Surviving isn't Living

by The Lucky Bell

Nearly a year after the death of Korosensei, the class of 3-E have tried to turn their lives back to normal. It succeeded; for the most part. That was until by mistake, Karma accidentally pulled his friend, Nagisa, into the death game known as SAO. Well, at least the two had one advantage over Aincrad. They were sure that no one else had to train in an assassination classroom.

3. How Far We've Come

Title:

Surviving isn't Living

Story Summary:

Nearly a year after the death of Korosensei, the class of 3-E have tried to turn their lives back to normal. It succeeded; for the most part. That was until by mistake, Karma accidentally pulled his friend, Nagisa, into the death game known as SAO. Well, at least the two had one advantage over Aincrad. They were almost sure that no one else had to train in an assassination classroom for a year. Karma x Nagisa

Chapter 3:

How Far We've Come

Chapter Summary:

The duo have decided to separate from Kirito and progressed through the game. It's the third floor, and there they meet another player, Echo. They temporarily form a party but as they travel through the third floor, some troubles arise...

Author's Notes:

Okay so... I really wanted to write the next chapter XD I tried waiting a week but I don't think I was too patient... Anyway, I'm writing this either way! Um, after taking in votes... I don't think I'll do the polyamory :c and I don't think I'll have Kirito as a main character but fear not, he's going to be in the next chapter and... kind of in the chapters after that... Okay, he's technically a third main character, but it wasn't intentional D: I was planning the next chapters and he was just needed for the story to move on- Sorry :c But he's not in this chapter at least! He's mentioned though :0 Also, I'm still debating over Gakushuu... a lot of people want him in the story but... should I? ;3;

p.s. I really like this song- Also if you haven't noticed, yeah, all the chapters are titled after songs. It's my own kind of motivation :'D

---

I'm waking up at the start of the end of the world,

But its feeling just like every other morning before,

Now I wonder what my life is going to mean if it's gone

---

It was always the same. Every time he opened his eyes, all Karma could see were the colorful walls and floor of the first floor boss level. The fight itself went pretty well. No casualties; all but one. Their leader... A man named Diavel who claimed himself to be a knight. He rushed in to finish off the boss, to get the LA, the Last Attack bonus, and died.

No, this memory did not haunt Karma. He knew that the man was actually just aiming for the LA while everyone else thought he was just trying to beat the boss. Kirito told him later that he was a former Beta tester too.

Kirito... After being in a party for nearly two weeks after being trapped in this game, they all parted ways. Karma promised to stay by Nagisa and so the two decided to let Kirito go on at his own pace while they stayed at their own. They did friend each other and often times they sent messages to each other about information. That was how Karma and Nagisa got invited to join the first floor boss party when they found the boss room.

It was really funny when they ended up being in a temporary party again, but this time there was someone else too... Karma decided not to mingle with the hooded player, and Nagisa did the same.

Not long before that, Kirito helped them once more, just a few days before he shot them a message about the floor boss. He told them about someone called Argo the Rat. The information broker of Aincrad and SAO. He informed them that with a price, they could get almost any information from Argo.

Now Karma was getting off topic. He was still in the boss room and things were going fine. Diavel charged in for the LA, got killed, and Kirito jumped in to attack the boss with his partner who was later revealed to be a pretty attractive female. Too bad Karma wasn't straight-

"Nagisa!" He called out instinctively as if he's done this tons of times as he knocked back the minions sword. "Switch!" Yes, it seems like he's said this a million times and knocked the sword back a million times. That's because Karma knew this was a dream. He knew it was, yet he still couldn't control himself... He didn't understand why but all he could chalk it up to was his own mind trying to torture him...

Just like always, Nagisa shouted an "I got it!" and took a swing at the mob. It paused in mid stance before shattering into tiny, blue specks. At this point, Karma was struggling to speak. He knew what was going to happen. It happened every time...

"Asuna!" They heard Kirito cry. Everyone looked over in time to see Illfang, the first floor boss, swing his sword down onto the girl's body. After a small pause, her body exploded into the same blue particles that appeared when something died or disappeared.

Not long after that, Kirito got struck when he was vulnerable, his senses slowed down after that shock. As for the rest of the raid party, they were dropping like flies...

Karma tried to desperately to shout to Nagisa, to tell him to flee, get behind him, anything. But like always, Nagisa tried to attack the boss like the rest of the living players. The boss was in the red, he was nearly dead...! Finally Karma was able to speak, but only because it was already too late.

"No! Move, Nag-" This time he didn't even get to finish Nagisa's name before Illfang jumped before Nagisa, momentarily stunning him. Stuns like this only lasted for about five seconds, but that's long enough to get killed. Which is what happens as Illfang swung his sword, sending Nagisa flying into the air.

He never landed before his body disappeared, nothing left behind but the blue specks of digital code.

---

December 15th 2022, Floor 3, Town of Zumfut

"Nagisa!"

"Wha- Karma!" Nagisa jolted awake in his bed, looking over at Karma who was now awake in his own. "Karma, it's alright." He tried assuring the redhead instantly once he realized he must have had "that" dream again. He could tell as he watched Karma nervously look around before keeping his sights on Nagisa.

The shorter boy got up from his bed and went over to Karma's. The redhead sat up, taking a few deep breaths. He felt bad for the nurses and doctors taking care of him in the hospital. His heart must be all over the place, freaking out the nurses and everything. He didn't feel too bad though. He'd like to see them go through this without being overwhelmed from anxiety and panic!

"It's never any different," Karma mumbled, brushing his hair back with his hand as he tried calming down. He was sure that if this was real life, he'd be sweating. As Nagisa sat on the edge of his bed, he continued. "It was the same. First Diavel, then Asuna and Kirito, everyone... then you. I can never do anything..."

"Well that's not how it happened, so don't worry okay?" Nagisa smiled, reaching out to place a hand over Karma's. "No one but Diavel passed away. Not Kirito, and certainly not me. So don't let it get to you, okay?"

"I'm trying Nagisa, I really am..." Yet his mind wouldn't listen. Was it trying to tell him something? Or did it really just want to torture his pour soul that's already been through enough?

Nagisa watched his friend worriedly as he opened his menu and checked their friends list for Kirito's name. Karma always did this after that dream...

It's only been a few days, nearly a week after they beat the second floor boss. Ever since then, every time Karma closes his eyes if not sleep, he saw this different outcome of the first floor boss. He told Nagisa about it immediately because honestly, if he didn't tell anyone, he would go mad before they beat the third floor.

Speaking of the third floor, Nagisa really liked it. Karma did too, but he was more focused on not getting lost in the foggy forest and dying. Yes, the third floor was basically like a huge forest terrain. It was very misty so it was easy to get off the path and get lost, becoming easy prey for the mobs.

With a sigh of relief coming from Karma, Nagisa was brought back to the present. "He's still alive..." He meaning Kirito, probably. "Sorry, Nagisa... I woke us up early again."

"It's alright. I get it Karma. It's stressful, this game. Trying to survive and everything..." Nagisa mumbled that last part. Before Karma could respond, he paused as his eyes went to the top right corner.

"I have a message." He informed Nagisa who nodded, silently insisting for him to open it. Karma made his menu visible so Nagisa could see it too before opening the message.

The two glanced at who sent it. "It's Kirito!" Nagisa said with surprise. They were just thinking of him! How odd.

"Here, I'll read the message." Karma offered.

"Do you guys remember the first day when we met? You guys said you wished you could fight without swords but with your body? I found something, thanks to Argo. You can't tell her I told you though."

"Weird... wonder why he worded it like that..." Karma commented. Nagisa opened his menu and clicked on Kirito's name in his friends list. He clicked on "TRACK" then "MAP". A blue map popped up on Nagisa's menu, showing a red dot with Kirito's name above it.

"It looks like he's... in the mountains... in the second floor?"

"Huh? What is he doing on the second floor? I thought he was supposed to be going through the labyrinth?"

"Well, he did mention that he was doing that elf campaign that starts on this floor... maybe that has something to do with it?" Nagisa shrugged. Karma just shrugged back before sending a message back.

"Uh, yeah? What are you trying to get at?"

The message was nearly instant.

"Come to the mountains in the second floor. You'll have to come to me so I can show you because... I'm kind of in a predicament here."

Karma and Nagisa exchanged worried looks. What was it going to be now?

---

[ Unprofessional Author's Note: Welp, I said Kirito wasn't going to be in this chapter and only mentioned, but haha, I lied, even to myself- Sorry, I didn't plan for him to be in this chapter- Don't worry, it's not for long- ]

---

"...Why do you have whiskers on your face?" Karma asked.

"I'd rather not bring it up." Kirito's response was as he turned his head away, his hand hiding the cheek facing the duo. When Kirito sent them that message to come to his location, the two were definitely not expecting to see Kirito in a big, fenced in yard next to some NPC's home, with nothing inside the yard but a big rock. Oh, and Kirito with... whiskers painted on his cheeks.

When this sight came to greet them, even Nagisa struggled to hold in his laugh. It was so funny and adorable! They were really curious about how these painted whiskers got on the other's cheeks!

"Aww, don't be embarrassed Kittyto, you're pretty cute as a cat~ Trying to copy Argo's whiskers, huh?" Karma smirked. Nagisa couldn't hold in his laugh when Karma said that name.

"That's not my name! Come on, Argo already called me Kiriemon!" Kirito cried, obviously embarrassed.

"Kiriemon!" Nagisa repeated with another soft laugh.

"I like Kittyto better~" Karma chuckled. "So Argo's already seen you then? Oh yeah, why did you tell us that we shouldn't tell her?" He wondered if it was because Kirito bought the information. Argo was SAO's information broker after all. She gathered information and usually sold it. Anything from game tips, to secret quests, to meaningless gossip. She was also known as Argo the Rat.

"Uh... she kind of made me promise her not to tell anyone..." Kirito said.

"Why's that?" Nagisa asked, sensing the sudden shift into seriousness.

"...She's an information broker and all, but there's some information she can't sell. Or sometimes won't sell. This is both. Long story short, some people who are... bad news are looking for the Martial Arts skill and they went to Argo. When she refused to give it to them and ended up going on a chase, I had to step in and stop them. In return, she... gave me the location of the quest that unlocks the Martial Arts skill for anyone who completes it." Kirito finished.

So this was the area for the Martial Arts skill? It does kind of look like a dojo from the outside... "That still doesn't explain the whiskers, Kittyto~" Karma teased.

"Karma!" Nagisa shouted but couldn't help it as he laughed again.

"Hey, do you want to skill or not?" Kirito huffed. "Look, just accept the mission and you'll get your Martial Arts skill once you're finished."

"What do we have to do for the mission?" Nagisa asked curiously as Karma approached the building.

Kirito just smiled. "You only got to break that rock, that's all." Karma walked inside the building. Nagisa tilted his head with confusion.

"With your hand I'm assuming?" Nagisa asked.

"Uh-huh." Kirito confirmed with a nod.

"But... it seems so ea-"

"Hey! Wai- Wh-" Karma's voice came from inside before there was a pause. "Kirito, do you want to f-cking fight?!"

Nagisa looked at Kirito with shock. He expected Karma to come back outside to jump the fence and try to fight Kirito like he said, but he ran out from the house instead. And on his cheeks... bright red whiskers were painted on his cheeks.

"K-Karma?!" Nagisa was too surprised to laugh. Kirito held up his hands in surrender but he was smirking.

"Hey look, it's Karmamon." Kirito commented. Okay, now Nagisa could laugh.

Karma approached Kirito, grasping his new Midnight cloak that he got from the LA of the first floor boss. "Why didn't you warn me that by accepting the quest, I won't be able to get these whiskers off until I beat the mission?"

"Uh... you didn't ask?" Kirito responded. Oh if only Karma could hit Kirito! But he didn't want to be an orange player for the next few days, avoiding people until his cursor turned back to green. "You know what they say, Karma's a bi-"

"Fight me at PAX, Kittyto!"

---

December 18th 2022, Floor 3, Town of Zumfut

What Kirito failed to mention before both Karma and Nagisa accepted the quest (yes, even Nagisa accepted even after knowing the consequences of the whiskers) was that they also couldn't leave until they broke the rock in the yard. Which was labeled as an Immortal Object. It was only a miracle (okay, maybe that's exaggerating) that they managed to break it and got their Martial Arts skill.

The bad thing about that was that they spent three days straight trying to break that rock. They could have been spending time hunting monsters or mapping out the towers labyrinth! Both Karma and Nagisa couldn't be mad though... Kirito really helped them. With Martial Arts now added to their skills list, they had a new fighting style. Not to mention that it was close to their usual style.

