Kirito

"Well, Kirito, this is disappointing. All this sneaking and climbing for nothing."

"I didn't ask you to come with me."

"You know what will happen if Asuna found out you did this alone. And I know what will happen if Koharu found out I let you go off alone." Kirito grumbles at that winning point. Asuna will have a fit if she knew Kirito had gone off alone after stating she'd be keeping a 24/7 watch on him, and while Koharu might not have the same reaction, Kirito has seen her angry once, the previous morning before they headed out. Her disappointment debuff is a critical hit.

But Kirito does admit to himself that this does feel like a wasted effort.

To back up, Kirito, Asuna, Jaymes, Koharu, and Kizmel has returned to the Kirito and Asuna's quarters for a chat. It was a long conversation about the in-world explanation of multiple Elf War Campaigns (in short, the elves repeatedly replace the gather keys with fake ones to throw off the other side) and then Asuna made an announcement of a surprise during Kizmel's day off. Wanting to spend more time with Kizmel, Asuna and Koharu decided they'll sleep tonight with Kizmel, so they shooed the boys into Jaymes and Koharu's room. The boys, too tired to care, decided it wouldn't hurt to share the bed.

As January 3rd became January 4th, Kirito woke up to an alarm set for two in the morning. He wanted to go back to sleep, hearing the gentle slumber of the other male, but what he had to do requires him to get up from the heavenly comfort. Carefully removing himself from the bed to not wake Jaymes, he snuck into the living room, then to the door and out to the hallway. He was fifty percent sure Jaymes would notice, but it seems the red swordsman loved his beauty sleep.

Equipping his sword and coat, Kirito was ready to head out when the door he just exited clicked closed again. Shocked that he hadn't snuck out, Kirito had to muffle his gasp in his throat while Jaymes stands with his arms crossed. "Where are you going?" he whispers.

"I... Just for a wa-"

"Where are you going?"

"...Just to make sure my nerves are wrong."

"Then lead the way." The boys sneaked up the central staircase of the west wing, exiting out a doorway to the castle's roof. After a quick look at the quiet courtyard several meters below, Kirito and Jaymes continued their trip around the uppermost exterior of the castle until they came about twenty meters to the central building. Comprising the restricted fifth floor of the castle, the structure is steeply angled but not vertical enough to prevent someone from climbing. Furthermore, the roof's peak reaches the edge of the surrounding cliffs.

"We're not...gonna climb the roof, are we?"

"You backing out now? Afraid of heights?" Kirito teased the boy behind him, face full of discomfort.

"N-No, I'm...not leaving you out of my sight." Jaymes still looked uncharacteristically nervous but isn't backing down. There's a chance they could fall off, but it wouldn't be a deadly fall back to where they are. Kirito only knows this because he tried several times to climb the fifth floor's exterior in the beta without success. But with better stats and better gripping boots than before, he's confident he'll get somewhere.

"Here we go!" Kirito dashed off first to the slanted roof, increasing his speed when he's about five meters away, then makes a massive jump. He stuck the landing on the roof's midsection. From there, he ran along the wall up the steep sloop. He nearly slipped after losing traction seven steps in, but managed to make it to nine before jumping off again.

Hands grasping the edge of the cliff, Kirito grunted silently as possible while lifting himself up. Finding himself unimpeded by a purple barrier that marks boundaries of the field, he rolled onto his back on solid, flat ground. Recovering from his avatar's exhaustion, he watched as Jaymes joined him moments later.

That brings them to now. Only flat, rough rock lays before them as they walk to the north. There's no vegetation or monsters up here, as if the developers hadn't expected anyone would be adventurous to make the climb. With nothing but the distance tower to the next floor and moonlight to direct them, Kirito decides to spark conversation with Jaymes to pass the time and share thoughts.

"Asuna would like this place," he says, earning a frown from Jaymes.

"What makes you think that?"

"She likes high places."

"Oh. I don't know if Koharu would like this place, but she would have an easier time making the climb... What's your honest take on Qusack?"

"Can't say I completely trust them. It's true that completing quests is a much safer method than farming monsters, and we both know that you can get good gear from it. But for my tastes, they advanced too quickly. No, that's not what bothers me. It's not even the why of their decisions. It's the current timing."

"...They did catch up rather quickly. I don't know if enough to distrust them, however. I mean, if they were with Poncho and Pals — trademark that — you and Asuna would have been attacked after introducing yourselves. As of now, the girls are safely in their rooms because only we as their party members can enter."

