italics - Thoughts
Bold underlined - Spells/Sword Skills
[Bold] - Ddraig
[Ddraig] - Ddraig mental speech
{Bold} - Albion speech
[Issei] - Issei mental speech with Ddraig
[Issei] - Issei speaking with Ddraig
Underlined - Timeskips/Flashbacks
"Bold" - Rating Game Announcement
Disclaimer: I do not own Highchool Dxd, Sword Art Online, or any of its characters. All rights belong to their creators.
Chapter 13: Flags are raised
By the time Kirito re-entered the room, Rias had already finished playing the video of Sairaorg beating Zephyrdor in the Rating game.
"…who is that?" Kirito caught a glimpse of the video feed before it disappeared.
"My cousin." Rias responded. "That was a video feed of him against the substitute of the Glasya-Labolas family."
"Substitute?" Issei asked with a questioning tone.
Rias smiled faintly when she saw her cute Ise's face. "Yes. The original heir to the Glasya-Labolas family was killed in an accident."
"Sounds convenient." Asuna noted.
"It doe-" A green glow appeared in the corner of her clubroom, prompting Rias to cut herself short.
That crest… Rias's eyes narrowed. "The Astaroth clan…"
"Eh?" Issei looked at Rias with wide eyes, before he turned back to face the crest.
The crest shone brightly, before it split into two, the top half rotating upwards and leaving a pure white space in-between. From it, appeared a familiar, green-haired devil. "Good day, everyone." With a bow, he introduced himself to everyone in the room. "My name is Diodara Astaroth."
When Rias looked around, she saw that everyone had various reactions. Everyone had varying degrees of surprise. Issei, in particular, had traces of rage and protectiveness mixed into it. However, she was a little surprised to see that Asuna had a face filled with suspicion.
"May I discuss some things with you?" Without waiting for an answer, Diodara took off his white coat, folding it onto his lap as he took a seat on the couch.
Xenovia, Koneko, Asuna and Kirito moved away, allowing their new guest to have the couch all to himself. Rias moved from her desk to the opposite couch, while her Peerage stood behind her, plus Asuna and Kirito.
"Thank you." Diodara did not even glance at her Queen when she served the tea. Something that irked Rias slightly. Taking a sip, he put down the small cup, before he looked at Rias. "I would like to-"
"You wish to trade for Asia." Rias stated.
"Rias-san is very quick on the uptake." Diodara inclined his head slightly, chuckling. "I'm surprised."
You don't look surprised though. Rias pushed that thought of hers to the back of her mind.
"It is not that bad of a deal, you know." Diodara upturned one of his palms, causing twin miniature magic circles to appear. From them, appeared two females dressed in blue and white outfits. "My Bishops are-"
Rias raised her hand, cutting Diodara off mid-sentence. "I am afraid that is impossible." Rias said in a firm tone. "Asia is an important member of my Peerage." She smirked. "I also think of her as my little sister." And love rival too.
"Buchou…" Asia breathed a sigh of happiness when she heard that.
"Besides," Rias continued. "For you to try to get the woman you proposed to marry through a trade with the opposite party…I can't help but feel that you have no idea what courting a person is."
Rias smiled at the devil before her, but inside, she was fuming. Asia was a girl that had been ousted by the church. All because she healed the devil that was sitting before her right now. And what happened to her after that?
The trust and 'friends' she made in the church were all taken away or destroyed. She worked with a similarly ousted exorcist with some major mental issues, as well as Fallen Angels because she wanted to remain in His grace.
And what happened?
She got betrayed by the Fallen angels she sought to help, and ended up dying for them. All because they wanted to impress their superior, as well as gain a very rare Sacred gear. Had Issei not begged her to save the nun, and had she not taken pity on the nun, she would have been gone for good.
True, she had thought to use Asia as only a tool at first, even if she would treat her as well as any Peerage member of the Gremorys, but after spending a few days with the girl, she instantly decided to treat the former-nun-turned-devil as both a little sister, as well as a love rival.
But, where was Diodara in all that? Not once did he appear to help her. Not once did he appear to repay her for all that she did for him. From what she heard, his wound was deep, and had Asia not healed him, he would be dead.
Yet, there was no sign of him after her excommunication from the church.
There is no way I would give Asia to you. Rias lowered her head slightly to prevent the other party from looking at her face. She knew that if she continued to look at Diodara, her emotions would burst. So, instead of turning her head sidesways, she opted to instead look at the table.
