Sword Art Online: Akira's Arrows

Episode 4: The Sword of Taki

POV: Akira

July 27th, 2024. Floor 48: Lindas

"Oh, I never thought I'd see the day!" Liz teased, as we spread out the stacks of old papers over her counter. "Akira, The Black Archer, so adamant he didn't need a sword, finally coming to me for one. I think we should take a picture and frame it, don't you?"

I rolled my eyes and kept sifting through the papers. "You want a picture of me in your workshop that bad? Liz I'm touched."

The pink-haired girl got flustered for a moment, before throwing a hammer at my head.

"I'll take that as a no then?" I asked after ducking.

She narrowed her eyes at me and went back to the papers. "Back on topic, before we find a sword for you to use Akira, we need to determine what kind you want. Also, I know you said you wanted a legendary one but the metal for those don't exactly grow on trees."

"I know, I don't really care what type it is, rapier or longsword," I said, sighing as with each paper I found, no sword popped out and caught my attention. "As for the metal well, if I need, I'll drag you along with me. Didn't you do the same thing to Kirito last month?"

"He did not drag me along!" She huffed, her face getting red. "I was invaluable to that expedition I'll have you know."

I gave her a knowing look, which almost got me another hammer to the head. I had no idea where she kept getting hammers, and why she was wasting time throwing them at me, but I had come to expect things like that from Liz. As sweet as can be one moment and throwing hammers the next.

She rolled her eyes and dug her head under her desk. "I think this is the last of them, and some of these aren't even sword diagrams. Some treasure maps are mixed in."

"Thanks," I said with a smile as she dropped a new stack in front of me. "Jokes aside, I really do appreciate all the help Liz."

"Of course, it's no problem at all," She said with her usual giant smile. "We're close after all me and you, you took over my bed for three days when we first met."

I winced, it had taken me days to recover mentally and physically then. I still hadn't fully recovered mentally, but people like Liz certainly helped.

"Yeah… sorry about that," I said, starting to skim through the new pile of diagrams. "I'll buy you dinner one of these nights soon to make up for it."

She chuckled, and I could notice her face get a bit redder. "Ha… I may just take you up on that. That and tea sounds nice, how about after we find you a sword?"

I felt a bit bad; I could see it in Liz's eyes, along with whenever I visited, she really did like me. I had always had a nose for these things, even going back to before I started dating Kya.

I wasn't like some dense anime protagonist; I could see when a girl had feelings for me. Liz clearly did at least to some degree.

Perhaps if things had been a little different for me then, I would have seen where things went. Liz was sweet, funny, cute, and we got along really well. After Asuna had saved me all those months ago, I spent the few days recovering in her home, and ever since I'd been coming to her exclusively for all my weapon repairs and to buy more arrows. She had been upgrading The Black Bow of Fate all these months, there were only a few people I trusted like I trusted Liz.

But I just couldn't bring myself to feel that way for anyone then, not with what had just happened… and it would probably be some time, if ever, that I could feel that way again. That, combined with the fact I still didn't really expect to leave Aincrad alive. I had nothing to return too, I was lucky that Mr. Tanaka hadn't unplugged my nervegear yet. My one and only goal, was to do everything I could, so that people like Liz could get back to the real world, and I was prepared to sacrifice anything for it.

Also, I knew for a fact Liz had a thing for Kirito as well as me. Now he, did act like a dense anime protagonist, how he didn't know Asuna, Liz, and the girl Silica he'd introduced me too were all liked him yet I had no idea.

"If that's what you want, we'll go," I told Liz, smiling again as I sighed and slumped into one of the chairs she kept behind her counter. "None of these really stand out to me, none of the abilities really match with what I want. Are you sure you've seen nothing with any lightning effects?"

Liz pursed her lips in a thoughtful way. "No… no lightning effects. Finding a legendary sword with one if hard, it normally requires it to be added during the smithing process."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm friends with you then," I said, as I stacked up the diagrams I'd already looked through. "Could I just pick one of the swords and have you add the effect?"

"I could yeah," She said with a sigh. "But if you add an effect like that to a sword, it makes the sword degrade faster, especially on a legendary weapon. You'd be here a lot often. Not that I mind, but it'd be better if you find one with the effect already built in."

"You got a point," I sighed, leaning back in her chair. "The last few floors… they've been rough. We haven't lost anybody but still… it's come close."

"You Kirito and Asuna just cleared 70, right?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yeah… it was a rough one. I ran out of arrows half-way through, and the rapier I've been carrying isn't nearly strong enough, not nearly on the level of Asuna and Kirito's swords. The Black Bow of Fate can be a melee weapon yeah… and it's damage has grown, but it's not nearly enough."

"Hehe, so that's why you've come to me!" She said triumphantly. "Don't worry, we'll find something I'm sure of it!"

I smiled, as she went back to studying diagrams and papers. I was thankful for her, like I was for all of the people I'd met so far. If there was one thing good, I would say about SAO and Aincrad, was it introduced me to these people. That was why I needed to find a new weapon for when I couldn't use my bow, something to help keep them safe.

I thought I was going to die yes, but I wouldn't do it easily.

It'd been three months since I met Kirito with Asuna, and Laughing Coffin almost killed me again. I learned from messaging Yolko, that eventually they'd turned Grimlock into the games prison, and she'd been safe with her old guild since then. Argo was still running around dealing her information and had kept me up to date on the Murder Guilds movements. She'd even been sharing any information she got with The Knights of the Blood Oath. Heathcliff had promised Asuna and me he'd throw everything he had into finding them, in exchange for me re-joining the guild officially. He said he'd find them within a month if I said yes.

After initially being pissed at the fact he could have found them within a month and hadn't before, I realized it was the best offer I'd get. I told him once they were found I'd rejoin, and he said he'd put together an assault team once they did and inform me. Asuna had been just as furious as me, but she had kept me from trying to throttle that 'living legend' of the game and probably ending up in prison myself.

Either way, I would be a man of my word, so long as Heathcliff delivered. I figured this was better then trying to throw my life away like I'd done three months ago. Dying like that… it wouldn't have been what Kya or Aki wanted. They'd want the game cleared, so I'd shift my focus to that. They would have wanted me to live… that's what I would carry with me.

To do that, I would need a new secondary weapon. It was easy for Kirito and Asuna, with their primary weapons being all they needed, however, if I ever did run out of arrows mid-fight again, I'd be in trouble, especially against floor bosses of Laughing Coffin. I didn't like to switch to a sword when I could help it, I only ever felt right fighting with The Black Bow of Fate… but if it made me better able to get my friends out of the game I'd figure it out.

"Hey Akira, what about this one?" Liz said, making me stand and walk over to the opposite counter she was at. Her eyes narrowed at a page in her hands. "The sword of Tak… Take…. The sword of Takemikazuchi."

"Takemikazuchi?!" I nearly yelled, rushing to where Liz was and pushing my head in front of hers, making her stumble into the wall.

"Hey easy!" Liz complained, groaning as she came up next to me. "Take what now?"

"Sorry," I mumbled, my eyes still glued to the paper, as I couldn't remember being this excited for a anything in SAO for quite some time.

The paper Liz had, wasn't a diagram, but instead it looked to be a treasure map, which you could often buy from vendors or discover on the floors themselves. It always either led to a legendary or special weapon, a chest with good item drops, or in very rare cases a trap. Either way, not many people used them, considering risking your HP bar for treasure was something you may do in a regular MMORPG, SAO obviously wasn't normal. I'd never followed one myself, but looking at the directions now, they didn't seem very hard to follow.

"Heyyyy!" Liz complained, pushing her head in front of mine to see the map. "I didn't even get a chance to look before you snatched it! The Sword of… Taki, what's got you so excited about it."

"Takemikazuchi," I corrected as I turned to meet her eyes. "Are you telling me you really don't know who that is?"

Her look told me she didn't before she even said anything. "No clue, but now that I said it, I'd kill for a bag of Taki's, who'd name themselves after a snack food?"

My historian brain fried in that moment as I sighed. "No, he's not named after a snack food. Are you telling me you really don't know any old Japanese history? The old gods and mythology?!"

I got a deadpan look from her in return. Liz's lips formed a line as she shook her head. "Um, no, I can't say I have. Surprised you do, you're not even from Japan."

"I've spent half my life here, if you don't count the two stuck in SAO," I corrected her. "I only moved here when I was eight, and I'm an aspiring historian I'll have you know! Takemikazuchi is an old Japanese god! Come on Liz, you're telling me I know more about your countries old mythology then you?"

My mother had moved herself, Aki and I to Japan when I had been eight. Aki was only five, so she never really remembered much of San Francisco where we had originally come from. I was horrified at first, especially considering how little money we have when we moved, but the aspiring historian had still been present in eight-year-old me and after a year or two, I realized how much rich history Japan had, and now I considered myself more Japanese then American, despite the fact I probably still looked like one.

Yes, the first year I spent in Japan with Aki and my mother had been great… until my mother had died, leaving Aki and I alone in the streets of Tokyo in a still relatively foreign country. I still hadn't perfected my Japanese at that point, and I was too young to work… if it hadn't been for Kya's help, and eventually letting Aki and I move in with her two years later, I don't know what I would have done.

Still, that whole time my one love had been learning about history, some people told me I talked about it too much.

Liz clearly was one of those people at present.

"It seems you do know more, congratulations," She said sarcastically. "So, this sword of Taki."

"Takemikazuchi," I correct her again.

"Whatever," She said with a dismissive wave. "What's so special about it? I just saw it had a lightning effect like you wanted, before you started geeking out."

"Yeah… a lightning effect," I said, ignoring her jab at me. "It makes sense. Takemikazuchi was a lightning god, along with a god of swordsmanship. So, let's see… it says the sword is made of a speed metal, it had a built in lightning effect and… huh, that's weird."

"What is?" Liz asked.

I shook my head and stared at the top of the page. It had the name of the sword, and its effects above the map itself, but in the box where the effects were listed, there were nothing except question marks.

"I guess this means I'll need the sword itself to figure out the last effect," I said, pointing out the question marks.

