How many hours had he sat here?
The sky outside was still dark, as thunder continued to split the sky and rain danced across the ground.
It seems even mother nature wanted to keep him guessing.
Kirito vaguely remember having a clock somewhere in his room, but as he took a half-hearted glance around, his search proved fruitless.
Who forgot where a clock was? If you had asked him years… months ago he could have located where anything in his room was, and now, he struggled to simply find a clock.
Hell, if his memory wasn't failing him, which seemed to be happening more commonly then not these days, the only reason he made it to his latest outing with Klein and Agil was because of an optimally placed clock.
Rising from the bed, with a distinctive snap echoing from his unused joints, Kirito methodically walked around the room, nearly slamming his toe into objects hidden away in the far corners of the room, searching in vain for a clock that seemingly did not want to be found.
What was next? Was he going to forget where his bed was?
Absent mindedly he ran his through his hair, his feet slowly starting along an old, now seldom walked path, faint imprints on the carpet bringing memories of distant times where he would run out of the room following the echoing tones of his aunt's voice.
The house was eerily silent, with its sole occupant now slowly venturing out of his room. As he finally crossed through his door and into the upstairs corridor, he once again glanced around, no clock was in sight.
Methodically he passed by Suguha's room, before making his way down the stairs, a faint creaking noise being played as his feet contacted the wooden boards of the stairs.
There had to be a clock somewhere.
Searching around the living room proved fruitless, not a single clock was hung on the wall or sat on a shelf.
Slowly approaching the Kitchen, he repeated his search, once again nothing. He could feel the being of a pounding headache starting, who did not have a clock in the Kitchen? How exactly were they expected to not burn things?
I don't remember much baking happening in here… but then again, I don't seem to remember much of anything…
Kirito kept repeating the motions, going from room to room only to come up empty handed, finally in the bathroom he spied a circular clock hanging on the wall and he eagerly leaned forwards to tell the time, only for his arms to hang limply once again.
The hands of the clock were not moving, both resting completely still pointing directly at 12, even for Kirito it was obvious that the clock had never been turned on and that its existence was merely for show.
Accepting defeat, he ran his right hand through his hair, his thoughts could be summed up in one sentence.
Why is time so important if no one pays any attention to it?
Having nothing to do, he made his way to the living room and plopped down on the couch, the silence around him deafening interrupted only by the soft sounds of rain hitting the clay tiles of the roof above.
Perhaps in a different life, a different time, he would have turned on the TV and wasted his time watching various shows.
It seemed so… unappealing now.
Maybe it was his mind subconsciously attempting to find time to sole the raging crisis unfolding inside of his heart, a crisis that had only gotten worse due to recent events.
Maybe he could have been more accommodating?
He had sort of been sidelining Asuna recently, perhaps Rika was justified in her anger.
Perhaps Rika was just trying to do the best for him, give him a push back towards his old life.
Maybe he was being unreasonable, he had run off without making any attempt to express himself.
These thoughts jumped at him immediately, making excuse after excuse for the anger expressed by the mace wielding blacksmith of SAO.
"Finally come out your room have you? Does this mean you're done throwing Asuna away like a used towel?"
The line still tore at Kirito's heart now, hours after the fact, yet the scorching heat it once summoned no longer awoke.
Why had he gotten so angry?
Even with the treatment that he had endured in SAO, from accusations of indirect player killing to hoarding items that could help clear the game, he had never reached the same distinct rage.
Everything… absolutely everything was slipping from his fingers, from Sachi, to Eugeo… and now to the rest of his friends.
The Catch? They were all his fault.
Sachi died due to repercussions of his twisted character, from his lies to his reluctance to speak up.
Eugeo's death was no different, he had lied to him as well, making it seem like he had amnesia, that he could remember nothing from his previous life but a never-before-seen sword style.
Even as he lied bleeding out on the 100th floor of the central cathedral, after all of the lies came to the surface, Eugeo still blamed himself.
