AN: First of all, I wanted to thank you all for restraining from saying 'update soon' like I asked. Thank you! On that note, it was actually kinda nice. I don't necessarily have anything against people saying that, it shows you're interested, but it was nice that everyone gave at least a small opinion, even if it was just, 'I liked this' it shows that I'm handling those things right, you know? Anyway, it occurs to me that I completely forgot to add review responses to the last chapter! Usually, I add them as I write, but since the last chapter was done too soon for most of you guys even had a chance to read the previous chapter, much less review, I was going to add them when I was ready to post. With how sick I was, I completely forgot! Sorry! I'll just add them in with last chapters' responses. That said, let's get to it!

Review Responses:

Merlenyn (Ch 22)- Asuna was very shocked and that reveal was stupidly awkward, but I honestly couldn't think of a way for an American witch and a Japanese witch to identify each other. Originally, when I was thinking of how the girls would reveal to each other that they were magicals, I was thinking it would be during the Ragout Rabbit part, seeing as that's the first canon time Kirito goes to her home. The problem was, as you already know I wanted Hanna and Asuna to comfort each other after Laughing Coffin, and while a person can obviously still receive comfort two months later like that timing would make the scene, it wouldn't have been as impactful, story wise. Hence Kirito spontaneously falling asleep on the couch.

We haven't gone over to Kirito POV, so I'll just say he's noticed something is wrong, even if he can't figure out what, and Hanna is incredibly evasive whenever he tries to prod.

It just hasn't occurred to Asuna. And it probably won't occur to her in time to make use of it, given how close to the end of Aincrad we are. Besides I have something going on in chapter 24 regarding Asuna, so it might not occur to her at all...

Yeah, with how often Luna is depicted as a Seer I didn't think anyone would be surprised by that, but the thing I've always noticed about Luna, is that for all that she seems to be able to predict things that are about to happen in canon, the thing that always really stuck out to me was how she just seems to know things about people. So personally, I've always thought that if Luna is a Seer it would probably be more along the lines of what I did with her. Hermione will probably be told in a scene at some point, but if not, it will just be referenced that Mike told her. Depends on if it fits into any future scenes.

I've already got a vague idea for the chocolates, but you'll have to wait and see. As for Belby, in the book he actually gets it worse. In the book when Slughorn realizes he doesn't really know his uncle he gives Belby a "cold smile" before turning to McLaggen. I decided that didn't quite fit the slightly altered Slughorn of my fic though, so I changed it a bit.

Dragon Master Naruto 003 (Ch 22)- Thank you, and I'm glad you like it! I'll admit, what I'm going to do with Yui won't be that different from canon until much later. Nope, sorry, no three way here! Hope you're not too disappointed.

fairygirl90 (Ch 23)- Sorry to say it, but it's gonna be a bit until Hanna gets some 'sense smacked into her'. The downside of hoping for both possible reveals is that you might be disappointed either way. The upside is you might be happy with whichever reveal happens (not telling because that's spoilers!). It really depends on which one you're secretly hoping for more.

Tenzo51 (Ch 23)- Actually, they aren't summons. Can't remember if they mention it in the show, but beast tamers are explained in the light novel. Basically as long as a player hasn't killed any of a particular kind of mob, there's a chance one will show a friendly interest in a player, at which point you can offer them food, and if it's something they like, they'll become a tamed beast. According to canon, Silica wandered out of town, got lucky when she met Pina, just happened to have a peanut on her, which is apparently a Feather Dragons favorite food, and gave it to her, at which point Pina started following her around. Apparently it was only later that she learned about beast taming. Gleam Eyes isn't a demon though, it's just a regular boss. And I've said before in a review response that Hanna won't have a beast, but even if she did, being a demon wouldn't affect it. It's not like the system knows that. Hanna being a Nephilim has no weight in Aincrad.

ViktornovaMk2 (Ch 23)- Sorry to say it, but things aren't going to go the way you imagine, as you'll see in this chapter.

Merlenyn (Ch 23)- Yeah, basically, though we won't actually see the letters or the reactions to them. I was referencing it so Mike's later attendance to Slugclub events and any possible dialogue between Mike and Slughorn regarding Lily (haven't planned anything, I'm just covering my bases) would make sense.

I'm glad you found it so funny. :) Yeah, Asuna is far more understanding now. Though she was more thinking that Kirito would hog it rather than Hanna.

The differences between American and Japanese culture really are strange. Like, sometimes Hanna says rude things to people, like when Hanna called Rosalia a bitch, but if you actually translate that stuff, it's usually just a really rude way of saying 'you!'. As an American, I totally understand Hanna's way of things, and am kinda baffled by how Asuna goes about it, but it would be how she'd act, due to her culture. And again, I'm glad you found the Ragout Rabbit parts funny. It's what I was aiming for, after all.

I really couldn't see Hanna dealing with that creep in any other way. It's just who she is, and if anyone doesn't like it, they can fuck off. (I feel I should clarify that I'm talking about people in the fic and how little Hanna cares about their opinions, not telling my readers to fuck off. Just to make sure that's clear.)

The initial Gleam Eyes bit with Hanna being confused was born of my own confusion. In canon Kirito outright says the boss can't leave the room just a few moments before, but then they run away like it can? It never made sense to me. Though I honestly have no idea where the bit with the Gleam Eyes seeming to respond came from. I guess my muses decided to add it for comedic effect?

Again, then running away never made sense to me, and there's no way Hanna would let it pass without comment. And given how much she loves teasing her mate, there's no way she'd have let such an opportunity to demand payment for her silence to pass. No idea what she's actually going to charge him though. But oh my god, the mental image of Asuna and Kirito attempting to forcibly shut her up! XD Just, either the two tackling her to the ground and 'smothering' her as you put it, or Kirito scooping her up while Asuna holds her mouth, and just awkwardly trying to shuffle away while giving Argo and Klein wide awkward smiles and laughs, and just them sharing a look of 'What in the Actual Fuck just happened' when the three are gone. I'm dying of laughter over here!

You kidding me? Hanna would've pulverized him for getting two more people killed with his stupidity. You've gotta be joking though. If it had just been Klein and Fuurinkazan there, there's no way it would've gotten back to Heathcliff. They're way too loyal to say anything if Kirito and Hanna asked them to keep it quiet. Asuna wouldn't have said anything either, as she would've felt the Skills of players outside of the KOB wasn't Heathcliff's business.

Klein and Asuna just rolled with Hanna's teasing because they're used to it by now. That said, no new name widely used player names for Kirito. He'll always be 'The Black Swordsman'.

Anywho, there! Responded! (Sorry, couldn't help myself with how you ended your review.)

October 19th, 2024- 714 days since SAO launch:

Hanna and Kirito were currently taking refuge in the back of Agil's shop. All morning, Kirito had been harassed about his Dual Wield Skill. Eventually, they'd been forced to flee their own home just to get away from the crowd of players. Hanna doesn't even know how they knew where they lived, but Argo had agreed to try and find out. Whoever told those people was going to be in for a world of hurt when she got her hands on them.

