Shield And Swords

Chapter 1— Divergence Theory

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Original Title: Sword Art Online(ソードアート・オンライン)

Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki

written by: wrathie

Author's Notes: Well, here we go again. Thank you, bowpurity for the beta.

I'm still working out a few elements in the story, so it might be a little difficult to accept at the start.

Right, a few changes to the SAO world. You do feel pain in battle, I'll introduce that slowly, anyway, Log Horizon has it in spades, but I digress.

A Sachi centered fic, if you have comments for me, do drop a review or two. Otherwise, just enjoy this!

And a big thank you to bowpurity again for agreeing to be my beta for this.

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'—A beater like you didn't have any right to join us.'

The words, spoken by the leader of the Black Cats of the Full Moon, stabbed through the heart of the boy who stood in front of him. The Black Swordsman, the Beater, a member of the same guild, Kirito. Those words were spat at him, and it caused the boy to tremble, to shake, to feel the heavy weight, and burden of what had happened once again.

He didn't have the right to join them.

Kirito knew that, and he found himself unable to reply as Keita, the guild leader, stepped towards him.

'Why, why did you have to survive?! What about the rest, what about Ducker, Tetsuo, Sasamaru?! All of them! Why did they have to die!'

Keita asked him angrily, his voice filled with anger, despair but there was one name that was left out from his tirade of questions. The sole female member of the Black Cats of the Full Moon, Sachi.

For Sachi was still clinging onto the Black Swordsman like a lifesaver, her cold and white hands not even letting go despite having only a small handhold on the boy's black cloak.

She had survived thanks to Kirito defending her, taking many attacks for her in his desperate bid to save her from the mobs.

All the players were currently in Sword Art Online, the first ever VRMMORPG that was supposed to revolutionize the world of gaming and the 'Fulidive' technology. However, the creator, Kayaba Akihiko, had turned it into a deathtrap, where players would die if they 'died' in the game, when their HP read zero, and had subsequently trapped them all in the game till they managed to clear the 100th floor and defeat the boss there.

It was a hopeless situation that was made even more hopeless when it became clear that none of them could escape, and that they had to depend on themselves to get out as no external help was coming.

It was... difficult, and Sachi had at many times felt like she would be better off dead, for it was better than the alternative of fearing death, being so paralysed that she could not do anything at all.

It was Kirito who had saved her, who had listened and comforted her when she finally couldn't take the stress and ran away from their guild. She could not continue in the starting city, for if she did, she would just be reminded of the sheer hopelessness of the situation. But at the same time, if she moved forward, she would have to deal with, and overcome with the fear of dying.

She was caught between a rock and a hard place, and Sachi broke down utterly, and fled her guild, her friends who had sheltered her for so long due to her own weakness.

..

It was only in a moment of panic, the sheer fear of dying like this overwhelming her that caused her to bolt like that. Sachi hadn't ended up very far from when she bolted for she was still too afraid. She was too afraid to die, and she confessed that to Kirito who was the first to find her.

She was always, she admitted that to him, in awe of him. Of how he had been able to fight by himself, as a solobefore he had joined them. They were in a particularly difficult fight with a group of monsters before Kirito had stepped in, and killed off the mobs who had threatened them so badly.

He was strong, so strong that Sachi hadn't imagined that she could ever reach out to him for help, but in her most vulnerable moment, he did just that. He was not untouchable after all, he too was human, and he stretched for her hand, to help her, to encourage her, and to give her hope in her weakest and most fragile moment of all.

It was then, perhaps, Sachi felt that she was saved.

And the icing on the cake was how he promised that he would save her from the game, not anyone else, but her, even when she told him that she was not worth it.

When with his strength, he could save much more, and she did not deserve to be saved by him.

But he didn't care, perhaps he did care that she said that, but when he reiterated that he would save her again, to bring them back into the real world, Sachi knew that she had fallen for him.

So even if it was embarrassing when she had knocked on the door to his room in the inn on the pretext that she was too afraid to sleep, she felt happier and more comfortable sleeping in the same room as Kirito-kun.

Her fear of dying and her fear of the world was overwhelmed by her newfound love for Kirito-kun. It was something that she didn't think was possible, to feel such a warm emotion, a desire to be with someone so strongly that her fear seemed insignificant. She felt extremely happy and at the same time, felt a little disgusted at how she felt that way. Was it really love? Or was she misinterpreting the sense of safety, and trust that had made her feel that way for Kirito-kun?

