The Tri-Blade Alliance
Chapter 26: Brought to Light
A/N: There's something new we're trying this chapter, and it's at the end. Also, I'm fitting in both "The Sword Dance of Black and White" AND "The Blue-Eyed Demon", with some omissions. Just letting you know.
S/N: Disclaimer: We don't own Sword Art Online.
A/N: Oh, and one last thing… *walks over to you and grabs you by your shirt collar* Do not, and I repeat DO NOT, ask us to do more KiriSuna moments. We'll add them when necessary, skip them when necessary, and create new ones when necessary. Capische?
S/N: Dude, calm down. As much as I agree with you, you can't hurt the readers.
A/N: … *lets go of your collar* You should be glad he was here. *turns and leaves*
S/N: I'll… try to calm him down. *rushes after Arctic*
(x)
July 15, 2024
Arctic opened his eyes tiredly as the rising sun forced him to awaken from his slumber. He sat up from his bed and yawned as he stretched. Upon hearing shifting noises from his bed, he turned to see Skye sleeping on the side next to where he originally lied. He smiled upon seeing her peaceful expression and got dressed, having chosen not to wake her up yet.
Once he put on the last pieces of his equipment, he sat down next to his girlfriend, light as a feather. He poked her face, saying, "Wake up." He stopped only when she slapped his hand away.
"I'm up," she grumbled before sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her sun-colored orbs. Noticing Arctic sitting beside her fully dressed, she looked at him questioningly.
"You looked so cute and peaceful, I couldn't muster enough evil to wake you up," he clarified with an apologetic smile. Skye merely smiled warmly and pinched his cheek.
"Next time, just wake me up." She stood up and stretched while yawning. "Don't look this way," she ordered.
"Yes, ma'am," Arctic responded with an eyeroll, and turned in the opposite direction. Once she gave him the all-clear, he turned back around to face Skye.
"What's on your belt?" she asked as she pointed to the various silver trinkets connected to Arctic's belt.
"Silver to keep the werewolves away. I figured I'd leave Solar to deal with the vampires and you to handle the ghosts."
"Ha ha," Skye said sarcastically.
"In all seriousness, though, they're trophies. Of the murder guilds I took down."
"Ew, why would you wear those?" she questioned her boyfriend as they left the room.
"Say what you will; these provide some extremely useful buffs."
"Right. Well, what's on the agenda today?"
"Well, it is a free day. Maybe…" Arctic put a hand to his chin in thought. He snapped his fingers after planning his actions today. "Can you get Solar or Asuna to set up a meeting with Heathcliff?"
"What? Why?" Skye sent Arctic a questioning look his way.
"Shadow kept a lot of secrets; this one needs to be brought to light."
(x)
Heathcliff turned to face guest with a questioning look. "You wish to hold a meeting between all of the front-line players?"
"I also want to make it live for the civilians." Arctic bowed his head in apology. "Forgive me, Commander Heathcliff. I know I'm asking a lot of you."
"Nonsense," Heathcliff replied with a kind smile and a wave of his hand. "You and I are friends, Arctic. There is no need for such formalities. But I do wonder: why such a large audience for a small meeting?"
"It's not so much a meeting as it is a revelation; this is one secret I want to make public."
Heathcliff retained his smile. "Understood. I shall set up a space for you and have as many robots as I can spare recording."
Arctic picked his head up and smiled. "My thanks, Heathcliff. You don't know what this means to me."
"No worries, my friend. I shall see you soon."
(x)
"You sure you wanna do this?" Arctic turned to face Solar after the latter had spoken his question.
"I have to. I want everyone to know this secret, at least."
"If you say so." Solar left with Akira and Skye, giving the soon-to-be speaker time to compose himself. Eventually, Arctic left the room and approached the center of the stage, while the audience cheered upon his arrival. He turned to look back at his friends, who were sitting beside him. They smiled and encouraged him to start.
The hero cleared his throat as he faced the audience. "Thank you all for coming," he started. "And thank you, to those that are watching at home. Today, I have something to share with you. But before I get to that, I'll tell you a story first.
"The following event took place the same day after one of the most horrific events to have plagued everyone in Aincrad. I am, of course, referring to the Shadow Killings." Angry grumbles issued from the crowd. "Please calm down. Now, as I was saying, I was making my usual rounds of marking off what to sell the next day. To this day, I still don't know what prompted me to do it, but I did; I checked the 'Settings' option, and there it was." Arctic fell silent, and simply looked down to avoid the gaze of the audience.
"What was there?" a voice called out from the crowd. Arctic merely rubbed his eyes with two fingers and looked up, smiling sadly.
"'Would you like to logout?'" An uproar immediately ensued as the hero let the phrase escape his lips. He looked at his friends, and wasn't surprised to see them all staring at him in complete shock. "You heard right," he continued, facing the crowd once more. "I was given the option to logout of SAO."
"Why didn't you?" another player questioned.
"I'm not gonna lie, I damn near pressed yes. But then I thought of my friends; what I helped establish; the front-line fighters; and the helpless victims who had already resigned themselves to the possibility that they've no hope of escaping; and, most importantly, of the promise I had made."
"And that was?" Schmitt of the Holy Dragon Alliance asked the Tri-Blade Alliance's former leader.
"The promise was…" Arctic held a fist up to his face, and everyone felt the fire in his eyes ignite within them. "That I'd help get everyone out of the hell known as Sword Art Online, even at the cost of my life!" At the last few words, Arctic drew his Darkness Blade and raised it high, and everyone cheered and raised their weapons up in response, feeling hope instead of fear from the forbidden weapon.
