Chapter 9


January 22nd, 2025

"Something strange is going on," Yui whispered. "This door isn't locked by a quest flag. It's locked by the system administrator!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kirito demanded.

"Restricted access!" Yui replied. "This door was never intended to be opened by a player!"

Kirito gasped in shock. We were so close, and yet stopped by Sugou once again thanks to his playing fast and loose with the rules. I devoted a moment to start swearing at him and his entire extended family; I displayed a creativity that shocked even me.

The sound of a spawning hexagon activating caught our attention, and I looked around, abandoning a half-formed complaint about Sugou's heritage, the family dog, and how the two were intertwined. I bit off a curse as I realized Guardian Knights were still spawning, trying to attack us. We wouldn't be safe until we were dead or inside that gate, and it didn't look like we were getting inside the door any time soon. "Well, Kirito," I said. "Looks like I'll get to cover your back again." I grinned. "Can't have you dying on me, can I? You're our ace in the hole, after all. Might as well toss the useless cards like me instead and hope to draw into a better hand." I was rather proud of that poker metaphor. It was far better than his attempt back at the Butterfly Valley.

He stiffened suddenly. "No...wait. That's it!" I looked at him to see him digging in his pocket. "Also, that comparison sucked."

My eyes widened. "The card. Of course!" I had a feeling that thing would come in handy. "Also, bite me."

Kirito pulled the card out. "Hey Yui! See if this will work!"

Yui nodded and flew over, laying her hands on the card. It started glowing with the lines I had come to associate with the Cardinal engine. The last time I had seen them, I was abusing Yui's admin credentials to save her code. Funny how things worked out. "I'm transferring the code!" She placed her hands on the gate; it started glowing as it received the correct code to force it to open.

As the door slowly slid open, I summoned my wings and floated into the sky. I glanced around; the Guardian Knights were getting rather close. "We're going to teleport!" Yui cried. "Daddy, give me your hand!" Kirito reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Rythin!" he called out. "Grab on!"

I started to reach for his outstretched hand, hoping to make it in time. "I can only transport one person," Yui cried suddenly. My hand froze; if I grabbed Kirito's hand, neither of us would be able to see Asuna.

I made a lightning-fast decision, fast enough that I didn't even realize I had thought about it; I just pulled back and shook my head. "The lady's waiting for you, pal. Besides, worst case scenario? I'm down in ten minutes." I smirked. "After all, someone's gotta watch your back." A Guardian Knight charged us; without looking, I shifted forward enough to dodge the sword and slammed my fist into its face with a nasty backhand, destroying it. "See? Now get going." Kirito grinned at me.

A light started glowing, and I looked away, shading my eyes. When I looked back, Kirito and Yui were gone. I looked around me at the assembled Guardian Knights. I knew that, above the cloud cover, thousands more were waiting for me to come and visit. Why deny them the chance to make my acquaintance? I cracked my knuckles; it was almost time to go say hello.

But first, I needed to become as deadly as possible.

I took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. As I did, I shut down my emotions one at a time until the only thing left was pure logic - and the drive to make it out of the Grand Quest alive. It was similar to when I had given in to the killing rage when facing Kayaba on the 75th Floor. I threw back my head and started to laugh insanely - Argo had asked me to do that the next time I fell into a killing rage, and I figured this was close enough. Something about the climax of a show she had seen. After finally running out of steam, I straightened up and shrugged. "I still don't get the point behind that, but it was a little fun, I must admit. Maybe all of those cartoon villains were onto something." I looked up at the sky; two Guardian Knights were flying toward me. I floated higher into the sky impassively, biding my time. I wasn't afraid; fear was one of the useless emotions I had suppressed. The Guardian Knight on the right tried to slice at me; I calmly raised my right hand and activated my Guard skill, catching the edge of the sword in my palm. I was strong enough that the sword didn't do any damage to me. Of course, with my attention on the right Guardian Knight, the one on the left was free to attack me. It attempted an overhead cleave; I drew my Umbra Dagger and parried the blade, shifting it to my side. I felt the breeze as the sword passed by the side of my body - the Guardian Knight was unable to stop in time and I cut its head in half with the Umbra Dagger. That taken care of, I turned to the Guardian Knight on the right, its sword still caught in my hand. I sheathed my dagger and dug in my pockets with my left hand, withdrawing a handful of throwing knives. I tossed them at the Guardian Knight, killing it by piercing its body in ten different places. I watched as the knives clattered to the gate; it had closed at some point while I was busy killing.

I looked up and it was as if time froze as my mind kicked into high gear. Guardian Knights were ringing the walls, spawning in from the hexagons; the thin veiling of what I had thought to be clouds and turned out to be the smoke from countless destroyed Guardian Knights had disappeared, revealing the solid mass of enemies waiting for me. I closed my eyes and sighed slowly; this was going to be a bit of a mess no matter how I played it.

The first thing to do was to decide how to play this scene out. I started running through the events in my mind; I would take off immediately, drawing my dagger as I flew toward them. Gravity would still pull me toward the gate, so I would be flying up toward the mass of Guardian Knights. I would need to rotate slightly to minimize the target area they could hit, and crash straight into the wall of Guardian Knights. My dagger would cut several of them, but before long there would be too many for me to just pierce straight through. I wasn't Kirito; I didn't have two swords. I would punch out with my right hand, destroying a Guardian Knight and blinding myself with the smoke. I would cough and bring my right hand up to my eyes, covering them out of habit; that would open up my right side and a Guardian Knight would take advantage of my brief weakness, slashing me across the ribs. Twenty percent of my health would be gone. Using the momentum given to me by that attack, I would start spinning, slicing out with my dagger and kicking with abandon. Given the insane clustering of enemies, I would manage to kill at least fifty more Guardian Knights without taking any more damage. At least, until the gravity would shift.

After flying high enough, the gravity would shift and I would suddenly be flying down. The disorientation from the sudden shift would only last a split second given my peculiar method of orienting myself, but that would still throw me off just enough to get cut across the back. Another ten percent gone; I would go limp and ride the blow, getting flung down and to the left. I would stab with my Umbra Dagger, destroying a Guardian Knight just before it struck me in the chest. Using that brief static position, I would start rotating once more, cutting and crushing the Guardian Knights that surrounded me. After the 37th kill, a Guardian Knight that had been hidden behind one I would have just killed with the claws on my right hand would thrust up with its sword, stabbing me through the stomach. Ten percent of my health, along with a constant five percent drain for every second it remained in my stomach. I would have to lash out and kill the Guardian Knight. Of course, I would have a brief second of stun before I could kill the Guardian Knight, and that would be my downfall. My rotation would be halted and the Guardian Knight I would have been about to kill would have the chance to attack me, cutting me from shoulder to hip in one clean slice. Thirty percent of my health, coupled with the lag time from being damaged and the sword in my stomach, would drain my HP to zero and I would die.

