A/N: Now comes the first date between Asuna and Kirito! And we may also see Mataras open up just a little bit about his past! Excited yet? I hope so, because I'm very interested to hear what you all have to say! Enjoy and please leave a review!
Ragout for Two
Two years, Mataras thought as he watched Kirito walking ahead on the forest path. Litrosh was perched dutifully on his right shoulder, while his 'adopted sister' walked on his left. Two years of Kirito and Sachi's lives have been stolen from their families. He knew that the two of them were fine as they were, living life as best they could here in Aincrad. Yet after two years, they were only just getting ready to clear the seventy-fourth floor.
Mataras knew that many people, both inside and outside the game were counting on people like them to finish things as fast as possible. He wondered how Sachi's family was holding out in particular. She had told him some time ago that her father had left her and her mother when she was very little, and she didn't even really remember him anymore. How her mother was coping, he had to wonder.
"Mataras?" Sachi's voice snapped him out of his reverie. "Are you okay? You've got that look on your face again."
Mataras smiled and clasped her shoulder gently with the words, "I'm alright. I just had some thoughts about what must be happening in the real world. I was wondering how your mother must be feeling right now."
"Well, I have an uncle who we visited pretty often, so I'm sure that he's taking good care of my mother," Sachi replied with a thoughtful expression. "He and my aunt always got along with mom very well, so I think she's in good hands."
"That is good to hear," Mataras nodded.
"What about you? Did you have any friends in the orphanage that you were especially close to?" Sachi asked, hoping that he would not brush off the question.
To her surprise, he thought for a moment, then said, "I wasn't especially close with anyone. But I did have a few friends that I would study and eat with. There were the triplets, Erak, Tybalt, and Hannah. The boys were always trying to get me to laugh, and to a degree, they would succeed. Hannah liked reading almost as much as me, so we would trade books from time to time. Then there was Daniel- he was pretty much the guy in the orphanage that everybody liked. He was always trying to find ways to help out the orphanage, especially with the younger kids. The five of us were the oldest in the place, so I guess it made sense that we would become friends. I just hope that they've been adopted by now by people that will love them, despite the fact that they're teenagers."
"How old are they?" Sachi asked curiously.
"The triplets were all roughly a year younger than me, and Daniel was a few months older than I," Mataras replied with a frown. "So I suppose it's rather unlikely that they were adopted. They're all old enough by law to be counted as independents, so they may have been forced to move out… I hope that they at least found jobs."
"I'm sure they're fine, Mataras," Sachi replied with a reassuring smile. "Are they from overseas like you?"
"Yes, which is another reason we all stuck together so much," Mataras nodded. "We came in at different times, with Daniel being the first, the triplets last, Victoria and I in the middle." Sachi's eyes snapped over to look up at her friend, half-expecting him to be having another panic attack. But for the first time since Sachi had met him, Mataras showed no signs of having a breakdown as he mentioned his sister's name.
Secretly, Sachi's heart lifted with joy, but she managed to keep her expression neutral. Before she could say anything, though. Kirito held up his right hand with the signal that they had worked out for the party to freeze. Both of his guild mates froze without a word.
The Black Swordsman reached for his waistband, which held a number of throwing darts, and selected one. Slowly, carefully, he drew his arm back and activated his thrown sword skill. Following his intense line of sight, Mataras and Sachi tried to see what he was aiming at.
They got their answer a second later when the dart sped through the air to strike a tree, causing a small mob to panic and leap high into the air. Mataras' eyes widened and Sachi gasped as they saw the mob handle: Ragout Rabbit. The single mob with highest flavor rating drop item in all of Aincrad.
Kirito's second dart hit it straight-on, killing it in one shot. When he turned around, he set his menu to visible mode and showed them the prize, his face split with a giant smile.
"Holy crap!" Agil gasped. "An S-class rare item?! I- I've never seen one before!" Looking up from the menu to Kirito, he said, "You sure about this, man? I mean, I'll gladly buy it, but wouldn't you rather have it for dinner?" Kirito was standing in front of the massive axe-wielder's counter while Mataras and Sachi were lounging in the chairs by a window, with the Red swordsman's eyes closed and his body leaned back.
