Sorry for the long wait! Here's the chapter that you people have been waiting for! Please enjoy!

Chapter Three: Fond Memories of An Overgrown Plant

Kirito tumbled back to the ground from the force of my punch.

"Daijoubu[1], Kirito?" Kirito's redhead friend walked over to help him, but Reito stopped him with her right arm.

"Dude, you don't want to get in Haruko's way, trust me." Reito said seriously.

The redhead seemed as though he was still going to help Kirito, but after taking one glance at my murderous aura, he gladly stayed where he was.

"Damn, Haruko." Kirito grunted while rubbing his abdomen. "What was that for?"

I shook tremendously while holding my right hand in a fist. "You left me in a dungeon full of aggros. I should corpse camp you for how long it took for me to get out."

Kirito sweat dropped at me. "Wa-wait, it's not my fault, Haruko!" He frantically waved his arms around. "This is just a big misunderstanding!"

"Oh bite me!" I snarled. "We spent all that time together, only for you to abandon me when I needed you!"

I remember that day like it was yesterday. It was the last dungeon we ever took on together.

August 2022 (During Beta Testing)

Floor 6: Vitis

Vitis was a floor full of nothing, but tropical fruit trees, banana groves, and beautiful blossoms. You could hear the light, joyful twitter of birds and swim with the dolphins in the river.

Oh and it's full of aggros, did I mention that? Aggros that will chew you up and spit you back out.

And repeat.

And repeat.

And repeat!

And that's just the monsters in the daytime…

You'd be lucky if you could find an NPC here, not to mention one that would sell you crystals.

Basically, it was a floor fit for only those who want to do hardcore training. A "survival of the fittest" floor, I suppose. No one should expect a vacation in this tropical forest. And guess who was napping right under a mango tree?

"Ne, Kirito?" I watched Kirito as he snored.

I bent down and leaned near Kirito's face.

"Ki-ri-to!" I poked his cheek with every syllable.

"Urusai[2] Haruko." He swatted my hand away and opened his eyes, only to see my face.

"Whoa, too close!" Kirito backed up into the tree and bumped his head into the trunk.

"Itai[3]!" He rubbed his head and I stifled a laugh.

Sword Art Online hadn't really perfected their pain absorber function yet, so all the fatal injuries felt like you fell off your hoverbike, but all the small injuries were stuck as small injuries.

"It's not funny, Haruko!" He pouted at me and I couldn't hold in my laughter anymore.

Then, there were several thumping sounds coming from above us.

We both looked up and saw several oval-shaped yellow objects falling down towards us.

I moved out of the way easily, but since Kirito was sitting down with a headache, he got caught in the mango avalanche.

"Itai, itai!" Kirito winced with every drop of a mango.

By the time the mangoes finally stopped falling, I was rolling on the ground, laughing my heart out.

"I-it hurts, Kirito!" I cried, clutching my stomach. I sat up and wiped my tears of mirth, then pointed at him. "Probably not as much as that huge bump on your head though!"

The blackette simply huffed at me as the large, cone-shaped bump on his head flashed a painful red.

"OMG, I'm going to call you, Kirinto[4] with that horn on your head!"

"Are we going to conquer that dungeon or not?!" Kirito snarled at me.

I put my hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine."

Kirito lifted his arms up and I used my own to pull him up, digging the heels of my boots into the soil for balance.

He was soon standing up, so I let go of his hands, but then he wobbled slightly, rushing down towards the ground past me.

"Whoa!" I grabbed Kirito's wrist before he could fall to the earthy floor. "Still a little dizzy there, Kirito?"

"Looks like it," Kirito chuckled as I pulled him back to his feet, making the distance between us a bit closer as our noses grazed each other.

I looked down at his feet and put a hand on his shoulder to make sure he was truly steady on his feet. He seemed a bit shaky, in fact, his whole body was shaking slightly.

"You okay now?" I asked as I look up at Kirito, making our noses touch each other once again.

