Sword Art Online: Akira's Arrows

Aincrad Arc

Chapter 12: Archer

Kirito

I could still remember how Sugu used to chastise me to get out and get a bit of exercise, as opposed to staying inside and playing games all day, in the few times we did talk. I used to find it extremely annoying and hadn't been afraid to tell her that.

But now… I'd kill for that, I miss it even, I thought, looking up at the ceiling, waiting for Asuna to come into bed. It had only been two days since Yui had disappeared, but I was glad to see that she had been feeling better even a little bit. It had been some time since I coded and typed as fast as I did at that terminal, Akira had told me it was like my fingers were mechanical. I had been worried that it had been too long since I was at a keyboard.

But in the end, it had been worth it.

"Yui… Akira…" I said, sighing as the cool night breeze came in through our window. "If only you knew…"

If only they knew how much they had taught me since I entered SAO. I could remember when my first and only priority had been to get myself out. It used to be impossible for me to communicate with people for more then a few minutes before all the anxious feelings came… and then… Sachi and the rest had died, after I finally found the courage to put myself out there.

But Akira, Yui, and most importantly Asuna? They had changed me; SAO had changed me… and made me realize and appreciate so many new things. One of those being… how incredibly stupid I had been back at home, back in my real life. Mom, Dad… Sugu… all the people who had been so important for me, yet I never did realize. That would change, that would change when we finally beat the game.

"Kirito-kun," Asuna's voice came, calming and soothing as usual. "You didn't have to wait up, I know you've got to be tired."

I turned and smiled as she climbed into bed next to me. "No, it's okay I wanted too. But you are right, man, Akira was ruthless yesterday."

She giggled as she curled up next to me, my arm going around her. "Ha, you're right, you guys fought for what, two hours yesterday before he left?"

I nodded and groaned, still amazed how SAO could make my digital body feel like this. "Yeah, about that long. That Sword of Takis he has is just as deadly as his bow."

"But he also fought you with just his bow," Asuna said, as now we both looked up at the ceiling enjoying the cool breeze together. "I… hope he's okay, what happened with Yui was hard for us but… that's the second person who called him 'Big Brother' he's lost."

I nodded and remembered my best-friends face from the day before. He hadn't shown any outwards signs of anything being wrong, but I knew all too well that could have just been an act.

But I had crossed swords with him, I had seen the look in his eyes while we trained together… and I could just tell something was different now. He wanted to live.

"Don't worry too much about him," I reassured Asuna, looking and smiling at her now. "It is Akira we're talking about. He always finds a way to smile."

Asuna shifted and looked back up at me. "I know… but he did rush out of here in a pretty big hurry yesterday."

She was right about that, it worried even me at the time. Last night, after we had trained together, then Asuna made us all dinner, Akira had told us he was cutting his vacation short to go back to the front lines. Asuna and I had initially thought he was worried about Mito who still hadn't reported back from the Floor 75 dungeon.

However, as Akira normally did, he had smiled and promised us that he was gonna be okay and he just had some errands he wanted to run before Mito and the scouting party got back from the dungeon. He had done stuff like this before, where he had gone off saying he was fine, then Asuna and I found him somewhere dangerous… but this time, I believed him. He was going to be okay; we were going to all be okay.

"He did yeah, but I trust him when he said he'd be fine," I promised her, letting her hair fall through my fingers. "We promised, didn't we? He said he'll be back, believe it, believe in him. I know you want to be there to help him, but… well…."

A smile came to her face, she laughed and curled up closer to my neck. "It's still our time together too… he knows that and was trying to give it to us."

"Yup!" I said, looking at Yui's heart dangling from her neck. "I'm sure he'll be back to snoring on our couch soon. Who knows, maybe he'll bring Mito back with him."

She giggled again and nodded. "Haha, I would actually love for that to happen. I'm sorry… Kirito-kun, I shouldn't be worrying about anything but the two of us."

"Don't apologize, I worry about the idiot to," I said, smiling at her, before we both looked out at the somehow beautiful sky we could see out our window. "But… he's okay, the three of us will stick together like we promised. For now though, let's just relax and try to have some fun."

"Mhm… that sounds really nice," She said, her head leaning on my chest. "So, what do you think you're going to do tomorrow?"

"I'm going to try fishing again," I said determined, remembering all the tips Akira had given me before he left. "I won't let that lake defeat me again."

Asuna laughed, before snuggling up closer to me… and it felt good, really good. I sighed, and eventually let my eyes flutter closed with her, enjoying the breeze and the person next to me.

