Disclaimer: see chapter 1
Pale Wraith and Black Swordsman
By Storm Wolf77415 and Centurious the Azure
The World of Swords and Spears
(November 6th, 2022AD, Kirigaya Residence)
The rain was pouring down, beating against the roof and walls, but Kazuto wasn't paying any attention to that. His eyes were currently switching between the latest copy of his favorite gaming magazine and the multiple windows open on the triple screens of his computer. All about the same subject, the first ever Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, Sword Art Online, or SAO for short.
MMO Stream, and every gaming podcast across the world were harkening this revolution in gaming. Kazuto paged through the magazine, reading an article about the game's creator, Kayaba Akihiko. He checked his clock, currently reading 12:50pm. Ten minutes, six hundred seconds was all that remained before the start of service for the SAO servers. He looked to his bed, where his Nerve Gear and copy of the game were eagerly waiting.
A knocking came at the door. "Hey Bro. I'm off to practice!" Suguha called. The younger Kirigaya sibling sighed, certain that her words hadn't been heard, especially if her brother had his headphones on. She sighed, running out the door with her kendo gear slung on her back. Suguha couldn't have known that would be the last time she'd see her brother conscious for quite some time.
Switching off his computer, Kazuto began his final preparations. He took the game cartridge, putting it into his Nerve Gear. After making sure the system was plugged in, Kazuto laid down on his bed, placing the device on his head. He took a deep breath to steady himself, eyeing the clock projected on the visor that covered his eyes, reading 12:59, before clicking over to 13:00. Smirking, he uttered two words that would change his life forever. "Link Start!"
A kaleidoscope of light and color assaulted Kazuto's senses as the Nerve Gear activated, throwing him from the real world into a place beyond time and space. The select language screen came up, choosing Japanese, and then the login panel followed. The next screen flashed Character Creation. "Beta Test data still available. Would you like to use it?" He didn't need to think twice, clicking on yes.
The screen turned gray as the words. "Welcome to Sword Art Online" flashed in black text. Kazuto found himself falling through a pulsing blue tunnel of light before everything went white. Kirigaya Kazuto, now known as the online warrior, Kirito, looked around at his surroundings, the Village of Beginnings on Floor One of the Black Steel Castle, Aincrad. He gave a brief smile to no one in particular.
"I'm back!" was all the young man said.
On the other side of the village plaza three figures materialized in flashes of blue light. Kouichirou hefted his weapon of choice, a heavy spear paired with a circular bronze shield. Despite just being a virtual simulation, it all felt real enough to him. "All right, everything seems to be here. You guys got all your gear?" He remarked, finished looking over his equipment.
"You know it! I'm ready to bust some heads!" Ayami hefted her own weapon of choice, a large halberd with a curved blade. "What about you, Asuna?"
"Uh, yeah!" She said, nervously fiddling with the weapon she had picked, a rapier. Asuna felt completely out of her depth here. Her experience with games extended to playing Angry Birds on her phone. Still, when Kouichirou and Ayami had shown up, bringing with them a game called Sword Art Online, she decided to see what it was all about, if anything else she could just walk around and marvel at the environment. There was no denying how beautiful Aincrad was.
"So what should we do first? Pick up some quests?" Ayami asked.
"But I don't even know how to play the game!" Asuna protested. She didn't even have an idea of how the controls for the game worked or if there was anything special she had to do. Kouichirou just patted her on the shoulder.
"We can do that later. But I actually have a little surprise for my sister." Kouichirou gave a knowing smile. "You see there's someone that I was waiting for. He's been quite eager to party up with us. Without giving anything away, he's actually quite knowledgeable about the world we just entered. Isn't that right…Weiss?"
Asuna turned to see a young man walk up to them, hair white as fallen snow, eyes red as newly shed blood. He wore simple attire, pants and ankle high boots both deep brown, a short-sleeved shirt the same shade of red as his eyes under a light breastplate, not too dissimilar to what she and everyone else was currently wearing. A sheathed sword hung on his back. "Good day to you all." The man known as Weiss drawled, giving a deep, theatrical bow. He flashed a dashing smile to Asuna. "And a special hello to you, my dear." He gently kissed her hand.
It took Asuna a few minutes to register just who he was, but when she saw that big dopey grin, it was obvious. "Yukimasa?" She asked, taking a closer look at his face.
"None other! Although here, I'm known as Weiss Blutschnee." He gave her hand another kiss. "Your brother gave me a call a few days ago. We figured this would be a good way to keep in touch if you had to travel to Kyoto to spend some time with your grandparents." Yukimasa, nee Weiss said. "So…what do you think of Aincrad so far? It's quite the majestic setting isn't it?"
"Very much so! There's so much to take in." Asuna said, blushing slightly, to which her brother and sister in law began grinning a mile wide. She looked down at the ground, drawing circles with the toe of her boot. "Although…I'm still not quite sure exactly what I'm supposed to do here. My brother and Ayami are the gamers in the family."
