Chapter 4: For Want of an Answer

"Gah! That guy pisses me off so much!"

This complaint, delivered with such violent force that it had a high potential for weaponization, filled the small, newly-opened café in the first district of «Aincrad». Sinon tore viciously into the slice of pie in front of her with a fork, perhaps picturing the face of the source of her frustration on her plate in its stead.

Sitting across from her and viewing her with raised eyebrows were Argo and Asuna. Since the shop was empty aside from the three of them, the two had lowered the hoods of their cloaks so that Sinon was able to see their faces clearly for the first time.

Argo was just about what Sinon had expected based on the details that hadn't been obscured by the hood. She had wavy reddish-brown hair, slightly unkempt either by choice or due to wearing the hood for a long period of time. Her brown eyes twinkled, promising of mischief to come, but her most notable feature were the whisker lines that ran across her cheeks. Sinon had asked her about those, but Argo replied with an amused laugh and demanded a high price in «Col» in exchange for the answer to her question. Sinon decided that it wasn't worth the price, even if the other girl had merely been joking.

Asuna was eye-catching in a different way. Whereas Argo gave off a certain tomboy vibe, the other girl had an elegant presence. From the way that she sat to the how she appeared, Sinon couldn't help but think that Asuna was of the upper-class, an ojou. She had long, chestnut hair that came down well past her shoulders and hazel eyes that reflected the light. Whereas Sinon's appearance might be described as "cute," Asuna had already begun to bloom into a beautiful young woman. Sinon tried to reassure herself that this was only because the other girl was probably older than her.

"Are you talking about Kibaou? Or Ki-bou?"

"Kibaou's just a delusional pest. I don't give a damn about him," Sinon replied in irritation. "But that arrogant, self-important, over-reaching, doesn't-mind-his-own-business…"

She trailed off, realizing that she was ranting and didn't mean half of what she had said. Truth be told, she had been starting to feel scared before Kirito had made himself the target of the anti-beta tester movement. Fear she could handle. She was familiar with it and fought against it every day she spent in this world. What she couldn't forgive was how relieved she had felt when Kirito had stepped forward and diverted all of the hatred and scorn towards himself. The look in his eyes when he had turned about briefly, as if saying "I will be your shield," had burned itself into her memory. That one moment had shaken Sinon to the core; because she had wanted to be protected in that instant. Unforgivable, she thought. A thought which was directed both at the boy who had penetrated her illusion and at herself.

"Maybe we should have gone after him," Asuna said quietly.

Argo replied, "He wouldn't have wanted that. Why else do you think he left the party immediately following the boss battle? To me, that's a clear message that he doesn't want us getting involved with the situation he dug himself into." She glanced over at Sinon, who had her right hand clenched tightly in a fist and continued, "Especially you, Sinon. Even though Ki-bou diverted their attention back there, you're still going to be a conspicuous target with that rifle slung over your shoulder."

Sinon unconsciously grabbed hold of her rifle's strap. «PGM Hecate II». Based on the item description, it fired a .50 caliber cartridge. While several muskets had equivalent bore widths, none were capable of firing a shot as devastating as Sinon's new partner. It had been a part of the loot she had received for killing «Fenris» in the sewers. But instead of equipping it immediately like many players might have done in her situation, she had chosen to let it sit in her inventory up until today. The first reason for her decision was just as Argo had described; it was very noticeable amongst the primitive firearms that players had access to. The second reason was that it could never be unequipped. The final reason was that the weapon was heavy; at just over 14 kg, it almost caused Sinon to go over her «Maximum Weight Limit».

There were other drawbacks that she had discovered only after she had equipped it. Apparently, this weapon was incompatible with the muzzle clip that she had used with her musket. That meant that she was now forced to equip a side-arm in case any monsters got within melee range. Between the weight of the rifle, the ammo in her pouch, and her armor, Sinon's only choice for the time being was to use a small knife as her auxiliary weapon. She did not relish the idea of needing to get that close to an enemy.

"I know that," Sinon answered, "I'd already planned on returning to my policy of avoiding other players as much as possible now that the first district boss has been slain."

"The lone gunma— er, woman route, huh?" Argo mused. "That's a pity. I thought we worked rather well in a party. What about you, Asuna? Are you going off alone as well?"

The older girl paused to think, resting a finger upon her chin. "I think I work better in a party after all," she answered finally. "But for now, I should work on honing my skills in any way I can."

"Alright," Argo said, "I guess we'll officially break up the party after we finish celebrating here. But let's raise a toast to Ki-bou, who we wouldn't be celebrating this hard-earned victory without!"

