to, it had never meant much to him. However, those words seemed to carry more weight after being said by a player that had once considered him as a friend.
Two months ago, he had saved Keita and his friends in a battle. Keita immediately invited him after he'd lied about his level. He couldn't recall why he had lied, but he knew it didn't matter anymore.
They were just a mid-level guild, nothing more, he thought. However after he had joined, he was allured by their bond, their friendship, and their charisma. It felt more than a guild, like a family.
He cherished the times they shared together, the battles, the meals, and when they had just hung out. But all of these were no longer possible now.
He glimpsed back into the past.
"Hey, Kirito"
"What's the difference between us and the lead group?"
"Information"
"I think it is willpower"
Those words inspired me, he thought. If the Moonlit Black Cats had made it to the frontlines, Keita's ideals may have changed their insular atmosphere.
Several hours ago, while Keita had gone to bargain for a guild house, the others decided to go to a dungeon. It was a stupid idea. He should have told them to stay, but he didn't. As a result, the entire group except for Kirito and Sachi, were slaughtered.
Tetsuo, Sasamaru, and Ducker, all were dead.
He couldn't recall the journey back to the inn which they had used as headquarter, but all he knew was that Keita was standing by the entrance with the keys of newly bought guild house in his hands.
"Go now."
Those words broke Kirito out of his thoughts, regret washed up all over him. He had killed the Moonlit Black Cats, this fact cannot be changed. Forever engraved in his mind.
Compiling with those orders, he slowly turned, and without another look at Keita and Sachi, walked away.
"No, Kirito don't go"
A pair of familiar small hands grasped his. But he just yanked it away and continued walking away.
"Leave him Sachi."
October 17th 2023, 22th Floor
"Kirito, I need to tell you something"
Kirito nodded, avoiding her eyes.
It had been four months since that day. While Sachi had tried to contact him before, this was the only time he had responded to her call.
"Keita died…"
His eyes widened in shock, suddenly fixed on her face.
"In his dying words… He forgave you." Sachi said in a tone filled with a mixture of grief and joy.
Taking his right hand into both of hers, she held his hand. Her lips curved upwards to form a smile.
"Look Kirito, you don't need to blame yourself anymore, you never had too"
A slight sense of relieve washed over him. The ends of his lips slowly tilted upwards. However, he stopped himself from smiling any further; his lips retreated back into a frown. His eyes retraced back to its usual position.
No. His arrogance killed them; he thought he could protect them. Moreover, he had never deserved to be one of them; he was stupid, foolish, and senseless.
Kirito stared at her joyous smile for a moment before looking away, pulling his hand out of her grasp.
"It doesn't matter, they are still dead. Nothing can bring…" His voice derailed into an inaudible murmur.
The smile on Sachi face disappeared, her lips returned to a neutral position, slightly frowning. She reached for his hands again but was coldly knocked aside.
"Kirito…" She breathed, surprised by the sudden rebuttal.
"It's my fault- I didn't save them. Keita-"
Kirito's body froze at that name, unable to complete the sentence. His mouth was still opened, inviting the chilly air to enter, before closing it.
A scene of Keita came to his mind, cursing him with his dying breaths.
"Keita shouldn't have forgiven me." He finished his previous sentence.
If I hadn't lied about my level, he thought. I thought I could protect them, yet why did I not stop them from going? Why did I not warn them about the traps? Why?
A drop of tear rolled down his cheek, he raised his hand to wipe it away, however another one rolled, and then another, soon his eyes was watered with droplets. He let out a silent weep, dropping to his knees, head in his palms.
"There, there, it's all right." Sachi comforted him, lifting his chin with her right hand.
She placed her left hand on Kirito's face, caressing it softly, gently wiping the tears away. Her arms suddenly wrapped around his body, embracing him, like a mother. The warmth of her body seeped joy and happiness into his heart, creating an image similar to Madonna and Child.
"It's not your fault. Everything is going to be fine."
For a second, he believed her, only for a second though.
"NO!" he shouted, pushing her away, she fell down.
I do not deserve this! Those words echoed through his hollowed skull.
"Leave me, Sachi" Kirito spoke in a low voice.
He sloppily pushed himself up, and began to run, unwilling to accept Sachi's motherly embrace.
Sachi blinked her eyes, still incapable of receiving the shock as she collided with the ground, her mind had gone blank. Tears silently trickled down her eyes as she watched him run off. They dripped down onto the snowy ground, where they quickly froze.
October 18th 2023, 34th Floor
Kirito was still wandering aimlessly, his mind bombarded with memories.
Sachi…
He had abandoned Sachi alone, he just ran, and ran away.
He was lost in his thoughts for a moment, someone had told him.
A girl had jumped off the edge of Aincrad in the afternoon. Apparently, she was crying all afternoon before she jumped.
He had checked his friends list immediately after. Sachi's name was greyed out. This meant she had died, leaving him like he'd asked. Abandoning him, just as he had abandoned her. Gone just like that.
Yes, now he remembers. This was why he was here, on an endless journey to nowhere.
The recent events replayed in his mind like a film, over, and over. None of it make any more sense to him, why it had happened? Yet it ended this way.
He continued staggering through the forest. The coldness had gotten the best of him; all his strength has diminished now, his will gone, his body now was just an empty husk.
He collapsed.
THE END
Okay that's it for this one-shot. Sorry that I killed off everone, well maybe not everyone. Kirito may or may not have died. But I will leave it to the imaginations of you guys to find out. So I hoped you guys liked it because I like writing tragedy (lol well that seems sadistic) and will be posting more of them in the future.