Heh, wish I could update Playing by Ear this fast, but I've been stuck on the same place for LITERAL MONTHS. I'm not even sure how to go about writing that one again. Sigh.

You know you're overworked when you're hoping for a positive covid test result just to get out of work for a bit longer. I got a little ahead of myself, so in this Nanakyou has definitely gotten covid, and they've got it worse than me. I was assuming it would hit me harder a couple of days after I started writing this chapter (if it was following the trend of my roommates), but it hasn't yet? So whatever, I give up.

Chapter 18: Obligatory Sick Chapter

The longer I spent with the Moonlit Black Cats, the more determined I was to save them. As anime-Kirito had pointed out in episode three, these guys could change the front lines for the better. Not only that, but despite the age gap, they were really growing on me.

I had four best friends in real life, as well as my coworkers and new roommates. It was a decent social circle, but I didn't get to see my friends as much as I liked due to the recent pandemic. Actually, I was spending more time in SAO than ever, having contracted Covid. Being sick with the oh-so-feared virus meant I wasn't working, which meant I was sleeping more—way more.

Long story short, I missed having friends, and the Moonlit Black Cats were doing a fantastic job filling in.

Keita was the voice of the guild—he made the plans and kept everyone's morale high. Or he tried to, anyway. He was so determined to make Sachi change her role in the guild that it was evident he wasn't good at listening to his teammates. Hopefully I could get it through his thick skull that her opinion about her play-style mattered more than his own before it got everyone killed. If he could learn to listen to his teammates, he'd make a great leader.

Ducker was the mischief-maker, enough said. His skills were more geared for treasure hunting with many detection skills. Unfortunately, he tended to rely on the system's detection alerts too much, rather than also listening to his instincts. I knew this would lead to the guild's eventual downfall, so I was slowly trying to get him to think before he acted. Hypocritical, coming from my ADHD ass, but doing so was just one more step towards saving the guild.

Tetsuo was the main defense, be it from everyone's stupidity to defending from actual mobs' attacks. He was calm, and soft-spoken, generally going along with things until someone had a bad idea. That's not to say that he wouldn't go along with said bad idea anyway—he would just make sure to do his best to mitigate the damage.

Sasamaru had been the guild's damage-dealer before Kirito and I came along. The guild wasn't the most attack oriented, though, so he wasn't either. While he did deal the damage, his stats seemed more well-rounded than specialized, dulling his effectiveness. He was friendly, often getting caught up in Ducker's schemes without questioning them, but rarely did he come up with the ideas on his own.

Sachi was…Sachi. She was soft-spoken and often nervous, but worked hard to keep up with everyone else. Her fear was holding her back, but there was nothing I could do about that. I knew that Kirito would help her, but maybe it wouldn't hurt if I tried talking to her too. Despite this, it was easy to tell how much she valued time with those she cared about. It was probably what kept her going, if we're being honest.

As for Kirito and I, we were the new mentors of the guild. I did my best to keep things lighthearted while steering things from the background, while Kirito worked on everyone's weaknesses, especially Sachi's.

Surprisingly, as Kyou I had already gotten myself killed before we even encountered the guild. It was almost like Kirito's unusually high level and my own high defense was meaningless! Regardless, in this instance it was probably for the best; with Kyou out of the picture until the next boss raid, there wouldn't be any confusion caused by accidentally switching identities. On the other hand, I had to hide lucid-dreaming powers, so there were pros and cons.

Little did I know, I mis-timed my next nap, missing the next boss raid.

When I next appeared in Aincrad I had to stave off a bout of confusion and nausea. Where was I exactly? Who was I? I tried to shake the dizziness away, but that proved to be a terrible idea, as I lost my equilibrium and almost fell over.

Black-clad arms steadied me, and I managed to get my balance and thoughts back in order. Coming back after a boss fight for the first time since dying was always a bit shaky, but this was certainly the worst. Maybe something was going on with me in real life?

"Kyou! You okay?" Kirito reluctantly let go, allowing me to stand on my own. Bloop bubbled in clear concern from his shoulder.

