SAO, Akira's Arrows: Aincrad Arc

by domgk115

In an Aincrad where bows were added to the game in the beta-test 16 year old Akira Miller is trapped in the world of Aincrad with his girlfriend Kya and younger sister Aki. After tragedy strikes in game he's saved by the famous Asuna Lightning Flash. After this the Black Archer is born, with his friends the Black Swordsman and Lightning Flash they'll fight to beat the death game

1. A Sharpshooter is Born

Sword Art Online: Akira's Arrows

Chapter 1: A Sharpshooter is Born

"I told you both this was a bad idea!" He yelled, ducking under the snake's sword, and cutting his own across the monster's stomach, it burst into blue particles, and he came back up around to block another. "But do you ever listen to me?! NO!"

"Relax Big Brother!" Aki said next to him, swinging her staff-which was much larger than her- and slamming the head into a snake. "Our levels are too high, you worry too much!"

"And you don't worry enough!" He yelled, exchanging blows with another snake, they hadn't stopped coming from the inside of the dungeon still. "I told you all we should have stayed on floor 19, but no, you both wanted to come play hero!"

A hissing rang out behind him, and he spun to raise up his blade. It was a slim dark black rapier, he'd been having it upgraded throughout the entire game and it hadn't failed him, but for the first time he was too slow then, and his rapier to small. The cleaver the slithering snake beast carried in its slimy arms slammed into his blade and knocked him to the ground.

He rolled out of the way of the cleavers next strike and shot to his knee. He yelled and his rapier pulsated with purple light, his sword skill activated and with a flurry of jabs he skewered the snake, before it erupted into dust, and he heard a scream behind.

"Akira!" Aki yelled, her staff knocked out of her hands, surrounded by a group of three snakes.

"AKI!" He yelled, rushing towards his little sister and intercepting a low that would have surely been a huge blow to her HP. He grinded his teeth and looked back at her. "Get to Kya!"

"I'm here Akira!" Kya's voice blessedly rang through the air.

Akira yelled and pushed the snake swords away, before activating his sword skill again and ending the monster, before turning to see the remaining five coming form the cave. Aki scrambled to her staff, then back to her feet, shuffling behind him, shaking finally. Her bright yellow hair was mattered with leaves and dirt, she shivered behind him waving out her staff.

He sighed and raised up his rapier into the correct stance. Where's Kya?

"Lightning Volley, Multi-Shot!" Her voice yelled, and he heard the trees behind him rustle. A loud crackled erupted through the air, followed by bright blue light, and then a form leaping from the trees.

He sighed, and Aki behind him cheered, when Kya leapt from the trees. Her red hair flew back behind her, her bow string was pulled to her cheek, six bright arrows nocked in her bow bursting with lightning. Mid-air she released, and as she landed, they zoomed forward and exploded on impact, dissolving the monsters, finally clearing the front of the dungeon.

"Haha, Kya that was amazing!" Aki said, bounding out from behind him, and excitedly hoping up and down in front of Kya, her staff still in hand. "Can I learn to use a bow too?! I'm useless with this thing."

Kya met his eyes, and smiled, as was normally the case, it made him feel warm.

"Of course you can, I'll teach you myself. We'll craft you one, as soon as we get the one inside the cave," She said, looking up at Akira as he walked over to her. "Sorry I took so long catching up. Ran into some wolves in the woods after you two ran off."

"It's alright, thanks for the save," He said, crossing his arms and looking down at Aki. "Somebody was extremely impatient and ran off when I told her to stay close, again."

Aki's smile faded, and she looked down at her feet. Her two pigtails were messy, her dark blue robes and armor were also stained. She fiddled with her staff and sighed, looking dejected.

"I'm sorry big brother…" She said, and Akira could hear her sniffle. "I… I just wanted to maybe level up more, so I can be as strong as you and Kya."

Akira tried to maintain his angry older brother façade, but whenever Aki had got like this, even when they were younger it melted him. It was doubly so now, when he looked up and saw Kya with a look on her face that clearly said, 'you're being too hard'.

Damn her and those eyes… he thought, before sighing and kneeling down. He sheathed his rapier. His own armor was white, with blue accents, and a long white cloak flowing behind him. It had been extremely difficult to come by, the gathering of the right resources, and finding a smith who could create it on the lower floors of Aincrad was hard, but worth it. It was perhaps a little heavy for someone like him, who liked to move quickly and attack with an extremely light weapon like a rapier, but he made do.

He placed a hand on his sister's shoulder, and she looked up with tears welling in her eyes. She was only level 57 now, much lower than he was at 91, and even further behind Kya who was at 94. It was on purpose; he had been sure to keep her out of as much fighting as he could. She normally stayed behind the two of them, watching their back and using healing items. He wouldn't risk her, and while Kya had often spoke of giving her a little bit more freedom in battle, he knew she felt the same. That was their main goal, to make sure Aki lived to see the end of the game, no matter what.

Akira had thought the best way to do so, was find a safe space, and shack up until the assault team found a way to clear the game. The Knights of the Blood Oath, the Liberation Army, the Black Swordsman or the Lightning Flash, he wanted to let them risk their lives, he didn't see any point in risking the life of him, his sister and girlfriend. Some people may have called it cowardly, but while he knew there were groups of real-life friends of course in the game, not many could have their real-life family in the game with them.

No, he didn't wish to risk them. Kya felt differently. He loved and hated her for it. But isn't that why I fell for her in the real world? I could never be as selfless as her, as kind.

It had taken months for them to break him down, but he had finally agreed. They'd gear up and go help the assault team. This would be the last dungeon before they did, the main boss and room said to contain a special bow that Kya could use.

Still, looking at the dungeon mouth then sent a chill down his spine.

"Hey, don't cry, I'm sorry I snapped," He said, wiping the tear that started falling away from his sister's eye. Sighing, he still managed a smile when she looked up at him. "I know I get like this sometimes, but you understand it's because I'm just looking out for you right? You need to be careful running off like that. One day you will be strong, but even strong players need to be protected."

"But what about the Black Swordsman! He's a solo player, and one of the best in the game," Aki countered, her brown eyes meeting his. "If I can become like him, or the Lightning Flash, I could protect you and Kya like you do me!"

Akira scoffed and ruffled her hair. "I'm sure the Black Swordsman and Lightning Flash have had some help along the way too. Don't you worry, you'll become even stronger than me and Kya soon."

"You really think so?" She said, her watery eyes looking much more optimistic.

"Of course, I do!" He said, ruffling her hair again and looking up at Kya. "Isn't that right Kya?"

Kya smiled, she tossed her black hair behind her, and slung her black bow across her back. The bow matched perfectly with her gear, a black cloak, and the best set of leather-type armor you could get in the game. He remembered going with her to get the materials for it, it was made from the hides of S-ranked animals. The two had left Aki behind in the town of beginnings, the safest place they could think of, and had to travel to the 56th floor to find the right animals after they'd found the armor diagrams. It didn't provide fantastic protection in terms of stats, but it boosted Kya's speed considerably, and with her already being one of the fastest players in the game he was sure, it made her almost impossible to hit. It was light, leather armor, with all jet-black coloring, which only made her red hair even more beautiful.

It also greatly increased her bow skills, allowing her to draw and fire arrows at a rate that should've been impossible, and use bow abilities like she had shown then. That combined with her bow already being one of the better bows in the game-The Black Bow of Fate it was called- made her, he was sure, the best archer in Aincrad. The bow had an increased fire rate, and could double as a two-handed weapon, making it extremely versatile and deadly in the hands of a master archer like Kya.

She already had an advantage being a beta-tester, if not for her, I don't know if Aki and I could have survived… I owe her everything, both in the real world, and in Sword Art Online, Kya had saved him and his sister. That was why he'd make sure they both made it out, no matter what.

The bow said to be housed in this dungeon-on the fiftieth floor- was said to be the home of a new event, which would give out a legendary bow called 'Thunderstrike'. The truth of the matter was, once they obtained it and headed for the assault team, Kya and he agreed Akira himself would take The Black Bow of Fate. He had started out as an archer himself, but after a few months in the game, they realized they needed a front-line fighter. They certainly weren't going to put Aki there, so Akira had spent months having practice duels using the rapier, which with his natural speed, he had taken too well, eventually reaching the point where it was almost maxed out. He originally had the archer class, now he was considered a ranger.

He missed being a bowman sometimes, but he was still nowhere near Kya's level of skill, her archery, investigation, stealth and tracking skills were near maxed out. However, the idea of Aki becoming an archer was appealing to him, that way he wouldn't have to worry about her as much being next to Kya. They weren't in any guild, their party for the last two years had been the three of them, so anything he could do to help keep his sister safer he'd do.

Kya knelt and messed up Aki's blonde hair, which fell out in pigtails down her back. She medium red and black accented armor, with her staff being able to help heal them, as well as being a melee weapon. He still had a hard time seeing her like that. She had been eleven when they entered Aincrad, she had begged him and Kya for a nervegear to play SAO with them. Kya's parents had been against her having one so young, he and Kya were both fourteen when they started the game. However, Kya convinced her parents to not leave Aki out, and they'd got her a nervegear. Kya's father had been furious.

It was the first time I even agreed with Mr. Tanaka… I should have stood pat, he thought as he saw Kya smiling at his sister. She was beautiful as the day he met her, with her red hair tied in a ponytail that went halfway down her back. Her gorgeous green eyes looked at Aki with such love, as if she were her own little sister as well.

"That's right. You'll be just as strong as us, the Lightning Flash, Black Swordsman, whoever you set your mind to Aki," She said, as Aki practically bounced from excitement. Smiling still, Kya stood and smirked at her. "I'm sure you'll get to join the Knights of the Blood too. We'll make it out of here together, the three of us."

"She's right," Akira added, stepping to put an arm around her. Kya leaned up into him, and he blushed as he looked down at Aki again who was brimming with excitement now. "We'll train more, clear more mobs with you after we reach the Knights a few floors up. For now, let's concentrate on clearing this dungeon, it shouldn't take long with our levels."

"Yes, I want to see this new legendary bow," Kya said, a mischievous smile on her face as she messed up Aki's hair again. "Aki, why don't you go and scout out the beginning of the dungeon. Don't go too far in, just check to make sure there are no more monsters and come back. Don't try to fight by yourself."

Akira choked. "What? Are you sure that's safe, maybe one of us should-."

"Okay, I'll do it, you can count on me Kya!" Aki said, her fist thrust in the air. Before Akira could say anything, she slammed into him with a hug. "Thanks, big brother, I won't let you down!"

Akira's face got red, and he saw Kya smirking at him. Finally, he sighed, his heart warm as he smiled himself. He hugged his sister back. "You're welcome, just be care-ful…"

He didn't have time to finish his sentence before with her staff in hand she took off towards the dungeon entrance. It was a large cave, so even as she slowly began to creep inside, he could see her. He chewed at his lip watching her, before he felt himself yanked around, and another pair of lips met his.

Kya smirked as she kissed him, before pulling back and rolling her eyes at him. "That's not normally the reaction I get when I kiss you."

"Should we really leave her alone?" He said, trying to hide the sensation her kiss had brought him. "Those snakes may have been a lower level, but still you know she gets-."

"She'll be fine Akira, don't worry," She said, pulling him around to face her. Her sweet smile warmed him chest even more as she held his face in her hands. "If we're going to make it out, we all have to level up. We can't keep her from fights anymore."

