A/N: This is an all-new oneshot And now it primarily focuses on Asuna and her view on Kaito. All right, happy reading!

Kamen Rider Gaim is owned by Toei, Ishimori Productions, Gen Urobuchi, and Nitroplus.

Sword Art Online is owned by Reki Kawahara, A-1 Pictures, ASCII Media Works, and Aniplex.

Chapter 5: Reflections from a Sub-Commander

(Under the bridge)

A slash in the in the chest was performed by Kamen Rider Aura on the Elementary Inves. As she dodged an attack from another Elementary Inves, she jumped back to make a safe space. She faced three Elementary Inves as of now. And for an ordinary person, they will just run away or even get killed.

But Asuna is different. Two years trapped in a death game like Sword Art Online changed her. Not only she's one of the most of the powerful players out there but she finally met Kirito, her beloved. They were even partners and they fought together, and then they became lovers.

Then along came ALO where things are different. And it was not good for her. She was held captive in the online world by none other than Nobuyuki Sugou. She even hated the fact that she was treated more like a bird cage, a damsel in distress, a princess locked inside a dungeon. Not just it made her look pathetic and helpless at the same time, she was… violated by that bastard. Until that knight in shining armor saved her in the form of Kirito, they were reunited, shared their first kiss in the real world and they always spend their time together; not to mention the fact that since the introduction of the Inves Games and the Beat Riders, their relationship become more stronger than ever.

And there she was, clad with a magenta and red armor fighting off monsters. As a Kamen Rider, this is a good thing for her. Not just she'll use this for the Inves Games but something far greater purpose. She'll use this kind of power to protect people.

"No, I'm not done yet!" Aura declared as she charged. Suddenly, a gun burst appeared and sends sparks against the Elementary Inves, making them staggered by the hit.

"Huh?" Aura was surprised and when she looked behind and she saw Kirito, now transformed as Kamen Rider Gaim. He actually fired his Musou Saber on the Inves.

"Need a little help?" Gaim called out the magenta Rider as he charged with his swords ready. As he entered into the battle, he immediately blocked the attacking Elementary Inves.

"Kirito!" Aura called as she joins in, kicking off the Inves that was holding off Gaim.

"Let's clean up this mess." Aura said as she readies her Raspiercer.

"I'm with ya." Gaim replied as he places his Musou Saber to his left hand while putting out his Daidaimaru.

The two Riders charge on the enemy. As Gaim faced off the two Inves, Aura charged at the other one. She does a somersault jump past the Inves to evade her opponent's attack. Then she kicked the Inves in the face and slashed the Inves 2 times and ends with a thrust attack from her Raspiercer.

Gaim keeps on evading and the two Inves and blocked their attacks. Seeing an opening, the orange-themed Rider slashed both Inves using both of his swords. He kicked away the Inves, joining his comrade. Gaim turned into the other Inves and slashed it with two swords, ending the combo with a simultaneous thrust. It hit the Inves sending it away with the other two on the ground.

Aura joined along with Gaim as they both prepared since the three Inves recovered as they stood up.

"This will come in handy." Gaim said as he picks up the Pine Lockseed and opened it.

"PINE!"

Gaim immediately replaced the Orange Lockseed.

"LOCK ON!"

"SEIYA!"

The Orange Arms disappeared. Then a pineapple appears in the sky, landed on him as it unfolds.

"PINE ARMS! FUNSAI DESTROY!"

Now equipped with the Pine Iron, Gaim swings and with its threads, it surrounded the three Inves, binding them.

"Now, Aura!" Gaim called out.

"Thanks!" The raspberry Rider nodded as she then sliced her Lockseed.

"COME ON!"

"RASPBERRY SQUASH!"

Aura jumped high into the air. She aimed and went into a side kick position using her left foot and as she was surrounded by energy raspberries and the said energy are in her left foot. The kick collides against the Inves, destroying them that cause an explosion with energy raspberries flying out.

Aura closed her Lockseed, reverting back to Asuna. Gaim also did the same as reverting back to Kirito.

Asuna sighed in relief and turned on Kirito, who walked up to her.

"Thanks for save." She thanked.

"Don't mention it. Of course, I won't allow myself to leave you alone." Kirito told his girlfriend.

"Oh, come on. I can even handle those 3 Inves myself." said Asuna.

"So what? Even you're strong doesn't mean that I can't help you." Kirito replied.

"Aww, you're so sweet." Asuna playfully poked Kirito's cheek.

"H-hey, cut it out!" the black haired young man reacted while Asuna giggled.