"You may be right, but... I don't know, the paralysis attack is still fresh in my head, that's all. I'm assuming there are alternate routes that Qusack is here to find so Morte and his friends can enter the castle."

"We climbed up here for that? I mean, this looks large enough to support an army, but I don't think the Forest Elves would invade from a near-inaccessible point."

"The battles of Ichi-no-Tani and Itsukushima, would say otherwise."

"Hmm, I guess the high ground is effective. That battle in ROTS proved it."

"See. But in case we're wrong about a connection between the PKers and Qusack, I'll let this go-oooooooh!" Unable to pull back his extending leg, Kirito plummets down thirty meters to a lower section of the cliff. He manages to control his center of gravity in time to pull it backwards and land on his butt.

When his heart stops pounding intensely, Kirito crawls over to the edge and peeks below. Jaymes' assessment proved true. The cliff hangs over the land below, protruding out from the rest of the incline like a nose on a face. It's impossible to climb from the ground on up.

"Oh, you're still alive?"

Remaining on all fours, Kirito looks up and sees Jaymes remain on the higher shelf of the cliff. His mouth is annoying toothy. "You don't sound concern enough. Or even try to save me."

"I knew you'd live."

"You were just surprised by my survival. And do you not see how far the fall is?"

"About ninety feet, and you're fine. If it was lower, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I would be drowning in tears."

Kirito sighs and materializes a bottle of water from his inventory for a quick sip. They might as well keep going. "In case there's way back up and, hopefully, you'll find a way to rescue me, stay up there. Let's keep moving."

Fifteen minutes later, Kirito found an opening in the rock. Based on how it is cut plus a descending set of stairs, it was man-made, chiseled out of the rock like the castle. However, from the hollow's entrance, it is unknown whether a dark elf or another party excavated the opening. All Kirito can tell from his position is that someone has a light on.

"What do you think? Should we go inside?"

Still ninety feet above him is Jaymes, the crimson swordsman kneeling at the edge of the upper level. "Hmm, I guess that'd be the smart decision. I mean, whoever's in there can't be tough for the two of us."

"I agree, but if we were killed..."

"You have grander ideas on how to die? Death by snu snu with Asuna? I understand. Personally, I'd avoid that."

"I... I don't even know what that means...or want to know."

Jaymes chuckles as he stands up. Then his demeanor suddenly morphs, instantly serious and stern."Honestly, I think we should go back. We found out enough to set our worries aside. I don't want a second verbal lashing in a row."

"I agree with y—Oh, that smells good." Just when logical reasoning was winning, Kirito's nose catches a strong smell of spices, onions and meat being cooked. It reminded Kirito of hamburg steak. That smell shuts down Kirito's brain for thirteen seconds for internal processing.

Three of those seconds allows his mind to run rampant as his stomach and salivary glands welcome the smell. The other ten fought between entering a trap — such as an ogre luring humans in with the smell of a delicious meal before adding them to it — or a steak hamburg fairy inviting him to a one-in-a-year feast. Sounds unreasonable, but it's been a long time since Kirito has laid eyes on the favorite meal of many Japanese boys.

Standing up, Kirito announces his decision. "Jaymes...we're going to ask the girls for forgiveness later."

"I guess that's fine." Jaymes drops down, landing on his knees. Groaning, he dusts his pants off as he stands tall. "But what if — Hey, that smells good... Wait a minute, you did not make this decision off of the smell of meat."

"I did. It reminded me of hamburg steak."

"It's a freaking hamburger patty, Kirito. I used to eat one with bread, cheese, and other toppings once a week back in the states. What is the love you Japanese have for hamburg steak. Although... I guess I understand."

"Thought so." Smirking victoriously, Kirito takes the first step down into the square opening, about a meter from one side to the other. A couple of steps down forces the pair to lean backward just to move through. After twenty steps, the path opens up enough lengthwise for Kirito to stand perfectly in the space from head to toe. Jaymes had to remain hunched over due to being a couple of inches taller.

It remains narrow in length, without any space for one person to pass another. Even if they were attacked by an ogre, it couldn't get through the space. That, and the flickering source of light and smell of meat had no place to travel but in their direction.

After coming to a right turn and peering around it, Kirito is able to see what lies at the end of the hallway.