They didn't have knives or pistols, but Karma was usually better at hand to hand combat anyway. Nagisa was decent at it too, so they both were glad to have the new skill. And if they had to be honest, it was nice to be with Kirito again, if only for a few days.

The three travelled to the closest town and used the town's Teleport Gate to get to the third floor but after that, they split once again. Kirito said he had important business to take care off and ran off. Karma and Nagisa were once again alone...

"Well... I guess we should do something productive..." Karma sighed as they started walking through own.

"We can always go hunting," Nagisa suggested. "We can try out our new skill too."

"That's a nice idea. We should keep leveling up as much as we can after all. When Kirito messages us about the floor boss, we'll go and help the other front line members."

"Huh? You guys are apart of the front lines?"

Karma and Nagisa looked behind them, looking at the stranger who asked the question. They glanced at each other before Nagisa cleared his throat. "Yes... is something the matter?" He asked, hoping this person wasn't one of the people who despised anyone from the front lines, assuming they were a Beta tester. They knew how much people disliked the Beta testers after Kirito was found out during the first floor boss...

The stranger looked a little surprised before shaking his head. "Oh no, I was just asking! I really want to join the front lines to fight and try to beat the game, but I'm a solo player... It's kind of hard to do some of the missions out here alone, so I haven't been able to level up..."

Karma didn't like him immediately. Something about him seemed off. This player looked fairly normal with just short, black hair and simple light metal armor on his torso, legs and arms. He wore a simple cloak too, something he probably bought on the first floor. They did look like a solo player, but they also looked like a noob.

"Karma," Nagisa whispered softly. The redhead looked down at his friend. "Maybe we should help him level up a bit...?"

"What, why?" Was Karma's immediate response. He was busy worrying about Nagisa and himself, he didn't need to watch over a newbie like this!

"Karma, we're all after the same thing!" Nagisa barely managed to keep his voice in a whisper as he emphasized his point. That is true. Everyone's trying to beat the game and get back to the real world. Though some people are going about it as if it's still a competition. Kirito did warn them about two guilds (or rather parties since a Guild couldn't be made until they completed a certain mission on this floor) who compete over who's stronger. Both parties fight on the front lines though.

With a sigh, Karma glanced away. "I guess you're right..." Ugh, now he saw how Kirito felt about taking newbies in your party... He looked at the stranger who was watching with confusion. "...Do you... maybe... want to join our party for a bit then? Just until you level up a bit?"

"Really? You'd let me join?" He asked excitedly before his happy expression was replaced with a worried one. "But... I don't know if I'll be of much help..."

"It'll be fine." Nagisa assured with a smile. "We'll just handle some easy mobs and do some NPC quests if you'd like."

"Hey, I'm grateful for any help! I'm just glad someone's finally helping me!" He smiled. Karma refrained from rolling his eyes as he opened his menu. Since the person of interest was in front of him, he was able to send the invite since he didn't know the person's username yet. When the newbie accepted the party invite, a third health bar appeared in their top left vision along with a name.

"Echo...?" Karma questioned.

"Yeah, it's an inside joke," The player, Echo, smiled. "What about Karma? That's a pretty strange name too!"

"That's my real name."

"I-Is it? I didn't realize...!"

Nagisa softly laughed, gaining their attention. "Oh, it's alright. He gets it all the time. He's used to it."

"I didn't mean to be rude." Echo commented with a small frown.

"It's alright, really!" Nagisa assured, giving Karma a look.

"Yeah, it's fine... I really am used to it." Karma grumbled. He turned away and pulled up his map. "Here, we should get going to a hunting spot as soon as we can."

"Okay! Sounds good to me." Echo responded. Nagisa just watched Karma who walked off towards the forest.

---

"You know, Christmas is in a week."

Karma and Nagisa both looked at Echo, surprised by the sudden comment. After a few hours of hunting mobs (they all leveled up which was exciting!), they all decided to take a break back in Zumfut with some food.

They had been quiet as they ate the virtual food- Karma really wondered when they'd eat real food again. Well, it was quiet until Echo suddenly spoke up. Of all things, the world didn't expect this. They completely forgot about Christmas.

Nagisa looked at Karma with realization in his eyes. "Ah, your birthday!"

"His birthday is soon I guess?" Echo asked when Nagisa suddenly spoke of Karma's birthday.

"His birthday is on Christmas actually!" Nagisa commented much to Karma's displeasure. He didn't want random people knowing his birthday!

"Really?" Echo responded. "That's pretty cool. Must suck though... people only get you a few presents or even just one, saying it's for christmas AND your birthday."

"Hmm," Karma just lowly hummed in response, more focused on his food. For some reason on this floor, the NPC were obsessed with adding tons of herbs in every meal, even the drinks! He was just a little glad that not everything had meat in it like the last floor. The second floor was like a cow or bull floor. Each floor had its on theme.

The first floor was the only exception since it was for everyone to get used to the game. The second floor was the bull floor, with cow mobs and Minatour bosses. This floor was a forest theme. He can only imagine what the next floor will be... He made a mental note to ask Kirito later.

"So does this mean you have any plans for Christmas?" Nagisa asked, bringing Karma back to the conversation.

"Not really... I assume you guys do though." Echo responded. Nagisa and Karma just looked at each other awkwardly. They weren't even thinking about holidays or birthdays when they were so focused on getting out of this game. The sooner they did, the sooner they could celebrate these special occasions in the real world. "What? Seriously, nothing?" Echo asked in shock when they didn't respond.

"We don't have the time... We're too focused trying to live, you know?" Karma muttered, his attention going back to his food. He'd rather not talk about this now. It would just disappoint them by bringing up memories from the real world. Memories of spending your birthday with family, exchanging gifts, having fun... There was no room for fun in SAO.

Echo looked a little dejected or perhaps disappointed. If Karma knew or cared for this person like how he cared for Nagisa, he would have tried to cheer him up. But he didn't know Echo and he didn't care all that much for him. He cared enough to help him of course, but not enough to try and get to know him. Karma wasn't that awful. "Yeah, you're right... I guess we don't have the time for it..."

"I-I'm sure there's an event in game or something!" Nagisa commented quickly. "Some kind of Christmas event!"

"Oh yeah, games have a lot of those..." Echo agreed, his smile returning. "Yeah, maybe you're right. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

What makes you think we'd celebrate Christmas, also my birthday, with a stranger like you? Karma thought bitterly. As if he'd enjoy spending his birthday with a stranger. Nagisa was good enough for him. He'd rather have Kirito along. At least Kirito was bearable!

After clearing his throat, Karma stood up and opened his menu to check the time. "Come on, we probably have enough time to do another quest or at least some hunting before it gets dark."

"Yeah, the forests are already hard enough to navigate. We shouldn't get lost out there at night." Nagisa agreed.

"Sounds good to me." Echo grinned.

---

"I'm not scared of spiders, but I think I'm really starting to hate them." Karma mumbled to himself as he faced off a spider mob that was just a little bit bigger than him.

"Who's the one who said "hey, let's go into this dark, creepy cave!"?" Nagisa responded after he heard Karma's complaint.

"We haven't explored it yet! Think of all the items and loot!" Karma argued back. The spider started to bend it's legs like it was crouching. Karma knew this meant the spider was going to jump now. He was already dashing to the side when the spider launched into the air.

The spider mob landed with a heavy thud. Without giving it a chance to move again, Karma moved forward and swung his sword to activate the Serration Wave skill. It was a low-level skill that slowed down who or what ever is hit by it, even if just for a second. It hardly does any damage, but it was a useful skill if you knew how to use it.

The redhead leapt back but as soon as his feet touched the ground, he lunged towards the mob again. His movements automatically registered as the sword skill Rage Spike. It was a basic move as well, but it does its damage. The spider was nothing but blue specks of data in no time at all.

Karma glanced around to see how many mobs were still there. There was only one left but Nagisa and Echo were handling it. Ah, it was already dead.

He really wanted to try his Martial Arts skill more, but they couldn't with Echo around. Kirito mentioned that they shouldn't let many people know about this ability they gained since it's one that's sought after and not usually attained.

It shouldn't matter anyway. Echo shouldn't staying with them for long. They will help him get the swing of things then leave him to go find a partner or guild to join.

"Ugh," Nagisa groaned once the spider was destroyed. He flopped down onto the ground, his sword at his side. "I hate spiders..."

"I remember the times we had to avoid them when we were going to class on the mountain." Karma added, making Nagisa smile at the memories.

"Oh yeah. And the snakes and stuff. And the bees." Nagisa continued. Karma chuckled as he walked closer to Nagisa.

"Yeah. We all used to hate them but then Koro-sensei told us about how even annoying insects like bees are needed for the world." By the time Karma finished his sentence, he realised his mistake. He looked down at Nagisa's face. He was still smiling, but it was a sad one. "Nagisa..."

"If you're going to apologize, don't. It's... okay. We can't help but bring him up and think of him." Nagisa responded softly. Karma still felt guilty though. He made Nagisa think of Koro-sensei. They were all still just a bit sensitive when it came to their old teacher. Even if it had been more than a year already.

He didn't want Nagisa to remember him now of all times. He knew it sounded cruel, but they had to focus on surviving now, not focusing on the past. Another reason he didn't want to bring the teacher up was because... Well, Karma got upset just thinking about him too. He helped Karma in more ways than he could count. He helped him with things he didn't even know he needed help with...

"Sorry if it seems like I'm interrupting, but is something wrong?" Echo asked. It was pretty easy to sense the tense atmosphere between the other two party members.

"Nothing's wrong." Karma muttered, his guilt shifting into irritation. Why did this kid have to keep sticking his nose into their business? Okay, maybe he shouldn't call him a kid since he was still technically a kid himself, but at least his point was across. He was tired of Echo acting like they were all best buddies all of a sudden.

"Karma!" Nagisa gave his friend a look.

"What?" Karma responded, confused yet irritated to see Nagisa giving him a frustrated frown.

"Do you have to be so rude to every person who joins our party?"

"Every per- Nagisa, only two people have joined our party before! Kirito and him!" Did he really have to remind the bluenette?

"And you were still rude to Kirito." Apparently Nagisa had to remind him of that though. While he hadn't been quite rude to Kirito, he was still a bit mean. He didn't trust Kirito right away but come on, that was a given. He won't forget the time he practically hit on Nagisa when they were dealing with the tent situation!

Okay, so maybe he has been rude to those who joined his party. Was he going to admit he was doing wrong? No. He had every right to be suspicious of strangers. Especially after this game turned into a trap of death. "Do I not have the right to be wary of strangers? Let me repeat that last word. Strangers. I'm just being careful!"

"But we're all just trying to live!" Nagisa stepped closer to Karma. The said redhead felt his heart jump with excitement and fear. He hasn't fought in a long time, especially after the passing of Koro-sensei. But as for the fear, he was scared that a fight would occur again.

Karma had no intentions of fighting Nagisa again. The last time they fought, Koro-sensei helped them battle it out respectfully with paint ball guns and knives. There was no one to stop them now.

Not to mention that Karma didn't want to ruin his relationship with his best friend. In this game, one needed as many close allies as they could get. Even if that wasn't the case, Karma would absolutely be devastated if he couldn't be close to Nagisa again.

Taking a deep breath, Karma took a step back which startled Nagisa. "Alright, I'll admit it. I've been way too paranoid. I'm just nervous and scared for our well-being, Nagisa." It wasn't often to hear the redhead voice that he was scared. "Please don't get mad at me though. I'm just being cautious."

Much to Karma's relief, Nagisa slowly nodded. "It's alright, I understand. You have every right to be paranoid like you mentioned. It's just... we're all aiming for the same goal. We all want to survive and escape SAO."

"Right," Karma agreed. "So... can we call it even then?"

"It's water under the bridge." Nagisa smiled which made Karma softly return it.

"Wow," And immediately Karma's irritation started to spike again when Echo spoke. Relax, you can pretend to stand him just for a few days. "I don't think I've ever seen two friends fight and make up so fast like that. You guys must be close."

Karma nearly made a snarky comment but bit his tongue to stop himself. "Yeah. We've known each other for a couple of years. No big deal~"

"Sometimes I wish I didn't meet him." Nagisa claimed. Karma wasn't bothered by the comment. He knew Nagisa was just joking.

"Aww, how cruel. You're so evil to me, Nagisa. What did I do to receive such hatred?" Karma asked jokingly. It was nice to have friends like this. Friends you can fight with (not that Karma enjoyed the arguing part) then joke with a moment later.

"How about all those pictures of my "cosplay"," Aka, his crossdressing, but Nagisa refused to mention that in front of a stranger. "You threatening to cut it off. All that blackmail-"

"You make it sound as if I'm an awful person." Karma smirked.

