Level Six: Split
Level Forty Nine: Centaur Dungeon
Kirito and Black Fox wandered through the dungeon, taking out monsters and other targets as they went. They arrived at the dungeon door and paused to look at one another. Black Fox's hand found Kirito's, a light blush coming onto both of their faces. "Ready?" she asked him, smiling lovingly. He nodded in response. "Alright then…" she let go of his hand, pushing the doors open. "Shikigami Art… Midnight Pinwheel!" All of the minions in the shadows were forced out of hiding, Kirito slicing apart the ones who were closest before backing off and letting Black Fox get some of them herself. And once the last minion was defeated, then the boss emerged, carrying a huge battle axe and looked… well, as menacing as a centaur can. "Ready, Kirito?"
"Of course." He said, readying his sword for the first attack. "You want to take it out? Or should I?" he asked, looking at his partner. She smiled back at him a little embarrassed.
"You can take this one if you like, Kirito." She said, hearing the Centaur Boss start charging at them. "So, I think I'll just get in a few hits~" she stated, looking up at the Boss before going in for a few hits, using her martial arts skills to get in close and deal a few blows to the boss before backing off to let Kirito in on the action. But as they got his HP bars down to the red, something happened. A white weasel knocked Kirito off his feet and caused him to drop his sword as the centaur gained a white fox-mask like tattoo over his face, just like what happened in the first level dungeon. "K-kirito!" the Boss brought his axe down and Kirito managed to roll out of the way, ending up getting caught in the shock wave, tumbling into Black Fox and knocking her over too.
"S-sorry." He said, seeing his HP bar falter a little before dropping down to a slightly lower level, but the in-battle regeneration kicking in, though slower than normal. "Wh-what's going on?"
"The centaur… and that weasel… White Fox is most certainly interfering." Black Fox said, sighing, glaring at the weasel as it hid behind the centaur. "Kirito… let me deal with this… White Fox is about to find out just how scary I can get when she hurts my friends…" she said, grinning in a slightly dangerous way as she removed her Fox Mask. Kirito watched, feeling something slightly eerie about her. He watched as the Boss took a half step back as she approached, her energy levels spiking to the blue level on the charts. She took a breath, seeing the centaur boss get back into its battle mode, charging straight for her. But as he swung his axe and it was about to make contact with her, it shattered, a black spiral shot up from the floor. "Shikigami Art… Noir Spiral Fang…" more of the spirals shot up from the floor, slicing through the Boss and catching the weasel's leg as it escaped. He looked back at Black Fox, who fell back, having over done it a little, her health meter falling to the yellow and her energy meter falling back down to the red. But the boss was defeated and they received their items, money, and experience points. He went over to her, his health back to normal.
"Hey… great job." He said, putting a hand on her shoulder. But when she turned to him, one of her irises was black with gold flecks in it. "A-are you okay?" he asked, a little concerned. She leaned over and kissed him, making him blush bright red. "O-oi oi, we're still in the middle of a dungeon…"
"Sorry…" she mumbled, leaning against him, obviously exhausted. "The Noir Spiral Fang takes more out of me… than the other Shikigami Arts…" her breathing got shallow and her cheeks colored pink. "I-it messes with my health a lot… We should head up to the next town." She mumbled, trying to stand up, only to be stopped by Kirito.
"J-just take it easy for a minute… let your health bar come back up…" he said, sounding concerned as he held her close to him, leaning her head against his shoulder. She just smiled and stayed there until he let go to retrieve his sword. Her health bar got back to the green so they were ready to move on. "Ready?" he asked, offering his hand to her. She took it and stood up, leaning on him a little, her energy bar still for some reason in the red.
"Yep~" she said, ruffling his hair playfully, making him make a cute face at her before they went towards the door to level Fifty.
Level Fifty: Central Village Fountain Square
Kirito and Black Fox arrived to see the square going crazy over a few people. Namely, three front liners. A Sage with soft green-blue hair and a beautiful face… a brunette with orangey-yellow eyes carrying a huge metal hammer… and Mabashi, having upgraded his armor a little since they last saw him on level Thirty Three. He noticed them and parted the crowd, walking over with his comrades. "Nice to see you, Black Fox, Kirito." He said, smiling at Black Fox after he spoke, making Kirito feel a slight twinge of jealousy. The hammer-carrying man slapped Mabashi's shoulder in a gesture to make him quit flirting, making Black Fox chuckle.
