Despite his outwardly "edgy" appearance, as Argo put it, Kirito did not actually enjoy the dark.
He didn't have a phobia of the dark necessarily, but like the vast majority of the human race the dark still unnerved him. The dark was the unknown, not only in a metaphorical sense but in a literal sense as well. Like now, as he walked through the dark catacombs, he could only see five feet in front of him and so understandably he was a little on edge. Honestly, the only way he was navigating these tunnels was by using his minimap, but since they'd never explored here before it could only help so much.
He hated it. It was times like these he simultaneously thanked and cursed Kayaba for making everything so realistic. It was his only way of experiencing his surroundings, but it was also that sensory input that unnerved him. The way the lack of light permeated every inch of his vision. The sensation of musky, dank moldy air hanging in his nostrils. The sound of footsteps as he softly walked forward, the silence being interrupted by the faint clacking of his shoes. The warm feeling of Asuna walking arguably too close behind him, unwilling to stray further for fear of becoming separated.
Okay, maybe it wasn't all that bad.
"Do you see anything, Kirito?" Asuna whispered, her warm breath hitting the back of his neck.
He took it all back. He was thankful it was incredibly dark right now, else she would see the overwhelming flush in his cheeks and throttle him unconscious from embarrassment. Or anger.
Probably both, actually.
Kirito softly cleared his throat to collect his thoughts and drive down his blush. "No, nothing yet. I can't see a thing with how dark it is down here."
"I wonder if the others are having any luck." Asuna whispered. "I get why we did it, but I still hate that we all had to split up."
He didn't disagree. Kizmel had pointed out that these catacombs had multiple entrances and exits, so in order to cut off any potential avenues of escape for the Fallen Elves, the Renegades decided to pair up and approach from multiple entrances. Everyone stuck with their original partner from the treasure hunt, with Kizmel taking Argo's place as Sinon's partner. Kirito quickly opened his menu and checked his messages. Nobody reported anything new.
"Nothing yet." Kirito whispered, glancing over at Asuna. "Let's keep going."
He could barely see her features but he could clearly see the silhouette of her head nod. Together they continued down the dark hallway, until a few minutes later they could see the faint glow of a light coming from around the corner.
"That could be something." Kirito said in a hushed tone. "Come on."
The duo hurriedly, yet softly, rushed forward until they reached the corner of the hallway. Slowly, they craned their necks towards the edge of the wall, peeking around the corner carefully. As the hallway bent, it opened up into a circular chamber that was illuminated by torchlight. Kirito strained his ears, trying to pick up and decipher whatever mumbling he could hear from within. It sounded like two voices, and a quick glance around the corner confirmed that they belonged to two Fallen Elves.
"... You failed?!" A feminine voice cried out.
"Yes, ma'am." A male voice, rife with regret and shame, answered. "We did not anticipate there to be so many humans together, and a Dark Elf intervened."
"That must be the Fallen Elf that ambushed us yesterday." Asuna whispered. In order to avoid detection, she withdrew and was standing against the wall next to Kirito. While she wasn't next to the edge like Kirito was, she could clearly still listen in and follow along.
Kirito nodded before turning back to the conversation.
"... any case, it doesn't matter." The female continued. Kirito grimaced, having apparently missed a part of the conversation because he'd been focused on Asuna. "Once we finish here, the Lyusulans will have other things to worry about than us."
"We have enough time to get out, right?" The male asked hesitantly.
"You'd question your superior?" The female retorted, irritation - or was it anger? - seeping into her voice. "Of course we have enough time. Our mission isn't suicidal, you idiot."
"Y-yes, of course." The male quickly said. "My apologies."
"You're lucky we're in a hurry or I'd stop to properly reprimand you." The female scolded. "Now finish setting the fuse so we can get out of here."
At the mention of the word 'fuse,' Asuna gasped just a little louder than Kirito would have liked, the sharp intake of breath echoing down the hallway. Kirito's eyes went wide and he quickly peeked around the corner. Both elves stopped what they were doing almost immediately.
"What was that?" The female asked.
"I thought that was you, ma'am…" The male replied.
"Why would I gasp at my own order?" The female barked. "It came from that hallway, go check it out. Idiot."
