Level Ten: Dread

Level Seventy Six: Frost Lake Village

Kirito sat with Black Fox at their table in the pub, the front lines having moved through Charred Forest the month before without running into White Fox's army. They didn't quite understand, but for right now, Mabashi and the others were catching up to the assault team. Kirito caught Black Fox staring outside at the snow, wondering why she looked so sad. They had finished eating, so he paid out their tab and lead her outside, their breath becoming visible once out of the pub, the sky slightly gloomy, ut otherwise things seemed peaceful. "Did you want to play in the snow…?" he asked her, looking worried as she just stared at the snow for a while.

"Huh?" she turned to him, looking confused. "O-oh no…" she shook her head, blushing a little. "Sorry… just… remembering things." She said softly.

"What kinds of things?" he asked, taking her hand and leading her so they could get some supplies. She just smiled a little, walking alongside him. "Things about your childhood…?"

"Yeah… my mother used to take my brother and I out to play in the snow… it was always really calm when she took us… our grandmother used to joke about my mother being a snow-goddess because whenever she wanted to go out in the snow, no matter how bad the weather was slated to be, it was always calm when she went out…" they began getting their supplies from the vendors. "And when my brother turned 5, we went to go to our first winter festival as an entire family…" she seemed a little sad, mentioning that. "Those times were nice…" she said, paying for their supplies as they headed back to the inn. "If I remember right, she also bought us so much food we thought we would burst from being so fat." She chuckled, Kirito smiling at her. He was glad for her to be remembering things that made her happy… but what was causing that expression that made her look so lonely?

"… sounds like it was fun." He said, holding her hand as they continued to walk through the snow.

"Yeah…" she replied, lost in thought as they arrived back at their lodging. And that was the last of that conversation… even though Kirito wanted to know more, talking about things that made her have that lonesome look on her face wasn't something he was willing to do to learn more about her.

Level Eighty Two: Foggy Moor Gate

Kirito and Black Fox, having just gotten through the gate from the dungeon on the 81st level, were walking around the area, searching for the next town. But as they walked, things just got foggier and foggier, their vision soon getting to the point of only being able to see 3 feet in front of themselves or less. They continued searching when Black Fox heard something… no, someone heading their way. Kirito drew his blade and Black Fox prepared herself in case there was an enemy lurking. Kirito heard a blade being drawn and struck out into the fog, not catching anything, but hearing someone backing up a little. There was most definitely someone here. Black Fox took a short breath before beginning her incantation. "Shikigami Art…"

"Shikigami Art. White Curve Talon."

"Shikigami Art. Red Rain Flood." The two attacks came at them simultaneously, Black Fox just barely dodging the burning hot Red Rain that flew at her, Kirito parrying a gleaming white curved sword.

"Kirito! Move! Shikigami Art Summoning! Shadow Bear!" The huge looming shape appeared as Kirito got to Black Fox's side, protecting his master from both the sword that came at them, using his claws to push it back, as well as his thick hide blocking the Red Rain.

"Shikigami Art Summoning. Trickseter Weasel. Joker Cat." The same weasel that the pair had encountered on the 49th level rushed at them, the faint outline of a two-tailed cat visible in the fog. Black Fox cursed under her breath, preparing another summoning. But as she did, something came at her from the other side, Kirito barely making it to block a large reddish chain-like thing from attaching itself to Black Fox.

"White Fox! Florien! Show yourselves!" Black Fox exclaimed, knowing who was there… The two stepped forward, but were still slightly shrouded in the fog. White Fox just seemed to stare from under her mask, the man who approached from where the chain had come from smirking.

"Impressive swordsmanship…" Florien chuckled, looking at Kirito as the chain dissolved. "You've got a very high level technique there… I'm impressed a 15 year old can wield it so well…" He said, another chain forming in his hand. "But I don't think you can hold us off… after all, you don't have many defenses…"

"Don't underestimate them…" White Fox stated. "Black Fox is their defense…"

"Ah, yes of course. My apologies for forgetting that." He bowed to White Fox, but as Kirito moved to perform an attack, Black Fox pulled him out of the way, the red chain separating and striking at where the boy had been standing. "Oh? Again, impressive." He clapped. Black Fox just glared at them, holding her ground, carrying Kirito as though he were a bride. He didn't want her to, of course… not now anyway. But he looked at where he'd been, the ground seeming to melt away under the red chain pieces. "My my, what an odd couple-" Florien's eyes widened as he blocked a wolf bite with yet another red chain. "Touchy, aren't you Black Fox?" he said, the wolf jumping away, taking a bit of his chain and chomping it till there was steam coming from its mouth.

