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Guest (about Aiko): Sorry if you missed the A/N in chapter 9, but there's a canon alteration here that made it so Aiko died before SAO began. Sorry, but no Aiko. Also, sorry, but no harem. The pairing for Kirito is Kirito/Asuna/(undecided, maybe no one).

Guest (about the update): If you'd commented with an account I would have sent you a PM. Sorry that this update has taken so long, but it's here now.

dustinlemque: Right here :)

A/N:

Hey guys, it's been a while. Sorry for the huge gap between this chapter and the last... but I kinda hit a wall with this chapter, and needed a break. I think I'm back now, but updates will most likely take longer than they have before.

I hope you enjoy this chapter. Sorry for the lack of Yuuki just after she was brought in, but I promise she'll be more present next chapter.

Prepare yourselves, the angst train is barreling into the station at frankly blinding speeds. I can only hope that I carried it out well.

Chapter 10: Aftermath

One could have said that Konno Yuuki's body wasn't particularly healthy. That would have been an understatement. A major understatement. Under normal circumstances, her body would be dead within just a few years.

These were not normal circumstances.

[Fate] glared at the girl's prone body, frozen in time as a purple glow shone from her head. It wouldn't do any good to send back the reward into a vessel that would simply die again in just a few years... It would just have to modify the body accordingly.

The girl's short, dark hair lengthened and colored itself purple. The emaciated look that the body had faded, leaving the body looking perfectly healthy. Cosmic energy flooded it and eradicated any form of the virus it could find. In one final flash, a Nerve Gear helmet flashed into existence with naught more than a faint pop.

Satisfied, [Fate] left.

Minutes later, a nurse would walk into Konno Yuuki's room, only to leave seconds later, frantically calling her supervisors.

When she returned, the girl's body would be gone.

Kirito wished that he could just vanish.

Being anywhere else would be better than where he was at the moment, which was standing nervously in front of a group of gamers who were utterly baffled by what they were seeing. Some were even rubbing their eyes as if it would wipe away the strange sight in front of them.

Despite this, Yuuki was completely unfazed. She disentangled herself from Asuna and charged right at him, hugging intent clear on her face.

Kirito took an involuntary step backward but was in no position to protest when the very solid, very real girl crashed right into him, almost making him fall.

"Yuuki?" he asked, wonder infused into his tone. She should've disappeared a while ago! She died! He had been there!

The purple-haired girl smiled. "Hi, Kirito!" she chirped. "I'm back!"

Kirito's mouth opened and closed, no sound coming out. "You're... what?" He shook his head. Now was not the time for... whatever was happening. "Sorry... Yuuki, but can you let go? We're being stared at."

Yuuki let go, shrugging. "Okay."

As if on cue, chaos broke out.

Everyone started yelling their questions, and Kirito winced.

At least they aren't swarming me physically, he thought, trying to see the bright side to the whole mess. Despite his unease, he waited patiently for everyone to quiet down. There was no point in trying to answer all of their questions while they were all shouting at him at the same time, after all.

Once the noise level had died down, Kirito sighed in relief. "Okay... clearly, you have questions."

"DAMN RIGHT, WE DO!" shouted someone deep in the crowd.

He sighed again, but this time it sounded tired instead of relieved. "Okay... I'll try my best to answer your questions, but you'll have to go one at a time. If you have a question, stick up your hand. I'll point to you and then you can ask."

There was a murmur of general assent in the crowd before every single hand shot up.

Well then.

"Um..." he hesitated, not feeling particularly confident about his ability to talk his way out of this one. Regardless, he pointed to a guy in the back with spiky red hair, who felt very familiar, though Kirito couldn't quite place where he'd known him from. "You first."

The guy perked up, grinning sharply. "Well, to speak for all of us, who the hell is that girl in purple, and how did she get here?"

"Um," said Kirito again, not having any idea how to answer that question.

"I got resurrected!" beamed Yuuki, clearly not realizing the implications of what she was saying.

There was another uproar, and Kirito winced. Looking somewhat ticked-off, Asuna stomped up and pulled the now-confused Yuuki away, grumbling all the while.

