Chapter 36: Kayaba

November 6th, 2025

Kirito took a deep breath, and then closed his eyes. There's so many ways this could go wrong... Shino could get hurt, Asuna could get hurt, or even worse... Wordlessly, Sinon took one hand and Asuna the other, both girls squeezing comfortingly. His lips twitched upwards and he opened his eyes. No. I can't be turning back now. If I did that, I'd be turning my back on everyone here. "I'm okay," he whispered, and Sinon and Asuna let go.

He looked left and right, taking in the sight of his guild. His guild; he'd never really realized that it was his guild before - but now that their lives were on the line, he was all too acutely aware that they were following him. "I just wanted to say -" He stopped and swallowed. His voice had started to rasp, and he couldn't let that be their last memory of him before they all went off to fight Kayaba. "I just wanted to say... Thank you. All of you." He looked back and forth, bizarrely proud to see the affection and pride shining in all of their eyes, coupled with determination. "For... For being there to help me when I needed it." It was surprisingly hard, admitting he'd needed their help; he'd grown used to being by himself, and even then with Shino it wasn't truly like having a partner - not right away, at least. She'd relied on him for so much that he was more a guardian or a protector than a partner. But slowly, that had changed.

At some point, Shino had become a partner in her own right, followed swiftly by Asuna and Sachi and Silica. The five of them had become a team, each of them bringing a unique and priceless gift with them. He was proud of what they'd accomplished, what they'd become. "Jeez, Kirito," Sinon sighed, grinning at him. "You're being a dork again. You're grateful we're awesome, we're grateful you're awesome, there. Everyone's awesome." He stared at her, then started to laugh helplessly. Trust her to get straight to the point.

Sachi just smiled sweetly. "If this is the part where we're saying thank you's, I'd just like to thank all of you for giving me a chance. I know I wasn't... the best fighter when I started."

Silica grinned. "Hey, we all have to start somewhere, right? I bet even Kirito and Sinon were bad at this when they first started playing."

Kirito scratched his cheek and looked away. "Well, actually, um..." That kendo training paid off a lot more than I thought. Even the half-remembered things helped a lot...

"Oh come on," Silica complained. "That's cheating."

"If it makes you feel any better," he offered, "Sinon was all clumsy the first few days. Tripping over herself and everything."

She rolled her eyes. "I was trying to forget about that," she sighed. "Jerk. Well, if we're spilling embarrassing secrets, Kirito hit on me when we first met in-game, with the beta avatars. To make things better, his original avatar looked like a swimsuit model instead of the girly boy he really is."

Kirito flushed, and then flushed even harder when he say Asuna's eyes studying him thoughtfully. That look has NEVER led to anything I enjoyed, he thought. "Anyway," he coughed, trying to preserve at least a shred of his dignity, "Asuna, Silica, Sinon, did you have anything you wanted to say before we head off to the Ruby Palace?"

Silica raised her hand a little. "I wanted to say thanks for taking me seriously, everyone. I know I'm the youngest one here, and it means a lot that you guys listened to what I had to say." Sachi shifted over and gave her a gentle hug, putting her arm around Silica's shoulders. "So, um, thanks, I guess. You're all really good friends, and I'll definitely find a way to get in touch after we make it out of here."

Asuna smiled. "I suppose I'll go next, then. Um... I don't really know what to say. Pretty much everything I needed to tell Kirito and Sinon I've told them already, and the only things I could say to you two is just... thanks. For being friends and having my back." The two girls smiled, not showing any offense. Kirito sighed in relief. "Sinon, you're up."

Sinon fidgeted nervously, toying with the lining of her vest the way she always did when she was thinking about something. "I... I know that what happened... what I did wasn't..." She took a deep breath and shook her head. "Sorry, it's still a little hard to talk about this. I just wanted to say, when you learned about what h-happened at that bank and you didn't h...hate me, that meant a lot. Thank you so much..." Kirito smiled and reached out, squeezing her hand gently. I know what you went through, Shino... Together, we can accept what happened and move on. She gave him a grateful smile. "It means a lot that you were still willing to be my friends after learning about that."

"Of course we'd be your friend," Silica said with a bemused look on her face. "Why wouldn't we?" Sinon didn't respond, but by the way her hand trembled in Kirito's hands he knew those words meant a lot more to her than Silica realized.

"Alright," Asuna said, smiling. "Now that we've all said what we needed to say, we should probably start heading to town. We're supposed to meet up in ten minutes, and it's at least a seven minute walk." Kirito blinked and nodded.

As they walked to town, none of them said anything about the way Sinon and Asuna slipped their hands into Kirito's, holding them until they entered town. And even then, they didn't drift more than two steps away from him even on the Warp Gate. "Here we go," Kirito murmured. "Transport! Ruby Palace!" And the world went white.

