Shield And Swords

Chapter 25— Coping

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Original Title: Sword Art Online(ソードアート・オンライン)

Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki

written by: wrathie

Author's Notes: Thank you, bowpurity for the beta!

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'Right, we can't visit Asuna's blacksmith friend today, Lisbeth right? That's probably a good thing as we practically can't go to town together anyway.'

Argo commented to the rest of the group, the rest as in Heathcliff, Asuna, Kirito and Sachi. The other members of their little entourage were the unnamed members of KoB that were still escorting the PK players on their route to town.

'We can't? Why? I mean, we are a little late but I'm sure that we could still pay Lisbeth a visit...'

Kirito scratched his head in confusion even as Asuna pointed out that they weren't just a little late, they were very late.

'Lisbeth has a business to run you know... she can't take time off just like that on a whim...'

'Well, I did want to fix my weapon... so she'll still be working, right?'

'You're hopeless, Kirito-kun. You should take a girl's feelings into consideration.'

'Well, seeing that we are going there to stock up on supplies, she'll have to work anyway if we are still going.'

Even as Asuna and Kirito continued their conversation, Argo a few steps behind them and looking quite amused even as the topic of their original conversation was forgotten. Argo wasn't going to be the one to stop the two of them though as it'll take too much effort really, and she had so many messages to go through! Sachi and Heathcliff on the other hand were walking side by side with each other similar to the other pair.

Unlike the Black Swordsman and the Vice-commander of the Knights of the Blood, the two guild leaders were solemn. Heathcliff was in that state due to the seriousness of the situation, the presence of his own guild members which he has to maintain an image of as well as the lives that he had just ended with his own hands.

Even if he wanted to say that he wasn't affected by what had happened earlier, he would be lying. He was affected, it was just that it was better for him to stop thinking about whether his decision was right or wrong, whether things could be different and focus more on more productive things. Like in what way could he use his experience today to prevent such incidents from happening again.

Player killing was indeed starting to be a problem but that's the wrong way to look at the issue. The truth was that it shouldn't even be a problem in the first place, not here within SAO, where everyone should be fighting together to even survive.

Heathcliff understood that It was difficult to expect everyone to be united under a single banner or at least to expect everyone to be willing and able to work together.

The world doesn't work that way, heck, nothing works that way. The strong will always rule over the weak and even if Heathcliff dislikes it, he was also the guild leader of one of the 'elite' guilds, where only the strongest or recognized were able to join them.

Even he himself was upholding the rule of survival of the fittest.

However even if that was true, the strong was at the same time helping the weaker even if they were taking away their resources and advantages away from them. That was because all of them had the same goal and were in the same boat of being stuck in SAO. They had to clear the game to get free and to stay alive in the process and in a twisted kind of way, it really was the weak who was taking advantage of the strong.

Yes, the strong might be taking things away from the weak, some even trampling over them and using their strength to bully the weak. But it was also true that it was the strong who was dying more frequently, who was in the front lines and putting their lives on the line for the weakest of them all. Those who were significantly weaker in the clearers would not be given the chance to fight in the front lines for a simple reason – They would not be able to survive long enough to make an impact. So no matter if you hate them or like them, the strong both ruled and suffered due to their strength in SAO.

It would be another matter if the strong themselves were abusing their strength and were obsessed with gaining power instead of making progress just like how the Player Killers were.

That was why Heathcliff did not hesitate to take them down, they would be the ones to destabilize the current balance of power within SAO itself. He could not for the life of him deduce why the player killers did what they did. Were they after power? Or were they after strength? Or did they just want the easy way out? Player killing truly did not serve any purpose as the items and equipment that they would be getting would only be mid-levelled at best. The players that they had apprehended had no use for such equipment and the amount of gold they could actually take from them could be earned wasn't worth the effort and planning needed to get the victims into their grubby hands.

