AN: *Minor spoiler for this chapter* As if Kirito wasn't bad enough, now Marzanna too? The mildly angsty misunderstanding between these two is killing me, but I don't really write this story. It mostly writes itself once I get on a roll, it's only the occasional hiccups and starting the chapters that I actually have to think about. Hopefully the story decides that it'll get resolved soon. Although the downside of their misunderstanding is that Kirito scene and Hanna's first scene are similar. Also, Go Argo, Go! Matchmake these silly fools! You've gotta get through to them eventually! ...Right? The Kirito/Hanna scene is very clichéd, but it's just what came out, so I hope you guys don't mine clichés.

Review responses:

Tempestae Night- I'm glad you like it, you and a person over on AO3 requested similar things, and your requests were the major inspiration for that chapter.

Kurasabe- The warning for sexual content is mostly for the James/Lily/Dante stuff in the first couple of chapters. As I've said before, I haven't yet decided if I'll fully write the scenes between Marzanna|Hanna and Kazuto|Kirito, or if I'll heavily imply then scene shift. I've never written a sex scene, so I'm incredibly nervous to fully write those scenes, but to answer your question? Mega amounts. They'll put rabbits to shame after they own a boss.

harlequin320- He do this. Hope it's not disappointing.

BootyBootyBooty- Your review made me feel incredulous disbelief. If they explicitly state that Sparda's bloodline will only have boys, I either missed it or forgot about it. If there isn't, well, the only canon confirmed relations to Sparda are Vergil and Dante, Nero is defiantly related to Sparda in some way, but it's never actually explained how. It's entirely plausible that he's only a distant relation, but he's heavily speculated to be Vergil's son. That said, unless it's as I stated previously, confirmed in canon that Sparda's bloodline will only produce boys, then there's no reason that a girl can't be born.

To Everyone- Last chapter had probably the most reviews per a single chapter. It wasn't a colossal amount, but a lot of people enjoyed last chapter immensely. Thank all of you for your support. It means a lot to me. The only reason I've continued this story is because of you guys, otherwise it's entirely likely I would've lost interest within the first five chapters. Thank you.

July 20th 2023- 257 days since SAO launch:
Mike looks around one last time to make sure he'd gotten everything he wants to keep before closing his trunk. The trunk was a gift from his mom, and is from what he's been told exactly like the one she owned, or rather had owned. It was pretty much Marzanna's now, and Lily had only just replaced it when she bought Mike's.

Less than a month prior the third task of the Triwizard Tournament had taken place. It had ended in the worst possible way. Having been wanting to see who was trying to kill him, and thinking it to just be an old Death Eater or something, he'd taken the Goblet right from under Cedric's nose with a quickly muttered apology. What he had not been expecting was to come face to face with a still very much alive Pettigrew and Voldemort.

He'd been stunned before he could get over his shock, and when he'd come to he'd been tied to a grave and forced to help make Voldemort a new body. By the time he'd finally escaped, he'd been an absolute mess of injuries. He hadn't said anything about what he'd seen at first, not wanting to panic the crowd, but he told Dumbledore later. The gleam in the man's eye had been all Mike had needed to see to know that Dumbledore had suspected Voldemort was behind his forced participation in the tournament. It had made him sick to know that the man he'd adored and had complete faith in would use a child as bait to lure Voldemort out. And if that night had taught him anything it was that, that was all he was, a child stuck between the two titans that were Dumbledore and Voldemort.

If that wasn't bad enough, even before he'd spoken to Dumbledore, Mad Eye Moody had turned out to be a Death Eater in disguise. The Death Eater, Barty Crouch Jr, had told the whole tale under Veritaserum. From Peter hiding as a rat in the sewers all these years, to Voldemort forcibly extracting information from Bertha Jorkins' mind, to Voldemort coming for him and disguising himself as Mad Eye Moody, to everything he'd done to ensure it was Mike who reached the cup first. Then Minister Fudge brought a Dementor into the castle and had it administer the kiss to Crouch.

Dumbledore had gone forward with the information about Voldemort's return that he'd gotten from Mike and Barty Crouch Jr anyway, but the Ministry was denying it. They were doing everything in their power to discredit Dumbledore, but as he hadn't gone forward with the information himself they mostly left him alone. Though they did make occasional comments about him, it was relatively tame.

