-Town of Beginning Outskirts-
"Nervous?" Klein asked whilst giving a Kirito a playful nudge to the side. Today was the day of the duel between Love and Kirito. They had agreed upon on two versus one since Love was a far higher level - this didn't matter to the madman, though. He was out for glory. Kirito, on the other hand, was only doing this due to Love's promise of quality gear that he had farmed in the dungeon. Win or lose, Love would hand the gear over to the swordsman.
"Not really." Kirito shrugged. "If I win then I'll have bragging rights. If not, I still get the gear as promised."
"Eh." Klein hummed. "I'm not sure if I'd trust a promise from that guy. Plus he'll never shut up about it if he wins."
The Black Swordsman chuckled as he starred out at the grassy field which still had a thin layer of morning fog dancing over the blades of grass. Lisbeth, Agil, Asuna, Sinon, and Silica all sat in a small circle behind Kirito as they talked amongst themselves in playful banter. The duel was to take place in the field that surrounded the walls of the town of beginnings.
"You should sit." Klein suggested to his friend. "You need to take advantage of the time you have to rest given the fight that's about to happen."
Kirito gave a dismissive groan and shook his head. "I'm fine. Just wanna get this done and over with so this guy can get off my back." He said in reference to Love.
"Speaking of... Where even is he?"
"Maybe he got scared and decided not to show!" Asuna quipped.
"I hope not." Agil murmured. "We need the gear he said he'd give us."
"Plus we get to see Love lay the smack down on Kirito" Agil smirked at the Swordsman.
"Oh, really now?" Kirito smiled back. "Glad to see you have so much confidence in my, Agil."
"Nah! Kirito gets to have a dueling partner to help him take down Love. It's a two versus one. My money's on Kirito."
"Doesn't matter. Love is level... what? Thirteen or something? Whoever has the higher numbers wins." Sinon inquired with a raised finger.
"Don't worry, Kirito, I have faith in you." Silica gave an enthusiastic thumbs up.
Lisbeth mirrored the young girls gesture, only she decided to give a firm thumbs down. "I have faith in you but... You're gonna lose."
Kirito just glared at his friends as they began taking bets on who would win. Klein collected all of the money and kept it in his inventory. The only one who didn't bet anything was Asuna, but she didn't hide the fact that she was thoroughly enjoying watching the bewilderment on her boyfriends face as he watched the situation unfold. In total, two hundred and fifty col was bet on Love winning, while only seventy-five was bet on Kirito winning. "You know..." The Black Swordsman scratched the back of his head. "I need new friends." he joked, to which his friends laughed hysterically.
"You know we like give you a hard time." Agil exclaimed. "That being said though - you're about to get destroyed."
"What're you guys betting on?" Love's voice suddenly commanded the attention of everyone. He had slipped in during the commotion and took a seat between Silica and Sinon. Once everyone saw him, they gasped and leaned away from him as if he was some sort of repulsive creature. Upon seeing their reaction, Love gave a sarcastic surprised look as he rose to his feet. He wore a white jacket with short sleeves that only came reached to halfway down his skinny bicep. He also had on blue pants and white boots. His face sported a determined scowl along with a unkempt head of hair that seemed to be lazily pushed off to the side.
"None of your business." Sinon replied with a hint of attitude.
"Oh no, it's very much my business. As a player of Sword Art Online, I find it disturbing when players break the rules. Correct me if I'm wrong, but did I just see you seven gambling? That's an offense punishable by temporary suspension."
"Doesn't matter, Love." Kirito smirked, "You wanted me? Here I am."
Love smiled back and bit his bottom lip. "Here you are. You're a man of your word, I'll give you that."
"I trust you brought the gear, right?"
"Mhm... Be patient. You'll get it once you lose the duel."
"Win." Kirito corrected.
Love scoffed and shook his head. "Yeah, sure. Did you decided who's gonna be fighting with you?"
Kirito squinted. In all honesty he hadn't thought about it yet. The only two members of his party that were a high enough level to keep up with Love were Agil and Asuna. Unfortunately for the friends, they still had no idea how Love preferred to fight, or even what weapon he used. Whoever Kirito chose, it had to be a safe pick. Agil dealt more damage and had more health, but at the expensive of moving much slower than an average player. Asuna on the other hand was more well rounded - good at everything but a master at nothing. The couple made eye contact and Asuna gave a subtle nod as if to indicate that she knew what he was thinking. "Asuna will be my teammate."
