Okay, it's time for the next chapter.
This is actually just the first "half" of what I've planned originally, but you know the story... It's turned out longer than expected, and fearing that I'd create another overly long chapter, I've just decided to divide it into two parts.
This chapter is all about Asuna's idea as to how to change the way the Assault Team is led (which was hinted at in the recent side story "Worries and Comfort") and how this idea is received.
Another big question will be what Akinym's stance on the matter is and how he'll affect the events now that he has come to some kind of truce with Kirito and Asuna, but you'll see that for yourself.
Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online Re:Hollow Fragment or Sword Art Online in general.
When Akinym as well as Kirito and company returned to Arc Sophia, they were greeted immediately – right at the teleport gate – by Max and a few other KoB members.
Max welcomed them overall warmly. Only Akinym received a rather cold, suspicious glare. Figures. Max may have been happy that they had managed to find him and bring him back, but not because he had missed Akinym or anything…
After wrapping up a brief explanation of what had happened on their end, Asuna asked Max if "everything had worked out here", which he affirmed. Akinym was a bit curious, though. He still didn't know what exactly Asuna had planned to get the Assault Team to work together again.
At that point, Akinym simply went and asked what was going to happen. The others exchanged glances, wondering who should answer and how. In the end, Max just told him to follow them and see it for himself.
And that leads us to the current situation – and the plaza in front of the castle in Arc Sophia. The leaders of all small guilds and parties among the Assault Team had gathered, and now they waited for Asuna to tell them why they should come.
Klein and Agil were among them, both to represent their own guilds and to see if Asuna's idea would be accepted. They had convinced the other leaders to join this assembly and to hear Asuna out in the first place while Kirito and his friends had handled the issue with Akinym.
There was a small flight of stairs right in front of the castle's entrance, and Asuna stood atop of it, so everyone could see her clearly. A line of KoB members stood in a straight line at the bottom of the stairs, almost like a group of security guards. Akinym, Kirito and Max stood in the background behind Asuna, ready to back her up if need be. Asuna's other friends stood on the sidelines, eagerly waiting to see if everything would go smoothly.
All in all, all important figures on the upper floors were present. Only the leaders of the DDA were missing. Technically speaking, there were two representatives of the DDA standing on one side of the plaza and watching. They were just there to see how the meeting would end and to report the outcome to their headquarters.
Asuna quickly got an overview of the group of people in front of her. There were more than a dozen people, and they all directed their worried, expectant looks at her. Normally, Asuna wasn't one to suffer from stage fright, but there was too much on the line this time to not be somewhat nervous.
She took a deep breath and put on a determined expression.
Asuna: Welcome, and thank you for accepting my invitation to this assembly. In light of all the issues we've had recently, I assume you all have an idea as to what I want to talk about. [slightly dejectedly] But at first, I know that there are some of you here that have lost a comrade – a friend – during the last boss battle… due to a decision I have made without even telling you about it. I know that this must have hurt you deeply, and I can understand if you don't trust me anymore after that. [bows] For that, I am sorry.
There was a bit of a commotion among the crowd. Most of the attendees apparently hadn't expected a public apology.
Guild Leader 1 [curiously]: Wait, does that mean you'd decide differently if it came to a similar incident? Because that question was on my mind for a while.
There were approving whispers among the crowd. However, they died down instantly when Asuna shook her head.
Asuna: No, I adhere to my decision. I know that it has been controversial, and I won't blame anyone for disagreeing with me, [slightly sternly] but please keep in mind that I made that decision for a reason! I want the Assault Team to have a certain moral standard, and I think there are things – tactics and strategies – we shouldn't stoop to. [calmly] Once again, I'm not blaming anyone who disagrees, but I won't budge in that matter. I've just wanted to tell you where I stand in this debate.
People exchanged questioning looks among the crowd, and most of them were puzzled. This continued for half a minute until someone stepped up. The man crossed his arms and looked at Asuna sternly.
Guild Leader 2: Well, so what are you expecting us to do now? What's even the point of this meeting?! Are we supposed to just accept your declaration and move on, continuing to clear the floors as before? Because that, Asuna-san, is not happening with me and my team!
Several others agreed, which was to be expected. What – apparently – wasn't expected was Asuna's response.
Asuna [determinedly]: I'm not expecting you to do anything like that! No, I'm here to announce that the Knights of Blood Oath will no longer claim leadership over the Assault Team.
The tone of the murmurs changed from confusion and suspicion to surprise and complete cluelessness. The expressions of the attendees – save for Klein and Agil, of course – reflected that.
Guild Leader 2: So… you hand the command over to the DDA?
Asuna [slightly determinedly]: No, that wouldn't solve the actual problem, either. Tell me, does anyone here even want that?! The problem shouldn't be that the KoB leads the Assault Team, it should be that a single party leads it without understanding the whole situation. This is something I can't just change myself as it's an issue that requires an effort from a lot of people. That's why I want to propose a different solution. I've already convinced the Alliance to accept it, so it's only up to you.
