Chapter 7: Illusionary Avenger
sakuraphoenix: Well folks, we are back with the next chapter of Sword Art Online: A World Apart!
Detroid: That's right! We kinda put this story off on a LONG hiatus but like my girlfriend said, we're back with another chapter
sakuraphoenix: Not just this one, the other ones too, but I digress. It's time for the disclaimer!
Detroid: What my cute fennekin said!
Disclaimer: We do not own Sword Art Online. It belongs to its authors and respective company. We only own our OC's.
sakuraphoenix: So sit back, relax, and enjoy the chapter!
Detroid: What my sexy Fennekin said! LINK START!
We watched in shock as Yolko was stabbed from behind, a dagger protruding from her back when she fell out of the window. Kirito and I tried to catch her, but we were too late.
"Yolko!" Kirito exclaimed as she fell
"Kirito! Look!" Blade exclaimed while pointing to the roof nearby before saying:
"You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Yeah. Asuna, Sakura, you two stay here!" Kirito exclaimed
"Hey! Are you nuts?!" I exclaimed before Kirito leaped out of the window and jumped onto the rooftop
"Be right back babe." Blade told me as he went after Kirito
"Oh no you don't!" I exclaimed as I went after Kirito and my boyfriend
It wasn't that I didn't trust Blade, it was that I didn't trust Kirito to do this alone with my boyfriend! I just hope he doesn't do anything stupid!
Blade's POV
Kirito was chasing the guy on one side while I was chasing him from the other. Whoever this guy was, he's gonna pay! But while we were chasing him, he pulled out a teleport crystal! Damn it, where is the guy going?! Kirito tried throwing some throwing picks at him, but they just deflected off him like it was nothing! Before I could hear where he was going, the bells rung, blocking my ability to hear the guy before he teleported away.
"Damn it! He got away." I said as I saw Sakura catch up to us
Sakura caught her breath as she managed to catch up with us, looking pretty exhausted.
"Did either one of you catch where he was teleporting to?" Sakura asked us
"No, sorry." Kirito said
"Damn it." Sakura said through gritted teeth
"I'm sorry babe." I said
"It's alright." Sakura said as she put her head on my shoulder
"Let's get back to the royal pain." I said while blushing
"Okay." Sakura said while smiling
We headed back to Yolko's old room, and the first thing we noticed other than Asuna being pissed off at us was Schmitt being scared out of his mind so badly, he was shaking in his armor!
"You idiots! Don't be so impulsive!" Asuna exclaimed with an angry look on her face as she had her rapier drawn before she sheathed it and said:
"Well? Did you three catch him?"
"He got away before Kirito and I could grab him." I explained
"He used a teleport crystal. Even with my high listening skill, I couldn't hear anything when the bell rang." Sakura said
"Inns are designed to protect everyone inside them, so we assumed we'd be safe from danger here. Damn it." Kirito cursed as he slammed his fist on the wall, the immortal object display popping open after he had done so
"That robe was Griselda's… that was Griselda's ghost. She rose from the dead to seek revenge! If she's a ghost, PKing in safe areas should be a piece of cake." Schmitt said fearfully before he started laughing delusionally
"That was no ghost, right Blade?" Sakura asked me
"No, it wasn't. That person… knew what Yolko was planning but… I can't figure out what yet." I said
"Nor can I. I can't get inside her head, I don't even know what she was thinking." Sakura said
"More cop shows?" Asuna asked her
"Actually, high school psychology." Sakura said
"They actually offer that?" Asuna asked
"Yeah, if you don't wanna take it in college for a stupid requirement credit." Sakura replied
"Don't remind me about that." I said with my cheeks puffed out, looking away
"Actually, I never took psychology. I just helped someone in high school who was." Sakura whispered into my ear
"Either way, there has to be a logical explanation behind both safe zone murders. I'm sure of it." Kirito said
"True…." I whispered back to Sakura
I just wonder… what were Yolko and Caynz trying to achieve? We had to leave Schmitt in the inn while Sakura and I went to Kirito's home in Algade, where Sakura gathered the ingredients for the recipe she had unlocked when she maxed out her cooking skill.