"So you're Black Fox and Kirito? Nice to meet'cha. I'm-"
"Versais the Hammer Master, right?" Black Fox asked, Versais making a stunned face before he grinned wide. "I've heard of you from Mabashi…" she bowed a little. "And I also heard you managed to deal the finishing blow to the Chameleon-King from level 44. Not an easy feat." She said, looking at the green-blue haired sage, who stepped forward to introduce herself to Kirito.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Trinidad, a Battle Sage. So you're the Knight I've been hearing about?" she asked, smiling cheerfully at Kirito, who introduced himself to her. Black Fox seemed put off by her, but said nothing.
"Anyway…" she looked at Mabashi. "Did the Centaur Boss from the last level have her mark?" she asked, earning a nod from Mabashi. "Did it have a weasel helping it?"
"Weasel? No, we didn't see anything like that." Versais shook his head. "But man, it almost got me… if Trinidad hadn't saved me I'd probably be dead…"
"All I did was give you a speed boost, Versais." Trinidad said with a smile that made Black Fox twitch… it was sickeningly sweet… and what's more…
"Um… You can let me go now, Miss Trinidad." Kirito said, having been hugged by the older woman around the shoulders and being unable to move. Black Fox's energy spiked for a moment, but she just took a breath to calm down.
"Aww, but you're so famous around here~" she said.
"That's quite enough, Trinidad." Black Fox said, removing the woman from Kirito in an instant, obviously displeased by her clinginess to Kirito. Versais and Trinidad looked a little shocked that Black Fox seemed so put off… from what Mabashi had told them she wasn't one to get mad over simple things like this. They glanced at each other before looking at Mabashi, who shrugged his shoulders. Kirito looked up at Black Fox, making her look down at him, smiling weakly… but he could tell she was still upset.
"Should we go get lodging?" he asked, making her nod her head. He turned to the others. "We'll meet you somewhere after we get a place to sleep for the night."
"You two should buy a house already." All of them turned to see a familiar head of orangey hair. "Unless you two are planning on buying a house elsewhere…?"
"Asuna…" Black Fox stared. "What are you doing here?"
"I decided to join the front lines." She said, smiling. "What about you two-?" she glanced at Black Fox's necklace and grinned. "Awwww, how cute~! You two are engaged~! You came to get married~!" she exclaimed loud enough to get a bunch of the people around to look at them, making Black Fox's and Kirito's faces go bright red.
"A-asuna, please, not so loud…" Black Fox pleaded, suddenly embarrassed. Mabashi and Trinidad seemed a little put off, but both smiled. Their attempts were futile if they were already engaged. Versais congratulated the pair ecstatically with Asuna, a few other people in the square watching with either amusement or cheer, glad to see something that lifted people's spirits.
"Anyway." Asuna grinned. "Let's go and get some food~ Unless you two wanna have some ALONE time~" she teased, ushering them towards a restaurant with Versais helping her, Trinidad and Mabashi trailing behind the others.
Kirito and Black Fox had somehow ended up buying a house from one of the front liners who was going to move in with their guild mates. The house was surprisingly nice and came fully furnished, but somehow they were both wary of it. Asuna had obviously been trying to get them to kiss all night, but to no avail. They weren't going to display affection in public to that extent. They looked at the house from top to bottom, both avoiding the bedroom for obvious reasons. "This is a pretty nice place…"
"Yeah it's nice…" Kirito replied, waiting for her to come over to him, since they had to look at the bedroom one way or another. "Shall we?"
"Yeah…" she said, smiling as she put her hand on the door handle. She opened the door and both peeked in, pausing to survey everything before laughing. There were roses all over the place, petals thrown pretty much all over the floor, looking more like a carpet than a romantic gesture. There were two wine glasses and a bottle of champagne on a side table, and the bed was over dressed in hearts and flowers. The two managed to stop laughing, Black Fox cleaning up the petals as Kirito pulled the sheets off the bed and started rummaging for more normal bedding. "That was certainly the most amusing thing I've seen in a long time…"
"I think they've got the wrong idea about us…" he sighed, finding the plain bedding and removing his weapons and coat so he could attempt to redress the bed. Once Black Fox finished cleaning the ridiculous amounts of petals, she went back to the bedroom to see Kirito trying to redress the bed, the mattress corners not holding the sheets down, leaving the 15 year old frustrated with the task at hand. She giggled at him, having removed her mask and changed into her simple clothes. She went over to him, tapping his shoulder.
