Asuna doesn't really become Asuna until after the fight with Illfang, so if she seems a bit off, that's because she's horrifically depressed and has no idea what the hell she is doing. Hope you enjoy Kirito's pep talk as she so unselfishly tries to give Asuna a reason to keep moving forward, if for no other reason then having another woman to talk to.
Also this is going to be a combination of the Progressive manga, the anime, Wiki, and SAO abridged because why would you read a rehash of the same story?
Oh, also, I have no idea if SAO had Skype style messaging but in this story it does, because it would be stupid for it not to.
Yūki Asuna was brought out of her fitful rest by an irritated voice, the speaker obviously having no real interest to be talking with whoever she was addressing.
"Yeah yeah Miss Rapier is fine, well, fine'ish' I suppose, dunno what the hell she was thinking running herself ragged like that. Fatigue is a pain in the ass to deal with at the best of times and she didn't make things easier on herself by over killing everything. Kind of impressive though, in an entirely too suicidal for my taste sort of way."
Asuna had been determined to escape the death game, that was what she had been thinking about and what had driven her forward. She'd bought a map supposedly leading to a secret logout point off of 'The Rat', and had quickly made it to the cave in question. Then she had spent the better part of eight hours fighting her way to the bottom to find... nothing at all.
That's when things went pear shaped, the enemies began reappearing and she'd been pushed back into a corner and had been struck down by a high level kobold for her troubles. She'd been so worn out, so exhausted and just so...so resigned to her fate that she hadn't been able to summon the will to fight back and simply waited for death to take her.
Then the kobolds had all just...died, and a teenage girl clad in black took their place, she had stared at Asuna for a moment but she couldn't focus on her savior for long, too worn out for her own good.
As her head hit the ground Asuna clearly heard the girl let out a sigh as she muttered, "This is going to be my entire day, isn't it?"
Back in the present Asuna opened her eyes and saw the girl from before leaning against a tree, arms crossed and eyes focused on a chat window hosting the image of the information broker that had started this whole affair.
"I'm so glad to hear that Ki-chan! I know I didn't ask you to go check up on her but I do appreciate it, I don't like the fact that it was my information that nearly got her killed. Even if someone else was responsible for my maps being out of date."
The girl, Ki-chan she supposed rubbed her index finger against her thumb while drawling out her response, "The tiniest violin in the world plays for your troubles Argo. Look I'm gonna sit tight and hope she wakes up before the meeting, if I don't make it tell senpai to write everything down for me all right? Need to know what we're up against."
The hooded figure nodded once and then disconnected the message, the girl sighed and slid down the tree resting her forehead against her knees as she landed, releasing an annoyed groan in the process.
Asuna sat up completely and stared at her savior a few moments before coughing to get her attention, the raven haired beauty shot her head up and met Asuna's gaze evenly before a wry smirk crawled up her face.
"Well well well, look who is finally awake! How are you feeling Miss Rapier? You were doing pretty good down in that death trap before you got cornered, with how fast you move I shouldn't have been shocked to see a meteor shower underground. Must say though, you're lucky I showed up when I did."
Asuna shrugged lightly, glad that her cloaks hood hid her facial expressions, or rather the lack there of as she replied, "You shouldn't have bothered, we're all going to die in here anyway..."
The girl tilted her head to the side as her expression became unreadable, eventually she jumped off the ground and began walking around Asuna staring down at her appraisingly.
"Hmm...fatalist really doesn't seem like your default setting, what's got you down in the dumps? Other then the whole being trapped in here being questioned by a pushy stranger thing?"
Why not. Asuna stood up shakily as the other girl caught her arm to steady her slightly in the process, "It is honestly really stupid in retrospect. I heard the rumor about the hidden logout point and jumped on it because...well today was the day the mock entrance exams were being held and I had been studying for them for months. I just..."
How could she explain this to a total stranger? Her mothers insanely unrealistic expectations to out do her perfect brother? Her constant drive to be the best of the best, the fact that her future was derailed because of a freaking video game?
To her shock the girl smiled and nodded in understanding, "It was an anchor to the real world, while it was trivial to most it was important to you, and there's nothing you can do to follow the thread home. Right?"
Asuna blinked a few times before shaking her head rapidly followed by a sputtered, "H-how did you-?"
The girl shrugged once as she shoved her hands into her blue jackets pockets, "You aren't the only one pining for home Miss Rapier. I want to hug my sister and say I'm sorry for being such a nerd and getting trapped in here. I want to kiss my mom on the cheek and promise her I'll never scare her like this again. I want to finish my online programming correspondence to prove to the world that I am way smarter then I let on, that I just don't really care to flaunt it on a regular basis."