Akira rang his hands out, and then ran them through his messy blonde hair. "I know, I know you're right it… it's just-."

"I know believe me Akira," She said, her voice soft and reassuring, as her thumb trailed across his cheek. "But she won't be alone, she'll have us, always. We'll protect her, there's no harm though in letting her protect herself as well."

Akira finally sighed and held his hand over hers on his cheek and looked at her. The two rings they had on glinted in the sunlight that streamed through the trees. They had dated since they were thirteen, been practically together since they were even younger. He couldn't remember his life without Kya, before she had taken in him and Aki, so it was only natural they got married after the game started. In addition to the benefit of having a shared inventory, it was something he knew he wanted to do incase he never got the chance in the real world.

"I still think the best chance we have of that, would be to go back home," He said, shame filling him, but his mind desperate for that home the three shared on floor 17. "Let everyone else risk their lives. I don't care how selfish it is, I don't want to risk the two of you!"

As they had the day Kya had finally convinced him to leave that cozy home on floor 17, tears threatened to come out. He didn't care about the numbers, how the assault teams casualties had been consistently low, he didn't care how selfish or cowardly it sounded, the thought of Kya or Aki's brains being fried by a nerve-gear, Kya's parents being forced to bury them, it had, and still did claw at him, torment him every single night he slept.

Kya however, like she had never stopped doing, smiled at him, her cool fingers still holding onto his cheek. "We've been strong since the beginning Akira. I was a beta-tester, and because of me, you had an advantage since the start too. Those who are strong, have a duty to protect the weak, we owe it to them. How many craftsmen and traders have we met, who aren't strong enough for the assault team, yet still they've been risking their lives to supply them? Or what about Aki? Don't we have a duty to fight, to clear the game so they can return home?"

Akira shook his head, shakily sighing to keep the tears away. "That sounds all well and good Kya, but this isn't a game anymore. This is real. All of it's real-."

"The real world is what we make it, right now, this is real like you said, That means every decision we make here, affects us in the real world," She said, somehow still smiling as she tilted her head, that smile infectious. "I won't let this world, this horrible thing that happened to us, change the person I am because this is our reality now. Whether I die in here, or I survive, I want it to be as the same person I was before i full dived into the game."

Akira's heart was ready to burst, he wanted to argue more… but how could he? This is the reason I love her, the reason I always have, this genuine attitude, her care, her kindness.

He did let a tear slip now, but he chuckled. "That's easy for you to say… you've always been better than me… so much better. Remind me how we ended up together again?"

It was her turn to chuckle, as she wiped the tear away. "Because you are just like me Akira. You are good, intelligent, dedicated, protective… you'd do anything for me, or for anyone who needs a hand. Not to mention, I find you quite handsome as well."

He blushed as he always did, even after all these years her compliments always did that. It was his turn to lean in and kiss her, which she accepted. It still amazed him how he was able to feel the same sensation kissing her in Aincrad, as he did in the real world. Her one arm wrapped around him, he did the same, and for a moment he couldn't tell he was in a virtual world.

"Well, I don't know about being like you," He said when they pulled back, managing a smirk of his own. "But I like to think I am particularly handsome."

She laughed, which made him laugh. Again, it was as if there was no difference.

"You know, despite it all… I'm happy we go to spend this time together," She said, leaning up against his chest as they stood. "Hey, Akira… can you promise me something?"

"For you, anything," He said, running a hand down her ponytail.

She smiled against him, before looking to meet his eyes, her green ones, his blue ones. "I want you to promise me… no matter what happens, you'll do the same as me. Don't let this change you."

His eyes widened; he held his hands on her shoulders. "Don't start talking like that Kya. I mean it we'll-."

"Ha… I don't plan on dying," She said, her soft eyes meeting his. "But still… promise me. Please, do it for my peace of mind. Promise me, no matter what happens, you'll still be Akira, the man I fell in love with, Aki's big brother."

Akira held onto her shoulders tight and sighed, it won't come to that, I'll protect them. Even if it kills me.

"I promise," He said, leaning his forehead against hers. "So long as you do the same."

"I promise too then," She said, smiling as they let go of each other. "Now come on, we should find Aki-."

"Kya! Big brother! I'm back, the entrance is clear!" Aki's voice said proudly behind them. Akira could hear her footsteps in the dirt leaving the cave. "It seems going in, there's two paths-."

Akira's ears twitched as he heard the noise, his hand shot for his rapier, and he knew Kya heard it as well, the hissing.

"AKI, GET DOWN!" Kya yelled, pulling the bow off her shoulder, and reaching to her waist for the quiver slung horizontally over her waist.

Akira turned and sprinted towards Aki, rapier in hand, as he saw the shadow coming from the cave. Aki seemed to finally register their warning, and turned just as one of the snake monsters, scimitar raised, rushed forward to slice her in half. Akira yelled as he readied a sword skill, and he heard Kya yanking back her bow string. A massive gust of wind shot by them, as Aki turned and screamed, falling backwards as the snake-much larger then the others- went in for the kill.

Akira's chest almost exploded, he heard Kya yelling out the bow skill she was going to use as Aki could only look up with terror in her eyes.

"AKI!" Akira yelled, but just as the snake's sword came down, from out of nowhere a flash shot out of the woods nearby.

"Eight-point combo attack," A female voice yelled, as the blur that shot from the bushes finally took shape, a flash of green erupting from her weapon. "Star Splash!"

"AKI!" Akira yelled, finally diving to reach his sister, who screamed as Akira pulled her back.

He fell trying to rush Aki back in his arms, but as he stumbled, Kya got to their side, her bow raised. Akira scrambled to his feet, and Aki slung to his arm, shaking like a leaf, but before he could say anything to her, the voice of their savior yelled out and Akira could only watch with widened eyes at the one who'd come to save them.

"That… that uniform, I recognize it!" Kya said, her eyes widening as her bow lowered.

The girl seemed to be just as tall as Akira was, long orange hair blew back behind her as with a rapier in her hand she lashed out with her sword skill. The snake tried to swing, but the girl was far too quick, I've never even seen Kya move that fast!

It wasn't only her move that shocked him, it was the uniform as Kya had said. The girl yelled and with her combo, spun and hit all the monsters' critical points. It cried out as it became blue particles, and after killing the beast, the girl landed with grace and slung her rapier back to its sheath at her side.

White armor with streaks of red, crafted for only the highest members of that guild. A white cape with red accents flew out behind her, and she turned to look at them with a relieved smile on her face.

"A Knight of the Blood…" Akira said, just as stunned as Kya, who was silent next to him, along with Aki, who practically had stars in her eyes, as the girl sighed in relief and rushed over to them.

"I wasn't expecting to see any other players here, our recon squad didn't report," She said, smiling at the three of them, before her eyes fell to Aki. "Are you okay, you're not hurt, are you? What about the two of you?"

Kya looked like she was trying to find words to say that were appropriate. Akira was just as baffled, we were just about to go find the Knights of the Blood, and now one shows up to save us.

Seeing the other two were too shocked to speak, he gently pulled Aki off him, smiling reassuringly at her, before stepping forward and bowing to the girl.

"We're okay now, thanks to you," He said, smiling when he saw the look of concern the girl had been genuine. "Sorry we're just a little shocked, we came for the bow event we heard was in this dungeon. We… didn't expect to see a Knight of the Blood here. I thought you were all supposed to be up on Floor 56?"

The girl nodded, smiling still. "I was happy to help out. You're right, most of our order is working to clear floor 56 right now… but unfortunately the boss and dungeon have proved difficult. We heard about the event, and some got curious about an event happening on a lower floor, so we came to investigate."

"And they sent just you? Not that it seems you have trouble taking care of yourself," He said, chuckling as he nodded at her rapier. "I like to think I'm pretty fast, but I couldn't even see your rapier moving when you attacked. That was some combo."

The girl chuckled and nodded. "I'll show it to you sometime, but as for what you said, I didn't come alone. I came with a squad of nine others. I sent five ahead to scout out the dungeon, to see that it was still mapped the same as when we cleared and mapped all the floor 50 dungeons. You're saying I'm the only one you've encountered from my guild?"

Akira shook his head and looked to Kya. "Did you see any on the way here? You have better eyes then me."

Kya finally shook off her shock and shook her head, stepping towards the girl with Aki-who still stared at their rescuer as if she knew her-glued to her arm.

"No, I didn't see anything except wolves and normal animals, no signs of a group in the surrounding area," She said, meeting the girls' eyes now. "If we had we would have stopped them, we were actually on our way to try and join your guild, and the assault team after we finished this event."

The girl smiled, but it faded quickly. "Well, we need as many blades as we can get on the front lines, I'll help determine your skills later, but what you reported is bad news… the only place they could be then in inside the dungeon."

"Five Knights of the Blood shouldn't have a hard time clearing a floor 50 dungeon…" Kya said, shaking her head. "We came for the event, I wanted to get my hands on the new legendary bow. I'm level 94, Akira's level 91, even Aki here is level 57, even we shouldn't have had much of a problem."

The girl nodded and looked at the bow Kya held in one hand. "Yes, your archery skill must be near maxed, is that The Black Bow of Fate?"

Kya nodded, and the girl looked down at Aki. "And you, you're level 57? That's awfully impressive."

"Thank you…" Aki said, still looking star struck.

The girl then looked up at Akira with a smile. "Even most of our members aren't in the eighties for level. I still need to see you fight, but you two at least reach the level requirement. You'd be a welcome addition, I'm sure."

Akira felt conflicted, I still wish I didn't have to join…

Akira bowed as thanks. "Thank you, but before we go, we still wanted to clear this dungeon. Your knights should be well back by now. What about the others you said you have?"

"Mainly support players, I need them to keep in contact with HQ," The girl said, turning towards the entrance to the dungeon. "If I'm not back within an hour, they'll come. For now, if the knights are in danger, I'll have to hurry."

Kya stepped in front of him. "If you're going into the dungeon, we'll go with you!"

"What?!" Akira said, looking at her incredulously. "Kya, don't you think we should-."

"Mhm… it would be nice to have some backup," The girl said, turning and smiling at the three of them. "I also already have the map of the dungeon, it splits up ahead, and the AI for the monsters are programed to all converge on the boss chamber. We'll need to clear them both."

Akira wanted to argue. Yes, the girl had saved them, but he wasn't about to go dungeon crawling with a random player he'd never met, let alone split up in one. He couldn't even remember the last time they'd fought with another player. Kya and he worked perfectly together, with Aki supporting them from behind, he didn't exactly feel comfortable letting someone else in on that.

However, as usual, Kya looked at him and nodded. They had developed their own language through head nods and smiles. Her look clearly said, 'trust me'.

Akira did, so he sighed and nodded, before turning to the girl who had saved them.

"Okay then, so long as Kya's okay with it," He said, crossing his arms. "We'll clear it with you. At least now we don't have to go through the trouble of finding your guild."

The girl nodded, her hand on her rapier hilt, her smile was so genuine, that it helped Akira feel slightly better.

"Well, you both did come for the event. Help me find my knights, and we'll help you defeat the boss," She said, holding out a hand to Akira, her eyes with a friendly gleam to them as she did. "In return, you can have the bow, and we'll split the rest of the drops, deal?"