"Yes ma'am." The male begrudgingly, yet apologetically, replied.
Kirito heard the rhythmic clatter of boots on stone and realized that the subordinate elf was heading their direction. He glanced down the hallway, desperate for some way to hide. Unfortunately, even at a dead sprint and disregarding the sound that kind of panicked escape would make, they wouldn't be able to reach the other end of the hallway and round the corner in time. He glanced over at Asuna, who was clearly having similar thoughts and doubts. He could try using his ((Hiding)) skill; his coat had a natural bonus to the skill but that would leave Asuna exposed. He supposed he could…
That train of thought was almost immediately interrupted as he heard the footsteps getting closer. He had no time. She'd kill him later for it, but it just might work.
Kirito quickly unfastened the belt strap holding the front of his ((Coat of Midnight)) together and threw himself over Asuna, trying his best to use the cloak to conceal himself and as much of her as he could. Just as he could see a boot enter the edge of his peripheral vision, he activated his ((Hiding)) skill and huddled against the wall, inadvertently pinning the fencer between himself and the cold stone wall. He heard an initial gasp of alarm from his vice leader but it was stifled just as quickly. Asuna must have understood what he was doing.
If she hadn't, she probably would have made him a human pincushion by now.
He didn't dare turn his head to look, but the immediate silence that followed as the Fallen Elf surveyed the hallway told him they hadn't been spotted. Kirito looked down at Asuna, whose expression was some mixture of shock, determination, and flustered. He knew they were entirely too close for comfort right now, literally inches apart. He knew all too well how Asuna felt about these sorts of things; he would never say it to her face, but he'd characterize her as a bit of a tsundere. She had her genuine and heartfelt moments from time to time, but on the whole she was very combative when it came to close contact or anything even remotely resembling innuendo, especially when it came to him.
He could still feel that slap from over a week ago.
"Must have been the wind, ma'am." The male shouted back to his superior. Kirito heard the sound of retreating footsteps. "Or perhaps we're both tired."
"The latter seems more likely given that we're nowhere near close to the entrance." The female responded. "There. Done. Let's move."
Kirito could once more hear the sound of footsteps, but this time it was a pair and given how quiet they were getting, the two Fallen Elves were clearly running out of the chamber. He looked over at Asuna again, who was still pinned between him and the wall. The shock of the experience had given way and while she still looked flustered, he could tell by looking into her eyes that at least she wasn't thinking of skewering him.
He paused.
He felt like those hazel eyes of hers were staring into his soul.
The sound of something sizzling broke him out of his trance. Asuna must have realized what it was before he did, because her eyes went wide as she looked up at him, her face mere inches from his.
"The fuse, Kirito!" She cried, shoving him off of her and dashing around the corner. "Come on!"
Kirito shook his head, still jostled from his abrupt collision with the stone floor. He scrambled to his feet and ran into the chamber. In the center of the circular room was a stack of wooden barrels, numbering about a half dozen if Kirito had to eyeball it. Emerging from the middle of the stack was a long, thin rope that reached about halfway out of the width of the circular room. The very end of the rope was sparking as the length grew shorter and shorter with every second.
Kirito dove at the fuse, attempting to put it out with his hands. He could feel the heat of the sparking fuse through his gloves and while he couldn't feel any sort of burning pain, a quick glance at his HUD told him he was taking minor damage from direct contact with it. However, no matter how much he tried to smother the spark, it would not go out.
"It's not going out!" Kirito exclaimed, trying his best to remain calm despite the literal lit powder keg waiting nearby. He hurriedly started to gather some nearby debris in an attempt to smother it with dirt and stone when he felt something tug on his back.
He looked over his shoulder to see that Asuna had pulled his longsword out of its sheath. She quickly brandished the sword and slashed downward, severing the fuse halfway between where it was sparking and where the barrels rested. Kirito blinked, dumbfounded and irritated that he hadn't thought of that. He looked back down at the sparking fuse, grabbed a length of unsparked rope, and tossed it away from the barrels. Shortly afterward, the length of the severed fuse burned itself out and the chamber grew quiet again.
"Heh. Good work." Kirito awkwardly complimented. "Don't know why I didn't think of that."
