Chapter 13
December 20th, 2023
"Hahaha!" Sachi laughed. Her bright laughter floated through the chilly air. "Really? Then what happened?"
Kirito chuckled. "Well, after we took out the Necromancer and The Failed Experiment, Leafa and I were able to finally take off the rings. Asuna said, 'How was I supposed to know they were cursed? Or that they were engagement rings?!'"
Sachi laughed again, giggling as she sipped at her tea. "It sounds like you had a lot of fun on that quest."
"We did, though Asuna might not agree with you," Kirito smiled as he picked up a small cookie. "So, how about you and the Black Cats, Sachi? I'm sorry we haven't been catching up as much as we used to..."
While the two players laughed and talked idly over cookies and tea, they were being watched from nearby cover. The cafe they were sitting in was outdoors, surrounded by bushes and trees, offering plenty of good hiding spots for any would-be observers to keep an eye out. Would-be observers such as, for example, the rest of the Royal Blades. All five girls were peeping on the 'date' between Kirito and Sachi, carefully hidden in the bushes; Asuna and Leafa crouched together, while Lisbeth and Silica hid in a different pair of bushes, Pina resting on her master's shoulder. Argo was... Asuna looked around, briefly, before mentally shrugging and turning back to the surprisingly cheerful meeting.
She hadn't thought Kirito had been interested in Sachi. He was always so focused on clearing Floors, except the few times that one of the Royal Blades managed to convince him to take a short break. It was all she could do sometimes to keep up with his drive, no matter how hard she tried. Sometimes Asuna even wondered if she was keeping up at all. But, now here he was, freely taking time off to meet with Sachi, of all people. And it had to be a date, Asuna figured. He wasn't wearing his new Blackwyrm Coat, the sleek black coat that he'd gotten Ashley to tailor for him, or that rare breastplate they found in a dungeon that fit across his right chest perfectly. Instead, he was wearing nice casual clothes that fit him well - and Asuna would know, she'd picked them out for him when he went to Ashley to pick up his coat!
Sachi was wearing pretty clothes as well, a cute blue tunic and some black leggings with a little cat pattern along the side. She looked adorable, but Asuna just couldn't figure out why her. Asuna had nothing against the girl, far from it! She sometimes saw the younger girl as a little sister of sorts, someone to take under her wing. Which reminded her, she thought idly, she really needed to get that girl into a dress... Maybe something sapphire blue...
No, focus, Asuna, she reminded herself as Sachi said something that made Kirito smile wryly into his teacup. They were here to see what exactly those two talked about while on their cafe dates.
If only the others would be as focused. "Eheheh..." Leafa giggled dreamily, one hand rubbing her left ring finger. "Me and Kazuto... engagement rings..." Asuna nudged the black-haired girl with her shoulder, trying to snap the girl out of her clearly pleasant daydream. She loved her dearly, and sometimes that meant making sure Leafa didn't drift off into her own little world. Leafa blinked, looking at her as her eyes refocused, and then went bright red. "Um. Right, sorry, I'm focusing..."
Lisbeth and Silica seemed alert, at least. Asuna scanned nearby, making sure her Hiding Skill was still active, and noticed a suspicious blurring near one of the bushes on the other side of the clearing. She stared at it intently, not letting the blurring distract her, and sure enough a form was revealed. Sasamaru blinked and looked her way in surprise, before rubbing at his eyes. "Asuna? What are you doing here?" he whispered, creeping to the bushes next to her.
"We're watching our guild leader," she whispered back. "Are you here alone?"
"No, the Black Cats are here to figure out what Sachi's been doing with Kirito. N-Not that we'd say anything if she chose him, but..."
It was so easy to see that every Black Cat had a crush on the sole female member of their party, Asuna thought. If anything, she was surprised Sachi hadn't figured it out on her own. Or maybe the girl did know? No, no way, Asuna thought. She's too nice to do that. Granted, she didn't talk to the girl much... Maybe that should change? They were starting to plan a Christmas dinner, so maybe everyone should be invited. The Black Cats were definitely part of the Royal Blades, no matter what their title was officially. Besides, they did so much for them by helping the young children gather materials and play around safely, so she wanted to do something nice for them.
"Do you know what they've been talking about?" Ducker whispered, leaning over Sasamaru to stare at Asuna. "She always seems so relaxed when she comes back, so we wanted to know what's going on."
Asuna shook her head. "This is the first time we've followed them ourselves," she told the Black Cats. "He seemed - ah!"
Her yelp had come because Kirito had leaned over and gently rested a hand on Sachi's; the black-haired girl smiled at him. Asuna's eyes opened wide as she stared, bristling; she knew Leafa would be bristling all the same even without looking at her, and she could see Silica and Lisbeth staring with their jaws dropped. All of the Moonlit Black Cats seemed poleaxed by the swift turn of events.
Wh-wh-when did they get so close?! Asuna stared, blushing bright red in embarrassment over their public display. Th-that wasn't possible!
With a quiet yelp followed by a thump, Argo toppled over and fell out of a tree, notebook and pencil still open in her hands as she laid on the ground next to Lisbeth and Silica. Asuna looked up at the tree she'd fallen out of before shaking her head. So that was where she'd been hiding...
"I think it's almost time to go," Kirito said, and Asuna snapped her attention back to the two of them. She felt herself tremble in more embarrassment at the sight of Kirito smiling happily at Sachi. "Do you want to meet the same time next week?"
Sachi smiled back. "That'd be nice. I really like this." What was this vague sense of defeat Asuna felt? And why did she feel jealous about it? Oh. Of course... It was because Sachi, as sweet as she was, wasn't one of the Royal Blades. It felt like an outsider had swooped in and snatched up the prize right in front of Asuna. That was why the fires of jealousy burned in Asuna's stomach, feeling like she'd taken a bite of one of Kirito's super-spicy sandwiches.
...
Of course, the girls made it back to the log cabin before Kirito, just so that he wouldn't know they'd been peeping on his date. Asuna went to the kitchen to make some cookies as comfort food, while the others scattered to various parts of the house; she knew Leafa went out to swing her katana, but wasn't quite sure where the other girls had gone.
