Chapter 29: The Bone Zone


December 23rd, 2024

Sinon fidgeted uneasily in the hallway, constantly casting glances over at the closed door. I wonder what they're talking about in there, she wondered - not for the first time since Kirito and Asuna had disappeared behind the thick wooden door. Part of her wanted to try to listen in with her «Listening» skill, but she knew it wasn't high enough. That, and the fact that she knew that Kirito and Asuna would tell them everything once they finished talking to Heathcliff and the other high-ranking members of the Knights of the Blood.

"Sinon, you need to calm down," Sachi said soothingly. "Everything will be okay, I'm sure."

She turned to stare at her. "But we don't know that," she all but wailed. "And this is the 75th Floor boss, and you know that means it's going to be harder than usual. What if something happens?"

"Nothing's going to happen," the black-haired girl said, reaching up to rub Sinon's back in small calming circles. "We're all going to make it out of this no matter what, you know that. We've always made it before, after all."

Sinon looked at Sachi, biting her lip. "But..." She shook her head and folded her arms, trying her best to stay still. "I... Hahhh..." After heaving a huge sigh, she started pacing again. What could they be talking about that's taking this long? Are they giving Kirito and Asuna everything right away? But then we should be in there too! She straightened her vest, trying to get it to lie straight, before leaning against the wall and folding her arms again, staring straight ahead without really looking at the wall. Silica and Pina were sitting on the floor right next to Sachi, both girls somehow handling the impatience miles better than Sinon. Bouncing her knee up and down, Sinon rolled her shoulders and fidgeted with her vest, running her fingers up and down the detailing on the side. I need to ask Asuna to fix up the stitching, she thought absently. It's starting to come loose again. She couldn't wait for Kirito and Asuna to be finished talking so that they could go over everything and have a plan that would be sure to keep all of her friends safe.

The oaken door creaked open and her head snapped up; Kirito and Asuna stepped out, and the first thing that Sinon noticed was that her friends seemed troubled. All of that nervous energy condensed into a ball of uneasiness sitting heavy in her stomach, and Sinon frowned slightly. "Okay, everyone," Kirito said, his features an impassive mask. "Let's go sit down and talk about the boss."

The headquarters of the Knights of the Blood was massive, so it wasn't hard for the guild to find a corner table tucked away in an isolated little spot. Sinon wasn't sure why Kirito and Asuna were trying so hard to keep others away, but she trusted their judgment. "So?" she asked once they were all clustered around a table. "What did his nibs want?"

"Where did you even learn that phrase?" Asuna smiled slightly, but the small moment of levity died away fast. "Remember a few days ago, how after Argo left, Kirito got that message saying that they'd found the boss room? Well, according to Heathcliff, yesterday the KoB, a few people from the HDA, and three other smaller guilds formed a twenty-player scouting party." Sinon nodded; it was the smart thing to do, after all. Send in a few strong players that could study the boss, get a handle on its initial patterns and weaknesses, and then retreat with no losses. It was what kept the clearers alive and what earned a streak of lossless boss kills from Floor 67 to Floor 74. "Well... things were different this time. According to the half of the scouting party that reported, the boss door closed once the other half reached the center of the room."

Sachi gasped. "They closed? That's never happened before, has it?"

"No," said Kirito as he shook his head. "But that's not the worst part. About fifteen minutes later, the doors opened again and the room was empty." That ball of uneasiness made itself known again, and Sinon closed her eyes with a quiet breath. The entire raiding party was trapped in there with a boss... "There wasn't a trace left of the ten players that had entered."

Sinon felt dizzy for a second, but took a deep breath and centered herself. "There's no way they survived?" Her voice was a lot firmer than she felt; the cold was creeping on her, but it wasn't moving past her fingertips.

"An anti-crystal trap," Sachi breathed. "Just like The Gleam Eyes."

Kirito nodded and looked at her. "That's what Heathcliff thinks. From what he told us, we're going to be fighting the boss without any knowledge or ability to escape. This won't be like The Gleam Eyes, where we were able to run if things turned bad, so we need to make sure we have plenty of potions."

"Pina can heal us," Silica said, stroking the dragon.

"How many times?" Asuna asked, staring at Pina thoughtfully.

