Disclaimer: I don't own K-On nor SAO. I repeat, I own neither of the two animes. You may now resume your regularly scheduled fanfiction.
KingofBeasts Productions Presents:
K-Online: A Sword Art Online and K-On Crossover
Chapter 3: Battle for the First Floor
Last we left our heroes and heroines, they were about to engage in battle with Illfang the Kobold Lord, and his minions the Ruin
As soon as both sides met, the battle was in full swing.
While Diabel was barking orders and most of the players where busy with the boss, Kirito's party were tasked with taking out the [Ruin Kobold Sentinels]
"Oh no, you don't!" Taiga growled as she swung her hammer upward to meet Kobold's mace, the two weapons clashing in a deadlock. After a short struggle, she was able to force it back, leaving a huge opening. "Mio, switch!"
Mio immediately rushed in, taking advantage of the opportunity Taiga gave her. With her [Long Sword] glowing in her left hand, she swung it in a wide horizontal arc. "Ha!" She was successful in nailing the creature on the gut. Not giving it any room to breathe, she brought her [Long Sword] down with one vertical strike, slicing the Kobold in half as it shattered into dust.
"Not bad, Mio-chan!" Taiga grinned as she gave her friends a thumbs up. She then turned her attention to Kirito and Asuna, the latter having stabbed a [Ruin Kobold Sentinel] into oblivion with her rapier.
"She's good." Mio said admiration of her speed and reflexes, with Taiga nodding in agreement.
Soon enough, Illfang's was down to his last life bar after a long and drawn out battle.
"We got him right where we want him!" Taiga declared as she brought her hammer down on a Kobold's head.
Illfang roared and discarded his axe and buckler, just as the guide said he would. "Stand back!" Diabel ordered the others as he went to face the boss himself.
"What's he doing?" Mio asked as she parried a strike aim for her head with her sword "Weren't we supposed to surround him?"
"Yeah," Kirito said quietly, swatting a Kobold's weapon aside to give Asuna an opening.
As this was all going on, Illfang reached for the weapon on his back and drew it slowly. Diabel, for his part, stood defiantly before the boss. His sword began glowing as he was ready to make the final blow.
"Wait a minute, that's not a talwar!" Kirito's eyes widened in horror "It's a no-dachi!"
"They changed it?!" Taiga exclaimed on in shock.
"Oh no..." Mio said, her fear slowly returning.
"Don't do it!" Kirito warned Diabel "Jump back as fast as you can!"
His warning came too late. Illfang jumped up and zipped around the ceiling, confusing Diabel. He finally bore down him and landed a deadly blow on him. With speed unheard of for his side, Illfang zoomed behind and swung at Diabel again, the force sending him all the way back.
"Diabel-san!" Taiga shouted as Kirito ran to his side, experiencing the worst. At the same time, Illfang landed in the midst of the players, taking advantage of the pandemonium caused by Diabel's fall.
Moments later, Diabel died in Kirito's arms, vanishing into dust. As he vanished, so did much of the player's morale.
"W-we're going to die here..." Mio said quietly, going to her knees and crying as chaos went on around her, Illfang threatening to wipe the group.
"Mio..." Taiga knelt beside her friend, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"It's over, Ritsu." Mio kept trembling, her tears gushing like a torrent "We're not going to make it..."
"Yes, we are!" Taiga forced her to meet her gaze "Listen to me; we're going to survive this. After this boss, we'll make it all the way to the 100th floor and get out of here. We'll go home to everyone. But to do that, I need you to believe in me as much as I believe in you, okay?"
Mio stayed silent for a while with her head down, thinking of Taiga's words. Finally, she looked up at her, giving her friend a sincere smile. "Thanks, Ricchan."
"Anytime." Taiga smiled as she stood up and offered her hand to Mio "'Sides," they both turned to see Kirito and Asuna walk towards Illfang defiantly, their weapons drawn. "We can't let them look cool by themselves."
"Of course not." Mio chuckled as she took Taiga's hand and stood up. She gripped her weapon tightly, her courage renewed, as she and Taiga rejoined the fight.
