Kirito ran.
The vast grasslands that made up the first floor of «Aincrad» was spread around her.
She would survive.
«Level up!»
Kirito arrived in «Horunka village» before the sun had set.
It was completely empty save for some «NPCs»
She mused at the lack of human presence.
Death game indeed.
Kirito's first stop in the village was the weapon and armor shop.
She had enough «Cor» from the mobs on the way to the village to buy a new sword that would last until she got her «Anneal Blade» from the quest.
Now if only they had potions everything would be-
Kirito froze.
Looking back at her from inside the shopkeeper's counter was a slender black haired girl fully outfitted in lightweight cloth armor.
Kirito blinked.
The reflection did as well.
Kirito decided to move on to her next destination.
She ignored the fact that the cloth armor looked so normal on her body.
Kirito moved through the village with relative ease. She remembered the path from playing the beta.
She reached the house containing the wanted quest and entered.
There was a woman with her back turned to Kirito that had a yellow exclamation point over her head, indicating the possibility of a quest.
"Excuse me miss…"
The woman turned.
Kirito averted her gaze. The NPC looked just like Midori.
The quest was accepted without Kirito making eye contact once.
The coughs of the woman's ill daughter could be heard from the room over. She didn't think about how much it reminded her of when Suguha was sick.
Kirito moved onwards.
Kirito decided that she absolutely hated «Horunka Village»
She would finish the quest and leave immediately.
As she made way to the quest destination Kirito's mind wandered to the real world.
She wondered how the public was reacting to the news of the death game.
She wondered how Midori and Suguha were reacting.
For the third time in an hour Kirito grit her teeth and moved forward.
The meter and a half «Little Nepent» turned blue and exploded into thousands of little crystals.
Kirito mused at how beautiful death in this game was.
«Level Up!»
The sound of grass being stepped on met Kirito's ears.
It was a sound that was decidedly not from mobs.
Kirito sighed. It seemed her peace would be broken earlier than she thought.
Clapping echoed throughout the field.
The player introduced himself as «Coper». He was a beta tester just like Kirito.
Coper proposed to fight the «Little Nepents» together to accelerate the gathering of the item needed for the quest.
Kirito agreed. The sooner she could leave «Horunka Village» the better.
They did not party up.
"Kirito huh? Why do I feel like I've heard that name before?"
The duo continued to kill «Little Nepents» with both of them leveling up twice.
The mob with the flowered head didn't appear even once.
Coper sighed.
"Man what bad luck, we still haven't even seen one even after all this time?"
Kirito remained silent.
"Kirito! I'll distract the one with the seed, you get the one with the ovule!"
Kirito complied.
With a single «Slash» the «Little Nepent» burst into a explosion of crystals.
"Coper! It's dead! You can-"
She stopped. Sharp needles trickled down her back.
Kirito turned.
Coper was staring at her. A gaze that looked so much like her grandfather's. A gaze that was filled with absolutely nothing.
"Coper what-"
"Sorry Kirito."
Coper struck the «Little Nepent» with the «Seed»
Kirito knows what Coper is attempting.
She locks her emotions away and prepares to fight.
Coper hides using the «Hiding» skill.
He doesn't know that «Little Nepents» don't use their eyes.
Kirito «cuts» and «slashes» her way through the horde of «Little Nepents»
She thinks only of surviving.
Coper screams.
The «Little Nepents» are upon him.
His death is accompanied by the sounds of glass breaking and thousands of beautiful crystals.
Kirito turns and watches Coper's death.
She thinks it's so beautiful.
But the feeling of ice that creeps upon her is unmistakable.
Kirito turns the quest in and receives an «Anneal Blade» as a reward.
She does not look the woman in the eye.
She does not think of her sick daughter that reminds her of Suguha in the room next door.
She does not think of the mirror in the armor shop which reflects her armored form perfectly.
She does not think of Coper and his beautiful crystallic death.
Kirito continues forward.
Kirito feels so cold.
When she reaches the inn she is staying at she trembles as she recalls the day's events.
