Thanks for all the reviews, favs, alerts, pms, etc. My internet went out for over a week T_T, so I couldn't research or even upload this stinking chapter. Happy New Year! (Since I can't wish a Merry Christmas because this came too late.) BUT! In case you havvvvvveeeeen't heard...

They're continuing the anime into Gun Gale Online :). Pretty exciting.

As a quick reminder

Kirito = Kazuto

Lisbeth = Rika

Leafa = Suguha

Aurain = Ryan

Chapter III: Awkward Situations

"Aurain!?"

"Wait what?" I blinked. How'd she know my SAO/ALO character name?

"Just...c'mere!" She grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me down the hallway forcefully.

"H-Hey!"

The girl kept on dragging me until we got to the end of the hall. She shoved the door there open, and pushed me inside with a huff of irritation when I wouldn't go in myself.

"We've got to talk." She crossed her arms and stood across from me.

"A-about?" I quirked an eyebrow

Suguha opened her mouth. Nothing came out. She did this over and over, giving her best impression of a fish out of water. I was confused. Very. I just shrugged and chose to look around the room while she collected her thoughts. It wasn't quite as girly as I expected. Maybe Japanese girls weren't that into pink stuff. That or reality TV had horribly lied to me. My breath hitched when I chose to finally look up.

"You're Leafa aren't you..." I stared up at the poster affixed to Suguha's ceiling, "Small world I guess."

I looked back at Suguha. Her face was a dark shade of scarlet for some reason. I raised my eyebrows in question and kindly asked what was wrong. She didn't respond for a few moments, so I prodded again gently with the same question.

"It's j-just that" She stuttered out, "I had a crush on Kirito. Imagine how awkward that could've been if It'd developed into more. He's my foster-brother and my cousin!"

She shivered. I just nodded slowly in agreement, not sure what to say. It was a bit of an awkward moment.

"So!" Suguha suddenly clapped her hands together, "Do you really have a girlfriend? I know you said so in the game, but a lot of guys do that to keep up appearance. Especially in MMOs."

"Er, yeah. Is it really that unbelievable?" I nodded, wondering why exactly she was asking, "She's that girl who left when you arrived. Her name's Rika Shinozaki. I met her in SAO. Why do you ask?"

Suguha just pinked and tried to stutter out a response. Eventually she gave up and deigned not to respond to my question. I scratched my cheek, wondering what her problem was. I usually had to ask Rika straight out when she was being all mysterious. Eventually I shrugged and spoke up again

"So should I tell Kazuto or do you want me to?"

Suguha just stared back at me.

'Guess its gonna be me. Oh boy.'

I opened my eyes and drank in the forest we had landed in once again. Just as pretty as it had been when I logged off.

Kirito was propped up against a tree across from me. He yawned briefly and gave me a lazy wave. In his mouth was some kind of stick. I assumed it was food, but didn't ask. I'd shoved down food of my own back in the real world, and had come back as soon as I was done. For one reason or another, Suguha had decided to take a shower before diving back in, so I'd beaten her back into the game.

"I'll be going to log out then." Kirito said.

"Go ahead." I gave a thumbs up, "I'll watch over your bodies. Oh, and when you and Leafa both get back there's something we all need to talk about. I'd tell you now, but I want her to be here."

"Er okay."

Kirito gave me a weird look and logged out. I leaned back against the tree and stared up at the sky. ALO felt so peaceful. If I wasn't careful I was bound to fall asleep in this forest.

'I'm just used to SAO...' I chuckled to myself, 'Virtual reality hasn't been a fun concept in a while. Even though we're trying to save Asuna, and I have my stuff I need to do, I'm having so much fun with the flying and seeing magic with my own eyes. Just everything really.'

A small shiver went down my spine, and I looked around the treeline. Why did it feel eerily like someone was watching us? Nothing was showing up on my detect enemy skill, so I shrugged it off slightly. All of my drowsiness was gone now though. I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. As soon as Kirito and Leafa got back we were going to book it. I didn't feel safe. I knew well enough to trust my instincts. Not even a computer system could beat human instincts.