Perhaps Heathcliff was over-complicating things and that the last reason was right after all, that they were going for the easy way out. It was certainly a much faster way to earn gold than fighting monsters but at the same time, Heathcliff couldn't quite understand how they could ever kill someone else just like that.

It was unthinkable for any of the clearers to behave in such a fashion as all of them had earned their place within the front lines not only with their skills in battle, but from their display of courage, teamwork as well as the shared dream of being strong to clear the game together without dying.

It was like what Heathcliff had said before, death was always with them and what Argo said was true as well. All of them were in the same boat and to go against the norm, to turn against a fellow man in such a fashion and caring only for themselves was the ultimate betrayal.

They should and would never trust an individual like this even if the 'system' itself says that they could.

..

Sachi for her part was not thinking too much about the current situation with the player-killers as she had full confidence in Argo and her ability to handle the situation without her. Then again, Argo has always been the ones who handled any matters pertaining to the guild. Sachi was a figurehead, only not really as she had the final say in deciding what the guild should or should not do. The fact that Sachi had never gone against Argo's recommendations were just a coincidence. They were just geniuses, and geniuses all think alike right?

But Sachi was contemplating things as well, the battle that had taken place earlier had held her interest and she was replaying all that had happened to her and Heathcliff in that struggle for survival. It was without a doubt the toughest battle she had ever participated in as in more than one occasion, perhaps even dwarfing the time when she had almost died.

Now that battle was the most terrifying one but it wasn't the toughest as she could barely do anything but to try and run away, which was practically impossible. If not for her sticking close to Kirito and the one that she loved defending her with all his strength fuelled by his desperation, she would not be here today.

But this battle, the battle where she had managed to survive only through sheer grit, luck and willpower, was nothing like the slaughter that she had experienced in the dungeons where the [Black Cats of the Full Moon] had died.

They have yet to returned to that dungeon, with Kirito only providing Argo with the mapped location of the trap to ensure that their mistake would never be repeated again. Sachi would want to return there eventually to end things once and for all.

What Sachi was concerned about wasn't just the battle for survival here, if not for Heathcliff saving her, and Sachi had never thought that she'll ever say that, she would have died. That was the truth but another crux of the matter was that even the two of them joining forces together, they shouldn't have been able to survive.

That much should be apparent from how the two of them had been forced to kill all of them at the end. If they were able to overpower them, or at least shown that they were more than capable of taking them down safely, they would have taken a few of them prisoner.

But that wasn't the case here. They had been forced to kill because the two of them would have been killed by them just as easily. The group of players that were led by Arinori weren't the mid-levelled players that the first group of Player-killers that the rest had taken prisoner. They were battle-hardened and trained individuals would been able to easily overwhelm her in the end if Heathcliff had not arrived. They were probably testing her abilities at the start by attacking one by one. Despite her own experience in handling multiple enemies in one time, she wouldn't have been able to hold her ground. Thus, she had given up on playing the long-game and had attacked back furiously in an attempt to turn the tide around after Arinori had shown his true colors. If she hadn't done so, she would never have gotten Arinori to retreat like he did and wouldn't have bought her enough time to recuperate as well as allowing Heathcliff to reach her in time.

But the same desperation that had helped Sachi overcome the odds was also the same that had almost gotten the two of them killed when Heathcliff entered the fray? She had almost given up and it was true that she had given up at a few points when she was in full retreat and Heathcliff was still being attacked by three other players.

It was a desperate situation and they couldn't possibly survived. But they had, somehow, they did so.

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Sachi was not the most experienced player amongst the five of them, Argo aside, Sachi's choice of battle fields were nowhere near the front lines and her companions were always her friends in the [Black Cats of the Full Moon] or the current group now.

But out of all of them, it was arguably true that Sachi was the most experienced in handling large mobs or hordes of monsters in battle. Her role was the tank and even if Heathcliff is arguably better in a boss fight, Sachi was confident that he did not boast of the experience she had in facing large numbers of monsters like she did.

