Chapter 7
February 6th, 2023
"Oh wow... He looks adorable!"
"Kazuto always looks like this when he's asleep, Liz. I always got up early just to watch him for a few minutes before we started kendo."
"No fair, Leafa, that's cheating! I wish I was his little sister too..."
"Silica, can ya move, I need a good angle... Man, Kii-boy's dangerous even when he's asleep, isn't he, A-chan?"
"H-How would I know? A-and what exactly do you mean by dangerous, Argo?!"
Kirito slowly stirred, waking up a little bit at a time. He'd stayed up late the night before, so not only was he waking up later than usual, he was still tired. With a muted grumble at the unintelligible noise around him, he rolled over and shifted. His bed was really uncomfortable... "Shh, he's waking up," a girl - Lisbeth? - whispered.
Why was his bed so uncomfortable? It was a nice one, nicer than the inn beds at any rate. The blanket covering him was soft, but not as warm as his usual one, and it felt like something was pressing against his back... Oh, that's right, Kirito remembered as his bleary mind supplied the memories of the previous night, he was so tired that he just fell asleep on the couch after handling the items they got from their dungeon run... He had to make sure he didn't do that again, no matter how tired he was. The couch was great for a nap or two, but it seemed that sleeping on it all night wasn't conducive to a good night's rest.
As his eyes opened, he sat up - to blink in surprise as four of the five girls in his guild stared at him. For some reason, everyone except for Argo had gathered around the couch. The info broker, meanwhile, was darting through the door that led out of the living room into the hallway, clutching something to her chest. "Um... Good morning?" he offered.
"Morning, Kazuto," Leafa chirped.
"Is there something wrong?"
"Nope," his little sister said cheerfully. As if that was some sort of sign, the girls all split up, going about their usual morning routines. Silica sat down on one of the other couches and started playing with her hair, putting it back up into her usual twin-tails, while Asuna and Lisbeth disappeared into the kitchen to start on breakfast. Leafa headed out the door, probably to start with her morning kendo practice before the guild went out on their front-line activities.
Kirito watched it all happen with a bemused expression, scratching his head. "That was weird," he muttered under his breath before standing up and stretching. "Hey Asuna, how long until breakfast?"
Instead of Asuna, Lisbeth was the one to call out the reply. "Long enough for you to go wash your face and wake up properly, Kirito!"
Kirito nodded and headed off to the bathroom. It had been one of the requirements the girls set down for purchasing their guild house, so the bath and shower were both very high quality. Since it was early in the morning, Kirito just splashed some cold water on his face and exhaled, fully alert. Once he'd wiped off the water, he glanced down at his shirt. It was still the sleep shirt that he wore as pajamas, so he went ahead and opened up his menu to get changed.
Immediately after he unequipped the shirt, though, something in his senses pinged and Kirito reacted without thinking. In this death game, it was important to develop a sixth sense, of sorts; it wasn't officially a Skill registered by the game, but perhaps a sense of being watched. Kirito didn't know quite how to describe it, but it let him react just that crucial instant faster when mobs ambushed them. Those same senses that warned him something was watching had acted again.
When Kirito slammed the door to the bathroom open without warning, Argo was caught red-handed, holding a Recording Crystal up to the thin crack in the door. "Nya hah hah..." Argo laughed sheepishly as Kirito glowered down at her, cheeks burning with embarrassment that she'd been peeking in on him. At least he hadn't been taking a shower... "Whoops?"
Her peace offering was rejected out of hand, especially when she snatched the Recording Crystal away when he tried to grab for it. Argo took a step away, her high AGI stat keeping her prize out of Kirito's hands, and the two of them stared at each other, bodies tense and prepared to explode into motion at any instant.
...
"Get back here! Argo!"
"Can't catch me!" Cackling madly, Argo fled through the hallways. Kirito chased after her desperately, several times close to being able to catch the Rat but his prey slipping from his grasp at the last second every time. His attempts kept getting closer and closer, though, and Argo's eyes darted nervously. "H-Hey, Kii-boy, let's calm down and talk about this!"
"Give me the crystal and we'll talk!"
"No way!"
As the pair of them ran into the living room, Argo darted across the room and jumped, clearing the couch with a single leap. Kirito didn't expect her to do something like that, so he had to screech to a halt and run around the couch. It bought Argo just enough time to increase the lead by another few body lengths. "What's going on - Argo?! Kazuto?!" Asuna exclaimed as she came out of the kitchen. Something smelled delicious, Kirito noted absently.
Argo's eyes widened as she nearly crashed into Asuna. "Waah! A-chan, outta the way!" Before Argo could get her speed back up, though, Kirito closed the gap and lunged. Asuna managed to step away, gasping in surprise as the black-haired boy tackled Argo to the ground. The info broker didn't lose the fight immediately though, twisting and writhing to get away from Kirito. He nearly lost the battle when she kicked her legs in a way he wasn't expecting, nearly unseating him, but he managed to keep his balance and tighten his grip.
The scuffle finally ended when Kirito had Argo on her back, his hands pinning her wrists above her head. He straddled her body, keeping her in place as he leaned over, their foreheads nearly touching. Both players were red-faced and panting from the sudden exertion, trying to catch their breath. "Nya hah hah... Ya got me, Kii-boy," Argo managed to laugh.
"Argo," Kirito said, before pausing to catch his breath. "Hand it over."
Argo grimaced. "Yer not gonna let me up until I do, huh?"
"Nope."
"Fine," the info broker sighed. "Here... Eh?"
Kirito looked at her hands clearly for the first time. Since his focus had been on her face, he hadn't noticed until just now, but the hands that had been cradling the Recording Crystal like it had been the most valuable treasure in the world were empty. Kirito looked back down at Argo, but she seemed just as confused as he felt. She'd expected the crystal to be in her hands too, then, Kirito reasoned. She hadn't hidden it while he was chasing her. So then where was...
