Suguha has a slight sister complex but it's nothing like it is in cannon, Keiko has always been hers and she is very annoyed that she is now sharing her with the world. This is especially grating because she knows her sister suffers from enochlophobia and is aware Keiko is going to freak the hell out when she finds out she is a household name. Just thought I'd clarify that in case anyone was worrying/hoping this went the incest route, which it will not.

Edit-Right, enochlophobia is the fear of large crowds, or as Keiko looks at it the incredibly irrational and annoying as hell fear of large crowds. I'll be expanding on it further but it's quite a bit like Sinon with Gun Gale Online. Keiko was using SAO as a means to cope with her fears in a controlled setting, thus why her mom never got on her case for spending so much time in a full dive.

The fact that she's a gaming nerd who really enjoyed SAO was just icing on the cake for her arguments.

EDIT EDIT:IS it Diabel or Diavel?! Seriously the source material can't even decide!

Yuuki Kouichirou, or Kou to his friends, had been torn between several extreme emotions during his time watching the first public SAO live stream. For one, he had wanted to cry at the sight of his beloved little sister being saved by the rather vivacious Kirito just in the nick of time.

That is, cry in rage that she had gotten herself into that sort of situation to begin with, and cry in joy that there was someone who cared enough to be bothered to rescue her from her mistakes.

Later the amusement he had to suppress was almost giggle worthy, mostly thanks to his mother's appalled rage at said sisters language and blase attitude as she helped Kirito blackmail an idiot into silence.

Now hadn't that been a surprise? Asuna always had a touch of sass to her that was kept quietly restrained yet it would seem she was willing to truly let her colors fly having someone like Kirito around her. Admittedly he was more than a little curious what other bad habits his little sis would pick up on her adventures, it would certainly be an interesting watch to say the least.

The emotion he felt strongest though was anger, and he had to fight back a very real desire for violence because it was his weak willed fathers fault the entire WORLD was creeping on his baby sister now, and there wasn't anything Kou could do to stop it!

Seriously some of the comments from the chat log were just downright wrong; he was a self admitted pervert but good goddamn there was a time and place for that sort of thing and this wasn't it. A bunch of mouth breathing neck beards living in their parents basements talking about what they'd like to do to a pair of under aged girls, one of which was his sister, was not something he was ok with.

God did humanity make itself easy to hate at times, no wonder grandfather became a recluse after retirement.

His internal tirade was cut off as the live stream ended for the day. The last image displayed was of Asuna holding a still sobbing Kirito, the brunette gently running her fingers through the younger girls hair doing her best to sooth her partner, Argo hovering over them in silent companionship. At the very least Kirito seemed receptive to the ministrations, the poor kid had seriously taken up one hell a burden to bear, and she was lucky to have Asuna at her side really.

He knew from experience that she gave great conciliatory hugs.

Clearing his throat with a cough Kou began speaking slowly in an attempt to keep his anger in check, he would like to think he was at least marginly successful in his efforts but honestly he really doubted it worked.

"I know I already said my piece on this father and you have said yours, but now it isn't just some 'No name middle class nobody' as Sugou put it having her privacy violated." Kou paused as he pinched the bridge of his nose lightly trying his best to keep the oncoming rage from releasing itself in his parents sitting room before he continued on in a seething tone.

"It's Asuna, our Asuna. So, what are you going to do about this? Because frankly, I'm kinda worried what this Keiko is going to do when she gets out of the game and finds out about this mess regardless. Something tells me that lawsuits are not going to be our primary concern with that girl, she seems too smart and...ruthless to stop there, and with Asuna's help...well, little sis can be creatively vindictive if she feels the need to be. With popular opinion, as fickle as it can be, likely being behind them this isn't going to tie itself up neatly."

On that note his first order of business after today was definitely finding out more about his sister's new friend, he'd ignored the dossier he'd been given earlier in the month seeing as his opinion on the matter was largely ignored, but now he needed to go over it with a fine tooth comb. Who knows what the little firebrand had been up to before she'd been trapped in SAO...

His mother, for once in her life took a proper 'Mama Bear' stance as she shot her husband a dark look, "Yes Shouzou, what are you going to do about this travesty? I cannot do much about my Asuna associating with that foul mouthed trollop but surely we can make these broadcasts end now that we know they have become partners? The last thing we need is for her image to be tarnished as she tries to do what she must to survive this death game! Bad enough everyone will know she plays those...things already, the amount of damage control I will have to do to keep her in an acceptable light is going to be a chore in on itself..."