Asuna smirked and shrugged. "I'm sure you would have thought of it eventually but we didn't have that kind of time."
Kirito chuckled. He probably wouldn't have, but the faith - however misplaced - was appreciated anyway. Leave it to Asuna to think of something so simple and efficient, yet so out-of-the-box for a game like this.
"Wonder what they were doing with all of this…" Asuna said aloud as she walked around the perimeter of the pile of barrels.
"Blowing something up…" Kirito trailed.
Asuna shot him a glare. "Thanks, Kirito. I never would have guessed."
"Sorry. I was just wondering what they were looking to blow up." Kirito quickly amended. He looked around the chamber. There wasn't anything of note inside here that he could see, at least. "What's so valuable around here that needs six barrels of gunpowder?"
"This much firepower would blow up more than just this chamber." Asuna said as she glanced at the nearby hallways.
Kirito was about to respond when he heard something faint in the distance. It sounded like metal striking metal. "Wait, do you hear that?"
"... Yeah, I do." Asuna said after a moment. She looked down the hallway opposite the one they came from. "This way."
With a nod, Kirito followed Asuna down the hallway. As the sound grew steadily louder, it became clear that it wasn't just the sound of metal, but a series of grunts and heavy breathing. Kirito looked towards the fencer, who in turn nodded. They quickened their pace and shortly after found themselves looking at a skirmish between two Fallen Elves and two familiar figures: Kizmel and Sinon.
Kizmel was doing her best to keep the two Fallen Elves at bay and away from Sinon, but despite Sinon's oppressive shots, the battle was quickly becoming one sided. Sinon was fantastic support in a battle, but with Kizmel outnumbered in a melee scuffle, the archer found herself having to dodge and evade much more than usual. With at least one Fallen Elf at any given time harassing her, she wasn't able to get many shots off.
With nary a word between them, Kirito and Asuna leapt into the fray. Asuna went to reinforce Kizmel against her foe while Kirito jumped in between the male Fallen Elf and Sinon.
"Thanks." Sinon said as she rolled to the side. She immediately nocked another arrow onto her bowstring. "Couldn't keep this guy off me."
"No problem." Kirito replied as he locked blades with the Fallen Elf, who looked rather startled at the sudden intrusion. "Would have come sooner, but we had to defuse what could have been an explosive situation."
Kirito grinned as he heard a groan come from Asuna. He had a feeling Argo, Liz, or Leonn would have appreciated that pun. Maybe the others were starting to rub off on him. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, honestly.
An arrow whizzed past his head and slammed into the shoulder of the Fallen Elf, bringing Kirito out of his thoughts. Seizing the momentary distraction, Kirito shoved forward and pushed his foe off-balance. With his longsword no longer locked in a struggle, Kirito lashed out twice with his weapon, carving an 'X' into the elf's torso. The elf stumbled back, only to be met with a ((Horizontal)) across his midsection as Kirito spun and whipped his sword around once more.
Kirito glanced over at Kizmel and Asuna, who were dealing with the female Fallen Elf. Much to his surprise, their enemy was holding her own for the most part. While she was certainly fighting defensively, it was nonetheless impressive that she wasn't already dead given Kizmel's strength and Asuna's speed. Content to see his friends still alive and arguably winning, Kirito turned his attention back to the elf he and Sinon were fighting.
The Fallen Elf ran forward and swung his blade towards Kirito's head horizontally. Kirito easily ducked under the blade, only to realize that the strike was a feint when the elf's knee came flying up, cracking violently against the swordsman's jaw. Kirito stumbled back, surprised that an NPC was capable of feinting like that. The elf lunged forward with his blade, fully intending to skewer Kirito before a glowing arrow impacted against the elf's ribcage, interrupting the attack and sending the elf off-course.
"Thanks." Kirito said as he recovered. He rubbed his jaw, more out of reflex than in pain. "Didn't think he'd do something like that."
Kirito decided he'd perform a feint of his own. Sizing up the elf before him, who'd since recovered from Sinon's attack, Kirito ran forward and slashed diagonally. The elf met the blade halfway, successfully intercepting it.
That was exactly what Kirito was hoping would happen.
