Reality Imperfect: The Sisters' Tale

A Sword Art Online AU

Written by: Konsaki

23 Nov 2022 - Day 17

She woke with a sharp intake of breath, brown eyes snapping open to find herself in a dark room, a flash of panic gripping her heart in its icy grasp.

As the seconds passed, with nothing but the sound of her own heartbeat pounding in her ears, the dread slowly ebbed away to leave her laying in a cold sheen of sweat.

Moving slightly, she found herself in a comfortable bed, surrounded by warm downy covers.

Another spike of panic lanced through her before she groped herself, relaxing the moment she found she was still fully clothed.

Taking another breath, she forced herself to calm her heart.

In the following silence, she was able to finally hear the soft even breaths from others in the room with her. After a minute of waiting, she eventually recognized that the other people were just sleeping, the one to her right rolling over in a separate bed, mumbling in her sleep about 'tempura'.

The other was towards her feet. If she strained her eyes in the darkness, she could barely make out a large figure in a chair, head slumped to their chest in slumber.

Taking another slow deep breath, in through her nose and out thinly parted lips, she slowly pulled back the covers, exposing her to the cool night air of the room. Slowly sliding to the edge, she flipped her legs over the edge and carefully fumbled about, trying to find and put on her shoes. A groping hand found her sword propped on the nightstand.

Standing up, she quietly latched the short sword to her hip and started padding towards the door.

"Leaving so soon?"

"Eh!?" She squeeked, jumping back from the person in the chair, tripping enough to fall sitting on the foot of the bed she just left. "W-who are you?! W-where am I?!" She hissed at the voice, a shaky hand gripping her sword.

"We found you passed out in the Labyrinth and brought you back to Tolbana with us." The voice, a female voice, explained. The woman shifted to look at the other bed and the person sleeping in it. "Let's step outside. My sister will be mad if we wake her up."

"O-okay." She agreed, watching the woman stand and let the blanket fall from her shoulders, leaving a much smaller figure than expected. Standing as well, she blinked as the woman opened the door, flooding the room with light from the outside and revealing the woman to be a girl around her age with shiny raven hair tied up in a long ponytail.

"Come on, let's get you some food." The girl offered, stepping away and letting her out of the room and into the hallway of some hotel of some sort.

o0O0o

"Feeling better?" The raven-haired girl asked, sipping at a cup of hot tea. Her having long since finished her plate of fried fish and pickled radishes.

"Yes… thank you." She whispered in quiet appreciation, having spent the last new quiet minutes slowly but surely cleaning her plate that held eggs and potatoes.

"I'm Kiriko." She introduced herself before gesturing upwards. "My sister, Leafa, is still asleep. She volunteered to watch over you through the evening before we switched." She hid a giggle behind a hand. "If we woke her right now, she'd probably prank us in revenge."

She couldn't help but hide her own small giggle at the thought of a little sister pranking her older sibling. Considering she 'was' the little sister in her family, she knew what they could get into. "Yuuki Asuna. Thank you for taking care of me."

Kiriko blinked her steely blue eyes in surprise. "Ah… Most people keep their real names private, Yuuki-san." She blinked again as her statement caused the brunette girl to blink her own brown eyes in surprise. "Um… What's your character's name?"

"Ah… Um…" The obviously inexperienced player touched her index fingers together in embarrassment, a light blush on her cheeks. "It's Asuna…"

The dark haired girl blinked once more in surprise before giggling, setting Asuna off as well at her own faux pas. Smiling in amusement, Kiriko leaned forward to rest her hand on her cheek while planting her elbow onto the table. "Well, I can't say too much, I suppose. My character name is just parts of my real name thrown together."

"Really?" Asuna's eyebrows raised at this confession.

"Yup." Kiriko nodded, cheek still in hand but counting on her other hand. "KI RI KO from Kirigaya Kazu… ko." Kazuko inwardly winced at her near slip, also wondering why she was sharing her mostly true personal information with this girl.

"Child of Harmony…" Asuna said, sussing out what the girl's real name meant. "It's a nice name."

"Thanks." Kiriko smiled before furrowing her thin eyebrows. "Um… Your's is… 'Bright Future'?"

Asuna nodded with a warm smile. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Uh… you, as well?" The raven-haired player looked mildly unsure of herself before shaking her head, sending her high ponytail waving with the movement. "Um… if you don't mind me asking, do you remember what you were doing in the Labyrinth?"

"Labyrinth?" Asuna's confusion shown easily through her expression.

Kiriko leaned back and waved her arms towards the wall. "The dungeon we, my sister and I, found you passed out in. It triggered all the kobolds inside into a frenzy and we barely made it out after rescuing you. If we hadn't of been there, you would have died."

"Oh." The brown haired girl acknowledged with a whisper, looking at the clasped hands in her lap. "Part of me wishes I did."

That set the raven-haired girl back on her heels, blue eyes wide with shock at the admission.

Feeling the stunned state of her savior at her words, Asuna wiped at her eyes as the tears welled. "I just want to go back to Mama and Onii-san." Her breath hitched when she mentioned her older brother. "I wasn't even supposed to here! It's his game! Papa took him out on a business trip and… and I was curious."

Asuna wiped at her eyes again, sniffing. "Then the Calamity happened and everyone was yelling and I just wanted to take that helmet off and… Someone wondered if dying in game would kick us out of it. So, I jumped off the edge."

Asuna let out a sour, hiccupping laugh. "Then I woke up in the church. I tried, again and again, but I'd just keep waking up in that damn church!" She took a breath, forcing her hands to unclench as her lingering shout echoed through the large empty tavern. An unnerved giggle escaped the rambling girl. "And then I heard someone had found the Floor Boss's dungeon and thought 'I haven't tried that yet'! I just have to beat this stupid game and I'll be free!"

