The Tri-Blade Alliance
Chapter 13: The Shadow Killings-Part 1
S/N: We're back, with a special arc planned for Friday the 13th.
A/N: Hopefully, this will be one of the longer chapters. This arc itself will also be merged with the two-part episode, "Murder in the Safe Zone".
Disclaimer: We don't own SAO.
(x)
March 6, 2024
In the backroom of Lizbeth's Blacksmith Shop, Liz and one of her customers were busy with restoring the durability of the customer's weapons. Liz looked towards him while working and shook her head in disbelief. "I still can't believe you're Shadow."
Shadow, who had his hood and scarf down, replied, "You better believe it. You of all people know how much one person can change."
"Yeah, I know. But what happened to you-it was wrong. She shouldn't have died."
"On that, we can agree." The mercenary looked away. "I'd rather not talk about it, Liz."
"And knowing you, you didn't find anyone else, did you?"
"How could I? No one made me feel the way she did. She was the world to me. And I killed her."
Liz slammed the weapon down, shocking Shadow. "Don't do that bullshit. Don't say you killed her. It wasn't you."
"You weren't there."
Liz bit her lip, then picked up the weapon and continued to repair it. "You're right. I wasn't there. But I didn't have to be there to know that it wasn't you."
Shadow was silent for a minute. During that time, Liz repaired the weapon and handed it to Shadow. "Free of charge. You are a friend after all."
The hug that Shadow gave Liz was highly unexpected as she dropped the scythe. "I can't thank you enough, Liz."
"Relax," Liz said while returning the hug. "It's just a weapon."
"That's not what I'm talking about." Shadow pulled back and put his hands on her shoulders. "Thanks for agreeing to keep my secret. It means a lot."
"No problem." Liz picked up the scythe and winked and smiled at Shadow. "Now take your weapon and get out of here before I charge you."
Shadow smirked at her antics, then pulled his hood and scarf up and left with the scythe in his inventory.
(x)
April 11, 2024
Floor 59: Danac
"There you are." Shadow looked down from his tree branch to see Solar looking up at him with his arms crossed. "Where were you?"
"I don't follow."
"We had a raid this morning. It was a field boss, an INCREDIBLY stupid one, but we could've used your help."
"How stupid are we talking?"
"Sheeptar the Sheep King."
"..." Shadow was silent for a minute. He jumped down from his branch to face Solar. "I don't think I heard you right."
"No, you did. You should've been there. He was climbing the walls, spitting acid-"
"You sure it was a sheep? You most likely confused it for a very fluffy xenomorph."
"I don't know anymore. It even killed 12 of our players."
"Are your Tri-Bladers that weak?"
"They refused to fight a boss that stupid, so I had to work with the Holy Dragon Alliance."
"That explains it."
"I've just had a long day. You wanna get something to eat? I'll pay."
"Since you're offering."
(x)
Meanwhile, on the same floor…
Kirito was lying down on the grass, enjoying the peace and the warm sunshine when he heard someone speak behind him. "What are you doing?" the voice asked. Kirito opened his eyes and looked up to see Asuna standing above him with a sour expression on her face.
Kirito went back to relaxing. "Oh, hey. 'Sup?" was his only response.
"Everyone in the Assault Team is working their butts off to clear the dungeon, and where do I find you? Out here, taking a nap." Asuna leaned forward slightly. "Even if you're a solo player, you should take this more seriou―"
"Bet you didn't know this is Aincrad's nicest season," Kirito said, cutting her off. "Today's weather is at its optimum setting."
"Huh?" Asuna asked with a confused expression on her face.
"It'd be a waste to go to work on a day like this."
"Whatever," Asuna said. "I can't believe you. Do you even understand what's going on? Every day here is another one lost in the real world.
"Yeah, but right now, we're not in the real world, are we? We're in Aincrad." Asuna's expression softened after Kirito's retort as the wind picked up slightly, providing a nice breeze. "See?" Kirito asked. "Doesn't that breeze feel so good? And the sun…"
"Oh, come on!" Asuna said. "The weather's always the same here."