"If it didn't end up like this, you and I would've had to fight of behalf of our own Alice. Me to get Alice's memory back, and you to save Integrity Knight Alice's soul."
"… I turned my sword against you, I have to atone for that sin"
"Kirito, I've always been envious of you…"
Why be envious of him? Why was it a sin to attack him?
He was a murderer and liar, his actions and killed an innumerable amount of people in SAO, and he had ended a few lives himself, intentionally.
So why be envious of him? Even now he was no better, he was a man making all the wrong choices.
To push away Asuna, to not explain himself to Lizbeth.
He could have fixed this situation, instead he made it worse.
Even to people like Klein, who for some reason tolerated his presence, he wronged, leaving him alone on the first floor was a veritable death sentence, and yet he had done so without a second thought so why.
Black Swordsman
Beater
Clearer
Solo
Liar
Murderer
All of these titles he had worn in his life, and nothing that he did could ever change that. But he couldn't keep making all of these mistakes, he had to right them.
So why didn't he? Why…
Tonight, he would call Asuna tonight, he could not let his moping affect his relationships anymore.
Truthfully, he expected to get a phone call from Asuna by now, Rika would not keep this information from Asuna. And, seeing how angry she was, it was a wonder she didn't follow him out of the store.
A soft yawn escaped his lips as he sunk into the soft foam of the couch, seeking protection from some unseeable phantom aggressor.
Such was the fate of the Black Swordsman.
Time continued to crawl on, with nothing but the continuing downpour and rhythmic reverberations of thunder interrupting the crushing haze Kirito found himself.
Feeling his eyes begin to droop, he half thought of moving his body, in a last ditched attempt to stay awake, only to find his body unresponsive, and his eyes closed.
"Better, but your strike was still weak, in a battle that move would have been your last"
"Were you not just complaining how light the practice swords here were? In fact, wasn't that your exact excuse to why we couldn't have a true sparring match?
The words danced through the air, entangling themselves in one of the branches of the trees that surrounded the cleared area that the voices originated from.
The outdoor practice field was a well-known feature of the Sword Mastery Academy in North Centoria, and yet, despite its centralized location in the academy, it was nearly always unoccupied, as the nobility that made up the majority of the student population instead used the indoor areas, away from the harsh sun, and suffocating heat. Even the few commoners enrolled at the academy looked at the field with thinly veiled disgust, unwilling to use something that would so clearly remind them of their rank.
Recently however, the previously immaculate turf had become scuffed and unkept, evidence that someone had been using it recently.
"Now slow down there! I have experience using a real sword; therefore, you should take my words as law, after all you are the student here…
The words came from a black-haired youth, another wooden sword resting lazily on his shoulder, a stark contrast to the rigidness displayed by his partner.
"Sure, sure," his partner spoke, his blue haired eyes twinkling in the light, "I suppose you'll want me to try again o wise and venerable master?"
"Really?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I figured you would want speech similar to the era you seemingly grew up in."
"Ouch, Eugeo." The black-haired youth spoke, raising his hand to hover over his heart in apparent pain, yet the smile besieging his shocked expression showed he was clearly enjoying their little banter.
"I know, I know it hurts when you're reminded of your own age."
"Oh, come on, now you're being unceremoniously smug."
"But fear not for this young student shall carry on your legacy!"
Giving a mild huff of irritation, Kirito swapped his grip on the wooden sword in his hand grabbing the wooden blade instead of the handle.
Quickly, not giving the young boy a second to react, he caught his leg with the guard of the sword before violently yanking the blade towards him, causing the blond-haired boy to plummet towards the earth.
Before he could gloat over his victory his shirt gave a violent tug, ultimately sending him to the ground as well.
"You just had to bring me down with you, didn't you Eugeo?" Kirito groaned out, unprepared that he would find himself on the ground.
"What can I say?" Eugeo wheezed, clearly having had the wind knocked out of him. "Someone has to keep you grounded."