"You are awful." Nagisa muttered. Stupid Karma with his stupid teasing!

Karma chuckled softly before looking around. They were still in the cave and if they didn't move soon, they'd have to face those spider mobs again. "We should get going. I honestly don't want to face spiders again."

"But this place had literally nothing but spiders and a few rats as mobs. It's probably going to be like that all throughout." Echo mentioned.

Why did this guy have to keep opening his mouth? Actually, Karma wondered why this guy bothered him so much. There was just something off. It's like it was his instincts telling him not to like this guy. Was something wrong with his NerveGear? But the NerveGear can't play with emotions, so he doubted that was it. Maybe Karma was just grumpy today.

"Why don't you lead then?" The redhead assassin offered. It would make it easier to keep an eye on the other and besides, he still had a few things to say to Nagisa.

"Karma? Are you sure? I thought..." Nagisa started to speak but Karma just waved his hand.

"Hey, the guy's gotta learn how to make decisions, you know? He won't be in our party forever and who knows if he'll have to go solo in the future." Karma came up with the fib on the fly. He was pretty good at thinking of lies on the spot.

Nagisa still seemed a little shocked but then he gave a small smile. Karma reluctantly returned the smile. "Really? You'd let me lead?" Echo asked.

"Sure, why not? But we should get going soon before those spiders respawn." Karma mentioned. He'd rather not face those annoying mobs again. If he has to fight anymore in the next few minutes, he might just leave the cave entirely, loot in hand or not.

"Right." Echo agreed as Nagisa nodded. It was silent for a few moments and nobody moved. Trying not to get annoyed by his obviousness, Karma gave a quiet "ahem" to get Echo's attention. "Oh, right! Um, this way! Let's go onwards!"

Karma already regret letting Echo lead.

At least now he could fall back with Nagisa and talk with him.

As the group continued on, Echo leading, Karma fell into pace with Nagisa. He didn't speak right away but he must've been showing signs he wanted to talk since Nagisa nudged him and gave him a look. Or Nagisa just knew him that well.

"I know we're all trying to get to the same place, achieve the same goal," Karma started, careful with how he said his words. "but that doesn't mean we have to let every stranger we meet tag along."

"Well, we can at least help in any way we can. And if that means they have to join our party, so be it." Nagisa didn't even look up at Karma. He just kept looking forward. He probably didn't want to start another argument either...

Karma contemplated just leaving it behind or continuing to speak to Nagisa about it. It was a pretty important topic... Usually a group consisted of close friends. They couldn't trust someone they met not long ago.

He lightly bit his bottom lip, an old habit he managed to relax but not yet destroy. "I understand that Nagisa, but... we don't know anything about this guy. He doesn't seem to have any friends and he's such a low level for someone trying to get on the front lines."

"Maybe his friends died." That was not the response Karma was expecting. He stayed silent as Nagisa finally turned his head to look at him. "And maybe that's why he is such a low level. He was too afraid or nervous to go fight on his own. So he probably came to the third floor to find a group of front liners, like us, to help him. He wants the same thing as us. He wants to survive and escape this game."

"But that's all hypothetical," Karma argued before he could stop himself. He already knew that wasn't a good thing to say, especially to Nagisa. "I mean yeah, maybe, but we don't know for sure. That's what I'm trying to say."

"So what do you suggest?" Nagisa asked, his voice sounding harder. A little lower. Karma looked away; Nagisa was getting mad, it was obvious. Nagisa could be calm and collected, but that was only until his stubbornness kicked in. Nagisa didn't really like it when others went against his ideas or morals. Even if it was unconsciously. Koro-sensei mentioned that during their paint ball fight.

He also pointed out the look Nagisa gave Karma and how much it affected him. To be looked at with disgust as if you were a delinquent or no better than a criminal... Okay, maybe Karma was both of those, but he had trusted Nagisa. He actually liked Nagisa and enjoyed his presence. When he gave him /that/ look, Karma flipped. He didn't want to do it again. Not now. Not ever.

"We just abandon everybody who needs our help?" The smaller male continued, catching Karma's attention. "Leave them all behind? Why? If they want to help, we should let them help."

"What if they get in the way? Wouldn't you rather get to the last floor faster to leave this game faster?"

"And leave the lower levels to die for nothing?"

"They don't have to die! They can just stay in safe zones." Karma explained quickly, struggling to push down his frustration.

"Is that what you want me to do? Again, Karma?" Nagisa asked in a growl.

"Nagisa, I never said that. I do want you safe, yes, but I know you're stubborn-"

"Yeah, I am stubborn. I'm not going to chill in some safe town while you go out and risk your life." When Nagisa huffed, Karma felt his anger rise significantly and he couldn't hold it back.

"You just love being the hero don't you?!" Karma shouted. Nagisa didn't even flinch, as if he was expecting it. "Back at the classroom, you always risked your life. I heard that before I came, you even tried to be a suicide bomber! And what about Takaoka? Getting beat senseless in front of everyone... The God of death... You always try to be the hero."

"I just wanted to help everyone!" Nagisa argued, standing in place. Karma stopped as well, facing Nagisa. "It's not about being a hero-"

"So you can go out and risk your life without a problem but when I do it, it's not okay?"

"No, it's just-"

"It's just what, Nagisa?" Karma stepped closer, starting to loom over Nagisa. "What? Are you finally realizing what you're saying is so hypocritical?"

"It's not! It's not the same situation." Nagisa glared up at Karma.

Clenching his fists, Karma resisted swinging it at Nagisa. "It's no different from anything we've done, Nagisa. We're in a situation where we are risking our lives. It's just like back at the classroom!"

"But back then we had our friends, our classmates!"

"Yeah, who we could trust! We can't trust every single person trapped here. There are probably PKer's out there! Not every one is a damsel in distress or a knight in shining armor trying to escape this game."

The two stood in front of each other, staring each other down. Karma was sure a fight would have broke out if a loud shout hadn't echoed throughout the corridor. They both turned quickly, looking towards the direction of the sound with shock.

"Where's Echo? He's not here!" Nagisa pointed out.

"It must've been him!" Karma said before bursting into a sprint. Nagisa followed quickly. "Why did he go ahead? He couldn't have not heard us fighting! The idiot!"

"Maybe he already got too far ahead before we started yelling?" Nagisa suggested. Karma didn't respond and just kept running, looking for any sign of Echo.

It didn't make sense. Echo should have known they weren't following. Even if he didn't and walked up ahead, surely their loud voices would've echoed. He should have heard them regardless...

Another shout rang out through the tunnel. "He's close!" The duo turned the corner. Echo had to be close now.

"In there!" Nagisa pointed to a side room that almost wasn't noticeable since it was so dark in the tunnels, only a few torches every now and then.

As they ran towards the room, Karma looked in the top left corner of his vision to check on Echo's health. Which was completely full. Then why is he... "Wait, Nagisa!" Karma shouted before his mind even processed everything. Something was definitely wrong here, but he had been too late to figure it out.

Nagisa had already ran into the room, Karma right behind him. When Nagisa tripped over a wire in the doorway, Karma knew right away that this was all a set up. It was obvious by the way Echo smirked triumphantly at them before the floor close to the door gave way and they started falling.

The fall wasn't that long, maybe almost ten seconds, but the impact took their health all the way to yellow. Karma groaned as he used his arms to push himself up. After confirming that he was indeed alive, he quickly glanced around for Nagisa. He was already sitting up too. He was also looking up with a surprised face.

"I really can't believe that worked," Karma heard Echo say from the top of the trap, completely unharmed. "I mean honestly, such an old trick."

With a grumble, Karma stood up with his fists clenched at his sides. Could he climb up? How fast would it take him to climb up and slash Echo in two?

Beside him Nagisa also stood up, now glaring up at Echo. He still had that stupid smirk on his face that just made Karma want to punch him. "Why are you looking at me like that? I'd be more worried about the monsters."

Before Echo even finished his statement, Karma already turned to face the room they fell in. It was all empty and dark. There was a dark tunnel though. But as Karma looked closer, two bright red lights suddenly glowed in the dark. No, not lights.

"Nagisa! Hurry, use a healing potion!" Karma ordered, already pulling out his sword.

"What is it?" Nagisa asked as he pulled out a potion like Karma told him to. His health was nearly fully restored when he used it.

"I think... it's a mid-level boss."

There was a low hissing sound as the boss emerged from the dark tunnel. It was a huge, obsidian colored snake with glowing, red eyes. When it rose up, it's head nearly touched the ceiling of the tunnel but now that it was in the open, it seemed to grow even more. Karma couldn't even see the end of its tail!

Around it's neck and body were rings of gold and jewels, creating a contrast against its dark scales. The snake's tongue flickered out at them, dripping with some kind of black liquid.

"W-What level is that!" Nagisa asked.

Karma looked at the health bars that appeared beside the creatures' head. 'Five health bars!' Karma worried in his mind. "It looks like his name is... Ahktar, the Treasure Hoarder."

"Five bars of health? How can we beat that?" They were only two people! And Karma was at half health!

More slithering reached their ears but it wasn't the big snake. "He has little snakes too!" Karma couldn't believe this. Echo lead them into a trap that lead them to the mid-level boss!

"We have to try to escape!" Karma insisted quickly. There was no way they could take on this huge snake. "Go to the wall! Try to climb!"

Nagisa nodded and took a few steps towards the wall. As quickly as he turned, the snake suddenly lunged. Karma didn't see it coming and he could only thank whoever was out there that the snake didn't attack Nagisa. The snake just moved around the room, its body trying to block any access to the walls or the tunnel. Other than that, it didn't attack.

"It's... not attacking?" Nagisa asked, confirming that Karma wasn't just seeing things. He took a look around at the little snakes. They weren't attacking either, just slithering around the giant snake or over it.

Karma didn't like this at all. A boss with no attack moves? No, it couldn't be that easy. "...Let's try getting towards the tunnel. There has to be a way out and if this snake won't let us climb, that's our only chance."

"Right." Nagisa agreed because honestly, there's nothing else they could do. It really is their only option.

After a moment of hesitancy, Karma stepped forward. Just as he did, one of the little snakes hissed in his direction and shot forward, aiming for his leg. The redhead pulled back quickly, making the snake miss and hit the floor.

Other than that one snake, none of the others attacked afterwards. Karma, one foot still above the ground, looked closely at the little snake that missed his leg. It shook its head before wiggling its little body. It started pacing back and forth, looking right at Karma.

He wasn't sure how long he could keep his foot up, so slowly, Karma placed his foot on the ground. As soon as it touched the ground, the snakes head tilted before slithering towards Karma again, slower this time.

"What is it doing?" Nagisa whispered, also watching the snake come closer.

Karma didn't answer. He watched the snake coming closer before he slowly crouched down, picking up one of the rocks on the floor. Other snakes raised their heads, looking alert now.

The little snake was already right before him, it's little forked tongue flicking out. Karma tried to control his breathing as if that would help. This snake wasn't attacking, and Karma might just know why. Those misty eyes definitely support his guess.

Just as the snake started to hiss, Karma quickly tossed the rock. As soon as it hit the floor, almost all of the little snake close to where the rock landed launched forward, wrapping around the rock as much as they could.

Suddenly the huge snake, Ahktar, let out a huge hiss which the little snakes around the rock copied. Ahktar then opened its mouth, revealing its sharp fangs, and shot something black at the rock held by the little snakes. In a matter of seconds, the rock disappeared into little blue shards. The little snakes were unaffected by the attack and slithered away.

"They attacked a rock? Why?"

"I think... They are programmed to be blind." Karma answered. With the way the snakes slithered, it was to feel for where the player was. It's not that they couldn't attack, it was just that they had to find the player who fell in their trap first. And honestly, if anyone else saw a huge snake like this, they might just freak out and try to escape. Good thing Karma and Nagisa practically saw pretty much everything they could see in the world while in their old classroom.

"Blind?" Nagisa repeated before looking around at the snakes. They still haven't attacked them at all yet. It was pretty believable, even if the rock incident hadn't happened. "Then... how should we get out of here? If they attack on sight- Uh.. or rather if they feel us move, how can we leave?"

Karma was silent for a few moments as he studied the snakes, his mind racing to think of an idea. Any idea that wouldn't put their lives at risk.

"I don't know." He finally answered. He carefully sheathed his sword before opening his menu to get a health potion. "It's not like we'll get tired or hungry so we have some time to think..."

"Can we get outside help?" Nagisa looked up at the opening of the trap. Echo must be long gone. He couldn't believe he had been a MPKer. He tried to kill them after they, or at least Nagisa, showed him such hospitality. The thought made Nagisa's blood boil. "Can't we message Kirito or something?"