Kirito groaned in pleasure as the breeze continued. "If you laid down on the grass for a little bit, you'd understand." As soon as he finished that sentence, Kirito promptly fell asleep. Asuna looked around her surroundings, then up, and winced as she covered her eyes from the sunlight.
Eventually, she looked down at Kirito, who looked so peaceful sleeping that she couldn't help but join him.
Later…
Kirito woke up, having enjoyed his nap very much. He yawned and stretched and looked beside him―only to be shocked at the sight of Asuna sleeping next to him.
"Hey, would you look at that?" Kirito heard a voice speak. He turned to see three soldiers walking down the road that the field ended at. "Takin' a nap in the middle of the day?" the soldier who spoke continued.
"Some people sure got it easy," another soldier said as the trio walked past.
"Couple'a lazy losers, man," the third soldier said, as their voices―and bodies―retreated further down the road.
Once they were gone, Kirito looked back to the sleeping form of Asuna. "I can't believe she fell asleep," Kirito stated while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He turned back to look at her. Once he saw how peaceful she looked, he decided not to wake her.
Much Later…
Kirito sat on the stone wall separating the rest of the field, facing the sunset with his eyes closed. He opened them and turned as he heard Asuna sneeze behind him.
Asuna woke up, still looking sleepy, as she had drool dripping from her mouth and a blade of grass stuck on her left cheek. She looked around sleepily before finally focusing on Kirito. She gasped once she saw Kirito. She stammered, trying to come up with something to say, when Kirito said, "Good morning." An ironic statement, considering it was sunset. "You slept like a rock," he continued, the smile never leaving his face.
Asuna immediately got up and put her hand on her rapier, causing Kirito to panic and jump to the side of the wall that Asuna was not on. She sheathed her sword and was trembling with body aches as she removed her hand from her weapon. "You get one meal," she said while simultaneously looking down and blushing.
"Huh?"
"One meal!" She stood up straight and looked away. "All you can eat. My treat. Then we'll be even. Deal?"
Kirito stood there, not sure what to do, before he accepted her offer.
(x)
Floor 54: Spirit
"Are they here together?"
"You don't think they're…"
"Maybe?"
It was getting increasingly difficult for the leader and the mercenary to ignore the comments and whispers. Wanting to break the ice, Solar told Shadow, "You know they're calling you 'The Shadow of Sword Art Online', right?"
Shadow responded with, "And they're calling you 'The Savior of Sword Art Online'."
"Don't know why; I haven't done anything particularly important. Didn't even want to be seen that way."
"Well, if you think about it, you are the face of the most powerful guild in SAO, and you cleared most of the bosses. I only came in around Floor 50."
"And yet, tales of your heroics and your one-sided war against Laughing Coffin have spread, O Silent Savior."
"I like my nickname. It fits me."
"I don't like my nickname. I don't deserve it."
Eventually, the comments and whispers got enough when one girl asked, "Do you think they're dating?" to her friends.
Solar and Shadow both stood up and faced the crowd. Simultaneously, they said, "No! None of that!" They pointed at the crowd. "Shame on you." With that, they left after Solar left Col on the table to pay for their meal.
When they were outside, Shadow said, "I should go."
Solar nodded. "I'll see ya in the next boss raid."
"Floor bosses only."
"Got it." With that, the two shook hands and parted ways.
(x)
Floor 50: Algade
Agil looked behind him as his door opened. He broke into a smile when he saw who it was. "Shadow. How's my best customer?"
Shadow (unusually) gave Agil a brofist. "Not bad."
"Got anything for me today?"
"I could ask you the same. But yes, I do."
Agil beamed. "Great! What do you have to sell?"