(x)
October 17, 2024
Floor 74: Forest
That was three months ago. As a result of that speech, all of the front line fighters fought with a renewed vigor, and made sure to keep the casualties to a minimum. Hell, we even made it all the way to Floor 74 in that short amount of time. Kirito smiled to himself as he watched Arctic and Bella chat jubilantly ahead of him. He was confused as to why they both teleported away, until they came back not a second later.
"I can't believe it's still there!" Bella managed to let out through her laughter.
"Told you I wasn't lying," Arctic said, laughing with Bella.
"What wasn't there?" Kirito asked, confused as to what the topic of their humor is.
"The Kirito-sized hole you made in X'rphan's nest," Arctic answered.
"Y'know, I was wondering when you were going to show Bella," Kirito said with an annoyed look.
"Anyone hear that?" Kirito strained to hear what Arctic had heard, until Bella spoke up.
"I hear…" she stated with her eyes closed. A moment later, she opened them, and she smiled as her quicksilver eyes shone. "Rabbits."
"You mean 'dinner', right?" Arctic rhetorically asked, drawing a throwing knife while Bella and Kirito both drew throwing picks. They dashed towards the area Bella pointed towards, and hid in the greenery. Three rabbits with red eyes picked up on the noise they made, and ran in separate directions. Altogether, the three players got out of hiding and threw their weapons.
The dying squeals of tonight's dinner was all that filled the morning air.
(x)
"No way!" Agil said in awe when Kirito had showed the shopkeep what he caught with Bella and Arctic. "This is an S-class rare item! This is the first time I've ever seen one!"
"I'm letting that slide because you sold me an S-class weapon," Arctic merely remarked before taking another bite out of his sandwich as he leaned on the wall next to Agil's desk.
"Right. Sorry. But don't you already have all the money you need? I'll buy it, but wouldn't you rather eat it?"
"Sure, but who knows if I'll ever get another one?"
"Just go hunting with me again," Arctic replied, letting himself be known once again. "That should answer your question."
"I know, but you'll need an insanely high cooking skill to prepare an item like this."
"Yeah, you're right. If we tried, we'd just burn it," Agil said.
"I dunno about you, but I know at least 6 people within my guild who can prepare an S-class meal."
"And they are…?"
"Skye, Eros, Akira, Cupid, Solar, and Pearce."
"Wait, Pearce?" Kirito and Agil both asked with flabbergasted expressions.
"You guys are surprised that Pearce can cook, but not at the fact that Solar can?" Arctic questioned.
"We know Solar can cook," Agil responded.
"Hmmm…" Kirito put a hand to his chin in thought. "Can we borrow one of―?"
"Kirito!" a voice said from behind the three men. They all turned to see Asuna standing just inside the doorway, with an unpleasant-looking man standing a little behind her.
"I've got my chef!" Kirito softly proclaimed as he took one of Asuna's hand into both of his own.
"...?" Asuna had a confused expression on her face.
"Ahem," the unpleasant man said from the doorway, prompting Kirito to let go of Asuna's hand.
"H-hey, Asuna!" Kirito said, clearly happy to see his friend again. "Seeing you in a dump like this is weird."
"That's not very nice," Arctic remarked.
"Oh, save it. I came to see if you were still alive. It's almost time for the next boss raid," Asuna responded to the beater.
"Yes, I am still alive," Arctic interjected. "Don't worry, I'll be there."
"Well, hello to you too, Arctic." Arctic jubilantly waved back. "Anyway," she continued, turning back to Kirito, "what's all this about a chef?"
"Oh, yeah. I was wondering what your cooking skill level is," the beater explained.
"50,000 Col says she maxed it out recently," Arctic murmured to the shopkeep.
"Double or nothing, she maxed it out long ago," Agil replied in the same manner.
"Hehe, totally maxed it out last week," Asuna said triumphantly. Immediately after she said that, Arctic slammed Agil's desk and pointed a finger at the shopkeep.
"You owe me 100,000 Col!" he proudly declared. Noticing the stares of the chatting players, he quickly added, "Oh, don't mind me. Keep going."
"Right. Anyway, if you're that good, I need a favor," Kirito said, ignoring what just happened. He pulled up the item he wanted Asuna's help with, and the vice commander's jaw dropped upon seeing the item.
"Wha-?!" She looked at Kirito in shock. "Y-you got...a Ragout Rabbit?!"
"So, I'll trade you." This statement brought Asuna's attention back to the black-clad player. "All you have to do is cook it up for me, and I'll let you have a little bite." Kirito was surprised when Asuna leaned over and grabbed him by his collar.
"Half," was all she said as she pulled him closer. "Deal?"
"Y-yeah, deal," Kirito quickly consented to the female's terms out of fear for his life.
"Alright!" Asuna smiled widely as she let Kirito go. As soon as he was released, he turned to Agil.
"Sorry, pal," he said. "Guess I'm keeping it," he finished as he walked out of the shop.
"Yeah, but you can at least let me taste it, right?" Agil begged of the beater. "I thought we were tight, man!"
"I'll write a review for you, but only two pages. Promise!" Kirito called over his shoulder as he and Asuna left the shop.
"T-that's cold…" Agil was brought out of his sorrows when Arctic put a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, buddy. You finally get to go to my house!" Arctic stated with a humorous smile.
"You're not gonna rephrase that anytime soon, are ya?" Agil asked, sweat dropping.
"You should know the answer by now."
"So, where am I going to cook it?" Asuna asked the beater.
"Uh, well…" Kirito smiled awkwardly. Asuna sighed in exasperation.
"I'm guessing not your place. Do you even own any cookware? Okay," she said without waiting for an answer, "because the main ingredient is special, I won't mind if we use my place."
"Hold on, ma'am," Asuna's escort said, attracting the attention of the other two outside. "I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to go home with such a shady character."
