This is awkward.

Kirito stepped away from the hug I'd enveloped him in, his puffy eyes refusing to meet mine. His expression momentarily surprised me; I hadn't thought this game was capable of emulating so many emotions at the same time.

Staring at the wooden boards beneath our feet, Kirito scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. I rubbed my upper arm and stared at my fingers for the sake of having an excuse to avoid the uncertainty growing between us.

"Thank you," he said in a small voice. My mouth split into an awkward smile, a bit unsure how to reply to such sincerity.

"You're... welcome," I settled on saying, finally looking at his eyes. "Let's find a place to rest? We deserve it after what happened," I suggested, finding an excuse in the shape of the «Fatigued» debuff on the top right of my vision.

The teen's eyebrows furrowed, going silent in thought. Had I mentioned Coper too soon? Brushing things aside so quickly was something I couldn't help but do during a stressful situation, which only managed to fill the air with an awkward tension.

To my absolute delight, Kirito nodded after breathing out, successfully bringing relief to my heart.

"Yeah... I agree. There's a lodging inn nearby. We shouldn't stay there for more than a day, though. We have to take the quests in the next village. Tomorrow, if possible. The sooner we leave, the more we can accept before other players start appearing."

With that settled, we received our rewards from the NPC woman, which indeed were the infamous 1H swords, the «Anneal Blades». They were black and had no decorations on them. If you asked for a collector's opinion, they would answer that the weapon looked too generic for archiving.

Kirito shook his head when I attempted to equip it, so I dropped my arm and followed him as he took the lead once more. True to his words, we only had to walk past a few buildings to arrive to the inn.

The first thing that greeted us were the buzzing sounds of many jittery players. Some of them looked at ease of their surroundings, reminding me of Kirito, while the other half was jumping at any noise that came up. Had the new players followed the beta testers? I hurried to the front desk without looking like I was running away in fear, hoping they wouldn't take notice of me. I had a feeling like the players would take notice if someone was acting like a coward.

"Welcome! How may I help you?" a voice said from behind the wooden counter.

I barely contained a squeak from leaving my throat when the receptionist smiled at us. She was young and thin, with a cute face that glowed in kindness. Even with her petite stature, she gave off the feeling of an older sister rather than a young girl.

My muscles eased at her friendly tone, but that feeling quickly disappeared when I noticed the floating cursor above her head. That small icon almost made my heart stop, and I tightly clutched at the leather belt that held the shoulder pieces of my armour.

How real had Kayaba Akihiko made this world? First was the feeling of everything around me, then the woman and her ill daughter, and now this. It was uncomfortable.

"A room for two, please. Lowest price." Kirito slipped closer to me, as if noticing my brewing anxiety and fear. I was once again thankful for his steady presence.

The NPC nodded while going through a massive leather book, a quill between her fingers. "How many nights?"

"One," replied Kirito.

"That will be 10 Cols," she said, and her cheery tone alone managed to send chills down my spine. Kirito handed the required money to the woman before he took the key.

"I hope you'll have a pleasant night, honoured customers," the NPC said while bowing. I thanked her in a barely audible voice before I walked behind Kirito towards the stairs with shaky legs, eyes fixated on the creaking planks.

Feeling the intense stares drilling holes into our backs, I poked him so he'd hurry up to our room, not feeling reserved with physical contact after the intense first day we had had.

He didn't need any more prompting to speed up his steps, and we soon found ourselves inside the cheap room he'd rented with the door securely locked behind us. I sighed in relief, my back to the door, the room's furniture fully visible to me.

There was an old nightstand between two beds that looked like they would get destroyed by the simplest touch, and the meagre light coming from outside was being blocked by a tattered curtain with faded colours.

"I didn't expect anything more from a cheap room… but isn't this too cheap?" I said, looking disappointed.

"We'll have to get used to rooms like these for a while. We won't have enough Cols to buy new equipment and healing items if we spend it on better rooms," he said, stretching his body with closed eyes and a slight groan. "I don't like it either, but it can't be helped."

