She stabbed her rapier through the torso of the undead monster and triggering the critical hit effect, it's hp drained swiftly. A second swift stab in nearly the exact same spot depleted the monster's hit points to nothing. It was something Asuna never thought she would get used to when she first entered Aincrad.

Recently, she had gotten very introspective on her time in Aincrad. Ever since meeting Kirito and Sinon, she had been swept up in their flow of things. She had at first intended to go along at her own pace, on her own so she wouldn't forget who she was outside of the game. That girl she was outside, felt so foreign where she currently was. Because of Argo, Kirito and Sinon, she was no longer the girl molded by her parents. And she had feelings of her own.

She wanted to be able to depend on herself when she got out of the game. To become strong enough within Aincrad to become her self found within the game outside. Using skills with the rapier and cooking, she was able to support Kirito well along the journey through Aincrad. She learned many things from him. She learned from his identity crisis how difficult it was to find herself. And that there was no reason for her to feel bad about having difficulty finding herself.

Kirito even became a mother...which was baffling to her. She was still struggling to understand his mental fortitude to keep taking on more responsibilities as time went on. She observed his actions, learned cooking techniques from him, learned everything she could from him, but she just couldn't keep up sometimes. It was like he had encyclopedias worth of knowledge at his fingertips from the moment he stepped into Aincrad.

She was thankful...that her stomach, her sense of smell brought them together. That butter quest on the first floor was all it took to bring them together.

Smiling at the memory, Asuna noticed she had reached the floor 25 boss room door again. There were no monsters around for the moment, but someone was there, placing items on the ground in front of the door which moved into the room.

"Ah, you were here again Kirito. How is your observation going for this boss?"

Kirito looked back quickly from the surprise and smiled after the confusion left his expression. Asuna felt her heart flutter a little every time she saw him smile and she felt a little embarrassed even thinking that way. Kirito was a girl within the game after all, as cute as he was, surely he wouldn't be the same person outside. She knew that he was a boy, he just didn't have a very boyish mind as far as she knew.

"It's just about done. It's taking so long to get all of the mechanics checked out this time because of how many toy soldiers I need to make this time around..."

Asuna gave him a confused look.

"There's a mechanic this time that requires one hundred people participate in the fight, and none die. If one person dies, everyone does. Beyond that though, the mechanics of the fight are pretty simple. It's just figuring out all of the mechanics is taking so long because I need to craft so many of them every time I send them in to check for mechanics."

Asuna smiled and sat down next to him. She hadn't noticed Yui sitting on his lap from behind him. She was napping.

"That's a really unfair mechanic that any person making a mistake could spell the end for everyone...and why would a hundred people be required this far in...?"

Kirito shook his head and looked back up at the open door.

"Technically we're only a quarter of the way through Aincrad after beating this boss. I get the feeling that at the quarters we'll have massive raids requiring around a hundred people. But finally, after months in here we might know just how the rest of it will be. After floor 25, it might just be smooth sailing for a while. I think the bulk of our leveling might be done for a while and we could power through the next twenty five floors pretty easily. As long as nothing dumb happens, we could go without losing any more people in here."

Asuna nodded her head and a grim reminder floated in her mind. There had been a group of impatient fellows before who charged into a boss fight while the lead group were preparing for a length of time, and those people lost their lives. She had to admit, Kirito was more and more a valiant heroine to her the more she got to know him. Well, hero. Sometimes she had difficulty seeing him visually as anything but a role model. The ideal of what she could become by putting in ridiculous amounts of effort.

A thought came to her mind as she stared at him.

"I don't believe I've checked with anyone in our group...how old everyone is."

Kirito giggled a little. When he was so cute like that Asuna's heart melted a bit. She wanted to see his happy expressions all the time. It was like a drug in the virtual space. It made her happy seeing his smile on a bad day.

"I'm...going to be 15 soon."

Asuna stared at him in surprise.

"I can't believe it...you're younger than me..."