"I don't know how shady he is," Asuna retorted, "but I do know he is skilled. Ten levels above you, in fact, Kuradeel." The argument was causing a scene, as apparently, a crowd had gathered around the three.
"Are you implying I'm inferior to him?" Kuradeel asked, clearly offended. "Oh, I know. He's one of those beaters, isn't he?"
"Yeah, what if I am?" Kirito replied.
"You shouldn't go with him, ma'am! All him and his scum kind care about are themselves!"
"Whoa, now!" Arctic stepped between the escort and beater, and put his hands up to stop them from approaching each other. "We're all friends here, aren't we?"
Kuradeel scoffed. "You shouldn't be saying anything, mercenary! Your kind are far worse than his!" he spat, motioning to Kirito for reference. Arctic's eyes darkened at the insult.
"Watch what you say," he stated in a low voice. "Or Heathcliff will wonder why Asuna's bodyguard suddenly disappeared."
"That's enough, Kuradeel!" Asuna stepped in front of Kuradeel. "I'm the vice commander, and I order you to go home," she stated in a commanding tone.
"Tch!" Kuradeel walked away from the group. Asuna walked the other way with Kirito.
"Asuna!" The two assault team members turned to Arctic and Agil. "Can you send Skye a message for me?" the mercenary asked.
"Sure." Asuna prepared to send a message to the desired player. "What is it?"
"Tell her…" Arctic wrapped an arm around Agil's shoulder and pulled him in close. "That I'm bringing my bisexual lover home for dinner tonight, and nothing she or the others can say will change that." Agil immediately blushed bright red and struggled to get out of his friend's grip. "Come on, our love is nothing to be ashamed about," Arctic stated as he tightened his grip on Agil.
"That's not fair," the shopkeep choked out.
"You want that rabbit, you deal with my bullshit."
"THAT'S NOT FAIR!"
"Yes, it is～!"
"THAT'S! NOT! FAIR!"
"FINE PRINT, MOTHERFUCKER! DO YOU READ IT?!"
"..." Asuna sent a very watered-down version of Arctic's message to his girlfriend and walked away with Kirito, who couldn't stop laughing his ass off at the bickering "couple".
"Come on, didn't you find that funny?" Kirito asked the vice commander as he wiped away his tears.
"Oh no, I did," Asuna replied without looking at the beater. She looked back towards Arctic. Her smile was a mixture of sadness and relief. "But it's hard to see his jokes in the same light after everything that's happened with him."
"True. Y'know what I think?"
"What?"
"We shouldn't talk about this now." Kirito stretched as he and Asuna continued walking to the latter's home. "It'd be a waste to get the mood down before the main course."
"Yeah, you're right. Let's just go."
(x)
Floor 61: Selmburg
Asuna's Hometown
"Whoa," Kirito softly said as he looked around Asuna's town. "So this is your hometown?" he said in a louder voice. "It's huge! And there's hardly anyone around...It's really cool."
"If you like it so much, why don't you move here?" Asuna asked the beater without looking back.
"I don't know, this floor seems way out of my price range…"
"Ask the Tri-Blade Alliance, or Arctic, for a small loan."
Kirito scoffed. "Please. With the amount I'd need, I'd be forced to work off that debt for as long as we're here―and then some. And I doubt Bella would help."
"Yeesh. Never mind, then."
"Anyway, what's the deal with that guy back there? He was mad-dogging me and Arctic like crazy…"
"It's dumb. The guild didn't have all these rules and regulations before. We were really small. Then more people kept joining up. When we became one of the strongest guilds, everything started getting weird." Kirito remained silent as he processed what the vice commander told him. "Well, i'm probably making a big deal out of it than it is. Anyway, we better hurry. It's getting dark."
At Asuna's home…
"Wow, you've got a killer pad. How much did all this cost?" the beater inquired of the vice commander as they stepped into the home of the latter.
"Umm," Asuna started, looking around the room for reference, "the room and the furniture cost around four million Col...Anyway, make yourself at home."
"Holy moly, four million…" Kirito whispered as he sat down on one of the chairs. "I'm sure I've earned that much too, but blowing it all on a flat…?" He heard a sound behind him, and turned to see Asuna wearing casual clothes with an apron.
"Are you going to take your coat off or what?" Asuna asked Kirito, oblivious to his staring. Kirito snapped out of his stupor after she said that.
"O-oh, yeah, sorry." Kirito removed his coat and gave Asuna the main ingredient for their dinner.
"So this is the legendary S-class ingredient…" She began pondering on how to cook it, and turned to Kirito. "Okay, so how do you want this cooked up?"
"I thought I'd leave that decision up to the chef," Kirito replied, looking straight at Asuna.
"In that case…" She began to walk around the kitchen, gathering various vegetables and setting them down next to a countertop with a cutting board and kitchen knife. "How about we make it into a stew?" She got to work, cutting the vegetables and dumping them in the water-filled pot. "Ragout... That's pretty much the definition of a stew. In real life there'd be a lot more steps involved in preparing this. Cooking in SAO is so simple. Believe it or not, it's kind of boring." She placed the now-filled pot in an oven and set the temperature. "That takes care of that. Now for the next step. I was thinking about making a couple side dishes."
Later…
"Heh, all done!" Asuna walked into the dining room and set the pot full of stew down in front of Kirito. He stood up in excitement as she made him a plate. Together, they both began to feast.
(x)
The two let out contented sighs as they set their plates down. "My first S-class food ever in two years here," Asuna mused. "I'm so glad I survived long enough to eat that!"
"Yeah, me too," Kirito said in the same satisfied tone she shared.
"It's so weird. Sometimes, I get this feeling that I've lived here my entire life," Asuna said with a slightly sad look on her face.