He was tired, having been using his Dragon Blood skill more often in field, which stretched his imagination as he figured out new ways to use it. Although, he kept it off when in town and around large groups of people. The only time he had used it in front of others was when everyone was too distracted to make sense of what he was doing, like during the first boss raid, or when he saved Sachi, and the raid on Laughing Coffin. He knew that some people suspected something of him, but without any solid proof, the masses left him alone. His dragon, Litrosh, was napping peacefully on the window.
"Believe me, he would," Sachi said with a rueful grin before her guild leader could reply to the shopkeeper. "The problem is, even my cooking skill isn't high enough at eight hundred-forty to risk making it. I have about a one in four chances of burning it and then we lose big time. To make it right, I'd need a skill of nine hundred, maybe nine-fifty."
"Yeah, we just decided that it'd be better to sell it and make a profit," Kirito sighed. "It is a shame though…"
"Kirito?" A familiar voice asked, prompting the mentioned boy to whirl around and grasp the arm attached to the finger that had just poked him.
"I've got a chef!" he said.
"Uh… What chef?" Asuna asked, confused. A man wearing a knight's armor that was standing behind Asuna scowled at the black-coated boy, who released his friend's hand and stepped back with his hands spread.
"Hey there, Asuna," Kirito grinned. "I didn't think you frequented dumps like this." Behind him, ignored or unnoticed by Kirito, Agil frowned slightly at the insult to his shop.
"Oh, shut up," Asuna said with a frown. "I just came down to see if you were still alive. You know it's almost time for the next boss raid, right? Or did you forget?" She smirked at the boy as she spoke.
"Did you forget that you can just look up on your friend's list to see if we're alive?" Mataras' dry voice reached Asuna just loud enough for her to hear. She glared at the boy, whose eyes were still closed, though a smirk was etched on his face.
Suddenly the man who had been standing behind Asuna exploded, anger written all across his face. "Do not speak to Lady Asuna in that manner!" he snapped as he advanced on Mataras. The atmosphere in the room suddenly became very tense.
Mataras smiled lazily, though he showed no other signs of moving. To those that knew him, though, they knew that this was the sure sign of the dam about to break. Agil shot a look to Sachi that clearly read, Please don't let him break anything.
But to the surprise of everyone in the room, Asuna grabbed the man's forearm and yanked him back, saying sharply, "Don't talk to my friend like that, Kuradeel."
"But, ma'am!" Kuradeel protested. "He should be showing you proper respect! He has no right to-"
"I said drop it," Asuna snapped. "I'm ordering you to stand down and wait outside." Kuradeel ground his teeth and stomped outside, looking like a child who had just received a scolding from his mother. The girl sighed heavily before turning back to Kirito and saying, "So, what's this about a chef?"
"Huh?" Kirito asked, nonplussed for a second. "Oh, right. I need a favor." He pulled up his menu and set it so that Asuna could see the item that he had been about to sell.
Her eyes widened as she saw the rare item drop. "Ragout rabbit?!" she gasped.
"Yeah, how high is your cooking level?" Kirito asked as he shut his menu.
Asuna grinned confidently and said, "Totally maxed it out last week. Pretty impressive, huh?" Sachi's jaw dropped and Mataras' left eye shot open for a moment before closing it again.
"Cool," Kirito grinned. "All you gotta do is cook it for us, and I'll let you have a little bite." He was suddenly yanked forward by his collar as Asuna grabbed his jacket and placed her face invasively close to his.
"I'm getting the same amount as the rest of you," she said with fire in her eyes. "Deal?"
"Uh, sure," Kirito gulped. Asuna released him, pumped her fist in the air and smiled excitedly in a manner that none of them had ever seen before. Mataras' left eye shot open again. There was definitely more to that happiness than a little rabbit, he thought.
With that in mind, he said with eyes closed again, "Why don't you just share the dish with Asuna, Kirito? You caught it. Sachi and I just watched, and it's not as though we can contribute to the meal." Unseen by Kirito and Asuna, Mataras opened his right eye a fraction and looked at Sachi, hoping that she would get the message.
The girl nodded ever so slightly before turning to the others and saying, "Mataras is right. You two, enjoy the dinner. Besides, if we split it in four, there won't really be enough to go around in a fair amount."
"Uh… Okay?" Kirito said, not entirely sure why his teammates were passing up on a chance to even taste the food that some people would kill for. Asuna, on the other hand, understood exactly what Kirito's friends were up to, and smiled. Sachi returned the smile while Mataras simply got to his feet and stretched without opening his eyes.
