AN: I read through these myself to try and find errors, but then I'll go back and read them again when I'm writing a new chapter and still find places where my phone auto corrected errors in. I really need to get a beta tester- I mean reader! Poor joke is poor but also legitimate. I think about this story so much to figure out where I want it to go next, that I seriously typed beta tester into my phone before I realized my mistake. Silly me.

Review responses:

Indecisive Bob- Yup! Considering she's still got about a year and a half left, and her and Kirito's grinding habit, it'll definitely be good for the rest of the game.

Tempestae Night- Your comment made me laugh. It also totally game me inspiration, though I'm not sure if I can come up with something as badass as punching a dragon. In the face. I'll do my best though, but it's not gonna be in this chapter. I'll see if I can work it into the next chapter. I'm also weirdly half tempted to change my screen name to In the Face now, but I'm not gonna.

MagamiKamui- Dude, calm down. I'll admit I spaced Valentine's Day, but there's no reason to freak out. And I'm American, we give chocolates too, we're just more lax about it. At least that's what I know from personal experience anyway, I don't know about other parts of the country, but where I come from it's not uncommon to give anyone you care about, even unromantically, chocolates and cards. Hell, in our elementary schools we make little folders by hand, usually heart shaped, the day before Valentine's Day and tape them to the front of our desks, the next day everyone in class puts bought cards, ones with friendly greetings not romantic obviously, in everyone else's folders. Even if you didn't like a particular person you still put a card in their folder because it was rude not to, you just left the card unsigned. If they were your friend you wrote something in the card before putting it in their folder. Friends usually got chocolate as well, whereas other people just got cards. Once you got to middle school and high school the only thing you really saw to mark the occasion was the teacher writing Happy Valentine's Day in the corner of the board. Once you got out of high school, no one here really makes much of a fuss about it. Sure some people give their significant other flowers, or chocolates, but here most people aren't hurt if they don't receive anything but a verbal greeting wishing them a Happy Valentine's Day from their significant other. Further, my family has always given chocolates to each other. So I guess my personal experience just makes it so that I don't really find Valentine's Day romantic, for me it's more of a friendly holiday. Sorry. Besides, a quest seems a little over the top to me.

March 3rd, 2023- 118 days since SAO launch:

Hanna grinned as Argo walked in. She and Kirito had been sitting in the dining area of an inn, waiting for her for twenty minutes. Waving her over she happily greeted the other girl when she got close, "Hey Argo! How's it going?"

They both ignored Kirito's customary shudder as he was reminded of their friendship. Argo smiled brightly as she sat next to Hanna in the booth, "Great! What about you? How'd the sub-dungeon go?"

Hanna's grin widened, "Kirito punched an undead dragon to death. In the face."

Across from her Kirito flushed in embarrassment. Argo blinked rapidly in shock for a moment, then snorted, "I'd believe it. Kii-bou's crazy like that. You are as well actually. So what'd you guys get?"

Hanna chuckled, then draped her arm over Argo's shoulders, "Argo, dear, I'm not stupid enough to tell you that."

Argo pouted, "Mou, Hanna-chan, why can't you be a gullible idiot like most of the people I deal with?"

Hanna smiled sweetly, "Because then I'd be average, and I'm simply too fabulous for that."

Argo laughed, then shook her head with a grin, "Anyway, what'd you guys need to talk to me about?"

Kirito leaned forward, "Listen, we figured out how to chain skills together. We've already did some experimenting with it, to figure it out better, but the basic idea is that in the few seconds between regaining control of your body after using a skill, and the cool down kicking in, you charge a new skill with your other hand, and release it. It all has to be done before you freeze, but from we can tell, you can continuously chain skills together, as long as you don't mess the timing up. Once you're done, the last skill you used determines how long you're frozen. If nothing else, it can be used to shorten the cool down of skills that freeze you for a long time."

Argo gaped for a minute, then stood up sharply, "Show me!"

They stood up as well, and Kirito nodded, "Sure, but not here. I don't want to give other players more reason to hate me and Hanna."

Hanna rolled her eyes. He really just meant her, as he didn't really care if they hated him even more. His protective nature made her face flush, and she scowled towards her feet. Stupid crush. A death game was not the place for romance. She needed to focus on the game, not allow herself to be distracted by a crush. Shaking herself from those thoughts, she raised her head. Argo was walking next to her, and was looking at her with a massive grin. Shit. She really hoped Argo was grinning at her for some other reason, and that she hadn't seen enough of that to figure out how she felt about Kirito.

