A/N: Okay, this arc... what a mess, you'll what I mean with the time jump partway through. Review Time.
To Isshion: I have nothing against Radobaan, it's Rathalos and all his alternate forms I dislike with a fiery passion, this was just cause and effect.
[Nagi]: And sorry, Isshi, great you're liking our adventures!
[Artorias]: ...don't encourage it, boss...
Enjoy.
|Sword Art Online, Floor 34, Town of Spearhead|
|June. 22nd, 16:04|
Atop the highest point of the level, above the thick forests was the main town of Spearhead, reason for its name is due to how the teleport monument and the church face directly north toward where the mesa forms into the curved tip of a spear, facing the rest of the floor, lifts working in constant rotation up and down from the forest floor. The town was comprised of natural forest materials, wooden houses with trees and colourful flora coating the roof tops and hedges, lanterns swaying from tree branches. It was a really nice and quiet place for players to relax and see the whole forest from above.
Just inside one of the cafes that faced out over the edge of the mesa via a balcony, Nagi stared ahead at his company, the ever-rising vice-commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath, Asuna. She sipped her tea, smiling in delight before eyeing the shinobi. "Nagi, you know I don't want to give any of you unwanted stress, I have full confidence in all of you, but this..." She tapped the open message between them, one that the raven-brunette sighed at.
"I know you mean well, Asuna, it's just that... I don't want to force this on the others," He admitted partially, but he had another reason.
|To Na_gi|
|Subject: Raid Party Allocation|
|Nagi, I apologize for this sudden message, however, this concerns that of future Raid strategies. We are all fighting to clear this game as quickly as possible while reducing the risk of casualties. However, your request from Floor 30 has brought to my attention that in order to comfortably allocate parties for every raid, I must ask you if you will take the time to consider forming a Guild of your own, if not, then in joining either the Divine Dragon Alliance or the Knights of the Blood Oath|
|I value your strength, as well as your party's, and my offer from when we first met stands, it would be an honour to fight under the same banner. You are a capable player, and a good person, I trust that you will have us an answer in time. I do not wish to pressure you, but we must ensure only the absolute best can perform at the frontlines. Sincerely, Commander Heathcliff|
It was an inevitable question, one Nagi had wanted to avoid but now he was placed in a position where his party's standing is far too high to ignore. With Klein's guild, Yuuki's and Ran's, plus his own party, it made placing the best players on the vanguard for raids difficult, and lately, the floors have gotten harder to beat, slowing their progress from a few days to over two weeks at worst.
"Nagi, if I can ask, why do you never form a guild?" Asuna placed her cup down to lean forward with interest. "With yourself, Daora, Mito, and Artorias, your party has more than accomplished their fair share of quests and raids. You're bound to have people that would join up with you,"
"That's the thing... I'm not that good at being a leader," Nagi shrugged with a slight smile, staring off the balcony to the rest of the floor with conflicted feelings. "I've said to Argo, and I'm glad she sees the same in me, but... I dunno, that time on Floor 30 was a fluke, and all I did was create the strategy, Danuja threw everything out of whack too, and since then, the other raids, we've... lost a dozen people," But Nagi didn't want to split his party up either, he knew they liked it just being them doing their own thing.
He grabbed the sides of his head, inhaling slowly before exhaling, trying not to get too stressed over the issue. Asuna smiled sadly, reaching over to pat his hand gently. "The next raid is tomorrow, I'll let the commander know you guys won't be there, take that break to really think on this. Discuss it with them, I'm sure you'll come to a decision on your own then,"
Looking back at Asuna, Nagi felt relaxed around her, despite all she's been through, and that toughened exterior she wears as the Vice-Commander, Asuna still had that sweet, welcoming scent wherever she goes. A fierce warrior and kind woman. "Thanks, Asuna. I feel better knowing it was you who delivered this message and not Heathcliff, he kinda makes me nervous, it's hard to gauge how he feels most of the time,"
"Hehehe, I'll keep that between us; he is quite intimidating, but he truly does care for anyone under KoB as well as those he respects outside of it," Asuna giggled, finishing her tea. "I should get back though, but I'm glad we had time to catch up, say 'hi' to Mito for me,"
"Sure, she's been looking forward to your next free slot to explore, even if she tries to hide it," Nagi laughed a bit, seeing the light brighten in Asuna's eyes. Grabbing his amigasa, he tucked it back onto his head while Asuna grabbed her pale blue rapier.
|June. 22nd, 16:12|
Once Asuna was gone, Nagi wandered over to the edge of town where the two lifts were, players coming and going in groups. His arms leaned onto the railing, staring off towards the labyrinth tower in the distance. Tomorrow, the raid team would be going to clear it, making it halfway through what players dubbed as the 'Cursed Thirties' as ever since the 30th Floor, the last four have been far more difficult, it would likely get harder come the 40th and so on.
"What am I going to do...?" Nagi wondered aloud, hand rubbing the collar of his haori as it billowed in the breeze. He had taken up the mantle of 'party leader' but that wasn't much to Nagi. Everyone did their part, whoever had the best lead would take charge, it's always worked better that way, everyone got along, it wasn't a contest of who was better, even if Daora and Artorias bickered otherwise, they could fight as equals. Mito was probably the only one who was fine with whatever was best, she performed excellently, so to force her into a permanent guild position might conflict with her solo style when she wants some time for herself. In reality, it was all very simple, but Nagi didn't want to burden any of them.
Before his inner turmoil could distract him further, a message prompt appeared. "Huh? From Kirito...?" He only ever saw the fabled Black Swordsman a handful of times with his own guild, he seemed to really be enjoying his time with them over the last few months, and the times the Moonlit Black Cats wanted a rematch, Nagi's party obliged, they were improving well.
|To Na_gi|
|Subject: Need a hand|
|Sorry about this, got a favour to ask you guys if you're free? I know the raid's tomorrow, but just for late this afternoon, could you help me with something important concerning the MBC? I'll explain once we meet, head for Taft, the second biggest settlement on Floor 11, I'll be waiting at the plaza, bring the others too when you can|
Something with the Moonlit Black Cats? This had Nagi's brow furrow but he now had a reason to put the whole guild nonsense aside. Turning on a heel, he jogged for the one in town to regroup with the others, sending a quick message to Artorias who he knew was out with the others on the current floor questing.
|Floor 11, Town of Taft, Teleport Gate Plaza|
|June. 22nd, 16:30|
It took the others time to meet back at the gate and for Nagi to explain everything. Once the familiar massive walls of green in the distance appeared, they took a look around the town. Taft was more urban than that of Arcadia, with stone floor streets and mostly two-storey brick buildings that are lined up along the main street with barely no space in-between. The city also had a fountain, as well as a rectangle Teleport Gate plaza. The significant building was a church or cathedral with iron doors, a couple of statues next to them, a bell tower at one side of the plaza, and a decorative gate at the other.