"So what would you like tonight? Doria or curry?" Sakura asked me
"It's up to you babe." I said while smiling
"In that case, why not doria? It's a simple enough recipe." Sakura said as she began cooking
"You know, you never told me what that was, remember?" I asked
"That's why I'm cooking it for you now." Sakura said while smiling
"Oh." I said while sweat-dropping
"Still, this whole thing with Caynz and Yolko… I just don't get it. How they managed to pull them off… I feel like we're missing something." Sakura admitted
"Wait. Remember what I said about my theory about… ya know." I said
"You mean about the weapons they used? Yeah, I remember that they didn't cause Caynz to die. All it did was degrade your armor's durability." Sakura said before one of the ingredients rolled off the table as she tried to catch it but failed to as it hit the ground and disappeared into virtual crystal fragments
"Exactly the point I made earlier. What if Yolko and Caynz wanted us to think that they died in a safe zone because my theory I made earlier now goes deeper than even after the guy Kirito and I tried to catch disappeared with a teleportation crystal. What if… Caynz and Yolko… wanted to get Schmitt alone so he can reveal the truth behind the murder of their guild leader?" I pointed out
"Of course! Blade, you're a genius!" Sakura exclaimed as she finished making the doria with a spare ingredient
"Hope the Royal Pain and Kirito figure it out soon because we did it in just 5 minutes." I said
"It was so simple. You can't kill in a safe zone, but your items can expire. They must've used the dagger and the spear to make the illusion of disappearing when their equipment's durability ran out and then used a teleport crystal to get away." Sakura said as she began putting the doria she cooked onto one big plate
"Exactly! So after the royal pain and Kirito left us alone after we visited Agil and I used the spear… I checked the durability on my armor and saw that it lowered when I stabbed myself with the spear." I said
"So they faked their deaths so they could find out who killed Griselda. They probably suspected Schmitt since the beginning, so they needed to lure him somehow." Sakura said as she set down the plate of doria on the table so we could sit together while sharing the dish
"Yeah but I love you." I said while smiling
"Love you too, and eat up while it's still warm." Sakura said while smiling
"Right." I said while putting my head on Sakura's shoulder, which got her to start blushing
I took a bite out of the doria that Sakura made… and I couldn't believe how it tasted! If it tastes this good in SAO, I can't wait to try it when we get out of this death game.
"That good?" Sakura asked me
"Would this answer your question?" I asked her as I kissed her on the lips
"Yes it would." Sakura smiled as she was about to kiss me back before we were interrupted by a message from Kirito
"Guess Kirito finally figured it out." I said
"You should read his message, so you can chew him out later." Sakura said to me
"True…" I said while smiling before I placed a hand on Sakura's chest while my head was on Sakura's shoulder
"Seriously, check his message before I turn into a strawberry." Sakura said while blushing even more
"I can't get my girlfriend to blush?" I asked while moving even closer to Sakura
"You can, but seriously, check his message so you can chew him out for interrupting dinner." Sakura said to me
"True but let's eat first." I said
"You know I don't mind if you read his messages, right?" Sakura asked me
"I know but we're hungry." I said
"That's true." Sakura said before Kirito sent us both a message that was tagged as urgent
"I'm going to punch Kirito for interrupting our dinner." I said while having a tick mark
"Except Kirito never sends urgent messages. Let alone to us both. He usually just sends them to you." Sakura said in concern
"True but… *sighs* Let's go meet up with Kirito." I said while I was trying to not let my hunger get to the best of me
"Once we get back, I'll make some curry to go with the doria if you want." Sakura said before kissing me on the cheek
"Thanks." I said while blushing
We read the message Kirito sent us as we were travelling to the gate, and if my avatar had blood, it'd probably freeze in my circulatory system. The message was simple. PK guild. 19th floor.