"Want some help?" she asked, smiling at the slight pout on his lips. "Here, you hold these corners down. I'll get the ones over there." She said, having him hold the corners of the sheets nearer to the wall while she pulled the sheets across the bed to the bottom corners. "Okay. So first, tuck those corners under the mattress." She said to him, waiting for him to tuck both corners in well before she did the same on her end. The pair smiled and began redressing the pillows before they went and pulled the comforter over the bed. "Much better~" she said cheerfully, sitting down on the arm-chair in the corner. She glanced at Kirito, who was staring at her a little from where he sat. She motioned for the boy to come and join her, waving him over with her hand, a grin on her face.
"What's up?" he asked, getting over to her and standing next to her, only to be pulled down onto her lap. He fumbled for words and tried to speak before he was kissed, Black Fox not leaving him room to move away. She broke the kiss, still smiling.
"Sorry… was that too much…?" she asked. Kirito shook his head, no longer making a move to try and get off of her lap.
"Y-you surprised me, is all…" he said softly. "Wh-why the kiss?"
"Because… I'm still a little irked by Trinidad flirting with you…" she said, sighing as she averted her gaze. "I don't want other girls to touch you… just as much as you don't want me to rely on other knights…" she mumbled, pulling him closer to her, causing him to have to brace himself on the seat-back, leaning over Black Fox as they sat there. He paused, having not realized that she was going to be so forward about her own jealousy, a smirk coming onto his face.
"Well… maybe I can make it up to you…" he said, kissing her forehead. "Is that okay?" he asked her, leaning closer so that the two of them were almost kissing again. "Unless you wanna go get married right now, I can just stay here until you want to go to sleep…"
"… A night wedding doesn't sound bad…" she said, smiling softly at him. "But neither of us have the items for a-" the two paused, turning to the door. Kirito was going to get up, Black Fox stopped him, putting a finger to her lips, glancing back at the door. "Shikigami Art Summoning…" they heard scrambling. "Midnight Wolf." They heard screams and growling. "Boys, retrieve only." She said, hugging Kirito closer, making him blush. The door was pushed open, and a small group of people wearing white and red were dragged in, their weapons broken and their armor tattered. She glanced at the intruders, seeing them looking scared. She just kept holding Kirito. "What annoying rats have made their presences known?" she asked, glaring at them from the side. "You're interrupting us…"
"Pl-please don't kill us!" one pleaded.
"W-we were just sent to see if a woman named Black Fox was staying here!"
"… White Fox sent you." She sighed. "Annoying…" Kirito wondered why she wouldn't let him get up, but he didn't complain. The wolves bowed to Black Fox and Kirito, seeming to be made of shadows, but still retaining a shape. "I don't stoop to the level that she has… you're both human. You have lives to live…" she mumbled. "However… I will have you deliver a message to your… leader." She stated, staring at the man who hadn't spoken, seeing a glint in the light. "White Fox… I will warn you now. Any harm that you bring to Kirito will be dealt back to you a thousand fold…" she leaned up and gave Kirito a kiss on the jaw, still watching the three still cowering in fear. She glared at the three. "Get out." She stated, sending them running as the wolves barked and chased them out, only for them to get caught and taken to prison.
"… Are you okay?" he asked, feeling her grip on him weaken to the point where she could barely hold on. She shook her head, trying to breathe normally.
"I think I might be a little bothered by the fact that White Fox knew where I was… she's probably known all along…" she mumbled. "Honestly, I didn't think I could threaten her like that… I just want to keep you safe…" she clung to him a little, her hands shaking.
"… well then, for now you can get some sleep…" he said, getting up, despite her reluctance to let go and helping her over to the bed. "We can talk about our plans from here in the morning, okay?" She looked up at him and nodded before passing out. He watched her for a moment before realizing that she'd been using her chi-user abilities. "No wonder she's so weak…" he sighed, laying down next to her. He paused, staring at her a little. "… I hope I get to meet you in the real world someday…" he mumbled, dozing off next to her.
Level Fifty: Central Village Fountain Gate
It was three days after the incident with White Fox's followers, and the front liners gathered at the Fountain Gate a ways out of town. Their strongest of each class following Black Fox closely. However… there were two from the Knight Class. Because Asuna wasn't changing to a Knight Class and remained a Swordsman, that was all fine and good. But Kirito and Mabashi were both there, which concerned a few of the others. Of course, no one spoke… Black Fox and Kirito were married now, as made obvious by the ring on her finger, but that didn't necessarily mean he had to be the one to open the gate with her and the others. Asuna walked along side Black Fox, whispering to her.