Still, Potter had wanted to threaten to sue them for slander, but Dumbledore eventually convinced him not to. He told him that the Daily Prophet would stop, but would print an issue going into exact detail of what James had said. Potter may have disliked his family name being tarnished, but even he knew such an issue would bring the Potter family under heavy fire, possibly ruining their reputation. At least until people realized that Voldemort really was back. As he valued his reputation and fame more than anything, he backed off, though he certainly wasn't happy about it.

He felt like a lost child, unsure of what to do, or where to go. He knew that war was coming whether the Ministry wanted to admit it or not, but he wanted no part of it. Wanted nothing to do with the mess the adults had made before he was born now that it had come back to haunt them.

He'd told his mother everything, even confessing how he felt about the situation. In return, she'd gravely informed him of the prophecy that was made just before Marzanna, Neville, and himself had been born. It had been a shock of course, knowing that it was supposed to be up to him, but his mother gently pointed out that it didn't say anywhere in the prophecy that he had to do it by himself.

Then she'd told him that she'd been thinking about asking him to move in with her. She'd barely finished her sentence before he accepted. Why wouldn't he? A chance to get away from Potter, live with his mother, and have better access to Marzanna before she came home all rolled into one?

On top of that his mother and step family had made it very clear that they'd do everything in their power to prepare him for his eventual confrontation with Voldemort. If there was one thing this school year as a whole has taught him, it was that, that was far more than he'd get from Dumbledore, who'd likely just throw him to the wolves. He felt like he was incapable of saying yes fast enough.

With a sigh he finishes securing his trunk. Just as he's about to pick it up and leave though, a very familiar voice comes from behind him, "Never figured you to be the type to run away from home pup."

Whirling around, he was greeted with the sight of Remus and Sirius standing in front of the door, both of them frowning at him. Shit. With everything that had been going on, he'd forgotten to tell them about his mother and sister. Potter was gone right now, having been called to an Order of the Phoenix meeting, but he'd be back in an hour, and while Mike wasn't afraid of him, he knew Potter wouldn't let him leave easily.

He'd never become famous himself as he'd hoped, but he was rather famous as the father of the Boy-Who-Lived, even if Mike's name was currently not worth that much, they both knew it was only a matter of time before the Ministry was forced to pull their heads out of their asses and acknowledge Voldemort's return. So he'd never let Mike leave, even if it meant stunning him in the back. So he did not have the time for this at the moment.

The possibility that they may soon inadvertently make him Potter's prisoner frustrates and angers him, and it shows in his voice, "I'm not running away from home, I'm going to it, so get out of my way. I'm going home, and you aren't stopping me."

Remus doesn't rise to his anger, instead replying in a soothing tone, "Cub, your dad told us you've had issues with him lately, but this is still your home."

He knows Remus doesn't deserve his wrath, but he couldn't stop himself from exploding at that, "That man is not my father! I refuse to call anyplace he calls his my home. What are you guys doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be at the meeting?"

Remus and Sirius share a glance, then Sirius cautiously replies, "Your dad-" He holds up his hands in surrender as Mike glares murder at him, "James was concerned about how seeing Voldemort return was affecting you. He was worried you might do something drastic, something like this, so since we had nothing to report he asked us to come check up on you."

He growls, "Is that the excuse he came up with this time? I suppose it doesn't matter. This has nothing to do with Voldemort." Seeing their clear disbelief he sighs, "Well, ok, maybe this has a bit to do with Voldemort, but it's mostly because I finally had my eyes opened to the truth. I finally saw Potter for the monster that he is."

Sirius looks incredibly alarmed, "Pup, your dad isn't-"

He cuts him off, "I saw Marzanna." There was a deafening silence at his announcement, "And my mother as well. Funny thing, she was remarkably clear minded for someone under love potion."

They were staring at him in shock, and Remus sounds shaky and hesitant when he finally finds his voice, "What-" He swallows thickly, then continues, "What do you mean you saw Marzanna? She- She's alive?" Mike nods, "But- How? She-"

He glances at the clock and growls again. Then he pulls his wand and points it at them. They both step back in shock, but he ignores it, "Look, I don't have time for this. I'm moving in with my mother, and I'd rather be gone before Potter gets back. I love you two, so the last thing I want to do is hurt you, but I will if you don't get out of my Merlin damned way!"

