November 11th, 2022
0600 JST
"Music?" Kirito asked, his confusion so great that his voice simply slipped out. He was currently wandering through the Forest of Wavering Mists, scrolling through any and all of the available menus to stave off boredom. He had already organized his inventory, read the effects and bonuses of his current equipment (which were basically non-existent, because he hadn't upgraded them them since the first floor), and even calculated how much damage he could do in random scenarios. Now, he was looking at the Game Settings.
Some of them were interesting. For example, the Visual Options of Grayscale and Inverted Colors. The bright orange sky had given him odd chills, though, so he had switched them back to normal. The Audio Options were what got to him.
A specific setting, which seemed much different from the others, was simply called Music Player. Did that mean…?
Kirito clicked, and jumped backwards when the Settings screen exploded into a massive list, with an incredibly small scroll bar, indicating that there was much, much more. Luckily, there was a search bar at the top, or this would take forever. To start with, Kirito typed in his all-time favorite, the opening to an awesome anime he had watched when he was a kid. In milliseconds, the screen shifted, and the song name was highlighted. Clicking it, Kirito was even more surprised when music player controls popped up, with the play/pause button and the skip buttons. Pressing play, he was beyond ecstatic as drums began to roll in his ears. Was it directed right into his brain, or was the sound emanating from somewhere? Probably the former, but right now, he didn't care.
Kirito dropped to the dirt ground, crossed his legs, and set to work creating a gargantuan playlist.
It took at least two hours, but Kirito had finally added all the songs he could remember from his phone playlist. This thing even had the remixes for every song, so he was left wanting for nothing.
With music droning in his ears, Kirito rose to his feet at last, and once more began to make his way through the massive forest. If he remembered correctly, then the Elf War Quest started with a Random Encounter, so there was no set path to the two fighting elves.
Coincidentally, as soon as he thought that, he heard the sharp clashing of metal and loud war cries somewhere nearby, managing to bypass the Music Player. It wasn't that loud, but still. He was conflicted about finding his objective so soon; slightly annoyed he had to turn off the Music Player without even finishing a single song, and pleased that he wouldn't have to waste time.
Making his way to the sound, he found exactly what he was looking for; two figures, one clad in a midnight purple cloak and the other in a forest green, locked in a deadly duel. Last time, Kirito had helped the purple figure, so he figured there was no harm doing the same thing this time around. He had been pretty happy with the end reward, too, so more reason not to change it.
Kirito rushed in and drop-kicked the green-clad figure, sending them to the ground hard. He then turned to the elf in purple, who had frozen, staring at him warily. He waved cheekily.
"So, need any help?" Kirito asked, not really feeling like being rude. He had spent a lot of time with this elf in the Beta, so he was more inclined to be pleasant with her. Plus, she had seemed far more… Independent, than other NPCs, so much so that she was almost like another player. It would feel weird to be callous to her.
Kizmel, the Dark Elf, nodded wordlessly. With a returning nod, Kirito unsheathed his Anneal Blade- which he really needed to fix at a blacksmith's- and swiped it across the downed Forest Elf's throat, separating his head from his body. WIth a flourishing flick, he slid the sword back into its scabbard, then unequipped it. Seriously, at this rate, it would break. He would just have to make due with his hands. At least his Martial Arts Skill would get some much needed levels.
"So…" Kirito began awkwardly after a long moment of silence, "What's your name?"
"I believe you already know the answer to that, Kirito-san."
He stared at her, jaw about to hit the ground.
"What."
"What."
"Do you need me to repeat myself, Kirito-san?" Kizmel asked, voice not betraying any irritation she may have felt. That was another thing about her that unnerved Kirito; her seeming lack of emotion.
"N-no. I'm just… Having a bit of a hard time wrapping my head around this, is all."
"Understandable. According to what you have said, my memories of our previous encounter should not exist at all, and yet… Here they are. And here you are, helping me once more. Although, I fear our tasks may not be the same this time around. Whereas before, we were fighting against the Forest Elf Queendom, we are now doing our best to quell a rebellion from them."
"When you say rebellion, do you mean that…?"
"That we have successfully defeated and subjugated the Forest Elves while you were gone? Yes, we have done exactly that."
"Well that's… Good, I guess? I don't really know how to feel about that, 'cause on one hand, the people I spent my time and energy didn't lose, but on the other, slavery, which humans kinda don't like."
"Slaves? Oh, no, nothing of the sort. That would be positively barbaric. We allow them to have their own local governments, but any matters regarding their state are the business of the Dark Elf Queen. Speaking of which, we must go to her. She will be glad to hear that you are once more offering your assistance."
"Alright, lead the way. And, uh, this is kinda embarrassing, but do you think that she he an extra one of those Queen's Knightswords just lyin' around? Mine got deleted when the official version of Sword Art Online was released…" Kirito mumbled, scratching the back of his head. Luckily, Kizmel's elongated ears weren't just for show, and she heard him.
"You need but ask, Kirito-san. Though, she may be a bit upset."