After Karma used the health potion, he scrolled through his menu and clicked the FRIENDS icon. Instead of a short list of Kirito's and Nagisa's names as his only contacts, the message "UNABLE TO CONTACT FRIENDS" popped up instead.

"Oh no," Karma groaned.

"What? What's wrong?" Nagisa shifted a little to look at Karma but stopped when a snake hissed.

"This must be a special cave. We can't make any contact outside of here. No messages, no tracking, nothing. We're probably not even on the map right now." Karma explained. These types of places weren't common since it was still the lower floors, but they have been popping up recently. Karma avoided these places at all costs, and situations like this is the reason why.

"Then... We really can't get anyone to help?" They only had themselves to escape.

"Unless someone manages to find us, which I doubt will happen soon, then yeah. We're on our own." Karma confirmed. Nagisa released a sigh and put his own sword away.

"How can we beat this? We're not prepared. I'm not even sure we're high enough on our levels to beat this thing."

"Maybe if we had more people but then again, this trap is small. I doubt going into the tunnel would be any better." Karma wished he could sit down. Yeah they won't get tired, but it would be more comfortable.

Both of them stood in silence for about a minute, taking time to think about a plan. A way to get help. Literally anything that'll prevent them from getting hurt or dying. However it's not like they had a lot of options. Everywhere except up, there were snakes blocking their paths. Unless they could fly, there was no way getting out by going up.

"Can we just... book it to the tunnel?" Nagisa asked, breaking the silence.

"Maybe? Those snakes are pretty fast..." They have been leveling up their speed but not as much as their health or strength at the moment, so the snakes might actually be faster. "Also, we don't know what's further in the tunnel. Could be a dead end for all we know." Karma thought aloud.

"I guess... But there's no way we could get out by climbing, so surely there's a way in the tunnel?" Sometimes Nagisa's optimism was reassuring or annoying. Right now, Karma supposed it was nice to hear. His head was starting to hurt from trying to think of different escape plans.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Even if this trap seems impossible, it wouldn't be implemented if it was." Otherwise that would be a jerk move on the game creator's part.

Karma gave a deep sigh. Alright, they had to go for it. The thing is... they had to get the little snakes out of the way first. And after that, they had to jump over some of the body of Ahktar... This was going to be harder than it sounds. After they escape the room, they still had to run down the tunnel and find a way out. The snakes will probably chase them too. Plus they had no idea if other snakes or monsters are in the tunnel...

Okay, maybe they couldn't just go for it. They still had so much to think through. Come on, there had to be some kind of weakness!

Karma opened his mouth to tell Nagisa that they should look around again, in case they missed anything, but said person cut him off. "Look, Karma... I'm going to be straight forward. I'm sorry."

"Hu- What?" Karma responded with slight surprise. He wasn't expecting an apology now of all things. He thought they were trying to escape now?

"I was just thinking how we wouldn't have gotten stuck here if I hadn't started an argument... I know you weren't trying to fight but I still got mad." Nagisa went on.

"No, I got mad first... I yelled at you." Karma wasn't sure if now was the time to make up again but then again, it's not like they had many options to do other things. "And besides, it was my fault for not realizing it was a trap before it was too late. Honestly, we should have been looking at his health to begin with. Maybe if we saw his health bar wasn't going down, we wouldn't have been so foolish and just ran blindly."

"I just... can't believe he betrayed us." Nagisa mumbled. He shifted on his feet but when some of the little snakes hissed, he stood still again. "It must've been planned from the beginning... I should have listened to you. I should have at least been a bit more wary."

Karma wanted to tell him it was alright, that mistakes happen, but there's no more room for mistakes now. Any mistake, big or small, can lead to their deaths. They had to tread carefully from now on. They had to be wary and cautious. Trust only those they know they can trust.

As much as he didn't want to think it, they still had to be wary of Kirito too. They didn't know the guy that well after all. Yeah it's been nearly two months but he could still turn at any moment. Not that Karma believed he really would, but caution was necessary.

Realizing he didn't answer Nagisa verbally yet, he nodded before heaving a deep sigh. "Just be careful, okay? We need to watch each other's backs more from now on. It's how we're going to survive. Together."

"So you really aren't going to try to convince me to stay at a safe town?" Nagisa asked, a smile finally reaching his lips. It's been a while since they genuinely smiled, with all their arguing and the situation they're currently in right now.

"Nah. I mean, I guess technically you are stronger than me so it's not like I could beat you in a fight." Karma pretended to let out a fake sad sigh. He probably could beat Nagisa in a fight but he'd rather not fight his best friend. Now was certainly not the time anyway.

"Yeah, that's right. I'm way too strong for you. Beat you at your own game." Nagisa caught on with Karma's teasing so he decided to return the favor.

"What a blow to my pride. You're so cruel, Nagisa." Karma responded. He turned his head to give his friend a small smile before it dropped. Now was the time to get serious. "Alright... We really should focus on the problem at hand though."

Nagisa's smile faltered. It was as if he had forgotten their predicament. He probably did. "Right..." Nagisa took a look around the room then sighed. "Will the boss just leave if it doesn't sense us? Like if we don't move for a long time?"

"If that could work with any other boss, so many people wouldn't have died." Was Karma's blunt response. "Sorry, Nagisa, but I doubt it."

"It's alright. I didn't think it would work anyway."

Once again the tunnel was filled with silence other than the slithering and hisses of the snakes. Escape seemed pretty impossible. Unless they sought death as the outcome, there was nothing they could do. Maybe... they should accept this. They could at least go down fighting, but maybe this was the end of the line.

Karma hated thinking this. He didn't want to die. He didn't want Nagisa to die. He didn't want them to go down almost two months into the game. He wanted them to make it out. He wanted to see his old classmates again. He wanted to make Koro-sensei proud.

He let out a sudden, soft laugh that startled Nagisa. "Karma?" He cautiously reached out to touch Karma's arm.

Karma didn't do anything about the touch. His laugh ceased, but he was still smiling. It looked more pained than joyous. "What would... what would Koro-sensei think? Is he watching over us now? Would he think of us as cowards for just standing here, waiting for an end?"

"What? Of course not! Koro-sensei believed in us and I'm sure he still does." Nagisa was quick to assure Karma, his hold on the other's arm tightening with reassurance. "He knows there's not much we can do! He's probably proud that neither of us jumped into action immediately like we would have done."

Karma gave no response. He had turned his head away from Nagisa so the shorter male had no idea what his expression read. He decided to continue. "We've come a long way, Karma... I'm sure he's proud of us for sticking together through all of this. And... and if we don't make it out now..." Nagisa's voice was wearing down. His throat was tightening when he thought about them. He didn't want to die either. He didn't want either of them to die. "I-I'm sure he'd... he'd be so happy that we were together until the end..."

That's when Nagisa felt Karma's arm jerk under his touch. After looking down at his hand, he looked back up to see if he could read Karma's expression. It's been a long time since either of them cried but in all honesty, they both hadn't expected Karma to be the one to break down first. Nagisa hasn't even seen Karma cry since Koro-sensei's death. Sure he's shown up to their annual meetings on the mountains with tear stained cheeks, but he hasn't actually witnessed the actual tears itself.

"It's not fair," Karma's voice was hoarse. He was trying to reign in his emotions and failed miserably. "So many people... they're just dying. And for what? Why is it always people around me?"

Nagisa tightened his hold on Karma's arm as he tried thinking of a response. Anything to help Karma. It pained him so much to see such a proud person he's known for years fall before him. "I.. I don't know why. But Karma, please, know it's not your fault."

"We could have done something! I could have done something!" Karma's voice had gained some strength again but by the end of his sentence, his voice cracked and it lost it power once more. "Koro-sensei- I.. couldn't I have done something? Something more? All we could do was stand and watch as he fought the god of death and then we had to kill him afterwards? We couldn't have done anything about the anti-sensei barrier?"

"There was nothing we could do! It was created by the government, there was no way we could have-"

"You're telling me we can sneak past tons of people and steal a rocket but we can't take down a dome? We can go to space and threaten Americans with a bomb but we can't save our teacher?" Karma's voice asked in a harsh tone.

Nagisa knew Karma wasn't actually mad at him but it felt awful. He felt awful because he couldn't answer Karma. Maybe they could have done something but even if they could, they had no time. Time was against them every day, every situation. If only they had a few seconds, or if only they had more time! They thought these things so often, it was frightening. Especially now where if you weren't careful, three seconds was enough to be done in by the right mob.

"Geez..." Karma shrugged off Nagisa's arm so he could raise his hands to his face. He was trying to wipe the tears out of his eyes but it just made more appear. "I.. I can't believe I'm... Even in my last moments I'm a child." He let out another weak laugh then slowly descended into small, quiet sobs.

Even now Nagisa could feel his eyes begin to water as well. This really was the end? But... they always made it out... They used to be assassins! They were a great duo, how could they be defeated by some trap? A trap they managed to escape from even when it was more complicated than this one. But back then they did have Koro-sensei and their camouflage suits.

"You don't blame me, right?" Karma didn't moved his hands away from his face yet. He must be ashamed to break down right in front of Nagisa. "I-If we die here, you won't..."

Uncaring of the consequences, Nagisa took a step closer to Karma to wrap his arms around him. He didn't care if Karma refused to face him. Hugging like this was fine. It allowed Nagisa to hide his own tears in Karma's back. Karma wasn't the only one who didn't want their final moments to be staring into each other's broken eyes.

Nagisa tightened his embrace as he kept his face buried into Karma's back. "I could never... I know you Karma. You'd never give up... You've done everything you could. I'm so.. proud of you, Karma. I'm happy I can be with you now..." Even in their predicament.

Karma once again offered no response. His hands moved up to his hair, pushing it out of his face that was just covered in his tears. He did everything he could? His eyes moved to a little snake that seemed to be moving closer, hissing softly. Did it hear Nagisa move?

He took a shuddering deep breath. "I'm... glad you don't hate me. Or blame me." He whispered. "Nagisa... Look, I.." How could he say this? "I wish we could've... lived longer, you know? To see our classmates again, to.. to continue hanging out." He gave a soft scoff to himself. "I sound... really lame, I know, I just..."

He felt Nagisa both laugh and cry on his back. "It's fine... Please, continue... Don't be afraid to tell me anything."

Anything? Even something Karma wanted to say ever since their paint ball war? Perhaps even before that? No... He couldn't do that to Nagisa. To confess right before they... That seems too cruel to Karma.

"...I'm glad I got to meet you, Nagisa. And I'm so... so happy you stuck around even after knowing how much I love fighting and pranks." He felt Nagisa move away, maybe with surprise when he pulled out his sword again. The little snake was closer now and it wouldn't be long before it attacked. "I guess I just want to say..." I love you. "Thank you."

"Karma... What are you..." Nagisa's eyes widened when he spotted the snake. Karma... no, he couldn't! "Karma-!"

"You were wrong at something though. I didn't try everything." Karma finally turned his head to look at Nagisa again. He gave his friend a smile. "You know me. If I'm going to die, I'll die fighting."

Die fighting... yes, that seems so much like Karma. Nagisa wiped at his eyes with a small laugh before he pulled out his own sword. "That's funny... I'm the same way."

"Birds of a feather."

"They say they will always stay together." Nagisa continued to smile even as he turned to face the snakes behind Karma. Back to back... Yes, they'll die, fighting to protect each other. That's how it should be and that's how it will be.

Nagisa felt the need to say something. Final words maybe? But just before he opened his mouth, the first snake made its first attack towards Karma. Then the fighting commenced.

It didn't seem so hard at first. They slashed at snakes that launched themselves off the ground at them and jumped away from the ones that tried mobilising their legs. There were tons of little snakes but once normal sword strike or swing was enough to take them down.

The biggest problem was Ahktar. The boss couldn't tell where they were since the little snakes didn't capture them, so the snake tried to take up most of the room with its body. It was beginning to become difficult to duck and slide under some parts of the snake and leap over other parts. If they so much as touch a scale on Ahktar, they could be shot by that black acid in a matter of moments.

"Don't they have some weakness? A blindspot!" Nagisa called out to Karma as he swung his sword wide, taking out there little snakes. It didn't matter since more would just suddenly show up.

"They're all blind, Nagisa!"

"Now is not the time for jokes!"

Karma didn't even have time to smirk as he concentrated on jumping over a part of Ahktar without accidentally touching it. There biggest concern was Ahktar. If they could get rid of him, they could make a break for it down the tunnel.

When he had a moment to spare, Karma took a look at Ahktar's head. The boss was frantically turning his head every which way, trying to find the two. They were moving too fast so it couldn't rely on vibrations. Whenever it tried shooting acid at them, they were already out of the way.