"We gotta go! Yolko, Caynz, and Schmitt are in danger!" Sakura exclaimed
"Right." I said while rolling my eyes playfully
"I know that expression." Sakura said to me as we made it to the gate
"Oh really?" I asked
"I won't make curry if you keep giving me that playful look." Sakura said in a playful tone
"I know your tone missy." I said
"Let's just hurry." Sakura said
"Right." I said
We used the gate and got to the 19th floor just as we saw Kirito renting a horse and racing off to the Hill of the Cross. Why was he going there?
"Okay…. Should we follow him?" I asked Sakura
"Considering he's going somewhere in a hurry? Yep." Sakura said as we ran to where they were renting horses
"Why is he in a hurry?" I asked
"Did you forget the message already?" Sakura asked me
"Maybe." I said playfully
"I know that tone, mister." Sakura said as we rented out the horses
"Maybe." I said once more
"Tell me." Sakura said as she kissed my cheek before I saw her mounting her horse
"Okay, yes." I said while blushing
"Come on, let's hurry. We may be able to stop the Laughing Coffin guild before they pull any funny business." Sakura said as I mounted my horse
"Right." I said
We rode as fast as we could to catch up with Kirito, and when he did, his horse reared, sending him off it before our horses did the same. I barely managed to hold onto the reigns while Sakura also fell on her butt. That's gotta hurt…
"Looks like we're just in time." Kirito said as he slapped the horse he was riding on the behind, which got it to turn around and head back into town
"You okay?" I asked Sakura
"Yeah, I will be." Sakura said before she slapped the horse's butt before it went back to town as well as I slid off my horse before sending it back to town as well
"What will you do now?" Kirito asked as he walked toward the Laughing Coffin guild
"Reinforcements will be here soon." Sakura said as we both walked toward the three Laughing Coffin members
"Yeah." I said
"So let me ask, do you boys really want to be squaring off against 30 people from the clearing group?" Sakura asked as we all drew our weapons
We stood our ground, the guys in front of us just doing nothing… until the guy snapped his fingers, and his two accomplices sheathed their weapons.
"We're leaving." The leader said before he and his friends left us at the Hill of the Cross
"Finally, he left... and you Kirito." I said while walking up towards him and punching him so hard in the face he was sent flying into a tree as I said:
"That was for interrupting Sakura's and my dinner!"
"Okay, remind me never to make you mad!" Kirito exclaimed
"You should see me when I'm mad. It's like Blade and Asuna combined." Sakura said as Kirito shivered in fear
"Okay, okay! I get it! Either way… it's nice to see you again, Yolko." Kirito said to her
"Yeah but don't do this again." I said
"Once everything was over, I planned to sincerely apologize. But I doubt you'll believe me, even if I did." Yolko said
"Then start talking." I said
"That was a little rude." Sakura said to me
"No it wasn't." I said
"I was talking to Kirito." Sakura said
"Oh come on! What did I do?!" Kirito exclaimed
"Interrupted me and didn't bother to apologize?" Sakura asked
"What did I need to apologize for?" Kirito asked
"Interrupting our dinner?" Sakura asked
"You're never satisfied, are you?!" Kirito exclaimed before we heard Yolko laughing
"Do you want me to send you flying again?" I asked Kirito
"Uh, n-no thanks." Kirito said as Yolko was just laughing even more
"I'm sorry, I know this should be serious, but… seeing that after what we went through, it's a big weight off our chests." Yolko said
"I'm thankful you saved us you three, but how did you know? That those three would attack us?" Schmitt asked us
"We didn't know. Kirito sent us a message saying 'urgent'." Sakura said
"Honestly… I didn't really. I just concluded that it was a possibility." Kirito said
"You're lucky that you were actually right, you know that, right?" Sakura asked while glaring at him
"What about me here?" I asked while puffing out my cheeks
"I say he's lucky that he was right because then you would've sent him flying into a tree again if he was wrong." Sakura said
"Still." I said while looking away with my cheeks puffed out
"I'll make it up to you with a dessert, okay?" Sakura asked me
"Nope." I said while walking with with my cheeks puffed out still
Sakura then ran in front of me before she pushed in my cheeks gently, and then kissed me on the lips. That'll change my mind.
