January 13, 2024

…Warm…

Pulling himself out of muddled dreams that seemed to jump back and forth between battles with a steel monster and peaceful times in a forest camp, Kirito's first thought was that it was strangely warm for a winter morning. The second was that there was more of a weight on his chest than he was used to, making him wonder muzzily if he'd put on too many blankets.

Very soft blankets, at that. And… had he gone to sleep somewhere with an open window? That strange, warm breeze on his neck, one that sounded almost like breathing…

Warily, Kirito pried his eyes open—and only the bright sunlight that showed he'd slept later than usual kept his eyes at a squint, instead of going wide with surprise. It was only with an effort that he stifled the undignified squeak that would've gone with it.

He was neither under blankets, nor feeling any kind of breeze. It was Kizmel's warm, soft body lying atop him, and her breath gently brushing his neck. Her lilac hair brushing at his chin.

Somehow, Kirito resisted the reflex to leap out of bed. For one thing, he wasn't in a bed, he was in a hammock, and any kind of abrupt movement was going to get both of them dumped on the floor. For another, as he firmly ordered his racing heart to slow down, he couldn't deny that he was actually kind of comfortable, as embarrassing as the current situation was.

The nightmares weren't as bad as I expected them to be, he thought, gazing down at his still-sleeping partner. I guess she really did have a point. Having Kizmel climb into the hammock with him had been startling, but the company apparently had kept his night more peaceful; from the look of it, it had been much the same for her. If the losses against Vemacitrin had kept her from sleep, he certainly couldn't tell it from her face now.

Slowly, hesitantly, Kirito brought his hand up to rest on the elf girl's head. When she showed no reaction, breathing staying slow and regular, he swallowed hard, and gently moved his hand down along her hair. That, she did seem to react to, but only with a faint curving of her lips, and a slight tightening of her grip on him, still showing no sign of waking.

He blushed, both at Kizmel's sleeping reflex and his own daring, and continued stroking her lilac hair. He had no idea what he was doing—he was a borderline hikikomori who'd never even held a girl's hand, little more than a year before—but somehow, this once, it felt right.

Kirito didn't care, just then, that there was a message notification blinking in the corner of his vision. Normally he'd have been up and about hours before, ready to get a jump on exploring the new floor; this morning, resting with his trusted partner felt much more important, just for a little longer.

…She's beautiful…

Not a thought he would've willingly spoken aloud to anyone. Klein and Asuna would've teased him, most other players would've pointed out her looks were pre-programmed; Argo would've instantly sold it to the highest bidder. Kizmel herself… he didn't know exactly how she'd react, and wasn't at all sure he wanted to find out. Or rather, that he was ready to; he still wasn't sure how things had changed after Christmas.

It's true, though. And who cares if she was "designed" that way? Doesn't make it any less true than if it were a genetic accident like the rest of us. And if Diavel's ghost was right, then she's…

Deep in thought, Kirito's hand idly slipped from Kizmel's hair to trace the edge of one long, pointed ear—that, finally, provoked a twitch and a light gasp. Her eyes fluttered open, and he froze as her gaze sleepily drifted up to meet his. Curious violet met suddenly-anxious black; his immobility broke, and he tried to pull his hand away in a hurry.

Kizmel caught it before it he could move far, and to his surprise she smiled. "Good morning, Kirito-kun," she murmured. "Did you sleep well?"

"Y-yeah," he got out nervously. "Well, not great, but… better than I thought I would. After… well, everything." Kirito would've scratched the back of his head, but one hand was still caught by hers, the other trapped beneath her. "How was your night, Kizmel?"

"Not as untroubled as I would have preferred, either. Yet restful enough, I think." She gave his hand a light squeeze, and finally released it; then, somewhat to his discomfort—emotionally, at least—shifted to rest more easily against him. "I appreciate the company through the night, my friend."

He looked away, face flaming. "L-likewise," he said in a mumble. "I was kind of expecting not to get much sleep at all, honestly." Especially with you here, he added to himself. But… this wasn't that bad at all. Except for being terminally embarrassing, anyway.

"Such ordeals are always easier to bear with family. And friends," Kizmel added, after a strange hesitation so brief he thought he might've imagined it. "Mm… I see we've slept late. Likely best if we got up, Kirito-kun." She chuckled softly, a wistful look in her eyes as she lifted her head from his shoulder. "Not that I would object to staying here a little longer, of course…"

Urk. "W-well," Kirito offered awkwardly, "I should probably check my messages real quick anyway, before we get too far ahead of ourselves…" What am I saying? This is—I shouldn't be—

She smiled again, letting her head sink again. "Mm. Yes, I suppose I should, as well." The elf twisted a little, rocking the hammock as she moved just enough to open her menu with a wave of her hand.

Determinedly ignoring the sensations her motions caused, Kirito followed suit. Quickly navigating to his inbox, he found four messages waiting for him, two of which were more or less what he'd expected: one a short but sincere missive from Asuna, assuring him that he was still welcome among the KoB—a sentiment he fully believed from her, but was less sure of from the guild as a whole—the other a terse request from Argo for a meeting at a nearby cafe.

Less expected was an also-brief message from Klein. [I heard about yesterday's boss fight from Argo; you doing okay, buddy? Anyway, be seeing you soon, with the rest of the gang.]

Puzzling as the samurai's last comment was, it concerned him less than the last message waiting for him. [Before you go all martyr on me, this ain't your fault, Kirito,] Agil's PM read. [I know those DDA blockheads are full of it. But after what happened to Wolfgang, I think I'm done clearing for a while. I'm setting up a shop in Algade. Stop by next time you need to buy or sell something on the cheap. And bring your girl with you, hear me?]

Kirito let out a slow breath, barely noticing the way it moved Kizmel's hair. He wished he could say he was surprised by Agil's decision, but after losing one of the merchants the big axeman had partied with from early on, he was only relieved that it wasn't even worse. The DDA had, after all, done a pretty good job of making him look like the bad guy.

At least if he's joking about Kizmel and spouting that line about his prices, he's coping. …Well, it's not like we haven't all had to learn; anybody who's been on the frontlines as long as we have has lost somebody.

A light cough, brushing against his neck, brought Kirito's attention back to the present. "All seems as well as could be expected," Kizmel said, looking up at him again. "I assume Argo contacted you, as well?"

"Yeah. I figured she would, after yesterday. I hope she's got some info about this floor by now, too, though even for her this might be a bit soon."

"At the least, I'd hope she has suggestions for dealing with this heat. Tropical islands are not an ideal place when we need to be wearing armor." She sighed. "Well, we'll do as we must. If we can get out of this hammock, at least. …How do we get out, Kirito-kun?"

Kirito had just started to wonder about that himself. Just by himself, he'd have given it fifty-fifty odds the attempt would drop him flat on the floor; with Kizmel lying on top of him, it was an even thornier issue. "Um. Normally I'd suggest you get up first, but I don't know how that would work here, either…" He hesitated, giving the situation careful thought—or at least as careful as he could manage, distracted as he was. "Maybe… like this?"

Several moments of careful movement followed, as he tried to get disentangled without doing anything Asuna would've murdered him for—Kizmel's reaction was less certain—and she tried to help. For a second, he even thought he had it, and gripped the side to pull himself free—

Center of mass on the hammock shifted too far, and suddenly the room was spinning dizzily around him. An instant later, his back hit the floor with a thud, weight landed solidly on his stomach, and he was sandwiched between hard wood and warm softness, some of which was in his hand.

When the world steadied again, Kirito found himself looking into Kizmel's eyes from far closer than he was used to. Wide, surprised eyes, he noticed, accompanied by a rare blush. Um…?

It took only another second for his brain to kick back in and inform of what, exactly, his hand was on, and he yanked his arm away like he'd been burnt. "S-sorry!" he blurted. "I didn't mean—!"

Surprising him again, Kizmel only laughed. "Fear not, my friend. I'm not angry." After a hesitation just long enough to puzzle him, she pushed herself to a sitting position on his legs, and from there to her feet. Extending a hand to help him up in turn, she said, "Shall we go? Argo is doubtless waiting for us."

"Ah. Right." Yeah. Argo, with her news. Something normal. Grateful for the chance to put some routine between himself and the very strange morning, Kirito set about reequipping his armor and sword. The new one he'd gotten from Vemacitrin, unfortunately, had such colossal STR requirements he couldn't use it yet, and that battle aside the Baneblade wasn't up to par any longer, but his current main weapon was still serviceable enough.

He was so focused on normal routine that he only remembered how different Kizmel's idea of "normal" was when light flared in front of him. Startled yet again, he caught a brief glimpse of smooth, dusky skin before he could whirl toward the door with a yelp.

Kizmel's laughter followed him out.

