Holy shit, guys! I asked for 20 reviews, not 50! I don't mind though, but you guys definitely earned this chapter. However, before we start, I'm going to address a few things.

The first thing I want to address is where this story is going. Basically, I see roughly ten to fifteen chapters remaining in the SAO part of this story. That may seem like not a lot, but there is only 18 floors left.

The other thing I wanted to address is our favorite pair of people, Kirito and Asuna. Mainly, where their relationship will be heading. I obviously plan for them to reunite and all that crap, but some have expressed concern that they should be together already. (Even after that whole chapter I dedicated to getting that out of the way.) I'm going to say it one more time, and not anymore. At the end of ALO, that's your time frame guys. I've also said their relationship is (was, whatever) that of two people who've been friends for so long they struggle to look at each other as a possible relationship. They don't consider their flirting and and touchy moments as love, to them they see friendship. And that won't change for a while. Alright, glad that's finally out of the way.

Now, since you guys love to show me up and give me a shit load of reviews to read, how about we match yesterday's? That's another fifty, but you guys did manage once! Enjoy!

February 20th, 2025 82nd floor, Orcrest

Asuna moved with a purpose through the crowd that had gathered an hours before the boss raid, and she didn't even have to say a word and people carved a path for her. She had to admit, being the vice commander gave her a reason to get up in the morning. Asuna liked the 82nd floor a lot, it reminded her of Medieval England. Asuna finally reached her destination, where Heathcliff was speaking in a low tone to Agil.

"Heathcliff-san." Asuna said as they finished speaking, and Heathcliff smiled at her.

"Asuna!" he said happily, Agil smiling at her as well. "Good to see you made it. I trust you've been well since I last saw you?" Asuna nodded.

"Yes." She replied, crossing her arms. "I went to oversee the training like you asked me too. The program is progressing very well, several players are almost ready to join us."

"Good, good." He said. "it is good to know that they are almost ready to join us, every player we get is a better chance to get to the top. Have you made any progress in your...personal ventures?" Asuna flinched at the question. She knew Heathcliff was referring to the work she was doing in locating Kirito, who still had not been seen since they'd split up. Asuna had absolutely no clue where he'd disappeared to, or even if she had anything to look for. She shook the thought away, he was alive. He had to be, for more than just his own sake.

"No." Asuna replied, looking down. "I haven't." Heathcliff made an understanding sound.

"I wonder." he said quietly. "Well, we must go on. I assume you've met Agil?" Asuna nodded with a smile in Agil's direction.

"Yeah, we go back." Asuna replied. Agil chuckled.

"You mean when you and Kirito made fun of my shop for being seedy?" He asked, and Asuna giggled. "Man, I'm not going to let that go."

"I know." Asuna replied. "Speaking of old friends, have either of you two seen Klein-san or his guild? I haven't seen them in a few weeks." Agil shook his head.

"No." He said. "He's got them on some new grinding schedule. They're usually really busy." Asuna hummed in understanding as the teleportation gate activated. She couldn't see who stepped through it, but she heard people greeting the arrival of whoever it was. Asuna turned as Klein and his guild finally arrived, all sporting smiles. Klein reached Asuna and greeted her with a smile. That and wrapping her in a headlock.

"Hey, Asuna." he said laughing. "How have you been?" Asuna couldn't help but laugh as she managed to get out of the headlock.

"Fine." She replied. "You?"

"Good, good." he frowned as he crossed his arms. "I heard about you and Kirito...shame." Asuna frowned as she looked at the ground.

"Yeah..." Asuna replied. "I..." Asuna sighed as she left her sentence unfinished. Klein chuckled.

"Well, it's good to see you in any case." he turned to his guildmates and muttered something Asuna didn't quite catch, and they all shrugged. Klein growled and face palmed. "Where the hell...?" Klein said quietly, and the rest of his sentence was cut off as the teleportation gate activated again, and he smiled. "There..." Asuna did her best to see who had come through the teleportation gate, but everyone else was in her way. Nobody was saying anything, and Asuna could see the look of shock on people's faces.

"Isn't that..."

"Yeah..."

"he is alive..."

"Holy shit, look at that level..." Asuna could hear what everyone was saying, and she was reaching the end of her patience. She began to push through the crowd, trying to get to the front. Asuna was right near the front when she tripped over someone's foot. She let out a girly screech as she fell out right into the path the group had carved for the person. She was on her hands and knees right in front of the person, but she neglected to look up from the pure tension she felt from the group. The person was just standing there, and Asuna felt the need to say something.

"Asuna...?" Asuna froze at the sound of her name. She knew the voice, she knew it all too well. She slowly looked up at the person in question, her stomach turning like an ocean in a storm.

"Kirito-kun..." Her former partner stared down at her, looking rather surprised. Asuna wanted nothing more than to spring up and hug him, but her nerves kept her down. Was he still mad? had he forgiven her? She didn't know. Asuna didn't know what to do, she couldn't move, she couldn't breath. her avatar wouldn't respond, she was completely frozen. Kirito gave her a weak smile.