Using the momentum of the first failed strike, Kirito spun and swept out his leg, catching the elf off-guard and sending him tumbling to the floor. Kirito quickly stood and thrust downward with his longsword, dealing a critical strike to the elf's torso and immediately scattering him into polygons.
"Asuna, switch!" Kizmel shouted, drawing Kirito's attention away from his slain foe and over to the Dark Elf and the fencer. Kizmel parried the remaining Fallen Elf's blade with her own, and in that brief period of mutual recoil the chestnut-haired fencer rocketed forward to deal a flurry of thrusts with the rapier.
Kirito chuckled dryly to himself as a smirk took hold. He still wasn't quite used to Kizmel's ability to pick up on player terminology. To think that an NPC, even one as unique as Kizmel, would be able to behave almost identically to a player, was something Kirito was getting used to but was no less amazed by every time it was presented to him. That was made abundantly obvious by the almost seamless switch he was watching her execute with Asuna.
Almost. He found himself agreeing with his guildmates; while Kizmel's was impressive, his own ability to switch with Asuna was borderline perfection.
"Fools!" The Fallen Elf cackled, even as she staggered back from the force of Asuna's attack. "You may win this battle, but not the war. Any second now…"
Kirito stood back and watched the Fallen Elf try her best to fend off Kizmel and Asuna's continued strikes. Neither looked particularly bothered by the sudden and bold threat. Kirito initially chalked it up to melodrama, the Fallen Elf clearly having been scripted to give some sort of ominous threat that would foreshadow further conflict. That was, until he saw the Fallen Elf's eyes go wide after several seconds.
"... What…?" The Fallen Elf muttered under her breath. While obviously aimed at herself, her self-musings were still loud enough for everyone to hear. "I don't understand… It should have gone off by now."
Kirito's eyes widened slightly in understanding. So that's what she meant.
"Oh, you're hinting at the pile of explosives you set back there, right? Yeah, we took care of that already." Kirito nonchalantly said, crossing his arms confidently. He looked over at Asuna, who was giving him a knowing, if not accusatory, look. "Not me specifically, but let's just say there'll be no unwelcome surprises tonight."
The Fallen Elf's eyes bulged at that before they narrowed in outright rage. She didn't even bother to give a proper retort, instead opting to give a wordless yell and charge at Kirito specifically, ignoring Kizmel and Asuna entirely. Kirito instinctively took a step back, not suspecting this outburst of violent rage from the NPC.
Apparently he'd struck a nerve. Was that even possible for an NPC? At least one that wasn't Kizmel?
An arrow streaked past Kirito's shoulder, planting itself in the Fallen Elf's thigh and crippling her movement. Kirito looked over his shoulder to give Sinon a nod of wordless thanks before he leapt forward to meet the crazed elf. In an instant, he closed the distance and locked blades with the elf. However, he'd underestimated the strength this Fallen Elf had, which was apparently also buffed by whatever enrage effect he'd somehow triggered when he taunted her. Very soon, he found himself losing this battle, the Fallen Elf's blade pushing down and quickly overpowering him.
He fell to one knee as he struggled to keep his enraged foe at bay. He silently cursed at himself; he'd gotten too confident. As the blade crept closer and closer to his face, he remembered just how dangerous and real this world really was.
There was a reason people called this the death game.
"Get off of him!"
Kirito's eyes flickered over to the left to see Asuna charging forward, rapier drawn and at the ready. She closed the distance even faster than he had and without any hesitation activated a sword skill, piercing the elf's flank with multiple thrusts of her glowing pink rapier.
The Fallen Elf roared out in pain. That momentary lapse in concentration was enough, however, for Kirito to shift his weight and allow the elf's sword to slip past and away from him, harmlessly streaking into the stone floor below. With the elf off-balance, Kirito spun and lashed out with a ((Vertical)) before leaping backward. As opportune as Asuna's intervention was, he wasn't about to get cocky again. It was time to step back, disengage, and re-evaluate the threat.
Asuna likewise leapt back, seemingly of the same mindset as Kirito. The two slowly began to circle around the injured - and frankly manic - Fallen Elf, both players flanking the NPC on opposite sides yet not close enough to warrant any unnecessary attacks.
