Aincrad

Floor 66

Blood Fields

"What a day, huh?"

Klein's voice came as a shock to Kirito. He and Klein had been slaying monsters for Col all day long, and the profit didn't come anywhere close to the amount of bodies they'd produced. Although, it wasn't all bad, Kirito enjoyed doing what his first intention in SAO was: Slaying monsters and collecting their drops. However, he didn't feel like himself, and hadn't for some time.

Heathcliff had noticed the amount of care He and Asuna had for one another, and the result had been anything but desirable for either party. He'd decided it was best to keep the two on separate shifts. Kirito was stuck fighting and farming during the daylight hours, while Asuna was to be on night detail. At the very least, Kirito considered himself lucky to be paired up with Klein. He too was reluctant to join the Knights of the Blood Oath. But regardless of their feelings, here they were, farming for the floor clearing effort.

Kirito, who was sitting down on a small boulder, after what seemed like his millionth kill, stretched slightly, and decided to respond to Klein.

"I guess so. At least we're getting to do something that seems like actually playing the game."

Kirito's voice was low and unenthused, and Klein immediately sensed it. Klein, being the comedic demon that he was, decided to try and cheer him up.

"Aw, c'mon man! You can't keep getting down about the whole opposite shifts junk."

Klein then winked sarcastically and pointed his thumb at himself while striking a hilariously exaggerated pose.

"Besides, you have me. Honestly, what more could you ask for?"

Kirito broke his gaze, which had been staring out into the sunset, which had just begun. He actually caught himself breaking into a smile. Still though, the pit of loneliness in the deep of his stomach just wouldn't let him speak any optimistic words. He shrugged and averted his gaze back to the newly born sunset.

Klein slowly broke his pose. He then shrugged and sighed deeply. Kirito was never one to show too much emotion, but now, the only thing that stuck out to Klein, was deep and drowning depression. Klein then decided to leave Kirito some space, and quickly turned around to see that a new Rabid Werewolf Lv. 55 had spawned. He pulled up his blade and charged, leaving Kirito alone, again, to ponder his thoughts.

Kirito heard the sounds of an enemy being slain relentlessly, again, and again…and again. He hated to leave Klein to do all of the work himself. But what could he do? He was feeling sorry for himself, and he knew it. So much so, that the thought of picking up his Elucidator seemed…useless. What would be the point? What would he be fighting for, exactly?

When Kirito began this game, his only thoughts were to kill enemies, gain levels, collect gear, and reach the top of the high scores list. Now, however, all he could think about was Asuna. It seemed so bizarre to him. Gaming had always been his first love. But now, he was getting jealous at the very thought of Asuna being with other male members of the guild.

It was no secret that Asuna had many admirers within the guild. Her skill with her rapier, paired with her beautiful physique and endlessly flowing red hair, was enough to get any male gamer hooked on her. Even so, the jealously wasn't nearly as bad as the worry he had for her well-being.

Kirito trusted Asuna's ability to defend herself. But still, the ever growing feeling of uncertainty haunted his every breath. Kirito had seen so many players slain, and all because of silly mistakes that could have been avoided. He'd seen players hacked into bits for looking at their loot for too long, leaving the enemy ample time to respawn. He'd seen players die of poison for simply forgetting to pack anti poison crystals into their inventory. He'd even seen players drink too much at local taverns, and fall to their death for walking clear off of the side of the map…and all they were trying to do was get back to their bed for the night. Kirito shuddered at the thought, yet again.

Kirito trusted Asuna not to do anything foolish, but he still couldn't bring himself to relax. After all, it wasn't her that he lacked trust in…it was others. Thoughts of the many clans and solo players looking to make a profit by slaying others filled Kirito's head constantly. One clan in particular, Laughing Coffin had been picking off players at an alarming rate. They hunted at night…which just so happened to be the timeframe that Asuna would be on duty. Granted, she'd have many other Knights with her. But still, Kirito didn't trust them. To him, it didn't matter what level they were, or how skilled they were at fending off opposition. Kirito wouldn't feel like Asuna was safe unless she was with him.

"You know, Kirito, these things get stronger at night. We'd better finish up here, quickly."

Kirito was ripped out of his thoughts by Klein's voice, yet again. He felt increasingly guilty for leaving Klein to collect today's Col quota for Heathcliff. He stood up, stretched and reached for his weapon.

"Sorry Klein, I really am. What's our total for the day?"

Klein smiled and nodded. He swiped his hand and began to navigate through his menus. Then after mouthing some quick calculations to himself, he shrugged slightly and swiped his hand and closed his virtual inventory.

"It could be better, we're about 50 Col short. It shouldn't be too hard to grab before we head back."