Shadow opened his inventory in response. He showed Agil the items he desired to sell:
"Rakshasa's Claw (Dagger) (B Class)...3000 Col
"Level 50 Healing Potion (×5)...2500 Col
"Teleport Crystal (×8)...400 Col
"Bastard Sword (2-Handed) (A Class)...7500 Col
"Total Sum: 13400 Col."
"A good haul today?" Agil asked as he bought the items Shadow sold.
"Truth be told, I was planning on selling these for a couple weeks now. And I'd like to buy anything I didn't sell you."
Agil laughed. "That's not a lot of options, my friend. Anyways, rumors have been going around that you use scythes, now."
"Those rumors wouldn't be incorrect."
"If that's the case, someone brought in a weapon that I believe will be to your liking." Agil brought out the item from under his countertop. Shadow's eyes widened when he saw the scythe.
It was a true beauty; a jet black handle with a blood-red blade. The design on the blade itself was a white skull, and the handle of the scythe had finger grips near the top of the handle and the bottom of the handle. A menu popped up, and it read:
Purchase: Blood Rose (S-Class)?
Price: 500,000 Col
"Are you kidding me?" Shadow asked incredulously. "Someone sold an S-Class item?! Of all things?!"
"Do you want it?" Agil asked.
"Of course." With that, Shadow pressed 'Yes', and Blood Rose went into his inventory. As he purchased his new scythe, two pairs of footsteps entered the place. Without turning back, Shadow looked to Agil and said, "I can see you're going to be busy. I'll see myself out."
(x)
Kirito and Asuna were…surprised, to say the least, when they saw Shadow in Agil's shop. After hearing the mercenary say that he would leave, Kirito reached out and grabbed Shadow's arm before he could leave the room. As the mercenary turned around, Kirito told Shadow, "There's been a murder in the safe zone, and we could use your help."
Shadow shrugged. "Why not? Not like I have anything better to do, anyway." Shadow looked towards Agil. "You have a back room we could use?"
Agil nodded nervously, tensed up at the fact that Asuna of all people was in his shop because of Kirito. "Follow me."
As the quartet walked into the back room, Kirito, Agil, and Asuna sat down while Shadow remained standing. "We have a weapon that we need you to appraise," Asuna stated.
Agil raised an eyebrow. "What's so important about this weapon?"
This time, Kirito responded. "It's the murder weapon."
"So getting Agil to appraise the weapon would help you find the potential killer?" Shadow spoke up.
Asuna nodded. "That's right."
Agil held out his hand. "Let me see the weapon." Asuna dropped a sword in his hand. It was primarily red and had spikes on both sides of the blade. Agil appraised it, and said, "The weapon's name is Guilty Thorn. It's not a sword. It's a lance, and it's a player-made weapon."
"Who made it?" Kirito asked.
Agil peered over the appraisal menu. "A player named Grimlock."
"Maybe he's linked to Schmitt and Yolko?" Kirito asked.
"Maybe," Asuna said.
"Agil, let me see the weapon." When Agil gave Kirito the weapon, he proceeded to position the weapon over his arm. He thrusted it downwards, and a hand grabbed it right before it penetrated his arm.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Asuna yelled.
"I'm trying to see if this weapon has any effects, like if it's able to kill in a safe zone."
"What would you have to gain from stabbing yourself?!"
"Huh. You're right."
Something grabbed the weapon from Kirito's hand, and the trio turned to see Shadow drive the blade into his own arm, much to everyone's shock. The normally stoic mercenary grimaced. "This weapon will hurt. Like a bitch. The thorns on the side will provide a bleeding effect, but it certainly won't kill in a safe zone." He pulled the weapon out, and handed it back to Kirito and Asuna.
Asuna shook her head. "You keep it. Think of it as our reward for helping us."
Shadow sighed as he pulled the weapon back towards himself. "Handing the inconspicuous edgelord the murder weapon. Never gets old." With that, Shadow, Kirito, and Asuna left. Shadow parted from the two, and went about his own business.
