-Floor Three-
Ever since Kirito and his friends had their encounter with Love's body double, 'Eight', not much has changed. Eight promised the group that their lives would become so much more difficult and swore that the game would become harder, however none of that ever came to be. The Knights of the Blood Oath cleared the second floor boss with two casualties, granting access to floor three where most players including Kirito currently resided. Kirito was suspicious, however. He was unsure whether or not he should allow himself to be lulled into a false sense of safety after the threats he received from Love's double back on floor two.
The Swordsman was also never a particular fan of floor three. The large ancient trees and unsavory elves that lived among them were bad enough - couple that with the unusually large spiders and you have a recipe that any arachnophobe would dread. That being said, however, the main town was one of the Swordsman's favorites in the game. The NPC's lived in little huts built inside or hanging off the thick tree trunks. The food was often exotic and fruity, and the smell was that of the fresh outdoors.
The group of friends had little money after they spent it all on the cabin on floor two that was destroyed by Eight, but they still had enough to afford a modest little multi-room pad built on the inside of one of the tree trunks. It wasn't as large as their previous home, but it did the job and offered enough privacy for everyone.
"Jeez." Kirito grumbled and dusted off the bronze doorknob. "This city could really use a full time cleaner." He pushed the door open and was immediately greeted by the welcoming smell of dinner being cooked from within the kitchen. Directly in front of him was the living room. One 'L' shaped cloth couch sat atop a red rug all huddled around a fire place and mantle. To his left was the door way to the kitchen and dining room, and to his right was the stair case that led up stairs to the bedrooms.
"Who goes there?" Klein said in a sarcastically ominous voice and a wick grimace on his face. The red haired man wore a pot on top of his head and held his spatula as if it were a sword.
"What're you doing?" Kirito asked as he hung his coat up on the rack, a smirk of amusement on his face.
Klein approached the Swordsman wearily. "Greetings traveler. What brings you to this place?" the man hissed.
Kirito smiled a bit wider, unsure of how to react. "I live here, you weirdo."
"Wrong. This house belongs to the guild of the- WAH!"
Kirito pulled the pot on Klein's head down over his eyes and brushed him aside.
"Hey! Come on man!" Klein groaned as he struggled to pry the pot from his head.
"Quit acting like a knight." Kirito chuckled and slowly walked towards the dining room. "Besides, that's pay back for the time you tricked me into eating that fish eyeball."
Klein froze for a brief moment in thought before giggling like a little schoolgirl. "Oh yeah! That was pretty funny."
The swordsman laughed in a fake, mocking fashion and entered the dining room where the rest of his friends sat around the table with the exception of Agil and Asuna who stood behind the kitchen counter preparing what looked to be some kind of fish and vegetables.
Kirito took his seat between Lisbeth and Sinon before exchanging pleasantries. "So how were the quests?" Sinon opened.
"Eh." Kirito shrugged. "So-so. Not much experience or gold, but enough to get by for now." the boy glanced up and noticed that Love was pinching his nose as he slumped in his chair. "Uh..." Kirito raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with you?"
"I hate this smell." Love grimaced.
Confused, Kirito sniffed the air. "It smells like seafood."
"Yeah, seafood and vegetables. That's like, the worst possible combination possible."
The swordsman glanced over at Asuna and Agil who were hard at work preparing the food. "Well, at least you're getting a freshly cooked meal from two of the best cooks in our party."
The madman shrugged. "We'll see, I guess."
Suddenly, a notification popped up in everyone's chat interface. It was an invitation to a guild called 'The Seekers'. Next to the name read a short message:
Greetings players. We extend an invite to all those with an open mind and free conscious. If you seek truth as to why we are trapped in this death game, and by whom, please meet at the starting town in floor one at dusk. Come unarmed.
-Ra.
"What a con." Lisbeth snickered.
Her reaction was shared among her friends; no one really took the guild invitation seriously. This sort of thing happens all the time: A guild is created with the intent to give people false hope that the leader knows some hidden secret within the game. However it's all just a ploy to get hopeless players to funnel gold to the guild master. It may sound stupid, but it often works because the guild masters target players that have a weak mental or no friends. It's a conman's dream.
"Yeah." Kirito shook his head with a smirk, promptly hitting the decline button on the invite. His friends followed suit and continued talking about anything that came to mind.