"Hey, what about me?" Agil asked. "You can at least let me taste it, right?"
"I'll right a two-page review for you," Kirito grinned at the shopkeeper. "It'll be about eight hundred words, but that's all I can do with my busy schedule." And he began to walk out, followed by Asuna and Sachi.
Only Mataras stayed behind to hear him say, "Dang, that is cold…"
"What did you expect him to pick?" Mataras replied, with his eyes still closed. "A dinner in a run-down shop with you and a friend? Or a private setting with a beautiful, intelligent young woman, just the two of them?" Agil hated to admit it, but Mataras made a good point. Opening his eyes fully at last, Mataras walked outside. Litrosh flew from his perch on the windowsill to land on his master's shoulder.
The group was just outside with Asuna engaged in a tense debate with Kuradeel. "I'm sorry ma'am, but I cannot allow you to go home with such shady characters," the man was saying, obviously restraining his temper.
"I don't know the extent of their shadiness, but I know their abilities in battle pretty well," Asuna replied smugly. "In fact, they each have at least ten levels on you."
"Are you suggesting that I am inferior to them?" Kuradeel's forehead bulged with a vein. His left eye twitched once or twice. "Wait… They're beaters, aren't they?"
"Yeah. What of it?" Kirito replied with slightly narrowed eyes.
"You shouldn't go with them, ma'am!" Kuradeel's voice pitched louder, drawing the attention of a number of onlookers. "All their kind care about is themselves!"
Mataras smiled that lazy smile of his again, hand going up to rest on the hilt of his sword. His dragon growled slightly at the offender. "Kuradeel, you are making a scene where there doesn't need to be one," he said. "Your commanding officer has told you to stand down, and you have not. So I'm going to use a rule that has worked with a number of my opponents in the past." The sword was drawn, and the crowd gasped.
"That's the Red Swordsman!" a man's voice in the crowd whispered.
"From the Moonlit Black Cats?" another said in surprise.
"Is he gonna fight that guy from the KOB?"
Mataras ignored them all and focused on staring down Kuradeel, who looked positively furious at this point. "I'm going to give you to the count of three to turn around and walk away," he said in a very flat voice. "One."
"You must be joking!" Kuradeel shouted. "I am a member of the Knights of the Blood-Oath! I will bow down to no one!"
"Two." Mataras' count was unhurried, relaxed. His sword had not yet moved.
"I really wouldn't test this guy, Kuradeel," Asuna said. "He's the one that wiped out half of Laughing Coffin by himself." That seemed to finally click with the crazed knight. He took an involuntary step backwards, but hesitated one last time.
"Three." Mataras' sword came up, then flipped around so that the Red Swordsman was holding it in reverse. Before anyone could wonder what he was doing, Litrosh leaped off of his shoulder as he rushed forward almost too fast for the eye to follow and smashed the hilt of Guilty Thorn into the man's jaw, sending him crashing backwards in the dirt, stunned or unconscious. Even though they were in a safe zone, and Kuradeel didn't actually take any damage, the knockback was sufficient to accomplish what Mataras had in mind. A number of the crowd made sounds of surprise, but Mataras ignored them, spinning his sword in a fast circle before sheathing it smoothly with a speed of long practice.
Turning to face his friends, he smiled pleasantly and said, "Well then, Asuna. Since your current guild mate is out of commission, would you care for an escort back to your home?"
"I would," she said with a smile in return.
"Kirito, can you handle that?" Mataras asked.
"Sure," the other boy said, sweating lightly. Turning to Asuna, he asked, "Uh… Is Mataras gonna get into trouble for that?"
"I'll vouch for him," Asuna said as she walked off with Kirito. "But all the same, I'd leave before he wakes up, okay guys?"
"We will," Mataras nodded. "Have fun tonight, you two." Asuna and Kirito walked away, and Mataras watched them go for a moment, smiling. Turning to Sachi, he said, "Now, I guess we should head home and get something for dinner, eh?"
"Yeah," she said with a smile. "That sounds good."
After dinner, Mataras and Sachi were sitting on the couches in their house, one reading the newspaper and the other going through her inventory, trying to decide what to sell. When she had finished doing that, she mustered up her courage and moved to sit by the young man she sometimes called brother. "Do you mind if we talk about Victoria?" she asked.