Maybe it was the absurdity of the situation that he found himself in, or perhaps it was simply the heat getting to him, but Kirito found himself slowly falling into hysterics. The echoing laughter of Eugeo quickly followed.
"Well will you look at that, maybe all it takes to entertain a monkey is another ape and some dirt."
A voice spoke in a snide tone, interrupting the serene scene, and stifling the budding laughter.
"Truly the only thing missing is the two of them flinging their feces at each other." An equally smug, but noticeably deeper voice spoke.
Truly he didn't even need to turn his eyes to the origin of the voices in order to comprehend the situation. This wasn't the first time they had found themselves in a similar situation, but not matter the number of times he found himself in this situation, he still felt the same insurmountable heat flooding into his body.
Sparing a quick glance at his friend to see his reaction, Kirito noticed the lack of reaction on Eugeo's face, in fact, if he looked hard enough, he could still make out a slight smile on his face.
"Oh, it seems they've chosen not to respond to us. Or, perhaps, they simply didn't hear us?" the first voice spoke again, further increasing the irritation Kirito felt.
"It's more likely that they couldn't understand us, truly it's a miracle they are able to speak at all."
Even after another round of insults Eugeo still did not have a discernable reaction.
Why was he not getting angry, he truly couldn't believe that it was truthful could he? That it was perfectly alright for him to consistently get belittled for any action that he ever took? Is that truly how he felt?
"Perhaps they speak a different language in their pigsty of a village." The first voice commented before scoffing, "It's a disgrace that their contributions to this prestigious school is an amnesiac and a woodcutter."
"Now now," the second voiced tutted, "He must be a successful woodcutter to be here, after all he managed to overcome a tree in order to get a new sacred task, how… prodigal."
Perhaps it was the sarcasm permeating through the two voices, perhaps it was simply the result of compounding discrimination pushing him over the edge, or perhaps, if he was being honest with himself, it was the final remark made on an unfathomable achievement made by someone he considered dear to him being discounted as merely felling a tree.
Whatever it was it succeeded in final pushing Kirito's rage over the limit, surging to his feet he took a singular step forward before being suddenly stopped by a hand latching onto his shoulder.
"Oh my," the noble on the right spoke, his spotless bright uniform and orderly hair showed not even a singular hint any strenuous activity had been preformed recently, "Perhaps one knows some manners."
"Manners?" the second noble spoke, his dark hair and uniform equally as pristine, "I think it is simply aware that if it's friend attacked us it would be crushed."
The duo laughed before starting towards the student dormitories, undoubtedly their original destination but made sure to let off one last remark before being out of earshot.
"Perhaps they should be given positions in landscaping, after all, I'm sure there are some trees around here that could use their expertise!
It was too much.
Wheeling around, ripping the hand off of his shoulder, the anger that was bursting inside of him finally exploded.
"Why would you stop me! They've constantly trashed on the both of us for nothing but our origins, and now they've discounted your accomplishment of chopping town the Gigas Cedar to felling a simple tree!"
The rant exploded from Kirito, starting as a hiss before growing in magnitude and speed drastically before finally violently twisting and throwing the practice sword he had been gripping across the field.
Returning his gaze to Eugeo, he expected the worst, but instead saw a sight that shocked him, a smile. Instead of a retort to the angry tirade he just endured he had a smile on his face.
Confusion didn't even begin to start to describe how he felt to the situation.
"Well," Eugeo started calmly, and if Kirito even dared, cheerfully, "I don't see them laughing together."
He was speechless.
A loud melody rang throughout the air, easily throwing him out of the dream.
Groggily, he stood from the couch he had essentially passed out on, leaving a faint imprint as he rose.
The melody continued to tear through the air, before abruptly ending.
Seconds later it started again, with the same soft yet extremely loud rhyme reverbing throughout the house.
Despite being so loud, it did little to drown out the noise of the storm outside, which seemingly intensified in his, hopefully, brief time asleep.
Slowly making his way towards the sound which he recognized as his phone's ringtone, something he was internally glad he hadn't forgotten twice, before abruptly stopping after on the first stair on the staircase as the world seemed to shatter around him, being replaced by ornate blue walls and an equally ornate staircase draped in a crimson red rug.
