Is it just me, or are the chapters I've been posting on my other stories getting longer? I mean...this one turned out to be longer than I expected. And probably just looking at the title chapter, you might be thinking, "Oh no! (or "Oh, yes!") Shiku is at it again!" Ahahaha...oh, you're in for a shock...I guess. Eh, we'll see. DX

And I realized that I made a mistake in my authors note that was...holy crap, embarrassing. I corrected it after several people telling me (and I believe Amyra scolded me about that...DX) Lesson I learned from that...DON'T EVER SWITCH "I" AND "O" IN "LION" AGAIN. NEVER AGAIN. It delivers the wrong message...

Anyway! Thank you to Vangran, ahnikagee, Dragon Silhouette, Zolata, celestial spirit leo, Kanrei, Kragh50, Lord Destroyer, Guest, Guest, Impstar, GGFBank, fyphoniex, AW27, huji (from chapter 4), and HeavensLuminousArc (from chapter 21) for reviewing last chapter!

DISCLAIMER: I really hope I don't forget about this again. I don't own Kirito, but I own Tonomi Suzuku and Shiku! Although, I know I said in the beginning that there are absolutely no OCs, it seems that in the way that I'm heading...there will be at least one or two more. That's all. I hope.

Chapter 24: The Shiku Incident

When Kirito made it back to Klein after getting his new sword, he made sure to keep his new skill a secret. To his amazement, it was just as easy done as said. None of the members questioned much on his short little ventures outside of town, and nor did they stop him, since they knew were to track him down if he wasn't 'home' before dark. Kirito found it a bit strange when Klein was walking around with a leap in his step.

He wanted to question it, but then again, Klein just might get in his case if he ruined the happy mood. He didn't realize that he should've asked anyway.

._._._._._.

"Kirito! Come on! Agil is expecting us!" Klein called as he opened the front door to head out. Kirito was in the living room messing with Shiku, who pawed his hands away from his stomach, as he looked up with a smile.

"Coming!" he called out. Shiku seemed to have understood as the cat-lion rolled onto his paws and leapt into Kirito's open arms. The teen got up from the floor and made his way to the front door where Klein was waiting impatiently. Kirito couldn't help but regard Klein with a curious look. "Why are you so antsy?"

Klein froze for a second before giving him a nervous laugh, "Ah? Ahaha! I'm not antsy."

Kirito gave him a look that clearly said "Oh, really?".

"Really." Klein assured as he avoided looking at Kirito's eyes. The teen stared at him for a moment longer before shrugging and stepping out.

"Alright, whatever you say, okaa-san." Kirito said with a roll of his eyes.

"I'm not your mother!" Klein half exclaimed as he shut the door and followed Kirito down the street. They didn't bother to lock it since the other members of Klein's guild were somewhere there. It didn't take the two long as they made it to Agil's shop. Once there, Kirito was the first to enter.

"Agil! We're here!" he announced as he walked up to the counter. The shop owner looked up at the mention of his name. He smiled and waved for them to come in.

"Hey, Kirito! Klein." He greeted from behind the counter. "Nice of you guys to drop by. How have you been lately?"

Klein threw a wave in greeting with a grin. "Oh, we've been good. There hasn't been much happening lately, so we needed something to do."

Kirito hummed in agreement as he took a seat at the single table Agil had and placed Shiku on top. Agil blinked at the cat-lion in surprise. He was never told that Kirito had a pet. "You tamed a monster, Kirito?"

"Uhm…I wouldn't say tamed…" Kirito said as he watched Shiku shake his mane. He looked over to Agil with a set frown. "It's more like he found me."

Agil blinked at this and looked at Klein to confirm it. The guild leader groaned as the memory of the day came to him suddenly. "Never mind about that! How have you been Agil?!"

Even with the sudden change of the topic, Agil decided to let it pass and answer the question. The three spent the next two hours chatting and sharing random stories about what happened recently. Of course, Agil still managed to find out how Shiku came along, but he was still completely unaware of Kirito's real predicament. Kirito and Klein had decided to keep that a secret for a while longer to lessen the trouble Kirito could potentially cause.

Before Agil (and Kirito) knew it, Klein had to leave.

"Okay! You're all set, Agil! I'll leave him in your hands for the week!" Klein said a bit too cheerfully as he patted Kirito's shoulder. Agil shook his head at the guild leader's actions and crossed his arms.

"You're acting as if he's that hard to handle, Klein." the shop owner said. The Black Swordsman gave him an odd look as he brushed off Klein's hand.