Asuna and Sinon's cries of "Kanpai!" were far less enthusiastic than Argo's, but the informant didn't seem to mind as she downed her glass of fruit juice.

"Speaking of Ki-bou," she said as she drained the last remnants in her cup, "Maybe I should reward him a bit for all the trouble he went through…"

"He doesn't deserve it," Sinon muttered. "That blockhead…"

A wry grin formed on Argo's face. "Well then, how about a reward and a punishment rolled up into one? I have just the thing in mind…"

Sinon had no idea what the girl was talking about, but she caught sight of the message as Argo typed it out. Something about an «Extra Skill» located in the second district. Argo refused to elaborate when Sinon asked about it, but the other girl could barely contain her amusement. Sinon made up her mind to take the time out of her training to ask Kirito about it face-to-face.

Half an hour later, the three girls stood outside the café, ignoring the cold as they said their farewells. Despite her misgivings about relying on others, Sinon found herself with two new additions to her friends list. She told herself that these would be the last. Shrugging her shoulder to redistribute the weight of her gun, she headed off, not to find an inn to stay at for the night, but into the second district. She had needed to be protected during this floor's boss fight; she did not intend to ever feel that helpless again.

-o-

The clearing of the first boss seemed to have revived the spirits of everyone trapped in «Aincrad». Within two weeks of clearing the first district, the second district had also been freed from the control of the undead. The number of player deaths from various causes had also decreased dramatically. Many players who had resigned themselves to hiding had begun to take up arms in the name of winning back their freedom. To the dismay of the older players, even some of the youngest children who were plugged into the game, despite sales being restricted for those who were underage, had decided to fight.

Most underage players stayed in the make-shift orphanage that had been opened by kind-hearted players in the days following Kayaba's announcement. But after a month and a half of being cooped up in the starting town and hearing of the deeds of the front-liners who had now cleared two districts, some of the more adventurous ones began to dream of taking part in the fighting. A few had even run away from the orphanage in order to do so. Luckily, most were found and returned, shivering in fear, back to the church building. Missing child descriptions were posted on the bulletin boards that were found in each district center.

Sinon eyed one of the posters as she passed by. She snorted in amusement, remembering an incident in which some busybody had stopped her, thinking that she was a runaway. She had a small profile, but it was still irritating to think that she could be mistaken for a child. Thankfully, she had perfected her glare by this time and a few seconds of exposure to her icy stare was all that was needed to send her would-be "benefactor" scurrying away.

She was still deep in thought when someone bumped into her from behind, letting out a small squeak. Sinon stumbled forwards a step before turning around in annoyance. The perpetrator, a figure clutching a cloak around him or herself, gave another squeak in fear at the expression on Sinon's face. Sinon sighed and relaxed. For a second, she had thought it was just another player out to harass her because of her weapon. Since this wasn't the case, she could afford to be a little friendlier, seeing as it was her fault for suddenly pausing in the middle of the square.

"Are you alright?" Sinon asked, extending a hand to help the person up.

The hood of the person's cloak fell backwards to reveal her face. Judging by appearances, she was at least two years younger than Sinon. Her light-brown hair was done up in two side-tails, adding to her childish looks. The girl's eyes shifted back and forth across the town square nervously at being seen but this early in the day, there weren't many people out and about just yet.

Sinon waited briefly for a response from the child but when one didn't come, she turned around silently and began to walk off. The girl might have been a runaway from the orphanage, but that wasn't really Sinon's problem. She didn't have the authority to send the younger girl back, nor did she want to waste time locating someone who did.

"Wait!"

The girl called out in a voice that betrayed her nervousness.

Sinon turned around. "What do you want?" she asked.

"That gun—You're Hecate-san, aren't you?" the young girl asked. "I've heard about you…"

Sinon continued to walk off without answering. From experience, Sinon knew to avoid anyone who asked after her because of her gun.

"Just listen to me! Please! I need your help," the girl pleaded.

Sinon turned around with a sigh. Brushing the hair out of her eyes, she looked down at the child. The younger girl hadn't even bothered to get up from where she had fallen. "Look, little girl. I don't have time to waste. And I don't help or need help from others. If you've heard about me, then you should know about how I'm a solo player, right? Why don't you return home? I'm sure they're worried about you."

"I-I can't return…" she said softly. "I don't want to. I want to get stronger and join the front-liners!"

Sinon was taken aback by how much determination the girl could put into her brown eyes. And her wish to become stronger…wasn't that similar to Sinon's own? But while her heart wavered, she knew that it would be irresponsible of her to help the girl. Because if she did get strong enough to join the front-liners, all that meant was that there would be a much higher chance that she would die compared to if she remained at home. Sinon refused to be burdened by that knowledge.

