"Whoa! Where the hell did you get this sword?"
"Honestly? I can't remember... I think it was from a dungeon somewhere on the higher floors."
"Really now..."

It was July 30th, and I was exhausted. There was no sign of Joshua, our guild Commander; I was the last one who spoke to him and I had all of my drops and weapons with me, so I was the prime suspect for his disappearance. Thankfully, I was able to plead against my guild's accusations and it turned out that Joshua had given drops to other members of the guild. Despite my newfound innocence, I was placed on temporary suspension until further notice.

That's right, I was put on suspension from the guild that I had formed. I suppose I deserved it for being too scared to manage other players and stepping down as leader. Believe it or not, I actually welcomed the break that I "deserved;" It took off the strain of having to deal with new players this late in the game and gave me a chance to see Liz again. I couldn't complain with those bonuses.

I arrived at Liz' shop at noon and told her of the unfair accusations. Although she was comforting, she seemed just a bit more interested in what my rare drops and weapons were.

"Brother's Keeper... this sword is really rare! Are you sure you don't remember where you got this from?"
I shook my head. "Keep in mind that I didn't even get to see this drop before Joshua hoarded everything... he really changed. He was such a loud-mouth in real life, now... well, I have no idea where he is now, but he was surprisingly calm."
"I guess people really change when they enter this game..."
"Yeah, I can see why."
"Oh! By the way, since you're off-duty, you should stick around; I'm having a friend come over for repairs."
"A friend?" I asked curiously. I didn't know that she had other friends, but I assumed she had some regulars who came by in need of assistance. "Is he a regular?"
"Sort of; you see I'm... his exclusive blacksmith."
"Interesting... who made that decision, exactly?"

She gave me another look if annoyance.

"Does that really matter?"
"Hey, I'm just wondering. I'm guessing he must be a pretty kind person if you're his exclusive and everything."

To this she said nothing. I noticed that she was a bit sad, almost heartbroken. She turned around, hand on her heart.

"Yeah, he's... he's pretty... nice..." Her voice was breaking. I went to place a hand on her shoulder when she turned around with a smile, blinking tears. "Well, it's nothing to worry about now," she said cheerfully.

We talked for about ten or fifteen minutes (mostly about our lives outside of the game, turns out I was two years older than her. We didn't trade names just yet, though). As we talked, we heard a familiar bell ring and a new face walked in.

She was quite pretty; had long, orange hair, her eyes the same color. I noticed that she was wearing the uniform of the Knights of the Blood Oath and groaned on the inside. All I needed was another of those, telling me that my guild was "unnecessary," that there were already players who were helping others, that it was "obsolete".

Her attitude, however, was much different. She said hello to Liz as she walked in.

"Hey, Asuna!" Liz said."Hi Liz, do you mind fixing my sword again?"
"Sure thing!"
"Kirito is coming over later, by the way."

"Asuna" looked up at me. "Oh! You're part of Dancing Shadows, aren't you?"
"Yeah, my name is Arkham. It's a pleasure."
"Likewise. I'm actually glad what you're guild is doing, despite what some of the other members of K.O.B are saying. There's nothing wrong with helping out new players, if you ask me."

She said this with such confidence that I almost blushed. She must have a lot of guys crushing on her, I thought.

I was on my way outside for a breather (normally a smoke break; yes, I had a smoking problem at 16; I didn't tell Lisbeth that, not yet, at least) when I heard a little conversation that stopped me dead in my tracks. As I opened the front door, I heard Asuna say something rather loudly to Liz as they walked through the door behind the counter.

"Hey Liz, that guy you're hanging out with is a keeper!"

She said this with a morbid sense of sarcasm, as if she was just poking fun. I was right.

"Asuna!" Liz responded embarrassingly, "cut it out! You're not one to make fun."
"Relax, I'm just kidding. Seriously though, he's very nice. I've met a few people from Dancing Shadows and they're usually quiet and unresponsive... he's much different."

I couldn't help but chuckle quietly about her experience with some of the members of my guild; her opinion of them was pretty much on the money. As for Asuna teasing Liz, well, that wasn't very disheartening to hear. I know that it was only my first time hearing a conversation between two girls about me being "a keeper" (or any sort of compliment for that matter), but it still felt good. Little did I know that if I had waited just a few more minutes before taking a break, I would have heard the conversation that followed and my face would turn more red than the burning coals in Liz' furnace.

...

After seeing Asuna off (who was a bit irritated that "Kirito" did not show up as planned), Liz walked outside and greeted me. She had a slight blush on her face and refused to look directly at me.

"What's up?" I asked.
"Hey... Arkham? Do you... have a place to stay since your on Guild Suspension?"
I sighed, remembering about our Guild's rules involving suspension. "Yeah... but it's fine, I can just-""I want you to stay with me."

She caught me completely off guard and I blushed back.

"S-say what?"
"You heard me. I want you to stay with me until your suspension is over."
"W-Why?"
"Because..."

"...Because I like you, Arkham."