"You know what I wanna try when we get out of this game?" Klein insinuated.
"What?" Silica perked up as she often did when discussing the real world.
"I wanna go sky diving."
"You've never been?" Sinon asked.
"Never. Me and my fiancé were discussing it. So when I get out of here, I think I'll finally book a time to go."
Silica smiled wide. "That sounds great. When I get out, I wanna go to water park with my parents."
Klein reached over and patted the young girl's shoulder. "You'll get there, Silica. We all will. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but someday."
The girl softened her posture at the contact and leaned back in her chair, relieved that someone shared her sentiment. Before she could open her mouth to respond, Asuna and Agil stepped out from behind the kitchen counter with plates of food in their hands. Each time they sat down a plate on the dining room table, their friends eyes collectively widened. The food looked amazing. After all, Asuna Agil were their cooks.
The two chefs took their seats at the roundtable and grabbed their silverware. Everyone was silent as they dug in - the clanking forks and knives spoke for themselves, everyone was infatuated with the food in front of them.
It took nearly five minutes for everyone to finish their plates, and once they did, there was a sense of satisfied exhaustion. Kirito held both hands behind his head as he stared at the wall across the room, the food coma setting in rapidly. His eyes trickled down to the table when he noticed a plate that still had all the food on it.
Love nonchalantly pushed his plate away with his fork and began to slid his chair out from the table.
"Not hungry?" Silica asked.
"No. Just not a big fan of fish." The boy opened his inventory and equipped all his armor and spear.
"Hey!" Asuna nearly yelled, bringing everyone's attention to her. "We agreed to not wear armor or weapons in the house."
Love rolled his eyes dramatically, but nonetheless listened to the girl, reequipping his causal gear. "Whatever." He promptly began walking towards the front door of the house. "I'm gonna go get something to eat from the market and see what kind of quests I can find in the area."
"Alright." Asuna said vacantly. "Just... Be safe, alright? We don't want you to come back hurt."
Love's eyes widened for a brief moment before returning to their usual cold gaze. "Aye aye, cap'n." He saluted and exited the house.
"Hmm... I'll go with him." Klein casually tossed his napkin on his plate and rose to his feet.
"You sure about that, Klein?" Agil chuckled. "That guy can be a real handful."
"I know, but... Someone's got to make sure he doesn't get himself killed, right?"
Everyone shared a smile and shrugged. "I suppose you're right." Agil continued. "You'd better go make sure he doesn't end up in some kind of messed up situation like he usually gets into."
The red head chuckled and made for the door, allowing a cold breeze to seep into the room before he swiftly closed it.
The other friends shivered at the sudden change of temperature as the all helped to clean their dishes. Lisbeth finished first and fell onto the couch in the living room, taking up nearly all of the cushions.
"Hey." Asuna said to her friends and nudged her legs as they hung lazily off the couch. "Scooch over."
Lisbeth complied and let out a yawn as she rested her chin in the palm of her hand. "Hi." She said groggily.
"Tired?" Asuna giggled.
"Very. I feel like I haven't got a good nights sleep since we got into this game."
"Yeah, me neither. Maybe it just takes some time getting used to, you know?"
"Probably..." The two girls sat in silence for a few moments, the sound of the others finishing up the cleaning echoing from the kitchen to the living room. "It's been a while since you and I actually talked one on one." Lisbeth said suddenly.
Asuna nodded. There had been a lack of communication among the two girls since they escaped Aincrad the first time. They lived in two different cities and had two separate lives. Keeping in touch was hard, particularly for Asuna who was constantly busy with work and school. "That's probably my fault." Asuna said. "I'm sorry for never calling you or texting you. Sometimes you just start running and can't stop, you know?"
Lisbeth opened her mouth to say something, but closed it slowly as if she questioned herself. "I-I get it. Don't worry about it." She hesitated. "You and I have been through enough together to where I won't get mad if you don't return a few texts."
"That makes me feel a little better." Asuna shifted uncomfortably. "Let me make it up to you." She grabbed Lisbeth's hand and said with an enthusiastic smile.
"What? N-No, that's not necessary."
Asuna pulled her to her feet. "I know it isn't, but I really wanna hang out with you. Just you. It'll be like old times. We can hit the town, visit some cool points of interests, or whatever you want. It'll be great!"