Upon arrival, and Nagi wincing at his broken brightness settings for teleport effects, he blinked the spots away to see Kirito with his arms crossed, smiling humorously at him. "Still bugged for you?"
"I think I'm going blind..." Nagi winced, rubbing his eyelids before adjusting to the light. "A-anyway, you needed our help with the guild?"
"If Blackie of all people's asking, gotta be serious, right?" Artorias questioned with a tilt of his head.
Kirito sighed, frowning again with genuine worry, "The reason is, we've built up enough Col to finally buy a place to actually call a home base, Keita's away to barter for the lot, but in the meantime, the others wanted to go hunting for extra cash to throw in for furniture and the like, issue is, they want to go to the 27th Floor to do it, within a dungeon too," That's when Kirito's problem sank in.
"How good are they now?" Mito asked, having met them herself now, and seeing their growth under Kirito's guidance.
"Levels are fine, stats and gear are still mid-tier, and that's a bit of a stretch considering where they want to go," Kirito admitted, all their funds were towards the house, so better gear was next after that, but grinding in such a high level was dangerous, not that he could convince them without revealing his true level or what he was branded as. "It's why I need your help, encase things go south,"
"Want us to follow you and back you up if need be?" Nagi hazard a guess, the ravenette nodding.
"Exactly, and if they do spot you, just say you were here gathering materials," Kirito excused while the four looked around each other.
"Is that it? Hah, this'll be easy!" Daora swung Skullshatter in his right hand.
"Eh, one small escort mission ought to be fine, although, they're idiots for going above their pay-grade, so long as you keep 'em straight, I'll be there to gloat at their stupidity after," Artorias grinned, rubbing his chest with a knuckle. "What say you, Reaper, Boss?"
"I don't see the harm in helping out, it's not like you ask anyone for help either," Mito smiled slightly as Kirito rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Sure, if we're all in agreement?"
"Definitely, just send us the location and we'll rendezvous there," Nagi settled it, seeing their friend's whole body ease up.
"Thanks, I'll owe ya all big after, got some great farming spots I don't mind giving up," Kirito offered, and the plan was set in motion.
|Floor 27, Forgotten Battlegrounds, Test Site #05|
|June. 22nd, 17:40|
Once outside the dungeon known as Test Site #05, every room and hall was made up of angular squares and rectangles of blue stone, creating many cubby holes and dents in both the walls and floor.
It was also riddled with traps, even Philia said it was a pain to navigate so the experienced players had a good backing, thankfully, most were disabled or had been written down to avoid without triggering. Using this intel, the Moonlit Black Cats tore through the facility within decent pace, their coordination on skills and switching weren't nearly as shoddy as when they first started, and Sachi, despite her clear uneasiness at times, was a far more capable fighter, often switching with Kirito who she had a better time synergizing her attacks with.
Nagi and his party kept at a distance, peeking out from around the corner to listen and follow their tracks, only Kirito had a high enough Searching skill to be aware of their constant presence so it helped when he gave them signals to hide or move for a better angle. In a fun way, it was helping the four be stealthy despite only one of them, Nagi, having the Hiding skill.
"See? This is no problem for us!" Tetsuo exclaimed confidently, his voice bouncing off the walls.
"Just a bit more and we might make it to the frontlines," Sasamaru commented as he led the team in Keita's stead.
"You said it!" Ducker grinned, then his face lit up with surprise, jogging ahead of them to a nearby wall that appeared unassuming.
Along part of the wall were strange, vibrant blue rectangles. When Ducker pressed his hand to them, they multiplied with a strange noise, splitting a section of the wall in half vertically before the whole section shifted backward with a hiss against gears, forming a black iron door for them to open. Even Artorias blinked widely, mouthing 'That wasn't marked on the map'. Even Kirito was surprised, sharing the same, uncomfortable feeling as Nagi had in his stomach.
It was inside that finally made Kirito's stomach sink like lead. The interior was a large, sectioned off square room, sat alone in the middle was a conveniently placed treasure chest. "It's a treasure chest! Wohoo~!" Ducker cheered, the group starting to funnel in.
"No... something not right about this," Artorias grimaced, hand clenched to the edge of the wall. "This is bad, that just screamed 'trap',"
"Crap, we need to warn them," Mito swung herself out of hiding just as Kirito and Sachi walked in.
"W-wait!" Kirito tried, stepping out of view. Now, panic filled Nagi's whole core.
"Artorias, shield!" Without waiting to explain at all, Nagi jumped ahead, feeling his legs bend against the face of Artorias' shield as a burst of pink flung him down the hall. Drawing his weapon from the 25 Floor Boss, NightSky, Nagi slammed it's reflective silver tip into the ground to violently pivot and jump straight through the door, just in time to see Ducker ultimately open the chest.
The walls turned a sinister shade of red, and an ear-raking alarm went off for several seconds. "Huh, Nagi?" Sachi jumped, seeing him land only to twist his head back, watching the black door slam shut.
"Kirito, it's a trap, this room's meant to be a kill box!" Nagi called out, both drawing their weapons. Over by the door, Nagi could hear people banging on it but it wouldn't budge.
Then, a hidden door opened up on one of the walls, revealing a horde of Dark Dwarf Miners. And to fill the rest of the edges were the summoning of and equally large amount of Granite Elementals. By now, everyone corralled together with their weapons facing the horde that seemed to keep growing, leaving them all in a state of panic. "Guys, we need to get out of here!" Kirito exclaimed, watching for which mob moved first.
"Teleport to Taft! Teleport to Taft!" Ducker tried twice with his teleport crystal... but it refused to work, and their hopes drowned even further. This was a new type of trap only seen rarely so far, but it was a place that disabled the use of Crystals of any kind. This really was meant to be a kill chamber.
"The crystals aren't working?" Sachi shivered, holding her own useless crystal.
"So it's an Anti-Crystal area?" Kirito scowled, they were completely trapped, and the others couldn't make it time to join them aside from Nagi.
It was no use now, they had to fight to survive, "S-stay together, fight with everything you got!" Nagi yelled loudly, immediately setting off against the horde of Dwarves as they swung their pickaxes high. "Whirlwind Slash!" Being higher level, the twin spin strike tore half their health apart, throwing them away, but by now, all of the mobs that could physically move were closing in tightly, they needed to make room. Performing a handstand, Nagi brought down a cascade of water in a powerful slam. "Waterfall!"