But still… you better be careful Akira, with whatever it is you're doing, I thought, before I finally let myself drift asleep.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Akira

"Alright! May I present to you, what I'm calling the new and improved Black Archer of Aincrad Armor!" Liz said proudly, her hands on her hips with a huge smile on her face as she pulled the blanket off the mannequin. "It'll give you all the same stat boost your old set gave you but is even more sleek and lightweight while still providing great physical defense! And of course, I took some of the notes you gave me and created a design I think suits you great, what do you think?!"

"Ohohohoho that is some great work Lizzy!" Argo said with her legs swinging as they hung over Liz's counter, a giant impressed smirk on her face. "I can see why they call you the best smith in Aincrad haha, so… how much for the crafting prints?"

Liz's face went red, and she had to cover her cheeks. "They… they're not for sale! This design was just made for Akira! It's… specially made, just for him! Um… Akira? What uh… what do you think?"

Argo smirked and winked over at me, whispering. "Like I said, your list grows Akiri-boy, even though I'm on it too hahahahaha."

I didn't even have time to blush at what Argo was implying, or chastise her for teasing me, or Liz who's face only got even redder. All I did was roll my eyes at her, before going back to the absolutely gorgeous job Liz had done with the armor upgrades I requested. It had taken me a full two days of grinding and finding the right materials that were required for it, for the armor, and for The Black Bow of Fate. I was sure Kirito and Asuna would have come with me if I asked, but the last thing I wanted to do was pull them away from their honeymoon, especially after what had happened with Yui.

Yui had only given me another reason I needed to get them out of this game.

And… I'll leave with them. They had told me they'd wait for me on the outside… and the last thing I wanted to do was disappoint anymore family.

The armor was going to help. I smiled at Liz to get her to finally breath, and walked over to the mannequin, and realized she really had made it exactly how I wanted, and even added her own touch and flare to it. In SAO, you could combine the look or elements of armor if your smithing skill was high enough and still maintain the same bonuses that a previous set of armor gave you. So, the armor now was still the same armor really Kya and I had made, it was just improved, and tweaked.

Instead of a loose cloak now, the black cape was a full mantle like Kirito's. It was black, with grey metal caps on the shoulders and the forearms, with a full glove attached to put my left hand which would get flayed by a bowstring. Under it, was a tight strapped white chest piece that showed with the open mantle. It looked lightweight like Liz said, and if Liz said it would be even easier for me to move around in, I believed her. The boots beneath it were black as well, and for lack of better words, it had to be the coolest looking armor I'd seen yet in the game.

I couldn't speak for a minute, only running my hand along the sleeve, and smiling over at Liz, before shooting her a thumbs up.

"Argo's right, you really are the best blacksmith in the game," I told her, smiling even more, before bowing my head at her for a moment. "It's amazing, thank you so, so much Liz, I owe you even more then dinner now."

I only had on my casual clothes now, as I had to give Liz my previous set of armor for her to modify, improve and turn into what was in front of me now. After hearing my words, it was like those times in anime where a girl got so embarrassed red filled up her face like the mercury in the thermometer shooting up. She laughed nervously and patted her cheeks to stop the redness from spreading, before finally smiling at me.

"Ha you… you can't just go around saying that to a girl! But I… I'll take you up on dinner, tonight? If you're not busy, I have a clear schedule," She said, a cute smile on her face as she held her hands together in front of her.

I didn't hesitate. "You got it, anywhere you want, no questions asked."

"Alright!" She said, realizing after she did she sounded far too excited. After composing herself, she smiled and nodded. "Thank you… I'll start thinking of a place."

I was about to say something again when Argo-who had taken the time to grind and level with me the last day- yawned and leapt off of Liz's counter and came over to us both.

"Romantic really, I'm going to write a steamy novel about you both," She said, making me choke the air and Liz get red again. Argo laughed, before looking at the armor. "But before you get all over each other, go on and try it on Akiri-boy! Don't keep us ladies in suspense."

"It… it's not like that!" Liz sword, waving her hands for a moment, before turning back to me. "But she is right Akira, go ahead, try it on!"

"Ha… okay," I said, turning from them both and letting out a sigh as I brought up the game window in front of the mannequin.

A message popped up in my vision. Received: The Black Archer of Aincrad Armor Set.

Something in my digital chest tightened, as I went to my inventory, and looked at the next message that popped up.

Equip The Black Archer of Aincrad Armor? Yes or No?

My finger hovered above the yes button for a moment, before I let out a breath, I'd been holding the entire time. I looked at my left hand, the wedding band that matched the one on my right hand.

"This is our armor Kya…" I said, finding myself smiling soon, before I finally pressed the yes option and saw the light appear around my body. "I'll live for all of us."

