Chapter 7: Reunion


December 8th, 2022

"Switch, Shino!" Kazuto called out before jumping.

Shino jumped in, taking advantage of the Wind Wasp's disorientation to slash at it with her dagger. The small blade gleaming a pale blue light, she lunged toward the enemy; the system took over and she flew forward faster than she could have moved normally, the blade sinking deep into the thorax of the Wind Wasp. It buzzed pathetically for a few seconds before its wings folded in, drooping, and it burst into polygons.

"And that's number thirty," Shino said, straightening up and wiping her brow. "No drops, though."

Kazuto sighed. "Our crappy luck, right? Thirty Wind Wasps and we've only managed to get eight of the stingers needed for your dagger's upgrade."

"Don't they have a drop rate of like fifty percent?" Shino asked, idly toying with a pocket of her vest. "How have we not gotten more of them?"

Kazuto just shrugged. It wasn't as if he could control the random number gods, and so the only way for them to make sure they got the twenty Wasp Stingers needed for the greatest upgrade probability was to fight the wasps over and over again, hoping that they'd drop the items needed. "C'mon, we've cleared out this group. Next up is..." He swiped open his menu and looked, mentally marking off the places they'd already been to recently. "The open glade to our west. There should be a nice large chunk of them there, and we can take our time."

Shino sighed. "Sure, let's go." She made a face as the two started moving toward the glade in leaps and bounds. "I hate grinding. I hated it in the beta and I hate it now."

"It's necessary, though."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it."

Kazuto just chuckled and grinned, facing forward. They were taking the chance to work on two things at once; in addition to getting the materials for the upgrade for Shino's dagger, the two were also working on their weaker skills like Shino's Dagger Proficiency and Kazuto's Searching. Reminded by the thought, Kazuto activated his ability, looking around as the world became tinted a strange shade of green. "Nothing around here," he told Shino.

She raised an eyebrow as they continued moving over rolling green plains towards a mountain in the distance. "Shouldn't there be some nearby?"

"If I'm remembering the spawns correctly," Kazuto replied with a shrug - a very strange motion when running. "I could be wrong."

Shino grinned. "I trust you. Most of the time."

"When wouldn't you -" As they crossed a line of bushes into another glade, Kazuto bit back what he was going to say and threw up a hand. Immediately, Shino stopped, staying back to let him look around a bit. Kazuto crept forward, staying low to the ground while trying to approach the green crystal he had seen moving around in the distance.

As he crested the nearest ridge, he finally got a good glimpse of the player the green crystal belonged to. The blood drained from his face, and he immediately whirled around to run back to Shino and get the two of them out of there. Scrambling to his feet, he raced down the hill, back to where Shino was hidden under some bushes. "We have to get out of here," he panted. "Right now."

Shino didn't question his orders, crawling out from the bushes and getting to her feet without hesitation. "What's wrong?" she asked as she watched Kazuto try to figure out a way out of the situation they had found themselves in. "Powerful monster?" Kazuto shook his head absently. "Well, then," she said, frowing, "what is it?"

"Worse than any monster," Kazuto said with a shudder. "It's Asuna."

The black-haired girl blinked. "Oh," she said in a small voice. "The pretty girl with long brown hair, right?"

Kazuto nodded. "That's her." Shino glared at him suddenly, but he had no idea what he had said. "If she's still holding a grudge about the boss fight..." He shook his head, trying not to imagine the fight.

"Kirito? Sinon?"

Kirito stiffened, then sighed. "Crap." When he turned around and stepped to the side slightly, he and Sinon saw Asuna standing there, framed by the sun and blue sky. "What do we do?" he hissed as the girl started coming down to them.

"Don't do anything stupid," Sinon muttered back at him. "As hard as that may be."

Asuna finally reached the bottom of the hill and stood there, hands on her hips and facing the two friends. "I've been looking around for you two," she said evenly. Kirito licked his lips slightly, eyes darting to the side as he searched for an escape route.

"Is that a new rapier?" Sinon asked nonchalantly. Kirito took a second to actually look at Asuna and her equipment, and realized that Sinon was right; it was one of the rarer monster drops, the Wind Fleuret. "Wind Wasps, right?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah," Asuna replied. "Pretty lucky, huh?" Kirito just made a small face, disgusted at the girl's good luck. "And what was that look for?"

Sinon dug her elbow into his ribs, drawing out a pained grunt, and looked at Asuna. "Ignore him, he's being stupid."

"We've been farming Wind Wasps for a while now and we've been getting really bad luck on the drop rates," Kirito said, rubbing at his side. Asuna tilted her head to the side, and he elaborated, "For Sinon's dagger. We need twenty of their stingers, and we've only got eight."

The rapier user looked at Sinon. "Oh, you're trying to get an upgrade too?" Sinon nodded, and Asuna smiled. "Do you two want to work with me? A villager wanted me to kill one hundred of them to help them out, but I don't really need that many stingers, so..." She shrugged. "It'll be faster this way."

Kirito frowned slightly. "I don't know..." he hedged. "Is it one of those quests where our kills won't count towards your total?"

