Chapter 5 / An Elf Alliance:
Amazement. That was the feeling that consumed Kirito and Adira as they arrived at the Dark Elf camp. It was full of activity, with elves rushing in and out of the many tents that were scattered around the forest clearing.
"I'm glad you were there to activate the teleport gate for me." Adira said, looking over at Kirito to flash him a smile. "I couldn't have gotten very far otherwise…" She trailed off, noticing that his attention was elsewhere.
"There are Forest Elves here." Kirito stated, confused at this revelation. Forest Elves in a Dark Elf camp? The two races were mortal enemies, why would they both be here?
Adira seemed to jump onto the same trail of thought. "They must be seriously worried about the Demons if they're prepared to put aside their differences and come together like this."
Kirito nodded in agreement. He observed the crowd, his vision glancing across the masses until it halted on a small group. He stopped in his tracks, Adira stumbling slightly as she turned to look at him, questioning his behaviour. Kirito was too busy gazing at the group in front of him. Adira noticed where he was looking, her all-knowing smile returning to her face as realisation dawned upon her.
The green indicators above their heads notified him that they were players, but he could have told that anyway. They wore matching white and red outfits, symbolising their affliction to their guild. The commander had her back to him, busy addressing her group. When she had finished speaking, dismissing them, one of the members pointed Kirito and his partner out to her. She turned, her almond shaded hair swishing around as her face lit up, her sparkling blue eyes meeting his black ones. As she spoke, he saw the words on her lips before he heard them. "Kirito!"
"Hey, Asuna." He said awkwardly, desperately trying to ignore the cheeky grin that was plastered across Adira's face. Asuna bounced over, pulling Kirito into an encompassing hug.
Adira's eyebrows shot up in surprise as the hug continued to draw out. She was getting the message loud and clear, clearing her throat before speaking. "I'm going to go and get something to eat from the vendor over there. I'll give you two some…ah…alone time." She turned and walked off, chuckling to herself as she noticed both of their faces flushing in embarrassment. The pair separated, taking a moment to compose themselves before speaking.
"You're looking better." Asuna stated, slightly unsure of what to say. "You still look exhausted, but at least it's better than the last time I saw you."
"Yeah, I found Adira..." Kirito said, scratching the back of his head. He missed the disheartened look that entered her face as she turned to look over to the vendor where Adira had gone to. Asuna forced a smile onto her face, bringing her head back around to meet his eyes.
"She looks nice." She said, once again unsure of what to say. "…She's looking well for someone who has spent the last how long on the run…"
"Yeah, she's had it rough." He replied. "I tried to convince her not to come, but she's as stubborn as I am…" Asuna took a moment before asked what she was dying to know.
"How did you guys meet?" She questioned, trying to play it off casually. Inside she was dreading the possible responses that had entered her mind.
"We met a few days after Christmas last year." Kirito replied, opening up to her. "She was alone and inexperienced in the game world. We trained together for a while, before going our separate ways. We still met up regularly and teamed up for the occasional fight, but I guess we both found ourselves more suited to the solo play-style…"
"You were away from the front lines for a while. We all wondered where you'd gotten to." Asuna said. "Your friend Klein told us that you seemed off back then. I was…I mean we…we were worried about you."
Kirito paused, surprised at how comfortable he felt opening up to her. "I was in dark place back then. I lost…umm…some things happened which took me a while to move on from. I guess training Adira was what I needed at the time to help me reassess things and move forward with my life."
"She must be quite…special to you then." Asuna spoke, her voice cracking slightly.
"She is…but she wasn't…" He stopped himself, realising that he might be sharing a bit too much.
"She wasn't what?" Asuna questioned, a slight glimmer of hope appearing inside of her. Her eyes bore into his, silently informing him that she wouldn't let this go. Kirito sighed, realising that it was too late to stop himself now.
"Adira…she wasn't the only one who helped me through that time in my life…" He stopped, his voice failing him for a second. "…uncovering the mystery behind the player killings in the safe zone with you…" He paused again, fear gripping him. He was unsure of how she would react to his confession. "…it was what helped me to finally re-discover my place in this world and continue to move forward…"
Asuna was speechless, her lips twitching in shock. The glimmer of hope growing stronger. Perhaps she still had a chance with him. She opened her mouth to speak, deciding that it was time for her to return the favour and open up to him too when a loud voice butted in, catching them both by surprise.
"Hey! Kirito! How yah doing buddy?!" Klein exclaimed, striding over to them with his guild members in tow. He had flaming red hair, his guild's armour coloured in exactly the same way. He stopped suddenly, noticing who the Black Swordsman was with. "Asuna?! The Lightning Flash?! What are you two rascals doing together?!"
"Wha…What?! Nothing?!" Kirito replied a little too quickly. "We just…uh…bumped into each other here."
"So…" Klein glared at the solo player, his eyes clearly showing that he didn't believe him. He decided to drop the subject…for now. He would have to interrogate Kirito for the details of this relationship later. He changed the subject matter. "…I guess you two both completed the Elf War quest way back on floor three then?"
"Yeah…" Kirito sighed with relief. "We're aligned with the Dark Elves. Which side did you choose?"
"The Dark Elves?!" Klein cried. "Why did you go with them?! The Forest Elves are way cooler!"
Kirito shook his head, smiling as he turned to Asuna for backup.
"I think we made the right choice with the Dark Elves." Asuna stated. "Besides…we got a good friend out of it…maybe a little too good if you ask Kirito…"
"Hey?!" Kirito exclaimed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, we had the choice to side with a man or a woman. And we both know which one you chose…" Asuna teased.
