Kirito hangs his head, staring intently at the featureless surface of the metal table he's been chained to. He refuses to look up and meet either of his parents' gazes, eyes instead following the slight scratching of a few years worth of use.

Midori has had her head in her hands, muttering something that sounds like an apology to somebody Kirito isn't familiar with.

Aoi is just frowning slightly, almost as if he's more annoyed by having had to show up to the police precinct instead of Kirito's actions.

The three sit in silence for a good few minutes before the Lieutenant comes back, slamming the door open. "Well… I've got good news and bad news." She announces. "Actually, two pieces of good news, so it's mostly positive."

Midori looks up from her hands, marks on her face from where her palms had dug in. "You can remove his Mark?"

Lieutenant Yulier's face hitches. "Er, no… that's not possible." She blinks a few times to reset. "Uh, Let's start with the good news. The good news is that the man your son brought in is a wanted criminal. His story isn't completely preposterous."

Kirito bites his lip. He hadn't lied, why…

"And the bad news?" Aoi asks with a heavy sigh.

"We can't locate either Lizbeth or the mysterious Knights of the Blood lady that your son mentioned." Lt. Yulier sits down in the last unoccupied seat. "The KoB says that if they get a report that sounds similar to your son's statement, they'll contact us back, but it's not like they have a shortage of combat reports."

"...What's the second good piece of news?" Midori asks.

"That the KoB were willing to let us know if they get a report is the good news. They don't like revealing their inner workings to anyone, not even the Army."

Kirito's lips split under the force of his teeth and blood drips onto the table, staining the silvery sheen red for a few seconds before the blood dissolves away. "I'm not lying."

Aoi sighs once more. "Kirito… you claim to have come across a member of an elite Clearer group being harassed by- what did you call them, Lieutenant?"

"Laughing Coffin."

"Yes, those thugs." He turns his attention back to Kirito. "And despite this being the day after your update, you claim to have managed to drive them off single-handedly."

Kirito swallows. "It wasn't so much driving them off as they left when the KoB girl teleported away."

"You still claim to have fought off an Armored Rabbit." Lt. Yulier looks down at her notes. "That's the kind of beast you see on the front lines on floor 12, not down on floor five."

"M-maybe it was a summon?" Kirito offers weakly.

"Any summoner powerful enough to summon an Armored Rabbit would be able to crush a new adventurer in moments. That can't be it."

Kirito's hands grip the edge of the table so hard that a warning for causing damage in a protected area pops up in front of him, though he ignores it. "I'm not lying!"

"I'd love to believe you, kid." The Lieutenant sighs. "But you have to realize that the only things we know for sure is that your friend went missing last night and you came back with a criminal and a Mark so large you're not going to be able to show your face in town for a month."

"...Huh?"

"That mark isn't gonna fade for a while." Lt. Yulier leans over the table and points up at her eye. "Marks tend to stick around for a while: It's how we know someone's a criminal, after all, and if they could be removed easily they wouldn't be worth much."

"BUt what does that have to do with not being able to go to town?"

"How often do you see these facial tattoos in town?" She asks. "I'm betting you've only seen it a few times, if ever. That's because those with the Mark are generally kept locked up for the duration of the Mark at minimum. It takes longer for more severe crime, so the system generally works…"

Kirito once more goes back to staring at the table. "...How long…?"

"With that severity, I'd give you about three months." The Lieutenant winces as he shudders at the value.

For what it's worth, she and her superior both want to believe the kid is innocent, but… that story is just too far-fetched. He'd need some serious corroboration for anyone to believe his words. Even then, she wasn't lying when she said that the Mark can't be removed aside from waiting it out. The boy cannot return to society until The Mark fades, for his own safety as well.

Aoi crosses his arms and sits back in his seat. "So, what's next? He goes to jail for three months, and then we pretend this never happened?"

"Right now, I have some of my troops investigating." Lt. Yulier tries to calm the man down. "We'll figure out if your son's story can be verified and if it can that will be considered in the judgment-"

"It's obviously a pack of lies." Aoi snorts. "I can't for the life of me figure out why he refuses to tell the truth, but until he does, we'll just have to assume he'll serve out the maximum sentence."

Kirito's hands continue to strain against the table, more warnings popping into his peripheral vision unheeded.

"If possible, I'd like to keep this out of the public's eye." Aoi continues.

"...We can't speak for the KoB, but we don't release files on criminals." Lt. Yulier assures him. "And since the KoB has already been informed…"

"I'm not a criminal!"