"Y-yeah," He nodded slightly, slightly flustered. A faint blush was noticeable on his face.

Is he still dizzy? I'm pretty sure the mangoes didn't hit him that hard.

I gazed at him deeply and leaned closer. "Are you sure?"

Kirito's face turned redder and he leaned back. "Yeah, I-I'm pretty sure."

"Great, then let's go!" I let go of his wrist and ran deeper into the rainforest. I stopped when I realized Kirito wasn't following and turned around, noticing him to be in a slightly dazed state.

"C'mon, slowpoke!" I yelled and he snapped out of his daze.

"I'm coming, geez!" Kirito started jogging towards me.

"Race you there, Kirinto!" I continued my previous running.

"Hey, wait a- Haruko!" Kirito started sprinting now as I laugh merrily.

"Wow," I stared at the dungeon doors in awe. "I knew it was big, but, really, not that big!"

Kirito merely nodded, stuck in a state of shock at the size of the wooden doors.

The dungeon's entrance was in the middle of a Kapok tree, and the doors were pretty big. About the size of Illfang the Kobold Lord to be exact.

I looked at Kirito and he looked at me. Simultaneously, we nodded and pushed the dungeon doors open together.

The cave was surprisingly small, the walls and floor was lined with large ivy leaves and empty strangely enough, no monsters coming to kill us, and no treasure chest, neither open nor close.

"What?" Kirito deadpanned while I blinked several times in disbelief.

"Kirito…" I drawled, looking at him blankly. "I thought you told me that we were the first people to enter this dungeon."

"Well, that's what Argo told me!" He retorted.

I huffed and put my hands on my hips, "It seems Argo is starting to lack in her talent."

Kirito slid his hand down to open the menu, sending a message to Argo about the dungeon.

I fiddled around with my sword when I noticed something glimmer for a split second in the back of the cave, behind some large vines.

"Hey, Kirito, did you see that?" I turned to look at Kirito.

"See what?" He looked up from his menu.

I sighed, "Never mind."

He returned to his typing as I squinted at where I had last seen the gleam.

The sparkle returns again and I pointed at it. "There! Did you see that now?!"

Kirito didn't even look up this time. "You're just playing with me, aren't you, Haruko?"

I pouted and crossed my arms, "I'm not!"

He continued to type, "Just use your searching skill."

"But I haven't leveled it up that much!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands into the air.

Kirito sighed and finally looked up at me, "Look, I'll check it out once I send this message to Argo and she replies back, okay?"

I exhaled heavily, "Fine."

With that, he tried to finish typing his message.

I resumed my act of playing around with my blade and noticed the glimmer once more.

I turned to look at Kirito who was still typing. Who takes this long to type, "Your information may be off?!" Oh right, Kirito!

I turned back to the glimmer that continued to flicker back and forth and looked around the dungeon. Well there are no monsters inside, so it wouldn't hurt to take a look…

I timidly took a step forward into the dungeon and nothing happens. The same reaction for another step. And another. Soon, I was in a full-blown stride towards whatever was creating that troublesome sparkle.

I was right in front of the vines, and crouched down to look at the mystery item closer. I pondered whether or not it would be a good idea to grab whatever was lurking behind them. For all I knew, it could be a freaking monster that the players before us missed and would love a Haruko hand for a snack. Not to mention the vines had large thorns that would no doubt injure me when I went to retrieve the item. Eh, what to do…

Oh wait, I have a sword.

I pulled my sword out of its sheath and slice and dice the vines into little pieces.

Not…

My sword broke on contact with the vines surprisingly.

I swore under my breath and heard a ping that signals a new message.

"Ah, Argo responded back to me!" Kirito noted, who apparently did not notice what just transpired with me.

"Oh really?" I laughed nervously. "That's great!"

That sword was the only one I had, never bothered to get another one since the Beta Test was only going to be two months, so I just used all my drops to upgrade that one. What a great idea that was!