To this day Kou really had no idea how the hell he survived the first eighteen years of his life living with that woman, Asuna truly had his sympathies there.

His father sighed while shaking his head slowly, "I told Sugou this was a bad idea from the get go, repeatidly in fact." At that he glanced to Kou and nodded once to the young man, "You were there. He was rather adament that we go through with this though, that it was a vital necessity in order to keep the entire industry alive and his reasoning was sound thus why I agreed to it. Yet...it felt so wrong to violate a teenage girls privacy like this...but he was quite persuasive, it would appear I should have been stronger in my convictions."

Kou, well, he was kinda not going to let his old man off the hook that easily. Call him an asshole but this was his little sister they were talking about here, and frankly propriety could see itself to the door when her safety, security, and privacy were involved.

"That's great father, but you didn't answer the question, what are we going to do about this?"

Shouzou stared at his defiant son for several seconds before letting his shoulders slump down, "Nothing. We can do nothing to stop this now, before the broadcast I might have had a chance of pulling the plug, now? The die has been cast, and there is nothing we can do for it. The government won't end the broadcast because they need this girl to be our beacon and despite her rough edges and attitude our lot is now with Kirito. I'm sorry, I truly am."

Kou grimaced as he stood up and instead of bowing politely he sneared at his father in disdain, "I'm sorry too, I had no idea my sire was a coward afraid of the wrath of his board of directors. It's only his daughter's well being after all. I'm leaving, I'll see you at work on Monday, good night." Without acknowledging his mothers indignent squaks Kou marched out of the family home with a look of abject disgust marring his face.

He slipped into his car still scowling trying to think of something, anything, he could do to try and help Asuna. After a minute or two he perked up slightly as a thought occurred and he quickly fished his mobile out of his pocket. Looking through his rather ridiculously large list of contacts he eventually found the one he was looking for and hit the dial button, as luck would have it the line was picked up near immediately.

"Kikuoka, what is it?" Terse, but the man had probably been watching the live feed so Kou wasn't surprised at all really.

"Mister Kikuoka, it's Yuuki Kou, we spoke a few days ago at the RECT board meeting?"

There was a 'hn' followed quickly by a more verbose response, "Yes, you're the CEO's son and director of public affairs, what can I do for you?"

Smiling as he pulled the car out of his parents driveway he tilted his head to the side as his honey colored eyes lit up with a hint of mischief.

"I have an idea that may save you, me, and the taxpayers quite a bit of money when this SAO fiasco is finally concluded, are you interested in hearing it?"

There was a pause quickly followed by, "Can you meet at my office within the hour?" Kou grinned in turn, oh this was going to be interesting.

Suguha had been switching between laughing maniacally and quietly crying into the large throw pillow wrapped in her arms as she watched her sisters antics over the past several hours. The chat window was being ignored like it was the plague though, the things those..."people" were saying were just so wrong she didn't know how to process it.

One thing was for sure, she would never judge her sister for hiding her gender online again, like...ever. It really was pathetic how these fanboys latched onto the image of Keiko as if they ever stood a chance of winning her heart.

Keiko was Keiko, being an introverted nerd who liked the same games as her was not in fact going to endear them to her, nor would any incredibly awkward attempts at courting her cause her to faun over said nerd. Getting a slap on the head for bothering her while she was trying to read? Possible, maybe, if you were obnoxious enough that is. Otherwise she'd probably just ignore your existence as she turned her music up, silently wondering why you were oblivious to the fact that she obviously wanted to be left alone.

Getting her to agree to an actual date though?

Ha!

Fat chance, Keiko had high standards that no one had ever met before and really she had zero interest in dating to begin with. Most guys her age were too immature, or didn't like the fact that she could easily kick their asses if provoked, or...where was she going with this anyway?

"Ugh...I need to get some sleep, tomorrow is the raid and I'll have school the next day so I have to be rested..." Sighing Suguha dejectidly went upstairs and showered for the evening, after finishing she pulled a soft robe around herself and she wrapped her head in a towel humming quietly the entire time.

Walking down the hall she paused at Keiko's closed bedroom door and eventually let out a tired sigh, "Good night sis...sweet dreams..." With that she continued on to her own room, hoping beyond hope her sister survived tomorrows trials.