Sirius glances at Remus, but he was staring intently at Mike. Eventually he nods, "Alright. But we're coming with you. And you will answer our questions when we get there."

He eyes him for a moment in distrust, then hesitantly puts his wand away and grabs his trunk, "That's fine. As long as it isn't here I'll answer every single question you can possibly think up to the best of my ability. Let's go then."

Remus and Sirius follow him out of the house and out of the wards. He pulls out the permanent portkey his mother had given him so he could return whenever he wants, a necklace in the form of what he's been told is the Nephilim symbol. The only times he's taken it off since she gave it to him were for the second and third tasks, as it was a magical item and he wasn't permitted to have it on him. It would've been a breach of the magical contract with the Goblet of Fire that was forced on him, and would've thus taken his magic. If he'd had it for the third task, he could've just used it to get away before Voldemort used his blood to return, because of that he'd had a crushing anxiety about taking the necklace off again.

So he doesn't remove the chain from around his neck, even as he holds the pendant out to Remus and Sirius. They both give him sympathetic, understanding looks as though they know exactly what he was thinking, then they shift closer and each put a finger on the pendant. As soon as he was sure they were touching it, he activates the portkey with its password, "Devil's Den."

When he lands, he is immediately greeted by his waiting mother, she warily eyes Remus and Sirius, "Mike. There you are, I was worried Potter had stopped you from leaving when you were late."

He kisses her cheek in greeting before responding, "I told you he'd be at the Order meeting for another half hour at least. He did, however, send Sirius and Remus, as he apparently suspected I was going to do something."

She glances at them, "I see. Is that why they're here?" He nods, and she nods a tense greeting to them, "Sirius, Remus, it's been a while."

They both stare at her intently, and he knows they were looking for signs of her being under love potion. The longer they examined her, the more confused and grave they looked. After a few minutes of tense scrutiny Remus nods in return, "Lily. It's been far too long. How have you been? We were worried."

His mom sighs, "I'd be better if Marzanna wasn't trapped. I'm assuming you were worried because of Potter's lies about me being under love potion?"

Sirius nods hesitantly, torn between the harsh truth he can see with his eyes and loyalty to his long time friend, "Yeah. Why would James lie to us? And what do you mean Marzanna's trapped? Trapped how? And where? I thought you said you spoke to her, Mike."

She nods, "He has spoken to her. It's... complicated, seeing as you don't know much about the Muggle world Sirius, and I've no idea how much Remus knows. As for Potter, well, he spoke the truth when he said I was love potioned by my husband, he just lied about which husband it was."

The two go wide eyed, and Remus' voice gets shaky, "You aren't honestly saying- James wouldn't-"

Lily grimace, "I'm afraid James has been lying to you for quite a while. He drugged me with amortentia in our sixth year. I temporarily got out during my... bachelorette vacation with Severus' help. Which is when I met Dante, my husband, and more importantly my soulmate."

Sirius jolts, "Your- Your soulmate? Are you serious?"

Seemingly unable to help herself from the gleam in her eye, she immediately quips, "No, you're Sirius."

He rolls his eyes, "Oh ha ha, very funny Lily."

She shrugs, "If I had to put up with that dumb joke all through our Hogwarts years, and even after, then it's only fair I get to use it against you at least once."

Sirius grimaces, "I thought I was being clever, but hearing someone else say it... I'm surprised you didn't hex me considering how often I used that joke."

She gives him a deadpan look, "It was a very close call on more than one occasion."

Remus rolls his eyes, "I've wanted to hex you for that one on more than one occasion myself, Sirius. However, if we could get back on track?"

They both give him sheepish looks, then his mom sighs and pulls her hair out of the way, exposing her neck. On it was what looked like an intricate tattoo of two guns, one black and one white, crossing in an X. In front of them was a large equally elaborate claymore, its guard was a demonic looking ribcage, collarbones, and skull. The end of the sword's hilt was topped with a crown. The thing about soulbond marks, is that people instinctively know what they are. For Muggles, they'd just get the sense that the tattoo was important to the person, and that they weren't single. Magicals however, instinctively knew exactly what it was second they laid eyes on one.

As such, Remus and Sirius immediately know upon seeing it that she was telling the truth, at least when it came to her husband being her soulmate and not holding her under love potion. It would take a bit more convincing for them to believe James had been using love potion on her, though the beginnings of suspicion were already forming. After all, if her husband really was her soulmate, she had no reason to lie that they could see.

