Chapter 30

When the light receded, Sinon and I found ourselves standing in what passed for Squad Jam's waiting room, a featureless black void without a single source of light. Yet despite that, we could still see each other plain as day.

"Master!"

I turned around to see Rei running towards us and had exactly zero seconds to brace myself before she nearly bowled me over in a tight hug. She'd gone back to wearing her cloak, but with the hood down, her perfect likeness to Sinon was on full display.

"I got really worried when I saw your health go down so much. I'm glad you made it out okay!" she said with a bright, almost childish smile that I really wasn't prepared to see on Sinon's face.

Though honestly? I could get used to it.

"You know me, Rei. I'm too thick headed to die," I patted her on the back. "Where've you been?"

"Helping us."

Noya, Pitohui, and Llenn came up behind her, looking none the worse for wear. The extensive injuries over Noya's body had completely disappeared; even his clothes and armor were back in mint condition.

"There was no shortage of enemy combatants down there," Noya continued. "Fortunately, we survived. No casualties."

I raised an eyebrow and looked down at Rei. "Really? We won the Squad Jam without losing a single person?"

She nodded, and behind her Pitohui made a pleased humming noise. "I love a happy ending. It's been forever since I had that much fun."

Llenn looked at me, leaning forward slightly. "So does this mean that Ikuchi's…?"

I nodded. "He lost. No way to dance around it. I'd wager every single camera saw me put a bullet in his head." I told them everything that happened during our fight, while leaving out the more sensitive parts about Sinon's panic attack and the troubling things Ikuchi told me.

"Interesting. I suppose Argo's going to have a lot of work coming up," Noya said.

"Why's that?" I asked.

Noya held his hands out, palms up. "Ikuchi and squad were fan favorites. You saw the kind of attention he was getting from people. If they had won today, Yokai would have become one of the most well known teams in GGO. But instead, their leader died to a no-name player who called him out on live TV," he said. "That alone would be enough to get people talking, but after everything that happened, this Squad Jam's going to be remembered for a long time. People are going to want to know all the details."

"And that means more people are going to find out about me," I sighed. "Well, I sorta figured I wouldn't be able to slink back into obscurity again."

"Afraid not," Noya agreed.

"Look on the bright side," Pitohui said, her tone chipper. "More fame, the more people who want to kill you, the stronger you get when you kill them first."

I eyed her, "Uh huh. That makes me feel better."

Pitouhi raised an eyebrow. She took two long steps towards me and leaned forward until our noses were almost touching, the smile on her face bearing all the tender love and care of a dental drill.

"The Squad Jam is over," she purred. "Remember, you owe me now. No matter what you say, no matter what you think, you belong to me until you repay the favor. Got it?"

Yikes.

"Right. Trust me, Pitohui. You make it hard to forget," I said, trying to hide a nervous swallow.

She stared into my eyes a moment longer, then she slapped my chest with the back of her hand hard enough for it to hurt. "Ah, what's with that face? Relax! I trust you very much."

I hid the pained grimace threatening to come out. "Right, okay. Thank you Pitohui for helping us out. You too, Llenn."

The little pink-clad girl nodded, cracking a small half-smile. "What are you going to do now?"

"Battle's over, so when we get back I gotta make sure everything gets tied up in a neat little bow."

"You think Ikuchi will try to back out of the deal you made?" she asked. "I know I don't really know him that well, but that doesn't really seem like him."

I blew out a breath. The crazed, desperate look on Ikuchi's face when we beat him was still painfully clear in my mind. "I wouldn't put it past him at this point."

It didn't take long for us to be transported back to the War Room. The second we appeared, we were assaulted by a chorus of cheers and hollers thick enough to send me back a couple of paces, completely stunned. Contestants and spectators alike were whooping and clapping, letting off sharp whistles and shouts of congratulations. The same people who were trying to intimidate us a couple hours earlier were now singing our praises.

That pretty much sums up the GGO community right there. Cutthroat, aggressive, and competitive as all hell, but once the game was over and the winners were declared, everyone was all smiles.

Basking in the glory for a while sounded downright tempting after everything I'd been through. But I still had work to do.

I stood on the tips of my toes, scanning the War Room for a certain someone amidst the throng of people jumping and clapping and throwing their fists into the air. Beside me, Sinon did the same. She elbowed me gently in the arm and pointed straight ahead and slightly to the left.

I followed along, and found him. Ikuchi was marching towards the elevators. And he was alone.

I broke off from the group without a word and dove head first into the thick crowd of people, squeezing past them as they clapped me on the shoulder or offered their praise. I gently pushed past them, giving brief apologies when needed, but it was slow going with so many people in my way. By the time the crowd more or less thinned out enough for me to pick up the pace, the elevator door was already opening.

My fast walk turned into a jog. Ikuchi stepped into the elevator and jabbed a finger at the panel. The doors started to close.

Right up until I stuck my foot in its way.

