Chapter 25: Political Party

August 22nd, 2024

"Hm?" Asuna looked at Kirito, blinking slightly. "A meeting of guilds tomorrow on the 50th Floor?" So sudden! Why weren't we told about it earlier?

He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry to spring this on you so late, but Argo just told me it had been decided. She dropped off the message then disappeared, or I'd ask her for more details."

"Do you know what the subject is about?" she asked, resuming her nightly routine of brushing her hair out. She had been in the middle of it when Kirito knocked on the door and gave her the news.

Kirito shook his head. "Argo said she didn't know yet."

"Really? She didn't know?"

He grinned that amazing grin of his again. ...I'm so lucky I only saw it in the mirror, or my cheeks would be bright red right now! "I'm as shocked as you are, really. Argo seemed in a hurry, though, so I didn't press her for details. I'm lucky she only charged a little bit for the information."

"It's because she's got a soft spot for you, Kirito," Asuna teased gently. "Be careful, or you'll end up breaking Sinon's heart." He looked a little worried about that, so she looked over her shoulder at him. "Or maybe you'll end up breaking Argo's. Who knows?"

"That Rat will never settle down," he said firmly. "Trust me, she'd never fall for anyone that wasn't as smart as she was, and I'm pretty sure a guy like that won't ever exist."

"Deny all you want, but we both know she lii~kes you," Asuna sang, grinning impishly at Kirito. He just grinned back, and the silence between them was peaceful. "How are you holding up?" she asked quietly. It's been a week, and when he's alone he still goes distant...

He blinked and refocused on her. "Hm? Oh. I'm fine, Asuna, really." He smiled at her. "Thank you for worrying about me, but you don't have to."

"Kirito, you idiot," she sighed. "Of course we're going to be worried about you. You're important to all of us, you know. Sachi, Silica, and especially me and Sinon." He's been doing his best to show a strong face, but we all know he's still haunted by what he had to do in that fight.

Kirito sat down on her bed and sighed. "I'm just... I've... I killed them," he whispered. "I stained my hands with their blood, and now..."

Oh, for heaven's sake. She stood up and sat on the bed behind him, wrapping her arms around him and resting her chin on his shoulder. If it's to cheer him up, it's not betraying Sinon, right? "And now you think we'll be disgusted, or be scared of you?" A shiver ran through his body. "When Sinon told us what happened to her, we were there for her, and now we'll be here for you. No matter what. That's what family's for, isn't it?"

Kirito laughed softly. "I've been trying so hard to be the guild leader you all wanted, and here you are saying I've just been being an idiot the whole time."

"The old Kirito is the best Kirito," Asuna sighed happily. "I know things won't be the same that they used to be, back when it was just the three of us, but..."

Kirito reached up and patted her hand. "It's okay, Asuna. I'm not going anywhere." But then why do I feel like you're getting further and further away from me? She let go of him and shifted around until she was sitting next to him, her feet tucked to the side comfortably. "I did have another reason to let you know about the meeting, you know."

"You wanted me to come along?"

He laughed. "Why do I even bother? Yeah, I'd feel a lot better if you were with me. Argo said the guild leader could bring their second-in-command with them, and since we don't exactly have a set role for that, I figured I'd bring the best person for the job."

Asuna felt her cheeks get hot. "I, uh... Yeah, I'll go to the meeting." Damn him. I swear, he's either the most oblivious man alive or he's deliberately ignoring how we feel! "I wish we knew more about what the meeting was for, so I could figure out what we'd need to know before showing up. I don't want to be caught off-guard and appear like we don't know anything."

"See? This is why I need you with me when we go meet the other guilds," Kirito said with a grin. "You're a natural at being a leader. Don't worry, Miss Vice-Commander, Argo said she'd be dropping by in the morning with more information on the meeting, whatever she could find."

"That's good. Hopefully, she -" Asuna began, then broke off when a yawn ambushed her. Once she'd finished, she grinned at Kirito sheepishly. "Sorry. Hopefully she finds out enough that we can be prepared."

"I think the best thing we can do to be prepared is get a good night's rest," Kirito said. "That way, we'll be prepared for anything."

"Right. Have a good night, Kirito."

"'Night, Asuna."

When the door closed behind him, Asuna lied down on her bed and laid her arm over her eyes. Why? Why does he make me feel like this? I know Sinon's in love with him, and I shouldn't be feeling so... so happy whenever I see him. I just can't help it. The way my heart races when I see him smile...

