Hello, and welcome to the next chapter!

Memnon43; Hey, thanks! Here's the next chapter! Yeah, that's awesome! Thanks for the vote! Yeah, I don't think that I have either, and having something new is good, at least I'm going to try my best and make it good.

Ragna; Awesome! Well, I suppose I have been recently, but here's an SAO story.

UCCMaster; I, don't know who that is, so I can't say if I am or not, to be honest. In the original, she is 12, and in this, she is 14, and there are reasons for that, which shall be explained later on, I think Silica is bound to be slightly out of character with an elder brother like Yuuto/Squall, especially when their past is shared, eventually. Eeh, I don't really see it like that, and I'm not pairing her up with him for that reason, I just think Asuna, or Leafa, or both, would be able to compliment Squall the most, compared to the others. Well, thanks regardless, I think.

Absolute Mirage; Thanks, glad that you liked it! Oh, I've watched a few episodes of that before, and found them quite fun to watch. Yeah, you've got a point there, I've got quite a few plot points for both of them, so thanks for helping me make a decision. That would be quite funny, after seeing how Yuuto's sister, and Kirito are going to be together. Here's the next chapter, and thank you!

DocSlendy; Awesome, thanks for the vote! Really? I didn't think it would be that surprising. I actually haven't watched either of those. I've watched the original Soul Eater, but not Soul Eater Not before. Just haven't had time.

Hellspam; Leafa does deserve some love too, as she probably isn't going to get it in the canon story, unless it does go down that line. Hmm, he might very well use something like that in the future. That sounds cool to me!

Gundam 09; Thanks, here's the next chapter! Awesome vote! Seems popular hehe!

Zeon480; Yeah, it has been. But don't worry, life gets in the way for all of us. And I don't see any bad grammer, no worries.

ShadeAkami; Hehe well it is great to see you! Yeah, all the others I've seen haven't had anything like this, and while there are great ones out there, I thought a change of direction would be good, and it also helps with character building, like going from a guy that knows nothing about games that becomes quite competent at games. Obviously Kirito would be better, for the most part for now, due to him actually being who he is and what he has done, but Squall isn't a slouch either. I'm glad that you liked the first chapter! He knows Agil yeah. Kirito, he mainly knows him through Silica, but does know him a little bit. Asuna...well, that's gonna be a little bit of a mystery. There's a reason as to why Asuna is acting as she is, but she isn't going to stay like she is shown in some of this chapter. She'll become who she does in the canon story, how strong, loving and kind she is. Awesome vote, that seems to be quite the popular one, I wonder why, hehe. Funny that you mentioned Corpse Party, I was actually planning to watch it this weekend. I haven't had a chance yet, and I won't till the weekend, so once I watch it, I'll have to think about it. I'm gonna take the series in new, and interesting ways, and thanks!

Sandshrew master 317; Yeah, I'm gonna try my best! Mm, sounds good! But Silica, and possibly Lisbeth and Sinon will be with Kirito in this.

BlueBlade87; Eeh, okay. I hope that I can try and change your mind on the series, at least reading the fics on them.

R3hmix; Thank you, I'm gonna try and make it different to the others in this part of the fandom.

Guest 1; Yeah, that does seem quite the interesting and seems to be quite the popular idea. That would be quite cool, I have to admit. That would make Asuna jealous, but a funny kind of jealous, would be funny for a little scene later on. Yeah, maybe she could do. I haven't decided if she is or not yet, I'll have to have a think about it, and if she should be here now, or have the arc on Fairy Dance be about her, which would be, to which I mean developing Yuuto/Squall's relationship with Leafa.

Time breaker; Yeah, that seems to be the general consensus on the matter, and I agree too. Yeah, when I get around to doing something like that, I will do! Though I haven't had a chance yet, to read the manga fully.

Anime PJ; I'm glad that you had a surprise, of the good kind. Yeah, I love SAO also, and like you said, despite the flaws and such, I genuinely enjoyed watching both series of the anime. Hehe, don't worry about that~ Yeah, neither have I, and I like being different, in a good way, so I thought that I might as well give it a try, and have the character actually grow from being quite terrible at it, to someone who learned, progressed, and can actually become a badass, which he will be doing as the series goes on, especially when his love interests or sister are in danger, that's when his time will truly shine. When I thought about the name, it slipped my mind until I ended the chapter, so I just thought, I'd leave it in for some laughs, since I did and still do, love the Final Fantasy series. Talking back to Kayaba, might not have been a good idea, but Squall doesn't give one, as he says in this chapter to Asuna. Yeah, it is a bit weird, though I think most just love that canon pairing, like I do, but sometimes having a different type of love interest is interesting. And I always felt bad for Leafa too, considering, unless Kirito goes down that route, she doesn't really have a shot with him. So, thanks for the vote! And yeah, why not, hey~? I am actually looking to read those online, in english, without having to pay for it myself, low budget and all. But I've had little success. I've heard they are good, and would love to read them, so if you, or anyone could tell me where, then I'd be appreciative. And here's next time, lol.

Majora6295; Thanks, glad that you do! Yeah, that seems quite the popular idea so, I'm all for it! The best of both girls, or something hehe. And thank you!

ClyxicRyse; I understand, people are quite, divided when it comes to SAO, but I'm glad that you took a chance, and hope for you, and everyone else to stick around. He's got quite the strong willed spirit, as seen in this chapter even, with whatever he does. That will be updated soon, just having a little snag with writing a few scenes, hopefully will be done soon. Awesome vote, thanks for the vote!

Guest 2; I do have to admit that they are my fav's from the series, so I am happy others also love them too. That would be quite funny, and yeah, I guess you could say they are going to become something like that in the future. I hadn't thought of Unique Skills, and yeah, that does sound pretty awesome to me, along with the sword. For the second sword, I haven't seen anything like that in the series before, but it does sound cool, if someone can have Gram, that can phase through objects, why not one that poisons and takes off health or something like that. Squall will be having his own adventures, not just canon ones when other characters are doing something, as seen in this chapter, and in future ones too. I could see that happening, maybe a quest with Asuna and Leafa when they go together on a quest. Maybe in the future, yeah. Having other types like a racing game would be quite cool to have.

Naroku; Thanks, glad that you like it! Hmmm, maybe it will come about with something where he does use those types of skills. Well, I don't about that, but at least, three way relationships is going to be quite, interesting to say the least. And thanks, I'm gonna try my best to do that!

Hail King Cerion; Yeah, people kinda love or hate the series, but I'm glad that you gave a chance on my story, I shall try my best to not disappoint. Usually, people have them as beta testers, their oc's, so I thought that I'd be different and have someone that isn't good at games, which shows in this chapter. Ooh yeah, there's going to be funny moments between them, with Squall using his elder brother status, to be doing, some fun things. I'm glad that you liked the name! Yeah, that does sound pretty awesome, thanks for the vote! I'm happy that you did!

Guest 3; Really? I didn't expect anyone to do that to be honest, though I do have to admit that they are cute together, huh. I suppose that she does have a slight one, as he has a slight sister complex, though reasons for that will be explored in the backstory between the two of them.

Well, with those lovely reviews out of the way, it is time to start the chapter!


On the path

"Five days here…"

Squall muttered as he laid in a soft bed, Silica being next to him, dressed in a nightdress. He himself was just in some boxers, looking at the woody roof of the inn they were staying in. His eyes trailed the entity of the roof, going from the brilliantly crafted design of the roof, to the light that dangled from the roof like in an old fashioned inn. Each of these aspects have come to light from Squall's perception.

His hand went to his forehead that was drenched with sweat, sighing openly.

"This isn't even a real sweat. This is just virtual sweat, but it feels so real. Everything here feels so real, yet it isn't real. We can't feel physical pain here…but emotional pain, I've seen it so much during this time that I can't believe someone would do this to someone. More than myself, others that have fragile mental states have already began slipping from reality. Each person handles it differently, and myself…I can't be sure…it just doesn't seem real to me yet. The world, is real, but my head says it isn't. My heart, tells me that this is real, this is what is happening, but I just want to wake up from this nightmare world."

Squall tossed and turned and tried to even think about what he was going to do…

What could he do?

He was just one person, he didn't know what to do. He couldn't even think about anything other than the nightmare they were in. Anything, that seemed normal, had completely gone from his mind.

He thought about school, his outside friends that weren't trapped with him, and his own life back in the real world, how he wanted to do quite a lot of things, but now might never get the chance to do something like how he wanted.

He turned his head towards Silica, and smiled at her sleeping state.

"Poor girl…she blames herself for this. She knows that if she didn't persuade me, I wouldn't be here, and now thinks it is her own fault…no, it isn't her fault. She didn't know, and I don't blame her for anything. She's just my Imouto, why would she place blame on herself like this…? The only one to blame is that bastard Akihiko that had done this already."

Squall slowly moved his hand, and brushed his sisters face, making her groan slightly in her sleep, but she didn't wake up.

He brought up the menu with his hand, and looked at the time.

"Two in the morning…it's really only two? I can't sleep like this, better get up and maybe I can clear my head for a bit. Agil-san is next door, so Keiko…Silica would be alright being alone for the moment, I just need to clear my head. I need to think about this…I've barely had time to think about what is going to happen now…people are dying here, this situation is very real, and very terrifying at the same time. I can't even think about what is really happening right now…I need to think about what I can do here."

Squall silently rose from the bed, without making a noise.

His body went to touch the dresser that was near the bed…but his hand stopped just before he could touch it, his eyes slowly widening.

"Why did I do that…? I can get dressed with the damn menu option shit…force of habit, I guess."

Squall opened up the menu, and to the equipment menu. Moving through the menu, he found the clothing he wanted to put on, not armour but normal clothing and put it on. A simple black shirt, and some normal pants.

Since he didn't plan on fighting at the ripe old time of 2 in the morning, he figured that casual wear would be easier than just dressing in some armour, which wasn't really all that comfortable if he was honest with himself.

Once ready, Squall went towards the door, opening it so Silica wouldn't hear it, and exited the room, thoughts storming around his mind.

Squall walked around the town for a while. Each second he saw the darkened world of Aincrad, he slowly and surely became saddened by the situation that he found himself in, and he couldn't think of a way out of it.