The elevator door's automatic sensors kicked in and it opened up again for me to get inside.

"Hey, room for one more?" I said, letting the door close behind me.

Ikuchi fixed a flat gaze on me. His lip twitched like he wanted to scowl at me but gave up halfway through. "It's over. What more do you want?"

"The Squad Jam is over, yeah, but my job isn't," I said. "Look, Ikuchi, there's—"

"No. I don't want to hear it," he said, his eyes falling to the floor.

"You need to —"

"Stop talking to me."

I leaned against the elevator doors, pensive for a moment. I more or less expected him to shut me down. If he wasn't going to listen to me the first several times, he wasn't about to start now.

"Your family is worried about you. If you won't listen to me, then talk with them at least."

Ikuchi let out a bitter laugh. "You think you're so smart, don't you? I didn't ask for your advice. I don't want it."

"It's the only way you can get past this. I know what's going on. You've closed yourself off from everyone, went at it alone, and it's not a good way to deal with what you went through."

"Stop it," Ikuchi said through clenched teeth. "You don't know a damn thing about me."

The elevator doors chimed open behind me, opening to the main floor of the Governor's Office. I didn't move.

"Get out of the way," Ikuchi said in a low tone.

I could feel the eyes of other people in the lobby landing on my back, but I held firm, shaking my head. "We deal with this now."

For several tense seconds, neither of us backed down. Ikuchi curled and uncurled his fingers. I could all but see him weighing his options. Then he suddenly strode forward and all but shoved me out of the way with a shoulder check.

I righted myself as he went past me and crossed the entire length of the chamber in a fast walk. Some of the other people around must have sensed the tension radiating from Ikuchi because they quickly got out of his way. I hurried to catch up to him.

I followed him outside the Governor's Office. Night had fallen, and the city lights lit up the courtyard out front in a hazy blue glow.

"Just take a second and think," I shouted after him.

Ikuchi suddenly whirled to face me and snarled, "You can't tell me what to do. If you had died like you were supposed to, none of this would have been your problem anymore. I swear, it's almost hilarious how you think anything you say has any meaning to me. So...so just go away."

I stopped several feet away from him, face set in stolid determination, and noticed something peculiar. His pompous manner of speaking, his veneer of pretentious arrogance, they were gone. Not temporarily missing, just flat out gone. And I could hazard a guess why. Ikuchi built an entire personality to project his strength. He created a character, an idealized image of himself, but it wasn't real. It had been a mask to cover up his inability to face the past, and the entire facade came crashing down when we beat him.

What's worse, Sinon destroyed the Black Star. She faced the source of her fears head on despite her terror, and in doing so, she proved to him that she was not a cowering child afraid of her own past. Her power, her strength, was solid and true.

Sinon didn't just beat him, she did something he never could. And that had to have stung.

The empathy I felt for him before came back. He'd been stewing in his own hatred, fear, and self-loathing for over a year. That kind of punishment could change a person, twist them into something terrible. I'm no psychologist, but it can be easy to see how much darkness can color your world view. Ikuchi created his persona of strength to keep him going through it, and now he didn't even have that.

So I tried to give him something else to hold on to.

"You saved my life, you know."

Ikuchi blinked. "What?"

"I read up on what you did in SAO. You were in the assault team for the first few boss raids. You were one of those people who decided to fight while everyone else was freaking out and giving up," I said, gently. "You know what I was doing? Crying my eyes out in my room, too afraid to even leave town."

Ikuchi didn't say anything. He just watched me, unmoving.

"Every. Single. Day. I was too cowardly to do anything except feel sorry for myself. I was ready to lie there and die a slow, meaningless death because I thought it was better than going out there and facing something hard and terrifying. You know what it took for me to get out of it? You know what made me swallow that fear? Made me go out there and do something about it?" I pointed a finger at him. "It was you, and people like you. The ones who stepped up and overcame something that seemed impossible to the rest of us. You showed those of us still hiding that we could survive and live and make things better."

"So what? Is this you trying to be the hero now?" Ikuchi said, his voice hollow.

"No. What you did back then gave me the push I needed to face my own fears. My own pains. If you hadn't done that, I never would have made it this far," I said. "This isn't me trying to be a hero, man. This is me returning the favor."

Ikuchi looked away from me, shutting his eyes. "It doesn't matter anymore. I don't have anything left. You made sure of that."

I stepped closer. "I'm sorry that it had to come to this. But it was the only way to stop you from hurting people. You still have a chance to make things better."

"I tried to make things better. All it ever got me was a discharge from the Army and dead friends. How am I supposed to keep going on if that's what I get?" he said. "There's no starting over from that."

"There's always a way to start over."

Ikuchi shook his head. He still wouldn't look at me.

I sighed, taking another step. "Ikuchi—"

Somebody walked past me and it took me a second that it was Serena. She ignored me entirely and went right up to her little brother without saying so much as a word.

