Hello everyone! First off, I want to say that I'm really sorry about the wait. In case you didn't know, things in my personal life got really out of hand for the past few months. I won't get into detail because this isn't the place for it, but basically, there were a bunch of new changes at work and when the dust settled, I suddenly became the employee with the most experience. So, a ton of responsibilities and stress got piled onto me without warning. And that's not even getting into the stuff that happened last year.

But enough of that, Happy Valentine's Day! Here's the next chapter. I was actually hoping to release a fluff piece I'd been working on to celebrate today as well, but I ran out of time. So that'll come out whenever I'm able to finish it.

Halo: I forgot to respond to this in the last chapter, but Masai definitely does not have the same appearance as the default Fatal Bullet Protag. I've been messing around with designs for him, though so maybe there'll be artwork for him if people want that. We'll see!

Anyways, enjoy!

Chapter 6

Not even an hour passed since the heist when Argo, Noya, and I entered the Broker Network's meeting room to the sound of incessant bickering. All of the brokers were at their seats and several conversations were going on at once, the commotion thick enough to almost blur into one indecipherable mass.

Argo took her spot while Noya and I dutifully backed her. With everything going on, an emergency meeting was called for every broker who was still online. While I much rather would have been with Sinon and Rei at the moment to go over things with them, I needed to get a better idea of just what the hell happened, and chances were at least good the brokers in attendance would know something worthwhile.

If nothing else, I wanted to get a pulse on what they were feeling. I worked for Argo, and by extension that meant I worked for the Broker Network. Whatever moves they made were inevitably going to affect me somehow.

"What did I tell you?" Xiggy said, not even bothering to hide the smug contempt in his voice. "She fucked it up. That's why you don't rely on one person to handle everything."

"Because you would have done so much better," one of the brokers responded.

Xiggy leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling with a grin on his face. "Sure as shit, none of us would be sitting here now if it was me. But we are. Because she couldn't keep her house in order."

Across from him Rosalia sat with her head bowed, her hands folded on the table. Faye stood next to her, leaning down and speaking quietly. I couldn't make anything they were saying, but the way Rosalia's eye twitched spoke volumes all on its own.

"What did you find?" I whispered to Noya. After the dust had settled, he returned to the back rooms of the venue to see if there was anything worth noticing while I tried to get a hold of Philia in the hopes that she'd talk to me and explain her side of things. I still hadn't gotten a reply. It worried me more than a little bit.

"There was a door back there leading to some back alleys," Noya reported. "Close to a maze, really. Led to the depths of the Deep Works."

"Must be how they got in then," I said.

"But how did they get out?"

"Front door? That's the only other way, right?"

Noya paused and casted a significant glance at Rosalia. "Judging from the look on her face, I'm not so sure."

A few minutes later, the door opened again and Gambler came inside, his stride quick and purposeful, the worry lines on his face deeper than the frown he wore. The whispered words from the other brokers died away in an instant upon his arrival, and he took his seat with a heavy sigh.

"What was lost?" he said without any preamble.

To his right, Rosalia raised her head, though her eyes never left the table space in front of her. Her mouth twitched, and with a sense of reluctance, she began to speak. "Almost half of the items up for auction. The PGM Ultima Ratio Hecate rifle was stolen. The pair of engraved Carlo Grand pistols. The entire set of Eclipse Optical Weapons as well. Along with various other things."

Gambler tapped his fingers on the table with harsh force, staring at the wall behind her. "And the ones responsible?"

"They escaped," Rosalia replied.

The room erupted into buzzing murmurs again. Some of the brokers present whispered words most unkind about Rosalia while others came to her defense. Arguments began to start. Voices grew louder.

Then Gambler raised his hand and everyone reluctantly fell silent. "To where?" he demanded.

Rosalia very visibly swallowed. "We're not sure. The men I stationed outside never saw anyone leave through the front doors. And…" She cast a quick, furtive glance at me then averted her eyes. "We're sure they couldn't have left through the back.

The hand tapping on the table stopped and Gambler's voice became harder than bedrock. "So they just disappeared into thin air. That's what you're saying."

Rosalia stayed silent, and she may as well have been cutting her own throat by doing so. The attack on the auction had humiliated her. She'd been figuratively slapped in the face in front of everyone in attendance tonight, and she didn't have so much as a placating answer for the questions being given to her.

Tonight was going to cost her. Dearly.

She just bled in a room full of sharks.

Gambler waited a beat more, but when it was clear she had nothing more to give him, he sighed. "I've spoken to the treasure guilds. At length. I'm sure you've all gathered the same thing I did. It seems that the girl responsible for organizing tonight's event had a hand in what happened."

Several of the other brokers nodded in agreement, and from the hard looks on their faces, they weren't exactly going to jump to her defense.

"Her name is Philia," Gambler said. "She's been with the treasure guilds for a while, but apparently that time didn't inspire any loyalty from her."

I clenched my teeth and kept painfully silent.

"We gonna make a move on her? We can't take this lying down. The Network's gotta show it doesn't hesitate to deal with people who cross us," one of the brokers said.

"No. Let the guilds handle her. They're going to want to settle this in-house and we should respect that," Gambler said. "At least until they ask us for help. Word is, she hasn't been responding to their calls."

"Guilty as sin," Hanma muttered.

Xiggy crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair. "Whatever you say, boss. But I got some contacts that are good at finding people. I can drag Philia in here. Kicking and screaming, if I gotta."

"No."

That simple word left my mouth before I could even think of holding it back, and over the course of a few seconds, I felt almost every pair of eyes land on me.

"Argo, please reign in your Operator," Hanma said, her tone reprimanding.

Argo raised her head and gave her a simpering giggle. "He's just sayin' what I'm thinkin'."

"Whatever the case, he's not to speak until given permission," Hanma said. "Or do you not have any control over your own Operators?"

"I didn't hire 'em because he was good at takin' orders," Argo said, her tone lackadaisical. "Gambler, I'm givin' him my blessin' to address the folks in this room. As his handler, I've come to the conclusion that his testimony is worth listenin' to."

"What's the point? We already know what happened. Everyone in this room saw it clear as day," one of the brokers said.

Xiggy grunted in agreement. "No offense to you, my guy, but this is Rosalia's mistake. She's gotta own up to it. That's all that we're talking about"

"I won't contest that. If the brokers believe Rosalia is responsible then I won't argue about it." I said, keeping my tone polite. "But somebody flipped the power back on in the venue and forced the bad guys to turn tail and run. That somebody may have caught something while doing it."

"You were the one who got the power back on?" Gambler asked.

"Yes."

"There were a bunch of armed gunmen in there. How did you manage to get past them?" Xiggy asked.

"Argo didn't hire me because I'm good at taking orders."

Xiggy scoffed at that. "Showoff."

"Hey, I'm not trying to posture here. I just want to set the record straight," I said. "Our time and energy is better suited to figuring out who was really running the game tonight, because it sure wasn't Philia."

Gambler held the stare, and something about the way he watched me made the hairs on the back of my neck prickle. It felt like he was stripping away layers of my very being until he could peer directly into my soul, like a veteran detective watching an obviously guilty suspect squirm in his chair.

"Let me ask you this then," he said, tenting his fingers together. "You don't think Philia is responsible?"

I shook my head. "Not the least bit."

"Why?"