"It looks like it," She said, rubbing her chin in thought. "I should be able to forge it for you, my smithing is maxed out but I… don't see an ingredients list, or even what kind of metals should be used."

"That's because you only need one thing…" I said, as I looked down at the actual map itself. "Look here, the map leads to the 'Shards of Takemikazuchi'."

Liz saw it and nodded. "That makes sense. And look, the map is for Floor 70, good thing you just opened it. Bring me those Taki Shards-."

"Takemikazuchi."

"Whatever," She said with an eye roll. "Bring me those shards, and I should be able to forge that sword for you no problem."

I looked down at the map, Floor 70 had been mostly mapped in the last week, and if I didn't already have most of it in my own map, I could always ask Kirito or Asuna. I saw the line go from the exit of Floor 69's dungeon, all the way up to a cluster of mountains, leading right into the middle of them. I couldn't see any detail after that, other then it was apparently between two mountains, but I had found more with less information before.

"Are you sure I don't need anything else?" I asked Liz, as I rolled up the map, and transported it to my inventory.

We both made our way back out from around the counter to the center of her shop. Liz smiled and shook her head.

"Nope, if it required anything else it would say it," She assured me, before a look of realization dawned on her face. "Oh! I almost forgot your arrows!"

She rushed back behind her counter, and I called after her. "Do you need to come with me? Do you think I'll have to mine it out of anywhere?"

"You should be fine, considering they're already shards," She said, pulling up from behind the counter with a quiver of thirty arrows. She laughed nervously as i took them from her and handed her the money for it. "Besides I… don't exactly relish the idea going to a newly opened floor. I've been so busy, that it's been ages since I got the chance to head out and level up. I'd go with you otherwise…"

I smiled at how nervous she looked. She clearly didn't like admitting she was too low leveled to help me out, but I didn't mind. I smiled and put a hand over on her shoulder.

"No need to worry," I said with a smile. "You're a great help Liz, thanks for taking the time to do this. I'll bring those shards back, and I bet you'll forge something even better then the one you did for Kirito."

She had time to blush and smile, before someone else spoke up behind me.

"Something better then what she made me?" I heard Kirito say. "That's gonna be hard, but I don't doubt she could do it."

"Kirito!" Liz said, and I could see her blushing even more.

I laughed at that and turned to sure enough see the Black Swordsman with a goofy looking smile on her face.

"Perfect timing Kirito," I said, walking up and fist-bumping him. "Here for repairs?"

"Yeah, after that last boss raid, my sword needs it," He said, going from the fist bump into the handshake we had crafted. "How're you feeling? You got beat up pretty bad after you ran out of arrows in that fight."

I shivered and winced. "Took two days for me to recover my stamina and HP after that poison effect. That fight's actually why I'm here."

"Why you're here?" He asked, pulling the sword off his back to hand to Liz. "What do you mean? And perfect timing for what?"

Liz came over and greeted Kirito, blushing the whole time which, he of course didn't notice. He didn't even have to try it seemed, which amazed me, especially considering the fact he had no idea Liz was really interested in him. I had asked Asuna what it had been about him she liked so much, to which of course she denied having any kind of feelings. To which of course led me to teasing her about it every time I've seen her the last few months.

I could see why they liked Kirito, he was strong, helpful, and honestly a huge goofball, at least the two of us were when we were together. He tried to act all stoic and serious, but, he was hilarious, I'd learned that in the multiple raids we'd fought in together, or level grinding trips we'd made in the previous three months.

Kirito still played solo, and in reality, I played as one now too. I still saw Asuna almost every day of course, I went over her house for dinner or to simply hangout most days. However, with the previous few floors being extremely taxing, in the previous three months the guild had been calling on her more and more, so we hadn't really fought together all that much outside of the boss raids.

Yes, I'd gone on several quests and grinding periods alone, but I'd also gone on quite a few with Kirito in the last three months. We spent time together now and then, and sometimes the three of us did as well, when Asuna wasn't busy with the guild. We'd formed quite the group, but for the most part, it had been me and Kirito the last three months. I appreciated his help, his friendship, I didn't really have many now, so I cherished all the ones I had left.

We finished out handshake, an up and down fist bump which led to a regular one and finished with a high five with the opposite hand, just as Liz came to take his sword.

"Good to see you again Kirito," She said, taking the black Elucidator from him. "Just a touch up like usual?"

"Yeah, thanks Liz," He said with his kind smile. "I appreciate it as always."

"Ha, no problem, not at all," She said happily, blushing before she moved with the sword back down towards her workshop.

I watched her go and scoffed, thinking of her blushing face. "You're not even trying; I have no idea how you do it…"

"Do what?" he asked.

Sighing I shook my head and opened my inventory. "It's nothing, back to what I was talking about. I said, 'perfect timing', because of this. Check it out."

I selected the treasure map and dropped it in his hands. I looked at the time in my HUD and saw that it wasn't too even the afternoon yet, there would be plenty of tie to head to Floor 70 and make it to the mountains the map pointed too.

There could have been any kind of monster in those mountains, and while I knew that I probably would have been okay by myself, you could never take chances in SAO. Having Kirito with me to watch my back would be best.

"The Sword of Tak…Takem…" he struggled, looking at the map.

"Takemikazuchi," I sighed as I corrected.

"Whatever, Sword of Taki's," He said with a dismissive wave of his hand, and I had to stifle a groan as he peered over the picture and stats of the sword that were also included on the map. After a moment his eyes widened, and he looked up at me. "All you have to do is find the shards… this thing has damage like my Elucidator. A serious sword."

"Exactly," I said, smirking as I took the map back from him, meeting his eyes. "I'm heading out to find the shards. Liz said she can reforge it."

"Ohhhhh," He said, a satisfied smirk coming to his face as well. "Finally listening to me and Asuna and getting yourself a new sword?"

I winced and rolled my eyes. "Yeah, after that last raid, I figured it's time. If I run out of arrows in the middle of a boss raid again, I'll be useless to help you or Asuna if you need it."

"You'd never be useless to us Akira," He assured me, his hands going to his rest on his waist as he smiled. "Get this sword to help protect yourself as well, not just us. You getting out is just as important as us getting out."

To him maybe, but not to me. They were the priority. I wouldn't mess up again.

"Either way, I'm gonna need that sword," I said, nodding at him. "So, what do you say, feel like tagging along? Don't know what there is on this new floor."

He chuckled. "Ha, don't even have to ask, let's-."

"Well, I know the two of you aren't planning to head off on a quest without me, are you?" We both heard, along with the bell for Liz's store.

"Asuna!" We both managed to say at the same time, turning to see The Lightning Flash, sure enough smirking at us at the front of the store.

She wore her normally Knights of the Blood outfit, her rapier on her belt, and smiled nearly ear to ear as she came up to us both. I wondered what she could be doing here, other then getting repairs, but then I looked at the screen to the left of my HUD again, where I had pinned a reminder that morning when I woke up. I was embarrassed when I read it.

Brunch with Asuna at 10am. The realization dawned on me, that the date the reminder had been set for was today and not tomorrow like I'd thought before coming to Liz's shop.

I met Asuna's eyes as she stared at me and sighed. "Sorry… got the days wrong, I was supposed to meet you, wasn't I?"

"You were," She said, but thankfully as she gave me a hug, she didn't look angry. "But it's alright, I have the day off today anyway. I checked the map for your location, and saw you, Liz, and Kirito here."

She turned and smiled at Kirito. "It's good to see you too Kirito-kun."

Asuna's smile was infectious, and when I saw Kirito start to stammer, I did my best not to laugh. A part of me wished they'd just get together already so I could officially be the third wheel, instead of watching them subtly flirt with their eyes. Still, I was happy seeing them like they were, it used to be they couldn't stand one another.

"Yeah, you too Asuna," Kirito said, looking back at me now. "Akira said it to me when I walked in too, but you got here just in time."

"Huh? Akira-kun?" She said, turning to look at me now. "What's he talking about?"

I smiled. Very few times in Aincrad did I ever say I truly had 'fun'. I had plenty of relatively fond moments with Aki and Kya… and the longer I spent without them, the fonder those last few memories became, despite the fact we had been stuck in Aincrad. In the almost half a year since they died however, I could say with certainty, I hadn't had much cause to smile.

All the moments I did, included Asuna and Kirito in them. Dueling with Kirito, eating Asuna's cooking, they were the few moments I had been excited for.

This was another one of them. I smiled at them both and pulled up my menu to the party screen and sent the invited to them both.

"I'll tell you on the way," I told her, managing to even smirk at them both. "What do you both say to partying up again?"

They both smiled back at me and nodded, before clicking accept on the invites that popper up in front of them.

After a moment, Kirito and Asuna's names and health bars appeared under my name… and I couldn't help but think, is this what SAO could have really been like, had Kayaba not trapped us here? Could I really have been having fun with two friends I met in game, going off on a quest for a legendary sword?

It was something I wish I didn't have to be in a death game to experience.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"AKIRA!" Kirito yelled, a golem dissolving round his sword. "Coming from the air to the left over the rocks!"

"I see them!" I yelled, reaching to pull four arrows out of my quiver, and slinging them into The Black Bow of Fate. The bow glowed bright blue and crackled with light. "Lighting Volley, Multi-Shot!"

The harpies screeched, a group of five came spiraling down form over the mountain, the sun had gone down, but thankfully from the light of all the sword skills we were using, I was able to see them coming down to attack. Lightning crackled at the tips of the four arrows, and when I let them fly, it sounded like a boom of thunder rattled the canyon we were in.

Like I expected, they found home in four of the harpies, they screeched again and soon disappeared into pixels. I didn't have time to celebrate, I heard Kirito yelling out for his skills as he fought off the wave of earth golems that had rose up to attack, and I still had one harpy die-bombing towards me. I would have had enough time to pull out another arrow, but a flash of white leapt up in front of me.

Asuna yelled out as she lashed out against the flying monster, she let out a multi-hit combo and dissolved the harpy, before landing gracefully to the ground. Like I had expected, even though this was a newly opened Floor, and the monsters were quite high leveled, they were no match for Asuna, Kirito and I. I had to guess the monsters had to all be in the eighties for level, which was nothing compared to the nineties where the three of us were.