A quick glance above the Fallen Elf's head indicated that it was near death, at least. A couple of quick strikes, if timed properly, would probably dispatch her. The trouble was getting up close enough to actually hit her without risking heavy retaliation.
He looked across the Fallen Elf and locked eyes with Asuna. Her own gaze was just as fierce and focused as he imagined his own to be right now. He gave her a nod as he shifted the longsword in his hand. She nodded in return before setting her sights on their enemy once more. He hoped she understood what he meant by that subtle, silent exchange.
I'll keep her occupied. Take her out.
Kirito slowly came to a halt, stopping his slow circular pace around the elf and brandishing his longsword. The Fallen elf seemed to spot the change in behavior and readied her blade in kind. Briefly making eye contact with the fencer opposite him, he dashed forward and struck with a ((Horizontal)). If the strike worked, he'd be that much closer to killing the elf. If it didn't work, it would prompt a dodge backward or a parry of her own.
Either way, prime conditions for Asuna to take advantage of.
The Fallen Elf seemed to choose option number two, hopping a short distance backward to avoid the wide-sweeping longsword. Almost immediately after, Asuna slammed into the elf's back and struck out with another sword skill. Within a matter of seconds, the Fallen Elf shattered into the typical polygons that he and everyone else in Aincrad had grown so accustomed to. Kirito let out a sigh of relief and felt his tired body relax just a little.
"That was close." Kirito huffed out.
Asuna walked up and smacked his shoulder. "Too close! Any longer and she would have overpowered you!"
"I know." Kirito said, trying his best to calm his livid vice-leader.
"You could have died!" The fencer pressed.
"Okay, okay!" Kirito said, taking a step back and raising his hands up in a placating manner. "I get it! I messed up. Won't happen again."
"It better not, Kirito." Asuna said with a pout.
Were he not trying his damnedest to appease the furious fencer, he might have made an off-handed comment about how cute her pouting looked just to see what kind of reaction he'd get out of her.
Then again, Kirito didn't feel like dying today.
"Thank you for the assistance." Kizmel said, interrupting the rather tense exchange between the two Renegade leaders. She stepped forward and placed a hand over her chest in what amounted to a casual salute or greeting. "While I am sure Sinon and I could have eventually dispatched the duo ourselves, the help is still appreciated. It also sounds as if you thwarted some plan of theirs as well?"
"Yep." Kirito said, turning his attention to the Dark Elf and nodding. "They had a pile of explosives deeper in the catacombs here and were going to blow them up. We were able to defuse them before - "
*AHEM.*
Asuna furrowed her brow as she looked at Kirito.
"Okay, Asuna defused the bombs before they exploded." Kirito corrected, earning a small smile from the fencer. "Not sure what they were planning on blowing up, though."
"Explosives?" Sinon asked. "Didn't know they had that kind of thing… uhh, here."
"Indeed. Explosives are rare and expensive to manufacture here in Aincrad." Kizmel said, her head slightly bowed in deep thought. A twinge of determination - or was that recognition? - flashed across her eyes as she looked up at Kirito and Asuna.
"Show me."
After showing Kizmel the stockpile of inert explosives, Asuna and the others quickly reunited with the rest of the Renegades to share what they'd learned. Much to her surprise, it seemed that she, Kirito, Kizmel, and Sinon had the most active experience in the catacombs. Everyone else's activities in the dark, dank tunnels had amounted to effectively nothing, save the occasional mummy they had to kill either out of necessity or boredom.
Apparently she and Kirito just couldn't stay away from trouble.
Now all nine - technically ten, Asuna corrected herself as she looked to Kizmel - were sitting in the 5th floor town's tavern to discuss their next course of action. As they all talked amongst themselves, Asuna had to consciously ignore the startled or dumbfounded looks they were getting by some of the people walking by. Most of them were tourists, or lower-level players who simply visited the higher levels out of curiosity. All of them, Asuna realized, were probably weirded out by the group of nine players so casually making conversation with a Dark Elf NPC.
"So why do you think they were using explosives, Kizmel?" Yuna asked, drawing Asuna's attention back to the conversation at hand.
Kizmel took a swig from the mug in front of her before she gently sat it back down. "I have an idea, but I would need to look at a map of this floor before I can say anything for sure. If I'm right..."