Asuna smiled again. "Oh, that's no problem." Her grin had a slight edge to it. "As long as we're in the same party, your kills will count towards the total."

"But," Kirito tried weakly, "you'd have to be partying with Beaters..."

"No, I think I like the idea," Asuna said. "Sinon? What do you want to do?"

Sinon just shook her head and looked at Kirito. "Whatever you think is best, Kirito," she said. Kirito noticed Asuna frown slightly, but ignored the girl.

"I..." He glanced at Sinon, who was looking back and forth between him and Asuna, and finally sighed. "Fine, whatever." He was rewarded by Sinon's small smile and grinned at her, pleased that he had chosen correctly.

Asuna clapped her hands. "Alright then," she said promptly. Swiping open her menu, she tapped a few buttons and sent both Kirito and Sinon a party request; Sinon accepted quickly enough, although Kirito hesitated slightly before pressing Yes.

The upper left of his HUD changed as Asuna's health bar appeared under just under the one marked Sinon; Kirito sighed. I didn't expect to be in a party again this quickly. "Should we get started?" he asked the two girls. "If I'm remembering the spawns right, there should be a lot of Wind Wasps a few hills over." He pointed in the general direction of the Wasps.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Asuna asked. "We're not going to kill them by standing around here, will we?"

Sinon shook her head. "Not unless they come to us." Asuna grinned at the younger girl, and Sinon smiled back shyly.

The two girls started moving in the direction Kirito had pointed, while he watched them. Asuna was talking to Sinon quietly, ignoring the way the younger girl didn't really respond to her much; Kirito still wasn't sure why Sinon had suddenly stood up to Kibaou in the amphitheater or acted as one of the Beaters, but she seemed to be back to her usual self. Trailing after the girls, he wondered about her strange behavior briefly, but the thoughts were driven from his mind when he saw a large cluster of red crystals just up ahead. "A large group of enemies just past the tree line," he called out.

"Roger," Sinon called back. After Kirito joined up with them, she snuck forward through the trees, her Hiding skill shrouding her figure after she took only five steps. Kirito waited with baited breath for her report; if she reported that the enemies were the weak Wind Wasps, he would join her and they would start fighting. If they were the far stronger Trembling Oxs or other monsters... The snapping of tree branches pulled Kirito's back to the field and he waited for Sinon to reappear. "Wind Wasps," Sinon said, appearing beside him.

"Let's go, then," he said. "Regular pattern, okay?" Sinon nodded, and Kirito turned to Asuna. "Sinon will draw their attention from a distance," he murmured. "She'll attract the aggro of as many as she can reach with her throwing picks, and then switch to her dagger. In the meantime, we're going to be killing the monsters that are getting near her until she can defend herself."

Asuna nodded. "Sounds like a plan." She stretched, and Kirito heard her hum in thought. "Why don't we make it a challenge?"

"A challenge?" Sinon asked quietly.

Kirito frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Asuna turned to grin at them, looking at the two over her shoulder. "The person that kills the fewest Wind Wasps treats the other two to dinner later."

Sinon glanced at Asuna, and then at Kirito. "Sounds fun," she said.

"Guess we're doing that, then," Kirito said with a shrug.

The three pushed through the treeline and broke through into the next glade to see many Wind Wasps milling about; Kirito turned on his Searching skill to count the enemies. "Two, four, six..." After a few seconds he turned to Sinon and Asuna. "At least forty," he reported. "We should be able to handle them no problem."

Sinon nodded. "On your mark." She twitched and throwing picks were suddenly in her hands. "Tell me when."

Drawing his Anneal Blade, he nodded to Asuna. "Fire at will, Sinon."

The girl nodded and moved; in a flash of green light, throwing picks were arcing through the air and striking the two nearest Wind Wasps. They buzzed angrily and had started moving toward Sinon when Kirito slid in front of them. With a shout, he struck; his body spun with the activation of «Circular» and his glowing blade sliced into the bellies of the Wind Wasps. It wasn't enough to kill them, so after he recovered his balance he lunged forward to stab through one of them. It died on impact, the blue crystals obscuring his vision briefly; when he could see again, the other Wind Wasp was about to sting at him. He flinched back, unable to get away in time, but before the wicked stinger could hit him Asuna dashed in out of nowhere and stabbed at the Wind Wasp's weak point, killing it instantly.

Kirito nodded his thanks to her; he heard a whistle from back where Sinon was, and jumped back instantly. "Four more on the way," Sinon reported. "I took out two others because you seemed busy, but I'm running low on picks. I have enough for a few more monsters, but if you want me to switch to just dagger now, it's fine." Asuna moved back to them, getting closer to draw in the perimeter of defense. "Keep me safe."

Grinning at her, Kirito just flicked his sword to bring it to guard, answering her through his actions. He lunged toward the nearest Wind Wasp and tried to strike the weak spot; however, his large blade just couldn't hit the point accurately enough, so he had to settle for sweeping slashes that killed the enemies in two or three strikes each. Asuna kept striking, her rapier's point seeking out the weak spot of the Wind Wasps with unerring accuracy. He realized that if he didn't hurry, he'd fall behind on kill count - and that meant speeding things up.

