A young Asada Shino was on one of the swings at her local park, giggling and cheering for her friend to keep pushing her higher.

"Higher, Shinkawa, higher!"

The boy did his best, pushing his crush with all of his strength, watching her dangle in the air, just to whoosh down past him again. He liked making her happy.

The two had just gotten out of their fourth grade class and were enjoying their brief recess between lessons.

Shino, whilst at the peak on one of the swings caught on the corner of her eye a fresh wave of older kids beginning their break as well. It was the seventh graders. She dug her feet into the wood chips, doing her best to slow the momentum down of her swings, prompting Shinkawa to protest.

"D-Didn't you want to keep swinging, Asada-San?"

Finally able to stop the momentum, she smiled towards her friend. "I want to go say hi to Kazuto!"

She was off, leaving her friend in the dust, who frowned. He hadn't tried to branch out and make any other friends, leaving him abandoned whenever Shino would play with someone else. He slowly followed.

As she got closer to the groups of seventh graders emerging from the school, whom gave her annoyed glanced as they brushed passed her, she finally saw him. Kazuto was walking with Aaron, holding a ball for them to play four-square with. Two other sixth graders were with them.

"Kirito!" She yelped, causing Kazuto to cringe, and blush. His friends sniggered at him as the underclassman tackled him with a hug. "I got a good score on my spelling test!"

He looked around towards his classmates, rubbing his head anxiously. "That's great, Shino."

"Come play with me!"

His acquaintances laughed and walked off shaking their heads. They were quite the judgmental bunch.

"Shino, what did I tell you about annoying me at school?" He firmly pushed her off of him, making her glasses fall off of her face, hitting the pavement. They didn't break, but still scared her. One of the lenses popped out, something he could likely fix.

Her lip quivered, and eyes immediately began to water.

Kazuto no longer cared about the judgement of his peers and kneeled to pick up her glasses. The girl stood with a defensive posture, holding her hands in front of her chest while beginning to cry.

He sighed and looked at her glasses. Her mother would have his ass if they were broken. He took off his own glasses and put them on her head, looking a little awkwardly large for her. Nevertheless, he wiped the tears forming at her eyes.

Aaron waited impatiently, leaning against the brick.

"You're always crying." He teased, patting her head. Her expression brightened a little, looking up at him. "We can hang out after school ends, okay?"

She gave him a curious grey stare through his enormous glasses on her head. Luckily, she was still able to see pretty well despite them not being her glasses. "O-Okay." She sniffled.

"Sec, Aaron." He turned to his friend who shrugged. Looking back to Shino, he looked out towards the play field where most of the third and fourth graders were. "Head on back to your friends, yeah?"

The girl nodded and ran towards Shinkawa who had nearly caught up with them. While wiping her eyes, she accidentally ran directly into a different sixth grader. She practically knocked him over despite her small size, likely catching him off balance.

"Ow! The HECK man?!" The boy grunted, glaring at the perpetrator. Shino, apologetic as ever, bowed her head in apology over and over.

"I-'m so sorry! I wasn't looking."

The girl dusted off her knees, looking carefully as the upperclassman rose to his feet, towering over her.

"I remember you… You're that freak in my sister's class. The one who killed people?" The blonde smirked, upon seeing the horror strike Asada's face.

"Yeah… That's her. Everyone's always giving her special attention." Endou, another second grader, coldly approached with her friends from the nearby slide. "Teach her a lesson, brother."

Shino was still frozen, fear struck when bullies harassed her about what happened to her and Kazuto. She couldn't comprehend why people had to use it against her all the time, it's nothing she was proud of doing… She just wished it would go away.

The upperclassman picked her up from her collar, making her yelp. Her feet dangled from the ground, prompting her to start kicking.

"Hey! Stop!

Shinkawa ran towards her but paused once Endou's older brother gave him a sinister look.

"Back off kid, or you're next." Endou crossed her arms, sneering at the hesitant Kyouji from behind her brother.

Shino tried to call out for help but couldn't make much noise as she was suspended in the air. She kicked weakly against the knees of her captor, hearing nothing but Endou's evil laughing next to her.