Karma eyed the jewels around the snakes neck. They looked like they barely gave the snake breathing room. Not that it needed to breathe anyway. "Karma!"

"I think I got an idea!" Karma responded to Nagisa's hurried tone. "Nagisa, when I say, attack Ahktar!"

"Where?!"

"Anywhere!" Karma shouted before moving. He began running towards Ahktar, avoiding any part of the big snake while knocking back any of the little snakes. One did try to wrap around his leg but he easily kicked it away before it got a grip.

He neared the wall Ahktar's head was close to. He'd have only a few seconds to achieve what he was aiming for. If not, he sure hoped Nagisa was fast enough. "Now, do it now!" He ordered as he launched his body at the wall. If it was real life, he wouldn't have been able to kick off the wall so easily to aim for Ahktar. Thankfully it wasn't real life right now.

Nagisa had gotten rid of any snake aiming for him before he took a large swing at Ahktar's body sliding by Nagisa. The snake let out a large hiss before turning its head to aim at Nagisa. Just as it's jaws opened to shoot the deadly code of acid at Nagisa, its head jerked upwards and it let out another ground shaking hiss.

Ahktar began shaking its head wildly and now Nagisa saw why. Karma was holding onto the highest ring of jewels around Ahktar's neck. He was too close to the snake's head so when Ahktar tried turning its body to bite at him, Karma couldn't be reached. Nagisa's eyes widened in realization. "His actual blind spot!"

"This is the strangest thing I've ever done!" He heard Karma shout as he struggled to hold onto the snake with one hand with the other held his sword. The claim actually made Nagisa smile despite their situation. Fighting assassin's and trying to kill a giant octopus was alright, but riding a giant snake? Karma certainly had weird standards.

Nagisa's attention was pulled away when he felt a small snake latch onto his arm. He resisted panicking as he tore the snake away and continued moving. They might have an advantage now but they still had to be careful. Especially now that Karma noticed little snakes were trying to move around Ahktar's body, to get up to where Karma was. Ahktar must be telling them where he was since they couldn't sense him. Now he had to attack Ahktar and defend himself against the little snakes!

"Nagisa! Can you try to keep these snakes off me?" He called out to his friend as he brought his sword up to Ahktar's scales after slashing away two small snakes that managed to slither their way up to them. How they weren't thrown off by Ahktar's thrashing, Karma didn't know. Maybe it was a snake thing. Or the programmers didn't think anyone would have the guts to ride a giant snake. Which, on second thought seemed ridiculous. Who wouldn't want to ride a huge snake into battle?

He didn't hear a verbal response, but he knew Nagisa heard him by the way he jumped onto a part of Ahktar's body that wasn't thrashing around as much as Ahktar's head. After watching Nagisa drive his sword into Ahktar's body and pulling out another sword from his inventory quickly, Karma knew he should do the same. Having a sword to hold onto would be easier, plus Ahktar would slowly lose health due to the swords being in it.

With his sword already poised to attack, he drew all of his strength into the stab. He lodged the sword between two of Ahktar's scales, making sure it couldn't be freed easily. Ahktar gave another pained, almost infuriated hiss as its body moved more frantically, trying to get the two off.

Karma held on for dear life with one hand as his other frantically opened his menu. Thanking everything in life for such a thing as quick select to exist, Karma selected a sword he already had ready on hand. Quick select helped with cases like this. Instead of scrolling through his whole inventory for what he needs, he has it ready right on the first slide of his menu. It was useful for things like health potions and eventually teleportation crystals.

In just a few quick seconds, the new sword appeared under Karma's hand. He grasped it before it could fall and without another moment to waste, he began slashing and stabbing at Ahktar.

Maybe they could actually win. The thought filled Karma with renewed hope. Yes, they could win. They could actually beat this mid-level boss and live. They could live. They would live.

Nagisa was doing his own fair share of damage, although he was mostly focusing on any little snakes that were coming for him or Karma. He was the protector, Karma was the damage bringer. They were a great duo, they always were. It seems like nothing changed about that. Nothing will ever change that.

It's strange though. As Karma was thinking these things, he also thought about how if this was a movie or book, now would be the time something bad happ-

"Karma!" The voice echoed through the small room, startling the redhead. His head turned frantically down towards Nagisa, ready to do anything he could to protect him in case something happened. His mind was filled with confusion when he saw Nagisa looking at him with surprise and confusion too. Was he not the one to shout his name?

Suddenly he got the feeling Nagisa wasn't looking at him, but behind him. He turned his head to look up at the floor that was still open from when they fell in the trap. Two human silhouettes were crouched above the trap. Help! This was the exact opposite of something bad!

Now he recognized that voice that had called for him earlier. "Kirito!" He called out in response. A huge surge of relief filled him. They were still in trouble of course, but he just felt safe now. They had back up. Strong ones at that. They really would get through this. It was almost enough to bring the tears back to Karma's eyes, but he kept them at bay. He couldn't seem like a child now that Kirito had arrived. By the looks of it, the person beside Kirito seemed to be Asuna. A powerful swordsman and fierce fencer came to help. Karma wasn't scared any longer.

He faintly heard the two conversing up there, probably discussing what to do. Karma was ready to turn his attention back to bringing as much damage to Ahktar as possible until he heard Kirito again. "Asuna! You can't just-!"

The rest of his words were drowned out by another enormous hiss Ahktar let out. Karma raised his head to see what had caused such pain to the snake and was shocked to see Asuna on the snake's head, holding on to the rapier she had lodged into the snake's head. Damn... Karma made a mental note not to get on Asuna's bad side. She had a lot of guts to jump down into a trap with a giant snake with no hesitation, and managed to hold onto it better than Karma.

"Switch out!" Asuna called out to Kirito as she took her rapier out of Ahktar's head and jumped down, a hint of a smirk on her face. By the sound of her teasing command, Karma could tell that's not what they planned. He could even hear Kirito's exasperated sigh from above before he heard him drop down.

If Ahktar hadn't been programmed blind, the snake might've been ready for another air attack. But since it couldn't sense Kirito jump, it could do nothing as another sword was shoved into its head. It let out another wail, its body continuing its writhing and thrashing, uncaring if it rolled over its little snake minions too.

Karma gave a short shout when Ahktar made its body hit a wall. His hold on the sword momentarily weakened and when he tried grasping it tighter again, Ahktar did it again. Karma's breath hitched when his grip slipped on both swords.

He felt his body fall until something grabbed both of his arms tightly, stopping his drop. He looked up with obvious shock. Then his face changed into one of confused amusement. He couldn't help but smirk when he realized the only way Kirito caught him with both hands was because he had his foot stuck in one of Ahktar's neck jewels.

"Only Kirito has the speed and accuracy to get his foot in the right place and manage to catch me." Karma couldn't help but tease the swordsman. Kirito looked like he was debating on pulling him up or dropping him. It actually began to concern Karma with how long he seemed to be thinking. "Don't you dare drop me! Look, I'll buy you a good dinner if you don't!"

"At least you offer nice first dates." Kirito replied, his own tone now filled with amusement. "Just try not to swoon too much over me."

"I'm not going to swoon over the guy who made me wear whisker paint for three days!" Karma protested, feeling his face fluster a little. Thankfully Ahktar decided to disrupt their moment by trying to swing it's head towards the hanging Karma. He still couldn't be reached since he was too close to the neck, but the momentum could throw them both off if Kirito didn't get them up soon.

"You owe me a date, don't forget it!" Kirito told the redhead before using Ahktar's momentum to swing Karma towards one of the neck jewels. When the timing was right, Karma let go of one of Kirito's hands to grab the necklace tightly. He pulled himself up until he reached his sword. He grabbed that tightly and didn't let go.

He watched Kirito pull his body up as if he was doing a sit up. The swordsman was able to move himself back to his own sword to hold on. Once he was settled on top Ahktar's head, he looked down at Karma to see if he was okay.

The situation was so strange it was almost funny. No, it was funny. Karma couldn't help it as a laugh actually escaped him. Just a minute ago he was ready for death and now he was laughing without a care in the world. While a snake was trying to throw him off, to top it all off.

"I don't see a reason to be laughing." Kirito responded and yet he was giving his own smirk. "Come on, he's on his last health bar."

Karma paused in surprise and turned his head to look at the health bars by the snake's head. He didn't even realize how much damage they had been doing... Then again, those two hits Asuna and Kirito made must've been critical. "Let's finish this. Asuna and Nagisa are attacking from below."

Karma glanced down and noticed a lot of the small snakes were gone. Some were still spawning in but now with Asuna's help, the two could get rid of tons of snakes easily. Now they could focus on damaging Ahktar and not the little snakes. They could all finish him in a few minutes or even seconds!

Since he had dropped his other sword, Karma shifted his tight grasp onto the jewels again and tugged his first sword out of Ahktar. Kirito had a second sword ready and with that, they were all dealing heavy or quick blows to the huge snake. The last health bar was depleting in an alarming rate. Ahktar was trying desperately to throw off the two on it while trying to crush the others with its body, but it was pointless. In a matter of moments, Ahktar stilled, the snake's body glowing a bright blue.

"We actually... we actually got it!" Karma's cheers were short lived however when Ahktar's body shattered and he instantly began to fall. Kirito wasn't special, he was falling too. They both gave startled shouts before they hit the ground together.

Although it didn't hurt very much, Karma didn't move. His mind was spinning but that's not why he didn't move. He felt like he couldn't. Fear began to fill him. Did the snakes get him? Did Asuna and Nagisa miss some?

His eyes snapped open and he looked to see what was holding him down. "What the f- Jesus, you're heavy!" He groaned when he realized it was Kirito. How the heck did he manage to fall on him when there's a whole open floor?!

"I thought you guys were supposed to go to dinner first?" Asuna decided they weren't embarrassed enough so she wanted to rub the embarrassment in a little bit. Even Nagisa was holding in a small laugh beside her.

"Geez... I was going to thank you for taking some of the fall damage for me, but never mind." Kirito sighed as he lifted himself up a little. Even though he sounded fine, as if he wasn't bothered by the position, Karma could see his flustered face from his angle.

"I expect dinner and a dessert now." Kirito demanded making Karma scowl.

"Just get off! This is weird." Not because they were both guys. Obviously not because Karma had feelings for another guy. It was just weird because the guy he liked was watching some other dude straddle him. And he was laughing.

Fortunately Kirito gave him mercy and got off the redhead. They both stood up awkwardly, dusting themselves off or clearing their throats. A bit of embarrassment was still evident on their cheeks but other than that, they seemed normal.

Nagisa approached Karma and gave a hesitant smile. "Um... I got the sword you dropped." He handed Karma the sword he had for his quick select bar.

"Oh, thanks." Karma gave a smile in return.

"What is with guys and getting in trouble so often?" Asuna asked with a sigh, her hands on her hips. "It's bad enough that Kirito goes running off into danger so often. Now you two?"

"Sorry..." Nagisa apologized while Karma was silent in thought. How did they know they were there? They didn't send a message... Maybe they were still traceable?

Karma just had to ask. "How did you guys find us? We thought... this room was one of those special ones. The ones where you couldn't get or send messages or look on the map."

His question seemed to bring some tension to the two. Asuna stayed silent as Kirito pulled up his menu and opened his messages. He couldn't send or get messages from down there, but they could still see their own. "We... actually got a mysterious message."

"But we didn't send any messages!" Nagisa told them. Kirito turned his menu so the two could read it themselves.

{ I'm sorry for bothering you but you need to help my friends urgently. I know this seems strange and like a lie, but please know it is not. You know of Karma Akabane and Nagisa Shiota, right? They are in trouble. I don't have time to explain much before the system finds me and forces me out of its codes. They are trapped at these coordinates with a dangerous boss. }

There was a small line of coordinates for floor 3, the one they were currently on.

{ Please, they need help right away. I know it seems suspicious but their lives are on the line.

If you save them, please tell them their friends miss them and are rooting for them. I only have time to send one message so forgive me, Karma, Nagisa.

I'm cheering you on too.

- Ritsu }}

"Ritsu!" The two cried once they saw the name. The other duo jumped in surprise.

"Do you know this person?" Asuna asked. She had been with Kirito when he got the message. They both had debated over if it was a trap and if they should go or not. Now she was glad they decided to go, just in case.

"She's uh..." Nagisa started to explain but faltered immediately. How could they explain that she was a computer AI with feelings? Surely they'd ask how and why they knew her. Or how she got into the system. They didn't quite know that yet.

"She's... a friend of ours. She..." Karma spoke up for Nagisa. "It may sound strange, but she's a computer. But... She's not like any AI you two might know of. She's like a real human. Someone... Someone from the outside must've put her in one of our NerveGears or something. That has to be how she sent the message." It must be the reason why she could only send one message. Like she said, she only had a short amount of time before the system found her after she sends the message.