Recomposing herself, she looked back at Diodara, a confident look on her face. But, she was a few seconds too late. Had she been a little faster, she would have noticed a small, tiny, twitch on the side of his face.
Diodara looked at Rias with half-closed gaze, showing for the first time his yellow and red coloured eyes. It was a surprising colour for Rias, for she had never seen his eyes open that wide before. But, she did not miss the confident smirk he had, nor the lax posture of his, even when his eyes travelled over to the rest of her Peerage members.
"I understand." After a moment, Diodara returned back to his usual face. With a small motion, he dispelled the magic circles that had shown his Bishops. Standing up, he folded his coat onto his arm. "I will return for today. But Asia," He turned his gaze over to the blonde former nun. Out of the corner of her eyes, Rias noticed that Asia shrunk behind Issei. "I will come back for you. Our meeting-"
*Doon*
"…Please move." Diodara glared at Issei. He had moved to block Diodora, preventing him from moving even a single step further.
"No." Issei spoke firmly. "You are distressing Asia." Issei moved to touch Diodara. Most likely, to lead him away from Asia. But-
With a loud sound, Diodara slapped away Issei's hand.
"Do not touch me please." Diodara's eyes opened, gazing at Issei with unrestrained disgust. "I feel sickened that I was about to be touched by a filthy dragon." Taking a handkerchief out, he used it to wipe the hand he had smacked Issei with, before he used a spell to burn it to ashes. "Even more so when the dragon in-front of me is in rumours involving breasts." He looked away from Issei, snapping his eyes shut once more. "Such a filthy act for a filthy dragon such as yourself."
"You-" Issei's fazce was contorted in rage. In all honesty, Rias would have stood up and hit Diodara, had she not noticed Asia's, Asuna's and Kirito's faces.
*slap*
With the sharp sound of skin hitting skin, Issei showed a surprised look when he saw the red mark on Diodara's face.
"Don't talk about Issei-san like that!" Asia had her hand raised.
Asia… Issei was surprised. Sometime during his 'conversation' with Diodara, Asia had slipped from behind his back, standing directly in-front of Issei instead.
"Issei-san helped me. He is a kind person! So please, do not talk about Issei-sa – Issei-kun like that!" Asia cried out.
"…I see then." Diodara instantly morphed his face back into a smile, an action that creeped Issei out very much. "In the next match, I will defeat you, Red Dragon Emperor. Then, Asia would be shown my love for her. I hope you would answer my love by then."
Not very likely, you bastard! Issei controlled his emotions. Thanks to Asuna's and Kirito's training, he had vastly improved in controlling his facial expressions when he had to.
During one of their trainings in the underworld, after their fight with the Sitri's Peerage, he had asked Kirito how he was able to respond so well to fast attacks from Kiba or himself. After all, it did not look like he was using his Sacred gear to help him in that regard.
The answer for that, Kirito had said, was the person's body.
Although he would not be able to consciously react to it in time, his sub-conscious was a different story entirely. Unconsciously, his body would take in the enemy's body posture, facial expressions, as well as their movements. After taking it all in, his mind would see the next minute course of action his enemy would take, and his body would react as fast, if not, even faster to counter the enemy and deal a blow against them in that momentary lapse in defence. And that was when he was a human.
Now that he was a devil, his mind would be able to see the micro-expressions of his enemy, see exactly which part off his enemy's body was tensing in preparation to attack, as well as read the flow the battle around them. With his enhanced vision and senses, he would be able to react even faster. Add in the enhanced strength and speed, and he would be able to counter his enemies, get under their guards, and deal even heavier damage against them faster than before. Even when the enemy themselves does not know what move they would make.
After hearing that, Issei trained his mind to not show his expressions as much when he fights. And the result was an alternate side of him.
In exchange for minimal facial expressions, his mind's processing speed would increase slightly. This would allow him to make actions faster, as well as decide faster. That said, he would need to mentally prepare himself first, and he would more often than not make decisions based on his emotions, but it was a definite edge against opponents he would face in hand-to-hand, or one-on-one combat.
So, when Diodara looked at Issei, he was slightly taken aback by the complete lack of frustration on Issei's face. In place of that frustration he had expected to see, was instead a tiny smirk.
"….filthy dragon!" Diodara's retrained emotions seemed to snap. Han raised, he prepared to strike Issei-
"Hold up you four."
-but stopped halfway, instead lowering his hand back to his side.
"I just received a message." Azazel checked his phone, before he looked at the two heirs of their respective families. "Your game's date has been decided. It is in five days."