I could have told them the truth, but like hell was I going to tell a room full of info brokers that I had a personal relationship with her. At best, it would make anything I say sound like I was trying to cover my friend's back which — while noble — wouldn't do much to sway a room full of people who worked with facts and evidence as a matter of course. At worst, I could be seen as a co-conspirator meant to draw off suspicion from Philia. Then I'd be tossed out like yesterday's lunch.

Better to avoid the whole truth. Give them something else to chew on.

"Doesn't track. Like you said, Philia is a long standing member of the Treasure Guilds and you can bet she hasn't done a thing to make her fellow treasure hunters doubt her loyalty if she was given the responsibility of organizing this event. She's devoted to them, she's got friends in the guilds, some of whom have known her since she started playing GGO. Any info you can scrounge up about her will say the same thing. She has roots there. There's no good reason for her to throw all that away, not after spending so much time and effort. If we think she's responsible for the heist, it's only because someone else set it up that way."

Gambler rested his palms flat against the table "So you think she's being framed."

"Considering her history, it makes more sense than her suddenly turning traitor," I said. "I saw these guys that attacked the auction. They were organized, well-armed, and disciplined enough to know when to shoot and when to run. The list of guilds with those qualities should be pretty short, right? We shouldn't jump the gun right now. Better to wait until the dust settles and pick up more information. Then we can act decisively. If Philia falls for this and it turns out she has nothing to do with it, then we risk straining relations with the various treasure hunters she's allied with. It's bad for business."

Gambler leaned back in his chair and rubbed at his eyes. "I understand why you'd feel that way. But your entire argument is irrelevant. As I've already said, the guilds want to handle this themselves. It's an internal matter and neither you nor I will have any part of it," he said. "Secondly, she's not being framed. Of that you can be sure."

"It's the only thing that makes sense," I maintained.

Gambler studied at me intently, eyes piercing. "This organized group of well-armed and disciplined players that you saw? Philia has a prior relationship with them."

My entire body froze at once. "...What?"

Gambler nodded. "The Treasure Guilds have confirmed it themselves. Philia has worked together with them a number of times during her treasure hunts. A few of them have even been seen entering her apartment, especially the one wearing the Hannya mask."

Well…crap.

I frowned. I could make the argument that the perpetrator's set up Philia to cover their tracks, but if they already had a history, one that people knew about, then that was significantly harder to explain away. I could try to make the case that they were playing the long-con, gaining her trust over time to eventually screw her over at the auction, but that argument sounded so desperate and paper thin that I doubted anyone would believe it.

I couldn't debate this. Not now, anyways. Gambler clearly had more information than I did, and pushing the issue right now would only make things worse. For me, for Philia, even for Argo since I was representing her.

I needed to back off. I didn't like it, but there weren't a lot of good options available to me.

Gambler watched me in the ensuing silence, his expression unyielding. "Don't jump to conclusions and don't let your preconceptions cloud what's in front of you," he said. "And in the future, I suggest you be mindful of your place in this organization. I'll let it slide this time. But if I were you, I wouldn't make the same mistake twice."

He turned his gaze elsewhere as if to utterly dismiss me from reality, speaking instead to the other brokers about whether they'd seen something, but I long since stopped listening, too absorbed in my own thoughts to pay them any mind.

After maybe fifteen or so minutes of frankly frustrating talking, Gambler finally said, "In the meantime, everyone should go about their business. Don't cause any trouble and don't aggravate the situation. I'm going to stay in close contact with the guilds and try to save face with our clients. Everyone is dismissed."

People got up to leave, Argo included. Noya and I fell in behind her and as we headed for the exit, I caught Rosalia gathering herself before rising from her chair.

Gambler stopped her with a raised hand. "Except for you, Rosalia. We need to talk. Privately."

The expression on her face turned remote, lips twisting into a tight frown. She nodded and sat down again.

I turned away from her and followed Argo out of the building. We stayed in prolonged silence until we entered the elevator. As soon as the doors closed, Argo blew out a heavy breath.

"Well, that coulda gone better," she said, scratching the top of her head. "Careful when you start speakin' up in there, Masai. These guys will bite if they think you're gonna be a problem.

"I'm not letting them go after Philia," I said.

"Of course. Just watch yourself. I can try to smooth things over if it gets tense with the other brokers, but I can't do it forever," Argo replied. "I'm assumin' you wanna find the real culprits for tonight's whole mess, right?"

"Yeah. Any idea where I should start looking?"

"There's a few squadrons out there who are capable of pullin' off what these guys did. But…" Argo cupped her chin, her eyes darting from left to right as if she were reading a book only she could see.

"But what?" I asked.

Argo sighed and turned to face me. "This is purely theoretical, but for a while now, someone's been takin' potshots at the Broker Network, poachin' clients, feedin' us false info through proxies, stealin' any treasure our information finds, and generally do everythin' they can to give us headaches."

It took me a second to get who she was referring to. "Wait, is this about those guys the other brokers were worried about in the last meeting? Ah, what were they called…"

"The Hidden," Argo supplied. "Not their real name of course; it's what we call them since we couldn't find a name. Or proof that they actually exist. It could be all the setbacks we've had are just bad luck, but they've been happenin' too often for me to think so."

The elevator doors smoothly opened and we all stepped out. I didn't reply until we were out into Glocken's busy streets, just another group of faces in the crowd. The formal wear we wore made us stand out a little, but that's the price one pays for good fashion.

"So you think that tonight was another one of their potshots? That those guys who attacked the auction and framed Philia could be connected to them?" I asked.

"Could be. Like I said, it's just a theory," Argo said. "One thing's for sure though. Those masked fellas are your best chance of getting to the bottom of it."

I thought for a bit and nodded. The entire night had become a tangle of knots and I didn't even know where to start pulling in order to unravel it.

But in the end, I did have to start somewhere.

I opened my menu and started typing out a message to Philia.

0 unread messages

I pressed my lips together, tapping my foot against the hardwood floor, and glared at my phone screen in the hopes of maybe intimidating it into giving me a notification. When that didn't work, I hit the refresh button again.

0 unread messages

Outside a scooter's engine hummed down the street, going east towards the Okachimachi train station. I waited until the scooter's growl was out of earshot, counted to ten for good measure, and then hit the refresh key again.

0 unread messages

Some people would consider me sitting around waiting for a message to be just a bit weird, maybe even concerning. I tried telling myself that Kotone will talk to me when she can, that she'd keep me in the loop because she knew I was her friend, and that the only reason she hadn't contacted me was because her inbox was being flooded with messages after what happened yesterday. Me adding to it wouldn't help anything. I needed to be patient.

I mulled that over in my head for a bit, and after finding it logically unassailable and perfectly reasonable, I hit the refresh key again.

0 unread messages

"You remind me of Kirito right now."

I flinched, and my elbow bumped into the cup of coffee Andrew gave me. Luckily nothing spilled, and the relative quiet of Dicey Cafe remained unharmed despite the attempts of distracted patrons and their wayward elbows.

"It's not because he's always staring at his phone, is it?" I asked, sliding my coffee a bit further away to keep from bumping it again.

Across the table, Asuna Yuuki hid her laugh behind her teacup, the corners of her eyes crinkling in amusement. She took a small sip of her Early Gray tea, the aroma strong and fragrant. "Not at all. Kirito gets that same look in his eyes whenever he's working on something he's passionate about," she said. "He can be so laser focused that he forgets to eat sometimes."