Mataras blinked once and laid the paper down carefully before he spoke. When he did, he closed his eyes and nodded, saying, "Yes. I suppose it's finally time for me to talk about her." Sachi clasped Mataras' hands in her own, waiting for him to speak again. Now that the moment was at hand, she didn't want to rush him, fearing that he might withdraw into himself again.
"What do you want to know about her?" Mataras finally asked.
Sachi thought for a moment before she answered, "What did she look like?"
"She was about your size and body type," Mataras began. "She was a very pretty girl, with brown hair a little longer than yours, and hazel eyes. She was about as pale as me, although she tanned a lot better in the sun." He smiled slightly as he added, "There was a vacation we took with our parents to the beach in America. She got a pretty nice tan, and I got burned so bad that my skin started peeling off before the skin underneath was healed, leaving me raw. She never let me live that one down." He rubbed his neck unconsciously as he spoke.
Sachi smiled with her friend, glad that he was finally thawing out. "And what did she like to do for fun?"
"She and I were both big readers," Mataras listed. "She knew her way around a computer like nobody else I know. She liked to talk to the younger kids a lot, which I personally never had the patience for. I would always end up reading stories about dragons while she would teach some of the kids English."
"That sounds like you, alright," Sachi grinned. To her surprise, Mataras smiled back, remembering those times fondly.
"Yes," he replied. "Then of course, we both liked video games, especially science fiction and fantasy genres. It was actually shortly after the first announcement for Sword Art Online that… she didn't make it home." His face clouded over briefly, but he forced himself to continue. "We were both excited to learn that the orphanage was going to be getting ahold of a NerveGear and a copy of the game. We all played a game of Super Smash Brothers Apocalypse to decide who would get to play it first. Tybalt won, actually."
"Then how did you end up in here?" Sachi asked, confused.
"Well… When the day of the launch came around, the others insisted on letting me have the first run," he said, remembering his friends excited smiles before he had closed his eyes and uttered the immortal words 'Link Start' that had trapped him inside the death game. "No one said anything, but I could tell that it was because they hoped that maybe my excitement about being in a new world would help me a bit with my loss… And in a way, I guess it did." He smiled at Sachi and gave her a one-armed hug. "Had I not met you, I may never have talked about Victoria ever again."
"Well, in a selfish way, I'm glad that this happened to us," Sachi said in response. "The others were always great to hang around with, but I never had an older sibling to look up to. My mom did the best she could, but she was always working hard to provide for us, and I never really had someone to talk to about the real things. If I hadn't met you, I may never have been able to talk to someone like this."
Both smiled at the other, then embraced, feeling some of the old wounds seal over for the first time in their lives. Like warm sunlight revitalizing a cold child climbing out of the ocean, Mataras felt his soul finally begin stir again. A tear slid down his face as he held his sister close.
The next morning, Kirito woke the two up early to inform them that Asuna would be joining them in a party. Mataras burst out laughing when he heard Kirito mention that Asuna had threatened to stab him if he didn't agree to let her join them for a dungeon expedition.
"Come on," Kirito muttered with a frown. "You probably wouldn't be laughing if you'd seen the look in her eyes."
"Oh yes I would," Mataras said as he grinned evilly. "Because it wouldn't be directed at me. But hey, it looks like you've landed yourself a second date." Kirito nearly choked on his breakfast as he heard the word 'date'.
"It wasn't like that!" he protested.
"Oh?" Sachi giggled. "Then what would you call a dinner at her house, just the two of you? With a very rare piece of cuisine?"
"Dinner!" Kirito insisted. "Seriously, don't say that it was a date in front of Asuna! She'd probably stab me for real as soon as we were out of a safe zone!" Mataras sighed to himself and finished equipping his battle attire. Sometimes his friend was incredibly dense.
Kirito heard him, though and said, "Oh yeah? Then what would you call your dinner last night?"
"Brother-sister time," Mataras shot back without missing a beat. "By the way, it's five minutes until we're supposed to meet her. Shall we get going?" This was enough to shut Kirito up as he rushed to finish his breakfast and head out the door with Sachi and her brother.
The three of them were kept waiting for nearly a quarter of an hour, with Mataras and Kirito getting impatient at the end of the wait. Mataras stood up and said, "I don't think she's coming. She probably got caught up in some guild affair or other."
Sighing, Kirito decided that he was probably right. He started to get up with Sachi, but the gate behind him suddenly flashed with light, and a figure dressed in white and red was flung out, crashing on top of Kirito in a very… awkward position. Mataras' eyes tightened as he saw Kirito start applying pressure in the wrong place in an attempt to get the weight off of him.