She smirked at Asuna while shrugging again, "You aren't alone Miss Rapier, just know that there are others thinking the same things you are. While most of the people stuck in this game are just...going about life, pretending that this is the new normal, there are those of us who refuse to sit idle.
"That's us, you, me, my buddy Klein, we're the front liners. We're the vanguard that refuses to forget about our mock exams, our little sisters, our futures, our hopes and dreams. You aren't alone, so don't go giving up just yet, ok?"
Asuna stared at her blankly for what felt like minutes on end before whispering, "Who are you?"
The girl grinned widely at that as she snorted out a laugh, "Just your friendly neighborhood beta tester Miss Rapier, but if you're willing to put yourself in danger, which obviously you are I have a suggestion. A group apparently found the floor boss's room and have organized a meeting to discuss how best to take the bastard down in a few hours. Now that you're awake I'm going to meet up with my buddies and attend the meeting, so why not come along?"
It was really a no brainer, why not indeed?
"All right." With that Asuna began following the girl across the open plains, eventually she sighed and muttered, "What did you mean, before when you were talking to 'The Rat'. About me over killing my targets?"
The girl frowned at that as she turned to respond, "You're what, level ten, eleven? Your standard attacks could have easily killed those things within seconds, yet you kept on using your power attacks which are mentally fatiguing to spam. Simply put, you were exhausting yourself by hitting everything with your most powerful attacks instead of using them as openers."
Asuna frowned at this revelation as she pulled out her rapier and glared at it in frustration, "My regular attacks barely do anything though, the only thing that works consistently is my power attacks!"
Pausing her companion looked contemplative a moment before responding, "What are you dumping your skill points into? You're obviously a speed build so I'm guessing dexterity and agility for sure. Personally I focus on agility and strength at the sacrifice of my defense, the boys call me a glass cannon for that actually."
Asuna blinked once in confusion before sputtering out, "What are skill points?"
The girl blinked once, groaned and shook her head as she muttered, "My whole goddamn day..."
The hour spent walking to town was not wasted and Asuna gained a new appreciation for Kirito, for that was the girls name it ended up, and her understanding of Sword Art Online. After distributing her skill points properly, and hadn't that been embarrassing, she'd practiced on a few random monster spawns and found that her standard attacks now hit as hard as her power attacks had previously.
She really, really shouldn't have skipped the tutorial, although according to Kirito she hadn't missed much, apparently it mostly involved jumping about like a fool and random anti-drug use messages.
Odd that.
Regardless when they entered the town of Tolbana Asuna felt more sure of herself then she had in a month, and was mildly ashamed that she'd resigned herself to an ignoble death for no real reason mere hours earlier.
Speaking of which, "Kirito, why were you in that cave to save me when you did?"
Kirito paused a moment then laughed, "Oh, I'd went to meet Argo when you came up. Some ass keeps trying to buy my sword you see and he's paying Argo a nice bit of col to bring the offers to me, anyway she mentioned a potential female front liner and I was intrigued. First off, it was kinda my fault you were sold that information, I had an updated map but the boys forgot to bring it to Argo soooo yeah, felt a bit responsible for that one. Secondly, and far more selfishly...I really need another girl to talk to around here, I'm drowning in testosterone as is."
Asuna couldn't help it, she broke out giggling at this admission which Kirito quickly added to, after a few moments the pair entered what looked like a scaled down colosseum filled with random groups of chatting players. Guiding them through the throngs of people Kirito eventually plopped down next to a well muscled man with red hair and dropped her head to his shoulder.
"Senpai have I missed anything?"
The man frowned and reached over to ruffle her hair as he rolled his eyes, "Stop calling me that princess, and no nothing yet. Who is your friend?"
Shifting uncomfortably Asuna bowed lightly as she quietly muttered, "I'm Asuna, a pleasure."
The man threw her an appraising leer that resulted in Kirito elbowing him in the stomach, "She's fifteen Klein."
Putting on a pained expression Klein shook his head in despair, "When will I run into a woman that's my age that doesn't friend zone me?" Kirito snickered as she patted his back reassuringly before gesturing towards the empty spot to her right.
"Take a seat Asuna, I think things are gonna get interesting soon."
Ending it here so we can see the meeting and battle from the public's point of view, I already have Kirito's rant at Kibaou written, it's gonna be great. Anyway, please review!