"Um... about twenty, now, but if we're trying to heal all of us then it won't be for much." Silica waved her hand in a small circle. "If it's one person at a time, then it's more or less a full heal, but the more people in range, the less health restored."

Asuna nodded. "Okay. We'll keep her in reserve, just in case we need to heal and we're out of potions, but let's treat health potions as our main source of healing for now." Silica nodded and sat back, Pina still curled up in her lap. "Sachi, can you and Silica handle stocking up on the healing supplies?"

"I can," the black-haired girl confirmed. "And this time, you and Kirito are carrying potions of your own, no excuses." Kirito and Asuna nodded instantly. Sachi studied the pair for a second before nodding. She opened up her menu and started tapping away, lips moving silently.

"Sinon," Kirito said, and the blue-haired girl gave him her full attention. "You and I will be dropping by Liz to drop off everyone's gear to get it fully repaired and upgraded as high as possible, so if you need any throwing knives or arrows now's the time to figure that out."

"Roger," she said absently, already going over her supplies in her head. I need more arrows, and it wouldn't hurt to ask her to make some more throwing knives... But those aren't too important. Our equipment takes priority. "When are we going?"

"As soon as possible," Kirito said after a second. "Asuna?"

"I have something I need to take care of," she said immediately. "You two can go without me, okay?"

"If you're sure," Kirito said dubiously. Although he gave her a searching look, Asuna just smiled at him and eventually he nodded. "Okay then. Sinon, let's go."

Sinon stood up and followed him, waving goodbye to the other girls absently. She checked the guild storage, nodding when she saw their battle equipment appearing there, and looked up to find Kirito; he'd gotten a bit ahead of her, so she broke into a trot to catch up to him. "Hey, Kazuto," she murmured. "You're worried about this, aren't you."

He nodded with a heavy sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. "I am, Shino," he said. "This is a milestone boss, and we don't know anything about it. What if you - any of you! - get hurt? What if something happens?"

"Nothing will happen," she told him, laying a hand on his upper arm. "We can take care of ourselves."

He nodded slowly, but she could tell his heart wasn't into it. Something was still weighing on his mind. He'll tell me when he's ready to talk. Shino knew that if she wanted to, she could pry and get him to tell her right away, but she didn't really need to. She had faith that he'd open up eventually, and so she resolved to wait patiently until he did.

The walk to the warp gate was spent in companionable silence, only broken by the hiss of the steam pipes around them and the quiet chatter of other players wandering around, and the walk to Lisbeth's Smith Shop was equally peaceful. Before long, they were standing outside the smith's shop, and Sinon pushed the door open. The bell chimed, and she waved hello to Hanna. "Hi, Hanna. Is Lisbeth in?"

"Hello, Miss Sinon, Mister Kirito. Miss Lisbeth is in the back," Hanna said with a small bow. "Would you like me to fetch her for you?"

"Nah, it's cool," Kirito said with an easy grin. "We'll just go bug her ourselves." Hanna nodded and resumed watching over the merchandise, rearranging the display cases here and there. It's always so weird seeing her, Sinon thought as Kirito pushed open the door to the smithy proper. She's so... human-like. "Hey, Liz!" Kirito called out. "Two of your favorite customers are here!"

The pink-haired smith looked up from where she was sitting by the massive grindstone, sparks flying from an axe she was busy sharpening. After a second of intense scrutiny, Sinon shifted awkwardly, and Lisbeth shook her head. "Nope!" she called back. "Sinon's here, but I don't see Asuna, Sachi, Silica, or Kiriko anywhere." Kirito flushed a little red, and Sinon did the same - albeit for a very different reason. He's so cute when he's dressed up like that! she squealed internally, the mental images easy to recall. Grinning to show she didn't really mean it, Lisbeth turned her attention back to the grindstone. "Just lemme finish this up and I'll be right with you guys."

"No hurry," Kirito called as she pressed the blade of the axe to the stone again, sparks spraying up. "Take your time." Lisbeth just grunted something unintelligible, her focus obviously on the task at hand. While they waited, Sinon kept stealing glances at her best friend; his eyes were distant, staring straight at the wall ahead without changing focus. Whatever's bothering him, it's definitely important...

