Chapter 8
Authors Note: We get some cute moments with Liz in this chapter, along with the intro of a certain black haired kid. So yeah, enjoy. Just so you guys know, this won't be ending anytime soon. I've got ideas, man. IDEAS.
December 7th 2023
I tore off my coat, not bothering to put it back into my inventory as I collapsed onto the couch in the bedroom of Liz's shop. I was exhausted, but we'd beaten the floor 48 boss. We were almost half-way home. "Uh-uh," said Liz, entering the bedroom. "You can't sleep on my couch anymore."
"Where do you suggest I go?" I asked, unmoving.
"Well, we are married," she said, sitting on the bed. "You can stay in bed with me." I stood, raising an eyebrow.
"Seriously?"
"You can just think of me as the warmest, softest, cutest body pillow ever!" (REFERENCE! But if I'm being honest, I don't know what from. I just saw it online and went "I CAN USE THAT." So yeah.)
"The hell's a body pillow?" I asked, taking a step towards the bed. She laughed, throwing her head back and laying down on the sheets.
"Asuna told me to say that," she said, keeping an eye on me as I got into bed. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to me, kissing her forehead.
"I'd rather think of you as my beautiful wife."
(X)
I groggily woke the next morning, Liz still curled up against my chest. I slowly separated from her, trying not to wake her, but was unsuccessful as she groaned. "No…" she moaned. I checked the time.
"It's time to get to work, Liz."
"But sleep…"
"You've got that client coming in today, you don't want to miss him."
"True…" She sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes. I checked the news. "Anything interesting?" she asked, getting out of bed.
"Laughing Coffin is at it again," I said, noting that several players had tried to confront the guild, but were slaughtered. Then I dropped the coat I was about to equip. I'd read the headline 'Frontline Player Kirito, AKA The Black Swordsman, claims his Beta Tester status, Aincrad Liberation Force to check validity.'
"Fuck," I muttered, scooping up my coat and throwing it on.
"What is it?" asked Liz.
"Some stupid kid is trying to get his 15 minutes of fame by saying he's a beater, and the Army isn't happy," I said, moving for the door.
"Are you going to help?"
"I took the burden to protect the rest. If the Army sees fit to imprison this kid because he's a beta tester, who knows what the other inmates will do to him."
"Why haven't they imprisoned you?"
"They're too scared," I said, opening the door. "I can use that."
(X)
I raced towards the field, chasing the backs of the Army platoon that I could see. They never left floor 1 anymore, so any up here must have been the ones I was looking for. I chased after them as they surrounded a black-haired kid, and I could hear distant questions being asked. The kid was on edge, his hand creeping slowly towards his sword. The Army was tense, and I think were about to give the order to attack when I landed in the middle of the circle. I turned, facing who I thought was the leader, and dropped my voice to the gravel.
"I want to make something clear. This kid is under my protection. To get him, you go through me. And we all know what will happen in THAT battle. Any questions before I send you back to your bosses in pieces?" The leader ground his teeth, drawing his sword.
"I am Lieutenant Colonel Corvatz of the Aincrad Liberation Army, and I command your respect!"
"No. You demand my attention. (Another Reference, Hellsing Ultimate Abridged) Congratulations. You've gotten it." I drew my scythe. "Who wants to try first?" His men went running, and the Colonel reluctantly retreated after them.
I scoffed, sheathing my scythe and turning to the kid. "Kirito, was it? You want to tell me what the hell you're doing?" Looking him in the eyes, a small smile ghosted across his lips.
"It's really you," he said, awestricken. I recognized him.
"You were that kid from the first boss fight! I told you specifically that I was giving you all a chance!"
"I know! I told everyone else, but…I needed to talk to you."
"So you thought the best way to attract my attention was to out yourself as a Beater?"
"You went straight to Heathcliff when he did it."
"But he had a guild to protect him."
It was his turn to scoff. "I don't need a guild."
"But you need to talk to me." He huffed in frustration. "I'm here. Talk."
"I had an idea. If we go around helping people, we could prove to at least some that Beaters aren't assholes." This was his grand idea?
"Oh wow, like I haven't thought of that before. I tried that from floors 3 to 7, almost died 4 times. People take advantage of those who want to help. You want a turn, go ahead." I turned to leave. If this kid wanted to kill himself to prove something, I wanted nothing to do with it.
