:: Author's Note ::

Dear God, finally! This chapter was like pulling teeth. It doesn't help matters that work has been particularly exhausting lately, and I haven't really had time to focus on any other projects but my main one on Tapas.

But more than that though, I've been having bad writers block with this one. I'm really struggling with the bridge here. By that I mean, I know where this story is supposed to go, but I'm having trouble getting there, if that makes sense. I'm hoping that if I can just get us to the beginning of the death game, if I can just form this bridge, then I'll get a steady flow going again and start pumping out chapters a bit more frequently.

Honestly, it's been a bit discouraging how much I've struggled with this chapter. You guys have been so supportive with this writing and have given such great feedback. I've felt bad that I haven't been able to give you more than this, but I'm hoping that the release of this chapter will spur me on to continue

In any case, I give you Chapter Eleven at long last.

:: End Note ::

Plane crashes were loud. That's something Asuna was very quick to discover. They were very loud, and very jerky. And while she was thankful Kazuto had thought ahead of time to turn his audio down, she had no such luck. As it was, Asuna found herself clinging to Kazuto's arm for support the entire way down, wailing like a terrified schoolgirl who'd just seen a spider. Definitely not her proudest moment.

As unceremonious as their emergency landing was, once the chaos ended and the two entered the actual world of the Forest, Asuna found herself getting that sense of childlike wonder again. Even if this game's world was nowhere near the scope and majesty of Aincrad, it was still a marvel just thinking about the fact that this whole area they were in was a game. A product of virtual reality.

From the plane crash, Kazuto and Asuna gathered supplies from the wreckage. Including new, more environmentally ergonomic clothes, a hatchet, backpacks for increased inventory space, as well as any food and water they could find. From there, they embarked into the open terrain of the game. Just as the name suggested, their environment consisted of a massive, arboreal forest and little else.

As Kazuto had explained it, the Forest was in fact a sort of prototype for testing Aincrad's game engine. The difference being that this game was not self-automated by the cardinal system, meaning there were still quite a few bugs to be found. Such as weird texture pop ins and other strange occurrences.

Weird bugs aside, the Forest was still a rather unique experience. It played similarly to SAO only with far less options for combat and rather simplistic inventory and crafting mechanics. Still, the environments were fully rendered and fully immersive, and Asuna found herself getting lost in exploration same as Kazuto.

First thing first, they needed to build a shelter for themselves. Ideally somewhere with plenty of access to fresh water, resources, and game for them to hunt. To that end, Kazuto and Asuna started hiking towards a more desirable spot.

"There's a clearing seated next to a plateau about a half mile from here that should be a good spot for setting up camp," Kazuto declared as they continued their hike. "We'll have to cross a small river to get to it, but that will be a good source of freshwater."

"Does crafting work pretty much the same as it does in SAO?" Asuna asked while taking in her surroundings.

He nodded. "The things you can actually craft are a little different, but it works pretty much the same. Just open your menu, select craft guide in the drop down, and go from there."

"Got it."

"Most items will fit in your inventory, but there are some you'll have to carry by hand just like in SAO," he explained. "Mostly logs."

"I was gonna ask about that, actually. I remember in SAO we were able to set up a camp on floor two relatively easy. But what if you wanted to build something more complex? Like a log cabin?"

"Then you would need plenty of logs," Kazuto answered. "Part of why construction in SAO is unpopular is that a lot of the materials required to build structures can't be stored in your inventory. Things like logs, or bricks, or stone have to be carted by hand or via a wagon."

"I can see how that might get tedious," Asuna admitted.

"That's assuming you even have the proper construction skill necessary to build what you want," he continued. "Fortunately this game doesn't require any construction skill to build things. So long as you have the raw materials, you can make theoretically anything you want."

Asuna quirked a brow at him. "Anything?"

He nodded. "Within reason, of course. Part of why this game was made was to experiment with crafting randomly generated items. It's what formed the basis for SAOs crafting system."

"Neat," she responded with a smile.

"Some of the stuff you can make in this game is weird," Kazuto admitted. "Not all of it will be helpful, just so you know."

Asuna adjusted the strap of her hiking bag as they continued their walk. They eventually passed through a thicket into the clearing Kazuto was referring to. After helping Asuna cross the small river the two found a flat space near the plateau and began setting up their camp.

"Wow...this spot is beautiful!" Asuna declared while looking around at the gorgeous scenery.

"We'll want to establish a perimeter to protect ourselves from the natives," Kazuto was already formulating blueprints for a base in his mind. "Maybe set some traps in case…"

"We should build a log cabin!" she insisted excitedly.

He frowned. "Are you sure? Log cabins take a substantial amount of resources to build. Not to mention a lot of time."

"Awww come on. Please?" she begged, slapping on a pair of puppy dog eyes. "It'll be fun! We could make that our objective for the game."

After tossing the idea around for a moment, he smiled and nodded. "Alright. We technically have a day and a half, which should give us enough time to at least complete the basic structure."

"Yay!" She clapped her hands together excitedly.

"We still need to establish a perimeter first," he insisted. "Set some traps, as well as find food and other resources we can use."

Asuna nodded determinedly. "Right then! Let's get started."

The two began scrounging for resources to begin constructing their base. While Kazuto began chopping down trees and carrying back logs, Asuna started using the resources she'd gathered to craft herself a stone spear and go hunting. Though not exactly the same, the mechanics were similar enough to SAO that she was able to get pretty decent with her makeshift weapon. And before long she had bagged herself two rabbits and a dear. In addition, she also found a bush with what looked like blueberries growing on them.

Once she was certain they had enough food, Asuna began picking up whatever odd items she could find, anything she thought might be useful, before returning to the camp. Kazuto was hard at work constructing a basic shelter from the logs he'd gathered, as well as a firepit to roast the meat they'd hunted.

"I found some berries in addition to the meat," Asuna declared upon arriving back at camp.

He nodded approvingly. "Just remember not all of them are edible. Some berries are poisonous."

"That's a lot of logs you've got there," Asuna observed while roasting some of their hard earned meat over the fire he'd built. "Sure you don't need a hand?"

"They're not as heavy as they look," he assured. "Besides, I'm about to craft a log holder to store these for later."

"Just tell me how I can help," she insisted.

"If you wanna go chop down some more trees, that would be great. I'm gonna start gathering up some stone to build us a wall."

She nodded in understanding. "Right. I'm on it."