In the magical community, it was perfectly reasonable to leave someone for your soulmate, no matter your previous feelings for them. So even if her wedding was only a week or two away, and she would've been damn near leaving James at the altar, she had nothing to be embarrassed by. It would've been scandalous only up to the point that it was discovered that the man she'd left her fiancé for was her soulmate, then people would've found it perfectly understandable. Oh sure, they would've been sympathetic for James, for the fact the woman he loved found her soulmate a week before they were to be married, but no one would've thought less of Lily at all.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Remus pinned Lily with a look, "While this proves your husband is your soulmate and hasn't been dosing you with love potion, it doesn't prove that James was."

Lily nods, "I know. I have a pensive, I can show you the memories pertaining to it, if you think you can handle seeing it."

They glance at each other, then look back at her in determination, though it was Sirius who spoke, "If you're telling the truth it will be hard to see it. To know that the man we thought we knew and was our friend wasn't who we thought he was at all, but we can handle it."

Mike chooses to rejoin the conversation at that point, "In that case, allow me to add my memories as well. There are other things you two need to know. If it's alright with you mom, I'd also like to add the memory of yours, Hermione's, and Severus' explanation about Marzanna's situation. It should help them understand, seeing as they're as unfamiliar with Muggle technology as I was back then."

She nods in agreement, so Mike turns to them, "I should inform you beforehand, some of the memories I'm going to show you are Marzanna's from when our twin bond resynchronized."

They start moving towards the study, which was where his mom kept her pensive. It was a place where one was guaranteed to get some peace and quiet, as it was mostly used by Lily, Vergil, and Eva for important things like going over the Devil May Cry shop's finances and meeting with clients with large or time consuming jobs.

Trish had definitely been happy that they took that over from Dante, as she no longer had to worry about not getting paid. Though admittedly that had already started to fade before that, as Kyrie had temporarily started to do it before the others arrived and took over. She may be kind and sweet, but she understood that they needed funds to be able to do their job and live off of, and she could be surprisingly terrifying when someone tried to screw her family over.

Sirius glances at him as they move through the house, "About that. How are you not affected by being apart?" At Mike's deadpan stare he hurries to correct himself, "I mean from the bond itself. I- I know you were rather depressed when you thought she'd died, but that was because she's your sister, not because of the bond."

He sighs, "You'll see soon enough, I'll just add the entire meeting where mom explained Marzanna's situation to me."

Sirius and Remus share a glance, then nod. When they reach the room, his mother quickly brings out her pensive and sets it on the desk. She quickly drops a memory in, then moves aside so Mike can add his own. Putting his wand to his temple, he concentrates on the first memory, then deposits it into the pensive. He repeats this process four more times. He doesn't know what his mom had put in, but he adds the memories of finding Marzanna bloody at the bottom of the stairs and her telling him it was Potter's doing, Marzanna telling him about the amortentia and the resulting argument, Marzanna's memory of Potter casting hex after hex at her for destroying the amortentia before dumping her in America, the memory of when he was reunited with his mother in its entirety, and finally Marzanna's memory of Kayaba explaining the death game in the plaza.

The memories would be a difficult and bitter pill to swallow, especially actually seeing Potter hurt her, but they needed to know the full truth. Hesitating a moment, he also adds the brief memory of Marzanna's message he was supposed to deliver to the two.

He glances at his mother, "Can you cast an audio translation spell? The second to last memory is in Japanese. I know what it's about, but I don't think either Remus or Sirius know Japanese."

She shakes her head, "The pensive has more than just the regular runes. It also comes with a translation rune. It'll automatically translate it for us, both audio and visual." He nods, so she glances at Remus and Sirius, "Are you ready?" They nod firmly, but when they move to get up she shakes her head, "This pensive also has the ability to project the memory above it. I'll just activate that."

They glance at each other then nod. So she puts her finger on the rune that causes the pensive to project memories, then pushes a little bit of magic in it to activate it. Immediately, the memory she'd added appears in the air above the pensive. They watch as she listens in on Dumbledore and Potter's conversation about Marzanna destroying the amortentia, then see her burst into the office and Crucio Potter. Then his memories play out.