After a moment of consideration, a confused smile draped across Lisbeth's face. She couldn't say no to Asuna, especially when she was this excited. "Alright. Let's go!"
...
The outside air was lukewarm and refreshing. The two girls spent their time together walking amongst the players and NPC's alike enjoying the plethora of festivities the center of town had to offer. They tried exotic looking foods, strange drinks, and met... interesting people?
After about an hour though, Lisbeth began to slow down, her head dizzy. "A-Asuna." She said, back bent forward in nausea. "Can we go somewhere quieter, please?"
"Oh... Sure. You don't look so good." Asuna grabbed her friend and allowed her to rest on her shoulder as she dragged her pink haired friend a few blocks away from the activities to a quiet little square with park benches and small trees surrounding a fountain. Lisbeth took a seat on one of the benches and wrapped both arms around her chest.
"This place always creeped me out." She shivered.
"Not a fan of floor three?" Asuna giggled as she ate from a small cup full of candy that she had bought from a food stand a few blocks back. Around the two girls was nothing but quiet buildings and vacant streets. Though the atmosphere was barren, the sounds of festivities and people yelling, laughing, and cheering rang out through the air.
Lisbeth was just glad to get away from the crowd of people. She was never one for a party, preferring to stay inside and read a good book rather than engage in such activities. "Not at all. It's the trees, I think. It's too dark. I was born in the city, I don't belong in a damn jungle."
Asuna sat down on the bench next to her friend and gazed upward towards the night sky. "I get that. But sometimes it's nice to get back to your roots, you know?"
The pink haired girl glanced up to meet her friends gaze. "Oh god..." She said.
"What?" Asuna squinted.
"Are you about to get all philosophical on me? I know that look in your eye."
Asuna smirked as if to say 'maybe'. "So what if I do?"
"Fiiiine." Lisbeth caved. "Lay it on me, Asuna."
"No, that wasn't my intention. I just think it's good to get away from the hustle and bustle of life sometimes and reconnect with nature."
"Oh..." Lisbeth also stared straight up into the sky and leaned back on her palms. "Even though this is a videogame, it's really pretty."
"Yeah. Makes being imprisoned slightly more bearable." Asuna let out a content sigh as she set her eyes on the stars above. "It's strange actually. The night sky in this game is actually more beautiful than the one in the real world. I know it has to do with light pollution, but still. It never ceases to take my breath away when I actually have a chance to admire it."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Before we got trapped in SAO for the first time, I had no idea that the night sky I had always seen in the real world was diluted from all the city lights around me. It really opens your eyes as to how insignificant people and even this game really is. Out there is nothing, just a vacuum - nothing for trillions and trillions and miles. Yet here we are living on a giant rock floating through the ether."
Asuna chuckled. "Weren't you the one telling me to not get all philosophical?"
"Shut up." Lisbeth withheld her urge to smile back. "I guess sometimes I fall victim to my own rules."
A few moments of silence befell the two girls as they glared at the sky, the sounds of gatherings echoing faintly a few blocks away where the festivities were happening. "You know what?" Asuna suddenly spoke.
"What?" The pink haired girl replied.
Asuna opened up her messages tab on her user interface and scrolled over the guild invite that her and her friends had received about an hour ago. "What do you say we go see what this guild is all about?"
Lisbeth raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "You wanna join a guild?"
"No. I just wanna see what all the fuss is about. The invitation said that the owner of the guild had insider information about the game."
"You actually believe that?"
"No. I just wanna see what kind of fake stories he tells. It'll be funny, come on." Asuna grabbed her friend by the sleeve and tugged her along to the center of town, through the crowds of people, and to the crystal that allowed them to teleport to floor one where the guild meeting was taking place.
Once the two girls arrived at what they recognized to be the starting town of floor one, Asuna opened up her messages once again to read the invitation. "Hmm... It says we need to meet at an inn on the far side of town."
Lisbeth shrugged. "Alright. You're the one who wanted to do this, so you lead the way."
Asuna set a waypoint to the inn and the two began their trek through the nearly vacant town. This was commonplace within SAO - Once a floor was cleared, most of the players moved on to the higher level in order to obtain better gear and more col. This meant that the starter town on floor one was now uninteresting and had little to offer.
The walk was short, and once the two friends arrived to the dingy looking two-story building on the edge of town, Lisbeth quickly grabbed her friends arm.
