Sword Art Online
After The Incident
Chapter 50 - GGO: RE;match
"L-Love advice?"
I was dumbstruck to say the least. Shino wanted love advice? And from me of all people? What could she possibly need advice for anyway that she couldn't get to a conclusion herself?
"Yes, love advice" She pouted a little, most likely annoyed by my baffled expression "You're the one who's got a yearlong relationship, isn't it?"
"Well y-yeah but you're talking to Kazuto Kirigaya, not cupid" I couldn't help but laugh "Anyway, let's walk, shall we? We can discuss it on the way"
She nodded stiffly and followed along, the street crowded with people like always, in opposition to the otherwise quiet train ride it took me to get here. Summer had come to an end and the colder weather of fall was closing in, causing Shino to wrap her scarf a little tighter around her neck as a cold breeze blew over us.
"So, love advice" I mumbled, not sure where to start "Did something happen between you and Kyouji?"
Shino jolted to attention and quickly shook her head.
"No! Nothing like that!" she mumbled "I'm just… uncertain about a couple of things"
She fell silent again and I was about to ask "about what?" when she took a deep breath and regained her composure.
"Well, Kyouji's and I's one-month anniversary is coming up and…" She blushed dark red and looked away, refusing to look directly at me "I know you have some experience with love and such, so I felt like you were the best individual to ask"
I grumbled a little in wonder, pinching my chin in thought.
"Is this about what gift you should be getting him?"
"Well yeah, that too, but it's a lot of other stuff" She mumbled, still refusing to meet my gaze "I'm just not completely comfortable talking about this stuff with just anyone, and you're the only one I could think of"
"Alright, let's go grab a drink somewhere and we'll talk"
This seemed to dissipate some of her nervousness as she finally found my gaze and nodded.
"We can go to the café Kyouji and I always visit"
"Sounds good"
Settling into a private comfy setting helped ease most of Shino's nerves, if only somewhat. She calmly put down her cup of hot chocolate she had ordered and took a breath.
"So, as I said, our one-month anniversary is coming up" She mumbled "And I have a few questions when it comes to relationships and love and such, since you've been with Asuna for years at this point"
I nodded and smiled, taking a sip of my own black coffee as she continued.
"First off, how long should we wait until we do the deed?"
I almost choked on my coffee and had to cough several times as I dapped my mouth with a paper towel.
"Excuse me what!?" I yelped, staring at Shino in disbelief.
She just looked back at me with a raise of an eyebrow and a stone-cold indifference. Was she talking about sex!?
"You and Asuna have been together for years now. You've gotta have done it by now"
Guess she'd decided not to be embarrassed about it anymore, judging from her way of approaching the topic.
"W-Well yeah, but…"
"Then how long should Kyouji and I wait until we do it?"
"W-Well I uhh…"
I might not have been the best individual to ask for such advice since Asuna and I had done it the same day we confessed to each other. Sure, it had been filled with passion, love and affection, but from an outsider's perspective it would look rushed. Impatient. That it was a decision that was made in the heat of the moment. Would Shino even take my advice seriously if I told her that? Plus, it would be kind of embarrassing to admit.
"W-Well, that really depends according to the pair in question" I mumble, trying to save graces "There's no definitive answer to that question"
"How long did you and Asuna wait?"
Oh god, there it is. Guess I might as well come out with it.
"We… we did it for the first time the same day we confessed to each other…"
I could already tell that my burning blush was easily reaching up to past both my ears, and apparently Shino could see too, since she giggled a little bit.
"Aww, that's adorable" She smirked "The big scary Black Swordsman is afraid to talk about the dirty deed?"
"Hey, you were the one who could barely form a sentence a few minutes ago" I retorted with a pout "And besides, it's a sensitive topic for the two of us"
"Well, I suppose that is fair" she shrugged and took another sip of hot chocolate "So you're saying that you don't have an answer for my question?"
I sighed and composed myself, trying to dap a bit of nervous sweat off my forehead.
"Y-Yeah, at least not a definitive one" I mumbled.
I ran my spoon around in my coffee as I added a cube of sugar and took a second sip once it was dissolved. Ahh, much better!
"What I am saying is that the answer changes from couple to couple, and that you should ask Kyouji about it. The most important thing I can tell you Shino is that communication is important in a relationship. If you both wander around with worries or thoughts of your relationship, it's better to come out to your partner and share them instead of mulling them over in your head.