A small room of about six meters in diameter is at the path's end. IN the center is a small table and seating for one. To the right is wooden shelves lining the wall, and on the left is a small door. On the other side of the room from the boys is a robed figure, their attention of the frying pan that's the source of the sizzling echo in the room and hallway.

Kirito can't determine the robed-figure's race or gender, but they are shorter than him, so that eliminates giant and ogre. He focuses on the figure enough to bring the color cursor of the NPC up. Fortunately, a yellow cursor appears above the pointed velvet hat: BOUHROUM: DARK ELVEN ANECDOTIST. He has no clue how to pronounce the person's name or what their job description entails, but at least he's a dark elf.

Beckoning Jaymes (who can't see anything right now) forward, the boys enter the room. Still out of sight of the cooking elf, Kirito takes a deep breath and says, "G-good evening."

The velvety robed elf jumps in surprise and turns around, their grey-white curls flying upward. The elf's face is wrinkled and thin, adorned with a pair of spectacles and a floor-length white beard. In human years, he looks to be well over eighty years old, but converting that to an elf's lifetime may place him in hundreds of years.

"Wh...wh-wh-who goes there?"

Jaymes' jaw drops, fascinated by the old elf. "We found a wizard."

"B...boys! You're humans, aren't you?! How did you get into my secret chamber?!"

"How...? Th-the normal way, down the stairs..." Kirito says, gesturing to the hallway they just took.

The "wizard" holds his fist up. "You fool, that is not an entrance!"

"Huh? Then...what is it?"

"It is my chimney vent! And besides, that is the bald mountain top up there, where even birds do not dare to cross! How did you climb up there?!"

"W-well..." Kirito stammers, thinking things will be made worse if he explains how they got here. He looks to Jaymes, who taps Kirito on the shoulder. Oh, he had no interest in saying anything other than "wizard." Well, it's not like they aren't in trouble with the man already. "We climbed up the roof of the central castle building..."

"..."Eyes and mouth hang wide open as the man stares at them for a couple of seconds. Then he makes a cracking laugh. "Ka-hya! Ka-hya-hya-hya...You are telling me...that a young human boy climbed his way...up the roof of little Melan's bedchamber?" His fist lowers and his beard is stroked with the other hand. "I see, I see. So the human swordsmen who's been helping with the key collection must be you. I understand now that you are not a thief, but what would bring you to climb the mountain in the dead of night like this?"

"Well, uh...We were out for a night stroll, you know...a little night mountain climbing...and wondered what the top of the cliff was like. We wandered around until I found your stairs—er, your vent—and smelled something nice coming out of it..."

"Hwaaaaa!" the wizard screams, but not at Kirito. His attention turns to the frying, which he grabs barehanded with a painful, "Yeowwww!" He places the pan on the table and tends to his hand, allowing the stunned boys to inspect the contents of the pan.

Elliptical in shape, the minced meat is fifteen centimeters in length and perfectly browned. Kirito feels his mouth water again. Hamburg steak isn't at the top of his list for favorite foods, but dammit he wants a taste!

Unfortunately, the old man has other plans. "Wh-what do you want? It's not for you! This is my one delight a month, and I haven't many left to enjoy! Why, you nearly caused me to char it black."

"...Hrng..."

"But can you eat all that, old man?" Jaymes says in a much calmer manner, friendly smile on display. That smile is certainly fake if you know Jaymes, but to the rest of the world, it looks to be the kind of charismatic smile a popular high school student would aim at girls. He points to the meat, currently in transit from pan to metal platte via a wooden spatula. "Guy your age, don't you need more food?"

"What do you mean?"

"Us humans would have bread or vegetables with it as a side dish. And for someone of your youthful years, not only can you appreciate the flavor of the meat, but you'll remain youthful for centuries to come."

"Hah! I grew tired of vegetables over a hundred years ago. It's bad enough that the cooks at this castle try to feed me leafy greens and fruit every day, because 'it'll make you live longer'...To put that rubbish on my plate would be to ruin my precious fricatelle."

Someone fails at their deception skill check...or opened the conversation up. Kirito picks up the dice and rolls for persuasion. Calling up his game window, enticing the old man with the appearance of the Art of Mystic Scribing, and finds what he's looking for in his inventory. "Then...what about this?"

"...What is this?"

"It's a sweet potato you can find on the fourth floor. If you crisp this up in that frying pan, it'll go great with your hamb...your fricatelle, I bet."