"I swear, it wasn't my fault! Kayaba didn't want the Beta players to have too much of a head-start, so he had to wipe our inventories!"
Kizmel's back was to him, so he didn't see her amused smile, but he did hear her chuckling.
"Hey, are you just messing with me?"
He received no response.
"Kizmel?"
"You're mean," Kirito whined. He had just turned fourteen about a month ago, so he was allowed to act like a kid. After all, very few people considered early-teens to be anything other than babies, so may as well use that as an excuse, right?
"I have no idea what you are referring to, Kirito-san," Kizmel said, straight-faced as ever. On the inside, she was quite entertained by the short boys attitude. This was the fierce warrior who had paved the way to victory for the Dark Elf Queendom?
"You know exactly what I'm talking about- you're just being mean," Kirito muttered, crossing his arm in harmless irritation. They had reached Yofel Castle, the residence of Viscount Leyshren Zed Yofilis, and where the Dark Elf Queen Lyusula was currently staying, and were being led to the Queen by a servant. Apparently, the Queen's castle had been compromised, with some of the Dark Elves turning traitor and either allowing Forest Elves in, or attempting to assassinate the Queen themselves. Any found guilty of treason were publicly executed, but that didn't stop more of them from coming. This rebellion was starting to sound a lot more serious than it did when Kizmel first mentioned it.
"By the way, Kizmel, I don't remember what I'm supposed to say when I go in there. Isn't there some formal greeting or something?" Kirito asked. He had forgotten because it simply didn't seem that important then. Now, he was slightly regretting his decision. Oh well- if it came down to it, he would just bullshit his way through then claim cultural differences.
It didn't help that Kizmel once more conveniently became mute, and simply pushed open the ornate gold doors to the room where the Queen was holding her temporary Court.
"Kizmel!" he hissed, but the elf just kept moving, not even glancing backwards. He swore vengeance, before smoothing his face and following her as gracefully as he could. For now, he would just emulate her.
Kizmel stopped about a half-dozen meters in front of Queen Lyusula's, then bent 90 degrees at the waist, one arm crossed over her chest, with the other behind her back. Kirito stood a bit behind her, and copied the action. She then straightened up and held up two fingers on her left hand, then opened her mouth.
Out poured a series of syllables that Kirito could scarcely hope to keep up with, much less memorize and repeat. When it came his turn, he held up two fingers, and froze.
"U-um… Hi?"
"Stop laughing!" Kirito cried, pointing an accusing finger at Kizmel, who was currently on the floor of their shared room (elves weren't very big on the human concept of modesty, apparently), so uncomposed he almost couldn't believe they were the same person. Unfortunately, they were, which made it all the worse.
"I- I can't! You looked like such an idiot!" Kizmel managed to choke out. "Hi? That's the best you could come up with? Ha!"
"Well, maybe if you didn't switch to an entirely different fucking language-!"
"Okay, okay," Kizmel said, finally climbing to her feet. "I'll admit, that was a bit cruel-"
"A bit!?"
"-But nothing terrible happened. It was just some harmless fun."
"Of course you would say that- the Queen wasn't laughing at you!"
"Alright, Kirito-san." Kizmel walked over, wrapping the boy in a hug and resting her head on his. "I'm sorry. Will you forgive me?"
"Depends." His arms were still crossed, refusing to return the hug. He was enjoying her sweet, fruity scent however. "Can you get me another of the Queen's Knightswords? Also, since it's a Knight sword, doesn't that mean I'm a Knight of the Lyusulan Queendom? So do I get one of those cool rings?"
The ring in question was one which healed the user of any and all status effects, with a five-minute cooldown.
"I will see what I can do in regards to your status in the Queendom. I suspect the Queen will not be particularly averse to knighting you, and you will definitely get your sword. There are quite a few extras in the armory, and I doubt anyone would notice if one were to simply go missing," she said smiling at his petulant attitude.
Kirito sniffed haughtily. "Then, I suppose you can be forgiven. Just this once." He turned an wrapped his arms around the Dark Elf, utilizing his superior strength stat to squeeze her to the point of discomfort. He pointedly ignored the soft spheres which wrapped around his neck and lower jaw.
Kizmel squeaked at the sudden pain, and Kirito laughed. She playfully scowled at him, then stood on her tiptoes, causing her breasts to suffocate the now-panicking boy.
Kirito didn't exactly want die, but he figured that there could be worse ways.
Kirito is fourteen at the beginning in canon, so he hasn't quite yet hit the part of puberty where he grows like a beanstalk, so he'll be short. I don't know how tall Kizmel is. According to myths, they're all either super tall or super short, so I just went in between. She's a bit on the short side for humans, but still at a respectable height.
Also, he isn't quite so caught up in hormones. I don't really know how puberty works, even if I went through it, so I don't quite know when the hormones kick in. Maybe he's a late bloomer, if it's early?
As for why Kizmel is so human, I figured, Fuck it, I do what I want. So, yeah, plot-device. That's all the explanation you're getting :P
K bai :D