Kirito closed his menu with a thoughtful hum. "Strange... but I'm glad you have her as a friend then. You two looked to be in trouble. If she hadn't sent the message, we wouldn't have known you were gone until you guys disappeared from our friends lists."

"Yeah," Asuna said before her eyes narrowed in thought. "...How did you guys get stuck in this trap? I know we don't know each other in a big way, but I know at least Nagisa isn't clumsy or reckless."

Once he was reminded about how they even got into this situation, Karma gave an angry growl. "Echo." He hissed out. That traitor. They did nothing but offer him help, and he tried to kill them in return!

Kirito and Asuna seemed confused, but Karma was fuming too much to explain. Nagisa decided to step in. "H-He joined our party for a bit to rank up. We thought he was a new player, trying to learn to fight since he said his friends died." That had probably been a lie. "And... we were lead to this trap. He led us here and left us to die."

"I should kill him myself. Nearly got us both killed..." Karma would never forgive himself if Nagisa got killed. And yet he nearly let it happen. If they hadn't fought, they could have gotten killed in a matter of time. Unless Kirito and Asuna showed up before then.

"A PKer..." Kirito muttered.

"This early in the game?" Asuna questioned. If Kirito hadn't already told her about them before, she might've asked what those were. Luckily she was learning quick. You had to if you wanted to survive in this death game.

Everyone looked so serious despite such a huge win. Nagisa frowned a little at the sight. They just won a huge battle. They beat a mid-level boss! With only four people! He knew just what to do to turn this around. "U-Um... So... I don't know how, but I got the LA."

The last attack.

"You did?" Karma asked with surprise. Everyone turned to him curiously. "What did you get? Did you get anything? Is it good?"

"Um... I think it's actually pretty cool." Nagisa smiled. He opened his menu and selected the item that said NEW beside it.

Everyone moved closer to stare at the new weapon in Nagisa's hand. It was a long, kind of curved dagger that had black designs on the sides that looked hand carved. The handle was wrapped in a black, comfortable cloth. The material of the blade itself didn't even look like metal. It kind of looked like a... "What's the dagger called?" Kirito asked.

"Ahktar's fang." Nagisa answered with a tiny smirk. Even he felt proud of his reward.

"Ooh." Karma moved closer to wrap an arm around Nagisa's shoulders, pulling him closer to get a look at the dagger. "Nagisa with a knife... Brings back memories." He whispered to Nagisa only.

Oh yeah, that's right. I used a knife a lot in our old class... Nagisa was just better at the knife than he was with guns. It felt more comfortable than the handle of a gun. It felt like an extension of his arm, much like how Kirito must feel with his sword.

"I guess you have to level up your Knife Skill then. Good thing you got it early." Kirito mentioned. "It would suck to switch main weapons late in the game." He winced when Asuna suddenly jabbed his side.

"That's if he even wants to use it a primary weapon. I mean, using a dagger must be hard. You'd have to get closer to your enemy, right?" Asuna asked.

It's true that it's dangerous to use a knife rather than sword. The range difference could bring on a problem of life or death, but then again with a knife one could be faster. Nagisa was definitely suited for a knife. He was quick and agile, not to mention he had much practice with it.

"I'd... like to give it a try." Nagisa mumbled. Karma gave a laugh.

"Of course you do~" He reached for the dagger, wanting to see how sharp it was, but Nagisa jerked it away quickly. "What's wr-"

"It has a poison feature! Don't touch it." Nagisa told him quickly.

"A poison weapon!" Asuna gasped.

"Those are rare so early in the game." Kirito explained to Nagisa who seemed to be the only one confused by the awe on everyone's face. "They'll become more common later on, but you're lucky to have gotten that. I'm almost jealous." He joked.

A rare weapon. Nagisa couldn't believe it. He felt so lucky! "That's so cool! I'm definitely going to practice using knives now."

"I mean hey, you have the speed, I have the range. I'd say we're a good team~" Karma continued to tease. "I'm sure we can make something great from this. I mean honestly, why did we not think of using knives yet?"

"Because it's called sword art online, not dagger art online." Nagisa chuckled, putting his new weapon away. "We're slow."

"Not to burst anyone's bubble or anything but... Can we get out of here now?" Asuna suddenly requested. She suddenly seemed aware of their surroundings and was now uncomfortable.

"I don't think she likes the dark." Karma whispered to Kirito as she began to walk towards the tunnel with Nagisa, talking about something they couldn't hear.

"Probably thinks there's ghosts or something." Kirito was glad Asuna didn't hear his home, otherwise she might've sent another punch his way. "Come on, let's see if there's a way out."

With a nod, Karma followed Kirito who walked after the other two. Their walk was short before it was stopped. All four of them laid their eyes on what was up ahead. It was another room, bigger than the one they fought in. And in it was tons of little coins that looked like gold.

"W-Why is there so much?!" Asuna cried.

"T-The boss was called Ahktar the Treasure Hoarder..." Nagisa answered, also in shock.

So this was why they didn't get a money reward after killing Ahktar? Yeah, don't think Karma or Kirito didn't notice! So all their money was here!

"With all this, we could probably buy a decent house ten levels up!" Kirito told them. Not that they knew what the floor ten levels away was like. If it was some kind of dark floor, they definitely didn't want some creepy mansion.

"Who are you talking to about buying a house with? We didn't even have our first date yet." Karma clicked his tongue with fake disappointment. "For shame, Kirito."

"It was just a rhetorical statement." Kirito huffed in response.

"How much do you think is here?" Nagisa approached the gold, kneeling down to pick one up. However a menu just opened up when he reached for one. Well, his question was answered. The menu told him how much money there was and an option that said Would you like to take all? that gave him an option of yes or no. "Um, I can accept it all then we can all split it... You all see how much is there, right? Can someone divide it by four?"

Of course Karma was the first to solve that. Being in this game didn't mean his math skills were forgotten! Especially when money was on the line!

---

December 19th, Floor 3, Town of Zumfut

After all the money had been split between the four, they all made it out of the tunnel and immediately made their way to the closest town. They were actually exhausted so they just paid two rooms in an inn, both with two beds so no one had to share.

They all slept with little trouble for once. The fight took a lot out of them, especially Karma and Nagisa who done a lot more. They needed this rest. They deserved it... And for once, Karma's dreams weren't plagued by nightmares. He just slept. No nightmares, no dreams. Just peaceful darkness.

When he woke up further in the day, when it was almost nighttime, he noticed Nagisa was already up instantly. It wasn't hard to spot the male since they had a small room. They had tons of money to spend, but they weren't idiots to spend it all on an inn. They'd all probably spend it on weapons, armor, or anything else that could help them get stronger.

Nagisa was sitting in a chair that was by a window. There was also a table there which is where he leaned his arms as he gazed outside. The night skies always looked amazing in this game. It was hard to tell it was all just code. Didn't he already think this before...?

The redhead got up, groaning as he stretched his body. Nagisa glanced over at him before sitting up in his own seat. He cleared his throat to gain Karma's attention again. He lightly kicked the chair on the other side of the table, pushing it out a little. A sign he wanted Karma to sit down.

Feeling like a child about to get scolded by their mother, he awkwardly walked over and sat down. They didn't even talk yet which just added onto the awkwardness.

Something was bothering Nagisa. That much was obvious to Karma. He couldn't call himself Nagisa's best friend if he didn't see these little emotions. Not wanting the boy to over think anything, he offered him a calming smile. "Is everything okay?" He asked, his voice so soft even Nagisa had trouble hearing him. And he was only a foot away from him.

Nagisa looked outside once more before turning his attention back to Karma. He was biting a lip, a nervous habit of his that Karma often found adorable. "Don't take this the wrong way but... back in that trap..."

Karma's smile faltered as he was reminded of the trap. His humiliation at getting caught, his desperation to end it all and let the snakes just devour them, his determination to fight it anyway... He almost didn't want to be reminded of such a humiliating moment. But he let Nagisa speak anyway.

"I don't want to go into detail over it either," Nagisa said as if reading Karma's thoughts. "I just have to ask you something. Before we fought, you were saying things to me. You said you wanted to tell me "thank you"." That's what Karma said, but it's not what he really wanted to say. "You... hesitated. Was there... more you wanted to tell me? I know we were in a tight situation so I thought maybe there was more you wanted to say but couldn't because we didn't have time?"

How did... how could Nagisa tell he had more to say? Ah, why was he even wondering this? Karma already knew Nagisa was a master at observing. He could read people easily, be it by expression or body language. He had a knack for it like he had one at being an assassin.

But what could he say? If he told him anything other than what he wanted, Nagisa would just press him on the matter. But could he outright confess? Now wasn't the time. Not while they were in this game. Karma could tell him if- when they escape this death game.

"Karma... What if one of us suddenly dies?"

Nagisa's question threw him completely off guard. He started at the shorter boy in surprise. He decided to continue when Karma stayed silent. "I just... I can't imagine one of us dying and we still had stuff unresolved. I know you have things you want to get off your chest. I do too. Back there in the trap, you looked so... desperate. I've never seen you like that before."

How could Nagisa see through him so easily? Why did he have such a gift? Karma wasn't sure about this talk anymore. He didn't know what to say. He didn't want to do this.

"I don't want us to have regrets, Karma. Anything can happen now and we have only each other. We have to be open to each other."

Exactly. They only had each other. It would be unfair for Karma to share his feelings now. It wouldn't be fair to Nagisa. If either one of them died, it would kill the other inside. If Karma died, Nagisa would feel devastated if he knew Karma's feelings. If Nagisa died instead, Karma would obviously feel like he had nothing to live for anymore. It was a dangerous game that Karma didn't want to play.

"Nagisa," Karma's voice croaked. "I can't..."

"I can't force you to say or do anything, but you know I'm right here. I'm here, and I won't go." Nagisa reached out to take one of Karma's hands into both of his. The touch didn't feel exactly real. It was all just code after all. But the thought made Karma feel strange in his chest. He liked holding hands like this. His hand tightened around one of Nagisa's.

Karma closed his eyes, squeezing the hand only his tightly. Nagisa was quiet, letting Karma choose whether or not he wanted to say anything. He wouldn't pressure him like he promised. He would be patient. If Karma said he didn't want to talk, he won't talk about it any longer.

"Nagisa, I... You know I can't stand the thought of losing you." Nagisa would have teased Karma about it since that was blatantly obvious, but he chose to stay silent. One of his thumbs gently stroked the back of Karma's hand, comforting the redhead, offering him strength.

"You mean too much to me. More than you normally should. I shouldn't be feeling like this with you." Karma was starting to hunch over the table. He didn't want Nagisa to see his face. It must be burning up now. But he was more worried about his eyes that were becoming blurry. He was being so emotional today and he had no clue why.

"How do I make you feel, Karma?" Nagisa asked quietly, sitting up a bit more to move closer to Karma. The table was still between them but that didn't stop Nagisa. He was still a respectful distance though.

"Nagisa..." Karma clenched his hands again, although the one holding Nagisa's avoided crushing those hands. Not that he could in a video game anyway. His other arm moved, leaning against the table as he gripped at his hair. His forearm was in a position to try to hide his face.

He's flustered. Nagisa thought to himself as he calmly watched the scene before him. Karma... was feeling so much. Most thought Karma was heartless or at least couldn't feel anything like happiness. At least when he's not pranking someone for his own amusement. Little did everyone realize that out of all of them, Karma was one of the ones with a big heart. He just knew how to control himself. Not when it comes to me though, apparently.

"Karma," Nagisa softly called out when silence overtook them again. Perhaps he should stop. Karma obviously wasn't ready to share. He started pulling his hands away but Karma's grip quickly tightened when he realized Nagisa was moving away.

"I was so scared." He finally spoke. Nagisa stayed absolutely still before giving Karma a squeeze to his hand, urging him to continue, telling him he was there to listen. "Our lives... They could have ended today. They could have ended a year ago in the classroom countless times. We're always in danger and... I don't know if I can protect you."

His voice was so soft, it was unlike the prankster. Nagisa found himself liking this side of him however. It was nice to see Karma act... vulnerable. Human. Like he wasn't unbreakable. But that didn't mean Nagisa saw him as something weak. Just something that had feelings too.

"My feelings... I'm so selfish. If I told you, it... It wouldn't be fair to you. What if one of us got hurt? Died, like you said? We can't..." They couldn't be together. Their lives were too dangerous for it. They'd be too worried about each other to be able to focus on other things. Their own lives even. "We can't be..."

"What?" Nagisa urged softly. "We can't be?"