The situation wouldn't allow him to think. This wasn't what he was equipped for. Unlike Silica, who actually was kinda good at the game, he was terrible, and he slowly but surely was realizing that he might not be able to keep her safe in the game world, and might actually be in her way of getting stronger.

Somehow, after about an hour of walking around, he found himself at the highest point of the town which happened to be a large tower like building that wasn't currently occupied, with a ledge on the side to where someone could overlook the town.

For the most part, the town was quiet, some lights were on, but not many. All in all, it was a pretty dark, and depressing sight to see.

Squall, thinking he was alone, sat down on the large ledge, and looked out at the town.

His eyes scanned the town of beginning's, trying to think, breathe, anything. He could feel his chest tighten as the situation dawned on him, and what could happen. Death was something he never thought about…at least, not for a few years…

"…"

Squall heard some movement to the side of him, to the far side of him, and on the quiet night like he was in, he heard even the most smallest of noises, and this noise sounded like shoes on metal, and when he looked, he saw a girl looking at him with a cloak over her head, and he thought that she reminded him of the rumours going around recently about a certain player that was going around in a hood, and fighting without even resting, and getting into dangerous situations, but he wasn't sure.

Squall couldn't see her well in the light, so didn't know who she was, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Couldn't sleep either?"

The girl didn't answer straight away, only continued to stare at him.

When she didn't answer, Squall tipped his head to the side.

"Not much of a talker, are you?"

Again, the girl didn't answer, and continued to look at him, her head not even moving.

Squall didn't know what was going on, so just stared at her. He hoped that she wouldn't attack him for whatever reason, as that seemed to be the norm in a game like this, so he didn't know what was going to happen.

Eventually, after about two minutes of no talking, the girl parted her lips.

"I didn't expect anyone else to be here at this time."

The gentle beautiful voice carried over to his ears, surprising him at how such a beautiful voice could come from a hooded girl, hoping she was as pretty as she was under the hood.

"I'm sorry, am I taking your spot?"

The girls head moved sideways as Squall looked ready to stand up.

"It's fine, stay."

He stopped with her words, as she sat down near him. It was at a distance, but a comfortable one, not an uncomfortable one. Squall couldn't even see her face at this close of a range, but he could see that she had orange like hair, something that were burned into his retinas, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before.

Squall, and the hooded girl just sat with one another. While he looked at her with a raised eyebrow, she overlooked the town, not speaking at all. He didn't know why she didn't speak, but it was a little strange if he did say so himself.

"Say, erm…hooded chick…"

"I'd prefer, not to talk."

She silenced him straight away, the boy chuckling nervously, and silently agreed with his head.

For about half an hour, neither said anything. While he wanted to talk, being that kind of person, the girl wouldn't say anything. She even wouldn't make eye contact with him, being quite aloof, awkward, and wouldn't even twitch when he tried to move closer, but he soon stopped that when she would shoot him the occasional glare.

After that half an hour, the girl suddenly asked "Are you afraid?" in a truly creepy manner, but Squall was caught by surprise, and didn't know what she said, so asked her.

"Erm, I'm sorry? I didn't quite hear you."

The girl took a breath, then spoke louder.

"I said, aren't you afraid?"

This time Squall caught it, and the question, baffled him.

Of course he was afraid. That's what he wanted to say, but he didn't know if he could actually say that, as he still wasn't sure if he was in danger or not. All he knew was that she wouldn't reveal her face, she barely talked, and now was asking if he was afraid in a creepy tone. All that lead up to a stranger danger kind of movement.

"Am I afraid huh…well, it's human to be afraid. This isn't exactly a normal situation, this isn't a place where sane people could readily accept it. But, I don't really have the luxury of being frightened, honestly."

The hooded girls body twitched, briefly looking to him, then overlooked the town again.

"Because of your Imouto, right?"

Surprise entered Squall's body.

"Yeah, but how do you…"

His question remained unanswered, the girl carrying over to a different part of the topic at hand.

"It must be doubly terrible for you. Not only realizing that your own life is on the line, but to also think your Imouto could suffer too. Honestly, I don't understand how you aren't screaming or crying right now. Have you cried?"

"No…I haven't had time to cry."

He confessed sadly, wishing that he could actually do that, but he didn't have time, or even the luxury to do that, having to look after Silica, and make sure that she didn't burst into tears and feel afraid.

"You just said that it's human to be afraid. It's also human to cry."

"I guess so…have you, cried I mean?" At the question, the girl didn't answer, but that told Squall all he needed to know. "I know, it must be difficult to admit to a stranger than you've cried before." The girls eyes lowered when being referred to as a stranger. "But, sometimes, keeping it in isn't a good thing. Do you, have any friends here? Did you come into the game with, friends? Maybe, siblings? Relatives of some kind?"

"I don't have any one I know here."

She admitted, Squall's head tilting sadly to the side.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Maybe I could…eeh, I don't even know your name…erm, is it possible that I could have your name?"

"No…"

"Ooh…"

Squall felt awkward, the girl taking in a breath.

"You said…that first day here, that you'd be going to the 100th floor, is that true?"

Squall almost found that comical now that he thought about it.

"My goal is to get out of here. I don't think I will be able to do that though…I'm not that good at this game…actually, my Imouto is better than me at this game. Makes me feel quite depressed actually, that my Imouto is better at this than I am…no-not to say that girls can't be better! B-But I just w-want to-"

"Protect your Imouto, I understand." Astonishment came to Squall's face as the hooded girl continued with a sweet voice that almost sounded like velvet. "Yeah, I can see why it could be frustrating. I don't have a younger sibling, so I can't say much about it…but it looks like it really makes you feel depressed."

"Yes, that's right."

Squall agreed as the girls face adopted a playful smile.

"You could always just offer the monsters some sugar milk, from your nipples."

Squall's face fell as the girls rose higher into a laugh.

"H-Hey! Y-You can't say that! H-How long were you holding that one in!?"

"About twenty or so minutes~"

Squall felt tears prickling his eyes, trying to not cry, the girl continuing to laugh a little bit in a cute fit of giggles.

"You have some restraint, don't you?"

He almost cried the words out, feeling like he was being bullied right now.

The girl continued to giggle her head off, Squall actually not minding that much now. He just found her giggling quite cute, he just couldn't resist the feeling of her and her laughing, it was just too funny, and adorable, and he didn't even know who she was yet he found her quite enchanting, allowing his mind to forget about the situation that they were in for the moment.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh…b-but, you couldn't of thought of anything else to say other than you have sugar milk nipples? And why would you want him to suck on your nipples anyway? You aren't that way inclined, are you?"

"Hah!" Squall scoffed at the notion. "I'm not into men that way, if that's what you're saying. I actually had a girlfriend a while ago."

"Oh?"

Squall nodded, and sighed.

"It's weird…I remember, quite a few years ago, that I had this girl that would always come and see me when I was…but I can't even remember her face, or name…I just remember that we made this kind of pact to be together when we're older…funny, I always thought that we might see one another again in the future, but nothing has happened yet…well, I suppose she's somewhere in the real world having a real boyfriend or something."

"Must be." The hooded girl agreed with a dejected look on her face, and raised her arms up high into the sky. "You know, when you told Akihiko where to go, I wasn't sure if you were being serious, or not. I mean, why would you say that he could kill you? Do you really care that little about your own life?"

Her voice carried her doubt, and even a form of concern for the male to the side of her.

Squall didn't answer at first, searching his mind for the answer, whatever that might be. He hadn't even confronted his own thoughts on the matter, he just ignored it, and hoped that would be for the best.

"…It isn't like that." His admission drew the girls attention to him. "It's just, Silica has already suffered enough because of me. I was only trying to help her out and get her out of her. I didn't even think about my own life, it just seemed to pale in comparison to her own. Once hearing this was a death game, my mind went into a frenzy, and all I could think about was getting her out of here before anything happens to her. Maybe it was reckless of me, but that's how I felt and maybe if my death would've saved her from this life then that would be fine with me…and why am I telling you this? Mehehehe, I must sound like some weirdo confessing his own inner thoughts. Ya know, it's better if we stop talking about things like-"

SLAP!

"Idiot!"

Suddenly, the girls hand went across his face, slapping him, leaving a red mark on his face.

"Owwwwwwwwww!" His screams reached the heavens, despite not actually feeling pain, it being a natural reaction to when someone slaps you. "Why did you hit me all of a sudden!? Isn't that like abuse or something!?"

"You're an idiot! Baka!" The girls hands grabbed Squall's shirt, and yanked him closer, but her hood still hid her face. "You say such idiotic things! You say you want to protect your Imouto, then you say that you want to die! Which is it!?"

"Why are you getting so angry!?"

He argued back, but the girl remained adamant.

"Because, you have a complete disregard for life! And you're avoiding the question!"

"A-Avoiding is a strong word…"

Squall muttered, the girl wasn't going to accept that, and shook his shirt around, his body following.

"You can't speak like that, avoiding the question." Her voice was more mellow this time, taking a small breath. "You say that wish to protect your Imouto, but you're saying you'd die. What about if she needed protecting after you die?"

"She doesn't need me, she's better at this game than-"

The girl raised her hand, so he cowered away. Her hand went for his face, so he naturally closed his eyes while going "Eeep!" as loud as he could…but he never felt her hand hitting him across the face. Instead, he felt her fingers poking him in the forehead.

His eyes opened, to see her eyes. He couldn't see her face, but he could see her eyes, and they looked, upset, for some reason. Those eyes, made him feel terrible. For reasons he didn't know, he couldn't take looking at her eyes, and avoided the gaze of the girl before him.

"Could you not look at me like you're a vulnerable girl please? I can't take it."

The girl didn't stop looking at him the same way that she was before.

He looked back every so often, and still saw the same eyes that made him quiver, melt, under the surprisingly intensity that she was displaying to him.

Just something about the eyes before him, couldn't make him escape from reality, this reality they were in, virtual or whatever.

"She obviously needs you." The girl spoke sense, Squall unable to form words. "She might be a million times better than you are at this, but she still needs you. In ways, that you probably even aren't aware of. She needs support, emotional support, and you give her that."