Kirito swept his side with Horizontal Arc, cleaving the injured Dwarves of Nagi's to keep him and Sachi safe, his eyes hardened with desperation. But to their horror, a horrific scream ripped through the chamber; cut off from them by the golems, Ducker was thrown onto his stomach, unable to escape from the flurry of pickaxes buried into his back, pixels of blood flew as he screamed, his health vanishing in seconds before bursting into polygons like any other mob.
"Ducker..." Nagi felt his face screw up in anguish, Kirito trying to cut down the golems but he was unable to reach him, swinging heavily at the monsters that continued to separate them.
Desperately using Iai, the crescent of dark water slashed through the legs of four more golems, bringing them down for Kirito and Sachi to thrust their sword and spear through, Nagi doubling back to spear the last two atop one another, skewering them with NightSky. But there was no end to them yet. Vaulting off the pile of golems before they disappeared, Nagi spun forward and struck the head of a fifth golem with Luna Arc, killing it instantly before Sachi's eyes, who shakily nodded to the water shinobi.
"Aaaah!" Another painful scream followed, this time, it was Tetsuo, barely a few feet from Nagi as a golem's arm struck his chest while his guard was broken, his fragments scattering across Nagi's horrified face.
"Tetsuo!" Sasamaru gasped, then lunged at the golem with Twin Thrust. "Dammit!" His spear sunk into its abdomen, but it wasn't enough to clear the final half of its health bar.
"No, get away!" Nagi screamed, tanking a jumping pickaxe to his side. He ignored it and drew back his katana, thrusting forward to close the gap with the skill motion, but his Ripple Thrust burst against the head of dwarf that moved in his path, forcing Nagi to a stop while an arm of a golem struck his leg, knocking him off balance for a second. "Sasamaru!" But try as he might, Nagi couldn't prevent the golem he was wedged to from swatting him like a fly, himself bursting into pieces. Now there was only three of them...
Outside, Artorias and Daora used every skill in their arsenal, striking the door with their most powerful skills, but either it was an Immortal Object or it had a durability too high to destroy quickly. "Dammit, come on! They're dying in there!" Artorias was beyond desperate, the sheer look of panic and terror scarred to his face was like nothing the rest had seen before. "I'm using every buff potion and skill I've got on me, why the hell isn't this door fucking breaking!?"
"Graaah!" Daora swung like a madman, once the post motion ended. He disarmed himself, suddenly roaring to the sky as his forearms became engulfed in silvery-red flames again, triggering his Extra Skill, Barbarous, in a vain attempt to literally punch, kick, and slam the door with everything he had in him. "I'll break it down, I'll save them, just you watch! I'll slaughter every monster in that room! Just waaaaatch!" He punched without ever breaking his stride.
Mito was speechless, cupping her hands over her mouth, unlike her shameful retreat when Asuna was about to die long ago, this time, when she really could, her help was being impeded by the system itself. She had no ability to pick the door, even if she sacrificed a skill, it would be too low to open it. "I'm so sorry..." She almost couldn't bear to stand, closing her eyes tightly. "Please... save them!"
Inside the kill chamber, Kirito was in a frenzy himself, using Seven Sins to split a golem in half by the waist, carving across a Dwarf next straight into rising slant through the torso of a golem, a horizontal to parry a Dwarf that leapt at him, another vertical through the shoulder and arm of a golem as he dove over two more Dwarves into a backward somersault, landing, he spun in a wide arc, decapitating both, then another vertical slant to parry a golem's swing, spinning one final time to split it in two and three more dwarves, clearing the view of Sachi struggling to hold back a golem's arm from crushing her.
"Sachi - tch!" Two more mobs jumped in front of him, keeping him at bay.
"Kirito!" She tried to reach him, dragging her spear down, throwing the golem back while Kirito cleaved the last two in his way.
"Sachi!" He reached for her, only a few meters away, he could make it, he could save her still!
Meanwhile, Nagi spun in a flurry of rotating strikes, the torrent of water carving a dragon's head through every target, his health now at sixty percent from the constant assault. Mid spin on the seventh strike, stepping up the narrow torso of a golem, dragging NightSky behind him through its stony hide, he saw Sachi locked with another golem, unaware of the third lumbering behind her. By now, his pupils were pins, feeling his muscles strain and his throat raw from yelling so much.
All Nagi could see were the many players that had died in front of me on Floor 25, he saw the look of acceptance on Harriet's face when Evet struck her down, her hat still clung to Nagi's own, and he saw the near-headless body of Diavel pointing at Kirito to continue his sacrifice, the man who helped them to break through the first major hurdle of SAO. They all died, and Nagi couldn't lift a finger to save any of them.
Something then and there awoke in the back of Nagi's mind, deep in the recesses of his heart and soul. No more. All this pointless death none of them asked for. It made his blood boil beyond measure, and his vision tunnelled.
Kirito could see it, the arm swinging down, Sachi threw the golem back, trying to reach him too, she didn't see it, she hadn't realized she was still in grave danger. One more hit, a single scratch from that golem would be it. He had to move, faster, even faster than he had ever moved in his life.
A cool, rapid torrent of water flew overhead, the jaws and length of a massive dragon carving apart several of the deadly mobs in one fell-swoop. What followed slamming into Kirito's back and he was sent flying towards Sachi. He didn't have time to think or process what that was, he just moved on sheer instinct, grinding his sword deep into the red floor, he tore it through with a radiant blue blade, dragging with it his hellish war cry, etching an Arabic four through the single golem, cleaving off its arms and head with Savage Fulcrum.
"Sachi...!" Kirito called to her again, seeing her startled, teary expression meet his desperate eyes. "...Switch!"
She, of course, hesitated, but with her blood running hot, and the turmoil of her friends' deaths, combined with that will to survive against all odds, she twirled her spear around, casting it pale blue at the spearhead. Twin Thrust punctured the next golem, that swung and missed Kirito, through the stomach and head. "S... Switch!" She managed.
Hopping back Kirito finished off the golem with a single Vertical stroke. Behind them, Nagi spun and carved a deep blue riptide with Iai, skidding to a halt, his eyes the size of pins, face fixed into a neutral frown, but his fury was present deep in his onyx eyes. "Solstice Haze!" He muttered deeply, cleaving the air ahead of him, flinging two dwarves flying to shatter like glass.