By the end of it Sirius and Remus are both pale and shaky, and his own mother is trembling in fury. Likely at Potter's abuse of Marzanna. He watches them quietly for a monument, "One of the things I learned from our bond reconnecting, was that due to Marzanna's increased durability, Potter was never able to hurt her with his bare hands, though not for lack of trying. He had to resort to spells designed for creatures with heightened magical resistance to hurt her at all."

They stare at him for a minute, rage slowly overcoming Sirius and Remus' shock. Finally Sirius explodes as he shoots from his chair, "That bastard! How dare he hurt her! I'll fucking kill him!"

Remus quickly grabs onto him before he can storm from the office to make due on his words, "Sirius calm yourself!"

He whirls on Remus, "Calm?! You want me to be calm?! He-"

Remus cuts him off with a growl, his eyes turning gold in indication of how close to the surface his wolf was, "I'm damn well aware of what he did to my cub Sirius, and I'd like nothing more than to rip him to pieces!" He pauses and forces himself to take a calming breath, his eyes turning back to their usual green, "However, if you did that, you'd be sent to Azkaban, and if I did it I'd be executed because I'm a werewolf. I can guarantee you that Marzanna wants neither of those things to happen. She already has enough to deal with at the moment, she doesn't need to worry about us as well. Potter will get his, I promise you, but we're not going to kill him, and it'll have to wait until we're in a better position to retaliate."

She smiles at them, "I'm glad to know we have you two on our side. I always did like you Remus, and once you finally started to mature a bit I quite enjoyed your company as well Sirius." Then her grin turns vicious, "If you're pursuing revenge on that bastard, you should talk to Vergil. He's got a cruel steak a hundred miles wide when provoked, and he'd happily get behind seeking revenge for Marzanna."

"Damn straight I would. Who's the revenge against and what'd they do to Marzanna?"

They turn to see Vergil leaning against the door frame. His mom grins at him, "Potter, for abusing her. What are you doing up here?"

Vergil growls, and his eyes turn red as demonic energy begins to spark around him like lightning, "I wanted to see what was going on, since Mike brought guests and you took them to the study. More importantly, that is one endeavor that I will gleefully assist with. I've been wanting to get that bastard ever since I found out about everything he did to you and Marzanna, but much as he hated him too, Dante wouldn't let me. He knew if I took care of it personally I'd give that bastard a tortuous death, and he felt that it would be bad for my mental health."

Remus and Sirius don't really understand, but Lily and Mike knew he was talking about the fact he was still a bit unstable due to his soulmate's death and likely would be for quite a while, if he doesn't have issues for the rest of his life. Mike stands up then turns to Sirius and Remus, "Well, I'm going to assume you two now understand my situation and support my decision to move in with my mother." They nod, "Good, then I'll leave you to your planning of Potter's demise, or at the very least, ruin, as I need to unpack."

They wave him off vaguely, so he leaves to do just that. As he is on his way out, he hears some of the things already being discussed, and dark glee fills him. Oh, Potter was definitely going to pay dearly if the four are coming up with stuff like that straight out of the gate.

Hanna blinks as dark glee bleeds through the bond from Mike. Normally she can't feel his emotions due to the distance between them, but he'd visited her two days ago and informed her of his decision to move in with their mom. She'd been ecstatic about that. But it did mean she knew he was now closer. Considering how weak their bond is, it was still strange that she could feel his emotions. She figures the feeling must be incredibly strong for her to feel it and absently wonders what was happening. Then she shrugs it off, she'd ask him later, right now she was relaxing.

As luck would have it, the 26th floor was another desert, she'd immediately informed Asuna that she and Kirito would not be helping out with this floor. She refused to deal with his heat-induced moodiness again. She'd figured that they'd just head down to the 24th floor and grind there, maybe focus on upgrading their equipment until the frontlines moved to the 27th floor, but Kirito had insisted they relax for a few days. After her stressful outburst with the boss, Kirito was instant that she unwind. Not that she'd put up much of a fight against it, she'd only given obligatory arguments before happily agreeing.

