LATE GAME Ch.3
OWN TWO FEET
Ugh…
My head hurts, my body hurts, and I'm hungry and tired. What the heck happened?
Oh right, I overworked myself. Again.
I wasn't laid on the forest though, I was on a bed. A bed inside a room that looked strangely familiar…
"Are you awake, Grey?" I heard a voice call out to me nearby. It was female, cute, and familiar.
I shifted to the side where the voice came from aaand it was Asuna. Of course.
"What happened?" I croaked. My voice was weak, and I had a bit of trouble breathing.
"You collapsed in the forest, and we only found you hours after you left. Honestly, you're in a pretty bad state." She huffed, apparently worried. I worried Asuna, that's something.
"I'm fine. Let me try that again." I wasn't going to let myself fail now, I had some objective now, and I intend to keep going at it as hard as I can.
"No way, mister! You're going to rest and you're going to take it easy. Capiche?" Asuna replied, she looked pretty pissed, I probably looked pretty horrible.
"He's awake?" I heard Kirito say as he entered the room. He was holding the sword I borrowed him earlier.
"More or less." I answered. "Probably dead inside, but that's just me."
Kirito scratched his head, probably wondering why I was sprawled out in the dirt earlier. Maybe he already knew why, but he just couldn't help it. It was that, or he had a bad case of dandruff.
Do they even take baths here? As far as I knew, their avatars were just…clean most of the time.
"What are we going to do with you?" Kirito finally said.
"Er… Tolerate me?" I cheekily replied.
I heard Asuna sigh from next to me.
"Why were you trying so hard to train though? You know that even we had our limits, right?" Kirito asked.
"I guess I…" I trailed off for a bit, trying to find the right words.
"I didn't want to be a burden to anyone."
Kirito just stared at my tired form. Asuna excused herself, stood and said she was going to make dinner.
That left me with Professor Blackie, blackest black blackie black black black.
I ran outta synonyms with black, so I got lazy. Darn my exhaustion for being less creative.
"You're not useless, Grey. You need to take better care of yourself or else that Immortal Status of yours won't save you." He said with a grin.
"… You know, man. I'm just so freaking thankful for everything you're doing for me. I just wanted to make it up for you, instead of just being that guy who gives advice from the sidelines or something. I have to be more of a man myself."
Kirito shook his head, and then he replied.
"Grey, we need your advice. It's not that you won't help at the frontlines, but I'm just saying we'd be doomed if you don't help us out in the future."
It was my turn to shake my head.
"Kirito, you finished this game. You and Asuna did it before I was even here. You don't need me to tell you anything, the least I could do is find a way to stop anyone from dying in the next fight."
There was a silence. Things were getting more depressing as the day passed by, so I had to think of something to save me from the darkness that loomed within my very soul towards my existence.
"Kirito, you've got a really lovely younger sister. Suguha Kirigaya, was it?" I said.
Kirito initially looked shock, and then he smiled longingly.
"I want to make it up to her, make it up for being such a jerk through all these years."
"Well," I said, trying not to make this as awkward as possible. "you WILL make it up to her once you get back to the real world. I know you will, I've seen it."
Kirito smiled the same smile that would make all the girls squeal. I was afraid I'd squeal too.
"Thank you, Grey. You're an assuring presence that we would actually make it out alive here. God knows Asuna has been breathing a lot easier once you've told us everything, and I'm grateful."
I shrugged, hiding a blush. I mean, who wouldn't if their favorite character just told them that they were important? I certainly did.
"Glad to be of service. Anything I could do to help would be a lot off my shoulders." I replied, tactically keeping my voice from being too smug.
"What's the future like though? For me and Asuna, I mean." Kirito pondered.
"Oh, you two? You're going to be the biggest couple in school, so much so that both boys and girls get jealous of you two." I sneered. He chuckled.
"A future where we're together… I would've never seen one coming."
I snorted. "That's what she said."
Both of us shared a hearty laugh as Asuna came to my room.
"Honestly? Only you men can be so happy over stupid things like innuendos." She said, holding a tray filled with sandwiches, salads, and three cups of water.
"You… You guys are going to eat at my room?" I asked.
"Of course, it would be rude not to keep a guest company as he recovers in OUR house." Asuna replied, with an air of pride and a boastful smile looming from her face.