"…I see." Diodara's face morphed back into his usual, smiling one. "Thank you for telling me." Walking towards the end of the clubroom, Diodara faced everyone, before he bowed his head slightly. "Well then, I shall take my leave." With a bright light, he teleported away.
Issei unclenched his fist. That bastard…
"Asuna-san, Kirito-san. He is already gone." Azazel's sentence caused Issei to turn around in confusion. What is Azazel-sensei talking about?
What he saw, made him take a step back in fear.
In Asuna's hand was a small butter knife. There was nothing extraordinary about it. No special backstory about how it was made, nor did it have any special supernatural properties. It was just a simple butter knife that could be bought at any shop across the country.
But, Asuna held it in her hands like she would a rapier. A faint, purple light was being emitted from it's entire length. And Asuna's eyes….gave off a very scary and predatory gleam. As for Kirito…
The colours of his eyes were flickering from between his original onyx colour, to the golden colour that indicated his Sacred gear being activated. His posture too, was already halfway to being his usual stance for fighting. What made this even more scary, was the fact that the two of them were standing side-by-side, an unseen pressure being emitted by the two.
Scary! Issei unconsciously took another step back. These two or too scary when they are together!
"The two of you!" Azazel unfurled his twelve wings, causing feathers to fly everywhere. At the same time, a pulse of pressure was emitted, forcing everyone to wince at the very least. The weaker ones, Gasper and Asia, collapsed onto the floor. "Enough!"
""Ah."" The two of them blinked at the same time, relaxing their stances. Asuna's grip and posture loosened, the straight butter knife falling a little slack in her hands. Similarly, Kirito's eyes stopped alternating colours, and his knuckles, which Issei had just realised were white from the strength he was using to clench it, slowly unclenched itself. As Issei gazed on, he saw a bit of blood drip from his hand, before his auto-healing from his Gear activated, healing the cut and cleaning the blood up with a small sound.
"Are the two of you back to normal now?" Azazel folded his wings, hiding them from view once more.
"Ah, sorry about that." Kirito unclenched and clenched his fist a few more times, before he looked at Azazel. "The two of us have some…unsettling history with people who do not know the meaning of 'no' when it comes to personal space, or marriage."
"That does not mean you should try to actively kill an heir to one of the remaining 72 Pillars of the underworld." Azazel frowned, before he sighed. "Thankfully, I managed to stop you in time with that, but why did you still stay in that posture even when he was leaving."
""Asuna/I does/do not trust him."" Came the simple replies from the two.
"…please refrain from acting like this in five days." Azazel rubbed his face with his free hand. "It would be troubling for many of us. In various ways."
"Ah, you don't have to worry." Kirito held Asuna's hand as he spoke. "We might not be there for the game."
"""Eh?""" Asuna, as well as the rest of the assembled Peerage, let out a sound of surprise.
"…I see." Azazel slowly nodded his head. He did not seem surprised at all. "May I know why?"
"It's some…personal business." Kirito replied. "In fact, me and Asuna might be busy for the next week, so we would most likely miss the live battle between you and that Astaroth heir."
"I did not hear about this!" Whirling around to face her boyfriend, Asuna stared down the black-haired boy in the eyes. "When did you decide this, and why, are we not going to see Rias-san and her Peerage wipe the floor with that devil scum?"
Devil scum? Issei thought, slight amused. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black…
Apparently, Asuna felt the same, as she blushed the moment the words left her lips. "…ah…"
"I decided about it just now." Kirito explained. "As for the reason why…it's Eiji."
Eiji? Issei narrowed his eyes. Why does that name sound familiar?
"Eiji…san?" Apparently, Asuna knew who Kirito was talking about, for her eyes narrowed as well. "What does he want?"
"Not sure." Kirito respond. "Yui told me he was looking for me, so I'm going to meet him later."
"I'm coming with you." Asuna immediately told Kirito.
"Perfect. I was about to ask you if you wanted to come, so this is settled." Kirito pecked Asuna on the lips lightly, causing both Rias and Akeno to swoon a little, while Issei felt some slight, unjustified anger in him rear its head. "Yui will send you the details later. Rias-san…or is it President Rias?"
"Just call me President Rias, or President when club activities are on. Other than that, call me as you usually do." Rias cleared her throat, re-composing herself.
"Okay then. President Rias, Asuna and I would be heading back earlier than for today. We might not be able to meet you after school the coming week too." Kirito faced Rias, bowing his head as he spoke. "I am sorry, and I apologise about suddenly informing you this."