"Heavy words for someone I don't even know…"

The hooded girl released a breath, sighing and let go of him, turning her head away from him.

"Maybe heavy words are needed. But…whatever, it's late, I need to go."

The girl pushed off from the ledge she was on, and returned to her feet. Squall just watched on, not sure what to say, what he needed to, or not needing to, say to the girl that gave him eyes, that made him feel, differently than usual.

As she turned around, the large hooded coat she wore got caught under her feet, dragging her body backwards involuntarily, and with the unfortunate gust of wind from how high they were aiding it, she had no choice but to fall backwards.

"HELP!"

She let out her scared voice as her body fell down from the ledge they were on.

"HELP ME!"

In his mind, Squall felt like he had this experience before. His mind briefly was brought back to an unknown time where a young girl, maybe around the age of 7 was falling. Her face couldn't be seen, but her long hair was burnt into his memory.

Snapping out of the brief memory, he witnessed the girl continuing to fall, her feet trying to slow her fall by moving outwards and inwards like crashing waves, to simulate flight, but it didn't do much for her.

When her hand went to reach the ledge to stop her from falling, her fingers missed it by a mere inch, her reaction time being a second too slow, and her falling body was helplessly caught in the falling, like everything was moving in slow motion from Squall's point of view.

"I'VE GOT YOU!"

As her hand was about to get out of reach, Squall moved his body in time, and grasped her hand.

As it did…a spark between them made them both feel intense feelings.

Neither could explain why, but the touch of their fingers made both of them feel like they were getting into a different mind set. Her eyes went upwards, terrified of falling, as his reassuring eyes met her own eyes.

"DON'T LET ME FALL!"

She pleaded, Squall moving his body in prime pulling position.

"DON'T WORRY, I SAID I'VE GOT YOU! I WON'T LET YOU FALL!"

The girl believed him, his voice just being so believable she knew that she wasn't going to fall.

Squall grunted as he moved his body so he was standing up, dragging her body more upwards. When it reached chest level, the girl brought her free hand to the ledge, aiding in being pulled up. Using their strengths, the girl was pulled onto the ledge with her feet planted firmly on the ledge, but her body fell forward by mistake due to feeling slightly dizzy from the near fall.

"Oooo…"

The girl groaned as she ended up laying on top of Squall, bodies being pressed together, hips being dangerously close to the other. Because she fell forward, the hood came off her head, and revealed long orange brown hair that fell onto his face. Locks of her hair hit his nostrils, and if he was mistaken then he didn't care, but he swore that he could smell an enchanting smell coming from her hair.

The way the light of the moon shone on her pretty face, almost made her look beautiful in his eyes. No, he already thought that she was, but something about the setting, it just seemed, almost too familiar, yet he couldn't understand why he felt like it was like this.

"Oh no…it's that girl again…how the hell didn't I know it was her before…?" His mind wondered as he felt something soft in his right hand. He squeezed and heard her softly moaning. "…Hmmm, this is quite soft, yet…" Dragging his eyes down, he saw his hand on her covered breast, scared for his life. "Shit! Shit! She's going to kill me! Sorry Silica, I think that I'm going to die right now! She's going to end my life! Though she's got a set of nice…b-but this chick is like bipolar! She's going to end my life! Goodbye virtual world!"

The girl lifted her head up while groaning, seeing how close their faces were. Her eyes dodged his own eyes, staring anywhere else as she regained her bearing's.

When her eyes eventually went to his eyes, he wore a sheepish expression, while her face turned completely red.

"G-God! S-Sorry!"

She lunged upwards, and sat with her back towards him on her knees, trembling, her fingers locking themselves together, her expression being unreadable to Squall's face.

He also sat up, rubbing the back of his neck slowly.

"Seems like I haven't been able to get over my clumsiness, huh…"

He spoke his thoughts, the girls eyes looking briefly back, before sharply returning to the ground below her.

Squall's eyes went to her form again, and blushed without even realizing it.

"Damn weirdo…she like assaults me one second, berates me in another one and then acts like an innocent girl the next. My thoughts were right before, this chick is bipolar. At least, she has a cute side, and she is pretty adorable, with an adorable face. The way she looked when falling on me was absolutely adorable."

His thoughts weren't meant to be thought, at least by him. He didn't even think that he would think that, it just came naturally without even realizing that he was thinking like he was, but it didn't matter right now, as he liked the thoughts he had.

The girl didn't move for a few moments, before turning around to see him, unable to look at him right in the eyes.

"Ugh…erm, I'm going to go and…erm, go now…"

"Y-Yeah, I best get back to Silica before she wakes up…"

The girl merely nodded, getting to her feet, and was about to walk down the stairs when she felt something on her cloak.

She thought she had it caught on something, so she looked back...and saw that Squall was holding onto it.

"What?"

She asked, not in a mean way, or a kind way, just a way where she wanted knowledge.

"...You told me, that I had a disregard for life...but, it isn't like that. When I said what I said to Akihiko, I didn't regret a single word I said. In fact, I wish I had said more. I wish I had told him so many things beyond what I did, and one day, I will be getting to the 100th floor, and I will be killing him myself. I might not be good at this, but I have already decided that dying isn't an option, and I will be getting to that floor, where he is, and I will be using what I learn here to end him myself. I never thought that I'd talk about murder like this, but I need to make him pay for what he has done here."

The girl looked at him and saw how determined he looked, how he was really going to do something, and she believed him.

"...I'm sure you will. I'll be there too...on that floor. I'll be fighting to get out of here too."

Squall smiled at her, that smile making the girl feel, good inside of herself.

"Good, gonna need all the help I can get. So, don't die until you get out of here, okay? It's an order."

The girl gave a wide smile on her face, nodding, controlling some happy tears that threatened to appear in her eyes.

"Hmmm, ordering me huh...then, I'll do it too. Don't die, until we're out of here."

Squall and the girl shared a confident smile, a promise being made between the two of them.

"I'll try...and by the way, hooded chick that isn't hooded anymore...if you ever wanna cry, you can always have my shoulder to cry on. My Imouto seems to like crying on my shoulder, so it is a use I have...What I'm trying to say is, I am here for you...I don't know why I feel like this, but something about you seems familiar to me...so, if you need a hug, I'm here for you."

The girl's face turned upwards, but shook her head.

"I'm okay, thanks."

She then walked off the ledge, by going down the stairs.

Squall sat on the ground for a few moments, contemplating what happened…but then looked at his hand that had unintentionally groped her, feeling ashamed, appalled, and slightly confused at the same time.

"At least she didn't know that I groped her by mistake…"

As he thought that, the girl came back, her face dusting with pink.

"By the way, I know that you groped my breast when I fell on you!"

He cringed as she left again, turning his head sideways.

"How did she know that I thought that?" Shrugging his shoulders, he stood up also. "Ah well, at least my mind was taken off this death game for a little while. At least, I better thank her for that when I get the chance. She doesn't know it, but I think that actually did help, in its own weird type of way."

With some pep regained, the boy was able to stand up, and went to the stairs.

Getting to the stairs, he witnessed the same girl as before, just sat on the stairs, not moving, just looking down at the streets over the side.

Intrigued, Squall inched closer towards her, and then sat next to her.

"Hey, hooded girl..."

"Yeah?"

She answered, not looking at him.

Squall patted her on the back, gaining her attention. Looking straight at him, their eyes met with a smile on his face.

"Don't try and kill yourself in this game."

"What..."

The girl didn't understand, but Squall knew that what he was suspicious of before when looking at her.

"I've heard, about someone hooded getting map data, and you fit the bill, doing things that you shouldn't be alone. So, please don't think killing yourself is the right way."

"You don't know anything..."

The girl tried to reject it, but Squall could see the eyes she had, and what was happening. If anything, he could tell when certain people were depressed, having lived through it himself.

"Maybe I don't, but I'm pretty confident that you're the person I'm thinking of, and if it is, then you at least need to go with others, and not alone. So, you promised me just then you'd survive. Also promise me that you'll not to dangerous things on your own."

The girls eyes widened a little bit, then a small giggle escaped her lips.

"Only if you promise to make sure you truly keep your promise, and not leave your Imouto alone."

Squall smirked as he stood up, and patted her head as he stood, the girls face twisting.

"Don't worry about that grandmaster of slapping. I'll be there for my Imouto, always. Even if I am useless in a fight...I'm going to become better, and then beat the crap out of Akihiko."

With those words, Squall slowly began descending the stairs.

The girl looked on as he descended the stairs, and then smiled to herself.

"Sorry about the slap...next time, I definitely won't do it unless necessary."

"Ooh thanks, let's not make it a regular thing though, kay?"

Squall didn't even stop as he walked, and soon got down to the bottom of the stairs.

The girl looked on until his form had disappeared, a smile creeping onto her face.

"I knew...it was you...all along..."

Whispering to herself, the girl also stood up, and traversed down the stairs, a new sense of hope inside of her.


"Are you sure this is alright, Agil-san? I mean, we've only been here just under a week, and we're going on a quest like this? What if Silica gets put into danger?"

Squall asked as he looked at the quest they had taken together. Silica was glad that he was being protective, but at the same time, she knew that she would be alright with the pair of them being around her.

"I'm sure it is fine, we'll be alright. And she has Onii-sama looking out for her, so there's nothing to worry about there. You'll watch over her, won't you super cool Onii-sama?"

Agil confirmed with a kind smile, relieving him of his worries while keeping his axe at the ready.

Silica stuck to her brother's side as the three of them walked forward towards what appeared to be a cave. Though it wasn't all that small, it just felt like it would be compact to Silica and Squall, Agil, despite being the tallest, didn't have the same feelings as the other two.

"Hahaha! Of course I am going to protect her! I'm even going to try and set her and Kirito-san up on a date! I mean, this is the perfect chance! With the right area, and the right romantic setting, I think she has a chance, don't you think so Agil-san?"

Silica felt her face tinge pink, as she thought about Kirito and what he could be doing right now, Agil's head bobbing along, only to make fun of Silica even more.

But shook her head as they neared the cave.

"Well, this is our first quest, let's hope it goes good! The Cor looks like a good level of Cor too for this type of quest."

"It does seem pretty good, for a level one type of quest, for people at that level, and we're all higher than that. I'm sure that we don't have to worry."