That hope was smashed into more pieces than a floor boss when she glanced at Kirito, then leaned close and whispered in a conspiratorial manner, "Soooo... Kirito huh? He is pretty cute, but I didn't think you'd go for it. Even if he's totally got a thing for you. Oh! Are you already together? I mean, I knew you two have started getting a double room at inns, and I'd heard the other players' speculation about how close you two actually were, but I-"

Hanna turned bright red, then cut Argo off, hissing in a threatening manner, "We aren't together, and he doesn't have a thing for me. We're just friends. We share a room because it's cheaper and more convenient. That's it. There's nothing else to it."

Argo blinked rapidly, but thankfully didn't raise her voice, "What's with the hostility? And he so has a thing." then she grinned like a cat that got the canary, "You didn't deny having a crush."

Hanna glared, "Yes, alright. I do, but in case you haven't noticed Argo, we're stuck in a death game, I can't afford to be distracted by crushes. A bit of goofing off here and there? Sure. Being too stressed negatively impacts fighting capability, but romance? No, that's way too big a distraction. I'd never be able to focus properly. And Kirito doesn't reciprocate my feelings for him."

Argo gaped for a minute, then to her horror, loudly burst out, "Are you kidding me?" Kirito paused and looked back at them curiously, but Argo waved him off, "Girl talk." Rather than immediately turn back around like most guys would, he glanced uncertainly at Hanna. She gave him a reassuring smile, so he started walking again. Argo lowered her voice, "He doesn't have the listening skill does he?" Hanna shook her head, so Argo continued, "You're being stubborn. There are so many ways you could die tomorrow it's ridiculous. So now might be the only chance you have, and don't give me that crap about him not liking you. I can't believe you don't see the way he looks at you. God damn woman, he looks at you like you're the very moon and stars. I'm completely certain he has more than just a crush on you."

Hanna's could feel her heart beat quicker for a moment, then contract tightly with pain. That was how her dad looked at her mom. The way Nero looked at Kyrie. Kirito didn't look at her like that. She would've noticed. So it wasn't true. Even if it was, the current situation... She responded in a rough pained voice, "Don't. Just stop. Even if you're right about him, it still isn't the time. While there are many ways I could die, getting distracted by this would only increase the chances of me, and Kirito, dying. That's unacceptable. I want to be able to go home, and if something were to happen to Kirito, I-"

She cut herself off, unwilling to finish the thought. Argo stared for a minute, a contemplative look on her face, then glanced away, "I think you have more than just a crush too, Hanna-chan." at Hanna's glare, she lifted her hands in surrender, "Alright, alright. I'll drop it."

A few minutes later, they reached a small clearing in the forest surrounding the town they'd been in. Kirito turned to Argo, "So we only learned about this nine days ago. I haven't really mastered it yet, so I might mess it up."

Hanna rolled her eyes. As if. Kirito learned at a ridiculous rate. He hadn't messed it up since the first day they started experimenting with it. Argo looked just as skeptical as Hanna felt, but nodded. Kirito drew his sword and charged a skill. He immediately released it, then charged a martial arts skill with his hand. Releasing that, he charged another with his sword.

He let the cool down kick in, then looked at Argo, "See? Skill chaining. Anyway, could you add it to the next version of the guidebook? Maybe tell a few people about it so word will spread?"

Argo shook herself from her shock, "Ya, sure. Hey can you charge the second skill before you release the first?"

Kirito nodded, "To be honest, I wouldn't have asked you to add it to the next addition to the guidebook otherwise. That would just lead to players over estimating their ability and getting themselves killed."

Argo sighed, "Ya, but most players will only be able to use two skills consecutively. Still, it'll defiantly be useful, I'll just need to add a note at the bottom warning players not to try to chain three or more unless they've practiced a lot and are absolutely certain they can. If they charge a skill with a long cool down, then fail, it'll just leave them vulnerable."

Kirito nodded seriously.

April 27th 2023- 173 days since SAO launch:

Marzanna stared at Mike incredulously. He'd visited her via their bond regularly since they were reunited, which she was happy about. She'd missed him horribly for the past eight years. This time though, he was acting as messenger not for her family, but rather for a man named Kikuoka Seijirou. Apparently he was in charge of the SAO task force. The task force had very little knowledge about what went on in SAO though, so he'd made a request to her and Mike. He had a magical device that would allow them to use Mike as a conduit, or rather his bond to her, and let Kikuoka speak to her directly.

She shook her head, "Are you serious? Using magic around the NerveGear? The magic could short circuit the NerveGear, causing it to fry my brain! I may be able to survive a lot as a Nephilim, but I'm not sure if I could survive that!"