"Alright, done!" Liz's cheery voice broke both Sinon and Kirito from their dazes; when Sinon blinked and refocused on Liz, her friend had a knowing grin on her face, and Sinon couldn't meet her eyes without her ears starting to feel hot. "So, what's got you two dropping by? Are you on a date?" she asked, nudging Kirito in the ribs with a wink.

Both Sinon and Kirito flushed at the suggestion, though Kirito managed to recover his voice first. "No, we're here on business," he told her. "Repairs and upgrades."

"Oh yeah?" Lisbeth yanked her gloves off and waved them over. "Come over and drop the stuff off on the table and we'll take a look." When all of the gear of the Shining Blades covered the table, she whistled. "Wow, you guys have been beating on your gear for it to be in this state. What'd you do, beat a boss by throwing yourselves at it?"

Kirito chuckled. "No, it's a long story involving several hundred goblins and an escort quest."

"And an old man," Sinon added. "That managed to knock Kirito into a rock." That Redcap fight had been hard, but they'd managed to win eventually and earned another one of those Proof medals for beating the Knight of Unseelie. Lisbeth gave them both a strange look that somehow managed to combine 'What are you babbling about?' with 'I'm kinda jealous you guys get to have awesome adventures', and Sinon grinned. "It was a really long story." I got a chance to show off my knowledge about castles, too, so that was a plus. "Next time we drop by the shop we'll tell you."

Lisbeth just shrugged and turned back to the matter at hand. "That's all well and good, but this stuff is really beat up. What's your timeframe?"

"Tomorrow," Kirito said grimly. "We'll need it before noon."

Lisbeth gave him a steady look, one eyebrow raised. "Yeah? You're gonna have to pay for a rush job, Kirito, since I'll basically be forced to put everything else off until this is taken care of."

"Whatever it costs, we'll pay it."

The smith whistled lightly. "Well, you're certainly in a hurry. What's the reason?"

Kirito glanced at Sinon uneasily, their eyes exchanging an unspoken conversation. Kirito wanted to keep it a secret, while Sinon disagreed but ultimately left the decision up to him. "There's a boss fight tomorrow," he said finally. Lisbeth hissed out a small breath of shock, and he nodded. "Yeah."

"Gotcha. Well, I'll get to it. Would you be awesome and tell Hanna to close up shop? She has the rest of the day off."

Sinon smiled. "Thanks, Liz. You're the best."

"And don't you forget it," the pink-haired girl said absently, already examining Asuna's rapier closely. "Jeez, what'd she do, stab it into a rock or something?" she muttered...She did, actually... "Hey!" Lisbeth called out as the two turned to leave. "Get here before ten and I'll do your upgrades then, okay?"

"You got it!" Kirito called back, giving her a wave. "Thanks for this, Liz!"

"Thank me by clearing the game!"

Kirito laughed and opened the door, holding it for Sinon without a second's hesitation. Smiling at his gallantry, Sinon walked through and looked for Hanna. The NPC helper was straightening a pair of katanas and turned around when she heard the door behind her. "Hey, Hanna, Liz says you have the rest of the day off," Sinon said. "As soon as you close up shop, you're free to go."

"Ah, thank you very much, Miss Sinon," Hanna said. "I hope you two have a lovely day."

"We will!" Sinon and Kirito chorused. As they walked out, she glanced at Kazuto and mused, "Is it weird that she makes me think of an older sister? Y'know, kinda like Asuna?"

"I, uh, don't really think of Asuna like that," Kazuto said. Was that a hint of a blush on his cheeks? Shino felt a mixture of curiosity and jealousy, but ignored it. She loved him, but if he didn't choose her she'd support him no matter what. ...Which was what she told herself every time she saw him blush when he was talking with Asuna. It made her feel a little better. "But yeah, you're right, I think."

Shino smiled and skipped forward a few steps before turning around to face Kazuto, walking backwards. "So where to now, Kazuto? Home, or do we have a few more stops?"

"I didn't plan on having anything else," he said with a simple shrug. "So let's just - hey!" His eyes widening, he lunged forward to grab Shino and pull her toward him. She let out an unladylike yelp and stumbled into his chest; he was strong and firm, and didn't shift.