He sheathed his sword and cracked his knuckles. "What are you doing?" Asuna shouted at him. Instead of replying, he charged toward the nearest Wind Wasp and jumped; at the peak of his jump, directly above the Wind Wasp, he raised his fists over his head. They started glowing a pale golden color, and as he thrust down the system took over and performed «Meteor Smash», an attack that brought him down to the ground, slamming into the Wind Wasp and creating a cloud of dust where he landed. When it cleared, the Wind Wasp was dead, the polygons floating away.

"What was that?" Asuna demanded, staring at him. The new technique wasn't enough for her to lose focus entirely as she stabbed a Wind Wasp several times, killing it. But she had slowed down slightly, and Kirito took advantage of that to start catching up on the kill counts.

"Martial Arts," Sinon said as she drew her dagger. "Extra skill we unlocked."

"You too, Sinon?"

The other girl nodded and dashed toward a cluster of Wind Wasps that were approaching. With a shout, she took a slightly larger step and then jumped; her feet glowed and she whirled, lashing out and kicking in a circle. Several of the Wind Wasps died on impact, already damaged by Sinon's throwing picks; others were sent tumbling through the air, crashing to the ground where the girl quickly ended their lives with her dagger. "Me too," she said, straightening up and brushing herself off.

As Kirito was about to kill his thirtieth Wind Wasp, he heard Asuna shout with joy. "That's all one hundred!" the girl called out. "Scores, everyone?"

"Thirty-four," Sinon said, sheathing her dagger.

"And I killed thirty-seven myself," Asuna said. "Kirito, that means you only killed twenty-nine, right?" The boy grumbled an agreement sullenly, and Asuna beamed at him. "Okay, so that means you get to treat us to dinner!"

Kirito sent Sinon a despairing look, pleading for her to help him out, and she smiled gently at him; however, his fledgling hopes were dashed when she said, "I've worked up an appetite, Kirito."

"My poor wallet," Kirito murmured, hanging his head and imagining the cost of the dinner. His only solace was the hope that they'd choose a place where the meals weren't very expensive.

But unfortunately for the boy, even that didn't turn out to be the case, as Asuna and Sinon decided on the restaurant with the most expensive dishes on the floor. He sighed as he watched them eat the tasty dishes; in order to save on expenses he had ordered the cheapest item on the menu, but that meant he didn't get much food to eat. He kept glancing at Sinon's plate, where she was eating some sort of pasta dish in a red sauce - and she kept catching his glance and giving him an apologetic shrug. The two had shared food before in the past, when one person would buy a large meal and the two would split it, but with Asuna there Kirito knew Sinon would feel awkward doing that.

"Ah, that was good," Asuna said finally, pushing away her plate where she'd had a steak cooked medium-rare. "And now for desert. I think the cake will do nicely, don't you, Sinon?" Kirito whimpered, and she giggled. "Oh, don't whine, you can have some."

It was a large cake, so Kirito argued that they should split it equally three ways; Sinon backed him up, but he changed his mind after Asuna kicked his shin under the table. The girls each took large slices, leaving him about a twenty percent piece of the cake. Kirito ate it, absently rubbing his sore shin as he did.

"I promised you the stingers, didn't I, Sinon?" Asuna asked the other girl as the three were walking around outside. When she nodded, Asuna swiped open her menu and offered the trade. "And you've already earned these with your hard work, so don't even think about trying to pay me back," she said, preempting Sinon's attempt to offer Col in return.

Sinon smiled and accepted the stingers. "Thank you, Asuna," she said. Turning to Kirito, she said, "Let's get the dagger upgraded."

He nodded and stretched, trying to get the kinks out of his back. "Well, it was nice seeing you again, Asuna," he said, "but I think we're going to split." He nodded to Sinon, and she moved beside him.

"And where do you think you're going?"

He froze at the chill in Asuna's voice. When he turned to look back at her, her eyes were gleaming and every single one of his battle instincts was yelling at him to run. "W-we're Beaters, Asuna," he said, the stammer betraying him. "You obviously don't want to be seen with us in public, so -"

Asuna glared at him. "Why do you get to decide what I do or don't want?"

"I...I just meant -"

"I've been looking for you two," Asuna said almost conversationally. "And now that I've found you, you expect me to just let you leave?"

Kirito swallowed. "Uh..."

Sinon tapped his shoulder. "Let's hear her out," she suggested.

Glancing at the girl, Kirito sighed. "You're right, Sinon." He turned to Asuna, waving her toward a nearby bench. "Well, Asuna?" he asked. "Why were you looking for us?"

"Uh..." The other girl had obviously been prepared to argue the point, and wasn't expecting him to cave so quickly. "Well, it's a lot to just explain right now. Can we talk about it once we've gotten a room for the night?"

Sinon blinked. "You're staying with us?"

"We're in the same party, aren't we?" Asuna asked. "And I'm not letting you out of my sight again." Kirito sighed at the way she had her hands planted on her hips - there was no way she was going to let him give her the slip.

Rubbing his forehead, Kirito just shrugged. "Okay, whatever. I'm tired, my head hurts, and I want this day to be over." He looked at Sinon. "Do you want to get your dagger upgraded now or can we just wait to do this tomorrow?"

