*Crack* *Crack*

The sound of bamboo clashing resonated throughout the dojo.

Keeping her eye on her opponent, Suguha barely dodged his next strike.

She followed up by trying to strike his arms. However he easily dodged it.

I've trained him too well!

The person opposing her was her greatest disciple and the person she held most dearly – Kazuto!

Kazuto was far too skilled! No matter what she did, she couldn't get passed his incredible defences!

All of her strikes were parried or dodged with mechanical ease.

Meanwhile she could barely keep up with his strikes!

Unwilling to give in, Suguha began a fierce assault. She drove the tip of the shinai in, continuously striking fast. But Kazuto kept on dodging. The alert movement of his eyes made it clear that he had already fully understood and predicted the movement of Suguha's strikes.

Throwing caution to the wind, she tried to close the distance between them and lock her shinai against Kazuto.

Maybe I can't out skill him, she considered, but I can overpower him!

However, at that instant, it was as if time was taken away from her. For a few brief moments, everything around her seemed to freeze except for Kazuto. Instead of parrying, he easily sidestepped, brought his shinai up and then brought it down, aiming for her head.

"Men," he said in a deep, spicy tone.

The bamboo sword lightly hit her helmet with a *tap* before she could even get back to her feet and she stumbled to the ground.

It was unbelievable! He won?!

"I won, Sugu!" Kazuto cheered like an adorable child.

"You won…" she admitted in disbelief.

Compared to her who has been practicing Kendo for nearly 8 years, Kazuto should have been a novice! But alas, he has finally bested her…

He won't ever let me live this down… she considered as she took off her helmet. Still, I'm glad for him.

She looked up, ready to congratulate him further…

However, he was right in her face!

"Woah!" she exclaimed as she stumbled back and dropped her helmet.

"Hey, Sugu," Kazuto sang as he approached her. "Remember our promise?"

"W-what promise?" With him right in her face, her mind went blank and she couldn't remember what he was talking about.

"You said that the winner can get one favour…" Suddenly he placed his left hand next to her head, pressing her against the floor. "And I know exactly what I want…"

What are you…?

Suddenly, his other hand was on her chin, gently tilting it to make her look him in his gorgeous, longing, grey eyes. He leaned in towards her.

For a second her eyes widened but she closed them, letting him do what he wanted…

We did promise…

She could sense his face getting closer… closer… closer…

Then she felt someone poking her cheeks.

"Hey, wake up," Kazuto's gentle voice echoed. "It's morning already."

He kept poking and poking.

"Stop it," she complained as she tried to bat at his probing hands.

"Wake up, Sugu." Suddenly, she felt a sharp pinch on her cheek.

She opened her eyes with a groan.

Laying down in the bed, the first thing her eyes saw was her darling Kazuto leaning over her.

He was smiling so radiantly as he kept pinching her cheek despite her being fully awake.

Suddenly, her eyes shot open. This time she was wide awake, and she was certain that her face was flushed red.

"Good morning, sleepyhead" he greeted with a playful smile. For a moment, she noticed that there were traces of tears under his eyes. "Um, you may want to get out of here soon, you know, before I have to explain to mom why you're sleeping in my bed."

Her first instinct was to grab the bed, her right hand grasping the blanket in a tight grip. She didn't want to leave! They were finally connecting!

But she couldn't say that. Not just because it would sound weird, but also because…

She was too embarrassed to talk right now!

Almost mechanically, she got up, clutched the blanket to her chest and scurried out the door.

"…Sorry…" she heard him whisper as she exited.

Somehow, she found herself back in her room.

Discarding the blanket she accidentally pilfered from Kazuto's room to the side, Suguha immediately grabbed her pillow, pressed her face into it and screamed.

"I'm an idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" she screamed into the pillow.

Thinking back to the previous night, she couldn't believe herself!

Even if he offered, how could she sleep with him like that?!

But she was just so excited, she couldn't refuse!

Her feelings of shame and embarrassment mixed with those strange feelings she had whenever she thought about him, and the stabbing pain in her chest refused to let her breathe. She covered her face with her hands, and suddenly realized that her pajamas still held her brother's scent, causing another deep throb within her heart.

"How could I?! How could I do that?!"

She kept thrashing as she thought of her dream from last night and how close they were to…

"KYAAA!" Her shriek was muffled by her pillow.

"How could I have that kind of dream?! How could I sleep with him?!" she exclaimed. "How could I fall in love with you, Kazuto?!"

Her eyes widened when she heard her own words. …What did I just say?

She stopped thrashing around. Her body relaxed as she lay flat on her bed, accidentally placing herself on Kazuto's blanket. Her mind felt both blank and calm at the same time. Somehow, she had just gained clarity.

"I love… Kazuto…"

Those words, they just felt so right.

"I love you, I love you," she kept repeating. Somehow those words made her stronger. "I love you, Kazuto." Her heart beat faster as she spoke those beautiful words.

It was unbelievable. Her feelings were more than she should've had for somebody she grew up with as a sibling. But in her heart, she knew that these feelings were true.

So what if we grew up as siblings? We aren't actually brother and sister! She rationalized. And cousins can get married in Japan!

Still, it was a hopeless fantasy.

No I can't do that… after all, he loves 'Sachi'… she thought hopelessly, …or does he…?

Actually she had no real confirmation of this. Maybe she really was just a friend of his. Still, based on the way he acts when he says her name and how he constantly seems to be thinking about her, she couldn't deny that she was at least important to him.

But that doesn't matter, I want Kazuto to be happy, because I love him.

Once again, she felt warmed by those words.

A million thoughts were racing through her mind as she considered how her life would change now. Trying to silence them and focus, she closed her eyes to think.

Then she opened them, now glittering with clarity.

If Kazuto is to feel better, I'll have to be there for him…

She paused to take stock of what she needed to know.

I need to know what happened in SAO.

I need to know why he seems so guilty whenever the topic comes up…

I need to know who were his friends from that world…

…I need to find out about Sachi… and what was her relationship with him…

But perhaps more than all that, she needed to know something for herself;

Does he actually care about me… or is he just pretending…?

Thinking of his gentle, kind smile from less than an hour ago, and the way his eyes always looked at her with a caring and gentle light shining in them… she could tell that he did care for her.

But only as a sister?

No, that doesn't matter… From now on, I'll do everything in my power to make my dear Kazuto feel better.

That is my promise to you, Brother.

LET'S GO, SUGU! Comfort and claim our hero!

The dream sequence went through a few different ideas: Them on a date; Them with their future kids (based on a picture which cemented my love for this ship); Them playing ALO; etc. They all would've ended with Suguha not getting her kiss.

Sadly, I have decided not to continue this story. There's no point since somebody has already predicted how SAO was ended :'( Yup, Kayaba totally just fell off the edge…

Heathcliff dressed as Santa for the Holiday: "Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!"

A very sleep-deprived and still upset Kirito: "Screw you, Santa!" *Throws a knife at him*

Heathcliff: *Trips and falls over the edge*

SAO System Message: "『The game has been cleared — The game has been cleared』"

Kirito: "…WTF…?"

Ghost Sachi: "Good job Kirito!"

Suguha: "Onii-chan is home!"

Just kidding. About the not continuing thing, not about the Kayaba thing… definitely… ;)

Jokes aside, I'd love to hear people's theories on how SAO ended, they don't even have to be reasonable or canon-compliant, it'll probably still be better than my idea ;) Leave them in a comment or review.