"You found a way to RESURRECT people?!" screamed the guy with red hair.

"No!" said Kirito, loudly. "Honestly, I have no idea how she's here..." He paused for a moment, before making up his mind. "Honestly, she didn't even log onto SAO with us on launch day, even though she had a copy. I have absolutely no clue what's going on with her."

There was a general consensus of disbelief... and Kirito couldn't blame them. For all of his confident words, he'd lost control of his emotions the second he saw the boss. It would be difficult to regain the trust that he lost today.

"How can we trust you?!" yelled the redhead again.

Kirito slumped. "I have nothing to offer but my word," he replied morosely. "What kind of evidence could I provide?"

"See?" yelled the man, eyes gleaming in victory as he stirred up the crowd, "This Kirito can't be trusted! He's obviously lying, and I bet that with how well he's been doing, he's some kind of beta tester too! I bet he knew all about this place, and that revival item, before the game even began!"

Kirito staggered backward a few steps as he suddenly recognized the man.

Kibaou.

Distracted as he was by his newest revelation, he didn't refute the claims that Kibaou had made. Uneasy muttering swept through the crowd like a tidal wave, and Kirito cringed as he felt the weight of many baleful glares.

It was like the fight with Illfang all over again... but this time, Kirito couldn't seem to find the words to make any sort of statement. His mouth went dry, and his hands began to shake as the aftermath of that fight flashed before his eyes again. He'd say it was like déjà vu, except it was actually happening again.

Kibaou hmphed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Nothing to say, huh? What's a cowardly, cheating beta-tester like you doing leading the clearing group?" he shot at the hyperventilating swordsman.

"Stop it!" snapped Yuuki, taking a menacing step forward. Her hand twitched towards her sword, and Kibaou took a nervous step back. "Can't you see what you're doing to him?"

Unfortunately, Kibaou seemed to recover his wits quickly. "And why is that? Why does he look so miserable? I bet I know why, it's because he's feeling guilty!"

There was a roar from the crowd, and the heavy sensation of outrage filled the chamber.

"And not just that," Kibaou roared, spittle flying out of his mouth, "more than one of us died while he sat on the sidelines and watched!"

"Bastard! Keeping it all close to his chest!" yelled another player from deep in the throng. "Two of my friends have died! Don't you think someone else should've been responsible for an item so valuable that it can revive players?"

"Cheater!"

"Bastard!"

"Betrayer!"

That was just the start. Their shouts only continued to increase in volume and number, but Kirito could only stare at the man who'd egged them on, unable to find the strength to speak.

Kibaou was smirking, clearly pleased with himself and the dissent he was able to sow. His eyes gleamed with triumph as he stared at the young man who he'd just very thoroughly discredited.

"This is ridiculous," murmured Asuna, averting her eyes. "The words of just one man turned them all against Kirito-kun, and after everything he's done to help them?"

Sortiliena growled, a murderous glint in her eyes. She took a few steps forward before stopping abruptly, realizing that getting angry would only make their situation worse than it already was. The crowd was howling and yelling angrily, but at least they weren't being physical in their aggression. Sortiliena didn't have a hard time imagining that it could possibly come to that if they were provoked further, however, and that wasn't even considering the looks on many of Kirito's friends' faces.

Ronye, Kirito's little kouhai, looked downright murderous. Sortiliena didn't think she'd ever seen her that mad before. And... wow, Eugeo really didn't look happy if the look in his eyes was any indication.

He marched up to the almost unresponsive Kirito and led him away quickly, towards the recently-revealed entryway of the second floor. It didn't take a single second for the rest of the guild to notice their departure and follow with haste, leaving behind the jeering and glares.

The second floor was different, Liz decided, and she wasn't quite sure how she felt about that.

When she'd first gone through the warp gate all those years ago, there was a certain sense of relief at seeing something different, different than those cobbled streets and moldy inns in the Town of Beginnings. Back then, the second floor's starting town had been akin to a breath of fresh air to someone who'd been drowning for her.

This, however, was different.

This floor was a swamp.

A literal swamp.

