Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online. I do not own My Hero Academia, either. I earn no money from posting this. I do not post this anywhere other than FanFiction or AO3. If it is found anywhere else, I did not put it up and I request that it be taken down immediately or I will abandon the story (because that is literally the only threat I can make that might hold any weight and I have done this before with a few other stories. It's not an idle threat).
Is that a good enough disclaimer? Does it get the point across?
DO NOT COPY.
Now, on with the story!
Chapter 4
Goodbye
The sun was setting by the time that the two of them stepped out of the nepenthes section of the forest, Copper laughing and shaking out his shaggy dark brown hair.
"Seriously, man, how long have you been doing this?" Copper asked as he tucked away one of his daggers. The other was held up in front of his face as he frowned, checking it over for damage. "You were like a demon out there. Basically had the Nepenthes running scared!"
Kirito blinked slowly as he followed his fighting companion through the slowly darkening gloom of the forest, "I do not know."
Copper's slight smile froze, "You . . . don't know?" he side eyed Kirito, and there was a sudden tone of caution riddling his voice. It had been there on and off throughout the day, but Kirito didn't know what to make of it. It was the truth, after all. "Well, do you happen to know why you are out here?" and, with a slightly more probing glance, "Is there anything that I can help you with?"
Kirito shifted slightly with a frown, trying to get his thoughts to focus.
Truly, he didn't know how long he had been out here. His memories were oddly foggy. He remembered that he had been furious, that he had been running, that he was here waiting for someone, but he didn't know how long. Days had passed into nights and back into days, all blurring together into fight, eat, find shelter, sleep, repair equipment, fight again. And, most of all-
Don't die.
"I don't know."
"Huh," Copper scratched the back of his head and muttered softly, "Wrong keyword, maybe?"
Kirito gave him an odd stare as they came to the border of the town, but Copper simply shrugged and grinned back. Even in the dimming light, there was something contemplative about his expression as he looked back at Kirito.
"You got a room in the inn here, Kirito?" Copper asked conversationally, and Kirito shook his head.
"No need." Kirito turned away from the town slightly, "It's cheaper to sleep outside."
Better to save what you can, in case it can buy an item that will save your life later.
Copper drooped again. "Man, you are one serious woodsman, huh?" he huffed, and then straightened, "Well, whatever. I will be back here tomorrow since I didn't get the flower today. Want to fight together again?"
Kirito hesitated.
I shouldn't, something in him whispered, I can't trust them. Anyone. They always leave.
Something in him ached.
"I'll be there at dawn."
Copper's loud woop of excitement echoed around them as he grinned, and Kirito startled badly at the sound. But even past the glimmer of red hair that reminded him vaguely of someone else, and the brilliant smile, Kirito felt something settle in him.
Just one more day. He reasoned as he nodded. "Tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow, man!"
They turned away from each other, and as Kirito wandered farther back into the woods, into the embracing darkness that reminded him so much of his quirk, he couldn't help but feel warmth bloom in his chest. He felt, for the first time in a long time, just a little more alive.
"One more day," he tipped his head back, "Just . . . one more day."
Then he would move on, away from anyone that could die around him. Away from anyone who would mourn his own passing.
But . . . just for tomorrow, he would let himself believe.
Tomorrow.
0~o~0
"Watch out!"
Fate is a funny thing.
0~o~0
All it takes is a single mistake.
"Whoa man! Are you hunting for the Little Nepenthes too?" The stranger and three members of his party approached the two at the edge of the forest with grins on their faces.
Copper turned his own, if slightly sharper, grin to them, "Sure are. Been at it for a day now. Drop rate is really low apparently."
The other groaned. "Worse than it was in the Beta, you mean? That sucks. If only I had my quirk, this would go a lot faster," he sighed.
Copper's eyes darkened, and his grin became almost brittle. "Yeah. A quirk would certainly help. Too bad they don't exist here."
"You're telling me," a member of the opposite party grunted, "I had a claw quirk. It would be at least ten times better than these junk swords that keep breaking every few days."
Kirito, from behind Copper and farther in the shadows, quietly doesn't point out that if the other bothered to take the sword to the blacksmith every once in a while it would last longer.
The leader nodded, "It's frustrating, but we can't do anything about it until we get out of this. Speaking of swords," he turned to Copper, seeming to not even see Kirito at all, "Mind if we join you? We'll split whatever we earn evenly so there won't be any issues."