"Kirito, Sachi, duck now," He asked, his katana starting to sound like a crackling flame, water coiled like a double helix around its body, jagged like a roaring fire. This skill was only recently unlocked, so Nagi wasn't sure how bad the post motion may be, but that didn't matter, he was going to tear every last one of these monster to pieces! "Hidden Skill... Fourth Art..." Clasping NightSky to his right hip, the two ducked in time, several dwarves and golems surrounding them.
With a flash of blue light, followed by a roaring rush of water, Nagi performed a large array of consecutive slashes in a continuous motion to strike at everything within range, decapitating the dwarves and severely injuring the golems, the slicing roar like the spiny back of a dragon shredding everything in its path. The post-motion kept Nagi gripped in place, but he snarled the name with venom, "...Conflagration!"
From his sides, Kirito and Sachi lunged with two thrust skills, banishing the golems that sought to strike the shinobi until he could move again. Standing with their backs to the wall, the horde lumbered toward them, the trio emotionally distraught but refusing to let their adrenaline die out now. Kirito moved first, slamming his sword into the ground to wrench it up over his shoulder, the blast of blue particles stunning the dwarves backward, Serration Wave, albeit weak it was meant to drive off attackers.
"Switch!" Kirito felt Sachi graze his shoulder, twisting her petite frame into a vicious cyclone of wide slashes from the ground up, destroying two golems and leaving many more mobs shredded, the final slash she shouted wordlessly, tossing a dwarf over the crowd with a hot blast of air.
"Switch!" Sachi half-sobbed, half-screamed just as the shadow dove overhead, Nagi drawing his sword down in both hands into a violent vertical halo, the water effects sawing through three monsters at once as he landed, Rising Sun holding him in place for only a split second, already, Kirito zipped in a wide curve from Nagi's left.
"Switch!" Nagi didn't need to say it, Kirito already taking full advantage of the enemy's delayed reaction, blade cast deep blue as he let out a cry of untold anger and pain.
When the door finally opened, Artorias was the first inside, followed closely by Daora and Mito, all of them panting despite never once killing a monster, but their hands felt numb from casting skill after skill to no avail for ten whole minutes. Not a single mob was left, the room had returned to bland, blue tone, the chest gone, and only three left standing. Sachi was sobbing against Kirito's shoulder, practically threatening to rip his coat while he stared down, feeling numb, completely empty inside. Nagi was on his knees, sword by his side as he bowed his head against the ground, tears streaking down his face.
"No..." Artorias croaked out, stumbling back until he fell onto his backside in disbelief.
Nothing was left of the three that perished, not even a piece of equipment. All their efforts and achievements washed away by the cruel system that left only a scored out name on a marble wall.
"What the hell... no, we were here, we were right here...!" Daora's fist shook against his ax, his breathing heavy as he lost any word to grapple with. No matter how hard he looked around, it was only the three of them left.
"We couldn't open the door, it sealed itself until every player or mob was defeated..." Mito looked completely distraught herself, tears threatening to break in her frustration and guilt, her eyes already redder from before. "No matter... how many skills... it didn't budge," Now she tugged on her hood to mask her eyes, biting her bottom lip.
This wasn't like a Floor Boss... it was never meant to be like this... and yet... they lost.
|Floor 1, Town of Beginnings, Edge Walk|
|June. 22nd, 18:14|
At the very edge of Floor One in the town was an overlook to the world outside of Aincrad, one of the very few places a player can see properly to the world beyond. It was also a morbid sight of the first player death as someone attempted suicide to see if they would simply wake up in the real world or even respawn. On the rare occasion, some simply found it better to accept death in that first month. It was here, as sunlight cast the skies in gold, failed to even bring warmth to any of them now standing at that edge, facing the fortunate leader that was absent, clutching a ring of keys in his hand.
Kirito, in a hollow voice, told Keita everything, including the truth of his level and background, everyone else couldn't find it in them to speak, not even Sachi who Mito comforted in silence. Kirito then heard the scrape of boots coming closer, "Why!?"
Forcing himself to look, Keita's eyes were bloodshot and watery, his fists tightened at his sides as his face demanded an answer. Kirito couldn't find one, he had nothing that could resolve this, nothing that could undo this damage. Ducker, Tetsuo, and Sasamaru were dead and gone now. Well, that silence only made Keita's rage boil, stepping closer. "Answer me, dammit! What the hell happened out there! That whole dungeon was mapped weeks ago, the info mappers and that Rat fact-checked it, so why was there a trapped room there, tell me!?"
"...I don't know," Kirito had heard the rumours but never experienced an Anti-Crystal zone before. It was likely Ducker's affinity for treasure hunting, the skills he had must've been high enough to locate that doorway when no one else could, or maybe it was updated randomly? Even so, Kirito's answer didn't satisfy Keita at all.
"Bullshit!" Now, Keita's face was red with rage and grief. "You've seen that floor before any of us, all of you! Did... did you just use them like cannon fodder then for some rare item!?"
"That's... not true," It wasn't, but nothing the Beater would say could calm Keita now.
"The hell it isn't! You and that Rat, all of you... really are nothing but Beaters! If it wasn't for any of you... then maybe... maybe they'd still be here!" Keita rasped, making Kirito flinch. But he was right, Kirito hid his skills and level from them all, but Nagi and his party weren't to blame, they were open about their levels and what they did, they were the ones that tried to save the Black Cats, Kirito could've done more to sway them from going up to the 27th floor, but he didn't, did he?
By now, Keita was right in Kirito's face, "You bastard! You selfish, self-centred..." Finally, his anger topped out, and Keita struck Kirito across the face, knocking the Black Swordsman to the ground. Being in the same party, and in a Safe Zone meant it did nothing more than throw him back. From the expression on the leader's face, he looked ready to pummel Kirito until the sun went down, maybe even drag him to the edge and throw him over the stone railing. "You bastard," He spat again, anguish seeping into every word. "If anyone deserved to die, it was you..."
"Kirito saved me! So did Nagi!" Out of nowhere, Sachi found the strength to step forward, tears still leaking down her face as she screamed. "They both did everything in their power to save us!"
Keita looked at her, incredulous, "'Save you'!? If they really did, then why didn't they all step in!? The majority of them are lying Beta Testers that only cared about picking off whatever loot our friends left behind-!"
Sachi strode up to her friend after two long steps, and promptly slapped him across the face, her expression twisted in agony. "They followed us to keep us safe! Ducker's skill wasn't high enough to disable the trap and Kirito and Nagi tried to warn us, the others spent the whole time trying desperately to open the door!" She yelled in his bewildered face. "Kirito this whole time was trying to help prepare us, he told us not to but we didn't listen! All of them sparred with us to make us aware of how dangerous all of this was, and we didn't listen!"