"Got room for one more?" They both turned to see a grinning Agil who was eager to get into the fray.
"I like your style, Agil-san." Taiga chuckled. At that moment, Asuna was about to charge when Kirito gave her an opening, only to find that Illfang recovered quick enough to strike.
"Asuna-san, watch out!" Mio called to her about the same time Kirito did. Luckily, she was able to react quickly enough to dodge the blade. As a result, the cloak that concealed her was destroyed, revealing a girl with long, strawberry blonde hair. Her light brown eyes reflected her determination as she struck Illfang with several rapid thrusts.
All the three of them could do was stand there and gawk at the girl who fought with the agility, elegance and grace befitting her style.
"To be honest, I didn't see this coming." Taiga chuckled. She, Mio and Agil watched as the two held their own against the boss, Kirito parrying every attack while Asuna took advantage of each opening. It looked like they were going to win.
"Damn it!" Kirito managed to parry Illfang, only for him to recover quickly and deal a nasty (though thankfully not fatal) blow that sent him crashing into Asuna. Soon enough Illfang stood before them, ready to bring down his massive weapon on the two
"They need our help!" Taiga yelled to the other two as she ran towards Asuna, who raised her rapier in an attempt to block. Agil and Mio nodded, charging in as well and follow Taiga's lead.
"Rrrraaaah!" The three joined their weapons and team blocked Illfang, who was sent skidding backwards due to the force.
"Go get 'em boys!" Taiga barked as several other players joined the fray. She giggled as she went in to join them.
"We'll hold 'em until you recover." Agil said before charging in himself.
"But don't get too comfortable there." Mio gave them a teasing wink before following in.
"You guys..." Kirito smiled gratefully at the three, watching as they kept the pressure on Illfang.
"Keep it up!" Agil said to the others as he swiped with his axe "We can do this!"
"Right!" Mio and Taiga responded, swinging their weapons with vigor as they forced the boss on the defensive. Despite their efforts, though, Illfang was able to recover. The boss knocked them all aside with sheer force.
"Owowow!" Mio whined as she fell on her back. Fortunately, Taiga acted as a cushion and broke her fall.
"What are you whining about?!" Taiga grumbled since Mio landed on her. Both their eyes widened in fear when they saw Illfang jump into the air, just about ready to smash them with his sword.
"Not a chance!" Kirito lunged, his sword glowing, and collided with the boss. He landed a huge slash that ran across the boss' torso and sent him to the ground with a big crash.
"Asuna!" He called out to his partner as he charged at the recovering Illfang "One more strike! We'll do this together!"
"Roger!" She replied back, joining him in his final assault.
"Wow..." Mio said in awe, watching them charge at the boss "Look at them go."
"Yup." Agil said, smiling as he got to his feet. "Like it or not, it's all up to them now." He offered a hand to both her and Taiga.
"That's true." Taiga chuckled as she and Mio took his hand as he hoisted them up.
"HAAAA!" Kirito made the first strike, followed by Asuna jabbing at the boss' gut with rapid thrusts and another slash from Kirito. Finally, with one mighty roar, he finished him off with one gigantic slash that bisected the massive beast. A moment later, Illfang the Kobold Lord vanished, disappearing into dust.
"We did it..." Mio said quietly, her mouth slowly forming into a smile. "We won!" She dropped [Long Sword] and glomped Taiga while Agil watched with a smile, tears of joy streaming on her face. "WE WON!"
Instantly, shouts of victory echoed the hall as as huge Congratulations banner appeared before all of them. The mood was joyous, everyone cheering as they've finally beaten the first boss, proving to Akihiko Kayaba and to themselves that this game can be beaten.
Meanwhile Kirito was kneeling on the ground, his feelings mixed; he was truly happy that they had beaten the boss, the first victory in many battles to come. To top it off, he got the last attacking bonus netting him the item [Coat of Midnight]. Yet, it came at a price: the fall of a Beta-tester who could've made a difference: Diabel.
"Good job." He looked up to see Asuna, Agil, Mio and Taiga standing over him.
"That was excellent swordplay." Agil agreed.