Sachi wasn't sure, for she knew that Kirito-kun was a person who would say something like that to even a stranger. It could mean absolutely nothing, or absolutely everything. But Sachi, hoped, and prayed that it was love, that she had fallen for Kirito-kun, for if it was the latter, she would never believe herself again.

For if she wasn't even allowed love, what was there left for her in this world? Even that promise itself would be a lie, for what was Sachi waiting for in the real world? She hadn't forgotten, but at that time, Sachi felt that the promise by Kirito-kun was more important than her wish to escape this world, to live, and her fear of death.

it would be nice to leave, to beat the game and to return to her family, but it was the promise that Kirito-kun would be the one to grant that wish to her was all that mattered.

..

So it really wasn't hard to imagine that she would try harder to be closer to Kirito-kun, to try and be better, to not be a burden to him by trying her best. Her friends too encouraged her but she always sought the presence of Kirito-kun when she fought, the smile he would show in acknowledgement and encouragement to her when she despatched of an enemy that made her happiest. Sachi was moving forward, slowly for sure, but it was still an accomplishment considering how she was like before.

Sachi hadn't even been surprised when she discovered that Kirito-kun was much more higher-leveled than the rest of them and she had acknowledged that happily too while keeping it from her guild mates. He must has his reason for hiding his true level, and Sachi didn't think bad of him because he did that. More so, than ever before, she started worshipping him even more for dropping to their levels to help them. Since there seemed to be nothing that he couldn't do, Sachi felt even more lucky and happy that she had been given the chance to meet him. Even if her teammates sometimes caused trouble for Kirito-kun, he would still manage to get them out of it. At the same time, Kirito-kun would also happily accept the teasing that her guildmates and friends would shower on the two of them occasionally. For she would notice the slight blush on his face when he met her eyes during those times, and she found comfort in joy that maybe, just maybe, Kirito-kun felt the same for her.

Sachi never confessed her feelings, for it didn't seem appropriate just yet. And as they progressed, it became even harder for her to express her words, for she was surer than ever that her feelings were real.

But those happy, dangerous, and most wonderful point in her life didn't last long.

..

When Keita, the guild leader of the Black Cats of the Full Moon emphatically declared that they had successfully saved up enough money to possibly rent a building to serve as their guild house, Sachi had been extremely excited. It was becoming extremely difficult for her to actually come up with excuses to sleep in the same room as Kirito-kun, knocking on his door in the deep of night and sneaking out at the crack of dawn, for she had since outgrown her own fears long ago. Even if it might lead to the entire guild singling them out again when they were distributing rooms, it would also be a sign of their progress as a guild.

Sachi hadn't thought that they would be able to join the front-line clearers, which was the goal that was set by Keita when he established the guild, but in the month that they had worked together they had successfully increased their levels as well as their overall strength of the guild.

She had shifted to a shield and one handed sword build, mostly due to how it would balance the guild out, and under the tutelage of Kirito, had gotten better and more confident in her own abilities.

She would not buckle or run when an enemy charged her, and was more than capable of standing her ground and absorbing hits by the mobs who attacked her. It was something that was extremely terrifying at times, but it was also necessary for them if they wished to survive.

Someone has to be the tank of the team, and it was a role that ironically fell onto their frailest member. But Sachi took it in stride, for it was much easier facing something that she feared, than facing the unknown. Perhaps, she was escaping the problem altogether, by focusing on something that she could see, and feared, she would not think about the fear of death itself lurking around the corner. But Sachi felt that it was her way of coping, and it was fine the way it is.

For she was progressing right? Right.

..

It had all happened without warning when the Black Cats of the Full Moon had discovered a hidden room in a dungeon that was mapped before. Even when Kirito and her had voted against entering it, based on the virtue that they although they were higher levelled than the mobs that were in the dungeon, that did not guarantee that the monsters they met here would be the same levels, or in the same small groups that they had dealt with before. Kirito, who was much higher in level than the rest of their guild, was aware of the dangers as well as the threats that might result in exploring haphazardly. They could teleport out with their teleport crystals , yes, but was it worth the risks in the first place?

