Engage

On the way to Port Ferox, Kazuto and Robin quickly became fast friends, spending as much time together as not. Robin respected both Kazuto's swordplay abilities as well as his tactics. Kazuto, on the other hand, respected Robin's ability to quickly befriend people, and he relied on the blond man to help him get to know the other Shepherds.

Asuna also befriended Robin and impressed him with her own tactics, but she found herself spending a fair amount of her time with Cordelia. Both of them found much common ground in the sense that they both knew what it was to have enormous expectations placed on one's shoulders. Cordelia was also very interested to know about Asuna's love life with Kazuto, leading the younger woman to suspect that the pegasus knight had unrequited feelings for someone. It slightly reminded her of how she felt about Kazuto shortly after their investigation.

Yui spent a good deal of time with Lissa, learning all that she could about the arts of healing. She also tried to befriend Lon'qu upon Lissa's request to help him over his fear of women, but thus far she had little success. For some reason, the little girl put him on edge even more than most women.

The family themselves spent most of their time together around a meal, sharing their experiences of the day. Sometimes they were joined by one Shepherd or another, but for the most part they spent their meal time in quiet companionship.

The night before they were to approach the port, Asuna saw Kazuto hunched over a piece of paper, a look of intense concentration on his face. "What're you doing, Kirito?" she asked as she sat beside him.

"I'm drawing something that I wanna show to Robin," he replied, scarcely looking up.

"Oh, really? What is it?" Kazuto straightened in his seat and slid the piece of paper over in response. Asuna was surprised to see a very accurate drawing of his Elucidator and Dark Repulsor swords.

"Wow," she said. "I didn't know that you could draw this well."

Kazuto shrugged with a slightly sheepish grin. "Well, normally I can't," he admitted. "But if what I'm drawing is something that I'm really familiar with, I can do an okay job."

"You did more than just okay!" Asuna said as she passed back the drawing. "But why put in all the effort to make that?"

"Well, I was having a hard time describing the type of weapons I used to have," Kazuto explained. "So he told me that if I could draw what they looked like, he would try to get me some weapons closer to them than the ones I've got now."

"What, you don't like your swords?" she asked with a puzzled frown.

Kazuto made a negative gesture and said, "No, it's not like that. I like them great, they're good weapons. They're just not what I'm used to."

"My goodness, you're spoiled," she said as she shoved him playfully. "Most people around here would kill to have these quality blades, and here you are wishing for better."

Kazuto shrugged in response. He couldn't think of a rebuttal to her comment, especially when she was right. So instead, he placed a hand on her cheek and said, "Well, here's one thing that only gets better." And he kissed her softly, to which she happily responded.

After she broke off the kiss, she placed her head on his chest and smiled. "This reminds me of our honeymoon in Aincrad," she said quietly. "Just you and me. Teasing each other without a care in the world."

"That was nice," Kazuto agreed. "This is nice. It's just too bad that we have to back to fighting again tomorrow."

"Kirito…" Asuna sighed. "You just had to go and ruin the moment by daydreaming about battle again, didn't you?"

"Uh… sorry?" he tried.

Asuna lifted her head and shook it. "That's not sorry enough," she said.

"Well then-" He seized Asuna in a tight embrace and kissed her again, this time with much more vigor. When she broke the contact this time, both of them were gasping for breath and smiling like the village idiots.

"Apology accepted," she giggled. "But let's not make a habit of that. We wouldn't want one of these guys to come in and give them an opportunity to make fun of us."

"If getting laughed at is the price I have to pay for one of those, I'd be more than happy to pay up front," Kazuto grinned. "I'm a solo player, remember? Jerks mocking me doesn't bother me."

"Well, I wasn't a solo player," Asuna sniffed, although he could see that she was trying not to smile. "And you aren't solo anymore either."

"Yeah… Although since I'm being paired up with just you, I don't really mind," Kazuto shrugged. "It'll be like when we cleared floor seventy-four with Klein's guild."

"Hmm, that's true, I guess." Asuna agreed. "Although hopefully no one dies when we take on the boss this time."

"Yeah," Kazuto winced at that memory, and the fight against the Skull Reaper. "I don't want to see that happen… Ever again." His features tightened, and Asuna knew that he was once again remembering the Moon-lit Black Cats.