She could remember the way the pack of wolves attacked her, the swarm of ants, the pride of jackals that never stopped spawning were key examples of how she had gotten strong. It wasn't a matter of quality over quantity, Sachi trained and got strong through the sheer quantity of monsters she fought alone.

That was why Sachi could rightfully say that with what she knew of the both of their abilities, even if they had Heathcliff's strength with hers, they would not be able to turn the tide as easily as they did then.

It was not that Sachi minded how the swing of the battle was quickly turned to their side, it was just how it turned out that way which bothered her the most. How were they able to overcome such odds that were stacked against them?

Sachi could even pinpoint exactly when the tide of battle had changed, it was when Heathcliff had killed Arinori with just one single blow.

That shouldn't be possible, not with what Heathcliff's was equipping in the battle. But Sachi had seen it happen right in front of her eyes! If Heathcliff had that kind of attack power, he would be on par with Kirito, maybe even surpass him while at the same time possessing the defensive powers that were above hers! That was just not possible even if he had min-maxed his current parameters out!

Sachi wanted answers and as she looked up to observe Heathcliff still deep in his thoughts, she'll have to speak with him later.

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'We'll have to part ways here.'

Argo announced even as she stopped Sachi from moving further as the town was in view. It wasn't just the members of their party that had stopped in their march towards town. The members of The Knights of the Blood stopped too as they waited for orders from their commanders. It was also good to note that all of them were giving Sachi a wide berth as that display earlier had only worsened Sachi's reputation, from being a terror with a shield to an unstable crazed killer. That was quite a leap, but Argo felt that if she exaggerated it a little, it'll just make the fallout that much easier to deal with in the end.

Especially if Sachi liked that reputation, which wasn't that of a bad thing. It'll at least start getting people to treat her more seriously, and if there was one thing all of them needed, was a lot of false rumours to ensure that they at least had a reputation.

Conflicting rumours and stories holds people's attention more than a single one which could be dismissed. Argo was already contemplating on the different stories she could circulate of this particular arrest of the Player-Killers.

That said, that wasn't the reason why she insisted that they had to split up, oh no.

'You guys can go on ahead though, I have guys already waiting at the prison of this particular floor, but with you guys helping we can work out a rotation cycle. Once they get released by the guards, we'll take them into closed arrest in one of the secure buildings... I'll foot the bill for renting the place for now... but I'm expecting all the other guilds to chip in once I get the information on where the others are hiding out and what we are going to do to them, alright?'

Argo sniffed unhappily even as she scowled at their prisoners even as Heathcliff nodded and give his consent for his men to follow Argo's lead on the matter.

'Great, let me fill you guys in...'

Argo walked over to them even as Asuna and Kirito gathered around their respective guild leaders.

'Well are we going to visit Lisbeth at all? I'll give her a call...then maybe we can have lunch at her place.'

Asuna tried to remain cheerful even as Kirito scratched his head and said that since they were still on a 'vacation', it'll be good to have, you know, a break after they are down with the pressing matters and should visit Lisbeth.

'Unfortunately I don't think the two of you understood what Argo-san meant earlier, did she not continue the conversation earlier on?'

Heathcliff sounded impatient as he stared at the two of them, disappointed at how they could have forgotten about what happened earlier.

'Sachi-san won't be able to enter the town at all under that status.'

As Asuna and Kirito looked confused, Heathcliff gave a sigh before gesturing to the 'orange' colored player indicator above Sachi's head. Sachi for her part did not have any physical response to the way Heathcliff responded. That was Sachi alright, even if it concerned her she rather not display too much emotions if she could help it. It bothered Kirito a little, to see how emotionless Sachi could be more often than not... she wasn't like that in private though, so maybe it was just an act, maybe?

'A-Ah... right, I... I'm sorry, Sachi... I.. I just, I didn't... I'm sorry...'

Asuna gave a small gasp as she remembered and she apologized immediately even as Kirito lowered his head, probably feeling guilty even as he apologized as well.