If there was one thing that truly convinced Kizmel of the real nature of the Swordmasters, she reflected as she and Kirito left the inn behind, it was the music that followed them around. It was one of the oddest of the charms that set them apart from the native humans of Aincrad, yet if they'd truly been drawn in on the assumption that it was all a game, it did make a certain degree of sense.

Despite the events of the previous day, she found herself humming along to the jaunty tune of the Fifty-First Floor, feeling oddly cheerful. Well, she mused, it has been an auspicious beginning to the day. Though I do wish Kirito would relax more. I know human mores are very different from elven, but surely he should be getting used to this by now? …Perhaps I should ask Argo. Carefully.

Though that would hardly be the only thing to ask the Rat about, even leaving aside recent events. On the walk from the seaside inn to the central village on a hill overlooking the beach, Kizmel was very puzzled by the attire of the Swordmasters who'd gotten an earlier start to the day. That some would be indulging themselves in such a way wasn't too surprising, but—

"…Why are so many players in swimsuits?" Kirito muttered, obviously as confused as she was. "I know the weather's nice, but don't tell me everybody's taking the day off."

"While armed?" Kizmel replied. "I doubt it. Strange that they'd risk being so unprotected, however." Not that it wasn't a tempting option, she had to admit. Even with the sun having risen high enough for the floors above to block it, the Fifty-First Floor was by far the hottest in her memory. Her own armor was nearly unbearable, even with the Swordmaster immunity to pain; how Kirito was able to stand wearing his black leather coat, she couldn't guess.

She could tell he wasn't comfortable, though. "Argo probably knows something—and right now, I think it'll be worth whatever she charges for it. …Here we are."

At the edge of the island's village closest to the beach, they found a well-ventilated building that proclaimed itself to be Thelema's Seaside Cafe, the place Argo's message had specified. Inside were a number of ordinary humans and one or two Swordmasters, mostly gathered by the bar at the north end; off in one corner—beside a large, open window, Kizmel noticed—sat Argo the Rat at a small table, sipping a fruit drink.

Like every other Swordmaster they'd seen that morning, she had eschewed armor in favor of swimwear. Less revealing than what Asuna had once given Kizmel, yet more so than Asuna's own.

When the information dealer spotted the new arrivals, she grinned and waved them over. "Kii-bou, Kii-chan! Glad to see ya in one piece. C'mon on, make yourselves comfortable. And ditch the armor; this is a Safe Haven, no sense sweatin' yourselves to death."

Exchanging a quick glance with Kirito, Kizmel dismissed her armor and cape, while he removed his heavy coat. "I take it you've heard the details of yesterday's battle, Argo?" she asked, as she and her partner took the chairs opposite the Rat.

"Yep," Argo said with a sober nod. "Prolly more of the aftermath than you guys. Care for Argo's After-Action Report? Ten thousand Cor. An' I'll give ya the highlights upfront."

Kirito handed over the money without hesitation, his expression grave. "What do you have, Argo? We already know the casualties…"

"First thing, I'd steer clear of the DDA for awhile, were I you." For once, there was no humor in the girl's eyes; never a good sign, in Kizmel's experience. "They've stirred up the old Beater nonsense again, an' while I don't know if many other players buy it this time, most of the Dragons really seem ta be into it." She gestured with her drink, grimacing. "Hard to say what Lind's thinking 'bout it, but I do know he ain't happy."

Kizmel nodded, eyes dark. Lind at least likely realized that they'd given the Stone to Fuurinkazan, but judging from his reminder as they were leaving, the knowledge hadn't mollified him. Whatever his course was from here, it was unlikely to be friendly to them.

"For what it's worth, it doesn't look like they're tryin' for a witch hunt or anything this time," Argo went on after a moment. "Mostly, they're spreadin' word Heathcliff was the MVP this time around." She paused to take a gulp of her drink, and snorted. "They hate the KoB's collective guts, too. Guess they figure building him up is worth takin' ya down a peg, Kii-bou."

Kirito shrugged, a bitter smile playing at his lips. "Yeah, well, it's not like they're wrong this time. I got the LA, sure, but everybody was spamming Sword Skills at the end. Heathcliff was the one who kept the boss off us long enough to get that far."

"Bah!" She rolled her eyes over her fruit drink. "Yeah, sure, really impressive, he's a hero, all that stuff. I'd be more impressed if he didn't let Aa-chan run things the rest of the time… Well, whatever. There is some good news: with the big scary Fiftieth Floor outta the way, more clearers are comin' back to the front, plus some newbies. Shouldn't be any manpower shortages for awhile."

"That is good news," Kizmel agreed, remembering how empty the previous floor had been. Only the strongest, bravest clearers had risked any of it, let alone the Pillar Guardian. "Assuming, of course, that this floor is not so hazardous as to drive them back again."

Argo grinned—with enough fang showing to make Kizmel want to make a hasty retreat of her own. "Don't worry yer pretty head, Kii-chan. Fifteen thousand for Argo's Vacation Guide, and the map to enlightenment will be yours."

Vacation Guide? The elf traded a wary glance with Kirito. "Perhaps," she said carefully, "this is something to be discussed over drinks, Argo." Preferably strong ale… no, probably not a good idea so early in the day. Unfortunately.

Soon enough, more Cor had changed hands, and Kizmel and Kirito had drinks of their own. A welcome distraction, as far as the elf was concerned, given Argo's habits; also worthwhile for its own sake, though, as she'd not had the opportunity to sample human tropical fare before.

Once she had a glass of a somewhat bitter concoction called "lemonade" in hand, she fixed the Rat with a wary gaze. "All right, Argo. What do we most need to know about this floor? I can't image you've learned much so far."

"Not that much, no," Argo admitted cheerfully. "But I've got a few juicy bits of info already. First off, the early birds tell me the monsters on this floor are lots easier than on the Fiftieth. About what we'd normally expect for the usual level curve."

Over a "fruit smoothie", Kirito nodded. "Makes sense. Breather level, right?" At Kizmel's puzzled glance, he explained, "Whether you go with the Swordmaster 'constructed world' view or your Great Separation, it's obvious by now that Aincrad was created as a game, right? In game design, it's not uncommon for a hard boss to be followed by easier content."

"I… see. I think." Forcing down a bristle at the reminder that the sorcerer Kayaba seemed to regard their lives as game pieces, she found herself nodding reluctantly at the logic. She had had little time for games in her life, and never the structured sort Swordmasters favored, but she'd learned enough from Kirito to follow the concept.

"Breather level," Argo confirmed. "So far, anyway. Trick is, this floor's got lots more water than even the Fourth. Way too much to swim, an' the tiny gondolas wouldn't cut it, either. Turns out, though, that there is a shipyard a bit southeast of here." Setting aside her drink, she leaned over the table and brought up her map. "We're here at the southwest edge of the floor, on Ousetta Island. Just a short swim away is Torvan's Shipyard, which my contacts say has some good-sized sailboats."

Looking over the map himself, Kirito frowned. "Yeah, that's probably only a few minutes if you know the trick to swimming here… But that's still farther than I'd like. We can't swim with armor, and there's bound to be mobs out there…"

Argo's grin was one that showed clear anticipation; the kind Kizmel knew meant she was about to obtain more blackmail material. Exactly the kind of expression that reminds me of why she can never learn what happened eight floors ago. What is she plotting now…?

"That, Kii-bou, is the real trick about this floor," the Rat said cheerfully. "'Cause it so happens if you wear regular armor around here, you're gonna start taking Heat damage in minutes. On the flip side, there's a massive defense bonus to swimsuits. Coupla guys say the smaller the swimsuit, the bigger the bonus, but since I didn't see 'em in tiny stuff themselves, that's prolly wishful thinking; nothin' I'd sell ta impressionable girls. Still, I got confirmation on the main info."

Kizmel found herself actually relaxing. From her point of view, that wasn't so bad; indeed, it had serious potential, as far as she was concerned. If, at least, she could get her partner past his irrational terror of the entire subject.

That aside, she wasn't surprised to see Kirito first go pale, then bright red as the implications sank in. Probably, she reflected with some amusement, remembering that most Swordmasters he actually socializes with are women. Well, my friend, I'll just have to find a way to… focus your attention, won't I?

Seeming to realize both Argo and Kizmel were watching him, Kirito abruptly coughed. "Uh. Right. So… swimsuits really are armor here. Okay, got it. Um… got any info on actual quests yet, Argo? Actually, come to think of it, I need to go see a blacksmith before that." Noticing the looks that got him, he lifted his hands defensively. "No, really, I do! I made a lucky guess that Vemacitrin would count as 'evil' for the Baneblade, but it didn't do as much damage as it should have with that bonus. I want to know if any blacksmith has gotten their skills high enough to work on it. Especially with… well, you know."