"What?" she asked, turning around immediately, hand reaching for her bow. Then she stopped, feeling a little embarrassed. She'd been walking backwards without paying any attention to where she was going, and had almost run into a farmer. The man gave the two a smile and nodded before continuing on down the dirt road. "...Oops?" she mumbled sheepishly, glancing at Kazuto.

"Just... be careful," he sighed.

The moment of panic over, she relaxed slightly - and became aware of how close she was to him at roughly the same time he did, with his hand resting lightly on her shoulder. Smiling to herself, she leaned into his hand and turned around, resting her back against his chest. "Thanks for taking care of me, Kazuto."

"Of course, Shino."

They'd run out of small talk by the time they returned home; Asuna was there, but Sachi and Silica were still out shopping. "We're home," Sinon called as Kirito closed the door behind them.

"Welcome back," Asuna said, smiling at them from where she was sitting on the couch. "How'd it go?"

"Liz is working on everything right now," Kirito told her. "It'll be ready tomorrow morning, so if we drop by early then she can do the upgrades then."

"Excellent," Asuna murmured, turning back to her menu. "I think I should go with speed..." Sinon smiled; she was lost to the rest of the world.

She made her way upstairs and flopped back on her bed; with the boss fight the next day, none of the Shining Blades were going to be doing any fighting. That just meant it was the perfect time for her to do some light reading. She grabbed her latest novel and flipped open to where she left off, quickly getting lost in the world of magic, mayhem, and other words that began with 'M'. Time passed quickly, as was its wont when Sinon was doing something she enjoyed, and before long it was dinnertime. She didn't even realize it had gotten so late until the delicious smells coming from downstairs made her stomach start grumbling very loudly as it demanded food. "Urgh..." Stumbling downstairs and yawning, she blinked blearily at the sight of Argo chatting with Kirito and Silica. ...Y'know what? No. I'm not even surprised anymore. "Hey, Argo," she said, sitting beside Kirito. "Joining us for dinner?"

"Nah, I have something else lined up," the info broker said easily. "I was just swinging by to say good luck and stay safe." Kirito smiled slightly, and Argo gave him a suspicious stare before shaking her head. "Anyway, I hope everything goes well tomorrow." Standing up, she gave Sinon and the others a wide grin. "I'm expecting all the details, so none of you are allowed to get hurt, got it?" Kirito chuckled, shaking his head, and Argo rolled her eyes. "See ya later!" she called, heading out to the door.

Sinon looked at Kirito, who was still chuckling to himself. "What's so funny?" she asked, nudging him with her shoulder.

"Argo," he said with an amused sigh. "She tries so hard to pretend she doesn't care about us."

Sinon grinned and leaned against him, squirming until she felt comfortable; eventually, she ended up just abandoning all pretenses and just putting her head in his lap. "Yeah, well, I wouldn't have her any other way," she told him. "She was like that in the beta, too, wasn't she?"

"Mm-hmm." He was so warm, and just touching him was sending little tingles of pleasure through Sinon's body. The warmth of his body spread throughout her, from the tips of her toes to the top of her head. Eyes half-closed from drowsiness, she almost missed when he said something to her.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "Could you repeat that?"

Kirito laughed. "I said, I need to talk to you later."

"Sure," she said with a shrug. "After dinner?"

"Yeah." He seems a little quiet... I wonder what's wrong? She studied him from below, but his face didn't give anything away as he stared off into the flickering fire.

Sinon mentally shrugged and closed her eyes, letting herself relax on his lap. "Ahem!" Asuna coughed, and Sinon jolted upright. "Dinner's ready," she said, looking out over them. "Sinon, Silica, could you set the table?" Her eyes seemed a little tense, her shoulders stiff and lips pursed. She must be worried about the fight tomorrow too…

"Sure," Silica sighed, getting up from her seat by the fire. "I'm never gonna get to finish this dumb book," she sighed almost imperceptibly. Sinon glanced at the cover and blinked in surprise; the younger girl was still reading Blake and the Goblin Queen, one of the books she'd lent her over six months previously. Pina, who'd been comfortably resting on her master's lap previously, flew over to curl up on Kirito instead, as apparently the boy was an adequate cushion in lieu of Silica.