"Did I miss anything important?" I avoided the question, unsure of the answer at the moment.

Kirito glanced behind him, where Sachi was staring at me in shock.

Belatedly, memories from my time as Nanako came back: joining the guild, helping them grow, hiding our true identities…well, until now anyway.

"I'll just give you two some time, sorry if I interrupted anything. Come on, Bloop." I held out my left hand for the slime to hop on. With a high-pitched squishy noise, he did, and I turned to walk away. The dizziness was still present, but duller, now. I'd survive. It was better than having to explain myself to Sachi. I was pretty sure she and Kirito had been having a heart-to-heart before I arrived.

"Who was that?" I heard her ask just before I was out if earshot. Hopefully Kirito could come up with something.

Against my better judgement, I decided to go leveling on the higher floors. It was night, which was the only time Kirito and I could normally get away from the guild to grind for good exp, so I figured I'd take what opportunities I could get. In my current condition, fighting anything was foolhardy, but with bad health comes bad judgement, and I was definitely the worse for wear.

Ignoring this, I exited the safe zone on the newly-opened floor 28, entering the plains near the main town. The mobs here looked like grotesque hellhounds. It almost looked like they'd been skinned, leaving muscle exposed to the air. Spikes protruded from their backs, though it did look like their two tails were furry, at least.

Ah, how I missed pokemon. I'd take a houndoom over whatever these things were any day.

I took a moment to steady myself, surveying the area for any lone mobs. I may be impulsive, but I wasn't completely stupid; I was probably only good for solo mobs right now.

Ahead, Klein and his guild had a group of hellhounds surrounded. Without meaning to I found my feet already walking towards the group, forgetting what I had been doing altogether. By the time I got to them, they'd already finished off the wolf pack. Good; waiting around while they fought would have been awkward.

"Kyou!" Klein grinned, "It's good to see you! I was worried death might have stuck for you when you weren't there for today's boss fight."

"Oh, is that what happened?" I rubbed the back of my neck, sheepish. "Sorry about that; memory problems."

Klein's smile dimmed a bit at the reminder of my situation. I was pretty sure he knew, (couldn't actually remember, though; freaking dream-amnesia) which is why I even chanced hanging around him and his guild. I knew he worried for my health, both physical and mental, likely because I was always isolated aside from Bloop and Kirito. Being absent more often than not, and having amnesia, probably didn't help matters. I wonder what he must have thought about my life in the real world.

Suddenly Klein was shoving me aside, leaping past me with his sword drawn. Already unsteady on my feet, I fell on my butt. By the time I got my bearings Klein had already killed the wolf that had gotten past my guard.

"What's up with you, Kyou? Normally you'd have noticed a mob that close before it even finished spawning!" He seemed unusually worried, almost angry. He got closer, scrutinizing my face. "Are you okay? You don't look so good."

I blushed pink at his closeness (stupid emoting system), pushing him away to be at least at arms' length. "I've felt bad since I logged in today," I admitted, thoughtlessly letting slip I could leave Aincrad. "I think I'm sick irl."

"Wait, since you logged in, just today?" Oh, maybe he didn't know. Woops. "I guess that explains why I hardly ever see you—hey!"

I had tried getting back to my feet, only for another bout of nausea to send my crumpling back down. Thankfully, Klein caught me.

"Alright, you're getting back to the safe zone," Klein decided. Turning to his guild-mates nearby, he called, "Yo, guys! I'm taking Kyou back to town. Hold down the fort for me, would you?"

"You need an escort?" One of them—Issin maybe?—called back.

"Nah, I got 'im," Klein assured. He was still holding me up, which should have been embarrassing, but I was feeling worse and worse and could probably use the help.

"Thanks," I muttered, looking anywhere but him. "I didn't realize how bad-off I was."

"No problem." We began making our way back to the safe zone. "You think a potion would help?" He asked.

"Maybe?" I used my free hand (which was, luckily, the right one) to open my menu, scrolling to my inventory. Clicking on the cheapest potion I could find, I nearly dropped the pretty bottle when it appeared in my hand.