Beside her, Kirito sighs tiredly, then props his face up on one of his hands. Agil sits across from them, and he suddenly begins to read the newsletter he has open out loud, "'The blue demon that killed an entire Army squad was taken down by one guy's dual-bladed fifty slash combo.' What do you know? You actually made the news!"

He laughs at that. Kirito doesn't even glance at him, "That's exaggerated. And I've been getting chased around all morning by swordsmen and info brokers as a result."

Lizbeth, who's taken to also hiding at Agil's, shakes her head, "I don't want to hear it. I had to make a break for it too, you know? Apparently some people decided your sword had to have been a big part of how you beat that boss, and they somehow found out I was the one who forged your «Dark Repulser». Don't get me wrong, that's great for business, but it got so bad that I couldn't even take down orders anymore with all the people shouting at me! I had to leave the shop to the NPC!"

She tilts her head at Lizbeth, "What about the orders you couldn't take? They'll keep hounding you until they get their weapons."

Lizbeth sighs, "Well, thankfully, people can still put in a custom order to the NPC. If they mention it, a menu will pop up in front of them for them to put what they want and their information into. I'll receive them as Note items when I get back. That's not actually what I'm concerned about. I may be a Master Smith, but one of the key factors to why «Dark Repulser» is so strong is that I had a fantastic material to make it with. In case you're forgetting though, Kirito and I had to actually go out and retrieve the material ourselves because I didn't have anything that good lying around. How am I supposed to make weapons that will satisfy these people if I don't even have the materials I need for it?"

Kirito finally stops frowning at the wall and turns to her, "Well, given that Hanna and I apparently need to make ourselves scarce, we could go material hunting for you."

She quickly adds, "For a fee of course. I like you Lizbeth, and you're our friend, but we all know you'd make a killing off of any weapons that come even remotely close to Dark Repulser. You just don't see that kind of quality in player made weapons often. Usually your best bet if you want a sword like that is to hope to get lucky with a drop or go on a quest."

Lizbeth grins, "Well of course! It's not like I'd cheat my friends or anything! Hmm, how about… 10%?"

She snorts, "25 at least."

Lizbeth narrows her eyes, "12."

She shrugs, "I'm not the one who needs us to do this. Kirito and I could just as easily make ourselves scarce questing or going through sub-dungeons. 20%."

Lizbeth thinks it over, "15." Hanna opens her mouth to try and counter that, but Lizbeth quickly adds, "And I'll make you a Falcata better than the one you currently have for free."

She narrows her eyes, "Smithing is mostly luck based. You can't guarantee it will be better than my current one."

Lizbeth nods, "It is luck based, but you can smelt a weapon down at least once without high risk of losing the material, so if I mess up I'll just use that material for something else."

She thinks it over for a moment, then glances at Kirito who just shrugs. Turning back to Lizbeth, she nods, "You've got yourself a deal. 15% and a better Falcata than my current one."

Lizbeth beams, "Great! Then-"

She's abruptly cut off by Asuna rushing around the corner. She pauses for a moment to lean against the door frame and catch her breath, though it was actually just a reflexive action since they didn't need to breathe in SAO, then she looks up at them, "What do we do now, you guys? This has gotten completely out of hand!"

Hanna stands up and quickly moves over to her, grabbing onto one of the shoulders of the clearly distressed girl, she gently guides her to a chair, "Whoa, calm down Asuna. What's wrong?"

Asuna takes a few deep breaths, obviously trying to follow her advice and calm herself, then looks turns back to her, "It's the Commander. He wants to talk to Kirito, and he said some things that implied I'll lose even more of my freedom."

She scowls, "That's ridiculous! I'm telling you, you should just-" She cuts off as an idea strikes her, "... Actually, I think I might just have an idea for how to get you out of that guild, without just straight up leaving…"

Asuna gives her a hopeful look, "Really?"

She nods, then gives her a serious look, "Yes. If it works, no one should even realize you've left the guild, so it's not like they can say no due to how it will affect their reputation. Actually, if anything it might improve it. However, Heathcliff has made it clear he won't let you go easily, Asuna. If this is going to work, we're going to need to pressure him…"

Asuna gives her a confused look for a moment, then suddenly seems to understand, "Let me guess. By making him think I'm going to leave the guild one way or another and that therefore your idea is his best option. Right?"

She nods, "Exactly right."

Asuna worries her lower lip, then nods hesitantly, "Ok… I can't do it anymore anyway, if this can get me out… I'll do it."

She smiles, "Alright. Then let's go have this talk with Heathcliff that he's so eager for. While we're heading over there, I'm gonna need to message someone, so please try not to let me walk into anything if I get too distracted."

That won't happen no matter how distracted she gets, not with the way Uncle Vergil and Grandpa had drilled constant situational and spatial awareness into her. No, it and the dry tone she used is more to lighten Asuna's mood, which it achieved clearly, as a giggling Asuna nods in assent, "Yeah. I can do that."

She nods back, "Excellent. Then let's get going, shall we? We've a date with a Knight."

Heading out of the shop, she opens her menu and scrolls over to the messaging tab. She really does need to make sure her idea would be ok with the others she planned to involve, after all.

Heathcliff studies Kirito in interest, "Is this the first time we've met outside of boss battles, Kirito?"

Kirito tilts his head briefly, "No. We talked briefly during the strategic meeting for clearing the 67th floor, Commander Heathcliff."

Heathcliff closes his eyes, clearly remembering, "That was a hard fight indeed. We barely even made it. I know people call us the top guild, but our forces are at their limits. And here you are, trying to draw away one of our most important players."

Asuna starts to step forward and say something, but Kirito stops her as he stares Heathcliff down, "If she's that important to you, you should've chosen her bodyguard more carefully."

Heathcliff seems unfazed, only supporting Hanna's suspicion, "I should apologize for the trouble that Kuradeel caused. But even then, we won't just sit back and watch you walk away with one of our vice commanders." Hanna gets ready to say something, but before she can, Heathcliff continues, "Kirito, fight me with your Dual Wield. If you win, you can take Asuna with you. But if you lose, you must join the Knights of the Blood."

He finishes with a tiny smirk, clearly believing to have them trapped. Hanna is more than happy to burst his bubble, "No."

Finally a crack appears in his perfect composure as shock takes over his features for a split second, "I'm sorry?"

Hanna narrows her eyes at him, "I said no. You are not pressuring my husband, and therefore me, into joining your guild. In fact, by the end of today, one way or another, Asuna will no longer be under your command."

Heathcliff frowns at her, "And what makes you think I'll let her go."

Hanna gives Asuna an encouraging glance, and she swallows thickly, before straightening with a stubborn look, "It's not up to you. I am leaving. I told Hanna as such this morning, after our meeting. I'm tired of the way this guild is changing, tired of its oppressive atmosphere, tired of you constantly taking more and more of my freedom away!"

Hanna eyes Heathcliff, "Like when you picked Kuradeel, someone you must have known to have a superiority complex and a hatred for us Beaters, as Asuna's guard."