Asuna made her way over to the forested area where Kazuto had begun cutting down trees. Using her hatchet, she began cutting away at the base of one of the larger trees, taking massive chunks out of it with each swing. Until at last the tree finally fell, breaking away into easily manageable logs right there on the ground.

At first, the size of the logs worried her, but then she remembered the mace incident and decided not to be timid. Asuna bent down and picked the log up, finding it to be relatively light despite its size.

"Heh...just call me Wonder Woman," Asuna muttered to herself before slinging the log over her shoulder and returning to camp. Once there, she stored the logs in the holder Kazuto had constructed. Whereupon she repeated the process again. Meanwhile, Kazuto continued building their wall.

As the sun began to set, the two eventually settled down next to their campfire and ate more of the meat they'd hunted.

"This should last us the day, but we'll want to find more food for tomorrow," Kazuto said.

"I'm trying to figure out how to make this bow." Asuna fiddled around with the crafting menu while they ate.

"You need sinew for that," he explained with a mouthful of cooked rabbit. "Do you have any in your inventory?"

She shook her head. "None that I can see. I wasn't sure what all would be useful from that plane so I just sort of grabbed a little of everything."

"Not every item you can craft will appear in the guide. You can experiment around with different items to see what they'll make. Just like in SAO."

"Can anything be combined together?"

He shook his head. "Not just anything. The system will tell you if the items can be made into something new or not."

"Hmm...oh wait! I do have sinew," she declared before crafting herself a bow. "Now how in God's name do you make arrows? It seems like stick and rock are only two thirds of the formula."

Curiosity getting the better of her, Asuna started playing around with different item combinations in the crafting menu, just to see what all she could create. She placed a bird's feather within the craft box, which she then intended to combine with a stick and a stone to see if that could make her an arrow. However, Asuna misclicked and accidentally combined the feather with a metal pan she scavenged from the plane.

For her trouble, she received the item pan with feather. Something about that tickled her to absolute death and Asuna burst into a fit of hysterical laughter.

"Kazuto!" she laughed while holding up the item. "Kazuto, look what I just accidentally made!"

He set his food down and inspected the item. Upon seeing the text, he just looked confused.

"Pan with feather?"

She laughed even harder as he said the name aloud. "Like, I'm so proud of myself. When we finish the cabin, can we put it on our fridge?"

Maybe it was just because of how hard she was laughing, but Kazuto slowly started cracking up as well. It wasn't his normal reserved chuckling either, he was having to physically contain his chortling.

"I don't get it." she insisted while still laughing hysterically. "Like, why is this a thing you can make in the game? What purpose does it serve?"

Finally, he broke down into hysterical laughter right alongside her. Seeing Kazuto laugh this hard only made her laughing worse. To the point she was keeled over in the grass, her sides hurting.

"Hold on. I'll make it too." Kazuto quickly went through his inventory and slapped together a pan with feather item before showing it to her. "Ta da!"

Asuna clapped for him. "Look at you." She chuckled again before wiping a mirthful tear from her eye. "God...I am so proud of discovering pan with feather."

He burst into laughter again. "Me too!"

At that moment, a rabbit ran straight into their fire and burned to death. Upon seeing this random animal run headlong to its own demise right in front of them, they both burst into hysterical laughter once again.

"God this game is so buggy, but I love it!"

"Wait wait! I just got another crafting idea!" Kazuto declared before picking up the dead rabbit.

"Oh my God, Kazuto! What are you doing?" Asuna giggled at him hysterically.

They spent way more time than they had any business to messing around with the game's bizarre crafting system. Just seeing what crazy things they could come up with. The more they experimented, the more Asuna began to realize something about Kazuto.

He had a sense of humor.

Back in SAO, whenever Diavel would crack a joke, or Argo would make some witty comment, Kazuto never seemed to laugh. Or if he did, it was usually just a small chuckle or reserved smile. Something to let them all know he was paying attention, and understood it was supposed to be a joke, even if he didn't think it was funny himself.

Most of the jokes they made seemed to either go right over his head, or he'd take them so literally it was hard to see the punchline. Then again, that made sense given how direct he was all the time. But seeing him now? Literally red in the face from laughter same as her? She realized the problem wasn't that he misunderstood jokes, it was just that he happened to have a different sense of humor.

Kazuto liked silly things. To him, things like self-deprecation and teasing your friends weren't funny. But pan with feather? That was hilarious! And Asuna happened to agree.

"Okay! I've got another craft," Asuna declared before combining two random items together. "I give you...the cloth hatchet!"

Kazuto laughed at her silly invention before going into his inventory and slapping two random objects together. "That's pretty great. But what about...cloth rock?"

Asuna burst into a fit of hysterical giggling upon being presented with what was essentially just a rock with some cloth wrapped around it. "Oh wow!" She wiped another mirthful tear away. "Kazuto, that belongs in a museum."

"You think that's great? How about cloth rock...on fire?"

Upon dipping the rock into their campfire the entire thing went up in flames.

"Oh God, careful!" Asuna insisted.

Kazuto chucked the rock into the woods whereupon it shattered into light. They considered what had happened for a moment before laughing yet again.

"Wait! Hold on!" Asuna had been laughing so hard it was actually starting to hurt. "Why did the rock light on fire?"

"I don't know!" He laughed right alongside her.

"Like, I get the cloth. But why did the whole rock set on fire?"

Again they just laughed at how ridiculous the game's bugs were. Truthfully, there was no reason for Asuna to find it this funny. But there was something about seeing Kazuto genuinely enjoying himself, laughing so mirthfully, that was simply infectious.

Finally, the energy died down into quiet chuckling, before the camp returned to peace once more.

"I'll be honest, I don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time," Asuna admitted, now slightly out of breath.

Kazuto shook his head. "Me neither."

Silence followed. For a moment, Asuna looked as if she was about to say something when Kazuto suddenly hopped up off of the stump he was sitting on.

"Alright! We better do some more hunting before it gets too dark," he declared in an uncharacteristically chipper voice.

Asuna smiled at him and stood up. "Sounds good to me."

Their hunting trip bore fruit. As Kazuto and Asuna explored the woods around their camp, they came across all manner of wildlife for them to hunt. Using the bow she managed to craft, Asuna bagged them another deer and an iguana.

"Are the blueberries okay to eat?" she asked while taking one out of her backpack.

He nodded. "Those should be fine. If you build a planting square, we can use the seeds you've gathered to grow our own blueberry trees back at camp."

"Will we have time for that?"

He shrugged. "Maybe not today, but we can always save this world and come back to it another time."