The armor finally appeared, and what Liz had said about it being lightweight was true. I felt as if I was wearing nothing at all as the mantle's cape fell behind me, and the white chest plate appeared under it, a quiver of arrows appeared under the cape, the fabric spread down my arms, and after the light finally disappeared, I hadn't felt more like an anime protagonist in my life.

Finally, I turned to Liz and Argo. "So? How do I look? Am I still 'The Black Archer'?"

"Ha, you look great! I think together we really have an eye for design Akira," Liz said, smiling before her eyes went wide. "OH! Your bow! I left it downstairs, I'll be right back!"

She rushed past me, the light streaming in through the shop windows to cast our shadows inside. After the moment of relief for finally having the armor on, I looked and saw Argo still smirking at me.

"So, Argo? How do I look?" I asked the info broker.

Argo scoffed. "You kinda look like the Archer Emiya from Fate. Haha, were you trying for that Akiri-boy?"

"Argo please, I would never," I said, turning my face from her so she couldn't see that was in-fact exactly what I was trying for.

Argo narrowed her eyes, her smirk growing. "Oh, come on Akiri-boy, are you sureeee?"

I cracked. "…. Maybe."

"AHAHAHHAHAHA!"

"It's my favorite anime series shut up!" I yelled back, blushing myself now.

Argo didn't stop laughing. "BAHAHAHAHA! You need like six maps to figure out the Fate timeline!"

"It's really not that complicated!" I tried to defend myself. "It's better than One Piece!"

That made Argo stop laughing and start scoffing at me. "Dear god we need to get more anime into you Akiri-boy. I bet you haven't even watched Bleach or Naruto either."

"Elitists…" I muttered, turning away from her, only making her laugh more. Finally, I sighed, "I can't believe I'm having my anime preferences roasted in a virtual death game."

Argo finally finished laughing. "Hahaha… oh, oh I'm sorry Akiri-boy, I couldn't resist. But… I thought I'd soften you up for what I have to tell you… it seems pretty big."

That peaked my interest. From the minute I left to go and visit Kirito and Asuna for the few days that I did, I had asked Argo to let me know if anything big happened on the front lines. The only news I had gotten was that Mito had headed into the Floor 75 dungeon to try and find the scouting team that we had both sent in before I left.

She still hadn't reported back, and that terrified me. I missed her, and I wasn't afraid to admit it. And the look on Argo's face wasn't a pleasant one, it too something big for her to not be smirking.

"Did Mito make it back yet?!" I said, asking the first thing on my mind.

Argo looked grim. "No… not that. But only an hour or so ago I got a message from one of my lookouts in Grandzam. There's been a massive gathering at the Knights HQ, every guild is sending some of its best."

"What?" I said, the news confusing me. "Why in the world would they be-."

"Here it is! Sorry it took so long," Liz said, bursting back through the door to her shop from her forge, the new Black Bow of Fate in her hands. "It's all ready, may I present the new and improved Black Bow of Fate!"

Before I could admire the bow, Argo laughed. "HA, it even looks like Emiya's bow! You really went right on the nose didn't you Akiri-boy."

I ignored her and admired the new Black Bow of Fate. Of course, it was still the same bow I'd been using for the last year in Aincrad, but it was new and improved. The middle of the bow had an open circle with the main part of the bow running through it. It did indeed look like Emiya's bow from Fate, but that was only the case because the design in the middle of the bow help move with it quicker and fire your arrows faster.

It was still sleek black metal, and as tall as I was. Liz struggled with it for a moment, but handed it over to me, and when it fell into my hands it felt like I was complete again. I quickly pulled up the window to take it back from Liz before I slung it back over my shoulder and smiled at Liz again.

"What would I do without you Liz?" I said smiling.

The pink-haired smith smirked and crossed her arms. "Haha, run out of arrows that's for certain. Speaking of arrows, I'm sorry Akira, but I was only able to make one of these for you with brought me."

She opened her window and after a few presses, a massive arrow fell into her hands. It was a spiral design, with a thicker shaft and in length it was almost as long as the Black Bow of Fate itself. The metal swirled into a thick, strong tip, with small barbs just below the head. Just seeing the arrow sent shivers down my spine.

"Oh, trust me, it's okay, if I don't know how many more times I could kill that giant," I told her, taking the arrow from her.

Argo whistled appreciatively from behind me. "Damn, I've never seen an arrow like that before, where the hell did you find it."

I ran my hand up the massive arrow and flicked the tip, the arrow itself was went from my feet to my shoulders.

"It's a giant's arrow. You can only get the material for it by farming a field boss on Floor 73," I told Argo, shuddering at how I remembered the fight. "It's a massive Fire Giant, I had to have Klein and his guild help me kill it. It wasn't too much trouble, but the flaming arrows that thing shot were trouble."