Heathcliff grows very still at that, and staring her down, delicately says, "I don't know what exactly you are attempting to imply, but from the sound of it, I can assure you that you've made incorrect assumptions."

She doesn't believe him for a second, and it was clear her companions don't either, if the way understanding followed by fury washes over both of their faces. Asuna takes an angry step forward, "You- You were spying on me?! Then Kuradeel really did have orders to watch my house!" Then her eyes narrow, "There are plenty of people in the guild who would follow such questionable orders as long as they came from you. You choose Kuradeel for a reason. Why…" Suddenly she takes a sharp breath, "You knew he'd clash with Hanna and Kirito! What exactly were you hoping to achieve?!"

One of the council members gives her a sharp look, "That is enough Asuna! These ridiculous accusations-"

Asuna glares at him, "Shut up." Clearly unused to being spoken to so harshly, he does exactly that. Asuna turns her furious gaze to Heathcliff, "You-! I trusted you! I guess I should've known better, given that you've already lied to me. You told me when I joined that I could leave whenever I wanted, and now you continually put more and more restrictions on me to stop exactly that! I shouldn't even let Hanna give you her ultimatum! I should just leave right now!"

Heathcliff raises his hands in a placating gesture, but before he can say anything another member of his council angrily snaps at Asuna, "Do you want to make an enemy of the KOB?!"

Asuna begins to open her mouth to snap something back, but Hanna lays a hand on her arm, "Calm down Asuna. You are leaving this guild, but there's no reason to leave in a way that will make your life difficult."

Asuna takes a step back to be even with her and Kirito again, taking a deep breath before nodding tightly. Hanna turns her sharp gaze back to Heathcliff and his council, "Here is what is going to happen. Asuna is going to quietly resign from the KOB, and join a guild affiliated with it. As an agility player, she would do extremely well at labyrinth mapping. Given the training you gave them to help them join the front lines, the Moonlit Black Cats are often considered a sub-guild to your own. They have already agreed to take Asuna under the guise of the KOB wanting to bolster an associated guild. Asuna will continue to participate in boss meetings and fights as a member of the KOB, but you will no longer have any jurisdiction over her. That is your only option bar Asuna simply leaving. Take it or leave it."

There was a beat of silence, then Heathcliff sighs, "... Very well. We will agree to these terms under two conditions." Asuna begins to angrily protest, but Heathcliff holds up a hand, "Hear me out. These aren't difficult conditions, and in fact they line up with the terms you already gave us. The first is simply something I wish to clarify. Given that we don't go around announcing when someone joins or leaves the guild, you're well aware we identify members by having them dye their gear white and red as a uniform of sorts. To make sure people believe the ruse of Asuna remaining in the guild, she will continue to wear the uniform so that people will continue to identify her as a member of the KOB."

Asuna nods in reluctant agreement at that, so Heathcliff turns to Kirito, "I still wish to duel you and see your skill for myself, even if it's no longer your membership into the guild on the line. I propose we hold a public duel in the arena. Anyone who might otherwise check our member records, such as the reporters for the newsletter, would be distracted by such a grand spectacle. Thus allowing Asuna to leave very quietly."

Kirito shifts awkwardly. He hates attention from crowds, and what Heathcliff is proposing would have a very large crowd focused entirely on him. That said, Hanna knows there's a lot he'd do to help a friend, so she's unsurprised when he sighs, then nods, "Alright."

Heathcliff nods lightly, "Excellent. The primary settlement of the 75th floor, Collinia, has an arena. Given that the floor was just unlocked there will be many players going there for sightseeing. If we hold it there, it will draw an even larger crowd, and thus more possible attention away from Asuna."

She glances away with a sigh, "... If you really want to use this distraction, it would be better to invite the strongest of the front liners to hold a tournament. You could say you want to celebrate reaching the final quarter milestone before we beat the game, or that you want to bolster the other players' faith that the front liners can make that final push to freedom with a show of strength, or something like that anyway…."

Heathcliff tilts his head, "An excellent idea. Very well, we shall hold a tournament. Kirito, you are still participating, yes? Everyone knows about your Unique Skill now, we can't truly say we've invited the strongest players without you."

Kirito sighs again, "Yes. I'll be there."

Heathcliff smiles lightly, "Then I hope to see you in the final duel." His smile fades and a small frown takes its place, "If you three have nothing else to add, I suppose you should get going. Asuna needs to get acquainted with her new guild after all. Though, for the sake of hiding it from potential reporters as discussed, we will hold off on Asuna going into the menu and resigning from the Knights of the Blood until the day of the tournament."

The three of them glance between one another, then Asuna shakes her head, "No, that's all. We'll be leaving now."

With a faint smile, likely at her new freedom, she turns and begins to walk out, Kirito only a couple steps behind her. Hanna turns as well, but waits until her companions have almost reached the end of the hallway, before addressing Heathcliff without turning, "I meant it when I said Asuna would be outside of your control in the Moonlit Black Cats, Heathcliff. I am not afraid to pick a fight with your guild, and I'm not nearly as nice as Asuna or Kirito. Stay away from the Moonlit Black Cats and Asuna."

With her warning delivered, she calmly follows after her mate and friend. As she's walking away, she hears one of the council members begin to hiss, "Just who does that uppity little Beater think she-"

That's as far as he gets before Heathcliff cuts him off, "As a warrior, something you learn is how to tell when someone is all talk or can't carry out their threats. I can assure you, she meant what she said." There was a brief pause, "The KOB will stay away from Asuna and the Moonlit Black Cats from now on, except for official business."

With a satisfied smile, she turns the corner then picks up her pace to catch up with her mate and friend.

Mike and Hermione were making their way back to Hogwarts. They'd gone down to Hogsmeade, seeing as it was the first trip of the school year, but after briefly visiting Honeydukes, the bookshop, and The Three Broomsticks, they'd decided to call it a day and hurry back to the castle before the weather could get any worse.

As they were getting close to the gate, his keen ears picked up arguing up ahead, "-acting really weird! It's freaking me out! You were fine until you came back from the bathroom with that stupid package!"

"Leave it be Leanne! It's none of your business! Now knock it off before I hex you!"

Mike's brow furrow as he recognized the second voice as Katie Bell's. He hesitates briefly, then begins running to catch up with them, ignoring Hermione's confused question for the moment. Katie arguing with her friend was none of his business, but… but she was his teammate, and he'd loosely use the term friend. He'd never heard her talk to her friends like that, no matter how angry she was, and there was something… off about the way she was speaking. It was likely just a particularly heated argument, but in these times... Well, you could never be too careful.

Reaching the girls, he sees Katie's friend grab her arm roughly and yank Katie around to face her, "I'm not joking! You're starting to scare me Katie! I- I'll report this to McGonagall unless you give a reason not to!"

Katie tries to pull her arm free harshly, "Let go of me! I don't owe you any sort of explanation!"

After a moment of struggling to break free without dropping the small package in her hands, she lifts her head to glare at Leanne, giving Mike a good look at her face for the first time. Without hesitation, he whips his wand out and stuns her. Leanne whirls around as she draws her own wand, already pointing it at him before she realizes who it is, "Potter?"