It wasn't the only change, as an unmissable weight hung off of his back.
The scene was one he would never forget, the start of his latest, and greatest failure in a series that seemed to never end.
As he started to tremble the world around him shattered once more, returning to the simple house that suddenly seemed so much more inviting.
His phone continued to furiously ring upstairs, but situation had now changed and seemingly irreversible damaged had just occurred.
Without even having to think about his actions he turned his back to the sounds of his phone and retreating to the couch that still housed a fading imprint of him.
The melody vanished again but, even as seconds passed, did not start again.
It had to be Asuna, he lamented on the way back to the safety of the couch, his thoughts turning to the unknown caller, I just resolved myself to reconnect with her… and I fail before I-
A series of torrential bangs suddenly enveloped the front door, easily breaking through the miserable haze that was beginning to ensnare his mind.
His mind blank he turned to face the front door where the furious pounding occurred again, louder, and unmistakably harder.
His body moved automatically, making its way towards the source of the sound that broke him out of his thoughts.
He might not have been able to reach his phone, but nothing impeded his path to the front door.
As he cautiously gripped the handle of the door, which vibrated as the door was once again racked by a series of blows, his thoughts immediately went to the worst-case scenario.
It's Rika isn't it, his heart raced and suddenly it became hard to breath as another thought racked his mind, Or it's Asuna, honestly, I don't know which one is worse.
Forcing a deep breath in a vain attempt to calm his racing heart, he twisted the handle of the door, before opening the door, bracing himself for the sight of one of the two girls.
Instead, he was greeted by golden blond hair and azure eyes.
How could he forget the third possible option, the one that he knew in advance would be arriving today?
Stood before him, suitcase in hand was Alice herself, perhaps in a different meeting he would have gawked at how authentic her robotic body looked to her form in the underworld, but her ethereal beauty was overshadowed by one other variable.
The rain.
She was completely soaked; her hair was drenched, and her clothes were completely waterlogged. It was quite obvious that she had been standing outside for quite some time.
"Took your time, didn't you?" she seethed, seemingly forgoing the typical greeting she was planning and letting her emotions take hold.
Before he could form a response, she roughly shoved him aside and entered the house. Stumbling for just a moment he quickly shut the door before quickly turning on his heel, expecting to see Alice close behind him, instead he was met with her retreating figure as he wheeled her suitcase farther into the safety and warmth of the house.
He caught up with her right as she stopped before the staircase, "So," she started, noticeably calmer but still not looking at him, "I vaguely remember you mentioning your room is upstairs, so, shall we go?" She finished, finally looking him in the eyes and giving him a faint, yet unstrained, smile.
Looking at the stairs, the world around him once again warped into the familiar main staircase of the Center Cathedral.
Fear once again enveloped his heart, paralyzing him in place.
He couldn't do this.
He was too weak.
A weight settled on his shoulder, and as his head turned to his side, he was greeted a sight that shocked him even further.
Eugeo, with the blue rose sword comfortable sheathed on his back stood next to him, a smile on his face.
"I'm glad to see you again."
The words unmistakably coming from Eugeo's mouth came out in a voice foreign to the body that it came from, but completely unmistakable to Kirito.
The soft voice of Alice was one that he would never forget.
The weight of the hand on his shoulder disappeared as the world around him started to shatter and Eugeo started to make his way up the stairs.
Kirito struggled to keep up with the figure in front of him as his house started to reform around him, and the figure he was chasing morphed into a smiling golden-haired girl.
What's up guys? It's been quite a while but have no fear! this story shall not be dropped, I simply only write when I have inspiration and, unfortunately, that is something that has been lacking recently, but moving on to better news, the majority of this chapter was wrote in the last week, and I plan on starting on the next chapter immediately.
Anyhow, thanks for reading and I really hope you enjoy, any feedback would be appreciated!
- Surv