On one hand, it was different, and that was a relief. On the other hand, it was unpleasant in ways that she hadn't experienced before. As they trekked along the muddy path, she found herself actually annoyed over the realism of the game. Maybe if it hadn't been so real, her socks wouldn't have been so wet.

"I can't believe it..." muttered Sinon, cutting through Liz's thoughts as she absently adjusted her bow, which was slung over her back. "Berating Kirito like that. What gave them the right?"

Liz found herself feeling obligated to respond, even if she didn't think that Sinon had directed her quiet statement to her specifically. "Gamers can be like that... Especially here, because, well, the stakes are much higher. It's not just about being the best... it's also about literally staying alive. I'm less mad at the group as a whole, though... it was that weird cactus-haired guy, Kibaou, right? I think that's what his name was... either way, he was really stirring up the crowd. I'm sure he knew exactly what he was doing."

"He was always a glory hound," agreed Asuna as she sidestepped a particularly soft spot on the ground, remembering the man from the early days of the original SAO incident.

"What a pig," spat out Ronye, glaring back at where they'd come. "Anyone who treats Kirito-senpai like that for glory is evil!"

Liz smiled at the small girl, who was practically vibrating with anger. She'd initially been sour towards Kirito's little mentee, sensing a possible threat to his relationship with Asuna. Liz prided herself on being rather protective of that relationship despite her own lingering feelings, so any threat was treated with the proper amount of suspicion and wariness. However, she'd warmed up to the girl quickly, realizing that there wasn't any need to stress. Ronye had clearly set aside her own feelings and was just doing her best to protect her mentor, just like Liz was herself.

Pushing aside her happier thoughts, Liz looked darkly back, mirroring Ronye's expression. "I'd like to clobber him a few times with my mace," she said disgustedly.

She hadn't interacted with the prickly man much, but he was perfectly horrible the few times she had seen him. Coupled with this, she wasn't feeling particularly happy towards him.

"Me too!" beamed Ronye, the sudden cheerful expression lacking the warmth that it would normally contain. Instead, the curl of her lips seemed more sinister than enthusiastic, and Liz couldn't help but approve.

Argo sidled up to Ronye, grinning. "Kibaou better watch his back," said Argo. "Ain't nobody messin' with our Kii-bou like that an' gettin' away with it!"

"Hear, hear!" Sinon cheered, lazily pulling back the string of her bow, aiming towards a boar that was charging towards the group. With a twang of the bowstring, she loosed an arrow that struck the animal straight in the eyes, felling it instantly.

Argo whistled. "Nice shot, Sinonon!"

Sinon scowled half-heartedly. "I told you not to call me that!" she complained, stomping over to the boar and pulling out the arrow, ignoring the wet sound it made as it left the corpse.

Argo just blinked before her grin widened. "Sinononononononononononononononononon!"

Ignoring the loud slapping noise that came from behind her, Liz eyed the dead animal appraisingly, apathetic to the gory sight after the time she'd spent in this world and all the death she'd seen. "Oi!" she yelled vaguely towards the front of the group, "Sinon just got us dinner!"

Kirito mumbled out something resembling approval, and the group stopped to watch as Sinon slung the dead boar over her shoulder, unmindful of the blood and the clear, jelly-like liquid which continued to flow out of the empty eye socket.

Liz stared. "Uh, aren't you going to put that in your inventory?"

Sinon shrugged, apathetic. "It's a good workout."

"But..." Liz gestured helplessly to the stream of blood and clear liquid that was sliding down her arm and dripping onto the ground.

Sinon shrugged again. Does it look like I care? her face seemed to say.

Typical, thought Liz, her mental voice sounding deadpan. Don't blame me when you're struggling to clean it off later, because that was definitely a thing that Sinon would do.

They started walking again, slogging through the mud. If the path had been mushy before, it was practically slush by this point. The only thing that gave Liz even the slightest hint of relief was the faint glow of light from the town up ahead. Even that was fairly far away, however, as it was just barely in her range of vision; a pinprick on the horizon, and there was no curve to the earth, given the flat base of each floor. It was a testament to the sheer size of Aincrad. If the original version of Aincrad had been large, this version was doubly so, if not more. If it wasn't so dangerous, Liz would've been excited to go exploring on her own as she was sometimes known to do in ALO. The goblin patrols here were much more difficult to dispatch than old SAO mobs, however, so exploring solo was out of the question, especially given their low levels.