I shook my head; that was unacceptable. I would have to revise my strategy, eliminating excess damage taken. I ran through the scenarios again and again, changing one variable at a time. Finally, I had a plan that I thought would work; my eyes snapped open and I let a small smirk sneak onto my face. I was going to make it out of this damn room come hell or high water and woe to anything that got in my way.

I took off immediately, launching myself toward the wall of Guardian Knights. I felt the tug of gravity on my body, and my small smirk didn't slip; everything was going according to plan. I reached into my coat and drew a handful of fire knives - I tossed them at my target, one of the segments of the Guardian Knight barrier that seemed to be weaker. I had noticed that small weak spot when I studied it; the writhing mass of enemies seemed slower there, as if there were fewer Guardian Knights. They streaked forward and slammed into the spot precisely; a loud series of explosions ripped through the air as the concentrated fire knives all detonated one after the other. Immediately, I drew my Umbra Dagger, starting to rotate slightly; that would reduce the target area for the Guardian Knights. I flew forward into the smoke; it masked my presence long enough for me to slice out to my right. A small resistance told me that I hit my mark and the top half of a Guardian Knight that had been about to stab me in the side exploded into purple smoke. That was one source of damage I didn't have to worry about - my health was still at full. Using the brief second before the lower half of the bisected Guardian Knight exploded as well, I pushed off, starting to spin. I sliced and kicked out with abandon, cutting through Guardian Knights like they were butter. It really was simple; their only threat was the sheer number of them that could be fielded at once.

No matter what happened, I could still be caught off guard by a sudden swarm of enemies. The second I thought of that, a group of Guardian Knights surrounded me at once; I clenched my fists and lashed out, knocking them all away with ease. I rose higher and higher, killing more and more as I went. Twenty, forty, forty-nine; when I hit fifty, I reached the point where the gravity would shift. I rose an inch higher; the gravity shifted, and my attacking paused for just a split second. That split second cost me, though, and a Guardian Knight took advantage of my brief disorientation, cutting me across the back. Ten percent of my health was gone, and I grunted unconsciously. That attack was unavoidable. But I could still fight back; I dismissed my wings and let myself fall. The attack I had taken flung me down and to the left, but I was able to ride the blow by going limp the second before it hit me. I used the new vector to get ready to attack, and stabbed out with my dagger. I pierced the skull of a Guardian Knight that had been about to stab me in the shoulder, and it burst into smoke. Using that split second of the ability to redirect my momentum, I started lashing out and spun, using all four of my limbs. I tore through my opponents using my dagger, my legs, and the claws on my hands. It was easy enough to kill them - after all, their health was probably under three digits, and my stats were through the roof. I killed three dozen without breaking a sweat or getting injured again; that was no problem. The second I slashed through one more Guardian Knight, I twitched my right arm out to release the knife up my sleeve. That particular knife was going to save my life; I threw it to my right. It slammed into the head of a Guardian Knight that was about to cut me, and it exploded. Unfortunately, that meant I was open from the front - and a Guardian Knight took advantage of that brief opening. It thrust upwards, and I took the sword straight through the stomach. I glared at the offending creature and struck out with my left hand, destroying the Guardian Knight. I glanced at the sword in my stomach; I was at seventy percent health and about to start dropping fast.

Of course, I couldn't spare the time to draw the sword out of my body without getting myself killed. That had been the end result of several scenarios I had run; I wanted to avoid that. So instead, I reached forward and grabbed the handle of the sword. With a grunt, I shoved it further into my stomach until the blade was as far in as it would go, the crossguard pressing on my ribs. With an eye on my remaining health, I curled up into a small ball, extending my fists in front of me. Using the force of gravity, I started flipping, turning head over heels. Whatever my claws didn't cut through, the Guardian Knight's sword split in half; whatever the sword failed to kill, my claws shredded. I grinned tightly, hidden in the safety of the whirlwind of carnage I was causing. That was probably not something anybody else had tried before.

Suddenly, I stopped encountering resistance. I snapped out of the ball and rolled onto my back, staring up at the large cluster of Guardian Knights I had just managed to cut my way out of. I started laughing hysterically, amazed I'd managed to survive that. With a gasp, I drew the sword out of my stomach and tossed it aside. Now, if everything had followed the way I had predicted, I'd be able to throw knives at any Guardian Knights that tried to catch me. I was falling fast enough that I'd be able to get past any new spawns before they managed to catch up to me. I opened my coat and filled my hands with knives; I'd have to restock when I got out, but that was a small price to pay in exchange for being a badass.

I was prepared to start tossing knives at anything that tried to catch me when suddenly a large blast of fire from below roared past me and instantly destroyed the first of my many targets. With confusion, I rolled back over to see what had happened and where that fire had come from. My eyes widened with surprise as I was thrown out of my emotionless state at the sight; almost the entire group of Cait Sith was soaring around on their dragons below me at the bottom of the room. They must have come back when the door didn't close behind them; I wasn't sure if I needed their help, but it was definitely appreciated. I returned most of the knives back to my coat, only holding on to a few in case I needed to kill something immediately.

"Need some help, Rythin?" Alicia called. I picked her out of the crowd; she was in the center of the dragoons, calling commands. It was the safest place to be, after all, and I adjusted the trajectory of my fall enough that I would manage to aim directly for that particular spot.

I rolled and flipped, summoning my wings at the last second to hover beside her. "Nailed it," I said absently as I smoothed my coat out and ran my fingers through my hair, brushing it out of my eyes. With the exception of their appearance, everything had gone perfectly, and I smirked. "Exactly as planned." With enough planning, anything was possible. Even something beyond the realm of possibility, like what I had just pulled off. By all rights, I should have died.

"When you say that, you sound like some evil mastermind," Alicia remarked.

I shrugged. "I'm smart enough to at least wait until I'm safe to say it." I glanced at her. "So why exactly did you all come back?"

"It got boring," someone called. I looked over to see Gilvs hovering there on his own dragon. "I mean, nobody was insulting anybody else."

"Good to know I've got some use among your crowd."

He glanced up at the sky. "Hold that thought..." He whispered to his dragon and it raised its mouth and blasted a fireball. I looked at it to see a Guardian Knight exploding into flame not ten feet above my head. I hadn't been paying good attention. "Might want to watch your back."