"Whatever you want to do," she replied. "It doesn't really matter to me."

Asuna looked between the two for a second, studying the friends, and finally said, "I think it would be better if you got the dagger upgraded now, Sinon." When the two looked at her, she continued, "It's one of those things I'll explain later. Can you just trust me for once?"

Kirito raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, trust someone who probably wants us dead?" He wouldn't let anything happen to Sinon. Not while he could protect her.

"I don't-"

Sinon moved in between the two. "Please, Kirito, don't fight," she pleaded. "Upgrading the dagger now is a good idea. Please?"

He licked his lips, taking a few deep breaths to calm down. "If that's what you want, Sinon, then let's go." He took a few steps back and then whirled, not looking at the girls. "I'll go rent the inn rooms while you two get the dagger upgraded."

"Kirito-" Sinon started.

"It's fine, Sinon," Kirito said without looking. "I just need a few minutes to calm down." Without looking at the girls behind him, he walked off toward the inn, trying to get his temper back under control. He wasn't even sure why he had lost it in the first place, but the pounding of his head prevented him from thinking about it too much.

After renting out a large room with sufficient space, he laid down on the soft bed and just relaxed, letting the knots in his neck and back slowly work themselves out. Why had he gotten angry at Asuna? Was it because he had lost the monster-killing challenge to her? No, that couldn't be it - he had lost challenges to Shino before, and he had never gotten angry at her before. Even when he didn't know she was Sinon, he had never actually gotten mad at the other girl when she proved herself better at something than him. So why...? "Ugh," he muttered, covering his eyes with his forearm. "I just don't know."

There was a knock at the door, followed by the sound of it opening and closing. "Kazuto?" Shino murmured. "Asuna's outside, I asked her to wait a little bit." Kazuto peeked out from under his arm to see her standing there, a concerned look on her face. "Are you okay?"

He sighed and sat up; he didn't want her to worry. It was his job to protect her, not the other way around. "I'm fine now, Shino," he said. "How about you? Did the enhancement work?"

She nodded, sitting on the bed and then lying down beside him. "Hah... This is comfortable," she said. "Is this our bed?"

"Our?"

She looked at him. "Well, I'm assuming Asuna gets the other bed, and there's only two in this room." Grinning at him, Shino poked at Kazuto's face. "Is that okay with you?" He murmured some sort of agreement, and she sighed in contentment, lying down. "Hey, Kazuto?" she asked.

He looked over at her. "What?"

"You sure you're okay?"

Kazuto just shrugged with a small grin. "I'll be fine, Shino." He patted her hand gently. "You know I'm never mad at you, right?" Shino gave him a small smile and he stood up, relieved that she hadn't thought his anger was directed at her. He knew she was fragile at times, and he didn't want her to think he was turning on her as well - she hadn't told him everything about what happened in her past, but he had some very good guesses.

He moved over to the door and opened it to find Asuna loitering around outside, conspicuously not anywhere near the door; she had been giving them their privacy, and Kirito was grateful. "Asuna?" he said.

"Finished chatting?" she said. Kirito nodded, standing aside and holding the door open, and she walked in, moving over to the other bed and sitting down. "Well, this is nice," she said, patting the mattress. "Usually I'm in one of the cheaper rooms."

Sinon grinned. "Kirito rarely spares expenses when it comes to our resting."

"Yeah, yeah," Kirito muttered, giving Sinon a fond grin. "So, Asuna, I think it's time you told us what was going on."

The girl sighed, folding her legs on the bed and placing her hands in her lap. "Where should I start, then?" Kirito shrugged, and Asuna nodded. "Alright, then. The beginning it is." Kirito sat down beside Sinon and got comfortable; the dark-haired girl sat up and leaned against him, resting against his shoulder.

"Well, I guess I'll start with why I was looking for you two," Asuna said. She looked back and forth between Kirito and Sinon before sighing. "There's going to be an attempt on the field boss tomorrow afternoon, and I wanted you two to be there."

"Us?" Sinon repeated.

Kirito sighed. "Did you forget that we're Beaters, Asuna?" He pressed his knuckles to his forehead. "I don't think anybody would be happy to see us, let alone the people strong enough to take on the field boss."

Asuna swiped open her menu and pulled out two brown cloaks - almost exactly like the one that Argo wore. "Already thought of that," she said, handing them to Kirito and Sinon. "Wear these until we're in the fight, and by then even if they figure out who you are it's not like it matters."

"Why us?" Sinon asked suddenly.

Asuna blinked. "Pardon?"

"Why do you want us to fight?" Kirito asked. "It's just a field boss, Asuna, they're more tedious than hard. I'm sure there's more than enough people to handle it. So..." he leaned forward. "Why come to us?"

Fidgeting slightly, Asuna looked away. "Uh, well..." Kirito looked closer, and sure enough her cheeks were slightly red. "I, um... I wanted to party with you two again." At the amazed stare of the other two, she crossed her arms. "You two are probably the only players I know and can work with. I tried, but there weren't any other groups with an open slot in the raid groups that I could fit in."