I jumped at sudden movement from my relief. I jumped to my feet and looked over in that direction. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw it was just Leafa stirring. I chuckled nervously and went back to leaning up against the tree; my foot now tapping against the ground nervously.

"H-hi Aurain." Leafa said nervously, not meeting my eyes. She kept looking at Kirito's body every few seconds, red tingeing her cheeks.

"H-hi." I stuttered back, taking notice of her nervousness, "Leafa?"

"Y-Yes."

Leafa stared up at me with her big green eyes, and a sorrowful smile. I swallowed deeply, cursing the beauty ALO simulated. I reminded myself violently of Rika and immediately felt better.

I smiled gently as Leafa

"Kirito's not gonna be upset, or disappointed, or whatever you're thinking. I can't claim to know him better than you, but if anything he's going to be happy that his sister is helping. He'll be proud of you for going out of your way to help a stranger, even if your reasons weren't the purest."

"Thank you."

"It's n-nothing."

Leafa smiled back at me. Then suddenly she hopped up and walked over to me.

"W-hat?"

She wrapped me in an extremely tight hug, and snuggled her head into my chest. I gulped and looked up at the sky, trying to ignore my hormones raging at the extremely attractive girl pressed up against me.

"Seriously Aurain, no Ryan. Thank you. You should count yourself lucky that you don't have a girlfriend."

"W-why's that?" I replied with a dry mouth.

"Because I'd be pursuing you until you said yes." She winked up at me through teary eyes, before going back to her original spot and sitting down.

"A-ah."

I nervously put my weight back and forth between my two feet. I felt really awkward, and I wished Kirito would come back already. Thankfully, I got my wish. Kirito stirred almost immediately after Leafa and I had settled into comfortable positions.

"Yo." Kirito hopped to his feet, "You two ready to go?"

"Actually Kirito there's some-"

"Can we explain on the way Leafa?" I hastily interrupted Leafa, feeling my nerves fraying more by the second, "I've got a bad feeling about staying here."

Kirito nodded and let his wings out. I did the same. Leafa looked like she wanted to question it, but knew she was outnumbered. She just shrugged and let out her wings too. Her and Kirito both took off, heading again for the mountains. I took one last furtive look around, and I could swear I saw red eyes looking at me from some undergrowth. I shivered and took to the skies behind my friends.

"So." Kirito asked after we took off, a teasing tone in his voice, "What did the two of you want to tell me? Are you two secret lovers and Leafa's pregnant or something?"

"N-NO!"

Leafa and I said that in unison, identical blushes on our face.

"This is serious Kirito." I scowled, "Make a joke like that again and I'm telling Rika. You don't want her after you. Anyways, I'll just get right to it. Leafa's your sister. Suguha."

If flying in ALO took flapping, Kirito probably would've fallen out of the sky. As it was he stopped completely in mid-air, a completely neutral look on his face.

"Really?"

Yes." I nodded

Kirito grinned broadly and grabbed Leafa into a tight hug. She eeped in response, but didn't struggle. I saw him whisper something into her ear, followed by a nod in response. I decided to let them have their moment and just hovered in mid air, watching the area around us warily. After a moment they let go of each other, and we continued on our way. I found Kirito's lack of response odd, but I didn't question it. Maybe they were talking later when they could have privacy.

"So!" Kirito asked, "What go you into ALO in the first place? I'm curious as to why my kendo obsessed sister wanted to play a VRMMO."

"I am not kendo obsessed!" Suguha puffed her cheeks out in anger, "To answer your question dear brother, I wanted to understand, at least somewhat, what you were going through. I wanted to understand why you went into virtual reality."

Kirito just nodded, humor dancing on his face. I let the two of them talk, occasionally looking back over my shoulder for pursuers. I still didn't see anyone.

'Maybe I am being paranoid.' I shrugged as we descended towards the ground. The mountains were very near to us now, and I could see a cave entrance just a few yards from us. We touched down, this time all of us making a proper landing.

"So this is really the only way to Arun?" I eyed the cave entrance with a tad bit of trepidation. I was never a fan of the dark, even at my current age. Childhood fears had a strange habit of lingering an embarrassingly long time.