"That Mark on your face says otherwise!" Aoi rounds on his son. "So just wait out you sentence, and you'll be allowed to return to work in the inn with us when your face clears up! And for your sake, I hope they find Lizbeth before her name is crossed off the monument!"

"She's…" all of a sudden, all the tension drains out of Kirito's body, and he collapses back into his seat. It's not worth fighting anymore. They don't believe him, and all his efforts to explain fell on deaf ears. "She's fine." He mutters to nobody.

A sullen silence falls over the small room for a few seconds before Midori's hands clutch at nothing and she looks up sharply. "Oh…"

"What is it?" Aoi raises an eyebrow at his wife.

"Er… Lieutenant Yulier, are you familiar with the Faded?" Midori asks, trepidation hitching her voice.

Kirito's already sour mood turns to fear, binding his tongue as his own mother starts spilling her worries to the Lieutenant.

"See, Kirito had his update the other day, and he- he started to Fade, but he's never shown symptoms before."

Aoi nods. "Ever since his update, he's been acting erratically too. Maybe… well, I don't want to judge, but Faded tend to be on the, erm, odd side, yes?"

Lt. Yulier bites her lip and looks down at Kirito. "It's… not impossible."

"W-wait!" Kirito finally finds his voice amidst his panic. "I'm not crazy! Mom, Dad, I've been telling you I wanted to fight for years!"

Midori looks at her son for a few seconds, trying to formulate a response, before turning back to the Lieutenant. "Maybe that's why he seems to think he's able to fight Armored Rabbits."

"That would explain some things." Yulier rubs her chin thoughtfully, each word measured carefully before it leaves her lips. "But not everything. Still…" She looks back at Kirito. "Have you ever Faded out before? Please tell us the truth."

"N-never!" Kirito looks at all three aduLt.s. "I didn't even know that I became Faded when I updated-" Too late, he realizes that his parents had told him something to that effect when he woke up. He cuts himself off to correct himself, but-

"See? He's not connected to reality." Aoi signs once more.

"...We can help him, right?" Midori asks anxiously.

Kirito stops hearing the conversation, voices blurring into background noise.

Nobody believes him.

Nothing he says can be verified.

I can't actually be crazy, can I?

The thought spins around and around in his head, each loop winding up his head more and more until the pressure threatens to blow his head wide open.

If I am crazy, how would I know?

The new thought stops the rest of them cold, and a cold sweat breaks out on his skin. Maybe he had taken Lizbeth out to floor five, gotten her killed since he's so inexperienced, and then just flailed around until he accidentally caught a bad guy.

Maybe the idea of meeting someone on floor five was all in his head, a delusion brought on by the mysterious Fade.

He raises his hands up to look at them, though he only gets a few inches over the table before the cuffs restrict his movement. What have these hands done?

A knock on the door, drawing all four sets of eyes.

"What is it?" The Lieutenant opens the door slightly to talk to the Army Officer on the other side. "I'm in the middle of something."

"Er, we've got some people here claiming to want to speak to the boy." THe other officer peeks into the room at Kirito. "One of them said she was with him last night."

Lt. Yulier looks back at the room. "...I'll be right back."

Aoi and Midori look at each other, then follow the Army official out of the room, leaving Kirito alone.

"...I really hope that's Liz." He mutters to himself. "Please, I don't want to have killed my best friend, please…"

Rapid footsteps enter the hallway, shouting coming from further away, and Kirito lifts his head to face the door.

It bursts open-

Lizbeth stands in the doorway, chest heaving as she catches her breath, eyes wildly looking over his form to make sure he's all intact. Once verified, her panic subsides and she collapses her knees.

Behind her, the Army members guarding the outpost catch up with her and start making sure she's okay.

Kirito can barely pay attention to this, as she's quickly pulled back. In her place, another face appears.

"Looks like you made it out alive." The Chestnut-haired girl calmly strides into the room and sits down across from him. "Thank you for the assistance last night. I was in a rough spot."

"..." Kirito stares at her, part of him not daring to speak in case that would shatter the illusion that she's not just a figment of his imagination. "N-no problem."

She smiles wryly. "I'd say it was a significant problem. You ended up in jail, after all."

All the tension leaves Kirito's body and he sags into his chair. A laugh bubbles up from his throat, unbidden. "Heh, I'm just… just glad you're alright. O-oh! Are all your teammates…?"

She grimaces. "We lost two to that ambush. But, don't think those are on your head, if you hadn't shown I'd certainly have lost even more. That ambush was specifically picked to be a bad match up."

