Here's another chapter for the FFN guys. Thanks for all the reviews, and While I will try to keep this story more relaxed, there will be tense moments, and Kirito isn't in the best headspace at the moment, so I will need to address that, but otherwise this will be a mostly upbeat story.

Sword Spirits: Chapter Two: Demons

Asuna, of course, was ecstatic when I walked into her office later that day looking sheepish and asked her if the position as her bodyguard was still open.

"Of course it is!" She sprang from her chair, clapping her hands together. "Let's go talk to Heathcliff and get that squared away right now!" She grabbed my arm and all but marched me through the guild building. We got a few weird looks as we walked past, but thankfully Asuna seemed to ward off anyone who would ask by her sheer presence, so it wasn't anywhere near as bad as it could have been.

As we approached the door to Heathcliff's office, Asuna slowed down, and eventually stopped right outside the door. "Um, Kirito…" She turned around, "Heathcliff is probably going to try to get you to join the KoB as part of your contract." The words hit me like a sack of bricks. "I can probably deal with that and still get you a position, but if you want to back out…"

Did I want to back out? Yes, I wanted to back out. I couldn't be part of a guild. I couldn't. The last time I had tried…

I lost myself in memories. Saving a group that had bit off more than they could chew. Warmth, camaraderie, teaching people how to fight. Nights spent drinking together and playing games at the tavern. Friends. And then, blood, pain and bodies shattering into sparks.

All my fault.

"Kirito?" Someone was shaking me. Asuna? "Kirito, are you okay?" I brushed off Asuna's hand, sinking down onto the floor, leaning against the wall. My chest was heaving in short breaths.

I was back in the cave again, watching my friends struggle with mobs that I could kill with two blows. And I couldn't move fast enough. We'd gotten separated, and there were too many mobs in the way. I couldn't cut my way through, Ducker was clutching the stump of his arm, and Sasamaru was impaled on-

"Kirito!" Kizmel's voice cut through my brain like a knife. "Kirito, I need you to look around and count the lamps. How many lamps are there?"

Four I thought. Two next to the doors of Kayaba's office, one halfway down the corridor, and a third across from a window, all currently dark.

"Good," Kizmel said. "Now I want you to describe your surroundings, out loud."

"I'm in the headquarters of the Knights of the Blood Oath," I said, as Asuna moved around, and started rubbing my shoulder. "I'm in the cavern inside-"

"No, describe your surroundings, not where you are." Kizmel cut me off. "What do you see?"

"I'm in a hallway," I said, feeling my breath slow as I cast my gaze around, taking in the room. "It has white stone walls and a hardwood floor with a red carpet running down the middle. The hallway is approximately fifteen feet wide and seven feet tall.

"There are lamps on the walls, and a double-door about ten feet to my right. There's a window twenty feet beyond the door that is currently open, letting in light."

"Good, now what can you hear?" Kizmel asked, even as my breathing quieted.^

"I think I'm good now," I said, standing up. "I think I'm ready to meet with Heathcliff."

"No." Asuna stepped in front of me. "You just, I think you just had a flashback, and I don't think you should stay here. This was a bad idea, and I'm sorry for getting you involved."

"Asuna," I tried to be placating, placing my hand on her shoulder. "I'm okay now, I'll be fine." I pushed down the corner of my mind that screamed that joining a guild would only lead to people dying.

It wouldn't be like that.

The KoB wasn't the Moonlight Black Cats. They were bigger, stronger, they wouldn't-

They wouldn't die because of me.

"No." Asuna squared her shoulders. "I don't want you to have to force yourself to do this when it's-"

"Asuna," I cut her off. "I'm doing this for Kizmel." I rested my hand on the crossguard of her blade meaningfully. Asuna's gaze followed my hand, and then she reached out and drew the blade from her sheath, too fast for me to respond. Instinctively, I swiped for it back, but Asuna lifted it out of reach.

"Let me talk to her for a bit," Asuna said, turning around to face the wall. Thirty seconds of silence and wild gesticulations later, the fencer turned around, her face drawn. She handed Kizmel back to me wordlessly.

Drawing herself up again, she looked me in the eye and asked me a single question. "Are you certain you want to be my bodyguard?"

I nodded. "Yes."

Asuna let out a sigh. "Alright," she said, turning towards the doors that lead into Heathcliff's office. "Let's get this over with."

As the vice-commander of the KoB pushed on the solid oak, I felt the ghostly weight of a comforting hand on my shoulder.

The doors swung open with a shuddering finality. Behind his desk, Heathcliff sat, reading a sheaf of parchment, chewing on the feather of a quill. I knew he was a dedicated roleplayer, but we did have infinitely more convenient ways to handle paperwork.

With a flourish, he dipped his quill in the inkwell sitting next to his paper, and scrawled something out on the parchment. Then he let out a pleased hum, and shifted the parchment aside, carefully handling it so as not to make the ink run.