Irritation spikes through him at that hated name, but he ignores it, given the more pressing concern. He'd pointed his wand up and held up his other hand up in a placating manner as she'd begun to turn, and with her wand still pointed unsurely at him he doesn't dare move too much just yet, "Easy there." He gestures towards Katie with his head, "I don't know if you noticed that faint gleam in her eyes, but for future reference, it's an obvious sign of the Imperius amateurs of the spell leave on their victims."

The girl's weariness disappears, replaced by distress, "Oh dear Merlin! I- I thought she was acting really weird, and I began to suspect, but-"

She cuts herself off as she begins crying. A slightly out of breath Hermione catches up with him at that point, quickly taking in the scene she hurries over to the girl, wrapping her arms around her in comfort, she shoots Mike a questioning look. He sighs, "I heard them arguing. Katie sounded… weird, so I got worried. She was under a rather amateur Imperius, so I stunned her."

Hermione nods faintly, "It's Leanne right? Leanne Aubrey? You're a Hufflepuff in our year, aren't you?" Leanne nods shakily, so Hermione continues, "It's alright Leanne. Mike just stunned her, she'll be fine, we just need to get her to Madame Pomfrey."

Leanne just nods, and Mike sighs as he moves towards them, "We need to take that package with us. Katie was very determined to take it to the castle, so I don't really want to know what's in it, but we can't just leave something that's possibly dangerous lying around."

Hermione frowns down at the package in question, "Be careful, it looks like it ripped."

Mike huffs, "Like I wouldn't have done that anyway."

Tilting his head, he glances between the package and Katie for a moment, then sighs again. The package is small enough that his scarf could wrap around it, but seeing as he needs to carry Katie, that leaves either Hermione or Leanne to carry the package, and he doesn't want to risk either of them touching it. With that in mind, he shrugs his cloak off, then carefully wraps it around the package as many times as possible, before holding it out to Hermione. She shifts so she has one arm wrapped around Leanne, then warily takes the now larger package.

Bending down, he delicately picks Katie up, shifting her in his arms until he's cradling her to him gently. Honestly, he really doesn't want to do this. Not because he doesn't want to help Katie, but because he was terrified of hurting her with his still relatively new strength. It was ridiculous, seeing as his grandfather had made sure he had firm control over his strength as soon as possible. Despite that, he can't banish the fear as the three of them set off towards the castle at a brisk pace. She just seems so fragile, a trait he's never associated with her before.

He's pulled from his thoughts as they round a bend in the lane and spot Hagrid up ahead. Hagrid begins to smile as he sees him and Hermione, but it's clear he notices the other two only a second later as the forming smile immediately shifts into a look of worry and he hurries towards them, but he doesn't stop them, not with a student potentially injured, merely falls into step next to Mike, though whereas Mike was using a brisk pace, Hagrid could just walk normally, given his enormous size and strides, "What happened?"

Mike doesn't slow down even a bit, "She was Imperiused, so I had to stun her. Amateur job though, easy to spot. She was very keen to deliver a package though, Hermione's got it wrapped in my cloak. Listen, I need to get her to Madame Pomfrey, and Leanne probably needs a Calming Draught, but we need to turn that package over to McGonagall. She'll probably want to check on Katie anyway, so can you go ahead of us and tell her what's going on?"

Hagrid nods, then quickens his pace, hastily disappearing into the castle. The infirmary is only on the third floor, it's not far, and Hogwarts tends to shorten the distance for people in genuine need anyway, but with the admittedly irrational terror of hurting Katie, it seems to take forever to reach their destination. When they finally get there, McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey are already waiting for them.

Without hesitation, Madame Pomfrey gestures to one of the beds, "Just set her there and I'll look her over." Glancing briefly at Hermione, she gestures to the bed next to the one he gingerly sets Katie on, "Sit her friend down there, I'll come over to give her Calming Draught in a minute."

With Pomfrey finished administering orders, McGonagall finally speaks, "Where is this package that seems to have caused so much trouble?"

Hermione holds out his cloak, "Mike wrapped it in this, Professor. It looked like it had torn open, and we didn't want to risk it anyway."

McGonagall nods, "Wise of you." She conjures a small table, "Set it down."

Hermione carefully sets it down, then quickly backs away. With a flick of her wand, McGonagall levitates the package, unwraps the cloak from it, and cautiously levitates the torn package off of the item, revealing a deceivingly beautiful opal necklace. Mike jolts at the sight of it, "I've seen that before! It was in Borgin and Burkes four years ago!"

Hermione, Madame Pomfrey, and McGonagall all give him strange looks, then McGonagall raises an eyebrow at him, "And why, exactly, were you in Borgin and Burkes four years ago Mr. Sparda?"

Mike blushes in embarrassment, "We were going to get my school supplies, but I'd come down with a cold. I was really congested so when we went to floo there instead of Diagon Alley, it came out sounding more like diagonally. That's where I was spit out. I was just going to leave, but then I saw the Malfoy's and I sorta panicked and hid. Anyway, the tag on it said it was cursed, it killed 19 Muggles."

McGonagall presses her lips into a thin line, "I see. Then Miss Bell as well as whoever it was meant to be delivered to are quite lucky you stopped her before anything could happen."

Madame Pomfrey speaks up at that moment, "What I don't understand is how someone managed to put her under the Imperius and give it to her without anyone noticing. It's the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year, the town would've been packed with students."

Leanne suddenly speaks up, startling them, "She went to the bathroom when we were at The Three Broomsticks, she had it when she came back."

Mike notes with relief that she was rather calm now, he assumes Madame Pomfrey had given her a Calming Draught while they were figuring out what was in the package. McGonagall takes a sharp breath in, fury filling her eyes, "Someone attacked one of my lions in the bathroom? Tried to force them to take part in murder?!" She suddenly conjures a box and levitates the necklace into it, "I am taking this to Madame Bones herself, it is far too dangerous to do anything less. Rest assured, I will be having a talk with her about investigating this matter. I will get to the bottom of this." She looks her students over, "Until then, no one is to go anywhere alone. Not even to the bathroom." She begins to march angrily out of the hospital wing, then pauses, "Oh, and twenty points to Gryffindor Mr. Sparda."

With that, she's gone. Sharing a glance with Hermione, they turn to Madame Pomfrey, who gives them a reassuring smile, "Don't you worry you two, Miss Bell will be fine, and Minerva will get to the bottom of this mess. Why don't you two do me a favor and escort Miss Aubrey down to lunch. I need to contact Miss Bell's parents."

Mike and Hermione share another glance, neither of them quite want to leave Katie, but they both know very well that when Madame Pomfrey decides it was time for you to go, you had best be going. With reluctant nods, the three of them leave. Mike glances behind them one last time as they go. He feels his demonic powers respond to his fury, straining to burst out. Whoever did this was going to pay dearly.

October 20th, 2024- 715 days since SAO launch:

Hanna waves to Asuna, Lizbeth, and the Moonlit Black Cats when she sees them, as they'd agreed to meet up outside of the arena so they could sit together. Argo and Agil had joined her while she'd been waiting, and after the others walk over Asuna greets them before turning to look at the crowd, "Wow, I knew there would probably be quite a few people who showed up to watch, but I didn't think there'd be this many!"