She glanced down frustratedly at her mace as the thought about their levels occurred. It wasn't just their avatars that had been downgraded, but also their gear. If Liz bothered to open her inventory, she knew that she would see a small Level 5 marker on her mace, as well as the majority of her other gear.

While clothing wasn't something that could be upgraded infinitely in a game like SAO or even in Underworld, according to Kirito, it seemed that an exception had been made for the gear of the people who'd gone back in time and could be classified as players. She'd seen it happen right before her eyes when Ronye had joined the guild. Something seemed to shift, and her training sword seemed to lose a bit of its shine.

Liz had often wondered what the system had considered Ronye and Tiese before their acceptance into the guild... the change that they had gone through in just a second had astounded her.

She shook away her wandering thoughts in order to focus back on the path in front of her, grimacing as she pulled her boot up to take another step—it was caked in mud.

It was going to be hell washing those boots and her pants later.

Argo scowled as she pulled open her menu, sidestepping a log that was half-sunken into the path.

Message: Argo → Ramm

Heard anything about the boss fight? What's everyone saying? I'll pay double. — A

Normally she wouldn't offer something like that, but with anything that had to do with Kii-bou... she could make an exception. The information wasn't particularly valuable, as she would soon learn of it herself even without spending any money, but she was simply itching to do something. She knew from just glancing at Kii-bou himself that he'd already resigned himself to this fate.

That was something that Argo the Rat would not allow. Nobody fucked with her friends, and she was going to make that Cactus-haired bastard's life a living hell.

Message: Argo → Corvatz

I need any and all info you've got on your boss-man. Name your price. — A

She swiped the menu closed with another scowl, feeling deeply inadequate. It was something she'd experienced keenly in the past few weeks. Powerlessness. Sometimes, there was nothing she could do. As much influence as she had, a few of her contacts had already taken her off their friend lists in the past few minutes. Her network was shrinking, and she knew exactly why. Her association with Kii-bou and the Timeless Knights was damaging her reputation... not that she really cared.

That wasn't the real root of Argo's concern, though. She liked information. Information was as fun as it was important, particularly in a game such as this—not a game, she corrected herself sternly—but it wasn't really why she was here. Despite how many viewed her, (backstabbing bitch who would sell out her own grandmother) she had been incredibly lonely and wanted friends. She had applied to the SAO Beta in hopes of making some new friends and maybe setting up a fun little info-broker business, and that had largely succeeded. She'd gained a reputation as a reputable info-broker and had met Kii-bou, the first friend who'd liked her and fully accepted her for quite some time. She knew that she wasn't the easiest to get along with, but now that she had them, she loved her friends and was truly grateful for them... which was why she was so pissed at being unable to do anything to help salvage their reputation.

Screwing her eyes shut, she took in a long, deep breath. The battle was over, but the war had only just begun.

"Hey, Argo," said Kii-bou, who looked exhausted as he fell back into pace with her. "How are you holding up?"

She blinked.

She blinked again.

"Kii-bou, are you crazy? Yer askin' me that?" she said incredulously, tension easing out of her shoulders as she focused in on the conversation. He was the one who'd just had his reputation torn to shreds by a redheaded piece of shit.

"You're reading my mind," muttered Aa-chan from up ahead, rolling her eyes.

Kii-bou instantly looked defensive. "Hey!" he complained, the corners of his lips turning up slightly as he took in her slightly teasing tone. "I'm not that bad!"

It seemed that he missed the serious undercurrent to Argo's words. Oh well, she'd just have to be a bit blunter. "How are you holdin' up?" she shot back, eyebrow arching challengingly, though she left the hint of teasing out.

Kii-bou seemed to notice, his posture straightening unconsciously. "Ah, well," he started hesitantly, his hand creeping up to scratch the back of his head in a nervous gesture that Argo was familiar with by now, "I guess I'm doing okay, and before you say anything, I know better than to seriously listen to the stuff that Kibaou says. I know what happened in there, and as much as his words hurt, it wasn't the truth."