"Oh yeah. You guys are a thing." Love shrugged to himself.
"A couple." Asuna remarked in a snarky tone.
"Yeah whatever. You two ready?"
"Hang on." Kirito held up his index, signaling for Love to wait. He jogged over to Asuna and began discussing a plan of action. "Stay behind me. I have more health than you so I'll take the brunt of the damage. I need you to analyze his movements and try to find a pattern. if you see an opportunity to strike - take it."
"Got it." Asuna opened her inventory and pulled out a small bottle containing a yellow liquid. "Oh, and Kirito."
"Yeah?"
"Drink this." Asuna handed him the flask. "It'll boost all your stats by a small amount. It's not much but it'll give us a little bit of a better chance to at least put up a fight."
Kirito nodded and quickly downed the potion. "Do you have one too?"
His girlfriend shook her head, but smiled nonetheless. "I'll be fine. Just beat this jerk, okay?"
The Black Swordsman smiled. "You got it." The couple turned around to face Love, who kicked at the ground awkwardly as he waited for his opponents to finish their discussion.
"So uh..." Silica said among the uncomfortable silence. "How's your day going?" She asked the madman.
Love quickly shifted his gaze to meet the young girls, a deadly fire in his eyes. "Do I know you?"
Before Silica could respond, Kirito intervened, "Don't be rude to my friends, Love. I'm the one you wanted, right?"
"Yup." He held up his right arm to his side. A ploom of crystals began manifesting into a long handle between the grips of his fingers, at the top of which was a long, serrated blade.
"You're a spear user?" Asuna asked in surprise. "Not too often you see one of those."
"They're the best class of weapons in the game. Plus I like to PVP, so it makes things easier when my opponents don't know enough about spears to counter my attacks."
There was a moment of awkward silence before Klein spoke up. "Nerd." He said neutrally.
"What?!" Love swung his spear upwards and pointed it blindly at the group of friends.
In response, everyone equipped their weapons and stood off against each other. "Calm down!" Lisbeth nearly yelled, grabbing Sinon's arm and slowly lowering her friends bow and arrow that was aimed directly at Loves chest. "Everyone. Seriously. Calm down. We're here for a duel, not an all out battle."
"Listen to the pink one." Love demanded. "It might save you some injury." He opened his menu and opened his 'stats' page, spinning it around so everyone could see it. Level fourteen. That was higher than the group of friends anticipated. Kirito and Asuna were both level eight. The odds had just slipped even more out of their favor.
"Well. Shall we, then? Before you threaten another one of my friends?" Kirito scowled, his joking and sarcastic attitude towards Love was now completely gone after the madman's outburst.
"We shall."
The two groups of duelists stood nearly thirty feet from one another. Nothing was between them besides the mildew covered grass and the dissipating fog that lied on top of it. In Sword Art Online, duels were carried out until either player hit one percent health, or left the dueling zone. If the duel was concluded by a knockout, then both players were immediately healed to full health in order to ensure the players safety after combat.
"Ready?!" Love exclaimed, hyping himself up by jogging in place.
"Let's go!" Kirito yelled back, cracking his neck. Sure, he wasn't one to battle for glory or ego, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't want to see Love lose at his own game - especially after all the trash talk and insults that he hurled Kirito's way.
Love opened his menu once more and sent a duel invite to Kirito. The Black Swordsman added Asuna's name to the request just underneath his own name and sent it back to Love for his approval. The madman nodded to himself once he saw that the terms were met and pressed 'accept'.
Duel commencing in ten
Nine
Eight
Seven
"Just remember the plan." Kirito urged Asuna.
Six
Five
"I will. We can do this. I know we can!"
Four
Three
Two
One
Go!
WHOOSH
A fast gust of wind blasted past the couple, who staggered back in confusion. Once they recuperated, Love was nowhere in sight.
"W-Where is he?" Kirito asked frantically.
"ARG!" Asuna screamed in agony. Kirito quickly spun towards her only to see the serrated metal spear tip of Love's piercing through her side. He ripped it out of body and quickly dashed away again, leaving a screen of fog in his wake.
"You okay?" Kirito ran to his girlfriends side and helped her up.
"I'm fine... It- It actually didn't hurt much." The girl checked her health. Eighty-five percent.
Kirito's eye widened in realization. He doesn't do any damage. He's all speed, nothing else.
Love suddenly reappeared ten feet in front of the couple, a cocky grin on his face. "Surprise!"