"Sorry, I'm not interested in helping you," Sinon replied, trying to sound as uninterested as possible. "Go home."

"B-B-But-But…" the girl stammered, looking up at Sinon with pleading eyes while still resting on her knees.

Oh for the love of—Sinon thought. Those bright brown eyes, pooling up with the beginning of tears as the girl's lower lip trembled…those were completely unfair. Ignoring that wouldn't be akin to kicking a puppy so much as it would be trampling over it once and then backing up over it one more time just in case she had missed a spot the first time.

People were beginning to arrive in the square by now and the two of them were starting to receive attention. Sinon let out an exasperated sigh and answered, "Fine, we can talk about this. But somewhere else where there'll be fewer people. And dry your eyes. If you really want to be a front-liner, you shouldn't cry so easily."

The young girl's expression brightened so quickly that Sinon was taken aback. Had she been tricked? Lamenting that she had not yet achieved the emotional isolation that she had wanted, Sinon led the way to a nearby restaurant.

It wasn't the best eatery around, but the food was decent. More importantly, the lights were dim enough inside that Sinon didn't have to worry much about being recognized. Sinon ordered a cake for herself and then made the mistake of offering to pay for whatever the girl that had followed her wanted from the menu.

Three different cakes, two parfaits, and a tart later, the girl, who had introduced herself as Silica, was finally ready to discuss why she had sought Sinon out.

"Um, I was hoping that you'd be willing to teach me how to fight, Hecate-san," she said shyly, acting as if she hadn't just scarfed down enough calories to give any girl a fright in real life.

"Well, I'm not," Sinon answered. "And stop calling me that."

"But—isn't that your name? That's what everyone calls you at the orphanage," Silica asked.

"Look," Sinon replied, rubbing her temples. "My gun's name is Hecate. I don't care to give out my real name. Why are you so determined to fight on the front-lines? You realize that it's not a safe place to be? That you can die out there?"

"Mmhmm," Silica answered without hesitation.

Clearly she couldn't conceptualize death at all. Sinon groaned; this was going to be a pain…

"You don't understand at all!" Sinon found herself half-shouting. "To die means you're gone forever. Nothing left over except for your virtual corpse which will join the enemy! The people you've left behind might mourn for you, but you'd never know. All your hopes, your dreams, your future, they'll be severed for good. That is what death means in this world!"

Silica had pressed herself back in her chair reflexively. Once Sinon had finished her tirade though, she leaned forwards again and replied, "That's why I was looking for you. Because you have experience. You know what it's like to be out there."

"Didn't you hear me?" Sinon replied. "If you die, that's the end—of everything! I'm not going to be a part of that."

But Silica kept looking right into her eyes as she answered, "If I stay inside the orphanage waiting for others to clear the game for me, I might as well be dead. You don't know what it's like to be in there, do you? Day after day just sitting…waiting for news about whether the next district has been cleared. Cheering at the stories about the brave people like you who are fighting for our sake while we hide in fear. I can't call that living. I want to be out in the world. I want to help! I want to become strong!"

Silica punctuated each exclamation by pounding her fist on the table. While the blows didn't have that much force behind them, it still rattled the plates on top and prompted an «Immortal Object» tag to appear underneath her clenched hands. But more jarring than that was the look in her eyes. A look that held no fear, only grim determination. They were eyes Sinon was familiar with; the same ones that looked back at her whenever she glanced at a reflective surface. Even if she refused to help the younger girl, Sinon knew that Silica would more than likely go off on her own.

Despite what she had said earlier, despite her desire to just walk away, Sinon was already involved. Like it or not, what she chose to do now would impact Silica's future. She could choose to ignore the girl's pleas and move on with the knowledge that she had most likely signed a death warrant for the younger girl. Or she could choose to teach the girl what she knew, much like Kirito had done for her on the first day. She had been checkmated from the moment the girl had recognized her.

"Fine," Sinon grumbled. "I'll take you along. But only for today! After that, I'm taking you straight back to the orphanage!"

Silica's hands shot out and grasped Sinon's. Her smile was so bright that Sinon had the urge to avert her eyes.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you Heca—" she exclaimed. Looking puzzled, she asked, "Um, what should I call you?"

"Just go with whatever you want…" Sinon muttered. She was feeling drained all of a sudden.

"Ok!" Silica replied in a bubbly voice. "I'm in your care then, Senpai!"

-o-

"Alright then," Sinon said. "Since you're new to this, let's start off easy and head to the sewers in the first district."

"The sewers?" Silica asked, wrinkling her nose, "Do we have to?"

