Here Chapter 6 everybody! The only thing that I wanted to say before presenting the chapter itself is that I would TRY to update weekly. School days are approaching and it would be rare to find the opportunities to write. But don't worry! I WILL finish this story and I will never abandon it. I'd probably end it at around Chapter 8 or 9 so I'm almost at the end. Anyways, here the new chapter! Enjoy!
Italicized words outside "quotation marks" represents thoughts
Disclaimer: I don't own SAO or any of its characters
Sinon made her way to the place where Kirito asked her to go. It was 9:35 PM so she just has enough time to make it to the square. While walking she noticed that there are quite a number of players that are online. It was a Monday night so she wasn't expecting many players to still be logged on at this hour. She also noticed that most of them are walking in pairs and that they were all heading in the same direction. She recalled if there was a special event that was being held that day that would explain the number of online players but quickly gave up because she can't remember anything special happening online.
She finally reached the square where Kirito asked her to meet him. She looked around for the black haired teen but was disappointed when she noticed that she was the only one in the area.
He's late she thought.
She made her way to a nearby bench to wait for him. She brought up her menu to check the time and it was already 9:55 PM.
Just as when she was getting a little annoyed by his lateness she heard his familiar voice calling out to her from the distance.
She got up and readied a glare and maybe even tease him about making girls wait. Oh yes, she would definitely tease him about that to see what kind of reaction he would make.
Her plan failed though as soon as he reached her.
Before she could open her mouth to lecture him about making girls wait, Kirito hugged her tightly as a form of greeting. He's actions of course rendered her speechless.
"I am so sorry Sinon. I had to arrange some stuff before meeting up with you. I am sorry for being late, will you forgive me?" Kirito asked while still hugging her.
It took her a couple of seconds to answer him, "Well I guess it's okay. Just make sure to don't do it often because I don't like to be kept waiting." Sinon replied. She was a little disappointed that she wasn't able to execute her plan but at the same time enjoyed it since she got a hug.
"So why did you told me to meet you here?" she asked him as they released themselves from the hug.
"Oh there's just a special event that's happening today so I kind of thought that it would be nice if we can participate in it together." Kirito told her. He started walking towards the path that he came from earlier.
"So that explains why there are so many players who are online even though it's late. What's the event? Do we have to go complete a special quest or something?" Sinon asked as she followed him.
"Nah, it's not like that." Kirito said while scratching his right cheek.
"Huh? So what's the event about then?" Sinon asked, slightly confused.
"You'll see when we get there." was his only response.
"Why won't we just fly there?" Sinon asked again.
"It wouldn't be fun if we just fly there." was his answer.
This didn't help Sinon's confusion at all. Seeing as she won't get any answers from Kirito she chose to focus on the path that they were walking on. She realized that they are in an area where monsters would spawn. She quickly equipped her bow so that she would be ready in case a monster attacks them. She glanced at Kirito, assuming that he would be doing the same thing. She was surprised when she saw him continuing he's casual work and without even equipping his sword.
"Hey Kirito, we're going through a monster spawn area and you're acting as if you're taking a walk in a park." she scolded him.
"Oh don't worry about it. I already cleared this area earlier and monsters shouldn't spawn for a little while." was his reply.
So that's why he was late Sinon thought. He had cleared the path that they would take so it wouldn't cause any problems to them. She realized how much he planned for this and how much effort he's put into it. He's really doing his best to deepen their relationship so that they could become closer and eventually step it up a notch. She giggled while she was deep in her thoughts. Who knew that the mighty Kirito, otherwise known as the Black Swordsman, has a sweet and romantic side.
Seeing as they are safe for the rest of the trip (or walk) she grabbed his hand with her own.
Kirito was a little shocked at first by her actions but his shocked expressions was quickly replaced by a smile as he looked at her.
Sinon gladly returned a smile of her own and they stayed like that for the entire walk, holding hands and occasionally looking at each other. They didn't try to strike up a conversation since they were happy just by walking side by side with each other.
Somewhere along the trip they came across a log cabin. The cabin was near a small forest and a lake. It was one of those houses that players can buy so that they can stay in there instead of renting rooms in the pubs and inns in the towns and cities in the game.
"I didn't know that there was a house that can be bought here. It looks so secluded and a little far away from the city." Sinon said.
"Yeah, but that's what makes it special right? Living there would be peaceful and quiet, not to mention that the cabin itself looks cozy." Kirito replied.
"I agree." Sinon answered. She had long thought of buying her own house in ALO so that she could stop renting rooms. She definitely liked that cabin that they passed by but considered that it would cost her most of her in-game money if she buys a house that big. She would have to find a small, less expensive one.
The cabin also reminded Kirito of something. He can't fully remember it but he was positive that it was something related to a cabin. It was a rumor he heard back at the town that they came from. He can't fully remember what it is so he just shrugged it off.
Then they finally made it to their destination. The said destination was actually a clearing at the edge of a cliff. The town that they were in a little while can be seen below. All this time they were actually making their way up a mountain. Sinon didn't notice it until they were at the top.