Asuna sighed quietly. I've given Sinon enough warnings. It's time for me to start fighting for him.

Asuna had just finished cleaning her breakfast dishes when Argo arrived; she and Kirito sat down on the couch facing the info broker, and one look at the Rat's somber face sent a cold chill down her spine. "How bad is it?" she asked, almost dreading the answer.

"It's bad," Argo sighed. "The meeting isn't exactly going to be a friendly one. Did you know Sinon knew the person that turned on Laughing Coffin?" Asuna's eyes widened and she looked at Kirito; he didn't seem to know that little tidbit of information either, and Argo sighed at their mutual confusion. "Crap. I was hoping you'd known about it... Right, so basically the major guilds were trying to get information out of the captured members, and Eterne, well... She-"

"Squealed like a rat?" Kirito asked innocently.

"Yes, thank you Kirito, I'm sure nobody else thought of the phrase," Argo scowled at him. "She's saying all kind of nonsense, like Sinon was in on it, and that you guys leaked the ambush to the members of Laughing Coffin. Klein stuck up for you, but enough people were worried about it that they've called you in for a meeting to try to figure out the truth. There's gonna be guild reps from HDA, KoB, Fuurinkaazan, and the Army. I told 'em you didn't know anything, but..." Argo spread her hands and shook her head. "Hey, what can you do? I tried my best to tell them they were being paranoid nutcases, but... PoH escaped, so if there's still a force of Laughing Coffin sympathizers, well..."

"Thanks for the heads-up, Argo," Kirito said with a distant frown. "We owe you big time."

The info broker grinned sharply. "Just pay me and we're even. You know that." Kirito nodded and gave the info broker the payment she demanded - fifty gleaming gold coins, each worth 100 Col. "Nice doing business with you, Kirito, Asuna. Don't let them bully you! Later." With a final wave, she slipped out of the room; a few seconds later, Asuna heard the door open and then close behind her.

"Hahhh..." Kirito exhaled slowly, his eyes closed. "Great. Just great." He sat there for a moment, silent, then stood up. "Alright. Let's get the others. They should know about this."

Silica and Sachi were outside practicing, and they nodded when Asuna told them about the guild talk they were about to have. They packed away their training weapons and headed inside; Asuna got them some glasses of water, and set them down in front of the two before sitting down with a cup of tea for herself. Sachi thanked her quietly, while Silica beamed up at her. I want to make sure they're safe. My family... I'll make sure this doesn't hurt us. I promise, everyone. Footsteps on the stairs made them glance over to see Sinon and Kirito coming down, the former's cheeks slightly red. Asuna just smiled as she sipped at her drink. Of course. Sinon was probably reading those books again, wasn't she? For someone so innocent, she really does like reading things like that. Wordlessly she set a glass out for Sinon and Kirito, smiling at the two. "Thanks, Asuna," Sinon murmured, take a sip and shivering slightly. "Mm, that's cold."

"Okay," Kirito sighed. "We've got a problem. Turns out, the person that gave the guilds the location of Laughing Coffin's hideout is trying to claim we're part of the murder guild." Sachi gasped, while Silica immediately started shouting how 'that's obviously a lie and that person's a lying liar that lies!'; Kirito just nodded. "I know it's not true. The only problem is, the member in question, well..."

"It's Endou, isn't it," Sinon whispered. When Kirito didn't answer right away, Sachi and Silica fell silent; everyone looked at Sinon to see what she would do. She lifted her head and her eyes were firm. "She's just trying to get at me any way she can. She's... She's never liked me, for whatever reason." There was obviously more to the story, what with the way her eyes darted towards Kirito and he smiled reassuringly at her, but Asuna didn't pry.

"Kirito and I will handle it," she said instead. "We'll be heading out pretty soon and talking to the leaders of the guilds. I'm sure once we explain everything, they'll understand that we had nothing to do with her."

"Don't worry, Sinon," Kirito said, "I'll make sure nothing happens. Even if I have to get down on my knees and beg, nobody is going to blame you for anything." He patted her shoulder and stood up. "Okay, Asuna, let's get going. I think it would be best if we had some time to plan out what we're gonna say before showing up at the meeting."

"Good idea." She stood up as well, setting her cup down on the table. "There's a nice coffee shop tucked away in an alley in the main town, so we can talk about things there." She smiled at the other girls. "There's nothing to worry about, so go ahead and continue doing whatever you were doing until we get back, okay?" There was a chorus of 'yes ma'am's, and she smiled.