So they'd spent the last four days relaxing together. It was great, they had a lot of fun. She tried not to think about the fact that she was having alone time with Kirito, and that it was the first time they took more than a few minutes to do something other than mapping, grinding, questing, or focusing on doing some other important thing. It was difficult to keep her mind from straying that way, considering the lack of doing anything left her with quite a lot of time to think. Especially since Kirito napped a lot, so she wasn't even able to distract herself with conversing with him. Not that she minded his sleeping habit other than being unable to talk to him. She'd already known that Kirito was a sleepy head, it didn't bother her.

He was actually sleeping at that very moment, having dozed off an hour ago. She herself is sprawled out on her own bed next to his, menu open as she chats with Argo. That certainly didn't help her aversion to thinking about things that should not be thought about though. Argo takes every opportunity to ask how her 'quality time' with Kirito is going. It drives her up the wall. The constant reminder was also admittedly rather painful.

She knows Argo doesn't mean to hurt her, she was just being Argo and teasing, but it was painful anyway. She keeps saying that Kirito liked her, but he doesn't. She knows he doesn't. Whenever situations started to take a turn in that direction he'd get a pinched look on his face. And it hurt, it hurt so goddamn much, Potter's abuse couldn't even begin to compete, Agnus' experiments didn't hold a candle to it, even the great demon that awoke her Devil Trigger and Devil Triggering itself for the first time was incomparable.

Closing the window after Argo tells her she had to meet with a client, she rolls onto her side and watches Kirito for a few minutes. It was slightly terrifying, how much power he had over her without even realizing it. She knows he can crush her in every way with just three words, but similarly if he simply changed one word, he could give her the whole world. All it would take would be an 'I hate you' or 'I love you'. Even just an 'I like you' would change everything for her, as long as he means as more than friends.

She sighs. That was the problem though, wasn't it? That's all she'll ever be to him. His friend. The thought cuts her deeply. Rolling over she decides to get some sleep despite it only being noon. At least in the world of dreams Kirito was more than just her friend, she'd have to content herself with that.

Kirito wakes slowly, not in any hurry to engage his brain more fully whatsoever. He'd been having a pleasant dream about Hanna. Not a wet dream, though admittedly he had gotten more than a few of those. No it wasn't anything of that nature, but it was nice nonetheless, to dream of a world where Hanna feels the same way he does. Opening his eyes, he sees that it was late afternoon, and notes that the sun would go down soon. He glances around the room quickly looking for Hanna. Almost immediately he finds her sleeping on her bed. He watches her for a few minutes, a tender feeling bubbling in his chest, then quickly looks away when he realizes it might be a little creepy to watch his sleeping party member. When he realizes his eyes were drifting back to her on their own, he rolls onto his side, putting his back to her.

He almost regrets insisting on this period of relaxation. He can't bring himself to really regret it, considering how stressed Hanna had been, and how much he enjoys being able to spend time with Hanna with no pressing matters to attend to. However, keeping how he feels about Hanna to himself becomes more difficult by the day. It doesn't help that Argo keeps trying to tell him that Hanna reciprocates his feelings. He knows she was just trying to be helpful, but she was wrong, and all it did is serve as a painful reminder of what he can't have.

With a sigh he rolls back over. After watching Hanna for a minute an idea hits him. A picnic would be nice and relaxing, and if he hurries they might be able to watch the sun go down after they're done eating. Glancing at the clock, he figures he has fifteen minutes to get set up before he and Hanna would need to leave if they were to make it on time. Pushing himself up, he quickly leaves the room and goes downstairs to the inn's tavern and purchases some food. Returning to their room, he sits on the edge of Hanna's bed and gently wakes her up.

She blinks in a sleepy manner a few times, then yawns. He thinks it's one of the most adorable things he's ever seen. Impulsively he reaches over and starts running his fingers through her hair. A moment later he realizes he might've crossed a boundary and starts to pull back. This is what he meant by having difficulty keeping his feelings to himself! Before he can fully pull away though, Hanna leans into his hand with a content sigh, so hesitantly he resumes carding his fingers through her hair.

When her eyes close, he realizes she is starting to doze off again, "Hey, don't fall asleep. I wanna go somewhere, but we gotta go soon."

She opens her eyes again and gazes at him sleepily, "Don' wanna. 'm comfy."

He chuckles lightly, "That so?" She hums in agreement. He shakes his head fondly, "Who's the sleepy head now?"

"Still you. You're the one who dozed off while we were talking earlier."