"What do you want?" Ikuchi asked. "If you're going to lecture me about this then don't—"

Serena slapped him.

It wasn't all that hard; it didn't leave a mark or anything, but it still made Ikuchi stumble back a few paces, his eyes wide open in shock. Mine were too. The entire world seemed to go quiet at that moment.

Serena sucked in a shuddering breath. When she spoke, her voice sounded like it would crack at any moment. "I've been trying to figure out what to say to you ever since the Squad Jam started. And to be honest, I still don't really know."

Ikuchi rubbed his cheek, scowling. "Then why did you come here?"

"Because I'm your sister, you dork. I'm supposed to care about you. Whether you like it or not."

"I'm fine," Ikuchi brushed her off. "I'm the same as I've ever been."

"The Akira I know would tell me when something was wrong. He always did, even when he was scared to," Serena said. "Please...all I ever wanted was for you to open up to me. You know me. I'll never ignore what you have to say, and I won't think a single bad thing about you. You know that."

Ikuchi threw me a nasty glare. "He put you up to this, didn't he? You're his backup plan?"

"No, he didn't!" Serena shouted. "Did you ever stop to think why I asked for his help, or why I came into this game in the first place?" She pointed a finger at him. "It was for you, it's always been for you, ever since you survived SAO! I would have done anything for you. Because you're my brother, and the more I see you tear yourself up, the more I'm afraid of what'll happen to you."

Ikuchi looked away, but she didn't.

"You keep shutting yourself off, but you don't have to do this alone. It doesn't have to be like that. I may never understand what you've been through, but it won't stop me from caring. It never will," Serena looked down for a moment, and I didn't have to look to know she was crying. She said, her voice cracking, "I love you, but I'm scared, Akira. I'm as scared now as I was when you were stuck in SAO."

Doubt flickered in Ikuchi's eyes, and I watched as it rotted into pain brought upon by horribly fresh scars.

"You're important to me. You matter to me," Serena stepped closer and took hold of his arms, forcing him to look at her. "Please. Let me be there for you."

Ikuchi's lips quivered. "Kibaou, he...he took my friends from me," he rasped.

"I know," Serena said. "And I can't even imagine how much it hurts. But please...please don't torture yourself like this." She pulled Ikuchi into a fierce hug. "I can't bear to see you like this anymore. I need my little brother to be alright. I'll do whatever it takes."

"He took them from me," he whispered, his voice fraying at the edges. "He...he deserves to…"

"I know. I know. Maybe we can find a way to make things right, but it can't be like this. I don't want to lose you. You're my brother. You mean more to me than you'll ever know."

Something broke inside him. His chest heaved several times. He buried his face in her shoulder. And he wept.

Serena rubbed his back, fighting through tears of her own. "It's okay. I'm here. Everything will be okay. I promise."

I turned away from them to give them some measure of privacy. Sinon must have arrived when I wasn't looking, because was standing a step behind me, but her gaze was somewhere else — at the entrance to the Governor's Office.

Gozu, Mezu, and the rest of Yokai were moving towards us. I felt my back stiffen, and got ready to interpose myself between them and Serena if need be.

Turns out, I shouldn't have bothered.

Gozu took one look at her, then signaled the rest of the team to stop. He watched her, his face difficult to read, then looked at me. I stood my ground and met his stoic expression with my own. His eyes narrowed. He took one last look at his leader, then he nodded to me, turned to the rest of his team, and said something I couldn't quite hear. The rest of Yokai shared dubious glances. One of them talked back to Gozu in an animated fashion, but Gozu cut him off and in a slightly raised voice, then ushered them to go back into the Governor's office. The looks on their faces made it obvious they didn't agree, but they did as they were told.

The look Gozu gave me over his shoulder as he left with them conveyed his message loud and clear.

I'm trusting you this one time.

I didn't stop watching them until they disappeared back inside. When I looked back, Serena was speaking quietly to Ikuchi as he wiped his eyes. I walked over to them, cleared my throat, and picked my words carefully. "Ikuchi...SAO changed everything for you, I won't deny that, but there's nothing in the world that says that things can't change again."

I reached into my pocket and holster, and held out both his photon sword and the Fiber Gun to him. He pushed them back to me.

"No," he said. "Hold onto them. I...don't want to look at those right now," he looked over my shoulder at Sinon, but he quickly looked away. He couldn't even meet her eyes. "I know this isn't nearly enough to make up for everything, but I'm...I'm sorry. You...didn't deserve what I did."

Sinon's neutral expression didn't change. She just nodded and left it at that. It may not have seemed like much, but after he tried to terrorize earlier, it spoke volumes about her kindness.

Ikuchi shied away from her. Serena wrapped him in another hug, and this time, he returned it. And I knew without a doubt that no matter what happened, she'd never let him go.

Maybe that was what he needed most in a world where things changed so drastically. Something, someone, who'd always be there to weather it with him. Someone to give him hope.