Asuna smiled at him thoughtfully. Kazuto was in such good spirits, and it showed. Truthfully, she'd never seen him quite this happy before. Even in SAO.

Her train of thought was interrupted by a slightly unnerving sight. A couple yards away there stood an effigy posted in the ground, one decorated with human skulls.

"Well that's grim." She shuddered at the sight.

"Looks like we've wandered too close to one of the camps of the cannibals," Kazuto observed before adding with a smirk. "You wanna see something really funny?"

Asuna nodded. "Okay. Lead the way."

He gestured for her to follow. Whereupon the two drew their hatchets and followed the effigy's marker to a clearing. In this clearing they came across a series of large grass huts with even more human remnants littered around.

"Are you sure we should be here?" Asuna asked nervously while clutching her hatchet tightly to her chest.

"Just trust me, I know this looks gruesome but it'll get hilarious in a moment."

"What do you mean? Kazuto, I'm not sure we should be…"

From the corner of her eye, Asuna caught sight of something running between two of the huts. A nervous flutter formed in her chest as she slowly backed away.

"Kazuto...I just saw something."

He nodded, a knowing grin on his face. "Don't worry, we're safe."

She wanted to believe him, but everything about this place screamed bad news. Sure enough, not even a minute later, the two of them were beset upon by three cannibalistic natives wielding spears and dressed in human bones. The natives rushed them whereupon Asuna was about to bolt, only for Kazuto to raise a hand and stop her.

"What are you doing?!" she asked frantically.

He pointed towards the three charging natives, who all one by came to a stop in front of them. They were growling and snarling, their spears raised as if they were about to attack, yet not one of them did. It was confusing, to say the least.

"See? What'd I tell you," Kazuto laughed. "Their AI is bugged. They're not even attacking us."

Asuna narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the cannibals. While it was true they weren't attacking, something about their body language was making her uneasy.

"I mean, it's obvious these guys are supposed to be enemies, but they won't even hit you unless you hit them first," he insisted while raising his hatchet into the air. "Watch this."

As he stepped forward, Asuna saw one of the natives step back. A sinking feeling came over her as she saw Kazuto approach one of the natives.

"Kazuto, wait…" Asuna stepped in front of him, much to his confusion.

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

"I...don't think this is a bug," she admitted. "I think it might be a miscommunication."

That word he hated so much popped up and his eyes filled with despair. "What do you mean? This isn't a miscommunication. They're angry. They want to attack us but the bug won't…"

"No." Asuna shook her head. "It's not a bug."

"I'm telling you it is!" he insisted, getting angry now. "It has to be a bug. Look at their faces!"

She took a breath to keep calm before slowly placing her hands on his cheeks. "Kazuto, look at me."

He was getting extremely ramped up. But her voice calmed him down somewhat.

"I want you to watch something. Okay?" She pulled out a piece of meat from her inventory. "Just watch me."

With a confused and frustrated look in his eyes Kazuto watched as Asuna gently placed the meat down in front of the natives. They considered the offering thoughtfully before cautiously picking it up and scurrying away.

Kazuto was at a complete loss for words. "B...what?"

"Do you understand now?" she asked him gently.

He shook his head. "No. I've never seen them do that. I didn't even know they could do that."

"They weren't angry, Kazuto. They were scared. The villagers were just defending their home."

"But…" he slowly began to withdraw in on himself. "...then why did they look so mad?"

"Because sometimes when people are scared, they act like they're mad," she explained. "They put on a brave face because they have to. And that shows as anger, when really it's fear."

"No, that doesn't make any sense," Kazuto insisted while beginning to pace back and forth. "I mean...these natives are supposed to be the bad guys. They eat people. They wear human skulls and post them on signs like decoration."

"Those signs are supposed to be a warning," she insisted. "They're meant to keep people away. I'm not saying these natives are necessarily good people, but I don't think they're the bad guys either."

A familiar feeling of dread washed over Kazuto.

"I think they just want to be left alone," she finished.

Kazuto's features darkened. How many times had he gone around killing the natives haphazardly? How many corpses had he piled up while playing this game?

"We're done," he declared in a flat monotone, all life and fervor having left his voice.

"You want to go back to the camp?" Asuna asked.

He shook his head. "No. We're done. I don't want to play this game anymore."

She frowned in disappointment. "Why? It was just getting fun."

"No, it's not fun," he insisted, getting visibly agitated now. "It's a stupid game with stupid unclear rules and no objective. There isn't a notoriety meter to let you know if you're killing bad guys or if you're…"

He started repeatedly hitting his palm against his forehead. Asuna, knowing a meltdown was imminent, immediately sprung into action.

"Kazuto. Hey Kazuto, look at me," she calmly insisted while taking his hands in hers.

He pulled away and started tugging at his hair again. She took a deep breath and let him work through it for a moment before trying again.

"Kazuto, look at me." She tried taking his hands in hers again. This time, he didn't pull away. "Look at me."

His eyes locked with hers and he began to calm down.

"Take a deep breath in...and then breathe out while counting to ten in your head."

She walked him through the calming exercise that Midori used on her. Slowly, Asuna got his breathing back under control. And from there, she got his attention back on her.

"Okay. Now how about we go sit by the fire back at camp? Will that be okay?"

He nodded solemnly. "That's okay…"

With that, she slowly guided him back to their camp.

It was almost incredible just how quickly the switch could flip. One minute they were having the time of their lives, enjoying a fun game, the next Kazuto was completely withdrawn back into his shell. A veritable wall of emotion. The incident with the natives really only served to show just how easy it was for Kazuto's mood to shift, even in a controlled environment like the Forest.

"So...any chance you'll still work on the cabin with me?" Asuna asked while the two sat quietly next to the fire.

He didn't respond. Asuna sighed in frustration.

"I know you're upset, Kazuto, and I want to help you," she spoke gently to him. "But in order to do that, I need you to talk to me. Tell me what's on your mind."

It took him a minute, but he finally managed to speak up.

"Why is it always like this?"

At that, she frowned woefully. "This again? Kazuto, there's no sense in beating yourself up over something you have no control over."

"No, I mean...why do I always have to find out I did something wrong after the fact?" he asked in frustration. "Everyone else just knows these things and I'm always so clueless. It isn't until I mess up, or hurt someone, or get people mad at me that I figure out I've broken the rules."

"Learning the rules is hard for everyone, sometimes," she offered. "Especially when it comes to life. We all struggle with that in some form or fashion."