"I…" Kirito's mouth flaps a few times as he tries to figure out some words to speak, but before his brain can catch up, the Lieutenant shows back up, flustered.

"Asuna, we tried to contact the KoB through official channels-"

The Chestnut-haired girl's eyes narrow and her voice chills. "I will not be using the official channels for now. Ever since we opened them up between my guild and your Army, I've been harrassed." She stands up and stares directly at the Lieutenant, who starts to cringe. "Until I can get an assurance that nobody in your organization is leaking my team and my location, it cannot be considered secure."

The lieutenant rubs her temples. "Oh, today sucks so hard…"

Naturally, Asuna's and Liz's story matched Kirito's almost perfectly. In light of that, he had been released. Still, the Lieutenant hadn't been lying. The general of the Army, Thinker, had personally come to apologize to him and tell him that he was free to go, though…

He opens his menu out yet again and checks the representation of his face floating in the air. The Mark covers the left half of his face, ink thorns grow from the twisting vines, drawn in lines so thin they look painted on by an insect, or perhaps an artist with a microscope.

Kirito, Aoi, Midori and Lizbeth are all walking back to the inn in silence, occasionally waving to the other people they encounter. Kirito doesn't participate in this, keeping his head down to avoid showing the world his new decoration.

"Son…" Aoi finally speaks up, and Kirito practically jumps out of his skin.

"W-what?"

"I need to apologize." Aoi's face is genuinely troubled. "I said some harsh things about you back in the cell."

Midori nods. "Yes, I did too."

Kirito's hands clench, but he forces himself to relax. "I… I can't blame you. I was starting to doubt my own sanity there. If Liz hadn't shown up…"

"Still." Aoi continues. "That was incredibly rude of me. I should have believed you."

"While I agree, I should have more faith in him, there's another issue." Midori's tongue is still sharp. "You snuck out after we explicitly told you not to. This mess could have been avoided if you had just done as we told you."

"But!" Lizbeth speaks up. "If we didn't go to floor five, Asuna and her team would be…"

"Yes, the outcome was mostly positive this time but it could have ended so much worse. Liz, your combat skills are lacking, and he brought you to floor five. If he had misjudged an enemy, you could both be dead."

Aoi nods, his wife's confidence bolstering his own. "That wasn't your smartest move, even if it did end up well this time."

Kirito continues to walk while staring at the ground, only partially because of his new tattoo. "Hey, Liz?"

Lizbeth arches an eyebrow.

"What were you doing that you couldn't be contacted?"

She pounds her fist into her hand. "Oh, yeah! I was helping Asuna out with all her wounded subordinates. She kept barking orders at me, and we managed to help everyone!" She beams. "I'm sorry I couldn't get back sooner, but between the two of us we managed to save everyone!"

A smile sneaks into the corner of Kirito's mouth. "We did? That's good." He straightens up and puffs his chest out a bit more. "Well, looks like I'm well on my way to becoming the world's best swordsman!"

"Not this again." Aoi rolls his eyes, but both Kirito and Lizbeth ignore him.

"Y-yeah." Lizbeth clenches her fist before relaxing it. "You can become a great swordsman."

Kirito tosses his arm over her shoulders and pulls her along at a faster pace. "Maybe I should ask you to come with me for a while. You can help people while I kill all the monsters."

"Kirito…" Lizbeth sighs.

Midori glances at Aoi. "I knew we shouldn't have let him hang out with Klein so much."

Lizbeth puts her own arm around Kirito's back and looks up at him. "Er… Actually, I was hoping you'd come with me to help with my shop. You said you would, right?"

Kirito pauses for a second, then nods. "I did, didn't I? Oh well, I guess I'll have to keep my end of the bargain first."

"Thank you." Lizbeth's face splits into a wide smile. "SInce I've just missed a full day of work, I expect you to be over later to help me catch up!"

"...Yeah." Kirito looks back at his parents. "If they'll let me go. I'm pretty sure I'm abut to be grounded-"

"No, you should go and learn some real responsibility." Aoi states.

"Lizbeth has always been a good influence on you, Kirito. You should learn how to do blacksmithing from her and drop your 'swordsman' fantasy." Midori agrees with her husband.

Kirito just stares at his parents balefully for a few seconds before turning back forward. "I'll be over after I pack for a few days, okay?"

Lizbeth snickers into her free hand. "Of course. I'll see you later."

"Whoa." Lizbeth washes her hands as she enters the kitchen. "You made all of this?"