"When people say that, it usually means that there's something going to happen."

Squall noted, but Agil waved him off.

"It doesn't mean that. You're being paranoid."

"It's the worrier in me, is all. Don't worry, it will go quite soon, so you don't have to worry about it. I am going to be alright."

"That's good. We need to be vigilant, even if this is just a small quest."

The pair nodded their heads, and went towards the cave.

Squall and Silica stuck by Agil as he went in first. Squall went in second, and Silica brought up the rear. This was the better formation of the party. Agil was the physically strongest one, Silica was quite nimble with her small body so she could move out of range quite well, and Squall…was there. He just stood in the middle, and backed up Agil or Silica if they needed him, though he was unsure if they did need him at all.

Inside of the cave…it was surprisingly not that small.

The sides of the cave were decorated with something, that glowed. Neither of the party members knew what it was, glowing moss, or something else. But it looked beautiful as it glowed a beautiful green colour.

"Wow!" Silica put her hands together, her eyes being starry from the sight while moving to the side and touched the green moss like stuff. "This is amazing Onii-chan! Isn't it so beautiful!? And it feels so fluffy like a cloud!"

Squall looked around, from top to bottom, the wall was covered in the stuff. It illuminated the cave quite well, and it made it look actually quite nice too. He wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to say something like that

"I have to admit that it is quite beautiful, the mossy stuff looks good anyway. It's hard to believe that we are in a cave like this with the greeny stuff. Maybe once we come back from killing this quest creature, we can collect some?"

"Ooh Onii-chan! That would be good!"

Silica seemed pleased as did Agil, smiling together. Squall smiled also, forgetting the quest for the moment, as he saw his sister smiling, that was more precious than anything else in the entire game, it was the best look that he had seen on her face since they had entered the death game, and knowing about it.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!

"Aaaegh!"

Silica fell to the ground as the cavern shook greatly, and the ground before Agil cracked, something being stood there. Agil briefly looked, and saw that the creature possessed a snake like head, but a body of an overgrown lizard, towering over 8 feet tall. Scales ran along its entire green body, its health points being displayed above its head, as well as its name, but Agil couldn't see it, though he knew by the look of the creature on what it was, and knew this was the one they had been searching for.

"Silica!"

Squall rushed to his sisters side, and helped her up.

"I'm okay Onii-"

"Look out!"

Agil warned as he jumped backwards, avoiding a large fist which smashed the ground apart. The debris headed for Agil as well, but he used his large axe to cut away the parts that came for him, cutting them to ribbons.

Another one came for Squall and Silica, threatening to flatten them.

"Onii-chan! Let's go!"

"Yeah!"

Squall and Silica turned tail, and ran as fast as they could, just in time avoiding the large fist that smashed the ground behind them.

""Gaaaaah!""

However, because of the shaking of the cave, both Silica and Squall fell to the ground this time, flat on their faces.

"Shit…" Agil cursed and went to their side, seeing another fist going for them. "Hah!"

With a hearty swing, Agil appeared just before the creature could hit them, his axe cutting the things fingers. Due to the cut and the force behind the swinging axe, the creatures hand was pulled back, Squall and Silica looking behind them to see…a large creature stood there.

"D-Damn, that thing is huge!"

Silica noted as she took out a dagger, returning to her feet. She twirled her dagger in her hand, and readied herself.

"That thing, is our target, right? Doesn't seem like a level one monster to me..."

Squall brought out his one handed sword, and had a shield equipped on his other hand. Just holding the sword, didn't seem right to him. He didn't know why, but the sword wasn't something that he liked in his hand, but he didn't know what else to hold.

Agil nodded his head, ready for a fight.

"That is our target. Come on, let's go. You both know the switch out system, right?"

"Yes!"

"In theory…"

Silica seemed determined, Squall not so much. But Agil didn't hear him, and went forward anyway.

He brought up his large axe, and went to swing for the creature, but the creature itself held itself highly, swinging its massive fist towards Agil. Agil managed to parry the fist with his axe, but the monsters speed was more than Agil expected, his other fist coming in strong and fast for his large body.

"Squall! Switch and defend!"

"W-Wait!"

Agil didn't heed his word, Squall having no choice but to switch and brought up his shield while hiding behind it so he wouldn't get hit, hoping the shield would hold on before the fist sent him flying away.

The heavy fist hit against the shield, pushing Squall back a little bit, but he somehow was able to stay on his feet. His body was pushed backwards, his feet being embedded into the ground, but he kept his stance on the ground, and allowed himself to stay on his feet, thankfully.

"Ooooookay! That wasn't weird! Someone switch with me please!"

"Onii-chan! My turn!"

Silica rushed from behind Squall, so he bent forward and allowed her to use him as a stepping stone.

She jumped on his back, then pushed off to give her extra height. Leaping into the air, her blade glowed a beautiful colour, and she went for a straight stab towards the creatures face, her eyes determined to defeat the creature.

"Grrrrrrr!"

The creature growled, bringing up its large fist. Silica, stuck in the air, didn't know what to do, fortunately Agil came running him, and did the same thing Silica did, only this time, Squall wasn't prepared for it, and was forced to the ground as Agil jumped on him, and then from his back towards the monster, Squall eating the ground.

"Try this!"

Agil brought his weapon up, it glowing a bright orange colour.

Because he headed at a lower altitude, he was able to get their faster, and swing his weapon at the fist, parrying it away from Silica, giving her ample chance to stab the creature.

"Silica! Now!"

Agil ordered, Silica nodded and spun her dagger in her hand, a familiar glowing coming to its blade, a lovely colour surrounding it as Silica's eyes sharpened on the creature before them.

"Now try, the Silica special!"

She was able to stab the creature in the face, causing it to take a few steps backwards, then she proceeded to slash at its health points a few times, bringing it down to around 75 percent, using its body to push away from the creature, landing on Squall's back, and jumped off, only for Agil to land on his back too, pushing him further into the ground, making a small crater with his body.

"Owww! Stop using me as a landing stand!"

Agil looked down, seeing his foot standing on top of Squall's head, then stood off his head, and muttered "Sorry…" and helped Squall up to his feet, the boys face covered in dirt, and shame as well as fear.

Once on his feet, Squall saw the monster for all its worth, and it was reading itself again, coming for them.

"Damn it, we haven't even been able to weaken it all that much."

Agil held an expression like he had just eaten a bug.

"Yeah, you're right about that. We have to get closer to it. Agil-san, you have to get closer to it, you've got the highest attack power."

Silica advised, and he agreed, all three pulling back as it swung for them, but missed them completely, even Squall managed to avoid it, but nearly stumbled on his feet, thankfully Agil caught him, pushing him on the back.

"Agil-san, Silica is right. We need you getting closer to it with your attack power."

"Yes, but my speed compared to Silica's own is…"

Squall thought for a few moments, and this one of the only times he actually was able to help, using his mind to aid them.

"I don't know about much things in this world, but Silica can draw its attention with her speed, right? She's shown fast enough to dodge faster opponents than this creature, so wouldn't she be able to give it then run around?"

"Yeah…Yes, I see now. If Silica does that, you can help defend her by switching out while I charge from a different direction. If I can get in a few good hits, I would be able to lower its health, and have either of you finish it off. Good idea Squall."

"Ooh Onii-chan, you might be bad at the game, but your mind is still good!"

"Ooh, thanks for the put down…"

He joked, but Silica took it seriously and put her hands together apologetically.

"I'm sorry Onii-chan!"

As she apologized, Agil brought up his axe, parrying the incoming attack from the creature, pushing it away from them. He went to bravely charge forward, but like before, the speed of the creature was too much, and it ended up going for a straight attack, him unable to pull his weapon in time.

"Agil-san! Switch with me!"

Squall advised, and Agil nodded.

"Switch!"

Squall leapt forward towards the creature as Agil pulled back.

Squall brought up his shield, and defended, pushing him off his feet this time, rolling backwards towards the others, his body then returning to the standing position, bowing his head to the others, both being mildly impressed.

"Wow, Onii-chan. You didn't lose any health points."

"Again, thanks for the vote of confidence. For this, I'm gonna have to deduce, ten points."

Silica stuck out her tongue but Agil pointed forward.

"Silica, go!"

"Waah! Okay!"

Listening to Agil, Silica went forward on her fluttering feet. The monster raised his fists and went to strike from the left. Silica pulled backwards, avoiding it, then jumped into the air when the creature tried to attack with its other fist, Silica's body being in the air, the fist passing under her body, the girl smiling to herself.

"Silica, it's coming again!"

Squall advised as he saw Agil rushing forward, readying to attack.

Silica returned to the creatures outstretched fist, then did a backflip, the monsters hand unable to grab her. It swung its arm outwards, the one resting on the ground, hoping to catch her off guard, but Silica announced "Switch Onii-chan!" which he did with clumsy feet, falling forward, but somehow was able to bring up the shield, blocking the attack, though because it was poorly blocked, and the strength of the swing, Squall's body lifted into the air, smashing against the back of the cavern, lowering some of his hp from 100 percent to 93 percent.

"Onii-chan…"

Silica went to aid her brother, but he shook his head.

"Continue! Give Agil-san the time to charge and strike!"

Though she wanted to help her brother, she readied herself, and lunged at the creature, bringing out her dagger.

Squall returned to his feet as the creature did a multitude of punches towards Silica. Squall was amazed when she was able to move her small body around the battlefield quite like a pro, though she was always fast and it helped in this game too.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"

The creature became more annoyed, so it brought both of its hands upwards, tightened as tight as they come and came crashing down on Silica.

"I don't think so!"

Silica kicked off the ground, adding to her speed, and forced her body backwards towards Squall, her elder brother catching her as the hands slammed against the ground, causing the cavern to shake, Squall using his sword like a wall behind his feet, stabbing it into the ground so he and Silica wouldn't fall over.

"I got you, don't worry." Silica smiled as Squall noticed Agil being close to the creature. "Go Agil-san! Do it now!"

"Got it!"

Agil brought up his weapon, and slashed at the creatures leg. The creature howled and went to strike Agil, but the man swung again at the creature, bringing its health down each time by 20 points, so by the time he managed to get three swings in, its health was brought down around 35 percent.

