AN: Alright guys, slight confession to make, I went kinda write crazy when I was writing last chapter, and got this chapter done the same day the previous chapter was uploaded, but wanted to wait a bit before uploading it. I was already working almost immediately on chapter 24, but then I got pretty sick. So now I feel like crap and really don't feel like writing right now. I'll get the next chapter out as soon as I can, but please, no 'update soon's. Right now I can barely breathe through my nose and have a headache, not to mention how my body constantly aches and the pressure in my ears. I just can't focus on the fic at the moment, sorry. The only reason you're getting this chapter now is because I promised myself I'd upload it for you guys a week after the last one came out. Anyway, we are closing in on the end of Aincrad. Which is both sad and great. Despite the twisted circumstances behind it, I really like Aincrad, so I'm sad to see it go. On the other hand, I've got a good amount of things planned that can't happen until Aincrad is defeated, so it's exciting to be moving on.

September 2nd, 2024- 667 days since SAO launch:

Lily stares at the letter Mike had sent her in amusement. She remembers Slughorn of course, despite what Mike thought, they'd gotten along extremely well. As much as Lily hated the posturing of the Slugclub, she wasn't stupid. For all her talent in Potions and Charms, she was still a Muggle-born living in the UK. Unless she invented the next Wolfsbane Potion or Fidelius Charm, she knew she'd get nowhere, and it was difficult to bring about the next big Charm or Potions invention when you were broke and unemployed. Basically, she knew she was screwed unless she had someone willing to open doors for her. Someone like Slughorn. Slughorn usually attempted to keep the knowledge that the reason for the Slugclub was so he could become familiar with the most promising students in each year, but there had always been something of mutual understanding between the two of them. He knew she disliked his over the top parties and the posturing, but also that she needed him to open doors for her.

She could understand Mike's distaste for his little get-together on the train, but while Mike certainly doesn't need Slughorn to open doors for him, there was no reason to distance himself from Slughorn either. Perhaps though, it was about time she got back in contact with her favorite teacher, if for nothing else to warn him that her son was very much like her. Besides, he'd been her favorite teacher when she attended Hogwarts. The biggest reason they'd fallen out of contact had been because of Potter, he wouldn't let her interact with the man except as was necessary for classes. Likely because Slughorn would've recognized the effects of a love potion almost immediately if he'd been any more focused than running a class allowed.

Nodding decisively, she sets off in search of parchment to write letters to her son and favorite teacher.

October 17th, 2024- 712 days since SAO launch:

Hanna shakes her head in mild amusement at Kirito's pouting. They were making their way to Agil's shop to sell an incredibly rare item they had acquired called «Ragout Rabbit Meat». It was an S-Class cooking ingredient, and like all high class cooking ingredients was said to make incredibly delicious food. Kirito of course, wanted to eat it, but they didn't have the cooking skill, much less the level in said skill to even hope to cook it successfully. This obviously meant that Kirito was pouting, seeing as he was being 'cheated' out of a delicious meal. She almost wishes she could find someone with a high enough cooking skill, if only to get him to stop pouting. It was pitiful, and far more adorable than it had any right to be.

Entering Agil's shop, she calls out a greeting to him, "Hey Agil! We've got something pretty special today."

Agil tilts his head in curiosity as Kirito slumps into himself at the announcement, "Kirito doesn't seem to want to sell it... " Then suddenly he leans forward with a concerned expression, "You guys aren't fighting over what to do with drops, are you? That can do some pretty serious damage to a relationship really quickly."

Kirito leans against the counter with a shake of his head, "No. We can't do anything with it but sell it. Doesn't mean I've gotta like it though…"

Agil turns confused, "Well, I'm glad then, but what exactly are you selling."

Kirito sighs and opens his menu. Going over to view the item, he makes his menu viewable, then pushes it to Agil without a word. Agil looks over the menu now in front of him. It's easy to tell when he realizes what he's looking at, as his jaw drops and he raises a shaking hand to point at the item in question, "S-Seriously? This- This is an S-Class item! I've never seen one before…" Straightening up from where he'd bent over to get a better look at the menu, he turns his gaze to her mate, "Hey, Kirito. You guys aren't anywhere near hurting from money, right? Wouldn't you rather eat this yourself than sell it?"

Kirito closes his eyes with a down-hearted sigh, "I'd love to eat it. I'll probably never get one again."

Agil put his hands on the counter, leaning towards him slightly, "Then-"

Kirito finally reopens his eyes, giving Agil a depressed look, "But who has a high enough cooking skill to prepare this?"

Agil sighs in realization and crosses his arms, "If we tried, we'd just burn it…"

Kirito gives another depressed sigh. At that moment though, Hanna notices Asuna had come in. She isn't particularly set on eating it, but her mate was being far too pitifully adorable for her to handle, so she quickly turns to the newcomer, grabbing her shoulders with a wide hopeful smile, "Asuna! My bestest, most outstanding and amazing friend! How wonderful it is to see you!"

Agil and Kirito jump at her outburst, and turn to her in confusion. Asuna however, gives her an amused look, "Mhm. What do you want?"

Out of the corner of her eye she sees Agil lean over to Kirito to stage whisper, "I know they've been getting along better, but since when are they so…"

Kirito shakes his head, murmuring back, "I don't get it either. We ended up going to Asuna's house for dinner almost two months ago. I fell asleep on the couch, and by the time I woke up they were all…" He gestures vaguely at the two of them, "...Buddy-Buddy… It's really confusing to be honest, given that they went from seemingly hating each other just five months ago to… Whatever this is."

She rolls her eyes, and ignoring the boys gives Asuna another grin, "So! Out of curiosity, what level is your cooking skill?"

The boys, having finally caught on, perk up, and Asuna gives her a suspicious look, "I maxed it out just last week. Why?"

Kirito and Agil let out startled exclamations at that announcement, but she ignores them. Without hesitation, she opens her menu and shows Asuna the item. Asuna leans forward with a hum of curiosity, then lets out a loud gasp, pointing at the item, she stutters, "T-This is a Ragout Rabbit!"

She nods with a grin, "Exactly! Me and Kirito don't even have the cooking skill, but you've got yours maxed out. If you make it into a stew or something, there should be more than enough to share, right?"

Asuna grabs onto her cloak with an intense look, "You've got yourself a deal, as long as I get a third of it!"

She shakes her head, "A fourth." As Asuna angrily opens her mouth, she holds up a hand to stall her protests, "Agil has been really good to Kirito and I. I'd feel bad if we didn't invite him."

Asuna turns her head to the side in brief contemplation, then nods firmly, "I'll need to make more sides than I usually would if four people are eating, but fine. I'll accept that."

Kirito grabs Asuna and Hanna's hands, and begins dragging them out excitedly, "Then what are we waiting for! We have Ragout Rabbit Stew to eat!" Turning his head slightly, he calls out, "Come on Agil! Hurry it up! Hanna was nice enough to invite you, but if you take too long you lose your portion!"

Agil hurriedly opens a menu as he rushes around the counter, "G-Give me a minute, ok?! I've gotta close up the shop!"