Kiriko just sat there, frozen in wide eyed shock at the pretty girl in front of her explain the different ways she'd just tried to commit suicide. Somewhere deep in her own mind, a small, dark voice whispered that this could have been her, if things were different.

"So I started killing everything that stood between me and my chance. Monster after monster… I just kept killing them as fast as I could." Asuna let out a bitter laugh before her facade cracked, tears starting to stream down her cheeks as her lips twisted into a confusing mess of emotion. "Then… after days of fighting, I thought I was ready and… I was at the entrance, my chance to go home, and… and then you saved me."

Kiriko just watched in stunned fascination as the chestnut brunette slowly collapsed into a weeping mess. Glancing around the tavern, she saw they were alone. Dragging her chair around the table to the broken girl's right, she placed a hand on Asuna's shoulder.

Asuna twisted and latched onto her savior like a drowning woman clinging to a life preserver, crying into Kiriko's chest. Sending a quick, if awkward, look around the room once more, the raven-haired sister placed her arms around the sobbing girl in a loose hug, just holding her as she let it all out.

"When Mom didn't take off our Nervegears for dinner, Sugu took it hard, too." Kiriko found herself saying, rubbing a hand across Asuna's back. "I guess it's the job of older siblings to take care of little sisters."

"I'm afraid." Asuna said a few moments later, still holding tight. "Afraid that I'll never see them again… that I'll forget."

"They're you're family." Kiriko responded, finding it hard to believe the girl's fears.

"I can't remember what Onii-san looks like…" The girl whispered as her breath hitched, hugging her life preserver tighter. "I… I can remember him and his voice but… anytime I try to remember what he looks like, it's just… just a black void and I'm scared… of what I'll forget next."

Kiriko just ran a hand over Asuna's back, trying to comfort the girl even as she thought of her and Suguha's mother, the woman's image thankfully coming to her immediately. Kiriko wondered if this was something she needed to keep an eye on to see if it was happening to Sugu and herself.

Thinking of her little sister, she wasn't surprised to see Suguha coming down the stairs, looking around before spotting her and Asuna at the corner table. As she wandered over, the blonde girl was eyeing the girl clinging to her older sibling, the brown haired girl hiding her face into Kiriko's chest. "Morning, Nee-chan."

"Morning, Sugu." Kiriko said with a small smile, feeling Asuna slowly push away, wiping at her eyes. "Sugu, this is Asuna. Asuna, my little sister, Suguha, though her game name is Leafa."

Leafa quirked an eyebrow at her older sibling giving away her real name but shrugged it off, pulling another chair to the small table and sitting down. "Hey. It's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

"Honestly? A lot better now, thank you." Asuna gave the blonde a fragile smile, though her eyes were still looking raw. "Thanks for letting me borrow your 'Nee-chan'."

"Just as long as it's just borrowing." Leafa gave a grin, flicking her eyes towards her black haired sibling, a questioning look in them. "Nee-chan is mine!"

Kiriko just sighed, glancing towards the somber brown haired girl. "She's had a bad time, Sugu. She wasn't here to play the game, like we were. She's here alone."

Leafa's green eyes widened in growing realisation before narrowing into a focused look. "Well, not anymore! She can stay with us!"

Whether it was the offer or the conviction in the blonde's voice, Asuna flinched in surprise.

"You agree with me, right, Nee-chan?" Leafa gave a look that brooked no argument.

It was good, then, that Kiriko agreed with Suguha's offer. "Of course, she can join us." She turned towards the surprised girl. "That is, if you want to."

"I… I don't know what to say." Asuna floundered.

Leafa leaned forward and held the other girl's hands. "You say 'yes'. Nee-chan and I already plan on beating the game to get home and our real bodies back. Why not help us?"

"Real bodies?" Asuna blinked in confusion, looking between the siblings.

"Sugu made our characters a year or so older than we really are and she's not really blonde or that big." Kiriko explained, with a smirk towards her sister, who just stuck her tongue back in response.

"Oh…" Asuna sounded like she'd just realised something everyone else already knew. "I thought it made your character for you."

The siblings shared a glance before Leafa giggled and Kiriko just let out a sigh. "So, you just used the personal default as your character, then. You were supposed to use that as the starting point to create how your character would look."

Asuna just blinked, looking between the Kirigaya siblings and then down towards her hands… her real hands. "Oh…"

o0O0o

24 Nov 2022 - Day 18

"I just reached level nine." Asuna notified her new friends, sheathing her blade and closing the status window.

"Congrats!" Leafa cheered, wrapping her in a one armed hug, leaving her sword arm free.

"Yeah. It's good that this power leveling trick still works." Kiriko agreed, pulling out some bandages to wrap around the bright red lines that marked the brunette's body as soon as the blonde released her.

"Just one more and you'll be ready for the boss. Right, Nee-chan?"

"She's ready right now, actually, but the extra skill slot and health at ten helps out quite a bit." She said before tying off the bandage. Once the First Aid was complete, the wrappings flashed and disappeared, along with the damage lines. "Alright, you're good to go."

"Thank you. That feels much better." Asuna blushed lightly at the contact but smiled at the older than normal teen.

"No problem." Kiriko smiled before patting the girl's shoulder. "We can take a break, though, if you need to."

Asuna put on a confident look and nodded. "I'm ready to continue!"

"Then onwards! To glory!" Leafa cried out, voice echoing off the Labyrinth walls, getting her companions to laugh.

o0O0o

"Alright, it looks like we're getting closer to the Floor Boss." Kiriko stated, pointing towards the Kobold Guards ahead.

"About time." Leafa frowned, resting a hand on the pommel of her sword. "It's been days since we started mapping this place."

"Really?" Asuna glanced at her two companions in mild surprise. "It really takes that long?"

"I guess…" Kiriko twirled one of her bangs with a finger, thinking about it. "If we had every player our level in here mapping it, it'd be a lot faster."