"Maybe that's why he's late," Shino said beside me, one corner of her lips quirking up in a lopsided grin. "Sometimes it feels like if he didn't have you or Suguha around, he'd forget what day it is."

"Kirito just gets so excited about what he's doing that he can't help focusing on it. I can't bring myself to scold him about it, though. He's got a lot going on right now. I'm just happy to support him however I can," Asuna regarded me, her tone teasing. "I hope you're doing the same for Shino-non, Makoto."

I gave her a polite laugh and forced myself to close the AmuSphere app on my phone, stuffing all those worries inside a mental box and shelving it for the time being. "I feel like I'd be in danger if I said no, so… "

Asuna shook her head, still smiling. "I don't mean to interrogate you, if that's what you're worried about. I'm just curious."

"Oh good. Because I've heard stories," I grinned. "But seriously, I'm doing my best. I'm pretty sure I'm not messing anything up." I leaned closer and said in a loud whisper, "Shino's the kind of girl to let me know if I do."

Shino elbowed me playfully on the arm. "Just because we're going out doesn't mean I won't give you the cold shoulder when you deserve it."

"Oh boy, I remember the first time you gave me one of those," I said, stroking my chin. "Remember? Way back during that monster hunt at the Helios Military Base?"

Shino crossed her arms over her chest and let out a low chuckle. "The Bloody Spinal Queen. Right, you were late for that."

"Wasn't my fault. I remembered last minute her offspring can be poisoned with medical syringes so I figured, hey, maybe the same goes for her. Spent like twenty minutes running around every shop I could find to get as many syringes as possible," I said, smiling a little. "Oh man, I was right, too. The Queen was the size of a house and had armor so thick even Hecate had trouble punching through it. Taking down its health was slow-going until we managed to climb onto her back and inject the syringes into the gaps of her armor."

Shino showed a faint smile. "I'll give you that. We had it on the ropes until it started rolling around to try and crush us."

"Was pretty fun though, right? Like riding a roller coaster."

"We crashed into a building."

"Two buildings!" I said, holding up the same amount of fingers. "It was definitely two."

"Two for you. I jumped off after the first time."

"...Oh."

Asuna giggled and shook her head. "You guys make GGO sound so chaotic."

"It has its charms once you get past its rough exterior," I said. "You should try it out sometime, Asuna. I hear Kirito's already been there, so we can all show you the good points in it. The city's got that cyberpunk charm to it and the people living in it are…interesting," I laughed a little. "There aren't a lot of VRMMO'S where you can come across a group of guys nerding out over guns, go down the street to see people playing hackysack with a grenade, and then stumble into an impromptu dance battle happening around the corner. And hey, if you love tournaments, GGO's got all types of them, not just the official ones like the Squad Jam and the BoB, either."

"Which reminds me," Shino said, her smirk turning positively vulpine. "You still haven't given me an answer about if you're signing up to the BoB with me."

"Ah, right. " I said. Shino did ask me to join her in the Bullet of Bullets tournament once upon a time. I still wasn't sure if I'd take her up on it though. It's not like I was a stranger to tournaments, especially not since my participation in the recent Squad Jam, but the BoB was the pinnacle of GGO's competitive culture. It'd be filled with all the top dogs of the game. Plus, if I joined and somehow managed to survive to the end, I'd have to fight Shino herself. That was all but guaranteed to be an ordeal all on its own. "Sorry, all this info broker stuff I've been dealing with lately has been tying my brain into a knot."

Asuna perked up. "Oh? Why's that?"

I hesitated and looked over to Shino. I'd already given her the full rundown of what happened with the brokers before we came to Dicey, including the part where everyone was shoveling blame onto Philia. She pretty much came to the same conclusion I did — that this was a mess and a half, and unraveling the whole thing would be a hell of a challenge, let alone doing something about it.

Shino met my gaze. She got the question without me saying anything, and in return she gave me the barest hint of a nod.

Admittedly, I hadn't known Asuna for very long, but there was nothing about her that told me I couldn't trust her. Besides, she was Shino's friend.

And mine too, I remembered.

"Can I run something by you, Asuna? It's kinda important."

Asuna looked from me to Shino and back. She set her teacup down on the table. "Sure. You can tell me anything. If I can help, I will."

I nodded and laid everything out to her, from the beginning of the auction to what happened after the attack, making sure not to leave out the tiniest detail.

Asuna took it all in with quiet contemplation, arms folded on the table, eyes analytical like she was solving a complex equation in her head. Honestly, it reminded me of when I first saw her in SAO, during a hearing meant to judge my guild's ability to join the frontlines, either as scouts or as part of the raid group itself. We weren't friends back then — or even acquaintances. The only person she spoke to was my guild leader, asking him questions about our combat capabilities, figuring out if we could truly pull our weight.

The look on her face back then was the exact same she had now.

When I finished, Asuna gave a slow nod, her expression filled with genuine concern. "This whole thing is awful to hear. Is Philia okay?"

"I don't know. I've left messages both in GGO and in real life, but she hasn't responded to any of them. Maybe she's trying to work something out on her end, but…" I lifted my hands in a gesture of helplessness. "I just want to know how she's doing."

"Well, I may not know everything about the situation, but it sounds to me like there's two explanations. Either she was involved in this attack for reasons she's not telling you or she wasn't and she's being framed." Asuna said.

Shino hesitated a second before telling me, "I know she's your friend, Makoto, and I don't mean to make her sound like the bad guy, but how much do you really trust her?"

"Implicitly," I said at once. "Because…"

Because she hid me from my own guild, a quiet voice whispered in my mind. Because she believed me when I told her I didn't kill the vice-commander.

"Because we were partners during the last two months of SAO," I said, running a hand over my hair and recalling those memories again. "I was on my own during that time, until she decided to watch my back. She's saved my life once and I've saved hers." I looked at Shino, my voice quiet and sure. "I trust her. We've been through too much together for her to leave me in the dark about anything."

Shino studied me intently. Then her features softened and I felt her shift a little closer to me as she said to Asuna, "Then someone else has to be responsible."

Asuna let a small smile take hold. "You really believe that, huh, Makoto?

"Yeah, it has to be a frame job. I mean, it's the only thing that makes sense. Philia had the whole thing dumped on her lap at the last minute and the only place she could hold the auction on short notice was arguably the most dangerous location imaginable," I said.

"When you put it like that, it does sound rather suspicious," Asuna said.

I nodded. "Pretty much everyone attending the auction last night pieced together that it was a disaster waiting to happen. When it turns out to be just that, and people start to think Philia is an accomplice because of her previous relationship with the people responsible, what happens?"

"Philia looks like a traitor to the treasure guilds, and security looks like they're incompetent for failing at their job." Shino said. "Both Philia and Rosalia take a hit for it."

I nodded, following the train of thought. "And whoever those masked people were, they didn't strike me as the type to make things up as they go. They went through a lot of trouble setting this heist up so perfectly in their favor. They even had an escape plan in case both front and back exits were unreachable," I crossed my arms, putting the pieces together. "This wasn't just them seizing the opportunity to steal a bunch of valuable treasure. They planned this. Probably for a while."