After their encounter under the bridge, the two went into the grass, overlooking the river. Kirito laid down while Asuna sat on the grass.

"So Asuna, how exactly do you know Kaito?" Kirito asked.

As Asuna heard Kirito's question, she remained silent.

"Is there something wrong?" he worriedly asked.

"It's nothing." Asuna shook her head. "Actually, we shared a lot of history back then in SAO."

"Of course, he's also a survivor. Not to mention I encounter him a few times." Kirito stated.

"You know what's bugging me, Kirito? It's that we are still called by our titles back then." Asuna wondered. "I keep telling him not to call me that anymore…"

"Maybe that's because he still respect us. Back in SAO, we are one of most powerful players there. And the very reason why we are strong… is because we want to live. We want to survive." Kirito commented.

"Well, Kaito himself is one of the most powerful and skilled players in our guild, the Knights of the Blood Oath. His power, strength and skills earned him the respect of the whole guild. Most of his success rates of every quest and boss battle range from above average to excellent. And he would never hesitate to level up; take any loot after a monster kill, and get better weapons and item, just for the sake to become stronger. That's how resilient he was."

Asuna continued as she looked up in the blue sky. "Kaito is outwardly cold and ruthless." Upon hearing this, Kirito still remembered players who are also ruthless scums like the Laughing Coffin.

Then Asuna continued. "But you know what, he's different. Even with all the 'survival of the fittest' talk, he had a soft spot."

"Wait, how is that possible?" Kirito asked in curiosity.

"Since you asked for it," Asuna smiled. "Let's get started, shall we?"

(2 years ago, Knights of the Blood HQ, 55th floor of Aincrad)

After a meeting with the higher ups of the Knighthood, Asuna decided to go outside in one of the balconies just to take some fresh air.

"Even we are here in the virtual world, this kind of stuff is actually tiring…" Asuna mentally sighed.

As she finally arrived in the balcony, she was surprised that there is another person in the balcony. It was none other than Marloe, Kaito's SAO avatar.

"How long you've been standing there?"

Marloe turned and he saw Asuna, his superior, called him.

"Just half an hour, I suppose. And… my apologies for not expecting you to be here at this time, Sub-Commander." the KoB member tried to owe an apology.

"No, there's no need to apologize." Asuna shook her head. "Mind to be in company?"

"I don't mind." Marloe calmly replied. Then both of them glanced at the view of Aincrad's Floor 55.

"Marloe, I want to ask you something." Asuna began to speak.

He gave her a stare. "Go ahead."

"Do you remember the day, where SAO went closed beta and it was declared a death game, did you feel any kind of… something like fear?

Marloe flinched a bit. "What makes you to ask that kind of a stupid question?"

Asuna replied, "Just wondering. When the time that announcement was made, most of the players felt fear, and even most of them are losing hope since they are trapped. But you're different, aren't you…?"

"If you want me to state my opinion on those people, maybe you will not like my answer." Marloe warned. "Are you fine with that?"

"I'm all ears." Asuna replied, determined.

"I feel sorry for those people." said Marloe.

"What do you mean?" she inquired.

"If you ask me… those who died and fall off to their deaths, those who feel despair and cower… are considered weak."

Asuna keeps her stare on Marloe. "Is this how cold and ruthless he was…?" she thought.

"But…. there is an exception." He continued. "If someone tries to stand up and has the will to endure, even though he or she had no ability or he had nothing… is a sign of strength."

"But what about those who are weak… yet they want to live and survive?" Asuna asked.

Then Marloe answered. "They have hope. And in order for these weak people to thrive, they need to become strong. Lemme tell you something: the strong always prey on the weak. And the weak must obtain power so these people cannot be mocked, abused or trampled."

"So what you're telling me is that… you want to help the weak to help themselves…?" Asuna tried to guess.

Then he smirked. "You could say that."

(Present day)

"So you're telling me that… Kaito believes in the 'survival of the fittest' thing yet he wants to help the weak?" Kirito said.

"Yes." Asuna nodded as she continued while both of them are sitting on a bench. "He even declares that he is one of the weak. And it's an imperative for the weak, according to him, to obtain power so they can become stronger so these people would never be trampled."

"Becoming strong by obtaining power…" Kirito pondered, until something entered his train of thought. "Wait a minute that sounds familiar…"

Asuna looked at her lover. "What do you mean?"

"You know, I heard this from a movie. It goes something like this: 'The strong man, who has known power all his life, may lose respect for that power. But a weak man knows the value of strength, and knows… compassion."