Shinkawa clenched his fists, only able to watch as his friend was being bullied. He wasn't sure if he should stand up for her or go get help from a teacher. It was tearing away at him, causing him to shake. All he could think about doing was suffocating the life out of Endou's brother… But, that wasn't a solution. He needed to do something NOW.

Before Shinkawa could move a muscle, Kazuto pummeled into the boy his age, and began hammering away at him on the ground. The two rolled and punched each other, each landing their own independent blows.

Shino had scooted away from them in the grass, and began frantically looking for help.

"Kirito be careful!" She whined, seeing the other boy landing some solid hits onto Kazuto's face.

Endou screamed as her brother was getting beat up, until a few grown ups had sprinted over and broke the two up.

Shinkawa watched in disdain, feeling almost surreal in the moment as the grown ups pulled apart the two boys in almost seemingly slow motion. He didn't know why he couldn't do anything. It haunted him, how he couldn't ever muster the courage to be Asada's hero. He looked at her figure, sitting in the grass, and could see in her eyes how she looked at Kazuto.

The two were taken away, as well as Shino as being a witness to the fight. Shinkawa, once again, was stuck waiting, standing alone in the park while kids played all around, seemingly ignoring him. He was no one. Any time anyone looked at him, they never saw him, only themselves. It was like he was a mirror.

…

The Final Day of the Harrowing

"Did you get Friends with Benefits?" Shouichi, otherwise known as XaXa, asked his brother.

The perk that allowed red players to disguise themselves as greens, and add them back to their friends list, was a particularly dangerous tool that had been Laughing Coffin's signature way of baiting in fresh kills during the long night. They only had another 24 hours to farm kills before the event was gone forever.

"Yes, brother. I have it. That last bitch you let me kill was the one who gave it to me. I just knew she would give me something special, you know?" Kyouji responded.

"Understood. Your role is very important for us. Give me your cloak." The older brother seized Kyouji's equipment, leaving him looking like a standard player again, except with his red diamond above his head. "Activate it."

Kyouji did so, seeing his player symbol morph back into that of a normal player.

"I'm sorry I let her get away last time, I really am-" Shinkawa stammered.

"Don't worry about it." XaXa interrupted. "PoH doesn't care about the girl, the bonuses we got from kills in the event were good enough."

"I see." Shinkawa looked down at his friends list, only having red players. He would have to get a whole assortment of green names for the guild and lure them into traps. He would also have to re-add his beloved Asada Shino.

"I'm going to go prepare for the upcoming meeting. Make your way into town, you know how to call for us if things get bad." XaXa stood, putting his mask on his face, and made his way out.

Making his way into the Town of Beginnings was easy. Shinkawa came off as a fearful green player that had gotten lost in the woods and pretended to witness the murder of a few friends. His goal was simple, and rather predictable for him.

After waiting for almost hours in the central plaza, observing patrols and headcounts for how many green players were being sent to different parts of the city, something caused Shinkawa to pause his work.

"Just stay chill, Kaz. Everyone here knows not do do anything to you." Aaron looked back to his friend, keeping him close. "Everyone here will be a bit nervous seeing you as a red player, but no matter what happens just stay next to me. We're almost there."

Sinon was latched to Kirito's arm, seeing several hateful glances their way. She was scared that they would do something to him and kept close as a result.

Shinkawa drew blood on his lip, as he was biting it with such ferocity that it hurt him. Something had changed in Asada. He saw her on the other side of the street with a new look in her eyes, almost like that of a girl in love. His heart rate increased, feeling the urge to thrash and attack someone, but he abstained.

He knew very well why Kirito was there, or, the demon, as he was known within laughing coffin. His guild had made special plans just for him, which couldn't please Shinkawa more. Kazuto had always been an obstacle for him to overcome.

"…Alright, I'll need you to come with me." Aaron gestured Kirito down a hall. "We're going to meet with the Coffin player in here, pretty sure HQ we've set up in the middle of town."

"Got it." Kirito nodded, and looked down towards Shino. He playfully flicked her forehead, causing her to puff her cheeks.

"Don't do anything stupid, or I'll beat you up, okay?" She let go of his arm, and folded her own with a sassy "hmph".

"Cute." Kirito smiled, and went off with his friend. He was intrigued, and nervous as well to meet one of the Laughing Coffin members.