"Still babe." I said while blushing slightly
"I'm being serious. If he was wrong, that gave you a reason to knock him to the other side of the dungeon." Sakura said to me
Although she had a point, I turned away, feeling slightly hurt.
"She must have forgotten." I said to myself as I walked away
"Hey, where are you going?" Sakura asked me as she suddenly sped in front of me like Ruby did to Weiss
"You know where." I said
"Hey, I can't try to give you incentive to punch Kirito harder? Like a certain red-haired girl who wields a scythe?" Sakura asked as Kirito started sweating like crazy
"True…. But still." I said
"Keep that up and I won't make dessert." Sakura said to me
"Quil. Quil!" I exclaimed while puffing out my cheeks before turning away before I felt Sakura holding me close to her
"Cynda!" I exclaimed
I heard Sakura cough a couple times before she held me closer to her, which only got me to blush even more.
"I love to see you blush." I said
"Yeah, but we should get back to business." Sakura said while sweat-dropping
"Or maybe we can head back to town for some alone time." I said
"Also true, but we need to know some stuff for sure." Sakura said while kissing me on the cheek
"Like if Grimlock made those weapons for Caynz and Yolko." Kirito said
"True…" I said
"He was unwilling at first. He said that he wanted to let Griselda rest in peace." Yolko explained
"But as we continued to plead, he gave in and made them for us." Caynz continued
"Sadly, he wasn't opposing your plan for Griselda's sake." Kirito explained
"I bet he thought that if you staged those safe-zone murders, you would attract a lot of attention, and someone would eventually figure it out." Sakura said
"Like us." I said
"I only realized it about thirty minutes ago." Kirito admitted
"And we realized something else while we were on the way here." Sakura said
You could say that again.
*Flashback*
Sakura and I had made it to the teleport gate and to the 19th floor. Just where was that horse rental place?
"You know, I'm glad we're able to stay together in times like this. If we ever got a rare item like that, what do you think you'd do with it?" Sakura asked me
"I'd say I…." I started to say
"Hmm?" Sakura asked me curiously
"I would give it to you." I said
"Y-you would?" Sakura asked me while blushing, which was so cute!
"You're my girlfriend. Why wouldn't I give it to you?" I asked
"That's true. I wonder if one day we could be married in game." Sakura said
"Me too." I said while smiling
"I mean, it has its perks, like storage sharing." Sakura said to me
"Which I wouldn't mind." I said while putting my head on Sakura's shoulder
"Wait… storage sharing? Random question, but say if your spouse died, what would happen to their inventory?" Sakura asked me
"It would go to….. That good for nothing…." I said
"So Grimlock had the ring this entire time." Sakura said in realization
That dirty little scumbag… I just hope Asuna knew what Kirito was planning.
*End Flashback*
Caynz, Yolko, and Schmitt all seemed shocked about that revelation.
"Grimlock… He was the one who wrote the memo and killed Griselda?" Schmitt asked in shock
"He probably didn't actually commit the murder himself. He might have hired someone from the Laughing Coffin Guild." Sakura said
"Then why…" Yolko trailed off in shock
"He wanted to make sure he could cover his tracks." I said
"He thought that by cooperating with you, he could finally bury this case and hope it would never find the light of day ever again. All he needed was the three of you together, so he could kill you in one fell swoop." Sakura explained
"I see. That's… that's why the PK guild came here." Schmitt said
"They've likely been in touch since Griselda's murder." Kirito said
"No way…" Yolko said in shock
"Yeah, believe it." I said
"I found him." Asuna said as she brought Grimlock to us, with her rapier near his back
"The man of the hour." Sakura said
"Let's hear the details from the culprit himself." Kirito said as we all looked or glared at Grimlock
"True…" I said
"Hey, it's been a while, everyone." Grimlock said
"Grimlock… did you… did you really… why, Grimlock?! Did you really… need the money so badly you were willing to kill Griselda, your wife, and steal the ring?!" Yolko exclaimed through tears
"Money? Money, you say? It wasn't for the money. I… I had no choice but to kill her. While she was still my wife… we were married in the real world as well." Grimlock admitted
And that came as a complete shocker. They were married IRL too?