He sighed dejectedly. "Not like I do though. Everyone else just seems to know how to do things, make friends, get ahead in jobs, deal with difficult people. But me? I can't do any of that."

"Kazuto…"

"How am I supposed to be Aincrad's King when I don't even know how to be human?" Tears welled up in his eyes and his bottom lip began to quiver. "All I ever do is make people mad at me like I did my Grandfather...or drive them away..." Slowly he began to break down. "...like I did my dad."

Asuna had never seen this before from him. Kazuto wasn't having another meltdown. That's not what this was. He was just...crying. The same sort of crying she would do whenever she was hurting. He wasn't overwhelmed right now, just in pain. She wasn't sure why this was wrecking her so badly, but seeing Kazuto like this had Asuna completely torn up inside. She slowly knelt down next to him and placed her hands in his.

"Kazuto...listen to me."

Hearing the emotion in her voice, Kazuto slowly lifted his head up. Upon seeing the tears in Asuna's eyes, his expression softened into one of worry.

"You're going to make an amazing King," she insisted while quietly sniffling. "And anyone who says otherwise is just ignorant. Your Grandfather, your Dad, they don't know what they're talking about. They're the truly ignorant ones, not you."

"Why are you crying?" he asked as if he hadn't just done the same thing not even a minute ago.

She wiped her tears away and sniffled again. "It just hurts me seeing you like this."

"But I didn't want to make you sad," he insisted, looking slightly distraught. "Please don't cry, Asuna."

She chuckled at him in disbelief and took a breath while fanning her eyes dry. "I can't help it. When I think about how much life has hurt you, it makes me wanna cry too."

He smiled for her. "But I feel better now. So you don't have to cry anymore."

Asuna's spirits finally seemed to lift, whereupon she placed a hand on his cheek. "Kazuto, I know how easy it is to feel discouraged when you mess up. Believe me, I do. But you're so much stronger than you give yourself credit for."

"I am?"

She nodded her head vehemently. "You absolutely are. Kazuto, you're the best Player in SAO. You kill monsters that most people would consider to be terrifying, and you make it look easy. You're a programmer, you build computers, there are so many things about you that are simply remarkable."

He turned his gaze away bashfully, his whole face heating up.

"That's why I know you'll make such a great King," Asuna insisted. "Because you're living proof that just because something is hard, that doesn't make it impossible."

For the longest time, Kazuto didn't respond. After a moment however, realization formed in his eyes as a thought occurred to him.

"Kill monsters…" he muttered quietly to himself.

"Kazuto? Are you listening to me?" she asked curiously.

He suddenly stood up and made his way back into the forest.

"Hey wait!" Asuna took off after him. "Where are you going?"

"To prove my worth as a King," he responded, with nary so much as a pause in his stride.

Kazuto led Asuna through the woods to a dark, ominous cave on the outskirts of the native village. From there, he crafted himself a torch and lit it before gesturing for her to join him at the entrance. Despite wanting to help Kazuto cheer up, Asuna would have been lying if she said she wasn't hesitant to go in there. Especially considering it was now the middle of the night.

"So...what is it we're doing here again, Kazuto?" she asked while reluctantly approaching the mouth of the cave.

"Within this cave is a monster that only comes out at night," he explained while holding the torch up above his head. "Once in a while, it'll leave the cave and attack the natives in the village, dragging one back to its lair for food."

Her stomach did a flip.

"We're going to kill it," he declared boldy. "That way, the natives will be safe from harm. Nothing will ever attack them again. That is the objective I'm setting for us."

"Okay, but why are we doing this in the middle of the night?" She couldn't help the fear rising in her voice.

"It's the only time the monster will show," he explained. "If we do this, then the natives won't ever be bothered again." The look of determination in his eyes turned into a small guilty frown. "They'll...they'll be left alone. Just like they want."

Her fear ebbed for a moment upon seeing that guilty look on his face. Kazuto was trying to do right by the natives he inadvertently harmed and remove a major obstacle for them. It was so incredibly sweet just how much he cared, even if they were just NPCs.

Still, why oh why did this thing have to live in a pitch black cave?

"Do you have your spear ready?" Kazuto asked.

She nodded before equipping her weapon. "I do. But are you sure this will be enough?"

He frowned thoughtfully for a moment. "There's an item in the cave that will help us. If we can reach it before the monster knows we're there, we should be alright."

Asuna gulped. "Should be?"

"Don't worry. If we die, we'll just lose our inventory. Nothing major," he assured, whereupon they both started walking into the cave.

Okay, that was all fine and well. That didn't change the fact that Asuna was scared shitless right now. Without her armor and rapier, she felt completely naked walking into this cave. As it was, the deeper in they went, the closer she found herself getting to Kazuto and his torch.

"Watch out for bats," he cautioned.

"Where?!" she asked frantically before pointing her spear at anything that moved.

"I meant in case you see one…"

Asuna breathed a sigh of weary relief. "Right...got it."

She heard a bat squeak whereupon Asuna dropped her spear and latched onto Kazuto's arm frightfully.

"What was that?!" she asked, subconsciously squeezing his arm tighter for support.

Kazuto looked at her with a mixture of bewilderment and confusion on his face. "Probably just a bat?"

"Why do they have to be so loud?" she whined, clearly very freaked out.

"Are you okay, Asuna?" he asked a little worriedly.

"I just...really don't like caves," she admitted, a slight quiver in her voice.

He cocked a confused brow at her. "You don't? But we explored several caves in SAO. You didn't seem to have a problem then."

"Okay, but those were Aincrad caves!" she insisted frantically, refusing to let go of his arm. "They were big, and spacious, and had plenty of light. This cave is narrow, and suffocating, and...dark." She shuddered at the sounds around her. "Not to mention I had a sword then, not just a flimsy wooden spear that breaks after three freaking hits."

A thought occurred to him. "Asuna...are you claustrophobic?"

She pouted her lips pitifully. "I can't help it, okay? I've been scared of small dark spaces since I was a little girl."

He smiled at her. "That's alright. We all have things we're scared of."

Asuna gazed up at him curiously.

"I don't like loud noises, or crowds, or people touching my back," he reminded her. "But...I can manage them as long as I have someone with me I trust." He then added with a slight blush on his cheeks. "Like you."

"Kazuto…"

"Dark caves and tight quarters don't scare me," he continued. "So...I'll help you through the cave, since you've been helping me through crowds and loud noises. Does that sound okay?"

She finally smiled at him and nodded. "Okay. Sounds fair."