It is a week later when she gets a message from a player named «Argo» requesting to meet up at the village she is currently staying in.
Kirito accepts because it is unwise to turn down «Argo the Rat»
They decide on a small cafe that serves baked goods.
Argo waited. She was here 5 minutes early and Kirito still hadn't showed up!
"Mou… Isn't it the guy's job to show up early. Didn't he ever learn not to keep a girl waiting…"
At the appointed meeting time the chime to the door rang.
Argo perked. Maybe Baka-ito would finally show up.
When a pretty black haired girl walked in Argo visibly deflated. She was pretty and had curves in all the right places but she was decidedly not a boy.
And as such she was not Kirito.
Which is why it confused her when the pretty black haired girl sat down in the seat across from her.
"Argo."
Argo blinked. She felt like she was missing a big piece of a puzzle here. Not that she really had any time to find out.
Argo put on her usual business smile. She could solve whatever was bugging her later.
"Ah, you seem to have me at a disadvantage. You seem to know me but I don't know you."
The black haired girl raised an eyebrow.
"Even though you were the one to call me here? Well it's not as this was necessarily unexpected. I'm Kirito."
Argo froze.
Ah. So that's what she was missing.
Argo wanted Kirito to write out a more in depth section of the combat system of «Sword Art Online» in Argo's next volume of her guidebook.
Kirito agreed so long as her name wasn't mentioned.
"Well then, I look forward to working with you Ki~ri~to-chan!"
Kirito's subsequent glare could kill.
"Ne Kiri-chan?"
"Hmm?"
"Why did you play as a guy in the beta?"
"...It felt more natural."
Argo blinked.
"More natural?"
Kirito did not respond.
Argo did not press the issue again.
"Kiri-chan! You were planning on exploring the labyrinth soon right?"
"Ah, Yes I was."
"Be careful! You might end up saving some girl and activate her flag!"
Kirito honestly didn't know where Argo got some of her ideas from.
Kirito cut her way through the labyrinth. The level difference between her and the mobs ensured they died in one hit.
The sounds of fighting made Kirito pause.
The scream that came after is what spurned her into moving.
Kirito deflected the sword aimed for the cloaked player and with a follow up «slash» the mob exploded into crystals.
She turned back to cloaked person only to find that they were unconscious.
Kirito sighed. She really should have taken Argo's advice more seriously.
Bringing the cloaked player, who was undoubtedly female based on what Kirito had felt when she was dragging her along, to a rest point in the labyrinth Kirito decided that now would be a good time to rest as well.
She hoped Argo would never come to know about this because she would never live it down.
The cloaked girl wakes.
Kirito can see she has already given up.
"If you really want to die so badly at least make your death useful. There's a boss meeting in «Tolbana» soon. Dieing here is useless but dieing too the boss would at least give your death a meaning."
The cloaked girl walks away.
But Kirito can see the smallest embers of hope has been reignited.
Kirito continues her trek through the labyrinth.
Within a day the entire labyrinth is mapped out by her.
She reaches level 15 on the last mob.
When she reaches the entrance of the labyrinth, Argo is waiting for her with a very smug grin.
Argo informs Kirito that someone wants to buy her «Anneal Blade +6» for 29,890 «Cor»
Kirito declines.
She wonders why someone would be willing to pay so much.
The clock bell rung.
The 1st floor boss meeting was about to begin.
"My name is Diavel and the class I'm playing is «Knight»!"
"You."
Kirito turned.
The cloaked player was beside her.
"Are going to party up with me. It's your fault I'm here so take responsibility!"
Kirito sometimes wondered if her life was a dating sim.
"My names Kibaou and some of you out there need to apologize!"
The player named Kibaou was neither hot or cold.
Instead he was rotten to the core.
Kirito felt repulsed.
The tall dark skinned man who called himself Agil refutes every one of Kibaou's claims.
Kirito thinks that she's got to thank Argo one of these days for the handbook.
"And the in depth guide on the Combat system was written by someone named 'Kiri-chan'"
Kirito takes back what she said.