"Honestly, you're more a guild leader than I am," Kirito said nonchalantly as they walked through the forest path. He folded his arms behind his head and stared up at the sunlight filtering through the leaves above. "I mean, why did you want me to be the leader, anyway? You'd be perfect for the job."

Asuna looked at him, then giggled. "Oh come on, Kirito, you're selling yourself short. There's plenty of reasons we all look up to you. Maybe being the typical 'guild leader' isn't one of them, but we all follow you for a reason." He seemed a little troubled by that, giving her a searching look, and she smiled innocently. I can't speak for the others, but I really admire you, Kirito. You didn't have to save me, but you still did... You didn't have to sacrifice yourself for the other beta testers, but you still did. I'm in love with you, and I'll follow you wherever you lead.

Their seat at the coffee shop was conveniently in the shade, so they could relax as they planned their talking points. Asuna would have hated to go into the meeting that could possibly determine the future of their guild smelling of sweat, so she was very grateful for the shade provided by the awning. "This is bad," Kirito said as he stared off into the distance. "I'd say we just tell the truth and let them figure it out, but..."

"You're worried they're going to be split about trusting us, right?" Asuna shook her head. "And if they don't trust us, boss fights are going to be even harder to deal with, if we can't trust each other."

"Yeah." Kirito sighed and ran a hand through his hair, and Asuna had the strangest desire to sit him down, grab her hairbrush, and try to get his dark hair into some semblance of order. "So not only do we have to make sure we don't get blamed for... for what happened, we have to make sure everyone trusts us completely. Why are guilds so hard?"

"Because if it were easy it wouldn't mean anything," Asuna said. "Right, so you know more about this Eterne than any of us except Sinon. She's told me Eterne was one of the ones that bullied her, but would you mind..."

He sighed. "Um... Let me figure out what's okay for me to tell you." He hummed in thought for a few seconds, staring at the sky, then looked at Asuna and nodded. "Okay. Eterne is one of my and Sinon's classmates, and she was basically the ringleader of the bullies that targeted her. I don't think it was anything physical, but it was still horrible things like harassing her at lunch and deliberately triggering her. I'm not entirely sure why they were bullying her, though they stopped once I made it clear I was going to be her friend and that the bullying would stop."

"Her handsome knight in shining armor," Asuna said with a smile. "Seems like you were protecting people even before all this."

"Yeah, well... she reminded me of my sister..." Kirito grumbled, not looking at her. Asuna just smiled and let him drop the subject gracefully. "Either way, Eterne and the others backed off after I started spending most of my time with Sinon, and I don't think she'd had any problems after that. At least, she didn't tell me about them if she did."

Asuna folded her hands and leaned her chin on them. "So we'll present it like that - Eterne has an unreasonable grudge against Sinon, and she's trying to make trouble because of that. It's probably the best way to make them dismiss what she's ranting about. And if they dismiss that, they're more likely to drop the questions about us being part of Laughing Coffin."

"Well, I was gonna offer some advice, but looks like you two have it pretty well handled!" Argo said brightly. Asuna let out a small un-ladylike yelp at the sudden appearance of the info broker; one moment the seat had been empty, and then the next the smirking info broker was just sitting there like she'd been there the whole time. "You should do just fine. I mean, I'm still willing to give you information on the people that are gonna be there, if you wanna know. Couldn't hurt, right?"

"Normally I'd refuse, but this is important," Asuna said. "What are the price tags?"

Argo laid a finger along her cheek. "Since this is miscellaneous, I'm gonna have to charge full price... A list of any incriminating business deals any of the four guilds might have engaged in would be twenty thousand Col? We can split it into specific guilds for five K a guild. I can also give you my prediction on how the guilds will vote based on how they're acting right now for fifteen thousand."

Asuna glanced at Kirito, raising an eyebrow. "What do you think, Kirito? Should we pay?"

"I don't think we need to ask about any shady deals Fuurinkaazan may have done," he said with a smile. "Klein would never do something like that without a very good reason. And from what I hear, Heathcliff is pretty good about keeping his guild members clean. There might be some members that aren't so good, but I don't think the officers have done anything. Honestly, I'm worried the most about Lind. The Holy Dragon Alliance has a history of doing... anything they have to."

Like when they attacked us on Christmas, Asuna thought darkly. I still haven't forgiven him for that. "Still, they're known for the foul play," she pointed out. "We can keep that in mind, but I don't think we'll need to get the comprehensive list of everything they've done."