"Most of it." Kirito sets the last part on the table. "It's not going to be great since I haven't taken any ranks in cooking, but you pick up a little bit here and there as the son of innkeepers."

"It can't be that bad." Lizbeth sits down. "How did you avoid putting any ranks into cooking? Normally you'd pick up at least a few-" As she was talking, she reached out for a biscuit and bit into it. As soon as the flavor touches her tongue, her eyes glaze over and her words die in her throat.

Kirito picks up another of the biscuits while she's still stunned, and biting into it himself he can't help but make a face. "Okay, not edible. The rest of it is though, I swear. I taste tested it."

Lizbeth snaps out of her trance. "O-oh, I'm sure." She reaches for the soup slowly, hands hesitant to draw more food to her side lest she need to ingest more poison. She tentatively takes a bit of the soup into her mouth, eyes lighting up as it turns out to indeed be edible. "Good!"

Kirito's shoulders relax as he sits down and starts putting the food on his plate as well. "So, are you caught up with your orders?"

"Hah. It's only been a day." Lizbeth rolls her eyes. "I am a bit further along than I was expecting since my best friend decided to make dinner, but it'll be a few more days before I'm caught up for real." She brushes her hair away from her face and takes another bite of her meal.

"Maybe tomorrow I'll actually be able to help out in the shop." Kirito sighs. "I feel like an idiot sitting in your house and doing chores."

"It's a big help, really." Lizbeth's hand reaches across the table to touch Kirito's. "I got more done today than I usually would have by about thirty percent! Assuming I can keep this up, I'll be caught up in only two more days, three if I'm conservative about my estimate. Even if you're not directly helping…" Her cheeks start to color. "W-well, just having you here makes me able to work that much harder."

Kirito's own face starts to flush, but before he can respond-

Knock knock knock

Lizbeth's hand snaps back to her side and she gets to her feet quickly, chair clattering back as she turns toward the door only a few feet away. "I-I-I need to get that!"

"R-right." Kirito withdraws his own hand, staring at it briefly before tucking it under the table to wait for Liz to return to the table.

Lizbeth opens the door. "Hello?"

A young woman in a red and white uniform stands in the rain, an out of place smile on her lips even as she clutches a wound on her shoulder, soaked to the bone. "Sorry to intrude." Asuna says. "But I'm not sure where else I can go at the moment."

"P-please come in." Lizbeth steps aside, eyes locked on the deep glowing gash of the new arrival. "Are you alright?"

"I will be fine." Asuna steps into the small house, looking around and seeing the table set for dinner. "Oh. I apologize for interrupting."

"No, it's fine." Kirito gets up, fingers already dancing through his inventory for some medical supplies. "What happened to you?"

Asuna's eyes look back at the now closed door, contemplating her answer for a moment. "I was betrayed."

"By who?" Lizbeth says so quietly it's almost a whisper.

"I don't know who specifically, just that it's a member of the KoB. Since we always keep tabs on each other, there's few places I know of that they wouldn't be able to follow me." Asuna dips her head. "I selfishly chose your place since it was fresh on my mind since you told me I could visit. I'll move on in the morning, if you'd be so kind as to let me stay for the night."

"Of course." Lizbeth guides Asuna over to the kitchen table. "I'm not so cruel as to kick you out when you're like that. Kirito-"

Kirito tosses her the medical herbs she was about to request before she can even ask.

"I-" Asuna allows herself to be pushed into the chair. "...Thank you."

Lizbeth looks at the wound and bites her lip. "I'm going to have to pull off your shirt."

"That's fine."

Lizbeth looks over at the blankly listening Kirito. "You need to go into a different room. Why don't you go get her some of my clothes?"

"...You want me to go rifling through your drawers? Are you sure-"

Lizbeth rolls her eyes. "Just do it, idiot."

Kirito stands up and heads out of the room.

Asuna watches him until he shuts the door, then reaches up and starts tugging at her own clothes to unstick them from herself. "He seems nice."

"Yes." Lizbeth assists Asuna in taking off her top, spending extra effort to avoid moving her left arm in the process. "I've known him since I was a kid."

"Capable in combat as well." Asuna purses her lips. "He must have ben training for a while to be that good."

Lizbeth crushes the herbs in her hands and waits for them to transform into a healing powder. She reflects briefly on how practiced the last two days had made her in medicine synthesis, and worries that it might be becoming a trend. "He actually just had his Upgrade a few days ago. One of our friends has been helping him learn the ropes for a few years, but…"

"Just had his upgrade." Asuna's eyes narrow. "That's impossible. Even I have difficulty facing down Armored Rabbits, and he managed to defeat one fairly easily."