"Mhmm." Leafa nodded.

"Let's get this over with then..." I muttered darkly to myself.

The cave had a surprising lack of monsters. All we had to deal with was the occasional hobgoblin and bat. I guessed they didn't want the road to Arun to be too difficult. Kirito, Leafa, and I just walked quickly, making small talk and jokes. I felt a little left out with the two siblings catching up, but I didn't mind too much. I was too busy constantly checking over my shoulder. I didn't feel safe.

"Papa!" Yui shoved her tiny head out of Kirito's pocket. I'd almost forgotten she was there, "Something's getting closer!"

Kirito's face went into what I liked to call 'battle mode', "Monsters Yui?"

"No! Players! A pretty large group too."

"Damn." I cursed, "So there was someone following us after all."

"Huh?" Leafa quirked her head to the side.

"It's why I wanted to get moving," I replied looking rapidly back and forth at the darkness behind us, "I've been having a bad feeling for a while."

Leafa stepped in front of Kirito and I and started chewing on her bottom lip. Then she suddenly grabbed the two of us by our arms and tugged us into a small indent in the side of the cave wall. I flushed for the second time that day when she pressed her body up against mine, probably since there wasn't enough room for three people side by side.

"W-Wha-"

"Sshhhhh!"

Leafa pressed her finger over my mouth and began chanting a spell. When it was finished, a mirage of a stone wall appeared in front of us. To us it was partially see-through, but I guessed to someone on the outside it would be completely solid.

"Now be quiet both of you," Leafa hissed as Kirito opened his mouth, "If we're too loud it'll break the spell!"

"O-Okay." Kirito and I whispered. I chose to look up at the ceiling, wondering if some kind of god was laughing at me right now. Someone was influencing events to make this as awkward as possible. I forced myself to stand completely still, not wanting to rub up against Leafa. When this was all over I was going to go on a date with Rika and relief all this tension. I hadn't had a good kissing session with her since SAO. I wondered briefly if it'd be any different in the real world.

"What's that...?" Kirito leaned forward so far his head almost came out of the cover, "It looks like a small animal."

I felt Leafa shift next to, and now found her butt touching me instead of her front. I stole a peek down at her, and noticed her face now marred by an angry frown.

"Damn!" She dived out of cover just as I saw the glint of familiar red eyes. Leafa began chanting a spell, the runes swirling around her body. I barely got to see a small bat with glowing eyes, before her magical bolts tore it to pieces. A loud alarm began sounding off, and I could feel my adrenaline spiking.

But only for a moment. Something cool bloomed up inside me. Odds were the pursuers were going to catch us. Then we'd have to fight, and who knew what might happen. This game was based more off skill than level, and if it was a big group... what was the guarantee Kirito, Leafa, and I could take them. I knew what I had to do. We didn't need to be setback by having to respawn in our home territories.

"You guys head to Arun." I suddenly stopped and turned away from Kirito and willed my claws to equip. They materialized around my hands, the familiar weight oddly comforting, "I'll keep them busy."

Leafa let out a distressed noise that sounded like she wanted to disagree, and did open her mouth. Kirito grabbed her by the shoulder, and when she turned to look, shook his head. Leafa bit her lip, and clamped down whatever she wanted to say.

"You're sure?" Kirito asked simply.

"Trust me." I gave a quick thumbs up. Kirito nodded and tugged Leafa down the hallway by her hand. Leafa gave me one last fleeting look before jogging up next to Kirito to fall in step with them. When their forms vanished into the darkness, I collected my nerves and started to look around at my surroundings. There weren't any decent places to hide, but it looked like I could at least squeeze myself into a small alcove and use my high hide skill to be essentially invisible. It only really worked when a player hid by themselves, hence why Leafa and Kirito needed to book it. Something about more than one person drawing too much attention.

I flipped my hood over my head and breathed in and out slowly, planning my attack in my head. This was reminding me of the really early days of SAO, where I'd skulk around in a cloak day in and day out. I never wanted to interact with anyone back then.