Kirito stared at Yui, thinking about something related to being a young parent.

"Ah, I shouldn't keep my age a secret since you told me yours. I'm sixteen. It's pretty amazing though, how much you've been protective of everyone and how much you learn so fast...I'm honestly a little jealous."

Kirito wagged his finger a little in protest.

"You have been learning a lot of things yourself, Asuna. I got the impression pretty early in that you weren't very familiar with gaming let alone mmos. I'm glad you stayed with us. I would have been worried about you all the time if you had gone off with another group of players or stayed solo. I imagine sometimes...what if I was my old self in some ways. I loved the idea of beating games on my own, doing things of my own strength. But here, it's not so easy. We need the support of others sometimes, and I'm happy we've found friends we can rely on."

Asuna sighed and shook her head, grinning at Kirito. He was like that. Sometimes missing the mark a bit on what she really meant.

"I meant, I'm jealous that you're so quick to learn newer things here, and you adapt so quickly to things that take me so long to get used to. I was honestly a little scared when you brought Yui home at first. I thought 'he's going to stop progressing through Aincrad'. But it didn't stop you. You slowed down a bit so you can parent her, but you've still been moving forward. I envy that ability to adapt..."

Kirito rubbed the back of his head, unconsciously head patting Yui gently enough it didn't stir her from her sleep. A smile brightened up her face but she showed no sign of waking.

"I think honestly that part of me that adapts so quickly might actually be a broken part of me...I just...feel like it's my fault."

Asuna was confused by that statement. Kirito took a few seconds to gather himself and continue.

"It's my fault that my cousin, Leafa joined the game and is putting herself in danger. Sinon grew up with me and we were playing the beta together, so although playing the game together was my idea, she would have played the game regardless just because of the beta. Here, we were able to be ourselves during the beta. For the first since...it's not important. But being able to be yourself when you can't in reality, it's strange isn't it? Shouldn't it be the other way around? But at least this way, I can be dependable. I can put my gaming experience to use and save people. I can use my creative and other instincts I cultivated out there, and make us and our friends somewhat enjoy this time. I'm sure everyone just wants to get out. Waiting for me to check all of the boss rooms for mechanics for so long is making so many people impatient...but I'm doing my best!"

Asuna smiled. Kirito smiled a little when he exclaimed that he was doing his best. Smiling with his smile was reflex. His smile was infectious to her.

"Leafa gives me the impression that she would have been part of the game regardless because you're a little distracted while facing forward so much. Facing forward, adapting to what comes your-our way, and having such a kind and dependable personality. I like those parts of you."

Asuna blushed a bit realizing her words might come off a little more than what she intended. Kirito's expression went calm and watched his hands as he got back to work placing down the toy soldiers as part of the current mechanics test.

"You're observant, have good senses and you really take your time to understand the situation you're in, while not being so much that it slows you down. You genuinely care about us, even though at first you were almost entirely focused on learning what you could of cooking here after our first meeting. Your ability with the rapier, the discipline and focus you need for that is intense and I admire that. Your ability to stay with something until you're ready to move onto the next thing, is something I'm envious of. I juggle so many things I almost think I'll never get to where I want to be with any. I truly like that part of you too."

Asuna blushed a little further than when she had said words that might be mistaken. She hoped that Kirito was just being the way he was so she didn't feel too awkward. A thought came to her mind, something to say so she could figure out what Kirito had hidden from everyone since the first big "sleepover".

"The kind of person I would like to be with in the future...I suppose would be someone like you. I've really grown to like the type of person you are. I'm not sure if I like you specifically, but it does make me curious. What type of person do you like?"

Kirito finally blushed as he stared at Asuna, likely to figure out how much he should weigh her words. After what felt like a minute, he blushed a little deeper and began.