Lizbeth puts the newly generated powder on the gash in Asuna's shoulder, and the Chestnut-haired girl winces. "He's a full year younger than me. It wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes."

"Does that make you only sixteen?" Asuna raises an eyebrow. "And you have your own shop?"

"Y-yes." Now that the emergency is over, Lizbeth's nerves return. "I've been working hard to make a name for myself as a blacksmith, but I'm still a long way off."

"Oh!" Asuna looks up at her current host. "You must be the prodigy Heathcliff was talking about! He said that a young woman had repaired his sword to such a high quality he was thinking of making their shop his usual."

Lizbeth looks away. "I think I had a customer by that name, but that sounds like you're talking about someone else-"

"Tall, red armor, gray hair and eyes, chiseled features?"

Lizbeth bites her lip. "Y-yes."

"Then you must be who he was talking about!" Asuna grabs Lizbeth's hand in hers. "I'm glad I met you, though the circumstances leave a bit to be desired."

"Yes…" Lizbeth looks at the rapidly healing shoulder. "Um, would you like a shower? You must be cold soaked through like that."

Asuna looks down at herself in surprise. "Oh, yes, I should probably change. I really appreciate your hospitality."

"Of course. The shower is that way, and I'll go grab you some clothes since someone-" Lizbeth raises her voice, "-hasn't gotten her a set of clothes yet!"

From behind the door to her room, Kirito snaps back. "If I had come out, I'd have been yelled at for the reason you kicked me out of the room in the first place! I already picked some things out, just hand them to her yourself!"

Asuna's mouth quirks up into a smile. "You two are very close."

"Yeah… If only he wasn't so insistent on becoming a hero…"

Asuna heads to the bathroom and Lizbeth grabs the bundle of her own clothes that Kirito had picked out. Asuna's a bit taller and has a fuller figure, so the clothes may not exactly fit well, but it's better than wet clothes for sure.

Once the clothes have been transferred, Kirito is allowed back into the main room.

"...I should set out a place for her too." Kirito mutters to himself.

"Ah, right." Lizbeth snaps out of her thoughts. "Do we have enough food?"

"I… may have bought a lot more than necessary." Kirito ducks his head. "I forgot I was cooking for two people. Too used to working at the inn."

Lizbeth smacks his shoulder on her way past him. "That's the idiot I grew up with!"

"Hey! It helped, didn't it?"

The two are still making quips at each other when Asuna walks out of the shower, looking a lot better now that she's not completely soaked. Lizbeth's clothes are… more than a little ill-proportioned, but she's not forced to cover herself to remain modest.

"Thank you for lending me your shower, Liz." She looks at the third place set out and raises an eyebrow.

"You're welcome to join us for dinner." Liz smiles at the newcomer warmly. "I can't guarantee the taste, but this guy made a lot."

"If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it." Kirito grumbles, forking some of the mediocre food into his mouth.

"I'll have to accept your hospitality." Asuna grabs one of the biscuits.

"Wait-!" Lizbeth jumps up to intercept the food, but Asuna's speed is astonishing.

She takes a bite of the biscuit and freezes up for a good few seconds.

"Dude… you broke her."

Kirito glares at Lizbeth. "It's not like I was trying to make them that bad! We should have just thrown them out!"

Asuna suddenly starts her mouth moving again, setting the horrible biscuit down on her plate. "If you don't mind, I can make dinner as payment…?"

Lizbeth finishes locking away the firestones she uses to run the forge and wipes her hands down.

It's been three days since Asuna and Kirito stopped over. She had offered to let the two of them sleep over seeing as they're both hiding, and they had both accepted. Asuna had ended up in her room, and Kirito had made his home on the floor of the main room.

Lizbeth herself had managed to get her work done at a quick pace thanks to having two people willing to assist and incapable of leaving.

At first it was nice to have two sets of hands aside from her own to fetch things and clean up, but she quickly realized that since the two never went out, they were getting bored pretty quickly. So, she had dismissed them for the afternoon while she finished up the batch of weapons she had been working on.

She's actually a bit ahead of schedule for the first time in a while. Maybe she should go out shopping…

Lizbeth's thought process is interrupted by a large gust of wind rattling the windows accompanied by a bright blue glow reflecting off the trees despite the evening sun, and she immediately marched to the back door of her home. "Hey! What did I tell you two about… sparring…"

Rather than seeing two people hitting each other with sticks like she had been expecting, there's just two blurs as the soil underfoot is torn up by their movements. The glint of weapon skills being activated leaves blurry trails of light in her vision, and she's incapable of uttering anything else for a few more seconds.