Mike nodded, "I know. The rest of your family doesn't know what it'd do to a Nephilim either. However, Kikuoka says they tested it extensively with a NerveGear, obviously not one being worn, and tweaked the device until he could guarantee it wouldn't interfere with the NerveGear. I wouldn't even be asking for him otherwise." seeing Marzanna still hesitating, he sighed, "That Kikuoka is a sly bastard. He had you moved to a very large private room, and said once it was set up he'd give an excuse to the nurses and just leave it here. So mom and everyone else can talk to you whenever they want. As long as I'm here anyway."

Marzanna clenched her fists, "He's using my family against me? Not to mention, dad would've never agreed to this if he thought there was the slightest chance it'd hurt me. So he's also using me against my family as well." Mike nodded tightly, and she sighed, "Ok, fine. Tell him I'll do it. Do me a favor though, tell Kikuoka that if despite his assurances I still die, I'm so coming back to haunt him. And inform him that while it may be rare for humans to come back as a Poltergeist, people who are part demon are guaranteed to come back as one. So I'll make his life hell."

Mike grinned lightly, then nodded and faded from her mindscape. About ten minutes later he came back grinning like the Cheshire cat, when he arrived though, he was followed by a strange floating black diamond shaped thing. Mike shook his head, "You should've seen the look on his face when I gave him your message."

Almost immediately a voice she didn't recognize came out of the diamond, "I can hear you, you know. And see you actually."

Marzanna gave a vicious grin at the diamond, "Poltergeist, Kikuoka. Poltergeist."

There was a heavy silence that was only broken by oh so familiar snickering in the background. And, oh, did that snickering lift her heart, with a huge grin she happily greeted her snickering cousin, "Nero! You're here too?"

His voice came out of the diamond, "Of course 'Zanna. You didn't really think I wouldn't be here to talk to you? You're pretty much my baby sister, and what kinda big brother would I be to not be here? Actually, since Kikuoka moved you to a big enough room, everyone's here."

Her grin got impossibly bigger, but before she could say anything Kikuoka cut in, "You can talk to them later, don't forget that I set all this up so I could get info from inside SAO."

Marzanna rolled her eyes, then made two chairs appear for her and Mike and flopped down, "Ya, ya. Ask your questions."

Kikuoka didn't need anymore prompting, "What floor have the players made it to now?"

"This should be our last day on the 16th floor. We're taking on the boss tomorrow."

"How are the players doing? Mentally, I mean."

"I wouldn't know details about that. For the people clearing the floors? It's mostly just single minded determination to clear the game as quickly as possible, and get as strong as they possibly can to up the chances of then being one of the players still alive when that time comes. The rest? I know depression is rather common, but that's about it. My party member, Kirito, and I don't really go to lower floors that much. Nor do we spend much time around the other floor clearers."

"Speaking of the floor clearers and their levels, what's their average level?"

"41. Like all video games, the higher the level, the longer it takes to level up. So while it still hasn't slowed to the crawl of being say level 90, it's already slowed down considerably."

"I see. What about you and your party member, Kirito you said their name was?"

"53. Though it's only that high because we do our level grinding in the labyrinth at night. Everyone else thinks we're suicidally insane for doing it, despite the results."

A pause, "Why would they think you're insane. Surely if it's clearly working, they'd want to do it too?"

Marzanna shrugged, "The mobs are already stronger in the labyrinth then they are in the field, but they become more vicious and get buffs to their stats at night. Which is why Kirito and I do it in the first place. Anything that causes the mobs to become stronger, also causes their drops, including xp, to go up proportionally. Which is why we're so much higher leveled than anyone else."

"I see. About the labyrinth, tell me about how you go about finding and beating the boss."

"Almost all of the clearers use the one we're currently on for grinding, Kirito and I are just the only ones who do it at night, but only agility parties actively map it. "

"Agility parties?"

Marzanna sighed, she had thought they would've assigned someone who was familiar with video games to be in charge of the SAO task force, but apparently not. Which meant she'd have to explain the basics to him, "There are multiple things that affect movement speed. The weight of your equipment, whether you're over encumbered, that means over the weight limit of what your avatar can carry in case you didn't know. The two biggest ones though, are a player's agility stat, and the sprinting skill. In SAO there are five attributes: Strength, Agility, Vitality, Defense, and Luck. They all have some sort of influence in almost every aspect of the game, but they each have areas they affect the most. The basic gist is this. Strength heavily affects how much damage a players attacks do, and determines a player's inventory weight limit, in other words how much they can carry. Agility affects movement speed. How quickly a player can move, and the speed of their attacks. Defense is pretty self-explanatory. Vitality pretty much only effects how many hit points a player has. In a VRmmo, where you hit a mob and your strength stat almost entirely decides how much damage you do, the Luck stat however, decides if the blow is a critical hit, which generally does double damage. It also affects drop rates of items." Kikuoka have a confused sound, and she sighed again, "When you defeat a mob, which is aterm for non-player enemies, you get experience points, or xp, and item drops, or simply drops. So, say I'm fighting a mob that has a 5% base chance of dropping a rare item, the Luck stat can increase the chance of the item dropping. Understand?" Kikuoka made an agreeing hum, "Good, then back to the original topic. Agility parties are meant for speed. So, they have high agility, use light equipment, generally have almost nothing in their inventory, and usually have the sprinting skill."