"Asuna." The pink haired girl whispered. "This is weirding me out. No one's here... In fact, I don't even think I've seen anyone at all in this entire town. Not even an NPC."
Asuna shrugged as if to say 'it's nothing to worry about'. "It's fine. All the players are on floor three now. besides NPC's usually don't come out at night anyways."
"Yeah but..." Lisbeth scanned the inn up and down and shivered. "No one's even here and the building is dark on the inside. Are you sure you read the invitation properly?"
"I thought I did. One second." The blonde opened up her user interface once again and read the guild invite word for word in her head to see if she made any errors in her initial read. The whole atmosphere of their surroundings was enough to make Lisbeth quickly glance around, on edge. There were many empty wagons and half-walls around seemingly for no reason. The entire area seemed as though it was being built before being all but abandoned suddenly.
Lisbeth began growing impatient and nervously asked her friend, "You find anything? Are we at the wrong building?"
"You didn't make any mistake." A haunting echoing voice said from behind the two girls. "You did exactly what you were suppose to do."
Both girl spun around and came face to face with a mysterious silhouette staring back at them. Their appearance was masked by the shadows, however judging by the voice and large stature, it was most certainly a man.
"Uhm..." Asuna shifted uncomfortably. "Are you here because of the guild invitation as well?"
"I am." The man nodded. "I'm glad the two of you could show up. I was hoping more of your friends would be here, but hey. Two is good." The figure stepped forward, revealing his red cloths and glowing green eyes. It was Klein's body double, the same one that had attacked the group of friends weeks ago at the hotel on floor one.
"Damnit!" Asuna yelled and tackled her friend behind an empty wagon just as a hail of knives came flying towards them. The wagon provided enough cover for the friends to safely hide behind as the blades stuck in the wood on the other side.
"Whoa!" The body double howled. "You got speed, girl! Your body would be a great one to duplicate!"
"Like hell!" Asuna yelled and drew her blade. She turned to Lisbeth and whispered, "We can't fight him two on one. If he's anything like Love's body double, his level will be around fifty. We need to find a way to escape."
"H-How?!" Lisbeth responded, her mace close to her chest.
Asuna froze in thought, thinking of any way that she could either distract or confuse Klein's double enough for them to escape. She peaked around the corner of the wagon to see where the double was in relation to the wagon, but to her horror, it was gone. Her eyes suddenly widened as she turn back to Lisbeth, who's mouth was a ajar. The pink haired girl's pupils began to shift from dark pink to a dark grey.
"Don't worry." The double said with a cocky grin, his hand on the back of the pink haired girls head. "This won't kill her. I'm just copying her data so we can make more of her. Once I'm done with both of you I'll have your clones at my disposal. As for your actual bodies... I'm not sure yet. You'll serve as great prisoners to lure the rest of your friends in."
"Let go of her! If you want someone, take me, you bastard!" She screamed with all her might. Attacks were futile against someone who vastly out leveled her. The most she could hope for was ensuring her friends safety, even if it meant sacrificing her own well being. After all, Asuna was the one who convinced Lisbeth to come here, so in her mind, it was herself that deserved to suffer the consequences.
"There's no pain in this," The double smirked. "She'll be fine."
"You were the one that destroyed the inn on floor one! You're targeting me and my friends, aren't you?!"
Klein's doppelganger seemed to consider his words carefully for a moment before simply stating, "Yeah, actually. That's exactly how it is."
Asuna's teeth gritted and her grip on her sword tightened, knowing she was powerless to stop the evil AI. "Why?! Why us?! We're just players like everyone else!"
"No you aren't." Klein's double stated bluntly. "We know who you are. You and your boyfriend in particular were two of the top ranked players during the original SAO. Mr. Herara assumed that both of you would be too caught up in trying to protect your friends that you wouldn't be able to clear the game like you did all those years ago during Kayaba's experiment. But lo and behold, you cleared the first floor faster than we expected - WAY faster than expected." The double took a moment to shake his head at his own statement before continuing. "We need the players to remain in the game for a certain amount of time. If you leave too soon, then this entire mission would be a total failure."
"What mission?!"
"Doesn't matter to you. All you had to do was follow directions like good prisoners are suppose to. I distinctly remember Two being sent on a mission to give you an ultimatum. By the looks of it, you refused his offer."