The practice duel Kirito and Asuna had entered into hadn't been going of for long before Lizbeth had left the building, and it isn't destined to last much longer either.

It's only a few steps after Asuna spared the new arrival a moment of her time and Kirito tried to take advantage of the momentary distraction that the boy had ended up slammed into a tree back first and upside down, having caught a stab to the chest when trying to do a move that was way too flashy for its own good.

Lizbeth brings her hands to her face in shock, watching as Kirito slumps to the ground, landing face down on the ground and his butt in the air.

"Owwwwww…"

"That's what you get for trying to be cool." Asuna appears next to Lizbeth, causing her to jump slightly. "Next time, pay attention to your opponent's movements, and don't take the most obvious opportunities, they're always fake."

"...Got it." Kirito flops over and just stares at the tree he had slammed against for a bit.

Asuna turns to Lizbeth. "Sorry, but he kept going on and on about being the 'world's greatest swordsman' and I decided he really needed to be knocked down a peg or two."

"Right…" Lizbeth sighs. "Let's hope the neighbors didn't notice."

"Still." Asuna looks back at the prone man and squints her eyes. "You said he's fresh off his Update?"

"It's been less than a week." Lizbeth confirms.

"...And he's able to take out an Armored Rabbit. And keep up with me…" She purses her lips. "Maybe I should recruit him for the KoB."

Kirito finally sits up, rubbing his face to get the dirt smudges off his face. The two watching get a good view of the tattoo, which still looks as harsh as the day he got it.

"Does the KoB take criminals?"

"No. But, that can wait. In the meantime, I can continue to train him."

"Not looking like that, hopefully."

Asuna looks down at herself to see that her borrowed clothes, slightly too small at the best of times, are now mildly scandalous due to being shredded by the spar. "...Oh." Her hands position to cover herself better.

"I've been thinking we should go out and get you some more clothes, and if you're going to continue to fight, I don't want to have to replace my entire wardrobe." Lizbeth strokes her chin.

"I'd use my KoB armor, but it's too distinctive." Asuna sighs. "Maybe I can borrow another set of clothes and go out?"

Lizbeth starts racking her brain for solutions only for Kirito to interrupt her thoughts a moment later.

"What, Liz going shopping? And here I thought she was barely a gir-"

Lizbeth's kick finds its mark and Kirito is sent to the ground doubled over. "Just for that, I'm having you come to help."

Kirito continues to groan, but whether because of the kick or the new task she's not sure.

"If we bring him, we'll draw even more attention." Asuna observes. "There's a reason the Mark appears on the culprit's face."

Lizbeth licks her lips. "I was actually planning for that already. See, I found these items…"

Kirito rubs his temples once more, watching the two women in front of him pick out yet another set of clothes.

Yes, he understands women are taught to care about their appearance to a larger degree than men. Yes, he understands that if he sees the result later he'll be bowled over by how good they look. It doesn't change the fact that, to his eyes, the two yellow dresses with the same pattern on them look identical. He had resorted to studying them and then slowly picking one or the other at random when asked his opinion.

In any case, he'd really like this trip to end. Something about the tall marble pillars cut so precisely you could cut yourself on the corners reminds him too much of a dungeon. This 'mall' has no warmth to be found in its halls. If it wasn't for the bustling crowds, he'd expect a dragon to be guarding treasure somewhere in here.

He glances over at Lizbeth to see that she and the disguised Asuna are now looking at two pairs of shoes that actually look identical, but are clearly comparing them.

Lizbeth had produced two disguise kit items, which change the user's appearance for about six hours. Asuna had been encouraged to disguise herself as someone with a similar body type so she could try on clothes properly, but Kirito had chosen to look like a mixture of his dad and a pretty boy he'd seen singing on stage a while ago. It was different enough that he was sure he wouldn't be suspected, but when Lizbeth saw him she had just burst out laughing.

No matter, nobody's been staring at him while backing away, which is what had happened on his brief walk to LIzbeth's house in the first place.

Lizbeth walks up and presents the two pairs of shoes to Kirito, who looks down at them and frowns.

"...I'm sorry Liz, but I really don't see a difference."

"Look at the inside sole. There's different patterns in the stitching."

"Wouldn't having more stitching on the bottom of your foot be uncomfortable?"

"Yes, but it looks nice."

"...But your foot is going to cover it."

Lizbeth frowns. "But I'll know it's there."