A quartet of gasps echoed abruptly. Another chill ran down Kirito's spine, and he slowly turned his head to the side. Sure enough, the Recording Crystal was in the hands of Leafa, and his little sister had opened it up to view the treasure trove of images. Hovering in the air, and the reason for the gasps, were images upon images of Kirito, taken in secrecy by Argo. Pictures of him eating, yawning, smiling and laughing with Asuna, training with Leafa, watching Lisbeth forge a sword for him, walking with Silica... Even a few selfies Argo had snuck in there without him noticing. The most recent image, and the one that had all four of the girls enraptured, was the image of Kirito from only a few minutes ago, shirtless in the bathroom with droplets of water in his hair.
Kirito abruptly realized, as the girls all turned to look at him, that he was still shirtless.
Leafa choked, slapping a hand over her nose. Asuna's hand dropped to cover Silica's eyes even as she turned her head away, the younger girl making an annoyed sound. Lisbeth, for her part, stared at the sight in front of them before abruptly spinning around. All four of them were blushing bright red.
Kirito felt his cheeks burn. He let go of Argo's wrists and buried his face in his hands. He can never get married now...
It wasn't until Argo patted his shoulder and smirked up at him that he realized he'd said the words out loud in a despair-filled moan. "It's okay, Kii-boy," she said in a kind, cheerful tone totally at odds with her teasing expression. "I'll still take ya!" Kirito didn't have any words to reply to that. He did, however, realize that Argo was now free; before he could pin her down again, she wriggled free with a squirm and shimmy and darted over to snatch up the Recording Crystal.
Silently, Kirito swiped open his menu and equipped a shirt before standing up. He... was pretty sure he heard one of the girls let out a quiet mewl of disappointment, but for the sake of his sanity he decided he didn't actually want to think about which one it could have been. "Argo," he said with a deceptively calm voice, "how much does it cost for you to destroy that Recording Crystal and any backups you've made?"
"A favor," Argo purred with a sly grin, after spending a second to pretend to think about what her price would be. Kirito wasn't fooled; he knew she'd decided the instant he opened his mouth. "Redeemable fer anythin' I want."
"Deal," he replied instantly. The info broker's smile widened into a smirk, but she obligingly handed over the crystal. Besides, how bad could her request be? He still had that favor she owed him from the first Floor, come to think of it. If she asked for anything too far over the line, he'd be able to counter the favor with that.
February 11th, 2023
Sachi gripped the haft of her spear as the Moonlit Black Cats stared at the entrance to the dungeon. There was something about the almost-stale air that made a shiver run down her spine, an ominous feeling making her uneasy. "Are you sure this is the place?" Ducker asked Keita.
Keita nodded, holding up the map they'd been following. "We followed the directions perfectly," he reminded the boy in yellow. "And this should be the dungeon that info broker talked about."
"Alright, Leader, if you're sure," Ducker said. Sachi couldn't help but notice that he was shifting his weight back and forth, drumming his fingers on the handle of his dagger. She'd known him for a few years by this point, and he would always fidget when he was uncertain... But like her, he was going to put his trust in Keita and the info broker that had sold them the information about the dungeon.
It was, supposedly, a great place for treasure and experience; according to the information, the enemies were easy-to-kill metallic golems and dark dwarves, and their drops sold for a lot of col. It would be a great way for them to get the col they needed to buy a guild house, one of the Moonlit Black Cats' biggest dreams. The Royal Blades had been a source of inspiration for them, and meeting the guild leader, Kirito the Prince, and Leafa the Emerald Knight on Christmas Eve had lit a fire under them. They were doing their best, of course, but things were still slow - until a hooded info broker approached Keita and Sasamaru while the two of them were out buying more potions. If the information was right, they could run this dungeon a bunch of times until they had leveled up a few times.
Sachi wasn't quite sure how much she trusted the nameless info broker, especially since Keita and Sasamaru couldn't say what his face looked like, but she hadn't wanted to spend the col to get Argo the Rat to confirm the rumor. It seemed that the dungeon was in the right place, so maybe the ominous feeling was just her nerves acting up. She took a deep breath and reminded herself of what Kirito had taught her at those public lessons on the first Floor, and what he'd told her when they met face to face in the Floor 12 forest.
'It's okay to be afraid. Nobody's fearless. Just make sure you don't let it paralyze you, okay? I'm sure you guys will really help out the front lines, so do your best, okay?'
After Keita confirmed that everyone was fully stocked up on potions, the Moonlit Black Cats delved into the dungeon. The overlapping metallic panels on the wall were a little strange, especially since they weren't a uniform size, but Sachi learned to let it wash off her back pretty quickly. After all, they were in a dungeon; if it weren't trying to kill them, it wasn't really all that important. Plus, the soft blue lighting was a little pretty, even.
And the monsters they fought were, like the info said, the metallic Stone Elementals and the squat Dark Dwarf Miners. The Stone Elementals were tall and thin, with crude rock-like bodies that looked like parts had been carved off at random; they didn't have faces, and they attacked with their long arms instead of using a weapon. The Dark Dwarf Miners were short and ugly, with long white beards and beady red eyes. They carried around pickaxes, and a few even had tiny lamps to use for light.
The Stone Elementals, though massive and capable of doing a lot of damage at once, were actually pretty easy for Sachi to deal with. She was still scared, yes, and used her spear to keep the mobs away from her and pierce the glowing cores acting as their joints. It limited the moves that the mob could unleash, as well as shutting off the most damaging and dangerous move, the ground smash that dealt damage in a close AoE around the body. Since the boys were all close-range fighters, the only ones that wouldn't get hit by that attack were Sachi and anyone that had backed off to heal. Of course, thanks to Sachi and her spear, that wasn't a problem at all, and the golems would fall with little problem.
On the other hand, the Dark Dwarf Miners were the most dangerous to her, with their small form and dangerous pickaxes. A lot of her Sword Skills would pass right over their heads, unfortunately, and trying to swipe at them one at a time didn't do enough damage to keep them away. Thankfully, the boys were on top of things, and after the first few clashes they learned to keep the Dwarf Miners at bay, acting as a guard for Sachi with their melee weapons.
"This is going pretty well," Tetsuo said as he blocked a Dark Dwarf Miner's pickaxe with his shield before smashing it into the ground with a heavy swing from his mace. "Guess that guy's info was right, Keita!"
