Chapter Eighteen

Well there it was. I finally managed to grow a pair and tell Kirito how I feel. Only to be met with silence.

After a pause that felt like hours, but must have only lasted a few minutes, I looked up to see a blank look on Kirito's face. No other expression could be discerned at the moment. Not shock, embarrassment, anger, just... nothing.

"Well… I guess that's that. Merry Christmas, Kirito…" and with that, I bolted from the room. It seemed like now all I did was run from my problems. I ran from him after our fight eight months ago, I practically ran from Charr when he confessed to me last night, and now I'm running from Kirito, again.

I had just walked out of the inn when I heard him call for me, just like he did eight months ago. But this time, I stopped when I heard his voice. I couldn't continue my cowardice anymore. It's time I faced the music, whether it be good or bad. Just like Charr.

"Wait! Sarasheem, don't go!" I felt a tug on my hand. He spun me around to face him and I noticed he had his stone-faced mask on to hide his feelings. I couldn't believe he would hide them from me, his best friend. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part that we were still friends. He definitely didn't feel the same way if he was refusing to show his emotions.

"Stay… Please." His voice cracked, but still no emotions showed on his face. That damned mask was still hiding them.

"Why? Why are you hiding everything from me now? You are my best friend, and now you're hiding your emotions from me. Do I mean nothing to you now? I tell you how I feel about you, and you don't even respond. Damnit, I'm such an idiot!"

I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. I briefly wondered if this is how Charr felt last night after he kissed me. If that was the case, karma was a lovely bitch.

Suddenly, there was a hand cupping my cheek and wiping away my tears. Before I could open my eyes, I felt the pressure of lips against mine.

My second kiss, ever, was a clumsy one. Full of desperation and emotion. I could tell neither of us had much experience in kissing, and it showed every time teeth clashed against teeth. But that didn't stop us from continuing the kiss.

From the moment our lips touched, to every time our lips moved against the other's, I felt fire and lightning coursing through my body. Zinging from my lips to my toes and back. None of this happened when Charr kissed me last night.

When Kirito and I parted, panting and out of breath, I found my hands had worked up his arms to wrap themselves around his neck with one of my hands buried in his soft black hair. I could still feel a tingling sensation on my bruised lips from the kiss.

"Did you ever think, I might have felt the same way?" I heard a husky chuckle come from his throat. His hand was still on my cheek, softly rubbing small circles, while his other hand had circled my waist to pull me closer. He rested his forehead against mine, still gazing deeply into my blue eyes with his black ones.

Kirito and I had hugged many times, but I had never felt as close to him as I did right now. I couldn't help but lean in for a second kiss with the black swordsman.

Unlike our first kiss, this one was slower. Exploratory. Testing and learning to see how the other would respond. This one was more of a slow burn with small shocks rather than the raging fire and lightning from our first desperate kiss.

Someone nearby whistled while another called for us to get a room. We jumped apart, forgetting that we were in public, and chuckled at the inappropriate position we found ourselves in.

I took hold of Kirito's hand and dragged him back to his room at the inn. We really needed to have a talk about where this put us and where we wished for this to go from here. Also the fact that we knew practically nothing about each other outside of SA:O.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Kirito had backed me up against it, kissing me passionately. The roaring fire was back, along with the bolts of lightning heating up my veins. I had to pull away to breathe, once again, and put a hand over his mouth to stop him from going in for round three. He was breathing heavily and a look of confusion was in his eyes. I was grateful that he dropped his mask of indifference with me so I could now read his expressions.

"We need to talk about us. This is all well and good, but a little bird reminded me that we don't know much about each other outside of SA:O. For example, what is your real name? Where are you from? Who are you really outside of the black swordsman?" I asked him in rapid fire.

"I guess you got a point there." He sighed before continuing. "My real name is Kazuto Kirigaya. I live in Saitama prefecture, more specifically Kawagoe. I was about to start my first year of high school when the beta ended and this world started.

"As for who I am outside of the game? I'm a nobody. Just a lonely kid, living a lonely life. I have my sister, who is really my cousin, and my parent works all the time. No after school clubs, no friends, no one." He finished forlornly before sitting on the side of his bed.

I followed to sit beside him. "Sounds like my life. We must be about the same age then as I was also starting high school after the beta ended. My full name is Sarah Silva and I live in Kawasaki, Kanagawa.

"You already know I'm originally from the United States, hence my accent and odd looks." I gestured to my cinnamon-colored hair and blue eyes, "And that I moved to Japan when I was eleven. I was bullied mercilessly for it, also for my 'unsightly' scar. So no friends here either. Must be why we got along so well." I laughed sarcastically.

