Chapter Twenty-Two

Sarasheem:

"Wait! He knows?! Why does he know about this and I don't? What else are you keeping from me? Are you seeing him behind my back, too? Was anything between us even real?" Kazuto yelled as he pushed me away from him. Anger and betrayal in his eyes.

How could he?! After everything that's happened between us?! He dared to call me a cheater! I spun around and bolted for the teleport platform. I sobbed as I ran through the crowded first floor plaza.

I needed to find somewhere that no one would find me. A place where I could be alone. Where no one would think to look for me. And I knew just the place.

There was a forest on floor twenty-two that had rumors of a ghost living in it. And on the edge of that forest was a beautiful log cabin, I had been secretly saving up my Col to buy it and surprise Kazuto with it. I was planning for it to be our home base so we wouldn't have to stay at the inns anymore.

I guess it can be a log cabin for one now...

I reached the teleport pad, barely able to see through the tears. Before I spoke of my request to move floors, I opened my menu and disbanded the party. But that's not all I did.

I couldn't let anyone find me. Very few knew of a way to do that without deleting your whole friends list. Argo and I discovered a way to hide your location, without going through the hassle of deleting all of your friends. And I was going to put that knowledge to good use.

"Teleport to Floor Twenty-Two." As soon as the words finished leaving my mouth I heard a distant shout of my name. Turning, I watched Charr running towards me before everything shimmered and Tolbana was gone.

Stepping off the platform on the twenty-second floor I started towards where the cabin was. It had been a while since I visited, and I hoped no one had beaten me to buying it. It was a twenty minute run at my fastest speed. Not many players liked to be that far away from a teleport gate, not to mention the "ghost" residing in the forest right next to it. But that is exactly what I needed.

Luckily, the cabin was still unoccupied and for sale. I barely had enough Col for the purchase, so furnishing it would have to come later. I'll have to go hunting monsters in the woods to earn more Col tomorrow. But for now, all I wanted to do was sleep and cry.

I set my sleeping roll on the floor and crawled inside. The floor was hard and cold, and I missed the warmth of Kazuto's arms wrapped around me.

Now that I was alone and no longer distracted, I let the sobs and tears free. How could he? was the only thought running around my head as my shattered heart wept.


Kirito:

"She's gone." A dejected voice spoke above me.

Charr had returned, alone. His shoulders were slumped and his head hung low in defeat.

"Well what about locating her through the friends list?" Stark asked as he opened his menu. He let out a gasp and looked at the rest of us in shock. "It says 'area unknown.' It's as if she just disappeared, or died." Stark's voice wavered as his eyes filled with tears.

"Yeah. That was the first thing I looked at when she teleported away. I was going to track her, but it's like the game couldn't find her. But I don't think she's dead, because then she would be taken off of our friends list completely." Charr spoke in that same depressed tone.

"If anyone would know a way around this, it would be Argo. She knows everything there is about this game with that book of hers. I'll send her a message-" Agil started.

"No need. She's right here. And to answer your question, you won't be able to find her. Not until she turns her location back on." A cloaked figure slunk out of the shadows. She pulled back her hood to reveal her short blond hair and black-lined face.

"Hey Argo! Long time no see, little lady! How long you been skulking over there? Could ya help a friend out and explain how this is possible?" Agil clapped Argo on the back, almost knocking the girl off her feet. I briefly wondered how many people had eaten dirt from one of Agil's strong slaps.

"I only arrived a minute ago, so not long. I was supposed to meet Sarasheem here to trade some items with her after the concert, but I guess you guys ran her off before I could do that.

"Anyway… Sarasheem and I discovered the hidden location hack after she joined the training instructors on floor one. We found a way to turn off location for a player so no one could find that player, even people on their friends list. It doesn't work for party members though, and we're not sure if it works between a married couple. We kept the information hush-hush so that player killer guilds, like Titans' Hand, couldn't use it to hide." Argo shrugged.

"But… How are we going to find her? She even disbanded the party before she left. How do I get her back?" I asked from the ground. I haven't moved an inch since Charr put me there with his punches.

"You aren't going to do anything. I think you've done enough damage." Charr pointed at me and I looked away, guiltily. He was right. Sarasheem running away was my fault in the first place. Me and my stupid, misplaced jealousy. "We are going to check every place we can possibly think of to find her." Charr waved his hands to indicate the rest of the group.

I nodded my head in understanding. I'd give them all the help I could if it meant finding her. I was worried that she would take on some monster that could kill her. Knowing her, she'd try to take on a high level boss on her own. Just like I did after Sachi… It still surprises me that I survived my solo fight with Nicholas the Renegade.

"Start with sending out messages to any friends you have in common. Also, check the inns on the higher floors. She's too stubborn to give up leveling and will probably try to take on the higher floors by herself." I suggested meekly.

"Already on the friends list. She and I trained a lot of the new players together. Since shield users were needed so much on the frontlines to tank, none of them could help her train the newbies. So we have all of them in common on our friends list." Stark said.