Keita swung his sword at the Dark Dwarf Miner trying to get past him and attack Sachi, leaving a red slash. The mob let out an angry grunt and tried to attack him in revenge, but Ducker plunged his dagger into its side before it could do more than raise its weapon. "According to him, it's this easy the whole way down," Keita said once the mobs had been destroyed. "We're making good time, so we should be able to clear the dungeon today! Sachi, Sasamaru, you two okay?"
The spear-user and two-handed sword user both nodded. "We're good," Sasamaru said. "These enemies haven't been too hard."
"Onward!" Ducker cheered, pointing his dagger in a random direction.
Clearing out the rest of the first floor of the dungeon was pretty easy, and the Moonlit Black Cats were full of energy as they descended the stairs. The second floor didn't feel any different, and they started making their way through the dungeon. Tetsuo and Keita were starting to get sloppy as they entered rooms, but every single one of the square rooms were empty. Sachi wondered if it was supposed to be that way, or if another party had come through and beaten them to the punch. Regardless, they made good time as they explored, collecting treasure chests and mapping it out.
Abruptly, Ducker stopped by the wall. "Hey, check it out!" he said excitedly, pressing at the wall. "A secret room!" Little squares in the wall slid in under his touch before the entire wall shuddered and slid back, moving chunks at a time. "Whoa, no way! A treasure chest!"
Sachi peered over Sasamaru's shoulder as the Moonlit Black Cats all entered the secret room Ducker had discovered. It was totally empty aside from a single wooden treasure chest sitting innocently in the center of the room. Something seemed a little suspicious about the way it was just... there. Ducker didn't seem to share her misgivings, however, and the yellow-wearing thief knelt down to start fiddling with the chest. "Um... W-what if it's -"
"Got it!" Ducker cheered, popping the lid open. "Huh? Sachi? Were you saying something?"
Sachi shook her head. "I was going to ask if the chest was a trap... but I guess it wasn't, so..."
"Good thinking, Sachi," Keita told her warmly. "Ducker, you have to be careful, okay? What if it had been a trap, and summoned monsters or something?"
Ducker grinned. "Ah, it's fine, Leader, we could just use those Teleport Crystals we have saved for emergencies. Plus, check it out!" He reached into the chest and held up blue crystals, with silver filigree at the base. "More of 'em, just sitting right here!"
"That'll save us some money," Sasamaru said. "They're pretty expensive, so getting five for free is a good reward. Good find, Ducker."
"Haha, you know it! That's why I'm the treasure hunter!"
Sachi felt a small coil of worry in her stomach unwind. She had been worried for nothing after all... "Should we... finish the dungeon, then?" she suggested shyly. "We're not tired... right?"
Tetsuo grinned at her, smacking his armor playfully. "I'm good to go, Sachi. Don't worry, I'll make sure no monsters get near you!" Sachi smiled at him, glad her friend was concerned for her safety. Keita and Sasamaru jostled him, lightly ribbing him about his 'gallantry', while Ducker snooped around the room just in case there was a secret room attached to the secret room. He gave up when nothing else opened up and rejoined the party.
As they walked out of the treasure room, Ducker frowned. "Hey, does anyone else hear that...?" The Moonlit Black Cats fell silent, standing still and straining to hear. Sachi knew Ducker's Listening Skill was higher than the rest of theirs, so she wasn't surprised that he'd picked up a noise first. But what was he hearing...?
Krrrr krrrr krrrr
Sachi's eyes opened as she finally heard the sound of stone grinding against the floor of the dungeon. It was the sounds they'd been hearing on the first floor. "That's a Stone Elemental," Tetsuo said. "Guess the mobs finally showed up."
"Let's get them, you guys," Keita said, drawing his sword and shield. "We're gonna clear this dungeon today, and then celebrate with a huge dinner at the inn, okay?"
"Yeah!" Sasamaru, Ducker, and Tetsuo cheered, taking their usual formation. Sachi let out a little giggle at Keita's exuberance, and he glanced over his shoulder to grin at her.
The Stone Elemental approached slowly, the grinding sound becoming clearer and clearer before it finally appeared in front of them. With shouts, the boys lunged forward, springing into action; Sachi hesitated an instant before following after them, trying her best to ignore the fear that bloomed in her chest whenever they were about to enter combat. It's okay to be afraid, she reminded herself. Her spear thrust forward, smashing into the core of the Stone Elemental, exactly like all the others.
Instead of being stunned, the Stone Elemental kept moving, and Sachi realized it must be a higher level because they went down a floor. Still, it didn't seem to make a difference, because the mob still just raised a heavy arm and prepared to swat at the tanks in front of them. Tetsuo raised his shield, meeting the blow with a confident grin -
The heavy smash sent Tetsuo flying, slamming him into the wall almost effortlessly. "Tetsuo!" Keita shouted, head turning to follow where his friend had fallen to the floor. "Wait... This isn't a Stone Elemental! It's a Granite Elemental!"
"What!" Ducker exclaimed, before jumping away from another heavy swipe from the enemy. "Oh crap! Look at its cursor!"
Sure enough, when Sachi looked at the cursor hovering over the mob's head, it was a deep, sullen red color. This enemy was way out of their league. "We have to get out of here!" Sasamaru shouted, sheathing his spear across his back and helping Tetsuo to his feet. "Just run!"
The Moonlit Black Cats had learned their lesson about fighting enemies that were too tough. Without hesitation, they all turned tail and ran, not looking back at the Granite Elemental. Sure, it was a little embarrassing, but Sachi would rather lose the fight than lose her life. As they ran, trying to remember which turns were which - it really was a good thing that they'd been mapping out the dungeon the whole time, and that the Granite Elementals were really slow-moving - Ducker shouted, "Didn't that info broker say the whole dungeon was easy?!"
"Maybe it was that chest!" Tetsuo exclaimed.
"No way, it wasn't trapped!" he protested. "The info has to be wrong!"
Sachi was pretty sure Ducker was right. There hadn't been any sign of anything wrong, after all. They were in the gamer club in their middle school, so they knew that the game had to be fair; if it had triggered a trap, there would have been at least some sort of signal. So that meant that the enemies were just supposed to be this strong! The info broker was wrong, or lying, or something!
