Ch. 24
I woke up the next morning refreshed. A good night's sleep did wonders. Neko's plan seemed to have no flaws that I could find. Although how he managed to get all that information was concerning. I didn't know he could hack. But then a wave of guilt came rolling in. He was always saving me. No matter where we were, he was always more powerful, more knowledgeable, more ready. If he hadn't been there, I could very well be dead. And even now that we had escaped that death game, he was still having to jump in the way of the blade and cross swords to protect me. And if there is one thing that has stayed the same about me my entire life, it was that I was not the type to be a damsel in distress. I was the damsel who pulled a blade from her dress sleeve and stabbed the dragon through the heart. So I wasn't going to sit back and relax while Neko took the hits. He might be the vanguard, but I owned a sword for a reason. To use it.
As I continued to formulate my plan, I thought about my feelings for Nemu. For some reason, this fight seemed more personal than others. I had jumped into Nemu's fights often enough to know they were personal for me. But this was on a whole new level. Instead of staying up till midnight gathering info, I was pulling all-nighters. My level of focus had been raised considerably. But the risks for Nemu and me were even smaller than they had been in SAO. In led me to believe that I had some ulterior motive. But for the love of Heathcliff, I couldn't understand what it was.
Author's Note: It is official. I HATE writers block. In case you are wondering, that was why this one was so short. Sorry! My life had been a bit hectic these past two days, so I hardly had the time to write. And then, of course, I had to get writers block once I did start writing. Ugg. Anyway, I hope I can get back to posting daily starting tomorrow. Thanks for reading!