Stupefied for a moment, Keita finally found his voice, "We... Sachi, this is why we've been trying! Because we wanted to make a difference too! If-If I had known these... bastards were just like the other Beaters we'd-"
"Stop calling them that!" Sachi raised her voice, voice breaking a little with a hand pressed to her chest, glaring daggers through tears. "Maybe it's true, some Beta Testers are and were bad people that abused their knowledge, but Nagi was the one that helped me on day one!"
"W-what...?" Keita's eyes for a second passed over Nagi who was still staring at them, unable to find his words.
"When I was too scared to even consider leaving this town, he gave me a few things, he did that for every player he could provide for until he was out of Col! He told me to pick myself up when I stopped crying, and I did! I did that with all of you, I wanted to fight instead of cowering away, even if I was terrified of dying, I wanted to do what Nagi did for me!"
"Artorias even saved us on this floor, don't you remember that!? He helped people too! So maybe they are Beta Testers, but Nagi, Kirito, Artorias, and Argo are not bad people!" Sachi made that adamantly clear, panting after yelling for so long.
Finally, after a whole minute of silence, the fight in Keita flickered and died, dropping the keys that had no value left. He was just broken, lost, and anguished. The leader turned away, "...doesn't matter anymore, we... can't keep going like this..." He whispered painfully. "Ducker, Tetsuo, Sasamaru are gone... 'Joining the clearers'? We had no chance... just some pipe dream... let's just... leave it to them. There's... nothing we can do about now..."
Kirito, as well as the rest were taken back when Sachi, even though she was as distraught at her best friend, took a deep breath, standing back with a shake of her head. "I can't," Her voice was softer now, sorry for her friend. "If I stop now... I may as well have died too. Every possible second I've been training hard to come even a fraction closer to being as good as them. So that no one would ever have to worry about me, so I can protect our friends," Her fingers dug into the hem of her skirt. "If I stop... then they died for nothing,"
At this point, nothing really surprised Keita, he just looked on at her with a broken stare. "...do what you want... I don't care... I'm done... you know where to find me..." He mindlessly plucked a teleport crystal from his inventory. "Teleport, Town of Beginnings plaza," With a flash of light and a sphere around him, Keita, of the Moonlit Black Cats, disappeared.
Once he was gone, only a quiet wind followed, leaving them all alone with their thoughts. Sachi bent down, delicately taking the keys that would've been the big start of their guild's growth, now it was just a reminder that the Moonlit Black Cats were little more than a party of two, even the leader was out of the question.
"Why didn't you go with him...?" Artorias spoke up, both eyes covered by his bangs. "You of all people have every right to..."
Sachi shook her head, trying to wipe her tears. "If I do... then as I said, my friends really would have died for nothing... I... I can't do that to them... not after all you've done for us," She knew that all of them were torn up about this, it wasn't fair to them when all they wanted to do was help. "I just need something to follow... I'm not ready for the frontlines... but I have to try to make it there..."
"Nagi... take care of Sachi... I... need to go," Kirito muttered, looking down at the ground in defeat. "...I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." Then, his legs started moving while he held out his own teleport crystal, waiting until he was far enough away so they couldn't follow him.
"K-Kirito!" Sachi yelled quickly but he muttered a name, and vanished just like Keita, likely to grieve on his own terms, Kirito the Beater would likely return to being a solo player in time. Sachi lowered her hand, seeing Kirito's name vanish above hers, now she had no party to go to. "I... never told him... that I knew this whole time..."
"Huh?" Nagi managed to say.
"I... ran away one night, and Kirito found me... I said I... wanted to commit suicide in a way... but I was too much of a coward to try... since then, he's been looking out for me... one night, I saw his stats when he forgot to private them... he was as strong as you guys, and I knew he must've been the Black Swordsman from the frontlines, knowing all that... I felt so happy and relieved that someone so strong was watching out for us. It's how I know he was a really good person..."
"With all he's carried alone, nothing we say will change his mind now," Mito added, seeing Daora tremble, likely forcing himself to not show his emotions but he sniffled and grunted in place. "What... do we do now...?"
That's right, what can they do now? Sachi had basically no guild or party left. Kirito was MIA now, and Keita was done fighting all together, she needed to keep going as she said. Nagi felt so responsible for this, this was Kirito's last request to him, to keep her safe. Closing his fists to swallow his grief, Nagi had to make a choice, and he'd be damned if he left Sachi on her own now. He wouldn't betray Kirito's or the Moonlit Black Cats' like that.
"...I have an idea..." They all looked to Nagi, seeing his teary, burning eyes turn to them. "I need to make a lot of messages..."
He was through losing people he cared about.
|Floor 25, Town of Senja Castle, Seimei Inn|
|June. 22nd, 18:42|
Arriving on a familiar floor that pushed all of them to their absolute limits, Nagi hadn't said a word, only sending dozens of messages to contacts, then, he led them all back to this floor. Once wandering the straightforward streets towards the gatehouse that led out to the Wisteria Shore, he banked left, moving through an alleyway to a small courtyard tucked from view against the wall of the town, buildings shrouding it from view.
A large willow tree grew on the grass, one building's entrance facing it, with redwood banisters along its stairs to the one-door entrance, a porch running along the front of the simple, traditional building that was large and two storeys tall. Knocking on the door a few times, it immediately opened to reveal the scruffy red samurai they all knew well, say for Sachi, Klein. His face burst with a big grin.
"Oi, been a while Nagi, C'mon, get in here!" He wrapped an arm around Nagi's shoulders, forcing him to walk with him in a brotherly embrace.
"N-nice to see you too Klein, b-but this is important," Despite the sudden mood shift, Nagi's expression did appear to be at ease for a moment with the overly chipper man.
"Don't be like that, we only ever see you guys at boss battles!" He chuckled with a grin, then the redhead eased up, "Sorry, your message was saying about something serious that happened. Guess it's about your new friend here?" Klein gestured to Sachi standing beside Mito after they closed the door.
"Sachi, this here's Klein, leader of the Furinkazan Guild, he's a bit eccentric, but he's got a good heart," Nagi smiled gratefully at his friend for his light-hearted banter, it helped to ease up their tension.
"Bit of a 'ladies man' if you believe him," Artorias even managed to crack a joke.
Klein straightened up, giving Sachi a gamely smile while scratching the back of his head. "Uh, right, what Nagi said, nice to meet you, Sachi,"
"Uh, likewise, Klein," Sachi bobbed her head politely.