"Wait, Kirigaya… why does that name sound familiar?" I mumbled to myself thinking, "Oh! You wouldn't happen to be related to a Suguha Kirigaya, would you?" I glanced at Kirito with a finger on my chin, thinking.

"That's my sister. How do you know her?" His shoulders slumped, as if knowing his sister would make me think less of him.

"The only club activity I did in school was kendo. I just stopped last year because the bullying got out of hand. Something about 'barbaric Americans.' She was always one of the tops in tournaments. She was always nice to me, even though I was an American in a Japanese sport. Must run in the family." I nudged Kirito's shoulder affectionately.

I couldn't believe Suguha and Kirito, no Kazuto, were related. She was so outgoing and excitable. Kazuto is more like me, shy and mellow until you get to know him.

"My next question is, where does this leave us? Do we want to continue with whatever this," I gestured between us, "is? Or would it be too weird for you? You know how I feel. But you still haven't told me if you felt the same way…" I stared down at my hands in my lap. I was too embarrassed to look at him.

"I thought it was kind of obvious how I felt when I kissed you. I'm not sure when it started, but I realized when you left how I had fallen for you. It's why I kept trying to get you to join me with the guild. It killed me being apart from you." I watched a black gloved hand reach to take one of mine, twining our fingers together.

"I'm sorry." Was all I could think of responding.

"As for where we go with us, how about we start with getting to know each other better? By the way, what was that song you sang to me last night? It was pretty." Kazuto had a red tint to his cheeks.

"Oh, that." I giggled. "That song was from a Disney movie that my parents used to watch as kids. I don't think I could do the song justice in Japanese."

"It's okay. I liked it. Maybe you can translate it to me someday. I'd love to know the meaning behind the words, if there was one?" He gave me a quizzical look.

"You have no idea." I mumbled to myself under my breath. I squeezed Kazuto's hand that was still resting in my lap. I leapt to my feet and pulled him up beside me. "Let's go train! You've been away from the front lines for too long. Your level is lacking and we've gotta beef it up!" I kissed his cheek and opened my menu to armor up.

I turned around to find Kazuto now had a new blade along with a new cloak. Of course, in black. Covering the shoulders was a dark blue leather guard with silver studs covering it. This cloak was open to reveal a gold breastplate with a crescent moon design, a black shirt, and black slacks. On his back was a black scabbard that held his black blade with the same crescent moon on the hilt. Finishing the outfit was black fingerless gloves and heavyweight black boots with a silver buckle and spurs.

"Well Kirigaya, it looks like I'm not the only one with new gear." I chuckled looking Kazuto over, impressed.

"I figured we've known each other long enough that you can call me by my first name. Or Kirito, whichever you prefer." That red tint returned to his cheeks.

"Okay, Kazuto. Man that's going to take a while to get used to." My cheeks felt hot with the blush that graced them.

Since the last time I saw Kazuto, eight months ago, my armor completely changed. I still sported my favorite blue color, just in a different style.

Instead of the bulky armor that shield users typically wear, that covers practically every inch of the player, I wore a lighter style that gave me more movement and speed. My chest plate covered only my breasts and my shoulder blades. I had armor on my shoulders that went down my upper arms along with a similar piece that covered my hips and outer thighs. Gracing my waist was a blue belt with silver chainmail that covered my backside and front in a skirt that went to just above my knees. Knee pads and shin guards covered their respective areas in a dark blue metal. The rest of my body was covered by a light blue long-sleeved shirt and leggings. Blue and silver gauntlets covered my hands and forearms. I had a helmet, but I hated wearing the damn thing, it made it so hard to see properly.

My blade: Lightning's Breath was a dark blue menace with a silver edging, spitting blue sparks every thirty seconds. Paired with Sapphire Sphere, my buckler, that stood from my shoulders to my hips, in my favorite azure blue with sapphire gems dotting it in a circular shape. This shield gave me a barrier, hence the "sphere," that prevented heavy hits for ten seconds. But it had a two minute cooldown period.

"Wow." Was all that came from my partner's mouth. I looked back into his eyes to see they were wide open in shock. When his gaze returned to mine, his cheeks heated up in another blush. Seemed like today he was blushing more than ever.

"Yeah I've been working on my speed skill lately. It's better to dodge attacks than to try and tank them. Especially since these later bosses are faster and tend to have multi-hit attacks." I tapped the toe of my boot on the floor anxiously.

"I like it. Never thought you'd willingly wear a skirt though. It's... cute." Kazuto smirked until I punched his arm in mock anger. "Well if I'm gonna catch up to your level, we better get going!"

Any places or landmarks are entirely coincidental. I did some research (on google maps) into places in Japan that I feel the characters could live. See you guys next chapter!