Warnings: BoyxBoy, OC (Original Character), Mild Violence, Language. If any of these things offend you, you are free to exit from the door on the right.

Dreams in the Dying

Chapter 2:

When Life gives you Lemons Squirt them in Someone's Eyes

[Kirito P.O.V]

– First Floor: The Lost Cavern –

Mental pain erupted from my injured side; unnecessary air shallowly leaving my lungs, as I attempted to remind myself that the wound wasn't real, and that the throbbing in my abdomen, that only seemed to migrate to my head, was but a figment of my imagination.

My efforts wore proving to be useless however, as I wallowed in the clusters of glittering shards, which were gleefully writing the world 'defeat' on my forehead with a fat, black sharpie. I never took failure well, and the scenario I had brought myself into was no exception. I tried to articulate what else I could do to save myself from blasting into a million glittering crystals, and leaving Mika to fight the gargantuan, lethal samurai on his own, but I was coming up short. I knew from memory that I was devoid of any health in my inventory, as the village I had been migrating to was the closest place to sell them. The only other way was to destroy an enemy and gain one, but unfortunately, low grade animals such as wolfs and boars didn't hold such items, so I was out of luck.

I chuckled lightly. Seems as though I'm always out of luck.

I could feel my life force dribbling away like a leaky faucet, and I was beginning to ponder over the thought of just letting my consciousness slink off into the foreseeable distance, when an urgent voice suddenly shouted out to me, stopping my mental footsteps towards precarious territory.

"Hey Kirito!"

I opened my eyes to the sound of my friend's soft, yet powerful voice calling put to me, just in time to catch a glowing panel popping up in front of me. Even in my current state, I could tell that it was a marriage request, with two buttons for 'Yes' or 'No'.

My eyebrows furrowed in understandable confusion. What the hell?

"Marry me?" He shouted across the shrinking room, with a slight tinge of amusement in his voice, as if this whole situation was actually funny! But then again, that was Mika for you. Always making the best of most every situation; a trait that had kept my head screwed on tight during the Beta Test, steering me away from the dangerous path of PKing, simply to level up faster. I was that desperate, back then, to be ahead of everyone else; to be the best. If only to impress my use-to-be idol, Akihiko Kayaba. Mika had been my voice of reason during that time, and I have come to learn that the guy may be a clown, with a handful of good ideas, but that measly little handful was of propositions and schemes that you could trust…or should at least learn to trust anyway.

So, with those thoughts in my mind, I brought my hand up and immediately selected the 'Yes' button to the marriage proposal, no questions asked. There were only so many benefits that came with marrying someone within SAO, and even just a little thought on it brought up an option that could potentially be useful; granted Mika had any helpful items on hand. I saw Mika's infectious grin from across the room, and couldn't help the smile that graced my lisp as I swiped my hand down and opened Mika and I's now shared items inventory. Inside read the one thing that I desperately needed:

'Health'

I quickly selected the item, allowed the red crystal to burst in my hand and regained every bit of my health, rejuvenating me to the max. I could feel the virtual gravity beginning to ease up its push on my body, and every daunting little crystal that had been glittering gleefully before my eyes, slowly vanished, until my wound had completely stitched itself together, and I was up on my feet, in perfect condition.

I flexed my arms, happy to have my agility back, before shooting a thankful grin at my new "husband", who looked as if every bit of tension had left his petite shoulders at the sight of my healed body. He began pushing himself into a standing position, ready to take on the samurai, and attempt to deal the finishing blow, when the stone warrior gained a moment of clairvoyance and quickly made a backward hand strike, stone firmly connecting with Mika's abdomen and sending him crashing into the wall.

That instantly shook me out of the haze I had sunk into, and I quickly did a tuck and roll towards my sword, which lay idly on the ground where it had been previously abandoned. I swept it off the floor and gripped the handle firmly in my palm. As soon as my extension was once again a part of me, I put every will I had into activating a sword skill and rushing the merciless cement monster, ready to kill it, and get me and Mika out of the shrinking death hall.