"Onii-chan! Help me!"

"Ooh God, okay, let's go!"

Squall took his sisters hand, and spun around, making him feel dizzy. Adding speed with the spin, he released her towards the creature, falling onto his butt as she took her dagger at the killing position, swinging rapidly at the creature.

"Try this, and this!"

Silica's little, but timed slashes, cut the monster again and again. The monsters chest received these slashes, but couldn't do anything to attack her as Agil had jumped, and parried the arm away from her, Silica doing the same to the other hand.

Returning to the ground, both Agil and Silica kept parrying the fists away from it, and now saw that the monster only had 5 health points left, the eldest of the trio turning back to Squall, seeing him get up off the ground.

"Squall, finish it off!"

"Ooh…I'm not good at…" With a look from Agil, he silenced himself, and readied his blade. "Okay, I'm ready! Let's do this crap!"

Squall swung his sword inexpertly around, and ran forward.

As he ran, Silica and Agil continued parrying the attacks of the creature, giving him ample time to strike down at the chest…but there was a snag.

"Ooh shit!"

His foot got caught on a stone formation on the ground well hidden so he didn't see it until the last second where he wouldn't be able to move his foot, and he fell forward to the ground, his hand releasing the sword and like an arrow, it shot for the creature.

"I don't think so! I've got it Onii-chan!"

The creature saw it coming, so pulled away, but Silica saw the blade too, and jumped upwards, hitting it from down below, to change the trajectory of the blade, and before the monster could react, the sword pierced the monsters head.

It released a howl, and slowly blue polygons appeared around it, until it burst into said polygons, disappearing into nothingness.

"Wow, we did it!"

Silica cheered as the rewards came to all of their screens. Silica looked on as she saw that she had levelled up, smiling happily. Agil saw that he had levelled up as well, glad that he had levelled up. Squall also received a level up, but he was behind the other two.

Squall raised his head from the ground, and got off the ground, pulling his foot out of the rocks, strolling over to the sword he unintentionally threw, picking it up, and sheathing it, sighing and fell to the ground again.

"Mouu, that was really difficult."

"Don't worry, you did great."

Agil assured Squall, but he was less than confident.

"No, you two did great. I was just...there. I erm…helped I guess…"

"Onii-chan, don't feel down. We couldn't of done it without you!"

Squall smiled weakly, but he was sure that he didn't do much to contribute.

"Yeah…hey, what did we get anyway?"

Agil hummed in thought, and brought his hand up, scrolling through the items they received.

"We got quite a bit of Cor…we got something called a Rosette Stone, whatever that is, and some of the creatures…meat."

"Ewww, we got its carcase then?"

Squall boiled it down, earning a nod from Agil, Silica looking quite displeased, but did think the Rosette Stone was pretty.

"From reading, what it says here, it is a good level of meat."

"Awesome sauce!"

Silica said as she hugged her elder brother.

The boy looked at the pair of them, and smiled sadly.

"They really are great…even after everything Agil-san has taught me…it just seems Silica is getting it way easier than I am…at this rate, she's going to become awesome and I won't even be able to protect her…what kind of Onii-sama can't do that…?"

Not wanting to worry them, the boy just smiled at the pair of them.

"I think we should head back into town for the time being. Maybe in a few days, we could venture to another town."

"Sounds good to me! What about you Onii-chan?"

Squall petted his younger sisters head.

"It sounds great, Silica."

Silica smiled happily, and the three returned to town once Squall and Silica gathered some of the green illuminating moss that Silica loved.


It was the next day, and Squall, Silica, and Agil were on a field once again, trying to level themselves up. While they had taken care of most of the enemies, there was a single one that remained, and all three of them had nearly full health, full in Agil's case, Squall having the least health, but it still was in the green.

"Eat sword bast-" Squall ran forward, but his foot got caught on something, and he went forward, stumbling on his feet. "-aaaaaaah! Agil-saaaaaaan! Look out for the love of God!"

"Aaaah!"

Agil let out an unnatural cry as Squall nearly impaled him through the chest. If it wasn't for the fast reaction time that Agil had, he would've been stabbed through the chest, his axe blocking the blade from entering him, Squall's face hitting the ground, eating dirt as he groaned out.

"Owwww…"

"Onii-chan, we don't feel pain here."

Silica said as she noted the boar coming closer, bending down to pat her elder brother on the head in a comforting way.

Squall didn't lift his head at first, talking into the dirt.

"I don't care, that still hurt my memory of feeling pain while falling down. The only good thing is that I don't feel it physically, but your body and you're naturally going to cry out when falling, being stabbed or whatever, even if you don't feel pain. It is a natural reaction, no matter what happens."

Squall said as he looked upwards, seeing the boar coming closer. It didn't have much health left, but even a weak enemy like that was still quite the worrying thing to him, as he really didn't know how to fight in the slightest.

"Ooh, I see, so that's why I see people crying out sometimes…"

Silica noted, briefly forgetting with the incoming boar creature, but Agil didn't.

"Ngh."

Agil looked at it charge for them, so he brought out his axe and went forward.

A beautiful orange like colour surrounded his giant axe and he swung for the creature, hitting it in the side of the head, bringing down the creatures already low health to near zero, sending it backwards, skidding across the ground and came to a stop near a large tree.

Agil returned to the side of the others, and looked at the girl of the group.

"Silica, why don't you go and deal with it, show your Onii-sama how it is done. If you're lucky, you should level up soon. Since the experience we got from that creature yesterday, did push us up a level, and close to the next one."

Agil advised, Silica raising her arms above her head happily.

"Yes! Leave it to me! Watch close Onii-chan, I'll show you how it is done!"

Silica rushed forward, and twirled her blade around, a beautiful style that Squall couldn't deny at all.

The creature she ran at was a boar creature, that was low on health.

Her blade glowed yellow, and she went to the boar.

"Try this!"

It charged for her, but she jumped to the left, avoiding the charge of the creature, and slashed for it.

The boar had the motion and speed to pull away from her, and lunged for her.

Squall was about to do something, but she blocked it with her dagger, protecting her health bar. Some lights came off the blade that she blocked with, Squall's eyes looking downwards at how she seemed to not, know it.

"Damn it…seems like she can take care of herself…better than I can do anyway…"

He muttered, something Agil caught, but didn't question it right now.

"Hah!"

She pushed the boar away from her, making it stagger, which she used to rush to the side of the creature.

Catching it off guard, she impaled the dagger into the side of the boars head, bringing the health bar of the creature to zero.

As it did, the boar burst into a brilliant array of flashing blue lights, disappearing. Once it had disappeared, each of them got flashes before them, telling them the experience they got for hitting and such, and Silica got an announcement on her own.

"Ooh yeah!" Silica cheered as she did the peace sign. "I'm level 5 already! Isn't that awesome Onii-chan!?"

Silica cheered even more due to the fact that she levelled up. Squall looked at his own level, feeling inadequate at only being level 3, while Agil was level 8 already. He was ahead of them, Silica wasn't that far behind, and he was…very crap.

He knew he wouldn't be good at it, but just seeing that he was a lower level than his sister, it made him feel useless, but he couldn't show it on his face. He didn't want to look like a loser for not being able to even keep up with his sister, when he was the older one and kept saying that he was going to protect her, when she was the one that was a higher level and no doubt would protect him in the long run.

"Y-Yeah, that's totally awesome."

He tried to sound upbeat…but it didn't sound so upbeat to him. In fact, it sounded like he was depressed, but thankfully, Silica didn't notice the shift in tone, and walked over chipperly towards her elder brother.

"Look, we got some cool items Onii-chan."

Silica showed a happy smile, as Agil sighed himself.

"Cool items indeed…"

"Something wrong, Agil-san?"

Squall asked, seeing how his eyes had lowered, and the way his face told a story of sadness.

Agil didn't know what to say at first, he didn't want to worry the teens around him, as that's what they were.

But, he also knew of the mature level that Squall had, and even Silica to a degree, and felt alright about expressing his worries.

"It's nothing…but this place…I can't believe that it has really been a week since we arrived here. Seven days, and nothing has changed…nothing at all."

Squall saw the unhappy look in his eyes, and he knew why, with his wife being back in the real world. He must be missing his wife, that's what Squall was thinking about right now, and he couldn't blame him. Squall himself was missing the human world as well. There, he didn't have to worry about death, no more than normal ones anyway. But each time he steps outside in SAO, he had a very real chance of dying.

Silica laid her head on Squall's arm, and hugged his arm gently, a small tremble in her fingers told Squall how frightened she was, even if she didn't show it half of the time. In fact, since the first time she cried, he hadn't seen her cry, openly, since. But of course, he knew she cried, just when she thought he wasn't looking at her.

"Ooh, but we've been here, like a week now, and so many things have happened here. It feels like reality is blending together with the normal life now, doesn't it?"

"It is easy to think like that when your new reality is virtual. The graphics of the game are quite real, even around us right now, it looks quite well if I do say so myself."

Agil commented as he sat down with the others.

Squall got off his face, and sat down on his butt, Silica sitting next to him.

The three of them looked around at the scenery, and how despite the game tries to make it beautiful, it didn't feel like that to Squall. He already longed for the day that he would be able to get out of the world, and get back home. But the reality of that slipped away each day that they spent there.

"You're right about that. I know it has been a week, but it sounds weird that I've kinda, got used to just, flicking my hand, and bringing up the menu to do things. I still feel like going to the bathroom sometimes, even if we don't feel like that here. It just feels so natural, to be unnatural here, if that makes sense?"

"It does, make sense, unfortunately."

Agil sighed again, while going through his items to see what he had, and what he might needed for the future. It eased him to do this, not wanting to even think much about it right now, trying to keep his mind busy.

"A week here…and so many people have already died…isn't it closing in on one thousand now?"

Squall asked Agil, the man nodding his head slowly.

"It seems that this game was harder than expected, or some just…well, some just committed suicide. I, can't blame them for doing that, especially with the prospect of staying here indefinitely, until we die anyway."

"Suicide was bound to happen, and people that came here, like me, probably didn't have any experience with the game. I know that if I came out here alone, I would be dead right now. I owe you my life, Agil-san."