Kirito stares at Lizbeth's face for a few seconds before lifting up the pair of shoes with less unnecessary stitching on the insole. "This one."

"I should've known." She sighs and turns away. "Hey Yuki? He gave the same answer you did."

Asuna rolls her eyes. "That's because paying more to be uncomfortable is-"

Kirito's attention is drawn away as he receives a call. Grateful for any distraction at this point, he immediately answers.

"Hey Klein."

"Kirito. Hey, do you know where Lizbeth is?"

"She's at a mall." He glances over to see the two girls putting one of the pairs of shoes back. "Buying clothes."

"Yes, but there's something else going on." Klein's voice lowers a few registers. "She's with a guy I don't know."

"Eh?" Kirito looks back into the store. Nobody but Asuna and Lizbeth in sight. "You mean Asuna?"

"No, she's not just with another girl. She's talking with some guy who looks really suspicious."

Kirito's brow furrows. What the hell is he talking about? "Klein, are you at the mall?"

"Yes. I'm about to interrogate this creep. Wish me luck!"

The line goes dead.

Kirito's danger sense goes off and he steps to the side just as a man dressed in red charges past him.

Klein turns around and brings his hands up as if ready for a fight. "Hey man, I don't know who you are, but-"

Kirito sighs. "Klein, it's me, Kirito."

Klein blinks. "Eh?"

"Klein!" Lizbeth's face lights up as she recognizes the larger man. "It's been a while!"

"H-hey Liz." Klein looks back at the disguised Kirito. "Are you really…?"

"Duh. It's not like I could just go walking around with my face the way it is right now, right?"

"...Fair point. Though, I haven't actually heard what happened yet. Parent's wouldn't tell me, so you'd better spill the beans kid." Klein nods. "So, who's this lovely lady?"

The three turn to look at Asuna, who looks behind herself to find nobody. "Who, me?"

"I don't see anyone else." Klein makes a show of pretending to shield his eyes from the glare of the sun and scan the horizon. "So it must be you."

Asuna's mouth quirks up slightly. "I'm Yuki."

"Nice to meet you." Klein's grin grows slightly as he shakes her hand. "What brings you three to the mall?"

"Clothes shopping." Liz puts her hand on her hip. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on the front lines bashing your sword into a monster's head?"

"It's not a greatsword, Liz." Klein looks genuinely hurt for a few moments. "It's a delicate instrument, my katana! But anyway, there's been a lull in the push for a few hours." Suddenly Klein's cheery facade falls away slightly. "They're probably pulling back to prepare for another attack. These waves have been getting harsher and harsher…"

"Damn." Kirito mutters, his fists clenching.

Klein seems to recall where he is and suddenly is full of cheer again. "Nothing for you kids to worry about. I'm here to pick out some new clothes for a hot date I've got tonight, so don't let me-"

Lizbeth grabs him before he can say his goodbyes and slink away. "A date? Our famous bachelor, on a date?"

Kirito grabs his shoulder, and even Asuna crosses her arms and waits expectantly.

"It's, ah…" Klein's mask slips away once more, but this time is replaced by an embarrassed smile. "She's one of the shop vendors on floor twelve. I've been buying from her for the better part of a year now, and we've been talking a bit outside of work."

Liz turns to Asuna. "This might be his only chance to find happiness."

Kirito nodes solemnly.

"Hey!"

Asuna ignores the man's outburst and nods. "We'll have to get him all prepared for his date, then. Two women's opinions would be better than your own, yes?"

"W-wait!" Klein holds up his hands. "I already know what I'm getting."

Asuna turns to Lizbeth. "How's his fashion sense?"

"He's wearing a bright red sweater with black joggers." Lizbeth points out.

Asuna turns to Klein. "So, let's go find some good clothes!"

Klein reluctantly allows himself to be verbally dragged away with the group. "But, it's seriously an actually good suit…"

"I told you I don't have a bad fashion sense." Klein mutters. "I was just wearing those because they were comfortable."

"No way for me to be sure." Asuna grins. "But I have renewed faith in your ability to pick nice clothes."

Kirito frowns at the suit laid out on Lizbeth's table that they had eventually picked. "I still don't get why Klein wasn't supposed to get the one that was a bit cheaper."

Klein holds the suit up. "See how when I put it up to the light you can see the weave of the fabric?"

Kirito squints. "...I guess?"

"This weave is nicer than the cheaper suit's. It's subtle things like this which can make or break an outfit."

Liz nods sagely.