Right outside of the shop, Asuna pulls her arm out of Kirito's grip with an amused smile, "There's not a huge rush. I still have to cook the food, you know?"

Agil catches up just as Kirito nods, "I know! That's why we're rushing! So you can finish cooking it sooner!"

Asuna sighs, "Calm down already." Then she shakes her head, "Anyway, if you guys don't even have the cooking skill, I doubt you'll have the cookware or ingredients I'll need, so we'll have to go to my place." She turns, and Hanna finally realizes there was a member of the KOB with her. Hanna immediately tenses, there was something… Off about the guy, though she couldn't put her finger on what. Asuna purses her lips lightly as stares at the guy, "That will be all for today. Goodbye."

The guy frowns, "Asuna-sama, you can't let such suspicious people into your home."

Asuna sighs, "They aren't suspicious. They're acquaintances of mine. Besides, they're very skilled. Agil is probably right around your level, if not stronger, and the other two are at least twenty levels higher than you, Kuradeel."

Kuradeel scowls, "You're suggesting they're superior to me? And by such a large margin as well?" Suddenly understanding washes over his face, "I see…" His expression darkens, "They're those filthy Beaters."

Asuna's expression tightens with displeasure, and Kirito turns to him, "Yes, we are."

Kuradeel abruptly takes a few steps forward, getting into Asuna's personal space, "Asuna-sama, all they care about is themselves! Nothing good will come of being being around them!"

His loud exclamation draws the attention of everyone nearby, and confused murmuring begins to break out as they recognize Asuna and wonder what was going on.

Asuna glances around with a frown, then turns her gaze to Kuradeel, harshly ordering him, "Just go home for today. That's an order from your Vice Commander."

With that she turns and begins to march away, clearly displeased with what had happened. Kirito stares at Kuradeel a moment longer, then suddenly Asuna grabs the back of his coat and begins dragging him. He looks over his shoulder at her, awkwardly stumbling backwards, "H-Hey, are you sure about this?"

Asuna doesn't hesitate, firmly telling him, "I'm sure!"

Hanna glances back at Kuradeel one last time. She doesn't like the dark look he's pinning her mate with at all, but he hasn't actually done anything, so with a harsh warning glare that has him taking a startled step back, she hurries to catch up with her mate and friend, Agil following right behind.

Once they've caught up and turned the corner out of sight, she saves her mate from Asuna, "You know, if you wanna march off furiously, we'd go faster if Kirito wasn't trying to stumble backwards."

Asuna gives her a startled look, then releases Kirito with an embarrassed flush, "Sorry. That guy just really gets under my skin. Both with his attitude and with the way he creeps me out."

Agil frowns in concern, and though any good guy would ask, something about the hardness under his concern suddenly reminds her that Agil is twenty nine to their sixteen, and while he isn't exactly paternal that he's probably more protective of them because of it, "Does he act inappropriately towards you?"

Asuna sighs, "Well… No. I don't know why he creeps me out to be honest. I know you're not suppose to judge people without reason, but there's just something about that guy that feels… off. It's especially aggravating since he's been assigned as my guard."

She frowns, "So it's not just me then. My mom always says that a woman's intuition is one of her most powerful assets. You should trust it. If that guy bothers you for some reason, there's probably something to it. You should ask for a different guard, though I don't know why you of all people need one."

Asuna sighs again, "Maybe… It would probably be for the best, though I'm not sure my request would be accepted so easily. I was very outspoken against the new regulation saying that all high ranking members of the guild are required to have at least one guard, which is why I have one to answer your question. They might just ignore my complaints, thinking I'm just trying to get out of having a guard."

She huffs, "I don't think you need one, but the whole point of a guard is someone you trust to have your back. Trust being the key thing there. You don't have to like your guard, but you do need to be able to trust them, to an extent. If they refuse to take your discomfort seriously, then they don't respect you and they certainly don't deserve to have you to begin with."

Asuna shrugs, "Maybe, but it's not like I can just leave."

Hanna stops and pins her with an incredulous look, "Of course you can!"

Asuna tilts her head, "Well, yes, technically I can, but with my reputation, it would reflect badly on the guild if I just up and left. Especially if it wasn't a… friendly parting, so to speak. It would be incredibly rude to just abandon my commitment and damage the guild's reputation like that."

She gives an aggravated huff, shaking her head, "Again I'm seeing the cultural differences between the Japanese and Americans. If they don't respect and deserve you, how the hell is it rude of you to take your leave? They're the ones at fault."

There's a pause in the conversation as they teleport to Selmburg. Asuna shrugs, "I don't really know how else to explain it to you. I suppose we'll just have to accept the difference as it is."

She releases a sigh of her own, "I suppose so. I don't think I'd ever understand why you'd stay."

Asuna tilts her head, "Like I said, it's out of respect. Even if I have been thinking about leaving the guild, unless I can convince Heathcliff to let me go, I can't."

Kirito frowns at her, "Is it really getting that bad in the KOB?"

Asuna sighs once more, "I just don't like how the guilds been changing. The Commander used to invite everyone into the guild personally, back when we were smaller. But then we began getting more and more people. After people started saying we were the strongest guild, everything started getting weird."

She looks away, "Other than leaving the guild, which you refuse to do, I don't know what else you could do about it."

Asuna shrugs, "Nothing really…" Just as a bell begins to ring in the distance, she shakes her head, then smiles at them, "Well, there's no use worrying about it. Besides, that's not really the type of conversation you want to have right before a fantastic dinner, now is it?"

Kirito smiles lightly in return, "No, it definitely isn't! Talking about bad subjects just before or during a meal negatively affects the quality of that meal. It would be an absolute waste of Ragout Rabbit to talk of such things before we eat."

The three of them laugh at that, and Asuna nods, "Precisely. This is a once in a lifetime chance, so let's not waste it with such depressing topics!"

Over an hour later, they've finished the rather fantastic meal. Weirdly, when Asuna materialized the meat, they'd discovered that just the meat item alone was almost twice the size of the rabbit. It didn't make any sense, but Hanna had just chalked it up to video game weirdness.

Asuna gives a content sigh, "I've been here for two years, and this is the first S-Class ingredient I've had. I'm glad I've survived this long."

Kirito nods, "Yeah…."

Asuna lowers her head a bit, "It's strange… It kind of feels like I was born and raised here my entire life. It's just a feeling."

Kirito gazes at the table sadly, "Lately, there are days I can't even remember the other world. And it isn't just me. Recently, fewer and fewer people have been giving their all to clear the game."

She frowns, "It irritates me, to be honest. Yes, we're all beginning to get used to Aincrad, but we still have our families to get back to."

Agil nods, "Mhm. I may not be on the frontlines anymore, but I still want to get out of here. I miss my wife."

Asuna smiles, "I want to go back too. There are lots of things I never had a chance to do there." She glances briefly at Hanna, "Goals I haven't had the chance to achieve."

Kirito returns her smile, "Yeah. Unless we do our best, it isn't fair to the merchants and others who are supporting us."