That was enough to briefly shake Argo's smirk. They'd all heard grisly rumors lately about an increasing in player-killing, after all; worse even than the reports Asuna had brought them at Christmas. Though if Kirito was reaching the point of contemplating the Baneblade's special powers…

"Fine, fine, you do that, Kii-bou. I don't want you riskin' yerself more than ya have to." The Rat's smirk came back. "One last thing before ya go, though: there's still a Sunburn DoT even with swimsuits, unless you use an item the local shops carry."

Kizmel raised an eyebrow, watching with some amusement as her partner took on an expression of utter dread. "You mean…?"

"Yep." Argo's grin was all predatory fang now. "Gotta get every exposed spot, too. Even the hard-to-reach ones." Her gaze flicked meaningfully to Kizmel. "But that's no problem, eh, Kii-bou? Kii-chan can help ya out. An' I'm sure you wouldn't mind returning the favor, right?"

Escaping Argo was the most immediate reason Kirito had for bringing up his need to visit a blacksmith, but it wasn't the only one. The Valiant Edge he'd been using since the middle of December was a fine sword, yet was reaching its limit, and the blade he'd gotten from Vemacitrin he couldn't even use for a few more levels. Since NPC shop weapons were well below his standards, that left trying to find a quest with a good enough drop, having a new one forged, or finally getting a handle on the Baneblade's unique upgrade methods.

Option One meant talking to Argo longer; Options Two and Three both required a blacksmith. Under the circumstances, there was no question which Kirito would pick.

Returning to Algade via teleport, he took a moment to actually appreciate the scenery on arrival. The whole time the clearing group as a whole had used the town as a base, the specter of the upcoming boss fight had kept him from really taking it in; now he could really spare the attention to see what there was. I actually can thank Argo for that, he thought ruefully. I'll give the Rat this much: it's hard to sulk when she's in full-troll mode.

Though Kirito also had to admit Algade had the potential to set him off all over again. It reminded him all too much of a small shopping district in Taito Okachimachi, in a world he hadn't seen in over a year. The more so now that the frontline had moved to the next floor, since…

"Oh, my," Kizmel murmured, as they made their way down narrow streets toward the location Argo had supplied. "The clearing group has moved on, yet it seems as if there's even more Swordmasters here than there were yesterday. I don't believe I've seen so many since the earliest days after your arrival."

"Algade seems to be a good place to set up shops," Kirito mused. "Word must've gotten around quick once the boss went down… And I guess I'm not the only one who thinks this town is a lot like home." Looking around as they walked like a tourist, he himself half-expected to see a stereotypical ramen shop every time they turned a corner. It was even starting to feel strange not to have a phone in his pocket, for the first time in at least six months.

"This resembles your home? I see…" The elf girl, already obviously interested, seemed to grow more intent in her inspection of the town. "It's very different from my people's cities, but… charming, in its own way. I believe I can see some of the appeal myself."

"Heh. Just wait 'til you see downtown back home. I don't think 'charming' is the right word for…" He trailed off, remembering with a jolt just who he was talking to. With a fellow player, it would've been one thing, but with her…

Risking a quick glance at Kizmel, he found her wearing a small smile. Wordlessly, she reached over to lay a hand on his shoulder, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking.

Who knows, maybe she does. She already knows what I think this world is; she must have some kind of idea of her own about what that means. Though what she thinks she can do about it… Ahh, forget it. Whatever happens, there's no way we need to worry about it for another year, at the rate the clearing's going.

The silence that fell for the remainder of the walk through Algade's bustling streets was, surprisingly, not too dark. Even so, Kirito was grateful when they reached their destination, a simple shop with a sign declaring LWS above its door. When he pulled open the door, a cheerful voice rang out, "Welcome to Lisbeth's Weapon Shop! I'll be right with—oh, Kirito! Kizmel!"

"Hi, Lisbeth," he replied, stepping into the front room of the weapon shop. It was a simple room, with a couple of racks of weapons on display, a counter, and an open door leading to the actual smithy. The girl he'd come to see was just coming to the front, smith's hammer resting casually on one shoulder. "Nice shop you've got here."

"Eh, it's okay," Lisbeth demurred, setting her hammer down on the counter. "I'm hoping to find someplace more, I don't know… personal, I guess? But this is better than just having a stall outside… And didn't I tell you to call me Liz?"

"Right, right, sorry…" Kirito chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. Truthfully, though, he was relieved by Lisbeth's casual air. He'd known the blacksmith since the Thirty-Seventh Floor Field Boss, and he and Kizmel both had made use of her services a fair few times since; he thought they'd built up something of a rapport, but the aftermath of Vemacitrin had had him worried.

Something tells me if I said that to her, she would hit me with that hammer…

"I see you've changed your look, Liz," Kizmel remarked, raising an eyebrow. "Does pink have some significance among Swordmasters? And I must admit, I don't believe I have ever seen a blacksmith apron quite like that before."

Kirito realized with a start that his partner was right: Lisbeth's formerly-brown hair had changed to a bright pink since their last meeting, and her usually-practical outfit had taken on elements he'd have thought more suitable for a maid than a macer/blacksmith.

And I didn't even notice. Man, I've been in Aincrad too long.

"Asuna's idea," Lisbeth said with a shrug, suddenly looking self-conscious. "She thought it'd bring in more customers. I think it's silly, but y'know, I really have had more business lately… But you guys don't fall for that kinda stuff, so what do you need? Maintenance after that big boss fight?"

"It's probably not a bad idea, actually," Kirito admitted, remembering the punishment even the survivors had taken against the metallic Asura. "But what I really wanted was to ask if you had any new ideas about this." Unslinging his baldric, he handed over the Baneblade.

Lisbeth took it with a dubious expression. She'd examined it for him once before, and had told him the only information the blade's status window gave her was that she "lacked the skill to work such ancient metal". Exactly what that meant, none of them could say; it might've meant that her Blacksmith skill was too low, or that the Baneblade simply couldn't be tempered in a normal way at all.

Still, she examined it dutifully, clicking on the sword to bring up its status window. After a moment, her eyebrows went up. "Huh. That's interesting… Now it says, 'Bathe the blade in the Flames of Hyrus' Forge to purge the tarnish of ages'."

"Hyrus' Forge?" Kizmel repeated, beating Kirito to it. "Do you have any idea what that means?"

Liz bit her lip. "Well, 'forge' pretty obviously refers to a smithy, and Hyrus… Wait a sec. Another of my regulars was in this morning, talking about some quest on the new floor that mentioned something about that." Handing back the Baneblade, she swiped a hand to open her menu. "Hang on, I'll send her a message… There we go."

"Thanks, Liz," Kirito said sincerely, slinging the weapon back over his shoulder. "I'm going to need a better sword soon, and the one I got from the LA on the boss has too high an STR requirement for me to equip it yet."

She rolled her eyes. "Typical loot weapon; either wimpy, or too good. Mark my words, Kirito, give me another couple months and I'll be making swords so good you'll never look at another drop weapon again."

"I'll be looking forward to it." He would, too. Any MMO player knew crafted weapons blew drops and quest rewards right out of the water, at least at high levels. He had no doubt Lisbeth would be the first player to forge legendary weapons.

"You'd better be." Liz smirked. "Anyway. How about I fix up the rest of your gear while I wait to hear back? You're not gonna want to challenge a new floor without everything in top condition, even if it is supposed to be an easy one."

There was no arguing that, so Kirito handed over his Valiant Edge, while Kizmel passed over her Riot Saber and somewhat dented breastplate. Lisbeth took it all to the back room, and as the sound of her hammer began to ring out, Kirito made a mental note to visit a tailor soon, as well. Both his coat and Kizmel's Cloak of Illusion—the latter a replacement for the Mistmoon Cloak, which had gotten incinerated by the Forty-Ninth Floor boss—were getting a bit tattered.

Not that it's likely to be urgent, he thought nervously, remembering Argo's words. A defense bonus to swimsuits… I won't blame some of the clearers if they skip this floor completely. I'm going to be self-conscious enough as it is, and I'm not that out of shape.

Certainly his partner wasn't—which, of course, was the real problem. The one good thing he could say about it was that it was going to be very, very hard to brood about the recent casualties for the next week or so.

From the look she was giving him now, Kizmel knew it, too.

Kirito was startled out of that train of thought by the smithy's door suddenly opening again. "Hey, Liz, got your message! So who's—oh, hi! Nice to see you two again!"

Turning to the entrance, he was surprised to see none other than Philia walking in, followed closely by Rain. The self-proclaimed treasure hunter was in high spirits, despite the previous day's battle; the redhead, by contrast, did seem to be affected by it, but rather than fear, her bearing spoke of new-found confidence.

I guess we've got ourselves a new clearer for real. Good; we're going to need all the help we can get, after yesterday.