She hated to see him inflict upon himself again and again, even more than three years after it had happened. She hated it even more how he could go from being so cheerful and full of life to being depressed about his failures so quickly.

Kazuto noticed her concern and gave her a tired smile. "I'm sorry," he said. "It's getting late, and we might have a battle on our hands tomorrow. We should probably get some rest."

"Yeah," Asuna said quietly. "I guess you're right. Sleep well, okay?"

"You too," he replied. Then he added, "I love you, Asuna. Tell Yui I said good night for me, 'kay?"

"I will," she said with a tired smile. "And I love you too."

The next day, the Shepherds were all startled to see smoke rising from their destination. Chrom urged the soldiers to move double-time when they began muttering amongst themselves, consulting with Robin and Frederick in low tones.

When they reached the harbor, they were all horrified to see a powerful-looking cavalry casually cutting down anyone that got in their way. Chrom immediately declared war at seeing the massacre, despite Frederick's cautions.

When Robin moved to start giving commands, Kazuto moved to stand beside him. "I want to make sure you know one thing," he said before Robin could say anything in the way of giving commands. "If things look bad, Asuna and Yui are my priority. That's how I fight, no matter the mission. All right?"

Robin had to smile at the grim-faced young swordsman. "I wouldn't have it any other way," he replied honestly. "Here in the Shepherds, we look after one another, starting with those closest to us."

Kazuto nodded sharply and said, "Stay sharp out there, got it? I wouldn't want to see a guild member die on me again."

"I will," Robin said with a slight wave as Kazuto began walking away. "Just stick to the maneuvers we planned, and we'll all be okay."

"You got it," said the Black Swordsman. "Just tell Lissa to keep an eye on Yui, would ya? She has a bad habit of putting herself in danger for Asuna and my sake."

"Again, I will," Robin said. "Now get going. Things look like they're about to get ugly."

Kazuto and Asuna were assigned to be in a small squad with Lon'qu. The Feroxi swordsman's face was mix of intense emotions as they looked over the scene on a rooftop, with rage being the most dominant. The sight of his people and home being slaughtered and burned was driving him to a rage. A cold, silent, and precise rage.

Kazuto knew the look all too well- it was the same one that he had worn when dueling the mad Fairy King Oberon. In a way, he appreciated the look. It meant that he could understand Lon'qu's pain. And a comrade that one understands is the best kind.

Robin gave the 'attack' signal.

The three sword-users wasted no time in charging out and engaging the horse rider units. The cavalry was taken by surprise when two attackers dropped down from the rooftops and landed on a pair of riders, sending them crashing to the earth. Kazuto and Asuna leaped off their victims, rolled, and sprang up from the ground. Lon'qu came right after them and stabbed the downed people with disturbing precision.

The three then moved to engage the rest of the squad before they could put their steeds to work in giving them momentum. The lances would have been hard for many people to work their way around, but not these three. Asuna and Kirito were the strongest players in Aincrad, and Lon'qu was the top swordsman in all of Ferox, both east and west. Even if Valm did have the strongest cavalry force on the planet, no one was going to take these three down with a single squad.

When a man did get some momentum against them, Asuna got his attention with her rapier while Kazuto ran a few steps up a wall and then leaped off of it to strike the soldier down with his twin blades. Lon'qu then finished him off with the removal of his head.

In this manner did they proceed until they reached the ship that had brought the invaders. Lon'qu eyed the commander with distaste and hatred, obviously wanting nothing more than to be able to charge up the ramp and kill the dastard, but he was too much of a soldier to break his orders. He would wait until he was told to attack again.

The rest of the Shepherds wasted little time in making it to the ships. When most of them had gathered, they all heard Robin's command to advance up the deck. The two pegasus knights, Sumia and Cordelia, took to the air and began casting spears and magic at the remaining enemy soldiers, giving their comrades a chance to advance onto even ground.

Lon'qu's group went straight for the commander, the Feroxi's face tight with rage. As the man saw the trio approaching he shouted, "You are all nothing! A speck of sand under the heel of the mighty-"

His words were cut off as Kazuto leaped high and struck the man off of his horse. The animal bolted in terror, leaving the man cursing at the steed until he noticed Lon'qu. The man was charging straight at him, his sword describing a large circle as it built up more momentum.