Dinner was the time when the friends would talk about anything and everything, but there wasn't much chatter at the table; everyone was lost in thoughts as they worried about the next day. Sinon ate mechanically, barely tasting her food even though she knew that it would taste delicious, and cleaned her plate automatically. She wasn't sure what the others were thinking about; whatever Kirito wanted to talk to her about, it was likely related to that, and she didn't try to guess what the other girls were thinking. As for Sinon herself, she went back upstairs and sat on her bed, hugging her hawk plushy to her chest. I'm so scared, she admitted to herself. If Kazuto or Asuna or anybody gets hurt, I don't... I don't know what I'd do. They'd all become part of her family, something she'd been missing for a long, long time.

A quiet knock came at her door and she shook herself from the daze she'd been in. She glanced at the time and blinked in surprise; it was later than she expected. "It's me, Shino," Kazuto said, his voice a little muffled through the door. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah." She was still dressed, not having gotten around to changing for bed yet.

The door opened and Kazuto stepped in, closing it behind him before taking a seat on the bed. Shino shifted so that she was sitting against her pillow, hugging her knees to make enough room for him. Kazuto sat cross-legged, staring at her like he was trying to burn every last detail about her into his memory. Just before Shino started feeling a little bit confused, he sighed. "Shino, I need to ask you something. Promise you won't get mad?"

She blinked. He'd never asked her that kind of question before. "Of course not," she said. "What's up?"

He took a deep breath before letting it out in a rush. "Could you not fight tomorrow?" She stared at him like he'd grown another head. "In the boss fight, I mean."

Shino frowned and lowered her head until it was touching her knees and she didn't have to look at him anymore. "Why would you even ask me that?" she asked, trying hard to keep the hurt out of her voice. Her success was debatable at best. Does he not... does he not trust me? But we've been together for so long, how could he not trust me? Thoughts whirled in her head and made her feel dizzy. I... The thought that he didn't trust her at his back made her feel sick to her stomach. "Did I do something wrong? Whatever I did, tell me and I'll make it right," she mumbled into her legs. Why now? We fought Laughing Coffin together and he didn't tell me to stay behind then!

"N-no, you didn't do anything wrong," Kazuto hurried to tell her. "It's just, we won't be able to use teleport crystals in there, and... I'm scared. Scared that you'll get hurt and I can't save you."

Shino looked up hesitantly. "So you want me to stay here while you go fight a boss without me?" The sick feeling was going away, but in its place was a rising anger. "Do you really think I'd say yes? Kazuto, don't you know how much you mean to me? If anything happened to you, I don't know what I'd do!" She leaned forward, reaching toward him. "I... I just..."

He caught her hand in one of his own. "Shino, I didn't mean -"

"I'd blame myself, you know?" she told him. "If something happened and I wasn't there to help you. I'd never be able to forgive myself for staying behind where it's safe. I've always had your back, Kazuto, the same way you've had mine!"

He squeezed her hand gently, causing a small jolt of electricity to surge through her. "Shino... I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of it like that."

"Kazuto..." Shino brought their hands up to her forehead and closed her eyes, feeling his warmth against her skin. "Don't ask me to stay behind ever, okay?" She'd do almost anything he asked, but she couldn't do that. "I'm your partner. Without me, who'd watch your back?" That's how it was, back at the beginning. Since then, their family had grown to include Asuna, Sachi, and Silica, but their partnership would always remain.

Without warning, she heard Kazuto laugh slightly and place his hand on her head, patting her gently. "I wasn't thinking straight, Shino," he murmured. "Sorry. Forgive me?"

"Of course," she said instantly. "But you're sleeping in here tonight, got it?" It's a boss night. It's fine.

"Yes ma'am." When she opened her eyes to look at him, he was smiling. "It's a boss night, after all." She grinned back and flopped back on the bed after letting go of his hand. "Now c'mon, we should be getting to bed." Shino smiled and glanced at the time, her eyes widening when she realized how late it was. "I'll be right back, okay?" He slipped out of the room, leaving Shino alone so that they could both get changed. As she changed into what she wore to sleep, she giggled, remembering how awkward it had been at the beginning when they were both still trying to figure out how to act around the other.

With Kazuto sleeping soundly by her side, Shino fell asleep without a care in the world.