He blushes lightly in embarrassment. He hadn't been able to help himself. Hanna's voice was one of, if not the most soothing things he's ever heard. It was so easy to be lulled to sleep by it. The only time that wasn't the case was when she was excited, angry, or passionate about whatever she was talking about. He wasn't about to tell her any of that though. He was sure she wouldn't appreciate it, considering how uncomfortable the idea of a relationship with him seems to make her.

So he just coughs awkwardly, "Yes, well. Anyway! We should get going. I wanna have a picnic. It would be immensely relaxing, don't you agree?"

She grins at him, then finally sits up with a stretch, "Alright, Alright. I'm up. If we're leaving town just let me requip into my gear, then we can go get the food and head out. We can forgo the blanket."

He smiles at her while equipping his own gear, "Actually, I already went and picked up the food. So we can just head out."

She nods as she closes her menu, now in her regular gear, "Well, alright then. Let's go."

Kirito nods, and stands up. He leads her to the teleport gate, then takes them down to the 14th floor. When they finally gets to where he wants to go, he leads them to the edge of both Aincrad itself and a sparse forest. There was still a good half hour til sunset thankfully, so they weren't too late. It was inaccurate, but in Aincrad when the sun starts going down the sky turns golden rather than red. The forest was already beautiful, but with the setting sun painting everything golden, it was absolutely gorgeous. They'd come across this place two months prior while searching for an out of the way quest they'd heard about from Argo. At the time, Hanna had been too distracted by navigating with the map data from Argo to really notice the scenery. Certainly, she kept an eye on her soundings, but she was only paying attention to possible attacks or traps, not the soundings themselves.

So it doesn't surprise him that she looks around with wide eyes, "Oh. Wow. It's- Wow."

He grins, "I know right? We were here looking for that quest. The one you got your falcata from?"

She looks startled, "We came through here?" He nods, and she looks around again before shaking her head, "I didn't even notice."

Kirito smiles gently, "Well, you were a bit distracted by navigating. So it's not too surprising."

She shakes her head again, then returns his smile, "Well, I do believe we have a picnic to eat?"

He nods enthusiastically and she laughs. They spend the next half hour eating, then chatting as they watch the sun reach the 'horizon', which was a thick cloud bank in the distance, then set. They stay even after the sun has gone down, as he simply tells her he wants to show her something, which she accepts without question.

They wait for another half an hour, then Hanna straightens from her relaxed slump in surprise. Little lights were appearing all over the place, and he smiles in Hanna's direction. They couldn't see stars, obviously given most of the sky wasn't visible and there don't seem to be any programmed in even if you try to look from the edge, but Kirito had picked this floor for a reason. It was one of the few with fireflies. And while they certainly weren't stars, it was the closest there was in Aincrad.

With a content sigh he flops back so he's lying down, and a moment later Hanna joins him. For A few minutes they just lay there watching the fireflies, then Hanna's hand accidentally bumps his. She pulls it away for a few seconds, then hesitantly returns it so that the backs of their hands are touching. He also hesitates, then slowly grabs her hand. She entwines their fingers together.

An hour later Hanna lets go of his hand and rolls over. He blushes when she was done readjusting. She's curled into him with her head on his chest and her hand splayed a few inches from her face. He curses the fact he stutters when he speaks, "H-Hanna? What-"

He cuts off as he brushes the hair from her face so he can look at her. She was sound asleep. He hadn't even noticed her doze off. He huffs a small laugh in fond exasperation. He doesn't want to wake her again, so he'd either have to carry her, or stay here until she wakes up. Hopefully, being asleep doesn't count as resisting him moving her, as he really didn't want to get a harassment warning.

Thankfully, when he carefully moves, then picks her up, the harassment warning does not in fact appear. He carries her back to town, then starts heading for the teleport gate. Players give them weird looks as they pass, but he ignores all of them. When he finally makes it back to their room he gently puts her under her blankets. However when he tries to straighten up, he quickly discovers that Hanna has grabbed onto his shirt. After trying unsuccessfully to get her to let go of his shirt for a few minutes, he gives up. With a sigh, he unequips his coat and sword. Sliding into the bed next to her, he briefly spares a thought to what is going to happen when Hanna wakes up. Hopefully she'd give him a chance to explain why he was sleeping in her bed, rather than just slapping him from the get go. Even if he couldn't feel pain itself, it was still uncomfortable to get hit.