A battle cry was jerked from my throat, as I jumped into the air, looking the samurai straight in its molten red orbs, before making a lethal strike to the right, blade clashing with stone, taking the statues entire head clean off. The severed head crashed to the ground, bursting into thousands of glorious crystals, akin to fireworks celebrating Mika and I's victory. I landed firmly on my feet, and stood tall, watching the rest of the warrior disappear, and the walls instantaneously revert to their original size. The exit that the samurais had previously blocked was now slowly opening, revealing a welcomed light over the lowering slab of rock.

I heard a slight 'clang' from behind me and instantly whipped my head around, fearing more danger, only to quickly relax as I saw my blonde friend picking up his sword and sheeting it behind his back. His health was in a dangerous area of the yellow zone, but I knew it was nothing he couldn't gain back with some well deserved rest.

"Nice job Kirito," he said, as he stuck his hands in his baggy pant pockets and sashayed over to me, with a large grin occupying his features. "You ended up picking the correct door, finished of the super samurai, and got married to every guys dream!"

I promptly rolled my dark eyes at his dramatic vanity, while he slung a thin arm over my shoulder, "I'd say you're off to a pretty good start in Aincard."

I shrugged, before grabbing the hand that was resting over my shoulder, and proceeding to walk out of the dreary hallway with Mika firmly pressed to my side, forced to follow as we arrived in a golden meadow, filled with large birds that occasionally lifted up to the sky, as if trying to touch the sun, before accepting defeat and settling back into the swaying see of grass, and going about their way. If you looked a little farther, you could see the town Mika and I had strived to get to in the distance.

It seemed as if not a moment after we stepped outside, both our stats started rising, and our Level 1 quickly turned into a Level 4, just teetering on the edge of 5. Two large screens appeared before us, and items surged into our shared inventory. Points were added to our defense and agility, and I could feel my sword get slightly longer as points were added to my sword skills as well.

"Looks like that hallway was stunting our experience," I said to Mika, "we got more items and points then we did the last time we came here. Probably cause…" I trailed off as smothered giggles began to escape the boy beside me.

I turned my head towards the pale boy I was still keeping firmly attached to me, and was met with an inquiring grin and pale eyebrows raising up and down at me.

"If you keep holding me close to you like this, I might start getting the idea that you like me~!" He put a hand over his heart in a dramatic manner, "then where would that leave our relationship?"

I had nearly forgotten why I had dragged the idiot out of the hallway like this in the first place, but Mika's snide comments and snarky attitude brought a malicious smirk across my face, as my memory rapidly returned to me. I tightened my hold on my "dear husband's" hand, "With one dead body, and me going on my merry way." I said darkly, answering his rhetorical question.

The petite boy instantly froze, wide blue eyes stretching across his face, and lips rolling into his mouth. I could feel his arm desperately trying to tug his hand out of my grip, but my fingers were firm and unwilling to humor the boy.

"Uh…um…you know," Mika stumbled around his words, trying to talk himself out of the situation, "I know I said you could kill me after we got out of that hallway, but…you see…how do I put this? I lied."

I could feel his struggles become more frantic, and I couldn't get the wicked, amused smirk to leave my face for a million bucks. Mika put a booted foot on my leg and proceeded to attempt to use that as leverage to free his captive palm.

"Come on now Kirito. Ngnn…You wouldn't want to be a spouse murderer, now…hahhg…would you? Cause that's a whole. New. LOW – Ah!"

Just as Mika had began to pull with all his strength, I released his hand, taking great delight in watching him shoot away from me and plummet to the ground. It wasn't as though I was actually mad at Mika, but messing with him was always fun, and even though Mika was aware when I was just playing, he always found the room in his heart to humor me.

The blonde rubbed his behind as he slowly stood up in the middle of the meadow. "You're so mean…" he mumbled, a pout hanging on his lip.

I simply shrugged uncaringly, before drawing my sword from it's sheath and stalking into the meadow, eyes set on the numerous birds flocking around the area. "Payback can be a bitch sometimes," I said with a smile, before swiftly slicing my sword through one of the large birds, causing it to shatter instantly, boosting me up to Level 5.