"And this is the reward huh? How many times did you fight it?" Argo asked.

"Four, before I finally had enough materials," I said, holding onto the shaft of the arrow and looking it up and down. "Even one's invaluable, it has enough stopping power to pierce bone or any bosses armor, and if I combine it with my elemental archery ability it'll be handy in a pinch."

I smiled at Liz as I put it into my inventory. "Thanks for all your help Liz, I know forging those things couldn't have been easy, I'll get you your money tonight at dinner."

Liz blushed and laughed again. "Haha, no worries… for you Akira, I'd do a lot more. Just make sure you keep coming back for more arrows alright?"

I even felt my own face get a bit hot. Ever since Kirito had gotten married to Asuna, Liz seemed to realize she didn't have a chance with him, and sine that was the case… she had been talking with me even more.

It all made my head spin, I wished I could handle it now, but the only thing I had on my mind was getting myself and everyone out. Any romantic subplots could wait until later.

"You bet I will, don't you worry about me," I said with a cheeky smile and thumbs up, before I turned back to Argo. "So, Argo, what was the-."

I stopped when a message indicator popped up on my screen.

"Huh? Akiri-boy, what is it?" Argo asked, coming up behind me.

"Yeah, are you okay Akira?" Liz said, doing the same.

I looked at the small message icon and shakily let out a breath. "It… it's a message, from… Heathcliff?!"

I hadn't clicked on a message so fast in my entire life. I knew Heathcliff would only ever message me for two things these days… and both of them sent shivers down my spine. When I finally opened the message, my heart stopped.

From Heathcliff,

Akira, the Floor 75 boss room has been found. I'm assembling a raiding party now with members from each guild of the assault team, the best of the best. Report back to HQ the moment you get this message. I send you this separately to inform you of something else, something you may find equally as important.

Mito has returned as well. She's injured, but not in critical condition, but the rest of the player who accompanied her have not returned. She asks for you, and it is probably best you come and see her, and as quickly as possible.

Heathcliff.

My hand shook above the message. "Mito…"

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"MITO!" I hadn't meat to yell, but as I turned running around the halls of HQ to where I knew the infirmary was, I couldn't help myself.

The halls of HQ were crowded as they normally were before the Assault Team went on a boss raid, but the sheer amount of players I saw sent shivers down my spine. Had nobody really come back from the expedition other then Mito? I remembered the players that I had sent on that scouting mission, none of them were slouches, all had been high level knights with plenty of combat experience. It would have had to take something overpowered to eliminate all of them. Mito was also one of the best five or six players in the game, for her to be back by herself…

I have to see her, I need to make sure she's okay and figure out what's going on!

I came to the door of the infirmary out of breath. "MITO! Mito, what…"

My voice died, when I saw the towering form of Heathcliff already standing in front of Mito, as she had moved to a couch in the infirmary. She wore her casual clothes, a long light purple sweater with a black skirt and leggings underneath them. I saw no sign of her scythe, or anything at all, but all I could see were her big red eyes, staring at the floor.

And they were terrified.

Heathcliff nodded and bowed at her. "Thank you for all you've done Mito, your efforts won't be in vein, I promise you… if you don't feel up to it, you won't be required to come tomorrow."

"Th…thank you sir," Mito said, her voice small, as she didn't look up at the Commander. "But… but there's not a chance that I don't fight tomorrow."

Heathcliff grimly nodded. "Of course. Rest now then… ah, Akira, you've arrived."

Heathcliff turned to me, and I saw Mito's head finally shoot up, her red eyes watering as she looked at me.

The Commander looked between us both, before hoisting up his shield and making his way towards me and the door.

He stopped in front of me. "Thank you for coming so promptly Akira."

I shook my head. "Skip the pleasantries, is it true? What the hell is in that dungeon, I've never seen this many players in one raiding party before."

Heathcliff looked to Mito. "I'm sure Mito can tell you the details… but it is for the raid tomorrow. We leave at 10am."

"Did you already message Kirito and Asuna," I asked, looking past him at Mito.

He nodded. "I did yes, I'll explain the situation when they arrive. Prepare yourself, Akira, I feel this may be our most difficult fight yet."

I nodded, not even responding to the man. Heathcliff didn't seem to mind, even patting my shoulder as he walked past me, and out of the infirmary, leaving only me and Mito. The rest of the infirmary was empty, all the beds and chairs were barren, and with so many people rushing around outside I knew why. If the boss was as bad as all the people at HQ were indicating, it seemed like nobody was going to spare any expense.

But I didn't worry about any of that now, all I saw was Mito looking at me with tears welling up in her eyes.

"Mito…" I said, rushing and falling onto the couch next to her, her eyes following me, seeing her like that… it wasn't normal, and I hated it. "Why didn't you message me! We said we'd go together, I would have-."