Asuna nods at that. There's a bit of silence, then Asuna looks up at them, "Can I ask you something? Why don't you want to join a guild? I mean, I know as the so called Beaters it would be difficult to fit in, but… Ever since we reached the 70th floor, the mob algorithms seem to be more and more irregular." There's a brief pause, then Kirito nods in agreement, at which Asuna continues, "I know you guys have the highest levels in the game due to your grinding habits, but there are still things you can't handle with just the two of you. And you can't always warp out."

Kirito looks away with a frown, "We're careful."

Agil snorts, "Most people would say your grinding habits alone are reckless, much less all the stuff you guys get up to, like taking on Mini-Bosses on your own. There's a reason you guys are called crazy."

She pouts at him, "Traitor. Right after I invited you to dinner too." Then she shakes her head, "Kirito and I know what we're doing."

Kirito nods, "Besides, other than Hanna, I can't think of that many people who wouldn't be more of a hindrance than helpful."

Asuna spasms, her hand twitching towards her knife as she pins Kirito with a murderous glare, "Is that so?"

Kirito becomes nervous at her dark look, and lifts a hand in surrender, "I get it. You're one of those few exceptions."

Asuna nods firmly, "Exactly." Kirito breaths a sigh of relief as she stops glaring at him, and Asuna hums, "If you understand that, you should let me party up with you guys for a bit. It's been forever." Kirito makes a choked noise, drawing laughter from Hanna and Agil, and Asuna idly adds, "Also, black is my lucky color this week."

She opens her mouth, but before she can say anything Kirito cuts her off, "What! But what about your guild?"

Asuna shrugs, "We don't have any leveling quotas."

She really doesn't understand why Kirito seems so adamantly against it, but he continues without hesitation, "Th-Then what about your guard?"

Asuna starts to clearly get irritated by that point, "I'll ditch him."

Kirito leans back, obviously unable to think of another reason right off the bat, he goes to take a drink of his tea, clearly still thinking it over, only to realize his cup is empty. Asuna was one step ahead of him however, and was already holding the pitcher with a smug smile, as though it proves something. With a sigh, he puts his cup on the saucer and slides it to the middle of the table, then pulls it back when it's been refilled.

Picking the cup back up, he opens his mouth, but from his expression, it was clear to Hanna it was another protest, so she covers his mouth with her hand. She smiles at Asuna, "That sounds like fun! You should totally party with us for a bit!"

Asuna smiles back with a firm nod, "Then it's decided!"

With that she sends a party request to Hanna, who happily accepts. Only then does she remove her hand from Kirito's mouth. He sighs in resignation, "Well then, since I apparently have no say in this since you two have made up your minds, it's… Nice to be working together with you again Asuna."

Agil laughs at that, "Ah, Kirito, you've got an incredibly stubborn wife and female friend. The sooner you realize that it's nearly impossible to tell such women 'no' the better off you'll be. I really don't see why you've got such a problem with it anyway." He sighs, "Actually, if I didn't have my shop to take care of, I might've joined you guys."

Kirito gives him a pained look, "... It's because it's Asuna and Hanna…. Together…. In a party…. With me. I'm outnumbered by stubborn women now Agil." That draws a sympathetic wince from Agil and giggling from the girls. Kirito pouts down at his tea, muttering, "At least before they got along I could almost always count on Hanna siding with me out of sheer principle, but ever since they started getting along it's just not the same. Now though she sides with Asuna to tease me…. It's almost as bad as Hanna and Argo together…." He turns his pout to Asuna, "If I've gotta put up with the two of you together for hours then I demand you make lunch at least!"

Asuna tries vainly to hide her amused smile behind her hand, "You just want more of my sandwiches."

Kirito huffs, "So?"

Asuna shakes her head, "Oh, alright. Since you have to valiantly put up with the horror of the two of us together, I'll be nice and grace you with sandwiches for lunch tomorrow."

She gives Asuna a mischievous grin, "It's just a shame we'll be going to the frontline labyrinth. Otherwise, I'm sure Argo would love to join us, don't you think?"

Asuna gives her a positively evil grin, "Oooh, definitely. You know, maybe we should party up with her sometime. The four of us going questing together would be fun!"

She beams at her, "Oh, that's an excellent idea my dear Asuna! We totally should!" She turns her wickedly amused look to her mate, "What do you think Kirito? Doesn't that sound fun?"

He stares at her in mute horror. After a moment, Agil pats Kirito on the shoulder, "It was nice knowing you my dear friend. I'll say great things about you at your funeral."

Kirito turns a fierce glare on him, "Traitor! I knew there had to be a reason I liked Klein more! He'd have my back here!"

Agil just snorts, so Kirito descends into furious mumbling, she doesn't catch much, but it's obvious he's attempting to either make plans to make sure the 'unholy trio' doesn't actually happen, or at the very least if it's inevitable, convince Klein to save him. Hanna shares an amused look with Asuna. Tomorrow was sure to be fun, perhaps it was just the right combination of the relaxation Asuna needed with the focus Hanna herself currently required.

October 18th, 2024- 713 days since SAO launch:

Hanna glances at her clock as Kirito mutters, "She's late…"

Since they had agreed to meet in front of the Teleport Gate at nine, Asuna was in fact ten minutes late. Considering she'd had problems sleeping the night before, for once she was on the same page as her sleepy head of a mate. Right after Kirito yawns again, they hear the Teleport Gate make the distinctive noise of an incoming player. They both turn to the gate just in time for Asuna to come flying out with a shout followed immediately by a cry, "Watch out!"

Of course, by the time she says it, it was already too late, and she lands right on top of Kirito. It takes Hanna's sleep deprived brain a moment of staring to realize the unfortunate position Asuna has landed on him in. Namely with her breasts squishing his face. Moving forward, she quickly helps Asuna out of the accidental but rather embarrassing position Asuna had ended up in with her mate.

Helping Asuna brush dirt from her usually pristine uniform, she asks in concern, "What the hell happened Asuna? Normal people don't run through the Teleport Gate precisely because it spits them out like that." That however, seems only to remind her why she'd been running, and she suddenly puts Kirito between herself and the Teleport Gate, "Th-That… pervert was watching my house when I got up this morning! And he wouldn't leave me alone. He's stalking me!"

She tilts her head in confusion, "Who-"

She doesn't get any farther before the Teleport Gate activates again. Whirling around, she sees none other than Kuradeel calmly come through the Gate. He glances around, and as soon as he lays eyes on Asuna, he sighs like an adult dealing with a particularly troublesome child, "Asuna-sama, you shouldn't act like this. Let's go to guild headquarters."

Asuna shakes her head fiercely, "No! What were you doing outside my house so early anyway?!"

Kuradeel raises an eyebrow as though it should be obvious, "I thought this might happen, so for the past month, part of my mission has been to observe you in Selmburg."

Asuna gives him an incredulous look, "Th-That wasn't part of the guild leader's orders, was it?"

Kuradeel firmly tells her, "My mission is to guard you. That includes at your home."