"I get it, I get it! I'll let you pick next time," Mika called out in exasperation, as if there would be a next time, while running up behind me, "But moving on to more important things. I know I'm bound to get divorced by you soon, so I was thinking that we should Party Up instead. It'll make scaling Aincard a lot easier together."

At the mention of partying up with Mika, I immediately halted in my tracks, causing my friend to bump against my shoulder blade. That proposition never sounded appealing to me. Even in the Beta Test, I had always avoided the question of partying up with Mika, until of course he had all but forced me into it at Floor 3. I always played solo; solo was my thing. Partners were just too much to worry about, especially now that the game I was playing could be sudden death. Teaming up was certainly out of the question. I had let myself get washed away in nostalgia at the sight of my old friend, but it was time to get back on track.

I turned around to face Mika with a blank expression, "I'm sorry Mika, but…I can't Party Up with you."

"But –!" The blond instantly tried to protest, but I raised a hand, silencing him.

"I know we teamed up together last time, but even that was a strained experience. I'm not a team player Mika. I don't have that mentality, and you know it. It was fun traveling with you so far, but as soon as we reach the village, it's best if we just go our separate ways. You'd be safer either by yourself, or with someone who knows how to care for a team member. And I'd be more comfortable going at this alone."

I could see the light slowly start to dwindle from Mika's eyes with every word that escaped my lips, and as much as I hated to admit it, it tugged harshly at my heart strings. He was such a great person, and I could count the times on one hand that he had not been in an uplifting mood. It was because I cared about him however that I needed to distance myself. There was a reason I had been the only one to get to the 10th floor of Aincard, and I didn't need a certain 8th floor scenario, of a surprise attack and shards bursting next to me in the form of what used to be my friend, to recreate itself in this game of life or death. I wouldn't allow that weight to hang over my shoulders.

"Look Mika, it's not your fault –" I tried to explain myself, but he cut me off.

"It's ok Kirito," he whispered dejectedly, "I get it. It's probably best if we just split up now. I wouldn't want to interfere with your solo quest."

I tried to speak up, but he kept talking, leaving me with zero spaces to cut in.

"I'll run ahead so that I can get to the village faster, " he stared heatedly at the grass below, "I obviously need the experience more, judging by the cavern scenario. I'll catch you later. Or not…"

Head still kept inclined towards the ground, he pushed past me, shoulder softly bumping against mine. On instinct, I immediately reached my hand out to snatch his thin wrist. Mika thought I didn't want to travel with him for all the wrong reasons. I wanted so badly to reassure him that it was me with the issues, but he wouldn't give me the chance, as he wrenched his arm forwards, ripping his wrist from my grasp before darting off, sprinting towards the distant village.

My eyes trailed after my friend until he had completely disappeared, before I finally let my head drop, chin connecting with my chest. It was a horribly dreary atmosphere; the only sounds I could hear being the occasional flapping and squawks of birds, and the wind rushing through the vast meadow, painting a picture of golden waves on the land. I quickly came to the depressing realization, that I would have to get use to this throughout the rest of my journey.

A sigh whispered past my lips. I miss that loud mouth already. And to top it off…

I ripped through another one of the birds idling about, a small smile sneaking past my lips. He ran off before I could abolish our matrimony. That sneaky bastard.

[Mika P.O.V]

– First Floor: Tolbana (Town) –

Sunshine rained down, highlighting on my pale figure, making it look as if I were a poltergeist walking around in the daylight. Eyes seemed to pursue me as I stalked through the town, giving me the sickening feeling of thousands of paintings on a wall; their haunting gazes following me wherever I went. This had to be the one and only thing I hated about being trapped in Aincard; my true looks were now left out in the open for everyone to gawk at. I hated my ashen skin color, my pale blonde hair, and my icy, almost transparent blue eyes. Being albino was the epitome of different, and it wasn't always the most enjoyable thing, to stick entirely out of a crowd that is. Being albino period wasn't much of a joy ride, actually.

I sighed in exasperation. Better just ignore them. There only hurting their own image by thinking I'm the only unique one around here.