"Wow, the view here is amazing." Sinon said as she marvelled at the sight in front of her. The lights that are illuminating the town were adding to the beauty of the view.
Kirito chuckled before speaking, "Yeah it is amazing, but that's not the reason why I brought you up here."
"Huh? It isn't? Oh yeah there was a special event." Sinon suddenly remembered.
"So what's this event about Kirito-kun? You promised me that you would tell me when we get there." Sinon quickly added.
"Wait for it." Kirito said. His gaze was focused on the view and he has that confident look on his face.
Sinon decided to follow what he said. She also continued looking at the view before them.
After a few minutes something bright went up coming from the town. At first Sinon was confused but she eventually realized what was happening.
The bright projectile that shot up from the town made its way high in the sky. When it was high enough it exploded into a variety of bright colours. Sinon quickly identified what the projectile was, fireworks.
The first firework was just a signal that the show was starting. When the first one exploded in the air, the other fireworks came in. So many fireworks were shot from different areas of the town. It was as if the town was under a beautiful and colourful inferno. The fireworks exploded into many different shapes. The notable ones were the shapes of each of the races that can be found in ALO. Then there were some that are shaped into the monsters that can be found in the game. There were also some that didn't take any form but when they exploded they let out a huge variety of colours. It was a beautiful sight.
"Oh wow." were the only words that came out of Sinon's mouth.
While she was still admiring the beauty of the fireworks Kirito repositioned himself so that he has one arm wrapped around Sinon. He slightly pulled her closer to him. Sinon didn't notice him doing this because she was so busy watching the fireworks show.
Kirito looked at the girl beside him. Sinon's in-game avatar's appearance is different from her real world appearance since her in-game avatar has pale blue hair and indigo eyes unlike her usual black hair and eyes. Kirito felt proud of himself by thinking of taking Shino up the mountain to watch the fireworks show. This was an event that he recently picked information on. It was ALO's way of welcoming summer and was like the opening of the more special summer events which would include some quests. To Kirito though, this fireworks show was more important than the quests. Why? Because judging from Sinon's expression he can safely say that she was really enjoying it and that's what mattered most for him.
After some time of staying like that Sinon finally said something.
She rested her head on Kirito's shoulder and said. "Thank you Kirito-kun, this is amazing."
"I'm glad that you liked it." Kirito replied.
"No really. Thank you. You're the very first person to be this kind to me. You've been trying your best just to make me happy. You've been spending so much time with me. You've done so much for me which is why I can't tell you enough how grateful I am. Everything you've done for me really means a lot." Sinon said, directly looking at him. Her expression was that of a happy and grateful person.
Kirito was actually quite surprised by what Sinon has said. He never thought that he would've affected someone that much. He felt as if he became an important aspect of someone else's life. As if he was now an important factor that can never be replaced in that person's life. He felt crazy happy when he heard her say those words.
"Sinon, you have no idea how much you've made me happy by saying those words. It really hit me you know?" he said while also directly looking at her.
Then they hugged each other tightly while still under the amazing flashes of colours dancing in the sky.
When the show ended it was already late. They both opened their menus to check the time. It was already 11:45 PM. The two made their way down the mountain so that they can log out in a safe place in the inn. After a few minutes of walking they came across the cabin they saw earlier. Although they both noticed that something is different now.
"Hey Kirito, don't you think something feels…off?" Sinon asked him.
"Yeah" was his only response. Kirito was looking at the cabin with cautious eyes. The whole cabin feels off now. It no longer radiated the peaceful and tranquil aura that it had emitted earlier when they passed it. Right now it radiated danger, darkness… death.
Suddenly the door of the cabin opened. Kirito equipped his sword and Sinon also equipped her bow. Both were ready as to what would come out of the cabin.
A hooded figure wearing a black cloak that's red underneath came out of the cabin. Kirito suddenly remembered the rumor he had heard in the town. It was about a super powerful boss that only spawns at midnight. He had remembered that it spawns from a cabin but he had no idea that it was the same cabin as the ones in the rumors. When he heard the rumors he had taken it lightly since players tended to share false information just to scare the crap out of other players. He never thought that it was actually true.
What worst luck Kirito thought. They had just finished watching an amazing fireworks show and were supposed to return to the town. But now it seems that they would have to fight for their survival.
The hooded figure suddenly raised its head to reveal an appearance similar to that of Death Gun. But instead of a metal skull, its face is actually a real skull. It then gave out a roar and revealed its weapon which is a long scythe. The boss's name was revealed in front of them: The Fatal Scythe.
"Kirito what should we do?" Sinon calmly asked him. She already has an arrow nocked into her bow showing him that she's ready to fight.
"We might be able to avoid fighting it by using teleportation crystals." Kirito said and took out a teleport crystal. Just as when he was about to use it theboss slammed its scythe onto the ground which sent a dark pulse around them. It seemed to do nothing but when Kirito tried to use the teleport crystals it didn't work.
"I think it disabled the use of teleport crystals so that we can't escape." he said in a grim tone as he readied his sword.
"Hmph, well then I guess we would just have to give it the fight of its life." Sinon said.