As Asuna protests that, Hanna narrows her eyes. Perhaps it had been part of Heathcliff's orders. It was obvious Asuna was no longer content with the KOB, and she honestly didn't need a guard. Perhaps Heathcliff was worried she would leave, and had only assigned her a 'guard' to keep an eye on her. From what she knew of the man, it wasn't too far outside of the realm of possibility.

She refocuses as she realizes Kuradeel is approaching Asuna and Kirito, and quickly cuts him off, shouldering him back with a glare. Asuna is her friend, and she really doesn't like how he'd been looking at her mate the day before, "A man who can't respect a lady's boundaries has no place being her 'guard'. Get out of here, before I make you."

Kuradeel sneers at her furiously, "You can't make me do anything, so I suggest you stay out of this you filthy Beater. Asuna-sama's safety is my responsibility, which means you're interfering with Knights of the Blood business."

Hanna narrows her eyes, "I may not be able to do anything to you, but you know what I can do? I can break your equipment. Only a fool would attempt to go anywhere near the labyrinth without gear. Not to mention, that flashy sword and your chest plate would probably be rather expensive to replace, wouldn't it? Besides, Asuna doesn't need a guard, but she's much safer with Kirito and I than a weak creep like you."

Kuradeel takes a sharp breath in, fury taking over his features, "Is that so? If you're so confident you guys can guard Asuna-sama better, I suppose you wouldn't mind proving it, now would you?"

She scoffs as the creep sends her a duel invite. This guy is either a fucking moron or stupidly overconfident, either way, she'll happily put the creep in his place, the only problem was she isn't sure if Asuna would be ok with it. Glancing at the girl in question, she receives a nod, Kirito gives her a worried look as he murmurs, "Are you sure it's ok?"

Asuna nods again, "It's fine. I'll report this to the guild leader myself later."

With a firm nod, Hanna turns back around and accepts the duel without hesitation, immediately selecting «First Strike Mode» rather than the usually preferred «Half Loss Mode» which ends as soon as one player goes into the yellow of their health bar. Kuradeel draws his two handed sword as soon as the countdown starts, pointing it at her like an idiot, "Watch carefully, Asuna-sama. I'll prove that these people can't protect you like I can."

Without responding, Asuna backs up a bit with Kirito to give her more room. A crowd had long since gathered to see what «Lightning Flash Asuna» and a member of the KOB were arguing about, but now they began to murmur excitedly, "«She-Devil Hanna» is going to duel a member of the Knights of the Blood!"

"This'll be fun to watch!"

She scowls. She-Devil Hanna, oh how she hates that name, even if it is ironically correct. People had started calling her it sometime after the 50th floor boss fight. Kuradeel 'tsk's in annoyance, then brings his weapon up into a ready stance. She doesn't even bother drawing her sword though, simply readies her claw.

He scowls angrily, "You arrogant little… You think you can beat me with a claw?!"

Hanna stares him down coldly, bluntly informing him, "I know I can."

Asuna had said that Kuradeel was 'at least twenty levels below her' yesterday, seeing as she actually has a rather good idea of her and Kirito's levels, that put Kuradeel at just about level eighty. The thing was, she'd faithfully taken care of and leveled her Cursed Claw ever since she got it oh so long ago. It was now level 93. In other words, her claw is at a higher level than he was. Not to mention, he was using a two handed sword, something that gives up the speed and ability to equip an additional off hand weapon for more powerful attacks and larger reach. He was already incredibly slow, but she's a high agility player. Even if she hadn't selected First Strike Mode, she'd still have this in the bag with her claw alone.

As the timer ticks the last few seconds down, she judges the distance between them, carefully adjusting the aim of her claw, and preparing the skill «Lightning Rush». Technically, she has a stronger rush attack, but using Lightning Rush to defend Asuna seems more fitting, even if she was the only one who'd know.

The crowd is rather obviously hoping for a show. She has no intention of giving them one. The moment the timer gives the notification sound starting the duel, she activates her skill. Kuradeel has barely begun to shift his weapon into a skill activating stance before she was behind him, both his sword and chest plate breaking with her pinpoint strike. There's a dead silence from the crowd as he stares down at the handle of his weapon in shock for the seconds before that too bursts into polygons.

After a moment the crowd begins to murmur again, "... didn't even see her move…"

"... broke both his weapon and armor with one hit…"

She turns and gives him a cold glare, ignoring the winner notification from her hitting Kuradeel after tearing through his chest plate, "I told you. If I have to make you leave, you'll be leaving without your equipment."

Giving her a furious look, he quickly equips a dagger before rushing her. Just as she brings her weapon up to block though, Asuna disarms him and steps between them with a glare in one fluid motion.

Kuradeel gives her an alarmed look, "A-Asuna-sama…" There's a brief pause, then he suddenly points a shaking finger at Hanna, "She cheated! She used some trick to destroy my gear! Otherwise, I never would've lost to some filthy Beater."

Asuna frowns sternly at him, "Kuradeel, this is an order from the Vice Commander of the Knights of the Blood. As of today, you are relieved of your mission to guard me. Stand by at guild HQ until you receive further orders. That is all."

Kuradeel gives her a shocked look, "W-What?" Then he glares at Hanna, "You…"

He looks like he desperately wants to say or do something, but after a moment, he slumps in defeat, and silently goes to the Teleport Gate before leaving. As soon as he's gone, Asuna slumps tiredly against Hanna with a sigh of relief. After a moment, the crowd begins to talk amongst themselves as they slowly disperse.

Asuna turns to them, "I'm sorry for involving you guys in that."

She shakes her head, "It's fine. We're friends aren't we?" Asuna nods with a smile, which she briefly returns before frowning, "Besides…. I already sort of had problems with him."

Asuna tilts her head, "How so? You only just met him yesterday, didn't you?"

She nods firmly informing Asuna, "Yes, I did, and it wasn't a good first impression. Not only did something about him set off my intuition, but I also didn't like the way he talked to you, and I hated the look he gave Kirito when you were dragging him off. You'd almost think he was plotting Kirito's murder or something with a look like that. So, yes. I already had rather terrible issues with him right off the bat. You can call me judgmental all you like, but I don't care if he changes into a fucking saint after that today, I still won't like him."

Kirito flushes in embarrassment, "Oi! Defend Asuna all you like, but it's not like I need you to defend my- my honor or anything!"

She shoves a hand over his mouth with a sharp, "Shush! I'll defend you all I like, and you'll never convince me otherwise!"

Kirito tries to say something, but it is thoroughly muffled by her hand. She shakes her head anyway, "Never gonna happen."

Kirito gives her an irritated look, saying something else unintelligible. She huffs, "No."

He rolls his eyes. Then after a moment, says something else. She tilts her head at him, "I don't know, are you gonna keep protesting my right to defend you?"

He sighs, then gives a barely understandable, "No."

She gives him a suspicious look, then removes her hand. He grumbles a bit, but doesn't outright argue anymore. Asuna relaxes a bit, giggling at their antics. Hanna turns to her with a wide grin before slinging an arm around her neck and pulling her close, "So my dear Asuna! You get the immense honor of hanging out with us today!" That draws snorts from the other two, which she ignores, "So, what's it gonna be? Exciting quest? A heart pounding sub-dungeon with an equally epic mini-boss at the end? Death defying shenanigans of the like only we Beaters get up to?"