The next day found both Suguha and her mother frantically darting about the house as they busied themselves with cleaning up, making lunch, and just generally wasting time trying their very best to not freak out. In less than an hour Keiko was going to be risking her life to defeat the floor boss, and the Kiragayas currently living in the real world were most certainly on edge about that fact.

Eventually Midori settled down on the couch, her work tablet for once being placed aside as Suguha curled up next to her and they apprehensively began watching the days trials.

"Oh my god I had no idea real life stamina translated to the game like this!" Klein huffed as he took in the boss room door, finally reaching the end of the long trek up what felt like miles of stairs. While Keiko and Asuna, who were both athletes in their own right, were quietly breathing heavily most of the surrounding players were simply dropping to the floor moaning pitifully.

"Fucking-A bro, at least we all go lifting after work, I can't imagine what this would have been like otherwise," Dale groaned as the large man plopped down on the stairs beside Klein.

Asuna watched the panting and disheveled men around her while letting out a soft scoff, shooting a glance at Kirito she quietly whispered, "I can, this is just sad."

Kirito snorted at that replying in an equally quiet tone, "Amen, it'll get better as they level up and the system compensates but you won't see anything bypassing real world disabilities until they're past level twenty."

"Alright people! Listen up," Diavel called out grabbing everyone's attention and Keiko had to admit it to herself, he certainly made for a striking figure. Standing on the top of the stairs, hands resting on the pommel of his sword stuck point first into the ground, shoulders back, long blue hair flowing as he turned his head taking in the group with an appraising look, he quite simply demanded respect.

Oh yes, the man was the very picture of a leader.

"Is it just me or is he kind of cute when he gets all authoritative like that?" Asuna whispered, Kirito just nodded her agreement as the raid leader continued speaking.

"You all know your assignments, so I won't patronize you by going over it a sixth time, but I do have a last minute caveat to the plan. While I have every confidence that we as a group can handle this there is a very simple truth we have to acknowledge, and that is that things have changed from the beta.

"Some of them are minor, some of them are different enough that it's gotten nearly fifty percent of all beta testers logged in killed, that's over four hundred souls lost people." At this there was surprised mutterings as several players shot the grim faced Kirito quiet looks while she silently nodded to her awareness of this.

"So that being said, pay attention, no grand standing and if the worst manages to happen and I'm incapacitated, you are to follow Kirito's orders. She's agreed to hang back and perform crowd control specifically for this purpose, you're all aware she's a capable leader so don't go thinking ignoring her is a good idea."

With that his stern visage cracked and he grinned widely while sweeping one hand towards the door, "With that, the only thing I have to say is good luck all, and lets win this!" Clenching his hand into a fist he thrust it in the air as everyone mimicked him crying out a cheer, pulling her long sword from its sheath Kirito echoed Asuna's flourishing twirl as the two young women exchanged smirks.

"Ready for this partner?"

Asuna nodded quickly as the doors swung inward and the raid group entered the pitch black room, "R-ready, how do you want to start the switch?"

As the sconces along the walls erupted into burning light chasing away the shadows the doors slammed shut behind them, and soon the boss, Illfang the Kobold Lord was visible.

The lumbering monster stood from his throne and even from this distance they could see him sneer at the puny humans that dared enter his court, picking up his bone ax he jumped into the air and landed before the first line letting out a resounding bellow of rage.

A moment later three Ruin Kobold Sentinels spawned behind the raid group causing Kirito to drop into an attack stance, the girl grinning viciously in turn, "I'll counter the initial blow, you use a power attack on its neck just like we practiced. I've got your back."

Charging forward Kirito used a power attack countering the first Kobold's sweeping strike, the halberd now slammed aside Asuna rushed forward and struck the vulnerable neck with a 'Linear' while managing to hop back out of range of a counter in moments.

This process repeated itself for the next several minutes, and while Kirito would have much preferred to be fighting the boss there was a certain sense of satisfaction that she and her partner managed to keep the trash mobs off the raid group. Really she and Asuna had only practiced for an hour before the raid but their combat chemistry was perfect. Although she truthfully wasn't sure if that had more to do with their tactics or the simple fact they'd both been training since they could hold a blade.

Probably both really.