"Too bad," Argo added, "'cause that was the big one. It's like 1 Col per item." Asuna blinked. That many? She has to be exaggerating. "The others are pretty much small potatoes. You two know most of it already, too." She sighed dramatically, leaning over the table and stretching out. "There goes this week's food money..."

"Oh, don't be like that," Asuna scolded lightly, tapping at Argo's hands with her pointer finger until the older girl sat up properly, grinning widely at the chestnut-haired girl. "All three of us know that you've got more money than you know what to do with."

"I know exactly what to do with it! Count it, stack it up, swim around in it..."

Kirito blinked, non-plussed. "Wait, really? You have enough to do that?"

Argo snickered and rolled her eyes at him. "No, not really." He sighed, and Asuna felt a small flicker of relief. "In all honesty, I'm putting the money towards my guides. You've seen 'em in the stores, I sell them for free, so the Col has to come from somewhere, right?"

"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch," Kirito sighed. When both girls looked at him, he shrugged. "A quote from an MMO I played once. I think it's referencing something, but I'm not sure."

"Regardless of Kirito's weird sayings," Argo smirked, easily ignoring Kirito's yelp of protest, "this is gonna be an interesting meeting, so I think I'll sit in and listen. D'ya think they'd get mad if I came along with both of you?"

"So long as we make it clear you're unaffiliated, I don't think they'll mind."

"Yeah," Kirito jibed, "we don't want your bad reputation getting us in trouble." Argo snickered and gently bopped him on the head, and he laughed. "I don't think anyone will have a problem with you sitting in on the meeting, especially since we all act like you're in the room anyway."

Argo snapped her fingers. "Oh, so that's why you always check behind the curtains." Asuna and Kirito shifted awkwardly, glancing guiltily at each other, and Argo giggled. "Wait, you seriously do that?"

"Wh-whatever," Kirito said. "How much longer do we have before the meeting, Asuna?"

She checked her menu. "About an hour? Maybe a little less, if we want to get there early, which is a good idea. I'd say we want to get there fifteen minutes early." I think that's what I remember my brother and father saying. It had been a dinnertime conversation that she hadn't paid much attention to; because the conversation had been about her father's work, she'd simply tuned it out and discussed her schoolwork with her mother, hoping that her latest string of perfect grades would finally impress the demanding woman. "Would you like to get some tea, Argo?"

"Sure! We missed last week anyway, so now's a good a time as any!"

Asuna smiled. "Excuse me!" she called out to the NPC waitress. "We'd like to order."

"Kirito, Asuna," Heathcliff said with a calm nod, "I'm glad you could make it."

Kirito shrugged. "It would be bad if the clearing guilds didn't trust each other, right?"

The older man nodded gravely. "Indeed. I've always found that having trust between allies makes for a more effective fighting force."

"Heheh, yeah..." Kirito laughed, looking away. An uncomfortable silence fell over the three, lasting until Heathcliff walked away.

"Yo, Kirito!"

He brightened at that; Asuna smiled as well, happy to hear the boisterous voice of their friend. "Klein!" he said, grinning. "How's it going?"

The samurai draped his arm over Kirito's shoulder, smiling. "Pretty good, buddy. How about you? Doin' okay?" There was a note of concern in his voice, and Asuna realized he knew about what Kirito had done. He's such a good friend. A bit of a ruffian, but looks aren't everything.

"Yeah," Kirito grinned. "Mind letting me stand up, though? You're heavy." Klein laughed and removed his arm, giving Kirito a second to grin at him before the two wandered off, chatting animatedly about the monsters on the latest floor.

Asuna just shook her head and sighed. Boys. "Well, Argo, I think -" she began, only to trail off when she realized the hooded info broker had disappeared. "Argo?" She looked around for the older girl, only to sigh with a rueful smile when she saw her badgering Heathcliff about something with a sharp grin. Of course... At the clank of armor, she turned around to see exactly who she'd expected. "Hello, Lind," she said quietly.

"Asuna," he replied. "I'm..."

"Are you one of the ones that doesn't trust us?" she asked simply, staring at him. His answer would go a long way towards deciding how she'd treat the Holy Dragon Alliance in the future.

He grimaced, then shook his head. "I can't say anything now. We just have to wait until the meeting." Asuna frowned, unsatisfied, and he bowed apologetically. "I'm very sorry, Asuna, but we've been told not to discuss anything related to the purpose of the meeting."