Asuna gives her an amused look, "This was supposed to be a relaxing break away from my guild."

She tilts her head, "It is!"

Asuna rolls her eyes, "I would've thought it was obvious what we were doing when we agreed to meet here. We're labyrinth mapping."

She gives an exaggerated sigh, "Boring. I was hoping for something else. You're no fun Asuna, you know that?"

Kirito shakes his head, "Honestly Hanna, she wants to take the day off and party with friends. All that stuff is for tomorrow."

That startles a laugh out of Asuna, then she gives him a mischievous grin, "In that case, I'll accept your offer and take it easy today. You can be the forward."

Kirito jerks, "W-Wait a second! We take turns as forward!"

Asuna just continues to grin at him without missing a beat, "I'll do it tomorrow!"

She laughs, then pushes him ahead of them, "Well, since you so graciously offered, I suppose I'll take it easy today as well!"

Kirito stumbles from her push, then makes a rather hilariously high pitched sound, "What?! No! You can't just-! You're supposed to-! Oh, come on! You're my partner! My wife! This is supposed to be an equal sharing of duties thing, isn't it?!"

She laughs, the ever present doubt fading just the tiniest bit at those words, but still there. Always there. Ever since Laughing Coffin. She does her best to ignore it, as she usually did, instead smiling at Kirito, "Of course it is silly! I'm just teasing. Calm down."

He pouts at her, then pulls ahead a bit to grumble to himself in peace. Once his attention is off of her, her smile fades as she gazes at his back, pain, worry, doubt, and so many others. After a moment, her arm is nudged, taking her entirely by surprise. Looking over she flushes, she'd forgotten about Asuna, and was now receiving a concerned questioning look. Swallowing thickly, she looks away, giving Asuna a firm shake of her head without looking at her. There was a brief pause, then a sigh from Asuna.

She feels guilty. Asuna has been nothing but a good friend recently, but this was unbelievably personal. Besides, there wasn't wasn't actually anything wrong with her and Kirito yet. It was doubt and the knowledge she'd almost surely lose her mate when she finally told him the truth that was slowly breaking her heart. There was nothing Asuna can do to help her.

Five hours later, they'd reached the twentieth floor of the labyrinth, and explored no less than 27 paths. Exploring the dungeon was actually really easy, given that she and Kirito were used to exporting at night when the spawn rates are higher, and the mobs were a lot harder, which obviously isn't true at the moment, and Asuna is tagging along. Though she'd joked about it earlier, it actually was turning out to be rather boring. Not that she'd say anything. The whole point of this is to give Asuna a chance to relax, and she clearly is, if the content look that appears on her face between fights is any indication.

Abruptly, Asuna pulls her attention away from her thoughts and Kirito's from the map, "Guys, look."

Lifting their gazes from the floor and map respectively, they both pause as they lay eyes on the boss door itself. After a moment, they hesitantly approach. Finally stopping right in front of the door, Asuna murmurs, "Is this… the boss door?"

Kirito nods, "Probably."

Asuna shifts nervously, "They've never looked so…. intimidating before though…."

Kirito shrugs with a nervous expression, "Well, no, but what else could it possibly be?"

Asuna pauses, then tilts her head, "So what do we do? Just take a look? That's what's normally done, but…"

Kirito glances at her, "Boss monsters never leave the rooms they guard. If we just open the door, we'll be ok."

Asuna nods hesitantly, "R-Right."

Kirito shifts, "Have a Teleport Crystal ready, just in case." Asuna nods, and all three of them ready crystals. Kirito glances at each of them in turn, "Ready?"

Asuna nods again, and they both extend the fists clutching Teleport Crystals, each pushing on a door with their knuckles. After a brief moment, the doors begin to slowly open, and both Asuna and Kirito take a few cautious steps inside the dark room. She doesn't understand why they both go inside, only one player needs to enter the room to activate the boss, but she doesn't say anything, just stays right outside the doorway. The doors finish opening with a loud noise, and about ten seconds later, large metal torches on tall pillars situated around the edge of the circular room begin to light up in rapid succession. The boss raises its head to stare at them, and both Kirito and Asuna gasp lightly. Above its head the name «The Gleam Eyes» appears, and just above its shoulder four health bars appear. It straightens up, towering over them, then begins to raise its massive sword with one hand. Releasing a ferocious roar, its eyes begin to glow a bright almost white shade of blue.

And with that, both Kirito and Asuna scream, turning around and running away. As he passes her, Kirito makes a grab for her arm, but she pulls it out of the way, completely confused. He turns his head over his shoulder, but doesn't stop running, "What are you doing Hanna?! We gotta get out of here!"

Hanna tilts her head in confusion, "Why? The boss can't actually… leave… the…. room…." She slowly trails off as she realizes they aren't listening in the slightest, "... Aaaand they're gone."

She turns back towards the room. If a boss is capable of looking confused, this one certainly does. In fact, it was staring at her in a way that almost felt like it was saying, 'Was it something I said?' She shrugs, "I don't know buddy. I'm just as confused as you are." Aaand it was tilting its head at her. Yup, she was apparently imagining the boss holding a silent conversation with her, which was definitely her cue to leave, before she really started showing signs of insanity and began hallucinating it talking to her. She backs up a few steps, pointing a thumb over her shoulder, "I'm just gonna…. Right. Nice chat. Bye!"

Turning she began jogging after her mate and friend, opening her map to follow the little dots of her party members as she goes before moving it off to the side so it wouldn't get in the way if she had to fight any mobs. Noticing how far they already were and that they weren't even slowing down yet, she couldn't help but wonder if they were going to run all the way back to the safe area. In the distance, she can faintly hear Kirito shouting at her to hurry up. Idly she wonders if he even noticed she wasn't with them. What was truly baffling, was that he had to realize on some level that she wasn't in any danger, or his instincts as her soulmate wouldn't have let him run away, and yet he still ran away screaming with Asuna.

As she finally reaches the safe area, which she had been amused to note they had run all the way back to, she was immediately set upon by both of her anxious party members. Kirito quickly pulls her forward, examining her intensely despite the fact that the effects of anything less than a lost limb would've faded by now, "Where were you?! We got back and you weren't with us!"

Asuna nods rapidly, "We were beginning to think that thing had eaten you or something!"

She gives them amused looks, "... Riiight. Because a cluster of algorithms designed only to fight me, and even then in a very specific way is going to leave the room it's bound to and eat me." There's a pause as both of her companions slowly turn red with embarrassed realization. She shakes her head with an amused chuckle, "I can't believe you two, the so-called Black Swordsman and Lightning Flash ran away screaming like a couple little girls."

There's yet more mute embarrassment from the two who stubbornly refuse to look at either her or each other. Then Kirito reluctantly looks at her, "... What's it going to take to have you not tell Argo, Klein, Agil, or anyone else?"