Better yet, to his profound relief, neither of them was looking at him with any kind of reproach. Since as far as he knew, neither of them knew the details of the Divine Stone of Returning Soul, he'd been worried.

"Philia, Rain," Kizmel said, favoring the pair with a slight bow and a smile. "A pleasure to see you both again, as well. Given what transpired yesterday, well…"

"It was pretty scary," Rain admitted, resting a hand on the sword sheathed on her left hip. "But, y'know, I pretty much went into that figuring if I lived through it, I wouldn't be scared by much else for awhile. And here I am, still alive."

"And if you were worried about what the DDA said, don't be," Philia said, tossing her head. "I may not know the whole story there, but I've been on the frontlines long enough to know what they're like. Always picking fights about who was where first…"

"They didn't used to be quite that bad," Kirito told her, remembering the earliest days of clearing. Back then, he thought, that particular issue had been more on the ALS side of things. "Though they did have their own problems even then…" He coughed. "Anyway. Philia, you're the one who told Liz something about Hyrus?"

"Yep! Rain and I got up right around dawn—we partied up after the boss, figured two swords were better than one after that—and started chasing after quests. Well, right up until we started taking Heat damage and remembered our gear needed repairs, anyway." She scratched the back of her head, looking sheepish. "Actually, I was thinking of talking to you about it anyway. There were some weird things in the quest description about special requirements—"

"It said something about the Treaty of the Three Races," Rain put in. "As far as I know, you two are the only clearers who've done any quests involving that, so…" When swordsman and elf alike turned a sharp look on her, it was her turn to look sheepish. "I did say I researched the clearers before I joined the group. Argo said she didn't sell that info to just anyone, but she thought it might come in handy for me someday."

Argo… just what is she playing at? Still, that wasn't what really got to Kirito. On the one hand, that suggested the quest really did have something to do with the Baneblade questline, and that they weren't too likely to have other players competing with them on it. On the other—

Looking over at Kizmel, he knew she was thinking the same thing he was. On the other hand, those quests are the ones most likely to be specifically for us. And I still don't know what Kayaba's playing at. Why is he so interested in us?

Kirito quickly decided not to mention that part to the girls. Philia and Rain were under enough stress just fighting on the frontlines; they didn't need to worry about the bigger picture, especially since it didn't really have anything to do with them. "Well," he said after a moment, "I'll be glad to buy any info you girls have about it. I'll even pay Argo's rates."

He would, too. Anything to do with that questline would be worth it.

To his surprise, Philia laughed. "Sell it? Nah. What's the fun in that? We'll give it to you free, Kirito—if you let us in on the quest. A share of the other treasure, that's our price."

Kirito blinked. The last time anyone besides Kizmel or Fuurinkazan had actually wanted to team up with him outside of a boss fight… actually, he couldn't remember. "Um. Philia, are you sure…? Rain. If Argo sold you that, she must've told you these quests are usually pretty specific to me and Kizmel."

"So we have to let you guys do some of it by yourselves. So?" Rain tapped the hilt of her sword, a light smile playing at her lips. "I think the quest will be fun enough just being there for it. Besides, I might learn a few tricks, working with two of the top clearers."

"Besides, there's got to be more treasure than just that forge thing!" Philia said enthusiastically. "A limited quest? Those always have the best stuff!"

Well… she has a point there. He didn't remember much of any worth in the Reliquary quest besides the very end, but then he strongly suspected that one had been written on the fly. This quest, Kayaba—or Cardinal—would've had more time to prepare.

Kirito glanced at Kizmel, silently asking her opinion. "Why not?" she said, smiling in a way that made him just a little nervous. "Sometimes it's nice to have some company, my friend. As Rain says, this could be fun… in many ways."

He didn't want to ask what she meant by that. Not with that look on her face. Asuna's smiles could be dangerous enough, promising punishment behind a guise of friendliness. Kizmel's smiles were sometimes just a little too close to Argo's for his comfort.

Any need to think of a safe reply was, thankfully, broken by a clatter from the direction of the smithy proper. "All right, guys, all done!" Lisbeth announced, setting swords and armor on the counter. "And I see Philia and Rain are here! …Hm? Did I miss something?"

Once Lisbeth had finished with the equipment repairs, Kirito's reprieve was over. There was nothing to be done but return to the Fifty-First Floor, and face what promised to be an entire floor's worth of discomfort—even more of it than he'd expected, with the additions to his party.

I am so avoiding Argo as much as I can 'til this floor is cleared, he vowed to himself, as the newly-formed party of four materialized in Ousetta Island's Teleport Plaza. Probably a good thing this quest is likely to keep us out of the way of the main clearing group a lot of the time, too.

Kirito thought he'd caught a glimpse of Asuna on the way to the meeting with Argo, among the players already geared for the floor. Dealing with her likely modesty issues at the same time as accompanying three other girls…

He would've shivered, were it not for the heat. As it was, he was quickly and forcibly reminded of just why the special gear was needed. "Let's get to the inn, quick," Philia said, fanning herself with an expression of discomfort. "The sooner we get changed, the better."

"Yeah," he said with a defeated sigh, "I guess you're right." Let's get this over with.

A short walk to the inn later, and a shorter time behind a closed door, and Kirito found himself waiting on the beach for his companions to emerge. The girls had insisted on meeting him there, rather than waiting for them at the inn. He wasn't sure why, though they had at least agreed to the concession of picking a spot far away from the other players who still crowded Ousetta.

He was grateful for that concession, as self-conscious as he felt. Black longcoats had been his standard equipment ever since Illfang; now, he was wearing the same black trunks he'd once used in the Reliquary quest, with the Valiant Edge incongruously slung over his shoulder. Kirito felt ridiculous, and was convinced he looked even worse.

Not to mention, it's hot. January isn't supposed to be hot. This may be a breather level, but Kayaba is still determined to torment us somehow. And speaking of torment, just where are those—

"All done, Kirito!"

Kirito looked up at Philia's call to see her and Rain crossing the beach from the inn. Blood immediately rushed to his head—though not nearly as much as he might've expected, considering the two were wearing matching bikinis, the blonde in blue and the redhead in black. Either he was still used to suppressing his hormones from his utter lack of a social life before SAO, or he really was starting to get inured to it all.

Though the way Philia promptly struck a pose did challenge his aplomb. "So, Kirito? How do we look?" She threw an arm around Rain's shoulders, dragging her into it too. "Will we do?"

Do for what? Not really wanting an answer to the question, he didn't ask it; nor did he make what even he was savvy enough to realize would've been the mistake of suggesting one-piece swimsuits would've been better for his sanity. Clearing his throat, he got out, "You, uh, you both look good." Forcing his eyes not to stray, he added to himself, Maybe a little too good. I'm liable to get called a Beater again just for partying with you guys.

"Hehe, thanks." Where Philia just grinned, Rain's smile was accompanied by a blush; one which, to Kirito's confusion, seemed to intensify when she looked him over in return.

"We picked out matching ones," Rain said after a moment, looking away. "Philia said it'd look better that way. We offered to get Kizmel something, too, but she said she already had it taken care of."

"Oh, that's right." Snapping his fingers, Kirito glanced around, puzzled. "Where is Kizmel, anyway? Shouldn't she be ready by… now…?"

Philia and Rain stepped aside, and his voice died in his throat. Apparently he wasn't quite as used to this kind of thing as he thought, because the sight of Kizmel walking over to join them in the same purple bikini Asuna had lent her a year before completely derailed his thoughts. Her "slips" aside, even with her shield stowed on her back and saber slung on her left hip it was much more skin than he was used to seeing from her. If the other two girls had been distracting, Kizmel was on a completely different level.

He was staring, and he knew it, but he was finding looking away from dusky curves nearly impossible. Especially when the elf girl lifted one eyebrow, smiled, and rested one hand on the hilt of her sword, as if striking a pose of her own.

How long he was petrified, Kirito never knew. He was only broken out of his trance when he heard Rain sigh and muse, "Well, I guess we're not competing with that, are we?"

Face flaming, Kirito shook his head quickly. "Uh! You, uh, look nice, Kizmel!" he blurted—remembering only after that unlike Philia, his partner hadn't actually asked for his opinion.

Apparently it was the right thing to say anyway, from Kizmel's deepening smile. "Thank you, my friend," she said. "Asuna gave me the swimsuit as a 'Christmas present'—though I admit I did not expect to use it so soon." She looked him up and down in turn, her gaze slow and deliberate. "You're looking very well yourself, Kirito."

At that point, Kirito decided reality was clearly on a lunch break. While it was true that if he'd been wielding a sword in his real body for the past year, he undoubtedly would've built up considerable muscle by now, the real body that had been scanned in the NerveGear calibration had hardly been athletic. Not completely out of shape—his grandfather had tolerated his departure from the dojo, but that tolerance had had its limits—but hardly anything worth a second glance.