"Unless you want to jump right in and get slaughtered by the monsters in the third district, you'll need to level up in an appropriate area first," Sinon explained. "But you'll want to turn your scent settings down all the way. It's not…pleasant in there."

"Got it!" Silica exclaimed cheerfully.

"By the way, what weapon are you going to be using?" Sinon added, noticing for the first time that Silica was still in the default armor and had no weapon equipped.

"Um, I don't have a weapon," Silica moaned. "Sasha-san, the lady who runs the orphanage, doesn't want us to use them…"

Sinon looked at the girl in exasperation. "You ran away from the orphanage, want to become a front-liner, and you don't even own a weapon?"

"I still have most of the starting money," Silica answered. "Will it take long to buy a weapon?"

"What type of weapon are you looking for?"

"Um, the monsters are kind of scary so I want to be as far away from them as I can," Silica said. "Maybe a spear—no, too short. I know! I want a bow or a gun, just like Senpai!"

Sinon couldn't help but smile at the naivety her junior was showing right now. It reminded her of herself when she had first started playing.

"Well, if that's the case, you can have my old weapon," Sinon said, opening a trade window with Silica. "Just a word of warning. Try not to shoot unless you really need to. Sound draws most enemies in."

Silica's eyes widened as the musket dropped into her hands. Sinon noted that she had forgotten to detach the clip holding her old combat knife to the barrel before completing the trade. Whatever… I guess it's fitting for me to pass that on to a new player, she thought. The weapon was far more powerful gear than a beginner should be possess since Sinon had continued reinforcing it out of habit even after equipping the «Hecate II».

After a little bit of target practice, which Silica actually wasn't bad at, the two entered the sewers through a manhole.

"It smells bad," Silica complained, holding her nose.

Sinon answered without looking bad, "You'll get used to it. Watch your step. It's slippery and if you fall in a bad spot, you'll end up sliding into one of the offshoot tunnels. It'll be next to impossible to find you again if that happens."

Sinon chose not to mention that she had learned that from experience.

As they headed deeper into the sewers without encountering any enemies, Silica became increasingly nervous, jumping whenever the flickering torches casted a long shadow across their path. It looked as if she was starting to regret her decision to run away. Good, Sinon thought. Maybe I can convince her to leave so that I can actually get some leveling done today.

But Silica kept at it longer than Sinon would have expected out of the small girl. While the younger girl practiced using «Linear», Sinon used the opportunity to get better acquainted with the shorter range on her sidearm; fighting the familiar enemies of the first district allowed her to make minor mistakes in misjudging her reach. Even though it had been almost a month since her primary weapon slot had been locked, she hadn't used her dagger much at all; choosing to rely instead on the considerable stopping power of the «Hecate II» which she now considered her irreplaceable partner.

Within the first hour, the younger girl had mastered using «Sword Skills» to dispatch her enemies. But Sinon had also found out that Silica had a bad habit of closing her eyes every time she attacked.

"Keep your eyes open!" Sinon commanded as Silica breathed a sigh of relief once her foe had shattered away. "You're leaving yourself wide open for a counterattack every single time."

"But it's alright, isn't it?" Silica said, shrinking back as Sinon glared at her. "I mean, they're all dying in two hits…"

"That's only because of the weapon you have," Sinon explained. "And what if you come across an enemy that doesn't go down immediately when you rush him?"

"I'll try," Silica promised.

Of course, her first attempt was a complete disaster.

"Kyaa!" the girl screamed cutely as the «Lesser Zombie» grabbed onto the barrel of the weapon that had pierced its stomach.

Sinon tried to calm her down and tell her that all she had to do was pull her weapon back, but the girl was panicking too much to hear her. Silica closed her eyes again and flailed her left arm about uselessly. If the situation wasn't serious, the effect would have been comical. Sinon sighed and drew her knife out of the sheath that was strapped to her thigh, flipping it through the air before catching it in a reverse-grip. But before she could finish off the monster, Silica had pulled the trigger, discharging a shot with a roar that echoed through the tunnels. The loud sound jarred Silica to her senses and she realized just how much noise she had been making. That caused her to start tearing up as she tried to explain what had happened.

"I don't care about your excuses," Sinon said irritably.

She grabbed onto Silica's wrist and pulled the younger girl behind her as she ran deeper into the sewers, trying to put some distance between them and where the shot had been fired. Silica continued blurting out apologies as she followed behind.

"Just stay close," Sinon responded, not paying attention to Silica's babbling. "I don't want you slipping out of sight while I'm responsible for your well-being."

They ran through pipe after slushy pipe, but everywhere the two turned, it seemed like the path was cut off. That came to a stop when Sinon turned a corner and found herself facing a grate. It would come down to a fight after all.

