A swift jab, followed by a vicious hook, then lash out with a quick kick to create some distance.

Take a breath.

Dive back in.

Use the momentum to strike hard, with the mother of all haymakers. While they're staggered, push on with an uppercut to the jaw. The neck's exposed now- a quick chop sends their head snapping back down, bringing it right into the path of a speedy straight. They stumble back.

Don't let up!

Rush forward, grab onto the front of whatever they're wearing- or their fur, if that's all that's available- while their balance is off, and drag them in a circle. Let go, and watch them fly, falling onto their back.

They're vulnerable now!

Jump on them, feet planted right in the middle of their stomach. They're winded, hardly able to fight back now. Drop down, pinning their hands with your knees, and rain hell upon their face. One, two, three- three punches, and the whole thing's over.

November 15th, 2022

0730 JST

Kirito exhaled heavily when the Forest Elf shattered into a thousand rainbow polygons, which dissipated with the wind. He pushed himself off his knees, then onto his feet.

He glanced over at his partner, whose eyes were slightly wide.

"What?" he asked, curious. Kizmel just shook her head, and he dropped the topic, sending them back into silence.

In her head, however, Kizmel was a bit shaken up. His Martial Arts Skill needed leveling up, sure, but did he have to be so brutal about it? She was no stranger to killing fellow Elves, whether they be of the Forest or the Dark, but that what with swords. It tended to be much more impersonal with a blade in hand, so Kizmel never really had to think about it. However, watching Kirito's… Eagerness, to crack their skulls was disturbing, especially from someone so young.

They had just finished off a small party of Forest Elves, who some scouts had found snooping around Yofel Castle. Queen Lyusula decided that Kirito needed to prove he was still in-shape, so she requested that he do it. The boy had taken this as the chance to release the pent-up anger at being laughed at the other day (which was still strong after 96 hours, and renewed with every remembrance), and he did so quite violently. There were 4 Forest Elves, and he had taken them all down with just his bare hands. He had asked Kizmel to sit this one, and she somewhat regretted listening. Maybe then she would have been too distracted to watch that massacre, like all the other times?

They walked back to castle, quiet for a while, until Kizmel finally opened her mouth.

"Kirito-san, was all of that truly… Necessary?"

He glanced back at her. "What, killing them all? Yeah, it's kinda what the Queen asked us to do…"

"Not that. I meant… Did you need to be so… Vicious?" Kizmel said slowly, searching for the right words.

Kirito simply shrugged. "Well, probably not, but it was a lot of fun." Kizmel froze at the admittance, causing Kirito to stop as well. He took a step closer to her. "Does that make you uncomfortable?"

Kizmel remained silent for a moment, before nodding. Kirito stared at her, then sighed.

"I guess I can avoid doing stuff like that when you're around. It's a good thing I grind so much, otherwise I would go crazy from boredom."

"When do you go out? We are together for much of the day, and I don't seem to recall..."

"Oh, i go whenever you're sleeping." Kirito did not seem at all worried about that statement.

"Every night!?" Kizmel cried, startling the boy.

"Um, yeah? What else am I gonna do, watch you sleep? That's creepy!"

"Kirito-san…" Kizmel said, fearful to ask this question, but also incredibly concerned, "When, exactly, was the last time you slept?"

The boy blinked, then tilted his head to the side. He raised a finger and opened his mouth, as if to answer, but froze. Finally, he opened his Game Menu- an action which still surprised Kizmel- and consulted the world clock.

"Uh, last week, I think?"

Kizmel could not even work up the righteous rage to shout at him, the confession leaving her weak from shock. Then, she remembered something else, perhaps equally horrible. She had never seen the boy consume even a loaf of bread, despite him always being present at the dinner table.

"When was the last time you ate?"

"...I haven't eaten since this game started, which was… Nine days ago."

"How…?" Kizmel muttered, prompting Kirito to come closer, since he couldn't hear her properly. "How are you still standing!?" she shouted suddenly, startling the gamer and making him jump backwards.

"What do you mean?"

"It's not possible to go for seven whole days without eating or sleeping! Any other being would have dropped dead from exhaustion, but here you are, fighting in the field like nothing's wrong…!" she cried, voice strangled by worry.

"Hey, hey, relax!" Kirito said, stepping forward and clasping Kizmel's arm. "There's nothing wrong- seriously, I feel fine."

"How could you possibly be fine!?"

"Remember what I said about this originally being a game for me?"

Kizmel nodded, panic subsiding to be replaced by confusion.

"This isn't my real body. It's the one that was made to allow me access to this world; It's a fake, and it doesn't need to sleep or eat."

Kizmel's eyes widened. He hadn't ever explained that before, so it came as a complete surprise.

"If this body is not real… Then are you also-?"

"No, my mind is real. Everything we've done is real. We're still friends, Kizmel. I just… Happen to be less needy," Kirito said, attempting to soothe the Dark Elf. They had grown close over these last few days, and it seemed he had latched onto her as the only source of human interaction he'd had in a while (including his time in the real world). He was astounded to see her getting this emotional, and was somewhat touched that it was out of concern for him, misplaced though it may be.