Well, I wasn't hoping to use it, but I suppose I have to.

With a sigh, I slided down my hand to open my menu and selected an item in my inventory. A lantern materialized and I grabbed the handle on the top of it.

Lanterns use their durability quickly and the only way to renew it is to gather lots of fat from beast-type monsters. Really tiresome to make to, but the light they create is worth it.

Getting closer to the item behind the vines, I notice it was a sword, strangely enough. A completely white sword.

"Hey, Kirito!" I called to him while still staring at my find. "The sparkle was a sword!"

"A sword?" He replied in disbelief. "You're kidding."

"Nope!" I turned to look at Kirito, who was still reading whatever Argo sent him. "It's strange how the players before us didn't grab it; I mean it looks kind of pretty."

He nodded his head in response and I turned back to the sword.

Noticing a gap in the vines that was large enough for my hand to fit in without the possible harm of thorns scratching me, I put my right arm in, trying to grab the sword.

From behind me, I heard Kirito lightly gasp and shouted to me, "No Haruko, don't!"

"Eh?" I turned back to Kirito, who was running towards me, and slightly grazed the blade with the tips of my fingers.

A brilliant light shined from the sword, making me yelp and drop my lantern, the latter falling to the ground and breaking into pixels.

Some unknown force pushed Kirito and I slowly back, then suddenly sent both of us into the air. Kirito lands outside, far from the dungeon entrance, and me into the inner dungeon wall near the center of the cave.

"Ow…" I rubbed the back of my head. "Now I know how Kirito felt when I woke him up."

Looking up, I noticed the vines, which originally caged the sword, suddenly moved and thrash about, lashing out at the ground and making small chasms in the earth.

"Haruko, get out of there right now!" Kirito yelled from outside of the dungeon.

"Okay!" I sprinted towards the entrance, towards Kirito, towards his figure that was running towards me.

But the vines were faster.

They shot past me and hit the doors, pushing them close with a loud thud, right as I reach them.

"Darn it!" I pounded at the door with my fists.

"Haruko!" I heard Kirito call from the other side and something hit the door, making a vibration against it. "It's a trap!"

"No, really?" I replied sarcastically. "I thought it was just a plant scared of its privacy!"

The dungeon is just a player killing trap," Kirito continued, ignoring my comment. "That's why there were no monsters and that sword was left behind. Argo just got the news from some other players!"

"Well, that's great to know and all, Kirito, but…" I sighed, sliding to the ground and leaning my back against the door. "I'm still in here."

"Don't worry, I'll get you out of there, okay?" He said, panicky a bit.

"It's fine, I'll just teleport out." I smiled faintly at the frightened tone in his voice.

"Neither of us have crystals, remember?" His muffled voice sounded through the wood.

"Oh right, forest…" I laughed nervously.

"I'll go get some help." Kirito stated.

"It's okay, Kirito, I'll just respawn in Grandon City[5] when I die." I remarked and closed my eyes. "Besides, you and I both know how I hate to be the damsel in distress and you don't have any social skills whatsoever."

"Well, I guess I better go learn some." With that, I hear soft muffled footsteps that were moving away from me.

I exhaled and shook my head. "Mattaku[6]."

That guy tries too hard sometimes. But then again, he knew that I had claustrophobia. A fear of closed spaces that could quickly escalate if he couldn't get me out in time. I could panic and faint if it became too long. I could go psycho and possibly kill myself. And Kirito knows all of this. After all, I've done that before, right in front of him too.

I heard some movement and opened my eyes in time to see a green blur zooming towards me. I jumped to the side as a vine slammed into the ground where I previously was.

"So you finally decided to attack me, huh?" With a breathy laugh, I did a mix of several front and back handsprings to avoid the incoming vines.

Noticeably, although the vines attacked me, they still somewhat guarded the sword.

I hummed in thought as I continuously dodged the vines.

"You know, I wonder what happens if," I held the last letter for a while and jumped into the air and over the vines. "I grab that white sword you're trying to guard there!" Then snatched up said item.