"It can't be helped," I repeated, mulling over the words as I walked around the room. That was a common phrase, wasn't it? A lot of people liked saying it – I'd forgotten the implications of those words. I shouldn't be trying to change everything at once. Baby steps, I thought.

"We should sleep to remove the fatigued status. Our armour can be repaired before we head out to «Tolbana»," Kirito said,and I nodded in agreement.

"When will we have to change our weapons?" I asked and threw myself on the bed I had just finished cleaning.

Kirito put his hand on his chin, thinking deeply before he said, "Third floor, assuming we don't find any better weapons before that."

I wasn't sure if waiting that long was a good idea or not, but the only reason Kirito and I had started that dangerous quest was because of the «Anneal Blades», so I figured they were decent weapons. We had to be careful not to break them, though. I really didn't want to do that awful quest again, or any quest similar to it, really. It was an unrealistic wish, but I was allowed to dream at least this much until I'd be forced to do a similar one again.

Sheepishly smiling while biting my lower lip, I tried gathering my courage and turned to face Kirito when he seated himself on the opposite bed, looking displeased at the quality of the mattress. Or lack, thereof.

"I- uh… I'll need some help with handling the «Anneal Blade»— I'm not forcing you though!" I quickly added, then fixated my gaze on the half eaten rug that was between the beds. "Sorry, I'm really asking a lot from you."

I balled my fists on the end of my off-white tunic, waiting for whatever words he'd tell me in the uncomfortable silence, but the clearing of his throat made me glance at him. He cheeks were red, blushing brightly as he scratched his cheek.

"It's really fine, Heishi. I'm grateful that you decided to join me," he said, his sincerity making my face as red as his. I averted my gaze.

Even if he said it was fine, I still didn't want him to slow down for some random stranger who he had nothing to do with. I didn't want to be a burden more than I was.

"...Could you help me become stronger? I don't want to hold you back anymore," I whispered, my sweat icy against my back. It felt like I went back to junior-high, where even the slightest social interaction used to give me cold feet.

I should pull myself together. I was a University student, older than him! I glanced back at Kirito, finding a small amount of courage to face him. And to my utmost relief, he nodded with a slight smile. I let go of a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Yeah, let's become stronger. Together."

A burst of happiness warmed up my chest, then my brain finally caught up with what had happened today. A weight settled on my shoulders as sudden exhaustion hit me, finally telling me I had endured enough, that I shouldn't force myself to appear like I was fine with nearly being murdered by a fellow player.

I sniffled and put a hand on my mouth to muffle my cries, tilting my head down so my brown bob-cut hair could hide my face as I stared at my leather skirt. I'd refused to show weakness in front of anyone when Kayaba Akihiko's announcement had changed our lives, and it wasn't any different now. I still refused to cry in front of strangers.

… But Kirito was now a friend, right? He wasn't a stranger anymore, but a teammate who had my back in this harsh new world, just like I had his. Someone I should trust, whose knowledge could save my life as well as his if I followed his commands without hesitation.

My survival in this surreal reality counted on this team, on him. I wanted to do my best to share that role someday and pay him back for taking me with him, for helping me.

So for the first time that day, I let the tears fall. Both for what I had temporarily lost and because of what the future was hiding. At some point I must've fallen asleep, because I awoke to the bright light that the tattered curtains did nothing to ward off. I pushed myself upright with an annoyed frown but froze when I looked around.

Right. I was still in the death game. Just yesterday Coper had attempted to murder us. I shook myself out of bed, trying my hardest to change my mindset. While I wouldn't call this a home, I needed to look at the positive side of things or else I'd fall into a pit of depression. I opted to sit down on the bed, watching as Kirito slept for a few more moments before he stirred.

"Good morning," I said when he stretched. If not for the health bar and name hovering above his head, this scene would have been normal.

Kirito rubbed his eye, two fingers summoning his menu. "Good morning."

I followed suit, equipping my armour and leaving my weapon in my inventory. "What's the plan for today?"

"We need to level up," he answered with another yawn. "Are you ready?"