Akira looked at Kya one more time who smiled her beautiful smile at him. He sighed but managed one of his own as he shook the girl's hand.

"You have a deal," He said, shaking her hand before crossing his arms. "Well, we should introduce ourselves. I'm Akira, the gorgeous bowwomen is Kya. And this here, is Aki."

"It's an honor to meet you," Kya said with a respectful bow.

The girl bowed back, taking Akira by surprise. A knight of the blood, bowing to us… maybe her attitude is genuine.

"Akira-san, Kya-san, and Aki-san, the honor is mine," She said, a hand over her chest, nodding as she stood up straight. "My names-."

"You're the Lightning Flash!" Aki said, finally detaching herself from Kya, looking up at the girl as she shot in front of Akira, stars in her eyes. "You're Lightning Flash Asuna, Vice Commander of the Knights of the Blood, I'm such an honor to meet you, Asuna-sama!"

"The Lightning Flash?!" Kya said, her smile growing as well. "You're a legend! One of the best players in the game!"

Akira sighed at their enthusiasm, he loved that they were, he loved seeing them so excited, but he knew that Lightning Flash or not, you had to be careful who you partied with.

Still… she's one of the most legendary players in the game… she's been trying to clear floors since the beginning, she's braver than I am.

Asuna laughed nervously, even blushing as she looked at them. "Please, you don't need to call me that! Just Asuna is fine, I look forward to traveling with you all."

The genuine smile she had still stunned Akira, Kya did it as well. How could people smile like that in a game like this?

Seeing Aki and Kya were star-struck, he nodded to Asuna. "Alright then Asuna-san. We look forward to traveling with you as well. Let's go clear us a dungeon."

Asuna nodded, tossing her orange hair behind her back, and bringing up the game menu. After a few clicks, the prompt came up in front of Akira.

'Asuna would like to join your party. Do you accept?'

Akira sighed, looking up at the cave again. Did he really wish to risk it? The cave like they had been discussing was on floor fifty, the snakes hadn't been more then level fifty themselves, there were simply a lot of them, but Kya and he were fast enough to make up for it. He met Asuna's eyes, was this truly the legendary lightning flash? They'd heard about her since floor one, along with the beater, the Black Swordsman. They were supposed to be heroes, among the strongest players in the game, along with Heathcliff the Knights of the Blood's commander. It should have been a no brainer, one of them asking to party up to fight with him, Kya and Aki?

But still… why am I so hesitant? He looked at the cave again, a whole group of the Knights of the Blood were supposedly inside… why hadn't they come out yet? How did Asuna not know what had happened to her men, why were they even down here? So many questions ran through his head, so many possibilities for what could happen. His finger hovered over the 'accept' prompt for so long, Asuna tilted her head at him.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

He met eyes, biting his lip and sighing. "I'm sorry… I'm just not sure. I won't risk their lives with someone we just met, we'll just-."

"We'll be alright Akira," Kya assured him, coming over and placing her hand over his, smiling at him then Asuna. "Don't mind him, he's just being protective, it's one of the reasons I love him."

Asuna looked down and must have spotted the rings on he and Kya's fingers, her eyes widening a smile coming to her face.

"Wow, congratulations! It's… nice to see something so sweet in this game," She said, sounding so genuine, Akira nearly pressed accept there. Asuna bowed again and met his eyes this time. "I promise you; I have no intentions on harming you, Kya or Aki. I simply want your help, and I wish to help you. It takes all of us to clear this game, we can only move forward by working together."

Akira bit his lip again. "That's… good to hear, but you need to understand I-."

"Please! Please, please, PLEASE big brother!" Aki said, rushing up and falling onto his arm. She looked up at him with her eyes wide. Her lip started quivering. "I want to fight with the Lightning Flash so I can be strong like you and Kya, please, please say she can come with us!"

Akira shook his head, as her lip quivered more, and her eyes got watery. "Don't do that, do give me those eyes. Stop, stop! Don't start fake crying on me, I know when you do, you've done it since you were born, dammit Aki!"

"Pleaseee big brother!" She didn't stop, small tears started falling from her eyes and Akira sighed. Kya and Asuna behind him had a good laugh at his expense, as Aki didn't relent.

He met his little sisters blue eyes, the same color as his, the exact same shape. It had been just the two of them when they were younger until they met Kya. Stuck in a foreign country they didn't speak the language of, in a metropolis they were nothing but ants in.

Still, even during those hard times whenever she had given him those eyes, he hadn't been able to deny her anything. Anything to get his little sister to smile.

Kya didn't help his resolve then. She came up and tugged at his arm. "Come on Akira, are you really going to say no to that face?"

"I would certainly have a hard time," Asuna joked.

Akira rolled his eyes and looked down at Aki, who's fake tears were quite convincing. Finally, he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed again.

"Fine, we can party with her," He said, looking up at Asuna. "But I'll go down one path with our new famous partner. Sorry, I won't leave my wife and little sister with a stranger."

"Understandable," Asuna said with a bow, looking down at Aki. "I'll be sure to get your big brother back safe and sound."

Akira rolled his eyes, and Aki, like he expected made her tears disappear and whooped a loud cheer with her staff in the air.

"Haha yes! I'm so excited, I get to fight with Kya, big brother and The Lightning Flash!" She said, rushing over and wrapping her arms around Akira's waist. "Thank you, thank you, thank you big brother!"

Akira sighed but managed his largest smile of the day as he hugged her back. Kya came up over and wrapped her arms around the two of them too, before looking at Akira and nodding.

"I'll look after her, no need to worry," She said, and Akira scoffed.

"I'm not worried, you're twice the level of every mob in that dungeon," He said, before looking over at Asuna who had gone to scout the entrance to the cave. "I'm more worried about what she said, a group of knights doesn't just not report back…"

"We'll be okay," Kya said, and while he felt Aki still wrapped around his waist, he also felt Kya's soft hand on his cheek again. "After this, we'll find a new, much bigger and cozier place, maybe on this floor, Algade is the largest city after all."

Her smile made him feel warm, and he leaned his forehead against hers for a moment. The warmth was as real as it was outside the game, he never wanted to lose it, or the warmth of his little sister hugging his waist like she was then

"Yeah… maybe we will," He said, taking in the beautiful scent of her hair, holding onto the both of them and looking towards the cave. "For now, let's get moving, and see if the Lightning Flash, lives up to her reputation."

He saw heard Aki laugh, and rush towards where Asuna was peering into the cave. She started chatting with the Lighting Flash, and thankfully Asuna seemed to naturally know how to handle younger children, because right away Aki was laughing again, and so was Asuna.

"She seems polite enough, and really, really beautiful," Kya said, grabbing his hand and winking at him. "Don't go falling for her during your delve into the dungeon now!" She joked.

Akira scoffed. "Don't gotta worry about that either," Kya laughed, and walked towards the entrance as well, and Akira smiled as he watched her, and Aki laughing with Asuna.

"I won't let anything happen… just like I've been doing, I am strong enough," He said with a sigh, before with his hand on his own rapier, made for the cave.

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

"So, if you don't mind my asking," Asuna said, as the corridor of the labyrinth sprawled out before them. The Lightning Flash's voice echoed as she spoke. "How old is Aki?"

Akira turned and glared at her, keeping up the torch he'd decided to bring out of his inventory. Of course, they could see without it, but he knew the snakes had a weakness to fire, so if more came, he was already at the ready.

One path led upwards and down towards the bosses' chamber, Kya had better eyes and perception skills then any of them, so she went high with Aki. Asuna had also assured them the high route had less mobs. So now, for about fifteen minutes, he and the Lightning Flash had slew a good amount of the snake monsters, and he could tell they were coming up on the boss chamber.

Asuna saw his glare, and her eyes widened. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't pry, it's none of my business."

Akira sighed, had he really gotten this grouchy in the previous two years? He shook his head, and nudged Asuna with his elbow.

He met her eyes and shook his head. "No, you don't have to apologize. You… can just never be too careful in this game with who you trust. Aki… she's thirteen, I think her birthday just passed recently."

Asuna slowly nodded, her white cape fluttering behind her in a breeze. "I understand… I truly do. Even amongst the knights, some only seek to benefit themselves. So few nowadays are even trying to clear the game."

Akira nodded. "We read in the last information pamphlet we bought, that there's only around 500 left on the front lines."

"Yes… and we still have twenty six floors to clear," She said slowly, as they came to a ledge in their path. "But, enough about that. Aki is thirteen? That means… when the game started, since it's been almost two years she was…."

"Eleven… she begged Kya's parents to get her a nervegear too, despite it not being recommended for her age," He said, leaping down the ledge, and reaching up a hand to help Asuna down. She took it and leapt down as he went on. "Kya though… she was the one who convinced her parents to get Aki one."

They maneuvered around some rocks and moved some out of the way to continue forward, the air becoming thinner.

Asuna nodded. "So, the three of you… you really are a family in the outside world? That's rare, I don't think I've encountered one, groups of friends yes, but not a whole family. You and Kya then, you're together in real life as well? You said her parents got you a nervegear, you made it sound like her parents take care of you and Aki."

Akira's chest felt ready to burst. He could feel a tingling in his fingers as they walked. He realized then how long it had been since he spoke to someone other then Kya or Aki, truly spoke to someone about anything, let alone the outside world. It all seemed so… foreign to him now.

"They do… reluctantly in her father's case," He told her, as they both looked up towards the ledge they'd have to run up. "We should rest for a minute, thirsty?"

Asuna nodded, and Akira brought up his inventory, and the apple juice he had stored in his inventory. He got out the canteen of the stuff, and uncorked it, downing some before looking over and widening his eyes when he saw Asuna with two rolls in her hand with-.

"Is that…" He said, pointing to the top of the bread.

"Cream, it makes the bread much better," She said, handing him a roll and taking back the juice in returned. "A… friend, told me about it. Try it."

She downed some of the juice, and Akira took a bite out of the roll, cream and all. His tastebuds erupted, his head snapped back up to Asuna as he devoured the rest of the food in only a few seconds, before he coughed and almost choked.

Asuna laughed and smiled at him. "Well, you know what they say, there's no better way to get to know someone then over lunch."

Akira coughed and took back the juice to clear his throat. "Or delving into a dangerous dungeon in a virtual death game, that tends to bring people closer together."

She laughed, and Akira couldn't help himself. He did too, as they both slump for a moment against the rocks, tossing the skin of juice back to one another to drink.

Asuna finished laughing, and after another drink looked at him with a smile. "So… you and Kya-chan, you two seem close, even for a married couple. How long have you been together?"

Akira scoffed and took the skin back. "Well, we've known each other since we were… eight I think? We met at school, I had a crush on her right away and she did too, but obviously being so young we had no idea what to do. We finally started dating when we were thirteen and have been together since."

Asuna smiled. "That sounds sweet. And, you said… her parents take care of you and Aki?"

Akira looked down at the skin, and shakily sighed as he gripped it tight. "Yeah… they have since we I was eleven and Aki was seven. Aki and I we… we're orphans you see. Well, not technically, our fathers out there somewhere, but I never knew him."

"Orphans?" Asuna said, her voice sounding concerned. "You say you don't know your father so… what about your mother?"

Why am I telling her so much? He asked himself, before sighing, and chalking it up to he simply hadn't spoken to someone new in so long, that it was finally good to tell his story again. It was helping him remember, that the world outside of SAO actually existed, all he and Aki's hardships had been real.