As Asuna prepared the ingredients for the cookies, she couldn't help but keep thinking about Kirito and Sachi. How they'd seemed so at ease with each other, and how they'd already made plans to go on a d-date next week. And, and they'd keep dating, and may-maybe they'd go out in the real world, and even kiss, and ha-ha-have s-s-s-se-
With a quiet, embarrassed wail, Asuna dropped her cooking tools and crouched on the floor, pressing her palms to her flaming cheeks. No waaaaaay! she wailed in her head. No no no no no! She wasn't going to give up their Kirito, not in the slightest! She loved him too much for that to happen. Sachi was a nice girl, but there was absolutely zero way she was going to let her steal him and do this and that together after turning off the Ethics Code!
"...Asuna?"
Asuna, to her abject mortification, let out a squeak of surprise when Kirito spoke up. "K-Kazuto!" She stood up in a rush and smiled, but it was a little weak, and she could feel her lips twitching a little bit. "I didn't hear you come in."
"I just got back from talking with Sachi," he said, scratching his cheek. "But, uh... Were you and the other girls spying on us?"
"Um..." Asuna looked away, not meeting his eyes. "...What gave us away?"
"Argo falling out of a tree was very noticeable," he said easily. "But until then, I didn't know you were there. If you don't mind me asking, why were you there?"
"Curiosity," Asuna admitted. "We were wondering where you've been going every week."
"I didn't... Oh, right, I didn't tell you," Kirito said sheepishly. "Sorry, sorry, that's my bad. I just didn't think it was that important."
Asuna stared at him. "Wha- of course it's important, Kazuto! Something like that... It's a huge change for us..." She started off strong but trailed off and poked the tips of her fingers together at the end. "At least for me and Sugu..."
Kirito just blinked in surprise. "Oh, okay. Sorry to worry you, Asuna," he said. "It's just that Sachi and I have a few things in similar with our guilds, so we've just been talking about that. Like how I'm the only guy, and she's the only girl." He laughed. Meanwhile, Asuna reeled from the abrupt revelation that they weren't dating, that Kirito and Sachi weren't going to have se- that the Royal Blades wasn't going to lose their Kirito. "Did you know she has no idea all of the Black Cats have a crush on her?"
Asuna glanced up at him, eyes flat. "Yeah, I have no idea how someone could be that dense," she said.
"...Did I say something wrong?"
"Not at all," Asuna said. Her voice was a little frosty. After a second of enjoying her righteous indignation, she relented, though. It wasn't as if she'd ever said anything to him, after all, so how was he supposed to know... "Actually, I was thinking of inviting the Black Cats over for Christmas Day. Do you think that's a good idea?"
"Sure," Kirito said with a smile. "That'll be fun, having more friends over. But do you think we could have them over on Christmas Eve instead? I, um... I'd like to spend Christmas Day with all of you." He scratched his cheek, looking away.
Asuna, naturally, smiled at the admission. "Of course, Kazuto," she said, almost eagerly. "I'll go message them right away." She couldn't help but smile. He wanted to spend time with them and only them! And more importantly, he and Sachi weren't dating! Asuna could barely stop herself from giggling happily.
Naturally, she rushed over and tackled him like a long-haired missile. When he wrapped his arms around her in his usual response, Asuna sighed happily. "I love it when you touch me," she said. "It feels warm and makes me tingle."
"Uh, Asuna," Kirito said, "the way you said that... it sounds kinda sexual."
Her cheeks suddenly felt like they were on fire. "Wha-! N-No, I didn't mean it like that!"
Her beloved Kazuto... He'd given her everything, honestly. When she'd met him, she had been the good girl her parents - mother, really - had been molding her to be. Always be polite, always study hard and top the ranks of the school. Get good grades in high school, so she could get into a good college. Get into a good college so she could get a good job. There hadn't been any end goal in sight. But... But she had one now. She knew what she wanted to do with her life.
She wanted to spend it with him. With Kirito, the boy who'd freed her from her parent's chains and shown her how to choose her own path. Who'd shown her where real strength came from, and who'd shown her how to grasp her future with her own hands and the point of her rapier. In the end, she figured, it didn't matter where she lived or what her job was, so long as she was able to be with Kirito.
And that was her decision. It wasn't a marriage her mother had arranged for her, or a path that she'd been told she had to follow. It was her choice.
After enjoying the hug a little bit longer and nuzzling against him, Asuna stepped back. "I'll go message the Black Cats and let them know we're throwing a party!"
December 24th, 2023
"Thanks for coming along with me, Liz," Leafa said with a cheerful smile.
That innocent, pure happiness was definitely a sibling trait, Lisbeth thought, because her big brother would show the exact same smile from time to time. "Yeah, no prob," Lisbeth replied.
It was the last chance the two girls would have to go out and explore the game on their own; since it was Christmas Eve once again, the main circle of the Royal Blades was gearing up for a huge celebration. Lisbeth had even talked to a few of the people that worked with them, and helped organize a party for the other members as well, but the celebration for the inner group was special. And then the next day they'd be spending the day lazily, and all to themselves... Lisbeth kept catching herself looking forward to spending the day with Kirito.
Speaking of Kirito... "It's a shame Kirito can't come," Lisbeth sighed.
Leafa sighed as well, the exact same way. "Yeah... But Asuna said she needed Kazuto for help preparing for the party, so there's not much we can do about it."
"Ah, let her have her errand boy," Lisbeth grinned, and Leafa giggled. "And Argo already dragged Silica off for... uh, info broker stuff."
"I think she said she needed her for, um, 'lookin' cute an' throwin' the client off'," Leafa said, mimicking Argo's accent briefly. That's right, Lisbeth remembered, Argo mentioned idly that she was dealing with a really, irritatingly aggressive player that insisted on buying information. It made sense; she wasn't sure anyone could be rude and aggressive when Silica was standing next to them.
In the end, Leafa had chosen Lisbeth to go along with her to the floor while the black-haired girl searched for mats to upgrade her armor. She was the last of the main circle to get around to upgrading her equipment - mainly because she'd been the most recent upgrade before the recent cycle started, so she could afford to wait - but Leafa's leather armor and breastplate was starting to get a little weak for anyone's liking. So, she was going to collect materials for upgrading once she got it made.
It made sense to bring her along, Lisbeth thought. Since she was a blacksmith, she'd probably be able to help gather any of the ores needed, if the mats didn't come from regular mob drops. According to Argo, there were some good drops on Floor 55; it was a little bit behind the front lines, which was why the pink-haired blacksmith didn't mind going as just the duo. It was, however, a good thing they didn't have to go up in the mountains.