With a haste that had absolutely nothing to do with a pretty girl catching him checking her out—and checking him out in return—Kirito loudly cleared his throat. "Well, if we're all ready, then we should be looking into that quest—"

"Not so fast, Kirito," Philia interrupted. "We still need to do one more thing, remember?" She held up a bottle. "The swimsuits'll keep us from Heat damage, but there's still that Sunburn DoT."

Urk! "Um—well—"

"I'll take care of Rain," she said, rolling right over his protests. "She can get me, too. Kizmel?"

One of those Argo-like smiles was playing at Kizmel's lips again. "If you'd care to assist me, Kirito? As you may recall, I do have some trouble reaching my back…"

Urk!

There was a slight reprieve, kind of, after that, as Kirito's help wasn't needed right away. Or rather, it would've been a reprieve had they split up to apply the special Sunblock item. Instead, he ended up with the daunting task of trying to apply as much of it as he could to himself, while three not-unattractive girls did the same, apparently blithely unconcerned by the fact that he was watching. Rain was the only one who even seemed embarrassed, and it apparently wasn't enough for her to call him on it.

Asuna—or even Sugu—would've kicked me just for looking. I can kind of understand Kizmel, I know the Dark Elves don't worry so much about that, but the other two… This can't be normal!

Well. Kirito did manage a few moments of genuinely focusing on something else: checking the entire area with his Search skill to make absolutely certain Argo was nowhere to see it. Bad enough that the Rat obviously knew this would be happening; if she obtained any kind of record of it, there was no way he'd ever live it down.

It wasn't long before he ran out of distractions, though, as he'd confirmed Argo's absence and had covered every centimeter he could reach with Sunblock. Right around then, the girls likewise finished the first stage, and Rain dropped to the sand to let Philia get her back.

Not that Kirito had much of a chance to notice that. His vision was abruptly blocked by Kizmel kneeling in front of him. "Kirito?"

Swallowing hard, he nodded. "Right…" It's only her back, he reminded himself, squeezing some Sunblock into his hand. I've washed that for her a couple of times already. This is nothing I haven't done before. Heck, she's wearing more than she usually does when something like this comes up…

It was only when his hands made contact with the backs of her shoulders that Kirito remembered those times in the bath had always involved a brush, never direct skin contact. Her soft intake of breath further drove home the point; it was with an effort that he didn't pull back in a panic.

After a long, nervous pause, he began to move. I can do this, he told himself, carefully rubbing the cream into dusky skin. I used to do this for Sugu when we were kids, right? This isn't any different.

Yeah, sure, another corner of his mind snarked. Kizmel is totally just like Sugu… Not.

As far as the rest of the universe was concerned, it probably took less than two minutes to apply Kizmel's Sunblock, even when she stretched out on the sand and silently indicated she'd left the backs of her legs to him as well. To Kirito, it seemed to take hours, especially with the elf girl occasionally humming in apparent satisfaction. Not unpleasant hours, he admitted to himself, but not entirely comfortable, either.

When he'd finished, Kizmel sighed in a way he couldn't quite interpret, and turned to face him with a small smile. "Thank you, Kirito-kun," she murmured, too low for the other girls to hear. "…Your turn."

Gulping, Kirito turned his back. Unlike him, she showed no hesitation in placing her hands on his shoulders. Unlike her, he reflexively tensed at the contact, muscles stiffening under her warm touch. Her increasing physical affection since Christmas had left him uncertain exactly where they stood; the peculiar conditions of the new floor only deepened it.

As she worked the protective cream into his back, though, he gradually felt himself unwinding; almost like she was massaging knots out of his muscles as much as applying a status buff. It wasn't like anything he'd done with a girl before, but… he couldn't say it was bad, either.

Just different. I don't know what's going on, but… maybe it's not so bad? I know Klein would kill to be where I am now. Maybe… maybe I should just go with the flow, for now.

Since he had gotten everywhere he could reach himself beforehand, there was less for Kizmel to do, though he did get the odd sense she was taking longer than necessary. Soon enough, she was finished, and the strange feeling of isolation from the rest of the world vanished as she pulled back from him. "I believe that's everything, Kirito," she said, standing. "We should be protected from this floor's heat, at least for the time being."

"Eight hours for this type," Philia put in. "By the time it wears off, it'll be close enough to sunset we won't need it."

The lingering sense of time being out of joint was chased out of Kirito's head by the reminder that they were not, in fact, alone. Whipping around to look, he found the two girls sitting on the beach, apparently long since finished with their own preparations, watching them. Exactly what they thought of the whole thing, he couldn't quite tell, but Philia's smirk was enough to set his face on fire again.

"There are higher-quality Sunblocks?" Kizmel asked curiously, apparently completely unperturbed. "Do they last longer? That might be worth the expense, if we're to get an earlier start tomorrow."

"Argo says you have to make them yourself," Rain said, shaking her head. "According to the craft recipe, the ingredients are rare drops from dungeons on this floor, too." With a quiet cough, she glanced away. "Of course, she also said it'd take all the fun out of it, so—"

"So instead of worrying about that, how about we get to that quest," Kirito interrupted hastily. "We've wasted the whole morning anyway, so we'd better get moving. Ah, Philia, where's the starting location? Is it on this island, or are we going to need to get to the Shipyard first?"

To his relief, the blonde's expression changed from mischievous to excited in an eyeblink, the promise of treasure chasing away her disturbing amusement. "According to the old guy we got the quest from, there's a cave on the southeast corner of the island. The first clues to 'finding the legacy of the Treaty' are supposed to be there."

Re-equipping the scabbard he'd removed for the application of the Sunblock, he turned to face the southeast. "Then let's get going. No sense wasting any more daylight!"

It was, of course, the party leader's job to take point, even in theoretically safe surroundings. Kirito's quick steps toward the southeast were entirely due to a desire to get as much done in one day as possible, and had absolutely nothing to do with the laughter he heard behind him.

The cave indicated by the quest proved to be at the opposite end of Ousetta Island from the place Kizmel and her partner had spent the night. Given the size of the island, not a terribly long walk, though obviously long enough to make Kirito uncomfortable: while more than a few Swordmasters had set out to investigate the Shipyard, there were still a number on Ousetta's beaches.

Only a small proportion of them female, of course, given the Swordmasters' relative lack of "Action Girls"—to use Argo's term—but knowing Kirito, there was an excellent chance of those that were there somehow becoming relevant to him. Which, on the one hand, Kizmel felt had its merits, as none of them wanted to dwell too much on the recent losses.

On the other, she thought, following a pace behind her partner as he strode quickly along the beach, I'd rather his attention not wander too far, under the circumstances. Not that I expect him to risk it much, given his odd shyness—which is a problem of its own, of course.

Mentally putting aside that question for a time when she had a chance to privately consult Argo, Kizmel cleared her throat. Pausing long enough to ensure she'd gotten Kirito's attention, she turned to look at their companions. "I meant to ask, Philia: what brought this quest to your attention in the first place?"

"Eh? Oh, Rain and I were just checking pretty much everybody with a quest marker," the treasure hunter replied with a casual shrug. "The usual stuff for a new floor. Nothing very interesting here at first, except for the one leading to the Shipyard, but then when we were doing a little scouting for a mob-hunting quest we spotted this old guy in a hut back in the woods south of here."

"Really old," Rain said, nodding. "Like, going-senile old. I'm not sure he really registered we were Swordmasters when we talked to him. He just rambled about how it was 'time', and how the 'bearers of the legacy of the Treaty' should go to that cave. There, we'd find a clue to 'Hyrus' lost arts'."

"That does sound like what we're looking for." Kirito didn't sound entirely comfortable, though Kizmel wasn't sure if that was because of the implications of the quest, or the general conditions of the floor. "I'm surprised you haven't already been there, though, if you already had that much to go on."

"That's the thing, though: the quest log said we were supposed to go with the 'bearers of the legacy' if we wanted to open the door." Philia brushed a hand through her hair, bouncing energetically as she walked; the motion prompted Kirito to whip back to face front again, face red, though the blonde didn't seem to notice. "That's why we were already talking about getting you guys in on this."

That was fair enough, Kizmel supposed. If there were any among the Swordmasters who could likely be considered such "bearers", it was the two of them—which only made things more suspicious.

Either this is the hand of Fate itself at work, she thought pensively, as they rounded a corner of the beach that took them away from the more populated areas, or Kayaba is meddling somehow. …I need to ask Kirito just how powerful that sorcerer really is. I should have done so long ago.

"…I don't believe this," a voice ahead of them muttered, breaking into Kizmel's reverie. "What the hell does that even mean? A 'weapon to banish evil'? "Legacy of the Treaty'? Damn, but I hate obscure quest hints!"