"We did pass by other people on the way in." Asuna pointed out.

Kiriko shook her head. "They're just here to level. You could tell by how they fought the Kobold Rogues and that they weren't going too far into the Labyrinth."

"Ah…" The brunette accepted before looking back to the monsters before them. "So, what do we do now?"

"We fight through them and find the Boss's lair." Leafa answered, pointing into the darkness past the monsters.

"Wait. We should add Asuna to the party." Kiriko stated, opening the menu to do just that. "She's almost to level ten so it's not like she'll lose that much experience with the penalty."

Asuna blinked at the window that popped up before her, tapping the 'Accept' prompt. The names of her companions appeared in her vision, two green bars beside them, along with a green marker pointing at the left edge of her vision that was labeled 'Leafa'. Asuna turned her head, bringing Leafa into sight and noticed a new marker to her right that had 'Kiriko' beside it.

"It takes a little to get used to it, but it's good to know where your friends are." Leafa smiled at seeing the girl experiment with the new HUD items.

"Alright!" Kiriko said, gaining their attention. "Sugu, you tank. Asuna flank left and I'll get the right. Focus on side or back attacks with your Arts to avoid their armor and do more damage."

"Got it, Nee-chan." Leafa drew her sword and advanced.

"Understood." Asuna drew her own short sword and circled left, passing behind the blonde girl.

"Ready when you are, Sugu." The elder sibling stated, drawing the pitch black Annealed Blade out of its sheath.

Leafa let out a dark chuckle before falling into a stance, bent forward and holding her sword back. A flash later and she was right in a kobold's face, slashing up with a Rage Spike Art. The next, she was stepping back and parrying another Guard's slash. "Come and get some!"

o0O0o

"So this is it." The blonde swordswoman ran a hand along one of the giant iron doors that marked the Floor Boss' lair. Looking at it with the flickering light of the torches flanking the portal, she saw multiple inscriptions of kobolds depicting multiple activities, the most of them involving violence against humans.

The three shared a silent moment, just reveling in their latest accomplishment.

"What do we do now?" Asuna asked, turning her gaze towards the Beta player.

"Now?" Kiriko let out a breath. "Now we head back to town and wait for enough people to level up enough to kill the boss."

"Great… more waiting." Leafa complained under her breath, turning away from the door and moving back over to the other two.

"How many people do we need?" Asuna wondered, looking towards the iron doors.

"With us included, we need forty-eight players at or around level ten to beat the boss without heavy losses. We tried it with everyone at level seven and less than half survived the fight."

Leafa looked towards her elder sibling. "You never said if you survived it or not."

"You're right, I didn't." Kiriko smirked and turned away to exit the Labyrinth.

"Hey! Come ooon! Tell me!" Leafa chased after her big sister, Asuna giggling as she followed along. "Asuna! Tell Nee-chan to not be a meanie! Little Sisters unite!"

"Yes, Onee-sama. Tell us!" Asuna chipped in with a hand hiding a giggle and Leafa's encouraging cheer.

"Oi! No ganging up on me! Bad imouto!" Kiriko cried out in shock before seeing the two grinning at her. Letting out a chuckle, she tisked at them with a finger before turning and sprinting off. "Catch me and maybe I'll tell you!"

o0O0o

The raven-haired girl kicked off the wall, trying to conserve as much momentum as possible to keep as much distance between herself and her pursuers.

"We can see all your moves, Nee-chan!" Leafa crowed, mimicking her sibling's maneuver.

"We're catching up, Onee-sama!" Asuna sang with a laugh, having fun with the simple game of tag.

None of the three were really going all out on their speed, each player treating it more like a long distance race instead of a sprint. That didn't change the fact that the two chasing Kirikol had another advantage in the fact that they just had to follow along. Kiriko, on the other hand, had to remember which turns resulted in dead ends or not.

Like the one she just found herself turning into.

"Uh-oh, looks like Nee-chan made a mistake." Leafa sang, trotting to a calm stroll towards her trapped sibling.

Asuna kept enough distance between her and the blonde, so that their quarry couldn't just run around them. "Are you going to tell us now, Nee-sama?" The brown haired girl smiled warmly with the joke.

"Hmm… did I survive or did I not survive?" Kiriko mused, pacing back and forth along the back wall, tapping her chin with a finger.

"Well, did you or didn't you?" Leafa asked, continuing to walk closer to her pacing target.

"Well… you haven't caught me yet, have you?" She asked, causing them to blink in confusion. Using the moment to her favor, Kiriko drew her sword and set into a stance. The next, she was meters behind both girls, slashing upwards to hit nothing with her Rage Spike. "Bye!"

"Oh, no you don't!" Leafa yelled, her and Asuna turning on the spot to chase after the retreating sibling.

Kiriko led the way with a laugh, sheathing her sword on the move as she turned down the correct turn this time. That was her only mistake, the following girls probably not falling for it again.

She got insanely lucky on the next turn.

"Hi, Klein!" She called out, seeing the redheaded man fighting kobolds with his friends, clogging the entire hallway with their battle. She saw a gap the instant it was made and took advantage of it, sliding through the shattering remains of a kobold and between the swordsman's legs. "Bye, Klein!"

"Wait. What?!" The swordsman cried out, looking at Kiriko's fleeing form only to take a dagger to the side. "Damnit!"

"Hey, was that your girlfriend?" Harry called over the fighting.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Klein yelled back, slicing another Kobold Rogue in twain. "She's into girls, dude!"

"Damn… you failed so hard she switched teams? Feels bad, man." Issin asked with a wide grin, kicking a kobold before chopping down with his sword.

"Out of the way!" Leafa yelled out, flashing forward to cut into the kobolds' flank with a Rage Spike before pushing through the stunned swordsmen, Asuna following suit a moment later. "Get back here!"