"It can't be helped if you had something suddenly crop up." Rias sighed lightly. "It also just so happens that club activities would also be cancelled, as we would be training for the game." She frowned a little. "Diodara acted a little too relaxed around us… I can't help but feel worried."
"I see." Kirito nodded his head. "Then I wish everyone the best for the upcoming Rating game, as well as their training. Come on Asuna, let's head back."
"Mm." Asuna nodded, taking Kirito's hand. The both of them bowed once more, before Kirito took his leave with Asuna.
Timekskip
A lone figure, dressed in purple, was slowly walking around a certain large tree. Still embedded at it's base, was a sword that the male was not familiar with.
"Would they actually help…" Biting his finger, the purple-dressed game character looked into the sky. Absentmindedly, his other hand fingered an item hanging from his neck. I know what I did was horrible. I would not blame him if he did not appear. But! His hand's grasp tightened around the item. I just hope he would help…
This player, or rather, person, was called Nochizawa Eiji. If one were to dig a little deeper however, they would come upon another name, tied directly into what could be called the greatest tragedy in Japan since the Hiroshima bomb.
Sword Art Online. The death game.
And in that death game, his character's name was Natulius. Part of the guild called the Knights of the Blood Oath, he was once a clearer. But, after a certain incident involving a person very dear to him, Eiji stopped showing up on the front lines, instead choosing to stay locked up in the safer, lower floors, sometimes helping other players when he felt like it.
And a few months back, he was the second ranked player in Ordinal Scale. This time, he used his real name, Eiji. And, it was in this stage, that he acted harshly against other people. More specifically, the survivors of SAO.
During the Ordinal Scale event, he and the father of the person most dear to him created a plan. One, in which they would be able to bring back the personality, memories, and psyche that made up the person they both cherished.
Shigemura Yuuna. One of the many people who had joined the game called SAO for fun, only to be one of the many casualties of the death game. She was a person who had a beautiful voice, and made everyone's lives a little brighter. But, because of circumstances that nobody expected, nor prepared for, she protected everyone, and in the process, sacrificed herself to help the many.
Yuuna… Eiji's fist clenched tightly. When he thought about hat had happened half a day ago, he could not help but feel anxious.
When he looked up once more, he saw two dots in the air. Squinting his eyes, he could barely make out two figures. One black, and one blue. He came… Relief flooded his system, but fear flooded it once more, as dark thoughts hit his mind. What of he refuses to help?
The two ALO players that had just arrived set themselves down on the ground. Now that they were closer, he could see the faces of the newcomers.
"…"
"…" Both parties did not say anything at first. Then, Eiji spoke. "…you came."
"To hear you out first." Kirito crossed his arms over his chest. "Asuna came along because she wanted to talk to you."
Asuna-san… Eiji looked at the blue-haired girl from across him. Despite the vivid blue hair and the undine outfit, he could see that it was indeed the Vice-commander of the Knight of the Blood oath.
"Asuna-san..." Eiji found that his mouth became very dry when the former Vice-commander of his guild turned to look at him. How on earth is this possible anyway? VR games aren't THIS realistic!
Swallowing, Eiji took a deep breath, before he bowed down to Asuna. "I apologise for what I did to you, Asuna-san. It was horrible of me, and unbefitting as a former member of the Knight of the Blood Oath."
The Undine kept quiet at first, only staring at the former member of her guild in silence. The longer she stared, the more nervous Eiji became. Finally, she spoke. "…I have mixed feelings about this." She started. "I can understand why you would do something like take the memories of others. Even if you had no intended for there to be any side effects, or for it to harm the person physically, I can understand, and sympathise with you for tying your best to bring back Yuna-san."
But…you won't forgive me. Eiji thought pessimistically.
"However, you took my precious memories of Kirito-kun." Asuna's gaze sharpened. "You took my memories of when we first met, what we did together, our days spent in peace on Aincard." Asuna's voice gained a sharp note. "That is something I would not ever forgive you for. Even if you had only wanted the memories with Yuna-san in them to make an Artificial Intelligence that was basically the Yuna-san that you knew."
Here it comes… Eiji resolved himself. He expected to be hit, shouted at, or be killed. After all, this was a VR game. Whatever she did in here, would not have any legal implications in the real world. She could even force him to reset his account, take all his items, or make him do errands for them. And he would not complain. After all, this person before him had tried to help him. Even when he messed up and nearly got others killed before. She had done nothing that was not warranted, or was selfish. Everything that she did as the 'Lightning Flash', she did it under orders from Kayaba, the guild master(ironically), or for the good of everyone to prevent unnecessary deaths, including his own. And what did he do to repay her for trying to help him?