Frankly, everyone was eager to learn what Asuna had come up with.
Asuna: From now on, a council will make all important decisions for the Assault Team. Our general policy, strategic decisions, planning joint missions, admitting new members… All that will be decided by the council from now on. That way, everyone will have a say in important decisions, and the leaders of the Assault Team will hear about all interests among those who are affected by that decisions.
So far, so good. Admittedly, the majority of the attendees were immediately interested in the concept. A few, however, had questions on their mind.
In the end, it all came down to a single point.
Guild Leader 2 [slightly suspiciously]: Does that mean we all get a seat in that council and partake in the decision-making from now on?
Asuna had been afraid that this question would come up. There was no way around it in the long run, but she was worried how things would turn out – to the point that her expression showed that clearly.
Asuna: I'm afraid not. At least not in that way. The council will have only three members, one representative of the KoB and DDA respectively and one of the remaining guilds.
The calm sound of overall quiet agreement among the crowd turned into a louder dissonance of indignation.
Guild Leader 2: Hey, hey, Asuna-san, you don't expect us to be happy about that, do you? Both you and the DDA might be happy about that, but we have to share our vote? How is that even supposed to work?!
Asuna [slightly nervously]: Well, you have to choose a representative, anyone you like, and that person will join the council meetings for you. [reassuringly, slightly nervously] Of course you can all discuss your point of view with that representative beforehand, so I'm sure you can work this out!
Both Kirito and Max were visibly worried at this point. They knew that Asuna could be more convincing than she was right now.
Truth be told, there were specific reasons for that arrangement. For starters, Asuna had made a compromise with the DDA on the matter. In fact, the whole idea with the council was a compromise.
The DDA had wanted control, but they were aware of their reputation, and over the course of the last few days, they had seen that most people wouldn't accept them as the sole leaders of the Assault Team. Therefore, they had been willing to accept the position as a part of a leading assembly.
However, they wanted more power than any small, run-of-the-mill guild among the Assault Team. They accepted KoB as equals, but not the likes of Fuurinkazan, the Two-Handed Builders or any other minor parties.
There was also the issue of practicability. The council would have to make decisions by majority vote. For starters, the set-up of the council should make that somewhat easy. If every guild in the Assault Team had a seat, it would probably be utter chaos. Having three members was probably the best way to keep things simple. There would be small-scale discussions, and as long as two parties came to an agreement, the remaining party would have to yield.
That was the next issue: If the council decided something, everyone would have to accept that. If a coalition could just go against the decision and bring clearing the game to a standstill again, the decisions of the council would be ultimately meaningless.
In a sense, the structure of the council was derived from a lesson that the current crisis had taught them: Both the KoB and the DDA could clear this game without the respective other group as long as the remaining Assault Team supported them. Therefore, no party among the proposed council could ignore an agreement among the other two. If they tried to, the majority coalition could just continue to clear the game without them.
It wasn't a perfect solution, but a pragmatic one.
The actual question was how Asuna could bring that across to the crowd in front of her, which was way too busy arguing with each other and with her. They hardly even listened.
Looking at the people from the DDA, who didn't seem very concerned, to be honest, Asuna wondered if the DDA had made their own take on Akinym's advice, which Kirito had told her about.
They had agreed to her proposal under the condition that she would be the one to convince the rest of the Assault Team, meaning that they would let her do the hard work. If everything worked out, they'd have what they wanted without doing anything for it, but if anything went wrong, they could at least blame Asuna and the KoB for it.
While Asuna was thinking about all that, the guild leaders voiced their doubts about the arrangement. In the end, they would have to come to an agreement with each other before the council could hold their meetings.
In the background, Akinym pondered over the situation. The concept of that council was a good idea in his opinion, and even without an explanation, he had figured out most of the ideas behind it already.
What Asuna probably hadn't taken into account was the hidden distrust among the Assault Team. Sure, they entrusted their lives to each other on the battlefield, not just within their own groups, but also beyond that, so it was an understandable misconception to think that all the parties would have a deep trust in each other.
The problem was that this trust only existed on the battlefield, where they faced a common threat. As Akinym had learnt during the last few days when he had talked to many of the people at the assembly, the majority of them saw each other – at best – as friendly rivals whenever they weren't joining forces for boss battles or anything like that.
The thought that they could come to an agreement with each other on a regular basis, and that without making major concessions almost all the time… Well, one of the guild leaders actually phrased it quite nicely.
Guild Leader 1: ...Yeah I can't see that happening…
Akinym wished Asuna had told him about this plan beforehand, maybe on the way back to Arc Sophia. He could somewhat understand why she hadn't, but it had still turned out to be a bad decision as far as he could see. If Asuna had said anything, Akinym would've warned her about the issue.