No, I almost wanted to say, but I nodded with a smile. I didn't want to see anyone new for a while, fearing another Coper would appear because of the players' desperation to get out of this game. But, of course, I couldn't listen to my thoughts and emotions right now or else I'd end up staying behind and letting others do the heavy work. I was not the type of person to sit back and watch.

Thankfully, not even once had we seen Coper in the village once we went out to search for new quests. I didn't mind not meeting with him ever again. His betrayal wouldn't be forgotten anytime soon. It was a blessing that «Horunka» didn't have many players loitering around its streets yet, the players I'd seen before had probably went off to grind, so I didn't have to constantly glance behind me for any terrified person ready to actually kill for survival.

"They're already at it," Kirito said beneath his breath, loud enough for me to hear him. He gestured for a few players that seemed to be arguing. "Having our «Anneal Blades» isn't going to help if we're not fast enough."

I nodded, feeling faint as I realised that this world was going to be a fight to see who was the quickest at finding rewarding quests and clearing them before others could.

As the day advanced into nighttime, more and more players had started flooding «Horunka» and its surrounding areas. I wouldn't say there was a huge number of people, but the amount was big enough for the common quests to become a challenge to complete without bumping into anyone.

I saw the solution for that problem being made as quickly as it arose. The players banded together to find a way to clear the quests needed without hindering each other, and to try and find a way to quicken the pace of finding the «First Floor Labyrinth».

Rumours quickly spread around saying that those players were working on shaky rules and had made small parties to take advantage of the spawn times in order to level themselves up as quickly as possible. Even those parties had their own rules over splitting drops so they could focus their efforts on exploring the huge map instead of fighting over who would get what.

All of that was done in half a day.

Kirito was silent, lost in thoughts after hearing some scared players whispering to each other about how stupid it was to share with strangers. We were winding sitting in the inn's common room after finishing up our grinding. I wanted to tell those players to go and do something about their levels instead of gossip over what others did, but I'd held down my tongue when Kirito wordlessly motioned for me to follow him back to our shared room.

"Will the peace between them last?" he asked, his chin pinched between two fingers. I shrugged, not knowing what to say but mulling over his question to give him a proper answer.

"I don't know. I think they'll be fine as long as they stick to their rules. If a team gets their hands on an item and decide they want to keep it rather than share it, though..." I shook my head as I flopped down on the hard bed, not caring that my leather skirt fluttered upwards since my armour had a pair of slacks beneath it. "Why don't they make a guild, though? That's more practical than relying on separate parties to do the job, isn't it?"

Sitting down rather than throwing himself on his bed, Kirito stretched upwards and said, "I'm not sure about the open-server, but the guild system wasn't introduced in the Beta until the third floor. So that's out of the question for the time being. And I agree – a fight will break out if one of the teams cheated on the other."

"Hey," I said after a moment of silence, and Kirito tilted his head to face me, black strands of hair falling into his eyes. "Do you think Kayaba Akihiko lied?"

Kirito grimaced, his hand resting on his lap. He didn't look too pleased at the mention of the scientist that started all of this, I'd heard some players that didn't fully believe what he'd told us and were recklessly doing quests without any regard to their lives – They might have thought they'd wake up in the real world after being disconnected from the server.

"Kayaba Akihiko has no reason to lie to us. We're trapped here until we complete the game." Kirito tilted his head, letting it rest on a shoulder. "For now, there's nothing else to do but try our best and survive until the end."

"We should spy on parties to see what they're doing. This way we'll know what quests to take and leave," I said, firmly pressing my thumb and pointer fingers together before bringing my hand down. My status screen shimmered into view as Kirito and I yawned in tandem.

"As I thought, you really know how to play games," Kirito said with a drowsy smile. I mirrored his expression, albeit a little shyly at the compliment, while going through the motions of unequipping my outer armour.

"I've told you before – I've played online games before." I exhaled in relief when they shimmered out of view and back into my Inventory. Even though the armour was a perfect fit, having only a shirt and my slacks on was more comfortable than fully wearing it.

