DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sword Art Online or any of its characters. I do, however, own the fanart used as the cover; as I drew that myself.

() = Skills.

EXAMPLE: (Blacksmith).

[] = Stats and status effects.

EXAMPLE: [Strength] and [Invisible].

{} = Item names.

EXAMPLE: {Anneal Blade}.

«» = Monster and location names.

EXAMPLE: «Dire Wolf» and «The Town of Beginnings».

Chapter 2: Food.

The young man did his best to not think about the snickering, the warm smiles, or the sidelong glances all the other players were giving him. It wasn't like he could tell every random stranger that the two of them weren't dating, especially when the angry girl had a death grip on his hand, their fingers interlocked as she drags him down the street.

"I still don't even know her name." Kirito thinks. "She just started yelling at me when we respawned."

"We're goin' t' th'fourth floor." The green-haired woman says, a fierce tone that doesn't leave room for argument. "There's a really good cafe, even gave me a discount fer showin' up every week."

"O-okay." The choiceless man stutters, walking slightly faster so as to prevent her from dragging him further. "What's it called?"

"«Buzz-Buzz Worker Bees»."

"That; that's the worst name for a store I've iever/i heard!"

"Yeah, 's pretty campy, but th'service quality and th'drinks're just so good! They use {Dire Bee Honey}—"

"Isn't that a rare drop?!"

"—that's just it! Y'can harvest from a tamed «Dire Bee» fer a hundred-percent drop chance!"

In Sword Art Online, every major town had a great archway of stone and magic; the town's {Portal}, a means of fast travel that connected to every other opened {Portal} in the Closed Beta. Each {Portal} had a large obelisk in their center, a hundred-and-one buttons lining the object's surface, with each button numbered to a different floor of Aincrad. Pressing one of the buttons activates the {Portal}, filling the walkway underneath the arch with blue light; transporting anyone and anything inside its sudden aurora.

So when the whiskered greenette steps up to the obelisk and presses the button marked with a "4", it was of no surprise to the experienced Kirito when a cloud of blue light spawned around them and whisked them to the fourth floor of the castle.

Ice crunched under their boots when the shine faded and vision returned, the fourth floor's gentle snowfall covering the land in a veritable blanket of white Winter. The soft weather was considered a trap by players, as it could suddenly increase in harshness and intensity at seemingly random. If it wasn't for that simple fact, the fourth floor would've won the Floor Popularity Contest a month ago, made and moderated by Kirito.

But none of that mattered at the moment, as the excited girl drags the unfortunate boy to her diner of choice; a garish building, painted black and yellow, with the name «Buzz-Buzz Worker Bees» proudly displayed on a sign above the door. The interior was significantly less assaulting on the eyes, with carpeted flooring and a pleasant layout.

"Definitely a player-run building." Kirito thinks, taking stock of the whopping three waitresses, each dressed in bee-colored uniforms. A dozen other players sat around, enjoying their food and drink

"Hi! Welcome to «Buzz-Buzz Worker Bees»." The closest waitress says, her eyes honing in to focus on the way their hands were still locked together. "Would you like a table for two? We also currently have a couples discount for ten-percent off!"

Kirito's initial response, to finally tell someone they weren't dating, was shot down immediately when he saw how the greenette's eyes sparkled when the word "discount" rolled out of the woman's lips.

"We'll take the couple discount." The young man sighs, a comforting squeeze of his hand from Argo. "Table for two."

"Right this way!"

Moments later saw the two of them seated, each with a {Menu} in hand. The {Menu} item, unlike its real life counterpart, was covered in buttons and automatically spawned when a player sat down at a designated table. Each button was engraved with a predetermined food item, as well as the item's associated price. Pressing the aforementioned button would automatically buy the selected food, safely securing it in the player's inventory for later use.

"I haven't had {Blue Pig Pork} in a long time." Kirito says, sacrificing his hard-earned coins for meal and drink.

"Th'{Stardust Flower Tea} 's also really good, 'f coffee ain't yer speed." The girl across the table says, pushing her {Menu} aside as her own meal and drink materialize at the table, paid for by the target of her earlier frustrations. "But I think reintroductions're in order, what's yer name?"

"Shouldn't I be asking that?"

"Sure, soon as I pull ya off of a cliff n'trigger a miniboss's aggro with our freefall, then y'can ask first."

Kazuto Kirigaya could feel a premonition at that moment, a warning of future events to come. Something called from deep within him, rousing some hidden sixth sense that let the young adult touch upon the very thoughts of the universe, if for only a short period of time. A hidden alarm for danger that tried its best to warn the man of one simple fact.

The girl across from him was never going to let that go.

"I'm Kirito." The embarrassed player says, a blush steadily growing across his face. "Again, I'm really sorry—"

"'s fine, 's fine." The significantly-less-angry girl says, waving her hand as if waving the matter away. "I don't want ya feelin' too bad 'bout 's, but just know I will hold this over yer head!"

"Yeah… yeah that's fair."

"But, y've given yer name n'I've yet t' give mine. I'm Argo, Argo 'the Rat' in some circles—"

"You're Argo the Rat!?"

The sudden interruption had caught the greenette off-guard, but the reverence that Kirito had said her name brought a healthy blush to her cheeks. It didn't break her stride, nor did it wipe away her smile, but it did leave a pleasant feeling somewhere in her stomach. There was no way, prior to this outing, that young Tomo Hosaka could've known how many of her articles and forum posts were continuously frequented by the adventurer across from her.

"Why, Kii-bou, I had no idea y'were one of my fans."

"I can't help it, your guides and tips are easy to follow and enjoyable to read!" Kirito says, blushing slightly harder at her nickname. "They've been insanely useful whenever I got stuck on a quest. Although… I do have one question."

"Aight then, hit me."

"Why the whiskers?"

AN: Probably should've said what the prompts were.

Whoops.

Prompt 1: First Meeting

Prompt 2: Food

Prompt 3: Secrets

Prompt 4: Dungeon (violence warning)

Prompt 5: Rest

Prompt 6: Weather (smut warning)

Prompt 7: Family