"How'd you get so fast, anyways?" Kirito pried.
"I put all my points in dexterity. Plus I bought a few items that temporarily increase my speed before I came here." Love explained. "We're not here to learn about each other though, right?" He readied his spear once more and dashed towards Asuna, this time with his free hand extended outward. He connected with Asuna with a SMACK noise and used his momentum to shove the girl back as far as he could. She tumbled backwards and slide along the slippery grass, flipping and rolling as she did so. Eventually, she reached the disqualification barrier and failed to stop herself from being carried out of it from the shear force of Love's attack.
It was clear what the Madman wanted to do. He had no intention of hurting Asuna, he just wanted her out of the picture so he could focus all his attention on Kirito. Asuna finally managed to slow herself down, but it was too late - she was kicked from the duel, making it a one versus one before she could even do anything.
"So much for that." Love said once he reappeared in front of Kirito. "I would've gone with Agil. He's harder to move and has more health."
The Black Swordsman growled and quickly jabbed his sword forward, clashing it's cold metal against the hilt of Love's spear. The two came face to face - close to enough to where Kirito could here the arrogant chuckle emit from Love's smirking lips. Kirito broke the stalemate and swung his blade in a long circular arc that was aimed from Love's head, only it didn't connect with anything besides air. Love had vanished once more.
Almost immediately, Kirito heard the Madman circling behind him, however before he could turn and counter, a deep laceration sliced deep in his shoulder blade. The Swordsman turned in hopes to get a quick attack in before Love circled back around, but again, he was nowhere to be seen.
"Above you!" Love's voice cackled.
As Kirito looked up, another hail of spear jabs impaled his upper chest, causing him to fall to one knee. He checked his health. Forty percent. "Dammit." He frowned. "This is going by fast."
"All that talk. Now look at you." Love's smile only served to irk Kirito even more. "Just know that I could end this right now if I wanted to."
Kirito rose to his feet and lifted his off hand and signaled for him to bring it on.
Love pursed his lips and nodded to himself. "Alright!" He dashed forward with his spear head facing out, ready to impale whichever part of Kirito's body he was destined to hit. He was slowing down - most likely one of the buffs he had to speed him up had worn off. He was still too fast to handle, but this made a comeback possible.
The Swordsman lined up the his opponents trajectory perfectly and raised his sword. With a sideways swing, his blade connected with Love's side, knocking him to the ground.
The grass and dirt was ripped apart by the Madman's spear tip and boots as he desperately tried to slow himself down before cascading past the disqualification wall. He came to a dead stop just a few feet away from the reddish hue that glowed brighter the closer one came to accidentally exiting. Love's eyes when he looked back up at the Swordsman were enough to indicate that another attack would come immediately. He was angry - furious that he had been humiliated in front of an audience. He was a flashy guy who yearned for the crowds and loathed the embarrassment.
"Come on." Kirito whispered, holding a bottle of orange liquid he had equipped when Love was staggering. "Come at me..."
Love lowered his center of mass and rocked back on his ankles before dashing forward once again, this time with a deadly yell.
"Come on..."
The shining metal of Love's spear reflected the rising sun as he reared it back and lobbed it forward at a speed that not even the Madman himself could outpace. Kirito quickly lifted the flask of orange liquid to his lips and gulped it down in one go.
Thorns potion: Reflect any amount of damage done to the user for five seconds.
The spear connected with Kirito's chest, only it bounced off and hit the ground next to him. A pained scream came from Love as he tumbled towards Kirito. The two collided with such a force that both teens had the wind knocked out of them and sent them flat on their backs.
The Swordsman took this opportunity to quickly check the health of himself and his opponent. He had thirty five percent, whilst Love had twenty five. Kirito's slight smile of surprise and confidence was cut short by a pair of clenching hands around his neck. Love straddled the Swordsman and held him in a fierce chokehold that also dug into the pressure points around his throat.
In response, Kirito wrapped both of his legs around Love's chest, squeezing his ribcage and lungs as hard as he could.
Love was all speed, meaning he would never win in a battle of strength against Kirito. The Madman recognized this and decided he needed one last attack to ensure his victory. He lifted Kirito's head about a foot off the ground before slamming back into hard surface below.
The Swordsman was dangerously close to losing, and the constant damage to his neck was slowly ticking more points off of his health. He knew that Love couldn't take anymore damage or else he'd be eliminated from the duel due to his low base health points. Kirito just needed one more attack. He released his chest lock and pulled his right leg back before sending his boot directly towards Love's face.