As I ambled through the gaping town, I took my thoughts back to The Lost Cavern. Although I had been the one to volunteer a coin flip, to decide whether we should have gone right or left, I knew for an absolute fact that left was the correct corridor. I could be careless sometimes, but memory was my strong point; which happened to be the exact reason I had actually cheated during the coin flip. Practice flipping a coin enough times, and you became in tune with how many flips it took to land on your call. The inquiry of why the left door was incorrect, was leading me to believe that certain things were different from the beta test, making my knowledge as a beta tester almost worthless.

I reached my hand up to scratch the back of my head. I don't even know where I should start in this town anymore!

If anything, I wanted to hone in on my passive and combat skills; I could pick up some weapon skills along the way. I knew all the right places, and could activate all the good quests, but there seemed to be too many variables for me to rush in. I couldn't just jump into a quest, because it could end up being completely different from what I was familiar with, and I didn't want to be defeated and get kicked out of the game so early. Then there was the issue with Kirito, and him not traveling with me to gain the skills we both needed. I didn't want to take all the good stuff and leave him with zilch; that would just be cruel of me, being his husband and all…

I couldn't help hanging my head and laughing to myself in mirth. I had got away from him as fast as I could, as to not remind him that we still happened to be hitched. If Kirito thought he could ditch me that easily, then he had another thing coming. That boy had a serious problem with arrogance, and I truly was appalled when he inferred that I would make trouble for him. There were so many instances when I had saved Kirito's ass from something he couldn't handle, both now and in the beta test. No matter what he says, I know we make a good team, and Aincard may be wonderful, but it wasn't any fun alone; he of all people should know that. The only thing that seemed to bring a smile to face about the whole situation was that Kirito had no choice but to meet up with me again, if only to find out why many of his items would suddenly go "missing" in the future. You had to adore this marriage thing, and the idea of a shared inventory.

Pulling myself out of my thoughts, I took a look at my surroundings, and instantly winced when I realized that I was in the middle of a goldmine of quests. NPCs looking overly sad, waving at me, or animatedly fighting with another in-game character, just begging for me to walk up and say "hi". This simply served to bring back my other issues. If I couldn't submit myself to ransack the quests, I would need to quickly go find the only person who actually knew anything around here. She could probably tell me what other beta testers have been saying about the game changes, as some testers were bound to have gotten here before me. Going through The Lost Cavern took more time then I had intended. Beginner players were most likely migrating here right now, so it was now or never to get some use out of the information I needed.

I swiftly took up a sprint, dodging the few players that were here and turning many corners, before leaning into a quick crouch and boosting myself off of the brick pathed ground, landing softly atop a building that overlooked most of Tolbana. It was certainly a beautiful sight to take in, my high standpoint making me feel as if on top of the world, but I kept my gaze trained on the heart of the town; a large, bare circle holding nothing but a fountain, a bench, brick pavement, and a certain player with a dark brown cloak hiding their features.

A twisted frown marred my lips, as if I had eaten something sour. Hello there, Argo. Some people are just too obvious. It's almost funny that she's in the same spot I met her in before.

I had to admit though, I wasn't all that happy that I had found the witch so quickly…

An awkward silence rained over the two of us, toxic smog already starting to lightly pervade the space around us like poison, before Argo nodded her head upwards at me.

"So…you're married huh?"

I released a charming laugh, while smoothing back my pale blonde curls, "News travels fast, it seems. But yes, someone was actually able to catch this rare and beautiful creature."

"I wonder what poor guy got stuck with that nightmare…" Argo mumbled to herself, just loud enough for me to overhear.

A throbbing tick mark formed on my forehead, but I quickly willed it to dissipate, choosing to playfully shove her shoulder, pushing her slightly towards the edge of the bench we were currently sitting on, "Shut up, whisker face! And why do you automatically assume it's a guy? Although…" I brushed some imaginary dirt off my shoulder, "It's not as if I couldn't score myself a strong, sexy man."

Argo deadpanned, "That's how I know it's a guy. I remember you from the beta test, and you're gayer then you are blond…"

"Hey!" I exclaimed in indignation, flailing my arms about in the air. "Don't go spreading that around! I don't need some half pint boys confessing to me every five minutes."