At the very least, he would've had more time to think of a solution.
Asuna: Please, I understand that there is a lot left to be sorted out, but don't you think that you can find common ground? We still fight for the same goal, don't we? To clear this game and return to the real world! This arrangement is just another step on the way there, so doesn't that give you a reason to trust each other to work together for this?
The overall reaction to Asuna's "speech" was summed up perfectly by one of the attendees.
Guild Leader 2 [grumpily, slightly haughtily]: You're usually more convincing, Asuna-san!
Kirito [upset]: Cut it out already! Asuna is right, and you know it! This kind of internal conflict can't go on forever, can it?
Guild Leader 2: I'm not saying that, but that doesn't mean we have to agree again with any bad idea someone comes up! Or do you have anything to say to actually convince us?!
Kirito gritted his teeth. He would've loved to prove that guy wrong, but to be honest, he'd bet any sum on Asuna being better with words than him, so if she had failed to get through to them, how was he supposed to succeed?
While Kirito didn't have an idea, Akinym actually had one. Frankly, he wasn't too convinced of it yet, and he would've liked to think it through completely, but he didn't seem to have the time for that.
Akinym stepped forward and took position right at the staircase, just two or three metres next to Asuna and Kirito.
Akinym: I'm actually a bit concerned that he hasn't already. I mean, isn't it true? Asuna-san is right about this. We're all fighting to escape this world one day, so I don't see why you can't accept that compromise and focus on the truly important task, namely…
Guild Leader 2 [interrupting, gruffly]: Whoa, whoa, hold it! I know you've got around lately and talked with pretty much all of us, but that doesn't mean that you can expect anyone here to listen to you just like that, either!
Guild Leader 3: Yeah, especially if you just repeat what they said! [slightly upset] And in such a casual manner, at that! What do you take us for?!
Guild Leader 1: If Asuna-san couldn't convince us with that, why do you think we'd listen to you?
Pretty much everyone agreed. The overall consensus was that they didn't want to be coaxed.
Klein and Agil were particularly suspicious, albeit for a special reason. Since Akinym was here, they had figured that Kirito and Asuna had managed to convince him not to cause more trouble, but what if he actually was here to sabotage this meeting?
Whatever they were expecting, it certainly wasn't what Akinym did, which was something nobody had seen coming. Akinym put on a surprised expression, which was, by the way, an act as he had anticipated this exact reaction to his words.
Akinym: Oh, so you can agree on something after all.
A wave of surprise went through the crowd. With his little trick, Akinym had managed to do what Asuna had failed at: He had got them to listen.
Akinym: You agree that you don't want to be fobbed off with nice words and shallow speeches about cooperation and whatnot. Now, the question is what do you want? [slightly exasperatedly] It kinda seems like you actually agree on that one, too, and that you want to be heard and to get a say in important decisions. Yet… Asuna-san offered you that, but for some reason, you suddenly agree to not accept the offer!
Guild Leader 2: Hey, you've heard what we discussed, so you should know that it's not that easy!
Guild Leader 1: Yeah! I mean, what good is this council if we can only make ourselves heard if we get whatever representative we choose to advocate our own interests first?!
Akinym took a moment to think about his reply. He had a general idea as to what to say, so he only thought about the best way to phrase it.
Akinym [flatly]: Yeah, essentially. I fail to see the problem, though. I mean, you have to bring your point across no matter what anyone could come up with. If you'd get a seat in the council yourselves, you'd still have to bring your point across, and you'd have to argue with all the people around you just as well. I mean, with Asuna-san's suggestion, you don't even have to deal with the representatives of the KoB and DDA yourselves. You can push that task onto your representative, [slightly teasingly] just as a certain group let Asuna-san deal with all of this…
Kirito was a bit distracted by the chuckles among the crowd (even some of the KoB guards could barely contain their laughter), but he had the feeling he could see the two DDA members on the sidelines almost topple over from the corner of his eye.
Akinym [slightly sternly]: I'm also gonna be honest here, and I don't think that I'll surprise anyone by saying this, but how much do you think you can get out of this anyway? You're kinda acting like each of your own groups is equal to the KoB or the DDA. Let's be real: [dryly] You just aren't.
A wave of indignation went through the crowd, and it was accompanied by a simultaneous groan from the majority of the people here. The few people who didn't join in stared at Akinym awkwardly. All in all, nobody had thought that he'd say that, let alone so nonchalantly.
Akinym [slightly annoyed]: What's with these faces?! Don't tell me anyone here thought differently about it! Seriously, you know it's true, [calmly] so what's even the harm in saying it? [slightly contemplatively] I mean, look at it that way: If you decide to refuse to cooperate, these two guilds could just shrug it off and continue clearing the game while you're on a pointless strike. [slightly defensively] I know, I know! KoB and DDA on good terms and cooperating willingly? Doesn't sound too realistic, especially given everything that has happened lately, [calmly] but you've heard Asuna-san: Clearing this game is a goal we all have in common, including the KoB and the DDA. If there's no way around it, they'll come to an agreement, just as they have about this council. Or how do you see that, Asuna-san?