"Huh," said Argo, pleasantly surprised. She had expected him to be much more downtrodden. That he was feeling better about it could only be a good thing.

"Anyways," said Kii-bou, cutting off any further reply she could have made, "Yui, can you tell us anything about the town that we're approaching?"

Yui-chan (the cutie!) flew out of Kii-bou's shirt pocket and landed on his left shoulder. "Yes, Daddy!" she exclaimed, making Argo practically swoon.

Hey, kids are cute. Sue me, thought Argo, grinning.

"Well, the town up ahead is called Marshtown!" said the pixie.

Sinonon rolled her eyes. "What a creative name," she drawled, moving the dead boar to her other shoulder.

"It's accurate," said Yui-chan, crossing her tiny, cute arms over her chest. "The ground is very marshy and unstable. That's why the town is built up off the ground."

"Hm," said Lizzie. "Anything they're known for in particular?"

Yui-chan seemed to sink into some sort of trance, unnatural flashes of light emitting from her eyes as she (probably) sifted through data.

After a minute, she emerged from the trance-like state she'd been in and gave Lizzie a happy look. "Blacksmithing and water-related trades."

Lizzie squealed, letting out a large bit of enthusiasm for the first time that Argo could remember. The girl was happy and upbeat for the most part, but she never looked quite as vibrant as she did now.

"Well," started Klein, who Argo still couldn't think of an appropriate nickname for, "we should all be excited about that, right? Especially you guys—" he gestured towards his friends, Fuurinkazan, he'd called them. "—since she makes pretty great custom weapons, and you guys really need to be fitted out."

"In the beta, she made us a ton of gear," added Argo quickly, making sure that no assumptions would be made by those not "in the know".

Careful with your phrasing there, mister.

"O-oh, yeah," he stammered, the tips of his ears turning red.

Issin rolled his eyes but didn't say anything.

"Oh, I'm just so excited!" said Lizzie, looking like she'd be hopping in place if they weren't in a swamp.

Argo found herself grinning again, liking the enthusiasm of their resident blacksmith. "Me too," she said, glancing idly at her claws. "Do ya make claws too, Lizzie? I might find myself needin' a new pair or two..." She trailed off, leaving the request to linger in the air.

Lizzie scowled. "I don't like that name," she grumbled quietly, before straightening and speaking a bit more loudly. "I'd be happy to make you some stuff, Argo... if you've got the money for it, that is!" She pinched her fingers together for emphasis, grinning at the info-broker.

Argo scoffed. "Don't you doubt me," she retorted, "I've got more money in my stores than the rest of you chumps combined!"

Aa-chan snorted. "Don't forget, Argo, that Alice is more or less a royal knight."

"Uh," said Alice-sama, blanching paper-white as everyone stared at her.

Argo mentally cataloged her new nickname for the knight.

"Alright," Argo allowed, "maybe Alice-sama's got more money than me... an' that's a maybe! But, I still got more money than the rest of you chumps!"

"Hey!" complained Sinonon, looking like she'd reached the end of her rope, "stop calling us cheap!"

"What even is this argument?" groaned Kii-bou, looking like he wanted to bash his head against a wall.

Maybe he should do that, mused Argo. It might be therapeutic... for me, that is.

She cackled at the thought, getting a few concerned glances from her fellow guild members.

"Anyway," said Yui-chan, eyes darting back and forth between Lizzie, Sinonon, and Argo, "would you like to hear more about the town?"

"Yes, please," Alice-sama answered quickly, looking almost desperate.

"Fine, fine," Argo said faux-sulkily, pretending not to pay attention as Yui-chan began to rapidly describe the town they were steadily creeping towards.

The group was uncharacteristically quiet as they reached the gates of Marshtown.

Ronye shivered, glancing down sadly at her thoroughly soaked boots and socks. Swamps were the worst.

"Hello?" Kirito called out, standing at the gate just over a dozen meters away from them, hand poised to knock again on the thick, wooden frame of the gate. He looked tense, Ronye thought, noting how his other hand was twitching towards his sword every few seconds.