Just the thought of it made Lisbeth shiver, even though she was wearing a warm fluffy coat with a scarf wrapped around her neck. She breathed out, a puff of breath washing over her mittened hands, before wishing she was back home with a hot cup of Asuna's tea or hot chocolate. Up in front of her, Leafa seemed unaffected by the cold, and Lisbeth felt the stirrings of jealousy for the younger girl's ability to -
"Achoo!" Leafa sneezed, before sniffling. Suddenly, Lisbeth felt a little bit better. "Ugh, I'll be glad to finish the grinding and go home where it's warmer. We only need a few more drops, and get some more stuff from the mining point, right?"
"Right," Lisbeth said. "We should be able to get the drops on the way to the mining point, but if we don't I know a good spawn point."
"I'm glad you're here," Leafa said sincerely. Lisbeth grinned at the girl.
"Honestly, I'm surprised you're not waiting until later," Lisbeth teased Leafa. "At least, until Kirito's free so you can get his opinion."
"Wha- It's not like that!" Leafa exclaimed, blushing. "It's just I've always brought him along shopping, so it makes sense to ask him for advice, a-and he knows a lot about the game, and..."
Lisbeth just smirked knowingly. "Mm-hmm," she hummed. Ah, it was fun teasing the siblings. Still, she stopped teasing the poor girl about always wanting her big brother to be proud of her.
Instead, she focused on looking out for surprise attacks. The area was hilly and had a lot of places where mobs could hide and sneak up on them, so the two girls kept a close eye out on their surroundings, just in case. They probably didn't have anything to worry about, but it wasn't a good idea to let their guard down anyway. Because they were always looking around, Lisbeth noticed a player lying in wait. She rested a hand on Leafa's arm and gestured to their form, and Leafa nodded before the two of them carefully approached.
Once they got closer, Lisbeth relaxed a little bit. The bright blue scarf trailing down the player's back was one clue to their identity, but the real giveaway was the bow in her hands, drawn back and arrow nocked. Kirito had told the girls more about that girl that had joined them in the hot spring during the victory party from beating the Floor 50 boss, so she wasn't surprised by the Unique Skill she was showing off.
The two Royal Blades waited patiently as the girl barely breathed, all but motionless - and then she released the glowing arrow and it rocketed forward, smashing through a mob down the hill from them. As it shattered, the girl seemed to relax - only to tense up again when Leafa started clapping. "Oops, sorry," Leafa said when the archer nearly toppled over from the shock. "I didn't mean to scare you."
"You're... the Royal Blades," she said slowly.
Lisbeth grinned. "Yep! Glad you remember us. You're... Sorry, I didn't catch your name back at the hot spring."
The girl pushed her hood back, revealing the shorter black hair and glasses. Two white ribbons pulled her bangs into little pigtails that framed her face, keeping the hair out of her eyes. "Sinon," she said quietly.
"Nice to meet you, Sinon," Lisbeth said cheerfully. "...Hey, this might be a weird question, but do you want to party with us for a bit?" The girl blinked in surprise, her eyes wide behind her glasses. "I mean, it's cool if you want to be on your own, but the Floor can be kinda dangerous if you don't have someone watching your back. We'll only be here for a bit, to grind for drops, but if you want..."
She wasn't sure why Kirito had been so nice to the girl - sure, he was nice to everyone, but she was pretty sure he would draw the line at letting them in to share a hot spring with his guild members if they weren't special for some reason - but she didn't mind trying to make friends with her.
Sinon wrapped her arms around herself in something that was almost a hug. Lisbeth wondered if the girl was cold; she'd tugged her scarf up over her mouth already, but the rest of her equipment didn't seem all that warm. "I'm finished for today," she said after a second. "I've got everything I need for new gear. I just... grinded a bit to finish a level."
"Oh, okay," Lisbeth said. Something in the way Sinon was standing, or something she'd said, Lisbeth wasn't quite sure, told her that pressing further wouldn't be helpful. She wasn't quite sure why, but listening to that instinct had led to Lisbeth being part of the Royal Blades, so she decided it was pretty helpful. "Feel free to swing by Lisbeth's Smith Shop once you get the look down! I'll be more than willing to get you all armored up."
The sniper ducked her head and headed off, walking through the woods as she drew her hood up over her head. Leafa watched her leave, and then turned to Lisbeth. "Should we go after her or something?"
"Mmm... Nah, she'll be fine," Lisbeth said. "I think she was grinding in order to go after that flag boss tonight, maybe..." She shook her head. That was something they were going to worry about after the Christmas party. "Anyway! Let's hurry up and get those upgrade items so we can get back home where it's warm."
"Yeah," Leafa nodded quickly. "Brr... I can't feel my nose," she grumbled.
...
"Cheers!"
The Royal Blades and the Moonlit Black Cats all chorused together, clinking their glasses of juice together. Argo had suggested buying beer - 'It's not like ya actually get drunk!' - but Asuna had flatly denied the idea, restricting their drinks to just water, tea, and juice. Well, Lisbeth thought as she drank, it tasted good anyway.
It had taken a few hours, but the two allied guilds had finally got everything together just in time for dinner. Asuna and Kirito had, somehow, procured a whole feast for the group, and everyone was going to town with gusto. Asuna floated around from group to group like a good hostess, while Kirito seemed to mostly bounce between talking to the male Moonlit Black Cats - male because Sachi had immediately been snatched away by Argo and Leafa for girl talk - and whichever of the Royal Blades was vying for his attention at the time. N-Not that Lisbeth did that! She... just really needed his opinion on what she should upgrade her mace with next, that was all. Totally a relevant question, and not because she liked talking to him.
Jeez, she thought as she realized how her thoughts were spinning, she really was in love with the guy. It wasn't like it was a surprise or anything, but reminding herself of the fact brought another blush to her face that she tried to drown with more juice.
Eventually, Asuna had greeted everyone and rejoined the girl huddle. "Really? Sachi, that's so mean to them," Leafa giggled.
"I-It's not being mean," Sachi protested.
"Who's not being mean?" Asuna asked.
Lisbeth finished chuckling, and explained, "The Moonlit Black Cats bought a house, same as we did, but there's only two bedrooms. So the boys have to squeeze in the two beds there, since they gave Sachi one all to herself! Sachi said that Ducker's sleeping on the couch, and Tetsuo and Sasamaru are sharing one of the beds."
"Oh, Sachi," Asuna said with a giggle.