Kirito heard these words, and felt even worse. Regardless of his emotional crisis, he knew it was no excuse to allow the day's work to be sub-par. He was determined to make up the latter portion of the Col himself. It didn't take him long to find a suitable target. He looked past Klein at another Werewolf that had spawned and honed in.

"I'll take care of it, Klein, take a rest for a minute."

Kirito then raised his Elucidator and sprinted towards the Werewolf. But something didn't feel right as he reared back his blade to swing.

Dammit! I forgot to activate the sword skill!

Before he could think anything else, he found himself being hurled in the opposite direction thanks to one of the Werewolf's claws gashing through him. He felt no pain, but the wind was instantly knocked out of him, nonetheless. He landed, hard, on the ground and rolled four or five times, sending his Elucidator flying in an opposite direction.

"Kirito!"

Kirito finally came to a stop when he heard Klein call out to him in desperation. But he didn't care. His health bar began to flash in front of his eyes. It had dipped below the halfway point. He stared at it blankly, and then closed his eyes, opting to just lay still. Soon after he closed his eyes, though, he was forced to jar them back open as a very bright flash exploded next to him, followed by the sensation of strength returning to his body. He watched his red health bar leap forward and turn green again.

"Christ, Kirito! What's the matter with you? Do you even know where you are right now?"

Klein's chipper voice was completely gone now. In fact, it was replaced by a tone that he'd rarely ever heard. The tone was that of anger, laced with copious amounts of fear. But even in his intense anger, Klein had still leapt forward, slain the Werewolf, and treated him to a health crystal. He'd saved Kirito's life, and yet…Kirito just couldn't find it within himself to care.

"You're selfish Kirito…You're the most selfish person I've ever met…"

Kirito's eyes flew open. Was he really hearing these words? No, surely not, he slowly pushed himself off of the ground to see Klein facing away from him, arms crossed in disappointment. The words assaulted Kirito's fragile state of mind, but instead of sadness…anger welled up within him.

"Me? Selfish? Do you have any idea how much I've sacrificed for this Guild?"

Kirito's voiced raised to a yell as he clenched his fists, as if squeezing the pain he'd felt for Asuna's absence, out into the air. He yelled, this time pointing to Klein.

"You don't know what it's like to feel this way Klein! To miss someone so much it hurts!"

Klein whisked around. Tears were streaming down his face, catching Kirito off guard. Kirito immediately regretted what he'd said. It was okay, though, because Klein immediately let him know how he felt about the situation.

"Save that crap, Kirito! Are you friggin' blind? We're all trapped here! We all miss someone so much that it hurts! You think you're the only one losing sleep over this? Do you, really? I suppose you think because you were some beta tester that you're somehow better than everyone else? Just because I wasn't a beta tester, does that make my feelings any less important than yours?"

Kirito felt embarrassed by what he'd been accused of. While he'd never considered himself special in any way, he did feel like he knew more about the game than everyone else. He'd been a gamer all of his life. He was also fairly sure that he was a much higher level than the majority of people playing SAO. Even still, he felt the need to fight back, knowing he'd already lost the argument.

"Your feelings? You have no clue where I've come from in life-!"

"Save that pathetic excuse!"

Klein was now arguing through tears and sobs.

"Save the 'I'm somehow more important than everyone because I've lost someone, or because I'm quiet and withdrawn!'"

Klein turned around long enough to duck out of the way of another Werewolf spawning and taking a swing at his face. Klein, with relative ease, parried the Wolf's claw, and countered with a sword skill, killing the beast without any problem. Klein then turned back around to face Kirito, who was just staring, unable to produce any argument. He merely looked at Klein, and waited for the next onslaught of "tough love." It came almost instantly.

"I know you care about Asuna, man, but you're not just fighting for yourself anymore. What kind of man do you want to be? Do you think Asuna would be proud of you? Crying and moaning over how much you miss being with her? You know what I heard?"

Kirito lowered his head, ashamed. Tears began to run down his cheeks as he tried his hardest to speak without letting Klein know that he was crying.

"No…what did you hear?"

It was a pitiful attempt. It would have been painfully obvious to anyone that Kirito was now sobbing inconsolably. At hearing this, Klein took a deep breath, and lowered his tone. He, too, felt a little ashamed with his outburst. He calmed himself and then responded.

"Asuna, every single night, goes out, and she leads the group. She fights as hard as she possibly can. What's your excuse, Kirito? Do you think that if you give it your all, like I know you can, that you're somehow going to be dishonoring her? Are you so afraid of trying, that you think that you'll somehow forget how much you care for her because of the adrenaline rush of fighting?"