Kirito chuckled. "You'll get used to staying in armour, but I guess there's no need to as long as we have a place to stay in."

I jumped onto my bed, hugging one of the pillows and squirmed around until I was comfortably huddled under my flimsy blanket.

"I really don't care what I wear as long as there's a bed greeting me by the end of the day," I said, lifting my head up to give him a serious look. He looked amused, a tiny smile on his lips. He slowly made his way to the other bed and I turned my head back to the side so I could watch him as he, too, took off his battle gear.

"Goodnight," I slurred, not quite caring if I got the words right from the sleep that suddenly overtook me.

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My eyes flew open in panic, back sweaty and breath ragged. I frowned at the ceiling, trying to remember what got me so scared, but came up empty handed as my mind blanked out. I hadn't had a nightmare since I was a little girl, and back then I'd crawled into my parent's bed to cuddle with them for the rest of the night.

But right now I didn't have anyone but Kirito to take comfort in, so I tilted my head towards his bed and stared at his still form. I could hear his soft breathing and his silhouette thanks to the moonlight that snuck into the room through the curtains. His shadow went up and down in rhyme with his breathing. After a few moments of staring at him and calming myself down, I pushed the blankets away from me while I rubbed my eyes with the heel of my palms, swinging my legs down the side of the bed and letting them softly meet the cold floor.

With another glance at Kirito, I fully stood up. I needed to get out of the room to cool down my nerves. A breath of fresh air always helped with that. I opened the door and checked both sides for any player that hadn't gone to sleep yet, and when I saw nobody I deemed it safe for me to pad downstairs to the bar. I tightly held the wooden railings when dizziness shot through me, my hand clutching my head from the weird shock. I sighed, feeling like the weight of my life crushing my shoulders again as I entered the lounge.

The emptiness didn't surprise me– It was really late. While I was annoyed that I was up and running after midnight, I couldn't help another sigh from escaping me as I sat on the stool. I wanted to buy something warm to drink and let my damp mood pass without it affecting Kirito.

At least, that was the plan. I frowned at the empty space before me. An NPC should've came up to me and asked what I wanted to buy, but nobody was there. I looked around, even going as far as to lean on the counter and look beneath it, now more awake and worried. The lounge was empty.

Stranger things have happened, but NPCs were supposed to be active at all times in Inns, right? If a player needed a place to stay at a late hour, someone should greet them and rent them a room. The receptionist or even a waitress should be here.

"–It hurts–"

"–Please put up with this while I finish–"

The ghostly voice startled me away from the counter, and I found myself hopping over the counter once the man's voice rang through the lounge. When nobody came out to scold me for trespassing, I went through the open backdoor, eyes darting left and right in search for the crying woman. I remember seeing terrified women crying in the Plaza after Kayaba Akihiko had force-teleported us, but the man's voice made my heart beat faster in fear.

The backdoor led to a damp storage room, which had another door that was slightly opened. The crying grew louder the closer I stepped towards it. I peered through it, and a long hallway came into view. I pursed my lips as I brought down my fingers, opening my status menu to requip my armour along with my «Anneal Sword». It weighed heavily on my hip once it materialised.

One really couldn't be too careful in this game – I might be paranoid, though. Towns were safe areas, Kirito had told me. But safe areas usually had portals leading to hidden dungeons, which meant I could die if I entered without any prior preparation.

I heard the man speaking in hushed tones behind the door, and it took me a moment to place where I'd heard his voice before. It was the NPC that was supposed to be taking orders at the counter, which made me hesitate to push open the door.

I could go through this on my own, but what was the use of a teammate then? It was safer to have someone experienced with me, anyways. This was my life on the line and there was a high chance that the corridor led to a special quest, now that I properly thought about it.

Therefore, I needed Kirito for this. I left the door half opened and tip-toed back to our room while praying nobody woke up because of me – I didn't want anyone to follow us through the hallway. I took large steps towards his bed and poked his shoulder.

"Kirito-san." He stirred, so I used more force, jostling his entire body with my palm. "Kirito!"