We were in a rocky ravine now, and from the map data the three of us had, we could tell it led to a spring and waterfall in the middle of the mountains. It didn't take an expert in MMORPG's to know that was more than likely where the shards of the sword were. Still, while the monsters had been easy to dispatch, there were many of them, and of course, you had to be extremely careful with any encounter in a death game.

"Akira-kun!" Asuna yelled, pointing behind me, and we both turned to see Kirito had attracted more of the golems and elementals.

I nodded to her, and we rushed towards where Kirito was trying to fend them off.

"A little help!" Kirito yelled, ducking under a golems arm stabbing it through. "This should be the last of-."

A loud roar cut him off, and the ground shook beneath us. Asuna and I both halted in out tracks, as out from the wall of the ravine, a glowing red eye opened. I cursed and pulled out another arrow, as an elemental formed from the stone. Kirito finished off another golem and just had time to dodge the first rock that was thrown by the massive elemental. It was at least ten feet tall, and when I saw it I turned to Asuna.

"You and Kirito keep it the golems away from me!" I yelled, rushing head of her.

"Wait, Akira-kun!" She yelled to me, but I ignored her and readied the skill.

"Akira!" Kirito yelled as well as I passed him.

"Be ready to take it out!" I answered getting to the massive monster, which was clearly the boss of the area. "METEOR SHOT!"

I let the destructive arrow go, and it smacked into the massive arm the elemental had just before it could smashed into Kirito. I saw him and Asuna going to move for me again, but they were accosted by the golems. They started to fight them, and I focused my attention to the elemental who let out a roar and as it stepped, the ground beneath my feet shook.

I nearly fell, but just barely was able to leap up when the arm came for me in a sweeping attack. When I landed, I landed on top of the fist and rushed in a run up its arm, spinning around as I did and readying the bow skill.

"ICE ARROW!" I yelled, as the bright blue mist formed around the tip of my arrow. Lightning, Fire and Wind arrows would be useless against an earth elemental.

I let the arrow fly, and as I'd leveled up the elemental archery skill, the affects of my arrows grew. It smacked into the hand the elemental had just used to try for a sweep attack. Ice formed where the arrow hit and spread, pinning the elementals hand to the ground. I knew it wouldn't last long, but I spared a glance to see Asuna and Kirito spinning around each other and defeating the last of the golems. They both turned around to me just as I reached the elementals head.

As I did, I saw its giant glowing red eye look up towards me, and I pulled out an arrow. "Meteor-. WOAAHHHHHHH!"

"AKIRA!" "AKIRA-KUN!"

I heard Asuna and Kirito yell as the elementals other fist came and smacked me off its head and upwards. My HP bar started to go down towards the yellow, and I fumbled the Black Bow of Fate. Ignoring the pain throbbing throughout my body, and my declining HP bar, I managed to pull an arrow out from my quiver just as I started falling. I angled myself the right way as I fell downwards and yanked back the bow string. It glew red and I did my best to take aim as I plummeted towards the ground.

"METEOR SHOT!" I yelled over the wind, letting the arrow go only seconds before I hit the ground.

I slammed against the ground and my HP shot into the yellow. Groaning I rolled to try and use my momentum and adrenaline to sit upwards. I managed to get up to one knee and had time to see my arrow make contact with the elementals red eye just as he broke out of the ice. It exploded and sent up a black cloud of smoke, and I saw its HP bar dropping towards the red.

"Akira!" I heard Kirito yell, as he and Asuna came running up behind me.

"Switch!" I yelled, ignoring the pain.

Asuna grabbed me under the arm, as Kirito switched in. With a yell and a bright glow from his sword, he leapt in and delivered what proved to be the final blow to the elemental, and it disappeared just as the moon reached its highest point in the sky that night.

I breathed a sigh of relief, as the exp, col, and few random ingredients and items I'd won popped up on my screen. After closing out the window, I allowed myself to fall onto my back on the dirt after Asuna went to close her window. While her and Kirito organized their windows and new items, I looked at my yellow HP bar, before going to and pulling a healing potion out of my inventory. After groaning I sat up, and downed the whole thing, watching my HP bar go back up.

"Even after almost two years," I muttered as I tossed the bottle away, "I still can't believe how real it feels when you land on your back like that."

"Want me to crack it for you?" Asuna said, as she reached a hand to help me up.

I scoffed as I took it, and she helped me to my feet. "Would that work?"

She shrugged but smiled. "I'm not sure, but we can find out. We should be setting up camp anyway."

"She's right," Kirito said, coming back and slinging his elucidator onto his back. "We're close to the spring and waterfall. We know there will probably be a boss there, we'll wanna be completely rested."

"Good point," I said, looking at Asuna who was yawning. "We'll try the back cracking later. You won't get an earful for coming with us tomorrow, right?"

She covered her mouth as she yawned. "No worries, I'll send a message to the guild when I wake up. It shouldn't take us that long to defeat the boss tomorrow."

"Between the three of us, it won't," Kirito said, and I hadn't even noticed him pull a fire-starting kit out of his inventory. "I'll take the first watch, if the two of you want to rest."

He had set up the fire just inside the large cave-in the elemental had left. It roared, and to my amazement still, it gave off real heat. So many things about that virtual death game still amazed me, and part of me was ashamed how much it did.

Asuna yawned and nodded. "I could use a nap that's for sure. I'll see the both of you in the morning."

With sleepy looking eyes, Asuna walked past Kirito and I both, before pulling a sleeping bag out of her inventory. She set it up around the fire, and curled up after unequipping her rapier. With one last smile towards them both, she pulled the blanket up over her shoulders and turned towards the walls of the cave with the fire at her back.

I smiled, as soon enough I heard her lightly start snoring.

Kirito came up and clapped a hand to my shoulder. "You wanna lay down too? I don't mind keeping watch by myself."

I turned and shook my head, meeting his eyes in the firelit night. "No, it's okay. I don't really sleep much nowadays anyway. Besides… full moons out, I like looking at it."

"That makes two of us," He said, as he sighed and plopped himself down against the wall just outside the cave, the light of the fire illuminating its mouth.

I smiled and slid down next to him. I saw he had his elucidator across his lap, so I placed the Black Bow of Fate against the wall next to me. A cold breeze shot through the ravine, and I pulled my black cloak tighter over my shoulders. It wasn't like Kirito's where it had sleeves and buttons, mine just laid over my black and brown leather armor. I shivered after a few minutes, and like most things in Aincrad, it amazed me how real I could feel in such a horrid world.

But as I glanced up at that full moon… I couldn't believe such beautiful things could exist in a world that had caused me so much pain. The full moon was massive, and even though I couldn't see any stars, the purplish black night was beautiful. I had no idea something like that could exist in Aincrad, or that I would find it bringing back pleasant memories. Memories of times I would never forget, times I longed to be back in.

What I wouldn't have given for Aki to be able to see this now, her and Kya both. If I closed my eyes, I could still hear it, Aki asking me a million questions about stars, the history behind people studying them. I'd go on one of my long-winded explanations, and my little sister would listen with bated breath. Kya would simply sit holding my arm, her head on my shoulder, listening to me ramble, I never did know if she was paying attention or just indulging me.

Aki however, had been one person who never minded listening to the long history lessons I liked to give randomly when the inspiration came to me.

"I hate that there are no stars," Kirito said, breaking the silence as we, both looked up towards the night sky. "But still, this view is pretty nice… don't you think?"

I slowly nodded, my head still leaning against the cold stone. "Yeah… but still, what I wouldn't give to be stargazing right now. I miss shooting stars."

"You liked stargazing in the real world?" He asked, smiling as he looked over at me. "I used to love going, there's a famous spot near my hometown, even a small observatory-."

"Mitaka observatory?" I said, the smile on my own face growing as I could only think of one. "It's famous for meteor showers and shooting stars, right?"

Kirito looked stunned, but then smiled. "Yeah… that's the one. My sister and I, we used to always go and watch the showers whenever we could. It's only about twenty minutes from my house. Did… you live around there? I know it's not normal to ask about the real world but…"

I shook my head to let him know he didn't need to finish. He was right, normally among players it was considered rude to talk about the real world, unless you knew that person on the other side. Still, I didn't mind, especially not with him.

Besides, as much as I loved Asuna, it was nice to be able to talk about it with more people… it helped me remember how real it was.

"It's alright, I don't mind," I said with a sigh, looking back up at the sky. "To answer well, not really. Before I got trapped, Aki and I lived with Kya and her parents in the city. It was always too bright to stargaze."

"Then… how do you know about the observatory?" He asked, fiddling with the flaps of his cloak while he looked over at me. "You don't have to say anything if you don't want."

I shook my head again. "Kirito, you've seen me at my lowest… if there's anyone, I'll tell it's you. Only… only Asuna knows but, you see Aki and I, we only lived with Kya for about two years, before that well… we were orphans."

"Orphans?" He said, looking guilty right away. "I'm… sorry I asked… that you had to bring it up."

"No, it's alright it… it was just a rough time," I said, feeling my skin start to tingle, as I could see it now, Aki and I near the observatory. "You see… I'm not even from Japan. Aki and I, we grew up in America, San Francisco in California. Sometimes I mess up my Japanese still."

"Sounds pretty good to me," He said, a small smile growing on his face. "I didn't know you were from America, what was it like?"

I shrugged. "Don't really remember it much to be honest. I was eight, Aki was five when moved here with my mother."

"Why did you move to a foreign country?" He asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know to be honest… it was all so fast, within two weeks or so, my mother just said we needed to move. She… made it out like we were in danger. We barely had any money, we were all crammed into a tiny apartment, shared one bed."

"I… I'm sorry," Kirito said, another cold breeze messing up our hair. "That must have been hard. I couldn't imagine being in a different country so young."

I scoffed and managed a small smile. "Actually… I liked it. After a few weeks well, we settled in quick. It was thanks to my mom. She worked two jobs while Aki and I went to school. We didn't have much but… but we had each other, she made sure we were as comfortable as possible. I honestly consider myself more Japanese then American."