He mentally harmed other SAO survivors. He took their memories forcefully of their time in SAO, both the good and the bad. He physically harmed the guild members of Fuurinkazan over a unwarranted grudge, putting some of them into the hospital. And, he threatened the lives of SAO survivors who had attended the first live performance of YUNA, including hers, which had already been damaged from the forced memory scan that he had inflicted on her not but a few days before the concert.
"…I accept your apology…"
…eh? Eiji thought he had misheard. Looking up, he faced Asuna. "Did you…forgive me?"
"I did." Came the curt reply. "You took my memories, and put Klein-san and his guild in hospital. But, you did so because you wanted to bring back someone you loved, right?" Asuna smiled softly. "If that were the case, then I would forgive you for what you did. No lasting harm was done on anyone, and both Klein-san and I regained our memories after a while. So, I will forgive you, and accept your apology. It would be a different story had there been lasting damage however."
Asuna-san…forgave me? Eiji fell to his knees in shock. After all that I did? Small tears gathered at the corners of his eyes. With a start, he realised he had begun crying. Ah…so this is what had me on edge the most. Eiji felt like a large weight had been lifted off his shoulders. It was not enough to make him feel as if all was right, but he felt that burden get lifted off his shoulders.
"…Thank you very much…" Eiji wiped the tears away, sniffling a little. "…for accepting my apology."
"What is it that you wanted to ask me about?" Kirito's voice caused Eiji's heart to stop. Yuuna!
Hastily wiping away the remaining tears, Eiji once more stood up, before he bowed towards Asuna and Kirito. "Please, help me save Yuuna!"
..
..
"Yuuna?" Kazuto felt the name roll of his tongue. Why does that- ah. Kazuto recalled the appearance of the hooded girl. Eiji means her…
"What about her?" Kazuto asked Eiji. "Last I heard, the A.I. that made up 'White Yun-', I mean, Yuuna, was wiped from the SAO servers."
"She was." Eiji confirmed. "At least, that was what I thought."
You thought? Kazuto motioned for Eiji to continue.
"At first, like you, I thought Yuuna had been erased." Eiji manipulated his game menu, bringing out some photos. "Then, a month after my release, I was told that there was a desktop app for the Idol Yuna. The one the professor and I made. I did not like this idea, but since this is what the professor thought was best, I did not raise any objections to it." Eiji took a breath, then he continued swiping his hand to the left as he did so. "A few days later, we received reports from the company that had gained the rights to monetise Idol Yuna."
Kazuto took a quick look at the screenshots that Eiji had swiped over to him. "…From what I can see, these are emails to ask about how to repair Yuna." Kazuto shook his head. "That's not right. A.I.s don't need to be repaired. And Idol Yuna is an A.I., so why-" Kazuto came to a realisation. "…the A.I. that made up Idol Yuna is accumulating errors."
"Is that what is happening to her?" Eiji demanded Kazuto. "You know what's happening?"
"It's a guess." Kazuto looked Eiji in the eyes. "Is Idol Yuna running on the old SAO servers?"
"…how did you know?" Eiji looked stunned, but he quickly shook his head. "Never mind. Yes, she is running on the old SAO servers."
"Why did you come to ask me this, anyway?" Kazuto felt like something was off. After all, based on what was happening, it seemed easy enough a problem to rectify. He could simply ask the company that was currently managing Idol Yuna to call back the desktop app. That would help give them time to stop whatever was happening to Yuna.
"Because you were the only one I could think of." Eiji admitted, a scowl on his face. "I downloaded the desktop app to see what was wrong. At first, nothing seemed wrong. But, when I called her by her real name…that's when it happened."
"It?"
"The desktop idol froze." Eiji gritted his teeth. "And then, she spoke. She said, 'Eiji, save me. Call Kirito. He would know what is happening.' "
"She asked me by name directly?" Kazuto was surprised. Does this mean that…Yuuna is still alive?
"Yeah." Eiji's fist tightened. "Then, later on, I got your email address. The sender was apparently Yuuna."
"Did she send anything else?" Kazuto narrowed his eyes slightly. It sounds like Yuuna is still alive…but if what Yui had said was correct, she would not be able to recognise the copies, and get errors piled on internally in the original Yuuna as a result. And if that were the case…how long before she self-destructs?
"Some occult symbol." Eiji's words made the couple freeze. "Here." Eiji sent a screen to the pair.