"So, who's the new girl?" Dynamm asked, killing his last enemy with a small flourish, glancing in the direction where the two girls just disappeared.

"No idea." Klein answered, sheathing his sword. "She was kinda cute, though."

"Don't even think about it, man." Kuni reached over to grab the redhead's shoulder. "You've already made one cutie bat for our team. Our roster is full enough as it is."

"I hate you guys so much right now." Klein shrugged off the man's hand with a sigh, even as the guys all chuckled. "All my hate!"

o0O0o

"Hey, Klein! Over here!" Leafa called out over the crowded tavern waving a hand high above her head, seeing him turn and wave back she sat back down.

"Was that really necessary, Sugu?" Her elder sibling questioned, looking a the surrounding people now looking at the three young woman seated at a small table. Thankfully, the crowd went back to whatever they were doing around the time Klein pushed his way towards them.

"Yo!" He raised a hand in greeting, before grabbing the raven-haired girl and messing up her hair with his large hand, eliciting a shriek of surprise. "That's for the Horunka prank." He informed her with a grin, setting down in the seat between the glaring Kiriko and laughing Leafa.

"Really? Do you know how annoying it is to comb hair this long?" Kiriko complained, pulling her hair loose of it's ponytail and summoning a large comb.

"Cut it shorter." Klein suggested with a grin.

Steely blue eyes glared at him as she tried to regain some order to her hair once more. "I can't until the fifth floor. That's where the first barber is."

"You better not cut it!" Leafa stopped laughing to warn her sibling.

Klein just let out a chuckle at the byplay, raising is mug to his lips to drink in the bitter ale. "So, I know these two but you're a new face." He raised a hand to the silent brunette across from him. "Name's Klein. Nice to meet you."

Instead of answering, the girl leaned and tried to hide behind Kiriko. "Hello."

"It's okay, Asuna. Kleins a good guy and I sort of deserved it." The raven-haired swordswoman admitted, tying her hair back into a ponytail. After the weeks in game, she'd gotten pretty good at hair maintenance.

"Harry nearly shit his pants when that thing went nuts." The redhead said, taking another drink. "The drops and experience were good, though, so we kept doing it."

"So this is the thanks I get for helping you out. I see how it is." Kiriko smirked at the flat look Klein gave.

"Helping would have been telling me about it going berserk so I could stand back and laugh WITH you." The redhead corrected his so-called friend.

To the side, Leafa did her best to contain her giggle fit, to mediocre success at best.

Seeing the brown haired girl relax back into her seat, Kiriko waved a hand towards her. "Anyways, this is Asuna, a new friend of ours. Asuna, this guy is as much a vagabond as he looks." She said with a smile.

"Oh, 'vagabond'! Nee-chan's found a dictionary!" Leafa pitched in before breaking down into more giggles, tapping her juice filled mug against Klein's.

Kiriko just rolled her eyes. "So, we saw you in the Labyrinth. How are you guys holding up?"

"We're doing pretty good. Almost to level eleven, just trying to get that last tick before the raid meeting."

"Raid meeting?" Kiriko repeated, perking up at those words along with Leafa and Asuna. "What are you talking about?"

"You didn't hear?" Klein blinked at how they reacted to his statement. "There's this guy called Diavel who's trying to organize a raid on the first boss."

"Tis being held in two days at the amphitheater here in town." A new voice cut in, as a cloaked figure pulled up a fifth chair to the small table.

"Hey! Who are you?!" Leafa demanded, glaring at the intruder.

"Tis just a friend who's handing out free information-sa." The young woman's voice held forth her amusement at the indignation displayed.

Kiriko narrowed her eyes, the voice and words tickling something in the back of her mind.

"She is also curious to see just who Klien-san's friends were and, to her surprise, it tis the only person to complete the 'Secret Medicine' quest, which means she must be either a Beta Tester or very, very lucky-sa."

"Argo?" Kiriko hesitantly asked, scrunching her eyebrows.

"Oh, tis a Beta Tester!" The now named person pulled back her hood, revealing a smirking girl with shaggy hair the color of sand with three red 'whiskers' painted on each cheek. "But I don't remember you and I always remember faces."

Kiriko flicked her gaze from Argo, Klein, Leafa and back. "We'll be right back." She told the others, gesturing for Argo to follow her.

"Nee-chan?" Leafa looked confused, starting to stand before her sibling held a hand up to stop her.

"Just… give us some privacy. Please, Sugu." Kiriko bade her before walking off with an interested Argo following along.

The shift from bustling tavern to the calmer evening street, was a change of night and day. Even still, the raven-haired girl led the cloak wearing informant into the shadows of a nearby alley.

"Do you take every new girl you meet to such wonderful places?" Argo joked, crossing her arms. "Must be a juicy little secret-sa!"

"Argo the Rat. Beta Tester and the best information broker in Aincrad… if a bit stingy."

Brown eyes narrowed at the description of herself. "Someone's really informed herself."

"Himself." Kiriko corrected, receiving a surprised look. "Nice to see you again, Argo."

"Just who are you?" The Rat hissed, getting a confused read from the girl before her.

"Kirito."

Argo blinked at that, rubbing her eyes before blinking again.

"Come on, get it all out. I know what's coming." Kiriko said with a resigned tone, already rolling her eyes.

The expected laughter exploded down the narrow passage, the sandy haired teen nearly doubling over with her mirth. Just as her laughter started dying down, she looked at Kiriko and set off once again.

"You'll suffocate if you keep that up." The raven-haired teen dryly commented.

Argo held up a finger, her laughter slowly petering out to become deep breaths as she leaned against the wall of the alley. "Oh, my! Ki-bou's a girl-sa! Tis rich!" She chuckled before shooting over a grin. "Please tell me you've got a super cute name to go with it!"

"If you consider Kiriko, super cute, I guess." Said girl shrugged.