I stopped when she didn't even respond, only burying her head into my chest, gripping onto the coat of my new armor for dear life. Tears finally started coming from her eyes, and for a minute, I just sat there, my arms midway to hugging her back, wondering what could have made Mito of all people appear so vulnerable in front of me… either way, I felt my face get a little red, but eventually hugged her back when a sob came from her.

"Hey… it's okay," I told her, one arm wrapped around her waist, the other holding onto the back of her head while she sobbed, her face burying into my chest and crook of my neck, with each sob I heard, my chest ached. "Mito… Mito it's okay, what… what-."

"It's not okay… Akira it… it's not okay," She said, gripping onto me tighter, sobbing again as she didn't look back up at me. "I let them die… they're all dead… every one of them."

A chill ran up my back, as Mito only cried, gripping onto my coat. "Mito what… what happened in there?"

She shook her head, and finally her large ruby eyes looked up at me. "I… I led a group in after the team we sent. Eventually we… we made it to the boss room. There was no sign of the first team… none at all. It… it was Yato, Akira, he offered to lead the group into the room to check for signs, or maybe see the boss and come back out."

"Yato…" I said, saying the name slowly, my chest shredding to pieces as I did. Yato had been an annoying yapper but… he was my comrade, he had come to help fight against Bluebeard, and most importantly, he had still been a person.

"I… I tried to get into the room with them! But the minute they stepped through the threshold the door slammed shut!" Mito cried, her eyes a wellspring of tears. "I tried to pry it open, break it down but it wouldn't budge! I… I heard them Akira! I heard them screaming, dying I… I heard the boss tearing them to pieces and I couldn't do anything, and… and then when the door opened… they were all gone, dead… two whole squads of players… gone."

I took in Mito's words, and I couldn't find anything to say that would comfort her then. She cried in front of me, and normally I was good at finding the right thing to say, I loved doing it, bringing people some comfort when they were at their lowest… but I couldn't do it then, because all I could think about was the now almost twenty members of the Assault Team who were dead.

And the fact Mito seemed to blame herself.

"Mito… it wasn't your fault," I said, holding onto her tighter now. "You did all you could, they knew what-."

"It's not fair! It's not fair Akira!" She cried to me. "What did we do?! What did Yato, or any of those other players do, other then want to play a game with their friends?! Why are we being punished for that….?"

"I don't know… I've wondered that from the beginning," I said, quietly, as her head fell back down onto my chest with her cries. "But… I do know punishment doesn't always go to those that are deserving."

What had Kya or Aki done, to deserve what happened to them? Or Rayudu? Or even Kuradeel? What had any of the players who died done to deserve this path? What was Kayaba trying to accomplish, why had he done this, could it really have just been to have his own world where he controlled life and death? I had asked myself so many times, and even had long discussions with Kirito about it, about what the reason could be that we were in Aincrad now.

I refused to believe it was simply because Kayaba was a psychopath. How could it have been possible for such a brilliant man to do something like this? Every interview I saw, every article I read, described someone who only wanted to enrich the world. He could have done anything with his brain, make weapons, a new communication grid, brought light and power to millions of people… but instead, he chose to make a game… why?

It was a question I didn't think I'd ever get the answer too, just like I didn't know exactly what to say to Mito then as she cried. A girl who I'd come to care about a lot, one of the people that I wanted to see back in the real world… who knew? Maybe things could work out between us if we were back on the other side, maybe we'd connect even more then we did.

Or perhaps she'd meet someone else, and I would. Either way, I'd never stop caring for her, going through something like this, it linked you forever to a person.

"I… I thought I could be like you… like Asuna," Mito said. She wasn't gripping onto my anymore, she'd turned on the couch, and now, just had her head on my shoulder, silent tears falling from her face as her hand fell next to mine. "I… I wanted to save someone, be… be a hero. But… but I was too scared… and I still am…I… I'm terrified… Akira."

Her words hit me like a truck. Me? Brave? A… hero? It was what I always wanted to be, to be that hero Aki always drew me as… but despite what I'd done in Aincrad so far, I still had yet to feel like that once.

I looked down at Mito then, her purple hair was soft, and smelled like the lavender wash you could get in the game easily enough. Asuna had always told me every girl in their school wanted to look or be like Mito, despite her being wildly different from their vision of her… but I could see why they wanted to be her then. She was kind, smart, and despite what she said… very, very brave.

And she was beautiful too… I didn't know if anything romantic would end up happening between us, there were so many factors left in a decision like that… but I knew that I cared about her, a lot, and then, I found I knew what to say finally.