Kirito winced. Even if the forest was big, the Little Nepenthes only spawned in a small portion of it. The more players in that section of the forest the more would spawn as well, which meant that hunting parties who ran into each other often brought their own herd of MOB spawns with them, and it had been an unfortunately common occurrence in the Beta.
If they were going to be hunting in the same area . . . they would have to team up.
And from the look on Copper's and the other man's face they both knew it.
Copper tilted his head, "Sure, whatever. The more the merrier, right? You're good with heading right to the center, right? The spawn is faster there." The other hesitated for a brief moment, glancing back at his party, before he nodded in decision. "Yep. Sounds good for us." Copper's smile was all teeth, "Great. Make sure to keep up."
Even as the group continued forward, Kirito fell back to follow the group at a distance. None of the others even seemed to glance at him. Copper himself didn't speak up, his sudden chatter coming to a halt in the presence of so many others.
Kirito couldn't help but feel a heavy unease settle in his heart.
To be honest, the other group was decent. They had one member who covered the others with his shield and took the heavy hits so that the faster, more agile members of their party could dart forward and finish off the MOB.
Even so, Copper was better.
The copper head was weaving in and out of his own group of enemies, tearing through them with a vengeance as his knives shredded vines, sliced vitals, and skillfully avoided the hanging fruit that was an oh so obvious target on a rare few of the Little Nepenthes. A deadly target.
There was a trail of blue pixels in his wake.
Kirito once again stayed out of the way, farther from the group, and picked off any MOBs that got too close, watching the group carefully.
This also meant that he spotted it first, moments before the party of four cheered as a slightly larger than normal Little Nepenthe scuttled out of the underbrush, glimmering flower fluttering delicately on top.
"There's one, lads!" the leader cheered, "Rush it!"
It all happened in moments.
Two more Little Nepenthes burst out after the first, with deep crimson orbs adorning their heads.
Copper turned, his eyes widening and something dark shimmering in his eyes as he saw what he had been working so hard to obtain in the last few days appear for the other group.
A sharp odor hit Kirito's nose, one he was distinctly familiar with from before -
And followed the scent to where one of Copper's throwing knives was embedded in the fruit bearing Little Nepenthes closest to the other party.
No. No, he wouldn't -
Grey eyes snapped back to Copper, and caught the triumphant snarl on the other's face, his arm still outstretched from where he'd cast his knife through the air.
The ground rumbled.
Little Nepenthes weren't all that dangerous individually as long as you had the right equipment and good stats. The danger came when they swarmed in large packs. A fruit bearing one was especially dangerous, as even the smallest nick to the red orb at their head would send out an odor that drew any wandering Little Nepenthes from the surrounding area straight to them.
It had been a death sentence in the Beta.
Get out of here. The words clogged in his throat. Run!
His feet were already moving.
Why did you do it?
The party cheered as the flowered Little Nepenthes toppled over and the leader picked up the drop from it's remains, a Little Nepenthes Ovule that would get them one of the best swords this side of Floor One. "We did it!" he shouted with a laugh, "Only three more to go-"
Kirito slid past them like a shadow as their faces turned from glee to horror.
I thought you were better than this.
Behind him the party screamed, and the ground lit up blue, casting his own shadow in front of him. Kirito didn't look back.
He'd known there was sometimes wrong. He'd known. He'd seen how cold Copper had become in the presence of the other players, how closed off. And he'd done nothing. Said nothing.
Even as he became a blur over the crunching dead leaves, he wasn't fast enough.
Copper's face slowly shifted from the furious glee to sudden, crushing realization. Even if he turned and ran now, Kirito knew that his agility stat wasn't high enough to outrun the mob of monsters. If he fought, his daggers would break before he could whittle them down enough to escape. If he hid, they would find him, for the Hide skill only worked on sight.
And the Little Nepenthes had no eyes. Only very, very sharp noses.
"Watch out!" Kirito didn't even register the scream as his own until it had torn through his throat and ripped itself from his lips.
I thought we might have been friends.
A vine whipped through the air and crashed into Copper, sending him stumbling forward straight into the dripping red mouth of another Little Nepenthes. He slashed out with his only remaining knife, panic spreading over his face as the mob closed in, but there were too many. He didn't have enough time to pull a backup knife out of his inventory.