Kazuto's eyes took in the symbol that had appeared in his eyes.
Flashback
"May I ask, what family did Kayaba belong to?" Kazuto asked the Maou.
"Kayaba's family…" Beelzebub frowned. "…he did not belong to any Pillar, since he was from a lower class family of devils. However, because of the research he did, which allowed all humanoid, as well as non-humanoid supernatural beings to play a game, where everyone was of equal standing, we awarded him with a Evil Piece set, as well as a crest which would represent him. The others did not voice any objections as well, since he met the requirements to get a Peerage. From what I researched, he was to be part of a Pillar's Peerage because of a Sacred gear he had."
"May I ask what Sacred gear he had?" Kazuto filed away that piece of information for now.
"Unfortunately, none of us would be able to tell you." Beelzebub sighed. "From reports we received, he did not use his Gear often. And, on the rare occasion he did, we could not see what effect it did, as it was not used in public to fight."
"I see." Kazuto nodded. "Thank you for telling me. Then, could you show me the crest Kayaba was using?"
"Hmm…" Beelzebub created a few magic circles. "Let me find it…I thought you might ask me that, so I prepared a scroll with a copy of the crest he made….ah, here it is."
Pulling out a small piece of rolled up parchment, Beelzebub passed it to Kazuto. "Here. Return it when you are done. I need to store it in storage."
Flashback end
A simple circle, with the image of a cross in the centre. A tower shield behind it with devil characters surround the shield. More devil characters, this time making up a sword at the corner.
The symbol that Kazuto was looking at, was the magic crest that belonged to the half-devil, Kayaba Akihiko.
Timeskip
"Ooryah!" Issei swung down the bokuto full force, only to find it blocked by another bokuto(*1*).
"Too weak!" With that shout, Suguha forced herself forwards, swinging down the currently inter-locked bokuto with even more strength, overpowering Issei.
"Gah!" Issei fell down, unable to hold back the opposing attack. When he made to stand up, he found himself face-to-face with the tip of the bokuto aimed at his neck.
"I surrender." Issei sighed, dropping the practise blade back onto the floor.
"Good choice." Suguha held out a hand. Pausing momentarily, Issei took the hand offered to him. With surprising ease, the sister of Kirito pulled Issei back to his feet.
"You are getting better." Suguha walked over to the side, picking up one of the many bottles of water. Taking another she tossed one over to Issei. "Here."
"Thanks." Issei caught the bottle easily with his right hand. Opening it, he mentally sighed in relief as he felt the cool liquid wash down his throat. Gulping a few more mouthfuls before he stopped, Issei sighed. "I still have a long way to go though."
"If you pursue this way of fighting, sure." Suguha tossed him a towel this time. "Onii-chan gave me the job of coaching you because I am more practiced in Kendo compared to him. He spent so much time inside a game, his fighting style and skills from there all ended up being his more prominent way of fighting." She shrugged. "Well, he does remember the basics at least, so that helped me with your coaching, as I do not have to start from scratch."
"Kirito's fighting style is rather unorthodox, isn't it?" Issei smiled wryly. But it is pretty effective. Not a single movement is wasted.
"If you think that is unorthodox, then you did not see him go all out in a fight." Suguha beckoned with her hand. Realising her intentions, Issei picked up the bokuto he was using, before he tossed it to the girl.
Catching it with one hand, she placed it back on the rack, before she placed her own next to it as well. "What do you mean?"
"Well, the both of us trained in Kendo when we were pretty young." Suguha explained. "But afterwards, he quit because it was not his thing. Grandfather punished him pretty badly because of that, but I managed to save him. Well, afterwards, he stopped training in the dojo we had. A few years back, we had the first spar in a long time."
"What brought up the spar?" Issei asked curiously.
"Rehabilitation for his body." Suguha replied, a distant look on her face. "He had been bedridden for 2 years, so his muscles had severely deteriorated…" She looked dazed for a few more moments, before shook her head. "Anyway, you would think that because he did not touch a shinai for over 8 years, he would lose pretty quickly, right?"
"I guess." Issei agreed. I would most likely lose. After all, it would have been way too long for me, having not practiced any sort of swordplay in such a long time. If Kirito faced the same troubles I am facing now…how would he have won? He spent two years with deteriorated muscles, as well as not practise kendo since he was a young kid… … …Hmm? Issei gazed into the air, a frown on his face. Two years…bedridden…where have I heard that before?