"If you want, I can help you become familiar with the game. We still have some time before the opening ceremonies. There's a field not too far from here with some low level mobs that we can practice on." Weiss looked to Kou, "Provided big brother doesn't have a problem with that."
"Just don't take too long, okay?" Kouichirou said. "Ayami and I will stock up on items. How about we meet back here in about a hour?"
"Will do!" Weiss gave a jaunty salute, pulling Asuna by the arm toward the field outside the city. The sun began setting in the west as the young couple found a tranquil looking meadow, filled with what Asuna identified as boars. They were milling about, rooting away at the grass. "Okay, Asuna, we'll start with how to cast a sword skill." He drew his blade, a simple looking two-handed broadsword. "Watch me in action."
Weiss brought his weapon up, resting it lightly on his shoulder; Asuna noticed it began glowing a deep blue color. He lunged forward at the nearest boar, with a single vertical slash it was cut in half. The animal let out a pained cry before glowing blue and vanishing in a shower of light. "That's all there is to it! You make the appropriate Pre-Motion, the system recognizes it, and then can act. But beware, once you've performed that skill, there's a cool down period called Post-Motion that can leave you vulnerable to counter attacks. The stronger the Sword Skill, the longer the Post-Motion."
"Okay, so what do I do first?" Asuna said, drawing her rapier as she zeroed in on one of the boars. She gasped when Weiss put his hands on her shoulders.
"Since you chose to use a rapier, your first Skill will be called Linear. It's single thrust straight forward. You trigger it by holding your blade in front of your body, and adding a slight twist at the end. Hold it up near your shoulder. Wait for the system to register it." He brought Asuna's arm up to her shoulder. Her blade began glowing a brilliant silver-white. "Okay, your skill is charged, go now!" Mimicking her companion's movement, the younger of the Yuuki siblings lunged, delivering a picture perfect thrust straight to the boar's neck.
She reeled back, watching for when she could attack again. Asuna was surprised when her body suddenly relaxed. "Hit it again, Asuna!" Weiss called. Repeating the movement, She thrusted again, the boar squealed once before dissipating in shattered panes of bluish-green light.
"Nice job, Asuna!" Weiss cheered as she sank to her knees. "Not bad for a first time!"
"I was expecting the cooldown period, but it was virtually nothing!" Asuna said.
"That's to be expected since Linear is the first skill in the Rapier move tree. A skilled player can chain multiple Linear strikes in a very short amount of time. You're still beginning, but I bet you can get off four or five a minute once you've gotten some experience under your belt." He indicated to the remaining boars. "Come on, let's work on improving your attack time."
As Asuna began acclimating to the battle system, she proved to be quite handy with the Linear skill, Weiss was entranced by watching as she wove in and out of the mob creatures. Her movements were fluid and graceful, each flowing into the next as she struck each boar with a series of rapid thrusts, her strawberry-blonde hair whipping about her. To Weiss, he was bearing witness to a warrior goddess.
Eventually she stood triumphant. "Well…how did I do?" Asuna panted, sinking to her knees. She hadn't expected to be so exhausted from a playing a video game.
Weiss ran over to her, putting his arms around her neck, eliciting a startled gasp from her, causing her to start blushing. "That was just incredible! You gave those oversized porkers a true royal smackdown!" He grinned wide. "The way you moved was just pure poetry! How did you do it?"
Her blush grew even more. "Twelve years of dance classes, I started when I was three. I guess I just slipped into the mindset once I got comfortable."
"Well, it paid off! You're going to be a terror once you get some real experience under your belt!" Weiss patted her on the shoulder. He checked the time. "Hmm, The opening ceremonies will be in another ten minutes. We should probably head back so your brother doesn't get too worried." The two walked back to the Village of Beginnings, coming over a large hill. Asuna gazed in awe at the landscape, at the sloping hills running all the way to the horizon.
"Beautiful isn't it?" Weiss remarked in a quiet voice. "It's one thing to see it in your mind, but it's a whole different beast when it's right in front of you." He put his hands behind his head. "Even if it is just a virtual representation, there's a certain majesty to this place that never fails to take my breath away. Of course, considering I designed it I'm just a little biased." Asuna's head whipped toward him. "Oh…I guess I should have said that earlier."
"You…designed this?" Asuna couldn't believe her ears.
"I didn't stutter." He pulled her in close. "I'll level with you, Asuna. Kayaba Akihiko is my mom's younger brother, simply put, my maternal uncle. Sword Art Online has been his life's work since even before I came on the scene. Whenever he'd come and visit us in San Diego, he'd tell me stories about the floating castle in the sky he envisioned, it was his dream. I wanted to help make his ambition a reality. So I became an artist. All the physical characteristics of the game, from the looks of the weapons and monsters, to the layout of each floor, everything came from my humble little noggin."
"I guess that explains how you knew where to teach me, you set it up that way." Asuna giggled. "I guess it's helpful that a newbie like me has such an experience teacher then."
"Well, I just thought it up, another guy handled the actual coding. His name is Ronan, you'll meet him later. I should warn you…he's a first class asshole." Weiss sighed. "Other than that, I think you'll come to enjoy the game, Asuna. My uncle and I put a lot of time and effort into it."