"The wasps," Sinon said suddenly. "That was a test?" Kirito looked at her, surprised. He hadn't even considered that.

Asuna nodded. "Yeah. Though, to be fair I also needed to kill them for a sidequest."

Biting his lip, Kirito sighed. "So are we really the only ones that you can work with?" Asuna nodded quietly and he sighed again. "And if you go alone that's pretty much suicide against a boss..."

"Kirito," Sinon said. "We have to."

"Yeah, I know, I know," he murmured. Then, to Asuna, "Fine. Just this once, we'll team up."

If he was going to say anything, it was interrupted when Asuna lunged forward and wrapped him and Sinon in a hug. "Thank you," Asuna murmured. "So much." After a second, she pulled away and Kirito could swear her eyes were shining with tears. "Can I ask you something?"

Sinon said, "What?"

"Why did you claim to be Beaters?"

"I had to," Kirito said. "We're beta testers, and if people started hating beta testers even more than they did before..."

Sinon shook her head. "Disaster. We had to stop them."

Asuna raised an eyebrow, but nodded finally. "It makes sense." She fell silent, but Kirito could tell she was wrestling with something else. "Kirito? Sinon?"

"Hm?" the other girl mumbled.

"I... I just wanted you to know that I don't blame you for anything. Diavel's death wasn't your fault."

Neither Kirito nor Sinon said anything; the girl was staring off into space, lost in her own private world, and Kirito just looked down at his folded hands. "Thank you," he said finally. Standing up, he moved over to the lamp and turned it off. "Good night, Sinon, Asuna." He got in the bed, making sure to be on the very edge of the bed, as far away from Sinon as possible.

"Night, Kirito," Sinon mumbled. "See you in the morning."

The next morning, Kirito was woken up by a warmth pressed up against his back. He luxuriated in the feeling before realizing that something was very wrong. He shifted forward and rolled onto his back to figure out just what was pressed against him to realize that it wasn't a what, but a who. Sinon was pressed up against him closely, eyes shifting occasionally under her eyelids. She was having a dream, and if the way she was whimpering quietly was any indication it was a nightmare. "Sinon," he murmured, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "Wake up, Shino. You're safe now."

After a second, her eyes fluttered open. "Kazuto?" she murmured. "It was Diavel again."

He rubbed her shoulders. "It's okay. I'm here and I won't ever leave you."

"Thank you," she said, pressing closer to him. After a few seconds, she pulled away and coughed. "I, uh. I'm okay now."

Kazuto just laughed and stared at the ceiling. "I won't tell if you won't."

She sat up and looked around. "Asuna's out," she observed. "Early-morning breakfast?"

"I don't know," Kazuto said, shrugging. "I just woke up myself."

When they finally got out of bed and went downstairs, they saw Asuna sitting at a table, sipping a cup of tea. "Good morning," she said. "Have you eaten?" Kirito and Sinon both answered in the negative and took a seat at her table. When the NPC came over, they ordered a light breakfast - just enough to wake them up, but not enough to make them feel lethargic later. After everyone had finished eating, Asuna placed her hands on the table and looked at the two beta testers in front of her. "You... you are still going to help us fight the boss, right?" she asked cautiously.

Kirito nodded slowly. "I promised," he said simply. Sinon just shrugged, glancing at Kirito and then back at Asuna.

"Yes, you did..." Asuna said slowly. Then, she stood up. "Kirito, would you come with me for a bit? I need to stock up on some healing potions, and I wanted another opinion."

"What about Sinon?" he asked, surprised that the girl wanted his company, and the girl in question shrugged.

"I needed to pick up some more picks," she said, "and we don't really need to stock up on potions anyway." She grinned and waved him away. "Go on, I'll be fine."

Shrugging, Kirito stood up and followed Asuna out the door. There weren't many players out at the time, most either still sleeping or out fighting in the field, so they were essentially alone. Kirito was following Asuna, who seemed to deep in thought. That was fine with him, and he just put his mind on autopilot to follow the girl. Shino had been having more nightmares recently, and he wasn't sure why; she had seemed to be getting better ever since they had been trapped in the game, but ever since the second floor had been opened up she had been having at least two or three nightmares a week. What had been the trigger, and could he do anything about it?

"Kirito?" Asuna said. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Hm?" The boy came back to the real world and blinked to see her staring at him as they watched. "Uh, sure? What did you want to talk about?"

"Sinon."

Whatever good mood he had been in before disappeared. "Is there a problem with her?" he asked calmly, though there was a definite edge to his voice.

Asuna blinked and waved her hands in front of her. "No, of course not. It's just..." She struggled with words for a second, then sighed. "She trusts you."

He stared at her. "That's a problem?"

"It is when she doesn't question you at all." Asuna sighed and shook her head. "No matter what you say, she'll go along with it. Even if she disagrees with it, she'll do what you say."

"What are you talking about?" Kirito asked, confused. "I ask for her input all the time, and she always gives it."

"I..." Asuna frowned. "I might be just imagining things. But when we were talking yesterday..."

Kirito hadn't realized the two had been talking when they were out upgrading the dagger. "Huh? Talking about what?"