"I suppose since you told me your type, now I have to finally come clean about my answer from that truth or dare a while back...the type of person that I like or who I like. Honestly, my feelings have changed a bit since then. I feel protective, like family for Sinon and Leafa. Maybe there's still something for her, but my feelings have been cruel recently. I'm so concerned with being a good parent to Yui, that my feelings for anyone in particular have dulled. But before Yui came along, I've met so many good friends that I've really come to care about and like to certain extents. I really like parts of you, like I've already explained. I like Sinon in a way that doesn't really come off like everyone else. She's like...if I were to stay feminine and she were to become a little masculine, I'd be smitten. Especially if she would be a little more forward with me. It feels like she's being just...supportive in here. Leafa, she feels like a little sister. I like the things we have in common, but I just don't have a thing for that type of relationship. I like that we can spend time together in here and get along. It had been a while outside since we really communicated. Lisbeth, I like her quirkiness. She's a bit like you in that once she sets her mind to something, she focuses really well and goes until she accomplishes it. She was a bit obnoxious to me at first, but I think she was just throwing her personality a bit more than it really is. She's actually anxious about talking to people, which I have difficulty telling everyone I relate to. Silica, I like that care she has for pets. She talks about her cat Pina outside sometimes, and she named her feathered dragon after it. She's younger, but she gives off a bit of an older sibling feeling as far as her pets and her other friends she has outside of our group. She's dependable. Sachi...I like a lot about her. I guess she just has an accumulation of things I like about people. But I don't know if I 'like' her in the meaning implied from the truth or dare question. She's kind, calm, and quiet, but she cares about people so much that it's difficult for her to speak up sometimes. She clearly has social anxiety to some extent, and she really misses her old friends. Thankfully, her old friends slowed down and have been safe since Sachi joined us. She's been happier, and she's been opening up slowly and showing us that she shares in plenty of all our interests."

Kirito slowly leaned back, holding Yui so she wouldn't be startled awake when he laid on the ground. He closed his eyes and the blushing as he explained slowly subsided. Calm, slow breaths escaped his mouth and Asuna couldn't help but stare at his lips.

It was so unfair, she thought. She understood his feelings with where they were at, but she couldn't just tell everyone after such a heartfelt moment together. It's not like she got a definite answer though. Kirito was probably very liked by everyone in the group, maybe most of their romantic interest. She felt a little bad for Leafa and Silica since they had no chance as far as his feelings were concerned. Lisbeth she couldn't imagine taking the place in his heart after what he said, leaving just Sinon and Sachi as potential love rivals over him.

Asuna blushed hard at the thought that she was considering Sinon and Sachi rivals in love for Kirito. But she realized, that's how she felt about him. The more she thought about his words, the way he was, his personality, everything just made her feel more and more smitten. Having the idea of rivals only made the feeling stronger.

"...it's so unfair."

Kirito turned his head to look at Asuna and he panicked a little when he saw how red her face was from her intense blush.

"...why do I have to hold these feelings in now, just realizing how strongly I feel about you...?"

Asuna almost started crying, but started trying to pull herself together. Deep breaths, and not looking at him helped. She tried thinking about anything else, but whether it be cooking, fighting, anything to distract herself which she felt were parts of her, memories involving him sprung to her mind. Cooking with him. Fighting alongside him. Questing together. Crafting... the only answer she had to stop her overflowing feelings was to think about the depressing life she had outside. Her mostly absent father because of his work. Her overbearing mother demanding her to be exactly what she wanted. The arranged marriage that would take place after her graduation from school...

Finally Asuna managed to calm herself, but in her calm she found anger. The shift in mood made Kirito worried.

"Are...are you okay Asuna?"

Asuna sighed and readied herself to explain, but she worried about lumping her real life issues on him. But, he had shared so much of his recent feelings, it felt she needed to return the trust he had for her. She took a few breaths to ready herself and stared at the open door of the boss room.

"I was trying to distract myself from good thoughts which turned up only recent memories, and then it went into depressing memories of my family outside."

He waited for her, continuing to get the toy soldiers ready while keeping his eyes on her.