A pause, "Sprinting skill? Can players not run without it or something?" another pause, "What is a skill anyway?"

This time her sigh was more aggravated, "No, they can. The sprinting skill just boosts how fast they move. The higher the skills level, the quicker they move. Technically players can do pretty much anything they want, but having the corresponding skill boosts their ability in that area, how big the boost depends on the skill level. There are three types of skills: combat based, support, and leisure skills. I can technically pick up a dagger and use it immediately, but I'll get a debuff if I don't have the danger skill. Having it will not only get rid of the debuff, it'll also increase the damage I'd do with it as my skill level goes up. Players have a limited number of skill slots, which is how they choose what skills they want. Along with a corresponding skill to every type of weapon in the game, there are other combat based skills. Parry, Howl- which attracts mobs but over use causes NPCs to hate you, and Meditation- which increases the regeneration rate of HP or hit points, to name a couple. For supportive skills you have things like Weapon Forging, Armor Forging, Tailoring- which is for cloth armor like coats and cloaks, Acrobatics, Hiding, Searching, Extended Weight Limit, and the aforementioned Sprinting. In leisure you have things like Cooking, Fishing, Sewing, and Hunting."

Marzanna let that sink in for a moment, "So, it's vitally important for players to pick their skills and distribute their stat points correctly. If you want to be a tank, a player whose job is to get mobs' attention on them, you'll want high defense and hit points. So you'll probably want the Heavy Armor, Heavy Shield, and Meditation skills, along with high Vitality and Defense. Normally party balance is important, especially since SAO only allows parties of six. To get back on track, Agility parties are purposely unbalanced. Normally a party should have two tanks, or at the very least forwards who are usually a bit tanky, so they can switch with each other when one gets low on health, but tanks are slow. So in order to get through the labyrinths quicker, we send scouting parties of high Agility players to do the bulk of the mapping. They're generally players who are strong enough to deal with any mobs they encounter, but are either not good enough at combat for boss fights, or want to help clear the game, but are too scared to fight the bosses. Once they've found the boss room they take a look to get a general idea of what we're fighting. After that they report what they found to the leader of whatever guild they belong to, who then informs the other clearers. We have a meeting to figure out what type of raid party we want, what strategy would be best for that particular boss, and whether we're high enough leveled to take it on with minimal casualties. Once the boss is defeated we go to the next floor, defeat the field boss blocking the way into the next labyrinth, wash, rinse, repeat."

"Guild? I know what a guild is, but there are entire guilds dedicated to clearing floors?"

"Yes. Actually, Kirito and I are the only floor clearers that aren't in a guild. Our friend Agil used to be the other unaffiliated clearer, but he runs a shop now. Another friend of ours, Klein leads one of the front line guilds, Fuurinkazan, but you've also got the KOB- err, Knights of the Blood. There's a third led by the dumbest power hungry fool I've ever met named Kibaou, but the fucking idiot keeps saying things like 'the guild that finds the boss should just beat it on their own', so that idiot's probably going to get himself and a lot of his guild mates killed. We've all tried to tell him how stupid he's being, but he won't listen. There's also a fourth guild that's only a few floors behind us, they've been rising their levels as quickly as possible to join us, called the Divine Dragon Alliance, or DDA."

"I see. Tell me about the guilds."

It continued for a solid two hours, and she answered to the best of her ability. Eventually, he decided he'd learned enough for now, but he warned her that he'd be checking in every month, or if something major happened. Then he finally left. Her mother barely waited for the door to close behind him, "How are you doing sweetie? Do you get along with that party member of yours? Kirito? And from what I understand being in a guild is a good thing, so why aren't you two in one?"

Marzanna smiled, "I'm fine. Kirito and I get along great. We're not in a guild because we don't want to be. Though Klein offers all the time. It would be annoying, but I know he only does it because he worries about me and Kirito. Well, there are other reasons we aren't in a guild, but I don't want to get into that. What about you guys?"

Vergil snorted, "We're fine. Just focus on getting out of there."

She could practically see Aunt Kat frowning at him, "We are fine, but we miss you. It'll be better when you come back."

She nodded, "Kirito and I are doing our best, just like everyone else."

Nero spoke up, "About that. Are you guys amongst the scouting group, or the boss raids?"