Desperate to stop the charging madman, the commander tried a quarterstaff parry with his lance. But Lon'qu's sword was not an ordinary one. No, it was a gift from a distant relative in Chon'sin, and one of the finest katana ever forged. It sheared straight through the lance and continued down to end the invader's life.

When the battle was over, Lon'qu walked up to Kazuto and said, "Thank you for your assistance. You have little idea how good that felt."

Kazuto grinned and said, "You're welcome. Make sure you thank Asuna, too. She's half the reason that I'm any good."

Lon'qu flinched and said, "I cannot. Pass on my thanks for me, if you would."

"What?" Kazuto said. "Why won't you tell her yourself?"

"I have my reasons why I can't," the swordsman said cryptically. Kazuto was about to press him when he saw something in Lon'qu's eyes that struck him as disturbingly familiar. It was a look that he had seen reflected in the mirror from his own eyes whenever the face of Sachi haunted his dreams.

"You lost someone, didn't you?" he said quietly.

Lon'qu was startled- no one had ever accurately guessed the reason behind his fear of women before. "How did you-?"

"Because I lost someone close to me once," Kazuto said quietly. Lon'qu suddenly saw the same pain in his heart reflected in Kirito's eyes, and he knew that the young man was telling the truth. "Her name was Sachi," the boy continued. "And my arrogance got her and my other friends killed."

"Then we are alike," Lon'qu said. "I was also… overconfident… in my abilities. This led to the death of my friend."

"What was her name?" Kazuto asked bluntly.

Lon'qu appeared to be struggling with whether or not to speak for a moment before he finally said, "Ke'ri. Her name was Ke'ri, and she was my closest friend. And she is the reason that you won our duel the other day."

"Wait, what?" The sudden change in subject caught him off-guard. "What does your friend have to do with our duel?"

"Your daughter, Yui," Lon'qu said tightly. "She looks much like her. Like Ke'ri. And when I saw how much she adored you, how much she wanted to see you win, I could not bring myself to give it my all. I couldn't bear to see an ounce of sadness on her face. So I put on an act to fool everyone present."

Normally, Kazuto would have been furious, and demanded a rematch. But in this case, he couldn't even come up with a reprimand. The story was just too sad.

"Oh…" he said finally. "Then… how did you overcome your fear of Lissa? You don't seize up whenever you're close to her.

"It was… not easy," Lon'qu admitted. "But while she looks nothing like her, Lissa's kindness reminded me of my childhood friend. It made me feel less uncomfortable around her."

"Okay, then," Kazuto nodded. It made sense to him. "Hey, Lon'qu? I need a favor."

"Name it," the man replied gruffly.

"The next time we spar, don't hold back any more than I did, okay?"

This gave the Feroxi pause. "Why would you request this?" he asked slowly.

"Because I know it doesn't matter to Yui if I win or lose to a friend, as long as I gave it all I had. And because until I fight you for real, I'm going to have a feeling of unfinished business. So will you make me that deal?"

"Hmph," Lon'qu scoffed. "Very well. When our time and our bodies permit, I would be honored to spar with you once again." Then the two swordsmen shook hands to seal the pact.

Later on, Kazuto received word alongside his family that they would be marching on to Plegia in order to seek aid against the Valmese. This gave him pause, and he said, "Hey, hold on a sec. Weren't you guys fighting each other a couple of years ago?"

"Yes, but circumstances have changed- we hope," Robin replied. "Now get some rest. We're leaving early tomorrow morning, and it'll be a couple of weeks until we get there." Then he left to go spread the word.

"We hope?" Asuna repeated. "That's not exactly a resounding endorsement. How do we know that these guys won't just kill us when we get there under the pretense of an alliance?"

"We don't," Kazuto sighed. "But we'll just have to trust that Robin and Chrom know what they're doing."

"Hmm…" Asuna said. "This reminds me of S.A.O. in a few ways."

"What got your attention this time?"

"Well, the fact that we all don't even know each other that well, but we can trust one another with our lives in battle reminds me of the first floor boss fight," Asuna said. "You know what I mean?"

"Yeah," Kazuto smiled. "I think I do."