We're finally wrapping up with the first half of episode three. Took long enough! Can you believe we're at chapter twenty and not even done with the third episode? Granted, some of that has been original content, but it's still outrageous.

Um, trigger warning at the end of the chapter for suicide. It's different than you think, though! Ish.

To prevent any confusion, this is the second chapter I've posted in a row, so be sure you've read chapter nineteen before starting this one!

Chapter 20: Confrontation

Back in Taft, Keita was already there to meet us. Sachi hung on his arm, tears in her eyes, before running to Kirito once he teleported in.

"Sachi told me what happened." Keita ground out. "I watched their names gray out of the guild member list. How come you survived, huh?! It should have been them!"

By now, the crowd had cleared in a circle around us. There was murmuring among them, whispers of "the Black Swordsman," and "look at the slime, doesn't the Pheonix Blade have one of those?"

Things were definitely taking a turn for the worst.

Kirito wordlessly opened his menu, toggling his level so anyone could see it.

"Level forty-four…you're the Beater." Keita's voice went dark. "If you thought you were one of us, you should've saved them!" He shouted, gestulating wildly at nothing before getting ahold of himself all at once. The quick transition was eerie. "Come on, Sachi. He's not welcome in the guild anymore. Neither is Nanako, wherever she went…unless…" his eyes flicked between his own menu, where he was banning Kirito from the guild, to me, or more specifically, my name. "Kyou, hm? Well, I guess that makes you the Cheater, huh? You'll just come back, right?" He unsheathed his sword. "Why don't we have a duel, then? Last one standing, lives!"

Sachi's eyes filled with yet more tears, spilling over down her face. "Keita, don't do this," she whispered. "Think of everything they've done for us!"

"They killed our friends!" Keita spat. "How can you take their side?"

A duel request popped up in front of me.

I declined it.

"They were our friends too, you know." I finally spoke up. "Sure, we hid our levels. Maybe thinking we were so good at such an assumedly low level made you too confident. Maybe we protected you too much until we couldn't anymore. It doesn't matter how it happened! Tetsuo, Sasamaru, Ducker, they're all dead now! But do you know who's still here? You! Me! Kirito! Sachi!" I declined another duel request, and another, before losing patience.

"But that doesn't matter to you, does it?" I hissed. "Do you really want to see someone die?

"Be. My. Guest."

I accepted the next request, but left my sword sheathed.

Keita screamed as he came at me, and still I did nothing to stop him. (I couldn't do much at this point, honestly, but no one needed to know that.) I even opened my menu, disabling Battle Healing so he had a chance.

Realizing I still held Bloop, I got Kirito's attention. "Hey, Kirito, catch!"

Thankfully, Kirito momentarily snapped out of his catatonic state, looking up in surprise before catching the slime flying at him. Good.

"TAKE ME SERIOUSLY!" Keita screamed. "FIGHT ME!"

"NO!" I bellowed back. "I know you want this duel to end in death, but who are you rooting for, really? Sachi is still here. Do you want to die here and leave her alone?" Or worse, become a murderer?

Players teleporting in quickly took in the scene and scurried to join the rest of the crowd circling us. Freaking gossips.

"Please Keita, don't do this," Sachi pleaded again, seeing her chance to speak and be listened to.

Keita finally fell back, leaving my health in the high yellow.

"What do you want me to do then, Sachi?" He sighed, sword pointed low.

"I want you to mourn, heal, and move on, Keita. We shouldn't let this game tear what's left of us apart."

When did Sachi become so strong? Even Kirito seemed surprised by her words.

"You don't need to forgive right now…and you don't need to forget, ever…but you do need to let go!" She sobbed. "Fighting won't bring them back!"

"Kyou? Kirito? What's going on?" Klein, having just teleported in, asked, sounding confused and concerned.

"Half the guild got killed in a trap," I explained. Perhaps there were more delicate ways to put it, but I was feeling anything but delicate at the moment. "Keita found out who we are and blames us. Sachi's trying to talk him down."

Klein took in the growing crowd and sighed before turning around and addressing the spectators. "Alright everyone, nothing to see here. No one wants an audience for their grief and mourning drama. Move along."

There was grumbling, but the majority of the crowd dispersed. I even heard an "I'm sorry for your loss," thrown in. Um. Thanks?