Love dodged the kick and tightened his grip down on the Swordsman's neck. Kirito's health was reaching three percent, he needed something to happen now. He had one more idea - a last ditch effort to salvage this messy duel. He faked a right hook, drawing Love's attention and causing him to dodge left. In the same motion, Kirito kicked with his left foot, nailing the Madman straight in the face.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, Love fell back, releasing his grip from Kirito's neck. Both boys lied there, heaving and wincing at the severe pain they were both feeling. A message popped up on their user interface: Kirito and Asuna win.
There was no immediate celebration, instead both rivals slowly sat up and gave each other exhausted, vacant stares.
It wasn't long before Kirito's friends came rushing in to congratulate him. "See?!" Klein yelled. "You all owe me money!"
"Good job Kirito! You proved me wrong, big man!" Agil pulled the Swordsman to his feet and gave him a firm slap on his shoulder. While the friends celebrated, Love sat there and watched with a void, and oddly entertained smile.
"Potions." Love said sarcastically. "Didn't know we were using items."
"Oh, don't get mad because you lost fair and square." Sinon taunted.
"F-Fair and square?! If I was going all out this duel would've been over before Kirito even had an opportunity to cheat and use active items!"
"Guess we'll never know then." Sinon shrugged.
Love gritted his teeth and growled. "Kirito!" He yelled and sent his rival another duel invitation. "Rematch! Right now!"
Kirito let out a tired sigh and shook his head. "No. Not today. Maybe some other time. You put up a good fight, enough to take me out of commission for the day." The Swordsman extended a hand of mutal respect.
Love, as expected, slapped his hand away and growled, "Dammit! Just accept the duel invite, you coward!"
"I said no."
"I said yes!"
"We have more important things to do than to duel you, Love." Asuna remarked and grabbed her boyfriends hand, leading him and the rest of their friends back to the walls of the Town of Beginnings.
Love followed close behind with a dastardly frown plastered across his face. "I'm not leaving until I get a rematch."
"You'll be waiting for a while." Klein insisted.
"Fine by me."
"You're not traveling with us, Love." Asuna reaffirmed her position against the Madman. "Go bother someone else."
A cold gust of wind traveled across the empty field, causing everyone to let out an audible shiver. "C-Come on, Asuna. I know it doesn't seem like it but Love is a good guy."
"No I'm not." Love interjected nonchalantly from behind.
"He may not admit it," Agil shrugged. "But he is. At least let him stick with us until this cold weather moves on."
"And how long will that be? He pulled a weapon on you and now you wanna welcome him with open arms?" The brown haired girl shook her head to show her disapproval for the idea.
Agil took a minute to think about what she had said and nodded. "Yeah, pretty much." Before Asuna could sigh and shake her head once more, Agil continued, "Trust me." His voice was sincere and full of conviction. "I got to know him when we were at that building in Tokyo before we entered this game." The tall man leaned in close enough to where no one but Asuna could hear. "He needs someone. He needs people."
Hearing Agil speak with such purpose and determination was enough to make Asuna waver in her stead. "Why are you vouching for this kid?"
"Because I know him. Trust me. I know it probably doesn't mean anything to you, but he'll appreciate it. Even it he doesn't show it."
The two friends glared at each other for a few seconds, no one else in the group taking notice to their conversation due to their hushed tone. "Fine. For today and today only. I'm not running a daycare."
Agil smiled triumphantly and stared forward with a sense of accomplishment. Unbeknownst to the two of them, Silica had overheard everything. She spun around and smiled at Love, who in return gave her an annoyed look.
"What?" Was all he said.
"You asked before if you knew me. My name's Silica. This is Sinon, Klein, Asuna, and Lisbeth. You already know Kirito and Agil."
Love glanced over Lisbeth's attire and blinked sporadically. "So, Lisbeth... Ya like pink?"
Lisbeth shrugged off the annoying teen behind her, "Love it."
"...Cool."
The group traveled onwards to the Town of Beginnings, finally feeling like they could breath once inside the walls and back within the hustle and bustle of the city life. Being in nature was always a joyous experience, however being around civilization always made the friends feel more at home and comfortable. Maybe it was the walls, maybe it was the lack of danger, or maybe it was the warm fire pit at an inn on a cold winter night. Regardless, all the traveling had made the group tired - particularly Love and Kirito, who were ready to crash.