"Both actually. Kirito prioritizes his strength stat, but he's fast. I'm an Agility type, but I'm not weak either, so it works."

While her dad played games with her occasionally, Nero was the only actual gamer in her family except her. He hummed in thought, then asked in curiosity, "What skills do you guys have?"

Marzanna thought for a moment, "Well, players start with two skill slots, get a third at level 6, a fourth at level 12, and a fifth at level 20. After that you get one every ten levels. So being level 57 we've both got eight slots. Also we completed the quest for the only unarmed skill, Martial Arts. So we both have Martial Arts, Hiding, Searching, Extended Weight Limit, and Sprinting. Kirito also has One Handed Straight Sword, and Parry. Whereas I have Falcata, Claw, and Acrobatics."

Trish sounded curious, "Acrobatics?"

Marzanna nodded, "For better mobility." She left it at that, she wanted to know how things were outside, "I'm gonna guess that the whole SAO thing has aggravated the demons. How bad is it?"

Dante sighed, "It's not horrible, but it's pretty bad. We're actually barely keeping up, and that's with the fact we're housing two other demon hunters right now."

"You're housing other demon hunters? I mean, ya we've given other Hunters sanctuary before, and occasionally let them stay until they figure out where they're going, but actually housing them? That's a first."

It was Aunt Lady who responded this time, "We needed help keeping up with the jobs, and they needed a place to stay where they could easily get to the influx of jobs in Japan, seeing as ones from France and the others from Russia. It works out."

Marzanna hummed, then glanced down and to the right. She was briefly confused the clock wasn't there, then remembered that she was in her mindscape instead of SAO. She frowned momentarily, "What time is it?"

There was a brief pause before Uncle Vergil responded, "It's 5:37. Why?"

Marzanna sighed, "I've gotta go. The sun will go down soon, so Kirito and I will be heading to the labyrinth to grind and map. He'll be waking up soon so we can go which means I gotta wake up too or he'll start worrying."

Kyrie sounded sad, "Already? And you guys sleep there?"

Marzanna nodded, "Ya. To both. Our bodies may be in a coma, but our minds aren't. If we don't sleep we become just as tired as we would in the real world, though in SAO it's actually mental exhaustion, rather than physical. There's even a hunger system in place. If players go to long without eating, we suffer a starving debuff. Similarly, if we go to long without drinking we get the dehydrated debuff. That one's even worse in desert biomes, as if you go to long without drinking, the system will generate images of things that aren't actually there. A mirage." she shook her head to get rid of that line of thought, "Anyway, that Kikuoka guy asked questions for so long I'm out of time right now."

It was her dad who responded this time, "Alright kiddo. We'll talk to you later. Stay safe."

Marzanna nodded and gave them one last smile before she faded from her mindscape.

May 2nd, 2023- 178 days since SAO launch:

Hanna and Kirito were on the twelfth floor grinding for materials. Kirito had decided that as much as he loved it, his «Coat of Midnight» wasn't up to par anymore. So they'd found a player with a reasonably high «Tailor» skill, and had enquired about getting it upgraded. The player didn't have the materials for it, so they needed to get them. On the plus side, using their own materials instead of the players would make it considerably cheaper. They could've easily afforded the full price, but cheaper pricing for the same outcome was always nice. As they were heading to the stairs to go up to the next floor, a party rounded a corner ahead of them, hurrying towards them, or rather the exit. Which was understandable since night was falling, but they were cutting it a bit close. The worrying part, was that the party was clearly unbalanced with only one forward, he was low on health, and the party had at least five mobs chasing them.

Sharing a glace with Kirito, they quickly intercepted the party, Kirito stepped toward the staff user who seemed to be the leader, "Do you guys need some help?"

The staff user stared at then wide eyed for a moment, then nodded, "It would be appreciated, but please retreat if it gets too dangerous."

Hanna simply smiled at him, then pulled a large health potion out. As soon as Kirito switched with the parties forward, she handed the player the potion. He looked shocked for a minute, then hesitantly accepted it. She could understand his reaction. Most players only shared items like that if someone was about to die, and while his health was low, he wasn't critical just yet. After he took the potion, she stepped past him, then waited for Kirito to cause an opening with the one hit aoe stun skill «Serration Wave». Without hesitation, she darted forward with a claw skill at the ready. Three hits each from the skill to the two mobs in the front, and she jumped back to switch. Instead of Kirito as she'd expected, it was the parties' forward who attacked. He finished off the two mobs, then used a skill on the three that took their place before switching with Kirito. She frowned briefly when she saw him use another lower tiered skill. She couldn't figure out why he was holding back. He could've easily finished off the mobs if he'd used a stronger skill. She momentarily brushed the thought aside to switch with Kirito. They may be on a lower floor but it would still be dangerous to allow herself to be distracted. Still, she figured Kirito probably had a good reason for holding back, so she used a lower leveled skill to finish the three mobs off before switching with the forward again. The parties forward made quick work of the last mob.