'Up until I met Klein I guess.' I pressed myself into a dark corner of the tunnel and let the blades of the claws slide out, 'I should really pay him a visit when I'm not diving. Maybe Rika can come with too. Make a day of it when all of this business is done. Now... where's our pursuers...'

It didn't take long for my question to be answered. I heard loud footsteps coming down the hall, in the opposite direction of where Kirito and Leafa took off running. A small group of men garbed in all red ran past me moments later. I needed to check my sneak skill later. They didn't even turn their heads at my presence. Like a silent predator, I quietly stepped out of my corner and snuck after them.

'The one at the back's probably the leader, probably trying to keep himself, and if I know anything about MMOs, the guys in cloaks are mages. I can probably take them out really fast, and then maybe even just run from the armored guys. No need for excessive conflict, just gotta delay them. I bet I can outrun any of them. Time to live up to my old SAO nickname.'

Like a shadow, I slipped up behind their leader. He never even heard me coming. I used one of ALO's new skills, and widened my eyes in surprise at how his health bar absolutely melted.

'Either backstab is that good or mages are just that squishy in ALO.'*

I slipped backwards into another crack. The only sound of the pk was a quick gasp from the man I just stabbed. I poked my head out, and it looked like the group hadn't even noticed yet. One by one, I picked off the unwatchful Salamanders, until there were only eight left.

'This is way too easy...'

Never ever say that sentence. Trust me on this one.

One of the Salamanders ahead of me let out a cry of anger. I cursed and ducked back into a dark corner of the tunnel. The remaining eight Salamanders grouped up in a circle and began looking around furtively for whoever had just killed their comrades. I sighed deeply

'It'd be suicide going for them now. Now my job is to hold them up so Kirito and Leafa can get far enough away. Time for something sneaky.'

I bent down quietly and grabbed a rock off the floor. With a grunt, I chucked it over their heads and waited for a few moments. Once the tell-tale clacking of rock hitting rock sounded off, I was in motion. I ran at the group at full speed, sheathing my claws. Before any of them could react, since they were distracted by the rock, I dived over their heads, rolled, and took off sprinting down the tunnel. Cries of outrage, followed by a few fireballs that nicked my heels came from behind me. I ignored them and kept on speeding down the tunnel. I'd done my job, and there wasn't any reason to linger. After a few minutes I spied the exit to the tunnel I was in, ethereal light spilling out from around the corner. I picked up the pace, not wanting any of the Salamanders to catch up to me.

I was in awe at the beauty of the cave city Lugru and the surrounding water it sat upon. The lights from the city and the lights on the bridge leading to it were amazing when reflected on the water. That was what led to the ethereal light I had seen in the cave just before exiting. I almost stopped to look, but remembered that I really needed to book it before the Salamanders caught up. I took off down the bridge. I was almost to the entrance to the town, when something unexpected happened. A massive earthen wall shot up in front of me, forcing me to skid to a halt. I sighed and turned around. The remaining Salamanders had somehow managed to catch up enough to me to cast a spell.

"Well I've got to applaud you for trying." I said, "But this isn't gonna stop me if that's what you were hoping for. Though I've got half a mind to just kill you all right here right now so I don't have to deal with you later."

One of the Salamanders in heavy armor stepped forward and addressed me

"Tough words for a lone Spriggan against eight Salamanders." He pointed his sword at me menacingly, "Doubtful that you can back them up."

I just gave him a cheeky grin before running straight up the magic wall using my good old wall run ability. I zig-zagged back and forth, trying to dodge all the fireballs they were slinging at me. With one final yell, I reached the top of the wall and heaved myself over it. I hit the ground running, and looked over my shoulder. The wall was starting to shrink. I cursed and began casting one of the magic spells I'd found in the spellbook menu earlier in the day. To everyone watching me, It would suddenly look like there were a dozen of me. My dopplegangers and I all rushed into the city and split off in different directions.

'With any luck they'll be dumb enough to follow the one out of the city.' I ducked inside a nearby inn, making sure none of the Salamanders saw me go inside, 'I'll have that one head west instead of right at Arun.'