Because let's face it. Everybody needs hope. It's what gives you the strength to do things when things are at their darkest, with the belief that one day, everything might get better. That the sun will come up. That the long night will have its dawn. Pure, solid, real hope is power unto itself, and it can be unleashed into one of the greatest expressions of the Human spirit.

The ability to enact change.

Because in the end, as long as you have hope, you can change your whole world. You can vanquish the suffering.

It's what I did since I left SAO. I swore to chip away at my pain, little by little, no matter how long it took. I looked over to Sinon, fought her pain head on, with her friends ready to catch her if she fell. And when I saw Serena protecting her brother in a tender hug, I realized that sometimes hope is the person standing next to you. Someone who will walk the same road as you, never leaving your side.

The path to healing isn't always the same — but it's always there.

That's what I choose to believe.

"Ya made a lotta people happy tonight. And upset."

I let out a half-chuckle, shaking my head. Ikuchi and Serena logged off some time ago, and not long after I received a message from Argo saying she wanted to talk in private. I said my goodbyes to the others and met up with her on the roof of my apartment building, where the city lights were nowhere near as intense, giving us a measure of privacy in the shroud of semi darkness.

"I have a talent for it," I said. I leaned an elbow against the roof's safety railing and watched the numerous players walking up and down the street. "I'm guessing a lot of money changed hands tonight?"

"Yup. Ain't the only thing getting passed around either," Argo said, "So is your name. The Network's already getting inquiries about who you are, and believe me, they're chompin' at the bit to provide."

I gave an annoyed sigh. I kind of figured it would happen, but it sure didn't make me any more okay with it. "Already? I thought I'd at least get a day or two before people started getting interested in me."

"You were one of the unknowns in a team full of all-stars. And then ya went and had the most nail-biting fight in Squad Jam history — against a rising star in GGO, no less. Ya really surprised ya caught people's attention?"

"Fair point," I said. "Is anybody asking about Rei?"

"A few, yeah, here and there. She didn't really do anything impressive, and she was hiding underneath a cloak the whole time. Don't worry, she ain't in any danger of bein' discovered."

"Oh. That's good to hear."

Argo looked askance at me. "Long as we're on the topic though, I need to know. What happened to her durin' your fight with Ikuchi? He pulled a pistol on her but he shot her, she went down like it was a shotgun."

I shrugged, keeping my tone casual. "Beats me. I think she tripped over her feet or something. You know how clumsy she can be sometimes."

Argo lifted an eyebrow. "Uh huh, and why'd you and Sinon have to drag her away?"

"Twisted her ankle, I think. She was alright though."

The suspicious look in her eyes didn't lighten up. I gave her my best unconcerned smile in return.

"You're enjoyin' this, aren't ya?"

"Don't know what you're talking about."

Argo rolled her eyes. "Course ya don't. Well, not like I can cry foul. I ain't a stranger to hidin' info."

I nodded, looking back down at the street below. I never told her about the plan Sinon, Rei, and I put together. It was too wrapped up in Sinon's phobia, and while I respected Argo immensely, I wasn't going to spill that kind of secret unless she was okay with it.

"For what it's worth...thank you. None of this could have happened without your help, and I'm grateful for that." I said. "If you ever need my help with something, let me know. God knows I need the work now that I'm a free man."

"Funny you should say that."

I looked up at her, eyebrows raised.

Argo turned around and leaned her back against the safety rail next to me, arms crossed. "The reason I called ya over was because I wanted to make a proposition. See, I've been watchin' ya ever since we met. I had ya pegged as pretty average at first, but after a while I started gettin' impressed. You're pretty sharp, got a good head on your shoulders. Not bad in a fight either. Best of all, ya know you're way around the information game better than most. Those are some skills I'm always on the lookout for."

I stood up to my full height, looking at her in surprise. "Wait, are you going to ask me to work for you? Like, as a job?"

The corner of her lip quirked up. "Got it in one. Don't worry, I ain't gonna have you followin' me everywhere like I do poor Noya, but whenever I need an extra pair of hands, I'll go to ya."

"What exactly am I going to be doing?"

"Nothin' too difficult. You'll be the muscle watching my back when I'm workin' a deal. If I'm too busy with other things, you'll go as my representative. Chances are pretty good you'll do some info gatherin' for me too. In return, ya get a steady paycheck, all the info ya want for free, and my protection."

It all sounded pretty straightforward, but what she said made me pause. "Protection?" I asked.

"Think about it. This whole mess started 'cause Ikuchi put that bounty on ya, and bounties are handled by us info brokers. We're the ones who spread the word, give the info about the target, all that business. Being under my employment means anyone messin' with ya is gonna be crossin' me," Argo pointed a thumb at herself. "I see anyone posting a hit on you again, I'll shut it down. Same for Rei, too, if ya want." She lifted an eyebrow, her smile turning confident. "So what do ya say?"