Kirito's brow furrows further. "But I can't even see that unless I'm looking. Would anyone actually study it that closely?"

He gets three nods in return, and sighs.

Asuna gestures to the suit. "So, are you going to put it on? You said your date is in a few hours, right?"

"Right." Klein holds the suit so he can eye it up once more. "I guess… well, I'm just nervous."

"What, she's that far out of your league?!" Lizbeth smirks. "I'm not gonna forgive you if you chicken out again."

"What's this 'again' business?" Irritation crosses Klein's face, only for the emotion to pass. "Nah, I'm worried about the front line. I've gotten pretty good at predicting the wave timings… and I can't help but feel if I go on this date I'm going to not be there when my team needs me."

"I could go." Kirito springs up, smile on his now-undisguised face. "I'll keep everyone safe!"

"Sure you will." Klein sighs. "I appreciate the thought, but you're not experienced enough."

"That's the SECOND time today-" Kirito cuts himself off, biting his tongue and crossing his arms. He knows that Klein is probably right, but…

"Second time?" Klein reaches out to ruffle Kirito's hair. "What, Liz get on your case again?"

"No, it was me." Asuna starts picking through the clothes she had picked. "We sparred earlier, and while he does have some skill, he has very little experience."

"You may not know this, but he just got his update a week ago." Klein shakes his head. "And from what I hear, he's capable of taking down an-"

"-Armored Rabbit, yes." Asuna finishes his words. "Still, not capable of leading an army."

Kirito throws his hands in the air. "GIve me a break! I was just trying to help Klein with his once-in-a-lifetime date!"

"Hey now, I've had plenty of dates!" Klein rounds on his protege. "Remember Monica?"

"That was two years ago!"

"We dated for a year, Ki-" Klein's expression fades as his gaze extends out to somewhere the rest of them can't see. "...Dammit."

"Floor 12?" Liz asks cautiously.

"Yes." Klein's hands ball into fists. "Shit."

Asuna taps her hands on her thighs. "Okay, so maybe Kirito isn't capable of leading your forces. You're the leader of Fuurinkazan, yes?"

"Y-yeah." Klein's brow furrows. "How did-"

Asuna lets her disguise drop, and Klein's eyes widen.

"Would you trust your guild to me, second in command of the KoB?"

"...Ah, uh…" Klein works his mouth for a few moments. "I thought you were missing."

"I have been hiding out here, yes." Asuna agrees. "The frontline is important though, and it's not like I'm likely to get caught by the rest of the KoB if I'm not wearing their colors."

"B-but… wait, 'caught by'?" Klein struggles to follow the situation.

"It's a long story." Liz interrupts. "Hey, why don't you just get ready for the date? Asuna here can handle your guild."

"...I suppose." Klein licks his lips nervously.

"Don't worry Klein!" Kirito stands up again. "I'll go as well. Between the two of us, we'll at least add up to the hole you're leaving."

Klein takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. "...Thank you, both of you." He glances at Lizbeth, who has started to wring her hands out again. "I think I'll take you up on that shower offer then."

Asuna turns to Kirito. "Well, if you're coming with me, you'd better get your gear on."

Kirito's fingers practically become blurs as he starts to scroll through his items.

"Er… Kirito?" Lizbeth steps up to the young man as the black cloak he'd picked out as his signature item settles down on his shoulders.

"Yeah Liz?" Kirito can't quite keep the grin off his face. He's going out to real combat! He can prove himself!

"Please be careful, okay?" Liz grabs both of his hands in hers and holds them up. "The front line is… it's so scary. I'm going to be worried."

Kirito's flippancy dims somewhat and he tried to bring himself to be serious. "I know, Liz. I'm not gonna do anything stupid."

"I'll be the one giving him orders." Asuna leans in. "I've got a good measure of his abilities, so I won't put him in unnecessary danger."

"Really?" Lizbeth lowers her head, but doesn't break eye contact. "You promise to come back?"

Kirito maintains eye contact. "As soon as the fight is over, I'll be back to snoring right over there." He points to his spot these last few nights. "I promise."

Lizbeth finally breaks eye contact, nodding to herself and finally letting him go. "Be careful."

"We will." Asuna looks at Kirito. "Coming?"

"You know it."

Lizbeth and Klein watch the two go.

"Now I think I'm nervous because my team is in the hands of someone I don't know that well." Klein mutters.

"Well, you'd better start being worried about your date!" Lizbeth's mind is forcibly shifted gears to start fussing over Klein.

If she didn't start doing something, she fears she'd go crazy with worry…