(x)
(S/N: Time Skip to after Grimlock is taken away by Schmitt, Yolko, and Keins)
Kirito yawned and stretched as Yolko, Schmitt, and Kains walked away with Grimlock. "Hey." Asuna started. Kirito looked over to her as she continued. "Say it was you, and you married someone, and later on you found out she had a side to her you didn't know about. How would you feel?" Asuna looked towards Kirito, awaiting his response.
Kirito turned to face Asuna fully. "Well, I guess, that I was lucky?" He said this as a question because he wasn't sure. Noticing Asuna's expression, Kirito quickly added, "B-Because, I mean, if you marry someone, then that means that you already like what you know about them, doesn't it? And if you discovered something about them that you didn't know before, and fell in love with that, too, then wouldn't that be awesome?"
Asuna was silent for a moment, then closed her eyes as she said, "Right. Good answer. Anyway, I'm hungry after all this. I didn't get to finish my dinner."
"O-Oh, yeah, you didn't."
Asuna stretched as she said, "We should really get back to work tomorrow. We've been off the front lines for two days."
"Yeah, I was hoping to have this floor totally cleared by the end of this week." Asuna walked forward for a bit before Kirito grabbed her arm. "Now what?" Kirito merely pointed behind themselves. They turned saw a ghost. It looked like Griselda. Asuna was at a loss for words. She turned to Kirito and was even more shocked to see his jaw drop. She turned back to the ghost, only to see that it had left. The two stood for a second longer, watching the sunrise behind the tree in front of them. "Hey, Kirito? Do you wanna friend me?" Kirito looked towards Asuna in shock, to which she replied with, "It's kinda silly not to. It's convenient. We are on the same assault team, after all."
"But I'm a solo player. Besides, Shadow doesn't have friends."
"He's a mercenary. It's a different case for him. And I didn't say you had to form a party with me." She put her hand on her waist as she said, "You should try to make some friends while you're here."
"Yeah, I don't know. It's not that I don't want to, but―Hey!" Asuna smacked Kirito on the arm, surprising, but not hurting, the Beater.
"Think about it while we eat. C'mon," Asuna turned to leave, "let's go find a good restaurant."
"U-Uh, okay…" Kirito turned after Asuna.
As the two were leaving, Kirito saw something beyond the trees. He stopped Asuna and pointed it out to her. She had to squint to see it (her detection was not as high as Kirito's). She eventually saw it, and her jaw dropped when she laid her eyes on the scene.
She saw Shadow kneeling over a grave, not moving for a minute. Eventually, he stood up, and wiped his eyes. He turned to leave, and he eventually disappeared beyond their vision. They went to see what Shadow was doing over there. Asuna, however, was more focused on the fact that the mercenary could cry. Besides, they couldn't read the name of the grave even if they tried.
After all, it'd be impossible to read a stone with a sword stabbed through it, right?
(x)
Friday the 13th, April 2024
Floor 58: Rising Waters Hotel
"What happened here?" This was the first question that the leader of the Tri-Blade Alliance had for the HDA members on the scene when they called him and his girlfriend.
"You know about that whole 'Murder in the Safe Zone' thing that happened a couple of days ago?"
"That was proven to be a hoax, if I'm not mistaken."
"You're not." The two players walked into the hotel room. "Some kid heard screaming through the door. When he busted through it, all he saw was a weapon. He knew someone went in there earlier, so the room wasn't empty. You're going to want to see what the weapon used was. You might know what it is." The HDA guild member walked over to the bed in the room and picked up a weapon. He walked back to the TBA guild leader, and handed him the weapon. Solar examined it in his hand. It was a dagger. The weapon was serrated, and held a blood red to its blade, and was long enough to qualify as a shortsword. B-Class, from the looks of it. He appraised the weapon and drew in a sharp breath.
Akira peered from behind him, and grimaced. "Skye's not going to like this."
The menu read:
"Rakshasa's Claw (Dagger) (B Class)
Made by: Shadow"
(x)
End of Part 1