Those days came back to my mind. It was eight years ago, but I could still remember it like it was yesterday. Making Aki and myself microwaved frozen pizzas after school waiting for our mother to get home. We'd watch episodes of anime together, first with subtitles to help us pick up Japanese words, then after that we'd turn the subtitles off, and repeat phrases to each other. That was how we learned most of our Japanese, in addition to the extra lessons I stayed in school for longer hours for to learn.

Eventually, I got a small side-job myself when I was nine. My teacher would let me stay and help her grade papers, and she'd give me a few dollars every day. I'd use that to buy Aki and I ramen on the way home, and then we'd wait for our mother to get home. She'd come home, we'd watch movies together, and all fall asleep in the same bed, although some nights I remember sleeping on our loveseat to let her and Aki be more comfortable.

I'd wake up the same time as my mother, around 5am normally. We'd make ourselves and Aki's breakfast, before she'd mess up my hair, smile at me, kiss my forehead and say how happy she was to have such a good, responsible son to help her out. I remember being so proud to hear that, being so proud of her, of our family. Yes, Abagail Miller, was truly, the greatest person that I had ever known.

What she hadn't told me, was about the cancer she had been diagnosed with, only a month or so after we'd arrived in Japan.

"But… you said that you and you sister you…" Kirito said, his voice much quieter as he looked at me now.

I nodded, and couldn't meet his eyes, only looking between my legs. "My mother was sick… she didn't tell Aki or me. She… she died when I was nine, almost ten. Aki and I we… we tried a foster home, and an orphanage but… that was brutal. So, I took a tent and two sleeping bags we had left, and well… lived on the streets at times but… one place we liked to stay was the woods near the observatory. Aki she loved looking up at those stars. It wasn't until two years later; Kya convinced her parents to take us in."

"So… so you lived on your own, for two whole years?" He said, an upset look in his eyes as he shook his head. "And to think… you were growing up right near me during that time."

I managed to chuckle. "Don't gotta feel bad about it, no way you could have known…. Nights like this they… they remind me of that time."

It also reminded me of what I wouldn't have back in the real world.

Kirito I'd learned, was very good at knowing when to ask questions, and when to just listen. He was like me, when we opened up about things, it was a rare occurrence, one that made us both uncomfortable normally… but now, for once I didn't. And like always, he knew what to say next. He didn't ask me more, or tell me how strong I was, no he didn't ask anything else about it all. He understood.

"Wanna know what nights like this remind me of?" He asked, looking back up at the sky.

I nodded, looking at the sky as well. "What?"

He sighed and shook his head. "It… makes me think what's happening right now in the real world. Are the stars out there right now too? Is anyone over our bodies? Do… you ever think about that? If anyone's over us in the hospital right now?"

That made me snort a laugh. "HA, I'm lucky I'm not dead already. I try not to think about that nowadays."

He looked at me oddly. "Why do you say that?"

I sighed, I wanted to get angry… but a part of me didn't blame Mr. Tanaka.

"You see, Kya's parents have been my guardians. Mrs. Tanaka never minded me and Aki being there," I said, with another sigh, "but Mr. Tanaka was a different story. He's old school, didn't like his precious daughter's boyfriend living with her. He never did anything bad but well… he wasn't very pleasant. Since… Kya and Aki well… I'm surprised he didn't hasn't yanked the nervegear off my head yet."

Kirito looked horrified. "You really think he'd do that?"

If he really knew how I'd gotten Kya killed… I wouldn't have blamed him if he did, sometimes I felt like I deserved it.

"Not really, I may just be exaggerating," I sighed, looking over at him, anxious to change the subject. "What about you? Who do you think is in your hospital room? You… haven't told me about anyone other than your sister, Suguha right?"

"Yeah… Sugu," Kirito said, saying the name with a longing tone. His eyes fell as he spoke and shook his head. "She'll probably be there now… she's probably been there every day."

I nodded, and I couldn't help but wonder what a sister of Kirito's looked like.

He went on with a sigh. "My mom's probably there, but she works a lot. She's an editor for a tech magazine, my dad works there too. They have to work so… Sugu is probably the one who's been visiting the most. Despite everything…"

"Siblings always have your back," I said, a smile coming to my face again as I looked over at him. "You never give up on them, no matter how much you may fight or disconnect… they're always there. Aki… she took care of me, just as much as I took care of her… until the very end."

For a horrible moment it played back again. Aki trying to distract PoH, so he didn't kill me… her revealing that my mother had made her promise to protect me like I did her. She gave everything for me in Aincrad… just like she had in the real world.

Yes, while she was too young to work, or to really do much during to help improve our situation during the time we were homeless…she had still been the reason we made it. If not for her being the light, being the reason, I did everything I had to do during that time, we could have easily ended up starving or frozen. Whether that be regaling me with the plot of Demon Slayer, which she had read in the local library, or simply waking me up with a smile in the mornings… she had been everything. I had so much that I still wanted to say to her now.

It was part of the reason I wanted to make sure Kirito made it back to the real world. I wanted to make sure he could see Suguha again, and say the things he needed to say, something I couldn't do.

"I… I wish I had heard that before," He said with a sigh. "We… were so close when we were younger, she… she did take care of me, a lot more then she realizes."

"What's she like? If you don't mind telling me," I asked, a careful tone to my voice.

"You told me about yours," Kirito said, a small smile on his face. "I don't mind…. Sugu she… she's one of the sweetest people you'll meet but, don't get it mixed up, she's got a bit of a wild side to her, she isn't afraid to speak her mind. She… she's a bit shorter than I am, she had black hair like me, down to… about here."

He held his hand over a spot just above his shoulders, he started smiling now. "She's got… darker green eyes. I told you she's… really my cousin, but we do kind of look alike."

"How old is she?" I asked, trying to paint a picture for myself.

"Fifteen, I think? She's a year younger than me, I think I'm sixteen now," He said, sighing as he looked down at his sword. "She's really athletic. She's actually considered a kendo prodigy."

"Kendo?" I said with a scoff. "I always wanted to take that up. I just never had the chance to join a dojo. Does that mean you did it too? Would make sense, given how good with a sword you are."

Kirito chewed at his lip. "I… I used too, when I was younger. My grandfather was a champion at it, tried to drill me and Sugu from the time we could walk. He… he was insistent about it you could say. Hit me when I said I didn't want to do it anymore."

"But… Suguha kept going?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah… she did it for me. Promised my grandfather she'd practice enough for the both of us, if he let me stop… and she did. I always felt guilty about that, that she had to work so much more for both of us… I felt like I took her choice away."

I met his eyes and shook my head. "I'm sure she wouldn't have kept it up all these years if she didn't really like it. She did it so you could be happy, that's what siblings do, they look out for each other no matter what…"

I felt like a hypocrite… I was saying this, when I couldn't look after my own.

"I try to tell myself that. We… we were really close when we were younger," He said, a new shameful tone in his voice, as the fire crackled behind us. "But… but because I was an idiot, for the last few years I… I've basically been ignoring her. That… that's why I feel so guilty, she's probably near my hospital bed now, despite it all."

"What are you talking about?" I said, my tone soft.

He sighed. "When I was ten I… I figured out we were cousins and not siblings. Looking back on it now it was stupid but… but I figured out someone I thought was my sister my entire life wasn't. It wasn't her fault, not even my parents I… I just didn't know how to feel. I… let it drift us apart."

"Does… she know you're cousins and not siblings?"

He shook his head, leaning it against the stone wall. "She doesn't… she probably thinks I hate her, and just started ignoring her. It was around that time that I… really started gaming more, shut myself inside more. That… that's one of the biggest reasons I want to beat the game. I… I need to tell her I'm sorry, and fix what I broke."

I nodded, managing a smile. I met his eyes, my fist clenched as I smiled. "And you will Kirito. I'll make sure of it. You'll beat this game… and then you'll get to tell Sugu everything you told me. You'll fix that relationship with your sister, I promise!"

Kirito scoffed a laugh as he smiled at me. "Don't make it out like it'll just be me. Now that I know you lived close by, when this is over, I'll see if Sugu can finally give you those kendo lessons you always wanted."

It was my turn to laugh. "Yeah… if I make it out."

Kirito narrowed his eyes at me. "You can't talk like that Akira. Don't you ever think about it? Don't you have something you want to do back in the real world?"

"I don't have anything back in the real world… I lost it all here," I said, looking back up at that purple and black starless sky at the full moon. "I have one purpose left… to get you, Asuna, Liz, Silica… to help you all get back."

He shook his head, his eyes narrowing at me. "That's noble and all Akira, but I'm sorry, I can't let you do that."

I scoffed as I watched him stand up from the wall. "What are you talking about?"

He stepped in front of me and reached out a hand. "I can't let you do that because it interferes with my goal."

"Yeah?" I said, grabbing his hand and letting him pull me up to my feet. "And what goal would that be?"

He smirked and crossed his arms. "To make sure Asuna, Agil, Liz, Silica, all the players get back to the real world…. And so, you can get back, and realize there's still a lot left for you to do there."

I wanted to snap back with a witty retort, but I thought about what he said. What could I possibly have back in the real world? Mr. Tanaka wouldn't let me back into his house, no matter how much Mrs. Tanaka begged I knew that for a fact. Would I go back on the streets?

"Thanks… but it's like I said," I told him with a sigh. "I… I don't really know what there will be for me back in the real world."

"Well, let me give you one," He said with a smirk. "I want you to meet Sugu and get some kendo lessons."

"What?" I said, perplexed by what I heard.

"You heard me," he said, taking another step closer to me. "I want you get those kendo lessons you always wanted… I want you to write your sisters manga. I'm sure Asuna wants to have dinner with you in the real world, just like I do."

He held his fist out to me. "And… if not for you, it would have taken me even longer to realize what my sister meant to me…. I want you to be there to meet her, what do you say?"