She nods, "You're telling me, you guys might want to hurry up and buy tickets, or they might just sell out."

Keita gives her a startled look, "Tickets? Since when do you need tickets to enter an arena?"

Argo shrugs, "Since the start of the game. The only reason no one's had to do that before is because no one has officially booked an event at an arena. Apparently, it was too good of an opportunity to make money for the guild to pass up. Not that I can blame them. I'd definitely have done the same if I was in their place."

Asuna frowns, "But it's not just the KOB who has members participating. They can't just keep all of the money themselves!"

"They're not." Turning, they see Klein approach with Fuurinkazan, "They're giving a cut to every guild that participates depending on how many people in that guild are taking part in the tournament today, and how far each of their participants get. The two semi-finalists that don't make it are getting a larger cut, and the runner up and winner are getting even more. Which makes sense, but I'm kinda bummed out about it. It would've been nice to get the kind of money the semi-finalists are gonna get."

She raises an eyebrow, "What? Don't think you'll make it that far? That's not like you Klein."

He laughs, "It's true that normally I would be confident in my skills, but I know I can't beat Kirito, and I'm fairly certain I can't beat Heathcliff either. Not that the latter matters. The participants already drew lots to determine who will be fighting who. I'll be going up against Kirito just before the semi-finals."

Asuna gives him a sympathetic smile, "That sucks Klein. But hey! At least you'll probably get that far at least! No one would think less of you for losing to Kirito. Or, not anyone you know anyway."

Klein nods, "Yeah, I suppose so. Anyway! What's this about you not participating?"

Asuna glances at the Moonlit Black Cats, "Uhh… Just... personal reasons."

She shakes her head at the terrible evasion. Asuna had chosen to opt out so she can continue getting to know her new guild better, so the reason she gives Klein was completely true, just not said in a very believable manner. It's obvious from a glance that Klein knows there was more to it, but he seems unsure if he should push.

Before he can come to a decision, or anyone can comment on it for that matter, Hanna is suddenly slammed into from behind with an excited cry, "Hanna-nee!"

She turns with a smile, "Silica! What are you doing here?"

The young beast tamer beams in excitement at her, "I heard there was going to be a tournament between the strongest front liners today, and I figured you and Kirito-nii would be participating! I came to watch you guys fight!"

She shakes her head with a smile at the excitable girl, "Well, Kirito's fighting, but I'm not."

Silica tilts her head in confusion, "Eh? Why not?! Hanna-nee's really strong! You'd totally win!"

She laughs at her firm statement, "Maybe. Depends on if I could beat Kirito, which is a toss up. But I didn't particularly feel like fighting him, even if it's just a friendly match. It seemed wrong to fight him in front of a bunch of people. I mean sure, privately we spar when we wanna test something out, or just make sure we don't get too used to fighting mobs in case we have to fight people, or even just because we feel like it, but as I said, that's private. Besides, I've got some gear the DDA's been pressuring me about, and while I don't really care about their little fits whenever they find out they're not in possession of particularly strong equipment, I saw no reason to increase the heat on Kirito and myself."

Silica nods in understanding of the first part, then scowls at the mention of the DDA, "Oooh, I can't stand those guys! They usually leave us mid-level players alone, but every now and then someone comes across something and gets beat up for it. They're just bullies!"

She nods, "Most of them are, but a couple of them are alright."

Silica looks unsure, but nods anyway, "If Hanna-nee says so." Then, she finally seems to notice Hanna's company. Turning bright red she hides behind Hanna, hissing at her, "Hanna-nee! That's Lightning Flash Asuna! What are you doing with her?!"

She laughs, "She's my friend, midget. It's natural to go to events with friends, isn't it?"

"I suppose so…" Peeking out still beat red, she waves shyly at Asuna, "Hi."

Asuna smiles warmly down at her, "Hi! I'm Asuna, but you clearly already know that. It's Silica right?" Silica nods hesitantly, and Asuna's smile widens, "It's nice to meet you Silica! Since you seem to be friends with Hanna and Kirito, I suppose we'll be sitting together. What do you say we go get our tickets and find a seat before all the good ones are taken?"

Silica gives another hesitant nod, but smiles a bit this time, "Ok."

Asuna nods, "Great, let's get going then!"

As they make their way over to buy tickets, Klein calls after them, "Oi! Make sure to save me a seat, since I'm going to get knocked out by Kirito before the semi-finals and all!"

She laughs, "Like you need to worry about that! Your guildmates will obviously save you a spot! If I were you, I'd just focus on your upcoming fight with Kirito. If you're going to lose, try to at least make yourself look good and put up a good fight."

Klein huffs lightly, "I'll certainly try my best!"

Hanna watches with a small smile as Kirito defeats Corona, the incredibly arrogant assault leader of the DDA, thus making his way to the finals.

Laughter draws her attention to her left, and her smile widens as she sees Asuna laughing happily with her new guildmates and Lizbeth. She'd been a bit worried that Asuna might be annoyed with her for just shoving her into another guild without even asking, but she hadn't. Asuna fit in surprisingly well. She had taken over as the second forward for Sasamaru, who had happily gone back to using a spear. Plus, Asuna made sure they were focused, and they made sure she relaxed. It was a cozy balance in the now complete party of six. Asuna glances over at her at that point, giving her a wide happy smile, then turns away as Ducker leans forward from his spot behind her to say something with a mischievous grin. Whatever it is startles another laugh from her, before she elbows him lightly with a grin.

To her right, Silica giggles before murmuring to her, "I've always heard Asuna was rather uptight, but she really isn't, is she?"

She smiles at her, leaning over slightly to quietly say, "Actually, she used to be a no nonsense slave driver, but then Kirito and I brainwashed her to the crazy Beater way of life."

Silica giggles again, then suddenly becomes excited as she points down at the arena, saying a bit loudly, "Look! Kirito-nii is fighting Heathcliff now!"

She turns back to the arena with a grin, saying in a more normal volume, "Guess they're starting the finals then. Let's cheer him on!"

Silica nods happily, and she receives noises of agreement from her other side, and from behind her where the members of Fuurinkazan were sitting. On the other side of Silica, she hears Argo attempting to make a bet with Agil, "Thousand col says Kirito wins.'

Agil however, simply laughs at that, "I'm not foolish enough to bet against Kirito!"

Argo pouts, "Mou, you're no fun Agil. He could lose, you know? Heathcliff is considered the strongest player in Aincrad."

Agil snorts, "Only because most people refuse to recognize Kirito and Hanna's strength. Either because they feel they cheated to get it, or because they feel they're too crazy to rightfully count on any list."

She smiles, pausing in her cheering to say, "I suppose we'll just have to see, now won't we."

She has faith in her mate, but Heathcliff's Unique Skill, «Holy Sword», is said to have an impenetrable defense. The only time anyone had ever seen him injured was when he was attacking. It would really come down to whether Kirito can get through Heathcliff's admittedly impressive defense. Down in the arena, Heathcliff says something as he looks around, causing Kirito to glance around at the crowd as well as he responds.