I mulled it over. I had to admit, the offer was beyond tempting. The money was already a huge plus, but being able to play GGO without having to worry about someone coming after me or Rei? That was almost too good to pass up. I'd still largely be left to my own devices, too. Free to pursue my own goals and projects.

Doing the occasional bit of work for Argo in exchange for all that? I didn't have to think about it for long.

"You got yourself a deal," I said, holding my hand out. Argo grinned and gave it a firm shake.

"Sweet. Lookin' forward to workin' with the Ryuujin's vice commander."

My back snapped into a rigid posture. I very nearly crushed Argo's hand as my entire body tensed. Her words replayed themselves over and over in my head, but no matter how many times I went over them, they came out exactly as I heard.

How did she know who I was? I never told her, and I'd been careful not to let anything slip during conversations with her. As far as I knew, the only time I even mentioned my former life in the Ryuujin was out on the skybridge.

Where I'd been shouting loud enough for Ikuchi to hear me over the heavy wind.

I resisted the urge to slap myself on the forehead. Of course. The cameras wouldn't pick up audio unless someone had been screaming at the top of their lungs. Like I did. No wonder they would have picked that up. I'd just been so focused on the fight that it didn't occur to me.

Argo raised a hand in placation. "Don't worry, I ain't keen on sourin' our partnership right outta the gate. This stays between you and me. But at the very least, could ya answer one burnin' question? It's been botherin' me ever since I found out."

I pressed my lips together and gave serious thought to refusing her. There are just some things I'm not ready to divulge. But at the end of the day I owed her more than most, and she made it clear she wasn't looking to invade my private life. I nodded in agreement.

Argo took a moment to gather her thoughts, then she spoke in a low voice. "Ya said you were the vice commander of the Ryuujin, but accordin' to my info, he died around two months before the game was cleared. The position was never officially filled either."

I sighed. I swallowed in an effort to relax, but the strain in my voice was hard to hide. "Well...you're sort of right. He did die. Somebody did fill in for him. But they only lasted a week."

"Why?"

"If he stayed any longer, the rest of the guild would have tossed him into the Black Iron Prison and…" I clenched my jaw and forced the words out before they could escape me. "and accused him of murdering the vice commander."

Argo's face lost all expression. "You're kiddin'. How did they think that was gonna play out?"

"You know how SAO was. It didn't exactly have courtrooms and lawyers. If an entire guild accused someone of a crime, there isn't a whole lot they can do about it," I said. "So he did the only thing he could think of. He ran. Went into hiding."

"That would make him look pretty guilty," Argo said.

"Yeah…"

"So was he?"

I looked her dead in the eye and said, "No. I swear it."

Argo watched me steadily for what felt like an hour. A heavy breeze brushed her hair, but she didn't so much as stir. "Does Sinon know?"

"I never told her."

"Are ya going to?"

It took me a long time to say, "I don't know."

Argo blew out a silent breath and nodded, saying, "Okay. That's where I stop proddin'," before turning her attention back down to the throng of people below. I did the same, and we shared a communal silence, listening to the beating heart of the city while the piercing ache in my chest went numb.

After a moment, Argo rolled a lock of hair between her fingers and said, "Whatever happened in SAO is off limits, I get it. But I'm happy to have ya on the team. Honest. And I don't get sappy often so ya know I'm bein' genuine here."

I let out a soft laugh and shook my head. "True enough. Looking forward to working with you...boss."

A sharp smile touched Argo's face. "Same here, Operator."

Serena came by my apartment a couple days later, and her smile, while small, was bright enough to light up the room.

"So what happened?" I asked her as we shared a couple drinks over in my kitchenette

Serena played with the glass bottle in her hand for a bit, "We talked. All of us. The whole family. Mom and Dad were seriously surprised when Akira just sat everyone down at the table to talk about what was going on. It was the most he's ever spoken in a really, really long time."

"I can imagine. What'd he say?"

She looked down at her feet. "That he was sorry for closing himself off. That he wanted to do better. That he wanted to give therapy another try. He was really serious about it, so maybe, y'know, things'll work out this time."

"I hope they do. After everything you and your family went through, you guys deserve a happily-ever-after," I said.

Serena smiled at that. "Yeah, I'll make sure it happens, you can believe that."

"They're lucky to have you," I said. I took a quick drink and frowned, adding, "There is something I need to tell you though. When we were fighting, Ikuchi told me why he'd been doing it. Why he was going after Sinon and targeting me. Somebody made him an offer. If he got rid of Sinon, then they'd give him information on Kibaou. I think...I think he was planning on killing him. In the real world."

Serena's face slid into a mask of neutrality. "I know. He told me."

"He did?"

She nodded. "He didn't tell Mom and Dad obviously, but yeah."

