The Tri-Blade Alliance

Chapter 5: Forming a Guild

A/N: Okay, everyone. This chapter is about what happened after Kirito became a beater. There will probably be no action in this chapter. Sorry, in advance.

Disclaimer: I don't own SAO

(x)

Three months ago, we cleared the first boss, and Kirito was christened a beater. To this day, I kept asking myself, Why didn't I stop him? Why did he do that in the first place?

I decided not to dwell on the past. Solar, Skye, and I made an agreement to form a guild. We decided to call it the Tri-Blade Alliance, because there were three of us, and we each held one blade. The guild was actually supposed to be the three of us, but it started growing and growing. It became like… have you ever heard of the Holy Dragon Alliance (no relation to our Alliance)? Yeah. Like that. It shocked me, and a thought occurred to me: Who the hell is going to lead this guild?

At first, I thought we were going to get into an argument over who would lead the guild. But then Solar and Skye came to a unanimous decision: I would lead the guild.

(x)

Arctic closed the book he was writing in and stored it in his inventory. He let out a sigh as he got up and left the building the guild currently resided in.

Up ahead, he found Solar and Skye running drills with the guild-already at 100 members. They looked surprised to see him.

Over time, all three had changed their outfits. Solar was now sporting a fire red trench coat with a flame design at the end of his coat that went all the way around. The flames were a very appealing jet black, which contrasted against the redness of his coat. He received his coat from a mini-boss drop, and was named "The Coat of Flames". The black fire color came with the coat, which surprised everyone when Solar equipped it. The cuff of his right sleeve was folded back, and over the sleeves of his trench coat, the black wristband on his left wrist and the red wristband on his right wrist he wore on the day they met were visible, as they were over his coat. His coat was normally unbuttoned, revealing a blood red shirt, black pants, and red and black combat boots. Whenever Solar spun around to deliver a sword strike in battle, the flame design at the end of his coat flickered as if it was an actual flame, and had impressed everyone who saw it.

Skye's outfit had changed significantly as well, sporting a coat that, like Solar, she had obtained from a mini-boss raid. The aforementioned coat, however, was sleeveless and cinched at the waist (like Asuna's coat) leaving the ends of the coat to be splintered off into several tail-ends, all of which shimmered like the colors of a rainbow. Solar had dubbed this coat as The Peacock Coat, which was a nickname for the coat. The coat's actual name however, was "The Coat of Storms". Whenever Skye spun in battle or twirled outside of battle, the coat glimmered to life, and was far more visually appealing than Solar's coat's visual effect. Her coat, like Solar's, was unbuttoned, and showed that she typically wears a yellow sleeveless shirt, with a sky blue mini skirt. She also wore white leggings, and gray flats.

Finally, Arctic underwent the most change, compared to his outfit at the start of the game, which was a brown cloak over blue starting gear. He now wore a blue trench coat with a snowflake design on the sides, black gloves, a grey shirt and black pants, completed with a pair of dark grey combat boots. His coat was dubbed the "Coat of Blizzards," and was received via a rare drop.

"Hey, man," Solar greeted Arctic as he walked up to the two. "I thought today was your day off?"

"It is. I'm just choosing not to use it right now," Arctic replied with a smile.

"Are you sure?" Skye asked Arctic.

"Yeah. I'm sure. So what are the plans for the day? I assume you made plans for today."

Solar chuckled. "What do you take us for? Of course we have plans. First, I'm going to go to the nearest town to meet a friend, and hopefully see if she wants to join the guild. After that, whatever happens, we'll go to a field and train or relax, either or."

"Okay, sounds good. Are we going to wait for you?" Arctic asked.

"It shouldn't be too long." With that, Solar waved goodbye to his friends and his guild, and departed.

(x)

"Where is she?" Solar asked himself. Then he realized that he had her on his friends list. After a brief facepalm, he opened his friends list and selected her name. He pressed track, and saw that she was…right where he was standing.

After staring at that for a while, he felt a hand being placed on his shoulder. He jumped in the air while letting out a very manly scream. Once he landed, he heard a person start giggling uncontrollably. "I got you!" Solar heard a familiar voice chuckle. Once he laid his eyes on her, he was glad, albeit peeved, to see that familiar optimistic grin. The new player's icon showed, and the name read, Akira.

"Shit," Solar cursed as Akira helped him off of the ground. After brushing himself off, he looked at her with an annoyed expression on his face and said, "Do you always greet your friends like this?"

"Nope," she giggled, "just you."

"Gee, thanks," Solar remarked sarcastically. "I feel really special." After that, he rolled his eyes, and accepted the hug that Akira was offering him. "It really is good to see you again, though."

"I can gladly say that it feels good to see you, too," Akira said as she hugged Solar. After both broke out of the hug, she questioned Solar, "So why did you want to meet?"