The group decided on a fairly expensive inn for the night seeing as Klein wanted to treat everyone with the money he had just made from the gambling he had partaken in during the duel. They could afford only two rooms, and decided to split them evenly - four people per room. Since it was still early, everyone besides the two rivals chose to go on about their day and do small amounts of local quests and shopping throughout the town while the boys rested.
The room released a warm blast of air as soon as Kirito opened the door, holding for Love as he entered.
"Thanks." The Madman nodded and threw himself onto the first bed he saw. The room had four beds - two on each side of the room. It also had two windows on the wall opposite of the door. The floor was made of a soft white carpet and the walls themselves were made of a dark that was lacquered and shiny.
"Nice place, huh?" Kirito quietly closed the door and put on his lounging outfit. "You should put on something more comfortable if you're gonna sleep."
Love raised his head and rested his chin on the back of his hand. "No."
"Why not?"
"I'm always prepared."
"For what?"
"Danger."
"We're in a safe zone. I doubt anything is going to happen, Love."
"That's what they want you to think."
Kirito squinted in confusion. "Who the hell is they."
Love shrugged as best he could against his mattress. "I dunno. Just let me be cautious.
The Swordsman chuckled and plopped down on the bed opposite of his rival. "So. Who even are you? I don't think you and I have ever actually spoke extensively in person before."
"Oh god." Love groaned. "Don't start this crap. You don't like me, I don't like you. We don't have to get to know each other."
Kirito smiled. "I don't want to be your enemy, Love. Under all that tough skin you seem like a nice guy. I wouldn't mind being your friend if you just opened up and let loose a little."
"Never gonna happen, man."
"You say that now. Just give it time."
"You gonna seduce me or something?"
"HA! You wish."
"Hell no I don't." Love smiled.
Kirito's heart dropped - he could tell that this was no arrogant smile, nor was it a devious one. This was pure, unrequited joy the Madman was expressing. Kirito felt a sort of pride for making such a small break through, akin to watching one of your friends accomplish one of their goals. Sure, you may have had no part in it, but you felt proud none the less for reasons that were mostly unexplainable.
"I'm tired." Kirito said in order to cut the conversation short. He didn't want to ruin what he had accomplished, so instead he decided to end on a high note and finally rest after a day of fighting with the man he currently felt so obligated to preserve a moment with, though it may have been tiny.
-Eight Hours Later-
Kirito was awaken by crackling thunder followed by a flash of light. Sleeping during thunderstorms was always oddly comforting. Knowing that as nature raged on outside, people were hunkered down comfortably inside. What made the whole situation better was that Asuna had managed to slip into bed with her boyfriend without him noticing. She slept with her head nuzzled into the crook of his neck, her breaths were steady and light.
A quiet exhale of content emitted from the boys lips across the room was Sinon. Meaning that Agil, Klein, Lisbeth and Silica shared the other room. Another boom of thunder rattled the whole room. The storm was becoming unpleasant to sleep in. There's a fine line between peaceful and obnoxious when it came to storms, and this one was beginning to cross in to the ladder's territory.
The jolt of thunder woke Asuna and Sinon up, both gasping in shock.
"It's fine." Kirito said calmly. "Just thunder."
Sinon glanced around at her surroundings frantically before settling down and promptly lying her head back down on her pillow as fast she shot up.
"Hm..." Asuna chuckled in her groggy morning voice that always amuses her boyfriend. "Morning."
"It's nighttime."
The girl groaned and pulled her boyfriend in tighter, placing a hand on his chest. Kirito smiled at this. Usually she could be so abrasive and downright bossy at times - only when she slept did she become this helpless, innocent girl. Kirito thought it was cute, and he always cherished moments like these. Ever since they entered Sword Art Online for the second time, their lives have been too busy to really enjoy each others company. It was a brutal fact that they just didn't have as much time anymore for one another. Kirito was busy leading his group of friends through difficult quests and harsh environments while Asuna had to be the voice of reason whilst simultaneously taking on a caring role for everyone to be warm towards.
"I love you Asuna." Kirito wrapped his arm around her should and held her tight. Before his girlfriend could respond, though, there was a knock on the door. No rest for the wicked, right?
Annoyed that his time with his girlfriend was cut off once again, he left his warm bed and embraced the cold air of the room around him. He shivered when he grabbed the cold brass door handle and pulled it open. "Yes?" He made sure to throw hints of frustration in his voice. Instead of room service or some other person he didn't want to interact with, he saw Klein.