"Me, too… In fact, there's days when I don't even think about the real world at all," Kirito said, now more serious than before. "It's not just me," he continued. "These days, more and more people don't seem to care about getting out of here."
"I guess they're all used to this place…"
"..." Kirito remained silent.
"But I want to go back. I mean, there are things I haven't done yet. I have to!"
"I know how you feel. And it's not fair to all those people who still count on us if we give up."
"Nuh uh, don't go there," Asuna interrupted before Kirito could speak again.
"What?"
"I've seen that look on guys' faces before and always right before they propose to me."
"WHA-?!" Kirito was now blushing in embarrassment at that thought.
"Heh, you should see your face!" Asuna smiled. "I guess you've never had a girlfriend before, hm?"
"...Whatever, I'm a solo player," Kirito replied as his blush disappeared.
"And you're okay with that?" Asuna questioned. She lost her smile as she said, "I know that beta players don't fit in with the guilds. But ever since we got to Floor 70…" Asuna thought of what to say next. "Things are getting more dangerous. The monster algorithms are even more irregular."
"Yeah…" Kirito agreed.
"There are things a solo player can't handle. Unexpected things. Warping out isn't always an option."
"Try telling that to Arctic."
"Even his crystal has its limits."
"Well, I'm pretty careful anyway. And besides, I work better alone. Besides, party members just get in the way most of the time."
"Oh really?" In a flash, Asuna took a small kitchen knife and held in front of Kirito, ready to stab the beater. "Hmph!"
"M-My bad. Everyone except for you."
"And your friends."
"And my friends!"
"Good. So what do you say you and me team up again? Black's my lucky color this week anyway."
"H-Hold up a sec!" Kirito protested. "Don't you have stuff you have to do for your guild? You can't bail on them!"
"It's not like we have any leveling quotas to meet."
"W-Well, then what about your bodyguard?"
"I'll just ditch him," Asuna casually said as she sent Kirito a party request. "Okay?"
"The front lines ARE dangerous, though…" Kirito was interrupted when Asuna repeated her action with the kitchen knife from earlier, only charging it with a sword skill this time, and with her eyes darkened by a shadow. "O-Okay, fine!" Begrudgingly, Kirito accepted the party request and Asuna backed off.
"Well, I suppose thanks are in order for the meal, so… thank you."
"Thank YOU for cooking it. Next ti… ah, who am I kidding? I'll never land anything like that again."
"You could always―"
"Even though it benefits me, I am not partying with Arctic and Bella again."
"That's your choice. Besides, you can make anything yummy if you have the skills to cook."
"..." For a moment, Kirito remained silent. Seeing what this world's become since we got here… Is this really what Kayaba wanted to create?
(x)
"Where is she?" Kirito asked himself as he sat down at the edge of the massive teleport crystal at Kambet in Floor 74.
As he said that, the crystal behind him activated, and a voice called, "Gyaaaaaaaah! Watch out!"
"Wh-Wha―" was all Kirito had time to say before Asuna landed on top of him. "Owwwww…" Kirito groaned. His hand was currently grabbing something soft. "Huh? What is this thing?" He squeezed it once before realizing what it was.
"Y-You―!" Asuna knocked Kirito away into a nearby pillar.
"M-My head…" Kirito groaned as he rubbed the now sore spot on his head. He looked back over to Asuna, who was glaring at him angrily and was furiously blushing. "U-Um… H-Hey, good morning, Asuna…" the beater said cheerfully.
"..." Asuna kept glaring at Kirito.
"Why are you behaving like this, ma'am? I'm only following orders," Kuradeel said as he appeared in front of the crystal. "Please, let's go back to headquarters."
"I won't! Especially not with you. Why were you lurking around my house in the morning, huh?!" Asuna turned her gaze to Kuradeel.
"My mission is to guard you, no matter where you are, including your home."
Asuna now had a shocked look on her face. "No it isn't, you idiot!"
"I wish you were more understanding about this, ma'am. Now then, let's return to headquarters."
Kirito stepped in between them. "Sorry, but I'll be borrowing your vice commander for the day. You'll have to make do without her." Upon noticing Kuradeel's look, Kirito added, "Don't worry. It's not like we're going on a boss raid. You can go. She'll be fine with me."
"Insolent punk!" Kuradeel said with a look of rage contorting his face. "A low-level player like you could never protect her!"
"I can do a better job of it than you," Kirito replied.
"You've got a big mouth, kid. I'm going to give you a chance to prove just how tough you really are!" Kuradeel opened his menu and sent Kirito a duel request.
Kirito stared at the duel request for a moment. "Are you sure?"
"Don't worry," Asuna interjected. "I'll tell the commander how this happened."
"Okay." Kirito accepted the duel request.
"Please move to a safe distance, ma'am," Kuradeel looked over at Asuna. "I'll prove beyond any doubt that I alone can protect you!"
As the beater and the bodyguard got ready to duel, several onlookers watched and muttered amongst themselves. "Kirito's gonna duel a guy from the Knights of the Blood Oath!" One onlooker said.
"This'll be fun to watch!" Another replied. Meanwhile, a strange man that no one payed attention to watched.
As the duel clock counted down, Kirito and Kuradeel stared each other down. As soon as the clock hit zero, Kuradeel rushed towards Kirito, who ran faster towards his opponent. There was the sound of steel hitting steel, and Kuradeel looked down at his weapon in shock to see it broken. "I-I can't believe it…!" Kuradeel gasped in shock when his weapon shattered in his hand.
"Holy-! He just destroyed his sword!" The First onlooker who spoke exclaimed to his friend.
"I'll be glad to take you on if you want to try again with another weapon. Or we can call it a day," Kirito calmly said as he sheathed his blade, and a 'winner' symbol appeared over him.