Upon turning to them, her friends' shouts grow louder. Lizbeth nearly drowns the rest of them out with her shout of, "You better kick that uppity bastard's ass, Kirito!"

Silica is far more encouraging than demanding, "You can do it Kirito-nii!"

Klein, who had in fact joined them just before the semifinals, and was sitting right behind her shouts, "You better not lose right after you knocked me out of the tournament!"

Hanna just gives him an encouraging smile. Though it was doubtful he can hear any of them over the excited roar of the crowd, it was clear he had an idea of what they were saying with the way he grins at them. A moment later, he turns back to Heathcliff as he receives the duel invite, and quickly manipulates the dual menu. A moment later the countdown appears in the air between them and they both turn their undivided attention onto one another as they draw their swords.

They both tensely wait for the countdown to end, and as soon as it does, Kirito rushes Heathcliff. As he begins his assault, Hanna notices he isn't attacking nearly as fast as he could, instead he seems to be focusing on attacking Heathcliff from various angles. It's clear to her that he's testing Heathcliff's legendary defense, seeing how well he reacts to various attacks. Abruptly, Heathcliff pushes his shield forward, then lunges to attack with his sword, but Kirito easily jumps away. Heathcliff rushes Kirito, and Hanna notices him bringing his shield up. It only takes her a moment to realize what he's about to do, and she grins. That may have worked on Kirito under different circumstances, but Kirito was used to keeping up with her, there was no way it would work.

She was almost immediately proven right when Heathcliff reached Kirito, thrusting his shield towards Kirito's gut. Instead of connecting though, Kirito smoothly ducks under the attack, scoring a heavy slash across Heathcliff's own abdomen as he passes.

Both of them quickly turn to each other, though Heathcliff seems a bit shocked. They pause, and Heathcliff says something. Whatever it is, it draws a small smile from Kirito as he responds. For a moment they stare each other down, then they burst into motion. Kirito begins an unrelenting assault, and Heathcliff uses the few opportunities he receives to attack.

Finally, after almost a minute of this, Kirito manages to slip through Heathcliff's defense, scoring a small hit on his cheek. Heathcliff's eyes widen momentarily, before narrowing as he switches almost entirely to defense. Kirito immediately capitalizes as he strains Heathcliff's defense to its limits, attacking with a Skill as fast as he can.

For a moment, Heathcliff seems to be able to handle the Skill, then Kirito's superior speed gets him, as he isn't quite fast enough to shift his shield into position to block one of the hits, causing it to be pushed out of the way, leaving him wide open for the final hit of Kirito's Skill. Even as Kirito's blade descends on his head, and Heathcliff quickly begins to pull his shield back into position, something seems… off. She can't quite put her finger on it, but there was something strange about how Kirito and Heathcliff move in relation to each other as Heathcliff barely brings his shield up in time to deflect the blow before stabbing Kirito in the side as he passes, knocking him into the yellow and winning the dual.

Around her and her friends, the crowd's cheers reached an all time high, but they were all stunned into silence. After a moment, Agil broke the silence, saying with total surprise, "... Maybe I should've taken that bet after all."

Hanna narrows her eyes as she stands, gazing at Kirito sitting on the ground with a vaguely confused look before he turns to her, a silent question in his eyes, "No. While I will accept that Kirito isn't infallible and can lose, there was something weird about that."

Without another word, she turns, quickly making her way out of the arena and to the nearby restaurant she and Kirito and agreed to meet at so they didn't have to try and find each other in the crowd that would soon make its way out of the arena. Her friends follow in confused silence, and none of them say anything as they order food while they wait.

Five minutes later, a still confused looking Kirito sits next to her. Without hesitation, she turns to her mate, "What was that? Something weird happened at the end there, and for the life of me, I can't put my finger on what it was!"

Her words seem to simultaneously bring Kirito relief and confuse him even more, "Then it wasn't just me." He looks away, clearly trying to gather his thoughts as he orders food. A few moments later, he turns back to her, "I really don't know what happened. One moment I was about to hit Heathcliff with my Skill, the next it was… I don't know, it was almost like I was frozen and couldn't move. I could see Heathcliff bringing his shield up, but I couldn't move."

Argo narrows her eyes, but trusts them enough that she doesn't question them, "So, what? He cheated? How?"

Kirito shrugs helplessly, "I don't know."

Asuna worries her lip in thought, then hesitantly offers her own thoughts on the matter, "Maybe it's part of his «Holy Sword»? A Skill of some sort?"

She shakes her head, "Then why haven't we seen it before? Almost all of us have fought with Heathcliff in boss raids. Don't you think we would've noticed?"

Klein shrugs, "Maybe. Maybe not. We've only ever seen him fight in raids before. I don't know about you guys, but I was always more focused on the boss than how Heathcliff fights, and it's not like we could've asked the bosses if they've ever experienced something like Kirito just did."

She doesn't buy that explanation. It just doesn't seem right. She glances over at Kirito to find him gazing at her. It's clear he doesn't believe it either, but with a small shake off his head, she drops it. For now. The more she learns about Heathcliff, the less the world she's come to know makes sense. She doesn't like it. Not one bit.

She's pulled from her thoughts as Asuna clears her throat, "Well, Heathcliff's questionable win aside, I've been thinking about moving out of Selmburg. I kinda want to move away from the large towns in general. Anyone know a good place?"

Kirito turns to her, "If you're wanting to get away from big cities, I know of a lovely little cabin on the 22nd floor. It's in a grass field surrounded by the forest, but it's on a hill, so you get a fantastic view of the main lake. It's about a twenty minute walk from the nearest teleport gate. That said, the pathway winds through the forest and by the lake, and mobs rarely spawn there, so even the walk is peaceful. Honestly, while it's not exactly hot on the 22nd floor, Hanna and I were looking for somewhere with a cooler climate, otherwise we might've bought that place when we were looking for a house. I don't know if it's still open though."

Asuna smiles, "It sounds lovely. Exactly what I'm looking for. If you and Hanna don't have any plans, I'd appreciate it if you could show me where it is."

She returns her smile, "Of course!" Then her smile becomes mischievous, "Though, I guess we're lucky you don't have to worry about spiders or anything in your house, otherwise, I'd be worried about you and Kirito running away screaming like-"

That's as far as she gets before Kirito clamps a hand over her mouth, blushing in embarrassment. Asuna looks about ready to dive over the table to shut her up as well. Klein gives the three of them baffled looks, but Argo leans forward with interest, "Oh? I'm sensing a good story here, you're gonna have to tell me some time Hanna."

Kirito shakes his head firmly, "Never gonna happen." Then he pouts at her, "I thought we agreed we'd never speak about that again?"

She gives him a look and he reluctantly removes his hand, then she cheerfully reminds him, "Actually, the only thing we agreed to, was that there would need to be copious amounts of bribery for my silence. Then you two attempted to distract me with food, which only works on you, Kirito, not me." She gives him the most innocent look she can muster, "I just assumed that meant you weren't too worried about me keeping my mouth shut."