They slowly made their way deeper into the cave, with Asuna maintaining a firm grip on Kazuto's arm. The two eventually reached a narrow gap in the wall that they would have to squeeze through.

"Careful, it's a tight fit through here," Kazuto cautioned.

Asuna fidgeted uncomfortably. "Will you...hold my hand while we cross?"

He smiled and nodded. "Of course."

They squeezed their way through the narrow passageway. Asuna maintained a deathgrip on his hand the entire time. When they were finally through, Asuna kept a brisk pace directly beside him, noting how deceptively big the cave was despite how claustrophobic it felt.

"What's that?" she asked nervously while pointing towards what looked like several bodies hanging from stalactites.

"Looks like the monster's latest victims," Kazuto admitted. "We'll need to be careful, we're getting closer to its lair."

Asuna couldn't help but be slightly amazed at Kazuto. How was this not scaring the pants off of him like it was her? His problems with crowds and loud noises aside, Kazuto was easily one of the bravest boys she knew, and this just reinforced that idea.

They stopped upon arriving at a new obstacle. In front of them was a pool of water and little else.

"I don't get it." She looked around in confusion. "There doesn't seem to be anything else here. Did we reach a dead end?"

He shook his head. "No, take a closer look."

Kazuto held his torch over the water and revealed the direction the cave continued in. A hideous pit formed in Asuna's stomach as she slowly backed away.

"You...you can't be serious."

"We have to swim through here." He confirmed her worst suspicions.

She blanched in terror. "But...but what about the torch?!"

He shrugged. "I'll just craft a new one once we're on the other side."

"So we have to swim in the dark?!" she asked, panic returning to her voice.

Kazuto frowned at her worriedly. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"Kazuto I…" She was visibly shaking now. "...I don't think I can do this. This is like...my absolute worst fear."

He nodded in understanding. "If we need to go back, we can. But I'm gonna continue on regardless."

She gave him an incredulous look. "You are?"

"I've done this before, so I don't mind going in alone."

He'd done this before? All by himself? Asuna could hardly believe what she was hearing. And yet...hearing that confidence in his voice, the sincerity of his words, she couldn't help but feel a bit emboldened herself. If Kazuto could pass this obstacle alone, then she could do it with his assistance. It was time to face her fears.

She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. "No...I'll go with you. You just might have to let me hold onto you."

He frowned nervously and turned his head away. "That might be difficult…"

"Why? What is…"

And that was when she realized. His back! If she was gonna use him for support, she'd have to hang onto his back! There was no way. It wouldn't work.

Asuna hung her head in shame and began running her hands through a strand of her hair self-consciously. "I guess...we'll just have to go back then. If I can't hold onto you, I don't think I can…"

"It'll be difficult," he continued, interrupting her. "But I'll be okay."

She gasped in surprise, her eyes going wide with shock.

"I don't like people touching my back," he insisted. "But...if it's you, then I think I can handle it."

"Kazuto, no." She shook her head insistently. "I'm not gonna make you do that."

"I'll be okay," he assured, sounding a little uncomfortable regardless. "It won't be for very long, and once we're on the other side you can let go."

She bit her lower lip nervously, her mind racing, before finally looking back at him. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "You're facing your fear, so I will too. We'll both cross this section together, or not at all."

Emboldened by his words, she finally nodded her head and approached him. "Okay. We'll overcome our fears together."

Kazuto shook his head. "No, we won't."

She gave him a confused look.

"You never get over your fears, not completely anyway," he insisted. "You just learn to adapt to them."

Kazuto slowly turned around and offered her his back.

"Adapting is something I've always been good at."

Asuna considered him more thoughtfully for a moment before gingerly approaching his back. Upon touching his shoulder, Kazuto flinched.

"You okay?" she asked, immediately pulling away.

He nodded. "Just...try to be a little slower."

She very carefully snaked her arms around his shoulders before pressing fully into his back. Kazuto tensed up for a moment, but eventually relaxed.

"You okay?" she spoke quietly into his ear.

"Yeah…" he responded. "...I'll be fine."

She turned her gaze away and blushed. "Kazuto?"

"What?"

"Don't ever doubt yourself again, okay?" she insisted.

His back tensed up again, only this time for different reasons.

"Close your eyes and take a deep breath," he instructed.

Asuna did as asked and firmly shut her eyes before breathing in sharply. The torch went out and Kazuto jumped into the water, taking the plunge.

Kazuto and Asuna emerged on the other side of the water, frazzled, yet still in one piece. Once they were securely on the other side of the underwater tunnel, they built a small campfire and took a moment to dry off and get their frayed nerves back under control. That was easily the scariest thing Asuna had ever been through in her life.

"Man, I am so not about that," Asuna insisted, still shivering slightly.

He shook his head. "I don't know that one...but I think I get what you're trying to say. I'm not about that either."

She chuckled at him. "Still, we made it through. I'd say that's cause for celebration."

Kazuto smiled at her. "Yeah. I agree."

Once they'd taken a moment to rest, Kazuto crafted a new torch and lit it on the campfire. They continued their journey deeper into the cave, with Asuna feeling a teensy bit braver now that she'd overcome that perilous obstacle.

Her bravery immediately went out the window upon hearing a strange noise that sounded like a hiss coming from deep within the cave. Asuna immediately latched onto Kazuto's arm for support again.

"Tell me that was just another bat," she pleaded.

He shook his head. "We're getting close. We need to find the treasure cache down here if we're gonna get that item we need."

"You know where it is, right?"

Kazuto nodded. "It's not that far."

It took some doing, but the pair eventually happened upon a side passage leading to a small alcove within the cave. Once inside, Kazuto lit another campfire, illuminating their surroundings. By the looks of things, they weren't the first ones to come here. There were skeletons of other survivors in the cave. Along with boxes and crates containing what she imagined had to be supplies.

"This is the cache," he declared. "One of these crates should have the item."

Asuna walked over to a crate and inspected it, running a hand along its surface. "These look like old military supplies." She bashed the lock off of the crate with her hatched before popping open the crate. "We've got some bandages and rubbing alcohol in this one."

"Take it all," he suggested. "We can turn those into molotov cocktails."

She stuffed the items into her inventory before moving on to the next crate. Upon bashing it open and checking its contents, she pulled out a brown cylindrical stick with a lightable wick on the end.

"I think this is dynamite," she observed with a hint of amazement in her voice.

"Also a good find. Go ahead and take it as well."

"Any luck finding that item we needed?" she asked while putting the dynamite in her inventory.