As the most recent wave of mobs was destroyed the two young swordswomen downed health potions bringing their bars out of the yellow and back in the green, while neither of them had been hit countering power attacks took its toll after awhile.

"You know," Asuna began with a pant grinning lightly, "This is actually kind of fun!"

Kirito smirked in turn as she nodded her agreement, "Yeah it is. As much as I want to get out of SAO and as nerve wrecking having the whole dying thing hanging over our heads is, we really do need to remember to enjoy the game."

Almost casually both girls countered the newly spawned mobs mobs attacks and in less than four hits sent them back to whatever digital hell spawned them, the other surrounding groups supporting them taking twice as long to take out the remainder.

"Quality and quantity I suppose," Kirito muttered in annoyance before a raid alert caught her attention, Illfang was down to one bar of health.

"What's going on?" Asuna's confused question was cut off from any reply as Illfang threw his ax aside roaring in rage as he reached behind his back grasping a shadowed hilt, as the blade began to clear its sheath Kirito clearly heard Klein yell out in worry.

"KIRITO! What exactly is a talwar?!"

Out of respect for the older player and simply enjoying being a know-it-all she quickly cried back.

"It's an Indian calvary sword, why?"

As the blade cleared its sheath Illfang let out a dark chuckle sneering in contempt at groups A through C as they surrounded him, "Because that's a goddamn ōdachi which means we've got a demonic overweight One Winged Angel on our hands here!"

"Oh fuck!" Was all Kirito could mutter as the massively over sized katana charged a sickly red and in a second the raid warning screamed "Whirling Wheel about to be cast."

In one smooth motion Illfang spun in a circle sending both the A and B tank groups into the red while throwing them into the far walls. Leering the demon charged group C, the mixed tank and damage group barely had time to react yet Diavel managed to step forward. His shield 'Aegis' skill glowed brightly as he took the entire brunt of the attack sending him flying well past the other players, colliding with the wall in a mirror of the previous groups.

Seeing that the glowing red after effect of the powerful attack had forced a 'stun' status effect on the rest of the group Kirito gritted her teeth while screaming out orders.

"Anyone in the yellow get a goddamn potion down Diavel's throat, NOW! Group D and F flank the monster, G protect anyone in the red while they drink up, E, on me."

Exchanging glances with Asuna the two girls nodded to each other as their group charged forward, as expected Illfang sensed he was being surrounded yet again and prepared another 'Whirling Wheel'. At the last possible second Kirito activated her 'Vertical Arc' attack and struck the boss's sword countering his blow for a brief moment.

"D, F and E hit him with everything!" Asuna bellowed and Kirito couldn't help but stare at the inherent elegant grace of her partner as she thrust her rapier into the fat bastard of a monster over and over again followed with how she delicately and deliberately back flipped away before her cooldown froze her in place.

Beauty, skill, and style, oh yes, Asuna was going to be a fun friend to hang out with.

"Switch!" Kirito screamed as she cartwheeled away from Illfang's counter attack and a moment later Asuna took her place and nearly a third of her health dropped as she cancelled out the beasts attack. Before Kirito could turn around and resume her attack Illfang recovered and performed a 'Reaving Arc' strike sending groups D and F flying, and while near death the boss was no where near ready to go silently into the night.

Grunting Kirito charged forward with another 'Vertical Arc but as she met the bosses blow she finally glanced at her own health and stamina bars.

She was in the red.

Without even realizing it she'd become the weak link and was immediately stunned as she was thrown across the stone floor to land in a disheveled heap.

"NO!" Asuna screamed as her partner was sent flying, barely managing to avoid the followup blow as Illfang switched his focus on her. Gritting her teeth she realized she was the only one standing and was likely about to die, readying her most powerful attack Asuna ignored the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes as she prepared to die.

'At least I died trying' she thought dourly as Illfang's blade rushed towards her while she was caught in the middle of her attack animation, then the strangest thing happened. There was a resounding clang as three figures stood at her side, the huge black guy with the kind smile, Agil she recalled, Diavel, and Kirito's friend Klein stood before her in defensive stances blocking the massive katana.

"Young miss, DPS shouldn't be doing the tanks job, why don't you go save the princess while we keep this bastard occupied?" Staring at the kind visage of the ax wielding tank a moment too long Asuna nodded quickly.