They had been very, very real, but they had still pushed through it. He wouldn't let SAO ruin all of their hard work.

"My mother she… she died when I was nine," He said, looking down at the ground and picking up a small pebble. Sighing, he tossed it into the black void around them. "Aki she… she was devastated, the two of us, we lived in back alleys of Tokyo for almost two years, before Kya's mother finally offered us a place in her home."

Asuna's smile fell. "And now… you're stuck again. You must be very grateful for Kya's parents."

"I am, more then they'll ever know, even Mr. Tanaka, who didn't really want us, probably still doesn't," He muttered, downing the rest of the juice. "He's a tech CEO, pretty well off. He was able to help Kya become one of the thousand SAO beta testers."

"Kya was a beta tester?" Asuna said, groaning as she stood and offered him a hand. "That would explain why she's so high leveled, even though most players have caught up to them by now. Her class is just an archer right?"

Akira accepted the hand, before feeling his ears twitch. "A combat archer technically. The Black Bow of Fate can double as a two handed weapon, but her speed, agility, perception, investigation skill, all are near max. Her armor gives her bonuses to archery, you'd be hard pressed to find a better archer, I could probably do the same if I still was."

"You used to be an archer?"

"I technically still am," He said, patting his rapier. "I'm a ranger now, so if I needed to use a bow I could. After a while, we decided we needed a front-line fighter, and we weren't going to put Aki there. So I leveled my sword skill high enough to be granted the ranger class, they can use regular swords or rapiers, I like to move faster too, so that's why I chose this. I use the medium armor just to absorb more damage, since we don't have a tank."

"A smart strategy, from how I've seen you fight, I imagine Kya is just as skilled," She complimented, crossing her arms with a smile. "I believe you'll make excellent additions to the Knights of the Blood."

He chuckled nervously, feeling the creeping feeling come back to him as he picked up another pebble. "Thanks… Aki, Kya and I have been through too much, I won't let that bastard Kayaba ruin all the work we've done to get to where we are."

With more force this time he chucked the pebble to the side. You could see a few feet ahead, but it was black past that. He had just assumed like any other dungeon, where the black was just the edge you shouldn't fall off, the edge of the map. He felt the pit of his stomach curl, and picked up more stones.

Asuna looked at him as if she was about to take back her previous words. "Is… everything okay?"

"Listen closely," He said, throwing another pebble, much harder this time. He looked to Asuna after he did and waited a few seconds.

"I… don't hear anything," She said, her hand going to her rapier.

Akira nodded, his eyes narrowing towards the dark. "Yeah… shouldn't we hear the rock bouncing off the edge of the map, or something kind of sound?"

"You're right…" She said, her hand wrapping around her weapons hilt.

Akira reached for his own rapier. "Yes… maybe we should."

He heard the roar right away, but Asuna saw the movement before he did.

"AKIRA!" She yelled, knocking him to the side just as a massive beast with a lions head leapt past him.

He recognized the creature and cursed as he and Asuna came up to draw their rapiers. "Chimera! Have you encountered this here before?!"

"I have, it's a middle of the dungeon boss!" She said, holding out her sleek sword. "The snake tail spits poison, the goat on the back screeches a melody that can paralyze you!"

"Then we need to silence it, I'll distract it's front, you go for the goat!" He yelled, as the beast roared again.

Asuna nodded, her sword glowing pink now, as Akira's rapier glowed as well.

And that was his first true fight with Asuna the Lightning Flash.

The chimera roared, and to that day Akira was still amazed at how life like the monsters seemed. He could remember the first few months, still thinking in the back of his head perhaps this all wasn't real, that it was some elaborate prank and all the people who 'died', were really laughing their heads off back home.

It was after a few months the reality set in.

Asuna sprinted one way, he went the other, he quickly pulled up his menu, and equipped knives to throw. Throwing weapons counted as a marksmanship skill like archery, so his was near maxed out from his time as an archer. He threw them with pinpoint precision, and they landed in the side of the chimera's lion head. It roared and shook the dungeon beneath them making him stumble, he heard the screeching of the goat on its back and clamped his hands to his ears.

The noise pounded against his skull, but when he opened his eyes, he screamed. "ASUNA!"

She had just been about to unleash her sword skill when the goat unleashed its screech. The Lightning Flash had fallen, and just narrowly rolled out of the way of a lion's claw. His knives had gotten it bleeding, it was so much lower a level then him, that they had done some good damage, still, when you were playing a real life or death game, you could never be too careful.

He saw Asuna trying to get back to her feet and rushed forward to cover her. He pulled out his rapier and leapt forward as the lion went to slaw at her again.

"Six-point combo attack," He yelled, as he soared through the air, his rapier glowing green. "Whirling Vortex!"

He unleashed the sword skill and in a flurry of twisting strikes, he moved from left to right, and the lion was sent reeling back from the power of his skill. The lion he knew was the main strength that kept a chimera moving.

A small part of him, the part that was still the fourteen-year-old boy wanted to be excited seeing a chimera. An old monster from ancient Greek history. That had been his dream, to be a historian, to travel to ancient sites across Europe, Asia, Africa, the entire world, to write papers and share his knowledge.

Now, he was fighting for his life against those ancient creatures.

"Akira, the goat!" Asuna yelled as the smoke around the chimera disappeared. He turned and the Lightning Flash was running towards him. "Help me!"

He nodded and ducked, cupping together his hands. Asuna stepped into his hands and as she did he used all the strength he had to launch her upwards. She yelled and her rapier glew as her sword skill erupted to life.

"Eight-point combo attack!" She yelled, as the snake tail tried to spit poison at her. Akira himself was about to help, but Asuna twisted mid-air to avoid the poison, and came down for the final attack. "Star Splash!"

With a flurry she came down onto the chimera, and after a loud explosion, it erupted into blue pixels. Akira covered his eyes and smoothed out his white cloak, as he watched the Lightning Flash, her face narrowed sling her rapier back onto her waist.

Akira scoffed, he could see now why every information pamphlet they purchased had mentions of The Lightning Flash, only behind Commander Heathcliff in the Knights of the Blood.

"That… was impressive," He said, steadying his breath as he sheathed his own rapier. Biting his lip, he felt a little embarrassed himself. "You… said you'd show me that one right?"

Asuna had seemed stone faced and serious during the fight, but as was seeming to be the case, she smiled at him outside of it. She didn't say anything, only bringing up her menu, selecting a roll of parchment from her inventory and summoning it. She set it to float in place and pulled out her rapier. She unleashed the sword skill again, Akira had seen this before. She had transferred the skill to that page, she could still use it of course, but now anyone who had a high enough rapier skill could read and learn it.

And sure enough, she smiled, rolled the parchment up and handed it to him.

"I… I didn't mean you had to do it now!" He said, looking at the scroll as she handed it to him with a friendly smile. "You could sell this for a fortune on the front lines, and you're just going to give it to me?"

Asuna rolled her eyes but still smiled. "I have plenty of money believe me. Besides, even if I didn't, why would I make you pay for something, that could help you and your family survive the game?"

Akira stammered. "Because well… well wouldn't…oh hell, I don't know!"

Asuna smiled and shrugged. "Then accept it and let's move on! If I can help you and Kya, protect little Aki, then I'm going to do it."

He didn't know what it was, but he had been determined not to trust Asuna at first. It was how he'd been since he learned this was a real game to the death. Why would he trust anyone other than simply himself and Kya? When it came to keeping Aki safe, making sure she could leave the game, nothing was more important. How could he put her safety, Kya's or even his own in anyone's hands other then himself?

I've been too close minded… Kya was right again, maybe there is a better way to survive this game.

Akira, final smiled back at her. He bowed, and opened the scroll. The contents, the markings from the sword skill glew, and soon, a window popped up.

Sword Skill acquired: Star Splash

He felt a sense of pride wash over him; an eight-point combo wasn't something he thought he'd be able to learn anytime soon. Asuna kept smiling but looked at him curiously when he bowed again and held his hand out.

"I'm sorry for being so stand-offish, and for doubting you," He said, the gentle air of the dungeon blowing back his messy blonde hair. "My one focus for the last two years… it's been to get Kya and Aki out. I… I never wanted to get close to anyone else, less I be unable to focus on that. I probably came off as a real ass."

Asuna looked at his hand, then gave him that infectious smile before shaking it. "You didn't. I understand, trust me I do. It's not a bad thing to think that way."

"Games are normally more fun with a larger group," He said with a sigh, before putting a smile back on again. "But in a game like this… something that isn't really a game, you need to be careful with who you have watching your back. Perhaps it'll be better to have more people watching me and my families, especially if they're like you."

"Well, I can assure you I'll do all I can, even when we get to the front lines," She said, bowing to him again. We're going to be comrades after all. I swear, I'll help you as best I can to protect your own, so that we all make it out."

Akira managed a laugh, something he did very scarcely those days. "Well, having the Knights of the Blood helping protect them sounds promising. We should get-."

"AKIRAAAAA!"

"KYA?!" He yelled, as everything other then the sound of her voice was drained out of his mind like a busted dam.

Asuna turned with him, as they both looked up the small cliff, further down the dungeon. "That was Kya, why's she screaming like that, everything here should- AKIRA!"

She took him to the ground, just as a knife zipped through the air.

"Well, well… it looks like the leader was correct," A voice said behind them, and Akira scrambled for his rapier with Asuna, as they both turned around.

A cloaked figure had emerged from the darkness on their right. Akira spotted a battle-axe in his hands, beneath his hood, he saw a wicked set of bright white teeth in a scintillating smile.

"Yes, I had my doubts," Another dark voice said from the left, as shoulder to shoulder with Asuna, Akira watched the man stalk out of the dark. "I believed nobody would fall for such a ruse… but it seems I was wrong."

A dark cackle came from the man on the right. "Oh Zaza! You think I can have this one?! It's been ages since my last PK! You and the others always have all the fun!"

The one on the left, Zaza, carried an estoc, an old French sword Akira recognized.

Only it didn't have the normal glint swords did, it was tinged red. Zaza stepped into the light, the skull mask sent chills down Akira's spine, but not as much as the tattoo on the mans right inner forearm.

"Laughing Coffin?!" Asuna said, and for the first time, he saw the Lightning Flash's eyes fill with worry.

"Laughing Coffin?!" Akira said, his arms beginning to shake. "I thought the assault team had dealt with them?"

"We were planning a raid a few months from now, if we can find their base," Asuna said, as the two of them with rapiers out, backed up. "But we're having trouble finding it. They've been quiet for a few months… the event must have been a trap they spread information about."

Akira's knees began to wobble. I did this… I walked up right into this, I felt like something was wrong and I still let us come!

"AKIRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Akira almost fell as he turned around, and he heard one of the two cloaked members of laughing coffin laugh.

"HAHAHA! The boss and others must have caught one!" It said, and sweat trickled down Akira's brow, anger surging through him as he turned. "Let's bring these to the boss! Huh Zaza, what do you say? Or should we do them in right here?!"

"Here…. That uniform," Zaza said, his bloody red sword pointing forward. "A Knight of the Blood, but not just any… hello Lightning Flash. Oh… I will relish the chance to kill you, then I will be able to claim your death as mine."

"Kya…." It was all Akira could say, his mouth went dry, his words died in his throat.