"We're only able to be brave when we're afraid," I said, before I put my hand over hers. She made a small, surprised yelp, and went red, I felt her hand tense up for a minute, before relaxing, her fingers falling in with mine.

I looked down at her and smiled when she looked up at me red faced. "I'm absolutely terrified too… beyond scared. Scared that… that I'm going to lose Kirito, Asuna… you. All the great things I gained from this world that took everything from me… but I made a promise! I made a promise that I'd see you all and be there with you when we got back to the real world so, that's why I'm fighting, to keep that promise to you all!"

I smiled… and it was a real one, not the fake one I sometimes put on for people to make them feel better. The idea of being back in the real world, sitting at a dinner table in a fancy restaurant, Kirito and Asuna on one side, Mito, Argo, Liz, Silica, Agil, all the people who had helped me through my time in Aincrad there as well? I could see it now, if I closed my eyes and let my mind wonder.

It was a really good dream, and I didn't have many of them nowadays.

"A…Akira…" Mito said, shakily sobbing as tears fell from her eyes again, she looked up and our eyes locked, and I saw they were pleading with me. "Please… please don't die. Don't… don't go, please… please tell me… tell me I'll see you after tomorrow, that… that I'll see you in the real world."

I managed a laugh and squeezed her hand. "Ha don't have to worry about that. I've been told I'm incredibly tough to kill… hey, Mito"

"Yeah?" She said, her voice soft, her head back on my shoulder, her eyes on our joined hands.

I smiled and looked at them as well. "Thanks… thanks for being one of the reasons I'm still here."

I managed to look over and see her face get red again, before she slowly nodded, and moved closer to me, her head falling to my shoulder again.

"Mhm… you're welcome and… thank you for being one of mine," She said, her eyes falling to our hands again. "Do you… mind if I stay here for a bit?"

"Not at all," I told her, before I let my head fall back on top of hers as she leaned next to me. "I… could use a-."

"MISUMI!" A frantic voice yelled, and as soon as we heard it, Mito and I both went wide eyed, looked at our joined hands and seemed to realize the compromising position and assumption someone may make, so we both with red faces let go and scooted away from each other before the two people rushed into the room.

Mito recognized her first. "A…Asuna, I-."

"We were so worried," Asuna said, her arms already around Mito's neck, she pulled back, holding her shoulders, looking between us both. "We got the message from the Commander not long ago, Misumi, are you okay?"

Mito nervously laughed, but smiled and nodded. "I'm okay… thanks Asuna."

She looked over at me for a minute and got red faced again, but I only smiled at her. Asuna smiled at me as well, before going to fret over Mito again, asking her a million questions like any good best-friend.

Or mother, she does the same to me, I thought with a smile.

"Ha, I like the new armor," Kirito's voice followed and while Mito and Asuna talked, I got up when I saw him come into the infirmary as well. He smirked at me. "But I gotta admit, I do think you're copying me now."

I chuckled and got up, hugging him which he returned. "Ha… they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."

"Well, I appreciate it," Kirito said, a smile on his face as he looked the armor over again, before a look of recognition came to him. "To be honest, you kind look like Emiya from Fate."

I closed my eyes to not let loose how happy I was that someone else recognized the look I was going for. After a moment, I chuckled and smiled at my friend again.

"Ha well, at least I'm imitating an Archer," I told him, looking down at my armor again. "Liz does good work; sorry I ran off… this was my 'errands' I'd been meaning to run."

"Yeah, it had been a while since we'd gone leveling together, and I'm guessing you didn't have much time when you took Asuna's spot for a week," He said, a grim smile appearing on his face, before he sighed and met my eyes. "It looks like you'll be needing it tomorrow…"

I nodded and noticed Asuna and Mito had joined us. "Right… I take it Heathcliff told you both what's going on?"

Kirito nodded, Asuna next to him now. "He did… this sounds like it's going to be pretty rough."

Mito shivered next to me. "Yeah… I don't know what it looks like but… but it sounded horrible and… and all those people."

"Don't worry," Kirito said, his fist clenched, before he smiled at all three of us. "With all the strong players we have, it won't stand a chance, we're going to win!"

I smiled, as did Mito and Asuna. Kirito always had a way of inspiring people, way more then I did, even though he may not realize it.

If he said, we were going to win…. I believed him.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"I can't stand those lectures…" I mumbled, walking back up towards the conference room where I knew Kirito and Asuna were. "Still… all those players… it must be serious."

Mito had gone back to her house to get the sleep she needed and deserved before tomorrow after Heathcliff's briefing in the courtyard of HQ. Feeling anxious and unable to go drink, sleep, or anything really, I decided to track down Kirito and Asuna. I thought maybe I'd be able to sleep better if it was on Asuna's couch, I didn't care if her and Kirito were in the other room, I spent weeks on that couch and I missed it. So, after seeing they were in the conference room, I had gone to find them.