"To ensure nobody tries to influence the proceedings," she said slowly. "I get it." Heathcliff must have told them not to say anything. I'm surprised they're talking to us in the first place. "Other than that, how are you doing? It's been a bit since we've had a chance to talk."

Lind smiled tiredly. "It's been about as exhausting as it was before."

"That bad?"

"Organizing training, negotiating terms with the other guilds for hunting grounds, praying that every time we go off to a boss fight we come back..." He shook his head. "I envy, you, Asuna. Being second-in-command must be nice."

"It helps that we're smaller," Asuna replied. "I couldn't imagine trying to run a larger guild like yours. I'd have to devote everything to keeping it in order."

"Sometimes," Lind sighed, "it feels like I'm doing that." He glanced over to the side. "Excuse me, Asuna, but Schivata is waving me over. I hope everything goes well and this is just a misunderstanding." He bowed and moved over to Schivata, the second-in-command already speaking as they walked off.

Asuna sighed and folded her arms, looking around. Kirito was talking with Klein and Dynamm, gesturing with both hands - he spread his arms wide, and they all cheered. Argo had slunk off somewhere, and Heathcliff was talking quietly with Godfree, the brown-haired man writing something down. Lind and Schivata had just walked off, and that left her without anything to do. That just leaves the Army. I don't think I've met any of their players yet... If I'm remembering correctly, their leader is called Thinker, and his second-in-command is Yulier. I should have asked Argo about them before we arrived.

"You must be the second-in-command of the Shining Blades."

She turned around to see two players standing in front of her; a man and a woman, both wearing long green coats. The man had brown hair and eyes, and his eyes were kind. The woman seemed slightly more severe; her silver hair was pulled back into a ponytail, though two long bangs framed her face, and her sky-blue eyes shone with an intense gaze. "Yes, I am," she replied, bowing to them. "My name is Asuna. It's very nice to meet you both - I believe you're the representatives of the Army?" The green coats were the Army's uniform.

"We are," the silver-haired woman nodded. "I am Yulier, and this is our leader Thinker." Thinker smiled, and Asuna felt a little more relaxed. "It's a shame we couldn't meet under nicer circumstances."

"It's fine," Asuna smiled. "This all will be cleared in no time."

She was going to continue, but the sharp rap of a gauntlet on a table made everyone quiet down and look over; Heathcliff was standing. "I believe everyone has arrived," he said, "so it would be best to begin the meeting now." The assembled players split off into their guilds and took seats around a long table; Asuna glanced to the side to see Argo sitting cross-legged in a chair against the wall, tapping away at her notes. "I assume the purpose of this meeting is clear?"

"Yeah, we're here because you idiots can't trust the people that are helping you clear the game," Klein grumbled. Dynamm shifted, elbowing Klein in the side, and the samurai grunted.

"We're here," Heathcliff said, "because a known member of Laughing Coffin is claiming that the members of the guild Shining Blades are also members of Laughing Coffin themselves, despite participating in the raid. In addition, she's claiming that one member of your guild is a murderer despite the fact that the crystal of every player in the Shining Blades is green." He turned, his cool gaze falling on Asuna and Kirito. "I'd like you to confirm or deny the accusations, and explain why she'd be making these claims if they're false."

"We... A member of my guild, Sinon, and I know the person in real life," Kirito admitted. "We weren't exactly friends with Eterne. Without going into too much private details, Eterne never liked Sinon and she made it clear. They aren't my secrets to tell, but... Eterne was vindictive in the real world. It wouldn't surprise me if she was lying just to get Sinon in trouble. As for her second attack, I'm not going to dignify that with an answer. We…" He looked at his hands, and then clenched his fists. "We've all got blood on our hands for letting Laughing Coffin run loose as long as we did."

"See?" Klein burst out, looking around at the other guilds. "I told you Kirito'd never do something like that!"

"I've met Eterne once myself," Asuna said after giving Kirito a glance she and Sinon had taught him meant 'my turn'. "She showed up on our doorstep, and since we were heading into town anyway she tagged along. On the way, we were attacked by a group of Laughing Coffin members. Several days later, another party of assassins tried again. Silica and I successfully fought them off, but as they left they mentioned they were being paid to take our lives." Kirito stiffened, and she realized that she and Silica had both avoided mentioning the second attack to him. "Now that I know Eterne was part of Laughing Coffin, I believe she deliberately led Laughing Coffin to our location, and then paid another group to attack us when her first ambush failed. Eterne... I don't claim to know why she's so fixated on dragging Sinon down, but this isn't her first attempt. It will, however, be her last." Her voice was as implacable as an iceberg and about the same temperature.