Asuna shrieked and slapped the boy out from under her with enough force to send him flying into a pillar. Sachi thought the whole thing was funny and started laughing while Mataras went over to help his friend up, who was extremely dazed. "Wha…?" he moaned.
Then the Black Swordsman shook his head to clear it and looked over at Asuna, whose face was blazing red as she hugged her chest. Kirito frowned, and almost unconsciously he made a squeezing motion with his hand. Then he paled as he realized what he had done, and he managed to say weakly, "Uh… hey. Good morning, Asuna."
Mataras reached up behind his back with his eyes locked on Asuna. "Do you need me to stab him?" he asked bluntly.
Kirito looked at him, shocked. "Why would you do that?!" he cried.
"I hate molesters," Mataras replied, deadpan. "Now unless you can look at me in the eye and say that you didn't do that on purpose, I'll stab you if Asuna tells me to."
"I-I didn't!" Kirito said, taking a step back nervously. "I swear!" Mataras looked hard at his eyes for any sign of deceit. Finding none, he let go of Guilty Thorn's handle and let his arm drop.
"Good," he said with a slight grin. "I was worried that I actually would have to stab you."
"Y-you wouldn't actually have… right?" Kirito asked. Mataras didn't feel the need to make a response to that. They both knew the answer to that question.
Meanwhile, Asuna had accepted Sachi's help to get up and the gate began to shine again, signaling that someone was approaching. Asuna immediately squawked and rushed over to hide behind Kirito, much to his surprise. Sachi, who had been all but dragged by the panicked vice commandant, took her place beside Mataras as Kuradeel stepped through the vortex. Litrosh growled warningly as his beady eyes locked onto Asuna, who was fairly hiding.
"Lady Asuna, I must insist that you stop playing this ridiculous-" His voice locked up as he realized that Mataras, Sachi, and Kirito were the ones with which Asuna had sought refuge. "Not you filthy beaters again!" he snarled.
Mataras smiled and went up to draw his sword again, then had a better thought. Lowering his arm again, he said, "Hello, Kuradeel. Are you keen for a rematch?" The man's eye twitched angrily in response.
"Lady Asuna, please come back to headquarters this instant," he said, barely holding back his rage. "You cannot continue to shirk your duties and associate yourself with these scumbags. It's not your place."
"You can't tell Asuna what her place is, you creep," Sachi said firmly.
"Creep is right," Asuna said sourly. "He was outside my place this morning."
"He what?" The Cats said in unison. Mataras and Kirito re-fixed their glares on Kuradeel, who was still walking forward with a set jaw and flaming eyes.
"She has a bad habit of leaving without informing anyone," he said, trying to justify himself. "So for the past month, as part of my mission to guard her, I have been keeping an eye on her in Selmburg."
"That's not part of your mission, you idiot!" Asuna shouted in frustration.
Kuradeel rolled his eyes and said, "I really wish you'd be more understanding about this ma'am. Now please come with me." The man had finally reached them and tried to move forward to grab Asuna, but Kirito refused to budge.
"Sorry, pal," he said. "But we'll be borrowing your Vice Commander for today. You'll just have to make do without. Don't worry about her safety, though. We've got that covered, and we're not going on a boss raid."
"Get out of my way!" Kuradeel shouted, bringing his fist back for a punch. Mataras was faster, though, lashing out with a side kick that sent Kuradeel backpedalling several paces.
"You little punk," he snarled. "You cheated last time, but I'm not letting you get off the hook easy this time." He pulled open his menu and began entering commands.
A challenge appeared to Mataras, indicating that Kuradeel wanted to duel him. Mataras feigned boredom- although it wasn't really much of a stretch to say that he actually was bored- and refused the request. "No, I couldn't possibly accept your offer," he said with a trace grin. "Someone such as yourself only deserves the best. So why don't you fight our leader here?" He patted Kirito on the shoulder, who remained stone-faced as he stared down Kuradeel.
It was too much for the crazed guard. "All right, you little brats," he said as he began re-entering commands. "I'll show you just how outclassed you really are." Kirito looked over at Asuna, who nodded.