The southeast corner of the island was nearly deserted, but not completely. A pair of Swordmasters—one short and obviously out of shape, the other tall but unhealthily thin—were storming away from the mouth of a cave a few meters back from the beach.

They both looked quite angry, but—somewhat to Kizmel's relief, given recent events—their expressions eased when they saw Kirito's party approach. "Hey, guys," the taller called out. "Are you trying the 'Lost Treasure of Hyrus' quest, too?"

"Yeah, we are," Kirito confirmed warily. "This is where it starts, right?"

"That's what the map says, anyway," the shorter Swordmaster said sourly, pointing a thumb over his shoulder. "Right over there. Don't get your hopes up, though, there's a door right inside that wants some kind of weird key. Where or what the key is, we can't figure out."

Kizmel exchanged a quick look with Kirito. "We'll take our chances," she said. "We may be able to work something out." Indeed, from the complaints they'd overheard, she had a suspicion already.

"Good luck," the taller Swordmaster said, shaking his head. "If you do figure it out, you'll probably make a fortune just selling it to the Rat… We're gonna just go on to the Shipyard quest. See you around."

"Well," Rain said when they'd gone, "at least we know we're in the right place." She shot the elf a curious look. "You've got an idea, Kizmel?"

"I might," she allowed. "Let us go and see if it has merit."

The cave, fortunately, proved to be large enough to easily allow the four of them to walk more or less abreast; more fortunate still, it was lit by ancient torches at regular intervals, sustained by one of the more practical charms of the ancients. Both were a relief, Kizmel having been concerned at the prospect of having to navigate a cramped tunnel in the dark.

The two Swordmasters who had abandoned the quest turned out to be correct: just a few meters into the cave, a large stone door blocked the way. Firmly set into the cave walls, its only feature was a curious slot where a keyhole might have been.

"Huh," Kirito said, peering close. "Let's see… Yeah, that's definitely a weird lock. I don't see any clues at all, though; unless—"

"You need to use Search," Philia said excitedly, leaning over his shoulder, eyes glowing green. "Um… It says, 'To open the way to the first key to Hyrus' Treasure, bring forth the legacy of the Treaty: the weapon to banish evil'."

Kizmel nodded. "As I thought." When the others turned toward her, she explained, "Doesn't that 'keyhole' resemble the pedestal from the Reliquary, Kirito?"

"…You're right, it does." With a few quick movements, Kirito replaced the Valiant Edge with the Baneblade's scabbard, and drew the sword. Aligning it carefully with the slot in the door, he slid the blade in.

When the Baneblade was sheathed in stone almost to the hilt, there was an audible click, and the cave began to rumble. As soon as he'd pulled it free, the door shifted, groaned, and ponderously swung open; beyond, a brightly lit chamber beckoned.

"Now, this looks promising," Philia said, brushing past Kirito to slip into the new room. "That's what I call a treasure room! Like a pirate's vault."

It did certainly resemble some of the hoards Kizmel had plundered with her partner in the past. Lit by more torches, amplified by mirrors, the chamber contained a number of chests, as well as a number of scattered coins; on one wall, there seemed to be a map of the Fifty-First Floor itself, with several odd markings on it.

Not quite what I was expecting from something relating to the ancients. But then, this may simply be the style of whichever of the Nine Kingdoms was tropical; I believe our dealings have always been with remnants of the inland nations.

"There's a sword over here," Kirito said, crossing to a desk just beneath the map. "Let me see the stats… One-handed, called 'Sea Dragon's Sword', good attack power… Not much better than Valiant Edge, but it'll tide me over for a bit. Anybody mind if I claim this as my share?"

Philia waved vaguely in his direction, already digging around in a chest. "If it's not a Swordbreaker-style, I don't care anyway. 'Sides, there's lots more interesting stuff in here…"

Kizmel was inclined to agree, as she began her own inspection of the treasure. In any case, the true reward they sought of this cave was likely only one step. If the search for Hyrus' Forge was anything like the Reliquary quest, she knew it would not be so simple.

"…Hey, guys? There's something written on the wall here. But I can't read the script; it's not Japanese, that's for sure. It's not English, either…"

A tingle running down her spine, Kizmel quickly crossed to Rain's side. "That's ancient writing," she said, after a moment's inspection. "Let me see… Hm. Much of it is too worn to make out, but I believe I can still read some of it. Though it is… strange."

Kirito looked up from equipping his new sword. "Strange how, Kizmel?" he asked, voice wary.

"I'm just not certain I understand what it speaks of. Although…" She frowned, tracing faded letters with one finger. "It almost seems to be a prophecy of some kind. It refers to a spell placed on the people carried into the sky in the Great Separation, one to… dull their minds…"

"Dull their minds?" Rain repeated, frowning. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The tingle in Kizmel's spine turned to a cold chill. "I'm… not certain," she said, not entirely truthfully. "But it seems to have been meant to keep the people from trying to conquer the evil that infests Aincrad. The spell would dull their wits, and their blades, leaving the peoples of the Steel Castle isolated from one another. Why that is, either is not mentioned here, or is part of the illegible section, but it seems to have been deliberately cast to force the people of Aincrad to eventually call for help."

"Us," the redhead said softly. "But… why? Well, I mean, I know why Kayaba would want things that way, but I don't get the connection here."

Neither do I. But if I'm understanding this correctly, other things are beginning to make a frightening kind of sense. "It does not seem to say," Kizmel repeated. "It does, however, go on to say that the spell was imperfect, and that eventually some few strong-minded people would regain their wit by their own strength of will. And that these few natives of Aincrad would be as crucial to the Steel Castle's fate as the warriors summoned from another world…"

The strange lack of will and wit that I've noticed ever more in recent months. Was it truly a change in them—or in me? And the distinction Kirito and a few of the other Swordmasters have made between me and 'normal NPCs'… Is it that I am somehow special, and others born of this world are—

"Don't read too much into that."

Kizmel jerked, startled out of her thoughts by her partner's sharp words. "Kirito?" she said, turning to face him.

His expression was taut, an indecipherable shadow in his deep black eyes. "Don't let it get to you," he said firmly. "I… know something about the 'magic' involved here—enough to know that you shouldn't take that at face value."

"…What do you know, Kirito?" she asked warily.

"Enough that something isn't adding up here." He bit his lip, frowning deeply. "Kayaba's 'sorcery' has limits, Kizmel. If I'm understanding any of what you just read off right, either that's a red herring, or else…" Kirito hesitated for a long moment, then shook his head firmly. "No. Before we draw any conclusions from that, we need more information, Kizmel."

…I suppose worrying about that will do us no good here, anyway. "All right," she conceded. "But I believe we need to talk, soon—"

"Um, guys? I hate to interrupt, but we may have a problem here."

Kizmel's attention snapped back to Philia. By all appearances, the girl had completely ignored the discussion Rain's discovery had provoked, and had spent the whole time scouring the rest of the treasure room. Now she waved a hand at one chest in particular—one which stood empty, save for a single piece of paper.

"Somebody got to this first," the treasure hunter said, nodding at the paper. "Ever see a ransom note for a key before…?"

"Those who would uphold ancient Treaty and seek the Forge of Hyrus, be wary of the task that lies before you. We hoped to keep the treasures of our shattered Alliance safe; but to our sorrow we were betrayed. In the chaos of the Great Separation, the Order was sundered by traitors within, who sought to take those treasures for themselves. Many have been guarded. Others have not.

"The first Key to Hyrus Fortress has been taken. We leave this warning where the Key was meant to rest: by the time our heirs find it, the human pirates who wrested it may long be dead, yet their ally, our betrayer, will for ages persist. The Sea-Lord, Medrizzel, rules the waters of this floor of the Steel Castle.

"Do not face him unwary. Seek the great ship of the Dread Pirate Robair. Medrizzel's sworn companion has joined them; among his possessions you may find an advantage against the Dragon. Fortune willing, the Key will still reside aboard, as well…"

So said the note Philia had discovered, which Rain found to be all kinds of ominous. Though to be fair, she was finding a lot of things ominous just then; and not only the writing she herself had found on the cave wall. The words in that treasure trove had only served to depress the mood, and remind her of things the day's hijinks had distracted her from.

For the moment, their impromptu party had returned the beach, and was heading back to Ousetta's village to find more information about the nearby shipyard. Whatever happened next, they were obviously going to need transport—unless they wanted to swim for several kilometers, which didn't strike any of them as a good idea.

Trailing behind the others, deep in thought, Rain heard Philia speaking up. "So… I'm guessing this 'Medrizzel' is probably the Field Boss for this floor, huh?"

"Sounds like it," Kirito agreed. He had his new sword in his hand as he walked, giving the blade a closer look. "Another dragon, huh? I don't think I've seen anything to do with the old Order since, what, the Thirty-Fifth Floor?"