"We both agreed on that decision!" Kirito stated firmly. "Besides…they're Dark Elves…DARK…that's kind of my thing…"
"Ahhhhh! We're not buying that excuse!" Klein goaded. "You saved her because she was a girl!"
"The reason matters not…" A soft feminine voice claimed from behind them. "…I am indebted to the two of them either way."
They all turned to find a Dark Elf warrior standing before them. She had pointed ears and violet shaded hair. Asuna was the first to recognise her.
"Kizmel!" She cried joyously, rushing over to embrace the npc. "It's great to see you!"
"Long time no see Kizmel!" Kirito chimed in, a smile cracking across his face. "It's been a while."
"That it has my friend." Kizmel replied as Asuna let go of her. "I can't stay as I have to see the Queen now…she'll be pleased to learn that the two of you are here. Perhaps we can meet up later and do what your people call, catching up?" She asked, slightly confused by the term.
"Yeah, that'd be great!" Asuna said, eyes lighting up in excitement.
"Then I will bid you farewell for now." The Dark Elf told her, bowing her head slightly before wandering off back into the crowd.
"She was very realistic for an npc." Adira stated as she returned to the group. "Did I miss anything?" She asked, raising her eyebrow into Kirito's direction.
Klein grabbed Kirito and pulled him aside before he could speak, leaning in close before whispering, "how many women do you know Kirito? You're going to have to introduce us!"
Kirito sighed before pulling himself away from his red-headed friend, regaining his composure before speaking.
"Guys, this is Adira…" he stated half-heartedly. "…Adira, these are my friends, Asuna…" Adira smirked slightly when the name left his lips. He was so going to kill her in a minute. "…and Klein." Kirito felt awkward not introducing Klein's guild members, but he'd never actually spoken to any of them before. Klein opened his mouth to speak, most likely in an attempt to woo Adira with his manly charms, but he was cut off by the sound of an elvish horn, bringing everyone's attention round to a group of Elves, which had taken residence in the middle of the clearing.
A raven haired woman stepped forward, her armour grey, sparkling in the evening sunlight. The npc oozed authority from her posture alone. The Queen of the Dark Elves, Kirito thought to himself. He'd only met her once, briefly after completing an important mission for the Dark Elves. He noticed the friendly face of Kizmel, who was stood to her left. An auburn haired man was situated to the Queen's right, a slight gap taking residence between the two of them. His armour had a bronze tint to it, leading Kirito to assume that he was the King of the Forest Elves, the rival race of the Dark Elves.
"My people! I know many of you are confused as to why we have aligned ourselves with the Forest Elves." The Queen spoke, her voice riding the fine line between soft and firm. "But I am afraid that we are under threat from an enemy that could wipe out the both of us!" She paused, giving the news a moment to sink in before continuing. "They call themselves the Dusk Demons! These creatures fight unlike any other we have experienced before! They have overrun our sacred castle in the mountains! This cannot be allowed to stand! We must strike them down before they come for us!"
The Forest Elf King stepped forwards. "We know little of their ways!" The king announced, his voice deep and powerful, sharp like a knife. "Only that they seek a human! One with a powerful magic that they require for their plans!"
"Kirito!" The Queen called out, her eyes, along with everyone else's locking onto him. "Kizmel speaks highly of you and your knowledge of this world. Do you know of whom these Demons seek?"
"I…Uhh…I do not…your majesty…" He replied, nervous about being put on the spot. Both Asuna and Adira, who were situated either side of him, shot him an apprehensive look. He ignored them.
"…Very well." The Queen continued. "We will attack tomorrow at dawn!" She announced, dismissing the crowd that had gathered with a wave of her hand, striding off to her own private tent, officials in tow.
"Kirito…" Adira began, quickly being cut off by the Black Swordsman.
"I don't see any reason why them knowing would make a difference." He stated flatly, dropping the subject.
"Well…I guess since we're going to war tomorrow we should get some rest." Klein stated, leading his guild off to one of the spare tents. "Night everyone!" He called over his shoulder.
"He's got a point." Asuna said. "Especially for you. You'll need to rest up if you want to be standing by the morning."
"Yeah…I guess you're right…" Kirito replied, his mind choosing that inappropriate moment to allow himself to yawn. "I'll see you two soon."
Kirito wondered off to get his first proper nights sleep in six days, leaving the two women alone, who awkwardly stared at each other for a moment before setting off to find themselves a bed to sleep in for the night.
Guess what? More Notes:
-I tried not to make the Kirito/Asuna reunion too cheesy, but I feel like this is how they would have reacted at this point in the SAO timeline.
-I got the impression that Klein and Asuna had never properly talked to each other before their encounter on the 74th floor, but I felt as if they would have talked collectively in a group at things like boss-clearing meetings, so they would both know who the other was.
-As I have mentioned before, the Elf War stuff and the character of Kizmel appeared in the SAO Progressive series, if you were wondering where they came from.
-Sorry for the lack of action this chapter, I know it seems like a filler but as I said before, I really want this to be more of a character piece. I wanted to set up Kirito and Asuna's relationship a bit more, filling the gap in the anime to build it up a bit more.
-I can't remember what fix it was but someone posted songs that inspired them and that summed up the chapter thematically. Thought it was good idea and hopefully it'll help you guys to enjoy the chapters even more!:
#A Tender Feeling / SAO Soundtrack (don't know who the artist is)
#Code of Conduct / Hans Zimmer
#Oliver Returns / Blake Neely