It was only then that he noticed the two of us.

"Oh, hello Asuna, I see you've brought Kirito as well. Did you two discover something?" Heathcliff said, rising from his seat. "If it isn't urgent, can it wait for this evening? The masses are eager to see my skill."

That was Heathcliff all right; he was arrogant as all getout, and loved nothing more than gladiatorial combat. We were lucky that he had decided that he would rather enjoy "Approved" PvP than pursue less savoury means of doing so. He probably could have been as deadly on his own, what Laughing Coffin, those monsters, had needed almost twenty people to achieve.

"Not this time," Asuna said, coming to a halt in front of Heathcliff's desk, and snapping to attention. "I would like to offer Kirito membership in the KoB, and a position as my bodyguard." I took the hand she waved towards me as my cue to speak.

"I would like to accept this position." A pair of iron shutters closed over Heathcliff's face, and I could no longer read what he was feeling. The leader of the KoB sat back down at his desk, and sighed.

"I presume this means that you are rejecting the candidates I have proposed?" Asuna nodded.

"None of them met my standards."

"And so you want to bring someone into the KoB for the express purpose of being your bodyguard?" Heathcliff steepled his fingers. "Not only that, someone who you are friends with, who has no experience of being a bodyguard, or even a Tank in a raid party."

"Sir, Kirito has saved my life more times than anyone in the guild, including you. There is no one I trust to watch my back more." Asuna countered. "Besides, having 'the Black Swordsman,' as a member of the KoB will be a propaganda coup of extreme proportions. People will flock to the guild just to say they were in the same party as him one time."

I wasn't that famous, was I? I was a teenage nobody who had gotten the only guild he had ever been a part of killed. The only thing I was really good at was surviving. Asuna was far better at helping people than me. I'd only ever really saved her once, when I first met her. Every other scenario was something she got herself out of.

And that wasn't even counting the fact that people seemed to avoid me like the plague. I'd see people shuffle out of my way awkwardly when I visited the lower floors, watching me after I passed as if they couldn't believe that I was there. It was why I tried to spend as little time in cities as possible.

I mean, yeah Argo sourced me a lot on her articles about swordsmanship or rare techniques, but that didn't mean people knew who I was.

Kizmel snorted in my mind, and I could feel her torn between pity and exasperation. Something to talk about later. I needed to focus now.

"And you, Kirito, why do you want to accept this position? You have a notorious aversion to joining guilds." Heathcliff turned his head toward me as he spoke, his eyes staring deep into my being, trying to unravel my every secret. I swallowed nervously, feeling a drop of simulated sweat run down the inside of my palm.

"Mutual safety," I said, feeling like any word I said would make Heathcliff refuse to let me into the guild. "Asuna and I were a highly effective partnership on the battlefield. If we're part of the same guild, we can devote time to train together, both to allow me to perform as her bodyguard and to become more effective as a team in combat."

Heathcliff rubbed his chin between his thumb and forefinger, his brow furrowed in thought. "Alright, I'm inclined to accept this, but I will want the two of you to set aside at least two hours a week to practice working and fighting together, will that be acceptable?"

Asuna and I exchanged a glance. It wouldn't be that big a drain on our time, and it had been a while since we'd been able to execute any of our old combos.

We nodded in unison. "It would be acceptable." Asuna said. Heathcliff moved several sheets of parchment aside, then picked up what looked like a printed form.

"I'll need you to fill this out and return it to the guild registrar before we can formally accept you as part of the KoB. Due to the unique circumstances of your attachment, you will not be required to wear the colors of the guild except at ceremonial events." The commander of the KoB, my new commander, I realized, passed the form over to me, and I placed it in my inventory. "And unofficially, welcome to the Knights of the Blood Oath Kirito, it's good to have you."

"It's good to be here," I said, without really feeling it.

As we left, I pulled up the form and started filling it out. It was simple enough, asking for basic things like gender, height, hair and eye color, and handle. There were elements that were a little less standard, such as the one that asked for experience with other video and/or VR games, or the one that asked for a list of the skills that you most commonly kept equipped.

Still, it wasn't hard to fill out, and thirty minutes later, I had turned it into the registrar, in exchange for a basic set of "KoB Gear", cloth equipment in white and red, the guild's colors, with a moderate bonus to defence.

Hopefully I wouldn't need to wear it anytime soon.

"Are you certain you're going to be okay?" Asuna asked. We were saying our goodbyes for now. I still had three days before I was officially on bodyguard duty for her, and even then I would still have a few days off a month. The contract that Asuna had made me sign regarding my status as her bodyguard had been very clear about that. "I mean, you reacted so…" She trailed off, her eyes averted guiltily.

"Asuna," I said, calling her attention back to me. "I'll be fine. You're backing me up now, and besides, Kizmel's back." I furiously stamped down the part of me that was screaming about how I was dooming the KoB by joining them.