More heavy thuds and krrrr sounds echoed in front of them, and as the Black Cats rounded the corner into an intersection they were greeted by a wall of Granite Elementals. "Nope nope nope other way OTHER WAY!" Ducker yelped, and they all scrambled to turn around and head down the other path. It was extra-long, and had a lot of places more monsters could ambush them, but it did lead to the stairs up.
Their conversations died away as they started saving their breath for running. Sachi was already starting to feel winded, and knew she was slowing down. Keita glanced back over his shoulder at the party, and then stopped right outside one of the empty rooms they'd checked earlier. "In here, quick!" he hissed. The others didn't need to be told twice, they just darted inside. Keita was the last one in, and as he passed through the door slid closed behind him.
They collapsed, some of them sliding down to the floor leaning against the wall. Sachi just sat down on the floor, too tired to even care all that much. "Haah... Haah..." Sasamaru gasped. "You think we can... hide in here?"
"Maybe," Tetsuo replied as he panted, catching his breath. "I don't think... they use sight, though."
Her legs were burning. Why did they burn, this was a virtual world, her legs shouldn't be burning just because of a five-minute mad dash for safety. Sachi mentally called Akihiko Kayaba rude names in her head. Oh, she just really wanted to just leave this place and... "Um, guys?"
Keita looked over. "Yeah, Sachi?"
"Why don't we use those Teleport Crystals we found?"
The four of them stared at her silently, and she fidgeted a little bit. Eventually, they just started laughing sheepishly, faces a little red. "Because we all panicked and didn't think about it until you said something," Ducker said through his chuckles. "See, guys? This is why Sachi's the best."
"I-I'm not, I'm not..." she protested, waving her hands in front of her sheepishly. "I just thought of it first, that's all."
"Let's get out of here, and we can figure out why Sachi's the best later," Tetsuo said. Sachi just blushed in embarrassment.
Each of them pulled a Teleport Crystal out of their inventory and held it up, shouting out the name of the town their home base was in. Of course, it wasn't really a home base, just an inn they were using, but they were saving up! When the light faded from their sight, they were standing safely in the town. The dungeon was left far behind.
"We made it!" Ducker sighed. "It sucks we had to use the crystals, but better that than dying, right?" He folded his arms behind his head, but Sachi could tell he was still a little shaken from their close call. She'd know them for a few years, by this point; Sachi could pick things out like that.
"I think we need to have a chat with that information seller," Sasamaru said darkly. "Their bad info almost got us killed!"
"Let's have dinner first," Keita said, "and calm down a bit. Then we can figure out what to do from there."
After getting a late dinner from their inn, tempers cooled a little bit, and the boys agreed that maybe going and confronting the info broker might not be the best option, something that made Sachi sigh in relief. She didn't want to get in a fight... Though none of them could figure out exactly what they should do. It wasn't like they were a front-line guild or anything, so they didn't have any contacts they could talk to. How should they let someone know that - "Ah," Sachi breathed as she realized something.
"Sachi?" Tetsuo asked her.
"We can tell the Royal Blades!" She smiled and clenched her fists in front of her chest. "Argo the Rat is part of their guild, right? So she'll know what to do."
"Ahahaha!" Ducker laughed. "That's two for two on solving our problems, Sachi! Leader, watch out, we might just give her your job."
Sachi whirled on Keita in a panic and assured him that she didn't want his job, she was just trying to solve the problem, but their guild leader just laughed at the joke. "I'll get in touch with Kirito, let him know what happened," he said. "You guys, go sell off the vendor trash we picked up along the way."
The Moonlit Black Cats chorused an agreement and stood up to head out. After selling everything they didn't want or need, the four members of the guild made their way back to the inn. "We're back," Sasamaru called out as they entered the boys' room. "Keita, did you message the Royal Blades?"
"I did," the red-wearing boy replied. "He said that he wants us to come explain things in person. I was going to go as soon as you all got back, does anyone want to come?"
"I'll go," Sachi said, raising her hand. They all looked at her. "...If that's okay?" It would be nice to talk to some of the other girls, she thought privately. It was nice being with her friends, but she did miss having some real girl talk at times.
Keita smiled at her. "Sure, that works," he said.
"Eh, I'm tired anyway," Tetsuo said. "It'll be nice to get some rest before we go to that meeting, after that dungeon run. Have fun, you two."
Sasamaru waved as well, and Ducker gave the pair a grin before saying something under his breath. Sachi could only hear "...Leader..." Well, it probably wasn't important; he wasn't the type to just keep quiet about something big, after all, Sachi knew.
"Sachi? They're waiting for us on Floor 8," Keita said. "Ready to go?"
"Coming," Sachi called, hurrying to follow Keita.
"...And then we escaped using Teleport Crystals," Keita said. "We made it out, but there was no way the enemies on the second floor were on the same level as the first.
Argo sighed, folding her arms across her chest. This sucked, this sucked, this sucked! An info broker sold bad information, either on purpose or because they were too lazy to confirm it, and a guild nearly got killed because of it. "Thankies fer lettin' us know," she sighed, sliding some coins over to the two players from the Black Cats. Keita accepted them with a slightly confused look on his face. "We'll look into it an' figure out what's goin' on."
"I'm glad you're all okay," Kirito said. The two of them were meeting the Moonlit Black Cats at a nice coffee shop near their house, in order to hear about whatever had happened. Argo took a sip of her tea, before wrinkling her nose at it. Yeah, she liked this place's coffee better. Or maybe hot chocolate. Though basically anything Asuna made trumped this, come to think of it. "That must have been scary."
Argo glanced at Kirito, and then at the sympathetic way he'd placed a hand over Sachi's. "Hey, Kii-boy, no flirtin'," she muttered, nudging him with an elbow. "A-chan and Leafa won't be happy with ya."
Kirito flinched, tugging his hand away. Argo snickered at the blush on his cheeks. "I-I wasn't," he said hurriedly. Sachi giggled a little sheepishly. "Anyway," he coughed, "Keita, Sachi, like Argo said, thank you for telling us about this."