And with that Kirito charged the boss. Sinon stayed at the back shooting its head. She would occasionally charge up for some magic arrows to deal more damage. Kirito on the other hand was drawing the boss's attention towards himself. He was defensive right now since Sinon was the damage dealer. His only job was to protect her and to keep the boss occupied. The boss was fast with its scythe and would sometimes cut Kirito. He noticed that the boss deals tons of damage so he made sure to dodge and guard most of its attacks. They were using that strategy until they lowered the boss's health to 25%. The boss roared and knocked them both down with an invisible force. It changed its attack patterns and instead of doing swift, powerful strikes it began charging up. While Kirito and Sinon were still on the ground, the boss charged its scythe and it began to glow bright orange. When it has charged enough it slashed the air and a wave of fire came out. The area of the attack was wide and both Sinon and Kirito were unable to dodge it. Kirito checked his health bar. The fire wave attack wasn't as powerful as the swift slashes but it has a huge range. He wouldn't be able to protect Sinon if the boss continues use that attack. He inspected Sinon's health bar. As expected the attack took ¼ of her health. Since she was a lot more fragile than he is she would be taken down by that attack in a few turns. He then studied the boss. It charges up before attacking which gives them time to attack it. The only problem is that if they do that then they would most likely get hit by the wave of fire. He was thinking hard to come up with a plan. He remembered how ALO introduced the use of magic spells. He remembered how Sinon would chant some magic phrases to enchant her arrows. He thought that maybe it was the same with the boss. They would only need to stop it by applying some status effect on it while it's charging up.
"Sinon! Hit it with one of you Net Arrows! Hurry!" Kirito shouted to her. He then charged towards the boss. He heard Sinon chant up the words for the special arrow. If he was right that arrow would apply a "Stun" status effect. If it hits then the boss wouldn't be able to complete its magic enchantment. Thankfully, Sinon's magic chant for the Net Arrow was faster than that of the boss. Just as when Kirito got near the boss, Sinon's enchanted arrow landed. The arrow exploded into a net which trapped the boss momentarily. Just as Kirito had hoped, the orange glow on its scythe disappeared as soon as the arrow made contact. He needed to deal lots of damage to it while it's still stunned. Unfortunately the status effect of that arrow was only for a few seconds so Kirito doesn't have much time. He then unloaded all of his sword skills to damage the monster. They repeated the cycle a couple of times before the boss was finally defeated.
The notification screen popped up congratulating them. The fight was difficult. The boss had tons of health so taking it down took them quite a while. Not to mention that they were only two in their party.
"Whew that sure was hard. I thought we would lose when it became enraged." Sinon said when she finally recovered from the fight.
"Yeah, it was a good thing that you have a skill that applies status effects." Kirito said. He inspected the drops of the boss. Some money, a new black cloak that he might use, and some sort of accessory. Curious about the accessory he looked it up his inventory to check what kind of stats it would give. He found it and took it out from his inventory. It was a necklace that resembles a tear. It wasn't much of Kirito's style to wear necklaces so he figured that he would give it to Sinon. The colour of the tear was identical to Sinon's hair and eyes so he thought that it would look great on her.
"Hey what's that?" Sinon asked him.
"It's a drop from the boss. Here, it's yours." Kirito said showing her the necklace.
"Oh wow that necklace is beautiful!" Sinon exclaimed. She also wasn't fond of wearing accessories but this particular necklace really caught her attention.
Kirito motioned Sinon to come closer so that he can put the necklace on her. She did so while sporting a slight blush. Just as Kirito thought, it looks great on her.
"It suits you" Kirito complimented her.
"Thank you" Sinon replied while still slightly blushing. She then looked around and noticed that they would still have to go back to the town. They could fly back now seeing as they were both exhausted to even enjoy a walk together. But it seems that Kirito has other plans.
"Hey Sinon you want to log out now and rest right?" Kirito asked her.
"Yes I do. Can we fly now? It would be much faster. We might even face other monsters if we walk back to town." she asked him. She really didn't expect that he would give her the same answer.
"Now that wouldn't be fun." he said while giving him a smirk. He then walked up towards the cabin and touched the "For Sale" sign. A confirmation window popped up and Kirito touched the "Yes" option. The lifeless cabin suddenly burst with life as the lights outside and inside of it became lit. The peaceful and tranquil atmosphere that the cabin previously emitted came back.
"We can log out here. Let's go?" Kirito asked her while holding his hand out inviting her like a true gentleman.
Sinon was really shocked. She NEVER expected Kazuto to buy the cabin. She knew that it was expensive but he doesn't seem to care. She replaced her shock with a smile. He really is unpredictable in many ways.
She accepted his hand as they made their way into the newly bought house.
There you go! I apologize for the lame fighting scene. It's just not my forte. Anyways I hope you guys know what's about to happen here. If you're confused about my story then don't hesitate to PM me so I could explain the stuff that you're confused on (wut). I'll try updating within the week so keep an eye out for it. That's all I have to say. Thanks for those who've read it from the start and are still reading. Really guys, thanks. To those who faved, followed and reviewed, thanks a bunch. You guys rock. Love y'all! Woozart out