"If you ever need me, for any reason at all, message me," Asuna said, planting one finger in my chest. "No more lone wolf, okay?"

And even if you do not tell her of your troubles, I will. Kizmel said, and I could all but see her crossing her arms. No warrior should fight alone.

"Okay." I nodded. Then an alarm bell on my menu dinged. Oh, right.

"I need to go get ready to meet with Argo," I said, feeling suddenly self-conscious. "Uhm, do you have any idea what I should-"

"Just be yourself Kirito," Asuna said, cutting off my nervous rambling even as Kizmel metaphorically leaned in closer, interested in the conversation. "Argo likes you as you are, you don't have to worry about impressing her."

I wasn't worried about impressing her. I knew I couldn't. I just couldn't handle disappointing her.

"Although between you and me?" Asuna leaned into my ear, and whispered something. "Got it?" she asked, backing up.

"Got it." I nodded. "Well, I'll see you later?"

"See you later, Kirito." Asuna said, waving me off with a smile that seemed brittle. I was probably putting her under a lot of stress by taking up this post as her bodyguard. Kizmel snorted, half exasperated and half amused.

Something funny? I thought at her, feeling strangely crabby. I never liked seeing Asuna sad, or stressed, and I had made her run through both by accepting her offer.

Not really, Kizmel beamed back to me. I am just amazed at how you manage to still miss the signs of affection from those closest to you.

Look, I thought back at the Dark Elf Spirit. Even if, and that's a very big if, Asuna felt anything more than friendship for me, I'm certain she has much better prospects than a loner who killed the first guild he ever joined. Frankly, I'm quite surprised that-

What?! The beam of thought that slammed into my brain was so enormous and rage-filled that I staggered under its weight. Kirito, is this why you were so hesitant about- her presence retreated as quickly as it had grown. Kirito, what happened to you?

I let out a deep sigh, and took a look around. As we had talked in our heads, we had walked closer to the teleport plaza. It was just around the bend. Can we talk about it later? I asked. I want to make sure Argo has at least a decent time before I have to let her down.

Kizmel retreated from my thoughts in response, closing in on herself. I could still feel her watching from her sword, but I couldn't feel her warmth in my body anymore. I hadn't even really noticed it until it was gone.

I shivered in the evening chill, barely remembering to equip my new shirt before teleporting to the 50th floor. I needed to get everything perfect for this date.

Five minutes later, I was standing in front of Julie's restaurant, a Player-Run affair that featured private booths, candlelit dinners, and rather romantic BGM, full of smooth sensual violins and a soft saxophone.

I was almost half an hour early, and I'd never been more nervous. I checked my reflection in the mirror that hung opposite the entry. My hair was sticking up on the top, my shirt looked rumpled, and my coat hung awkwardly on my shoulders. Why had I agreed to this? I was going to be horribly out of place, and get Argo laughed out of the restaurant.

Kirito, stop. Kizmel said, her warmth hovering metaphorically next to me.

Kizmel, I don't- I can't- I shouldn't- I turned, ready to leave and find someplace else to regain my nerve. I shouldn't be here. Argo would hate me for flaking on our date, but it would be better in the long run.

As I tried to turn, my leg seized up under me, and sent me staggering to the side.

"Kirito, you will stay here and you will listen to me!" Kizmel yelled at me, her psychic voice ringing in my head. I froze, half-leaning against the wall.

"Argo has made herself very vulnerable by asking you out on this date," Kizmel said. "I do not understand all of your human courting, but she is expressing romantic interest in you, correct?"

I nodded.

"And are you adamant on not pursuing a relationship with her?"

Of course I was!

Was I?

"You told me, back on the ninth floor, that you could not have survived Aincrad without the aid of Argo. Why are you now so eager to spurn her and turn her away? Do you really believe yourself unworthy of a woman who you have fought beside, and who continues to call on you for aid?

"You know why," I grumbled, stepping outside of the restaurant and striding across the street to a nearby bench. "I don't exactly live a safe lifestyle. I could die or drop out of contact at any time. I don't want to make Argo worry about where I am or how I am doing constantly."

"You think she does not already?" Kizmel riposted, her words sinking into my chest like a rapier. "She tracked you down because you did not respond to her messages, when she could have just as easily waited for you to respond. That does not seem to me the actions of someone who does not care for you."

I didn't respond. I couldn't.

"Will you really deny your friend the chance for something more?"

I already knew what my answer was.

I couldn't.

I was a weak, hopeless fool.

Argo would be far happier, far better off with someone else. Someone who she could be confident would come back to her every day, who wouldn't die in a dungeon somewhere and leave her alone, bereft and grieving.

I'd entertain her as best I could, all the while nudging her towards someone who could give her the love she wanted and the promise of safety she deserved.

Taking a deep breath, I stood up. The dull orange lights of Julie's seemed to sway hypnotically as I walked toward them.

I was going to make this the best damn date I could.