He shook his head. "Not yet." Kazuto knelt down next to a long, thin supply crate before bashing it open with his hatchet. "Wait...I found it."

Asuna turned and watched him as Kazuto pulled out a long sharp blade from the crate.

"Is that a freaking katana?" she asked in amazement.

He nodded, a distant look in his eyes as he stared down at the sword. "It's a type of katana known as a shin guntō. These swords were made for Officers as a status symbol in the Imperial Japanese Army back during WWII."

"But what's it doing down here?" Asuna asked curiously while looking around.

Kazuto shrugged, his gaze still fixated on the sword. "I don't know. The lore isn't that in depth in this game."

"Oh heck yeah! I found a flashlight!" Asuna cheered upon reaching into another supply crate and pulling out a large black flashlight. She turned it on and pointed it at the wall. "And it still works. Kazuto, check out the…"

He was still staring at the sword, not saying a word.

"Kazuto? Everything alright?"

"I wish it wasn't a katana," he admitted, seemingly withdrawing again.

She frowned at him in concern. "Why not?"

"I just wish it wasn't a katana," he repeated, clearly not wanting to talk about it.

"Will it be okay?"

He sighed before standing up with the weapon in hand. "It will have to do. We need this weapon if we hope to bring down the monster."

At that moment, they heard another unsettling hiss echo throughout the cave. Asuna's skin crawled at the sound.

"It's close...really close."

It was hard to tell who was hunting who. All around them Asuna could hear the inhuman sounds of...whatever the hell this thing was. Once again, she found herself subconsciously getting closer to Kazuto.

"So what is this thing we're hunting?" she asked nervously.

"The monster's official name is Virginia," Kazuto explained. "It's some sort of mutant with six legs, claw-like feet, and six malformed arms."

She shivered in disgust. "It sounds hideous. I just hope we don't…"

Something roared. It was an unnatural, almost gutterul sound that made Asuna nearly jump out of her skin. She just about knocked Kazuto to the ground grabbing hold of him.

"Omigod, omigod, omigod. I'm never playing a VR horror game ever again for as long as I live," she insisted while burying her face in his chest.

"Umm...Asuna," Kazuto turned beet red as she hugged him tighter for comfort. "I don't think I'll be able to fight like this."

She shook her head vehemently. "Nope. Not moving. You can't make me."

The creature hissed again. Kazuto grabbed Asuna and ducked behind a large stalacmite. He then peered around the stone to see the spider-like creature slowly walking past them. Or maybe walking wasn't the right word, skittering was more like it.

"Oh God, it's even bigger than I thought." Asuna got one good look at the thing and immediately noped right back behind Kazuto. "How the heck are we supposed to kill it if we don't have sword arts?"

He narrowed his eyes at the creature as it walked past. "Do you still have that dynamite?"

She opened her inventory and gave him a stick of dynamite. "You sure you're okay using this stuff?"

He nodded assuredly. "Dynamite is loud, but it's not like an ambulance siren or fire alarm kind of loud. I don't mind explosions as much as long as I know they're coming."

"Well...if you're sure."

"Besides…" he lit the stick of dynamite whereupon the wick started to burn down. "...everyone knows you're supposed to cover your ears after lighting a stick of dynamite."

"Well yeah...after you throw it!" she insisted urgently.

Kazuto tossed the stick of dynamite at the creature before ducking back down and clamping his hands over his ears. A massive blast resounded throughout the cave, whereupon they heard an inhuman shriek. Kazuto and Asuna jumped out of cover with their katana and hatchet both at the ready, but the creature was nowhere to be seen.

"I...think that just pissed it off," Asuna declared fearfully.

"We definitely hurt it," he assured before holding up his katana. "Just be on your guard."

Another inhuman shriek reverberated off the walls of the cave.

"God, the sounds it makes are terrifying," she insisted, her adrenaline starting to spike. "You know how to kill this thing right?"

"It's basically the same as SAO, only not as advanced," he explained, his gaze darting around for a potential ambush. "We just have to group up and hit it until it dies."

Ah yes, the time tested strategy of group up and hit it till it dies. Why in the world did she sign up for this one?

Everything suddenly went dead quiet around them. Asuna shined her flashlight in multiple directions, only to land back on the creature which was now coming barreling towards them. It was almost galloping.

"Oh God, oh God! Kazuto! It's coming this way!" she shouted hysterically.

"I see it!" he jumped in front of her and took a combat stance. Although he wasn't holding the sword the way he would his weapon in SAO. Kazuto appeared to be holding the katana as it was intended to be held, displaying almost perfect posture and positioning as he did so.

The creature suddenly stopped upon seeing Kazuto's blade. Whereupon it reared back on its hind legs.

"Move!" Kazuto shouted.

It proceeded to jump into the air, nearly landing on them in the process. Asuna screamed and dove for cover before crawling away frantically.

"Jesus Christ! That thing can jump?!"

"Sure can!" Kazuto shouted back while avoiding wild swings of its taloned legs.

"Omigod, what even is this game?" Asuna whined fearfully while hiding behind a boulder. She really really missed her rapier and sword arts at that moment.

Despite the panicked mess Asuna had turned into, she couldn't help but marvel at Kazuto. At least from a safe distance, anyway. The boy's footwork was impeccable and each strike hit its mark with pinpoint accuracy. When did he learn how to use a katana?

Just when it seemed like he might have had the upper hand, the creature hit him with one of its legs, sending Kazuto flying into a stone wall, and knocking off a sizeable chunk of his health.

"Kazuto!" she shouted worriedly, her concern for him overriding her own fear of this six legged monstrosity. Thinking fast she quickly opened up her inventory and slapped together a bandage with some rubbing alcohol, creating a molotov cocktail. She then threw it at the creature only for it to shatter into glass, effectively doing nothing.

"What?! Why didn't it work?!"

"You have to light it first!" Kazuto insisted, having gotten back to his feet and gone on the attack again.

"Oops…" She chuckled in embarrassment. Apparently overwhelming fear turned her stupid.

She quickly refound her center and made another one. Asuna lit the cloth and then threw it at the beast, who shrieked in pain as its body began to burn.

"Haha, yes!" She jumped in celebration. "That's it! Kill it with fire!"

Her celebration was short lived, however, as the creature immediately did a one eighty and came barreling straight towards her. Great, now it was pissed off and on fire. Asuna screamed like a little girl and ran away, moments before it pounced again.