The meeting time was 1:00 the next afternoon; Sinon and the others picked up their weapons and armor from Liz in the morning and spent the next few hours getting ready to fight. Each of them dealt with their nerves in different ways; Silica seemed determined to smother Pina with love and affection, while Sachi kept going over their supplies over and over again. Asuna, Kirito, and Sinon all sat together at a local cafe on the 75th Floor, sipping at tea. The older girl had made a half-hearted suggestion of getting something to eat for lunch, but none of them had much of an appetite; Sinon felt a little ill at the simple thought of eating anything. Eventually it was time to meet in the center of the main town, and the Shining Blades regrouped.

There were enough players in the square that the small guild had to move carefully, but not as many as Sinon would have liked; she made a brief attempt at a headcount, ending with a number in the mid-thirties. It was possible that more players would show up, but she'd recognized the colors of the big guilds and the smaller ones that showed up for boss fights. Only thirty-five people, plus however many Heathcliff brings... It was a sobering thought that they'd be trying to defeat the boss with so few.

"Hey guys!" Sinon smiled at the exuberant voice and turned to see Klein waving cheerfully, standing with the rest of his guild, Agil standing next to him. "Good to see you all!"

"Well, well, well," Agil rumbled. "Good to see you guys again. Wish it had been a little longer, though."

"What?" Kirito grinned easily. "Still mad about that joke?"

Agil snorted. "You call dumping a giant pile of crappy knives on my counter a joke? And I even paid you for them, too. Half of those damn things were inches away from scrap metal. Where'd you get them, anyway?"

"Goblins," Sachi said flatly.

"Lots of goblins," Silica continued in a matching tone of voice.

"Far, far too many goblins," Sinon added. Dirty, grubby little beasts.

"And then just when you think they're gone..." Kirito began.

"...More goblins," Asuna finished.

Klein and Agil stared at the shell-shocked guild members, all pinning the two with a thousand-yard stare. "That's, uh, cool," Agil said slowly, looking at them. He glanced at Klein before shaking his head. "Yeah, I'm just gonna... go..." The big man turned and walked away, still shaking his head. Sinon stared at him as he walked away before shuddering once and coming back to reality.

"That was weird," Klein muttered, looking back and forth between the members of the Shining Blades.

He looked like he was going to say something more, but a sound caught everyone's attention. They turned to see the Warp Gate glowing as it sprang to life with a hum; through it stepped Heathcliff, tall and regal in his ruby-red armor with his cape fluttering behind him. Four more members of the Knights of the Blood followed him as he strode forward confidently, making his way through the crowd. Once he'd reached the edge of the crowd he lifted his hand, a tall blue crystal held within. "Corridor open," he called out. The crystal in his hand glowed a bright white as a shimmering portal ripped open and hung in midair; its job done, the crystal shattered. Heathcliff turned, his face as impassive as it always was. "Now, here we go," he said, his voice ringing through the quiet square.

One by one, the players filed through the portal; being some of the last to arrive, the Shining Blades were near the end of the queue. Sinon stepped through into the dim Labyrinth, looking around with trepidation. She and the others had never been this deep, but the surroundings matched the parts they had explored; the ceiling was high and the columns were made of sharp brass, changing seemingly at random between sharp angles and gentle curves. "Feel that?" Asuna murmured. "There's a bad vibe in here."

"Yeah," Kirito muttered back, looking around as well. Sinon found her eyes drawn inexorably towards the massive door standing at the end of the hall; it was tall and imposing, an ornate and near flawless work of art. The decorative designs were fancy and ornate, flowing in angular but symmetrical patterns; nothing like the crude carvings on the door to The Gleam Eyes. The arch of the doorway had smooth, flowing script carved into the stone. It was very beautiful. Sinon hated it on sight.

After all the players had stepped through the corridor and it had closed behind the last one, the raiding party spent several minutes going over last minute maintenance. Sachi double-checked everyone's supplies one last time before nodding slowly and taking a few deep breaths, her hand resting on the haft of her glaive. Silica hugged Pina tightly one last time before whispering to the dragon and letting Pina climb up onto her shoulder - the dragon would take off once the fighting started, Sinon knew from experience. Before long, Sinon looked towards Heathcliff. "Everyone ready?" he asked, his voice ringing out over the murmur of players and the sound of status screens opening and closing. "The Knights of the Blood will be out in the front, distracting the boss and blocking its attacks. In the meantime, the rest of you have to stay sharp, and try to figure out its attack patterns." Sinon's stomach tightened. We have one chance at this. We have to make it count.