The falling sensation went away soon enough, not that he wasn't used to it by this point, and when he could see again he hid a frown. Fuurinkaazan had shown up in force, all members present and accounted for; and with the Shining Blades, that made fourteen players. Kirito picked out Godfree and Lind talking quietly off in the courtyard, several players dressed in their guild's colors milling around. All in all, there were just barely twenty players milling about. He could see the HDA's katana-user that had received «Iai», but that was it. There were only three of the Unique Skill holders present for the final battle, when there should have been at least nine. The other six... He tried not to think about the five that had fallen in battle. The last one, the one with «Darkness Blade», was better off staying behind bars, in his opinion. I just hope twenty people will be enough.

They were the last to arrive, and the leaders of the guilds gathered with their second-in-command at their sides. "Thinker and Yulier send their regards and prayers," Kirito said to start things off. "But they just don't have the levels to fight. They're mainly based on the 1st Floor, after all."

"As expected," Lind said wearily. "It's up to us to beat that bastard and get everyone home. Godfree and I are prepared for this, and our people know what to do if we fail."

Klein, for once, looked grim. "All of us in Fuurinkaazan are here for this shot. It's do or die time."

"Same for us," Asuna said calmly. "Do we have an attack plan?"

Kirito nearly swore when Godfree shook his head. He's charismatic, but... not a leader. Not like Heathcliff was. "We're fighting Heathcliff," the Knights of the Blood commander said, "but we don't really know much about his fighting style. He wasn't really one to spar with the other members - if he even needed to train at all."

"I think he did," Kirito said slowly. "Because everything in this game is fair. I think he'd stick to his own rules and level up just like everyone else." Then he shook his head. "But that's besides the point. I've spoken with Argo, but she doesn't know much. I'd suggest we treat this like any other boss fight against an opponent with a shield and sword. But... We need to be careful."

Lind scowled. "Throwing numbers at him won't work," he sighed. "We need to use tactics, or this won't work. That damn Unique Skill of his is making this damn near impossible."

"What if," Klein said slowly, glancing over at Kirito, "what if we play to his ego? He's a twisted bastard, but he's got some weird form of honor. Otherwise what stopped him from just killing all of us whenever he wanted? I think he's going to be following a strict set of rules, just like the rest of the bosses. Only attacks when we approach, doesn't use items, that kinda stuff."

Godfree just sighed. "I hope you're right. How would we use that, though?" He really wasn't supposed to be the leader of the guild, Kirito realized. I'm willing to bet that Heathcl- Kayaba would have found someone else if he could, though.

"Kirito," Klein said. "I know this is asking a lot, but could you be the main fighter? Your «Dual Blades» are pretty much the only thing that can keep Kayaba occupied."

Kirito nodded slowly. "And then we have Sinon take out chunks of his armor with her shuriken, opening him up to attacks," he mused. "Yeah, that might work."

Asuna looked at him. "Are you sure?" she asked quietly, so that only he could hear. "It's gonna be dangerous."

"I'm sure," he whispered back. "Besides, I have all of you to cover me. Right?" He smiled at her.

"R-right." Seeing her blush like that will never get old.

Klein coughed into his hand and recaptured their attention. "Anyway, buddy, while you go mano-a-mano with Kayaba, the rest of us will take shots when we can," he said. "This is it, guys, the final battle." One way or another, Kirito thought, but he didn't say that out loud. "We ready to fight?"

Kirito grinned. "See you on the other side." The group split up, heading back to their individual forces. "And hey, Klein?" he said as they were walking to their guilds. He glanced at Asuna, and she gave him a barely perceptible nod before walking ahead. After a second, Dynamm did the same. "I... Sorry about bailing on you, that day. I..."

"No worries, man," his friend told him. "First off, you were worried about Sinon." His grin turned into a smirk in an instant. "I'd say you made the right choice. And besides," he continued, "it's not like I'm actually gonna accept your apology until you're buyin' me dinner for real."

Kirito grinned. "You got it." With a final shared grin, the two split up and went to their own guilds. "Well, this is it," he said. "Last chance to back out. The second we're in that room, there's no turning back." He knew none of them would leave, but he wanted to make the offer anyway.

Sinon snorted. "Like hell." The other girls nodded, and he let the smile slip onto his face. "We're in this, Kirito, like it or not. We're ready to rock." He held up his fist and she bumped hers against it. Like old times. "And in case...something happens," she murmured. It won't. I won't let it. "Say bye to my mom for me, okay? And tell her I love her."