I smirked. "Right back at you." I tossed a knife just over Gilvs' shoulder, striking a Guardian Knight straight in the chest. I wasn't sure what type of knife it was, so I watched the aftermath with interest. The Guardian Knight turned a light shade of blue and dropped; when it hit the floor, it shattered into several pieces. "So that's what the water-element knives do. Neat." I wondered what the wind and earth element effects would be; I would have to experiment. I drew one of each kind and threw them at two Guardian Knights that were getting a little close for comfort. Each hit their mark, and I sat back to watch the effects. The Guardian Knight hit with a wind-element knife was sliced to bits as a miniature tornado surrounded it, dealing several small cuts in only a second. The earth-element knife expanded, turning into a spike of stone that pierced the Guardian Knight and carried it back, slamming it into other Guardian Knights. These could come in useful.

"Let's get going!" Alicia ordered. "We've retrieved the package."

I grinned. "Good to know my shipping was handled with care." I glanced at my health; I was at just under twenty percent health left. I wouldn't have survived much longer with the sword in my gut, or if I had taken that stab at the beginning of the fight. The patterns had served me well, but I wasn't going to push my luck. I turned with the dragoons and fled from the fight.

Once we were outside and my health was restored, I collapsed on the ground against the base of one of the statues, exhausted. At the sound of boots approaching me, I looked up. It was some random Cait Sith. "That...was...the coolest thing I've ever seen!" he said. I blinked at him for a second before realizing he was talking about my escape from the Guardian Knights.

I managed to pull together the energy to manage a tired grin and dry chuckle. "I'm a trained professional on a private course. Don't try that at home."

He shook his head. "You must be insane. I would never thought to use the Guardian Knight's weapon against them."

I shrugged. "You'd be surprised how often using the opponent's weapon against them works." The Venomous One, one of those foolish Knights of the Blood members that tried to kill me... They always managed to watch your weapon, but never their own. It was a small blind spot that was almost as ubiquitous as the one where most people never looked up. "Knowing how to improvise is always for the better." I raised a finger. "But, you're right. I'm insane and that shouldn't have worked."

"Didn't you say you had that whole thing planned out?" he asked me.

I nodded. "Entirely. Down to the percent of health left." That was a blatant lie, and I was just trying to see how much I could get away with. One glance into his eyes told me he'd believe almost anything - I had seen hero worship before. There wasn't much I could do about it without being a larger jerk than was necessary at the moment, though I would be able to handle it later. I feigned exhaustion, and the Cait Sith flushed guiltily. Murmuring something about talking to some of his friends, he retreated to let me be. I stretched and rested against the base of the statue. I glanced up at the large stone carving; I smirked and closed my eyes. "Show you who's worthy now." I took a deep breath and let it out, letting my tension finally release. I had managed to get Kirito in to see Asuna, and managed to get myself out of danger relatively in one piece. All that was left was to pick up Yui and go visit Asuna.

"Well, Mr. Hero, how are you enjoying the adulation?" Alicia asked me.

I sighed without opening my eyes. "I'm surrounded by idiots, if that's what you're asking." I cracked one eye open to glare out around me. "I'm getting out of here the second Yui shows up."

"What's the rush?" Alicia sat on the base of the statue, tail twitching slightly. "You're a hero now. Well, you and Kirito, but he's not here. Looks like you're it." She grinned. "Can I get an autograph?"

I grinned slightly. "I'm not hero material. If you wanted a villain, then maybe, but definitely not a hero." My motivations weren't heroic in the slightest. I just wanted to enjoy myself; it just so happened that I needed those closest to me to be happy before I could enjoy myself to the fullest. "As for the rush, well... I'm just excited to see an old friend, I guess." I looked around me, but I couldn't find a familiar figure in green. "Where'd Leafa run off to?"

"She logged off as soon as she got out," Alicia replied. "Said something about her brother." I nodded, understanding the reasons behind her disappearance. That would be her last chance to talk to her brother before Asuna was back in his life. "You should stay for the party, at least." She grinned. "There's gonna be fish..."

I chuckled and shook my head. "As good as the offer sounds, I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline. I promised Argo I'd call her as soon as we finished up in here."

"Who's Argo?" Alicia asked me. I looked up to see her grinning at me.

I tapped my chin in thought. "I think at this point she's officially my 'It's Complicated', though she definitely wants more than that."

Alicia shoved my shoulder. "Look at you, handsome. Playing the field?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm just your typical asexual sociopath." Alicia looked at me strangely. "Honestly, I'm surprised she can stand me."

"Uncle! Uncle!"

I stood up and stretched. "And that's my cue." Yui appeared in front of me. "Ready to go, kiddo?"

"Uncle, it's Oberon!" Yui cried. She grabbed onto me and buried her face in my chest.

In an instant, my grin disappeared and my eyes grew hard. "What happened?" My voice was deadly calm.

Yui was distraught. "Daddy rescued Mommy, and they were about to leave when Oberon showed up! He used this weird magic to pin everyone and I had to teleport away by shifting my data to you!"

I clenched my fists. Even when we were this close, Sugou still had to try to ruin things. Then I stopped and forced my body to relax. "It's okay, kiddo."

Yui looked up at me. "But...Uncle..."

I grinned at her. "It's Kirito we're talking about, kiddo, remember? He killed Kayaba, and Sugou's nothing more than a two-bit imitation." I chuckled. "If I know Kirito, he's probably already broken the system in three different ways. Now what do you say we get out of here?"

Yui sniffed and nodded. "Okay, Uncle." She disappeared in a flash of light. The second she was gone, my shoulders sagged and I let the worry I was feeling show.

"Everything alright?" Alicia asked.

I turned to see her standing behind me. "I'm not sure. I don't have any idea what's going on and I don't like that." I shook my head. "I guess I'm just going to have to do take my own advice and trust him." I swiped open my menu and navigated to the logout menu; the prompt appeared in front of me. I hesitated over the accept command. "If you have any good friends on here, you should probably message them and say goodbye. You probably won't be seeing them in the near future."

"Wait, what are you -" The rest of Alicia's words were lost as I hit the accept prompt and logged out.

I opened my eyes and sighed. "Kirito, if you don't get her out of there I'm just going to have to take a more direct approach," I muttered. The actions I would take would probably not be considered legal, though if I played my cards right I could probably get away with what I had planned for Sugou. It did help to be able to fall back on the Sword Art Online card if I needed to, but I hoped it wouldn't come to that. After all, it would only work once and I didn't want to waste it on scum like Sugou. I threw myself off the bed and onto my feet, plans of action confirmed. If Asuna was not awake or harmed in any way, I'd have to do something drastic. With luck, though, she would be awake and smiling. I connected the NerveGear to the laptop; after a second, Yui appeared in a flash of light. She still looked worried, so I grinned. "Hey, kiddo. Ready to go see your mom?" I didn't want her to have any idea that I wasn't sure if Asuna was awake.