Heathcliff swept his solemn gaze over the assembled players. "I won't lie. This battle will be hard. But I have faith that we can and will prevail." His voice was calm and strong. "For our day of liberation!" His shout was strong and everyone cheered loudly, fired up to do battle.

Sinon looked to the side to see Kirito with a grim expression; his fist was clenched tightly. Wordlessly, she reached out and covered his fist with her hand, like she'd done the night before, and she felt him relax slightly. Just enough to unclench his fist and lace his fingers between hers. Normally she'd be embarrassed that they were acting so intimate, but right then she was just glad of the warmth of his hand. On the other side of him, Asuna reached out and took his other hand; the three of them stood like that for a few heartbeats before Kirito's shoulders relaxed just a tiny bit. "Everything's gonna be fine," Sinon whispered to Kirito. "I've got your back."

"Yeah," he whispered to her. "I know you do." Smiling, he turned to say something to Asuna. After he did, he gently slipped his hands free from the girls and unsheathed his swords with a ring of steel.

Heathcliff pushed at the door, letting it slowly creak open. Kirito took a deep breath. "Don't die, guys," he said loudly, to Klein and Agil. He didn't need to say anything to his guild; they already knew.

"Hah," the samurai barked out a laugh. "Same to you, buddy."

Agil grinned. "I'm gonna make a fortune off today's drops. No way am I missing out on that!" Sinon smiled. Trust Kirito to be more worried about everyone else... Just means I have to watch over him!

Finally, the doors slammed open with a resounding thud. "Forward to battle!" shouted Heathcliff, and the assembled players charged forward with war cries, each mixing in with the others. Towards the boss room and the fight for their lives.


That boss fight had been terrifying from start to end; the massive bone centipede named Skull Reaper had sent shivers down Shino's spine and continued to do so every time she pictured the monster, even after its death. Its scythe-like arms had been gigantic, easily taller than she was, and each of its legs had clicked unnervingly. She was glad that it was well and truly gone.

But not without casualties.

Shino spent several minutes fruitlessly trying to fall asleep; eventually, she rolled over for the fifth time in as many minutes and sat up, rubbing at her eyes. Maybe some hot tea will help… She stumbled downstairs and fumbled around, eventually managing to fix herself some tea. Sipping at her drink and cupping it with both hands, she glanced out the window and frowned before heading outside herself. "Hey," she murmured softly to Kazuto. The boy was sitting out on the balcony, heedless of the cold; his rocking chair squeaked rhythmically as he gently rocked back and forth, his eyes fixed on the glittering stars above.

For a long time, he didn't say anything, and Shino was about to leave when he stirred. "Hey," he whispered.

"Thinking about the fight?" she asked, setting her cup of tea down and sitting down on the rocking chair. It was more on Kazuto's lap than the chair, since it wasn't big enough for two people, but that suited Shino just fine.

"...Yeah," he admitted with a sigh. Shino leaned back, resting against his chest so that she could look up at the stars as well. They shone brightly, glimmering against the dark backdrop. "We beat it, Shino. We're on the final quarter of the game. So why doesn't it feel like we won today?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "We lost players today…"

Kazuto made a noise. "Twenty players," he said. Half of their fighting force. "And I don't know how many more will stop fighting." He sighed. "We're on a time limit, don't people realize that?"

"Time limit?"

"Think about it, Shino. What do you think's happening to our bodies in the real world?" Shino's eyes widened. "Remember how a few weeks after the game started, most of the players just collapsed in the streets and stayed that way for a few hours? My guess is that's when the players' bodies were being moved to hospitals in the real world."

"My god," Shino breathed. "We're in hospitals..." The thought had never crossed her mind. "I get it, Kazuto... It's already been two years. Eventually, they'll give up on trying to keep our bodies alive, and when that happens..." She trailed off, not wanting to say it out loud.

Kazuto's arms snaked around her and held her tightly, and she felt a warm tingling sensation. She loved it and nestled closer to him. "I really admire you, you know that?" he said, shifting the subject abruptly.

"Huh?"