I looked down at his fist, and then back up to the purple night sky, towards the full moon that I know Aki would have loved. I still wasn't sure… could I even go back to the real world? I had eliminated any thoughts of it from my mind. I probably wouldn't be able to walk on my own at first when I woke up with the nervegear on my head. Would any flowers or gifts be in my hospital room? Probably not… but still, if there was a chance, I wanted to see.

The idea of meeting Kirito's sister, being able to sit and have dinner with two of the best friends I'd made… all of that sounded pretty nice.

I would still put them first… they all had more to live for then I did… but still, I'd give it my best to be there with them.

I smiled, and bumped Kirito's hand, which turned into our handshake. "Yeah… I think I'd like to meet Suguha. Let's get me this sword… and beat this game."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Whew… I wonder what the weather settings are like," Kirito said, as the three of us all got near the top of the rocky hill the ravine had led us up. "It's a hot one out here today."

"It is…" Asuna said skeptically. "But look up there, do you both see that?"

We made it to the top of a hill after marching for almost an hour after we woke up. The ravine had led upwards, and after killing a few harpies, lizard warriors and other monsters, we'd gotten to the top of the hill, and after looking down, I saw what Asuna was talking about.

"Yeah… those clouds don't look pleasant," I said, as a mass of grey clouds was hovering over one small area… on the ground. "That has to be a monster, right?"

"In an area like that," Kirito noted as we looked down over the spring, "it has to be. It'll probably spring out of those clouds. Doesn't look like it'll be too big, but we should still be careful."

"A shame… it's beautiful down there," Asuna noted, a glint in her eyes. "I just don't know where the shards would be."

Asuna was right, the really was gorgeous to look at. It was like a rocky beach inside a crater, a large crystal blue clear spring, which a massive roaring waterfall fell into. I loved waterfalls, and mountains such as these. I could remember a few months before we had been trapped, Kya had taken Aki and I on a camping trip where we had gotten to see one. Aki had been ecstatic as she had been for just about everything.

Now I was here with the two best-friends I had, two of the few people I had left. Instead of camping we'd be fighting monsters together, I assumed it was going to be a grand old time.

"Well, only one way to find out," I said, looking towards them both. "The monsters will probably show up as soon as we make it down there. Ready?"

"Ready," Kirito said with a nod, pulling his elucidator off his back.

"Lead the way Akira-kun," Asuna said next, smiling as she un-slung her rapier.

"Alright," I said, sucking in a deep breath, pulling the Black Bow of Fate back out, and readying an arrow. Narrowing my eyes down downwards, the extremely step slope before us was smooth, we'd slide down it easy. "Let's go!"

If this were an anime, or a console video game, fight scene music probably would have started playing then. I went first and leapt down the slope, and like I expected the minute I landed I started sliding on my heels towards the crystal water and flat ground. Picking up speed, I saw Asuna and Kirito sliding down next to me with their swords at the ready.

I did my best to keep my eye on the water, and on the mass of storm-clouds that were settled on the small island with a shrine like structure in the middle of crystal blue water. As we slid closer, and it came into clearer view, my eyes widened, as I realized it was getting bigger the closer we got.

"AKIRA!" Kirito yelled. "To the left!"

"From the right too! Goblins!" Asuna yelled, and I finally got a good view of the field.

A loud boom of thunder shook the ground as we slid forward. I saw a good ten goblins rushing forward from the left and right, but that wasn't what I was worried about.

"We may have a bigger problem…" I said to them both, as another boom of thunder came next, and the storm clouds started taking shape, wind almost knocked me back up the hill, the ground started shaking again when the three of us finally got to flat ground. "It's a field boss! Keep your crystals ready!"

"What about the shards?!" Kirito yelled to me, as the sky turned dark, and I felt the first drops of rain begin to fall.

I shook my head, as the clouds shot upwards, turning into a spiraling mass of grey wind clouds. "No shards are worth our lives, if we get overrun, teleport away and meet back at Liz's!"

"We won't need to worry about that!" Asuna said, a hint of smugness to her voice as she looked at the both of us, the goblins closing in. "It'll be no problem for the three of us."

Despite the situation I laughed, as did Kirito. We stood in a triangle, all our backs to one another, I faced the water as the goblins stopped a few feet away and started shouting and grunting with their weapons out. My eyes went to the mass of clouds, as the rainstorm started in earnest. It drenched my hair in seconds, and after another clap of thunder, a massive bolt of lightning shot down and replaced it.

It was followed by a massive roar, and I groaned. I hated dragons in this game.

Another bolt of lightning shot over Asuna, Kirito and I's head. It smashed into the side of the mountain we'd just slid down, and the grey sky got darker as the wind churned, and almost knocked us over. Finally, another roar came, followed by the flapping of wings.

The dragon was larger then any that I'd had to fight before. It made sense considering this was Floor 70, and it had just been freshly opened. Its body was a dark blue almost black, it's eyes glowed bright blue like lightning and it radiated sparks. It had a snake like body, like how dragons were depicted in Asian mythology. It let to a large head with lightning bolt long whiskers, four short legs and massive wings radiating lightning.

Raujin, The Lightning Dragon. My eyes widened when I saw three full health bars appeared under its name and gripped tighter on my bow.

I heard the goblins snarling and kept my eyes on the dragon. "I'll go after the dragon! You two take care of the goblins!"

"You can't fight that thing by yourself!" Asuna yelled to me.

I shook my head, the wind and static pushing up my hair. "I won't, I'll distract it while you two finish off the goblins, then we'll attack together!"

"He's right Asuna, let's get moving!" Kirito yelled, as the goblins snarled and rushed for them.

Asuna grinded her teeth. "Be careful Akira-kun!"

They dashed off next to me, yelling out sword skills, their blades glowing.

I rushed after the dragon. It landed and shook the ground, rearing its head back and I knew it was going for a breath attack. A massive ball of lightning shot from its mouth, and I pulled back an arrow.

"METEOR SHOT!" I screamed as the Black Bow of Fate glew red, and the arrow blasted out from the bow. It smashed into the dragons attack, sending up a cloud of smoke, which it went to blow away with its wings and tail.

I saw the tail coming and pulled out another arrow. "ICE ARROW!"

The icy arrow let loose from my bow and hit the dragon's tail. It glew blue as ice incased the monster's tail and stuck it to the ground. I knew it wouldn't last long, so avoiding its wing, I leapt up onto the tail and sprinted up its back. It bucked, roared and tried to shake me off, shattering the ice just as I jumped onto its back.

I yelled as I almost fell, but managed to regain my footing just in time to pull out four arrows and load them all into my bow.

"METEOR VOLLEY!" I yelled, letting the arrows fly into the monsters back.

It roared and this time I did slip, sliding along the monsters back, but luckily, I did notice its first HP bar slipping down into the red. Meteor Volley and shot were my most damaging attacks, even more then my elemental arrows, I didn't think lightning, ice, fire or wind arrows would do to much for me right now.

I slid and grabbed onto the dragons wing, and looked down to see Asuna and Kirito mowing down goblins left and right. They fought perfectly together, like they normally did the few times the three of us all managed to party up.

"SHIT!" I yelled, as I heard the claw coming first. The dragon had reached its claw up to smack me away off its wing. I let go just in time but caught a claw on my shoulder.

"GAHHHH!" I yelled, smashing back down into the ground, watching my HP get close to the yellow zone. "Ugh… this isn't good. Maybe I didn't think this through…"

"AKIRA!" I heard Kirito yell, just as I looked up to see the dragon gearing up for another breath attack.

My eyes widened and I rolled to the side before coming up to my feet. I leapt out of the way just as the lightning ball smashed into the ground. Shooting to my feet, I went for another arrow, but didn't see the wing coming.

"AKIRA-KUN!" Asuna yelled this time, as the wing smashed into me and sent me into the air.

"AHHHHHHHH, I HATE HEIGHTS!" I managed to scream, my stomach churning as I was high enough to look down at the battle in the mountains.

I'd never forget how sick I got on the flight from San Francisco to Tokyo all those years ago, and then all the years after that, how sick I got being up high in the air.

Focus! Come on Akira, stop complaining! I thought, gritting my teeth and ignoring the explosions I felt in my stomach. I saw the dragon roar and shoot into the sky right for me. I heard distant screams from Asuna and Kirito as I pulled out four more arrows.

"MULTI SHOT!" I screamed, trying to ignore the wind as I fell downwards towards the dragon. The arrows glowed bright orange and I felt the heat pushing back towards me in the wind, my plan was crazy, but if I could pull it off…. "FIRE VOLLEY!"

The arrows flew from my bow with fiery aura, and right away after I did, I pulled up my in game window midair. Just as the arrows hit the dragons head and sent up a plume of smoke, I pressed my quick equip items, and the Black Bow of Fate disappeared and was replaced by the same rapier I'd been using since Asuna saved me all those months ago.

The dragon roared as it couldn't see in the smoke, it fired a wild breath attack and the lightning crackled inches from my face, singing my hair as I twirled the rapier just before I hit the monster.

"ARGHHHHH STAR SPLASH!" I screamed, as the rapier glowed green and I spun mid-air, exposing myself to the dragons back. I pressed forward with the combo Asuna gave to me, draining more then half its second HP bar.

I roared in pain, and went to spin back around, but I stabbed the rapier into its back, and as I fell, it cut down the dragons wing joint.

"HA," I managed to laugh, my arm burning as I fell. "I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT WORKED-. GAHHHHHH!"

The rapier broke and I found myself falling again, and just as I was able to get the Black Bow of Fate back into my hands, the dragon's tail came around and smashed into me.

And it sent me flying towards the waterfall.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

POV: Kirito

"AKIRA-KUN!" "NO, AKIRA!" Asuna and I both shouted as Akira was sent flying across the lake.

I watched him flying into the waterfall, and not come back out down the bottom. Asuna cried out next to me, and I turned to her. "Keep me covered!"

She had tears in her eyes, but nodded, as the last few goblins surrounded us.

I pulled up my friends list and scrolled, letting out a sigh of relief. "He's alive! His names still up, I think he's behind the waterfall! This is a bust, we need to leave!"

"What?!" She yelled, as the dragon roared and started back down towards us. "We can't just leave Akira here! His HP is probably in the red, he could be injured we have to help!"