Sinon felt a swelling anxiety form in her belly, but tried to brush it to the side knowing he would be fine. It was just a meeting after all.

Kirito entered the hall, it was a large circular room filled with fancy decor and seats around an enormous table. The windows, goblets, floor, practically everything was gilded in a shining gold that reeked of posh and overly rich demeanor. Not his style.

There was a dozen or so green players sitting around the table, likely the various guild leaders and such on the lower floors. Kirito was unsure as to why so many people were here, which Aaron picked up on quickly.

"We got XaXa to agree to a meeting like this, a lot of the people didn't like the idea of bringing reds within the town, so we had to let more people in on the meeting. It's lame, but whatever." Aaron sighed, taking a seat and letting his boots rest on the table. "He'll be here soon, apparently. Then you can be on your way hopefully."

Kirito took a seat and felt the gaze of everyone baring down on him. He felt they should all understand why he was a red player but couldn't bring himself to go over it all again. His fucks were diminishing.

Across from him, he saw a slight shimmer, as XaXa appeared already seated. He had used his metamaterial camouflage cloak to sneak inside. The two sitting adjacent to him jumped, not aware of his presence. Aaron only rolled his eyes, not being surprised for a second time.

"Demon." XaXa's glowing red eyes honed in on Kirito, who looked him over.

"Heard you were looking for me." The fellow red player responded.

"You've made quite a name for yourself." Xaxa remarked, looking at the various people around the room. "I think you'll regret having so many bystanders, here."

The various guild leaders took their seats, most of them feeling uncomfortable. XaXa was just a little too comfortable being in the room with all of them. One of the leaders seemed unphased by the Laughing Coffin member, which interested Kirito. The man looked older, and was recognizable for Kirito as Heathcliff, the guild leader for Asuna's guild.

"So he's here. Hurry up with your business." Aaron's chair creaked as he leaned back, keeping boots on the table.

"I have an offer for you Kirito. If you refuse, there may be an issue."

XaXa's face was not visible from beneath his mask, but Kirito had the suspicion that he was smiling.

"Let's hear It then."

…

Shino was twiddling her thumbs nonstop while waiting outside of where they were meeting. Maybe the laughing coffin member he was supposed to meet wouldn't show up, maybe there was nothing to worry about. She had been dreading this moment for the last day, hoping that the harrowing would end with a peaceful, boring conclusion, so everyone can just go back to playing.

"Asada-San!" Kyouji ran up to her, causing her to jump.

"Shinkawa!" She ran towards her friend and hugged him, relieved. "I thought you were captured… I'm so glad you were okay, I didn't see you on my friends list."

The two began walking down one of the side streets, near an area covered in flowers and seats to relax.

"Yeah, I escaped. I was so worried about you." Shinkawa quickly looked up at his buff bar, ensuring that friends with benefits was active. "I removed all my friends, so no one could find me, I'm really sorry I was just so scared." He bowed his head, sending her a friend request.

She instantly accepted, trusting her friendl completely.

"Enough about that, how are you? How did you make it back to town safely?" She was excited, relieved that her friend was alive and well.

Despite Sinon's relief, Kyouji's eyes trailed off from his crush's eyes to her neck, noticing the faint evidence of hickies signifying that she had been fooling around. Images of Kirito flashed into his head, fueling him with anger. The thought of Kirito tossing his Asada around nearly overcame the power of friends with benefits and almost revealed him.

"Shinkawa-Kun?"

The anger in his eyes lingered for a few moments, filled with jealousy and hatred towards the man he sought to overcome. Before long, his rage subsided, and his gaze returned to Asada, blinking a few times.

"Did you hear me?" She cocked her head to the side.

"Y-Yes. Sorry. I was able to escape when the captors weren't looking and tried to find my brother here in the town of beginnings." Shinkawa sighed, relieved he didn't lose his temper.

…

In the meeting room, the air was cold. XaXa's eyes ceased their red glow for a moment, as if the mask was empty, and then immediately re-energized with a small pulse, shaking the room.

Kirito braced himself, putting his hand on his blade.

"I've just frozen time for two minutes, with the exception of you." XaXa stared directly at Kirito.

"What do you mean…?" Kirito asked, looking around at the frozen green players, including Aaron.

