Confrontation and Identification

(Ep 16 Part 2/17 Part 1)

For the most part, the emotions of the four other players present varied quite wildly from each other. The Sylph girl, who had her katana hoisted over her head, was filled with a resolve to not surrender; the leader of the attacking squadron had an attitude of I don't have anything against you – it's just business; and the other two seemed to have an almost sadistic anticipation at the prospect of fighting a female opponent.

The one common factor to all of their thoughts was surprise. After all, a Spriggan equipped with nothing but starter gear had just crash-landed in the middle of a fight near Sylph territory, and he seemed much more concerned with the landing itself than the fact that he was surrounded by hostile players.

Kirito's next words only reinforced their confusion. "Hold on, since when is three big guys against one girl a fair fight? That's just so uncool."

The two subordinate members of the squad, eager to let out their pent-up aggression, switched their target to him. "You askin' to die, noob?" one challenged him. When he just stood there smirking, the Salamander tightened his grip on his lance and his attitude turned predatory. "Your funeral, then." He charged at Kirito, his partner hanging back to prepare his own attack.

His surprise skyrocketed to triple its initial level when Kirito used his transferred Martial Arts skill (renamed Unarmed Combat in ALFheim) to activate Parry (aka Guard) and catch the tip of the lance bare-handed, halting its momentum completely. His aerial position then worked against him, giving him nothing to brace himself against as Kirito threw him backwards into his companion, the collision disorienting both of them.

Heck yeah! Kirito thought as the adrenaline rush of battle started flowing again. He rotated his shoulders a few times to warm up the muscles, turning to face the Salamanders' former quarry. "You mind if I clean up here? It's been ages since I've been able to really let loose."

The Sylph shook her head incredulously. "If you really think you can do that, then go ahead. It's not like they were gonna let you just walk away after this…"

Kirito grinned and took a stance that was quite familiar to him after his years in SAO. As he did so, Serena caught a brief flash of could that be – no, it's probably just a coincidence from the Sylph. He then kicked off, his massive Speed stat combined with his almost-Mastered Sprint skill blurring him into invisibility before he reappeared several meters past the Salamanders.

"I'd give that an 8.5/10." Pikachu remarked from within his Inventory Slot, the custom settings on Ash's helmet having transferred him there from the Pokéball as soon as they logged into the game. "I know he can't help it if his scabbard is in the wrong place, but it's less dramatic if you don't sheath your sword just before the damage triggers." Just as he said that, the Salamander on the left erupted into flames and faded into a Remain Light, the energy of an impending Teleportation beginning to pool around him.

Kirito turned around, still grinning, and faced the other two Salamanders down. "All right, who's next?" Catching the growl from the one on the ground, Kirito nodded in his direction. "Okay, you then." Since Sprint was still on cooldown, this time he was slow enough for the Sylph to track – and even so, his reaction speed was still surprisingly fast, perhaps even slightly familiar…

The second Salamander erupted in flames, and Kirito rotated his head to address the leader. "How about you, Mister? Care to test your blade against mine?"

Thankfully, Kagemune (the name had flashed through his mind automatically as Kirito had addressed him as 'mister') knew when to bluff and when to fold. "No thanks. My Magic skill is almost at 900, and I'd rather not suffer the Death Penalty now."

Kirito chuckled. "Well, at least you're honest about it. I won't attack you if you don't attack me, but there's still the matter of this damsel whose honor you have maligned by ganging up on her. How 'bout it? You still wanna take him on yourself?"

The Sylph couldn't help but marvel at his audacity – both how nonchalantly he spoke to the two of them and the way he shamelessly mixed highbrow speech and informal vernacular. "You're safe for now." she told Kagemune, lowering her katana with a sigh. "But next time, I'll be sure to beat you."

The Salamander chuckled, his answer making it clear that he didn't think he could face her one-on-one. "Then next time I'll make sure to bring more friends." he told her, beginning to ascend.

And who's to say she won't have more friends too? a voice asked in his head, causing him to look down and almost lose control of his flight in surprise. Not only were the Sylph and Spriggan still there, but now he could see an Undine and a Pooka in the clearing as well. He congratulated himself again on choosing a tactical withdrawal over combat, pushing his wings to give himself more speed.

Kirito was about to say something, but Serena sent a wave of it's not safe to talk yet in his direction, having calculated the time required for each Remain Light to achieve the energy density necessary to Teleport it to its hometown. After several more seconds, the two lights faded and the Sylph relaxed slightly. "All right, we're safe to talk now that their Remain Lights are gone." she told Kirito. "So what next? You want fear, gratitude, some kind of reward?" She raised her sword again. "Or maybe you want to fight me now, is that it?"