Taking a glance at Keita, I was pretty sure the confrontation was over, so I turned Battle Healing back on before I could forget.

"It'd be best to end the duel, Keita. No one else has to die today." Like an idiot, I'll admit, I turned my back on the biggest threat to my health at the moment (Keita), instead turning my attention to Sachi. "I'm sorry we couldn't save our friends, Sachi." I began to sway on my feet again, adrenaline fading fast.

"I think, I'm just gonna sit down…" I let my legs buckle, sending me to the ground.

So maybe I was a tad dramatic. Fight me.

"Kyou!" Klein was the one who checked on me, since Sachi was preoccupied with an unresponsive Kirito. "You're still sick? Why were you fighting so close to the front lines?!"

"Kirito messaged me that the guild was farming in an area too high up for them. I barely made it in time, but it still wasn't enough."

"'Barely made it in time time?' In time? If you'd made it in time, my friends would still be alive!" Keita screamed, his rage reignited. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

What is Sachi, chopped liver? I wanted to ask, but could only choke as I was sliced diagonally through my back. Surprisingly, unlike real life this was not nearly enough to kill me, as a defense-based front-liner. Still, a slice like that does result in a critical hit, so it took a good chunk of health. Health that was, however, quickly regenerated by Battle Healing.

"Did I mention," I coughed, smiling at Klein humorlessly, "that I'm in a duel to the death?"

"Kyou, what the hell!" Klein exclaimed. "I thought you were the less reckless one!"

I shrugged as well as I could, given the situation. "Keita wouldn't take no for an answer."

As we were talking, Keita hacked and slashed away at my avatar fruitlessly before finally giving up. And when I say he gave up, I'm not just talking about his attack.

"Just kill me," he fell back, sitting down on the ground similarly to me. "Sachi took your side anyway. What use am I?"

"Keita…" Sachi sobbed. "You're not getting the point at all, you idiot!" She let go of Kirito, entrusting him to me, and ran to her guild leader. "It's not about sides! This is a tragedy, and we're what's left behind. Just end the duel already, and let's go see that new place you bought, okay?" You could tell she was out of her element, normally being the one needing comfort. I thought she was doing an okay job, though. I certainly hadn't helped.

"I tried to end the duel!" Keita cried, "I can't kill him, even though he won't fight back!"

"Can't you cancel it?" Sachi sounded unsure now. I knew there was no way to cancel it on my end; I hadn't been the one to initiate the duel. It was up to Keita, if such an option existed.

Keita looked around at the scene: he and Sachi on one side of the clearing in the crowd, Kirito, Klein, and I on the other, and all the people in between.

Suddenly, I had a feeling something awful was about to happen.

"Yes, I can;" Keita spoke before I could say anything. "I forfeit." And with that, he stabbed himself with his own sword.

"No! Keita!" Sachi screamed.

I turned to see what had happened, seeing a modern-day seppuku. Fumbling for my own blade, I cursed myself for leaving it sheathed. If I could deplete my own HP first, the duel would end, and the safe zone would prevent his health from falling further. I would come back; Keita wouldn't.

Red-clad hands gripped my own, preventing me from following suit. "Stop, Kyou, it's no use!" Klein got my attention, halting my frantic movements.

Then I heard it—the sound of breaking glass.

I dropped my head, the tears finally beginning to flow. God, I hated crying. Besides, I had to be strong for Kirito. I could cry when I woke up.

Wiping away my tears, I pulled myself up with difficulty.

Kirito finally moved by his own power, still not speaking, but at least aware of the events going on around him. He walked over to Sachi, helping her up.

"Alright, come on," Klein sighed. "We're going to my guild headquarters. I don't trust any of you to take care of yourselves without doing anything stupid for the next couple of days."

A/N: "I'm not gonna kill Keita," I chant. "I'm not gonna kill—oh, woops."

What was supposed to happen was Keita was going to try to kill Kyou while his Battle Healing was down, and find himself unable to go through with the final blow. Or Kyou would pretend to attack Keita and pull back at the last second, making Keita realize that maybe he didn't want to die after all. BUT neither of those things happened fast enough and Keita killed himself instead. It's out of my hands now.

Sachi always struck me as wise, if timid. I feel like having to deal with something like this, and surviving, would cause her to grow a bit of a backbone.