Trust me, that is something I've learned after being with Asuna for so long. If you keep it to yourself long enough it bottles up and then explodes when you finally can't take it anymore. Or, even worse, your partner misunderstands your silence as the two of you drifting apart and then the both of you just end up being sad for absolutely no reason"
Shino nodded along quietly as she listened intently to what I had to say, then lowered her gaze and mulled it over.
"What you're saying seems to make sense…" she mumbled with a nod "So be as honest with Kyouji as I can is basically what you're saying?"
"Exactly"
"Okay, that's it for question one"
Wait, question one?
"Next up is this" she said resolutely "What sort of thing should I get him for our anniversary?"
"I'm probably better at answering that" I smiled, happy that she threw me a softball this time "He's a gamer, so he'll most likely like something from one of the games he likes"
"So GGO or ALO then?" She concluded "You mean like a weapon or accessory?"
"If he's half as happy about his swords as I am, then a weapon" I chuckled "You could get him a Hecate II that matches yours"
Her face fell, and she sat up straight as if lightning had just struck her.
"how have I not thought of that before?"
"Beats me" I shrugged and chuckled "But think about it, you could be a sniping tag team. Plus, it's a good excuse to spend some time teaching him the basics of sniping. And it might get you some alone time, if you know what I'm talking about"
I smirked teasingly and now it was her turn to blush dark red, shooting a deadly glare in my direction.
"Wipe all such thoughts from your head or I will remove it myself" She hissed.
"With what, your cake fork?" I laughed.
"If necessary" She retorted.
"Okay, okay" I chuckled, waving my hands in front of me defensively "Any further questions?"
"One last thing, and this one is important" She said with a deadly serious frown "This is not as much about our relationship as it is about Kyouji's relationship to the rest of you though"
"Oh? What do you mean?"
I was thoroughly intrigued and leaned forward in curiosity.
"Well, you must have noticed, right?" She mumbled, a guilty look crossing her features "how some of the others don't completely trust him yet?"
I frowned and nodded. It was true, I had noticed it as well. Some of the others had shown a certain distaste of Kyouji joining the group in the beginning, and it seemed that some of them kept their grudges. Klein had expressed how little he trusted Kyouji, and despite having warmed up to him considerably, Scilica was still getting used to him being around.
And to some degree I understood. He had done things that most people probably would never forgive him for. But they hadn't been there with him in that little arena, hadn't fought him like I had. I understood him to a deeper degree than the others did.
Ultimately his anguish of losing his brother to my blade had fueled his anger for revenge, and that I understood completely. When I lost Sachi and the Moonlit Black Cats back in SAO I felt the same anger, felt the same need for finding someone to blame. Ultimately, I blamed Kayaba Akihiko for Sachi's and the other's deaths.
I had become a grim and hollow version of myself, becoming even more isolated than even before I met the Black Cats. I pushed anyone away who tried to help me, that included Asuna and even Klein. If they hadn't persevered, tried to see the broken individual beneath the cold shell, then I would most likely have died somewhere alone on the top floors.
In a way, Kyouji was, for a brief time, the type of person I would have become had I not been rescued from myself by Asuna and my friends. Shallow, bitter, hateful and angry. Only destructive towards myself and everyone around me, until I would have been nothing but an empty shell, eventually not caring about my life anymore.
Suddenly I realized what to do, and I looked up at Shino with new hope.
"Let them fight"
"Excuse me?"
Shino looked as if I had lost my mind, but I just nodded my head insistently and continued.
"Let the people who don't trust him fight him in battle" I smirked "I feel like I understood him after crossing weapons with him in GGO. Warriors tend to understand each other better in combat than if they were just talking to each other"
Shino seemed to stare at me in disbelief for a moment before bursting into laughter.
"You are so nerdy, and I can't help but love it" She giggled, making me roll my eyes.
"Yeah whatever miss sniper elite" I mumbled as I took another sip of my coffee "Just consider it okay? Talk to Kyouji about it. Who knows, it might actually help Kyouji connect to the others"
"Guess there's no better way to connect than a mutual hobby" Shino sighed and crossed her arms over her chest "You know, I kind of feel dumb for not realizing this sooner. You're pretty good at this whole analytical thing, huh?"