Kirito chuckled internally, remembering when Asuna had a similar attitude towards people. Lighthearted joking had helped her relax back then, so maybe it'd help break the ice now. He crossed his arms, pretending to be affronted. "Hold on, what are you talking about? Isn't this one of those whole 'knight in shining armor saves the princess' scenarios? I thought the next line in the script would be 'the princess bursts into tears and throws her arms around the knight gratefully'…"

The Sylph warrior scoffed, her eyebrow twitching. "As if!"

"You know, she's right." Serena told him, walking out from behind her alongside Ash. "I don't think your own 'noble lady' would take too kindly to that."

"Yep!" Yui chimed in from Kirito's pocket. "Only me and Mommy get to hug Daddy!"

The Sylph's emotion turned to surprise again, especially after she heard an invisible voice calling the odd Spriggan 'Daddy.' Narrowing her eyes, she saw a small figure dart from his pocket and land on his shoulder, and they widened again. "No way!" she exclaimed, rushing forward to get a closer look. "Is that one of those private Nav pixies?"

"Ehh, kinda…" Kirito admitted, scratching the back of his head nervously. "Her name's Yui."

Whatever he expected her to say next, her response was not it. "Wait a minute – is that you, Kazuto?"

"How do you know my real name?" Kirito demanded, stepping back defensively.

"It'd be kind of hard for me not to!" she answered. "An AI named Yui who calls you 'Daddy,' that stance you used during sparring yesterday – I'd have to be blind to miss it!"

"Suguha?" Kirito asked, dumbfounded. "But I thought you hated VRMMOs, especially after I got trapped in SAO…"

Suguha sat down with a thump. "I did, but I also got curious about what you liked so much about them, so I asked my classmate to suggest one that was a little easier to play for short sessions. He introduced me to ALFheim, and I liked the flight engine and the chance to actually use my kendo skills enough that I just kept playing. I even won a tournament here a couple of months before you got back!"

Kirito smiled, sitting down next to her and ruffling her hair (what little wasn't in her ponytail, anyways). "Aw, it looks like my little sister's growing up. Sorry I couldn't be there to see it, though. By the way, this is Ash and Serena. They're some of my friends from back in SAO." He turned his head to face the two of them. "Are you still using the same usernames, or did you choose new ones for this game?"

Ash shook his head. "Nope, still 'Satoshi' and 'Serena.' I've been wondering, though, how did Yui teleport us to where you were if her GM access was restricted to whatever Navigation Pixies have?"

"Oh, that's easy!" Yui piped up. "I linked your initial location parameters to his before I entered the game myself, which meant I still had the system authority to do so. That also explains why Daddy appeared here instead of the Spriggan hometown – since he was logging in from an IP address that was already connected, it messed up his own location data. By the way, I guess you are allowed to hug Daddy, Aunt Leafa."

"Leafa? I thought her name was Suguha?" Serena asked, confused, before it clicked. "Oh wait, I forgot about the whole 'most people don't use their real names online' thing. I understand now."

Kirito smiled. "Whatever the case, I'm glad I started out this game surrounded by people I can trust. By the way, Sugu, would you mind showing the four of us the fastest way to the big tree everybody here is so excited about? We think Asuna might be trapped up on top, and having someone around who knows the terrain would be a big help."

For a few seconds, the Sylph swordswoman thought he was joking. A look at their faces assured her that they were being serious, though, and she nodded resolutely. "Okay, I'll do it. There's a neutral town slightly to the north of here where we can get you better equipment."

"But why not Swilvane? Yui said that was closer…" Kirito asked as she stood back to her feet.

Leafa turned around to face him, mirth in her eyes and a look of mock horror on her face. "Oh my gosh, has my brother gone crazy? To even suggest something dangerous like that…" At his look of confusion, she explained. "Swilvane is in Sylph territory, which means you can't attack anyone there – but they can attack you."

"And we've got a Sylph escort." Kirito countered. "As long as we don't cause trouble, I think we should be safe."

"If you say so…" Leafa conceded, shaking her head. "All right then, let's fly!" She flexed her wings and prepared to take off, only to pause when Kirito asked her another question.

"Wait a minute, why aren't you using the Flight Controller?"

Leafa blinked. "You're saying you can't fly without it?"

"Well, to be fair, he only logged in about half an hour or so ago." Ash told her. "Think of it this way: if you teach him, you've got something else you can tease him about. Serena and I figured it out already, but we're just awesome like that." Suddenly, his head jerked and he rubbed the back of it tenderly. "Ouch."

"I know you don't really mean it, but I don't like it when you put others down in order to brag." Serena lectured him. "Sorry you had to hear that, Leafa."

"Don't worry." Kirito's sister reassured her. "Compared to the one-upmanship contests between the boys at my school, something like that is pretty much nothing."

Kirito himself just stood there, blinking. "Um, hello? Didn't you say there was gonna be a flying lesson?"