"Well, so did I." Suguha sighed heavily. "He even left himself open in the front too! His stance was wrong, the way he held his shinai was wrong, and his posture was all over the place! Yet," she continued, a small smile on her face. "he nearly beat me. Despite his front being open, he managed to block the first attack I threw at him, and we continued to fight for a good while. I wanted to go easy on him at first, but he was better than I thought, so I went all-out. My pride as a kendo practitioner would not allow me to lose against someone who had not looked at, much less touch, a shinai since he was a child." She gave a small laugh. "I only managed to win because his stamina could not keep up, and he left himself open at the very end. I think he tried to do a Sword Skill, but because of how long he had been in that game, he instinctively froze up from the post-motion delay."
"Can you believe it? A teen, who had been bedridden for two years, and had only gone through about a month worth of rehabilitation, managed to nearly beat an active kendo practitioner who had won awards for the past 2 years he was in bed." Suguha sighed again, but this time, there was a small smile on her face. "Only Onii-chan could do something so outrageous."
"So, Kirito is a larger monster than I thought." Issei shivered. "Was he going easy on me when he trained me before?"
"Of course." Suguha smiled lightly at Issei. "After all, if he went all out, then there is no point in training a person slowly, isn't there? Everyone has their own way and pace of learning, so the teacher must also adapt to the situation."
Ah ha ha ha… Issei laughed in a dry tone in his head. That was an honest question, but I did not expect a philosophical answer out of that… …wait, did she say two years? And game?
"Suguha-san…did you say that Kirito was in a game for two years?"
"Hmm?" Suguha blinked. "Yeah. Didn't Onii-chan tell you? He was one of the survivors of SAO."
..
..
To think that Kirito and Asuna were survivors of that Death Game.. Issei stared at the ceiling, laying spread-eagle in his room(the small one).
[Partner, what is this Death Game you are thinking about? And, Es…Eh…Oh? What is that?]
"Ddraig, don't you know about it?" Issei sat upright. "You should have had some awareness of what was going on before you were awakened, right?"
[In my other hosts, yeah.] Ddraig admitted. [But you were too weak, so my usual awareness was limited to when you came into contact with the supernatural, or when you are asleep.]
"Sorry for being so weak then!" Issei felt tears stream down his face. But, that is why I am working so hard though! Although I could do without both Buchou, Kirito, and Ddraig going at him full steam so much!
[So, are you going to tell me about this…Es Eh Oh thing?]
"Ah, right." Issei was brought back to his senses. "It's full name is Sword Art Online. If you were to shorten it, it would be SAO. SAO was a full-dive game. The first of it's kind."
[Partner, what is a full-dive game?]
"A full-dive game is a game where you can play with your entire body." Issei explained. "Most games that we play either use controllers, a keyboard, or require motion sensors for us to play. But SAO is different. By using a headgear, called the Nervegear, you can control a virtual avatar inside the game as if it were your own body. One of the great things about SAO was that it because you are playing as a virtual avatar instead of using a controller, you can feel, smell, see, hear and taste inside the game as well. Basically, you could fight, eat, sleep or fall in love in the game."
[That sounds very similar to a Rating Game.] Ddraig noted.
"It does, doesn't it." Issei agreed. "In fact, it was similar to a Rating Game in many aspects. The player can use special skills and abilities, similar to a devil I guess. And lastly, it would allow people to fight one another seriously to the death, but they would not die in real life." His expression darkened, something that Ddraig noticed. "…at least, that was true at first."
[…What happened?]
"The game turned into a literal death trap." Issei's hand tightened ever so slightly as he spoke. "On the very first day of it's release, 10,000 people became trapped in a game where if they made one wrong move, they would die. Male, female, adult or children, it did not discriminate on the victims that it had ensnared in it's jaws. If they died inside the game, they would die in real life. Because of the Nervegear's design, should the person die inside the game, the battery of the headset located at the back of the head would explode, killing the person who was wearing it." Issei's mouth turned into a frown. "…Actually, I do not know much about this event. Only what was reported in the news. And it HAS been 3 years already…if you want, I could buy the book for us to read up about it."
[Book?] Ddraig asked. [Who would turn this barbaric event into a book to read?]
"The government, I guess." Issei sighed. "People who died would have family, friends or relatives who would have wanted to know what had happened to them. So did the general public. They were all in the dark for two whole years after all. So, I guess they made the book not only to allow the survivors to know exactly what had happened, but also to comfort the people who knew those who had died, as well as make it a way for the public…no, the world to remember this incident, and to prevent such a thing from ever happening again."
