The air between the two friends grew thick. Aaron and Kirito were in a standoff of a stare, prompted by Aaron's disgust in him.
"A laughing coffin member wants to meet you in three days. I had no fuckin' clue why, and I come here and find that you're a red player. What happened to you?"
Annoyed, Kirito rested his cheek on his fist and stared at him.
"It's not what you think."
"I dunno' man, you know how powerful you are, you shouldn't have had to kill anybody." Aaron stood up, both pissed and uncomfortable being near his friend. "Those LC guys are calling you a demon, is that who you killed?"
"Aye." Kirito's posture was unchanged. His eyes were lazy but were cold while watching his friend. He could not stand people assuming he was some sort of murderer, he had been taunted with that notion his whole life, ever since the post office incident. "Sinon was in danger, and I neutralized threats."
Aaron's shoulders relaxed a bit, and he stopped tensing up so much. "I see. Do you really think there was no other way?" his eyes pleaded to Kirito, not wanting to lose his friend.
"I hate myself for doing it. But make no mistake, I would do it again."
"Hmm. Alright. The guy who wants to meet you is called XaXa, and he seems moderately dangerous. I just figured you should know."
"Lame username."
"Oh yeah?" Aaron sighed, shaking his head. "Well, in the next day or so I need you to come down to the town of beginnings, those LC guys threatened to do something huge if you don't come. Regarding the green players, I'll make sure they know you're friendly." Aaron paused. "You are friendly, right?"
"I don't know Aaron, am I?" Kirito yawned, looking harmless.
Rolling his eyes, Aaron zipped up his coat and made his way back out into the snow. "Alright Kaz, please make it. For whatever reason I can't private message you, so have Sinon keep in contact with me regarding when you'll be there. Also communicate where you're coming from so you don't get jumped by the green militia."
"Mhm. Be careful." Kirito responded.
"I will, thanks. Can't wait for this event to be over so everyone can go back to worrying about the game."
With that, his friend went out into the snowy night, on route to his post in the Town of Beginnings. He felt relieved that his friend was both alive, and not a malicious murderer. Still, whatever the Laughing Coffin members wanted with him kept him uneasy.
Walking out of Kirito's bedroom, Sinon slid into his lap. "So, how many more days until this PvP event is over?"
"Four, I think. It's hard to keep track of time with it always being night time." He made room for her and held her hip while deep in thought.
"Kirito?" He looked at her. Her hair was all messed up from their long nap and sexual activities. It was kind of cute how she looked like she had just rolled out of bed.
"Hm?"
"What have you been working on with your tinkering thing? You've spent so many hours on it."
She noticed him avert his gaze, which was odd. Throughout her whole life he would always look directly in her eyes, but only things he was shy or nervous about would cause him to act in such a way.
He slightly moved her in his lap, so he had access to his arms and opened his menu after some repositioning. He showed her the grid of his Tinkering skill.
"I'm trying to build this." He opened the rifle at the bottom, showing the vast requirements of both level and materials.
"Is that… A sniper rifle?" Her eyes widened, trying to click it with her finger. It didn't work, as she childishly forgot it was his menu.
He did it for her, increasing the size of the weapon.
"Yeah, it is."
"Um… Kirito? It says in big red text that this weapon is unusable by you. Why make something you can't use?" She gave him a pouted and concerned glance but knew better than to doubt him.
"You're right. Since I invested to much of my character into sword mastery, I won't be able to equip it properly. I can use it, but I won't be good." He sighed, staring at the image of the weapon.
"So, why make it?" She looked away from his screen, and back to his face. She had a habit of doing that lately, constantly ogling his jaw line, or eyes.
"You're going to fire it for me." He poked her forehead. "After I saw what you could do with a bow in the beta, you'll be a goddess with this thing."
"M-Me?!" She looked back at the weapon, with a newfound curiosity.
"Mhm. This MMO has technological evolution within it. I'm assuming around the fiftieth or seventy-fifth floor we'll start seeing modern technology. Some of the structures within the late teen floors are already beginning to exhibit more sophisticated infrastructure."
"You're a nerd." She poked his face.