"Excellent?!" Taiga looked at the big guy incredulously "That was frickin' amazing! They way you handled that guy, slashing all over the place! I mean...man!"
"What Taiga's trying to say is that you what you did was unbelievable." Mio explained when he saw Kirito's puzzled face, then turned to Asuna with a smile "You too, Asuna-san."
The other girl smiled and gave Mio a nod. Meanwhile, all the other players present were cheering and clapping for Kirito, the man who had taken down [Illfang the Kobold Lord]
Well, all except one.
"Why?!" All turned to see Kibaou in a seated position, crying his eyes out "Why did you let Diabel die?!"
"What the hell is he talking about now?" Taiga groaned, bracing herself for another outburst.
"Don't screw around!" Kibaou continued his tirade "You knew about the boss' technique! If you had told us about it up front, he wouldn't have died!"
"Don't be silly!" The usually shy Mio spoke up, the battle having awakened her determination "He didn't know! No one did! It was different from the beta!"
"He must be from the beta!" One player pointed an accusing finger at Kirito "That's how he knew all the boss' attack patterns! He knew but he didn't tell us!"
"He didn't, you idiots!" Taiga yelled back, but her words fell on deaf ears. Many of the players present have already given in to paranoia.
"There are other beta-testers, are there?!" The earlier player yelled "Come out!"
Asuna, Agil, Taiga and Mio looked around. Things were grim as each player present looked at the others accusingly, as if expecting them to stab them in the back any moment.
"This is bad." Mio said to the others quietly.
"I know." Taiga answered, watching the events unfold. Damn Kibaou, she thought as she clenched her fists tightly We had a good thing here, and you ruined it...
"Hey, take it easy." Agil said calmly as he and Asuna moved to talk to him, but were stopped when they heard the sound of laughter.
All turned to the source of the sound: A smirking Kirito.
"Beta-testers?" He snorted as he stood up "Please don't compare me to those scrubs."
"What's he saying?" Mio asked, genuinely shocked by what she was seeing.
"Out of the thousand beta-testers, most of them didn't even know how to level up." Kirito continued, walking among the midst of the players. "You guys are much better than them."
"I know what he's doing." Taiga whispered to Mio
"What is it?" She whispered back.
"But I'm nothing like them." Kirito then pointed upwards "I made it farther than anyone else. I knew about the boss' attack patterns because I fought monsters with katana skills on floors above this one."
He faced them with an evil-smirk "I know a lot more. More than any information broker."
"He's setting himself up to take the fall." Taiga, her eyes narrowing in anger, said to an astonished Mio "To protect the other beta-testers."
"You're worse than a beta-tester!" Kibaou shouted at him "You're a cheater!"
Many of the players were roaring in agreement. Mio was about to say something when Taiga shushed her, frowning as she shook her head.
"A beta-tester and a cheater!" One player shouted out "A beater!"
"A beater, huh? It has a nice ring to it." Kirito smirked as he accessed his inventory "Yes, I am a beater. From now on, please don't confuse me with other beta-testers." With that, he equipped the [Coat of Midnight] he won, the black cloak making him look the part of the villain he chose to play. With one final smirk at Kibaou, he turned his back on the assembled players and walked towards the exit.
"I can't see your lifebars anymore..." Mio observed quietly "He must've disbanded the party..."
As soon as he left, with Asuna following after him, Taiga chose this moment to let out her frustrations. She hurriedly walked up to Kibaou and slapped him on the face. The slap was powerful enough to take him off his feet.
"Ow..." He whined as he nursed his cheek, which had a huge mark left by the slap.
"I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY, YOU UNGRATEFUL JERK!" Taiga yelled at him, her eyes so full of venom that it instantly silenced the guy. With that, she stormed off and made a beeline for the exit.
"Thank you for your help, Agil-san." Mio gave the burly axe-man a polite bow before following after Taiga.
"Those four kids will make big waves towards the endgame." Agil chuckled as he mused all this to himself.
~0~
Floor 2. An hour later...
"I still can't believe you blew your top off like that, Ricchan." Mio chuckled as she walked beside her friend at the village streets "You're always so easy-going."