Laughing Coffin didn't fear death, and more so, they didn't care who they killed.

"Akira! We need to move," Asuna said, as the two laughing coffin members inched closer. She held out her rapier but yanked on his cloak. "I'm going to stun them, after that-."

"BIG BROTHER!"

That was all he needed to hear, he and Asuna both turned. He leapt and started sprinting, he heard Asuna yell and then the explosion of a bomb. Black smoke filled his vision, as he recognized what she had done. Sure enough, she rushed forward down the corridor with him, just like she had promised.

His body trembled, he almost tripped multiple times as he was drenched with sweat. He didn't know what he'd do, he'd heard about Laughing Coffin of course, and red players, but never had he been forced to fight them.

But for Aki, I nee to move! He sped along with The Lightning Flash, he would die that day if he had too, he was ready, but that didn't mean the thought didn't terrify him.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"AKI, KYA!" Akira yelled, rushing ahead of Asuna as the corridor's end was in his sight.

"AKIRA, WAIT!" The Lightning Flash yelled behind him, but Akira didn't listen.

He knew the other two members of Laughing Coffin were chasing them from behind, but Akira didn't care, he ran out in front of Asuna and burst out into the clearing of the dungeon and was greeted by another screamed.

"AKIRA!"

"KYA!" He leapt from the ledge and landed, a knife shooting his way seconds later. He dodged it, and just before Asuna leapt down, it slammed into the ledge behind him.

"It seems Zaza and Borg found more," A voice said, and after that was when he heard Aki.

"AKIRA, BIG BROTHER!"

He looked up and saw the large area just before the boss chambers. The white ground beneath their feet shimmered, as he spotted Kya leap backwards with a spin and fired her arrows down towards the members of laughing coffin. The Black Bow of Fate in her hands erupted in black light and the arrows zipped through the air, towards the two men. One raised a massive cleaver and cut through the air, and the arrows smashed into the ground back in front of Kya. Her black cloak flew back, but he saw her hold her ground.

"She's a tough one, you must admit, eh boss?" The second man said, holding a halberd over his shoulder.

The man with the cleaver laughed. "Ha… I wouldn't say that much. Did you handle the little girl yet?"

"Not yet boss, didn't you want me to wait?"

The boss shook his head, his cleaver over his shoulder. "Get it done, if Zaza and Borg don't show up, a Knight of the Blood being here could spell trouble."

"YOU WON'T TOUCH HER!" It was Kya's voice, she lunged out of the black fog, her bow erupted in light and swung it down towards the boss. The impact as he rose his cleaver surprised the two men, and another pilum of black smoke erupted. She turned; her green eyes wild as she yelled to him. "AKIRA! GET TO AKI!"

She pointed, and then he heard Aki yell. "BIG BROTHER! I… I CAN'T MOVE!"

"Akira, there!" Asuna yelled behind him and Akira finally spotted her.

"AKI!" He yelled, taking off in a run he saw her down on her stomach, trying to crawl away from the edge of dungeon, away from the black abyss.

She's paralyzed, she can't use her crystal! He and Kya always made sure Aki had plenty of teleportation crystals on her, but she couldn't use them paralyzed. Akira pulled an antidote crystal from his inventory, and sprinted again.

"AKIRA BEHIND YOU!" It was Asuna, and just before he could throw the crystal towards his sister, he felt something sharp stab into his back.

Red pixels flew from his back, as he fell forward like a bag of brick, the antidote crystal skidding forward. He watched his HP bar fall, as he heard laughing behind him.

"You think you'll escape this? Accept your fate!" The man yelled, as Akira recognized the bloody estoc come swinging for him.

He yelled, and rolled to the side, pulling out his rapier and readying the skill. "STAR SPLASH!"

The new skill Asuna had just taught him sprung to life, and the man with the skull mask yelled out as most of the points hit, sending him stumbling backwards, giving Akira time to ready himself into a stance. He looked back and Aki's blonde pigtails had come undone, she was beaten and bruised, and he saw her HP bar near the red. She crawled towards the green antidote crystal he had thrown.

"AKI!" He yelled as the saw the man, Zaza he remembered being the name, regain his senses and growl towards him. "Use the antidote, then teleport away, GO!"

"B…but you… you and Kya," She said through gritted teeth as she crawled.

"Stop dragging this out!" The boss's dark voice yelled, and Akira's head snapped around. "DIE ALREADY!"

"KYA!" He went to run towards her, as she saw her punched in the stomach and sent flying backwards.

She landed on her back, her bow skidding from her hands, The man's cleaver came next trying to end her, but Kya rolled to the side and kicked at his arm. It sent him stumbling before Kya rolled and picked up her bow. She got to one knee and reached for the quiver on her belt.

"MULTI-SHOT, FIRE VOLLEY!" Four arrows filled Kya's quiver, and she fired. They seared the air forward, and the boss just barely was able to get his cleaver up in time to block the fire.

They still exploded in a burst of flames on impact, he watched as Asuna, who had drawn the attention of two members of Laughing Coffin ducked to the side, before the flames spread to them both too. Akira almost smiled, thinking that perhaps the situation had turned in their favor.

But then the sword cut into his shoulder. He had been so worried about the others, that he had completely forgotten about Zaza.

"HAHAHA! How does it feel boy?! How does it feel knowing you're about to die?" He said, laughing the whole time as Akira felt his body go numb. His HP bar slipped into he red as he fell back. He could hear Asuna, Aki and Kya all yelling for him, but all he could think was how stupid he had been.

He had led them into this death trap.

His vision started to blur as his HP dropped, he watched Zaza, his skull mask above him wave his blood red estoc.

"Pity," He said, a devil like smile coming as he rose his sword. "I'd have like for a challenge!"

"AKIRA!" It was Kya, just before the sword could end his life in the real and virtual world, Kya as she'd been doing for years, saved his life.

When you used the Black Bow of Fate as a two-handed weapon, it was like a spear or glaive. The two ends of the longbow had pointed spikes at the end, and it would take an extremely powerful strike to break the material it was made out of.

It stopped Zaza's sword, and the man started laughing again as Kya brought a knee up into his stomach, before lashing outwards. He tried to rise, but could only get to his knees shaking as his HP bar finally stopped in the red.

"Akira-kun!" Asuna yelled, as he looked up and saw a vial coming towards him. He recognized the potion, caught it and down the contents, feeling his strength return, he found Asuna rushing to his side as Kya clashed with Zaza.

He nodded to the Lightning Flash. "Thanks… now where's Aki-."

"BIG BROTHER!"

"Quite your squirming!" The deep voice said,

Everything froze around them again. Akira turned, and saw where Aki had been, the rest of Laughing Coffin, the two minions and the boss with the cleaver had gotten to where Aki was. He saw she was still paralyzed, the antidote crystal still laying unused on the dungeon floor.

"NO, AKI!" He yelled so loud he thought his throat would bleed, and with his newfound strength, sprinted with his rapier out. "GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!"

The rapier glew in his hands, the boss had just been about to grab Aki by the hair when the sword skill pulled Akira across the room. Asuna unleashed a skill next to him, gliding across the room and drawing away the two minions. His own skill cut into the boss's hands, sending his cleaver flying. The boss's HP bar dropped, and seeing the opening Akira yelled as his rapier glew again.

"STAR SPLASH!" The skill he learned from Asuna erupted and the combo smashed into the boss's stomach. His HP bar dropped into the yellow and feeling a fire burn in his stomach, Akira yelled again and slammed his fist into the much larger mans stomach. He coughed and recoiled, before he came back around with another sword skill, which sent him skittering back.

Seeing his pathway clear, he quickly checked to see Kya and Asuna in their respective fights. The two minions that Asuna had lured away stood no chance against the lightning flash, she spun and thrusted with her rapier, and he even saw one of the minions HP go into the red, before he started running. Kya had gotten Zaza to fall back, and was peppering him with arrows to keep him at bay.

He breathed and turned to Aki, pulling up his inventory and taking out another antidote. She was moving slightly, but the moment the antidote hit her, she bolted up and tackled her arms around him.

"I… I was… Akira they… they almost, big brother I'm scared," She cried, and Akira feeling himself break down hugged her tight.

He didn't say anything, only pulling up his inventory again and thrusting a teleport crystal into her hand.

"Do you remember the taller man? Agil? The one who gave you free apples, and sold Kya her arrows in Algade?" He asked, trying not to sound as panicked as he was. "Teleport there and go to his shop. Tell him what's happened, and he'll look after you!"

Akira hated putting Aki in the care of anyone else. Agil however, was the person he trusted the most outside of Kya to do that. Kya and he had gotten Aki's gear from him when he first started opening his shops, in his effort to help the lower leveled players get better gear. After he opened his shop in Algade on floor 50, he and Kya often went to shop at his place. It was where they had just gone before coming to that cave.

Aki looked even more terrified, her bruised cheeks wet with tears. "But… but what about you, Asuna and Kya?"

"We'll follow behind, now go!" He said, going to get up, but Aki pulled back his arm. Spinning he met her crying eyes. "DAMMIT AKI WILL YOU LISTEN TO ME?!"

"B…but big brother," She said, crying and clinging to his arm again. "I… I don't want to leave you, I'm scared I-."

"WE DON'T HAVE TIME AKI GO!" He yelled, his panic rising as he tried to pry her off him. "GO TELEPORT AWAY AND-GAHHH!"

"BIG BROTHER!" "AKIRA!" "AKIRA!"

Everyone shouted his name at once, as he could feel a blade slam into his side, it was a skill that cracked his chest plate and sent him flying and slamming into the ride that he and Asuna had come down. His HP bar fell down to red, only a few hundred points left from one blow, as he heard the echoes of Asuna, Kya and Aki all yelling for him, but soon the sound of ringing blade resumed. If they could just get Aki to teleport, they could all escape, but he couldn't see anything except a blurry figure lumbering towards him. It was only after his vision cleared, he saw the massive cleaver near in his vision.

"I'll give it to you, you filthy rat," The boss's voice said, followed by his boot slamming into Akira's stomach, "you've got guts. I'll make it quick for you for that, then your sister too."

Akira's head spun, he tried to get angry, to force himself up, but each movement was like needles rushing up his body, pain like he never felt before seared through his body. His HP bar slowly ticked, and as the commanders shadow fell over him, the screams of Kya and Aki, the only reasons he had for being in this death game became clearer.

He looked up and met that devils eyes, and feeling his limbs tingle he shook his head.

"Tell… tell me your name," Akira hissed, rising up to his knees and narrowing his eyes.

The boss laughed. "Ha… I'd want to know the name of the one who kills me as well. I'm the Prince of Hell, PoH. Not many put up as much of a fight as you."

"PoH…" Akira said, before coughing, unable to stop the smile that came to him next. "Good… good. My… my name's Akira."

PoH laughed again. "And why would I care what your name is?"

"Because ha… you just said it," Akira said, a sudden surge rushing through his mind, his eyes widened as he met the devil's eyes. "You'd want to know the name of the one who kills you right? Well… it… it may not be today, but… but eventually, I'm going to kill you."

He laughed even louder this time, raising his cleaver. "My chopper gains more power for each person it kills… I think you'll power it up nicely! Now, finally die!"

He went to bring the chopper down, and Akira managed to smirk again. His rapier had been knocked out of his hand, but he had re-equipped his throwing knives, which could double as a regular dagger. He saw PoH's underarm open wide, the man only had a bit of HP left, if he could-.