'It's not your fault, or any one's fault. It's... their fault.'

Sachi pointed to the real perpetrators and all of slowly them nodded in agreement at the group of prisoners they had taken. Sachi didn't seem too upset at this point. Which was a miracle seeing how they had almost killed her earlier on and her own comrades from the KoB had tried to take her in. Sachi had the right to be resentful at the two groups, then again, they too had the right to be angry at Sachi for killing their team mates as well as being a very harsh disciplinarian to them in combat. They weren't good excuses but beggars can't be choosers.

Argo would have to fight tooth and nail to stop Sachi from being treated in the same way as the player-killers if things comes to head. It wouldn't help the Knights of the Blood to be associated with a guild that has well, killed other players. Even if Heathcliff was more than willing to support them, that might change if the majority of the players within KoB was against the idea of them supporting the [Black Cats of the Full Moon] in the first place.

But Argo was sure that she could 'persuade' them to reconsider their options eventually, seeing the amount of dirt she has on Heathcliff herself... What, do you think that Argo wouldn't keep tabs on her own allies?

To fool one's enemy, one must first fool one's allies. That's a very useful quote to remember.

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'But... it's not your fault that you had to defend yourself, Sachi...'

Asuna tried to protest but was stopped when the girl in question shook her head and said that it doesn't matter.

'It's no use arguing about it right now... Asuna would you please take care of Kirito-kun.'

Sachi gave an amused smile at Kirito's direction, the black-haired boy frowning for a moment before blushing when Sachi continued.

'He does get into trouble often, please, take care of him... please don't let him be involved in another...'

Sachi grimaced for a moment but then continued.

'Another incident... yes, that is the best way to describe it. Please try to... keep him out of trouble.'

Sachi did frown in the end but she smiled when Asuna huffed and agreed with her, even giving her a pitying look as she totally understood what Sachi meant.

'I'll do what I can Sachi, but Kirito-kun always does tend to get involved in many... strange incidents... out of all the players in SAO, they would have to involved Kirito-kun, ne? It's like he's always involved in something or another...'

'Yes, that is exactly what I mean, Asuna. It might be good for Argo as it would provide news for her newspapers but...'

Sachi tried to sound optimistic but she failed miserably as even Asuna chuckled in amusement. Kirito for his part scowled and prepared to defend himself.

'For the record, I do not just jump into every situation... … not all of them at least.'

Kirito even sounded sheepish himself as he ended his defence lamely, especially since the two girls had raised their eyebrows at him, challenging him to deny his own course of actions.

Asuna had been reunited with Kirito for just a few weeks and she had been quickly reminded of how Kirito would still poke his nose into other's business due to his chivalrousness nature. Granted Kirito was much more reserved than he was before, this much she could tell as he was actually apprehensive and instead of simply flying off the handle to help someone in need, he would actually hesitate for a bit before deciding to intervene anyway in the end.

That was the Kirito that Asuna and Sachi remembered, a person who preferred to be a loner and yet when the push comes to shove, one who would stand up and fight before the others.

His courage and gentleness made the two of them love him, even if he hadn't returned the same feelings back to the two of them yet.

'Ah, it is so good to be young.'

Heathcliff's comment made the two girls turn to give him a glare, Sachi too and the commander of the Knights of the Blood raised his hands up in peace even as Kirito shook his head while asking if Sachi was fine with that.

'With us going ahead to visit Lisbeth anyway... I wanted to introduce her to all of you after all.'

Sachi for her part did hesitate but nonetheless she pointed wordlessly to her orange indicator symbol.

'I can't enter the town at all without being arrested by the guards in the town. I will head back to the cabin, will Heathcliff-san accompany me as well?'

Sachi asked politely even as Heathcliff started at being asked the favour by Sachi. The commander of KoB wanted to spend some time with his men to disseminate the information that Argo had gathered as well as to select a few of them to assist Argo in any way necessary to get the rest of the Player-killers.