The two mid-liners nodded as they stood up and said their goodbyes before heading out. Once they were gone, Argo folded her arms and laid her head down on the table, groaning. "This sucks," she muttered. "Bad info, huh?"
Kirito sipped at his tea before wrinkling his nose. She knew she should have purchased the coffee, even Kirito didn't like the tea! "That's not good," he said.
"Understatement of th' century, Kii-boy. If news gets out..." Argo shrugged, a short abortive gesture. It felt weird, since she was sprawled out over the table. "We gotta get on top of this, y'know."
"I know you'll figure it out," he said, smiling warmly at her. Argo let out an unladylike snort before sitting up.
"Well, I can't right now," she said with a sigh. "Liz an' I got ta go recruitin'." Kirito's shoulders fell as she mentioned her next stop, and Argo rolled her eyes. "I know ya don't like it, but we need to get some more members. 'Specially with how much time the front lines are takin' these days."
"I know," Kirito sighed. "It's just... It feels like the Royal Blades should just be us, you know?"
Argo shrugged. "The circle will still be us. 'S not like we're headin' anywhere, Kii-boy, yer not that lucky."
"I'd never consider myself lucky if it meant being away from you, Argo."
Argo twitched, her smile going a little weak before she tugged her hood over her head. Seriously, did Kirito have to say things like that? Jeez... "See ya later, Kii-boy," she said, rising from her chair and making sure to keep her hood turned away from him. "Show up in a lil' bit, okay? The newbies will wanna see their pretty-boy guild leader, yeah?"
"Don't call me that," Kirito sighed as she pushed the door to the coffee shop open, the cheerful jingle of a bell heralding her exit.
"Nya hah hah!"
...
The coliseum in Tolbana. It almost felt a little weird for Argo to be back here; the last time she was standing in this place, she was watching the clearers prepare to go fight Illfang. Diavel was standing down there, at the center of the amphitheater, speaking to everyone; the players that would make up the ALS and DKB guilds' core members were sitting there, in the rows of bleachers; and Kirito, Asuna, and Leafa were sitting up near the top, separate from the rest. Argo herself had been standing in the shadows of the cracked pillar in her ratty brown hood, hiding just in case things went messy.
This time, though, the sparse bleachers were filled with players of all levels, since the Royal Blades had asked for anyone willing to show up. This time, Argo wasn't standing alone in the shadows; this time, she was sitting out in the open, perched on top of a cracked pillar. Lisbeth was standing by her side, surveying the players in front of them. Both girls were wearing their 'dress uniforms', the stylized black clothes with gold trim that everyone in the guild owned and used for public appearances where they needed to be recognized.
"Why am I here, again?" Lisbeth asked, fidgeting uneasily and tugging at the hem of her skirt. It looked good on her, Argo thought idly.
"'Cause yer pretty an' easy ta talk to," Argo answered flippantly. The hood of her black and gold cloak was comfortable, but she had it down for the time being.
Lisbeth let out a quiet huff. "Argo, seriously."
Argo glanced over at the blacksmith. Hm, she still wasn't used to seeing the blacksmith with her new pink hair. Apparently, Asuna and Lisbeth had discussed a new look, and the pink hair was part one. It looked cute, too~. It was a nice addition to their look. "I was," she replied. "Yer easy ta talk to, so all I need ya to do is mingle wit' the hopefuls. Yer a smart girl," she continued, patting Lisbeth on the shoulder a few times. "You'll be able ta tell which ones are here 'cause they wanna help."
"If you say so, Argo," Lisbeth replied dubiously. "I'll do my best."
"All we can ask for, Liz~."
Lisbeth's pink hair was pretty easy to track from where Argo perched on top of the pillar. The blacksmith moved and flowed through the crowd, pausing to chat every now and then. Argo smiled faintly as she watched. Still, a job was a job, and she couldn't just sit and do nothing the whole time, no matter how much fun it would be.
She was pretty good at people-watching, a skill she'd sorta developed through trial and error during her time as an info broker. Well, it was also probably something she'd started developing in school; who cared about the material, who only wanted to talk to their friends, who had a crush on whom... Here, though, it was far more useful in terms of gathering information she wanted to know. The group of players in good armor, off to the side, they were more interested in the appearance of belonging to RB than actually helping out. Even without Lisbeth talking to them, Argo mentally checked them off of her list.
And then there's the group hanging around the edge of the amphitheater, Argo noticed. They kept glancing back at the edge, like they really didn't want to be there, they were just there because they'd look bad if they didn't show up. Check went her little checklist, disregarding them in an instant. There were a few people in the crowd that Argo made special note of; if they decided to join the guild, she'd snag them for herself, since they'd go well in her little network of informants. Glancing to the left, at where Lisbeth was wandering through the crowd, Argo examined the -
"Aw, crap," she muttered, before swiping open her menu and sending off an emergency message. "Kii-boy, you better get here soon," she said to herself, typing it out. "...Also, bring Silica," she added in a separate message.
This could get a little bit messy, maybe. Argo clicked her tongue and hopped off her perch to wait for Kirito to show up. Ah, man... Why did all those kids from the orphanage have to show up?
Kirito wasn't quite sure what problem made Argo panic like she did, but the message she sent him was definitely less composed than usual. She hadn't even bothered with capitalization or punctuation, which was a surprise when he opened the message. Still, he fetched Silica and the two of them headed down to Tolbana. Once he reached the amphitheater, Argo appeared at his side. "Ya made good time, Kii-boy," she said, a distinct note of relief in her voice. "Over there, to the left? See where Liz is?"
"I see her," he said. It wasn't hard to pick her bright pink hair out of the crowd of largely normal colors. "What am I looking... for..."
Silica brightened up even as Kirito's expression fell. "Ah! It's a few of my friends from the orphanage!" she said with a huge smile before running off to greet the people she knew. Three boys and one girl, all Silica's age or probably younger, were sitting together on the bench, talking in a small group.
Kirito scratched his cheek and sighed. "Well, it could be worse," he said for lack of anything better to say.
"If ya say so," Argo shrugged before slipping around the boy's form. "Gonna go head out an' do some closer inspection of my own, so have fun dealin' with this, Kii-boy~."