"It is quite beautiful. You have reason to be proud." Asuna said, leaning closer into Weiss. They came to sit on a big rock, and continued looking out onto the majestic scenery. He had an arm around her. Asuna didn't mind it. All she wanted to enjoy this peace forever.
A bell began ringing, the couple were suddenly surrounded in blue light. Their heads both peeked up at the noise. They found themselves back in the plaza with the other players. "What's going on here?" She asked nervously, as the sky suddenly turned red, her stomach turned a little as the sky seemed to begin oozing blood. Asuna found herself unconsciously grabbing onto Weiss's arm.
"Don't worry your pretty little head one bit." Weiss was completely unfazed. "That's probably my uncle. As the game's creator, he's also the Game Master." He shook his head bemusedly. "The man always had to make a flashy entrance. He's probably going to welcome everyone, say a few words about the incredible adventure we're embarking on. Once he's done we can do some more training. I'll make you into a gamer yet!"
The red oozed congealed, taking the form of a massive humanoid shape in a flowing red cloak; no face was visible underneath the hood. "Greetings to my fellow gamers! I am Kayaba Akihiko, and welcome to the floating Black Steel Castle of Aincrad. Let me be the first to introduce you to the world I created. The world of Sword Art Online!"
Asuna felt a little intimidated at the sight of the massive figure, but Weiss just snorted. "Typical of the man." He muttered. All of his bemusement vanished with the next words Kayaba uttered.
"I'm sure a few of you have noticed an item missing from the main menu…the log out button." A huge version of the menu materialized in front of the GM avatar. "Let me assure you, this is not a defect of the game. This is how Sword Art Online was meant to be played." This led to whispers and murmurs among the crowd as he continued. "Once you log into SAO there is no way out."
This caused gasps from the players, but the nightmare was only just beginning. "Despite my warning, the families of quite a few of the players tried removing the Nerve Gear." Kayaba's voice sounded almost remorseful. "That was a rather unfortunate decision on their part, as of now there are 213 less players than when the game started. They've been deleted from Aincrad…and the real world."
The players were starting to panic now. Kirito stood alongside his new friend Klein. "213 players? That many?" he didn't want to believe this was happening.
"This is crazy! I don't believe it!" Klein protested.
"Kou…" Ayami whispered, fingers gripping around her halberd. Her husband said nothing, just settling for glaring up at their captor.
Kayaba continued, not regarding what his victims were saying or feeling. "International media outlets have already begun picking up the details, including the deaths. As such, the chance of Nerve Gear removal is minimal at best." Images began materializing in the air, showing such headlines as 'Death Count Rises in Online-Game Incident'. "I hope this gives you comfort as you clear the game. You will need every inch of resolve you can muster."
"Keep in mind that any and all revival items in the game have now been removed. If you HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system…forever, and the Nerve Gear will simultaneously destroy your brain, ending your life in the real world as well. There's only way for you to escape this place now. You must clear the game."
With this a screen showing a schematic of Aincrad appeared. "All of you are gathered here on Floor One. Getting through the dungeon and defeating the boss will allow you to advance to the next level. Defeating the boss on Floor 100 and you will clear the game."
Everyone began protesting again. "Clear the game? That's impossible! Not even the Beta Testers got that high!" Klein exclaimed. Both Kirito and Kouichirou clenched their fists in silent rage. It had taken them almost the entire beta period just to get up to the tenth floor. How did Kayaba expect them to make it all the way to the top?
"Uncle what have you done?" Weiss muttered, he looked over to Asuna, who was on the verge of tears. He put his arm around her waist, causing to her to look at him. His gaze was enough to reassure her.
"One final thing, I have left each of you a little present in your item storage. Please inspect it now." All the players opened their menus to find what appeared to be a simple mirror. No one was sure what to make of it, but then everyone began glowing. When the light dimmed, it revealed a startling fact. The mirror had stripped away the false avatars most of the players had created, reforming them to resemble their actual self. For Kouichirou, Ayami, and Asuna, this was no big deal, they had pattered their avatars after their normal appearance, but a few found themselves needing a drink, or the virtual equivalent at least.
"What can Kayaba hope to accomplish by this, Kou?" Ayami whispered. "It makes no sense at all! It's crazy! This is outright lunacy! This is…" she clapped her hands on her mouth, once she realized what she had done, as her husband gave a goofy grin.
"This! Is! Aincrad!" He called out with his best Scottish accent. Ayami groaned cupping her face in her hands while Kouichirou patted his wife on the back. "I'm sorry, my dear. You walked right into that one." His face immediately turned serious, "However, this is really not the time for laughs." He looked around at everyone, it was just now becoming apparent that their situation was real, and this was not a bad dream they could wake up from, or just a game they could turn off. Several of the players, male and female alike were crying their eyes out, others just stood or sat in dumbstruck silence.