They had been outvoted by the other guild members, and had entered the hidden room, which had contained a treasure chest in the room itself.

Sachi, who had always deviated towards Kirito, sensed his unease and tensed as well, keeping to his side even though she was supposed to be in front of the whole group. When the scout of the party, Ducker, had determined that there were no monsters, and that the treasure chest was unarmed, they had all breathed a sigh of relief.

Except for Kirito-kun, he had only seemed troubled, and when his hands started fingering his sword uneasily, Sachi did the same, holding her shield ready even as her other arm clenched the teleport crystal in her hand tightly.

'Score, let's open it!'

Ducker grinned while pushing on the button that would open the chest, but when he did, the entire room was assaulted by a screeching sound and flashing of red lights. As Kirito-kun whirled around, barking commands for them to use their teleporting crystals now, Sachi's eyes widened when she saw the walls of the room lift up, revealing a swarm of mobs that charged in without hesitation.

'T-The crystaIs aren't working I"

Sachi felt her blood ran cold when Setsou cried out in shock, but by then it was too late for them to speak as the monsters charged in, hemming them inside the small room.

..

Combat was furious, as well as it was desperate. Even if most of the mobs were weaker than they were, in such a confined place, it was like fighting in a sea of blades, Sachi couldn't remember everything that had happened, as she was too busy trying to defend herself from all the attacks.

No, it was that she couldn't spare the concentration till Ducker fell after several monsters slipped their swords into his chest. As her friend disintegrated into polygons of light, and subsequently fading away, Sachi felt like everything was in slow motion, and everything was in black-and-white. Around her, her friends were fighting, and dying at the same time. Their HP bars were falling rapidly, and even as she blocked three strikes with her sword and shield, another slashed her at the back. Another moment passed and Tetsuo died, skewered as he was knocked down on the floor. Sasamaru was next, his final gambit as he dashed through a gap ended when blows rained down on his back. The look of fear that he had on his face when he turned into polygons broke Sachi's heart.

Then, it was her turn to die. Sachi prepared herself for it, but she was pulled from death's embrace due to the person who had stood by her side all this time. Kirito-kun.

The Black Swordsman lashed out furiously, his sword dispelling the crowd even as Sachi tried to keep up. He was dancing, a dance of desperation as well as of death, for where ever his blacksword lashed out, a stream of orange light after it, monsters died. It was only due to Kirito-kun were they able to finally escape the room of death, spilling out into the normal corridor in a confused pile of sweat, tears as well as exhaustion.

Sachi's own HP was hovering in the red zone, but Kirito-kun was even worse, for there was barely 10% left, but even as he stared at it, the HP bar was slowly replenishing itself.

It was a testament for his strength that she was still alive, and she hugged him for comfort, still in shock from what had happened even as he apologized to her repeatedly, cursing himself for his weakness while thanking the heavens for her survival.

She had never felt as cold, or as helpless as she did right now. But somehow, she felt that Kirito-kun felt even worse, so she hugged him tighter, trying to offer any help that she could give.

..

'Y-You... I'

After Keita's long rant, and Kirito-kuns silence, Sachi finally looked up to see that his guild leader had a crazed look in his eyes before he staggered a few feet backwards, dragging Kirito-kun with him. She recognized that look, it was a look that Sachi herself had a long time ago, when she had ran away, when she had lost meaning for her life. As Keita pulled the unresponsive Kirito-kun, and her forward, his eyes widened even more..

'You should have died, not them. Why don't you just DIE! Why don't you!'

His words made Sachi freeze in fear, but she suddenly knew that if she did not act now, she would regret it for life as she hugged Kirito-kun by the waist even as Keita suddenly pulled and dragged towards the ledge, and the end of that particular floor they were in.

With his bare hands, Keita pushed Kirito against the last railing at the edge of the level, making him look down at the emptiness that would surely kill him if he leapt into it. Despite the town being a safe area, this was not a punishable offence, nor did it register in the game as pushing one's boundaries for physical contact as they were both males. Boys tend to rough each other up during their meetings after all, and it was only now that the system's limits was proving to be a mistake.