"Nnng…" he groaned, face scrunching up in annoyance. I pushed his hair away from his eyes, which finally forced him to attempt opening them. He blinked a couple of times, blurry eyes trying to focus on my face.

"H-Heishi? What's wrong?" he said when I stepped away from him. "Why are you in your armour?"

"There's a woman crying downstairs and– I'm not sure, but I think it's a special quest?."

At the mention of the woman, Kirito's entire body shot upright. "A player?"

"No. There was a man's voice. I think it was the cook's." The confusion in his expression made me pause and furrow my eyebrows. "This wasn't in the Beta?"

Kirito slowly shook his head as he put on his armour. I worriedly bit my bottom lip. This was unknown territory.

"Let's just… be careful."

"Are we stocked up on potions?" Kirito asked, leading the way back downstairs. I shook my head before I realised that he couldn't see me.

"We didn't buy any yesterday."

"Then I really hope this isn't a hidden quest," he said, jumping over the counter. I followed him through the door and took the lead towards the storage room, but Kirito put a hand over my shoulder and stopped me when I opened the door there.

"Let me go first."

I made way for him and he went past me, his hand over the hilt of his sword. The hallway was even longer than I thought, and the hiccuping got louder the closer we were to the open door that was in the middle of the corridor. Kirito poked his head inside of it and his whole body went rigid. I followed suit, crouching down next to his legs to peer inside.

I was greeted with the sight of an old man changing the filthy bandages of a woman. He was working painstakingly, throwing aside the used wrappings and using new ones. She bit into a closed fist, the tears rolling down her cheeks. The old man smeared some kind of balm on the woman's skin, the bed dipping further while he worked. He used a sleeve to wipe away the sweat that had gathered over his brow, inspecting his handiwork.

My eyebrows furrowed. They were both the NPCs that were supposed to be attending the bar. The man was the cook, and the woman was the receptionist. He was a typical-looking NPC with brown hair and green eyes, but his skin was pale and he was hunching from tiredness. But the woman struck me as odd – she'd looked so cheerful while attending to us, and not once had she shown that she was ill in any way.

"Dear…" the woman said, lips trembling in an effort to hold down any further tears. My heart throbbed at the sight, forgetting that we were in a game because of how much pain they were both showing.

"What is it, wife of mine?" the old man softly said, calming the woman with his gentle tone.

"Will this be over soon? I don't think I can handle another night of this pain," she said, closing her eyes tightly. My hands went up to cover my mouth, muffling a gasp. But in doing so I wobbled in my place and lost my balance after a moment, falling down before Kirito could help me. I bumped into the door, fully opening it in the process. Kirito scratched his cheek and laughed sheepishly while I rubbed my shoulder out of habit.

"What are traveling swordsmen doing these hallways? These are private rooms," the man said, standing up to his full height as he hid the woman behind his back, broad shoulders making it impossible to see her. I raised both of my arms in defense when he pointed the scissors he'd used to cut the wraps and advanced towards us when we didn't instantly answer him.

"We– we're here to help!" I said in a panic. My companion nudged me with a shoulder and I bumped his arm with my elbow. "Right?"

"Yeah." Kirito nodded with a gulp, the weapon in the man's hand gleaming dangerously. "What seems to be the problem?"

He frowned at Kirito, green eyes darting between us until he settled on my teammate. "How can I trust that you will not tell the soldiers about my wife's condition?" he asked incredulously. I glanced at Kirito, meeting his equally confused gaze. Why would he keep this as a secret?

"What is her condition, exactly?" Kirito said and the man's eyes widened in disbelief.

"You truly don't recognise the illness?" he asked, and at our blank expression, he pinched the bridge of his nose as he sat back next to his son's. The poor woman looked afraid, but also resigned to her fate. Her fingers clutched at the man's shirt, and the man gently pried them away, holding her arm out. He undid his work and we waited patiently for him to finish.

"What is that?!" I couldn't help but hiss out. I almost ran towards the woman to inspect the weird looking crystals that littered her skin, but I stopped myself at the very last moment. The man winced at my reaction, looking guarded. Kirito put a hand on my shoulder to stop my advances.