The married couple was about to make their way through the crowd when the cloaked figure hovering over them began speaking again. "I'm certain many of you are wondering, why would Kayaba Akihiko, the creator of Sword Art Online and Nerve Gear do such a thing? My goal was very simple…to create a world that I and I alone could control. Now I can say that my goal is complete. This marks the end of the tutorial and the official launch for Sword Art Online. Players, I wish you all the best of luck." With that, the hovering figure faded into red smoke, dissolving back into the sky, leaving the setting sun in its place.
"We need to find Asuna and Weiss, now!" Kouichirou said. It wasn't long before they found them. Asuna was clinging onto Weiss. "Asuna!" He called out, it wasn't long before a white and red missile hit him, as his little sister cried into his shoulder. Kou ran his hands through her hair, as he often did when they were younger. "It's going to be okay, Asuna. We're going to get through this together. I promise you that!"
(Horunka Village, November 8th, 2022 AD)
Once Kayaba had departed, Kirito hadn't wasted any time in leaving for the next village. He knew every second counted in beginning to clear the game, even inviting Klein to go with him, but the bandana-toting player had declined, saying he wanted to join his friends and form a guild. So the dark-haired youth set out alone. He had made a promise to himself…to survive the game. After completing his first quest, he was already at Level 4, with a new weapon in the form of an Anneal Blade.
Kirito looked over his newly bought equipment. He sighed, it was going to be a long trip to the next village. Once he had checked all of his items, it was time to head out. Despite being a virtual environment, all being generated by a computer, he couldn't help but feel a slight chill from the wind blowing through. "Maybe I should invest in a coat of some kind." He said to no one in particular, gazing out on the long road ahead of him, looking for some mobs.
The journey was starting to become rather dull. Kirito picked up a rock, throwing it into a nearby stream. He watched the ripples spread on the water. It was then he heard a howl, hand instinctively going for his sword. "Wolves nearby. I guess I can get in a little extra XP before I camp for the night." He took off toward the source of the howl, jumping off rocks and over logs.
Kirito could tell he was getting closer as the howls and barking intensified. "Somebody help me!" A voice, definitively female cried out. He picked up speed, hoping he wasn't too late. He found a young woman about his age, facing off against a pack of wolves, about ten in number. Kirito didn't waste any time leaping in to help, priming his blade with the tell tale blue glint of a Slant skill. He swung from bottom left to top right in a 45-degree angle, cleaving a wolf in half.
He was able to get his first real good look at his new companion. She had a slender build; short dark hair framed a solemn looking face. Her attire was colored a deep forest green. A black top and shorts underneath, a pair of daggers clenched in her hands. "Hey, you all right?" He called out to the girl, who gave him a brief nod. "Okay, let's clear these mobs out. You with me?"
Her only response was to raise her daggers, they both turned blue as she unleashed a pair of Horizontal slash skills, that cut through another of the wolves. She spun in a circle, going for a double Slant strike, taking it out with the obligatory shower of blue sparkles.
Kirito fired up a Vertical skill, chaining it with a pair of Horizontals, taking out another wolf, and severely injuring another. He finished with an Uppercut, eyes flickering over to his impromptu partner, who let loose with a quick stabbing motion into the monster's side. The wolf snarled, going to bite her, but she vaulted over it, lashing out with her daggers to cut the beast's head off.
The two warriors stood back to back, surrounded by the remaining seven wolves. "It looks like we're surrounded." The girl said, looking at Kirito. I take half, you take half?"
"Fine by me." The young swordsman said, bringing up the Anneal Blade. "I'm Kirito by the way."
"Sinon," Was the girl's prompt response, hefting her daggers as she glared at the nearest wolf who growled before attacking. Sinon lashed out with her dagger, stabbing in the shoulder, before kicking the beast in the face, finishing by slashing through the neck with her other knife. Another wolf lunged about to get her in the side, only for Kirito's sword to intercept it.
"Now!" He cried, giving her the opening she needed, one of her knives glinted in the setting sun, before destroying it. Kirito's blade swept through another. Three more wolves attacked together this time. Kirito and Sinon moved as one, one dagger swept through all three of the beasts, followed by the Anneal Blade, finally ending with Sinon's other knife, all three beasts popped into those now familiar blue-green sparkles. The remaining two wolves ran off, leaving the players alone.
The menu came up, indicating that Kirito now was up to Level 5. "All right, I leveled up." He looked to his new partner. "What about you…Sinon was it?"
"Yeah. I made Level 4 just now." She said, checking her own menu. Sinon fidgeted nervously. "Uh, thanks for saving my life. I had already managed to kill three of those wolves, but then a few more spawned." She kicked the ground. "I thought I could get through the next area with no problems, guess not. "
"It's not a problem." He said. "Tell you what, it may not be a bad idea for us to team up. We'll stand a better chance of getting to the next village working together." The message for a party invite sprang up in front of Sinon. "What do you say?"
Sinon regarded it for a few minutes, before hitting the accept button. "Why not? I'd rather not have to run into that situation again." She said, smiling a little. Kirito couldn't help but find it kind of cute. "So, shall we get going onto the next town?"