"Anyway, Argo arrived first before us, so far, just my guild, her, and this shady guy called Fynch," That final name made the others look to Nagi with a questionable stare, wondering why of all people, he messaged the former orange player of the party known as Hunt. But Nagi kept quiet. "Come on, why don't you tell us all about?"
Inside the rented building, the group gathered around a short table to listen to the retelling of events in deafening silence. Argo looked genuinely disturbed by the unexpected trap, and in a previously mapped dungeon no-less, pacing to keep her composure, Klein looked sympathetic for them all, especially Sachi, his guildmates sharing similar looks among them. Fynch just shook his head at the horrible events that took place.
"Dammit, that's just..." Klein said softly, fist clenched on the table before passing the perturbed Rat a look. "You heard anything about this?"
"'fraid noT," Argo came to a stop, brow knitted tightly. "First of an Anti-Crystal room below Floor 30, and in an already mapped dungeon too, that ain't in any broker's radaR," She felt like she was partially to blame, as the floors were cleared, it was to be expected changes would occur on the previous floors, but Argo never anticipated it being to such a dangerous extent. "And to have such a high requirement to successfully disarm a trap toO..."
"I gotta agree with her, ain't nothin' like this on the lower floors 'till now, who's to say other dungeons and the like aren't hotwired with new, unexplored routes that are meant to cull players; I'll tell ya, once word reaches folks like PoH and other PKers, helluva lot more dangerous leavin' towns, that's for sure," Fynch scowled, looking just as conflicted as the Rat.
Abruptly, the anger fizzled out of Argo, and she turned to Sachi with a look of regret, "Hero, Sachi-chan... I'm sorry, I screwed up,"
"This isn't on you, Argo," Nagi spoke softly, his face softened with worry for her own conscience.
"Nagi's right, Miss Informant - Argo, I don't blame you for this, or any broker, it wasn't something any player was aware of," Sachi added, wiping a few fresh tears. "Keita might not see it that way, but all of you have risked your lives for everyone in this game, you've been forced into unfair situations, and I can't thank all of you enough for helping as much as you have today. So please, don't beat yourself up over this, Ducker, Tetsuo, and Sasamaru wouldn't want that from you guys,"
Just then, the door burst open from the entry hall, and a chorus of voices followed. Through the two strips of red tarp over the doorway, Yuuki and Ran made it inside first, running straight to their cousin and tackling him down to the floor in a hug. The others all quickly poured in to share their worries after their leaders got the news. Once they settled, more now stood around the room, all with the same, forlorn expression.
Yuuki and Ran still sat beside Nagi as he spoke after a brief silence. "...I've been giving it thought, I'm... not at being a leader... everyone else is so amazing in their own ways, I'm just... not," His words made Argo's stomach twist but Nagi stood up, moving to stand in an empty space where everyone could see him, his eyes to the floor, grazing his haori with his palm. "You've all given me so much that I never had before, believe it or not, I... don't have many friends, but I'm friendly with everyone. Ever since my... Dad passed away, I've been distant emotionally... and when I see people die here, I feel so helpless to stop it, even the ones I know I couldn't alter... I don't know if..."
Everyone looked to him, sadness, grief, pity, it was all silently projected his way. Nagi let out a shaky breath, raising his head. He had made his choice, he had to change things here or he'll never let go of the person he was before SAO - no, before he met Kirito and Argo, the two that gave him a reason to be excited to jump into this unknown. And for his cousins, who had so much left to fight and live for.
"I asked you all here for a reason, it's sudden, but right now, this is what I want to do, how I know I can do something, anything to make things better," Argo had seen that look in Nagi's face before, it was the same indomitable expression he wore when he protected her at Sunsinger village from the horseback boss, when he fought to save Shivata from the colossus boss on Floor 5. A face brimming with loss and determination that even sparked a fire in her heart. "Recently, Heathcliff has asked me to either create a guild, or disband my party into one... and I would never rob any of you of the choice to fight on your own terms. So..."
Nagi the Water Shinobi stepped forward. "To keep us together, to finally beat this game, I'll create a guild with all of you, a collaboration between mine, the Sleeping Knights, the Furinkazan, and Fuumaningun Guilds,"
This news dropped like a hammer from the sky, all of them expressing various faces of surprise, shock, and bewilderment. "You... want to form a massive collaboration guild?" Ran was speechless, to say the least.
"...took you long enough, boss," Artorias spoke up next, much to Nagi's own astonishment, seeing the brunette smirk a bit next to Yuuki. "You gotta stop putting yourself down, alright? Not the best leader but you got me to stomach working with this idiot," He gestured to Daora.
"Yeah... huh!?" He shot his head toward Artorias who didn't bat an eye.
"See what I mean?"
"Just cut in here, what's with the big decision anyway? I getcha, being pressured to join a guild or be swept into one, but what's your reason, man?" Klein asked, genuinely curious for an answer. Everyone was say for Argo who felt a smirk twitch at her whiskers.
"Artorias' is right, I'm not a good leader, but I will try and learn all I can from those who are," Nagi eyed his cousins and Klein. "I want to create a guild that isn't bound by some hierarchy or follows some strict rules. I want a place people who want to make a difference, be it to guide people to the higher ranks-" His gentle eyes passed over Sachi. "-people who feel they don't have anyone to fall back on-" To Artorias. "-who want to be a better person, to fix their mistakes-" Then to Fynch and Mito. "-That is what our guild will be, we'll conquer every floor, and help everyone find a reason to keep living, even after this game is over,"
"A Guildmaster protects his own, and that is exactly what I'll do," Nagi vowed with every fibre of his being.
Klein smiled slowly, patting his knee to stand. "Man, after a real good speech like that; and how can I say no to one of my buddies?" He stepped forward to knuckle Nagi's chest.
"You got our support, obviously," Ran rolled her eyes playfully.
"Whatever you need, count us all in!" Yuuki waved her hand happily, hopping to her feet with Ran to stand with Nagi.
"Hahaha, hey, uh, not-not to crash on the whole parade, but uh, don't guilds have bigger numbers?" Fynch raised his hand. "I mean, gotta mean you at least have that right?"
"I will, hopefully; Argo," The blonde perked up to her partner. "Contact those from the Fuumaningun Guild that would willingly join us, ask Sekiro to speak with me when he has the time,"
"You got it, HerO," She saluted playfully, drawing up her menu to send the message ASAP.