Which really goes to show just how much trust he has in her. "I'm not overly fond of the guy, but I can understand why he'd do that. When every other option for getting justice is taken away, what does he have left except to kill the guy responsible?" I said. "That may be the hardest thing for him to make peace with in the long term. I've lost friends in SAO, too. It's not an easy thing to get over. But he lost them because of someone else."

"Do you think he'll forgive that Kibaou guy?" she asked.

"Honestly? I really, really doubt it," I said. "If it ever happens...it's going to need time. A lot of time. And even that may not be enough."

Serena pressed her lips together, evidently deep in thought. "It's not fair."

"I know. But we take our victories where we can get them," I said, facing her. "You got your brother back. That's something."

"Yeah," Serena looked at me, then she said "Speaking of him, he asked me to pass you a message. Said it was important for you to know or something."

I raised an eyebrow. What could Ikuchi possibly have to say to me? "Okay, what is it?"

Serena went into her menu, pressed a few buttons, and forwarded a message into my inbox. I opened it, reading carefully.

I'm not quite sure why I'm writing this out. The Yokai headquarters is empty, and it's most likely the last time I'm going to see it in a while. For all intents and purposes, Ikuchi is gone. You wanted answers when we fought, and now that everything has been settled, I see no reason to continue keeping things from you. Maybe telling you all this will help me move on. We will see.

I wasn't lying during our fight. Someone wanted me to remove Sinon. I don't know who it was. I was never given a name. We met only a handful of times, in darkened places where no one would stumble upon us. I can say for sure it was a woman, but she took care to hide her appearance from me. Cloak, thick clothing, I'm sure you get the idea.

A woman with a vendetta against Sinon. I may not have gotten a big honking sign pointing to the culprit, but that was something at least. GGO didn't have a lot of girls running around in it, despite what my circle of acquaintances would have you believe. I kept reading.

She came to me in February with the offer. I'd already been planning on beating Sinon by that point, purely for the notoriety, but she enticed me even more with the promise of giving Kibaou's information in exchange for her defeat. She told me about the Black Star when I agreed. I don't know how she knew herself, but she seemed sure it would be Sinon's undoing. She also gave me the Ultimate Fiber Gun as an advance payment. I have no idea where she got it from. I did my own research and as far as I know, such an item shouldn't exist in the game.

You asked me if the vault had anything to do with this. It did. The same woman wanted whatever was inside it. She was quite insistent about it as well. Very, very insistent. It was important to her, I gathered that much. When I figured out a keycard was needed, she told me to hire Sinon to get it. When I asked why, she said she wanted to observe her combat skills.

Wait, what? She'd been watching her when we grabbed the keycard? Did that mean she'd been watching me too? She had to have been. I was with Sinon the entire time.

I worked to put the pieces together. Someone — an unidentified woman — wanted Sinon to go down for reasons unknown. She hired Ikuchi, who already had his crosshairs on her, to make it happen, revealing the truth of the Black Star to him in order to make it easier. If he pulled it off, she would hand over Kibaou's real life information to him, providing the Ultimate Fiber Gun as an upfront payment.

This same Mystery Woman also wanted to get what was inside the vault. She wanted Rei, again for reasons unknown, and seemed hell bent on getting her. She told Ikuchi to grab the keycard, then suggested he hire Sinon to do the deed, so that she could spy on her.

Only she didn't expect me to tag along. Which makes sense because even I didn't plan to go with her — Sinon brought me along on a whim when I met her that day.

Then...what? I was considered enough of a threat to warrant getting targeted myself? It made sense. Whether it was Ikuchi's idea or the Mystery Woman's was irrelevant. The effect was still the same. I got wrapped up in this mess, and now here I am. Everything lined up with what I expected, and led to only one conclusion: someone else was the true threat, and they were still out there.

I chewed on my lip. A woman who had a grudge against Sinon, who somehow knew about her fear of the Black Star, who could gather real life information on someone from SAO, who knew about Rei's existence, and had the ability to access the Ultimate Fiber Gun, an item that by all accounts shouldn't even exist in GGO.

One thing was for sure, this wasn't your average, run of the mill player looking to make a name for themselves. We were dealing with someone far more resourceful, far more connected, and far more dangerous, with goals that still weren't entirely clear to me.

I went ahead and finished the message, filing those thoughts away for the time being.

But that's all I know. What you decide to do with this information is your business. I want no part of it. I think it will be better for everyone if I get away from everything for a while. Maybe one day things will change, and I'll return to take back my photon sword. But until then, I have a lot of thinking to do.

For what it's worth, you have my respect. I don't know whether you care about that kind of thing, but I thought I would say it anyway.

Goodbye. And thank you.

I closed the holographic window, letting the information sink in while I decided my next move. For sure, I needed to have a talk with Sinon and get her take on things. With any luck, she could help narrow down the list of suspects and we can end this problem before it gets worse.

"Thanks for passing it along. It really helps," I said to Serena. She nodded.