"They way that jerk talks about Kirto-kun and the beta-testers," Taiga growled as she bit into a piece of bread she bought, imagining that it was Kibaou's head "It's not fair. Oh, and I keep telling you, it's Taiga here!"
"Oh, so it's Kirito-kun now, huh?" Mio gave her friend a knowing smirk. This caused Taiga to blush profusely.
"N-no it's not like that at all! I'm just worried about him, that's all!" Taiga stuttered, which caused her to choke on her bread. The fact that she was flailing her arms as she did so made the sight even more hilarious. "You're won to talk, being all shy around him back at the meeting!"
"At least I didn't call him 'Kirito-kun'." Mio smirked as she patted her friend's back, laying heavy emphasis on term of endearment.
"Fine, you win." Taiga sighed in defeat, able to breath easy after downing some water "I wonder, though. Will he be okay?"
"He's been a beta-tester." Mio said as she took a drink from a bottle "And seemed to know what he was doing. So, yeah, I think he'll be fine."
Taiga nodded in agreement, taking out a bottle of cream she won from a quest, applying some to her bread before she took a bite. They stayed quiet for a while, walking peacefully to the town square.
"Mio-san! Taiga-san! Wait up!"
They both turned to see the slender, strawberry-blonde girl with a rapier from the first floor running towards them.
"Oh, Asuna-san." Mio said as she saw her, surprised but generally happy to see the girl again.
"Yo!" Taiga grinned as she greeted her with a wave "What brings you here?"
"Is it okay if I join you guys for a bit? Like, a party?" Asuna asked them, still panting from running.
"Uhm, sure." Mio looked at Taiga with uncertainty,who just shrugged. "Just curious, but why do you want to join us?"
"Something Kirito-san told me before he went ahead." Asuna smiled sweetly at the two "That there are limits to what a solo player an do. He told me to join a guild if ever I got invited by someone I trust."
"But we're not a guild." Taiga explained, her eyebrows raising.
"I know." Asuna laughed "But I know I can trust you two. So, I'd like to join you guys. That is, if you'll have me."
Mio and Taiga glanced at each other. After a moment, they both smiled in agreement.
"You can come along." Mio smiled at the rapier wielding girl. "We can use an extra pair of arms on our team."
"Alright!" Taiga grinned as she hugged Asuna "Welcome aboard, Asuna-chan!"
"T-thanks." The girl laughed nervously as Taiga held her tightly "I hope we can get along..."
"Oh, sorry!" Taiga let go upon realizing that she was choking the new recruit.
"Be more careful next time, Taiga!" Mio bonked her oldest friend on head, causing her to wince in pain.
"Hey, that hurt!" Taiga whined as she rubbed her head,
"Not my fault you were smothering Asuna-san!" Mio smirked, not looking at all remorseful for causing her friend pain.
"Meanie!"
"Baka!"
Asuna was watching all this unfold, and laughed heartily. This caused Mio and Taiga to stop their bickering and, after a while, they began to laugh along as well.
"So, what's the plan, fearless leader?" Asuna giggled, joining along with their banter.
"Isn't it obvious?" Taiga grinned as she put an arm around each of them. "We'll keep beating the bosses. We'll beat each and everyone of 'em until we win this game! We'll come home, meet up in real life, and have some victory party after!"
"Sounds good." Mio smiled, admiring her childhood friend's determination. Asuna nodded in agreement, looking forward to working with these two girls.
The three of them then looked towards the horizon, ready to face whatever awaited them at the tower. Taiga had only one thought in her head.
Akihiko Kayaba...We're coming for you!
End Chapter 3
A/N: Ladies and Gentlemen, we have reached the conclusion to the Floor One arc. If you've been following this fic, glad you all stuck around! There will be many more adventures for the girls in the coming future, but for now, just enjoy re-reading the first three chappies for the mean time.
Oh, and to clarify, Taiga is Ritsu's IGN (In-game Name). Sorry if that confused any of y'all. XP
And on that note, see you all until the next chapter!
Next time in K-Online: Don't Say Lazy!