"Do you have any proof for these allegations?" Heathcliff asked, steepling his fingers.

"Does Eterne have any for hers?"

Lind barked out a rough laugh. "Asuna has a point," he said when the others looked at him. "All we've got are the accusations of a single member of Laughing Coffin against the word of a guild that assisted in taking them down."

"Yeah, you've got a classic 'he said she said'," Argo added from her seat on the wall. "I mean, you could just pay the info broker for the truth, but don't let me stop you from playing at a trial."

"Argo," Kirito asked calmly as he stared at Heathcliff, "how much are you charging for the truth of the matter?"

"Depends on how much you all want it," the info broker smirked. "This does seem to be some important information, now doesn't it? I feel like I should be compensated accordingly." A low round of mutters went around the room, and the guild leaders discussed her offer with their seconds; Asuna and Kirito exchanged a glance and a quick nod. "Tick tock," Argo sang, grinning widely as her eyes darted back and forth. "Any takers? I'll even throw in what Kibaou's planning for a discount, Thinker, so you should totally take up the offer," she wheedled.

"What he's... What about Kibaou?" Thinker asked. Yulier's eyes were focused on the info broker. "No, never mind. We'll speak later. This meeting shouldn't get off-topic."

"It already has," Klein muttered under his breath, and Kirito snickered slightly. "Oi, Rat!"

"Oi, samurai!"

"How much is it for the truth? You never quoted a hard figure."

Argo laid a slim finger along her chin and tilted her head, thinking before smirking widely. "For you, let's put the price at a hundred fifty thousand."

"A hundred fifty?!" Klein yelped. "You're out of your mind!"

Her brown cloak rippled as she shrugged. "Hey, supply and demand doesn't lie. You demand, I supply at a high price."

"Argo," Kirito said quietly.

"Ye~es?"

"One dinner." Argo didn't reply, only making a 'continue' gesture. "You can come by whenever you want, and we'll give you a feast."

Argo's grin split into a wide smirk. "Ooh, so tempting, Kirito. Throw in the meal being made by Asuna and Sachi and you have a deal."

"Sold," he said promptly, causing Asuna to give him a flat look. I don't mind, but it would be nice if he'd asked first. Oh well. It's nice that he trusts us, she thought as her look softened just a touch.

Argo grinned and bounced to her feet. "Okay then," she said, moving over to stand behind Kirito and Asuna and swiping open screens as she went. "Since Kirito was kind enough to pay me, I guess I'll help him out. Let's see... Screen for you, you, you, and you. And I guess the samurai too..." As she spoke flippantly, her fingers flicked out and sent screens in front of each of the guild leaders. This is the professional Argo the Rat, Asuna realized. She'd never really seen it before; Kirito seemed unfazed, though, so she sat quietly while looking over his shoulder at the screen Argo was displaying. "Keep in mind that, like all information from me, this has the Argo seal of quality. Any facts in here are guaranteed to be one hundred percent accurate - if it's a conjecture, I've noted how probable it is that it's true. The lowest probability you'll find in these notes is fifty percent - any less than an even coin flip and it's not dependable. Now, let's start with the claims. On one side, we have Eterne claiming that Kirito, Asuna, and the entirety of the Shining Blades are members of Laughing Coffin that were tasked to infiltrate the regular guilds and act as a source of insider intelligence. Limited though that term seems to be at the moment."

Klein slammed the table. "Kirito would never -!"

"Let me finish before you start telling your grandmother how to suck eggs," Argo snapped. "This claim has no substantial evidence to back it up. None of the members of the Shining Blades have the Laughing Coffin tattoo anywhere on their body -"

"You know this how?" Lind asked.

Kirito looked over his shoulder at Argo. "I'm a little curious how you know that, myself," he mentioned idly.