"Maybe that's why they were working with Philia in the first place," Shino speculated. "Once everyone knows they have a history together, it'll make the ruse that she's involved in the heist all the more convincing."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking. But then why target her at all?" I asked.

"Do you think maybe someone in the treasure guilds wants her out?" Asuna proposed. "You said they were the ones who gave her this job."

That made a certain amount of sense. The treasure guilds were the ones who put Philia in this situation in the first place. Someone could have set things up so that she was doomed to fail and arranged things so that she'd be associated with the mercs responsible. With the added bonus of making her look like the bad guy, not only would they have a great case to give her the boot, but they'd also hamper any attempt Philia made to defend herself. Sure, she could shift the blame, but how many people are going to take her side when she's been painted to seem like a traitor?

And if Argo's hunch was true and the Hidden (assuming they existed) had a hand in this, then it could explain why this whole mess happened to begin with. It was another one of their potshots, only they were using someone in the Treasure Guilds to do it, and leaving Philia to take the fall.

"It's possible. Maybe she annoyed the wrong person and this is their revenge scheme." I said. "Actually, yeah, that makes some sense. Gambler, the guy in charge of the Broker Network, said that the Treasure Guilds wanted to deal with her themselves."

"She's being isolated," Shino said.

I nodded. "Yeah. Pretty devious. But there's still one thing I'm not a hundred percent clear on."

"What's that?"

"How does Rosalia play into this? Because she wanted to protect Philia."

The question hung in the air. I rubbed at the spot between my eyebrows with my thumb. Figuring out what exactly went on with the attack was enough of a headache. Trying to piece together what part Rosalia played in it certainly didn't help matters.

"I know it might be a long shot, but do you know anything about her, Asuna?" I asked. "Anything at all. Even if it's something small."

She frowned and shook her head. "I know Kirito caught her and transported her to the Black Iron Palace, but that's it. It's not really something we've talked about."

I took a long pull from my coffee and set it down, fingers drumming against the cup. "Yeah, Argo pretty much told me the same thing."

"I could ask Kirito, if you'd like," she suggested.

I shook my head. "Nah, it's okay. I'll ask him myself. Have to think some more about this anyway. Get my thoughts into order."

Asuna nodded. I tried to examine things from a different angle, but I realized that trying to think through every single possibility wouldn't get me anywhere. There were simply too many trails to go down, too many variables to consider, which wouldn't be a problem if I didn't have enough hard evidence to start eliminating suspects.

C'mon, Makoto. Ignore everything you can't prove. Ignore the Hidden who might exist. Ignore the theories which could be true. Focus on what you can solve right at this moment, then go from there.

Philia was being framed. I knew that deep in my bones. In fact, she was so thoroughly set up that one could reasonably assume someone in the Treasure Guilds had a hand in it. They were the ones who organized this whole mess after all. Philia wasn't the kind of person who made enemies. At least not intentionally. But in the end, someone had it out for her.

As for Rosalia, she clearly wanted last night to go well. She had security watching the place from a number of angles and went through every possible precaution a reasonable person would set up. Plus, she went out of her way trying to convince me to help Philia and make sure the auction went smoothly. With all that in mind, chances were at least good that she had nothing to do with the people who attacked us.

But why care about Philia at all? Why try to convince me to help her in the first place? She told me she cared about what happened to her, but I didn't believe that for a second. Rosalia didn't strike me as the type to help someone out of the goodness of her heart. Using someone for her own ends seemed to be more her style.

Going off that line of thinking, the only explanation I could come up with was that Philia was important to Rosalia somehow.

Put all that together and the most important question made itself pretty clear: why did someone want Philia out of the Treasure Guilds, and what did Rosalia have to do with it?

It was as good a place as any to start digging.

Before I could start conjuring up an answer, the door to Dicey Cafe swung open and Kazuto Kirigaya hustled inside. His hair was matted down, probably thanks to the helmet he had tucked his arm, and his clothes were a bit rumpled. He spotted us quickly — which wasn't hard considering we were the only ones in the cafe — and made a beeline over, waving a hurried greeting to Andrew as he did. "Hey, sorry I'm so late."

The moment Asuna saw him, her whole demeanor visibly brightened, her expression turning sweeter than honey. "Kirito, it's not nice to keep people waiting, you know."

"Sorry, sorry. Something came up suddenly and it took longer than I thought," he said.

Asuna propped an elbow on the table, cupping her cheek in her hand. "It has to do with your part-time job again, doesn't it? You've been going over to Roppongi more and more lately."

Kazuto rubbed the back of his neck. The mildly guilty look on his face made him appear even more flustered than he already did. "Well, yeah. Kikuoka called me in and said there were some last minute adjustments I needed to try out."

Shino and I traded a curious look, and then we both turned to Kazuto with such perfect timing that we couldn't have done it better if we had rehearsed it.

"Part time job, huh? You interning in one of the bars or nightclubs over there?" I asked with a lopsided grin. "Dealing alcohol at your age? Goodness gracious. Didn't expect you to be such a rebellious guy, Kazu."

"And here I thought you'd be glued to your computer chair for the rest of your life," Shino added.

I wiped an imaginary tear from my eye. "My boy's all grown up now."

"Hard to believe he can finally take care of himself," Shino said.

Kazuto flinched like he heard a particularly ear-grating noise. "Wha-what's with the sudden team attack?"

Shino smirked and adjusted her glasses. "Call it payback for making us wait."

On that note, I checked my phone. It was a little past one in the afternoon. The trains would be leaving soon. "Can't keep the rest of the day waiting either. We should head out."

"I was just about to say the same," Asuna said as she rose from her chair. "Sorry to make you keep walking, Kirito. I'll make it up to you when we get there, okay?"

Kazuto seemed to relax at that. We bid our farewells to Andrew and left Dicey Cafe for Okachimachi station, the four of us heading through the narrow back streets amongst a healthy number of people also out and about on an early Saturday. The weather was unseasonably cool for early June, the air flush with pleasant warmth that would occasionally be broken up by a refreshing breeze. On days like this, I'd be taking my bike out on a leisurely ride, maybe somewhere along the playground near my apartment. A year ago it would have kicked my butt as part of my physical therapy, but now I was its master.

The bike riding, I mean. Not the playground. In case you were wondering.

Shino sidled up to me as we walked, her voice pitched low enough for only me to hear her. "Are you concerned? About everything with Philia, I mean."

Instead of answering right away, I lagged behind until Kazuto and Asuna were a couple feet ahead of us. Shino did the same. Neither of our friends saw it. They were too absorbed in their own conversation to notice our falling back.

"A little bit. Wasn't expecting things to go the way they did last night," I whispered back. "Was kinda hoping things would go smoothly so we can enjoy today to its fullest, y'know?"

"There's no way you could have predicted what happened last night," Shino said.

"Maybe not. I just wish Philia would get in touch with me. The waiting is the worst. I'd rather know what's going on and deal with whatever it is," I said.

"I know. You aren't the type to stand around wringing your hands about something. You just go out and do it," Shino shot me a lopsided grin. "Even if it gets you in trouble sometimes."

"That's why I have you. The brains to my brawn," I said.

Shino snorted. "Sure. Let's go with that."

"Honestly, I'm a bit surprised you're willing to trust her just because I said I did."

Shino shrugged one shoulder. "It's more that I trust you. You've known her for way longer than I have. You've even fought together with her back in SAO. If you believe that she's innocent, then I'll trust your judgment."