"Klein, can I ask you another big favour?" This drew his attention. "I know I've already put a lot on everyone's minds but-"
"Shut up," He shot down Nagi with a firm look. "You seriously gotta stop with blaming yourself all the time. You haven't a damn thing to be sorry for - so c'mon, tell me what you need,"
That was quite unexpected, but Nagi felt a little flustered about that. "R-right... since Keita said he's done with... everything, the Black Cats are really only Sachi and Kirito, and the latter's...dealing with it himself; so I was wondering if until she's ready, can you continue training Sachi in Kirito's place?"
Now it was his turn to be surprised, although, it didn't require much consideration. Klein looked to the young girl who was more alone than ever, giving her a thoughtfully look, his eyes soft with sympathy for her and her friends. He looked like a real leader there and then. "You've been through a helluva day, Sachi," He spoke thoughtfully. "I've seen and lost people too, but not ever in the way you have. Are you absolutely sure you want this?"
Sachi swallowed hard, and stood up herself to eye him equally. "I... I want to keep going. If I just ran and hid myself away in town, I'd likely never come out again, even after leaving this game behind,"
Nodding to her answer, Klein turned to his guildmates. "What's your guys' thoughts?"
Dynamm, the brotherly figure of their guild, the one with a small moustache and a red bandana spoke up after looking at the young girl with a shrug. "I say let her join, helping a girl in her time of need's our M.O,"
The rest all gave nods and approving smiles, it was enough for Klein to smile and nod to Sachi. "Then it's settled, welcome to the Furinkazan guild, Sachi, however-!" He held up a finger. "-for the next few days, you're resting at our guild's home base, I completely understand wanting to keep yourself from shutting down, but you need to rest and to grieve, understand?"
She quickly nodded, "I-I understand..." Then bowed her head. "Thank you so much... a-all of you,"
"Think nothing of it, we'll get you where you wanna be in no time, you have my word," Klein patted his chest plate. "Now, two questions for ya, Nagi. First off, where's your guild HQ gonna be, gotta choose a memorable place, and it has to be decently sized,"
"He's right," Ran put her hand up to cut in. "Our guild is small so we stay at inns, ones like Mr Klein's need room to house more than a full party, so where will you choose to settle?"
"Right here," Nagi had already thought of this. "This place was the first floor that all of us fought together, it also marks where the frontrunners cleared the first quarter. So this will be our HQ," It would cost Nagi almost all of his Col, but it would be worth it.
"Now for the serious question," Mito spoke up next, eyeing her leader seriously. "Our name, what is it?"
"Yeah, can't go around with some crappy name like 'Knights of the Blood Oath'!" Daora mouthed off. "And I'm not wearing one of those stupid all-matching uniforms!"
"Figured that's why you asked..." Mito rolled her eyes with a sigh.
"Of course it was! We should all wear dragon scales instead!" Daora ranted, slamming the table with his fist.
"...fair point," Mito shrugged, genuinely agreeing with the loudmouth brute. "I'm not wearing heavy armour,"
"Why not?" Daora cocked his head.
"I'm not proficient in it, and I don't like announcing my presence like you do," She pressed a finger to his forehead to push him back to his seat, growling curses under his breath.
"Okay, lovely couple aside-" Artorias quipped.
"WE'RE NOT!" Daora and Mito shot back, Mito wearing a dismissive glare, her face feeling warmer.
"-yeah-yeah, sure-sure; Boss, name, what you got in the lot?" Artorias wiggled his hand. "If we're looking suggestions... I'd like to throw my hat in that ring,"
"Actually... I think I have one," Nagi spoke up with an honest smile, gazing over at his wonderful girlfriend. "It was actually Argo that gave me the idea,"
"I did?" She blinked, honestly surprised by herself.
Nagi nodded, a fist to his heart. "It always stuck with me how you, me, and Kirito were always so far apart in terms of personalities and our backgrounds are so different yet we worked together so fluently. Same with me, Artorias, and Daora all this time, and now Mito too," It was honestly the best name for them, something that represented who they were. "We'll be... the Misfits guild,"
The name struck a spark in all of them. "'Misfits', hah, yeah, that's definitely you guys!" Nori chuckled a bit in her seat.
"Oooh, that sounds really cool, as your cousin and co-leader of the Sleeping Knights, you have my stamp of approval!" Yuuki slapped Nagi's back with a sweet giggle, then her bright smile turned to Ran, the mature sibling sighing, smiling with a shake of her head.
"Oh alright... as your cousin and co-leader of the Sleeping Knights, you have my stamp of approval," Ran tapped Nagi's shoulder with a small squeeze.
"Mine too, buddy!" Klein struck his back hard, making Nagi wince and yelp, drawing a few laughs from the large gathering of players.
"I got Philia's response not long before this meeting, so she'll be our expert treasure hunter," Nagi added with a small chuckle, the grim state of today feeling a little easier to bear with all of them around, Sachi was already being talked to by Klein's guildmates, her tears were still present while they helped her feel at ease and got to know them better. "Fynch-" The dark-greenette perked up. "-can you be our informant on any shady issues going on in Aincrad, stuff Argo might need your assistance with? I know you've been trying to make amends, but I wanted you to have a place to be safe too,"
"You mean that? Really!? Ah, w-wow, I, uh, that's... thank you, really, I... I mean it," The young former orange player looked at a loss for words, he simply wasn't expecting anything like this, but now the reason he was brought here made sense. "I've been mulling over how to repay you guys, sure, whole issue with Arawn's still being out there's got me ticked, but knowing you actually trust me is... it means a lot," He then gave them a firm salute. "I'll work at my best, sir!"
"I expecting nothing less," Nagi agreed. Now that all of this was discussed, Nagi knew it was probably best for everyone to call it a day. "I'll have to go back to the 3rd Floor to see about the quest, until then, everyone get some rest or return to what you were doing, I'll have everything done by tomorrow,"
With a unanimous agreement, everyone took to split up for the night, knowing Sachi needed time to rest and be by herself for a bit, Klein would look out for her. Meanwhile, Nagi went to a room he rented within their soon-to-be home base, he needed time to think, to just take a second to breathe again. No one saw it, all say for Argo, that pain that was being supressed behind Nagi's eyes. She closed her menu, watching him go with a steady poker face.
Outside the building that would become their new home, Mito strolled out to the large willow tree, staring ahead as she watched Daora being flung backward again, possibly not the first time by her estimations. He was making snivelling sobs, trying to supress them with his rage, swinging wide with Skullshatter, but since the tree was an Immortal Object, the purple lightning sparked from the hexagon, and the feedback sent him flying.
"Even with that mask on, it's obvious you're crying," Mito found her voice, approaching him but stopping a few feet away as he spun around and then tried to headbutt her, but the nimble Reaper avoided it.