"Y-You punk!" Kuradeel growled. "Try this dagger on for size!" Kuradeel, as he was talking, equipped a dagger and rushed at the beater once again. However, Kuradeel's knife was knocked upwards by Asuna's rapier.
"A-Asuna…! I don't know how, but he cheated! You saw how he destroyed my sword!" Kuradeel attempted to justify his actions.
"..." Asuna remained silent.
"He must've used some kind of trick! There's no other way I could've lost to a pathetic beater like him!"
"..." Despite Kuradeel's accusations, Kirito remained silent.
"Kuradeel. As Vice Commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath," Asuna spoke, "I'm relieving you of your duties as my bodyguard. You will wait for further orders at headquarters."
"D-Damn you…" Kuradeel growled. He turned and walked to the teleport gate. "Teleport: Grandzam!" Kuradeel disappeared in a flash of blue light.
"I'm so sorry," Asuna said as she turned to face Kirito. "I didn't mean to drag you into that."
"No, it's no big deal," Kirito responded with a wave of his hand. "I'm worried about you. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I've been so focused on clearing the game, maybe I've been too demanding of the other members," Asuna explained as she looked around the town square.
"But do you think your guild would have gotten this far if you'd done anything different?" Kirito responded, prompting Asuna to face him again. "So what if you take a day off to team up with a loser like me? No one's got the right to complain."
"Heh, wow. Thank you for your opinion on the subject," Asuna said with a smile. "Okay, I accept your offer. I'll take a day off from the guild. You can play forward today," she finished as she walked away from the town square.
"H-huh? Wait a second!" Kirito called to her as he ran to catch up with his fellow party member. "Aren't we supposed to take turns as forward?"
(x)
Floor 74: Boss Dungeon
"Kirito, look!" Asuna said as she pointed to a door in front of the pair. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Uh-huh…" Kirito said as he affirmed her suspicions. "We found the boss room."
"What do we do? You think we should look inside?"
"Boss rooms never leave the rooms they guard. I think we'll be okay if we just take a a teleport crystal ready, just in case."
"Right." Asuna took out a teleport crystal.
"Alright, I'm opening it…" Kirito slowly opened the door, and they walked in. The room was completely dark, the only source of light being the open door. In front of them was a giant blue minotaurus sitting on a throne. When the two stepped further into the room, candles all around them lit up and the boss opened its eyes and roared. The boss's name read, The Gleam Eyes.
Kirito and Asuna ran out of there screaming at the top of their lungs.
(x)
"That one's gonna be tough to beat," Asuna stated as she and Kirito sat down, leaning on one of the "pillars" located throughout the dungeon.
"You're right. I saw he only had that one big sword, and I'll bet it's got special attacks, too."
"We're gonna have to put tanks in the front row and keep switching out just to wear it down."
"Yeah, and it wouldn't hurt to have about ten shield users."
"Shield users, huh…" Asuna eyed the beater with an air of suspicion. "You're hiding something, aren't you?"
"What're you talking about?" Kirito asked, suddenly uncomfortable.
"I just realized something. The biggest advantage of using a one-handed sword is that you can also use a shield. But now that I think about it, I've never seen you using one."
"U-um, what about―?"
"Don't bring the Tri-Blade Alliance's elites into this. And besides, only Arctic, Solar, Skye, and Eros use swords, and Arctic also has the Grey Star, while Solar has the Quick Draw. Skye, Eros and I don't use shields because they'll slow us both down. Others don't because they think it looks dumb. But neither of those excuses apply to you, do they? Very suspicious."
"..."
"Oh, never mind!" Asuna stated cheerfully, dropping the topic. "It's rude to ask people to justify their skills."
"Phew," Kirito said silently as Asuna opened her inventory.
"Since it's gotten so late," the vice commander said, holding out a sandwich to Kirito, "we might as well have lunch here!"
"Really?!" Kirito asked in glee. "Did you make it yourself?"
"Yep! But you'd better take your gloves off before you eat."
"Oh, right!" As Kirito removed his gloves, Asuna handed him the sandwich. Once he took a bite out of it, he remarked, "This is good! How'd you get it to taste so amazing?"
"I used Aincrad's spices," Asuna explained to the beater. "I've studied all their parameters in the flavor re-creation engine." She took out a bottle of green liquid and poured some on Kirito's outstretched hand. "This was made with grogua seed, shugra leaf, and calim water."
When Kirito tested it, his eyes widened. "What the―?! That tastes like mayonnaise!" Asuna took out a bottle filled with purple liquid.
"And I made this using abilba seed, sag leaves, and ulafish bone."
"Whoa! That tastes exactly like―like soy sauce!"
"And that's what I made the sauce for the sandwich from."
"Amazing! It's perfect! Have you thought about selling these? 'Cause you'd make a fortune! Wait, no." Kirito looked down with his eyes closed. "You can't sell it."
"Huh?" Asuna asked, clearly confused. "But...why not?"
"Because there wouldn't be any left for me."
"Ugh, you're so greedy," Asuna stated as she rolled her eyes. She looked away with a slight blush on her cheeks. "If you like it that much, I could always make more…"
"Hm?" Kirito looked up in alarm. "Someone's coming!" Kirito and Asuna looked in front of them as Fuurinkazan walked up to them, with Klein being the lead.
"Hey, Kirito!" Klein smiled widely as he waved to Kirito. "How ya doin', buddy?"
Kirito smiled back as he stood up. "Hey, Klein. Still alive, huh?"
"Geez, you're the same as ever," Klein muttered before running up to his friend.
"Hm?" Asuna said in confusion.