The Rat actually looked a little disappointed. "Well, that's a letdown. I was hoping for something like Kristi, Yukina or Tifani."

Kiriko let out a snort. "Sorry to disappoint you." Her face took on a more serious note. "So, how much to make sure this info never gets out?"

"Ki-bou needn't worry. This information is priceless-sa! There's not enough Col in all of Aincrad." Argo replied with a wave and a snicker.

"Thanks, Argo." The smile was genuine, knowing that the secret was safe with her at this point.

"Argo has to ask, what happened? She didn't think Ki-bou was into cross-play." The information dealer asked cutely, a knowing grin on her face.

"I'm not. It's just a stupid prank my sister did that I got stuck with." She waved a hand over her new body with a shrug. "I've gotten used to it."

"Tis seems that way-sa." Argo said, looking the raven-haired teen over. "She did good work, I'm almost a little jealous. Of course, Ki-bou now knows a woman's body better than most men!" She broke down into another fit of giggles that rolled into full on gut busting laughter at the bright flush she saw on her friend's face.

Kiriko just endured it before leading the still grinning Argo back into the tavern and back to the table.

"...and then Dynamm pushes him into the lake!" Klein loudly said, the two girls breaking out into giggles while the man took a drink. "The best part was, Kuni tricked him, yelling 'I can't swim' which was a total lie, by the way. So, Dynamm forgot this, freaks out and dives in to save Kuni, only the water's maybe a meter deep, tops. Heh, he got a face full of mud and we all got a laugh as they fought it out in the pond."

"I hope you guys didn't miss me too much." Kiriko said as she sat down in a chair now opened between her sister and Asuna.

"Miss you? They hardly noticed you were gone with me here!" Klein flashed a thumbs up at the teen, getting a chuckle in return.

"So, what was that about, Nee-chan?" Leafa glanced between the smirking Argo and her sibling.

"I'll tell you later, Sugu." She lowly replied before waving a hand towards the sandy haired girl. "Guys, meet Argo the Rat, the best information dealer in Aincrad." She gave the girl a sly look. "Unless something's changed?"

"If I've suddenly gained a rival, I haven't heard of them-sa." Argo answered, accepting a mug of something from the passing waitress.

"How come we've never heard of you, then?" Leafa asked, taking a sip of her juice.

"Tis a lot of hard work setting up a new network-sa!" She defended herself, pointing towards Kiriko. "Finding as many who already know me tis the first step, which means Beta Testers. Then I build my network off that."

"Didn't you have that book thing?" Klein asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Fine, tis that which tis step one-sa." She corrected.

"Book? What book?" Kiriko asked with a confused look.

Instead of answering Argo pulled a small pamphlet out of her inventory and handed it over, Leafa and Asuna leaning in to read it.

"Aincrad for Beginners: An Argo's Guide!" She read out loud before giving her friend a flat look.

"Honestly, tis a waste of time for you to read, Ki-bou." Argo gestured to the pamphlet. "Tis covers the very basics, such as menus, combat and such-sa."

"Because you're still figuring out what's changed and what hasn't." Kiriko reasoned out, knowing the girl across the table.

She pointed at her with a finger gun. "Ki-bou gets it right in one!"

"So, what, you buy and sell information to anyone who has enough money." Asuna asked for clarification.

"Pretty much-sa." Argo shrugged before wagging a finger. "But there are exceptions! Some is priceless and those secrets are safe with me-sa!"

"And when she says that, she means it." Her friend from the Beta agreed, nodding her head. "Actually, I've got a deal for you, Argo."

"Oh? Color me interested, Ki-bou! Tis always interesting things you find-sa." Argo leaned forward onto the table, placing her chin into her hands.

"Five thousand Col." Kiriko fired off with a grin, making the rest blink at the tidy sum. She held a finger to Leafa's lips when she opened them to speak, getting a glare in response.

"Hmm… Ki-bou things this tis very good information, indeed-sa." Argo eyed the raven-haired girl. "Two thousand."

"Four. You'll like it when I show it to you." Kiriko smirked, getting a quirked eyebrow from the Rat. When Argo didn't respond any further, she leaned forward and lowered her voice. "It's about the first floor Labyrinth."

At those words, she could see the gears turning inside Argo's head. Running possibilities on just what that information was, who was giving it and who might want it. "Three and a half and not a Col more." Argo reached out a hand.

"Deal!" She reached out and shook it before opening her menu and manipulating it.

Argo accepted the friend request without a thought but widened her eyes at the window that popped up next. "Ki-bou does find the best things for Argo." She muttered, adding Col to the trade window and accepting the trade.

"Figured you might like that." She said with a knowing smirk.

"What did you just give her, Nee-chan?" Leafa asked, looking between the old friends.

"I just sold her the map data that leads to the Floor Boss." Kiriko answered, grinning at her sister.

"But don't we already have enough money?" His sister asked back, knowing they had more Col they could currently spend, having reached max upgrades for the first floor.

"Tis/There's never enough Col." Argo and Kiriko replied at the same time, before breaking down in giggles.

"Okay… that was weird." Asuna stated at the mimicked reaction, getting a nod of agreement from the blonde.

"Hey, man, mind if I get a copy of that?" Klein asked. "I'll save us some time farming tomorrow."

"Sure. Here you go." The raven-haired teen sent the map data to the man.

"Thanks!"

Asuna just watched with a confused look on her face, pointing between Argo and Klein. "Wait… why did you charge her but just give it to him for free?"

"Because she's going to sell it to Daibel for... What? Five thousand?" Kiriko answered, looking towards his friend even as she typed away a message.

"Five point four, actually." She answered, still typing away before she closed the window. "And sold!"

Kiriko just waved a hand towards the grinning girl. "Ladies, gentlemen... I present Argo the Rat; best information dealer in Aincrad."

o0O0o

26 Nov 2022 - Day 20

"Welcome, one and all!" The man called out from the stage, his blue locks of hair flowing with his movements. "We are here for a reason and one reason only, to defeat the First Floor Boss, Illfang, The Kobold Chieftain!"