"Wait...Klein, you just told me that we were just gonna visit Agil." Kirito said as he crossed his arms.

"And I did! Just, I left out the part that Agil with take charge of you for a week. You alright with that?" Klein said with that weird smile of his. Kirito dropped Shiku in surprise.

"Mreowr!"

"Wait! You can't be serious!"

"See you in a week, Kirito! Be good to Agil!" was the last thing Klein said as he left the shop. Kirito couldn't help but stare after him in shock.

"Did Klein just...?" Kirito stopped himself from finishing and turned to face Agil. The shop owner had a concerned frown on his face with his arms still crossed. Kirito gave him a sheepish smile. "Uhm...I'll be in your care...?"

._._._._._.

Agil was surprised. There wasn't a single moment where he had any trouble with Kirito. In fact, the teen did practically everything he told him with any questions asked!

Although, it was more of...

"Kirito, can you check the inventory and tell me how many spears we have left?"

"Okay!"

"Kirito, can you stay at the counter? I need to do something up stairs."

"Yup!"

"Kirito, don't stay up too late."

"Alright!"

...It was more like Agil had a helping hand around the shop... He couldn't see what in the world made Kirito so hard to handle! The teen was so reliable that Klein's words were just unbelievable at that point. Although, he did notice how Kirito would sometimes daydream in the middle of doing something. He was pretty surprised how many times he zoned out on a customer before the said customer marched out of the shop in frustration. Then again, Kirito's willingness to help covered up those small incidents.

"Kirito, can you make this delivery for me?"

"Eh? Ah, okay. Be right back!"

It was all perfectly dandy...up until the last day; the day before Klein would come pick Kirito up.

"Ano…Kirito?" Agil asked on the seventh day as he peeked into the spare room he had upstairs. Kirito was sitting up in a chair at the small table with his head bowed, clearly falling asleep moments before. Agil would've smiled, but with the situation he had now…it couldn't wait. Sighing, he walked right into the room, hoping Kirito would wake up to the sound of his footsteps. The teen didn't even budge when Agil stopped right before the table.

"Oi, Kirito, I need your help." Agil said as he shook Kirito's shoulder. Kirito flinched and slowly woke up. His bleary eyes looked up at Agil in a daze.

"Ah…good morning…?" he muttered, barely getting registering anything. Agil frowned as he gentle patted Kirito's cheek to wake him up faster.

"It's only the afternoon, Kirito, and you need to wake up, right now. We have a pretty serious situation." he said, hoping to get Kirito moving as quick as possible. Kirito grimaced and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"What kind of… situation…?" he asked sleepily.

"Someone is trying to buy Shiku." Agil said as bluntly as he could.

"…Oh, okay." Kirito didn't really seem to understand as he yawned and slowly stood up with Agil keeping him steady.

"I think I'll say it again…Someone is trying to buy Shiku." Agil repeated once he got Kirito steady on his feet. Kirito gave him a blank look.

"…Eh?"

Agil resisted the urge to bang his head against the wall. Exactly how long did it take to fully wake him up?! The shop owner frowned thoughtfully as he racked his brain for another way to get Kirito literally moving. Just then, an idea popped in his head. It was…a bit of a lie, but it should do the trick.

"Kirito?"

"Hm?"

"Someone bought Shiku."

There was a heavy pause as Kirito stared at him. Slowly, Agil could see the cloud of sleepiness slip away as Kirito's eyes widened in realization. In a quick flash Kirito's face fell into devastation. Immediately, Agil regretted his words.

"YOU WHAT?!" Kirito cried. Agil barely got the chance to grab him as Kirito practically flew out of the room. For a second there, Agil couldn't believe that Kirito was just standing in front of him a moment ago. Snapping out of his stupor, Agil mentally kicked himself.

"Kirito! Wait! I was joking!" the shop owner called after him as he hurried after him, but he went unheard.

Kirito nearly tripped over his feet as he stumbled down the stairs and threw himself to the counter. There, halfway out the door, was a black cloaked person with his struggling cat-lion in their arms. Immediately, he slammed his palms on the counter, startling the customer, and yelled, "Hey! You can't take Shiku!"

"Ara? So, it's true. The Black Swordsman did tame a monster." The customer said, stopping right outside and turning slightly. Kirito couldn't really see the person's face because of the graphics, but he did see a smug smirk on their face. Absently, he even took note of the scar on the right side of his face. Kirito glared at him with unease.

"Give him back right now!" he demanded. The cloaked man let out a short laugh.