I bowed my head a little, unsure of what to say exactly. All I could muster was a meager, "Thanks, Shino."

"Don't mention it."

I nodded, scratching my right eyebrow. "There I go, getting all serious again. I have to stop doing that. I hear stress is bad for my complexion."

Shino poked me in the ribs. "This is you we're talking about. If there's anyone that can turn the mood around, it's you."

"Oh yeah? Well I can't afford to ruin my hard-earned reputation, then." I sucked in a breath, puffed out my chest, and clapped my hands together. "Okay, no dark clouds today. Just you, me, and Kazuto and Asuna, all enjoying a nice Saturday out on the town. We'll deal the heist later, and when we do, we'll throw everything we have at it. Solve the whole thing by lunchtime."

I held up a fist. Shino rolled her eyes and bumped it with hers. I drew my fist back, spread my fingers wide, and made an explosion sound to seal the deal, a wide grin spreading on my face.

Shino laughed. "Good. You look a lot better when you're smiling."

I laughed, and the two of us joined back up with Kazuto and Asuna as we all headed east to take a train out of Okachimachi station.

Back when I first moved to Tokyo over a year ago, I did the tourist thing and visited every popular district I could to get familiar with the sprawling metropolis that would be my home for the foreseeable future. From the electric buzz of Akihabara to the traditional atmosphere of Asakusa, every district I visited had their own flavor, their own distinct personality. But none of them made me feel quite more overwhelmed than the jam-packed streets of Shibuya.

Shibuya held the honorable distinction of being the ultimate shopping mecca of Japan, filled to the brim with fashion boutiques, nail and hair salons, stationery shops, jewelry stores, men's outfitters, and department stores of every stripe. And that's not all. There were also the kiosks displaying the hottest accessories or piercings, the shops selling bath products, and the vendors hawking scented candles. And that's still not all, because there were even electronics stores, anime figure vendors, shoe retailers, and plenty more I'm probably forgetting, all of them ranging from the cheap and affordable to the outrageously priced for people with more dollars than sense.

But overall, the city lived and thrived on being a bonafide fashion buffet, where every trendy guy and girl worthy of the title came to chase the latest and greatest in style and substance. A new fashion craze was sweeping the nation? Nine times out of ten it came from the hallowed streets of Shibuya.

Which probably made it inevitable that Kazuto and I would find ourselves in the very pink and very girly store known as Le Chic Bon. Asuna and Shino practically led the way here before indulging themselves in searching through racks and racks of hip and cool clothing, showing them off to each other and chatting animatedly while Kazuto and I tried our best to support our respective girlfriends on their voyage into the overwhelming word of teenage fashion — a pair of comrades-in-arms lost adrift in a sea of girly glitz and glamor.

"Kirito, what do you think of this?" Asuna asked while holding out a modest black blouse accented with embroidered red vines along the neckline and down its sleeves. At least, I thought it was modest until I saw the price tag. Sometimes I forget Asuna comes from money.

"Ah, it's very much something that fits you well, Asuna," Kazuto said. "Maybe I should get something that matches."

Asuna beamed at him, holding the blouse close to her chest. "Don't worry, Kirito. I'm sure I could find something that could! Maybe we could even switch our colors. I still think you'd look good in white."

Kazuto winced like someone had told him a particularly bad joke. "A-Ah, th-that's a little extreme, isn't it?"

"No use trying to escape me this time, Kirito," Asuna said with the same beaming smile. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you look fantastic. Just leave it to me."

Meanwhile, Shino examined a cream colored turtleneck while humming to herself, pinching the sleeve and rubbing the material between her fingers. She looked over her shoulder at me.

"You look good in anything," I said at once.

Shino slapped the back of her hand against my stomach. "I didn't even ask you yet."

"I'm taking the initiative. Girls like that right?"

"Not like that," she replied. "Well, if you're going to take all the fun out of it, then maybe I should make you model for me instead."

I laughed. "Bring it. I can rock a turtleneck."

Shino pulled the piece of clothing off the rack and placed it up against my chest, checking its size relative to mine and trying not to smirk. "You'll tear it trying to put it on," she said.

"Then it seems I escape to live another turtleneck-less day," I said, waggling my eyebrows.

Shino rolled her eyes and put it away, browsing through other articles of clothing as she spoke. "I'd like to at least get something you think would look nice. It's not all for my benefit, you know?"

"I'm just not very picky," I joined her in checking out the clothing rack. I didn't have as sharp an eye for fashion as someone like Asuna, but if Shino was trying to get something I'd like then it was only fair I gave it my best shot. "I always thought you looked good in green, though. It's a very 'you' color."

"Sinon does seem to wear that color a lot in ALO and GGO," Kazuto added.

"That's more a coincidence than anything." Shino replied with a self-conscious laugh. "I can't help it if both my best outfits in VR are green."

Asuna cupped her chin as if in deep thought, tapping a finger against her cheek. "I don't know, Shino-non. You keep picking out clothes like that every time we go shopping out here in the real world."

Shino's eyes went wide. "Come on, you don't have to bring that up, Asuna."

I put a hand on Shino's shoulder and spoke like a wizened teacher to his pupil. "Shino, to find your true fashion, you must look with your eyes, unclouded by hate."

"What does that even mean?" she protested.

I moved behind her and put my hands in front of her eyes, careful not to smudge her glasses. "Look with your heart. Not your eyes."

"Okay, you pulled this out of a manga."

I grinned and peered over her shoulder, describing the different tops here and there without mentioning the color, making suggestions that were thankfully supported by Asuna's own input. After a while we even turned it into a bit of a game, with Asuna and I picking different tops and describing them as best we could to Shino while I kept her eyes covered. Whichever one she picked was the winner.

"It's pretty soft…and it pairs with your eyes pretty well," I said about a long sleeved black shirt with a modest amount of frills. Like I said, I don't have the keenest eye for trendy fashion, but it's even less so when it comes to women's clothing. I glanced over to Kazuto for any kind of support, but all I got was a blank stare and small shrug.

Ah, the foibles of being teenage boys.

Asuna won in the end with her choice of a nice red blouse with a faint leaf pattern, which meant I owed the former Vice Commander her favorite drink at the cafe we were going to afterwards. In my defense, she'd known Shino longer than I did. Sure, it was only by a month, but I declare that to be a massive advantage in my book.

While Asuna and Shino were deep in conversation at the checkout counter with the cashier, a young woman a few years our senior, us menfolk mostly loitered around near the exit, killing time by admiring the nearby stand of hand creams.

"You a strawberry kinda guy or do you lean more towards coconut?" I asked, perusing the store's wares. "There's cucumber melon here, too, if you're feeling daring."

"Ah. None for me, thanks," Kazuto said.

"You sure? They're not toxic or anything. They won't turn your hands green," I said with a joking grin.

"Yeah. I'm good," he said with an awkward chuckle, and didn't offer anything more than that.

"Okay. Noted."

Silence fell between us.

I cleared my throat. "I wonder how many more shops we're going to get dragged through. From the sound of it, the girl's aren't going to stop until we actually do end up modeling for them."

"Hah, yeah."

More silence.