"Kirito, you're still fond of superhero movies, huh?" she gave a sly look.

"Oh, come on. That superhero film is just 20 years ago and I still love to watch it. Well, aside from playing VRMMOs I also watched those films along with my sister."

"Hmm, okay; that's sounds… nice." Asuna nodded. "But anyway, I agree that weak people knows the value of strength. But, Kaito disagrees on one thing."

Kirito looked back on Asuna. "What would that be?"

"Something like, compassion." Asuna answered.

Upon hearing it, Kirito had his thoughts about that subject. During his days at SAO, he always has shown compassion to players who are helpless and even bullied by other players as well. But when he remembered the time when he tried to kill Sugou in the real world, he never did such a thing and let the authorities do the job. But the real world and the virtual worlds are different, as they say. But when it comes to something like SAO…

"You mean that… he would never hesitate to kill a hostile player like the members of Laughing Coffin?" he asked.

"It's not like that." Asuna shook her head, signifying as a no. "For him, compassion holds one back from obtaining the necessary strength to protect himself. And… he's the kind of guy who hates those who abuse power for their own ends."

"So that means he also protect the weak and helpless, right?"

"You could say that, Kirito." Asuna replied. Then she looked up as she continued. "I remember that he also helped one young player after he was surrounded by a bunch of bullies, mostly from The Army. And that young player joined in one of our quests…"

"Did you say… The Army? You mean the Aincrad Liberation Force? I heard that Thinker is one of them back then…" Kirito recounted.

"No, it's from Kibaou's faction." Asuna confirmed. This answer alarmed Kirito a bit.

"Kibaou… the sub-leader of 'that' Army…" Yes, the same Kibaou who is an obnoxious, greedy, power-hungry prick who is at odds with Kirito, who is a beta tester back then. He narrowed his eyes on that kind of memory…

"And guess what: Kibaou's men totally get their asses kicked." She continued.

"By who?" Kirito tried to guess.

"By Kaito himself, of course!" said Asuna. "It all goes with this…"

(Starting City, Aincrad 1st Floor, 2 years ago…)

Both Asuna and Marloe are walking around Starting City to buy more supplies and equipment. As they keep on exploring the town…

"Ow!"

A young boy was thrown into the ground as he was surrounded by a group of people whose uniforms were clad of steelish black and red cloth. And the looks of their faces are more like grinning like maniacs. From their uniforms, it can tell that they're from the Aincrad Liberation Army, but they were from the faction led by Kibaou.

"C'mon, kid. Give us your gold and we will let you go!" one corrupt trooper said.

"N-No way, I-I don't wanna… this is for my f-friends…" said the boy who is scared.

The other trooper grabbed the poor boy by the collar and glared at him. "Listen up, brat. If you don't give us your gold, you know what we're talking about. Right, boys?"

"Hehehe…." they agree with a cackle.

Then… the trooper who grabbed the boy was hit by a rock in the head. Gritted his teeth in annoyance, he growled. "Who goes there!?"

"Hey!"

The troopers turned at the one who is calling them. It was none other than Marloe, clad in his KoB uniform. And for the looks of it, he's pissed.

"Put that kid down!" the red-clad KoB member demanded. Still, Asuna remained silent as she looked on her subordinate.

"What are you thinking, Marloe…?" she said in thought, but deep inside, she was worried. Then saw saw Marloe walked his way to the troopers.

"Marloe, what are you doing!? You need to get back here!" she ordered in a whisper.

Marloe looked back and glared at her. His eyes surprised Asuna. That means he's serious. And no matter what it takes, he won't let this slide.

"Just watch, Sub-Commander…" he mumbled as he turned to Asuna.

"Look, boss. Another jerk trying to show off." said the other ALA trooper.

The boss grinned as he dropped the poor boy and stood arrogantly, along with his fellow troopers. "Heh, let's teach him some manners."

And now they were ready. Marloe finally showed up to them, with eyes burning on anger.

"Hey, hey, redshit. What's with the look on that face?" One trooper arrogantly smirked as he tried to look down on Marloe.

"Maybe he wants a piece of us."

"Yeah, he's just inviting himself to get his ass kicked."

"Yeah right." The men chuckled evilly.

Then Marloe scoffed. "On the other hand, you're nothing but a bunch of weak-ass punks."

"What!?" all of them growled at the young knight. The leader of the said group approached Marloe like an angry mobster and threatened him. "Who do you call us weak-ass punks, huh? Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?!"