She unshouldered her rifle, loading a round into the chamber with an audible click. This would be the first time today that she would wield her partner. Her goal was to cut open a path through the blocked tunnel and make her way to the nearest safe area where she and Silica could rest and discuss what the more inexperienced girl needed to change.

Sinon peered down the scope of her weapon, calmly waiting for the green dot that indicated where her bullet might fly to shrink down to a satisfactory degree. Cold as ice, she repeated to herself over and over, as she tightened her finger around the trigger. The targeting area shrank until it fit neatly inside the chest of the nearest enemy. That was when the back ranks of the enemy exploded in a burst of light.

Although she managed not to cry out in astonishment, Sinon's targeting circle rapidly expanded as her heartbeat sped up in surprise. There was someone else fighting back there. She couldn't use the Hecate now; not without risking hitting whoever was back there.

Drawing her knife once more, Sinon motioned to Silica. "We're going in," she said.

It didn't take long to clear the tunnel of the low level monsters. Waiting for the two girls on the other side was the one person Sinon had feared would be standing there.

"Yo Sinon," Kirito greeted her with a wide grin.

Sinon was about to chastise him for letting an enemy sneak up behind his back when his right hand shot out and grabbed it by the face. He slammed it into the tunnel wall and dispatched it with a ferocious flurry of blows that caused Silica to squeak in horror. He turned back to face Sinon, still grinning. She noticed that he hadn't even drawn his sword.

"I see that you're having fun with that «Extra Skill» of yours," Sinon noted coolly. "What are you doing here?"

"What? I can't come down to a lower level area to grind my «Martial Arts» skill?" Kirito asked innocently.

Sinon glared at him until he continued speaking.

"I was just in the neighborhood. I, of course, didn't happen to see a certain friend of mine who tells everyone she sees to buzz off going down into the sewers followed by someone else. And I most certainly didn't use my «Tracking» skill to follow them at a distance out of curiosity and learn that this self-proclaimed cold-hearted sniper was now helping a newbie learn the ropes," Kirito replied with a wink.

Sinon found herself almost regretting not pulling the trigger while she had the excuse of not knowing someone was behind the enemy lines. She pointed a finger right up to Kirito's nose and retorted, "If—If you so much as breathe a word to anyone else—I'll let everyone know about your appearance when you were training for that «Extra Skill» you're so proud of!"

Kirito's face paled as he unconsciously touched the spots on his cheek where the NPC who had granted him the skill had scrawled thick whisker marks in ink that wouldn't come off until he completed the quest.

"You wouldn't dare—," he began.

"Try me," Sinon replied, adopting a neutral expression.

While this was going on in front of her, Silica had been watching on patiently. As her curiosity reached a peak however, she found herself unable to keep quiet.

"Senpai, who is this person?"

"Oh, sorry," Sinon apologized. "This is Kirito. Arrogant swordsman who can unfortunately back up his words, self-proclaimed «Beater», and all around nuisance. Kirito, this is Silica-chan."

Kirito's grin widened a bit more at the introduction. "You forgot to add «Aincrad»'s most hated player to that list. Nice to meet you, Silica-chan." But his face turned serious a moment later. "We need to talk, Sinon," he said urgently, "There's a safe zone fairly close to here, let's head over there now."

The safe zone was a massive circular chamber, split into four islets by the streams of water that ran across the room. Unlike the pipe they had just exited from, the room was brightly lit and surprisingly clean.

"Are we still in the sewers?" Sinon asked. "This seems awfully spacious to me."

"Actually, most of the sewers consist of wide walkways and drainage canals," Kirito explained. "You just happened to be in the part of it that's a messy network of plumbing."

Sinon noted that for future reference. "So? What did you want to talk about, Kirito?"

"Well, first things first," he began. "The third district boss meeting is taking place tomorrow. This one's especially important since it unlocks the «Guild Charterhouse». Speaking of which, have you thought about joining a guild?"

"You know I'm a solo, Kirito. I'd be just as likely to join a guild as you are," Sinon replied.

"Still—," he argued, "you should think about it. That also brings me to what I really wanted to talk to you about. You need to be careful, Sinon. You've made quite a few enemies. I'm probably not one to talk, but at least most people don't know what I look like. To them, I'm just another player who thinks black is a cool color. But you can't really hide that gun of yours. A guild will offer some protection from jealous players, at least."

"I don't need you to worry about me," she replied. "I can handle myself."

She fixed him with a stare that challenged him to disagree.