"I kinda had to badger Akira into doing it, but I think a part of him knew he had to. For his own sake," she said.

"Well as long as you're there, I think he'll be just fine."

"Oh, he will." Serena smiled at me, and it was positively infectious. I smiled back, then before I knew it, she stepped forward and pulled me into a crushing hug. "Thank you for keeping your promise. I won't forget what you did for us."

I awkwardly patted her on the back. "Ah, I didn't do much. You were the one who saved your brother."

"But I couldn't have done it if you hadn't pushed me to. I spent a long time just hoping he'd turn around on his own, but you made me step up and get involved, y'know? So...stop being all humble."

I carefully unwound myself out of her embrace. "What are you going to do now? Are you going to stay in GGO?"

Serena scrunched her nose in mock revulsion, but her smile stayed. "No way. I mean, the only reason I played this game was to keep an eye on Akira. Now that everything's okay, I don't really wanna stick around. This game is sooo not my style. Besides, I'm going to be pretty busy soon."

"Ah, I remember. You're going to attend a university soon, right?"

"Yup. But no matter what it throws at me, I'm still going to keep tabs on my brother. No way am I going to leave his side."

"Wow, you really are committed to this."

"You know it," Serena said. She stroked her chin, her eyes shining with radiant cheer. "Hana Tachibana, Tokyo University Graduate. How's that sound?"

I thought it sounded great.

We made idle chatter for a while longer, with me telling her what the GGO playerbase thought of the Squad Jam, while Serena talked at length about her plans for the future. When she made her leave, we shook hands and bid each other goodbye and good luck. But just before she touched the door to leave, she turned to face me.

"Thanks again. Really. I know we didn't agree on some stuff, but I'm glad we met," she said. "Good luck with Sinon, by the way."

I furrowed my brow. "What do you mean?"

"You two are dating, right?"

Luckily, I wasn't drinking anything. The spit take would have been unflattering. As it was, I just ended up choking on my spit. "W-what? What gave you that idea?"

"I mean, I just sort of figured. You're always around each other. Always standing next to each other. When Akira kidnapped her, you were going nuts trying to get her back. Like, you went and killed the entire squad to do it. I dunno, that just really screams 'I have a major crush on her'."

Well...she wasn't exactly wrong about that. I couldn't out and out say it, though. Getting into the habit of jabbering about my love life didn't seem like a good idea in the long run. "I think you're reading too much into it."

"Oh, well hey, I can tell she likes you at least."

"How do you know that?

"A girl just knows," Serena said in a sing-song voice. She leaned in and cupped one side of her mouth, speaking in a conspiratorial whisper. "She keeps staring at you when you're not looking. Like, she doesn't even try to hide it. She gets this really soft look on her face too." She winked and gave me a friendly slap on the chest with the back of her hand. "Don't mess it up, 'kay? She seems like a really nice girl. You two would look mega cute together."

I smiled, and the warmth swelling in my chest went up to my ears and set them on fire. "That...I, uh, that'd be nice."

Serena smiled back, gave me a one last hug, and left me there with a lot of pleasant things to ponder.

After a while, I materialized Ikuchi's photon sword out of my inventory to leave it inside the display case I kept. Something caught my attention when I went to put it away. There were names engraved in tiny letters near the bottom of the hilt.

Masato Kujikawa, Yasushi Tabata, Hiroki Yamazaki, Isao Koike, and six others.

Ten names.

Ten dead friends.

It's important to know when to let go of the past. But we also can't forget the people we lost along the way. For those who died in SAO, the least we could do was hold on to their memory, even when we're moving forward.

I put the photon sword inside the display case, bowed my head to the good people Ikuchi lost, and shut the door on that chapter of my life.

"You keeping your eyes closed?"

"Yes," Sinon said with a tinge of exasperation. "Honestly, is this necessary? I'm already in your apartment."

"I know, but the buildup makes the surprise better," I said. I looked over to where Rei stood and nodded. "Okay, open your eyes."

Sinon did. She looked around my apartment for a moment before her eyes settled on the newest addition to my humble abode. "You bought a couch?"

Right on cue, Rei spread her hands out like a game show host revealing a prize. Right next to her, underneath the only window in my apartment, was the fruits of my labor — a luxury couch big enough to seat three people with room to spare, made from dark, expensive leather, with cushions plush enough for a battleship to sink into. In other words, angels took a slice of heaven and sculpted it into the most divine piece of furniture ever to grace GGO.

I put my hands behind my back, feeling more than a little pleased with myself. "You wouldn't believe how much this cost. Luckily the prize money I got from the Squad Jam made it hurt a lot less."

Sinon blinked and turned to look at me. "You were scrounging credits for a month, barely scraping by this whole time, and instead of being responsible and saving the prize money, you went and wasted it on a couch?"

I looked back at her, nonplussed. "It's a really nice couch. Look, it's got pullout footrests, a massage function, cup holders — Rei, tell her it's a nice couch."