"I know, I know!" I yelled back, my panic starting to rise as I looked for signs of Akira coming back out of the waterfall… but none came. I gripped harder to my sword, I could hear more goblins coming, I knew they would keep coming until the Field Boss was defeated.

With only me and Asuna, no matter how strong we were, two against all of them would be suicide, especially when the dragon landed again. Three would have been fine… but if we were going to help Akira, we'd need more players.

I won't let you die on us Akira… I thought with grinded teeth as I turned to Asuna. You have kendo lessons with Sugu to get too, we got dinner plans!

I sucked in a deep breath and met Asuna's eyes. "Asuna, buy me some time! I only need twenty seconds, I'm going to call us in some backup!"

"Backup?" She asked, skewering a goblin and turning to me. "You're the last person I'd expect to have backup on call."

I rolled my eyes at her and pulled up my friends list. "Just cover me!"

She nodded and stepped in front of me, just as the new wave of goblins and the dragon got closer. Chewing at my lip, I found his name, I hope he's not busy… I'm counting on you Klein!

"Alright!" I said, sending the message to my old friend and rushing next to Asuna with my sword raised, meeting her eyes. "We just need to buy time for them to get here, and for Akira to recover!"

I expected a tiny bit of fear from her… but she just smiled, her eyes narrowed in determination. "Right, let's give it all we got, come on Kirito-kun!"

I chuckled lightly as I stood next to her, the new wave of goblins closing in. She really was… impressive, I learned that more and more each time I saw her.

My eyes fell over to the waterfall and I shakily sighed, be alright Akira… don't know if we can do this without you.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

POV: Akira

"Oh man… I'm losing my edge," I groaned, my eyes fluttering open to reveal a rocky ceiling with a cold chill running up my spine. My HP bar flashed red, and I sighed as I shakily opened my menu to pull out a healing crystal. "Asuna and Kirito… they're pulling way too far ahead of me. I'll need to do some extra leveling… maybe I'll bring drag Argo along."

Red mist sprayed out over me, and my HP bar shot back up to full. That didn't mean my bones weren't screaming, however. I stood up shakily, and stumbled into the wall, catching myself with my hand. I heard the sound of rushing water, and the sun attacked my eyes.

"The waterfall…" I said, rushing towards the exit and the mass of water. I could hear fighting and the sound of the dragon roaring and my panic rose. "ASUNA! KIRITO! HUH?! WHAT THE HELL?!"

A mass of stone shot up to block my path, causing the cave to go black the minute it did. I banged against the wall, but right where the exit had been, it had shot up to block my path to my friends. Panis started to rise up in me again, as I pulled up my inventory for a torch.

"HEY! ASUNA! KIRITO!" I screamed, banging against the wall, before cursing and going to my friends list. I saw them both, they were alive, but surrounded by monsters. "SHIT! COME ON! COME ON LET ME THROUGH! DAMMIT! DAMN YOU KAYABA, DAMN YOU AND YOUR FUCKING GAME!

My annoyance spilled over, and I tossed the torch to the ground, going for the Black Bow of Fate. I couldn't stand this, I could hear the dragon roaring outside the rock, I could hear sword skills being activated, my menu stayed up, and I could see the dots of Kirito and Asuna fighting. They wouldn't leave me, I know they wouldn't, but now they were about to be overwhelmed.

Damn you, damn you Kayaba, why they hell did this have to happen?! I thought, the question I'd been wondering since the first day of this death game fresh in my mind. Was it really to torture people like me? To take away my sister, the girl I loved, and now my two best-friends?

"Dammit…" I muttered, biting down on my tongue as I pulled the bow back. "METEOR SH-. HUH?!"

Torches came to life in the darkness around me. I hadn't seen them, even with my own torch light. I realized that they had to have appeared out of nowhere, and when things appeared out of nowhere in Aincrad, it never went well. I turned my shot around, just in time to see what I hadn't thought about since I slid down the hill with Kirito and Asuna.

"A… shrine?" I thought, seeing a black stone dais with torches lined above it. A glint shone off the top, and I realized a mural was underneath it.

"Woah… that's him, Takemikazuchi," I said, realizing the old drawing from history textbooks I'd studied from. It shows the old god with a sword in hand, fighting off a dragon, a lightning bolt being summoned from the sword. "Then… these must be."

I kept my bow up and made sure to keep my distance from the shrine. On top of the dais, were several pieces of a broken sword blade… shards. A small part of me got excited, but I had much more important things to worry about now.

"Gotta make it back to Kirito and Asuna," I said to myself, going to reach for the shards. "I bet getting the shards will open the- OH COME ON!"

The minute I got close to the dais, my hand smashed into a forcefield, and I got sent flying backwards onto my back. Cursing I listened to the dragon roaring again, and shot to my feet to rush to the closed off wall again.

"COME ON!" I yelled, trying to find some kind of mechanism to open the wall again, hoping my investigation or perception skill would go off. "Dammit. Maybe I can message them, I doubt I'll be able to crystal out in here."

"You're correct, you won't be," A voice said behind me. "Teleport crystals will not work in my cave. And it seems your friends will not leave you."

I spun and had an arrow loaded in seconds. The thing I saw almost made me fall back, it was a man dressed in full samurai armor. His head was clear, he had long black hair and a wrinkled face, a massive katana strapped to his back. My mind started racing, I knew what it had to be, it had to be an NPC, but I didn't get any quest icon, or see any cursor above their head to indicate it.

"Who are you?" I asked, not letting the bow down.

"Lord of thunder and swords, Takemikazuchi," the man said, his arms crossed as he stood in front of the dais. "And you are player name, Akira, real world name, Akira Miller, age sixteen, resident of Tokyo, email address-."

"What the hell?! How do you know all of that?!" I shouted, cutting him off and taking a step closer. "An NPC should never know that kind of information!"

"I am not what you call an NPC, child," the god said, shaking his head. "No, I am a top-down artificial intelligence, tasked by the system of guarding one of the most powerful weapons in Sword Art Online."

I scoffed, my annoyance shooting through the roof. "So, Kayaba put an AI to guard one of the most powerful weapons in the game, to make it even harder for players to get such a powerful weapon? What a maniac."

"I know not who you speak of, I am controlled by the Cardinal system," the god said, his voice monotone as he looked at me. "But it sounds like you have a great deal of hatred for this person."

"Of course, I do! That psychopath is the reason my sister and girlfriend are dead!" I shouted, my hand gripping tighter to the bow, as I heard another roar, and in the top left corner of my vision, I could see Asuna and Kirito's HP bars slowly declining. "URGH! Dammit! I don't have time for games! I'm guessing you're the one who opens the door, quit messing around and open it my friends are dying!"

The digital god tilted its head at me. "You no longer wish to obtain the shards of my sword?"

"I don't give a damn about the shards, or any sword!" I said, not even turning back to him and loading out my bow. "My friends are dying out there, without them I'm nothing! METEOR SHOT!"

The arrow exploded from my bow, and it smashed into the wall, but a purple sign that said 'immortal object' appeared above it. I cursed and tried to look through my inventory for a teleport crystal, I thought I could teleport to Lindas, and then come right back, but when I saw Asuna and Kirito's HP bars getting deeper into the yellow zone… I panicked.

"Dammit…" I said, my hands shaking, I turned around to the digital god. "Open the damn cave, come on!"

Takemikazuchi shook his head. "I cannot. The way will only be opened after closing, when I deem someone worthy or not of taking the Shards of Takemikazuchi."

"Then deem me unworthy! I don't give a damn about the sword anymore," I argued, my eyes going to my friends HP bars again. "They're all I care about, please open the cave!"

"I cannot, not until my questions have been answered," The digital god said, tilting his head at me as I panicked in front of him. "I have two of them, and from your answers I will gage if you are worthy of the shards."

I scoffed and met the AI's eyes. "And if I do you'll open the cave either way?!"

"I will, yes," He said, nodding and staring into me. "Are you prepared?"

He's making it sound like these will be hard, I thought with a groan. Maybe they're history related, oh well, so long as they're not math problems I'll be fine.

Doing math in English back in America was hard enough, let alone doing it in a second language.

Takemikazuchi nodded, his hands folded in front of him. "Good, I will open the path for you after you do. My first question… what is the worth of a single human life?"

I stammered for a moment, was this really it? The question itself infuriated me. It wasn't the AI's fault, he said he didn't even know who Kayaba was, but still… for him to program that into be one of the questions asked.

"Can't believe Kayaba would really want you to ask something like that... hypocrite," I said, before shaking my head. "A single human life is priceless! You can't put a price on life."

"Mhm… very well," The god said, seeming to ignore my outburst, which I didn't care about, Kirito and Asuna only had so much time. I watched the AI narrow his eyes. "The final question… what is the reason you fight to clear Sword Art Online?"

That one made me even angrier. "What kind of stupid question is that?! I fight to clear it so I can save all the people here! All the kids who got sucked into this, all the families that have been torn apart, to repay all the merchants and traders who have helped the assault team, so that Kirito can go see his sister, so I can try Asuna's cooking in the real world! To spite Kayaba for his twisted game! Because it's what Aki and Kya wanted, to save every player!"

"Including yourself?" The digital god asked.

I scoffed at the question. "I don't care if I die, so long as I can get them all out!"

"You just contradicted your first answer Akira Miller."

I stammered. "Wh…what?! What the hell are you talking about?"

"Your said in your first answer, that all life is priceless," He said, his eyes staying trained on me. "Does that not include your own life?"

"I don't give a damn about my own life! I don't have anything left to live for" I argued back with him. "So long as I can save Asuna and Kirito, Argo, Yolko, Liz, Silica, Agil, all of them, my life is nothing compared to there's!"

"You contradicted yourself yet again, Akira Miller," The AI said, showing no emotion.

I growled again and stepped to the AI. "For god's sake I don't have time for this! Either deem me worthy or not, just let me-."

"It takes a great deal of bravery to be willing to die, Akira Miller," He said, moving his hands finally, and opening up an in-game window. "However, it takes just as much bravery to live after tragedy has befallen us like it has certainly befallen you. Often times the memories we try our hardest to forget, are the ones strongest in our minds and hearts."