He closed his menu and diverted his attention to her.
"And you have a crush on a nerd, what does that make you?"
Her eyes hid, prompting him to immediately readjust her chin to look at him.
"Being a nerd isn't a bad thing." She blushed. She noticed that he was staring at her rather intensely while he brushed her cheek. She didn't mind, but it was going on for quite a long time. "You ok?" She asked, noticing him snap out of it.
"Hm? Yeah. I was just thinking." He took a few moments, still studying her face. "Since last night, I don't think I've ever wanted to get out of this game more than I do now. I want to touch the real you."
Despite what he had said, it felt real to her. His strong hand that was running up and down her leg didn't feel like something the game had just produced out of thin air. It was as if there was a thin layer of electricity that made a pleasant spark on any flesh that he touched. Despite how good it felt, she did wonder how different it would be, to finally be close to her childhood crush and feel the real sensations.
"Can I tell you a secret?" She placed one of her hands on his, albeit much smaller.
"Go for it."
"Before we dove into the Nerve gear, I made a stupid plan." She giggled and blushed, continuing. "I held your hand after you were already inside, so you wouldn't notice. I also vowed to log out first, so you didn't catch me."
He smiled. "That's cute. It's good to know that we got to hold hands like that, at least for a little bit. I'm sure we've both been in a hospital for a while now."
Her expression was jovial, and then darkened slightly. "You're right. We're probably not even close to each other in the real world, both hooked up to some machines…"
He pondered but nodded slowly. "I'm sure there's a lot of people in that kind of state."
She looked down at their joined hands, feeling a pang of sadness. "It hurts knowing that we're not holding hands in reality anymore."
"This is real, isn't it?"
"Well, it is, but…"
"I mean, when you blew my brains out a half hour ago, that felt pretty real." He teased.
Her face went red as a tomato as she flung her face into his chest to hide.
"Don't be so direct! It's embarrassing." She laughed. Her face popped back up, as she pouted. "I did okay, right? I was super nervous to be honest."
"Hm… I don't know." He pretended to think long and hard about whether her performance was adequate, until he noticed genuine concern on her face.
"Oh no… I'm so sorry if it wasn't good. I'll try to do better, I promise. I was just super worked up, and wanted to be nice, so- "
"Chill. You did amazing." He rolled his eyes, petting her to make her mellow out.
"Oh, well, I'm glad." Sinon was still in slight disbelief that she and Kirito were finally together, let alone pleasuring him. What was she thinking? "Sorry if it was sudden, and too fast… I just really like you, Kirito-Senpai."
Guilt creeped into his mind. He wasn't cheating on anyone, but he had his fair share of intimate experiences. Sinon had never been with another man, he was her first. He had wished he could say the same for her, but he just couldn't.
"I like you too, I think I always have." He responded, still thinking about his guilt.
"Was that… your first?" She looked up at him with wonderous eyes, almost eager.
He felt a stabbing pain in his heart, not wanting to lie to her, but also not wanting to disappoint her. He took a deep breath.
"No, it wasn't. But it was the best by far."
Still young, not mature enough to not ask such questions, Sinon felt a bit of jealousy. It was hard to process that another woman, probably Asuna, had already given herself to him. She did her best to not show how much it bothered her.
"I see."
She was easy to read. He respected her restraint at trying to not appear offended, so he attempted to comfort her. He didn't mind clingy girls, in fact Sinon's clinginess made him want to spoil her and make her dreams come true.
His voice quieter, and more direct now. "Sinon." He met her wavering eyes, confronting her jealous side face to face.
"…?" She responded with a quiet stare, filled with low self-esteem. Her mind was racing wondering which, and how many girls he had been with before her and wondering how worthy she was.
"You're very special to me. Do you understand?"
Hesitantly, Shino nodded.
He looked up at his red cursor, indicating his status as a player killer. It would normally fill his heart with dread and guilt, but not now. It showed how far he went to fulfill his promise, and to defend what was his.
Her eyes noticed his brief glance up at his branded red symbol, and felt her self-doubt begin to wash away. Sinon's eyes were now captured by his, fully understanding the weight of his assurance in her.
