Heyoooo~ Me again! Four full days of uninterrupted updates from your favorite fox! With three more to go! Aren't y'all the luckiest foxes and vixens? :D
I went waaaaaaaay above the one-thou mark on this one, hitting double the word-count before the author's notes! Do I regret it? NOPE! You have a little extra to read, today!
Yes, there is a small moment with Asuna in this one but it is... more of an act of closure. It's hard to explain but the context should be made clear enough for you all to understand why I added it in there, and that it won't detract from the KiritoxArgo pairing~
So with all that said, I present day four of seven for the KArgo Shipping Express~ ;)
~Chapter 4~
~An Act of Closure~
~(AKA: Klein's BAMF Moment!)~
"Fall back!"
A sudden gush of air soon replaced the spot where several members of the party last stood, a large wakizashi tearing through with unfaltering ease before the boss took a few steps back. Both sides took the moment of lull in the battle, the group gathering themselves as they topped up their health with Crystals.
"How're we looking?" Liz panted softly, still keeping her guarded stance behind her raised buckler shield. "This thing's really fast!"
"Tch! Ain't even put much of a dent in it," Argo tched, her eyes scanning the boss' four health bars to its side, and finding that they haven't even reached past the last quarter of the first bar. "Bugger's able ta move faster than us. Kii-bou! Game plan!" she hollered, the four of them turning to Kirito for directions.
"The armor needs to be taken care of, first and foremost," Kirito began, his eyes scanning the boss before them; an old-fashioned Samurai that was kitted out in full armor, with a six-foot blade poised toward them over the shoulder. "Then we need to work on limiting his evasion, preferably by hitting the legs. Argo! Asuna! Can you two work in tandem to get to his flank, and cripple him?"
The two sisters looked towards one another, an awkward tension between the two of them after Argo had sat her down to talk about Kirito. Safe to say, Asuna hadn't taken the news well in the end; losing her composure and shouting obscenities towards Argo. It became a fighting match between them both, and the two had grown slightly distant thanks to this. Deep down, they both hated how they acted that night but hadn't felt comfortable enough to find a moment to talk about it in a more calm manner.
Everyone could tell something was up between the two but they had remained tight-lipped on the matter, Liz turning a stink-eye on Kirito before she found herself on the receiving end of two glares from Asuna and Argo. Cowed by the sudden look, she didn't speak much to him after that, out of fear of the two women. Klein tried his best to lighten the atmosphere, joking about with Kirito and getting a few laughs from everyone there. Kirito thanked him for keeping the mood up between them all, earning a shy blush from the katana-user.
"Be careful of his reaction, everyone!" Klein added in, his tone serious from the usually joking and flirty tone. "Even when he's not moving, he's still just as dangerous! Watch out for his blade, if it turns red! If ya do, get the fuck outta there! He'll be using an iaijutsu move, and it will kill you in one shot!"
"Right/Hai/Gotcha/Yosh!" the others responded in their own way, preparing themselves. The Samurai boss also noticed the sudden change in stance, since he swiftly move to intercept them before they could react. Thanks to their training, however, they were all able to dodge the incoming attack, sans Liz.
She was able to angle her buckler upon contact with the wakizashi, letting it slide past her as she had an open torso to swing at. Her mace was already moving the moment she parried the first attack, landing a resounding crack against the armor he wore on his torso. She swiftly split her legs, dropping herself to the floor whilst holding the buckler above her head and landing three swift blows to his right leg.
Seeing the sudden flexibility of Liz, Kirito moved in next and parried the incoming blade aiming for her. Klein followed the swordsman's cue and launched himself into a body tackle against the boss itself, taking a bit of recoil damage but also managing to land a bigger crack in the armor.
"Move back!" Kirito ordered, using both his hands to swing the sword against the boss. Holding it locked for a moment, he saw both Asuna and Argo running around the sides and coming in for a rear-attack. "Liz! Damage control!"
She grinned, hopping on her feet as she dashed back in alongside Kirito. The two managed to focus on each of his arms, knocking them deftly to the side with enough force to disarm him. Argo and Asuna soon followed by landing rapid strikes into the heels and calves of the boss, where he had no armor to protect. Klein was busy on his end, having moved over to the disarmed wakizashi and picking it up himself to use. He was reluctant to use this next move since it had such negative usage costs but seeing no other alternative apart from a battle of attrition, he crouched his frame around the sword while holding it to his side.
"I need a full minute, and a clear shot! Buy me time!" Klein hollered, the team of four doing their best to distract the boss who began to throw heavy blows against the group. Asuna was unlucky enough to get caught clean by one of the blows, sending her careening along the ground and slamming into the trunk of the nearby tree. Argo broke formation immediately, rushing over to her injured sister and leaving both Kirito and Liz the task of keeping the boss distracted.
"Move!" Klein yelled, his body glowing in a black-silvery aura. The sky also darkened slightly as Klein's eyes glowed a bright white, a spectral figure floating up from behind him that stilled the boss' actions; giving the time needed for Kirito and Liz to move away. His fist tightened against the hilt of the blade before slashing the air cleanly in front of him.
Silence reigned for a few seconds. The air stood still, everyone's breaths halted, and the Samurai boss slowly smiled as he accepted his defeat. Seconds before the top half of the boss' torso slowly slid from the bottom, did he explode into a shower of pixels and ending the battle.
