Sorry I didn't update last week! I got writer's block something fierce! Because I am running behind schedule, I am unfortunately not going to be able to keep to a schedule. Know that if I do update, it will always be on a Monday! Please bear with me as I am a new author! Enjoy everyone!

Chapter Nine: Sarasheem

Floor Two

I arrived in the Grotto Plains on the second floor. The Grotto Plains was a field with many rock structures and formations, unlike the plains on floor one. During the day, the grass here was gold; rather than the green rolling hills on floor one. Right now, everything had a silver sheen to it due to the moonlight.

I had forgotten that the lower levels do not always put you in a town immediately after leaving the previous boss' lair. For some reason, Akihiko Kaiba only did that on some floors. It's not like he cared about the difficulty of the game. He did trap us in this death game after all...

Looking around, I didn't see Kirito. It was too dark to see much, with only a crescent moon for light and part of the moonlight blocked by the rocks. With my weapons at the ready, I crept forward slowly, so as to not rouse any nearby monsters. Without Kirito, I was vulnerable. I had no one to watch my back if I got swarmed.

The monsters that usually inhabited Floor Two were Wasps and two different breeds of Cow: the bigger Trembling Cow or the smaller Onrushing Cow. Defeating the cows was easy in the beta, it was the Wasps that gave me a run for my money as they tended to swarm a player-.

Thump I heard behind me. I let out a very girly squeak and dove to the side. I rolled into a kneeling position with my shield and sword out, ready for an attacking Cow. I didn't expect what was actually there.

There was Kirito. Rolling on the ground laughing in his newly acquired, black coat. I sheathed my sword at my hip and walked over to him. Standing over him, I put my hands on my hips to glare at him.

"You should have seen your face! And that squeak! Who knew you could be such a girl! I should scare you more often!" Kirito huffed out between laughs. Eventually, his laughter died down and he sat up chuckling, still trying to catch his breath.

"Dude, that was so not cool! I thought I was going to get crushed by a Cow! Here I am, trying to make sure you didn't kill yourself fighting a monster on your own, and you go and scare the crap out of me! Not cool!" I half-heartedly yelled at him. I couldn't help a chuckle escape my mouth.

"Sorry. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Oh and here." Kirito opened his menu and sent me a party invite.

"Sweet. So what was up with you back at the boss' room? What was your goal in acting like that with the other players?" I asked him. I, obviously, accepted the party request.

"Well you saw how they were acting towards each other. They no longer trusted their party members, or their friends. If we can't trust each other to fight together, then there is no way we will beat this game and get to the real world. If that means me being the bad guy, then so be it." He finished in a low voice and slumped his shoulders.

How could he bear to carry the weight of this world on his shoulders at such a young age? I mean we were both in high school! Kids our age should be worrying more about bullies and getting good grades to get into university! Not worrying about dying!

I grabbed Kirito and hugged him close. "Don't worry. You'll never be a bad guy in my eyes." I whispered to him. I couldn't stop the tears from falling down my cheeks.

Kirito held me close for a few moments, but pulled back when he heard my sniffling. Our eyes locked, his black to my blue, and I felt those butterflies in my stomach again. I blushed and broke the eye contact. I took a step back and let my arms fall to my sides.

Kirito grabbed my hand before I could walk away, completely. I looked up, shocked. Kirito was also blushing, but didn't let go of my hand.

"Thanks for defending me after I left. I couldn't ask for a better partner, or friend." He squeezed my hand, just like he did back in the boss room.

"H-how'd you know that's what I was doing? You weren't there? I made sure I heard your footsteps leave the room." I stuttered. I was having a hard time forming coherent thoughts.

This wasn't the first time Kirito had grabbed my hand. Nor the first time we hugged, well the first time I had hugged him. He wasn't a big fan of physical contact. Usually when I hugged him, he would tense up, but he didn't this time. Could it be possible… Kirito may have feelings for me, also?

I shook my head. Impossible. Why would he like a girl like me? I wasn't girly, and most boys were put off by my scarred eye. Everyone in school avoided me as if ugly scars were contagious...

I felt a tap on my forehead. I didn't realize I had gone off into my own world and wasn't listening to what Kirito was saying. "Hello, anyone home? As I was saying… I know you well enough to know that's what you were doing. You take the title 'knight' to heart. Defender of the innocent, protector of the weak, yadda yadda."