She grins at him, "Oooh, a lot of bribery might just do the trick, but we'll discuss that at a later date."

He grumbles, but nods reluctantly. Asuna clears her throat, "W-Well! Err… Let's have lunch! Yes, lunch! We- Uhh… We need to eat it soon anyway, otherwise its durability will disappear!"

Kirito nods, then obviously hoping to distract her from thoughts of bribery, agrees just a bit too loudly, "Yes! That's an excellent idea! B-Besides! It's almost 2:30 and we still haven't eaten!"

Using food as a distraction won't work on her. She isn't Kirito after all. She isn't about to mention that though. Asuna materializes a picnic basket from her inventory, then begins opening it, "Gloves off before you get your food."

Kirito doesn't hesitate to agree, immediately opening his menu to do just that. A moment later Asuna holds out a sandwich to Kirito, "Here you go! Just as I promised you last night!"

He accepts it eagerly, and Asuna quickly hands Hanna her own. Kirito stares at his for a brief moment, then eagerly takes a huge bite. Quickly chewing it, his eyes light up as he smiles, "It's delicious!" Pausing to take another bite, he skillfully mumbles around a mouthful of food without actually opening his mouth enough for any of said food to be seen, "But how do you make it taste so good?"

Asuna manipulates the menu she hadn't closed, opening up dozens of notes only a couple seconds later, happily explaining, "A year's worth of studying and practice." Looking up at all her notes, she smiles widely, "To make this, I analyzed the effects of more than a hundred spices to see how the taste reproduction engine handles each one." She looks down at the picnic basket still in her lap, picking up a bottle with a green liquid in it, "Here. Try tasting glogwa seeds and shuble seeds together."

Pouring a tiny bit onto his hand, she recloses the bottle, and watches him with a smile. He tastes it quickly, then looks up with wide eyes, murmuring, "It's mayonnaise…"

Asuna puts the bottle back, grabbing one with a purple liquid, "Now try some abilpa beans, sagu leaves, and oola fish bones."

As Asuna opens the bottle, Hanna idly begins to wonder at her sanity, 'Fish bones? Who uses fish bones to make sauces?'

Kirito doesn't waste time trying it, despite the dubious ingredients. Immediately he yanks his hand back, staring at it in shock, "Th-This taste is so familiar…" Turning to Asuna, he exclaims with far too much seriousness, "It's soy sauce!"

Hanna rolls her eyes at her mate's antics as she starts to take a bite, only to freeze at the next words out of Asuna's mouth, "This is how I made the sauce for the sandwiches."

Hanna remains frozen halfway through the process of taking a bite, then gazes down her nose at the sandwich, 'These things have fish bones in them?!... But they're so good…. Urgh, I'm never going to be able to look at Asuna's cooking the same.'

Despite that, she finally finishes taking her bite. Asuna's cooking is far too delicious to let go to waste. Next to her, Kirito happily exclaimed, "Amazing! It's perfect!"

Hanna rolls her eyes at her mate, 'Yeah, if you ignore the fact there are freaking fish bones in it.'

Kirito turns his excited gaze towards the hand Asuna had poured her weird concoctions on before turning back to her, "If you started selling them, you'd get rich in no time!"

Asuna glances away in embarrassment, "Y-You think so?"

Kirito abruptly gasps lightly, then crosses his arms firmly telling her, "No, actually, it's a terrible idea."

Asuna looks at him in shock, "W-Why?"

Kirito turns to her with a dead serious expression, "Then I wouldn't get to have any."

Asuna stares at him in shock for a moment, then sighs, "You're so selfish…"

She snorts, "When it comes to food? Definitely. I'd appreciate it if you did me a favor though Asuna, and not tell me what goes in your food from now on. I could've happily gone my whole life without knowing I was eating processed fish bones."

Asuna blushes, "Err, sorry about that. I'll keep my mouth shut from now on…"

At that moment, a group enters the safe zone. The three of them had already shot to their feet before they realized it was Klein and Fuurinkazan. All looking exhausted and complaining about the tiring day to each other. Abruptly they stop when they notice them, then Klein's face lights up, "Whoa, Kirito! And Hanna too! It's been so long since I've seen you guys!"

Klein begins to move towards them, and Kirito removes his hand from his sword, looking away with a frown. She sighs quietly as she sees that look. Kirito has always felt incredibly guilty about leaving Klein behind that day. Not that she doesn't, but it certainly didn't eat at her nearly to the extent of her mate, especially since it'd been his choice. Kirito still isn't looking at Klein, "So you're still alive, Klein?"

Klein grins lightly, "You're still as rude as ever!" Then he finally seems to notice it isn't just the two of them as usual, "Oh, what do we have here? It's always just you and Hanna, why do you have…"

He trails off as he finally realizes who it is accompanying them. Kirito glances at Asuna, "Well, you already know each other from clearing bosses, but let me introduce you properly." He gestures to Klein as he looks at Asuna, "This is Klein from Fuurinkazan." Turning his gaze to Klein, he moves his hand over to indicate Asuna, "This is Asuna from the Knights of the Blood." Asuna nods lightly in greeting. Klein however still hasn't moved a muscle since he trailed off, and Kirito finally seems to notice. He waves his hand in front of Klein's face, "Hey, say something…. Are you lagging?"

He stops after a moment in confusion, but suddenly Klein snaps into movement, lowering his head with a flush, he extends a hand to shake as he stutters out, "N-Nice t-to meet you! I-I'm Klein, 20(1), single, looking for a girlfr-"

He's abruptly cut off by Kirito punching him in the gut. The rest of Fuurinkazan shouts at that, then quickly forms a half circle in front of Kirito and Asuna. There was a beat of silence, before they all simultaneously leaned forward, excitedly proclaiming, "It's Asuna!"

Without hesitation, they begin to crowd in, all of them talking rapidly to her, to Asuna's shock. She honestly doesn't quite seem to know what to do. Kirito holds them back, then glances over his shoulder at her with an awkward grin, "Well, they're not bad guys… Despite what their leader looks like…." Klein abruptly stomps on Kirito's foot, and he grunts in discomfort before turning to the older man, "What…"

Klein laughs lightly, "Heh, payback! You idiot…."

Asuna suddenly starts giggling at the ridiculousness of the situation, and the boys all fall silent, before Klein grabs Kirito by the neck and simultaneously turns them around as he drags the younger man closer before stage whispering, "What's going on, Kirito?"

Kirito hesitates, "Ah, well…."

Asuna suddenly leans toward Klein's back with an amused smile, "Nice to meet you. I'm just taking a break from my guild and partying with these two for a bit."

Fuurinkazan and Klein all let out confused 'Eh's, then Klein turns to Kirito sharply, "Kirito, explain!"

Kirito holds up his hands in surrender, "W-Wait!"

Kirito is saved by the rather forceful demands from Klein by the sound of a large group heading their way. Immediately all humor drains from them at the possibility of enemies, slim though it may be. They'd learned to be a lot more cautious then they'd already been from Laughing Coffin. Klein, Fuurinkazan, and Kirito all turn around, watching the entrance to the safe area warily.