"I know all of you. You guys are from a faction of the Aincrad Liberation Army led by a guy named Kibaou. Am I correct?" Marloe stared at them.

"Yeah, and what of it?" the leader sneered on him.

"All I can I say is that, what you did is utterly… disgusting." Marloe scoffed.

His words turned off the bullies, including the leader himself. "What did you just say!?"

"You heard me. Yes, this is a game; death game. And while we're stuck here in this virtual world you and your fellow worms are still trying to take advantage on those who are weak and helpless, including that boy over there." Marloe replied while pointing his finger on the younger player.

The leader growled, irritated by Marloe's response. "You…"

"Lemme tell you this: only cowards and scumbags like you are those who use power just to trample the weak. The likes of you makes me sick." Marloe declared with venom in his words.

"Weak, huh? Let me show you who's weak, you sicko!" the leader raises his sword… yet, with a flash, the tip of Marloe's sword is now on the leader's neck. Asuna and the boy are amazed on the young knight's speed.

"Do you know what happens when I'm going to finish you off here, right?" Marloe threatened.

The leader was shaken; he's scared.

"W-Wait!" his comrade called out. "Did you see that armband?"

"N-No way…"

"He's a-"

"You… you're a member of the Knights of the Blood Oath?!" the leader exclaimed.

"Hmph." Marloe smirked.

The leader turned to his men. "D-Don't just stand there, do something! Grab the boy, now!"

The men nodded hesitantly.

"N-No! Please, don't!" as the boy tried to get away from the troopers…

TWISH!

A player suddenly appeared in a flash of light, pointing her rapier to the troopers. Asuna makes the save, protecting the boy. The boy, however, was in awe of the girl.

"One move of trying to touch the boy, you're gonna regret it." She threatened. Her words made the men tremble. They screamed as they ran for their lives.

"Let's get out of here! He's with the Sub-Commander!"

"WAAAH!"

"Hey, get back here you jackasses!" the leader tried to call his men yet they keep on running. And then he looked back at Marloe.

"Grrr, you'll be paying for this!" he vented and ran away.

Asuna sighed in relief. As she turned into the boy, she reached her hand to him. The boy grabbed it and as stands up.

"Thanks for saving me from those guys." The boy bowed.

Then Asuna smiled. "It's better if you thank him." She pointed the young player to Marloe.

"Huh?" The boy turned to the young knight, who is now standing in front of him. Marloe walked into the boy and asked, "What's your name?"

"Um, Jake…?" the boy answered. "Oh! Yes, uh thank you, sir!"

Then he patted Jake's head. "Don't mention it. So, you want to join us? We can take a quest just to help you out."

Upon hearing this, the boy smiled. "Of course! Thank you so much, sir!" Asuna saw the whole thing and can't help but to smile as well.

"So… he has a softer side after all…"

"And… what happened to that player?" If you ask me, it really brings back some good memories." Kirito asked as the memories of him meeting Silica 2 years ago is coming back to him.

The she answered with a chuckle when Kirito told her about Silica. "Of course, that young player joined us in some of our quests. Sometimes, Kaito is the one who is teaching him the mechanics of the game while I'm also helping him out. Later on we sent him to Sasha's orphanage in the Town of Beginnings. Kaito did that because he doesn't want that kid to die in the game. Children don't deserve such fate, according to him."

"I see…" Kirito nodded

"And… that's it. The rest is history." Asuna concluded. "Oh yeah, let's go back to the garage! I'm sure everyone is waiting for us!" Upon saying this, Asuna cheerfully got up from the bench and begins to walk

"Kaito Kumon…." Kirito pondered on his thoughts as he also got up. Yes, he met him back in SAO but he doesn't know about who he is aside from being a cold and ruthless person. But thanks to Asuna, he knew some of his backstory. But he's pretty sure that there is more than that.

"I'm sure there's more than what Asuna told me. Who really are you, Kaito…"

"Hey! Kirito!" Asuna called out.

"Huh? O-Oh yeah, I'm coming!" Kirito answered as he ran into Asuna as they walk together back into their home….

A/N: To be honest, this is not only my longest chapter with 3,000 words but also the hardest. I even looked and studied Kaito's profile. Spartan719 also helped me out on making this chapter as well. Anyways, I'm sure everyone here loved the notion of introducing Alice in his story. Can't wait to make a one-shot about her under Spartan719's supervision.

Anyways, can't wait for the Gaim Gaiden V-Cinema this coming April.

Thanks everyone and I'll see you later!