Hey guys! Wow, almost a month since I updated this. I know that I edited it into this section of the last chapter, but here's why I haven't been posting lately: I got swamped with rehearsals and auditions, and I actually got cast in a second show (Les Miserables, suckers! YES!). I also finally started writing my own show, so that is also going to be taking up a lot of my time. So expect updates to be a bit more spaced out and a bit more random. Stick with me guys!
The next day was almost as awkward for Kirito as it had been when he had first started partying with Asuna. She had left earlier that morning to bring all of their gear to Lisbeth for "spiffing up", as she put it, and Kirito was stuck trying to cheer up Klein. Which, for the record, he had no idea how to do.
"She didn't even leave us any breakfast…" he grumbled, sighing at his own inability to cook. Klein was still sulking, in a chair by the kitchen table. He looked up wearily as Kirito pulled another one next to him and sat down.
"What am I supposed to do, Kirito?" his voice caught at the end of his sentence, as he was trying not to start crying once more.
Kirito thought for a moment, and carefully replied, "You have to remember them, Klein. And you have to do it well. You are the only one who knows the whole story of how they died. You owe it to them." At least they didn't hate you at the end, he thought to himself, bitterly.
Klein's eyes were shining as he rested his head on the table. His shoulders shook with silent sobs, and Kirito sighed. He felt bad for Klein, but honestly, social skills were not his forte, and he had no idea what to do.
Suddenly, a soft bing! sounded in his ear, and a small, glowing circle appeared in front of him. It was a message from Asuna.
Need your help up here at Liz's, it read. Slight…issue.
The familiar chime of the door opening rang through the store as Kirito and Klein entered Asuna and Agil were in the corner, trying to comfort a sobbing Lisbeth.
Kirito walked over and kissed Asuna and kissed her on the cheek. "What's wrong?" he murmured in her ear.
"Liz has something to tell us-" she was cut off by Liz pulling both of them into a hug and sobbing into Kirito's coat. Kirito pointed at her and mouthed to Asuna, what? She just shrugged.
"Uh, Liz," Kirito said, placing a hand on her head. "What's wrong?" She managed to pull herself together to look up at him and smile.
"S-sorry," she said. "I've just been keeping this a secret for a while. I need to tell you guys, but it's easier to show you."
By the time the five of them arrived at the Town of Beginnings, Lisbeth had completely calmed down. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Klein, who was still considering the world through a blank gaze.
They walked to the outskirts of the city and found a group of the boar-like mobs Kirito had originally taught Klein to kill the first day of SAO.
"Okay!" Liz spun around and held out her hands to them all. "Someone hand me their weapon." Because he loved to tease her, and he knew that not being strong enough would annoy her, he drew Eluciadator and dropped it into Liz's hands.
She flashed him a smile. "Nice try," she said, twirling the sword like a twig.
Kirito laughed. "Upping your strength, eh?"
"You have no idea. I am a blacksmith, after all." Liz took a shaky breath. "Ok, what I'm about to do is crazy, so just pay close attention, OK?" She pressed the icon next to the sword that opened up its statistics menu. "Look at the durability," she said. "It's at seventy-three percent, right?" The rest of the group nodded like the good little students they were. "Now! Watch my greatness." She whirled on her heel and faced one of the boars. Holding the sword with an easy casualty, she charged. Activating a Sword Skill, she swung in a blinding flash of light. The boar didn't even know what hit it, and it squealed in apparent outrage as it exploded into a mist of polygons.
The rest of the group clapped politely as Liz sprinted back to them, yelling, "No! I'm not done! Stop clapping!" She pulled up the statistical data again and pointed to the durability again. "Look!" Asuna gasped and covered her mouth as the rest of the group leaned in for a closer look.
"Ninety-three percent…?" Kirito whispered.
Even Klein had been shocked out of his grief. "Liz…" he said. "This is…GREAT!" He laughed like his old self. "Have we got an offer for you!"
"Oh, my God." It was around the thirtieth time Liz had said it after they invited her into the guild. Kirito, Agil, and Klein were chuckling lightly to themselves at her reaction, and Asuna had been the one to explain it all.
"How could you not tell me?" Liz asked, pointing an accusatory finger at her.
As the girls bickered, something began to scratch at the back of Kirito's mind. Unique Skills are given to one player in the entire game, he thought. Plus, there are only ten of them. There are almost five-thousand-eight-hundred people still alive in Aincrad. How is it that only the people I know are earning these skills?
Sudden realization ran through Kirito's head like a lightning bolt. He jumped over to Asuna to give her a quick kiss, then ran towards the portal gate, yelling, "I have to check something!" over his shoulder.
Silica had literally never been happier in all her time in Aincrad. She sat on a bench in the town on the sixty-eighth floor, surrounded by mobs. Eight different mobs, all of which she had tamed. There was Pina, of course, but there was also a dog-like creature, a small fish with four legs, a slightly larger-than-realistically-possible frog, a panther-like mob, a bird resembling a hawk, a small lizard with black and orange spots, and to the dismay of many hungry people and top cooks, a ragout rabbit.
With Pina on her shoulder and the rest of her "pets" by her side, Silica felt invincible. She made a "superwoman" face in the dark, daring any foe to come near. Nothing, no one could hurt the mighty-
"I guess now that you know about the Hill of Memories, you can afford to have all of these familiars." Silica sprang up so fast that she tripped over her own feet, falling flat on her face. Pina shrieked as they plummeted down.
"Haha, sorry," said the voice. Silica got to her feet and spun around to see who it was. Not a foot in front of her stood Kirito.
Silica's face flushed so red that she was sure she looked like a tomato. She was distantly aware of the Black Swordsman as he talked, but she was a bit more interested in the crossed blades on his back. The last time she had seen him, he was still keeping the Skill a secret and only fought with one. As amazing as he was with one sword, she longed to see a fight where he used both.
Silica snapped back to reality (or whatever you could really call the world of Aincrad) when she realized that Kirito had stopped talking and was looking at her funny.
"Y-yes, of course!" she said, nodding confidently.
"Uh, I, uh…asked how you were doing…"
"Oh! Heh," she felt her blush spread to her ears. "I'm- I'm doing great! I mean, look at all of my pets!" She spun in circles, laughing as she took in her faithful companions, all of which she had worked hard to tame. Kirito watched, amused by her childlike behavior. She didn't really look like Suguha at all, but he would never tell her that, as that was how they met, with him telling her those words exactly. He still couldn't quite pinpoint why that had tumbled out of his mouth, but it had, and now he couldn't do anything about it.
Silica was still playing with her familiars, so Kirito shifted his weight to the other foot and cleared his throat awkwardly. Silica immediately stopped spinning and faced him, her face red again, embarrassed by getting carried away.
"Silica," Kirito started, "I, um, need you to do something for me." She blinked slowly.
"…Okay, what?"
"I need to see your list of Skills."
Silica's breath caught in her throat, causing her to emit a small cough. "W-why?"
"Just trust me," he said, and stepped closer.
"Um, 'k…" Silica's voice was wavering, but she opened her window anyway and made it visible to him. Kirito scrolled through the list until he found a Skill he had never heard of: Beast-Tamer.
"Damn," he cursed under his breath.