"I am NOT crying!" He yelled with a small hiccup, picking himself up off the ground. "Standing around doing nothing is just seriously annoying, and I can't think of what to do!"
Right, they couldn't do anything. No matter how many skills they tried, nothing would force that mocking, black door to open. Mito felt so worthless, it pained her watching them try numerous times without stopping to open the door, she had never see Daora so emotional before, nor Artorias.
When Daora spun his ax in his hands, a prompt appeared before him.
|Duel Request|
|The match will end when one player's health drops into the red|
|Time limit is Unlimited|
|Accept?|
|Yes / No|
Daora craned his head to Mito, seeing her under the soft glow of the lanterned cast through the thin strands of the willow tree, her scythe twirled to graze the grass, her own eyes still misty. He watched her, properly taking in her expression before pressing 'Yes', now, he drew his ax high, and once the timer counted down, the two shot toward the other, letting out a wordless cry with every ounce of strength left in their lungs.
If you stood on the other end of Senja Castle, all a player would hear is the high-pitched screech of metal.
Splitting off from her guildmates, Yuuki followed Artorias, seeing him come to sit on the lowest plateau of Senja Castle, just above the smaller houses. No one was around since you only really came up here for the quests. But up here, you could see over the whole Safe Haven. And at night, the sky was clear and the moon bright, it was a beautiful sight if not for the cascade of emotions that had been thrown around today.
Yuuki didn't say a word, coming to sit next to Artorias, watching his hands move on autopilot, from his menu, more potions materialized. Antidotes, Health Pots, Buffs, with complete mastery over the skill, the possibilities were endless, so long as he had the resources. After about the eighth potion she watched him make and set down, he wore the fakest smile she had ever seen.
"You know, I-I tried, you know? I mean, it's obvious the game would change, and-and-and we'd be caught off guard - it's just how SAO's worked since day o-one, right?" He gestured directionless with his hand. He laughed, but his voice trembled, rubbing a hand over his bangs that partially covered his left eye. "I really tried, I used everything, every skill, I really did... I-I keep telling myself that I'm better, that-that who I was doesn't matter a-anymore, and I... I..." Now, his voice caught in his throat. No quips, no smart retort, his confidence was dissolving in his hand that dug into his hair, if not for the protection of the town, Yuuki was afraid he'd tear into his own face.
That was when Yuuki had heard enough, pulling Artorias into her gentle embrace drawing his head down to her shoulder, feeling her hands rest around his back as she placed her head against his own shoulder, her own tears caught in the corners of her eyes, "I didn't have the chance to do this, but it's okay... I'm right here,"
He stared ahead, the touching embrace, the warmth of her body or the scent of her hair, even her words. It made his guard fall, face screwed up as his eyes filled with tears. Artorias then buried his head deeper into her shoulder as he placed his arms around her tightly. He didn't know if he had any right to feel this affected by the Black Cats' deaths, but it's like he needed to hear that.
Artorias let out a shuttered breath, leaning into her hug longer. "Thank you... thank you..." He whispered to her, straining his voice.
"Ssh... no one else will know, I promise," Her voice murmured into his ear like a beautiful tune. Smiling knowing she could do this much for him.
"Can't sleep, Mr GuildmasteR?" Argo stared off with a slight smirk, closing the door behind her wearing her dark brown shorts and white shirt.
The room Nagi hid himself away in was cosy, decorated like most of the traditional building, the bed was big enough for two people, and looked soft as she sat down beside him, seeing Nagi staring down at the floor with his hands clenched together on his lap, himself in his casual wear.
"Haha... don't think I'm getting used to that," Nagi managed at least a tiny grin. "How's everyone?"
"Big Red's taken lil Sachi with his guild to get her settled in at their place, have her spent a few days restiN'. Fynch's stuck around, got a few replies from Sekiro, says he'll talk tomorrow with ya, and Zekken's crew left for an inn nearbY," Daora was outside still with Mito, Artorias' whereabouts someplace in the town. Now, Argo rubbed her partner's back in slow circles. "What about you, KaitO?"
"I feel like a failure, worse than any other day," He openly shared, raising his head as tears caught in his eyes. "I fought with everything I had, but I wasn't able to save them. I managed to give Kirito the boost he needed to save Sachi, and we somehow pulled ourselves out. I keep running it over in my head, trying to find a way they could've made it... instead I just feel worse,"
Nagi wiped his tears dry, "Keita had every right to hate us, but I won't let his friends - our friends - have their deaths be for nothing,"
Argo looked up at him with remorse, then, pulled him closer to rest his head on her shoulder, forcing him to sit in a slanted position as her hand rubbed his bicep, feeling her cheek press to his head. "Ya did more than enough, Kaito, so much more than any other player could do, this wasn't your fault, none of this is because of yoU..." She turned, now engulfing him in a tight hug, his face pressed at her collarbone.
Nagi's body relaxed into hers, hearing her heartbeat, feeling the warmth of her embrace when all he felt was numb after the worst battle of his life. He closed his eyes with a shaky breath, tears streaking down his cheeks as Argo adjusted their position, pulling him down onto the bed, feeling his body about to drift off to sleep.
She smiled sorrowfully, staring down at his form pressed against hers, the anxiety and guilt that tore at his expression slowly slipping away. She stroked his hair as she leaned against the headboard, closing her eyes with him. She had to do better too, so that no one ever suffered from false information or worse. Nagi was trying to pull through this for Sachi and everyone else, and the Rat would be there for him, every step of the way.
To Be Continued...
Looots of jumping around in this big chapter. I'm gonna be lynched for this~ Yeaaaah, so, Sachi's not dead, nor Keita, though he might as well be. She'll be with Klein's team for the sole reason that Nagi's party is heavily focused on frontline quests and the like, and we all know why the Sleeping Knights are an exclusive club. I had been mulling over both this, and the creation of a guild for a while now, so killing two birds with one stone. Ultimately, the short arc would end here but I tied in another to extend this, so if time jumps everywhere, you know why. I'm not looking forward to the next intermission chapter...
Important Question: Sachi or Asuna for Kirito's love interest?
Given all I've written of Asuna and not Sachi, I can totally agree with keeping to trends, but if you wanted it, I could have the latter be a thing. If I don't get much of a response, then I'll stick to Asuna X Kirito, just thought I'd put the question out there.
With that said, I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Misfits!
053 - Her Starting Line
A few days after the horrible incident. Sachi wakes up to move on past her sleepless nights of mourning, she just prays she'll have the courage to overcome her fear less she falls back into her despair...