"Then get him back yourself, Black Swordsman." He said. Kirito barely had the time to answer as the man slammed the door shut with a daunting laugh. Gritting his teeth, Kirito leapt over the counter and rushed to the door.

"Kirito!" Agil called as he reached downstairs. Kirito slammed open the door and spared Agil a glance before chasing after the man.

"He took Shiku!"

"What?!"

Kirito didn't stop to explain to Agil. He dashed through the streets in the general direction of the cloaked man. The area wasn't very crowded, but it wasn't really empty either, making it easy for him to spot the kidnapper. Kirito bit his lip as he took note of the cloaked man's color cursor. It was orange and that… could mean anything. Shiku was a golden blob under the man's arm, and Kirito could definitely see him scratching his captor. Those in the street either ignored them, or took a glance at Kirito with confusion.

Well, it wasn't every day that a person would see the Black Swordsman running around...

Gritting his teeth, he kept close to their tail. Kirito found it a bit difficult to keep up with them. The stabbing pain in his leg grew worse with each passing second, making him flinch every time he put a little too much force into his step. He several times he came close to touching Shiku's paw, but then the man would leap ahead or suddenly shove Kirito back.

"Give him back!" Kirito yelled once they left the town. He couldn't help but wonder just how far the man would run. Was that idiot really after Shiku? After all, he could've teleported out of town, but he didn't. In fact, that man purposely slowed down for Kirito to catch up.

"Shiku!"

The man suddenly stopped after the town was a few minutes behind; ten minutes max. He turned on his heel and threw Shiku at Kirito. The teen panicked as he practically rammed into Shiku.

"Gah!"

"Mreow!"

Kirito fell back from the force of the blow with Shiku clawing his coat. "Damn it! What was—"

He barely had the chance to finish that sentence when he caught a glimpse of steel. Immediately, Kirito grabbed Shiku and rolled away from a chop. He rolled to his feet and held Shiku in surprise. Just a few feet away, the man yanked out his abnormally large butchering knife (Well, that's what it looked like to Kirito) and grinned at the teen.

"Oho~! You're just as fast as the rumors say you are." The man stated. Kirito held Shiku a little closer and took a few steps back in caution.

"So? What do you want?" he asked keeping his gaze fixed on the man before him. Vaguely, he remembered he hadn't equipped a sword on his back. If anything…he was screwed.

"It's simple, Black Swordsman. Your life."

Kirito didn't have the chance to answer as the man came at him once more. He leapt upward to dodge the side slash and flipped in the air, landing behind him. He automatically gripped Shiku and aimed.

"Shiku! Attack!" he commanded as he threw the cat-lion at the man. Shiku bared his sharp teeth and smacked the back of the man's head. The cloaked man stumbled forward in surprise. Before Kirito could even command it, Shiku shone brightly and suddenly popped into his original size. With the extra weight on his head, the man was smushed to the ground.

Kirito took the opportunity to open his menu and equip his sword. He felt the familiar weight of Elucidator on his back a second later, just as Shiku was thrown off. This time, Kirito was prepared. The man came at him with his butcher knife, ready to kill. Kirito unsheathed his sword and blocked the attack. A gust of shock billowed around him as his sword connected to the butcher knife. He gritted his teeth as the knife glowed with a sword skill. Kirito leapt back the moment he felt the pressure against his sword lessen, narrowly avoiding a swipe to his neck.

"Why are you doing this?!" Kirito demanded as he put a distance between the man and himself. Shiku joined his side with a frustrated huff, obviously upset that he was easily shoved aside.

"Isn't it obvious?" the man asked with a readied stance. "If powerful players like you exist, then the game will end. I can't let that happen for the sake of the Laughing Coffin."

"The Laughing—The red guild!" Kirito breathed in surprise. The Laughing Coffin: the guild that kills players for fun. They kill without restraint; they kill for joy. In short, a murderous guild. Gritting his teeth, he fell into a defensive stance, wary of the next move. "But why me? Specifically me?!"

"There are rumors going around, Black Swordsman. I heard that you Beaters may have a connection with the Game Master. If you ask the GM to end the game, then it's all over." The man said. "When this game ends, then my guild can't kill anymore. They can't kill off the weak without a punishment. They can't feel the thrill of taking a life."

"So that's why? You'd kill me based on a rumor?" Kirito asked. He tightened his grip on Elucidator. "What if you were wrong and you kill me, what then?"

A grin eased its way on the man's face. "Then at least I've killed you!"

The man shot forward and activated another sword skill. Kirito narrowed his eyes a bit and active a sword skill of his own. His sword glowed a gentle green before he dashed forward. Their blades met with such a force that Shiku had to bury his claws into the ground. The skills canceled each other out, but the two didn't hesitate to pull back and strike again.