"While we may share a common goal, there may be many motivations for completing it as there are people here." He said with a smile on his face, placing a hand over his metal breastplate, obviously a rare drop or quest item of some sort. "I, for example, wish to defeat the Floor Boss just to see what lies on the other side!"

He waved an arm towards the left side of the stands and then the right. "Some of you might be the same, others due to boredom or to feel the thrill of battle flowing through your veins."

The cerulian haired player took on a more somber tone, stroking his dyed goatee with a sigh. "Some are here because beating the game may be the only way home, whether for themselves or for someone they left behind."

He let the words sink into the audience before placing a hand upon his breastplate once more. "Whatever your reasons, I, Diavel, welcome you and wish to lead you to victory!" He thrust a fist into the air, the players in the stands cheering with him.

"He's a very good speaker." Asuna commented lowly, so only Kiriko and Leafa could hear her.

"I swear I've… He seems familiar." Kiriko said in return. "I just can't recall…"

The twenty-something man on the stage made a gesture to calm the crowd and waited for the calm to take hold once more. "Thanks to some industrious players, who may or may not be here right now, we already have a map that leads straight to Illfang! With this map, we may strike down the Kobold Chief this very day!"

"Three and a half thousand and I don't have to wait for people to bumble around the Labyrinth? Best trade ever." Kiriko smirked, getting giggles from the two girls on both sides of her.

Once the audience died down once more, Diavel stroked his goatee before nodding, pointing out to the people looking down on him. "Over two hundred of you brave Adventurers are here today to kill Illfang and advance the game to the next floor."

He let the words fade away before he loudly sighed. "Unfortunately, most of you will be unable to fight Illfang today." A wave of mutterings rolled out, though he contained it with a calming gesture. "I understand the need to do something, believe me, I do! Unfortunately, it is a matter of mechanics!"

"Even though the Calamity made SAO real, there are parts of the game that still exist. On a positive example, the death and resurrection mechanics! I for one am thankful that this isn't a world where one mistake, one moment of bad luck, could spell your doom! But that also means there are limits to how many people can fight in the Floor Boss Lair at once."

Diavel let the undercurrent of chatter to occur for a bit before he continued. "Forty-eight! That is the size of one full raid. Eight full parties of six players. That is the limit of players."

"So!" He raised a finger into the air before pointing towards an unhooded Argo, "We will be recording each of your levels and skill values to determine who will be part of the raid, but fear not, your stats will not be shared, even to me. Argo-san has guaranteed your privacy and her word is her bond!"

"And she also gets some free publicity." Asuna said, nodding at the move.

Leafa glanced at the whiskered girl at the back of the amphitheater. "Do you think we'll be selected for the raid?"

"It's guaranteed." Her big sister answered with confidence. "I got a message from Argo already saying we're in."

"Is that because we're ready or because you earned her almost two thousand Col with the map?" Asuna asked with a small smirk.

"Yes."

"Now, don't think that if you're not in the raid group that your assistance isn't required! We still have to travel through the Labyrinth to reach Illfang and the spawn rates of the Kobold Rogues will increase with every player!" He waved a hand across the raised bleachers. "Your task will be to screen the raid members, so they can reach the Boss Lair without a reduction in combat capabilities! The stronger our raid, the more chance of success we have of defeating the Boss! This is a combined effort!"

"And now we're going to be bored the entire time we're traveling…" Leafa let out a sigh.

"It's not like we'd get anything from the mobs while we're in the raid anyways." Kiriko pointed out.

Tapping her lips with a finger, Asuna gestured towards the seated Argo, already questioning the first player. "If our spots in the raid are already a sure thing, do we still need to register with Argo-san?"

"Unfortunately…" The raven-haired swordswoman let out a sigh. "People would ask questions if we didn't."

"Great… another thing to be bored about." The blonde to her right groused out.

o0O0o

"Your attention please!" Diavel's voice projected around the area, calling the assembly into order once more. "Thank you for your patience in this but know that we've selected the members of the raid. If you have not received a message from Argo with the name of your party leader or my own name as raid leader, then you are part of the screening parties to clear the way."

"Looks like you're our party leader, Nee-chan." Leafa smiled at her sibling.

"And I've got a message to see Diavel." Kiriko informed them as she made her way down to the stage.

The stage was rather full with the forty-eight players on it, the screening players forming their own groups up in the stands.

"Kiriko! Will Kiriko please come here!" Diavel called out.

"Excuse me. I need to get through!" She pushed through the crowded players, finally reaching the small clearing with the blue haired swordsman standing in the center. "I'm Kiriko."

"Nice to meet you." He held out a large hand and she shook it. "Even though I'm leading the raid, you're going to be the leader of the party I'll be in." As he said that, a party invite opened before the raven-haired girl, inviting her to join Diavel's party.

Kiriko accepted it, noticing that Diavel's name held the raid leader and party leader indicators before the second one moved to her name after a moment.

"There." He nodded with a grin before calling out. "If you're to be in Kiriko's party, please follow her to the side to receive invites and await further details!" He directed before calling out the next party leader's name.

Stepping to the side, the wall of players made a gap she stepped through. Reaching the edge of the stage, the raven-haired swordswoman turned to find her sister and Asuna standing with a short black woman with well defined muscles on her arms and a lithe, bishonen looking young man.

"Just a moment and I'll send you invites." She said, inviting her sister and Asuna first. Then she turned to the other two as she looked at her message. "So… Tiffany and Gillian."

"That's us." Tiffany let out a laugh as the bishonen man scratched his cheek. "Nice to meet you!" Her voice smokey to the ear.

"You, too." She replied, sending out the invites. "I'm Kiriko and this is my sister Leafa and my friend Asuna." Each of them greeting the other two as well.