Klein finally took notice of the girl that was standing next to Kirito. "Wait, whoa! You're a solo player. What the hell are you doing with a…" He took notice of the girl standing next to Kirito. "...A girl?!"
Kirito looked back and forth between the guild leader and the vice commander. "I, uh, could've sworn you met before at one of the boss fights, but I'll introduce you anyway." Kirito looked to Asuna and gestured to Klein. "This is Klein, of the Fuurinkazan guild." Kirito looked to the stunned Klein and gestured to Asuna. "And this is Asuna, of the Knights of the Blood Oath." Kirito took notice of Klein's current situation. Worried for his friend, he said, "Hey, c'mon,say something. Are you lagging or something?"
"Um, er, hi!" Klein spoke as he lowered his head to Asuna and held out his hand to her. "I'm Klein! I'm 24, and single, and looking for a girlfr―"
"HYAH!" Klein was cut off when Kirito punched him in the gut.
"Did he just punch the boss?!" One of the Fuurinkazan members shouted.
"Eh?!" Kirito said in bewilderment as the others crowded around him.
"..." For a moment, the rest of the guild was silent as they stared at Asuna. "WHOA! ARE YOU REALLY THAT ASUNA?!"
"We're all such huge fans!" Another said.
Seeing Asuna getting a bit flustered, Kirito said, "Don't worry, it's cool! These guys are okay. Well, I don't know about Klein, but―" The beater was cut off when Klein, having fully recovered, stomped on his foot.
Klein wrapped his arm around Kirito and pulled him close, turning away from Asuna. "Heh! What'd you say about me, you little weasel?"
"Heh… Hehehehe!" Asuna giggled upon seeing this interaction.
"What's the deal, man? Spill it!" Klein egged Kirito for details about his 'relationship' with Asuna.
"Excuse me." The boys turned to look at Asuna. "Kirito and I are together because we're sort of...in a party."
"Kirito, you son of a―!"
"Hey! Kirito!" Asuna got Kirito's attention away from Fuurinkazan and pointed in the same direction the guild came from. Approaching them was a squadron of players, all dressed in battle armor and carrying lances. The one that was apparently leading the squadron had a red cape over his shoulder.
"Are they in the Army?" Kirito asked as they got closer. The Army, officially known as the Aincrad Liberation Force (ALF), was currently the largest guild in SAO; not even the Tri-Blade Alliance's numbers could keep up. However, unlike the TBA and KOB, who were mainly floor-clearing guilds/armies, the ALF were seeking to maintain peace and organization among the citizens in SAO, mostly in Floor 1. "That's the big guild that runs Floor 1. What are they doing up here?"
Once the Army reached Kirito, Asuna, and Fuurinkazan, the leader turned around and ordered, "At ease!" As soon as he said that, all of the soldiers collapsed and sat down, panting and gasping for breath. Ignoring them, the leader turned to face the others. "I'm with the Aincrad Liberation Force. (S/N: I don't care what the anime said, I'm keeping their name as the Liberation Force. Sounds cooler than Army, anyway) Lieutenant Colonel Corvatz." He held out his hand to the black-clad swordsman. "Hand over your map data for the area ahead and we'll be on our way."
Klein stepped forward. "You want us to just...GIVE it to you?!" The guild leader asked angrily.
Corvatz stepped forward as well. "We share our information and resources with civilian players all the time!" Corvatz justified. "We maintain order in the chaos of battle so that all players can leave this world as quickly as possible! Therefore, it is your DUTY to cooperate with us! So hand over that map!" He finished in his own angry tone.
"Listen, you!" Asuna stepped forward, ready to give the commander a piece of her mind.
"Easy," Kirito calmed his friends down. "I was gonna go public with the map once we got back to town anyway." Kirito calmly gave a now calm Corvatz the map data. "Oh, but if you're planning to hit the boss, I wouldn't recommend it."
"That is MY decision to make," Corvatz stressed.
"Hey, I just took a look inside the room, pal, and you can't beat that boss if your troops are half-dead!" Kirito gestured to the exhausted squadron. "Look at 'em! They're exhausted!"
"Nonsense! My men are tougher than that! They won't quit until I give the order!" Corvatz turned around and walked to the back of his squadron. Once he reached the back of it, he turned to his squadron. "On your feet! Come on, move!"
Begrudgingly, the squadron rose up (with some having to use their weapons as support), and they marched off, following Corvatz to the boss room. Once they were out of earshot, Kirito said, "Maybe we should keep an eye on them...just in case." Kirito began walking ahead.
Before his guild folllowed, Klein said, "So, uh, anyway, Asuna...I've got a favor to ask."
"Hm?" The girl in question looked at Klein.
"He's a bit of a loner, hard to talk to, addicted to combat...But he's a good guy. Take care of him, will ya?" the guild leader requested as he bowed to Asuna out of respect.
Breaking her gaze from Kirito, who was at the front of the group, Asuna looked at Klein and said, "Okay." When Klein looked back up at her, she smiled. "I promise he's in good hands!"
(x)
"HYAH!" Klein shouted as he cut down a Lizardman Lord, causing it to shatter. "That's the last one. Only thing left is the boss's room. Maybe those guys used some kinda teleportation thingy to go back." That theory was disproved when a scream rang out.
"Asuna!" Kirito said to the vice commander, who nodded and followed the beater to the boss room. Klein stayed behind to fight off the Lizardman Lords that had respawned.
Screams kept ringing out as the two party members booked it to the boss room. "Idiots," Asuna said under her breath.
They ran through the open door, after which Kirito asked, "Hey! You guys okay?!" The two gasped in shock as they grasped the scenario before them.
The boss and the army troops were encircled in a ring of fire, and the only exit points were behind the boss, who was blocking the men from escaping. Watching the exhausted soldiers getting knocked around, Kirito said, "Don't just stand there! Use your teleport crystals!"