Asuna looked to Kirito. "Have the DKB and ALS given out any map data yet? They have to have made some progress in the two days we've been here."
Kirito looked pensive for a moment before he looked up to meet the fencer's eyes. "I'm not sure. I'll send Argo a message and see what she might have."
As Kirito typed away furiously at his menu, undoubtedly sending a message to the Rat in question, Asuna turned towards Kizmel, who was curiously looking over Kirito's shoulder. She doubted the Dark Elf could actually see what Kirito was typing - no one could right now, since he hadn't set his menu to visible - but that didn't seem to be stopping their friend from trying to understand what was going on.
Asuna giggled and turned to Liz, who was sitting on her right and digging into the meal in front of her. Quite voraciously, Asuna realized.
"Any luck with the new weapons, Liz?" Asuna asked, inquiring not only out of curiosity but also to make casual conversation with the blacksmith. In between floor bosses, elf war campaign quests, and just level-grinding in general, she realized that she and Liz didn't get to talk that much. It certainly didn't help that half of Liz's spare time seemed to be dedicated to smithing and making sales in the market stalls of the highest available floor at any given time. It was a wonder the blacksmith didn't exhaust herself from the constant work.
"Almost!" Liz replied after she swallowed what remained of the bread loaf in front of her. "I'm planning on using the rest of the ore Leonn and I gathered tonight. I'll keep the best weapons for us and sell off the rest."
Asuna still couldn't believe her friend was somehow able to find the time to clear floors and make a living as a blacksmith. She had a hard enough time keeping up with Kirito and the others without a hobby as time-demanding as blacksmithing. At least she could practice her cooking every night without having to worry about selling it. She didn't have to chase down her customers; her guildmates were almost always around.
"How do you do it, Liz?" Asuna finally asked, earning a look of confusion from the blacksmith in question. "You're always clearing floors with us, yet you still somehow manage to keep up your blacksmithing on the side. Do you even sleep?"
Liz nervously laughed, her body language shifting from her usual confidence to something more uncomfortable. "Not as much as I'd like to, honestly. If I could sell my weapons faster, I'd have more time to sleep, but as it is I have to keep my stall open longer just so I can break even."
"Have you thought of ways to bring more customers in?" Asuna asked, genuinely curious as to what sort of strategies the blacksmith might have already used. The fencer had overheard enough of her father's marketing and advertising phone meetings; maybe she could give some advice to her friend.
"I'm not sure how." Liz admitted as she looked down, either in thought or in shame. "You remember how I said I was very into crafts in real life?"
Asuna nodded, remembering the conversation she and Liz had with the other girls in Castle Yofel.
"I've never had to worry about selling anything I made." Liz continued. "I never did any sort of commission work. I just made things because I wanted to, not because I needed money."
That made sense. Liz looked to be about her same age, and not many students had any sort of job-like experience, instead opting to focus on their studies or the development of any extracurricular activities. Only a handful of students ever decided to make money on the side, and even then those efforts weren't very successful because of their inexperience with real-world economics. The only reason Asuna was able to look at this objectively was her personal experience with how her father and brother worked. Both were fairly successful businessmen and had imparted at least some helpful tips and tricks of the trade through idle conversation.
Liz must have noticed the look of concentration and deep thought on the fencer's face. "Did you have any ideas?"
"Hmm…" Asuna hummed. Advertising wasn't exactly a thing in Aincrad, since most "advertising" was just word-of-mouth anyway. It wasn't as if Liz could rent out space on a billboard on the 1st floor. Word-of-mouth was the only thing going Liz's way so far; the fact that she was a fairly well-known Clearer helped with that, so that wasn't an issue.
No, she probably needed a way to attract potential customers who were passing by. She needed a way to stand out against the others. Maybe she could redesign her stall?
"Can you customize your stall?" Asuna asked as she went for another sip of her drink.
"What do you mean?" Liz asked in reply. "Like, with colors and stuff? Maybe, but that sounds like it could be expensive. I'd have to find a player with a good carpentry skill and there's not many of those around."
"You could always try changing your look." Asuna offered.
Liz narrowed her eyes. "What exactly are you implying?"