Kirito shakes his head emphatically, "No no. No no no no. No. We can talk about this Hanna. Right? Right? You love me don't you? You don't really want to ruin me, right?"

Hanna hums lightly, "Well, I do love you…" Then she grins widely, "Which is why I'll leave it for now and we can discuss payment later, when there aren't eager ears listening."

She gives a pointed look at Argo and Lizbeth, who both grin shamelessly. Kirito takes one look at them and heaves a sigh of relief.

October 23rd, 2024- 718 days since SAO launch:

Hanna smiles lightly as Kirito enthusiastically rambles about the programming of some of the mobs they'd just fought as they make their way back from the labyrinth. She honestly had no idea what he was talking about, but it was adorable. Suddenly she tenses, though she honestly had no idea why, but there was a... hostility in the air. After a moment, Kirito notices that she'd stopped, and begins to turn to her in concern, "Hanna? Is something wr-"

He only gets halfway to facing her before he cuts off and his eyes widen. Just as he opens his mouth to say something, a small dagger slams into the shoulder farthest from her, the force turning him back around before he stumbles and falls on his back. At the same time, something slams into her back, causing her to lose her own footing and fall to the ground on her knees. Almost instantly, the paralysis icon appears next to both her and Kirito's heath bars in the top left of her field of vision, and she's unable to stop herself from falling forward the rest of the way, though not for lack of trying. That turns out to have been a bad idea, as her attempt to catch herself only results in her pinning her right hand, taking what limited mobility she had in that hand and stopping her from accessing her inventory to retrieve a Paralysis Crystal.

For a moment, she watches Kirito struggle to try and open his own menu. It was possible, you only needed a couple inches of mobility to open and manipulate your menu, and there was no true paralysis in the game, likely exactly for the reason of allowing players to retrieve antidotes and crystals like this. However, with the paralysis he's much slower at navigating his menu than usual, and he's barely gotten to his inventory screen before a boot stomps down on his hand. Both of them lift their gazes, following the boot up a leg, to a chest, and eventually reach none other than Kuradeel's face.

He was sneering down at Kirito, but there was a viciously triumphant gleam in his eyes that sends a chill down Hanna's spine. She just knows her intuitive feeling regarding him had been even more accurate than she'd originally thought, and suddenly wishes she'd been wrong about him.

Before either of them can say anything, Kuradeel shifts his gaze to Hanna and chuckles darkly, "Did you really think I'd let you get away with cheating in that duel, with humiliating me? Guess again." His grin widens slightly, "I'm going to get my revenge on you, and get rid of you filthy Beaters in one fell swoop. What's that saying? Two birds with one stone?"

She stares up at him in shock, "You- You're crazy! You can't just-"

Kuradeel tilts his head, still giving them that creepy grin, "Oh, but I can. It's like PoH says, all of this is Kayaba's fault, so we can do whatever we want."

Kirito inhales sharply, "PoH? You- But you're in the KOB…"

Kuradeel chuckles, "Laughing Coffin isn't an official guild, remember? It's not registered with the system. Which lets those of us that have carefully kept our cursors green join regular guilds. But, that's not important." He pulls his sword from his back, his grin widening as he looks down at Kirito, "I'm going to start with you."

Without hesitation, he brings his sword down on Kirito, who grunts in discomfort.

Panic fills Hanna, and she reaches towards them with her unpinned hand in desperation, "No! Leave him alone! He hasn't done anything to you! I'm the one who humiliated you, not him!"

Kuradeel grins at her with dark glee, "I know. That's exactly why him. See, I heard you two are married. Admittedly, I originally just thought it was a matter of convenience, but then I heard it was for love." He sneers the last word in disgust, "Which was apparently correct. I am going to kill you for what you did to me." Then that grin returns, wider and crazier than ever, "But first, I'm going to make you watch while I kill him."

She shakes her head wildly, tears streaming down her face, "No! Please! I'll do anything! You can have whatever you want, but please, not him! I'm begging you! Alright?! You're better than me, just like you said, and now I'm begging! Please!"

Kuradeel stares at her in shock, then that gleeful grin returns and he laughs wildly, "You really have it bad for this kid! I knew it would get to you, but I really didn't expect this!"

Now the tears are falling heavier and faster than they've ever been in her entire life. She can't lose him. She can't. But she can already see that Kuradeel has only been spurred on by her words. She bites her lip, if it wouldn't save Kirito, she didn't want to give the bastard any more satisfaction than she already has, but against her will sobs and more broken pleas rip themselves out of her chest when he stabs her precious mate again and again.

She watches in horror as Kirito's health steadily drains, turning yellow. She hadn't thought she could be any more desperate than she already was, but as Kirito's heath bar turns red, her desperation seems to double. Distantly, she just barely feels her demonic power blaze to life for the first time in nearly two years, her angelic powers are gentler, but they're nonetheless there, and her magic is wild. Everything in her is chaotic and angry, and straining for their mate, even though they aren't bonded, even though he's so very far out of their reach.

For a moment, her powers strain inside her, then suddenly they seem to collapse- no, fold in on themselves, twisting and compressing themselves nearly to nonexistence, and there, right before her, just under her wrist of her still outstretched hand, a ghostly blade appears. But she knows that blade, has fought with it almost her entire life, and she's never been so happy to see Shuraba, but she barely has time to register her wonderful blade's ghostly presence before Kirito's health is dropping dangerously low. So without even thinking it through, she grabs the oh so familiar sword and flings it at Kuradeel to the best of her ability.

She'd been aiming for his head, but it lodges itself into his shoulder instead, and Kuradeel stumbles back with a scream eerily similar to pain. That can't be it though, players can't- but oh Shuraba isn't from the game. That's why there are no particle effects, why his health isn't dropping. It can't damage him, because as far as the system is concerned, it wasn't real. But. But Kuradeel's mind was here, and the mind was in charge of pain. Her beautiful, wonderful blade may not physically be here, but its connection to her is just as mental as physical. It can still hurt him.

Kuradeel is clutching at her weapon in shock at this point. It was taking a lot out of her to keep it here, but she'd be damned if she lets that bastard recover. Thankfully, without his hand pinned, Kirito is pretty quick to finish retrieving the Crystals he needs and use them on himself. As soon as he begins to scramble to his feet, she tiredly lets go of her mental hold on her blade, allowing it to disappear as though it had never been there. She's never taken her blade for granted, but she certainly won't start now. Not after this. She promises herself that as soon as they get out of this hellish world, she'll do maintenance on it. Sharpening it to its limit and polishing it til it shines.

She watches wearily as Kirito furiously begins to attack the barely recovered Kuradeel. It doesn't even take a minute for Kirito to drag the bastard's health into the red, at which point he drops his weapon, falling to his knees desperately, "No! No please! I'm sorry! I'll turn myself in! Whatever you want! Please!"

That only seems to make Kirito angrier though, "Tell me, why should I listen to your pleas? You ignored my mate's."