It was no secret really that I played for the other team, but I didn't need Kirito getting a hold of that information. I knew from experience that the way guys acted around me could take a complete 180, as well as a dangerous nose dive into the waters of doom, just from finding out my sexuality. My friendship with Kirito was the one thing I didn't want to ruin, so it was best if Argo kept her mussel shut.

The red whiskered brunette rolled her eyes at my antics, before folding her arms over her chest and suddenly adopting a serious expression, "Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, let's get to business. What do you want to know, Mika?"

I placed my hand over my chest and took up a hurt expression, "I can't just stop by to say hello to an old friend? What is the world coming to?"

She didn't as so much crack a smile, her gaze remaining solid and fierce. My act instantly crumbled, my hand falling from my chest to allow my elbow to rest on the back of the bench, unrivaled sternness taking over my features. It was as if every emotion had bled from my normally flippant conduct, turning me into an entirely different person.

Argo and I never did have that great of a relationship. We tried to squeeze in a few smiles, and jokes here and there, but it never lasted long, and a grim demeanor always began to wash over the area. She was the one person that never did get caught up in my uplifting attitude. She would calculate me with her scrutinizing leer, watching…waiting for me to slip up somehow.

Maybe she was simply mad that she never really had much on me? Or maybe the word happy just wasn't in her dictionary?

Either way, I don't like to make nice with people who were on no account willing to give me a fair chance, so that lead us to the stalemates we constantly got stuck in. I enjoyed friendly encounters, but sometimes business was just that; business.

"I need to know what other beta testers have been saying about the game." I implored. "Are they breezing through it? Or…is the atmosphere more of frustration?" I chose my words carefully, only wanting to give so much away about my predicament.

Argo raised a curious eyebrow, "What do you mean by that? Are you asking me if beta testers are having trouble with quests? Or are you just failing in them lately?"

There it was, that little jab at my ego that she just had slip in there, wanting to tug a reaction out of me. Sometimes talking to this woman was more trouble than it was worth. I wasn't a saint, and there was only so much I could take in one sitting.

I took in a deep breath, and let it out therapeutically, before my features morphed into that of surprise, finger pointing to myself in a shocked manner, "Me? Aincard extraordinaire having quest issues?" I pursed my lips, "…Maybe."

Argo narrowed her eyes in a questioning glare, while leaning back into the bench, "I'm guessing for the information on what exactly the issue is, you want to know what the talk between beta testers has been like."

I examined my nails thoughtfully, "That's usually how it goes."

She shook her head in exasperation, "I swear, your one of the very few people who always seem to get things out of me for free."

I grinned, "That's because I know how you work Argo, and only come to you when I have the correct compensation. Info for info my frenemy. "

The brunette rolled her eyes, "Whatever bleach-head. The only thing I have to tell you is that you're on the right track."

I narrowed my eyes into a unappreciative glower, my lips still holding a deceptive smile while I slowly stood up, hands now resting in my pockets, "Then the only thing I can tell you is sayanara." I promptly turned on my heel and began walking away. I was so done with her for the day. All this talk, for only that less than unhelpful bit of information, was not worth sticking around to fight for what I needed.

"That's not fair Mika!" She shouted from behind me. "No matter how you look at it, I gave you knowledge on what you wanted! What happened to 'correct compensation'?"

Was she kidding me? Fair my butt…

"Your "knowledge" proved to be crappy!" I shouted back, still walking ahead, "So I did give you the fair remuneration." I paused in my step and turned my head around glance at the vexed brunette, who was now standing as well. I shot her a smirk, "You're just upset you didn't cop me out. You may not like me, but that wasn't cool, whiskers."

I watched her face fill with a red heat, before turning my head back around, a childish grin of triumph occupying my face. I took one step forward…only to be stopped once again her insipid voice.

"I know you and Kirito were traveling together!" She yelled. How she knew everything, I would never discern. "Will my information help him?"