"GET AWAY FROM MY BROTHER!"

"GAHH YOU LITTLE BITCH!" PoH yelled, as a staff-Aki's staff- swung through the air and smacked against his arm just before his cleaver could cut Akira in half.

Akira's chest erupted. "AKI NO!"

Her attack wasn't enough to do anything except annoy PoH. His HP bar dipped the slightest bit, but annoying the man enough he spun away from Akira to his right where Aki was shaking with her staff in his hands. Everything around him went silent, he couldn't hear anything except the ringing of PoH's cleaver as he raised it, the whimper Aki let out as she tried to step back.

"AKI!" Kya yelled, smashing her bow against Zaza and bolting away.

"NO!" Asuna spun and slashed away the two minions she'd been fighting, but neither of them were quick enough.

Akira bolted up from his knees and rushed, as Aki could only hold up her staff as PoH knocked it aside, growling as he got closer.

All Akira could think then, was how he knew they should have made her switch weapons from the staff.

And how he had led them into this.

"I've had enough of you, you little brat!" He said, raising up his clever and growling again. "You aren't worthy of living in this world!"

"AKI!" He yelled again going to throw himself in front of the blow.

Asuna and Kya yelled as well, but it was all silent again, as all Akira could see was Aki's green eyes go wide with tears, as the clever cut a massive red gash across her chest.

"NOOOOO!" It was Kya who screamed, and he saw her stumble forward trying to leap for him. "AKIRA, AKIRA STOP!"

"STAR SPLASH!" It Asuna who yelled, going to attack PoH, who had been ready. He deflected Asuna's strikes with his cleaver, and the crying Lightning Flash was knocked aside.

PoH growled and turned back towards Akira, but Asuna was back on him as Akira slid on his knees to the side of his little sister.

No, no, no, NO, I told mom I would take care of her, she's thirteen this shouldn't be happening, NO!

"AKI!" He yelled, pulling out a potion from his inventory and going to lower it down to her. "Aki hold on, I'm going to take you out of here, I'm here, it's okay, I got you, I won't-."

He was crying now, as she laid in his arms, her health bar dropping. She didn't move as he poured the potion in her mouth. He waited for her health bar to go back up, and it did.

But it went right back down, the damage dealt from PoH's attack was still calculating.

"No! No, no, no, NO!" He yelled, pulling up his inventory for another potion.

All of them were gone.

"No… Aki," He said, holding her body in his arms, pulling her head with her still crying eyes into his chest, just as he'd done his entire life.

She felt so small then, like during the days they had spent sleeping in the alleys of Tokyo.

"Aki… Aki…" Was all he could say, as he didn't want to look at her health bar in his vision, the last of her health slowly whittling down.

"B…big… big brother," She whimpered, and Akira sobbed as he pulled her back to see her crying, still eyes looking at him.

"Aki… Aki don't talk, don't talk, you'll be fine," He said, trying more so to convince himself. He didn't hear anything at all around him, and could only look at her.

She blinked, her small bruised cheeks wet with tears, her blonde hair sprawled out on his lap. "A… Akira, big… big brother did… did I… did I save you this time?"

Akira's eyes widened, and he sobbed while nodding. "Y…Yeah Aki you… you did great. You saved me…I'm proud of you."

She gave an open mouth smile while crying, and this time her eyes looked past him. "M…mommy… momma… I… I did it, I… I took care of big brother like… like I told you I would."

Akira's breathing almost stopped, he choked a sob, as the last of her HP bar started disappearing. He couldn't remember any promise as such between Aki and her mother, it had been the other way around he had thought.

But now he realized how stupid that was, her mother had always said one thing. And that was they all took care of each other in that family, even after she was gone.

"Aki… Aki I… I-." He started saying, before Aki did something she hadn't expected. She smiled and squeezed his wrist.

And she smiled at him, before it hit zero, and she burst into blue pixels in front of him.

"Aki… Aki…" He said, following the pixels and stumbling as if to try and catch them.

They finally disappeared, the last of them disappearing in his hands.

I… I did this. It… it was me. I led her here.

"AKIRA! AKIRA NO!" Kya's voice finally hit his ears, and all at once like an avalanche the noises started.

He only stood as he heard PoH laugh. "Pathetic… I'll see that you join her now you little brat! I'll-."

He spun just in time to see a flash, the Lightning Flash. Asuna slashed her rapier across PoH's hand and made him scream, before unleashing a sword skill that sent him flying backwards.

She turned, tears in her eyes as she pointed backwards. "Find Kya so we can teleport!"

Akira spun, tears still in his eyes as he tried to hold it together. Kya was rushing towards him, he was about to go meet her, find his rapier but she pulled up to a stop and pulled out an arrow. He knew what it meant and ducked to roll forward. Her arrow zipped past him and hit one of the Laughing Coffin minions who had been about to skewer hi.

He came back up and saw Kya's teary face shake her head. "Akira, it's okay, we'll retreat then we can-."

"KYA MOVE!" He yelled, seeing the bloody estoc too late.

Kya saw it too late as well.

The Black Bow of Fate dropped from Kya's hands, as Zaza's sword pierced through her chest.

The man's head came up next to Kya's, as he looked towards Akira, smirking. "How does it feel? Knowing her brain is about to be fried in a hospital bed, right across from your sisters?"

"Ky… Kya…" Was all he could whisper, holding out his hand, stumbling towards them.

"A…Akira…" She said, reaching out her hand towards his outstretched one. His teary green eyes met her green eyes, her HP bar falling down towards 0. Her lips parted, and he heard the word faintly. "Akira… re… remember you… you prom… promise. I… I lo… lo-."

The girl that he was in love with died, and disappeared into blue pixels.

A few seconds later, two messages popped up in his UI.

The first read, Kya's items have been transferred to your shared inventory.

He sobbed and read the second one. New skill acquired: Elemental Archery.

That made him fall to his knees. That had been Kya's special ability, she had discovered it after maxing out her archery skill. Nobody else they asked in the game had it, so they assumed it was a unique skill, like the ones they heard rumors about.

If it transferred to him… then it meant she was really gone.

He had lost everything. Now, he was alone.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Asuna tried to stop the tears coming from her eyes, they had been getting in the way of her vision as she fought, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't, especially after she saw Kya disappear.

Isn't this why I've spent so much time fighting? To be strong, to save people?! She thought, rolling away from the large man's cleaver. She came up, and saw Akira had fallen to his knees, and gritted her teeth.

I'm going to save at least one of them! She knew now what happened to the knights sent ahead. These had to be high ranking members of Laughing Coffin for them to take out the whole group, even as strong as she was, she couldn't take them all. The best she could do, was save who she could.

She wasn't going to die like this, if she died, it would be clearing the floors.

"Ha, a good fight Lightning Flash!" The boss said, swinging his cleaver again, a demonic smile under his hood. "You'll join those two little girls soon!"

"You monsters…" She said under his breath, rage coursing through her as she thought of little Aki-chans face, the one that had looked up to her. "STAR SPLASH!"

Her sword skill erupted, sending the boss of Laughing Coffin across the room. She transition right into another sword skill and turned as Akira was reaching out his hands towards the air where Kya had disappeared.

That poor boy… he just lost everything, and I couldn't do anything. She couldn't imagine what it would've been like had her own brother died like that in front of her, or someone she loved like he had loved Kya. Asuna bit down on her lip and yelled as she unleashed her sword kill and it carried her across the room, cutting across the back of Zaza, the man with the estoc that had killed Kya before he could cut Akira.

She pulled up in front of Akira, warding off the last of Laughing Coffin with her rapier, they back up, seeming to be waiting for orders as she saw Zaza pull out a healing potion.

Akira behind her only looked down at his hands. Asuna turned to him, and quickly wiped the tears from her face. I promised Aki, I promised her I'd get her brother out safe!

The thought of that little girl being starstruck by her, it was something she hadn't experienced. She didn't like it, because now all she could think was how her hero had failed her. All I can do now, is get her brother out!

"Akira!" She yelled at him, keeping her rapier leveled. "Use your teleport crystal! I'll use mine at the same time, we have to retreat!"

"Aki… Aki…" He said, his wide-set green eyes looking down at his own trembling hands. "Kya… Kya… I… I-."

"AKIRA!" She yelled, turning to him and trying to yank him to his feet. "You need to get ahold of yourself! Do you want to die here, you will if we don't-."

"You two brats are more trouble then I thought," The deep voice of the boss said, as Asuna turned seeing him approach with his cleaver on his shoulder. He scoffed at them. "After all of that fighting, you'll just die here, might as well do yourselves a favor, and jump off the edge now."

"Hey, PoH!" The one with the estoc, Zaza said, as Asuna saw him going through his UI menu. He growled and looked around. "I think I recognized that one girl."

"Do you?" One of the two minions said with a scoff. "She was a looker, I'd remember seeing her with you."

PoH narrowed his eyes. "Shut your mouth. Zaza, what do you mean?"

Zaza smirked and looked down at Akira. "Well, you scored yourself the best archer in Aincrad boy. Kya… yeah, I remember hearing about her through some channels. Had a special archery ability of some kind."

PoH smirked as Asuna slowly went to open her menu. I'll teleport us out of here, I'll drag Akira with me!

"Had a fancy looking weapon too," PoH said, rolling his eyes now. "You better make sure you split up her items! You know the rules Zaza."

"Yeah, yeah, I will, that's the problem. Her items aren't showing up in my inventory," Zaza complained, moving through his UI menu. He scoffed. "She was really the best archer in the game huh? Hard to-."

"She was the best archer in the game, yes," Akira suddenly said behind her.

Asuna spun around to him. "Akira! We need to-."

She stopped when she saw him going through his inventory. Her eyes widened, she remembered he and Kya had been married in game. So that meant all Kya's items…

"Huh… so he has some bite left to him it seems," PoH said, smirking as he pulled his cleaver from his shoulder. "Your girlfriend and little sister aren't here to save you, the Lightning Flash won't either. Wouldn't have mattered if she was the best archer in the game."

"She was the best, and if you hadn't stabbed her in the back, she would have taken all of you. Yeah… Kya was the best archer in the game," He said, going to his equipment screen. Asuna backed away as light encased him, leather armor with a black and brown color combination equipped onto Akira. Asuna realized, it was the armor Kya had been wearing.

She realized what he was doing. All that armor probably enhances speed, dexterity and archery skills… he did tell me he started the game as an archer.

"Yeah… she was the best," He said again, pressing one more button, as Asuna watched him hold out his hand. The long, sleek Black Bow of Fate fell into Akira's hands. "But do you know who second best?" His head snapped up, his eyes awash with fury. "I was… LIGHTNING VOLLEY, MULTI SHOT!"

Akira pulled arrows from the quiver now on his waist faster than Asuna had seen anyone move in her entire time in Sword Art Online. He had four arrows between is knuckles and slung them into The Black Bow of Fate without any slipups, the arrows glew bright blue like swords did when a sword skill was used and he let them loose above them. For a moment Laughing Coffin backed away, but after they fired into he air, they prepared to attack.

PoH even laughed, but before they could, the arrows cackled with electricity in the air and slammed into the ground in a ring around Akira and her. Asuna had to cover her eyes the light was so bright, but she heard all of Laughing Coffin yell, and when she opened her eyes they had all been knocked backwards, PoH was having a hard time moving, a paralysis icon above his head.