"We can't!" one of the army members shouted back. "Th-the crystals aren't working!"
"I-I've never heard of a trap like this being in a boss room before," Asuna said worriedly as Kirito underwent flashbacks of the Moonlit Black Cats.
"The Aincrad Liberation Force doesn't know the word retreat!" Corvatz shouted as he pointed his sword at the boss. "COME ON! KEEP FIGHTING!"
"They're insane,"Kirito said under his breath.
"Hey, the hell's going on?" Klein demanded once he reached the watching duo.
"They can't use their teleportation crystals," Kirito explained to Klein. "We could distract the boss, but going in there's too risky."
"Isn't there something we can do?" Kirito didn't respond as the flashbacks continued.
"Ready? CHAAAARRGE!" Corvatz roared as his men followed his orders.
"DON'T DO IT!" Kirito's warning was in vain, as the boss had roared and let out a breath of fire that showered the helpless soldiers. The Gleam Eyes then charged a sword skill and thrust it down onto the men, knocking them all down, and slashed Corvatz, who was sent flying and fell in front of Kirito and the others.
Kirito ran towards Corvatz and knelt before the fallen captain. "Hang on, Corvatz!" However, Corvatz's helmet shattered, leaving Kirito to see the scared look and helpless tears that pooled in the commander's eyes, before he ultimately shattered.
Corvatz had died.
Asuna had her hand over mouth in a gesture of horror as she watched the scene unfold before her. "No," she whispered, then gasped in shock as she saw the boss getting ready to cut down another soldier. As the boss raised its sword, Asuna trembled as she continued to whisper, "No...I can't...NOOOOO!" She screamed the last word as she drew her rapier and charged at the boss.
"ASUNA!" Kirito called after his fellow party member as he rushed after her.
"...Oh, what the hell!" Klein said as he dashed in after Kirito. Asuna had repeatedly stabbed the boss from behind, drawing its attention to her instead of the soldier. The boss parried Asuna's next strike and punched her away, sending her rolling across the ground. The boss raised its sword, ready to deliver the killing blow…
When the room suddenly darkened, and the sound of steel meeting steel rang in everyone's ears. When the room lit up again, everyone saw, to their relief, that Arctic had parried the boss's strike. He capitalized on this by performing the skill Tsumujiguruma: He crouched while charging his sword and jumped up high, twisting his body mid-air before launching himself to the ground and unleashing a heavy horizontal slash that hit in a 360-degree arc, a move that proved very effective in stunning and damaging the boss.
When he turned to Asuna, and eventually Kirito, he stated in an evenly measured tone, "You should be counting your stars Klein messaged us."
"Wait, us?" Kirito managed to get out through his surprise. Arctic's only response was a finger pointed at the door to the dungeon, where the others saw the elite members of the Tri-Blade Alliance.
Solar ran in, shouting orders to his guild. "Pearce, Cupid: distract the boss! Akira, Skye, Eros: help Arctic get the soldiers out!"
"Got it!" everyone responded as they followed their orders.
After making sure the soldiers got out safe, Solar turned to Kirito, who had helped Asuna up. "What were you thinking, trying this boss on your own?"
"Don't blame him," Klein explained. "Corvatz forced his men to try and take on the boss."
"That idiot," Solar muttered under his breath. "Where is he now?" Kirito, Asuna, and Klein all looked down.
"He's dead," Kirito stated.
"Oh." Solar looked away. "A shame. He was a good man."
"The boss is recovering!" Cupid exclaimed as she landed near Solar, drawing everyone's attention back to the boss.
"Guys, I'm gonna need ten seconds! Keep him off me!" the beater stated as he opened his skills list.
"Got it!" Solar relayed the request to Arctic, who had appeared at that moment. The Blue Shadow nodded and rushed the boss with his friends. The group were doing all they could to help Asuna and Klein aggro the boss towards them and not Kirito.
Asuna had parried a strike when Kirito shouted, "OKAY! I'M READY!" He ran at the boss. "SWITCH!" Asuna switched out with Kirito as the boss brought his sword down.
Everyone watched as Kirito parried the blow with his Elucidator…
And continued to watch in utter shock as he pulled out the sword that formed behind his left shoulder and struck the boss with his Elucidator and Dark Repulsor.
Kirito used his dual blades to block and catch the Gleam Eyes' sword and pushed it back with all his might, stunning the boss.
Okay...Here goes... Kirito opened his eyes as he shouted, "Starburst Stream!" He slashed the boss across the waist with one sword, slashed it again with the other, jumped up and slashed it two more times, and brought his blades across to the right for another two hits. He brought his blades down, then back up, adding another four hits to the combo.
The boss roared in pain, and all everyone could do was watch as Kirito displayed his new sword skill. "What the hell kinda skill's that?" Klein asked aloud, to no one in particular. The boss had slashed Kirito, but the beater had paid no attention to it. Faster... Kirito stabbed the boss and brought his blades down. The boss had hit Kirito again and knocked the blades out of his hand, but Kirito simply caught them and reversed his grip on them. The two figures were locked in a power struggle by this point, one that Kirito won as he slashed the boss again.
Tanking the punch the Gleam Eyes hit him with, Kirito told himself, Gotta go faster! And faster he went, as Kirito began repeatedly hitting the boss, reaching a speed where his consecutive hits became an azure cyclone. The boss had caught Kirito's Elucidator in an attempt to avoid the killing blow, but it could not stop his fully charged Dark Repulsor from striking it in its inner thigh.
The boss shattered, and Kirito asked quietly, "Is it...over…?" before standing up straight and looking at his rewards, the "CONGRATULATIONS!" sign shining in front of him.