"A sweet potato, you say? It has a strange color..."

"Th-the inside will be the proper shade. It'll be hot and sweet and creamy."

"And the best part of all, my man, is that the potato has some...special properties. I mean, you might be well in your years, but that doesn't mean you can't have some vitality as us young men. Especially where it counts, catch my drift." Jaymes "blows up" his index finger from full flexion to extension, emphasizing his point.

Whether enticed by persuasion or deception, the old man glances back and forth between the boys' face and the meat, then clears his throat. "Ahem-hem...Well, I suppose I can try it out. If it is as good as you say, I will even give you half of my fricatelle. The potato will go entirely to me, however."

Jaymes smirks. "Fine with me. We had our uses with the potato, right, Kirito?" Kirito doesn't give his companion a response, handing the potato to the old man. He places the frying pan back on the stove, then gets to work slicing the potato up. Once they're sliced up, the potatoes are placed into the pan to begin cooking.

Kirito spends the next few moments pondering if the man has the Cooking skill, necessary for players to prepare food in more modern manners, not in the way Kirito prepared the potatoes on the fifth floor with the campfire. He couldn't see himself or Jaymes ever touching the skill, but Asuna and Koharu... The picture is much clearer with the latter girl.

A minute later, the potatoes are transferred to the plate. Perfectly circular in shape and golden in color, Kirito forgets himself as he asks, "H-how is it?"

"I would tell you, if I had eaten a bite yet. Now, then..." With a fork, the man pops a potato into his mouth. He chews for a moment, swallows, then groans, "Oooooohhhh."

"H-how is it?"

"It's not bad."

"Not...bad..."

"But it would really be terrific with a dab of butter on top."

"B-butter?"

"There's butter in this world?" Jaymes mutters that comment under his breath in dejection. "Why use that cream on the first floor as a reward if butter exists?"

The old man produces a small jar from the shelf on the right wall, then sets it on the table. "Well, don't just stand there like an idiot. Sit down, humans." Kirito and Jaymes squat down on wooden stools as plates are set in front of them. "You win, humans. Enjoy a quarter of the fricatelle...and, out of my great magnanimity, these two pieces of potato." The man slices the fricatelle in two, then the part reserved for the boys is split in half. Watching the juices ooze from their halves makes it worth it.

Once the potatoes are sorted, the man opens the jar and sticks a knife inside. Out comes a creamy white substance that they recognize as butter, and the man drops it on the potatoes. When the jar comes their way, Kirito and Jaymes mimic the man's action.

"We are not telling the girls this," Jaymes mutter as he picks up a fork.

Kirito nods and declares, "Let's dig in!" Eyes on the old man, Kirito watches as the man chews a loose piece of meat and mixes it with a potato before swallowing. "Hwhoaaaa."

Now that his desire for the fricatelle has been sated, Kirito is fixed by another dilemma. When he first took notice of the man, he believed he's met this person before, but couldn't place it since this is the first meeting. But ow he's certain he met the wizard-like elf before, but if not in SAO in the last two months...it must have been long before...

"Ah...aaaah!" he shouts, raising out of his seat.

"K-Kirito?"

"What is it, boy? Why aren't you eating?"

"I will, I will—but before that...Sir, are you the master of Meditation...?"

"Hrmm? Boy, you know who I am? Yes, I am the greatest storyteller of Lyusula and a master in the art of meditation, Bouhroum the great sage. Have we met before?"

Yes, they have, back during the beta test. In the month-long beta, there was only one Extra Skill known about, and that was Meditation. Back then, the sage was a grumpy human elder in the swamp lands to the southwest. He wore a brown tunic instead of the velvet robes the sage wear, and Kirito doesn't recall a love for fricatelle either.

But when Kirito received the Meditation skill, the old man bore the same smile his current counterpart just had on his face.

But since NPCs in the beta didn't retain their memories, Kirito couldn't share those thoughts. "No, I haven't met you, but I've heard rumors."

"Aha. So word of my skill and fame has reached even the human towns? Ka-hya-hya-hya..."

"Meditation..." Jaymes chews on a potato while holding his chin with his left hand. "Oh, that was here too... Forgot that skill was present on this floor. I heard the Martial Arts skill was found in the beta as well, but close to the end."

"Yeah, Argo found it."