I had also made sure to message Liz and promise her that we would go to dinner tonight. The amount of owed that girl climbed with each day, and I hadn't been able to do the one thing she wanted to do with me yet. If the fight tomorrow was going to be as tough as I was estimating, I wasn't going to take any chances of leaving things undone. My quest log had been emptied, I got the armor that I'd been meaning to get, The Black Bow of Fate was upgraded as far as it could go… but still, I had a few more people I wanted to talk to and see, mainly the two I was looking for now.

The theory I had crafted for the floors, was that each twenty-five floors stayed at around the same difficulty with only a minimal increase, but when you reached a quarter of the way, floors 25, 50, and now 75… there was a massive jump in difficulty. Floors 25, and 50 had been massacres… so the idea of what would be waiting for us in that dungeon tomorrow horrified me. I was scared for myself… but more importantly for everyone else in the assault team, even the ridiculous role-players I'd encountered in the guild… I had to do something, I needed to think quick when the door opened, find the boss and get with Kirito, Asuna and Mito.

And then, I'd have to use everything at my disposal to take it down, not matter what it was, I was going to kill it.

"No! You can't ask me to do that!" Asuna's yelling voice came from inside the room, just as I started pushing the door open.

I looked inside at the far side of the room, and saw Kirito and Asuna both. Asuna seemed to be tearing up, grasping onto Kirito like her life depended on it. Kirito didn't notice me either, he only sighed.

Looking down at Asuna he shook his head. "Asuna… please, just think-."

"Woah, woah, no fighting now, not before tomorrow," I said, walking in with my hands behind my head, trying for a smile to lighten the mood. "What's got the two of you so riled up?"

Asuna turned, and when I saw her orange eyes… my stomach fell, now didn't seem like the time for jokes.

"Akira-kun, tell him he's crazy!" She said, pointing to Kirito. "He's trying to tell me that I should stay behind tomorrow!"

"What?" I said, incredulous at the idea. "Kirito, are you serious?"

"I… I just…" He started in the awkward was he often did, sighing and looking at Asuna now. "I don't want anything to happen to you… Asuna…. Akira, don't tell me you didn't think of it too!"

"Never, not once," I said, my hands balling into fists at my side, as I remembered being in an extremely similar situation to Kirito now.

So many times, I had tried to convince Kya not to fight, to stay behind. Aki, I had been able to convince a few times, but Kya? Never.

Asuna looked at me, teary eyed. "A… Akira-kun…"

I sucked in a breath and looked at them both. "I know how you feel Kirito, I really, really do… but you can't stop her from fighting. So… so many times I tried to do the same thing with Kya and well… if not for her I would have died a bunch of times. You're partners, you do things together, it's not a one-way street."

"I… I know… I just…" Kirito said, as I saw tears starting to fall from his eyes again.

I knew what he was thinking about, about the people he lost, about the guild he thought he let die… and I did the same thing, I did the same thing day after day. Despite the outlook I had now, despite wanting to make it out… I'd still have given anything to give Kya or Aki my place in Aincrad just about now.

Before I could go and try to comfort him, Asuna naturally moved before me. She hugged him, burying her head into his coat. It had been clear they were talking long before I got there… and I wasn't going to inquire what it was about. As much as I loved them both, as important as they both were to me, the most important in my life now… I knew I needed to at least let them have their time alone.

So long as they were happy, I was happy.

"It's like Akira-kun said… a two-way street. I need to protect you too… I… I couldn't imagine my life without you now," She said, smiling up at him, before her head turned back around to me. "We can see it as a three-way street, yeah Akira-kun? We wouldn't be here without you."

"She's right," Kirito said through his watery eyes. "We… we owe it to you, for the push we needed."

My chest sped up, a nervous laugh leaving me. I wasn't used to praise, even back in the real world… and I knew that they saw it different then I did, but still… it felt good. Slowly, I felt the anxiousness about the fight the next day leaving me, water pooling up in my eyes as well. I wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my brand-new coat, and with tears still welling up in my eyes I smiled at them.

"Ha, what do you mean? I haven't done anything," I said, the smile growing as theirs did. "I will admit you'd both be completely and utterly lost without me, seriously how many more hints did you both need?"

Asuna giggled, and Kirito went red. I smiled and walked up between them, one arm around Kirito, the other around Asuna, standing between them both. It was odd to that day for me, how alive I still felt. It had only been a year ago, I felt like a walking, talking corpse.