Kirito gave the mousy girl a dry look before shaking his head. "That girl..." She'll never change, Kirito knew. While she disappeared into the crowd, slipping through them pretty effortlessly, he circled around the outside, doing his best to stay out of view as much as possible. He was going to speak to the recruits later, which was why they'd gathered in the amphitheater, but if they caught sight of him too early he was worried they'd start crowding. Fortunately, he was able to get to the four kids without much issue.
Naturally, they started beaming and smiling as soon as he stepped down to join them with an easygoing wave. "Hi Kirito!" Silica chirped as she finished greeting her friends, turning around to grin at him.
"Hey there," he said. "How's everyone doing? Keeping up with your practice?"
"Yes, sir!" the kids chorused. He nodded with approval. The practice was helpful in raising their Skill level, even if they were only training against the weak boars fields outside the starting town.
Now that the niceties were out of the way, though, he had to get serious. "Alright, it's good to see you all," he said, "but why are you here? And does Sasha know?" Sasha was the university student that had formed the orphanage, paying out of her own pocket to make sure they were able to eat three meals a day. While he hadn't met her personally, Kirito had heard from Argo that she genuinely wanted the kids to stay safe and healthy.
"We're here because we want to help you!" one girl said earnestly. "You've done so much for us already, so this is our way of paying you back!"
Kirito blinked, a little surprised, before he folded his arms. "You didn't answer the second question," he said. He grew up with his little sister, they'd have to be a little cleverer than that to sneak something like that by him. "Does Sasha know you're here?"
"Um..." One boy kicked the ground. "...Maybe?"
So... She had no idea, Kirito automatically translated. And was probably incredibly worried about the fact that what seemed like the entire orphanage had disappeared on her. Kirito hummed in thought. He didn't want to just flat-out deny the kids' good intentions, but at the same time he couldn't justify allowing them into the guild, even if the advertisement they'd put out in Argo's newspaper hadn't enforced any sort of level or skill requirement.
He glanced around and saw his savior before he ducked into the crowd and emerged a few seconds later, Lisbeth in tow. "Hey, Kirito, what's going on?" she asked, totally confused. Which was fair; he'd just spotted her, grabbed her arm, and told her, 'I need you.' Honestly, he was surprised she was even following him what with how little information he'd given her. "Th-this is a little fast, a-a-and what about Asuna, don't you..." She trailed off as he stopped in front of the children.
"Everyone, this is Lisbeth," he said. "She's the one who makes all our gear. But to do that, she needs materials like wood and ores. Things that we just don't have time to spend gathering, really."
Both Silica and Lisbeth looked at him, a little confusion showing on their face. He didn't let it phase him, of course, but he knew what he was saying was technically a lie. Every now and then, they'd spend a day farming mats if there was a good place nearby, and if they needed anything they had the funds to buy it. Still, this was the best way to discourage the kids. "If you do end up joining us, that'll be your job a lot of the time," he told the assembled kids. "We can't promise you'll be fighting much, unfortunately. It might not be exciting, but it's a very important job."
There. With that, Kirito thought, they would definitely give up - "Yeah!" "Okay!" "Anything to help out Kirito, right?" "Woo!"
Kirito stared at the cheering kids, speechless, and then turned to Lisbeth helplessly. "...They're your problem now," he said in a rush before hurrying away.
"Wha- Hey, Kirito!" the pink-haired blacksmith protested. "Don't just leave me here! You jerk!"
Well, they were her problem now. Kirito felt a little bad about ditching the kids with Lisbeth and Silica, but it meant he was able to sneak away. When he made it back up to the edge of the amphitheater, he took a seat on one of the horizontal pillars to watch the players mill around. The whole people-watching was more Argo's thing than his, but he did enjoy the chance to take in just how many people had been inspired to help out by some of his actions. More people that were in danger because of him, but this was why he held those courses, earlier in the game. By this point, he'd been forced to stop - mostly because of how much time the Front Lines were taking up - but that was okay, enough players had learned that there had only been the kids the last few sessions.
"There he is," he suddenly heard Keita's voice say, before the boy called out louder, "Hello again, Kirito."
Kirito blinked in surprise as he turned around to see the whole Moonlit Black Cats guild standing behind him. "Oh, hey, what's up?" he asked, standing up to face them. "Did you forget something about the info broker?"
Keita shook his head. "Actually, it's not that. See, we saw the notice in Argo's newspaper this morning, and we were talking about it. You're recruiting, right?"
Kirito scratched the back of his head. "Well, kinda. This is mostly Argo and Asuna's idea? They said we needed a few more players. Out of everyone here..." He scanned the crowd again. "We'll probably recruit a few of the higher-level players, just because we can't spend too much time training them. So... Why are you guys here? You're already in a guild."
Ducker folded his arms behind his head and chuckled, while Tetsuo laughed weakly. "About that," Keita began, shifting a little bit. "...Is it okay if we join your guild too?"
"Uh?" Kirito asked.
Sachi leaned forward, eyes pleading. "Please, Kirito?" she asked. "We're doing our best, but we're just... too small. We can't catch up. And if we join your guild, then we'll be able to help!"
Kirito studied the five players, before sighing and shaking his head. "I don't like it," he said, and winced as their expressions fell. "You're all friends, right? And you made your guild because you wanted to stick together."
"Th-that's right," Sasamaru replied.
"So I'd feel pretty bad if I made you split up, just to join the Royal Blades," Kirito said, scratching his cheek. "So instead, why don't we just enter an alliance? It's not formal, of course, but I'm sure everyone is willing to lend a -"
"We'll do it!" Keita exclaimed, grinning as he extended a hand. Kirito shook it, and Keita sighed with relief. "Hah... We were all prepared to split up the group, too, but I guess that wasn't necessary at all."
Kirito laughed. "I'm glad it all worked out," he said, before he glanced over to the side. Argo was standing by the main stage, waving to him. "I think we're going to wrap up the recruitment pretty soon. You can stick around if you want, but you don't have to."
After all, he was just going to give a speech thanking them all for their time, and letting them know that they'd make a final decision soon; and then, after that, answering any questions the players had. It wasn't anything that the Black Cats needed to worry about, since they weren't joining the guild in the official sense.