"No, nothing," she said. "Anyway, we should probably hurry. The raid meeting is just after noon, so we should get our shopping done if we want to be there ahead of time." She sped up, heading toward the nearest general store.

After getting the shopping done, the two returned to the inn where they found Sinon waiting, picks filling all of her vest pouches. "Ready?" she asked, tapping her foot idly against the table leg. "Got everything?"

Asuna nodded. "Potions restocked, weapons repaired, the whole nine yards." She nodded to the two. "Cloaks ready?" Kirito and Sinon equipped their brown cloaks, the hood shadowing their faces. "And we're good to go."

The raid meeting Asuna led Kirito and Sinon to happened to be in the southern portion of the floor; it was about a thirty minute walk through mountainous terrain, but fortunately no monsters spawned and the three made it to the designated location without hassle. Before long, more and more players in gleaming metal armor appeared; most were wearing larger swords strapped to their backs or on their hips, though some had large axes or spears instead. Kirito recognized Kibaou wearing a metal helmet that covered his hair - he seemed to be the leader of his own party, and was giving commands to several other parties surrounding him. Kirito just sighed slightly and looked away.

The rest of the fifteen or so assembled players Kirito didn't know, but one group obviously knew Asuna. "Find a party?" a man said, walking over with four other players trailing him. "That's good, Asuna."

"Oh, Lind," Asuna said, looking over. "Yes, these are two friends I know. They're good, so they can handle themselves." Kirito shifted his cloak slightly to show the Anneal Blade sheathed on his hip before folding his cloak back over his form again. "You two, this is Lind." She smiled at the man in armor briefly. "He's the one that invited me to the raid meeting."

"Nice to meet you," Lind said, holding out a hand. Carefully, Kirito took it, his gloved hand seemingly tiny next to the man's gauntleted fist. "Any friend of Asuna's is welcome here. This boss seems to be a pretty tough one, so more people is better." He laughed slightly. "I just hope you can keep up." Someone called out, and Lind looked over. "Well, it's time. Ready to roll?"

He walked off, swaggering slightly, with his party members following him. Sinon watched him as he left. "Arrogant jerk," she muttered.

Asuna smiled apologetically. "Well, yes, but he is rather good with his sword, and his party members trust him."

"Doesn't explain his attitude," Kirito murmured.

Regardless of the quality of the members assembled, they were a fighting force, at least, with most of them having updated armor and upgraded weapons. "Okay!" Lind said, speaking loudly so that all could hear. "We're going to go over what we know about the boss for everyone to know - if you have information that isn't covered during the briefing, come to the front and tell me after we finish. Schivata?"

He waved, and one of the members in his party moved forward. He reached into a pocket of his leather armor and pulled out a small book, opening it. "The boss's name is the Bullbous Bow. It's a pun on the species of enemy, a large bull-like creature. It's about four meters tall with large horns that it uses to ram players. It's a simple attack pattern as well; it rushes, reorients itself, then rushes again." He flipped a page in the book and glanced over the contents. "If it hits you, you'll go flying, since it's got a lot of mass to it and it moves at a good clip. It'll also hurt like a bitch, so, uh, don't do that." He grinned slightly when the players chuckled.

He flipped another page. "The general plan is to have the tanks draw its attention and block the charge, so if you think you can handle the impact group up near the front when we're done. The other attackers will be rushing it whenever it's turning to attack from the front and the sides. Make sure to get away as soon as the boss finishes turning, so the tanks can get the attention back before it charges."

Finished, the player closed the book with a snap and backed away as Lind came back to the forefront. "It shouldn't be hard today," Lind said, "but you need to make sure you all stay safe. Okay? We don't want any accidents today." Kirito frowned as Sinon shifted slightly. He didn't want to be reminded of Diavel's death either, but the girl had been taking it harder than he had. "Anyone with extra information, come talk to Schivata. Tanks, form up near me; I want to go over the plan one more time with you all in mind."

Kirito and Sinon drifted away slightly, getting away from the players that could recognize them; Asuna started to follow them, but was caught up in conversation with one of the other groups. Tapping her on the shoulder, Kirito leaned in next to Sinon. "Doing alright?" She nodded silently, and he smiled. "That's good."

Eventually, the groups formed up again, preparing for the fight. As the party head, Asuna stood in front of her little group of three with both Kirito and Sinon a step or two behind her. On her left were the members of Kibaou's group, and on her right were the members of Lind's faction. Kirito glanced left and right, taking in the determined faces of both groups, and sighed. Leaning in to Sinon, he murmured, "They aren't going to cooperate."

"Of course not," she whispered back. "They want the drops, right?" Kirito rolled his eyes, then straightened up when Asuna turned around to glare at the two of them.

"Ready to fight?" Lind shouted. The players cheered, and he grinned. "To victory!"

As the players trekked over to the location of the boss, Kirito and his party trailing the group, he couldn't help but notice the way that the two groups kept eyeing each other. Sighing, he shook his head and tried his best to ignore it. When they arrived, the Labyrinth looming high in the sky above, he watched the large field boss snorting and pawing at the ground. It was bigger than he had expected, with broad, powerful shoulders and large cloven hooves. Kibaou banged his mace against his shield and shouted, "Let's do this!"