I breathed heavily, ignoring the looks I was getting from the rest of the players in the inn. I quickly booked a room and hoofed it up the stairs. Hopefully no-one would rat me out if the Salamanders came looking. If they did I could just hop out the window or something. I wasn't worried.

I opened the door to my room and immediately flopped down on the bed. I was tired after that sprint I just did, not to mention I was new to magic. It was more exhausting that I'd expected.

A sudden beep caused me to jump. A little icon that looked like a letter was pulsating softly in the top right corner of my vision. I tapped the icon to make the message appear, wondering what was up.

It was a message from that fan I'd met on day one of diving into ALO. Gamalir never made it obvious when we first met that he was really going to keep up with me. I'd assumed he just wanted to show off my name on his friends list.

Enclosed was a short message, 'Can we meet up in Arun? I think there's something really funky going on with ALO. I'm really serious, and I figured you could help. You know, being the person you are and all.'

"Honestly..." I scratched my chin, 'Wonder what he wants. If he's not pulling some kind of prank, or going crazy, this could be the problem I'm supposed to investigate. Seems too convenient though. No harm in checking it out though. Gotta go to Arun anyways.'

I quickly typed a simple reply agreeing to meet him, asking when and where. I hit the send button, and opened up ALO's video messaging system.

I pressed the icon next to Kirtio's name and waited patiently as the call went through. In a matter of seconds, Kirito's face popped up, looking slightly worried. The worry slightly disappeared upon seeing me, but still remained. I wondered what was up, and asked so immediately.

Kirito breathed in deeply, "You know the Salamanders right?"

"How could I forget them. I just took out half a group of them and fooled the other half."

"You also remember that guy that accosted us in Sylvein right?" I nodded in response to his question, "Well it turns out he's a traitor that's fed the Salamander's information. Kinda ironic after he called Leafa one. Anyways, he leaked out some peace treaty meeting between the Sylphs and the Cait Siths. It could mean pretty unfair odds for the people there, as well as a massive loss of gold for both those territories if the Salamanders get their way. So Leafa and I are going to try to warn them, or if it comes down to it fight the Salamanders off. If you want I can give you the location so you can catch up with us. Its-"

"A-actually." I blurted out and scuffled my feet nervously, "Is it okay if I head straight to Arun?"

Kirito raised an eyebrow in confusion, but didn't look mad, "What for? Does it have anything to do with how mysterious you've been about your reasons for getting to Japan so fast?"

"It might."

I looked down at the ground, feeling bad for abandoning my two friends. But I needed to see Gamalir. It sounded urgent, and I didn't want to waste anytime. I looked up and opened my mouth to say 'forget it' to Kirito but he beat me to the punch.

"Do what you need to do Ryan. My sister and I've got this one; we'll meet you at the world tree."

"You're sure?"

I searched Kirito's expression for any sign of uncertainty. As usual there was none. Kirito rarely said things he didn't mean, unless it was an intentional joke. And Kirito wouldn't joke about this kind of thing. He just smiled at me reassuringly I looked past him at Leafa. She looked doubtful, and nervous. Probably the same expression I had. I schooled my features and nodded quickly.

"I'm gonna go then Kirito. You better not screw this one up or I'll embarrass you in front of Asuna once we rescue her."

"O-Oi!"

I chuckled, shut of the program, and laid back down in the bed, figuring I should probably lay low for a little while yet.

It wasn't till a full minute after the call was over that I'd realized tears were rolling down my cheeks.

"Thanks... Kirito."

*I noticed how fast people seemed to die in ALO versus SAO. It might've just been for quickness of progression, but I'm taking it as the system working differently.

I always tend to write Aurain slightly less timid when he's diving into ALO. I figure the virtual reality gives him at least a modicum of confidence, since he's diving in and out this time. Also, I dunno if I've ranted about this before, but Suguha and Lisbeth are practically the same person and its a struggle to try and separate their personalities. Hope I'm doing a good job.

Lastly, I think people are really going to be surprised next chapter. Really surprised. Providing I get to the surprise. This chapter went to 4k+ words when I didn't expect it to.

-Forscythe