She smiled at me. "Okay, Uncle Rythin."

"Now, I want you to shut down until your daddy or I tell you to wake up, okay?" I told her. I didn't want her to hear anything I said or did until I was certain Asuna was awake.

She nodded. "Okay, Uncle." She trusted me; that was pleasant to realize. In a flash of light, she disappeared again, going into her sleep cycles and processing the data she had acquired over the course of the day. I glanced outside; it was dark, and the clock claimed it was almost midnight. I yawned automatically, as although my body had been resting, my mind certainly hadn't. I disconnected the NerveGear and closed the laptop, placing it in my bag.

After a bit of deliberation, I left a note for my mother on the table, telling her I was going to visit a friend at the hospital and not to wait up for me. She should probably be home before I got back, especially if Asuna was awake. I didn't want to worry my parent as a matter of easing my own life; I had no obligation to do so, but by leaving a note I proved I was considerate and capable of handling myself. It simplified my comings and goings by letting me do what I wanted.

I exited my house, locking the door behind me. I was glad I had managed to convince my mother to give me a separate key during the two months spent recuperating. I had liked to take walks occasionally, to get some exercise, and I didn't want to leave the home unlocked without anyone being there. At least, that was my excuse; I just wanted to feel secure in my own home with the knowledge that I could lock doors. It was a psychological crutch, but it made me feel safer. It did turn out to be pretty useful in situations like the one I found myself in at the moment. I glanced at the sky, searching for any stars I could pick out; I couldn't see any. I assumed that meant there was some cloud cover.

Walking calmly down the street, I pulled out my cellphone and hit speed dial one. I didn't want to expend effort typing in Argo's number, although I had it memorized, so I was glad I had the foresight to program the speed dial ahead of time. She picked up on the third ring. "Rythin? You done for the night?" Her voice was bright and alert; I was glad I hadn't woken her up.

I grinned; although she couldn't see it, she'd hear it in my voice. "Done and finished. Kirito made it to the top of the World Tree to see Asuna, courtesy of yours truly, and I'm headed off to the hospital to see her." I laughed. "You should come visit some time. I knew Kirito considered you a friend."

"I would, but you've never mentioned the name of the hospital," Argo replied. I hadn't? I hadn't even realized. I walked down the street into the main city, out of the suburbs where I lived.

"Sorry about that." I quickly gave her the address of the hospital Asuna was staying at. "It's pretty fancy. Apparently, Asuna's family is pretty well off."

"You mentioned something like that," Argo said. "Something about how her family owns Alfheim Online."

I barked out a laugh. "Not for long, they don't." I crossed the street after checking both ways; it would have been stupid to get hit by a car when I was about to visit a hospital, not to mention ironic. "Ten to one gets you they'll be shut down once Sugou's depravities are revealed."

Argo snickered. "Ooh, depravities. Someone's been reading a thesaurus."

I laughed. "Well, what else will I do when not discussing things with your magnificent person?" I ran my fingers along the fence next to me absently. "I do have a large vocabulary. Comes from reading tons of books when I was in middle school." Because I didn't have any friends to play with, I developed my mental muscles instead. Thanks to that, I had to make a concentrated effort to 'dumb' my words down; if a smaller word would work equally as well, I would tend to choose that word. I hated it. "I've never asked - what books do you like to read?"

"Hm..." I heard her hum in thought for a bit. "Anything, really. I've got a preference for adventure and swordfighting. After all, I've got a bit of personal experience in that."

"You hardly did any fighting while in there," I teased her gently. "I had to save you on more than one occasion, remember?"

Argo laughed. "You punted a small mob over the trees that one time." I snickered as I recalled the memory. "Other than action and adventure, I guess I'll read pretty much anything so long as it's good." She paused for a second. "With the exception of cheesy romances. I'm not a huge fan."

"Hm." Almost exactly the same as my tastes, although I had a bit more of a preference for any sort of violence than she did - and I didn't mind the occasional romance story, though I preferred it to be a secondary plot rather than the main focus. "I do appreciate the qualifier. Terrible literature is so intolerable, isn't it?" I thought for a second. "To be honest, our adventures would make a good story, wouldn't they?"

"They already are, remember?" Argo said.

I thought for a moment, then snapped my fingers. "Oh right, that SAO book. They still haven't contacted me, though it's only been a few days."

"Aw, don't worry," Argo purred. "They'll contact you soon and then you can downplay your achievements again." That was a good jab. I did have a habit of doing that, although most of the time it was to avoid being in the spotlight.

Of course, an eye for an eye; a jibe demanded a comeback. "Well, someone needs to counteract your grandiose boasting. The way you probably told them, you killed every third boss by yourself."

"Oh, yes, that's me," Argo said with a dramatic tone. I couldn't see her, but she probably had tossed her hair with feigned arrogance. "Everything's me, me, me. I guess you could say I'm a sociopath."

Oh, she was good - I could tell she had been waiting to use that one. But I had some good lines saved up too. "So long as you don't rat me out, I'll keep your secret for you." There; a play on her nickname and her - and my - habit of holding secrets close to the chest. "After all, it's not as if you'd sell me out for just any price, right?"

"Not any price," she said. "Just one that's big enough." We both shared a quick laugh. Soon enough, though, she was back on the attack. "You are wearing a shirt, right? I'd hate to think you were going to scare Asuna back into a coma."

I checked automatically, then flushed at my stupidity. "I'm not only wearing a shirt, I'm wearing a coat too. It's cold out, you know." I did need to fire back. "I think you're the only one who has a problem with me going shirtless. I'd think it would be the other way around, given your tastes."

"What, you mean my taste for well-muscled men? That's why I complain." Oh, she was very good. I knew I wouldn't be bored with her around.

"And yet somehow you're hopelessly in love with me, Argo," I purred. "Says something, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," she agreed. "It says you're projecting."

"Oh, so you're suddenly a psychology major now?"

She snickered. "To deal with you, I've had to become one."

I grinned. "Speaking of minds, I'm apparently the leading cause of brain aneurysms. Turns out sufficiently intelligent conversations will literally blow people's minds."

I heard her giggle. "I'll be sure to tone it down when I'm around you, then."

