Chapter 6: A wager

Holy crap, everyone I am so sorry for the terribly long wait but I won't make excuses. I am finally back and intend to stay back for a while and finish this story out. Also I want to thank everyone who reviewed this story you are the ones who made me want to start this back up.

As Kirito and Asuna made their way back to the inn after a day of less than successful hunting they began a conversation that was slightly out of the ordinary for the two.

"Hey Kirito-kun," said Asuna breaking the silence "What was your real life like?"

"W-well," he was unsure of how to deal with this situation "I'm not sure if that's alright to ask someone here." In this world it was a taboo to talk about the real world. Some thought that it could take away from the severity of this world and one could lose touch with the present dangers.

"Come on Kirito-kun we have known each other for quite some time now and I think I deserve to know." This was true they were now on the 19th floor and had been together since the first floor boss.

"Well let's stop for a bit and talk about it."

As they sat together under a tree along the path only visible by the light of the moon there was no sound other than that of the cicadas in the trees. If Kirito had been alone he would have never been out this late hunting but with a partner it seemed so much safer.

"Okay Asuna what do you want to know," Kirito said quietly wanting to savor the quiet of the night "but please keep it simple."

"Well let's see," Asuna's mind was full of questions but couldn't decide what to ask first "what is your family like?" she decided on something simple and easy to answer.

Kirito went on to explain the situation he had been in from when he was young. How his parents died along with his cousin's parents in a car accident. From then they had lived with their grandparents always being told that they were siblings. Their grandfather had forced them to compete in kendo from a young age and how Kirito had hated it from the beginning. His grandfather resented him for this but his sister had defended him. In doing this she had offered to work hard enough for both of them and their grandfather decided to leave Kirito alone. True to her word Kirito's cousin worked hard til their grandfather passed and continued to excel in kendo after.

"Wow," Asuna had stayed silent for the entirety of Kirito's story "I'm sorry you had to go through all of that."

"It's fine," Kirito said in a confident tone "if none of that had happened I would never have fallen in love with gaming."

"But if you hadn't gotten into gaming then you never would have ended up here in this death game."

"Well why are you here you don't seem like the type to play an MMO at all."

"Well my brother had secured a copy and had to go on a business trip," Asuna began the tale of how she became stuck in SAO "he had talked to me about visiting a world unlike this one and the thought captivated me. So when he had to go out of town I asked if I would be able to use it and so I came here. I was completely unaware of what was going to happen though."

Asuna and Kirito began sharing stories of their old lives back in the real world and the beginning of their time in Aincrad.

"You know it amazes me," Asuna began after telling of her few friends in the real world "That all of this is even happening right now. I never would have thougt=ht any of this possible back in the real world."

As Asuna had spent this night with Kirito and came to know him better as a person she learned he wasn't the battle hardened fighter she had known. He was a kind and gentle person. At this realization she found the feelings she had after first meeting him start to bubble to the surface again. She then began to reach for his hand only to be interrupted by a rustling from a nearby bush.

"Who's there?" Kirito shouted as he stood up drawing his sword. He had gotten used to being ambushed by red and orange players after being in Aincrad for so long.

Out of the bush walked a man who resembled a bandit to an extent but with the armor of an ancient samurai.

"Klein!" shouted Asuna as she ran to hug the slightly older male. She had become acquainted with him over their run ins all over the game and grown quite fond of him.

"Hey kid," said Klein hugging Asuna back "what are you two doing out this late? Could you have finally realized your true feeling Kirito?" Klein had been one of only two people in Aincrad to know how Asuna felt towards Kirito and he put all of his effort into making the two a couple.

"No Klein not yet." said Kirito putting his sword into his scabbard "we were heading back to town."

The three decided to head back together and stay at the same inn for the night. Once there they ate and signed in and headed off to their individual rooms.

Asuna sat in her room contemplating whether or not to go and talk to Kirito. She wanted to badly but couldn't seem to work up the courage to do it. Just as she was about to give up and go to sleep she heard a faint knock on the door. She opened it to find none other than Kirito.

"Hey asuna," Kirito said in a slightly shy voice "can I come in for a bit?"

"Of course you can Kirito-kun." She seemed calm on the surface but inside was freaking out.

After closing the door and turning to face Kirito she saw him laying on her bed. He must have been tired from the day's events.

"Asuna I wanted to talk to you about something important," Kirito said interrupting Asuna's thoughts "I was wondering if you had someon , you know, special back in the real world?"

"Umm," Asuna began stumbling over her own words "n-no I don't. Why?"

"W-well good because," At this Kirito began choking on his words "uhh, umm I…" He couldn't seem to get the rest out of his mouth.

Asuna knew he had a hard time with words and she knew what he was trying to say so she decided to help him.

Asuna began to slowly lean towards the stumbling Kirito and began to kiss him deeply. Kirito was shocked at first but after a moment of panic began to kiss her back. He then placed his arms around her waist. Asuna the pulled away to open her mouth and respond to the question he never asked.

"Yes," Asuna said in a tone loud enough for the whole inn to hear "Kirito-kun I will be yours!" she shouted as well wrapping her arms around his neck.

Kirio knew this was the best use of his spoils from his recent wager with Asuna. And he never wanted to let her go.

On the other side of the wall the rogue samurai lay on his inn bed and began thinking out loud. "Took those two long enough to become more than friends."

Well there it is everyone Kirito and Asuna are together. I do plan on writing more and yes the moonlit black cats and the other girls will be in the story as well I just have plans for how the two of them will act when meeting everyone else. I also intend on having Klein play an almost big brother role to Kirito let me know what you think. Next time they will meet the moonlit black cats so stay tuned for that one. Bye everyone!