She was taken by surprise as the party started cheering and giving each other high fives in victory. Then the only female of the party, a black haired spear user grabbed one of her hands and one of Kirito's. Though she was crying she still managed to speak coherently, "Thank you... Thank you both so much. I was really afraid... when you came to our rescue, I was really happy. I truly appreciate your help."

Glancing at Kirito she saw he had been shocked into silence, so Hanna gave her a hesitant smile, "Of course. We players need to help each other when we're in need."

The guy they though was the leader nodded at her words, "It would be disastrous if players didn't help each other, but still thank you for your assistance. It was definitely appreciated. It's getting rather late, you should come with us back to town."

Another member of the party, a claw user with light armor, "Ya! Plus, you guys should let us buy you a drink at least as thanks for helping us!"

Hanna shared a glance with Kirito. They didn't quite have the materials for Kirito's coat, but if they tried to explain that to the party it would definitely lead to them finding out they were for clearers. Hanna didn't care if they knew, but from the look in Kirito's eyes, he did. So she turned back to the party with a smile, "Thank you, we'll definitely take you up on that offer."

The members of the party all gave them warm smiles, then turned and started to head for the exit. Hanna felt a little shocked at their naivety. They didn't know her and Kirito, they could've easily been PKers tricking them. If they were, turning their backs on them would likely be the last thing this part would ever do.

Resolving to talk to the party about it when they got back she held Kirito back for a moment until they were following from a distance, "What was that about? First you hold back, then we leave without the rest of the materials? I can understand going with them to make sure they make it back safe, but you're purposely hiding the fact we're floor clearers."

Kirito glanced at her, "High leveled players causing disturbances on the lower floors is considered bad manners remember? Normally players would report it to the player's guild, and the player would only be added to the newspapers list of players with bad etiquette if it continued, and most shops won't serve such people. We aren't part of a guild though, so we'd probably just be added to the list immediately. We already have issues from people who realize we're Beaters, if we got added to the list it'd be much worse."

Hanna rolled her eyes, "I can understand not wanting to get added to the list, but you saw how those guys were acting. I'm certain they're not going to report us for saving them."

Kirito hesitated, "But-" She glanced at him, then gave a pointed look at the female in the group ahead of them. He sighed, then relented, "Alright, we'll be honest with them."

She smiled at him then bumped his shoulder with her own when she saw he still looked uncertain, "Come on, don't be like that. Even if they do report us for some reason, it wouldn't be to as horrible as you seen to think. We already get all our items from either Argo, Agil, or grinding. If the tailor says anything about it when we go back we can just explain the situation to her, she knew we were coming to this floor today, so she'll probably believe us. We don't have to worry about getting new weapons for a while, and we use NPC Smith's to repair them, so it likely won't be an issue either. Even if it does end up being a problem, if push comes to shove we can have Argo acquire stuff from shops for us. She'll want a fee of course, but since she'd just be going shopping she won't ask for much."

He sighed, then smiled lightly at her, "You're right. Besides, we might even be able to go to the players that publish the paper and explain our side of the story. If we get added to the list, maybe if we explain what happened to them they'd be willing to remove us in the next issue. I just-"

He cut off, looking away with a sigh. She gave him a teasing grin, "Your just a worrywart is what you are." She paused as he stared at her with an embarrassed flush, then grinned as she remembered what Argo had told them last time they saw her, "Maybe instead of calling you Kirito The Black Swordsman the players should call you Kirito The Worrywart. I'm sure Argo would find it hilarious, I'll have to tell her next time I see her."

He flushed redder then her mother's hair, "Oi! I'm not a worrywart! I just like to take into consideration all possible outcomes. And don't you dare tell Argo, I'd never live it down."

She grinned devilishly, "I know." He gave her a pleading puppy eyed look and she almost wanted to pout. She was just messing with him, but even if she'd been serious about telling Argo she knew she wouldn't have been able to say no to that face. She rolled her eyes at him, "I'm just messing with you. Relax Kirito, I'm not gonna tell Argo." Kirito did in fact relax at get words. Feeling slightly put out after realizing she couldn't say no even if she wanted to, she decided to add on, "But I might tell Klein!"

She briefly took in his look of horror, then darted off before he could use the puppy eyes again. Behind her Kirito started to chase after her, "Get back here you minx!"

She laughed at him and speed up. Though since part of the reason they were going with the party was to keep them safe, instead of just running off she led Kirito in circles around the group. She was startled when the party started laughing at her and Kirito. If they'd done this around anyone in the clearing group, they definitely would've gotten angry at them messing around. She couldn't stop her grin from stretching wider at their laughter even if she wanted to.