I laughed breathlessly, shoulders shaking," I wanted your information specifically to help him. If you hadn't been such a snarky witch, you might have found that out sooner."

"Shut up! Look…" She trailed off, her voice calming, "Beta testers have been dying left and right from underestimating the quests. Some of them, it seems, where specifically designed to take out players who had been there before. Instead of going for the obvious quests, it's probably better for you and Kirito to take up something more difficult. Like…Bounty Hunts."

My whole body completely turned around at that one, expression incredulous, "You want me and Kirito to go and take down some PKing criminals, when we don't even have simple tracking skills? That's suicide woman! I thought you liked Kirito!"

The short brunette promptly smacked her forehead, "If you were twice as smart, you'd still be stupid…There are bounty's out there that happen to be on low grade criminals that will give you skills such as tracking, hiding, searching, and detection. It will also raise your combat skills and help you gain new ones. For someone who loves Aincard so much, you sure don't know a lot about it…"

I couldn't find it in me to register offence to her comment, as I was too elated to really take it into account. This was the perfect opportunity to show Kirito that we thrived better together! All I had to do was make sure he showed up, and that was easier than saying "Argo's a witch"! I grinned and ran up to said woman, shocking her with a tight hug around her petite shoulders and a chaste kiss on her marked cheek.

"Thank you, whiskers!" I exclaimed in gratitude, leaving her frozen in place as I sprinted off, "You're the best!"

I was already completely out of sight when I heard a shriek of, "I want my compensation!", from behind me, causing abdomen crunching snickers to take over my body.

[Kirito P.O.V]

– First Floor: Tolbana (Town) –

I walked briskly through the town of Tolbana, scrolling through the items I had just recently acquired. I took into account the items I had earned during the fight in The Lost Cavern, before using my currency to buy things such as health crystals, food, crystals to cure paralysis, and other things I would require during my journey.

During the trek to Tolbana I had put forth all my efforts to banish Mika from my thoughts, choosing to strictly focus on my task ahead. Mika was strong, intelligent, cunning, and made friends effortlessly. I had to believe he would be ok with me elsewhere. The blond was often the one saving me from things anyway, so it's not as if I had any reason to worry about him.

I sighed. And my thoughts are off with him one again...

My head shook fiercely from side to side, as I tried to focus on the strategy I should be cooking up to defeat the first floor boss. I needed to discern which quests to get to first, and which skills to focus on currently. My musings were interrupted however, as a light sound went off and a screen popped up in front of me.

'Private Message from Mika' it read, causing an eyebrow to rise curiously. The pale boy had been pretty upset the last time I saw him, so it was a wonder that he was contacting me. I lifted my hand up and opened the message:

"Sorry Kirito. This is for your own good. Oh, and just in case you want to yell at me, you'll find me near the Bulletin Board."

I furrowed my eyebrows. What was for my own good, and why would I want to yell at him? Suddenly, the sound of items leaving an inventory alerted me, and I quickly tapped into my items unit, only to watch in horror as nearly every single item I had just bought disappear from my list.

"What!?" I shouted aloud, gaping at my dwindling item register. My eyes shifted frantically over my screen, trying to find a way to stop the blonde heathen from stealing my stash, but there was no such option, and I was soon left staring helplessly at only two pitiful item monikers.

'Health' and 'Bread'.

To Be Continued…

A/N: Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! You don't know how much they inspired me to write this chapter. This actually would have been out sooner, but I have been busy looking for a beta. I so obviously need one… Anyway, did I do ok with the first person point of view? Since I captured Kirito's POV I thought it was only fair to give Mika some 'me time' as well. And I hope everybody was ok with Argo. I personally think she's awesome! Next chapter will be in third person. Just an FYI, although I have a premise, I am figuring out this story as I write. So I am absolutely open to any requests you guys might have, and I might be willing to do one shots between Mika and Kirito if anybody asks :) Not that anybody cares...

Chapter 3 Teaser:

"What was the point of that?!"

"He doesn't look like the guy on the wanted poster…"

"I can't party up with you!"

"You realize that guy was flirting with you, right?"

"Akihiko Kayaba is my everything…"