Asuna breathed out in relief, and rushed to Akira who was reaching for another arrow.

"We have space, we can go!" She said, going to pull out a teleport crystal. She got the item into her hands and met Akira's eyes. "Let's meet in Algade, after that I'll take you-."

"You can go, save yourself," He said, slinging the arrow into his bow as he turned from her towards PoH, his eyes turned darker then Asuna had seen them before. "I'm not going anywhere…"

"Don't be foolish!" She said, yanking at his arm again. "If members this strong are here, more are sure to be nearby! If they call for reinforcements-."

"Thank you… for saving me, and saving them the times you did here…" He said, his arms shaking as he held the bow. He shook his head, and Asuna saw tears come back to him. "But I don't have anything anymore. I… I led them here, it was me Asuna, I all but killed them myself, I can't-."

"NO!" She said, cutting him off, meeting his eyes and shaking her head. "You couldn't have known Akira! Besides, didn't you make a promise to Kya? What would her and Aki-chan want you to do now?!"

She didn't know what promise they had made, but Asuna had overheard them before leaving to go into this dungeon. A part of her felt bad bringing this up then, but she needed him to come with her.

He stiffened, but shakily sighed. "I'm not the person Kya thought I was… I proved that today. I'm not worthy to keep her promises, do the things she wanted."

"And what was it she wanted?!" Asuna asked urgently.

"To help people…" He whispered, shaking his head. "To help the weak. She believed the strong have a duty to the weak… but she was strong, I'm not."

"What you just did would make me disagree…" Asuna said. "Please Akira, we need to leave."

"This isn't the strength she meant…" He said, his eyes narrowing again as Laughing Coffin began to recover. "Go Asuna. Thank you… like I said. I- ICE ARROW!"

His bow glew bright blue again, as he pushed Asuna to the side and pulled the string back. Zaza, the one who had killed Kya had been rushing for Asuna, but Akira unleashed his arrow. It blew back an icy mist as he hit Zaza in the hand, knocking his estoc away before it could hit Asuna. The force of Akira's shot had knocked him backwards, his HP bar began to fall, but more importantly the ice from the arrow had spread through his hand. He fell to the ground, and Asuna saw Akira loading another arrow, but before he could shoot, Zaza pulled out another item.

A teleport crystal.

"NO! YOU'RE NOT LEAVING!" Akira yelled, pulling back his bow. "ICE ARROW!"

"We will meet again…" Asuna heard the man say, before he whispered a location, and teleported away. Akira's arrow hit the ground and ice spurted from it.

"DAMMIT!" Akira yelled, and Asuna's eyes widened.

"AKRIA!" She rushed to intercept one of the minions, knocking his axe upwards and spinning out of the way. "SWITCH!"

You didn't need to switch when fighting another player like they were as far as she knew, but it was a natural way to communicate when fighting with someone.

Akira knew what she meant, and screaming, his eyes awash with fury he spun and launched two arrows from his bow.

Both launched at the same time and pierced into the man's chest. It made him scream, but despite his HP bar falling, he bellowed and rushed Akira with his axe.

She was about to go and help, but she remembered then The Black Bow of Fate doubled as a two-handed staff or spear like weapon, with two sharper points at the long end of it.

Akira met the man's ax blade with his bow. He pushed it up and like he was dancing swept it under his feet. After the minion of Laughing Coffin fell, Akira yelled and slammed one of the pointed edges of the Black Bow of Fate into the man's back. It wasn't as effective as a sword, but it still rapidly depleted the man's HP.

Asuna's eyes widened, her heartbeat increasing even more. "Akira!"

"MONSTERS!" He slammed his foot against the back of the man pushing him back to the ground before pulling an arrow into his bow. "METEOR SHOT!"

His bow glew red, and he unleashed an arrow that slammed into the man's head. Asuna froze as after one more scream, his HP gauge reached zero and he turned to pixels under Akira's boot.

He killed him… Asuna thought, knowing that it had to be the right thing to do… but still it made her feel cold. She could see a look appear on Akira's face then, as the realization seemed to set in for him as well.

"BASTARDS!" A voice yelled next to her, and she yelled out as a spear slashed across her arm and sent her stumbling.

"ASUNA!" Akira yelled, as steadied herself and saw a minion closing in on her.

She raised her rapier but heard Akira yell. "LIGHTNING SHO- GAH!"

"THIS IS HOW I LIKE IT!" The deep voice of PoH yelled, as Asuna saw him cut across Akira arm with his cleaver, before punching him in the stomach.

His brown cloak bellowed as Akira flew back and slammed against the rocks of the ledge they'd come down. Asuna saw his HP gauge begin to drop and after deflecting a few attacks, with a swift kick she sent the minion flying back. PoH turned and tried to slash at her, but she slid under his weapon and got to Akira's side as his HP had dropped to red. She had no potions left, she needed to get him away.

He groaned in protest as she took out her teleport crystal.

She looked at him with sharp eyes. "I'm sorry, but no matter what you say, I made a promise. We're-."

"You can't leave now!" PoH yelled, as Akira groaned and took Asuna to the ground. PoH's cleaver smashed into the rock behind them. "The fun hasn't even begun yet!"

Asuna was about to use her item, but before she could she heard Akira groan before picking up The Black Bow of Fate.

"I… I won't let you hurt Asuna!" He groaned, pushing himself to his feet, and slowly reaching for four more arrows and pulling them into his bow. "You… you took them both, I won't let you kill anyone else!"

"And what do you plan to do?" PoH asked.

"Akira!" Asuna yelled, grabbing his arm. "TELEPORT, AL-."

"ELEMENTAL BARRAGE!" Akira yelled, as different colors erupted from the tip of Akira's arrows. He screamed as he let them go, and flames, ice, pieces of rock and lightning all erupted from arrows and launched from his bow. The force of using the skill, the stamina it took made Akira stumble and fall to his knees.

The light blinded Asuna, as she grabbed onto Akira's arm again. "TELEPORT, FLOOR 46, LISBETH'S SMITH SHOP!"

She didn't want to bring him right to command, she didn't know if that was what he wanted anymore. She'd apologize to Liz afterwards.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"You know, why am I not surprised you fell into my shop with a cute unconscious boy in attached to your arm Asuna?" Liz teased, as she placed a mug of apple juice next to Asuna as they both looked at Akira still asleep in the bed in Liz's guest room, in the house behind her shop.

Asuna rolled her eyes. "I've told you already it's not like that Liz!" She sighed, looking down at Akira who had been thrashing for the day he'd been unconscious. "He… lost a lot yesterday."

The sight of Aki, that little girl who had looked up to her was burned into Asuna's mind. Akira had blamed himself before she got him away from the fight, but Asuna knew better. She should have known better, known it was a trap.

She had of course reported back to the commander, sent a message to her scout team to evacuate the area. The scouts were working now to find Laughing Coffin's base, the commander finally deemed them too much a threat, and in the coming months there was going to be an attempt to eliminate them somehow. It was the last thing they needed, when they were already busy trying to clear the floors.

Asuna should have reported back, but she wasn't going to leave Akira alone, not after what she promised. So many times, she could have gotten him away sooner gotten all three of them away. This had been what she wanted to be strong for… and she failed.

She wasn't going to fail again, never again. She was going to do what she could to end this death game, so things like this would stop.

Liz sighed, and nodded at her. "I'm joking, you know that. You did what you could Asuna, the fact you were able to get him here was impressive of itself."

Asuna's hands tingled. Akira was sprawled out in that black and brown leather armor, the set that Kya had been wearing. The Black Bow of Fate was leaned up against the dresser near the bed. His head of darker blonde hair was messy, his chest slowly rose and fell, each breath making Asuna worry with each one.

She bit her lip and turned to Liz. "I could have done more still… I'm going to look after him as best I can now."

"Yeah… you… you said his sister," Liz said, uncharacteristically very quiet.

She nodded. "I'm going to keep my promise to that little girl. I'll make sure her brother makes it home safe."

A bell chimed in the distance, and Liz nodded before turning to head back towards her shop. Asuna sighed and turned back down to the bed, she'd begin to worry if he was asleep any longer. She needed to report back to the commander.

"A…Aki… Kya…" A mutter came from him, and Asuna breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank god… she said, reaching to shake his shoulders. "Akira-kun, it's alright, wake up, you need to wake up."

His fluttered, moving to look at her. "A…Asuna? What… where… where am I?"

"Floor 46," She said, helping him as he groaned sitting up. "A place called Lisbeth's Smith Shop, she's a friend of mine, let me set you up in her bed."

"You… you didn't take me to your commander?" He groaned, as Asuna handed him her cup of juice.

She shook her head as he drank. "I didn't know if that's what you wanted. You fired a bow skill, Elemental Barrage it was called, after that you passed out. I teleported you to a place I trusted."

"Why…?" He asked, his head looking down at his trembling hands.

She watched as he pulled up his UI menu and switched his outfit. He had on a white t-shirt, and long cotton pants with socks. Shaking like he was freezing; he couldn't meet her eyes.

"Why?" She said, shaking her head. "What do you mean why? I would have-."

"Why… why didn't you," he said, as Asuna noticed tears. "Why didn't you let me die?"

It may have been a virtual world, but Asuna could feel her heart fall to her stomach.

"Is… is that really what you want?" She asked him, her own voice small as he still didn't look at her. "Do you want to die in this game?"

Akira looked back up at her finally. Asuna remembered meeting him the day before, he had seemed stoic, serious, and a bit standoffish, but she'd come to expect that from most people. He had good reason to be, he had been trying to get the only two people he loved out of the game, he wasn't going to risk them. But it was like he had said after spending time together in that dungeon, hunting monsters in a virtual death game tended to bring people closer together.

She hadn't known him long of course, but the look in his eyes, the despair then seemed like something that should have been foreign. Not something she expected to see, but she understood why. She was looking at someone who was broken. She wouldn't forget that first month on floor one, the amount of people who had leapt from the walls of Aincrad. They'd had similar looks.

"There's no point in continuing it anymore," He said shaking as he sighed. "They… they were the only reason I didn't leap into the clouds."

Asuna's own eyes teared up. "Don't you have anyone else waiting for you on the outside? What about Kya-chans parents? You told me they took care of you."

He laughed dryly, still crying. "With Kya and Aki gone I… I'll be lucky if Mr. Tanaka doesn't rip the nerve gear off my head himself. He's probably calling the hospital now… telling them to pull me off their machines."

Her hands tingled, as she scooted her chair closer to the side of his bed. "And… what about Kya and Aki-chan? What would they have wanted you to do right now?"

His hands held the blankets that were over his body in a vice. "Kya… how I ended up with someone like her I'll never know. It's like I told you… I'm not like her, I'm not the person she thought I was, I'm a coward."

"You're not a coward," She told him. "Not many would have tried to fight off Laughing Coffin the way you did, you were coming to join our guild, you were coming to fight!"

"That was Kya, and… and Aki," He said, his hands shaking again. "I… I was ready to wait it out from the start. We… we got stronger, I got stronger to protect them. We had our home on Floor 17, and I was going to just wait it out till the assault team finished the game. I was never going to risk them. Don't you get it Asuna?! I'm not like you, Kya, or even… even Aki."