"Funny, I was going to say the same thing," I said. I hadn't enjoyed myself in a back-and-forth volley of sarcastic quips in a long time. Kirito tried, but he just wasn't quick enough on his feet to keep up with me, though if he had time to think he could deliver a devastating blow to my ego. For that matter, most people couldn't keep up with me. But Argo knew how the game was played, knew when to withdraw and when to attack; more than that, she enjoyed the game. I was going to enjoy myself. But she had bested me in that exchange, so I needed to change my direction of assault. What did I have going for me? Aside from intelligence and skill in verbal manipulation, I was asexual; but using that would be like using a sledgehammer. Sure, I'd win, but I preferred the more precise use of jabs that would pierce their armor to just smashing their barriers down. It was a manner of preference. Either way, the allotted time before I tacitly admitted defeat was running out. I had to think of something... I could always stall and try to get her to give something away. "So, what kind of music do you like to listen to?"

"Giving up already?" There went the hope that she'd fall for my probe by assuming I was leading into something. "I thought you were better than that."

"I've never heard of that genre. Hum a few bars and I might be able to fake the rest," I retorted. It was weak and simple, but it was still something.

"Alright, fine, I'll tell." Argo thought for a moment, until I heard her clicking something. Likely pulling up her music list to see what genres were predominant. "Kinda eclectic, actually. Let's see..." I heard her humming to herself for a second. "Classical, jazz, 80's rock... that's just a sample. How about you?"

I shrugged before realizing she wouldn't have seen it. "Eh, nothing special. I'll listen to whatever so long as it's not too loud. I do seem to prefer game soundtracks, though. Most of my music is that." I played games and listened to the music at the same time; if I liked the game's music, I'd grab it and add it to my collection. Even if I didn't like the game, I'd listen to the music if it was good enough. "I'd hazard about ninety percent is video game soundtracks or related? The rest is just assorted things I've heard and liked more than usual. A few jazz tracks, some classical, stuff like that." I snickered. "It's like a law that everyone has at least one version of Moonlight Sonata and Habanera in their musical collection."

"You're a nerd," Argo remarked.

"This coming from the person who spent their time inside a video game writing about it? If that's not antisocial behavior, I don't know what is," I shot back.

"And you'd know antisocial, wouldn't you?"

I adjusted my glasses with my free hand. "Of course. I know you, don't I?" That was unquestionably my win. She gave me the opening, so she couldn't complain.

"Point, you. That puts us at tied again, right?" At least she was a good sport about it.

"In tennis, they'd call this love," I said dryly. Something cold hit my cheek and I wiped at it; it was wet. I glanced into the sky to see snow starting to fall. "Hm. It's snowing."

"I think it's called love anywhere, Ry," was her quick response. "Why else would I put up with you?"

"My charming personality and witty conversation, obviously," I said. "The better question is why I'd put up with you."

She giggled. "I'm young, attractive, and the only person who can give you a run for your money when it comes to verbal attacks. Seems fairly straightforward to me, wouldn't you say?"

"You being young and attractive hardly matters to me," I said. "It's your mind that intrigues me, after all."

"I'd be lying if I didn't say the same," Argo replied. I heard a hint of laughter in her voice, and I realized I'd left an opening. "Of course, I'd be lying if I said the same anyway. You're hardly attractive."

"Please, you wish you could find someone else who looked like this," I said.

"I forgot that humility was one of your strong suits."

"If only, Ms. Rat. If only." I shook my head. "Strangely enough, people still like me even with all my bragging."

"It must be because all the girls want bad boys," Argo muttered. "But I doubt you know them personally Give me the names of ten people that like you, and I'll admit defeat."

Shit, she called my bluff; but she didn't specify what kind of like. I decided to go for the 'could tolerate me' definition. "Well, there's Kirito, Asuna, you..."

"I don't count, despite your dubious definition of 'like'," Argo interrupted me.

"Well, that's hardly fair," I grumbled. "Okay, revising. Kirito, Asuna, Agil, Klein..." That wasn't good. I was relying on her to make five; I was going to pull something sneaky, but it required that I have seven people in the list. I really needed to make some friends. "Alicia Rue, Gilvs..." I would have to bend the truth slightly. "Leafa..."

"Who's Leafa, Alicia Rue, and Gilvs?" Argo asked, suspicion in her voice.

"People from ALO. I only killed one of them, don't worry." I'd leave it up to her to decide which one I was talking about. "Let's see, that's how many?"

"I think that makes seven," Argo replied after a moment.

I grinned; that gave me the opening I needed. "And me, myself, and I make ten. I win."

"That hardly counts, Ry," she complained. Nevertheless, it was a point in my favor. I used the rules to my advantage, as well as playing on my previously admitted mental problems. It was a beautiful line, and even despite her complaints Argo had to admit that. "Back to talking about normal things, what's your particular taste in TV?"

I thought for a moment. "You know, I'm not really sure. It's been a while since I've watched anything live. I just usually watch things on the internet."

"Like porn?" Oh, step up your game, Argo. I had a counter for that prepared ever since I realized I was asexual.

"All kinds," I replied instantly. "You name it, I've got about ten gigabytes of it saved." Refuge in audacity always works, especially when I was the one using that line.

"BDSM?"

I never could remember what the BD part stood for. "Got it."

"Gay porn?"

Without missing a beat, "Watch it every Tuesday."

"Someone dressed up as Asuna and someone dressed up as Kirito?"

"I..." I was actually speechless. "Wow. That's a new one." I stopped myself before I could even think about it. "I don't even want to think about that, thanks."

"I've had that prepared ever since you told me you were asexual," Argo said with a triumphant tone to her voice. "I think that's my point."

I pretended to retch. "You can have it. That brings the score two to two, right?"

"I think it's three to two, my favor," Argo said instantly. I knew she was lying, but that was part of the game. Get every advantage you could; if the opponent didn't call foul, it was a fair shot.

"The only thing that's unequal here is the competition, and that's in my favor," I said. "You'll have to try harder than that. I want a challenge, after all." I took a second to look around, checking my location. I had a few minutes before I'd get to at the hospital, so I could keep playing with Argo for a few more rounds.

"Fine, then." Argo took a few seconds to think, likely lining up quip and counter for the next segment.

"Hold up a second," I said. "I need to make a brief stop." I was standing outside Kazuto's house. "Checking on Kirito," I said as a means of explaining myself to Argo. "Consider it a brief reprieve to think of a jab." I ignored Argo's grumbles and knocked on the door, pressing the phone to my chest to essentially mute the conversation on my end.

After a few seconds, the door opened. Suguha was standing there with a confused look on her face. "Oh, it's you, Nick. I thought Kazuto came back."

"Don't sound so disappointed," I remarked. "I was on my way to the hospital to check on Asuna. Did Kazuto say anything?"

Suguha smiled. "He said it's all over. Asuna's safe. She's back in the real world."