God, this was annoying. At least potions taste good.

Briefly, I felt the invigorating affects of the potion, strength flowing back into my body. Then all at once gravity felt heavy again, and I was back to square one. "Well that was a bust," I sighed. "Sick dreams are the worst; I'm always so tired and helpless."

"Sick dreams? What does that have to do with anything?" Klein asked.

"Well, I've already let slip that I can leave SAO, so I might as well tell you the rest." I focused on putting one foot in front of the other. "It would be best to talk where no one can overhear, though."

"Alright, a room at the inn it is."

By the time we got to the inn, I wasn't connecting to my avatar properly; Klein had to practically carry me into the room. You can bet that looked bad out of context.

"Jeez, dude, what's going on for you to be so out of it?" Klein had abandoned all pretense of being angry, overcome with worry now. I felt bad for being so dramatic.

"Well, you'd be better off hearing it from Nanako (she remembers everything), but I'll tell you what I can. Apparently, most of my situation stems from the fact that I'm dreaming I'm here. Kirito says I've admitted to not even owning a nervegear. That's not to say that you're not real, 'cause I'm been dreaming this every night since the game started so there's gotta be something real about this, but it does mean that things don't match up between normal players and me.

"Dreams being what they are, I have different limitations from other players. As Kyou, I seem to be more like a normal player, and I don't remember anything from real life. I've got some weird memories from my times as Nanako, though—since she can remember everything and knows she's dreaming, she lucid-dreamt herself her usual dream powers, which she apparently always had in dreams before Aincrad. You ever notice she can fly?" I stopped, realizing Klein had been uncharacteristically silent. "Klein?"

"That's a lot to take in," Klein got his words together. "You're sure of all this? It sounds pretty crazy."

"Explain how I can teleport to locations at random without crystals, then. Explain how I can come back from the dead and why I'm always the exact same level as Kirito no matter what I do. Explain how Nanako and I share a memory!"

"Easy Kyou, I'm not saying you're lying." Klein held up his hands in surrender. "I'm just saying that with your memory, there could be other explanations."

"Like what?"

He thought for a moment. "Maybe you're a developer who got zapped during development?"

"That explains my memory, but not the anomalies in the system. Even if I was a developer, I'm pretty sure I'd still be bound by the rules."

Klein sighed. "I guess I'll just have to believe you then." A pause. "You and Nanako being the same person explains some things, though. I was wondering how Bloop could belong to two players, and why only one of you were ever seen at a time."

Something beeped, flashing in the corner of my vision. A message. "It's from Kirito," I said, surprised. "I guess I should've told him where I was going."

"Oh my god," Klein said, exasperated. "I swear you're just as bad at communication as he is." He stood up. "I'm gonna head back to wolf plains. You gonna be okay by yourself?"

"I think I'll be fine, Klein. I've got Bloop with me, and it is a safe zone." Bloop made his usual bubbly noise at the sound of his name, emphasizing my point.

"Right, right," Klein nodded. "See you at the next boss raid." He left.

I lay back in the single bed, sighing. He was a lot more attractive than I remembered from the anime.

Wait.

From the anime?

I was stuck in an anime?

That would explain the wacky deja vu, at least.

A/N: I exaggerated how sick I am a bit, but I do know one of my roommates has been super dizzy since getting covid, so dizziness is plausible. And it's true that I'm useless in my dreams when I'm sick. I can't do anything. Can't talk, can't see, can't move right, and gravity always seems so heavy…Kyou may be having trouble moving, but that's about it, so I don't think I went too overboard.

Even at the beginning of episode three, it already looked like Kirito was depressed. Aside from the obvious tragedy, that meeting with Klein was one of the saddest things I'd ever seen. Kirito doesn't stop to chat or anything! He just looks sad and says bye! Like dude, help yourself! Be social! Anyway, I'd like to think Nanakyou and Bloop would do at least a halfway-decent job of preventing his mental health from getting that bad, but we didn't actually see that scene in-chapter, as Nanakyou was awake at that time.