"Who's 'Eight', Are you talking about that freak that looked identical to Love? The same person who destroyed our cabin on floor two?" Asuna questioned frantically. The whole situation was making her mind become fuzzy. Lisbeth's eyes began to turn cold and lifeless and her mouth began to foam from the immense discomfort and pain that she was experiencing. Asuna looked on in horror as she watched her friend fell limp, hitting the ground with a thud. Despite this, Klein's double continued to hold his hand against the back of her head.
"HA!" Klein's double cackled. "He destroyed your cabin?! That's hilarious! But to answer your question; yes. All you and Kirito had to do was decide which one of you stayed in the game, and which one of you was... well..."
"Killed." Asuna finished the clones sentence.
"Not exactly." The body double scratched the back on his neck. "As I said, I'm bound to the games code. I don't know what happens in the real world. However I've heard rumors."
Asuna's mouth opened to speak, however the gravity of the situation weighed her down to the point where she could only utter one thing. "Why are we here?"
Klein's double hesitated for a moment, a slight smirk draped across his lips. It seemed as though for a moment he was actually considering telling her. "I understand that you have questions, but I can't just tell you. You have to understand: I'm a line of code in a software. I'm programmed to do only what I'm told. Unfortunately for you I'm bond by my creators to not give you any information about Herara's experiment." The AI seemed surprising genuine, almost human.
This sincerity, however, didn't stop Asuna for urging him on by asking another question. "You said that we had to be in here for a certain amount of time... How long?"
The two locked eyes as a slight gust of wind blew gently through the town. Klein opened his mouth before calmly saying, "I can't say for sure, not even I know that. Longer than Kayaba's experiment, that's for sure."
The young girl gasped in shock. Longer than Kayaba's experiment? Asuna was hardly able to hold on long enough to survive just two years in Aincrad, and that was with the early exit. Had it not been for Kirito, she probably would have still been lost and without direction. Her hatred for those who trapped her and her friends in the game became too much to bear, and her emotions took over.
"No!" She thrusted forward, aiming directly at the double's head. Despite her efforts, the double was just too high of a level. He easily grabbed her wrist and pinned her to the ground with one hand.
The genuine aura that the man had given off disappeared and in its absence came the return of his cocky smile and arrogant swagger. "If you really want to be cloned that badly you could have asked nicely, but you'll still have to wait your turn." He said. Asuna watched in terror as Lisbeth's eyes went full green, and her mouth began to foam. Whatever she was feeling, Asuna knew she was next. She was powerless - weak. Her freedom was in the hands of a ruthless artificial intelligence that clearly had no regard for humans. It was a nightmare scenario, and Asuna knew there was no way out.
"No..."
-Center of Town-
Love grumbled under his breath as he passed by the many NPC's and players as they loitered around the town center. Though it was late at night, the atmosphere of the square felt like a festival. Players were most likely celebrating the clearing of the first floor. Even still, Love saw it as no reason to celebrate, he just wanted everyone to get out of his way. There was a man who supposedly had a quest that rewarded a high amount of experience points, however it was dangerous and would require multiple people. The madman, however, was willing to risk going at it alone if it meant he would get a leg up on the other players. After all, he was still number one in terms of levels.
"Love! Wait up!" A high pitched voice called out over the loud ambiance of chattering people and brass music.
Love stopped and did a one eighty. "Huh? You actually decided to come?" He smirked upon seeing Klein push pass a few random people to reach his side.
"Yeah. I came to help."
Love glanced at her up and down, silently judging him before chuckling to himself and turning away, continuing to walk. "Ya know, if you're so nice all the time, it'll end up getting you hurt."
Klein quickened his pace to match his and stuck close to his side to avoid bumping into any strangers. "I only come so I could help you. Maybe I'm just a fan of impending danger."
"HA! No you aren't." Love dismissed. "You're too nice - too optimistic, one day it'll come back around."
"You can't tell the future, you know?" Klein countered, a frown upon his face
"I'm aware. But I can predict it. And I must say, my accuracy has been near perfect ever since we entered this stupid game."
"Well hey!" Klein stepped in front of the madman and extended both arms to his side and smiled wide. "Maybe I'll be your first error!
Love gave a dismissive shake of his head and rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Definitely not."