I blinked, suddenly exhausted. I closed my eyes and sighed, shuddering with the relief. "Oh thank the gods. She's safe." After a few more seconds of reveling in the realization, I opened my eyes. "Suguha. Thanks for everything. We wouldn't have been able to do this without your help."

She smiled. "You sound like Kazuto. He said the same thing."

"I get that a lot," I said with a shrug. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry it didn't work out between you two the way you hoped. I don't like seeing Kazuto upset, and you're important enough to him that he gets upset when you're hurt," I said. "So you better be happy from now on, got it?"

Suguha giggled. "Yes sir, Tactician."

I winced. "He told you about that, did he? Bastard." I turned and waved. "Later." I returned the phone to my ear. "Okay, I'm back. Hit me with your best shot." There was only silence that answered me. "Hello? Argo? You still there?" A few more seconds passed without Argo saying anything. I raised an eyebrow. "Still got nothing?"

"It's surprisingly hard to come up with them on the spur of the moment," Argo muttered. "I've got nothing."

I chuckled. "I think I'm burnt out too. But good news. Asuna's awake, and the rest of the trapped players should be waking up sometime soon as well."

"That's great!" Argo exclaimed. "So everything did work out, I guess."

"Yep," I said. "I didn't know how much it had been bothering me until Kazuto's sister told me Asuna was awake. So, how about we just chat for a bit, then? How'd your day go?"

"Normal," Argo replied. "Nothing special, really, aside from the parts where we talked. Honestly, I'm gonna be glad when the school starts again."

"Yeah," I said. "I know what you mean. Things are just so boring when I'm not engaged."

"You could always propose to me."

"Huh?" I thought for a second. "Oh. Wrong definition, Ms. Rat. Besides, you still haven't met my parent yet."

"Parent in the singular?"

I snorted. "I'm not risking you meeting my father." I didn't exactly like the bastard, although he taught me everything there was to know about cynicism and jabbing in the knife. After I got trapped in SAO, though, I developed my own style. I liked to think I was more selective in my use of my words, but I knew I had to keep a close eye on when I used them. "My mom, maybe, but definitely not my father."

"Oh, okay..." Argo seemed a little taken aback by the sudden anger in my voice. "But I know what you meant."

"Hm. The only problem is that once again I'll be surrounded by idiots," I grumbled. "Present company excluded, of course."

"I would hope so," Argo said in an arch tone. "Hopefully we'll be in the same class."

I smirked. "But how would you pay attention?"

"You'd have to be in front of me, obviously," she replied. "Otherwise I'd be facing the back of the class the entire time."

"But then what will I stare at the entire time?" I asked. "The outside can only entertain me for so long. It's the outside." Argo and I shared a laugh. "How can it compare to the amazing sight of you?"

"Aw, Ry. You sure know how to make a girl feel special," Argo said. "You liar."

"What exactly have I lied about recently? Besides the obvious, of course."

She snickered. "There's no way the outside can entertain you for any length of time."

I rolled my eyes with a small grin. "Oh no, you caught me," I said with no emotion. "I lied."

"You really need to get better at the whole lying thing, Ry," Argo told me.

I grinned. "I will endeavor to do my best," I assured her. "I will be an accomplished liar in about..." I glanced at the time on my phone. "Ten seconds." I waited several heartbeats. "Done."

"That was quick."

I shrugged. "I had a good teacher, Ms. Rat."

"Glad to be of help."

I grinned. "Anyway, back to the questioning..." She knew everything about me, and I wanted to know everything about her as well. "What kind of shows do you watch? You asked me, but I never got the chance to return the favor."

Argo hummed in thought. "Whatever's on, really. I've seen some animated stuff, some live-action... just kinda whatever."

"Any recommendations?" I'd search for them on the internet if it sounded interesting.

"There was one show I think you'd like. Basically, a guy goes crazy with the power to kill people." I was already interested, and told her as such. "Thought so. Anyway, the main draw of the show is the conflict between that guy and the detective trying to catch him. Their interactions are amazing."

"How so?" I asked, intrigued. I'd search for it when I returned from the hospital and visiting Asuna.

"Well," said Argo, "Think about how we argue back and forth and then up it by a factor of ten. Then add in more schemes and plans than you came up with during our stay in SAO, shake, and stir."

I blinked. "Damn. This, I'll have to see." Witty banter, insane murderers, and mental mind games that I'd love to pull off? How could I refuse? I made her promise to send me a link to the show when I hung up. "So what are you planning to do for your future?" It was a strange shift from TV shows to future plans, but I wanted to know.

"Author, probably," Argo replied. "I've always liked writing."

"I noticed," I said dryly. "That field guide almost got you killed multiple times over."

"Hush, you," she scolded gently. "We've already gone over that."

"So why author?" I asked. "Why not journalist or something?"

"I don't know," Argo replied. "Something about the thrill of just writing what I want, instead of trying to break a story. How about you? Got any big plans?"

"I've pretty much got my goals locked in stone," I replied. "I'm aiming to be a game programmer, but if that fails general programming is fine with me." I grinned slightly. "I've got the experience with programming, after all."

Argo laughed. "That thing with Yui, right? Yeah, I could see how you'd put that on a resumé."

I snickered. "I can see it now." I pitched my voice for effect. "And what experience do you have in the field of programming, young man?" I shifted back to my normal voice. "Well, I saved the life of an AI by hacking into a game and abusing the admin credentials to create an item that would run her code from an outside source. After that, I rewrote the source code for that game so that the AI could talk to me and my friends in the world, whom she views as family. Also, I was trapped in a video game for two years please give me a job." I wasn't above begging.

Argo laughed. "That would go over well."

"You're not much better, Ms. Rat," I said. "Think about your published works. A how-to guide on surviving a death game?"

"At least I have something written, unlike you," she shot back.

I snorted. "Please, I've re-written the Cardinal engine so that Yui can talk to me and her parents in the real world. You'll have to try harder than that." It was good to know that our relationship was defined less by emotions and more by who could think faster. Emotions were still a part of it - I loved her and all that - but the relative speed of our wits was far more important.

Argo grumbled for a few seconds, but eventually rallied. "Unlike your program, my guide was entirely original. I didn't have to use someone else's work."

That was a good shot, but I was prepared. "No, you just had to ask me to write some of it. Remember the crystal ruins?"

"How could I have forgotten?" Argo asked rhetorically. "'I'm a little afraid of the dark,' he said. Biggest bullcrap I've ever heard."

I grumbled briefly. "Just because I wanted to save your delicate ego..."

Argo giggled. "My ego's sturdier than yours. After all, I'm not the one who had a mental breakdown a few hours ago."