He's afraid we'll be attacked, Ronye thought, her realization tinted with slight aggravation towards the black-haired man for risking himself yet again but also with a warm and fuzzy feeling that she stubbornly shoved to the side.

The gates swung open suddenly, and Kirito had to leap back to avoid being knocked over. A cloaked figure stepped off of a wooden platform just inside the opening out onto the marshy ground.

"Hey!" complained Liz loudly, taking a step forward, "That was rude as hell!"

Her shout was ignored as the figure stalked towards Kirito, every step making a small splash as their boots came into contact with the ground.

"You..." came the quiet statement from the person in the cloak, their voice discernably feminine.

"Uh... me?" returned Kirito, bemused.

The person reached up and slowly lowered their hood.

Alice gasped.

"Oh," Kirito said lamely.

It was a woman, as Ronye had guessed. She had long, black hair that looked purple in the sun, alongside reddish-brown eyes that almost looked golden. In short, she was beautiful... which made Ronye wonder why she hid her face.

"Fanatio," said Alice with a hopeful lilt to her voice, taking two weak, stumbling steps forward. "Commander, I—"

"Alice Synthesis Thirty," the newly-identified Fanatio cut her off, looking up at her as her eyes glinted with an emotion Ronye didn't recognize.

"Are you recovered?" Kirito cut in, looking desperate and... guilty?

Fanatio's eyes snapped to meet his, a fire raging behind those golden irises. "Yes." The reply was short, blunt, and so full of anger and resentment that it made Kirito physically recoil.

The atmosphere was tense after that, even Alice looked subdued despite the hope she had seemed to radiate before. Fanatio led them into the town despite her standoffish demeanor, and most of their party openly gawked at the incredible architecture of the beautiful buildings and houses, which also looked fairly sturdy despite the marshy, unstable ground beneath them.

Ronye suspected that a liberal use of Sacred Arts was responsible for the town's stability.

"Here is the inn," said Fanatio quietly, looking away as they stopped in front of a moderately-sized house.

"Uh, that's great, but we're looking for the center of town right now," said Kirito-senpai, scratching the back of his head nervously as he glanced at Fanatio.

But Fanatio didn't answer his implied question. "Here is the inn," she repeated before walking away.

Ronye was close enough to hear Kirito cursed under his breath.

"Yui?" called Asuna, staring at his shirt pocket.

The pixie flew out and pointed back the way they came. "The central plaza should be that way!"

Klein let out a loud groan, visibly frustrated.

As they began walking again, Ronye fell into stride with Kirito.

"Who was that woman?" she asked quietly, looking up at his face for any sort of telling reaction.

He screwed his eyes shut and took a few deep breaths before re-opening them and giving her a nervous look. "She is... well, she was the second-in-command of the Integrity Knight Order."

Ronye was barely able to stop herself from gasping loudly. "She... what?! Why was she so mad at you?"

Kirito looked away. "When Eugeo and I were going up the floors of the Central Cathedral, she was waiting for us on the fiftieth floor."

"And you won," she concluded, unsurprised. "How badly was she hurt?"

"If I hadn't used one of Cardinal's daggers to save her, she would be dead," he admitted quietly.

Ronye stared at him. "This requires a longer explanation later," she said.

He winced.

"Does anyone else know that this happened?" she asked after a moment.

"Just Eugeo," he muttered.

She stared at him again, before shaking her head. "You can't keep bottling things up inside," she said, looking down at her hands. "Eventually... you'll collapse under the pressure."

He exhaled quietly. "I know," came the wry response. "I know myself well enough to see that I have issues. I know you well enough too. Don't think you can fool me, Ronye. I can see past your smile just as easily as you can see through mine."

With that mind-shattering statement, he sped up, leaving her thoughts in turmoil.

But... don't you see, Kirito? I have to keep it all inside... She glanced at Asuna, seeing the girl laugh happily at a joke Yuuki made. Everyone's happier this way. I can be happy too... I hope.

She looked back at Kirito, who was slowly falling into pace with Asuna once more.

It's better this way.

A/N:

I hope you guys liked it! See you next time.