Even as Kirito ran, sword glowing a furious blue as it swept through the air like devastation, he knew he wouldn't be fast enough.
Copper tripped, stumbled, and fell.
Kirito lost sight of him amidst a swarm of green and red.
…
"Why this part of the forest anyway? Do you only stay here or do you like to wander around to other areas?""Here! I picked up some bread from the town today. It's not great, but if you try it with a bit of butter, it actually tastes like toast!"
"You know, it's kinda odd, but I actually like it here. Just a little bit. Sometimes . . . Don't tell Kayaba I said that."
"You sure there's nothing you're trying to find?"
"Not much of a talker, are you? That's fine! I'll figure you out someday!"
"Hey, Kirito? . . . Thanks for listening."
…
"No!" Kirito shouted, gripping his sword in both hands as the memories of the last two days flooded through him. "You, you can't die. Not like this-"
"Careful Kazuto," gentle but wrinkled hands wrapped around his own smaller ones, "You are small, but not weak. Hold your sword with both hands - there you go - and step forward as you swing. Let your momentum power you. Let your rage become fuel."
"Use your sword to save-"
Blue sword glow disappeared into a shatter of blue pixels, and there was a tiny "Ting!" as an alert popped up notifying him that his sword was broken, but he ignored it to swoop down and pluck the unmoving form from the ground. The world blurred around him as he sped up, running faster than he ever had in his life. Vines struck out at him, but none managed to land, his form almost wavering intangibly as he dodged unconsciously.
He's alive. I wasn't too late. He's still -
"Kirito?" Copper coughed, a faint red glow from a fatal wound stretched across his neck, "Why-?"
Kirito stumbled into a safe zone, his legs collapsing under him with a sob. "Copper, you idiot," he shouted. "What were you thinking? You could have -"
Copper's health ticked down into the red, and Kirito's throat closed as he stared at it. It wasn't slowing down. Why wasn't it slowing down?
"Ha," Copper laughed softly, "You . . . said my name," he broke into a cough as another chunk of health fell away, "I guess . . . I really did figure you out, after all, huh?"
The answer came, with startling clarity. In the Beta they called them critical wounds. Each monster had a critical point, and it was different for each monster. These critical points, when hit, left lingering wounds that would continue to tick down at a monster's health until it's final defeat. If it could recover faster than the wound inflicted damage, it would heal. If it couldn't then it was considered a critical wound that would kill the monster.
In the Beta, this had only been a monster trait.
Curse you, Kayaba.
Kirito opened his inventory, desperately searching for a healing potion or something similar. Anything.
I can't see anyone else die. I can't.
A tiny blue potion materialized in his hand. It was his only one, and weak. Maybe too weak. But if there was a chance -
Shaking fingers stopped his own, and Copper shook his head, "It won't work," his breathing grew slightly ragged, even as his smile softened, "I already took one, and the low level ones don't stack," he huffed.
Kirito trembled, and his voice got stuck in his throat.
If you know then why -
"I don't regret it."
Kirito's heart froze. Copper's health was dangerously low, ticking lower. Kirito couldn't move.
"You're the first person, you know? The first one who's listened. Who hasn't thought I was worthless right off the bat," he laughed bitterly, "Look at me, confessing to an NPC? Figures my life would lead to this. Then again, no one else would listen so someone like me."
Kirito twitched, his eyes turning from the health bar to Copper's own. NPC?
"But even so," Copper smiled, his form beginning to glow faintly, "Thanks for listening, Kirito. Thank you, for giving this Quirkless one a small sense of happiness . . . Thank you. And I'm sorry . . . I'm afraid I won't be able to take your quest. Whatever it is."
The health bar hit zero.
"Goodbye."
The weight lifted from Kirito's arms.
Blue scattered under gloved fingertips.
Kirito's hands shook, clenched in empty air, and then lowered. For several minutes all that could be heard was silence. And then he stood, quiet, blank.
Cold.
You're wrong, Grandpa.
He turned in a random direction and started walking.
I can't save anyone.
0~o~0
"Some of you may call me a villain, some a hero, but I am neither.
Are we not, after all, human?"
0~o~0
Well, what did you think? I haven't worked on this for a while, so I wasn't sure how it would turn out. Let me know if it feels too disjointed. Also, how many of you expected
I love to hear from you! Leave a comment with your thoughts about what shocked you most and where you think this is going to go!
(7/20/2021)