Something clicked within Kirito's mind. He'd never heard it put in such a way, but Klein's words were describing exactly how he was feeling. Kirito never felt as if he was "on his game" when he was apart from Asuna, and had been using it as an excuse to not even try. Yes, surely that was it. Kirito was stunned by this revelation, and couldn't even bring himself to look Klein in the face. Klein, however, continued.

"Nothing is going to happen to her, Kirito. She's in good hands. Look, I don't trust Heathcliff any more than you do…but if his clan can help us clear these floors, and get back to the lives we were living before we were trapped…then it's probably best to follow him. He seems to genuinely care…and I doubt he'd let Asuna just waltz into certain death…"

Kirito nodded, still looking at the ground. He wiped his eyes with his arm and looked at his hand. The silver band that signified the bondage of love and fidelity shined in the setting of the sun. He clenched his fist. Klein instantly spoke.

"Like that! Look!"

Kirito looked up, and then around, trying to see what Klein was talking about.

"No…your hand, Kirito. That ring, the ring that says that you and Asuna are together…married, even. Even when you clench your fist, you can still see it, it encompasses your finger, no matter what way your hand is situated. It's almost as if the concept of the ring is saying…no matter what happens, no matter the situation, or the fight…I'm still here. Kirito…She's still here, Asuna is still here, just in a different way. It's, like, romantic, or something."

Klein then smiled, pleased with himself for completely taking the love and compassion out of the end of the life lesson he was speaking of, by making a joke. Even still, the message resonated inside Kirito like a bomb, and he stared at his clenched fist, and then slowly opened it. It was true: the ring was still there, looking back at him. Confidence immediately filled the lonely emptiness within his stomach, and he looked up, finally able to look at Klein, again.

"Thank you, Klein. I'm sorry about a minute ago-"

Klein threw up his hand.

"Nope! There will be no sappy apologies! It's not really my style, you know that."

Kirito smirked slightly, and then nodded.

"However, if you want to buy me a drink tonight, that'd be plenty payment enough. I hear this floor has a killer tavern."

Klein gave a thumbs up and winked, jokingly.

Kirito looked around, unsure if he wanted to comply with the request. Klein sensed this immediately, and reassured him.

"Kirito, don't worry, I'm not going to let you walk off of the side of Aincrad."

The two shared a laugh and did a quick calculation of the Col they'd accumulated. With the addition of the last couple of kills, they'd managed to meet quota, with some to spare for the drinks that Klein was craving. The sun was setting quickly and the Werewolves were set to increase in strength when the moon came out. The two knew that the night team would be coming soon to relieve them, as well as the other members of the daylight team, who were scattered throughout the floor.

"Kirito!"

The two immediately turned around as a new, yet familiar, voice called out. It was Asuna. She and the night team had arrived, just on schedule.

Kirito, with a new perspective on things, began running towards her and the others, leaving Klein alone for a second. Klein, when he was sure that Kirito was far enough ahead, and so engrossed by Asuna's presence that he wouldn't turn around, reached into his pocket and removed a small scrap of paper. On the paper was the name of a girl…a girl very special to Klein, a girl that Klein had never spoken of to anyone in Aincrad. A girl, for all anyone knew, may not have even been in existence anymore… Klein smiled at the name on the scrap of paper and closed his eyes, stopping tears from forming in them. He pocketed the scrap of paper and whispered to himself, and yet, not just to himself.

"You know,just because I don't talk about you, doesn't mean I don't care…you know that right?"

Klein looked up to see the sunset becoming a beautiful rendition of reds, oranges, and yellows. He then looked over to see Kirito holding Asuna tighter than he'd ever held her before. It made him chuckle, seeing Asuna's shocked reaction to the sudden burst of affection. The faces of the rest of the team were of extreme confusion as well. Klein grinned widely, as if he knew he had to do his job by being sarcastic. He waved his hand and called out.

"Hey you two, that's enough! We're fighting for our lives here, remember!"

Klein then ran over and joined his friends, enjoying the five minutes they all had to spend as a collective whole, before the next shift began. Kirito did, in fact, treat Klein to a drink that night. He knew he owed him that much, and so much more.

Outside Aincrad, what seemed like millions of miles away, bridging the gap between virtual and reality, in a hospital, a young woman sat, hovering over someone she knew. She suddenly felt something in her soul tell her that she was going to be fine…that every problem that she'd faced up to this point, would soon pass away. She, however, had more than just a scrap of paper with Klein's name on it. She had his entire sleeping body to gently feel, to remind her that he was still there…somewhere, somehow.

A single tear began to roll down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away, as if to fight her emotions and say: not this time… She then leaned over Klein's body, and kissed him gently on the lips. She stood up, somehow more confident than she had been when she came in, and walked towards the door to leave. But, before she left, she turned around and smiled, somehow responding to the cosmic question that came from nowhere.

"Of course I know, and I'll always know, I promise…"