"Trade secret," Argo waved away the question. "Anyway, what Eterne is claiming is fairly unlikely, although it is still possible that the Shining Blades have been playing the long con. Possible in the same sense that it's possible that if I flipped a coin a thousand times it would never land on tails, of course, but still possible. As for the counter argument, Kirito and Asuna are claiming that Eterne is just a jealous bitch that's making up lies in order to get at Sinon for whatever reason. I'm assuming there's a reason, you're just not telling us?" Kirito nodded. "What I thought. So, on one hand we have a member of a killing guild trying to claim that a guild that's fought on the front lines since before the inception of Laughing Coffin, with a core team that's been together since the beginning of the game - that's Kirito and Sinon, for those of you that can't put two and two together to get four - and on the other hand we have the Shining Blades, presenting her as a nutcase. Case in point, she'd joined Laughing Coffin, what seems to be willingly, so she was probably already a few grapes short of a bunch. My recommendation, after seeing the facts, is that you stop with the stupid doubts and" - here she looked at Thinker pointedly - "stop letting the vocal idiots in your guild push you towards something you don't want to do, even if they are a sub-commander of more than half your forces." Asuna winced at the look on Thinker's face that told everyone present Argo's caustic tongue had found its mark.

"Thank you, Argo," Heathcliff said. "In light of the facts presented, I'm willing to believe the Shining Blades when they claim they have nothing to do with Laughing Coffin." Kirito and Asuna sighed in relief, while Klein folded his arms and let out a quiet 'hmph'. The other guild members settled down, and Asuna realized it had been bothering them just as much that they'd been forced to doubt people that had fought alongside them. "There is one other item on the agenda for this meeting. Because the leaders of the three most powerful guilds are here, as well as the leaders of two other strong groups, this is an excellent opportunity. I'm speaking about the nature of the game itself. As I was not a beta tester, I can't speak from experience, but I doubt that beta testers felt pain during the testing phase."

"Well, why don't we just ask the beta testers themselves?" Lind grumbled, sending a glance towards Kirito. "I mean, we have one of the Beaters right here, so we might as well, right?"

Asuna slammed her hands on the table, prepared to snap at Lind for being such a jerk, when Kirito placed his hand on hers and simply nodded. "He's right. I'm a beta tester. It's not really my place to name anyone else, so I can't speak for any of the others, but... yeah, there are a few things that are different." Asuna glowered for a moment, but subsided, patting Kirito's hand gratefully. So what if she left hers sitting on his for a little longer than she would have earlier?

"Different?" Heathcliff asked. "How so, exactly?"

"Well, for one thing, we never felt pain in the beta," Kirito said. "It was more just a numb feeling. As long as you had the will to fight, you could fight. It wasn't like now, where if you take too much damage you pass out from the pain. Um... Our bodies seem a little more... real?"

"Uh, Kirito?" Klein began cautiously. "Did you hit your head sometime after we saw you last and maybe forget that we're in a FullDive?"

Kirito shook his head. "I mean, our bodies are acting like they would in real life, with a few exceptions to make this game playable. When I was playing the beta, I could spend all night playing the game without need to sleep at all, just because I didn't feel tired swinging my sword around. Now, I get exhausted after fighting for just twelve hours."

"Twelve hours, he says," Asuna muttered, shaking her head. He's a battle-obsessed idiot. But he's my battle-obsessed idiot, so I really shouldn't be too surprised. "I don't know if this is relevant, but..." She shifted in her seat as the guild leaders all looked at her, then raised her chin like she'd seen her father do at one of his meetings. "A friend of ours runs a blacksmith shop, and an NPC named Hanna helps run the counter while Liz is busy forging the weapons and armor. The first time I met her, I thought Hanna was actually a player until Liz told me she was an NPC. She was so lifelike, it was almost frightening."

Lind narrowed his eyes and brought a hand up to his chin. "So the game is trying to mimic real life? Hm. I'll have my guild keep an eye out, see if they notice anything strange."

"Please do," Heathcliff said. "For the rest of you, that would be a good idea as well - the more information we have at our disposal the better, after all." Kirito and the other two guild leaders nodded their agreement, and Heathcliff stood from his chair. "Excellent. Kirito, Asuna, on behalf of the Knights of the Blood and the other guilds allow me to apologize for doubting you and your guild."

"It's no problem," Kirito said with a smile. Privately, Asuna disagreed with that - after all, their plans for the day had been ruined - but she put on a polite smile and bowed to the guild leaders, thanking them for being understanding.

As they left, Argo caught up to them and jumped up to Kirito's back, her arms wrapping around his shoulders; he grunted and then automatically started supporting her weight, holding her legs as they wrapped around his waist. Asuna raised an eyebrow, and Argo snickered. "Jealous, Asuna?" Asuna just looked away, not confirming or denying, and Argo's knowing giggles grew louder. "Anyway, I'm glad everything worked out. And, I got a free feast out of the bargain!" Kirito sighed, and Argo leaned over him. "Aw, don't pout, Kirito. I know you love spending time with me."