"It's getting late as is, our best chance is to just set up camp." Kirito said. Thinking he may have found a suitable partner for the foreseeable future.
(Town of Beginnings, November 8th, 2022AD)
After Kayaba's announcement had effectively trapped everyone in the game until it was cleared, many had taken the news badly. Asuna had fallen into a deep depression, locking herself in the room she and Ayami shared at the local inn. Not even her brother had managed to get her to come out. But now she had gotten tired of looking at the stark walls of her quarters and ventured out, going from one stall to another.
"I'm telling you, it's real! There's a way out of the game!" Asuna stopped in her tracks with those words. She looked over her shoulder to see a couple of guys, one wielding an axe, the other a spear like her brother talking. "There's supposedly a portal in a dungeon not too far from here. If we can find it, then we're home free!" It was all Asuna needed to hear, she took off out of the town into the fields, where she knew Kouichirou, Ayami, and Weiss were currently leveling up.
"Weiss! Ayami! Brother!" Asuna called out, looking across the grassy fields. "Oh where are they?" She stamped her foot in frustration. It was then she heard a low growling. A trembling hand went for the rapier at her side. It was then a Basic Kobold Warrior lumbered from the brush, letting out a small roar. She whimpered. This thing was Level 7, and she was still at Level 2. She went for a Linear, only to get batted aside effortlessly. The Kobold growled, charging up its axe to cleave Asuna in two.
"Get away from my sister!" A voice rang out, Kouichirou leapt from on high, spear flashing with a yellow glow, stabbing the monster in the back. Ayami then appeared, her halberd beginning to flare with a reddish-orange light. She put a spin on her attack, giving her an extra boost of power, slashing across the Kobold. Weiss then appeared, finishing it off with a powerful slash. The monster roared before vanishing.
"Asuna? What are you doing out here all by yourself?" Ayami swept up her sister in law in a tight hug. "You're still only Level 2. That thing could have killed you!"
"I'm sorry." Asuna managed, pushing away from Ayami a little, feeling bad she had caused the others to worry about her. "But I heard something in town and I needed to tell you guys right away." She took a deep breath. "I think we may have found a way out of the game! A couple of guys were talking about it."
"Are you…sure about that, Asuna?" Weiss asked dubiously. "Where exactly did you hear about it?"
"They said it was in a dungeon not too far from here. If we go now, maybe we can find the way out and go home!" Asuna said. "Come on you guys, we can't waste a single minute!" Weiss could see there was a new fire in her eyes, however it would have to be short lived.
"Uh, I hate to break it to you, Asuna. But I think you're chasing a rumor. I think I know which dungeon you're talking about…we cleared it out yesterday and we didn't see any portal." Weiss had to do everything in his power to keep a straight face as he watched Asuna's newly found hope shatter once again. "On the plus side I found this really nice cloak in the dungeon." He opened up his menu. "I'll trade it…it's red."
Asuna sniffled, bringing up her own menu. "Are you sure?" She asked.
"You can have it. I don't need it." He said. Asuna hit the approve button. With a flash, she now wore a flowing cloak colored a brilliant dark red. It fluttered in the breeze in concert with her long chestnut red-brown hair. "It looks nice on you, Asuna."
"Yeah it really does." Ayami added, elbowing her husband in the side.
"Totally agree, sis!" Kouichirou said, giving her a little hug. "Don't worry, Asuna. We're going to get through this together. Do you believe in me?" He asked, to which she nodded. "Good, now let's get back to town. We'll get you leveled up and then we're heading out. If clearing the game is the only way we're going to be able to go back to the real world. We need to start now."
"Just make sure you don't go off by yourself in the future, Asuna." Weiss patted his girlfriend on the shoulder, taking in her soft brown eyes. "I wouldn't to have to explain to your brother why you're dead."
"So here you guys are." A voice said. "I wasn't aware the middle of the field was the new appointed meeting place for us."
Weiss sighed. "Hello Ronan…" He addressed the person approaching then. A large two-handed sword slung over his back. "Guys, let me introduce you to my friend, Mishima Kenji, aka Ronan. He's the lead programmer of Sword Art Online, pretty much Kayaba's right hand man." He glared at him slightly. "Not to mention kind of an annoying dick at times!"
Ronan just held his hands in his pockets. "Aw, you flatter me, Snow White. Glad to know I can still get that kind of reaction out of you." He smirked at Asuna. "So this is the Yuuki girl huh? Well I gotta say, she's not bad on the eyes." His expression changed, and he burst out laughing once he got a clear look at Asuna's stats. "Oh my…you're only Level 2? I thought you said she was smart, man!" He did his best to stifle his laughter, which wasn't much. "No one with two brain cells would come out this far into the field at that level!"
"Go easy on her, man. She's still new at this." Weiss stood up in her defense. He glared at Ronan, and he pouted in response. His shoulders slumping told he was surrendering for now. "So what's going on, Ronan? What's the word? I take it the little venture we discussed earlier is going smoothly?" This elicited confused looks from everyone. This was all news to them.