Even as Keita continued to force Kirito look at the emptiness that had claimed it's own share of players, Sachi could only latch herself to Kirito, hugging him from the back and using her weight to stop Keita from pushing Kirito over. She had lost her voice, or was too afraid, or was she just crying so hard in disbelief that she could not stop Keita?

Whatever the reason, Sachi was mourning, grieving, afraid, angry, as well as panicked, all of those emotions made it hard for her to know what was going on.

And so, she missed how Keita jumped down to his death in despair. She only realized something was wrong when it was Kirito who sagged, like a puppet who had it's strings cut. The sudden loss of strength, as well as the person who had made it all but mandatory for her to hang on to Kirito-kun had disappeared, and it became her who was holding on to Kirito-kun as he simply laid against her.

Ordinarily, such an action would be enough to cause Sachi to turn cherry red in embarrassment, but due to the circumstances, as well as a deep feeling of dread, Sachi knew something was wrong. And as she looked up to see where Keita was, only to see that she became the guild leader instead, was all the confirmation that Sachi needed.

She wanted to throw up, to cry, to scream at the world, and she felt her stomach heave and she would have done exactly what she wanted to do if not for Kirito.

Kirito was not someone who would, for a lack of better word, give up like that so easily. The way he didn't react to her nudges, her desperate shaking even as she tried to speak, spoke volumes to Sachi.

Hadn't she gone through the same thing before? When she had lost all hope, and Kirito-kun had been the one who had pulled her up like that? Perhaps, no, it couldn't be the same. Kirito-kun was someone who was strong, who wouldn't give up that easily, and who wouldn't be crushed so easily by...

It wasn't the same was it? The event that they had went through, they had never went through anything like this. Their friends had died, and another had just taken his own life. It was perhaps only cold comfort, or perhaps it had been even worse to know that Sachi had survived. Even if they had doted and sheltered her, or perhaps it was because they had sheltered and guarded her did Keita not accept that despite all that, she could be the reason for all of them dying?

Sachi knew that it was an insidious train of thought to take, and that she had no idea, or any proof to back it up, but the thought still remained.

Had her weakness, as well as lower levels been the thing that had caused all of them to die? If she had been a better tanker? If she had been a bit more vocal about her objections, if she had just supported Kirito-kun more, would they have not died? So many what-ifs, and those what-ifs was enough to drown Sachi in her own despair if not, again, for Kirito-kun.

He needed her, and despite she wanting so desperately to break down to mourn, to cry, and to curse the world, she had Kirito-kun to help as well.

The boy who promised to help her, the boy, who promised to save her, would need her help the most now.

..

Sachi wasn't sure if she was glad, or relieved that Keita had managed to find them on the outskirts of town, meaning that there was a lack of players who actually saw how the guild had effectively been totally destroyed from the inside out. That also meant that there was no one to see how Kirito-kun had been reduced to nothing more than a walking zombie as he had broken down after seeing what she had missed.

Keita had taken his own life, and from how Kirito-kun was still crying with his eyes still wide in shock, the constant stream of tears accompanied by numerous and random shudders of his body. Sachi knew as she was the one who was struggling along the footpath with Kirito-kun's shoulders over her shoulders. She was the one supporting him now, not the other way around, and that alone gave her the strength, courage, as well as the determination to struggle on. Even if she felt like crap, even if she wanted to break down herself, she couldn't.

Not when if she did, the two of them would eventually succumb to their own despair, and might even take the same route that Keita did. She refused to let that happen, she did not want to see that happen for she knew that only Kirito-kun could help all of them leave this world. He would be the hero who would save everyone, and that meant that he could not stop her. This... mustn't be the obstacle that would stop him, so Sachi had struggled.

Sachi would bottle up all her feelings, all of her own grief and sadness, even if it hurts, even if it might seem like she was cold-blooded for not mourning for her lost friends, but if she did not do something now.

If she did not do what was necessary now, she would join them. And that was the last thing that she wanted now, friends, or no. They had to live, they had to survive, and she would live on for them, for their sake, and for their parts as well.

Sachi, who had been relying on others for so long, for the first time, found a reason for her to stand up for herself. And if it could help Kirito-kun as well, it's even better.

..

She didn't know how she did it, nor how long it took, but Sachi finally managed to drag the two of them to their new guild house. Thankfully for her, it was located on the same floor that they were currently in, even if it was in one of the less accessible areas, making it extremely hard for Sachi to reach there with Kirito-kun.