"Talk bad about my husband and you're likely to end up in worse shape than your chain." She said, her voice sounding icy. "Unless of course, that's what you're after… in which case I'll just have the Shadow Bear tear into you…" the bear wandered over to her, glaring at the enemy. She put Kirito down, her gaze not leaving Florien and White Fox. There was a silence, the air heavy with tension like no other… three Chi-users in such a close-quarters fight was intense…

"Your husband? You speak as though you two are so close… and yet… your relationship cannot hold water in the real world." White Fox said. "You're four years apart… no one in society can ever truly accept that age gap." She added. Kirito felt a pang of dread, knowing that comment might very well be true. But as the negative feeling began to build, Black Fox grabbed his arm; her mask pushed aside already as she leaned over and kissed him, causing him to blush. Florien was stunned, White Fox a little shocked as well… but by the time either realized that she'd just done an energy-borrow, it was a little too late.

"Shikigami Art… Shadow of the Black Sky Sickle, Duo Mode…" the black shadow sliced at them both, sending them flying across the foggy moor. White Fox sat up first, bleeding from her mouth. Florien wasn't in such a bad condition.

"D-damn… didn't think she completed that quest yet…" White Fox mumbled.

"That's because you didn't complete it." Black Fox stated. "The level Seventy Eight Hidden Door Boss with a perfect score…" Kirito glanced up at her, cheeks burning still, but remembering that dungeon well. "You never even found him."

"Don't talk down to me!" the white-haired woman exclaimed, her energy building as she sent the two she had summoned to attack. But the attacks were sent back, Black Fox and Kirito protected by the small army of wolves and the still too-large looming bear. White Fox looked horribly angry, calling out attacks, only to get pushed back every time. Florien watched on. "Florien, don't just stand there!" White Fox hissed. But as he stepped forward, his chain grew… and when White Fox turned away…

"Forgive me…" Florien stated, his chain latching onto White Fox and damaging her to a point where she just collapsed, no movement coming from her at all. "I didn't remember you being my boss… we're supposed to be partners." He stated with a wicked grin on his face. "I did give you the hacking programs after all." He mused, Black Fox's eyes widening. Kirito stood shocked. Had this man just murdered their enemy…? Had he just confessed to being the one who trapped them here in Ryuuko? "My precious little pawn…" he glanced up, grinning like a maniac at Black Fox. "My my… are you angry?" Kirito looked up to see Black Fox with tears forming, a fierce… no, a dangerous look in her eyes. Her irises almost immediately became black, the golden flecks appearing a few at a time, much faster than he'd ever seen them appear before. "If I recall, you two were close… once." He smirked. "It was right after your mother died, after all-"

"Shut up!" Black Fox exclaimed, the wolves dissolving into the air. "Shikigami Art! Noir Spiral Fang!" the spirals shot up at Florien, missing him by a hair. "Why would you kill someone like that?! Why did you kill her?!"

"Oh, you are mad!" he cackled. "Isn't it obvious? She was MY pawn… I GAVE her the means to take over this game…" he stated, appearing right in front of her with the chain dangerously close to her neck. "I've been behind it all, Akemi-" he was cut off, barely dodging a blade swing right to his face.

"Don't you DARE call her by her name!" Kirito chased Florien, slashing at him and trying to get in a hit, occasionally catching his opponent's arm or side, but in all not doing much damage. They continued their game of cat and mouse, switching roles every now and again. Black Fox stood, feeling helpless. Kirito was fighting for her… White Fox was just… well, she looked dead… Black Fox's black and gold flecked eyes faded away. She couldn't let Kirito fight alone…

"Shikigami Art… Shadow of the Black Sky Sickle, Combat Version…" The shadowy forms converged in her hands to a staff shape, the shadows on the moor showing the blade that didn't appear on the physical thing Black Fox held onto. Kirito noticed, pulling back to her side. "Sorry…" she mumbled.