"Course. One day I'll backtrack and grab it. But as good Meditation is on paper, in practice it isn't so. The healing power and resistance buff is great and all, but the posing is ridiculous, There's better skills to be used in its place."

"That was the consensus back then." Kirito ends with opening his mouth for the first taste of the hamburg steak, chewing with a silent apology to Asuna, Koharu, and Mito in jubilee.

"I should ask just in case. Do you wish to understand the meditative arts?"

"Huh?"

"Oh?"

At this point, there's a golden '?' over Bouhroum's head, indicating a possible quest. Kirito has an open slot, courtesy of reaching level 20 two days prior, but as mentioned, the Meditation skill has pros and cons, but things could have been changed in the launch version of SAO. Add in how hard it is to get an Extra Skill (the Martial Art skill been received after breaking a certain rock, which took time for Kirito and Asuna), he's unsure if he wants to say yes.

"it won't take long, will it?" the crimson swordsman inquires.

"If you wish to train in it, you must not eat the fricatelle."

"Huh? Wh...why not?"

"Because that is your training—in the arts of Awakening, the special Meditation technique."

"A...Awakening...?" That's a new word in this situation. There was no mentioning of this ability in the beta, but it must mean that there's a ability in Meditation's advancement tree called Awakening. But to unlock that ability...

"Isn't that something you can't train unless you already have the ski...the art of Meditation?"

Taking another bite of the steak, Bouhroum smiles. "A very intuitive youth, you are. That is correct, of course...but the conditions to train in the art of Awakening involve solving a mystery in the castle library and discovering the existence of this little room. You managed to find me here—although it was through the ceiling vent—so you have fulfilled the requirements."

Jaymes' mouth hangs open. "...We could have come from the library?"

"Correct."

"And we can't eat the meat if we wish to learn the art?"

"Correct."

"What about the potatoes?"

"Ooooh, ahhh —- it's so good... And no, you may not eat them either."

"Urk..."

While Jaymes engaged Bouhroum in failing negotiations, Kirito played tug-of-war between is stomach and brain.A true gamer would logically not choose a magnificent dish over a rare skill, and his mind wanted the one chance to gain the Meditation skill, in case he cannot receive it later. But his stomach presents a sound argument as his eyes focus on the alluring meat centimeters from his mouth. Why would he resist this meal?

Yet...Kirito finds his knife-holding right hand lowering.

He already promised himself to bring the girls here if it meant he could eat this food again. If that meant they had to follow through on the skill now...so be it. "Jaymes, you don't have to do so."

"No." Jaymes had placed his silverware on the table already, his eyes closed to avoid temptation. "As good as this is, I am a gamer first and foremost... You hear us, old man? We accept."

The "?" turns to an "!" as the quest is accepted. The sage wipes his beard with a handkerchief and states, "Very well. But the training will not be easy. I have lived a very long life, but I can count the number of people who passed the trials and mastered Awakening on my two hands...and none were human."

"T...trials? Not a training period?"

"With an 's' too."

"It is training, and it is a trial. First, straighten your back." The boys follow that instruction on their stools, then watch as the sage reaches into his robe and produces a short staff. He taps the edge of each plate in front of the boys. The plates start to sizzle with magical heat, creating an aroma that tempts their sense.

"What you must do, for the next three hours...is cast aside your distractions and maintain the tranquility of your heart. If you can do this, boy, then you will stand at the entrance to the path of Awakening."

"...Tr-tranquility of my heart?"

"Remaining in place is one thing, but..." Jaymes lingers on the same train of thought Kirito is on. Unless the position is extremely strange, it's easy to maintain one's face and posture for hours without receiving the Fatigue stat. It's nigh impossible to have a sore back or a sleeping leg.

But to clear one's thoughts of otherworldly desires? How would the sage figure that out? There had to be some means that Bourhoum — or the system controlling SAO — would use to detect their thoughts... Oh, right, the NerveGear. It detects brainwaves.

They had to beat the NerveGear readings of certain brainwaves for three hours while a sizzling place sends smells and sounds to their nose and ears. An easier task than the Martial Arts' trial, but an arduous one nonetheless. How was he going to focus on anything other than the steak...unless he focuses solely on the steak.

That should work. It's much easier for Kirito to focus on food than, say girls.

"Ready, Kirito?" Jaymes looks eager to get this started. Kirito nods his head with the same level of enthusiasm.