A jolt of shock goes through Hanna at those words. It's true that on some level, a person always instinctively knew what their soulmate is to them, and the deeper the bond the deeper the instinctual understanding, but it takes decades for a bond to reach a level that you'd instinctively think of them as your mate without prior knowledge of what they are to you. So how…

Her mind races through this in seconds, before being pulled back to what's going on as Kirito steps towards Kuradeel with a dangerous expression, "My beautiful, precious mate laid there crying and begging, and you just seemed to grow more gleeful with every sob, every plea, every little bit of her desperation. So tell me, why the fuck should I not return the favor?!"

Hanna shakily reaches towards them, "Kirito." He partially turns his head towards her, but never removes his furious gaze from Kuradeel. She'd like nothing more than for the bastard to shatter into polygons for what he's tried to do to her mate, but she couldn't stand the thought of Kirito talking another life if he didn't strictly have to, and Kuradeel was surrendering, "Kirito, don't. I'd like him gone just as much as you, if not more, but he's surrendering and you're better than him. Don't let him drag you to his level. Please."

Kirito had been tense throughout what she was saying, but at the last word, he seems to sag, tiredly sighing, "Fine." Then he glares at Kuradeel, leaning dangerously into his personal space, "You better remember this though. Remember that the only reason you are alive is because of the very woman you tried to hurt, the woman who humiliated you. Remember that, and let it eat at you for the rest of your miserable life."

He turns towards her with a tired expression, and begins to make his way to her. Strangely though he doesn't sheath his sword, like he was expecting- Her eyes widen and a wordless cry escapes her lips as she notices Kuradeel springing back up with a dagger in hand, 'Stupid, stupid, stupid me! He tried to do almost the exact same thing to me during our dual! Why wouldn't he try it with Kirito?!'

Her mind races through those thoughts lightning quick, as she tries to open her mouth to warn her mate. However, Kirito is already turning, having been tipped off by her wordless cry. He sidesteps Kuradeel's lunge, then plunges his sword into Kuradeel's chest without hesitation, then sighs tiredly again, "... You couldn't just accept her mercy, could you?"

Kuradeel lets out a choked noise of disbelief, then bursts into polygons. Kirito's sword drops down to his side again, and for a moment he just stands there, shoulders slumped with the polygons drifting around him. Hanna wants to sob again. He looks so defeated. She just wanted to be home, to wrap up with him in their blanket on their bed and hold him. Like that could make any of this better.

After a moment, he sheaths his sword, "... I'm sorry. You wanted me to-"

She shakes her head, even though he can't see it, "No. It's ok. He didn't give you a choice."

He finally turns back to her, and she wants to cry again, because there's relief in his eyes, like he honestly expected her to be angry at him for what just happened. Without thinking about it, she stretches her hand out towards him, murmuring just one thing, "Kazuto."

Any lingering hesitation fades, and he immediately moves over to her side. Slipping an arm around her waist, he pulls her up and towards him until her back is resting against his chest, her head resting on his shoulder, then opens his menu again. Normally she and Kirito are roughly the same height, but currently with the way she's slumped against him, the top of her head barely reaches his nose. Shakily she struggles to lift an arm. He's so focused on his task of retrieving a Crystal for her, that he doesn't notice until she's managed to place a hand on his cheek. He looks down at her, and he must see something in her expression, as without hesitation he abandons his task to rest his hand over her own.

She swallows thickly, murmuring in a small voice, "I thought I was gonna lose you…"

He presses a chaste kiss to her lips, then rests his forehead against hers, "Never."

Hanna almost wants to smack herself when she feels the tears welling up again, she'd cried enough for quite a while already, but she just can't seem to stop. He'd told her things like this before, and she'd accepted it with ease, but now… "You can't promise that."

Logically, he had to know she was right, but he still doesn't hesitate, "I can. I won't leave you. Not now, not ever."

Against her will, a sob escapes. Kirito shushes her, then kisses her gently, as his hand moves away from her own. Given that Crystals require a verbal command, she's not quite sure how he manages it, but a moment later, her paralysis is gone. Without hesitation she throws her arms around his neck, pulling him closer and desperately deepening the kiss.

He gladly wraps his other arm around her waist, holding her to him as desperately as she was clutching him. For a moment, she's confused since she hadn't been the one to almost die, then sorrowful understanding fills her. She pulls back slightly, "... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I made you listen to that earlier…" It could very well have been Kirito's last moments, and she'd made him listen to her fall apart over it. She swallows thickly, "I- I should've been strong for you. I should've-"

Kirito silences her with a brief kiss, "No. It's alright. I'm sorry you had to see that happen to me. If our positions had been reversed…" He trails off briefly and shudders, "I don't think I could've been strong either."

With that out of the way, Kirito pulls her back into another kiss. For a few minutes, Hanna gladly gives herself into just feeling her mate, knowing he's alive and they've made it out of a tough situation once again, but gradually she becomes aware of the fact that she's slowly tilting back. She honestly can't tell if she's leaning back and pulling her mate with her, or if he's gently guiding her down, but either way, if she lets it continue she knows it won't be much longer til she's on her back with Kirito on top of her. And she knows that if that happens right now, right in the tail end of Kirito's close brush with death and their emotions high, they won't be able to stop. As desperately as she wants her mate at that very moment, she'd rather it not be in the middle of the path to the labyrinth where anyone can come by and see.

With that in mind, she gently straightens them, and pulls away from Kirito. He gives a needy whine and chases after her lips, but she quickly slips a hand between them, gently stopping him with her first two fingers. He finally pulls back, frowning slightly, and she smiles at that just a bit, even though it feels tired, fuck knows how it looks, "Much as I'm just as reluctant to stop, we are kinda in the middle of the road. Besides, to be honest, I just wanna go home, curl up with you, and sleep all day."

Kirito sighs lightly, "Mmm, that sounds like a plan."

Hanna smiles lightly, then rests her head on his shoulder with a sigh, "... Just as soon as I can muster up the will to get up."

Kirito presses a light kiss to the top of Hanna's head. His eyes drift over to where Kuradeel had been as he holds her. He honestly doesn't regret killing him. He should, he really should, but in place of regret there was only Hanna's voice, desperate and broken, pleading and begging and sobbing.

His eyes harden. No. He'd never regret killing the bastard. Not with how he'd tormented Hanna like that. No one gets away with treating his personal Goddess anywhere near like that and lives to tell the tale. No one gets to make his Goddess cry like that. No one.

Turning his gaze to the young woman in question, his eyes soften as he takes in her exhausted form. Thinking it over for only a moment, he quickly shifts them, then scoops her into his arms. He smiles slightly at her confused look, "We're both tired, and the sooner we get home, the sooner we can sleep. I'll carry you if you don't feel up to walking."

She blushes lightly, but gives him a small nod before burying her face in his chest.

He presses another kiss to her hair, he'll damn well do his best to keep her from getting hurt again, even if it means keeping as difficult a promise as he'd given her earlier. For his personal Goddess, he'll make any oath, lay any sacrifice at her feet, make any offering at her altar, do anything to make her happy. Anything.