"H-Hey, Klein." The Swordsman mustered.
"Kazuto Kirigaya."
Kirito stepped back and equipped a small lantern that lit up the room and the hallway just outside where Klein was standing. The redheads eyes were closed tight and he swayed back and forth where he stood. "Klein... Are you drunk?"
Suddenly, Klein lunged his right arm at Kirito and clasped his hand around the boys shoulder. He forced him in the room and slammed Kirito in the wall opposite of the door.
"What the hell!" Love said, rubbing his eyes. "It's too early for this!"
"Klein?!" Asuna and Sinon exclaimed at the same time.
"Kazuto Kirigaya." Klein said again. In the light of the lantern, the redhead finally opened his eyes, revealing a bright, glowing green.
Kirito gasped and began trying to break free from his friends grip, but it was no use. "Get off of me!" The Swordsman delivered repetitious punches into the mans face over and over but none of them seemed to effect Klein.
The redheads eyes opened up even wider and gave an icy stare at Kirito, sending shivers down the ladder's spine. The bright green was enough to illuminate the room on their own as Klein's pupils analyzed Kirito's body up and down.
Suddenly, a large serrated blade impaled through Klein's body, causing him to finally drop the Swordsman. It didn't do much much damage, in fact, it didn't seem to do any damage at all. Whatever this thing was, it was not Klein.
The mysterious person spun around and grabbed Love by the throat, their green eyes scanning him up and down in slow, manacle fashion. Once the stranger was satisfied, they threw Love like a ragdoll to the other side of the room.
The ominous green eyes of the stranger looked at Kirito unblinking. "You are both scanned."
"We're what?!"
A huge whirlwind of air began drafting through the room, sending furniture flying and windows shattering, sending shards of glass of everywhere. The four friends took refuge behind a bed that had been toppled onto its side. They tried desperately to keep it held down as the air around them began to rip apart the wall of the inn themselves.
"Would anyone mind explaining what the god damn hell is going on?!" Love screamed.
"What your language!" Sinon screamed back.
"Oh, shut up! There's a damn mage or something attacking us! Forgive me for being a little stressed!"
"It's not a mage! It's like a glitch or something!" Asuna hollered over the sound of hurricane-like winds. She peeked around the edge of the bedframe and saw whatever that thing was masquerading as Klein floating upwards towards where the ceiling used to be had it not been torn to shreds.
"It's getting away!" Love hurled his spear at the stranger with all his might. If not for the wind, the attack may have landed, but not so. The stranger grabbed the spear in mid air and lobbed it back at the teen, causing it to lodge itself in his shoulder. He cried out in pain and fell to the ground, a puddle of blood pooling around him.
As quick as the stranger retaliated, he disappeared into a large ball of green and black smoke, taking the rampaging winds with him. The four friends sat there shell shocked as to what just happened, their ears not yet fully adjusting to the peace and quiet. Their room around them was in shambles. The walls were ripped off, the furniture was no where to be seen, and the ceiling was wide open allowing the rain to pour in and coat the teenagers faces in water.
Sinon crawled over to Love and grabbed the spear hilt firmly. "You okay?"
"Uh huh..." Love winced, trying not to show any pain, but failing miserably.
"I'm gonna pull the spear out." The blue haired girl stated.
"Wait, what? No! AHH!"
The serrated blade did not come out with ease. Even Sinon cringed as she removed the cold steel from Love's shoulder. Even more blood began pouring out from his deep gouge. "You're suppose to leave it in!" The Madman cried out in agony.
"It's fine! I've leveled my medicine!" Sinon argued back as she began dousing the wound in some kind of alcohol to clean it, which only served to drive Love into more of a suffering fit.
Kirito and Asuna couldn't even watch, they both turned away, knowing that Love would be fine.
"You guys!" A familiar voice called out. Lisbeth came running up the pile of rubble that led through the torn down wall and into their room from outside.
"What just happened! The whole building had to be evacuated!" Klein followed behind the pink haired girl.
Kirito stepped back at the sight of the redhead, still not full comprehending what he had just experienced. "I... I don't know." Was all he could say.
The eight friends reunited in the harsh thunderstorm, the rain on their shoulders as they tried to devise a plan as to where they would go now. Many questions needed answers, and many of tonight's mysteries needed to be discussed. But this rain and this torn up room was not the place.