Ronan folded his arms, a smug grin on his face that for some reason made Kouichirou want to slam the butt of his spear in his face. "But of course! In fact I was just coming to see you about that. Here he comes now." Everyone turned to see a young man approaching. He was clad in blue with a medium sized armor chest plate with a kite shield and one-handed longsword approach. "Diabel, my main man! Welcome to the party!"
"Glad to be here." The man identified as Diabel spoke in a cultured voice. "Allow me to introduce myself properly, I am Diabel." He turned his eyes on Ayami and Asuna, visibly turning on the charm. His gaze swept between them both. His blue eyes glinted. He nodded at them in satisfaction as he ran his fingers through his sky blue hair. "Well, it seems that I'm graced by the presence of a pair of angels. Perhaps you can tell me your names?"
"This is Asuna, that gentleman over there is her older brother, and I'm her sister-in-law, We're both spoken for. So don't even think about it, Romeo." Ayami glared at him, putting herself between Asuna and Diabel. Yukimasa's eyes narrowed on Ronan's friend. They picked him for…certain reasons. He was not going to tolerate this kind of talk to Asuna regardless.
Diabel held his hands up defensively. "Oh I wouldn't dream of coming between you and your men, but certainly you could at least let me spend a little time with such gorgeous women such as yourselves? I have quite a few stories to tell that would enchant you." Ayami looked to Kouichirou, who gave an idle shrug.
Yukimasa didn't need to say anything. He walked up to Asuna, and put an arm around her. Asuna looked up at him, a smile manifesting on her lips. She leaned herself into Yukimasa to make it ever clear she was taken. Ayami was going to do all of the talking for them.
"No funny stuff…especially with the young lady. Otherwise you'll be answering to my husband, and let me tell you, that spear and shield aren't just for show. Provided I don't do anything first." Ayami said, fingers gripping on her halberd. Diabel gave a nervous chuckle, finding out first hand why Yuuki Ayami wasn't someone to trifle with.
Satisfied that his wife had things under control, Kouichirou pried Weiss off of Asuna, grabbing both him and Ronan by the arms. He waved Asuna off, wordlessly telling her to not be concerned. He blew Asuna kiss. Asuna flared up a shade of pink as she felt his invisible kiss her in the heart. "Can I talk with you guys…alone?" He dragged the other two boys away, making sure to keep Diabel in his line of sight. "Just what kind of game are the two of you guys playing here? Who is this guy?"
"That's simple, Kou. We're playing the most important game of all…survival!" Weiss whispered, looking back at Asuna over his shoulder. Inside of him, his heart sank into his stomach. If they weren't there at the right time… Weiss dreaded to think what would have happened to Asuna. This simply proved his first instinct to be right. "Everyone is still coming to terms with our situation. Someone needs to take charge so we can begin clearing the game. We can be those people! Because I sure don't want to trust my life to someone else, I can't imagine you would entrust Asuna and Ayami's lives to someone who would just so casually discard them if they weren't useful."
"But why bring this Diabel character into the mix? Do we really need him?" Kouichirou watched out of the corner of his eye, as Diabel began telling the girls a lame story of a difficult monster fight he had made on the day after the announcement of the death game that Sword Art Online had become. Both Ayami and Asuna looked less than impressed judging from their bored expressions.
"Every movement has their public face, Big K. A charismatic figure for the people to rally around." Ronan said matter of factly, putting a hand on his hip. He held his other hand up as if to display the truth in the palm of his hand. "Diabel is charming, he's good looking, not to mention genuinely skilled. The people will flock to him while we control things behind the scenes. Of course we'll conveniently leave out that he's a beta tester. I've been hearing rumors that a small group of the players are ganging up on the betas, blaming them for being trapped here on the grounds they have an unfair advantage."
"Then they wouldn't like me…I'm a beta tester too." Kouichirou said.
"You were a beta tester as well? Huh. I didn't know that." Weiss blandly, shrugging at the unsurprising revelation. He quickly turned all business, his expression becoming uncharacteristically solemn. "Here is the bottom line, Kou. We have a chance to make something of ourselves in this world. We need every able-bodied player we can get to clear the game. Could we count on you to help us out?"
"All you needed to do was ask." Kouichirou looked to the two most important women in his life. "So if you really intend to be a driving force in getting us out of here, what exactly is your plan? I get Diabel is your rallying point, but is that all you came up with?"
"But of course not." Weiss produced an innocuous looking brown book with a quick swipe of his hotkey. It manifested in his hands with the swirl of blue particles. He held it up for the man to see. "This is a strategy guide Ronan and I created with another beta tester named Argo. She's the go to person for information about the game. The objective here is to share our knowledge with the other players, showing we're not going to hoard it, as others would have you believe."
Kouichirou nodded in approval. "A smart move. I'll want three copies the first chance they've available."
"We've arranged to have them available in all the shops on every floor. But since you asked. I'll make sure to reserve three especially for you." Weiss said. He and Kouichirou shook hands. "Thanks for joining the cause, Kou. We're going to need every advantage we can get."