Kirito stares in shock, "Isn't that The Army?"

Klein looks just as confused as her mate sounds, "What's that zerg(2) guild that occupies the first floor doing here?"

Asuna frowns, "Ever since they suffered heavy losses attempting to beat the 25th floor boss, they've been focusing more on strengthening their organization instead of fighting on the front lines."

She scowls furiously, "You mean ever since that bokachoda got 37 people killed."

Half turning to her in confusion, and Asuna tilts her head, "... Bokachoda?"

She glances at her, "Very rude way to call someone stupid in Bengali. Don't repeat it."

Asuna glances at Kirito in askance, but he just shrugs, "Err… Alright then."

At that point, the group's leader comes to a halt in front of his men, then turns to them and calls out, "Rest!" His men all immediately sink to the ground in exhaustion, but he ignores them, turning away and approaching their group, "I'm Lieutenant Colonel Corbatz of the Aincrad Liberation Army."

Her mate stares at the man with a serious expression, "I'm Kirito. Unaffiliated."

Corbatz nods a brief greeting, then continues without preamble, "Have you ventured any further than this?"

Kirito's eyes narrow in suspicion, "Yes, we've mapped out the area up to the boss room."

Corbatz grunts in understanding, "I'd like to have the map data."

That seems to startle Klein and Asuna, though Hanna doesn't really know why. The front liners share that information with each other freely, it was only other players who would have a bit of hassle to get it. The Army may not be front liners anymore, but it was obvious what they wanted it for, much to Hanna's irritation. Really, hadn't that bokachoda learned his lesson before?

Klein scowls at him, "You want it for free? Do you know how hard it is to map out an area?"

Corbatz frowns heavily at Klein, "We divide information and resources equally to all, maintain order, and fight to free players from this world as soon as possible! That's why you should cooperate with us!"

Hanna rolls her eyes, 'What a load of self-righteous bullshit.'

Asuna leans forward angrily, "Oh, really?!"

Klein takes a step forward, "Don't-"

That's as far as he gets before Kirito holds up a hand in front of him, stopping his advance and whatever he was about to say, though he doesn't take his eyes off Corbatz, "It's ok, I planned to make it public when we got back to the city anyway. No big deal."

Klein turns his gaze to Kirito, "You're being way too nice, Kirito!"

Kirito shakes his head, "I'm not the kind to trade map data."

Corbatz huffs, "I appreciate your cooperation."

As he begins to walk back to his men, Kirito calls out to him, "If you're thinking of fighting the boss, don't bother."

Corbatz pauses, but doesn't turn back to them, "That's for me to decide."

Kirito's eyes widen in shock, "We checked the boss room earlier! It's not something you can handle with so few people!" His gaze turns to Corbatz's group, "Look, your men are exhausted!"

Corbatz finally turns back to him, "My men aren't weak enough to give up from something so trivial!" He turns back to his men, "Men! Stand up already!"

The group does as told, but it's obvious they aren't exactly happy about it, if their groans are any indication. The Army immediately heads out under their worried gazes. Hanna huffs, "Il est stupide aussi." (3)

Klein glances at her, then frowns at Corbatz's back, "You know, somehow I think I've got a pretty good idea what that means." His irritated frown turns into one of concern, "...Are they going to be alright?"

Asuna sighs, "Whatever. I doubt they'll try to fight it the first time they see it… "

There is a brief pause before Kirito says, "We should probably follow them, just to make sure." Glancing at Fuurinkazan, he shakes his head at their satisfied grins, "Who's the nice guy now?"

Klein huffs as they finish off the most recent wave of mobs, "It can't be much farther to the Boss Room, but we still haven't seen them. Maybe they teleported out?"

Kirito hums, "Maybe, but I'd like to check anyway, just to be su-"

He's cut off by a loud terrified scream from ahead. Immediately they all take off as fast as they can, but Hanna, Kirito, and Asuna quickly leave the others behind. Though as they pull ahead, Hanna absently notes that Klein was noticeably faster than his guildmates, so he'd probably catch up a bit sooner.

When they reach the Boss Room it's to the sight of the Army receiving a thorough beatdown. A second later the boss's name and health bars appear, revealing that the army had actually managed to take off a little over half a bar of its health. Kirito calls out in alarm, "What are you doing! Hurry up and teleport out of there! Now!"

One of the men holds out the teleport Crystal in his hand, shouting back, "We can't! They aren't working!"

Asuna sounds completely disbelieving, "But Boss Rooms have never been trapped before..."

She purses her lips, "They are now."

Just then, the commander manages to pull some of his men together, and while pointing his weapon at the boss shouts, "The Aincrad Liberation Force will never suffer the shame of defeat! Fight! We must fight on!"

They all tense even further at that proclamation, but it was Kirito that put what they were all thinking into words, "That fool! He's going to get them all killed!"

At that moment Klein catches up, he quickly takes in the scene before them, "What's going on? Why haven't they just teleported?"

Klein turns his attention to Kirito as he grimly fills him in on the problem, "The Boss Room is an Anti-Crystal Area. If we rushed in we might be able to open an escape route for them, but..."

Klein turns his worried gaze back to the Boss Room, "Isn't there something we can do?"

She draws her sword, bluntly replying, "Of course there is. The only thing being questioned is if you guys feel like following me to what might be our deaths."

Before the other three can respond, the Army members attempt to launch an attack at their Commanders' shouted order, but they all knew how that would turn out, so Kirito fearfully calls out to them, "Stop!"

The Gleam Eyes tilts its head back in preparation, then quickly lowers its head and uses a lightning breath attack before the first person even has a chance to reach it. The attack blows the attackers back. Paralyzed from the electricity, they are left completely open to the bosses follow up attack.

Hanna doesn't wait for a response from the others, she knows she can count on Kirito to follow, at least until the truth about her comes out, and was fairly certain the others would as well, so as soon as the Boss begins to lift its sword from the ground for the third attack, she rushes it.

Reaching the Boss she quickly hits it seven times. It turns with alarming speed and tries to slash at her, but she quickly jumps back. Chancing a glance behind her, she's pleased to discover that Asuna and Klein had, in fact, followed her and Kirito. Even more, the rest of Fuurinkazan had finally caught up. So she quickly shouts a vague plan to them, "Fuurinkazan, get those players out of here! Klein, Asuna, back me up! Kirito we literally only have four fighters, we need to go all out! The three of us will buy you time to switch to that skill, then you take point!"

Kirito only hesitates for a fraction of a second, then he mumbles his understanding and she hears him jump away from the fight. She rushes back in briefly, but only lands four hits before she has to switch out. Klein rushes past her, but being much slower, doesn't land a hit, only managing to barely deflect two blows before getting smacked away. Asuna jumps in without hesitation to give Klein time to recover, and does only slightly better than Hanna herself had, landing nine hits before being forced to pull back.

Thankfully, Kirito has always been quick at navigating the menu, so he was already done. He rushes past Asuna, already reaching for his second blade, which was still in the process of materializing. The Gleam Eyes attempts to hit him with a heavy downward swing, but Kirito draws his second sword just as it appears and blocks it with both his swords in an 'x' above his head. He only holds the guard for a moment before pushing with and swinging both swords simultaneously, forcing the Boss to recoil and staggering it.