"Tell her yourself," he said. "When you wake up." She grinned at him.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. When he opened them again, they were hard and focused. There wasn't any room to be Kazuto, Shino and Asuna's boyfriend. Right then, he was entirely Kirito, the Black Swordsman. The girls fell in behind him as the twenty-odd players walked up the steps of the Ruby Palace. The sun shone, breaking through the clouds here and there, and Kirito noticed Silica tilting her head to bask in the sunlight for as long as she could; a smile twitched at his lips as Pina almost got dumped off, but managed to take to the air at the last second. Sachi seemed as composed as ever, her stride smooth and graceful, while Asuna and Sinon were grimly determined, if the look in their eyes was any indication. We're going to do this, he told himself, and we're going to wake up safely. All of them will make it. No matter what.

The massive, ostentatious door loomed in front of them, the ornate decorations taunting them with their beauty. They depicted the floating world of Aincrad, fighters with sword and shield on either side. Below the floating castle was a player with two swords, flanked by eight other players with other weapons - one with a throwing star, one with a spear, and one with a curved blade - and Kirito glared at it. Now he's just being an egotistical jerk. Looming above them was a man in full armor, with a massive tower shield - the lines were drawn very plainly in the sand. It was the players against Kayaba. "Here we go..." Kirito whispered. Sinon glanced over and raised her fist; with a smile, he bumped fists again, and the small familiar ritual let him focus on the fight.

The doors creaked open, and they walked inside, weapons at the ready.

Kayaba had chosen the stage of the final battle well; the large stained glass windows, with the sunlight pouring through, left a beautiful mosaic on the floor. It didn't distract from the smooth stone set in a square in the center of the hall, or the man standing motionless in the center, his tower shield planted solidly on the ground. "Welcome," Kayaba said, his voice ringing out in the silence. "I know you won't believe me, but I am impressed you've made it this far. Kirito. Out of all of the players in this game, I knew that you would be here, standing before me. Dual-wielding is a rare skill," he said, looking at the ceiling, "the kind only given to those with the fastest reaction times. He is the hero of this story, the one who rises to face the demon king. But you... the power you displayed exceeded my expectations." He chuckled dryly. "I guess these unexpected twists and turns are what MMORPGs so thrilling to play. Out of curiosity," he asked absently, as though the answer wasn't important, "what happened to the other users of Unique Skills?"

"They died," Klein spat, bristling. "Because of your sick and twisted game."

"Hm. A pity, I suppose. It would have been interesting to see the full force of the Unique Skills arrayed against me." He doesn't sound too broken up about it. "So then, shall we begin the battle?" The door slammed shut behind them, the thud ringing out. "If you're worried about possible abuse of my powers as GM, don't be. I will fight on equal footing as other players, and in addition, I will not use items." He lifted his shield and drew his sword with a ring of steel. "That isn't to say I will hold back, though!"

Kirito's swords leapt into his hands and he moved forward, the others spreading out around him. Kayaba didn't show any reaction on his face; he just shifted into a combat stance and prepared himself. Kirito stood there, stock still as he watched his opponent. This isn't some in-game duel... It's a fight to the death. That's fine with me... 'cause I'm gonna kill him! And save everyone! He dashed forward, swords flashing in the light, and swung with a shout of rage, only for his swing to be blocked by Kayaba's sword. Sparks sprayed as Kirito backed off a pace only to slash again and again. Sometimes his attacks were blocked, other times parried. Still, he couldn't break through Kayaba's «Holy Sword». Some part of him recognized that the others had circled around him, but all of his focus was on the man in front of him as he hammered away at Kayaba's guard.

Kayaba thrust forward with his sword and Kirito jumped back, feet sliding on the ground with the force of the dodge. But Kayaba had dropped his guard; while Kirito couldn't take advantage of that, others could. A black blur came from the side and sliced across Kayaba's side, carving a small chunk from his ruby armor. An instant later, one of the HDA members charged and let loose a powerful slash, scraping across the open area. There just wasn't enough of the armor missing to do major damage. Still, Kayaba shifted to the side and swung, flicking his blade toward the HDA member and cutting his arm. The guy howled and fell back, just in time for Kirito to rush in again. Everything was working beautifully.

Lind was the first to die.

He'd charged in, aiming for one of the rends on Kayaba's back - Sinon had gotten lucky - and Kayaba whipped around. His shield thrust forward, slamming a surprised Kirito in the stomach and sending him skidding back with the force of the blow. While Kirito was clutching at his stomach, the pain immobilizing him, Kayaba turned and lashed out with his sword lightning-fast. Lind's head was separated from his shoulders before anyone could shout, and the man collapsed a second later, his sword clattering to the ground.