"Don't be. We can do this together…" he replied, readying his sword for another attack. "Ready?" he questioned, watching her glance down at her bladeless weapon.

"As I'll ever be." She mumbled. She glanced at White Fox one last time before she and Kirito charged at Florien. Even if White Fox had been her enemy… still… this was something she would not forgive. The fight ended with Florien almost entirely drained of his energy and his health points, a restrictor item that Black Fox had picked up a few levels before restricting him from regaining his energy or health points. Kirito sent Florien to a prison on the Sixty Ninth Floor, both turning their attention to White Fox… or at least where she'd been. But now she was gone, all that was left was some of her "blood" and a piece of her outfit that had been torn off during the fight.

Level Ninety: Nightmare City

Three months after the incident with Florien and White Fox, and there had been no sign of her… but somehow, the game was still going. Neither Black Fox nor Kirito had spoken to anyone about the incident, not wanting to panic anyone. They kept things to themselves, at least for the time being. They'd been avoiding conversation with the other front-liners as much as possible, spending their down time together in their home on the 50th level. But most of that time ended up being very quiet, Kirito usually initiating any conversations they had… Black Fox hadn't even been very flirty recently, which told Kirito all he needed to know about how she was feeling.

Currently, though, the pair was sitting in a pub with Agil and Asuna, as well as Versais, Suzuka, and Cecile. They were all conversing about how to tackle the next boss, but Black Fox stayed to herself, only responding when prompted by Kirito. "Hey… are you feeling alright? You're hardly eating." Cecile said, looking at Black Fox with concern.

"I'm fine…" she mumbled after a light prod to the arm from Kirito. "Sorry… I've kind of lost my appetite recently…" Asuna and Suzuka looked at Kirito for answers, but he didn't give them any. Versais pat Black Fox's shoulder.

"You should take a break from the front lines."

"I won't." she stated sternly. "I can't… I've taken too much time these past few months… I won't leave the front lines again unless…" she glanced at Kirito. "… Unless you leave the front lines as well. And I know you won't." she stated, Kirito sighing at her determination… no, more like her stubbornness. She was beating herself up about White Fox, even now. Kirito took her hand and she laid her head against his shoulder, slumping over weakly.

"If you won't leave to rest, at least try and eat a little more…" he said in a whisper, looking very concerned for her. She was weak from her constant worrying… She looked at her plate and took her fork, eating a couple of small bites before putting the utensil back down. "Thank you." He kissed her cheek, making her mumble a response that sounded positive… sort of.

"Well, no matter the case…" Suzuka sighed. "If she's unwell, we should wait for her." She stated. "After all, we've been on a war path for a while… I think we can stop to relax a little." She smiled, earning a nod from Asuna and Cecile, Agil and Versais a little more reserved about the idea, but knowing that Black Fox and Kirito were two major power houses in the front-lines.

"I'll go tell Mabashi, then." Versais stood up, taking out his money for his food, leaving it with Agil, who always seemed to be the last to leave the table in this group. "Catch you all later." He left quickly after giving Black Fox's hair a tousle. She just watched him leave, and soon, Kirito and Agil were her only company.

"Shall we go?" Kirito asked her, making her look up at him with half a nod, taking the hand he offered her so she could stand. Agil waved them off after paying for the meal, Black Fox and Kirito getting ready to go back to their home on level 50. But as they were about to leave, someone stopped them and motioned for them to come into an old abandoned building. Black Fox seemed to know the person, following quickly, Kirito barely able to keep up with her.

"How are you still alive?" was the black haired girl's first question as the doors closed behind Kirito. "I saw you almost die, you know…" she mumbled. The girl removed her hood, the reddish eyes and white hair emerging from under the hood. "Where the hell did you go, White Fox?" Kirito prepped his weapon for an attack, only to be stopped by Black Fox.