Kirito sneaked a look at his HP, which was at one. He promptly collapsed on his back and his vision faded to darkness.
(x)
"KIRITO! WAKE UP, KIRITO!" Kirito tiredly opened his eyes to see Asuna kneeling above him, tears welling in her hazel orbs.
Kirito groaned as he sat up. "Oh man, my head," he held his head in pain and looked around to see everyone crowded around him. "That was too close. How long was I out for?" he asked Asuna as she wiped her eyes.
"Just a few seconds," the vice commander replied. "You reckless idiot!" she cried out, wrapping Kirito in a tight hug, crying into the shoulder of his jacket.
Getting out of his shock, Kirito smiled as he realized how much Asuna cared about im. "Jeez, don't hug me so hard. I'll lose the last of my HP," he joked.
Klein walked forward, obviously having heavy news to deliver. "Corvatz and two of his men are the only ones who didn't make it."
Kirito looked down sadly. "We haven't lost a player in a boss fight since Floor 67."
"Yeah, bye," Arctic stated as he walked up the stairs to the next floor, despite the others' attempts to stop him, and disappeared.
"That wasn't a boss fight―that was suicide," Klein responded.
"I HEARD THAT!" The players that were still upright jumped at Arctic's shout.
"Corvatz was a damn fool…" Klein looked down, saddened by the loss of another player.
"I hear you," Skye said as she patted Klein's arm comfortingly. "There's no point to this if you just die." Klein smiled at the female, who smiled back and walked up the stairs to find her boyfriend.
Klein shook off the grief and just smiled. "You're not off the hook, either. What the hell'd you do just now?" he directed the question to Kirito.
"I don't think you wanna know," the beater responded.
"Oh, come on! I've never seen anything like that before!"
"Klein," Solar intervened. "I've been in his situation; if he doesn't want to share, then he doesn't want to share."
"It's okay, Solar," Kirito said. He looked away. "It's an extra skill I picked up: 'Dual Wielding'."
Klein and his guild gasped. "Are there any prerequisites?!" Klein asked as he stepped forward.
Kirito smiled. "If I knew that, I'd have shared it by now."
Pearce quickly opened his menu and scrolled down the skill list. "Strange. It isn't in the info broker's skill list," the archer said aloud. "That means it's exclusive to you, right?"
"That means that you and I have Unique Skills, Kirito," Solar remarked.
"About six months ago, I was scrolling through my skill menu. And it was just...there," Kirito explained. "'Dual Wielding.' But if anyone else found out I had a skill like this…"
"They'd get pissed 'cause you had something they didn't," Klein realized.
"When I revealed the Quick Draw, everyone was just...amazed, and just kept asking me for a demonstration. One of the reasons why I didn't reveal it before I did," Solar gave his input.
"Thank you, maxed-out Straining skill," Arctic said aloud as he and Skye walked back in. "You still owe us an explanation―when and how the hell did you get the Quick Draw?"
"U-ummm…." For some reason, Solar looked extremely uncomfortable about answering the question. "So what's the next floor look like?" the leader asked the couple as an obvious attempt to dodge the question.
"If you don't want to tell us, then we won't ask," Skye said reassuringly.
"And to answer your question, the next floor is admittedly peaceful, and the first town you walk into has at least 5 different pubs. And yes, I've visited all of them," Arctic stated his answer.
"Wait. How―?" Klein was about to ask before Akira cut him off.
"Did you win any drinking games, at least?" Arctic merely smiled.
"I remember winning at least 3."
"Back on track," Pearce said. "Kirito, some gamers would be pissed that you had a unique skill and they didn't. But not your friends."
"Anyway," Klein said with a hand on his chin in thought and a knowing smile as he faced Kirito, "I can see your character's built by life's challenges, so keep soldiering on, young man."
"Easier said than done," Arctic scoffed. "And don't worry―I already triggered the warp gate. You heading to the next floor?" he asked Kirito as everyone began to walk up the stairs.
"Nah," the beater said. "I'll catch up with you guys later. Need to rest for a bit."
"Alright. Stay safe," the mercenary said as he walked off. He looked at Klein when the Fuurinkazan's leader stopped, but continued to walk to the gate.
"Hey," Klein said to Kirito without turning back. "Y'know how you rushed in there, to save those army guys?"
"Y-yeah…" Kirito said.
"Well…" Klein wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "Y'know...Glad you did. Anyway, see ya," Klein concluded with a wave as he walked to the gate.
Kirito turned to Asuna, the latter having not released her hold on the former at all during the conversation. "What's wrong, Asuna?"
"I was so scared," Asuna answered, holding Kirito even tighter. "If you died, I didn't know what I'd do."
"What're you talking about?" Kirito asked with a smile. "You're the one who jumped in first, remember?" He closed his eyes and stayed in that position with Asuna for a while.
"I'm taking a leave of absence from the guild." This statement caused Kirito to open his eyes and stare at the vice commander.
"Why?" was his only response. "To do what? Sleep in all day?"
"Did you forget already? I said I was teaming up with you." Upon hearing that, Kirito felt his eyes water as he remembered all of the moments he had with Asuna.
When he stopped Kuradeel from taking her back to the guild…
When he first partied with her…
When he walked with her to her home to cook the Rabbit…
The field boss raid at Floor 56…
All the way back to the Floor 1 boss fight.
"OK," was all the beater said, choosing to stay with Asuna holding him tight.
(x)
Next time…
"I told you my brother died…I never elaborated on that."
"Did he just...steal your Darkness Blade?"
"If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have won."
"He's not human…!"
"What...did you just call me…?"
"Hey...You remember, don't you?"
"I get why...But ask yourself: Was it worth keeping us all trapped in here?"