"I have no doubt about that," Kirito replied. "But I've overheard a lot of talk recently about players committing crimes against other players. Nothing that can be substantiated but still…just take care of yourself, alright?"

With that, he turned around and left, disappearing as suddenly as he had appeared, the black of his longcoat blending into the darkness of the tunnels around him.

Kirito blinked as his eyes quickly adjusted to the light levels outside of the sewer. It was good to see Sinon outside of the boss meetings, but he couldn't help but think the girl was pushing herself too hard. That was another reason why he had asked her if she planned on joining a guild.

Of course, the main reason was…

"Done with your reunion already, Ki-bou?"

"I passed along your warning just like you wanted me to, Argo," he answered. "Sinon and I are both solo players, it's better if we don't meet up on a regular basis. But I still don't understand why you didn't just tell her yourself."

Argo shrugged her shoulders as if the answer were obvious. "Because I can't be seen giving away information away for free. You of all people should know how important maintaining a reputation is. And in my case, losing that reputation would put my finances in jeopardy."

Kirito laced his fingers as he sat down on the bench. "I just hope you're wrong about the increase in player-crimes."

"Me too. But the numbers should decrease again once guilds start forming and the players organize against them," Argo replied as she sat down next to him.

Kirito thought back on the beta. If things mirrored what had occurred then, the criminals, widely known «Orange Players» for the change in their player indicators, might form guilds that specialized in exploiting other players. It wasn't as likely to happen now since «SLD» was no longer just a game, but the possibility remained. He hoped that Argo was right and that the guilds that formed would be able to restore some semblance of order to the player-base. Things were a lot better than they were before the first district had been cleared, but with nothing to police the players, grudges and unsettled disputes between disagreeing party members were becoming more frequent.

Also, he couldn't help but worry for Sinon despite her insistence that she was a solo player. Mostly because she had an impulsive streak to her that reminded him of himself at times. It would be great if she were willing to join a guild since then, she'd have comrades to watch her back; both from monsters and from other players.

"I'm going to look into this a little, just in case," Kirito decided. "The incidents all took place in the third district, right?"

"Trying to be a hero again?" Argo asked, looking displeased.

Kirito answered, sounding confused, "You know that's not the case, Argo."

"I don't know about that," she replied. "You have a hard time sitting on the sidelines when someone's in trouble even though you try to act like you don't care. Don't get me wrong, that's a good thing—usually. But I can't shake the feeling that one day you're going to try to help or save someone and fail. And I don't want to think about what that would do to you."

"This concerns more than just me," Kirito said. "If there really are «Orange Players» out there, someone needs to track them down."

Argo looked at him carefully before nodding once, "I know that look. I'm not going to be able to persuade you against going, am I? Just be careful. If the players behind this are strong enough to operate in the third district, it'll be difficult, even for you, to confront them. I don't want you getting hurt."

"What? Are you worried about me?" Kirito asked, grinning widely.

Argo laughed and gave him a light shove. "As if! I just don't want to lose a source of income. A girl's got to eat, you know."

-o-

The gate leading to the third district opened, metal rumbling against stone. Kirito stepped inside, drawing his sword and moving quickly into the zone. Unlike the previous areas where the buildings were spaced close enough that travelling from rooftop to rooftop was viable, the third district had more open space. This meant that it was less likely that a player could get surrounded by undead under normal circumstances, but also that there were fewer hiding spots.

This district had been breathtakingly beautiful once it had been freed during the beta. Kirito recalled spending hours just lounging on the soft grass under the shade of the trees in the park-like zone. The buildings themselves were more decorative than in the previous zones. The first two districts mostly consisted of residential buildings and a few shops. The third district might have been a center of government once; at least with regards to the city of «Aincrad». If Kirito remembered correctly, Kayaba had even saw fit to include a library in this district, complete with a massive collection of books from the real world.

Right now however, the ground was parched and cracked, refusing to soak up water even when the weather generator decided to make it precipitate. Those days were the worst; sloshing about in ankle-deep slush as you tried to find your way around. The trees that Kirito enjoyed resting under were twisted monstrosities at the moment, with grasping branches that reminded him too much of the monsters that dwelled in the district.

"So I'm here," Kirito mumbled to himself, "but I have no idea where to start looking. Some plan this was…"

Kirito fell back upon the standard procedure for such situations: wander around randomly until something happened. Several times, he saw other players fighting at a distance, but nothing looked suspicious to him about their behavior so he avoided them. He was still widely recognized on the frontlines as a «Beater » and he wanted to avoid any trouble other than that of the particular sort he was seeking.

It wasn't until much later, just after nightfall and near the border of where his mapping data ended, that Kirito noticed something strange.