"The Dracolich, Zarada," Kizmel agreed, shuddering. "I only hope Medrizzel's longevity is natural, not necromantic."

"Ugh!" Philia said, making a face. "That was my first Field Boss. I never thought a boss could stink like that. How could anything want to stay around that long, if it meant being a rotting corpse? If I were Zarada, I'd have been rooting for us. Well, I was anyway of course, but… You know what I mean."

Zarada. Rain knew the name from the files she'd bought from Argo. The zombified dragon had gone down without taking down a single clearer. The same, she knew, couldn't be said of the Floor Boss, which had taken two players with it.

"So you guys know something about this 'Order', huh? I kinda remember something about that from the briefing before Zarada, but I never heard anything else about it… Wait, no, I think I actually did find another reference when I was doing some treasure hunting on the Fortieth Floor…"

"We first ran into quests relating to it back on the Twenty-Sixth." A rueful chuckle. "It was a pain, I can tell you. Kizmel and I had to go through more of those Fire Goats than most of the clearers did, and the quest items we had to use made the soot they blew themselves into even worse…"

Exploding goats. I remember Argo talking about that, too. She thought it was funny. I guess it was, too, but still, laughing about it right now…

We're still alive. That's good enough reason to have a little fun, right?

"As the note from the cave said, the Order was destroyed by betrayal around the time of the Great Separation, and as far as I know only some of the treasonous dragons survive to this day. Their legacy is still valuable, however: a sword that once belonged to them was my weapon in the early days of my renewed partnership with Kirito."

"Good armor, too. The Dragonhide Coat I got from Zarada lasted me about five and a half floors. It was even still decent backup for a couple floors after that, which came in handy when—actually, never mind about that."

"Uh…?"

"Just make sure you always have a spare set of armor, Philia. Take our word for it: there are some things in this castle that can destroy even quite fresh armor surprisingly quickly." There was a cough; Rain noticed absently that Kizmel, of all people, was faintly blushing. "Fortunately they're not usually as effective against the flesh beneath."

"O...kay…"

Kirito quickly changed the subject after that, launching into a rambling description of a dungeon on the Forty-Fourth Floor whose walls had consisted almost entirely of mirrors. The effects, apparently, had varied from surreal to terrifying, and made navigating the place a pain. Though to hear him tell it, it had also been hilarious in places, especially when Lind wandered into it unaware.

Finally, as they closed in on the village again, Rain stopped in her tracks. "Guys?" she called. "Is this… really okay?"

Philia stopped short, turning to favor her with a puzzled look. "Eh? What's wrong, Rain?"

The redhead nervously shifted her weight, uncomfortably aware of her swimsuit when Kirito also turned to look. "Well, it's just… We just fought a major boss yesterday, the worst Aincrad's thrown at us. I mean, yeah, we survived it, and I'm probably not going to be really scared of anything again for a while, but… eight of us weren't so lucky."

Hafner, Wolfgang, Beowulf… Those were just the names she knew. Somehow it made it worse for Rain that she didn't even know who the other fallen players were.

"Eight players died just yesterday," she continued, looking down at the sand. "And here we are, having fun on the beach. Is that… normal?"

Philia bit her lip, looking unsure. Kizmel, by contrast, had a sad, knowing look in her eyes. While Kirito… Kirito looked more serious than she'd yet seen him outside of the battle with Vemacitrin. There were shadows in his eyes, deep ones; shadows like those Rain had started seeing in the mirror.

"I hate to say it, Rain," he began, sheathing his new sword, "but… yeah, it kind of is. As horrible as it is, this is something you start to get used to, after awhile. None of you were there for the Twenty-Fifth Floor Boss—between the Army and the reinforcements, about thirty people died—but every clearer has lost at least one person they knew by now. Some of us have lost more than that. And as unfair as it is, you get used to empty seats in the boss meetings, and you do what you can to keep your mind off during the day."

"If you do not, the losses will eventually destroy you," Kizmel added soberly. "I would suspect your sleep last night was not peaceful, Rain?"

Rain winced, looking away. One of the reasons she'd been up so early to run quests with Philia was because she'd spent the night watching Vemacitrin's rampage all over again. Sometimes it had just been the real events, bad as they were; some of her nightmares had featured more deaths.

More than once, hers.

"That, Rain, is why we're enjoying our time on the beach as well as we can," the elf said softly. "Our nightmares are our penance. In our waking lives, we must move forward, or we will never cleanse this castle—nor send the Swordmasters home."

Not for the first time, Rain found herself wondering just how close to "human" Kizmel really was. Speaking of the dead, her eyes had the same look as Kirito's; speaking of the living players, and their goal, she had a wistful air unlike anything Rain had ever seen from an NPC.

Heh. I wish I could talk to Nanairo about this. She's supposed to be studying this kind of stuff, isn't she…?

The thought brought a pang to Rain's heart, and a film to her eyes. It also straightened her spine, though, and pushed back some of the darkness that had begun to fester in her mind. Thinking about Nanairo brought back an old pain, but at the same time reminded her of why she'd pushed herself so hard, to be where she was.

"…If we don't keep pushing forward, we'll never see our families again, will we?" she said at length. "Even if it feels wrong not to think about the dead all the time—"

"If that's all we think about, we'll be joining them all too soon," Kirito finished, nodding somberly. "Trust me, I've… seen what happens to people who think about it too hard."

"You can't live without hope," Philia said softly. Her eyes, too, were sad. Rain wondered why; the information she'd brought from Argo hadn't mentioned anything horrible specific to the treasure hunter.

She also said the really personal stuff would cost more Cor than I had just then, she reminded herself. And Argo doesn't know anything about outside the game, either.

Taking a deep breath, Rain straightened her shoulders. "Okay, then. Let's ask around about the Shipyard, and get going! This floor won't clear itself!"

Kirito smiled. "That's the spirit. C'mon, Argo's guide said something about needing a letter of introduction from Village Chief Jambalaya." He frowned suddenly. "She also said something about never trusting any Village Chief associated with Cajun food, whatever that means…"

The walk to the village resumed with a lighthearted discussion of what the Rat could possibly have meant. As they went, though, Rain noticed Kizmel seemed unusually preoccupied, and wondered what could be bothering the elf girl.

"'Weed out the sharks', he says," Philia complained, awkwardly kicking at the water to get in position to vent with a nice Vertical. "'They're hurting the fishermen supporting the shipwrights', he says." When she finally did get both positioning and posture just right, she ripped her Swordbreaker through a Baneshark, just behind its head. "I wish the old geezer had thought about how hard it is to fight like this!"

"Hard" may actually have been an understatement, as far as she was concerned. Water in general didn't work the way it did IRL, and that was before swinging a sword against man-eating giant fish came into it. It took a lot of trial and error to even trigger Sword Skills; if she hadn't learned the trick of VR swimming already, she was pretty sure she wouldn't have managed at all.

As it was, another Baneshark snuck up on her while she was finishing the first, and she hissed as its teeth grazed her leg. Not a very serious hit, but still one she was pretty sure she wouldn't have taken on land.

Rain's blade licked out a moment later to gut the shark, at least giving Philia that much satisfaction. Also, perversely, the satisfaction of seeing she wasn't the only one having trouble adjusting. The redhead's attack wasn't even a Sword Skill, just a clumsy thrust backed by the sword's high stats.

I gotta ask her where she got that thing. I need a new Swordbreaker soon, anyway.

"It's a tricky skill to learn," Kirito called out a few meters farther out to sea. He'd somehow pulled off a perfect Sonic Leap to propel himself through the water, his sword's trajectory ending in a Baneshark's gills. "You do get used to it, though, when you've had enough practice—Kizmel, Switch!"

He kicked off from the shark, letting his partner dart in like a dolphin to impale it from the other side with a Reaver. It writhed in place, then shattered to pieces—leaving Kizmel's blade free to tear through the water and swat another shark across the nose.

"We appear to have set off a feeding frenzy, my friends!" she called, pushing away to let Kirito through again. "There are more coming!"

Kirito only laughed. "That just makes it easier for us to kill enough for the quest!"

Aanndd of course those two are doing just fine, Philia thought sourly, whirling in a Serration Wave to buy herself a little breathing room. But they would, wouldn't they? Whatever else Kizmel is, she's AI, and Kirito's, well, Kirito. Of course he knows how to fight in water.

There was some debate about who the single strongest clearer was, though it was mostly a contest between Heathcliff, the Flash, and the Black Swordsman. What just about any player who knew anything agreed on was that if anyone rivaled the Rat for knowledge about out-of-the-way areas and strange gameplay gimmicks, it was Kirito. The mere fact of Kizmel being the only Dark Elf on the frontline killed pretty much every argument on that point.