"I-If it's okay, I'd like to stay," Sachi said.
"Well, if Sachi's staying, then so am I," Ducker said.
Keita grinned. "We'll all stick around," he said.
With a wave, Kirito headed off to make his way down the steps and towards the stage, equipping his fancy coat as he went. Time to be a guild leader, he thought as the assembled players cheered.
...
It was long past nighttime when the last player had finally asked their questions and left the amphitheater. Kirito let out a heavy sigh and took a seat on the edge of the stage. "That was exhausting," he said to Argo and Lisbeth as they joined him.
Lisbeth rubbed his back sympathetically while Argo snickered. "At least you didn't have to talk to all of them individually," the blacksmith grumbled. "Thanks, Argo."
"Eh, ya did fine, Liz," the Rat replied airily. "An' it all worked out, didn' it?"
"...Maybe," Lisbeth grumbled.
Kirito looked up as someone approached the stage, and winced when he recognized Sasha. "Hi, Sasha," he said, waving a little bit. Argo and Lisbeth said goodbye, both girls yawning and rubbing at their eyes as they left.
The young woman smiled wearily at him as he stood up and stepped off of the stage to stop in front of her. "Hello, Kirito. Sorry it took so long to get here, but I didn't want to leave until the children had gone to sleep for the night."
"This is about the kids, isn't it? I swear, I had no idea they were coming," he said.
"I know," she said. She reached up and pulled off the glasses she wore, rubbing at them with the hem of her blue dress. Once she was satisfied, she put them back on. "But... you didn't turn them away, did you?"
"...No. But I promise you, I'm doing all I can to keep them out of danger," he told her. "They're working with Liz, gathering crafting materials from the low Floors."
Sasha looked at him, and then sighed. "They really look up to you, you know?" He nodded silently. "I guess that if it had to be anyone leading them, I'd want it to be you. Make sure they're safe," she told him.
"I will. I promise."
Sasha nodded again and turned to leave. Kirito yawned sleepily, rubbing at his eyes. He was exhausted... Giving a speech really took it out of him.
"Sasha," he called out. He blinked blearily but managed to keep himself from swaying back and forth.
"Yes?"
"Thank you," he said. "For understanding."
She smiled. It was a sad smile, but Kirito was just a bit too tired to understand why. "I just wish they didn't have to go out there," she told him. "They've been traumatized enough as it is. I want them to be able to just enjoy themselves, without risking their lives."
Kirito shook his head. "So do I," he sighed. "So do I." Still, he was pretty sure that they would have fun going out to the low-level areas, collecting materials. All the thrill of going out, without any of the real danger. Especially if he asked the Moonlit Black Cats to babysit for a few times.
He wasn't quite sure how long he sat there on that stage, but it was definitely past midnight before he snapped out of the half-doze he found himself in. Yawning widely, he staggered up the steps and made his way through the city, following a familiar path to the Teleport Gate in town. He called out the familiar name of their home city and suffered through the disorienting teleport before starting to make his way out of the main town and towards his home.
Kirito pushed the door open and stepped inside, closing it behind him. "...Home," he 'called' out in a voice that was barely a whisper. Nobody answered him, of course. Kirito was so exhausted that it didn't even register to him. Heedless of whether or not anyone could see, he swiped open his menu and stripped off his clothes, spending a half-second bare before his finger could equip his pajamas. Something about what he'd just done struck him as slightly dangerous and strange, but he couldn't figure out exactly what. Eyes feeling dangerously heavy, Kirito leaned slightly against the railing as he went up the stairs and stumbled his way to his room, taking the first door on the left.
He didn't even bother turning on the light as he got into bed, slipping under the sheets. As he laid his head down on the pillow, though, he dimly realized something was... different.
Why was his bed so warm? ...And why did it smell so sweet?
"Here, Kirito, try this!" Silica offered him a bite of her crepe.
Naturally, he accepted. "Mm, it's really good," he told her. The chocolate drizzle tasted great, especially combined with the banana.
Silica giggled. "And now I get to try a bite of yours! Strawberry, right?"
"Wait, Silica, don't -" Before he could jerk his own treat away, the young girl had leaned over and grabbed a bite of his. She blinked at him in confusion, before her face abruptly went bright red. Tears sprang to her eyes and she did a little dance in place, for some reason refusing to spit out the bite. "...It's not strawberry," he said. "It's just spicy."
"Mm! Mm! Mm!" Eventually, Silica managed to swallow the bite of his spicy crepe. He hadn't thought it was that spicy, but... Maybe she just wasn't used to spicy food.
The two of them were walking around on Floor 10; it had just opened up, so the Royal Blades were restocking their supplies. Leafa and Lisbeth had gone off to check the accessory shop in case there was anything good for their builds, and Asuna was out restocking potions while Argo sniffed about for quests and information. Naturally, that meant Kirito and Silica were wandering around when the young girl spotted a sweets shop and dragged Kirito over without hesitation.
It helped that even though it was early January, the tenth Floor was incredibly sunny. If the fourth Floor was a 'Water' Floor, then this was a 'Beach' Floor. As a result, it was warm enough that they could walk around and eat the crepes Silica insisted they buy without feeling cold at all.
"I tried to warn you," he said as Silica wiped at her eyes, sniffling.
"Why would you do that to sweets," the twin-tailed girl wailed. "That's so mean! Apologize to all the sweets in the world, Kirito!" Kirito just laughed and patted her head in apology.
February 12th, 2023
Kirito opened his eyes slowly, the dream vanishing as he woke up. He stared at the ceiling, blinking slowly. It seemed a little different... He tried to rub at his eyes to clear the sleep from them, but for some reason his left arm wouldn't move. Everything was just so comfortable around him, he nearly drifted back off to sleep...
...Until he realized that he had a pillow under his head, as well on either side of him, pressed up against his left and his right. That was definitely different. Plus, the air in the room smelled sweeter than it normally did. Almost like... it was a girls' room...
Almost dreading what he was about to see, Kirito looked to the right only to squarely meet an impish pair of brown eyes. "Mornin', Kii-boy," Argo chirped happily. Dressed in just her thin shirt and shorts that she wore to bed, at some point she'd slipped under his arm and snuggled up against his chest, sleeping on her side. She must have woken up before he had, Kirito realized, and been watching him as he slept. "Sleep well?"