Ronan put his hand on top of theirs. Weiss looked at Ronan like he'd grown another head. "Hey," he put in, sounding annoyed. "Don't forget me. I came up with this idea. As much as I hate to admit it, this is a team effort, dude."
"Point." Weiss admitted, starring back at Asuna talking to Ayami in the distance. Diabel was already making friends with them. It was typical of him to get them to warm up to him quickly.
Weiss steeled himself for the future. It was all for Asuna…
(A couple nights later)
Asuna and Yukimasa had spent the last few days power leveling in the fields and in a dungeon, as of now the younger Yuuki sibling had managed to make it to Level 5, so she would be more capable of defending herself when she wasn't with someone else. She had even managed to get lucky getting a rare Wind Fleuret from a monster drop. But now all Asuna wanted to do after a long day of training was to rest. The minute they returned to the Inn, she had gotten into the bathtub.
The light from the overhead lamp reflected off the water. Asuna idly watched her long strawberry blonde tresses undulating, moving with the currents. She sighed contentedly, immersing herself completely before coming right back up. "Even though this isn't real, I can still feel all the aches and pains in my body. It makes me wonder what is happening with my body in the real world right now."
She frowned when she thought of the real world. It had been almost a whole week since the whole mess started, but Asuna wondered what was going on back home. "Daddy's probably using every one of the company's to try and get us out. Not to mention Mom and Sugou…" She trailed off at the latter, shuddering all over. "Ugh, why am I thinking about him?" She folded her arms across her chest, before submerging once again. Asuna curled up in the bath. She instead tried to fill her mind with thoughts of Yukimasa. And what she'd rather with doing with him…
"No, no, and once again No! I refuse to do it, Ronan!" Weiss protested. The two boys were outside Asuna's bedroom. "Despite what you may think. She has a temper on her, and not to mention what her brother and his wife would do to us! I do not have a death wish!"
"Oh come on, my white haired friend, live a little!" Ronan urged. "Your girl is in there waiting for you. She's waiting for you to show up, man. I know you aren't that dense. If you two are really as close as you say, then it's time for you to go and do the nasty!"
"She's not that type of girl, Ronan!" Weiss looked away.
Ronan smirked, seeing the blush forming on his cheeks. "Oh don't even try that with me. She may be a prude, but she's still a girl with very human needs. It just takes some time for her to admit it." He gave a perverted grin. "I imagine that Asuna has a very nice body underneath that armor. You'd get to see it in all its glory! And I'll bet Yen to Col that she's a screamer!"
Weiss's eye twitched, fist clenching and unclenching. "I'm going to count to ten, Ronan. I suggest you leave right now before I decide to do something I regret."
"Just knock already!" Ronan urged, holding up his hands in surrender. He rounded the corner, and pressed his back against the wall. He peeked around the corner. Nobody told him he couldn't watch this part.
Weiss tensed, praying Kouichirou didn't come around the corner suddenly. He tentatively knocked on the door. "Hey Asuna…you presentable?" He asked nervously. The sound of footsteps against the wooden floor got louder as the door opened, showing his girlfriend in a pale blue bathrobe. "Oh, sorry about getting you out of the tub." He noted at her dripping hair.
"It's all right, what did you need?" Asuna asked quietly, hoping Kou wasn't there to catch them. She unobtrusively ushered him in, and closed the door behind them.
"Just checking in is all. I have to say you really have taken to the game. I don't think I've seen a more graceful player in action." Weiss grinned inside at the sight of Asuna's blushing cheeks. "Those dance classes definitely paid off if what I've seen over the past few days are any indication."
"Once I saw things as a dance, it became a lot easier, I just had to add the sword in." Asuna admitted, sitting down on the bed. Yukimasa sat down, putting an arm around her slender waist.
"Tell you what, let's stop dancing around the issue, Asuna. I like you." He finally came out and said it, watching as her face became ever brighter. "And I'm fairly certain you like me, judging from your reaction. I felt the connection when we first met at that party way back when. You looked like a girl who needed a serious injection of fun into her life. I just didn't think it would be like this." He ran his hand through his hair, "I was actually going to ask you out to a concert. Your brother said you liked TM Revolution, so I got us tickets, front row center even. It would have been a blast."
Asuna's brown eyes widened. "Really? That would have been a lot of fun. I've never been to a concert before in my life." She sighed, leaning on his shoulder. At least having him was a great consolation. "I guess that's not going to happen now, huh? It's not like we can leave this place any time soon."
Weiss nodded in sober agreement. It belied the silly grin on his lips. "Our situation is certainly…unique to say the least. How often do you get caught in games of death? If I could pull the right strings, maybe we could get TM Revolution to visit Aincrad and give a special concert." He frowned. "But then he'd be trapped here as well and that would really suck. He seems like a nice enough guy, and he doesn't need to be inconvenienced like that. I guess we could go for Hatsune Miku or Super Sonico then, they already exist in the digital world."