"Thank you, Argo. I'm glad you were there."

"Eh?" Kirito's sincere thanks seemed to almost surprise the older girl; Argo let go of his shoulders, and she almost toppled over before clinging to him again, tighter and closer than before. "Hey, Kirito, you really shouldn't say things like that," she mumbled. "You've got all those other pretty girls in your guild, you don't need me too! Besides, I was just doing my job..."

Asuna smiled. "We really do appreciate your help, Argo," she said. "It means a lot that you were willing to help us out."

"Yeah, well," Argo mumbled, "if you're that grateful then I'll change my payment! Um... An S-class dinner! That's what you'll pay me with, okay?"

Asuna giggled, then smiled. "Of course, Argo. It's the least we can do for start paying you back, right? After all, you're our friend."

Kirito chuckled. "I kinda feel sorry for Klein. He's a good friend, too, but he keeps getting left out of things like this."

Argo snickered, sitting back slightly and seemingly back to normal. "Meh, he can survive. He'll be fine with getting drunk on the beer they serve."

"Isn't that non-alcoholic?"

"Doesn't seem to stop him!" Argo laughed.

Asuna smiled. She really is a good friend. I'm glad that I know her. "Argo, how'd you like a down payment on the feast we owe you? I think Sachi and I were going to make a stew for dinner." Argo grinned widely and accepted the offer, saying she'd drop by later. The cloaked info broker slipped away in the town, heading to a lower floor while Asuna and Kirito headed to the front lines.

Later that night, Asuna was going through her nightly ritual of brushing her long hair when someone knocked at her door. "Yes?" she called out. When Sinon entered, she felt a momentary pang of disappointment - followed swiftly by remorse. "What did you need, Sinon?"

"It's because of me, isn't it," the blue-haired girl said quietly.

"What is?" Does she know I...

Sinon looked at her. "Our guild... Kirito, you, everyone's in trouble because I'm part of the Shining Blades. It would be better if I went back to being a solo -"

"Alright, I'm just going to stop you right there," Asuna said, continuing to brush her hair peacefully. "If you say something stupid like 'I should go back to being a solo player' or 'I'm going to leave the guild' I'll have to smack you before giving you a hug. So how about we just skip to the hugging part?" She set down the brush and stood up, wrapping Sinon in a hug. "I don't care what anyone else says, you'll always be part of our family. We made the choice to stand with you, and that won't change."

Sinon relaxed into Asuna's embrace. "I... Thanks, Asuna. You're my best girl friend, you know that?"

"Girlfriend? I didn't know you swung that way, Sinon," Asuna gasped, pretending to misunderstand her and acting shocked. "Oh, Kirito will just be heartbroken." I hope she'll forgive me if she loses.

"Not what I meant and you know it!"

Before anyone says anything: I know where TANSTAAFL comes from. Kazuto doesn't, not me. Got it? Good.

Guild politics weren't really a thing in canon, but that's because Kirito only joined a guild about, oh, a few weeks before the end of the game. And of that time, most of it was spent on leave of absence. So, I kinda guess-timated how it may or may not have worked. My first time writing anything remotely like politics, so I obviously fucked it up, but what else is new? Not 100% satisfied with how it turned out (I feel like this is beginning to become an unfortunate trend) but... well, gotta start somewhere.

In other news: Argo bein' Argo will never stop being entertaining. Glorious tease for days! I'm modeling her character here off of Tattletale from Worm (worth a read if y'all haven't read it) – a healthy love of getting under people's skin, probably a little more often than she should, but smart enough to know how to avoid most of the consequences. I'm also partially convinced that she's got some sort of skill like Invisibility or something in this story, because how else does she know anything and everything?

OTHER other news: Asuna is throwing her hat into the ring for Kirito. Uh-oh!

other OTHER other news: In regards to Laughing Coffin and their portrayal in this story. I personally like Laughing Coffin and what they stand for. At least, what PoH stands for, that is. Just remember, Sinon doesn't like them; and the fight took place from her perspective. To me, Laughing Coffin represents freedom that even SAO didn't offer - the freedom to kill with impunity. No punishment for taking a life, no punishment for stealing or lying, nothing. It's wonderful to imagine. All of the fighters have their own reason for being in LC, and they're all unique, but Sinon doesn't care about any of them so we don't get to learn about it here. If this were a story focused on Laughing Coffin? Maybe.

Many thanks to everyone that favorited, followed, or reviewed.