I harrumphed in response. I turned, still holding Kirito's hand, and started dragging him towards the first town on Floor Two.

Chop. Chop. Chop. My wood axe cut through another block of wood. Kirito and I were still on Floor Two, three weeks after beating the boss on Floor One. Today, we were right outside of Bankurr Village doing quests to level up while trying to find the stairs to the boss' dungeon.

We had taken a quest from an NPC to chop a hundred bundles of wood to help them build a stable. Since this was a singles quest, we each had to chop a hundred bundles. No using the menu to do it either. We had to chop everything by hand. It was a great way to level up mine and Kirito's Strength attribute.

Strength and Agility are the only two attributes you can level up in Sword Art Online by using attribute points. HP, also known as vitality, automatically leveled up with the character. Same with the speed of recovering health points. The Strength attribute is what your attack and defense are based on. The Agility attribute was your speed, both the speed of your attack and movement speed, along with your ability to dodge.

Kirito always leveled up his Agility to a higher level than his Strength, whereas I was the opposite. I didn't need speed as much because I used my shield to defend attacks. Kirito needed the speed to dodge enemy attacks.

Due to not getting many attribute points while leveling, quests like the wood chopping one were sought after by all players. Currently, there were nine other players chopping wood with Kirito and I. For some reason, some players would talk to the NPC that gave the quest, look at Kirito and I, then walk away. Some of them I recognized from the fight with Illfang.

As I watched another player walk away, I turned to Kirito to ask, "do you have any idea why some of the players leave after seeing us? Some of them were at the boss fight with Illfang. Do they hate us so much that they won't even do an important quest like this one, because we are here?" I swung my axe into the stump I was using to chop wood on. I had finally finished the quest, after four hours.

"Yeah, I noticed that too. I was thinking the same thing…" Kirito trailed off. He had finished about an hour earlier and was waiting on me. It took him more swings to get through a block of wood, but since he was much faster than I, he had finished first. While he waited for me to finish, he laid down under the tree that was next to the stump I had chosen to chop wood.

"You guys really don't know what people say about the beater and his sidekick, do you?" The boy who was chopping wood next to us said. He stood up straight and rested his axe across his shoulders, behind his head. He hung his hands over each end of the axe and as he waited for a response.

He was tall. So very tall. This boy must have been over six feet tall. I couldn't guess how old he was, just that I knew he was older than Kirito and I. He had short, black hair. At the front of his hair, it was colored to look like a single flame. He had a strong jawline, but no facial hair.

He had broad, muscular shoulders; and a lean waste. His weapon of choice was a two-handed sword, which was sheathed on his back.

Flying over his right shoulder was a small red dragon. It had two horns on its head, with a trail of spikes going down it's back. It's tail ended with a spear-like triangle.

"No idea. Other than calling us beaters. We keep to ourselves, so we don't hear much gossip." Kirito said to the boy, giving him a skeptical look.

"The Black Beater and his partner, the Girl Beater. You managed to make names for yourselves at the boss room. Other players aren't happy. They feel like you stole the last hit bonus from the main party. Oh, and that you were the reason that guy died." He said as he strolled over, his dragon following.

"We didn't kill Diavel. He went after the last attack bonus, but the boss' attack patterns weren't like the beta. He went anyways, and that's what did him in. Kirito tried giving him a potion, but he refused it. Whether you believe us or not is your problem." I told the boy, raising my head to look up at him.

It was at this point that I noticed his red eyes. The odd color caught me off guard. Kirito's black eyes were rare enough, but red eyes? I had never heard of someone having red eyes. Like me, he had a scar through his left eye.

"I like to save my judgement for after I meet the people. Gossip is just that, gossip. Figured you'd wanna know what people were saying. Those other players who keep leaving instead of doing this quest are probably just scared you'll attack them. By the way, I'm Charr. This is my dragon, Isao."

"How did you get a dragon?! I want one! It's so cool! Wait… Isao the dragon? Is that from that anime 'How to Keep a Mummy'? I loved that one!" I squealed!

"It's a cute anime. It was the first dragon I thought of when I got him. I'm a beast tamer. It was a skill line you could get." He replied, taking a step back as if I was going to reach for his dragon.

"That's a cool skill. I never gave it much thought when I saw it. Might have come in handy, having a pet." Kirito said as he reached up to grab his chin, in thought.

"Oh, how rude of us! I am Sarasheem. This is my partner, Kirito."