[…I am interested in learning of what these humans did. Reading the book is good, but you know someone who had experienced the event as well, no?] Ddraig's words made no sense to Issei at first, but the first part of his conversation with Ddraig came back to him.
"Ah!" Issei shouted out. Kirito! I can ask Kirito about it! That is a good alternative. But…
"I won't ask Kirito, Ddraig." Issei plopped himself onto the bed. "If he did not tell us about his experiences inside that death game, then I won't pry. Plus, there is another reason I won't ask him."
[May I ask what it is?]
"…well, it is because the survivors all got ostracized once the game ended." Issei told the main reason for his reluctance. "From the society's standpoint, these death game survivors had spent two entire years inside a place where a single move could mean death. And, to make matters worse in their eyes, at least half of these were children, so their behaviours could have drastically changed, being very different from before they enter the game. And it is highly possible that these changed behaviours would be detrimental to society as a whole. If he were an SAO survivor, then he would have been subjected to this sort of treatment for at least a year."
Being treated like a bomb that could go off… Issei quietly thought to himself as he let what he said sink in for Ddraig. Even after being subjected to that type of experience for two years, without stopping…I don't think that I would be able to stand it, even if I knew the reason for the isolation and constant observation.
[I don't know about that partner.] Ddraig's voice echoed in the small room. [You are tougher then you realise.]
"It's rude to read your partner's thoughts Ddraig." Even though Issei said that, his voice carried no heat. Only a vague, indescribable awe. "…Kirito sure is something. Maybe that is why his fighting style is so effective. It is possible he was one of the people he fought to clear the game for them to escape."
[That is an interesting possibility.] If Ddraig had a body, Issei had a feeling he would be stroking his chin with his talons. [You said that SAO allowed one to play with their entire body in a virtual environment, then it would mean that he performed the actions so frequently, his mind ended up remembering the movements, even if his physical body did not, allowing his fighting style from SAO to be retained and further improved, if he continues to train in it that is.]
"That seemed…awful smart of you." Issei blinked in surprise.
[You pick up some tricks and knowledge when you have so many hosts from all over the ages.] Ddraig's voice carried a hint of smugness. [Martial art techniques, swordplay, tactics…I have retained a small amount of knowledge from these categories, and more, from all my previous hosts.]
"…yet you do not share them with me?"
[…] Ddraig said nothing, causing Issei to stare at the gauntlet with a suspicious gaze. "Ddraig," he said in a low tone. "you are going to teach me those techniques, right?"
[…sorry Partner. Their fighting styles aren't that compatible with yours.] Ddriag said in an apologetic tone. [Plus, most of the knowledge I retained is very vague. The Juggernaut drives my hosts used cause quite the trauma for me sometimes, and others, they would actually beat my soul down while they rampaged.]
"…that sounds like excuses, no matter how you slice it." Issei deadpanned.
[…] Ddraig chose to stay silent to that retort.
"You kept quiet!" Issei felt like he was about to burst in tears. "You could have taught me how to become stronger, but you kept quiet! You boasted about those techniques, so I thought that you were going to help me get stronger, but it turns out you forgot how to use them!"
[I did not expect my future partners to be so powerless, so I just decided to not remember them!] Ddraig's voice had a hint of sorrow in them. [All my previous partners and hosts were very strong in some way or the other! The only thig that you excel at is being a pervert! Oo~~ Oo~]
"S-sorry!" Issei slumped over. "D-don't cry, Ddraig! Please don't cry!"
Needless to say, it took a while before Issei could have a good rest.
(*1*) – Wooden blade. Different from a shinai, which is used in Kendo matches.
AN
How was this chapter? Especially the parts that were adapted from the anime and LN.
I have to say, this chapter took a hot day for me to complete. I had no clue on how to introduce Issei to SAO, which is very famous in Japan. After all, Kazuto had been keeping it a secret.
Then, there is the Eiji scene. With this, it is officially the introduction of the partial-original arc of this series! How was Eiji's apology? Personally, this was a little hard for me to get right. On one hand, Eiji is a guy who is super rough, like Kirito halfway through when Sachi died and early on. A combination of the two, basically.
On the other, like in SAO season 3 final part, Eiji is someone with a strong will. Plus, I had the view that Eiji felt a little indebted to Kirito for saving Yuuna. Add that to Asuna's trying to help him back in the Death Game and it's memories flooding back into him after having some time to think, led to me making this OC scene of Eiji.
Please review!
Anime is Life!