"Basically...I have feelings for you, and trying to distract myself from that for your and Yui's sake led me to thinking about all the good memories we've made together recently. Trying to distract myself some more so my feelings didn't go out of control in that way, made me go to memories of my family and life outside which was...well, less than pleasant. My father was mostly absent because of work. My mother was...definitely not kind with how she basically designed my life for me. I'm honestly thankful for being trapped in here...to be able to find such fulfilling relations with you and everyone, to have something to genuinely work toward together. To build real skills at least somewhat. Most of all, I'm just...so excited about being away from the nagging of my arranged marriage partner."

He supported her, rubbing her back after sitting back up while she explained, but at the end, he dropped his hand and his face contorted from a calm expression to one which Asuna hadn't seen on him yet. It was the most fearful she felt of him.

"Arranged marriages...in this day and age...what in the world is wrong with your family? No, don't answer...I'm sorry. What's the guy like?"

Asuna sighed heavily and recalled a recent memory of him talking about working with the same company which produced the game. She had managed to get her copy of Sword Art Online through him. It's the only thing she was thankful to him for. He was crude, obnoxious, and only put on a good appearance for her father. Her mother didn't really care.

"'It's all for your future.' Basically my mother's explanation for everything. She arranged the marriage because he's somewhat successful and his family is wealthy. So that I would be able to have an 'easy' life. I can't stand him. He's crude, obnoxious, annoying, and the only good thing he's done for me is get me a copy of the game so I can be here. I honestly can't remember any good memories before being trapped here...part of me doesn't want to leave. My sense of accomplishment, and that this unfortunately isn't reality is why I've been moving forward with everyone so far."

He was obviously holding back doing something rash with the anger that was affecting him from Asuna explaining her situation out of game to him. He quickly reeled in the anger which had overtaken him, and gave Yui some more gentle head pats. Surprisingly, she had been napping the entire time.

"How do you feel about being friends outside of the game? Of course I've been thinking about this for a while, and I don't know how much I could do to help you...but I would do everything I can to help. Like anyone, you deserve to be able to choose what to do with your life yourself. You're smart, strong, and skilled. Besides, you're still a student like me. You have a lot to live for."

Asuna couldn't help herself and moved in closer to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugged him without bumping Yui. She cried, holding back from sobbing, but letting the tears flow. She felt his gentle touch as he rubbed her back, patted her head and hugged back.

"I want to be more than friends...but friends is also good. Thank you Kirito...thank you..."

Asuna was feeling more and more thankful for his presence. There was something missing, the space between them because it was a virtual space and not real. But the connection was more than real enough for her. She wanted more, but for the time being it was enough.

After a long embrace, Yui woke up which signaled Kirito finishing setting up the toy soldiers to have them check the boss room for the last of the mechanics that was available without making a true attempt. Enrage mechanics weren't too difficult to imagine most of the time, but Asuna had no idea what the enrage mechanic could be this time. A massive chimeric beast was the boss of floor 25. The mechanics were all entirely new as there hadn't been chimeric monsters in the game yet. The rule of boss monsters being a reflection of the monsters on the floor didn't match. The undead theme didn't match the chimera at all, none of the fighting mechanics were the same either. She had a loose thought that the enrage might be the only mechanic linked to the undead. She imagined something like the moth boss they fought before. That enrage might restore all of its hit points. Another option was that it might transform into an undead version of itself. They would have to deal with the challenge when it would come, as far as the enrage was concerned.

"This is going to be the longest fight for us yet...between the amount of people needed for the capacity requirement, and the average skill level of the people who are determined to go in...I really wish we had more experienced fighters able to go in with us. It has a terrifying amount of hit points. I might need to do a lot of perfect counters to reflect as much damage onto it as possible and even then, it's likely to be an hour long fight."

Asuna shivered at the thought of the battle going on so long. They had never been in nearly so long of a fight before. It was nearly triple the time spent in their previous longest fight.

"Will we be okay...?"

"We will make it through. Whatever it takes to get us all through alive, I'll make sure we get through this together."