She'll kill Argo the next time she sees her.
The meeting ended without any further interruptions and Kirito made her way back to her rented apartment.
For some reason the cloaked girl who now introduced herself as Asuna was following her.
Kirito decided to just let things happen.
Argo paid Kirito a visit to inform her that the person offering to buy her «Anneal Blade» has raised their bid to 39,800 «Cor»
Kirito did not kill Argo on sight. Instead she paid her to reveal the identity of the buyer.
When Kibaou turned out to be the buyer Kirito felt a small pinprick on her back.
"Kiri-chan! I'm going to use your bath okay? Don't get too excited thinking about me!"
"Argo wait Asuna is-"
"Kyaaaaaaaaa!"
Kirito decided the best course of action would be to ignore both of them.
A day later the group of 44 players entered the boss room.
Tensions were high and the stakes were even higher.
Kirito was surprised at how bright Asuna shone when she fought.
She was like a beacon of fire.
"Group F! Take out the adds!"
Kirito and Asuna swiftly took out the small «Kobold Sentinels»
Their job was done for now.
It was up to the main group to finish the boss.
When the boss entered its last health bar, Kirito's instincts screamed at her.
The pinpricks were back and more intense than she had ever felt.
Something was wrong.
Illfang didn't pull out a talwar like he did in the beta.
He pulled out a nodachi.
And Diavel was charging right at him.
Kirito charged ahead.
But she was too late.
"Why…"
"You knew what I was after Kirito. You were a beta tester as well."
"Why risk your life just for a drop?"
"Who knows… Beat the boss for me Kirito."
Diavel the «Knight» shattered into thousands of crystals in Kirito's hands.
The second death that Kirito had a part of inside this game of death.
Kirito steeled her resolve.
The nodachi swung down and missed Kirito by less than an inch.
Kirito pressed on.
"Asuna! Switch!"
Together they whittled away at the boss's hp.
Kirito forgot about this feeling.
The complete thrill of the battle.
The absolute need to win.
It was the only thing she liked about kendo.
Kirito reveled in the feeling.
Every swing of the boss's «Nodachi» was slow motion to Kirito. She ducked and weaved through the boss's strikes and struck.
«Illfang the Kobold Lord» died by Kirito's hands.
«Congratulations!»
«You got the Last Attack Bonus!»
Kirito glanced down at her «Anneal Blade» in her hands.
Reflected in the blade of the sword was a pretty black haired girl. A strand of hair had fallen over one of her eyes.
She had a wicked smile on her face.
'Ah.' Kirito thought. 'That's me.'
"Why!? Why did you let Diavel die!"
Kirito's smile was still plastered onto her face.
"I didn't let him die Kibaou. He died on his own accord."
Kirito felt so alive.
"You… You knew the attacks the boss was going to use! You were a beta tester! There are probably others in here huh?! Come on out!"
She wondered if others thought she was crazy.
"Ah… don't group me together with other beta testers Kibaou. Most of them were complete amateurs and didn't even know how to swing a sword correctly. But I was different. Did you know I soloed the 9th floor boss?"
Kirito supposed she was. Since she was actually doing this.
"W-What the hell? You're worse than a beta tester then. You're a cheater!"
"You're a beta tester and a cheater! You're a beater!"
Kirito equipped her drop from the boss. The «Cloak of Midnight»
She walked up the stairs to the 2nd floor.
She did not activate the floor teleport.
Kirito looks down at her hands.
They were not covered with blood but instead they shone bright from the crystal dust that is stained upon them.
She thinks back to Coper and his terror filled face right before he burst into stardust.
She thinks back to Diavel and his acceptance at this inevitable death at the hands of the boss.
Kirito wonders if her death would be as beautiful as both of theirs were.
She wonders if her death would be witnessed by others or if she would die alone.
She supposed the latter is more suitable for a person like her.
Started: Jan 17th. 2017
Finished: Jan 19th. 2017
Published Jan 21th. 2017
Words: 2375.