"Oh, right. Turn around, but don't access your controller." When he did so, Leafa placed her hand on his back underneath the sigil in the center of his wings. "You feel where my hand is? Now imagine virtual bones and muscles extending out into the wings, and see if you can get them to move."

After a few seconds of intense concentration, Kirito's wings began vibrating. "There you go, just like that! Now try it again, only harder!" As they picked up speed, a mischievous idea took root in his sister's mind.

"All right, now what?" he asked once he felt they were moving fast enough.

"Well, like they say, sometimes you gotta run before you can walk!" she replied, grunting the last word as she pushed hard on the center of his back.

"You've never even seen that movieeeeeee…" he yelled as his avatar was launched through the foliage and shot up into the sky. This was followed by several seconds of silence, after which Leafa (and Yui, who had fallen off his shoulder) ascended to check on him. "C'mon, Sis – this isn't funny!" he called as they came into view and started laughing at his corkscrewing attempt at flight. "How do I make it stop?"

Serena decided to oblige, grabbing hold of him in a Psychic grip until he managed to calm his wings down and begin hovering. They landed on a nearby cliff so as not to exceed the game's Flight Timer, and after that, it took him about 10 minutes of on-and-off practice to become respectably proficient in Voluntary Flight.

"Okay, it looks like you've got the hang of it now!" Leafa congratulated him, still chuckling. "Now follow me! You might want to take it slow though, since you're still learning."

As she took off towards Swilvane, Kirito set himself on a course to intercept her path and fell into place just behind her. "I don't know…" he said teasingly, once again comfortable enough to joke. "It wouldn't reflect too highly on me if I let my little sister show me up."

Leafa smirked impishly back at him. "All right then – see if you can keep up, but don't say I didn't warn you…" With a burst of energy, she shot off ahead fast enough to leave a miniature wave of displaced air in her wake.

Kirito matched her speed easily, waving jauntily at her as she looked back. "Is this really the best you can do? I've seen you move faster during a kendo match!"

She narrowed her eyes. "Oh, it's on." She quickly accelerated to the maximum Speed allowable by the system, expecting the mental energy necessary to maintain that speed to be too much for her brother.

Surprisingly, the three of them were able to keep up with her just fine – though when she thought about it, the fact that they were all SAO survivors meant that it shouldn't have been so surprising. Yui, on the other hand, had much less mass and so experienced a much higher wind resistance, which meant she had to land in Kirito's pocket again if she didn't want to fall behind.

"Hey look, we made it!" Ash interrupted, pointing to the town ahead.

"All right, we're gonna land at the base of the central tower." Leafa instructed them as they weaved through the hanging cables and elevated walkways that spanned the town.

Serena nodded. "Got it." She began mentally running through the steps necessary for a safe landing, only to pause when she sensed panic growing in Kirito's mind.

Leafa realized it at the exact same time. "I never taught you how to land at high speed, did I?" she asked apprehensively.

"No, you didn't!" her brother yelled back, temporarily forgetting how to work his wings in his distress.

"Whoops. I guess it's too late now, isn't it? Sorry bro, but you're on your own." She immediately cut back her speed, angling herself so she would land just short of the gardens at the tower's foot.

Kirito's yell as he plummeted toward those same gardens at high speed was audible throughout the entire town. "YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING MEEEEEEEEE!"

Omake: Classification: Game Breaker

Leafa smirked impishly back at her brother. "All right then – see if you can keep up, but don't say I didn't warn you…" With a burst of energy, she shot off ahead fast enough to leave a miniature wave of displaced air in her wake.

Kirito matched her speed easily, waving jauntily at her as she looked back. "Is this really the best you can do? I've seen you move faster during a kendo match!"

She narrowed her eyes. "Oh, it's on." She quickly accelerated to the maximum Speed allowable by the system, expecting the mental energy necessary to maintain that speed to be too much for her brother.

Her expectations were soon overturned by a shout from behind her. "Talonflame, use Tailwind!"

"But Ash, Talonflame doesn't even know Tailwind!" Serena protested as Ash materialized the avian Pokémon from his inventory.

That didn't seem to slow it down, though; somehow it still managed to generate the requested Tailwind and boost their cruising velocity to match Leafa's maximum speed.

"Geez Kazuto, what kind of friends do you have?" she complained good-naturedly.

"Sorry, I forgot you didn't spend the better part of two years interacting with their weirdness magnetism. This sort of thing just kinda happens around them."

Leafa sighed, shaking her head. "I guess that explains how he can have a Familiar even though he's an Undine and not a Cait Sith. Is there some kind of story behind that?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary for them." Kirito dismissed. "Just something that pulled them here from an alternate universe a couple of years back…" He drifted his way over into the slipstream remaining from the Tailwind and shot ahead, leaving his sister to eat his (fairy) dust.

"Hey, you can't just leave me hanging like that!" she yelled after him. "Kazuto? KAZUTO!"