That's how Squall honestly felt, and bowed his head respectfully towards the huge man before him with the large axe.

The twenty something year old allowed a smile to appear on his face.

"Don't worry so much about it. It is alright. Truthfully, I didn't know many people here either, and the people I did know, just went off on their own. Speaking of going off on their own, it seems that some people are complaining about the beta testers taking all of the best hunting spots."

"But, they left that free book guide thingy in the shops though, didn't they? Even we have some, see?"

Silica produced the exact book she was talking about, about the tips, and what they might need for the future as well on floor one.

Agil nodded seriously at Silica, and continued on.

"People are looking for people to hate right now, and while it isn't right, they just naturally go to them, those who had been here before. Though, even some beta testers have also been killed since the beginning of the game, so they really aren't these all invincible monsters. At least, I've heard at least a few beta testers died just the other day while trying to tackle a particularly hard quest."

Squall tightened his hands together as Silica was saddened by that, but she also remembered that Kirito was still alive, and some of her other friends, who didn't want to join up with the party that the three of them had formed, for some reason, even Silica didn't know why that was, preferring to go alone.

"Men, women, teen's, and children have died in the past week alone. Some, are even turning to the dark side, and I've heard of…orange players, where they do criminal acts, and such, yes?"

Asking Agil with a clear and honest question, the man nodded his head.

"Yes, that's right. Committing a crime like that would give them the orange curser. I don't know the legitimacy of this, but there have been a few people calling themselves…what was it again…something to do with laughing I think, and they've been committing crimes."

"Best stay away from them."

Silica said, Squall nodding his head, and was tempted to slam his hand against the ground.

"God…this world really is awful. I'm sure that Akihiko bastard is looking down at us right now, and having his own fun right now. I swear, if we met in the human world…I would so do many things to him that would get me arrested. If you think about it, this is probably the biggest hostage situation that has happened within memory. Ten thousand people…maybe even in recorded history, I've never heard of anything like this before, and it pisses me off that we don't even know why he is doing this."

It always annoyed Squall when he didn't know why people did what they did. If he knew why, then it would put his mind at ease, at whether Akihiko was just evil, or insane, both, or even just doing it for entertainment. Whatever the reason, Squall would like to know what was going on with Akihiko right now, if he was looking down on him or not.

"He's a madman Onii-chan. He might not even have a reason beyond what he said before. He just wants to be a God in this weird world, Onii-chan. You don't have to think about it so hard and get an answer."

"I suppose not. But it just makes me think about why he was doing what he was doing, it just didn't make sense to me. well, either way, it seems that you've become stronger Silica, you've even become level 5. That's amazing. I am sure your boyfriend would be proud."

Silica's face lit up bright red, and she shook her face from side to side.

"N-No Onii-chan! I haven't even seen Kirito-san since that first day! I don't even know where he is right now!"

"Probably, doing what others are doing, and training, while we sit here, and talk."

Agil looked around, and saw that there were nothing to hunt.

"We've got no enemies around, and we've been doing this for several hours now. We could head back now for the day?"

Wanting the opinion of the others, Squall and Silica nodded their heads at the same time.

"Sounds good to me."

"Yeah, let's go and relax!"

Agil smiled to himself, and the three of them stood up, walking back to the town of the beginning's, having set up shop there, so to speak, since it was the easiest place to spend their time together, it was also safest.


Once making it to town, Agil had left to go and procure them a room for a night, two rooms in fact. One for himself, and one for the siblings. Since he was the oldest, he could get the best price for them, simply because he had the best level headed attitude between them, and he was smart at these kind of things, plus Silica and squall thought it would be best if he got them.

Silica faced Squall as they walked through the surprisingly empty street, and showed a cute smile.

"Onii-chan, while Agil-san does that, getting us some rooms with the shared Cor that we had, I'm going to get us some food with the some left, okay Onii-chan? We have to eat, you know Onii-chan? I'll get us some food?"

"Eeh, sure. Want me to come with you?"

He offered, but the girl shook her head.

"Ooh no, it is okay Onii-chan, I'll meet you by the place we were teleported that time. Remember, the place that we agreed to meet with Agil-san?"

"Yes…I remember. Okay, stay-"

"Safe!" Silica said, a pang of sadness entering Squall's heart. "Yes, I know Onii-chan. Don't worry, most of the players have left the town anyway, to search for new and interesting things. It's safer staying around here, right Onii-chan?"

"Yeah…I guess so."

Silica this town noticed the dip in the attitude that he held, twisting her head to the side curiously.

"Something wrong Onii-chan? You look a little depressed all of a sudden?"

"Ooh, no. It's nothing at all."

It was easier to lie, than say the truth. He couldn't tell his younger sister how he really felt right now, it just seemed too depressing to tell his younger sister that he might not be able to protect her…no, he wouldn't be able to protect her.

"Are you sure Onii-chan?"

"Yeah, it is alright. Go and get the food, I'll meet you later."

Silica wasn't sure why but she knew that he was holding something back but didn't know what that was.

"Oh, okay Onii-chan, I'll be back soon then."

Silica felt reluctant to go, knowing something was going on, but she didn't know what to do about her elder brother. However, she felt like she needed to go, and give her elder brother sometime to think, about whatever her needed to think about, so that's what he did.

Once Silica had left, she left Squall to just wonder around at the areas of the town, seeing how people looked so frail, so scared, and frightened.

He knew that these were the people that were left behind, the people that didn't want to fight, or couldn't to the level of the others. Most where children, but some were just adults that didn't want to play the game anymore, but were too scared of death to commit suicide.

"Everything here is just so bad…I can't believe that they would be able too…no, it just isn't a good thing at all…this place is…it's just shit, how can anyone do this? This is just so fucking useless, and pointless. Even though I say that, what can I do? I'm clearly shit at this game, but if there's something that I do know, it is that I have to do something, become better, and do better things. I don't know what that is yet, but I know that we have to do something if we're going to progress…if I'm going to be able to protect my Imouto, I have to become better…but how do I do that? Agil-san is great at teaching me, but for some reason, a one handed sword isn't working for me. An axe isn't working for me…I don't know what type of weapon I should use. And this armour I have, isn't what I think is the best for me, I just don't know what to think about this anymore. I need to find a style that fits me the best. And this isn't the style. It seems that for now, my only trait right now is defending. That's what I did in that tough fight just yesterday…and today, I made rookie mistake after mistake. If I didn't know Agil-san from the outside, I'd probably be dead right now."

Squall continued looking around the area, having nothing better to do.

His mind kept being brought up with different and horrid thoughts. He couldn't, and wouldn't, want to even think about how he might die, because right now, he barely was existing, only backing up Agil and Silica, and he didn't want to be like that.

He wasn't the type to be like that, and just defend. He wanted to attack as well, but as he was, he wouldn't be able to do much to help anyone at all.

As he walked, he noticed that there were a bunch of people around and a few kids. The kids, couldn't be older than 10 years old, yet here they were, playing in a death game that, they didn't even understand about.

Squall couldn't help but feel sympathetic for them, and their plight. Just everything about them made his own heart hurt. How that could've been his own younger sister, how the children must be feeling right now, and knowing that realistically, most of them probably won't be able to survive for much longer.

"It's terrible, isn't it?"

A woman wearing rimmed glasses and a long blue dress said, her shoulder length brown hair waving in the wind. Judging on appearances, she looked around the early twenties type of age, and she had a gentle smile to her lips.

Squall turned towards her, and furrowed his eyebrows.

"You mean, the kids?"

The woman nodded her head sombrely.

"Yeah…the children here have no business being here, much less the rest of us. They are only children, and they have to go through something like this. I can't even imagine how frightened, psychologically damaging this would be to them."

Squall couldn't deny that she was right. If it was damaging adults the way that it was, the children must be suffering even more. He could only pity them, and want to help them somehow, but he didn't know what to do.

"Yeah…" Squall paused, and looked at the children again, seeing them struggling, and it brought a tear to his eye. "…those poor children, I can't even imagine being that young and going through something like this…damn that bastard Akihiko…" He looked at the young woman again and bowed his head. "Sorry, my name is Squall, it's nice to meet you."

"Ooh, I know who you are, sugar milk nipples~"

The girl practically laughed that out while swaying her body from side to side, unable to hold back her own guffawing.

Squall's face fell into embarrassment, his entire face turning red.

"Everyone keeps calling me that! I say it once, and everyone that walks past me, it is like "Ooh, it is sugar milk nipples, can I have a taste?" from even men and women! People want to suck on my nipples for some weird reason! Is that even allowed in this game!?"

He couldn't keep his anger back, but the girl couldn't forget what she had heard that day, and what had happened during that time.

"…Are your nipples-"

"No, they are not."

Answering directly as he knew what she was going to ask, the woman allowed a titter to escape her mouth.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be offensive, but you're quite legendary around here. You're the only one that had the guts to yell at the games creator and actually kind of threaten him, which does take some…hmmm, the word I'm looking for is…balls, yes. That's right, you have them in abundance, don't you? It was so funny when I heard you say "Why don't you suck on my sugar milk nipples?" or something like that. But, I have to admit, being brave like that, it really did take courage. Some might make it out to be foolish, but I thought it was courageous to stand up for all of us that didn't speak. At least, you showed your bravery and even tried to ask for death in exchange for your Imouto. In my mind, you're quite the good person."

Squall scratched his cheek, due to new embarrassment filling him up.

"W-Well, thank you…erm…"

He searched for a name, and the girl just looked at him for a few moments, then it came to her mind what he was trying to ask, but couldn't do, so she bowed her head respectfully.

"Oh, my name is Sasha, nice to meet you sugar milk…I mean, Squall-kun."

Squall frowned when she almost called him 'sugar milk nipples' but smiled at the gentle tone she used.

"Yeah, it's lovely to meet you Sasha-san."

The pair smiled at each other, glad to have met someone that they had met one another.

"So, Squall-kun…erm, since you seemed to be pretty rallied up when talking with Kayaba, what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean? What can I do?"

He genuinely didn't understand why she thought that he could do anything. He didn't even know what she was asking him to do. Beat the game? Save the children? What was he supposed to do? He didn't know at all.