"All right. Begin the clock whenever you ready."

The old man removes a wooden hourglass from his robe (where is he keeping all this stuff?) and places it on the table, sand-filled chamber side up. Not a single grain fell into the lower chamber. "Very good. Then we will now begin your training in the arts of Awakening. Begin!"

The sage taps the hourglass with his robe, and time starts for the hourglass. As he planned, Kirito's eyes and mind focuses solely on the hamburg steak. Due to the heat spell on the plate, it remains hot and juicy. At this point, the juices are mixing with the melting butter. Just eyeing it makes Kirito want to forgo the trial and eat it all. Add a sliced roll, he can make a hamburger. Throw some barbecue sauce or teriyaki sauce...

"Kaaaaah!" Bouhroum screams out and smacks both boys on their shoulders with the staff. "Fools! You've gone and drowned yourselves in impure thoughts! Start over!"

"Huh? You could tell what we were thinking?"

"Do not mock the great sage Bouhroum! Your head was full of crass, greedy desire for the fricatelle!"

"Urgh...O-okay, you got me..."

"And you...indecent. Robbing a young lady of her money? I ought to kick you out here and now!"

"You ever hear of 'steal from the rich, give to the poor?' Well, that rat is rich off selling information without a care. I say that's very pure of me — Oww!"

"Will you give up, then?"

"No... We'll keep going."

"Aha. Very well." Bouhroum taps the hourglass, returning the spent grains back to the upper chamber, then taps it again to begin time. "And now, once again...begin!"

This time, Kirito closes his eyes. Beating the NerveGear and SAO's system through Bouhroum with a single thought had failed, so now he tries thinking of nothing. It's more challenging, but he has to overcome this trial.

He empties his head of all thoughts, his mind going dark. Not a single though penetrates his mind — though that is a great smell and sound coming from the plate. He could wake up to that sound every day. That teri-mayo burger from before is sounding good about—

"Kaaaaah!"

"Ow!"

"That was exactly the same as the last time, boy! Your first attempt was ten seconds, and your second was twenty! You will never reach three straight hours at this rate!"

Jaymes (who was not struck this time) sighs and says, "Do we have to be timed together?"

"You take the trial together, you are timed together, and you either pass or fail together. Though you did better this time, I'll admit. Will you continue?"

"Yes," Jaymes firmly states while Kirito grumbles. Did Jaymes figure it out? How? Kirito had failed with the hamburg-steak orientated thought and the empty mind plan, which in retrospect that would have hard to maintain for three hours. How did the one who first thought of robbing Argo figure out how to "'maintain the tranquility of your heart'?"

Focused thoughts that invoked desire and the other deadly sins weren't tranquil. What brings Kirito peace?

There's his sword. He hadn't had the Sword of Eventide for long, but the texture, appearance, and weight were in his head already. The scabbard alone could relax him if he clutched it, and it gives him the courage to stand and fight.

But thinking about his sword for three hours might not work. Knowing that Jaymes found his peaceful thoughts, it would be bad if Kirito slipped up an hour or two into the trial. Koharu and Asuna will be unhappy if the boys make a fourth attempt and are absent when they wake up.

So a stronger attachment than the literal object attached to his back, with more memories involved in it...and Kirito turns to Jaymes. Of course he found his "tranquility," it was that easy for him.

"Ah."

Bouhroum, who had been quiet the entire time, taunts Kirito by saying, "What do you say? Are you giving up? If you do, you may eat that fricatelle."

"No... I'm doing this."

"Very good. Now...begin!" The sand resumes falling, and both boys close their eyes for what Kirito is determined to make the third and final time. He drops his head and allows memories to flood the darkness of his mind.

It starts with a party of two on the last day of the SAO beta. A much different looking Kirito had entered a dungeon on the first floor to warm up before joining the front line on the tenth floor, Surrounded by kobolds, the male of the party split himself between fighting the kobolds and protecting the younger-looking woman at his side. Whether or not Kirito's intervention truly saved them is unknown, but they thanked him and went their separate ways. It would be two months before he would meet them again on the same floor on the first day of SAO, assisting both the girl and another male player on the basics of combat in SAO...all before things went to hell.

And like everyone else, he had abandoned them after Kayaba's tutorial.

The next memory is a young woman finishing off a Ruin Kobold Trooper in the first floor labyrinth, shortly before the first strategy meeting. His first words to her back then as she collapsed against the wall was "A little bit overkill, if you ask me."