"They can't hear us at the moment. I acquired this skill on my seventeenth kill."

Kirito understood, looking at each player's face to ensure they weren't blinking.

"You have an offer, don't you?"

"You will join Laughing Coffin." His tone was dull, and direct, without question.

Kirito's eyebrow shot up, unsure if the man was serious.

"You're joking right? I want nothing to do with you." His sword arm relaxed but remained on guard.

XaXa looked at some of the green players that were unable to move and looked back to Kirito.

"Are you so naïve as to think that being green makes you a good person? Surely you don't think that… You aren't one."

The cold that had entered the room was now nipping at Kirito's knuckles, prompting him to put his hands in his pockets, as well as notice the breath in front of him upon each exhale. The temperature had no comparison to the chill he felt up his spine being in a one on one with a Laughing Coffin Officer.

"Still, those who would willingly kill are far worse scum than anyone else."

With a sigh, XaXa shook his head.

"I will prove you wrong."

"…"

As if there had never been any issue, the frozen players were back to normal, just having heard Aaron address XaXa.

The laughing coffin member rested his hand on the table, and looked towards the black swordsman.

"The green players will either kill Kirito within the next four hours, or I will launch a full-scale siege on the highest population concentrated city. My guildies would like their buffs."

Hushed voices circled the room, none loud enough to be heard.

"That's it? You want us to sacrifice Kirito or you'll kill innocents? You must be stupid." Aaron replied, standing up. "We'll never-"

"One man's life to save many?" A different green player added in.

"If you kill Kirito, the demon, I will forever call off any further attacks on the first five floors of Aincrad."

Kirito felt his blood turn to ice, as he began looking towards the door.

Mixed opinions filled the room, many opting to take the deal. Only a few stood for his defense.

"…He's just another red player, why should more die for his sake?"

A trade of gazes was exchanged between XaXa and Kirito, hearing his words echo in his head. 'I will prove you wrong.'

Chaos began to erupt into the room, as people began to shout in disarray.

"Someone grab him!"

Kirito sprung into action, jumping away from the table and springing towards the door.

Aaron looked after him, and back towards the Laughing Coffin member who sat coolly in his chair as people began to panic around him and arm themselves. With a laugh, XaXa began to materialize into thin air.

…

Sinon jumped as a siren began to blast through the town from the speakers on every street. The game allowed for guilds to make broadcasts, and it had served as a pivotal source of communication during the Harrowing Event.

"This is Commander Heathcliff of the Anti-Red Knights of the Blood Oath. The floor clearer Kirito is hereby branded as a traitor and must be captured within the next three hours. If you see him, report it to a militia official immediately." The stern voice continued to describe his features and go on about him, causing Sinon to blink a few times in disbelief.

Shinkawa's face was brimming in delight, almost intoxicated as the sirens blared around them.

Initially fearful, Sinon's tendency to break down and go weak was absent. She was angry, and didn't realize how similar her face mirrored Kirito when he was full of adrenaline. Something had to be a mistake, Kirito was innocent.

"I need to go." Shino stood up from the small spot in the park, and began walking off. She had to be smart. If people were after Kirito, they'd likely know that she was with him due to how often they're near each other. If Kirito were there, he'd tell her to get to safety so they could plan their next move.

"W-Wait, Asada-San! They said he's a traitor!" He extended his hand outwards, similar to his past self-watching her running away.

"I'm sorry Shinkawa." With one final glance, she teleported away with her teleport crystal.

Sinon was moving at a snail's pace through the Long Night, doing her best to not be spotted as she made her way to Kirito's home. The small path underneath the waterfall had grown on her, knowing when to turn off the road and find his hidden home. Despite the almost unbearable cold, the familiarity of their hidden paradise soothed her, never seeing another player anywhere near it.

Entering his home and locking up put her mind at ease. She set her bow down, leaning it against the cabinet in the living room, and plopped down on the couch. Using her in game menu, she could see that there was only 8 hours left of the long night… And the sun would finally come up.

Snuggling under his blanket, she waited for him to appear, and drifted off into a long slumber.

…

The black swordsman was running through the streets, being chased by a few green player defenders. Word was spreading quickly that his life being taken would spare the Town from a siege, resulting in an all-out assault directed towards him.