The reminder that they were still mortal - and that Kayaba was still in green health - blunted their attacks, forcing them to be more cautious. Kirito was starting to get tired; his muscles burned, but he knew he could keep fighting. He had to keep fighting, or Kayaba would turn on the others. Gasping for air, trying to ignore the way he couldn't catch his breath, he pressed the attack and tried to knock Kayaba's shield out of the way with a powerful thrust. The point of his Dark Repulsor slammed into the red cross and he shoved with all his might. Kayaba's shield was knocked to the side and Kirito planted his feet, spinning and cutting with his Elucidator. A spray of red polygons and sparks and Kayaba's grunt of pain were his reward, though he paid dearly when Kayaba stabbed him through the side a second later, avoiding the deadly heart thrust by twisting at the last second. It wasn't immediately fatal and Kirito pulled away, feeling the pain ebb after Silica whistled and Pina healed him.

That moment of needing to heal, though, cost another member of the HDA his life when his target was suddenly unoccupied. Kayaba completely ignored his own wound and ran the man through, hitting the heart this time and killing him instantly. He heard one of the girls gasp in shock, but Kirito couldn't let himself be distracted. With a shout and a flurry of blows, he recaptured Kayaba's attention as he hammered on Kayaba's shield again and again, trying to overpower the man with sheer quantity of blows.

But his «Dual Blades» were never meant to be defensive, and Kayaba knew that as small slices snuck through his guard here and there. The final boss sacrificed chunks of his armor and health at a time, but every time Kirito was forced to disengage and heal another member of the clearing group died. It was the bold and reckless ones first - the final member of the Holy Dragon Alliance, followed by the madly-charging KoB member screaming something about being betrayed. Kirito watched them die, and every life that Kayaba snuffed out with that indifferent look on his face made the fire inside him blaze higher and higher. Once or twice muscle memory almost caught him, his swords barely starting to glow, but he was able to stop himself before the Sword Skill activated.

"Haah!" He'd stopped trying to catch his breath, and was just shouting with every sword stroke. Kept his lungs empty that way. Damn it, damn it, damn it! The HDA members were all dead. So were two of the KoB members. Klein and the Fuurinkaazan were smart enough to stay out of the way.

Kayaba parried his slash and thrust forward with the shield, trying for the shield bash again, but Kirito shifted to the side and let it shift by him. His Elucidator rose in a vicious uppercut, followed by a horizontal slash from Dark Repulsor linked so smoothly they were essentially one continuous combo. The first missed as Kayaba shifted back, but the horizontal cut had already corrected for that. It bit into his side, a part of his armor that Sinon had knocked away before she ran out of shuriken. Kirito thought he saw a glimmer of... not pride, but respect. Then Kayaba thrust forward, nicking his cheek and leaving a red slash. The pain made the fire blaze out of control for a second, and Kirito gritted his teeth in anger before jumping back. He wasn't fast enough to kill Kayaba, even with his skills. Faster! he thought with a grimace. I have to go faster!

Sachi had charged as Kirito dealt damage to Kayaba, but started to retreat the second Kirito had disengaged. She wasn't fast enough to get away from Kayaba; the boss swung his shield at her and sent her flying despite the blow itself being blocked by the shaft of her glaive. She was still injured, by her cry of pain, and Kirito saw red. No! I won't let YOU HURT THEM! His swords glowed as he screamed and unthinkingly attacked, unleashing «Eclipse» - his strongest skill. By the time he realized, it was too late. Kayaba had an almost bored look on his face as he shifted his shield minutely, just enough to block the strikes. Slash after slash, stab, thrust, and nothing even shook him. He just blocked everything with that look of patience.

And then Kirito thrust forward, the final blow of the Sword Skill, and the tip of his Dark Repulsor shattered. He'd failed. He closed his eyes as he accepted that. He'd failed. And he was about to die. "Game over, Kirito!" Kayaba exclaimed, raising his sword high. The first words he'd spoken all fight. Guess he really was thinking I'd be the hero after all... I'm sorry, Shino, Asuna. Please keep living...

"Kirito!" Asuna screamed.

…Game over. Nothing can save them now, not even plot armor. Their hero has failed – and given up hope.

For the fight scene, I borrowed from the canonical Kayaba fight for basic terms of progression, and how it should go. Some of the prefight dialogue, some of the post-Sword Skill stuff, all that jazz.

Kayaba is always a fun character to write, just because the way he thinks is so similar to the way I do. Want to know something? Ask. Don't care about something? Don't ask. He means what he says because there's no benefit to lying – he'd exposed himself, they were there to kill him, he was there to kill them or be killed. The final challenge they have to surmount. You'll notice that occasionally I'd use 'the boss' to refer to Kayaba, and that was an intentional epithet use; Kayaba really had become nothing more than just another boss in the game. One with patterns to learn, and health to drain.

As for the deaths, well, shit happens. Kayaba's skill set is damn near impossible to beat without losses, after all; he might not be able to keep up with Kirito's reflexes, but he's still a genius that designed the game from the ground up. Holy Sword is absurdly broken, in my opinion, more so because its limits aren't defined. 'Raises Attack and Defense to max' is so vague that it could mean basically anything. Kayaba even used it to justify being immortal.

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