Her response, after his explanation, was"Is there a problem with doing too much damage?"

That was how he met Asuna, Koharu, and Jaymes, and later that day, he would form a party with the three of them.

Asuna kept her hood on back then, with Koharu being the only one she'd speak kindly to. Granted, she may have had good reason, but what happened that night in the farmhouse was neither boys' fault. Jaymes only cared for Koharu's safety and openly made that clear. Kirito wouldn't say he didn't care for the others' lives, but he didn't feel comfortable watching over others. Thinking on it now, they weren't the best of people; Koharu was the glue holding the quartet together.

The battle against Illfang had changed things. Jaymes went against his word, jumping shield-first between a near-dead Diavel and the boss' katana and saving the knight's life. Asuna dropped her hood, revealing her beauty for the first time that even Kirito — who cared more for food than girls — couldn't help but stare. When he was labeled a beater, they and Koharu defended him. When he accepted the title and left for the second floor, it was Asuna who followed.

There, he saw her smile for the first time. She told him there was something she had to do in this world, but kept it a secret from him. All of that occurred on December 4th, one month and five floors ago.

On the second floor, the four reunited at the field boss' fight. Asuna lost her Wind Fleuret and they got wrapped in a upgrading scandal. On the third floor, they met Kizmel and encountered Morte for the first time. On the fourth floor, they built and sailed around on the Tilnel. On the fifth floor, they assembled a group of players and beat the floor boss to avoid war between the guilds — losing the symbol of the frontier in the process. They have remained together to this very minute.

In this deadly world, the four of them — and up to six, with Mito and Kizmel — found reasons to smile, been overcome with rage, devastated with despair, and touched fingers with death, but remained together as one.

But it will come to an end. They may have swore to have each others' backs, but that will change one day. Koharu and Jaymes will go off on their own one day, for their partnership is permanent. Asuna and Kirito will probably split soon after. It was an extreme condition that brought them together, nothing more, nothing less. It could be death that separates them for all Kirito knows, or maybe they'll go their own way after defeating the game.

But it will come.

Jaymes and Koharu have a undeniable bond. They didn't meet in the real world, they have no reason to have trusted each other on that day. They don't know the real Jaymes and Koharu, only the personality presented in this world. Yet...they proven that they're stronger and better together. If that's the sign of a true partnership, then they have the makings to be the dynamic duo of SAO, to be an integral factor in the progression of the game.

Asuna should leave his side. Like Jaymes, she has the makings of a leader, but unlike him, she doesn't have a prior attachment to consider. Well, there's Mito, but the two have already parted as partners, and Mito has already recognized Asuna's potential. Kirito promised he'd watch over Asuna until that moment comes, when her true calling arrives. Maybe that's his destiny.

But even then...he can't say he hadn't enjoyed their company. Until he met the three of them — well, until he joined them at the raid meeting — Kirito thought himself a bother to other people. He didn't try to make friends at school, and his relationship with his parents and sister deteriorated after learning his true origins.

Yet his parents raised him to be the best he could be, and his sister looked up to and respected him despite his avoidance of her. Every human he encountered — even Morte, Joe, and the black poncho — had an effect on Kirito.

And on that note, Kirito found a stunning resolve in his heart. When he used Rage Spike on Morte and unintentionally stabbed him in the heart due to the sword's accuracy bonus kicking in, he wondered why he didn't retract the Sword of Eventide. It wasn't that he was looking to kill Morte, but he was trying to protect Asuna. He can't say that the means justifies the end, but if protecting Asuna's smile...and Koharu's smlle, and Jaymes' smile means he had to strike back, he will do so as many times as possible.

"...Very well. That is enough."

It takes a moment for Kirito to recognize the voice and open his eyes, then he remembers why he was thinking about the others. It didn't seem three hours had passed, but the hourglass' bottom chamber is full of sand.

"Is...the training over?"

"Hmph...I am willing to lower my requirements and admit that you have passed the hurdle to learn the Awakening arts. I suppose, for human boys, there is only one thing more precious than a fresh-cooked fricatelle."

"Of course..." Jaymes murmurs softly, his eyes on his lap. Kirito figures his mind were on Koharu, but something tells him that they might have shared similar thoughts. Hopefully that doesn't mean they were treading on a thin line of tranquility concern "Poncho and Pals" as he coined them.