I pursed my lips together. While I've mostly gelled with every one of Shino's friends in one way or another, Kazuto was…a bit harder to reach. It wasn't like I thought he was being weird or anything. From what I gathered in conversations with everyone else, Kazuto could be somewhat of an introvert when he's around people he doesn't know very well. I could understand that. Everything I knew about him — which admittedly was very little — told me he was someone who felt most at home in comfortable and familiar environments.

I did want us to have a good relationship, though. I just needed to be patient and not come on too strongly towards him. Best to take it slow until we really got to know each other.

In a way, Kazuto reminded me of when I first started interacting with Shino. She stonewalled me for a good amount of time back when we were first getting each other's measure. It took a bit of dogged persistence, but eventually we reached a level of respect and friendliness towards each other that led to our current relationship.

"So, pardon me for dragging up past conversations, but what is your job anyway? I can't really imagine there's any place in Roppongi that would drag a student out so suddenly on a weekend," I said, hoping to spark a conversation. One of the best ways to do that was to simply ask a question. In my experience, people love talking about themselves, especially when it's about things they do.

"It's for a good reason," Kazuto replied with an awkward chuckle. "I'm…well, I've been helping out in testing the next generation of FullDive technology."

My eyebrows climbed up. Next gen FullDive tech? This soon? I sure as hell wasn't expecting that, much less that Kazuto was playing a part in its development. "Next gen already? The AmuSphere didn't come out all that long ago."

"Yeah, but this tech is something else," Kazuto said, leaning forward. "If everything works out, it'll revolutionize FullDive and the virtual world as we know it."

"That's a bold claim," I said. "Is it being made by RECT? Are they trying to make a comeback or something?"

"No. It's a completely different developer called Rath. They have a huge amount of funding for this project. More than I've ever seen," Kazuto said. "The engineers there are using methods nobody's seen before and transmitting data through mediums that were previously unheard of. It's…kinda ingenious, really."

I tapped a foot against the floor, sifting through my memories. I wasn't too deep in the VR industry scene though, so the name 'Rath' didn't seem familiar to me. "Huh, never heard of them. How'd you even get in touch with them?"

"They actually came to me. They were referred to by some people I know. When they offered me the chance, I couldn't really say no."

"Look at you, Mr. Well-Connected," I teased, drawing another awkward laugh from him. "I kid, but it's pretty impressive all things considered. You're still in high school but you've got something good going on."

"I suppose so," Kazuto agreed.

"So next gen FullDive, huh? As far as I understand it, doesn't the tech we have now just re-route your senses and feed you new ones? How much more advanced can it get than that?"

Kazuto scratched his chin. "I…well, the machine I'm testing doesn't connect to your brain."

I lifted an eyebrow. "Why not exactly? What else would it connect to if not your brain?"

He worked his jaw a couple of times, as if he were testing the words in his mouth before actually speaking them. "It connects to your soul."

Uh. Uh-huh.

I glanced aside at Asuna and Shino, in case they were waiting with bated breath to see me fall for what sure sounded like a joke. Instead, they were testing out some of the perfumes the store associate had given them, none the wiser to what Kazuto had said.

FullDive technology that could connect directly to your soul. There was just…so much to unpack from that sentence alone. Like how souls really did exist in some form, and weren't just the subject of spiritual and religious talk. And apparently they were tangible enough to be able to interface with a machine to the point that an entire simulated world could be created. I couldn't even begin to fathom how it all worked. I tried to imagine what kind of form such a machine would take, and how it could touch a person's soul.

I couldn't. My brain was still having trouble accepting it as a true statement.

Boy, here I was trying to connect with Kazuto and I got a world-changing revelation dropped on me for it. Is this what it's always like with him?

"Souls. Souls are real," I let out a low whistle. "You're pushing what I can believe."

"W-Well, it's the closest thing we can attribute to what we normally define as a soul. It's who you are, basically. Imagine your consciousness — your mind — down to its most basic parts. That's what this technology is connecting to." Kazuto rubbed the back of his head. "I'm…not exactly sure how much I'm allowed to say," he admitted. "Rath gets a ton of funding, but at the same time, they're going through a lot of trouble to make sure everything stays a secret for now."

"Oh." I said. I waved a hand, "Then as far as I'm concerned, I didn't listen to a single thing you said. Rath? Technology connecting to your soul? Never heard of it. Sounds like an anime plot to me."

Kazuto coughed into his closed fist, and shrugged, his face flushed with embarrassment. "Sorry. I kinda just started spilling out everything on you. It probably sounds crazy."

"Nah, it's cool. I don't exactly get how it all works, but I do know that it's some wild tech if it can do everything you say it can," I said, waving a hand in the air. "It's something you're passionate about. I get that. Heck, I'd do the same if you started talking to me about baseball or something."

Kazuto's face lightened with relief. "Ah, thanks."

My phone buzzed in my pocket. Someone sent me a message.

My heart sped up to about a thousand beats per minute. I yanked my phone out and tapped on the screen to check who sent it.

It was spam.

"Oh for the love of…" I muttered to myself. "Of all the times…"

"Hm? What's wrong?" Kazuto asked.

I didn't answer him right away, instead staring at my phone screen in contemplation. I did want more information on Rosalia and what kind of person she was. It may be important to know what kind of person she was, and why she'd be interested in Philia. Kazuto was the best person to ask on that front. Now was as good a time as any.

"Hey, I need to talk with you. It's something serious," I said.

He lifted an eyebrow at me. "Oh…uh, okay. What about?"

"Back in SAO, do you remember someone by the name of Rosalia?"

Kazuto's face changed. He didn't necessarily grimace or frown or anything, but it was a close thing. If he had a little less self control, maybe it would have happened. As it was, he merely narrowed his eyes, enough to tell me he recognized the name.

"Yeah, I do. Why about her?"

"I ran into her. She's set up shop in GGO as an info broker. A pretty damn powerful one at that. Got a ton of influence and some pretty serious looking allies," I gave him a quick rundown of what I knew about her, and he listened intently without saying a word.

"Has she bothered you at all?" he asked me when I finished.

"Not really. She tried to charm me into working with her by getting all flirty with me, but she backed off when I told her to. I haven't talked to her since," I said.

"It sounds like something she'd do," Kazuto said, nodding. "She's dangerous, Makoto. Don't underestimate her."

"Yeah, that's kinda why I wanted to talk about her with you," I said. "You've dealt with her before. I was hoping you'd give me as much info as you had on her. How to get the upper hand on her, too, if possible."

Kazuto gave me a steady, pensive look. "What are you intending to do exactly?"

"With her? Nothing. I'd rather not even cross paths with her again if I can help it. But I don't want to hedge my bets either," I said. "I need to know what kind of person she is. It might change how I deal with her going forward. And if it comes to a point where I have to stand off against her, I'd like to have as much info on her as possible. Better than fumbling in the dark."

Kazuto put his hands in his pockets, eyes flickering across the ground, head bowed slightly. "She was the leader of a bandit group called Titan's Hand." he said. "She was a green player, but she used it to trick people into trusting her. She'd lure unsuspecting players out into the wilderness where the rest of her gang would be waiting, then they'd rob them of everything they had."

I grimaced. Robbery and muggings weren't exactly rare problems in SAO. A person pushed to the edge is capable of all sorts of things, and the death game was full of desperate times. Stuff like that was especially common in the early days, when hope was scarce and people lost their minds to despair, anger, and all sorts of temptations.