"There are—no monsters?" he wondered.

Even if players had been killing everything in sight, depleting an entire area before anything respawned was difficult. And Kirito hadn't seen any players around at all lately. It was as if this place were a safe zone, but no system message confirming that idea had appeared at all.

Kirito opened up his skills list and selected his «Tracking» skill. A small window with a blank tag appeared into which Kirito typed the words «Errant Ghoul». His skill level was now high enough to input the name of any monster he had defeated once before and seek out others of its kind. And if he wanted to find out why all the undead seemed to be missing from this zone, it made sense to start by looking for the «Creepers».

As he expected, a large number of glowing yellow prints appeared on the ground. While they crisscrossed over one another repeatedly, it seemed as if they were all heading in the same direction. Kirito was certain of it now; someone was behind this phenomenon.

The path zigzagged across several streets to no discernible pattern, but the number of footprints Kirito was following increased steadily. It wasn't long until the first of the enemies came into sight.

It was a larger horde than any Kirito had ever encountered before. In order to get a better vantage point, he climbed the nearest tree, nearly falling out when a brittle branch snapped as he tried to pull himself up. When he reached the top however, he found that even his initial estimate of the number of enemies fell short by a large margin.

The «Errant Ghouls», along with a few other monster-types from nearby, were arranged in a ring about 7 or 8 monsters thick, milling about in an effort to reach the middle. At the center of the circle was a group of five players, backs turned to one another as if they were preparing for a last stand. Kirito jumped out of the tree, barely noticing his health drop slightly from the fall damage as he sped towards them.

"I'm going to try to cut a path in from the outside!" he shouted. "See if you can push through in the direction of my voice!"

Too late, the enemies at the outer edge of the ring turned to face Kirito. His sword flashed out, striking the nearest ghoul at the base of the neck, its weakest point. He managed to take down a second before the enemies pressing in from the sides forced him back a step.

From the other side, Kirito heard a cry go up and the sound of battle. The monsters' ranks bulged outwards as the players within pressed their way onwards. Kirito redoubled his efforts, lashing out with AoE skills as soon as their cooldown period ended in an effort to avoid being surrounded.

Within two minutes, the five players who had been trapped made it to Kirito's position and together, the six of them punched a hole back to the outside. Once they had put a comfortable distance between themselves and the horde, all six players collapsed in relief.

"I thought we were all goners!"

One of the players he had just rescued, a chainmail wearing spear-wielder, clapped Kirito on the back as he celebrated their lucky break.

"Did everyone make it out?" Kirito asked.

"Everyone that was left when you arrived. We lost Shiba-kun before we even knew what was going on," another of the party members replied slowly. "I've never seen monsters act like that before. It was almost as if they were waiting to spring a trap on us."

"Hmm, I don't think that what happened back there was part of their behavioral algorithm," Kirito replied, getting to his feet and brushing his hair back.

There was a loud gasp.

"You!"

Kirito turned in surprise. In the moonlight that had just filtered down from behind cloud cover, he recognized the player who had just called out as one of the heavy-armor wearers from the first district boss battle. He had also been one of the more vocal elements who had taken Kibaou's side.

"You dirty «Beater»…were you the one behind this?"

At the utterance of the term «Beater», the party members began to mutter dangerously amongst themselves.

"If I was, why would I put the effort into saving your hides?" Kirito answered calmly.

"Who knows what goes through your mind?" the player retorted. "You're just in this for yourself. What do you want? Maybe it's reputation? Or gratitude? Or maybe you just want to 'show us the difference experience makes' and rub that in our faces?"

Kirito flinched backwards as his own words were hurled in his face. Although he wanted to argue back, he recognized that the other player had a legitimate reason for distrusting him. The only thing he could do now was pray that the rest of that party wouldn't jump to the conclusion that he was the one behind the unusual monster behavior.

"Believe what you want," Kirito answered, in direct opposition to what he really wanted to say.

What the man's reaction to Kirito's words was, he never found out. A green player indicator briefly appeared just behind the cover provided by a half-collapsed wall before vanishing again. It had been there for such a short period of time that Kirito almost thought it was a figment of his imagination. Usually, player indicators appeared only if you concentrated at looking for it, but the system must have registered his prolonged casual staring in that direction as just that.

An eavesdropper?

Kirito ran past the startled players he had saved, ignoring their outcry of surprise. His target noticed his approach and fled, ducking behind cover to break Kirito's line of sight whenever he or she could. The figure's tattered gray cloak blended in well with the environment, making Kirito's pursuit even more difficult. Try as he might, Kirito found himself unable to gain much ground. He counted himself lucky then, when he rounded a corner and found his quarry stopped in front of a wall.