"She was the perfect and ideal wife. She was cute and loyal. We hadn't argued even once. However… once we were trapped in this world, she changed. I was panicking and cowering in fear at being forced to play this deadly game. Compared to her real-world self, she was more lively and energetic in-game. I had to accept it. That my beloved Yuuko had vanished! In that case… in that case, in this world where murders go unpunished, I should… lock Yuuko away to remain immortal in my memories. Who would blame me for thinking that?!" Grimlock exclaimed
"You killed your wife for a reason like that?" Kirito asked
"How could you?" Sakura asked in anger
"It was more than enough reason to. You'll understand someday, detective brats. When you're about to lose love that you just obtained." Grimlock said to all three of us
"No, you're the one who doesn't understand, Grimlock. It wasn't love you felt for Griselda. You only treasured her as your possession!" Asuna exclaimed as she walked over to us and sheathed her rapier
Almost as if he finally realized what he had done, he collapsed onto the ground, and Caynz and Schmitt walked over to him.
"Kirito, Sakura, Blade, would you mind leaving him with us?" Caynz asked us
"Alright." Kirito said
"What do you think, Blade?" Sakura asked me
"Wynaut." I said
Sakura giggled as Caynz and Schmitt took Grimlock away, before Yolko followed as the sun was coming up.
"Were we up all night?" Sakura asked me
"Yeah." I said
"Hypothetically speaking, if you got married, and discovered a side of your spouse that you never knew existed, what would you think?" Asuna asked
"I don't really know." I said
"I guess I'd consider myself lucky. I - I mean, marrying someone means you love every side of them you already know. So if you discover a new side of theirs and come to love that part of them too, won't that mean you'll love them even more?" Kirito asked Asuna
"Good answer, Kirito." Sakura said
"Well, I'll leave it at that. Anyway, I'm hungry. I missed my chance to eat earlier, too." Asuna said
"Y-you're right…" Kirito said
"I'm hungry too. You interrupted our dinner." Sakura said as she glared at Kirito
"You two can worry about that when you get back. We've been away from the front lines for two days. We'll have to work hard again, starting tomorrow." Asuna said as she stretched her arms
"What, are we on a schedule now?" Sakura asked Asuna
"Yeah!" I exclaimed
"Well, I don't know about you two, but I would like to clear the current floor by the end of the week." said Kirito
Just before we could leave, Sakura held my hand… and we saw Griselda's ghost! But that's impossible! Ghosts don't appear in games! Maybe… maybe it's a remnant of her data or something, but… screw it. I won't question why we're seeing her. Sakura and I walked ahead while we left Asuna and Kirito alone at Griselda's grave.
"You know, we could eat somewhere for breakfast instead of eating the food I cook at home today." Sakura said to me
"True…" I said
"Hey, Blade? Could you imagine getting married?" Sakura asked me
"To you? Yeah." I said
"You really know how to make a girl blush, you know that, right?" Sakura asked me as we held hands
"It's my job." I said
I smiled as Sakura then put her head on my shoulder as we continued walking. Maybe I should consider proposing to her soon…
sakuraphoenix: Whew! Finally! We are done!
Detroid: Yeah, no thanks to your mother
sakuraphoenix: You'd think she'd leave her 21-year-old daughter alone by now
Detroid: Don't remind me *looks away*
sakuraphoenix: I'm only saying. Either way, please review, and until next time, I'm sakuraphoenix…
Detroid: Still…. *still looking away*
sakuraphoenix: *kisses you on the cheek* Did that help?
Detroid: *walks away*
sakuraphoenix: That's it! My OC's dating Kirito
Detroid: Hey!
sakuraphoenix: That cheered you up more than Popplio makes me smile
Detroid: *puffed out my cheeks*
sakuraphoenix: Either way, we still have an ending to write my adorable Raichu, you *nuzzles you*
Detroid: *blushes* I know. I know
sakuraphoenix: So, please review, and until next time, I'm sakuraphoenix…
Detroid: And I'm Detroid, both of us saying we heart you, signing off for now! Chao!
sakuraphoenix: See ya later, Feraligatr!