Sasha shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know. But from the looks of the first day, and how passionately you spoke, I thought that you might be able to do something about this. Maybe, just maybe, I thought that you would be able to get us out of this game and save us all, and these children."

Squall was mildly surprised that she actually thought that about him, when he really didn't have any confidence in himself to do something like that. If he could do that, he'd very much like to do that, but right now, he wasn't sure if he would be able to do it.

Squall crossed his arms over his chest, and hummed to himself.

"That's a lot of assumptions for just looking at me once, and hearing my rant that was half crazed if going by that orange haired girls ranting over me, and yeah, I can see why she said what she said. Honestly, I'm bad at this game. I don't have anything that could make this better. I'm useless at this, my own Imouto is better at this game than me. It just seems like I'm all talk or something. Trust me, if I knew that I'd be trapped in a game, I would've actually played some when I was younger. But this is new to me, Sasha-san. I don't know what to do here. All I know is that my Imouto needs me, and I have to become better and beat the game, and if I can't do it, I want to be useful and help the person that can do this. Yeah, one way or another, I am going to help us get out of here, whether that me doing it by my own hands, or supporting the person that can get us out of here. Either way, I am going to do something about this..."

Sasha's eyes fell to the ground, losing some hope.

"I see…well, it seems that the children are going to suffer…"

The girl lowered her eyes so her eyes couldn't be shown to Squall, and he felt terrible.

He had so much willingness to help, but no experience. He didn't even have a will to fight at this point. His sister, and friend were better at the game than he was, and he didn't see any possibilities on getting out.

"No, they aren't going to suffer."

Squall made a bold statement, Sasha blinking with confusion.

"What do you mean?"

Sasha was in doubt, but Squall had already decided, unable to see the children in the way that they are, and couldn't accept how desperate they were, and since he was a responsible guy, he couldn't allow them to be in such a situation.

"I mean, I am not the best at this game, but they are children, and I can't leave them alone. I'm not the best, I'm not even good, but I know that these children need help, so I'm going to help them the best that I can, and you're going to help me."

"I-I am?"

Sasha wasn't sure, but Squall nodded his head, and took the girl by the hands. Her face turned slightly red at the grabbing of her hand, and even more so when his face came in close proximity to her own face, feeling it heating up by the second.

"You speak so passionately about these children too, so why don't we do something together? They need help, saving, and I don't see others lining up to do it. Come on, let's do this together Sasha-san, we can do this. Don't you believe in it?"

Sasha's eyes scanned his form, and saw the passion literally rolling off him, and inside of herself, she could feel her own confidence growing by the second.

"You're really serious, aren't you?"

Squall's head rose highly, bobbing along.

"Of course! This is what I've been searching for! Yes, this is it Sasha-san! We can do this, together! We can do this, and help these children not suffer! I might be crap at this game, but I'm not crap as a human, so let's do this, together!"

Sasha's face broke out into wide smile, her head bobbing along.

"Yes, I understand! You're right, no one else is going to do this, so we might as well give it a shot! Let's do this, together!"

"Great! Let's go Sasha-san!"

Together, the pair of new friends walked towards the children…


"Where is Onii-chan? It's been like an hour or something."

Silica complained as she and Agil looked everywhere, but she couldn't see and neither could he, where her elder brother had passed. She thought that he was just being late, half an hour ago, but now, he was too late, and it wasn't like Squall to be so late like this, so they both were understandably worried.

"I'll send a message, hold on."

Agil brought up Squall's name in his friends list, and send him a quick "Where are you? Silica is worried." and waited for the answer…which never came.

They waited for over ten minutes, and he pair of them were getting worried for his safety.

But since he was still in the party, they knew he wasn't dead, but even then, not knowing where he was, and with dangers around each corner, they couldn't help the worry that they held for him right now.

Not Silica or Agil knew what to do.

"Agil-san, Onii-chan isn't…"

She wanted some kind of reassurance, afraid of what could've happened

"He's not dead." He confirmed, and showed her the party menu. "He wouldn't be there if he was dead, or had cut off contact with the party. For some reason, he hasn't answered. I'm sure he wouldn't just up and leave, so if he isn't here…then where could he be…at the inn I got for the three of us?"

That was what Agil thought would be the most plausible explanation for everything that was going on.

Silica twitched her eyebrows, trying to make sense of everything as she paced on spot.

"Onii-chan wouldn't leave like this, he is a good person. But if he did just leave…no, there must be a reason. M-Maybe someone has taken Onii-chan and are doing something weird to him! Onii-chan might be in danger right now! Someone could've kidnapped Onii-chan, taken him away, and molesting him! Agil-san! Onii-chan is getting molested right now by some weirdo girl that would do things with his 15 year old self! H-He's probably crying out right now for my help! Don't worry Onii-chan, I won't let any pervert take you away from this!"

Silica panicked, and stomped her feet on the ground comedically. Her eyes bulged, her body expanding with air that she sucked into her lungs, almost hyperventilating. Somehow she didn't hyperventilate, but she felt like she was going to do that soon if she didn't confirm where Squall was, her elder brother's safety being her number one priority.

"Silica, calm down please." Agil asked, Silica feeling tears forming in her eyes. "Just think about it…hmm, if Squall was to go somewhere…he'd either be…eating, sleeping, or talking with someone that he…maybe knows…that last one is a big of a stretch. So, he could be…training? No, even Squall isn't that stupid to do it alone when knowing his own limits. He probably has gotten side tracks. Let not assume the worst before finding out our other options have been exhausted. Come on Silica, we'll go to the inn first, and go from there if he isn't there, alright?"

Silica nodded, worried for her brother even more than before.

"Y-Yes, I understand. W-We should go and see if Onii-chan is at the inn…Onii-chan, please be at the inn."

Saying the last part to herself, Agil and Silica both began running towards the inn to see if Squall was there, the pair hoping he was, and just was playing a joke on them or something. If it was a joke, it wasn't funny.

The pair of them ran through the city, looking around at the same time to see if they could see Squall, but they couldn't.

He was like off the map, he had disappeared, neither of them knowing where he could be right now, both wanting to have him right by their side, worried for what could be happening with him right now at this moment in time.

Nearing the inn, Silica and Agil stopped when turning a corner, the girl with orange hair appearing before them, walking casually, but stopped face to face with Silica and Agil.

Silica looked clearly at the girl, not wearing her hood this time, and remembered from the first day.

"Y-You were that girl bullying my Onii-chan, weren't you?"

"M-Me bullying him!?"

The girl almost laughed off the notion, but Silica pressed forward, inching ever closer to the girl, and poked her in the chest. Agil averted his eyes when it was clear where Silica was poking, the orange haired girls face turning red at the poking of her bosom.

"That's right, Onii-chan has been kidnapped, killed maybe, and you're here! Y-You did many things to Onii-chan, didn't you!? You stripped Onii-chan as he cried for me to save him and then you did many things to his body! Onii-chan! I am sorry I couldn't save you from being assaulted sexually and then dying by the hands of this lunatic!"

Comical tears sprang from her eyes, Silica putting her hands together and praying to the sky for the day that she would see her elder brother again in the future, wishing to have him by her side right now.

The girl looked shocked that she was being accused of what she was being accused of, and her body shook from left to right.

"A-Are you accusing me of stripping your Onii-sama, taking…advantage of his naked body…r-r-r-ra...f-forced intercourse, and then I killed him!? And I am NOT a lunatic!"

Silica's eyes fell downwards as she gasped so loudly, all of the people in the area stopped what they were doing, and looked as the younger sister of Squall cried even more than she had done before, pointing an accusing finger at the orange haired girl.

"Ooh my God, I didn't believe it until you just said it! Onii-chan! I'm so sorry! I didn't think that this girl would actually take your innocence then take your life! I wanted to be the one who made sure the girl you chose as a partner was right for you when this girl clearly isn't!"

The girls eyebrows twitched rapidly, her face heating up with anger, and embarrassment at the same time.

Agil looked away as Silica fell to the ground, a hand to her face for dramatic effect.

"Onii-chan, to lose your innocence to this girl, who looks insane, is so terrifying. But don't worry, there are Angels in heaven, and you can date a lovely Angel to forget the trauma of being forced into intercourse when you're a good person! I love you Onii-chan! Please enjoy the Angel's warm embrace! Forget the orange haired girl that destroyed your life, and enjoy yourself-"

"HEY!" The girl yelled, causing Silica to jump. "Stop saying I kidnapped, and did things with your Onii-sama, when I haven't seen him since…well, it hasn't been a while...I mean, it has been a while, and I don't know what you're talking about!"

Silica looked confused, Agil putting a hand to his forehead.

"I thought that this was the case. So, you haven't seen him since before? You haven't seen him today?"

"No, I've only just gotten back to town myself. I haven't seen him in a while…s-so, he's been kidnapped huh, it must be Tuesday…"

"What?"

The girl shook her head at Silica.

"I'll help you look for him."

"Why? Gonna do things with him to keep him silent?"

Silica accused, the orange haired girl giving sharp dagger like eyes.

"How can you say something like that? I didn't kidnap him, and I don't know why I would. Anyway, I think that we should split up and search for the baka. Knowing him…w-which I don't, but if he's as weird as I think he is, then he's probably…sleeping, or eating."

Agil was amazed that she came to a similar conclusion to the ones that Silica and he came to beforehand.

"That's a good idea. Silica, go with…"

"Asuna."

The newly named Asuna introduced herself, Agil nodding.

"Go with Asuna-san here, and I'll go to the inn. I'll message you if I track him down."

"Okay Agil-san! Come along, Asuna-san, so I can keep my eyes on you, and so you can't try and do things with Onii-chan."

Asuna rolled her eyes, and then walked off.

Silica muttered "Wait…" and chased after her, Agil turning his head to the side with a complicated expression on his face.

"Weird…it seemed like she cared…I wonder why?"

Agil didn't understand, and he chose to not give it anymore thought, going towards the inn to search for Squall.


Asuna and Silica walked through the town silently.

While Asuna just didn't say anything, Silica wasn't sure what she should say. She was sure that Asuna was hiding something, it was written in her eyes how she was hiding something. But for the life of her, Silica couldn't figure it out.