Eventually Kirito caught her, which wasn't too surprising. She may be faster than him, but she wasn't going as fast as she could. Still, she'd thought he'd still been a bit behind her, so when she was abruptly grabbed by her waist she led out a startled yelp. Looking back she saw Kirito giving her a mock glare, "Think you're so funny don't you?"

She grinned impishly at him, "Yup!"

He pretended to glare for a moment then plastered on a thoughtful expression, "Hmm. I wonder if people are ticklish in SAO?"

She gaped for a moment, "Don't you dare! I'll-"

She was cut off as Kirito grinned evilly then started ticking her. Apparently her avatar was ticklish, as she couldn't stop herself from laughing wildly. Between laughs she gasped out, "Stop!- Stop!- I- I give!"

Kirito finally stopped tickling her. He gave her a fake haughty look, "Let that be a lesson to you not to make fun of me."

Catching her breath she grinned, "You know you would've looked like a complete idiot if my avatar wasn't ticklish, right?"

He snorted, "Why do you think I waited till we were behind the group to catch you?"

There was a giggle off to the side, and they both turned to realize they were holding up the party, who were all watching them in amusement. It was Sachi who'd giggled, and the girl looked like she was trying to stop herself from laughing more. Kirito hastily let go of her, then gave them a sheepish look, "Ah, sorry for lagging behind."

The leader shook his head, a grin stretching his lips, "Don't worry about it, let's just get moving."

Once they'd made it back to town the party, which actually seemed to be a guild called the «Moonlit Black Cats» led them to a tavern. Despite her and Kirito protesting it, the guild bought some wine that players of their level would find expensive. They thanked them again for saving them, then excitedly talked for a few minutes. When things calmed down a bit the leader, who had finally introduced himself as Keita, quietly asked them about their levels.

Hanna paused in taking a sip from her glass, then shrugged. Opening her window she went to the player stats window, then made it viewable to others before sliding the window over for Keita to look. When he looked down he blinked for a few moments, then rubbed his eyes as though wondering if it was a trick of the light or something. Once he apparently concluded that it wasn't, he gaped at the window for a minute then loudly burst out in shock, "You're level 54?!"

At his exclamation all the players in the tavern went silent in an instant, and the rest of the Black Cats gaped at them. There was quite for a minute then awed whispers about them being front liners broke out from the surrounding players. Keita seemed to regain his composer, "If you guys are front liners, why are you guys on this floor?"

Hanna closed her window before anyone else could see anything on it, then nodded at Kirito, "He needed to upgrade his coat, but the tailor we went to didn't have the materials for it. This floor has most of the materials we need."

Keita nodded in understanding, then chuckled, "I thought you guys were strong when I saw you guys fighting, but I didn't think you were that strong."

Hanna grinned lightly, "Actually, Kirito here was worried you guys would report us to the paper for causing a commotion on a lower leveled floor, so we were holding back considerably in the fight."

The girl gasped, "That was you guys holding back? You must be very skilled. I mean, not just your levels, but actual skill." Then she tilted her head in confusion, "We'd never report someone that was just trying to help, but if you held back because of that, then why are you telling us now?"

Hanna laughed lightly, "Ah, I didn't know why we were holding back til after the fight. I just followed Kirito's lead and adjusted my skill to a similar level that he was displaying. That's actually what led to him ticking me earlier, I was teasing him for worrying about you reporting us." Then she paused as she remember what she'd been thinking about earlier, "Speaking of what happened in the labyrinth, you guys probably shouldn't be so trusting."

Sachi frowned, "Are you saying we shouldn't have accepted your help? But-"

Kirito shook his head, knowing what Hanna had been talking about, "No. She's talking about how you all turned your backs to us after the fight. Much as I hate to say it, you can't trust other players so easily. It was fine this time since it was me and Hanna, but it could've been a couple of PKers trying to let your guard down. If that was the case, you all could've died before you even had a chance to fight back."

All of them stiffened, and stared at them with wide eyes, then Keita let out a shuddering breath, "You're right, we shouldn't have been so careless. Thank you for pointing this out before something bad had a chance to happen to us."

Ducker grinned playfully, "Got any other sage advice for us, oh wise front liners?"

It was obvious he was joking but Kirito leaned forward anyway, "Your party's way unbalanced. You need a second forward."

Keita sighed, "Ya, we know. We've actually been planning to get Sachi to become a forward."

Hanna caught the flash of terror in the girl's eyes before she closed her eyes and smiled to cover it up, "Don't. Don't lie to your party members, your friends, like that Sachi. I don't know why you're hiding it, but if you become a forward and freeze up, you could get not only yourself, but your friends killed as well."