"I'll add this to my report on Kuradeel," she said in an undertone. "Take care of him." Kirito nodded and accepted the duel. It was set so that whoever's health fell into the yellow zone would lose, and the safety net would kick back into effect after that. At least Kuradeel had enough sense not to try and engage a duel that was a fight to the death, Kirito thought.
Several onlookers began muttering amongst themselves. "Whoa," one said. "That's Kirito the Black Swordsman, right? He leads the Moonlit Black Cats, right?"
"Yeah," said another. "I heard that yesterday the Cats almost got into a fight with one of the KOB members. Looks like things are about to be settled."
"If that's true, why is the Lightning Flash with the Cats? Shouldn't she be with her member?" another argued.
"Shut up!" The first man snapped. "I wanna watch! This should be good!"
Mataras, Sachi, and Asuna backed up to give the group leader room. Nonetheless, Kuradeel drew his sword and said to Asuna, "Please move to a safer distance, ma'am! I'm going to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that I am the only one capable of protecting you!" Asuna rolled her eyes at the absurdity of the notion. She knew that Kirito had this in hand.
The countdown for the duel went by much faster than Asuna though it would, and both swordsmen sprang into action. Kuradeel could be heard letting out a chuckle as he swung an overhand blow, granting him more power that Kirito's underhanded one. For a second, Asuna felt panic rise into her chest, but when she looked over at Mataras and Sachi, both were smiling as if someone had told a private joke.
Then next instant, the swords collided, and Kirito landed on one knee with his sword lowered, his face grim. Kuradeel's eyes were wide with shock as he realized that he was holding only a hilt with a jagged bit of metal on the end. Then the hilt and the blade that was on the ground shattered, and Kuradeel sank to his knees. Kirito swung his sword back and forth as was his custom before sheathing it on his back.
Turning to face Kuradeel's back, he said, "If you wanna try again with a different weapon, we can. But I think we're all done here." Kuradeel tensed up and then began sifting through his menu, obviously trying to draw a weapon in secret. The next second, he charged at Kirito from his crouched position, a small knife in hand.
Kirito prepared to draw his blade in defense with a bored expression on his face when another sword entered the fray. The Lambent Light smacked the dagger out of Kuradeel's hand, causing him to freeze in shock. "L-Lady Asuna!" he protested.
Before he could say any more, Mataras' fist smashed into his face, knocking him the dirt. Since Mataras wasn't part of the duel, the knight's health was not affected. However, again, the knockback was enough to get the desired effect. "Shut up," he snapped. Sachi strode forward and pointed the Dark Repulser at his face as he tried to get up, freezing him in place.
"Kuradeel," Asuna's voice rang out strong and clear. "You are hereby relieved of duty as my bodyguard. Furthermore, you are no longer welcome as a member of the Knights' Guild. I will send a message to Commander Heathcliff saying to strip you of your title and rights. Should he agree- which I believe he will, you will no longer be allowed in the castle of Grandzam. Now go, and don't ever let me see you again." Kuradeel only seemed to sag as if broken by the words.
Sachi sheathed her weapon and the group began walking out of town towards the floor dungeon. The crowd parted ways for them, and not another word was spoken by them until they had hit the outskirts, away from the people.
Unseen by them, a man in a grimy cloak stood above Kuradeel with a smile. Perfect, he thought. What better a recruit for the damnation of the Moonlit Black Cats than someone with a grudge to settle?
Outside the town, Asuna finally sagged a bit and leaned on Kirito. "Sorry to drag you into that," she said with a sigh.
"Nah, it's fine," Kirito replied easily. "He had no right to try and order you around like that. He was at fault- and to a degree, your guild is too, for making a rule like that." Mataras and Sachi were silent, already familiar with the rule about the higher-ups of the KOB needing escorts. Also, they were both curious to see how Asuna would react to Kirito criticizing the guild she was a part of.
The chestnut-haired girl looked at him with surprise as she said, "Yeah, but maybe if I hadn't pushed them so hard at the beginning, they wouldn't be so uptight to begin with."
"Yeah well, you're their leader anyways," Kirito shrugged. "That means that your business is just yours. If you want to take a day off to hang around with a bunch of beaters like us, who are they to tell you no? I mean, Heathcliff could probably tell you off, but he doesn't strike me as that kind of guy." Realizing that he had been rambling a little bit, he rubbed his neck and said, "Eh, sorry. What do I know? I lead a guild of three people."