"You're so strong," he whispered. "With everything that's happened, you've been getting stronger every day. You've managed to get over what happened to you. I wish I could do that."

Shino smiled softly. "I'm not so strong as you seem to think," she told him. "It's all because of you, you know? Because you helped me for no real reason on that day and became my friend. I was lost before you came, and you dragged me towards the light. I owe you everything, Kazuto." He was the first person to look past those rumors and accept her for who she was; she couldn't help but wonder what her life would have been like without him helping her. I owe him so much.

"You don't owe me anything, Shino," Kazuto insisted. "This was all you."

Shino turned around to continue arguing with him, and their eyes met. His dark eyes were shining in the dim reflected light, and her heart skipped a beat. He's... Her mouth suddenly felt dry and she felt lightheaded. Everywhere that she was in contact with him was electrified. Slowly, he reached up to touch her cheek gently, and the light contact burned as he trailed his fingers down her cheek. "Kazuto..." she whispered. Every nerve was on fire.

She leaned forward, trying to press herself closer. "Sh-Shino..." he breathed. Her eyes were fixated on his lips. What do they... She leaned in, her hair framing her face.

Their lips met gently.

As first kisses went, it wasn't fantastic; it was cold, they had just watched twenty people die… Shino could think of any number of ways this wasn't like how she'd always fantasized, if she'd been in the state of mind to think anything at all. After a timeless moment, Shino moved away, just enough so that they could catch their breath. They stared at each other, Shino braced on top of Kazuto with her hands on his chest. "I love you," she whispered. Just so he'd know.

She traced a small formless pattern on his shirt and Kazuto shuddered slightly, a small tremor that went straight through Shino and drew a breathless whine from her. "I love you, Shino," he whispered back. Those four words filled her with a warmth that held off the cold with ease. Her heart was racing, and she leaned forward until she could share that warmth with Kazuto.

If she or Kazuto had looked up toward the house, they would have seen the rest of the guild watching from the windows, smiling at the two out on the balcony – though Asuna's smile would have been marred just a tiny bit by disappointment. But they didn't.

They were far too preoccupied with other matters.


Say it with me, now: 'Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww'.

There we go. Relationship upgrade get. How sweet.

Only problem is, I don't actually know what any of this, well… feels like. I don't understand how it feels to want to kiss someone. So I did my best, but it's not gonna be anywhere near what it should be. Sorry, folks… Part and parcel of me being what I am. Something like what Shino and Kazuto share is something I'll probably never feel, so I did what I could. That was probably the hardest part of this story so far; making those two have a real relationship that was relatively, well, normal.

Things that NEED to be addressed vis-a-vis the physical side of their relationship: It won't be appearing on-screen. I'll imply whatever the hell I want to imply, but no explicit details past kissing. This is for several reasons – one is that I'd undoubtedly fuck it up (literotica, Ikea style: insert tab A into slot B. Remove tab A from slot B. Insert tab A into slot B), two is that I personally dislike reading/writing sexual things, and three is that they're kids, under the age of consent. I'm not gonna depict underage kids having sex. If they were legal adults? That third one wouldn't be applicable.

This does put a bit of a damper on a story I've been planning for a while… Since interactions of the more amorous sort, both physically and emotionally, are all but literally a necessity of life in one of the series that would be crossed, not being able to write it would be very bad. Hah… It could be worse, I suppose. At least the wisecracks coming from the other series are easy enough for me to write. (And if you can somehow guess the planned crossover from just that tiny bit of information, I'll be amazed.)

That being said: there is one thing I need to clear up, a small matter of confusion that has been the source of several reviews. That being the type of story I am writing. It's understandably easy to make the assumption that this is a romance story showing how Kazuto and Shino get together, set in an AU where they end up being friends at the beginning of the story. This is, however, not correct. It is a What-If story about what might happen if Kazuto and Shino became friends before the start of the death game, with the romance being a sub-plot.

This is my fault: evidently, I failed to make this sufficiently clear. Part of this might be the [Kirito/Sinon] tag on the story, which is admittedly slightly misleading. I thought that because I didn't really talk about their relationship it would be clear it wasn't the focus of the story, but... My bad, I suppose. I wasn't sure how to handle the relationship, but I guess I screwed it up.

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