I remembered a conversation I had with Kya, back on the earlier floors. It had been when she was trying to convince me we should have gone to join the assault team. I had always refused to believe that Aincrad was anything but some fake world I'd been trapped in, like a prisoner of war. Kya had always said, that we'd have an easier time in our time in Aincrad… if we lived like we did on the outside world, made it our reality.

The idea had always been crazy to me in those months, in that first year.

But… the two people I had my arms around had changed that. What I had were real, genuine connections, to people I loved… and I felt alive, if not for the fact I knew that we were on borrowed time, that there were thousands of others… I wouldn't have been opposed to living in a world like Aincrad forever, with my two best-friends next to me.

"Ha well… I will admit, I hadn't expected Kirito-kun to move first," Asuna said, her eyes damp but the tears gone.

Kirito croaked. "Well I… I well I just thought that well… well…"

I laughed, it was amazing to me how he could be so awkward one second, then inspiring a group of people the next.

"Ha, no worried Kirito, I made the first move with Kya too and it worked out," I said, squeezing around both their necks. "Either way, I'm here to be the greatest third wheel you all could ask for, until Aincrad and beyond!"

Kirito's head fell. "I… just mentioned it to Asuna. No matter what we… we need to get out of here soon. We don't know how much longer our real bodies can survive in hospitals."

"He's right," Asuna said, tensing next to me. "We… we could all die in here if we don't-."

"Well, we better get moving then! Those next twenty-five floors won't clear themselves," I said, purposefully ignoring their words and smiling for them still. "We'll clear them in a flash. Besides, so long as I'm with you guys, I feel like I can take on anything, and we're sticking together, right? We promised, didn't we?"

That promise, the words we shared, the memories… it was what kept getting me up every morning in this world.

Asuna smiled and grabbed my hand that was around her shoulder. "Yeah… of course we will, even back in the real world, we'll stay together, we're a family."

"Yeah… to the Ruby Palace, and back to the real world," Kirito said, and I laughed when I did, ushering them both towards the door.

"It's settled then, the three of us will kill the boss tomorrow, and after that celebrate on Floor 76!" I said as we got closer to the door. "But for tonight, you guys wanna join me and Liz at dinner? It's gonna be my treat!"

"Ha, do you even need to ask?" Kirito said with a smirk.

Asuna smiled and nodded. "Of course we will, but Akira-kun are you sure you're ready? Do you have enough arrows, your new armor is nice, but what about-."

"Asuna, Asuna, Asuna, you don't have to worry one bit about me, I'm all ready and geared up!" I said as we walked through the door, letting go of them both, before turning and feeling the smirk return to my face. "Besides, it's like I always say, never underestimate an archer!"

Next Time, Episode 13: To The End of The World: Kirito, Asuna and Akira all party up for the next fight in their mission to clear Sword Art Online. Floor 75s dungeon has taken the lives of dozen of members of the Assault Team already, so now with a raiding party of the best players in the game, they enter the dungeon. Inside, awaits hell itself, but luckily for Kirito, Asuna and Akira, they've promised to stay together until the end. Akira and Kirito upon seeing the boss, realize they'll need to unleash every bit of their strength… even if they have to force themselves beyond the systems capabilities to save the ones they love.

A/N: And we're done! An action-less chapter with more character moments then anything, but it is in-fact the penultimate chapter. I know I said I wanted to have the first half of the Skull Reaper fight in this one, but I decided it really just messed with the whole tone of the chapter too much, this chapter was a lot more about hope, friendship, the relationships and reflecting on the journey to get to this point before the finale of Aincrad. I wanted one last moment with our trio of main characters, and some side characters and of course Akira's armor upgrade before we move onto the final fight.

We get one more scene with Argo and Liz where Akira gets his armor (I'm a Fate fan can you tell xD) After that, of course we have an emotional scene with Mito. I wanted to have Akira parallel Kirito but be different in some ways, but still, we all know how in War of the Underworld Kirito gains power to awaken from three of the most important people to him, Sugu, Asuna and Sinon, I wanted to have something like that for Akira, where his connection to people like Mito, Argo, Sinon, Asuna everyone comes back to help in the end.

So what I mean to say is, expect Argo and Mito to come back with the gang through Fairy Dance, Phantom Bullet, War of the Underworld etc…

So next chapter will conclude Aincrad! After that we have Fairy Dance which I am SO SOOO excited for, since we finally can expand on Akira and Kirito's relationship, bring Sugu into the fold, and set up of course Phantom Bullet and beyond, I have so much cool stuff planned!

Thank you all to everyone who is reading, I'm posting this story purely out of my love of SAO, so please if you want to review feel free, if not, it's not a problem haha even though I do love hearing what you all have to say! I hope you all enjoy the climax of Aincrad… and all that comes with it!