"Hey, I just said the first thing that came to mind" I shrugged and chuckled "Anyway, I hope my answers helped, if only a little"
"I think they helped more than either of us know Kazuto" She smiled, finishing her drink and standing "I should probably get going if I want time to find another Hecate II in GGO"
"Oh yeah, it took you 7 hours last time didn't it?" I laughed a little "Want any help with the boss? I'm sure we can find some time in our schedules"
"Thanks Kazuto but I would rather take care of it myself" She smiled gently, reaching for her purse "It would feel more special that way. Plus, I don't want to have to save Klein's ass when he inevitably gets into trouble"
"Hehe, you don't even know"
We laughed and eventually paid for our drinks before stepping outside and turning each our own direction and parting waves, a casual wave over my shoulder on my way back towards the train station.
A quick gaze at my phone and I realized I had gotten a few messages from Klein and missed a call from Asuna. I quickly called her back and pressed the phone to my ear.
"Hey hun" I smiled, already on my way up the stairs to the train platform "What's up?"
"Just called to hear how it went"
Asuna had probably been worried why Shino would text me out of the blue like that. She was not the type of person to be texting often and when she did it was often straight to the point. It wasn't any different this time.
"It went well" I smiled, stepping onto the train "You won't believe what she wanted help with Asuna. From me!"
My excitement followed me all the way into the train and I smiled and watched the city fly by outside as the train picked up speed and raced along the track, quickly leaving the buzzling city life behind.
After about half an hour's trek through the desert outside the main spawn city, I began searching for the entrance to the dungeon. Last time I had been there I had stumbled upon it by accident, so I had nothing to rely on to find the place other than what I could remember of that day. Luckily I had a most excellent memory.
Last time, even finding the boss in the first place was a complete fluke, out of my control. I had been exploring a relatively low level dungeon on my own when I tripped a trap in the floor, causing it to cave in and making me fall directly into the boss room. Turns out the dungeon was not exactly as low level as I had thought, as the boss I encountered down there was several levels higher than myself at the time.
I had barely managed to scramble for cover and get to high ground but I almost got killed in the process. The penalty would have been a bitch to deal with too.
But this time, I was back, stronger and better than ever. And luckily, my current sniper, the Hecate II, had a much better damage output than the rifle I had used last time, so it would most likely not take nearly as long as it did back then.
"Seven stiff hours flat on my stomach with a rifle pressed into my shoulder" I mumbled, as I finally stepped through the main gate to the dungeon "Had it been IRL I would have been sore for days"
Luckily, I had this place pretty much memorized. Despite that, I still needed to pay attention. Dungeons in these types of games were easy to get lost in, depending on the situation and your awareness skills.
Before long I had made my way through the dungeon, no more than a couple of hard fights, before I finally made it to the bossroom, and not through the floor this time. That, already, was an improvement from last time I came here.
Without hesitation I stepped up to the automatic doors which slit aside and let me pass. Inside was dark, gloomy, a couple of blue flamed torches on the walls, their gentle light glistening off the shining rocks and crystals in the room's grotto-like walls. As I stepped further in a couple more torches lit up in the back of the room, and I knew exactly what was happening. Time for a rematch.
A confident smile crossed my features as I saw it's silhouette in the back of the room. It was as massive and imposing as I remembered it, four gleaming red eyes visible in the gloomy darkness. The ground quaked and rumbled with each of its steps, a slithering of a tail, and the distinct sound of a laser being powered up could be heard, a bright green glow following close after.
"Yeah, it's good to see you too" I chuckled, the monster finally stepping into the torchlight "How about a rematch eh? For old times' sake!"
Its name finally appeared proudly over it's three massive health bars, a name I remembered all too well.
"Hermit Descendant: Laserflare"
A/N
My god have I missed you guys, and my god am I sorry for not uploading earlier. School has been a massive time consumer for me, and I'm afraid it'll continue to be just that. But I will upload as much as I can, I promise you that.
Despite all that, you guys keep coming back with your wonderful support and reviews that I am still fully convinced I don't fully deserve. Thank you so much for all the support.
I would also like to thank GAMELORD THE HITMAN for helping me with different ideas for this chapter. Thank you, my friend. Without your help my writer's block would probably have persisted for another few months.
When all that is said, this is officially the canonically 50TH chapter of the story! AARGH!
I still can't believe that we've come this far, but it's all because of you guys' endless streams and bursts of support. You guys are awesome! What should we do to celebrate? Special anniversary chapter or maybe some sort of community event? Let me know in the reviews or PM.
Anyway, what did you think of the chapter? I have to admit I think I've fallen a little behind after so many months off.
I hope that it's the last time that you guys must wait so long for a new chapter, but I can't promise anything as I've already mentioned in the past. Never the less I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to the next one.
See you guys next time!