Of course, not every bandit in SAO was forced into it by desperation. A few of them did it simply because they were rotten from the get-go. SAO just gave them a new world to express it with virtually no consequences.

"I guess she did it enough times that eventually you caught wind of it?" I asked.

"Not exactly," he said quietly. "A player showed up at the front lines one day, begging anyone who'd listen for help. He was there for days. When I heard him out, he told me that someone wiped out his entire guild, the Silver Flags."

I scowled. "Rosalia's crew."

Kazuto nodded. "Yeah. Titan's Hand robbed people, but if they didn't have any items or money worth taking, then Rosalia would have them killed."

A sick feeling curdled in my stomach. I already knew Rosalia had blood on her hands, but hearing it directly from Kazuto gave it an entirely new sense of discomfort. She massacred an entire guild. Even at their smallest, guilds typically consisted of about five people. That was how many people she killed, at least. You don't make a decision like murdering everyone in the Silver Flags unless you're already good and comfortable with the idea. Sure, she may have gotten her lackeys to do it, but she ordered it, and the difference between giving the command to kill and carrying it out is so thin it may as well not exist.

"Lines up with what I heard." I said. "What'd you do?"

"He gave me a corridor crystal that he bought with the last of his money and keyed it to Black Iron palace. He wanted me to capture Rosalia and the Titan's Hand."

"I hear you pulled it off."

"I suppose so." Kazuto stared off into the distance. "But it didn't really mean anything in the long run, huh? Rosalia is still free. She might be even more dangerous now than she was back then. And I guess she'd be pretty upset with me for what I did."

I wasn't quite sure what to say to that. Depending on when Kazuto locked her up, she could have been in prison for months. I never ventured into Black Iron Palace beyond the room holding the Monument of Life — the giant stone slab containing the names of every player in SAO, both living and deceased — but I couldn't imagine the prison being anything pleasant to live in. Would Rosalia hold a grudge against Kazuto for that?

Well, it was an interesting question, but one I needed to ponder later. It wasn't the most pressing thing I needed to know. All that mattered at the moment was knowing that Rosalia is fully capable of sacrificing human lives for her own benefit.

"So I probably already know the answer to this, but I'm going to ask anyway," I said. "Does she strike you as someone who can turn a new leaf? See the error of her ways and strive to do good? Because she took a sudden interest in taking care of a friend of mine. And based on what you told me, she doesn't seem like the type."

Kazuto pressed his lips together and let out a barely audible sigh. "Sorry, I feel a little uncomfortable throwing judgements on people like that."

"I get that," I said. "But I just want to be sure about what I'm dealing with. My friend's wellbeing is on the line."

Kazuto shifted in place, clearly battling with himself about what to say. Finally, he shrugged and spoke in a subdued tone. "I want to believe she can redeem herself and atone for what she did, but…"

"After everything she's done, it's hard to believe," I finished.

"Yeah. Sorry."

I held up a hand. "It's alright. I get the picture." I slid my phone back into my pocket. She'll message me when she's ready. I knew she would. "Sorry, if I'm being pushy. I'm just concerned is all."

"Yeah. Sorry if I'm being evasive. I get that it's important to you," he said.

I cracked a grin. "Okay come on, let's stop apologizing to each other before the girls see us. Shino will make fun of me for it and I don't think I can live with that kind of emotional abuse."

Kazuto forced out a laugh. Asuna and Shino chose that moment to join us, holding their new red paper bags decorated with the store's name in gold lettering, and the four of us departed for a cafe that Asuna recommended. It was on top of a department store and decorated in the same kind of minimalist style that a lot of modern stores tend to have — all metal and wood, with more abstract shapes than an art gallery. The place was packed, but as luck would have it, we managed to grab the last table on the edge of the large outdoor patio section they had. It had a great view of the famous Shibuya crosswalk to boot.

Between the excited talking and the enjoying of pastries and beverages, time passed us by without much notice. Even with everything that happened yesterday being stuck in the back of my mind, I found myself having a good time just being there talking and laughing with Shino and the others.

At some point during our chatter, Shino sent me out for a refill and being the good boyfriend I was, I was all too happy to oblige. There was a second barista's counter for the folks outdoors, but unfortunately a packed cafe meant a long line to get behind. The pair of baristas were being slammed with orders. It couldn't be helped, though. I went there to get our drinks and Kazuto elected to come along with me.

"Asuna's really big into cinnamon chai, isn't she?" I said in a bid for small talk. "This is like her third cup."

"She really likes having it with sweets," Kazuto said.

"She does?"

"Yeah. She and I come here often enough that I know what she likes by heart, so…"

"Wow, seriously? That's pretty impressive. Makes sense, though. You two have been together for a while, right?" I asked.

"W-Well, yeah. I guess — yeah, it really has. Every time we're together it's…well…" he shied away, scratching his cheek. He tried to keep it off his face, but I could see the pure, genuine fondness on it. Asuna looked exactly the same way whenever she talked about him.

I nodded and pretended not to notice his embarrassment. "I hope Shino and I can get to that point some day."

After a lengthy pause, Kazuto asked, "So…how are things with Sinon?'

I hummed. "Pretty good. We go out every weekend and it's always a good time. We got comfortable calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend a little bit ago, but we're still going at our own pace — taking it slow, y'know?"

"Well, for what it's worth, you two do look good together," he said. "I think…yeah, I think Sinon's been enjoying herself a lot more lately. Not that she didn't before, but she just seems happier."

"I hope I played some part in that," I said. "When I can really make her smile, oh man, it's the best feeling in the world. Her whole face lights up and the corners of her eyes scrunch up in this really cute way," I stopped myself before I could go on and cleared my throat, rubbing the back of my neck in a twinge of embarrassment. "I-It's pretty nice."

Kazuto blew air out from his nose in a not-quite laugh. I joined in, shaking my head.

My eyes drifted over to where Asuna and Shino sat talking. It hadn't been so long ago since we started dating, relatively speaking. We hadn't gone much farther than the occasional hug either. But still, I couldn't help but wonder what things would be like between Shino and I in the future. What would our relationship be like in a month, or six, or even a year from now?

I was sure of one thing, though. Being with her for that long would be like a dream.

Shino must have felt my gaze. She turned to look at me and when our eyes met, a small, tender smile grew on her face. The same one that always made my stomach flutter and set my nerves alight with honest affection.

I didn't even try to keep from smiling back at her. When I waved to her, she shook her head, a silent giggle escaping her lips. Asuna watched us both, putting a hand over her mouth, probably to avoid squealing in excitement at the scene before her.

"Makoto?" Kazuto asked.

"Ah, sorry. Just distracted." I cleared my throat and tried to calm the fuzzy feeling growing in my stomach. "So, um, got any helpful tips as a guy who's been in a relationship for a while?"

Kazuto crossed his arms "For Sinon? I guess the most important thing would be not to make her mad."

"Definitely know that one," I said.

"Oh, I see. Well I guess there's also…" Kazuto trailed off. His expression gradually shifted until it became equal parts concerned and suspicious. I didn't know what caught his attention, but the sudden shift in his attitude was enough to tell me something was amiss.

"Do you feel like someone's watching us?" he asked. His voice carried an undercurrent of unease.

I raised a brow and glanced around the outdoor patio, then at the buildings around us. In a crowded space like Shibuya, it wasn't so odd that someone could be looking in our direction.