"Well, since you're both here, have I got stories to tell you two…"
A meal later…
"… And then I thought, 'Kirito looked darn pretty as a girl.'"
Asuna and I shared a laugh at Kirito's expense while the man of the hour himself just shook his head.
"And then… And then he-"
I laughed so hard I couldn't quite finish the sentence. "He got into this weirdly cute pose, a very feminine one, as he stood in front of the many guys in the waiting area."
I heard Kirito grumble as Asuna held her stomach, giggling uncontrollably.
"CHEER FOR ME!" I said in a frighteningly high-pitched voice, exaggerating the very feminine pose Kirito did in that one episode. You know which one. Yeah, that one.
Asuna had tears in her eyes as she continued laughing. Kirito just put his hand over his eyes as he wept silent tears of frustration. I continued laughing as I fell to the floor.
"Why am I the only one here being punished?" Kirito asked, apparently not enjoying the moment as much as the two other people in the room.
"'Coz you were the one who decided to do EVERYTHING!" I replied. "Being popular is so hard, especially when you have to give the fan-service yourself. "
Asuna stopped laughing so hard, but I could still hear her snorts hidden in the fabric of her clothing.
"Come on, doesn't Asuna do anything funny in the future?" I heard Kirito whine, getting tired of being the butt of the joke, it seemed.
"Well, I think the funniest thing she ever did was misunderstanding you, Kirito, on the night of your proposal." It was then Kirito's turn to laugh as Asuna wallowed in embarrassment.
"You all saw that?!" Asuna pouted, not comfortable with the new flow of things.
"Oh yeah." I replied. "It was everyone's favorite part in season one, certifying to all viewers everywhere that girls tend to take things a bit deeper than men."
There was silence as Kirito's laugh was toning down.
"… That's what she said." Kirito, the most badass protagonist ever said with a snort.
And once more, Kirito and I laughed like there was no tomorrow, Asuna being irritated and blushing only made us laugh even harder.
"Well, Kirito, we should be off to bed now. It's getting pretty late now, and we don't want to sleep in…" Asuna said, yawning afterwards.
"Yeah, it IS getting kind of late." Kirito checked the time in his menu before closing it and giving off a yawn himself. I counted with my fingers.
"…six, seven, eight. Eight counts."
"What do you mean?" Kirito asked.
"That's the average length of your yawns. Yui said so herself."
Asuna smiled. Kirito just shook his head, grinning as he did it.
"How were Yui and the two of us in the future though?" Asuna asked.
"Oh, you two were still her doting parents. She loves you two, you know?"
Kirito nodded as Asuna took the tray from the table near my bed.
"Well, I believe it would be really nice if what you're saying is true. Being a family here again… Makes me want to finish this game faster so I can feel it all over again…"
I smiled and waved my hands in goodbye as the couple exited the room. I was going to stay the night until the next day. I promised myself that I would leave this house and let them have their honeymoon together soon. I would be staying in town for the next couple of days after I…
I thought of something I could do tomorrow and found it.
I was going to have to talk to Akihiko Kayaba.
The next day…
"Are you sure, you're going to leave?" Asuna asked. "We'd get worried if you collapsed somewhere we couldn't find you."
"I'll be fine, mother." I replied sneering. "I'll be back home by seven-thirty."
Asuna huffed in annoyance as Kirito snorted in laughter.
"Don't think you're off the hook, father dear. Now before I go, let me ask you something."
Kirito raised his eyebrow.
"Does the 'Ethics Code: Off' thing work?
After I was shooed away by the cutest couple to ever graze the lands of the evergreen landscape of floor 22 in Sword Art Online, I took out my teleport crystal.
"Teleport: Grandzam."
Immediately, I broke into a thousand polygons. Just as fast, I reappeared outside of the headquarters of Knights of Blood Oath.
I didn't tell Kirito or Asuna about this, as all I told them was that I was going to meet someone up here on the higher floors.
Yeah, and me and Akihiko go a long way… Like since NEVER.
I got inside, went through the rooms until he came to view.
"Yo, big cheese. I have something to tell you."
Guards appeared as I took steps closer to Heathcliff. I had to find a way to get to him somehow.
"Yo, who's that one dude from Persona 3 who's got white hair and a red coat?"
As I expected, he stood up and waved the guards back. Guess I was right to assume that he knew a little bit of gaming history, seeing as Persona was pretty popular back in the day.