"Alright. I've sent one off to Asuna also, to have her guild keep a lookout for her and to let one of us know if they find her. Of course, I'll let you guys know if I hear back." Agil shook hands with Charr and Stark in goodbye. After a brief hug with Argo, he looked down at me, pity and a hint of anger in his eyes, before leaving the group.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked the two boys and Argo. Another tear escaped my eye before I could stop it.

"Stay put. We already have our hands full trying to find her and fix this mess that you made. Find an inn and stay there. We don't need you fucking this up more than you already have." Charr growled at me.

I nodded and hung my head in shame. How could I possibly fix breaking her heart, and for the second time? I thought to myself as I got to my feet and left the amphitheatre.


Sarasheem:

Flashback

"Dammit!" I yelled into thin air as I came upon another dead end. "Well, I might as well face the hoard." I grumbled to myself.

I turned around to face the mob of Wolves and Kobalds that had finally caught up to me. I no longer had the option to keep running, there were too many of them now. Damn, I didn't want to have to start my search over looking for the second floor boss room, but I was out of health potions against this massive collection of monsters I had chasing me.

So I did the only thing left I could do: fight.

I was about halfway through the crowd, with only a quarter of my health points left, when half of the remaining monsters turned and started attacking something behind them.

Someone is here! I am saved! I thought to myself.

Another thrust of my sword, another block from my shield, and a final slash to defeat the last Kobald. Just as suddenly as the fight started, it was over. I collapsed on the ground, health points now in the red, and took great heaving breaths.

A figure hovered over me, my hero. I couldn't make out his features as his face was covered in shadows. I could see his hair was longer on the left side of his face and short on the right side. He was still wearing the clothes given to new players and only carried a single short sword as a weapon.

He held out his hand to me and helped me to my feet. I took it and when I was upright I got a better look at his face. His black hair was actually parted on the right side of his head, his hair just barely long enough to brush his shoulders. Two black eyes were staring at me, slightly widened in surprise. Framing his face was a strong, sharp jaw and a straight nose. His character was quite handsome.

"So that's where all the monsters went, they were chasing you. Never thought I'd see a girl playing in the beta. You do know that you're supposed to fight them, not run away from them right?" He chuckled.

"No, really? I had no idea that a game called Sword Art: Online was about fighting!" I replied sarcastically, with emphasis on the word fighting. My new companion just laughed harder, so I rolled my eyes at him. "I ran out of health potions and was trying to get out, but I got lost and kept coming up on dead ends. I was running from the monsters so I wouldn't die and have to completely start from scratch when I came back." I crossed my arms as if daring him to challenge my logic.

"Well I guess that makes sense." He scratched the back of his head nervously. "By the way, name's Kirito."

"I'm Sarasheem. Nice to meet ya!"

I opened my swollen eyes to bright sunlight coming in through the windows of my new home. Of all the things to dream about, I didn't think they would be about meeting Kirito for the first time. I'm sure more tears would be running down my face if I had any left to cry.

I slowly crawled out of my sleeping bag and got to my feet. While I wanted to stay in bed all day, I still had to earn some Col to furnish this place. Also, I couldn't just wallow in my misery. I had to keep my level up to help the assault team in clearing the top floors. But how to do that without getting recognized…

I would have to completely change my armor and change my weapon style, too. I could probably keep my shield and use a one-handed mace or hammer. Also dying my armor would change the color. If I put on a helmet, no one would know it was me, I hoped. It had to be a color no one else would expect me to wear.

Pink.

Oh how I loathed that color. But it would be the perfect cover. I usually would never be caught dead wearing the color, especially hot pink, but these were extenuating circumstances. Dying my armor wouldn't be enough though. If I kept the armor I have now, I would be easily recognized by Charr, Stark, and Kaz-

No. I can't even think his name right now.

I donned some random armor I had, that I was supposed to give Argo after the concert, for now. It shouldn't take me long to find something better. A couple days at most, starting with the mid-level boss on this floor. It was a high enough level that I would get plenty of experience, and some decent armor, but low enough that I could take it out on my own without getting myself killed.

I was halfway to the small forest clearing that the boss resided in when I saw it: the ghost.

I was sprinting through the trees when out of my peripheral vision a white figure appeared between the trunks. I hadn't expected to see the ghost. So when I caught sight of it out of the corner of my eye, I immediately froze mid-stride.

And that was how I ended up on the forest floor after tripping over my own feet and careening through the underbrush. With a groan, I opened my eyes and immediately yelled.

Standing above me was the ghost. She was a little girl, about nine or ten years old, wearing a white ankle length dress with a sash around her waist. She had long black hair and bright black eyes.

Eyes that reminded me so much of him.

I shook that thought out of my head and sat up to get a better look at the young girl. "Are you alright?" She asked in a sweet voice. I couldn't help but feel relaxed and calm at the sound of it.

"Yeah. Just tripped over my own feet, is all. What are you doing out here all alone?" I looked up to see that she didn't carry the blue icon of an NPC. Actually, she didn't have any type of icon. I hadn't seen anything like it. She wasn't a player, nor a NPC. I had no idea what she was, but what I did know was that she wasn't normal.