"I wish I knew…" she replied, staring at her former beta-test partner and Kirito, looking weaker than even Black Fox did at the moment. "… I've done terrible things…"

"Damn right you have." Black Fox removed her mask, glaring at her former partner, tears in her eyes. "But at the same time… Florien had his hold on you… the Bloody Sky Pact that shattered when his energy hit zero." Black Fox mumbled. "So he had access to your Ryuuko data… and could mimic you… how many of those deaths were his, I'm not sure… but you ARE still responsible… at least for locking us in here."

"A-akemi, I-"

"Don't act like we're still friends!" she exclaimed. "You didn't kill Hibiya, but he thought it was you!" tears ran down her cheeks, Kirito not understanding the situation fully. "You let Florien have your data, and he murdered Hibiya!" Kirito noticed White Fox looking like she might cry. "Damn it to hell, Hiwa! Why would you let that psycho into your data, anyway?!" she said, watching White Fox fall to her knees. "Why the hell did you even help him trap us here?!"

"I… I just…" the girl began sobbing, looking scared and confused. "I don't remember…" she managed to say before she began crying even more. Black Fox did her best to calm down, Kirito taking her hand to try and help. "Akemi, I'm sorry…" she sobbed over and over, occasionally mumbling about Hibiya.

"Damn it all…" Black Fox sat down, unable to handle standing when she was this emotional. Kirito knelt next to her as she began explaining things. "Hibiya was a friend… he didn't live around us, but he was still a good friend…" she mumbled. "White Fox- no, Hiwa… she's always been in love with him… but she used to get jealous of how he would always contact me first before he came to visit Japan…" she took a breath. "Hibiya was afraid that all his contact with Hiwa would push her away… he loved her a lot, I was like a little sister who pulled them together…"

"I see…" Kirito said, wondering about many things, but refrained from asking as she continued to explain.

"Hiwa's known me since we were young… she lives in a different prefecture than I do, but she's also the only person I've ever met who was so similar to me in so many ways that… it felt like we could be sisters…" she sighed. "That picture she took was during an exchange program I went to in 2020, when I was still in high school… we were close, back then…" Kirito nodded his head, glancing at White Fox, who was still crying and mumbling to herself. "We drifted apart a little… but we always had video games… our names were always the same, we worked together so often it was like we were still so close…" she glanced up at Kirito. "She's never been the type to hurt people… despite her violent tendencies in games… And she wasn't the one killing people…" she shook her head, trying to keep herself under control. "Kirito, really she's not a bad person… that's why it was so unusual to me… despite what we were seeing…"

"It wasn't her." He said, seeing that the little indicator over White Fox was still orange. It hadn't turned red… that meant she wasn't the one who'd been killing people. "But no one will believe that…" he said to Black Fox. "So what do we do?"

"…" Black Fox looked over at Hiwa, who had calmed down enough to stop sobbing and mumbling to herself. "She has to do time for being part of Florien's plan…" she said softly. White Fox looked over at them, knowing that they were talking about her. "There's no getting around it, Hiwa…"

"I know…" she bowed her head to Black Fox. "I'm sorry… that I let all this happen… I… I kept you away from your only family for almost two years already…" she said, looking like she might cry again. "Send me to prison… I deserve to rot there…"

"Don't be stupid…" Black Fox said. "You won't rot. Once Kirito and I clear the last floor, it'll be over… so just wait till then." Kirito looked a little surprised at her behavior, but he smiled, helping Black Fox up and letting her go over to White Fox, sending her to the prison without another word. "… I promise, Hiwa… I won't take it out on you… it was Florien's fault…" she said, almost like she was trying to convince herself of that fact. Kirito took her hand once she was done and took her back to their house. She needed to rest after all this… because now that this ridiculously implausible situation had somehow come to a close, they had just one objective. To finish the game.

(( Yes, I know that's a terrible plot twist guys ; u ; I'm sorry;;; Please don't hate White Fox / Hiwa... she's a good girl... mostly...

A-anyway, I feel like I'm on a little bit of a roll so I might get through another chapter or two by tomorrow evening. So I hope I'll get some more views and reviews, and I also hope no one hates this chapter ; u ;''''

And there will be more lovey dovey Kirito X Black Fox soon... I promise you all. ; u ;/

-Winter Cheshire))