"I didn't ask them to give me the room all to myself!" Sachi exclaimed, blushing a little bit. "And I liked the house, but that didn't mean they had to buy it! Oh... I don't know how you all do it," she mumbled, hiding her face in her hands.
"Nya hah hah," Argo laughed. "That's 'cause we share in here, Sachi. An' prob'ly because we thought ahead and got a house with enough bedrooms."
"Ohhh..." Sachi wailed into her hands.
Asuna put her arms around the younger girl's shoulders and brought her into a hug. "There, there," she said soothingly. "It's okay. Actually, this might be good timing."
Sachi looked up at her. "What?"
"We're getting you into a dress tonight," Asuna declared. Sachi immediately started protesting, but Asuna would hear none of it, sweeping the younger girl into the kitchen. The others followed suit, Lisbeth poking her head over to where the boys were watching with confusion.
"Fashion emergency," she said. "Don't come looking for us until we come out."
"O-okay?" Keita said slowly. As Lisbeth headed back to the kitchen where the other girls were, she saw Kirito reach over and put his hand on Keita's shoulder in consolidation.
Eh, he needed more guy friends anyway, she didn't feel bad about ditching half of the people at the party.
Inside the kitchen, with a little curtain blocking the boys' view, Sachi was standing in front of the other girls as they all stood and studied her. "Hmm..." Asuna hummed to herself. "Definitely a dress, your legs are amazing. What do you think?"
Argo tilted her head, idly toying with her hair. "Maybe some heels? She's shorter than th' boys, so it'll help with that a lil' bit."
"I don't know how to walk in heels!" Sachi protested.
"Shh," Argo shushed her. "They'll be kitten heels, so not too tall, an' ya can learn quickly enough, A-chan an' I can give ya tips."
Argo wore heels? Lisbeth wasn't sure why that surprised her as much as it did. Maybe because she'd never seen the info broker wearing anything other than those comfortable boots of hers.
"But what color," Asuna mused.
"Mm, maybe somethin' light blue?"
"It'll work, but that's what she's always wearing, I was hoping for more of a wow factor."
Leafa, Silica, and Lisbeth just kept looking back and forth as Asuna and Argo went to town. The pink-haired blacksmith leaned over. "Do either of you have any idea what they're talking about?"
"Nope," Silica shook her head immediately.
"Me neither," Leafa said, eyes wide.
"Don't you go clothes-shopping with Asuna all the time, though?" Lisbeth asked her.
Leafa shrugged helplessly. "I'll be honest, I like wearing looser clothes," she said. "They're easier to move in. When it comes to the fancy stuff, I've got no idea... But I didn't realize Asuna knew so much."
Lisbeth nodded in understanding. "Yeah... I think we're just going to sit and watch for now."
Meanwhile, Sachi had been forced to open up her trade menu as Asuna and Argo started piling all sorts of clothes and cosmetic items inside. "I-I can't pay you back for all this!" the poor girl tried, in a vain attempt to make them stop.
Asuna immediately shook her head. "Don't you worry about a thing," she told the girl. "It's fine."
"O-Okay..."
Silica shook her head. "It's impossible to stop Asuna once she gets started," she said.
"Tell me about it," Lisbeth sighed. Okay, fine, so she liked her outfit now, but it was super embarrassing when Asuna had forced it on her! She briefly considered feeling sorry for Kirito, who'd been dragged into that maid outfit, but then she remembered how he looked in that maid outfit and didn't feel sorry in the slightest. Yep, Silica had been right - it really had suited him.
"I think that's enough for now," Asuna said to Argo. Lisbeth peeked over the info broker's screen at the trade list, and coughed in surprise. That... That was a lot of items. "Okay, Sachi, put these on and we'll see if there's anything to change."
"Okay," Sachi said, clearly giving up on stopping the two second-in-commands of the Royal Blades. She tapped her menu a few times, and then her clothes shifted with a flash of light.
When it cleared, Lisbeth let out a whistle. "Wow, you look great, girl!" she said, smiling at the clearly-nervous girl. Silica clapped and gasped in awe.
"See? Me an' A-chan know what we're talkin' about," Argo said with satisfaction.
"Was it this mouth that was surprised I knew what I was talking about? Was it?"
"Ah-una," Leafa whined as Asuna tugged on her cheeks playfully, stretching them out. "Stoh ih! Ah'm sowwy!"
Sachi rocked back and forth awkwardly as she tried to keep her balance on the light-blue heeled sandals that gave her a little bit extra of height, showing off her legs amazingly. The dress Asuna and Argo had chosen started out deep midnight blue at the top, wrapping around her left shoulder while leaving the right bare, and very slightly got lighter as it reached her knees, sparkling like it was studded with stars at the hem. A blue rose rested on the fabric on Sachi's left shoulder, matching the ones on the straps of her sandals, while a light-blue ribbon wrapped around her upper right arm with a rose decorating it as well.
All in all, Lisbeth thought, she looked really good. Sachi blushed as she noticed the girls studying her. "Wh-what? Do I look silly?" she asked weakly.
"Definitely not," Asuna said firmly. "Here, take a look." She drew Sachi over to the bathroom and showed her the full-length mirror hanging on the wall. "See?" she asked as Sachi stared in amazement. "Beautiful."
"I..." Sachi gasped. "Oh wow."
"Yer gonna knock 'em dead, Sachi," Argo said with a grin. "Now, we gonna go show the boys?"
Asuna smiled. "Of course we are."
"W-wait, I still can't walk in these!"
"Ah, it's easy, all ya gotta do is walk heel ta toe, an' it should follow naturally. Jus' don't rush, an' they won't notice a thing even if ya wobble a lil' bit."
Lisbeth grinned and took Leafa and Silica with her, letting Asuna and Argo escort Sachi back down the hallway. "Hey guys," Lisbeth called as they entered the living room, catching the attention of the boys. "Dun dundun da! Take a look!"
It was hilarious the way the eyes of every single Moonlit Black Cat widened at the sight of Sachi entering the room. "S-Sachi?!" Keita yelped.
"You look great!" Ducker exclaimed, giving the blushing girl a thumbs up.
"See? Told you they'd love it," Asuna said.
Kirito just sighed. "Asuna, did you make Sachi dress up?" Asuna puffed her cheeks out at him, but everyone in the Royal Blades knew that she'd enjoyed indulging in her love of dressing people up.