Kirito briefly holds the pose to charge a Skill, then mutters the Skills name to himself before activating it. He's a flurry of movement after that, every time the Gleam Eyes hits him, his movements become faster and more ferocious.

Hanna, realizing that at the rate Kirito was eating through the Gleam Eyes' health she wouldn't see anymore action, sheaths her sword and glances around. She grins in amusement. Now she knows how her mate felt when everyone was gaping at her during the 25th Boss Raid. After Kirito gets punched in the face the second time, his health begins to dip dangerously low. She starts shifting from foot to foot anxiously, then quickly opens and navigates her menu until she has a Health Crystal in her hand. Until the Boss is defeated, the Anti-Crystal trap would still be in effect, but the moment it was defeated, it would drop and she could use this on him. She moves forward to be in Crystal using range as Kirito and the Boss each dealt one last blow to each other and Kirito's health starts draining to alarming levels. By the time the Boss shatters she's in range, and Kirito's health has stabilized at a dangerously low 20 HP.

She uses the Crystal on her mate just as she hears him mutter, "Is it... over?"

He stumbles back a couple steps as the skill cool down lets him go and the congratulations banner appears accompanied by its usual fanfare in front of him. She moves over to him and grabs his shoulder to hold him steady.

She laughs lightly at his clear confusion when his gaze shifts up and to the left only to find his health full, "Silly sleepy head, your health was at a measly 20 HP, of course I used a Health Crystal on you."

Kirito blinks slowly, probably in some sort of shock, "Oh..."

Without another word Kirito tips backwards, and his eyes slip closed. She catches him before he can hit the ground, then carefully lowers him and settles his head in her lap.

Asuna and Klein rush over shouting his name in worry. It takes a few seconds, but he stirs and comes to. She grins down at him, "Well hello again sleepy head." Seeing his questioning look she answers his inquiry before he can ask, "You were only out for ten, maybe twenty seconds." She starts carding her fingers through his bangs, in response he sighs tiredly and lets his eyes slip closed again. Hanna continues speaking absently, "You know, I would've said you earned more Badass points than me, seeing as the Boss you solo'd had more health and you did it up close and personal with your own weapons, but you lost your lead when you fainted."

Kirito cracks one of his eyes open and pins her with a cross between a pout and a glare, "Hey! It's been a very stressful day, alright? Cut me some slack."

Hanna hums in amusement and gives him a teasing look, "I would concede that you're correct, but we'd had a stressful week leading up to the fight against the 25th floor boss, and I still didn't faint."

Kirito sighs, "Well, that's because you're more resilient than me in every way, but especially emotionally."

Hanna snorts in both amusement and disbelief, especially given her recent plague of doubt, "No I'm not. You're just lame."

He huffs, "Rude."

Asuna sighs, "So he's ok?"

Looking up, the two realize they were surrounded by The Army and Fuurinkazan. Asuna looks close to crying, but holds herself back, giving the couple a respectful distance. Then Klein takes a couple steps closer, lowering his head with a sad look, "Two members of The Army died."

Kirito stares at him in shock, then lowered his own head, "We haven't lost anyone in a boss fight since the 67th floor."

Klein frowns with a mixture of anger and sadness, "How can you even call this a fight. Fucking idiots! What good are you if you're dead?!

After what had just happened, The Army members don't seem like they intend to try and correct him, and Corbatz seems to be in too much shock to say much of anything.

After a few moments, Klein takes a deep breath, shakes his head firmly, then grins at them, obviously attempting to move away from the depressing mood, "What the hell was that just now?"

Kirito stares at him tiredly, "Do I have to tell you?"

Klein nods firmly, "Of course! I've never seen anything like it!"

Kirito sighs and looks away, "It's an extra skill. Duel Wield."

The members of Fuurinkazan gasp, and Klein leans forward in excitement, "How do you activate it?"

Kirito sighs again, "If I knew, I'd tell you."

Klein opens his menu and quickly navigates to a note, then begins scrolling through it, "It's not even on the info brokers' list… So it's just yours? A Unique Skill? You're so antisocial, Kirito! Why would you keep quiet about such an awesome Skill?"

Kirito shrugs, "About a year ago, Duel Wield just showed up in my Skill window. But if anyone found out I had this ability…"

Klein rubs at his jaw thoughtfully, "Online gamers are an envious bunch. I'm a pretty virtuous guy, but I can see why they'd be jealous." Then he grins, "But well, just consider hardship as another part of training and keep working hard, kiddo"

Kirito stares at him in shock for a moment, then looks away, "Oh, please…"

Klein huffs, then moves on, "Are you going to activate the next portal?"

Kirito shakes his head, "No, you can do it. I'm exhausted."

Klein nods seriously, "Ok. Then you just make sure you get back safely." He begins to walk off, then pauses, "Umm… Kirito? When you jumped in to help the Army guys…"

Kirito tilts his head, "What about it?"

Klein still has his back to them, but rubs at his eyes in a rather telling manner, "How should I put it? I was happy. Anyway, see you around."

He waves over his shoulder and leaves.

Hanna shakes her head with a small smile. Boys.

Asuna suddenly speaks up, "I'm going to take a break from the KOB."

Kirito gives her a startled look, "Huh? For what?"

Asuna sighs as she looks away, "Did you forget already? I said I'd party with you guys."

After a moment, Kirito nods, "Alright."

She frowns, "As much as I'd enjoy having Asuna around, I don't think Heathcliff will let her go for even that without a fight. He's already shown to have an interest in Kirito and I due to our strength, now that Kirito has finally revealed his Dual Wielding…."

Asuna suddenly frowns, "... I'm sorry for causing you trouble. Forget it, I'll just-"

She huffs, "Don't be silly Asuna. I would've thought you'd learned this morning that Kirito and I will fight for our friends, for you. Besides, like I said, he already had an interest in us, this will just make it come to a head. I wasn't saying you should go, I was just saying we're probably going to have another fight on our hands before all is said and done. We need to be careful until things have settled a bit."

Maybe it was because they were in a boss room, but the warning sounds far more ominous than she'd intended. It draws wary but determined nods from her companions. All they can do is try to prepare as best they can for what's to come.

(1): Yes, I know Klein is actually 24 at this point in canon, but for my personal piece of mind, I'm changing it.

(2): I should not need to explain this term, anyone familiar with games should at least understand this, but I realize not all of you may be familiar with games so I'll explain anyway. The Zerg are one of the three playable races in StarCraft, because of the way they swarm enemies and rely on numbers to overwhelm opponents, the term 'Zerg' is sometimes used by gamers to refer to low-level gamers who depend on overwhelming numbers. The term is usually used for online strategy games and the like, but it's not exclusive to them.

(3): Edit note: When I was going through I went to double check it, and realized I'd typed 'to' instead of 'too' which changed the last word. Anyway, it's meant to be French that reads "He's stupid too."