But he's gonna have competition soon, Philia vowed to herself, ripping a Horizontal across a Baneshark's eyes. If I don't get anything else from this questline, I'm going to learn every trick I can. A real treasure hunter can find anything and fight anywhere!

Maybe she'd even find her way into the Elf War quest itself. Kirito had been hinting all day that there was a lot more to Aincrad's in-game backstory than most players knew, and the quest they were on right then was proof the plot Kizmel was from hadn't quite ended with the defeat of the Fallen Elves.

Yeah. That sounds like something to hunt for. Treasure's easy. Finding the secrets of Aincrad itself? That'll keep me from thinking too much about… everything… for awhile.

Several more minutes of awkward swim-fighting, during which they'd gained maybe another hundred meters toward the offshore framework of Torvan's Shipyard, and Kirito's voice rose about the sounds of combat again. "Almost there, guys! A few more sharks, and we can make a break for the docks!"

"Finally! That last one almost bit my foot right off!" Displaying a level of coordination Philia hadn't yet managed in the water, Rain carved the three up-down-up slashes that were the alternate variant of Sharp Nail into a Baneshark's flank. "Stupid fish!"

"Better than cephalopods," Kirito said with a laugh. "Be glad we haven't seen any Ignition Squids around here!"

Philia wasn't the only one who sent a glare his way at that crack. Rain didn't seem to know better, but Kizmel's look should've set the boy on fire despite the water. "Kirito. Do not tempt Fate that way." Grimly, the elf girl lopped another Baneshark's head off, and pushed off toward the Shipyard again. "Come! The sooner we have a boat, the less likely we are to meet such foul creatures!"

There were already a fair number of Swordmasters at Torvan's Shipyard, Kizmel saw. As her own party climbed out of the water onto the floating docks, she could make out at least a score milling about. Guild affiliation was more difficult to determine than usual, with the attire of the day, but she thought she recognized several of the Knights of Blood and Divine Dragons.

At the far end of the long line of docked boats, she definitely saw Asuna, conversing with someone she guessed to be Torvan. Finalizing arrangements for a boat, she suspected; doubtless her old friend had been about much earlier than she and her partner this time.

For now, it was her own party that concerned Kizmel. Turning back to the water, she helped first Rain, then Philia onto the docks; once Kirito had joined them, she spared the time to shake off water. Not that she really needed to, the afternoon air still more than warm enough to dry her in time, but practicality wasn't the purpose here.

Kirito's momentary preoccupation, enjoyable in itself while giving her a free moment to enjoy the view, was exactly the result she was hoping for.

A discreet cough from Philia reminded Kizmel that there were, this day, other observers; though the treasure hunter looked more amused than anything else. "Looks like there's a line, guys. I think this is going to take awhile—and that's if there's no quest just to be able to buy a boat in the first place."

"There will be," Rain said, shaking water out of her hair. "There always is. Remember the gondolas from the Fourth Floor?"

"I know I do," Kirito sighed. "There's already boats here, so hopefully it won't be as bad as that way. Still, we might have to spend more Cor than I'd like. I don't know if any of you have ever been sailing, but for more than a day trip those small ones won't be enough for all of us."

That piqued Kizmel's interest. Even now, her partner seldom spoke of his life in his own world. "You've experience with boats, Kirito?" She did not, besides the tiny riverboats in places like the Fourth Floor. Her people had little tradition for seafaring, not even before the Great Separation.

"Not really. Just a vacation my family took… must be six years ago now." He shrugged, a wistful look in his eyes. "I don't know much about how they work, but I can tell you one of those six-meter boats won't be big enough for four of us. Twelve meters should be a good compromise between size and, well, being able to handle it at all."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Philia asked, practically bouncing on her feet. "Let's get in line and ask that Torvan guy for his prices!"

Kirito winced—at the crowd, Kizmel suspected, though she thought he might also still have been feeling self-conscious—but led the way to join the line of Swordmasters waiting to speak with the Dockmaster. If they wished to be sailing before dark, they would need to begin as soon as possible.

Kizmel found herself lagging behind the others, though. Something about Torvan's mannerisms, even seen from this distance, was bringing to mind the inscription they'd found back in the treasure cave. A spell to dull the minds of those taken into the sky, she remembered. One that only the truly strong-minded might break, and those who did would be part of determining Aincrad's fate…

That would explain so much of what I've begun to realize. Yet, Kirito is right: I should not assume all is as it appears. If there is one thing I do know of the Sorcerer Kayaba, it's that he is a liar. If he had any influence over the writing of those words, they could well have been intended to confuse.

Even so…

"Why are you with them?"

The Dark Elf almost toppled back into the water, startled by the voice behind her. Turning quickly, Kizmel found a girl she didn't recognize standing behind her: much shorter than her, with black hair and eyes a bright, icy blue. The girl wore a one-piece swimsuit in the Swordmaster style, and bore on one hip a rapier of a kind Kizmel recognized from shops catering to the summoned heroes.

Above the girl's head, when Kizmel focused her vision, hovered a green cursor—and below it, the label (NPC).

A chill creeping up her spine at the contradiction, she could only stare at the girl. "…Excuse me?" she asked warily.

"Why are you with them?" the girl asked again, voice flat, face expressionless. "Why do you help the Swordmasters? Their victory will be the end."

"The end of what?"

"This world." The girl said it as tonelessly as everything else, belying the weight of her words. "If the Swordmasters conquer this Castle, and escape, everything will end. Why do you help them?"

The end of… the world? Staring at the strange "NPC", Kizmel saw in her mind's eye the Twilight Citadel of the Fallen Elves, and remembered the last time she'd been faced with the notion of Aincrad's destruction. When the Fallen Elf King had revealed the means to drop the Steel Castle from the sky.

A grand battle had followed, from which only Kizmel and her Swordmaster companions had returned alive. That day, Swordmasters had fought to save her people, and Aincrad itself. "I don't understand," she said slowly. "When the Swordmasters' mission is complete, this Castle will be cleansed of darkness. How could that mean—"

"Oi, Kizmel! You okay back there?"

Kizmel looked back over her shoulder, realizing with a start that she'd fallen well behind her friends. They were already nearly halfway across the pier, while she had barely moved from the edge. "Sorry! I'll be right with you!" She turned back to the girl—

There was no one there. The young girl with Swordmaster arms and clothing but the cursor of an Aincrad native had disappeared, as if she were never there at all.

What… just happened? Who…? Was that all just a trick of my mind, a waking dream…? It hardly seemed possible that she could have simply imagined such a thing, yet the girl's contradictory appearance and abrupt disappearance seemed more like a mirage than truth.

No. She was here. But what she said… It hardly seems possible…

Shaking herself, Kizmel turned to hurry after her friends. As Kirito had said of the inscription in the treasure cave, there were many things in Aincrad that could not be taken at face value. She would discuss the encounter with him when there was time, but for now, she had more important things to attend to than musing on vague prophecies of doom.

Such as getting a certain gallant swordsman to accept acknowledging a girl's charms would not always get him hurt in return. It had been amusing for a time, but now Kizmel was beginning to grow frustrated….

Author's Note:

And here we have the obligatory Beach Episode—and in less than two months from the last update, at that! (Yes, I know. I've no business bragging until I get the update time down under a month again. Working on it, comrades.)

Have to admit, this one fought me. I don't consider it filler per se, given that all the Ship Tease is kind of the original point of the fic, but I did want it to have some significance more than just flirting. Fortunately, I realized there were a couple ways to work in other subplots to a degree—that last scene in particular, of course—but I'm concerned I may have accidentally taken things too far in the other direction.

Without spoiling things too much, I do have a scene planned for the next chapter to clarify a few things here. 'Tis a bit too soon for certain things to go too far, after all.

And, of course, there was balancing fun with "just had big nasty boss fight". I think I managed that, in the end, but I admit I was wishing halfway through that I'd scheduled the beach events a bit longer after the fighting. If it still feels a bit too whiplash-ish, my apologies.

So. Self-criticism done with. Here we have the continuation of what was set off at the Yule Festival. This is where the plot that I originally started the freaking story for really kicks off; poor Kirito will never know what hit him.

Ah, yes, canon divergence note: I only discovered midway through writing this chapter that SAO's in-game music was played by in-game orchestras, and thus not the constant BGM I'd previously assumed. In the end, I chose to leave in the BGM assumption, as it worked better for my purposes. So to those—perhaps few, considering the obscurity of the information—of you who do know the canon on that, the change was accidental at first, but left on purpose.

Think that about covers things. Hopefully this doesn't come across as total filler; for what it's worth, next chapter will have more action, more concrete character development/exposition, and hopefully less whiplash. And after that, we get Silica's arc! (Hopefully I'll actually know what I'm doing with it by then. Though I think I will. Probably.) In the meantime, lemme know if I completely screw this one up, yes? -Solid