A warm reassuring shiver rippled down her spine, while her heart practically swallowed itself in delight hearing what he said next.
"You're mine."
He lovingly kissed her, breaking it off before it became too sexually charged.
Kirito's boldness and possessiveness practically married her emotions of self-consciousness, completely obliterating any worries she may have had. It was the perfect combination of faults working in harmony.
Sinon, in a loving stupor, began daydreaming of the various ways she could get thrown around and ravaged. Over the couch, on the floor, against a wall… Her fantasies were interrupted when he gently moved her and stood up, putting on his glasses and coat.
"W-Where are you going?" She asked, blinking a few extra times to get the perverted ideas out of her head.
"Just going to get some fresh air, you're welcome to join me if you'd like."
The view from the porch was spectacular, especially at night. The waterfall above his small home was still crashing into a nearby lake, which was as large for as far out as he could see. A small winding path descended onto the trail that would lead back to one of the smaller cities of the floor, leaving him completely secluded out here. Before the Long Night, he used to occasionally see players exploring down by the lake but hasn't seen anyone since it began.
The air nipped at his exposed skin, as he pulled his hat over his head. He wondered if the bitter chill of the wind was unique to the game, or if extremely cold climates like this really were this annoying to deal with. He hadn't really dealt with that much snow in his life time, due to where he lived.
He heard the door open and close behind him, as Sinon made her way next to him along the railing. They matched, as they usually did. Ever since Sinon started middle school, she began wearing mostly black in attempt to get attention from Kazuto but ended up sticking with it. Sinon's coat almost went down to her knees because she was borrowing one of his and looked rather silly.
"I overheard you and Aaron talking, who wanted to meet you?"
"Some guy named XaXa. Red player. Threatened to cause trouble if I don't meet him."
"X-XaXa?" Sinon stammered.
"Mhm." Kirito kept overlooking the lake, unphased.
"I remember that name! When I was captured, some of the pk'ers were talking about him as leader."
Kirito glared at her, almost scaring her. It was a similar gaze when he was fighting the LC members. "Did he hurt you?"
"N-No… I just remember his name." She took a step back towards him, feeling guilty that she was afraid of him briefly. She knew he would never hurt her and had to accept that that side of him meant business when it came to her safety.
His expression softened and returned to the wide expanse before them.
"Understood."
"Do you think… You'll meet him?" She hoped he would say no, and carefully looked over at him, stuffing her hands in her pockets for warmth.
"Of course."
She chewed her lip and looked toward the moon. Her appreciate for the view would be much better under different circumstances. Despite how much she hated annoying sunlight, she missed it, and it had only been a few days.
The next hour or so was filled with small idle chatter, but mostly just the pair enjoying each other's company and relaxing. It was good knowing they could be so passively wasting time, knowing that each moment would bring the event closer and closer to its conclusion. While Sinon was browsing the various in-game wikis on her menu, she noticed her, and Kazuto weren't friends in game anymore.
"Kirito, did you unfriend me?" Her tone was genuine curiosity, with no accusatory elements.
"No. Green players aren't allowed to be friends with reds. Only exceptions are if I get the 'Friends with Benefits' perk, Guilds, or marriage."
'Did he say marriage?'
"What's 'Friends with Benefits'? How do you get that perk?" She asked.
"Kill people." He replied, taking a drink of his coffee.
She rolled her eyes, both enjoying making light of his red player status to make it not as much of a big deal. "Okay, but what's it do?"
"It lets red players infiltrate greens and add them to their friends list. Normally we're not allowed."
'God, what a nerd. So cute.'
"Okay. It'll be hard to communicate, don't you think? If we're not close. I don't think we can private message each other if we're not friends in game." Sinon asked, slightly worried.
"Yeah, I'm aware. I'll have to make a private guild. Seems like the best way to stay in contact with our friends."
"Fuck." She whispered, out of character. In game marriage to her senpai sounded appealing.
"What was that?" Kirito looked over, taking another sip from his coffee.
"Oh, nothing."
Kirito opened his menu, looking at his newly acquired sword the other day.
The Elucidator
He grinned. He strangely looked forward to his meeting with XaXa.