"Good to see you." he said. "How have you been?" Asuna couldn't reply, her voice wouldn't work.

"...?" Asuna made a series of incomprehensible noises, ones that made Kirito chuckle.

"You too." He replied. He walked past her without another word, and Asuna was still unable to move. it took her a moment to realize he was no longer in front of her, and she stood. She knew everyone was staring at her, but all it took was for her to glare at everyone and they looked away and continued to mill around until the raid started. Asuna sat down on the bench in the square and took a breath, allowing relief to flow through her. He's alive...he's okay... Asuna felt tears stinging her eyes, and she let them fall. She'd never felt so relieved in her entire life. Asuna wiped her face, not wanting anyone to see her crying. Only he had seen her cry, and she intended to keep it that way.

"You alright?" Asuna looked up to find Agil standing there, staring down at her. She shook her head.

"No." She said sadly. "I'll be honest, I didn't think that was how it would happen." Agil sat down next to her as Asuna as she sat up, doing her best to not cry.

"How'd did you picture it going?" he asked, sitting back.

"I don't know, really." She replied. "Maybe a little bit more yelling and insulting."

"Well, maybe you've both calmed down. Do you plan to apologize, or...?" Asuna smiled as she stared down at her hands in her lap.

"It's enough for right now to know he's okay." She replied quietly. "I don't know if he's mad at me or..." Asuna sighed. her emotions were all over the place, and she wasn't particularly fond of it. "I don't know. I'm so stressed out about this." Agil nodded and stood, stretching.

"We should get ready." he said. "The raid is going to start soon." Asuna nodded and stood up, making her way back to Heathcliff as he turned to address the clearing group.

"Alright." He called, garnering everyone's attention. "Here's the plan. As per usual, we don't have a lot of information. We're going to have to distract the boos, and Kirito will find it's weak point. Can we all do that?" Everyone murmured confirmation and Asuna stared at her former partner, who was standing next to Heathcliff with his hair obscuring his eyes. He seemed so unhappy, it made Asuna sad. Heathcliff opened the corridor to the boss room and everyone stepped through it. Asuna stepped through as well, landing in front of the usual boss room door. Heathcliff pushed the door open, and Asuna tensed. This was her first boss fight not being Kirito's partner, and she was a little nervous. As they entered the room, Asuna got a sense of familiarity. This boss room had a very similar design, Asuna knew she recognized it.

"Keep your guard up." Heathcliff shouting. "Prepare for anything." Asuna was about to retort when a blade swung out from the darkness, followed by a dark laugh.

"More players dare to challenge me? Fine, I shall crush you under my boot!" Asuna watched as a figure cloaked in midnight black armor stepped out from the darkness. Asuna knew she recognized him from somewhere, but she couldn't place it. Strangely enough, the boss recognized her too. "Ah!" He shouted. "The Swordsman's backup! Die!" before Asuna had time to react, his blade swung at her full speed, and there was no time to get out of the way.

Until a blur of black threw itself between Asuna and the blade, throwing her down onto the ground. Asuna looked up in confusion to see two recognizable blades blocking the attack, carried by an even more recognizable face.

"You alright, Asuna?" Kirito called behind him as he stood slowly, pushing the King's blade back up.

"K-Kirito-kun..." Asuna managed. Kirito chuckled.

"I taught you better than to lose focus in an important fight, didn't I?" He asked. "Besides, why don't you take a better look at out boss up there?" Asuna looked at the boss in confusion, looking for whatever Kirito was pointing out to her. She found it when her eyes landed on his name.

"Resurrected Abyss King...?" Asuna asked, her eyes widening as her brain placed a memory to the name. She knew the name, this was the event boss that she and Kirito had gotten Twilight Defender and Elucidator from in the first place. "W-what's he doing here?! He's dead!"

"Well, obviously not." Kirito replied, pushing the boss back with incredible ease. "Everyone!" He called out. "back up! I got this."

"Are you crazy, Kirito?!" Klein shouted. "It's a floor boss, you can't just solo it!"

"I soloed Gleam Eyes, didn't I?" Kirito called back as he advanced on the boss. "Just leave it too me." Asuna watched in amazement as Kirito stood opposite the huge boss, who laughed.

"We meet again, Swordsman!" he shouted. "But this time I shall not fall!" Kirito didn't reply, he just raised his blades. The Abyss King swung again, but the attack was parried without any difficulty at all. While Asuna watched Kirito work, her eyes drifted up to his stats, and she gasped.

Level 150

When the hell had he had time for that?! The last time Asuna had seen him, he'd been level 138, not 150. Where had he been grinding? Asuna didn't have time to ask, as Kirito had started his dual wield combo, attacking the King without any mercy. He was hit, sure, but not to the point where Asuna felt she had to worry. How is he so strong? The King growled as he stepped back.

"I see you've got my blade, Swordsman." he growled. "How have you been enjoying it?"