"Hello. Please look after us." Gillian greeted in a clear light voice, somehow fitting his somewhat effeminate looks.

"Okay, so…" Kiriko tried to think of what to say. "I guess we should figure out how everyone fights so we aren't getting in each other's way." Seeing the nods from her party members, she placed a hand to her chest. "I guess I'll start, I'm-"

"No way, I'm gonna be in a party with that guy!" An incised voice yelled out, interrupting her introduction and gathering all eyes towards it. "He's a freaking cheater!"

"Dude! What's your problem?!" The target of the accusation, a guy around seventeen with short wavy hair, rocked back on his heels in surprise.

The older man jabbed a finger into the younger's leather chest armor. "You know exactly what I'm saying! There's no way you're level twelve without cheating!" The man's scowl mixing with the scar running down his face to make the look menacing. "Or one of them Beta Testers and there's no real difference between the two!"

"What the hell's going on over here?!" Diavel bellowed, a sharp look in his eye, his displeasure easy to see at the disruption. He flicked his eyes towards the bleachers, seeing they also had the full attention of those players.

"I have no idea, man!" The younger player admitted, waving his hand at his still scowling accuser, rubbing at his nose with the other. "I was just doing introductions and this guy flipped out!"

"Cause you're a freaking Beta cheater, Cooper!" The man accused once more with a jabbing finger. "While we were trying to figure out just had happened with the Calamity, you cheated and were already doing the good quests and shit!"

"Hey! Being in the Beta isn't cheating! I just got lucky!" Cooper tried defending himself.

"So, you admit it!" The scarred man crowed. "You're a freaking Beta Tester!"

"Alright! Let's calm down and keep things civil. We can deal with this like adults, don't you think, Mister…" Diavel cut in between the players and made some calming hand motions.

"Kibaou." The scarred man answered. "And I'm not partying with one of those Beta Testers. He'd probably stab me in the back for the MVP bonus!"

"What the hell's your problem!" Cooper pushed up against Diavel's gloved hand. "They wiped the characters after the Beta ended! I started at level one, just like you, it's just I didn't waste time hiding like a coward in the Town of Beginnings like you must have!"

"Why you little-"

"Enough!" Diavel's voice bellowed, pushing both players apart once more, this time with a little more force. "We don't have time for this… this childishness!" The blue haired raid leader turned towards the scar-faced Kibaou. "Look, I understand you're still angry after the Calamity but disrupting this isn't helping anyone. Please, let's keep calm in these troubling times."

"I'm trying to keep selfish little pricks like him from backstabbing this raid!" Kibaou declared his intention, pointing a finger over the distance. "If he's selfish enough to keep quiet about where the good hunting spots and quest locations are instead of helping out after the Calamity, he's selfish enough to screw the raid over just so he can get some good loot!"

"My mom has cancer, you fucking asshole!" Cooper cried out, silencing the area save for his echoing words. "She had some experimental procedure planned four days ago, one that would find out if they could cure her or not and I couldn't be there because I'm stuck in this Goddamn game!"

The declaration earned the younger man a few nods of understanding while it got Kibaou a few dirty looks.

"So, I couldn't give two shits if you're butthurt about the fact you didn't get into the Beta. You can be pissy all you want, just stay out of my way." Cooper wiped his eyes and shot a glare over to the larger man before lowering his voice into deadly seriousness. "Cause I'm warning you, if you ever come after me in the field... trying to stop me from beating this game, I'll PK your ass as many times as it takes to get you to leave me the hell alone! Now, get the hell out of my party."

"You little-"

Kibaou's moment was halted by Diavel's hand and a solemn shake of his head. "I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave. Maybe after you've taken some time to calm down, you can join the next boss raid."

Glancing around him, seeing the glares and unimpressed looks on the surrounding players, Kibaou scoffed but backed down. "Fine. Just watch your backs and don't say I didn't warn you." He spit on the ground and walked away.

The silence that followed the altercation held sway until the cerulian haired raid leader let out a sigh and walked towards where Argo sat seated, his boots echoing off the stone stage.

"Whoa…" Leafa let out a breath. "That was a thing."

"I think it's sad he's in such pain." Gilliam shook his head in empathy.

Tiffany nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah… I don't know how I'd handle it if I was trapped here without you."

"Oh? Are you siblings, like Kiriko and Leafa?" Asuna asked at the dark skinned woman's comment.

"Oh, he's my wife." Tiffany replied with a grin, laughing at the bright flush on Gilliam's face.

"Andy! Don't tell everyone!" The blushing bishonen slapped the laughing woman's arm. "It's embarrassing!"

"W-wait! Wife?!" The brunette cried out in shock, before shrinking back at realising just how loud she was. "But…"

"We were just having a little fun changing sides and got stuck." Tiffany admitted shamelessly with a shrug.

Asuna's mouth opened and closed a few times as she pointed a shaky finger at the short woman. "...you're really a man?"

"Yup." She answered, gesturing towards the taller but still embarrassed Gilliam. "Kathy wanted to try being the 'man in the relationship' so we made each other's characters for a laugh." Tiffany let out a bright laugh. "Based off how short she made me, she must have wanted me to look up to her for once!"

Considering that Gilliam wasn't tall at all, maybe a hundred and seventy-ish centimeters, the height difference really was the fact that Tiffany was just tiny, even smaller than Kiriko's hundred and fifty-three centimeter height. There was almost a full head height difference between the married couple.

"B-but, that's perverted!" Asuna balked with wide eyes, shaking her head.

"Hey! Nee-chan isn't a pervert!"

Kiriko let out a groan and palmed her face with both hands at Leafa's declaration towards her sibling's defense.

"Kiriko… you…" Asuna stared at her with shocked earthy eyes.