Asuna sighed. "Trust me, I'm not exactly a fan of what I'm suggesting either, but face it. Most of the playerbase is male, and we know how guys are. I'm not saying you need to do anything drastic, but maybe play up some of that charm you have."
Liz, surprisingly, didn't look offended at the suggestion. "Well, I have been thinking of trying out some of those new hair dyes that are popping up on the market."
Asuna smirked. She'd been looking for an opportunity to test out a theory she had, and now was the perfect time for it. "Who knows? You might even catch someone's eye with a makeover like that."
Liz's face reddened at her suggestion. Asuna saw the blacksmith's eyes dart over to another portion of the table before they whipped back to focus on the fencer. Liz's eyes widened slightly almost as if she knew she'd been caught, before they narrowed again, shooting an accusing look at Asuna.
Gotcha.
"I could say the same thing for you, you know." Liz bit back, but there was no hostility in her voice. Good-natured ribbing was probably a more accurate term. "I'm sure if you added a little more, oh, I don't know… black?... to your color palette you'd catch someone's eye too."
Now it was Asuna's turn to flush red. What exactly was she implying?! Sure, he was a good-looking guy, and there was something endearing about the careless facade he built up to mask his selfless personality. Sure, she had grown fairly close to Kirito, but nothing ever came of it. They were the leaders of the Renegades, so naturally they spent a lot of time together. They would probably be spending much more time together in the future if the guild expanded, anyway, since they'd have to meet more often to discuss guild matters. They were just friends. Nothing more.
Right?
Asuna's face flushed even more when she realized something. She fell into the same exact trap she'd just laid for Liz, and both she and the blacksmith knew it.
"Tell you what." Liz said with a mischievous grin. Asuna mentally slapped herself, knowing she was no longer in control of the conversation. "I'll get a makeover if you do. How's that sound?"
"U-uhh, I…" Asuna stammered, still recovering from being caught like that. Her expression slowly hardened as she came back to her senses. A grin of her own crossed her face. "Alright, sounds good to me. I won't be dying my hair, though."
Liz closed her eyes briefly and shrugged. "Wouldn't ask you to. I think that hair's pretty enough as it is."
"Aww, thanks Liz!" Asuna said, caught off guard by the unexpected compliment.
Liz's expression turned serious for a moment. "Seriously. There's no way it's that beautiful in real life! It's a wonder you're not getting hit on left and right."
"That would be because a certain famous swordsman's presence scares off any would-be suitors." A familiar voice said from behind the two. Asuna turned around to see that Yuna had approached, having apparently left her seat to join the conversation.
"Yuna?!" Asuna almost screamed out, again caught off guard not only by the songstress's sudden entrance but by her cheeky observation.
Liz chuckled. "Hiya Yuna. We were just talking about changing our looks sometime soon. Spice things up a bit."
"I think that's a great idea." Yuna said with a smile. She leaned forward slightly, resting her hands on the backs of Liz's and Asuna's chairs. "I actually know somebody that might be able to help with that. It might be a bit of a wait, though. She's quite busy these days."
"That's fine." Asuna said, glancing over at Liz. "It's not like we're in a rush."
"Great!" Yuna said as she let go of the chair backs and stood up straight. "I'll send Ashley a message and see how soon she can - "
*SMACK!*
Asuna looked over to see Kirito with his palm against his face. Almost instinctively, she put a hand on the hilt of her rapier and looked around to see who had just slapped Kirito. Finding no one showing any signs of hostility towards her guild leader, she looked back over at Kirito. Only then did she realize that he was not clutching his face out of pain - she had to remind herself that feeling pain was impossible here - but instead because he'd facepalmed.
So that's what that sound was.
"I don' know how they found out, Kii-bou." Argo said, surprising Asuna. She hadn't seen the Rat until just now. Seriously, how was she so silent all the time?
"It would still be bad news even if the ALS or DKB didn't know about it." Kirito said, removing his hand from his face and letting out a sigh. "I assume you have something in mind, Argo? I doubt you'd deliver this news in person unless you had more in mind."
"Okay, okay, hold on a second." Leonn interrupted, bringing everyone's attention over to the maul user. "Do either of you wanna let us in on this little secret of yours? What's so concerning about this floor?"