Sinon crossed her arms. "Rei, you're supposed to be his financial advisor. Why did you let him do this?"

My ArFA-Sys put her fists on her hips and bounced on the balls of her feet. "A healthy home leads to a healthy mind, and a healthy mind leads to more money!"

"It's an investment," I said.

"A worthwhile investment!" Rei added.

"See? The financial advisor agrees."

Sinon pressed a finger against the spot between her eyebrows. "You're both hopeless."

Rei and I looked at each other and exchanged a shrug. Sure, Sinon may not have approved, but oh well.

I have a couch now. I was moving up in the world.

I brought Sinon up to speed on everything I learned from Ikuchi's message. By the time I finished, she had taken up a spot next to the window with a thoughtful look on her face.

"I don't know anyone who could match this woman Ikuchi was talking about," she said.

"No one? Not even a small suspicion?" I asked as I sat on the couch's arm rest. "Can you think of anyone you might've pissed off in GGO? Someone who could potentially find things out about you?"

"There's no one. You already know I mostly keep to myself, and there aren't a lot of people who could know about my phobia. Even fewer are girls," She paused for a moment and shook her head, her face one of faint displeasure. "Well, there are a some in my school who know about it, but they don't know I play this game."

I grunted. "So we're back to square one."

"Not quite. We still have some clues to work with. It's better than nothing," she said.

I tilted my head from one side to the other. "A girl who has access to personal information and can pull unlisted items into a game, who somehow managed to find out about your phobia and has enough beef with you to use it. First guess? It's an info broker."

Sinon nodded. "Understandable."

"There's a lot of them in the Broker Network, and I am going to be working for Argo now. I can do some digging, maybe find something that'll point me in the right direction."

Sinon went quiet for several heartbeats. Her voice was softer when she spoke. "Just don't get into any kind of trouble for my sake, alright? Whoever this mystery person is, she's already proven how dangerous she can be. If she finds out you're looking for her..."

I looked at her and gave what I hoped was a comforting smile. "I'll watch my step. Nothing overt. Just keeping my eyes open."

She gave a shallow nod. "Okay. I'll do some investigating of my own, so don't hesitate to ask me for help too, alright?"

"You got it."

Sinon turned her attention across the room where Rei was busy fiddling with her rifle at our communal work table. "They wanted her too, didn't they?" she asked.

"If Ikuchi's message is to be believed, yeah. Which begs the question why did they want her, and how did they know about her existence in the first place?"

Sinon frowned. "There's so many questions we don't have an answer to."

"Yeah. But the best way to complete a big job is to do it piece by piece," I said. "But hey, let's not crack our heads over it just yet. We got out of this whole mess in one piece. I'd say that calls for some R&R."

Sinon let a small smile take hold. "I suppose you're right. How long has it been since you actually played GGO?"

"I've already forgotten how to pick up quests."

She laughed and got up to her feet. "Well, c'mon then. Let's go get you some money so you're not flat broke again."

I followed her, opening my menu, and when she turned around, a look of bewilderment crossed her face when I held the Ultimate Fiber Gun out to her.

"You're giving me this?" she asked, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

I shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, why not? I figure a sniper would get more use out of this than me anyways."

She looked down at the little plastic raygun in my hand. For the briefest of moments, I saw a smile touch her lips. "Don't think this gets you out of buying me that cake you owe me," she said as she took it.

"I know, I know," I said with a playful roll of my eyes. "Rei, you wanna go hunting?"

Rei practically jumped up to her feet and snatched her rifle up. "If it's with you two, then of course! One hundred percent!"

She bounded over to us, and as we headed out the door together, it struck me how...relaxed I felt. At ease. I spent so long stressing over a fight I never expected to be in, forced to overcome odds I hadn't encountered since my days in SAO. I'd confronted unpleasant things and unpleasant people, faced down perilous foes, and dragged up old wounds from the black stain of my past.

The past month or so had been hard. But it hadn't necessarily been bad. I realized that as I headed out with Sinon by my side.

Because here's the funny thing about life: oftentimes even the most inconsequential thing can lead to a boatload of problems. But they can lead to good things too.

I had a job working for an information broker now. I had a wonderful friend and companion in Rei. And I had Sinon, the stubborn, assertive, compassionate, amazing girl I cared about — and who shared my deepest feelings.

All because on a day that started like any other, I asked her what she was up to when she learned the identity of a player carrying some kind of keycard.

I had more than I could ever hope to have.

Funny how life works sometimes.

Heya, didn't expect to find me down here this time, did ya? It's been a hell of an adventure getting there, but Headhunters' main story is now officially done. However, there is still one last thing I want to write before I officially close the book on this arc. An epilogue, if you will. I won't say what it's about, because I love to be a tease, but let's just say it's something a lot of you have been waiting for - for a good long while.

Time for our protagonist to meet some familiar faces.