Aki… Kya. The thought of them stayed in my mind every day, how was I supposed to just continue living after this game with that in my mind every day?

"H…how? How am I supposed to do it, I feel useless, even now," I said, not knowing why I was talking to an AI about my problem.

Takemikazuchi closed the window and a weapon appeared in his hands. He looked at me and held it out for me to take. "You will find the strength to move on. Humans have tendency to be at their strongest when they have someone to be strong for. You have been attempting to leave this cave for your party members since you arrived, you fight to clear the game for others… do you not think they do the same for you? What is, your reason for being strong now Akira Miller, even after tragedy has befallen you?"

"My… my friends, the people I listed and more," I said, my eyes falling to the weapon.

Takemikazuchi nodded. "No matter the people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living, no matter how devastating the blows may be. I will not lie and say your will not have days you weep, days you feel the pain of those blows particularly hard. It is our duty to carry on the memory of the dead within our hearts… and be there for the ones who live."

My hand wrapped around the sword, a katana, long and heavy, a black hilt with gold inlays, a dark blue lightning shaped sword guard.

The digital god looked down at me again. "You are brave enough to die for the ones you have left, Akira Miller…but will you be brave enough to live for them?"

"I… I don't know," I said, looking down at the sword, then back to the AI. "I… thought the sword had to be forged from the shards?"

The AI nodded. "You will figure out the answer by the time you leave Aincrad. To answer your second question, I used my system administrator privileges to grant it to you in its completed form. However, it will only be for a short time. I suggest that you hurry and use it while it can… for I believe you are not only worthy but will be able to harness the full power of the swords final ability. The ability which makes it one of the strongest in Sword Art Online."

I looked down at the sword, and pulled up the item window, and saw the effects. Like I expected, it applied lightning damage and greatly increased the speed of the user. I read the sword skills and did my best to memorize the names… but it was the last ability that caught my attention.

'This sword's attack power increases with each friendly player you have nearby, and doubles when the users HP bar drops below 35% and they are currently in a party of three or more.'

"So… it becomes stronger…" I said, sucking in a shaky breath, "if it's used to protect people. I… I don't know what to say, thank you for-."

But when I turned… the digital god, Takemikazuchi was gone.

I almost panicked, but a loud rumbling, followed by the glint of sun caught my attention first. Spinning around I saw the way had been opened, the waterfall was churning down in front of the caves entrance, and I didn't waste any time sprinting for it, going to equip the new sword as I did. I saw a small timer in the bottom right corner of my screen that said ten minutes remained in the swords life until it turned back to shards.

I'm almost out of arrows, no potions left, that dragon will be hard to take down with arrows anyway in this wind. Let's see if this thing is any good!

I looked over at the sword as I came out onto the ledge behind the waterfall. It was a katana, so I curved sword, I had been doing some practice all kinds of swords, but my skill with them still wasn't as high as longswords and rapiers. I'd need some practice, but that would come later. I was still a high enough level to use the weapons sword skills.

And it gets stronger when I'm in a party… hang on Kirito and Asuna, I thought gritting my teeth and leaping through the water.

'It is our duty to carry on the memories of the dead within our hearts… and be there for the ones who live'. The words from the digital god had struck surprisingly deep. I may not be okay tomorrow, or the next day, maybe not even after I left the game.

But still, I'd be there for the ones who were alive, and carry on the memory of those I lost.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Kirito

"I never thought I'd see the day you were calling me for help Kirito!" Klein joked from next to me, slashing his katana through a goblin.

The rest of Klein's guild fanned out with Asuna, dispatching the goblins around us, while the dragon roared and fired its breath attacks from above. It still had one full health bar left, and we still hadn't seen any sign of Akira. I grinded my teeth and cut through another goblin next to Klein.

"We can discuss the irony of the situation later," I told him, the both of us turning as the dragon roared and came in for a landing. "But still… thanks Klein, I owe you one."

"Ha, no problem, Kirito!" Klein said, as the group of us turned to the dragon, which had grown larger and wilder as his HP went down to his last bar. It swung its tail and wings, in a circle, and picked up speed, knocking even its own minions out of the way. Klein and I leapt backwards, and I cursed when I saw a new wave of goblins coming.

I turned to Asuna who had just killed one. "Asuna! You and the rest keep me covered, I'm going for Akira!"

Her eyes widened as she rolled out of the way of the dragon's tail. "You can't go on your own, I'll come with you!"

"She's right Kirito!" Klein yelled, rushing to join the rest of his guild, smirking at me as they all got into formation. "You guys go and save Akira; we'll hold it off until you do! We'll draw its attention away from you!"

"Klein are you sure?!" I yelled as Asuna got to my side, the both of us near the edge of the lake.

Klein still smirked and nodded. "We're sure! Go on and-."

"Boss, look out!" One of his friends said, tackling him out of the way, as the groups normally iron wall defense was smashed by the dragon's tail. They were all alive, but they got sent flying.

My arms tingled. No… not again, this can't be happening again!

"Kirito!" Asuna yelled behind me, pulling me around just as a wave of new goblins got closer. She didn't add, kun, at the end of my name, that was how I knew she was nervous.

My eyes widened. "They won't stop… it… it's just like…"

That day flashed in my head again, we had never stood a chance, despite my level. I swore that day at first, I wouldn't put myself in such a position to lose people like that again… but soon, it made me do what I was doing that day.

Doing anything to protect what I had left… every day in Aincrad wasn't one we lost in the real world, it was a day gained in this one. And I had gained too much in this world to lose it all again.

I have to use it… it could be our only chance, I thought, going to pull up my menu.

"Asuna! Buy me some time, only a few seconds," I said, going through my inventory to my weapons.

She nodded and stepped in front of me with her rapier up. "What are you going to-."

"LIGHTNING FLASH!"

Asuna and I spun back around just in time to see a flash of bright blue light, and feel the crackle of lightning blast us. Four of the goblins fell dead, and when smoke cleared, a black cloak flew back in front of us.

"Would you look at that," Akira said, turning around with a smile on his face. "You got a sword skill named after you Asuna, or… were you named after the sword skill?"

"Akira-kun!" Asuna said, rushing up next to him. "Thank god you're alright, what happened to you?!"

Akira chuckled and rubbed his head sheepishly. "Dragon sent me flying into a cave behind the waterfall. Healed myself up, got trapped, talked to a god, had a spiritual revelation, got a fancy new sword, it was quite the experience."

I noticed rushed up with Asuna and noticed the sword in his hand. A lightning shaped sword guard, the katana was long and crackling with lightning. My eyes widened and for a second, the RPG nerd in me went crazy.

Asuna sighed and shook her head. "Only one of you two would make a joke at a time like this…"

"Woah, Akira is that the sword?!" I said, my eyes glued to it. "I thought it could only be used if Liz forged it from the shards?"

He shook his head, looking past us. "It'll go back to being shards in seven minutes, we need to move, the dragons almost dead! Is that Klein?!"

I nodded as Asuna, and I came up next to him. "It is, Asuna and I needed backup while we tried to get to you."

Akira nodded and stood in the middle of Asuna and I with the sword raised in front of him. He even smiled as he looked at us both.

"Alright, let's go repay him!" He yelled, the dragon roaring as it thrashed. "Asuna, you go for the right wing, Kirito, you go for the left! Give them everything you got so it doesn't take off, switch with me after and I'll go for the middle!"

"Right!" Asuna yelled, rapier raised.

I looked at Akira and chuckled, raising my own sword too. "You got it, you know, this is a nice change from playing solo."

"It is isn't it?" Akira said, smiling as he leveled out the katana. "We should do this more often… because between the three of us, there's nothing we can't beat, including this game."

"Wow Akira-kun," Asuna said, smirking as she did, "I didn't expect something so inspirational out of you."

"Ha… I didn't either really," Akira said, looking at Asuna and me. "I was ready to let myself die if it meant you two could get out… and I still would. But… I think I'd like to see the outside world again. I have something more to fight for now."

"What's that?" I asked.

He chuckled and shifted his feet. "There's nothing I want more then to have dinner with you two in the real world… now come on!"

He dashed forward in a blur, so fast I could barely see him. Asuna looked stunned for a minute before nodding at me and following suit.

I chuckled myself. "I think it's the same thing for me now…"

I turned and rushed for the dragon myself. It was readying up a breath attack towards Klein's guild, but like a bright wave of power and light Asuna, Akira and I got there before it could.

"STAR SPLASH!" "SONIC LEAP!"

An explosion of color was followed by the dragon's roar. My sword cut clean down through the dragons' wing and it screeched. Another explosion of green erupted from the right side of the dragon, and I landed in time to see Asuna's rapier poke holes in the dragon's wing. The monster had an entire health bar left, and with it being such a high level field boss, that amount of damage we had done was staggering.

Asuna and I turned. "SWITCH!"

I spotted Akira rushing through the smoke, his new sword glowing bright blue and cackling with electricity. I thought for a moment it would be useless, but then… I saw the sword get bigger. The light from it got brighter, as if its power-level was rising with each step Akira took it got longer, and I could almost feel the power radiating off of it.

Is this the swords secret ability?! The one that was marked out, I thought as I watched the dragons head dash for to try and snap Akira in its jaws.

"AKIRA!" I yelled, watching the dragon's hand send up smoke as it crashed into the ground.

Akira just before it did, jumped up and came down to stab his sword into the back of the dragon's neck. It roared and bucked it's head back up, but Akira leapt and flipped with his sword now as long as he was. He was in the air, spun back around and I saw the sword skill activate.

"LIGHTNING GOD'S SWORD!"

He came down with a boom of thunder, like a flash of lightning himself, he cut through the dragon's head and landed on the ground on one knee. I rushed over towards him with Asuna on his other side. A giant cloud of smoke plumed upwards, before an even bigger cloud of polygons and bright red data exploded behind us.

Akira let out a deep breath, and when he stood up, the sword in his hands shimmered, before a new item was in his hands. The three of us looked at a small group of sword pieces in his hands. I was about to ask if he was alright, but Akira just smiled, bringing up his inventory and setting the shards away, before letting out a sigh.