Asuna giggled, "If you really are serious, then perhaps…" She blushed once again, the brightest yet. Weiss was totally taken by her radiance. Asuna looked down into her lap. She gathered the courage to say it within that eternal pause. She looked Weiss in the eye, struggling to hold his gaze. She felt the heat creeping onto her face. "We could take a bath together? I mean…if that's okay with you." He ran his hand through her still soaked locks. He picked her up, carrying her to the bathroom.
"Whatever my lady wants, she will get." Weiss ran a hand along her delicate cheek. "I bet you never thought your first time would be in a bathtub in a video game. It's just a string of constant firsts I guess." Asuna giggled as the couple went in, the door banging shut behind them.
(Tolbana Village, December 2nd, 2022)
No one had expected clearing the game to go smoothly, but the first sixty days had shown just how large of a task awaited. Two thousand players were dead, and the First Floor Boss hadn't even been found yet. A few brave souls dared venture into the labyrinth, but they were lucky if they returned. Kirito and Sinon had mostly busied themselves taking quests and fighting the various mobs they ran across. They were stopping over in Tolbana Village for a short respite to replenish their store of items and crystals.
They walked through the streets, noting the large gathering of players. The entire village was overflowing with people "There's a lot of activity here for such a small village. I wonder what's going on." Sinon remarked.
"You haven't heard?" They turned to see Kouichirou leaning against the wall. "Someone finally found the lair of the First Floor Boss, Illfang the Kobold Lord. We're rallying every player we can find in order to take it on. You two look fairly strong. How about lending a hand?" He held his hand out. "The name's Kou, and you are?"
"Kirito, and this is Sinon." He jerked a thumb at his companion. "So you really found the Boss Room?"
"Yeah, I wish it could have been sooner. We could have saved a lot more lives." Kou looked a little sad. It didn't bode well that twenty percent of the players were already gone, but he quickly put on the air of the businessman he was back in the real world. He had agreed to join Weiss and Ronan's group, and he couldn't show weakness for long. "The briefing is going to be at the amphitheater on the other side of town in fifteen minutes. I suggest you take this time to stock on items."
"Already taken care of." Sinon said.
"Good, I'll see you then." Kou walked off.
"Hey, Ki-bou." A salty voice went, causing Sinon to jump slightly, her hand immediately going for her daggers, but Kirito pushed her arm down. They found a young woman their age standing behind them, brown eyes framed by curly auburn hair danced in amusement from the depths of the brown hooded cloak she wore. "Wow, that's quite the reception." She gave a smirk, putting a hand on her hip as the sun accentuated the blood red whiskers on her face.
"Hello, Argo. Being sneaky as ever I see." Kirito said. He put a reassuring hand on Sinon's shoulder. "You'll have to excuse Argo, Sinon. She has a bad habit of showing up when you least expect it. But she makes up for it by her information always being accurate."
Argo just snickered. "They call me 'The Rat' for a reason, Ki-bou. Given what I do for a living, you can never be too careful. I maxed out my stealth skill given how a lot of people rage against the beta testers. Although you're one of the few who can sniff me out, given that your sensing skill is so high. You're like my favorite bloodhound."
"I really wish you'd cut that out. You're not Ada Wong, coming and going as you please." Sinon grunted. But it only made Argo's smug grin grow wider. Her fingers twitched idly over her sheathed blades. "Be lucky you're a friend of Kirito, otherwise I'd kick your teeth in." She muttered. Her companion cut in, not wanting it to degrade into a catfight.
"What do you need, Argo? You don't come around like this unless you need something." Kirito asked.
"You know me so well, Ki-bou. It has to do with the buyer for that pretty blade currently on your back." It all came back to Kirito then. A week prior Argo had sought him out, saying someone wanted to buy his Anneal Blade, since upgraded to a level 6 weapon. "I don't need to remind you of this, but he's offering a very nice little penny for taking it off your hands. He's getting tired of waiting."
Sinon's elegant face scrunched off. "I don't get why he's going so hard to remain anonymous. Is it that difficult to just come forward and ask for it?" She leaned in close to Kirito, ignoring the smug grin from Argo. "I don't know about you, Kirito, but I don't like this one bit. If I was you, I'd tell this mysterious buyer thanks, but no thanks."
The young swordsman contemplated it. "Tell the buyer I'll pass, Argo. I'm perfectly happy with my Anneal Blade." The info broker just gave a dismissive shrug.
"Doesn't bother me. I'm just the go-between after all." Argo gave a jaunty wave. "I'll catch you around, Ki-bou. Good luck with the floor boss. Hope you and your girlfriend enjoy your date!" Sinon reached for her daggers, but Argo was already gone by the time the knives came out.
"She really gets on my nerves at time!" Sinon huffed. Kirito put a calming hand on the girl's shoulder. "Let's just go to this briefing. The sooner we learn about the boss, the sooner we can kill it and go home." She stalked off for the amphitheater, Kirito following behind. He had learned early on to give his partner a wide berth when she was aggravated, made things less painful that way.