Klein immediately dropped to his knee, panting harshly as both Kirito and Liz ran over to him. Liz reached him first, immediately using one of her healing crystals on the katana-wielder to restore his sudden drop in health. The former taking a moment to look over to where the two sisters were, patting Liz's back as a signal he'd check on the others. She looked up in surprise before eyes hardened in understanding. A swift nod was his response as he used his sprint ability to reach them quickly.
Asuna had definitely been lucky to survive the hit. She was dealing with a heavy concussion, and an alarming seven percent of health from her initial hundred. Argo hurriedly checked over her sister, checking for any more injuries and the chance of internal injuries after the impact with the trunk. She took a sigh of relief when her sister's status returned to normal once she used the Full-Restore Crystal she had earned from a rare quest, not even a few days prior.
"How's she doing?" Kirito asked, wrapping an arm around Argo and pulling her into his side. She made no move to resist the movement, leaving against him and exhaling deeply.
"Nacchan's gonna be fine, thankfully," Argo commented in relief, taking in Kirito's scent to calm her down further. "She's a lucky bitch ta have survived that, I can't deny it~" she quipped, earning a grin and a painful snort of laughter from the rapier-user. Both were alarmed to see unfocused eyes staring up at the two of them, a quick scan of them both before a sad smile appeared on her face.
"Guess… I was too late, huh?" Asuna joked, though her tears began to fall from her cheeks. Kirito looked apologetically towards her, earning a tender yet understanding look. "It's okay, Kirito-kun~ You don't have to be sorry to me because of this, it's me not being fast enough," she smiled sadly, reaching out to take his hand in hers. Argo smiled in response to the action, allowing Kirito to squeeze Asuna's hand.
"Take care of my little sister, will you?" she whispered, glancing over to see both Liz and Klein both still away from the three of them. He gave her the warmest smile he could, nodding to her in response. She glanced over to Argo, seeing a teary smile on the info-broker's face as she nodded in return. Asuna gently waved Kirito down to where she was, taking the moment to kiss him for the first and last time. She held it for as long as her breath allowed her to before pulling back, allowing a relieved sigh from her as she regarded the two.
"I asked Hosaka-chan for the one chance to do that so don't feel guilty because of it, Kirito-kun. It's my blessing for you both, and a selfish request of me for just one kiss from you. I can be happy knowing you had my first~" Asuna whispered softly, earning a shocked look from Kirito before allowing a warm smile to grace his features.
"Thank you, Asuna-chan~ I promise to take care of Saka-chan, the same way I know she'll take care of me. And… thank you for feeling this way about me, and that I'm sorry I can't return the feelings," Kirito whispered back his response, earning a beatific smile from the older sibling. The three turned their heads, watching Liz slowly carry Klein over to where they were and setting him down next to Asuna.
"What move was that, at the end?" Kirito inquired, having never encountered an ability that would be able to one-shot a boss of all things! Klein grinned, though exhaustion dampened the tone behind his words.
"I, uh… saw it in a game once, and I ended up unlocking the move as an Original Skill," Klein proudly boasted, stunning the four of them as they never expected Klein to come up with an Original Skill of his own. "I can only use it with a large blade, like the wakizashi I've just used, and just won as the Last Attack Bonus; but it's a recoil-based move.
I need either thirty, or sixty seconds of uninterrupted focus, and gotta sacrifice up to three-quarters of my current health to use. The more health I sacrifice, the better the chances I have landing it! But providing I get the two off, and enough of a chance to land it? OHKO, baby!" he grinned widely, a cough breaking his stride for a split second before he recovered as fast.
"The move's name is called Shin-Zantetsuken, an upgraded form of its base attack, Zantetsuken; and can only be learned by someone who's mastered the Katana-tree. If there's any other prerequisites, then I dunno! Should be enough of a nugget to help ya out, Argo! Just remember to give me my share of the cut, eh?" Klein quipped, earning a snort of amusement from the info-broker as she regarded him.
"Ya know what? I'm feeling generous today, so I'll give ya a twenty-percent cut of any Col I make from this tidbit, sa~ I'll also need ya to see if ya jus' an exception to the move, or if anyone can learn it, so expect a message from lil ol' me~" Argo offered, her hand out in front of her as Klein grasped it without a second thought.
"Deal!" Klein grinned, everyone still stunned at the generosity of Argo today. She still helped them out quite often but she still expected some form of payment in regard to some of the more juicer info she often found. It was refreshing to see her paying someone for something that she got given for free. Asuna looked at Kirito, and sent a coy smile his way since she knew it was thanks to him that her sister was like this.
Kirito just sighed in relief, still having kept his arm around Argo the entire time and no-one mentioning a thing about it. He opened his menu, and pulled out an assortment of foods he had bought a few days before; a small item in his inventory keeping them fresh for an indefinite amount of time.
"Here! Let's grab a bite here, shall we? We deserve a break after that," he offered, earning cheers and nods from the four of them as they all began to tuck in.
~Chapter End~
It's always something about writing fighting scenes that always get me; long enough to keep people enthralled, short enough to keep them entertained! As such, I figure that Klein take the spotlight for this one! The guy needs some love, too!
But as you've seen, now the kiss from Asuna makes sense! It was hard to describe it but you can (hopefully) see the intentions behind it and why it happened! It's for the sake of character-development, so I keep telling myself~ xD
Anywho! That's me for the night! Catch you beautiful foxes and vixens tomorrow for the next update! Nos da~ =^.^=