"Ouch." Dirty shot, but fair. "You win that one. I have no counter." Time to shift the conversation direction, then. "Back to the topic of school, then?"

"Sounds good to me."

I sighed. "I guess I'm just going to have to tell myself that stupidity isn't catching and suffer through the two years."

"You can catch stupidity?" Argo asked with a small laugh.

"I can't," I replied. "I've become immune through excessive exposure. But you might want to be careful."

"I'm still amazed you've managed to make it through your entire life without pissing the wrong people off and getting punched in the face," she muttered.

"It's a gift. It also helps that I'm good at knowing just where to draw the line," I said. "I tried to avoid bothering anybody I couldn't run away from."

"So you only insulted the cripples? That's low, Ry. Low," Argo said. She sounded disappointed in me, but I knew it was feigned.

"And yet, I'm taunting you. Tells you something, doesn't it?"

"That you've caught stupidity? I thought you said you were immune to that," Argo replied. Devastating. "Are you always such a smart-ass?"

"Nope," I replied. "Sometimes I'm asleep." I chuckled. "Even then, I'm an ass in my dreams. How about you? Always searching for new ways to buy and sell information?"

"You're running out of ammo, Ry," Argo said. She sounded amused. "You've used that one already."

"I've been killed, revived, almost killed again, and worried about my best friends, all in one day," I retorted. "I'm not exactly at my best, you know."

"And I still love you anyway. Despite your failings, numerous though they are."

I chuckled. "Good to know you'll stay by my side through my worst days."

Argo giggled. "Well, I promised, didn't I? And anyway, I thought this was one of your better days, all things considered."

I blinked. "Even with the whole panic over my various mental problems?"

"That's a typical occurrence at this point," she said. "I've kinda just accepted it as part of the package."

"I come with a guarantee," I said dryly. "Mental breakdowns once a month or your money back."

"But I didn't pay anything," Argo complained. "Are you saying I'll get money back anyway?"

I grinned. "Offer void where prohibited."

"Damn." She sounded remarkably disappointed.

After I stopped chuckling, I walked in silence for a bit, simply enjoying Argo's company. It was if she was walking beside me, although for obvious reasons that was impossible at the moment. I just listened to her talk, enjoying the sound of her voice. Before long, though, I had another question for her. "Are you sure about this? About us?" I was the happiest I had been in a long time; I had a good, firm sense of self and a verbal sparring partner. But there was the fear that I was forcing her to stay with me.

"Honestly, Ry..." I could hear the exasperation in her voice. "How often do I have to tell you that I'm happy when I'm with you? Even when we're talking like this, I'm happy."

I just wasn't convinced. "But... I'm probably not ever going to be over the dislike of physical contact. I just don't know if I can keep you happy, the way you deserve."

"That's sweet, Rythin, but quit being an idiot." Her voice was sharp. "I've spent two months and change trying to convince you to stop being stupid, and then when you finally have a breakthrough you relapse in under an hour. I'd be amazed if it weren't involving me."

Despite myself, I grinned. "Yes, ma'am. Your wish is my command."

"I wish you'd stop being stupid," Argo muttered.

I glanced around me; I was almost at the entrance to the hospital. "So tell me, what are your plans for next weekend?"

Argo thought for a moment. "Nothing special. I was gonna go out and do some shopping, but that can be delayed. Why do you ask?" I rounded the corner to see that the gate was closed. I swore and pictured the map of the hospital in my mind. There was a second entrance that lead to the emergency room around the corner, so I set off in that direction.

I rounded the corner. "I was thinking we could go out and grab a bite to eat. You know, to celebrate the end of the game. What do you say?"

"Of course! I'd love to go," Argo replied instantly.

I passed the gate; I saw Kazuto's bike by the entrance, and I grinned. He was already here; a given, thanks to the fact that I walked and he rode a bike. "That's great. I was thinking..." I trailed off.

"Ry? You still there?" Argo sounded worried.

I was silent for a second. "I'm going to have to call you back, Argo. Love you." My voice was deadly calm. I ended the call and put my phone back in my pocket. I stepped forward into the parking lot, toward a white van illuminated by a single light. A part of myself listened to the sound of the snow crunching underneath my feet, enjoying the sound, but my main focus was on the figure crumpled in front of the van. I strode forward until I was standing beside the person. I studied the surroundings briefly, not missing the bloodstain on the snowy ground, the dent in the van door, or the bloody knife lying on the ground.

My eyes gleamed in the light, and my voice was cold as ice. "Hello, Sugou. What a pleasant surprise." He twitched at the sound of my voice, but didn't move. I wondered if he was in shock for some reason. "Funny how things work out, isn't it? I did tell you." A cruel grin twisted my lips. "The next time I saw you, you'd be on the ground before me. And look where you are now." I chuckled coldly. "A nobody. You're ruined, powerless, most definitely going to jail..." I barked out a laugh. "It was a mistake to attack my friends. And now you're going to pay the price."

Finally, Sugou turned to face me. "You brat... You don't know anything!" I took a look at his face and raised an eyebrow; by the streaks on his face, he had evidently been sobbing before I arrived. His right eye was bloodshot and probably non-responsive, and his left eye was wild with humiliation and anger. Whatever Kazuto had done to him either in the game or in real life, he had left a broken person.

But broken was good; broken meant I could continue grinding him to pieces. I was a vindictive bastard, after all. "I know that I'm not the one who's a failure. In fact, quite the opposite." I smirked. "Check and mate, Sugou. I've out-manipulated you, and you've lost."

"Not yet, I haven't!"

Sugou lunged forward, right hand grasping at the ground. Something warned me to jump back and I followed the urging of my instincts without question, stumbling slightly and falling to my knees. The sound of ripping cloth filled the air. I looked down; my shirt had been cut open from right ribs to left shoulder. If I hadn't jumped back, he would have seriously injured me. I looked back at Sugou; he was holding the knife in his shaking right hand. "Note to self. Don't taunt the crazy person with a knife until you're certain they won't do anything stupid." I took a few steps back and crouched to remove my laptop bag and lay it on the ground. I didn't want that damaged, and getting into a fight with a person with a knife was likely to damage the laptop.

I realized I had taken my eyes off of Sugou, and whipped my head up. He had taken a few steps forward and was standing over me, knife raised and prepared to plunge it into my neck. I swore violently and ran through my memories; I had been taught how to counter a knife attack like this.