The red head sighed in frustration and ran to his side. Klein wanted to see Love be genuinely happy at least once. He and the madman never spent time with just the two of them, so Klein wanted to make the most of it because there may not be another chance. One could never tell in this death game. Of course, it doesn't help that Klein had this habit of wanting to be able to say he could cheer anyone up, no matter who. Maybe it was his pride that pushed him onward to converse with the madman.
"You got a hard shell, my friend. However underneath it is just another regular person, same as the rest of us." Klein nudged his friend playfully.
"What's that suppose to mean?"
"I'm saying that I think you're a whole lot nicer than you lead on. You put up a nonchalant façade but in reality you're most likely just like any one of the other players in this game - scared and concerned."
"You don't know what I am." Love said ominously.
Klein chuckled at the boys attempt to appeal deep and mysterious. "Oh, shut up, Love. You're the most open person I know... Openly dumb, that is."
"You!" Love raised a fist and aimed it directly at his companions face.
"I'm joking!" The redhead leaned back and held both of his hands up submissively as he laughed at his friends quick trigger
Love growled and refocused on the road in front of him. "Idiot."
The crowds around them shrank more and more as they continued to walk further away from the town center and into a more rundown section of city. Buildings in this area were severely overgrown by the jungle around them and rodents populated the dark alleys and cracks in the foundations of homes.
"Jeez." Klein pinched his nose to block out the putrid smell. "Good thing we all bought a house in a nice area instead of here, right?"
"Hm." Love, who was also covering his nose, hummed in agreement.
"So... We're looking for quests right?"
"Yup."
"What kind of quests?"
"Preferably one that requires me to put as little effort as possible into it. I'm tired."
"Then why didn't you just stay at home?" Klein asked, a slight chuckle of confusion in his voice.
"I share a room with Agil. His night time routine is the most annoying thing ever. He's constanly going back and forth from the bathroom to the bedroom just to get ready for bed."
"Oh..." Klein shrugged. "Yeah that would be pretty annoying."
The two walked in silence until they reached an even more decrepit part of town. The streets were now completely void of people and there was little to no light illuminating the street. Love opened up his map and gazed at it intuitively. "Just around the corner. Not far now."
"Cool. So what's your prediction of what's gonna happen during this quest?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well." Klein rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "You're always talking about how you think everyone else is under you in terms of skill. I'm curious as to how you think this quest will go with you and I working together."
"My guess is..." The madman placed a finger to his chin and glanced up in thought. "You're gonna slow me down by getting into danger and I'm gonna have to save you."
"You sure about that?"
"Positive."
"How about a little wager then?" Klein took a step in front of him, blocking his path with a cocky grin.
"Yeah?" Love placed a hand on his hip and returned the smile, albeit more wickedly.
"Yeah. I bet that I'll be perfectly fine without any of your help throughout this whole quest."
"Heh... Okay. What do I get if I win, and what do you get if you win?"
Klein glanced down at his boots and pursed his lips. He hadn't exactly came up with the terms since he didn't think Love would even accept the bet in the first place. "How about... You give me whatever col you make from this quest."
Love brushed passed Klein and scoffed. "What the hell? I need that money for... things."
"So what's it gonna be? Is that too much for you to handle?" The redhead teased.
"I never said I wouldn't do it."
"So you will?"
Love groaned in annoyance and nodded. "Yeah, sure, whatever. I look forward to doubling my profits." He swung his arms out as if it made him look elegant and welcoming. "Now come on, the quest is right around the corner."
The two men rounded the bend and onto a dimly lit street. The air was mostly silent and a cool breeze flowed through the darkened street. Klein shivered and cupped his hands in front of his face to warm them. "You know, I think I remember you saying that you had a sibling. Is that true?" he said in an open ended manner, hoping Love would answer without him having to ask for specific details. "Was it a sister or brother?"
"Sister." Love said emptily.
"Younger or older?"
"Younger."
"What was her name-"
"Hey," The madman interrupted. "I don't ask you about your personal life, so you shouldn't ask me about mine."
The two friends walked in disparity emitting from Love, one that Klein knew he could mediate. "What was her name?" The redhead asked again, softer this time.
Love bowed his head slightly, a clear look of genuine confusion plastered across his face. "If I tell you will you stop being annoying?"
"Yes, I promise." Klein nodded excitedly.
"Tatum."
Klein squinted. "I've never really heard you talk about her. Why is that?"
"I just don't want to. She's not here right now so what's the point? I don't ask you about your family, do I?"