Kirito sighed again before he looked over the entirety of the table, Kizmel included. "Back in the beta, the 5th floor boss dropped an item called the ((Guild Flag of Valor)). It's a spear that resembles a guild banner."
"That seems pretty unwieldy if that's the case." Geeou chimed in. "Why's it so valuable then?"
"Because it's not the attack power that makes it so valuable." Kirito explained. "Actually, its attack power is terrible. The reason it's so valuable is because of the AoE buff it gives to all guild members when it's planted in the ground. Increased attack, defense, and resistance buffs."
"That would be awesome to have!" Silica exclaimed, accidentally startling Pina in the process. "Could you imagine how strong we'd be with that?"
"I think that's the problem." Asuna said, looking over at Kirito with an understanding look. "If the DKB or ALS got that item, they would become too strong and crowd out the other with the new recruits an item like that would bring in."
"Exactly." Kirito said, casually pointing his fork towards Asuna's direction as if to emphasize the point. "Things could escalate in a bad way, especially with how competitive both sides get."
"You don't think they'd resort to violence?" Sinon hesitantly asked.
"That's just it, I don't know." Kirito said, his expression grim. "Despite their antics, I can tell Kibaou and Lind are keeping some of their more extreme elements at bay. Something like this might just be the tipping point."
"Then why don't we just take the flag then?" Nautilus suggested. "That way neither of them gets it."
"Hah!" Argo cackled. She put her hands on her hips and gave the ashen-haired swordsman an amused look. "If you think they hate you guys now, then you're in for a big surprise if you claim that flag for yourselves."
"Then what do we do?" Silica muttered, looking perplexed.
Silence reigned over the table as the Renegades thought over possible solutions. Asuna too found herself thinking of different ways to solve the issue. There was no way to prevent the item from dropping - short of just not killing the boss, but that wasn't an option - so the solution would have to involve preventing infighting from breaking out. If the ALS or DKB got it, the other side might resort to violence or underhanded tactics to seize the flag for themselves. If one of the smaller guilds got it, there was the possibility that it could end favorably, but it was also possible that one of the larger guilds might bully the flag into their possession.
As it turned out, one person at the table had the solution.
"Why not give the flag to a neutral third party who cannot, or will not, use it?" Kizmel suggested.
All nine Renegades (plus Argo) whipped their heads around and stared at the Dark Elf. Their reactions varied from impressed to outright shocked at Kizmel's suggestion.
"That could work." Kirito muttered as he stroked his non-existent beard. Asuna had to stifle back a giggle at the mental imagery of Kirito with a beard. "Alright, I think I have a plan."
The Renegades (plus Kizmel) spent the next ten minutes deliberating a plan of action. During the discussion, Asuna saw Argo furiously typing away at her virtual keyboard, undoubtedly sharing the plan with some of the smaller frontline guilds. They would need all the help they could find for this plan to work.
Towards the end of the discussions, Kizmel had to excuse herself so that she could report back to her base camp and escort the next elven key found on this floor to the next. Apparently the Fallen Elf activity on this floor was concerning enough to warrant an immediate removal and transfer of the key to a safer location. She wished them all luck with their "bold and daring plan" and left, promising to reunite with them on the next floor.
Once their plan was finished, Kirito stood from his seat and scanned over the Renegades.
"Alright, we've got a few days until the ALS and DKB start to clear the labyrinth. Until then, we need to quickly level up if we're going to pull this off." Kirito explained to all assembled.
"Tomorrow, we start grinding."
A/N:
Okay, maybe I went a little heavy-handed on the Kirisuna shipping this chapter, but you know what? It's been a hot minute since we've seen any meaningful interaction between those two. Also, the opportunity presented itself so I pounced on it.
Now that I think about it, this was definitely a shipping chapter, not just for Kirisuna but for at least another pairing. I have no regrets.
On another note, we've passed 200 followers for Unyielding. Again, y'all are just awesome.
Thanks for reading, and make sure to review if it so pleases you! I always enjoy seeing your reactions to these chapters as they're released. Next chapter we'll get to see the long-awaited 5th floor boss fight. I had a lot of fun writing that particular chapter, so I'll see you all next week!