Heathcliff was also interested in spending some time to prepare a presentation about the player-killers for the next gathering of all the top clearer-guilds. He will need to request for assistance as well as to inform the players themselves on the danger that these players pose to all of them.

'Alright...'

Despite all of the things that he wanted to do, Heathcliff did not decline and he agreed to Sachi's request while offering a smile back to her. The young guild leader was probably more worried about her status as an 'orange' player than she was comfortable to show in front of her friends as well as the other players which she has intimidated.

In Heathcliff's book - that was a good sign, it at least it shows that Sachi could see the dangers involved with her new player status and wasn't simply ignoring the fact that she had a great big target on her forehead right now. An 'orange' player was one who broke the rules after all and it would be in their combined best interest for her to not be targeted due to that.

It would be best for her to lie low till the 'orange' player status was removed by the system before she makes an appearance in front of any one else. From their understanding, it would take around a week for that to happ- The boss raid was going to take place in around the same time, huh?

It'll get messy if Sachi wouldn't be able to participate. Looks like he was starting to rely on the [Black Cats of the Full Moon] even more than he had wanted to. It was not a bad thing, but even Heathcliff himself was a little bemused by this little tidbit. He might not be able to recruit them to his guild, but the next best thing was to have them as his trusted allies.

And helping allies, especially when Sachi specifically asked for his help was the right thing to do.

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'Please take care of Sachi, Heathcliff-san.'

It was Kirito who surprised Heathcliff just as the two guild leaders were prepared to set off back to the cabin. Heathcliff had given clear instructions to his guild members that they would follow Argo's lead when it comes to the player-killers. Surprisingly they accepted the orders without any complaint. He had expected them to protest or at least voice out concerns about how their guild had to follow the orders of a tiny guild like the [Black Cats of the Full Moon], but no such concerns had been raised.

Perhaps it had to do with how Sachi was hovering behind him as he briefed them, but he rather believe his guild members were braver than that and had came to appreciate Argo's authority and ability as a whole.

Argo had been appointed as the head of the intelligence gathering sub-division that Heathcliff had formed after all, and she had saved many lives with her careful planning and scouting of dungeons. There was no doubt that persuading and having Argo take a more active and prominent role in the clearer group in the area of her expertise had paid off greatly.

'Allies of the [Knights of the Blood] shall always be safe under my watch.'

Heathcliff declared dramatically but the effect was greatly diminished as Sachi started walking without even looking back at him, forcing Heathcliff to abandon his speech to chase after the other guild leader, looking quite flustered as he did so.

'Yes, that's exactly what I'm worried about.'

Kirito started grumbling about Sachi and her tendencies to just wander off by herself even as he nodded to Argo. The Rat was still busy coordinating her own people but even distracted like that, gave Kirito and Asuna a wave of her hands in acknowledgement before joining the rest of the KoB members to start processing their prisoners.

'Do you have the grocery list, Asuna? We'll have to get the stuff we can't get at the town.'

'I made it, of course I have it with me, Kirito-kun. Besides... we have to get more than usual today...'

'Ah... shall we visit Lisbeth first then? We have to get everyone's equipment fixed first after all.'

'Yep, she's been waiting for ages already! There's this restaurant that I want to try that Lisbeth has been talking about too!'

'W-Wait, you aren't cooking lunch?'

'Well, I do have some of the crab meat left over... Another crab bonanza, Kirito-kun?'

'Sure! If it's your cooking, I'm fine with anything.'

'Geez... I'm personally sick of crab meat myself! No, we're going out! And you're treating for being so slow to help us just now!'

The sounds of the two's arguing, much like a married couple, faded away in the distance as the five of them separated to head to their own destinations. Thus, none of them was aware of the small flicker of movement just out of their range of visibility.

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'I look forward to facing the five of you for real.'

A chuckle rising from the throat of their observers could be heard before he disappeared into the fields again.

Author's Notes: Thank you for your support up till now!