"Okay." Klein conceded. "Sorry."
Love shrugged. "Good."
"I'd like to know about her, though. I'm sure you're a great brother to her." Klein said, hopeful to break through some of the emotional barrier Love had always held up.
Love shook his head at nothing in particular. "Look, I know I give you and Kazuto and the others a hard time, but I wasn't always like... Well... This." He motioned to himself. "Before the original SAO, I was the calm one - I was actually nice to people."
Klein squinted in disbelief and increased his walking speed so he could be along side his friend. "I have a hard time believing that."
"It's true." Love confirmed. "I used to think that intellect was superior to brawn. I didn't talk to many people, nor did I ever feel the need to. My parents were great - they always did what they needed to do in order to give my sister and I a good life. The only issue was that we had bad luck. It never seemed to go away, you know? My dad kept losing his job for reasons that he couldn't control, therefore my family moved around a lot, and I never made friends because of it. My sister and I get along great. She's three years younger than me, but we still do everything together. I just..." Love shook his head and exhaled deeply. "I wasn't perfect. I can't always be there for her, ya know?."
"I see..." Klein wasn't sure what to say. He had prepared himself for this moment, but now that it was here, he froze. This was Love after all, the same guy who refuses to ever show any emotion ever. Seeing him like this was something that nobody could prepare for. "I get the feeling that the name Love is something that she came up with."
Love smiled and nodded gently as he remembered. "Tatum says that no matter how mad I got, it still seemed like I was happy, and that I would always show love to people that I despised simply because I thought it was better to love than to hate."
The redhead bowed his head in preparation for his next question, which was going to be a hard one to ask. He bit his lip before carefully asking, "The way you speak about her.. is she... gone?"
"No."
Klein felt his instant regret from asking that question be washed away by a wave of relief. "Oh! Good. I was worried."
"I just haven't seen her in a while, you know? Long before we entered this game for the second time."
"Tell me about her. What is she like?"
Love tsk'd and shook his head. "Not now. Let's do this quest, then we'll see."
Klein suddenly returned to his bright and cheery self and let out a loud, "Yes!" As he held up a triumphant fist.
The madman shook his head, disappointed that he allowed himself to open up as much as he did. Nonetheless, he wanted to changed the topic as soon as possible. "Whatever. We're here anyways." Then boy pointed at a dark alley situated between two rundown homes. "it's a simple clear quest. Just gotta clear the area of enemies then we'll be rewarded. Think you can handle it?"
"Pfft!" Klein scoffed. "Duh. Don'y forget about our little wager."
"Hm. Like I said, be prepared to pay up. This is gonna be a cake walk."
-One Hour Later-
Love just starred straight ahead into the fireplace as Agil bandaged the numerous wounds he obtained during the quest. He had cuts, gashes, burn marks, and bruises littered all throughout his body. His eyes were still wide in disbelief. The thugs put up quiet the fight. Sure, Love and Klein were at no risk of dying, but the ego of the teen boy took a severe hit, especially since Klein took hardly took any damage.
"That was a stupid quest, anyways..." The madman groaned as Agil tied off the last bandage.
Klein on the other hand, happily counted the gold he had earned from the bet as it laid out on the coffee table in the center of the living room. "I told you that you didn't need to give me the money. I was only really in it because I wanted to prove I could beat you."
Love stood and shook his head, disappointed in himself for losing to someone as happy-go-lucky as Klein. "Whatever. Just keep it." He dismissed himself upstairs, leaving only Kazuto, Agil, Klein, Sinon, and Silica in the living room.
"Glad to see you didn't get yourselves hurt." Silica praised sarcastically.
"Yeah." Klein replied, "The quest was really easy, and the reward was good, so maybe we should do quests around this town before moving onto any others. I don't remember much of this floor during my time in the original SAO, so I'll let you guys decide."
"Heh... I don't really remember much either." Agil rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"Well, if it's anything like floor one, it should be cleared within a few days." Kirito commented whilst busy messaging Asuna, asking where she was. She had mentioned that her and Lisbeth were going out to attend the festival, yet neither of them had answered any of the messages he had sent out. It's been hours and the swordsman was beginning to worry.
"They're fine, Kirito." Sinon sighed. "They're both strong women. They can handle themselves."