"Well, your opinion is appreciated anyways," Asuna said with a smile. "But seeing as today is my day off and I've used up a bit of it dealing with work stuff, you guys can play forward."
"Wha-?!" Kirito sputtered. Where did that come from?! "Hey, we're supposed to switch forward position!" he protested.
"Nope, I told you, it's my day off," she grinned and started walking ahead of him.
"Oh, come on!" he groaned. Behind him, Sachi and Mataras grinned broadly at the two teenagers as they walked ahead.
Even Mataras had to admit, with Asuna along, their already considerable progress in mapping the floor was coming along much faster and easier. She was a blur in battle, moving even faster than Mataras. There wasn't a lot in it, but it was now unclear as to who might be the best fighter among them.
Mataras had the wildcard advantage with Dragon Blood, able to use his own natural reflexes to the greatest advantage, not to mention the fire dragon that assisted him in battle. His swordplay was unlike anything that the others used, so no one knew exactly what he would do next as he engaged in battle after battle. Some of them even suspected that he made it up as he went along.
Kirito had the highest strength stat of the group, almost equal reflexes with Mataras, and the most advanced sword skills. He specialized in countering blows with unnerving precision before attacking with reckless abandon. It worked pretty well for him, but for most others it would be a bit too risky to try as a regular style in SAO.
Asuna was the fastest with her attacks, her sword nearly invisible as she struck with blinding speed. It was something to be said for her, seeing as her teammates were some of the top players in the game, which meant that they should have been able to easily see her attacks, but it was surprisingly difficult for all of them.
Sachi had very balanced stats at this point, meaning that she could essentially back up anyone that needed it. She wasn't as fast as Asuna, she didn't have Kirito's reflexes, and she definitely didn't have Mataras' skill with a weapon, but she could definitely do her part, even on the advanced front lines.
They fought their way through the dungeon for several hours, making sure to map the areas they visited until they found it. Looking up at the giant door, Mataras and the others immediately knew that they had found what every assault team member sought on each un-cleared floor. The boss door.
"Let's take a look, eh?" Mataras suggested.
"Good idea," Kirito nodded. "Maybe we can see what we'll be up against. Just keep your teleport crystals ready." The guild and Asuna all did as they were told before they shoved the massive door open. To their surprise, only darkness and silence greeted them.
"Where is it?" Sachi asked with a slight frown.
"I don't know," Mataras replied, also frowning. Looking back for a second, he said, "Sachi, Asuna. Stay here. Kirito and I are going in for a look."
"What?" Asuna hissed.
"Don't worry, we won't go in far," Kirito said as he grasped Asuna's shoulder reassuringly. "We'll be fine." With reluctance, the girls let them go in first, deciding to content themselves with remembering that this was a standard boss scouting procedure. Half the party stayed behind with crystals ready in case of an emergency while the others went in to look at the boss to study its weapons and anything else that might help them counter it.
For a few steps, nothing happened. But about ten feet in, a blue fire was lit atop a torch. Then another. And another. They kept lighting until the round room was lit entirely, and the boss was illuminated.
Mataras and Kirito both flinched at the sheer size of the monster before them. It stood easily three or four times their height. The blue fur that covered its body was all rippling underneath with finely chiseled muscles. In it right hand rested a sword big enough to cleave a horse in two with one swipe. On its powerful neck rested a goat's head while it had a tail in the likeness of a snake. The thing was a Minotaur, Mataras realized.
It suddenly raised its sword and roared, its red eyes blazing with blue light. The name appeared simultaneously: The Gleam Eyes. Seeing the whole thing, the four of them did what any sane human being would in their situation- they ran for the dungeon's nearest safe zone, not looking back once.
Mataras: Oh, before we go, I have a fun fact for you guys. This is actually a psuedo-crossover. Of what, you ask? My very own book series, of course! I am the main character in the novel, and this is essentially what would happen if I were in the world of SAO instead of the one I made. Some of the other mentioned characters in my life are also starring in my book. Curious now? Message me to find out more about my book series, which was released this past summer.
Kirito: Man, you're still fired up about that, aren't you?
Mataras: Of course! It's my life's greatest accomplishment up until now.
Sachi: Well, I hope it does well for you.
Asuna: Seriously guys, a number of the readers of Mataras' other works have purchased the novel, and not one has regretted it. It's a bit rough around the edges, but it's definitely worth a read.
Mataras: Thanks, guys. I look forward to hearing from our readers.