Asuna had other thoughts in her mind, a hand on her rapier beside her. Silica noted that, hoping she wasn't going to use the blade on her body, not wanting to become a pincushion.

"Where did you see him last?"

Asuna broke the silence, Silica shrugging her shoulders.

"He was heading towards the shops, but I don't think he'd be there all that long."

Silica told the girl, Asuna furrowing her eyebrows.

"Well, it is a good idea to look over there as well."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right."

Silica obeyed, and followed after Asuna.

As they walked, Silica couldn't get out of her head…why, Asuna was helping.

What did she gain from this?

The last time she saw Asuna, it was when she was arguing with Squall, now she seemed to be concerned. It didn't make sense to Silica as to why she was doing this, but at the same time, Silica was slightly glad that she had someone helping her other than Agil.

"Excuse me, Asuna-san."

"Yes?"

Asuna answered the call, Silica humming as she thought of what to say, coming to a conclusion within seconds.

"Why are you helping me find Onii-chan? Don't you like, hate him for yelling at Kayaba Akihiko or something?"

"I don't hate him." She explained, turning a corner and saw an old Church in their sights. "I just didn't think that he made the right decision to shout at someone that could, essentially wave his finger, and end his life by taking him offline. I mean, don't you also want to keep your Onii-sama safe from doing reckless things?"

Silica slowly was coming to a conclusion as to why Asuna was helping out, and answered the girls question.

"Onii-chan does reckless things because he cares. Even though Onii-chan is really smart, he allows his heart to lead where his brain should instead. But that's what I admire about Onii-chan. I mean, I didn't see anyone else saying anything to Kayaba, and told him off for, essentially imprisoning us. It might've been rash, but Onii-chan was standing up for all of us, not just me, or you or anyone, but everyone. That's how Onii-chan is…but right now, Onii-chan feels sad…and I think I know why…"

"Why's that then?"

Asuna asked for the answer, and while hesitant, she felt like she could tell Asuna.

"Onii-chan is out of his element here. The only time we played a game together was when we were really young, and it was a really old game. After what happened with Onii-chan…he didn't seem to want to do much after that…until…no, it doesn't matter."

Silica avoided the topic matter, but Asuna didn't seem to let it go straight away.

"What were you going to say?"

Silica shook her head at the intrigued Asuna.

"N-No, it's nothing! But Onii-chan is really protective over me…because of what happened after what happened…Onii-chan thinks that it is his fault for what happened when I didn't blame Onii-chan a single time. Since then, Onii-chan tries his best to protect me and make sure that I don't cry anymore. But here…I think Onii-chan might feel sad that he can't do anything for me on a physical level of protection over emotional one, because he isn't that good…and that's not me being cruel, but even Onii-chan has said he isn't good…and it isn't Onii-chan's fault…he'll get it eventually, he just thinks too hard about it. I know Onii-chan can be good, because Onii-chan is the smartest ever, even smarter than adults I know."

Asuna listened intently to what Silica said, and while she didn't know some of the aspects of what she was talking about, she understood that she was depressed about how her elder brother felt about being inadequate to protect her.

"It sounds like you really love your Onii-sama, huh."

The girl noted while having a kind smile on her face, Silica putting a hand over her heart, speaking candidly.

"Of course I do! Onii-chan is the best in the entire world! He's always kind, brave, loyal, and always makes everything bad go away that wants to make me cry. A-And, he loves embarrassing me greatly around certain people that won't be mentioned, but that's how Onii-chan is."

"Yeah, I guess he did huh…"

"Hmmm?"

Silica's eyes lingered on Asuna, but the girl shook her head from side to side.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it."

Asuna avoided the topic and continued walking.

As they neared the old looking Church, they both heard noises coming from inside it, turning towards each other.

"I thought that this Church was abandoned."

"I haven't seen anyone going into it for a week, since we got here, so I assumed that it was too."

Asuna explained, Silica's curiosity getting the better of her and moved closer.

Asuna also felt the same pull, and moved closer. While walking closer, more and more noise could be heard, voices. Neither female could work out if it was a male, female, or what kind of voice it was. But as they neared, more voices emerged to their ears.

"Aaaaah! Don't make me do that!"

Silica and Asuna gasped, looking at the other.

"That was Onii-chan's voice!"

"He's being tortured!"

"Onii-chan! We're coming to save you!"

Deciding that he was in danger, the girls let out a warcry and burst through the Churches doors.

""Unhand him at once you vile fiends!""

The girls declared while raising their fists upwards, ready for a fight.

The room continued to be bursting with noise despite the shout, Asuna and Silica looking inside and saw…something weird.

They saw, children, all running around the area, fixing it up. Other children seemed to be playing games with one another, like tag, or other things like that. They appeared to be enjoying their time together, as did some children that were eating food together, joyously praising themselves for a 'job' well done.

They saw Sasha, but didn't know who that was, comforting a small child that didn't even look 10 years old, giving her head a small pat.

They continued to look around, and finally, they saw Squall running around with two 10-11 year olds on his back, his arms outstretched like he was attempting to fly, a jolly smile on his face.

"W-What's going on here?"

Asuna couldn't figure it out, Silica just relieved that Squall wasn't dead right now.

"Onii-chan is safe, that's the best."

"I guess…but same question, what's going on here?"

"I have no idea…but it looks…almost homely, don't you think?"

Asuna absentmindedly nodded, and walked forward. Silica followed after her, taking in the sights of the Churches room. With unknowing thoughts, they went towards Squall, who only had noticed their presences when they came towards him.

"Ooh Silica, unknown girl. What are you doing here?"

"Onii-chan!" Silica leapt into his arms, hugging him tightly. "Onii-chan, you disappeared, and I didn't know where you went!"

Squall's eyes turned apologetic, petting the girls head softly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that I was causing problems. I was a little busy helping Sasha-san set this up for these children."

"Sasha-san? Who's that?"

Asuna seemed genuinely intrigued, her eyes opening and closing at the same time, unsure of what she should think.

At the hearing of her name, Sasha herself came strolling over.

"Oh, hello there. Squall-kun, y-you know these people?"

"Yeah, this is my lovely Imouto I was telling you about, Silica." He pointed to Silica, and then Asuna, his hand stopping with a perplexed look. "And I don't know her name. She keeps showing up and with between yelling at me, being nice to me, falling on me, and everything in between, I haven't decided who she is and what she wants."

"My names Asuna, Sasha-san, and it's lovely how you talk about me, Squall-kun is it?"

Sarcastically, Asuna folded her arms, Squall's eyes slightly widening.

"Asuna…san…why does that name sound so…Asuna…"

"Hmmm? Did you say something Onii-chan?"

Squall shook his head at his younger sister.

"No, it's nothing. But like, yeah. Sasha-san and I met about, maybe two hours ago now, and we were talking about the children around the town, and how they just, aren't ready for combat, that's when we both thought about how we could improve these children's lives, what we could do, and I finally found my raison d'etre!"

"Raison…d'etre? What's that mean?"

Silica wore a confused face, so Asuna informed her.

"It means basically, a reason to live. At least, that's the short answer."

"As you said, Asuna-san! I realize that I'm not a good gamer, yet, but I am a good human being, and I couldn't allow these children to just die off, be left to the wild. These children haven't done anything, and I hardly see it as fair to leave them alone, send them to fight or whatever, and let them just perish. No, I couldn't do that. Sasha-san actually gave me the idea, and we both took it from there, and came to this abandoned Church, and the rest is basically history. Of course, I am going to go continue training to get out of the game because that's my main goal and that's never going to change, but I've found out that protecting these children is also something that I want to do, and gives me a sense of purpose. And it is all thanks to meeting Sasha-san here!"

No one noticed it, but Asuna's eyes showed a very slight jealous look when he referred to Sasha, the girl herself smiling softly at Squall.

"Ooh Squall-kun, don't be silly. You're the one that made this happen, not me."

"But you gave me the idea. Without that, this wouldn't be happening."

Sasha pushed Squall playfully, Asuna's eyes on the pair of them, Silica tilting her head to the side.

Asuna then looked around, and smiled to herself.

"You know…this is a very good idea…yeah, this is a lovely idea. It makes a lot of sense for this to happen, since children don't belong on the battlefield like this. You did good."

"Aww thank you Asuna-san!"

Doing something unexpected, Squall hugged Asuna unexpectedly, excited by what was happening, Asuna's face heating up as Silica adopted a sly grin.

"Ooh, so Onii-chan likes Asuna-san huh~?"

Squall gasped at his own actions, pulling away from Asuna, the pair looking off from the other.

""What…?""

Both replied in unison, Silica giggling and making her hands look like a camera, and taking 'pictures'.

"As some would say, it's a kodak moment! Smile for the camera lovebirds!"

""Don't say that Silica/san! We're not lovebirds, he's/she's crazy!"" Asuna and Squall looked at one another, sparks going off between their eyes. ""I'm not crazy! You're crazy, baka! Don't call me a baka, baka! Grrr! Stop copying me!""

Silica and Sasha giggled to one another, as Asuna and Squall continued the stare off, Silica mumbling "I ship this so hard~" drawing glares from the pair. Silica giggled, and took a few steps backwards, and the pair resumed their glaring at the other, but also…something else.


End chapter!

So, that's the end of the second chapter! Squall is taking quite a different route to Kirito in this, where Kirito usually works alone, Squall can't do that just yet, or he'll die. And even then, he is doing his own thing by helping the children. However, that doesn't mean he's just gonna hang there, it gives Squall some motivations for future chapters I have planned out, and how he'll be increasing his combat abilities from the pretty poor ones in this chapter to where he can stand on the likes of high level players in the future. And yeah, Silica's skills are better than canon, though that's apart of the backstory I have for those two, which was hinted at in this chapter, expanded on more later, but she isn't going to be Asuna level, but not far off.

Now, for the pairing's...wow, first of all, thank you for everyone who voted! And it pretty much was a unanimous vote, so, I shall have it as Squall x Asuna x Leafa all the way! Their relationships with Squall are going to be quite interesting to develop. As it can be shown in this chapter, Asuna and Squall have a certain, something going on, more of that later on.

Well, with nothing else, until next time! Thanks for reading!