"Well, «Beater»-kun. It seems that you've managed to corner me. I suppose congratulations are in order."

The man spoke without turning around. His voice was deep, saturated with a strength that drew listeners in whether they were willing or not.

"Show your face!" Kirito demanded, drawing his weapon with the rasping of metal rubbing against leather.

"My…aren't we demanding? Are you going to attack me? Even knowing that you will only doom yourself to an orange player indicator with nothing to show for it? If so, I'd suggest you do so now."

Although those were the words the man said, Kirito noticed a dull shine as moonlight reflected off the weapon held in the man's hand. It looked like a dagger-class weapon, although the size was slightly larger than the typical example of that type of armament. He was ready to fight back if need be and seemed to have confidence in his abilities.

Kirito refused to be goaded. "What's your objective? MPK'ing? Doing something on such a scale will only end in your downfall."

"MPK?" the man replied, sounding amused. "I would not stoop to calling this effort a mere 'MPK.' This was—a message. A recruitment advertisement, if you will…"

"What!?"

Kirito gripped his sword so tightly that his fingers were starting to go numb. Although he hardly noticed the cold weather anymore, he now felt a deep chill that permeated him right to his bones.

"You think I'll let you walk away unharmed after saying that?" Kirito declared.

"Of course," the man answered. "Because I know your type. Too prideful to rely on others, yet unable to turn a blind eye to those in need. But let me ask you this: Did those you saved today appreciate your efforts?"

"T-they…"

The cloaked figure ignored him and continued to speak. "That reminds me of a tale I once heard in passing. Of a boy, not yet old enough to bear the responsibilities of a man, who riled up all the hatred and scorn this world has to offer and became the first known «Beater». At first I thought the tale nonsense, for who in his right mind would be foolish enough to risk the ire of every player? Especially a child? But as I thought on it, a strange idea came to mind. What if, perhaps, the boy committed said act, not for his own sake, but to ensure that other «Beta Players» gained acceptance? A far-fetched theory, to be sure, but intriguing, is it not?"

"Hell if I know," Kirito answered between gritted teeth.

"Don't you now, «Beater»-kun? A pity, because from the description, the boy who sacrificed himself so valiantly then wore a black longcoat— much like the one you have on now. Rumor has it that he wielded a single one-handed sword with no shield… just as you do."

"What are you saying?"

"What I'm saying is that the reason why I did not interfere in your misguided rescue is because I find myself more interested in the reason for your actions than concerned with how much those actions may impede my own goals. Tell me, what can you possibly hope to gain by shielding these poor deluded fools who don't even realize the significance of your actions?"

Kirito couldn't come up with an answer. From the start, there had been nothing to gain. He had charged forwards, doing only what he had felt was right. While logic told him that he shouldn't get involved in something, the greater part of what made up "Kirito" said otherwise. Did doing something that benefitted the majority at the expense of the self require a reason?

When Kirito didn't provide an answer to his query, the man turned about. In the darkness, all Kirito could see was the angular outline of his face. Something clattered by his feet.

"What?"

The «Smoke-screen», hurled from the rooftop above him, exploded, obscuring Kirito's vision completely.

"I look forwards to you answer the next time we meet…«Beater»-kun… The stage is not yet set."

The man's parting words, the last of which were delivered in fluent English, stuck in Kirito's mind as his light footfalls faded into the night. Kirito made his way out of the ashy cloud, coughing to clear his mouth of the foul taste the «Smoke-screen» had generated.

A reason? Kirito asked himself as he stood alone in the cold winter night. Was there really a need for such a thing?

*notes: A lot of set-up for future chapters this time around rather than focusing on the action. The token loli makes an appearance early…will she become a sidekick for Sinon-senpai? I've already decided on what I'm going to do regarding her future development so have fun guessing what will happen. Every action, however small, can impact future developments.

Speaking of which, Kirito's speech at the end of the last chapter really came back to haunt him this time around. It sucks being «Aincrad»'s most hated player no matter how cheerful you try to act around your friends. Here, I tried to show the darker side of MMOs; suspecting other players of ulterior motives, blaming others for failures, and a general disregard for the welfare of others if it does not benefit oneself in any way.

I'll admit that the PoH segment was partially inspired by F/SN, with Kirito being at a loss as to how to answer the "why be a hero" question. PoH himself is an interesting character because there's so little out there about him aside from a general appearance, weapon type, and the fact that he's supposedly very charismatic. He's a blank-slate arch villain who can be much more involved in the lives of the players than Kayaba, in my opinion. That's all for now, I hope you enjoyed this (shorter than previous) chapter.