A/N: Okie so first thing first the site has been delaying chapters, and although I'm pretty sure its fixed I have no real way of knowing.
Second thing. The fic will be taking a slight break on action to focus on both the romace you all signed up for, as well as some of the main cast who I have steadfastly ignored the existance of.
Also sorry for focusing so much on LC and not so much on Sinon x Kirito.
"You'll pay for that..."
All Kirito felt was anger. His focus completely on the opponent in front of him. The berserk rage he was known for in SAO bubbling up inside him. When Yui had told him Shino was at the Tokyo waterfront, he feared the worst. Now facing the warzone he had came appon in the industrial district, those fears were almost realized.
Shes ok... for now.
"Heh.. I was wondering when you'd show up. You know your getting pretty predic-" What ever he was going to say next was cut off as Kirito rushed him, Shinai held behind him before coming up in a diagonal slash. His "blade" was met by Kanamotos, the two locked together as their respective weilders pushed back.
"How rude of you. Attacking while I'm speaking. I love it!" The knife was pulled back as Kanamoto stepped to the left, leaving Kirito over extended. He leaned back as the knife flashed towards his face, Shinai coming up in a desprate parry. He managed to knock the knife down, and slid his sword up towards Kanamotos face. A dull Crack! sounded as it made contact, causing Kanamoto to jump back. His hand came up and wiped the blood from his broken nose.
"To think, if that was a real sword I'd be dead. Wheres your Elucidator now Black Swordsman?" The title was spoken with barely hidden distain, a sneer flashing on the mans face."Can't believe we got our asses handed to us by a punk ass kid!" His knife was held infront of him, but it dipped slightly when Kirito began to laugh. It started slow at first, a small chuckle, but quickly reached a roaring sound.
"Ha! You think I need a sword to kill you? Your just a coward hiding behind a knife. I could beat you with a damn umbrella. As is, your lucky my weapon is only wood." His sword set back in that oh so familiar stance. He dashed forwards in a charge as a voice broke out.
"Kii-boy! Catch!" He looked towards where Shino was and for the first time noticed Argo, who was tossing something his way. His off hand came up and caught it, spinning the long rebar in his hand while charging Kanamoto. With the long coat he was wearing, and the duel weapons clutched in his hands, he was a mirror image of The Black Swordsman. Who he felt, he really was inside.
"Shit!" Kanamoto backpettled as the duel weapons came slashing down. His hand went into the hoodie and grabbed the handle of his VP9, pulling it out. The weapon was knocked from his hand by the rebar. His knife came up to block an overhead cut, but he cursed as the rebar caught his hip, the jagged tip scoring a line there. Both opponents jumped back, breathing heavy.
No words were spoken, the taunts and jeers losing all meaning in the life or death fight. Both fighters tensed when a dull thruming reached there ears, and Kirito glanced to the side for only a moment, a mere second. It was all Kanamoto needed as he rushed forwards, knife thrusting towards Kirito. The mimic of SAO's Vorpal Strike struck true, the blade sinking into Kiritos stomach. Kiritos rebar positioned last second, and sank into Kanamotos chest. The dull thrumming reached its crescendo as a black helicopter appeared, spotlight glaring at the two figures as they both colapsed to the ground.
In hindsight, it wasn't any one thing that woke him. One moment he was resting in a (somewhat) peaceful slumber, the next he was staring up at the hospital ceiling. The incessant beeping reached his ears, and he let out a groan. He moved one hand to grab his face, but it felt trapped under something.
Or rather, someone... The girl was easlily recognizable, after all he had just fought to near death to save her. Shino was asleep with her head resting on his arm, hand gripping his. It was clear she had been there for some time, as her clothes were wrinkled and glasses smudged. However Kazuto was relieved to see she was mostly unharmed, save a few cuts and bruses. As his worry washed away, the anger came back. And it was that anger that caused him to reach for the button labled "Call Nurse".
A moment later the door was opened, startling Shino awake. Her eyes widened on seeing Kazuto awake, but before she could comment the nurse approtched. Neither managed to get a word out as the nurse busied around Kazuto, checking random instruments and dials. Finally she came to a stop in front of the bed.