"Kazuto! Kazuto save me!" she shouted hysterically while running away. The creature hissed and then jumped into the air again, nearly landing directly on top of her. Asuna's screaming only became more hysterical as she devolved into a flaily mess of panic and terror. "Kazuto please! I don't wanna be a creepy skin spider snaaaaaack!" she wailed

It was a really good thing Asuna couldn't see just how ridiculous she looked at that moment. Her arms spastically flailing like a pair of wet noodles, her eyes bugging out of her head. More than anything, she just really really really did not want this creepy thing to touch her.

Kazuto eventually managed to catch up and slice into one of the creature's back legs. It hissed in pain before turning around and attacking Kazuto again. Asuna, meanwhile, ducked behind another stalagmite and curled up into a fearful ball. Asuna didn't want to be this big of a scaredy cat, but she couldn't help it. The lack of combat options and immersion factor was simply too real.

Asuna finally worked up the courage to peak out from behind cover and check on Kazuto. What she saw was simply incredible. He was still going! Despite having lost more than half his health, Kazuto was still pressing the attack. Without a single ounce of fear or reservation in his eyes. For a moment, just the briefest of moments, she didn't see Kazuto in front of her.

This was Kirito she was seeing. The Black Swordsman and future King of Aincrad.

It was then Asuna remembered who she was. She was the Lightning Flash, a Noblewoman who had parried the blow of a floor boss with her rapier and nearly outran a public official on the roofs of Urubus. Why was she so afraid of this thing? Because she didn't have her sword, or her sword arts? The Black Swordsman didn't have any of his gear, and he was still holding his own.

She shouldn't be scared of this stupid virginia monster. It should be scared of her.

Her confidence restored, Asuna quickly opened her crafting menu and began searching through different recipes. She was looking for anything she could use to help him, any trap, or weapon, or item that might be useful. Finally, her eyes caught something that looked like it might do the trick. A type of craftable structure called the happy birthday trap. It was a sort of ground mounted contraption with a flexible spiked mesh wall of sticks. The only issue was did she have the right materials to build it.

"Let's see, twenty sticks? Check." She began listing off the different things she needed. "Two rocks? Check. Two lengths of rope? Check."

Her heart sunk upon reading the final item needed. The recipe called for two logs to be placed at an equal distance apart from each other to form the base of the trap. She didn't have any logs! In fact, the only thing she did have in this stupid cave were a bunch of…

"Stalagmites." A dawning realization came over her at that moment. Asuna looked around for a good place to set up, spotting two stalagmites sticking straight up out of the ground, an equal distance apart from each other. She quickly ran over to the two stalagmites and began constructing her trap, hoping to God this would work and that Kazuto could fend off the creature long enough for her to set it up.

Once she'd placed the initial framework and added the necessary items from her inventory, Asuna was rewarded with the satisfying ding of a structure successfully built. She'd done it! The trap was set!

"Kazuto!" she called out to him while waving her hand in the air. "Lure it over here!"

He successfully dodged another strike of Virginia's talons before glancing over at Asuna. Upon seeing the trap she'd set up behind her, his eyes grew wide as he realized what she was trying to do. Immediately springing into action, Kazuto rolled to the right and sprinted towards the trap Asuna had set up. The creature gave chase, at which point he dove over the trap and rolled, just in time to turn and see Virginia trip the stick holding the trap in place. The spike wall rose up and slammed into its body, skewering the monster, and pinning it in place.

"Happy birthday you ugly sonofabitch!" Asuna cheered upon ensnaring her victim in the trap.

"Asuna! Dynamite!" Kazuto shouted.

She threw him a stick of dynamite, whereupon Kazuto lit the fuse and rolled it under the trap. They both dove behind cover and clasped their hands over their ears. A loud blast followed at which point the cave became enveloped in silence.

"Did we kill it?" Asuna asked while slowly removing her hands from her ears and opening her eyes.

"I think so…" Kazuto replied cautiously.

She drew her flashlight and slowly creeped out from behind cover. Before she could turn it on however, her foot caught something slippery and she fell on her but, wailing in panic as the flashlight went flying into the air. Kazuto caught the flashlight mid fall and shined it on Asuna, who was now lying in a pool of blood and body parts.

"Oh...oh God…" She looked at her hands, which were now covered in the creature's blood, before looking down at her clothes which were soaked too. "Oh God why…"

"Man...that dynamite really packs a punch," Kazuto commented while shining the flashlight on all the dismembered limbs and gore that had been blasted all over the cave walls.

"Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew! Oh my God, it stinks!" she cried hysterically while flailing her bloody arms, just trying to get the mess off of her. "Kazuto, why didn't you warn me that could happen?!"

"We threw a stick of dynamite at it," he responded as if not understanding what she meant. "What did you think would happen?"

"I thought it would just shatter into light like everything in SAO does!" This was horrendous, she couldn't even plug her nose because her hands were covered in gore.

He shook his head. "Sorry. Different game, different rules. The developers really wanted to up the immersion factor for this game, so they fully fleshed out the monsters anatomy and made them a permanent part of the environment."

"Why would they subject someone to this?!"

"Because it's fun?" he offered.

"Fun?! Kazuto, how is this in any way fun?!"

He frowned nervously and started to withdraw in on himself. "You're not mad at me, are you?"

"N...no!" Asuna quickly clarified. "I'm not mad at you, I promise. It's just...oh God, it's in my hair!" she wailed pitifully.

She wanted to cry. This was easily the most miserable experience of her entire life. Whatever sadists concocted this game, Asuna wanted to run them through with her rapier at that moment.

Moments before completely breaking down, Asuna felt two strong arms cradle her before deftly hoisting her up out of the bloody mess she'd slipped in. Kazuto had just picked her up and was now cradling her in his arms like a small child while walking back to the exit.

"Wh...what are you doing?" she asked, her face heating up as it slowly dawned on her the way she was being held.

"I'm getting you out of this cave," he calmly explained, his gaze set determinedly in front of him.

"Okay but…" The more she realized what was going on, the more flustered she became. "Why are you carrying me?"

He frowned and turned his head away. "I used to do this for Suguha when she was younger. Sometimes...she'd hurt herself during practice or trip and fall while we were playing. Whenever she'd start crying...I never knew what to do. So I'd just carry her to mom like this."

Her heart started racing out of her chest as her face continued to heat up. "Umm...Kazuto, that's really sweet but...I'm not your sister so…"

"So what?" he asked in confusion.

"Can you...please put me down?" she asked, having turned absolutely crimson by this point.

"Oh...okay." He quickly set her back down, whereupon she walked a few feet away and took a few deep breaths. "Did I do something wrong?"