"Wow, I'd have never have guessed." Tiffany looked over the outed cross-playing Kiriko. "You hid it really well."

"It's not Nee-chan's fault!" Leafa told the brown haired girl at their side.

"I did?" Steely blue eyes blinked in surprise.

Asuna stepped back, eyes still wide. "But she's a boy!"

"I would have thought you were just a tomboy, like your sister." Gilliam softly agreed with his husband. That thought made Kiriko's mind to glitch, for multiple reasons.

"It's all my fault, so don't you dare blame my Nee-chan!" Leafa stepped in between Asuna and Kiriko, forcing the older girl to look at the blonde instead. "It was just a stupid joke, okay! She didn't even know until we logged in! And… and it's all my fault…" She admitted with a hitched breath as her older sibling moved over to put an arm around her shoulders.

"But…" Asuna cringed, feeling like a heel. "If he's a boy, why do you call him 'Nee-chan'."

"To try and prevent events like this." Kiriko answered for her sister. "It's just easier to pretend. It's not like I can fix it, right now."

"Is everything alright over here?" Diavel's voice drew their attention, the man looking at the distraught girl with a concerned gaze.

"Ah... I brought up Cooper's situation and she got homesick. It's my fault, really." Asuna lied to the man before looking towards the girl with tears making tracks down her cheeks and formally bowed. "Leafa, I'm sorry to have caused these bad emotions."

The blonde sniffed and wiped her eyes. "It's okay… I just miss Mom."

Asuna smiled sadly, taking the lie as acceptance of her apology.

"We're a long road ahead but take heart in the fact you are working towards your goals to return home." Diavel nodded towards the blonde girl. "I'm afraid I'll have to borrow Kiriko-san for a party leader meeting. So, prepare yourselves, because we're heading out once that's over."

"Right…" Kiriko looked to her sister. "You going to be okay?"

"She'll be fine." Asuna stepped up to take Kiriko's spot, placing a hand on the blonde's arm.

The raven-haired girl nodded and hurried after the cerulean raid leader.

o0O0o

"How are you dealing with it?" Kiriko leaned over and whispered to the black woman walking next to her as the raid made its way towards the Boss's lair. It was actually pretty boring, something her sister had been complaining about, just walking through the dungeon while having the screening parties clear the route forward.

Tiffany rubbed her chin and let out a hum. "Well, it was pretty weird at first but after a week or so, I got used to being so tiny." She said, causing the younger female to blink. "It was really annoying at first, having to look up at everyone, the lack of reach and having to take more steps to move the same distance and a couple other things but I got used to it."

"Ah… I, um… I meant the whole 'being a girl', thing." She asked, a light blush dusting her cheeks.

"Oh, that." Tiffany shrugged. "The hardest part was remembering to sit down to pee."

Kiriko just stared at the older woman in disbelief. "That's it?!"

"Well, that and how long it takes for my hair to dry, I guess." She answered, pointing to her wavy curled hair before laughing. "Going from shaved bald to having this bush on my head was a real shock, I'll tell you!"

"I told you, dear. It looks good on you." Gilliam commented with a warm smile.

"See, that's the reason why I don't mind. As long as Kathy's with me, things are good." Tiffany said, leaning into her taller wife.

"Love you, too, dear." The blonde Gilliam smiled and leaned down to peck his husband on the lips.

"Anyways, to answer your 'real' question… Well, maybe it's the American in me but I say that as long as you have someone who loves you, who cares what anyone else thinks?" Tiffany held up a finger. "And I'm not just talking romantic love, here. You and your sister seem pretty close, so I say, as long as you make sure she's happy and you're happy yourself, then your doing well."

The shorter female flashed a smirk and wiggled her eyebrows a moment later with a conspiratorial whisper. "And if you can swing it and find someone you like; the sex is amazing!"

"Okay, that's quite enough, dear!" Gilliam chastised with a light slap to his husband's shoulder. "She's dealing with enough as it is. Don't tease her!"

"I… uh… I'm going to go… over here and… yeah..." Kiriko carefully shifted away from the laughing woman, face so hot she swore it had caught fire.

END OF CHAPTER 4

o0O0o

A/N

Okay, just for clarification, I'm going to be using the pronouns based off the body the player is wearing. It's been almost three weeks since the Calamity, so Kazuto and all the other players are starting to get used to their bodies. The ones that aren't… well, unfortunately, they wouldn't progress the story, so I'm not going to cover them.

As for Suguha referring to Kazuto as her sister and using female pronouns, it's more something she's practiced offscreen and just forced it to become a habit to try and protect her brother.

And here's Asuna, Argo, Agil (Tiffany) and his wife Kathy! If you're expecting Asuna to start speaking Jive, you're in the wrong AU. This Asuna at least knows how to open her menu. XD

Speaking of Asuna, this one is a bit more broken at the start than the OU Asuna because, while they both considered suicide, this Asuna actually succeeded... multiple times, losing a bit of herself with each death. But, like with many situations, being around friends and those who'll support you makes a big difference!

For the married couple, I wanted to use Tiffany for Agil's name as a nod to the Abridged series, figuring that in this context, he and his wife just used each other's middle names. I just didn't want to use Gilbert for Kathy's name… so I changed it to Gillian.

As for Kibaou, in the OU, his rant made a little sense as him being a man who's raging at anything he can, at least for the start of the game. His continued prejudice was just insanity later on. I mean, why would you ostracize the strongest or most experienced players of a game you're trying to survive?

Well, in this chapter, he's still an angry man raging at something out of his control and looking for a scapegoat. But without the permanence of death, there's no reason for his line of thinking to take root, in my opinion. Sure, there'll be a few players who'll always feel bitter about the Beta Testers but it definitely won't be a pronounced as in the OU.

Oh, and Cooper was the one that died to the berserking mob last chapter. But he got better! 7_7

As always, leave any thoughts or opinions in the reviews. I do read them.