Solar gave Akira a quick once-over. From the last time that Solar had seen her, she had updated her wardrobe. Now, she was wearing a sky blue coat that ended at her hips, and was sleeveless. She wore a black miniskirt and black tights, as well as a white blouse and black boots. Her hair was auburn red, and reached down to her lower back. Her eyes were bright green, and very pretty. On her back was a short sword.

"I see you're back to the sword." Akira nodded in confirmation. "The reason why I'm here is because a couple weeks ago, I formed a guild with some of my other friends―yes, you're not my only friend, Akira―and it's already gotten strong. I was just wondering if… well… you wanted to join?" Solar nervously questioned Akira.

Akira stood there for a while, then finally gave her answer. "Of course I'd join your guild. I still owe you for helping me out that one time. Remember?"

Solar let out a breath that he had no idea that he was holding in, then smiled. "Good. I was scared that you would say no. Follow me," Solar turned around and looked over his shoulder, "I better introduce you to the other leaders of the guild."

"Wait!" Akira said so suddenly that Solar turned around with his hand at his blade. Once he realized that they were in no danger, his hand went back to his side, and he gave Akira an annoyed look. She grinned sheepishly, and said, "I have a friend who travels with me, and I don't want to leave her by herself. Is it okay if―?"

"Yeah, sure, she can join the guild. Hurry up and get her."

(x)

"Where do you think he is?" Skye asked Arctic, who merely shrugged in response.

After Skye said that, however, she saw three figures in the distance. Immediately, she was able to identify Solar due to his unique coat, but she had no idea who those other two people were. She, along with Arctic, assumed that they were new recruits, as they had the Tri-Blade logo visible on their sleeves.

As a way to identify their recruits, Arctic had agreed with Solar and Skye that it would be mandatory to wear a piece of equipment that had the Tri-Blade logo visible on it. It could be an armband, in Skye's case, on their shoulder, in Arctic's case, or their gauntlets, in Solar's case, just to name a few. The Tri-Blade Alliance's logo itself was three swords crossed; two diagonally in an X formation, with the third blade coming in from the top; the blades were crossed on a shield. The blade that went diagonally downward from the right side represented Solar's blade, a katana; the blade crossing diagonally downward from the left represented Skye's blade, a silver Tanto machete sword; and the blade from the top represented Arctic, a one-handed broadsword.

Skye and Arctic rushed forward to meet Solar and the new recruits, and met them halfway. "What took you so long?" Arctic asked Solar, his arms crossed.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Akira here," he gestured towards Akira, who waved at the two, "thought it would be funny to scare me. Then, she wanted to bring her friend along," he gestured to the other girl, who looked away, sheepishly.

When Arctic laid his eyes on the second girl that Solar gestured to, his first thought was...Wow. The new girl had obsidian black hair tied in a ponytail, kind amber eyes, and was wearing a hot pink shirt with a matching miniskirt, and black leggings. She also had grey flats, and an axe in her back.

"Hi, I-I'm Arctic," He stammered, holding his hand out to her for a handshake. Solar and Skye looked at each other, their eyebrows raised. Arctic has never been this nervous before, as long as the two had known him. "A-And you are?"

Apparently, the girl had felt as nervous, if not more than Arctic, because she was stammering far more than Arctic was. "T-T-Takano," she replied, blushing furiously as she shook Arctic's hand.

"Strange," Akira had whispered to Solar and Skye. "Takano is never this nervous." Solar raised an eyebrow. "I mean, she's one of the strongest people I know."

"You know," Skye whispered back, "Arctic is always calm and collected. This is the first time either one of us had seen him this way." Solar nodded in affirmation.

Apparently neither Arctic nor Takano had heard them, as they were too busy staring at each other. "Your eyes are pretty." Arctic said. Curse you, Arctic! he thought. You know damn well you're not looking at her eyes!

Takano's blush furiously deepened with that remark. Before she could reply, however, Solar and Akira were quick to intervene. "Well, before the situation gets more awkward than it already is―"

"Like that could happen," Akira mumbled under her breath.

"―let's get to the fields," Solar finished, either not having heard Akira or just plain ignoring her. "I think the guild's getting antsy." As if to prove his claims, the guild members were seemingly becoming restless behind the quintet.

"Right," Arctic said, his steely composure finding its way back to the surface. He walked forward, with everyone else behind him. "Alright guys, let's go to the fields!" Arctic shouted towards the guild, to which everyone cheered.

(x)

The fields. This was the favorite spot of the entirety of the guild, especially on Fridays. That was the day where everyone went to the fields, and did whatever they wanted, be it train with other members, relax, or EXP grind; however they had to stay within range of the guild, and had to be finished by midnight at the latest. This was where the guild could cut loose, with full approval of the leader(s).

Mainly, when they got here, the leaders mainly trained, and the recruits followed their example despite being given free reign to do what they wanted. The training they did was always fruitful, as they either developed new techniques, or simply got EXP from killing the mobs in the region. The mobs were normally high level, so it was relatively easy to level up.