Kirito bit his lower lip and nodded to himself, closing his user interface and locking his gaze at the ceiling right above him as he laid on the couch. "I know... I'm just..."
"Paranoid." Klein finished.
"No, not that." Kirito shook his head absent mindedly.
"A nail bitter?" Agil smiled.
"No."
"A worrywart." Sinon guessed.
Kirito sighed deeply and rolled his eyes. "None of you are helping."
"Hey." Silica chimed in. "I think it's good that Kirito worries. He and Asuna are really close, so it makes sense that he'd like to know where she is, especially at this hour."
The swordsman gestured towards the young girl and exclaimed, "Thank you! Someone understands."
Just then, the sound of the front door opening caused everyone to turn their attention away from the conversation and to the entrance. Asuna and Lisbeth stood there, smiles on their faces as if they had just gotten done laughing at something.
"See?" Sinon got to her feet and walked passed the couch towards the stairs that led to the upper level of the house where her bedroom was. "Told you there was nothing to worry about." She mumbled to Kirito as she brushed by.
The swordsman rose to his feet to meet Asuna, who gave him a warm smile as she took off her coat and placed it on the rack. "Nice scarf." He commented upon seeing the new accessory wrapped around her neck. "Did I pay for that?"
The girl placed a kiss on her boyfriends cheek and shrugged. "I may have dipped into both of our savings."
"Of course you did." Kirito pulled his girlfriend in for a hug, to which she wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling her face into his shoulder. The swordsman wasn't sure why, but it seemed as though there was a faint reflection of green reflecting off of his white shirt right where Asuna's face was resting.
One Week Later
Kirigaya household
Suguha glanced over the note left for her by her grandparents one last time as she patiently await Akira to show up at her front door.
Suguha,
Your grandfather and I are going out for breakfast with an old friend. We won't be back in time to say goodbye, so please, have a nice field trip and remember to stay safe. Tokyo is a big city so its easy to get lost. Always have a friend or chaperone nearby. I packed you a lunch box for the train ride.
Love, grandma and grandpa.
Suguha felt a hint of guilt as she read the letter. After all, she had blatantly lied about the so-called field trip with her classmates. In reality, there was no field trip. Her only intention in this endeavor was to find evidence as to the location of 'Sapper CO.', the organization that stole her brother. Luckily, her grandparents weren't exactly what one would call 'tech savvy', therefore they hardly used the internet. Because of this, news of Kazuto's kidnapping hadn't reached them yet, however Suguha knew it was only a matter of time. The general public was beginning to realize that something was wrong and the families of the kidnapped were now asking questions. It's been thirteen days since the disappearance of over four thousand people, which is three days longer than Sapper Co had said they'd be gone.
Suguha let out a bored exhale and stared at the granite counter top just as the doorbell rang. The life within her eyes rejuvenated - at last he was here. She swung the door open and saw Akira, who just stood there with a dumb, dorky grin on his face.
"You ready to go?" He asked, shaking the hand in which he held his tightly packed luggage bag.
Suguha stepped onto the porch and made sure the door was locked before closing it. "Yeah. I was starting to get bored sitting around, you know?"
"You told me ten in the morning."
Suguha shrugged dismissively. Sitting around at home all day was extremely boring - so much so that in hindsight, she figured that she should have asked Akira over sooner so they could get their day started faster. "Yeah I know." She descended the porch steps with peppy intent, hands clasped around the straps of her backpack. "When does the train leave? I wanna make sure we have enough time to put together a plan for when we get to Tokyo."
"Uh," Akira examined his train ticket thoroughly. "Eleven thirty."
"Good. That gives us plenty of time. You wanna take the the long way to the station?"
Akira visibly tensed up. It had always been a wish of his to be able to walk the streets of his hometown with his crush. He didn't want to sound weird or desperate, so he just let out a simple, "Sure."
So the two set off, destined for adventure. Whether that would come in the form of discovery or danger was still to be seen. They had one week to find Kazuto, after that, Spring break was over, and so was Suguha's chance to find her brother. There would be opportunity once summer rolled around, but that was in months. Suguha knew that if they failed to find even a shard of evidence as to David Herara or Kazuto's whereabouts, the window could be closed for good. That's why they had to take action now and put their foot on the gas petal - not just for the sake of Suguha's beloved brother, but also for the thousands of other players kidnapped by Sapper Co.
Where ever they are.