The party resumed, this time with the clusters switched up a little bit. Sachi was the focus of the Moonlit Black Cats, while Kirito moved back over to be with his own guild. That wasn't to say they didn't chat, just that the majority of the boys' attention was on their beautiful teammate.
After another hour or two of munching away steadily at the finger food, Lisbeth finally felt full and took a seat on the couch, sitting next to the sleeping Pina. The little dragon's flank rose and fell, heedless of the merriment going on around her. "Hey, Pina," Lisbeth said, gently petting the little dragon. She opened one eye and then yawned, showing off her needle-like teeth and pink tongue before rolling over indolently and giving her access to scratch her stomach. "Yes, you're cute," she said in the tone of voice everyone uses when talking to a baby or a particularly adorable pet.
Before too long, the Moonlit Black Cats said their goodbyes and left - though Asuna and Argo had to make Sachi stop trying to give back the fancy clothes - the Royal Blades sat down in the living room. "Hope ya aren't too full, ladies," Argo said with a grin. "'Cause we've still got work ta do."
"You're talking about the event boss," Asuna said. "Instead of those cute rabbits, it's..."
"Yep." Argo popped the P sound. "Nicholas the Renegade. Santa's gone rogue, I guess. Now, I've been gatherin' information on where he'll pop up, but it's not much - just that he'll spawn under a fir tree somewhere."
"You give info brokers a bad name," Kirito said drily.
Argo pouted at him. "Hey, 's not like this was in the beta, y'know. It's a firs'-time event."
Asuna smiled at their byplay before leaning forward. "The major guilds are looking for the spawn point even as we speak, but none of them have been able to find it yet. Kazuto... do you have an idea?"
Kirito looked at all of them, and then smiled. "I think I do."
...
Snow crunched under all their feet as they walked through the snowy forest, following Kirito as he read from his map. "Stupid cold," Lisbeth muttered. She'd been so happy to be able to get warm, and now here she was, back out in the cold. It was kinda like how she was two years older than Leafa, but they'd developed so differently. Life just wasn't fair.
Silica gave her a commiserating look, but the young girl had heavy armor to keep her warm, plus a living scarf. The three players up front, Kirito, Asuna, and Argo, didn't seem to notice the cold at all, of course.
The 35th Floor wasn't one Lisbeth was all that familiar with, honestly, and the dungeon they were in was particularly frustrating to navigate. The Forest of Wandering was a random-teleport dungeon, and every minute the dungeon would warp players to a random square. Fortunately, after buying an expensive map from the nearby town, they were able to sorta navigate through the dungeon by following a correct path. In this case, Kirito was ignoring the mobs that spawned - like a weird ape creature with a club shaped like a gourd, whatever the heck that thing was - and heading for one square in particular in the corner of the Forest.
It took them about twenty minutes, but eventually the guild was able to make it through the maze and stood, looking up at a huge fir tree in the next area. This was definitely a special zone, Lisbeth thought; they'd been standing around in the snow for over a minute by this point, and they hadn't been warped away. As for why they stopped...
"Kazuto?" Asuna asked as Kirito looked around, hand on his sword. "Is something wrong?"
"...Someone's here," Kirito declared. His eyes were searching, but he didn't seem too worried. Why would he be? Lisbeth asked herself. After all, they were all there with him. As long as they stuck together and didn't let anything separate them, there wasn't anything the Royal Blades couldn't handle.
Argo casually reached down to her hip, where her wicked claws hung innocently. She was the weakest of all the Royal Blades, but Lisbeth wasn't fooled, she'd seen the info broker tear through mobs with ease. "Ya noticed 'em too, Kii-boy?"
"Them?" Kirito started to ask, when the noise of players teleporting in attracted all of their attention.
Lisbeth turned around to see a group of players, all dressed in green equipment very similar to each other, standing behind them in a loose ring as they were warped in by the system. She clicked her tongue in irritation. The Army... More accurately the Aincrad Liberation Force, it was the guild that had formed when the remnants of Kibaou's shattered guild (Aincrad Liberation Squad) merged with the MMO Today guild on the first Floor. The nickname Army came from their armored uniforms - the same green equipment that each of the seven players surrounding them was wearing.
Silica looked at Kirito curiously. "What's the Army doing here?" she asked. "Did you invite them, Kirito?"
"No, I doubt it," Asuna said, watching the players smirk and laugh. Like the rest of the Royal Blades, her hand rested on her rapier hilt, but she hadn't drawn her weapon. "You're from the Army, right?" she called. "Can we help you?"
The player in front stepped forward. "Yeah, you can," he said. Lisbeth winced at the high-pitched whine in his voice. She knew he didn't mean it, but Lisbeth couldn't help but hear a petulant complaint in every word. "This rare item's gonna put the Army back on the map! That guy told us it was powerful... Of course the Royal Blades want it for themselves," he sneered.
"Joe, right?" Kirito asked. Well, his voice was distinctive, Lisbeth figured, so it wasn't a surprise he knew his name. "I'm not sure what you've heard, but this item won't -"
"Shut up, you idiot!" Joe screeched. Asuna's eyes went flat, and Leafa visibly bristled. "You just want to keep it all to yourself! That's what he said!"
"Hey, hey, howsabout we all jus' calm down," Argo said. Still, her eyes were narrowed, and if she had a tail it would be lashing back and forth. "So, Joe, I'm thinkin' ya might have been misinformed a bit. Mind tellin' me yer source? I'll pay ya well. C'mon, whaddaya say?" she asked.
Joe drew his sword, the ring of steel echoed by the rest of the Army players, and Lisbeth hefted her hammer in return. On Silica's shoulder, Pina flared her wings and hissed at the Army players. "You just want all the power! That's all you've been after, all you've ever been after! I knew you were just greedy beaters! Well, I'm going to make you get out of my way!"
"Hey." Argo's voice wasn't quite so easygoing this time, her words holding a sharp bite to them that somehow reminded Lisbeth of a cat's fangs. "There's no need fer this ta turn violent. Jus' put away yer swords an' we can still work this out."
For a second, it seemed like the Army players would listen to her. The rank and file players behind Joe didn't seem all that interested in fighting the top guild, with the way they shifted awkwardly and glanced at each other. Unfortunately, Joe ruined that by letting out a screech he probably thought was intimidating and charged forward, raising his sword over his head and swinging directly at Kirito.