It had been a cold day in mid-December; I had just started going to the karate classes. I was standing in the back of the class when the teacher called a halt to the basic punch and kick repetitions we had been mindlessly following. "One of the more dangerous situations you can find yourself in," he had said, "is when you're being attacked by someone with a knife." He had passed out several rubber training knives; I flipped mine in my grasp and grinned. It didn't have the same feel as the Nightblade, but it wasn't bad. "What is the most common method of striking with a knife?" the instructor had asked. "Nick?"

I had looked up – this was one of my specialties. "Either slashing and thrusting, like this," I had demonstrated, the knife held in a normal grasp, "or by an overhead stab." I had flipped the knife in my grasp back to the familiar reverse grip and pretended to plunge it into the head of a person standing in front of me. I had used that attack before, and I knew it worked. It put a remarkable amount of force behind the blow.

"That is correct," the instructor said. "Now, this is how you will defend yourself against those types of attacks." He had proceeded to show us exactly how to counter a knife slash and an overhead stab; it was actually rather impressive, and I had filed away the information in case I ever needed to disarm an opponent. I hadn't judged it likely, but I saved the data anyway. "Remember, the best idea is to run away immediately," the instructor had told us. "If you can't run away, accept that you will get hurt and expect the pain. The person that expects the pain will win."

I came out of my memories to realize that Sugou's right hand was shaking badly. Kazuto had likely done something to that hand as well as the eye. Regardless, Sugou snarled wordlessly at me and raised the knife to plunge it into my skull. I threw myself back immediately, landing in a controlled heap on the ground. Sugou's knife rang out dully on the ground and he glared at me. I rested my weight briefly on my left arm to try to push myself up and attack Sugou.

Suddenly, white-hot pain lanced through my chest. I gasped and shuddered, but didn't lose my position. I had expected pain. I looked down at my chest and my eyes widened. The cut I had thought only caught my shirt had evidently caught more than that; the ripped part of the shirt had been dyed a brilliant crimson, the color of blood. The throbbing of my pulse brought attention to the sudden warmth on my chest, and I grimaced. That wasn't good. Nevertheless and ignoring the pain, I pushed myself to my feet. I had to wrap this up quickly, or I'd become weak from blood loss.

Sugou had managed to stagger to his feet as well, his left eye wild with anger. His right eye was wide and staring, and I couldn't take my eyes off of it. Suddenly, he lunged forward, the knife raised over his head again. My thoughts stilled and I prepared myself, knowing exactly how to defend myself.

As the knife started to plunge down, I whipped my left arm up in an overhead open-hand block, stepping forward into the blow. That let me keep the knife away from me while preparing for the counter. The most dangerous thing about a knife fight is that the other person has the knife and you don't, so the first thing to do is get the knife away from them. Without thinking about it, I wrapped the fingers of my left hand around his arm and stepped across his body with my back foot, standing perpendicular to him. By doing that, I rotated his arm so that his elbow was facing up and the knife was away from me. With a swift blow, I brought my right arm up in a heel strike to the elbow while simultaneously forcing his arm down with my left hand. I heard the sickening crack echo through the empty parking lot; the knife dropped from Sugou's suddenly nerveless fingers and I shoved him away. He stumbled and landed awkwardly against the same white van, crying out in pain and in anger. Having their elbow snapped would anger anyone, and I had targeted the same arm that Kazuto had damaged - it was a good thing that breaking that particular joint relied more on leverage and position than strength, or I would never have been able to pull that stunt off. I knelt down carefully to pick up the knife, ignoring the pain in my chest from the cut. Calmly and with killing intent in my eyes, I slowly walked toward Sugou. He whimpered and tried to get away; I grabbed the back of his collar and held the knife against his neck.

"It's really not much of a knife," I said absently, studying the gleaming blade. "It's too awkward. But, you see, I hardly needed it to take you apart." I barked out a short laugh. "And what do you think I can do with it?" I hummed in malicious thought. "Maybe I should start with your right eye. That's the one Kazuto injured, isn't it?" Sugou could only sob in terror. "Or maybe I should break the other arm so you have a matching set. Oh, I know!" My eyes lit up to match the sadistic grin on my face. "Maybe I should just kill you right now." I chuckled obscenely. "I'd get away with it, you know. They'd take one look at me, all cut up and battered, and assume it was simple self-defense." I chuckled again. "I don't see any witnesses here, do you? And as for your side of the story, well... I'm assuming that bloodstain on the ground isn't yours. So Kazuto would be on my side and I'd be home free. The blood on the knife would only help to corroborate my story; you cut me, and out of self-defense I had to fight back. In the scuffle, I managed to get the knife and accidentally cut your throat. All I'd have to do to make it seem realistic would be to slice my own palms a little bit and there we are." I paused in thought. "What exactly did Kazuto do? Let you live? Well, I'm hardly going to be restraining myself." I licked my lips. "After all, blood does look so beautiful in this white snow, doesn't it?"

"You...you wouldn't! You couldn't!" Sugou managed to stammer out despite the knife at his neck. To be fair, though, I wasn't holding it very close.

"Oh, trust me," I hissed. "I have no problem with slitting your throat right here and now. In fact, I'm very seriously considering it as revenge for what you did to Asuna." He choked. "Oh, I know everything, Sugou. She told me exactly what you had been doing to her." My entire body burned with rage, the hate flowing through my body. "She told me that you had been trying to force yourself on her, so as revenge I should take your life." I pressed the knife against his throat, careful not to kill him. "Go on. Tell me why I shouldn't kill you here and now like the dog you are."

Sugou babbled something incoherent before taking a deep breath and trying again. "Money! Power!" he sobbed. "It's yours, anything you want, just don't kill me!" What a pathetic creature.

"Money?" I hummed thoughtfully. "I hadn't thought about that. I could use some money. They say money can't buy happiness, but I think it can do a damn good job of covering the cracks." I tapped the dull edge of the knife thoughtfully against his neck. "And power sounds so tempting. When you're talking about power, I assume you mean the mind control you've been working on, right? You'd be willing to give me all of that research in exchange for your life." I chuckled. "Those are very tempting offers, Sugou."

I tilted the edge of the knife against his next and pressed slightly, breaking the skin. I watched as a small drop of blood dripped off of the blade. My voice grew cold, calm, and very, very deadly. "But you forgot one crucial fact. You hurt my friends. And for that, you have to pay the price."

Sugou's scream rang out in the night before being cut off, a chilling silence falling over the snow-covered parking lot.


I had a ton of fun writing this chapter. I got to write Nick as both a witty, sarcastic guy AND a vicious, relentless, and psychotic person willing to kill and maim. Enjoyable.

Many thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, or left a review. Special thanks go to jaiveer0, silverhawk88, Zenog, Antex- The Legendary Zoroark and o realisticFantasy o for being dedicated reviewers.