"N...no," she assured, not daring to turn around. "No you didn't."

"But you seem upset…"

She shook her head assuredly, still not turning around. "I promise I'm not, that was just…"

"Is it because I didn't ask for consent first? If so, I'm sorry," he assured, sounding slightly worried now.

"That's not it," she insisted. "That was just really…"

"Really what?"

What indeed? Honestly, Asuna wasn't even sure why that messed her up so badly. Why was her heart pounding like this? Furthermore, why was she so flustered. Kazuto was just being nice. He was trying to help her feel better, yet something about the way he was holding her, how effortless he made it seem, it was just...way more intimate than she was expecting.

Finally, after taking a few deep breaths and getting her racing heart to cooperate, Asuna turned around and smiled at him.

"I just didn't want you to get blood all over yourself," she lied.

After a moment, he smiled and nodded in understanding. "Don't worry, this stuff will wash off once we cross through the water again."

Her heart sunk in her chest and she groaned wearily. "I had completely forgotten about that."

He chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry…"

She took another breath and sighed. "It's fine...but Kazuto?"

"Yes?"

"We're never stepping foot in one of these caves ever again."

It took some doing, but the two of them eventually made it out of the cave. From there, they made their way back to camp and called it a night. While the shelters they constructed couldn't be described as the comfiest sleeping arrangements in the world, Asuna still managed to get a full night's sleep, at which point she was up and ready to finish building their cabin.

By the middle of the second day, they had a fully formed cabin resting in their base. While it still needed furniture and other amenities before it could be deemed livable, Asuna was satisfied simply with the fact they'd managed to complete their objective. Once it was done, Asuna and Kazuto sat on the deck of the cabin for a while, simply admiring their work.

"I've gotta say, it turned out a lot bigger than I thought it would," Asuna admitted while leaning against the rail of the cabin.

Kazuto nodded in agreement. "We'll need to expand the wall, maybe add a couple new traps."

She blew an exasperated breath. "That'll have to be a tomorrow project, I'm exhausted."

He smiled at her. "Okay. A tomorrow project sounds fun."

Asuna returned his smile with one of her own. "Yeah...it does."

A tense silence filled the air.

"Kazuto...can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?"

"Why do you hate katanas?"

He frowned thoughtfully and turned his head away, fidgeting in place a bit.

"You seemed so depressed that the sword in the cave was a katana," she observed. "And then when we left, you just tossed it aside like it was garbage."

Kazuto shrugged indifferently. "Katanas aren't the greatest sword ever invented, like some seem to believe. So many people seem to think they're magic, or that folded steel makes for a superior blade, but nothing could be further from the truth."

Asuna gave him a curious look. Was Kazuto...deflecting right now?

"You don't need to fold good steel," he continued. "And Japanese tamahagane is essentially just 'pig iron' with a fancier name." A bitter look formed in his eyes. "The West actually refused to use the material in weapons because it's loaded down with carbon. Too much carbon will turn your fancy sword into a brittle shower of metal shards during its first use. The whole process of folding metal to make katanas began in order to turn an inferior alloy into something usable."

"Kazuto…"

"But most importantly of all?" He was getting legitimately worked up over this. "Even the very best katanas are pretty much useless in the hands of anyone who hasn't gone through exhaustive training. There's a whole culture's worth of rules for wielding one properly. Long, stupid, convuluted rules that are centuries old and serve no purpose in modern society."

"Hey, Kazuto, what's wrong?" Asuna placed a hand over his worriedly.

"Katanas are stupid," he insisted bitterly. "And the rules that govern how to use them are even more stupid."

She gave him a moment to cool down before continuing.

"This really bugs you, doesn't it," she observed.

He didn't respond.

"If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. I was just curious because...you seem to know how to use one pretty well."

Kazuto slowly lowered his head and sighed. "There's a reason for that."

Asuna listened intently, eager for him to open up.

"Suguha and I used to practice Kendo together," he explained. "Our grandfather would teach us."

She smiled at that. "Aww, how nice. You two had something in common."

He wasn't smiling. If anything, Kazuto just glowered more.

"I never wanted to practice kendo. There was nothing about it that appealed to me." He frowned guiltily. "But...it made mom happy when I would go, so I never complained."

"But it didn't make you happy?" Asuna asked worriedly.

"Maybe it could have…" He sighed glumly. "...if my grandfather wasn't such a jerk."

She frowned at him woefully. Why did every male figure in Kazuto's life have to be so damn difficult?

"I take it he wasn't very understanding of your...condition?"

Kazuto remained silent for the longest time, as if contemplating something. "It's just dumb luck…"

"Hmm?" She furrowed her brow at him.

"That I woke up in the body I did," he continued. "So many people keep trying to convince me otherwise, but I know the truth. I know...that…" Kazuto took a deep breath to keep himself calm. "...this isn't my fault...the way that I am."

"Of course it's not," Asuna assured him.

His expression turned bitter. "So then why did he have to treat me like it was? Why was it always my fault I couldn't understand what he was trying to teach me?"

"Kazuto…"

"I'm not just some dumb kid...I...I'm smart...I know how to...think...I just…" He was getting himself worked up again.

"Kazuto...listen to me…"

"And I have feelings too!" he shouted, tears welling up in his eyes. "I have feelings, and thoughts, and ideas that others don't have! But he never saw any of that, he only focused on my mistakes!"

She hugged him tightly, letting him work out his frustration until at last Kazuto settled down once more.

"You don't ever have to feel guilty for the way you feel, okay?"

He gave her a curious look.

"Not with me, not anymore."

"Asuna…"

She smiled at him brightly. "We're a team now, okay? Together, neither of us are gonna let the bad stuff in."

They both looked out over the horizon together.

"You know...this world really is beautiful."

He nodded. "Aincrad is better."

She giggled at him. "Yeah...it is." After a moment of thought, she turned and looked at him again. "Hey, Kazuto?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise me we'll build the real one together someday, alright?" she asked with that same beaming smile on her face. "The real cabin, up on floor twenty two. Just like the one in your drawings."

He blinked at her in bewilderment. "You...you want to build another cabin with me?"

She nodded happily. "Mhmm!" Asuna then turned her gaze up to the sky. "It'll be...our little nest. A shelter from the storm, so to speak." Her face turned slightly red. "A place...where none of the bad things can get in."

His heart started to beat faster in his chest. Kazuto slowly turned his gaze up towards the sky, much like hers, and smiled.

"I'd like that."