"Well… I would say that trip was successful, wouldn't you two?" He said, smiling again.

Asuna scoffed and nodded. "I would say so. What about you Kirito-kun?"

I realized they were both looking at me now.

And to my surprise, for the first time in a while… I wasn't scared having others in my part. It was a good feeling to have again.

"Yeah…" I said to them. "I don't think Kayaba can throw anything at the three of us we can't handle."

Akira nodded now and looked down at the hand which had the sword before. "Yeah, especially with this sword… it grows more powerful if you're using it to protect people… it' a good thing I'll have you two in this till the end."

"Yeah," Asuna said, stepping between us. "You will."

I smiled and tingled at her hand on my shoulder.

In my time so far in SAO, I hadn't seen any combination of attacks be so devastating, we'd be a hard group to take down. And to top it all off… I couldn't ask for better partners.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Akira

"I'm going to owe you dinner every night for the rest of our time in Aincrad after this Liz," I said, watching the pink-haired blacksmith pound away at the shards. "This sword is going to be a game-changer."

"Maybe you should duel Kirito for the black swordsman name after its done," She said cheekily, her eyes still focused on hammering the metal.

I scoffed and leaned against one of her spare anvils as she did. "No way, Kirito would still demolish me if it came down to it. Besides, no matter how fancy my sword is, there's not a chance I ditch my bow."

That bow was Kya, that bow was Aki, it was everything that had happened to me in Aincrad. No, I'd never get rid of it, and one day when I got out, I was sure I'd find it in the real world somehow or someway.

Liz smiled but didn't take her eyes off the hammer and shards. "Speaking of Kirito, where did him and Asuna go? I'd like to hear more about this fight, next time I'm gonna come along."

"I'll take you leveling whenever you want Liz, just say the word," I promised, managing to smile yet again.

This time she did stop hammering for a second, her face getting a bit redder, before she resumed.

I stepped closer to watch and went on. "As for Asuna and Kirito, they went to get some dinner down the road, said they'll bring us some. I wish they'd just get together already, so I can officially be the third wheel. Instead I gotta watch them dance around it."

And with that, Liz's blush turned to annoyance, which made me inwardly sigh. I hope she doesn't get caught up on him, Kirito never stops looking at Asuna.

"I hope they bring something good," She muttered, before one more hard swing of her hammer made the shards shimmer. "HA! I did it! One legendary weapon made by yours truly. May I present to you, Akira, The Sword of Takis!"

"For the last time its Takem… you know what, sure," I said, looking at the weapon in her hands. "The Sword of Takis it is…it looks even more beautiful now."

"Well, here you are my friend," Liz said, handing it over, a sheepish smile on her face. "Use this and go end this world Akira… if anyone can, it's you, Kirito and Asuna."

It really is even more beautiful now… I thought, running my finger along the curved metal.

You are brave enough to die for the ones you have left, Akira Miller…but will you be brave enough to live for them? I heard the words of the digital god in my head, and my eyes fell over to Liz.

Liz… Kirito, Asuna, Argo, Yolko, Agil… Aki… Kya, with this sword, with my bow, I'd live for them. The AI had also told me the memories we try hardest to forget… are often the strongest.

I'd never forget Aki and Kya, and the memories of that day they died wouldn't go away.

And not everyday would be easy, not every day would-be sunshine… but there would be sunshine again, especially with the people I had left.

I took The Sword of Taki's and pulled up my inventory. The Black Bow of Fate was equipped as my main weapon and was over my shoulder right now. After a few button presses, it was equipped as my secondary weapon, and appeared at my hip.

I looked up at the smiling Lizbeth. "I will… I promise. Kirito, Asuna and I? We're going to get you home Liz. So… how do I look?"

After blushing furiously Liz laughed nervously and nodded. "You look great! Like a true archer turned swordsman."

I rolled my eyes which made her laugh, before pulling up my inventory and sending her a trade request. "Haha, very funny. So, how much do I owe you? And since your joke was so funny, I won't even try to haggle."

She chuckled again, but nervously looked to the ground. "Ha… well, to be honest, I was thinking that maybe you could take me out for that dinner you owe me. Pay me back that way."

I hesitated for a moment and realized that I was blushing myself. Liz just stood smiling, seeming more confident by the second, returning to her peppy self. Her face was still red, like I'd always thought, she was incredibly cute, and outside of Kirito and Asuna there weren't many people who I got along with so well.

A nervous chuckle left me, but I smiled. I still didn't think would go much further then dinner together… but one meal together wouldn't hurt.

"Sure," I said, smiling and pulling up my map from the menu. "Pick anywhere you want, my treat. It's the least I can do for you."

Her smile grew and she nodded, taking another step closer. "Awesome! Thank you Akira… ha, I was actually hoping we could-."

The door to Liz's workshop slammed open to cut her off, "Akira-kun!"

"Asuna?" Liz said before I did, and sure enough when I turned around with her, Asuna and Kirito were rushing down the steps.

"Asuna, Kirito," I said, looking at them both with their hands on their knees, as if they'd just ran for miles. "God, calm down, what is it that's got you both so jumpy?"

"Yeah!" Liz said, sounding suddenly nervous. "Akira here just agreed to go out to dinner with me, so could any big news wait until-."

"Asuna got a message from Heathcliff," Kirito said, cutting Liz off, who looked a bit annoyed again.

I wanted to comfort her and assure her that I would still go to dinner with her, but the words stopped me… I looked to Asuna.

"The commander… what's that weirdo want?" I said, the virtual hair on my arms seeming to tingle.

Kirito bit his lip, looked to Asuna… and then back to me. "He said for her to gather you and me… they've found them."

"What?" I said quietly, my voice sharp. "He's sure?"

Asuna nodded. "He is… Laughing Coffin. Our scouts managed to locate their base. The commanders planning a raid like he promised us."

"He's gathering the best of the best from the assault team," Kirito said, his fists tightening as he met my eyes. "The mission is a go in four days."

And just when I was saying the memories, we try to forget are the strongest… I thought, sucking in a deep breath.

PoH, Zaza. Two people who didn't deserve to leave Sword Art Online. A tingling feeling went up my entire virtual body, and it was such a reaction, that I wondered if my real-world body in the hospital could have twitched from it.

I had been waiting for this day for months, I had almost gotten killed more than a few times trying to bring it about. If I could stop people from going through what I did at the hands of the monsters dressed as players, I was going to do everything I can.

After hearing the news, I looked at Liz, Asuna and Kirito. Liz understood, I knew she did, and she even nodded to confirm it. It looked like dinner would have to wait.

With a shaky sigh, I pulled the sheathed Sword of Taki's from my belt and showed it to Kirito.

"So… think you can make me a master swordsman in four days?" I asked him.

He narrowed his eyes, determined. "I don't know about a 'master', but if you're willing, I can get you pretty damn close."

"Okay," I said, walking towards the steps from Liz's shop. "Let's go and get started then."

Next time, Episode 5: Laughing Coffin, the time's finally come for the assault team to deal with the murder guild Laughing Coffin. Akira's spent the last few months in Aincrad, traumatized by the deaths of his sister and girlfriend, who were killed by the murder guild. With Asuna and Kirito by his side now, will the trio be able to take down one of the most powerful guilds in the game?

A/N: Yoooo folks! I hope you all enjoyed this, which was the first original chapter of the Aincrad Arc, which wasn't in the anime or Lights Novels. I thought it was a fun little side-quest to power up, show the strength of our core three, and help Akira learn a few valuable lessons.

So, first off, as Akira said in the chapter, this doesn't mean he's going to go away from using his bow at all. It's still going to be his go to weapon, even at close quarters in most scenarios, The Sword of Takis will only be used in certain situations. Don't worry, this is still the story of our badass archer.

We also get a few cute scenes with Liz, I love Liz, Silica and the side-members of Kirito's group of friends, (the ones outside of Asuna, Sugu, Sinon), so it was fun giving Liz some love.

So next chapter will be the Laughing Coffin raid. After that, the dungeon on floor 74, and we'll follow the cannon anime story until the end of Aincrad. It should be about 12-13 chapters if all goes well. After that, we'll move onto Fairy Dance, Phantom Bullet, Ordinal Scale, Alicization etc.

To answer the question everyone probably has, no, I still haven't decided on the ship xD one day I'll watch an episode of the Fairy Dance Arc, or listen to the theme song while writing and say 'oh yeah, its Sugu, 100%', then I'll listen to the Gun Gale theme song and see Sinon and say 'shit nvm its Sinon I'm crazy' xD

I lean towards Sugu, because as I said, it would be funny seeing Kirito's reaction. Also, because it would make sense for Sugu to fall for the new cute friends her older brother brings back from SAO. However, with Sugu, I just feel her story is so tied with Kirito's, her finding out he's her cousin, thinking she doesn't really know him, falling in love and realizing how wrong it is, and coming to realize no matter she just wishes to see him happy, that he's really her brother… her story is just so tied to Kirito so it may be hard.

I lean towards Sinon, because outside of the obvious 'archer/sniper and archer/sniper' comparison between the two, they both are a bit more laid back and quiet. Also, due to who the villain is, Gun Gale is really going to be 'Akira's Story' so to say. Of course he'll be mainly the POV character in Aincrad and Fairy Dance, but the plot of those still really revolve around Kirito and Asuna, even Akira in this story focuses mainly on the two. In Gun Gale, most of the focus is going to be on his struggles, as he figures out his girlfriends killer is in the game, and having him fall in love with Shino/Sinon while hunting him down, while he also helps her with the trauma she has, would be quite poetic and sweet.

The good news, is either way I can't go wrong, both are great options.

But of course, whichever one doesn't end up with him will be jealous of the other xD

SO, that should do for the AN! I wanna ask a question before the end haha, what is your favorite SAO OP and opening song? Of course, Crossing Field for Aincrad is iconic, but I personally believe Ignite for Gun Gale is the biggest banger, what do you all think?

Let me know what you all think and I'll see you next time!