Sachi stared at her wide eyed, then lowered her head with tears in her eyes. The other members of the Black Cats looked confused, so Keita turned to Sachi, "What's she talking about? Sachi?"

Sachi sniffed a bit, "I-" She swallowed thickly then looked up, seeing the sympathetic but hard look in Hanna's eyes, she forced herself to continue, "I don't want to be a forward. The idea of being at the front of the fighting terrifies me. To be honest I didn't even what to leave the starting city I was so scared, but Keita-kun let me stay near the back as a spear user, so I was mostly ok. That's-" She had to take a deep breath before she could continue, "That's why I keep running off, because I just can't- I can't-" Keita pulled her into a hug shushing her. Sachi was now outright crying, but she still managed to choke out, "I- I'm sorry. I-"

Keita started running his fingers through her hair, "Ssh. It's alright. You don't need to apologize." He continued to sooth her for a few minutes until she calmed down. Then without releasing her, he leaned back until he could see her face, "Sachi, why didn't you just tell me? I never would've pushed you if I'd known. Either I or Sasamaru can become the forward instead and you can stay in the back."

Sachi rubbed at her eyes, "I- I was embarrassed. No one else in the party seemed too scared, but I was nearly petrified in fear."

Ducker cut in at this point, "Of course we're scared Sachi. Everyone's scared. It's just a matter of controlling your fear rather than letting it control you. If you don't think you can conquer your fear alone, well that's what friends are for, to help you."

Sachi sniffed, "Ok. Then, I'll rely on you guys until I can control my fear myself."

Keita smiled, "Good. We'll be brave for you, Ok?"

Hanna hummed, "Bravery is not the absence of fear. It is doing what you must despite fear."

Kirito nodded in agreement with a smile. Sachi stared at then for a moment then nodded with a determined expression, "Then I'll do my best to be brave."

Hanna smiled at her, "You're already brave." Seeing Sachi's confusion, she elaborated, "There are still three thousand players hiding in the starting city to scared to leave. You didn't want to either, but you left to go fight anyway, because you wanted to stay with your friends. So you're already braver than three thousand people, some of which are adults. It may not feel like you're brave, but that's an accomplishment. One that's nothing to laugh at either. Just do your best Sachi, no one needs you to become one of the strongest players. You just need to keep up with your friends."

Sachi stared at her wide eyed, then the determination came back, stronger than ever and she nodded firmly.

Keita smiled, then glanced away, "Well, we wanted to become strong enough to join the front lines, but it's more important that we don't push Sachi."

Sachi immediately started to protest, not wanting to hold everyone back, but Kirito cut across her, "Well, you guys could still join the front lines. I'm going to assume that you three spear users and Ducker all have a rather high agility?" They nodded, so he continued, "In that case you could change your forward to a light weight class forward and become one of the agility parties that scouts the labyrinth. You'd still need a second forward, but go with something light weight. You'd still need to do a lot of leveling to be able to fight the mobs in the front line labyrinths, but the only time you guys would see the boss is when you took a look to report what we're up against."

Keita glanced at Sachi and the parties forward, who still hadn't introduced himself, "What do you think? Sachi? Tetsuo?"

Tetsuo, the forward, nodded, "Ya, I could do that. I mean, I'm not sure what weapon I'd switch to just yet, but we can figure that out later."

Sachi smiled, "Well, we've been fighting in the labyrinths and I've been fine. As long as I don't have to become a forward, then yes I could handle that."

Keita nodded with a smile, then turned to them, "Well, we've still got a while before we're strong enough, but I think we'll do that."

Hanna shifted then glanced at Kirito, "Wasn't Asuna made the second in command recently?" Kirito gave her a confused look, but nodded, "Another party mapping the labyrinths would be helpful, she might be able to convince Heathcliff to lend them a trainer to get them up to par."

Kirito grinned, "Ya, it couldn't hurt to ask."

Keita gaped at them, "You guys know Lightning Flash Asuna personally? I mean I know you're front liners, but-"

Hanna smiled, "Don't let her hear you call her that, she gets very embarrassed by it, but ya, she's an... acquaintance. The KOB has been growing rapidly, so she might lend us one person to help you guys out."

Ducker looked hopeful, "Really? You think so?"

Kirito nodded with a smile, and the five immediately started letting out happy exclamations. It wasn't long before the guild was excitedly chattering to each other, and Hanna shared a smile with Kirito. The front liners were all so serious, but this guild was a lively bunch. Maybe them being around would get the others to lighten up a bit. Hanna and Kirito let the joyful chatter wash over them, both content with the way things turned out.