He turned his head from her. "Kya… all she wanted to do was help people here. She convinced me to come, it was her that was the good one! SHE WAS THE ONE WHO SHOULD HAVE SURVIVED!"

He was crying more now, and all Asuna could do was watched. She didn't know what to say. Who could at a moment like this? She watched, as he sobbed, tears falling onto the blanket below him.

"She deserved it… she deserved to be the one here, not me," He said, wiping the tears falling down his cheeks. "Do… do you know what we talked about? Just before you got there? She told me, she wanted to go and fight… because it's our duty-the strong-to protect the weak, and it's what she would have done in the real world…. She said that even though this world is virtual we… we can't let it change us, the real world is what we make it and now… this is the real world for us. She told me that… that if she died in this game… that she wanted to still be herself."

"It… it sounds like Kya-chan was wonderful," Asuna said, as she wiped tears from her own cheeks now. She had been there… she should have done more. "I… I'm upset that I couldn't have gotten to know her more."

"She was… she was the best, better than me!" He cried again, shaking his head with tears streaming from his eyes. "And… and I COULDN'T SAVE HER! She should be here, it should have been me! She would have been better for the rest of the players; she would have helped your guild clear the game! And… Aki she… she would have kept Aki… god Aki. The… the last thing I did was scream at her, she was horrified, but I just screamed at her, she died thinking I was mad at her, that's all I've done, all I've done these last months was tell her what to do, I was horrible, I was a horrible brother, and despite it all she still saved me, and I LET HER DIE!"

"Akira-kun…" Asuna said, not knowing what to do anymore. She reached over to try and put a hand on his shoulder. "I know, Kya and Aki-chan… they didn't hate you, they loved you until the end, do you really believe they'd be mad at you?"

"No… I know they wouldn't be, and that's what makes it worse," He said, shutting closed his watering eyes and shaking his head. "Why… why did this happen, why did he do this, what was the point?! Aki… Aki… after everything we went through she… she died like that and I… I…I'm sorry mom… I… I didn't-."

He started crying again, this time sobbing harder then he had before. Asuna reached over, and grabbed his shoulder to try and give some reassurance, but he ended up falling to the side, and she found her arms around him. She stiffened at first, but all he did was cry while his one hand gripped her cloak.

She was amazed still at moments like this in Aincrad. Despite it being a virtual world, the boy crying to her then cried real tears, real tears of loss and despair.

She wanted to die being who she was… that's what I want, she thought. The Asuna in the real world, and the Lightning Flash were quite different.

But one thing they'd both do, was comfort someone in need, someone she was beginning to consider a friend. So, she hugged Akira, and let him cry. After he felt arms around him, it seemed he cried even harder, muttering the names of his sister and wife, wondering why, why something like this had to happen.

Something Asuna often wondered herself at night. All she could do, was give him the words she used to get herself through the days.

"You can't let him win… you can't let this game win," She said, remembering the promise she made to herself all those months ago.

He had stopped crying now, tears still silently fell, but he managed to compose himself and wiped the water from his cheeks. Asuna saw his face go beat red after he realized he had been hugging her, and quickly he left her arms and sat up again.

Asuna didn't mind, she met his eyes and shook her head. "When this game first started… I realized that there's a good chance I would die, a likely chance really."

"Kya she… she said the same thing," He said quietly, his green eyes meeting her gaze now.

She nodded, standing up from the chair and offering him her hand. "Yes… we may die, we don't have control over this world. But… one thing we do have control of, is how we die, and what we do leading up to it. Me? I decided that if I was going to die… it'd be fighting monsters to clear the game. That way… if I did die, I knew it was coming. But… but if we manage to clear the game, I did my part for all the players."

"Then… you're a better person then I am too," Akira said, looking at her hand, and then back to her eyes. "I was ready to stay behind… like a coward."

She shook her head. "No, that doesn't make you a coward, Akira-kun. You made the choice to protect the two you loved, that's what you did."

"Yes… and I failed," He said, looking down at his hands. "Kya… she saved Aki and I in this game…and in the real world. I haven't done much good protecting people. I'm not as strong as they both thought."

"None of us are really as strong as others think, I'm certainly not… sometimes I'll lay awake at night, crying and thinking how I'll never escape," She said, her voice quiet. She kept her hand out and shook her head again. "But… each day I wake up and remember what I promised myself. I'm going to clear this game… and Akira, I want you to help me."

"I won't do you any good… just ask Kya and Aki," He said, his hands balling into fists.

She met his eyes again. "Then what will you do? Sit and do nothing? Leap into the clouds?" her eyes narrowed. "Or… do you want to give everything you have to achieve Kya and Aki-chans wish? Do it for them Akira… help me save the rest of the players. Many are children as young as Aki was, many have siblings and families of their own."

"Asuna…" He said, his eyes getting watery again as he looked at her hand.

She kept her eyes narrowed at him. "Even if you wished to kill yourself now Akira… then what does it matter if you die fighting to clear the game?"

His eyes widened and Asuna shook her head.

"You may as well do all you can… like Kya-chan would have," She said, shaking her head, and smiling at him. Her brother had always said her smile warmed hearts… she hoped it was true. "And who knows, maybe as you do fight, you'll find a new reason to fight."

For a moment, Asuna thought she'd failed, that her smile and kind words really hadn't helped him. Akira simply looked at her, his mouth agape, opening and closing, his eyes going from her face to her hand.

Finally, he let out a long breath, and groaned as he stood. Asuna helped him, as he stumbled after getting to his feet. She steadied him, and he stood tall looking at her. He was the same height as her, and she couldn't help but wonder how old he was.

Finally, he spoke. "I… I think I already have found another reason."

Asuna tilted her head. "You… have?"

"Yeah," He said with a nod, a small smile coming to his face. "You."

"Me?!" Asuna said, her face getting suddenly red. She was worried for a moment she'd receive another marriage proposal, before realizing how ridiculous the idea was.

He nodded, a determined look coming to his eyes. "Yeah… you risked your life to try and save Aki and Kya. You could have easily teleported away and left us to our fate… but you didn't. Who knows, if I had been stronger, maybe we'd all be here now…"

"It was nothing," She said with a shake of her head. "I… I should be the one apologizing, apologizing for not seeing it could be a trap."

He scoffed. "We can both take the blame for that then… but either way, you risked your life to save them and… and you did save me. When I was being stubborn, you could have left me to die there like I wanted… but you didn't. I owe you a debt, one I may not ever be able to repay."

"Akira-kun…" She said, going red again as she nervously laughed. "You don't need to owe me anything, I'm glad I was able to save you."

He actually smiled. "I… still don't know if I would have preferred to die or not, but you saved me either way, and for that… you can count on me."

"Count on you?" She said, even daring to smirk a little. "Are you saying that we're friends now?"

He didn't respond, only pulling up his UI menu. She watched him click the players tab, and a few seconds later a message appeared in her window. Akira has sent you a friend request.

She looked up at him and smiled, before clicking the green accept button.

He nodded when she did and held out his own hand. "You're right… if I'm going to die, I'm going to do it… trying to accomplish what Kya wanted, what… Aki wanted."

Asuna smile down at his hand. "Then… that means you'll come with me to join the guild?"

He sighed but nodded. "I'll come with you and talk to them, don't know about joining… but one thing I do know is… I want to end this game like you do, and I'd be honored if we could work together to do it. What do you say… Lightning Flash?"

Asuna's chest felt warm, she had failed yesterday for the most part… but she had done something good at least.

She shook his hand and nodded. "Let's clear this game, I promise we'll achieve that goal together. If you ever need me, I'll come. I look forward to working with you, Akira-kun."

"Yeah… I look forward to it too," He said, squeezing her hand again and giving her a small smile. "Well… what do we do first, Asuna?"

A/N: Welcome everyone to my first ever Sword Art Online fic! SaO had for the longest time been my absolute favorite anime, and I have been yearning to write a fic for it for a while now, and I am so so happy to finally be able to get a chapter of it out!

I've obviously watched the anime over multiple times up to Alicization: War of the Underworld, I just saw the new movie Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night for the second time, I'm in the process of reading ALL the Light Novels, and I am so so excited to bring an OC into this amazing world of SaO!

So, to answer a few questions off the bat, in this version of SaO, bows are actually in the game Sword Art Online, complete with bow skills and abilities as you can all see. I never understood why there wasn't bows in the first place in a fantasy game like SaO, so since this is fanfiction and we can have fun, our main character for this fic Akira, is going to use a bow as his main weapon!

Also, I may bring a few features we normally only see in ALO, like elemental damage into Aincrad just to spice things up! I won't be changing many other things, down the line in different arcs I may add a few things, but if you all have any questions, message and ask!

Now finally… we have our main protagonist, our OC for this story, Akira. He's not going to really replace Kirito as the main character, as you'll see going forward he'll be the co-main character of sorts for SaO, I don't want to just add him in, I want him to actually have an impact. The story overall won't change drastically, but I want it to be what would have happened if this character Akira really had been dropped into the world of SaO.

As we can see in chapter one, he suffers a major personal tragedy, a trap by laughing coffin leaves him near a breaking point, where Asuna comes to help him find a new purpose. Akira is going to still be haunted by what happened, for quite some time. One of the things I love about SaO, is how in later seasons, we see the real impact the SaO incident left on Kirito and friends, it'll be the same with Akira, just going even deeper, as you'll all see in the coming chapters.

Now one final thing you are all probably wondering is… what are the couples going to be? Who's Akira destined to be with after this tragedy?

It's not going to be Asuna, I can say that for certain xD The blushing in this chapter is more from embarrassment then any kind of attraction haha. She will of course be with Kirito, but her and Akira as you can see will have a powerful friendship, I love writing friendships like that in my stories, this is no different.

The honest truth is, I don't really know who Akira's ship will be. Initially, I said it would be Alice in the Underworld, but re-watching SaO for the purpose of this story, made me think, that each of the main girls make a lot of sense.

It won't be Silica or Lisbeth, they simply don't get enough screen time, and they really don't shine as much as the three main girls outside of Asuna.

So, the options are Leafa/Sugu, which after the Aincrad arc you'll see makes a ton of sense. You have Sinon/Shino, which considering their fighting styles and backstories makes sense as well! Then of course there's Alice who may be my favorite girl, and from a story standpoint also makes sense xD You all tell me! Who do you think would be the best option? I have until the end of the Aincrad Arc to find out xD

Speaking of Aincrad, this chapter takes place around two months before episode 5 of the anime titled 'Murder in the Safe Zone' So, since I'll be following the anime, I think we're going to have around 10-14 chapters in Aincrad before it's all wrapped up!

The next chapter will take place during episode 5, when there's a murder in a town on floor 56, Asuna teams up with Kirito to investigate, but to help out, Asuna is going to turn to someone with the highest investigation skill she knows… and we'll see how Akira's been holding up since this tragedy….

Thank you all so much for reading and clicking this story! I hope you don't find it too cringy haha, and I hope you'll stay tuned for the next chapter!

P.S: If i had any details wrong please let me know! For example, I THINK the highest floor the assault team would be trying to clear at this point is 56. Episode 5, which will be the next chapter, starts with a floor 56 field boss meeting, and then goes to a floor 59 town where Kirito and Asuna will investigate the PK in the safe zone. So, if you know, and spot inconsistencies let me knwo so i can change them!