Kizmel swallowed heavily, then dragged the boy into a hug, attempting to squeeze the life out of him. She had the strangest urge to hold on tight to him, as if the closer she got to this apparently-fake body, the closer she would be to the actual Kirito-san.

"Well, if I have so many needs, then perhaps you would be willing to help me with some of them?"

Kirito was halfway through nodding his head, before his eyes narrowed. "That sounded incredibly suggestive."

Kizmel finally cracked a smile, though it was quite small. "Nothing like that- not yet, at least."

"Eat," Kizmel commanded, pushing a platter of meat, bread, and vegetables in front of Kirito. The boy blinked at her, glanced at the tray, then looked back at her.

"What?" he asked dumbly, completely uncomprehensive. They were sitting at the dinner table, like usual, accompanied by the rest of the current inhabitants of Yofel Castle, including the Queen and her entourage.

"Eat. You said you would help me with my needs, correct?" Kizmel said, reminding him of their earlier conversation. But he had never agreed to anything…

"Wait-" he attempted to say, but was cut off by the Dark Elf.

"Well, I need to see you eat to have peace of mind."

"But-"

"A perturbed mind may throw off a warrior's focus in battle, resulting in them making a fatal mistake- therefore, a stable mental state is completely necessary."

Man, she was ruthless. With no other choice, Kirito picked up an unassuming piece of bread, and began to nibble on it. Kizmel's stare was attempting to burn a hole through him, and he ducked his head to avoid. Unfortunately, it was not that simple.

"Kirito-san," Kizmel said clearly, quite obviously faking the calm he heard. He chanced a glance up, and regretted his decision in an instant; the glint in her eye promised pain if he didn't comply. Kirito wondered if now was a good time to tell her that SAO Avatars don't feel pain.

Rather than voice that thought, the gamer began to eat more vigorously, hoping to keep his mouth full so that his body didn't suddenly become rebellious and spew that thought. When that loaf of bread was done, he picked up a fork and speared a steak, cutting it up then plopping the pieces in his mouth. When he finally finished the meat, he noticed that people were beginning to leave the table, so he pushed his plate away from him and stood up.

"I think dinner's over, so I'm gonna go do… Stuff." He stared at Kizmel for a long while, and her lack of an answer unnerved him enough that he decided to just take his chances and flee while he still had the chance. The instance he turned his back, however, his hopes were shattered like glass.

"Kirito-san?"

Against his better judgement- or perhaps because of it, since ignoring Kizmel would probably not end well (not that this would end well either way)- he turned around and faced the Dark Elf. Her arms were crossed underneath her chest, and she was drumming her fingers on her upper-arm. All in all, she did not look happy.

"Y-yes?" he asked weakly, hoping against hope that she would ask him something mundane. That dream was also crushed.

"It is getting quite late, and I believe that we should return to our room for the night. After all, we have a long day tomorrow, and a tired warrior is an ineffective one."

"O-oh, really? Well, I guess I'll see you in the morning."

She was not impressed by his attempt to weasel his way out of there.

"Kirito-san, you will be coming with me."

"FIne," he muttered, shoulders slumping in defeat.

"Well, good night Kizmel," Kirito called to his roommate. He had no intention of sleeping, but figured it would be better to at least fake it until the elf was unconscious. Then, he could slip out, and only lose a few minutes rather than a few hours. Things did not go according to plan. At all.

The bed he was lying on lurched to the side slightly, indicating that there was a weight there, meaning Kizmel was now sitting on his bed. He refused to turn, just in case Kizmel thought he was actually asleep and left him alone. He did not expect her to lift the covers, and he definitely did not expect her to slide under them next him.

"I know that you are not asleep yet, Kirito-san," she whispered in his ear. She was so close that her breath tickled him, and her rather large breasts were pressed against his back. Knowing the jig was up, Kirito turned to her, and was reminded that Dark Elves did not have the same sense of modesty as humans.

"K-Kizmel! Where are your- your clothes!?" he choked out, frozen in shock.

She was either oblivious, or uncaring, of his discomfort. Likely the latter. "What do you mean, Kirito-san? This is how I normally sleep."

"O-ok, but what happened to no suggestive things!?" he asked, reminding her of their conversation earlier in the day.

"I am simply making sure you do not attempt to fool me, Kirito-san. We will not be doing anything other than sleeping," Kizmel said, though the words were betrayed by her shifting so that her face was closer to his.

"There's no way I can sleep like this!" Kirito whimpered. At this point, he could hardly twitch without making their lips connect, so he stayed perfectly still.

"I'm sure I can help with that." Did she just purr?

That thought, along with all others, were blown out of his mind when Kizmel tugged him forwards, slamming his head against her collarbone, face barely above her breasts. If he moved at all, he would end up touching her inappropriately, so he once more stayed still. Unbeknownst to him, Kizmel had fallen asleep with a small smile on her face.

He was in for a long night.

Yay, bed-sharing for the win. A bit (a lot) quick, but I'm just gonna fall back on the excuse that elves either don't care about human modesty, or are much more direct with what they want.