With a shout, the players charged in. Snorting in rage, the Bullbous Bow turned to look at the players before charging directly at the group. The players split into four groups, the tanks in the front with three groups of attackers moving around them. Bracing themselves, the tanks all hunkered down and met the charge head on with a loud crash of metal. They slid back a good distance, the attackers in their rear jumping to the side to avoid getting knocked over as well; as soon as the Bullbous Bow halted, the tanks backed off and the groups moved in. As a small mobile group, Kirito and his party were being used to just shore up weak spots; as it was, they were part of the attackers from the front this time.

To keep their identities a secret as long as possible, Kirito and Sinon had agreed that the girl would stick to her dagger unless it looked like someone was in danger; because of that, when Kirito and Asuna rushed in to start attacking the boss Sinon was right there beside them. Shouting a war cry, Kirito used «Inverted Vertical»; he slashed from bottom to top, his blade leaving a trail of red, and when the motion finished he was in the perfect position to activate «Slash». His blade shifted colors to pale blue and he cut across the Bullbous Bow's face again. Regaining his footing he jumped back just as Asuna flashed in beside him, the point of her rapier licking out with «Linear» to slice at any spots not protected by the thick brown fur and creating several red slashes near the boss's eye. Kirito couldn't see Sinon from where he was, the large form of the boss obscuring his view, but he knew she would be attacking as quickly as possible, aiming for any weak spots.

"It's charging!" someone called out, and the attackers backed off; Kirito noticed that a few of the players got in one last hit before they backed off, a risky move. If they were just a few seconds slow, or they drew the boss's attention... When the audacious players regrouped, Kirito realized that they were all part of Kibaou's group, and by the low murmurings of the people from Lind's group they had seen that as well.

The boss charged again, and once more the tanks held firm; their shields were being battered, but nobody had been hurt yet. The blockers and attackers cycled in again, Kirito slashing and cutting at the boss's face. When the call came again, he and the others backed off; however, this time there was shoving and pushing, as well as more players staying back a few extra seconds to get more damage in. Beside him, he heard Sinon growl under her breath, and he realized his lips were curled in a silent snarl. They're going to get themselves killed.

That was almost exactly what happened during the next charge. The boss charged just like normal, the tanks blocked, and the attackers moved in; however, when the attackers were called away so that the tanks could recapture the boss's aggro, one of the players from Lind's group stayed there, slashing away at the bull's flank. Because of that, the bull turned on him; when he realized he was in danger, the man stumbled away, turning to run. His feet tangled under him after several steps and he went sprawling face down, the boss getting closer to him every second. "No!" Asuna shouted. The other members of the raiding group shouted as well, paralyzed in terror.

Kirito was already moving, however. He raced towards where the player was prone and leapt over them, landing a few steps away between the player and the charging boss. Licking his lips and taking a deep breath, he sheathed his sword and reared back; his fist, covered in golden light, shot forward to slam into the boss's nose. Grunting with the impact, Kirito tried to follow through and knock the boss away - but the boss had other ideas, continuing the charge and matching his force. The two were in a deadlock, neither able to move due to the other.

Suddenly, the boss squealed in agony as a throwing pick shot over Kirito's shoulder and slammed into the sensitive nose; it hesitated slightly, and that was all the opening Kirito needed. Shouting, he thrust forward with all of his strength, and the boss was knocked into the air. "Switch!" he called out, and backed off. As he did so, almost tripping over the player still sprawled on the ground, Asuna rushed in beside him and leapt into the air; the point of her rapier blurred forward, striking at the boss with the speed of a falling star.

After Asuna landed, taking a few steps forward to keep from falling, the boss crashed to the ground a few seconds later and, after bellowing in agony, exploded into the familiar blue polygons.

Panting, Kirito staggered up to where Asuna was and tapped her on the shoulder. "Good job," he said. "What did you get for the kill?"

"Nothing special," she said. "Just an axe to sell later." She took a closer look at him. "Er, Kirito?"

He blinked. "What?" Then he suddenly realized something. "...oh. This might be bad." During the impact with the boss, the shockwave had blown his hood back; his identity had been revealed to the world.

What was worse, if the way Sinon was racing toward the two, darting quick looks around every few seconds, was any indication, her throwing pick hadn't gone unnoticed either. "Kirito, they know it's us," she gasped, bending over slightly and trying to catch her breath. "And they're not happy."

Sure enough, when Kirito looked up at the other gathered players they were all glaring at him and muttering amongst themselves angrily. As he watched, Lind said something to the player that had been in danger and then started toward the three players standing isolated in the open field. "Asuna?" he called out carefully when he was just within range to be heard; far enough away for him to be able to react to any sudden movements, but not so far as to render conversation impossible. "Are you aware of the identity of the players beside you?"

"If you mean Kirito and Sinon," Asuna snapped, "then yes, I'm very well aware, since I happen to be the one who found them and invited them to this fight. Why?"

Lind coughed, clearing his throat. "That's, ah, not exactly what I meant. I meant, did you know they're Beaters?" He spat out the word like it had burned his tongue.

"We should go," Sinon murmured to Kirito. "We'll just make things worse."