Today, Arctic, Solar, and Skye were interviewing the new recruits. Because Arctic couldn't be trusted to not become a nervous wreck when talking to Takano, Solar agreed to interview Takano, while Arctic and Skye were left to interview Akira. The recruits were mostly training with each other, with the others just relaxing after a stressful week of EXP grinding and training.

"So," Solar started, with Takano listening intently, "Akira said that you were one of the strongest people she knows. Care to explain why she thinks that? Or am I to assume that she over exaggerated your worth?"

Takano shook her head. "I can promise you that she wasn't exaggerating. I'm actually really good with an axe. Many people have told me that when they saw me fight. I'm surprisingly fast, and it takes a lot of strength to wield this axe." She took her axe off of her back, and presented it to Solar. Grabbing it, Solar viewed the flavor text, and saw that the axe was named "Hellraiser". After viewing its name and its stats, he nodded in approval, then gave the axe back to Takano who took it gratefully. "I've also been told that I am really silent, and stealthy. You know, despite the fact that I'm carrying a heavy weapon on my back." At this, Solar couldn't help but chuckle.

"I can see that you have a sense of humor." At this, Takano nodded. "But," Solar's voice was now lowered to a whisper, and Takano had to lean in to be able to hear Solar, "I can also see that you have feelings towards a close friend of mine." Takano blushed. "But I think he feels the same. That was actually the first time I ever saw him that nervous, even during the boss raids. In my opinion, just make the first move."

"..." Takano was speechless. Then, she said, "Akira actually told me that she likes you." At this, Solar raised an eyebrow. "If you want to know why she didn't react the same way I did to Arctic, it's because she told me that around you, she can just be herself, because she knows you won't judge. Either that, or it's because you two have met before."

"I bet I can ask Akira out faster than you can ask Arctic."

"You're on."

(x)

Meanwhile, while Solar was interviewing Takano, Arctic and Skye were interviewing Akira.

Arctic started, "You should know, Solar was adamant about you joining the guild. We'd like to know why."

Akira nodded, then said, "I worked with Solar at one point, during the first week of Sword Art Online. He can attest to what I'm about to say."

Skye said, "Well, we trust Solar, so if he vouches for you, then we believe him."

Akira drew a breath, then said, "I'm an agile player, but I'm still trying to see what weapon fits me. So far, maces do not work for me. I'm good with a sword, so I'm going to stick to that for now. I excel at performing combos, and I can deal very powerful blows."

"Powerful blows?" Arctic asked.

"Have you ever tried using an axe before?" Skye wondered.

Akira shrugged. "I normally leave that thing to Takano, because she's more of a natural than I am."

Arctic concluded this interview by saying, "Well, I guess we'll see if you're all the hype Solar implied."

Akira smiled kindly. "Thank you guys. For giving me a chance."

Skye returned the smile. "No problem."

After that, Akira immediately rounded on Arctic. "So, can you explain why you turned my friend into a nervous wreck?"

Arctic was confused. "Uh, what?"

"Never have I ever seen Takano that nervous before."

"Yeah." Suddenly Skye joined in. Arctic felt uneasy now. "I've never seen you that nervous before, either."

Arctic started blushing. "I mean…I have no idea how I feel about her. When I saw her, I was…surprised to say the least. I've never felt love for anybody other than my friends here, or my siblings IRL, so I can't say for sure how love for another person, let alone a complete stranger, feels like."

Skye bit her lip, which, thankfully, went unnoticed. She wished that she could tell Arctic that she knows how love for a stranger feels. But she thought that she would never have the chance.

Just then, fortunately for Arctic, Solar and Takano immediately walked up to the group. "Hey guys," Arctic said, drawing all attention away from himself. "Did you guys finish your interview?"

Solar and Takano simultaneously nodded, and Solar said, "Yeah, it went dandy. Akira, I need to talk to you. In private." Without a word, merely a glance at Arctic and the others, she got up and walked with Solar to a secluded area of the field.

"What's up?" Akira asked Solar uneasily.

"Don't bullshit me," Solar stated sternly, "Takano told me that you told her that you have feelings for me. Is that true?"

"I'm going to kill her," Akira mumbled under her breath. At this, Solar raised his eyebrow. After drawing in a breath, Akira looked Solar right in the eyes, and simply replied, "Yes, I do."

"..." Solar was silent for a few moments, which put Akira on edge. This time, Solar drew in a breath, and calmly asked Akira, "Do you want to go out tomorrow? I have a day off tomorrow, so we can go."

Akira smiled. "I'd like that."

A/N: Sorry guys, this is where things are going to end. Sorry there wasn't any action. Next chapter is going to make up for it, we swear. Also, a couple more OC's will be introduced in the next chapter, but one will be a baddie. Look forward to it.