Karma was quiet for a few moments.

"Together."

Nagisa faintly thought Karma meant they couldn't be in a party again but when he lowered his head to get a glimpse of Karma's expression, he could tell it was more than that. Those flushed cheeks, the watery eyes. No, Karma wasn't merely talking about being in a party together.

When he stood up abruptly, his chair almost toppling back, Karma raised his head in shock. His face was in clear view now, but Nagisa had already seen enough. "Nagisa," Karma's voice almost sounded... fearful. When Nagisa pulled his hands away, he could almost swear Karma completely paled.

"Nagisa- I'm sorry, are you- You're mad, aren't you? I-I really... I didn't..." Karma went into a panic immediately. "I- Sorry, I know, I'm disgusting. I can't like another guy, much less my best friend, I know-" He was speaking so fast, it startled Nagisa.

"Please, don't- I couldn't stand it if you... if you left-" Karma was so wrapped up in his worries and rambling that he didn't even notice Nagisa had moved towards him, not away from him in disgust. He only noticed when the boy had a hold on one of his wrists and had his mouth over his own.

It felt strange, like when they held hands. This wasn't what a real kiss would feel like in the real world, but the thought of it made Karma feel ecstatic regardless. He was suddenly very grateful that the harassment code that showed up whenever anything like this suddenly happened between two who weren't established couples or married didn't apply to same sex couples. If it had, he wouldn't have been able to experience this right now.

But what was this? It confused Karma greatly. Was Nagisa not disgusted with him? But there's no way he could be interested too. He never showed any signs. At least none that he noticed... He wasn't a master observer like Nagisa, but he still should have noticed something.

His eyes opened (when did they even close? he wondered) when he felt Nagisa pull away. His face was still only an inch away however. His hand that held Karma's wrist moved up to hold his hand instead. He even interlocked their fingers to keep a hold on Karma.

The redhead had no clue what just happened and what to say even more. Luckily Nagisa knew just what he wanted to say. "You're not selfish at all, Karma. Not in regards to this." He moved their connected their hands as if to refer to the both of them. "If that does make you selfish though, then I'm selfish too."

Karma's head tilted to the side just a fraction as he took in Nagisa's words. What did he mean? He couldn't possibly mean... "Nagisa, do you...?"

"Now I can see why you were so flustered," Nagisa gave a nervous laugh, his own cheeks beginning to burn. "You're not selfish because I know I feel the same too, Karma."

He felt the same. He felt the same? He...

Karma bowed his head down once he realised what Nagisa was talking about. He couldn't believe it. Nagisa actually felt the same as him? How could that be? How could he not notice? Maybe his fear of rejection blinded him?

"...Back there, I was just..." Karma began to speak again. "I was thinking that... did my life even matter? If I was alone, if I never met you... maybe I would have given up." He admitted. "What does my life mean? Would it matter if I was gone? I don't know. But thinking about you dying... I couldn't give up no matter the odds. I couldn't let you down. I got you trapped in here, I have to take responsibility."

The laugh that left Nagisa made Karma shoot his head up quickly. "What so funny?" He demanded, feeling a little irritated and embarrassed that Nagisa was bold enough to laugh when he was admitting his feelings. The audacity!

"No, it's just... real cute of you to be so protective, Karma. I'm so happy to know you." Nagisa moved closer to hug the redhead around his shoulders. He seemed startled by the embrace but eventually he wrapped his arms around Nagisa in return. "I'm proud of you. You risked your life, which I'm not happy about, but I'm so proud you made it out. And you were worried about me all the while. You're all anyone could ask for."

Karma refrained from nervously swallowing and instead bit his lip. "And... could that anyone be... you?"

"Did my actions not speak enough?" Nagisa asked, pulling back to look at Karma's face. He would always savor that embarrassment that the redhead rarely shown. "Of course, Karma. I want to be together. I don't mind. I actually want it. I do like you in return."

"Since when?" It wasn't said with hostility, but with shock.

"Um... I'm not sure if I was interested since the very first time we spoke of course, but... I realised it the night after our paintball war." Nagisa murmured. He seemed to be tired of standing over Karma but didn't want to part yet. He was too busy trying to think about how to explain his side of the story to notice how shocked and flustered Karma became when he sat on his lap.

"Nag-"

"I was just thinking about our fight, you know? When I was trying to go to bed..." Karma could relate, but that's not what he was worried about right now. "Of course I was worrying over Koro-sensei but you were on my mind too-"

"Nagisa... It's kind of hard not to imagine you doing... stuff while thinking about me late at night in your bed. Especially when you're... sitting on me now." Karma finally spoke, barely able to hold in a stutter. Who knew his only weakness was embarrassment. Well, other than Koro-sensei who used it against him to get him to study for exams after he got a lower score than expected.

Nagisa looked confused for a moment and pulled away slightly to look down at Karma. Oh. Ohh... "Oh my god, Karma, I didn't even realize-" He cut himself off as he quickly scurried off Karma. Once he was off Karma, he gave a small pout when he noticed the redhead laughing.

It was a soft, light laugh, different from Karma's devilish laugh. It always filled Nagisa with delight when he heard that laugh, but right now he was beyond embarrassed. "I could hardly listen to your story once you sat down. Sorry, but I couldn't help it." Karma smiled.

"You're... so ridiculous sometimes." Nagisa sighed in response before crossing his arms. A defensive mechanism for his embarrassment. "Anyway... Should we message Kirito and Asuna? See if they're awake yet?"

"Maybe we can ask them if they want to go on a double date?" Karma suggested playfully. Nagisa gaped at him.

"We don't even know if they're together!"

"Well, there's something there, even if it's not affection. Yet." Karma stood up out of his seat. "I mean, maybe I should be glad there's not something going on between them. I owe Kirito a dinner..." Suddenly Karma looked panicked and he looked at Nagisa quickly. "But wait, now I'm with someone! Nagisa, would you be... Um.. Would you mind if I-"

It was Nagisa's turn to laugh. "Karma, it's fine. I know you don't have feelings for the guy. Besides, it's not like two guys can't have a dinner together without it being romantic."

"But can it be with us?" Karma asked.

"What, romantic?"

"Well, yeah... I mean, I know it's a game and all but... it's still beautiful. And we... our feelings are still real so..." How could Karma say this without completely embarrassing himself? "I still want to go on dates with you... I don't care if we're on the front lines. We can make time. If we're forced here against our wills, we can at least have a good damn time while we're here."

A good time? In the game where one wrong move could lead to death? That sounded... nice, actually. Yeah, Nagisa liked the sound of that. "You're right..." He couldn't keep the smile off of his face. They might be in a dangerous position, but Karma was right. There was still some good from this game. It still had its good perks.

"I can't wait to explore all the good things about the game with you, Karma." Nagisa responded. Karma looked a bit embarrassed about his wording, but he smiled back regardless.

"Yeah. It's the same for me."

---

Omake:

December 24th, Floor 4, Town of Rovia

For once, everyone could have a holiday. A few days where they didn't have to fight mobs or map out the floor's labyrinths or even fight any boss. They were expected to take a break from the continuous amounts of work and stress they had been under.

Karma could honestly admit they all needed this. And he was pretty glad they had the next two days off. Of course they could still go out and grind or fight mobs if they so wish, but they wouldn't be chastised for not going. He was fully prepared to just relax with Nagisa and maybe Kirito and Asuna if they so choose to hang out with them. But he didn't really think they'd want to spend all of their time with them.

That was the first thing he was wrong about.

Many players, especially from the front lines had prepared this party for a week and planned it for even longer. They all thought they could use a break and what better way to relax than to relax on a holiday with close friends?

The town of Rovia, a beautiful town surrounded by water, was now decorated for the holidays. By the players or by the game, Karma wasn't sure. But he didn't care. It was just so relieving to see something like this again. He never thought he'd be spending time actually celebrating Christmas. Once they got trapped, Thanksgiving and Christmas didn't exactly cross his mind and cause him worry over missing them. He didn't even realize they already missed Thanksgiving after all. But Christmas... how could that be missed? For more reasons than one.

Which brings us back to what Karma was wrong about at first. It was a time of celebration so he really hadn't expected Kirito and Asuna to actually seek them out once the party started in the center of Rovia and asked if they wanted to spend the holiday together. Perhaps it was by Asuna's convincing, but Karma was actually surprised Kirito wanted to spend time together too. No, it's not like Kirito hated them or anything. He just wasn't a "people" person. Then again... this wasn't for a boss fight or anything like that. It was just hanging out, so Kirito must not feel pressured about having others around. Maybe he even welcomed it. It was the holidays after all!

"I'm really glad we get to celebrate Christmas," Nagisa spoke up as the four walked around the celebration, curiously looking at all of the stands and all of the players gathered around, some talking and some even dancing. "It's nice to take a break and relax."

"I second that." Karma sighed beside him. He still couldn't help but feel tense, in case something could happen even though nothing could. Nothing big of course. There might be a scuttle or something among players but that could be solved and forgotten about in a matter of minutes. Tonight was a time to relax and enjoy themselves.

"I'm also just really glad we can still celebrate holidays." Asuna told them with a happy smile, sticking close to Kirito. There might not be anything established between the two, but it really got Karma and Nagisa thinking if maybe something was there between the swordsman and fencer. "And Christmas of all holidays!"

"It's the best." Kirito joked. Even he had a relaxed smile on his face. Hey, he deserved a rest just as much as anyone else!

"The decorations are nice, but I can't help but wonder if somehow the players did it or if it just appeared from the game." Karma wondered aloud. Maybe the game developers weren't so cruel and added these features just for fun?

"Do you think it'll snow?" Asuna asked suddenly.

The other three were silent in curious thought. Would it snow? /Could/ it snow? Kirito had told them all this map used to be a dry, canyon like labyrinth with twisty turns and many dead ends. It still was but instead of dusty walkways, it was replaced by water. Now they could only get around with a gondola they had to build during a quest. But it wasn't as bad as they thought once they actually had a means of transportation. The map was actually quite beautiful now with the sparkling water.

"I'm... not sure." Kirito finally answered, receiving a nod of agreement from the other two. "You know the beta wasn't around Christmas time," His voice was hushed at the mention of the beta test. People were still edgy about the whole beta testers being sly cheats and things like that. "I never saw if this place did snow or not. Sorry."

"It's nothing you should apologize for." Nagisa assured him with another smile. "Come on, it's a time to relax! No more fretting over tiny things. We can do what we want now."

"Especially with our money~" Karma couldn't help but remind them with a purr. They were practically rich!... Except they really weren't. They felt rich but when they made it to the next floor, things were a lot more expensive. They could probably buy one big thing and that's it. Separately, that is. If they put their money together, they still had a lot, but since they split it, it doesn't feel like a lot to them.

They heard Asuna give a soft laugh beside them as they walked. "Yeah, that's true. We could actually go to a fancy restaurant! I think I saw a nice one by the edge of the water! They had balconies for people to eat out on to look over the water and everything."

Why do I feel like someone's staring at me?... And why do I feel like it's going to be bad? Karma wondered to himself. He curiously glanced around but when he couldn't spot any one watching him, he looked at the others to ask if they felt it too. He nearly jumped when he noticed Kirito watching him intently, a smirk on his face.

"What's so funny?" Karma asked with a small scowl, feeling annoyed that he had been startled by practically nothing.

"If I recall correctly..." Kirito started off, unable to keep the amusement (and was that excitement?) out of his voice. Karma already knew this wasn't going to be good. "You owe me dinner, isn't that right?"

Karma stopped in his step immediately, getting the others to stop. He was staring at Kirito with slight surprise. He... honestly forgot about that. "Wait, were you serious?"

"Completely!" Kirito actually looked a little offended he hadn't been taken seriously. "We may not need to eat, but you guys really don't appreciate the food here! It's still really good. Depending on where you get it from."

Where they... "No way! You want me to buy you expensive foods at that restaurant!" Karma actually pointed an accusing finger at Kirito. That sly, dirty, cunning little...!

"And? What's wrong with that?" Kirito asked teasingly. "If I can also recall-"

"Stop recalling things!" Karma ordered.

"I saved you from a giant snake, did I not?"

Karma had no way to refute. Kirito did save him, as well as Asuna, so he couldn't deny him... He growled as he rubbed his face with a hand. He couldn't believe he had to take Kirito out somewhere fancy and pay for his food. What was this, a date? Nagisa said it was fine before but... He still felt a bit nervous. They just established their relationship just days ago after all.

He still wasn't sure about this, but a deal was a deal.

"...Fine, okay! I'll take you out on some stupid date at a stupid restaurant." Karma was practically sulking already.

"It's not stupid!" Asuna argued but Karma didn't fight back.