"I'll go fetch your docter, Mr. Kirigaya." She bowed and made her way out, leaving the two of them alone. I was hoping the nurse would take more time, or kick her out. The following silence was deafining, both looking away from one another. Kazuto gathered his thoughts, but was hesitant to speak. Finally, he found his voice and spoke a single sharp word.
"Shino." The girl flinched at the use of her name. Kazuto rarely used it, prefering Sinon as the name he met her by. That he used it now showed his anger. "Nothing to say? No explanation for why you suddenly went missing? Or why I found you beat half to death by Black?" She rose to meet his gaze, a flicker of defiance in her eyes.
"Laughing Coffin had to be destroyed. I did what I thought was right." The look in his eyes made her want to drop her gaze, but instead she held it.
"What the hell were you thinking!? No scratch that. You weren't thinking." His voice rose, basicly yelling. Shino, however, didn't back down.
"Of course I was thinking! If they escaped then they might have comeback to kill you!" She was standing now, finger digging into Kazutos chest.
"Thats no excuse to get yourself killed! If I didn't get there when I did you would have died." He sat up in his bed, refusing to be lower then her.
"Then maybe you shouldn't have come!"
"I promised to protect you!" Kazutos shout was met with silence, Shino backing up. "In the cave, you told me I had to protect you for the rest of your life. And I'll be damned before I let anything happen to someone I lo- care about." Any further arguments were silenced by his words, but before Shino could comment the door was opened once again, the docter coming in
"I'm sorry Miss Asada, but I'll need to see Kiriguya alone. I'm sure you understand." She was ushered out but one thing stuck in her mind all the way to the waiting room.
Did he say he loved me?
Twenty minutes later and Kazuto still wasn't in the best of moods. Mostly because of the lecture he was receving.
"-And don't even get me started on how stupid it was to go in there without backup. Seriously Kirito, what the hell?" Kikuoka was pissed And rightfully so. After all two people whos safety was his concern ended up almost dying, not to mention his agent also in the hospital. All in all it was probably a very stressful day. And Kazuto could sympathize, he really could. But that didn't mean he wanted to be the brunt of Kikuokas stress relief.
"Look, what was I supposed to do? Sinon was in danger, and according to you Argo already called for backup, so me doing so would have been pointless." He could see the frustration on Kikuokas face as he spoke, but he wasn't quite ready for what he said next.
"Do you know how many laws you and Sinon broke? Tresspasing, vigilantism, assault. Just a short list." Kazutos eyes grew wide, and a small bit of fear wormed its way into him. "Lucky for you, Argo has gone on record to say you and Sinon were civilian consultants drawn into a crossfire between the JSDF and a rouge element." The relief came crashing down immedetely.
"Please thank her for me. And thank you to. If it wasn't for you we'd be dead." Kikuoka smiled at the praise, likely the first thanks he had gotten since the rescue. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened after I was out." Kikuoka seemed to consider it before speaking.
"Well Kanamoto was arrested. His wound would have been fatal if not for us. So far he has remained unconscious. One LC member was killed by Argo, and one escaped during your and Kanamotos fight. Some light property damage was caused but nothing major. However the intresting thing was LC seemed to be fueling up a Helicopter before Shinos intervention. According to the flight log, it was from America." Kazuto was suprised at the news, but not overly so. "We traced the vehical back to a company called Glowgen Defense Systems. Its a private contracting company with ties to the American NSA. One of there employees owns the helicopter. His American I.D. was false and it only took us a few days to find out he was wanted in Japan for several counts of murder, as well as some other crimes." Kazuto was stunned at the wealth of information, and the shear depth of how far LC reached.
"Kikuoka, what was his name? The employee." Kikuoka tapped on his tablet, bringing some unknown information up.
"His real name is Vassago Casals. According to this he's an SAO survivor, as well as a GGO player. In GGO he went by Subtlizer. In SAO..." Kikuoka pushed his glasses up, the light reflecting off the lenses.
"In SAO his name was PoH"
Okie so I may get some info wrong on GDS since I just started War part 2. I don't have much to say here so Its a very short note
As always thanks for reading and please review.
Next chapter: November 30th