The quest is completed as the golden "!" vanishes over the sage's head. With that order of business taken care off, Kirito's eyes glance downward to the piping-hot plate. "Um...since the training is over, can I—"

Bouhroum quickly grabs the plates set in front of the humans. "No! If you eat this now, your training will be for naught!"

"Whaaat? Really?" No, one one earns an Extra Skill, it can't removed like that, so this is just the old man being stingy. Next time they come with the girls, Kirito will eat that damn steak.

Bouhroum claims the uneaten pieces by stabbing Kirito's with his knife. "Now get going! And if you ever want to visit again, use the proper entrance, rather than my ceiling vent!"

"Yeah, yeah." Kirito rises off the stool and follows the silenced Jaymes to the left wall. That door will take them to the library, which makes a shorter trip to their rooms...but they still had business on the mountaintop. "Well, I guess I'll come back sometime. Thanks for everything, Bouhroum."

"And next time, bring three of those sweet potatoes—no, four."

Back on the mountain, underneath the violet-red rays of dawn, Kirito made a couple of stunning discoveries about the Meditation Skill.

One, it was not renamed to Awakening.

Two, most curiously, it came with a proficiency of 500. He found that out when equipping the skill to his open fifth skill slot, and watched the value skyrocket from 0 to 500.

Three, because Meditation was at 500, Awakening was found to be a modification for the Meditation skill, and the only one for it. Its effect states, "Focuses concentration to the extreme and draws out hidden strength."

When he explained his findings to Jaymes, who remained quiet and stood watching the sunrise after returning from the cliffside, all the warrior said was, "That's a pain."

Kirito wishes he could figure out the Meditation skill with the Awakening mod, but there's no time. Asuna will be searching for him soon enough, so he suppresses his agitation for later. They better wrap this up. "So no chance the elves or anyone could get up here?"

"Not even the steadiest mountain goat could climb that slope."

"I see. Very well, then." Kirito turns around to head back to the castle, but a voice stops him.

"Kirito."

"Huh?"

Jaymes holds a piece of folded paper and extends his arm out to Kirito. "When the time is right, give this to Asuna. I...don't think I can."

"Wh...what is it?"

"From Mito. That's all I know, other than what we talked about the night before. When we clear this floor, she's leaving us. She doesn't have the strength to say farewell to Asuna in her face, so there's this."

Kirito receives the letter and firmly holds it. "Did you...try to talk her out of it?"

"I did. Not out of leaving us, that's her choice, but how she's doing it... I can't agree with it. Not when she knows Asuna in this world and the other. Yet...I understand how that makes it harder. To abandon someone once is one thing, but to do it twice...and this time, it for the right reason, is not an easy choice to face. And for someone like me, who chooses to protect a stranger with my life, I don't have the right to say Mito is right or wrong, but I know I can't agree with it."

He turns his head around. Half is blanketed by darkness, the other by the light of dawn. It's set with a hard frown, but what looks like anger is anything but. On the brim of his eyelids is something Kirito never thought he'd see on the boy's face, signifying how tormented his is about this.

To anyone who has seen them interact, Kirito included, it would seem Jaymes didn't give a damn about Asuna, but those tears betray those thoughts. "I know what's it like to lose a friend, to go separate paths from someone close. And though she annoys me to no end, I...like Asuna a lot. Not as much as Koharu, but her...and you, you guys matter to me. I don't want to see any of you hurting. And that damn trial...brought it all back up and all."

One tear slips down his face. Jaymes gasps and wipes his face clean. As he turns away back to the sunset, Kirito looks to the folded paper again. Jaymes is asking him to do this because Kirito is closer to Asuna. He can't ask Koharu, the closest person to Asuna between the three of them, for it might be harder for her. Yet Kirito can only sympathize with Asuna; she may need empathy, and only Jaymes can do that."

He steps forward and places the paper back in Jaymes' hand. "Then do it yourself...and be there for Asuna."

"I don't want to."

"But you will. I know you care about Asuna that much." Jaymes sighs and stores the paper back in his inventory. Right on cue, a notification noise and popup indicated a message from Asuna to Kirito. Answering her message with a sly smile, he pats Jaymes on the shoulder. "Let's go. Asuna's going to hang us off the spires if we take a second longer."

He flinches and joins Kirito on route back to the castle. "I'm more afraid of my partner than yours."