The blade slammed into Silica's shield as the younger girl put herself between Kirito and Joe, and bounced off without so much as making her twin-tails shake. Lisbeth stared as Joe sprawled out on the ground, yelping and clutching at his hand. How the heck did they make it up here if they're that weak? Lisbeth wondered. Silica blinked in surprise and looked at her shield before looking back at Joe. "I-I'm not afraid!" Joe shouted, grabbing his sword and holding it in both hands this time.
"Oi! The hell do ya think yer doin', ya idiot!"
Joe froze. The Royal Blades all shifted awkwardly in surprise as a familiar player stormed forward. Kibaou grabbed Joe by the back of the head. "S-Sir!" Joe whined. "I was just going to -"
"Ya were just gonna attack Kirito and the Royal Blades, right?" Kibaou asked him. "Yer lucky that samurai wannabe grabbed me and told me a few of my men were doing something stupid, or ya might not be so lucky! Now 'pologize!" The spiky-haired man pressed on the back of Joe's head, forcing the man into a bow.
The 'samurai wannabe' walked over to where the Royal Blades were standing, and Argo sighed in relief. "Thankies fer handlin' that, Klein," she said. "Glad ya were readin' yer messages."
"No prob!" Klein gave her a thumbs up. "If there's any way I can help you guys out, just let me know."
Kirito smiled. "Thanks, Klein. You're a good friend."
"Heh, don't you forget it!" Klein laughed before adopting a pleading look. "And if you ever wanna repay your good buddy, maybe consider teaching me your ways! Please, Master!"
The girls laughed weakly, while Kirito shook his head with a sigh, burying his head in his hands. "Just... get outta here, Klein," Kirito said.
"Sure, sure, keep your secrets to yourself. Don't worry about it," Klein said. He left with a cheerful wave, following Kibaou and the rest of the Army members as the spiky-haired man hustled Joe away. The Royal Blades just... watched them leave, silent.
Eventually, Leafa was the first one to break the ice. "That was weird."
"Yep," Silica nodded.
Kirito turned to Argo. "How did Klein know where we were? And what did Kibaou mean by Klein letting him know what was going on?"
"I told 'im soon as Joe an' his gang started followin' us," she said. When Kirito stared at her, she shrugged shamelessly. "What, he wants ta help us out, an' I figured this'd be a better way ta deal with that idiot 'stead 'a fightin'."
Kirito looked at her, and then reached out to rest a hand on her head. Argo grinned slyly before she closed her eyes and leaned into the praise, all but purring happily. "Thanks, Argo."
"Anytime, Kii-boy~. Jus' remember ta praise me~."
He pulled his hand away after a little bit - which was way too long for Lisbeth's liking, and she was pretty sure the others felt the same way - and folded his arms. "Though... I don't think they were the only ones following us." He hummed under his breath and looked around before nodding once.
Lisbeth and the others watched as, without explaining, Kirito walked over to a seemingly featureless tree. Silica opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again without a word. He looked up at the tree, shifted to the right, and then punched the tree firmly. It shook for a second, shedding snow on the ground. Then, abruptly, there was a loud feminine yelp and a player tumbled from the trees. Kirito spread his arms and she landed in a picture-perfect princess carry. Her hood fell back and Lisbeth gasped as Sinon stared up at Kirito. "Hi there," he said.
"Wha- Hey, put me down!" she complained. She squirmed in his grasp, and Kirito visibly shrugged before dropping her. Sinon yelped again, louder than before, as her butt hit the snow piled at the base of the tree. "Ow... Hey, what was that for?"
"You asked me to put you down, so I did," Kirito said. Lisbeth snickered at his bland delivery and Sinon's brief scowl.
She stood up and brushed herself off. The equipment she was wearing wasn't different from what she'd been wearing earlier that day, and Lisbeth frowned. Hadn't she said she wanted to start wearing new armor? "I didn't mean for you to drop me," Sinon grumbled.
"So, why were you following us?" Kirito asked. "You could have just asked to join, we have an empty slot in the party."
Sinon looked away. "I didn't want to intrude," she said. Her left hand crept over to grip her right arm as she hugged herself.
"Hey, we said you were welcome to join us," Lisbeth said. Sinon looked at her, eyes a little wary. "Wait... You weren't trying to solo the boss, were you?"
"Don't be silly, Liz," Asuna said. "Not even Kazuto's that silly. Right?" She looked at Kirito for confirmation. The boy hesitated. "Right?" she asked again.
"Well, maybe if I had a good reason, and I level-grinded a bunch ahead of time..." Kirito whispered under his breath.
"Eh?" Asuna asked. "Why do I feel like you just said something totally ridiculous?"
Kirito's eyes darted away from her. "I-I didn't say anything!" Asuna studied him thoughtfully, clearly not totally buying his denial, but didn't pry. "Anyway." Kirito coughed once and then looked back to Sinon. "What do you say, Sinon? Wanna work with us for now?"
Sinon looked at him, stealing a glance from the side, before sighing heavily. "Alright," she said. Kirito smiled victoriously and sent the party invite; Sinon stared at the panel for what Lisbeth felt was a little bit too long before she sighed again and pressed the Accept button. Her health bar appeared under the rest of theirs, and Lisbeth couldn't help but glance at the empty marker where they all had the guild marker. After that, though, she looked at the level indicator, and stopped herself from letting out a surprised whistle. Sinon was just a few levels below the Royal Blades' average, and she was a solo player. That was really, really impressive, Lisbeth thought.
Sinon stood near them but a little bit away, and there was something a little weird about the way she kept stealing glances at the group of six. What was weirder was that Kirito kept looking at Sinon out of the corner of his eye. "Hey, Kirito?" Lisbeth asked.
"Huh?" He shook himself in surprise and looked at her. "What is it, Liz?"
She glanced at Sinon, and then lowered her voice a little bit, leaning closer. "So, um, you don't have to answer this if you don't want, but... Is there a reason you keep looking at her?" Privately, she hoped he wouldn't say something weird like he thought she was cute. Sinon was, Lisbeth wouldn't deny that, but she didn't want to hear Kirito say it. She wasn't sure her heart could take that kind of disappointment -
"Actually, she feels familiar..." Kirito scratched the back of his head. "I think I met her a while back, before November, but it's fuzzy. I've been trying to remember, but I'm coming up blank. I think she might have been at one of those training camps I ran back at the beginning of the game."
"Oh, okay." Lisbeth hoped that her relief didn't bleed through into her voice. "Just curious."