"Not really? Why?" I asked.

"I…feel like someone's eyes are on us," he said.

"A couple of handsome guys like us, who wouldn't stare?" I joked. Kazuto, however, didn't seem to lighten up. "Come on," I said, "it's probably just some folks who are people watching. Not so susp—"

I cut myself off. On the other side of a large window, sitting at a table inside the cafe, was a lanky man with sharp, gaunt features, his cellphone's camera pointed right at us. He had long, unkempt hair, a patchy beard, and was dressed in shabby, dark clothing. I couldn't get a good glimpse at his face from behind his phone, but I could make out part of the sick grin he wore. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up — the exact same way they always did when danger reared its ugly head.

I surged forward, past Kazuto and towards the double doors to get inside the cafe. I heard him call my name, but didn't so much as slow down.

Our peeping tom saw me coming. Because of course he did. He shoved his cellphone into his pocket and was already up and through the exit by the time I threw the doors open and sprinted after him with the shocked gazes of dozens of people following me.

I'm not an athlete. I mean, I move around plenty, but the days where I physically pushed myself were few and far between. On the other hand, no one's ever called me a couch potato either. Between riding my bike every weekend, my frequent trips to the local batting center, and playing the odd game of baseball with some guys from school, I was no stranger to physical activity.

The cafe sat on top of a department building, which meant I ended up in the midst of a throng of shoppers the second I exited the cafe. I got on the tips of my toes, straining to see over the heads of everyone around me, and caught sight of the man about thirty feet away, shouldering his way past people until he disappeared around a corner.

For the record, it's not easy or fast to push through a crowd when you're in a hurry. It's like wading through waist high water, only with more bumping into elbows and hurried apologies. I moved as fast as I could, but being forced to wade through the crush of shoppers turned my dead sprint into something between a jog and a fast walk. I had to stop more than once, move to one side more than once, squeeze through gaps more than once, all in an attempt to just not lose sight of the man.

My lungs felt the familiar burn of exertion by the time I rounded the same corner he went around. I spotted the man already more than halfway down the next corridor, hands in his pocket and shoulders hunched forward. The stalker veered left, heading down a set of escalators, and it took me far too long than I was comfortable with to reach them.

I went down them, squeezing past a group of teenagers around my age, and all but jumped the last few stairs to make it to the bottom, breathing heavily. A split second later, I caught sight of the the stalker pushing through a maintenance door further down the walkway.

"Damn it, how the hell is he still going," I said, swallowing mouthfuls of air as I went. "I need to run more."

Thirty feet later, I shoved my way through the same door and into a narrow, barren hallway with a staircase leading down on the other side and a door halfway between me and it. I sprinted as fast as I could, stopping to try the door only to find it locked, then flew down the stairs two at a time. There was only another door at the very bottom and I pushed through it, leaving the building…

…And ending up on the sidewalk of one of Shibuya's main roads.

I searched around, eyes alert like a Bloodhound that caught a whiff of its prey. The famous Shibuya crossing was on my left where an innumerable amount of people were currently crossing the street. Cars, trucks, and motorized scooters hummed up and down the street, pedestrians walked around me, some of them stealing surreptitious glances while keeping their distance from the guy who just bursted out onto the street and was rubbernecking around.

I didn't see the stalker anywhere, not on the crosswalk, not on the sidewalk or the alleyway across the street, not even through the display windows of nearby stores.

There was too much movement, too many people and things around me, and too many avenues of escape. Even the time I was spending now to pick up his trail meant he could get farther and farther away. I sighed. At this point, catching him would've been like trying to find a certain pebble in a rushing river — an exercise in futility.

Heavy panting came from behind me. I turned around and saw Kazuto make it to the bottom of the stairs, hands on his knees, gasping like he'd just ran a marathon.

"What…where did…" he panted.

I shook my head, taking slow and measured breaths to keep my breathing under control. "He's gone. Must've spooked him when I started chasing him."

Kazuto stood up and leaned against the door frame. "Was he the one watching us?"

"Seems like," I said. "Probably just some creep who likes spying on folks."

It took Kazuto a second or two longer than usual to respond. "Yeah, maybe. Did you get a good look at him?"

"Kinda grimy. Long hair, bad beard, maybe a few inches taller than us. Looked to be in his early twenties," I put a hand on my hip and bowed my head, wiping off some of the sweat that had begun gathering on my forehead. "Sound like someone you know?"

Kazuto's expression turned apologetic. "No. Sorry."

I offered what I hoped was a comforting smile and gave him a hard slap pat on the shoulder. "How'd you even know he was there? You weren't even looking at him when you said something was off. You train with ninjas or something? Because you have some sharp instincts."

"I-It's just something I picked up on," Kazuto said. "Back in SAO, I really trained myself to be very aware of people who could be watching me. Like a kind of hyper-awareness. It's saved my life a few times."

"Hyper-aware…okay, so definitely ninjas, then." I nodded sagely. I gave the street another quick search, but didn't have any better luck. Whoever had been watching us, they were almost certainly long gone by now. "Should probably get back to the girls, then. Don't want them to think we ditched them, right?"

Kazuto rubbed his shoulder. Though he smiled back, it was clearly fragile, something he whipped on the spot to keep the worry from showing. "Um, yeah. Sure."

The entire scene kept replaying itself in my head on the way back. I thought back to how he had his cellphone out. Was he taking a picture of us? How many? Did he take video, too? Hell, for all I knew, he could have been watching Shino and Asuna as well. The thought made me nauseous.

I wasn't sure what he was doing. Even less so as to why. But I could at least take a small amount of comfort in the fact that I managed to chase him off.

Just goes to show that GGO didn't have the monopoly on weirdos.

When we got back to the cafe, we found Asuna standing close by the entrance, craning their necks around, evidently looking for us amidst the crowd. Shino spotted us first and she said something to Asuna, who had her cellphone in hand and almost raised to her ear.

"What's going on? I saw you run off suddenly, and Asuna and I barely got out of our chairs when Kazuto chased after you." Shino asked me when we joined them. Her tone was concerned, but clearly she wanted an explanation.

Kazuto and I traded furtive glances. Then I sighed and stepped forward. "I…uh, I was chasing off some creep watching us."

Shino blinked and Asuna's face turned more alarmed. Which was about the reaction I was expecting.

"What? Are you both okay?" Asuna asked, stuffing her phone into her bag.

"Yeah, yeah we're both fine," I said quickly. "The guy took off when we noticed him. I went after him to try and maybe figure out what he was up to but he gave me the slip."

Shino's face slid into a mask of neutrality and she crossed her arms, her gaze aimed at me. Her lips parted like she wanted to say something, but she glanced at the others at the last second and held off, relaxing her posture.

"C'mon. It's probably a good idea to get out of here. Just to be safe," she said.

"Yes. That would be wise," Asuna said.

We went back inside to pay our bill. Then once I was absolutely sure we weren't being watched again, we headed out. Once we were out on the street, I made sure Shino stayed close to me, keeping my head on a swivel as we headed back.

At some point, I noticed Kazuto had done the same. He walked shoulder to shoulder with Asuna and held her hand tightly. He wasn't looking around the same way I was, but his eyes were sharp and focused, taking stock of everything around us like a hawk. That alone told me what kind of person he was.

It was one thing we had in common.

We both had someone we wanted to protect.