Akinym suddenly addressing Asuna caught her a little off-guard.
Asuna: H-huh?! Oh, yes. [clears throat, calmly] The KoB will continue to pursue that goal, and we're willing to cooperate with anyone, including the Alliance, as far as reasonable.
The attendees exchanged contemplative glances. They didn't like the sound of it, but they got the idea.
Akinym: I'd say that answers that question. You know, if you really wanna see this as a negotiation, you should also understand that you don't have much to bargain for, at least not individually. However, as the chaos during the last few days has proven, you can tip the balance when the KoB and DDA are arguing. In your best interest, of course. If all of you side with either of them, there's not much the opposing party can do about it.
Asuna just nodded to confirm it. This, however, was answered by suspicious murmurs from the crowd.
Akinym [slightly exasperatedly]: I see frowning faces again… I know Asuna-san has just confirmed something that might seem as if she's just trying to get you to agree for KoB's own good, but keep in mind that she has also acknowledged that you could side with the DDA and there wouldn't be much KoB could do about it. And as we've all seen recently, that's not completely out of the question.
At the very least, the murmurs died down.
Akinym [calmly]: I'd say this council is your best bet to influence the way the Assault Team is led in your favour. You just have to talk things out among each other, and you have to choose a representative that is willing to defend the intentions you agree on even against the big shots… and who's capable to get through to them. You might as well use that person as a mediator.
A moment of silence followed. There was something which was bothering most of the attendees, and it took a moment for one of them to voice it.
Guild Leader 2 [hesitantly]: Fine, fine, you've got a point… [annoyed, slightly suspiciously] It's just… Why should we actually trust you? You told me that you don't trust Asuna-san to lead the Assault Team the way she did, and that we might be better of with the Alliance, but now you're advocating her solution! What's actually your game?!
Akinym [flatly]: Why you should trust me? There is no reason for that.
The crowd was almost shocked as Akinym had followed up with the next, truly surprising admission.
Akinym: Fortunately, that's not crucial, either. You only have to trust your own conclusions. Think of it that way: When I was trying to convince you to support the DDA, none of you created the impression that you'd trust me, yet you listened to me and gave some thought to what I said.
Akinym thought a bit about what to say next. There was still another question to answer, and it was something he hadn't thought of yet. He figured that he should answer in a way that supported the idea of the council, but that required some thought.
When he finally spoke up, Akinym sounded almost sad, as if his words were some kind of surrender.
Akinym: As for what I'm trying to do, it's actually the same as it's always been. I'm just trying to do everything in my power to make sure that as many people as possible will leave this game alive, be it here or anywhere else in Aincrad. It's just that my interpretation of what that means and requires has… changed a little.
Akinym glanced over at Kirito and Asuna.
Akinym: I've voiced my concern about Asuna-san's decision-making because I came to question her judgment or the judgment of some of the people around her. However… I had to accept that there are things happening in the background that I just don't know about. [turns to the crowd, slightly determinedly] It's not like I'm suddenly on their side, I just happen to think that the council is a good idea, [slightly dejectedly] and I've learnt that distrust and extreme pessimism might be a form of caution sometimes, but it can also be a fatal mistake. [calmly] Be it on a battlefield or in politics. [slightly determinedly] Anyway, I've decided to leave my personal doubts about certain things out of this to judge the idea objectively – because I don't want anything to cloud my judgment anymore!
The attendees didn't seem to know what to say anymore. In the end, one of them had to step up to ease the tension.
Klein: Well, I guess we've said everything, haven't we, Asuna? [looks around] It's not like there's anything to vote for, is there? The decision is already made, and as we've heard, there isn't really anything we can do about it now! So how about we leave it at that, and everyone just thinks about it for a while? We can sort things out later.
Asuna: Um, yes, I suppose that's correct. [politely] Thank you all for your attendance. I hope you'll come to the conclusion that this is for the best, and we'll await your decision, especially about your representative, so that the council can start to work.
With that, the meeting was disbanded, and everyone returned to their respective comrades to tell them what had happened. Some were pondering over what had been said, others were a bit sullen or suspicious. Some were just tired, especially Asuna. With the tension gone, there was relief, but also exhaustion.
The bottom line was, however, that there was reason to hope for things to change for the better now.
So, yeah... That's that.
I don't have much to say about this chapter, so I'll leave it at that. Stay tuned for part two!
Little Preview: The Assault Team seems to know what to do in the future, but what about Akinym? And maybe he's not the only player who has to think of what to do from now on.