"Are those two okay? They look like they're ready to fight or something…"
"It's a pride thing I guess…" she mumbled. "Mabashi won't step down from a fight, despite the fact that Kirito's already… well…" she blushed a little, making sure her mask was covering her face properly, though she knew her cheeks were still bright red. "I don't know if they'll stop at all…" she sighed as they approached the entrance to the actual gate itself.
"Oh, I see…" Asuna nodded, glancing back at the two. Kirito was quite a bit shorter than Mabashi, but Asuna just guessed that Black Fox and Kirito were close because of their travels. From what she'd heard, the pair had been together for over a year now… "So you two are planning to go out IRL too?" she asked, making Black Fox blush and stagger.
"Wh-what are you talking about?!" she asked, making the others following glance up, quirking an eyebrow or chuckling at them. "D-don't suggest such things so openly!"
"Aww, you are~!" Asuna grinned. "You two make such a cute couple~" she pat Black Fox's back. "I hope it goes well~"
"What's wrong?" Black Fox jumped, hearing Kirito's voice right behind her. "You okay?" he asked, looking up at her as they walked. She nodded, trying to remain calm. He took her hand, making Mabashi glare at him before reaching up and kissing her cheek, making Black Fox's face get even redder. "You never get this embarrassed when we're alone…" he smirked, making her panic a little.
"Hey now, play nice." Versais stated, walking over to them. "No freaking her out. She's gotta be calm when she opens the gate." Kirito made a face, still holding Black Fox's hand. "You two had your lovey dovey moments already." He put a hand on Kirito's shoulder, then on Black Fox's shoulder. "So enough flirting already, alright?"
"Y-yes um…" Black Fox blushed as they stopped at the gate entrance. "Trinidad… Versais… Asuna… Mugen… Cecile… please take your places on the stone markers…" she stated. She made sure everyone was in their places. She glanced back at Mabashi and Kirito, sighing a little. "You two will flip a coin." She stated, taking it out of her pocket and turning to face them. "Take your pick."
"Heads." Mabashi stated, Kirito standing there making a face. Black Fox flipped the coin, catching the coin and placing it in her left hand, opening her hand to reveal the coin face down, the tails side showing.
"Alright then… Kirito, please take your place on the marker." She said, putting her coin away before waiting for Kirito to take his place. She looked around one last time before stepping into her place on the last stone marker. The circle glowed beneath each marker, the symbol of each of the player's classes hovering above each player. Black Fox removed her mask and her eyes faded from lavender to black, golden flecks forming slowly as she let her power build. "The Seven Classes of Willow Lake ask for passage through to the second plain…" the symbols all glowed brighter before stretching towards the middle of the group, forming a portal. The others checked their own meters to see their individual power meters glowing bright white. "Our power and our hearts ask for the right of passage for our comrades as well…" the portal began to solidify, Kirito glancing over to Black Fox, watching her energy meter begin to fall. "We come to seek the secrets of the First Tree…" the portal turned itself into a door, the same size of the fountain that it hovered over. "And we come to stop the reign of terror that presides over the second plain…" the doors opened upwards and glowed bright. Black Fox swayed a little, but jumped off her marker, motioning for the others outside the gate to come in. "The door's open…" she mumbled, feeling dizzy. Mabashi went to help her, but Kirito beat him to it, letting her lean on him.
"Great job…" he said, his hand on her back to keep her standing. "… is it really as bad as it sounds?" he asked, looking up at the gate as the front liners began to pass through the gate by stepping into the fountain before being transported to the next level.
"Level Fifty One isn't as bad… it's basically one of the only peaceful towns above that gate… But many are riddled with dangerous monsters and thieves and whatnot…" she mumbled. "But I only made it to level Fifty Eight in the Beta… I never got past that level, unfortunately. And I don't know what's changed…"
"Well, we'll have to see when we get up there." He said, leading her towards the fountain so they could go through. Everyone but the players who'd been on the markers went through already, including Mabashi. They went into the fountain, feeling the transportation begin before they vanished into the next level.
((Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to read this story and those who have reviewed ; u ; I really appreciate it.
I'll probably take a couple of days to post the next chapter... I'm deciding on scenarios and whatnot for the plot to continue.
I do plan on updating a couple more times before I go back to school. And hopefully I can keep updating once I start again, but unfortunately I don't think it will be as frequently as it is now.
Again, thank you all for reading ; u ;
-Winter Cheshire))