Rounding a corner, ten players were blocking the street in front of him. Before Kirito could turn somewhere else, more players had flanked him, and surrounded him on the rooftops.

"That's him, that's him!" They panicked, pointing at him.

"Just come quietly, spare hundreds by giving your life!" Another yelled.

A wave of water and fire-based spells flew towards him from various directions, which Kirito countered with his own elemental magic. He knew there would be no way to talk himself out of this, they only saw him as a red player. Deflecting attacks without killing anyone would prove to be a difficult challenge.

A shadow cast over Kirito from the lamplight, making him react to the incoming boulder that was going to land on his head. With blinding agility, he plunged his sword through the rock, causing it to split in two and fall to his sides. Keeping track of the various incoming arrows and spells was manageable, if he didn't have to do it for too long.

A tall figure In red and white armor moved through the crowd and stepped forward, to which people quickly moved out of his way. His enormous shield was emblazoned with a large red cross, which had a broadsword strapped within It for him to unsheathe.

"L-Lord Heathcliff sir!"

Kirito braced himself, holding his blade out in front of him.

"You heard what the man said at the meeting, Kirito. Why do you resist?" The elder quizzed. Something seemed off about Heathcliff, and his interest in Kirito was no secret.

"I'm not a hero. I promised someone I'd make it out of this death-game." While he spoke, casters from above were preparing another barrage of spells. It was twenty five to one, or more. "Guess that means you're out of luck." Kirito glared.

With godly speed, a ray of lightning sprayed out of Heathcliff's shield, faster than any usually player could act. The blast detonated against an enormous rock wall that Kirito summoned just as quickly to block the attack, but still knocking him to the side due to the force of the blast. He quickly picked back up his sword, and fought his way to his feet.

The two continued to hurl high level spells at one another, feeling each other out until Kirito finally went on the offensive.

His blade, Elucidator slammed into Heathcliff's shield, to which Kirito drew another blade almost instantaneously and went to chop off his arm that was over extending the shield.

Out of respect, Heathcliff dropped his shield and withdrew his arm to save himself the damage. Kirito knew despite his upper hand, this older player was by no means a pushover, and seemed able to keep up with his strikes.

"Not bad. You also utilized a weapon skill with a counter riposte, I may try that some time." His opponent complimented him, seemingly unphased by their battle.

Kirito nodded, and the two were at each other's throats again, clashing blades over and over, trying to find an opening.

"Sir, the barrier's almost up!" A player yelled, helping cast a spell to trap Kirito.

Heathcliff ignored his guild mate, and focused on the fight at hand. The young man with black hair was pressing him, and hard. Every half step he gained, he traded a percentage of his life points due to Kirito knowing when to attack. They had both already gotten into yellow, which was the first time Heathcliff had been in such a position.

As Heathcliff decided to get serious, his body language changed, which did not go unnoticed by Kirito. Unfortunately for Heathcliff, the battle between them was nothing more than a diversion to reposition himself on the battlefield. While the bystanders watched, Kirito was moving their trades closer and closer to an entrance to an alleyway.

"You're not going to escape, your life is too important."

With that, Heathcliff fired another jet of lightning which whined from his sword, with an even fiercer spark than the previous.

Barely in time, Kirito's earth spell as a response was obliterated, causing smoke to fill the street and billow out from the sides.

As the dust settled, Kirito was gone.

"D-Did he get him?" A player asked.

"I think so!" One of them sighed in relief.

Kirito had entered the refuge of his own metamaterial camouflage cloak, and slowly worked away from the scene, escaping. The energy blast destroying his barrier was exactly the diversion he needed. As he looked back, he noticed something eerie.

Heathcliff was looking right at him.

For what ever reason, he did not alert his troops, and merely watched him as he ran away.

Once he was finally out of view, Kirito continued to run out of the Town of Beginnings, drowning out the sirens that were blasting with full intention to find him.

He wanted to go home. His real home, where Sugu could nag him for burning their food, or not sparring with her. Always being on the run was no way to live, especially since the "good" players were trying to kill him.

Checking his clock, they only had thirty more minutes to kill him before the Laughing Coffin would make their move.

Kirito sighed.

"Fuck 'em."