The vines stopped moving and for a split second, I was relieved. But that was before they went ballistic and something big just bursted out of the ground.

"You have got to be kidding me," I sweat dropped, looking up at the behemoth of a monster that now shadowed me.

The creature was a big flower with dirty white petals lined with putrid yellow teeth. It stood on green thorny vines, obviously the ones that tried to kill me earlier. It took up about half of the room, the half that I was currently occupying.

I breathed heavily as I was pressed up against the wall.

"Stop it, body!" I smacked my hand at my heart, trying to stop its frantic beating. "Not the time to flip out about claustrophobia!"

I looked up higher to see the name Torpid Gladiola[7], a red diamond cursor, and 3 health bars.

"Chikusho[8]," I muttered under my breath. "This is so not going to be fun."

With a loud bellow, the plant shot vines in my direction.

"Yup, definitely not fun." Using one hand, I fended off the incoming vines with the white blade.

A torrent of vines followed me as I did zigzag jumps between the plant and wall.

I turned to look at the vines behind me and smirked, "You can't catch me, you overgrown houseplant!"

I laughed and turned back around to the front, only to smack into a vine and fall to the ground, getting a face full of dirt.

"Itai…" I lifted my head and rubbed my nose.

Another vine grabbed me around the waist, pinning my arms to my side.

"Ok, I may have spoken too soon." I struggled in the Torpid Gladiola's tight grip.

As I moved closer to the mouth of the monster, I tossed the sword into the air and caught it, changing the position of the blade from downright to upright and stabbed the vine that was holding me. It recoiled and I dropped down to the ground, miraculously landing safely on two legs.

Remember when I said the vines went ballistic when I grabbed the sword? Well that was just a minor fit; this was the mother of all tantrums.

The plant roared and goes into frenzy mode, since it had apparently gotten down to its last health bar.

Pieces of rock and ivy fell from the ceiling as the plant used its vines to rapidly whip everything around it.

"Freaking super plant!" I snapped furiously and decided to slice the vines that were too close for comfort to me and ran around the plant.

I thought back to how my own sword broke on contact with the vines and quickly came up with a plan.

"Hey, over here!" I waved at the Torpid Gladiola, hoping to get its attention.

The flower turned to me. "Yeah you, you daisy!"

I make a "come at me, bro" gesture with my hand and smirked, "Take your best shot."

Several vines came towards me and I ran underneath the plant to avoid them.

They still tried to reach me and I deeply pierced the vine closest to me with the sword, making the plant withdraw that particular vine with me along with it.

I took the sword out of the vine when we were directly above the mouth and dropped, feet first, taking a trip down the Torpid Gladiola's gullet.

As I went down, I stuck my sword into the flower's throat, using the force from the dive to slice the gullet in half.

With its final health bar hitting zero, the Torpid Gladiola gave one last dying screech of pain before vanishing into multiple bright clusters of light. Somewhere, in its final cry, I heard some other noise mixed in there and the noise still continued to this moment.

Oh, it's my own scream. Whether it was of victory from defeating the monster or fear of almost dying, I don't remember, but I know that I felt that I had never been so alive until that moment.

Never.

I know, I know! I feel how evil I am for ending the chapter here too, but it felt really good ending it here too, so I suppose you guys have to wait until the next chapter to find out why Haruko hates Kirito so much ( ^ω^ )

R & R and please stay tuned~!

Until next time! ～（ゝ。∂）

[1] Daijoubu = Are you okay?

[2] Urusai = Shut up

[3] Itai = It hurts

[4] Kirinto = A play on words with Kirito and Kirin, which is basically East Asia's version of a unicorn.

[5] Grandon City = Supposed Eternal World name for Floor 5

[6] Mattaku = Jeez, really, basically a general expression of annoyance

[7] Torpid Carnation = An overgrown white flower that is the Midlevel Boss for Floor 6.

[8] Chikusho = Damn it, in general