He led me towards an empty room that I'm guessing are his sleeping quarters. No one was allowed to get here, so this was a good place to talk.
"First off, how'd you figure it out? Who are you?" His voice was stern, mixed with both surprise and a tinge of malice. He probably wanted Kirito to find it out before anyone else, or stick to his original plan of floor 95.
"I'm not from here, mister 'Strongest player in the game'."
"Not from here?" He asked, astonished.
"Not from this world, nor the other one. But not to worry, I'm not going to do anything to stop your super awesome plan of going one-on-one with the one dude with dual-wield."
Heathcliff nodded, satisfied. Then he came up with a different question.
"What's your purpose here? I could delete you right here, right now."
I shook my head, my body tensing up seeing how close I am with apparent destruction.
"Hold it, mate. I already promised I wouldn't ruin your fight. I just wanted to ask some questions that you never really answered. Again, I promise not to ruin anything, and everything that happens really happened in the future. I didn't spoil anyone about your true identity."
He went silent for a minute, and then he spoke.
"Fair enough, now what did you want to ask me?"
"Call me Shinji, and yes, I've got two questions."
"Name them."
"The real reason you did all this?"
"Ah…" He stopped, probably to think about using the 'castle in the sky' explanation. I never really got that.
"When I was younger, much younger than when I became known throughout the world as Akihiko Kayaba, I always dreamt of building a castle made of steel in the sky." I knew he'd use this explanation, damn it. I was too polite to stop him now that he was on a roll.
"I thought maybe someday, I could find it. I knew it to be impossible, but it was my dream."
I shrugged. "This reminds me of Firion from Dissidia Final Fantasy and his dream of a world filled with wild roses."
He nodded. "Precisely so. Then I became a video game designer, and then I realized that my dream in a world where I can be a god, I could build this castle."
I nodded. "I understand what you feel, Aki. Though instead, I dream of getting a floating harem castle in the sky where I am god, and everyone else is my mistress, save for a couple of things…"
I then raised my head to emphasis my point. "I want to have a daughter someday, someone who shares my intellect and understands what I'm trying to say. That's the biggest point of my dream."
Aki nodded, seemingly pleased. "That's a good dream, make sure you get it. Now what's this other question?"
"Does the 'Ethics Code: Off' really work? Can I really make love in a world like this?"
...
A Conversation later…
I waved goodbye to the current leader of the Knights of Blood Oath. Damn, he actually answered my questions without flinching. I can believe in a man like that, even though the world sees him as a madman obsessed with world domination. To me, he's just a guy with a dream.
Wait…
"HEY! YOU DIDN'T CALL ME SHINJI! NOT EVEN ONCE!"
An Hour Later…
I was now back in Floor 22, at the village where men choose to sleep, eat, and catch fishes all day. I don't plan to stay for two long, but I needed to be somewhere someone I knew well could see me. I passed through the wooden gate that held the name of the city inside. I looked for a temporary hideout, a hotel maybe.
Then I heard a frustrated girl shout somewhere near.
"This isn't funny, Issei! Come back to the frontlines with me! We need you!"
I got closer and saw a purple-clad, brunette girl about my age bang against the wooden door of what I presumed was another cabin like the one two certain lovebirds I knew had in the very same floor.
"We need you!" The girl said as she sank to the wooden stairs from outside the house. "… I need you."
"What's the matter, good madam?" I asked with a bow, a showman as ever.
She looked at me with wild eyes, curious, surprised, and angry that someone had the balls to interfere.
"I'm just here to help, please try not to kill me. The name's Le- Grey."
She just sat there, confused.
"… Le Grey? Are you some French or are you trying to piss me off?"
I shook my head nervously, some people you didn't want to piss off and here I am. Why did I think this was a good idea?
"It's just Grey, I'm sorry. I seriously just want to help like a good neighbor would. Two is better than one, right?"
She thought for a second, and then nodded. "You better not be hitting on me…"
"I won't." I replied. "Mind telling me how I can help?"
She stood and explained. "My brother's a strong warrior, stronger than I am. We need him in the frontlines, but he just won't budge. I tried talking to him, but he didn't want to open up. Can you do something?"
"Sure." I replied. "What's your name?"
"I'm Rheas. My brother's Issei. We're twins."