The air was soon filled with sharp clangs of metal, loud snarling, and hums of sword skill after sword skill. They fought with a strange pattern of offense and defense. Kirito found himself more on defense more than he liked. He never expected that enormous butcher knife to be such a nuisance. The man wielding the blade was a skillful dagger user. As much as Kirito hated to admit it, the man was better than Silica in so many levels.

Shiku helped him by offering support; attacking at any chance he could get. He even blocked a few fatal blows for Kirito with a swipe of his massive paw.

Kirito took a glance at his HP bar as he placed a bit of distance from the fight and grimaced. It was already half gone and he could feel nothing but the intense burn in his leg. He knew he was pushing it, but with a man after his life?

He'd rather stay alive, thank you very much!

A high pitched whimper caught his attention and he saw Shiku fly right at him. Shocked, Kirito scurried out of the way to avoid Shiku's body crashing into him.

"Shiku!" He cried, but he didn't get the chance to move to the lion. The butcher knife was quickly approaching his face. Kirito ducked down and kicked out with his right leg, knocking the man off his feet. Just then, Kirito had the perfect opportunity to finish him off with a simple stab at the chest, but he didn't take it.

"Kirito!"

The teen looked up to see Klein running toward him with a look of pure panic. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he just knew he was in big trouble.

"Never take your eyes off your enemy!"

Kirito gasped when he felt the man get up suddenly. Without realizing it, Kirito lashed out with his arm and Elucidator shoved the man back. With a cry of surprise, the man stumbled several feet back surrounded with the familiar sight of glass like particles. The man was no longer cloaked and his head was bowed, only showing his dark hair.

"Kirito!" the Black Swordsman felt a hand around his arm before he was pulled back suddenly. Klein yanked him back and brandished his sword. "Stay away from him!"

Kirito tripped over his own feet and braced himself for the fall, but was caught by strong hands. He looked up to see Agil giving him a sigh of relief.

"We made it on time…" Agil said. Kirito couldn't help but blink at him before another sight caught his eye. Asuna had a hand hovering over her sword as she glared at the Laughing Coffin member.

"Who are you?!" Asuna demanded at the man. The man didn't look up as he pulled something out of his pocket. A blue crystal gleamed in his hand as he gave a dry laugh and straightened up, not lifting his head.

"Hahaha…you win this time. But I'll get you sooner or later, Kirito. I swear it." The man said calmly before suddenly throwing his hand above his head. "Teleport: Danac!"

Everyone covered their eyes as a flash of light enveloped the man and teleported him away. Kirito gritted his teeth as he leaned heavily against Agil for support; his left leg no longer supporting him. Agil held him upright as Asuna and Klein visibly relaxed. Shiku groaned and puffed back into his small form of a cat-lion.

"What were you thinking?!" Klein asked as he turned on his heel to face Kirito. He was a bit furious but, Kirito couldn't really blame him. After all, he would do the same if he saw any of his friends attacked by an orange player.

"I can explain—" Kirito began, but Klein cut him off.

"If it weren't for Agil, then you could've been dead by now!" Klein snapped. Kirito flinched at the harsh tone. Asuna sighed and decided to let Klein handle the scolding this time as she went over to pick up a meowing Shiku. She gave him a healing potion to recover the large amount of HP missing. Kirito made a mental note to thank her later.

"I couldn't let him get away with Shiku!" Kirito said as he gestured to the cat-lion.

"You should've waited for Agil! Or better yet, you should've brought Agil with you!" Klein said as he threw an arm at the said shop owner. "Kirito, you never, ever fight a murderer by yourself! He was from the Laughing Coffin, for crying out loud!"

Kirito grimaced and bowed his head at his foolishness. It was stupid to go off on his own, and he didn't know that the person was a member of the Laughing Coffin. If he did, then he would've brought Agil with him. If only he trusted Agil more…

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen. I'll be more careful next time." Kirito promised, giving Klein an honest look of guilt. Klein opened his mouth to scold him more, but stopped. The look that Kirito had on his face was enough to squash his anger with relief. Kirito stared at Klein's lifted hand and blinked. Klein sighed and patted him on the shoulder.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you. You were only doing what you thought was right at the time. Just, be careful next time." He said with a smile. Agil sighed heavily.

"You know what, you're harder to handle than it looks, Kirito." He said with a grimace. "I mean, everything was all fine until—"

"Wait, did you just say, 'everything was all fine'?" Asuna asked with disbelief, finally entering the conversation. Agil gave her a look of confusion.