"Aww... Don't be sad Karma." Nagisa patted his back encouragingly. "It's just one dinner."

"One expensive one..." Karma groaned.

"Asuna, would you mind leading us to the restaurant?" Kirito asked. It was strange for him to look like the only one who was overjoyed. Usually the others were more excited and Kirito was just the one in the back, enjoying whatever was going on in his own quiet way.

It didn't take long for the four to make it to the restaurant Asuna had been talking about. However upon arriving to it, they were surprised to see two female players standing outside along with a short line of people standing out front. They watched as some people who were alone were allowed inside, some couples or groups. Although some couples seemed to argue with the ladies for a bit before storming off. Whatever was going on, they probably didn't want to cause a big scene. It was the holidays after all. No one wanted to ruin the holidays, especially when they're trapped in this game.

"What is going on? Is that a player run restaurant?" Nagisa asked, looking at Asuna for answers. She was the one who told them about the place after all.

"No, I don't... I don't think it was? We weren't on this floor for long and there's no way someone had the money to buy such a grand place!"

"Well, maybe unless they stumbled upon a treasure like us," Kirito suggested thoughtfully. "Or it was a whole group that sold everything they had to buy it?"

"Seems like a lot for a restaurant on only the fourth floor." Karma commented. If he wasn't a member of the front line and wanted to settle down with a restaurant or store, he would have waited for the higher levels. Then again, you had to start somewhere... And the higher levels were probably expensive.

"Well we have to see what's going on now." Nagisa said and moved closer to the building to hear what was going on. The others slowly followed, staying out of sight of the girls just in case this situation caused trouble. They just so happened to be lucky enough to approach close enough to hear another couple argue with the girls.

"What do you mean we have to show proof that we're together?" The male player asked with annoyance in his tone as he held his partner closer.

"Due to the holidays, we have a special "Christmas Couple's Night" going on, and it's exclusively for couples. Since it has a discount involved, countless people had feigned to be couples to us to get in to that section." One of the girls blocking the door said.

"You're still free to go into the section for every one else unless you can prove you're a couple otherwise." The other girl mentioned with a timid smile. Why a shy girl was assigned to this kind of job, Karma had no clue. All he knew was that asking couples to prove they were together was a bit much... How could you prove it? Kiss? Anyone could kiss!

"Oh... It's for couples only..." Asuna seemed a little dejected by this. She must've really wanted to try it.

"Oh no. I can't spend tons of my money on unnecessarily overpriced food that we don't even need to eat since it's code anyway. Man, what a shame." Karma couldn't hold back the sarcasm in his tone. "Let's go somewhere else then."

"But what if I want to go here?" Kirito grinned. Every one knew that grin. Kirito probably didn't have the best intentions on his mind now.

"Even without the discount?" Karma asked. Of course, that would be so like Kirito. He knew it. Kirito was a secret "A-hole".

"Oh no, I'm not that cruel. I wouldn't want my death by you to be even more painful down the road. And don't say anything because I know you've thought about it." Well, he's not wrong. Karma thought.

"Then what do you have in mind? Only couples get the discount." Asuna reminded them.

It only took a second for Karma to realise what Kirito was saying, but it seems Nagisa realised even faster. "Kirito! You aren't thinking of... They might not accept you guys as a couple regardless!"

"Wait, are you even cool with this?" Karma asked Nagisa with surprise. Nagisa was his new... boyfriend (Karma felt a little nice inside whenever he thought that), surely he wouldn't want Karma to run off with other men right after they confessed?

"I mean, I don't see what's wrong with it." Kirito shrugged. Asuna on the other hand looked a bit confused but mostly shocked. At least she didn't seem disgusted.

For a few moments no one knew what to say. Was Kirito really suggesting they pretend to be a couple just to get a freaking discount? Karma would do it, hell, it sounded like something right down his alley along with his pranks and jokes. Ever since he was trapped in this game, he hasn't been able to let loose and joke around.

But he had Nagisa now. He can't just fool around with other boys for a joke or even for a con. But he didn't want to be poor all because Kirito wanted data codes disguised as food...

Feeling a hand on his arm, Karma looked over at Nagisa. He felt his mind falter when he saw his smile. Nagisa seemed to hold a lot more of that power over him ever since they confessed and got together. "It's alright, really. To make it even, how about Asuna and I go in together? So that way we all can get in."

"I mean, the only one I'd trust to do that with would probably be Nagisa anyway." Asuna said. Kirito gave her a look that feigned hurt, and she rolled her eyes. "You're the one who chose to go with a boy!"

"It sounds awful the way you say it." Kirito let a slight whine go along with his claim before focusing on the other two again. "In all seriousness, it's alright if you'd rather go somewhere else. I know how much Asuna wants to go and honestly, it does look nice. I wouldn't mind trying it so if we don't pretend to be a couple, that's fine by me."

Oh, Kirito actually could be sincere.

"I mean," Kirito gave another small smirk. "It is your money..."

Never mind. Karma took back what he thought.

"Know what?" With things like this, Karma couldn't help but see it as a challenge. And if anyone knew Karma, he didn't give up when he didn't need to. He approached Kirito and placed a finger onto his chest in an almost accusing manner. "You're on, Kirito. Let's fool some girls and get some discounted food."

Kirito seemed a little surprised he agreed but then seemed amused. As if he had expected Karma to accept, even if it was only a little bit.

"But for the record, I'm the top in this "relationship" we're faking." Karma added.

"Oh my goodness Karma, it's not like you're gonna do it in front of them to prove you're together." Nagisa said. Karma was worried the bluenette was actually angry he agreed to the idea, but the smile on Nagisa's face relaxed some of Karma's fears.

"Well... Let's go then!" Asuna seemed excited again now that they could go inside. "Let's get going Nagisa. I already have a plan to convince them."

All four got into the line, a couple people apart so they didn't look like a group. Nagisa and Asuna were ahead of Karma and Kirito so they got to see what exactly Asuna's plan was. It actually initiated as soon as they got into line. The two acted like a completely lovesick couple from cliche movies. Constantly hugging, using the pet names, being close in general. When the ladies ask if they really were a couple, nearly everyone in the line groaned that they absolutely were. Their act of being hopelessly in love with each other seemed to have made some of those in the line annoyed or even jealous. They got in without much trouble.

When it was their turn, it was definitely interesting right from the beginning.

"Table for two in the main area? Or are you with a group?" One of the ladies asked.

Kirito cleared his throat, showing he'd take the initiative first. "Um, actually we're here for the couple's night. We heard there was a nice cake we could order that's for couples." They had heard the cake comment in the line behind them so it helped in making them seem like they were actually interested in this couples night.

Raising their hands which had been linked together once they got closer to the ladies, Kirito continued. "My boyfriend over here has a real sweet tooth so we just had to come~" He gestured to Karma with their linked hands.

The looks on the girls faces didn't surprise them at all. They seemed a little shocked, weirded out, and even a little disgusted no matter how much they tried to hide it.

"Oh, haha... Yeah, we haven't heard that one yet." One of the girls tried to hide their disgust with a smile but it was obviously forced.

"Are you implying our relationship is a joke?" Karma cut in. His hand in Kirito's tightened in his fake show of irritation. "The first time we go out to eat since we started on the front lines," He made sure to add that to give the girls an idea of who they were. And that they could fight. "And we aren't taken seriously!"

"Now now," Kirito practically cooed like a real partner would have done. He even had the nerve to reach out and turn Karma's face to look at him with his free hand. "We've talked about your temper. Not everyone has the same views, we know this, right Love?"

Well, yeah, that was true... Karma sighed, resisting the urge to move away from the hand and instead leaned into it. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry," He gave a smirk. "...Love~"

"Oh I'm so proud of you." Karma had to prevent his body from jumping in shock when Kirito let go of their linked hands to bring it up to his face with the other one. Kirito gently pulled his face down to playfully nuzzle their noses together like a sweet couple. Even Karma couldn't prevent his ears turning just a small shade of red at the gesture.

"Sorry but... There's just no way we can.." The other female continued, obviously uncomfortable by the show before them.

"What? Let a couple in?" Kirito let go of Karma's face but made sure to slip his hand back into Karma's. "Then why are the other couples inside?"

"Because they're not... They're..."

"What? Not gay? You have something against us?" Karma asked. He felt a bit of sadistic glee at the girls discomfort. She obviously didn't like that word, or them. "You didn't think ill of us until we shared our orientation. You know, can't you report others for things like this?"

"For what!" The second girl asked, now seeming more annoyed with them.

"Isn't this a form of harassment?" Karma looked over to Kirito who gave a thoughtful nod.

"Even if we were a "normal" couple as some may say, the refusal to serve us is something to report in itself. To be denied because of our relationship makes it all the more worse." Kirito added.

"But... we have a right to our opinions!"

"Yes, you do." Karma agreed. "We never said you had to like us. Just let us in so we can enjoy Christmas together."

"I mean, after everything we've all been through, are we ready going to ruin other's only happy times due to their preferences?" Kirito asked.

The girls seemed stuck on what to say. They obviously didn't want to let them in but they were stuck on how to refute on their arguments.

"Oh just let them in!" The four who had been arguing jumped when a guy behind Karma and Kirito spoke up. Beside him was a shorter girl who looked a bit unhappy.

"We have the right to refuse-"

"What did they do to you guys, huh?" The guy continued. "They just want to enjoy a night out together, and you guys are kind of ruining that."

"But they're not normal!" One girl sputtered. She seemed almost aghast that someone else was defending them.

"Then I guess we're not either." The girl beside the guy defending them spoke up. At the same time, both Kirito and Karma figured out that the short girl had turned out to be a short boy. He had looked a bit feminine but when he spoke, it was no normal voice of a girl. Then again, perhaps this person could be trans. Karma didn't want to assume just yet.

"Y-You're... also..?"

"We are." The shorter boy cut the girl off and moved closer to the taller boy. "If you won't let them in, then we won't even try either. And so will the rest of our friends." He gestured to behind them to a few couples who waved their hands to show they were with them. Most of the couple's were actually the same gender, or at least it looked that way. Again, Karma didn't know if anyone was trans.

"We can't let that many people go!" Karma heard one of the girls whisper to the other. He gave a smirk and pulled Kirito closer as he faced the girls. "So, are we allowed to come inside now?"

The girls seemed restless and irritated. They were obviously defeated. One of them gave a deep exhale and moved to the side. "...Fine. Someone inside will direct you to your table."

Karma gave a triumphant grin and beside him, Kirito shared the same look. The two looked behind them and gave a smile to the couple. "Thank you both." Kirito said. "It's nice to have some support."

Karma looked at Kirito from the corner of his eye. It started to make him wonder what Kirito's orientation was. Was he interested into guys? Girls? Both? He was curious beyond belief now.

"It was nothing. We all know what you mean. We're glad to help." The short boy smiled. The taller one mirrored the smile as he pulled the smaller closer.

Now that they were allowed inside, the two turned to head inside. Karma was about to walk inside when Kirito pulled on his hand. He looked over in time to see him give the girls a certain look before pulling Karma's face closer again to give him a kiss. It wasn't long, just a small chaste one, but it still shocked Karma.

Nagisa and Asuna asked later that night why Karma had walked in with a red face and Kirito with a confident smirk, but Karma refused to tell them. He had to pay extra to keep Kirito quiet.

---

Author's notes: Oh haha, uh, sorry about the delay! I know it's summer but I got a summer job and that completely drained all my energy. But as an apology, I made this chapter extra long and there in an omake. I hope that's enough to apologize? I mean come on, it's a bit of Kirito x Karma :'D this is probably the only interactions y'all will get between the two though since I've decided Kirito will ultimately just end up with Asuna. I mean that's why they go into the fairy world and stuff anyway. Not that I'm writing that part.

Okay, I have to remember everything I wanted to say...

1) The original mid-boss is actually a spider on this floor, but I changed it up a bit for this chapter for obvious reasons :0

2) I know the confession part with Karma and Nagisa seems cheesy or OOC (Out of character). I've been debating if I should have them together now, or later in the story. In the end, I decided it would be best for them to hook up now. Sorry if it seems too soon, but do take in mind they've known each other for years now :'3

3) I didn't incorporate their new martial arts skill in this chapter for a reason. Don't worry, it'll be used later

4) Also, the reason this chapter took so long was because I was changing the story around. I didn't like how I planned the next three chapters so I changed it around until I was satisfied. I'll start on the fourth chapter as soon as possible!

I think there was more but I can't remember now D: I apologize. If you have any questions, please ask! Also, if you have criticism, that's okay but please be gentle on this sensitive heart :'D

By the way, I've uploaded this story to AO3 :3