"Wait! Don't go! I haven't finished!" I paused. I could almost hear the emptiness in his voice when he continued. "I was in a guild a few months ago…And they died. I heard about an item that spawns on Christmas Eve, which can resurrect players. I'm level 60, I'm not asking you to carry me, but…I might need some help getting it."
"Who's to say the item even works anymore?"
"As long as there's a chance, I have to try."
I thought about Liz dying, the amount of work I'd put into bringing her back, completely abandoning the frontlines to pursue any lead. "I can understand that."
"Then you'll help me?"
"…Yeah. Yeah, I'll help you."
"I'll just add you to my friends list, and I can message you where to meet me in a few weeks?"
Adding me to his friends list would give him my name. I didn't want to…But there was something innocent about him that made me want to trust him. Besides, worst case scenario, everyone stops calling me the Reaper. "Fine." I added him to my almost non-existent friends list.
"Seth?" he asked, checking my name. "A bit simpler than I expected."
"Tell it to anyone, and I'll take you down."
"Okay, okay," he said, raising his hands in surrender. "You're one of the few in this world I don't want to piss off."
(X)
It was late when I got back from grinding a hunting spot on 49, and I entered the dark shop. I crept upstairs, removing my coat as I tried not to wake the obviously sleeping Liz. I slipped under the sheets, resting my head against the pillow. I thought I'd pulled it off, when she tapped my face. Damn. But all she did was open her arms and say, "Come. Warmth." I jostled a little closer, and her arms closed around me, resting her cheek on mine. I grinned. Going to that shop a few months ago was undoubtedly the best thing that ever happened to me.
(X)
I was just putting the finishing touches on Liz's Christmas present when I got Kirito's message. "Meet me in Myugen's town square." That was it. Myugen was one of the main towns on floor 49, and I'd gone shopping there several times, picking up an invaluable ring from an event involving a shopkeeper, a dragon, and herd of walking mushroom men. Badass equipment was more than enough of a tradeoff for that particular weird quest.
I hid Liz's present in a secret compartment of our room, then threw on my cloak and headed downstairs. Liz was coming out of the forge, wiping her hands on her apron. "You going to meet that Kirito kid?" she asked.
"Yeah, I should be back in a couple of hours."
"Can I come with you?" she asked.
"What for?"
"Well if it'll take a couple of hours, I want to be with you when it hits midnight. Spend our entire holiday together, that kind of stuff."
"It won't take that long. I'll use a teleport crystal if I have to."
(X)
I walked up to the bench where Kirito was sitting, seating myself beside him. "Good to see you're still alive, kid," I said.
"Wish you'd quit calling me that," he replied, bowing his head lower.
"Not gonna happen anytime soon." We waited for god knows what in uncomfortable silence before I spoke. "So are we going to do this?"
"Waiting for an info source. Here she comes now," he said, unmoving. As if on cue, a hooded figure leaned up against the back of the bench, speaking to Kirito without looking at him.
"Lately, you've been taking big risks with your level-raising," she said.
"Did you get any new information?" he asked.
"Nothing worth charging money for."
"What a useless information broker. Pretty unusual for you," he replied, spewing out the insult without caring.
"This is a first-time event. It wasn't in the beta test. There's no way to get information. On Christmas Eve, in other words, late tonight, the event boss 'Nicholas the Renegade,' will appear. Beneath a certain fir tree. The big guilds are searching pretty hard for it." Kirito stood, and I followed suit. "You have an idea where it is, don't you?"
"Maybe," he said, starting to walk off. I started to follow him, but the info broker grabbed the back of my coat. I turned to look at her, and she stared with wide eyes at me.
"It's good that you're going with him," she said. "He told me he was going to track you down, and I said you were either going to kill him or turn him over to the Army. He needs someone, or he'll kill himself trying to save everyone." I nodded.
"Thank you, I think," I said, turning to follow Kirito.
(X)
He was changing his equipment as he walked through the forest maze on floor 35, blue flashes of light accompanying the tones from his menu. "I got them killed," he barely whispered. I could tell he just needed to talk, so I just stayed silent as he continued. "I saved them from a trap, and in thanks they invited me to join their guild. I said yes. I didn't have many friends, and I was leagues above them, but it was nice. The leader went to buy a home, and we went out to search the maze tower. We found something that was obviously a trap, but I didn't say anything before they triggered it. They all died there. All three of them. I told the leader I was a beater, trying to apologize, and…he leapt off Aincrad.