Using the keys that she had inherited since Keita's death, Sachi swallowed hard to stop the bile from rising again even as she fumbled with the keys, her fingers shivering so much that she could barely pushed the key into the key knob.

'N-No!'

Sachi gave a soft cry of frustration as the keys slipped out of her hands and dropped onto Kirito's lap. As Sachi bent down to try and pick it up again, she came face to face with Kirito, and she could not help but grimace and to bit her lip so hard that she was drawing blood.

There was no life in Kirito-kun's eyes, and she was surer than ever that it was going to take much more to help bring him back to life. It would be something drastic, and it must be done soon, or else there would be no turning back. The sense of urgency, as well as the fear for Kirito gave Sachi strength again, and this time, she was able to unlock and push open the door without any mishap.

'L-Let's go in, Kirito-kun.'

Sachi tried to sound strong, but her voice still trembled as she helped Kirito-kun up again, this time no longer struggling as much as she did before as she staggered into the small building. It was altogether too small, and too big for the two of them. It was of course, a place that was supposed to be filled with happiness, of hope, signifying the next stage for their journey in SAO. Instead it was just a very harsh and morbid reminder of how they were now officially alone. And their guild house, will forever reflect and remind them that there were supposed to be more of them, people who had been a part of their family before they were taken cruelly from them.

It made Sachi hate Kayaba Akihiko just a little bit more as she reached the couch, before unceremoniously dumping Kirito-kun onto it. Sachi was tired, she had half-carried and half-supported the boy all the way here after all. However, Sachi knew that this was just the beginning of her and Kirito-kun's ordeal. She couldn't rest now, and telling herself that, Sachi staggered to her feet again, this time managing to run a hand through Kirito-kun's before she tore her eyes from how bad Kirito-kun looked. He really looked devoid of a soul, and despite herself, Sachi started sobbing as she reached blindly for Kirito-kun's hands.

His hands were cold, too cold to be human, and when Sachi did finally held his, interlacing their fingers together, she felt a sense of hope reignite in her heart when Kirito-kun did react just a little to her touch.

'Kirito-kun... please... y-you're stronger than that... Please, at least say something to me, anything, Kirito-kun!'

Sachi sobbed even as she closed her eyes, squeezing the tears that had been forming at the corner of her eyes even as Kirito remained silent.

Was he giving up like that? Did he not want to live any more? Even if Sachi felt that she could understand what he felt, it was her friends who had died after all, and even if it what Keita had said was indeed more hurtful, and painful, and directed at Kirito-kun, he was Kirito-kun, the person that Sachi worshipped. He... she believed he would be stronger than that.

'D-Didn't you promise me, K-Kirito-kun? T-That... that we would surely defeat this game? T-That you would save me...? Kirito-kun, a-are, you going to break that promise?'

Sachi pleaded, and even if after a while, and to her delight, Kirito did react to her words, he was still far too lost to even contemplate what that meant for Sachi.

It was that promise Kirito-kun had made to her that had kept her from despair, it had been like a collar, a restrain, a ray of hope for her when he declared it to her. So... why didn't Kirito-kun react to it more? Did it hold no meaning to him any more? Did he not believe in it now? That was not true, Sachi wouldn't believe it, for Kirito-kun did react to her words, and her promise, so it obviously did hold value to him.

But perhaps, it wasn't enough to break him out of his own despair.

'K-Kirito-kun...'

Sachi gave her own cry of despair, but as she shifted, and her hands relaxed their grip on Kirito's hands, his hands twitched and strengthened their hold on hers instead.

Kirito-kun didn't want her to leave, he didn't want more people to leave him again.

'I-Is that.. w-what you are thinking about, K-Kirito-kun?'

Sachi felt another warm develop inside her, and even if she knew that it was a confusing situation, a situation so severe that all of them were not thinking straight, Sachi believed she found a way to bring Kirito-kun back from his own despair.

It was dangerous, and she didn't know if it'll work... but, she had to try.

She had to make Kirito-kun act of his own free will, and not forced. She needs him to know that she needs him, but that he needs her too. It's as simple as that.

Author's Notes: As usual, R&R if you like it. I hope to continue it, but we'll see how it goes!