"No," Asuna said, not taking her eyes off of Lind. "I just found you, I'm not letting you go because of these idiots."

Kirito grimaced. "Asuna..."

"If you say another word I'm going to get mad," she snapped. "I'm coming with you from now on, and that's final."

Lind frowned. "Asuna, think things through. If you go with them, you'll be labeled a Beater. And with your skills, there's no way you could convince people otherwise." He reached out a hand. "So please, come with us. Leave those two behind. Join our guild and we'll help you grow."

"Help me grow?" Asuna hissed, eyes blazing. "The only thing you're interested in growing is your ego. We all know that just by watching the fight today. So no," she spat. "I'm not interested in joining your guild." She whirled on her feet and started stalking in the direction of the closest town. "Let's go, Sinon, Kirito. We have no more business here."

Kirito exchanged a glance with Sinon before the two nodded and fell in behind her. The way in front of the three was blocked by some of Kibaou's men, but they grudgingly stood aside - they didn't leave much room, barely giving Asuna enough room to pass through, but Kirito deliberately bumped into some of the ones blocking his path and glared at them until they got out of his way. Sometimes a reputation helped things out.

"That was risky," was the first thing Kirito said when the three had made it back to town and their room. "If things had gotten violent, people could have gotten hurt."

"They didn't, did they?" Asuna replied. After a second, though, she sighed. "But yeah, I know. I'm just glad they backed off."

Sinon cracked a small grin. "You're a scary lady." Asuna giggled and made a grotesque face, curving her fingers to act as claws and swiping at the air. "So terrifying."

"In all seriousness, though, what are you going to do?" Kirito asked the blonde girl.

She stared back at him with a confused look on her face. "I, um, thought it was obvious. I mean, obviously I'm coming with you two, right?"

"Why us?" Kirito asked her suddenly. "Why the two of us? Lind's group seemed to want you well enough, so it's not a matter of you not being able to join a group, Lind being a jerk notwithstanding."

"Well," Asuna hedged, fidgeting with her fingers and the hem of her shirt, "I want to live. I want to survive and get stronger. And I want to go with you because, well..." She took a deep breath and looked up at the two Beaters, shy but unblinking. "Because I think we could be friends."

"Friends?" Sinon asked carefully. Then, slowly, "...I think I'd like that." Kirito stared at her in amazement.

Finally, he said, "If Sinon says it's okay, then it's okay. I trust her judgment." Sinon gave him a smile and he returned it, glad the girl was happy. "Welcome aboard, Asuna," he joked.

Asuna swallowed and gave Sinon a hug, startling both Kirito and the other girl. Hesitantly, though, Sinon returned the hug, wrapping her arms around Asuna's body and clinging to her. "Thank you," Asuna murmured. Pulling away, she looked at Kirito. "Thank you to both of you."

Kirito rubbed the back of his head hesitantly. "I'm not sure if you should be thanking us..."

"Be nice," Sinon scolded him. "Also, you need to get another room."

"What? Why?"

She blinked. "Because I like having a bed to myself?"

"I'll sleep on the couch," Kirito muttered, giving Sinon a friendly glare. "But it's your fault if my back hurts when I wake up." The girl stuck her tongue out at him and he chuckled. "Well, Asuna, we should get some sleep," he said, turning to where the other girl was giggling at their antics. "We're going to be exploring the Labyrinth tomorrow, so we should turn in."

Asuna mastered her giggles and snapped off a salute. "Yessir, mister party leader, sir." Sinon snorted beside Kirito, but didn't say anything. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Did you use your Extra Skill to stop the boss earlier?"

"Oh, that..." Kirito said. "Yeah, that was using the Martial Arts skill. We can show you where it is, if you -" he started to say, but Asuna interrupted him before he could finish.

"It's fine, Kirito, I'm more than happy with my rapier." She smiled at the two. "But thank you for offering."

There was a silence after that; it wasn't the uncomfortable kind of silence, where hostility was in the air or someone had just said something embarrassing - however, it wasn't the comfortable silence that often hung between Kirito and Sinon when they were alone together, the silence between two friends who just didn't need to say anything. This silence was measured, each person in the conversation trying to figure out just what to say next.

Eventually Kirito attempted to break the silence. "You were a huge help today, Asu-" he managed to get out before a huge yawn suddenly attacked him. "Sorry," he muttered after he could speak again and the girls had finished giggling. "I think maybe we should go to sleep."

Sinon nodded. "Big day tomorrow," she said, and stood up to turn off the light. "Enjoy the couch, Kirito."

Groaning, the boy stood up and made his way over to the piece of furniture in question, snatching a blanket from Sinon's bed. When she complained, he just told her he needed something to keep him warm during the night. When he continued that train of thought, mentioning off-hand that she was very warm, the girl blushed bright red and let him have the blanket. "Success," Kirito murmured as he laid down on the couch, using one of the cushions as a pillow.

As he was falling asleep, he wondered how having Asuna around would change the party dynamic.


Asuna's back! And if her stubbornness in this is any indication, Kazuto and Shino aren't getting away from her anytime soon.

Many thanks to everyone that favorited, followed, or reviewed.