"My arrogance…killed them. If I hadn't hidden my level…If we can defeat Nicholas, maybe I can bring Sachi's soul back. And maybe I'll be able to hear her last words." I didn't know who Sachi was, but from the pain in his voice, it was evident she was someone close. "No matter what words she uses to curse me, I must accept them."
"I got someone killed once," I said. He glanced sideways at me. "The first day. A friend I met foolishly accepted a HP-Zero duel, and I slept a few feet away from him, letting it all happen. I could…I could've helped. But I don't think he'd want to be brought back to this world…I took his last request, just before he died. That's another reason they call me the Grim Reaper. I collect the last words or requests of those dying, and I plan to relay them when we get out."
"I don't think I could handle that," he said, looking away. "Staring into the faces of the dying, accepting their last words. Carrying that type of burden…"
"Let's move on," I said, pointing to the beginning of the hunting field. We passed through the gate with a slight shimmer in the air, and we both took off at a sprint. There was the sound of someone teleporting, and he stopped, me slowing to a halt a few feet ahead of him.
A group of about 10 players teleported in, all sporting red and black gear. "Yo," said the guy at the front with spikey red hair.
"You followed me?" asked Kirito.
"Yeah," replied the other. "You're after the revival item?"
"Yeah."
"Don't risk your life on a stupid rumor. If you die in this game, you die for real. The moment our HP drops to zero, our brains in the real world-."
"Shut up," said Kirito.
"Fighting solo is crazy. Cut it out!"
"I'm not solo," he said, pointing at me. The group seemed to notice me as the front guy's eyes widened, and I heard several weapons being shifted in their sheaths as their handlers uneasily grasped them.
"Him?!" the guy asked. "He's worse than solo! Wherever he goes, death and destruction follows!" I lowered my head, the words stinging. "Join us…Whoever keeps the revival item drop keeps it, without hard feelings either way. That's fair, right?"
"Then there'd be no point. I have to get it myself." Kirito's hand grasped his sword, and the group readied their weapons.
"I can't let you die here, Kirito!" shouted the front guy. Suddenly, more teleported in around us. The Holy Dragon Alliance. Fuck.
"You were followed too, Klein," said Kirito.
"Looks that way," he said. "The Holy Dragon Alliance. They'd do anything for a rare weapon. What do we do?"
"I…"
"Damn it!" shouted Klein, drawing his katana. "Go, Kirito!"
"Klein…"
"Go! We'll hold them off!" Kirito reluctantly turned to go, nodding at me to follow him as he passed. I turned my back on the group, trusting they'd be able to battle the guild.
"Friends of yours?" I asked.
"Later," he muttered.
We got to the fir tree, glowing slightly blue from a light that seemed to be coming from within. A bell tolled somewhere, and you could hear bells ringing. Sleigh bells. Two lights streaked across the sky, and a mass of red fell down. It was as if Santa had been drawn by a demented three year old with hand cramps, then brought to life. He had a coat that was torn, only covering his forearms and lower body. He had blue skin, a beard that ran down to his waist, and eyes that pointed in two separate directions. 4 health bars. Kirito drew his sword, muttering "Shut up," under his breath.
I drew my scythe. "Should I use my skill?" I asked.
"No."
"Alright then," I said, and we both charged the roaring beast.
We fought like complete madmen. He had no regard for his health, so I spent half the time using potions and crystals on him. The other time was spent racking up bleeding effects that decimated Nicholas' health bar. Soon, the creature gave a final roar, and swung its axe down at Kirito, who deflected the blow, then jumped up, plowing his sword into the thing's gut. It exploded, and we both got an alert. He'd gotten the item. I'd gotten some boots.
He opened his menu, selecting the item, and reading its effect. He paused, the small smile that had been ghosting across his face fading in an instant. "What is it?" I asked. He lowered his face into his hands, forming the item into reality before tossing it to me. I caught it and examined it. 'Use within 5 seconds of player death.' Oh…Poor kid. I went over to him, placing the item in his hand. I can carry the weight of now 237 dead player's last words…But apparently I can't watch someone grieve. Just before I teleported, he groaned.
"All that…" he whispered. "I'm sorry, Sachi."
Author's Note: So before the hardcore SAO fanboys bitch at me for Kirito's personality being different, it's supposed to be. He's more trusting, due to not being outed as a beater at the beginning of the game, and still has a bit of innocence about him, at least until that ending. The only question now is, do you guys want a Christmas chapter? Yes or no? Post in the reviews! Also, Ezekio? Your review brightened my day. Seriously guys, those few words you bother to type up are the only things keeping me going anymore.