They all ran through one last check before heading through the nearly invisible transition between this zone and the one that housed the huge fir tree that loomed over their heads. Lisbeth glanced at the time hovering in the corner of her vision: almost midnight. "Hey... Maybe I missed something," Silica said, "but... what's the boss's drop, anyway?"
"Eh?" Argo asked. She blinked at the younger girl, as if in disbelief that one of her party members could be so ill-informed. "That's -" She cut off her words when Kirito cleared his throat. "I was gonna say, 'That's an easy question', Kii-boy, so bleh." She stuck her tongue out and pulled at her eyelid.
"Uh huh." Kirito just folded his arms.
"I was," Argo whined before she shook her head. "Anyway, the item is a one-use item. S'posedly, ya can use it ta revive a player."
Leafa let out a gasp of shock. "Revive someone!?"
Argo glanced at the younger girl. "Dunno how reliable the rumors are," she admitted, "but if there's even the slightest chance, we gotta check, right?"
"Right," Asuna said.
Lisbeth grinned at the determination in that one firm word, but glanced sidelong at Sinon. She trusted the girl, but still wondered why she was trying so hard to kill the boss and earn the revival item. Almost immediately, she realized the most obvious answer, and her stomach sunk a little bit. Oh...
"Well!" She clapped her hands to distract herself and hopefully everyone else that made the connection. "Let's hurry up and beat up Santa already, my hands are getting cold."
Silica and Leafa laughed brightly, and the stillness of the night was broken as they walked through the barrier leading to the next zone. It warped them to a smaller zone where the massive tree stood in the center of a snow-filled glade, glowing with a strange blue light that illuminated the area. It was a circular area, and that was enough of a clue that it was a special arena designed for the flag boss. "Stay sharp," Kirito said to the girls as he unsheathed his blades.
They spread out cautiously, keeping an eye out for the boss. The Royal Blades split into pairs unconsciously, splitting the tanks and DPS; Lisbeth only grumbled under her breath for a second when she wasn't able to get with Kirito, but Asuna simply shook her head as she stood next to the pink-haired girl. Leafa, on the other hand, was grinning like she'd won the lottery. And, as Lisbeth watched the Kirigaya siblings stand next to each other, she wondered if the little sister hadn't won something... Ah, she was probably just overthinking things. They were brother and sister, after all.
The clock tower bell rang, signaling the moment it changed from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day, and Argo jumped in her skin a little bit before grinning sheepishly. From nowhere, the sound of sleigh bells ringing echoed through the air, and Lisbeth gripped her hammer a little bit tighter. She scanned the sky, and her eyes were immediately caught by two trails of white light, high above them. The sleigh trails - because what else could they be? - crossed over them, and Kirito inhaled sharply just before a shape plunged towards them.
Lisbeth had just enough time to register the flapping red coat before the shape smashed into the ground at the base of the tree, snow flying everywhere in a curtain of white. When the blast of wind and snow died down, she looked up and gasped at the sight in front of her. It was what could only be described as a twisted Santa Claus, standing way too tall for its thin, gangly limbs. Its skin was blue and its wildly matted hair looked almost like straw, the way the waist-length beard stuck out in wild directions. Creepiest of all was the way its red eyes pointed in different directions. It twitched and creaked as it moved, sounding like wood timbers cracking, and Lisbeth shuddered.
Nicholas the Renegade's four HP bars filled up, and its red eyes glowed. "Let's do this!" Kirito shouted.
The boss raised the massive one-handed axe over its head and howled a roar of challenge. The Royal Blades and Sinon answered the call with shouts of their own as they all rushed forward.
Leafa panted, holding her katana in front of her while she caught her breath. When she was able to breathe steadily - it didn't take too long, she was proud of that little fact - she straightened up and sheathed the blade back on her hip. That fight had gone really well! With seven of them, and as high as their levels were, the boss hadn't stood a chance at all! "Yeah!" she cheered, pumping her fist in the air. "We did it!"
"Good job!" Lisbeth said. She raised her hand for a high-five and Leafa didn't hesitate, slapping her palm against the pink-haired blacksmith's. It echoed with a crack in the night, only muffled by the falling snow.
"...Who got the drop?" Sinon asked quietly, her bow already hanging off of her back.
"I did," Silica said. "Um, here, Kirito." She opened her menu and pulled out the drop, and Leafa stared at the blue sphere. It was set in a golden filigree, and it fit perfectly even in Silica's hand.
Kirito accepted the rare item and tapped it to bring up the description. "The item can be activated on the player's shortcut menu or by holding the materialized item and uttering 'Revive ... [Player's Name]'. The effect will only work during the time frame between the death of the player and the disappearance of item's effect light, which is approximately ten seconds."
"No... Ten seconds...?"
The quiet whisper, surprising Leafa, came from Sinon. When Leafa turned to look at the archer, she'd gone incredibly pale. Leafa wasn't stupid, she'd figured out why Sinon had been trying to fight the boss, even to the point of soloing it. She was also pretty sure that the others had put two and two together, so it wasn't surprising when Lisbeth stepped forward. The blacksmith always was the best at talking to other people... "Hey, um... Are you okay?"
Sinon's mouth worked silently, her eyes laser-focused on the item glimmering in Kirito's hand. When she found her voice, it was to say, "I'm fine." Just that; just those two words. Somehow, Leafa didn't believe her - but Lisbeth chose to simply nod and step back. There was something cold and distant in Sinon's eyes, a look that Leafa didn't like seeing.
Judging by the way her big brother's mouth thinned a little bit, he didn't like it either. Still, he simply nodded and said, "Do you want the... Divine Stone of Returning Soul?"
"That's a mouthful," Argo muttered under her breath. Asuna jabbed her in the ribs with an elbow, hissing at her to read the mood.
"No... You can keep it," Sinon said. "Thanks for letting me join your party." She tugged her scarf up over her mouth and nose to protect them from the cold and turned away.
She got a few steps away before Kirito stepped forward. "Sinon," he called out. The girl stopped and looked over her shoulder, turning a little bit. "Hey... If you want, the Royal Blades is always accepting new members."
Leafa stared at Kirito in surprise. He was never one of the people interested with recruiting new members; he always left that to Argo or Lisbeth and simply gave a speech or two when they asked him. Heck, even when they'd formed the guild he'd simply accepted when the girls told him he was going to be the guild leader. But here he was, offering membership to this girl that they'd only met a few times. Did... he know her from somewhere?