"We don't know what that is, Sir. But it looks serious. Is there anything we can do to help you?" he said with a steady tone, offering our services. The man relaxed at the words.

"There's been an illness plaguing these parts," he said, a hand on the woman's shoulder. She seemed to calm down at that, leaning into her husband's comforting hand. "My name is Albert, and this is Elanor. We will be eternally grateful if you help us."

I didn't know what else to do but nod my head when he bowed down. Kirito rubbed the bridge of his nose, muttering, "How did you manage to find a special quest at three in the morning?"

"We will help," I said in avoidance to his question. I wasn't about to tell him I'd had a nightmare. "What do you need us to do?"

Albert's face lit up, hope shining through him like Christmas was just around the corner. I tried my best to ignore the fact that it was almost that time of the year again, but my parent's faces flashed in my head and I had to bite my lower lip so my thoughts wouldn't wander into the spirling pit of bad thoughts.

"Here." The man gave Kirito a map, and I curiously looked over it once he unfurled it. "There's a man called Grigard who's studying the disease. He went into a nearby cave to make the cure, but it's been weeks since I've heard from him. I was going to go there myself but I can't leave my wife alone. Would you please check if he's still alive?"

"How long has he been gone for?" I asked, wondering if this was a trap of some sort. Albert sighed.

"Long enough. A few weeks, perhaps. I can't risk anyone from the village finding out about my son so I haven't been able to contact him. Grigard and I have agreed to speak only if I contacted him first."

"Then we'll help," Kirito easily agreed. "Is the cave marked on the map?"

"Yes, right here," Albert said with a tiny smile of hope while pointing at a yellow spot. Judging from the terrain surrounding it, the cave was inside of a forested area.

"We'll be back soon." I nodded, accepting the quest when the option to do so floated in front of me. I straightened myself as I looked to the side of my screen for any debuffs – the «Fatigued» status was no longer there, thankfully.

"I will be here at the same time tomorrow, traveling swordsmen. I wish you the best of luck."

The woman smiled, her eyes shining from the dried tears. Kirito was lost in thoughts the whole way back to the lounge. I jumped across the counter, and with a thump I softly sat down on the wooden stool that was in front of it. Kirito leaned onto the counter, a hand on his chin. When he shook his head, I fully faced him.

Whilst I didn't want to sleep yet, going into the forest when it was still nighttime wasn't appealing, but before I could voice my thoughts, Kirito suddenly frowned and opened his menu with two fingers. He skimmed through it and I hesitatingly hopped next to him. He hovered his menu towards me without saying anything, and the hazy words became sharper until I was able to properly read what was written on it. I peered at it as he read the quest information with a focus I was slowly growing to respect.

"Here." He pointed at the requirements, a crease still between his eyebrows. "I hoped we didn't have a time limit, but it seems like we'll have to meet this Grigard as soon as possible."

My eyes worriedly darted towards the windows of the inn, hoping that we weren't going to move about at night. It wasn't ideal to do so, and while the faint lights coming from the floor above us did a decent job of allowing me to vaguely see the house that was across the inn, I couldn't see anything beyond that.

"It'll be alright. I know how to avoid the monsters that crawl during the night," Kirito said. But if he'd thought he was reassuring me, he was mistaken. I gulped.

"Do we have enough potions?" I quickly said. I was not going to think of crawling monsters right before we were going to venture into the forest.

He rubbed the back of his neck with a tiny smile that I felt was teasing, and opened our shared inventory. He nodded in satisfaction after inspecting it. "We have enough health potions, so we need to fix the durability of our equipment and then go meet Grigard."

"Let's just go before I change my mind."

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A/N: After a lot of thoughts and fixing up the timeline and general plot, I've decided against keeping the chapters short. I felt a little restrained when I tried doing that, and writing was no longer fun for a long time. I'm getting back into the groove of things, though!

As usual, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! It was a bit corny in some parts, but I honestly like cheesy dialogues/ thoughts.