"R-right, thank you Agil-sama!" With that Asuna rushed towards her fallen partner while downing a potion herself, skidding to a halt she hovered over the younger girl for a bare second before shoving a potion down her throat.

After what felt like an eternity Kirito sat up groaning lightly, "Could really use a limit break right about now...thanks partner...I owe you..." smiling brightly Asuna extended her hand pulling the ravenette to her feet once her grip had tightened.

"We're even then, shall we?" Grinning evilly Kirito nodded as she saw how low the monsters health was while processing the fact that the three primary tanks were keeping him off balance.

"Once more unto the breach my friends, once more, CHARGE!" Screaming the last bit both swordswomen led the pack of still mobile DPS players and attacked Illfang with gusto. It was a clusterfuck at this point, strategy had been tossed aside in the wake of blind survival instincts and in the midst of this Illfang managed to cast one last 'Whirling Wheel sending most everyone flying.

That is, aside form Asuna and Kirito.

"You're going down!" Asuna all but screamed as the pair cast their final power attacks and as Illfang raised his ōdachi there was nothing he could do to stop the twin terrors from cleaving through his exposed belly.

There was a moment of silence as both girls lay exposed to a counter attack, then the boss exploded in a cascade of green sparkles while a banner declaring 'CONGRATULATIONS' appeared above them. There was dead silence as Diavel limped up to the pair of stunned girls, dropping both his arms across their shoulders he turned to the victorious party with a wide grin.

"Ladies, gentlemen, the floor is ours," and with that every single player thrust their fist in the air as they bellowed at their victory. Asuna met Kirito's gaze and she blinked in mild confusion at the other girls extended arm and clenched fist.

"We did it, partner," catching on a moment later she fist bumped the younger girl as they both turned their heads to meet Diavel's mirthful gaze while he laughed heavily.

"Come on, lets open the portal to the second floor, I owe you two a drink!"

In a dark room, inside of an indistinct building located in a secluded part of Japan, Kayaba Akihiko leaned back in his chair observing the jubilant players as they danced about idiotically, while his item of interest just stared about herself blankly obviously in a bout of slight shock. He couldn't blame her, that had been a rather harrowing experience, and she'd yet again managed to impress him which only reinforced his opinion that she was the one to carry on his legacy.

Staring at the girls partner a moment the grand maestro clicked a few keys and nodded to himself, it would help keep the pair together which would only further his goals. Perhaps...perhaps it was time he took a more direct approach to interacting with his successor, perhaps through that informant friend of hers? Ah well, he had time, sipping his tea he glanced to the wall clock while nodding, he still had so much to do with the next step of the project, and he was ever so curious how young Keiko was going to handle Kizmel.

"So," Diavel began, "who got the Last Attack Bonus?" a moment later confusion was once again the flavor of the evening.

"I did," both Kirito and Asuna stated, they both blinked then exchanged perplexed glances, Diavel wondered if either of them realized how adorable they were when they did that. He sincerely doubted it.

"We...we must have downed the last health point at the exact same moment, it happened, once in the beta...how...odd..."

Klein grinned as he extended his hands towards the pair, "Well don't leave us hanging ladies! What did you get?" Exchanging another brief glance the pair looked at their menus selecting the new loot.

"Cloak of Midnight," Kirito stated as her dull blue jacket was replaced with a full length black duster with blue highlights, if her grin was any indicator she was pretty happy with it.

"Mantle of Dawn," Asuna echoed as she suddenly had a bright white hooded knee length coat drop across her shoulders, highlighted in various shades red, and simply put, they both looked heroic. The moment was ruined as both girls caught sight of each other and immediately began squealing about how cute the other looked.

Klein chuckled to himself as the girls hooked their arms together and began walking towards the exit, shaking his head he glanced to his best male friend with an exasperated sigh.

"I'm going to have my hands full keeping perverts away from them, aren't I?"

Dale shrugged at that, "Nah, she can look after herself, and besides, they have six," with that he glanced at Diavel who was staring at the girls in contemplation before continuing. "Make that seven older brothers looking out for them, don't worry so much boss."

Klein sighed at that as he ran a hand through his hair, "That's the thing bro, if I don't worry about her, who will?"

Sure it needs editing but it is finally done! Now we're on to the second floor where Keiko isn't going to be held down by prior obligations, and Asuna is gong to learn to really hate cows and appreciate the taste of beef murdered by her own hand. As always, please review!