"...Well enough," he said, trying to stay calm. As if not reacting would make this whole thing just another dream. His right arm was lying comfortably across her shoulder, as if holding her close was an unconscious act his body had performed in his sleep. "I think I got the wrong room."
"Or the right one," the Rat snickered, grinning up at him. Somehow, in the early morning, her expressions seemed almost innocent, instead of her usual smirking self. Maybe it was the lack of hood, he mused silently.
"No," he said, "definitely the wrong one."
"Aww..." Argo complained, pouting a little bit.
Kirito tried to sit up, pulling his right arm out from under Argo, but after barely managing to rise he was immediately forced back down. An irritated, sleepy mumble from his left echoed out, and Kirito felt a heavy weight grab onto his left arm, pinning it to the bed. He looked over, pretty sure he knew exactly what was going on, he still needed to make sure.
Sure enough, Lisbeth was fast asleep, all but wrapped around his left arm and keeping it trapped against her chest with a tight hug. She, unlike Argo, was wearing a nightgown that kept her modest, but only barely; other than a pair of straps that went over her shoulder, the ruffled pink dress started just at chest height. Her pink hair was messy but didn't fall over her face at all, and Kirito could see the peaceful smile on her face. As he watched, she let out a quiet giggle and nuzzled closer. A good dream, then, he realized.
Someone knocked lightly at the door before it was pushed open. "Argo," Asuna said, "have you seen Kazuto? He's not in his..."
The beautiful girl trailed off, and Kirito smiled weakly as she stared at the sight of the three of them. "...Good morning?" he offered.
"Asuna, did you find - aah!" Silica was at the door next, standing next to Asuna. Unlike Asuna's nearly thousand-yard stare, the young girl pouted in irritation. "Hey, that's not fair!"
What wasn't fair? Kirito wanted to shout. On the other hand, he didn't want to wake Lisbeth up.
"What's going on?" Leafa called. "Why are you all in front of Argo and Liz's room?" Eventually, his little sister joined the cluster in front of the girls' door. "Oh, Kazuto, there you are," she said. "You missed morning practice."
"Missed... Why aren't you upset!" Asuna exclaimed, whirling on her. "Kazuto just snuck into bed with Argo and Liz!"
Argo blinked. "Ah, she finally exploded," she muttered.
Leafa waved away Asuna's sudden shouting. "That's normal," she said.
"Normal?!" Asuna and Silica shouted. Lisbeth stirred, mumbling quietly.
"Yeah," Leafa nodded. "We slept in the same room all the time, but when Kazuto got older he moved to a different room. When Kazuto got sleepy because he stayed up late playing video games he'd go into my room all the time, on accident. Normally I was out of bed in the morning before he woke up, so it wasn't a big deal, but I guess Liz and Argo sleep in later."
"...I suppose," Asuna said, before turning to Silica and Leafa. "Breakfast will be ready soon, so go wash up," she told them.
"Okay~," the two younger girls chorused.
Asuna gave the trio in bed one last gimlet stare before turning and very deliberately not closing the door before she left. Wouldn't want the three of them to get ideas, after all. Kirito chuckled weakly, even as Argo snickered and hopped out of the bed. The info broker stretched indolently, raising her arm over her head and pulling at it. The motion made her shirt rise up, revealing a flat stomach -
Kirito immediately looked away, ignoring Argo's knowing laughter. Of course, that meant he was looking right at Lisbeth when the blacksmith finally let go of his arm and sat up, rubbing at her eyes. "Mmm..." she moaned. The blankets draped off of her shoulders rather fetchingly, a part of Kirito's mind that hadn't given up trying to make sense of things noted. "Oh... Good morning, Kirito..." Lisbeth smiled at him cutely, before she blinked a few more times. "K-K-K-Kirito?!" she yelped. "Wh-wh-wh-what are you doing in my bed?!"
Here we go again, Kirito couldn't help but think with a sigh.
Kirito's good at getting himself into awkward situations. Really, mostly because he does things on instinct, without thinking. But then again, it's also probably his strongest weapon when it comes to seducing girls. Argo kinda did bring this one on herself, though, since she really shouldn't have been peeping on her Kii-boy. Oh well, I doubt any of the girls minded the outcome~.
And as the main event, the Moonlit Black Cats. I chose to do something completely different for once: they're not going to die! Hooray! Instead, they just had to flee from a dungeon that was way too powerful for them. Bad info broker didn't check the info... but they didn't verify it themselves either, so I guess they're just lucky nothing bad happened. Then comes a recruiting mission where Kirito starts an alliance and also inducts children into his guild. I guess every royal needs a court.
And the 'whoops wrong bed' strat from Sister Overload comes back to make a return. Only in this case, it wasn't planned out by Sugu... She's just fine with it, since she's used to him getting into her bed when he's sleepy and makes mistakes. Argo definitely didn't mind the wake-up present, though Liz was a bit more bashful (Poor Asuna and Silica) despite accepting his presence at first. She must have been having a really good dream.
Many thanks to everyone that favorited, followed, or reviewed.
By the way. A few people have mentioned that it's a really weird coincidence how this story and Saint's SAO: The Eroge always update at the same time. Especially now that it's 7 times in a row. That's a really weird coincidence all right. Totally coincidental. (Basically, I was chatting with Saint about Eroge, and idly mentioned this story was in the works. I was then told that 'that deserves another chapter of Eroge'. In essence, it was a bloodpact - Eroge gets an update, and I posted the story. Lo and behold, the second chapter of Eroge appeared... So the bloodpact was sealed and the story was posted. At this point, it's more just a motivational challenge for me to get off my rear and actually write; I do my best to post my chapter of STaS whenever Saint posts a chapter of Eroge. Don't worry, I'm not holding the story hostage or anything like that, and it's just a little self-imposed challenge. Saint's a good sport about the whole thing, too.) I'm pretty sure my readers are a subset of Saint's, but if you haven't read his stuff, go do that right now. Much better than this dreck, at any rate.