"It works well enough." Kirito replied. "Looks much better on me, though." the king growled.

"I'm going to kill you." he hissed.

"I would love to see you try." Kirito dodged another swing and continued into another combo, and Asuna had still not gotten up off of her ass. She stood shakily as Kirito jumped up and brought both blades down on the King' head, taking out the rest of it's health. It exploded into a million different polygons, and Kirito quickly checked his drops as everyone else stood there in shock, Asuna included. Had that really just happened? Kirito had soloed another floor boss, this time without even trying all that much. Kirito sighed and made for the teleportation gate, and turned to look at everyone as he realized they weren't following him. "What?" he asked. "You never seen someone solo a boss before? let's go." Kirito's words seemed to snap everyone out of their trance, and they began to walk with him to the gate. Asuna listened in on everyone as they gossiped about Kirito.

"How did he...?"

"I've never seen someone solo a floor boss before..."

"Just how strong is he?"

"Was Asuna just holding him back?" That last one hurt Asuna's feeling, she wasn't going to lie. had she? Kirito had never defeated a boss so easily when he was with her, maybe she had been holding him back. Asuna sighed, feeling her stomach tighten.

"I really have to talk to him..."

Ostmont

Asuna had managed to slip away from Klein's floor clearing party easily enough, and she was grateful she had, because a certain person she had to talk to had as well. Asuna didn't know if Kirito was even still in the capital of the 83rd floor, but she had to look for him, she had to talk to him. Asuna didn't know if it would amount to apologizing or yelling,but she needed to try. Luckily enough for her, she found Kirito near the edge of the city, staring out at the open grassland. Asuna walked up behind him and coughed, causing him to jump and turn to her, eyes wide.

"Oh." He said. "It's just you, Asuna." Asuna smiled weakly.

"It's me." She said. Kirito didn't reply, and silence fell over them. Asuna grasped at straws for what to say, and decided to address the boss fight.

"You, uh." Asuna said uncertainly. "Sure did a number on that floor boss back there." Kirito nodded and smiled weakly.

"I'll be honest, he was kind of underwhelming." he replied, still not meeting her gaze. "Even for a floor boss, Gleam Eyes was harder."

"Well," Asuna said. "You are, y'know, level 150." Kirito chuckled weakly at Asuna's point.

"You saw that, huh?" He asked warily, and Asuna nodded. "I guess I did a shit ton of grinding, more than I realized. Last I checked it had only been seven levels."

"That's still a lot, Kirito-kun"

"Yeah." Silence befell them again, and Asuna wanted to punch herself for the fact that, even after everything she and Kirito had gone though together, she was at a loss of what to say to him.

"Soooo," Kirito said, leaning back and forth on his feet. "You, uh...Joined the Knights, huh?" Asuna jumped a bit at his question and looked down at her equipment, the signature of the Knights.

"Uh, yeah.' She confirmed with a weak smile. "Vice Commander. pretty cool, huh?" Kirito just looked away, and Asuna couldn't discern what he was really thinking about. Maybe she had upset him. Perhaps he'd wanted the position.

"Yeah." He mumbled. "Pretty cool." Asuna sighed as he still didn't turn to meet her gaze, she felt like he was ignoring her. "I'd love to catch up, Asuna, but I have to go."

"Where?"

"Somewhere." Asuna frowned at him, the answer wasn't anything she didn't already know. He saw her frowning, and he chuckled. "Don't look at me like that, I'll be fine."

"That wasn't what I was worried about." Asuna replied as Kirito finally met her look, and she couldn't see anything else. He was like a locked box. he began to walk away, brushing past her as he did. There was nothing warm and comforting about his touch, however.

"See you later, Asuna." He mumbled, leaving.

"Bye..." Asuna said, trailing off as she gripping her hands together tightly. "...Partner."

Kirito sighed as he walked away from Asuna, his heart was heavy. Klein had lied, Asuna didn't care about him. He was willing to bet she'd joined the Knights at the first chance she got once they'd split up. Heathcliff, that bastard, had probably offered as soon as he'd heard. Kirito growled at the thought. Why had he bothered being so nice?

"No." He hissed to himself. "She's still a person, and I'm not going to be rude to her because she made the logical choice. She did what was best, maybe I should've too." Kirito thought back to the look she'd given him when she;d sought him out. She'd seemed rather upset by his coldness, but Kirito hadn't a clue what he wanted to say to her. Sorry and come back were a few things, but that would've made him seem pathetic. She had a position and people to look after now, she couldn't possibly have time for him.

"Damn it, what's wrong with me?!" Kirito hissed. "She's still my friend, isn't she? Why didn't I just apologize instead of saying nothing?!" Kirito sighed in defeat, he really had no answer for himself. All he knew was that Asuna had seemed to have moved on.

He had not.

This chapter is terrible, I'm sorry. I really don't think it's all that good, but maybe you guys think otherwise, I don't know. Maybe we can still get fifty reviews? Leave one if you enjoyed! (Which is probably why we won't get any...)