"Well, yes. He was pretty helpful around the shop. He even took over the place while I stepped out and nothing was out of order when I came back. It was until the moment he ran after that man." He said. Klein and Asuna shared a look of shock. A stunned silence fell upon them as Agil looked at Kirito, silently asking him a question. Kirito smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

"Hey, you gave me stuff to do to keep me occupied." He said.

"You did?" Asuna asked suddenly, looking at Agil in surprise. The shop owner raised an eyebrow.

"You sound like that was something you haven't done…" Agil said as he sweat dropped. Klein groaned heavily as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Ugh! That's it! We need a vacation! All of us!" he said pacing back and forth tiredly. "I can't keep up with the stress all this is giving me…"

Kirito pushed himself off of Agil and tested his leg. He hid a cringe as a flash of pain shot up his leg, but he shifted most of his weight on his right. He placed a hand to his hip and gave Klein a nod.

"I agree! We need a break from all these crazy things happening to us." Kirito said as he looked over to Shiku, who meowed in agreement. "See? Even Shiku agreed."

Asuna sighed and petted Shiku's head. "Well, I'm not about to argue. We've been on the frontlines for far too long."

Agil crossed his arms and looked a bit thoughtful. "Hmm, if you have enough money, there's a Log House on the 22nd floor that you could buy. It's hidden in a forest with a great view of a lake."

'That's perfect! If we buy it, then we can always come back to it when we want to get away from the frontlines." Asuna said with a hint of excitement in her voice.

"That sounds great, Asuna! A perfect place to rest and recover!" Klein said with a small victory punch toward the sky. Kirito nodded, liking the idea.

"Yeah, and hopefully, it'll be a place where Shiku and I can play a few games. Agil, would you like to join us?" Kirito asked, looking up at the dark skinned man.

"Hm…"

"Consider it as a treat for watching me for a whole week." Kirito bargained.

"Done."

"Then it's settled." Asuna said as she smiled happily.

"Vacation time!" Klein cheered.

Kirito couldn't help but laugh, feeling relieved that he didn't have to fight all the time. Before he even realized it, the others joined him, starting from a grin to an audible laughter. Even Shiku was purring in delight. Kirito looked up to the ceiling above them and closed his eyes, enjoying the sound of his friends around him.

He looked down a few seconds later and reached for Shiku. "Sa, let's go?"

The others nodded as Shiku leapt into his waiting arms. Klein began to lead the way back, already discussing the plans for buying the house. Asuna walked by his side with an easy smile on her face.

"I wonder how the next few days are going to be like." She mused as she took a hand off her sword.

Kirito shrugged, "We'll see when it comes around."

"Maybe this world isn't so bad, Aki-nii." He thought to himself. "But, that doesn't mean that I'm giving up on beating this game. Just for now."

And done! I hope you guys liked this chapter. I knew that the story can't all be funny, so I had to add a serious moment. As an added bonus, this scene is a bit of foreshadowing into an arc after the ALO. Well, in fact, you could say that's why Asada was brought in. I find it funny how only one reviewer (Lord Destroyer) actually mentioned who Asada was. Although, it's kinda a given since most of us know her by her online name. :D

Anyway! Tell me what you guys thought of this chapter! I had a bit of fun writing this one. Although, I kinda suck at explaining sword fights accurately. Hmm...I know there was one more thing I had to say but I seem to have forgotten...for the umpteenth time again. :/ Eh, I'll remember...eventually. Well, up next is a reality check!

For those who read the Prince of Aincrad, who misses Scary?

Preview!

"Kirigaya...?" Asada's brother asked under his breath as he placed a hand on his chin. Asada walked slowly by his side down the white hall. A few seconds later, he looked up with his dark eyes. "I think I heard of that name somewhere... but I could be wrong. Is that person a patient here?"

Asada frowned as they stopped in front of Suzuku's room. "...yeah. I don't like him."

Her brother's hand paused over the handle of the door. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Wow. A guy you mention once and you already hate him." He didn't give her a chance to answer as he threw open the door without a care. "Oi~! Suzuku, I came to visit this time-Ara, we're screwed. Where'd he go?"

"E-eh?!"

._._._._._.

"Um...who are you?" Suguha asked as stared right into the teen's dark grey eyes. He smiled and lifted up a white board with his name already written on it. Sugu gave him an odd look before fully entering the room and closing the door behind her. "Tonomi...Suzuku?"

Ahahahaha...Later?

-CloudyLightning