Sinon's eyes were wary, and she didn't answer for a few seconds. The snow fell softly between the Royal Blades and the archer, and then she turned around. "...No thanks," she said.
Kirito just smiled. "The offer's open at any time," he said. Sinon just turned and walked away, the glow of teleportation enveloping her as she disappeared from the field.
"Hey, Kii-boy, what was that all about?" Argo asked, poking the boy in the side. "Ya kept starin' at her, an' then ya asked her ta join the guild?"
"Yeah." Asuna folded her arms. "That's a little suspicious. Staaaaaaaare..." She leveled her most powerful Stare at Kirito, and he blanched. That decided it, Leafa told herself, she was going to ask Asuna to teach her how to do that. Maybe it could be her Christmas present.
He managed to weather Asuna's stare for a few seconds, but Kirito eventually folded and said, "It's nothing, really. I was just impressed by the way she fought, that's all..."
That was true. Sinon's arrows had been incredibly precise all fight, even with six other players moving around. Leafa had lost count of the number of times she'd seen a flash of light over her shoulder or streaking past her head, but the arrows never came close to hitting her. With someone like that in the guild, they would be able to handle pretty much anything.
"Oh well," Kirito said. "She turned me down." He turned and smiled at the girls, and Leafa smiled back happily, her expression mirrored by the others. "Wanna go home?"
"Mmm, yeah." Lisbeth raised both arms in the air to stretch. Leafa did the same to work out a kink in her spine, and for some reason the blacksmith scowled for a second. "It's kinda late, huh?"
"Past your bedtime," Silica said, giggling.
"Wha- Hey, you're younger than me!"
"It's past both your bedtimes," Asuna said. This time, both Lisbeth and Silica complained. Leafa giggled, then wondered something - wasn't Lisbeth the same age as Asuna? She'd mentioned it once.
Returning home was entirely uneventful, and they all collapsed on the couches and chair in the living room. It was way past midnight, but Leafa still wasn't tired; probably because they'd just finished fighting a boss, but she still felt wide-awake. She'd stayed up late often enough with her big brother that she knew that once the adrenaline wore off, she'd fall asleep almost instantly. "I just realized, it's technically Christmas," Kirito said.
Leafa grinned. "Then you're gonna give us presents now, right, Kazuto?"
"Well, I was going to give you your presents in the morning, but hang on a second..." Kirito swiped open his inventory and pulled out a box. "Here it is. I got something for you."
Asuna, sitting across from the kendo practitioner, raised a solemn eyebrow, and Leafa flinched at the sight of the ominous aura starting to emanate from her. "I-I was joking," she said. Her sheepish laugh seemed to placate Asuna, and the danger receded. "I'll wait until tomorrow morning..." Kirito just shrugged and put the box back in his inventory.
All at once, her exhaustion kicked in, and whatever she was going to say next was cut off by a large yawn that surprised her. "Maybe it's time for bed for you," Asuna said.
Leafa rubbed at her eyes, mumbling a sleepy agreement. "I'm going to bed," she said. "Good night, everyone. And merry Christmas too, I guess."
"Merry Christmas, Leafa," Lisbeth said. Silica was already lightly drowsing on the couch, but stirred enough to sit up and wave at her. Argo had already claimed a spot on Asuna's lap, the long-haired girl's fingers combing lightly through her messy hair, but the info broker grinned and said good night as well.
Kirito stood up as she walked over to him. "Merry Christmas, Sugu," he said, and Leafa smiled. "Good night. Sleep well, okay?"
"Okay!" Leafa hesitated for a second. In the end, on impulse, she said something that she'd later blame on the fact that she'd been up for way too late at that point:
"Don't I get a good night kiss?"
At least one of the girls sitting on the couches coughed in surprise. Leafa blinked, surprised that the words had come out of her mouth.
What was even more surprising was her beloved big brother's response. "...Sure, I guess." Kirito leaned over and pressed his lips lightly to her cheek. Then he ruffled her hair. "Go get some rest."
The soft, warm touch of his lips burned on her skin like it'd been branded on there, and Leafa felt her entire face burst into flame. Almost immediately, she dashed up the stairs, hiding her face from Kirito and the others. Behind her, she could hear Lisbeth complain, "Hey! Asuna, what was that all about?"
"I don't think there's anything wrong with what just happened," Asuna replied. "It was just Kazuto showing Sugu how much he cared about her, that's all."
"Well, then, I want a good night kiss too!" Lisbeth said. "It's no fair if you give your sister special treatment!"
Any further discussion from the first floor was cut off as Leafa closed the door and practically dove for the bed, burying her face in the pillow. As her legs kicked in the air, she squealed into the pillow. H-H-H-He'd kissed her! On the cheek, sure, but her big brother had still kissed her!
She didn't even lift her head to get changed. She had her pajamas on a quick-change selection, so it only took a few button presses to switch to her comfy button-up shirt and pants. Face still buried in her pillow, Leafa squirmed under the covers and closed her eyes.
That night, Leafa fell asleep with the biggest smile on her face.
Oh, Asuna. You think the silliest things when it comes to Kazuto. Just having these dorks peep on Kirito's 'date' was fun enough, but then riding in Asuna's head… She's very innocent and pure on the surface, but quite the pervert in her head, isn't she; she'll blush bright red at anyone flirting with her, but she's the one who assumes that Kirito wants to have sex in canon. Right now, I have her personality about halfway between 'Innocent maiden' (from Progressive) and 'Assumes Kirito wants sexy times' (from late Aincrad).
After that, Leafa and Lisbeth encounter Sinon! (Yes, it's been Sinon this whole time; no, nobody should be surprised by this.) She's just as driven as in canon, only this time she's doing her best to level up. And yes, Sinon's already been mentioned a few times before her 'official' appearance; you have the clues to figure out why Kirito finds her so familiar. I think… Check the first Black Cats appearance.
Finally, Christmas Eve and Christmas. The Army comes to be jerks, told that there's a neat rare item by some joker in a black cloak. Wonder who that could be…? Good news, Kibaou's actually useful in this story, so he solves the problem before violence happens. Then Sinon joins the party temporarily. Don't you just hate temp party members in RPGs? Like 'Here's this awesome fighter, too bad she's leaving after this single boss fight'.
And then Leafa gets her favorite Christmas present ever. Merry Christmas~.
Many thanks to everyone that favorited, followed, or left a review.